"So, check you out B. Nice. The big girl on campus thing is really working for you."

"I've been looking for you."

"I've been standing still for eight months B. How hard did you look?" "You all right?"

"Five by five. That's the thing about a coma. You wake up all rested and rejuvenated, and ready for payback."

"So much for pleasantries huh?"

"What'd you think? I'd wake up and we'd go for tea? You tried to gut me blondie."

"You'd have done the same to me if you'd had the chance."

"So let's have another go at it, see who lands on top."

"It doesn't have to be like this you know."

"Actually, I think it has to be exactly like this."

* * *

The gentle rocking motion of the train should have been enough to usher exhausted slayer to sleep, but her mind was in chaos as it replayed every excruciating detail of her reunion with Buffy.

Faith was sure that this time she was finally going to come out on top. For the first time in her life, Faith had gotten a taste of what it was like to be needed. The slayer. Not just a slayer, the slayer. Staying in Buffy's body was a small price to pay for a sense of belonging. But Buffy Summers always had a plan, and part of that plan usually involved fucking her over.

Faith punched the wall in frustration. She'd been playing all of the possible scenarios over in her head, what she could have done differently.

Part of her wished that she'd faked amnesia. She could have started everything over again. A clean slate. And Buffy, with her love for saving people and being charitable, would have welcomed her with open arms. Faith hit the wall again. She sighed and closed her eyes. 'LA's gonna be different. A whole new scene.'

* * *

Buffy watched the vampire disintegrate into a pile of dust and sighed. Slaying wasn't clearing her mind as much as she hoped it would. Ever since Faith's departure she couldn't get the other slayer put of her head. When Faith had fallen into the coma it had taken months for Buffy to process all of her emotions. Now that she was back Buffy felt all of them resurfacing again. The heartbreak, the sadness… the guilt. Buffy shook her head trying to clear away the unwanted thoughts. She reminded herself that she was the slayer, and she had a job to do regardless of how distraught she was over the situation with Faith. She looked up at the stars and sighed.

"Faith… where are you?"

* * *

It was well past midnight and Faith was starving. She'd been wandering the streets of Los Angeles for hours, unsure of where to go. She'd seen a car following her earlier and was afraid the Council might still be out looking for her. She kept moving, thinking it would make her harder to find.

After hours of walking her muscles ached and she desperately needed to sit. She slipped down a deserted alley and sat on an old crate. She massaged her sore leg muscles and realized how long it had been since her last meal. She opened her bag to see how much money she had left.

Along with the video tape, the mayor had given her some extra cash in the event that life as Buffy Summers didn't work out for her. She took out an envelope and began to ruffle through the bills. He obviously didn't anticipate her failure because there wasn't much there. A car rolled slowly past the alley way. She watched warily as it passed and resumed her counting. A few seconds later the car backed up and turned down the alley. She was instantly on her feet, reaching for her stake, suddenly thinking her knife might be more appropriate.

The black car came to a stop right in front of her. As soon as the three men got out she realized the stake was indeed the appropriate weapon. These didn't look like ordinary vampires though. More like the kind that had worked with the Mayor. Vamps with a plan. The smaller of the three wore a clean-cut suit and tie. The other two, the muscle of the operation, were clad in all black. She looked at them curiously, but cautiously. She lifted her stake, poised for an attack. The shorter one walked toward her with a briefcase in his hand. He motioned for the other two to wait by the car.

"You Faith?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Relax. I have a proposition for you."

"You're the jackass that's been tailing me all night. I don't deal with the undead. Sorry." She raised the stake again.

"That's not what I hear. In fact Richard Wilkins spoke quite highly of you." Faith paused as memories of the Mayor flooded back. She lowered the stake.

"I'm listening…"

"You've heard of Angel?" Faith narrowed her eyes. "I'll take that as a yes."

"What does that brooding bastard have to do with me?"

"He's a very talented young man, but he's a bit misguided as to his place in the world. His quest to… 'help the hopeless' has created a significant problem for us."

"Angel's here?"

"Unfortunately so. His presence has become a hindrance to our business. We'd like you to… take care of it for us. We've heard from a few who survived the slaughter at the ascension that you maintained your loyalty until the end. We think your skills would be a considerable asset to us."

"And who is us?"

"Some of the most valuable friends you could ever have."

"Yeah. 'Cause I woke up this morning and said, 'Man I really need to get some more short, Armani-wearing, blood-sucking friends'." One of the taller vamps growled at her from the car.

"I'm not offering you friendship. I'm offering you a job, complete with perks, an apartment and…" He opened his briefcase. Faith's eyes widened at the sight of more money that she'd ever seen in her entire life. "Half now, half later."

Faith debated staking the vamps and taking the money. It's not like it was a crime to kill someone that was already dead, and the convenient dust factor got rid of all the evidence. She definitely needed the money. She also needed a job though, and this was a chance to finally exact some revenge on the undead son of a bitch, something she'd wanted to do even before money had been thrown into the picture.

Faith turned back to the vampire, ready to accept his offer when an image of her final confrontation with Buffy flashed through her head. All the emotions. Her sense of failure. In that brief time that she was Buffy, she tried to be like Buffy. Do what was right, fix some of her mistakes.

Now she was here, being offered the same opportunity she was offered in Sunnydale. Side with the bad guys, be a stake for hire, the rogue slayer. She'd already been there, and in the end, she'd lost more than she gained. She thought for a moment. 'This is your clean slate. Don't fuck it up.' Faith looked at the money again and swore under her breath. She knew she was going kick herself when she was waiting tables at some shitty diner just to pay rent for some rat infested apartment.

"No deal."

"What?"

"You're not only dead you're deaf too. I said no deal. I've got other plans."

"Well… then I suppose we've misjudged you."

"I suppose you have." She eyed the briefcase. "I won't mind taking this though." She grabbed it and hit the vamp in the stomach. His two bodyguards lunged for her, sporting their game faces. She easily dodged both of them and gave one a swift kick in the jaw while slamming the other in the groin with the briefcase. One of them knocked the case out of her hand and it hit her in the face. "Son of a bitch!" She kicked him in the stomach and held back her stake ready to dust him. A woman shouted from the end of the alleyway.

"Hey!" A voice called from the end of the alley. Faith whirled around. One of the vamps grabbed the briefcase from her and the three of them jumped back into the car and sped off.

"Shit!" Faith threw the stake on the ground. "Shit, shit, shit!" The woman ran up to her.

"Are you all right?"

"I was a lot fucking better before you showed up!" The woman raised her eyebrow.

"It didn't look that way."

"Yeah, well I can take care of myself." The woman motioned to Faith's bloody lip.

"So I see." Faith wiped the blood off of her lip.

"It's fine." Faith snapped. She reached down and surreptitiously slid the stake back into her bag. She picked up the bag, slung it over her shoulder and started to walk away. The woman called after her.

"So that's it? I don't get a thank you?"

"What, you're gonna arrest me for my manners?"

The woman flashed her badge, "Keep talking, and we'll see..." Faith eyed the badge. A wave of fear flickered through her eyes momentarily and vanished. "You want to tell me what you're doing here?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." The woman crossed her arms authoritatively.

"It usually becomes my business when girls are wandering around in alleyways with strange men after midnight."

"Yeah? Well maybe it shouldn't be. Cops are always sticking their noses where they don't belong, so why don't you take your badge and get out of my face until you've got something to charge me with."

"How about suspicion of narcotic possession and distribution."

"I don't do drugs."

"What was in the briefcase?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

"It can be." Faith stepped dangerously close to the woman and brought her voice to a threatening whisper.

"I'm sure you think you're tough as nails, but let me tell you something…I've seen things darker than you can even dream. Take the worst nightmare you've ever had and multiply it by ten, that's a little taste of my life. If you're smart, you'll walk away and stop asking questions you're not ready to hear the answer to." She paused, waiting for the woman to respond.

She didn't. Faith smiled sardonically and walked away.

Nearly and hour had passed since Faith's run-in with the mystery vamps. She couldn't stop thinking about the money in the briefcase. She'd been trying to convince herself that she'd done the right thing, but the longer she walked and the hungrier she got, the more frustrated she became. The fact that she'd learned Angel was in town didn't make things any better. Faith wondered where the King of Brooding was hiding himself and how he connected to the 'business' the vamps referred to.

She frowned. 'Maybe LA isn't far enough.' She shook her head. 'It's a big city Faith. If you lay low for a while, you'll be fine.'

The tantalizing smell of a cheeseburger interrupted her thoughts. She looked into the window of the diner in front of her. Her stomach growled. She eagerly made her way to the door. A scream stopped her dead in her tracks. She scanned the street and saw a vamp pulling a woman into the shadows.

"Damn!" She suppressed her hunger and reached for her stake, mumbling a variety of expletives as she crossed the street. "Hey!" She called as she neared the two. The vamp paused, his fangs just inches away from the woman's jugular. "Yeah, I'm talking to you." The vamp growled and pushed the woman to the floor. "That's right. Come and get some." The vamp charged her. She ducked and grabbed his legs sending him flying over her and into the wall. She spun around and pinned him there. She turned to the woman.

"Get out of here." The woman just stared at her, frozen in shock. "Now!" The woman shakily pulled herself to her feet and stammered a quick thank you before hurrying off. Faith turned back to the vamp, smiled, and staked him without another word. She heard footsteps approaching as he disintegrated.

It was the cop from the alley. "Jesus." Faith muttered under her breath.

"You seem to be quite the popular one tonight."

"What are you following me?"

"And I see you're just as cheerful as you were before. I heard screaming. Kind of seems that's a running theme with you. So you want to tell me what's going on? Or are you just going to get cryptic again and run off." Faith rolled her eyes and started to walk back across the street. The woman followed. "Look, I'm trying to help you here. Not that you deserve it." The last comment stung, Faith's expression softened. She stopped and slowly turned to face the woman.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just tired, and wicked hungry and it's been a crazy long day and I don't have… I'm just sorry all right." She expected a snide comment in return. The woman remained silent. Faith started to walk away.

"Wait." She motioned to Faith's lip. "You should put something on that."

"It'll heal."

"It'll get infected. Especially if you're just wandering the streets."

"I'll be fine really."

"At least let me get you something to eat." Faith's stomach growled at the prospect of a free meal. She studied the woman carefully. She wasn't like any of the thick-necked, brain-dead cops Faith had dealt with before. Faith saw something softer under her tough, sarcastic facade. A trace of compassion in her eyes. And, Faith also noticed, she was absolutely beautiful. The woman held out her hand.

"Kate."

"Faith."

Kate watched in awe as Faith hungrily devoured her second cheeseburger of the night. Faith paused briefly between chews to speak. "So you're a cop huh? That's… that's pretty cool."

"I thought you hated cops. Always sticking our noses where they don't belong."

"Yeah… sorry about that. I get kinda heated sometimes."

"No kidding."

"You're not like other cops."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Yeah…"

"Then thank you. What do you do?"

"I'm a… I'm between jobs."

"What did you do?"

"I used to…I used to work for the mayor. Running errands, stuff like that." Faith said quickly, avoiding Kate's eyes. Kate caught the gesture.

"Politics. I wouldn't have guessed."

"Well… someone's gotta do the dirty work right?" Kate watched Faith finish the last of the burger and move on to the fries. Kate tried to think of a way to slowly steer the conversation to what had really been on her mind all night. She decided the direct approach was the easiest.

"And what about those men in the alley? Business associates?"

"Not exactly." Kate leaned forward.

"Was it drugs?" Faith laughed.

"Man, you really are a cop."

"I'm serious. I want to help you. If they tried to hurt you-"

"It's wasn't drugs all right?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seem... It's just, men, alleys, briefcases…It's a familiar scene." Faith stopped eating and looked Kate directly in the eye.

"I told you I don't do drugs. I wouldn't touch that shit." Faith held her gaze for a moment and turned back to her food. Kate's expression softened.

"I believe you." Faith stopped mid bite and looked back up at Kate. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No… it's just… it's been a while since someone's… it's nothing." Faith thought back to her days with the mayor and realized how much she missed the way he always reassured her, made her feel special. She smiled sadly and finished off her meal.

Faith and Kate finally wandered out of the diner a little past two in the morning. Faith smiled, relieved to finally have some food in her stomach. She debated the proper etiquette for thanking this stranger who'd just spent a considerable amount of money ensuring her nutritional well being. She turned to Kate and gave her an awkward smile.

"Thanks… for the meal."

"You're welcome. Kate reached into her pocket and grabbed her card. She handed it to Faith. "If you need anything… call me." Faith took the card and looked at it briefly before tucking it away in her bag.

"I will... Thanks." Faith smiled and stared at Kate for a moment. She gave a small wave and started down the street.

Kate watched her disappear and then turned to head home. She walked half a block before coming to her senses. She was a cop, it was her job to help people. She couldn't just let Faith walk away, alone with nowhere to go. She turned around and quickened her pace to catch up with Faith.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Sure." Faith said unconvincingly. Kate looked at her skeptically. "Well not yet, but don't worry, I can-"

"You can take care of yourself. Right, so you've said."

"Actually, I was going to say 'I can find a cheap hotel or something'."

"You have money?" Faith's earlier attempts to count her money had been interrupted, but she was sure that she had enough for at least a few nights.

"A little."

"What about family, friends, anything?" Faith's mind briefly flashed to Angel.

"Not really." Kate sighed and stared at the ground pensively. Faith could tell she was debating something in her head. After a long pause she finally spoke.

"Well listen… if you need somewhere to stay tonight…"

"You're gonna invite a complete stranger to your house?"

"I can take care of myself." Kate said with a smile.

Faith sat on Kate's couch, contentedly full from her meal and finally ready to sleep. She felt like she'd been up for days. Faith tried not to think of Buffy, wanting to enjoy the calmness in her mind for the moment. Kate tossed a blanket in her direction and headed to the bedroom.

"If you need anything…"

"Nah. I'm five by five." Kate looked at her quizzically.

"You're what?" Faith laughed.

"I'm good."

"Five by five. Is that a Faithism?" Faith laughed again.

"Faithism. Yeah. I like that."

"Goodnight." Kate smiled and disappeared into her room. Faith chuckled to herself, reveling in how wonderful it felt to laugh again. She lay down on the couch, snuggled into her blanket and sighed happily. 'LA's gonna be different. A whole new scene.'

* * *

"I know I'm late so let's skip the punctuality lecture and cut straight to the demonography," Buffy said as she shut the door to Giles'.

"Glad you could join us Buff. We were just discussing Adam, you know, the big scary monster that seems to thoroughly kick our ass every time we try to kill it." Xander quipped from the couch.

"Oh… well... Adam, bad. What else do we have?"

"Well… after hours of research we have… absolutely nothing." Willow replied.

"Nothing?" Buffy sat on the couch next to Xander.

"To even begin to understand more about this creature we have to first establish what demons he's composed of." Giles said. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Once we've done that we can begin researching them individually to determine their weaknesses."

"Well, we know that he's made of the one demon with the knife propelling arm thing, and that he has a computer in his head," Buffy paused, "Suddenly seeing the nothingness factor here." She paused again. "Well there has to be a record of it somewhere right? Maybe I can rough up a few commando boys, see if I can get some answers."

"I don't think a direct assault on the Initiative would be a very prudent course of action. Especially given the current circumstances there."

"So you think we should get all covert operationy?"

"I'm up for a little Mission Impossible." Xander said excitedly.

"Actually I believe it would be best to speak to Riley. Because of his status in the Initiative, perhaps he can provide a list of the most recent captures and give us a basis for our research."

"Talk to Riley, get a list. Got it. Are we done?" She asked eagerly, wanting to avoid the topic she knew would inevitably come up.

"Well… there is still the matter of… um... Faith," Giles said carefully. Buffy sighed.

"How?" Willow interjected. "How is that still a matter?"

"I'd have to go with Will on this one." Xander said. "The whole, rogue slayer situation, dire as it may seem, is seemingly less dire than the very real threat of our big Initiative Frankenstien killing thing. I don't think we have time to play slayer hide and seek. "

"Agreed." Buffy said quietly. "Adam's our biggest problem right now. Faith is gone, in that 'probably never coming back' kind of way. And if she does come back we'll… we'll cross that road when we get there." Buffy said, hoping her sadness wasn't evident in her voice. She closed her eyes, silently praying that Faith was all right.

* * *

Faith senses awoke to the blissful smell of bacon frying in the pan. She smiled, thinking for the first time in her life she's slept at a stranger's house without having to put out or sneak out. She stretched, feeling more relaxed than she had in ages.

Kate walked over and sat on the edge of the couch. Faith adjusted her legs accordingly.

"Good morning."

"Smells good."

"After seeing you attack those burgers last night, I guessed you weren't the Corn Chex for breakfast kind of girl."

"You guessed correctly." Faith stood up and yawned. "So listen, I can just grab my stuff and be outta here whenever. Just say the word."

"You have somewhere better to be?" Kate smiled.

"No… I just, I don't want to… impose or whatever."

"It's not a problem."

"Well, don't you have to go off and catch some perps or something?"

"I do. Unless you need me to stay home and baby sit you."

"You're leaving?"

"We don't all have the luxury of being 'between jobs'."

"I just thought that you wouldn't want to, you know, leave a stranger-"

"I trust you." Faith was visibly surprised by her words. "But for the record, I have an old TV, a broken CD player and a non-existent jewelry collection." Kate smiled. "Breakfast?"

The slice of bacon disappeared the second Kate put it on a plate. Faith shoveled the last of the eggs into her mouth. "That was impressive." Kate mused, frying pan still in hand.

"Record time." Faith smiled. Kate noticed her lip and moved closer.

"That's amazing. It's almost completely healed."

"I told you it would."

"In a day?" Kate reached out and ran her finger along Faith's lip, stopping abruptly when she realized what she was doing. She smiled uncomfortably and quickly withdrew her hand. "I should go." She dropped the frying pan in the sink. "Try not to eat the place while I'm gone."

* * *

Riley looked up from his papers and smiled as Buffy entered the room.

"Hey."

"Hey." Buffy shut the door behind her and kissed him hello. He slid back into his chair, she happily settled into his lap. Buffy looked at the chaos on Riley's desk. "Grading?"

"Unfortunately so." Buffy ruffled through the stack of psychology tests. She took hers out and crinkled her nose. "A ninety eight?"

"You missed one of the questions on behavioral versus cognitive therapies."

"Well…" She smiled devilishly, "I suppose you'll have to tutor me then." She kissed him again, slower and deeper. He happily responded. She broke the kiss and he started to protest. "Business first, pleasure later. " He gave her a look of mock disappointment. "And don't give me the puppy dog eyes." She slid off of his lap.

"All right. Business. What do you want to talk about?"

"Adam."

"Buffy you know I don't know anything about that. They kept it very-"

"Top secret. I know."

"Then what can I do?"

"Giles thinks that maybe if you give us a list of all the recent demon happenings we'll at least have something go by. I'm kinda fighting this thing blind here. Which is incidentally not the way you want to be fighting a superhuman killing machine."

"I don't have access to many of the HST profiles, but I'll see what I can find."

"I don't need profiles, I need what's in here." She pointed to his head. "Anything you can remember." Riley paused thoughtfully.

"I can have a list for you by tonight."

"Good." Buffy said, reclaiming her seat on his lap. "Now that takes care of business… I believe I mentioned something about pleasure." She smiled devilishly.

* * *

Faith was going absolutely stir crazy. She'd be trying to occupy her time since Kate left and was running out of things to do. She'd washed the dishes from breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, straightened the living room, scrubbed the bathroom, listened to the radio and finally settled on the couch to watch some television. She missed her Playstation. She flicked through the channels briefly, noticing Kate didn't have cable. "Damn." She slid off the couch and wandered over to the window. She wanted to slay. She looked up at the sun, high in the sky. It wasn't even noon yet. She sighed and sank back down into the couch. A thought came to her and she abruptly sat up. "The sewers!" She smiled and grabbed her coat.

"Jesus fucking Christ." Faith covered her nose. She'd been prowling the sewers for a greater portion of the afternoon and hadn't smelled anything quite as putrid as the stench that was currently invading her nostrils. She rounded the corner and saw why. "A dead body. Beautiful. But…" She took out her stake and smiled. "Where there are dead, there are usually the undead." She followed the tunnel to the end and wasn't disappointed. There was a large room at the end of the tunnel, complete with six vampires sleeping soundly. Faith smiled. "Rise and shine boys."

Faith smiled as she exited the sewer. Aside from a few minor bumps and bruises, she'd cleaned out the nest practically unscathed. She did however, run into some trouble later in the day when she ran into a few very angry vamps who'd come home to find big piles of dust. She looked down at the considerable gash in her arm. She silently hoped it would heal before Kate had a chance to see it. Knowing it wouldn't, she started thinking of a list of plausible excuses.

* * *

"I scraped it on something." Faith said, avoiding Kate's eyes. "You what?"

"I scraped it." Kate crossed her arms and smirked.

"Now the truth." Kate had abandoned her paperwork and come home early from the station. Faith hadn't had time to finalize her excuse. She kicked herself for not picking something more believable.

"I swear. I was taking a walk on the beach, and I tripped, and there was this piece of glass in the sand that-"

"Faith. As a detective, I've heard more lies than you can imagine, but that, was by far the worst." Faith opened her mouth to speak, Kate held up her hands. "I don't want to know. But, at least let me clean it." She headed off to the bathroom and emerged a few seconds later carrying a wealth of first-aid paraphernalia.

"You don't think that's a little excessive? It's not that bad."

"Sit." Faith gave a defeated sigh and complied. "Hold still." Kate took a Q-tip and filled it with antiseptic ointment. She rubbed it gently across the cut. Faith's arm tingled from the contact. She closed her eyes, knowing the curious sensation in her arm had less to do with the ointment and more to do with the beautiful woman applying it. "This doesn't hurt does it?" Kate asked with a trace of concern in her voice. Faith quickly opened her eyes.

"Hurt? No…" Kate quirked a brow curiously. She looked back at the wound.

"This is impressive. I'd hate to see the other guy."

"I told you I wasn't fighting, what happened was-"

"Right, right. A piece of glass jumped out of the sand and attacked you. I hate it when that happens. " Kate took a piece of cotton and placed it on top of the ointment. "The place looks beautiful by the way. Thank you."

"Cabin fever." Kate cut off a small piece of gauze, wrapped it over the cotton and taped it to Faith's arm. She ran her hand along the gauze to smooth it and looked up at Faith.

"You're done."

"Thank you doctor." Kate had a sudden awareness of her close proximity to Faith. She forced herself to relinquish her hold of Faith's arm and slowly slide to the other side of the couch. "So listen… I should probably get going."

"Where?" Kate asked sincerely. Her face fell when she realized that Faith meant it was time for her to move on. "Oh… you mean… go."

"Well yeah... unless you were gonna ask me to move in." Faith said facetiously.

"I like having a little housewife. The place has never been this clean." Kate said, using her typical sarcasm to mask her real emotions. The truth was, Kate loved having the company. And not just company in general, Faith's company.

"Well then get down on one knee and give me a ring." Faith said smiling.

Kate laughed. "How about this instead. You stay here until you get a job and a place of your own. And that way I don't have to worry about you dying on the street from gangrene or something." She said motioning back to Faith's injury.

"Well… I was hoping for a diamond, but I suppose it'll do." Faith said with a wry grin.

* * *

Over the next few days Kate and Faith developed a system. Kate cooked breakfast and Faith cleaned up once Kate left for work. While Kate was down at the station, Faith hit the sewers for some slaying action. She managed to hide most of her bumps and bruises, and Kate learned not to question the ones she did see. On the second day, Kate discovered that Faith, rough and tough as she was, was also a surprisingly good cook. Faith cooked dinner and they would eat together, chatting about their respective days. Kate shared her progress on cases and Faith talked about her adventures of the day, omitting certain slaying details. They talked about their lives, their pasts, realizing how much they had in common. The other detectives at the station noticed Kate smiling more and speculated about an improvement in her love life. Faith noticed herself smiling more too and wondered what about the young detective made her so happy. Maybe it was her company, maybe it was her smile, maybe it was because for the first time in ages, Faith didn't feel alone.

* * *

Buffy wandered sadly down the street. It had been three days since Faith disappeared and with each day that passed, Buffy knew her chances of finding her lessened. She sighed, ready to head home for the night. A voice called to her from down the street.

"Oy! Slayer!" Buffy heard the familiar English accent and rolled her eyes.

"Spike…"

"Oh don't look at me like that. I'm not here to cause problems"

"Oh?"

"I came looking for you didn't I?"

"That in itself is enough to make me suspicious. What do you want?"

"I have an important piece of information that you might want."

"And you're going to give it to me because…"

"Because I can't keep living like this. I need this bloody chip out."

"Forgive me for not sympathizing."

"Well I'm not just giving information away. I'll make you a deal."

"You honestly think that I'm going to help you revert back to your old self because you miss all of the maiming and slaughtering? Sorry, I like you toothless. So, how 'bout this... you give me this 'important piece of information' and I won't take the liberty of rearranging your face."

"Oh bugger off." Spike started to walk away. Buffy's arm shot out to stop him.

"Spike… I've got no patience for games tonight. You know I can spend hours kicking you around and you won't be able to fight back. Why don't you spare me some time and yourself a whole world of pain?"

"Look blondie, I don't owe you any favors." She punched him in the face. He grabbed his nose. "You bloody bitch!" She brought her arm back to hit him again. "All right, all right, I'll tell you! Keep your fucking knickers on." She lowered her arm and looked at him expectantly. "So I'm sitting at the bar, smoking a fag and minding my own business when these two blokes from-"

"Does this story have a point?"

"I was getting to it."

"Get to it quicker."

"Do you want to know where your little girlfriend is or not?"

"What?"

"Brown hair, this high, goes by the name of Faith."

"Faith…" She grabbed him by the collar. "Where is she?"

"If you'd let me get one fucking sentence out I could have told you by now."

"Skip the fucking details and tell me where she is, or we revert back to the 'me beating you senseless' deal."

"Bloody hell." She released his collar. He straightened himself out. "The word underground is that there's a slayer in the City of Angels."

"You shouldn't scratch it." Kate said motioning to the healing gash on Faith's arm.

"I'm not scratching it."

"Yes, you are."

"Three days and you're already bossing me around." Faith smiled as she picked up Kate's plate and put it in the sink.

"I think we have a good system."

"I'm going crazy. I'm not good at this whole homemaker, housewife deal."

"I disagree. But… I did notice you've been going a little stir crazy. I have a friend. A private investigator. I gave him a call today and he said if you're interested…"

"You got me a job?" Faith asked animatedly.

"Not exactly." Faith absentmindedly scratched her arm again. "Stop scratching." Faith rolled her eyes. "He wants to meet you tomorrow."

"A private dick huh? So I can be all, Faith Spencer, private eye. I dig that." She dropped her plate in the sink and turned excitedly to Kate. "Do I get like a badge?"

"You haven't even gotten the job yet."

"But I will." Faith said with a wink as she turned to scrub the dishes.

* * *

Buffy burst into the room and began throwing clothes into an overnight bag, so distracted she didn't notice the two girls on the bed slide quickly away from each other. Willow and Tara exchanged embarrassed glances.

"Buffy! You're home, I thought you were supposed to be out kicking some ass." Buffy mumbled something under her breath and began rummaging through the closet. Tara stood up and motioned that she was leaving. Willow nodded in acknowledgement as Tara slipped quietly out the door. Willow watched Buffy hastily packing.

"Buffy, you going somewhere?"

"I have to go LA."

"And you're… moving there?" She motioned to Buffy's overflowing duffle bag.

"Faith's there."

"What?! Why? How?… What?"

"I don't have time to explain it." She threw an assortment of weapons into the bag. "But you have to trust me."

"Buffy you can't just-"

"Will, just trust me. Tell Giles and the gang that I'm going down there and I'm going to bring her back. That's all. No fighting, no slaying. This is a simple search and rescue mission. "

"Rescue? Buffy this is Faith! The very same Faith that has tried to kill you on more than one occasion. You don't see the faulty reasoning here?"

"I have to go."

"Buffy! This is insane. I can't let you do this." Willow put her hand on Buffy's arm, Buffy raised her eyebrow. Willow quickly withdrew her hand.

"Okay, not that I have much choice in the matter, what with the, 'you being able to kick my ass' factor and all, but Buffy, come on!"

"I know it seems a little needle in a haystack-ish, but it's something I have to do. Trust me." She squeezed her friend's hand and headed out the door. Willow uttered a few more frantic words of protest as Buffy ran down the hall. "Trust me!" Buffy called behind her as she disappeared down the stairs.

* * *

Kate spent the night plagued by her usual insomnia. At around five she gave up all hope of sleeping and crept quietly out of bed and into the living room. She sat on an armchair across from the couch and watched Faith sleep. It had become a habit of hers.

Faith looked so peaceful so peaceful when she slept. Kate smiled and began to study Faith's features, her eyes finally settling on Faith's lips. Her mind started to wander and she quickly reminded herself that she was to *help* Faith. Nothing more.

"Why do you do that?" Faith said opening her eyes. Kate screamed and nearly fell out of the chair. "You know, for a cop, you rattle pretty easily" Kate stuttered for a moment trying to regain her composure.

"You startled me." She finally stammered.

"And I'm sure that girly scream will really intimidate any perps who decide to jump out at you. So what's the deal?"

"With what?"

"You watching me sleep." Kate took a beat.

"Insomnia."

"I'd be pretty bored if I was you."

"I like the view." Kate's eyes widened when she realized what she'd said. She tried to think of a sarcastic quip to fill the awkward silence. Faith saw her discomfort and chuckled.

"Yeah, it's not too bad from here either." Kate gave an embarrassed smile. "So, my incredibly good looks aside, why are you staring?"

"I don't know if I'd call it staring."

"Are you avoiding the question?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

"It can be."

"That's what you said the first night I met you."

"You're avoiding the question."

"You give a tough interrogation, you could be a cop."

"I'm gonna be a PI remember?"

"Right, right. Faith Spencer, private eye."

"You're still avoiding the question." Kate paused.

"I'm just trying to figure out what you're running from."

"What makes you think I'm running?"

"Gut feeling."

"Maybe it's that crap you had for dinner. I told you I would have cooked but you insisted we go to that grease joint."

"I'm serious…"

"So am I. Do you know what they put in that food? MSG's no good for the digestive track."

"Faith…" Faith sighed.

"I'm not running."

"You're doing something that's akin to avoiding a situation."

"Always a cop."

"I just want to know what you're not telling me." Faith looked her in the eye.

"It's nothing that needs to be told. Just shit that needs to be forgotten." She said quietly. Kate placed her hand on top of Faith's.

"You know I'll listen right?"

"Yeah… I do. And you know if I was any good with thank-yous I'd give you a real nice one right about now." Kate smiled warmly. "Now, Detective Lockley, by my calculations, you haven't slept in about three days, so I suggest you-"

"You knew the whole time?"

"Gut feeling. Well, that and the chair squeaks like crazy. Go to bed." Kate laughed. Faith grinned at her as she stood up and walked back to her room with an embarrassed smile.

* * *

Faith was completely captivated by the large sword mounted on the wall. She studied the impressive collection of weapons as she waited for Kate to finish talking to her friend in his office. She reached out and traced the intricate design on the blade. She heard Kate come back into the room.

"This stuff is wicked cool."

"He's a… collector."

"My kind of guy." She smiled and resumed her examination. She was so distracted she didn't hear the man come into the room.

"Here he is. Faith, this is-" Faith turned around. Her stomach dropped.

"Angel…"

"Faith."

"You know each other?" Kate asked, visibly confused.

"Yeah, I know him…" Her eyes narrowed. Angel shifted uncomfortably.

"Faith and I have a… history."

"A history? That's real fucking cute. Why don't you tell her how screwing me over was your favorite past time." She turned to Kate. "I appreciate the help, but I'm outta here." Faith turned and quickly made her way to the door. She nearly ran into Cordelia as she entered. Cordelia's eyes widened.

"Oh my God!" She moved closer to Angel. Wesley entered behind her carrying a stack of old books and smiling, completely oblivious to the situation.

"These texts were incredibly difficult to locate but due to my cunning researching skills I was able to-" He saw Faith. "Oh my." The books clattered to the floor. "It would appear we have a bit of a… situation here," Wesley stammered as he joined Cordelia beside the tall vampire.

"Well look at this... Dead Boy, Queen Cordelia and Mary Poppins. What a team." Faith said as she moved closer to the door. "I'd love to stay for the reunion, but I've got better places to be." She headed out the door. Kate grabbed her arm and gently pulled her away from the door.

"Hold it." Faith clenched her jaw and reluctantly turned back to the group.

"Angel, isn't she supposed to be unconscious somewhere? What is she doing here?" Cordelia asked nervously.

"I brought her here," Kate said crossing her arms.

"You brought her here? Is this like a police thing?" A look of realization crossed her face and she relaxed a little. "Oh I get it. You caught her and you're turning her over to Angel so he can give her back to the Council. Way to go police lady!" She noticed Angel signaling her to be quiet. "What? She knows about the whole vampire, demon, slayer thing. " She paused. "Right?" She turned to Faith from behind the safety of Angel's large frame. "Shouldn't she be in chains or something?"

"I didn't catch her." Kate replied irritably.

"Well she's right in front of you. Grab her! You've got a gun right?"

"Cordelia…" Angel finally said. Kate felt the tension rise and turned to Angel.

"What's going on?" She said as calmly as possible.

"I thought you said you brought her here don't you…" Cordelia's eyes widened. "Is she holding you hostage?"

"Why would she hold me hostage?"

"Well duh! She's like the poster girl for 'Psychos R Us'. Plus the whole homicidal tendencies thing." Kate could feel herself growing more confused by the second. She gave and exasperated sigh and tried to suppress her frustration.

"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Faith looked down at the floor, Kate turned to Angel. Angel paused a moment, Cordelia took it upon herself to explain the situation.

"Faith used to live with us in Sunnydale, fighting vampires and demons with Buffy, which was great, until she killed someone and went all rogue slayer on us. Then she started working for the mayor, who turned out to be this invincible demon guy planning this big ascension thing, so Buffy knocked Faith into a coma and blew up the school."

"That's not how it happened!" Faith yelled, Kate put a calming hand on her shoulder. Angel finally spoke.

"Can you excuse us for a second?"

"You'll get no argument from me." Cordelia said as she headed cautiously past Faith and out the door. Wesley stood awkwardly, staring at the group.

"I- I think I'm just going to… Right." He quickly followed her. Angel turned to Faith and opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"If you were planning on going into some long speech about how you and I are so much alike you can skip it. I'm sick of everyone trying to save me from some big evil. I don't care what shit went down in Sunnydale, it's not your place to decide how I live my life."

"When innocent people get involved-" "I never intentionally hurt anyone! I kill vampires, demons. It's my job. And technically, it's my job to kill you. But let me tell you something…" She stepped closer to Angel. "I was offered a shitload of money to dust your sorry ass, and I turned it down. Now I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not, but it gets me pretty far in my book." Kate's mind flashed back to the alleyway. The men, the briefcase, the fight… it all clicked in her head.

"I believe her," Kate said stepping forward.

"Kate, it's more complicated than- "

"It's my job to read people. I trusted your judgment without question, I'm asking you to trust mine."

"What makes you think you can believe a word she says?"

"Because she's telling the truth." A voice called from the doorway. Everyone whirled around. Buffy stood there with her arms crossed in front of her.

"And this… is Buffy." Kate stated flatly.

"Buffy…" Angel said uncomfortably.

"Jesus! It's a fucking humanitarian convention! You don't ever give up do you?"

"I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk."

"You know what? I'm finished talking."

"Faith, you need to-"

"No B. I don't want to hear it anymore! I want to move on. Forget all this bullshit. Forget Sunnydale. Forget you. I don't need you to fix me, I'm not some fucked up charity case for the amazing Buffy Summers."

"Faith that isn't how I- "

"Save it! When the fuck did you start caring about me? When the guilt settled in? How about this… Go back to your little plastic life in happy Sunnydale with a clear conscience. I'm alive and well, you're guilt free. You don't ever have to see my face again, cause I don't ever want to see yours." Faith stormed out. Kate ran after her. Buffy stood in shock, staring after her. Heartbroken.

"Faith!" Faith thundered down the street. Kate chased after her. "Faith! Will you stop and talk to me?"

"What is there to say? You heard the story."

"I heard a story. I didn't hear yours."

"Yeah, well it's pretty much the same."

"There are always two sides. Now I don't believe you're a killer so talk to me." Faith stopped.

"What are you running from?" Faith stopped.

"You just met her."

"Buffy?"

"It's complicated." Faith started walking again. Kate grabbed her arm.

"So explain it." Faith gave Kate a defeated look and took a deep breath.

* * *

Buffy paced anxiously in Angel's office. "So who was she?" Buffy said with a touch of annoyance in her voice.

"Her name is Kate. She's a detective." Angel stated calmly.

"And what is she doing with Faith?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Faith is my responsibility."

"And you've been very responsible so far." He replied smugly. Buffy shot him a look.

"That's not for you to decide."

"I trust Kate. And more importantly, Faith does. I think that's what's bothering you." Buffy glared at him. She hated when he analyzed her. She hated it even more when he was right.

* * *

Kate's mind was spinning and she excused herself to collect her thoughts. Faith explained it, all of it. From her first day as a slayer, to her final confrontation with Buffy. "God Lockley, what did you get yourself in to…" She said to herself as she walked down the street trying to subdue the pandemonium in her mind. She'd only recently been introduced to the world of vampires and demons. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with it. Depraved murderers. Vicious killers that brutally slaughtered their victims. Ruthless humans without souls. That's what she used to think true evil was. But Angel had introduced her to a horrifying new world. A world that made some of the killers she'd put away look like saints. And Faith, being a slayer, was at the heart of it all. "You couldn't fall for someone normal for a change…" She realized what she'd just said. "Damn!" She was falling for her.

* * *

Faith had an incredible urge to break something. Anything. She wished she could go slaying, or at least for a walk to clear her head, but she'd promised Kate she wouldn't leave. She'd finally been able to move on, and then Buffy Summers came along and fucked her over again. She heard a knock at the door. "We don't want any." She called angrily. The knock persisted. She let out an exasperated sigh and stomped over to the door. "I said we're not-" She looked up. Buffy stood quietly at the door with a sad expression on her face. "How did you find me?" Faith growled.

"Angel told me where she lives."

"It wasn't his place." She said coldly. "And 'she' has a name."

"Can we talk?"

"Why? So you can give me some lecture on right and wrong, good, evil… that sort of thing?"

"No, because I care about you…" Faith scoffed.

"Yeah, because a knife to the gut says it so much better than a Hallmark card."

"Things got… out of hand. I never meant to-"

"Out of hand? You left me for dead B. And now I'm supposed to forgive you because you're sorry? An apology doesn't even begin to cover it. And come to think of it, I haven't heard one yet."

"I'm sorry." Faith gave her a look of disgust.

"Get out."

"Don't do this."

"I said get out!" Faith went to close the door, Buffy stepped into the apartment.

"Faith, you said you want to forget everything, but you can't. It's there, it'll always be there. You can't keep running from it. I'm giving you a chance here to-"

"You're giving me a chance?" Faith laughed incredulously. "You still don't get it do you? I'm not the only one wrong here. You want to go blow for blow, I'd say we're pretty fucking even. You can't pin this on me B. You fucked with me, I fucked with you."

"Then let's stop fucking with each other and wipe the slate clean."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes… it is. I heard about what happened with Angel. They asked you kill him, you said you wouldn't."

"I didn't do it because of any loving feelings I have towards him."

"But you did it. You made a choice a long time ago to go the other way and you saw where it took you. Given that choice again, you chose the right thing."

"It has nothing to do with making the right decision, it has to do with watching out for myself. "

"I don't believe that. You keep hiding behind that tough girl image, pretending nothing affects you. I don't buy it anymore. I know you feel something, I saw it in your eyes. You're human, you have feelings and no matter how far you suppress them they're still there. You can't keep ignoring them."

"Wow B… Impressive analysis. They teach you that in college?" Buffy creased her brow and sighed.

"How do you do that? Just completely shut everything off like that?"

"Lifetime of practice. Look, are we finished here?" Buffy paused for a moment and looked Faith right in the eye.

"Why do I even bother? How stupid of me to waste my time on you." Buffy said, watching Faith's reaction carefully. She saw a look of hurt flash briefly across her face. "See…" She said quietly. "You do feel it." She stepped closer to Faith. "I want to make things right between us."

"Eight months. You wasted eight months of my life."

"Eight months and eleven days. And there wasn't a day that went by when I didn't think about you."

"Guilt." Faith stated flatly.

"No, not just that. I wish more than anything it could have been different."

"But it's not." Buffy sighed.

"Do you remember how it used to be? We were good together." Faith's expression softened. "I miss that." She placed her hand lightly on Faith's shoulder. "I miss *you*. " Faith took a deep breath.

"Things can't just go back to the way they were." Faith finally said.

"I know that. But I don't want things to be like this anymore. We can start over. A clean slate. That's what you want isn't it?" Faith closed her eyes and sighed. "Come back with me. Please." Faith finally opened her eyes, instantly regretting that decision when she saw Buffy's pleading face staring up at her. She closed them again. Buffy looked at the floor and sighed. "At least agree to think about it?" Faith nodded slowly.

Faith replayed the conversation with Buffy over and over in her head. A week ago she would have gone back to Sunnydale without a second thought. Ever since the accidental killing of Allan over a year ago, she'd felt her world spin out of control. She was finally being offered a chance to rectify her mistakes. She wanted nothing more than to make things right with Buffy but going back to Sunnydale meant facing everything she'd been trying so hard to forget. Reliving the whole experience again. She knew she had to go back, but what would happen from there? It wasn't just a matter of repairing the damage, it was about finding her place in the world. Sunnydale or Los Angeles… She didn't know if she'd ever be comfortable enough in Sunnydale to stay for good, but she knew if she stayed too long she'd get sucked back in. And then there was Buffy… She knew that no matter where she was, Buffy Summers would always have a part of her heart. She sat for a moment with her head in her hands. "Buffy…" she said aloud. She sighed and started packing her bag.

* * *

Kate came home significantly more at ease than when she left. Her feeling of calm immediately dissipated when she saw the empty apartment. "Damn!"

"I'm still here." Faith said walking over to Kate from the kitchen.

"I thought you…"

"I did. I am. I just wanted to… you know."

"You're leaving." Kate said, more as a statement than a question.

"I have to go… fix some mistakes."

"Buffy…" Kate said softly. Faith detected a hint of jealousy.

"Yeah, Buffy." Faith said with a twinge of guilt in her voice. "I didn't want to leave without saying-"

"Goodbye."

"Thank you." Faith corrected her.

"And here I was about to ask you to stay." Kate laughed ironically.

"I'm coming back."

"Yeah…" Kate nodded sadly, "I've heard that before." Faith walked over to her and reached for her hand.

"I mean it. I owe you..."

"I told you staying here wasn't a problem."

"That's not what I meant." Faith paused, searching for the right words. "You were the first person to believe in me since… I just… Thank you." Kate smiled sadly. Kate picked up her bag and pulled it over her shoulder. "I have to go meet her at Angel's…"

"I think I'll just… sit here." Kate said, sitting slowly on the couch.

"Oh…" Faith said sadly. "Then I guess I'll…" Faith motioned to the door.

"Yeah…" Faith opened the door. She paused and turned back to Kate. She walked back to Kate, slowly leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Kate closed her eyes and sighed. She heard the door close quietly behind her.

* * *

Faith slipped quietly into Angel's office. Buffy looked up and flashed a relieved smile. "I'm not staying." Faith said adamantly. "I'm going back to repair some damage, and then I'm outta there. If anyone tries anything, or if there's any more of this bullshit with the Council I'll-"

"There won't be."

"If this is another fucking trick I swear to God-"

"Faith…" Buffy said gently. "A clean slate. That's what I said." Faith clenched her jaw.

"Then let's get it over with."

* * *

Kate rushed into Angel's office barely a minute after Buffy and Faith left. She'd spent about ten minutes deliberating on her couch before she realized how badly she wanted Faith to stay. Cordelia looked up from her desk.

"They left."

"When." Kate replied breathlessly.

"It won't make a difference to try and catch them if that's you're thinking." Kate walked slowly over to the window. She caught a glimpse of Faith and Buffy walking across the street. She saw Buffy draw Faith slowly into an embrace and shut her eyes with a pained expression.

"You never had a chance." Cordelia said, noticing the look of heartbreak on her face. "I mean that in the nicest way possible."

"What?"

"With Faith. She's always had a one track mind that led straight to Buffyville."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Please. I was queen of gossip in high school. I know how to read the signs. You like her. But trust me, you're better off. Faith has some serious issues, Buffy's the only one emotionally masochistic enough to go there. " Kate didn't respond. She stared sadly out the window and watched as Buffy and Faith headed silently back to Sunnydale.