Chapter Seven

"Come on, move! Grab his legs!" Xander yelled at Wood as everyone ran outside just a few seconds after Faith. "Let's go, Wood! He's gonna burst in flames any second!"

Dawn came running out with a heavy blanket and she threw it over Angel, the smoke rising from his body thicker and faster with every second that passed. Faith stumbled back, feeling completely helpless as she watched them struggle to carry Angel into the house. Her heart was pounding, her ears were ringing and tears stung her eyes and it felt like she'd just been stabbed in the heart with a red hot blunt blade and it felt like it was slowly twisting, not killing her yet, just causing her more and more pain with every second that passed.

Willow was right at Faith's side, looking paler than normal. "Faith? What happened up there?"

"Azri'el," she whispered. "He was here."

"He was here? In Buffy's room? Where's Sebastian?"

"He was Sebastian. He's gone now."

"Faith, come on, let's go inside. You're not making any sense."

"Wil," Faith groaned as Willow helped her to her feet. "Sebastian is Azri'el."

Willow stumbled back a little, but still kept an arm around Faith's waist. "He's-he was Sebastian?"

Nodding her head, she closed her eyes, the pain she felt from being thrown several times against the wall hitting her again now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. "Fooled her," she whispered. "Fucking fooled her for five months. Guess this is the kind of game he's playing with us, or was until I figured him out."

"How?"

"Jamie," she said quietly, looking over at the young girl as she stood in the doorway, watching them. "If it wasn't for her, he'd still be up there, probably fucking Buffy ten ways to Sunday and she wouldn't even know who the hell he really was. Fucking typical."

"You're bleeding," Willow said softly as she gingerly touched the back of Faith's head where her hair was matted with warm, fresh blood. "Come on, let's go inside and get you looked at, make sure it's nothing serious."

"Wil, forget about me for a second would ya? We got a much bigger situation on our hands than we even realized!"

"I know," she said, frowning as she helped Faith up the few steps to the front porch. "We'll get it all figured out, but I can't have you going unchecked, Faith. You could have a concussion and that's the last thing we need is for any of us to be hurt."

"Angel-"

"He's going to be fine," Willow assured her. "Hopefully. We might need more uh, human blood so he'll be able to recover quickly."

The commotion inside was enough to make Faith's head spin. Angel was on the couch, the drapes in the living room drawn shut to keep out the sunlight. He looked bad, his skin burned in small patches, part of his already trashed clothing burned in several spots, the skin beneath charred black. Wood was force feeding him from one of the bags of blood and he was trying to push him away to no avail.

At the top of the stairs, Buffy sat on the top step, the sheet still wrapped around her while Dawn tried to console her. She was in a state of shock, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks and she was silent, staring blankly down at Faith.

Xander and Andrew came to her side, helping Willow get her on to the other couch. Their voices faded, sounded murky as if she was listening to them under water. She felt dizzy and sick as she sat down on the couch and she could feel Willow's gentle fingers push aside her matted hair, sticky with blood to see where her wound was. And through all the commotion, she could see Jamie standing in the doorway near the kitchen with Kennedy, watching everything that was going on, both of them in a state of shock and fear.

"It's just a small gash," Willow said and she turned Faith's head so she could look at her. "You'll be five by five, Faith," she said with an encouraging smile. "Just a little bump that split open."

"Head wounds are always worse than they look," Andrew said and he handed Willow the tea towel he had in his hand.

"What the hell happened up there?" Xander asked and the room fell silent as all eyes went to Faith. "What attacked you? Where's Sebastian? Is he all right? Did anyone see him up there when Angel was thrown out of the window?"

"Wasn't Sebastian," Faith said and she took the tea towel from Willow and held it to the back of her head. She winced at the pain. "Well, it was Sebastian, but really, it was Azri'el."

"Our big bad?" Andrew asked, eyes wide. "There's no way-"

"Oh yeah," Faith laughed dryly. "The man you knew as Sebastian? Buffy's latest beef-stick, Azri'el aka our latest big bad who has been right under your fucking noses for the last five months!"

Upstairs, she could hear a door slam and there was no doubt in her mind that it was Buffy who had slammed a door, shutting herself out from the rest of them. Shaking her head, Faith pulled the bloody tea towel away from her head.

"Are you people stupid or something?"

"That is uncalled for!" Dawn yelled at her as she came down the stairs. "We are not stupid! We didn't know!"

"Figured since Buffy is always banging the undead, what's another evil guy, huh?"

Dawn attacked her in a rage, grabbing the front of her shirt tightly in her hands. Faith pushed her away, her hands gripping on to her shoulders as she braced for the punch she knew was coming. Xander and Andrew were trying to pull Dawn off of her and when they finally did, Faith smoothed out her shirt and breathed heavily as she stared her down.

"Guys, come on," Kennedy spoke up as she walked into the living room and put herself between Dawn and Faith. "There's no sense in fighting over this." She turned to Faith and frowned slightly. "No, we didn't know, Faith, never even had a reason to suspect anything of him. How could we have known? You're the only one he ever changed in front of, so how could we have known who he really was?"

"That's rich. Taking her side-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Kennedy snapped, her voice so cold and sharp it made Faith reel back. "Do you ever stop and think about the things you say before they come out of your mouth?"

"Not always."

"You really haven't changed, have you?"

"More than you care to know."

"Would you guys just stop?" Willow said, shaking as she stayed at Faith's side. "Why are you fighting over this? Nobody knew! It wasn't just Buffy he had fooled, he had everyone fooled and if it wasn't for Faith, who knows what he could've done. He could've killed us!"

"Whose side are you on, Willow?" Kennedy asked.

"I'm on the side of good, Kennedy. How about you? What side are you on?" Willow replied, the tone in her voice angry and all sass. "We can't fight each other, not now. We need to band together. Isn't that why you guys came all the way here in the first place?"

The room fell in silence, everyone sporting a guilty look on their faces for one reason or another. Angel groaned, breaking the silence in the room and Faith looked over at him. He definitely looked bad as she knew he felt, but the blood Wood had force fed him was already working. Wood grabbed another bag and tossed it at him, glaring at him until Angel ripped the top of the bag open and started to drink.

"We're going to need more blood," Wood said quietly.

"This will do," Angel replied. "I just need some rest."

"You need-"

"No," Angel said with a hard shake of his head. "This is enough."

"I'm going to check on Buffy," Dawn said as she slowly made her way towards the stairs.

"Good idea," Kennedy said. "I'll come with. She needs a friend or two right now and not someone who will judge her for making a mistake she didn't know she was making."

Faith laughed dryly and she touched the back of her head. The blood had stopped flowing and was already drying, her hair stiff and damp. She needed a shower, a nice long and hot shower, but she knew that wasn't coming anytime soon. They had to figure out what they were going to do now that Azri'el had been in the house. It wasn't safe there for them anymore. Not for any of them.

Nobody is speaking, but the silence says it all for Faith. She knows that everyone is thinking what she is, that they had to get out, find somewhere else where they'd be safe, even if it's not for very long. She groaned as she stood up and looked around the others still in the living room. She could just faintly hear Dawn and Kennedy upstairs, trying to no avail to get Buffy to unlock the bedroom door and let them in.

"We're in a pretty fucked up sitch," Faith said and she took a deep breath, shrugging off the look that Xander gave her. "We all know it, so I don't gotta say it again. It isn't safe here anymore. I don't know what we're gonna do, where we're gonna go, but we can't stay here."

"Where do you suggest we go?" Willow asked softly. "No matter where we go, he'll find us, Faith."

"There's another place," Wood spoke up and all eyes were on him. "Several in fact, and you know this, Faith. But we're not leaving."

"The hell-"

"You, Buffy, Carla and Jamie need to leave. It's the slayers-"

"Former," Andrew cut in.

"Yes, thank you for that, Andrew," Wood said, rolling his eyes. "It's the former slayers that Azri'el is after, not us," he said and he motioned to the others in the room. "He could've killed any one of us if that is what he wanted, but it's not a part of his plan even though we are a threat to him. We'll stay put, continue with the research and we'll stay in touch."

"So, let me get this straight," Faith said slowly. "You want us to go on the run while the rest of you guys stay here? Is it just me or does this plan seem a little too crazy?"

"Faith," Willow said gently as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe it's what you need to do right now. You said so yourself, it's not safe here, not for you, or for Buffy, or Carla and Jamie."

"You're crazy, Wil. He's been in this house and there's no telling if he's gonna come back again. What if he does, huh? I don't want to be out on the run and find out the hard way that he came back and killed you all."

Chaos erupted in the living room, everyone shouting over each other and the only one who fell silent was Faith. She could only just stand there and watch them argue over what the right thing to do was, whether it was staying or leaving or having just the slayers leave. They were wasting time arguing about it and she knew it. Nobody knew how long it'd take for Azri'el to show his face, whether it's the one he was wearing as Sebastian or a new one. Faith knew one thing for sure, she wasn't going to stick around to wait and find out.

She knew what had to be done. It was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, gnawing away at her until she finally decided to listen to the part of her brain trying to make her listen. She knew one thing was for certain, Azri'el wasn't after anyone but the former slayers and that feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that if they stayed with the others, they'd be putting their lives in danger. And she knew that if they interfered in whatever game Azri'el was playing with them, they'd be dead before they could even blink.

Leaving the others to continue arguing amongst themselves, Faith headed into the kitchen, her head pounding. Jamie was standing by the fridge, blankly staring at the floor in front of her. Faith sighed and stepped around her and pulled the fridge door open. She pulled out a bottle of water and twisted off the cap, shutting the door and taking a step back to look at Jamie.

"What's up, kid?"

"Everything is so messed up."

"You're telling me."

"Carla is gone."

"What?" Faith said, her voice raising in alarm. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"She slipped out when Angel was carried back in the house, said she wasn't sticking around just to end up dead."

"Goddamn it!" Faith yelled and she was so enraged she was shaking as she headed back into the living room. "Got a problem," she said as she pulled Wood away from Xander. "Carla took off."

"What do you mean she took off?"

"She's gone! Jamie just told me she slipped out when Angel was being brought in the house after his little encounter with Azri'el upstairs."

"Jesus," Wood sighed and he looked around the room, taking a moment to stay calm and collected. "Alright, people, we have a situation on our hands we need to resolve."

"Understatement of the year," Xander muttered under his breath.

"Carla is gone. We need to find her. I need everyone in on this and the sooner we find her, the better."

"It's not the first time she's taken off," Faith said, just to clear up a fact the others didn't know. "She's got issues, big ones, but she hides it well. If she took off it means one thing, she's scared. We gotta find her and bring her back, tell her what the plan is-whatever the hell the plan is, I don't know, but we'll figure it out after."

Because there were only two vehicles, Faith was stuck with Willow and Andrew in her truck while Kennedy and Xander piled into Wood's Escalade. Carla couldn't have gotten far, there was really nowhere to run, but plenty of places to hide along the way to the next town. Faith turned left at the road and Wood turned the other way. She watched him drive off in her review mirror and when his SUV disappeared around the curve in the road, she pulled over and put the truck in park.

"What are you doing?" Andrew asked as Faith got out of the truck and motioned for Willow to get behind the wheel. "Faith?"

"We gotta split up. I might not be a slayer, but I'm still quick on my feet and I'm pretty sure I got a better chance than any of you finding her. Just keep driving and keep your eyes open. I'm gonna take a little detour."

Willow drove off slowly and Faith looked around the narrow two-lane road. She'd learned how to track years ago, Giles had taught her during some of their downtime. There was always something that would be out of place, something that would give some kind of a sign in what direction the young girl had taken off in. Faith was mostly relying on her instincts, but they usually never failed her if she focused on the task at hand.

Not seeing any obvious signs, she started walking down the side of the road quickly. It hadn't been nearly half an hour since they'd pulled Angel into the house so that meant that Carla couldn't have gotten that far. Still, she had half an hour on them and Faith knew there was a chance that she could've been picked up by a passing car. She started jogging to pick up the pace and she could just faintly see her truck far ahead on the road.

Faith couldn't believe all that had happened since she, Willow, and Angel arrived there a few short hours ago. It felt like it was far longer and it didn't feel like it was still so early in the day either. And it was a cool morning and she wished she'd grabbed her heavier jacket before they'd left the house. Zipping up her black jacket, she continued to jog down the road, ignoring the throbbing pain in the back of her head as best as she could.

She came to a stop when she noticed the tall, yellowing grass in the open field next to the road had been disturbed and very recently. She turned and walked down the small, steep embankment that led into the field and she followed the bent grass to the edge of a line of trees. She slowed down when she started to see the blood, very faint in the dirt, but there was no mistaking it. She knelt down and touched the small drop near her right foot and it was still warm, although cooling in the cold morning air.

Trying to swallow her fear and thoughts of the worst possible outcome, she continued on and headed into the line of trees. Looking around, she had no idea which way to go. She couldn't see anymore blood, not near her anyway and she groaned in frustration.

"Carla?" Faith called out as she started down what looked like was a narrow path, but overgrown from years of it not being used. "Yo, Carla? You out here?"

Nothing. All Faith could hear was the sound of her boots on the ground, crushing against fallen leaves and small twigs. Deciding to continue on instead of doubling back and heading further down the road, she spotted what looked like a piece of a red shirt snagged on a branch. Jogging over to it, she pulled it off and sure enough it was a piece of clothing, ripped carelessly. She just vaguely remembered seeing Carla earlier and she was wearing a long sleeved red shirt twice sizes too big for her small frame.

"Carla!" Faith yelled out again and she stopped, listening as carefully as she could for any sign that Carla was still out there. "Come on, C! Where are you?"

Continuing on, she came to what looked like a dead end. Thick prickly bushes prevented her from going further and she spun around, looking for any sign of another way she could go. She spotted the blood on the ground, the first since the field. And it wasn't just a trail of drops, it was a pool of blood. Panic washed through her and she searched until she found a small opening in the thick prickly bushes. She came out on the other side unscathed, but what lay in front of her on the ground made her mouth drop open in a silent scream.

Carla lay on the ground, dirty and bloody and unmoving. She wasn't even breathing and Faith knew she was dead judging from the amount of blood that surrounded her body, some of it still trickling out from the deep gashes on her wrists and the slit over her throat. She stumbled, taking a few steps back as she dropped the small piece she'd pulled off the tree that belonged to Carla's favorite red shirt.

The sound of dry laughter made her snap out of the daze she'd fallen into and she grit her teeth as she turned around to see Azri'el sauntering towards her, a bloody dagger in his right hand. He raised it, showing it to her before he licked the blood off it, taking his time and savoring every last drop.

"You killed her."

"Of course I did."

Faith tried to control herself. She was in no state to fight him. Hell, she knew that even with her slayer strength she wouldn't be able to fight him alone.

"How's your beloved vampire? Dust by now, I suppose," Azri'el said, his lips curling into a sadistic smile as he threw the knife towards Faith, just missing her head by a fraction of an inch. The blade slid into the tree behind her with ease and she could do nothing but stare at him.

"Recovering," she replied through gritted teeth. "Didn't kill him. Didn't even come close."

"Tsk, that's too bad. He's quite the annoyance. Always messing with things he should have no part of. His fate? His destiny? He threw that all away when he chose a side and no, Faith, it wasn't the side of the good, like you are thinking I'm guessing. But that's all in the past now, isn't it? He's back where he thinks he belongs, but give me some time and he won't be anywhere but dust floating in the wind."

"You always talk this much?" Faith asked him and she laughed at the look of bewilderment on his face. "Damn, don't know how you managed to weasel yourself into Buffy's life with the way you run your mouth. You like hearing yourself talk, do you?"

"Buffy was, let's see how can I put this, not that much of a challenge. In fact, it was far easier than I could've ever imagined. All I had to do was wait for the right moment and I slid right in, won her heart and her affections. I bet that makes you bitter, doesn't it, Faith?"

"Why would it? With the face and body you're sporting, if I didn't know, we'd have gone a few rounds," Faith replied easily, adding a wink for good measure. "But you see? I would've know you weren't human. Eyes kind of give it away, you know? Plus the whole too good to be true looks you've got, I would've been questioning the fact that you were even real. Can't put it past Buffy though. She always fell for those dark, handsome and mysterious types."

"Yes," Azri'el laughed. "The bitterness. The hate. The jealousy. The love. The need you have for her and the denial about how you truly feel. I love how it just seeps off you in waves and it's all because of her."

Faith had to remind herself this was all just a game, a game he was playing with her to get her to break in ways she hadn't been broken in a long time. Everything he was saying was just another way to set her off and he was getting off on it. That infuriated her more than anything else and she couldn't even do a damn thing about it if she wanted to walk away with her life.

"She didn't deserve this," Faith said as she pointed over to Carla's body. "She wasn't even a damn threat to you!"

"You talk about her as if I care about her life. She was asking for it, Faith. She was weak, always weak even with that power coursing through her. I look at it this way, I did her a favor. One way or another, her life would've ended, by my hand or her own."

"And what's the point in you showing your face to me, having this pointless conversation here and now?"

"Because this is just the beginning, don't you see?" Azri'el chuckled and he took a few steps towards her and reached out. She didn't even flinch as he reached past her head and pulled the dagger out of the tree. "You couldn't save her. Just like you cannot save the other one. You can try, but I'll beat you there and I will kill her before any of the others even realize I set foot in the house. As for your precious vampire, this time when I kill him, he'll be dead. Dust. This time, Faith, I won't fail."

"Fuck you!" Faith yelled, throwing a fist towards his face, but he was gone, disappeared. She stumbled forward with the force of the blow she'd try to deliver and she fell to her knees, the tears welling up in her eyes. She punched the ground, swearing and yelling until her hands went numb from the pain.

She rose to her feet and started running back in the direction she had came. She ran so hard, so fast, she couldn't think about anything other than trying to get back to the house and save Jamie and to stop Azri'el from killing Angel. She wasn't going to lose either of them. She couldn't lose them.

Faith could barely drag herself into the house. The front door was wide open and she knew when she got close enough that it hadn't matter how hard and fast she ran back, she was too late. Gasping for air, she walked inside and the sight before her was something she couldn't prepare herself for. On the floor in the living room, not even five feet from the door, lay Jamie, blood everywhere, wrists and throat slit open the same way that Carla's had been. At Jamie's side was Dawn and she was pale and in shock.

"Buffy tried to-she tried to stop him and she-"

"Where's Angel?"

Dawn shook her head and rose to her feet slowly, the frown on her face worrying Faith to no end. "He's in the boat house, hiding out. Buffy got him out when Azri'el appeared out of nowhere in the living room."

Faith let out a soft sigh of relief. Angel was okay, but Jamie wasn't and the rage inside of her was boiling. Neither of those girls deserved to die that way and she wanted nothing more than to make Azri'el suffer a long, painful death.

"Where's Carla, Faith? Did you find her?"

Faith nodded and moved to sit down heavily on the couch, her heart still racing from running back from where she'd found Carla's body. "Was too late," she said softly. "He got her before I found her."

"Oh no," Dawn said, trembling as she backed away from Jamie's body. "I-I didn't know them, but I know you did. I'm-I'm so sorry, Faith."

"What the hell for? Not like any of us could've stopped him," she snapped. "They were good girls, they didn't fucking deserve to die like this!"

She fought back her tears, but they fell despite her efforts to keep them at bay. They ran hot down her cheeks and she buried her face in her hands. The anger and the heartbreak of seeing those two girls have their lives taken from them was too much. She wasn't close with Carla, but Jamie was different. She'd seen so much of herself in the girl and she held a special spot in her heart for her. It felt like she lost a part of herself and she couldn't bear to look over at her lifeless body, her eyes still open, her mouth gaped open as if she was still about to say her last words.

Faith rose to her feet, wiping away her tears as she headed to the back door. The boat house was barely more than a shed, moved from where it once had sat near the dock to the other end of the backyard. The shade from the trees provided some protection from the sunlight and she slipped inside, quickly pulling the door shut behind her. Angel sat on the floor in the darkest corner and it didn't surprise her at all to find Buffy there with him, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Get out," Faith said to her through gritted teeth. "Get out of here, Buffy."

"Faith-"

"No, get the fuck out of here!" Faith screamed at her and it was Angel who grabbed her before she could lash out at Buffy and he wrapped his arms around her and held her. "He fucking killed them both!"

"We tried to stop him," Angel said quietly as he smoothed her hair gently in an attempt to get her to calm down. "I couldn't fight him and if I stayed in there, I'd be a pile of dust. Buffy tried to stop him, but he's too strong and she couldn't fight him."

Faith pushed him away from her, but he was too strong and kept his arms wrapped around her. Giving up, she let the tears fall and she buried her face into his chest, his torn and burnt shirt rough against her skin. When Angel finally let her go, she refused to look over at Buffy, but in the small space of the shed, she didn't have much of a choice.

"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered. "I brought him here. I should've know. I should've known what he was long before now. I made a mistake, a huge mistake. There's nothing I can do or say to apologize or make this better."

"You're apologizing?" Faith laughed bitterly. "Little too late for that, don't you think?"

"Faith, please. Believe me when I say there are no words to describe how sorry I am for letting this happen, for bringing him here when this was supposed to be a safe place. I didn't fucking know!"

Faith raised an eyebrow at Buffy's use of the F word. She knew that she rarely swore, but when she did she was really angry, like beyond angry. Faith sighed and looked over at Angel as he slid back down to sit on the floor in the furthest corner from the lone window that had been boarded up and the door.

"Mistakes happen," Faith said quietly. She was fighting the urge to be a complete bitch about the entire situation. All she wanted to do was throw it all in Buffy's face, make it like it was her fault Azri'el had been there. But she didn't. She couldn't. "We all make 'em from time to time. Doesn't make it any better. Two girls are dead because of that asshole."

Buffy looked like she was on the verge of tears and Faith could almost feel her emotions coming off her in waves, making her feel them like they were her own. She had to get out of there and she slipped out quickly and ran back to the house. The other's hadn't come back yet and they had no idea what had happened since they'd been gone. Faith found her cell in her bag and she pulled it out, her hands shaking.

"I-I was going to call them," Dawn said from where she was sitting on the last step of the stairs. She'd covered Jamie's body with a blanket, the dark blue material soaking up the blood slowly. "I don't know-"

"I'll call them," Faith said and she stared blankly at the keys, the phone shaking in her unsteady hand.

"Is Angel okay?"

Faith nodded and walked out the front door, leaving it open just as it was when she'd got there. She paced around on the front porch for a few minutes and dialed Willow's number. It was Andrew who picked up and all she told him was to come back and she hung up hastily before he could start asking a million different questions she didn't want to deal with right now.

She was about to call Wood, but she saw his Escalade pull up in the driveway. She slid her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and leaned up against the post by the doorway. Wood was the first one out of the SUV and she knew he knew what had happened before he got to the steps and he fell to his knees in shock, a hand gripping at his heart.

"What happened?" Kennedy asked as she ran towards Faith. "Faith, what happened?"

"He came back," Dawn said as she stepped outside, arms wrapped around herself.

"Did you find Carla? Is she okay?" Kennedy asked quickly and Faith shook her head no. "You didn't find her? Where's Jamie?"

"She's dead. Jamie's dead too."

The squeal of Faith's truck brakes pulled her attention over to Willow as she scrambled to get out of the truck. She ran over to Faith, tears in her eyes. She knew too, just as Wood had, what had happened without having to be told. She stopped Willow from going inside, knowing she wouldn't be able to handle the sight of what lay on the living room floor.

Dawn reached out for Willow and they went into the house together, avoiding the living room and the body that lay under the dark blue blanket. Faith walked over to Wood, her face expressionless as she pulled him to his feet. The devastation that shown in his eyes was enough to break her heart even more, but she had to pull herself together. She had to remain strong no matter how much of a blow the girls' deaths were to her.

"Where did you find her?" Wood asked quietly.

"A few miles from here, out in the woods."

"We'll go get her, bring her back here and bury her with Jamie," he said and his voice was full of heartbreak and devastation. "We'll leave tonight. All of us."

"Wood, I-"

"We can't leave her out there. We take care of our own, you know that."

"I know," Faith frowned. "I tried to get back here, but I was too late."

"There's nothing any of us could've done," he said somberly. "We'll leave tonight, find somewhere else to stay and hope it's safe for longer than a day."

Faith nodded and she looked over at Xander. He was just standing by the open door, unsure of what to do. She motioned for him to come with her and Wood and she climbed into the truck with both of them. She had to force the tears down as she backed the truck up and turned it around. Nobody said a word as she drove out down to road, coming to a stop at the field that led the way to Carla's body.

There was just too much death all around, all the time. Faith just wanted it to be over, once and for all. She wanted Azri'el dead and gone, she wanted her life back to where it'd been before. She wanted to know what it felt like to be happy again, and at this point it seemed like finding even a shred of happiness now was going to be harder than finding the tiniest needle buried in a haystack.

It was Faith who had dug the holes in the ground, side by side near the willow tree. She dug until her arms ached and her hands broke out in blisters and every time someone else offered to help, she told them to go away and let her do this on her own. It was almost dusk by the time she finished and she stepped to the side, holding on to the shovel while Xander and Wood carried Carla's body first and placed it gentle down into the first grave. She couldn't even watch when they carried Jamie's body out of the house and she couldn't watch as they laid her to rest.

Angel came out and stood behind Faith, laying a gentle yet strong hand on her shoulder. Only Wood stayed outside and Xander went back into the house. Willow came out and stood at Faith's side, sliding a hand into hers when she dropped the shovel to the ground. Faith didn't want the others out there. They didn't deserve to be out there. They didn't know Carla or Jamie, not the way she, Willow and Wood did. Angel didn't know them, but she needed him out there standing at her side, her other rock, a tether, just like Willow was to her.

Nobody spoke any final words or shared any memories of the fallen girls. They had died defenseless and at the hands of a sadistic demon who was doing nothing more than playing games with them for his own personal satisfaction.

"Let me," Angel said when Faith moved to grab the shovel from the ground. "Go on inside and get cleaned up."

Willow led Faith inside, not telling go of her hand until they were upstairs in the bathroom, the door left slightly ajar. Faith was numb and she barely felt it when Willow wet the washcloth and started to wipe the dirt and blood and tears from her face and hands and arms. She felt it though when Willow forced her hands under the warm water of the tap, the blisters that had broken open burned.

"Damn, that hurts like hell, Wil."

"I know. Gotta get you cleaned up so you don't get an infection," she replied in a whisper and frowned when Faith just scowled. "Don't be such a baby. I know it hurts. Just hold still, Faith."

She groaned and allowed Willow to take control, forcing her to sit on the closed toilet seat while she got out the first aid kit. She was used to Willow being like this with her, treating her with kindness with a firm voice that meant business. She was used to Willow caring about her well-being, whether she was hurt badly or just a little.

Both were completely oblivious to the fact they had an audience, that was until Faith looked out the slightly open door and saw Buffy watching them from the hallway. The look on Buffy's face said it all. Jealousy. She was jealous seeing how close Faith and Willow were now.

"Hey, Buffy," Faith said, her voice cracking slightly like she had gone weeks without speaking.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, unmoving from where she stood in the hallway.

"Sure, I guess. Good thing Wil is taking charge, playing naughty nurse," Faith replied, laughing stiffly at her inappropriate joke. "Sorry, Wil," she frowned when Willow shot her a disapproving look, but continued with bandaging both of her hands, making quick work of it.

"Everyone is just about ready to go," Buffy continued and that's when Faith noticed she had her luggage, pink with wheels and all, by her side. "Uh, I'm coming with you two. There's not enough room in Robin's-"

"Yeah whatever, go load your stuff up in the truck and we'll be down in a few minutes," Faith said, cutting her off, the coldness in her voice jarring her. Buffy left and she looked up at Willow as she taped the gauze together.

"Can't you at least try, Faith?" Willow asked as she put the first aid kit back in the cabinet under the sink. "I know you hate her and want nothing more than for her to not be here, but can you at least try to be nice?"

"No promises."

She didn't know why Willow cared if she was being nice and acting civilized with Buffy. The two of them had barely talked to each other all day, which surprised even her since she'd expected the former best friends to at least have a talk at one point or another. It even surprised her to see that she and Xander had barely even acknowledged each other and the only one who seemed to care enough to talk to Willow all day had been Dawn.

Faith didn't know how Willow felt about all of this or how this was affecting her. They'd been through a lot in just one day and it was clear that everyone was physically and emotionally drained. Faith led the way down the stairs and out of the house, using her keys to lock the door up behind her. Her and Willow's stuff was already in the truck. She'd loaded it up earlier along with some random supplies, camping gear and weapons, not knowing what they'd need in the days ahead.

And the days ahead were of the unknown, their only destination would be a motel in Fort Erie, Canada. With a nearly four hour drive ahead of them, Faith could only hope for them to arrive there without a single problem along the way.

At least she still had a shred of hope that maybe after the day they'd just had, that things might just finally start to go their way. Even if it was just for a little while.