"What's the last thing you remember?" Xander asked, watching her and hurting for her, Faith's confusion was real, she didn't understand why the Xander she knew would visit her hospital room.

"Buffy came to the apartment the Boss got me." She answered. "Turns out the poison he got for me to take out her vamp boytoy had a cure, the blood of a Slayer and she was going to feed me to him." Faith stopped and then touched her belly. "She stabbed me with my own knife, it just slid in and gods did it hurt and I climbed up on the balcony railing, I wasn't going out being fed to a vamp. I let myself fall off." She stopped again. "I had a dream with Buffy in it, I told her how to beat the Boss. I wanted to make up for being evil, at least a little."

"You weren't evil, Faith." Xander told her. "The god who told me what happened to my people in this reality, he told me you were broken. Giles, Buffy, Angel, they did things that damaged you and it was because of these Powers that are playing games with your lives. You broke and the Mayor got you to sign a contract, only you didn't know it was both magically binding and influencing you at the same time. The Mayor gave you the poison you said you used on Angel, how could he not know the cure was Slayer blood? Did he think Buffy would feed herself to Angel? Probably and she probably did when she couldn't get you."

"Buffy tried to kill me, because I'm evil. I killed a guy!"

"It was an accident and Buffy trying to kill you wasn't an accident, it was a choice she made."

"Xander - the Xander I know - tried to tell me it was an accident. The Watchers thought it was murder too, but then they backed off. If it was an accident, why did Buffy and Angel chain me up and tell I was just like Angelus. Was that their choice or more games?"

"I don't know." Xander admitted. "But it only made things worse, regardless of which one is responsible."

"What do I do now? I go back and Buffy will try to kill me again and I don't get why Xander would visit me in the hospital, that doesn't make any sense, I tried to kill him! I let Angel try to kill him!"

"I'm pretty sure he knows it's not your fault." Xander told her. "And he visits you because you matter to him, he cares about you."

"No! That doesn't make any sense! No one gives a damn! Except the Boss, he cared." Faith stopped. "You said the contract was binding, can you prove that or are you just saying it?"

"It's provable, I think. We might be able to find the contract itself, but evidence of Magic lingers and Magic has been done on you. We could run tests to find that evidence. We'd need a Magic user."

"The only one I know is Willow and she hates me, has from the moment I hit town."

"We'll find answer's, Faith, I'll help you."

"Why do you care?"

"Whitelighters are chosen because we care." He answered. "But for me there is a more personal reason." Xander leaned against the viewing pool. "I've loved two women in my life, one died young and hard and I couldn't save her. Her counterpart in this reality is in the same dangerous situation she was and I mean to try to help her. The other is the woman I married a decade ago. Her name is Faith Lahaine."

Faith's jaw clenched and she stared hard at him.

"I'm gonna find a way to go home to her, this isn't my world, my home. That's waiting for me in another reality. But it's obvious my counterpart loves the same two women I do. You and Cordelia Chase."

"He cheated on her."

"Her life is being manipulated, just like my Cordelia's was. A fallen Power means to use her as it's way into this world. You don't have to do anything, Faith, his feelings are his own snd he doesn't expect anything from you. Well, he's me, I know what he expects. He expects to get kicked in the emotional guts, because that's usually what happens."

"Ain't that the truth." Faith muttered, staring into the viewing pool, it was still following the Xander she knew. She watched his meeting with his boss and couldn't help but feel a curl of pride when the bossman told him the company wanted to train him for a higher position and he happily accepted the offer. "Some times, though, you don't get kicked, even when you expect it."