"You did what?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes and flopped down on the hotel bed that was covered with a very colorful, nasty smelling comforter. The blonde picked up the remote control and switched on the TV, restlessly surfing through the channels as if she was really looking for a show to watch and not just an excuse not to talk to her friend.

"Buffy why did we even come here if all you were going to do was fight with her?" Willow asks heatedly and Buffy grumbles something, her gaze still fixed to the TV.

"I don't know, I wasn't planning on it. She just made me really mad. She told me I was mad at her for feeling guilty about her going to die and I think she's kind of right. I mean, she really deserves to be punished but I hate feeling so guilty," the blonde slayer sighs as her redheaded friend sat down next to her on the bed and took the remote from Buffy to turn the TV off.

"Buffy it's not your fault. You tried your best to keep her on the good side but she still went to the mayor. Some people are just evil within, you can't change that. Though she did a good thing turning herself in doesn't mean she's good now. I don't like to see her executed any more than you do, even though I have had my shared of trouble with her myself, but you shouldn't kill yourself like this over it," Willow tried to calm her friend but grimaced at her friend's pained expression to her last choice of words.

"Sorry, I meant something like don't get yourself all worked up. Seriously Buffy, the only person to blame is her," the redheaded assured the blonde slayer and pulled her legs into Indian-style position.

Buffy stared at the dirty ceiling, sighing and sat up with her back against the headboard. "Yeah but Will, you weren't there when...when Allan died. She just stood there and wouldn't move, she looked so helpless and lost. And instead of helping her deal with it right away I went to Angel. By the time I talked to her she had already 'dealt' with it on her own and wouldn't let me in. I am to blame Willow," the blonde mumbled, feeling tears creep up behind her eyelids.

The witch closed her eyes and leaned against the headboard as well, sighing. "What about the professor? She killed him on purpose and didn't even show regret. She has killed two people Buffy and assaulted many others, including you, me, Xander, your mom. I bet the list is a lot longer than that. Some people on death row killed one person, she killed two and you're feeling sorry for her being there. You were the one that wanted her in jail the whole time."

The blonde slayer grimaced and looked at the ugly comforter. She knew she would have to do something to get rid of that nagging guilt. Maybe, just maybe she would see Faith again. After all, what would her day be without some fighting, whether it was verbal or physical.

Buffy grunted and slipped underneath the covers, indicating to her friend that it was time to sleep. Willow got up reluctantly and turned the light off as she went to bed herself.

The breeze swept across the yard with a coldness that was uncommon for the area. Sandy earth was lifted into the air to create dust clouds that left the people in the yard keeping their eyes and mouthes shut. Even with the icy wind the sun was lurking behind the clouds, cutting through bits and bits of the puffy grayness with its rays, to tickle the skin of any one person that might come into contact with it. The large white building to the side of the yard threw its shadow onto the light brown ground, claiming more and more ground with each passing minute as the sun shifted on the horizon, almost as if it was trying to eat the last bit of light left.

The girl stood with her back against the white wall, her body enveloped in the shadow that kept her from the sun but not the wind. A blue tint was showing through her uncovered skin and although it was very obvious that the girl was trying to hide her trembling, her body shook with shivers as the wind touched her. The bright orange of her jumpsuit stood out in contrast against the white wall, like an easy target just waiting to be finished. Her dark hair fell loosely around her shoulders, swaying with the wind in an everlasting game. The top part of her suit was tied around her waist by the sleeves, the white tank top that covered her upper body not enough to distract the cold. The wind pressed the orange pants of the suit against her legs, showing either how big the suit was for the girl or how tiny the girl was for the suit. The brunette had her head lowered as if showing submission, her chocolate colored eyes resting on her clad in white socks feet.

"Faithie!" a rough, deep voice yelled and the brunette's head snapped up in an instant. A woman clad in the same outfit, yet about three times as big as the girl stepped up to her, her body covered by the warming rays of the sun that were mocking the cold the young girl was in.

Raising her eyes to meet the taller woman's Faith stepped forward into the sun, her skin afire with chills caused by the sudden warmth of the sun and gave her opponent a questioning look. A big hand pushed hard against her shoulder and sent the girl backwards into the wall, back into the cold.

"Didn't I tell you to stay there? Little no-good whore you are," the woman barked, then walked away laughing, settling back in the table she had occupied before with a few other women.

Faith growled as quietly as possible and closed her eyes. She had to pretend to be weaker than them, pretend not to be able to beat the living daylights out of that bitch of an inmate. If they knew how strong she was they would sedate her, or strap her down. She hated to not be able to move. Sighing the brunette wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her cold arms fiercely as the woman turned to look the other way.

Everyday at the same time they let the prisoners into the big yard that was surrounded by metal bars, mesh fences and barbed wire. Not to mention the electricity they had running on those things. Faith rubbed her hands as she remembered her own painful experience not too long ago. The brunette looked around at the groups of women talking loudly, or the singled out inmates that sat around smoking like chimneys, while some others played a 3-on-3 on the little concrete strip the facility liked to call a basketball court. Only two big oak trees were planted in the yard, surrounded by benches that apparently Faith wasn't allowed on as she had found out the hard way.

As the guards had let her out there she had wanted to do nothing else but lie somewhere in the sun, to try and burn the chill in her bones away with fire. But apparently the other inmates were quick not to take a liking to her and not even her slayer strength could compete with over fifty pissed off prison inmates. The big woman, whose name Faith believed to be Hardy for reasons she did not want to know, had thrown the dark slayer against the wall and made her stay there like a little puppy as soon as she had entered the courtyard. They had fun playing with her, teasing her until she just felt like screaming and crying and beating them up, hitting or pushing her and pretending it was an accident, stealing food from her while the guards weren't looking.

"Wilkins!" one of the guards yelled and it took her a few seconds before she registered it was her who they were calling. It still took her some time getting used to her new last name, but she had accepted it as her own as the mayor had signed with his name while she was in the coma. The coma, that was another thing. She hated being reminded because it immediately reminded her of the blonde slayer. It had been two days since their confrontation and Faith had an empty feeling deep in her heart that told her Buffy wasn't coming back this time.

The bulky guard cuffed her hands and ankles to a chain, while another had his hand rested on the holster with his gun, ready to shoot her the second she tried to get away. Faith followed the guard back inside, all the while feeling the eyes of the other inmates burn into her back with hate.

The blonde slayer stared as the door opened and the guard pushed the familiar figure into the room. Before he could chain the brunette to the table though Buffy crossed his path and stared at him sternly.

"Can I just talk to her in private somewhere?" she muttered calmly.

"This room is private, honey," the guard grinned and pulled on Faith's chains, causing the brunette to push Buffy out of the way.

"I mean private, as in none of you there ready to shoot anything that moves while you eavesdrop. And don't call me that," the blonde stated coldly, seeing the look of slight anger flash across the guards eyes.

"Listen...Miss Summer, is it? This girl is a convicted murderer, should I mention the various assault charges, and you are asking me to be left in private with her, without guard supervision?" the guard questioned, trying to sound as important as he thought he was.

Buffy sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead in despair. She had to tell Faith about the Council's plans to revoke her slayer strength but it was too much of a risk to talk with the guards so close by. she told herself and cringed slightly. Maybe she had to result to what she really would hate doing. Buffy sighed and closed her eyes.

"Please Mister?" she quipped, forcing her eyes to get teary and sighed again as she stepped closer to Faith, pulling the brunette's hands up and entwining it with her own. "Can I just be alone with my Faith for a few minutes, please?" Buffy begged with teary eyes, hoping Faith would understand what was going on and play along as the guard stared at the two of them with wide eyes.

"I...uh...I don't know Miss. It's against the rules and all. How about I go check and see if it's okay?" he stuttered in confusion and left the room, nevertheless leaving the door opened so the guard standing outside could see them without any problems.

"B...what?" Faith mumbled, but was cut off by Buffy's finger on her lips as they heard footsteps coming back towards them. The blonde stood up on her tiptoes and leaned as close to Faith as physically possible without them becoming the same person and looked into the chocolate brown eyes of the younger slayer as the guard walked back in.

"Ah...ummm...," he mumbled and the blonde stepped back from Faith, as if actually caught doing something, then looked at the guard with pleading eyes. "Uh you can go in the courtyard, there is guards there in case something should happen."

Buffy smiled brightly and nodded, following a head-shaking guard as he led the two slayers through the hallway to a large glass door. He nodded to Buffy with a slight smile as he turned to walk off, but the blonde tapped his shoulder lightly, pointing at the handcuff as he looked at her.

"Please?"

The guard sighed, rubbing his forehead and looked around him, then pulled out his key. "This is the first and last time you hear me?" he barked, but it didn't sound as harsh as it was intended, and he opened the door for them. The blonde girl grabbed Faith's hand and pulled her out into the sunlight as the guard closed the door and turned back around, shaking his head.

The man in the dark-suit stepped out of the cab onto the busy boardwalk. He reached inside and threw a couple of bills onto the passenger seat, then mumbling a hurried 'Thank you' in an awful British accent he slammed the door shut. Looking at his watch he was relieved to find out that there was still time for him to enjoy a good meal before having to do his duty. With a slight smile he grabbed up his small bag and walked up the steps to the fancy California hotel.

"I didn't know you were such a good actress, B," Faith mumbled and leaned against the white building wall once again, as if it now was her destined space in the yard.

They had chosen a spot at the end of the courtyard, where the fence met the wall, to be as private as was possible in this place. From the tables and benches in the middle of the courtyard Faith could see the other women glancing in their direction and she turned her head away, staring at Buffy who was standing in front of her.

"I'm natural, I guess," the blonde smirked, shrugging and looked at the other slayer. "Listen Faith, I have something to tell you."

The brunette grinned slightly, nodding. "You're pregnant? Don't worry hun, I've got life insurance," Faith mocked and Buffy scoffed sarcastically, shaking her head. The blonde remembered the younger slayer's ability to have a punt or joke for every situation they had been in. Except for the night she, they killed Allan. The blonde sighed, closing her eyes and reached her hand out to lean against the metal bars.

Suddenly Faith's hands snapped forward, shoving her hard and all Buffy could think as she fell backwards was that it was her own fault for being so stupid and almost trusting Faith. Before she completely hit the ground Buffy delivered a harsh kick to the brunette's ribcage in a feeble attempt to defend herself. The blonde landed on the ground with a thud that knocked the wind out of her but was up in an instant, ready to kill Faith herself if necessary. She stared at the brunette, who was kneeling on the ground grimacing, then looked back at Buffy. Instead of seeing the killer-lust or anger she expected there was nothing in Faith's eyes.

"Ah, you might not want to touch the fence, B. Fried slayer is no good slayer," Faith mumbled, holding up her right hand that had red burn marks on them and smiled half-heartedly.

Buffy stared at her opponent, biting her lower lip. If she had been feeling guilty before, now it was about three times as bad. Faith had wanted to save her from becoming fried chicken and what did she do? Make sure the dark-haired girl had enough broken ribs to make sleeping very painful.

"Damn, Faith...I...I'm sorry. I though...I," Buffy stuttered, holding out a hand to the brunette to help her get up and kept chewing on her lip as she saw the other girl wince in pain.

"You thought I turned all evil-Faith again. Yeah. No biggie, I deserve it," mumbled the younger girl quietly, looking around to make sure no one saw what had just happened.

Before Buffy could say anything Faith elbowed her slightly, nodding her head over to the building.

"Huh?" Buffy asked, confused at something she didn't see.

"The guard from before. At 10 o'clock. He's coming over," Faith whispered, pretending they didn't see him.

Buffy groaned, rolling her eyes, and looked past Faith quickly to see the guard a few steps away.

"Faith?"

"Huh?"

Before either girl knew what hit them Buffy wrapped her arms around the other girl's neck, pulling the brunette closer and pressed her lips tightly against Faith's. the blonde was screaming inside, trying to ignore the chills that were running down her back by the mere touch of Faith's skin.

"Ahem," the guard sounded and the girls quickly broke apart, staring at him in embarrassment.

"Uh. Call for you Wilkins. It's your lawyer."

Faith grimaced and took a step back. "Tell the asshole to call later. I'm not taking any calls, alright?"

The guard shrugged, looking at his watch and walked back towards the building.

"Faith he's your lawyer. Only he can get you out of here. Maybe you should really talk to him," Buffy said, sounding worried, then realized what she had just said.

The brunette scoffed and shook her head. "It's his damn fault him here in the first place. He's one of those rookies just out of law school, I'm just a practice test to him nothing more. The damn idiot slept through most of my trial."

Buffy sighed, narrowing her eyes. What was it about Faith that always drew her close, that wouldn't let go of her. Just this morning Willow had had to practically drag her out of bed to make sure she told Faith about the British guys coming and now here she was kissing the dark slayer, even if it was only for disguise.

"Can't you just get a new lawyer?"

Faith grinned, cocking her head to the side. "Well let's see. I don't have any money to pay a better lawyer with and I don't have any family to pay for a lawyer. The only person that would've paid for me was the mayor, but well he's...well you know what he is," the brunette mumbled and looked away.

"So what'd you want to talk to me about?" Faith asked, changing the topic and looking at Buffy questioningly.

The blonde's eyes went wide and she grasped Faith's hand harshly. "The Council is coming for you. Again."

But to Buffy's surprise all Faith did was shrug and lean back against the wall. "So? Can't be any worse where they'll take me than here."

"Well that's the problem. They don't want anything to do with you anymore. They're going to take your powers so you can't pass them on. I guess they're not too fond of having two slayers," Buffy mumbles and looks at the hurt look that crosses Faith's features.

"But how can they. I thought they couldn't take our powers, B," Faith whispers, turning her head away from the blonde.

"I'm not totally sure, but Giles said that there is a poison that if given to a slayer will paralyze her and slowly suck all her power out of her body over time. It feeds on it or something, that's why, if given to a normal person it would kill them."

"And it won't kill us?"

Buffy shrugged slightly with a pained expression. "We don't know. No one's ever tried."

"Sorry, Mister. I can't let you in unless you show me some proof," the guard stated while shaking his head. He looked suspiciously at the man in the brown suit that talked with a heavy British accent. This man had come up to the front of the facility and demanded to be let in to see his 'niece' Faith Wilkins. The guard could only shake his head at that. He could not even count on one hand how many 'uncles', 'aunts', 'brothers' and 'sisters' had tried to visit the young inmate since she had first been brought here just a few days ago. With all the chaos going on about her death sentence there were many people that obviously tried to do the job themselves if she got her appeal, while others believed that they could free her if they only got in.

"I am telling you, this will not be the last you hear of me. I am outraged at you inability to let me see the girl even though I am family. You will regret not letting me in young man," the British guy yelled, then stormed off with his head read as a tomato. The guard sighed and smiled slightly, then shook his head again at the stupidity of the many people that thought they could just waltz into a high-security prison like that.

He looked up as a pretty blonde walked out of the front door and he smiled, handing her back her jewelry and purse. This hadn't been the first time the blonde girl had visited Faith Wilkins and the way he saw it, it definitely wouldn't be the last. Especially not after his colleague had told everyone else with a smirk that those two seemed to be 'a thing'. He grinned as Buffy Summers, he knew her name by heart after seeing her for the first time, thanked him with a smile and walked out towards the parking lot.

Leaning back against his seat he sighed, wondering how it was possible that all the most dangerous felons had the prettiest girls.

He had not anticipated his failure and the inability of the guards to let him see the slayer. The Council though had foreseen problems and ordered him to call if there was trouble. The man had no doubt that they could arrange for papers to prove his status to the slayer. It would surely take some time, but he had no doubt he could finish his job quickly. After all the ancient books had said that the venom would work very fast, draining the slayer of her powers within about three days. The risk of costing the girl her life was little to pay, compared to the trouble they would have to go through to track down the heir.

Anthony McCarthy smiled to himself and stored the syringe with the blue liquid safely in his pocket as the waitress brought him his tea, which he sipped gratefully.

The cold enveloped her gracefully, touching her skin in every place it wasn't covered. She repressed the urge to sniff and instead wiped her running nose with the back of her hand. No reason to pull any attention to herself. Cursing under her breath the brunette pulled her legs as far up to her chest as they would allow and rubbed them to bring some warmth back into her body. It hadn't been enough that all they were allowed to sleep in was their underwear and a T-shirt, the damn bitches that were her cellmates had decided to take her only blanket as well.

She was tired, so tired, from watching her back all day long for the past four days she had been here. If she didn't, who jnew what bitch might be on her with some sort of weapon to jam into her spine. There were three other women in the cell with her and from day one on they had done their best to intimidate her. Especially the strongest one of the women, some bitch named Harmony, had taken a 'liking' to Faith. More than once the slayer found herself pinned to the cold ground of the cell, sometimes she even found that although she was the slayer she had a hard time getting out of the woman's strong grip. Faith had enough reasons to believe that the woman might be some sort of demon. she told herself and yawned.

Her eyelids were heavier than lead, threatening to shut completely. Faith sighed as her eyes finally closed and completely darkness surrounded her, not like when her slayer night vision made it impossible not to see all those little things while it was supposed to be pitch black. the brunette though, but soon enough felt herself cross the edge to the land of sleep.

Suddenly someone grabbed her ankles and jerked her off the top bunk of the bed. The sudden attack left her stunned and before Faith could defend herself her body hit the cold floor hard, knocking the wind out of her and someone moved on top of her, pinning her wrists above her head.

"What the fuck...," she hissed but was cut off by the hand that connected hard with her face.

"Don't say a word Faithie and I won't hurt you," a voice deeper than hers whispered into her ear, straddling her so the brunette really had no way to move.

Faith groaned and bucked her hips to throw the other woman off of her. Usually with her slayer strength she would've broken free of the grasp on her wrists and thrown the attacker right off, but this person was stronger than her, or at least just as strong and had her in control now. The slayer squinted and stared at the person holding her down, growling quietly as she realized it was Harmony who was grinning at her evilly.

Shivering as her bare skin came in contact with the cold floor the slayer tried to roll out of the woman's hold, but failed. Faith had always been the weaker one of the two slayers, but she was ready to cry when the strong woman grabbed both her wrists with only one of her hands to hold her down, while the woman's right hand traveled down the brunette girl's body.

"Bad memories Faithie? Don't cry, it won't hurt much I promise," the woman whispered as the girl shivered underneath her and she could hear the short breaths Faith was taking. The woman smiled to herself as she held the slayer down easily, feeling her newly acquired demon blood and power rush through her like adrenaline. This had been too easy, taking down the slayer like that. She loved the new strength that fed her body, a strength she had not possessed until about a week ago. That day when the strange elderly man with the British accent had made a pact with her ­ demonic, superhuman powers in exchange for a few favors, having to do with that girl Faith Wilkins. Harmony was not allowed to kill the slayer, but she was allowed to intimidate and hurt the girl just like her boss had ordered her while giving her these strange powers. The guy had only told her to keep track of Faith and battle her occassionally, to see if her strength would lessen over time. He had mentioned to her that one of his colleagues would come to administer a venom to lessen the girl's powers and they needed an ally to see if that was really the case.

Harmony didn't care either way, as long as she could keep this superhuman strength and get to do what she did best before being locked up ­ beating on people. She chuckled softly as the slim girl beneath her let a small sob escape her lips and the woman moved her hand down the girls stomach sensuously, realizing she had hit a nerve with something, but then remembered her assignment. The woman grinned as she raised her right fist in the dark, aware that the girl probably didn't see it, and struck Faith's jaw with all her might. This was fun, very much fun indeed and Harmony sighed in pleasure as she kept on hitting the struggling girl.

"Harmony, I am very delighted to make your acquaintance," the young-looking man smiled and almost went to shake her hand before remember her being chained to the table. "Anthony McCarthy," he stated and sat down opposite from her.

Instead of replying she just grunted something and stared him up and down. He was younger than the other British guy, but wore the same ensemble of a tweed jacket and glasses that he liked to clean every five minutes or so.

"As you already know my colleague has...well...asked you to help us out and you were very willing to go along. I also know from the guards that you have already started on your assignment, which I am very pleased to hear," the guy spoke softly and looked at the young woman contentedly.

"But you want me to do something else, besides beating her up to see if she can fight me?" Harmony mumbled, looking at the British guy with bored eyes. She didn't care what it was as long as she would get paid to hurt the girl she already didn't like very much.

Anthony McCarthy nodded slowly, then a grin spread across his face that sent shivers down her spine. "Yes, that is the case Harmony."

She nodded as well, looking into his eyes expectantly. "Well? You know I don't have all day to wait for you here, I got thinks to do. Including dealing with your little friend Faith Wilkins. So what is it?" she snapped, which only made him grin wider.

Finally he opened the briefcase he heaved onto the table and pulled something out. It was something wrapped in black velvet cloth and a sheet of paper, accompanied by a pen.

"We need you to administer this venom to the slayer, since all our workers are incapable of getting to her in the same way you are able to, physically. If you succeed and wait out the duration we calculated it should take to work to continue your current assignment, we will fake orders and papers of your release and you are free to go. If however," he continued just as she opened her mouth to speak, "if you should decide to use your powers to leave from here early, do not doubt our abilities to revoke your new powers completely and enable the police force to find you. You have nothing to lose."

Harmony grumbled and grabbed the pen awkwardly, signing the contract he pushed in front of her somehow and then looked at him. The strange British guy pushed the velvet cloth over to her, revealing a syringe filled with a clear, blue liquid and nodded slightly as she stored it in a pocket of her suit, before any guards might see.

"Wait about one more day so you have a feel for what her real slayer strength is, then administer at least half of this, if there's no change try to administer more," he explained and stood up, closing his briefcase after taking the pen and paper back. Anthony McCarthy walked towards the door, his pale hand grabbing tightly onto the handle as he turned around.

"Oh and one more thing. Don't let us down."

Willow stared in disbelief at her friend as the blonde hummed while brushing her hair. Just about two days ago Buffy had been searing with anger and hate for Faith, and now she was actually humming before going to see the dark slayer.

"I see you're getting along better now?" the witch stated plainly, a twinge of jealousy and anger in her voice that Buffy didn't seem to catch.

"Yeah I think so. I mean, we're finally talking about some stuff that's been bothering us. We both regret some of the things we did, and none of us are innocent for her becoming all evil you know. Maybe it's cause she can't run away or hide or something that she's really telling me stuff, but it seems like she's really trying to change," Buffy sighed and got up to walk over to her friend, somehow sensing something wrong with the redhead.

"But Will, no matter what happens between Faith and I, you and me, we'll always be best friends, okay?" Willow smiled at that, nodding, and the blonde could see the relief in her friend's eyes at her statement. She smiled back and turned towards the door of their motel room, ready for another visit, when a hand held her back.

"Buffy...please promise me one thing. Don't get too attached to her and then have her hurt you again. Maybe even if she doesn't mean it, but you know she is after all on Death Row and if they decided to execute her...I just don't want to see you hurt."

The slayer smiled lovingly and nodded, opening the door and stepped outside into the hallway.

It was almost sad how well she knew this building by now, the number of steps it took to get to the guard house, how many seconds it took for the electrical door to fully open, how many steps it was to the inside guard station, then from there to the visitor's room. She smiled slightly at the guard she already knew as he took her stuff from her and led her out of the slight drizzle inside the facility, handing her over to another guard.

The visitor's room was just as cold and bare as always. It was nearing winter, and although this was central California there would be a heating system needed to keep the inmates from freezing, but apparently no one had any intention to make it warmer inside the facility. She wondered just how anyone could function in this cold, when the door was opened and the guard from two days before that had let them into the yard came in, giving her a small smile.

"Where's Faith?" Buffy questioned, peeking around the guard to see if the brunette was anywhere nearby.

"She does not want to come out of her cell. Apparently she hasn't come out all. I'm sorry, you can come back tomorrow."

Buffy narrowed her eyes and stared at him, feeling panic rise into her throat, gripping her heart in an iron grip that wouldn't let go. The feeling that something was very wrong with Faith had taken a hold of her and if she was not allowed to see the other girl within the next few minutes there might be a huge problem.

"Let me see her."

"You know I can't do that," he responded grimly, feeling his mean exterior shatter again at the blonde's pleading face just like two days ago. Especially since those two girls seemed to be together in some kind of way, and even if Faith Wilkins did not deserve anything, it was only more than cruel to keep this Buffy Summers away from someone she loved.

"I just want to see if she's alright. Please?"

He sighed and walked out of the room, gesturing with his hand to follow him. He would really have to work at not giving in so easily.

"Faith?"

The faint voice traveled easily to her ears and was registered just as easily, but she did not respond. She couldn't respond, just couldn't. It was as if her body was frozen, glued to the ground in the position she had been sitting in since last night. Since...

Faith closed her eyes and drew her legs closer to her chest, hugging them with her arms. The pain was still racing through her body but she could already feel the slayer healing do its work. It wasn't the physical pain that was hurting so much, it was that feeling that had settled in her heart and flooded her mind with repressed memories. Being held down by someone stronger, being overpowered and beaten until unconsciousness, only to wake up to more hailing fists upon her body was nothing new to her. Not at all. Just that since she had had her powers she never had felt that way again, but now, Harmony was stronger and she had an advantage over Faith that no one else besides him had. She knew the slayer's weak point.

"Faith? Come on hun, talk to me," Buffy pleaded outside of the bars, and first Faith jumped a little at the name, but then realized the presence of that guard that thought they were a thing. The brunette grimaced and turned her head away, just away from them.

Something was definitely wrong with Faith. Buffy grabbed the iron bars tightly in her hands and stared at the tiny form of the brunette slayer that was sitting in the corner of the cell with her legs drawn up to her chest, while hugging them tightly. Even from here the blonde could see Faith trembling from the cold, seeing as she was only wearing a tight white T-shirt and white panties, that left her legs and arms completely subjected to the cold.

"Faith," she tried again but no reaction from the brunette. Eventually the younger girl even turned her head and Buffy groaned in desperation. She turned to the guard, who was already anticipating what would come next and shook his head before she could ask the question.

"Come on, something isn't right with her you can see that. So either you have to go in there which won't do her much good, one of your buddies goes in, which won't help much either or I go in there and might be able to help her. What you say?"

He shook his head again, determined not to let her get through to him again. "No ma'am, we don't need to go in there. If she wants to sit there she can."

"Yeah but won't it be your fault if she gets pneumonia or starves or something?" Buffy questioned, trying to sound as innocent as possible and turned back towards the iron bars. She could hear the guard sighing and walking away; not a good sign and she kept her eyes on the shivering body of her friend.

"Here, you can give that to her and make sure she gets dressed so she can at least get dinner after she's already missed every other meal," the guard mutters, throwing a gray blanket at Buffy that had CCWF written across it in big black letters and unlocked the cell to let her in, closing it behind her.

Buffy sighed, dropped down next to Faith on her knees, putting the blanket on the floor next to her, and gently cupped the brunette's chin in her hand to turn her head over to her. But the blonde wasn't prepared for what she saw and gasped as her eyes fell upon Faith's battered face.

"What happened Faith? Who did this to you?" Buffy whispered as she trailed a finger carefully down the younger girl's swollen cheekbone, busted lip and black eye. She pulled out a clean napkin from her pocket, leaned over to wet it in the sink, and gently wiped the dried blood from Faith's nose, lips and forehead.

"Please Faith, talk to me," Buffy pleaded and unfolded the blanket, wrapping it around the young slayer's body in an attempt to put some warmth back into the shivering bundle of bones. It made her heart sink every time Faith would not answer her or look her into the eyes and all Buffy could do was rub the brunette's freezing cold arms underneath the blanket, hoping that the gesture could be understood as an offering of trust.

After a few minutes a single sob escaped Faith's busted lips that turned into a shower of them as Buffy wrapped her strong arms gently around the younger girl's body as she cried. Faith's head sank onto the blonde's shoulder as her hands clutched the light blue sweater she was wearing tightly, as if letting go meant letting go forever.

"It...it was just like him," Faith whispered between sobs that were so intense it seemed to Buffy as if they had been contained for years.

"Who? Like who Faith?" she whispered back, not daring to destroy the moment by raising her voice.

"My dad...he...he would hold me down like that...and...hit me while I couldn't fight him off...and then...when...when I was almost unconscious he would...," the fragile one of the slayers mumbled barely above a whisper and Buffy closed her eyes, knowing even without Faith having to finish the sentence what had happened. Her hand moved in circular motions across Faith's back, tightening her hold on the slayer unconsciously.

"It'll be okay Faith. It'll be okay," she whispered back as her own tears made their way down her face and she closed her eyes, wishing what she had just said was the truth.

Adam Santaniello yawned and stared at the stack of papers in front of him. He would've never though that being a lawyer was so no fun at all in the first year or so. Although he had been accepted as a lawyer for the state, they were assigning him the worst and most impossible cases out there. He could not even keep up with all the plea bargains, paroles and little trials that clouded his mind. Though he knew that the Faith Wilkins case could make him famous if she got an appeal due to his work, but he knew it was pretty much hopeless. He had to try though, after all that was his job. If he could only find that file with the Appeal though.

Adam looked up as the clock on the wall struck 3 am and groaned. It was too late to be up doing work, especially since there was some court date tomorrow. At least he thought there was. He opened his planner and groaned once again as he realized the date for the Appeal had been set for tomorrow. "Oh well," he thought out loud, "I'll just make up something as I go along." The fresh lawyer stood up and wobbled to bed, his eyes were shut as soon as he hit the soft mattress and before he knew it he was asleep. But what he didn't realize was the constant blinking of the LCD display of his alarm clock that said it was only about 12:30 am, that should have told him to reset the time after the power outage earlier.

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" the young girl shouted at his face and he felt himself shake a little bit in fear. Why was he so intimidated?

"Your Appeal didn't go through. I'm sorry," he shrugged, mumbling his apology to get her to calm down, to stop yelling at him but deep inside he knew he wasn't really sorry. If there was one thing he had already learned being a lawyer it was that you're never sorry and if you mess up just go on to the next case.

"Why!!" she yelled and he jumped slightly at the impact of her voice.

"I do not know that Miss Wilkins. Like I said, I'm terribly sorry, but...," he was cut off by her shouting once again and felt himself grow angry at the least.

"How can you not know? You were there, weren't you?" Faith Wilkins asked him in a voice that was loud enough to maybe even wake the guards.

He looked down at his briefcase and closed it hard, making sure the snapping sound of the lock was heard echoing through the room. If he looked her into the eyes now she probably would be able to tell what he hadn't wanted to tell her.

"Oh my god, you weren't there, were you? Are you kidding me?" she mumbled, her voice lowered to the point where he thought he could barely understand her.

"I'm sorry, I was caught up with something else." he thought to himself and looked at the brunette girl as he stood up. If she hadn't been handcuffed and chained to the table he probably would have been dying of fear, especially since he knew of the crimes she had committed. "By the time I got there they had already denied your Appeal. There was nothing I could do," he added and grabbed his briefcase.

His eyes widened in shock as Faith's hands snapped up, the links in the chain bending dangerously and before he knew it the girl had pounced upon him, shoved him to the floor and was beating on him with strength he had never seen before.

"You could have been there asshole!" she yelled and he felt her hot tears burn into his skin with guilt and shame while he tried to block her hits. He could feel himself losing this fight as her fists hailed down upon him, but to his luck the guards were in the room within ten seconds of her jumping at him.

Adam Santaniello groaned in pain as he stared at the girl above him while she kicked and punched after the five guards that tried to take her down. He apparently wasn't the only one amazed at her strength and Faith managed to get quite a few good hits in until one guard came into the room and administered a shot to her arm while the others held her against the wall. It only took a few seconds and the brunette girl collapsed to the floor, before he himself looked upon the face of complete darkness.

Willow leaned back against the pillows and watched her best friend closely. Deep inside of her the jealousy was still flaring at all the fuss Buffy was making about Faith in the past couple of days. This had definitely not been how she had wanted to spend her Thanksgiving, but Buffy had insisted on staying until school started back, since her mom was on some business trip and wasn't going to be home anyway. But it was all for Faith.

Buffy was on the phone, arguing loudly over something Willow didn't know. Giles had called about five minutes after they had woken up. Apparently he had some bad news. Not that Willow really minded if there was bad news, as long as they concerned Faith. Buffy sat down, a look of disgust written clearly across her face and the red-head had to sigh.

The slayer was her best friend and if she thought Faith was in redemption, then well, shouldn't she believe Buffy? Willow sighed again, then looked at her friend after she hung up the phone.

"What'd Giles want?"

Buffy sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead. "He says that a source told him someone from the Watcher's Council was already here to give that venom to Faith. Supposedly it's some guy named Anthony McCarthy, young but British, Giles said."

Willow shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed. "So? They can't get in right? You said yourself that it was high-security and unless his name is on the list no one can get in without the papers. No one can get in unless they're already inside," Willow mumbled and she thought she could see a slight smile creep upon her friend's lips.

"Buffy?" she quipped, standing up slowly.

"Will, the British guys might be stupid but they have their ways. Especially when it would be easier for them to have someone else give the poison to Faith. Someone like...that woman," Buffy mumbled and looked up.

"Huh? Buffy, what are you talking about?"

"Faith's cellmate. She beat her up like two nights ago. First I thought it was just one of those prison things, but think about it Willow. Only a demon or vampire could overpower a slayer and wouldn't it be in the Council's best interest to contact someone not human to do their job for them? I gotta find out if Faith knows about her," Buffy mumbled and was out the door before Willow had a chance to stop her.

The lightning flickered across the sky hurriedly and brightness filled the corridor for just a split second. The heavy drumming of the rain against the roof and windows had something very calming about it. Shaking with the roar of the thunder the building stood quietly in its place, keeping its inhabitants safe from the storm. But no matter how bad the storm seemed, a lot of the building's inhabitants would have preferred being subjected to the weather outside the building than being subjected to the cruelty that took place inside.

Buffy Summer's fingernails clicked heavily against the thick glass inlet in the just as thick metal door. The small glass panel let her have a full view of the room behind the door, the room she was not allowed to access. She turned to the guard once more and found his face just as grim and indifferent as before he had brought her here. He was not the same guard that had allowed her to take Faith into the yard or enter her cell, and unfortunately to Buffy she was not able to convince him of anything more than to let her look inside the room from behind the door. If she could only find a way to find out whether Faith knew about that Harmony person. Buffy sighed and turned to the door again.

The room was a spotless white, with a medical gurney in the middle surrounded by a couple of electronic gizmos she had no clue about. The occupant of the gurney was strapped down tightly with bright red straps that were across the brunette girl's shoulders, ribcage, hips, upper and lower legs, to prevent as much movement as possible. An IV ran from her left wrist to a packet of some white liquid that dripped rhythmically into the girl's arm. Faith's eyes were closed just like they had been for the past ten minutes and Buffy turned to the guard again, determined to find some answers.

"Why can't you tell me why she's here?" the blonde slayer inquired and stared at the big man with all the intensity she could offer.

"That's classified information miss," he repeated to her like a broken record and she groaned in despair.

"Oh bullshit. You're just having fun by annoying me!" she hissed and his eyes seemed to get a little wider, though he remained his cool.

"Listen Mister Tough-guy, I have seen and been through far worse than what you could possibly imagine and If I wanted I could kick your ass all the way to China. I am no little girl, don't feel like you have to protect me from the big bad world."

The guard's eyes narrowed and Buffy could see him go into a more conscious stance, as if he was preparing for an attack. "Are you threatening me?" he asked, and some sort of emotion showed through his voice unlike when he had spoken before.

"No, I am simply telling you," she stated calmly and her green eyes bore deep into his blue ones.

"She attacked her lawyer and had to be sedated after she tried to fight off the guards that went in to take her. They are keeping her under watch and slightly sedated to prevent any other occurrences."

"Why'd she attack him?" Buffy licked her lips that had become dry in the cold air and hoped the guard would at least let her have the information she wanted if she was not allowed to see Faith.

"Mr. Santaniello, her lawyer, stated that she attacked him out of nowhere, though he did mention that a few minutes before that he had told her that her Appeal had been denied. Nevertheless, we are taking no chances and no one will be allowed to see her until she is cleared to go back to her cell. Come this way Miss Summers," he replied and guided her down the hallway with a hand slightly touching her back.

Buffy edged out of the guard's touch and stole one last glance at the unconscious Faith before they rounded the corner.

The low voice still spread fear throughout his heart even over the phone. He cleared his throat, a hand covering his eyes as he tried to find words to make the situation look less catastrophic.

"Sir, I am terribly sorry. No one is allowed to see her until she is cleared by the Head of the Medical Department. I spoke to the woman, Harmony, just this morning and she has verified that Faith's strength is beyond normal human capabilities. Harmony has received the venom and is ready to administer it as soon as the slayer will be allowed back to her cell. We did not anticipate for the slayer to attack her lawyer, she might be under observation for a few more days," Anthony replied in his British accent that was not nearly as thick as his superiors on the other end of the line.

The grumbling and low talking he could hear indicated that he had interrupted a Council Head meeting with his emergency call. But after all they had instructed him to call as soon as something went wrong.

"Very well Anthony. We will immediately manipulate the Facility Records, our computer specialist will be able to clear the slayer and she will be back in her cell by tomorrow morning. Thank you for letting us know. One more question though," the voice boomed and Anthony sighed in despair. What now?

"Yes, sir?"

"We have received word that the other slayer is currently in the city. We would not want anyone to hinder us from completing the operation. Do you know anything about Buffy Summers?"

Anthony swallowed and sighed with relief. "Sir I do not believe there is reason to worry. I, as well, have received word of Buffy Summer's presence but from various sources I have been assured that it is in the first slayer's very interest to see Miss Wilkins die. I don't anticipate any interruption."

"Very well. Thank you Anthony," the man said and the next sound was the dial tone in Anthony's ear.

He sighed and let himself fall into the sofa seat behind him. At least they hadn't blamed him for what had happened. Now he just had to sit back and wait for that woman to do her job and he could go back home. At last.

"That's mine!"

"You're about to get it back."

Hard blows hail down on the two girls, each of them dodging each other gracefully, like a slick dance with two partners that know each other's every move.

"Man, I'm going to miss this."

Cool metal slides through flesh with an ease almost eerie to both of them. Pain sears through the girl's body, pain and hurt that threatens to consume her every cell.

"You did it." Her voice weak but she manages to maintain her smile. The last strength leaves her body as she shoves the blonde away from her.

"You killed me." She looks down the ledge.

"Still won't help your boy though. Shoulda been there, B. Quite a ride." Her body falls and...

Faith sat upright in her bed. That is, if she could have. Her eyes shot open, the red straps holding her body down bending with her strength. Sweat was running in beads down her forehead, her breath was ragged and she closed her eyes again, in a feeble attempt to calm down.

"Well look who's awake. Had a nightmare?" a deep, male voice drawled in mockery and she opened her eyes to stare into a guy's face in a white robe.

Faith groaned slightly and looked the man up and down. "What am I doing here?"

"Don't worry hun, you're going back to your cell now. But if you don't stop being a bad little girl you'll be right back here with me. Not that I mind any," he grinned and released the straps on her body as three guards stepped into the room.

The brunette girl sat up, holding her hands out for the handcuffs that one of the bulky guards snapped around her wrists, then chained to her feet, while the two other guards had their hands on their gun holsters.

"Let's go, my little purdy," the guard chuckled and Faith recognized the disgusting guy she had encountered when she had first gotten here. The girl shuddered slightly as the three guards walked her back to her cell.

There was no time to lose. She was sick of this, of this 'job' as they called it. And deep inside she felt like she didn't want to do it anymore after all. Of course she would though, there was nothing better than these powers and a 'Get out of jail free' card. Harmony smiled and leaned back against the tall bunk-bed, grinning sheepishly as the guards brought Faith back into their cell.

"Hey Faithie," she drawled and watched with a satisfied grin as the young girl shuddered involuntarily. Deep brown eyes searched for hers and as they found them Harmony herself had to shudder, though she did a good job hiding it. This girl's eyes were like an abyss, deeper than anyone could imagine with more monsters hiding under beds than could be fathomed. The taller woman edged back against the bed and felt anger flare up in her chest. How dare anyone try to intimidate her? This had to end now, she had to get out of this place at last.

"Faithie," she hissed and the brunette girl turned around slowly, definitely not expecting the fist connecting hard with her face. Faith staggered backwards, still somewhat dazed from the drugs they had given her, but there was no way she would let some demon bitch get the best of her.

The slayer stepped back, then sent a roundhouse kick that connected with the other woman's head and followed through with a couple of quick jabs to the stomach. Harmony grunted as the pain reached her body and swung her fist after the girl again, only to have her legs swept out from underneath her. She grabbed onto the bed to keep herself from falling and dodged another swing that was intended for her face. With her left hand Harmony grabbed Faith's hair as the slayer stumbled forward from the missed blow and yanked her against the wall with all her might. Reaching for the girl's waist as she stood facing the wall Harmony leaned forward, only to be greeted with a foot in her midsection that sent her flying against the opposing wall.

Faith stood above her, grinning like a fool as she hit the older woman's head into the wall. Harmony pulled her legs up, kicking them into Faith's ribcage so the brunette crashed against the already broken sink, then the woman took a handful of brown hair and dragged the girl a couple of inches, before kneeling on her chest, repeatedly hitting Faith's head into the ground.

The slayer groaned as her vision started to become somewhat blurry and the weight on her threatened to cave in her ribcage. Faith reached up with her hand and grabbed onto Harmony's face, her nails dragging harshly across skin, warm fluid oozing down her fingers and with an agonizing scream the woman let go of the slayer. The brunette shot up and delivered a kick to the blonde woman's stomach, wiping the blood on her fingers off onto her white shirt and turned to sent another strong kick the woman's way. Suddenly strong hands clamped around her ankles and yanked her feet out from underneath her, sending the slayer crashing onto the floor. Faith coughed from the lack of air in her lungs as a hard blow to her face split her lip open. A small trickle of blood ran down her chin and the brunette moved to wipe it away, but Harmony's foot came down hard on her head, connecting it with the concrete floor and creating a sickening crunching sound.

The older woman chuckled, kicking the unconscious girl in the stomach before straddling her and pulling out the syringe from her pocket. Sighing with relief at a job well done Harmony jammed the needle deep into the girl's stomach, making sure the last droplet of the blue liquid had vanished into Faith's body before she slowly slid off the still form and leaned back against the bunk bed.

It was finally done.

<

It was dark. So much darker than she could remember. Though darkness was not what scared her. What scared her was that it was dark although her eyes were wide open. Usually, no matter how dark it was in a room, her slayer vision could at least pick up shapes and positions of objects. But now ­ nothing.

Faith whined quietly and lifted her hands to her pounding head. Her whole body felt as if it was made out of jell-o and it took her all her strength to just lift one arm a couple of inches. It could only mean one thing and one thing only. Someone must have administered that poison while she had been unconscious.

A stifled sob escaped her lips and the brunette turned her head slightly to where she thought a door must be. Suddenly a light creaking noise came from the other side of the bed, then a lone ray of light fell through the crack in the door, at least enough for Faith to turn her head where the door was. She squinted but could not see anything except for the light, as the door was opened fully and someone stepped inside. The door closed again with a creak and it was completely dark once again.

The fear made her heart pound against her ribcage as if it wanted to escape before harm could be done and Faith took a deep breath that hurt her lungs. Someone was close to her, close enough to touch her hand slightly and the brunette girl would have jumped if she had had the strength to.

"Faith?" a soft voice whispered and the girl relaxed slightly.

"B?" she whispered, realizing her voice would not allow her to speak out loud and groaned quietly.

"Faith...can you see me?" Buffy whispered as her eyes swept over the younger girl's body.

"No?" Faith whispered back and tried desperately to sit up, but was only disappointed as her body collapsed onto the bed once again. Buffy mumbled something that was by far too quiet for Faith to hear and the brunette edged closer to where she thought the blonde was. "What'd you say?"

And if Faith could've seen the blonde slayer she would have been able to see Buffy's eyes widen, then narrow in relief. "You couldn't hear that?"

"No."

"Good."

"What?" Faith croaked, now hoping that her hearing was deceiving her.

Buffy's slender hand reached out, pushing strands of hair out of the brunette's face. "Faith," she sighed with a slight smile, "what'd you think I come visit you and we'd go for tea? You tried to kill the people I love Faith."

Faith closed her eyes slowly.

"B...what?"

Buffy moved backwards, her tone angry now as she spoke. "Faith you don't get it do you. You're such a worthless piece of shit. I trusted you and you hurt me, you hurt my friends. Payback's a bitch *F*, you said it yourself."

"But why..." Faith whispered, feeling the tears threaten to spill over and flood the room within a second.

Buffy sighed and turned, rolling her eyes though she knew Faith wasn't able to see that. Not anymore anyway. She had to smile at the thought of justice finally being paid. "As soon as we heard about you receiving the Death Sentence we looked some stuff up and as it happens the only two choices in California are Gas Chamber and Lethal Injection, neither of which would have killed you with your slayer powers. The Council didn't know that, they just wanted to make sure you couldn't pass your powers on." The blonde laughed quietly.

"The others really thought I went here to forgive you. You should have seen the look on Willow's face when I told her I had just been here to make sure the Council took your powers, she was pretty jealous there for some time. Well, I always thought the White Hats were stupid, but apparently sometimes they got some smarts, huh Faith?"

The blonde slayer looked down at the brunette girl that had single traces of tears on her cheeks. Sighing she stepped away from the bed and walked towards the door.

"You did it," she heard the faint whisper of the former slayer and turned back.

"You killed me," Faith smiled sadly and Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I finally did," the slayer mumbled loud enough for Faith to hear and walked out of the room.

The blonde girl flipped through the channels with complete boredom. Sighing she finally settled for a channel that promised her favorite show. Leaning back against the pillows on her bed she yawned and watched as her best friend sorted through a stack of notes.

"...we have a special coverage on the execution of 18-year-old Faith Wilkins that will take place tomorrow shortly after midnight. Our reporter Jennifer Morgenbloom is at the San Quentin prison, where the young girl will be executed by lethal injection in the early morning hours. We were able to set up an interview with the inmate and will now switch to our camera at San Quentin. Jennifer...," the anchor man said and turned his head to the picture coming to life beside him and the face of a blonde, young woman took over the screen.

"I am Jennifer Morgenbloom, here at San Quentin with Faith Wilkins who is scheduled to be executed tomorrow at midnight." The woman was sitting in a metal chair that looked just as cold as the whole white room. It looked very much like the visitor's room that Buffy remembered from her visits of Faith. The camera panned over and zoomed out to capture the two lonely figures in the room. The brunette girl sat on a similar chair, with cuffs around her wrists and ankles, hooked through chains that were connected to the floor.

Buffy's first reaction was that Faith could easily escape, but then she remember that now Faith was just another piece of trash, no one special and a smile crept upon her lips. "Willow!" she yelled for her friend and they both stared as the reporter smiled weakly at Faith, who was leaning back against her chair as if she was already dead. The orange jumpsuit again stood out like a contrast to the white walls and the reporter's dark choice of clothing. The young girl's face was pale, her dark brown eyes seeming even bigger than they were and the light that had been there once was gone. Her eyes were just as dead as she would be in over 24 hours.

"Hey Faith," the woman named Jennifer spoke softly and smiled fakely. The brunette's lips barely moved as she responded with a half-hearted smile herself.

"How do you feel now that you're execution date has been set and you are scheduled to die tomorrow?" the reporter asked seriously and Faith smiled softly.

"How do you think I feel? I'm going to die and I'm 18-years-old. How would you feel?"

"Are you scared?" Jennifer inquires, hoping to get some real insight instead of smart-alec answers.

"Yeah," Faith whispered, lowering her head slightly before looking back up. "There was a time in my life when I wanted to die. Now, I don't know. But I guess it's easier to die than to wait another 30 years on Death Row, waking up everyday knowing that if today some asshole up there decides he wants to kill me he can."

"Do you consider yourself an unlucky person?"

Faith chuckled quietly then looked at the reporter. "What's your definition of unlucky? Most people say it's my fault I'm in here and that I'm going to die. I've been through a lot of shit but that doesn't matter to anyone. They just see what's in front of them, to them I'm just another piece of shit. Some people might say I'm unlucky or pity me, but I think I'm just a person who was at the wrong places at the right times."

"If you could do anything right now, be anywhere, where would you be and what would you do?" The reporter spoke slowly, apparently trying to dramatize the whole thing by making it sound warier.

The brunette girl moved in her seat, sitting up slightly and shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I had a...job once, kind of. I liked doing what I did, but someone else was better at it than me. She beat me to it. I would really like to be in Europe, I heard it's nice there. And they don't have the Death Penalty," Faith smiled and the reporter chuckled softly at the pun.

"Have you ever been in love?" Jennifer questioned, looking at the clipboard in her hands, apparently desperate to get the questions that the station knew would impact the most people.

"Yeah, sure. Once," Faith replied, looking at the bare wall as if it suddenly held her interest.

"When was that?"

"Not too long ago."

"Before you came in here?"

Faith looked at the reporter with a sigh, knowing she wasn't going to get around that question. "Yeah," she mumbled and moved her aching wrists slightly. "She's the same one that beat me in my job. Guess 'cause I was always around her."

"She?" the reporter quipped, realizing that this interview could really benefit her career and leaned forward. Faith nodded and looked into the woman's blue eyes. "Are you still in touch?" The chained girl nodded no and sighed.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. She didn't feel the same way. I never told her I did, though. She pretty much made it clear she hated me," Faith whispered, damming the tears that welled up behind her eyes.

Jennifer Morgenbloom saw her chance for a real tear-jerking interview but stopped before she could continue. The slim girl in front of her had a look of utter pain and sadness written across her features. Sighing the blonde moved on to the next question, after all this girl seemed to have been tortured enough.

Buffy's mouth was drawn into a thin line. How dare Faith do this to her? The blonde slayer growled and put a hand to her head. Pain and anger was ripping at her heart. All those times Faith had hurt her all Buffy had felt was her chance of the brunette loving her back slipping away. Over time the blonde had learned to hate Faith with all the passion in her heart. So how dare Faith declare her love for her now, now that she was as good as dead.

The blonde groaned and looked at her friend who seemed just as stunned as herself.

"Who would have thought that Faith...Well thank God she's gone huh Buffy?" Willow mumbled and Buffy nodded weakly. The tears threatened to conquer her and her mind did not even register the last few questions the reporter had to ask. Turning her head reluctantly back to the screen she stared at the blonde woman's face.

"...tune in tomorrow at midnight for our coverage on Faith Wilkins's execution. I am Jennifer Morgenbloom, goodnight," the woman nodded and her face faded away, and with it the picture of Faith who had been led away by guards.

Buffy stifled a sob and turned the TV off, her head dropping onto the pillow as complete darkness surrounded her. Inside as out.

~Finis