Faith had no idea how to stop the tears that were continuously running down her face. Something like this had never happened to her before. She couldn't endure this helplessness, the pain surfacing that she had taken so long to bury and the loneliness she had tried to hide.

Just as she thought Buffy had left her in her pathetic state she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder and then strong arms encircle her body. The instant she felt Buffy's touch against her body the energy and sparks were shooting inside of her and Faith held her breath.

Buffy pulled Faith up into a sitting position, her arms still tightly wrapped around the younger slayer. Faith didn't know what to do, what to say. She had waited a lifetime to be in a position like this, in Buffy's arms, she had dreamed about it while trying to block out the comments from the guards.

Not daring to look into the blonde's eyes Faith kept her head lowered, shivering as Buffy leaned back, her hands trailing down Faith's cold arms and covered her hands. No matter how hard she tried the tears wouldn't stop and she watched them drop onto Buffy's hand, building small puddles and then falling onto the dry earth.

Faith sniffed, she knew the answer but she didn't want to know.

The younger slayer sniffed again and looked up into Buffy's concerned looking eyes.

The tears were close to overwhelming Buffy herself and she took Faith's cold hands in hers, hoping to make a gesture that would allow the other girl to open up. She had never seen Faith cry, in fact she had never seen Faith act hurt or sad, and this sudden outburst of emotion was almost too much for Buffy to handle.

Hot tears were gently dropping onto her skin and the blonde slayer could feel it tearing at her heart as if a heart-eating demon were clawing at it. Just before Buffy was ready to give up any hope of talking to Faith, the younger girl looked into her eyes.

Buffy had to swallow hard at the pain that was burning like flames in those dark pools. She opened her mouth to say something, say anything that would allow her back into Faith's heart. But Buffy knew there were no such words, no word magnificent enough to erase what they had done to each other.

So instead she moved her hand and gently wiped the tears from the brunette's face and leaned forward, her lips touching the other girl's forehead softly.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else huh?" she whispered, not wanting to completely destroy the moment.

Faith stared back at her, then looked away.

Buffy sighed, knowing that if she couldn't get through now it would be too late for eternity. Her hand moved to cup Faith's chin and she turned the brunette's head back to her.

"Faith, please don't shut me out. Come on, we can work this out, alright?" Buffy pleaded, and though she did feel slightly pathetic she knew Faith would be worth whatever it took.

But the younger girl still didn't express any feelings, it seemed as if the old walls were up again.

"Well Will and I were planning on grabbing a bite to eat so if you want to come along... I'm paying?"

As soon as she mentioned food something in Faith's eyes seemed to flicker and she licked her lips intently, nodding eagerly. It brought a smile to Buffy's lips, and she realized that some things just never change as she got up, holding her hand out to Faith.

The brunette smiled back at her slightly as she took Buffy's hand and slowly got up, ready to go wherever Buffy would lead her once again.

Faith stood in front of the open door, hesitating, not sure whether it was worth it. Buffy must've noticed, because she turned and pulled Faith's arm gently, leading the younger slayer into her house.

Faith looked around as Buffy shut the door behind them. Not even time had changed the Summer's house very much and Faith felt a wave of immense guilt wash over her as she spotted the place where she had held a knife to Mrs. Summer's throat. But it was time to start over again. Like Buffy had promised.

While Buffy had bribed Faith with food, the blonde had talked to her about what was going to happen. The two slayers knew that they couldn't just forget all that had happened, but Buffy had promised that they could start over again. Apparently she had seen the change that had taken place in Faith.

"Hasn't changed much, huh?" Faith mumbled, feeling a lot better after having eaten and somewhat resolved her problems with Buffy.

Buffy smiled, realizing just how much she had missed the other girl. "Nah, mom was never one to like the change. And I've been living at the university for the past years. I'm just here until I can get a place of my own."

Buffy pushed Faith gently onto the sofa, sitting next to the brunette slayer. She wasn't one to have heart-to-heart talks standing up.

"Hmm, there you are, Buffy Summers, with a college degree and soon a place of your own. Shit, I don't even have a High School diploma, let alone a place to live," Faith remarked, but Buffy could hear that it wasn't bitter. It was more or less sad.

"You're smart, Faith. You could do it. You just have to believe in yourself. And as far as the place of living goes, you can crash here for a while," Buffy spoke softly, touching the other girl's arm gently.

She smiled as she saw Faith's face lighten up a little, then moved her hand from Faith's arm, for the first time noticing the circular scar on the younger girl's upper arm.

Faith caught her gaze and shrugged. "Just a little prison brawl. But hey I didn't have anything to do with, I'm an innocent victim. Guards don't shoot well, you know."

Buffy raised her eyebrow and shook her head. There was still so much she didn't know about Faith, so much she couldn't even begin to understand.

Her anger was still there somewhere, but Buffy knew that she didn't hate Faith, that she never had. It had just been a facade to hide her real feelings, feelings that would've hurt a lot more if they broke free.

"You think your mom will let me crash here? After all I did kinda threaten to kill her," Faith sighed. She just wished that she could erase all her past mistakes.

"Well she won't welcome you with open arms, but if I can convince her that you're a different person now, I bet she won't mind too much. And if she does, I'll just have to hide you in my closet for a while," Buffy smiled at Faith and saw the other girl grin as well.

"Sorry B, I'm not a 'in-the-closet' kinda gal."

Buffy raised an eyebrow, wondering if that remark was intended as a reply for her joke, or something different entirely. She decided to let it slide and got up, looking down at Faith's fragile-looking body on the sofa.

"Do you want to go to bed? You look pretty tired," the blonde slayer asked, somehow hoping for a negative reply.

The younger slayer just shrugged and leaned her head back. "Not really, I've had a lot of lying-down time for the past five years. Maybe it wasn't exactly sleeping time, but lying down in the dark still gets me pretty freaked out. If you don't mind I'd rather, you know, stay up and watch TV or something."

The older girl nodded reluctantly, wondering what had happened to the tough girl she remembered, and picked up a blanket from a chair, throwing it at the brunette that was already staring at the midnight movie on TV.

"Well *F*," Buffy remarked sarcastically, "do you want to take a shower or something? I can give you some clean clothes to sleep in."

Faith turned her head and looked at Buffy, grinning. "Are you saying that I smell? And pastel colors don't suit me, sorry *B*."

The blonde sighed and dropped back into the cushion. "Faith, you are damn stubborn and complicated. Anyone ever told you that? And I didn't say you smell, I just figured you might want to wash that dirt off your face from when I made you kiss the ground."

The brunette growled quietly and stuck her tongue out at Buffy. "I've been taking group showers for the past five years, it's like one giant orgy, just without the sex. I don't know if I can take being all alone in there, maybe I'll feel lonely."

"What, do you want me to help you?" Buffy questioned, still grinning, until she realized what she had just said and both girls went quiet for a few seconds. Then Faith jumped up, heading for the stairs to take her shower.

Buffy sighed in relief at surviving that rather embarrassing comment she had made and watched as Faith went up the stairs.

"Oh and B, one more thing," she heard from the stairs.

"What?"

"You did *not* make me kiss the ground."

The blonde slayer smiled and shook her head. She really had missed the brunette's company.

It was the scream that woke her from her deep sleep. Buffy sat up in bed, figuring that she had just dreamt something about a scream, when she heard someone's voice. She was immediately out of bed and outside her room in the hallway. The voice was definitely coming from downstairs and the blonde slayer rushed to the stairs, anticipating some robbers trying to take everything they possessed.

Her mother was on a business trip in San Francisco and had left Buffy to watch over the house. It wasn't like Buffy couldn't defend herself against robbers or other human evil. But as she now descended the stairs the slayer did feel her heart beating faster and with a swift motion of her hand she switched on the dining room light, that was bright enough to illuminate the living room as well.

As she realized there were no signs of destruction her memory flooded back to her, and she remembered letting Faith sleep on her living room sofa. Buffy tried hard to ignore the nagging voice in her mind that told her Faith hadn't changed after all and had just robbed the Summers house of all its possessions. But she couldn't help think of the bad side the younger slayer was very capable of showing and she wasn't sure had really vanished during that five year prison stay.

But as Buffy stepped in front of the sofa all she saw was the sleeping form of her former enemy. She sighed in relief, figuring she really had imagined the sounds she had heard, when suddenly Faith screamed again, not as loud this time, but since Buffy was right next to her, it was still very audible. As the blonde looker closer in the semi-darkness she could see the tears on Faith's cheeks.

"B, I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry I didn't mean to. B don't, Buffy please don't hurt me."

The blonde slayer winced at the sound of Faith's voice, and especially at the mentioning of her name. She didn't know what was going on in the brunette's head, but the way it seemed it wasn't pleasant. And the fear in the younger girl's voice, that fear was because of her. Buffy felt her stomach tighten and she leaned down, taking Faith's hand.

"Faith don't worry, I won't hurt you. Calm down, I'm right here and I promise I won't hurt you ever again," she whispered into the sleeping girl's ear and immediately she felt Faith relax.

Buffy shook her head, letting go of the brunette's hand and watched as Faith whimpered and winced in her sleep. After a few minutes she turned and walked back upstairs, hoping that both of them could have at least some peaceful sleep. As she went back to bed she sighed again. There were definitely a couple of things they would have to talk about.

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry sir, there is nothing we can do right now. I am just calling you because we do not have her address and you are the only reference she put down. We are trying our best and I do not want you to worry, but I would advise her to be cautious."

Angel slammed down the receiver with almost enough force to shatter it. He couldn't believe it.

"Angel, what's going on? Are you destroying the furniture again? I thought I told you that that isn't what we do nowadays," Cordelia remarked and walked into his office. But upon seeing his serious face, not that it usually wasn't serious but she could tell when something bad was going on by now, she sat down on the desk, looking at the vampire.

"Seriously Angel, what's going on?"

"Something bad happened. I have to go," the vampire stated and got up from his chair.

"Well aren't you gonna tell me?" the ex prom-queen whined and Angel turned back around.

"Faith's in trouble."

Cordelia jumped off the table as Angel left the office, too curious to just let that be all she would find out.

"And?" she questioned.

"And I am going to Sunnydale to help her," Angel said simply, grabbing up his jacket and heading for the door.

"Uh you might not want to," Cordelia replied, looking at him.

"Why not?"

"Well cause there's sun out? Duh!" the brunette said and walked back inside as Angel ran back inside after her, swatting his shoulder as it had almost caught fire.

"What do you wanna eat?" Buffy yelled from the kitchen, waiting for a reply. When she didn't receive one she shut the fridge again, turning towards the living room.

Faith was still curled up on the sofa, the little cartoon characters on the TV arguing too loudly for Buffy's liking, and she shook her head, walking towards the sofa.

"Faith!" she yelled again, this time right behind the brunette, and Faith almost jumped, turning her head.

"Huh?"

"What do you want for breakfast? And does the TV have to be that loud?"

Faith shrugged, mumbling something incoherent and turned the TV off. Slowly she rolled off the sofa and followed the other slayer into the kitchen.

Buffy stared at the younger girl as she sat on the counter. Her hair was wavy from sleeping on it wet and the brunette's eyes were still somewhat red, with deep dark rings under them. The T-shirt she was wearing was Buffy's and hence a little bit too small as it stretched tightly across Faith's chest and stomach. The next thing the blonde noticed were the short boxers she had given to Faith, the ones that visibly displayed the brunette's thighs. Buffy swallowed as she realized what she was doing. She looked up again, into the younger slayer's grinning face.

"Checking me out B? Like what you see?" Faith grinned and Buffy turned bright red.

"Uh no... I... .I wasn't... " Buffy stuttered, cursing herself for getting caught doing what she shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

"It's okay. You're not the first, you know," Faith mumbled and jumped off the counter, pushing Buffy away from the fridge and started her own search for food.

Buffy groaned as she realized she would have to go grocery shopping before her mom came home and found an empty fridge.

The guy clad in all dark shut the blinds to the big office and turned to face whoever was standing behind him.

"I see you finally made it," he stated with a deep, rattling voice and stepped closer.

"Forgive me, master," spoke the creature that was standing in front of the guy. "I ran into trouble at the penitentiary. I believe I ran into the slayer. I did fear that she would kill me if I tried to set up any of the escapes."

"Very well," spoke the guy and sat in the big leather chair behind his desk. "I believe that we are speaking of the same person, when I tell you that the clan has asked for our help with someone. As you know one of the clan's own, Ygol, had been serving her murder sentence in that penitentiary. She escaped last night, but she is seeking revenge on said slayer. As I've been told the slayer was involved in a fight with Ygol that got them both injured, as well as forced Ygol to miss her first escape during the time when she was allowed to go back to hell," the guy said, watching closely as the creature in front of him nodded eagerly.

"The clan has asked us for help to seek revenge on the slayer. I want you to go with Ygol and the others. You have proven yourself worthy enough," he added and opened a folder the clan had sent him, with a profile and picture of the girl they were supposed to kill.

"Yes master. Thank you master," the creature bowed, and the guy felt sick from all the sucking up these low-lives did.

"One more thing Tenu," said the master, picking up the golden sign on his desk with the letters 'Mr. Ganam' on it, polishing it.

"Yes master?"

"I've received word that there's two slayers. For long I did not believe the rumors, but while the dark-haired slayer was in the penitentiary there were constant murders of your kind and demons, even some from the clan, at the Hellmouth. I want you to be cautious now that the two chosen ones are reunited," Ganam said and put the sign back on his desk, handing the file in his hand to the creature in front of him.

"Yes master. When will we be leaving?"

Ganam stood up, walking towards the door and opened it for Tenu to exit. "You are going to Sunnydale as soon as dusk settles in tonight."

And with that he closed the door behind his creature, sitting back at his desk with a smile. Ganam picked up the phone. It was time to inform the clan of the promising outlook of their revenge plan.

The rain was not only thoroughly soaking her, it was also setting the atmosphere to a more depressing and gray mood. The only thing that now could lift her spirits was a nice drink and seeing her daughter for the first time in almost two weeks.

Although she knew better, her mind was always weighed down with worry while she was away. There was no doubt that Buffy could take care of herself, but being the slayer did take a toll on your body. Every time she returned from one of her business trips Joyce was eager, yet reluctant to enter her house, in fear of either seeing her only daughter's mangled body somewhere or receiving that call from either the police or the hospital.

The blonde woman pushed the front door open, glad to be safe from the pounding rain, and set her suitcase next to the wall.

"Buffy! I'm home!" her voice echoed through the empty seeming house, bounced off the walls and came back to her. Joyce stripped off her soaked jacket and continued into the living room.

She shook her head as she saw the disaster in her living room. Food was laying scattered all over her very expensive coffee-table, while a blanket was hanging off the side of the sofa, pillows strewn all over the floor. Joyce sighed and decided not to pick the mess up but let Buffy do it for a change. It looked as if Buffy hadn't been all alone last night, and the woman just assumed that Willow and Tara had been over for a night of low-budget movies.

Joyce continued on to the stairs and slowly scaled them. "Buffy!! Are you here?!" she once again yelled, still not receiving an answer. Either her daughter was didn't hear, which was highly unlikely considering the slayer hearing, or not home at all.

Taking the last step, Joyce stepped into the hallway and proceeded towards Buffy's room. Swiftly she pushed the door open, not feeling the urge to knock first, and stepped into the room. Joyce sighed, somewhat in relief, as she heard the shower running and turned to head back down, when something else caught her eye.

Turning back towards the bed slowly, the blonde woman gasped at the sight of the dark-haired person in Buffy's bed. Joyce took a step closer, holding her breath. Her senses hadn't served her wrong. Joyce just about panicked. It didn't seem of importance to her that Faith was sleeping peacefully on her daughter's bed, instead of waiting to attack Buffy in a more awake state.

But Joyce's mother-mind went overboard upon seeing her daughter's worst enemy lying there like that. Although the girl looked smaller and more fragile than Joyce could remember, in her mind it was obvious that Faith was there to kill them all.

So Joyce did the only thing she could think of doing at that moment. She screamed.

Within a split-second of hearing a scream Buffy was out of the shower and standing in her room with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. First she had figured it was Faith, but the voice seemed more familiar to her than she could tell.

But now as she stood, facing her mother's panic stricken face, Buffy groaned. There would have to be a lot of explaining.

"Mom! What're you doing here? You said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow," the blonde slayer tried as an excuse, but realized it wasn't really working like that.

"Excuse me for wanting to come home early and spend a day with my daughter. I didn't know you had other things planned," Joyce retorted, using the guilt-trip that Buffy despised so much.

"What're you talking about mom?" Buffy sighed, honestly not knowing what her mom was so freaked out about.

Trust Faith to make a bad situation even worse, as the brunette just now opened her eyes and sat up, staring at Buffy and then her mom. "B... what... what's going on?"

"What the hell is she doing here Buffy?!" Joyce yelled, louder than she had really intended, but she wanted her daughter to know how pissed she was. But before Buffy had a chance to try to explain the situation, Faith got up off the bed and walked over to Joyce, who immediately stiffened.

"Maybe I should go," she mumbled, not looking into Joyce's eyes.

"Oh no you don't," Buffy's mom yelled just as loud and shoved the brunette as she tried to push past. It was a push Joyce figured a slayer could easily sustain, but Faith stumbled, catching herself right before she fell.

"Mom! What the hell do you think you are doing? Don't hurt her!" Buffy yelled back, meanwhile having thrown over a shirt and some shorts instead of that annoying towel.

"Buffy Anne Summers, I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth about this. Do you hear me? I can't believe you would do something like this!" Joyce hissed at the blonde slayer and stared at her with severe intensity.

"Don't be mean to her, she didn't do anything," Faith mumbled and looked up, just in time to catch the back-hand slap Joyce had sent her way. The brunette staggered for a second, whimpered quietly enough so only slayer hearing could pick up on it, and then looked up at Joyce, her chin quivering.

Before either of the two blonde women could say or do another thing, Faith pushed past Joyce and stormed down the stairs out of the house, trying to shut the door quietly but both Summers women could still hear it.

"Mom... "

"Buffy... "

She ran. She ran as fast as she could and didn't think she could ever stop. Faith didn't know what to do. She knew she had a tendency to ruin everything. First her friendship with Buffy and the Scoobies five years ago and now Buffy and her mom's relationship. She hadn't meant for it to come that far.

Faith wasn't one to take insults and physical abuse just like that, but when Mrs Summers had hit her, it wasn't like when a demon or vampire attacked her. It was just like her own mom. Just like all those times the woman had stood above her and smacked Faith's head around with her fists.

The slayer closed her eyes and breathed in heavily. By now she was used to tears grazing her face and she figured she'd have to get used to it. She had been weakened. As Faith opened her eyes again she realized where she was. She hadn't been at this cemetery for quite a while, but she still remembered every edge, every old gravestone.

Faith hissed as she felt a sharp pain shoot up her leg and she looked down, realizing she wasn't even wearing any shoes, and saw the thin trail of blood run down her foot from where she probably had cut herself on something while running. "Well at least B gave me back my pants and tank," she mumbled to herself and let herself slide down one of the old gravestones.

"Well, well. Who have we here? Hello Faith," a male voice said and Faith jumped up, ready to attack whoever was before her. But the face she looked in seemed rather normal and she relaxed some.

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" she growled and a wide grin spread across the man's face.

"My name is Mr. Ganam, and you reputation is very well known, not only in Sunnydale. Believe me when I tell you that, Faith."

He was glad in all dark, something that reminded her of Angel, but had he been a vampire he would have combusted in the sunlight. Faith stared him up and down. He was at least 6 foot 4 and looked very strongly built. Nevertheless Faith didn't fear that she wouldn't be able to take him down.

"I am not here to fight you, Faith," he said in a more serious tone and reached out his hand, moving his palm up so she was looking at it straight on.

"Then what're you here for?" she responded, not taking her eyes off his hand.

Suddenly a white light emerged from his palm and shot straight at the slayer, knocking her back and over the gravestone.

"You," he stated simply and walked over to the fallen girl.

The shrill sound of the ringing phone cut through the silence that had built between them and both of them reached for the receiver, trying to get it first as an attempt to get away from the quiet.

Buffy grumbled as her mom answered the phone, having had the advantage of being a few feet closer and she stood near her bed, trying to indicate to her mom how pissed she was just by throwing daggers at the woman with her eyes.

"Buffy, it's for you," Joyce said with a slight undertone and handed Buffy the receiver. "Angel," she added upon seeing her daughter's questioning look and she walked a step back, in no way attempting to leave and offer the slayer a private conversation with the vampire.

"Angel?" Buffy spoke barely above a whisper, not wanting her mother to greedily suck up every word she spoke.

"Buffy," came the very familiar voice from the other end. "Is Faith with you?"

Buffy scoffed and glared at her mom once again. "Well she was, but it's a long story. Why? Anything wrong?"

"I have reason to believe so. I'm coming to Sunnydale as soon as it gets dark. Faith might be in real danger," Angel told her and Buffy narrowed her eyes, cursing the vampire for always talking around the information.

"Well what kind of danger? Don't you think I have a right to know?"

She could hear him sigh and saw her mother tense up at the word danger.

"Some guy from the Youth Penitentiary that Faith was in just called me not too long ago and informed me that one of their inmates escaped last night."

"So? Why does it concern Faith?" Buffy questioned, almost being able to feel the annoyance in Angel's voice.

"Would you let me finish, please?"

"Sorry. Go on."

"This inmate that escaped, Faith and her, well they didn't really hit it off and they got in more than one fight, one of which they both got injured pretty seriously. They just have to warn her since they could get sued if this girl attacks Faith," the vampire explained and waited for Buffy's response.

"So? Faith can defend herself. Some out-of-order girl shouldn't be a problem," Buffy shrugged and walked towards her door.

"Well that's what I thought at first, but I remembered Faith telling me something about a fight she had with a demon. So I had Cordelia look some stuff up and we are pretty sure that this escapee is a young demon from the Clan, and they have probably already hired a hitman to seek revenge on Faith. I will explain in detail once I get there."

The blonde slayer opened her mouth to reply but then heard the dial tone and hung up the phone.

Ignoring her mom who was still standing in her room Buffy changed into better clothes and ran down the stairs.

She had to find Faith.

There was only one place Buffy knew the other slayer would go. Out of the eleven cemeteries in Sunnydale there was only one Faith had seemed to really take a liking to.

The blonde slayer was running, she just hoped that she wasn't too late already. The weather had cleared up some and reduced the pounding rain to a simple drizzle. The sky was still dark and gray and to Buffy it felt as if someone had painted the horizon with the way she was feeling.

"Faith!" the slayer yelled out as she saw a dark figure move in front of the gravestones. She scaled the wall, figuring it was faster than trying to move the rusty iron gates and sprinted up the path to where she had seen the person.

Buffy stopped, looking at the very tall man wearing nothing but black and she moved her head to the side, studying him from the back. He suddenly turned his head around and Buffy winced at his features that were distorted, then seemed normal again. She blinked, figuring that this place just triggered bad memories and walked up closer to him. He was still turning his back to her, only his face turned to her as he looked back at the blonde.

"Faith?" Buffy asked, raising her voice, her eyes never leaving the strange man.

"B... " the blonde heard from where the man was standing, barely audible and it sounded weak and choked.

"What... " Buffy gasped and started to attack as the man turned around completely, holding Faith up by her throat in his left arm, as if she didn't weigh more than a feather.

But before Buffy could reach him a white light shot from his upturned palm and hit her square in the chest, sending her backwards. It disabled her from jumping back up and she feared her death imminent but as the blonde slayer looked up she saw that the guy had dropped Faith who was lying on the ground near death, but had managed to sweep his feet away.

The older slayer recovered and rushed towards the man before he had a chance to use whatever magick he was about to use and send him backwards with a roundhouse kick to the head. Standing up Buffy expected a long and tiring fight but instead the guy stepped back, holding both palms up in the air and white light engulfed him. "We'll be back, don't worry. " he growled and then disappeared in the light.

Buffy let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at Faith.

Joyce shot up from her seat on the sofa and watched as the front door opened slowly. She was more than pissed, especially after Buffy simply took off, probably to go find Faith. She wasn't sure whether to feel hurt and betrayed or just simply angry. Though Joyce did regret her severe outburst of emotion when she had pushed and hit Faith. It wasn't like her to become violent, but the fear that the brunette girl instilled in her mind had simply brought her over the edge.

The woman sighed. She realized that an apology to Faith was inevitable. Though Joyce did feel that the girl deserved one; she had indeed seen a change in the other slayer's eyes while looking at her. Maybe Buffy had seen the same thing and decided it would be better to let Faith stay in their house instead of on the streets.

Joyce sighed again, now really perturbed at her first reaction to seeing Faith and she got up to walk towards the door.

"Buffy... what... " the woman questioned as the blonde slayer burst through the front door, the rain now back to its full strength, and Buffy dripped on the floor as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"Mom can you get a blanket or something? Fast?" Buffy wheezed, out of breath from running all the way back from the cemetery, with Faith on her back.

Faith had been so close to unconsciousness that it was impossible to get her to walk back, let alone run since it had started raining again and Buffy feared that the guy might come back, so Buffy had decided to carry Faith home. The blonde slayer walked over to the sofa and carefully put Faith who was soaked just like Buffy onto the dry blanket her mom had spread over the cushions.

"Buffy you're soaked! Take off some of that wet stuff honey," Joyce said as she came back over and handed Buffy another blanket. The blonde slayer sighed, knowing that she would have to talk to her mom sooner or later.

"Yeah, I will. Just help me get her dry first," Buffy mumbled, choosing to not mention what had happened before, and pulled off Faith's tight, wet leather pants. The brunette was shivering, and Buffy figured it wasn't just from the cold, dark bruises starting to show on her throat and face and some blood leaking out of a cut on Faith's forehead.

"What happened?" Joyce asked puzzled as she looked down at a very distressed looking Faith, throwing another blanket over the brunette's body after Buffy had taken off all the wet clothes except the underwear.

"Well I would like to know. Angel called to tell us something about some demon seeking revenge on her, but whoever I saw at the graveyard sure didn't seem like a young demon female. Angel said he will be here at dark and explain everything... I hope," the blonde girl sighed and went upstairs to change into dry clothes.

"Can I come in?" the creature asked, the tone in its voice displaying how honored it was feeling.

"Step inside," one of the dark-clothed men inside the dark room spoke and with a flick from his wrist the big iron door fell shut behind the creature.

"What are your news soldier?" the other man asked, turning from his place on a red-glowing pentagon in the middle of the room.

The creature bowed and kept a respectful distance between himself and the two men. "My master, Mr. Ganam, he has gone to the Hellmouth to seek more information about the subject. I received news from him not long ago that the rumors about the two slayers are indeed true. He has faced them in battle and says they are strong," the creature with the name Tenu responded to the question and watched as the faces of the men clouded over with even more darkness.

The man on the right, who was one of the Clan elders, moved forward. Tenu now could see the dark-red satin shirt the man was wearing underneath his dark suit, instead of the deep-blue the other elder had on.

"Those are not very good news I fear. We hired your master, not only because the Clan has close connections to him, but also because he is known to perform his job quite well without any major disturbances. I would hate to see his reputation ruined."

Tenu blinked and moved his head to the side, looking at the man in front of him. "Yes, I am aware of that. Do not fear failure, my master. Mr. Ganam did not portray full strength in his battle, in order to make the slayers believe he was weak. He has though, like you wished, weakened the subject slayer, and Ygol will have no troubles killing her enemy."

"Very well," the man in blue said and walked over as well. "Ygol has to kill the slayer on the second day of Atrius, or else she will not be allowed back into the hell. It is a shame on our name and hers if she does not properly defeat said slayer. Tell Mr. Ganam that I am so far pleased with his forthcomings and I wish the slayer to be kept weak enough to have Ygol face her in battle on the second day."

Tenu bowed and looked up at the elders who turned back to their pentagon now, the one in red mumbling words in an old demonic language.

"You may leave now," said the other and Tenu hurried out the door as it mysteriously opened and fell shut behind him.

He really hated this part of his job.

"Angel... come in," she mumbled and stepped away from the opened door. The vampire nodded and walked inside the house, looking at Buffy. It had been years since they had seen each other and the air surrounding them bore such an uncomfortable mood that Buffy decided to avoid his eyes and walked into the living quickly.

Angel sighed, he had known it that it wasn't going to be easy being around Buffy again, but Faith needed his help and over the years he had grown to love the younger slayer just like with Cordelia. The vampire followed Buffy into the living room and started to say something as his eyes fell on Faith's still form on the sofa. Her eyes were closed and if hadn't been able to smell the blood pulsate in her veins he would've assumed she was dead. Dark bruises covered her neck and face and Angel closed his eyes as he realized that he was already too late.

"What happened?" he questioned, not needing an answer, but just hoping to clear up that awkwardness around him and Buffy.

"Faith was at that one cemetery by herself, because... something happened... but that's of no importance... and when I got there I saw a really tall guy hold her by her throat and he shot some weird light at me from his hand. I think he might've been draining her of something, but I saved her in the last moment when I got there and he vanished," Buffy nodded and looked at Faith, then Angel.

"Uhh don't flatter yourself, honey. He wouldn't have killed her even if you hadn't come. Just used a little magic to make her weak, you know. Really, no big deal on your part," came the voice from the door and Buffy's head snapped up, looking at Cordelia who was walking over to them.

"What is she doing here?!" the blonde slayer gasped, already irritated by the ex-prom queen.

Angel grinned and shrugged, "She wanted to come."

"Yeah, Faith and I... we're like that," Cordelia said with sarcasm that stayed hidden to Buffy and made a motion with her fingers to indicate how close her and the brunette slayer were.

Buffy narrowed her eyes and looked back at Faith who hadn't moved at all in over two hours and she was really starting to worry. The blonde slayer growled quietly at her own mind to make it shut up and looked at Angel.

"Well, since apparently everyone except me knows what's going on here, why don't you let me in on the secret huh?" she remarked and sat on the sofa, putting Faith's legs across her lap as the brunette continued being out cold.

Cordelia shrugged and sat in one of the seats, with Angel sitting on the armrest, and Buffy threw them evil stares that she knew they didn't deserve. All those years Angel had been the one to visit Faith in jail, he had been the one she had turned to for help and not her. The blonde blinked and shook her head, asking Angel to give her some information.

"Well, I told you most of it on the phone. This young demon, her name is Ygol we think, has asked her family members of the Clan for help in eliminating her enemy. It is a great shame for a demon to be left injured in a fight without a kill, especially if they have such a high rank on the demon social ladder. The gate to hell opens only once every three years and the young demons have to return for certain rituals there. Faith's and the demon girl's fight caused her to miss that date and that's why she has to wait until this year. She won't be allowed in hell until she kills Faith, and the day of the opening of the gates is coming soon, on the third day of Atrius," Angel explained and looked at Buffy if she was following him.

"So why does the whole Clan come and try to kill Faith. And who was that guy that tried to kill, or" Buffy glanced at Cordelia with an evil look, "weaken Faith?"

"The Clan has a reputation to keep, it is like a closely-knit society of demons and all their young demons 'graduate' from the rituals in hell to become pure demons. You could almost say it is like a college that wants only the best to join because it will give them a better record. If Ygol does not return to hell for her rituals she will be banned forever from the demon world and either become human or be locked in a different plane of this universe. It will not look good for the Clan. They have hired hitmen before, that serve only to weaken and bring the subject before the young demon to enable him or her to kill the enemy, without danger of being severely hurt themselves."

Buffy leaned her head back. This really wasn't what she needed. She had to admit to herself that she was really getting too old for all those big demon societies going up against her. True, at 23 a normal human female would've been in the best of her years, but a slayer's body took a great toll of abuse. All Buffy wanted was to be able to have a job, a normal life with the person she loved and not have to worry about all the evils out there.

"So, can we do anything to make whatever that guy did to Faith go away? Cause she won't be of much help to us like this," Buffy sighed, pointing at Faith's still quiet form.

Angel nodded and got up slowly. "Yeah, I believe there's a spell to ward of the magic that this probably is using to keep her weak. It takes a very experienced witch though, the best would be more than one witch to make it more effective."

Buffy smiled for the first time in hours. At least they were lucky in some parts.

"Tenu!" the master screamed, maybe even in pain from the way is voice sounded.

"What is it master?" the young vampire asked, fearing that he had done something wrong.

"Someone is messing with my magic. The weakening spell is not working anymore. I have the feeling that we are going up against a high concentration of magic power. Call the Clan and inform them of the problem. Please be as discreet as possible," Ganam hissed, feeling a burning pain across his palm and towards his heart. The slayers would pay for that.

"Faith? Come on Faith, wake up," the blonde girl whispered, kneeling in front of the sofa. Angel had gone off to find out more about the mysterious guy and the Clan, and meanwhile Willow and Tara had come over to perform the anti-weakening spell. All of them, including Cordelia, were now sprawled out in front of the TV, watching some mindless movies while waiting for the spell to take effect.

At the slightest movement coming from Faith Buffy had jumped up and tried to wake the younger girl by calling her name and squeezing her hands. Willow turned around, watching her best friend lean over the girl she knew the blonde loved and sighed. She really hoped Faith was going to be okay. The spell had been harder than they had anticipated. She figured that the magic behind the mysterious man must be great. It wasn't going to be an easy fight.

Finally Faith stirred and groaned and Willow turned back to the TV, allowing her friend at least some privacy.

"Hey... Faith," Buffy smiled in relief as the brunette's eyes fluttered open and the blonde found herself staring into the brownest eyes she'd ever seen.

"B... What... what's going on?" Faith whispered hoarsely, feeling as if she had just awoken from a deep, year long slumber. She moved, feeling pain take over her joints and the younger slayer groaned again. Then she realized someone had robbed her of all clothes except her underwear and she looked back up at Buffy.

"You know B, you didn't have to knock me out to be able to take my clothes off," she mumbled in her typical mocking tone, and she Buffy smiled, glad to have Faith back. Then she remembered the three other people sitting behind her who must've heard the comment. The blonde slayer could feel the redness creep into her face as she turned slightly, looking into Cordelia's noisy eyes, followed by Willow and then finally Tara.

As Buffy moved out of the way Faith was able to see the other girls sitting on the floor, now intensely watching the two slayers and she grinned, blushing slightly as well.

"Oops?" she offered to Buffy and the blonde swatted her arm, sitting back on the sofa with Faith's legs draped over her lap.

"Yeah, oops Faith," Buffy said sarcastically, feeling her heart melt at the sheepish grin that was all Faith had to offer, and then looked at the two witches.

"Thanks so much guys. I don't know how to thank you. If you wanna stay around, I mean, I don't want you going out there with danger around," the blonde said and Willow smiled at her.

First the red-head thought Tara and she would just head home, but she felt as if they would be needed once again. And it was fun to just hang out with her friends. And ex-friends.

"Uhh!" Faith raised her hand like a school-child, waving it around as no one was paying attention to her. Finally three pairs of eyes fixated back on her body and she sighed.

"Hey umm... what danger?"

Buffy sighed in unison with the two witches and even Cordelia, who seemed to be sighing at the sight of a hunk on TV though, and started to explain the situation to Faith.

"But it doesn't work that way," the young looking girl replied stubbornly and crossed her arms. She did not understand why her elders always had to use their hitmen and magic to have one of their young demons win a fight.

"Then explain to me how you expect to win a battle against the slayer Ygol," the man wearing the dark suit and emerald-green satin shirt underneath. The three other men sitting in chairs next to him at the round table nodding accordingly.

"I have known Faith, the slayer, for five years and she does spill secrets. Occasionally she would talk in her sleep, and sometimes when I threatened her, but I do know that she has a wide range of resources to fall back on, including witches, soldiers and another slayer. Your hitman magic will do nothing but aggravate them," Ygol spoke softly, yet annoyed by the stubbornness the elders were displaying.

"That does not explain how you are going to win against the slayer Ygol. Some of the greatest demons, even some from the Clan, have fought slayers and lost, what makes you think you are better than them?" the elder with the dark-red satin shirt questioned.

"I am no better than them, sire. But we have an advantage. Faith is weak. I know her emotional weaknesses. I have used them against her before and they make her slayer strength just about unnoticed. Believe me when I tell you, I am ready to fight my enemy."

"Just as well," the guy in the deep-blue shirt spoke and stood up, followed by the other three.

"You will be leaving at midnight. Mr. Ganam, whom you've known and one of his vampires will accompany you, in case something does go wrong," one of them spoke and two low-lives came, opening the door for Ygol as she stepped out.

She had the feeling that it was going to be a fun reunion.

"What happened to her in there?" she asked suddenly and he turned to look at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Not my business to tell you that Buffy. Even if I did know more than I do. All I can tell you is to either ask her or not mention it at all."

The blonde slayer nodded and grabbed the cans from the fridge, heading back over to the living room with Angel on her heels.

As Buffy sat back on the sofa that Faith was still lying on, she sighed. The vampire had come back with just about no news from anyone. Not even the higher demons in the area knew anything about the Clan coming by and his search had turned up nothing. All they could do was wait and hope nothing would happen. But Buffy was extremely curious as to what really happened to Faith in juvie, not just about her conflict with the demon girl, but what had made her look and act weaker and more disturbed all of a sudden.

She had seen the scars on Faith's body, and they weren't the ones she remembered from their slaying. Except the linear scar on her abdomen. They both knew where it had come from and neither of them made an attempt to talk about it. Faith knew Buffy must've seen the scars as she had undressed her, but she also knew that she could hide them for a little while longer. They didn't hurt anymore and didn't matter to her, the emotional scars were the ones that never stopped hurting and opened up every time she saw Buffy. Faith had enough of those.

The brunette scoffed and upon seeing all the eyes locked on her she sat up, holding the blanket in front of her like a safety shield from their eyes. The gesture seemed too smooth to be just a one time kind of thing, it almost seemed to the others as if the young girl had tried to do just the same move many times over the years.

"B, can I use your shower?" Faith asked, her voice cracking and she could feel the nausea rise in her throat upon the memory of years passed.

"Yeah sure, go ahead. You know where it is. If you need clothes just look in my drawers and closet," the blonde slayer responded, trying to ignore the plea for help Faith was practically screaming at her with her eyes.

"B?" the younger slayer now just whispered, her eyes lowered to the floor.

"Huh?" Buffy looked over at Faith who was desperately trying to hide behind the blanket.

"I... uh... I guess the weakening spell still hasn't worn completely off, cause my legs are really kinda weak I don't think they can hold me," Faith sighed and closed her eyes. She really hated to admit her weaknesses.

But Buffy just grinned and got up, tipping Faith's head up with her index finger. "Well F," she responded, leaning over and picking Faith up in her arms, "guess it's gonna be you and me then huh?" The others seemed too occupied with the movie as Buffy carried the other slayer upstairs and into the bathroom.

Sunnydale was a strange little town but it radiated a lot of demonic powers. She had never been this close to the Hellmouth, and the experience was magnificent. In the many old books she had had to read for her demon rituals she would have to endure once she made it back to hell it had said that it is the duty of every demon to visit the Hellmouth at least once in their lifetime. Now Ygol understood why.

The power and magic coming from the little town made her feel even stronger and more confident about her upcoming battle against Faith. The girl looked around herself and grimaced at the sight of all the old gravestones, surrounded by opened up graves. Ganam had transported them from the Clan 'Headquarters' to Sunnydale with his magic, and apparently this was the only place he could land them.

The young demon scoffed and turned to look at the two strange men. She had known Ganam for a long period of time, he had been a magic teacher at her demon school before his powers became too strong for him to just deal with little demons. The other man, Ygol vaguely remembered the name Tenu, was definitely a vampire, and an ugly one at that. Ganam had told her that his helper was close to being one of the oldest vampires still alive, and had a great repertoire of information and wisdom, as well as fighting skills. Ygol didn't care much about the two men, she was going to be the only one fighting the slayer.

"So where do we go?" she questioned, looking at the man in the dark suit.

"I guess we could gather information from the locals on where to find the other slayer and pay her a visit," Ganam mumbled, brushing dust off his black jacket and turned around, looking into the darkness.

"Just as well," Ygol spoke, mimicking the solemn tone the elders used and turned to the direction Ganam was facing.

"I think we're lucky," he said as they saw a group of vampire like looking fellows walking towards them.

Willow grinned and walked past the sofa to the kitchen. They were all still up watching movies, waiting for Angel to return once again as he had thought of an old friend that could help them out and left. Well all except Faith, who after her shower with Buffy, a topic that everyone had chosen not to touch, had fallen asleep again and her head was resting against Buffy's shoulder while the blonde's hand was holding the younger slayer's unintentionally, which Willow thought displayed extreme cuteness.

"Hey Will?" came the soft voice from behind her and the red-head turned to face Buffy.

"Do you mind getting me a towel or something like that?"

Willow grinned and shook her head. "Why, is Faith drooling?"

Buffy smiled back, blushing slightly upon realizing how close the brunette girl was to her. "Nah, not too much. But her hair's still kinda wet and I'm getting real cold from my shirt being all wet again, but I don't wanna wake her up... she's so peaceful when she sleeps."

The witch grinned again, watching her friend's dreamy gaze as she looked at the girl sleeping against her. Yeah, Buffy definitely had something for the younger girl. Willow grabbed a towel from the counter and was just walking back into the living room when someone started pounding on the door. Buffy threw her a look and before she had to say anything Willow nodded and walked towards the front door.

As the pounding got a little harder the red-head pulled the door open and before she could react was catapulted backwards by a flash of white light.

Ygol stared at the redhead that had opened the door to the big house and ducked as Ganam shot his magic at the girl, sending her backwards. She grunted, entering the house that was sending off good energy that she didn't like at all. Ganam was right behind her and they walked through the door, eyeing the scene before them suspiciously.

"Hey!" they heard from behind them and looked at a bitter looking Tenu who was holding his hands up outside of the house.

"God! Come in you idiot," Ganam hissed and turned to face the teenagers that had emerged from the living room.

He remembered the blonde from his little run-in with bad luck and his eyes swept across the room in search for their actual target. Suddenly the blonde slayer lunged at them, and Ygol stepped aside quickly, as he shot his white magic at Buffy, sending her crashing against a wall.

"Listen humans, all we want is the slayer. Hand her over and you'll all live," he growled and watched them closely. The redhead and tall blonde standing next to each other were radiating white magic like crazy and he groaned as they clasped hands and mumbled a few words. They were stronger than he had anticipated.

"I'm the slayer," said the blonde girl getting up from the floor, who they had been informed was named Buffy.

"Not you, the extra slayer. Faith," Ygol spoke softly, her eyes glowing red as she licked her lips in excitement.

"I'm no extra slayer little demon girl," Faith hissed as she walked up next to Buffy slowly, and Ganam laughed quietly as he realized how much his spell had really weakened the slayer.

"What, you think you're special Faith? You're nothing Faith! Don't you remember? Tell me you don't remember, cause I won't believe you," Ygol yelled as she stepped closer to the brunette slayer.

Buffy moved to attack Ygol as she reached the two girls, but suddenly a pain sharper than a thousand knives reached her heart and she dropped to her knees, moaning in pain. Faith and Ygol moved their heads towards the man in the dark suit standing in the doorway who was making weird movements with his hand and mumbling words, as the two witches in the corner did the same.

Suddenly a bright light filled the room and Willow and Tara dropped to the floor, conquered by Ganam's stronger magic. No one even noticed Cordelia who was struggling against the tight hold Tenu had on her, as he occassionaly grazed her neck with his fangs, only to be reprimanded by his boss.

"Well Ygol darling, go ahead and kill her. She's all yours," he nodded and the demon grinned as she stepped right up to Faith who was staring at Buffy on the floor.

"B... don't leave me, please help me," she mumbled and stared into the other slayer's eyes that were glazed over with pain. Before she could drop to her knees to help Buffy, the high-pitched voice made her look at the girl in front of her.

"You killed her, Faith. You're no good and you know it. You've always been a pain in the ass, just like your mother said," Ygol continued, knowing the effect it would have on her opponent. So far it seemed to be working well, as Faith did nothing to attack her enemy.

"My mom," Faith whispered, her eyes staring at the demon blankly and Ygol chuckled. It had worked faster than she had hoped for, but she was having too much fun to just outright kill Faith.

"Yeah, you know the one that told you you'd be a whore. And look how right she was. Look how you let everyone do you at the place. You're a no-good whore Faithie," the demon girl grinned, loving the pain she was inflicting.

"I didn't let them. You know that Ygol," the slayer responded and pushed the demon back.

"Oh you think?" the demon raised an eyebrow, then shoved Faith back as well. "You're the slayer Faithie, yet you didn't stop them. I'd call that letting them."

"Shut up!" Faith growled and her fist connected with Ygol's jaw hard. Immediately Ganam was ready to jump in but the stare he received from the demon told him to rethink that.

"What, you finally got yourself a backbone? You're just a used up whore, I don't even know why they all just used you and not me or that other chick. Oh wait, I do know. Cause every time they'd look at you that way you wouldn't even move. Daddy give you bad memories Faithie?" Ygol chuckled, remembering all those secrets Faith had screamed out during her nightmares.

"Stop," Faith whispered and the tears fell slowly from her eyes at the wave of memories flooding her mind. Bad memories. Memories from her childhood. "How do you know that?"

The demon pushed Faith again but this time the slayer didn't fight it. "You gave me many sleepless nights with your damn screaming and trashing around. 'Daddy please don't. Daddy I won't do it again.' Ugh, you're so full of it Faith."

Ygol felt herself getting bored and delivered a quick kick to Faith's stomach that sent the slayer towards the floor. She was somewhat hoping for a little action, but it was fine with her if it had to go down this way. Faith was a wreck and it had taken her years to break the slayer. The brunette didn't get up and Ygol groaned. She stared at Buffy who was lying on the floor pretty quietly now. Maybe she was dead. Fine with her.

"Oh I remember another thing," she hissed as she yanked Faith off the floor. The brunette's eyes met hers reluctantly, somewhat puzzled. "B don't leave me. I'm so sorry, B. Buffy I love you," Ygol mocked and chuckled as Faith looked away from her, tears dripping onto the floor.

"Poor Faithie... well, I'll make it quick." The demon girl pulled a long, silvery knife from her pocket and held it up against Faith's throat who wasn't moving one bit.

The pain was intense but seemed to lessen ever second. It was as if she was paralyzed and all Buffy could do was listen to what she hoped was a fight Faith could easily win. But it didn't seem that way as the demon girl kept yelling insults at the younger slayer and Buffy couldn't hear any sign of Faith trying to defend herself either verbally or physically.

She moved her head slightly, feeling the quick movements the two girls standing above her were making. The harsh words coming from the demon pierced her heart just as much as she imagined it must've Faith's. Buffy sighed and tried to move; Faith needed help.

But the sudden words coming from the demon made her stop. "... so sorry, B. Buffy I love you." She knew that the girl could just be lying but there was no motion of Faith to contradict the girl. Buffy just had to find out the truth.

She opened her eyes, only to find the demon holding Faith in a dead grip, a long knife cutting into her throat. "Faith!" she cried out as well as she could, the pain almost gone now and she could feel her arms and legs again, though they were on pines and needles. The two girls stopped, turning to look at Buffy but Faith immediately dropped her gaze again.

"Well look who decided to join us. Little Miss Buffy. Do you have anything to add to little Faith's morbid life? I bet you know a tale or two," Ygol laughed and pushed the long silvery blade hard against the brunette slayer's neck. The only reaction she got was Faith squirming in her hands, which made her job just so much harder to do and an exasperated yelp from Buffy who apparently didn't want her former enemy killed in such an old-fashioned way. Ygol stopped and looked at the blonde, grinning.

"You know Buffy, you should thank me for saving you from having to endure Faith any longer. Believe me she's a no-fun roommate," the young demon stated plainly then sighed, lifting her knife back to do what she had come to do.

Suddenly the room was flooded with darkness and first the feeling of extreme cold, then the heat of searing flames, the winds of a hurricane and finally a silent quivering that made them believe an earthquake was imminent. The bright light that immediately followed the darkness left black, dancing spots in their vision and Ygol growled in frustration as she realized it could mean nothing else but the presence of the Elders of the Clan.

Her eyes stung with the intensity of the painful tears that still wouldn't stop flowing down her face. Right now it seemed as if her imminent death was the best thing that ever did and would happen in her young life. Faith did not want to face Buffy after what she knew the blonde slayer must've heard Ygol say. Why couldn't her memories just leave her alone, why couldn't they just get out of her mind?

She had no idea why Ygol didn't just finish the job and only reluctantly did she glance up, finding herself staring at four men in black suits with different colored satin shirts that looked very grim and powerful. A cloud of smoke was surrounding them, almost like a cheap special effect to make them seem even more mysterious. Faith had an idea who they were; Ygol had spoken about the Elder many times and blamed Faith for their disappointment in the young demon.

"Ygol my child," one of them spoke and his voice boomed through the room like thousands of tiny particles touching every atom in them.

The demon dropped her prey and bowed quickly, looking expectantly into the Elder's eyes, though very distraught at the interruption. Ygol hoped that Faith would not escape and make it impossible for Ygol to descend back into hell.

"Yes my Elder?" she mumbled, hoping they had a good explanation for dropping in so suddenly.

"As we see you were just about to master the challenge of killing the prey, but we now have other plans for the slayer. We did not plan for you to kill her since we have other use for the slayer. The rules call for you to kill your enemy, but under the circumstances we were able to convince the Hell Administration that you came close enough to it to be able to take part in the rituals. Well done my child," another Elder spoke and nodded softly towards Ganam, who dropped his hands to stop his magic and stepped into the circle the Elders had created.

Tenu pushed his captive away into the two witches his master had been battling and walked over to the two fallen slayers. Their blood smelled so much better than normal humans and it was also so much more refreshing. The vampire licked his lips and contemplated asking the Elders for his payment in the form of slayer blood as he picked up the shivering form of the brunette slayer. The weakening spell could not have still been in effect and Tenu wondered why the slayer did not move one bit as he snapped cold metal cuffs around her wrist that were attached to a chain he handed to one of the Elders.

The Elders nodded satisfied as the slayer was thrown into their magic circle that the two young witches stopped trying to battle and the young demon and vampire stepped into it as well to be transported back to the Headquarters.

The green-shirt Elder smiled evilly ­ it was all going like planned and now they would even have a slayer to experiment with. He mumbled a few quick words in his language necessary for the spell to get them back to their place, as suddenly he was pulled backwards harshly out of the circle and received a bad blow to the jaw. He stared up into the eyes of the blonde slayer as she pushed the knife through his chest with all her strength and he felt life leave him, his hand holding the chain slowly going limp.

"Faith!" the blonde yelled and yanked on the chain that rested calmly in the unconscious Elder's hand, while the people in the circle slowly vanished. The other Elders yelled in shock as they realized one of theirs had been killed but it was too late to stop the spell and they steadily de-materialized.

Buffy did not dare touch the circle in fear of being sucked into it. She grabbed the chain that was all that connected her to Faith who was lying on the floor beneath the Elders' feet, looking back at her with the saddest brown eyes Buffy could imagine existed. She could not let her slayer go, not now that they had found back together.

"Help me!" she yelled at her friends and finally they awoke from their strange trances that had seemed to hold them captive. Willow and Tara immediately rushed over to grab the same chain Buffy held in her hands to help pull the brunette slayer out of the vicious magical circle but it seemed as if nothing could move the younger girl from her spot on the floor.

"Faith get up! Get up Faith dammit," Buffy yelled as she realized that no one from the outside could break the circle. If the Elder with the chain hadn't been so occupied with the spell he would not have dared to let his back move slightly outside the magical walls, enabling Buffy to grab him. She stared into the chocolate brown eyes she had learned to love and didn't want to believe what she saw in them. Faith didn't want to live and she was not going to get up and move.

"Faith please! You have to come back out," the blonde slayer pleaded and she could feel the tears build up as the hopelessness of the situation reached her.

"Why Buffy? Why would you want me anywhere near you? Do you just want me to hurt you again?" came Faith's stern voice from behind the magical walls almost as faint as a whisper.

Finally the tears started running and Buffy let the chain drop to the floor while she stared at the younger slayer. "No Faith. I know you won't hurt me and I want you near me because... because I love you too," the blonde slayer mumbled and looked away as she saw the perplexed reaction in the brunette's eyes.

Suddenly Faith lunged forward and slid out of the circle right into Buffy's arms who stared down at her, happy at how her words had changed Faith's mind.

"Gee Faith, that was close there," another voice sounded from above them and Buffy stared up at Cordelia who stepped out of the circle just as it completely vanished.

"Wha... Cordelia what," the blonde slayer mumbled confused and the tall brunette shrugged, then brushed some dust off her shirt.

"Well it was obvious that she wasn't gonna get up by herself so someone had to do it for her right?" Cordelia stated and sat back down on the sofa as if nothing had happened.

Buffy stared down at Faith who wasn't moving at all with sad eyes. Just when she was about to get up and drown herself in her sorrow brown eyes stared into hers and Buffy believed she could see them sparkle a little bit.

"Did you really mean that Buffy?" the brunette whispered, her voice shaking with hope and fear of being let down.

The blonde slayer nodded and smiled softly. "Yeah, every word of it," she whispered and waited to see a reaction in Faith's eyes. The brunette nodded as well and finally a small smile crept up on her lips that made Buffy' heart tingle with nothing but love.

"Good, 'cuz I do too," Faith mumbled back but was cut short by Buffy's lips that were pressed softly upon her own. All their fears flooded into each other, the imminence of Faith's possible death, the danger the Clan still posed but it was erased just as quickly, replaced by the love they had for each other that told them they would deal with all of it later. As they broke apart they stared into each other's eyes with awe, oblivious to the other people around them staring.

"Are you gonna take these off of me?" Faith quipped and held her handcuffed hands up to Buffy's face who grinned mischieviously at the question, then shook her head.

"Nah, I'd rather keep you all nice and chained."

"Oh? I didn't think you to be a chains-type of woman," Faith grinned back as Buffy pulled her up.

"There's much you don't know F," the blonde slayer said and turned around, walking back over to the sofa. Faith narrowed her eyebrows and grumbled, then followed her slayer slowly, the chains trailing behind her.

THE END