DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Buffy The Vampire Slayer stuff belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. There is some subtext in this story. If this kind of stuff is not legal where you live, if you're under 18 or if you don't like the notion of two women being in love, then you should find something else to read. Pretend that Cordelia didn't become evil.

Coming Around
By Kristjan Brezovnik

When Faith suddenly woke up, she was in pain. She screamed, until her breath ran out. She forced herself to open her eyes and immediately squinted when the sun blinded her. She suddenly realized she couldn’t move, and she panicked. Then she also realized that something was wrong with her body. She looked around and saw that a long, thick piece of metal, probably from a crate or something, was smashing her right arm, just below the elbow. But then she saw the rest of her arm dangling behind the piece of metal, and she realized that her arm had probably been torn off. Her eyes went wide and she felt like throwing up. She screamed again, nearly choking because of the blood in her mouth, and tried to free her left arm, which was chained to the remains of her cage. She wasn’t quite sure why she was in a cage, but she knew she had to free her left arm and stop the bleeding or she would die.

“Are you okay?”

Faith turned her head, surprised, and saw a couple of children.

“Help,” she croaked.

“How?” a boy asked.

“Grab my right arm at the elbow and squeeze as hard as you can,” Faith quickly said, feeling she would soon pass out. “Quickly.”

The boy hesitated for a moment.

“Uh…”

“Move!” Faith screamed with tears in her eyes.

The boy jerked, startled, and then approached Faith, wide-eyed.

“Grab it and squeeze,” Faith instructed him as she tried to gather her strength to free her left arm.

The boy gulped and then grabbed Faith’s arm at the elbow.

“Squeeze. As hard as you can,” Faith gasped.

The boy did so.

Faith's eyes glazed over and she closed them for a few moments, gathering her strength, and then groaned as she ripped her left arm free of the chains. She screamed, feeling dizzy. She closed her eyes for a few moments, fighting unconsciousness.

“Are you okay?” one of the children asked, scared.

Faith took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She grabbed her right hand at the elbow.

“Let go,” she said, and the boy did so. “Can… Can you remove this thing?” she asked and nodded at the metal pole.

The boy tried to move it, but it was jammed. Faith did notice, however, that one end was in the sand.

“Dig a hole around it and try to free it.” She looked at the other children. “Two of you help him, the others find something to bandage my arm.”

“What?” a girl asked.

“Some long cloth. And a stick or something," she croaked, breathing shallowly. "See if you can find a box with a red cross on it. And a something sharp. Hurry,” she instructed and coughed, trembling because of the shock she was in. The blood was filling her mouth, but she didn't have the strength to spit it out, so she just let it drool out of her mouth.

Three boy quickly started digging, and the rest of the children scattered, searching for bandages.

Faith noticed her vision was getting blurry. She took a deep breath, hoping she wouldn’t pass out before the children took care of her arm.

“I got it!” one of the children called a few moments later.

Faith hoped it was something useful. She knew that the only reason she was still alive was because she was a Slayer. Her stomach finally gave up and she quickly turned her head so she wouldn’t throw up on the boys. She was glad she was lying or she would’ve been in deep shit when she finally passed out.

“Is this it?” a girl asked and showed Faith a first aid kit.

“Yes,” Faith croaked, relieved. “Open it.” She looked at the other children. “Find some drinking water,” she told them.

The children scattered again.

“Bandages,” the girl said.

Faith looked at her.

“Is there anything sharp there?”

The girl quickly looked.

“This funny knife.”

Faith was relieved when she saw there was a scalpel.

“Take off your… your shirt and put everything on it. Then… take a bandage and open… it. No… see if there are some vials.”

“What?”

“Small glassy things.”

The girl looked.

“This?”

“What does it say?”

“I don’t know. I can’t read yet.”

“Bring it here.”

The girl came closer and showed Faith the ampoule.

“Morphine,” Faith said, relieved. “Stick the sharp end into my left shoulder and squeeze.”

The girl came closer and did so.

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Faith said, feeling a bit relieved as the morphine started spreading through her system.

The girl backed off.

“The bandage,” Faith told her.

“It’s moving,” one of the boys who were digging said a few moments later.

The pole moved a bit, and Faith could see that the forearm was only attached to the rest of arm with some sinews and skin. She nearly passed out.

“That’s enough. You, take that… knife.”

The girl took the scalpel and came closer, scared.

“Cut off my arm.”

The girl’s eyes went wide.

“But…”

“Quickly,” Faith said, feeling her breath was getting short. “It’s just meat. Pretend. Whatever. Close your eyes if you have to, just… do it.”

The girl’s eyes began to water. She gulped and stepped closer.

“Cut it,” Faith croaked, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

The girl started trembling.

“Please,” Faith said, tears welling up in her eyes.

The girl gulped again and then started cutting. Faith screamed, and the girl stopped, scared.

“Don’t stop… no matter what,” Faith said. “Please.”

The girl gulped and resumed cutting.

Faith resumed screaming, but her screams slowly became quieter as she lost her strength, as well as because of the morphine.

Finally, the forearm fell off.

“Bandage,” Faith squeaked, and inspected the rest of her arm.

She was relieved that there was enough skin to cover the bone.

“I found…” a boy started, but trailed off when he saw Faith only had one arm.

“A drink?” Faith asked.

The boy nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

“Give it to me.”

The boy opened it and brought it to Faith.

“Keep my mouth wet,” she told him and took a sip. “Help me sit,” she then told the boys who had been digging.

The boys quickly moved.

“Bandage,” she then told the girl.

The girl came closer.

“I don’t know…”

Faith looked at the boy on her right.

“Squeeze…” She trailed off as her consciousness left her for a moment. “Squeeze my arm. A little below the armpit.” The boy did so. “As hard as you can,” Faith told him. Then she looked at the boy with the drink. “Find a stick.”

The boy left.

Faith looked at the girl.

“Put the fat end on the end of my arm. I’ll… I’ll help you.”

The girl obeyed, and Faith helped her bandage the stump.

The boy quickly returned with a stick.

“Is this okay?”

Faith looked.

“Yeah. Give it… to me.”

The boy gave her the stick and Faith used it to tighten the bandages.

“Keep it… Keep… K…”

She finally passed out, and the girl screamed.

“Is she dead?” the boy with the drink asked.

“I don’t know,” the boy on the left said.

“Let’s put her down,” the boy on the right said.

They laid her down and backed off.

“Now what?” the boy with the drink asked.

“I don’t know.”

“She… She said to keep her mouth wet,” the girl said.

“Shadow!” the boy with the stick said. “She needs shadow.”

When Faith woke up a couple of days later, she was still in pain, the morphine had long since worn off.

“Water,” she said, though it sounded as though she was groaning. She focused. “Water,” she said a bit clearly.

“She wants water,” she heard a girl say.

A few moments later, she felt wetness on her tongue. She made a couple of sips.

“Is she okay?” a boy asked.

“I think so,” the girl said. “How do you feel?”

Faith finally recognized the girl’s voice, it was the girl who had cut off her arm. She suddenly realized that it wasn’t just a nightmare, it had really happened. She shuddered.

“Tired,” she said.

“Are you hungry? We found some fruit. And we have some chocolate.”

Faith thought about it.

“A little.”

“Jenny, bring some chocolate and some fruit.”

Faith tried to open her eyes. It took some effort, but finally she did. It took a moment before her vision cleared. She looked around and saw a couple of children nearby. She also noticed that they had brought some kind of metal sheet to block the sun. She tried to move, but each movement caused her pain, so she stopped. She did notice that her legs were still chained. She sighed.

“Here.”

Faith looked and saw that a girl had brought some fruits and a bar of chocolate.

“Which do you want?” the girl who had cut off her arm asked.

“Both,” Faith said.

Jenny opened the chocolate bar and gave it to the girl who had cut off her hand.

“Here,” the girl said, and brought it to Faith’s mouth.

Faith took a bite. She didn’t chew at first, she just let it melt in her mouth. It made her feel a bit better. The pain was still there, but she felt a bit less tired. She took another bite.

“Water,” she said when she swallowed.

The girl who had cut off her hand gave her a bottle, and Faith took a couple of sips.

“Thanks,” she then said. She rested for a few moments. “What happened? Where are we?”

“We crashed,” Jenny said.

“We’re on an island,” a boy said.

“Crashed?” Faith said, confused.

“With a plane,” the girl who had cut her hand said.

“Plane? What plane?”

“Our plane.”

Faith didn’t understand and she was too tired to ask questions.

“How many people are there?”

“Just us.”

Faith looked around and did a quick count.

“No grownups?”

“Just you.”

Faith sighed.

“How are you?”

The children were all quiet.

“We’re scared,” Jenny said quietly.

Faith realized she was scared as well. She looked at her arm and felt sick. Then it dawned on her that because she was the only adult around she was responsible for the children.

“Shit,” she whispered, not happy about it.

“Are you gonna be okay?” one of the boys asked.

Faith looked at him.

“I guess so.”

“What do we do now?” Jenny asked.

“Find any useful thing you can. I need to rest. Find a stream or something.”

“Stream?”

“Creek. Water. To drink.”

“We did.”

“Good. Let me have a bite of that fruit.”

Jenny brought the fruit closer, and Faith bit off a chunk.

Faith felt that she was stronger now, but she was still exhausted. Not to mention in pain.

“I’m going to sleep now,” she told the children after she swallowed.

During the next week, Faith mostly slept. She ate a little, drank a little, and slept a lot. Finally, she felt strong enough to sit. But she wasn’t strong enough yet to free her legs, so she was stuck where she was. She knew she had to check out her stump. It didn’t smell and it hurt less, so she was pretty sure it wasn’t infected. Still, she was afraid of what she would find. Debbie, the girl who had cut off her arm, helped her take off the bandage. When Faith looked at the wound, she saw that there was a bright red scar, but that it was healing. She was relieved.

“Is that good?” Debbie asked.

“Yeah,” Faith said, thankful for Slayer healing. She took a deep breath. “We’ll bandage it again later.”

“Okay.”

Faith hesitated for a moment.

“Thanks. You saved my life.”

Debbie smiled.

Faith lay back.

“Tell me what happened after you took off, why you crashed and what you were doing while I was out.”

“Okay.”

After she found out what’s been going on, Faith instructed the children what to do, since she couldn’t do much chained up. When she finally freed herself, she took a look around the crash site and told the children what to do. She considered herself lucky to have seen a survival show on TV. She didn’t remember much, but what she could helped a lot. Soon, the children built a shelter for all of them. Since it was higher than the children, Faith helped the children by lifting them with her left arm, so they could make the roof.

She also taught them how to catch and cook the fish, as well as fry them. The children did as she told them, but when they didn’t have anything to do, they were usually around her. Faith could see it in their eyes that they were scared. She was scared as well, but she didn’t know what to do, she had no idea how to take of little children.

But then her period was late. She wasn’t worried about it first, but when it was one month late, and then two, she realized she was probably pregnant. She was confused at first, but then she remembered that her panties were dirty when she’d washed for the first time since the crash. She’d thought nothing about it, but now she realized it was probably sperm. Like she didn’t have enough problems with being stranded on an island with eleven children and only one arm, now she was gonna have a baby.

She suddenly realized that she should actually be angry at the bastard who had raped her. She shuddered as she realized that probably the whole team did it, not just one man.

“What?” Faith asked a month later when she saw Ben stare at her stomach while they were fishing.

“You’re fatter,” Ben said.

Faith looked at her stomach and sighed.

“Call the others, I have something to tell you.”

Ben ran off to call the other children, and Faith went to their shelter.

“What is it, Faith?” Debbie asked when she came to Faith.

“Let’s wait for the others,” Faith said, rubbing her stomach subconsciously.

“Okay.”

The other children quickly gathered.

“What is it, Faith?” Johnny asked.

Faith sighed.

“I’m pregnant.”

The children stared at her, confused.

“You’re gonna have a baby?” Jenny asked.

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“How what?”

“How did you get pregnant?”

Faith tensed. She hesitated for a moment.

“You know how babies are made?” she then asked.

The children were all quiet.

“By mommies and daddies,” Henry finally said.

Faith smiled.

“Yeah. A man and a woman have sex and if they’re lucky, they get a baby.”

“What’s sex?” Tammie asked.

Faith thought about it.

“You’re a bit too young for that explanation. I’ll explain it when you’re a bit older.”

“Okay.”

“When are you gonna have the baby?” Michael asked.

“In about six months.”

“A boy or a girl?” Sammie asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh.”

“Can we do anything?” Debbie asked.

Faith thought about it.

“You’ll have to help me deliver.”

"What?"

"Give birth."

“Oh." Debbie frowned. "How?”

“I’ll tell you when it’s time.”

“Okay.”

“And in the meantime, you need to get more practice in fishing, because in six months, I don’t think I’ll be able to fish.”

Six months later, it was time. Faith had the children prepare everything, so when her water broke, all she had to do was get to the shelter and lie down. The children immediately heated up some water. Then they waited, curious. Faith had them repeat their roles, to make sure they were ready.

"It's… coming," she said after a couple of hours of painful contractions, biting her teeth in pain.

"Are you sure?" Debbie asked.

"Yes," Faith hissed.

Debbie took a blanket and got ready. She looked closer.

"I think I can see the head."

"Good. And remember, don't pull."

"Okay."

"I see it too," Mary said.

Faith took a deep breath and pushed.

"God!" she moaned.

"Are you in pain?" Tanya asked.

"Fuck yeah!" Faith said as she pushed again.

"It's coming out," Debbie said.

Faith kept pushing, hoping it wouldn't take too long.

Ben wiped her face with a wet cloth.

"The head is almost out," Debbie reported.

Faith pushed, and a few moments later the baby's screams were heard.

"The head is out!" Debbie said, excited.

"Be… gentle," Faith said as she pushed.

"Okay," Debbie said, trying to be as gentle as she could.

"Fuck!" Faith swore as the baby's body started to come out.

Ben wiped her face again.

Faith took a deep breath and pushed.

"More!" Jenny called, excited.

"Fucking crap!" Faith swore as she pushed again.

"The chest is out!" Tammie called.

"Shit," Faith murmured as she took a couple of deep breaths before the next contraction. "God…"

"The tummy's out!"

"It's a girl!" Henry said, excited.

"One more push," Debbie said.

Faith took a deep breath and pushed.

"It's out!" Jenny said excited as Debbie carefully held the baby.

Faith lay back, tired.

"Mary, get the cloth," Debbie said.

Mary took the wet cloth from the bowl and rinsed it.

Debbie carefully held the girl, and Mary started to wipe her clean.

"Do we clean her back too?" Debbie asked when Mary was done with the baby's front.

Faith looked.

"I'll hold her."

Debbie moved closer.

"Here," she said and gave Faith the baby.

Faith took it and stared at it for a few moments. The she hugged her. Without warning, she started to sob.

The children looked at one another, confused.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked, worried.

Faith didn't respond. She kept hugging the baby, scared that she would lose her. All the pent up emotions, the anger over the rape, the fear of having a baby, the shock of losing her arm, as well as some of the emotions that she hadn't quite dealt with after she broke down in front of Angel, they all came out with the tears. But in spite of the fear for the baby's wellbeing, she actually felt hopeful, she finally had a goal, a purpose.

She slowly calmed down. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears with her stump.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked.

Faith smiled a little and nodded.

"What will you name her?" Jenny asked.

Faith's smile widened. She looked at the baby.

"Hope."

The children smiled.

"That's a nice name," Debbie said.

Faith smiled at her.

"Yes." She looked at the baby. "Hey," she said and kissed her on the top of the head.

The baby was getting sleepy, tired from the ordeal of getting born.

"Debbie, get the scalpel and cut the cord."

"Sammie," Debbie said.

"Here," Sammie said and gave her the scalpel.

"Where?" Debbie asked.

"In the middle."

"Here?"

"Yes. And don't forget to squeeze the cord close to her tummy."

Debbie squeezed the cord and the cut it.

"Is that okay?" she then asked.

"Yes. Now make a knot, as close to her tummy as you can."

Debbie gave the scalpel back to Sammie and then made a knot.

"Is that okay?"

"Yes. Now cut off the rest of the cord."

Sammie gave Debbie the scalpel, and Debbie cut off the excess cord.

"Thanks," Faith then said.

"What about that?" Debbie asked and nodded at the cord still sticking out of Faith.

"It'll come out in a while with the rest of the… eh… Well, the rest of it."

"Oh."

"Here, hold her. Then I'll take her so she'll be on her tummy."

"Okay."

Faith gave Hope to Debbie, and Debbie then gave her back.

"Mary, wash her, please."

Mary quickly rinsed the cloth and then gently washed Hope's back.

"Thanks," Faith said when Mary was done. "Debbie." Faith carefully gave Hope to Debbie. "Just put her in her crib."

Debbie slowly moved to the crib and laid Hope in it. Then she made sure Hope was covered properly.

Faith took a deep breath and looked at the children.

"Thanks," she said with a smile, and the children smiled back. "Sammie, wash the scalpel," she said as she covered her crotch. "Danny, can you please bring a few more palm leaves."

"Okay," Danny said.

"I'm gonna rest a bit before the… Oh! Placenta," she finally remembered the word. "I'm gonna rest a bit before my placenta comes out." She looked at Ben. "Ben, can you get me some water."

"Okay," Ben said and reached for the bottle.

"Thanks."

Faith drank the whole bottle.

"Do you want some fruit?" Henry asked.

Faith thought about it.

"Just a little."

Henry gave her a piece.

Faith put it in her mouth and lay back.

"You can go now. I just need one or two here, to watch Hope and to help me get rid of placenta."

"I'll stay," Debbie said.

"Go wash your hands first."

"Okay," Debbie said and ran off.

"Can we stay too?" Tanya asked.

Faith smiled.

"Sure, but don't make too much noise, Hope needs to rest."

"Okay."

Faith reached over and gently laid her hand on Hope's tummy. She looked at the sky.

"Please don't let me mess this up," she said quietly, hoping she would be a good mother.

Two and a half years later.

“Faith! Faith!” Johnny came running to Faith.

“What?” Faith asked.

“There’s a ship!”

“Where?” Faith asked and looked out at the ocean.

“Come!”

“Danny, watch Hope,” Faith told Danny. “Sweetie, stay with Uncle Danny.”

Then she got up and followed Johnny.

"There!" Johnny said, excited, when they got to ocean.

Faith squinted. She could see a ship in the distance, but it was very far away. She could tell it was a cruise ship or a passenger liner, which meant there were probably lots of people on deck.

"Can they see us?" Mary asked.

"They can probably see the island, but not us," Faith said.

"Oh," Mary said, disappointed.

"Can't we contact them?" Ben asked.

"Maybe," Faith said.

She went to the wreck, where they had their storage. She took the flare gun and loaded it. Then she went to the children.

"Back off a little," she told them.

The children backed off, and Faith shot a flare.

"Did they see it?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know," Faith said. She thought for a moment. "Keep an eye out for another ship or a plane. Just in case."

"Okay."

"And write a message in the sand."

"What?"

"Help. Make big letters."

"Okay."

Faith stared at the ship for a few moments and then took the flare gun back.

A couple of hours later, while Faith was teaching the children and Hope was taking a nap after lunch, a military jet flew over the island.

"A plane!" Michael said, excited.

"Jenny, stay with Hope," Faith said as she got up. "The others go to the beach and wave."

Faith ran to the wreck to get the flare gun, and the children ran to the beach.

"It's coming back!" Debbie called, excited, when the plane turned.

Faith ran to the them, waited until the plane came closer, and then shot another flare.

The plane made a roll.

"Did it see us?" Danny asked.

"I think so," Faith said.

"What do we do now?" Henry asked.

Faith shrugged.

"We wait."

"Will it land?" Tanya asked.

"No, it can't. But it will let others know."

"Oh."

"Why don't you pack what you want to take with you."

"When will they come for us?" Tammie asked.

"I don't know." She looked at the sun. "Maybe today. Probably not till tomorrow. Pack anyway."

"Okay."

Faith went back to the wreck. She put the flare gun away and took her clothes, she didn't want to return to the civilization in a gown.

"Mommy?" Hope asked when Faith came back.

Faith smiled.

"Hey, sweetie," she said as she picked her up. "Did the noise wake you up?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, there was a plane."

"A plane?"

"Yes. It noticed us, so we'll be leaving soon."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, your aunties and uncles are going home to their families."

"And us?"

Faith smiled.

"We are a family."

Hope smiled back.

"Okay."

"Wanna go for a swim?"

Hope's eyes lit up.

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding.

Faith looked at the children.

"We'll continue the lessons in a few minutes."

A couple of hours later, Faith heard noise.

"What is it?" Tammie asked when she saw that Faith was listening for something.

"A helicopter," Faith said.

"Really? They're coming for us?"

"Could be. Let's go make ourselves visible."

"There's a helicopter!" Tammie called to the other children.

"Where?" Mary asked.

"I don't know. Faith said it was coming."

They all waited in the middle of the beach.

A few minutes later, a big helicopter came from around the island.

"Okay, everyone, let's go to the shelter so we'll be out of the way!" Faith called.

The children ran to the shelter, and Faith followed them with Hope.

"Sammie, watch Hope," she then told Sammie and gave her Hope.

She waited until the helicopter landed and then slowly approached it. She tensed when soldiers stared to get out, but then she noticed that they weren't armed. She waited for their leader to approach.

"Hi!" Faith shouted over the noise of the helicopter.

"Hello!" the officer shouted.

They walked away from the helicopter, which had turned off the engines.

"What's with them?" Faith asked when the noise died down, and pointed at a group of soldiers who went to the wreck.

"They will inspect the wreck."

"Oh." Faith hesitated for a moment. "We put the corpses behind it. Sort of graveyard. We didn't bury them though."

"Okay." The officer looked at the children. "Is that all of you?"

"Yes."

"Just you and the children?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"About three years."

"Wow. Well, are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Faith thought for a moment.

"Do you have a camera or something?"

"Yes."

"Could you take a photo of us?"

The officer smiled.

"Sure." He looked at the his men. "Bennet!"

The man came closer.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Take a photo of them."

"Yes, Sir."

"Hold on," Faith said. She went to the children. "Okay, kids, this man will take a photo of us," she said as she took Hope.

"Cool!" Henry said.

They got ready.

"Ready?" Bennet then asked.

"Yes," Faith said.

"Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" the children said, and Bennet took the photo.

"Thanks," Faith said.

"No problem," Bennet said with a smile. "You'll get it on the ship. I'll make a copy for each of you."

"Okay." Faith looked at the children. "Okay, line up and hold your hands." She picked up the waited for the children to follow her instructions. "Jenny, can you give me the bag, please."

Jenny picked up the bag with the children's belongings and gave it to Faith.

"Thanks," Faith said. She looked at the children. "What's wrong, Tammie?" she asked when she saw that Tammie was afraid.

"Do we have to fly?" Tammie asked, wide eyed.

Faith sighed.

"You do want to go home to your mom and dad, don't you?"

Tammy nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Then you have to fly."

Tammie made a face.

"I'm scared."

Faith smiled softly.

"I know. Don't worry, everything will be okay. It's just a short ride and this time everyone knows where we are."

Tammie hesitated for a moment.

"Okay."

"Okay, let's go."

They went to the commanding officer.

"This way," he said and led the way to the helicopter.

They got in, and Faith stopped at the entrance.

"Okay, everyone, sit and do as the officer tells you."

She waited for the children to sit. Then she sat dropped the bag and sat Hope next to her.

The officer made sure everyone was seated properly.

"Everyone ready?" he then asked.

"Where are we going?" Faith asked.

"Our ship."

"Can you tell the Captain I'd like to talk to him as soon as possible?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." The officer went to the cockpit, and Faith looked at Hope. "Okay, sweetie, we're gonna fly now."

Hope's eye went wide.

"Like birds?"

Faith smiled.

"Sort of. It's gonna be very noisy. And bumpy." She looked at the children. "If the helicopter starts to shake, don't worry, it's just the turbulences. And if someone gets scared, give them a hug." She looked at Hope. "Ready?" she asked as she put her arm around her.

Hope nodded, excited.

"Uh-huh."

During the flight, Faith kept an eye on the children. She noticed that they were scared.

"Michael!" she called over the noise when she noticed he was breathing quickly. "Michael!" Michael looked at her. "It's okay! It's just turbulences! It's okay!" Faith looked at Tammy. "Tammy, give him a hug!"

Tammy hugged Michael, and Michael calmed down a little.

Faith looked at Hope.

"You okay, sweetie?"

Hope nodded, excited.

"Uh-huh."

When the helicopter landed, the officer in charge came to them.

"You'll be taken to the infirmary for a checkup," he told Faith.

Faith nodded.

"Okay."

"The Captain will come to you as soon as he can."

"Okay." Faith looked at the children. "Okay, line up." She picked up the bag and then turned to Hope. "Come, sweetie."

Hope hugged her, and Faith picked her up.

"Everyone ready?" the officer asked. The children nodded. "Then let's go."

Ben, who was right behind Faith, grabbed the waist of her pants.

"Let's go," Faith said.

They followed the officer out of the helicopter, across the deck and inside.

"Doctor Sanchez!" the officer called when they arrived to the infirmary.

"Survivors?" Sanchez asked, surprised, when she saw it was only children.

"Yes."

"Just children?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Thank you."

The officer nodded and looked at Faith.

"I have to go now."

"Thanks," Faith said, and the officer left.

"Hello," Doctor Sanchez said with a smile. "I'm Doctor Sanchez."

"Hi," Ben said shyly.

"How do you feel?"

"Okay."

"Why don't you sit on the beds and we'll do a quick check."

"Go on," Faith said when the children looked at her.

"Were they ever sick?" Sanchez asked Faith as Faith sat Hope on a bed.

"No," Faith said.

"What did they eat?"

"Fruit and fish. Some chocolate at first."

"I see. Did you lose your arm in the crash?"

"Yes."

"Who took care of it?"

"The kids."

"Really?" Sanchez said, surprised.

"Yes."

"I'll have a look at it later. I'll check the children first."

"Okay."

Sanchez nodded at Hope.

"Is she yours?"

"Yes."

"How old is she?"

"Two and a half."

"She was born on the island?"

"Yes." Faith thought for a moment. "I'll need a birth certificate."

"No problem." Sanchez smiled at Hope. "What's your name, honey?"

Hope leaned on Faith, shy.

"Hope."

"That's a nice name. How do you feel?"

"Okay."

"I'm gonna do a quick check of you and your friends, okay?"

Hope looked at Faith, a bit worried.

"Mommy?"

Faith smiled at her.

"Don't worry, she won't hurt you. And I'll be here."

"Okay."

Sanchez looked at the children.

"My nurses will help me. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"I'd like to take a closer look at your, eh, stump," Sanchez said when she and her nurses were done with the children.

Faith took off the stump glove.

Sanchez gently probed the end of the stump.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

"Looks like it's healed nicely."

"Yeah."

"How did you lose it?"

"Some metal pole crushed it."

"Was it a clean cut?"

"I think so. The bone broke just beneath the elbow, only some skin and muscles were still there."

"What did you do?"

"Cut off the rest of it."

"How?"

"I had one of the kids do it."

"Really?" Sanchez said, surprised.

"Yes." Faith smiled at the children. "They saved my life."

"I'd like to X-ray it, to see what it's like inside."

"Okay. When?"

"Now?"

"Okay." Faith looked at the children. "Kids, I'll be gone a few minutes." She looked at Hope. "Sweetie, I'll be right back. Stay with Auntie Mary."

"Okay," Hope said.

When Faith and Sanchez came back, Faith saw that a few officers had arrived. She guessed that the Captain had come.

"Everything okay?" Faith asked the children.

"Uh-huh," Mary said with a nod.

"Okay."

"Ah, here you are," the Captain said. "I'm Captain Jones. Welcome aboard."

"Thanks," Faith said. She hesitated for a moment. "Can I talk to you alone?"

"Sure." Jones looked around. "Let's go there."

"Mommy?" Hope asked.

"I'll be right over there, sweetie," Faith said.

"Okay."

Faith followed Jones to a corner.

"What can I do for you?" Jones asked.

"I wasn't on the passenger list," Faith said.

Jones frowned.

"You stowed away."

"No, I was the cargo."

"Cargo?" Jones said, startled.

"Yeah. I pissed off some people and they kidnapped me. I don't know where they wanted to take me. They drugged me and I only woke up when my arm broke."

"I see. You were in a box? With chains?"

"Yeah."

"I think we found it."

"Yeah. Anyway, these people, they don't know that I survived and I'd like to keep it that way."

"They might find out from the children."

"I know, but by then I'll be out of sight."

"Do you have any family?"

"Just my daughter."

"I see."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"There is someone you can contact. Detective Kate Lockley. She works for LAPD, I'm not sure which precinct."

"Okay."

"If she doesn’t remember, just tell her I'm a friend of Angel."

"Will do. We need a list of the children, so we can contact their parents."

"I think the doctor has it."

"Good."

"Where are we? The kids said they were going to Hawaii."

"We're less than a week away."

"By ship?"

"Yes."

"How are you gonna get us back to LA?"

Jones thought for a moment.

"Doctor Sanchez," he then said and went to the doctor.

Faith followed him.

"Yes?" Sanchez said.

"Can they handle takeoff from the ship?"

Sanchez looked at the children.

"I wouldn't recommend it, especially not the little one."

"Hmm," Jones said, thinking. He looked at Faith. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay here till we get closer to Hawaii."

"A week?" Faith said.

"Yes. Then we can use the helicopter to take you to Pearl Harbor. From there you can take a regular plane to LA."

"We don't have any papers," Faith pointed out.

"I know. We'll take care of that. We'll also arrange so they can talk to their parents tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Doctor, do you have a list of their names?" Jones asked Sanchez.

"Yes, Sir."

Faith sighed and looked at the children.

"Kids, we're stuck here for another week or so," she then told them.

"Why?" Henry asked.

"Because we're very far at sea."

"Oh."

"Anyway, the Captain said he'll arrange so you can talk to your parents tomorrow."

The children's eyes lit up.

"Really?" Debbie said, excited.

Faith smiled.

"Yes."

"Mommy, can I have Miss Spots?" Hope asked.

Faith looked at her.

"Later, sweetie, when we're in… eh… Wherever we'll sleep."

"Oh."

"I'm hungry," Tanya said.

Faith looked at Jones.

"Petty Officer Benson here will take you to the mess hall," Jones said, nodding at Benson. "She'll also show you where you'll sleep."

"Okay," Faith said.

"I'll join you later, so you can tell me what's been going on on the island."

"Okay." Faith looked at Sanchez. "Can we go?"

Sanchez smiled.

"Yes."

"And the birth certificate?"

"We'll take care of it tomorrow."

"Okay." Faith looked at the children. "Okay, everyone, we're going to eat now." She picked up the bag. "Come, sweetie."

Hope hugged her, and Faith picked her up.

"This way," Benson said when Faith looked at her.

"Just step in line over there," Benson said when they got to the mess hall.

Faith put Hope down.

"Can you carry the bag, please?" she then asked Benson.

"Sure," Benson said and took the bag.

"Thanks." Faith looked at the children. "Okay, line up," she said and took Hope's hand.

"I'll go clear a table," Benson said.

"Thanks."

The children stepped in line, looking forward to a decent meal.

"Stay close to me, sweetie," Faith told Hope as she took a tray.

Hope grabbed Faith's pant leg.

Faith looked at the choice of food.

"That," she said when it was her turn. She looked around. "Do you have any fruit?"

"Sure."

"Do you have peaches or strawberries?"

"We got both."

"I'll take one peach and a couple of strawberries."

"Okay. You'll get them at the end of the line."

"Okay. Thanks." She glanced at the children. "Don't give them too much food, they're not used to eating a lot."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Faith looked at the children.

"Just come to the table when you have everything."

When Faith and Hope came to the table, Faith put the tray on the table.

"Come," she said and picked up Hope.

"What's that?" Hope asked when they sat down.

"Food." Faith moved Hope to her right leg, so she could eat. "These are strawberries and this is a peach for you. And this is mine. These are mashed potatoes and this is… a steak," Faith explained. She looked at Benson, hesitating for a moment. "Can you please cut my meat?"

"Sure," Benson said and pulled the tray to herself. She quickly cut the meat and then returned the tray to Faith. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Faith said. "Could you also show the kids how to cut it, in case they have problems?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks." Faith took a strawberry and gave it to Hope. "Here you go, sweetie. Don't eat the green stuff."

Hope took the strawberry and bit it.

Faith took a bite herself.

"You like it?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Good."

A few minutes later, the children were all at the table, and Benson showed them how to cut the food. Then Captain Jones joined them, and Faith told him what they had been doing on the island.

When they were done, Benson led the way to their quarters.

"Okay, these six cabins are yours," she said when she stopped.

Faith looked at the children.

"Okay, pair up and pick a cabin. Hope and I will be in this one."

The children quickly started to pair up.

"Can I stay with you?" Tanya asked.

Faith smiled at her.

"Sure."

Tanya smiled and went into the cabin.

"I'll show them around," Benson said.

"Thanks." Faith thought for a moment. "I'll need a shaving kit."

"I'll go get it after I show the children around."

"Okay."

Benson gave her a once over.

"Do you need clothes as well?"

Faith looked at herself.

"Yes, please."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

"Thanks."

Faith entered the cabin.

"There's a shower," Tanya told her.

"Good. Hold on." She put Hope on one of the beds. "Wait here, sweetie, I'll just show Tanya how to use the shower."

"Your bag," Benson said as she put the bag on the floor.

"Thanks," Faith said. Benson left, and Faith went to the bag and took out a makeshift doll. "Here you go, sweetie," she said and gave it to Hope.

"Miss Spots!" Hope said, excited, and hugged the doll.

Faith caressed her with a smile.

"I'll be in the bathroom."

After she checked out the bathroom and showing Tanya how to use the shower, Faith quickly checked up on the other children. Then she returned to her cabin and waited for Tanya to finish showering.

When Tanya was done, Faith washed Hope, who was all excited about the shower and the warm water. Then she tucked Hope in, took the shaving kit and took a shower herself. She shaved herself and then called Tanya to shave her left armpit.

When she was done, she dressed up and went to check up on the rest of the children and gave them instructions for the morning. Then she returned to her cabin, undressed, and lay next to Hope, who cuddled up to her, still hugging Miss Spots.

The next morning, Faith was the first to wake up. She looked at Hope and smiled. She gave her kiss on the top of the head, and then looked at Tanya, who was still asleep. Then she lay back and thought about the future. To call Kate Lockley had been a spur of the moment decision, and now she wondered if she had made the right decision, because it meant that she would be separated from Hope. On the other hand, she didn't want to be on the run from the Council and the police and risk that Hope might be hurt in the process. Nor was Hope the first reason she wanted to stop running, she had decided to turn herself in before the Council captured her. Yet now she was ready to run, if that was the best for Hope. The problem was, she didn't know that it was. And there was also the question of who would take care of Hope while she was in jail.

Finally Tanya woke up and interrupted Faith's reverie.

"Morning," Faith said with a smile.

Tanya looked at her.

"Morning."

"Sleep well?"

Tanya nodded.

"Uh-huh." She thought for a moment. "I need to pee."

"You know where the toilet is."

Tanya nodded and got up.

By the time Tanya got back, Hope woke up.

"Hey, sweetie." Hope smiled and rubbed her eyes. "Sleep well?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Then let's go freshen up." Faith got up and looked at Tanya. "Can you go see if the others have woken up?"

"Okay."

"Just go straight from door to door and avoid the soldiers."

"Okay."

When everyone came to Faith's cabin after they were done, Faith thought for a few moments.

"I need a favor," she then said. She hesitated for a moment. "When you talk to your parents today, please don't mention me."

"Why?" Ben asked.

Faith sighed.

"You know I was a prisoner when I got to the island, right?"

The children nodded.

"Uh-huh," Ben said.

"Well, the same people who imprisoned me will come after me, if they find out that I'm still alive."

"Oh."

"And I don't want them to hurt Hope."

"Okay."

"The same goes for when you come home. There will be lots of reporters who will want to know how you managed to survive. You can tell them eventually, but I need a couple of days to disappear."

"Okay."

Faith smiled.

"Thanks."

"There, you see? Everything's okay," Faith said when the plane from Hawaii landed in LA a week later.

The children looked at her, relieved that they had finally landed.

"Mommy, look!" Hope said, excited, and pointed out the window.

Faith smiled at her, and then looked back at the other children.

"Stay seated until everyone's gone. You can unfasten your seatbelts now." She looked around and waited for a stewardess to come by. "Excuse me, I'd like to talk to your, eh, boss. The chief stewardess."

"I'll call her," the stewardess said and left.

Faith leaned back and shuddered, suddenly scared. She took a deep breath and unbuckled her seatbelt. Then she unbuckled Hope's as well.

When the people finally filed out, the chief stewardess arrived.

"Hello," she said with a smile.

"Hi," Faith said. "Can you send someone to check if the kids' parents are here?"

"Sure."

"Also check if there are reporters."

"Okay."

"And find a Detective Lockley. Tell her to wait until the reporters are occupied with the children."

"I will. In the meantime, you can leave the plane. You can wait inside, you'll be out of sight."

"Okay." Faith got up and took the bag from the baggage compartment. "Wait here, sweetie," she told Hope, and went to the front of the children. "Okay, I want you to get up and line up. Take your stuff from the bag, and then wait for me at the exit."

The children did as they were told, and Faith went to get Hope. She picked her up and returned to the bag.

"Can you pick it up, please," she told Danny, who was the last. "Thanks," she said when Danny gave her the bag.

The she followed the children.

"Stay behind me," she said when she reached the exit.

She took the lead, and the children followed her.

They went down the corridor, until they reached one of the stewardesses.

"Wait here," she said, "you'll be seen, if you go further."

Faith put Hope down, and dropped the bag.

"Are their parents here?"

"Yes, and so are the reporters."

Faith sighed.

"Okay." She looked at the children. "Okay, kids, looks like this is it. Your parents are here and they'll take care of you."

"Will we ever see you again?" Henry asked.

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe."

Then the chief stewardess returned.

"The parents and the reporters are here," she reported. "I also found Detective Lockley."

"Okay," Faith said. She looked at the children. "Okay, go now."

Jenny hugged her.

"I'll miss you."

Faith gulped, feeling touched.

"I'll miss you too."

The other children hugged her as well, and then they hugged Hope as well.

"I'll make sure you have a clear way," the chief stewardess said.

"Thanks," Faith said.

"Bye, Faith," Debbie said as they started to leave.

"Bye!" the others called as well.

"Bye," Faith said, feeling her throat tighten.

"Where are they going, Mommy?" Hope asked.

Faith kneeled beside her.

"Home."

"Home?"

"To their parents."

"What about us?"

Faith smiled.

"We are a family."

Hope smiled, and Faith ruffled her hair.

Faith then picked up the bag, and then Hope. She peeked around the corner and watched as the children were reunited with their parents. She wished she had someone to come home to. Except Hope, of course.

A few minutes later, Detective Lockley finally arrived. She opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it again, surprised, when she saw that Faith had a child and only one arm.

"Hi," Faith said.

"Hi," Kate said. "Uh…"

"Yes, she's mine," Faith said. "I lost the arm in the crash."

"Oh." Kate thought for a moment. "How did you end up on the island?"

"I'll tell you later. Can you get us out of here without the reporters and the kids noticing?"

"Yes. Come."

"So, you decided to turn yourself in?" Kate said as they drove down the highway.

"Yeah," Faith said, keeping an eye on Hope, who was staring out the window, wide-eyed.

"Why?"

Faith sighed.

"I want to stop running. I wanted to turn myself in three years ago, but I got captured by the second team."

"How did you end up on the island?"

Faith shrugged.

"Apparently they wanted to smuggle me out of the country in a box. I don't know why they sent me west instead of east."

"I see."

Faith thought for a moment.

"Can Hope stay with me until I find someone to take care of her?"

Kate glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"I think so."

"Thanks."

"Does Angel know?"

Faith shook her head.

"No." She hesitated for a moment. "Can you call him later and tell him to come down to the station? I don't want the others to know I'm back."

"Okay."

When they got to the station, Kate took Faith to the interrogation room. Faith asked her to get Hope some paper and something to write with to occupy her while she was giving her statement.

"Uh, do you want me to leave out the, eh, supernatural stuff?" Faith asked when Hope started to draw.

"No, I want to hear the whole story. We'll record the edited story later."

Faith sighed.

"Okay."

When Faith was done, Kate took her and Hope to a cell. She let Faith take some papers and a pen for Hope to draw with. Then she went to call Angel.

When Angel arrived, Faith could feel him before she could see him. She looked toward the bars expectantly.

"Faith," Angel said, surprised, when he saw her.

Faith smiled a little.

"Hey."

Then Angel noticed Hope and he frowned.

"Uh…"

"She's mine," Faith said.

Angel raised an eyebrow.

"I'll leave you two alone," Kate said and left.

"How… Where… I mean…" Angel started.

"There was a second team," Faith said. "They captured me before I could get to Kate."

"Oh. Where did they take you?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know where they wanted to take me, but they were headed to Hawaii. Then the plane crashed and I got stuck on an island."

"Oh." He glanced at Hope. "And her?"

Faith smiled at Hope affectionately, and then looked at Angel again, her smile gone.

"I think they raped me while I was drugged."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Faith sighed.

"Yeah. I didn't know if I should be mad at them or thankful."

"Mommy?" Hope said, curious.

Faith smiled at her.

"Sweetie, this is Uncle Angel. He's a very good friend of mine." She looked at Angel. "Her name is Hope."

Angel smiled at Hope.

"Hello, Hope."

"Hi," Hope said shyly.

Faith thought for a moment.

"How's B?"

"Okay, I guess. She died."

Faith's eyes went wide.

"She's dead?"

"No, Willow resurrected her."

"Oh," Faith said, confused. "How… How did she die?"

"She was protecting Dawn."

"Oh."

Angel hesitated for a moment.

"Mrs Summers is dead too."

Faith's eyes went wide again.

"What? How?"

"Aneurysm."

Faith sighed.

"How did Buffy and Dawn take it?"

"They were crushed, but they got over it."

"Oh." Faith took a deep breath. "Anything else I should know?"

Angel smiled a little.

"You know, apocalypses. They came, they went."

Faith smiled back.

"Yeah."

"I lost my soul for a while, but I got it back."

"Yeah?"

"And I got a son."

Faith blinked.

"Uh…"

"No, it's not Buffy's."

"Whose then?"

"Darla."

Faith frowned.

"Darla?"

"Yes."

"But…"

"We're both vamps, I know. Don't ask."

"Okay."

"Anyway, he was kidnapped by an old enemy of mine and spent years in a hellish dimension. Now he's back and he hates me. "

"Oh. Sorry."

"Yeah. Oh, Cordelia's a higher being."

Faith frowned.

"Higher being?"

"She had to become part demon so her visions didn't kill her. Then she got some extra powers and went upstairs for a while."

"Wow. Seems like I missed a lot."

Angel glanced at Hope.

"Seems like you've been through a lot."

Faith raised her stump and looked at it.

"Yeah."

"When did you lose the arm?" Angel asked, surprised, because he hadn't notice it before.

"During the crash."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Faith shrugged.

"I got used to it." She thought for a moment. "What is she like? Cordelia."

"She's changed a lot from the high and mighty queen of Sunnydale High."

Faith smiled a little.

"I thought so." She looked at Hope, hesitating. "Do… Do you think… Do you think she could take care of Hope while I'm in jail?" she asked, and looked back at Angel.

Angel raised an eyebrow.

"Cordelia?"

"Yes."

Angel thought for a moment.

"I suppose. Why her?"

"I don't know anyone else. And besides, you're a bit too close to the action. Plus, she's a higher being and stuff."

Angel nodded.

"I'll ask her."

"No. Just bring her here. Don't even tell her you're taking her to see me. In fact, don't tell anyone I'm back."

"Okay. I'll go get her."

"Thanks."

Angel looked at Hope.

"Bye, Hope."

Hope looked at him.

"Bye, Uncle Angel."

Angel smiled and left.

Faith looked at Hope.

"Come here, sweetie."

Hope, who was lying on her stomach, drawing, got up and went to Faith, who sat her in her lap.

"Look, Mommy," she said and showed Faith the drawing.

Faith smiled.

"You like drawing?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Good." She hesitated for a moment. "Do you know why we're here?"

"Where?"

"Here, in this cell."

Hope looked around and then shook her head.

"Uh-uh."

"Because I was a bad girl before you were born."

Hope's eye went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes. And because I did some really bad things, I'll have to stay here for a while. I mean, not here, but in another cell."

"Oh."

"But I don't want you to stay here."

"Why not?"

"Because there will be a lot of other women with me and they don't all regret what they had done. And besides, there are no children there, so you would be bored. That's why I was thinking you could live with Auntie Cordelia for a while."

"I wanna stay with you," Hope said, scared, and hugged her.

Faith hugged her back.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie, I'm not leaving you. And you'll like Auntie Cordelia. Plus, she can bring you to visit me and I can call you on the phone. And when I'm done with my sentence, I'll come back to you."

Hope looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Promise?"

Faith smiled.

"I promise," she said and gave her a peck on the nose, making her smile a little. "And guess what, Auntie Cordelia has a ghost," she said conspiratorially.

"What's that?" Hope asked, curious.

"Well, when people die, sometimes their spirits stay behind, especially when they have unfinished business. That's what happened to Cordelia's ghost. Now he lives in her apartment. And guess what, he's invisible."

"Really?" Hope said, wide-eyed.

"Yes. But he can move stuff."

"Oh."

"And Auntie Cordelia can buy you pretty clothes and some toys."

"Toys?"

"Yes, like Miss Spots. And crayons."

"What's that?"

"It's for drawing. And they're of different colors, so that everything is not blue. And guess what, you can draw pictures for me while I'm away."

"Pictures?"

"Sure. Whatever you like. You can draw you and me, and your aunties and uncles from the island. Or Uncle Angel and Auntie Cordelia."

"But I wanna stay with you."

Faith touched Hope's forehead with her own.

"Me too, sweetie." She kissed her on the forehead. "Me too."

When Angel finally brought Cordelia, Faith could hear Cordelia give Angel an earful the moment they entered the detention area. She smiled, in some ways, Cordelia was still the old Cordelia.

"Faith," Cordelia said, surprised, when she saw Faith.

"Hey."

"Uh…" Cordelia said when she saw Hope.

"This is my daughter, Hope." Faith looked at Hope. "Sweetie, this is Auntie Cordelia."

Faith got up, holding Hope, and stepped closer to the bars.

"What happened to your arm?" Cordelia asked when she saw Faith's stump.

"I lost it." Faith sighed. "I'll let Angel tell you."

"Oh."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Uh, I know we're not friends, but, eh, would you take care of Hope while I'm in jail?"

Cordelia blinked, surprised. She looked at Angel, and then back at Faith.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why me?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know anyone. Plus, I hear you're a higher being now." She hesitated for a moment. "I think Hope would be safe with you."

"Uh…" Cordelia said, surprised.

"Please?" Faith added, feeling desperate.

Cordelia stared at her for a few moments and then looked at Hope, who was staring at her curiously. She smiled.

"Hello."

Hope smiled back.

"Hello. Mommy said you have a ghost."

Cordelia's smile widened.

"I do."

Hope's eyes went wide.

"What's it like?"

"He's nice. He helps me around the house and he keeps me company."

"It's a boy?"

"A young man."

"Is he really invisible?"

"Yes."

"Then how do you know where he is?"

"He moves stuff to let me know where he is."

"Oh." Hope thought for a few moments. "Are you gonna take care of me while Mommy stays here?"

Cordelia glanced at Faith.

"Do you want me to?"

"I wanna stay with Mommy," Hope said and hugged Faith.

"It's okay, sweetie," Faith said, worried that Cordelia wouldn't take Hope.

Cordelia stared at her for a few moments.

"You've changed."

"Yes," Faith said.

Cordelia looked at Hope. She didn't like Faith, but she could see that Faith had changed and that she was worried about Hope. She sighed. She didn't really want to be responsible for a little girl, but she couldn't leave her here either.

"Okay," she agreed.

Faith gulped.

"Thanks."

Kate cam closer and unlocked the cell.

"Okay, sweetie, you're gonna go with Auntie Cordelia now."

"No! I wanna stay with you!" Hope said and hugged Faith tightly.

"Shh, it's okay, sweetie," Faith said. "You'll come visit me." She thought for a moment. "Think of it as going to kindergarten or school."

Hope looked at her.

"School?"

"Yes. When you're older you'll go to kindergarten and then to school. We'll be separated then as well. And now you're going with Auntie Cordelia and you'll also learn new things, just like in school."

"But I wanna stay with you."

Faith smiled.

"I know. I wanna stay with you too, but I can't." She gave her a peck on the nose. "Be brave, sweetie. For me."

Hope looked at Cordelia, who was staring at Faith, surprised by her openness.

Cordelia looked at Hope and smiled.

"So, you ready to have some fun?" she asked.

"Fun?" Hope asked.

"Sure. First of all, we're gonna get you some clothes."

"Clothes?"

"Sure. You can't go around in just that t-shirt."

"Why not?"

Cordelia smiled.

"Because this is a city and people dress here. Don't worry, we'll get you some pretty clothes, you'll like them."

"Go on, sweetie," Faith said and moved closer to Cordelia, who reached out with her arms.

Hope hesitated for a few moments, reluctant to leave her mother, but then she let Cordelia take her.

"Hey," Cordelia said with a smile.

"Don't tell anyone she's mine," Faith said. "Or that I'm back."

"Why?" Cordelia asked.

"The Council is after me, I don't want them to use her against me."

"Oh. Okay."

"Thanks."

Faith put Hope's pictures in the bag and then picked it up.

"Here," she said and gave the bag to Angel. "Hope's papers are in it."

"Okay," Angel said.

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Bye, sweetie," she then said and caressed Hope. "Have fun. I want to hear all about it when you come to visit me. And you can bring me pictures too, but you'll have to keep them for a while, until I go to a different cell."

"Okay," Hope said with a smile.

"Let's have fun," Cordelia said and left.

"Bye, sweetie," Faith said and waved after her.

"Bye, Mommy," Hope waved back.

Faith then stepped back and let Kate lock the cell. She stared after Hope until she was gone. Then she sat down and closed her eyes. A couple of tears came running down her cheek, but she let them. She was terrified and she hoped she was doing the right thing.

After taking Hope shopping, Cordelia took Hope home.

"Where do you want me to put the bag?" Angel asked.

"On the sofa."

Angel went to the sofa and put down the bag.

"Are you sure you can manage?" he asked Cordelia.

"Don't worry," Cordelia said. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem." He looked at Hope. "Bye, Hope."

"Bye, Uncle Angel," Hope said.

Angel looked at Cordelia.

"Bye," he said.

"Bye."

Angel left, closing the door.

"Dennis!" Cordelia called.

The curtains moved.

"Ah, there you are. Dennis, this is Hope. Hope, this is Dennis."

"The ghost?" Hope asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes."

"I can't see him."

Cordelia smiled.

"I know. But you saw the curtain move, right?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"That was him."

"Oh." Suddenly Hope jerked, startled. "I think he touched me," she said, excited.

Cordelia smiled and looked at the air.

"Dennis, I'll be taking care of Hope for a while, just so you know."

The curtains moved.

"Okay." Cordelia looked at Hope, who yawned. "Tired?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"How about we get you ready for bed then."

"Okay."

"Miss Spots!" Hope said when Cordelia covered her.

"Who?" Cordelia said, startled.

"Miss Spots."

Cordelia went to the living room and fetched the bag. She opened it and looked inside.

"This?" she asked and took out the doll.

"Uh-huh," Hope said with a smile, and took it. "Mommy made it for me," she said, hugging it.

Cordelia took out the rest of the stuff, Hope's drawings, the birth certificate and the photo from the island.

"Who are they?" she asked and showed the photo to Hope.

"My aunties and uncles," Hope said. "From the island."

"Oh, right. Where are they now?"

"They went home."

"Oh." Cordelia put the stuff back in the bag and then put the bag down. "Okay, ready to go to bed?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Cordelia caressed her.

"Sweet dreams then."

"Where will you be?"

"I'll be up for a while."

"I want my mommy," Hope said.

Cordelia thought for a moment.

"Want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Okay," Cordelia said and took Hope's hand. "Sweet dreams."

The next day, Cordelia took Hope to see Faith.

"Mommy!" Hope called, excited, when they got to Faith's cell.

Faith got up, smiling widely.

"Hey, sweetie."

She went to the bars, kneeled, and hugged Hope tightly.

"I missed you, Mommy," Hope said.

"I missed you too, sweetie."

"Can we go inside?" Cordelia asked Kate.

Faith let go of Hope and looked at Kate.

"Okay," Kate agreed after a few moments.

"Step aside, honey," Cordelia said.

Hope backed off, and Kate opened the cell.

"How long do you need?" Kate asked.

Cordelia glanced at Faith.

"An hour?"

Kate thought about it.

"Okay. But you'll be locked up."

"Okay."

"Mommy!" Hope said, excited, and went inside.

Faith picked her up.

"Hey," she said with a smile and kissed her on the forehead.

Cordelia followed her.

"Can I call you if Hope needs to pee?" she asked Kate.

"Sure," Kate said and locked the cell.

Faith sat down with Hope in her lap.

"You look really pretty in those clothes," she said.

Hope smiled.

"Auntie Cordy bought them for me."

Faith glanced at Cordelia, who had sat next to her.

"Yes, she know what looks good on people."

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh. She got me other clothes too. And toys!"

Faith smiled.

"Sounds like you had fun."

"Uh-huh. And I met Dennis too."

"Dennis?"

"Auntie Cordy's ghost."

"Oh."

"He's invisible."

"I know."

"Ooh! I drew some pictures! Auntie Cordy bought me some cra… cra…"

"Crayons," Faith said.

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh," she said and took the pictures that Cordelia had taken from her bag. "Look."

Cordelia quietly watched as Hope showed Faith the drawings and explained them. She was surprised by how focused Faith was and how seriously she listened to Hope. If she'd had any doubts before, now she was sure that Faith had changed. She had to admit that it was nice to see Faith so open.

An hour later, Kate returned.

"It's time," she said when Faith looked at her.

Faith sighed and looked at Hope.

"Okay, sweetie, time to go now."

"Already?"

"Yes. You'll come back tomorrow."

"Come," Cordelia said and reached out with her hand.

Hope took her hand and Faith put her down.

"Bye, sweetie," she said and caressed her.

She leaned closer and kissed her on the forehead.

"Bye, Mommy."

Faith smiled.

"Have fun."

"Okay."

"Come," Cordelia said and led her out of the cell.

Faith followed them to the bars.

"Bye, Mommy!" Hope called and waved at her as she and Cordelia walked down the hall.

"Bye, sweetie!" Faith called after her, waving as well.

She stared after then until they were gone, and then went back to the bench and sat down.

Two weeks later, thanks to some help from Kate, Faith was finally tried.

"Mommy!" Hope called, excited, when Faith came into the courtroom.

Faith smiled and waved at her, nervous.

"Shh," Cordelia said. "We need to be quiet now, because those people will decide how long your mommy will be away," Cordelia said and pointed at the jurors.

"Really?" Hope said quietly.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Cordelia looked at Angel.

"At least there's no one from Wolfram & Hart here."

"Yes," Angel agreed, looking around.

The trial went by quickly. Faith pleaded guilty and was questioned. She told her story like Kate had suggested, leaving out all the supernatural stuff, and, of course, Buffy. She still found it difficult to tell the story, but not as difficult as before, because now she wasn't lying to herself anymore. But then her lawyer mentioned the island. She told the truth, even though she felt like she was cheating, because she knew that the jurors would be impressed. Fortunately, the lawyer didn't call any of the children, she didn't want them to see her on trial.

"Mommy!" Hope called when Cordelia brought her to visit while the jury was deciding her fate.

Faith smiled.

"Hey, sweetie," she said.

She picked her up and kissed on the forehead.

"How long will you be away?" Hope asked.

"I don't know yet, the jury's still deciding."

"Oh."

Faith sat down.

"And? How are you, sweetie?"

"I miss you," Hope said.

Faith smiled.

"I miss you too," she said and rubbed her nose against Hope's, making her giggle.

The jury decided pretty quickly and Faith wasn't sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. The only thing she was certain of was that they would find her guilty.

And that's what happened. On one hand, Faith felt relieved, but on the other hand, she was worried about Hope. She looked at her feet, her eyes closed, and fought back the tears. But then the presiding juror went on and recommended a parole and counseling. Faith opened her eyes and looked at the man, surprised.

"But…"

Then she looked at the judge, trying not to get her hopes up.

The judge stared at her for a few moments and then agreed. He thanked the jury, declared Faith's sentence and left.

Faith sat down, surprised. She didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she felt guilty she got off too easily, but on the other, she was relieved, because she could be with Hope.

"Congratulations," her lawyer said.

Faith looked at her.

"Uh, thanks."

"Mommy!" Hope called when Cordelia brought her to her.

Faith looked at her.

"Come here," she said and hugged her tightly.

"Why are you crying?" Hope asked when Faith let go of her.

Faith wiped her tears.

"Because I'm happy."

"Oh."

"I won't have to go away, I'll stay with you."

Hope's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

Faith smiled.

"Really."

Hope hugged her, relieved, and Faith kissed her on the top of the head.

"Congratulations," Angel said.

Faith looked at him.

"Thanks."

"You'll have to come with me so we can take care of the paperwork," Faith's lawyer said.

Faith looked at her.

"Can they come with me?"

"Sure."

When they got to Cordelia's apartment, Angel left.

"Mommy, look, that's Dennis," Hope said when the curtains moved. "Dennis, this is my mommy. She's staying with me now."

The curtains moved again.

"Uh, hi," Faith said. She looked at Cordelia. "Where can I change?"

"In my bedroom, over there. I'll get you some clothes."

"I got mine."

"I threw them away."

"What?" Faith said, upset.

"Faith, they were old and they didn't fit you anymore. Come, you can pick some of my old clothes."

"I don't wear skirts."

Cordelia gave her a once over.

"You look good in that one." She looked at Hope. "Doesn't she?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Faith looked at herself.

"I don't feel comfortable in it."

"Oh. I got pants too. Come."

Faith hesitated for a moment and then followed Cordelia.

"You have your clothes in a box?" she asked with a frown, when Cordelia started opening some boxes.

"These are my old clothes. I was gonna give them to Anne, but I haven't gotten around to do it."

"Anne?"

"Yes, she runs a shelter for kids."

"Oh."

"I might as well let you have them."

"Uh…"

"Relax," Cordelia said, guessing what Faith's problem was. "I don't want anything in return."

Faith sighed.

"Thanks."

"Just pick what you like."

"Okay."

Cordelia looked at Hope.

"Why don't you help your mommy pick something nice to wear."

"Okay," Hope said, excited by the prospect of helping her mother, and ran to the boxes.

“Look, Auntie Cordy!” Hope called, excited, when she and Faith came from the bedroom. “Isn’t Mommy pretty?”

Cordelia smiled and checked Faith out.

“Yes,” she agreed. She thought for a moment. “We’ll need to do something about that sleeve. Some sort of band or something.”

Faith looked at her dangling right sleeve.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go get something to eat. We can take care of the band on the way.”

“Uh, I don’t have any money,” Faith pointed out.

“Don’t worry about it, my treat.”

“Uh, okay,” Faith said.

“Can we get ice cream?” Hope asked, excited.

Cordelia smiled at her.

“Sure.”

After they ordered, Faith stared out the window, thinking.

“Everything okay?” Cordelia asked her.

Faith looked at her and sighed.

“I don’t know.” She looked out the window. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Do?”

Faith looked at her.

“Yeah. I mean, on the island, I knew what to do. Even if I couldn’t do it myself, I could tell the kids how to do it. Here, I can’t really do much with just one hand. I mean, I can fight, but that’s it. Plus, I need money to buy stuff and I can’t get that without a job. And I can’t get a job without education, which is kinda hard to get with only one arm.”

Cordelia realized that Faith was scared.

“You can stay at my place,” she offered.

“Where?”

“I have a spare bedroom, remember?”

“Oh.”

“And I’m sure Angel can give you a job.”

“I’d prefer a job that’s not related to slaying.”

“Oh.”

Faith hesitated for a few moments.

“Uh, thanks for taking care of Hope.”

Cordelia smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

Faith hesitated again.

“And I’m sorry, you know, for hitting you.”

“I know. I think I understand. It’s okay.”

“Thanks.”

Cordelia smiled.

"So, how about we go to Angel later? You can train a little."

"I'm pretty sure Hope will need a nap."

"I know. She can sleep there, she's done that before."

"Oh. Okay."

When they entered the Hyperion, Faith looked around, a bit nervous.

"Hi, Hope!"

Faith looked at the young woman.

"Hi, Auntie Fred," Hope said, excited. "This is my mommy."

"Hi," Fred said with a smile.

"Uh, hi," Faith said.

Then Wesley came.

"Faith," he said, surprised.

Faith tensed and looked at him.

"Wes."

"Hi, Uncle Wesley," Hope said. "This is my mommy."

"What?" Wes said, surprised, and glanced at her.

"My mommy!" Hope said, excited. "She's gonna stay with me now."

"Oh." Then Wes finally noticed that Faith only had one arm. "What happened to your arm?"

"I lost it."

"Oh."

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Oh, brother," she said.

"Wait! You're Faith!" Fred finally figured it out.

Everyone looked at her.

"Uh, yeah?" Faith said.

"No! I mean, of course you're Faith. I mean, you're that Faith, from the island."

"Oh."

"Island?" Wes asked.

"Don't you read the papers?" Cordelia asked.

"Uh, I do. I just don't… Oh," he finally figured it out.

"Yes, oh," Cordelia said.

Wes then realized something.

"Wait! You knew Faith was back?"

"Yes."

"And Angel?"

"Yes."

"Why the secrecy?"

"Faith didn't want the Council to use Hope to get to her."

"Where was she?"

"In jail."

Wes glanced at Faith, surprised.

"Jail?"

"Yes, she turned herself in when they got back."

Wes glanced at Faith again.

"Then what is she doing here?"

"She got off on parole and counseling."

"Oh."

"She'll be staying with me for a while."

"I see." Wesley thought for a few moments, trying to absorb the news. Then he looked at Faith. "How did you get to the island?"

"There was another Council team."

"Oh." Wes thought for a moment. "And her?" he asked, nodding at Hope.

"They raped me."

"Oh," Wes said, surprised.

Hope felt that something wasn't quite right.

"Mommy?" she asked, looking up at Faith.

Faith looked at her and smiled.

"Everything's okay, sweetie."

"Is Angel here?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes," Fred said. "I'll go get him."

Hope let go of Faith's hand and ran to Wes.

"Uncle Wes, a story," she said, looking up at him hopefully.

"Uh," Wes said, uncertain, and looked at Faith.

Faith looked at Cordelia questioningly.

"He's been telling her stories," Cordelia explained.

"Oh." Faith looked at Wes. She hesitated for a moment. "Just… Just treat her like you've treated her so far," she then said.

Wes hesitated for a few moments. Then he picked up Hope.

"Okay, what kind of story would you like to hear?" he asked as he carried her away.

Faith breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's he like?" she asked Cordelia.

"Wes? Okay, I guess. Hope likes him."

"Faith," Angel said as he arrived.

Faith looked at him.

"Hey."

"How do you feel?"

Faith shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. I'm still getting used to not having to run."

Angel smiled.

"Feel like practicing?"

"Sure."

After she and Angel stopped practicing, Faith went to check up on Hope. She smiled when she saw she was with Cordelia, who was showing her something on the computer.

"Mommy, look!" Hope said, excited when she saw Faith.

Faith came closer, smiling.

"Having fun?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Good." Faith hesitated for a moment. "Where's Wes?" she asked Cordelia.

"In the kitchen," Cordelia said.

"Thanks."

Faith took a deep breath and then went to the kitchen.

When Wes stopped putting something back in the fridge and found Faith standing at the door, her jerked, startled.

"Uh, Faith," he said.

"Hey," Faith said. She hesitated for a moment and then moved a couple of steps closer. "Uh, I'm sorry for torturing you," she said, nervous.

Wes stared at her for a few moments, surprised.

"Yes, eh, well…" Wes cleared his throat, thinking for a moment. "I'm sorry too. If I had handled the situation differently after, eh, after Mr Finch…"

Faith smiled a little.

"Looks like we both messed up."

"Uh, yes."

They stared at one another for a few moments.

"Uh, I'll see you around," Faith then said.

"Okay."

Faith left, and Wes took a deep breath.

A week later, Willow called Angel and asked him for help. Angel decided to get Faith involved.

"Faith," he said when he found her in the gym.

Faith stopped and looked at him.

"Willow called," Angel said.

"So?"

"Buffy needs your help."

Faith tensed.

"She knows I'm back?"

"No. Willow asked me to help, but I thought you could help instead."

"Me? I only have one arm."

Angel smiled.

"That didn't stop you from kicking my ass."

"I…"

"And besides, it concerns you."

"How?"

"The First is killing off Potentials."

Faith frowned.

"Potentials?"

"Girls that could become Slayers."

"Oh."

"And when it's done killing them, it will come after you and Buffy."

Faith sighed.

"I… I don't wanna leave Hope."

"I know. We'll protect her while you're gone."

"I know. I just… I just don't like leaving her." She sighed. "I need to think about it."

"Okay."

Angel left.

Faith went to the bench and sat down. She knew she should go help Buffy and a part of her wanted her to go, but on the other hand, she didn't want to meet Buffy again, because she knew they would only fight. Not to mention that she didn't want to leave Hope alone. She knew Angel would protect her, she just didn't like not being able to protect Hope.

After she made her decision, she went to find Hope.

"Sweetie, I need to talk to you," she said when she found her outside, coloring.

She sat beside her, and Hope sat up. Faith put her arm around her.

"Sweetie, I'm gonna have to go for a while," she said after a few moments of hesitation.

Hope's eyes went wide.

"I don't want you to go," she said and hugged her.

Faith kissed her on the top of the head.

"I know, sweetie, I don't want to go either, but I have to. You see, a… a friend of mine needs help. She's a Slayer like me and I have to go help her defeat some evil thing."

Hope looked at her.

"Really?"

"Yes. Because if I don't, that evil thing might come here too and I don't want it to hurt you."

"Oh."

"I'll call you every day, okay?"

"When are you gonna come back?"

"As soon as we defeat that evil thing. I hope no more than a week. Auntie Cordy will take care of you while I'm gone."

"Okay," Hope said and hugged her.

Faith kissed her on the top of the head again.

"I love you, sweetie."

"You okay?" Angel asked when he and Faith arrived to the Summers house.

Faith sighed.

"Just nervous."

Angel smiled.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay."

Faith made a face.

"After Buffy and I have a fight, yeah." She looked at Angel. "Don't tell her where I've been."

"She'll find out eventually. Especially when you take that jacket off and she sees you only have one arm."

"I know."

"Okay."

Angel rang the bell.

"Angel," Willow said with a smile when she opened the door. Then she saw Faith and her smile faded. "Faith."

"Hey," Faith said.

"I thought she might help you instead," Angel said. "Can we come in?"

"Uh, sure," Willow said and stepped aside.

Angel and Faith entered, and Willow closed the door.

"Angel," Buffy said when she saw Angel.

"Hello, Buffy," Angel said.

Then Buffy noticed Faith. She stared at her for a few moments, surprised.

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought she might help you instead of me," Angel explained.

Buffy glanced at him.

"Her? Where the hell have you been? Angel nearly died in that cell."

"Buffy…" Angel tried to calm her.

"Don't Buffy me," Buffy said, upset. "Where have you been?"

"I was taking a vacation," Faith said, upset because Buffy was upset, and immediately regretted it, knowing she had just upset Buffy more.

"What?" Buffy said.

"Look, I'm here to help," Faith said. "But if you feel you can take care of the First on your own, I'm out of here."

"Running away again?"

"Look, do you need my help or not?" Faith said, tired of the argument.

Buffy glared at her for a few moments and then looked at Angel.

"Why the hell did you bring her? Where did you find her anyway?"

"I bought her because it's a Slayer problem you're dealing with and because I have other things to worry about," Angel said.

"What? And I'm supposed to trust her?"

"Yes."

"In your dreams."

Faith made a fist in her pocket, wondering when the argument would stop.

"Look, I have other things to take care of," Angel said. "If you don't want Faith's help, I'll take her with me."

Buffy crossed her arms and glared at Faith.

"Fine," she finally decided. "She can stay."

"Good." Angel looked at Faith. "Good luck."

Faith smiled a little.

"Thanks." She hesitated for a moment. "And…"

"I will," Angel interrupted her, knowing what she wanted. "Don't worry."

"Thanks."

Angel looked at Buffy, who was confused by their short conversation.

"Bye, Buffy." He glanced at Faith. "You can trust her."

Angel left.

Faith looked around and saw everyone was staring at her, the Potentials curiously, the Scoobs hostilely.

"Hi," she said to the Potentials. She hesitated for a moment and then looked at Dawn. "Hey. Sorry about your mom, she was one cool lady."

Dawn opened and closed her mouth, surprised. And much to her surprise, she could see it in Faith's eyes that she meant it.

Faith looked at Buffy.

"Where do I sleep?"

Buffy glared at her for a few moments.

"Come," she said and led the way upstairs.

Faith followed her. She was a bit nervous, because she knew Buffy had more to say.

"Here," Buffy said when they got to a room.

Faith took off her bag and put it on the bed.

"Don't think I trust you," Buffy said. "I don't know how you managed to trick Angel to trust you. I'm gonna keep my eye on you."

Faith didn't respond. She went to the window and looked out.

"Did you hear me?" Buffy asked, annoyed.

"Yes, I heard you," Faith said, not looking at her.

Buffy stared at her for a few moments, angry, and then left.

Faith then took a deep breath. So far so good, but she knew that there would be questions later, especially when they saw she only had one arm.

She took off her jacket and went to the bathroom.

"You're letting her stay?" Xander asked when Buffy came downstairs.

"We need her help," Buffy said.

"You don't trust her, do you?"

"No. I'll keep my eye on her."

"Does Faith only have one arm?" Rona, who had come downstairs after Buffy, asked.

Everyone looked at her.

"Faith?" Buffy asked. "No. Why?"

"I saw her go to the bathroom. She's missing her right forearm."

"She has both arms," Dawn said. "I mean, we all saw it." She frowned. "Right?"

"She had her hands in her pockets, so… I don't know," Willow said.

When Faith came downstairs, everyone was staring at her.

"What?" she said, annoyed.

"What happened to your arm?" Dawn asked.

"I lost it," Faith said.

"How?"

Faith sighed.

"It got crushed so badly I had to cut it off."

"Oh."

Faith went to the phone and started dialing.

"What are you doing?" Buffy demanded.

Faith looked at her.

"Making a phone call?"

"On my phone?"

Faith put down the receiver and went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked.

"To find a payphone," Faith said and opened the door.

"Wait!" Buffy said, annoyed. "You can use the phone."

"Thanks," Faith said and went back to the phone. "Do you mind?" she asked when Buffy stared at her.

Buffy glared at her and left.

Faith then called Cordelia.

"Hello?" Cordelia answered.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh, hi."

"Is Hope still up?"

"Yes, she insisted. Hold on."

"Okay."

Faith looked around to make sure no one was listening.

"Faith?" Cordelia said after a few moments.

"Yeah?"

"Here's Hope."

"Mommy?" Hope said after a few moments.

"Yes, sweetie. You okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Faith could hear Hope yawn.

"Sleepy?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well then, I'll make it short. I just called to tell you that I've arrived."

"Okay."

"Good night, sweetie. Sweet dreams."

"Night, Mommy."

"Give me Auntie Cordy now."

"Okay."

"Hello?" Cordelia said.

"Hey."

"How did it go?"

"She yelled."

"Of course. Did she figure out where you've been?"

"Not yet. She just found out I'm missing an arm."

"Oh. Good luck."

"Thanks. Good night."

"Night."

Faith put down the receiver and turned around.

"What?" she said, annoyed, when she saw that everyone was staring at her. She looked at Buffy. "Can you tell me more about the First? Angel only told me the basics."

"Okay," Buffy said. "Let's go outside."

Faith followed Buffy out.

"How long was Faith absent?" one of the younger Potentials asked when they were gone.

"Three years or so," Willow said. "Why?"

The girl ran to the newspapers and quickly leafed through some of the older ones.

"You don't think she's that Faith?" Rona asked.

"What Faith?" Xander asked, confused.

Rona looked at him.

"A couple of weeks ago, there was a story in the papers about some kids being rescued after being stranded on an island for three years," she said. "They all talked about an older girl named Faith, but no one knows who she is since she sneaked out at the airport."

"Got it!" the girl said. She quickly scanned the article. "She's also missing her right forearm. And she has a daughter named Hope."

"Daughter? Faith?" Xander said.

"Yes."

Willow went to the phone and pressed redial.

"Hello?" Cordelia answered.

Willow frowned.

"Cordelia?"

There was a brief pause.

"Willow?"

"Why did Faith call you?"

Cordelia hesitated for a moment.

"Is there a reason she shouldn't?"

"No. It's just… Does she have a daughter?"

Cordelia guessed what was going on.

"You'll have to ask her that."

"So you know she's back."

"Of course I know."

"Where was she?"

"Why don't you ask her? I mean, she's there, right?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"We did. She said she was taking a vacation."

Cordelia chuckled.

"Let me guess, Buffy confronted her and demanded where she was."

"Yes."

"Thought so. You might… Dennis!" There was a brief pause. "Oh. I have to go, Willow."

"Uh, okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Willow put down the receiver.

"What did she say?" Dawn asked, curious.

"She was evading," Willow said. She thought for a moment and then looked at the Potential who had made the connection. "I think you might be right."

When Buffy and Faith came back in, everyone stared at Faith, and she guessed that they had figured it out.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

Willow looked at the Potentials who were reading the story.

"Give her the newspaper."

One of the Potentials reluctantly brought the newspaper to Buffy.

Faith sighed and went to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Buffy asked.

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Kitchen," she said. "Don't worry, I'll drink tap water."

Buffy stared at her for a few moments and then looked at the newspaper.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Read it," Willow said.

Buffy quickly read the article and then looked at Willow, surprised.

"You mean Faith was stranded on an island for three years?" she asked.

"Yes."

Buffy glanced at the newspaper.

"And she has a daughter?"

"Yes. I called the number Faith called and guess who answered. Cordelia."

"Cordelia?" Buffy said, surprised.

"Yes. I'm guessing she's taking care of Faith's daughter."

"Cordelia?"

"Yes. She was avoiding the issue."

"Oh."

Buffy gave the newspaper back to the Potential and then went to the kitchen, where she nearly bumped into Faith, who was just leaving.

"Are you that Faith?" Buffy asked.

"Does it matter?" Faith asked.

"It would explain why you just disappeared."

"So?"

Buffy frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"What does it matter to you why I disappeared?

"Well, I…" Buffy started hesitatingly.

"Save it, B, I don't need your pity," Faith interrupted her. She sighed. "You know, when I came here, I knew how you would react, but I still hoped that you might give me the benefit of the doubt before you started yelling. I guess you haven't changed all that much. Or is it just me?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind," Faith interrupted her. She thought for a moment. "Are you going out tonight?"

"Uh, no."

"I'll go take a shower then. If I may."

"Uh, sure."

"Thanks," Faith said sarcastically, and left.

Buffy stood still for a couple of moments, and then left the kitchen.

"What did she say?" Dawn asked.

Buffy looked at Faith, who was going upstairs.

"Nothing much." She thought for a moment. "She didn't say she's that Faith."

"Oh."

"She didn't deny it either."

When Faith left the bathroom, Dawn decided to talk to her. She waited for a few minutes so Faith could dress, and then knocked.

"Yeah?"

"It's me," Dawn said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Dawn entered.

"Hey."

"Did Buffy send you?"

"Uh, no," Dawn said, startled.

Faith sighed. She hesitated for a moment.

"I'm sorry I hurt you back then."

Dawn stared at her for a couple of moments, surprised.

"Uh, why did you?"

Faith shrugged.

"I was pretty messed up. I was scared and I felt guilty, so I drove everyone away. Not to mention that I was angry at Buffy and stuff."

"Oh."

"It's not that I hated you or anything, you just came between me and Buffy, I guess. I'm sorry about that."

Dawn sat on the bed.

"It really hurt, you know."

Faith looked down.

"I know." She sighed and looked back at Dawn. "You and your mom were the only two people here that didn't make me feel like I was the fifth wheel or something. I'm sorry she died." She hesitated for a moment. "Will you show me where she's buried? I wanna pay my respects."

"Uh, sure." Dawn thought for a moment. "You liked her?"

Faith smiled a little.

"Yeah. She believed in me even after I kidnapped her and stuff." She sighed. "I wish I had a mom like that." She hesitated for a moment. "I hope I can be like her as a mom."

"So you are that Faith."

Faith sighed.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you say so?"

Faith shrugged.

"What for? I don't need your pity."

"I don't pity you," Dawn quickly said.

Faith sighed.

"Anyway, as soon as we defeat the First, I'll be going back to LA, so there's really no reason for me to discuss that. Plus, it feels like cheating."

"Cheating?"

"Yeah. You saw how Buffy reacted when I got here. Then she found out I might be that Faith and she almost started to apologize. I don't want that."

"Oh." Dawn thought for a moment. "So you have a daughter?" she asked, curious.

"Yeah."

"But how? I mean, I read that it was only you and the children."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I was raped."

Dawn's eyes went wide.

"What? By who?"

"There was another Council team. They caught me, and they raped me while I was drugged."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Faith shrugged.

"No reason to be, I got the better end of the deal."

Dawn frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I got a daughter, they lost their lives, I think, so I win."

"Oh." Dawn thought for a moment. "But how did you get on that island?"

"They put me in a crate and they sent me somewhere west with that plane."

"And how did you lose your arm?"

Faith glanced at her stump.

"My arm got crushed by a metal pole when we crash-landed. I had to cut it off."

Dawn's eyes went wide.

"You cut off your own arm?"

"No, I had one of the kids do it."

"Oh." Dawn thought again. "Can you fight with one arm?"

"Yes. I trained with Angel and I kicked his ass."

"Oh." Dawn thought for a while. "Do you have a picture of your daughter?" she then asked.

"Sure." Faith grabbed her pants and took out the wallet. She opened it and took out the photo. "Here."

Dawn took it.

"Aww, she's adorable."

Faith smiled.

"Yeah, she's cute."

Dawn returned the photo to Faith.

"How is she getting used to civilization?"

"She's curious about everything. I'm never sure how to explain stuff so she would understand."

Dawn smiled.

"You like being a mom?"

"Yeah. It's a bit scary sometimes, but I love it."

"Scary?"

"Yeah, being responsible for a kid and stuff."

"Oh." Dawn glanced at the clock. "You're going to bed now?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you like to party."

"I do, I just don't feel like it. Plus, I'm kinda used to going to bed early."

"Oh. I'll go then."

"Okay."

Dawn got up and went to the door. There, she thought for a moment and then looked at Faith.

"I'm glad you're back, Faith."

Faith raised an eyebrow, surprised, and then smiled a little.

"Thanks."

Dawn smiled back.

"Night."

"Night."

"Where were you?" Buffy asked when Dawn came downstairs.

"I was talking to Faith."

"What? About what?"

"Stuff."

"Did she tell you if she is that Faith?" Rona asked.

"Yes, she is."

"How did you manage to get her to confess?" Xander asked.

Dawn shrugged.

"We just talked." She smiled. "She showed me a photo of her daughter. She's so sweet."

"How did she get on that island?" Buffy asked.

"She was captured by another Council team."

"Another team?"

"Yes. She said they drugged her, put her in a crate and sent her somewhere west."

"Oh."

"And the baby?" Xander asked.

Dawn hesitated for a moment.

"You do know how babies are made, right?"

A couple of Potentials giggled.

"I know how babies are made," Xander said, blushing a little. "I meant, who is the father?"

"I don't know," Dawn lied. She looked at Buffy. "I think she's changed."

"Faith?" Buffy said.

"Yes. She's… She's more mature."

“Oh.”

The next day, Faith was the first to get up. She dressed up and then went out to practice. When she was done, she went back inside, but she didn’t make herself breakfast, because she didn’t want to piss off Buffy. Not to mention that she would have some problems making breakfast with only one hand. She turned on the TV and watched CNN for a while, but it got boring, so she switched to cartoons.

“You’re early,” Buffy said as she came downstairs.

Faith looked at her.

“I’m used to getting up early.”

“Oh.” Buffy thought for a moment. “Did you eat yet?”

“No.”

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

“Want me to make you something?”

“Okay.”

“What would you like?”

Faith shrugged.

“Whatever you’ll have.”

“Okay,” Buffy said and went to the kitchen.

Faith hesitated for a moment and then went after her. She sat down and quietly waited for breakfast, thinking of Hope.

Buffy glanced at her as she prepared some cereals.

“So, you are that Faith,” she said.

Faith looked at her.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it does.”

“Why?”

Buffy opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again when an answer didn’t come to mind.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “It’s just… I guess it would mean you’re not as bad as everyone thought.”

“You mean as you thought.”

“What do you mean?” Buffy asked, startled.

“Angel didn’t. Nor Dawn or your mom.”

“Oh,” Buffy said and looked away, confused.

She sighed and finished preparing the cereals, thinking about the past.

“Thanks,” Faith said when Buffy gave her the breakfast.

They ate quietly for a while.

“You confuse me, Faith,” Buffy finally admitted.

Faith smiled sadly.

“Sometimes I confuse myself,” she admitted.

“I’m serious, I just don’t know how to… react around you.”

“You sure about that? You always seem to expect the worst of me.”

“That’s not true.”

“No? Remember yesterday?”

“Oh. That’s different. You were gone for three years and then you…”

“You weren’t worried about me, you were worried about what I might have done.”

Buffy sighed, thinking.

“It wasn’t like that at the beginning.”

“No, I was just a competition for your friends’ attention.” Faith sighed. "You know, I really wanted to be your friend," she said. "The problem was, I didn't know how and you didn't care."

"I did," Buffy protested.

"No, you didn't. You just called me when it suited you, otherwise you pretty much ignored me."

"I did not. You always pushed everyone away."

"You didn't even try. How many times did you invite me over to your house? Twice. And that was only because your mom asked you to. We weren't even friends."

"We were," Buffy objected.

"Really? I heard Willow went to the dark side. Did she try to kill you?"

"Yes," Buffy admitted hesitantly.

"You didn't end up stabbing her, did you?"

"Uh, no. That doesn't mean what you did…"

"I'm not trying to make excuses, Buffy,” Faith interrupted her. “I know that what I did was wrong and I'm sorry. But the reason you didn't end up trying to kill Willow is because she's your friend and I'm not." Faith paused. "Look, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about what happened, we both messed up. I think I understand why you acted the way you did and I'm not blaming you. I just hope someday you'll understand why I acted the way I did." She paused for a moment, hesitating. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Buffy."

They stared at one another for a few moments, and then Faith continued to eat.

Buffy stared at her for a few more seconds and then continued to eat herself. She didn’t know what to think. She’d been angry at Faith, but what Faith had said was all true. But the surprising thing was that Faith didn’t seem to want a fight, she didn’t seem to be angry, just… sad. She realized that the three years on the island had changed Faith, made her more mature. And it confused her, because this Faith was so different from the Faith that she had thought she knew. This wasn’t the reckless, happy-go-lucky Faith, this was a mature, responsible Faith who was aware of her mistakes and who regretted them. And now she was confused even more, because again she didn’t know how to treat her. It seemed that whenever Faith was in question, her common sense took leave.

“Morning,” Willow interrupted her thoughts.

Buffy looked at her.

“Morning,” she said and smiled a little.

“Hey,” Faith said.

Willow looked at them, raising an eyebrow.

“Am I missing something?” she asked.

“Why?” Buffy asked.

“Last night you seemed to hate one another and now you’re having breakfast like you’re best friends.”

“Oh.” Buffy shook her head. “We had a talk.”

“Oh.”

Buffy thought for a moment and then looked at Faith.

“How are your fighting skills?”

“I kicked Angel’s butt,” Faith said.

“Really?” Buffy said, surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Uh, feel like practicing?”

“Sure.”

“Okay.”

A week later, after defeating the First, they went to LA.

"What happened?" Wesley asked when they started to bring in the wounded.

"We won," Faith said, "but Sunnydale's gone."

"Gone?"

"Straight to Hell."

"Oh."

"Where's Hope?"

"Upstairs, taking a nap."

"Okay."

Faith looked at the wounded. She couldn't really help them, so she went upstairs. When she entered the room and saw Hope asleep, hugging Miss Spots, she breathed a sigh of relief. She dropped her bag and went around the bed. She caressed Hope and kissed her on the temple. Then she went to the bathroom to take a shower.

When she got out of the shower, Faith dressed and lay beside Hope. She stared at her for a few moments and then caressed her. She kissed her on the top of the head and kept staring at her. She felt like she didn't deserve her, but she was glad she had her, she was her family now.

"How do you feel?" Angel asked when Buffy sat down to rest after the wounded had been taken care of.

Buffy sighed.

"A bit tired."

"How's your wound?"

"Healing." She thought for a moment. "When did you find out Faith was back?"

"The same day she came back to LA."

"She called you?"

"No, Kate did."

"Kate?" Buffy frowned. "That detective?"

"Yes."

"How did she find out?"

"Faith didn't tell you?"

"No."

"Oh."

"So?"

"You'll have to ask Faith."

"We're not exactly on speaking terms. I mean, we talk, but she doesn’t tell me much."

"Sorry, she asked me not to tell you."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised. "Why?"

Angel shrugged.

"I don't know. Were there any problems?"

Buffy shook her head.

"No." She thought for a moment. "So who took care of her baby? Cordelia?"

"Yes."

"How did that happen?"

Angel smiled a little.

"They get along fine."

"Faith and Cordelia?"

"Hope and Cordelia."

"Hope?"

"Faith's daughter."

"Oh. Right."

"She has changed, you know."

Buffy sighed.

"Yeah, I'm getting that."

"Hey," Willow said as she and Kennedy came downstairs.

"Hey," Angel said.

"Dawn and I will be going to our house," Buffy told Angel.

"Okay."

Angel left.

"How do you feel?" Willow asked Buffy.

"Better. Is Dawn still upstairs?"

"Yes."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Can you hack into LAPD?"

Willow frowned.

"LAPD?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Angel said that that detective, Kate something… Lockley! He said she told him Faith was back. I want to know how she found out."

"Oh. Okay."

"Are we going?" Dawn asked as she came downstairs.

"Yes," Buffy said. She looked at Willow. "Thanks."

An hour later, Hope woke up.

"Hey, sweetie," Faith said with a smile when Hope rubbed her eyes.

Hope was immediately awake.

"Mommy!" she said, excited, and hugged her.

"Hey," Faith said and hugged her back.

She rolled so that Hope was on top of her.

"Are you staying now, Mommy?" Hope then asked, straddling her.

"Yes," Faith said with a smile and caressed her. "How are you, sweetie?"

"I missed you, Mommy."

"I missed you too, sweetie. Come here."

Hope hugged Faith again.

"Did you defeat the evil thing?" Hope then asked.

Faith smiled.

"You bet."

Hope squirmed.

"Mommy, pee."

"Okay."

Faith sat up, hugging Hope, and then got up. Then she took Hope to the bathroom.

When they got downstairs, only Willow, Kennedy and a couple of unhurt Potentials were there. They all stared at her curiously. Hope stared back, curious.

"See those girls, sweetie," Faith said. "They're Slayers."

Hope looked at them.

"Like you, Mommy?"

"Yes. They helped me defeat the evil thing. And Willow, the redhead, she's a witch, a good witch."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Hope looked at Willow.

"She can do magic?"

"You bet. She helped us defeat the evil thing."

"Hi," Willow said with a smile when Hope looked at her.

Hope smiled back shyly.

"Hi, Faith," Cordelia said as she came in.

"Hey," Faith said.

"How are you? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Hi, Auntie Cordy," Hope said.

Cordelia smiled.

"Hey, honey." Cordelia took a book from her bag. "Look what I got you. A story book."

Hope's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes. And it has pictures. See?"

Cordelia opened the book and gave it to Hope.

"Thanks," Faith said.

Cordelia smiled.

"I was just in a bookstore when I saw it, so I bought it."

"Will you read me a story, Mommy?" Hope asked.

"Sure. I'll just get me something to eat first," Faith said. "Why don't you sit over there on the sofa and look at the pictures."

"Okay."

Faith put Hope down, and Hope ran to the sofa. Hope climbed on the sofa and started to look at the pictures. Faith smiled.

"You should call Kate," Cordelia then said.

Faith looked at her.

"I know. I'll call her after I eat," she said and went to the kitchen.

Cordelia went after her.

While they were in the kitchen, Buffy and Dawn came in.

"Ooh! Look, Faith's daughter," Dawn said, excited, and went to Hope. "Hi," she said with a smile as she sat beside her.

Hope looked at her.

"Hi."

"I'm Dawn, and you must be Hope."

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"What are you reading?"

"A story book. Auntie Cordy gave it to me."

"And who's this?" Dawn asked and nodded at Miss Spots, who lay beside Hope.

"Miss Spots. Mommy made her for me."

"Where is she?"

"Eating," Hope said and pointed toward the kitchen.

"Want me to read you a story?" Dawn offered.

Hope shook her head.

"Mommy will read me a story after she eats."

"Okay."

"Are you a Slayer too?"

Dawn smiled.

"No, but my sister Buffy is," she said and pointed at Buffy.

"Did she help Mommy defeat the evil thing too?"

"Yes, she did. And me too."

"Really? But you're not a Slayer."

Dawn smiled.

"No, but I can fight. Buffy taught me."

"Mommy taught my aunties and uncles from the island and she said she was gonna teach me too when I'm older."

"I bet she will, she fights real good."

"I know, I saw her practice with Uncle Angel. She won."

"I know." Dawn thought for a moment. "So, I hear you grew up on an island?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Buffy, who had joined Willow and Kennedy, quietly observed Dawn and Hope.

"I never thought Faith was a mother material, but when I saw her with Hope, I realized I was wrong," Willow said.

Buffy looked at her.

"Where is she?"

"In the kitchen."

"Angel?"

"In the gym." Willow hesitated for a moment. "I hacked into LAPD."

"What did you find out?"

"Faith turned herself in."

"What? You're kidding," Buffy said, surprised.

"No. She even stood trial."

"She did?"

"Yes. She pleaded guilty."

"And?"

"She was found guilty, but the judge let her go on parole and counseling."

"Oh."

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"I found out who the father is."

"Who?"

"Someone from the team that captured her."

"What do you mean?"

Willow sighed.

"They raped her while she was unconscious."

"What?"

"Oh, hi, Buffy," Cordelia said as she came from the kitchen.

"Hey."

"What's with the face?"

"The face?"

"You look like you just saw a ghost," Cordelia explained.

"Oh."

"I just told her that Faith had been raped," Willow said.

"Oh."

"You knew?" Buffy said, surprised.

"Yes."

"How did you end up taking care of Hope?" Willow asked, curious.

"She asked me."

"Just like that?"

"I couldn't just leave Hope in jail, could I?"

"Oh. I read in her file that she's staying with you."

"Yes."

"Really?" Buffy said, surprised.

"She doesn't have any money or a job to get a place of her own. Plus, I kinda like having Hope around."

"Auntie Cordy, where's Mommy?" Hope asked.

Cordelia looked at her.

"Eating. She'll be quick."

"Okay," Hope said and went back to chatting with Dawn.

"What is she like?" Buffy asked.

"Faith?" Cordelia said.

"Yes."

"She's okay. She's much more open, at least around Hope. Much more responsible too. She's even planning to take the GED and maybe go to college."

"Really?" Willow said, surprised.

"Yes." Cordelia thought for a moment. "I guess she grew up on that island."

Buffy looked at Giles, who was coming down the stairs.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Giles said.

Giles looked at Hope.

"Is that Faith's daughter?"

"Yes."

"Where is Faith?"

"In the kitchen," Cordelia said.

"Oh." Giles thought for a moment. "Is she staying here?"

"No, with me," Cordelia said.

"Really?" Giles said, surprised.

"Yes."

"I see." He thought for a moment. "Willow, I will need your help."

"Sure," Willow said. "When?"

"Whenever you have the time."

"Now?"

"Okay." Giles looked at Cordelia. "May we use your computer?"

"Sure," Cordelia said.

Giles looked at Willow.

"Come."

Willow and Giles went to Cordelia's computer, and Kennedy followed her.

"Did you call Kate?" Cordelia asked when Faith came from the kitchen.

"Yes," Faith said. She went to Hope, ignoring Buffy. "Hey, sweetie. Look what I found in the kitchen. A cookie."

"What is that?" Hope asked as she took it.

"Try it, it's sweet."

Hope took a bite.

"Like it?" Faith asked.

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh," she said and ate the rest of it.

"Okay, pick up Miss Spots, we're going outside."

Hope picked up Miss Spots, and Faith picked her up.

They went outside and Faith sat on the bench. Then she sat Hope on her right knee.

"Okay, sweetie, put Miss Spots on the bench and open the book."

"Okay," Hope said and did so.

"Did you look at the pictures?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh. They're pretty."

Faith smiled.

"How about we start at the beginning?"

"Okay."

After a while, Buffy went after Faith. She quietly observed her through a window for a while, amazed at how open and caring she was with Hope, like she was a whole different person. The little touches of affection and kisses were so unlike the Faith she knew that she wondered how well she knew Faith at all.

She observed Faith and Hope for a few minutes and then went back inside. She went to the basement to train a little, but thoughts of Faith kept distracting her, so she sat down and leaned against the wall.

Faith had always had a strange effect on her. She'd thought it was because Faith was a sister Slayer, but she'd never had the same relationship with Kendra. Faith had always been outspoken as far as sex was concerned, which made Buffy nervous. Now, however, Faith was less outspoken. And there was tenseness between them. Faith was more relaxed around other people than she was around her, and Buffy found herself missing the easy, if somewhat sexually charged, companionship. She knew Faith had changed and she accepted that, but forgetting the past was harder. Seeing Faith's private moments with her daughter, however, made it a bit easier. The truth was that she'd missed Faith. She wanted them to be friends again and she hoped that they could get past the mutual distrust that had built between them during Faith's bout on the dark side.

"Mommy, can we go to the park?" Hope asked when she and Faith came inside after Faith finished the story.

"I really don't feel like going out, sweetie."

"Oh."

Faith thought for a moment.

"Why don't you ask Auntie Cordy or Auntie Fred?"

Hope smiled.

"Okay."

Faith put Hope down, and Hope ran away.

"Auntie Cordy! Auntie Cordy!" Hope called. Then she spotted Fred. "Auntie Fred!"

"Hey, Hope," Fred said with a smile. "What is it?"

"Will you take me to the park?" Hope asked as Fred picked her up.

Fred looked at Faith, who nodded. Then she looked back at Hope, and smiled.

"Okay."

Hope smiled, excited.

"Can I go with them?" Dawn asked Faith.

Faith looked at her, surprised. She shrugged.

"Ask Hope."

"You're okay with it?"

Faith smiled a little.

"Sure."

Dawn smiled back.

"Thanks."

"Faith!" Giles called as Dawn went after Hope and Fred.

Faith looked at Giles, and went to him.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, Willow and I did some research. We've decided that all Slayers, as well as the people who help them, should get some sort of allowance."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"You mean we get paid now?"

"Yes."

"Cool. How much?"

"Uh, we'll we're still working on that. But it should be enough to cover your monthly expenses."

"Okay. When do I get the money?"

"We'll try to set up an account as soon as possible."

"Okay. Thanks."

After a while, Buffy stopped thinking about Faith. She went to the kitchen to get herself a drink. Then she went outside. She stopped when she saw Faith was also there, reading something. She hesitated for a moment and then slowly approached her.

Faith looked at her.

"Am I disturbing you?" Buffy asked.

Faith shook her head.

"No."

Buffy sat beside her and thought for a few moments.

"Motherhood becomes you," she then said.

Faith glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You think?"

Buffy nodded.

"You're much more open now. At least with Hope. And mature."

"You say that as if it's a good thing."

Buffy smiled.

"It is. I mean, I'm not saying you can't have fun, just… You're not putting fun ahead of everything else."

"Oh."

Buffy thought for a few moments. Then she looked at Faith.

"I'm sorry I didn't stand by you when you needed me."

Faith looked at her, surprised.

"I thought I was supposed to apologize to you."

"You did." Buffy sighed. "When I saw how you were around Hope, I realized I didn't know you all that well. And I never bothered to find out either." She thought for a moment. "I've been thinking about what you said. You were right. I wish I hadn't been so self-absorbed, maybe then I would've seen that you weren't evil, just scared."

Faith looked at her hand and thought about Buffy had said. She had some snide remarks, but she stopped herself, she didn't want another fight with Buffy, especially not when Buffy finally took the time to talk to her.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

Buffy looked at her, surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"Is this because you're feeling sorry for me or because you actually give a shit?"

"I don't pity you. I mean, sure, you've been though a lot, but you got back on your feet. You can be proud of yourself." She hesitated for a moment. "And yes, I do care," she added quietly, a bit nervous. She thought for a moment. "I was… I was jealous of you at first."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Jealous?"

"Yes. I mean, I save people all the time and then you come with your stories and my friends were all over you. I mean, I know you exaggerated, but still." She hesitated for a moment. "And you made me nervous," she admitted.

"Nervous?" Faith said, surprised.

Buffy nodded.

"Yes. You were so… promiscuous when I'd only slept with one guy. Once. Plus, there was something about you that drew me to you, and I don't mean just the Slayer bond." She glanced at Faith. "I know now you had a crush on me."

Faith smiled a little.

"Took you long enough to figure it out," she said.

Buffy smiled back.

"I think I knew it, at least instinctively, I just didn't want to admit it to myself. And then Angel came back and I still had feelings for him. It was so confusing. And then we killed Finch and…"

Buffy trailed off with a sigh.

"We?" Faith said, surprised.

Buffy nodded.

"We. I know you actually stabbed him, but I'm the one who pushed him to you. If I'd noticed sooner that he was alive…" She thought for a moment. "Why didn't you tell the cops I was there?"

Faith thought about it.

"I guess I was trying to protect you."

"Why?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"I wanted to make it up to you for hurting you."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a few moments. "Do you think we can start over and be friends?"

"You sure you want that? After everything we did to one another?"

Buffy looked at her and nodded.

"Yes."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"And it doesn't bother you that I… eh…" She gulped. "That I'm in love with you?"

Buffy blushed, her heart beating faster.

"You still have a crush on me?"

Faith shook her head.

"No, it's not a crush anymore."

"Oh," Buffy said, her blush deepening.

Faith smiled a little.

"Don't worry, I won't tease you anymore."

Buffy smiled back.

"Thanks." She thought for a moment. "You think we'll ever be… more?"

"You mean a couple?"

Buffy blushed.

"Yes," she said, nodding.

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know. That's pretty much up to you."

"Oh."

Faith thought for a moment.

"Just… Think about it real good first, I don't want any broken hearts, we've hurt one another too much already."

Buffy nodded.

"I will." She thought for a moment. "Can you tell me more about yourself?"

"Like what?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Anything. Everything. What it was like when you were little and stuff. And… And, you know, how you felt after, eh, Finch. I mean, when you're ready."

Faith stared at her for a couple of moments.

"Okay."

"And I'll tell you about myself, if you want."

Faith smiled a little.

"I'd like that."

"Mommy! Mommy!" Hope said when she came back from the park.

She ran to Faith and hugged her.

"Hey, sweetie," Faith said with a smile as she hugged her back. She gave her a kiss on the top of the head. "Did you have fun?"

Hope let go of her and nodded.

"Uh-huh. Auntie Dawn and Auntie Fred played with me."

Faith caressed her.

"Good. Are you tired?"

Hope shook her head.

"Uh-uh. Can we go to the beach? Auntie Dawn said there is a beach here."

"Sure. Do you want to swim?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"I'll see if we can go tomorrow, but we have to get some towels and a bathing suit for me."

"What's that?"

"A bathing suit?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's what people wear when they go to the beach. At least the grownups."

"I don't have to wear it?"

Faith smiled.

"No."

Hope smiled.

"Okay."

"She can swim?" Buffy asked.

Faith looked at her.

"No, she swims with me."

"Oh."

Hope leaned on Faith, obviously tired from all the fun.

"Come here," Faith said.

Hope put her arms around Faith's neck, and Faith picked her up and sat her on her knee. Hope leaned on her and stared at Buffy curiously.

"Hey," Buffy said with a smile.

Hope smiled back.

"Are you a Slayer too?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Do you fight monsters too?"

"Only the bad ones."

"Bad ones?"

"There's good ones too," Faith said.

"Really?"

"Sure. Uncle Angel is a monster too."

Hope's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes. He's a vampire. Vampires are usually evil, but Angel is good because he has a soul."

"But he looks like a… a normal person."

"I know. Some monsters can look like normal people."

"Oh."

"Angel has two faces, a vampire one and a normal one."

"Can I see?"

"It's pretty scary."

"I won't be scared."

Faith smiled.

"We'll ask Uncle Angel."

"Okay."

Hope rested her head on Faith's shoulder, tired.

Buffy smiled at Hope.

"Can I go with you when you go shopping?" she asked after a few moments.

Faith looked at her.

"Sure."

"Thanks."

When Angel came back, Hope was still napping in Faith’s arms, and Faith and Buffy quietly talked. Faith decided to let Hope sleep.

“Hey,” Faith said with a smile when Hope woke up.

Hope smiled and rubbed her eyes. Then she yawned.

“I’m thirsty,” she said.

“Let’s go to the kitchen.”

Faith put Hope down, and then got up. Then she took Hope’s hand, and they went to the kitchen.

Buffy followed them.

“What would you like?” Faith asked Hope when they got to the kitchen.

“Apple juice.”

Faith took the apple juice from the fridge and poured Hope a glass.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you,” Hope said and started drinking.

Buffy smiled at her.

When Hope was done, she gave the glass to Faith, who put it in the sink.

“Mommy, can Uncle Angel show me his other face now?” Hope then asked.

“You sure you want to see it?”

Hope nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

“Let’s go ask him.”

“I’ll go find Angel,” Buffy said and left.

Hope raised her arms, so Faith picked her up.

They left the kitchen. Faith looked around and saw that Buffy had already called Angel. She headed toward them.

“What is it?” Angel asked Buffy.

“Hope has a request,” Buffy said.

Angel smiled at Hope.

“What is it, Hope?”

Hope hesitated, suddenly a bit nervous.

“Mommy said you’re a monster and you have two faces,” she said.

“Uh…” Angel said, startled.

“I told her you were a vamp,” Faith explained. “A good one.”

“Oh.”

“Can I see it?” Hope asked.

“What?” Angel asked.

“Your other face.”

“Uh…”

Angel looked at Faith questioningly.

“Go ahead,” Faith said.

“Okay,” Angel said and changed his face.

Hope gasped, and hugged Faith more tightly.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Faith said. She looked at Angel. “Can she touch it?”

“Uh, sure,” Angel said.

Faith looked at Hope.

“You can touch it, sweetie. It’s safe.”

Hope hesitated for a few moments and then slowly reached out.

Angel moved his face closer, and Hope hesitantly ran her fingers over his ridges.

“It’s bumpy,” Hope then said.

Everyone smiled.

“Yes,” Faith said.

Angel changed back to his Human face.

“You’re not scared of me, are you?” he asked Hope.

Hope stared at him for a couple of moments and then shook her head.

“Uh-uh.”

Angel smiled a little.

“Good.”

Faith thought for a moment.

“Honey, I was thinking we could go shopping now,” she then said.

Hope looked at her.

“Okay.”

“You wanna go along?”

Hope nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll drive,” Buffy said.

“Okay.”

The next morning, they went to the beach. As soon as Hope was naked, she ran to the water.

“Hope!” Buffy called after her, worried.

“Don’t worry,” Faith said calmly, “she won’t go in, she’ll just play with the waves.”

Buffy watched uncertainly, until she saw Hope chase the waves and then run away from them excitedly. She smiled, relieved.

Dawn quickly undressed as well and then went to Hope to make sure she would be okay.

When she was down to her bikini, Faith looked around thoughtfully.

“Is something wrong?” Buffy asked and looked around.

Faith shook her head.

“No.” She thought for a moment. “It’s just… weird.”

Buffy looked at her.

“What?”

Faith nodded at the people.

“All these people, doing… nothing.”

“Oh.”

Faith looked at Buffy and smiled a little.

“Back on the island, there was always something to do. I mean, the kids played and had fun, but there was always something to do.”

Buffy smiled back. She hesitated for a moment.

“Was it tough?”

Faith shrugged.

“At first.” She said down, and Buffy joined her. She thought for a moment. “I wasn’t really mentally okay, plus I’d just lost my arm. Not to mention a bunch of kids I was suddenly responsible for.” She sighed. “But it was okay. The kids were scared, but they did as I told them.” She smiled. “I was lucky I’d seen this survival show on Discovery a while back. The guy was showing how to survive on a tropical island. It came in handy, even if I didn’t remember much. But at least I had a starting point.”

“Cool.”

“And the kids were a big help.”

“Mommy! Mommy! Swim!” Hope called as she ran to her with Dawn in tow. “Mommy, swim!”

Faith smiled.

“You missed swimming?” she asked as she got up.

Hope nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

“Come.”

Hope took Faith’s hand and they went to the ocean.

Buffy and Dawn followed them.

When they got to the ocean, they walked in, until the water reached Hope’s chest. Then Faith picked her up and walked deeper. When the water reached Faith’s shoulders, she turned around and started swimming on her back, with Hope on top, squealing excitedly.

Buffy and Dawn quickly joined them.

“Having fun?” Dawn asked Hope with a smile.

Hope looked at her and nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

After a while, they went back to the beach.

“Will we go again, Mommy?” Hope asked as they walked toward their towels.

Faith smiled at her.

“Sure. Later. And you can try the air tube too.”

“Can I play now?”

“As soon as you put on the t-shirt.”

“Okay.”

When they reach their towels, Faith took a t-shirt and helped Hope put it on.

"Okay, go play."

"Okay," Hope said and ran away.

Dawn followed her.

"She looks so happy," Buffy observed.

"Yeah," Faith said with a little smile.

"Looks like you are the maternal type after all."

"Yeah."

"How did you deal with all those kids?"

Faith shrugged.

"They were no trouble. They knew they depended on me, so they did what I told them."

"They never argued?"

"They did, but I didn't have any problems calming them."

Buffy smiled.

"Do you know where they are now?"

"The kids?"

"Yes."

"Home."

"Have you contacted them?"

Faith shook her head.

"No. Kate told me."

"Oh. Are you going to?"

Faith shook her head.

"No. I don't want to remind them."

"Oh."

They watched Hope and Dawn play for a while.

"Hey, we could go to the zoo tomorrow," Buffy then suggested.

Faith looked at her.

"Zoo?"

"Yes. I bet she'd love to see the animals."

Faith nodded.

"Not a bad idea."

The next day, they went to the zoo. Hope walked beside Faith, holding her hand, and looked around curiously.

"Mommy, look!" she said, excited, when they approached the Sea Lion Cliffs. "What are they?"

"Sea lions," Faith said.

"Are they fish?"

"No, mammals."

Hope looked at her.

"What's that?"

Faith thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"I'm not sure how to explain. We'll look it up when we get back to the hotel."

"Okay. Mommy, up."

Faith picked her up and then moved closer to the fence.

"They're funny," Hope said.

Faith smiled.

"Yes."

"Why are they so fat?"

Faith shrugged.

"Don't know."

"It keeps them warm," Dawn said. "Plus they can dive deep because of it."

"But they can barely move," Hope said.

"On land. But they're very quick in the water."

"Oh."

"Look," Dawn said and pointed at one of the sea lions, who jumped in the water. "See how fast it moves?"

"Uh-huh," Hope said, nodding. She looked around. "Why are they in those funny houses?"

"Cages?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"So people can come and see them."

"Oh."

"Want to see others?"

"Uh-huh," Hope said, excitedly. "Down."

Faith smiled and put her down.

After a while, when Faith kept lifting Hope, Buffy offered to carry her on her shoulders. Hope was excited at the prospect and she enjoyed the high view. Faith was a little nervous about it, but she had seen Buffy play with Hope the day before, so she forced herself to calm down. And she could see that Buffy enjoyed carrying Hope around, Buffy even looked excited about it.

When Hope became sleepy, they decided to rest for a while. Buffy took Hope from her shoulders and carried her in her arms. Hope soon fell asleep. Faith found it strange when she saw how Buffy stared at Hope like she was some sort of miracle. She felt threatened for a moment, but then she realized she was being silly. She was Hope's mom and nothing would ever change that.

They reached some benches and Dawn went off to the public toilets. When Dawn was gone, Buffy thought for a few moments.

"Faith," she then spoke.

Faith looked at her.

"Yeah?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Do you, eh, do you want to move in with me and Dawn?"

Faith raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"With you?"

Buffy nodded.

"Yes. I mean, I know Cordelia doesn't mind having you around, but it's cramped there. With us, you and Hope would each have your own room. And you wouldn't have to worry about a babysitter, because Dawn can watch Hope. And you'd have a quiet place to study."

Faith stared at Buffy for a few moments. It was a tempting offer and Buffy seemed really excited about it, but considering their past, she wasn't sure they could live together.

"Look, it's not that I don't like the offer, it's just… Well, with our past, I kinda doubt we could live together."

"Sure we could."

"We just started to… to tolerate one another, hell, maybe we're even friends. I really don't want to mess up our relationship again."

Buffy smiled.

"We've both grown up."

"Didn't look that way in Sunnydale."

Buffy sighed.

"I know, but I didn't know then that you had changed. And I know now that you have."

Faith looked around, thinking.

"What about Dawn?" she then asked. "And your dad?"

Buffy blushed a little.

"I haven't talked to Dawn yet, it kinda just came to my mind."

"Oh."

"And don't worry about Dad, he's rarely in town."

"Okay."

"Is that a yes?" Buffy asked hopefully.

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"If Dawn and Hope are okay with it," she then said.

Buffy smiled.

"Okay." They were quiet for a few moments. "Uh, can I ask you a personal question?" Buffy then asked.

Faith looked at her.

"Sure."

"Why did you turn yourself in?"

Faith glanced at Hope and then looked away.

"I didn't want to run anymore." She paused for a moment. "I knew the Council was still after me, as well as the cops. I was hoping that if I turn myself in, the Council would accept that I have changed and let me be." She hesitated for a moment. "Plus, I wanted a good life for Hope, I didn't want her to always live on the run with me."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Must've been hard."

"Yeah." Faith smiled a little. "But Cordelia was great, so Hope wasn't too scared."

Buffy smiled.

"I still can't believe Cordelia took Hope."

Faith looked at her.

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged.

"This is Cordelia we're talking about."

"Oh," Faith said and smiled a little.

"How come you chose her?" Buffy asked, curious.

"I didn't know who else to. You and me weren't friends, which kinda excluded your friends as well, and I didn't know Kate well enough. Cordelia seemed to be the… the least hostile. Plus, Angel said she was a higher being, so."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a moment. "Willow said you pleaded guilty."

Faith sighed.

"Yeah." She hesitated for a moment. "I was hoping… I just wanted to get it over with and get into some sort of routine, so Hope wouldn't be confused by me being moved around."

"Oh."

"I got off on parole and counseling."

"I know." Buffy thought for a moment. "How come you told Dawn that you were that Faith?"

"I wasn't really trying to hide it. I might have told you, if you hadn't started to yell."

"I'm sorry about that. It's been a tough year and so many Potentials have died, and then you came back. I didn't know how to deal with you, I didn't even want to, I had enough problems already."

"Yeah, I know."

"Got in just in time," Dawn said as she came back. "Ten seconds later and the line was a killer."

Faith and Buffy smiled at her.

"Dawn, I asked Faith if she and Hope wanted to move in with us," Buffy said. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," Dawn said with a smile. She thought for a moment. "Though you're gonna have to get by without me, if I go to England."

"Oh," Buffy said and frowned.

"You're going to England?" Faith asked.

"Yes, to college."

"Oh."

"I guess we won't be able to patrol together," Buffy said.

"You could ask Cordelia to babysit," Dawn said. "Or Fred."

"Yeah," Faith said. "We'll see."

"Hey, sweetie," Buffy said with a smile when Hope woke up.

Hope blinked a couple of times and then smiled at her.

"Sleep well?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh." She looked around. "Where's Mommy?"

"She went to the bathroom. She'll be back soon."

"Oh."

Buffy helped Hope sit.

"We were planning to go get something to eat. Are you hungry?"

"A little."

"Okay."

"I'm thirsty."

Buffy looked at Dawn.

"Dawn, can you take the water from the back pack?"

"Sure," Dawn said and did so. She opened it and gave it to Hope. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Hope said and took a couple of sips. Then she gave the bottle back to Dawn, who put it away.

"Hope, do you like it here?" Dawn asked.

"Where?" Hope asked.

"Here, in LA."

Hope looked around and then back at Dawn.

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding. "There's a lot of nice stuff and there's so many people and animals. But some people aren't nice." Her eyes went wide. "And there are monsters! There were no monsters on the island."

Dawn smiled.

"Don't worry, Buffy and Faith will protect you."

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh. Mommy is already teaching me how to move."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. And she taught my aunties and uncles how to protect themselves."

"Wow."

"Mommy!" Hope called when Faith came back.

"Hey, sweetie," Faith said with a smile, and caressed her. "Sleep well?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Faith sat down. She thought for a moment.

"Honey, remember how we talked about getting our place to stay so we wouldn't be in Auntie Cordy's way?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, Buffy said we could move in wither and Auntie Dawn."

"But wouldn't we be in the way too?"

"No, you wouldn't," Buffy said. "We have a big house and you'd each have your own room.

"Oh."

"What do you think, honey?"

Hope looked at Faith, then and Buffy, and then back at Faith.

"Okay," she said and smiled at Buffy.

"Great," Buffy said and smiled.

Hope looked at Faith.

"Mommy, can we go swimming tomorrow?"

"Sure," Faith said.

Hope looked at Buffy.

"Will you come too?"

"Me?" Buffy said, startled.

"Uh-huh."

Buffy glanced at Faith.

"Uh, sure."

Hope smiled.

"Okay."

"How about we go get something to eat now," Dawn said.

"Okay," Faith said.

When they were done with the zoo, Buffy took Faith and Hope to Cordelia's place. They'd agreed that Buffy would pick them up the next day before they went to the beach. Faith packed her stuff, but not Hope's, because Cordelia had bought it and she wasn't quite sure what to do about it.

"Hey," Cordelia said when she came home.

"Hey," Faith said.

"Where's Hope?"

"Playing with Dennis."

"Oh. Buffy said you're moving in with her and Dawn."

"Uh, yeah."

"You sure about that? I mean, considering your past and all."

Faith sighed.

"We talked about it. I thought we should give it a try."

"Okay. And if it doesn't work out, you can come back here until you find another place."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Did you pack yet?"

"Just my stuff."

"Then let's get the rest. You can borrow some of my bags."

"Thanks."

The next day, after they first took Faith's and Hope's stuff to Buffy's house.

"What do you think, honey?" Buffy asked Faith when they got it.

Hope looked around, curious.

"It's big."

Buffy smiled.

"Yes. Come, let me show you to your rooms."

Buffy led the way upstairs. Faith and Hope followed her, and Dawn brought up the rear.

"Nice," Faith commented.

"Okay, honey, this is Dawn's room, that one will be yours, the next one was mine but will be your mommy's now and the last one is mine," Buffy told Hope. "That's the bathroom. Come."

They went to Hope's room.

"This is all mine?" Hope asked.

"Yes," Buffy said with a smile, and put the bags down.

"Wow."

"Nice," Faith said.

"Come, let me show you to your room," Buffy said.

They went to Faith's room.

"This was your room?" Faith asked as she put her bag down.

"Yes," Buffy said. "I moved to the master bedroom."

"Oh."

"I left some stuff here. We can move it later."

"Okay."

"I'll show you around the rest of the house later." Buffy looked at Hope with a smile. "Ready to go swimming?"

Hope smiled and nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Let's go."

While they were at the beach, Faith thought about the future. She realized that she would have to find some other way to keep Hope occupied. She knew there was always TV, but she didn't want her watching cartoons all day. She wondered if Hope would find educational channels interesting. Still, they could come to the beach every weekend.

What she really found surprising was how attached Buffy seemed to Hope. And Hope seemed to like her a lot too. She wondered how she and Buffy would get along now that they would be living in the same house. Would they get on one another's nerves or would they talk? She hoped they wouldn't fight, she didn't want to scare and confuse Hope.

As she watched Buffy build sand castles with Hope, she wasn't quite sure how to feel. She was glad she didn't feel jealous. In fact, she was glad that they got along so well. Seeing Buffy like that reminded her of her feelings for the fellow Slayer. With their past, she doubted that there could ever be more than friendship between them, but hey, stranger things have happened. She decided to just be herself, take care of Hope, study and be a good friend to Buffy. And if Buffy found someone else, well, she wouldn't get in the way.

She sighed and glanced at Dawn, who was tanning beside her.

"I'm going over to Buffy and Hope."

"Okay," Dawn said without opening her eyes.

Faith got up and stretched. Then she slowly walked toward Buffy and Hope.

"Faith! Faith!"

Faith turned, startled, as she recognized the voice.

"Sammie," she said, surprised, when the girl came running to her. She barely had time to pick her up.

"It is you!" Sammie said, excited, as she hugged her.

"Yeah. What are you doing here?"

"I was swimming," Sammie said and stopped hugging. "We were just going home."

"Oh."

"Where's Hope?" Sammie asked as Faith put her down.

"Right over…"

"Auntie Sammie, Auntie Sammie!" Hope called excitedly as she ran toward her.

Sammie looked at her and smiled.

"Hope, not so fast!" Buffy called after the girl as she followed her.

"Auntie Sammie!"

"Hi, Hope," Sammie said as she picked her up. "How are you?"

Hope stopped hugging her.

"I'm okay. I missed you."

Sammie smiled.

"I missed you too."

Hope looked around.

"Are the others also here?"

"No, just me."

"Oh."

"Hi," Buffy said as she came closer.

Sammie looked at her.

"Hi."

"This is my friend Buffy," Faith introduced her. "This is Sammie, from the island."

Buffy smiled.

"I guessed."

"Mommy, Daddy, this is Faith," Sammie said, excitedly. "And this is Hope."

Faith tensed and looked at Sammie's parents.

"Hello," Sammie's mom said with a smile. Then she looked at Hope. "Hi, sweetie."

"Hi," Faith said, nervous a little.

"Hi," Hope said, smiling.

"So, you're the mysterious Faith," Sammie's dad said.

"Yeah."

"We heard you were in some trouble. Is everything okay now?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Thank you for saving Sammie," Sammie's mom said.

Faith shrugged.

"I didn't do much. It was the kids that saved me. If it weren't for them, I'd be dead."

"But if it weren't for you, they'd be dead as well. And thanks to you, they'll be able to take a couple of tests and skip the first grade."

"Really?" Faith said, surprised.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"They're all very fond of you."

Faith looked away, not used to being praised.

"You're living in LA?" Sammie's dad asked.

Faith looked at him.

"Yeah."

"Perhaps we could organize a meeting. I know the other children would love to see you again. And I'm sure their parents would also like to meet you."

"Uh, I don't…"

"Can we, Mommy?" Hope asked, excited.

Faith looked at her. She really didn't feel like meeting the rest of the parents, but Hope missed her aunties and uncles and she too wanted to see the children again. She looked at Sammie and realized, surprised, that she cared about them and that she missed them.

"Okay," she said.

"Cool!" Hope said and smiled.

Faith smiled at her.

"Where can we reach you?" Sammie's mom asked.

"Do you have something to write?" Buffy asked.

Sammie's mom looked at her.

"Sure." She rummaged through her bag and took out a pen and a post-it block. "Here."

Buffy took the items and wrote down her address and phone number.

"There," she then said and gave the post-it block and the pen back. "I'm Buffy, by the way."

"Okay."

"I'll tell the others," Sammie said.

Faith smiled at her.

"Okay."

"We'll call you."

"Good."

"Come, Sammie," her mother said.

"Bye, Hope," Sammie said.

"Bye, Auntie Sammie," Hope said and hugged her.

They hugged for a couple of moments and then Sammie put Hope down. She hugged Faith.

"Bye, Faith."

Faith put her arm around her, smiling.

"I'll see you around."

Sammie let go of her and smiled at her.

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Sammie waved at her and then she and her parents left.

"Mommy," Hope said and raised her arms.

Faith looked at her and picked her up.

"Hey," she save and gave her a peck on the nose.

Hope giggled.

"When will we see Auntie Sammie again?"

"Don't know. First her parents need to call everyone else's parents and then they all have to have the time, plus a big enough place to meet."

"You can invite them all over to our house," Buffy offered.

Faith looked at her, surprised.

"You sure?"

Buffy nodded.

"Yes." She smiled a little. "After all, you live there as well. And you can also babysit them, if you want."

Faith thought for a moment.

"We still haven't talked about the rent."

"We'll talk later. I need to check out the bills and stuff first."

"Okay."

"Mommy, will you come see the castle we built?" Hope asked.

Faith smiled at her.

"I was just on my way to check out your creation."

Hope smiled.

"Will we go swimming then?"

"I'll have to go to the toilet first."

"Oh."

"I can take her," Buffy offered.

Faith looked at her and then back at Hope.

"What do you say, honey?"

Hope looked at Buffy and smiled.

"Okay."

Buffy smiled as well, glad.

"Okay, then," Faith said. "Let's go see the castle."

Hope squirmed, so Faith put her down. Hope then took Faith's hand and dragged her to the castle. Buffy followed them.

"Look, Mommy," Hope said when they reached the castle.

"Very nice," Faith said with a smile.

"But we didn't have any shells and stones."

"There's not much of that around here."

"And it's not so big like those on the island."

Faith ruffled Hope's head.

"You didn't have all your aunties and uncles helping you this time."

"Uh-huh. Will we watch the tide sweep it away?"

"Don't know. We'll probably go home before the tide comes."

"Oh."

"I need to go to the toilet now."

"Okay."

Hope let go of Faith and took Buffy's hand.

"Wanna go for a swim now?" Buffy asked.

Hope looked at her and nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Let's get your tube then."

They went to the towels.

"Faith just went to you," Dawn said when they got there.

"I know," Buffy said. "She went to the toilet."

"Oh."

"We're going for a swim."

"Okay."

"Come, sweetie," Buffy said.

Hope took her hand again and they went to the water.

When Hope was belly deep, Buffy wet the tube and then helped Hope put it on.

"Is it okay?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Come."

Hope took Buffy's hand and they went deeper into the water. When Hope was swimming, Buffy let go of her hand.

"I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" Hope said, excited, as she kicked with her legs.

"I'll be right beside you," Buffy said. "Keep kicking."

"Okay," Hope said and kept kicking energetically.

They moved deeper, until Buffy could barely stand.

"Having fun?" Buffy asked as she grabbed the tube when Hope stopped swimming and just floated.

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh." She noticed the lack of movement on Buffy's part. "Are you swimming?"

"No, I'm standing. Barely."

"Oh."

Buffy spun her around, and Hope giggled. Buffy then floated on her back, holding Hope by the tube.

"Auntie Buffy," Hope said after a while.

Buffy looked at her.

"Yes, sweetie?"

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"Do you have a daddy?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Do I have a daddy?"

"Sure. Everyone has a daddy."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Me too?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?"

"Your daddy?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Buffy hesitated for a moment, not sure what to say, if anything at all. She decided for the truth.

"Well, I think he's dead," she said and stopped floating.

Hope's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes." Buffy hesitated for a moment. "He was on the same plane as your mommy."

"Oh." Hope thought for a moment. "Who was he?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure, but he wasn't a good person."

Hope's eyes went wide again.

"Really?"

"Yes. In fact, he hurt your mommy."

"Why?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Well, I'm not sure how much your mommy told you about herself, but she wasn't always this nice."

"She said she was a bad girl."

"Yes. She had a tough childhood and it wasn't easy for her to trust people. And she made some mistakes and made some people angry. Your daddy was one of those people."

"Oh."

"But ever since she came back from the island, she's like a whole new person, a wonderful person." She smiled. "Like you."

"I'm wonderful?"

"Of course you are."

"But my daddy wasn't."

"It doesn't matter whether your daddy was good or bad, what matters is what you are like." She caressed her. "I wish a had a daughter like you."

Hope's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

Buffy nodded.

"Yes." She smiled. "And you can be very proud of your mommy. She got over the obstacles and faced her fears." Hope smiled. Buffy thought for a moment. "Do you want to have a daddy?"

Hope thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"I don't know. Do I have to?"

Buffy smiled.

"No, of course not."

"Okay."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Have you ever swam backwards?"

"Backwards?"

Buffy nodded.

"Like your mommy does when you're on top of her."

"Oh." Hope shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"Wanna try?"

"How?"

"Let me show you."

When they got out of the water, Buffy helped Hope out of the tube. Hope then ran to Faith, who was talking to Dawn, and Buffy quickly followed her.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Faith looked at her with a smile.

"Hey, sweetie."

"I swam backwards!"

"Really?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh. Auntie Buffy showed me."

Faith caressed her.

"That's nice."

"Let's get you dried up," Buffy said as she arrived. She put away the tube and took Hope's towel. "Come."

Hope came to her, and Buffy dried her.

"Here," Faith said and gave Hope her t-shirt.

"I'm gonna get me an ice cream," Dawn said. "Anyone want some?"

"Me! Me!" Hope said, excitedly.

"No, thanks," Faith said.

"No," Buffy said.

"Can I, Mommy?" Hope asked Faith.

Faith smiled.

"One scoop."

"Okay."

Dawn got up.

"Come, Hope."

Hope went to her and took her hand. Then they left.

"Uh, Faith," Buffy said hesitatingly when Dawn and Hope were gone.

"Yeah?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Hope wanted to know about her daddy."

Faith tensed.

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth?" Buffy said, a little nervous.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

"She wanted to know if she has a daddy. I told her everyone has one and she wanted to know where hers was. I told her he was dead, that he was on the same plane as you." Buffy hesitated for a moment. "I told her he was a bad person and that he hurt you."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to lie to her. She was worried that she might be bad too, but I told her she was a wonderful girl and that what her daddy did doesn't make her bad. I asked her if she wanted to have a daddy, but she didn't look very interested." She paused for a moment. "I don't know how much you've told her about yourself, but I did tell her that you had a bad childhood and that you did some bad things, but that you got over that." She hesitated for a moment. "You're not mad, are you?"

Faith blinked, startled.

"Mad?"

"That I told her that. I figured that there was a reason she was asking me instead of you."

Faith sighed.

"It's okay. She didn't look upset."

"I know, but she might still talk to you about it."

"I know."

In the evening, Hope was sleepy from the busy day and so Faith tucked her in a little earlier than usual.

"Night, sweetie," Buffy said as she passed Hope's room.

Hope smiled at her.

"Night, Auntie Buffy," she said and frowned.

"Sweet dreams," Buffy said and left.

"Mommy, are we gonna stay here?" Hope asked Faith.

"Do you want to?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Faith smiled.

"You don't want us to move into our own apartment?"

Hope thought for a moment.

"I want to stay with Auntie Buffy."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"You like her?"

Hope smiled.

"Uh-huh," she said with a nod. "She's like you."

"A Slayer?"

Hope shook her head.

"Uh-huh, like you, Mommy."

Faith frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"She's like a mommy."

"Oh." Faith hesitated for a moment and then smiled. "She likes you."

Hope smiled.

"I like her too."

Faith caressed her.

"I know."

Hope thought for a moment.

"Mommy, why did Daddy hurt you?"

Faith tensed. She thought for a moment.

"Buffy told you I wasn't always this nice, right?"

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I made lots of mistakes and I hurt a lot of people, including Buffy."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But she's not mad at you."

Faith smiled a little.

"No, we're friends again."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I also angered a lot of people. Your daddy worked for those people. I don't even know what he was like, but I guess he was angry enough to hurt me."

"Auntie Buffy said he's dead."

"Yeah. He was probably on the same plane as me. As you know, the only survivors were me and your uncles and aunties."

"Uh-huh."

"So, anyway, he's gone."

Hope yawned.

"Night, Mommy," she said and hugged Miss Spots tighter.

Faith smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"Night, baby."

The next morning, Buffy was just going downstairs when Hope came form her room.

"Morning, sweetie."

Hope smiled.

"Morning, Auntie Buffy."

"Your mommy's downstairs. Want me to call her?"

Hope shook her head.

"Uh-uh."

Buffy smiled and went to her.

"Come, let's get you freshened up."

Hope took her hand and they went to the bathroom.

Buffy helped Hope use the toiled and wash up. Then she combed her hair.

"Want me to make you pigtails?" she asked.

Hope looked at her.

"What's that?"

"This," Buffy said and demonstrated with her hands.

Hope studied her for a moment.

"Okay."

Buffy fetched a bag of scrunchies.

"What's that?" Hope asked curiously.

"Scrunchies. For your hair," Buffy explained. "Which color do you want?"

Hope looked.

"Red."

"Okay." Buffy took two red scrunchies and quickly made Hope pigtails. "There. You look pretty."

"I wanna see."

Buffy picked her up so Hope could see herself in the mirror.

Hope giggled when she saw herself. She pulled at her pigtails a little.

"Like it?" Buffy asked.

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Buffy kissed her on the back of her head.

"Okay, let's get you dressed up," she said and put her down.

Hope took her hand and smiled at her. Buffy smiled back, and they went to Hope's room.

"Mommy, Mommy, look!" Hope called excitedly when she and Buffy came downstairs. "Auntie Buffy made me pigtails."

Faith smiled at her and picked her up.

"Nice," she said and gave her a peck on the nose, making Hope giggle. "Morning, sweetie."

"Morning."

"Come, honey, let's get you some breakfast," Buffy said.

"Okay."

Faith put Hope down, and Hope went to Buffy, taking her hand.

"You're not going after them?" Dawn asked when Buffy and Hope were gone.

Faith looked at her.

"Why?"

Dawn shrugged.

"Don't know, I just thought you'd be more paranoid," she said with a smile.

Faith smiled back.

"I know she won't hurt her."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Buffy is very fond of her."

"I know. Hope likes her too. In fact, she wants to stay here instead of get our own apartment."

Dawn smiled.

"I don't mind, and I don't think Buffy does either."

"I know, but I'll still ask her."

"Okay."

"What about your dad?"

Dawn's smile vanished.

"I don't know where he is. I'll show you some pictures later, so you'll know what he looks like, in case he drops by."

"Okay."

"And we definitely have to get some pictures of you and Hope."

Faith smiled.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

After breakfast, Hope watched cartoons. Faith went upstairs to make Hope's bed.

"Hey," she said when she got out of the room and almost ran into Buffy.

Buffy smiled.

"Hey."

"Uh, Hope said she wants to stay here."

Buffy's smile widened.

"Sure, no problem. I told you you can."

"I know, but before I had plans to get a place of my own."

"Oh. Anyway, Sammie's on the phone.“

"Sammie?" she asked when she picked up the receiver.

"Yes. About the meeting."

"Oh."

Faith hurried downstairs.

"Sammie?"

"Hi, Faith."

"Hey. How are you?"

"Okay. Mommy said we could have a barbecue this Saturday at our place."

"This Saturday?"

"Yes."

"Hold on." Faith looked at Buffy. "Uh, they want to have a barbecue at their place this Saturday."

"Sure, no problem."

"Okay," Faith told Sammie. "Can Buffy come too?

"Sure."

"Okay. When and where?"

There was a brief pause.

"At noon," Sammie said and gave her the address, which Faith quickly jotted down.

"Okay, we'll be there."

"Cool!"

"Is everyone gonna be there?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll see you this Saturday then."

"Okay. Bye, Faith."

"Bye, Sammie."

Faith hung up.

"They want us to come at noon," she told Buffy.

"Okay."

Faith showed her the address.

"You know where this is?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"You want me to come as well?"

"I need someone to drive and I don't know where the address is."

"Oh."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"And beside, I need some backup."

Buffy smiled.

"Let's go tell Hope the good news."

"Yeah." They went to the living room. "Honey, Sammie just called."

"Really?" Hope said, excited.

"Yes. They want us to come to her place this Saturday at noon."

"Are all my uncles and aunties from the island gonna be there?"

"Yes."

"Cool!" Hope said, excited.

Faith ruffled her hair.

"Oh, by the way, I have to see the shrink tomorrow," she told Buffy.

"I'll take you," Buffy said. "And then Hope and I can go to a park or something."

"What do you say, honey?" Faith asked Hope.

"Okay," Hope said with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan then," Buffy said with a smile.

The next day, Buffy took Faith to see the shrink, and then she and Hope went to a park and bonded. Buffy enjoyed spending time with the girl and she had meant it when she told Hope that she would like to have a daughter like her.

Hope also enjoyed spending time with Buffy. Sure, she had lots of uncles and aunties, but there was something about Buffy that made her special. And she felt that Buffy and Faith liked one another, which made her happy, especially because Buffy seemed to make her mommy happy as well. She didn't really want another daddy, but, she realized, she wouldn't mind having another mommy. She felt that Buffy loved her like Faith did. She knew her uncles and aunties loved her too, but not the way Faith did. She couldn't wait to tell her uncles and aunties about Buffy.

When Saturday finally came, Buffy drove Faith and Hope to Sammie's house. Sammie was all excited, but Faith was nervous. Sure, she wanted to see her little friends again, but she was nervous about meeting their parents.

When they got out of the car, Hope took Faith's and Buffy's hand and skipped excitedly as they went to the door.

"Faith! Hope!" Sammie called as she opened the door.

"Hi, Auntie Sammie!" Hope called, excited.

"The others are already here. Come."

They followed Sammie inside.

"Hello," Sammie's mother said as Sammie closed the door.

"Hi," Faith said.

"Hello," Buffy said.

"Come, the others are in the back yard," Sammie said.

"Mommy?" Hope asked.

Faith smiled.

"Go," she said and let go of her.

Hope smiled and ran after Sammie.

"The children are very excited to see you again," Sammie's mother said. "They missed you."

"Hope!" the children called excitedly when Hope and Sammie came to the backyard.

Hope squealed, excited, as they hugged.

"Is Faith also here?" Tanya asked.

"She's here," Sammie said.

"Look! There she is!" Danny called.

Faith smiled.

"Hey, guys."

"Faith!" the children called and hugged her.

Faith caressed them with her hand, glad that she could meet them again. She had no idea she would miss them this much.

"Everyone okay?"

The children started nodding.

"Sammie said you're not in trouble anymore," Ben said.

"I'm not."

"You're staying in LA?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. Sammie has my address and phone number."

"Are you gonna stay here?"

"Yeah."

"Cool. Then we can see you again."

Faith smiled again.

"Yeah. Oh, um, this is my friend Buffy. Hope and I are staying at her house."

"Hi," Buffy said with a smile. "Nice to finally meet you."

"So, I hear you're going to school," Faith said.

"We just have to pass a couple of tests," Tammie said.

"Looking forward to it?"

"Uh-huh," Tammie said, nodding.

"I'm going back to school too."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sort of. I'm taking the GED."

"What's that?"

"A test. I'm taking it instead of going to high school for four years."

"Oh."

"Auntie Sammie, what's that?" Hope asked and pointed at the pool.

"It's a pool."

"Can you swim in it?"

"That's what it's for."

"Can I?"

"Sure."

Hope looked at Faith.

"Mommy?"

"If it's okay with Sammie's parents."

Hope looked at them.

"Sure, you can swim," Sammie's dad said with a smile.

The children started to undress.

"But she doesn't know how to swim and we didn't take her tube," Buffy said, worried a little.

"Don't worry, the kids will help her," Faith said.

"Oh."

"They wanted to go for a swim before, but they were waiting for you," Sammie's mom said.

"Oh."

Sammie's dad chuckled when he saw the children fold their clothes before they ran off to the pool.

"I thought it was only Sammie."

"What?" Faith asked.

"The clothes. They all folded them, they didn't just throw them down."

"Oh."

"You taught them?"

"Yeah."

"They all spoke highly of you."

Faith shrugged.

"I didn't do much."

"You raised them," Sammie's mom said with a smile. "They're alive because of you."

"I'm alive because of them."

"I'm curious, they never said what exactly happened, they just said that you lost your arm in the crash. They seemed reluctant to talk about it."

Faith sighed.

"My arm was trapped. It was crushed, but it was still connected to my body. Debbie had to cut it off."

"Oh."

"I think she kept them together while I was out. She also helped me deliver. I mean, they all helped, but Debbie was the one who helped the baby out."

"She said so, yes."

Faith looked at the children.

"They were very brave."

"So were you. Taking care of eleven children and a baby is no small thing, not even in a city. Thank you."

The rest of the parents nodded in agreement.

"If you ever need anything or if there's anything we can do, let us know," Sammie's dad said.

"Absolutely," his wife agreed.

"Thanks," Faith said, feeling strange because everybody praised her.

"Anyway, the food will be in about half an hour. We got meat, but we also got some fish and fruit for the children. Seems it's their favorite."

"I guess they got used to it."

"Yes."

Then Sammy and Hope passed by.

"I need to pee, Mommy," Hope said.

"Okay," Faith said with a smile.

"Why don't you go spend some time with the children, they missed you," Buffy suggested, feeling that Faith felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea," Sammie's mother agreed.

"Yeah," Faith said and went to the pool.

"She's not used to being praised," Buffy said when Faith was out of earshot.

"I noticed she felt a little uncomfortable, yes."

"Can you tells us more about her?" one of the parents asked. "I had the feeling that she was reluctant to talk about herself."

"She is." Buffy looked at Faith, hesitated for a few moments, and then decided to tell them the short version. "She had a tough childhood and the first person who cared about her was killed. We were sort of friends before she went to the dark side. Anyway, before she was kidnapped and ended up on the island, she had reached the lowest point in her life and she was on her way to turn herself in, but she never made it. She made up for that when she got back."

"She turned herself in?"

"Yes. She was tried, she pleaded guilty and got off on parole and counseling."

"What did she do?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"That's not really up to me to tell you. I'm not even sure I should be telling you about her life."

"Thank you," Sammie's mom said. "She'll tell us if she wants to."

"How long can you stay?" Sammie's dad asked.

Buffy shrugged.

"We have all day."

"Good, we don't have to hurry then."

When the food was ready, the children dried and dressed up. Buffy helped Hope. The children quickly lined up and filled their plates. Then Buffy filled Faith's plate and after that she filled her own and Hope's.

"Do you want to feed her?" she asked Faith.

"No, you do it."

Buffy smiled.

"Okay. Come, sweetie."

Hope followed Buffy to a table. Buffy put the plates down and then sat Hope in her lap.

Hope started to eat by herself, so Buffy let her.

Faith sat beside them.

"You like it?" Buffy asked Hope.

Hope nodded, her mouth full.

"Uh-huh."

Buffy smiled.

"Good."

"Not too fast, honey," Faith said.

After lunch, the children ran around a little, playing with Hope, while the adults cleaned up. Hope finally became sleep and came to Buffy. She raised her arms, and Buffy picked her up.

"Sleepy?" she asked when Hope yawned.

Hope nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Hope hugged Buffy and leaned her head on Buffy's shoulder, slowly drifting off.

Faith noticed that Hope had gone to Buffy. She felt tense at first, but then she noticed the little gestures of affection and the kiss on top of Hope's head. She realized that Buffy loved Hope and apparently Hope loved Buffy as well. She was relieved, because she knew that if she died, Hope would still have a family. Of course, she still had to ask Buffy about it.

"Hey," she said quietly when she came closer.

Buffy looked at her with a smile.

"Hey. Want to hold her?"

Faith shook her head.

"No," she said, caressing Hope, and Buffy's smile widened.

Then the children came closer.

"Faith," Henry said quietly so as not to wake Hope.

Faith smiled at him.

"Hey."

"Will you keep teaching us self-defense?"

Faith looked at the rest of the children.

"You sure?" The children nodded. "Okay." She thought for a moment. "We'll have to set up a schedule. When we all have the time. And where. I'm kinda dependant on Buffy to drive me around." She sighed. "Okay, someone get a paper, we'll see when everyone has the time."

In the evening, before they went on patrol, Faith and Buffy tucked Hope, after assuring her that she would see her aunties and uncles again often.

After walking around for a while and dusting a couple of vamps, Faith finally decided to talk to Buffy.

"Uh, B?"

Buffy looked at her.

"Yes?"

Faith hesitated for a moment, nervous.

"Would you take care of Hope if something happened to me?"

Buffy's eyes went wide.

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"Sure," Buffy said, excited. She frowned. "You think something's gonna happen to you?"

"No, but I am a Slayer."

"Oh." Buffy smiled. "Sure." She thought for a moment. "Why me?"

Faith hesitated again.

"Because you're the only one who looks at Hope like I do. Like she's a miracle."

Buffy blushed.

"She is." She hesitated for a moment. "And I do love her."

"I know."

Buffy hesitated for a moment and then took Faith's hand. She smiled when Faith looked at her, surprised.

"And I think I love you too."

"B…"

"I know. I want to take this slowly too." She thought for a moment. "Hanging out with you, taking care of Hope, I'm starting to feel like we're family. And no, that's not the reason I love you." She hesitated for a moment. "I just do."

"Oh."

"Oh! I forgive you."

Faith looked at her.

"B?"

Buffy smiled.

"I do." She gently squeezed Faith's hand. "We'll take this slowly."

Faith took a deep breath.

"Okay."

They moved on quietly, holding their hands, each thinking of the future.

The End