A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the VERY slow update rate, and thanks for being so patient. Vet school is getting very intense and demanding at the moment so please bare with me over the next 74 days or so... I promise I will finish this story, it may just take a while…thanks again for all the awesome reviews…you guys seriously rock!

Chapter 7: Conflicting Emotions

Int: Summer's Residence

"I've been through more battles with Buffy than you all can ever imagine. She's stopped everything that's ever come up against her…"

Willow walked into the house followed by Buffy, Faith trailing behind. They all turned their attention to the living room; Xander was speaking to the potentials.

"She's laid down her life—literally—to protect the people around her. This girl has died two times, and she's still standing. You're scared? That's smart. You got questions? You should. But you doubt her motives, you think Buffy's all about the kill, then you take the little bus to battle. I've seen her heart, and this time—not literally. And I'm telling you, right now, she cares more about your lives than you will ever know. You gotta trust her. She's earned it."

Buffy smiled at Xander, tears forming in her eyes as she heard the words her long time friend spoke.

"Damn. I never knew you were that cool." Faith tried to ease some of the tension between her and Buffy. Everyone in the room turned to face the trio standing in the doorway.

Buffy welcomed the comment; they had pretty much walked back to the house in silence after leaving the cemetery, "Well, you always were a little slow." She said, smiling warmly at the dark Slayer.

Faith returned the smile, "I get that now." She said softly, the double entendre not lost on Buffy or Willow.

"Faith," Giles steps forward, a warm smile on his face, "welcome." He could tell how uncomfortable she was with the whole situation, especially being under the close scrutiny of all the confused potentials.

Xander nodded towards the dark Slayer, she could see the betrayal in his eyes, she had hurt him badly and that was something she would have to live with for the rest of her life; but she was hopeful that they could maybe work things out one day, "Xander." Faith nodded and smiled at the man.

"Faith." The Slayer turned and saw Dawn standing beside her.

"Hey, little D." she smiled at Buffy's sister and then was momentarily caught off guard as she was engulfed in a big bear hug. Faith didn't quiet know how to react, she slowly raised her arms and awkwardly returned the hug.

Buffy could feel the unease pouring off the dark Slayer; she grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Dawn and all the intense stares in the other room, "Let's find you a place to crash." Buffy said, almost dragging Faith behind her.

The tension in the room seemed to ease a bit as Faith and Buffy left. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Kennedy piped up, "Who's Faith?"

Int: Buffy's Bedroom

Buffy was busying herself setting up a makeshift bed for Faith to sleep on. The dark Slayer had trailed into the room behind Buffy, feeling nervous and uneasy. She hated not feeling in control so she hid behind sarcasm and witty banter, "We're really moving forward fast with this relationship, B." She said leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, characteristic smirk on her face.

Buffy stopped what she was doing, Did she seriously just say that? "What?" Buffy looked up at Faith, "Oh…no, it's just…I thought…"

God she's cute when she's flustered. "Chill B, I'm just teasing. I know you want to keep a close eye on me," she paused, a sad frown on her face, "and, no-one else in their right minds would share a room with psycho Slayer." Faith murmured.

Buffy stood up straight and took a step toward Faith; she stopped short, not wanting to freak the other Slayer out by invading her personal space, "That's not why you're sleeping in my room, Faith." Buffy said seriously, "I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you facing everyone here, so…" she trailed off.

"I appreciate it." Faith said softly, staring intently into the blonde's hazel eyes.

Int: Kitchen, Summer's Residence

"Faith; her name alone invokes awe. Faith; a set of principles or beliefs on which you are willing to devote your life. The dark slayer; a lethal combination of beauty, power, and death. For years and years—or to be more accurate—months, Faith fought on the side of good, terrorizing the evil community. But like so many tragic heroes, Faith was seduced by the lure of the dark side. She wrapped evil around her like a large, evil Mexican serape. She became a cold-blooded killer. Nobody was immune to her trail of destruction. Not friends, not family... Not even the most pacifist and logical of races."

Willow walked in to the kitchen and overheard Andrew talking to some of the potentials…she had to suppress a laugh when he described how Faith had apparently killed a 'Vulcan'.

"Faith has a history not to be taken lightly. She's a killer. Never forget that. You must stay on guard around Faith at all times. Your very lives may depend on it." He stared knowingly at his audience.

Willow interrupted the conversation on that cue, "Shut up, Andrew." She said snappily, breaking up the 'kitchen party'. Andrew pouted as he followed the potentials out in to the living area. Willow glanced out the window and saw Faith practicing some kicks and punches in the back yard. She frowned as she saw Faith wince as she was training; the Slayer's healing had been slowed down yet again when she was brutally attacked by the Bringers the night before.

She was about to head out to go check on her when she saw Buffy approach her instead. Willow smiled and remained in the kitchen, watching the interaction between the two Slayers.

Ext: Back yard, Summer's Residence

Buffy stood watching Faith practice her strikes, an appreciative smirk on her face as she studied the brunette closely. She was startled out of her daydream when she suddenly realized the dark Slayer was standing there staring at her, a naughty smirk on her face. Buffy blushed instantaneously as she realized she's been caught red-handed checking out Faith's ass.

"See something ya like, B?" Faith asked, humour in her tone.

Buffy grinned sheepishly at the other Slayer, becoming serious as she noticed Faith gingerly holding her side, "You OK?" she asked, frowning as she realized that the brunette was still recovering from serious injuries. She looked guiltily at Faith's nose; it appeared to be healing well but was still a little bruised, no thanks to her.

Faith shrugged her shoulders, "It'll all heal," she said, gesturing to her injuries, she winced and grabbed her abdomen and ribs again, "I just seriously don't need to be kicked in the abdomen anymore…" she trailed off, grimacing as she remembered her fights with The Beast and Angelus.

"Sorry about your face." Buffy said, smiling apologetically.

Faith grinned at the Slayer, "No drama, good thing you still hit like you used to." She said jokingly.

They both laughed and headed indoors, the tension in their relationship slowly easing.

Int: Basement, Summer's Residence

Faith walked in to the basement and sat down on the stairs, glancing at the door as the noise of girls chattering upstairs permeated downstairs. She sighed and took out a cigarette, lighting up. She narrowed her eyes and scowled as she saw Spike appear out of the shadows.

He threw up his hands in defense, "I was just leaving, Slayer, in case you decide to get all dust happy again."

"Smart idea," Faith growled, stepping aside so the vampire could walk up the stairs. She was about to sit down again when she heard the basement door open and close again, followed by footsteps on the stairs. She turned and scowled up at the intruder, "What do you w-" she stopped as she saw it was Willow, "sorry, thought you were someone else." She said apologetically to the Wicca.

"Spike?" Willow asked, sensing that the dark Slayer didn't like the vampire much.

Faith raised an eyebrow, 'who else' her expression read, and smiled at the red head, "What's up, Will." She took a drag of her cigarette.

"Just checking up on you, ya know, all this must be pretty stressful." Willow shrugged and smiled.

Faith sighed and groaned inwardly as more noise came filtering into the basement, "No more Starbucks for the wannabe's man. They've been spazzing for like, hours." She grumbled.

Willow chuckled as she sat down next to Faith, "Yeah, it can get pretty intense up there I guess…"

They sat in silence for a while, comfortable enough with their friendship now, their new found understanding of each other.

Willow broke the silence first, "You had the power to walk away any time, Faith…any time! What stopped you?"

Faith stared ahead, watching the smoke from the end of her cigarette dance and swirl in front of her, "I stopped me, Red." Faith looked at the witch; hurt in her eyes, "Is that so hard to believe." her voice broke, betraying her emotions.

"No…god, no, Faith, that's so not what I meant." Willow was getting flustered, "It's just…I…" she looked at her feet, avoiding eye contact with the Slayer who now had her full attention on the witch, "…I admire you, so much…I don't think I could have done it…" Willow noticed Faith's confused expression, she continued, "I don't think I would have made it in prison…I respect what you did…" she trailed off.

Faith stared intently at the Wicca, "I got dangerous for a while…it was for the best." She said softly, flicking her cigarette butt onto the floor.

"I get that…" Faith only heard Willow's response because of her Slayer hearing.

Faith couldn't stand the somber mood anymore, "So," she smirked at the red head, "what's with you and the baby Slayer?"

Willow blushed and grinned at the dark Slayer, shaking her head, "I could ask the same of you and Buffy…" she trailed off, getting the desired response as Faith snapped her mouth shut and just glowered at the witch.

Ext: Forest, outskirts of Sunnydale

Buffy and Faith were trailing one of the Bringers, hoping he would lead them to the First's base of operations.

"No eyes, but look at him go. He got sonar or something?" Faith was a little in awe of how these blind monks were able to so efficiently get around and kill potential Slayers around the world.

"Or something, I guess." Buffy replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Do they just roam free around town?" Faith raised an eyebrow at the blonde Slayer.

"Well, normally, they show up out of nowhere, and then either stab or get stabbed, and then they run off. Looks like this guy wants to be found."

"Lends weight to the whole "it's a trap" theory." Faith said, frowning slightly.

Buffy spun round to face the brunette, annoyed, "I'm through waiting around for people to attack us." She snapped, tired of everyone questioning her motives.

Faith put her hands up, defensively, "Hey, I'm with you. Drop me in the hornet's nest, what the hell? You got a rough stitch here, trying to turn a bunch of little girls into an army..."

"They're potential slayers, just like we were."

"Right, maybe they'll do as good as us." Faith said, staring intently at Buffy.

"They're getting better." Buffy sighed, trying to convince herself of this fact.

"I'll work with 'em. Some of 'em seem real eager. Fashion disasters, yeah, but they're ready to fight." Faith could sense Buffy's frustration; she wanted to help the blonde.

Buffy stopped walking and turned to face Faith, "Why did you come back?"

Faith struggled to hide the hurt she felt at the blonde's question, "Willow said you needed me. Didn't give it a lot of thought. Do you…am I getting you want me to be not here?" she asked incredulous.

Buffy sighed, immediately regretting her words, "No, that's not what I meant. I'm...glad that you're here. It's good. Thank you." She continued to walk, tracking the Bringer.

They continued to walk in silence for a while until Buffy stopped suddenly, her frown deepening as she took in the dark Slayer's demeanor. She really had changed, she didn't have that arrogance about her, she seemed more at peace.

"Why did you kiss me?" Buffy was still frowning.

Faith stopped in her tracks and turned to face the blonde, confusion registering on her face, "Huh…?"

Buffy stared intently into the brown eyes, "You had a knife to my throat, but instead, you kissed me, then you bolted…" Buffy was staring searchingly at Faith.

Faith swallowed as she realized what Buffy was talking about and the memories of that night came flooding back to her; she had been so hurt, so angry when she found out that B and Angel had been playing her the whole time.

Buffy saw the pain and anger flash through the other Slayer's eyes; and then she saw it, the sorrow and regret, it was eating away at Faith. But then, predictably, the walls came up and the dark Slayer scowled at her.

"What, would you have preferred the alternative, B?" Faith snapped.

Buffy sighed, frustrated with the other Slayer, "Of course not, I'm just trying to understand."

Faith dropped her gaze, "Sorry." She mumbled apologetically. Buffy raised an eyebrow; she wasn't used to hearing apologies from the dark Slayer. Buffy was shaken out of her thoughts as she noticed that Faith was staring intently at something so she looked over her shoulder to see what had captured the brunette's attention, "Buffy, what is this place?"

She followed Faith's gaze and saw lots of Bringers heading into a building.

"I think we just found our hornets nest." Faith said, still staring at the Bringers, avoiding meeting the other Slayer's gaze.

"Let's get the cavalry." Buffy started to head back in the direction of her house.

Int: Wine Cellar

Caleb was smiling psychotically at Buffy, "So, you're the Slayer, The Slayer. The strongest, the fastest, the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind—the notion of goodness…" he suddenly punched her and sent her flying across the room into the wall, "The Slayer must indeed be powerful. So, what else you got?" he looked smugly at the battle going on around him.

Faith was still outside the cellar, ready to lead the second wave of potentials into the attack, when she suddenly felt Buffy's distress. Without thinking twice she charged into the battle, her team following her. She arrived in the cellar in time to see Spike vamp out and attack Caleb, only to be batted away like a fly. She saw Buffy lying unconscious across the room and all reason left her as she stalked purposefully towards the preacher. Faith had a knife in each hand as she attacked him, a murderous glint in her eyes. He wasn't fazed by her attack; he seemed to be amused more than anything else.

"Well, you're the other one, aren't you? You're Cain to her Abel." Faith threw one of her knives at him, but he dodged and smirked at her, "No offense meant to Cain, of course." He grabbed Faith's arm, as she attacked him with the other knife, twisting it and locking her in position. He smirked at her, twisting her hand, forcing her to drop the knife. Faith kneed the preacher in the crotch, managing to escape from his grip; she quickly backhanded him across the face.

"Never was much for the good book" she said through gritted teeth as Caleb grabbed her arm and twisted it painfully behind her back. She doubled over and fell to her knees as he cruelly twisted and pulled her arm as he walked around to face her.

"Oh, it has its moments. Paul had some good stuff, for instance. But overall I find it a tad complicated." He hit her in the face, "I like to keep things simple." He kicked her across the room into a stack of wine barrels.

Buffy watched the dark Slayer go flying across the room, at the receiving end of Caleb's brutal blow. She struggled to her feet to try and get to the preacher, but the Bringers kept attacking her, slowing her down. She saw Caleb cornering Molly, but she was powerless to get there to stop him, there were just too many Bringers. She watched him, horrified as he plunged a knife into Molly, dropping her to the ground as he turned to smirk at Buffy.

She attacked him, finally breaking away from the Bringers, enraged at what he did to Molly, but more furious at him for hurting Faith. Her rage gave her a slight advantage and she managed to avoid most of his blows, finally punching him across the room.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Buffy yelled desperately, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Faith across the room. The other Slayer was trying to help the wounded to their feet, ushering them all towards the exit. Buffy was shaken out of her daze by a horrible, pained scream. She turned, horrified to see Caleb with his finger plunged deep into Xander's eye.

Int: Dining Room, Summer's Residence

Buffy, Faith, Dawn and Kennedy were sitting around the dining room table reading through the file that Willow and Giles managed to get from the police.

"Hey, Buffy... How was Xander's mood, you know, exactly? And did you get a chance to talk to the doctor about the meds? Because it seemed like…" Dawn was interrupted by Faith. The dark Slayer could see that Buffy was close to breaking point so she quickly intervened.

"Hey, pipsqueak, why don't you go get some of the stuff you've already gotten from Giles?" Dawn caught Faith's eye and understood what the Slayer was doing. She looked apologetically at her sister.

"Or, um, we can talk about this later…" Dawn got up to leave.

Buffy avoided eye contact with her sister as she left the room, she didn't want to break down and cry in front of the others, least of all Faith, "Try to find anything that looks like Caleb, his church, his ring..."

"His ability to render a slayer useless in just one punch." Kennedy stopped herself, she saw Buffy's hurt look and Faith's scowl, "I didn't— that was stupid. I don't know why I said that." She hung her head.

Buffy stood up, swallowing back the tears that were threatening to fall, "It's OK. Um...you know, I—I have to go to the school to pick up the rest of my stuff."

Kennedy felt bad about what she had said, she pushed her chair back and stood to face Buffy, "I really didn't mean to…"

Buffy shot her a small smile, "It's OK Kennedy." She glanced at Faith; the other Slayer was just staring at the papers strewn on the table. Buffy recognized the murderous look in Faith's eyes; she could almost see the anger pouring off her, furious at her inability to take down Caleb, "Faith…"

"What, B?" Faith snapped her head up and glared at Buffy.

"I…" Buffy sighed and grabbed her purse, "nothing." she shut the door gently behind her.

"Fuck…" the word was breathed out softly as Faith ran both hands through her hair and then rested her head in her hands, her elbows on the table.

Kennedy looked at the dark Slayer, confusion etched on her face, "Uh, Faith?" she said softly, bracing herself for a similar attack to the one Buffy received.

"We should look through these." Faith finally said after a long silence. She gestured to the police files lying on the table before her.

"Yeah." Kennedy slowly pulled some pages towards her as she frowned at the dark Slayer.

Int: Sunnydale High

Buffy sat at her old desk holding a picture of herself, Willow and Xander from their high school days. They all looked so happy, carefree, not a worry in the world. She started to cry as she gently touched Xander's face.

"Oh, now, look...Things don't go exactly your way, so here come the waterworks. Ain't that just like a woman?" Buffy looked up slowly to see Caleb standing in front of her desk.

"Get out of here." She snarled at him, hatred in her voice.

"Now, now, little girl, manners, I do imagine that firebrand tongue of yours has inflamed many a man, weak as they are." He started looking around.

Buffy stood up slowly, backing towards the drawers behind her. She tried to open a drawer, the whole time watching Caleb as he continued to speak as he surveyed the office.

He turned to find Buffy trying to open the drawer, "Ah, ah, ah…Wouldn't do that were I you, sweetpea. Fighting back didn't do you much good last time, did it? And how is poor, sweet Xander? Let him know he's in my prayers, and any time he's willin', I'm ready to...finish the job." He made a poking gesture at his eye, infuriating the blonde Slayer.

Buffy glared at him, her eyes filled with hatred, "Go near Xander again, and I will end you." She said with conviction.

Ext: Front Porch, Summer's Residence

Faith was sitting out on the front porch, alone with only her thoughts to keep her company. She grabbed a cigarette out of her pack and went to light it, stopping as an image of herself plunging a stake into Allen Finch's chest invaded her thoughts. She saw blood on her hands, his blood. She felt her chest tighten, she couldn't breathe properly. Faith closed her eyes and took deep calming breaths; she opened her eyes and held her hand up in front of her face, it was shaking. She was relieved to see no blood stained her hands, at least not literally.

Faith lit her cigarette and took a deep drag. The action calmed her as she stared out into the darkness. She frowned as she thought about Buffy and how difficult she was to read. Supposedly she had all these feelings for Faith yet she could still act so cold and uncaring; but then sometimes it seemed like she was about to open up. Faith blew out a deep breath; she was fed up, the blonde Slayer could be so frustrating sometimes. She flicked the cigarette on to the floor when suddenly she was hit with a surge of emotions; pain, despair, fear. Buffy? Faith frowned and shook the feeling off and scowled as her thoughts turned to the blonde. She was at the school; she would be fine; she was probably just really upset about Xander and needed the time alone. Faith glared into the night and sighed; And I really can't deal with her caring more for everyone else over me right now! She angrily crushed the cigarette butt with her boot and turned to go back inside. She paused with her hand on the door handle, taking a deep breath to quell her emotions as she prepared to face everyone once again.

Int: Living Room, Summer's Residence

Faith walked into the living room, Giles was arguing with Spike about taking Andrew on some mission.

"There may be demons... lurking about. You never know. He's a demon expert. He can help." Faith raised her eyebrows and smirked as she heard this.

"Oh, please."

Faith's expression darkened as she turned her gaze upon the demon who had spoken those words with disdain.

"Well, he can bring his pan flute thing along. Excellent. Off you go." Giles almost pushed Spike and Andrew out the door.

"So, see? That's something, right? We'll have some news soon." Dawn tried to sound cheerful and positive for the potentials.

"Sure. Maybe that'll get us somewhere." There was no conviction in Amanda's tone, only resignation.

"Maybe?"

Dawn turned around, "Faith, you're back."

Faith smiled briefly at Dawn, "While we're waiting for information the troops here gotta sit and stew, feeling crappier by the minute."

"We should keep them occupied." Dawn was deep in thought.

Faith smirked, "Yeah. I know how to keep them occupied."

Int: Bronze Nightclub

"This is so cool. Buffy would never let us do this. You are so cool. This woman is so cool!"

"Hey, hey, how old are you?" Faith stared at Amanda quizzically.

"17."

Faith frowned and took Amanda's drink, "Yeah, we're gonna get you a real nice 7-up, OK?" she shook her head and laughed to herself as she returned to the dance floor. She turned as she caught a glimpse of 3 sinister looking police officers standing behind her.

She smiled at them, "Hey, I was wondering what was taking you boys so long. Where you been?"

Int: Summer's Residence

Buffy was scowling at Giles, angry that he had sent Spike away on a mission again, "You sent away the one person that's been watching my back—again."

"We're all watching your back!" Giles was indignant.

Buffy laughed sarcastically, "Funny... that's not really what it feels like." She started to walk away and then paused, "Where did everybody go?"

"What?"

"Faith, the girls, where are they?"

Giles looked a little uncomfortable under Buffy's intense stare, "Um...Faith thought that the girls could do with some time off their studies. I—I thought...She took them to the Bronze."

Buffy shook her head, rolled her eyes and stormed out of the front door.

Ext: Alley, The Bronze

Faith wrestled free from the officers' grip, "I tell you right now, I'm not goin' back to jail." She started towards the door to go back inside the bronze, but it shut in her face before she got there.

"Who said anything about jail?" She turned around slowly and saw the three officers pointing their handguns at her.

Faith's survival instinct overtook all reason and she attacked the cops, trying to wrestle the guns away from them. She found herself pulling her punches, afraid of killing again, and so it wasn't long before the tables turned and Faith was on the ground with the cops raining blows down on her with their batons. She managed to kick the feet out from under one of them and this gave her enough time to regain her footing. Faith could feel rage starting to boil deep inside of her; she overpowered one of the cops and straddled him, punching him in the head. The two remaining officers pulled her off the fallen cop and threw her to the ground, hitting her brutally with their batons once again. Faith shielded her face with her arms in a desperate attempt to protect herself. She heard the door to the bronze burst open and the potentials and Dawn rushed out and jumped in straight away to help the Slayer out.

Faith got to her feet once more and grabbed one of the cops, shoving him into the wall, a baton pressed against his throat. He slumped to the ground just as Buffy walked up to them all.

"Faith, what are you doing?" she stormed up to the dark Slayer.

Faith cringed as she took in Buffy's dark expression; she knew the blonde was disappointed in her, yet again.

"We were just blowing off steam…" Faith frowned, "Well, it started that way. Turned when the cops went evil on us." She stood before Buffy, baton clutched in her hand, desperate for the other Slayer to see her point of view.

Ext: Alley, The Bronze

Dawn trailed behind the potentials as they all shuffled out of the alley heading for home; she could hear the heated exchange between her sister and Faith. She stopped and turned to look at the two Slayers. She was saddened by the angry exchange between them, she wished they would both just admit their feelings and start to get along with each other. She winced as Buffy threw a powerful right hook at Faith which sent the dark Slayer sprawling to the ground at her sister's feet. Dawn watched her sister storm off and then her gaze fell upon the dark Slayer. She was holding her cheek, staring at Buffy's retreating form. Dawn saw the mix of emotions crossing Faith's face, despair, anger, disappointment…and love. Dawn's heart caught in her throat, she felt so bad for the Slayer, she took a step forward, wanting to go and comfort Faith.

"Dawn, we're leaving." Buffy was suddenly standing next to her sister. Dawn spun around to face her sister, furious for the way she had treated Faith, she opened her mouth to say something but stopped. There it was too; behind all the pain and anger Dawn saw the love in Buffy's eyes as her sister threw a quick glance in Faith's direction. She sighed and followed her sister back home, looking sadly over her shoulder at the figure hunched on the floor.