Title: This Year's Girl
Author: Drusilla
Email: Drus1lla@cs.com
Rating: PG, I guess.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters used within this story, probably
	    with the exception of Iain and Brighid, cuz I made them up.  
	    But Buffy and Angel don't belong to me, they belong to the 
	    evil Joss monster, Mutant Enemy, FOX, and whoever else 
	    owns a piece of them.
Author's Notes: This is an AU which splits off from canon after Buffy
	Season 4 'Pangs' and Angel Season 1 'I Will Remember You'.
	For this particular chapter we're going to take stuff from This
	Year's Girl, mainly stuff from the dreams Buffy & Faith share.
Dedication: To Kaz, Trix, and Jodi.  I love you guys!
Summary: Faith wakes up and joins the party.




     So Giles and Will have been busy little worker bees.  Researching,
finding spells so I can contact Faith.  It's taken them a month to get as 
far as they have, which according to them, isn't very far.  Giles has a 
theory, but he's not sure it'll work.   I have to wonder though, when I 
do get in touch with her, what can I possibly say that will make things 
right between us?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

     "Calynthia powder," Willow stated, holding a small leather pouch 
out to her best friend.
     Buffy took the offered bag, opening it slowly to peer inside at its 
contents.  "Ca-what?"
     "Calynthia powder," Giles repeated, picking up the tea kettle and 
walking into the living room where Buffy and Willow were sitting.  He 
had insisted that only the three of them be present during Buffy's first 
foray into dreams with Faith.  "It will make you susceptible to 
dreaming.  Buffy, are you certain you want to do this?"
     The Slayer ran the fine purple powder between her fingertips, 
staring at it before looking back up at her Watcher.  "I have to.  Let's 
get started."

*~*~*~*~*

     The white material floated up in the air, coming down with a soft 
sigh onto the bed below it.  Two sets of hands smoothed the surface, 
pulling the sheet taut over the mattress.  "Smell good, don't they?" 
Buffy asked, looking up at her companion.
     "What?" Faith asked, repeating Buffy's motions on the opposite side 
of the bed.
     "Clean sheets," Buffy clarified.  "Like summer."
     "I wouldn't know," Faith replied as they began folding the corners.
     "Right.  I forgot."
     "I noticed," Faith said sadly.
     The two Slayers returned to their task, working together in silence.  
Buffy turned towards her nightstand, looking at the clock.  Her face fell 
slightly when she glanced back at Faith.  "I wish I could stay, but-"
     "You have to go," Faith finished.
     "It's just, with-"
     "He's coming.  I know."  Faith looked down at the bed they'd just 
finished making.  "So much to do before he gets here."
     Buffy looked back at the clock.  "Now I really have to go."
     "So go.  Don't let me keep-"  Faith stopped, looked down at the 
pristine white surface again, disappointment crossing her face.  "Damn.  
Just when we made it so nice."
     Buffy looked down at the blood steadily spilling onto the fabric, at 
her own hand holding a knife in Faith's stomach.  "I'm sorry," she 
whispered.
     Faith sighed, "Are you ever going to take this thing out?"

*~*~*~*~*~*

     The first run seems to have been successful.  We talked.  We shared 
a dream.  I was holding a knife in her gut.  Oh, what's not good about 
that?  Calm down, Buffy, sarcasm isn't helping anything.  Why did it 
have to get to that point between us?  Why did things have to get so 
hard?  Why couldn't we just always be on the same side?  Why did we 
betray each other?  When I left the dream last time and woke up, it
was like I could still feel her blood on my skin.

*~*~*~*~*~*

     "You think it's gonna rain?" Faith asked, leaning her weight back on 
her elbows.
     "I don't see any clouds," Buffy answered, reaching into the picnic 
basket.
     The two Slayers sat together on a checkered tablecloth, alone in a 
green field.  The sky overhead was a perfect clear blue, its peacefulness 
only interrupted by an occasional bird flying above.
     Faith nibbled lightly on the sandwich Buffy gave her, picking at the 
crust.  "I don't know, it just seems like it always starts raining right 
about now."
     "It rained that night," Buffy said suddenly, her mind far away.  "The 
night he lost his soul.  It was different this time."
     "Different how?"
     "He was human," came the whispered answer.
     "Does he know about?" Faith asked.
     "No," Buffy shook her head.
     "Will you tell him?"
     "Not yet," Buffy looked away.  "I don't know how."
     "We have trust issues," Faith stated simply.
     "Seems to be a recurring theme for me," Buffy replied.
     "Will I have to baby-sit?"
     Buffy shook her head again.  "Just need you to keep the demon 
count down.  I can't, it just..."
     "Can't risk him not coming," Faith said, gazing back up at the sky.  
"Picnics are for families."
     "We are."
     Faith finally met Buffy's eyes.  "We are what?"
     "Family," Buffy answered.
     Both women turned, staring at the ghostly image of a little boy who 
approached them.  He reached for each of their hands, smiling as he did 
so.
     "You need me," Faith whispered, traces of disbelief in her voice.
     "I'm scared," Buffy admitted, never taking her gaze from the child.
     "I'll protect you," Faith stated quietly, taking Buffy's hand in hers.

*~*~*~*~*~*

     Riley looked up at Giles, concern for Buffy etched across his 
features.  She had been asleep for over an hour now, dreaming with 
Faith.  Or so they all hoped.  "Shouldn't she have woken up by now?"
     "They have a lot to discuss," Giles answered.
     "How many times has she done this now?" the soldier asked.
     Willow ran a hand through her hair, her gaze falling on Buffy's 
sleeping figure as well.  "This is the fifth time in a matter of days," she 
sighed.  "Giles, I'm not sure this was such a good idea."
     "Buffy knows what she's doing, she believes she can get through to 
Faith."
     "What makes it so different from when D- I mean Angel, tried it?" 
Xander asked.
     "Who is this Angel guy, anyways?" Riley queried.
     "An old friend," Giles answered, before the other two could open 
their mouths.  "Anything more you wish to know, will have to come 
from Buffy."
     "And the difference this time," Willow answered Xander's question, 
"is that there's no one to interfere.  No Watcher's Council carting her 
off, no interruptions, just two Slayers working out their issues."

*~*~*~*~*~*

     "You've gotta be kidding me!" Faith exclaimed.
     "You don't want to?" Buffy asked, closing the book in her hands.
     "I always figured you'd want Willow to do that," the brunette 
admitted.  "We're just getting back to good here, it's a big 
responsibility."
     "I understand if you don't . . ."
     "Nothing's going to happen to you," Faith stated.  "I won't let it."
     "In case it does," Buffy interrupted.  "I'm not planning on NOT 
being the Slayer after he's born.  And if something happens to me, I 
want you to take care of him."
     "Why me?  Why not _ANY_ of the others?"
     "Because you can protect him," Buffy answered.  "Because I trust 
you."
     Faith bit her lip, then put down her paintbrush.  She looked around 
the nursery they had been painting together.  "Does it really look like 
this?"
     "It will," Buffy answered, looking around at the work they had 
done.  "Once you wake up and help me do it."
     "I think it's time," Faith stated.  "What's the outside world like?"
     "Come and find out," Buffy replied, holding out her hand.

*~*~*~*~*~*

     "Aunt Faith?" I asked, closing Mom's journal.  "Do you know Riley 
Finn?"
     If there was one thing I could count on her for, it was always being 
straight with me.  She told me that at one point she'd tried to kill both 
Dad, and Mom, but that they'd made amends.  She never hid anything 
from Iain, or me.  I knew she'd be the one to tell me.
     I saw her entire body stiffen at the name.  Apparently she did know 
him.  "Why do you want to know about him?"
     "I had started seeing his son," I answered.  "Iain told me to stay 
away from him."
     "Big brothers are good with advice.  Might want to listen to him," 
Faith replied.
     "You've never hidden anything from me," I began.
     "I've always been straight with you, Brie."
     "You told me things that even Mom and Dad never did."
     "If this is about my homicidal streak," she trailed off.  She always 
joked about what my family liked to call her sojourn to the 'dark side'.  
"Leave it alone Brie, let the past be."
     "Why?!" I erupted.  I think I was finally pushed past my breaking 
point.  "I'm a part of this family too damnit, and I want to know what 
happened!"
     "He tried to tear this family apart, that's what he did!  Him and all 
his little boy pals playing monster fighter almost killed us all!  Have 
you heard enough?!"
     I'd never seen her mad before.  Well that's not true, I've seen her 
plenty mad.  She's just never been mad at me.  My voice sounded weak 
to me, pitiful actually.  "What?"
     "Sorry," she said gruffly.  "It's still a sore subject, Brighid.  Just let 
the past be."
     Well at least I know something now.

Love,
Brighid