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. This story is a sequel to Family.

Heat
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"I hate hot weather," Monique said as she and Renee sat down next to Faith, Raelee and Lara during the lunch break.

"Tell me about it," Faith said. "I feel like I'm being cooked alive."

"Don't mention cooking," Renee said. "Just the thought of food makes me sick."

Faith chuckled.

"Yeah. I wish they would serve ice cream."

"No, you don't," Monique said. "This is school, remember? Anything that gets served here is only slightly better than hospital food."

"Good point," Faith consented with a smirk.

"At least the drinks are fine," Raelee said.

"Good thing or we'd all evaporate," Renee said.

"You gonna take Hope out today?" Faith asked.

Renee thought for a moment.

"I don't know."

"I think Alice would probably prefer to stay at home."

"Yeah, it's hot. Good thing it's January and not June or July or this would be Hell on Earth."

Faith blinked.

"This is Hell on Earth."

Renee chuckled.

"But at least it wasn't that hot before."

"Good point." She frowned. "I'll ask Giles if perhaps someone is heating up the weather on purpose."

"Some demons?" Monique asked.

Faith shrugged.

"This is Sunnydale, anything's possible here."

Monique quirked her lips.

"Good point. Oh, by the way. What's with you and Stacy?"

Faith gulped.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, then you two were quite… well, friendly at first. But lately, I don't know, you seem to be avoiding her."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Renee said.

Faith sighed.

"Remember Professor Wirth?"

"Yes," Monique said. "Oh. Are they related?"

"She's his granddaughter."

"I see," Monique said, her face serious.

"Hi, Amir," Renee said with a smile when her boyfriend arrived.

"H-Hel-lo," Amir said, returning the smile.

"Looks like we're on our own," Faith told Monique.

Monique smiled, but her smile soon disappeared as she thought about Stacy.

Cassandra was very nervous when she approached the Whores during the break. She shook her head, trying not to think of them like that. She knew that there was more to them than people thought and she figured that they would actually make good friends. She looked around. Hell, they probably had more personal integrity than most people around here, in spite of the fact that they liked to screw around like rabbits.

"Em, hi, guys," she said when she got to them.

Sara and Daisy turned.

"Eh, hi," Sara said, surprised.

"Em, you said I could come to you for some, em, you know, advice," Cassandra said, blushing.

Sara and Daisy glanced at each other, grinning.

"Sure. But, em, shouldn't Nici be here too?"

"Well, yes, I know, but, em..."

"Hey, it's okay," Daisy calmed her. "You can tell her later."

"Yes," Sara said. "Em, we'll start at the basics. Have you kissed?" she asked and Cassandra nodded, blushing. "That's good. You should take it slow. First, find out what you like and she should find out what she likes."

"You know, when you masturbate," Daisy clarified and Cassandra blushed even deeper.

Both Sara and Daisy grinned.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," Sara said, "everyone does it. Well, most people. I would also suggest borrowing a porn movie, one with lesbians, but you can also show her what guys can do to girls. But nothing extreme, just plain sex." She grinned. "Not that sex is ever plain."

"Unless you don't enjoy it," Daisy said.

Sara nodded.

"Yes. Anyway, we have a few, if you want to borrow."

"Yes."

"Em, I'll let you know," Cassandra said.

"Okay. Well, that's about it with the basics. You let us know if you want the movie and we'll pick one or two and deliver it."

"Properly camouflaged of course," Sara added.

"Of course."

Cassandra nodded.

"I will. Thanks."

Sara and Daisy smiled.

"No problem.

Cassandra hesitated for a moment.

"I'll see you around," she then said and left.

"Isn't she just so cute when she's embarrassed?" Daisy asked.

Sara smiled.

"Yep."

"Hey, there's Faith. Faith!"

Faith noticed her waving and came closer.

"Hey, guys."

"Hello, Cassandra," Mrs Verkaik said when Cassandra came to Nici after school.

"Hello, Mrs Verkaik."

"Em, my husband and I are going on a business trip tomorrow. Usually we hire a babysitter to watch Nici, but now Nici wants you to baby-sit her. She insisted. Would you mind?"

"Sure, no problem," Cassandra said with a smile.

"We will pay you…"

"No, no, no. She's my friend. You don't have to pay me to spend time with her."

Mrs Verkaik smiled.

"Thank you. We leave tomorrow at three and we'll be back on Saturday at eight or nine. Would that be okay with you?"

"Sure, no problem."

"We'll leave you a phone number where you can reach us, in case anything is wrong."

Cassandra nodded.

"Okay. Oh, em, we will go out tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay with you?"

Mrs Verkaik nodded.

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Thank you."

Cassandra smiled.

"No problem. Is Nici in her room?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll go to her."

Mrs Verkaik nodded and Cassandra left.

"Hi," Cassandra greeted Nici.

Nici smiled.

"Hi."

"Guess what," Cassandra said when they stopped kissing. "You mom said you want me to watch over you while they're gone on a business trip."

Nici nodded.

"Cassie mind?"

Cassandra smiled.

"Of course not. It will give us an excuse to spend more time together and," she leaned closer and started whispering, "I can teach you more about sex."

Nici beamed, clapping her hands.

"Nici like that."

"Em, Giles," Willow spoke, staring at her laptop.

"Yes, Willow?"

"Looks like we have a few more Council operatives in town."

"We do?" Giles asked, concerned, and went to her.

"Yes, three more."

"Let me see." Giles studied the photos for a few moments. "I haven't seen them before."

"Well, they're here. What do we do?"

"You could do what you did with Mrs Fuller," Tara suggested.

Willow frowned, thinking.

"But Mrs Fuller was caught in the act. So to speak."

"I think Tara may be right," Giles said.

"You do?" Willow said, surprised. "I mean, sure." She frowned. "Em, how?"

"We set them up."

"Giles!" Willow said, surprised. "Are you suggesting we do something illegal?"

Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them.

"Well, we can't exactly go to the police and tell them the truth."

"I know. So, any ideas?"

Giles thought.

"Do you think Xander could provide some weapons?"

Willow grinned.

"You mean steal?"

"Em, yes," Giles said slowly.

"Sure. What kind?"

"I believe a few Uzis would do the trick."

Willow smirked.

"Mean." Then she frowned. "But if we assume that they also have hidden computers, we would need to… Oh."

"Willow?" Tara asked.

"The police won't find the hidden computers."

"Oh."

"So, do we do them all at once or separately?"

"It would be good if we could do it all at once," Giles said.

Willow thought about it.

"I could hack into the computers and then set up a program, but someone would have to be there to supervise the download."

"I'm afraid I don't know much about computers," Giles said. "In spite of your efforts to teach me."

Willow smirked.

"I think Raelee knows enough about computers to do the job."

"Hi, guys," Faith said as she entered.

"Hello, Faith," Giles said.

"Where's Jasmine?" Willow asked.

"Coming."

"Oh. Oh, guess what, there are three more Council operatives in town."

Faith's face became serious.

"Yeah?"

"Yes. We were just discussing how we could deal with them."

"Any plans?"

"We set them up and rob them blind."

Faith laughed.

"I like it. Details?"

"Well, Giles suggested Xander should steal a couple of Uzis and we make it look as though the operatives did it."

"Giles!" Faith said in mock horror. "Bad Giles."

"Yes, well…" Giles said, blushing slightly.

"Are you blushing?"

"No, it's just the heat," Giles quickly recovered.

"Speaking of the heat, are you sure it's natural?"

Giles scratched his head.

"I should certainly hope so."

"Time for Research Girl?" Willow asked.

"I… Em… Well, I guess so. Just to be on the safe side."

"This being Sunnydale, I doubt there is a safe side," Faith muttered.

"Hey, guys," Jasmine said as she entered.

"Hi," Willow said, already busy again on her laptop.

"What's up?"

"Beside the hot weather? The Council," Faith said.

"Yeah?" Jasmine said, her face serious. "What did they do this time?"

"They still have three operatives in town. We were just discussing how to get rid of them."

"Yeah? How?"

"We set them up with a couple of stolen Uzis and then we break into their computers."

Jasmine thought for a moment.

"Sounds like a plan. I suppose you want Xander to get the Uzis."

"Yep."

"I'll go tell him later. That is if he and Anya aren't training for the Olympics."

"Olympics?" Giles asked, confused.

"Synchronized cumming," Jasmine explained.

Faith laughed and Giles blushed.

"I see," he said and went to the kitchen, muttering something about the youth nowadays.

"You should know that sex and the British don't mix," Faith told Jasmine.

Jasmine shrugged.

"This is America, the Melting Pot. He should get used to it."

Faith chuckled.

"I don't think that's possible."

Jasmine shrugged.

"Whatever. So, any details about the plan?"

"Willow?" Faith asked.

"Ah?" Willow said and looked up. "Oh, details." She thought for a moment. "Well, Lara could help us break in. Then I would set up the hidden laptops and then we would all go on-line at the same time. I can monitor one computer and Raelee another, but we would still need someone to monitor the third."

"I think Iris could do it," Faith said.

"The witch?" Willow asked, confused.

"No, another girl," Faith said with a smile. She shrugged. "She and her friends offered help."

"Oh. Okay."

"What about Cordelia?" Jasmine asked.

"We have other plans for tomorrow," Faith said.

Jasmine frowned, puzzled, and then flashed a wide grin as she realized what Faith was talking about.

"Oh yes, I forgot."

"What plans?" Giles asked.

"It's personal," Faith said.

"Oh."

"Well, I'm going on patrol now. You coming, Jasmine?"

"Sure."

The next day, Cassandra approached Sara and Daisy.

"Hi," she said, blushing a bit.

The girls smiled.

"Hi," Sara said.

"Em, you offered to lend us a, em, a porn movie," Cassandra said, blushing more.

Sara and Daisy looked at each other, smiling.

"Sure. What kind do you want?"

Cassandra shrugged.

"What do you recommend?"

"Something for Sex Ed 101?" Daisy asked.

Cassandra nodded and Daisy pursed her lips, thinking.

"Yes, I think we might have something suitable. Where do you want us to bring it?"

"Do you know where I live?"

Sara and Daisy looked at each other.

"Yes, I think so," Sara said.

"Well, bring it to the house left of mine."

"Sure. When?"

"Some time after four o'clock."

Sara nodded.

"Okay," she said with a smile.

"Thanks," Cassandra said.

"No problem."

Cassandra left.

"We better do it before dark."

Daisy nodded.

"Let's go ask Faith when they're coming tonight."

Sara grinned.

"Can't wait."

"Hi, guys," Faith said as she approached the Trinity girls.

"Hi, Faith," Neely said.

"Em, you said you wanted to help."

The girls looked at one another.

"Yes," Alyssa said.

"Well, it's not dangerous, but it is sort of illegal."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we are going to break into some houses, hack into computers and, well, steal some data."

"Why?" Neely asked.

"Remember the monsters?"

"The vampires?" Iris asked.

"Yes. The people whose data we are going to steal are supposed to be fighting them. Hell, they were my employers, if you could call it that. But anyway, they're a real pain in the ass and we need their data."

"And what can we do?"

"Well, there are three computers and we need you, Iris, to supervise the download on one of them."

Iris raised an eyebrow.

"But I'm not an expert."

"I know, but of all the people I know, you seem to know the most about computers. Except Willow, of course."

"Oh."

"And one of you two could watch the door."

The girls looked at one another.

"When?" Alyssa then asked.

"Tonight. Meet me at the Bronze at eight."

"Okay."

Faith smiled.

"Good. I'll see you then."

"Everything clear?" Mrs Verkaik asked when she had told Cassandra everything she needed to know.

"Yes, Mrs Verkaik," Cassandra said with a nod.

"Good. We'll call you when we get there."

"Okay."

"Good bye, Nici," Mrs Verkaik said and kissed her daughter.

"Bye, Mommy," Nici said and kissed her back.

"See you tomorrow, Nici," Mr Verkaik said and also kissed her.

"Okay, Daddy," Nici said and kissed him back.

"Bye, girls," Mrs Verkaik said and then she and her husband went to the taxi.

Cassandra and Nici waited until the taxi drove away and then went inside. As soon as the door closed, Nici kissed Cassandra.

"Naughty," Cassandra said, smiling, when they broke the kiss.

"Cassie mind?" Nici asked, blushing.

Cassandra laughed.

"Are you kidding? As a matter of fact, I want to return the favor," she said and kissed Nici back.

"Nici… like that," Nici said, a bit breathless, after they stopped kissing.

"So do I," Cassandra said, smiling. "And guess what, I told Sara and Daisy to bring us some porn movies."

"Porn?" Nici asked, confused.

"About sex. That way you can learn more about sex just by watching."

Nici blushed.

"Okay. Nici like to learn."

"I bet," Cassandra said, smiling. "Come, let's go to your room and we can practice kissing."

Nici smiled.

"Okay."

"Cordy!"

Faith looked, surprised, when Alice ran to the door. She quickly followed her and made sure she didn't get too close to Cordelia's car until it stopped.

Cordelia quickly got out and picked up Alice.

"Hey, little lady," she said and Alice giggled.

"You're early," Faith said.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow.

"Are you complaining?"

"No!" Faith quickly said and they kissed. "Still mad at Angel?"

"He fired us! Can you believe it? I mean, sure, Darla's a vamp now, but does that mean he had to fire us?"

"I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Reasons my ass. I'm sort of jobless now."

"You're still the Seer, you're never jobless," Faith tried to calm her.

Cordelia groaned.

"Tell me about it. The Powers That Be had made the loud and clear." She touched her temple. "Very loud."

Faith grinned.

"You and booze don't mix, Cordelia."

"Trust me, I know. I've made a complete fool of myself in front of a bar full of demons."

Faith laughed.

"Yes, you definitely weren't the champions."

Cordelia glared at her.

"Very funny. And that vision didn't help. I mean, they hurt when I'm sober, but when I'm drunk… Well, let's not go into that."

"I know, Cordelia, you showed me. And climbing up a wall drunk and fighting a demon wasn't fun either."

Cordelia groaned.

"Tell me about it. That was one painful and humiliating lesson, if you ask me."

"Hey, look at the bright side."

"There's a bright side?" Cordelia asked skeptically.

"Sure there is. You saved that woman and you realized that you weren't jobless."

"Well, I'm jobless as far as the IRS is concerned."

Faith smiled encouragingly.

"I'm sure you'll manage to convince Angel to stop being an idiot when you get back."

Cordelia smiled.

"You bet I will." She took a deep breath. "So, what's new here?"

"Riley left."

"Left? As in broke up with Buffy?"

"I think so. Xander told me she was pissed at him because he went to some vamp joint and let a vamp chick drink his blood."

Cordelia made a face.

"That's gross."

Faith shrugged.

"If it floats his boat. Anyway, he's an idiot, if you ask me."

"I know," Cordelia said and shook her head. "So he left?"

"Went on some military mission. Buffy went after him, but she was obviously too late."

"Oh. Poor Buffy, she sure doesn't have luck with her relationships."

"I know."

Cordelia sighed.

"Take my bags, will you?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Faith said and saluted.

Cordelia smirked.

"You're so childish."

"Yes, Mommy," Faith said and fluttered her eyes.

Cordelia laughed.

"We better go in or she's gonna turn into an idiot," she told Alice, smirking.

"Hey!" Faith said and gently slapped her on the arm.

Cordelia sent her a kiss over the air.

"So, you ready for tonight?"

Faith smiled.

"Oh yes. I'll cut the patrol short."

"But not too short," Cordelia said.

"Are you sure your hormones are up to waiting?"

Cordelia laughed.

"Okay, go practice love talk somewhere else," Jasmine said as she came out. "She's a bit too young for it," she said and took Alice from Cordelia.

"Yes, Mom," Cordelia said.

"Very funny," Jasmine said, her eyebrow raised.

Cordelia smiled and then turned to Faith and wrapped her arm around Faith's.

"Come, let's go cuddle."

Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Lovers. Maybe I should call another Queller demon to save you from insanity."

"Ha, ha," Faith said. "Just wait till you're in love."

"Can't wait," Jasmine said and took Alice inside.

"That must be Sara and Daisy," Cassandra said when they bell rang an hour later. "Come, let's go downstairs."

She waited for Nici to get up. Then she took her hand and they went downstairs.

"Hi," Sara said when they opened the door. "The parentals gone?"

"Yes," Cassandra said.

"Okay. Here," Daisy said and gave her a paper bag.

"Thanks," Cassandra said, blushing.

"Hi, Nici," Sara said and waved her hand at Nici, smiling.

Nici blushed.

"Hello," she said.

Daisy gently slapped Sara on the arm.

"Behave, she's taken," she said and turned looked at Cassandra and Nici. "Enjoy yourselves," she said with a grin.

"We will," Cassandra blurted and then blushed when she realized how it sounded.

Sara and Daisy grinned.

"We'll see you around. You can bring the movies to school, if you want."

"Whenever you're done with them," Sara added with a mischievous grin.

Both Cassandra and Nici blushed.

"Okay. Thanks," Cassandra said.

"See ya."

Sara and Daisy left and Cassandra closed the door, suddenly feeling like someone had turned on the heat.

"Watch movies?" Nici asked, excited.

"Em, eh, now?" Cassandra asked, blushing.

Nici nodded, excited.

"Yes."

"Em, okay."

"Guys, these are Alyssa, Iris and Neely," Faith introduced the Trinity girls when she brought them to Giles'.

"Hi," Raelee said.

"Which one is Iris?" Willow asked.

"I am," Iris said.

"Come, let me show you what I want you to do."

Iris followed Willow to her laptop and Alyssa and Neely looked around.

"Whose place is this?" Neely asked.

"Mine, actually," Giles said and took off his glasses.

"Giles used to be the librarian at the old Sunnydale High. He knows a lot about monsters and stuff."

"Including the modern teenage variety," Jasmine said and Faith chuckled.

"You're Faith sister?" Alyssa asked.

"Yep."

"I haven't seen you in school."

"I know. I'm starting next fall."

"Oh."

"Anyway, Giles, I'm going on patrol now," Faith said.

"Okay."

"You doing the whole route?" Jasmine asked.

"Nope, just the most busy parts."

"Then I'll check the rest."

"Thanks. You going now?"

"No, later. I'll stand watch."

"Oh. Okay. See you tomorrow then."

Jasmine grinned.

"Good night."

Faith grinned back.

"You bet," she said and left.

"Willow?" Giles asked when he saw that Willow was obviously finished explaining things to Iris.

"We're ready."

"Good."

"So now we wait for Xander?"

"Yes."

As if on cue, the telephone rang.

Giles picked it up.

"Rupert… Xander… Just get to the point, please… Okay. We're on our way." He hung up. "They have been arrested."

"Good," Willow said. "The gloves?"

"There," Giles said and pointed at a bag.

"Then let's go."

When they got to the first house, Lara broke in.

"How'd she do that?" Iris asked, confused.

"Magic," Raelee said and smiled

Iris raised an eyebrow, but she didn't ask further.

Once inside, they went straight to the basement. There, Lara concentrated for a moment. Then she moved the chair and pulled out the safe.

"Are we taking the money?" Willow asked.

Giles considered it for a moment.

"Yes."

"Okay. The bag."

Giles opened the bag and Willow threw the money and some small occult objects in it. Then she took the laptop and powered it on.

"Find the cable," she said. "It's probably behind the table."

Alyssa looked and picked it up.

"Here."

"Thanks," Willow said and plugged it in.

Willow then hooked the Watcher laptop to her own laptop and hacked in. Then she inserted a CD and prepared the laptop.

"Okay," she said when she was done. "This will take about four minutes or so, maybe longer. If they decide to talk to them, talk back. In this window, there's the information on the owner of this laptop to help you. When they break the connection, unhook the laptop and get out."

Iris nodded.

"Okay."

"Good." Willow checked the time. "We will start at nine. Questions?"

"No," Iris said, shaking her head.

"Okay. We'll see you at Giles' then."

Willow, Giles, Lara, Raelee and Jasmine left and Alyssa went upstairs to watch the door.

Faith cut the patrol short and then met with Cordelia at the Bronze.

"You ready?" she asked after they stopped kissing.

Cordelia smiled.

"Yes."

"Nervous?"

"A bit."

"No need. You're great. In every aspect of the word," Faith said with a mischievous grin.

"Thank you," Cordelia said and kissed her on the nose.

"Shall we go then?"

Cordelia took a deep breath.

"Okay."

"Hi," Sara said, smiling, when she opened the door and found Faith and Cordelia standing there.

"Hey. We heard we can get a lot of exercise here," Faith said with a grin.

Sara grinned back.

"You bet. Come on in."

Faith and Cordelia entered and Sara closed the door after making sure that nobody saw them enter.

"Where's Daisy?"

"Upstairs. You ate?"

"Yes."

"Good. You'll need all the energy you can get."

"Well, we've done a literal twenty-four/seven," Cordelia said.

Sara looked at her, confused.

"Twenty…" She trailed off when she realized what Cordelia meant. "You're kidding!" she then said, smiling.

"Nope," Faith said.

"But how? I mean, your mom comes home every day and you have two sisters."

"During the summer. We went to the Bahamas and we were alone for a whole week. Needless to say we didn't wear clothes. At all."

"So that's why you have such a great tan."

"Yep."

"I guess we'll see soon if you spoke the truth," Sara said with a grin. "So, you feel like getting right to it or do you want to do anything else first? Like talk?"

"We'll talk as we go along," Faith said.

"You really think so?" Cordelia asked her, her eyebrow raised.

Sara laughed.

"Come on, let's go upstairs."

After a hot afternoon of watching porn movies, Cassandra spend most of the evening trying to explain to Nici what they had seen. Nici was finally satisfied and they decided to go to bed.

Cassandra couldn't fall asleep. She kept thinking about the movies and about Nici and she kept picturing her and Nici in the roles. She slowly masturbated and she had just calmed down after an intense orgasm when Nici knocked on the door.

"Come," she said, startled, and Nici entered. "Hi. What's wrong?"

Nici shook her head.

"Nothing," Nici said. She hesitated for a moment. "Em, Nici want to sleep with Cassie."

Cassandra coughed, surprised.

"Em, Nici, I'm not…"

"No, no," Nici quickly said, realizing that Cassandra had misunderstood her. "Just sleep, together, not make love."

"Oh," Cassandra said, relieved. She was uncertain, but she finally decided that it would be good for them. "Okay," she said and removed the cover. "Come."

Nici smiled and joined her. Cassandra turned off the light and Nici then cuddled up to her.

"Nici love Cassie," Nici said.

Cassandra smiled in the darkness.

"I love you too," she said.

"Night."

"Night."

"Everything went okay?" Willow asked when everyone was gathered at Giles'.

"Yes," Iris said.

"No problem," Raelee said.

"But it took longer," Jasmine said.

Willow beamed.

"Yes. Am I a genius or what? I knew what they would change, but this was almost like taking candy from a baby."

Jasmine chuckled.

"So now what?" Iris asked.

"Now I check how much we downloaded," Willow said. "It might take a couple of days. You can go, if you want."

"That was it?" Neely asked.

"Don't feel like it was nothing," Giles said. "What we have, em, downloaded might save lives one day."

"If nothing else, it was fun stealing candy from a baby," Jasmine said, smirking at Willow, who blushed.

"Lara and I are going to the Bronze," Raelee said.

"I'm coming with," Jasmine said. "You?" she asked the Trinity girls.

The girls looked at one another.

"Okay," Alyssa said.

Cordelia was the first to wake up in the morning. She looked over Faith's shoulder and saw that the other three girls were still asleep. She kissed Faith on the temple and then lay back and thought about the experience. It was an orgasmic experience, she thought with a grin. Before she had met Faith, she had never thought about making love to another girl. But then Faith had introduced to lesbian love. She thought that making love to one girl was incredible, especially when that girl was Faith, but then Faith had shared the memories of her past sexual experiences with her and it was incredible. But this, this was even better. Not only because she had done it with Faith, but also because Sara and Daisy were such wonderful girls, who loved each other like she and Faith loved each other.

Then Faith moaned and Cordelia kissed her on the temple again. Faith opened her eyes and looked back, smiling when she saw Cordelia.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," Cordelia responded and they kissed. "Sleep well?"

Faith giggled.

"I didn't get much sleep, but what I did get of it was definitely good. And you know it."

Cordelia smiled.

"Good," she said and kissed her again.

Faith started to stretch and Cordelia joined her. This woke Sara.

"Morning," Faith and Cordelia greeted her when she woke up.

Sara smiled dreamily.

"Morning."

"Sleep well?" Cordelia asked.

"Mmm, yes," Sara said and stretched.

"We too."

Sara's movement awoke Daisy, who looked over Sara's shoulder, smiling.

"Morning."

"Morning," Sara said and they kissed.

"So, did you like the experience?" Daisy asked Faith and Cordelia.

"Oh yes," Cordelia said. She grinned. "Perhaps we should do it again sometime."

Faith, Sara and Daisy laughed.

"Not too soon," Faith said.

"You didn't like it?" Sara asked.

"Oh I loved it. But I don't exactly want to get addicted to it."

Now Cordelia, Sara and Daisy laughed.

"She has a point," Cordelia agreed and kissed Faith on the temple.

"So, how'd we do?" Faith asked.

Sara and Daisy glanced at each other and grinned.

"Oh you're at the top," Sara said.

"Well, I think second best," Daisy corrected her. "Remember the mistress and the slave?" she added when Sara looked at her questioningly.

"Oh yes," Sara remembered and grinned. She looked back at Faith and Cordelia. "Yes, second best. But only because those two were more… kinky."

"Yeah?" Faith asked, curious.

"Yes."

"So what's your criteria?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, it was more than just sex," Daisy said.

"Yes," Sara agreed. "You two really love each other."

"Yes, like those two."

"The mistress and the slave?" Faith asked, curious.

"Yes."

"How could you tell?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, I mean, the slave girl did everything her mistress told her to, and I mean everything. But we could see that the mistress truly loved her, it was almost like she was the slave, doing everything to please the slave girl."

"Yes," Sara agreed. "And they had a code word. Whenever the slave girl said it, if she thought the mistress went too far, the mistress immediately stopped and asked her if she was okay. We could see that she was genuinely worried, even though she made her do the most… depraved things."

"Yeah. We saw them a couple of months ago when a couple of men tried to rape the slave girl. The mistress attacked them and told the slave girl to run away, but the slave girl didn't abandon her. We called the cops and they busted the men before they could rape them."

"Good," Faith said.

"And idea what time it is?" Cordelia asked.

Daisy turned around and checked.

"Eight thirty."

"Looks like we still have some time," Faith said. "Anyone for a daisy chain?"

Cordelia, Sara and Daisy laughed.

"Definitely," Cordelia said and nibbled on her earlobe. "I'm hungry for some pussy juice," she whispered into her ear.

"Don't eat too much," Faith said. "You know Maria's going to cook some hefty meal today."

"Oh, I almost forgot, the celebration meal."

"Celebration?" Sara asked.

Cordelia smiled.

"I'll tell you later. First, I believe someone proposed a daisy chain?" she said and looked at Faith, smiling mischievously.

Nici was the first to wake up next morning. She opened her eyes and found herself in Cassie's embrace. It was heaven. She observed her beloved, thinking about the past and the future. She understood now why Cassie had been ignoring her ever since the accident. She had never blamed her and she was glad that they were friends again. No, she corrected herself, they were more than friends, much more. They were lovers. She smiled at the thought. She had a lover. Wow. She remembered the movies from day before and considered what it would be like to do all those things with Cassie. She didn't know, but she knew that she would find out someday, when they were both ready. But for now, she was happy and she knew Cassie was happy too.

When Cassandra finally woke up and saw Nici smiling at her, she smiled back.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," Nici said and they kissed.

"I could wake up like this every day," Cassandra said when they stopped kissing.

"Nici too," Nici said, beaming.

"You wanna get up?"

Nici shook her head.

"No. Nici like this."

Cassandra smiled and caressed her.

"Me too. Okay, we'll stay in bed for a while and then we'll get up and have breakfast. Oh, Mom said we can come home for lunch."

Nici nodded.

"Okay."

When Faith and Cordelia finally got home, Jasmine looked at them both and then grinned.

"That good, ha?"

Faith and Cordelia smiled.

"Better," Cordelia said.

"I suppose you wanna get some sleep?"

"Definitely," Faith agreed.

"Okay." She grinned. "I just can't wait to hear the story," she said.

Faith and Cordelia laughed.

"You'll just have to wait," Cordelia said.

"I'm afraid so. Oh, Mrs Chase is with Alice, if you wanna let her know you're home."

"Yeah, sure," Faith said.

"You gonna get up for lunch or should I tell Maria not to wait for you?"

"Of course we're gonna get up for lunch. It's a celebration meal," Faith said.

"Oh yes, I forgot. See you later."

"You know, I just had a very perverse thought," Cordelia said when they met in their dreams.

Faith raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"Do tell."

"Well, I was just thinking what it would be like have a threesome with twins."

Faith frowned and then burst into laughter.

"Any particular twins you have in mind?"

Cordelia pretended to be thinking.

"Oh, I don't know. If I remember correctly, there are some girls called Barbie twins."

Faith laughed again.

"Naughty, naughty," she said and wiggled her finger at Cordelia, who captured it with her lips and sucked on it. "You want more?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I just can't get enough of you," Cordelia whispered seductively.

"Ditto," Faith said and they kissed. Then she frowned. "Oh shit."

"What?" Cordelia asked, worried.

"You do realize we had sex with minors, don't you?"

"Oh," Cordelia said, realizing what Faith meant. She shrugged. "Hey, they asked us out."

"I don't think that would be very convincing in court."

"It's not like they'll tell, you know."

"True," Faith agreed. Then she smirked. "So, how about you show me yours, I show you mine?"

Cordelia smiled.

"You're on," she said and they stepped into one another and melded.

When Faith and Cordelia woke up for lunch, they first freshened up. Since Cordelia needed to pee, Faith went downstairs. As she sat in front of the TV, she noticed a small notebook. She picked it up, curious, and quickly turned the pages to see what it was about. It was full of poems and Faith found herself reading them.

"Hey!"

Faith looked up, surprised, when Jasmine pulled the notebook from her hands.

"That's yours?"

"Yes," Jasmine said, pressing the notebook to her chest protectively.

"I didn't know you write poems."

Jasmine shrugged.

"I started writing them when we were running from Kakistos. I didn't have anyone to talk to, so I started writing poems."

"Yeah? They're good. I mean, I'm no expert on poetry, but I liked them."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

"You did?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Faith smiled.

"You mind if I read them sometime?"

Jasmine thought for a moment.

"I'll have to think about that."

"Okay."

"Hey," Cordelia said as she got downstairs.

"Hey," Jasmine said.

"Did you know that Jasmine writes poems," Faith said.

"You do?" Cordelia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Jasmine said, slightly embarrassed.

"And they're pretty good too," Faith said.

"Can I see?" Cordelia asked.

"No, not yet," Jasmine said.

"Oh. Okay."

"So, we still have some time before lunch. Tell me, how was it?"

"Where's Alice?" Cordelia asked as she sat beside Faith.

"With Maria."

"Mom?"

"Upstairs."

"Okay then," she said and looked at Faith, smiling.

Faith smiled back and they kissed.

In the afternoon, Faith and Jasmine went to Giles for some practice and Cordelia went along.

"Anything useful?" Jasmine asked Giles.

"Em? Oh, yes. As a matter of fact, quite useful," Giles said and looked back at the screen.

"Good. Hey, Buffy."

"Hi."

"Ready to practice?"

"Sure."

"Hey, you should practice too," Faith told Cordelia.

Cordelia looked at her and blinked.

"Me?" she asked, looking at Faith as though she was crazy.

"Well, sure. I mean, you do have some Slayer powers."

"You do realize I'm not very happy."

Faith gave her a puppy look. She leaned closer.

"You know what I'm like after a workout," she whispered. "All hungry and horny."

Cordelia blushed.

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" she said, mock glaring at her.

Faith flashed a big smile.

"Sorry."

"So, whose butt do I kick?"

"Guys?" Faith asked, looking at Jasmine and Cordelia.

"I guess I'll have to do," Buffy said when Jasmine backed off, smirking.

"Okay."

"Faith."

Faith nearly jumped out of her skin when she recognized the voice. She had been visiting the graves of Allan Finch and Professor Wirth ever since she had found out that Stacy was Professor Wirth's granddaughter. She had avoided going to the graves before as there were too many bad memories to deal with, but after finding out who Stacy was, she realized that she had to deal with her guilt. She slowly turned to face Stacy.

"Hi," she said, hoping that Stacy didn't see how pale she was.

"Why are you bringing flowers to my grandfather's grave?"

"What?" Faith said surprised. That was a question she didn't expect. "What do you mean?"

"I visit the grave once a week and there are always fresh flowers here. My parents come about once a month, so I know it's not them. I've seen you yesterday and now you're here again. Why?"

Faith stared at Stacy. She was in an emotional turmoil. She knew it would be anything but good to tell her the truth, but she didn't want to lie. Not that she could think of a plausible excuse.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out for a while.

"I… I… killed him," she finally confessed.

"What?" Stacy asked, thinking she didn't hear her right.

"I killed you grandfather," Faith said, suddenly finding herself unable to move.

Stacy stared at her, shocked.

"Why?" she asked when her mind finally processed Faith's words.

"He… He found something he shouldn't and the Mayor wanted him dead."

Stacy stared at her, confused.

"The Mayor?"

"Yes."

"But why? What did he find?"

"A skeleton."

Stacy was still confused.

"A skeleton? What skeleton?"

Faith hesitated.

"It's a long story," she said, feebly trying to avoid the answer.

"I have time," Stacy said determinedly, her mind still trying to process the information.

Faith sighed.

"Come," she said.

"Where?"

"I have to show you something."

"What?"

"You have to see it for yourself or you'll never believe me. I won't hurt you," she added when Stacy hesitated.

Stacy wanted to say something, but she changed her mind.

"Okay," she said and followed Faith, but she kept her distance from her.

Faith went straight to the Shady Hill Cemetery, her mind still in shock from the fact that she had told Stacy the truth.

"We're going to a cemetery?" Stacy asked when she saw where they were going.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Stacy didn't like it, but she followed Faith.

Just when they were about to enter the cemetery, a demon came out. Stacy yelped and jumped back, but Faith had her stake ready and she attacked the demon. Stacy observed the fight, surprised. She had never seen a creature like that, but Faith was fighting it like it was just some bully and not a monster. And then Faith killed it. Stacy stared at Faith, not sure whether she should be shocked or pleased.

"Was… Was that what you wanted to show me?" she finally asked.

"Not exactly, but it's basically the same thing."

"What… What was that… thing?"

"A demon."

"A demon?" Stacy said, surprised. "But…"

"Yes, I know, you didn't think they existed."

"Well, yeah."

"Come," Faith said and continued to the cemetery.

"Is there more?" Stacy asked, not really looking forward to going to a cemetery in the middle of the night, especially since she had just seen a monster come out.

"Yes."

Stacy gulped and followed Faith.

Faith went straight to a certain grave and she sat on the tombstone.

"Now what?" Stacy asked, puzzled.

"Now we wait."

"For what?"

"For her to rise," Faith said and pointed at the inscription on the tombstone. "You might wanna step aside."

"Rise?" Stacy asked, puzzled. "But she's dead."

"Not quite. She's undead."

Stacy frowned.

"I don't understand."

Faith sighed.

"She was turned into a vampire."

"Vampire?" Stacy asked, surprised. "You're kidding."

Faith sighed.

"I wish," she said.

Stacy stared at her for a few moments, trying to decide whether Faith was serious or not. But after seeing Faith kill that monster outside the cemetery, she was inclined to believe her, especially since Faith had a serious, almost sad, look in her eyes. She glanced at the tombstone.

"Who was she?" she asked.

"Janice. She was eight." She paused. "She was Alice's friend."

"Who's Alice?"

"My little sister."

Stacy gulped. Then she jumped as the soil shifted. She looked at Faith, but she was still sitting on the tombstone, waiting.

"What are you going to do?" she asked her.

"Wait till she gets out and then stake her."

Stacy glanced at the stake and then looked at the rising vampire.

Faith waited until Janice was out and then got up.

"Janice," she said.

The young vampire turned, her face distorted.

"Faith," she snarled.

Faith gulped and staked her. Janice's eyes went wide and then she turned into dust.

Stacy blinked, surprised.

"What…"

"Vampires turn to dust," Faith explained. She took a deep breath and wiped a tear that slid down her cheek. "Come, let's go."

"Where?" Stacy asked, puzzled.

"Away from here."

Stacy followed her. Once outside, Faith slowly started to tell her the story of her life.

About half an hour and a couple of vampires and a demon later, when Faith was done, they quietly walked on. Faith was nervous and she felt sick after reliving the bad memories, but she was also ready to fight. Stacy was thinking. Faith's story was so unbelievable, except for the first part, that if she hadn't seen the vampires and other demons herself, she wouldn't have believed her. But now… She was confused. On one hand, Faith was a hero or something, but on the other, she had killed her grandfather in cold blood. And to think that she had asked her out on a date. She shuddered.

"Why did you tell me?" she then asked.

Faith thought about it. Why did she tell her?

"I don't know," she said quietly.

They quietly walked on.

"I need to think about it," Stacy finally declared.

Faith gulped and nodded.

"Okay," she croaked.

Stacy left. Faith waited for a while and then discreetly followed her to make sure that she got safely to wherever she was going.

"What's wrong?" Cordelia asked when Faith came home.

"I told Stacy I killed her grandfather," Faith said and tears came into her eyes again.

Cordelia immediately hugged her and Faith hugged her back.

"What did she say?"

"She needs to think about it."

Cordelia sighed. Sometimes life just plain sucked.

The End