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 read no further. Check out Hajime Sorayama's Official Web Site for some truly awesome paintings. Spike and Drusilla's killing spree is from Christopher Golden's novel Spike & Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row and Sons of Entropy are from Christopher Golden & Nancy Holder's The Gatekeeper Trilogy. This story is a sequel to The Right Thing.

Picture Perfect
By Kristjan Brezovnik

Faith came to Nici to receive the painting she had ordered. She knew Nici was a great painter and she was excitingly anticipating to see the results of her work, but when Nici removed the sheet from the painting, Faith dropped her jaw. Cassandra smiled at that.

"Faith like painting?" Nici asked anxiously.

"Oh, she loves it," Cassandra assured her when Faith didn't respond.

Faith rummaged through her pocket, took out some money and offered it to Nici, still staring at the painting. Nici looked at the money, confused. Faith noticed that Nici hadn't taken it, so she looked at her.

"This is for you," she said.

"Why?" Nici asked, confused.

"Because you earned it."

"But…"

"No, no, Cordelia's with me on this one. This is all we could put together, but this painting is definitely worth it," she said and put the money in Nici's hands.

"Nici earn money?" Nici asked, excited.

"Oh yeah," Faith said, smiling, and looked back at the painting.

"Mommy, Daddy, Nici earn money!" Nici called and ran out.

"Sorayama, eat yourself," Faith murmured.

"How much did you give her?" Cassandra asked her, already half way through the door.

Faith shrugged.

"Don't know. About two hundred."

"Two hundred?" Cassandra said, shocked. "Dollars?"

"Yeah."

Cassandra stared at her for a few moments, surprised, and then went after Nici.

"Daddy, look, Nici earn money," Nici said, excited, and showed her father the money Faith had given her.

Her father took it and counted it.

"Where did you get it?" he asked when he was done.

"Faith give Nici money for painting."

"Painting?"

"She made a painting for Faith and Faith paid her," Cassandra explained.

"How much is it?" Mrs Verkaik asked.

"Over two hundred dollars."

"What?" Mrs Verkaik said, surprised.

"Nici, you have to return this," Mr Verkaik said.

"But…" Nici started, subdued.

"This is too much, Nici. Come, let's go upstairs."

Cassandra took Nici's hand and caressed her.

"Come," she said.

Nici followed her parents, subdued, holding Cassandra's hand.

In Nici's room, Faith was taking a closer look at the painting and she was impressed.

"Cordelia's gonna love it," she said when she heard that someone was entering at room.

"Em, Faith."

Faith looked.

"Oh. Hello," she said when she saw Nici's parents.

"You gave Nici money for the painting?" Mr Verkaik asked.

Faith looked at Nici and Cassandra, confused.

"Em, yeah?"

"Two hundred dollars is too much. Nici shouldn't have…"

"Are you kidding?" Faith said. "Look at this painting," she said, pointing at it. "I'd pay a thousand bucks for it. Unfortunately, I don't have a thousand bucks, so I gave her what I had." She looked back a the painting, satisfied. "And it was definitely worth every cent."

"But two hundred…"

"She didn't demand anything, em, Mr Verkaik. I gave her the money because Cordelia and I felt that she should be compensated for her work and also to encourage her."

"But still…"

"Mr Verkaik," Faith stopped him, "Nici's a great painter. If Sorayama saw her paintings, he'd eat himself alive."

"Who?" Mr Verkaik asked, confused.

Faith thought for a moment.

"Someone better than Picasso?"

"Oh."

Faith looked at Nici.

"Hey, if you want, I could asks Mrs Summers to evaluate your paintings and then maybe she could arrange for an exhibition. I mean, Cassandra said you've made quite a few paintings already."

"An exhibition?" Cassandra asked, surprised.

"Sure. I mean, look at this painting. See? It's so real that it looks like an enlarged photo. She even made it glossy. And check out the eyes. See? You can just see we're crazy for each other." She smiled. "This painting is definitely hanging in our bedroom."

"Your bedroom?" Mr Verkaik asked.

Faith looked at him.

"Yes. Cordelia's my girlfriend. We share a bedroom, when she's at home."

Mr and Mrs Verkaik glanced at each other.

"Nici, can this be rolled together?" Faith asked Nici.

Nici nodded.

"Not tight," she warned.

"Em, you wanna do it? I mean, you're the expert here."

Nici beamed.

"Okay," she said and proceeded to prepare the painting for transport.

First she removed the photo and returned it to Faith. Then she unclipped the painting and carefully started to roll it together. Finally, she tied it together with a piece of rope.

"Painting need frame," she said when she was done.

Faith nodded.

"I'll take care of it," she said as she carefully took the painting. "Thanks."

Nici smiled.

"You leaving?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, gotta get this painting home."

"Okay."

"I'll see you around."

"Hey, guys," she said when she got to the park.

"So, what's the big secret?" Jasmine asked.

"This," Faith said. "Help me unroll it."

"Sure."

"Careful."

"Okay."

The twins carefully unrolled the painting. Jasmine whistled when she saw it.

"Wow. Nici did this, right?"

"Yes."

"It's awesome."

"Wow," Renee said.

"It looks just like a photo," Raelee said.

"Hell, it looks real," Monique added.

"Yep. You should've seen the look on her face when I paid her."

"You paid her?" Renee asked.

"Of course. I mean, look at this, it's a freaking masterpiece. Help me roll it back."

"Okay," Jasmine said and helped Faith.

"Listen, I'm just gonna take this painting home and then I'll come back."

"How much did you pay her?" Monique asked.

"I don't know, somewhere around two hundred bucks."

"What?"

Everyone stared at Faith, surprised.

"What?" Faith said. "It was worth it."

"Yeah, I'd say so," Jasmine agreed.

"Okay, see you later."

"Mom!" Faith called when she came home.

"In my room!" came the replay and Faith went upstairs.

"Mom? Oh. Look, I got the painting."

She unrolled the painting on the bed and Mrs Chase stared at it, surprised.

"Wow. This is…"

"Awesome?"

"That's an understatement."

Faith smiled.

"Yes. Now I need to get a frame for it."

Mrs Chase nodded.

"Roll it up and I'll have it framed tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mom," Faith said and rolled the picture back up. "Where do I put it?"

"Just leave it on the bed."

"Okay. Em, I'm going back to the park now."

"Okay."

"See you later."

"Hi, guys," Faith said when she returned and saw Nici and Cassandra. "Everything okay at home?"

Nici nodded.

"Everything fine." She hesitated for a moment. "Nici want to talk to… you."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Sure."

Nici looked at Cassandra.

"Nici be right back."

"Okay," Cassandra said and Nici and Faith walked a few steps away.

"So, what's up?" Faith asked when they stopped.

Nici frowned.

"Up?"

"What did you want to talk to me about," Faith explained.

"Oh," Nici said and her face brightened. She hesitated for a moment, thinking about what to say. "Em, Faith have a… girlfriend."

"Yes, Cordelia."

Nici nodded.

"What… What do… you… do?" she asked.

Faith frowned for a moment, puzzled, but then she guessed what Nici was trying to ask her.

"Well, sometimes we cuddle, we go out, especially on our anniversaries. We also buy one another gifts for our anniversaries. Hey, now that you have money, you could buy a really nice dress and take Cassandra out on a special date for an anniversary."

Nici beamed.

"Really?"

"Sure. I mean, if you two are okay with going out." She frowned. "Though there are still your parents to consider."

Nici frowned.

"Why?"

"Well, they might not approve of you two going out."

"Why?"

"Well, some people don't approve of gay people. And your parents also believe you're not smart, so…"

Nici nodded.

"Nici understand."

"Though if you do decide to take Cassandra out, talk to her about it, so you two can decide what to tell your parents. And if you need help with making a plan for the evening, just let me know."

Nici smiled and nodded.

"Okay."

Faith smiled back.

"Anything else?"

Nici shook her head.

"No," she said and returned to Cassandra. "Nici go play now."

Cassandra looked at Faith questioningly, but Faith merely smiled. Then she looked back at Nici.

"Okay," she said.

"Cassie come?"

Cassandra smiled.

"Sure," she said and they went to the children.

"She sure has changed," Monique observed with a smile.

"Yeah," Renee agreed.

"Oh, Faith, Willow and Tara came by," Jasmine said. "They invited us to Buffy's birthday."

"Yeah? Cool. When?"

"Tonight."

"Okay." Faith looked around. "Are you guys coming?"

"No," Monique said. "We don't really know her that well. I mean, we save the world together, but we're not really close friends, like you are."

"Yeah, well, that's debatable," Faith said, remembering the past.

"They're buying a gift later and we're going as their representatives," Jasmine said.

"Okay."

Everyone looked and saw Eddie slowly walking toward them, supported by Rochelle.

Monique smiled and went toward them.

"Hi," she said. "I didn't know you could walk."

"I can," Eddie said, "but I haven't walked this far before. I wanted to surprise you."

Monique smiled.

"Well, you succeeded. Wanna sit down?"

"Oh yeah," Eddie said and Monique helped Rochelle take him to the bench, where he sat down.

When Faith and Jasmine got to Buffy's house in the evening and Joyce opened the door, they saw that she was worried.

"Em, hello, Mrs Summers," Jasmine said.

Joyce smiled sadly.

"Hello, girls."

"Is something wrong?" Faith asked.

Joyce sighed.

"Come in," she said.

They Slayers entered and Jasmine closed the door.

"So, what's the problem?" Faith asked, noticing that the party seemed to be over. "Is the party over yet?"

"I'm afraid so," Joyce said.

"Oh."

"Dawn found out she's the Key."

"Oh," Faith said.

"How did she take it?" Jasmine asked.

"She cut her arms."

"What?"

The twins glanced at one another, worried.

"How is she?" Faith asked.

"I don't know, upset."

"Hi, guys," Buffy said as she came downstairs.

"Hey," Jasmine said.

"How's Dawnie?" Faith asked.

"She's in her room. She's angry."

"Then I guess the party's over."

"Yeah."

"Oh, here," Jasmine said and gave Buffy a large paper bag. "The presents from us and the guys. Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday," Faith added.

Buffy smiled a bit as she took the bag.

"Thanks."

"Well, we'll go now. Let us now about Dawnie, okay?"

"I will."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, Mrs Summers," Jasmine said.

"Good bye, girls," Joyce said and the Slayers left.

"She sure doesn't have luck with her birthdays," Faith said as she and Jasmine walked down the street.

"Yeah, a real bummer. I hope Dawn gets over it."

"It's not just up to her," Faith said, "it's up to everyone. If they're gonna treat her like she's some sort of freak, she's gonna feel like a freak."

"Yeah."

"Let's go on patrol."

"Em, Maria," Jasmine said as she entered the kitchen the next morning.

"Yes?"

"Em, I was wondering," Jasmine said, a bit nervous, "em, could you teach me how to… cook?"

Maria smiled.

"Sure. Call Alice."

"Alice?" Jasmine said, confused.

"Yes. She likes to watch and help."

"So that's why she's been hanging in here so much."

Maria smiled again.

"Yes."

"Okay, hang on," Jasmine said and left the kitchen. "Alice!" she called. "Faith, do you know where Alice is?"

"Toilet."

"Oh. I guess I'll wait for her then."

"Why?"

Jasmine blushed a bit.

"I asked Maria to teach me how to cook."

Faith grinned.

"Wanna be prepared for your future… whatever?"

Jasmine chuckled.

"No, not really. I just think it's useful to know how to cook. And besides, Saturday mornings are a bitch. Not to mention that I won't have time next year."

"Ah yes, school."

"Yes. Hey, you could learn too."

Faith laughed.

"Like I have time."

"Right, you and Cordelia are too busy sucking face."

Faith grinned.

"Of course."

"Oh, Alice," Jasmine said, noticing Alice. "Come, Maria's ready to cook."

Alice hurried down the stairs and Mrs Chase made sure she didn't fall. Then she ran to the kitchen.

"You think she'll be a cook?" Faith asked, smiling.

"I doubt it. More like Indiana Jones. No, wait, he's out. More like Sydney Fox."

"Sydney… Oh, Relic Hunter."

"Yeah." She grinned. "Though with two Slayers for sisters, she's more likely to turn out as Lara Croft."

Faith laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed when she stopped.

"Well, gotta go. I don't wanna be late for my first lesson," Jasmine said and went to the kitchen, leaving Faith behind, laughing.

"Faith," Mrs Chase said.

"Yes?"

"I'll take your painting to be framed now."

"Okay." She hesitated for a moment. "Do I have to go with you?"

Mrs Chase smiled.

"No."

"Okay. How long will it take?"

"I don't know, I'll tell you later."

"Okay."

"Okay, are you ready to taste my first attempt at cooking?" Jasmine asked when everyone was seated.

"Why do I have a bad feeling?" Faith said, sniffing the air.

Jasmine grinned.

"Because you don't like spinach."

"Spinach!" Faith said and grimace. "I hate spinach."

"I know, but Maria said it was on today."

"Don't worry, you'll like this spinach," Maria said. "It's not ordinary spinach, it's cream spinach, and I assure you, it's much better."

Faith looked at the dish skeptically.

"We'll see."

Maria served the food.

"Okay, you first, Jasmine," Faith said.

"Me?" Jasmine said, not really enthusiastic about eating spinach either.

"You're the cook here, you get the honor."

Jasmine grinned.

"I suppose it's only fair," she said and took her spoon. She put a little spinach on it and tried it. Her eyes brightened. "This ain't bad," she said and tried more. "Nope, definitely much better than the spinach we're used to."

Faith raised an eyebrow and then tried the spinach.

"You're right," she agreed, "this is much better."

"Told you."

"Though I hope this won't be on the menu too often," Faith said, glancing at Maria.

Maria smiled.

"Not too often."

"Okay." Faith looked at Jasmine. "So, are you and Alice gonna take over the kitchen from now on?" she asked with a smirk.

Jasmine grinned.

"Not if I can help it."

"Faith! Jasmine!" Mrs Chase called after she answered the phone. "It's Anya."

The Slayers stopped and Faith went to the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Faith?"

"Yeah."

"Dawn ran away. Everybody's looking for her."

"What? When?"

"I don't know, about half an hour ago."

"Okay, Jasmine and I will go look for her too. Thanks. Bye."

"What's up?" Jasmine asked when Faith hung up.

"Dawn ran away."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, I guess she's still upset."

"Oh. Let's go look for her."

"Yeah."

"Okay, nothing," Jasmine said after an hour. "Where could she be?"

"I don't know," Faith said. "I mean, we've tried all her favorite spots and some that she might go to just because nobody would think she would. Hell, even the cops don't know anything."

"Maybe the morgue? See if they got a Jane Doe?"

Faith gulped.

"I hope not," she said. "Let's go."

"Jasmine! Faith!"

The Slayers turned and saw Xander.

"Hey, did you find her?" Faith asked as they approached him.

"Yeah, she was right here, with Glory."

"Yeah?" Faith said and looked around, alert.

"Don't worry, Willow teleported her out of here."

"Who?"

"Glory."

"Oh. How is she?"

"She's okay, but Buffy got a tire-iron in her chest."

"What?" Faith said, worried.

"How is she?" Jasmine asked.

"Okay. The doctors are taking care of the wound."

"Oh."

"There's Dawnie," Faith said, having noticed the girl. "I'll go talk to her."

"Okay," Jasmine said and Faith left.

"Hey, kiddo," Faith said with a smile when she approached Dawn.

"I'm not a kid," Dawn protested.

Faith grinned and sat down.

"You okay?"

Dawn sighed.

"Yeah, I guess." She hesitated for a moment. "Do you also know what… I am?"

"Sure, you're Buffy's little sister."

"I'm not little," Dawn protested again.

Faith grinned.

"I know. And yes, I know you're the Key. But that doesn't matter. I mean, it does matter, but that's not why I'm your friend, you know? I mean, I'm a Slayer, but that's not why Mom loves me. Or Cordelia. To them, I'm primarily a daughter and a girlfriend and you're first and foremost Buffy's sister and she'd die to protect you whether you're the Key or not."

Dawn sighed.

"Yeah, I know that now."

Faith smiled.

"Good, and don't you forget it."

Dawn smiled a little.

"I won't."

"Good. Has anybody called your mom?"

"Yeah, Giles."

"Okay." She looked around. "Listen," she said conspiratorially, "Jasmine got Buffy a new sweater, you might wanna… borrow it sometime," she said, using air quotes.

Dawn smiled.

"Thanks, Faith."

Faith smiled.

"Any time, Dawnie."

When they met in their dreams, Faith gave Cordelia a passionate kiss.

"Whoa," said Cordelia when they stopped kissing, and staggered.

Faith caught her.

"I love you."

Cordelia smiled.

"I love you too, Faith." She took a good look at her. "You okay?"

Faith nodded.

"Yeah. Dawnie ran away today."

"What?" Cordelia said, worried. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah, they did."

"How is she?"

"She's okay now. She was pretty upset because she didn't think she was real and she thought Buffy only took care of her because she was the Key."

"And she knows better now?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. Oh, Wesley solved a case today."

"Yeah?"

"Aha. He was a real Sherlock Holmes."

"Yeah?" Faith said with a grin.

"Yes. It was kinda funny."

"I bet." She stepped closer to Cordelia. "Feel like cuddling?"

Cordelia smiled.

"Always."

"Okay, Giles, it's official," Willow said as she and Tara came to Giles the next day.

"What is?" Giles asked, confused.

"We have a problem."

"We do?"

Willow nodded.

"Yes. Someone is spying on the Watchers' Council."

Giles frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that someone is spying on them and the Council has no idea about it. And whoever it is, they definitely know what they're doing. If they wanted, the Council Network would be down in a moment."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I analyzed their system at least a hundred times and when I came across those subroutines, I analyzed it another hundred times. And then…"

"Okay, okay," Giles interrupted her. "Can you find out as to what purpose they're spying?"

Willow shrugged.

"It could be anything. I'm working on a program that would allow me to infiltrate the spies' network, but it will take me some time. But what I did discover is that they're using a similar program I developed to infiltrate the Council computers that are not always online. I'm analyzing the algorithms…"

"Yes, yes, thank you," Giles interrupted her again, not really interested in details.

"Don't worry, I made sure that they can't track whatever I'm doing there. We can download whatever we want and they won't know about it, nor would the Council."

"Good."

"Hey, guys," Willow said when Faith and Jasmine came over to Giles' place a few hours later.

"Hey," Jasmine said. "What's up?"

"I have some interesting news."

"Yeah? Share."

"Someone is spying on the Council."

"Really?" She frowned. "Who?"

"I don't know yet. I'm trying to find out."

"Looks like the shadow has a shadow," Jasmine said with a grin, even though she was worried.

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"Anyway," Willow continued, "I found out some interesting things. The Watchers' Council is probably the oldest agency in the world, they're over twelve thousand years old."

"Yeah?"

"Shit," Jasmine said, impressed.

"I think they have their people in just about every intelligence agency in the world, including the Initiative and the Majestic Twelve, and in some of the oldest mystical societies, including the Illuminati, the Knights Templar and their successors, the freemasons. Oh, they also have them in the Church. And they had them in Sons of Entropy."

"Much good that did them," Faith commented.

"Yes," Willow agreed.

"So, were they behind the Initiative?" Jasmine asked.

"No, the Majestic Twelve were. They expunged the records, but the Council has a copy."

"I hope they're not planning on doing what the Initiative did," Faith said, worried.

"I don't think so," Willow said.

"I hope not." She thought for a moment. "What about Wolfram & Hart? Do they have spies there as well?"

"They had them, but they were all discovered and killed."

"Oh."

"Oh, did Buffy tell you about Marcie?"

"Marcie?"

"Yes, Marcie Ross. She's being trained as an invisible assassin by one of the government agencies."

"Poor girl," Jasmine said.

"The Council is monitoring their progress, I think they want them for themselves."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. It's one of their secret programs."

"Oh."

"So, did you find anything about us?" Faith asked.

"Yes," Willow said. "They were pretty worried about you after you, you know…"

"Yeah, I know," Faith said, not really wanting to remember.

"They wanted to kill you, but they changed their mind when they saw that you've… em…"

"Come back from the dark side?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes," Willow agreed. "Anyway, there's a lot on Spike."

"Yeah?" Faith asked, curious. "Like what?"

"He killed three Slayers."

"Yeah?" Faith said, surprised. "Buffy only mentioned two."

"He probably didn't tell her everything." Willow checked the records. "One in China in 1900, the second was in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1940, and the third was in New York in 1977."

"I didn't know about the one in Denmark."

Willow glanced at the file.

"He and Drusilla tortured her Watcher and drove her mad and then Spike killed Sophie in a fight."

"Sophie? Was that her name?"

"Yes, Sophie Carstensen."

"Oh."

"He and Drusilla killed seven Slayers-in-Waiting during 1940, and most of their Watchers. They were very cruel. They turned one of the Watchers and then had him kill his Slayer-in-Waiting."

"Shit."

They even broke into the Council Headquarters."

"Yeah?" Jasmine said seriously.

"Yes, and then a demon named Skrymir killed several more, including the one who was called after Sophie's death, and also many Watchers."

"Did they get the bastard?"

"Skrymir? No, he escaped."

"Damn."

"Apparently Spike killed Sophie when Skrymir was attacking the Council Headquarters. They Slayer who was called next only lasted a minute or so."

"Shit," Faith said, serious. "Talk about a short life span," she added quietly.

"The next Slayer managed to wound him and then he escaped."

"I hope we get our hands on him," Jasmine said.

"Yeah," Faith agreed.

"Hey, Giles," Jasmine said as Giles came in.

"Hello," Giles said.

"Willow was just telling us about the Council and Spike."

"Ah, yes," Giles said, remembering what Willow had told him earlier. "My grandmother was in South America at that time."

"Does Buffy know?" Jasmine asked.

"No," Willow said.

"Then don't tell her, at least not about Spike and the massacre, she'd kill him on the spot."

"Giles?" Willow asked, not wanting to lie to Buffy.

Giles thought for a moment.

"Well, Faith is right," he then said. "And… as much as I loathe to admit it, he is useful at the moment."

"And besides, she has to worry about Dawn," Jasmine added. "And her mom."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "I'll go talk to Spike later, see if I can find out something more," Faith said.

"I'll go with you," Jasmine said.

"Okay."

"Feel like training?"

Faith grinned.

"Any time."

In the evening, Faith and Jasmine paid a visit to Spike.

"Spike!" Faith called.

"What?" Spike said, annoyed. "What do you two want?"

"We just came by for a little chat," Jasmine said with a wide smile.

"Right," Spike said cautiously.

"Really. We just found out about that killing spree of yours in 1940."

Spike grinned.

"Those were the times," he said dreamily.

"Don't tell me you did it just for fun," Faith said.

"Oh no," Spike said, "though I would've, if I had thought of it."

"Then why did you do it?" Jasmine asked.

Spike shrugged.

"It was my part of the deal."

"What deal?"

Spike grinned.

"Dru wanted Freya's Strand for her eightieth anniversary as a vampire, so I decided to get it for her."

"A what?"

"Freya's Strand. A nifty thing. It's used for shapeshifting, but if Dru wore it, she could see her own reflection."

"Oh."

"So we made a deal with Skrymir."

"And he wanted you to kill the Slayers-in-Waiting."

"Yes. It was fun, I tell you."

"Are you suicidal?" Faith asked him.

"Me? No. Why?" Spike asked, suddenly wary.

"Well, bragging about killing Slayers and Slayers-in-Waiting in front of two Slayers is not conducive to long life. Or unlife."

Spike looked at Jasmine, who was equally serious.

"Hey, no need to get you knickers all twisted up," he said and raised his hands as in surrender.

"What happened then?" Jasmine asked.

Spike shrugged.

"I killed the Slayer. Then the next Slayer and the Watchers apparently managed to drive the bugger away."

"They did."

"Though so. Did some serious damage too."

"How do you know? I thought you were in Denmark."

"I was. Me and Dru, we went to his lair again."

"And then?" Faith asked.

"The bugger failed to produce Freya's Strand, so I killed him."

"Damn," Jasmine said. "I was kinda hoping we could someday."

"At least there's one demon less to worry about," Faith said.

"Yeah, I guess." She looked at Spike. "Where did he live?"

"Norway. Had a real nice place. A bit cold though. He had a gryphon."

"A what?"

"A gryphon. Don't you read up on your demons and mystical creatures?"

"I try," Faith said. "What happened to it?"

"Dru made him a pet while we were there. She named it Francis."

"Francis?" Jasmine asked incredulously.

"Told you somebody left the lunch meat out of her brain sandwich," Faith said with a grin.

"Hey, no need to insult her just because she's crazy," Spike said.

Faith chuckled.

"What happened to the place?" Jasmine asked.

"I secured it," Spike said. "Skrymir had some nice things there, didn't want them to fall into the wrong hands."

"Wrong hands being any other hands but yours."

Spike grinned.

"Precisely."

"And the gryphon?"

"Left him there." He thought for a moment "I wonder if the poor bugger's still alive."

"Miss him?" Faith asked.

"He was kinda cute," Spike said and Faith and Jasmine grinned.

"Why don't you tell Giles about it," Jasmine said, "he'll be thrilled to know what happened to Skrymir."

"And why you killed all those Slayers-in-Waiting," Faith added.

"Yeah. Just don't do it while Buffy's there, she might kill you."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "We'll see you around."

On Monday, Faith noticed that there was a new girl in school and that she seemed to be wearing different clothes every time she saw her. Which either meant that the girl kept changing clothes or that there were more of her. She decided to find out.

"Hi, I'm Faith," she introduced herself to the retro girl.

"Hi," the girl said. "I'm Amber."

"Em, I know you probably get asked that a lot, but, em, how many of you are there?"

Amber laughed.

"Four," she then said.

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Four? Wow. I only have one twin sister and Mom sometimes has trouble separating us."

Amber smiled.

"I know what you mean. Fortunately, each of us has her own style of clothing, so it's not really a problem."

Faith grinned.

"A good solution. So, which is which?"

"Well, I like retro and punk. Bethany, she likes rave, Victoria prefers business and Holly's into Indian."

"Indian as Native American or, well, Indian? From India."

"The second. She usually wears a sari."

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess there are four. Thanks."

Amber smiled.

"No problem."

"So you're new around here?"

"Yeah. Dad got a job here."

"Oh. Well, one word of advice, be careful when the night falls. If you think New York or LA are dangerous, this town is worse."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And if you're gonna date someone and his hands are cold, stay the hell away from him."

"Why?"

"Trust me, you so don't wanna know. Though you're probably gonna find out all too soon. But here's a tip, if he's cold, stay away. And tell your sisters."

"Yeah, okay," Amber said, even though she didn't know what Faith was talking about.

"Okay. I'll see around."

"Yeah."

Faith left and Amber stared after her, puzzled.

"Faith!"

Faith looked and saw Renee and Monique.

"Hey, guys," she said and approached them

"How many of her are there?" Renee asked, glancing at Amber.

Faith glanced as well.

"Four."

"Oh. For a while there I thought I was seeing things."

Faith grinned.

"Yeah, me too. Makes things interesting though."

Renee and Monique smiled.

"Yeah, I guess," Renee said.

The bell rang.

"Damn," Monique said. "I gotta run," she said and quickly ran away.

In the afternoon, Faith was anxiously awaiting to see Nici's painting framed. She invited all of her friends over and together they waited for Mrs Chase to come home.

"Hey, Giles," Jasmine said as he arrived at the Chase mansion.

"Hello."

"Did Spike talk to you yet?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact he did," Giles said and took off his glasses to clean them.

"And?"

"It was very… enlightening," Giles said hesitantly.

"We thought it might be. Is Buffy coming over?"

"Yes. She said she'll be a bit late."

"Okay." She looked at Faith, who was pacing around. "You nervous?"

Faith smiled.

"No, just excited."

At last, the door opened and the wait was over.

"Hello," Mrs Chase said as she entered.

"Did you get it?" Faith asked anxiously when she didn't see the painting.

"It's in the car," Mrs Chase said with a smile.

"Jasmine," Faith said and ran out.

Jasmine followed her.

"Oh man," she said when she saw the painting on the roof of the car. "I hope she drove slowly."

"Yeah," Faith agreed as she started to untie the painting.

"Hey!" Buffy said as she arrived. "Sorry I'm late."

"No sweat," Faith said.

"Is that the painting?"

"Yeah."

"Need help?"

"Just make sure the door is open."

"Okay," Buffy said and went to the door.

Faith and Jasmine quickly took the painting off the car and then carefully took it inside.

"Which way is up?" Jasmine asked as they were about to set the painting down.

Faith frowned.

"I don't know. Let's just put it down and see."

"Okay," Jasmine said and they put it down.

"Hold it," Faith then said and started to unzip the cover. "Yeah, this side up," she said as the cover slid down.

"Oh wow," Buffy said when the cover slipped to the ground.

Faith smiled excitedly.

"Didn't I tell you she is awesome?"

"And you're sure this is a painting?"

"Oh yeah. Hey, maybe your mom could check it out."

"I'll ask her."

Faith looked at her friends.

"Well, guys, what do you think?"

"It looks just like a photo," Dawn said, amazed.

Faith smiled.

"Yeah." She looked at Nici. "Thanks."

Nici smiled.

"Faith welcome."

"Where are you going to put it?" Tara asked.

"In our bedroom, where else?" She looked at Jasmine. "Help me carry it upstairs."

"Okay."

They carried the painting upstairs and everyone followed them.

Upstairs, they hanged the painting on the spot Faith had prepared earlier.

"Alright," Faith said, satisfied, when she saw that the painting fit perfectly. "Cordelia's gonna love it," she said and smiled.

"You bet," Jasmine agreed with nod.

Faith looked at her friends.

"Okay, we're taking Alice to the park now. You?" she asked Renee.

"Me too," Renee said and smiled at her daughter, who was curiously looking around from her arms.

"Alice, you ready?" Jasmine asked her sister.

Alice nodded.

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

Jasmine took Alice's hand and they left the room. The others followed her.

"Buffy," Faith said when everybody was out.

"Yes?" Buffy said and stopped.

"How's Dawnie? I didn't want to ask her."

Buffy sighed.

"She's okay, coping."

"Is she still mad?"

"No. She knows now that Mom and I love her."

Faith nodded.

"That's good." She smiled. "I guess you nearly dying to protect her made her see things differently."

Buffy smiled as well.

"Yes. I just wish it could've been something a little less painful."

Faith grinned.

"Hey, anything for the family, right?"

Buffy nodded.

"Yes. Are you coming to Giles' place later?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

The End