Int: ICU, Los Angeles General Hospital
Faith frowned as she slowly became aware of machines beeping and the busy hustle and bustle of activity around her. She tried to open her eyes but the blinding fluorescent light overhead was too much. She could feel someone lying next to her, the weight of their head on her uninjured shoulder. She knew it was Buffy, the comforting tingle she always felt because of their connection was extra strong because of how close the blonde was. Buffy stirred but continued to sleep, her gentle snores a nice distraction from the monotonous tone of the ECG and all the other paraphernalia that was monitoring her vitals.
Faith felt exhausted, weak, her whole body ached, but that was all overshadowed by a strong feeling of euphoria. She knew it was partly the morphine and other drugs that were helping keep the pain at bay, but she was still reeling from the recent slayer dream she had shared with Buffy. They both still had a bit too work out, but the aftermath of that dream gave her hope that she and Buffy could finally overcome their past and truly be able to move forward.
Int: Slayer Headquarters, Los Angeles
3 weeks later
The obnoxious sound of a cell phone ringing echoed in the long corridor.
"Shhhh…" Buffy told the phone off as she fumbled to grab it out of her pocket desperate to stop the noise. She chuckled inwardly, unsure why she was behaving as if she was in a library.
"Hey, Angel." She continued to walk down the long corridor, still chuckling herself.
"Buffy, I'm glad I caught you, is this a good time?"
"Yeah, I am just heading to the gymnasium, Faith is working with her Physiotherapist."
"How is Faith?" The vampire enquired.
Buffy sighed, running her free hand through her hair, "Where do I start?" she rolled her eyes. She heard the vampire snicker softly; he knew what Faith was like.
"She's stubborn, you know that, I mean, she's only been out of hospital, what, like 7 days and she expects her body to be back in peak physical form." Buffy sighed.
"You slayers, you define stubborn." Angel mused.
Buffy laughed, "Yeah, I guess we do! The slayer in us gets antsy!"
"How are you doing? The new headquarters ok? The young slayers settling in?"
"Peachy." Buffy chuckled, "New digs are terrific, thank you again for hooking us up. So much room, we can really start to form an academy to care for all these newbie Slayers."
Buffy was getting closer to the gymnasium; she could hear chains rattling and the sound of leather gloves hitting a bag. The occasional grunt of frustration in between punches.
The blonde Slayer stopped at the entrance to the gym and paused to appreciate the dark slayer's form. Faith had her back to Buffy, she was wearing black workout shorts and sports bra. Her hair was tied up in a scruffy ponytail and sweat glistened on her exposed skin. Buffy watched the ripple of Faith's muscles appreciatively each time she connected with the punching bag.
"God she's gorgeous." Buffy said softly.
"Parden?"
Buffy startled, forgetting that she was still on the phone with Angel. She chuckled as she briefly explained and then finished her conversation with the vampire before turning her attention back to the woman she loved.
A cry of frustration from the dark Slayer cut through the clinking of the punching bag chains as Faith smashed the bag in anger.
That poor punching bag, Buffy mused.
"Faith, don't push yourself, you need to be patient, trust the healing process."
Faith stopped slamming her fists into the bag and put her hands on her knees, taking a breather, "Will I ever regain normal strength." she gestured frustratedly at her right shoulder, an ugly scar a stark reminder of one of the bullets that had caused so much damage, this one so close to ending her life.
"You will," Jane, her physio, nodded the affirmative, "Your slayer healing will be able to deal with the tendon and nerve damage the bullet caused, you just need to give it time."
Faith just grunted, annoyed but she knew Jane was right.
"Let's call it a day." Jane had spied Buffy, she smiled warmly at the blonde.
Buffy started to walk towards the pair, "See you tomorrow, Jane." She smiled at the woman. The physio had come highly recommended by Angel. She knew and understood how to deal with supernatural beings and their unique powers.
The dark slayer spun around to face the blonde, her broody expression softening when she saw Buffy. Her hands hung by her sides, still gloved, sweat glistening all over her body, rogue strands of damp hair clinging to her face and neck.
Buffy took a moment to admire the woman she loved more than anyone else, she took in the new scars on Faith's thigh and shoulder but then her gaze settled on the two scars on Faith's lower abdomen as she closed the gap between them. One old and faded, the other still new and raw. She gently reached out to trace the scars, swallowing hard as sadness overcame her.
"I am the reason for these." She said sadly, her gaze fixated on the damage that had been done to the otherwise perfectly toned abs that were on display.
The ripping of velcro permeated the silence as Faith removed her gloves and gently moved Buffy's hand from her scarred abdomen to her heart, holding the blonde's hand in place so she could feel the rhythmic beating.
Buffy looked at the brunette, sadness behind her eyes.
"It's still beating, B." the brunette quipped.
"Faith, I…" the blonde trailed off.
"Spike was not your fault, Buffy!" Faith said emphatically, "As for the other scar, you had to do it, I was out of control! I hold more of the blame for that one."
The brunette gently raised Buffy's chin to bring the blonde slayers gaze up, "You have to forgive yourself, B." Faith said gently, "I forgave you long ago." She pulled the blonde close and gently kissed her, the passion slowly building, both slayers getting lost in each other, oblivious to their surroundings.
"Ahem, get a room, guys!" Kennedy was standing in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, a cheeky smirk on her face.
The chosen two pulled away from each other reluctantly, Faith threw a scowl in Kennedy's direction before chuckling and winking at the younger slayer, "Enjoying the show, Ken." She smirked at the brunette.
"Did you need something, Kennedy?" Buffy was straight to business.
"Yeah, Willow wants to see you both in the library."
"Sure thing, I just need to shower first." Faith gestured to her sweat covered physique.
"I'll join you." Buffy said, her voice lusty.
Kennedy rolled her eyes and turned to leave, "I'll let Will know you'll join us as soon as you're, err, done." She chuckled and shook her head as she left the two horny slayers alone.
Int: Library
The library was impressive, it still had a rustic, old fashioned library feel to it but it was filled with the latest tech and all the most important supernatural texts, courtesy of Giles and what remained of the Watcher's council. Willow was in her element and had spent the better part of the past month just exploring and navigating her way around. Many of the books she knew but there were some new additions to the library that she had spent hours soaking up the information.
She was sitting at a large round table when Kennedy burst through the doors, almost skipping.
Willow frowned as she glanced up at her girlfriend, "You seem chipper." She muttered, mildly annoyed with the noise but she knew it was unfounded. They didn't have any specific rules around being quiet in the library, it was the central hub of activity of the new academy and far from being a quiet place. But old habits of expectation for how to behave in a traditional library were hard to change.
"I am." Kennedy replied, planting a kiss on Willow's cheek before she plopped down into the chair next to her girlfriend. She wouldn't stop grinning.
"Spill." Willow demanded, chuckling at the young slayer.
"It's just nice to see B and Faith so…." She paused, "Happy, at peace with each other."
Willow smiled, she too was ecstatic that her best friend had finally found the love of her life, or more accurately, realized what was in front of her nose all along.
"Oh, and we'll need to give them at least 30 minutes before they can join us." Kennedy raised an eyebrow suggestively at the red head.
Willow blushed a little, "Physio sessions going well then." she winked at Kennedy.
The doors opened again, this time it was Xander entering the library, accompanied by Dawn.
"You summoned us." He said dramatically, plunging his hand into the packet of potato crisps he was holding and shoveling a fistful into his mouth.
Willow rolled her eyes at the crumbs that fell from his mouth onto the library floor but refrained from chastising him. He was putting on a brave front but she could see the sadness behind his eye. The loss of Anya had been devastating for her best friend.
"You're such a slob." Dawn chimed, reaching into the bag and taking a small handful of the snack, mindful not to make such a mess.
Xander grinned sheepishly and brushed the crumbs off his shirt as he collapsed into the nearest chair.
Dawn sat down between Xander and Kennedy, "Where's Buffy and Faith?" she glanced around the library.
"Having some fun times in the shower together." Kennedy wiggled her eyebrows at the teenager.
Xander almost choked on his mouthful of crisps and Dawn blushed bright red, "Eeeuw, Kennedy, TMI."
Kennedy snickered, unapologetic. Willow slapped her girlfriend on the back of the shoulder just as Faith and Buffy walked into the room.
"What'd we miss?" Faith asked as she saw the wiccan slap her girlfriend. She limped over to the round table and plonked herself next to Xander and helped herself to some of his crisps.
"How're you feeling?" Xander asked the brunette, his mouth still full of chips.
"5 by 5, Xan." Faith smiled warmly at him as she reached for another handful of crisps. They still had work to do on their relationship but they were both in a good place with each other.
"Good shower?" Kennedy chuckled and raised her eyebrows suggestively at the two older slayers; she couldn't help herself.
Buffy rolled her eyes as she took the seat beside Faith, "Seriously, Ken." She spared a glance for her sister who looked less than impressed, arms folded across her chest. She smiled apologetically at the teenager.
"What's up, Will." Buffy tried to deflect the conversation away from her relationship with Faith. She smiled at Xander and took a handful of crips as he reached across Faith to offer the bag to her.
"What's the big bad this time." Dawn whined, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, no, nothing like that, no big bad…" the witch paused, "that I know of." She winked at everyone, "No, I just wanted to touch base with everyone especially now that Faith is out of hospital and on the mend." She smiled at the former rogue slayer; they had developed a deep connection over their shared past misdeeds.
"Erm, ok, touch base about what?" Buffy chimed in, confused.
"Well…" Willow gestured around the library, "It's been a while since we all convened in a library, since high school days to be exact."
Buffy looked around the room, it was new but had a familiar feel to it, it was like Sunnydale High School Library had merged with The Magic Box, "Yeah, I actually miss those days." She smiled nostalgically, "Having the meetings at my house wasn't great for the finances whenever the next big bad decided to attack us." She chuckled and rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the sadness and loss she felt. The destruction of Sunnydale was a huge but necessary blow but it also meant so much loss, including her mother's grave site.
Faith squirmed uncomfortably, the times they were all reminiscing about did not give her the same fuzzy happy feelings. Sure, initially she'd been part of the gang, well kind of, not really, she was always the outsider, really. She felt uncomfortable that, what for her was a very dark period, was the current topic of discussion. She crossed her arms over her chest and brooded while the others bantered.
Willow noticed the dark change in Faith's expression, she tried to send a subtle message of support to the dark slayer but she was too deep in thought.
"So, the whole point of getting you all here is for fresh beginnings." She chimed in quickly, "And I wanted us to do it right this time."
Buffy stared quizzically at the witch, Xander continued to eat the crisps while he glanced between Buffy and Willow, Dawn put her hand up to ask a question while Faith continued to glower and sink lower into her chair.
Kennedy stood up, the scraping of her chair on the stone floor startling everyone, she had a camera in her hands.
Buffy raised an eyebrow, Dawn slowly dropped her raised arm, Xander shoved another mouthful of crisps into his mouth and Faith just scowled darkly.
"Guys, come on, you really don't get what I mean?"
It finally dawned on Buffy and she started to smile, "We're the original scoobies?"
Willow nodded excitedly, "Yes, yes…" she gestured subtly to the still brooding dark slayer, "I want us to start this new chapter of the scoobies properly this time, because we all failed so terribly when we were in high school."
Faith was still lost in her dark thoughts so she didn't notice everyone shift their gaze to her until Xander elbowed her in the side.
"Hey, quit it!" She whipped her head around, annoyed, but her dark expression softened when she saw the big smile he had on his face, having finally figured out what Willow was doing.
"What?" Faith looked around at everyone, she started to feel the urge to bolt as they all stared at her, "What are you all smiling about?" she scowled.
"Faith," the dark slayer turned her attention to the witch, "I know there is nothing we can do to change the past and how we all treated you when you first came to Sunnydale, but we can change the future." She smiled warmly at the dark slayer and gestured towards Kennedy who was standing poised with a camera, "How about we start with the first picture of the new original scoobies."
Faith just stared open mouthed at the red-head, she was stunned, they were essentially acknowledging that she should have been a scooby if they'd treated her right. She could feel a lump in her throat but she managed to swallow back the impending tears. She felt some of the anxiety she had been feeling melt away; they really did accept her now.
Buffy stood up before her and reached out a hand to the dark Slayer, "You're one of us, Faith." She pulled the brunette to her feet and dragged her to where the others were standing so that Kennedy could take the photo.
Ext: Kitchen Porch
Faith was standing alone on the porch, arms folded, watching the sun set behind the hills. It was a gorgeous evening, warm but not too warm to be uncomfortable. She was struggling with her feelings about what had transpired, being accepted as a scooby.
"You're deep in thought."
Faith smiled as the blonde slayer came to stand beside her, "Yep." She continued to stare at the view, the sunset colours mesmerising.
"You ok?" The blonde was concerned, she could sense Faith was struggling and that her walls were about to come up.
Faith ran her hand through her hair and sighed, "It's times like these I miss smoking." She turned her head slightly and smiled down at the blonde.
"I'm sorry if that was a lot." Buffy continued, "we were all so dismissive of you back then."
Faith's shoulders visibly sagged, "Yeah, it's tough going back there with the whole memory lane thing, but necessary I guess if I want to atone for my past misdeeds."
"We all played a role in pushing you to the wrong side, we all see that now." Buffy placed an arm around the dark slayer's shoulders, she seemed so dejected.
"Ultimately I chose to take the dark path, none of you forced me." Faith said sadly.
"You were so young, Faith, and when you…" Buffy paused, "…the accident with Alan Finch…" she paused again, treading cautiously, "…I was a bitch, we all were awful to you, I should have supported you more. I get that the Mayor was appealing, he gave you a home, respect, he cared for you…he loved you."
"Buffy, stop." Faith turned to face the blonde, "Don't get me wrong, I am grateful, for everything…" she let out another big sigh, "Look, it's a work in progress, this whole atonement thing. Tonight just brought up so many painful memories," Faith embraced the blonde slayer, "Thank you for accepting me into the scooby gang." She said softly as she nuzzled the blonde's neck.
"I have a surprise for you." Buffy broke the embrace and held Faith at arms length, a twinkle in her eyes.
Faith tilted her head, curious.
Buffy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the garage.
Faith raised an eyebrow, "You dragging me off someplace private to have your way with me, B."
She smirked as Buffy whacked her arm, "Not everything is about sex, F!" the blonde rolled her eyes.
Buffy opened the garage and gestured for Faith to enter. She turned the light on and pointed at an object covered by a large sheet.
"There you go." Buffy was triumphant, Faith just stared at her confused.
"Under the sheet, dummy." The blonde slayer rolled her eyes, "God you can be dim sometimes."
Faith threw a scowl at the blonde as she limped over to the sheet and pulled it off to reveal her ducati.
"What!" she exclaimed, staring in awe at the beautiful bike, "How?"
"Angel!" Buffy said, he's kept it in storage since you left with Willow to come and help us with the First, "Gods that seems like a life time ago now."
Faith grinned from ear to ear, the joy in her expression made Buffy's heart swell, "You want to take her for a spin?" the dark slayer raised a mischievous eyebrow at the blonde as she gently tossed a helmet towards Buffy.
"Hell yeah!" the blonde exclaimed enthusiastically as she hopped on the bike behind Faith and wrapped her arms around her love as the brunette started the engine and they sped off into the sunset.
Fin
A/N: Sorry dear readers, I couldn't help but come up with dorkiest most cliché ending ever for our two heroes. I had to give Faith her bike back, I recall one of the story reviewers way back when asked about the bike, so if you're still reading, there you go dude.
It feels a bit weird finally finishing this story. I was rereading all the chapters recently and jeez did I put Faith through the ringer! You'd almost think I didn't like her character or something! I guess for her to play a more pivotal role in my version of the show she needed to step into some of those big battle scene rolls. Good thing for that slayer healing!
I empathized with her a lot in this final chapter when she was getting super frustrated with her rehab and healing. I am currently nursing a torn adductor muscle in my thigh, lateral tendonitis in my elbow (tennis elbow – I don't play tennis, ugh!) and also a rotator cuff injury in my shoulder. All taking their sweet damn time to heal which is SUPER frustrating! Martial arts and strength training and being in your 40's can be a bit of a lethal combo when it comes to injuries ;-). I'm definitely getting too old for this!
Anywho, I hope you liked where I was trying to go for this chapter, sort of back to the beginning, the good old days when they were in high school etc. I really missed the vibe of the school library and the Bronze and the amazing music that was so common on the show in those first 3 seasons. Then University and the Magic Box, the vibe was ok but it just wasn't the same. Don't even get me started on Riley. Then Season 5 – OMG, the heart break of Joyce dying and then Buffy! I think 5 is my favourite season overall. Season 6 was kind of a disaster apart from the final tragic 4 episodes, I don't know what Joss was thinking with that storyline. And then Season 7, I have mixed feelings, it felt rushed but I know SMG was wanting to finish up and not do another season so they kind of had to finish the show. Ah well, Faith was always my favourite character so I hope I did her character justice by giving her a much more prominent role in the show.
I haven't really gotten into the comics, I've read season 8-10 and some of the spin off stuff with Faith and Angel. I should probably give them all another go I guess.
Next steps for me – fix up the vast array of grammatical errors in this damn story I wrote. OMG, I am usually such a pedantic grammar freak, I can't believe I made so many errors….ugh!
Finally, Thank you for sticking with this story, I always promised I would finish it, sorry it took me almost 20 years!