Title: Identity
Author: M. Scott Eiland
Email: eilandesq@charter.net
Summary: Faith deals with her new Watcher, her Cruciamentum, and with her feelings for Giles. Follow-up to "Honesty."
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters portrayed here, they remain the property of their respective owners/creators.
Notes: Time Frame: Late third through early fourth seasons: alternate timeline as established in my prior story "Honesty."

Faith prowled through the graveyard, scanning the trees for movement. She held a stake clenched in her right hand, and she wore a small backpack, along with a belt with several items hanging from it.

A scream pierced the silence, and Faith sprinted towards the sound, searching for the source. After a few seconds, she spotted the dark figure leaning over a young blonde woman and called out, "Hey. . .might not want to do that. . .I might get pissed off at you."

The vampire raised his head and replied, "So. . .you're the crazy Slayer I've heard about. . .well, I'm not going to just roll over for you. . .a rep is a rep. . .but you're going to have to show me." With that, he dropped his victim and moved to attack the Slayer. To his surprise, Faith did not immediately move to the attack, but rather moved into a defensive pose, blocking the initial attacks with little difficulty. The demon snorted and commented, "This is the all-powerful Slayer I've been told about? Someone's been telling me some tall tales." He stepped up his attack, and Faith was hard-pressed to block the blows as they came in. The vampire was chuckling when he felt a liquid strike his face, and he found that he was in agony.

Faith dropped the holy water vial that she had been holding in her left hand while blocking with her right hand, and commented, "There's some things you just have to find out for yourself." She thrust the stake through the opening created when the vampire involuntarily clutched its burned eyes, and it burst into dust. Faith paused a moment, catching her breath and wincing at the bruises she had incurred in the attack, then moved off to hunt for more vampires.

Walter Morris, Special Emissary of the Council of Watchers, blinked at the scene he had just witnessed, then turned to Faith's Watcher and commented, "Extraordinary. . .the defensive skills she displayed without her powers were quite unexpected."

Danielle Edwards raised a delicate eyebrow and replied, "I have been training her for months now to deal with her tendency to be reckless in combat, after all, Walter." She looked at the receding figure of Faith and shook her head, commenting, "Still, her performance was remarkable. . .she should be quite proud of herself."

The sound of someone clearing her throat caught their attention, and they turned to where Buffy was standing with Giles and Xander. The Slayer gave them an annoyed look and commented, "Faith is doing great. . .I'm on board with that . . .but shouldn't we follow her to make sure that she doesn't get swarmed?"

Looking abashed, the two Watchers followed Faith, while Buffy, Giles and Xander looked at each other and thought back to the events that had brought them to this place. . .

February 25, 1999

"Faith. . .are you sure about this? The Council hasn't exactly been helpful up to now. . .I don't want you being stuck with another loser like Wesley the Weasel."

Faith smiled at Buffy's concern, then replied, "Hey, at least they backed down about Giles." The fiasco with Wesley had caused the Council of Watchers to re-evaluate the whole situation in Sunnydale, and they had sent a group of investigators to take testimony from Buffy, Faith, Giles, and the Scooby Gang (the bemused reaction of one of the Council investigators to that nickname for Buffy's friends provoked lengthy and spontaneous laughter from all present). When they were finished, they recommended that the Council reinstate Giles as Buffy's Watcher, and that the Council appoint a new Watcher for Faith. Giles had agreed with that recommendation, with reservations about who would be chosen for Faith. Buffy had been concerned, also: she knew all too well how deeply Faith had been hurt by the deception of Gwendolyn Post. The younger Slayer locked eyes with Buffy and commented, "We both know this is how it has to go down, B. Giles needs to be able to concentrate on you. . .and I wouldn't mind having someone to watch my back full time, either. You know I'm not ragging on Giles. . .but no one's ever had to watch two Slayers before. . .I think he needs a break."

Buffy chuckled and replied, "Yeah. . .I suppose he could at that." She reached out and clasped hands with Faith and whispered, "But you give the word, and Giles and I will help you deep six this Watcher like we did Wesley. . .O.K.?"

Faith squeezed Buffy's arm and responded, "You betcha, B." The two Slayers laughed, then walked through the library doors, where Giles was engaged in apparently polite conversation with a tall, dark-haired woman in her mid-thirties. She turned to see who had entered the room, and Buffy and Faith could see that she was wearing a simple tan business suit, and that her eyes were as dark as Faith's. Buffy momentarily thought of Jenny Calendar, but the visitor wore her hair in a bun, and her demeanor contained none of the relaxed irreverence that marked the gypsy cyberpagan's behavior until the tragedy of Angel's turning shattered that element of her personality. She smiled and called out, "Hello. You must be Buffy Summers-", then locked eyes with Faith and concluded, "-and Faith Stevenson. I'm pleased to meet both of you." Her voice was relatively unaccented, containing only a trace of the English influence that was inevitable from years of training as a Watcher. She extended her hand and stated simply, "My name is Danielle Edwards."

Buffy walked forward first and shook hands with the Watcher: her grip was firm, and the handshake brief but friendly. Faith hesitantly followed and repeated the procedure, commenting, "You're not wearing tweed. . .isn't that some kind of capital offense for you Watcher types?"

Danielle Edwards chuckled and replied, "I was born and raised in California, Faith. . .and tweed and I just are not destined to meet, I'm afraid." She smiled at Faith and commented, "We need to talk, Faith. . .would you like to go somewhere private, or would you like Mr. Giles and Buffy to sit in on our meeting?"

Faith raised an eyebrow: her new Watcher's approach was certainly different from Wesley's. She shrugged and replied, 'I've got no secrets from Giles and B; besides, I might miss something important." She grinned at Buffy and commented, "I've been told I have attention span problems."

The younger Watcher saw Buffy look away innocently and grinned as she replied, "All right. . .however you want to do this is O.K. with me." She gestured to the others to sit, and they all sat down around one of the larger tables as she began, "Look. . .I've read all of the Watcher's diary entries that Mr. Giles was kind enough to send to the Council when he was reinstated, and I've gone back and read the diary entries that Amanda left before her death, Faith." Faith's face clouded over for a moment, causing the Watcher to pause; after a moment, Faith nodded at her to continue, and she continued, "Faith. . .you've had a rough time of it, and since you've come to Sunnydale. . .well, Murphy's Law must have been written with the Hellmouth in mind. With all of your problems, it shows a great deal of character to have been able to go on as you have. . .the world has been very lucky to have two young women as extraordinary as you and Buffy to deal with all of the hazards thrown at it by the Hellmouth."

Buffy smiled softly, and Faith began, "Thank--," only to be interrupted as the Watcher continued, "That being said, we need to do a lot of work, Faith. You are a gifted fighter, even by the historical standards set by past Slayers, but your recklessness is too dangerous to you and those around you to be tolerated any more. The recent incident with the Eliminati vampires. . .jumping down into that confined space after an unknown number of vampires was an inexcusable risk, even if it did lead to the recovery of Balthazar's amulet. There are a number of similar incidents listed in both Amanda's and Mr. Giles' diaries, and I have this written report that Mr. Giles got from a Mr. Xander Harris about an incident between you and an Apocalypse demon the night that you stopped the Hellmouth from opening again last month-"

Faith's eyes flashed angrily, and she burst out, "Xander told Giles about that? And after-" She broke off abruptly, studiously ignoring Buffy's smirk and Giles' perplexed expression, but noticing the new Watcher's all too perceptive glance at her. Faith sighed in annoyance and waited for her Watcher to continue.

The younger Watcher raised an eyebrow, then continued, "My point is not to harangue you, Faith, but to let you know that we will be working on this. . .a more thoughtful approach to combat will enable you to use your gifts to better effect, and greatly increase the chance that you will live to see your eighteenth birthday."

Both Slayers felt a chill at that last reference, and Danielle Edwards was far too perceptive to not notice the flicker of fear that appeared in Faith's eyes for a moment. She leaned forward and met the younger Slayer's eyes, and whispered, "Faith, the Council hasn't been at its best lately. . .and I know that you are well aware of the price that Buffy and Mr. Giles paid for it. . .and that you probably don't trust me all that much yet. I take the duties that the Council has entrusted me with very seriously. . .my job requires me to send you out on a nightly basis to do things that might well lead to your death. But I think that Mr. Giles' approach to the job has proven to be exceptionally effective, and the central principle of that approach is that his Slayer comes first: before the Council, before anything else." She reached out and clasped Faith's right hand with her own as she concluded, "I hope that I can be to you what he has been to her. . .and what he tried his best to do for you."

Faith turned to see Giles' reaction, and saw that he accepted the truth in the other Watcher's words: he had tried to do right by Faith, but ultimately his loyalty was to Buffy. . .she had come to accept that and not resent it all that much. Faith nodded at Giles and turned back to her Watcher, replying, "Fair enough. . .but if you turn out to be evil, I'm catching the next boat to Tahiti." She leaned back in her seat, causing the Watcher to release her hand, then asked, "Was there anything else you wanted to say, Miss Edwards?"

The Watcher smiled and responded, "First, I would like it if all of you would call me Danielle. . .we will all be working together closely, and I see no need to stand on ceremony." The other Watcher and the Slayers nodded in acknowledgement as Danielle continued, "Second, Faith, the Council has arranged for a substantial living allowance for you. . .and I want you out of that rat trap of a motel by the end of the week. From what Mr. Giles has told me, there is a readily available option on short notice." She turned to her colleague and invited, "Rupert?"

Giles frowned and replied, "Yes, actually. . .one of the other tenants in my building moved out recently. . .might have had something to do with being ambushed by three vampires and almost drained before Buffy came by on patrol and rescued the poor soul." Buffy looked embarrassed, and Giles continued, "In any event, the rent is reasonable-as is the norm in Sunnydale-and since Danielle will be moving into a flat only two blocks away, it is convenient for all concerned." He took a deep breath, anticipating objections, and began, "Faith, I know you have become accustomed to your 'space', but-"

Apparently unconcerned, Faith interrupted: "No problem, Giles. . .I like your building. . .plenty of room to hang out in, and close to everyone. . .I like it." She turned back to Danielle and asked, "When can I move in?"

The younger Watcher raised an eyebrow: Rupert had warned her to expect a struggle from her Slayer on this topic. . .interesting. She looked carefully at Faith, then continued, "Then, of course, there is the matter of your continuing education-"

Buffy and Faith exited the library in silence and had walked halfway back to Buffy's house when Buffy turned to Faith and asked pointedly, "What are you up to?"

Faith raised an eyebrow and replied, "What are you talking about? Danielle seems O.K. . . .I'm just trying to stay with the program, B."

Buffy shook her head impatiently and responded, "Not that. . .I thought she was pretty cool. . .big improvement from Wesley the Weasel, and I'm definitely on board with her getting you to take less risks and doing a little of that book learning. . .no reason that I should be the only Slayer in history with a high school diploma." Faith frowned at Buffy as the older Slayer continued, "You turned me down flat when I told you that my mom wanted you to move in with us. . .and now you're ready to move into Giles' building? What happened to that great feeling of freedom you were always waxing poetic about?"

Faith grinned and replied, "Hey, B, don't get me wrong. . .your Mom is a great cook, and the company would be good. . .but the Council is springing for my own pad. . .one without cockroaches, rats, and truckers getting it on next door while I'm trying to get my beauty sleep, you know? It's still my own space. . .just a little farther away from the highway than I'm used to, and a lot more room."

Buffy frowned, then brightened as she commented, "I suppose you're right. . .and it'll be a great place for us to hang out minus all of the annoying parental units. . .assuming that Giles doesn't hang around and wreck that little fantasy." She shook her head and muttered, "Why anyone would want to live under the same roof with Giles is beyond me." Buffy looked away in search of suspicious activity, and missed the mischievous glint that briefly appeared in Faith's eyes, then faded as they walked along the quiet street.

May 20, 1999

"Giles, we're getting wicked close to Graduation Day, and we still got jack on how to deal with the Mayor. . .can't we just kidnap him and dump him in the river tied to a bag of rocks? He's invulnerable, right? He won't die. . ."

Buffy chuckled at the innocent expression on Faith's face as the younger Slayer made her suggestion, and Giles was hard-pressed not to laugh himself, in spite of the grim situation. He managed to assume an annoyed air as he replied, "Faith, as irritating as it is that our current adversary is the primary governmental authority in this town, we still have to respect some level of propriety. Breaking into the Mayor's office to steal the Box of Gavrok was bad enough, particularly since it lead to Willow's abduction. . .but kidnapping the Mayor and disposing of him in the manner you suggest. . .I think that it would be best to consign that to the 'last resort, and only then if we have taken leave of our senses' file." He paused, then brightened as he commented, "Besides, even though we were forced to return the Box, we still have the Books of Ascension, and they are bound to have a clue as to the best means of dealing with His Honor when the time comes."

"Nice in theory, but it hasn't panned out in practice, Rupert." Danielle looked up from the thick volume she had been leafing through for the past hour, looking frustrated, and elaborated, "We know basically what will happen to him in the Ascension. . .we even know that he won't be invulnerable any more. However, given the sheer size and toughness of what the Mayor will become, I seriously doubt that anything short of a huge explosion or massed automatic weapons fire will do the trick. . .and if you think that kidnapping the Mayor would attract unwanted attention. . .?" She paused as Giles nodded in agreement, then continued, "Of course, the Books list half a dozen artifact weapons that could slay a true demon, but every one of them has been destroyed in incidents noted in the Council's records. . .we've got serious problems." She looked over at the Slayers and smiled, commenting. "On the bright side, Faith and Buffy are at the top of their games. . .the new training regimen that we came up with has worked wonders."

Buffy smiled back at Danielle and nodded. Faith's carelessness on defense had been Danielle's first target in training her new charge, and she had recruited Buffy to show Faith just how vulnerable she was in certain combat situations. At the same time, Buffy had realized that Faith's style was often rather effective against her, even if it left Faith exposed to painful counterattacks. She had spoken to Giles about it, and he had watched carefully and given Buffy some specific advice on how to counter Faith's moves. After about two months, the two Slayers had incorporated the advice of their Watchers, along with the acquired knowledge of each other's moves, in creating styles that combined the best elements of all of it. Faith was still not as adept as Buffy on defense, and Buffy had yet to reach the heights of ferocity that Faith achieved in battle, but their sparring matches had begun to resemble complex dances, as punches that would shatter reinforced concrete were gracefully blocked, and spinning side kicks that would stun a bull elephant were sidestepped with deceptive ease. The Watchers observed their Slayers with pride, while their friends watched with a mixture of terror and awe.

Xander had not been thrilled at the full contact sparring matches at first: he had objected once, and had needed to resort to a great deal of groveling and elaborate bouquets to convince Buffy to stop giving him the cold shoulder afterwards (on the other hand, Faith had thought his concern was "cute" and asked if he was volunteering to take Buffy's place. Xander declined gracefully and left in a cold sweat.). After that, he had gone to the last person he would have imagined he would be seeking help from a few months back. . .Angel, and requested that he help train him.

Angel had been amused at the irony of it: Xander had wanted him dead only months before, and now he was asking Angel to train him in order to allow him to protect Buffy as best he could. Things had changed between them, though. He had been hurt when Buffy decided to move on for good, and the fact that it had been Xander that she chose had stung: as much as he tried to ignore it, the young man's contempt for him had always hurt. However, he had noticed that Xander's antagonism towards him had been diminishing ever since the night that Angel had saved Willow from certain death at the hands of Gwendolyn Post, and he had been surprised to hear that Xander had pitched in with the others to try to find out what was wrong with him when the First Evil had come to town. Most importantly, Angel understood and respected Xander's motives: the young man had always been willing to throw himself into the thick of things, even when it would have been far wiser to restrain himself. . .Angel still shuddered when he thought about the night Spike had shown up last November to kidnap Willow, and how Xander had recklessly attacked the drunken vampire, only to be swatted down like a fly. Angel couldn't train Xander well enough to deal with Spike: he doubted that even Giles could deal with his childe one-on-one. . .but he could improve Xander's chances, and Buffy definitely approved of any activity where the two of them could be civil, even if it did involve them pummeling on each other.

Buffy blinked and returned her attention to the matter at hand, commenting, "We've still got some time. . .and since the Council has become more than a useless pain in the ass, if we find a weapon they can help us get our hands on it quickly. . .right, Giles?"

Giles nodded and replied, "The Council has always been adept in that particular area. . .consider how quickly Mr. Zabuto-" He paused in mid-sentence upon realizing what he had been about to say: the entire Acathla incident, particularly Kendra's death, was still an open wound to Buffy, and he gave her an apologetic look, causing her to smile softly at him to reassure him that she was O.K. He cleared his throat and continued, "Perhaps we should look outside the Books of Ascension. . .there may be artifacts dealt with elsewhere that could do the job." He nodded at the others and retreated to his office, and Danielle smiled reassuringly at the Slayers before returning to the volume she was reading.

Faith grinned and commented, "That's our cue, B. Come on. . .if we can't kill the bastard we can at least take out a few of his lackeys tonight." She walked out the library doors without looking back, and after a moment Buffy followed her.

Faith dreamed.

In their heart to heart talks following the close call with Deputy Mayor Finch during the Balthazar incident, the topic of Slayer's dreams had inevitably come up. Faith had been surprised to hear how traumatizing Buffy had found them to be, although when she thought about it for a while she realized that given Buffy's recent past, she wouldn't have liked getting a sneak preview of it if she had been Buffy, either.

For Faith, the dreams had always been a potent reminder of the power she had come into when she had been Called. . .she had always enjoyed them, and she tended to wake up after they were over with an all over tingle that beat sex any day of the week. . .well, almost any day. The creepy imagery. . .the overt threats to her safety and that of others. . .they were all no worse than a good kick in the pants to get her attention. . .to allow her to do what she loved most.

Faith found herself sitting at a table in a dark bar; at first, she thought it was Willy's place, but it was larger and the clientele was strictly human, as far as she could tell. She noted the Screwdriver in front of her and thought * definitely a business dream. . .if I were seriously partying I would have knocked off a couple of Mai-Tais by now *. She sipped her drink and waited for the main event to start.

"Excuse me. . .would you fancy another drink, luv?" Faith raised an eyebrow at the street-influenced English accent and turned to the speaker. He was a dark-haired man in his early twenties, wearing a leather jacket and jeans. Faith's heart skipped a beat: this guy was seriously hot. She was wondering if trying to pick him up would be some sort of violation of the Slayer's dream rule book when her eyes widened in recognition, and she whispered, "Giles?"

The man chuckled and replied, "Come now, Faith. . .I'm far too young and attractive to be called by my last name like some fortyish librarian. . . you can call me Ripper." He signaled to the bartender, and as the leather clad Englishman sat across from the startled Slayer, a waitress brought another Screwdriver for Faith and a Bloody Mary for Ripper. He winked at the waitress and turned back to Faith, commenting, "So I gather you're all in a bit of a mess. . .what with that Wilkins fellow wanting to be a true demon and all that. . .I think I've got something that might help."

Faith smiled and replied, "That's good, since I don't want to end my career as snake chow. . . but why are you here? The dreams I've had in the past have been more in the line of brief glances at seriously old looking books, or warnings of doom coming from some demon that I've had to gut with a pair of pruning shears. . .why the personal appearance from Giles' wicked, wicked past?"

Ripper grinned and replied, "Because the key is in something he learned while he was still me. . .tell him to look back at the story of Thornton's Folly, and tell him that if he hadn't spent so much effort repressing everything he did between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two, he would have figured it out on his own a long time ago."

Faith nodded, and responded, "Thornton's Folly. . .got it." She looked at her informant carefully, and quickly noticed that things didn't quite add up. She met his eyes and replied, 'You're not exactly the real Ripper, are you? Buffy told me some stuff. . .you seem a bit deeper than the guy she told me about."

Ripper sighed and acknowledged, "You've caught me, luv. I would have been far too busy staring at your knockers and plotting about how to shag you before the night was out to fill you in on the info I just gave you. . .so I've been 'blessed' with a little restraint and maturity, along with the knowledge of the older Rupert Giles, for this job." He grinned at her and asked, "So what do you think of the package?"

Faith looked at him appraisingly, and replied, "Not bad," but her face registered annoyance as she sipped her drink, then replied, "So do you have to bail now?"

Ripper grimaced and responded, "Ordinarily, I suppose so. . .but I gather that I'm here for another reason too." He took a good slug of the Bloody Mary, then asked, "So you fancy him, do you?"

Confused, Faith looked at Ripper and asked, "Fancy who?"

Ripper snickered and replied, "You know. . .the tweed guy. . .the G-man. . .the middle-aged fellow whom you described as being 'young and cute', thereby freaking out your big sister on the day you met her? That guy."

Faith contemplated lying, then realized the pointlessness of it before replying, "Yeah, what about it? It's not as if he even notices I'm a girl. . .I'm starting to identify with Willow and all of her years pining after Xander. . .he doesn't have a clue I'm interested."

Ripper looked at her for a moment, then replied, "You're right. . .he doesn't have a clue. . .but as to whether he's noticed you're a girl. . .you're sadly mistaken, Faith."

Faith snorted, "You don't say. . .well, he sure doesn't act like it. Look at Xander and Oz. . .even if I wanted to, I couldn't pry them away from Buffy and Willow with a crowbar, but they do notice me. . .even flirt a little: I've gotten some seriously dirty looks from B and Willow over that, believe me. But Giles. . .not the slightest bit of interest, or flirting. . .or even a raised eyebrow. He's just. . .Giles, and I don't have a clue as how to get through to him."

Ripper sighed, then commented, "Faith, if you want to get through to him. . .you have to understand where he's coming from." He took another sip from his drink, then continued, "Faith, I'm what Rupert looked like just before the incident with Eyghon." He took a longer pull from his drink as Faith remembered what Buffy had told her about Giles' past, and she smiled sadly at him as he began again, "It changed him completely. . .he saw what a life lived irresponsibly could lead to, and he turned his back on. . .me. . .without ever looking back, except for a few incidents including an unfortunate encounter with cursed sweets." He smiled rakishly and admitted, "It was fun to come out and play for a while, not to mention the fact that Buffy's mum was-"

Faith held up her hand to stop him as she retorted, "All right, Hormone Guy. . .even the Slayer with the dirty mind over here doesn't want to hear that story." She flushed momentarily: Buffy's recent encounter with the telepathic demons had been difficult on all of them, and Faith had resorted to rather drastic measures to keep the older Slayer out of her thoughts. . .Faith had wondered whether the discovery of her mother's encounter with Giles, or the barrage of erotic thoughts that Faith had concentrated on to avoid Buffy discovering what she really had been thinking about had been more unsettling to Buffy. She cleared her throat and commented pointedly, "You were about to make a point, Ripper?"

Ripper chuckled and replied, "If you insist, luv, but it's such a lovely story. . ." The Slayer glared at him, and the young man sighed and continued, "Faith, with Angel around, it's difficult sometimes for you to notice when someone is carrying around a lot of guilt, but Giles does. . .and a lot of it concerns you."

Faith blinked and responded, "Giles feels guilty about me? What the hell for?. . .I thought he did a pretty good job, all things considered. . .he gave me my space and didn't cross me once. . .not a hell of a lot of people I can say that about, you know?" She felt the green eyes reproaching her gently, and she burst out, "All right! Maybe I was a little jealous of the fact that Buffy came first with him. . .but he was her Watcher first, and they went through a lot together before I came along. . .didn't mean he didn't do his best for me."

Ripper smiled softly at her and replied, "Yes, Faith. . .but don't you think that it tore at him a little; after all, as much as he cares for Buffy, the path you've followed over the last few years has given you more in common with him than he ever will have with her. Also, the recent unpleasantness with the Council is another factor."

Faith raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Don't see why. . .it was B that they decided to pull that stupid test on, not me. Giles saved her ass and clued me in. . .why should I hate him for that?"

"Because it was just one more thing that might have caused you to lose any trust you had left, Faith." Ripper's voice was quiet and sad as he continued, "Your childhood, the way you lost Amanda, then that bitch Post showing up just as you were having doubts about Buffy. . .it was almost as if the fates were conspiring to drive you mad. . .or worse. He always appreciated the fact that you trusted him. . .he's not going to do anything that he thinks might violate that trust. . .even though you have your own Watcher to look out for your interests."

Faith closed her eyes for a moment, and her voice was sardonic as she commented, "So a jail-bait Slayer is pretty much off limits as far as he's concerned."

"On the bright side, that won't be a problem for you much longer." Ripper's voice was cheerful as he gave Faith a stage leer, then continued, "That's not all there is to it, Faith. . .you have to convince him that you are doing this of your own free will, and that it is not a relapse into self-destructive impulses on your part." He sighed and concluded, "Bloody inconvenient, if you ask me. . .if it were me, I'd have you back at my flat for a good shagging before you could say 'Maggie Thatcher'. . .but that's just me, I guess."

Faith gave him a wistful look and replied, "A few months back, I'd have taken you up on that. . .and you would have needed some serious medical care in the morning." She gave him a pointed look, and Ripper winced as she continued, "But I'm trying a new approach to things. . .and I want Giles to be a part of it. . .so how do I go about it?"

Ripper grinned wickedly at her, and locked eyes with her as he stood up and responded, "Sorry, luv. . .I can't give you the whole plan. . .but give it some thought. . .you're bound to come up with something. You're a bright girl. . .and he does fancy you, even though he wouldn't admit it now even if you pumped him full of sodium pentathol. You won't be eighteen until November. . .plenty of time to think your plans through. . .and bring them into effect." He chuckled and replied, "He better damned well appreciate it, after all of the time he's spent pretending I never existed." He walked over to Faith and squeezed her shoulder, then disappeared into the crowd.

Faith sighed, finished her drink, and left the bar, wondering how in the hell she was ever going to break through the Great Wall of England when Giles was apparently so determined to thwart her. Being preoccupied, she never saw the familiar figure sitting in a corner table.

Buffy stared at Faith as she left, then shuddered as the force that had prevented her from getting out of her seat dissipated, leaving her unfettered and deeply confused. * Oh, gee thanks, Oh Powers that Be. . .you couldn't give me a decent night's sleep. . .you just had to let me know that Faith wants Giles, and that under a few layers of guilt. . .Giles might want her too. Do I even have the right to say anything. . .it's not like I want him for myself. . .and he's lost so much. He'd never hurt Faith. . .if he goes ahead with it, it's for the best. . .I hope. *

As that last thought went through Buffy's mind, she blinked and found herself staring at the sunlit ceiling of her room. She sighed and dressed quickly.

Buffy was sitting in the library when Faith walked in, looking for Danielle and Giles. The younger Slayer called out, "Hey B. . .I had the most intense Slayer dream last night. . .we might have a bead on a weapon to take out the Mayor."

Buffy smiled sadly and replied, 'I know, Faith. . .I had a corner booth in the bar." Buffy saw Faith pale, and quickly led her to a seat next to hers. She looked into Faith's worried eyes and continued, "Faith. . .I just have one thing to say to you." She took a deep breath and concluded, "Be careful. . .love tends to suck on the Hellmouth. . .I don't want either of you hurt."

Faith smiled softly at Buffy, and whispered, "Thanks, B." They were interrupted by the entrance of Danielle and Giles, who had clearly spent a sleepless night poring over arcane tomes. Faith locked eyes with Giles and called out, "Hey, Giles. . .had the most interesting dream last night. . .apparently something called Thornton's Folly might be the trick for dealing with the Mayor." Faith saw Giles' eyes widen with shock and the sudden return of a very old memory, and she couldn't resist the obvious follow-up:

"Oh, and Ripper sends his regards."

Faith's flippant remark caused Giles to turn crimson, then mumble, "Er. . .well, it seems that whatever force watches over Slayers has a wicked sense of humor. . .surely they could have sent some other messenger to remind me of that bit of trivia."

Danielle turned to him, raising an eyebrow and asking, "Who's 'Ripper'? For that matter, what in the hell is Thornton's Folly?"

The Slayers smiled wickedly at the older Watcher, and he made a point of giving both of them dirty looks before pointedly answering Danielle's second question: "Andrew Thornton was a member of the English nobility. . .an Earl, if I recall correctly. . .who aided the Watchers' Council greatly in the thirteenth century. He was a master of forging weapons of great magical power for use against demons and other supernatural threats. In his old age, he summoned the Watchers' Council to his workshop and showed them a large box that appeared to be a featureless cube of metal. . .except for two circular handles on opposite sides of the object. He explained to them that he had experienced a vision. . .one that instructed him to create a powerful magic weapon for use against what would otherwise be an unstoppable foe. . .but that the foe would not come for a very long time, and that the weapon would have to be protected against premature use in the intervening years."

Xander, Oz and Willow had walked into the library in time to hear Danielle's question and Giles' explanation, and Xander piped up, "So what, this guy put that magical weapon thingy into the mystic version of a 'Break Glass in Case of Emergency' box?"

Giles gave him a dirty look, and seemed ready to deliver a withering retort when Buffy slipped her arm around Xander's waist and interjected, "Yeah, yeah, Giles. . .once again Xander states a complex concept in simple terms. . .yada, yada, yada. . .let's keep this story moving, O.K.?"

Giles raised an irritated eyebrow at Buffy's flippant manner, then sighed and bowed to the inevitable as he continued, "The Council naturally wanted to know how they would know when the time was right. It is said that Thornton smiled and replied, 'When the time is right, both of the handles on this box must be turned at the same time. . .by the current Slayer.'"

Willow blinked and asked, "So what's the problem? Seems like the Council could have gotten the swords out any time they wanted to. . .why the reference to 'Folly"?"

Giles smiled softly and replied, "Willow. . .the box in question has sides that are six feet long on each edge."

Willow blinked again and acknowledged, "That would definitely be a problem. . .did anyone try any other methods of breaching the box?"

The Watcher sighed and responded, "Several times. . .it proved impervious to all weapons and tools. . .at one point, explosives were considered and rejected as presenting a potential hazard to whatever Thornton had left within. . .in any event, it has been over seven hundred years since Thornton died, and the box still sits in a locked room of the main headquarters of the Council. . .the final legacy of a great artificer. . .apparently, a useless monument to madness. . .until now." He sighed and commented, "Still. . .the basic problem of opening the box remains. . .I don't see-" He gasped and turned to Danielle, who seemed to come to a realization at the same moment. They turned to their Slayers, who had shared a similar moment at about the same instant. Buffy recovered first, and smiled wickedly at Giles as she suggested, "Giles. . .I think it's time for the Council to discover the wonders of overnight shipping companies. . ."

Giles came out of his office with a smile on his face, commenting, "They'll have it here in five days. . .now that we know that whatever is inside is accessible, they insisted on strict security." He looked at the two Slayers and noted pointedly, "Now that that matter is resolved, and your unseemly enjoyment at my unsavory past has abated, I believe you two have a sparring session to conduct."

Both Slayers gave Giles an annoyed look, then moved into the cleared center area of the library and began to stretch. Xander stood watching them, having learned from experience that masking his concern was the best approach. Willow quietly reviewed the notes for the French test she was taking on Monday, occasionally glancing up to see what the Slayers were doing: though she would never admit it, she saw a savage beauty in the controlled violence. . .it touched something in her that had been first disturbed when her evil double had shown up in Sunnydale. Oz, calm as always, gently rubbed Willow's shoulders as he watched Buffy and Faith: he appreciated the artistry in what they did, though the wolf within him caused the violence it represented to make him a bit uneasy. Giles and Danielle watched as their Slayers moved into starting position: they had progressed remarkably in the last few months, but neither of the Watchers could fully relax during these sessions. . .a moment's inattention could be quite dangerous, but the unprecedented opportunity to train against an equal opponent was too useful to avoid.

The Slayers stood at arms length, and stared at each other for fully ten seconds before Faith threw a straight at Buffy's chin. Buffy countered by ducking under the punch and performing a perfect sweep, taking Faith off her feet. Faith rolled to her feet instantly and delivered a roundhouse kick that Buffy just barely sidestepped. After a few more exchanges, they ended up almost nose to nose, and each woman threw a barrage of punches that were all brushed aside by the other as if they were gently breaking soap bubbles. Faith avoided the eighth punch from Buffy by doing a backflip that would have made Ozzie Smith turn green with envy, landing ten feet away in a crouch.

Buffy's mind had started to wander during the last exchange. *Now that it looks like we won't end up as Mayor chow, Faith will be able to pursue this thing with Giles. . .I'm on board with it. . .I really am. . .but I don't understand it. . .they just don't seem that much alike. They've both been hurt so much. . . *

While Buffy was musing over this, Faith had moved up to her and resumed her attack. With responses honed by constant repetition, Buffy blocked all of the attacks, and managed a substantial counterattack of her own. Unfortunately, Faith chose to incorporate a new sequence that she had been practicing on her own: an abrupt forward somersault followed by a spinning side kick. If Buffy had been paying attention, the result would have been a grazing blow to the jaw that would have stunned Buffy for a moment and earned Faith an approving nod from her fellow Slayer. Unfortunately, the older Slayer was caught off guard, and she actually stepped right into the kick.

The noise, though it did not resemble breaking bone, was not pleasant. Faith landed and immediately exclaimed, "Buffy!", before locking eyes with the swaying figure in front of her.

Buffy blinked and wondered idly which of the two Faiths in front of her was speaking. As the others moved over, worry naked on their faces, she smiled at them and commented, "I've got the best buds in the whole world." As she concluded that sentence, she collapsed into a heap.

Xander recovered first, quickly examining Buffy before concluding, "I think she'll be O.K. . . her pulse is strong, but we should get her to the hospital. . .just in case it's more than a concussion." He shook his head in irritation and looked at the Watchers, commenting, "Damn it, I was afraid something like this would happen. . .they can't fight evil if they're knocking each other's heads off, Giles!'

Danielle looked a little embarrassed and replied, "Xander, their skills have improved greatly during these drills, and ultimately that will help keep them alive. . .but this might have been a bit much." She turned to her Slayer and asked, "Faith, did Buffy know you had incorporated that move into your repertoire?"

Faith frowned and replied, "Not specifically, but I told her I had been working on some new combination moves. . .I didn't think this one would throw her that badly." She looked at Giles ruefully and concluded softly, "I'm sorry, Giles."

Giles shook his head in negation, replying, "No, Faith. . .something was distracting her. . .I could see it in her eyes. It wasn't your fault, but perhaps Xander has a point. We should scale back these sparring matches a bit, and we certainly shouldn't escalate them any further until we can be sure both of you are devoting your full attention to the matter." He seemed to be attempting a sarcastic tone, but it was overtly tempered with concern for his Slayer as he concluded, "Buffy knows better than to let her mind drift in the middle of a situation like this. . .what in the world was she thinking about?"

Faith looked darkly at Buffy as Xander picked her up and carried her out the library doors, and whispered, "Can't imagine."

Buffy's eyes fluttered open, and she blinked a couple of times before her vision cleared, revealing a middle-aged woman in a white coat. She managed a faint smile and commented, "Unless the scenery in my bedroom has changed a lot, I'm in the hospital."

The doctor nodded and replied, "Yes, Miss Summers. . .your boyfriend Xander brought you in. . .said that you had slipped and knocked yourself unconscious against the table in his kitchen." She looked at Buffy suspiciously and asked pointedly, "Is that what really happened, Miss Summers?"

Buffy groaned inwardly. With all of the various times that Buffy and her immediate circle had wound up hospitalized, it was amazing that Social Services had never stepped in to remove them from what were obviously hazardous home lives. . .though even the most paranoid social worker could never imagine just how dangerous. She locked eyes with the doctor and replied, "I do remember slipping. . .and if Xander says that I knocked myself out that way. . .that's the whole embarrassing truth."

After a moment, the doctor nodded and continued, "You have a mild concussion, Miss Summers. . .I'm recommending you stay here overnight for observation, but you should be fine in the morning." The doctor managed a smile and concluded, "You have some friends waiting to see you." The doctor exited, and Xander, Oz, Giles, Danielle, Willow and Faith filed in a moment later.

Buffy smiled and commented, "Kind of a big production for a concussion, wasn't it? I've had worse before without coming here."

Giles gave her a dirty look and commented, "Buffy, it is never sensible to take chances with head injuries. . .as I have good reason to know." Everyone (including Danielle, who had noted the pronounced frequency of head blows in Giles' history with Buffy) snickered quietly at this comment, and the older Watcher restored decorum with restrained glares at the other occupants of the room before continuing, "Faith kicked you extremely hard, Buffy. . .which would not have happened if you had been paying proper attention." Buffy winced and prepared for a withering lecture, only to see Giles' expression soften as he continued, "However, that discussion will wait for a later time. . .right now, you should rest." He nodded at the others, who quickly made their good-byes to Buffy and departed. Xander had just kissed Buffy on the forehead and moved to leave the room when she asked, "Xander. . .could you send Faith back in here for a minute?" Xander looked concerned, and she hastened to reassure him, "I'm not mad at her or anything. . .and don't worry, it won't take long."

Xander looked at her and nodded, then left the room. A few seconds later, Faith came back in and pulled up the visitor's chair, commenting, "I thought you might want to talk to me, B." Her eyes grew hard and she asked, "Is there something you want to say to me, Buffy?"

Buffy flushed, then replied, "Uh. . .nice combination?" Faith didn't even blink, and Buffy sighed and continued, "Faith, it's not what you think. . ."

Faith shook her head and responded, "What am I thinking, Buffy? That you think I'm not good enough for Giles. . .or that he's not good enough for me? Neither one is too great from my viewpoint, B, although I'm wondering if you just want him for yourself. . .no fair hogging all of the standup guys."

Buffy blinked hard at the last comment, and replied, "Faith, believe me. . .I have absolutely no interest in Giles that way." Tears came to her eyes, and she whispered, "Besides, I've done a good enough job of ruining his romantic life without getting in the middle of it myself."

Faith's eyes softened and she reached out to clasp Buffy's hand as she replied, "Buffy. . .you can't keep beating yourself up over that. Giles has forgiven you. . .why can't you forgive yourself?"

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand, but the tears began to flow as she responded, "Faith. . .I drove Jenny away from us, even though deep down I knew it wasn't her fault. . .she had switched loyalties as soon as she found out about the escape clause: if she hadn't, Willow and maybe Xander would have died that night. By the time it happened, I was coming around. . .but it was too late: she was vulnerable, and Angelus used that vulnerability to hurt all of us. . .but Giles most of all. Faith. . .he went to the Factory to die, and he would have if I hadn't made it there in time. Driving men to attempted suicide. . .I seem to be good at that. . .how long do you think it will be before Xander's turn comes?"

Faith could feel the depths of pain in Buffy's words, and felt compelled to say something to lighten the moment: "B, Xander's whole life for the last three years has been a suicide attempt. . .we're just lucky that he sucks at it. . .because we'd all be dead if he didn't."

Buffy looked reproachfully at Faith for a moment, then started to giggle, and both Slayers started laughing for a few moments before regaining their composure. Buffy wiped her eyes, looked at Faith and asked, "Faith. . .you did a pretty good job of analyzing the whole thing with me and Xander. . .what is it that makes you want Giles? I'd feel a lot better if I knew where you were coming from with this."

Faith sighed and looked away for a moment, then turned back and replied, "It's complicated. . .the surface he projects isn't bad. . .loyal, brave, studious. . .a lot like I could picture Xander becoming once he grows up." Buffy smiled at the image that Faith's words brought, then nodded for her to continue. The younger Slayer nodded in acknowledgement and continued, "We've both seen the inner Giles, Buffy. . .it comes out to play when one of us is in danger. . .the anger, the power. . .if he had been under a little more control that night in the Factory, Angelus might have bought the farm. I guess it's that control that draws me. . .it's what I've always wanted. . .but it seems to be just out of my reach. What is it that they say. . .that we seek out in our loves the things we find lacking in ourselves?"

Buffy smiled and replied, "Now who's being too hard on herself?" She squeezed Faith's hand and continued, "I see your point though. . .that inner strength is part of what makes him special." She chuckled and closed her eyes for a moment, then commented, "I suppose that if you adjust for the tweed factor, Giles would probably fall into the hottie category. . .oh God, I can't believe I just said that! Damned painkillers. . ."

Faith grinned at her and replied, "Yeah, they do make you say the most interesting things, don't they? " She squeezed Buffy's hand again and continued, "Relax, B. . .from what Ripper told me, nothing is gonna happen for months anyway. . .the Great Wall of England is up and open for business." Her grin took on a thoroughly wicked aspect as she concluded, "Oh well, gives me more time to plan."

Buffy smiled at the thoughtful expression on Faith's face and felt compelled to ask: "Are we all right now, Faith?"

The younger Slayer grinned and replied, "Five by five, B. . .just a bump in the road. . .as long as you don't drift off in the middle of another sparring session." Buffy winced and Faith continued, "After all, we have a job to do. . .regardless of the state of our love lives."

Buffy winced, then managed a faint chuckle as she responded, "Don't I know it. . .story of my life." She released Faith's hand and said, "All right, rap session over. . .let me get some sleep so that you can get on with the business of pummeling me in a few days."

Faith nodded and departed. Buffy sighed and settled down to sleep, hoping that everything would work out all right. * Damn it, even on the Hellmouth there has to be a first time for everything, doesn't there? *

The massive crate had been delivered to a warehouse that Giles had arranged to lease for the occasion. . .it wouldn't have done to have it show up at the high school (even Snyder wasn't dumb enough to overlook it), and Giles' apartment also seemed unsuitable. The entire group had assembled there. . .somehow, it seemed right to everyone that they should all be present for this occasion. Buffy and Faith effortlessly stripped the crate away, leaving the almost featureless metal cube. It seemed untouched by the seven centuries since its construction, and the handles that were its only idiosyncrasy seemed equally untouched. The Slayers met each other's eyes, then moved into position. Each silently counted to three, then turned their handles with remarkable simultaneity.

The box began to glow, and Buffy and Faith carefully stepped back ten feet as the glow brightened intolerably for a moment, then faded, leaving a small pedestal with two objects lying on it. The Slayers moved over to the pedestal. . .and their friends were amazed to see the looks of wonder on their faces as they reached out and took the swords into their right hands. The swords were about three feet long, with blades of fine steel and a faint blue radiance coming from them. Faith just stared at her weapon for a long moment, then took an experimental swing at the pedestal. The blade cut through the base made of fine marble as if it were Styrofoam, causing it to crash to the ground. The younger Slayer grinned at Buffy and commented:

"Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

June 16, 1999

GRADUATION DAY

The Mayor twitched as the change came upon him. Before the horrified eyes of the watching audience, he metamorphosed into a huge snake, with thick, dark scales and yellow eyes that held a disturbing glint of human intelligence. The true demon watched as most of the students quickly, though cautiously, withdrew. It was unconcerned: the line of vampires waiting for them would prevent any escapes. A glint of light off of metal caught its attention: it looked down from its vantage point and saw a small figure holding a gleaming sword. . .Buffy Summers.

The former Mayor wished for that moment that his form still allowed him to smile. . .or snicker. Very well, then. If the Slayer was foolish enough to believe that such a tiny weapon could harm him now. . .then let her die like the fool she was. He reared up, locking eyes with the grim Slayer as he prepared to strike. . .he was so intent on his prey that he completely failed to notice the other figure sneaking up behind him. With an inward laugh, he abruptly darted his head forward to devour his arrogant foe. . .only to feel an agonizing pain rip through him.

The true demon stopped in mid-strike and bellowed: the sound caused all who heard it, whether demon or human, to wince at the sound. It turned to the source of the pain. . .and saw Faith Stevenson, the second Slayer. . .standing next to his side with an ichor-stained blade that was the twin of the one Buffy was holding. It reared back and struck at Faith, only to see the younger Slayer dart aside before the massive head could reach her. . .and then there was another stab of pain. It painfully turned and saw Buffy standing there, eyes cold, holding her own blade high as it dripped crimson.

The true demon reared up and looked at its opponents while trying to see how badly it had been injured. After a moment, it realized that the wounds, while painful, were clearly not life-threatening. . .it would just have to ignore the pain and pick off the Slayers one by one. . .then those nasty blades would be nifty souvenirs of its Ascension. It thought a moment longer, then picked Faith at random. With a vicious glare, it struck down at Faith with frightening speed.

Faith grinned as Buffy went in and wounded the demon again, but her eyes widened as the head did not slow down. She desperately dodged, but was unable to avoid a glancing blow from the huge head. She managed to roll with the impact and was quickly on her feet, ignoring the stabbing pain in her right side.

The demon grinned inwardly as it saw the Slayer recover: she wouldn't be able to take much more, and those sword strokes were not going to stop it, not any time soon. Suddenly, Buffy was standing next to her fellow Slayer, and both young women stood defiantly, swords raised as they glared up at the demon. It looked at them contemptuously and thought * All right, they're trying to bait me to attack so that they can roll aside and both attack me. . .well, I'll be ready for that * It struck again, ready to twist right to hit Faith or left to hit Buffy if and when they dodged.

At the last possible second, Faith performed a perfect forward somersault to the left, clearing the striking serpent's head, while Buffy dove low and to the right, barely avoiding being crushed by the descending head. Both quickly reached their feet, and with a simultaneity that seemed impossible, both drove their blades into the scales directly behind the creature's head.

The true demon felt its body go numb and slump to the ground: the only thing it could feel were the twin stabbing sensations just behind its head. It could hear a gentle chanting coming from the two women holding the blades penetrating it. . .a cold sense of suspicion began to surface within its mind. . .and that suspicion turned to fear as it began to feel warm, then hot, then finally, felt its flesh start to burn. A part of it admired the skill with which it had been manipulated. . .but mostly it was preoccupied with the agony it felt as it burst into flames. After a moment, there was nothing left but ashes.

Buffy and Faith stepped back from the conflagration, releasing the blades as they did so. They watched as the former Mayor of Sunnydale burned to a small pile of grey ashes, taking the weapons they had spent weeks training with along for the ride. Buffy smiled wistfully and commented, "Shame we lost the swords. . .I could get used to fighting with those. . .right, Faith?"

There was no answer, and Buffy turned to Faith. . .and was horrified to see her swaying and holding the bloody gash in her right side. Buffy ran up to her and took her arm, gently lowering her to the ground and whispering, "Oh God, Faith. . ."

Faith looked up at her, and her dark eyes laughed at the older Slayer as she whispered back, "We don't need no stinkin' swords, B. . .we're the Chosen Two. No one messes with our town. . ." Her eyes fluttered and closed, and Buffy knew panic for a long moment before checking Faith's pulse: it was strong. . . but she needed medical attention, and soon.

Buffy heard footsteps, and whirled with murder on her mind towards anyone who would dare threaten Faith. She relaxed when she saw Xander and called out, "What happened. . .I thought you were all dealing with the vamps?"

Xander grinned tightly and replied, "They all took off when Mr. Big and Scaly went up in flames. . .seems to have made an impression on them. We chased them for a bit, but they were quick enough to get back into the sewers. . .no point chasing them down there." He saw Faith and his eyes narrowed with concern as he commented, "Come on, Buffy. . .we'll get her to the hospital. . .she'll be O.K."

Buffy's heart lifted a bit at her boyfriend's reassurances, but the sense of dread remained as they took Faith to the emergency room, and it nagged at her as she watched the ER nurses wheel Faith away. All at once, the memories of Kendra dying in her presence came back, and this time there was no imminent crisis to force her to suppress the emotions. Xander sensed her need, and held her as she sobbed bitterly until she fell asleep in his arms. Xander gently rocked Buffy, his own concern for Faith prominent in his thoughts as he watched his love stir in uneasy slumber.

Faith found herself walking down a long corridor, the cool tile causing her bare feet to tickle. The oddness of that caused her to carefully examine her surroundings. After a moment, she realized that she was in a hospital. . .and was wearing one of those drafty hospital gowns that left certain parts of her anatomy exposed for the world to see. Not that she had anything in particular against exhibitionism. . .but it was a terribly impractical outfit. She looked around for a doctor or someone who would tell her what was going on, but the corridor was deserted: it seemed to be late at night. After a few moments, she saw a door marked "Staff Lounge." Hoping to find help, she burst through the swinging door. . .

. . .only to find herself back in the dark bar that had been the setting for her last Slayer dream. She looked down and saw that the hospital gown had vanished, replaced by her black leather pants and a T-shirt. She grinned and scanned the room, and was not surprised to see Ripper sitting across the room, looking at her and grinning. She walked over and sat down, noticing that a drink was waiting for her. She downed it quickly, closing her eyes in satisfaction as the warm glow of alcohol seeped into her body. She looked up at the young Englishman and commented, "You're becoming a regular in my dream life, Ripper. . .or is it more this time? I seem to remember that big snake ripping a nasty tear in my side. . .is this last call for me?"

Ripper smiled reassuringly and replied, "No, luv. . .you're just out for the count for a while until the docs finish sewing you up and making sure nothing more is wrong with you. . .you'd think that sooner or later they'd notice that you and Buffy seem to recuperate rather quickly, given your injuries. . .chalk up one for that thing that isn't just a river in Egypt."

Faith laughed, and responded, "I'm not complaining. . .I hate answering inconvenient questions." She signaled the bartender for another drink, winking at him as he brought it over to her. He smiled in appreciation and walked away, and Faith took a sip from the Screwdriver before asking, "So why am I here, Ripper? I'm not exactly going to be in fighting shape for a few days."

Ripper looked intently at her and replied, "A couple of reasons. . .first, the Powers that Be think that a little positive reinforcement is a good thing, particularly with the rough time you've had until recently." He leaned over to her and whispered, "Faith. . .you've done an extraordinary thing. . .the number of true demons that have been slain in recorded history can be counted on the fingers of one hand. . .with a couple left over for rude gestures. You should be very proud of what you have accomplished."

Faith felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the alcohol in her system, and turned away for a moment before turning back and responding, "I had a lot of help. . .Buffy's friends, Giles, Danielle. . .not to mention B. . .anything you say to me ought to be said to her, too. . .I owe her a lot."

Ripper gestured over Faith's shoulder, and she turned to see Buffy watching them from a corner booth. Faith smiled and gestured for the older Slayer to join them. Buffy stood up and walked over to the table, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Faith. She looked at Faith for a long moment before giving her an uninhibited hug and whispering, "I was so worried. . .I'm glad you're O.K."

Faith was moved by the emotion in Buffy's manner and actions, and she returned the hug for a moment before withdrawing and inclining her head towards Ripper. Buffy turned and saw a rather lascivious look on Ripper's face. She rolled her eyes and retreated to her chair, giving the young Englishman a dirty look. Ripper sighed and commented, "What I said to Faith goes for you too, of course, Buffy. You went through a lot last year at this time. . .you've done a remarkable job of recovering and resuming your duties. . .the Powers are pleased. . .and grateful."

Buffy snorted and replied, "If they were so damned grateful, they might have sent a messenger who could go five minutes without looking at us like you were plotting out a threesome in Faith's old motel room." Her eyes turned cold and she snapped, "I'm amazed you had the time to come here. . .I'd figure that you'd be too busy staging your next orgy or black magic ritual to bother with anything of consequence." She savagely gestured at the bartender to bring her a drink: he hastily brought her a mineral water and retreated without a word.

Faith blinked at Buffy's visible anger and commented, "God, B. . .intense much?" She looked at the older Slayer, concerned, but Buffy sipped at her drink and stared at the wall, refusing to look at her.

"Which brings me to the other reason I'm here, Faith." Ripper calmly looked over at Buffy's turned back, then elaborated, "Buffy is still having issues about your intentions towards Rupert, Faith."

Faith blinked, then turned back to Buffy and asked, "Is he right, B? I thought we went through this last month. . .I thought you were O.K. with it." Buffy visibly tensed, but did not answer and still stared away from Faith.

"Don't be too hard on her, Faith." Ripper's voice remained calm, though there was the slightest hint of strain as he continued, "She doesn't have a problem with you. . .or with Rupert, really. . .it's me she doesn't trust."

Faith's eyes widened in comprehension as Buffy turned back to Ripper and snapped at him, "Can you think of any reason I should? Giles made it clear enough what he-what Ripper was like, and I got a close-up look at you myself during that stupid band candy screw-up. Breaking and entering, beating up cops, having sex with MY MOTHER on the hood of a car in public. . .do you really think I want to let you anywhere near Faith? Hasn't she gone through enough without that?"

Faith reached out and squeezed Buffy's shoulder, causing the older Slayer to look back at her as Faith commented, "B. . .I know you're trying to look out for me, and I appreciate it. . .but I'm not after Ripper. . .I'm after Giles, with all of the stuffiness and sense of duty that he picked up after he looked like the stud sitting across the table from us. I don't get what you're worried about. . ." She saw something glimmer in Buffy's eyes, and she whispered, "Oh."

Buffy looked away with a pained expression on her face, and Faith stared at her as she continued, "God, B. . .this is about Angel, isn't it? He became evil again after you slept with him, and you've seen what Ripper is like. . .you're afraid that somehow the inner Ripper will come out again, and that I'll be hurt. . .or that I'll have to hurt him." She squeezed Buffy's shoulder again and continued, "B. . .I know what happened with you and Angel sucked. . .and that whole candy thing was seriously freaky. . .but Giles isn't a vampire with a soul curse, and what are the chances of someone pulling that candy stunt again? He's a man. . .the same guy who did all of that stuff that Ripper did, but also the one who's saved our asses more times than I can count. . .the guy we count on. I'll take my chances on an occasional Ripper moment to take my shot with him, B. . .and if by some weird Hellmouthy moment we end up with the third coming of Ripper, we'll tie him up and figure out a way to deal with it." Buffy chuckled at that comment and turned back to Faith, who met her eyes calmly and concluded, "Think we could call this one settled, B? I've heard that stress is bad for the healing process."

Buffy turned and clasped hands with Faith, then glanced over at the third seat at the table. . .and found it was empty. She turned back to Faith, who nodded and commented, "He disappeared a while ago. . .this was never about him, B. . .it was about us." The younger Slayer squeezed Buffy's hand, then elaborated, "B. . .having a love life is nice, and I'm going to put some serious effort into getting through Giles' defenses, but I'm a Slayer. . . it's the reason I'm not on the streets of South Boston scrounging for my next meal. . .the reason I have friends. . .and family. The most important part of that is making sure things are O.K. between me and you. . .doesn't mean I'm not going to call you on it when I think you're out of line. . .but I care about what you think. . .I always have."

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked at Faith, commenting, "Faith. . .I don't always get you. . .but, God knows, I trust you. . .and if I can't trust Giles, who can I trust? As for Ripper. . .I guess we can deal with that when the time comes." She winced, then requested, "Promise me one thing, Faith? If it does work out with you two. . .keep the public displays of affection within limits? I've had some rather traumatic experiences the last few years with my parental figures in that area. . .and I don't think I'm going to be getting therapy anytime in the near future to deal with it. O.K.?"

Faith chuckled and replied, "No problem, B. . .least I can do after you didn't freak out over the whole Xander thing." She saw Buffy's face twitch and form a perplexed frown, and asked, "What's wrong, B?"

Buffy blinked, then she smiled wickedly as she leaned in to whisper to Faith: "About Xander, Faith. . .you know more about this stuff than I do. . .is it normal for-"

Xander was disturbed from his reading of the sports page as Buffy stirred in her sleep. He looked down at her in concern. . .and was surprised to see a broad smile appear on her face as she slumbered on. He watched as the smile faded and Buffy drifted back into comfortable repose, then shrugged. Whatever had been troubling Buffy, it had passed, and the news was good about Faith. . .she would be O.K. too. He smiled softly at how things had worked out for the best, and softly stroked Buffy's hair as he continued to read.

August 16, 1999

Faith walked up the steps of Danielle's apartment building and let herself in the front door. She had called, saying that she needed to meet with Faith on a matter of great importance. With her patrol several hours away due to the long summer days, she headed directly over, wondering what could be so important that would not involve Buffy, Giles, and the rest of the group. She shrugged and knocked on Danielle's door.

Faith's watcher opened the door and invited quietly, "Come in, Faith." Her expression was somber, and Faith's concern deepened: what could be bothering Danielle? She stepped inside and froze when she saw the two tweed-clad men standing in the living room. They turned to her and Danielle, looking uncomfortable, continued, "Faith, these gentlemen are here from the Watchers' Council." She gestured at a tall, blond man in his forties who was respectfully gazing at Faith and said, "This is Walter Morris, Special Investigator for the Council." Morris nodded respectfully at Faith and even managed a friendly smile, which Faith returned as Danielle nodded at the other man, who seemed to be in his late fifties and was visibly balding: "This is Quentin Travers, who-"

"I know who he is." Danielle flinched visibly at the icy tone of Faith's voice: it only appeared when the Slayer was intensely angry, and the look she was giving Travers implied that she was ready to disembowel him on the spot. The Watcher felt a tingle of intense pride as she watched Faith visibly calm down and calmly ask Travers, "So, you're still with the Council. Funny. . .I would have thought that making a recommendation that almost got the world destroyed would have gotten you fired. . .besides, Wesley the Weasel was your idea too, wasn't he?"

Travers flushed angrily, then replied coldly, "It seems that the reports of your insolence were not exaggerated, Miss Stevenson. . .undoubtedly the result of less than adequate training."

Danielle remained silent, and Faith slowly turned and met her eyes as she retorted, "Mr. Travers, I have had three Watchers." Travers bristled at the conspicuous omission of his own choice for Watcher, and Faith smiled sardonically before continuing, "One of them died horribly to save my life, and I am proud to call the other two my friends. . .they are among the best people I know, and I would gladly risk my life for either of them." Danielle smiled softly as Faith turned and locked eyes with the older Watcher as she continued, "You, on the other hand, are an incompetent, sadistic idiot who almost got my best friend, her mother, and her Watcher killed in a stupid test that wasn't even being conducted correctly anyway, from what I've been able to find out. I'm just glad that you aren't running the whole show over there, or we'd all be dead right now. . .and that, Mr. Travers, is what I've learned from the people you seem to enjoy putting down so much." Faith turned to Morris and stated, "Mr. Morris, Giles has mentioned you before. . .he says you are one of the good guys. I'll talk to you about whatever you want. . .but he has to go."

Travers sputtered in outrage, and turned to Morris, only to see the younger man looking at him calmly. The Special Investigator paused for a moment, then commented, "Well, Quentin, you heard her. Go wait outside; in fact, why don't you go down to the store and get some Earl Grey. . .Miss Edwards seems to have an inadequate supply."

Faith restrained herself from snickering at the outraged look on Travers' face as he snapped, "Walter, you can't do that! The Council-"

"Ordered that I bring you along. . .they didn't order me to let you sit in on this meeting. . .careless oversight, no doubt." Morris looked smug, and Faith was starting to seriously enjoy herself as he continued, "Don't worry, Quentin. I'm taping this meeting." He gestured to the video camera set up in a corner of the room, and concluded, "You'll be able to make your report. . .as will I."

Without another word, Travers turned and left the apartment. Faith looked at Morris and asked, "Mr. Morris, could I ask you for one favor before we go any further?"

Morris looked at her and replied, "Of course, Faith, what is it?"

The Slayer grinned and responded, "Could I have a copy of that tape to show to Buffy and Giles?"

Morris started to smile himself, but a sense of decorum restrained him as he replied, "Well, Faith, as this meeting concerns your future, it would seem to be relevant information for your sister Slayer and her Watcher. . .I believe that a copy could be provided for them." Faith's grin widened, and Morris once again had to restrain himself from echoing her response as he continued, "In any event, we need to get down to business." He gestured to the sofa, and Faith and Danielle sat down next to each other while the Special Investigator settled down in the large easy chair across from them. He took a deep breath, and began: "First, Faith, I have been ordered-and it is my deep honor to comply-to inform you that the Council-Mr. Travers' rudeness notwithstanding-is very pleased and impressed with your performance as a Slayer. You have had any number of unfortunate occurrences in your life both before and after becoming a Slayer, and you have gotten past them. . .you should be very proud."

Faith smiled: hearing this from Ripper in a Slayer's dream was nice, but hearing it from the representative of a group that had seemed to spend most of its time making the lives of Faith and her friends difficult was sweeter still. She replied, "Thank you, Mr. Morris. . .but I've had a lot of help here."

Morris nodded and responded, "Of course. . .and the results that you and Buffy have been producing have forced some of the more conservative members of the Council to re-think their ideas on how Slaying should be managed. . .tradition dies hard, but results get attention. . .and it's pretty clear by now that traditional methods applied here in Sunnydale probably would not have succeeded in dealing with most of the world threatening crises that arose." He frowned, and continued, "Unfortunately, on some issues the traditionalists have not yet been swayed. . .which is why the Council has sent me here."

Faith frowned and stated flatly, "The Cruciamentum."

Morris nodded and continued, "The Council is evenly divided, Faith. Ironically, the fact that Travers bungled Buffy's Cruciamentum so badly has served as an argument for the traditionalists. . .some say that a properly conducted test would not have had the deleterious effects of the one in January. They still wish to conduct the test upon your 18th birthday; on the other hand, an equally large faction believes that the Cruciamentum is an outdated relic that has no place in the modern world, and that its last use almost led indirectly to the destruction of the world. . .not to mention coming close to permanently alienating both living Slayers at a time when such crises seem to pop up regularly. Of course, there is also the practical problem of your being aware of the Cruciamentum's existence, which would make proper administration of the test difficult, if not impossible." He sighed, then concluded, "My mission here is to discuss the situation with both of you, and come up with a solution to break the deadlock. . .before the friction leads to our inability to effectively support your activities in Sunnydale."

"Mr. Morris, this is simply outrageous." Danielle's voice was even, but both Morris and Faith could hear the undertone of anger in it as the Watcher continued, "Faith and Buffy have been through an extraordinary amount of conflict with the enemy, even by the past standards of Slayers. It was bad enough that the Council was foolish enough to put Buffy through the Cruciamentum. . .but to put Faith through it now. . .I won't stand for it."

"Hold on, Danielle."

Both Watchers turned to Faith, who was looking at Morris with a contemplative expression. The Slayer took a deep breath, then continued, "I've made it pretty clear how I feel about what was done to Buffy. . .if she hadn't asked me to stay on here afterwards, I would have told all of you to go to hell. Buffy shouldn't have had anything to prove at that point. . .but maybe I do." She turned to Danielle and commented, "Danielle. . .you said it yourself when you came here. . .I'm a little reckless when I fight. . .maybe something like this will give me the perspective I need to get over that."

Danielle's eyes narrowed, and she retorted fiercely, "Faith, at this point, you have nothing to prove to anyone."

"Except maybe to myself." Faith's tone was flat as she replied to Danielle and turned back to Morris, continuing, "All right, Mr. Special Investigator. . .I want you to take this plan back to the Council. . ."

"Quentin and I will be flying back to London in the morning, Danielle. . .the decision should be made within the week." Morris' eyes held Danielle's for a moment before he turned to Faith and looked at her with respect for several seconds. At length, he stated flatly, "Faith, it has been a genuine honor meeting you. Whatever the Council decides. . .I will remember what you said today, as will many others." With that, he nodded to both women and walked briskly down to the end of the corridor, when the fuming Travers was waiting.

Danielle waited for the men to leave, then went back into her apartment without speaking. Faith followed, noticing that the muscles in her Watcher's shoulders were knotted with tension. She was about to mention it when Danielle turned on her and bellowed, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?"

Faith took a step back, raised an eyebrow, and replied calmly, "No. . .but I may have just lost my hearing. . .Danielle, don't you think I can do this?"

Danielle paused, realizing that any answer she gave could cause problems. She took a deep breath and calmed down before continuing, "Faith, the original Cruciamentum was dangerous enough with the Slayer facing a single vampire without the use of her powers. . .but what you propose. . .going out on patrol without your powers until you have slain three vampires. . .even the traditionalists will flinch a little at that thought. The danger involved is great. . .and your combat style is very dependent on your powers, Faith. . .I'm not sure how well you will adjust to fighting without them."

Faith nodded and replied, "I know. . .so we'll just have to work on my defense some more." She locked eyes with her Watcher and motioned for her to sit down. They did so, and Faith was silent for a long moment before continuing, "Danielle. . .I can read between the lines here. The Council hasn't been up to dealing with Slayers who can think for themselves, and they have really managed to make a mess of things since Buffy showed up here in Sunnydale. On the plus side, the old guard seems to be dying off. . .I was happy to hear that the mix between new and old is about fifty-fifty, and that even some of the old fogies seem to be willing to learn something from the way we do things here. The way I figure it, the Cruciamentum is history as soon as the new blood takes over the Council. . .but that doesn't help me and Buffy right now. . .we have to do something to keep them on board, and going along with this is a way of doing that." She smiled grimly, then continued, "Plus, Danielle, this is a better deal than Buffy got. . .she didn't have a clue about what was going on until everything blew up in Travers' face. . .I'll know the score going in. . .it might even convince some of those old fools that having Slayers who can think on their own without being manipulated into it might be worth while."

Danielle nodded thoughtfully, then replied, "True. . .and the rules you suggested allow for the rest of us to stand by in case a large group comes by that night. . .but, still, Faith, this is very risky. . .are you sure you want to do this?"

Faith looked into her Watcher's eyes and saw concern. . .but also pride, and a sudden warmth filled her as she responded, "I can do this, Danielle. . .trust me." She glanced at her watch and commented, "I gotta book. . .I've got some things to do before I patrol tonight." Faith grinned at her Watcher and laughed, concluding, "Relax. . .we've got three months before I've got to do this. . .plenty of time."

Faith nodded at Danielle and left the apartment without another word. She exited the front door of the building and paused for a moment: she could feel her top sticking to her shoulder blades from the cold sweat that she had just broken out in. She took a deep breath and headed for a familiar location.

"You're going to do WHAT?"

Willow looked anguished, and Xander flabbergasted: Faith was amused that it had been Oz who had managed the strangled question. She looked at the musician calmly and replied, "On my eighteenth birthday, I am going out on patrol without my powers. . .and I will kill three vampires."

"I thought that's what you said. . .I was so hoping that I was hallucinating it." Xander had managed to recover his voice, though he clearly was still shaken. He looked at her with concern and commented, "Faith. . .I don't know what kind of impression Giles, Oz, and I have given when we've fought vamps in front of you. . .but it isn't fun fighting vamps when you're not a Slayer. We had a lot of close calls last summer while Buffy was gone."

"I know." Faith's voice was calm, not betraying the nervousness she felt as she faced her three friends. They were in Willow's room, which was in a state of disrepair reflecting Willow's preparations for moving to the UC Sunnydale dorms. Faith sighed and continued, "Look, I know this looks stupid. . .but I have to do it, for a lot of reasons. I came to you guys because you've done this before, without me or Buffy, or even Giles really looking over your shoulder. . .I need you to help me stay alive."

Xander looked at her for a long moment, then coughed self-consciously and replied, "All right. . .what do you need?"

Faith smiled and responded, "I need you and Oz to train with me. . .Xander, I've seen some of the moves you use. . .I need something that will discourage a vamp without a Slayer's muscle, and you're just the one to show me." She turned to Oz and continued, "Oz, I've watched you fight too. . .I'm guessing that being a werewolf makes you naturally tougher, stronger and faster than a normal human your size. . .not vamp level, but enough to give me a taste of what to expect. . .and I don't want you holding back, either."

Xander and Oz nodded, and Willow asked, "What do you need me to do, Faith?"

Faith turned to Willow, and the redhead could see the hint of fear in Faith's eyes as she replied, "I'm guessing that I won't have access to that crap that they used on B, and it would be too risky anyway, what with my having to patrol every night. . .so I need you to find a spell to block my powers on a short term basis. . .it's the only way we can make this work."

Willow's eyes widened, and she responded, "I've seen a few spells like that, Faith. . .they require the consent of the subject, which obviously isn't a problem here. . .but Faith, I've never cast a spell anything like this before. . .are you sure you want to risk it?"

Faith laughed, and replied, "Hell no, I'm not sure. . .but I need you to do it anyway, Willow." She looked at her three friends thoughtfully for a few seconds, then concluded, "We've got a few months to pull this off. . .and I've suddenly got some free time on my hands." She pulled an envelope out of her shoulder bag and handed it to Willow, who opened it and squealed in delight as she recognized the contents. She moved forward and hugged Faith, who was grinning from ear to ear. Xander raised an eyebrow at Willow's reaction and asked, "What is it, Willow?"

Willow turned back to Xander and called out in delight, "Faith passed her high school equivalency exam!" Oz smiled at the news, meeting Faith's eyes and nodding in approval, while Xander assumed a look of mock annoyance and asked, "So let me get this straight. . .you get your high school diploma without having to suffer through the four years of misery the rest of us went through?"

Faith looked at him and nodded with an impish grin on her face. Xander sighed and commented, "Somehow, I feel like I should resent that. . .but for some reason all I want to do is say. . .nice going, Faith." He walked forward and clasped hands with her, giving them a good squeeze and smiling at her, and he could see the pleased look in her eyes as she acknowledged the compliment. After a moment, she moved back from Willow and called out, "All right. . .celebration over. . .we've got some planning to do."

Faith felt as if all of the blood had rushed out of her head at once. She swayed, and abruptly felt a strong pair of arms around her: Xander. She smiled, then turned back to him and commented, "That was a bit weird. . .but I'm OK, Xander. . .thanks."

Xander nodded and cautiously released her, smiling when he saw that she was able to stay on her feet unaided. Willow, watching with wide eyes, asked, "Faith. . .are you sure? I've never done one of these spells before. . .maybe I got it wrong."

Faith seemed to withdraw for a moment, and the others could see her flexing various muscles and stretching. She opened her eyes and turned to Willow, replying, "No, Willow. . .you got it right. Don't forget. . .I've only been a Slayer for a bit over a year now, and I remember what it felt like not to be one." She experimented with throwing a punch or two, then shook her head, commenting, "I feel like I'm trying to move through soup. . .this is going to take some getting used to." She turned to Xander, and the air of command was still there in spite of the inhibition spell cast on the amulet she was wearing as she ordered, "OK, Xander. . .let's get started."

They were standing in the old mansion that had once been Angel's home: it had been the obvious place for them to train, particularly since Faith had insisted that Buffy, Giles and Danielle were to be kept "out of the loop." Xander, Willow, and Oz had been less than thrilled with this request, since it meant a rather substantial amount of lying to three of their best friends. "Look," Faith had shot back, "you know damned well B is going to go ballistic when she hears I'm doing this. . .her own Cruciamentum really freaked her out, and she's been really firm about my not having to do it. . .and Giles has his own issues with it. Danielle is trying to train me in her own way, and I don't want her thinking I don't have confidence in her. . .she doesn't deserve that, but you guys are just better for handling this. . .OK?"

They had agreed, and so it was that the four of them were alone when Xander and Faith squared off on the mat spread out near the large fireplace. Xander stared at Faith for a long moment, then goaded, "All right, Faith. . .take me down."

Faith's eyes glowed with ferocity, and she launched a nasty kick at Xander's nether regions. He quickly raised his knee to block it, and slipped the follow-up roundhouse right, side-stepping as Faith staggered. He moved away a short distance, and when Faith tried for another high punch, Xander dropped down and executed a perfect sweep kick. Faith wound up supine and stunned, and by the time she had recovered, Xander was standing over her, pantomiming a finishing blow to her forehead. Faith's eyes dulled in embarrassment, then Xander offered her his hand, which she accepted. Xander pulled her up to her feet, then commented, "Faith, since you've been the Slayer, have you ever faced someone faster than you?"

Faith thought for a moment. Kakistos. . .Lagos. . .Angel, weakened by his time in Hell. . .that brief tussle with Buffy. . .the Eliminati vamps. She shook her head, and Xander continued, "Welcome to my world. Faith, you're still re-learning how to fight without your Slayer powers. . .the chances are that you'll be faster than me when we're done. But a lot of these vamps will be faster than you even then, and all of them will be stronger than you. You have to fight defensively and look for an opening. . .if you don't, you're dead. . .period."

Faith nodded and replied, "I know. . .I hoped that the knee to the groin might take the starch out of you. . ."

Xander grimaced and replied, "It would have, but guys-even ones without a pulse-expect that as an opening move from you femmes. . .word gets around. Now, if you can see a chance to use it later in the fight, it might catch them off guard, and you can take them out while they're dealing with the nasty side effects." He grinned, embarrassed, then commented, "I've done that a few times when a vamp caught me alone. . .can't do it when anyone else is watching. . .it can get you kicked out of the guy fraternity."

Willow and Faith laughed, while Oz winced. Xander smiled again, then called out, "All right, let's try it again."

"Xander. . .where are you getting those bruises?"

Xander turned to Buffy, who was pointedly staring at a purplish-black mark on his ribcage. Joyce was out of town, and the two of them had taken the opportunity to escape from Buffy's deeply annoying roommate for some alone time at the Summers house. Xander cursed inwardly as he belatedly remembered that he had picked up a new set of bruises, and realized that Buffy had apparently noticed some of the prior bruises he had picked up. He adopted an innocent expression and replied, "What makes you think it's not you. . .you big brute of a Slayer, you?"

Buffy snickered, then leaned over to Xander's ear and whispered, "Xander. . .if what we did together could cause bruises. . .you'd be walking around all the time looking like an eggplant." She withdrew, and Xander could see the seriousness in her eyes as she pressed, "Now. . .where are you getting those bruises?"

Xander sighed, and effortlessly slipped into the cover story that he had prepared. "Oz and I train pretty regularly. . .and he hits hard, for a little guy. . .maybe I should think about going the werewolf route. . .it seems to give a guy an edge in a fight."

Buffy glared at him until his puckish smile made it clear he was joking, then replied, "I think that one relationship interrupted for three days a month for howling at the moon is quite enough for our little group, thank you very much. . .besides, the whole feral boyfriend thing is WAY overrated. . .I should know."

Xander interrupted that particular train of thought by running his index finger down Buffy's exposed back, causing her to turn and pounce, after which conversation became rather disjointed for some time. Afterwards, they lay on her bed, gasping for air, and Xander waited for a few moments before commenting, "Three nights a month without this? OK, lycanthropy officially sucks."

Buffy laughed, and snuggled against him in silence for several minutes. Abruptly, Xander looked over at her and asked, "So. . .what are the plans for the rest of the week?"

Buffy shrugged and replied, "Nothing special until Giles' birthday party on Saturday. . .I thought we could hit the Bronze on Friday with Willow and Oz."

Xander nodded, then frowned, "Why don't we get Faith to come along? We hardly get to hang with her any more." * You're going to hell for that one * thought Xander as he further mislead Buffy about the source of his bruises, but he had been concerned that Faith was shutting herself off from everything non-Slaying related, and a night at the Bronze would be fun for her.

Buffy smiled softly, then replied, "Faith has other plans for Friday night," then shut up and innocently stared off at the far wall.

Xander raised an eyebrow, then asked, "Oh, really. . .like what?"

Buffy turned back, and replied apologetically, "Sorry, honey. . .can't tell you. Faith made me promise. . .I hope you understand."

Xander gave her an annoyed look, then carefully moved his hands up to her head, where he gently massaged her temples. Cordelia had taught him how to do this: it had tended to relax her to where she would fall asleep in his arms. He quickly discovered that the effect on Buffy was a bit different.

The Slayer abruptly turned, growled softly in her throat, and pounced again. Before being caught up in the immediacy of the moment, Xander wondered to himself:

* What could Faith have going on Friday that she didn't want to tell the rest of us about? *

Giles walked up to the door of his apartment, rather pleased with himself. The interview at the museum had gone well. . .the interviewer had remarked that, unless the current curator of the British Museum of Antiquities walked through the door looking for work, Giles was unquestionably the best qualified candidate that she had seen, and that she would let him know for sure about the position in a couple of days. * Better than another year under the tender mercies of Principal Snyder *, he thought, shaking his head and mildly regretting that the former Mayor of Sunnydale hadn't taken the time to snack on the annoying principal before he met his fate at the hands of the Slayers. . .

He opened the door, and was surprised to see that the light in the kitchen was on. "Buffy?" he called out, wondering if she had decided to use his kitchen to prepare whatever the main course at his birthday party tomorrow would be.

"Nope. . .just me, Giles." Faith's voice drifted out from the kitchen, and Giles blinked in surprise. He had given her a key, of course, but she had never to his knowledge used it before, and, for that matter, he could not remember ever having been alone with her here. Intense curiosity overwhelmed the whispers of uneasiness he felt, and he walked over to see what she was doing. His nose wrinkled as he detected the odor of good cooking wafting towards him. He looked in and blinked in bewilderment as he saw an apron-clad Faith carefully using a spatula to unstick a large roasted bird from the pan it was in. After a moment, she murmured in satisfaction, then withdrew and closed the oven door. Faith straightened and looked over at Giles, smiling, as she called out, "Hey! How did the interview go?"

Giles blinked again, and it took a moment for him to manage to reply, "Very well, I think. . .thank you for asking." He paused, then asked, "Faith. . .is that roast duck in the oven?"

Faith nodded, then elaborated, "Plus baby carrots and baked potatoes, and cornbread. . .sound OK to you?"

Giles nodded slowly: Faith had just described one of his favorite dinners. . .and one he had not had since leaving England. He stared at her and asked, "How. . .?"

Faith shrugged and replied, "I asked B. . .apparently you had mentioned it to her, and she remembered. I got the recipe off the Internet, and you had all of the cooking stuff I needed here, so I used the key you gave me. Hope you don't mind. . .?"

Giles shook his head slowly and replied, "No, I certainly don't mind. . .Faith, I had no idea you had cooking skills of this caliber."

The Slayer grinned and replied, "You might want to taste it before you go all out in praising it, Giles. . .you pick up some stuff when you're on your own. . .and I can read a recipe as well as anyone." She stretched, then walked out of the kitchen, commenting, "Everything's ready but the bird, and that will be ready to go in about twenty minutes. . .let's hang out in the living room."

Giles smiled and nodded, and she coaxed him into talking about the interview. The story took a few minutes, and Giles noticed that she listened attentively as she sat next to him, looking relaxed. Again, he felt a subliminal tickle of concern and dismissed it as he concluded the story. Faith grinned at him and commented, "Sounds like it's in the bag. . .nice going. Better to have a nice job at the museum than being stuck in the library dodging that little troll for another year."

Giles nodded, then looked intently at Faith and commented, "Faith. . .I must confess. . .I had no idea you would be here tonight. . .to what do I owe this very impressive and generous effort on your part?"

Faith looked at him for a long moment, then replied, "Giles. . .I talk a lot with B, and I know you beat yourself up a lot about how things went down with me before Danielle got here. I won't lie to you. . .it kind of sucked at times. . .but you did your best, and you always had my back when I needed you. I haven't forgotten, even with Danielle being here and doing a damned good job herself. I'll be there with the others tomorrow, but I just wanted this to be about me saying 'thanks' to you. . .does that make sense?"

Giles looked at her, then nodded slowly as he took in the sight of the young woman sitting next to him. The confident look in the eyes across from him was a stark contrast from what he remembered from the first days he had known her, just a year before. The fire was the same, but the element of fear and distrust was gone. He felt a tingle of joy, with just a touch of pride for his own role in helping her find her way as he replied, "Yes, Faith. . .and thank you." The timer in the kitchen dinged, and Faith got up and began to bring serving dishes into the dining area, and Giles hastened to help her.

The meal was exquisite, and Giles made a point of letting Faith know it, through words and sighs of contentment. For her part, she ate in silence, smiling at his compliments and watching him with a look that Giles could not interpret. They finished, and Giles pointedly gestured for Faith to stand aside: he would take care of the cleanup. . .though a bit of digestion would precede the effort. Faith held up her hands in surrender and retreated to the living room, and Giles followed after clearing the table and placing the dishes in the sink. He settled onto the couch and sighed in contentment before turning to Faith and commenting, "That was by far the best meal I've had since setting foot in this country. . .and for a while before that, I should add. . .Faith, thank you again."

Faith smiled at him and replied, "Not a problem. . .nice to know I can do that sort of thing. . .never know where it might come in handy." She saw him shift in his seat and grunt in momentary discomfort, and asked, "Problem, Giles?"

Giles frowned and replied, "It's nothing, really. . .a bit of muscular tightness. . .I'm afraid I don't bounce back from my workouts with Buffy as well as I did a few years ago. A soak in the tub should alleviate the worst of it."

Giles saw a glimmer of something in the Slayer's dark eyes, then it was gone as she stood up and pulled him to his feet. Puzzled, he let her lead him upstairs to his bedroom, and stood there as she looked up at him and commanded, "All right, Watcher, off with the shirt."

Giles raised an eyebrow, startled, and replied, "I beg your pardon?"

Faith looked at him impatiently and responded, "Giles. . .you work out with someone five times as strong as you two or three times a week and you wonder why your back hurts? You need a good rubdown, and since B isn't here to do it, I guess I need to. . .what's the old saying. . .oh yeah, 'step into the breach.'" She stared at him and demanded, "Come on, Giles. . .shirt off. . .I don't have all night, you know."

Giles opened his mouth, with the thought of lecturing her on decorum, but he knew that look from the times that Buffy had directed it at him. . .he was not going to talk her out of this. With a resigned sigh, he turned his back on her and removed his shirt and tie, after which he lay on his bed face down, not seeing the appraising look that Faith was giving him. He sighed again and called out, "All right, Faith. . .let's get this over with. . .I don't want you to be stuck here all night with me."

Faith's eyes glinted wickedly at this comment, but she said nothing as she settled down next to him on the bed and began carefully kneading the knotted muscles in Giles' back and shoulders. While she kept up a professional, steady rhythm, she made a point of leaning as close to him as possible while working on the crucial areas. She could see him visibly relax, and heard his breathing slow. She smiled again and stood up, moving to the front of the bed and leaning over him to continue kneading his shoulders and neck. Nervous for the first time since arriving at the apartment, she waited to see how he would react.

Giles was feeling more relaxed than he had in quite some time, and he did not immediately notice Faith's change in position. After a moment, he opened his eyes and realized that Faith was leaning right over him. . .so close that he could detect the spicy, tangy scent that the light sheen of sweat visible on her neck and shoulders was giving off. Giles' entire body tingled as if an electric current had been briefly applied, and it took all of the control within him not to recoil in shock at the reaction he was having to Faith. Instead, he slowly pulled away from Faith and sat up, reaching for his shirt and casually dropping it in his lap as he commented, "Thank you, Faith. . .excellent job. Now, it's a Friday night, and I'm sure a lovely young woman such as yourself can find a pleasurable way to spend it that doesn't involve hanging out with a middle-aged librarian." His voice was calm, but he was painfully aware that the heat coming from his face meant that he was blushing more intensely than he had since before he was Faith's age.

Faith was silent for a moment, and Giles finally looked back and saw that she was watching him intently. Slowly, she moved from the foot of the bed and sat down next to him, watching him for a moment longer before replying, "You're right. . .I could. . .problem is, I don't want to." With that, she reached behind his head and pulled him gently but inexorably down into a kiss.

Giles didn't resist, and the kiss remained as it had began: soft and luxurious, rather than frantic or forceful. After thirty seconds, as if by mutual agreement, they pulled away from each other, and Faith looked at Giles, who clearly seemed to be at a loss for words. She waited a few more seconds, then prodded, "Uh, Giles. . .are you going to say something?"

The Watcher blinked and looked at Faith for a long moment, then stood and began to put his shirt back on. As he did so, he replied, "I think I had better leave, Faith."

Faith laughed involuntarily and reminded him, "Giles. . .this is your place, not mine."

Giles looked at her sharply and replied, "I know that, Faith. . .whatever has happened to my sanity in the last few minutes, it has not deprived me of that particular piece of information." He sighed and continued, "Faith. . .my judgment has obviously proved wanting. . .and I need to think about how I can salvage this situation."

Faith raised an eyebrow and retorted, "If you really want to 'salvage' this situation, you'll come back here and give me another one of those kisses. . .it's not too cool of you to lay a liplock like that on me and run off and leave me hot and bothered." She locked eyes with him, and the look she directed his way practically smoldered with sensuality.

Giles looked at her and mentally counted to ten to give himself time to compose a coherent reply. He coughed, then responded, "Faith. . .you have to know that I cannot allow this to proceed. It's wrong on any number of levels. . .how do you think Buffy would feel if she knew what was going on?"

Faith blinked, and her voice was cold as she replied, "Giles. . .Buffy's the nearest thing I've got to a big sister, and her opinion means a lot to me. . .but she doesn't call the shots in my love life. Besides, she knows what the score is. . .sharing Slayer's dreams spills a lot of secrets, you know."

Giles stared at her and filed away that particular piece of information for future reference before firing back, "All right. . .so Buffy isn't objecting. . .but that doesn't change any of the other objections. Faith, I used to be your Watcher. Any relationship of a romantic nature between us-"

"Bull, Giles." Faith's voice was blunt as she interrupted him. "Danielle is my Watcher now, not you. You're out of the chain of command as far as I'm concerned. I could walk out that door right now and you wouldn't have a damn thing to say about it. But I don't want to, and the fact that you used to be my Watcher doesn't give you a damn thing to say about that, either."

Giles looked at her silently, then nodded before continuing, "That doesn't change the fact that you're still underage. . .not to mention I'm none to sure of your judgment right now."

Faith snorted and replied, "I'll be eighteen in a month. . .I'm hardly a baby, Giles. . .and what the hell do you mean about my judgment? I-" She saw the guilty blink, then the naked concern in his eyes. . .and she knew what he was referring to. "Damn it, I told her not to tell you!" Her voice was an angry snarl as she paced angrily around the bedroom, continuing, "She had no right to tell you that!"

Giles stood up and restrained her gently, causing her to glare at him with visible outrage. He shook his head and explained, "Walter Morris called. . .he wanted me to help coordinate the staging of the event, including administering the. . .mixture. Obviously, he wasn't privy to your desire to keep things to yourself." He looked at her, and his tone was strained and worried as he whispered, "Faith. . .I cannot stress enough to you how dangerous your planned actions are. . .I almost lost Buffy to this foolish exercise, and I cannot bear the thought that this time this archaic barbarism will cost you your life."

Faith's glare softened, and she took his hand and led him downstairs back to the sofa, where they sat in silence for several minutes before she took a deep breath and told him about her plan, including how Xander, Willow and Oz had helped her. After she finished, she was pleased to see that some of the worry had gone out of his face, though his voice was still grim as he commented, "You have spent a lot of time thinking about this, Faith. . .and your plan seems to be sound, though I still despair at the unnecessary risk to your life." He looked at her with a sad smile on his face, then continued, "I didn't tell Buffy what I know. . .I take it that you wish her to remain ignorant of this?"

Faith nodded, and replied, "Yeah. . .I need to do this myself, Giles. . .without big sister looking over my shoulder. . .and she's got a lot of baggage about this whole thing, she'd just worry. That's why I didn't tell you. . .I need to do this, for a lot of reasons, and I don't want you guys trying to talk me out of it. Can you keep it to yourself, Giles?"

Giles nodded, then blinked as he realized there was still an unresolved matter between them. "Faith," he began, only to stop as Faith held up her hand to silence him.

He waited, and Faith looked at him sadly for a few seconds before whispering, "I can see that I'm not going to get through your sales resistance tonight, Giles, and as fun as the effort would be. . .I don't want to waste our time tonight on something that isn't going to happen yet." She leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek, then stood and looked down at him before stating flatly, "But I am going to live through my Cruciamentum, Giles. . .and when I do you'll have one less excuse to use. I know what I want. . .and behind all of your excuses, I think you do too." She walked to the door and called out, "Sleep tight, Giles," before going out into the night.

The Watcher sat for fully ten minutes before rising and heading into the kitchen and tackling the pile of dishes that waited there. Giles had dealt with crises in the past that would have withered most souls who faced them, but he was looking at a conundrum in the person of a dark-eyed beauty who could bend a rifle barrel in her bare hands that had him momentarily at a loss. Shaking his head in a mixture of bewilderment and excitement, he focused on the task before him.

The cool late October air nipped at Buffy as she quietly followed Xander at a distance. She had a healthy respect for his ability to spot being followed, and she had carefully chosen her wardrobe to blend in with the shadows. He showed no sign of spotting her, and she relaxed enough to take a moment to mull over what had driven her to do this.

The bruises she had spotted on him before had only gotten worse as the days went on, to the point where she had confronted Oz about it. He had been apologetic, but confirmed Xander's story, and went so far to show that he too had picked up some bruises recently. Willow had backed Oz when Buffy questioned her about it, but the bruises continued to get worse, and Buffy wasn't buying it any more. . .sparring had never beaten Xander up this much. She was going to find out what he (and, apparently, the others) were keeping from her.

Xander headed through a cemetery, and Buffy realized with a chill that Xander was heading for the old mansion that Angel had vacated a few months before when he headed to L.A. She continued to follow him, and sure enough, he darted through the front door of the mansion. She crept up to the ajar door and listened. She heard Willow and Oz, then the throaty chuckle that she had come to know well in the last year. . .Faith.

She slipped in, then crept up to the curtain that blocked the main room from sunlight and peeked through the crack. She saw Xander and Oz in workout clothes, then spotted Faith as she stepped onto a training mat and gestured to the two young men. Xander and Oz glanced at each other, then Xander shrugged and moved up to Faith. They began sparring, and Buffy immediately saw that something was amiss. Faith wasn't moving right. . .her moves looked sluggish compared to her normal fluidity, though she was keeping up with Xander quite well, and he wasn't a slouch in hand to hand for someone who wasn't the Chosen One. Buffy looked at the two combatants on the mat, glanced at her best friend, who watched them with interest, and it all hit her at once. She felt a intense pang of nausea and horror, and she was unable to stop from gasping out loud.

The action on the mat stopped, and everyone looked at the curtain. Buffy prepared to take off, but Xander's dark eyes glittered as he called out, "Buffy. . .come in here."

Buffy felt a chill, then a spurt of anger as she tore the curtain aside and stormed up to Xander, snarling, "Oz my ass. . .you lied to me, Xander." She turned on Oz and Willow, and continued, "You did too." She then turned on Faith, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. Faith waited for another outburst, but saw only tears before Buffy turned away and bolted from the room.

Xander called out, "Buffy!", then moved to go, only to be restrained by Faith. He gave her an angry look and snapped, "Damn it, Faith. . .I have to go after her."

Faith had removed the amulet that suppressed her powers and shook her head firmly as she replied, "No, Xander. . .this is between her and me. . .and I guess it's my fault we haven't had it out over this before now. It's my problem to deal with. . .and I know where she's going, anyway."

Xander frowned, then nodded, and Faith left the mansion with a grim expression on her face.

"Really, Danielle. . .I've tried to sit through a baseball game. . .it's so tedious. . .I can't imagine how you Americans stand it." Giles sipped his tea and gave his fellow Watcher an amused glance as she gave a mock bristle at the studied insult.

"Oh, and like soccer. . .oh, I'm sorry. . .'football'. . .is so exciting with all of those scoreless games going into overtime." Danielle smiled ferally as she counterattacked: fencing with Rupert over the merits of their respective homelands was one of the more entertaining pastimes she had. "No wonder so many of your young people start riots during those damned games. . .it's the only thing that can keep their blood from spontaneously freezing in their veins from the tedium!"

Giles raised an eyebrow to acknowledge the point and was about to deliver a choice retort when Buffy burst into the apartment and ran up to where the Watchers were sitting, glaring at them both with an intensity that made both of them inwardly cringe. Giles flinched: he had a sinking feeling as to what had her so worked up, though he managed a calm expression as he asked, "Buffy, what's wrong?"

Buffy locked eyes with him and grated out, "Faith. . .you knew that she was going to go through with the Cruciamentum. . .and that the others were helping to train her, didn't you?"

Giles paled, remembering that Faith hadn't wanted Danielle to know about the involvement of the Scooby Gang in Faith's training, and remonstrated "Buffy!"

Giles felt Danielle squeeze his arm, and turned as she commented, "It's all right, Giles. . .I knew about the others helping her. . .Faith was trying to spare my feelings, but Buffy's friends are rather talented vampire hunters in their own right without any powers. . .going to them showed very good judgment on her part. . .I just wish she had trusted me enough to tell me what her whole plan was."

"I'm sorry, Danielle." Faith's voice came from the open door, and all eyes turned to her as she walked into the apartment. The younger Slayer walked over to where the others were standing: Buffy pointedly turned away, while the Watchers watched Faith with undisguised concern. Faith frowned, then continued, "Danielle. . .we'll talk about this later. . .but could the two of you give me some time alone with B?"

After hesitating for a moment, Giles and Danielle both nodded and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind them. Faith sighed, then called out, "All right, Buffy. . .say what you need to say to me."

Buffy turned around slowly, and Faith could see the anger, the frustration, and most of all the fear radiating from behind her tear-filled eyes as she whispered, "Faith. . .how can you do this? The Council doesn't have the right to do this to you. . .and you have to know that I'd fight them with every last breath in my body to stop them from forcing you to."

Faith's stern expression softened, and she reached out gently and led Buffy to the couch, then sat next to her and waited. After a few seconds, Buffy turned back to Faith in anger and snapped, "I can't believe that they all kept that secret from me! What kind of friends--?"

"The same kind that you were when you kept your own secrets Buffy. . .or mine, just recently." Faith's voice was calm but very firm as she reminded Buffy that she had just kept Faith's dinner with Giles a secret. Buffy looked rather chagrined, and was silent as Faith continued, "Besides, Giles didn't know until Mr. Morris from the Council called, and he was just as unhappy about it as you are. . .but it was my choice, B. . .and they're doing it under rules I came up with. . .it's a lot better deal than you got, and it's something I have to do."

"But why, Faith?" The anger was gone from Buffy's voice, and most of the fear: the dominant emotion Buffy was feeling was simple curiosity. "Why do you have to do this at all? You're every bit the Slayer that I am. . .why should you have to prove anything to them?"

Faith reached out and clasped hands with Buffy, then told her how things had gone when Morris and Travers had shown up at Danielle's apartment in August, and the older Slayer smiled when Faith vividly described how Travers had been humiliated by Faith and Morris. Faith then explained how she had gone to Xander and the others and asked for their help, and how that had gone. Finally, she recounted her talk with Giles, and how he had reluctantly agreed to keep silent. When she finished, Buffy nodded reluctantly and commented, "All right, Faith. . .Giles is right: you did come up with a good plan, and you're right too: it is a better deal than I got." Faith smiled as Buffy continued, "But the question still remains: why do it at all?"

Faith looked at Buffy for a moment while she thought of how to answer the question. She had already explained herself three times over this same question, and each time the answer had been a little different. Faith blinked, then replied, "Buffy. . .we've got a pretty good thing going here right now, but I don't kid myself. . .Slayers don't generally live long enough to collect many gray hairs. You helped keep me from making a real mess out of my life. . .but now I've been thinking about what I leave behind me when I go. . .you know what I'm saying?" Buffy nodded softly, and Faith continued, "B. . .you've already left your legacy: you've saved the world a whole heap of times, plus you got the Council to back down on the whole firing Giles thing. . .from what Mr. Morris said, it really had an impact over there. Anything you do from here on in just adds to that. But me. . .I haven't really made my own special contribution yet."

Faith saw Buffy was about to interrupt with a protest and held her hand up to stop her. Buffy subsided, and Faith continued, "I know what you were going to say, B. . .I helped with a lot of that stuff in the last year, and I know you appreciate it. . .I know everyone does." She smiled softly, then continued, "But I think if I pull this off, they might finally realize that their old way of doing things just doesn't work any more. . .they might treat the next Slayer as something more than cannon fodder, even if she doesn't luck out and get a Watcher as good as the ones we got. . .and if that happens, maybe one of those tweed types will write, 'And the tradition of a dozen centuries was ended that night, because of what Faith did, with the help of her friends.'" She met Buffy's eyes and smiled sadly, "I guess what I'm trying to say, B, is that while kicking ass with you is great. . .I need to have my own identity. . .and this is how I'm going to try to get it. Does that make any sense at all?"

Buffy blinked, and tears came as she leaned forward and captured Faith in a ferocious hug. After a moment, she pulled back and met Faith's eyes again as she asked, "Faith, do you remember what I told you while Kakistos was chasing us?"

Faith nodded slowly and replied, "Don't die."

Buffy nodded in reply and elaborated, "You better follow that advice. . .because if you get yourself killed, I'm going to be very pissed off. . .and don't assume I won't be able to get back at you just because of a little obstacle like death. . .I've beaten it before."

Faith smiled wistfully and responded, "Yeah. . .I see your point. Don't worry. . .I already promised Giles I would be coming back. . .no more excuses for him then."

Buffy smiled back, and the two Slayers left the apartment, heading back to the mansion to finish the interrupted workout. Giles and Danielle saw them go, and sighed in relief, though their expressions still showed concern as they contemplated what Faith would soon be facing.

Buffy and Willow sat on Willow's bed in silence, with Buffy desperately wanting to find something to say, but finding nothing. Oz had left only a half-hour before, and Buffy could see that the reality of it was only really sinking in now for Willow. She grasped Willow's hand and squeezed, and was mildly relieved to feel the pressure in return. There was a knock at the door, and Buffy's first impulse was to ignore it, but the knock repeated, more insistently, and Buffy squeezed Willow's hand again before getting up with the intention of chasing off whoever was at the door.

Buffy opened the door to find Faith there with a concerned expression on her face. She walked into the room without a word, then saw the state that Willow was in. She glanced back and forth between Buffy and Willow, then mumbled, "I'm sorry, Willow. . .I didn't mean to intrude. . .just wanted to say. . .never mind." She turned on her heel and was about to leave when Willow looked up with red eyes and called out, "No, Faith. . .please stay." She gestured for both Slayers to sit beside her on the bed, and all three women were silent for a moment before Faith chuckled and commented, "Where's Xander when we need him?"

The other two women chuckled, remembering moments when Xander had been "comfort guy" for them, and Willow looked up and replied, "Too many of us here at once. . .Comfort Guy would be taking a back seat to Hormone Guy."

Faith and Willow began giggling at that, and Buffy managed a baleful glare at the affront to her boyfriend, but began giggling herself after a few moments. They calmed down after a couple of minutes, and Buffy reached out to grasp one of Willow's hands, and Faith followed suit by taking the young witch's other hand and whispering, "Anything you need, Red. . .you know we'll come through for you."

Willow blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek as she replied, "I know. . .I never doubted it for a moment." She blinked again, then exclaimed, "Faith! Your training. . .with Oz gone-"

"Not a problem," Faith replied, squeezing Willow's hand reassuringly as she continued, "It's only going to be a couple of more weeks now. . .and I had a new plan in mind anyway." She frowned, and concluded, "But we don't have to talk about it now, Willow. . .I know you've got other things on your mind."

Willow blinked, and her eyes were ablaze with naked curiosity as she responded, "A new topic would be really good right now. . .and you have me wondering: what's your new plan?"

Faith looked at Willow carefully for a moment before concluding that she was being sincere rather than a good soldier, then replied, "I was going to ask B to help me with the next step. . .since she decided to crash our little party."

Buffy paled for a moment, then replied, "No problem, Faith. . .I guess Willow can whip up another one of those amulets for me."

Faith shook her head and elaborated, "No amulet for you, B. . .just you. . . and me with a bit of a handicap."

Buffy gasped and exclaimed, "Faith! That sounds dangerous. . .suppose I screw up and really hurt you? That's a pretty big chance to take with it coming so soon. . ."

"I know." Faith's expression made it clear to Buffy and Willow that she was not taking it lightly, but they could see the determination there as she continued, "The guys did a good job with the workouts, but I need the acid test: I need to know if these tricks will be any good against a really tough opponent. . .and I'm not going to give the Council any freebies by going out on patrol with the amulet on. At least I know you don't want me dead. . .I think I can count on your reflexes for the rest."

Buffy leaned over and hugged Faith, and Willow quickly followed suit. After a moment, Faith pulled away and started giggling again. The others looked at her, and she explained, "I was thinking that we should have someone come in and take a picture of the group hug. . .Xander's been a big help. . .he should get some kind of reward for it, don't you think?"

Willow began laughing, tears rolling down her cheeks, while Buffy gave Faith a dirty look and replied, "I'll handle the rewards for Xander, thank you very much. . .all right, Faith. . .day after tomorrow we'll start our workouts together. . .I just hope we aren't making a mistake here."

Faith nodded, then responded, "Me too, B. . .me too." With that, the Slayers turned back to their visibly more cheerful friend, and settled in for a long night.

Faith blinked, and found herself back in the bar that she had dreamed of twice before, sitting at a table with a Screwdriver in front of her. She smiled, took a sip from the drink, and turned to her right. Buffy was sitting there, smiling at her and reaching for a glass of beer on the table. She raised an eyebrow and commented, "Hmmm. . .night before the Council's big party for me and we end up back here, B. . .think someone's trying to tell us something?"

Buffy shrugged and replied, "Beats me. . .it's not as if we haven't been working our butts off the last two weeks." Buffy had been spending more time out on patrol to allow Faith rest time between their training sessions, and she was starting to feel the strain. She sipped at her beer, then looked over to the entrance of the bar, which was covered by an odd mist. A familiar silhouette stood there, and Buffy sighed, "Looks like your bad boy in leather is back."

Faith frowned, and watched as the figure walked closer. He cleared the mist, and Faith's and Buffy's jaws dropped at the same time: it was Giles, dressed up as Ripper. He quickly walked to the table and sat down before nodding at the Slayers and mumbling, "Ah, hello. . .Buffy. . .Faith."

Buffy and Faith turned to each other, then turned back to the visibly uncomfortable Giles. Faith broke the silence first by asking, "Giles, why are you here? More importantly, why haven't I seen you in this outfit before?"

Buffy and Giles blushed simultaneously, and Giles was silent for a long moment before replying, "I don't own clothing of this sort. . .this wardrobe is courtesy of the rather twisted sense of humor of whoever sends you these dreams. . .as for why I am here; apparently, something is going to go wrong during your Cruciamentum. . .something from outside the planned parameters of the test. . .both of you will be in great danger."

Faith snorted bitterly and replied, "Wish that came as a great shock. . .but it doesn't. Any details?"

Giles shook his head, frustration visible on his face as he responded, "Against the rules, apparently. . .you'll just need to be on your guard. . .or perhaps the test should be postponed-"

Faith shook her head emphatically and replied, "Ain't gonna happen, Giles. . .we'll just have to stay on our toes and take down anyone who messes with us. . .this is too important to stop now on a vague warning."

Giles blinked, then turned to Buffy and requested, "Could I speak to Faith alone for a few moments, Buffy?"

Buffy looked at her Watcher, and nodded, getting up and walking away with a thoughtful look on her face. When she was gone, Giles turned to Faith and commented, "Faith, perhaps now is not the time to be stubborn."

Faith's eyes flared, and she snapped, "Now is exactly the time to be stubborn, Giles. . .I don't believe in coincidences. If something big is happening the very night I'm supposed to be doing the Cruciamentum, it's because someone knows we'll be one Slayer down that night. . .we've been pretty tight lipped about this. . .if word has gotten out to the baddies, someone spilled the beans. . .and I bet it was on purpose."

Giles' eyes widened, and he responded, "I follow your reasoning, Faith. . .but if you're right, and a source in the Council has leaked this information, then you are in even greater danger. . .which argues for postponement."

"Except that we have no solid proof, and don't know who the traitor is," Faith shot back. "This could be the only chance to draw him or her out. . .if we don't, who knows how we'll get screwed over in the next few years. . .? If I can pull this off, and expose the traitor. . .the old fogeys on the Council will be finished. . .the good guys will have won. That's worth a little extra danger, wouldn't you say?"

Giles reached out and grasped her hand before replying, "Speaking in purely rational terms, I have to agree. . .but for some reason, I don't really feel like being rational right now." He leaned over and kissed her, causing her to tingle from head to toe.

After a moment, Giles withdrew, and Faith looked at him for several seconds before replying, "Giles. . .I learned a lot from you and B. . .and from Amanda before she died. . .the bottom line is: trying to have a decent life is important. . .but the job comes first. Going through with this is the only way I know how to follow that rule, and if it means that I buy it tomorrow, then at least I know it happened when I was doing the best I could. . .and with people I love at my side."

Giles stared at her for a moment, blinked, then stood. He leaned down, brushed her hair back and kissed her tenderly on the forehead before walking back into the mist in front of the exit. Faith blinked-

---and found