It's the meaning of life chapter! Woohoo!

Going to the theater was supposed to be a nice, normal, fun date. In the end, though, it would have been about the same if they had gone to the park, except that going to the park would have saved Angel a few dollars. He and Buffy had spent so much of the movie making out in the back row that they couldn't even remember what the main character had looked like, let alone what had been going on in the story. Not that either of them was complaining—quite the contrary. Buffy and Angel left the theater arm in arm, Buffy leaning her head against Angel's shoulder, a dreamy, contented smile on her face. "Thanks for bringing me here," she said.

"We didn't even watch the movie, Buffy," said Angel, amused.

"Yeah, and with a title like that, I'm sure we missed the next winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture," said Buffy dryly. The contented smile came back. "I had a good time."

"Me too," he said, stopping and turning to face her.

"Think I could get a recap?" asked Buffy innocently.

Angel flashed her a fleeting grin before encircling her in his embrace and capturing her lips with his. She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck as she returned the kiss, which, despite their closeness, remained slow and tender.

[o]

Faith strolled up the road with her hands deep in her pockets, scowling at the pavement. She was sick of this. Sick of watching Buffy be everyone's favorite Slayer, even though she was the one putting herself at greater risk every day. But, then again, the time she spent with the Mayor, trying to learn things about his plans that might be used against him, no longer felt like much of a risk. In fact, the way he treated her, it was almost like he'd adopted her. The apartment he gave her, the little treats he had for her in his office whenever she met him there, the delighted, proud smile he reserved just for her. Not even her mother had treated her that way. For the first time, she had someone who adored her, showered her with amazing gifts, and rewarded her even more for everything she did for him, no matter how small. When she was around him, she felt safe. Loved, even.

And how were Buffy and the rest measuring up? She was glad she'd prevented anything bad from happening to Willow, but she wasn't getting any credit for it. Even though they were supposed to be the good guys, all Faith got from them, no matter what she did, were halfhearted attempts at friendliness. She didn't even get that much from Wesley and Giles, who were always stern and bossy. Her information had led Buffy and Angel to the lairs of many of the Mayor's vampire minions in recent weeks, but she hadn't been allowed to go with them—though that, at least, would change tonight. Finally, after over a month and a half since the thing with the deputy mayor, Wesley and Giles had decided that she could start patrolling again—but only if Buffy or Angel came along too. And that would be five by five with Faith—if Angel was the one she actually got to patrol with, but there was no way her luck would be that good.

Despite her initial wariness of him, Faith liked Angel. He was the only one who didn't try to act like he was her probation officer or something. He was always supportive and encouraging, and whenever one of B's little Scooby gang started to say something less than pleasant to her, he glared them down until they changed the subject. And boy, was he a hottie! What wouldn't she give to have her way with that body. Centuries of experience, super strength, the thrill of danger…

Faith's increasingly lewd musings were interrupted when she spotted the very people she'd been sent to find. Jealous anger leapt like a flame inside her at the sight of Buffy and Angel locked in a deep, meaningful embrace that looked like it was going to go on forever. What could a goodie-goodie like B possibly offer him that she couldn't? He didn't know what he was missing. Well, she'd just have to show him, then, she thought wickedly.

"Check out the lust bunnies," she said loudly. It took them a couple of seconds to stop kissing, and then a few more to pull away from each other enough to look at her. Both of them were wearing revoltingly love-struck smiles, and their eyes were unfocused. They didn't look embarrassed at all at her interruption.

"Patrol?" asked Buffy breathlessly.

Faith nodded.

"Wes and Giles want you back on active duty?" asked Angel. Faith was pleased that he didn't sound breathless, but then she remembered that he didn't need to breathe anyway, and she suppressed a scowl.

"Finally," she said impatiently. "They want us down by Mercer."

"Okay," said Buffy. She looked inquiringly up at Angel, who shook his head. Faith rolled her eyes at the silent exchange.

"I've got another training session with Wes," said Angel.

Buffy nodded. "Goodnight," she said softly.

"I'll see you soon."

Buffy drifted towards Faith, her eyes still locked with Angel's and her hand still in his. Faith took her by the other arm and pulled her away. "Don't worry, big guy," she said, winking suggestively at him. "Just keeping her warm for you."

[o]

"Gotta tell you, B, the willpower thing? Nice job," said Faith as they navigated their way between graves.

"Thanks," said Buffy vaguely, too lost in blissful memories of the evening she'd just spent with Angel to really pay attention to Faith's words. She hoped this wouldn't be the only time he tried for the "normal date" angle. Not that it had been any better than last week's date when they had practiced tai chi together at his apartment and he had recited some of the poems in Sonnets from the Portuguese to her from memory, but there was just something so adorable about him awkwardly trying to do what any other boyfriend might do.

The fact that Faith had spoken finally registered in her mind, and she came back to the present. "Huh?"

"The close but no cigar deal with Angel," said Faith. "I dunno if I could handle, you know, the way you're…not handling it."

For a second, Buffy was confused, but then she remembered that Faith didn't know that Angel's curse was different now. She wasn't sure why she didn't just correct Faith's false impression. Well, okay, maybe she was. It wasn't that she didn't trust Faith, even if she was a little shaky in that regard; she just knew that Faith would make what she shared with Angel seem less than it was. Base, carnal, and lust-driven. While those elements were certainly present, they were far from being the driving force behind the relationship. That was love—the powerful, aching kind that filled the chest until it overflowed into the soul. It wasn't selfish or demanding, and even more than the physical aspect, it was simply too precious and intimate for Buffy to want to attempt explaining it to Faith.

"Faith," she said, "when it comes to Angel, do me a favor—" Before she could finish her sentence, a demon appeared over Faith's shoulder. "—Duck!" Faith dove out of the way, and Buffy decked the demon hard across the face. To the surprise of both Slayers, the demon had been looking for them so that he could sell them some books. Books, moreover, that potentially contained a lot of information that the Mayor would not want them to have. After the demon skedaddled, Buffy and Faith continued their patrol.

A couple of hours later, they called it a night. Buffy went home and Faith headed for her apartment. She was about halfway there when she abruptly turned around, walking in the direction of City Hall instead. She didn't like the thought of what might happen to the Mayor if Giles got his hands on these Books of Ascension. With the information from them, what would he and the others do to the man who had done so much for her? Definitely nothing good, Faith thought. Besides, she owed him—she owed him way more than she owed anyone on Buffy's team. She'd worry about thwarting his plans later. Maybe there could even be a way to do that without killing him. Yeah, that was it. She couldn't just let Buffy go all capital punishment on him if there was another way. With that, she went a little faster.

[o]

Faith sat in the chair in front of the Mayor's desk, grudgingly drinking the glass of milk he'd just offered her. The Mayor, meanwhile, was leaning on the edge of the desk, looking thoughtful. "You know," he began.

"What?" said Faith before he could elaborate.

"Getting the books would be great, but I think we can do one better," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Faith warily. If he was about to ask her to off one of Buffy's friends…well, she didn't owe him that much.

"It just seems to me as if that Buffy Summers has a little more help than I'd like. Now, friends are important for everyone, but I don't see why my enemies should have such a well-developed support system."

Faith didn't like the sound of that at all, but she remained silent. The Mayor moved away from his desk and began to pace.

"Of course," he said, holding up a hand, "if we make the wrong move, she'll just be that much more determined to stop me. Revenge can be a powerful motivator." Having reached the far end of the room, he turned and walked back. "But that's not our only option, and if this goes according to plan, we'll get another ally out of the bargain—one that Buffy will have a hard time fighting. Hopefully, she might even be so distracted that I can carry out my other plans without having to worry about her at all!" He chuckled, looking at Faith and grinning broadly at her.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, feeling both apprehensive and curious.

His expression became serious again. "Tell me, how much do you know about that Angel fellow?"

Okay, so, more alternate/behind the scenes stuff here, now for "Enemies". I skipped that whole part with Faith actually telling the Mayor about the books, since canon covered that. What canon didn't cover, however, was when the Mayor decided to try to use Faith to get Angel to lose his soul. Also, I thought it would be fun to shake up that opening scene by having Buffy and Angel be so preoccupied with each other (since they are actually allowed to do that, unlike in canon) that they failed to notice that the movie they were supposedly watching was rather inappropriate and not actually about food.