The walk back took longer than it seemed. Faith could feel the changes in the air, could feel the rumblings long before they started. She stayed far behind Jackie and Buffy, lost in her own thoughts, fighting back the tears she so desperately wanted to let flow. What she'd been told had made her thoughts go into overdrive and the thing that scared her was the fact that this woman Jackie was not only her real mother, but she'd just known there was something about her right from that first moment they'd met. She just knew from looking into her eyes that it was true, that it was real, and that she—for the first time in her whole life—was looking into the eyes of the woman who brought her into this world, so different from the woman who had raised her and turned her life into shit.

Buffy and Jackie were talking quietly ahead of her, talking about the place they'd just been to. Jackie was trying to explain it to Buffy, but the words failed her and Faith could feel the confusion in her strongly. She ran her hands through her tangled hair, laughing to herself when she started to realize the little things that made them so much alike. The way Jackie would laugh at times, that throaty laugh that sent shivers down her spine since it almost sounded as if it came from her. The way she'd just look at her or Buffy at times, as if she was trying to pick them apart, Faith knew was identical to her own scrutiny of newcomers. The way she would nervously run her hand through her hair when she wasn't sure of what to do or say, the very same way and the very same hand that Faith ran through her own hair.

She started to think of just how different her life could have been had her real mother been there. Would it have been any better? Worse? Virtually the same with just a few different details? She knew she'd drive herself insane if she kept trying to look further into the answers she'd been given and she wished more than anything that she had a cigarette or ten right there to help calm her frazzled nerves.

"Faith?" Buffy called out as they made it back to the edge of the city. "We have to hurry up!"

Faith said nothing as she kept walking, kicking the stone she'd been kicking for what seemed like miles. She only just now noticed that and she let out a soft sigh as Buffy walked over to her and stopped her where she was. Buffy just stared at her, searching her eyes as if that was all it'd take to get whatever answers to whatever questions she had.

"What's wrong? What did they tell you in there?"

"Nothing, B."

"They told you nothing?" Buffy asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Or nothing is wrong?"

"Forget about it," Faith said as she walked past her and tried to catch up to Jackie who'd kept on walking. "Just…forget about it."

"Well something is bothering you, Faith. Why can't you talk to me? What did they say to you in there? Just tell me."

"Told ya," she sighed as she turned to look at her. "They said we'll go home. Eventually."

"There's something else."

"There is nothing else."

"No," Buffy groaned as she grabbed onto Faith and forced her to stop walking away. "They told you something else. What?"

"Forget about it, Buffy."

"No, I am not just going to forget about it," she said as she held onto Faith to keep her from moving from the spot. "What did they say to you?"

"Jackie," she whispered, feeling the hot tears stinging at her eyes. "They told me that she's—god, this is ridiculous."

"That she's what?"

"My mother. They told me that she's my mother. That she was taken from me and that her sister raised me while she spent the last twenty-two fucking years here. Do you realize what that fucking means, Buffy? It means my whole fucked up life happened cos my real mother was taken from me and I was stuck believing all this time that I had a deadbeat drunk of mother who died choking on her own vomit."

"Oh my god, Faith. Are you serious? Jackie is...your mother?"

"Yeah, kind of had a hard time letting that goddamn mind fuck sink in myself. Still is kinda sinkin' in here, as you can fuckin' see."

"Does she know?"

Faith shrugged as she stepped past Buffy and kept walking, trying to keep her footing as the ground shook beneath her feet. "They said she thinks it's her mind playing tricks on her, but she knows."

"This explains a lot," Buffy said quietly as she caught up to her. "Did you—you know, before they told you..."

"Did I what? Think that there was a sliver of a chance that I knew her? That I was related to her? I got a feeling of familiarity, but that's about fucking it!"

"Calm down," Buffy said as she slipped her hand into Faith's. "Please just calm down, Faith. I know this must be a lot to take in right now, considering all that we have to deal with—stuck here between worlds, no way home in sight—"

"Willow's gonna find a way to bring us home, B. They told me. She's coming with us too, apparently," she said under her breath as she pointed ahead to where Jackie was. "I fucking hate this."

"Hate what?"

"Feeling everything. It was so much easier when I just felt my own emotions, but no, I have to feel yours and hers and god knows who else's. I feel you more than I feel myself, Buffy."

"And that what? Scares you?"

"No, right now, that makes me feel angry and a second ago it was making me feel calm. No second guesses on just who I'm feeling right now."

"Is this why everything changed between us?" Buffy asked as they walked quicker and tried to keep up with Jackie. "Because of the empathy you feel now?"

"Maybe."

"So," Buffy sighed out as she let go of her hand, "if you didn't become affected by that barrier spell, this," she said as she motioned between them, "wouldn't even be happening, would it?"

"I don't know, Buffy! You think that you could love me if you weren't affected by the barrier spell? Do you really honestly believe that you could? I mean shit," she laughed as she shook her head and shoved her hands into the front pockets of her jeans, "you love me even after all we've been through, even after the fact that yes, we hated each other and couldn't even stand to be near each other. If that's not fucking crazy, then I don't know what it is!"

"I love you because I see who you are, really see you now and not because of the spell, Faith. I know I love you. I feel it every day. I feel it every time I just look at you. Don't you dare fucking question how I feel about you ever again."

"You realize that's the first time you told me ya love me by using the actual words?"

"Oh."

"Love ya too, B."

"Faith," she sighed as she looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Say it properly."

"Properly?" Faith looked at her, feeling rather confused for a moment until she got it. "I love you too, B."

"Girls? Hurry up, we need to get back!" Jackie called out. "You'll have plenty of time to talk later."

"You know what's crazy, B?" Faith asked as they walked a little quicker. "One minute we're like...fighting or whatever and the next we're saying we love each other. Ya think our whole relationship is bipolar or somethin'?"

"Maniac highs, depressive lows, and mellow in betweens," Buffy paused as if she was thinking about it seriously, the smile creeping over her lips giving her away. "Definitely. We got bipolar love syndrome. You know what the best medication is for that?"

"What?"

"A kiss," she said, stopping as she pulled Faith in close as the ground shook harder beneath them. "And maybe later we could...you know..." Buffy trailed off as their lips met in a brief kiss.

"Girls, please. We don't have much time at all!" Jackie yelled, beginning to run as best as she could as the ground continued to shake.

"Come on," Faith said as she grabbed onto Buffy's hand and they began to run, following Jackie towards the warehouse just up ahead.

They made it inside just as the rumbling became worse and they headed straight for the hatch, Buffy and Faith both dropping down and helping Jackie down quickly. She was out of breath and they led her over to the cot and sat her down. Faith fumbled for the lighter in her pocket, one that Jackie had given to her during the last shift, and she lit the candles as Buffy got her some water. She sat down on the crate by the ladder, watching as Buffy helped Jackie sit up to take a few sips of water.

It gave her a few moments just to look at Jackie, to see the softness in those same brown eyes as her own and to see the outpouring of love she was beginning to feel for both of them. For a woman who had spent the last twenty-two years of her life trapped in this world with no human contact, with nobody to talk to—physically at least—she couldn't imagine what it'd be like to finally have not one, but two human beings there with her now. Faith knew that to Jackie, it didn't feel like all those years had gone by. Time was different there and even she knew that what felt like a week could be longer, it could even be less, days or hours even.

Buffy came to sit beside her when Jackie fell asleep. She said nothing as she leaned against Faith and let out a soft, tired sigh. She missed being able to sleep soundly and she knew Buffy did as well. She wanted to get back home and spend a week just sleeping off the never-ending fatigue she'd been feeling since they were sucked inside this world. She just leaned against the cool steel wall and closed her eyes, trying to focus on Buffy's soft, steady breaths rather than the rumblings that were constant now.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Buffy whispered. "Jackie, I mean. She's pretty out of it."

"She's just tired, B."

"I know, but she doesn't look well. You don't think she's getting sick, do you?"

"Dunno."

"Faith," Buffy sighed as she reached up and gently cupped her face and forced her to look at her. "I know you are exhausted and you just want to go home. I do too. But you kept saying before that we have to make the most out of being here. I don't know how to do that."

"Me neither. Why do ya think I got the answers to everything, B?"

"I don't—"

"I wish I had the answers, I really fuckin' do. I get that you wanna know all the answers too, but I'm tired of talking about this. All this lack of sleep is making me fucking cranky and—"

"Bitchy," Buffy cut in, smirking when Faith just raised an eyebrow at her. "I know. It's okay. What you found out today would make me feel a little more than cranky and bitchy."

"How can you be so understanding?"

"I don't know. I guess it's something that comes hand in hand with love."

"Really?"

Buffy nodded her head slowly before leaning in for a soft kiss. Faith's tongue snuck out for a quick taste before they both pulled apart at the sounds of Jackie mumbling in her sleep. Faith moved to sit on the hard floor and pulled Buffy down from the crate with her. She spread her legs for Buffy to sit there in front of her and she loosely wrapped her arms around her. She didn't need to see Buffy to know she was smiling just a little and she kissed the side of her head before she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.

She dozed on and off until the rumblings finally stopped. She woke Buffy up with a gentle kiss on the side of her neck and she headed up the ladder while Buffy tried to wake Jackie up. The rain was coming down, sounding almost thunderous as it hit the building and the ground steadily. Faith threw open the door and stared outside, momentarily mesmerized by the heavy rain. She turned to watch as Buffy helped Jackie up the ladder and led her over to the crate by the table. She did look sick and her eyes were slightly glazed over.

"Jackie, are you okay?" Buffy asked her softly as she knelt down next to her, taking her shaking hands in her own. "Is there something we can do for you?"

"I'm fine. It'll pass," she said with a soft smile. "Every once in awhile I get like this. It's the...place I took you to. It gets under my skin, crawls like a thousand spiders in my blood. Once I get something to eat, I shall be fine again."

Faith just turned to look back outside, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the open door. She heard Buffy get the small fire started, knowing she should help, but didn't want to be bothered. She didn't have an appetite, which was becoming normal when all there was to eat was potato soup. She wanted something else, something that resembled actual food. It was asking and wishing for too much and she knew it was worse for her to think of the things she'd rather eat.

"Faith, can you help out?" Buffy asked softly as she placed a pot of water over the rack just above the fire. "Faith?"

"I'm gonna go collect some water. Supply is starting to get a little low," she said under her breath as she went to grab the buckets and headed outside.

She shivered as the rain instantly soaked her clothes, her hair, and her skin. She placed the buckets on the ground and sighed as she titled her head back and closed her eyes, feeling the warm rain against her skin. Her right arm was twitching and she felt Buffy before she even stepped up behind her and reached out for her arm.

"What's wrong, Faith?"

"Nothin's wrong, B."

"You can't stand to see her like this, can you?"

"Really can't."

"She'll be fine. She told us she would be fine. I helped her to her room so she could rest and now she's sleeping again."

"She's coming back with us—y'know, once Willow finds a way to get us home. I don't know how she's gonna be able to deal with life then. She's been gone from our world for so long, B. Afraid someone will end up puttin' her in some mental institution or something."

"She'll stay with us. We'll make sure she's okay," Buffy said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Faith. "Giles won't let anyone take her away from us; from you. I won't let it happen either. None of us will. She'll be stuck with us for the rest of her life whether she likes it or not."

"Great," Faith laughed dryly as she shook her head and tried to blink away the rain that fell in her eyes. "Do you think I should talk to her about this? Tell her it's real, that it's true?"

"Maybe wait until she's woken up and feels more like herself. Come on, let's get inside and get dried off and we'll eat and get a few hours of sleep, okay?" Buffy said as she dropped her arms from around her and pulled her by her hands towards the doorway.

Faith gave in and willingly allowed Buffy to drag her back inside. She headed up for the loft, peeling off her wet clothes as she did. Buffy wasn't too far behind her. She hung her wet clothes over the metal railing and made her way over to the mattress, the fatigue really starting to hit her now. Buffy stood at the foot of the mattress, her wet hair dripping steadily as she stared down at her. Faith knew that look. She'd gotten used to seeing that look whenever they had a little bit of time alone.

"Guess the whole eating thing will hafta wait 'till later, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so," Buffy smirked as she crawled over the mattress and on top of Faith. "How is it that I always want you?"

"Cos sex is addictive?"

"Well duh, but I...every second that passes I just want to..." Buffy trailed off as she held herself up with one hand and ran the other slowly over her left breast.

"We're insatiable, B."

"Is it always going to be like this?"

"Hope so, cos I can't get enough of ya," Faith whispered huskily as she ran her hands down Buffy's back, stopping when she reached her hips to pull her down close, both of them moaning at the contact. "But I think right now," she said as she grabbed on to Buffy's hand currently caressing her breast and pulled it away, "we should probably make some of that fuckin' nasty soup and eat something. Feels like we're both wastin' away here and I can't have that. You're already fuckin' skinny enough as it is."

"It's not that bad," Buffy replied as she got off of her, grabbing one of the sheets that was folded up at the end of the mattress and wrapping it around herself. "At least it partially resembles actual food. It could be worse. We could've starved to death by now."

Faith chuckled as she grabbed the other sheet and wrapped it around her own body. "Pretty sure it'd take a little longer than we've been here for us to starve to death, B. Besides," she sighed as she followed Buffy to the stairs, "I've been through worse times. Never having more than maybe a piece of bread and watered down juice every other day. The potato soup is a helluva lot better than that if you ask me."

"One day I want to hear everything about what it was like for you," Buffy said quietly as she turned to her. "I want to hear everything about your life, Faith."

"It's bad. Some stuff I'd rather not talk about. Ever."

"Faith, it can't be—"

"It is," she said sharply, trying to control her bubbling anger. "You have no fuckin' idea how bad it got at times and how fuckin' depressing it is for me to talk about it. I get that you wanna know everything about me, but my childhood doesn't exactly define who I am now, B. Maybe in your world it does, but not in mine. I am who I am today cos of..."

"Because of what?"

"You. All the changes I've gone through since I came back is cos of you, B. Believe it or not, I wanna be better than anything I'd ever been before. I wanna be good enough for you."

"You are good enough for me," Buffy whispered as she stopped her from heading down the rickety stairs. "Never believe for a second that you aren't. I know our past is rocky and that there was a lot of bad between us, but it is different now and it's never going to be like that again between us."

"How can ya be so sure?"

Buffy took her hand and placed it over her chest so Faith could feel her heart beating rapidly. "I feel it in here, Faith. And you know something? I always trust what my heart tells me."

"Always?"

"Yes, always. Before, when it came to you, I was afraid. Sometimes," she whispered as Faith ran her hand up and over Buffy's shoulder slowly, causing her to pause for a second longer than she probably intended. "Sometimes I still am afraid because what I feel for you is so deep and it is so real and strong. It's not like anything I ever felt before."

"Not even with Angel?"

"The way I feel about you doesn't come close to what I once felt about Angel. It's stronger," she whispered, leaning into Faith's touch as she gently traced her fingers over Buffy's jaw. "And it's much more real because I can actually be with you and..."

"And we can fuck as many times as we want to without me going all grr-argh, right?"

"I—it's more than just being able to fuck, Faith. It's about being able to truly love. You know what I mean?"

"Starting to get an idea, yeah."

"Come on, let's eat and check on Jackie, make sure she's okay. We'll talk more later," Buffy whispered, leaning in to kiss her quickly before she turned and headed down the stairs.

Faith stood there for a moment and just watched her as she walked across the floor to the small fire. She took a few deep breaths before she headed down the stairs and went to Jackie's room to check on her. She stood in the doorway for a moment, staring in at the woman lying on the mattress, and tried to see her as her mother instead of the crazy lady who had taken them in—given them shelter, water, food, and some knowledge of the world they were trapped in. It'd take time for her to accept Jackie as her mother even if she did feel a connection with her.

"Faith?" Jackie said softly as she lifted her head slightly. "Come here."

"Everything okay?"

"I want to talk to you about what you were told," she said as Faith sat down on the end near Jackie's feet. "What did they say to you, Faith? What did they say that made you so afraid?"

"Who said I'm afraid?"

Jackie chuckled softly as she sat up and took in a deep breath. "I can see it. Fear projects itself in many ways and your emotions are always shown in your eyes even when you try to guard them from those around you. What did they say to you, Faith? Did they tell you that you are stuck here or did they tell you something else?"

"We're not stuck here. I mean we are until Willow—"

"Then what?"

"They told me who you are."

"And who am I?"

"My mother. My real mother."

"I feared I'd be right," she muttered under her breath as she moved to sit next to Faith. "I feared it the moment I first laid my eyes on you. I thought it was my head—the voices in my head playing tricks on me again. I remembered, just a little, of my time before I was sent here. I remembered a little baby girl with the most beautiful brown eyes and the feisty attitude. She was my little girl, the little girl I wanted my whole life, and she was taken from me just days after..."

"And given to your sister who I grew up believing was my deadbeat mother."

"I'm sorry," Jackie whispered, the tears streaming down her cheeks as she reached out for Faith. "If I knew...if I could have come back..." she trailed off as Faith moved away from her, fighting off her own emotions as best as she could. "It was bad for you, wasn't it? I should have never gotten mixed up with that witch."

"What witch?"

"Her name was Laura," she whispered. "She promised me she could make the voices in my head go away if I helped her. I couldn't help her and she sent me here as punishment for lying to her about helping her."

"Help her with what?"

"Her own daughter. She was lost and she was desperate to help her daughter find herself again and I...I thought I could help. I thought she was lost as in she'd run away, but I was wrong. Her soul was lost and it wasn't until she sent me here that I did find it. But it was too late, as you know, and I heard the whispers that I'd be stuck here until the day my own daughter found me. I guess it was true."

Faith took in a deep breath, trying to hold back the tears, the anger, the laughter that came along with learning that Julie's mother was responsible for her own mother being sent to this place. She should have seen the signs; she should have pieced it together when Jackie had told her about Henry's soul. She should have known there was so much more to what Julie had been trying to do when she opened the Hellmouth. She wasn't just trying to get her soul back to regain her powers; she wanted to send her and Buffy here, semi-damned in a world where it was nearly impossible to survive with your sanity intact.

Everything was connected, everything happened for a reason. Every mistake and every choice, every decision she'd ever made in her life had led her here. She turned to Jackie and watched her as she struggled to stand up. She walked over to the filing cabinet and pulled out a picture and handed it to Faith.

"It was all I had on me when I was sent here other than the clothes on my back. It's my only reminder of my daughter—of you," she whispered as she wiped away her tears. "I'm...I never expected her to keep your name. I only said it once to her when she came by while we were still in the hospital. She never cared. She only came to me when she wanted money and a place to crash for the night. How she managed to take care of you..."

"She didn't. Not any way that counted," Faith whispered as she stared at the picture in the flickering candlelight. "It's all done and over with now. Can't keep crying over the past and a fucked up childhood, can I?"

"Too late to change it," Jackie replied as she took the picture back and placed it in the filing cabinet drawer carefully. "Always too late. You know, you were my miracle baby, Faith. Your father and I, we tried to get pregnant for nearly ten years before it finally happened. It's a pity he ran off before you were born. He might have been able to stop me from trusting that woman, that witch that destroyed your life and mine."

Faith stood up slowly, wiping away her own tears and clenching her teeth together to keep herself from saying all the things she really wanted to say to her. She wanted to ask her so many questions, questions that just wouldn't form at the moment. Her thoughts were running wild, her emotions fuelling them, and all she could do was stare at Jackie. She pulled the sheet tighter around her body, feeling more vulnerable with her emotions than she had in her entire life, even in those moments when she opened herself up to Buffy. This was her mother she was facing, the mother she never knew and yet had a chance to now.

"I know things might seem different now that we both know, but if you have anything you want to ask me—"

"I don't. Not now."

"I understand," Jackie said as she headed for the door. "Let's get some food in us, yeah? We'll talk when you want to talk and anything you want to know, I'll try to answer. I have a few questions for you too."

"She's dead," Faith said quietly before Jackie walked away. "Your sister. She's dead."

"Oh. How?"

"Choked on her own vomit after going on a weeklong binge. At least that's what I heard. I wasn't living with her. Was living in a foster home at that time."

"Oh dear," Jackie said, trembling as she clutched her chest. "Those voices really do speak the truth. How old were you?"

"I—I don't remember. It was more than ten years ago," Faith shrugged, shaking at the memories that came back with thinking of that part of her life. "I don't want to talk about this now, Jackie."

Faith stayed in the room alone, sitting back down on the mattress and finally allowing the tears to fall. She didn't even try to stop them when Buffy came in to check on her. She could barely see Buffy through the tears as she sat down next to her and wrapped her arms tightly around her. She was done trying to hold it back and cried in Buffy's arms, feeling the calm and the strength in full force coming from her and yet this time it just wasn't working. She needed to feel weak and vulnerable now. No more running and hiding from it if she ever wanted to move on from it and become the strong woman she knew deep down inside that she could be.

The world they were trapped in had its share of blessings and curses and right now, it was nothing more than a mixed bag.

Kennedy ran as fast as she could to keep up with Satsu, Carmen, and Amber as they ran through the cemetery trying to chase down the newbie vampire they'd been waiting for almost all night. The last two weeks had been hard for everyone with the exploding vampire population. It was so much harder for the four of them to keep things under control now that they had only knowledge of how to fight them and not the strength and the power they had briefly enjoyed.

"Split up!" Satsu yelled to them as she and Amber headed left.

"Come on, Kennedy. Keep up!" Carmen yelled back at her as she headed right with Kennedy desperately trying to keep up with her still. "God, are you always slow?"

"No," Kennedy breathed out as they came to a stop when they reached a dead end. "And apparently this was not a good idea to split up. Who the fuck made Satsu boss anyway?"

"Giles."

"Right. Great. Fucking fantastic," she groaned as she leaned against a tree and struggled to breathe.

"You really should give up on the whole smoking thing," Carmen said as she looked her up and down. "It really doesn't agree with you and running, it seems."

"No kidding," Kennedy muttered under her breath as she closed her eyes. "God, I miss Faith and I'm even gonna go as far as saying I miss Buffy too."

"We miss them and we've never even met them. Do you think they are still Slayers?"

"They weren't activated by the scythe, so yeah, they are."

"Where are Perry and Marshall?"

"Staking out the entrance," Kennedy said as she finally managed to take a deep breath without feeling as if she was going to puke. "If it weren't for them last night, we'd all be dead."

"Right, because we're nothing but nearly helpless women who need to be saved by big, muscular, heroic men. Give me a break."

Kennedy groaned as she pushed herself off the tree. Of the three girls that had shown up a week ago, she hated Carmen the most. She was cocky, arrogant, full of miss-know-it-all attitude and even Kennedy knew that if Faith was around, she wouldn't get away with half the things she said to any of them. Just once she wished she could grow a pair and show Carmen a thing or two with her fists, but Giles had warned her to keep her hands to herself after a training session between the two of them got out of hand, leaving both of them with split lips and black eyes and torn shirts.

Satsu wasn't too bad. Kennedy had grown a soft spot for her. She had leadership skills, that was certain, but she wasn't bossy, not the way Buffy could get at times. For one fleeting moment—okay, several in the last week, she knew she'd developed a tiny bit of a crush on Satsu. It was hard not to. She was sweet, she had her moments when she was funny, she was smart, she was a great fighter even without the Slayer strength and power, and she just seemed to connect to everyone around her easily. The crush wasn't one sided, either. She'd seen some of the too-long gazes Satsu had aimed her way and not quite managed to hide.

They caught up with Satsu and Amber just as they managed to corner the newbie vampire. Carmen pushed Kennedy out of the way as she pulled out her stake and charged after the vampire before any of them could move in for the kill. Kennedy pulled herself up from the ground just in time to see Carmen stake the vampire. She shook her head, dusted off her clothes, and headed for the entrance, done for the night. Carmen's antics were really starting to drive her insane—borderline homicidal insane.

She passed through the gates, ignoring Perry and Marshall as she headed on the short walk back to the house. There was only so much 'leadership' crap she could deal with in one night and with Carmen constantly trying to take over that role, she was about to lose it. She got why Giles didn't want her in charge while they were out on patrol. She had a hot head, did before she thought, and she was just 'too much like Faith for her own good' or so Giles had stated more than once in the last two weeks since Buffy and Faith had been sucked inside the portal.

She didn't go inside right away, opting to sit on the bench Xander had built for the front porch instead. She pulled out the pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one as Willow walked out the front door and sat down next to her.

"I don't know why you smoke," she said softly. "Kissing you now is like kissing an astray."

"So don't kiss me then," Kennedy retorted and she took a long drag, inhaling sharply as she leaned back and closed her eyes. "God, I can't wait to bring Buffy and Faith home. It's fucking hell on patrol without them."

"Problems with that newbie vampire?"

"Problems with Carmen," Kennedy muttered. "Why does she have to be such a fucking bitch?"

"I take it you two still aren't getting along?" Willow asked as she casually slipped her hand into Kennedy's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Just don't let her get to you, baby. Maybe a little bit of sorta good news will cheer you up?"

"What news?"

"Kind of comes with a bit of bad news too," Willow replied, taking a few deep breaths as Kennedy turned to look at her. "Giles and I found a spell to locate the portal that leads to wherever Buffy and Faith are. We can't bring them home unless we find the portal they were sucked into."

"Locate? Wait, isn't the portal inside the Hellmouth?"

"It moves. It is no longer inside the Hellmouth as far as we can tell. A few women from the coven in England are coming to help in a couple of weeks and until then...we have to wait."

"A couple of weeks?" Kennedy nearly yelled as she ripped her hand from Willow's tight grasp.

"We don't have a choice! If we want them home safely, we have to do it right."

Kennedy let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes once again. Wherever Buffy and Faith were, they were safe, but for how long was anyone's best guess. She knew they'd be able to bring them home, she had complete faith in Willow, but for some reason she had a strange feeling that they wouldn't be the only ones coming back.