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.

Glimpses
By Kristjan Brezovnik

When Faith woke up from another dream, she stared at the ceiling for a while, confused. She'd dreamt of herself again, or at least she'd thought that she was dreaming of herself. Lately, however, she started to wonder. Ever since she'd become a Slayer, her dreams became more and more realistic, more detailed, clearer, especially since she'd come to Sunnydale. It was confusing. She'd thought about mentioning it to the Mayor, but she didn't trust him. Still, this last dream was unlike any of the others. The others had all been happy family affairs and about dating boys, but the latest one was violent, it involved kidnapping. She didn't know what was going on, but she felt it had really happened. The only thing she knew for sure about the dream was that it happened in Paris. She'd never been there, but she recognized the Eiffel Tower. She felt this urgency to go there, but she knew it was night there. She sighed.

Then she remembered the ghost roads. She didn't know the spell to open a portal and she didn't want the Mayor to know, so she decided to ask Willow. She knew Willow would most likely refuse, but she really didn't care.

Having found a way to Paris, she felt almost excited. She decided she needed to find the place where the kidnapping happened. She was a little worried about how to do it, but then she remembered that the public library had internet access and she remembered hearing that maps were available online. She checked the clock. The library was long since opened. She smiled and quickly got up.

After grabbing a quick bite at the Doublemeat Palace, she went to the library. She asked a librarian about internet access and online maps. The librarian was happy to show her and when Faith told him what she was looking for, he recommended a few sites. Faith tried a few sites and after a while finally managed to locate the place. At least she hoped it was the right one. She had the librarian print the maps.

She felt giddy and she didn't want to spoil it by going to the Mayor, so she asked the librarian to get her some books on Paris.

After a late lunch, Faith went to Sunnydale High, hoping she would catch Willow alone. She knew that Willow would probably go to the library after her classes were over. She doubted she would be alone either. She waited impatiently in the hallway.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of another period. Faith looked at both sides, not knowing from where Willow would come. When she spotted her, she saw that Willow wasn't alone, she had Buffy and Xander with her. She quickly backed off so Buffy wouldn't sense her. She watched them from afar as they entered the library. She thought for a moment and then smiled briefly as she thought for a way to get Willow out.

She walked down the hall, looking around for a target. She smiled when she saw a nerd drinking water.

"Excuse me," she said and flashed him a smile.

The nerd looked up, startled.

"Eh, hi," he said, blushing.

Faith leaned forward a little, flashing her cleavage at him.

"You know Willow Rosenberg?"

The nerd frowned.

"Willow? Sure."

"I think she went to the library. Could you do me a favor and go tell her that the Principal would like to have a word with her?"

"The Principal?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you go tell her?"

"Because I'm in a hurry." She licked her lips. "I would really appreciate it."

"Eh, sure, okay, yeah," the nerd said, blushing even deeper.

Faith smiled.

"Thanks. I'll see you around."

She walked away and turned the first corner she saw. She waited for a couple of moments, and then quickly looked if the nerd was gone. He was, so she slowly headed toward the library, hoping the nerd would leave out the fact that a hot brunette told him to go call Willow.

She stopped at a corner and waited. She saw the nerd exit the library and was relieved that he wasn't going her way. Willow soon followed. Much to Faith's relief, she was alone.

She waited until Willow passed. Then she looked around the corner to see if anyone was following her. There was no one, so she followed Willow.

She quickly caught up with her.

"Hey, Red," she said as she grabbed her arm.

Willow looked at her, surprised.

"Faith! What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you."

Willow tried to get her arm free.

"What do you want? Let me go."

"I will, as soon as you help me out."

Willow snorted.

"Just what makes you think I'm going to help you?"

"I'll hurt you if you don't."

"Oh." Willow thought for a moment. "I'm not doing anything evil."

"Relax, all I need is a lift."

"A lift?" Willow said, startled. "To where?"

"Paris."

Willow frowned.

"Paris? As in Paris, France?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want in Paris?"

"None of your business. I need to use the ghost roads."

"I can't just open them here."

"Then take me to where you can. And don't try anything stupid."

"And when we get to Paris?"

"You can go back."

"You promise?"

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Would you believe me if I did?"

Willow frowned.

"No."

"Then stop asking stupid questions. Let's go."

When they got to Paris, Faith looked around. It looked like Paris and she could see the Eiffel Tower.

"Can I go now?" Willow asked, a little nervous.

Faith glanced at her.

"Yeah," she said and let go of her arm.

Willow quickly backed off a little.

"How are you gonna get back?"

Faith shrugged.

"I'll call the Mayor."

"Oh."

Faith took the maps from her bag and looked at them. She glanced at the nearest street sign and then looked at the map. She knew approximately where to look, and she quickly found where she was. She had her destination already marked, so she headed that way.

Willow, who had quietly observed Faith, decided to follow her. She had considered going back to Sunnydale, because she knew her friends were worried and because she didn't want to be anywhere near Faith, but this was Faith and she was up to something, so she decided to follow her. From afar, of course. She wished she had her magical stuff with her so she could make herself invisible.

After about an hour, Faith finally reached the place she was looking for. She remembered it from her dream, so she knew she was at the right location. What confused her was the fact that the location actually existed and that it was exactly the way she had dreamed it would be. She had never been there before and she'd never read any book on Paris before, so she knew it wasn't memories. But it was something and she wanted to find out. She went to the fountain, to the exact spot where she had seen herself sit in her dream before she'd been kidnapped. She put the maps in her bag and took out a candy bar. Then she waited.

After waiting for a while, Willow went to a café. She spoke a little French so she had no trouble communicating. They didn't take dollars, but there were a couple of tourists, who exchanged her some money so she could get herself a coffee and a bagel. She sat down near the window and observed Faith, wondering what was going on.

More than an hour later, Willow saw that some men attacked Faith. Faith fought back, but even Willow could tell she was holding back. She wondered why. Then a van drove by and the men dragged Faith inside.

Willow considered running after the van, but she knew she could never catch it on foot. Not unless she used the ghost roads. She had lied to Faith earlier, hoping Buffy would intercept them. She could open a portal to the ghost roads anywhere, it was just that at some points, it was easier than at others. She quickly ran to the ladies room.

Faith quietly listened to the men. They had covered her head, so she didn't see anything. She had pleaded like she was helpless, but they didn't say anything. She had tested the cuffs and she knew she could easily break out, but she waited. She was a little uncomfortable, but she had been worse.

Fortunately, the ride was short. When the men got out, she heard them talking in French and they sounded confused. Faith quickly broke her chains and took off the cover. Then she got up. She got out of the van and did a quick assessment of the situation. There were five men, the three who kidnapped her and two more. Plus, there was a girl, whose head was covered like hers had been. The men started noticing her, so she quickly moved. She didn't know if they had guns, but she wasn't taking any chances.

The men had some training, but Faith was pissed and something was telling her that the other girl was important. She quickly knocked out of the closest two and then ran to the one who was closest to the captured girl. The other two followed her, but by the time they reached her, she had already dealt with him. The men engaged her, but they didn't last long.

Faith then went to the captured girl, suddenly nervous. When she reached her, she hesitated for a moment and then knelt. She reached out and pulled off the cover that was covering the girl's head. When she saw her own face looking back at her, she gasped. A part of her had expected it, but actually seeing it still shocked her.

The girl was equally shocked.

"Who… Who are you?" she asked.

Faith just stared at her, not sure what to do. She knew there were only two explanations as to who the girls was. She was either her sister, her family, or she was some magical clone or something. For some reason she thought the first explanation was the correct one. But she couldn't deal with that right now, too many things were on her mind. She hesitated for a moment and then tried the Vulcan neck pinch. She was relieved when it worked, she didn't want to hit her sister. She sighed and got up.

When Willow got to the ghost roads, it took her a while to locate the van. She followed it until it entered a warehouse. Willow hesitated for a few moments, not knowing if the warehouse was protected by alarms. She decided to take a chance. She carefully approached it and entered. She was relieved when nothing happened. She looked around and saw Faith take on the last two of the five men. She noticed that there was another girl there, tied up. She wanted to help, but she decided to wait, because Faith was about to take out the last man.

When all the men were down, Willow watched as Faith approached the girl. She was a little confused when she saw that Faith was nervous. The real shock, however, came when Faith pulled the girl's cover off. Two Faiths? She didn't think that was likely. Faith's sister? She didn't know Faith had a sister, much less a twin sister. Then again, she didn't really know all that much about Faith. Then, just as Faith got up after pinching her sister, Willow noticed that one of the men was coming around. She hesitated for a moment and then left the ghost roads and kicked the man in the head, knocking him out.

"Red."

Willow tensed and looked at Faith.

"Hi," she said, nervous.

"What are you doing here?"

"Following you?"

"Why?"

"I wanted to know what you were up to."

Faith sighed.

"Search them, see if they have any ID."

"Eh, okay."

Willow started to search the unconscious men, and Faith kneeled beside her sister and freed her. She hesitated for a moment and then searched her as well. She found a wallet, but there were no photos inside, just an ID card. Hope Winters. Faith smiled at the irony that she was a Winters to Buffy's Summers. She memorized the data and then put the ID card back in the wallet and returned the wallet to Hope's pocket. She got up and went to the van. She did a quick search, but there was nothing useful. There was some paper there and a pen, so she wrote down the data from Hope's ID card.

"Nothing useful," Willow said when she was done searching the men. "You?" she asked when she saw Faith writing something down.

"Nothing," Faith said.

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"I didn't know you had a sister."

Faith looked at her.

"Me neither," she said and looked at Hope.

"What are you gonna do now?"

Faith thought for a moment. She frowned.

"How did you get here?"

"Ghost roads?" Willow said, nervous because Faith had figured it out.

"You lied."

"Yes," Willow said and took a step back.

Faith sighed. She looked at the men and anger filled her. She went to the first one, stepped with one foot between his legs and then kicked his knee with the other, breaking it.

"What are you doing?" Willow asked, shocked.

"Breaking their knees," Faith said and moved on to the next one.

Willow quietly watched as Faith broke all the knees. It shocked her, but a part of her understood her, she'd be pissed too, if someone messed with her family.

When Faith was done, she went to her sister. She hesitated for a moment and then picked her up. Then she looked at Willow.

"Open the portal."

"Where are we going?"

"To where I was kidnapped."

"Oh. Okay."

When they got to the alley near the café from where Willow had observed Faith, Faith put Hope down.

"You're not just gonna leave her here, are you?" Willow asked.

"No, I'll wait till she wakes up."

"Oh."

Willow got back to the ghost roads. Faith quickly slapped Hope a couple of times and then went back to the ghost roads as well. Then they waited.

Hope soon came around. She looked around, confused. She rubbed her shoulder, which still hurt, and then got up. She hesitantly approached the mouth of the alley and was relieved when she recognized the place. She quickly ran to the nearest café to call her parents.

"Let's go," Faith said when Hope was safely in the café.

"You're not gonna talk to her?" Willow asked.

"No." Faith reached into her pocket and took out the piece of paper with Hope's data. She looked at it again and then gave it to Willow. "Here."

"What is it?" Willow asked and looked at the paper.

"Data from her ID card. I want you to find out everything you can about her."

"You could just ask her." Faith glared at her. "Or not."

"And don't tell anyone about it, unless you want to find out what it's like to lose a knee."

Willow gulped.

"Okay."

"How long do you need?"

"I don't know. A day, two?"

"Okay."

"Mom!" Hope called when her parents and her two little sisters arrived.

"Hope!" her mother cried, relieved.

They ran toward one another and hugged.

"Are you okay, honey?" Mr Winters asked when they stopped hugging.

Hope nodded.

"Yeah."

"What happened? Why were you kidnapped?"

"I don't know, Dad. Let's sit down."

They went to Hope's table and sat down.

"Did you escape?" Mrs Winters asked.

"No, I was rescued."

"By who?"

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"By my twin sister."

Mr and Mrs Winters' eyes went wide.

"Faith?"

"Is that her name?"

"Yes. Where is she?"

"I don't know, you tell me. Till about half an hour ago, I didn't even know I had a sister."

"Hope has a twin sister too?" one of the twins, Lily, asked.

"Yes," Mrs Winters said. She sighed and looked at her husband for support.

"Cool," the other twin, Daisy, said.

"She… She was kidnapped from a hospital when she was three," Mr Winters said.

"Oh." Hope frowned. "But how did she find me? I mean, she looked as surprised as me when she saw my face, so I don't think she knew she had a sister."

"I don't know."

Hope thought for a moment.

"I'm taking up karate or something."

Mrs Winters smiled.

"What did she say? And where is she?"

"She didn't say anything, just… pinched me."

"Pinched?"

"Yeah, like that Vulcan neck pinch, from Star Trek."

"Oh," Mrs Winter said, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Anyway, when I woke up in the alley around the corner, she was gone."

Mrs Winters sighed. She looked at her husband.

"Maybe we should hire a detective again."

Mr Winters thought about it.

"And tell him what? That Faith showed up somewhere in Paris, rescued her sister and vanished again. He wouldn't even know where to start looking."

"Oh."

Two days later, Faith intercepted Willow on her way to school.

"Hey, Red."

Willow nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Faith!"

"Found anything?"

Willow nodded.

"Yes." She took off her bag, and then took out a folder. "Here."

Faith took the folder and quickly looked through.

"We'll probably be taking a trip this afternoon."

"Where?"

"To see this lady." Faith closed the folder. "I'll be at the Bronze." She looked at Willow. "And don't even think about bringing Buffy along."

"Eh, okay."

They split up. Willow went to school, and Faith went to the Bronze. At the Bronze, Faith sat herself in a dark corner where she had a view of the whole Bronze. She opened the folder and started reading.

By the time Willow got to the Bronze, Faith was thoroughly pissed from reading the files Willow dug up. She had been drunk and now she was more or less sober again. But she was still pissed.

"Eh, hi?" Willow said, nervous.

Faith looked at her.

"We're going to Boston," she said and got up.

"Boston?"

"Yeah." She opened the folder and showed Willow the file. "We're visiting a nurse."

"Okay."

"Ladies room."

They went to the ladies room and when Faith made sure they were alone, Willow opened a portal to the ghost roads.

When they got to Boston, Faith quickly found the address. They entered the building and searched for the apartment. When they found it, Faith's instincts told her to just break down the door, but then her rational mind took over and she knocked.

"Yes?" an elderly woman said as she opened the door.

"Marissa Barrington?" Faith asked.

"Yes."

"You were a nurse?"

"Yes. How can I help you?"

Faith grabbed her neck and pushed her inside.

"By answering a couple of questions."

"Faith!" Willow said, worried that Faith would kill the woman.

"Shut up, Red. Close the door."

Willow closed the door, and Faith looked at Mrs Barrington.

"You're gonna answer or I'm gonna start breaking bones, got it?" she said as she pushed her to the living room. Mrs Barrington nodded, scared. "Sit," Faith said and pushed her on the sofa.

Mrs Barrington rubbed her neck.

"Who… Who are you?"

Faith took the folder from her waistband and gave it to Mrs Barrington.

Mrs Barrington opened it, confused. She leafed through it, wondering what was going on, but when she finally had enough information, she remembered.

"Oh."

"Who hired you?" Faith asked when she saw that Mrs Barrington remembered.

Mrs Barrington looked at her, scared.

"I… I…"

Faith leaned closer.

"You don't want to lie to me, trust me."

Mrs Barrington swallowed. She glanced at Willow for some help, but she noticed that Willow just as afraid as she was.

"The… The Council," she admitted.

Faith bit her teeth and made fists.

"Why?"

"I… I'm not… sure. They… they wanted you for some reason, I'm guessing because you were a… a Slayer-in-Waiting."

"A what?"

"A potential Slayer."

"Oh. What happened? I wasn't raised by the Council."

"I'm not sure."

Faith grabbed her neck.

"Don't play with me, bitch."

"I'm not! I swear! I don't know what happened. The team who took you had an accident. When they came around, you were gone."

Faith let go of her.

"They couldn't find me?"

Mrs Barrington swallowed again, scared.

"They… They never bothered."

Faith straightened up, furious.

"What about my sister?"

"I don't know. You were… an easy target because you were in the hospital."

"Why do they want her now?"

"I don't know."

Faith slapped her.

"Don't lie to me!"

"I don't know! I swear," Mrs Barrington cried, tears streaming down her neck.

Faith kicked at the table, breaking it.

"Who ordered it?"

Mrs Barrington swallowed again.

"Mr… Mr Travers."

Faith felt like screaming. She leaned close to Mrs Barrington.

"Tell him that if I ever see him, he's a dead man. Got it?"

Mrs Barrington nodded.

"Yes, yes."

Faith looked at Willow.

"Let's go back."

She grabbed the folder and waited for Willow to open the portal.

When they got to Sunnydale, Faith let Willow go. She went to her apartment. She lay on the bed and stared at the photos of her family. She felt conflicted and, she hated to admit it to herself, ashamed. She'd started working for the Mayor because he was the only one who didn't judge her and who appreciated her skills, not to mention that he could protect her from the Council. She didn't really want him to destroy Sunnydale, but she was so angry at everyone, and at Buffy especially, that she didn't care anymore. But now that she found out she had a family, she was confused. On one hand, she liked being independent, not having to answer to anyone, but on the other hand, she'd always envied Buffy her mother. She sighed.

She knew she was a bad girl and she doubted her family would like her anyway, the only one who liked her as a bad girl was the Mayor and she knew he was insane. But her family's potential dislike of her didn't stop her from feeling ashamed about what she'd done. She'd tried to hard to forget about it, to pretend it didn't matter, that she was allowed to do it because she was a Slayer, but now all the wrong things she'd done came back, especially the face of Deputy Mayor Finch.

She put the photos away and took a deep breath. Regardless of how her family felt about her, she wanted to protect them and not give them any more reasons to be ashamed of her. She decided to leave Sunnydale.

After a couple of weeks of wondering around California, she ended up in San Francisco. She kept a low profile, not wanting the Mayor or the Council to find her. This of course meant not letting any demons escape and, unfortunately, less partying. She avoided stealing and only took from the demons she slew. She almost felt like when she was on the run from Kakistos, only this time she had nowhere to run, at least nowhere specific. Or, for that matter, to no one. She realized she had never felt so alone, she'd alienated everyone who was on her side, those she wanted on her side and those which she should be fighting. And as much as she liked her independence, she regretted not having someone to talk to. Still, it was better this way, at least she couldn't get betrayed again. Nor could she betray anyone herself, she realized and immediately felt ashamed. She pushed the thoughts away and tried to concentrate on the Big Mac she was eating. At least she could satisfy the hungry part, because no matter how many people she slept with, it still left her wanting. Maybe not exactly horny, but wanting more. Of what, she didn't know. It frustrated her.

"Hope?"

Faith looked up, startled. She looked around.

"No, Faith?"

She spotted the man and froze, her eyes wide. She'd never seen him before, at least she didn't remember it, but she knew who he was from photos and her dreams. It was her father. She had no idea what he was doing in San Francisco or how he found her, but she had no intention of talking to him, she couldn't.

"Faith, is that really you?" Mr Winters said as he approached her.

Faith grabbed the fries and ran.

"Faith, wait!"

But Faith didn't. She ran for a couple of blocks, never looking back, knowing that he won't be able to catch her.

When she finally stopped at the mouth of an alley, she looked back. She didn't really expect to see him, but it was instinctive. She entered the alley and leaned on the wall. She wasn't tired, but she needed to think. Seeing her father unexpectedly had rattled her more than she had expected it would. She realized her cheeks were wet and she wiped them with the sleeve of her jacket. She frowned, not sure whether she had actually been crying. She took a deep breath to calm down. She slid down the wall and slowly started to eat her food, thinking about the encounter. She realized she should stay away from the big cities, or at least away from their better parts.

She thought about her father. He didn't look angry, more like hopeful, but then again he knew nothing about her or what she'd done, he didn't know her. She had no doubt that once he found out what she was like and what she had done, he would shun her. He was one of the good guys after all and she was not. It was better this way, but a part of her wished it was not. She'd envied Buffy her mother, but now that she finally had her own family, she couldn't be with them because of what she'd done. She found it ironic.

She finished eating. She wiped her mouth with the paper and then threw the paper away. She got up and looked around the corner. When she didn't see her father, she headed back to her motel, deciding to be the best god damn Slayer ever. Not because of some noble cause or because she gave a rat's ass about people, but simply because that's what she was, a Slayer, a hunter. She would go out, to hunt and to slay, and then she would die, like all Slayers did. But she swore she wouldn't go down easy.

First order of business, however, was to get the hell out of San Francisco.

"Hi, honey, how was your trip?" Mrs Winters asked when Mr Winters came home.

They kissed.

"I ran into Faith."

"Really?" Mrs Winters said excitedly. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. She ran away as soon as she saw me."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But she did recognize me, so I guess that's a good thing."

"But why would she run away?"

"I don't know."

Mrs Winters sighed.

"Better tell Hope about it."

Mr Winters nodded.

"I will."

"Hi, Daddy!" Lily and Daisy called and ran to him.

Mr Winters smiled and picked them up.

"Hey, flowers," he said and gave each a peck on the nose. "Where's Hope?"

"In her room."

A couple of months later, Faith had another dream, or glimpse as she called them. Hope had been kidnapped again and her mother was injured. She clung to the dream as long as she could, trying to get as many details as she could. She was really pissed, and scared as well, although she didn't want to admit it to herself. She went on the first bus toward Sunnydale, and then stole a bike at a road house.

When she got to Sunnydale, it was already evening. She had no idea where Willow was, so she first checked her house, then Buffy's, then she went to Sunnydale High. When she got there, she saw that it had been destroyed. She frowned, confused, but then she realized it was probably Buffy who did it. She tensed when a moment later she realized that the reason for it was probably the Mayor. She sighed and moved on.

Next was the Bronze. She knew she could run into Buffy there, but she took the risk anyway. Unfortunately, Willow wasn't there either. She drove to Giles' house, but Willow wasn't there either, which meant that she was probably out on patrol with Buffy. She hoped. She drove around, hoping to find her soon, but when that failed, she went to Willow's house and waited there.

Two long hours later, Willow finally arrived. Faith waited until Buffy moved on and then ran to the front door.

"Red."

Willow jumped, startled.

"Faith," she said, nervous.

"I need a ride."

"Where?"

"Boston."

"But…"

"Now."

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"How long is this gonna take?"

"Just take me there, you can go then."

"Okay." She thought for a moment. "Let's go around the house." She closed the front door and led the way. "What's the reason this time?"

Faith tensed.

"None of your business."

"Is it your sister again? I can help."

Faith snorted.

"Why would you?"

"I may hate you, but I don't hate your sister."

Faith didn't respond.

"What happened to the high school?" she asked instead.

Willow tensed a little, worried about Faith's reaction.

"Buffy blew it up."

"To kill the Mayor," Faith said.

"Yes."

Faith sighed. She didn't really miss the Mayor, even though he had been a sort of father figure to her. What she missed was the company of someone who didn't judge her.

Willow finally stopped and concentrated.

When they got to Boston, Faith first got her bearings. Then she started running.

"Faith, wait!" Willow called, but Faith ignored her. "If you know where you're going, we can use the ghost roads!"

Faith stopped. She turned and slowly walked back. Then she remembered how Willow had followed her in Paris. She ran back.

"We need to go north."

"Okay."

When they got to the right location, yet another warehouse, Faith approached it, wanting to scout it out first.

"Wait," Willow whispered aloud.

Faith glared at her.

"What?"

"They got magical alarms."

Faith frowned.

"How do you know?"

"Hello, Wicca here. I can feel them."

"Oh. What can you do about it?"

"Without my magical stuff, nothing much."

Faith looked at the warehouse anxiously, thinking.

"Can you levitate stuff?"

"Yes."

"Lift me up, so I can see through the window."

"You?"

"Yes."

"But…"

"What? I thought you said you can levitate stuff."

"Yes, but so far I've only done pencils."

Faith rolled her eyes.

"There's always a first time. Do it."

Willow gulped.

"Okay, but don't blame me if I drop you."

"Whatever, just do it."

Willow took a deep breath and concentrated. Slowly, very slowly, Faith started to rise. Faith avoided moving too much, knowing she would probably disturb Willow.

"Can you move me to the right and a little higher?" she asked when Willow stopped raising her.

Nothing happened for a moment and then Willow moved her a little.

"Okay, stop," she told her when she was in position. She quickly assessed the situation. "Okay, put me down."

Willow did so, and when Faith was on the ground, Willow panted a little.

"Wow, I did it!" she said, excited.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" Faith asked, annoyed.

Willow quickly covered her mouth.

"Sorry."

"Can you get us inside through the ghost roads?"

"Yes, but their alarms will go off."

"Doesn't matter." Faith quickly drew a rough map of the warehouse on the ground with her boot. "We're here, Hope is here and I saw at least ten Watchers, mostly here and here, near the doors. I want you to open a portal here, near Hope. I'll take out these first."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Stay out of the way until I kick their buts."

"I'll get Hope then."

"No, I don't want her to know about magic and stuff."

"She'll know when you show up out of nowhere."

"She's facing away from the door."

"Oh."

"Let's go."

Willow concentrated and opened a portal. They quickly entered the ghost roads and hurried to the location where Faith wanted to enter the warehouse. Willow then opened a portal, and Faith attacked her sister's kidnappers. When Faith was in the warehouse, Willow closed the portal.

Faith, furious because her sister had been kidnapped again and because her mother got hurt, showed no mercy. The Council operatives were lucky that she didn't have any weapons or she would've killed them.

As Faith took care of the operatives, Willow quickly checked on Hope. The girl was okay, just scared. She waited until Faith took care of the operatives near the back door and then exited the ghost roads behind them. The door was locked, but Willow used magic to unlock it. The she opened the door and peeked through. The remaining operatives were busy fighting Faith, so Willow ran to Hope and quickly started to untie her. The operatives noticed her and one of them ran to stop them.

"Hurry," Willow told Hope and stood up to face the operative.

The operative was obviously a better fighter than Willow, but Willow had learned a trick or two from Buffy. Then Hope freed herself and joined her, and together they quickly knocked the man out.

"Let's, go," Willow then said.

"What about Faith?" Hope asked.

"She can take care of… Oh, no," Willow said when she noticed more operatives coming through the back door. "Faith!"

Faith glanced at her and noticed the operatives. She growled and kicked the nearest operative in the head, knocking him out.

Four of the new operatives surrounded Willow and Hope, and the other six went after Faith. Willow and Hope fought them, but they were quickly overpowered.

"That's enough, Faith," one of the operatives holding Hope called.

Faith glared at him.

"You just signed your death warrant," she said and ran toward him.

She jumped over the approaching operatives and plowed into the four holding Willow and Faith.

"Get her out of here!" she called to Willow when she freed them.

"Can I…"

"Yes!"

Faith stood between Hope and Willow, and the operatives, buying Willow the time she needed to open the portal.

Willow concentrated and quickly opened a portal. She grabbed the confused Hope and stepped through.

"We're safe!" she called and closed the portal.

Faith glanced at the closing portal and then looked back at the operatives. She grinned.

"Pay time."

As Faith attacked the operatives, Hope looked around, surprised.

"Where are we?" she asked, scared a little.

"Ghost roads," Willow said.

"What?"

"Ghost roads. Long story."

Hope stared at her for a few moments and then looked at Faith, who was kicking the shit out of the operatives.

"How… How did you know where to find me?"

Willow shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Why did they take me?"

Willow looked at her.

"I don't know. I'm guessing to get to Faith."

"Faith? Why?"

"Well, she pissed them off, I guess," Willow said, reluctant to go into details.

Hope thought for a moment.

"Does it have to do with that man?"

Willow frowned.

"What man?"

"The one she killed."

Willow tensed.

"How do you know about that?"

Hope sighed.

"So it's true."

"Yes, but how did you know about that?"

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"I… I dreamed about it."

"Dreamed?"

"Yes. I always thought it was just a nightmare, but now that I know about Faith…" She thought for a few moments. "Does she fight monsters?"

Willow hesitated for a moment, glancing at Faith, who was still beating up the operatives.

"She's supposed to."

"What do you mean?

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"I think you should ask her that."

"What is she? Is she normal? And what are you? I mean, how did you open the… the…"

"The portal?

"Yeah?"

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"With magic. I'm a witch."

"A witch?" Hope said, startled.

"Yes."

"Oh." Hope looked at Faith. "And Faith?"

"She's a Slayer."

"A what?"

"Slayer. And I really shouldn't be telling you this. Faith is gonna kill me if she finds out."

"I want to know."

"She doesn't want you to know."

Hope frowned.

"Why not?"

Willow thought about it.

"I guess she's just trying to protect you."

"From what?"

Willow waved her hand.

"All this supernatural stuff."

"Oh." Hope thought for a moment. "What is she like?"

Willow tensed, not quite sure what to say.

"I don't think you should be asking me that."

Hope frowned.

"Why not?"

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"Because we're not friends."

"You're not?" Hope said, surprised. "But you're helping her."

"I'm helping you. If they want Faith, fine, but they shouldn't drag you into this."

"Who's they?"

"Watcher's Council."

"Huh?"

"They're supposed to help Slayers, but they're really just a pain in the ass."

"Oh." Willow Hope thought for a few moments. "Do… Do you know about a woman who got killed?"

Willow looked at her.

"There's plenty of dead women."

"I mean, she got killed by a…a monster. With cloven hooves. And Faith gave it a scar."

"Kakistos?" Willow said, surprised. "How do you know about him?"

Hope shrugged.

"I dreamed about it. What was he?"

"A vampire."

Hope frowned.

"Like Dracula?"

"Yes."

"Oh. And the woman?"

"She was Faith's Watcher."

"Watcher? From the Watcher's Council?"

"Yes. Not all Watchers are…"

"What is she doing?" Hope interrupted Willow when she noticed Faith going from operative to operative, breaking their knees.

"Breaking their knees," Willow said and quickly opened a portal. "Come." She dragged Hope through. "Faith!"

"What?!" Faith said, angry. She tensed when she saw Hope. She stared at her for a few moments and then looked at Willow. "Why didn't you take her home?"

"I didn't know if they had more backup. You might have needed an extraction."

"Oh." Faith sighed. "Take her home, then we're taking a little trip to England."

"England?" Willow said, startled.

"Yeah. Travers is starting to piss me off."

"You're not gonna kill him," Willow said, worried.

Faith glanced at Hope, nervously.

"Not this time," she said and glared at Willow. "Go."

"Faith…" Hope started.

"Go home."

"But…"

"Now!"

Hope swallowed.

"I really want to talk to you."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to talk to you," Faith said and turned around.

Hope stared at her for a few moments and then looked at Willow.

"We better go," Willow said.

"But…"

"Trust me, you don't want to piss her off."

Hope looked at Faith one last time and then followed Willow.

"How do you know where we're going?" Hope asked after a few moments.

"Instinct."

"Oh."

Hope thought for a moment.

"Do you know where Faith is staying?"

Willow shrugged.

"I think she left Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?"

"That's where she came after her Watcher was killed."

"Oh. My dad says he saw her in San Francisco."

Willow shrugged again.

"I don't know. Could be."

Hope thought for a moment.

"Who's this Travers guy?"

"He's from the Council."

"Oh. What's Faith gonna do to him?"

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"Beat him up, probably break a couple of bones."

"I hope she doesn't kill him."

Willow thought for a moment.

"Not that I'd mourn him, but I don't want that either."

They quickly reached Hope's house.

"Wow, that was fast," Hope said.

"Yes, it's very fast. Go now."

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"What about Faith?"

Willow shrugged.

"I don't know. That's pretty much up to her."

"Will you tell her that we'd like her to come home?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Hope exited the ghost roads, and Willow closed the portal.

Hope stared at the spot where the portal used to be for a moment, and then ran to the front gate. She wanted to enter, but it was locked. She rang the bell a couple of times.

When the door opened, Hope quickly entered.

"Dad!" she said, relieved, when she saw him.

"Hope!" Mr Winters said, equally surprised, and hugged her back. "Honey, Hope's back!" He let go of Hope. "Where've you been?"

"Some warehouse. Faith saved me again."

"Faith?"

"Yes. How's Mom?"

"She's okay, just some scratches."

"Oh. Where are Lily and Daisy?"

"Asleep."

"Oh, honey!" Mrs Winters said, relieved, when she saw Hope.

Hope smiled.

"Hi, Mom."

They hugged.

"Are you okay?" her mother then asked.

Hope nodded.

"I'm fine."

"She says Faith saved her," Mr Winters said.

Mrs Winters glanced at him, surprised.

"Faith?"

"Yes," Hope said.

"But how did she know where to find you?"

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"Remember those nightmares a couple of months ago?"

Mrs Winter frowned.

"Yes. You were pretty shaken up."

Hope nodded.

"Yes. Only it turns out they weren't nightmares. That was Faith, I was dreaming of her."

"What?"

"Don't ask me how, I don't know. I've dreamed about her before, but I always thought it was just dreams, you know? But I asked a friend of hers and she said that the nightmares really did happen."

Mrs Winters frowned, thinking.

"You mean… When you dreamed about… about killing a man…"

"It really happened."

Mrs Winters gasped.

"Are you sure?" Mr Winters asked.

Hope nodded.

"Yes. And there's more. Let's sit down."

When Faith and Willow got to England, Faith told Willow to stay behind and wait. Willow made Faith promise she wouldn't kill Travers, but she wasn't sure if Faith would keep her word.

As Faith broke into the house, she was still surprised that Willow knew Travers' address. Then again she shouldn't really be surprised, considering that Buffy had dealt with Travers before. She listened for a moment until she heard a male voice. She ran upstairs and stopped at the top of the stairs. She listened again, but then Travers came out of his study. His eyes went wide when he saw Faith. He backed into his office and closed the door. Faith quickly ran to the door, kicked open and caught him just as he reached his desk.

"You really know how to piss a girl off," she said as she grabbed his neck.

She threw him against the wall and then looked around. She noticed a poker next to the fire place and quickly picked it up. Quentin was just picking himself up, so Faith swung the poker and hit him in the ribs. Quentin went down, moaning.

"You know, it's one thing when you're after me," Faith said and swung the poker, crushing his left kneecap, "but it's another when you mess with my family," she finished and crushed his right kneecap. Then she stuck the poker between his legs, close to his balls, and kneeled. "You're this close to dying," she said, glaring at him.

"Quentin, what… Oh my…"

Faith immediately got up and ran to the shocked woman.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

Faith looked at her as she dragged her to Travers.

"I'm Faith."

"What… What do you want?" the woman asked, scared.

"What do I want? Just my life back, but I'm afraid that's not possible." She pulled her down. "Why don't you tell her what you did, Quentin, hmm? Or do you want me?"

"What?" the woman asked.

"Hmm, let's see," Faith said. "When I was three years old, he sent some men to kidnap me. He tried to get my sister too, but he failed. And you know what really pisses me off about it, not that he tried to kidnap me, no, but that he didn't even bother to find me after his team lost me."

"Is… Is that true?" the woman asked.

"Martha…" Quentin started, but Faith slapped him.

"Shut up, Quentin." She looked at Martha. "I'm guessing you know about demons and Slayers and stuff, right?"

Martha nodded.

"Yes."

"Well, I'm a Slayer. The rogue one." She looked at Travers. "You know, I have my issues with Buffy, but at least she tried to help me," she looked at Martha, "he, on the other hand, wanted me kidnapped and brought to England. And now that he failed, he tried to kidnap my sister." She looked at Quentin. "Twice!" She glanced at Martha. "I'm not gonna kill you, at least not this time, because I don't want my family to have an even worse opinion of me than they already do. But I swear, if you mess with them again, I'm gonna slowly torture Martha here to death and you'll watch. And then I'm gonna torture you as well, only I won't kill you. I'll make you a cripple, you won't be able to move or talk, but you will remember." She let go of Martha and got up. "I suggest you talk some sense into him, before it's too late," she told Martha.

She quickly left, knowing that she may have set off an alarm. There was also the possibility that Travers might get a visitor or someone might notice the broken in door, considering it was already morning in England.

"Is everything okay?" Willow asked nervously when Faith came back.

"He's still alive and not too hurt."

"Oh."

"Let's go."

Willow concentrated and opened the portal.

"Eh, Hope knows, eh, that you killed… Finch," Willow said after a while.

Faith grabbed her neck.

"You told her?"

"No!" Willow squeaked. "I swear!"

Faith eased up her grip a little.

"Then how does she know?"

"She said she dreamed about it."

Faith tensed.

"Dreamed?"

Willow nodded.

"And she dreamed about Kakistos too."

Faith sighed, realizing that apparently Hope was having dreams of her just as she was having dreams of her. She let go of Willow.

"Does… Does she know about demons?"

"Yes."

Faith slumped.

"Let's go."

They continued toward America.

"Eh, Hope said they'd like you to come home," Willow said after a while.

Faith tensed.

"Whatever."

Willow realized that Faith wasn't in the mood to talk about her family.

"Eh, where do you want me to take you?" she asked instead.

Faith shrugged.

"Somewhere in America."

"Okay."

They quietly walked over to America.

"Eh, we're here," Willow said.

She concentrated and opened the portal. Faith stepped through, and Willow quickly closed the portal.

Faith looked around and realized she was in Boston. She looked toward the portal, but it was gone.

"Damn."

During the next month, Faith stalked through Boston. She tried to keep her presence a secret from the demon community, but she knew that eventually they would figure it out. But it wasn't the demons she was worried about, it was her family. She spied on them occasionally, followed them to work or school, but she never let herself be seen. She wanted to be with her family, but she knew she couldn't be. In spite of what Willow said, that her family wanted her to come home, she didn't believe it. Why would anyone want her anyway? And in spite of the fact that they were her family, she was afraid of being let down and betrayed like so many times before. Worse yet, she was also afraid of letting them down. And she knew she would, one way or another.

She was angry at herself, at the Council, the woman who she'd thought was her mother, Buffy and the world in general. She took excessive risk. The fact that she started feeling guilty about her own actions, especially killing Finch, didn't help her mental health any. A part of her wanted to just end it all, but another part was worried about her family, so she persevered, hoping that Travers had learned his lesson.

As she watched her twin sister as she hanged out with her friends, she wondered what it would be like to have a real family. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head, but they kept coming back and mixed with the feelings of guilt they were driving her crazy.

Thanks to her dreams, Hope was well aware of her twin sister's turmoil. She couldn't feel what her sister felt, but she could see enough of the action to know that Faith was not okay. She also knew that her sister often observed her from afar. She decided to confront her, hoping that Faith won't run away from her like she had from their father.

After her classes were over, she sneaked out the back, made a circle around the block and carefully approached the cafés, not completely sure at which her sister was. When she got as close as she could, she took a deep breath and then quickly started walking past the cafés, quickly inspecting each. After she passed three of them, she started thinking that perhaps Faith wasn't there that day, but then she spotted her in the fourth. She saw that Faith noticed her as well, so she quickly entered before Faith escaped. She walked up to her.

"Hey," she said.

Faith, who had gotten up, stared at her, surprised, she had not expected her sister to find her.

"Eh…" she said, not sure what to say.

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"I hope you're not gonna run out of me like you did on Dad. I'd really like to talk to you."

Faith looked around, feeling uncomfortable.

"We can take a walk," Hope suggested.

"Eh, okay," Faith said, relieved that she wouldn't have to sit and be scrutinized by her sister.

Hope smiled a little.

"Come."

They left the café, and Faith followed Hope, who kept an eye one Faith, making sure she wouldn't just bolt.

"Let me guess, you were dreaming about me," Hope finally spoke. "That's how you found me, right?"

Faith looked at her.

"Yeah." She frowned. "You… You have dreams about me?"

"How do you think I knew you were watching me?"

Faith tensed.

"Oh," she said, realizing that Hope probably knew all about her.

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"Look, um, I guess you figured out that I know a lot about you from dreams. I always thought it was just nightmares, until the second time you rescued me. I wanted to ask your friend Willow about it, but she was reluctant to talk about it."

"She's not my friend," Faith said.

"Oh. Um, anyway, I told Mom and Dad about it. They understand that you're… probably afraid to come home, but they really want you to. And Lily and Daisy are also eager to meet you."

Faith didn't respond.

"We all want you to come home, Faith," Hope said.

Faith sighed.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"Because you're a part of our family."

"But…"

"I know you fucked up royally, but you're still my sister and I want to help you. We all do."

Faith didn't respond immediately. A part of her wanted to go back, but a part of her was afraid, ashamed.

"Do… Do, eh, Lily and Daisy know about, eh…"

"That you killed someone?"

Faith tensed.

"Yes."

"No. And I didn't tell them about demons either." Hope hesitated for a moment. "Can you tell me about demons and stuff? Willow didn't want to talk about it."

Faith sighed.

"What do you want to know?"

Hope shrugged.

"I don't know. How many are there? Kinds, I mean. I've seen some freaky monsters in my dreams."

Faith shrugged.

"Don't know, a lot."

"But you mostly fight those that… explode."

"Vamps."

"Vamps?"

"Vampires."

"Oh."

"But why do you fight them?"

"Because I'm the… a Slayer."

"What's a Slayer?"

"A girl chosen by some higher powers to fight the demons."

"Chosen? How?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "Is that other girl, the blonde, is she also a Slayer?"

Faith tensed.

"Yeah."

"And the other ones, the, eh, redhead and…"

"No, just us."

"Oh. When did you become a Slayer?"

"Last year."

Hope thought for a moment.

"When you met that woman? The one that, eh, that… vamp killed?"

Faith tensed and swallowed.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry about her. She seemed like a nice woman."

Faith sighed.

"Yeah."

Hope thought for a moment.

"Those men, Willow called them Watchers. What are they?"

"They're supposed to help the Slayers. They study demons."

"But why did they want me?"

"To get to me."

"Because you killed that man."

"Yes."

Hope hesitated for a moment.

"Who was he?"

Faith gulped.

"The deputy mayor of Sunnydale."

"Really?" Hope thought for a moment. "And that other guy, the nice one?"

"The mayor of Sunnydale."

"Oh. Did he know you killed his deputy?"

"Yeah."

"But he didn't, I don't know, turn you in."

"He was an evil motherfucker, wanted to become a demon."

Hope frowned.

"But why did you go to him?"

Faith shuddered a little.

"He… He could protect me from the cops."

"Oh." Hope thought for a moment. "So, um, are you staying in Boston?"

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

Faith shrugged.

"Don't know."

"I really hope you come home soon. It would be good for you."

Faith sighed.

"I can't."

"Because you're worried about the Watchers? They're gonna come after me whether you're home or not."

"I don't want you to become a target for demons."

"Considering you're in Boston, I probably already am, since we're twins."

"Oh," Faith said, realizing Hope had a point.

"Oh, um, do you know you'd been kidnapped when you were three?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know by whom and why?"

Faith bit her teeth.

"The Council."

"The Watchers?" Hope said, surprised. "Why?"

Faith shrugged.

"Because I was a potential Slayer, I guess."

"But why?"

"I don't know, I guess they wanted to train me or something."

"Oh. But that… woman, your, eh, mother, she wasn't from the Council."

"No. I think she just found me and took me."

"Found you?"

"The team who took me had an accident."

"Oh." Hope hesitated for a moment and then took Faith's hand, immediately noticing that Faith tensed. "You're not alone anymore, Faith."

Faith swallowed, nervous.

"I…"

"You don't have to say anything, Faith. I mean, I know Mom and Dad would like to know more about you, and so would I, but we can wait until you're ready to tell us. The first thing we want is for you to come home."

"I… I need to think about it."

Hope nodded.

"Okay." She thought for a moment. "Eh, you said you were a potential Slayer. Am I one too?"

Faith glanced at her.

"I think so."

"So I can become a Slayer too?"

Faith frowned.

"I don't know. I guess."

"Cool. How do I become one?"

"If I die."

"Oh." Hope frowned. "What about the other Slayer, the blonde? I mean, how many Slayers are there?"

"Two."

"Oh."

"There used to be only one, but Buffy died briefly once."

"Buffy? The other Slayer?"

"Yes."

"And then you were called?"

"No, another girl, Kendra."

"What hap… She died?"

"Yes."

"And then you were called."

"Yes."

"And when you die, another will be called."

"Yes."

"Well, then I hope you don't," Hope said and gently squeezed Faith's hand.

Faith thought for a few moments.

"What were you doing in Paris?"

"Dad had a business meeting there. It was Friday, so Mom said we could go with him, since it was only for the weekend."

"Oh."

"Thanks for the save, by the way."

Faith shrugged.

"Yeah."

"So, um, do you wanna hang out with me and my friends?"

"They know about me?"

"Yeah. I told them you were kidnapped as a baby and that you now accidentally found us. I left out the you-saving-me part and the demons."

"Oh."

"So, do you wanna? I mean, I can tell you more about the rest of the family before you meet them."

Faith thought about it. On one hand, she didn't want to hang out with a bunch of strangers, but then again, she could find out more about her sister that way. And she did want to hang out with her sister.

"Yeah, okay."

Hope smiled.

"Cool."

Hope decided to stop asking Faith personal questions so as not to scare her away and started up a casual conversation about what was going on in the world.

"Mom, Dad, I ran into Faith," Hope said, excited, when she came home.

"Really?" Mrs Winter said.

"Yeah. I dreamed that she was watching me and she was, so I looked her up."

"How is she? Is she staying in Boston?"

"Yes, she's here."

"How is she?" Mr Winter asked.

"A mess, I guess."

"Is she coming home?" Mrs Winters asked.

"Not just yet. I think she's afraid."

"Of what?"

"Of what you'll say. I mean, she did kill a man."

"Oh," Mrs Winters said and sighed.

"She said she's gonna go out with me and my friends tonight."

"She's coming here?" Mrs Winters asked hopefully.

"No, she's meeting us downtown."

"Oh."

"Tell her that we love her and that we're not mad at her," Mr Winters said.

"Yes," Mrs Winters agreed.

Hope nodded.

"I will."

"So, what is she like?"

When Faith got to the club in the evening, the first thing she did it was scan it for the undead. Not spotting any, she looked for her sister. She quickly found her. When Hope noticed her, they waved at each other, and then Faith went to the bar and got herself a drink. Then she went to Hope and her friends.

"Hey, I'm glad you made it," Hope said with a smile.

"Hey," Faith said.

"You got a beer?" one of Hope's friends asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"How did you get it? I mean, you're not of age yet."

Faith smiled.

"You gotta know how to talk to the bartenders."

"Have a seat," Hope said and made way. "Guys, this is Faith. Faith, these are my friends, Billy, Jessica, Sally, Denver, Francesca, Kenny, Franco and Herb."

"Hey," Faith said.

Hope's friends greeted her back.

"So, how does it feel to have your family back?" Franco asked.

Faith tensed and glanced at Hope.

"Okay," she said and forced a smile.

"Hope says you haven't moved in with them yet," Sally said. "How come?"

"I'm still getting used to it."

"Oh."

Hope realized that Faith felt uncomfortable answering personal questions, so she changed the subject.

"Thanks, guys!" Hope called when her friends dropped Faith and her in front of their home. Her friends drove off, and she looked at Faith, who was staring at the house. "So, um, wanna come in?"

Faith quickly shook her head.

"No."

"They love you, they're not mad at you. Dad said so himself."

Faith sighed.

"I… I'm not ready yet."

"Okay. So, what do you think about my friends?"

Faith shrugged.

"You seem to click."

Hope smiled.

"Yeah. So, um, wanna do this again tomorrow?"

Faith thought about it.

"Sure," she said with a shrug.

"Cool. Same place as today."

"Okay."

Hope thought for a moment.

"Are you going hunting?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful."

Faith stared at her for a couple of moments.

"I will."

Hope smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

After Hope went inside, Faith stared at the building, her home, for a few more moments and then went slaying.

During the next couple of days, Faith and Hope went out a lot, usually in the evening, but sometimes also during the day. Sometimes Hope's friends came along and sometimes they went alone. Hope tried to convince Faith to at least let her visit her, since Faith didn't want to come home yet, but Faith refused. Hope thought that Faith was afraid that she would tell their parents, but Faith was merely ashamed of the run down motel she was staying at. Hope also asked her to take her along on patrol, but Faith refused. She didn't want to endanger her sister and she didn't want to piss off her parents by doing that.

About a week later, when Faith walked Hope home again, Faith sensed that they were being followed. For a moment she thought it was the Watchers again, but then her Slayer senses told her it was vamps. She sighed. She really didn't want her sister to get involved in her Slaying activities.

"We're being followed," she said.

"What?" Hope said, surprised, and looked at Faith.

"Don't look," Faith said as Hope started to turn.

"How do you know?"

"I can feel them."

"Vampires?"

"Yes."

Hope tensed.

"How many?"

Faith shrugged.

"A couple. Get your key ready. When we get to the gate, get in and close it behind you."

"What about you?"

"I'll slay them."

"Oh."

They sped up a little.

"Run," Faith said when she felt that the vamps were very close.

Hope ran toward the gate of her home, keys ready.

Faith grabbed her two stakes and faced the vamps. There were six of them and they were rushing at her, obviously hoping to get her sister as well. Faith approached them, hoping to get rid of them as fast as possible. Four of them engaged her and the remaining two ran after Hope. Faith glanced toward Hope and was relieved that she was already at the gate. Then she realized the vamps might try to climb over the gate. Since she wasn't sure whether the invitation-access-only rule applied only to houses or to estates as well, she shook off her attackers and ran toward the gate. But when she saw that the two vamps were growling angrily at Hope, she figured that they couldn't go over the gate. Still, they might change their minds or something, so she wanted to be there just in case.

"Go inside!" she called Hope and engaged the vamps.

But Hope stayed. She watched, amazed, as her sister engaged the monsters. And monsters they were, because their faces were all distorted and they exploded in a cloud of dust when Faith staked them.

"Faith!" she called, worried, when one of the vamps kicked Faith so hard that she bent the iron bars of the gate when she hit them.

But Faith quickly got up, shrugged her head and engaged the vamps again.

Their parents apparently noticed that something was going on and they came to see.

"Is that Faith?" Mrs Winters asked, wide-eyed, when she saw Faith fighting the vamps.

Hope looked at them, startled.

"Yes."

"What the hell?" Mr Winters said when Faith staked a vamp and it exploded in a cloud of dust.

"They're vampires," Hope said. "She already killed three."

"Vampires?" Mrs Winters said.

"Yes."

They quietly watched as Faith as Faith fought the vampires. She received several punches and kicks which looked very painful to Hope, but Faith barely noticed them.

Faith quickly dusted two more vamps. The last one decided to make a run for it, but Faith threw one of her stakes after her, dusting him. Then she looked toward Hope and froze when she saw her parents.

Hope realized what Faith was afraid of. She quickly opened the gate and went to Faith.

"You okay?" she asked her, stepping in her line of view.

Faith blinked and looked at her, startled.

"Uh, yeah," she said and glanced at her parents, nervous. Her eyes went wide when she saw them approaching. "Uh, I think…"

"It's okay," Hope said.

She stepped aside and let her mother closer.

"Hi, honey," Mrs Winters said with a smile and reached out to touch her, but Faith pulled back, glancing at Hope nervously. "We're not mad, Faith," Mrs Winters continued as she moved closer.

Faith swallowed, suddenly feeling terrified.

"That's right," Mr Winters said. "We just want you to come home."

Mrs Winters used the opportunity when Faith glanced at her father. She bridged the final gap and hugged Faith.

Faith tensed, almost violently pushing her mother away, but she stopped herself in time and clenched her fists in instead. She tensed again when her father hugged both her and her mother.

"I've missed you so much, baby," Mrs Winters said, hugging Faith tightly.

"We love you," Mr Winters said.

Faith felt strange. She'd been feeling very edgy lately, though her sister's presence had a strangely calming effect on her. Still, being hugged by her parents suddenly made it painfully clear what she had been missing all her life, as well as just how much she had screwed up herself. She was a slut, a murderer, she had betrayed those who would be her friends as well as those who should've been her enemies. Her parents knew that, yet they still loved her and wanted her back.

She trembled and tears started to run down her cheeks. She didn't notice them at first. She wanted to wipe them, not wanting to appear weak, but her arms were pinned to her body by her mother. When she started sobbing, she desperately wished she was alone so they wouldn't see her cry. She tried to stop, but her mother's caresses and gentle whispers broke through her crumbling walls.

"It's okay, sweetie, it's okay," Mrs Winters said when Faith's sobs turned into crying.

When Faith finally stopped crying and calmed down, Mr Winters let go of her and her mother. Mrs Winters cupped Faith's face and wiped Faith's tears with her thumbs, smiling softly.

"Welcome home, sweetie," she said.

Faith looked away, nervous.

Her father put his hand on her shoulder.

"Feeling better?"

Faith glanced at him. She shrugged.

"Yeah."

"Come, let's go inside," Mrs Winters said.

Faith tensed and glanced at Hope.

"You're running out of excuses," Hope said with a smile. "Come, you can take a shower or a bath and Mom can get you something to eat."

Faith hesitated for a moment and then sighed, realizing that Hope had a point. She wondered how they would deal with her slaying, but she hoped that they would be as cool about it as Joyce was about Buffy's slaying.

"Okay."

After a shower and a late dinner, Faith went to bed. She wasn't tired physically, but she was drained emotionally. She was glad that her parents didn't question her about vamps or anything else, they just enjoyed her presence. Faith had felt a little nervous under their scrutiny, but the smiles on their faces told her that they weren't judging her. She knew that they would probably want to talk the next day, but she felt that Hope would help her out. It was a strange feeling, being able to rely on her sister. She tried not to think too much and she quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Faith was awoken by a knock on the door. She opened her eyes and frowned when she didn't immediately recognize the room. Then she remembered where she was. Home.

"Yeah?" she said, remembering the knock.

The door opened and Hope looked in, smiling.

"You might wanna get up before Mom wakes the flowers," she said.

Faith frowned, but then she realized Hope was talking about their baby sisters.

"Okay. Thanks."

Hope hesitated.

"You okay?"

Faith stared at her for a moment.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Come to the kitchen when you're done."

"Okay."

Hope left, closing the door, and Faith lay back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, a little nervous. Then she took a deep breath and got up.

When Faith was done in the bathroom, Mrs Winters went to wake up the baby twins.

"Wake up, girls," she called softly. The girls slowly opened their eyes. Mrs Winters smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning, Mommy," Lily said.

"Morning," Daisy said.

"Time to get up," Mrs Winters said.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes. And guess what, your sister Faith is back."

The girls sat up, suddenly fully awake.

"Really?" Lily said.

"Yes. She's downstairs, eating breakfast."

"When did she come back?"

"Last night."

"Cool," Daisy said and got out of bed.

"Not so fast, sweetie," Mrs Winters said. "First the bathroom, then you dress up and then you can go see Faith."

"Okay," Daisy said and ran to the bathroom, Lily hot on her tail.

By the time the baby twins came downstairs, Faith was just finishing her breakfast. The baby twins stopped and stared at Faith for a couple of moments.

"Morning," Hope said with an awkward smile.

The girls looked at her and then at Faith.

"I'm Daisy."

"And I'm Lily."

"Uh, I'm Faith."

The girls nodded.

"We know," Daisy said.

"Are you staying home now?" Lily asked.

Faith glanced at Hope.

"Uh, I guess."

"Cool!"

The girls went to their chairs and sat down.

"Where were you?" Daisy asked.

Faith shrugged.

"Here in Boston."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you come home?"

"I thought I was home."

"Oh."

"Faith and I will go get her stuff now and when we come back, you can talk to her," Hope said.

"Okay," Lily said.

As Hope drove her to her motel, Faith felt a bit uncomfortable, she didn't want Hope to see the dump she had been staying in. Then again, Hope had witnessed the worst moments of her life and the motel wanna-be she was currently staying in was far from that. Not to mention she had probably seen it in her dreams.

When they got to the motel, Hope didn't say anything, but Faith could see it on her face what she thought.

"Better keep an eye on your car," Faith said as she unlocked the door.

Hope nodded.

"Yeah."

They entered but left the door open, so Hope could keep an eye on her car.

"I'll be quick," Faith said.

"Need any help?"

"No."

Faith quickly packed her stuff. Then they went to the manager, and Faith signed out.

When they got back home, Faith quickly put her stuff in the closet.

"We'll have to go shopping," Hope observed.

Faith grinned.

"Yeah."

"But if you need anything, you can borrow mine."

"Thanks."

Then the baby twins burst in and stopped, a little unsure about how to act around their new sister.

"Hi," Lily said.

"Hi," Daisy echoed.

Faith smiled.

"Hey."

"Can we talk now?"

"Sure."

"How about we go to the living room," Hope said. "We'll be more comfortable there."

"Okay," Lily said and then she and Daisy ran off to get the best places.

"They're… sweet," Faith said.

Hope smiled.

"Yeah. Come."

After a long interrogation, which was mercifully stopped by lunch, Faith went to her room. She lay on the bed and thought for a while. She knew that the Council might try to go after her or her family again, in spite of her threat to Travers. She didn't want to have anything to do with them, but she knew that in order to make sure that the Council left her alone, she would have to get back into their good graces. That, unfortunately, meant having a Watcher. She didn't like having a Watcher. She'd been lucky with the first one, but the other two were a disaster. She didn't really count Giles as her Watcher, though she wouldn't mind having him as one. She realized that he was the only one of the Council that she more or less trusted. Though they were enemies at the moment and she knew he would kill her to protect Buffy if necessary, he had her respect. He might be a bit stuffy, but he was fair. She envied Buffy for having him as a Watcher, but only because she wished that her own Watcher hadn't been killed. She shuddered at the thought of her failure.

She decided to call him and ask him to get the Council off her back. Hopefully he would agree to send someone he trusted. Not that she would trust her new Watcher, but she wouldn't be outright hostile toward them.

Unfortunately, she didn't know Giles' number, but she knew that Buffy did. She sighed. She didn’t really want to talk to her, but she knew that she needed to apologize. In spite of Buffy's shortcomings, she liked Buffy. A lot.

She hesitated for a while and then finally gathered up the courage and called her.

"Yes? Summers residence."

Faith tensed as she recognized Joyce's voice.

"Uh, hi, Mrs S."

There was a brief pause.

"Faith?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that's a surprise. Buffy said you left. Are you okay?"

Faith sighed as she realized that Joyce didn't know about what she'd done.

"Yeah." Faith hesitated for a moment. "I went home."

"Oh. Uh, did you want to talk to Buffy?"

"Yeah."

"Hold on."

Faith waited nervously as Joyce called Buffy.

"Faith?" Buffy said a few moments later.

"Yeah."

"Where are you? What are you up to now?"

Faith sighed.

"I need Giles' phone number."

There was a brief pause and Faith could practically see the wheels turning in Buffy's head.

"Why?"

Faith rolled her eyes.

"So I can call him?"

"Why?"

Faith sighed.

"I'm sure he'll tell you all about it."

"Fine. You got something to write with?"

"Hold on." Buffy quickly got up and went to her desk. There was a post-it notes block and a couple of pens. "Go ahead."

Buffy gave her the number.

"You better not be up to something."

Faith bit her teeth.

"I'm not." She hesitated for a few moments. "I'm sorry, Buffy."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised.

Faith hung up, not in the mood to elaborate. She glanced at the post-it note and then dialed Giles' number.

"Hello?" Giles answered a few moments later.

"Giles, it's me, Faith."

"Faith?" Giles said, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Uh…"

"I need your help. I need to get the Council off my back."

"Well, uh…"

"I'll even take a Watcher, but only someone you trust."

"Well, uh, that's a surprise. I'll, uh, have to make some inquiries."

"How long will it take?"

"Well, a couple of hours at least. I need to find out where the Council stands and I need to find you a Watcher."

"Make sure it's someone trustworthy, not someone like that Post bitch or like Wes."

"Yes, eh, I already have someone in mind. She has opposed the Council before, so you can be sure that she will be on your side if they go against you. Provided, of course, that they assign her as your Watcher."

"Okay. I'll call you in, I don't know, ten hours?"

"Very well."

"Okay."

"May I ask what made you change your mind?"

"Why don't you ask Travers."

"Quentin Travers? What does he have to do with it?"

"A whole lot. It's a shame he's Human."

"Why?"

"Because I can't kill him. Though if he messes with me again, I will."

"I see."

"I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Eh, goodbye."

"Hi, Giles," Buffy said as she came over after lunch.

"Hello, Buffy."

"Has Faith called you yet?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"She called me to get your number."

"Oh."

"What did she want?"

"She wanted the Council off her back."

"Well, of course she did."

"She even said she'll take a Watcher."

"Really?" Buffy said, surprised.

"Yes. I already made some inquiries and I notified the Council."

"And?"

"Well, I'm not sure. My contacts tell me that something had happened to Quentin Travers, but no one knows what."

"Travers?" Buffy said disgustedly. "What does he have to do with it?"

"I'm not sure, but Faith was very angry with him. And my contacts tell me that he had ordered a couple of operations which all ended up as disasters. But nobody knows what it was about."

"They probably tried to get Faith and she kicked their butt."

"Possible. Anyway, I have requested that Neema Mfune-Hayes be assigned Faith's Watcher. You remember her?"

"Yes."

"I've already talked to her and she has agreed. Now the Council has to confirm it."

Buffy frowned.

"What I don't get is why Faith is so… scared?"

"Scared?" Giles asked, puzzled.

"Yes. I mean, okay, so the Council tried to capture her, it wasn't the first time. But now she suddenly wants them off her back badly enough to accept a Watcher."

Giles frowned.

"I don't know. Hopefully her Watcher will be able to tell us more."

When ten hours passed, Faith called Giles again.

"Hello?"

"It's me again."

"Oh, hello, Faith."

"Any news?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. The Council has agreed. Quentin Travers tried to assign his own Watcher, but I mentioned that you wanted someone that I trusted and that you would be displeased otherwise, so he relented."

"Good. When is she coming?"

"In a day or two. Can you give me your number so I can give it to her? You can arrange things directly with her."

"Okay. Just a sec." Faith looked at her phone and was relieved that the number was written on it. "Okay, you ready?"

"Yes."

Faith read the number and Giles repeated it.

"Yeah, that's it."

"I'll call her right away. I expect she will call you at once."

"Okay." Faith hesitated for a moment. "Thanks. Bye."

"Good bye, Faith."

Faith lay back and waited nervously for her Watcher to call.

A minute later, there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?"

Hope entered.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You called that Giles guy yet?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"I gave him my number. He said he'll give it to my new Watcher and she'll call me."

Hope sat on the bed.

"So they agreed?"

"Yeah."

"That's good, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Doesn't mean I'm just gonna trust her."

"A woman?"

"Yeah."

"What are you gonna tell her?"

"I'll give her my address and tell her to call me when she's settled in. Then I was thinking of inviting her over."

"You want Mom and Dad to meet her?"

"Yeah."

"We'll have to make sure the flowers aren't home then."

"Yeah."

Hope observed her sister for a couple of moments.

"Nervous?"

Faith sighed.

"A little."

Hope smiled encouragingly.

"Don't worry, this time you got us to watch your back."

Faith smiled back.

"Thanks."

The phone rang.

"Want me to leave?" Hope asked.

Faith shook her head.

"No."

"Okay."

Faith picked up the phone.

"Hallo? This is Faith."

"Hello, I am Neema Mfune-Hayes. Mr Giles gave me your number."

"Yeah."

"Well, uh, this was rather sudden, but I can come in two or three days. I can come tomorrow, if you really need me."

"Nah, I'm fine."

"I see. Uh, I will require your address, so I'll know where to get an apartment."

"Yeah," Faith said and gave her the address.

Neema repeated it.

"Is this correct?"

"Yeah."

"Very well. I shall contact you when I settle in."

"Okay."

Neema hesitated for a moment.

"I do hope we will get along well."

Faith sighed.

"Yeah. We'll talk when you get here."

"Very well. Good bye, Faith."

"Bye."

Faith hug up.

"And?" Hope asked.

"She'll be over in a couple of days. She said she'll call me when she settles in."

"Oh." Hope observed Faith for a couple of moments. "Wanna talk about it?"

Faith shook her head.

"No."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Faith nodded.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll go tell Mom and Dad, so they'll send the flowers away then."

"Okay. Thanks."

Hope smiled and left.

Three days later, Neema finally called. Mrs Winters quickly took the younger twins to their friends for the afternoon. Then they waited for Neema.

Finally, the door bell rang. Faith went to open. She first checked the camera to see who was at the gate. When she saw a black woman, she pressed the button, opening the front gate. She watched the woman approach for a few moments, and then opened the door.

"Faith," Neema said, relieved to see that she had come to the correct address.

"Yeah."

"I am Neema Mfune-Hayes."

"Hi."

Neema looked around.

"My, I certainly didn't expect you lived in such an… opulent house," she said, waving around.

"It's my parents'," Faith said as she let her in.

Neema frowned.

"Your parents'?"

"Yeah," Faith said and closed the door.

"But… I thought…"

"The Council tried to kidnap me when I was little. They had an accident and they lost me."

"What?" Neema said, shocked. "Surely the Council wouldn't…"

"You should ask Travers."

"Quentin Travers?" Neema said, surprised. "What does…" She frowned. "Well, I don't like him, but I never thought he'd do something like that." She sighed. "Though it shouldn't really surprise me, I guess."

"Why?"

"There's no more… honor and respect among the Watchers."

"Oh."

They got to the living room and Neema stopped, startled, when she saw that other people were there. Then she saw Hope and she did a double take.

"What…"

"That's Hope, my twin sister," Faith introduced her.

"Oh," Neema said.

"And those are my parents."

"Uh, hello."

"Hello," Mr Winters said.

"Hi," Hope said.

"This is Neema Mfune-Hayes," Faith introduced her.

Neema looked at Hope questioningly.

"Do they…"

"They know," Faith said.

"I see."

"Have a seat," Mrs Winters said.

"Uh, thank you," Neema said and went to a chair.

"Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you."

Everyone sat down.

"So, you're Faith's new Watcher?" Hope said after a few moments of embarrassing silence.

"Yes."

"Why should she trust you?"

Neema blinked, startled. She looked at Faith, but Faith wasn't offering any help. She realized that she was about to be thoroughly interrogated. She looked at Hope.

"Well, I don't really expect her to, considering her past with the Council. But it is my understanding that she asked Mr Giles to recommend someone he trusted."

"Yeah," Faith said.

Neema looked at her.

"Why don't you tell me what you expect of me, we can start there."

Faith thought for a moment.

"Just because you're a Watcher, that doesn’t make you my boss, so don't expect me to jump at everything you say. And I hope you're not gonna follow the Council's orders blindly, like Wes. I know you probably have to report back, but I hope you'll respect my privacy."

Neema nodded.

"Well, if that's all, then we should get along fabulously," she said with a smile. "I realize that you're not a fan of the Council, but the Council wasn't always this… corrupt. And yes, I know I'm not your boss. If anything, we're a team, I'm the brain, you're the brawn, so to speak. Brawn in the positive sense, of course," she quickly added. "And don't worry, I'm past following orders blindly." She thought for a moment. "As for the reports, I'll let you read them, if you want. You may not necessarily like what I'll write though. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Neema smiled.

"Splendid."

"Oh, before I forget," Mrs Winters said. "We also have two younger daughters. They don't know about Slayers and demons, so as far as they're concerned, you're a friend of Mrs Hutchinson."

"Faith's first Watcher?" Neema said, surprised.

"Yes."

"Well, as a matter of fact, I was." She thought for a moment. "When I was younger, I worked with her several times. A good woman."

"Yeah," Faith said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Faith." Faith shook her head. "So, I need to know what kind of schedule you want."

Faith thought about it.

"I have time in the morning and in the afternoon. Until fall. Then only in the afternoon." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm going back to school."

Neema smiled.

"Excellent." She thought for a moment. "So, how would between ten and noon, and between, say, four and six suit you?"

Faith looked at her parents.

"It's okay with us," her mother said.

"Okay," Faith said.

"Good. When would you like to start?"

Faith sighed.

"This afternoon?"

"Okay. We'll go over the basic training, so I'll see where you are."

"Okay."

"Then we'll prepare a curriculum. I won't bore you with all the irrelevant details, but there are things that I think you should know."

"Okay."

"Can I come too?" Hope asked.

Neema looked at her, thinking for a moment.

"Well, we try to avoid involving, uh, civilians, but ever since Buffy was called, the old rules don't seem to apply anymore." She thought for a moment. "Which is not necessarily a bad thing," she said thoughtfully. "Sure, you can come, if your family allows."

"Cool. Mom? Dad?" Hope asked. "I could help with research, if necessary," she pointed out.

"I suppose," Mrs Winters said. "If you won't be in the way."

"She won't," Neema said.

"Okay."

"Cool," Hope said.

Neema reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Here, my address and phone number," she said as she gave it to Faith.

"Thanks," Faith said. "Oh, I got a cell phone now."

"Can I have the number?"

"Uh, sure."

Neema took out a post-it note block.

"Here, write it down." Faith wrote down her number and returned the block. "Thank you." There was a brief silence. "Um, I still need to get a job. Would it be okay if I got it at your school?"

Faith thought for a moment, thinking about Giles. She realized it could be useful.

"Okay."

"Very well. I can't guarantee it though."

"That's okay."

"But don't worry, I rented an apartment that has lots of space for you to practice, although there's no equipment yet."

"We got space here," Hope said.

"Yes, but Faith will also be using weapons."

"Oh."

Neema looked at Faith.

"Have you got any weapons?"

"Just a couple of stakes."

"I see. We'll have to remedy that."

"I don't like having weapons in the house," Mrs Winters said.

Neema looked at her.

"I know, but whether you like it or not, Faith is a Slayer, and that makes her a target. I'm not saying that demons will attack this house, but better safe than sorry."

"Oh," Mrs Winters said, worried.

"There is one thing I could do to lessen the chance," Neema said and looked back at Faith. "With your permission, I'd like to find a mage or someone to cast a protective spell on the house. And a warning spell."

"Okay," Faith agreed, wanting to minimize the threat to her family.

"Very well." She thought for a moment. "Do you have any questions?" she then asked Faith's parents.

"Where do your loyalties lie?" Mr Winters asked.

"With Faith." She hesitated for a moment. "In the past, Watchers were very close to their Slayers, almost like parents. Some even died to protect their Slayers," she glanced at Faith, "like Mrs Hutchinson." Faith looked at her hands. "But times are changing. I don't know Faith very well yet, all I know is what I've been told. I'll be frank with you. Yes, I think she messed up, but the way she was treated afterwards was a gross mistake. I know Faith isn't easy to open up, but as far as I know, no one really tried all that hard."

"Will your superiors leave Faith alone?" Mrs Winters asked.

"I hope so. I can't guarantee it though. I still have some friends at the Council and they promised to keep me posted." She looked at Faith. "Mr Giles also promised to tell me if he finds out the Council wants to hurt you or anything."

"Okay," Faith said.

Neema looked at Faith's parents.

"Do you have any questions regarding Slayers, demons or magic?"

"Not really," Mrs Winters said, "Faith more or less filled us in on everything."

"I see. Well, in this case, I'll go now and I'll see you in the afternoon, Faith."

"Okay," Faith said.

They got up.

"Well, it was nice meeting you all. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask," Neema told Faith's parents and Hope.

"We won't," Hope said.

Neema smiled at her and then looked at Faith.

Faith walked Neema to the front door. As she opened it, Neema looked to make sure they were alone.

"Um, I didn't want to ask this in front of your family, because I don't know what exactly you've told them, but I would like you to tell me what happened. From the day Mrs Hutchinson died to, well, when you found your family again. I've only heard from others, but I want to hear it from you. When you're ready, of course. And don't worry, if there's something you don't want me to tell the Council, I won't." She hesitated for a moment. "I know I'm no Mrs Hutchinson, but I do hope that someday you will trust me like you trusted her." They stared at one another for a couple of moments and then Neema smiled. "I'll see you in the afternoon."

"Yeah."

Neema left.

Faith stared after her for a couple of moments and then went back to her family.

"She looked okay to me," Hope said. "What do you think?"

Faith shrugged.

"We'll see."

In the afternoon, Faith and Hope went to Neema. While Neema tested Faith's skills, she let Hope look at the books on demons. Hope read the books curiously while observing Faith's training.

"So?" Faith asked when they were done.

"Very good. You're in good shape and your skills are excellent. But there are some things that I can teach you. Now come, let's make a curriculum. I've already done some of it, but we can change it."

"Okay."

"Man," Hope said as she and Faith drove home, "those were some ugly critters in those books."

Faith smiled.

"Yeah."

"It was like reading a script for a horror movie or maybe a nightmare." She glanced at her sister. "Do you ever have nightmares about demons?"

"Only my inner ones."

"Oh. Will you let me come on patrol with you?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"If Mom and Dad allow it and only after I show you how to kick butt."

Hope smiled.

"Cool."

"So, how was it?" Mrs Winters asked Hope when Faith distracted the baby twins.

"Interesting. Neema showed me some books on demons and stuff. Some demons were really gross. Then she tested Faith's fighting skills. She seemed satisfied."

"And Faith?"

"She's still wary. I think Neema's okay, but I'll still keep my eye on her."

"So you'll go with Faith?"

"Yeah. Plus, Faith said she'll teach me how to fight."

"I see."

"And I was thinking it would be cool if she would start teaching the flowers."

Mrs Winters frowned.

"Aren't they too young?"

"I don't think so. Besides, she doesn't have to teach them the way she'll teach me. She could teach them through play."

Mrs Winters looked at her husband.

"It would be good if they could protect themselves, in case the Council tries to kidnap them instead of Hope," Mr Winters said.

Mrs Winters' eyes went wide.

"You don't think they'd do that?"

"I don't know. I hope not, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll tell her," Hope said and went to the living room, where Faith was lifting her baby sisters as though they were weighs. She smiled. "Having fun?"

Faith smiled at her, blushing a little.

"Yeah."

"She's so strong!" Lily said.

"Yeah!" Daisy said.

Faith put them down.

"I talked to Mom and Dad and they said you can teach the flowers how to defend themselves," Hope said.

"Really?" Daisy said.

"Cool!" Lily said.

"You sure?" Faith said, a bit uncertain.

"Yes," Hope said. "Through play, of course."

"Oh."

"When do we start?" Lily asked.

Faith looked at her.

"I'll have to think about this first. I'll let you know in a couple of days."

"Okay."

Faith looked at Hope.

"I'll have to ask Neema how to go about this."

"You think she can help?"

Faith shrugged.

"She's a W… uh, a teacher. I'm sure she has some experience."

"Oh. Okay."

"Are you gonna teach Hope too?" Daisy asked.

Faith smiled at her.

"Yes."

"Are we gonna practice together?" Lily asked.

"No."

"Oh."

Faith thought for a moment.

"But you can exercise together."

"Exercise?"

"Yes. You know, sit-ups, push-ups and stuff. So you'll be fit."

"What about you?"

Faith smiled.

"I'm fit already."

"Oh."

"Can we start exercising now?" Daisy asked Hope.

Hope smiled.

"Sure. Let's go to the back yard, okay?"

"Okay."

The baby twins ran to the back yard.

Hope smiled at Faith.

"Nice, that way we both get to practice with them."

Faith smiled back.

"Yeah. Don't push them too hard. And don't forget to stretch first."

"I won't."

Hope left, and Faith sat on the sofa. She stared at her reflection in the TV for a few moments. Then she smiled a little as she realized she was feeling giddy. She had her family back and she didn't feel haunted by her past, at least for the moment. She knew she would still have to apologize to Buffy some day, more thoroughly than over the phone, but for the first time in a very long time she felt hopeful and she found herself actually looking forward to the future. Her smile widened and she looked out the window, actually feeling at peace for the moment. She knew it would pass, but she decided to savor it while it lasted.

The End