Buffy paused at the library doors and looked thru the window. Xander was whispering something in Cordelia's ear that made her giggle, Willow was admonishing them to pay attention, they had a test coming up. Oz was smiling that slight smile of his. Giles and a woman she didn't recognize were talking at the circulation desk. The new girl was asking if any of them had taken Mrs. Brewer's math class and if so, how had they managed to stay awake while she droned on the way she did? All in all, normal.

Except there was no Buffy. Where was the Buffy shaped hole in their lives? Mom said, they were angry at her, but it looked more like her friends, replaced her with this new Slayer. Buffy missed her friends, she wanted them back. She pushed open the door and entered the library. Everyone looked up and saw her.

"Buffy, you're back." Willow said, but made no move to hug her, why?

"So you are alive, we wondered." Xander said.

"Why? Unlike mom, who doesn't know what Slayers can do, you do. So why would you think I was dead?" It hadn't made any sense when mom mentioned it and didn't make sense with Xander mentioning it.

"Slayers die too, Buffy. Kendra did. You did too, remember? You drowned."

"Yes, but Angel got you to help me."

"Reverse that, Buffy. I got him to show me the way there and we found you together and I did CPR, because I was the only one of the two us who knew how."

Buffy wasn't sure what to make of that, so she glossed over it.

"Mom says you're not doing Magic anymore, Willow. Why? It's not your fault that the spell to help Angel didn't work until after Angelus had opened the portal."

"First off, it was a curse, not a spell. Second, it didn't help Angel at all, it pulled him out of his new life and killed that life in the process and now he's in a demon dimension, suffering. Third, I accidentally used Hellmouth energy to do that curse and ended up with some inside me. We may never know just how much damage it did."

"How did you make a mistake like that?"

"It was the nearest source of power and I didn't know yet what Magic feels like."

"But that doesn't mean you have to stop learning Magic. We still need someone who does Magic."

"Buffy, Willow was injured and frightened by the results of that curse. And we have someone who can help us with Magic, Amy Madison. We have spoken to her and she has agreed to help us." Giles told her.

"Oh, alright, I guess? You must be Kendra's replacement."

"I'm the new Slayer, yeah. You can call me Faith."

"You must be looking forward to going home. It was nice of you to help my friends out while I wasn't here."

"Faith will be staying here permanently, Buffy." Giles informed her.

"But I don't need the help."

"Buffy, there's more then enough vampires and demons around here that we can use all the help we can get." Xander said. "Faith's damn good."

"Besides Buffy, it's not up to you, it's up to the Council and they've assigned Faith here permanently. This is Faith's Watcher, Professor Diana Dormer."

"Oh."

"Now that you've decided to grace us with your presence again, some changes have been made while you were away. Mr. Giles' lax attitude and disregard for certain practicalities, as well as lack of wisdom, has caused a great many difficulties." Professor Dormer told Buffy. "Consequently, changes are necessary. We will sit down and discuss them in detail. You will abide by the rules."

"We've discussed this with your mother as well, Buffy and she agrees."

"Oh." Buffy said, feeling overwhelmed, this wasn't going at all the way she thought it would and decided to change the subject. "Mom said, you and Cordelia found out some family secrets, but didn't tell me what they were. Anything interesting?" She addressed Xander.

"Well, I found out I was a whitelighter candidate." Xander said.

"What's a whitelighter?"

"It's a type of guardian angel. When a candidate dies in the service of good, they're remade as a whitelighter to continue helping people"

"Remade by who?"

"Higher level beings."

"Why would you be a whitelighter candidate?"

"Because he's done alot of good, Buffy." Giles told. "But he's no longer a candidate because it was discovered that he has descended from one. His great grandmother was a whitelighter who was destroyed by a dark lighter, the demonic version of their kind."

"Oh, so now they aren't going to make you one of these lighter guys?"

"They can't because I'm already one or in the process of becoming one. I'm manifesting whitelighter abilities. Eventually all of the abilities will manifest."

"How do we fix it?"

"Fix what?"

"Fix, what's changing you."

"Nothing's changing me, Buffy. I was born with these abilities, they were just dormant. Whitelighters aren't evil, they're guardian angels, so there's nothing wrong with what's happening to me."

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes, Buffy." Giles said. "Whitelighters have existed as long as Magic has existed. Xander's fine and once he fully manifests, will be moving to San Francisco."

"Why?! Why would Xander have to move? That doesn't make any sense."

"Because the Hellmouth is literally a corrupting influence and will turn him into a dark lighter."

"He could turn into a demon?! And no one's worried about this?"

"There's nothing to worry about, Buffy. Xander is being monitored and we'll know when his abilities fully manifest and he will safely be able to leave the vicinity of the Hellmouth." Giles assured her.

"So Xander's in the process of turning into some sort of guardian angel and what did you find out, Cordelia?"

"That my birth mother was from another reality and a born witch and so am I. My powers are currently bound and have been since I was born, because like Xander, the Hellmouth could corrupt my powers and myself as a result. Also, that I'm related to the most powerful line of born witches in the world."

All Buffy could do was stare as words completely failed her.