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 explicit 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. This story is a sequel to Down the Memory Lane.

The Baby
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"Uh-oh," Renee suddenly said in the middle of a History class.

"What's wrong?" Monique asked.

"The baby," Renee said, clutching her belly.

"What about her?"

"I think she wants out."

"Already? But you're not due for another six months."

"Tell that to the baby!" Renee said, clutching her stomach in pain.

"What is going on?" the teacher, Mr Emerson, demanded, noticing that Renee was obviously in pain.

Renee moaned.

"Call an ambulance," Monique said, "I think she's having a baby."

Mr Emerson stared at Renee for a few moments, confused, and then left quickly to call an ambulance.

"Monique…" Renee moaned.

"Breathe slowly and deeply, remember the courses."

"Easy for you to say," Renee said and moaned again.

"Come, let's get you outside."

Monique helped Renee get up and she escorted her out. At Renee's insistence, Mr Emerson let Monique go with Renee.

After school, Faith, Raelee and Lara went to the hospital to see how Renee was doing, but Renee was lying in a bed, Monique by her side.

"Hi," Faith said as they entered the room. "False alarm?" she asked, noticing that Renee was obviously still pregnant.

"Yeah," Renee said.

"How do you feel?" Raelee asked.

"Fine, except when the baby kicks."

"We took your bags home," Faith informed them.

"Thanks," Monique said.

"Any idea when the baby's coming out?" Faith asked Renee.

Renee shrugged.

"When she decides to."

"Em, I thought you were due in six months," Raelee said.

"So did I. Apparently the baby disagrees."

Faith laughed at that.

"So, did you chose a name yet?" she asked.

"Yes, Hope."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"And I thought only my mom would name a baby after something abstract," she said. "Not that I mind, it's a beautiful name."

"Thanks."

"I will stay here tonight," Lara suddenly said in her shy, quiet voice.

Everyone looked at her, surprised.

"Why?" Raelee asked.

"Something will happen."

"What?"

Lara shrugged.

"I don't know." She looked at Faith. "You should be here too."

"I'll come right after patrol," Faith promised and Lara nodded. "And I'll ask Giles about it." She scratched her head. "It looks like this is gonna be one of those nights. I hate those nights."

Everyone smiled at that.

"I'll bet the vampires like them even less when they're over," Monique said.

Faith grinned.

"Yeah. Anyway, I'm out of here. I'll go talk to Giles. See you later."

She just got off the phone with Giles when the door opened and Cordelia walked in. Her face brightened and she ran to embrace her girl. Cordelia smiled when she saw her and braced herself for the assault. Faith came over her like a tornado and they nearly went sprawling down the floor.

"I… love… you… so… much," Faith said while she showered her with kisses.

"Mhm," was Cordelia's only reply as she returned the kisses.

When they finally stopped kissing, Faith caressed Cordelia.

"I thought you weren't coming till Saturday," she said.

"Are you complaining?" Cordelia teased her with a smirk.

Faith smirked back.

"You're late, Miss Chase," she mock-scolded her and Cordelia laughed.

"Actually, Angel said I could go home earlier."

"I guess souls do miracles for vampires," Faith smiled.

"Oh yes."

"Anyway," Faith said, all business, "you came right on time, I need your help."

"With?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"Research."

Cordelia's face fell.

"You're kidding."

"Sorry," Faith said, staring at her puppy-eyed.

Cordelia laughed at the sight.

"You're forgiven," she said. "Now, what's the problem?"

"That's just it, nobody knows. Lara has a bad feeling," she explained when Cordelia raised an eyebrow.

Cordelia sighed.

"I guess I'll go to Giles."

"Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah. Help me get my luggage in."

"Your wish is my command."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? I didn't notice," she said and Faith grinned.

Faith went on patrol alone, everyone else busy with research. Except, of course, Buffy, who was patrolling the campus. She decided to drop by the Bronze, hoping to find Dawn around. As it was, Dawn found her before she got to the Bronze.

"I was just looking for you," Faith said when she saw the vampire. "Do you have any news for me?"

Dawn nodded nervously and looked around.

"Something big is going to happen tonight."

"What?"

Dawn shook her head.

"I don't know. I've seen strange vampires and demons around. A lot of them. There have been rumors that something will happen, but nobody knows anything. Today, however, I've seen groups of vampires and demons walk together, even those that would normally be at each other's throats. There are rumors that someone powerful is gathering forces outside the town."

"And you have no idea what's supposed to happen?"

"No."

"Damn." Faith thought. "Is it about a baby?"

Dawn shrugged.

"I don't know."

"See if you can find out. If you do, I'll be in the hospital, maternity ward."

Dawn nodded and left. Faith resumed patrol, but it seemed that all local vampires have decided to go into hiding. She didn't like that. She dropped by Giles' house and told him what Dawn had told her and then went to the hospital since the research team hadn't uncovered any information yet.

Close to midnight, Renee went into labor. Monique went with her into delivery room while Faith and Lara patrolled the premises, scanning for any signs of undead activity. There didn't seem to be any, but Faith saw that Lara was getting more and more nervous and she knew that that meant that trouble was near. She went to a phone and called Buffy and Willow for help.

Then midnight came and Renee's baby decided it was time to leave the comforting safety of her mother's womb and enter the world.

"They're here," Lara suddenly said.

Faith looked around, but she saw nothing. She did feel something though. Lara concentrated and suddenly growls were heard and the invisible demons became faintly visible, like apparitions. Faith charged, using her stake for the lack of better weapons. She hoped that Buffy would bring something more efficient.

She killed five of the monsters and the rest stopped moving. She looked at Lara questioningly.

"They're still here. Three."

She concentrated and the invisible demons growled as they were thrown backward. Faith was on them in a moment and dispatched them straight to Hell. Then she ran to the delivery room.

"Everybody stay in here. Doctor, if you can do it, tell everyone in this hospital to go to their room, lock the door and stay there until morning."

"Why?" the doctor demanded, confused.

"Because there's a war going on out here."

"They're coming!" Lara warned her.

"Shit. Stay in and lock the door. If anything comes through, kill it."

Faith closed the door and looked down the hall for the new set of enemies. She was relieved when she saw it was only vampires. She charged them.

In Giles' house, the research team was still browsing the books, looking for clues as to what was supposed to happen.

"I got it," Xander finally reported.

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"Listen. 'On winter's turn, at the Gates of Hell, a fatherless child of sin shall be born to two mothers, the bearer of destruction. And hope shall be protected by faith and the power of three.' Sounds like it."

"Let me see," Giles said and Xander gave him the book.

Giles studied the passage and several others. Then he consulted several other books.

"Anything?" Cordelia asked when he took Xander's book again.

"Yes," Giles said slowly. "Apparently the baby is important. The prophecy is more or less clear, except for 'the bearer of destruction' part. From what I can tell, the baby, the girl, will destroy the Hellmouth when she grows strong enough, unless the forces of evil can get their hands on her. If they can do it within twenty-four hours of her birth, the baby is lost. After that, the longer she remains pure, the less chance the evil will have of corrupting her."

"Any idea who's behind it?" Cordelia asked.

"Probably someone from Hell," Anya said. "If what that vamp said is true, then it has to be someone high in the hierarchy of Hell to be able to recruit so many different kinds of demons and to make them obey."

"I say we crash the party," Xander said and everyone looked at him. "What?"

"You go to the hospital and take some weapons with you," Giles said. "I'll stay here and try to find some more about it, now that I know what I'm looking for."

In the hospital, the fight was raging. The doctor had looked out once, but seeing the vampires' demonic faces, he immediately closed the door and locked it. Faith was relieved when Buffy and the two wiccans arrived.

"About time," Faith panted and caught a sword from Buffy.

"Help me," Lara said to Willow and Tara.

The two wiccans joined her and concentrated. While Lara protected the delivery room, Willow and Tara protected their friends. That is until Tara started a different chant. Willow and Lara didn't notice.

Suddenly all demons and vampires dropped dead.

"Eh, what just happened?" Buffy asked, looking around, ready.

"A miracle," Xander said.

"Tara," Willow said, concerned, noticing the blood running from Tara's nose.

"She did it," Lara said.

"I'm alive," Tara said, obviously confused.

"Tara?" Faith asked.

Tara looked at her.

"I don't know," Tara said, tired. "I just… I think it killed everything without a soul."

"They're coming," Lara suddenly warned.

"Who?" Anya asked.

"Demons."

"I can hear them," Buffy said.

"Here we go again," Xander said, exasperated.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked Tara.

Tara nodded.

"Yeah, just a minor headache."

"By the way, if survive, we have another problem," Buffy then said.

"What?"

"Adam."

"Adam?" Faith said with a blank look.

"Yes. The Initiative made him and he makes the Frankenstein's monster look like a nice little boy."

"Great," Faith said sarcastically and looked at Tara and then at Willow. "So, Willow, who's your friend?"

"Eh? Oh, Tara," Willow said. "She's a wiccan."

"Yes, we noticed," Faith said and grinned.

"Too bad Amy isn't here," Buffy said. "She's a powerful witch, she could help us."

"Yes," Willow agreed.

Finally dawn came and only the vampires remained. Unfortunately, there were a lot of them. Faith was surprised that they hadn't retreated. She was tired, in spite of her superior stamina, and others were tired as well. Fortunately, Tara finished the fight by chanting the spell that killed the undead.

"Tara!" Willow said, worried, when Tara passed out.

Fortunately Cordelia caught her and gently laid her down. Lara touched her.

"She'll be okay," she declared.

Just then Tara moaned and slowly started to wake up.

"Damn it," Cordelia swore. "Look at me, I'm a mess."

Faith came to her.

"You could wear the ugliest and the dirtiest close and you would still shine like a star," she said with a smile and caressed her.

Cordelia looked at her, surprised, and smiled back.

"Thanks," she said. "I feel better already."

"Good." She looked at Lara. "Any more undead on your sensors?"

Lara shook her head.

"Looks like we won," Buffy said.

"For now," Anya said.

"You mean they're coming back?" Xander asked.

"Yes."

Xander rolled his eyes.

"I hate the undead."

"I used to be one," Anya reminded him.

"Well, you're not anymore, you're alive. Very alive."

Faith rolled her eyes and went to the delivery room door. She knocked.

"Okay, doc, open up, it's safe now!" she called, but there was no response. "Monique, get someone to open the damn door or I'm gonna knock it down!"

Nothing happened for a moment and Faith was about to break in when the door finally opened and the doctor looked out.

"What hap… What are those?"

Faith looked at the corpses of demons.

"Demons. Now, do you mind? We'd like to see the baby."

"Eh?"

"Oh yeah, the battle's over. Get some janitors to clean up the mess and burn the corpses. I don't think there are any dangerous substances there, but I would be careful."

Faith walked past the doctor.

"You look a mess," Monique observed.

Faith looked at herself. She was a mess, her clothes were torn and her body bruised and cut. Fortunately, she was too tired to feel pain.

"Mmm, yeah," she agreed sourly and looked at the others. "We all are," she observed.

"What happened?" Renee asked.

"A whole army of demons came," Buffy said. "I've never seen so many before."

"What did they want?"

"The baby," Lara said, staring at the girl.

Everyone looked at Lara and then at the baby.

"Why?"

"Because she's special," Lara said and approached the baby.

She gently touched her and jerked like she was hit by electricity.

"Lara?" Raelee said worried.

"I'm fine," she said and took a few deep breaths. She looked at Willow and Tara. "One of us should always be with the baby," she said.

Willow and Tara nodded in agreement and approached the baby. They didn't feel what Lara had felt, but somehow they felt drawn to her. They touched her and jerked.

"She's special, all right," Willow agreed.

"Don't tell me, her name is Hope," Xander said.

"How did you know?" Renee asked.

"The prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Buffy asked.

"I found a prophecy. I got it all memorized. 'On winter's turn, at the Gates of Hell, a fatherless child of sin shall be born to two mothers, the bearer of destruction. And hope shall be protected by faith and the power of three.' Yesterday was winter solstice, winter's turn. Giles is still looking for clues."

"What's the power of three?" Monique asked.

"Us," Lara said. "The witches," she explained when Monique gave her a blank look.

"Oh."

"The bearer of destruction, what does that mean?" Renee asked, worried.

"According to the prophecy, she will destroy Hellmouth, unless the forces of evil get their hands on her."

Renee hugged the baby tighter.

Faith yawned.

"I'm beat," she declared. "Slayer or no Slayer, I'm going home and sleep. You coming, Cordelia?"

"Yes."

"I'll stay with the baby," Lara said.

"I'll replace you when I wake up. You think you can manage for ten hours or so?"

Lara nodded and looked at Raelee.

"Will you tell my parents?"

"Sure. I'll call them. I'll stay with you for a while."

Lara smiled shyly.

"We'll see you later," Xander said.

"Em, correct me if I'm wrong, but don't mortals carry their babies for nine months?" Anya asked.

"Yes," Buffy confirmed.

"Then how come she already delivered?"

Renee shrugged.

"She wanted out."

"But how come she's not in an incubator?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know. The doctor was also surprised. He said she was fully developed."

"Oh."

"Well, see you later," Xander said and then he and Anya left.

"Yeah, see you later," Faith said and looked at Buffy. "I hope Giles found something."

"Yeah, he better." She looked at Renee. "See you."

"Bye," the two wiccans said and followed Buffy, Faith and Cordelia.

"I'll call my parents and yours," Raelee said and Lara nodded.

"Yeah," Monique agreed. "I'll call mine as well. I'm sure they'll want to see the baby." She looked at Renee. "Shall I call yours as well?"

"I don't know," Renee said.

"They might change their mind when they see Hope."

Renee hesitated. She wasn't on the best terms with her parents, but she missed them.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Good."

Monique followed Raelee out, leaving Lara alone with Renee and the baby.

"Why my baby?" Renee asked.

Lara shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Will the demons return?"

"Yes. Tonight, there will be another battle."

"And tomorrow?"

"The evil will always try to get your baby, but after tonight, the greatest danger will pass. The baby knows who her enemies are. She may not understand it, but she knows who wants to harm her. And she can sense when evil is present."

"So when she cries, there is evil near?"

Lara smiled.

"Or she just needs a change of diapers."

Renee smiled and looked at her baby. The baby giggled.

"Looks like everything is okay now," Renee said and caressed her.

"Cordelia! Faith!" Mrs Chase said when the two girls returned home.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Mom."

"What happened? I was worried sick."

"Sorry, Mom," Cordelia said.

"I called Mr Giles and he said you were in the hospital."

"We were," Faith said. "My friend, Renee, she gave birth to a girl and the forces of evil sent a whole army of demons to get her." She grinned. "We wiped them out."

"Yeah," Cordelia agreed, tired.

"Oh, em, Mom, could you call to school and tell them I'll be absent today? I may be a Slayer, but I'm exhausted."

"Yes, of course."

"Thanks."

The girls went upstairs and Mrs Chase stared after them, recovering from shock. She was worried out of her mind, but she was also proud and she knew that the girls had to do what they did.

Upstairs, Faith and Cordelia undressed themselves and stepped into the shower. They hugged and let the water fall over them for a while. Then they washed, dried and went straight to bed.

"You know," Faith said when they met in their dreams, "I'm so tired I can't even dream straight."

Cordelia smiled.

"Me too," she agreed. "How about we just lie down?"

Faith smiled back.

"I was just about to suggest the same thing."

The went to the bed and lay down, hugging one another.

"I love you," Cordelia said and kissed Faith.

"I love you too," Faith responded and kissed Cordelia back.

After waking up, Willow and Tara reported to Giles and then went to the hospital and relieved Lara, who went home to get some sleep before the forthcoming battle. Monique had also gone home with her parents and Renee was glad she had someone to talk to, even though she didn't know the two wiccans. She knew, however, that they were there to protect her baby and she was grateful for that. She had heard rumors about strange things happening in Sunnydale, but she had always ignored them. Now, however, every evil being in Sunnydale, and probably outside as well, was after her baby. It was scary, but she was glad she was not alone. She used the opportunity to find out some more about the monsters and about the people who protected her.

When the night approached, everyone returned to the hospital and the three wiccans did a protection spell on the room in which Renee and, at Lara's insistence, her baby have been moved. The doctor had obviously informed security that there would be another fight and they had the floor secured. Or so they hoped. The men had seen the corpses and they weren't looking forward to the fight. Their commanding officer protested when he saw the Slayerettes, but he wasn't very persistent, especially when Xander opened his bag and took out some Uzis, complete with silencers. The commanding officer didn't even try to find out where Xander got them, he was glad he had something more powerful than his official side arm.

"You know, sometimes I think you might actually have a brain," Anya complimented him in her weird way when she saw the silencers.

Xander grinned.

"Sometimes I amaze even myself."

Anya raised an eyebrow.

"That can't be very hard."

"You'd be surprised. Anyway," he turned to the security officer, "ammo's still downstairs, I'll need help."

"You four," the man said, assigning four men, "help him get the ammo."

The men nodded and left.

"If you run out of ammo," Faith told the man, "there are other weapons in that bag over there. You can kill most of the demons with bullets and swords, but you have to decapitate those that look more or less human. You'll see which ones I mean."

The man eyed her, curious.

"You know an awful lot for a girl your age."

Faith shrugged.

"It's my job."

The man raised an eyebrow.

"That's one job I wouldn't want to have."

"It's not like I can help it," she said, but the man fortunately didn't ask further.

Giles was surprised when someone rang, he didn't expect anyone from the gang. He opened up and saw a strange woman.

"Yes?"

"I'm Dawn," the woman said.

Giles was confused for a moment, but then he remembered.

"Ah, the vampire."

"Yes. I have news."

"Go ahead," Giles said, not trusting her enough to invite her in.

"The demons are gathering at the Hellmouth, where the old Sunnydale High used to be. I've seen their leader."

"One moment," Giles said and fetched Lara's drawing that Raelee had brought him before going home. "Is this their leader?"

Dawn shook her head.

"No. The one I saw didn't look so… intimidating. But I think that the demon I saw was taking orders from someone in the Hellmouth."

"Can you draw it?"

"Yes."

Giles fetched some paper and a pencil and Dawn started to draw.

Lara and Monique were in the room with Renee and the baby while others were outside. Renee was sitting in bed, holding the baby while Monique held the Uzi.

"They're coming," Lara suddenly said.

Monique ran to the door.

"Lara says they're coming!" she called out and then returned to her position next to Lara.

"Why don't you have an Uzi?" the security leader asked Faith.

"Because they don't work against the vampires. This does," she said and pointed at the crossbow and the stake.

"And them?" the man asked and glanced at Willow and Tara.

"They don't need them," Faith said and the man raised his eyebrows, not understanding.

"I hear them!" Buffy called.

"Don't get scared now!" Faith called to the security men.

"Holly shit," the man said when the first wave of demons came down the hall. "Fire!" he ordered.

Everybody fired and the demons stated to drop. It was fortunate that Xander had enough brain in his head to think of the silencers or the noise would have been unbearable.

In the room, the three girls heard the shots and Monique and Renee looked at each other, scared.

"Monique," Lara said.

Monique looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"They're coming."

Monique was confused, but then she looked out the window.

"Oh my God," she said, terrified, when she saw the flying demons.

"Open the window and shoot them."

Monique quickly complied.

"What is it?" Renee asked, not being able to see the demons.

"Flying demons," Monique said and started to fire.

"Monique," Lara said, "relax. Take a deep breath and aim."

Monique glanced at Lara. She was a mystery to her. She had all these magical powers, yet she had never used them to protect herself from Monique and her friends when they had harassed her. But she didn't have time to think about it as the demons started to approach with frightening speed. Monique quickly took a deep breath, took aim and fired. The demons started to drop.

When suddenly all demons in the hall dropped dead, the security men kept firing for a few moments, until Faith told them to stop.

"What happened?" their leader asked, confused.

Faith grinned.

"Magic." She turned to Tara. "You okay?"

Tara nodded.

"Now what?" the man asked.

"Now we have a break for a minute or so and then we continue."

"You mean there's more of them?" the man asked, exasperated.

Faith grinned.

"Oh yeah."

"And you fight them?"

"Every day."

"Huh."

"Though they're not usually that numerous." She took a deep breath to calm down. "I only hope that they'll stop after midnight."

"What happens then?"

"It's twenty-four hours since the baby's been born."

"The baby?"

"Yeah."

"What's so special about her?"

"Let's just say that if they get their hands on her, we can kiss humanity good-bye. Or worse."

"Worse?" the man asked, not liking the sound of it.

"We may end up like them," Faith said and pointed at the demons.

The man looked at the demons and gulped.

"Shit."

Faith grinned.

"They're coming!" Monique called from the room.

"How does she know?" the man asked.

Faith shrugged.

"Magic."

Tara executed the demon-killing spell three more times when they discovered that they were running very low on ammo.

"Okay, take all guns to Monique," Faith said.

"Why?" the security leader asked.

"Because she has to shoot at the flying demons. We can handle these here with old fashion weapons."

"You want to fight them with swords?" he asked, surprised.

"How do you think we usually do it? Have your men secure the middle and protect those two," Faith said and pointed at Willow and Tara. "Buffy, you take point on the other side, Xander, Anya, back her up. I'll take point here. Raelee, Heidi, Cordelia, you're my backup." She turned to the security leader. "I suggest your men work in pairs."

The man stared at her for a few moments, but when he saw that the kids had taken up their positions, he ordered their men to do the same. When he looked at Willow and Tara, he saw that they were tired, although he had no idea from what. He did suspect that they had something to do with the fact that the demons just dropped dead several times.

"They're coming!" Monique called.

When the midnight approached, the demons were still coming and it didn't look as though they were planning to leave anytime soon. In the room, Lara was fending off the deadly projectiles while Monique shot down the demons. Suddenly Hope started to cry and Lara gasped.

"What is it?" Monique asked.

"Tell Tara to hurry with her spell," Lara said. "There's a strong demon approaching. Go, I can hold them off."

Monique ran to the door.

"Tara, hurry with the spell, there's a strong demon approaching."

Tara didn't acknowledge, but her lips started to move even faster. Willow broke her concentration and started to chant another spell, to give Tara the strength.

Monique returned to the window and started to fire again. Then she saw it, the big demon, and she stopped for a moment, stunned.

"Take cover," Lara suddenly said and Monique ran away from the window.

The big demon shot lightning beams toward Lara and she shuddered, but her protection held. Monique and Renee could see the sweat running down her face and how she was straining herself. Then she suddenly dropped to her knees, exhausted, and the baby stopped crying.

"Lara?" Monique asked, worried.

"It's still alive," Lara said quietly. "It will not attack us again tonight."

Monique went to her and looked out the window, but there were no demons. She looked down and saw other demons approach their fallen leader and carry it away.

"They took it away."

Lara nodded.

"Tell them."

Monique went to the door.

"The big demon survived," she reported, "but Lara says that it will not return tonight."

"What's the time?" Faith asked.

"Ten to midnight," one of the security men said.

"Let's hope that's it for tonight."

"Will?" Buffy asked. "How's Tara?"

"Exhausted. That spell takes a lot of power."

"She's a strong witch."

Willow shook her head.

"No, she's not that strong. She can only do this so many times because of the baby."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, confused.

"None of us is that strong. It's the baby who has the power, but she doesn't know what it is or how to control it. But she knows that we want to protect her and she lets us tap into it. If it wasn't for the baby, we wouldn't be able to hold out that long."

"Oh."

Faith looked into the room.

"Everything all right?"

"So far," Monique said.

"The demons are in disarray," Lara said quietly. "Some of them are running away while others are preparing for a new attack."

"Damn."

"How's outside?" Renee asked.

"Demons are scattered all over the hall and some of us have slashes and bruises. I think one of the security men broke his arm. And we're all tired."

She yawned and closed the door.

"They okay?" Buffy asked.

Faith nodded.

"Lara said that some of the demons are running away, but that some are preparing for another attack."

"I hope it's the last, I'm getting tired of this."

"Yeah," Faith agreed and slowly went to Cordelia. On the way, she passed Heidi. "You okay?"

Heidi nodded.

"It's payback time for the demon kind," she said and Faith grinned.

"That's the spirit, girl."

Heidi smiled and Faith moved on to Cordelia.

"Hey," Cordelia said.

"Hey. How do you feel?"

"Like I could sleep for a weak straight."

Faith smiled.

"I know what you mean," she agreed.

Monique opened the door.

"They're coming," she reported and closed the door again.

Faith sighed.

"Here we go again."

The demons came, but they weren't as numerous as before and they seemed to be on the defensive. Then the midnight came and they started to retreat. Tara hadn't yet completed her spell and she kept chanting. When she was done, several of the demons that were still in her range dropped dead.

"Is that it?" the leader of the security men asked.

"I think so," Faith said.

The man took a deep breath which turned into a yawn.

"I'm definitely not getting paid enough for this shit," he then said.

Faith smiled.

"At least you get paid."

The door opened.

"Lara says they're gone," Monique reported.

"Then I guess it's time to clean up the mess," Faith said.

The leader of the security men looked at the dead demons and shook his head.

"I'm definitely not getting paid enough."

"Any ideas how we can do it the most efficiently?" Faith asked.

The man looked at her.

"Like we did it yesterday. We pile them up in the elevator, send them down to the basement and then burn them."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'll go with the men that will go to the basement," Buffy volunteered.

"We'll go too," Xander volunteered himself and Anya.

"We will?" Anya said, surprised.

"Yes," Xander said firmly, hoping that she wouldn't object.

She didn't.

"Okay, then let's get moving," Faith said and looked at the leader of the security men.

The man assigned half his men to go downstairs and then he and the rest started to pile the corpses into the elevator.

Raelee had gone to Lara and they sat underneath the window, Raelee holding Lara. Lara was exhausted and she leaned on Raelee and soon fell asleep. Raelee caressed her and she too soon fell asleep. Willow saw that Lara had fallen asleep and she decided that it was safe for her and Tara to do the same. She helped Tara next to Lara and Raelee and helped her sit down. She sat beside her and they hugged. Tara was the first to fall asleep and Willow wasn't far behind.

About two hours later, when all corpses were down in the basement, the security men went downstairs to burn them and the rest of the gang came to Renee's room.

"Aren't they cute," Faith said, staring at the two pairs of sleeping beauties.

"Yeah," Cordelia agreed and looked at her. "But, you're much cuter," she informed her.

"Me, cute?" Faith said, surprised.

"On the scale of one to ten, where one is… extremely cute and ten is… them," she pointed at the four girls, "you're somewhere in the upper quadzillion range," she said with a smirk.

Faith laughed and then kissed her.

"You're probably even higher," she said.

"Probably?" Cordelia asked in mock indignation.

"Definitely," Fait corrected herself.

"That's better. Now, how about we join them?"

When the doctor came to work the next morning, he noticed that the floor was a mess. Unknown substances were all over the floor and the walls and there were bullet holes all over the floor, even in the ceiling. He noticed the security men, who were sleeping outside his patient's room, and one of the children. The girl woke up when he and the nurses approached and he saw that she was ready to fight. But then she recognized him and she relaxed. She looked around, yawned and got up.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," the doctor said.

The girl woke up the leader of the security men, who was startled for a few moments.

"Good morning, doctor," he said and yawned.

"What happened here?" the doctor asked.

"A bloody war, if you ask me. I'm seriously starting to consider whether I should get a new job."

"And the corpses?" the doctor inquired.

"We got rid of them." He looked around. "I'm afraid the janitors have their work cut out for them," he said.

The doctor didn't respond and he entered the room, where the rest of the children were waking up. He glanced at the baby, who was sleeping in her mother's arms and she looked surprisingly healthy for a prematurely born child who was barely a day old.

"Good morning, doctor," Renee said.

"Good morning," he said and waited for a moment for several of the children to get out of the way.

In the meantime, the baby woke up and giggled. The doctor examined her.

"She looks well," he declared. "I would like to examine her more thoroughly."

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

The doctor looked at her. He knew that this baby was important to them and that someone was obviously trying to hurt her. He decided not to interfere with their security.

"Fine," he said and took Hope. "A nurse will get you something to eat," he told Renee and left.

About two hours later, long after he had returned the baby to her mother, the doctor returned. In the meantime everyone except Monique, Faith and Cordelia had left. The janitors were busy doing their job.

"Miss Jones," he said, hesitating, "I'm afraid I will have to discharge you earlier than usual. Your baby is surprisingly healthy for a prematurely born child. As a matter of fact, she is surprisingly healthy for any child." He paused for a moment. "And there is the fact that this entire floor is in disarray because someone wants her."

"I understand, doctor," Renee said.

"But I do want you to bring the baby here every day so I can examine her."

"I will."

"Good. Then there's only a matter of filling out the papers and then you can go. The nurse here will take care of that.

"Okay."

The doctor left.

"I'll go call my parents," Monique said and Renee nodded.

"Knock, knock."

Everyone looked at the door.

"Jesse!" Renee said, excited.

"How's my favorite sister?" Jesse asked with a smile and went to the bed.

"I'm fine," Renee said, hugging him with one arm. "How did you… I mean…"

"I called Mom and she kept telling me you were not home just then. I got tired of it and demanded she tell me the truth. She did and I came here. Good thing I called your school yesterday and they told me you were here. By the way, what happened? The whole floor looks like there's been a war here."

"There was."

Jesse gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

"Some… bad guys want my baby and my friends protected us. Anyway, meet your niece, Hope."

Jesse looked at the baby and smiled.

"Hello, little one," he cooed her and the baby giggled.

"Looks like she likes you," Renee said with a smile.

"Yes," Jesse said and looked at her. "Why would anyone want her?" he then asked, concerned.

Renee sighed.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later. By the way, meet some of my friends. This is Monique, I'm staying with her, and these are Faith and Cordelia. Guys, this is my brother Jesse."

"Hello," Jesse said.

"Hi."

"I'll go call my parents now," Monique said and left.

"Eh, Miss Jones," the nurse said.

"Oh, sure."

By the time Monique's parents came, the papers were all filled and signed.

"Hello," Mr and Mrs Dion said when they arrived.

"Hello," Renee said. "Jesse, these are Monique's parents, Mr and Mrs Dion." She looked at the two grown-ups. "This is my brother Jesse."

"Hello."

"Hello," Jesse said as he shook their hands. "Thank you for taking care of Renee."

Mrs Dion smiled.

"No problem. Thanks to her we got our priorities straightened out."

"What happened here?" Mr Dion asked. "Another war?"

"It's a long story, Dad," Monique said. "I'll tell you at home.

"Okay."

"By the way, Renee's been released."

"Already?" Mrs Dion asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"But her baby, she's been prematurely born and she's barely a day old."

Monique shrugged.

"The doctor says she's in great health. And besides, he's worried about the safety of the hospital."

"Oh."

"So, Uncle, would you mind holding your niece?" Renee asked with a smirk.

Jesse smiled.

"You bet," he said and took the baby, who giggled.

Monique helped Renee get up.

"Ah, do you mind," Renee said. "I have to get dressed."

"We'll wait outside," Mr Dion said and everyone except Monique left.

Faith stepped to Jesse.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi."

"Are you here by car?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And you plan to go with Renee to Monique's house?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Can you take Cordelia with you?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Because I'm going with their car and it'll be crowded."

"Oh. Sure, no problem."

"Thanks."

When they got to Monique's house, Jesse went in with them so Renee could fill him in. Faith and Cordelia went home to sleep, but Faith gave Monique a few instructions before they left.

When Faith came down to the kitchen after taking a long shower, she was treated to an unusual sight.

"Now that's something new," she said as she entered the kitchen. "Cordelia Chase doing the cooking."

Cordelia looked at her, pouting.

"I can cook, you know, I just don't like to. And besides, this is no big deal."

"I know, just teasing," Faith said with a smirk.

Cordelia returned the smirk.

"I know. Here."

Faith took her plate and started to eat.

"Mmm, not bad," she said.

Cordelia blushed a bit.

"Thanks."

"Say," Faith said after a while, "where's Maria?"

"She went to her family for the holidays."

"Already? I thought she was leaving today."

Cordelia shook her head.

"Nope. Yesterday."

"Oh." Faith thought for a few moments. "And where's Mom?"

"Work."

"Today?" Faith asked, surprised.

"Yeah. She said something urgent came up and she had to go. After that she's visiting Dad."

"Mhm," Faith said thoughtfully.

"Faith?" Cordelia asked, noticing Faith's distant gaze.

Faith looked at her and gave her a mischievous grin.

"So we're alone?"

Cordelia gave her a puzzled look.

"Yeah, why?"

"Any plans for today?"

Cordelia raised her eyebrows.

"None, except being with you."

Faith flashed her a big smile.

"Good," she said.

Cordelia stared at her, not comprehending.

"Faith?" she asked.

"Mmm?"

"What's with the twenty questions?"

Faith grinned mischievously again.

"You'll find out soon enough," she said.

"When?"

"When we finish our breakfast. Pardon me, lunch."

Cordelia raised her eyebrows, but she didn't ask further, even though she was very curious.

They continued eating and Faith noticed with a smirk that Cordelia was eating faster than usually. She obliged her and started to eat faster herself.

"So, what's this big secret?" Cordelia asked when they were putting the dishes aside after they had finished eating.

Faith waited a few moments until they were done. Then she stepped closer to her and looked into her eyes.

"Did anyone ever tell you what great tonsils you have?" she asked seductively.

Cordelia did a double-take and then burst into laughter.

"That's the weirdest compliment anyone ever gave me," she said when she calmed down a bit. "You sure know how to flatter a girl."

"I learned from the best," Faith said and quickly kissed her on the nose.

Cordelia laughed again.

"So what do my tonsils have to do with anything?" she asked.

"I want to explore them," Faith said with an innocent look in her eyes. "On the kitchen table."

Cordelia stared at her, surprised. Then she grinned.

"On the kitchen table?" she asked.

Faith nodded and gave her a deep kiss, extending her tongue as far as she could into Cordelia's mouth. Cordelia stepped back, surprised, but she quickly responded and extended her own tongue into Faith's mouth. Faith slowly nudged her back until Cordelia reached the table. Then she broke off the kiss and lifted Cordelia on the table.

"I've always fantasized about sex on the kitchen table," Faith said and kissed Cordelia again. "There are so many useful appliances around," she added with a grin.

"We're gonna have to talk about those fantasies of yours, you know," Cordelia said with a smirk as she let Faith unbutton her shirt.

"Oh, we will," Faith promised. "And we'll also discuss your fantasies."

Cordelia blushed.

"Can't wait," she said.

"Good. Now, while we're at it and you're in the right position, we're also gonna play doctors."

Cordelia laughed.

"You're so perverse."

Faith gave her a mischievous grin.

"And you love it."

"Oh yes," Cordelia agreed.

Faith assumed what was meant to be an official pose.

"Now, Miss Chase, be a good patient and undress while Doctor Spencer finds the right appliances."

Cordelia laughed.

"Yes, Doctor." She started to undress when an idea struck her. "Em, Doctor Spencer," she said, "I believe there is some whipped cream in the fridge."

Faith gave her a surprised look and then grinned.

"Now who's a pervert?"

"Hey, I told you I'm an apt pupil."

"Oh yes," Faith agreed. A thought suddenly struck her. "I think I'll try some of that pussy fruit," she said thoughtfully.

"What?" Cordelia asked, puzzled.

Faith grinned.

"Pussy fruit."

"What's that?"

"Well, essentially a mixture of fruits, preferably bananas, which I'm afraid we don't have, maybe some whipped cream and, of course, the essential thing, pussy juice."

Cordelia's eyes went wide and she laughed.

"Where did you pick that up?"

"Oh, just a story I read."

Cordelia laughed again.

"Well, you want pussy juice to go along with your pussy fruit, come and get it."

"Oh, I will, I will," Faith said grinning. "As soon as I have everything ready. Then, my dear Miss Chase, we will do some experimenting, medical, culinary and, most important, sexual."

Cordelia laughed.

"Yes, Doctor Spencer. Or should I call you Chef Spencer?"

"Anything you like," Faith replied with a smile.

When Mrs Chase came home in the afternoon, Faith and Cordelia were cuddling on the sofa, Cordelia obviously sleeping on Faith's shoulder. Faith heard her come in and she was immediately wide awake.

"Hi, Mom," she said.

She noticed that the TV was still on and she turned it off.

Mrs Chase smiled.

"Hello, Faith."

Faith looked at Cordelia and smiled when she saw that she was still asleep. She caressed her and kissed her on the lips. Cordelia was immediately wide awake and she responded passionately to the kiss.

"Em… Cordelia… Mom's… home," Faith barely managed to say as she fended off Cordelia.

Cordelia stopped at once and looked around.

"Oh, hi, Mom," she said, blushing slightly.

Mrs Chase smiled.

"Hello, Cordelia." She observed them for a few moments. "And what have you two been doing today?" she then asked.

"Em…" Cordelia started, blushing.

"We were… exploring," Faith said.

Cordelia looked at her, blushing even more.

Mrs Chase noticed the blush and she decided she didn't really want to know.

"Mhm," she said, smiling.

"Oh, Mom," Faith said, "we'll have to leave soon."

"Why?"

"We have to report to Giles. Oh, and we might be late again tonight."

"More demons?" Mrs Chase asked, worried.

"Afraid so."

Mrs Chase sighed. She was afraid for them, but she knew that they had to go, to keep the world safe.

"Be careful," she said

"We will."

"Yes," Cordelia agreed.

Mrs Chase smiled and left.

Cordelia then looked at Faith.

"Exploring?" she asked.

"What? We were," Faith said innocently. "Our dirty fantasies," she added with a grin.

Cordelia laughed. Then she kissed Faith.

"You weren't sleeping?" she asked.

Faith shook her head.

"Nope. I was thinking."

"About what?"

"About what it would be like if we had a baby."

Cordelia smiled.

"I was dreaming about the same thing," she said and Faith smiled.

"I'm afraid we'll never know," she said, her smile turning into a sour expression.

"We can adopt one," Cordelia suggested.

"Yeah, right. Two dykes, one of whom is a Slayer, want to adopt a baby."

"You never know," Cordelia said.

"Still, think of the danger the baby would be exposed to."

"Are you afraid for the baby or are you afraid that you wouldn't be a good mother?"

Faith looked at her, surprised, and frowned.

"I…" she started and trailed off, not quite sure.

"You'd make an excellent mother, Faith," Cordelia said softly and kissed her.

Faith smiled.

"Thanks."

"Hi, sorry we're late," Faith said when they came to Giles'. "We were waiting for Mom to come home."

"Anything new?" Cordelia asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Giles said. "It would appear that Faith's informant is quite valuable."

"What do you mean?" Faith asked.

"She came by yesterday and told me that…" The bell rang. "Excuse me," he said and left to open the door.

"B?" Faith asked, looking at her fellow Slayer.

"The demons are gathering at the Hellmouth, where the old school was. Dawn drew their leader, but that's not the same one as Lara saw. We think that this is the real leader."

Faith looked at the picture Buffy showed her and shuddered.

"Ugly much," she said.

"Yeah. Anyway, this one is not our problem since it obviously can't get out of the Hellmouth."

"Hey, everyone," Xander said as he and Anya entered the room. "Did we miss anything?"

"This," Faith said and showed him a drawing.

"Yuck," Xander said.

Anya frowned.

"I'm not sure what his name is, but I know that he is very high in the hierarchy of Hell," she said.

"And then there's this one," Faith said and gave him another drawing.

"More?" Xander asked and looked at the drawing. "Gross." He thought for a moment. "Hmm. Do you think a couple of bazookas would fix him up?" he wondered aloud and everyone looked at him. "What?"

"I'm so proud of you," Anya said seductively.

"You are?" Xander asked, blushing.

"Mhm. You finally proved that you actually have a brain, even though you make a poor use of it."

Xander glared at her, but Anya just smiled.

"Ouch, that hurt," Faith commented with a grin.

"Ha, ha," Xander said, not amused.

"Can you get the bazookas?" Buffy saved him.

"Yeah, sure."

"Do you think you can get something more powerful than the one I used on the Judge?"

Xander thought for a moment.

"Yes. How many?"

"I think two would do," Buffy said and looked at Faith.

"It better," Faith said, "or goodbye Earth."

"Two it is."

"Hi," Monique said when the whole gang, including Giles and excluding Xander, appeared at her door. "Come in."

The gang entered and Monique introduced them to her parents.

"Did Monique tell you what is going on?" Faith asked Monique's parents.

"A bit," Mrs Dion said, "but we didn't understand much."

"Don't worry, Giles here will explain everything. But first, our three witches…"

"Wiccans," Willow corrected her.

"Whatever. They have to do a protection spell."

"A what?" Mr Dion asked, startled.

"A protection spell. It will keep the undead out of the house. Unfortunately, it will not keep projectiles out, so I'd put a grate over the window of the room where the baby sleeps. Also, no babysitters, except one of us. And if you take the baby out, make sure that one of them," she pointed at the three wiccans, "me or Buffy is with you. Or any other two. And if at all possible, do not open the door at night, unless it's one of us. And preferably not during the day either. Got that?"

Mr and Mrs Dion nodded, confused.

"Yes," Mrs Dion said.

"Good. Will?"

Willow nodded and the three wiccans formed a circle around the small table. Willow and Tara prepared the ingredients and Lara observed them, not having as much experience with spells as the other two. Willow and Tara were quickly done and then they began to chant. The old members of the gang had seen it before, but others stared at them curiously. The spell took a couple of minutes and the three wiccans were slightly tired.

"It should last for a week or so," Willow informed them. "We'll do it again then."

"Okay," Faith said and looked at Giles. "Giles, you wanna tell them the whole story?"

Giles straightened.

"Yes, of course."

When Giles finished, Mr and Mrs Dion had plenty of questions and Giles did his best to answer. Finally Xander showed up and Monique let him.

"Got it," he announced as he dragged the two boxes in. "Uh, hello," he said when he saw Monique's parents.

"Let's see," Buffy said and opened one. "Looks good."

"Are those bazookas?" Mr Dion asked, surprised.

Buffy looked at him as she closed the box.

"Yes."

"Why do you need them?"

"To kill a demon. I hope they work."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "Or we'll all be in deep shit." She glanced at the clock. "Shall we go?"

Buffy also glanced at the clock.

"Yes."

They each picked up a box and looked at the wiccans. The wiccans moved, but suddenly stopped when the baby giggled. Lara turned, surprised, while Willow and Tara looked at each other, confused. Lara went to the baby and touched her. She jerked and then looked at her fellow wiccans.

"The baby wants to give us more power," she informed them.

"What do you mean?" Renee asked, hugging her baby more tightly.

"She is strong, but she doesn't know how to control the power. But she knows that we can."

Renee hesitated for a moment.

"Will it hurt her?" she asked.

"No."

The baby then touched its mother's face and giggled. Renee jerked and looked at Hope, surprised. The baby giggled again.

"Okay," she said and gave the baby to Lara, who put her on the table.

The three wiccans surrounded the baby and touched her. The baby giggled and they started to concentrate and chant. A few moments later they stopped and got up.

"How do you feel?" Buffy asked when she saw that their eyes were glowing slightly.

"Like a supercharged battery," Willow said and Buffy smiled. "Let's go."

"The rest of you spread around the house and look out for trouble," Faith said.

Although it was relatively early, the undead had already started to gather around the Hellmouth, their leader was there as well. The three wiccans hid behind a demolished wall while Faith and Buffy took positions aside from them and prepared their weapons. Willow started to chant the spell that would make them almost invisible for the demons and Tara started her demon-killing spell. Lara helped Tara.

Suddenly the leader of the demons noticed that something was wrong. It flew up and scanned the surroundings. It quickly spotted the anomaly and ordered the demons to attack. Lara stopped helping Tara and concentrated on keeping the demons away. Willow stopped keeping up the invisibility spell and concentrated on a version of protection spell. Lara then concentrated on the leader of the demons, deflecting its projectiles as well as those from other demons. But then the demon concentrated and a powerful blast nearly threw Lara to the ground. But she only staggered back and stood her ground. The demon continued its assault and Lara screamed from pain.

Faith and Buffy looked at her, worried. Lara then screamed again, but this time it was not from pain. She gathered all her strength and fought back. The demon was surprised and it took it a few moments to respond.

Faith and Buffy quietly lay in their hiding place, waiting for their moment. Faith was getting worried, seeing how Lara was straining herself. She also noticed that her eyes were glowing more and that blood was trickling from her nose. But Lara didn't give up.

Willow kept the demons at bay, but occasionally an object penetrated her perimeter and she had to struggle to deflect it.

Finally, Tara completed her spell and the demons dropped dead. That is all except their leader, who crashed to the ground, but was still alive. Lara kept her attack going.

"Now!" Buffy called.

The demon heard her and was surprised when it saw two more mortals appear. It studied them, dazed, and wondered what they were holding. As its pieces fell to the ground, it had its answer.

The moment the demon was history, Faith threw her bazooka into the Hellmouth and ran to Lara, who had collapsed. Buffy did the same.

"Lara?" Faith asked, cradling her.

Willow, who had been checking Tara, came closer. She put her palm on Lara's forehead and concentrated. Then she waved to Tara to come closer.

"She needs our power," she told her and Tara nodded.

They put their hands on Lara's body and concentrated.

"Will?" Buffy asked when they were done.

"She'll be okay," Willow said, tired. "She's sleeping."

"I'll…"

She trailed off when strong wind suddenly started to blow and a whirlpool appeared with center right over the Hellmouth. The two Slayers glanced at each other, worried. But, fortunately, nothing happened, at least not to them. The pieces of the demon leader, however, were swept by the wind and into the whirlpool, which started to get thinner and thinner, until it disappeared into the Hellmouth and the hole closed.

"Freaky much," Buffy said and looked at Faith, who was as surprised as she was.

"I'll take Lara home," Faith said, wanting to get away from the Hellmouth, and Buffy nodded.

"And I'll escort them to the campus."

Faith nodded.

"Are you going on patrol tonight?" she asked.

Buffy considered the idea and then shook her head.

"No. Somehow I don't think the local demons are gonna come out tonight."

Faith nodded.

"Then I'll return to Monique's house and tell everyone we won."

"Okay. See you tomorrow."

Faith nodded. She picked up Lara and left. Buffy helped Willow and Tara get up and then took them to the campus.

"Lara!" Mr Arches said, worried, when he saw Faith carrying his daughter. "What happened?"

"We won," Faith said as she gave him the girl. "Don't worry, she's just sleeping. She'll probably sleep for a long time tomorrow and she'll probably be very hungry," she said and Mrs Archer gave her a puzzled look. "She used a lot of her energy to keep that demon at bay," she explained.

"Oh."

"Anyway, I have to go tell others. Good night."

"Good night," Mrs Archer said and followed her husband to Lara's room.

Mr Archer put Lara on the bed, took off her shoes and covered her. He and his wife stared at her for a while, both feeling proud of her and remembering with shame how they had thought she was evil.

"Faith!" Heidi called when she saw her.

"Hey."

"How did it go?"

"We won," Faith said with a smile.

Then they slowly walked toward the house and waited for the others to join them.

"Faith?" Giles asked when everyone was there.

"We won," Faith reported.

"Where's Lara," Raelee said, worried. "And Willow and Tara?"

"I took Lara home, she's sleeping. And Buffy took Willow and Tara back to the campus."

"Are they all right?"

"Yes, they're fine, just tired." She looked at Giles. "I'm going home," she said. "The demons are dead and the local ones probably won't dare to come out of hiding yet."

"Yes," Giles agreed with a nod and rang the bell.

A few moments later, Monique opened and looked at them curiously.

"We won," Faith said. "We're going home now."

"Oh. Okay."

"Call me tomorrow when Renee takes Hope to the hospital."

Monique nodded.

"I will. Thanks."

Faith smiled.

"All in the line of duty. See you tomorrow."

She took Cordelia's hand and they left. The others left as well, except Giles, who remained behind to tell Monique's parents that the danger was over. At least for now.

The next day, Raelee went to Lara.

"Lara is still asleep," Mr Archer informed her.

"Oh," Raelee said, disappointed.

"Do you want to wait until she wakes up?"

Raelee's face brightened.

"Yes."

She entered and went to the kitchen, where Mrs Archer was cleaning up the dishes.

"Hello, Raelee," the woman greeted her.

"Hello, Mrs Archer."

Raelee felt a bit awkward, she had never been alone with Lara's parents. Before she and Lara became a couple, she was simply afraid of them, now that she dated their daughter, she was afraid of what they thought of her. But Mr and Mrs Archer obviously liked her and Raelee told them what an important role Lara had played in the last couple of days. She also told them about herself and about things that Lara had done which would make her parents very angry if they hadn't had a change of heart.

Suddenly Raelee frowned. She felt that something was not right.

"What's wrong?" Mr Archer asked.

"I don't know," Raelee said, trying to figure it out herself. "Something's… Lara!"

She got up and ran to Lara's room. Lara's parents looked at each other, confused, and then quickly followed her,

Up in Lara's room, Raelee saw that her girlfriend was having a nightmare and she quickly woke her up. Lara screamed, terrified, but when she saw it was only Raelee, she hugged her tightly. Raelee quietly held her and caressed her from time to time as Lara sobbed.

When Lara's parents finally came, they saw the two girls hugging. They noticed that Lara was crying, but they decided to wait with questions until Lara calmed down.

It took Lara about five minutes to calm down and another couple of minutes to stop sobbing. All the while, Raelee quietly held her and caressed her from time to time. When Lara let go of her, she smiled softly at her.

"I'm here," she said and Lara smiled for a brief moment and took her hand.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"A nightmare?" Raelee asked.

Lara nodded.

"Yes." She paused for a moment, hesitating whether to tell Raelee or not, but then decided that Raelee needed to know. "That demon, when he attacked me, he used my fears against me. I… I relived…"

"I understand," Raelee said and caressed her.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Lara asked.

Raelee was surprised and she thought about it. They had never slept together before, except the few times when they were little. She knew this wasn't a sexual request, but a friendly one.

"If our parents don't mind."

Lara nodded and took a deep breath.

"What happened yesterday after I passed out?"

"Faith brought you home. Then she came to Monique's house, told us what happened and sent us home."

"And the demon?"

"They blew it up."

"The baby?"

"She's fine."

"Good."

Raelee smiled.

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, Renee's brother came. He said he'll try to get his girlfriend to move to Sunnydale so he could watch over Renee. Oh, Cordelia said we should have a baby shower for Hope after New Year."

Lara smiled.

"Good."

Renee smiled again.

"So, how about some food?"

Lara smiled.

"I'm starving."

"Good. Oh, em, you might wanna take a shower first."

Lara looked at herself and saw that she was still in her old clothes. She nodded.

"Yes," she said.

"I'll go tell your mom to prepare some food. And I'll ask her if I may stay with you."

"Okay."

Raelee caressed her, smiling, and then left.

Finally Christmas came.

"You know," Faith said as they were returning from the shower, "I just had an interesting thought. "Remember that song, Silent Night?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I can put it in perspective now."

Cordelia smiled.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Oh, damn!" Faith suddenly remembered.

"What is it?" Cordelia asked, surprised.

Faith looked at her and Cordelia saw that she was embarrassed. Faith gulped.

"I… I forgot to buy you a Christmas present," she said.

"Oh, damn!" Cordelia said and Faith looked at her, confused. "I forgot to buy you one as well," she explained.

The two girls stared at each other for a few moments and then started to laugh.

"Damn demons," Faith said. She thought for a moment. "What the hell, I don't need a present, I have you," she said. "You're my greatest present."

Cordelia looked at her, surprised, and then smiled.

"And you are my greatest present," she said and they kissed.

"Oh no," Faith suddenly remembered.

"What?" Cordelia asked, hoping it was nothing serious.

"I didn't buy anything for Mom. You?"

Cordelia's eyes went wide.

"No. Damn."

They thought for a few moments what to do.

"I have an idea," Faith finally said. "I hope it's not lame."

"What?"

"We give her a picture of ourselves."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow.

"You think?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know. It sounds lame, but we are her greatest present."

Cordelia considered the idea.

"Well, I guess so. I'll get a photo."

"Hello, girls," Mrs Chase greeted them with a smile when they got downstairs.

"Hi, Mom," the girls said in unison.

"Merry Christmas."

Faith and Cordelia looked at each other.

"Merry Christmas, Mom," Cordelia said.

"Merry Christmas," Faith said.

Mrs Chase noticed that they were feeling uncomfortable over something.

"What's wrong?"

"Well…" Cordelia started and trailed off.

"We kinda forgot to buy you anything for Christmas," Faith said.

"Ah," Mrs Chase said, relieved that nothing was wrong.

"But we do have something for you," Cordelia said and gave her a picture of her and Faith attached to a flower she snatched out of a vase upstairs.

Mrs Chase took the picture and the flower and looked at the picture. She smiled, recognizing both.

"It's something along the lines that we're you're greatest present," Faith said, hoping Mrs Chase would like it.

"That you are," Mrs Chase agreed and hugged them both. "Thank you."

"You like it?" Cordelia asked.

Mrs Chase nodded.

"I do. And speaking of presents, why don't you take a look under the Christmas tree?"

Faith and Cordelia looked at each other and then ran to the Christmas tree.

There were two boxes, one carrying Cordelia's name, the other Faith's. They ripped the paper off.

"Oh, wow, cool," Faith said when she saw the picture on the box.

Cordelia looked.

"What is it?"

"PlayStation 2," Faith said and opened the box. "And a couple of very cool games."

Cordelia smiled at Faith's excitement.

"I guess that means you'll need a partner," she said.

Faith looked at her, her eyes, wide with excitement.

"Sure! I'll show you," she said and Cordelia smiled. "What did you get?"

Cordelia opened the box and gasped. It was a dress. She quickly checked the label.

"Wow, a Gucci dress," she said.

"Expensive," Faith commented.

"Yeah." She looked at her mother. "Thanks, Mom."

"Yeah, thanks, Mom," Faith quickly added.

Mrs Chase's smile grew bigger.

"You're welcome. Now, why don't go eat your breakfast before you start playing with the PlayStation."

The girls got up and ran to the kitchen. Mrs Chase shook her head, smiling, and picked up the paper. She loved seeing her girls happy. She knew that they had a hard life fighting the demons and saving the world and she was glad she could do something to make them smile and forget about it, at least for a while, even though they usually didn't let the demons spoil their fun. Still, seeing them happy like that made it worthwhile. She went into the kitchen to dispose of the paper and watch her girls.

The End