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. This story is set during the Buffy episode This Year's Girl. Oh yeah, Dawn exists here. Some of the dialog is from the episode. A snippet.

Letters
By Kristjan Brezovnik

After waking up from coma and finding out that Buffy had a now boy toy, Faith was pissed. And the message from the Mayor didn't exactly brighten her mood, even though it gave her a plan. So she took the Mayor's gift and went to Buffy's house.

"Hi, Joyce," she said when Joyce opened the door. Then she knocked her out. "Mind if I come in?" she asked as she closed the door.

"Mom!" Dawn screamed when she saw her mother lying on the floor and Faith standing over her. "Faith."

"Hello, kiddo," Faith said.

"What did you do?" Dawn asked, scared.

Faith cocked her head.

"What does it look like? I knocked her out. Now be a good girl and don't make me knock you out as well."

Dawn tensed and started to back off.

"What do you want from me?"

"From you? Nothing. I just want you to keep me company until Buffy comes to the rescue. Now go find some rope or some tape so I can tie you up. And don't even think about running away or your mother pays the price. Got it?" Faith asked menacingly and showed Dawn her knife.

Dawn nodded and quickly left, scared. Faith then picked up Joyce and carried her upstairs to the master bedroom. Dawn came running after her a few moments later. Faith grinned.

"Good girl," she said and took the rope. "Now get on the bed."

Dawn obeyed and Faith then tied them both up. Joyce woke up just as Faith finished tying her up.

"Faith?" she asked, surprised.

"The one an only," Faith said with a winning grin.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, a great many things, but I'll settle for making Buffy pay for now," Faith said and went to Joyce's vanity table, taking off her jacket.

"Are you alright, Dawn?" Joyce then asked her youngest.

Dawn nodded.

"Yes, Mom," Dawn said and leaned on Joyce.

"She didn't hurt you?"

"No."

"Good."

"Ruby sunset… burgundy skyline… harlot," Faith read as she checked the lipsticks in Joyce's makeup drawer. "Mmm, way to go Joyce. Now, normally I wouldn't be going for something this dark. But I read in some magazine that eight months in a coma will damage a girl's natural skin tone," she said and started to apply the lipstick. "Good thing pale is in this year. Or was it last year?" she asked as she finished. Then she kissed the mirror, leaving her lip print on it. "Anyway, for real now," she said, looking at Joyce in the mirror as she took her jacket off the back of the chair and put it back on. "I wanna ask you something, and I want you to promise to be honest, and to not spare my feelings just because I could kill you. You promise?"

"I promise," Joyce said defiantly.

Faith quickly checked her hair.

"Okay. How do I look?" she asked and posed.

"Psychotic," Joyce said and Dawn tensed.

"Mmm, I was shooting for sultry, but hey," Faith said, not the least insulted. "Bet I know what you're thinking."

"Really," Joyce said skeptically.

"You're thinking, 'You'll never get away with this!'" she said in exaggerated voice. "Warm?"

"Actually, I was thinking my daughter is going to kill you soon," Joyce said.

"Is that a fact," Faith said, amused.

"More like a bet."

"Whoa. You got a pair on you, Joyce," Faith said, grinning. "I like seeing that in a woman your age." She stepped closer to the bed. "Guess you can afford to talk that way. I mean, in the world according to Joyce, Buffy is gonna come crashing through that door any minute." She went back to the table. "But, look what I found," she said and grabbed bundle of envelopes from the table. Then she hopped onto the bed beside Joyce and started flipping through the mail. "'Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers. Buffy. Buffy,'" she read as she flipped through. "A lot of letters. She, uh, hasn't been by in a while, huh? And you'd think with a crazy chick like me on the loose, crazy chick with a wicked grudge against her, no less, she'd call and give you a heads-up. But Buffy's too into her own deal to remember dear old mom," she said and got up.

"Read the letters," Joyce said.

"Huh?" Faith said, surprised.

"Read the letters. She also wrote about you."

Faith stared at her for a few moments, surprised, and then looked at the letters. She hesitated for a few moments and then curiosity got the best of her. She opened the first letter, which, she noticed, was dated two months after she had been stabbed.

She was surprised by what Buffy had written about her, she had not expected that Buffy had remembered her. She took another letter, skipped through the irrelevant parts and read about herself again.

She skipped a few letters and she quickly reached the last one. She felt like crying, but she forced back the tears. She stared at the letter for a few moments, wondering what to do. She finally came to a decision and she took the knife from the vanity table.

Joyce and Dawn both tensed when Faith slowly approached the bed.

"What are you going to do?" Joyce asked, worried.

"Turn over," Faith said.

"Faith…"

"Turn over," Faith repeated and shoved Joyce over.

"Mom!" Dawn screamed, worried, but Faith only cut Joyce's ties.

Then Buffy burst in and shoved Faith, who dropped the knife.

"Hi, Mom," she said.

"Hi, honey," Joyce said, relieved.

"Buffy," Dawn said, also relieved.

The Slayers stared at one another for a few moments and then Faith abandoned her fighting stance, turned and slowly walked out. Buffy frowned, surprised.

"Mom?" she asked and looked at her. "Everything okay?"

Joyce nodded.

"Yes," she said and took the knife. She showed her the cut ties. "She had a change of heart."

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

"She read some of your letters," Joyce said as she cut her legs free, and nodded at the discarded letters.

Buffy glanced at them.

"Oh. Call 911, I'll go get Faith," she said and started for the door.

"Talk to her first," Joyce said and Buffy stopped, surprised.

"What?"

"Talk to her."

Buffy stared at her for a few moments and then nodded.

"Okay," she said and went after Faith.

Faith, in the meantime, had reached the bottom of the stairs. She took the Mayor's present from her pocket and stared at it for a few moments. Then she dropped it and crushed it with her boot.

"What was that?" Buffy asked.

Faith shrugged, staring at the crushed remains.

"Just a present from the Mayor," she said and continued to the door.

Buffy hurried after her and stopped her.

"I don't wanna fight you, B," Faith said and shrugged off Buffy's hand.

"Then talk to me, Faith."

Faith stared at her for a few moments.

"I need to think about it first," she said and opened the door.

"Where are you going?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know. The mansion maybe."

She glanced at Joyce and Dawn, who came downstairs, and she felt guilty about what she had done.

"Buffy, watch out!" Joyce suddenly warned her.

Both Buffy and Faith looked outside and saw someone in a black van point a gun at them. Faith immediately pushed Buffy back inside. Then she tried to get out of the way as well, but the assassin was faster.

"Faith!" Joyce said, worried, when Faith collapsed with a groan.

"Get down!" Buffy called as she got back on her feet.

Joyce and Dawn obeyed and Buffy quickly pulled Faith to safety. Then she looked out the window and saw that the van had driven away. Then she checked Faith.

"Faith?" she asked as she examined the wound.

Faith opened her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered and a tear slid down her cheek.

Buffy stared at her, surprised.

"I'll call 911," Joyce said and ran to the phone.

Dawn slowly approached them, still scared of Faith.

"How is she?" she asked.

"I don't know," Buffy said. "Faith?" she said, worried, when Faith closed her eyes and slumped. "Faith?!"

She checked her pulse and was relieved that Faith was still alive.

"Is she dead?" Dawn asked, suddenly worried about Faith.

"No, she's still alive."

"The paramedics are on their way," Joyce reported. "How is she?"

"She passed out."

When Faith woke up, she was disoriented for a moment, but then she remembered she got shot. She looked down and saw that Buffy was sleeping beside her bed. She stared at her for a few moments, surprised. Then she looked at her wound and saw that it had been taken care of. She shifted a bit and Buffy woke up.

"Faith?" She smiled when she saw that Faith had woken up. "Hey. How do you feel?"

Faith stared at her for a few moments, surprised by her concern.

"I've felt better," she said guardedly.

Buffy nodded.

"Thought so."

"How long have I been here?" Faith asked.

"Since last night." She glanced at her watch. "Well, the night before, I guess."

Faith took a deep breath and was relieved that her wound didn't hurt much.

"Do you know who shot me?"

"The Council's hit men."

"How do you know?" Faith asked, surprised.

"They came here yesterday and tried to kidnap you."

"What happened?"

"I told the police that they were afraid you could implicate them in the murders of Allan Finch and Professor Wirth."

Faith stared at Buffy surprised.

"What… Why… I mean…"

"The police still want you for questioning, but you're not the main suspect anymore."

Faith stared at Buffy for a few moments.

"Why?"

Buffy sighed.

"Mom told me what happened. And you did save my life and say you were sorry." She smiled. "You earned a second chance."

Faith swallowed hard.

"And… And the guys?"

"They're wary, but they're willing to give it a try. I think you trying to save me earned you some major points."

"Oh." Faith sighed and then thought for a few moments. "About those letters… Did you mean what you said in them?"

Buffy smiled.

"Yes. I didn't forget you, Faith." She took Faith's hand into her own and gently squeezed it. "It'll be alright, Faith. I'll stand by you this time, I promise."

Faith stared at her for a few moments.

"You don't have to, I…"

"I want to," Buffy assured her. "I know you don't trust me yet, but I hope that I can earn your trust."

"And I yours."

Buffy smiled again.

"Yes. Rest now, we'll talk in the morning."

Faith sighed.

"Okay."

"Good night, Faith."

"Good night… Buffy."

The End