Faith opened her eyes. Where was she? In a hospital? She slowly sat
up and looked around the empty room. She didn't even know what day it was.
The last thing she could remember was the look on B's face as she fell from
the building; and that certainly wasn't an image that she liked to think
about. Well, she sure as hell wasn't going to stay here. She pulled back the
covers and started to get up. She felt a twinge of pain in her left arm, and
saw an I.V there. She ripped it out and walked out of the room. She was
walking down the hall, when she realized she couldn't go out in this
hospital gown. She ducked into a storage closet. There were shelves full of
scrubs and medical equipment. She put on a pair of scrubs. "These will have
to do, for now," she thought. They certainly weren't anything close to her
usual attire. Now, she walked out of the hospital, unnoticed.

Where could she go? She set off for the last place she'd called
"home," the apartment the Mayor had given her. She passed a newspaper
stand. February 25, 2000, the paper read. 8 months? I've been there for 8
months?? What had happened?? Did the mayor rise? Did B and the Scoobs
actually defeat him?? She had to know. She started to run towards the
apartment. She walked into the main door, and got on the elevator. She rode
it anxiously to her floor and got off. "It's gotta be here," she said to
herself. She reached under the rug and found the key, triumphantly she slid
into the lock and opened the door. She stepped inside and looked around.

It was empty, except for a few of her belongings lying around. She
realized no one had been there since. . . . since the fight. Oh god, that
was the last thing she wanted to think about. She fell onto the bed and
started to cry when she realized what she had done. All she wanted was for
someone that she loved, to love her. B hadn't, the Mayor had. So what if he
was evil and wanted to destroy the world? He made her feel special. He
showered her with presents. But, as Faith lay on her bed, she realized, she
would give it all up, all of it, for a place in the heart of Buffy Summers.
Faith's mind wandered back to that fateful night, the night that changed
both their lives. She thought they were becoming closer, forming a bond,
that only the Chosen Two could have had. But, it was all ruined when she
killed Allan. But, it was an accident. Yet, it destroyed any connection or
bond that her and Buffy had formed up until then. She realized that night
put her on a path to destruction. She wiped her eyes and looked up.
Something caught her eye. It was a brown package, just lying on the dresser.
She picked it up, and ripped it open. Inside, was a video and some silver
gizmo. She popped the tape into the new, unused VCR, the Mayor had bought
for her. She flipped the TV on.

There on the screen, sat the Mayor. He said, "if you are
watching this, I must be dead. The doctors tell me you won't wake up, but I
know better. You're a fighter. But, without me your days are numbered. There
isn't a place for you in the world anymore. There is a present for you,
also in the envelope. Just because it's over for my Faith, doesn't mean she
can't go out with a bang." Then he continued to explain to her what it could
do. When the tape was over, Faith looked at her new possession in her hands
with awe. Could she use it?? Who would she use it on?? She knew the answer
to that. If you can't be with who you love, BE who you love. Wow, she would
have to think about it. It seemed so unreal. Then again, nothing was
impossible on the Hellmouth. She put the present back into the bag and
slipped it under the mattress. "I think I'll take a walk, see what's goin
on," she thought. She changed into some of her, more suitable clothes, and
walked out the door.
About an hour later, Faith found herself standing outside of Giles' place.
She crept up to the window and looked inside. There she saw them. The Scooby
gang, and some other people she didn't know. She looked and saw her. B.
Cuddling up to some beefy guy on the couch. What was this? Where was Angel?
B had gutted her to save Angel, and now she wasn't even with him? She kept
watching, when she heard the phone ring. She saw Giles give it to Buffy.
Buffy's face paled, as she hung up the phone. "Faith has woken up, but now
she is missing." That's all Faith had to hear, she moved from her hiding
place to run back to her apartment. Her mind raced. She had to get some
sleep, she had stuff to do tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back at Giles' house, Buffy was sitting in a state of shock. Her
mind drowned out the voices of her friends, discussing their options. Riley
was listening, then turned to Buffy and said "Who's Faith?" Buffy snapped
out of her condition and uttered "I'll explain later." She stood up. "We'll
look tomorrow, but I want to get back and go to bed." Riley walked her back
to the dorms. " I want to know, it sounds important," he told her. "She's
uh," what word could be used to describe the brunette rogue slayer? An
enemy? A friend? Were they ever really "friends"? Buffy knew that somewhere,
deep inside of her, that she was more than a friend. That they shared a
connection, a feeling no one else could ever understand. But she had been to
scared to explore that feeling, and ignored it. She knew she was a big
reason in driving her fellow Slayer to the evil side, and to top it off,
stabbed her to save someone who she thought was the love of her life. She
gazed up at Riley, sighed, and said "Faith is another Slayer. She came here,
and ?..stuff happened and she went all bad. Listen, I'll explain it
tomorrow." She reached up and kissed him. "I promise," she said and opened
her door. "Goodnight," she whispered and closed the door. She walked into
the room and let herself fall into the bed. It was going to be a long day
tommorow. She hoped she could find Faith before she was able to do something
bad. She knew it would probably be too selfish to think, maybe, just maybe,
things could go to the way they were before Allan. Faith would probably come
looking for retaliation. And could she blame her? But, dammit, she hated to
admit it, but she missed her wild other half. She had fun slaying with her.
Things had gotten all out of control. She just wished she could have
recognized it sooner. Buffy then closed her eyes, and prayed for a sleep
with no guilty dreams. And so the slayers fell into slumber, each on a
different side of town, thinking of each other.

Faith was dreaming. Her and B were slaying again, like in the
old days. And out of nowhere this demon appeared, he grabbed B by the
throat and raised her up. She was gasping for air and managed to gasp
out on two words, "Help, Faith." But Faith could not move. She was
frozen to the ground. In fact, her entire body could not move. She was
helpless. All she could do was scream out "No, B!!" as the demon
slashed Buffy's throat with it's long fingernails. He let her drop to
the ground and disappeared. All of the sudden, Faith could move, and
she raced over to B's lifeless body. She knelt down next to her and
cried "I'm sorry, B, I'm so sorry." Buffy's eyes fluttered open and
she muttered out " 'You. . .have. . 'nother chance to?.," and then her
heart stopped beating. Faith woke up in a cold sweat. As she got
dressed, she set out to find B. She knew that her dream had
significance. All of her Slayer dreams did. Did she really have
another chance? If so, Faith was sure not going to risk it. She headed
for the U of Sunnydale.

The next morning Buffy found Willow at school. Willow anxious to
see her asked, "Have you heard anything about Faith yet?" "Not yet,"
Buffy replied. "If I were her I would get out of town," Buffy said,
knowing it was what Willow wanted to hear. She knew if she told Willow
that maybe they should try to help Faith, the Scoobs would probably
try to commit her.

Faith found Buffy and, ugh, Willow standing near some sort of
posting board. She knew Willow was jealous of her, thinking she was
gonna steal her best friend away from her. She walked up behind them.
What was she going to say? Buffy was talking and Faith overheard her
say "If I were her I would get out of town." So much for second
chances, Faith thought.

"You're not me," Buffy heard a voice behind her say roughly.
Taking a deep breath, she turned around and came face to face with an
angry looking, dark-headed Slayer. She looked deep in her eyes. She
saw hostility, confusion, and, maybe a flicker of hurt. It was quick,
but it was there. "I've been looking for you," she said. "I've been
standing still for eight months, B. How hard you look?" Faith asked
with a tone of pain in her voice. Buffy looked at her, and as gentle
as she could manage, she told her "it doesn't have to be this way."
That made Faith think. It was an open window. Did she want to take it?
No, she definitely was not ready to trust her again. "I think it has
to be exactly this way," she replied, and swung at Buffy. B blocked it
and swung back, and missed. Just then a police car came flying around
the corner, sirens on. Glancing at it, then back at B, Faith took off,
knocking over a few cops on the way.

Buffy watched her run, and without a doubt, sped off after
her. She followed her pretty well, but Faith jumped over a wall, and
was gone. Buffy slowed to a walk, and stopped. She would let her go
for now, but she would look for her later. She was so confused. She
wanted to help Faith, but did not want to betray her friends. She
walked back to the campus, and with a depressing moan, realizing she
was late for class.

Faith ran as fast as she could. She didn't even know where she
was going. She realized that she did not have anywhere to go. So, once
again, she headed back to the apartment. Once there, she laid down,
trying to decide what she was gonna do. She would go out tonight! She
had been lying still for 8 months. She would go dancing, like she
used to. Faith set out her favorite party outfit, and hopped in the
shower. "This should be fun," she thought to herself.

That night, the Buffy and the Scoobs set out to find Faith.
Xander and Giles were together, looking downtown. Willow and Tara
decided to check cemeteries. "Thanks for coming with. Hunting for a
psychopathic super-bitch is definitely in the above-and-beyond
category," Willow told her. " It's okay, really. So, what do we do if
we find her?" Tara asked. " Run. Flee. Maybe skedaddle," Willow
replied. Then, out of nowhere, came this real nasty lookin vamp.
"Well, what do we have here?" he asked. Willow screamed and he threw
her down. Her stake flew out of her hands. Then he captured Tara and
held onto her. He laughed at her, as she frantically tried to get
away. Willow tried to get up from the ground, but the pain in leg kept
her from moving. It was very painful. Her ankle had to be sprained at
least. She looked up to see the vamp, in game face, teeth inches away
from the blonde girl's throat. "No!" Willow cried.



Faith had on her favorite leather pants. This was gonna be fun.
She'd find a club, go dancing, get drunk (as much as she could), and
find some random guy. All of the usual things she did to avoid her
problems. But, this was going to be a Buffy-free night. She strutted
down the street. She was passing by one of the local cemeteries.
Maybe she should do a run through it, check for vamps. Nah, this town
had their Slayer. She would let her take care of it. This was Faith's
Fun night. So, even though every sense in her body told her to go,
she continued to walk past it. She walked about five feet, when she
heard a scream. Shit, she thought, as she grabbed her stake, and
turned to run into the dark graveyard. She came to a small clearing,
where she saw the back of a vampire. His head was bending down,
presumably about to snack on some young girl. Without a secon
thought, Faith dashed towards him and plunged the stake in.

Willow watched as the vampire's fangs touched Tara's bare
neck. She closed her eyes, unable to watch. But she didn't hear a
scream of pain. She slowly opened her eyes. But she did definitely
not believe what she was seeing. The vampire was gone and there in
front of her stood Faith, with a very pale, limp blonde in her arms.

Faith dusted the vamp, and caught the young blonde girl in
her arms, as she was falling. The girl looked around, then up slowly,
realizing what must have happened. "Thank you," she whispered, almost
so quietly, only Faith's Slayer hearing allowed her to hear her. Now
what? She looked up from the girl in her arms, and saw a very
familiar redhead looking up at her, from the ground, in complete and
utter confusion. Oh, fuck! Faith thought, she gently set the girl
down on the ground. "W?what's goin' on?" Tara murmured. Faith looked
up at Willow once more, then spun around, and hauled off as fast as
she could.

Willow gathered herself, and crawled over to Tara. "Are you
okay?" she asked gently. Tara looked up at her. "Yeah, I guess. I
thought I was going to die. Who was that?" "Well, that was Faith,"
Willow explained, still not believing what had happened. "The same
Faith we are looking for?" Tara asked. "Yeah, I . . don't know. Let's
get back to Giles'," said Willow. She stood up, forgetting the
injured ankle. She faltered, but Tara steadied her. "Okay?" she
asked. Willow looked into her eyes and nodded, she hobbled back to
Giles' with one arm around her friend's neck.

Well, so much for her night `o fun! Faith thought as she
walked around the streets of Sunnydale. That kinda killed her party
mood. She was so torn. It had felt so strange, to have someone be
grateful towards her, and tell her. It was a very unusual feeling,
but she kinda liked it. So what was she supposed to do? She knew she
had hurt B and the others when she worked for the mayor. But, dammit,
B had hurt her too. She remembered how mad she had been, when she
found out Buffy was hiding Angel from everyone. The Scoobs were mad,
too. But, not for the same reason. Faith was mad because, with Angel
back, there was no chance for her. This was Buffy's big love, and
there was no way for her to compete. And then, the rest of them just
pretended nothing had happened. Buffy had started spending more time
over at the mansion, and drifting away from Faith. But, for that one
night, she thought she was getting through to B, making her look at
slaying the way she did. Then, the accident happened, and Faith may
have well been a stranger for the way B was treating her. Plus, she
had that new, up tight, stuffy English guy there every time she
turned around. She just snapped. The next thing she knew she was at
City Hall, and helping the mayor. Then B stabs her, to save Angel.
She stabbed her! That hurt the most. And not just physically, but
emotionally. She couldn't just forgive that, could she? Maybe they
were even now. No! She could have never, would not ever hurt Buffy.
Did Faith mean that little to her? Faith looked up, and realized she
was in front of Buffy's house. She walked up the lawn, quietly. She
looked into the window. There she saw Joyce, sitting at the kitchen
table, probably doing bills. She remembered back to Christmas, when
she sat at that table with Joyce and Buffy. She was excited to be
around Buffy, when they weren't on duty, and without Angel or any of
her friends. Maybe this is what they needed to get to know one
another. Then, Buffy just split, leaving her alone with Joyce and no
explanation. She knew if she wanted to get revenge, this would be
it. But, there was a little voice in her head saying "Joyce never did
anything to hurt you." She also knew if she did this, there was no
turning back. Oh, well. She shook her head, and walked up to the
door. Her hand reached out to the doorbell, and pressed it.

Joyce heard the doorbell. She got up, and went to the door.
Carefully, and slowly, she opened it and looked out. There was no one
there.

Buffy decided she would be a one-woman search team. She went
to the Bronze, through half of the cemeteries, Willow and Tara were
covering the rest, and the old hotel room Faith used to rent. There
was only one more place she could think of. But why would she go
there. There were bad memories there. At least for Buffy there were.
She started to walk to the apartment complex. Her mind floated back to
that night. Buffy was so enraged at Faith, she couldn't see straight.
They fought and fought, with Buffy stabbing Faith in the end. That is
when Buffy realized it had gone too far. She looked at Faith, who had
paled, and was stumbling backwards, with her own knife in her stomach.
Faith looked down and back up at Buffy. The look on Faith's face was a
vision that haunted Buffy's dreams ever since. It was a look of pure
hurt, confusion, and most of all surprise. She was surprised Buffy did
that. So was Buffy. But, before she could make a move, Faith jumped
backward off the building. Buffy ran to the edge of the building, but
there was no body on the street. Buffy looked up and realized she had
come to that same apartment. She did not want to go up there. She
scanned the windows for the one that was Faith's. It was dark, but
Buffy could make out a shattered window. She shivered. It wasn't
exactly below freezing at night, in California, but it could get cold.
No one could stay there and stay warm enough to live there. What she
had failed to see, due to the no street lamp factor, was a piece of
plastic taped over the window. Buffy turned and headed for Giles',
disappointed that she didn't find her brunette counterpart.

Willow sat next to Tara on Giles's couch. She was confused. Earlier in
the day, it seemed as though Faith was going to be just as violent and
hostile towards them, as she was before. But just now, she saved Tara.
. and her. No smart comments, no evil looks, she just did it, and
left. She looked around the room. Xander and Anya sat in a chair,
together. Giles was standing. They were waiting for Buffy to get back,
before they reported their search attempts. Willow looked over at
Tara. She was so glad she was safe. Buffy and Xander were her best
friends, but, with Tara, it was different. She was also a Wiccan in
training. She understood the feeling of magick, what went through you
when doing a spell. It was special. She knew Buffy wasn't feeling
threatened when she spent so much time with Tara. Then her mind
flashed to Faith. Was this how it was for Faith and Buffy? They were
both Slayers, there must have been a special connection there. Only
Faith could understand what Buffy was going through, really. Willow
knew she had become jealous with Faith hanging around Buffy. She
thought she would lose her best friend. All Faith wanted to do was
just be their friend. She had just moved here, and didn't know anyone.
So, Willow probably didn't help the entire situation much. That did
not excuse Faith's behavior, but it did explain some of it. Willow was
starting to feel bad, she would have to talk to Buffy about it.

She wouldn't have to wait long. There was a knock at the door, then
Buffy came in. She threw herself down onto a chair. "No luck," she
sighed. She looked up at the rest of the group with questioning eyes,
"You guys?" "Well, we found Spike," Xander offered. Giles glared at
him. "Sorry, Buffy," Giles apologized. "Listen, guys, when we find
her, let's not. . . ," Buffy trailed off, and looked down. Xander
picked up on it, "not what, Buff? Turn her into the cops, treat her
like a crazed psychopath?" "I just mean. .," Buffy tried to answer.
"that maybe we should give her the benefit of the doubt," Willow
finished. All five heads in the room turned to look at Willow. Buffy
gave Willow silent thanks with her eyes. "Wh . . why. . w. .would we
do that," Xander asked, he was obviously flustered. "I would also like
to hear your reasoning," Giles stated. Willow nodded at Tara. "Well,
we kind of ran into her tonight," she told them as she recreated the
night's events with her friends. When she was done, Buffy had an
astonished look on her face. Xander, while still a little angry, sat
quietly. Anya had a look of indifference on her face. Giles stood next
to the couch, waiting for a response from Buffy. But Buffy didn't
know what to make of it. She, too, was baffled by the two very
different run-ins with Faith. "Maybe we can try to give her another
chance," she thought out loud. Xander was not quiet now. Faith had
used him for his body. Not that it was bad, but. . Focus! That's right
anger. "Why should we just forgive her, like that?!" Buffy didn't have
an answer, but, fortunately, she didn't need one. Anya spoke calmly,
"you forgave me, didn't you?" Xander looked at her in surprise.
"That's different," he said. "No it isn't," Anya replied, "we both did
bad things that hurt people." Xander looked at her, and she stared
right back at him. Finally, he nodded in understanding. "Look, I know
we can't just automatically forgive her, or trust her, but I think
everyone deserves a chance to right things," she told them, "including
me." Buffy looked over at Giles, who was now sitting on a barstool,
with his eyes shut. "Giles?" Buffy questioned. He looked up at her and
said "I agree with you." Buffy felt a small wave of relief. "But, the
Council may not," he continued, "Chances are they will be notified of
her awakening, if not already." Buffy felt the relief leave her body,
as she had forgotten about the Council. Just because she had "quit"
doesn't mean they had forgotten about Faith. She felt a sense of
urgency, and stood up. "Well, then I have to find her tonight," she
informed them, "but I think I should go alone." No one argued. She
said goodbye and walked out the door. Willow got up and looked at
Tara. "I'll be right back," she offered. Tara nodded in patience.
Willow ran out the door.

"Buffy," she called. Buffy stopped walking at the sound of her name,
and she turned to find Willow coming towards her. "Oh, Willow, thanks
for helping me out back there," Buffy expressed. Willow looked at her
best friend with sympathy. "She didn't have to kill that vampire,"
Willow told her, "but she did, and even afterwards, she didn't try
anything. She looked different too. Her aura was not filled with so
much anger." Buffy looked at Willow with question. "Witch stuff," she
answered. Buffy smiled and gave her friend a hug. Willow eagerly
returned it. Then Buffy turned to go. "Oh, and one more thing," Willow
said. Buffy turned and waited. "This time, don't hold back," she told
her. Before Buffy could ask what she was talking about, Willow said
"everything, your feelings, your dreams, everything." Buffy looked at
her, amazed. Then she smiled gratefully and turned, running off into
the night to find Faith.


I couldn't do it. Just couldn't. Did that make me a coward? Or
did it mean that maybe I'm not really capable of evil? Probably the
first one. She was thinking about her past, her present, her future,
her entire pathetic existence, really. And what made a more perfect
place to do that, then a greasy 24-hour diner. She sat in the corner,
with a cup of old coffee and some fries, half covered in ketchup. Not
that she couldn't afford anything more. When she opened up her drawer,
to change her clothes, she found another surprise. An envelope,
stuffed with cash, from the Mayor. She could probably make that last a
while. She looked around the little restaurant. There were two older,
bald men sitting at the counter, probably trying to sober up. She,
however, hadn't been drinking at all. The idea didn't appeal to her
tonight, and that alone surprised her. What was the matter with her?
She was rough, tough street Faith. I'm not the one who questions my
actions, she thought. I should be half-naked with some guy I met on
the street. So why aren't I? I know someone else I'd like to be naked
with. No! She had to push that thought away. She knew the chances of
that happening were one in a million. Faith sighed to herself. This
place is making me even more depressed. She took one last drink of
the stale coffee, paid her check, and left.

Buffy ran. She ran as fast as she could. The apartment!! Faith
had to be there. She HAD to be! She could feel it, she knew in her
bones. Buffy ran into the building. She ran past the elevator, and
went straight to the stairs. She took the stairs, two at a time. She
reached Faith's floor in a matter of seconds. She stood in front of
the door. Buffy's hand shook as she raised it to knock. She waited, no
response. She knocked again. Again, no response. Buffy looked around,
and saw a floor mat. Nah, that's too easy, she thought. She lifted the
mat and there it was, the key. She grabbed it and thrust it in the
lock. She turned the knob, and opened the door slowly. She entered the
cold, dark room. She saw the window, covered with a thin, plastic seal
and wrapped with tons of duct tape. She laughed to herself. Faith was
staying here! She wasn't here now, but she had definitely been staying
here. Buffy looked at her watch. 12:14 am. Faith had to be on her way
home. Buffy sat down on the bed. What was she going to say to her?
What could she say? Her eyes began to tear up. She gently laid her
head down on the pillow. She took in Faith's scent from the bed. And
while it made her most of her body relax, it made her heart swell. She
needed to reach within herself to describe what it was exactly that
she felt for her fellow slayer. It was stronger than what she felt for
Riley, or even Angel. Did she love Riley? She definitely cared for
him. She had loved Angel, but that had faded away. Her mind drifted to
Faith. Her smile, the way it always came slow, and was lopsided. Her
personality, the wisecracks and the passion she had for her "job."
Buffy felt a nice, warm feeling inside, deep in her belly. Her smile
grew even larger as she recognized the feeling. It was love. She loved
Faith. Holy shit!

Faith took the elevator. She watched the numbers change from
floor to floor. Deep down, she wanted to start over, to be good. But,
she was afraid of their rejection. So she compensated for that with
anger. Maybe she should just leave. That's it. She would pack tonight
and stay, but tomorrow she would buy a one-way bus ticket outta here.
Where should I go? I'll decide when I get there, she thought to
herself. The elevator bell rang. The doors opened to her floor. Faith
stepped out and walked slowly to her door. She reached under the mat,
without looking, searching for the key. No key? She looked down. The
key was gone. She knew she should have taken it with her, but there
are no pockets on leather pants. She glanced at the door, it was
cracked open. Damn! She was not in the mood to fight some lame-ass
robber. She grabbed her handy stake, the only makeshift weapon on her,
counted to three, and kicked open the door. It was dark, but Faith
could make out a figure. It sat up quickly from it's place on the bed.
Faith moved into the apartment, and let her eyes adjust. But even
before they could, her body instinctively told her who it was. She
shut the door behind her. "Why are you here?" she asked the intruder.


Buffy heard a noise outside the door, but before she could
react, the door swung open. She sat up as quickly as she could and
watched the person come into the apartment. She then reached behind
her and shut the door. Buffy could not make out her face, but she
knew it was Faith. "Why are you here?" Buffy heard the tired voice
ask her. "I came to talk to you," she told her. Faith sighed and
stepped forward and the light from a window highlighted her face.
Buffy looked at her, really looked at her. She looked into her eyes.
She saw fatigue and pain in them. Faith looked back at her. There it
was! Buffy saw it, it was a tender look that showed compassion. But
just as it appeared, it had gone.

Faith looked at Buffy, looking at her. "Look, B. . Buffy, I'm
not really in any condition for one of your lectures, so let's just
improvise. I have a solution. I am going to leave Sunnydale, well,
California actually. I'm gonna travel the world, yada yada. So you
don't have to tell me to stay away, I promise you'll never hear from
me," she choked, "ever, again." She bent her head down, so Buffy
couldn't see her eyes tear up.

Buffy couldn't believe her ears. Faith was leaving! She
couldn't! Not after Buffy realized what she felt for her. And did she
say Lectures?! "I don't want you to leave," Buffy told her as she
stood up. Faith's head came up and her face registered confusion. Her
forehead crinkled and she muttered "huh?" "And, I did not come here
to lecture you!" Buffy said. "Geez, I am not Giles," Buffy whispered
softly. The thought of the G-man, made Faith grin. "Then why. . ?" "I
came to apologize," Buffy answered. Well, now Faith looked at her
like she was crazy. "Ok, B, what have you been smoking, and can I get
some?" Faith asked as she moved past her to sit on the bed. "I do not
do drugs," Buffy said, with a smile. "Seriously, listen to me. I have
had a lot of time to think about what happened between us, and
realized there is a lot that I need to apologize for. And you are
going to sit there and listen to every word I say," she informed her.
Faith looked at her and shrugged. Buffy sat down next the her on the
bed. "Okay, I guess to start with, I could have had a better
welcoming party for you. I felt threatened by you. You were this
wild force, you had passion in your fight, and you had slayed nude.
You got along with my friends, my Watcher, and my mom. And I probably
reacted badly; driving you away. And I know sometimes I didn't let
you know what was going on, or didn't include you. And then we were
getting along and I was having fun with you. You showed me a
different side to slaying. But then . . .," she trailed off, "the
whole Allan thing happened." Buffy noticed Faith cringe at the sound
of his name. She quickly went on. "And I freaked out, and blamed you.
When I should have been helping you shoulder half of the blame, I
pushed you away. I thought Angel could help you, understand you
better somehow, but he couldn't." Faith was listening, she wanted to
say, "you were the only one who could have saved me," but she
remained silent as a tear slipped from her eye. Buffy knew she was
rambling, but Faith needed to hear this. She grabbed Faith by the
shoulders and forced her head up, so she could look her in the eye.
When she did she saw months of pain and hurt, in the form of
tears. "But, what I'm most sorry for, is hurting you. I shouldn't
have let it go that far. I . . ," she faltered, letting go of Faith,
as she was choking back her own tears, "I am so sorry I did that to
you, put you in a coma. And while I was trying to save the person I
loved the most, I failed . . . because I just watched as she fell
from the rooftop."

Faith looked up at Buffy in astonishment. She must be
hearing things. When her eyes met Buffy's, they reassured her she
heard correctly. "But, I betrayed you, and hurt your friends," Faith
whispered. "If you can give me a second chance, I think we can give
you one," Buffy said softly. Faith didn't know what to say, this had
all come so fast and unexpected. Buffy had been completely open and
honest with her. Inside, Faith's walls were crumbling, as she had
made her decision. It was time for Faith to tell Buffy how she felt.
She looked down at the ground and said "Buffy, I . . .love you. I
have from the moment I saw you, and I always will. I'm so sorry I
hurt you, too." She felt the older Slayer engulf her in a hug. Faith
had never felt this good. She pulled back and gazed up at Buffy.
Buffy smiled in return, and placed her hand on Faith's cheek. Faith
leaned into the touch. Faith put her hand over Buffy's and leaned in.
Buffy met her halfway, and gently kissed her. Buffy's lips were soft
and inviting, and Faith's reassurance grew. They stayed that way for
a while, in each other's arms. Then, Buffy put her head on Faith's
shoulder and told her "it's too cold and dark in here for you. If you
want, you came come stay with me." Faith laughed and said "in the
dorms? Think Red will mind?" Buffy giggled. "We'll go to my house,
I'm sure my mother won't mind. She asks me to come home all the
time." Taking in a deep breath, Faith replied, "okay, this place is
kind of lonely anyway." Buffy kissed her again. "What about the
Scoobs, I mean the gang, they're probably not thrilled about me,
huh?" Faith asked. Buffy looked uncertain, "It'll take a while, for
them to be able to trust you, but they've agreed to give you a
chance." At this, Faith smiled. "You got some pretty amazing friends,
B." "Tell me about it," she replied taking Faith's hand. Soon after,
they were walking out the door with Faith's packed bags, and leaving
the past behind to start over.