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 starts at the end of Angel episode Sanctuary where Buffy confronts Faith.

Tide
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"Just tell me how to make it better," Faith said quietly.

And then all hell broke loose as Collins burst through the roof door, a machine-gun in his hands. Buffy quickly tackled Faith to safety as Collins opened fire.

"I think we can make it to the other building," she said.

"Go."

"Now."

They ran, but before they reached the edge, a black helicopter appeared in front of them with Smith at the open door, a machine-gun in his hands. They changed direction, but Smith's fire caught up with them. Faith noticed that and she slowed down and stepped between Buffy and the bullets, pushing Buffy away. She gasped as the bullets hit her and then she went down.

"Faith!" Buffy cried, surprised, when she saw blood on Faith's back.

Collins and Smith then had to reload and Buffy quickly dragged Faith to safety behind a skylight. Then she quickly attacked Collins. Smith tried to fire, but he couldn't, not without hitting Collins.

Just when Buffy knocked Collins out and turned to face the helicopter, Angel came shooting through the skylight and took care of it.

"Faith!" Buffy then remembered and ran to her. "Faith?" But Faith didn't respond. "Angel!" Buffy called and Angel heard her in spite of the roaring of the helicopter. "Faith's been shot!"

Angel nodded and said something to the helicopter pilot.

Buffy then kneeled beside Faith. She wanted to help her, but she was afraid to hurt her even more. She stared at her, confused, not knowing what to feel. On the one hand, Faith had hurt her and her friends, but on the other, she saved her life.

"Buffy!" Angel called and Buffy looked up.

She saw that Angel had landed the helicopter and knocked Smith out. She guessed what Angel wanted and she carefully picked up Faith and carried her to the helicopter.

"Where is she?" Kate demanded when she arrived to the hospital.

"In surgery," Angel said.

"What happened?"

"She got shot."

"She saved my life," Buffy said quietly.

"Who are you?" Kate asked.

"A friend," Angel said, not wanting to involve Buffy. "Did you arrest those three men and the pilot?"

"Yes. Who are they and why did they want to kill Faith?"

Angel glanced at Buffy, who was staring blankly in front of herself.

"Come, I'll tell you," he said and led Kate away.

"How is she?" Buffy asked the doctor anxiously when he finally came out of Faith's room.

"Are you family?" the doctor asked.

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Yes," Angel said as he walked up behind Buffy.

The doctor thought for a moment.

"She's in coma," he said and Buffy paled, feeling guilty.

"When will she wake up?"

"I don't know. She took a bullet to the head and there was some swelling."

Buffy was quiet for a few moments.

"Can I see her?" she then asked.

"Yes, of course."

Buffy entered the room and slowly approached the bed. She remembered the last time she'd seen Faith lying in a bed, hell, she put her there. And now she put her there again. She knew it wasn't directly her fault, but she still felt responsible. And after all that had happened between her and Faith, the last thing she expected was for Faith to take the bullet for her. She stopped when she reached the bed, and just stared at Faith for a while, remembering the last time.

She hesitated for a while and then took Faith's hand. She wondered if Angel might have been right about Faith, that she really had changed. She decided to talk to him about Faith later and find out why he thought she had changed. But right now she just wanted to be with Faith for a while.

After a while, Angel took Buffy back to the office. Buffy wanted to talk to him right away, but she was too tired. She tried to get some sleep, but she couldn't, so she got up and decided to practice a bit. But when she got to the door, she heard Angel and Wesley talk, and she stopped and listened.

"How is she?" Wesley asked when he came to the office and found Angel there.

"Buffy? I don't know," Angel said. "She was pretty pissed when she arrived, but after Faith got shot…"

"How did that happen?"

"Buffy said she saved her life."

"Really?" Wesley said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"So you did the right thing after all."

Angel smiled sadly.

"Not quite. She wanted to turn herself in, not end in coma again."

"You couldn't know that the Council's hit men would come here."

"I know."

They were quiet for a few moments.

"I hope she wakes up soon," Wesley then said thoughtfully.

"Me too."

Wesley looked at him.

"No, I mean, you know what happened after she woke up after eight months. If she spends another eight months in coma, I'm afraid to think what will happen when she wakes up. She might not settle just for torturing me, she might go after Buffy." He thought for a moment. "Or she might decide and just end it all."

Angel thought about it and realized Wesley was right.

"I'll see if I can get her transferred here."

Wesley looked at him, surprised, and thought about it.

"Yes, that might be a good idea. At least she won't feel forgotten."

When Wesley left to another room, Buffy quietly returned to bed. She still didn't feel like sleeping, but sleep wasn't on her mind at the moment. She thought about her confrontation with Faith, about what Angel had told her and about what she had just heard. She had no idea Faith had tortured Wesley and it surprised her that Wesley spoke on Faith's behalf. She also thought about what Faith was like before she sent her to coma.

During the next couple of days, Buffy tried to find out as much as she could about what Faith did in LA. What she found out didn't speak highly of Faith, until Angel told her about the moment when she broke down and asked him to kill her. Buffy was shocked that it had come that far, but she would never have guessed that Faith just needed somebody to be there for her. Like Angel was and she wasn't. And the more she thought about the past, the more confused she became as she remembered things she had ignored before.

Faith slowly opened her eyes and spasmed violently. When she stopped spasming, she lay still for a few moments and let her eyes focus. She saw she was in a bright room and she was confused for a moment, especially when she saw the flowers. But then she started to remember. She remembered all the bad things that had happened to her, the bad things that she'd done, Buffy stabbing her, sending her into coma, her waking up eight months later, screwing up again, Buffy yelling at her and finally getting shot and sent to coma again. And she knew she had been in coma.

She sat up, wondering how long she had been in coma this time. She looked around and noticed a calendar. She noticed the date, did a quick math and paled, shocked. She checked the year and saw that she didn't make a mistake. Fifteen months of her life wasted. She wanted to either scream and beat something up or cry. But she was too shocked to do either. So she got up and removed the IV tubes. Then she noticed her clothes on a chair and she quickly dressed.

As she approached the door, she noticed a note on the door addressed to her, but she was still in shock from finding out how long she had been in coma, so she ignored it and simply left. Just as she walked away from the door, a nurse and a doctor came running. She turned away from them and then walked away.

When Buffy found out that Faith had disappeared from the hospital, she panicked. She knew what had happened the last time and she was afraid that it would happen again. Not to mention that Glory and the Knights of Byzantium were after Dawn and she was worried sick about her. And her mother had died as well, which made her realize just how alone Faith must have felt. And in the fifteen months since Faith was in coma, she had done some serious thinking. She wasn't completely certain how Faith had felt about her before she killed Finch, but she was pretty sure that she liked her, a lot. And then things went straight to hell. Buffy had realized that she should've stood by Faith's side and helped her deal, maybe things would've turned out differently then. And maybe they still could, if only she could find Faith before Faith did something bad or something bad happened to her. So she excused Dawn from school and they went to LA to find Faith.

Dawn wasn't exactly thrilled, she was still afraid of Faith, but she didn't mind a week off. And she did hope that Buffy was right about Faith changing, after all, she did like her a lot before shit hit the fan.

Faith aimlessly wondered around LA for a few hours and then went to Angel's office. Unfortunately, the office was gone, having been blown up. Faith just stared at the burned walls for a while, feeling like her world was crumbling. Angel was the only person who believed in her and now he was gone. She shuddered and then pushed all her feelings as deep down and she could. She knew people were after her and she decided to go down fighting what she was called to fight, vampires and other demons.

A few days after Faith woke up, Gunn brought news that someone was seriously hurting the local demon population. Angel paid a visit to Merl and found out that that someone was supposed to be a Slayer, a seriously crazy Slayer.

"Oh my god," Wesley said as they were examining the map of LA, trying to find out where Faith might be.

"What?" Buffy asked, worried.

Wesley pointed at a point on the map.

"Oh," Angel said.

"What?" Buffy asked, confused and even more worried.

"We know where she has eliminated vampire nests," Wesley explained, "and if we draw the line in the opposite direction, we end up here. This used to be our headquarters," he added when Buffy gave him a blank look. "The one that has been blown up."

"Oh." Buffy suddenly realized what that meant. "Oh! She thinks you're all dead."

"Exactly," Wesley said.

"Do we know where she will strike next?"

"No," Wesley said.

"Well," Gunn slowly started, "there is supposed to be a nest somewhere here," he said and pointed at an area on the map, "but we haven't been able to find it yet."

"And you're sure it's there?" Wesley asked.

"Pretty sure."

"Then she'll find it," Buffy said. "Let's go."

"Now?" Wesley said, surprised.

"Yes, now. Hopefully, we can find her before she finds the nest and gets herself killed."

"Oh."

"I'll come as soon as the sun sets," Angel said.

"Okay," Buffy agreed.

Faith observed the nest. It was a large one and well organized. If she cared whether she lived or died, she might have gotten help or take them out one by one as they left the nest, but she didn't. All that mattered was killing as many vampires as possible before they killed her. And she was pretty sure that this was where she would die. She was already wounded and tired from constant vigilance and she was taking bigger and bigger risks with every nest she took out. She slowly took two makeshift stakes out of her jacket and slowly approached the nest.

It was just getting dark when Buffy heard the sounds of a fight. She just knew it was Faith and she started to run toward the source. It didn't take her long to spot the broken-in door and she knew that that was the nest. She ran in and stopped, shocked, when she saw Faith.

Faith was fighting like crazy. She was in suicidal mode and she felt no physical pain. She was bleeding, but she didn't care.

Buffy quickly pulled herself together and ran to help Faith.

When the fight was over a few minutes later, Buffy noticed that Wesley and Gunn had also arrived. She also noticed that they were staring at something else. She quickly looked and saw that Faith was staring at her with anger and hate in her eyes. She had a bad feeling.

Suddenly Faith growled and attacked Buffy.

"Faith!" Wesley called, but Faith ignored him.

"Faith, it's me, Buffy," Buffy said as she defended herself from Faith.

Faith ignored and kept attacking her. Buffy knew that Faith wanted to seriously hurt her so she would kill her, but she was still worried that she might be wrong. She remained on the defensive and hoped that Faith would break soon.

After five minutes, Buffy started to get worried. Faith was barely standing, but she didn't give up.

"Faith," Buffy said.

"Come on, B!" Faith finally screamed. "Don't you want me to pay?"

"No, Faith," Buffy said and Faith stopped for a moment, surprised.

Then she screamed and attacked with renewed force.

"You bitch! I spent almost two years in coma because of you!"

"Faith!"

"I'll kill you! And then I'm gonna go after your friends and family!"

Buffy started to feel angry, even though she knew that Faith was only taunting her.

"No, you won't," she said.

Faith growled.

"You don't know me, B!"

Faith looked behind her and Buffy suddenly had a very bad feeling. Then Faith got ready to throw one of the stakes and Buffy quickly kicked her in the arm, causing Faith to miss her target, Wesley.

"Told you, B, you don't know me," Faith said, grinning maniacally. "But you were right about one thing, I'm evil."

"No, Faith…" Buffy started as she avoided Faith's roundhouse.

"Oh yes, I am. Come on, bitch, fight back! Do your job or the innocents get hurt," Faith said, throwing a meaningful glance at Wesley and Gunn. "Hey, Wes, how about a repeat performance?" she asked and grinned, causing Wesley to pale. She looked back at Buffy. "Did he tell you that I tortured him? He screamed like a little girl."

"I'm not gonna kill you, Faith," Buffy said and pushed Faith backwards.

"You nearly did it once, B, can't you finish the job?"

"You're not evil, Faith."

"Yes, I am!" Faith screamed. "You know damn well what I did! I'm a murderer! I stole your body, threatened your friends and family! What will it take you to get that? Oh, I get it. How about little Dawnie?"

Buffy paled.

"Leave Dawn out of it!" she screamed and attacked Faith, who laughed.

"And how about Mommy dearest? And that boyfriend of yours? Boy, was he a lousy fuck."

Buffy quickly calmed down as she was reminded that Faith had just spent fifteen months in coma because she saved her life.

"It won't work, Faith."

"You bitch!" Faith screamed.

She attacked Buffy, but this attack was weak, more of a cat-fight style, and Buffy quickly realized it.

"Come on, B, kill me," Faith started to plead. "Kill me! Kill me!"

Faith finally collapsed from exhaustion and Buffy caught her.

"Just… kill me," Faith sobbed, tears running down her cheeks. "Please."

"Shh, it's okay," Buffy soothed her, hugging her tightly. "You're safe now."

Faith started to cry and Buffy cried with her.

Faith cried until she passed out. Buffy then took a few deep breaths to calm down and then gently picked her up. Only then did she notice that Angel was also there. He nodded at her and she smiled back briefly.

"I hope you have a car," she said.

"Just outside," Angel said.

Buffy quickly carried Faith to the car and Angel drove them to the hotel.

When they got to the hotel, Buffy carried Faith to an empty room and undressed her. Then she cleaned up her wounds and dressed them up with bandages Angel brought her. When she was done, she cleaned up and then lay beside Faith and stared at her. She tried to imagine what Faith was going through, but she immediately started to feel sick, so she stopped. She sighed and decided to get some rest before Faith woke up.

When Faith woke up the next morning, it was still dark outside. She just stared at the ceiling for a few moments, knowing that if she started to think, she would not like it. Then she suddenly felt that she was not alone. She turned her head and her eyes went wide when she saw that Buffy was sleeping beside her. She gasped and backed off, falling off the bed in the process.

The noise woke up Buffy, who was puzzled at first, but then quickly remembered where she was.

"Faith?" she said worried, when she noticed that Faith was not there, but then she noticed her on the floor. "Faith, are you alright?" she asked, sitting up.

"How… How long?" Faith asked.

Buffy frowned.

"What?"

"How long was I out?"

"Oh. Since last night." She crawled over the bed to the other side and then got off the bed and sat in front of Faith, who backed off a bit, scared. "You're safe now, Faith. The Council hit men have been arrested and we blamed them for the killings. You're free."

Faith stared at Buffy like she was crazy.

"B-But I… I don't deserve to be free."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"You saved my life, Faith, and that proves to me that Angel was right about you, you have changed." She sighed. "You asked me how to make it better, remember?" she then asked and Faith nodded. "You can make it up by getting your life back on track. You screwed up badly, but so did I. I should've known you were scared and I should've stood by your side when you needed me."

Faith frowned, surprised.

"No, i-it wasn't your fault."

"It was, partially." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry, Faith."

Faith stared at her for a few moments. She knew that her response would probably seal her future. One way or another.

"I'm sorry too. Buffy."

Buffy smiled and took a deep breath.

"How about we start from scratch?" she then suggested. "I can't speak for the others, but as far as I'm concerned we're even."

Faith stared at her for a few moments, surprised.

"A-Are you… sure?"

"Yes." She thought for a moment. "I've had plenty of time to think about the past and I realized that we both screwed up. And now we're both sorry. I don't want to keep apologizing and I don't want you to keep apologizing either." She hesitated for a moment. "And besides, I need you."

Faith frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Some Goddess from Hell is after Dawn."

Faith frowned.

"Dawn? Why?"

"Because she's something called the Key."

"Dawn?" Faith said, surprised.

"Yeah. She appeared less than a year ago when some monks changed the Key into a person. Then they changed everyone's memories."

"Oh."

Buffy hesitated again.

"So, what do you think?"

"About what?" Faith asked, puzzled.

"About starting over from scratch."

"Oh." Faith thought for a moment. "Okay."

Buffy smiled.

"Great. So, em, are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"Okay. I'll go order us a couple of pizzas. You can take a shower in the meantime."

"Okay," Faith said and slowly got up.

"Can you manage?" Buffy asked as she also got up.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Your stuff is over there," she said and pointed at the duffel bag. "Em, do you want me to come back or will you come downstairs?"

Faith frowned.

"Where are we?"

"At the Hyperion. It's an old hotel Angel bought after some demon blew up his office."

"He's alive?" Faith asked.

"Yes."

Faith breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good."

Buffy smiled.

"I'll see you downstairs then."

"Yeah."

Buffy smiled and left. Faith then took a deep breath and looked around. She wanted to undress, but then she noticed that she was already down to her underwear. She also noticed that she was bandaged. She stared at the bandages for a few moments and then wen to the bathroom.

When Buffy got downstairs, there was no one there. She quickly ordered a couple of pizzas and then waited for Faith. So far things went well, she just hoped that they would continue to do so, especially with Wesley. And Dawn. She wanted Faith to go back to Sunnydale with them and stay at their house, but she wasn't sure how Dawn would react, especially since the last time they saw one another, Faith was holding her and their mother hostage.

Her thinking was interrupted by Faith coming downstairs.

"Feeling better?" she asked her.

"Yeah," Faith said quietly.

"Em, I kinda need a shower myself. Can you wait alone for a while?"

"Yeah, sure."

"You sure?"

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

"Yeah."

"Okay. I ordered us a couple of pizzas. Here's the money," she said and gave Faith the money. "I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Buffy ran upstairs and Faith looked around the lobby. She decided to familiarize herself with the layout while she waited.

When Buffy came downstairs ten minutes later, the pizzas had already arrived. She noticed that Faith was obviously waiting for her.

"You didn't have to wait for me," she said and Faith shrugged. "Let's eat."

They opened the boxes and Faith wolfed down her pizza.

"Want some more?" Buffy asked when Faith ran out of pizza.

"Nah, it's okay."

"You can have three pieces from mine, I'm not that hungry."

Faith looked at the pizza.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Faith hesitated for a moment and then wolfed down another three pieces.

"Thanks," she said when she saw done.

Buffy smiled.

"No problem."

There was some noise and they both looked.

"Hi," Angel said as he walked downstairs.

"Hi," Buffy said.

"You're early."

"Faith woke up."

Angel looked at Faith.

"Hi, Faith."

"Hey," Faith said nervously.

"How do feel?"

Faith wanted to say she was five by five, but she changed her mind.

"Better." She thought for a moment. "Em, Buffy said I'm free."

Angel nodded.

"Yes. We blamed those three Council hit men for the murders. We told Kate that they tried to kill you because they were afraid you knew about their dealings with the Mayor."

"Oh." Faith frowned. "Who's Kate?"

"Detective Lockley. She wanted to arrest you."

"Oh." Faith thought for a moment and then looked around. "Nice place you got here."

"Yes," Angel agreed. "The last one got blown up by a demon."

"Was everyone alright?"

"Wesley got burned, but he recovered."

"Oh."

"You'll still have to give a statement to the police. I'll call Kate later and tell her we'll come over."

Faith gulped, scared.

"Don't worry, Faith," Buffy said and took her hand into her own, startling Faith. "I'll go with you." She glanced at Angel. "Let's make up a story now."

After they were done with the police, Faith felt a bit relieved, but she still felt that it wasn't right. But then again, she couldn't make up for what she'd done if she was behind bars, as Buffy said. Buffy. Faith still didn't know what to think of her. Not only did Buffy not hate her anymore, she was actually helping her. She didn't exactly trust her yet, but she decided to let Buffy know if she needed help, after all, it was her inability to let anyone see her vulnerable that got her in trouble in the first place. And Buffy had already seen her vulnerable and she still stood by her side, and that's what made her decide to open up a bit and then see how it went.

When they got back to the hotel, Dawn was already awake and Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia were already there. Faith stopped for a moment, worried. Then she took a deep breath and entered, avoiding the four stares.

"How did it go?" Wesley asked.

"Okay," Buffy said. "She's free."

"And you're sure that's the right thing to do?" Cordelia asked skeptically.

"Yes," Buffy said firmly.

"How do you feel, Faith?" Wesley then asked and Faith looked at him with wide eyes.

"Better than I did last night," she said in a coarse voice.

"Yes, of course."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Em, I'm not really good with apologizing and stuff," she then said and gulped, "but I am sorry for what I've said and done." She paused for a moment, meeting the four pairs of eyes. "And thanks for giving me another chance."

Wesley, Cordelia and Dawn stared at her as though she had just grew another head.

"Okay, what's next?" Gunn asked.

Buffy looked at Dawn.

"I was thinking she could go back to Sunnydale with us," she said and Dawn made a face. "We could use her help against Glory."

Dawn stiffened when she heard the name.

"How do you know she won't side with her?" she asked Buffy and Faith flinched.

"She…" Buffy started.

"I won't," Faith interrupted her quietly and looked at Dawn. She hesitated for a moment. "I didn't go to the Mayor because I thought he was going to win."

"Then why did you?" Dawn asked and everyone looked at Faith expectantly.

Faith looked around nervously.

"I-I wanted to prove to Buffy that I wasn't… evil."

"I never said you were evil," Buffy said, surprised.

"I know, but the way you and everybody else acted I sure felt like it."

"Oh," Buffy said and thought about it. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Faith relaxed a bit, relieved that Buffy agreed with her.

"I knew the Mayor was evil, but he treated me like family," she continued. "He said all the right words and he made me feel important, like I mattered." She sighed. "I was ready to do anything for him, but then I started to get second thoughts about it." She looked at Buffy. "That's why I wanted you to kill me back then," she finished quietly.

Everyone was quiet.

"And when you woke up from coma?" Dawn asked curiously.

Faith looked at her.

"I was angry," she said. "Eight months of my life completely wasted and I was forgotten by everyone. And Buffy had nearly killed me over Angel, but then got herself another boyfriend." She thought for a moment and then looked at Buffy. "When I was in your body, I realized what it meant being a hero. And when you got your body back, I wanted it to end again," she finished quietly.

Everyone was quiet again and Faith started to feel very uncomfortable again.

"Em, I'd like to talk to Dawn and Faith alone now," Buffy finally broke the silence.

The Angel Investigations team quickly filed away to an adjacent office. Dawn and Faith looked at her curiously.

"Dawn, I'd like Faith to move in with us," Buffy the continued.

Dawn and Faith both stared at her, surprised.

"What?" Dawn said, surprised.

"Buffy, I don't think…" Faith started.

"Let me explain," Buffy quickly said. "Faith needs some decent place to stay and she needs company. I don't want her to feel forgotten again. And besides, what if Glory come over again and I'm not there?"

Dawn thought about it.

"Wait," Faith said with a frown. "I thought you said Glory is after Dawn."

"Yes," Buffy confirmed.

"And she was at your house?"

"Yes."

"And she didn't take Dawn?"

"No. Oh! She doesn't know Dawn is the Key."

"Oh."

"She knows I'm the Key?" Dawn asked, worried.

"Yes, I told her," Buffy said.

Dawn thought about it. She wasn't exactly thrilled by what she was and she was even less thrilled that more and more people knew about it, especially Faith, but then she remembered that Faith had saved Buffy's life.

"Okay," she said. "But she gets to do chores as well."

Buffy smiled.

"Okay."

Faith stared at the two sisters, surprised.

"You're sure about that?" she asked them.

"Yes," Buffy said firmly.

"Yeah," Dawn said less firmly.

Faith thought about it.

"Em, what about your mom? I mean…" She trailed off when she noticed the looks on Buffy's and Dawn's faces. "What?" she asked, worried.

"Mom died," Buffy said quietly and Faith's eyes went wide.

"Died? How?"

"Tumor."

Faith just stared at her, shocked. She really liked Joyce and she wanted to apologize to her, but now she would never get the chance.

"Faith, are you okay?" Buffy asked, worried, when Faith didn't move.

Faith jerked.

"Yeah, fine," she said in a coarse voice and turned away to wipe her eyes, which were starting to fill up with tears.

Buffy and Dawn noticed that and they stared at her, surprised.

"You liked her, didn't you?" Buffy then said quietly.

"Yeah," Faith said. "After all the shit I pulled, she still believed in me," she explained quietly. She took a deep breath and turned back. "I'm sorry she died."

Buffy smiled sadly, noticing that Faith's eyes were red.

"Me too. So, how about we go home now?"

"Yeah, sure," Faith said. She looked at Dawn. "And it's really okay if I move in with you two?"

Dawn stared at her for a few moments, thinking over the fact that Faith really liked her mother.

"Yeah," she then said and smiled a bit.

"Thanks."

"Let's go pack then," Buffy said. "I'll just tell Angel and the guys that we're going home."

"Okay," Dawn said and ran upstairs.

Buffy went to the Angel Investigations team and Faith started after her, thinking. Twice Buffy had used the word home. Sure, it was her home, but it occurred to Faith that the way she said it sounded like Faith was a part of that home. She didn't want to hope in vain, but she was determined to try and really became a part of it. She took a deep breath and then slowly went upstairs. She had apologized to the people in LA, but she still had the people in Sunnydale to apologize to. She was nervous about it, but she was confident that everything would turn out alright, after all, she had Buffy on her side.

The End