DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Buffy The Vampire Slayer stuff belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers and all Bring It On stuff belongs to Beacon Pictures and Universal Studios. 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 find something else to read. Oh yeah, there's some child abuse mentioned, so be warned. Oh yeah, thanks to all who helped me with info on Bring It On, you know who you are.

Lost Youth
By Kristjan Brezovnik

In the evening, Missy Pantone was walking down the Main Street, checking out Sunnydale. Her family had just moved there unexpectedly and she hadn't made any friends yet. So she decided to take a walk through Sunnydale and see if there were any decent clubs. Suddenly a pretty blonde blocked her way.

"Faith. When did you wake up?"

Missy blinked.

"Huh?" she said, surprised.

"When did you wake up?"

"Wake up? What are you talking about? Who are you?"

The blonde frowned and cocked her head.

"You're not Faith."

"Duh."

The blonde's frown deepened.

"You look just like her."

Missy raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt it."

"No, I mean it. You could be her twin or something."

"Right."

"I'm serious. Who are you?"

"Missy."

"Missy?"

"Pantone."

"I'm Buffy. Summers."

"Hey. So now that we've cleared who I am, are there any good clubs around here?"

Buffy smiled a little.

"Just the Bronze. I'm headed that way, want to come?"

"Sure," Missy agreed and the started to walk. "Do you go to Sunnydale High? I mean, what they're calling Sunnydale High."

"I did, I'm in college now."

"Which year?"

"First."

"Oh. So you were there when the school blew?"

Buffy sighed.

"You could say that."

"What happened? Everybody's telling some strange stories, it's like they're all crazy."

Buffy smiled.

"They wish," she said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

After she dropped Missy off at the Bronze, Buffy went to the hospital, just in case. When she saw that Faith was still there, a part of her felt relieved, but another part felt guilty for putting her there. She stared at her for a while and then left, wondering what would happen once Faith woke up.

The next evening, Faith finally woke up and she left the hospital.

While Missy was on her way to the Bronze, a police car suddenly pulled over and the co-driver turned his flashlight at her. She squinted, startled. Then the two cops suddenly got out.

"Hands against the wall!" the co-driver ordered.

"Huh?" Missy said, startled.

"Against the wall," the cop repeated, aiming his gun at her, and shoved her against the wall.

"Hey!" Missy protested.

"Don't move," the officer ordered while his partner checked the warrant.

"Looks like we got her," the driver said.

"Call it in," the co-driver said. Then he looked back at Missy. "Okay, you're going with us."

"What'd I do?" Missy asked, confused.

"You're wanted for questioning in relation to a couple of murders," the officer explained as he cuffed her.

"What? What are you talking about? I just came to town two days ago."

"Nice try," he said and led her to the car.

After Faith paid a secret visit to Giles' house, she wandered around Sunnydale, upset. Suddenly someone honked behind her and she turned, surprised.

"Didn't you hear me, Missy?" the woman in the car asked her.

"Huh?" Faith said, confused.

The woman smiled.

"Are you going home? Come, let me give you a ride."

Faith blinked, surprised, she had no idea who the woman was or what she wanted from her. She was about to tell the woman that she had mistaken her for somebody else when a police car suddenly came driving down the street.

"Yeah, sure," she said, quickly went to the other side of the car and got in.

"You look pale, are you alright?" the woman asked her.

Faith looked at her, startled.

"Eh, yeah, fiv… I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. So, how was school?"

"Huh?" Faith asked, startled.

"School. Did you make any friends?"

Faith frowned.

"Not really," she said, deciding to play along.

"I'm sure you'll make some soon."

While she was waiting for a detective to show up, Missy was nervous, she had no idea why she was there.

"Well, you're hard to find, Faith," the detective said as he arrived.

"What?" Missy said, surprised. "I'm not Faith. I'm Missy, Missy Pantone."

The detective glanced at a photo.

"Not according to this," he said and showed her a photo of Faith.

Missy's eyes went wide.

"Wow, she looks just like me," she said, astonished.

The detective smiled.

"Nice try."

"I'm serious. I got my ID in my pocket, you can call my parents and you can call the school."

The detective stared at her for a few moments, wondering if she was serious. He decided she was.

"Okay, prove it," he said.

Missy slowly reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. She opened it and took out her ID.

"Here," she said and gave it to the detective. "I can also give you our address and phone number, if you don't believe me."

The detective stared at her for a few moments.

"Show me your stomach."

Missy's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"Your stomach. Faith, the girl we're after, she has a scar," the detective explained.

Missy hesitated for a moment and then lifted her shirt.

"See? No scar."

The detective frowned.

"I'll check this," he said, waving the ID, and left.

Missy took a deep breath, wondering who Faith was.

When Faith and the woman arrived to the woman's house, Faith considered running away, but her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in eight months. So she decided to take a chance and follow the woman inside.

"Honey, I'm going to take a quick shower," the woman said as they entered the house.

"Eh, okay."

The woman went upstairs and Faith looked around to locate the kitchen. When she did, she went straight to the fridge and started taking the food out. When she located the bread, she started stuffing herself like there was no tomorrow.

Ten minutes later, Faith was full. She looked at all the food that was left and decided to take some with her. She looked around and spotted some plastic bags hanging behind the door. She took one and then started putting the food in. She wanted to take all of it, but she decided against it as she couldn't eat it all before it spoiled. She took as much food as she thought she would need before she went through with her plan, and then put the rest of it back in the fridge.

She was about to leave when she heard the woman coming down the stairs. She looked around for a place to hide the food. She quickly went to the window, opened it and dropped the bag through it. Then she closed it and headed for the door.

"Oh, you're going out again?" the woman asked.

"Eh, yeah," Faith said. "I'm going to a friend."

"I thought you didn't make any friends."

"Well, she's not really a friend."

"Oh. Okay," the woman said and went to the kitchen.

Faith quickly left the house. She went to the kitchen window, grabbed the bag and ran away.

When Mrs Pantone looked into the fridge, she frowned. She could've sworn there was more food in it. She shook her head and took out a yogurt. Then she heard the front door open and she went to see who it was.

"Missy?"

"No, it's me," her husband said as he closed the door.

"Oh."

"Where did Missy go?"

"She said she was going to a friend."

"Oh."

After two hours, Missy was finally allowed to go home.

"Mom?! Dad?!" she called as she entered.

"Missy?" her mother asked as she came from the kitchen.

"Yeah."

"You're back?" She frowned. "When did you change your clothes?"

"Huh?" Missy said, startled, and looked at her clothes. "What do you mean?"

"When you left, you wore different clothes."

"Mom, that was in the morning."

"No, you were home five minutes ago."

Missy frowned.

"No, I wasn't. I was at the police station for two hours, I was just released."

"The police station?" her father asked, surprised.

"Yeah, they arrested me."

"For what?"

"They thought I was this girl, Faith. I tell you, she looks just like me. Hell, we could be twins."

"Twins?" her mother said, shocked, and glanced at her husband.

"Yeah." She frowned. "Wait. You said you thought I left five minutes ago. But if I was at the police station…"

Her parents looked at one another.

"Then she was here," her father finished.

Her mother covered her mouth, shocked.

"Oh my god."

"Mom?" Missy asked, confused, when she saw that her mother was shocked.

"Faith… Faith…"

"Faith is your twin sister," her father explained.

Missy blinked, surprised.

"Come again?"

Her father sighed.

"She was stolen when you were four months old," he said. "We've been looking for her for years, but there have been no ransom demands and there was no trace of her."

Missy frowned, trying to digest the news that she had a twin sister.

"We have to go find her," her mother spoke.

"Honey…"

"We have to go find her."

"We don't even know where to look."

"Dad," Missy spoke, "I think we should find her before the police. I checked her file…"

"What did you find out?" her mother asked when Missy trailed off.

Missy hesitated for a moment.

"She's wanted for questioning in relation to a couple of murders and some other stuff."

"What?"

"She went to the left," her father said.

"Then let's go," Missy said. "I'll go check out the bars."

"Okay."

After an hour of searching, Missy was exhausted. She had checked a number of bars and nobody had seen Faith. She finally went to the Bronze to take a break and maybe find Buffy. She was in luck.

"Hey, Buffy," she said as she approached the table at which Buffy sat with her friends.

One of the boys and a redheaded girl nearly choked on their drinks.

"Missy," Buffy said.

"Yeah. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," Buffy said and got up.

"Missy?" the boy asked.

"Yes?" Missy said.

"Buffy?" the redhead asked.

"This is Missy," Buffy said. "I know, she looks just like Faith."

"Tell me about it," Missy murmured.

"Come," Buffy said and led them a few steps away. "What is it?"

Missy hesitated for a moment.

"Faith is my twin sister."

"What?" Buffy said, shocked.

"Yeah, I know."

"Faith doesn't have a family."

"She does. She was stolen when we were four months old. I just found that out an hour ago. Mom says she was at our house."

"Faith?"

"Yes. Mom thought she was me."

"Oh."

"Listen, if you see her, can you tell her that she has a family?"

"Eh, sure."

Missy smiled.

"Thanks." She thought for a moment. "What is she like?"

"Faith?"

"Mhm."

Buffy frowned.

"She likes to flirt. She likes leather and she likes to party." She hesitated for a moment. "She also likes sex."

"Sex?"

"Yes. She, eh, she likes to brag about her one night stands."

"Oh."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"And she doesn't open up easily. Don't expect too much."

Missy sighed.

"Yeah." She thought for a moment. "Em, I took a peek at her file."

"You did?" Buffy said, surprised.

"Yeah. The cops arrested me, like, three hours ago, they thought I was Faith."

"Oh."

Missy hesitated for a moment.

"Do you know, em, if she did all those things?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"I think that's up to her to tell you," she then said.

"So she did it," Missy quickly guessed.

Buffy sighed.

"Like I said, it's up to her to tell you," she repeated.

"Right." Missy took a deep breath and looked at the Scoobs. "Their faces say that she did," she said and looked back at Buffy.

Buffy glanced at her friends.

"I'm still not telling you."

Missy smiled.

"I know." She sighed. "Listen, I gotta go home now. I'll see you around."

"Okay."

"Bye."

Missy left and Buffy returned to her friends.

"Are you sure that wasn't Faith?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Buffy said.

"Then who is she?"

"Missy. She's Faith's… sister."

Xander blinked.

"Her what?"

"Faith doesn't have a family," Willow said.

"Apparently she does," Buffy said. "Missy said that Faith was stolen when they were four months old."

"Oh."

"Mom?! Dad?!" Missy called when she got home.

"In the kitchen!" her father called.

Missy went to the kitchen.

"Hey."

"No luck?"

Missy shook her head.

"No. But I did come across a friend of hers."

"Really?" her mother said.

"Yeah, but she didn't know where Faith was either."

"Oh."

Missy hesitated for a moment.

"I asked her if Faith really is responsible for those murders, but she evaded me. Though by the reaction of her friends when they saw me, I'd say she's… guilty."

Her mother's eyes went wide from shock.

"What?"

"Just a feeling I got," Missy quickly said. She sighed. "But we should be prepared for the case that she really is guilty."

Her father nodded.

"I agree."

"Have you told Cliff yet?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'm gonna go call Torr now."

The next evening, Missy went out looking for Faith again. She had spent most of the afternoon looking for Faith, but with no success. She hoped that she would have more success now, because it was dark.

Faith was on her way to the Summers house when she suddenly spotted a girl who looked just like her. She stared at her for a few moments, shocked. She had been in the Slaying business long enough to know that suddenly discovering you have a double meant trouble. She quickly followed her and when the girl passed a side alley, she quickly ran to her, pushed her into the alley and up against the wall.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

Her double, Missy, stared at her, shocked and a bit frightened.

"M-Missy," she said, clutching at Faith's hand.

"What are you?"

"I'm your s-sister."

Faith stared at her for a few moments, surprised.

"No you're not."

"I… am," Missy said, having trouble breathing. "Your… twin… sister."

Faith stared at her for a few moments. Then she released her grip a bit.

"I don't have a family," she said.

"You do," Missy said. "You were stolen when we were four months old." She thought for a moment. "The woman who took you to her house yesterday was our mom. Your mom."

Faith shuddered.

"No," she said quietly, scared by the prospect of having a family.

"Yes. You have a family."

Faith let go of her.

"No, I don't," she said and took a step back.

Missy massaged her back.

"You do, Faith, you're my sister. And we have a brother, Cliff."

"No," Faith said.

"Yes…"

"No!" Faith screamed. "I don't have a family!" she said and backed off.

"Faith…"

"I don't need a family!" Faith said and started to walk away, upset.

"Faith, wait!" Missy called.

She ran after her and put her hand on Faith's arm.

Faith turned and pushed her away.

"I don't need a family!" she screamed.

Missy stumbled and fell down.

Faith stared at her wide-eyed for a few moments and then ran away.

Missy quickly got up and ran after her, but she soon lost her.

After searching for Faith for a while, Missy finally decided to go to the Bronze and see if Buffy was there. She was not, so Missy sat down at the bar and ordered herself a drink.

She was half way through it when Buffy arrived.

"Hey."

Missy looked at her, startled.

"Hey. I found Faith. Or rather, she found me."

"Where?"

"Near, what's it called, Hadley. Yeah, Hadley."

"Hadley?" Buffy said, having a bad feeling.

"Yeah. But then she ran away. I lost her a couple of blocks from here."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"What was she like?"

Missy frowned, thinking.

"She looked like hell. I think it shocked her to find out that she had a family." She thought for a moment. "She was scared, I think."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think she believed me when I explained to her that she was stolen, but I think it scared her too. She said she didn't need a family and she practically ran away."

"Oh."

"Do you have any idea why?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"I think she had a bad childhood. She had to watch as someone close to her was killed, she was betrayed by someone whom she thought she could trust and she betrayed someone who trusted her."

"Oh."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"And I guess I could've been a better friend," she then confessed.

Missy sighed.

"Listen, if you find her, could you give me a call?"

"I don't have your number."

Missy looked at the bartender.

"Do you have a pen and a paper?"

"Sure," the woman said and fetched a pen and a paper.

"Thanks," Missy said. She quickly wrote down her address and phone number and then split the paper in half. "Here," she said and gave Buffy the half with her information. "Can you give me your address and phone number?"

"Yes," Buffy said and wrote down the information on the empty half of the paper.

"Thanks," Missy said and then gave the pen back to the bartender. "I'm gonna go look for her some more and then I'll go home."

"Okay," Buffy said.

Missy left and after a few moments Buffy left as well.

Faith ran for a while and then finally went back to her hideout. She was in a daze, shocked from discovering that she had a family. Suddenly her conscience started working overtime. Her body went on automatic and when she finally got to her hideout, she had no idea how she got there. She went to the corner of the room and slid down the wall to the floor. She hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees.

Her mind was trapped in a whirlpool of conflicting emotions and the guilt made everything even more confusing. She felt guilty for betraying the Mayor and she wanted to pay Buffy back for stabbing her. It wasn't the fact that Buffy had stabbed her that bothered her, it was the fact that she had stabbed her over Angel and that Angel was now ancient history and she had another boyfriend. It had seemed so simple, but now she suddenly found herself having a family and her conscience started working overtime. A part of her wanted a family, badly, but another was afraid to trust, even her own family. And, of course, she was afraid of what her family would think of her when they found out what she had done and she didn't want them to be even more ashamed of her, which stopped her from carrying out her plan.

So she sat in the dark corner, trapped in her own mind, desperately searching for a way out.

"Mom! Dad!" Missy called when she got home.

"Living room!" her father called and Missy went there.

"Hey."

"Did you find her?" her mother asked.

"Sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"She found me. I told her that she has a family, but she… freaked out and ran away."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I think the idea that she had a family scared her."

"But why?"

"Apparently she had a bad childhood, she had to watch someone close to her die, someone betrayed her and she betrayed someone."

"How do you know?" her father asked.

"Buffy told me. She's a friend of Faith's."

"Really?" her mother said.

"Yeah. I gave her my number, in case she finds her."

"Okay."

Two days later, Faith finally found a way out of her daze. Unfortunately, she still had no idea about what to do. She was frustrated and she decided to take it out on something demonic.

She went on patrol and was ambushed by four vamps. She quickly killed three, but the fourth ran away. She grinned and followed him. He went into a cave and she followed him in. The vamp hid, but she quickly found him and killed him.

"Not bad," a deep voice suddenly said.

Faith quickly turned, ready to fight, and blinked, surprised, when she saw her new target.

"What the fuck are you? Somebody threw you in the mixer with a couple of demons and a couple of computers?"

Adam thought about it and then smiled.

"You could say that," he said.

Faith frowned, surprised that he didn’t get angry.

"So, how about I kick your ass now?" she said.

"By all means, try, please."

Faith stared at him for a few moments, confused, and then attacked. She managed to get in a few punches, but they didn't slow Adam down. And then her good luck left and she ended up on the receiving end of Adam's punches, which, she had to admit, hurt like hell. She went on the defensive and seriously considered getting the hell out of there. But she was extremely frustrated and she refused to give up.

Unfortunately, she didn't have a plutonium power source like Adam and she soon started to get tired. Adam's fists and feet hit her more and more often and she was seriously considering running away, but when she thought about her other problems, she resumed fighting with renewed vigor.

Then, suddenly, the spike from Adam's arm shot out and pierced her chest. She gasped and clutched at the spike, but it retreated into his arm. She collapsed to her knees.

"Interesting," Adam said. "You're even better than the Slayer."

Faith swallowed. She knew that if he could beat Buffy, he could beat her as well. Suddenly panic overwhelmed her. She got up and staggered away as quickly as she could.

Adam slowly followed her.

When she got outside, she looked around and then headed straight away from the cave. She heard something running and turned around, but Adam had barely reached the mouth of the cave. She looked around and spotted another demon. She got ready to fight, but the demon headed straight for Adam. Since the demon wasn't a problem, she resumed her flight.

When the demon got to Adam, Adam skewered him. Adam then listened for a couple of moments and returned to the cave.

When Alpha Team reached the demon, they made a circle around it and Riley carefully approached him.

"It's dead," he declared. "Looks like Adam got him."

"Sir," one of the soldiers called. "Listen."

Everybody quietly listened for a few moments.

"Somebody's running," another soldier said.

"Let's go," Riley ordered.

They fanned out and ran after the unknown person.

After a few moments, Riley ordered them to stop and they listened. They didn't hear anything, so Riley used signs to order them forward.

They moved and after a few moments, a soldier signalled that he found someone. They converged and saw it was a girl. Riley slowly approached her, his weapon ready.

"Missy," he said, surprised. Then he frowned. "Or Faith."

"You know her?" Graham asked.

"I think so. Call a paramedic. Let's stop the bleeding while we're waiting."

As soon as he could, Riley went to Buffy and told her about Faith. Buffy quickly called Missy.

"Yeah," Missy said.

"Missy?"

"Yeah. Buffy?"

"Yes."

"Hey. Any news on Faith?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Yes, she's in the hospital."

"What? Why?"

"She was stabbed. I'm on my way there."

"Thanks. We'll go there as well."

"Okay," Buffy said and hung up. She looked at Riley. "Let's go."

When Faith's family arrived to the hospital, Buffy and Riley were already waiting for them.

"Buffy," Missy said.

"Hey."

"Where is she?"

"In surgery."

"Oh."

"Do you know what happened?" Mrs Pantone asked.

Buffy shook her head.

"Just that she was stabbed."

"Oh."

An hour later, Faith was finally brought out of the OR.

"Doctor," Mrs Pantone called him.

The doctor looked at her and then noticed Missy. He frowned and looked after the gurney.

"Didn't I…"

"I'm her sister."

"Oh. I didn't know she had a family."

"How is she?" Mrs Pantone asked.

The doctor looked at her.

"Her right lung was punctured, but she'll be okay, her stomach wound didn't open," he said and Buffy flinched.

"Stomach wound?"

"Yes. She had been stabbed eight months ago."

"Oh."

"But at least she's not in coma this time."

"Coma?" Mrs Pantone said, surprised.

"Yes, she was in coma for eight months. You didn't know?"

"No, we only just found out she was here."

"She was stolen from us when we were four months old," Missy explained.

"Oh," the doctor said. "Well, she had a serious stomach wound and major head trauma. We didn't really expect her to wake up, but a couple of days ago she did and she just walked out, I couldn't believe it," he said and shook his head. "Her wounds are pretty serious, but with her healing abilities, she'll probably wake up ahead of schedule. They're taking her to ICU right now."

"Can we see her?" Mrs Pantone asked.

"In a few minutes and only for a short time."

"Okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome," the doctor said and left.

"Missy," Buffy spoke after a few moments.

"Yeah?"

"Let me know when she wakes up."

"You're not gonna see her?"

Buffy shook her head.

"No, maybe tomorrow."

"Okay. Night."

"Night."

Three days later, Faith finally woke up. She was full of sedatives, so she wasn't immediately aware of what was going on around her. When her danger sense finally went off, she opened her eyes and saw three men and a nurse as they were about to transfer her to a gurney.

"Wha… What's… going on?" she slurred.

"We're transferring you," the nurse said.

"Wh-Why?"

"Because we need this room."

Faith didn't say anything and pretended she was falling asleep, but she actually listened to what the men and then nurse were saying, her danger sense telling her that she was in danger. The men talked quietly, but she could still hear that they spoke with a British accent and that meant only one thing, the Council. She concentrated and tried to focus.

When she felt that she was as ready as she could be, she suddenly hit the men at her head in the stomach and then rolled off the bed. She nearly passed out from the pain, but she bit her teeth and pushed the gurney into the nurse and the third man. She turned to run, but the other two men had already recovered and one of them had a knife. He slashed at her and cut her across her forehead.

"No knife," his partner hissed.

Faith rammed them and the knife cut her across the stomach. She groaned, but she quickly hit each man once and then got up and staggered away. She turned the first corner and quickly wiped the blood off her eyes. She noticed the ladies room and she decided to hide there, knowing that the men would quickly capture her if she kept running.

She entered and crashed into someone.

"Help me, please," she said.

The young woman, the same young woman Faith had beaten up when she woke up a few days ago, stared at her, shocked by Faith's appearance and also afraid that Faith might beat her up again.

"Please," Faith said, clutching her stomach.

The woman hesitated for a moment and then supported her.

"Let's get you a doctor," she said.

"No," Faith protested. "They're after me."

The woman thought for a moment and then led her to the stalls. She put down the toilet cover.

"Sit on the toilet," she said.

Faith blinked and slowly sat on the toilet.

The woman closed the stall door and locked it. Just as she sat between Faith's legs, someone entered the ladies room. The woman quickly grabbed Faith's legs and lifted them up.

"Is anyone here?" a man with a British accent asked and the woman could feel Faith tense.

The woman hesitated for a moment.

"Yes."

"Has anyone entered in the last few minutes?"

"An older woman was taken out, like, two minutes ago," she said, getting nervous because the man was obviously checking the other stalls. "I heard the doctor say she was bleeding or something," she quickly added, remembering that there might be blood on the floor. "Are you a doctor?"

There was a brief pause.

"Yes."

"Can you prescribe something for diarrhea?"

There was another pause.

"You should see your doctor about it," the man said.

The woman groaned.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks."

The man left, but the woman didn't move and she quietly listened for a while.

When she was pretty sure that there was no one else in the ladies room, she got up and looked at Faith.

"Are you awake?" she asked after a few moments.

Faith moaned and blinked her eyes. Blood was still streaming from her wound, so she wiped it from her eyes.

"I know you," she said, struggling to stay conscious.

"Yes, you beat me up."

Faith nearly passed out, but she forced herself to stay awake.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm…" she started, but she finally passed out.

The woman stared at her for a few moments and then decided to get a doctor.

Ten minutes later, the doctors had taken care of Faith's new wounds and two detectives had arrived with several uniforms in tow and questioned the woman. Faith woke up briefly and told the cops what had happened and identified the nurse, then she passed out again.

"Summers," Joyce said as she answered the phone.

"Em, hi, this is Missy, Faith's sister. Is Buffy there?"

"Yes, hold on." Joyce covered the speaker. "Buffy!" she called.

"Yes?!"

"Phone! It's Missy!"

Buffy came running down the stairs and Joyce gave her the receiver.

"Missy?"

"Yes."

"Did she wake up?"

"Yes, but some people tried to kidnap her."

"What?" Buffy said, worried.

"They've already arrested a nurse, but they're still after three guys. The detective said they spoke with a British accent."

"Oh. How is she?"

"She's unconscious. She got two more cuts, nothing dangerous."

"Thanks. I'll come over."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

Buffy hung up and looked at Joyce.

"Mom, I'm going to the hospital."

"Faith?"

"Yes. She woke up and the Council tried to kidnap her. I'll go see her and then I'll go to Giles."

"Okay."

"Buffy!" Missy called when she saw her.

Buffy looked at her and went to her.

"Hey. Anything new?"

Missy shook her head.

"No. The cops posted guards outside her room."

"Good."

They reached the room and entered.

"Hi," Buffy said when she saw Faith's parents.

"Hello," Mr Pantone said.

Buffy went to the bed and took Faith's hand. She rubbed her thumb against it and took a deep breath. She could feel that Faith was weak, but she knew she was not in danger. At least not from the wounds.

She looked at Missy.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

"You're leaving already?" Missy said, surprised.

"Yes, there's something I have to take care of."

"Oh. Okay then."

"Let me know if anything changes."

"I will."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow." She looked at Mr and Mrs Pantone. "Bye."

"Giles?" Buffy said as she entered Giles' house.

"Buffy."

"The Council tried to kidnap Faith."

"What?" Giles said, surprised. "How do you know?"

"The kidnappers spoke with a British accent."

"Oh."

"The cops already arrested a nurse."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"How is Faith?"

"Just a couple of cuts."

"Oh."

"I want you to call the Council and tell them to butt out, Faith is my problem."

Giles sighed.

"I'll call them."

Two days later, Faith was still unconscious.

"Hey," Buffy said when she entered Faith's room and saw Missy and her brother Cliff there. "Eh, hi," she said when she saw Cliff.

"Buffy, this is Cliff, our brother. Cliff, this is Buffy."

"Hi," Cliff said.

Buffy went to the bed and took Faith's hand.

"Anything new?" she asked, glancing at Missy.

"No." Missy hesitated for a moment. "It's just…"

"Yes?" Buffy asked and looked at her.

"Well, she had a punctured lung and she woke up after three days. Now she only has a couple of cuts and she still hasn't woken up."

Buffy looked at Faith and concentrated. She frowned.

"She gave up."

"What?" Missy said, surprised.

"She gave up."

"How do you know?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I just know."

"Is she gonna be okay?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"The wounds won't kill her, she'll live," she said and rubbed her thumb against Faith's hand. "Come on, Faith, wake up."

Missy stared at her for a few moment and then looked at Cliff.

"Cliff, can you get me something to drink?"

Cliff looked at her, then at Buffy and finally back at Missy.

"Sure," he said and left.

Missy approached Buffy.

"How do you feel about her?"

"Huh?" Buffy said, surprised, and looked at her.

"How do you feel about her?" Missy repeated.

Buffy frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Missy glanced at Buffy's hand which was holding Faith's.

"That. And the way you look at her. I know something's happened between the two of you."

Buffy sighed and looked at Faith.

"Yes, a lot of things that shouldn't have."

Missy hesitated for a moment.

"Were you a couple?"

Buffy looked at her, surprised.

"Me and Faith?"

"Yeah."

"No. I'm straight."

"So?"

"So I'm not gay."

"That doesn't mean you two couldn't be a couple."

"We weren't," Buffy said.

"Oh."

"We were just friends."

"Okay." She sighed. "I'll go see what's taking Cliff so long."

"Okay," Buffy said and Missy left. Buffy sighed and looked at her hand which was holding Faith's. Then she looked back at Faith. "Come on, Faith, fight," she said. "You have a family now."

The next morning, Faith finally woke up. She was groggy from the sedatives, but she could still feel the pain. She lay still for a few minutes, trying to clear her head. She remembered that the Council had tried to kidnap her and she knew she had to get out of the hospital as soon as she could.

When she finally felt strong enough, she slowly got up, making sure she didn't pull out any wires or tubes. When she was sure she wouldn't fall if she moved, she first pulled out the tubes and then removed the wires. Then she went to the door as quickly as she could and opened it.

Her eyes went wide when she saw two cops sitting at a small table, obviously guarding the door.

"Hey," one of the uniforms said when he noticed her, and got up.

The other cop looked back and got up as well when he saw her.

Faith pushed the door open and then rammed the cop closest to her. The other cop came around the table and she threw herself under his legs, tripping him. She gasped from pain, but she bit her teeth and got up. Then she started limping away in the opposite direction.

Her mother, who had only left the room to get a cup of coffee, looked toward the cops when she heard the commotion and her eyes went wide when she saw Faith ram the two cops.

"Faith!" she called when Faith started limping away.

Faith turned, surprised, and her eyes went wide again when she saw her mother running toward her. She froze for a moment, the fear she used to feel when the woman she had thought was her mother got drunk or angry overwhelming her. Then the two cops finally got up again and she pulled herself together. She wanted to start running away again, but a small boy came running by and she tripped.

The child quickly got up and ran to his mother, but Faith was partially paralyzed from fear and she started backpedaling.

Her mother slowed down a bit when she saw the fear in Faith's eyes. She smiled softly.

"It's okay, Faith, you're safe," she said.

Faith then hit a gurney and she looked around in panic. She noticed that the cops had stopped and she was relieved about it, but she was still terrified.

"Faith, it's okay," Mrs Pantone quickly said.

Faith stared at her, wide-eyed, and Mrs Pantone slowly and cautiously approached her. When Mrs Pantone reached her and kneeled, Faith started edging away from her.

"It's okay, Faith," Mrs Pantone said and raised her arm.

Faith instinctively covered her head and Mrs Pantone bit her teeth, guessing why Faith was afraid of her. She then slowly put her arm around Faith, who froze, petrified. She pressed her gently to herself and caressed her.

"It's okay, Faith," she said quietly, "you're safe." She hesitated for a moment. "Don't worry, Mommy's here," she said and Faith sobbed a bit. "It's okay, you can cry," she said and caressed her.

Faith quietly sobbed for a while, her fear slowly receding. Her mind finally accepted the fact that this wasn't the woman who had beaten her when she was little, that this was her real mother. Once she accepted that, fear was substituted for shame.

When Faith finally calmed down a couple of minutes later, Mrs Pantone slowly let go of her and Faith quickly wiped her tears. Mrs Pantone smiled softly and caressed her. Faith looked at her with wide eyes, startled.

"Come, let's get you back to bed," Mrs Pantone said.

Faith looked around and saw that people were staring at her. She felt ashamed for being so weak. Then she noticed that her mother had gotten up and was offering her her hand. Faith hesitated for a moment and then accepted it. She got up and her mother helped her back to her room.

As soon as she was back in bed, a nurse came and reattached the wires.

"And the tubes?" Mrs Pantone asked after she covered Faith.

"She won't need them now that she's awake," the nurse said.

"Oh. Thank you."

The nurse nodded and left.

Mrs Pantone looked at Faith and smiled softly.

"Rest now, honey," she said and took her hand, "I'll stay here."

Faith stared at her for a few moments, not sure how to react, and then closed her eyes, tired.

A few minutes later, when Faith was asleep, Mrs Pantone finally let her own tears run.

A couple of hours later, Cliff came.

"Hey, Mom."

Mrs Pantone looked at him and smiled.

"Hi, honey. Can you please call Missy and your father and tell them that Faith had woken up."

"She had?"

"Yes. She's asleep now."

"Okay," Cliff said and left the room.

"Summers," Joyce said when she picked up the phone.

"Hi, this is Missy. Is Buffy there?"

"Yes. Hold on. Buffy!"

"Yes?" Buffy asked as she came from the kitchen.

"It's Missy."

"Oh," Buffy said and took the phone. "Missy?"

"Yes. Listen, Faith woke up."

"Really? How is she?"

"She's asleep right now."

"Oh." She sighed. "I'll go see her tomorrow."

"Not today?" Missy asked, surprised.

"No. You're her family, she has enough to deal with."

"Oh. Okay then. Bye."

"Bye," Buffy said and hung up.

"Good news?" Joyce asked.

Buffy sighed.

"Faith woke up."

"Oh. That's good."

"Yes."

When Faith finally woke up a few hours later, she felt a bit better. She lay still for a few moments, but then she felt that someone was holding her hand. She opened her eyes and saw that it was her mother.

"Hi, honey," Mrs Pantone said with a smile. "How do you feel?"

"Five by five," Faith said automatically and pulled her hand free.

"What?" Mrs Pantone said, startled.

Faith sighed.

"I'm fine."

Missy, Cliff and Mr Pantone came closer and Faith looked at them.

"Hey," Missy said with a smile. "You already know me and Mom and these are Dad and Cliff, our big brother."

"Hey, Sis," Cliff said with a smile.

Faith blinked, surprised. Then panic started to creep back and she looked at her mother.

"What do you want from me?"

Mrs Pantone frowned.

"We want to help you."

"Why?"

"Because you're our daughter."

"So? You don't even know me."

"It doesn't matter, Faith, you're our daughter and we want to help you," Mrs Pantone said and covered with her hand the hand of her husband, who had put it on her shoulder.

"She's right," Mr Pantone said.

"We know you're wanted by the police," Missy said and Faith looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Hey, it's okay," Mrs Pantone said and reached for Faith's hand, but Faith pulled it away.

"It's not okay," Faith said.

"We know why you're wanted," Missy said, "and we know that you're probably guilty."

Faith snorted.

"The murders are just the tip of the iceberg," she said and sighed, feeling ashamed.

"Then tell us," Mrs Pantone said.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Faith hesitated for a moment. On one hand, she didn't want her family to know what she had done, but on the other, she didn't want to hide anything from them, she wanted them to love her in spite of what she had done and there was only one way to be sure.

"Fine. You want to know? I'll tell you."

And she did.

When he was done, her family stared at her, shocked and a bit confused about some parts.

"Faith…" her mother finally spoke.

"You don't believe me," Faith said, a part of her already pushing them away. "I knew it."

"Faith… it's…"

"Out. Get out."

"Faith…" Missy started.

"Get out!" Faith screamed and reached for the call button. "Out!"

"Listen, Faith…"

"Out!" Faith screamed and kept pressing the call button.

"Faith…" her father tried.

"Out! Out! Out!"

Mr and Mrs Pantone looked at one another, not sure what to do.

Then a nurse came in.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Tell them to leave," Faith said.

The nurse looked at Mr and Mrs Pantone.

"I'll have to ask you to leave."

Mrs Pantone looked at Faith.

"Faith…" she started, but Faith looked away.

Mrs Pantone sighed.

"We'll come back tomorrow," she said.

Faith listened as her family left the room. When they were gone, a few sobs escaped her, but she forced herself not to cry and she tried to forget.

"Okay, that was totally unexpected," Cliff said when they were outside.

"Yes," Mr Pantone agreed.

"I'll go talk to Buffy," Missy said, "see what she has to say."

"Okay."

In the evening, Missy went to the Bronze.

"Buffy," she said when she got to the table where Buffy was sitting with her friends.

Buffy looked at her.

"Hey. How'd it go?"

Missy sighed.

"Not good. Can I talk to you?"

"Yes, sure." Buffy got up and they walked a couple of steps. "What happened?"

Missy hesitated for a moment.

"Well, she basically told us her life story."

"Oh."

Missy hesitated again.

"Most of it okay, even the… the murder parts. It's just…"

"Yes?" Buffy asked when Missy trailed off.

"Is she crazy?"

Buffy blinked, surprised.

"Crazy?"

"As in delusional or… you know, loony? No, schizophrenic."

Buffy frowned.

"She was psychotic, yes, but not schizophrenic. Why?"

Missy sighed, hesitating again.

"She told us this crazy story about demons and Slayers and stuff. Then she threw us out when we didn't believe it."

"Oh."

"You've heard it?"

Buffy sighed.

"I'm living it."

Missy frowned.

"You mean you believe her?"

"I thought she told you the whole story?" Buffy said.

"Well, yeah."

"Including the fact that I'm a Slayer too?"

"Yeah."

Buffy sighed.

"It's all true."

Missy frowned, thinking.

"Including the fact that you stabbed her and threw her off the roof?"

Buffy took a deep breath, remembering.

"The stabbing part yes, but she threw herself off the roof."

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know."

"And demons?"

Buffy sighed.

"I'll show you."

"Demons?" Missy said, surprised.

"Yes. Come." She led the way back to the table. "Guys, I'm taking Missy to Willy's."

"Why?" Willow asked.

"To show her some demons. Apparently Faith told them about Slayers and demons."

"Oh."

"I'll see you later."

She and Missy left the Bronze.

"Now can you tell me more about Faith?" Missy asked when they were outside.

Buffy sighed.

"I guess."

"Okay, that clears up some things," Missy said when Buffy was done telling her about Faith. "Still, the whole demon part…"

Buffy smiled.

"I know, I thought the same thing when my first Watcher first told me that I was a Slayer and that I was chosen to kill demons."

Missy thought for a few moments.

"So now what?" she then asked. "I mean, you stabbed Faith and all."

Buffy sighed.

"I don't know, it's pretty much up to Faith. I want to help her."

"Okay." Missy thought for a few moments. "What happened to Angel?"

Buffy sighed again.

"He went to LA after we killed the Mayor."

"No wonder Faith was pissed."

"I know." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, that's Willy's Place. Whatever you do, don't freak out. Just be calm."

Missy frowned.

"A bar?"

"Yes."

"Demons have their own bar?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you kill them?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Because they're mostly harmless and I can beat Willy up for information, if I need it."

"Oh."

"Remember, don't panic," Buffy warned her again as they reached the bar.

Missy nodded and they entered.

"Spike," Buffy said when she saw the vampire.

Spike looked at her.

"Slayer. What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

"Nothing, just showing her around," Buffy said and nodded at Missy, who was looking at various demons around the bar.

Spike gave her a once over.

"The other Slayer?" he asked and Missy looked at him.

Buffy smiled.

"You could say that." She nodded at his glass. "Is that Human blood?"

"O negative," Spike said. "Don't worry, nobody got killed and if you're gonna beat someone up because of it, beat up him," he said and nodded at Willy.

"Hey!" Willy protested. "It's all legit, nobody died."

"Relax," Buffy said and looked at Missy. "Ready to leave?"

Missy looked at her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Okay," Buffy said and they left.

"Wow," Missy said when they were outside.

"If you want, I can take you to a cemetery, maybe we'll come across a vamp."

"We already did, right? I mean, Spike's a vampire, right?"

"Yes, but you didn't see one go poof yet."

"Oh. Okay."

"They all go poof like that?" Missy asked after Buffy staked a vampire.

"Vampires yes, most other demons unfortunately leave their corpses behind."

"Oh."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"I'll go see Faith tomorrow morning, as soon as the visiting hours begin. You come half an hour later. I'll come outside when Faith and I are done talking."

"Okay. Thanks."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"If you want, you and your parents can come to my mom and talk to her about it. Or Giles."

"Your Watcher."

"Yes."

"I'll tell them."

"Hi, Dad," Missy said when she came home.

"Hello, honey. Any luck?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Anyway, Faith's not crazy, everything she told us true, and I mean everything, including the demons and stuff." She frowned. "Well, mostly true, I don't think she lied to us on purpose."

"Honey?" her mother asked when she came downstairs.

"Hey, Mom. Faith's not crazy. I talked to Buffy and she admitted that she had stabbed her. And she showed me some demons."

"Demons?"

"Yeah. I only know which ones are vampires and I saw how she stabbed one through the heart with a wooden stake and it turned to dust."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was totally surprised when I saw a whole bar of demons."

"A bar?" her father asked.

"Yeah, they have a bar. I know, it sounds crazy, but I've been there. There was even a vampire and he drank Human blood."

"What?" her father said, shocked.

"Don't ask me, probably from a stolen transfusion or something. Anyway, Buffy said she'll visit Faith tomorrow morning as soon as the visiting hours start. She said we should come half an hour later."

"Okay."

"She also said we can go to her mom or to this Giles guy and talk to them about it."

Mr Pantone nodded.

"We will."

Missy thought for a moment.

"What about Faith? I mean, she killed three people and the cops are after her."

Her mother sighed.

"I don't know, honey."

"I really don't want her to go to jail."

"Me neither, but we don't know what evidence the police has."

"We could ask Faith. Or Buffy."

"We'll ask them tomorrow," Mr Pantone said.

"And if they don't have anything? Do we tell her to lie?"

Her parents look at one another.

"I don't know, honey," her father said.

Missy sighed.

"Great. I'll go call Cliff."

The next morning, Buffy went to Faith as soon as the visiting hours started. As soon as Faith saw her, she got out of bed, ready to fight.

"Whoa, relax," Buffy said. "I'm not here to fight."

"Why are you here then?" Faith asked, having trouble standing.

"To talk to you."

Faith snorted.

"What's there to talk about?"

"Your family, for example."

Faith's eyes went wide.

"How do you know about them?"

"I ran into Missy."

"Oh."

"They're all worried about you."

"Yeah, they think I'm nuts."

"Not anymore. I took Missy to Willy's Place and I staked a vamp, so she believes me. I'm guessing your parents believed her."

Faith bit her teeth.

"You should get back into bed," Buffy said.

She looked around and then went to a chair as far away from the bed as possible and sat down.

Faith stared at her for a few moments and then slowly climbed back into bed, ready to get off at a moment's notice. Then she stared at Buffy for a few moments.

"Why are you here?" she then asked.

"To talk to you."

"About what? You stabbing me?"

"Yes, I stabbed you, but I didn't throw you off the roof."

Faith frowned, puzzled, but then she remembered telling her parents that.

"Look, I want us to be friends again," Buffy said.

"Isn't it a bit too late for that?" Faith asked bitterly.

Buffy sighed.

"It could be. But I hope it's not."

Faith stared at her for a few moments.

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Because I like you."

Faith thought for a moment.

"How many times did you visit me?" she then asked.

"What?" Buffy asked, startled.

"How many times did you visit me? When I was in coma."

"Eh, zero," Buffy said embarrassed.

"And now you suddenly want us to be friends."

"I was trying to forget, Faith."

"So was I, B."

"What?" Buffy asked, puzzled.

"What happened to Angel?" Faith changed the subject.

"He went to LA."

"And now you got a new boy toy."

"Riley, yes."

"Nice. You stab me over Angel and eight months later, he's ancient history."

Buffy took a deep breath.

"I would've gone after you if you'd done that to any of my friends," she said. "It was just the last straw. We were desperately trying to save Sunnydale and then you came and poisoned Angel with a poison that only the blood of a Slayer could heal." She paused for a moment. "It really pissed me off." She thought for a moment. "Why did you go to the Mayor?"

Faith looked at her hands and sighed.

"He could protect me."

"And I couldn't?"

Faith looked at her.

"You knocked me down, chained me up and took me to Angel. And then Wes and his knights came and wanted to haul me off to England. So excuse me if I didn't feel very safe."

"But Wes could've hauled you off anyway," Buffy objected and Faith looked at her hands again.

They were quiet for a few moments.

"He didn't judge me," Faith then said quietly.

"What?" Buffy said, surprised.

"He didn't judge me," Faith repeated.

"I didn't judge you…"

"Oh please," Faith said and looked at her. "You judged me from the moment we realized Finch wasn't a vamp."

"No, I…"

"You said I killed him. Like you weren't there. Like you didn't push him under my stake." She paused for a moment. "If it had been you who pushed the stake into Finch's heart, they would've forgiven you in a moment."

Buffy sighed, realizing that it was true.

"You're right," she admitted and Faith frowned, surprised. "But you said you didn't care and that… I don't know, confused us."

"I was scared, I wanted to forget."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't try harder to help you." Buffy sighed and thought for a moment. "Why did you kill for the Mayor?"

Faith looked at her hands, hesitating.

"I… I…" She sighed. "He… He made me feel… wanted," she said quietly. "Needed. It was almost like we were a family." She hesitated for a moment. "I was ready to do whatever it took to keep that."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Then why did you betray him?"

Faith took a deep breath.

"Because it wasn't real." She thought for a moment. "But I think that, in a way, he did care."

Buffy stared at her, realizing how Faith must've felt. She sighed.

"I'm sorry."

Faith looked at her and they stared at one another for a few moments. Then she took a deep breath.

"Yeah."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"So, who kicked your ass?"

Faith frowned.

"Some sort of Freakazoid."

"Adam," Buffy guessed.

"Adam?"

"A really scary half-human, half-demon, half-machine guy…"

"Green? With a spike in his arm?"

"Yeah. I need you to help me fight him. I…"

"How nice to be wanted," Faith interrupted her sarcastically.

"Faith…"

"But you're forgetting one thing."

Buffy frowned.

"What?"

"I'm a murderer, B, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I'm turning myself in."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised. "You can't!"

Faith raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"I thought you wanted me to."

Buffy sighed.

"I did, but not anymore. And besides, if you went to jail, I'd have to go as well."

"Why?"

"I stabbed you, remember?"

"Oh."

Buffy took a deep breath.

"Look, you just spent eight months in coma. I think that's punishment enough."

"How nice of you to be so merciful."

Buffy sighed.

"What about your family?" she asked.

Faith tensed.

"What about them?"

"Don't you want to be with them?"

Faith snorted.

"It's not like they wanna be with me."

"You didn't even give them a chance," Buffy objected and Faith looked at her hands. "You just dumped your life story on them, including the Slayer stuff, and you expect them not to think you're crazy? My mom thought I was crazy when I first told her." She thought for a moment. "They know now that you're not crazy. They're coming in, like, half an hour. Give them a chance."

Faith looked at her.

"What do you care?"

Buffy sighed.

"We used to be friends, Faith."

"So?"

"So we can be again. For real this time." She paused for a moment. "I know, me needing your help is not the best start. Still, I hope we can be friends."

Faith stared at her for a few moments and then looked at her hands, thinking. A part of her wanted to distance herself from her family, from Buffy, not wanting to get hurt again, but a part of her wanted to get to know her family and give Buffy a chance.

She sighed and looked at Buffy.

"What about the cops?"

"Lie to them. I'll back you up, but we need to make up a story first."

Faith stared at her for a few moments, thinking.

"What kind of story?" she then asked.

"Hey," Buffy said when she got out of Faith's room and saw Faith's family there.

"Hey," Missy said. "How'd it go?"

"She wanted to turn herself in."

"What?" Missy said, surprised.

"I think I convinced her not to, but you have the final say." She smiled a bit. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

"I'll call you after my classes."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Buffy left and Faith's family went to Faith.

When Faith saw them, she tensed, nervous.

"Hello, honey," Mrs Pantone said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Fi…" Faith started, but she trailed off and sighed instead. "Shitty," she admitted and looked at her hands, hesitating. After a few moments, she looked back at her family. "Sorry I threw you out yesterday," she then said quietly.

Mrs Pantone smiled, glad that things were moving forward.

"It's okay," she said and after a moment of hesitation took Faith's hand.

Faith looked at her, nervous, but she didn't pull it out. She sighed and looked around.

"Where's Cliff?" she then asked.

"He had to go back to college, but he's coming back for the weekend," Missy said.

"Oh."

"Eh, Buffy showed me that demons are real."

"Yeah, I know."

"Pretty scary."

"Yeah."

"So you, like, fight them every day?"

Faith sighed.

"Yeah."

"Have the police wanted to talk to you yet?" her father finally asked.

Faith tensed.

"No."

"What are you going to tell them?" her mother asked anxiously.

Faith gulped and looked at her free hand.

"The truth," she then said quietly. "I mean, without the whole Slayer stuff," she quickly added.

"You want to go to jail?"

Faith tensed for a moment and then sighed.

"No, not really, I just wanna stop running."

"You don't have to go to jail for that."

Faith looked at her with a frown.

"I'm a murderer, Mom, I killed three people, remember?" she said and frowned when her mother smiled. "What?"

"You called me Mom."

Faith blinked, startled.

"Oh," she said and looked at her free hand again, nervous. She took a deep breath and looked back at her mother. "What do you want me to tell them?" she asked her after a few moments of hesitation.

Mrs Pantone thought for a moment.

"You're wanted for questioning, right?"

Faith frowned.

"Eh, yeah."

"Then they don't have any evidence?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"Not that I know of."

"Then make up a story."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"You want me to lie?"

"Yes," Mrs Pantone said, gently squeezing her hand. "You don't have to go to jail to make up, we know you're sorry."

"Make up to who? The people I killed?"

Mrs Pantone frowned and glanced at her husband for help.

"You want to make penance?" Missy asked and Faith looked at her.

"Yeah," Faith said, nervous.

"How many people have you saved?"

Faith frowned.

"Huh?"

"How many people have you saved from demons?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"I don't know."

"A lot?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Yeah."

"If you go to jail, you won't be able to save people."

"But…"

"And besides," Missy interrupted her, "your own consciousness is gonna punish you more than any jail. In jail, you could maybe get a feeling that you're paying for what you've done, but people you could save would be dying."

Faith stared at her for a few moments and then looked at her free hand, thinking about what Missy had said. It actually made a lot of sense and Faith felt a bit relieved at that. She finally took a deep breath and looked at her mother.

"Okay," she said, "I'll lie."

Her mother smiled.

"Okay."

"Want me to get the cops?" Missy asked.

Faith looked at her.

"Yeah, okay," she agreed after a moment of hesitation.

Missy went to the door to talk to the uniforms and Faith took a deep breath.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Mrs Pantone reassured her with a soft smile, gently squeezing her hand.

Faith sighed.

"I hope so," she said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Mrs Pantone asked, hearing the fear in Faith's voice.

Faith looked at her free hand, hesitating. In spite of the fact that her family supported her even though they knew what she had done, she was still a bit afraid of opening up to them.

"I, eh, I'm… afraid," she then said quietly.

"Of what?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"The future."

"Why?"

Faith sighed.

"I don't wanna mess up." She hesitated for a moment. "I don't wanna lose you."

Mrs Pantone smiled softly.

"You're not."

Faith looked at her.

"I'm a Slayer, Mom, bad things are bound to happen. Ask Buffy."

Mrs Pantone gently squeezed her hand.

"I know. But you have to be optimistic."

Faith snorted.

"Right."

"Relax, honey," her father said. "It may not last forever, but not matter how long it lasts, it's better than nothing."

"He's right," Missy said as she returned.

Faith took a deep breath.

"I guess we'll see."

Missy smiled.

"Yeah."

"What did the cops say?"

"They called the detectives."

Faith sighed.

After the detectives had left, Faith leaned back, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, relieved.

"So, how does it feel to be Miss Pantone?" Missy asked.

Faith opened her eyes and looked at her. She thought for a moment and then smiled a bit.

"Awesome," she said and Missy and her parents smiled.

"Okay, so we know about you," Missy then said, "I guess you want to know more about us."

"Yeah."

When Missy finished her story, Faith stared at her, horrified.

"You were a cheerleader?"

Missy grinned.

"Yeah, for a year and a half. They didn't have a gymnastics team at RCH."

"And here?"

"They don't have a gymnastics team, but I don't think I'll join the cheerleaders. I've checked them out though."

Faith tried to think about how she would look in a cheerleading outfit.

"How did you look?"

Missy grinned.

"Hot."

Faith grinned back.

"I'll bet." She hesitated for a moment. "I prefer leather."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I bet you look hot in it."

Faith's grin widened.

"Sizzling," she said and Missy chuckled.

"I'll bet."

Faith looked at her mother.

"Eh, Mom, can you ask a doctor how long I have to be here? I'd like to get out of here."

Mrs Pantone smiled.

"Sure," she said as she got up.

When she got home after classes, Buffy called Missy.

"Yeah?" Missy said as she answered her phone.

"Hey, it's me," Buffy said.

"Hey."

"How'd it go?"

"Great. We talked. She lied to the cops and they let her go. The girl she beat up isn't pressing charges, so the only thing they got is her beating up the two cops after you two fought. The detectives say she'll probably have to do some community work."

"That's not so bad."

"Yeah. Are you coming over?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Are you going to be there?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Buffy sighed.

"Okay. I'll come in about an hour."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

"Was that Buffy?" Faith asked when Missy put away her phone.

"Yeah. She's coming over," Missy said and Faith tensed for a moment. "Is that a problem?"

Faith sighed and shook her head.

"No."

When Buffy got to Faith's room, she took a deep breath, hesitating, and then knocked. She waited for a moment and then entered.

"Eh, hi," she said, nervous because Faith's family knew that she had stabbed her.

"Hey," Missy said.

"Hello," Mrs Pantone said.

"Hi, Faith," Buffy said.

"Hey, B," Faith said.

"Missy said things went well."

"Yeah, I guess. Oh, guess what, I'm Faith Pantone now."

Buffy smiled.

"That's great."

"Yeah."

"How long do you have to be here?"

Faith groaned.

"They'd like to keep me at least for another day."

"Oh. I'll keep an eye out for the Council guys."

"You think they're still around?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know. The Council said that they called them off, but I don't exactly trust them."

"Yeah," Faith agreed. She hesitated for a moment. "Thanks."

Buffy smiled a bit.

"No problem." She glanced at Faith's family. "I'll, eh, come back later."

"Okay," Faith said.

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Bye," she then said and left.

"How'd it go?" Willow asked when she and Xander came over.

"Okay, I guess. She's mostly off the hook with the police."

"Mostly?" Xander asked.

"She'll probably have to do some community service for hitting those two cops when she was running from campus."

"Oh."

"You think she can be trusted?" Willow asked.

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Yes," she then said firmly.

In the evening, before going on patrol, Buffy sneaked into Faith's room.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Faith said.

Buffy grabbed a chair and sat down.

"How do you feel?"

Faith shrugged.

"Okay, I guess." She looked around. "I can't wait to go home."

Buffy smiled.

"I bet." She hesitated for a moment. "How do you get along with your family?"

"Okay. I mean, I haven't talked to Cliff yet, but I get along okay with the rest."

"That's good."

"Yeah." Faith took a deep breath, hesitating. "Thanks."

"For what?" Buffy said, startled.

"For giving me a second chance."

Buffy smiled and took Faith's hand into her own.

"I'm glad I did."

They were quiet for a few moments.

"Em, B?" Faith then said.

"Yes?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Why are we, em, holding hands?"

Buffy looked at their hands and shrugged.

"I don't know." She hesitated for a moment. "Want me to stop?"

"No," Faith said quickly and immediately blushed.

Buffy smiled a bit.

"Okay." She thought for a moment. "Want me to tell you what's been going on while you were in coma?"

"Yeah," Faith said, glad that Buffy hadn't let go of her hand and that she had changed the subject.

On Wednesday morning, Faith was finally released and her parents came to pick her up. As they drove home, Faith felt a bit weird. She had gotten used to Missy, but her parents still made her a bit nervous.

"How about some decent food?" Mrs Pantone suggested when they got home.

"Eh, okay," Faith said. She hesitated for a moment. "Can I have a pizza?"

Mrs Pantone smiled.

"Not quite what I had in mind, but I can't see why not. Come, let us show you to your room first."

Mrs Pantone led the way and Mr Pantone brought up the rear. Faith curiously looked around her new home, a bit nervous because her father was right behind her. So far everything was okay, but lifelong fears were hard to ignore.

"This is our room," Mrs Pantone started as they reached the second floor. "This is Cliff's, this is Missy's and this is yours. Over there's the bathroom."

Mrs Pantone entered Faith's room and Faith and Mr Pantone followed her. Faith looked around, curious. It was a much nicer room than any in which she had lived so far. She guessed that it had probably been a spare room, but Missy had made into a comfortable one.

"There are no clothes in the closet, but Missy's taking you shopping after lunch."

Faith made a face.

"Shopping?"

Mrs Pantone smiled.

"Don't worry, she's not one of those girls who wander aimlessly around. She has a plan, trust me."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"A plan?"

"Oh yes."

"How long?"

Mrs Pantone chuckled.

"Long."

"Oh boy," Faith said. She went to the window and looked outside. "Not bad," she said and looked at her parents. "So what do I do now?"

"I don't know, whatever you want. Look around the house, get familiar with it. I'll go order the pizza."

"Okay."

"Welcome home, Faith," her father said.

Faith stared at him for a moment and then smiled.

"Thanks."

Her parents left and Faith looked around the room. She went to the bed, sat on it and bounced a couple of times. Then she lay back and looked at the ceiling, thinking. She still couldn't believe that she had a real home and a real family, who cared about her. A smile slowly spread across her face and she took a deep breath, finally having a feeling that everything would turn out alright.

She stretched, but immediately regretted it as pain reminded her that she had been stabbed. She groaned and slowly got up, deciding to take a look around the house.

When Missy came home from school, they had lunch. Faith felt a bit strange having lunch with her family for the first time, but she quickly got used to it.

After lunch, Missy took Faith shopping. When they got to the mall, Missy took out the shopping list and Faith just stared at it, surprised by how long it was. Missy assured her that their mother had approved it.

The shopping spree lasted a couple of hours. Faith was never a big fan of shopping, but she enjoyed hanging out with her sister.

When they finally returned home, Faith was a bit nervous. The things they'd bought filled the entire back of the car and it was a good thing they'd taken their father's SUV and not Missy's beetle. Faith had expected that she would get clothes and toiletries, but she definitely didn't expect her own TV, PlayStation 2 and cell phone.

"Wow," Mrs Pantone said when she saw how full the car was.

"We were a bit over the budget," Missy said.

"Okay," Mrs Pantone said. "Let's get this to Faith's room."

It took them ten minutes to get everything up to Faith's room. Because Faith was still recovering, Mrs Pantone insisted that she only carry light things and it made Faith feel good that she cared about her.

When they were done, Mr Pantone left.

"So, where do you want what?" Missy asked.

Faith looked around.

"Let's sort things first."

Another couple of hours later, they were finally done. Faith looked around the room and it felt like home.

"Nice," Missy commented.

Faith looked at her with a smile.

"Yeah."

"Anyone hungry?" Mrs Pantone asked.

"Yeah," Faith and Missy said in unison.

Mrs Pantone smiled.

"How about pancakes?"

"Sure," Faith said and looked at Missy, who nodded.

"Yeah," Missy said.

"Okay," Mrs Pantone said and left.

"How do you feel?" Missy asked when they were alone.

Faith smiled.

"Awesome," she said and Missy smiled back. "I mean, I expected the clothes and stuff, but not a TV, a PlayStation and a cell phone."

"I know," Missy said, "but Dad insisted on it. I mean, they're not trying to spoil you, they just want you to feel like a teenager."

Faith chuckled.

"I've never been just a teenager, especially not a normal teenager."

"Yeah." Missy thought for a moment. "Are you going out tonight?"

Faith shook her head.

"No. I'm in no condition to go on patrol and I don't want to talk to Buffy's friends either. At least not tonight. I'll go talk to them tomorrow."

"Want me to come with?"

"Absolutely. I'll need all the backup I can get."

Missy smiled.

"Yeah. Let's set up the PlayStation."

Faith grinned.

"Want to get your ass kicked?"

Missy grinned.

"You wish."

Before going on patrol, Buffy decided to visit Faith.

"Hi," Buffy said when Mr Pantone opened the door. "Is Faith home?"

"Yes. Come in."

Buffy entered and looked around, curious, as Mr Pantone closed the door.

"They're upstairs in Faith's room."

"Em, okay," Buffy said and headed upstairs.

She quickly located Faith's room because she could hear the twins' laughter. The door was not closed, so she observed them for a few moments before knocking.

The twins looked at her, startled.

"B," Faith said.

"Hi, Buffy," Missy said.

"Hey," Buffy said with a smile.

Faith paused the game and they got up.

"I'll leave you two alone," Missy said, noticing how Buffy and Faith stared at one another.

"Yeah. Eh, thanks," Faith said.

Missy left and closed the door behind her.

Buffy looked around the room.

"Nice room," she said.

"Yeah," Faith said.

Buffy looked at her.

"I'm glad you finally have a home."

Faith stared at her for a couple of moments before answering.

"Yeah, me too," she said and sat on the bed.

She hesitated for a moment and then patted the spot beside her.

Buffy smiled and sat beside her.

"Are you coming over tomorrow afternoon?" she then asked.

"Yeah. I'm guessing your friends would like to talk to me."

"Yes."

Faith took a deep breath.

"Are they still pissed?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"They're curious. They were worried after you first disappeared from the hospital, but after they found out you have a family and after the Council tried to kidnap you, I think they're willing to give you a second chance."

Faith sighed.

"How nice of them," she said sarcastically.

Buffy suddenly realized what was bothering Faith.

"I hope you'll give us a second chance as well," she said.

Faith looked at her, surprised. She thought for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"Why not?" she said and Buffy smiled. She hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry, B."

Buffy hesitated for a moment and then took Faith's hand.

"Me too."

Faith looked at their hands and thought for a moment. She decided to tell Buffy her big secret.

"B?" she then said, nervous.

"Yes?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Remember when I… flirted with you?"

Buffy smiled.

"Yes."

Faith gulped, hesitating.

"I… I meant it," she said and looked at her free hand.

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Yes, I thought you did, I just didn't want to admit it to myself." She hesitated for a moment. "I… I liked it."

Faith looked at her, surprised.

"You did?"

Buffy blushed.

"Yes."

"I thought it made you nervous."

"It did, because I liked it." She sighed. "Before Angel came back, I had the best time of my life with you. And even after Angel." She thought for a moment. "When you went to the Mayor, I felt betrayed. I'd thought you liked me and then you went over to the enemy." She took a deep breath. "Of course, you were right, I did judge you, so I guess it was partially my fault." She thought for a moment. "I'm glad it's over."

"Yeah," Faith said quietly.

They were quiet for a few moments, both thinking.

"Faith?" Buffy then said, nervous.

"Yeah?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"You think we can take it slowly this time?"

Faith tensed for a moment, surprised.

"You mean…"

"Yes," Buffy said and gulped, nervous.

Faith thought for a moment.

"What about… Riley?"

Buffy sighed.

"I'll have to break up with him."

"You don't love him?"

Buffy took a deep breath, thinking.

"No," she finally said. "Don't get me wrong, he's a very nice guy, a real gentleman, but, unfortunately, I'm no lady," she said and Faith chuckled. "I guess he's just a really nice rebound guy."

Faith nodded, understanding that Riley was important to Buffy, even if she didn't love him.

"There's no hurry," she said.

"It doesn't bother you?" Buffy asked, surprised.

"Technically, we're not together yet and I know he's important to you." She shrugged. "Take whatever time you need."

Buffy smiled.

"I like the new, caring Faith," she said and Faith blushed a bit. "So, we're taking this slow?"

Faith smiled.

"Yes," she said and Buffy smiled as well.

They sat quietly for a while, both thinking about what the future might bring.

The End