Twenty-eight days had passed since Buffy and Faith were sucked inside the portal and nobody was getting any closer to finding a way to bring them home. The women from the coven and Willow had found the location of the portal, no longer inside the Hellmouth in Cleveland but in the one in Italy. They had managed to cast a spell to keep it from moving, but when it came to trying to pull Buffy and Faith out, nothing they ever did worked. Kennedy could see how tired Willow was, exhausting herself using magic that drained her almost completely.

Kennedy had tried to talk Willow into taking a break since that morning, but Willow kept telling her it would feel like she was giving up and she couldn't do that. Kennedy ended up lounging under the tree in the backyard with Satsu for most of the afternoon. Satsu was reading one of Giles' books and glancing up from it every couple of pages just to look at Kennedy and flash a small, sweet smile her way. The sun was hot, the air was muggy, and the dark clouds were rolling in from the west slowly with promises of a late afternoon summer storm.

"Do you ever wonder what it'll be like for us if we never get our power back?" Satsu asked as she closed the book and placed it on the ground next to her. "I know Althenea said she and the others were working on finding a way to activate the scythe again, make us all Slayers again, but you ever wonder what if they can't?"

"Every day. We weren't even Slayers for very long, but I miss the power I felt."

"Right, that's what I was trying to explain to Carmen the other day. Doesn't matter how long you've had that power, the point is you've felt it and you crave to have it back."

"Willow and the others are trying to fix everything else first," Kennedy said quietly as she looked back up at the house. "Thing is, I don't think they realize that maybe the world would be better off staying the way it is now. Sure there's chaos, but it's calmed down now."

"Maybe," Satsu shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just thinking too much lately."

"We all are. There isn't much else we can do other than sit around and do fuck all while we wait for Willow and the other witches to figure everything out."

"Rather bitter, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"It'll all fall into place in the end, you'll see."

"And if it doesn't?"

Satsu sighed softly as she picked up her book and stood up. "If it doesn't, we'll worry about it then. You can't worry about something if it hasn't happened yet."

"Where are you going?" Kennedy asked as she got up and shook off the numbness in her left leg from having sat on it for far too long. "Satsu?"

"Inside," she replied softly and stopped to look up at the sky. "Storm is coming."

"Yeah, I can see that," Kennedy muttered under her breath as the first few raindrops began to fall. She followed Satsu inside to find the women from the coven sitting around the table with Giles and Willow. "What's going on?"

"We found a way to fix everything," Willow said as she turned to look at her, smiling for the first time Kennedy could remember since Buffy and Faith were sucked into the portal. "We are going to fix everything, Kenny."

"Great. How?"

"We are going to open the portal and bring them home. It's a spell and it's...sort of complicated," Willow replied as the women around the table began talking quietly among themselves. "I can do the spell on the scythe tonight and by Sunday," she smiled wider as Kennedy forced a smile back, "and by Sunday we'll bring them home."

"If it's a spell, how come you didn't—"

"Like I said," Willow said as she cut her off. "It's complicated, Kenny. Complicated but really not at all impossible like we thought."

"And what are the consequences? You know, you told me before all magic comes with a price."

Willow stood up and the two of them went out into the hallway to talk alone. "The consequence is the fact that when we bring them back they...they'll be stronger."

"Stronger how?"

"Althenea told me that if we reactivate the scythe and open the portal to bring them home, they'll channel the essence of every Slayer that lived and died before them."

"So they're going to have super superpowers when they come back? That's the consequences of pulling them out of the world they're stuck in inside the portal?"

"Yeah."

"And that's bad because?"

"Because they'll have so much power inside of them, more than anyone should ever have. You don't know what too much power can do to you until you have it and let it control you."

"Will, we're talking about Buffy and Faith coming back as super Slayers here, not..." Kennedy sighed as she leaned against the wall. "Look, just do what you have to do to bring them home. Let me know if you need any help later or whatever."

"Kenny..."

"What?"

"Why are you being like this?" Willow asked as she took a step closer to her. "Shouldn't you be happy we've finally figured it out?"

"I am happy," she replied with no emotion in her voice. "I just don't think...no, I do think. That's all I've been doing for the last month is think. We all have. It's not healthy and I can't fucking stand it anymore."

"Stand what?"

"Questioning myself about our relationship."

"Wait, how did this turn into a conversation about us?"

"Because it never...you know what? Forget about it," Kennedy scoffed as she headed for the stairs. She wasn't in the mood to get into it with Willow again and after the other day, the doubts she was having about their relationship were making her feel guilty.

"Kennedy, we're doing it tonight," Willow said as Kennedy reached the bottom of the stairs. "And by Sunday, everything will be okay again and then we can work on being okay again too. I promise, baby. Everything will get better. It'll never be like this again."

"I know."

"They've been gone almost a month. Everyone is feeling the strain, the stress. Everyone is worrying about them, but they are alive and well and together."

"How do you know that?"

"Althenea and I, when we found the portal we were able to take a quick glance inside. The darkness became light there and we were able to stop the shifts that world goes through every time it moves from place to place. I saw them, just for a second, and they were together and they looked...happy almost."

"How can they be happy where they are, Willow?"

"Because they have each other. If anyone told us that they'd find something within each other two months ago, you know that each and every one of us would have laughed and thought it was crazy because hello," Willow said, letting out a sharp laugh as she slowly approached Kennedy, "I mean its Buffy and Faith. They were never close, they were never able to spend more than ten minutes together without one of them saying something that would fuel the other and they'd end up fighting, with words and with their fists. Something changed when we left Sunnydale and whatever it is, it's still changing everything."

"Higher power guiding them on a path of what, happiness and love when the rest of the world has gone to shit?"

"Don't you get it?" Willow asked as she took Kennedy's hands in hers. "Buffy could never easily love and Faith, well she...she's always been a little rough around the edges. Maybe this really was supposed to happen so they'd finally have a chance to find each other, to really see what was right there in front of them the whole time. The Fates wouldn't make something like this happen if it wasn't for a reason."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Kenny..."

"It's too much, Will. Just...do what you have to do. Make us all Slayers again and bring them home. I'll be upstairs if you need me for anything."

"Kenny?"

"What?"

"We really need to sit down and talk. About us. About everything."

"Didn't we talk about this the other day?"

"We need to talk about it again," Willow said softly. "As soon as we're done in the kitchen and finish preparing for the spell we're doing tonight, I'll come upstairs and we'll talk. Okay?"

Kennedy just nodded her head slowly and headed up the stairs, finding it hard to stare straight ahead when all she wanted was to look back down at Willow and offer her a smile that meant so much more. She couldn't and didn't and she let out a choked sob as soon as she reached their bedroom door. Everything was falling apart, everything. It was almost as if another kind of evil had inched its way into all of their lives and started picking them apart where they were most vulnerable. Anyone in love was vulnerable, for when you are in love you are blinded from things you'd normally see with clear eyes and an unrestrained heart.

She was starting to understand Faith more than she ever thought possible. They really were too much alike and in so many different ways. Faith was complex in her own way, just as she was, but it was the way they dealt with things without actually dealing that made them the same. Kennedy nearly kicked open the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, forcing back her tears as she tried not to let her emotions get to the better of her. She had to stay strong and it was all she'd been doing since Buffy and Faith were sucked into the portal. She needed to be strong for herself now, the others didn't need her, and Willow didn't need her.

Maybe that was why she felt like she was being pulled towards Satsu. The sense of calm she felt with her was like no other. Still, despite how she felt, she couldn't do that to Willow. She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, hoping that the days would go by faster and that everything would just go back to being the way it should be, with Buffy and Faith home where they belonged and everyone fighting the good fight, side by side once again as a family.

Even with the essence of the Slayer inside of her, she could still feel both Faith and Buffy. She could even feel Satsu, Amber, and—much to her dislike—she could feel Carmen too. She could feel Willow, but it was different, there was something not right with the way she felt her. Willow shared that same essence, but it wasn't really the same inside of her as it was for the others. She wondered—since she could still feel the others, could they feel her too without even realizing that's what they were feeling? She could feel her body slipping away, giving in to the exhausting pull of sleep. All those nights tossing and turning were finally beginning to catch up with her.

Barely had she begun to slip into a world that only existed in her dreams than she was pulled out of it by the insistent knocking on the bedroom door. She groaned as she sat up slowly and looked over at Willow as she stood there as if she was unsure if it was okay to come into her own room or not. Kennedy sighed as she moved to sit against the headboard and motioned to Willow to come and sit next to her.

"Everything all set for later?" Kennedy asked her as Willow finally sat down next to her, keeping a little bit of distance between them.

"Everything is all set, yes. We're just going to wait for Carmen and Amber to get back from shopping with Dawn to start."

"They're still out?"

"Yeah," Willow replied with a soft chuckle. "Should be back soon. Giles didn't give them that much money to spend."

"Tell me about this spell you're gonna do to bring Buffy and Faith home."

"It's hard to explain, Kenny."

"Try."

"We have to open a door and I have to go in, not physically, but I have to project my own soul inside to draw them out. This is why the women in the coven are here and why there are so many of them. It's dangerous trying to pull something out of another world, another dimension, when that place isn't done with them yet. We know that the Powers That Be are behind this. It's so much more than them being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's so much more than me not being able to close the Hellmouth before it pulled them in."

"I told you it wasn't your fault."

"I know that now," Willow replied, taking in a deep breath as the storm outside grew fiercer by the second. "We have to wait until Sunday. There's only a small window of time we have to do this and we cannot afford to screw it up."

"I've got complete confidence in you."

"I know."

"Are you scared?"

"Very scared. I keep thinking it's not going to work and they'll be stuck there for who knows how long, forever maybe. I can't leave them there."

"You'll bring them home, Will. I know you will."

"Everything will be fine again in a couple of days," Willow said softly, not just to Kennedy but to herself, as if she was trying to convince herself that everything would be okay no matter what happened—or didn't happen. "I don't even want to think of how being stuck in a place like that is going to change them. Giles already told me not to expect them to come back as themselves."

"Spending a month in a Hell-like dimension would definitely change anyone. They're strong, though, Will. We all know they are. They're stronger than even they think they are. You're strong too, baby. You'll bring them home safely."

Willow smiled as she leaned in for a soft kiss and they both sat back against the headboard just listening to the storm as it raged on outside. They needed to talk about them, about their relationship, but Kennedy was tired of talking and she knew Willow was too. They never just sat there anymore just to be together, to be near each other, to touch, to see, to understand without words what the other felt. Kennedy knew what they had—what they shared together—was deep, and it was real despite how far apart they felt now. She knew nobody else would ever be able to touch what she had with Willow. Not even Satsu, despite how she felt about her and how good Satsu made her feel. As good as it was, it still felt not quite whole, still missing something.

With everything going on, now wasn't the time to talk to Willow about their relationship and where it was going, or rather where it wasn't going. Somehow, though, she knew that Willow knew exactly what she was feeling. It was probably why they were drifting apart and finding it hard to just talk about it. She stroked her thumb over Willow's, turning to look at her and finding it impossible to force a smile. She just wanted to be happy again and she knew they all wanted that.

"Are you tired?" Willow asked her as they both tried not to yawn. "Yeah, me too."

Kennedy chuckled softly as she pulled Willow against her as they laid down on the bed. "A few hours of napping won't kill us. Besides, you should be well rested before you do the spell tonight."

"Yeah," Willow nodded her head as she held onto Kennedy tightly. "We still need to talk. About us."

"We'll get there," Kennedy whispered as they shared a silent understanding of just what that talk would be about. "But for now, let's just be, okay?"

"I can do that. I'm good at that."

"You really are," Kennedy said with a smile as she gently kissed the top of Willow's head and closed her eyes. "You're good at other things too."

"Like magic?"

"You are more than the power you have, Will. You know what else you're good at?"

"Hmm?"

Willow turned to look at Kennedy, both of them grinning as Kennedy just licked over her lips slowly. It'd been too long for her, for them, and she was starting to feel that burn inside of her to touch, to taste, to feel, to possess and worship and devour the woman she looked at like her own personal Goddess. The glint in Willow's eyes told her she was thinking the same thing and as their lips met in the first deeply passionate kiss they'd shared in a good long while, everything else seemed to melt away. All their worries, everything, gone with a kiss.

And Kennedy understood in that moment why Buffy and Faith were okay. They had found a similar solace within each other that made the rest of the world melt away and disappear just for a little while.

There were brief periods of day and night now, the shifts having long since stopped, and the rain that came with every rise of the unseen sun and continued long after darkness took over. The heat came in waves and where it should have been cool in the darkness, that was when it was hottest. Faith had spent far too much time out on the roof alone while Buffy slept. Jackie would nearly always come up there with her and they'd sit there on the ledge looking out over the forgotten, crumbling city, neither saying a word to one another most nights. A few times, though, they'd sit and talk quietly, but never about Faith and her life, only about the future and what would happen once they all went home.

More and more she was finding it easier to look at Jackie as her mother, but the words 'mom' never felt right to say to her. Jackie understood and she had told Faith just once that she never expected her to call her 'mom'. She was and always would be just Jackie to her and they had formed some kind of mutual understanding over it. She was growing more comfortable around Jackie and finding it easier just to talk about almost everything. Despite the fact that Jackie had more than a few screws loose, she wasn't all crazy. More and more, with time that passed, Faith could see that bit of insanity that had been with her for twenty years because she'd been alone was going away.

She was alone on the rooftop this time, her clothes soaked from the rain. She felt Buffy before she heard her come up to the roof and she couldn't keep the smile off of her face as Buffy stood behind her and gently wrapped her arms around her.

"Aren't you tired, Faith?"

"Exhausted."

"Then why don't you come inside, get dried off, and we'll get some sleep?"

"Don't feel like sleeping right now, B."

"You just feel like standing out in the rain?"

"Pretty much."

Buffy chuckled softly as she moved to stand in front of Faith, not once dropping her arms from around her. "Sometimes I understand you," she whispered as she leaned in for a soft, light kiss, "and sometimes I don't."

"Crazy, ain't it?"

"Oh yeah," Buffy smiled as Faith slid her arms around her and held her close. "I wouldn't have it any other way, though, you know?"

"I know."

"It's crazy how much I love you," she whispered as she blinked through the rain, trying to keep her eyes locked with Faith's. "I never knew I could love someone as deeply as I love you, even after everything we've gone through. I...sometimes I can't even put it into words how you make me feel. It's like you...see me, and not just me on the outside, but all of me."

Faith smiled widely at that, her whole heart feeling full with those words. Buffy could tell her every second of every day how much she loved her and how she made her feel and she'd never get tired of hearing it. She felt like it was crazy, too, how Buffy made her feel and how she made Buffy feel. Before coming back to Sunnydale, she never would have thought they'd ever be able to have something like this together. She never thought she'd be able to have something like this with anyone, no matter who, but Buffy had shown her otherwise and she was forever grateful for that.

"We're just a couple of love-sick fools, aren't we?" Faith asked, a teasing smile curling over her lips as Buffy smiled shyly at her. "Y'know I wouldn't have it any other way now, B."

"I know. Me neither. I bet the others would think we've done lost our minds if they saw us the way we are now," she said softly, laying her head on Faith's shoulder as they stood there in the rain just hold onto one another. "Come on, let's go get some sleep."

"In a minute, B. Just wanna stand here and hold ya for a little while."

"You can hold me while we sleep," Buffy whispered as she leaned back and smiled at her. "You are pretty stubborn about almost everything, aren't you?"

"Just figurin' that out now?"

"No," she laughed as she began to tug Faith away from the ledge. "Come on, Faith. Once we get back home, who knows if we'll have the luxury of sleeping whenever we want and to just be together whenever we want to be."

Faith knew she was right. She was always right. Everything would change once they were back home. Whether those changes would be good or bad or something in between, she knew that despite where they were they had to make the most of their time together in any way they could. She could feel the need coming from Buffy and it made her laugh softly at what an animal she'd become when it came to fucking, to making love. Buffy was insatiable and Faith could never quite get over how much and how often Buffy just wanted to spend all their time naked and writhing against each other and crying out in ecstasy as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through their bodies.

They barely made it inside and into the loft without ripping their clothes off each other, without their lips attacking, devouring, and unable to get enough of one another. Buffy let out a squeal as Faith pounced on her and they fell onto the mattress, giggling for a moment before the lust took over once again. Faith let out a low, feral moan as Buffy wrapped her legs around her waist and held her close, her nails digging into her back as Faith kissed her hard and deep. She moved to the side just a little, her hand roaming over Buffy's stomach, tracing small teasing patterns over her skin.

"Is that all you ever do? Is this all you're good for? Scratchin' her itch, pretending it's something else? Got some news for you, Faithy. That's all you're good for. Love? Love doesn't happen to you. Not from her. Not from anyone."

Faith pulled back from Buffy suddenly, not expecting to hear Julie's voice loud and clear like that and especially not now. Every last word echoed through her mind as she struggled to push them out and ignore them. She knew every last word was a lie and she wasn't letting it take her over, not this time. It was like the other half of the darkness inside of her, pushing the light out and trying to take over.

"Faith?"

"I'm fine."

"Faith, what is—what's wrong? Did you hear it too?"

"Julie?" Faith asked and Buffy only nodded her head.

"Ignore it," Buffy whispered. "Stay right here with me."

"Tryin' to, B."

"I can't believe she's messing with us. She's supposed to be seriously dead right now."

"Souls can't die," Faith said quietly. "Never go away either. Looks like hers found us."

"Why would she even do this?"

"Cos she can. Cos we let her."

"Any way that we can tell her she's got really shitty timing?" Buffy asked, holding Faith close to her as if she was afraid she was going to move away completely. "Because this really sucks. You hear that? You got really shitty timing, bitch!"

"B, calm down," Faith whispered softly. "Babe, just chill, okay? Yeah, the timing fucking sucks, I'm with ya on that one," she said and paused to deliver a sweet, soothing kiss which seemed to calm Buffy down just a little. "Now, where were we?"

"Right about..." Buffy trailed off as she reached for Faith's hand and placed it over her stomach, "here."

She kissed Buffy again, pushing out every thought in her mind along with the ghostly whisper of Julie's voice. She had to keep herself calm. She had to keep herself in control. It was hard at times, especially when she felt her weakest, but she was strong and she knew it and Buffy was one of the reasons she could keep it together and deal as best as she could with whatever was thrown her way unexpectedly.

Every moment they shared when they were together like this brought them closer and pushed everything else out. It was far too easy to get lost within each other and they both knew they wouldn't have it any other way. Not now. Not ever.

Faith smiled against Buffy's lips as they both tried to catch their breath, her fingers dancing over the blonde's stomach, teasing her in a way she knew the other girl loved despite the whimpering pleas that escaped past her lips with every little touch. But the exhaustion of being there was really beginning to take its toll on both of them and despite the urges and the need to feel one another, sleep couldn't be forced away any longer. Faith laid one last tender kiss upon her lips before moving to lie next to her, her hand still tracing small teasing patterns over her stomach.

Buffy said not a word as she turned on her side with her back to Faith and pulled her arms around her. Their bodies were flush against one another, fitting together as if they were two pieces of a puzzle. The sweetest of dreams always came when Faith held Buffy this way and she always placed a hand over Buffy's heart, feeling it beat in time with her own. This was their time here in this world between worlds and it would be time they'd never get back once they were home. The only way Faith could keep the worry of things changing for the worse once they were back home was holding Buffy close and hoping that despite it all, the bond they had now would never grow apart. She had a suspicion that the bond they had together was even stronger than she knew, stronger than she felt that it was. If this was what love meant underneath all the complex layers that came with it, she was never ever letting go.

Her dreams this time were filled with memories, recent memories of the time after Sunnydale, the slow pace her and Buffy's friendship started off as and then of how they just came together after a night of drinking with one simple kiss. If it hadn't been for Buffy being so bold in taking what she wanted, they wouldn't be where they were now. Even in her dreams she thought of the future, the near and far distant future both, and not one single part of it was without Buffy. Buffy was her whole world now, inside and out, here and back home. The last part of her that felt like she only deserved to spend her entire life alone was slowly disappearing and she very gladly said her final goodbyes to that part of herself.

She woke up first and let out a soft content sigh as Buffy stirred slightly in her arms. This is how they'd both survived without breaking down in the last while—waking up like this, feeling at peace, feeling at home despite being so far from where there real home was. Still, even after hours of sleeping, hours of pushing it out of her mind, Julie's voice echoed through the rest of her thoughts, louder and clearer than it had been when she'd actually heard her voice.

She wanted nothing more than to scream out and tell Julie she was wrong, call her a liar and a bitch, call her out of the shadows she was hiding in and finish her for the last time. Souls never died, but she knew if she tried hard enough, fought hard enough with all that she had, Julie would be nothing but a speck of a memory by the time she was done with her. She tried to push it out of her mind yet again as she laid a gentle kiss to Buffy's shoulder that made her stir just a little more.

"Faith..." she mumbled sleepily as she slowly turned around in her arms. "Feels like we just fell asleep."

"I know, but we didn't."

"I was dreaming of food, real food," she said softly and pouted when Faith just laughed. "It's not funny."

"Nah, that wasn't why I was laughing. You're too fucking adorable sometimes for your own good, B."

"Oh."

Faith smiled and pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss, trying to keep her hands from roaming too much. The rumbling in her stomach reminded her she needed to eat and soon and with the mention of Buffy dreaming of food, it just made the hunger pangs that much worse. If it were up to her they'd spend hours upon hours lying there together, holding one another, kissing and touching until they just couldn't move any more. But it was too easy to do that and dangerously neglect everything else. Buffy had gotten her into sparring on a regular basis again and it always came after they slept and ate.

Jackie always watched them spar, looking on with pure fascination at the graceful way they moved. There were times when it got out of hand like it had when the light first came, but it no longer scared Jackie the way it had before. She now understood their need to unleash their full power even if their intent wasn't to hurt one another.

It took them a little while to get motivated enough to get up and dressed in their clothes that were still damp from the rain. They were wearing thin, but it wasn't like they had a choice to wear anything else. Jackie was already cooking up a pot of soup, the bland smell of it mostly lost in the strong smell of the wood burning in the fire. Jackie was humming softly and tunelessly as she always did while she cooked. Faith chuckled as she grabbed Buffy's hand to spin her around and quickly wrap her arms around the shorter girl, swaying slightly to the sounds of Jackie's soft humming.

"It ain't real music, but it's enough to make me wanna dance with ya like this, B," she whispered softly into her ear as they held each other close.

"It's nice," Buffy whispered back and leaned back to look into Faith's eyes, smiling at her as she cupped her face in her hands gently and leaned in for a kiss. "I sure could get used to this."

"What, this? You mean dancin' like this with me?"

Buffy just nodded her head, smiling at her as they continued to sway together slowly. They hardly noticed that Jackie had stopped humming until they heard her clear her throat a few times to get their attention. "If you two lovebirds are done dancing when there is no music," she said with a laugh and pointed to the bowls on the table, "the soup is ready."

Buffy blushed slightly as she and Faith pulled apart. Neither of them were used to the casual way Jackie treated them, especially when she saw a moment transpire between them. They joined Jackie at the table and ate quietly. There was something different about Jackie now aside from the obvious level of comfort the three of them had found around each other. Faith couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was like Jackie seemed happy, just as she and Buffy did.

"Do you two wonder just how much time has passed?"

"Yeah, but who knows?" Faith replied as she placed her now empty bowl on the table in front of her. "Can't be too long, right?"

"Doesn't feel nearly as long as I have been here, but it's been awhile," Jackie said softly. "You can't tell how much time has passed, can you?"

"No. Everything's outta whack. Guess once we do get home we'll find out."

"A month," Buffy whispered under her breath as she looked over at Faith. "We've been here for about a month, give or take."

"How do you know that, B?"

"I feel it."

"Huh," Faith sighed as she stretched her arms out over her head. "You ready to spar for awhile?"

"Give me a minute," Buffy said as she got up from the table and headed out the back door.

"She might be right," Jackie said softly as she picked at the dried wax on the table near the candle. "You two might just have been here for about a month now. It's hard to tell. The longer you're here, the more time doesn't feel like time. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I do."

"I don't know if I'll be okay going home," Jackie whispered as she leaned over the table a little. "I don't know how I'll deal. I've been here far too long to go back to the world."

"You'll be okay," Faith said as she smiled over at her. "You'll be with us. You'll be okay. Promise."

She turned to look at Buffy as she walked back inside carrying two long metal poles. She grinned from ear to ear as she stood up and grabbed one of the poles that Buffy tossed to her. They walked to the center of the warehouse, circling each other as Jackie moved to sit near them to watch in the dim flickering light of the only candle that was lit. Within seconds the only sounds that could be heard was the clang of the metal poles as they clashed together and the heavy breathing coming from both of them as they struggled to keep up with one another.

They came to a stop, pushing the poles together with all the strength they had, trying to gain the upper hand. There was fire dancing in both their eyes as their faces were mere inches apart. Faith chuckled softly as she felt the burn in every muscle in her body as she strained against Buffy's strength, a perfect match to her own until that one split second she became distracted. She blew Buffy a kiss, using that moment to sweep her legs from under her, bringing the end of the pole around to the center of the blonde's chest and pinning her to the floor, both of them breathing heavily as Buffy pouted at her sudden and unexpected defeat.

No matter what did happen they had ways of forgetting and just living with what they had. It was a lesson Faith had learned long ago and one that Buffy was now also beginning to learn for herself.