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. Some of the dialog is from the Buffy episode Who Are You. A snippet.

My Baby
By Kristjan Brezovnik

When Faith woke up from coma, she was disoriented at first, but then the memories slowly came back. She looked at her belly and gasped. She touched it, but it was flat. She was confused for a few moments, wondering if she had been imagining the whole thing. She finally decided that she hadn't been imagining. She threw off the cover and got off the bed. She went to the foot of the bed when the IV tubes stopped her. She looked at her arm and ripped the IV tubes out. Then she went to the foot of the bed and took the medical chart. She leafed through it and saw that she was right, she hadn't been imagining it, she really did have a baby, a daughter.

She stared at the chart for a few moments, her breathing quickening, and then forced herself to calm down. She went through the whole chart until she found out what she had been looking for. When she found out who had taken the girl, she bit her teeth, a low growl escaping her. She threw the chart on the bed and stormed out.

"Hi! Can you…" a young woman started, but Faith interrupted her.

"Shut up," Faith snapped and dug her nails in the palms of her hands, trying to control her rage.

She stormed past the woman before her rage could get the upper hand and she ended up hurting the woman.

When she got to the Summers house, wearing the clothes she had taken off a vampire she'd beaten senseless before staking her, she felt like kicking down the door, but she controlled herself and tried if it was open. It was, so she entered. She listened for a moment and could hear someone walking upstairs. From the sound of the footsteps, she guessed it was Joyce. She went upstairs.

"Faith!" Joyce said, surprised, when she saw her.

"Where is she?" Faith demanded.

"What?"

"Where is she?!" Faith screamed.

"I don't know. I think she went out with…"

"My daughter!" Faith clarified.

"You know?" Joyce said, surprised.

"Where is she?" Faith repeated, barely containing her rage.

"She's in her room, over there," Joyce said and pointed at a door.

Faith looked at it and then back at Joyce. She felt like hitting something, but a part of her didn't want her to hit a wall and another part didn't want her to hurt Joyce. Too much. She screamed and pushed Joyce away.

Joyce went flying and she hit the door of her bedroom with a grunt. She slid down, dazed, but Faith ignored her and went straight to the room where her baby was supposed to be. She opened the door and looked inside, holding her breath. She saw a crib and she gulped, hesitating. She finally took a deep breath and approached the crib.

When she finally saw the baby, her eyes went wide. When she stopped beside the crib, she just stared at the girl for a few moments before hesitantly reaching out to gently touch her. She gasped when the baby smiled and babbled at her. She found herself smiling back. The baby's smile encouraged her and she picked her up, staring at her with wide eyes.

She was so concentrated on her baby that she didn't hear Buffy come upstairs.

Just as Buffy had entered, she heard something crash upstairs and she immediately ran to check up.

"Mom! Are you okay?" she asked, worried, when she saw her mother slowly get up, obviously dizzy.

"Buffy," Joyce said and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm fine, nothing's broken."

"What happened?"

Joyce sighed.

"Faith."

"Faith?" Buffy said, surprised. "She woke up?"

Joyce nodded.

"Yes."

"Where did she go?"

Joyce frowned.

"To Hope's room, I think."

Buffy immediately went to Hope's room.

"Faith," she said when she saw the rogue Slayer.

Faith turned and looked at her, startled.

"B."

"Put her down," Buffy said, glancing at Hope.

Faith cocked her head, frowning.

"You don't think I'd hurt my own daughter, do you?"

Buffy blinked, surprised.

"You know?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Buffy stared at her for a few moments. "You're holding her wrong."

"Huh?" Faith said, startled.

"You're holding her wrong," Buffy said and moved closer, but Faith immediately stepped back. Buffy stopped. "Do you want to fight?"

Faith hesitated for a moment, glancing at Hope. She was still furious about having lost eight months and about Buffy taking her baby, but she didn't want to endanger the girl.

"No," she said.

"Me neither," Buffy said, relieved. "I'll just show you how to hold her correctly."

Faith hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay."

Buffy slowly approached and then moved Faith's arms a bit so she was holding the girl correctly.

"There."

Faith stared at her daughter for a few moments and then looked at Buffy.

"Why did you take her?" she asked after a few moments.

Buffy sighed.

"We knew you'd wake up some day and we didn't want the social services to get their hands on her."

"Oh." Faith took a deep breath and looked at Joyce. "Sorry I pushed you," she said, nervous.

Joyce smiled a bit.

"It's okay, I understand."

Faith nodded and looked at Buffy. She was about to ask a question, when Hope started to cry. Faith looked at her, wide-eyed, and then at Joyce.

"What did I do?"

Joyce came closer and touched Hope's bottom, but it was dry. She smiled.

"I think she's hungry," she declared.

"I'll get the bottle," Buffy said and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Joyce said. "Maybe you could breastfeed her," she told Faith.

Faith looked at her, startled.

"Huh?"

"Breastfeed her. She's barely a month old and there's nothing as good as breast milk."

Faith looked at her breasts and realized that they were actually a bit bigger and kinda heavy. She looked at Joyce, nervous.

"Eh, I've never, em…"

"Don't worry, there's nothing to it. Just put Hope's head to your breast and she'll start sucking on her own," Joyce calmed her with a smile.

"Hope?" Faith said, startled.

"Oh, right, you didn't know," Joyce realized. "Yes, we named her Hope. Is that okay with you?"

Faith looked at her daughter as she thought about it.

"Yeah," she said, deciding that the name was perfect.

Joyce smiled.

"Good. Now, are you going to breastfeed her or should Buffy get the bottle?"

Faith frowned and glanced at Buffy, nervous. Then she looked back at Hope.

"Breastfeed her," she decided.

"Okay."

Faith turned around and made sure the baby would be safe in just one arm. Then she slowly lifted the t-shirt and moved Hope's head close to the nipple.

"Eh, she's not…" she started when Hope didn't immediately start sucking, but trailed off when Hope finally did. "Oh."

Joyce smiled and looked at Buffy.

"Come, let's give her some privacy."

"Okay," Buffy agreed.

"We'll be outside, Faith," Joyce told Faith, but Faith was too busy staring at her daughter to notice.

Joyce smiled and then she and Buffy left.

Faith quietly stared at Hope, feeling awed that she had created a life. Of course, then she realized that she was also responsible for it and that brought to her mind a whole lot of problems. But she forced herself to calm down and concentrate on the present.

When Hope was done feeding, she yawned.

Faith vaguely remembered that the babies were supposed to burp or something. She pulled down her t-shirt and turned around.

"Eh, Mrs S?" she said, startled, when she saw that Joyce and Buffy weren't inside.

Joyce and Buffy quickly entered.

"Yes?" Joyce asked.

"Eh, isn't she supposed to burp now or something?"

Joyce smiled.

"Yes. Just press her to yourself like you would be hugging her."

Faith shifted Hope in her arms.

"Like this?"

"Yes. Make sure you support her bottom."

Faith moved her left hand a bit.

"Okay, got her."

"Good, now gently rub her back until she burps."

Faith did so and was relieved when Hope burped a few moments later.

"That was fast," Joyce said with a smile.

Faith shifted Hope again so she was holding her like before. Then she stared at her for a while and a smile appeared on her face when Hope rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Why don't you put her back in the crib and let her sleep," Joyce said.

Faith looked at her and then back at Hope. She sighed and did as Joyce told her. Then she covered Hope and stared at her for a few moments until Hope apparently fell asleep. Faith sighed and looked at Joyce and Buffy.

"Are you hungry?" Joyce asked.

Faith blinked, startled.

"Eh, yeah."

"Then come, let's go downstairs."

Joyce left and Buffy followed her. Faith hesitated for a moment and then followed them as well.

"Eh, should I leave the door open?" she asked outside.

"No, we got the baby phone," Buffy told her.

"Oh."

Faith closed the door and they went downstairs.

While Joyce prepared the food, Buffy and Faith sat down and stared at one another across the table.

"I take it you've won," Faith finally said.

Buffy frowned, startled, but then she realized what Faith was talking about.

"Thanks to you."

"Not much of a help."

"You were his weakness."

Faith sighed and looked at her hands.

"Yeah."

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Why did you change your mind?"

Faith looked at her and shrugged.

"I thought I was dying and I…eh, I wanted to make up, I guess," she said and looked away.

"Oh. And now?"

Faith shrugged, sighing.

"I've no idea."

"You want to take care of Hope?"

Faith looked at her.

"Yes." She frowned. "I mean…" She trailed off, sighing. "I don't know."

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

Faith shrugged.

"The cops are probably looking for me now that the Mayor is dead. Not to mention that I'm not exactly the candidate for the Mother of the Year Award. Plus, I'm broke."

"You could stay here," Joyce suggested as she walked in.

Faith looked at her.

"Huh?" she said, surprised.

"You could stay here," Joyce repeated.

"Yes," Buffy agreed. "That way you wouldn't have to worry about a place to stay and Mom could teach you about being a mom."

Faith stared at her for a few moments.

"So that's it?" she asked. "I have a baby and now I'm suddenly off the hook?"

"Well, no," Buffy said. "I mean, eh…" She looked at Joyce. "Mom?"

"The best way for you to make up for what you've done," Joyce said, "is to do what you should've done in the first place, protect people from demons."

Faith stared at her for a few moments and then sighed.

"I still can't pay for the food."

"That's okay," Joyce said with a smile.

"But…"

"Hope has become a part of our family now and I guess you could too."

Faith stared at her for a few moments. She knew that they only had invited her to stay because of Hope and that was also the reason why she decided that she would. If she could.

"There are still the cops," she pointed out.

"Oh."

"Willow can take care of that," Buffy said. "And you can make a statement and deny everything."

Faith stared at her for a few moments, surprised that Buffy would let her off the hook.

"And the Council?"

"I'll tell Giles to tell them to leave you alone."

Faith sighed and looked at her hands.

"Okay," she said.

"I'll call him later." Buffy thought for a moment. "How did you know you had a baby?" she then asked.

Faith looked at her.

"I felt her."

Buffy frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"When I was in coma, I could feel her. I mean, I didn't know she was a girl, but I could feel her presence, slowly growing," Faith said, a smile on her face as she remembered. Then her face became serious. "And then she was gone." She gulped and looked at her hands. "I was scared out of my mind," she admitted quietly.

"Oh."

"I checked my medical chart when I woke up and then I knew for sure."

"And then you came here?"

"Yes."

"Straight from the bed?" Joyce said, surprised.

Faith looked at her.

"Yeah."

"She's a Slayer, Mom," Buffy said.

"Oh," Joyce said.

"How did you kill him?" Faith asked quietly.

"I pissed him off and then he followed me into the library. I got out and Giles blew it up."

"The library?"

"The school."

"Oh," Faith said, impressed. She thought about the Mayor for a moment and then shook her head. "What happened while I was gone?" she asked.

"Not much," Buffy said and glanced at her mother as Joyce left. "The summer's been blissfully boring. I went to college, Oz left, Angel and Cordelia went to LA, Wesley left, Spike is chipped…"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Faith stopped her. "Okay, I get the college part. Why did everyone leave and why is Spike chipped? And how?"

"Well, Angel left after we killed the Mayor."

"Why?"

Buffy sighed.

"It didn't work out between us."

Faith stared at her for a moment.

"You stabbed me over him and then you split?" she asked, upset.

"First, I didn't me… Okay, I did want to kill you at first, but then I just wanted your blood so I could save Angel. And second, I would've done it for any of my friends."

Faith sighed.

"Go on."

Buffy stared at her for a moment and then continued.

"Anyway, Cordelia left to become a star, I guess, Oz left to make peace with his inner wolf and Wesley just left. Probably because you were in coma."

"Okay."

"Spike… Well, I guess I should tell you that there's a secret military organization in town. They're called the Initiative and they study demons. They chipped Spike and they also created my newest nightmare, Adam."

"Adam?"

"Part man, part demon, part machine. Really tough."

"Oh."

"That's about it." She hesitated for a moment. "Well, except that I have a… a new boyfriend," she then added, knowing that Faith would find out anyway and hoping that she wouldn't freak out.

Faith stared at her for a few moments, feeling like screaming.

"Anyone I know?" she finally asked.

Buffy shook her head.

"No. His name is Riley and he works for the Initiative."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yes. And he knows about me being a Slayer."

"Oh."

"His boss, my psych professor at college, actually tried to kill me and then she was killed by Adam."

Faith chuckled.

"You sure know how to pick them."

Buffy smiled, hoping that Faith had calmed down.

They stared at one another for a few moments.

"I'm glad you woke up," Buffy then said.

Faith sighed.

"Me too." She thought for a moment. "How did you know about… about Hope?"

"I gave the doctors my number so they would call me in case you woke up. They called when you delivered."

"Oh."

"Here you go," Joyce said as she came with food.

"I'll call Giles and let him know you're okay," Buffy said and got up.

"Eh, okay."

Buffy left and Faith dug into the food.

"I'll get the shower ready and tell Buffy to prepare some clothes for you," Joyce said and left as well.

Faith stared after her, startled, and then continued to eat, thinking about the past and the present.

After she finished eating, Faith took a shower. Then she went to Buffy's room and dressed in fresh clothes. They weren't exactly her style, but she wasn't complaining. Then she went to Hope's room and quietly watched the girl and thought about the future.

"Faith?"

Faith jerked, startled.

"What?" she said and looked at Buffy.

"The guys are here."

Faith sighed. She cast one last glance at Hope and then followed Buffy downstairs.

When they got to the living room, Joyce, Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya were there. All except Joyce looked at Faith curiously. Faith quietly stared back.

"Well, eh, welcome back, Faith," Giles then said.

"Xander is mine," Anya said and hugged Xander's arm possessively.

Faith looked at her, startled.

"Okay?" she then said slowly.

"Just so you know," Anya added.

"Em, Willow, did Giles tell you?" Buffy asked.

"Tell me? Oh! Yes."

"Can you do it?"

Willow looked at Faith coldly.

"Just why should I?"

"Because she has changed."

"Has she?" she asked, glancing at Buffy. "Have you?" she asked Faith.

Faith thought for a moment. Had she changed? The only thing that was different about her was that she was a mother now. But did that mean she herself had changed? She thought about her thoughts about the future. She wanted to be a good mother to Hope.

"Yeah."

Willow blinked, surprised.

"See?" Buffy said.

Willow stared at Faith for a few moments, studying her.

"Okay," she then said.

"Just like that?" Xander asked.

"She has changed," Willow said.

"How do you know?"

Willow blushed a little.

"I just know."

Xander looked at Faith skeptically.

"Right."

Willow looked at Faith.

"How did you know about the baby?"

"I felt her."

Willow frowned.

"Felt her? How?"

Faith shrugged.

"I felt her presence."

"Really?" Willow looked at Joyce. "Did you feel Buffy when you were pregnant?"

Joyce smiled.

"Not until after I started to get bloated, but I'm pretty sure that's not how Faith felt Hope."

"Oh." Willow looked back at Faith. "How did it feel?"

Faith smiled a little.

"Wonderful," she said, remembering. But then she remembered how it felt when she thought the baby had died and she shuddered. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna go to bed." She looked at Joyce, hesitating.

"Can I, em, can I sleep in Hope's room?"

Joyce smiled.

"Sure."

Faith looked at her clothes.

"Eh…"

"I'll get you something to sleep in," Buffy said.

"I'll clear up your record tomorrow," Willow said.

"And I'll, eh, I'll call the Council then," Giles said.

Faith sighed.

"Thanks."

"Come," Buffy said.

They went upstairs to Buffy's room and Buffy got Faith an over-sized t-shirt.

"Here."

"Thanks. I'll, eh, I'll go change now."

"Okay."

Faith went to Hope's room and undressed. Just as she put on the t-shirt, there was a knock.

"Yeah?" she said quietly.

Joyce entered.

"Eh, Hope will probably wake up several times during the night, just so you know. She'll probably be hungry. Anyway, there's the baby phone," she said and pointed at the device, "so if there's a problem, just say my name, or Buffy's, and we'll hear."

Faith glanced at the baby phone and nodded.

"Okay."

"Good night, Faith."

"Night. Mrs S!"

Joyce stopped.

"Yes?"

Faith hesitated for a few moments, nervous.

"Thanks."

Joyce smiled.

"You're welcome."

Joyce left, closing the door behind her.

Faith took a deep breath, turned off the light and lay down. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments and then turned to her side. She stared at the crib for a few moments. Then she got up and moved the crib, which was on wheels, next to the bed. She lay back and stared at the baby through the fence. She hesitated for a few moments and then reached through the fence and gently touched Hope. She trailed her fingers across Hope's body until she reached Hope's hand. She tickled the hand with one finger and Hope's fingers wrapped themselves around her finger. Faith smiled a little, but she didn't pull her finger free. She ran her thumb across Hope's fingers and sighed.

She closed her eyes and went to sleep, hoping that she would dream of Hope instead of Finch or Professor Wirth.

The End