A/N: Sheepish grin…sorry for another huge delay in updating. Thanks for all the awesome reviews and for sticking with me and this story . You may want to read the last few pages of chapter 2 to remind yourself of the conversation between F and B.

A/N 2: My wonderful beta, CBscifiJUNKY, had some VERY awesome ideas for this chapter, so thanks, babe ;-) Hope I did it justice…

Chapter 10: Realizations

Int:Tunnel

Buffy heard the fight going on below her so, using the scythe, she made a hole in the floor and then jumped through it right in to the middle of the battle. It took her only a moment to recover before she attacked the Turok-Hans with a vengeance. She embraced the power flowing through her, she became one with the scythe as she beheaded and staked Turok-Hans until none were left. Finally taking a moment to catch her breath and recover, she surveyed the scene before her, heart leaping to her throat when she saw Faith slung between 2 potentials. Is she alive? Buffy wanted to run to the dark Slayer, to see if she was breathing, but she knew that her first priority was to get them all out of the sewers safely, then she could tend to Faith. If she concentrated hard enough she could feel their Slayer bond, it was weak, but it was there and that was all that mattered.

Buffy spared Faith once last glance before jumping to action, "Get the wounded. We're leaving." She commanded, starting towards the exit.

"Are there more?" Kennedy ran up beside the blonde, fear evident in her voice.

Buffy sighed as she kept walking, "There's always more..." she threw a glance at the potentials trailing behind her, "Let's move." She shouted.

Int: Living Room at Buffy's House

There was chaos in the living room of the Summer's house, the uninjured potentials and Scoobies tended to the wounds of the girls hurt in the explosion and the fight against the Turok-hans. Buffy tried to assist where she could, but she was distracted, her thoughts with the dark Slayer, and the fact that their Slayer bond was so weak.

"Buffy…BUFFY!" the blonde Slayer snapped out of her daze, she turned to face her best friend.

Willow took over attending to the potential Buffy was kneeling beside, "Faith is here, you should go…you know, go see how she's doing." The witch resumed caring for the injured potential. She noticed Buffy hesitate as she saw Giles and Xander carry the unconscious Faith through the door, "Go…she needs you."

Buffy quickly got up and made her way over to them, "Put her in my room."

Giles nodded and he and Xander started up the stairs towards the bedroom.

"Is she OK? Is she gonna be OK?" Amanda was panicking as she looked at Faith's broken body being carried up the stairs.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Kennedy responded, she looked hopefully at Buffy, "right?"

Buffy looked at the two scared potentials in front of her, "I'll be up in a second." She called to Giles.

Kennedy continued to look for reassurance from the blonde Slayer, "You guys heal fast, right? You slayers?"

Buffy sighed, "Yeah."

"So...she'll be OK?" Kennedy continued to push.

"I don't know." Buffy had to stifle the sob at the back of her throat, she had to remain strong for the potentials who were all staring at her, begging her with their eyes to tell them it would all be ok, to reassure them that they weren't about to lose a Slayer.

"What's with the axe thing?" Caridad broke the tense silence.

Buffy looked at the scythe she was still holding in her hands, "I took it from Caleb. It might be important."

"Let's hope." Vi said, looking at the weapon.

"I think we got punished." Amanda said, almost breaking into sobs.

"What?" Buffy frowned, confused.

"We, uh...we followed her. And it was…" Kennedy broke off, not wanting to go on.

"It didn't work out." Vi jumped in.

Buffy shook her head, "You guys, it was a trap. It's not her fault. That could've just as easily happened to me." As the words left Buffy's mouth realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She had always thought of Faith as the lesser Slayer, not as good as she was. Buffy never thought of Faith as a Chosen One, she had always thought of her as a mistake. Buffy had never thought of Faith as capable of taking lead, and now she realized how arrogant and wrong she had been. She had to go see the dark Slayer, she had to make it right, somehow, anyhow, if there was a way she would find it. She started for the stairs.

"So are you... are you, like, back?" Caridad asked Buffy's retreating form.

Buffy stopped in her tracks, "I don't know. I guess I'm not leaving."

"So, we got a plan now, or anything?" Kennedy called after the blonde Slayer.

"Yeah, there's a plan. Get ready, time's up." Buffy shouted back as she reached the top of the stairs.

Int: Buffy's Room

Buffy walked in to her room, it took everything she had to not jump on to her bed, grab Faith and cradle her in her arms. The dark Slayer looked so peaceful, if it wasn't for the bruising on her face and blood stained clothes, she could almost just be sleeping peacefully. Buffy watched the slow rise and fall of Faith's chest; she appeared to be struggling to breath.

As if on cue, Xander turned to Giles, "Is she breathing Ok?"

Giles nodded, "She has some broken ribs so her breathing is a little laboured, but it doesn't appear to be life threatening." He sighed and took off his glasses, cleaning them with the handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket, "It's the fact that she's still unconscious that concerns me."

"Yeah, this whole coma thing, kinda getting old." Xander tried to lighten the mood in the room.

Giles stood up, replacing his glasses, "There's nothing more we can do for her, her Slayer healing has to do the rest." He gestured for Xander and Buffy to leave the room with him.

Buffy stood at the foot of the bed, never taking her eyes off the dark Slayer, "I'll be down in a moment, I ah, just give me a few minutes."

Giles nodded knowingly and pulled the door shut behind him, giving the Slayers some privacy.

Buffy moved to the side of the bed, sitting down gently, not wanting to jar the bed and cause the unconscious Slayer any unnecessary pain.

"Xander's right, you know," She smiled sadly, gently leaning forward and brushing a stray lock of hair from Faith's face, "this whole coma deal; definitely getting old."

Buffy sat in silence for a while, the rise and fall of Faith's chest a comforting reminder that the dark Slayer was still fighting, that her slayer healing was working.

"Sooo…this is all actually quiet familiar," Buffy said conversationally, "I mean, me, sitting by your bed, willing you to wake up, well, actually, it's my bed, but that's beside the point…god, could I babble anymore?" Buffy shook her head at herself, she leaned in closer to Faith, "You know, last time we were in this situation," Buffy paused, thinking back to how Faith had come back to Sunnydale to diffuse the situation with Willow. She looked at Faith again, taking the dark Slayer's hand gently in her own, "know what, I think this is a discussion that should wait until you wake up." Buffy stood up and made to leave. She stopped, turned to the injured Slayer and leant over and gently kissed her on the forehead, "It's not a 'game' to me, Faith." She said softly, and then left the room.

Int: Willow's Room at Buffy's House

Buffy stood and absently watched Willow examine the scythe. Both she and Giles could hardly contain their excitement.

"And you say you sense something when you hold it?"

Buffy sighed, unable to share in the enthusiasm over the weapon, "Not much, but it's strong, and I knew it belonged to me. I just knew."

Giles took over examining the weapon, "In addition to being ancient, its clearly mystical."

"Yeah, I figured that one out when I King Arthured it out of the stone." Buffy said unenthusiastically, before getting lost in her own thoughts again.

Willow walked up to her friend, she could sense she was distressed, and she knew it was because of a certain dark haired Slayer lying in the next room.

"How is she?"

Buffy looked up to find Willow standing before her, "Wha…who?"

"Faith, how is she?" Willow repeated patiently.

"She's still unconscious." Buffy couldn't suppress the waver in her voice.

Willow put a comforting arm around her best friend's shoulders, "She'll be OK, this is Faith we're talking about, coma-girl…this is all old to her, being unconscious, she'll be up and about in no time." Buffy chuckled a little as she listened to Willow babble away, "You know, I think Faith likes being unconscious, gets her out of a hell of a lot of work and clean up most of the time…"

"Buffy, she's awake." Dawn burst in to the room, interrupting Willow's babblethon.

Buffy turned to face Dawn who was standing in the doorway, "I just checked in on her and she started to wake up" she said, grinning excitedly.

A huge grin spread across the blonde Slayer's face, relief filling her as she bolted past her sister and headed for her bedroom.

"Well, I think that news cheered her up." Giles said, smiling after the retreating form of his Slayer.

Willow just grinned as she watched her friend disappear out of the room.

Int: Buffy's Bedroom

Buffy stopped outside the door to her bedroom, her hand was poised ready to knock. She paused, suddenly realizing how nervous she was. She hadn't exactly been overly friendly to Faith since she'd arrived so she was worried how the dark Slayer might react to the change in attitude.

"Fuck…"

Buffy heard the silent curse and some muttering as well as a loud thud, she burst into the room without knocking, worried that Faith may have injured herself again. She found the dark Slayer still lying on the bed, rubbing the back of her head with a pained expression on her face.

"You ok?" Buffy asked, immediately concerned.

Faith raised an eyebrow, immediately regretting it as a flash of pain went through her skull; she winced and closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to pass, "Yeah, 5 by 5." She said through gritted teeth, hating showing any weakness in front of the blonde.

Buffy folded her arms in front of her and looked sternly at the dark Slayer, "I know you were trying to get out of bed, Faith." she had to smile at the sheepish look Faith gave her. Damn, she's so cute, Buffy thought to herself. She sighed and then smiled gently, "Take it easy, ok, you were blown up only this morning, give the Slayer healing a chance."

Buffy caught Faith staring at her incredulously, but before the dark Slayer could say a word she handed her the Scythe, "I found this."

Faith was still staring at Buffy like she'd suddenly grown horns, but she gingerly reached out and took the weapon in her strong hand.

Buffy smiled as she watched Faith 'bond', for want of a better word, with the scythe, "You feel it too, don't you?"

Faith shut her eyes, the power from the weapon coursing through her, "Damn. And damn, that's something." She opened her eyes and looked up at Buffy for an explanation.

"I know."

"It's old. It's strong, and it feels like... like it's mine." She placed the scythe on the bed, nearer to where Buffy was sitting, "I guess that means it's yours."

Buffy picked the scythe up and examined it, "It belongs to the slayer."

"Slayer in charge, which, I'm guessing, is you." Faith said, dejected.

Buffy sat on the edge of the bed again, "I honestly don't know." She looked at Faith, "Does it matter?"

Faith sighed, "It never mattered to me. Somebody has to lead. Let's vote for Chao-Ahn. It's harder to lead people into a deathtrap if you don't speak English."

"It wasn't your fault." Buffy stared intently at the dark Slayer, trying to convince her of this.

Faith couldn't hold the intense gaze, she looked away, feeling overwhelmed with emotions, the guilt from the past eating away at her, "I'm really not looking for forgiveness." She said softly.

Buffy looked almost surprised at this, she knew Faith wasn't referring to the recent incident with the potentials, "You're not?"

The walls came up again and Faith turned to the blonde again, this time a touch of anger in her tone, "What do you want me to say? I blew it."

"You didn't blow it, Faith." Buffy said seriously.

"Tell that to…"

"People die!" Buffy interrupted a little harshly, "You lead them into battle, they're gonna die. It doesn't matter how ready you are or how smart you are. War is about death. Needless, stupid death."

Faith stared hard at Buffy, it occurred to her that this was probably one of the longest conversations they had had in recent times, "My whole life I've been a loner." Faith said seriously, more for her own benefit. This was one of the reasons why she was still in denial about her feelings for the blonde. She had avoided relationships her whole life, her 'get some, get gone' attitude working just fine for her. It was safe; you didn't risk getting your heart broken. But then she looked at Buffy, and she knew she wanted to take the risk.

"Did I miss something?" Buffy asked, confused as to where this conversation was leading.

Faith sighed, "OK. The point. Me, by myself all the time. I'm looking at you, everything you have, and, I don't know, I'm jealous. Then there I am. Everybody's looking to me, trusting me to lead them, and I've never felt so alone in my entire life." She looked sadly at the blonde.

Buffy looked down, swallowing hard, "Yeah."

"And that's you every day, isn't it?" Faith said softly, her heart breaking for the blonde.

"I love my friends. I'm very grateful for them. But that's the price. Being a slayer."

Faith shook her head, "There's only supposed to be one. Maybe that's why you and I can never get along. We're not supposed to exist together."

"Also, you went evil and were killing people."

"Good point. Also a factor." Faith nodded, hiding how much the past was destroying her inside, the guilt eating away at her.

"But you're right. I mean, I... I guess everyone's alone. But being a slayer? There's a burden we can't share."

"And no one else can feel it." Faith paused and smiled at Buffy, "Thank God we're hot chicks with superpowers."

"Takes the edge off."

"Comforting."

Buffy smiled at Faith, "I think this has to count as one of the longest conversations we've ever had without a punch being thrown." She said chuckling.

Faith snickered, "Yeah."

Buffy stared deep in to the brunette's dark eyes, she could see the pain and sadness there. As much as Faith put on a brave front and hid behind the walls she put up, her eyes betrayed her true feelings. Buffy was suddenly very aware of Faith's lips, very aware of the overwhelming desire she had to kiss them, to taste Faith. She returned her gaze to the dark Slayer's eyes, seeing the nervousness, but also the desire burning in them. Time seemed to stand still as Buffy slowly leaned forward, smiling as she saw Faith close her eyes in anticipation.

"Buffy…BUFFY, you need to come, NOW!"

The call came from downstairs, it was Andrew. Buffy stopped in her tracks, the moment effectively killed by the annoying, whiny cry of their 'prisoner'.

"I better go see what's happening." Buffy sighed resignedly as she reluctantly stood up, gave Faith an apologetic and embarrassed smile and then bolted out of the door.

Faith collapsed back on the bed, furious at the interruption, "I am going to kill him." She said through clenched teeth, groaning in frustration.

Int: Kitchen, Buffy's House

Buffy had stormed down the stairs and into the kitchen ready to give Andrew a piece of her mind when she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Honey, you're home."

Buffy just stared in shock at Spike. He had been beaten to within an inch of his life and was sitting slumped over the kitchen table, obviously in a lot of pain.

"Who did this to you?" Buffy demanded through clenched teeth, fearing she already knew the answer.

Spike looked at the Slayer through swollen eyes, "It's not important."

"Tell me!" Buffy shouted, so desperately wanting an answer that was different to what she knew in her heart to be the truth.

Xander wandered in to the kitchen, followed closely by Anya. He was curious as to all the commotion and shouting, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight of Spike slumped over the kitchen table. He couldn't suppress the grin that spread across his face as he took in Spike's appearance, "So Spike, looks like someone finally gave you a good beating."

"Not now, Xander." Buffy scowled at her friend and then turned back to face Spike, "Was it Faith?" she asked through clenched teeth, praying it wasn't so.

"Now that would be poetic justice, wouldn't it, just wish it could have been me." Xander's gleeful expression quickly disappeared when he saw Buffy glaring at him, "Right, so, I'll just stand over here and be silent." He shuffled over to where Anya was standing and they exchanged a knowing look.

"So?" Buffy turned her attention back to Spike. He looked sadly at Buffy; he couldn't lie to her so he just dropped his gaze.

"I'll take that as a yes." Buffy said, rage filling her as she stormed off to confront the dark Slayer.

It took Anya a moment to react. Buffy brushing past where she and Xander were standing spurred her in to action. She turned and hit Xander on the shoulder, repeating the action harder when she didn't get a response out of him.

"Ow, hey, quit it." Xander turned to Anya, rubbing his shoulder.

"Do something." Anya said frantically, eyes wide as she tilted her head in the direction of Buffy storming up the stairs.

"What?" Xander asked, frowning in confusion. He followed Anya's gaze as she gestured first at Buffy and then towards Buffy's bedroom. It didn't take long for realization to hit him, "Oh…" he bolted out the kitchen after the blonde Slayer.

"Buffy!" he stood at the bottom of the stairs calling after Buffy's retreating form.

"Not now, Xander." She didn't even turn to face him.

"Please, Buffy, hear me out." Xander advanced up the stairs.

Buffy stopped, exasperated and spun around to face him, "What?" she snapped.

"I ah, we ah…"

"Spit it out, Xander, I don't have all day."

"It's just that, well, see, Faith may have over heard myself and Anya talking earlier."

"So." Buffy folded her arms, her patience wearing thin.

"We were, we were talking about the incident…" he paused and looked apologetically at his friend, "…with Spike."

Buffy frowned, confused as she tried to figure out what Xander was talking about.

Xander advanced even closer to Buffy, "Look, she really cares for you, Buffy…"

"Yeah?" Buffy laughed sarcastically, "Well, she sure has a funny way of showing it."

"You should have seen how furious she was when she heard about how Spike nearly raped you." Both Buffy and Xander looked down the stairs at Anya.

"What?" Buffy looked between Xander and Anya.

"It's what I was trying to say, Buff." Xander said, "Faith overheard us talking and, well, I guess she went to get revenge on Spike."

"It's not her fault, she really cares for you." Anya said, smiling sadly at Buffy.

Buffy stared blankly at Anya.

"I guess love can make you do crazy things." Xander said, smiling at the blonde Slayer.

Buffy turned to face him, "How did you…I mean, when…"

"Buffy, it's pretty obvious how you two crazy Slayer's feel about each other, we're all just waiting for you to admit it to each other." He continued to grin at her.

"Yeah, would you two just get on with it already; all the sexual tension is really nauseating." Anya added.

Buffy was stunned, she stared at Xander, open mouthed, "I…" she looked between the two, "I have to go." She turned and headed for her bedroom.

"Buffy…" she turned to face Xander, "…go easy on her." He started to head back down the stairs.

Buffy nodded, "Don't worry." She was about to turn around again when she paused, "Oh, and Xander. He paused and turned to face the Slayer, "Thanks…for everything." She smiled warmly at him and then turned to go see the dark Slayer.

Int: Buffy's Bedroom

Faith had gotten out of bed when she heard the commotion downstairs. She knew Buffy was going to be furious with her for what she had done, so she wanted to face the blonde standing up. She was still feeling a little dizzy from her concussion so was holding on to Buffy's dresser for support when the blonde came bursting in to the room. Faith expected to see hate and fury in Buffy's eyes, instead she saw caring, respect, and, dare she even hope, love in the blonde's eyes.

"B, I can…"

"Shhh…" Buffy closed the distance between herself and the dark Slayer and placed a finger on Faith's lips.

Faith stared deep in to Buffy's eyes; she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the warm tingling feeling in her gut she got each time she was close to Buffy.

"We need to talk." Buffy took Faith's hand in her own and led her towards the bed.