The Birds were talking. The full grown ones and the almost full grown ones. They were having a time. Spike made sure that they would have a good time thanks to the Pylian demon. It had been a busy week with Faith and 'Manda almost dying and all. It was nothing compared to the end of days, but a lot compared to the few sprinklings of little bads they had since Spike rose from his ashes and Buffy jumped dimensions. Maybe that was the trouble. Spike felt off his game after a year and a half of quiet. He was thankful for the quiet because of all he had going on in his own head. It didn't really seem to be a quiet world when your Love was gone forever and in some wonky dimension with the Sod you hated most on the list of people that you could not kill. Did he think it was going to last with Buffy? It hadn't even bloody started, not really. What had ever lasted? Besides him. He wordlessly took the Gin bottle from Faith. She had got it from the bartender by saying something to him. Spike wondered if she threatened to beat his ass or flirted with him. He found it delightful that it could really be either with her.

Now Faith and Spike would have to fight a new fight, without Buffy. Ah, that was what was wrong. It would be his first battle without Buffy. Things were moving on with out her, as she said they would. The bloody Roshobi Clan was wrongly after Faith and Spike. It was like having the Jehovah's Witnesses after you...or more like Mormons, as Mormons keep to themselves, but have a bit of cash. But, you know that cash has to go somewhere. They could be buying heavy artillery to kick your bloody ass and you would never suspect it because they were just smiling Gits. Gits with an off Calendar.

Many demon people set their calendars back to the drawing board after the Master rose. Spike thought it was ridiculous The Master had been out and about for all of a few weeks when Buffy had killed him. Spike had been around a lot longer, might as well set your Calendar to him if you were gonna be that stupid to set your calendar to some event that had nothing to do with you.

But, he did see the value of everyone being on the same page now. The Roshobi had a prophecy that the Slayer and the vampire with a soul were going to do something awful together and end the bloody world. The Sods were only about nine years off! But, of course there still was a Slayer and there still was a vampire with a soul in Sunnydale. So, the Roshobi had taken a stab at the current Slayer and the current ensouled vampire in Sunnydale- in the name of saving the bloody world. They didn't realize that everyone had played musical chairs. The real ones they wanted were gone. If only the Rhoshobi weren't off their time-line, maybe they could have stopped Peaches from shagging Buffy. Maybe Buffy wouldn't be in the Sod awful dimension she was in now, married to a human Peaches- of all men! Maybe Angel wouldn't own the LA pavement Spike walked on now. You could drive yourself mad with the what ifs. And the Birds were having a good time. It was worth everything smelling of Peaches. But Peaches better have some more corporate presents to give him for shagging the woman he loved ten years ago, and causing Spike and Faith to almost die now. Spike could deal with his owns sins, but he would not and could not pay for the sins of his high and mighty sire!

Spike walked behind the Birds out of habit, if some one came for them he could see it. Of course all the LA nightlife was walking by. The usual for nowadays. Birds with their big lifted up breasts that brought him back to the day. Their tight, tight, outfits that didn't. The blokes with them- various Ken dolls. It was funny to watch the way the Birds he knew walked. 'Manda and Dawn walking together as usual. He was so glad that Dawn had a friend of her very own. Birds needed that. Kennedy was the funniest. She was splitting time between Red and the Firecracker. She would be along side one and then go to the other, like a child going back and forth between Mom and Dad. When Kennedy would leave Red, Red would go to the boy. She worked it so she was never alone. When Special K left Faith, Faith walked alone. He expected that to continue until Faith had walked up to Gwen. They had just met that night, but seemed to be in some sort of mutual fascination.

He could hear everything the Birds were saying and they thought they couldn't. Humans. They remembered about the hearing.

Faith asked Gwen if she touched her would it be like she got the electric chair. Gwen said she would have to touch bare skin, but that everyone was afraid to touch her all the same. Faith made a dirty joke and had linked arms with Gwen. Spike smiled. The Firecracker was drunk, but she had just made that girl very happy in her usual forthright way. Spike had made Gwen happy in a different way, but that was over now. Gwen was with Gunn, and Spike was glad. Glad for them and glad for him. If she hadn't taken up with Gunn Spike would have gone to her again and she would have taken him. Just because they were each other's most likely options. They were both someone they other could shag and not have to worry about hurting. They were usually very far from each other. They left each other buzzed, but empty.

Faith asked Gwen about Gunn. How could they shag? The Firecracker wasted no time. Gwen said that they were able to shag because of some biofeedback training that Gunn had gotten at Wolfram. Right Spike rolled his eyes. He really hoped that Peaches hadn't dragged these good people into bad shit. But, what good would hoping do? Spike wasn't the world's Watcher. If Gunner had fallen for the magics, he was smart enough to drag himself out. Still, it was maddening. Everyone thinking Angel was the big martyr for dealing with W&H to dose his boy. Meanwhile, he got all these fancy toys and he was dragging his people down with him.

"Why don't you slow down there, Sir Drinks A lot?" Harris said.

"Sod off," Spike grumbled.

"Funny. That's just what my Dad says when I say that to him. Only he says the American version," Harris said.

Couldn't the boy just leave him alone? What difference did it make if Spike was drunk? Harris had no Ex alive to shag anymore. Spike kept forgetting the girl was dead. The last time he had been here he referred to her as living. Spike thought she would just come around the corner and start nagging him at any moment with her usual prattling demands. Why did he hang out with Faith more than her? Did he want to have sex with Faith and not her? Why didn't he want to have sex with Faith? Well, then why couldn't they have sex? It wasn't that he cared about Xander's feelings, was it? Would he protect her? Would he help her? He said he would. He hadn't. That silly Bint never got to be just a girl.

"Maybe you should drink more, Harris. It would make you a bit more entertaining," Spike said to the boy.

"Well, fine. I'll be the one that drinks and you and Faith can be the ones that fight for our lives, since you have all the super hero power and all... It would be a shame if you were both tanked and say... a demon clan was trying to kill us... Oh, wait.."

"The Roshobi may have money, but they aren't too bright of a group. By the time they figure out we're in LA we'll be gone. Besides, I can fight a good fight with a little sauce in me...maybe even better," Spike said.

"Hey, I know this tune. People are usually singing it while they are wrapping their car around a tree...KILLING EVERY INSIDE THE CAR----"

"SHHHH!" Spike demanded.

Gwen had asked if Faith ever fancied Spike. He knew she didn't, but thought her answer would be amusing. She would say something about just wanting to use his parts. No. Instead, Faith just answered by going on about her man and how great he was. How he kept her balanced, like Kennedy kept Red balanced with her problems with the magics. It was true. Wood did keep the Firecracker from exploding. He'd be brassed off if he were here seeing Faith drink like a bad fish.

Wood was probably right. The Firecracker's mother had a huge problem with the sauce. She talked about her mother in little snippets. Faith's mother seemed to be a blast, but then he realized her Mum seemed to be too much of a blast. In all her stories it always seemed like the Mum was taking Faith to party with her or she had moved them into some bloody commune or something. Then, Faith would be making a joke about how her mother was always sauced, but the joke never seemed cruel like her other jokes. Any Git knew not to ask about it further. The mother seemed to know what a special girl she had. She was the one who originally called her "Firecracker." Faith said that another man had carried on the name, and that was the only thing she missed about him. Spike explained that if that was the case she didn't really miss this bloke at all, but her Mum.

"That's right. Shoosh me. I'm only talking about---" Harris was nagging into Spike. Spike almost asked if Harris had taken over his woman's job, but decided against it.

"I got it, Boy. Look my eyes are on them... and you. It's five by bloody five, all right?" Spike sighed.

"And what he doesn't got I can take. No Roshowbi or whatever are crashing this party," Spike turned and saw Gunn was walking behind them. Spike hadn't heard him, and that wasn't right.

"Did you just say five by five?" Harris smiled.

"Fi's little slogan is catchy," Smile found that he was smiling.

"Okay, but if you start saying 'I do be the pitty-est girl' or 'I got mad skills, yo'..." Harris teased.

"No, we all know you're the prettiest girl," Spike said.

"It's not prettiest! It's pitty-est," Kennedy, corrected him. She was a bit tanked herself.

"Hey Faith! I do be the pitty-est girl!" Kennedy yelled to Faith.

"No, I doooo-be the pitty-est girl!" Faith howled back and they both started laughing.

"What's that about?" Gunn asked.

Spike shrugged. There were some things he didn't know. It was some joke between the two of them. It was good that Faith thought she was the best at something, even if it was being the prettiest. It wasn't as if it wasn't true.

"Oh you should see the movie 'Gia'. It is so good!" Kennedy said to Gunn.

They entered the big hotel through its grand French doors. The place was huge. It didn't surprise him that Peach lived here with only a handful of others. The boy liked his glamour and space, and the place still stank of him. The lighting had given the place that antique-like haze that used to be created naturally by oil light. Spike took a drink before handing off the gin bottle to Faith. She went up to the balcony with Kennedy. They had a habit of wandering away together like Red and Buffy did. Red was often frowning when they did. Now Red must know how her Glinda felt when she would wander off with Buffy, but Red seemed to take it harder than Glinda. Glinda had been the stronger one despite her dying, and all of Red's power. Sometimes Spike could hear her power surging through her. It was a little unsettling. Maybe that was why Spike didn't talk to Red much, that or her over-use of puns.

The Pylian demon came in and seemed to be keeping Red company. He had driven the eight blocks, unlike the rest of them. He said he was "so over walking in LA." Spike had no idea how this Lorne fellow survived in what he had heard about Pylia. There was one Bird Spike did talk to, Gwen. She was looking at some binder from behind the check-in counter.

"You aren't going to do business now, are you, Pet? Seems like your making friends," Spike smiled at her.

She had left her shoulders bare. Maybe she hoped some Sod would be tacky enough to touch one and get bolted across the room. Spike was tacky enough, or drunk enough. He wanted to remember the physical spark she gave. It might be the only spark he'd ever get again.

He touched her shoulder softly and she stiffened for a second. Had she forgot he was a "freak" like her? Then she smiled remembering. She was tingly and it almost hurt in a good way. It was nice to feel something.

"I want to see how much cash flow I'm getting for these two weeks. Angel has booked the whole place. He's my best customer so far...the guy who sold the place to me," She said.

"Hey, man! Quit pilfering my juice" Gunn grumbled. He had noticed Spike was touching his girl to get the spark. He wasn't really upset. But, Spike realized it was a bit rude.

"Sorry, that's just the only spark I'll ever get now. But, you're lucky, mate. You don't have to worry 'bout anyone else touching your girl...'Cept me, a bloke that wouldn't do it behind your back," Spike laughed.

"That's true ain't it?" Gunn beamed.

"As if I'm okay with you touching me in front of his back... I'm so over you fang-boy," Gwen joked.

"No, you were over me a month ago," Spike laughed.

"'Ey!" Gunn smiled and shoved Spike.

"Why is it bad she was over him a month ago?" Dawn asked.

Then Gunn went to the Victorian knock-off cabinet and threw a sword to Spike the way only a bloke who had experience throwing swords could.

"Oooh! Gunner's gonna bring out some of his black magic kick ass on me," Spike giggled a bit

tipsily as the swords clanged together.

"It may be black and magic and kick ass...but not the way you're talkin' about, Bro" Gunn said.

"Oh c'mon! You did a little somethin' somethin'... Dipped into the company till. Got re-vamped" Spike goaded in good nature.

"I did a little sssumthen sssumethen... Okay, Slurry... Why don't you have another?" Gunn laughed as he knocked Spike back.

"Good idea! 'Ey Slaya!" he yelled up the stairs.

"'Ey English!" Faith yelled back. Suddenly springing up and looking down at them from the balcony.

"Oh!" Lorne jumped "Jesus Jones! She scared me...Sorry, I've been through a bad spell in this place...Actually, several bad spells. How did you know she was up there?"

"I may lose sight but I make sure she's never out of mind" Spike smiled pointing to his nose.

"Gunner says have another, Fi! The crazy bastard!" Spike yelled to Faith. Suddenly a bottle came hurling down from the balcony.

"Oh! Glass objects are being hurled again!" Lorne winced. Spike reached out his arm and caught it.

"Sorry, last time you were around glass and alcohol it was really scary for me," Lorne said.

"I was the one doing the hurling, Honey... I have better aim than Spike," Faith said.

"I've never really had the pleasure of seeing your aim accept with Wesley and a needle and that was much scarier," Lorne said.

"Wha?" Spike said after slurping some more gin.

What crazy thing had the Firecracker done here? She had become a good girl again by the time Angel acquired this place. She had only been invited to it to save his ass. Spike knew that.

"Hey!" Faith exclaimed. "Watch me do a back flip on the railing."

"Like we haven't seen that before!" Spike rolled his eyes

"You think you could do better with your drunk ass?" Faith scoffed

"I could do it powerless... I had gymnastics," Kennedy said.

"Hey, I have an idea! Let's use our inside voices. This is a hotel," Xander suggested.

"Oh... Angel booked out the whole place for two weeks. He does that sometimes. When he and some of the others work long hours they want to stay here and they don't want people bothering them," Gwen told them.

"Why doesn't he just go home?" Dawn asked.

"He bought one way out on the water and sometimes the traffic is a bitch he says. But I think sometimes he just misses the familiar haunt," Gwen said.

"I get that. Lots a stuff went down here," Faith said.

"I don't. A familiar haunt is right. A lot of BAD stuff went down here. What could Angel want to be reminded of?" Lorne wondered.

"It's just another way for Claudius to spend his money...He wants to go to the place he could finally get out of that's the bloody stupidest thing...Wait Ang is the only one here sleeping?" Spike grinned.

"Catch, Fi!" he threw up the bottle. Faith dove off the balcony to catch the bottle.

"You were really supposed to catch it. It was supposed to shatter and wake up Angelus... Drop. I'll catch you," Spike whined to Faith who was hanging by one arm from the balcony railing. She had the bottle in the other hand.

"No way! You'd letter ME shatter on the floor just to piss Angel off!" Faith said as she pulled herself back up to the balcony. Pity he really wanted to see if he could catch her from that far up.

"Oh ye of little faith," Spike hiccupped. She didn't really think that, or maybe she did.

"God! He IS drunk. He's talking like a Renaissance faire guy again," Gwen sighed

"I'd rip a man's innards out if you asked me to, because you- you are a great fuckin' Slaya and a good friend" Spike said to Faith.

"You'd rip a man's innards out if Gunn asked you to in this state," Faith scoffed.

"True, but I would have to know it was a very bad man... Like the bartender who cut me off."

"Okay, he doesn't have some get drunk and lose the soul curse. Does he?" Lorne asked.

"No, just ignore him. It's a skill we all develop, and then you're never scared or offended again." Red said. SHE was scared of HIM. She could rip his eyes out of their sockets just by saying the right words.

Spike had wordlessly picked up the sword and he and Gunn started fighting again.

"Ah, I can't do that. He's too damn interesting... I think I'll just go. Bye all!" Lorne called.

"Oew! Ride. Need a ride. I know I do a good job of faking it, but I ain't really sober either," Gunn said, as he easily talked and kept sparing with Spike. No normal man could do that.

"That doesn't mean I'll have to be faking it later, does it?" Gwen smirked.

"Hell no!" Gunn said. No normal man could shag Gwen either.

"Sod! You're leaving. When I finally have a worthy sparring partner," Spike grumbled to Gunn.

"Hey, I think Spike is finally over B and into someone new!" Faith giggled.

"Damn, Faith was faster than me and I'm not drunk. Maybe I should drink more," Xander said.

"Sod all of you!" Spike grumbled. Lorne Gunn and Gwen left laughing.

Spike went up to the balcony with Faith and Kennedy. The Firecracker liked to climb up in high places and stand on the edges. She knew her strengths. She was actually a better climber and jumper than Buffy. But, Buffy had been the best fighting Slayer. Buffy WAS the best fighting Slayer. She was just in a dimension safe from the First.

"This thing is wider than a lot of balance beams," Kennedy said. She was the one balancing on the rail. She liked to show Faith what she could do.

"What is all this?" an English bloke asked. Oh. It was the Sodding Watcher.

He came out into the lobby in a bathrobe. Why was he here? Spike ducked into the shadow of the balcony. The less the Git saw of him the better.

"Hey, Wes! What are you doing here?" Faith waived as the Sod looked above him clueless.

"I might ask you the same... Willow? Oh today is the day that you were all to arrive and stay here, right," He sighed.

"Well, don't sound too happy, Wes," Faith laughed.

Spike's hands balled into fists. The Sod didn't even know when his Slayer was coming, and he didn't seem to care. It was no wonder Faith had gone dark. She was like most Slayers. She had come to the table with nothing. No Mom, no kid sister, no friends, and that is what this Sod gave her too. She was very tight lipped about the whole thing, but one day he would find out exactly what happened with her. He was sure that this Git would be on the end of it.

"I am... I just didn't know that you would be bringing so many... Miss, you should get down from there that isn't very safe," He said to Kennedy who was on the railing. He was already telling people what to do in that Nancy-boy way.

"I'm fine. I did this in Slayer's in Training camp everyday," Kennedy said as she continued to balance. K wouldn't take orders from some Git and neither would Faith.

"YOU were in SIT camp? Who are you?" He asked.

"Why?" She asked. Good girl.

"That's my girlfriend. Isn't she cute?" Red said all too happily.

"You're girlfriend... You mean--- Well, I was on the Council so I may know.... your girlfriend?" He had turned to Willow. He didn't seem to be so Anti-Council now.

"Kennedy. Kennedy Ordonez," She said.

"Kennedy Ordonez! Well, I feel a bit old now. You the little girl that got sent home for short sheeting that girl's bed...Look at you know. Willow's - Willow's--" He stammered.

"Lesbian lover? The SIT camp was so boring. I wanted to leave." Kennedy said.

"There was a Slayer's in training camp! Gee, thanks for the invite Council dicks! I guess they didn't know about me, like so many of those other potentials. " Faith said.

"They couldn't find you, Faith. They tried. But you were going from foster home to foster home... or running away," The Watcher said.

"They knew? They knew what my life was like before my first Watcher found me? She never told me. How much did they know? Why didn't they try harder to help-to find me?" Faith asked. Spike could hear her voice tremble. He could hear her grip the wood of the balcony banister hard.

"I don't know. I'm not THAT old. I was probably in college then. The Council always seem to know about the good strong potentials early on," The Watcher went on.

"What do they know? What do YOU know about me, Wes? Did you always know everything and you never told me?" Faith asked. The banister was groaning. The things when you squeezed them too hard.

"You know what I know. I don't understand this, Faith...I was the one you let lose on the most, of course I'm going to be the one that knows just how troubled you were. I was there when you decided to put yourself away ---"

"Not now! I don't care about now!" Faith yelled.

"Faith, that isn't now. You went to jail years ago. That is long over." Kennedy said.

"What do you all know about then? About-about the time after my Mom and before I was called. Have you always known?" Faith demanded now.

"I knew about the foster homes and running away...Faith, if there is something---"

"Did they already decide I was no good? Is that why they didn't try to help me get away from them? Did they think I just brought it all on myself? I need--" Faith was on the edge of tears Spike could take no more.

Spike had planned on waiting for this to end. Then he was going to get Watcher boy alone for a little Q&A. But, the bloke was just too infuriating. He made all of Spike's blood go to his fists. Spike threw the gin bottle down and it shattered, making them all jump.

"Oh shit!" Harris yelped. Harris was quick. He was the first to realize that Spike was going to hurt the Watcher, and Spike was sure Harris knew why.

"Don't worry. I can use magic if he gets bad," Red whispered. Let her try.

"Just what we need you going psycho because he is going psycho," Dawn said. The Bit had never fully trusted Spike again after he did that awful thing. But, she couldn't understand what was going on here. Allowing a horrible thing to happen to a girl was just as bad as doing it.

"YOU SODDING COUNCIL BITCH! I SWEAR TO BLOODY GOD! YOU ARE ALL AS BAD AS ANY---" Spike was screaming in vampire face as he looked down at the Watcher.

"Spike! Do you ever want me to trust you again?" Dawn demanded. It made Spike pause long enough to let the Watcher get a word in.

"Oh, yes...you're here too. How lovely," The Watcher spat unaffected. So, he thought he was all big and bad? Right, so big and bad he left his Slayer and dug her out of the trash when he needed her. Spike went to jump off the balcony.

"Spike!" Faith yelled as she stood on the balcony railing and grabbed his shoulders.

"I don't think I feel good! I think that demon is making me sick," Faith said.

He quickly went back into human face. The demon? They knew it was going to come back. Spike sat with her trying to make that bloody light come out of him again. He could only get a little glow. He was angry with himself because he could feel part of himself resisting it. But, why would the shadow demon come now? There was no threat. Well, there was the sodding ex-Watcher. He WISHED the demon would come for him.

"No!" he insisted grabbing her hands, "You just don't feel good because The Sodding Council upset you, and you're sauced. Do you wanna Ralph?" he asked feeling her head.

He wished he could make the light come out for other kinds of healing for her.

"I know I do! Get your hands off her!" Wesley yelled up to the balcony.

"Well, don't we have a dirty mind, you little bugger?" Spike demanded again in vampire face. Did HE ever put his hands on Faith? If he did Spike would rip his throat out even if Faith literally asked for it. How old was she when the two of them met 16? Who did this asshole think he was, Angel?

"No! No! I see it," Kennedy gasped, "It's a thing I can see as a once Slayer. Faith is in terrible danger from the demon and she needs your help!"

"What?" Spike demanded in human face now. Bloody Hell! What now? Didn't everything always happen at once? Why couldn't they just have no demon or demon clan to worry about? Then he could get to the bottom of this whole dead-beat Watcher thing. Get to the bottom of the Watcher's entrails.

"Uhh..." Faith paused, "It's true cough, cough...I'm fading fast...Hold me, K."

Spike looked concerned. Faith fell into Kennedy's arms dramatically.

"Oh, no! Not now Faith... Not after you finally became redeemed and found true love! It's just too 'Moulin Rouge'!" Kennedy pretended to cry and then laughed as Faith pretended to cough.

"Spike, you're her only hope!" Kennedy said and laughed so hard she fell over with Faith.

"See this is why I love her," Willow whispered to Xander.

"Sod you both! That is a cruel thing to do to a bloke when he is responsible for your life! Did you ever hear about 'the boy who cried Wolf'" Spike grumbled. Birds. The two of them together were nothing like Buffy and Red. Well, no one was like Buffy.

"What?" Watcher boy demanded, "What demon? How are YOU responsible for her life?"

"That was so cool! I was thinking 'This isn't real. It's too 'Moulin Rouge ' and then you said it!.... and Spike is all vamp face- scared little boy face, vamp face- scared little boy face...Like a flashing VCR. I've never seen anything so funny in my life!...Oew look out for the broken glass." Amanda said.

"Does HE always get them to behave this way?" the Git demanded referring to the laughing Birds. What, Slayers and potentials should be made miserable?

"No, they pretty much behave like this on their own if they're drunk," Amanda told him.

"They're drunk?" Watcher-boy grumbled.

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, imagine if they were acting like that sober," Dawn said to him.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"You don't remember me? I'm Buffy's sister Dawn," Dawn said. How would the Git remember Dawn? He barely remembered his own Slayer.

"Dawn, yes... Faith, what is going on? Did you say a demon was after you?" Watcher yelled up at Faith.

"Look, you can see his bald spot from up here," Spike laughed.

"Really? Where? NO! That's just his part," Faith said as they looked down at the Watcher, who looked ever so angry now.

"I can understand if you don't remember me. I mean, all those memories are fake, but beating you at cards all those times was fun anyway," Dawn said to the Watcher.

"The Slayer and her vampire... Two deviant lushes, if the Council hadn't already exploded it would now." The Git murmured. Humans always forgot about the hearing.

"Don't worry. We help Spike and Faith and we don't drink. Besides, the Hellmouth is closed. So, we can par-tay a little. Don't you think?" Amanda asked.

"Who are you?" Council-boy asked haplessly.

"I'm Amanda" she said.

"Oh." he said "Well, so we have children guarding the ex-Hellmouth as usual."

"Wes, what's wrong with you?" Faith demanded as she suddenly heard him.

"He's a sodding Watcher that's what! They are all control freaks... Too bad their play house got torn down." Spike smirked. Wesley glowered at Spike.

"Forgive me if I'm not cheering you for rolling around with an emotionally unstable vampire in front of teenagers" he said dryly.

"Oh. But you busted me out of jail to do it with Angelus" she joked.

"You don't own her anymore, Cowboy. You failed," Spike smirked.

"Spike! Wes doesn't want to own me, if anything he wanted to be rid of me," Faith said.

"That's not-" Wes began.

" The only one who ever owned me is my Mom...and Robin. If I have to be owned by anyone, it's Robin. He's a great man. Like Wes here, he hates my social skills, but he's full of surprises and he never lets me down," Faith said.

"You're man is lucky to have you. You should be rid of him if he criticizes you like that," Spike snapped. Was there something in Robin Wood that reminded her of this Watcher? Did she like to be judged harshly?

"He doesn't criticize. I just know I can be a little harsh."

"Bollocks. Forget him." Spike growled.

"Oh, listen to you. Mr. Hold-a-Torch-to-the girl-who-used-me-as- sex-slave."

"Ya know, Wood might have a point about those social skills," Xander said.

"That's totally different. I was an evil killer with a beautiful brilliant woman. I wasn't worthy of what I did get! She believed in me," Spike smiled sadly.

"Uh... Hello. Former evil killer here that has an awesome guy believing in them," Faith said.

"Ah, don't even talk to me about evil! What do you know? You deserve a man that forgives and loves all your parts," Spike said shoving her. She was never evil. She had never even touched, tasted, or smelled evil. She had just been lost, or thrown away.

"Ah, don't talk to me about love. What do you know? You deserve a woman that forgives your evil parts," Faith said shoving him.

No. He deserved nothing. That was why Buffy was gone.

"I know! Let's open the weapons chest and break things that are expensive and not ours!" Faith gasped suddenly.

"Yeah!" Amanda said.

"You did say you had the social skills, right?" Xander asked.

"You know, sod your man. You're the perfect woman!"

"Oew! Dibs on the mace!" Kennedy said from Willow's lap.

"You always get the mace" Amanda said.

"Again I must be a parade rainer and say that tromping around with deadly weapons is a bad idea," Council-boy said as Spike went back to the weapons cabinet.

"What? Gwen said she wanted to remodel the hotel anyway," Faith said. She walked over to the weapons cabinet.

"Look! Korans and I don't mean no stinkin' bibles!" Xander beamed as he pulled out two swords.

"Would you just stop!" Ex-Watcher yelled. Good everyone was ignoring him. Spike did like having something of a gang behind him again.

"You always guard your eye socket. What you want to do is this to keep the actual eye," Spike was explaining to Harris as they played with the swords.

"Why am I not surprised someone lost an eye?" Wesley grumbled.

"Oh. Just give me an excuse, Council boy!" Spike grumbled back at Wesley, Suddenly giving him attention with a sneer.

"Yeah, if Spike is willing to throw down over me, you know he's looking for an excuse," Xander said.

"Go right ahead!" Watcher-boy demanded. .

"Why is there yelling?" Angel said grumpily as he looked down from the balcony. Great they had awoken the usurper of the throne of La-La Land.

"Angel! I thought I wouldn't see you until tomorrow." Faith smiled.

"It IS tomorrow. I have so much to do here in tomorrow.... I have to bring a whole television network down. So, why the yelling? I swear heads are gonna roll," Angel grumbled.

"Come down here and I'll show you whose," Spike said as he looked up at Angel and blocked Xander's hits.

"Angel, make them stop. They are using the weapons, and the vampire is drunk and crazy." Watcher whined to his Keeper.

"Spike drunk and crazy and playing with phallic shaped weapons. I'm shocked," Angel said blandly.

"You're the big bad demon hunter. Why don't you stop us?" Spike sneered.

"I have two styles of fighting demons- maim and kill. I thought Angel may be nicer about it," Wesley spat.

"If we're already maimed do we get to go straight to killed?" Xander asked.

"I'm only talking to the vampire, but you should take me a little bit more seriously," Wes said as he took out a huge cross.

"Wes, what the hell is up your ass? What is the deal with the two of you?" Faith grumbled and stepped between Spike and Wesley.

"Hi Angel," Willow waived.

"Hi Willow! Hi Dawn... Dawn, you got so big!" Angel said.

"Hey...Angel. I'm here too...Remember Xander? They guy you were going to feed to Spike?" Xander said.

"I said 'hi' to you didn't I?" Angel sighed.

"I'm Amanda. I was a Slayer for a little while. I fought the final battle with Buffy," Amanda said.

"I'm sorry I missed it," Angel said.

"And I'm Kennedy... and could you call your Brit off of ours, please!" Kennedy said tersely. Spike really did like the girl.

"I don't need him called off. He doesn't know who he's dealing with!" Spike growled and grabbed the cross and threw it.

"Ow!" Amanda yelped as the cross hit her.

"Oh, sorry 'Manda. You all right?" Spike said looking at his burnt hand.

"We need to figure out why this idiot is still a vampire...the Sanshu should have cleansed his bloody soul of it, you know...Better yet, why is he even alive. It seems the Sanshu was supposed to cleanse him by burning the demon part of him out of him...The human part couldn't survive that... It's pretty unsettling he's here," Watcher was talking to Peaches now.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Thank God, my bloody demon survived the bloody Sanshu... Who'd want to be an ordinary sod like you? Even if I was I'd kick your-" Spike started in on Wesley. Same ol' Spike picking fights with every guy that reminded him of himself, and the ones that didn't.

"Hey, I have an idea! Let's go to the training room. Spike, Kennedy needs to work on her round kicks." Faith said.

"She really does. They're bloody pathetic... Kennedy what's wrong with you..." Spike's voice trailed off as the older girl took Spike to the training room with that cute skinny younger girl and Dawn.

"I'll show you pathetic," The older girl snapped.

"Oh balls!" Spike yelled.

"Don't be such a baby. I'm sure they'll be fine in a minute," she could be heard saying.

"Eow! We better get up there," Willow said nervously and gripped Xander's arm.

"Honey!" Willow yelled to Kennedy, "We talked about hitting boy's in their tender parts. It really does hurt them...Back me up Xander."

"No, I'm afraid," Xander said, but he allowed Willow to pull him upstairs.

So, Spike and Wes still hated each other. Big surprise there. Angel was too tired for this. Luckily, Faith had taken control. She had learned the trick of controlling Spike. Tell him he has to go help the women. Drusilla had been a master at it. It had gotten them out of a lot of trouble back in the day.

"You having fun being a bloody babysitter to a psycho?" Wesley demanded from Faith. Well, someone had to do it, and Faith seemed to be doing a good job. Angel really hoped Wes would not start obsessing about this whole Spike and Faith thing again.

"K's a little ruff around the edges, but once you get to know her she's a doll," Faith laughed.

"I'm not talking about that girl. I'm talking about William the Bloody!" Wesley snapped.

"I don't get you, Wes. You bust me out of jail and tell me to channel my inner killer. Five seconds ago you threaten to maim or kill my friends,...which is usually my job." Faith laughed.

"...And now you're saying Spike- the guy who saved the world is the psycho? You're doing what they told me in murder rehab was 'splitting.' You have to combine slick Wesley with Princess Margaret."

Angel laughed. It was true.

"This isn't about me! He can bring out your worst attributes. He is like an extreme version of all your weaknesses. He's reckless, ruthless, ruled by his emotions and entirely unapologetic," Wesley said.

"What do you know about my weaknesses? Wasn't all that reckless and ruthless ruling stuff you were telling me to channel to take down Angelus?" Faith demanded.

"Right... and it failed. Besides, those were different times."

"You and my man must be in the same secret club," Faith sighed

"Look, B always had her ass covered by a souled vamp, and she was the best Slayer," she said.

"I don't know about Buffy, but I know about you... and you need someone with a strong moral character, so you aren't seduced by your own darkness," Wesley said softly now.

"Well, it looks like B's not the only one you know nothing about... and your last plan for me didn't fail... I decided not to do it. It was my idea to bring in the party drug instead, remember?"

"Faith. I know things about this vampire that you can't---"

"Like what? How he used to pound people with railroad spikes? How he used to rip people's lungs out, especially if they had TB... Or how he attacked Buffy in the bathroom?..." Faith went on.

Okay Angel didn't want to listen to this. It would make him get really pissed off all over again. Instead he peered into the training room. He watched the cute skinny girl fight with a sword. She was pretty good. She would have been a great Slayer. She seemed really young. She had to be way younger than Buffy when he...

"...No offense, Angel," Faith sighed

"What? What did you say?" Angel asked Faith. He didn't think he wanted to know.

"He brags to you! Does he bring out his scrapbook? Does he show you before and after photos of the Lindberg Baby" Wesley demanded. Okay, good back to Spike.

"Brags to me? You really are clueless. He confides in me. He doesn't want to pretend that none of it ever happened. He wants to own up to it. He feels like shit. You don't know what it's like," Faith grumbled.

"How do you know? If I did awful things I wouldn't be sharing every detail of them with-" Wesley began.

"When Spike is upset he whines...and talks...a lot. It's annoying, but harmless... The Lindberg Baby? That was him? That doesn't seem like... Oh, let me guess Drusilla wanted the baby, right?" Angel asked.

Angel knew Spike would never hurt Faith. He would never hurt Drusilla when he was evil. He would do anything Dru asked. If Spike had loved Buffy (or at least if he thought he did) and Buffy asked him to help Faith Spike would do it, or die trying. (Angel could hope.)

"Look, just be careful, Faith. That is all I'm saying... I'm sure if you were awoke to me rolling around with a surly drunk woman you'd say the same thing to me," Wesley smiling weakly now.

"If it were you? I think I would be in shock too much to say anything," she smiled with a sigh.

"Maybe it's you that doesn't know me. I think we have a lot more in common than you think," Wesley said. Faith looked at him like she was trying make heads or tales of a far off street sign.

"Fi! Faith! Where are you?" That older girl was yelling. It went through Angel like nails on a blackboard. How could Faith not hear that? People were really deaf.

"Faith," Angel said, "That girl Reagan wants you."

"You mean Kennedy?" Faith asked.

"Kennedy. Reagan. Nixon, Whatever, I'm tired," Angel said. Faith went up upstairs and into the training room.

"'You need someone with a strong moral character?' 'I know things about this vampire you can't imagine?' Are you okay, Wes?" Angel asked.

Wes was getting kind of preachy. Didn't he remember that was what pushed Faith away?

"You we're listening! Well, you could have said something," Wesley grumbled.

"Like what? I couldn't really brag on about my fine moral character. I think the reason I was able to help Faith was because I knew what it was like to lose mine. You should remember that," Angel said.

"What is that supposed to mean? And can I just ask what is going on? You hate this vampire and you hire him for a mission to handle your son. If I remember correctly you weren't pleased with the way he handled that mission, and you regretting bringing him in... Now he is in the hotel smashing things about with Faith, and a bunch of girls and you're sleeping through it. Don't you care about her anymore?" Wesley demanded now.

There were about a million things Angel cared about. The first one was now getting some sleep. The last thing he wanted to do was explain or think about Spike.

"I was pissed off at the way he handled the mission with Connor, I expected as much. But I never said I regretted bringing him into it," Angel said.

Angel wanted to kill Spike in that parking lot after Spike had took the time to talk to Connor while he still remembered who he was. But, Angel saw that his son was now okay. Spike was the only one strong enough to give Connor the forgetting pill with out hurting him. Angel hired Spike because he knew what the vampire's motives would be for taking the job. It would be fun for Spike to have something to hold over his Sire, and Spike wanted the money for Dawn and Faith. When you are hiring people almost as powerful as you, you had to know them, you had to understand their

motives.

"Ever since Cordelia took off you have taken her place as the one who baffles me," Wesley said

"Look, do you really think I'd let Buffy or Faith or Buffy's sister and whoever go off with him if I thought anything would happen that I couldn't see coming? Don't worry Wes; I have it all under control... Besides, it's nice to have kids in the house again, and not have to worry about them being kidnapped or killing someone," Angel sighed.

Then he turned to the direction of the training room. That cute little girl was going to take someone's eye out if he didn't say something. Maybe this is what it would have been like if Connor had actually grown up here. That would have been nice.

"Amanda, is that your name? Well, um, I really don't think you should be training with a mace. A mace is a kind of do or die object, okay? Thanks," he said.

The girl had smiled at him and listened. Maybe he should have had a daughter.

"Maybe I could apologize for kidnapping your son, if I could bloody remember it!" Wesley snapped

"That wasn't what I was saying!" Angel snapped.

"Well, I guess I'm a little paranoid after learning that you would just replace our memories like that," Wesley said.

"I had no other choice. Besides you know everything that happened now," Angel said.

"It would have been nice if you trusted me enough to tell me before that dirty Cockney did."

"Well, it would have been even better if you-" Angel stopped himself with a sigh. No, he couldn't hold something against Wes that Wes couldn't remember doing.

"Ya know, let's not do this. I'm sorry that I kept things from you. It wasn't due to lack of trust," Angel said.

"I know. I understand. It's this damn reconstruction project with the damned Council. It's driving me insane. I thought I could start from scratch, build the Council up from the ground right, but it turns out many of the new people involved are as rigid as the old, and I'm fighting them tooth and nail all day," Wesley sighed.

"Well, I'm sure your fighting the good fight," Angel said.

"Thanks. Making a Watcher's Council the way it was intended to be is a bit of a dream come true. I devoted my whole young life to that place to be a Watcher, and now I can do it my way, and all those years won't feel wasted... I tell you, Angel, I questioned this whole Wolfram and Heart deal more than anyone, but now it seems like the best thing that's happened in a while. I'm glad that you were there to convince me to be part of the team again," Wesley said.

"You were never not part of the team," Angel said.

It was true. Angel needed Wes. God! To think he was this lonely stuffy guy Angel took in to be nice after Doyle died. Doyle. Cordy. Angel thought he had been through so much back then, now...

"Aw, Mum and Dad made up. I was so worried," Spike grinned.

Spike was leaning against the wall right next to Angel. Angel hadn't even heard or smelled the little shit. He WAS tired.

"Why do you fucking do that?" Angel demanded. He hardly ever swore any more. It wasn't very professional. There was just something about Spike that made him.

"Do what? Not become selectively deaf when some pounce is having a snit that I'm going to hurt my girls? By the way, you've been away from home too long, mate. I'm no Cockney." he asked and then took a drag on his cigarette.

HIS girls again! Who did Spike think he was Fagan? Mrs. Garrett?

"No," Angel yelled, "lurk! You lurk!"

"Smoke, I smoke, and I don't want the kiddies getting it second hand. So, I come out here and find your Missus complaining about me. I must say I do see what you may like about him. He's much more easy going than Darla, and he accepts apologies a lot quicker than Buffy ever did," Spike said as he blew smoke in Angel's face. He giggled when Wesley and Angel glared at him, and went back into the training room.

Angel was so not in the mood for this. Would the kids be upset if Angel put Spike's head through a wall? Probably.

"Well, even if you're no Cockney you're still dirtier than an out-house house rat!" Wesley yelled after Spike.

He had to tell Wes that Spike was like that mouthy schoolyard kid, the best thing to do was to ignore him or beat the shit out of him.

"Keep your knees bent!" Spike ordered to someone in the training room.

"You know, we can just have him killed and make it look like an accident. It wouldn't take long, a few calls.." Wesley suggested.

"I'm ahead of you in considering that... But now I'm going to bed," Angel said.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Spike stood behind Dawn as he helped her move her sword against Amanda. Faith was sparring with Kennedy and Xander. When Spike saw Council boy come in.

"She's going so easy on you," Kennedy laughed and knocked Xander over. Spike really liked her.

"Okay, I'm out," Harris said.

Spike let Dawn alone with her sword and Amanda. Dawn was concentrating hard, biting her lip as she was prone to do.

"Alone at last," Kennedy joked as she looked like she was really trying to hit Faith with the wooden sparring rod.

"There's no going easy on you," Faith said blocking her.

Spike did get a rise out of the two of them. He couldn't remember what it had been like before Faith and Kennedy had been friends.

"For an ex-con you're a really bad liar," Kennedy said she tried to hit Faith several times.

"Faith," Watcher boy was calling her. Kennedy was able to knock her down then. What did he want? Hadn't he rattled her enough today?

"So easily distracted by boys," she laughed.

"Anything interesting distracts me," Faith said and pulled Kennedy down.

They wrestled like children laughing. Spike smiled.

"Oew. Tag team, Willow," Harris said. Red pursed her lips in that jealous way.

"So, this is how you train? Fun," Watcher boy was joking with Faith. Trying to make nice after ruining her life.

"Well, no, we are a bit more Catholic School disciplined about it, believe it or not. I do have to keep sharp. I'm the only Slayer in town... Huh! It went from me an' B. to me an' B and a whole gaggle of chicks, and then I get left alone. It reminds me of the playground at recess," Faith said.

"I wish Willow didn't have to retract the spell. Then you wouldn't be alone. We would be with you," Amanda said.

"You are still with me, Killer," Faith smiled.

"What happened with the sharing spell?" Watcher boy asked Red. All the Watcher's had a thing for Red.

"We didn't know who the girls were. Then I started hearing reports of girls dying of demon attacks. So, I figured it was the typical magic metaphysical hoo-ha, the more Slayers you have the more the demons rise. It seemed more like metaphysical hoo than ha, because once I reversed the spell, the demons didn't know who the Slayers or potentials were and stopped attacking them," Red explained in her cute way.

But, it was all prattle. The bottom line: Magic always had a price. The End. Of course the sodding spell only lasted for so long. Of course girls got killed. There was only one Slayer. Making a bunch was like trying to re-create the sun a hundred times, and then being shocked when there was some nuclear explosion. But, Spike kept his mouth shut. Red's spell had been a good idea at the time, and it did save the world. Magic just wasn't a permanent fix.

"I don't get why the Slayers didn't kick all this demon ass that was attacking them," Xander said.

"With no Council how could the girls know how to handle their power? None of them knew who or what they were. They were strong but they didn't know it, so vamps or whoever could catch them off guard so easily," Red said.

"Right. You could have the finest tools, but with out the knowledge or the right teachings of how to use them... you're screwed. That's why I am trying to get what remains of the Council back together," Watcher boy told them.

"Really? Maybe they could help with-- " Willow asked. She got distracted as Kennedy came over and pulled her into her lap.

"Fuck the sodding Council, what did they ever do for any of you?" Spike called over.

"It would be different this---" Wesley began.

"Yeah, not really trusting those guys. Call me crazy. They sure did. They never did anything for you either, Wes. Why make that monster all over again?" Faith asked. Good girl.

"I wouldn't. It would be grass roots, revolutionized to fit us, Faith," Watcher boy said. US? As in him and Faith. There was no "us!" No them! Spike really had to watch this Git closer than he thought.

"How the hell can it be revolutionized if you are talking to the old people? You gonna have Stalin wear a different hat? I was sure they all bought the sodding farm," Spike grumbled as he laced up boxing gloves for Amanda.

"No, not all of them. Just the annoying ponces that didn't know when something had nothing to do with them and couldn't keep their mouth's shut," Watcher boy said calmly.

"So, how do you train when it's serious?" he asked turning to Faith.

"Oh, you know? Same ol' same ol'," she said.

"No, I don't really know. We never actually trained. It was all the real thing with us," he smiled.

"You know me. Gotta keep it real," she said a little sheepishly.

What was this all about? Was he reminding her of her past? The past he had done nothing to help her with?

"So, let's have at it...for real... Well, real between friends. That bars serious injury," he said as he picked up the rod that Kennedy had dropped.

"You kidding!" she cackled.

"No," he smiled.

Spike smiled too. Watcher-Boy was going to get his Git ass kicked!

"Okay!" she exclaimed.

'Manda had asked Uncle Spike if she could hit him with the boxing gloves, and how could he say no? But, Spike kept one eye on the Firecracker and her dead-beat Watcher.

They began sparring with the rods, going back and forth like a fencing match.

"Princess Margaret went out and bought some moves," Faith laughed after she tried to knock the rod out of Wesley's hand and he caught it and spun it.

"Maybe you should go to the store where I got them. Are you gonna do more than just block me?" he asked.

The Git was literally asking for it, and Spike prayed that Faith would give it to him. It would teach him to think he was so big and bad.

"If you insist," she said and ran at him half-heartedly, laughing.

He hit her in the face with a grunt and she fell. Xander opened his eyes where he was sleeping. Kennedy stopped talking to Willow in mid-laugh. Spike stopped boxing with Amanda. They all looked at Faith on the ground just long enough for Amanda's boxing glove to hit Spike in the face where he stopped blocking.

Faith laughed heartily on the ground.

"That was so cool. I think you fight as good as my man, Wes," she giggled as he helped her up.

"Ow," Spike whined now and rubbed his face. Faith shouldn't have let herself be hit like that. She never blocked herself well enough. It was like she thought she HAD to take every hit that came.

"Sorry. But why did you quit blocking?" Manda asked Spike.

"...But I always get my man!" Faith said to Wesley. She quickly backed him up until he was against the wall, and knocked the sparring rod out of his hand.

"Grr," she laughed as she barely tapped him with the rod. He bent down and picked up his own.

Okay. Spike had enough of this little show. It was time to cut-in before Watcher boy un-did everything he had taught Faith.

"Why don't you let me have that before you lose something important?" Spike snickered and took the sparring rod from the Ex-Watcher.

"So, do you wanna dance, or do you wanna dance, Slaya?" Spike was asking Faith.

"For real? Here?" Faith asked mischievously.

"It's been a while since we really did it," Spike smiled.

"Half drunk? In some place that isn't ours?" she asked.

"Oh, so you aren't up to it," he tisked.

"I didn't say that, English," she said.

"Let's go to bed," Willow sighed.

"No way! I wanna see this," Kennedy said.

"Hmm... and here I thought you'd rather dance with me than watch them do it," Willow teased.

"Wow, I'm tired let's go to bed!" Kenney announced.

"What are you-" Wesley began.

"So, let's dance," Spike said to Faith as he twirled the rod.

"Wait! Wait!" Amanda said as she ran across the room to sit next to Xander and Dawn. She put on a Viking helmet. "Okay, I'm ready!"

Faith sighed and rolled her eyes. Then she charged Spike with the sparring rod fiercely. He flipped her over.

"Don't waist my bloody time if your heart's not in this," Spike chided as he now held Faith in the air, by her sparring rod.

"Who's wasting whose time? You should be like a real Watcher and sick some real vamps on me for actual practice." she said after she put her legs around his neck and pulled him down on top of her.

"You ARE NOT into this. NEVER let a bastard like me get on top. You'll never get out from under," he said half seriously as she struggled to get away from him.

"You were never on top when you really hit me," she said. He mouth went a little slack and his brow furrowed. She took that opportunity to kick him away. He fell against a mirror and cracked it. She laughed.

"C'mon, Fi," he sighed already standing with his fists out. "You aren't going to get a real vampire off of you with guilt."

"Maybe, I need to see a real vampire to get off," she said as they exchanged blows.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. Faith liked to play with the beast only. It was as if she couldn't bare to really beat on Spike's pretty face. She should be able to beat on anything, no matter how it looked.

"You were the one that wanted to dance. You know what gets me going," she said.

"Fine!" he sighed.

"I don't think this is a good idea. Going around in their face too long can make them get hostile. He could lose control," Watcher boy was saying to the rest of them.

Spike could hear him as he tumbled into the punching bag that fell from the ceiling. The punching bag fell on Faith. Spike could hear the Watcher wince. Nice to know the Git cared, hmm? The punching bag did out weigh her. Faith hurled the punching bag at the vampire, and Spike laughed.

Spike had made the Slayer mad, that was the key to this The Firecracker-Anger. Unlike Buffy, she was scared of her anger. And rightfully so, it was dangerous. But, she wanted to throw it away, but she had to learn to use it.

Faith was screaming as she kept blocking Spike. She kicked him until he fell on the ground.

"That rocked! Are you okay?" she asked softly, as she had stopped in mid-scream as soon as he hit the ground. She knew when to snap back her anger now. Still she always seemed to feel a little guilty.

"I think my rod needs tending to," he smiled, holding up the broken sparring rod.

She went to pull him up but began laughing too hard. She wasn't guilty anymore.

"That was brilliant. Well, I'll sleep well tonight," he laughed as he lifted up his own shirt wipe the sweat of Faith's face.

Then he gave up and took his shirt off and gave it to her. She put a lot more sweat into her training then he had seen Buffy do.

"Where's the shower, Wes?" Faith asked the Watcher as she held Spike's black shirt and patted her forehead.

"You see what you can really do with the right people kicking your little ass, Slayer?" Spike asked her.

"Yeah, I can really stink. Where's the shower?" she asked Watcher again.

"This is a hotel. A historical beautiful hotel that you've all been treating like an abandoned parking lot. Just pick a room and there will be a shower in it," Watcher said.

Oh, was he upset he wasn't big enough to play in the real game? Spike smiled.

Spike smelled his shirt where The Firecracker had wiped her sweat. She smelled like cigarettes and coffee, but sweet...like French vanilla coffee and those clove fags. Something that was natural made all her hard habits that got into her skin come out sweet. He would never tell her that. She wouldn't like it.

Spike looked behind him even though the door was shut. Then he took it out of the plastic. It was a flowery pillowcase. A pillowcase can smell like a person for a long time. She had smelled like a wheat field that had been sprinkled with baby powder. She probably still did in her dimension, except she had the smell of human poofy Angel on her too.

"Am I doing a good job, Buffy?" He asked as he closed his eyes.

"Dawnie is safe, and I saved Faith from the Shadow demon in her...Didn't know she had taken it in, did you? But you were right to reject it for yourself. You never needed more power, more darkness...You never needed me...I know, I know...You needed me. You needed a bloody champion. I saved the world and all, but you are not even in this world now," he said to the pillowcase.

Spike stiffened as he head someone stomp by the room. Someone that was imitating a Cockney accent badly.

"'I think my rod needs tending to..ha,ha,ha.' 'Do you wanna dance or do you wanna dance?'" The voice mocked. "Drooling sophomoric imbecile! He's over a century old and he's using lines from movies that are five years old...and not even that good...If your going to steal lines at least pick a classic!"

Well, Watcher boy was bloody jealous. He wanted Faith. Hadn't all the Watchers lost faith? Hadn't they deserved it? Should Spike remind him who was the imbecile forgetting about the vampire hearing?

"Faith! Faith! It's a Blitz!" Kennedy was screaming. A Blitz? Of the Ballroom variety? A Ballroom Blitz is What The Firecracker called a demon ambush. Not here. Surly, Peaches was smart enough to have this place guarded. Peaches smart enough? Bugger!

Spike ran out to see Faith in her black skivvies underwear and bra, running past her deadbeat Watcher who was somewhere between leering and bemused. Wanker.

"Spike! I need you! Ballroom Blitz!" Faith yelled.

"What the--?" The Watcher began. Spike ran past him.

"Fuck!" the vampire growled, in surprise more than anger.

Behind a bubbled force field stood five hungry looking monsters. Red was managing to keep a force field up. Good Red. It would give them time. Balls, Spike never thought he would have to see these nasty things again. He didn't know he was capable of getting chills. Just one of them had tortured him until he couldn't stand. The only thing that kept him alive was Buffy's belief.

"There are five of them Spike! Five! What are we going to do?" Faith pleaded to him.

"Well, you better think of something quick, Bitch! Because I can't fucking hold them anymore without...without..." Red's yell trailed off as she held her head. Her irises were black.

Damn it, Red! There was no need to take it out on Faith now. Faith was going to save them all as much as Red, and she wasn't going to turn into a bitch to do it.

"It's okay, Red. You did great. Stop. We'll take it from here. I want you to run," Kennedy said to her.

"I'm not leaving you!" Willow cried. Her force field still up.

"Were going to fight. We're going to fight these things and were going to win like we did in the end of days," Spike demanded.

Faith was shaken and so was he, but he had to make them put it aside.

"We had so much more then, English," Faith said to Spike.

"What are they?" Watcher-Boy said in awe. He didn't know?

"Ubervamps. ubervamps it took B, me, and a whole group of Slayers to fight them...One almost killed B, and now there's just me...Me an' E and the Redhead's magic," Faith said picking up a sword.

She handed Kennedy a crossbow and pointed that she stand further back. Kennedy nodded. The two of them could take down a world of Evil together if K had remained a Slayer too.

"They're Turok Han," Spike told the Watcher.

"Turok Han? I thought they were a myth," Watcher said.

"Spike," Dawn whined from the balcony with a shocked Amanda and Xander next to her.

"Does Angel have holy water here?" Faith asked the Watcher

"I'm not sure. There may be some in the trunk of weapons you all opened,"" he answered.

"You hear that! Harris, Dawn, Amanda! I want you to stay up on that balcony and get them squirt gun style!" Faith bellowed.

At least Watcher was good for something. Spike had expected him to stand about and take notes, but he ran up to find weapons quicker than Spike thought the Watcher boy could move. He pointed a crossbow down form the balcony. But, still the Watcher should know he wasn't a big boy. They had another weapon at their disposal.

"You," Spike pointed to him "Go get Angel if you want to live."

The Watcher actually did it. He wasn't entirely stupid. Spike had grabbed an ax. It was no Slayer's ax, but it would have to do.

"They'll live!" Faith yelled. The Ugly Buggers roared and tried to rip at Red's bubble. It was just making them madder now

"They'll all live," she ended shakily.

"So will you, Love," Spike said.

"You-" Faith was interrupted by Willow.

"I have to bring it down. There's blackness... All black!" Willow said in tears.

"It's all right, Honey. You did good. You saved us. Again. Go upstairs." Kennedy said softly. There was a sizzle and a cracking sound. The Turok Han were free.

Faith and Spike both charged them, while, Amanda, Dawn, and Xander through Holy water at them. Three of them were instantly slowed by the holy water while the other two were fighting Spike and Faith. One of them threw Spike across the room. He slid until he hit the counter.

"Help Faith!" Kennedy ordered him as she shot stakes from behind the counter.

Spike jumped up. One had Faith by the neck and was pushing her own sword towards her. Spike grabbed the blade of the sword. The Turok Han grabbed at his fingers and took away chunks of them. He yelled in pain. Together, Spike and Faith pushed the blade through the Turok's neck.

Spike caught Faith as the Toruk's hand turned to dust around her.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Five by five," she said between breaths. Poor girl needed to breath. She did not want to die at all, but she was ready for it.

"Your hands!" she yelped.

Between the grabbing the blade and the Turok Spike's hands were torn and bloody.

"Nothing I haven't done before," he smiled.

Spike realized Faith and he were able to catch their breath, whether they both needed to or not. His Sire had been good enough to get out of bed. His House Boy had gotten him rather quickly. He had been holding his own against one of the Full-on Vamps until it got the better of him. Peaches always looked so surprised no matter how many times something turned out to be stronger than him.

"Okay! Now I'm really pissed off!" Angel grumbled as a Turok threw him into Faith. She caught him from falling.

"Nice of you to rise to the occasion, Sire," Spike grumbled.

"Bite me. I'm going on two hours sleep. I had earplugs in because of your constant yapping. Who are these assholes?" Angel demanded as the three of them now were fighting one.

Kennedy and the Watcher were firing stakes into the other two and Dawn, Amanda, and Xander poured holy water on them.

"We're getting low on water. It's just slowing them down," Xander said.

Upon hearing that Amanda threw a cross with a grunt. It hit a Turok. The Turok hit the cross away, but not before being burned badly. Xander smiled and everyone began throwing the crosses. Watcher-boy disappeared and came back out with a rifle and starting firing at the Turok. Red just sat on the balcony next to them softly crying. A little Post-Magic depression, it was not a good time for it.

Suddenly, Spike heard a gunshot. The Watcher really did think he was a cowboy.

"EY! You watch it, Watcher!" Spike yelled as Wesley fired into the face of a Turok Faith was fighting.

"Don't worry. Wes has awesome aim!" Faith said out of breath as she managed to knock the Turok over that got shot in the face.

"Not worth the risk. He knows it won't kill 'em!" Spike said. If that bullet had gone anywhere near her the Watcher would be Turok food.

"Okay! One more time! What are they and what will kill them?" Angel demanded.

"They're Turok Han," Spike told Angel as he hit the Turok.

"What?" Angel asked as he struggled to get the Turok's hands off Spike's throat. Peaches was never much of a reader, but you would think he would know his bloody roots!

"Ubervamps. They're Ubervamps!" Faith told him as she managed to hit one.

"Then-why-won't-it-die!" Angel demanded as he kept repeatedly staking the Turok in the chest as he got hit.

"There like one of us with the ring of Amara, which we could-unh!-use now, if some bloody moron hadn't destroyed it!" Spike yelled as he struggled to keep the Turok from staking Angel with his own stake.

Faith chopped its head off with a grunt. Spike could feel the thing go to dust. Good girl.

"Couldn't you have just said you have to decapitate it to kill it? ... Oh, Jesus, Spike! This was a new silk shirt," Angel grumbled as Spike fell on top of him.

Spike had broken his fall with his bloody hands.

"We're out of stuff," Xander said.

One of the remaining three Turoks started advancing of the stairs. Everyone quickly grabbed whatever weapons they could, except for Red who still sat. Damn it, Red! She should know what to expect from the Magics by now!

"Willow! Get up!" Kennedy ordered and ran at the ubervampire with a sword. She never saw herself as just a girl.

The Turok sent her flying back. She landed behind the counter.

"Kennedy!" Willow cried.

Oh Bugger, if that brave little Toaster had just went down Spike was going to have one very miserable Slayer on his hands and one very brassed off witch.

A black shadowy cloud surrounded the Toruks. A voice from nowhere and everywhere whispered angrily in murmurs.

"What's happening?" Amanda asked in awe. Good bloody question.

The cloud lifted the Turok Hans up. They looked unconscious as the black smoke poured into them and around them.

"I don't know, but it's good. Right?" Xander asked.

The hotel shook as the Turok Han rose.

"Right?" Xander demanded to no one in particular.

"Willow, stop it now! You'll hurt yourself. I'm all right," Kennedy cried as she rose weakly from behind the counter.

Spike smiled. He should have known she had more sauce in her to go down from one Super-vampire attack.

"I'm not doing it. I couldn't do it now if I wanted to," Red said meekly.

"Then who is?" Watcher demanded.

Oh...Balls! Of course. Why didn't Spike know right away? He had been preparing for it.

"Uh-oh." Amanda whispered.

"It's Faith," Dawn said.

"Faith... Faith!" Angel yelled.

Faith had also risen but she was only two feet of the ground. Her eyes were entirely white. Her body was bent backwards. There was a trail of black fog that surrounded her and led up to the Turok Han floating near the ceiling.

"Don't touch her!" Spike yelled at Angel who went to grab her. God knows what Peaches hands could do. God was the only one who knew about any of this. But, Spike knew he was the one chosen to bring the life back into her after she poured it out to save the others.

"Holy shit! I know what this is... Please tell me she didn't. How could she?" The Watcher whispered gravely.

"It's good though, right?" Xander asked. The Turok Han exploded loudly into dust. Dawn screamed.

"See, ubervamps went bye-bye. So, it's good," Xander stated.

"Faith!" Kennedy screamed. K should know better. She couldn't hear her. She had gone into pure Slayer, to kill the pure Vamps and now she, like Red, was going to pay a little. Damn bloody balances. The smoke thinned to look like a bad engine backfire occurred, and Faith fell from where she had risen.

Faith dropped into Spike's arms. She should have known he'd catch her from way higher than the balcony. She was unconscious.

"Faith! Faith!" Kennedy yelled as she ran over to where Spike was holding her.

Everyone else was speechless.

"She's alive, right? She's okay, right?" Kennedy pleaded.

"She'll be fine, Pet. We've been working on this just in case it happened again... Now, I need to concentrate. I need quiet, a room," Spike said.

"You can make that light come out of you again? You can heal her? You've been working on it the past few days... making that light come out in case this happened... She told me. She told me you just got a spark though. You have to do it again! Can you? She's breathing hard? Why is she breathing hard? Do it now!" Kennedy demanded.

"I can do it. I can feel it. But, I need to concentrate on getting it to come out. So, I need you to back away, Pet," Spike said patiently to Kennedy. That itchy burny feeling was in him. It was a nice little tickle.

Kennedy let go of Faith's face, which she had been holding and slowly backed away, biting her lip.

"What?" was all Angel managed to say. Peaches, baffled as usual.

"Look, I haven't loads of time. All you need to know is I can make her better and I need a quiet room," Spike said. He walked briskly up the stairs with Faith. Slayers- you think they would feel heavy or something. They never were.

"You idiot bastard! This was your idea! I might have known. Only under extreme situations is the Slayer to go to the shadow dimension and take in more of her demon origin! What? Did the two of you think it would be fun? Did you think it would make her pack more in her punch? It doesn't matter what magic your using to heal her. She'll be dead in days, you idiot!" The Watcher roared.

He was running to keep up with Spike with the crossbow in his hand.

"Oh God!" Kenney cried.

Peaches, Watcher-Boy, and Special K had followed him into the room as he sat with Faith across his lap. Xander, Amanda, and Dawn stood outside the room like they were watching an episode of "ER." The Watcher was like a little mad dog that wouldn't let go of Spike's trousers that made everyone else follow Spike. Spike had to stop thinking about the Watcher, or anything else. He was brought together from ashes to do this job and he was going to do it.

"What did you do, Spike?" Angel asked wearily.

"Nothing. I would never do anything that would hurt her or put her in danger. She does enough of that on her own..." Spike said in an oddly calm way. His first job was to make them all leave.

"Don't you worry, Special K. The Head Watcher boy thinks he knows what he's talking about, but he only knows half. I'm not using the magics to heal her, and you know that. And she's not like other Slayers anyway, she survived with the bad boy in her for over a year with out me."

"You have no idea what you've done," Watcher said through gritted teeth.

"I didn't do it. I just fix it...Now, as much as I love chatting with hysterical Gits, I need you all to leave us... I need it now, Angel," Spike looked at Angel with urgency in his eyes. He could not upset Kennedy, but if the burning feeling left him he didn't know if he could get it back in time. Then Faith would die. He was sure of this, as he was sure that he could make the light come. He was like a mother bird with an injured babe. Instinct.

"We're all leaving now," Angel said in that Father-knows-Best-Tone.

"If she dies, I'll kill you," The Watcher said fiercely to Spike over his shoulder.

"That's the best thing you've said yet," Spike smiled.

"She's not going to die," Spike heard Kennedy snap as Angel shut the door. Get him, K!

"Well, doesn't everybody just want to be alone with you?" Spike asked Faith as he cradled her closer to him.

He closed his eyes and breathed out. He could feel it coming it was warm and all it wanted was to

go into her and make her whole again.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Spike has healing powers for Faith, like ET did for Elliot with his glow-finger. Didn't you see Spike get kind of glow-worm? We think it's from when he did that Shanshu thing to save the world," Amanda explained to Wes.

Wes seemed really pissed about what had just transpired, while Angel was still trying to figure it out. So many things were going on. There were pure vampires that just came out of nowhere and attacked them. Faith had killed them all with some kind of demon. Willow was crying, and apparently, that girl was her girlfriend.

"Angel we have to do something to help Faith before she ends up dying. She's done something really reckless, though I can't say I'm surprised." Wesley said.

Yeah, Spike and Faith come to town together and the Hyperion was ripped apart in seconds. Angel wasn't surprised. But, whatever it was Spike was up there doing damage control. It seems like this had happened before.

"Hello, dude! Didn't you just hear what Amanda said? Spike can heal her," Kennedy said.

"That's rubbish!" Wesley snapped.

"What's going on, Wes?" Angel asked.

"By the looks of it, Faith has taken in more of the demon that the Slayer originated from. It's was very dangerous ritual done by other Slayers in more archaic times in desperate situations. Actually, there was only one Slayer that the Council confirmed did the ritual. She saved the world, but the demon tore her apart slowly and painfully. She also became overtaken by the darkness of the demon and ended up killing her family...her Watcher," Wesley said.

"Sheesh! Couldn't you guys have picked a nicer demon to make a Slayer out of. I mean there are like a zillion demons and there are about twenty or so that are good. Ten of those can kick ass like no one's business," Xander said.

"You think the Watcher's of today were like the Shadow men? That's like comparing Cro-Magnon man to you...or more accurately me. The shadow men predate the history we know; of course their methods were barbaric and crude. But from them came everything... The Council, The Slayer... Nothing would exist without them," Wes insisted.

"The shadow men didn't make the Slayer. The girls made the Slayer, and something else chooses who the Slayer got to be. They just tied a girl down and stuck a demon up her ass!" Willow's girlfriend said.

"Believe me, I'm the last person to stick up for the old Watcher's Council. I am just saying there has to be a beginning and the Shadow men were it, and sadly we know little about the demon used to make the first Slayer and how she survived. I agree with you...who are you?" Wes asked.

"Kennedy." she said with folded arms.

"Kennedy- that the taking in of the demon is a horrible violation, that is why I am so upset about Faith. She really does still need a Watcher. She spent her years when a Slayer learns the most in prison," Wesley sighed.

"It's my fault!" Willow said in tears again, "I sent Faith into that shadow dimension to get the demon put in during our battle with the First. Buffy said the Shadow guys sucked! I didn't think it was a good idea, but she convinced me it was our only hope if Buffy wasn't going to fight with us."

"Willow, are you alright?" Angel said walking towards her. A lot had gone on when Angel had been in LA. He knew Willow had suffered.

"She'll be okay. Right, Will? She just gets a little emotional after she does magic, especially magic with evil things like those ugly vamps," Xander said putting his arm around her.

"She was fine the last time she was here battling Jasmine from the womb and putting Angel's soul back," Wesley said.

"That was with my first spell and battling something in my own head... This is different. This was me having to impose my magic into the world... It's still hard, even though it's been years since..." Willow's voice trained off.

"You kicked ass, My Red! I was right here. I wouldn't let you fly away," The girlfriend said as she rubbed Willow's head. She then added sternly, "And I don't want you to go tripping out on guilt over this shadow demon thing either!"

"Willow, I had---" Wesley began. The girlfriend rose and stepped between Willow and Wesley.

"Look!" she said, "You seem to like to play the blame game, and I don't want you playing it with my people. Faith decided to put that Shadow demon in her during the apocalypse because she was willing to do ANYTHING to save the world. Some Slayer's thought they were so good that they just relied on others to do the ugly stuff. Well, that's not Faith. She's not afraid to get dirty with the rest of us."

"Hey!-" Dawn began, but Kennedy cut her off.

"We all did what we had to do, and you may have noticed the world got saved. No one risked more than Faith... and Spike. No one gave up more-" The girlfriend said.

"And Buffy. Buffy gave up her whole life here to jump dimensions to ensure that the First can't rise again," Angel reminded.

Yes, Buffy hadn't wanted to leave this dimension, even though she was going to be with Angel... Well, Angel from another dimension. You reached a new low when the person you envied the most was yourself.

"So, where were you with all your flashing danger signs then?" Willow's girlfriend demanded to Wesley.

"I was rather busy making sure the world didn't became a mindless Dystopia," he said.

"Well, wherever you were you weren't helping Faith... Now, I know Faith. I'm sure she would have give a rat's ass if you told her that what may end up helping her save the world at the time might be bad for her later. The question isn't whose to blame the question is: How are we going to help Faith now that there is a world here for her to save again?.... I don't know about you, but I don't have access to a multi-billion dollar corporation. Actually, I do, but not one with those kind of resources," The girlfriend said

"What was your name again?" Angel asked.

"How can you help Faith with this demon?" She asked Angel.

Angel could only look at Wesley.

"All we can do is look into files and records, consult our connections, but I'm afraid that the Shadow demon is so ancient that we won't find much. We'll have more luck researching the Sanshu and whatever that light was coming out of... Spike," Wesley said.

"Could we get on that now?" Angel asked.

This seemed serious. This was Faith's life. More serious than any Crypto-Satanic TV network that Angel wanted to take down. Wesley took out his phone.

"Faith said she wanted to get the demon out of her. Can you find a witch to get it out? Because I-I can't," Willow asked Angel.

"I'll find one," Angel said.

"Maybe she shouldn't take it out. I mean, it just totally saved our asses," Xander said.

"But at what cost? She looked like she was on death's door afterward," Wesley as he waited on the phone.

"Spike heals her," The Kennedy girl said.

Wesley seemed like he was going to object, but then said: "Hello? Fred? I'm afraid I have a bit of an emergency... I need you to call Crowley in England and get to files and records."

"Yeah, we know Spike healed Faith the one time, and it looks like he's doing it now, and it seems all good. But, these things have a way of going sucky... Like, Spike's essence will heal Faith, but she'll slowly become a vampire, or it will slowly drain the soul out of Spike... and it will be really insidious and slow and we won't notice and then, BAM! They kill us all in a bloody rampage." Xander said.

"And then they have all these adoring minions like Spike and Dru had!" Dawn gasped.

"Exactly!" Xander exclaimed, "Because soulless Spike wouldn't want to end the world --like some other soulless vamps we know. But, soulless Spike would want a gang of vampires and a really hot kick-ass vampy girlfriend."

"Oh c'mon! That's insane Cordy had a healing glowing light and nothing like that ... " Angel's voice trailed off in concern.

Cordelia's "glowy thing"- It had turned out to be nothing more than an Evil God's distraction!

"Xander would you stop! We need to be a little less floopy." Willow sighed at him.

"It's not floopy! The Sanshu made Spike's soul give off a big fire, maybe he's burning it all into Faith, and her shadow demons is feeding on it!" Xander insisted.

"Please tell me Xander isn't making sense," Angel sighed. He was tired. So, tired. He couldn't take one more thing.

That was when Angel heard Dawn scream. She was by the French doors that led to the garden. She always did wander off. Angel ran over there, and to his horror one of those pure vampire things was on Buffy's little sister. He wasn't going to be able to save her in time. He was too far away.

There was a flash of someone moving behind the pure vampire, and it seemed human. They hit the vampire-thing and it actually fell back. Who the Hell--- No, it couldn't be! That was impossible. Angel was losing it.

"Get its head!" Dawn screamed as she swiftly threw the sword to the person who hit the thing. The Super-Vamp advanced towards Dawn until it's head was lopped off in one smooth motion. It turned to dust.

"Thanks...Who are you?" Dawn asked in awe as she was helped off the ground.

"Connor?" Angel gasped. It was him! It was really him! And the boy had done an excellent job at killing that thing. Angel smiled, but then all of his memories came flooding back as the boy glared at him.

"Hi Dad," Connor said with a bitter grin.

"Oh...well...This is...concerning," Wes sighed as he now stood behind Angel.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Faith's skin was white and wet with sweat as Spike ran his hand down her back where only her black bra strap was. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly as she lay there limply.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to," he said softly.

"Putting on shows to distract me from kicking your dead beat Watcher's ass. Where did that buggering Council leave you as a bit? Did that Git help you at all?" he asked himself as he cradled her in his arms.

"See, I knew you wouldn't bloody tell me... I think I probably would prefer your response now to the bitchy one you'd give me while you were awake. Though I like the awake bitch version of you better, he laughed.

He started to glow just a little bit.

"You don't do anything in halves, do you?" he smirked and shook his head, "You're either beating the snot out of life for all it's worth or you're bloody spent clinging on to your spark."

"Did you hear your ol' Watcher say he'd make me dust if you died? That WAS pretty decent." he nodded.

Then he smiled. "You're a terrible actress. Nicole bloody Kidman did a better death scene than you! I was just caught off guard and drunk...This passing out trick of yours has sobered me up. Though, I suppose that's your bad boy demon's fault. You both took care of the Turok for us. It just cost me two fingernails, and Peaches a poofy shirt. Did you hear him bitch? I bet he could afford to wipe his ass with those shirts now. How the hell are you mates with the likes of him? ... Here it comes now," he said and shut his eyes and started to glow more.

The light flowed into her and she started to glow as well.

"I am the world's best actor, if K hadn't started to laugh we woulda had you." she smiled weakly.

"There you are... No, but all right I'll admit you were better than that Kidman Aussie," he smiled.

"We look like Rave kids with too much glow paint on," she said.

He shook his head. "That stuff doesn't light up a room as much as you do. Though, that was quite a wild Rave down there. One of my better ones,"

"Kennedy!" she gasped suddenly and bolted up.

She got up and immediately stopped glowing and fell to her knees. Spike stopped glowing too and winced. It hurt when she broke the connection like that. It obviously hurt her too.

"Kennedy is fine, thanks to you and your little monster. Now come back to me. It doesn't look like running off half baked is a good idea," he said and grabbed her hand as she rose weakly and turned to him.

"Half baked? I wish," she smiled weakly.

"Don't you feel like it's not finished yet?" he asked. He had pulled her up. Their hands began to glow again. He stared at their hands with sudden anguish. Buffy and his hands had caught fire and he had told her to go. I love you She had said it. But, she didn't love him- not really.

"I don't know. I guess, I've never been really good at the psychic Slayer stuff...Slayers are supposed to have all these knowing feelings and dreams, right? Sometimes I think I'm having a knowing dream, but then it gets weird. Like I think I'm dreaming about a future big bads but, then they'll turn into those two old guys from the 'Muppets'...And then it gets wicked whacked me and Angelina Jolie are best friends swimming with the guys form 'The Dead Poet's Society' and there is this bird that rises out of the water and drops me a big banana... One time, I dreamt B and I were in this dance marathon and-"

Dreams. What was Spike's dream of Buffy? Buffy wasn't dreaming of Spike now. She probably dreamt of the human version of Angel she was with. Why wasn't Spike human now? Angel and his Houseboy kept saying he was supposed to be. Like it was a reward for saving the world. Reward his bloody ass- to be weak and helpless to protect anyone! Maybe that WAS what Buffy wanted. A normal life, a normal bloke. Can't get much normal that Peaches. Had Spike been wrong? Maybe Buffy needed more of a man in her monster. Was that what it took?

"Buffy," Spike said near tears. "The last person to touch me when I was all aglow like this was Buffy. Angel and your Watcher say this Sanshu fire was supposed to make me human... if I was worthy. Maybe if I was, Buffy would have been able to stay here in this dimension."

"Spike that's crack logic! The First was gonna be able to rise as long as B was here. Who said you weren't worthy? You freakin' died to save the world. Then you came back. People have a tendency to think guys like that are really worth something. In fact, they are worth so much that their name alone has been supporting a bunch of perverted old guys for thousands of years," she said.

"Well, there's something to look forward to... Be careful Slayer, you're gonna go to the bad place if you start comparing mass murderers to Jesus," he laughed.

"I already have my ticket there for way worse than that," she sighed.

"Well, when you get there look me up. We'll hang...The light's dying." he said as the light in between their hands faded.

"Um... I still feel like ass...hung-over and all. When you did it the last time I was weak for a Slayer, but really healthy feeling for a cigarette smoking girl that lives on Frappuccinos." she said.

"You saying you don't think we're done here?" he asked.

"Yeah, c'mon Baby finished what you started," she laughed, "I don't know. Maybe I'm actually hung over. That would make sense."

"Trust your gut. I'm surprised that's a problem for you," he said suddenly pulling her into his lap.

"Uh- It's not...a problem for me," she said seemingly caught off guard as she fell into his lap.

"...for inconsequential things. I guess we should focus now to get the light to come out?" she

said more firmly.

"Like I know what I'm doing? You're the Slayer. I'm just your band-aid. It just seems to work better this way then when we do it like a mind-meld. Don't you think?" he asked as they began to glow again.

"Yeah. Maybe the demon wasn't held enough as a child, or it wants skin on skin. It that why I'm in my underwear? Did you find your little light shines brighter the more naked you got me?" she asked.

"No! You were in your skivvies when this whole thing got started. What were you thinking? Fighting the Turok as a Victoria Secret girl. They are pure monsters. They don't get distracted by that kind of a thing. It gave Harris and your ol' Watcher quite a thrill though!"

"Sears Roebuck girl is more like it. That's right, I was going for a shower, when the Blitz came... Oh man! I must still be ripe, right?"

"I wonder if this will go faster if we concentrate and stop talking," he said.

"Oh man! I DO stink," she grumbled and tried to get up.

"I shagged Buffy every night when she stank of Double Meat Palace. You just smell like you- human," he said as he pulled her back to him very suddenly

"I'm really not digging this less than even normal girl strength... Bringing back the memories I worked so hard to repress," she said with a shaky laugh.

"Bloody hell, I'm sorry." he said lowly, "I didn't mean to-I seem to become a brute when girls want to take bathes... I guess I like them dirty." he laughed bitterly.

"You're talkin' about the B bathroom thing," she stated, "Look that whole thing was so fucked. It wasn't just you...from what you say."

She hooked her arm around his neck now.

"I was still the monster, even if she was the one using me," he said gravely.

"You're not a monster. I've known monsters and you're not one," she said.

"You didn't know me then."

"I know you now. That's the only thing that matters- now. Speaking of now, E, are we gonna get this party started? Let's be quiet and do that concentrating thing you suggested... Usually I like a little talk with a guy's goods going inside of me but-"

"Shut-up," he rolled his eyes.

She put both her arms around him now and leaned back on him. He closed his eyes too. The light grew stronger. All that could be heard was their breathing which grew a little heavier. He reached down and grabbed her hand. Hard.

Sometime went by and they were still concentrating. She had bent her knees in to make herself smaller in his lap. The light would leak out of him in surges.

"This is awesome. You remind me of my Mom's electric blanket when the landlord would shut off the heat...I mean, thanks," She said in between surges.

"It's not me. It's you. you're doing it. You're brining it out if me," He said.

He realized he was only a tool for her to use. It wasn't that he had some kind of power in him, it was her power calling it out.

"No, it's you. You're healing me. I mean, what are you getting out of it?" She asked. She actually looked up at him.

"I get to remember what it's like to feel warm inside...It's quite nice." He said.

"'It's quiet nice'" She mocked in proper English, "Sometimes you sound so old school Brit when you're not playing Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious."

"Well, that about sums me up old school, rotten and vicious," He said lazily as he watched her close her eyes again.

"Give me one more and I'm done," She said.

"I'm not doing it, Pet. You are," He insisted.

But, he did feel like he was doing something, some part of him was responding to her call. He was meant to do it. Chosen. **Spike could feel his mind going back to the time with that necklace. Buffy had given him that necklace. It's for a champion, and suddenly she was handing it to him. He had wanted to go -to burn, for once it wasn't for her, but it was for everything. There had been a woman. She was all white. She glowed. You have to make a choice. Chosen----**

"SPIKE!" Peaches was yelling in his face now. That was the last thing Spike wanted to see. He was remembering something- or dreaming. It was a dream he could tell Faith as she had been trying to tell hers to him. He shouldn't of interrupted her but at least he hadn't been as rude as Peach about it.

"Angel! Back the fuck off!" someone spat. They pushed Peaches away. It was someone young and brassed off and strong. It wasn't Faith. She was still in his arms making him glow and dream of nice ladies when he concentrated.

"What the-" Angel demanded. Spike pulled himself out of his thoughts, but managed to keep the light glowing.

"I need to finish healing her. Must you crash in every time I need to be alone with a bird?" Spike asked Angel calmly with his eyes still closed.

"I don't think he can help himself," The boy said. The boy?

"Blade! That's you?" Spike exclaimed and opened his eyes. The light went out entirely.

"Hey," Connor smiled awkwardly.

"Damn it!" Faith grumbled. She was upset the link was broken, but it hadn't hurt to break it, not like before.

"Sorry, Firecracker...Blade totally broke my concentration." Spike said.

"Blade?" Faith looked at Connor.

"Sure call me that... It's my coolest name so far. Hey Faith. You don't remember me, but I sure as hell remember you," Connor smiled.

"He's not from my birthday party last year is he?" Faith asked Spike. "Look, I got a little over zealous. It was my first birthday out of prison, and the world had just not ended. I have a boyfriend now, so anything-" Faith had turned to Connor.

"No, Fi... It's Angel's boy," Spike sighed.

"Oh... The kid Connor, Blade, right! Aren't you supposed to be on some permanent 'Lil' Orphan Annie' trip? That would have been so sweet for me at your age," Faith said to Connor as he grinned widely at her.

Spike looked at Connor and took the blanket off the bed and wrapped her in it. No need for him to be looking at something he could never have.

"No, it's too hot. You're hot too," she mumbled to Spike as she threw the blanket off and touched his head. Her hand was cool. Was that the way he felt to Buffy?

"My family trip is sweet," Connor answered Faith as he hadn't taken his eyes off of her. "It was, anyway. But, it's more like 'The Truman Show.' I'm sure this one is watching all the time," Connor said as he gestured towards a baffled Angel.

"WHAT? I don't watch...What's 'The Truman show?' That movie?" Angel spat.

"You-- told you Faith about Connor?" Angel demanded of Spike.

"I told everyone about Blade. Once the secret was out I was doing dirty deeds for you everyone wanted to know the dirt of course," Spike shrugged.

"So you didn't take the pain-killer, eh? Why not?" Spike asked Connor. He had to give the kid credit. Spike wouldn't have taken his medicine either, but it took balls.

"I dunno. I wanted to. But, my life is pretty decent presently. I got over a lot of stuff because I realized no matter how much the past sucked it couldn't take away any decent stuff I have now. There were so many things that went down here in this place I'd rather forget... But, some of it kinda bordered on not boring. As much as it all sucked ass, I just didn't want to forget that I could kick ass," he said.

"Hey, sounds good to me," Faith said.

"Maybe your not as snot-nosed as I thought," Spike laughed.

"I want to talk to you now," Angel said to Spike lowly.

"Why?" Spike scoffed.

"He's gonna bitch at you for not doing the Men in Black thing to me. Why are you here hanging with him?" Connor asked Spike.

"I'm not! Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Spike asked.

"I came here to find you and Faith. I went to Sunnydale. Some guy at some demon bar told me you were here. he said 'Hey.' What was his name? He had big ears and I think he was gay," Connor said.

"Clem. He's not gay. Just a little fruity...like Peaches, except he's fun," Spike laughed.

"What? You went to a demon bar to find Spike?" Angel was baffled.

"Well, when I tried to find you all through regular people I had a less than warm response," Connor said to Spike as if he asked the question. This was turning out to be fun.

" I ran into some friend of Faith's and he was like a cop. He asked me so many questions about who I was. He made me prove I wasn't a vampire. He got this huge 'tude when I told him I was friends with you," Connor continued.

"What?" Angel gasped. This was turning out to be very fun.

"That would be Faith's man," Spike sighed.

"That guy is your boyfriend? Isn't he a little old for you?" Connor asked.

"Why would you look for us and not your Dad? Your Dad should be the one to reacquaint you with your kick ass roots," Faith said.

"My 'Dad' was just the one that was so pissed you even remembered me... I guess that fight I had with you was pretty embarrassing. You cleaned my clock," Connor laughed.

"I did?...Cool...or-a- why?" Faith asked.

"Connor, I'm not upset that Faith remembers you..." Angel began.

"You could have fooled me. You saw me and the first thing you did was run up here to kick Spike's ass for not making me forget... Well, actually the first thing you did was giving me that gaping stare your giving me now, and then you said your were going to kick Spike's ass...Mother fucking ass to be exact. I never heard you say that before. It was kinda funny. I guess now that your aren't really my father you felt you could use expletives."

Yeah, it wasn't like Peaches to really get dirty; he left that to his better half. The boy did know his Dad. Too bad for him, he was a nice kid.

"This is what you did Spike?" Angel demanded as he walked up to Spike who was now laying on the bed casually next to Faith.

He was tired, not as tired as Peaches looked but--

"Wha? Oh. You gonna have a little snit over this now." Spike said lazily as he rolled his eyes.

"Peaches, please! I'm bloody tired, and I think I'm almost all the way sober. I've really seen way more of you on this trip than I--

"I TOLD YOU IF YOU DID ANYTHING TO HIM... ANYTHING..." Angel roared.

He grabbed Spike's bloody fingers and bent them back.

"Angel!" Faith gasped in surprise. Was she surprised he went for the pain? Spike bet that he had done it to her, when his better half was out.

"Ow! Ow! Goddamned bastard!" Spike screamed...and go for the pain Angel did. It hurt.

"Asshole!" Connor yelled and punched Angel.

Angel stepped back stunned.

"Lucky for me, I haven't changed either... Not in the ways you tried to make me change anyway! I'm smarter and better, AND I can still hold my own with you." Connor said as he punched Angel in the face three times.

Well, this was an interesting turn of events.

"I did what I did so you would be better! Whatever Spike told you about me and why I did what I did is a lie!" Angel said as he hit Connor and sent him flying over the bed.

"I didn't tell him anything." Spike said as he hit Angel. Leave it to his Sire to blame all his problems on old Spike. When would Peach realize good or evil he was a bad Daddy and a bad boyfriend? Perhaps, Spike was better at both.

Angel turned into vampire face and growled as he hit Spike.

"The boy's an Ivy Leaguer he's smart enough to realize you bollixed everything with out my help," Spike laughed in pain as Angel held Spike down on the bed by his hair.

"I'll make you wish you were never born!" Angel said.

"Yeah, you're good at that, if memory serves!" Connor said. "This is defiantly bringing back some of my favorite memories with you Dad."

He had sprung up to push Angel into the wall.

"Yeah mine too," Spike laughed. He hit Angel again. Angel leaned against the wall growling as

Spike and Connor stood before him both smirking.

Well, this was just...neat!

"OKAY!" Faith roared. "I must admit. Normally I'd be really turned on. I mean GQ, Punk Boy, and a Gap ad kid all rolling around in a hotel room and I'm here just to watch... But when I realize it's a family affair it kind of kills it for me."

"Get back, Fi. You're as weak as-"

"A hung over girl in her underwear? Right. But a hung over girl in her underwear can still step in between fists and you'd have to hurt her to get her out of the way... So, unless you want to hit a poor defenseless girl why don't you try settling your issues like I've heard they do-by have a freaking conversation!" Faith grumbled.

"What the fuck is going on in here? It doesn't sound like healing to me! What are you two doing in here? You have to let Spike heal her! Faith, are you all right?" Kennedy demanded, busting in the room like she owned the place. She owned it as much as any of them did now, officially. But, technically Peaches owned everything, always.

"Five by five, K...But, I'd probably be kryptonited for a day or two even if Gap Ad boy hadn't crashed the party and made Spike lose his fire."

"I'm sorry, Faith... if I knew you guys were up here doing a cleansing. I would've tried to catch Angel faster," Connor said.

"How did you know what we were doing?" Faith asked.

"Oh, Cordelia did one for me once. It was awesome. One of the reasons I didn't want to forget about this life. I've never felt anything like it since. It was better than sex, So, Spike, must be a higher being too." Connor smiled.

"Spike is not a higher being! Cordelia wasn't even really a higher being. It was all set up. We were played. Just like I was played into thinking you did what I asked you to do, Spike! I swear to fucking God! You show up and bring pure vampires and my friends have pure demons in them...and Connor just---

"-just is a pure freak, Dad? It takes one to smell one," Connor laughed.

"I let you into my life and the lives of the people I care about and everything goes to anarchy! This is all very wrong," Angel grumbled to Spike who was rubbing his head. Spike smiled.

Things didn't feel wrong to him.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"It doesn't feel wrong... What Spike and I are doing. I know he's saving my life. He's giving me back what the demon takes away... Maybe there is some link with whatever power Cordelia had... I wouldn't say that it's better than sex but..." Faith sighed as she stared down at her coffee.

This was a total waste of time. Everyone was supposed to be researching, but Faith had just spent the morning trying to convince Wes that Spike was keeping her alive rather than killing her. Wes even called that Fred girl and Lorne over. The Fred girl was supposed to be some kind of wiz. But, in Faith's eyes she seemed totally overwhelmed by all the new news. Fred seemed more worried about the return of Angel's kid than anything, which was weird. The kid was adorable...And here was Wes all worried about Spike. They had Ubervamps to worry about!

"I probably just haven't had enough practice with sex. But that cleansing left me with a sense of peace, that was better than getting a sense of piece," Connor smiled as he looked up from a book. See adorable kid.

"Oh... A sense of piece...like a piece of as-I get it!" Dawn shouted and then blushed.

"You haven't had enough practice with sex?" Amanda demanded of Connor. "I thought that was what the first year of college was for."

"Maybe it is. But, I was too busy trying to keep it together with my memories returning. I could party with the best of them, but once it was time to crash I didn't want anyone in my bed with me to see me dream this life back," Connor said gesturing to the hotel kitchen.

"If the first year is all about sex I am so not ready here. I feel more comfortable bludgeoning a demon than being naked in front of someone," Dawn said.

"You can be comfortable with both," Connor said.

Connor smiled. Faith laughed. With that Dawn spilled her orange juice on her book.

"God! Sorry!" she said.

"It's all right. That was an Ancient Veladrain text, but we have several more," Wesley said.

"Wow SEVERAL Veladarian texts... and I could only download the basics off the internet, You guys are so lucky! I wish I could work at W&H!" Dawn said. B's sister seemed like she could be a wiz.

"Maybe you can. School's almost over. It would be a great summer job for a college bound girl. Don't sleep your 18th summer away like I did. Of course, I was in a coma," Faith said.

Yeah that hadn't been too productive. One could say the years after in jail weren't either, but they had been.

"Yes, and we don't want you there again...or worse. That's why you have to stop this 'cleansing' as... Angel's son here... calls it with Spike," Wesley said.

This conversation with Wes was about as much as the coma accomplished. Since when was he so obsessive? Okay, since always.

"Dude, Spike saved my life with that fire in him. It was good. I feel good," Faith said

"We don't really know if it saved you, Faith... and if it is so good why hasn't your Slayer strength returned?" Wesley demanded.

"One thing I've learned in my old age is that you can't have instant gratification, Wes. It takes a day or two to come back. The demon is the origin of the Slayer maybe just throwing it all down like that wipes it out and it needs time to bounce back, and Spike's fire just keeps my human home fires burning until then," Faith said.

"We don't know what it is. We don't even know what Spike is anymore. We just know he has a dark demon inside of him, and so do you, and now you are sharing some mystical power with him," Wesley said.

"Oh God! Spike has a dark demon inside of him too? When did that happen?" Dawn demanded.

"A little over a century ago," Wesley rolled his eyes. "Don't you all realize? Spike is STILL a vampire. And this is after the Sanshu, a GOOD mystical power that was supposed to cleanse anything dark out of him. He may have a soul, but his vampire demon was so strong that it is still present in him. How can you all forget how evil vampires can be? Give them a bloody chance and they'll drain all the good from you. Is any of this ringing a bell!"

"Well, I heard a rumor that once vampires get souls they are good. I even know some English guy who has been really tight with this superhero vampire for years. Is any of this ringing a bell?" Faith said to Wes.

"

Well, I may work with Angel, but I'm not wrapping myself around him so he can share some demon essence with me," Wesley said.

"Really? Thanks for clearing that up. I always wondered about you two. You ARE staying at the hotel here together," Faith smiled.

Connor burst out laughing. Faith smiled.

"The hotel is close to the office...It's a place we know we won't be disturbed- for work! That is until you all came. It has good water pressure... I miss it, okay? And, Angel does too," Wesley grumbled as Connor continued to laugh.

"No wonder I never got anywhere in Sunnydale. It wasn't me. It was this- the constant adolescent prattle!" Wesley spat.

Faith wished Wes would stop bringing up Sunny D. She thought of it as a different place from when he had been there, and it was. No Hellmouth, thanks to Spike, which was a good. No B, thanks to the First, which was a bad. All things balance. She was different. She was balanced. About freakin' time.

"I'm not prattling! I found out tons on the Turok Han and now I'm working on finding out about the Gwen-like guy that Faith killed with the demon in Sunnydale" Dawn pouted.

"Files and records has everything it's great! Except files and records has everything and it sucks... 'cause you have to muddle through it all," Dawn said.

"Is there anything on Spike's ET like healing power of me?" Faith asked.

"Ow! I thought about that too! He IS like ET...Only less cute, in that cuddly way. Although, he is cuddly 'cause you have to cuddle with him for it to work. That is cute. When we get home maybe we could all get on bikes and see if Spike could make them fly." Amanda suggested.

"Spike kicks way more ass than ET," Connor smiled.

"And he'd probably give me an attitude if I asked him to make our bikes fly... But he did come back to life!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Please! We don't need to add any more science fiction to this. This isn't some heart-warming story of a cute little creature. This is real life with a vampire with a darkness that won't die, and a Slayer that has put so much darkness in her that it's killing her!" Wesley yelled.

Amanda jumped and bit her lip. Faith sighed and rolled her eyes. Dawn just looked up form the computer screen.

"Why do you guys always have to ruin everything?" Connor scowled. That's what Faith would have said when she was his age. But, Wes was just trying to think of everything, and prepare for the worst. That's how you lasted.

"Connor? Is that what you are going by?" Wes asked baffled.

"I suppose," he answered.

"Well, we may have trouble remembering each other but, I know a great deal-"

"I know who you are, Wes. You're the guy that was always sniffing around Fred when she was with Gunn. You're the guy that wanted to bring out Angelus and then you couldn't deal with it so you shot up Faith with magic to do it for you...You were the guy that gave me to that Jesus freak Holtz... Did I get it all? " Connor rolled his eyes.

"What? Watcher boy did all that and it's barely afternoon," Spike grumbled as entered the kitchen squinting in nothing but faded black jeans.

"Mornin', English," Faith smiled. He made pale look good. In a weird way it reminded her of Robin who made black look the best. They were like night and day. This made Faith smile more to herself.

"Ey. So you all are putting your noses in the books?" he asked as he got some blood out of the fridge.

"Yes and look who's awake in time to impede our progress," Wesley grumbled.

"Sounds like you've done your share 'a that. So, it was YOUR idea to bust out Angelus, the man behind the mask. What were you bloody thinking, Cowboy. Thought you could hog tie him on your own if he got out?" Spike smirked snidely.

"It was the best the decision at the time, and everything worked out for the best!" Wesley grumbled.

It really had. Faith was able to pay Angel back, and she got a get out of jail almost free card. She just had to be a guardian of the demon world now.

"Oh really? Did Angel ever share how many people he killed? I'm guessing it didn't work out for them and their families. The only reason it worked out was because of Faith. All you did was give her that magic drug crap to deal with Peaches," Connor scowled.

"What?" Spike asked as he poured bloody Mary mix into a blender with blood.

"Whoa!" Faith said putting her hands up. "How come every time there is a certain amount of testosterone in the room we go steering off into some tangent of machismo? We could get more done is Sunny D with out files and records with just Harris being the only research boy."

"There is good news! The Turok Han.., the ubervamps doesn't necessarily mean that we have another apocalypse on our hands. Someone powerful has to call up the bervamps... and it's kind of given that they'd also be evil, but they have to be called out from a Hell Mouth and sent out to get specific people, like the First did with us," Dawn said.

"Oh, no apocalypse? Just someone trying to kill us. Good!" Amanda smiled sincerely.

"So, will there be more to kill? Man, I DO miss killing vamps!" Connor smiled.

"You hungry for it, Blade? You and I could go back to Sunny-hell tonight. It works out well since Faith is down," Spike said.

"I'm not down! I'm just out of commission for a day or so. I don't think you two should be together with out a grown-up. Besides, if a big bad is trying to kill us we should stick together," Faith said.

Faith wasn't useless with out her power. She proved she could keep the boys in line. Why were the ones that needed whipping always so cute? Why was she complaining?

"I think the Turok Han were after us! Those Roshobi demons that thought that Faith and Spike were gonna hook up and destroy the world are still trying to kill us," Amanda exclaimed.

"No, I called the Roshobi and we talked. I showed them some files. They send their apologies by the way," Wes said.

"You guys think the Turok were coming for us? A specific hit. Different guys that have an off prophecy about Spike and Faith hooking up to end the world.... God I hope not because then they'll be more. I can deal with demons, but I really don't want anymore evil electric shock treatment." Amanda said. Faith rubbed her arm. Nothing was going to happen to her girl again!

"There's a prophecy that you guys are gonna hook-up with Spike?" Connor asked Faith.

"No it was a mix up. They thought it was about me an' English. But, it was about B and your Dad," Faith said. Faith doubted she was in any prophecies. B was prophecy girl, the lone world saver. Faith needed a team, and she was still kind of alone, but less than ever.

Connor looked confused about the whole prophecy thing. He knitted his brow just like Angel, even though it wasn't as big. Wow, did he have some reading to catch up on. How the Hell do you explain all this history?

"Before you were a twinkle in Peaches' eye he shagged the Slayer I love. Of course, that gave him true happiness and he lost his soul and tried to suck the world into Hell. The Roshobi calendar is a bit behind and they saw a souled vampire working with a Slayer and they got a bit carried away and thought we'd end the world," Spike explained.

Well, there you go. Leave it to Spike.

"Imagine!" Spike scoffed, " I just saved the world not too long ago, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was they mixed me up with your old man!"

Connor laughed. It was nice English had a little friend, but Faith couldn't help but feel sorry for Angel.

"YOU had a big part in Angelus trying to suck the world into Hell, if I recall," Wesley said.

"Yes, but in the end I worked with Buffy to save the world and put Angelus rightfully in Hell," Spike snipped.

"That wasn't exactly how-" Wesley began. Spike turned the blender on.

"Wow!" Connor said. "I mean Angel losing his soul doesn't surprise me... But, there is so much I don't know. I wanna know it all. I wanna know the truth. I want to know what was up at Roswell... Dawn can I see the Files and records after you? Maybe we BOTH could work in files and records this summer," Connor said to Dawn.

"Um yeah... That...Cool that would be. I'd have to ask... Xander and Willow. It's weird not having any real parents to ask---"

"There is no bloody way I am letting you step foot into that evil empire! I can see you at the end of the summer! You all dressed in Pratta looking like yuppie larva. All you would talk about is your five-year plan of being a millionaire by the time your 23 and your ideas for world domination. No! No! No!" Spike grumbled.

"

Oh, give her a break, Spike!" Faith grumbled. B would be so happy if she knew Dawn was with Angel.

"

See, you think I'd be able to do whatever I want, but, since I'm away from my real family, it's like I have a million people thinking they can tell me what to do," Dawn sighed.

"Connor!" Angel gasped as he entered the kitchen. "You're still here. I told you to go back to your- your parents. Go back home! It's dangerous here."

"I know exactly what you mean," Connor smiled at Dawn.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Amanda grumbled suddenly.

Everyone focused her attention on her. Had she found out something about the Shadow Demon? Was Faith gonna turn into a monster?

"I forgot to call my mom last night," Amanda whined. Faith never had to worry about that. She was glad Amanda did.

"I know what that is like too. My parents always wanted me to call them. Once you get to college they back off," Connor said.

College. Faith totally got why Angel worked all the mojo for his kid. If her mother knew about it she probably would have done the same for Faith. But, Faith would have wanted to stay with her mother. In fact, Faith would have worked mojo to stay with her mother. The drinking, the constant changes in jobs, rules, moods, and men.... Angel's kid probably just wanted to stay with him, despite all the danger.

"You should go back to them Connor...Your...parents. I want you to get out of here and go back to them now," Angel said to his kid. Maybe it was wicked weird for the kid now. Maybe the kid felt like he had to pretend he was part of a family he really wasn't a part of. Like when they put you in a foster home. Puke. No, Angel had to be better at picking parents than the state of Massachusetts.

"God! You are such a drama queen. I didn't leave my family. I'm nothing like you. I'm just a guy visiting some friends... I wanted to check out the demon scene, and meet Dawn. Ya know, find myself," Connor said. So, Angel did give the kid good people. He wasn't running from them. He was just exploring here.

"Really? You wanted to meet me? Wh- Really?" Dawn gasped.

"Connor, I gave everything to keep you safe, and I won't have it destroyed now. Please leave. Don't make me make you," Angel said miserably.

"Aw, come-on Peach. It's a free country. He really isn't even your boy anymore. This isn't even your hotel. He's not here to see-" Spike began.

"I WILL put your head in that blender if you say one more word!" Angel yelled.

"Here we go again. Angel please. I'm weak and hung over," Faith grumbled as she rose and went to pour herself a bloody Mary from the blender.

"You don't want that one, Love...It's a REAL bloody Mary," Spike said.

"Man! When will I learn. It's rude using blood in other people's blenders. But, not as rude as GQ putting your head in it... Just chill, Angel. You're kid's doing good. He's been researching like a good Scooby would, and he's been talking to the girls about college life. And it seems he's got moves. He saved Dawn's life last night while we were out of the game," Faith said. Connor smiled at her.

He was a good kid. He wasn't exactly in touch with why he was here, but was anyone?

"Connor IS my son, Faith. I decided what was best for him and Spike had no fucking right---"

"You decided. You, you, you. You decided to throw me away-fine! But, you had no right to take away my life...to make me someone else! You want to pretend I was never born--- go right ahead. But guess what? You'll have to go on that denial trip alone, because I decided I want some people to know about me and my power. I decided that remembering all my shit with you was worth having my power. Spike had no fucking right? YOU had no fucking right, Dad!" Connor yelled.

Okay, Angel was swearing too much, and so was Connor now. He had to try to be calm. Cool, like Spike, because Connor seemed to listen to Spike. Mother Fucking Spike! Of course he could be calm about this it wasn't his kid!

"I didn't want to throw you away, Connor. I made sure I remembered you. I gave you your family. I made sure they weren't like mine. I made sure they were good. I gave you everything I knew you wanted," Angel whispered. Connor had asked what Angel was going to do about loving him, and Angel answered by giving him everything. But, Connor didn't know he answered him-until now. He knew now. Why wasn't the answer enough?

"How the fuck would you know what I wanted? You didn't know me! Luke and Vader knew each other better."

What was this? Connor had never seen 'Star Wars'! Oh, now he had...or not really. Yes, really! Angel wanted Connor to be a normal kid.

"I know you. At least I knew you...You're very...different now... You're bitter...You were bitter before, but now you think it's all a joke. It's not a joke."

"It's called having a sense of humor. It's a learned behavior I got from my parents because I know I didn't inherit it from you," Connor said.

Spike burst out laughing spitting his bloody Mary out. He was so disgusting. Buffy screwed that? Why had Angel let him into his life?

"Did anyone ever tell you that for a sexy souled champion vampire you are a total dick and a spaz!" Faith smacked Spike's arm.

Ah, thank God for Faith! Angel was too pissed to speak. Sexy? Oh yeah, well, she thought everyone was sexy.

"Yes, but never so precisely," he answered. Had Buffy told him he was sexy? Was it just some sex thing?

"Well, we still have healing to finish. Let's go," Faith said.

"Faith, if I were you I wouldn't continue...doing that thing with him we have no idea what effects it will have," Wesley said.

"Well, you're my Watcher. Find me a way to take the demon out of me and I'll stop letting Spike save my life," Faith said.

"So, your still going to have him...touch you?" Wesley demanded.

"He IS NOT your Watcher anymore. And thank God he is a bloody pervert. He thinks were getting our rocks off from the healing!... You STILL want to take the demon out? Why?" Spike demanded.

Wes was looking at Angel. Wes's concern was about number 53 in Angel's list right now. Yeah, Spike had touched too many people in Angel's life, but at least him touching Faith seemed to be doing some good. If Angel had to get into it with Spike about anything right now and listen to his snide comments, he'd just end up killing him, and that would upset Dawn and Faith... and now Connor!

"Wes: I'm going to have Spike heal me as long as this demon is inside me draining me. All I can tell you is it feels right. Spike: I'm going to see if there is a way to take the demon out since it killed a person, not to mention that if something happened and you weren't there it would kill me. All I can tell you is it feels right... Now both of you quit riding each other and me or when I'm feeling better I'll take the blender and make English blood pudding!" Faith yelled.

And again thank God for Faith's ability to lay it on the line.

"Now if you have never gone by the names Angel or Connor in your life I want you out of this kitchen with me!" Faith ordered.

And again Faith deserved thanks.

Spike, Wesley, Dawn and Amanda followed Faith out of the kitchen.

"She is such a hottie. I'm surprised you don't try to steal her form her boyfriend," Connor smiled.

"You sound so different now...Well, you probably still would have made that Faith-stealing comment. I do know you; I did know you. You would never say 'hottie' before and you never swore before. I'm surprised they didn't have swearing in the Hell dimension," Angel sighed and smiled a

little.

"They did. Holtz would just pin my tongue down with a knife if I swore. So, that cut swearing out of me really fast. " Connor said. He laughed. It wasn't funny! Since when did everything become funny?

"Jesus!" Angel gasped.

"Don't worry I picked up all the cursing and other slang the second time around in the Sacramento school system," he said.

"Connor, why didn't you tell me about all the things Holtz did?" What if he had? What could Angel have done about that? All Angel could do was what he had already done. That was why Connor HAD to go back to his life.

"He loved me in his own psycho-freak 18th century way. You gotta remember how hard I was to raise and how easy I was to hit. It's not like beating a normal kid. With that tongue thing my mouth would be back to normal in a day, like nothing ever happened. I wish the same could be said for what a head trip he put me through," Connor said.

"That's why I put you with the Fox's. That's why you shouldn't be here. Anything bad that happened to you could still be erased, Connor," Angel pleaded.

"You can't erase things, Angel. I was happy with my family-I am happy with my family. But, don't you think I STILL had this black cloud hanging over me? I never felt right. I had all these feelings and I didn't know where they came from. When I read 'The Count of Monty Cristo' in 8th grade I nearly had a nervous break down and I had no idea why... I just learned to hide that part of myself away...to pretend it wasn't there... You should know what I'm talking about," Connor said.

Angel was silent. He did know. But, Connor wasn't supposed to know about that self, that monster, he wasn't supposed to have one. Angel had taken away all the things that made Connor become dark, or at least he had tried.

"Is there anything I can do for you now? Something you'd want. Whatever it is I could get it for you," Angel said.

"As a matter of fact there are a few things. I want a job, and I want a job for Dawn at Wolfram," he said.

"No, Wolfram and Heart-I can't---There's--- I'm gonna kill Spike!" Angel stammered.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Look," Spike sighed with his head in his hands as he sat open legged on the couch.

He was in a blue shirt today. Faith didn't know he even owned a blue shirt.

"I know I wasn't the best bloke around. I'll even say I was one of the worst. But, I do not deserve what you're proposing to do to me," he pleaded. Then he laughed.

It would be a shame if Faith had to rip up his only blue shirt. Lorne had come all the way over here for this, and the dude didn't like this hotel. EVERYONE was waiting for him. Wes looked like he was going to lose it again. Better on Spike then some drugged out girl. Even the mousy Fred looked like she wanted to do some damage. So, Spike better fall in line.

"Life is such a kick in the bloody ass! I committed over one hundred years of murder, but I've gone through more excruciating torture for all the good deeds I've done...It seems a lot of big bads take it personal that I've jumped ship. I'm willing to consider going back to being evil and leaving you alone if you spare me this!"

"Spike, it's really not that bad. You sing along to the radio all the time. You sing when you're drunk. You sang before you become a killing machine," Dawn said.

"Please say you mean he becomes a killing machine at X box," Lorne said.

"No-a-I meant the real kind, but that is over with now...Okay, bad example," Dawn said.

"That's different. I'm not putting on a bloody show for anyone," Spike whined.

"You sang when we had that musical," Dawn said.

"Spike sang in a musical with you?" Kennedy's brow wrinkled in confusion.

Ah, man- the musical! When Spike and B had first kissed. Faith had only heard this story a hundred times. She thanked God that she was tucked away in a jail cell during that mojo. Who knows what she would have sung about? Probably some "poor-me" ballad-how wicked humiliating! Maybe she'd have sung about how B and Spike's relationship was fucked. Not that she cared. She was no expert just because she was finally in a non-fucked relationship for once.

"Well, I had to do that," he sighed.

"And you have to do this, if you want to find out what's going on with you and Faith," Xander said.

"It's okay, honey... We can go in the back room with just you and Faith. I do it all the time with Angel. He's all jittery about me reading him too," Lorne said.

"Ha, ha, ha...The soul boys are too scared to sing a little song. Maybe all we have to do to kill vamps is make them sing, and they'll die of fear." Xander said.

"I do not have bloody stage fright!" he snapped. "I just don't want to look like a Git." he whined as he laid back down and let all the papers with song lyrics fly around him.

Xander made chicken noises. Shouldn't Xander be too depressed to make jokes. His girl was dead. Had he somehow gotten less mature then when he was in high school? No, Spike brought it out in people.

"Fine! I'll bloody do it! All right. But if you annoy me for singing some sodding Elton John I'll kick your sodding ass!"

"Angel had to sing Barry Manalow. Where is Angel, anyway?" Faith asked.

"Probably off trying to figure out how to get rid of me," Connor said.

The kid still hadn't left. He said he wanted to help. He said Faith and Spike had helped him, so he was returning the favor. Faith didn't really get how she had helped the kid, but she could help him now.

"Oh, Blade, no," Faith said, "Angel is not exactly Mr. In-touch with himself. He loves you and he wants you safe in the 'Burbs, but he also wants you with him. He's torn. So, what does he do? He asks the one person to take care of you that he knows will end up doing the opposite of what he wants... Then, he can act like he wanted to keep you safe, but you ended up here anyway and this way he can think it wasn't his fault."

"Wow! I thought I was good, but you are as sharp as a whip!" Lorne exclaimed. Faith smiled at him. Oddly, Lorne reminder her of her mother. Except Lorne seemed to cause less of the problems and help with more of them.

"Nah. I was just such a master at self-sabotage, so I know it when I see it. I've gotten to know myself in my old age, and Ang and I share some common flaws. I know Angel better then he knows himself," Faith said.

"I don't know that sounds kind of out there to me...not as out there as me getting out into a hell dimension so an ebony goddess can be born out of Cordy seven years later, but... Angel did his best to give Connor a good life. It meant everything to him," Fred said.

"'Out there?' It is the biggest load of bullocks I ever heard! Angel had no idea that his spell for Blade would fail. I gave Blade the choice to take the pill, not him! I didn't even know what I was going to do. How would he?" Spike demanded.

"I'm not saying it was a methodical plan here, E. It was all-unconscious...and it just happened to work out like this. No matter what he isn't going to get what he wants, right? Because he wants two opposing things...It's a bitch to want to do wrong, knowing it feels right," Faith sighed.

"Sing it, sister," Lorne said.

"Don't encourage her. God the Yank prison systems are awful if this is the kind of nonsense they fill you head with!" Spike grumbled.

"Actually, it DOES make sense...except I think you mean 'subconscious' rather than 'unconscious'" Wesley said.

"Thanks, Wes," Faith smiled. She knew she was right, but it was nice Wes thought so. Accept HE was right she did mean "subconscious." "Unconscious" is what she always seemed to be getting herself knocked into.

"I could never put my finger on why Angel would bring Spike into the picture and now I see it... self-hatred and denial of the more selfish things he wants to do. Angel could never allow himself to be so selfish as to let Connor back into his life, but you of course have no problem being a reckless Git." Wesley said to Spike.

"Thanks, Wes!" Faith grumbled sarcastically now. She guessed she walked into that.

"Yeah!" Spike giggled, "Angel is so selfless that he had to have me do his dirty work for him! Another gem from Council boy!"

"Connor, I know things have been hard, but that was all because of things beyond our control. The hardest thing that Angel ever had to do was give you away...and he's done so many hard things. He really does love you," Fred said. That was what Faith had been trying to say. She just didn't have that Motherly -touch. Good thing she didn't have to lead all those Slayers anymore.

"I don't really care about Angel. I just want my life, my truth, no one has a right to fuck with it the way he did," Connor grumbled.

Faith could understand where the kid was coming from. But, it had either been the mojo or a jail psycho-ward for him. And from the reports, He wouldn't have gone to the Big House willingly, like Faith.

"Connor, you were out of control. Angel had to do something or-" Wesley began.

"And whose fault was that?" Spike demanded. "We had to raise Dawn in just as much bloody chaos as Peaches had to raise Connor, and she wasn't out of control...There was that small shop-lifting phase, but she didn't try to blow-up the mall. She just took the stuff in it... Point is, even in bad circumstances you get up off your ass and do the job!"

"Spike, you didn't raise me, okay! And Angel didn't raise Connor, but at least Angel tried to do something to end Connor's pain...He didn't just leave him there and then hurt people Connor cared about!" Dawn snapped.

"Oh yes he did!" Connor said. "I have to tell you the REAL story."

"God!" Lorne gasped. "You all have more issues than a Senate meeting!"

They totally did, and Faith wasn't part of it as usual. But, she had stuck her nose in.

"I was just trying to tell Connor that Angel wants him. I guess I should stick to helping people by hitting them really hard. Well, not them...other people, bad people, bad demons," Faith said lowly.

"It's not that. You're great with all the sodding comfort. But, I'm disappointed in you, Fi. I thought you were the one," Spike said

"The one what?" she demanded. What being a Slayer had to make her an expert in calming down Gap Ad kids?

"The one sodding person in my life that understood Peaches. But , clearly, like Freddy and Watcher Boy you don't know a bloody thing about him. There is nothing more he wants then to be King of the world, and he's bloody getting it now with this Wolfram and Heart deal and we have to watch him," Spike said.

"You're wrong! The only reason Angel took the Wolfram and Heart deal was to help Connor," Fred snapped.

"I'm with Fred. Besides, if I felt the way you did about Angel why would I be friends with him?" Faith snapped. Watch Angel? No way, Angel was the one that watched everyone else, despite what was ever going on with him and his subconscious.

"Well, he knows cool people and he always seems to have pretty toys he does seem to care about you. But, I thought you knew he only helped you to help himself feel better," Spike said.

"Well, you must not be someone that sees me as a good mate then, English. Why do I hang out with you? Because you let me wear your coat every once in a while?" Faith blustered.

Did he just think Faith was a user? Was that what B told him? B would have a right to tell him that, but she thought he knew it wasn't true by now. Didn't Spike think she was a real friend? Or was he just doing this as duty, for the world, for B? Faith dug her nails into her palms as she made fists.

"We aren't just cool people with pretty toys with the technology at Wolfram and Heart I've probably saved more people this past year than you killed in the last one hundred, and I know you, Spike...That's a lot of people," Fred said.

"But, not as much as Angelus, and what are you gonna do when Angel sell his soul completely to W&H and Angelus comes back home, Freddy?" Spike asked.

"You're out of your mind!" Wesley snapped.

"Is he? Wolfram and Heart and magic... Those are the two things that brought Angelus out before...and here we are again... No matter how much you all want to be rid of me," Connor sneered.

"Connor!" Fred said fiercely "Please tell me that you didn't come back here to try to kill Angel...After all he's done for you!"

"Well, if he wasn't before, he's certainly getting the idea in his head now from William the Bloody... I see what you're doing now... Maybe you are as cunning as they say," Wesley said to Spike.

Then everyone started yelling at each other at once. Spike and Wesley were arguing and Faith stepped between them. Fred stared to demand answers from Connor about his motivations. Lorne tried to intervene between Fred and Connor. Dawn also started yelling at Spike. Faith wanted to yell at Spike, but she found she was speechless.

"I take it back you all have more issues than British Parliament," Lorne sighed. Right, and now Faith was part of it and she wished she wasn't.

"SHUT UP!" Willow shouted "Or I will turn you into toads, and then I might make you disappear because toads really scare me, she finished in a normal voice.

"Look, we all have issues. We've all known each other for years and stuff builds up no matter what...except for I don't have any issues with Lorne or Fred. They're great!" Willow smiled.

"Thanks, Willow. I don't have any issues with you either. I was surprised you were gay, but I think it's nice...for you," Fred said.

"We have a lot of work to do. Some serious things are happening and just because it's not the end of the world doesn't mean we should get all wrapped up in our own stuff... I mean, it may not be the end of the world, but it could be something just as bad like making the world into a Hell dimension where we are all trapped on Islands with people we hated in high school, like in that reality show." She stopped and laughed. "Of course most of the people I hated in high school are dead...Too bad for them...Accept the one I hated most is a vampire." She shuddered

"Anyway, we have to stay focused. Number one, we have to find out what is going on with Spike and Faith and the ET glowing healing thing. Number two, we have to figure out a way to take the demon out of Faith. Number three, what the hell was up with the Turok Han coming back? Who sent them and why? There was a number four that Wesley resolved yesterday... Thank you, Wesley," Willow said.

"What was that?... It is okay to talk now, right?" Spike asked.

"I told you, if you were paying attention you'd know. I said I made contact with the Roshobi demons that tried to kill you because of the misread prophecy. They realized I was right and they send their apologies," Wesley said.

"That YOU were right? I was the one that..." Spike began

"Ribbit, ribbit." Willow glared at him.

"Fine, great... Good work, Council Boy," Spike rolled his eyes.

"Well, that doesn't solve everything with that. Who was that guy I killed? Why did my demon come out and get him-a human-when it could have killed those other demons and we'd have gotten away? Was it my fault I killed that guy?... I did want him dead. But, I didn't have any control over what happened. I never do. I'm just happy enough with the results...Death. That isn't ours...But, that guy... Maybe he was all talk. He could have killed Amanda and he didn't. One of the last things he said was he didn't like killing little girls," Faith frowned.

Faith hadn't always hated the idea of killing little girls. She had wanted to kill B, kind of. B thought she was a murderer and she wanted to show her that she didn't care what B thought, then. But now, now she was killing again, with the very demon B refused because she knew it was bad news. Faith sighed. She had a lump in her throat that wouldn't go away.

"I couldn't find anything out about the shadow demon other than what we already know. The Origin of the Slayer and all that. The only other Slayer that took in the demon that is recorded took it in and had the power to save the world, but then she died in a week...Oh, and before that she went all crazy and started killing people," Fred said.

"What?" Spike and Faith said in unison. Faith found herself digging into her palms again.

"...But, like I said we already knew that." Fred said nervously.

"I didn't. She went crazy and started killing people?" Faith demanded. Faith wanted so much to have good news to report to Robin. She had wanted to go back to her man demon-free. That was the least of what he deserved. Now she had to tell him this.

"I didn't want to tell you until I was sure. You're case already seems different," Wesley said.

"Yeah." she sighed "I got the going crazy and killing people part out of the way without the demons help."

"Oh Faith!" Kennedy groaned.

"Would you stop with that already! You only killed one person... I mean you are a wuss compared to most people in the room...What, am I wrong?" she demanded as everyone stared at her. K didn't get it. She had only seen the best of Faith, if K had been around before she would have hated her the most. Faith was sure.

"Well, I'm not most people in the room, K. I'm a Slayer...of demons. I'm supposed to protect people and now I've killed two," Faith said.

"Did they say that this other Slayer had anyone around to heal her?" Spike asked.

"I think her Watcher tried to use magic but it didn't work," Fred said.

"Well, if all they had was sodding magic of course she died! I have something bigger than that. Something that heals Faith after her demons knocks the piss out of her, so we know she's not going anywhere. Why don't we just leave the demon in her until we figure out who sent the Turok and what it is they want," Spike said.

"Are you mad?" Wesley demanded.

"It sounds like a decent plan to me. I mean with out a bunch of fighters around like we had when the sharing spell was active we would lose people fighting hired guns like the bervamps... This way we just lose me...for a day or two," Faith said. At least she was weak for a day or two and then she couldn't hurt anyone. She would ask Spike to watch her. If she started acting crazy he could take her down.

"Did you not just hear the story of the other Slayer? She went mad and started a killing spree, Faith! And she wasn't sharing some mystical energy with a vampire... and," Wesley finished softly, "She didn't have it in her to kill before."

Isn't that what Wesley wanted in her? No, that was what he wanted in the end of days. Now he thought it was a bad thing. Didn't he know you could just whip something like that out and put it away, like he did with his fancy equipment? He didn't trust her. Faith was digging into her palms again. Why should he? She wished she could talk to someone. K would just take her side and no matter what. Spike thought she was some sort of user. Robin would just tell her to walk away. She wished B was here.

"Neither did Faith! Not really. She just slid down the slippery slope.... I have an idea. Maybe there's a way to not take the demon out, but a way to control it," Amanda said. Amanda was here, but she was just a kid.

"And I have an idea why doesn't the human British guy just shut-up for a change! If you know Faith so well where have you been for the last year and a half?" Kennedy spat. K didn't understand, she should only know what Faith did to Wesley.

"And, I think Special K is really on to something with her ideas. Faith may have slid down the slippery slope, but who wasn't there to grab her? Who probably bloody pushed her?" Spike demanded.

That was it! He wasn't trusting anyone because he couldn't stand that other men around here had balls like him. You HAD to trust. They had just met with everyone to sing a simple song for Lorne and Faith was drawing blood from her palms! Why did Spike have to make it all so difficult? Spike pushed her over the edge...and unlike anyone else here he could take her edging over.

"Hey! Didn't I just have on my resolve face? Didn't I just make toad---" Willow was interrupted by the sound of a fist hitting someone.

"OW!" Spike yelled as he fell back on the floor.

"Well, lookie here! I'm back to full strength," Faith snipped as she drew her fist back.

"I'm sick of you being a catty bitch to every male that is older than you. It's funny how someone who has a huge problem with authority gets disappointed if you don't agree with every dumb-ass opinion they have. I have a serious problem with authority too, so I'm not going to be 'the one' who follows you blindly. Angel helped me because he is a good guy. You don't know him. Just like you don't know Wes. They are good men. Maybe Wes is the best because he never even hurt anyone he didn't have to. He didn't push me down any slope. I had the power and I strapped on my own skis, and Wes tried to help me out of it and I didn't listen," Faith said lowly as she stood over Spike. She felt better.

Wesley smiled.

"And, kid," Faith said as she looked at Connor. "I'm sure you did your own skiing too with whatever you did. You can't deny that Angel tried to help you whether you liked his help or not. I don't know your full story, but I'm guessing you were skiing down the same slope as me. Death Valley, and Angel stopped it. So, I'm through with both of your Daddy issues...and I'm through with Wes having to get what's left over of them. Wes is right I should take the demon out. We dealt with the Turok guys before, we'll find a way to deal with them again...and now me an' you are going to sing... I picked the God damned song and I don't want to hear lip," Faith said as she pulled Spike off the ground.

"What bloody difference does it make, if your taking the demon out you won't need me anymore," Spike said miserably. Why was he whining? The whole thing had to be drag for him. He had to sit there waiting for her to go off. She knew, like her, he hated waiting.

"Call me crazy, but when a light comes out of one of my vamps and goes into me and makes stop dying, I want to know what went down. Even if it never happens again," Faith said.

"Now, here I picked the song... Don't worry it ain't Elton John, okay? It's all gloomy and about sex, pain and the sick linkage of it with love. It should be right up your alley... and don't pretend you don't know it because you know everything!" she handed him the lyrics.

"Oh God!" he blustered "Not this one! You know there are real dark ballads we could sing. Like

'Where Wild Roses Grow' not this pop crap!"

"I said no lip or I'll split it open!" she yelled.

"All right... Just bloody sing!" he said ducking

"**Baby ,I get so scared inside, and I don't really understand Is it love that's on my mind, or is it fantasy**" ." Faith sang, "Fucking sing, Spike or so help me---" "Bloody hell!" Spike rolled his eyes, but then sang "*Heaven Is in the palm of my hand, and it's waiting here for you .What am I supposed to do with a childhood tragedy* " " If I close my eyes forever ...Will it all remain unchanged ...If I close my eyes forever. Will it all remain the same." She shoved him angrily. "Bugger, it's my turn again..*Sometimes it's hard to hold on. So hard to hold on to my dreams. Love isn't always what is seems .When you're face to face with me*" he closed his eyes and sang louder. "*You're like a dagger you come and stick me in the heart and taste the blood from my blade and when we sleep, would you shelter me In your warm and dark embrace*" Faith sang this sadly. "**Will you ever take me?" Faith asked in singing. "**No, I just can't take the pain, But would you ever trust me? " Spike stepped closer to Faith

"Hey that was my line!" she smiled at him "**No, I'll never feel the same...Ohh... I know I've been so hard to you. I know I've told you lies ..If I could have just one more wish ..I'd wipe the cobwebs from my eyes." "*Close your eyes .Close your eyes .You gotta close you eyes for me*"

"Gee, that was a jaunty little tune...I dunno Faith. Do you think you could have picked something that screamed 'VAMPIRE!' a little more," Xander said.

"I got his ass to sing, didn't I?" Faith grumbled to Xander.

"That was because you threatened to beat him. Looks like you should do that more often," Wesley said.

"So?" Faith smiled at Lorne, "Are we gonna die?"

"That was so good!" Lorne said as he was visibly shaken.

"Oh God! Are we gonna die?" Faith asked seriously now.

"No. God that was so good! I could have stopped you halfway through like I have to with everyone else around here before they ruin my favorite songs, but I had to let you finish... You really could start an act. I could set you up we should meet at the W/H office," Lorne said.

"Uh, that is not happening, mate... Do you mind telling us what you saw?" Spike sighed.

"Oh! Uh... Pretty much the same thing I saw when you sang alone," Lorne said.

"I never sang!" Spike insisted.

"Yes, you did, it was just to give Angel-cakes some odjetta All I really need is a few bars," he said.

"And you made us do all that!" Spike grumbled.

"You poor kid. You have so much inside of you, even when your being a throw it out there kind of a guy there is still more under there you don't know about," Lorne sighed.

"Bloody hell! I get hit and I get psychoanalysis! And I'm made to sing and I get more of it...Oew! I know! Why don't we all gather 'round and put a chip in my bloody skull?" He said. Would people be freaked if she punched him again?

"Maybe the reason everyone is telling you there is something wrong with you is because there is something wrong with you," Faith said.

"There is nothing wrong with me just because I don't think that Angel and your dead beat Watcher should both be given Nobel bloody prizes... And I DO NOT have a problem with blokes older than me... Well, actually I do, but the only one older than me that I know is bloody Angel!" he yelled.

"

I meant emotionally older than you, which is practically every guy. God, it's not even like your maturity stopped with your siring age...Somehow it got retarded ten years back from there. I guess they had a lot of asbestos back in those days," she said.

Wesley laughed.

"Ha! No they didn't it wasn't even invented yet... See, I have the knowledge of a sage. Maybe you just can't see it because I don't have a stick up my ass and one in my pants like your ol' Watcher," Spike snapped.

That was--- Well, that was just fucking disgusting! She found herself bitch slapping him. Maybe she was too grossed out to punch.

"If he had one stick up his ass and one in his pants, wouldn't that be two sticks in his pants?" Dawn asked as Faith smacked Spike.

"That is...the most foul-ass thing you've ever said! Wes, doesn't have any sticks in him anywhere, but you're gonna have my foot up your ass if you don't---"

"Maddy. David." Lorne interrupted "Don't you want to hear what I saw?"

"Yeah, sorry, Lorne go 'head," Faith said. She was glad he interrupted. She just didn't want to even deal with that.

"Well, basically, the kids are all right... I didn't sense anything dangerous or bad mojo happening between the two of you anyway... But Honey..." Lorne looked at Faith seriously.

"...You gotta trust. His other girlie girl had a problem with forgiveness...But, not you. You are the forgiveness Diva," he said.

"Uck! No I'm not! I hold super grudges," Faith said.

"It's true she does," Willow said.

"Not anymore, or at least not with this piece of work," Lorne gestured to Spike.

"Why?" Faith grumbled "What's he gonna do? See I'm already pissed! I'll kick your Limey ass!" Faith yelled at Spike.

"Balls! Seers are always mad!" Spike grumbled.

"I don't know. I can't see that. I can only see that you forgive him everything, but don't trust him with the most important thing... And that is what will get you, and it'll be bad...again," Lorne sighed.

"Like someone losing an eye bad?" Xander asked.

"No, like someone losing a life bad," Lorne sighed.

"I thought you said we weren't gonna die," Faith said. Would she kill people? She couldn't seem to ask him.

"Oh, well not from the big ET healing light you won't...That little light of his, just let it shine... There's nothing wrong with it... It isn't anything but good for you, Faithy," Lorne said.

"How can you be sure the light won't hurt her? I mean you saw someone dying...Spike seems to refuse to do that. So, it must be Faith in danger," Wesley asked. Or maybe Faith was causing the danger. She couldn't believe that hadn't occurred to Wes.

"And where does the light come from? Does it have something to do with why Spike wasn't turned human by the Sanshu?" Fred asked.

"But, I don't get it how can she not trust him and forgive him. Trust and forgiveness go hand in hand," Connor said. The kid was pretty smart about life, as everyone else was trying to figure out the mojo.

"I just see what I see, Kittens. My brains aren't sending me science or philosophy journals...They are just sending me tiny sound bytes. They say: 'Light good. Faith forgives. Faith no trust. Bad thing happens. People die.'"

"People! I thought you said person... What can I do to stop it? Is it the demon? I have to get this demon out of me!" Faith put her hands in her pockets and paced. She was going to fuck up again in a big way! She'd kill more people! She dug her nails into her palms more.

"Fi, he already told you what you can do to stop it... Trust me, and I say leave the demon where it is... It's a good weapon," Spike said.

"That could make her go crazy and start killing people, and you weren't there when that happened the first time. Not fun," Xander said.

"Would you leave her alone! She killed one person, and she is strong. So, what if some other Slayer couldn't handle this demon, she can," Kennedy said.

"We have no reason to believe that! I'm not going to sit here and listen to the rationale of children. All the hard evidence we have says that this demon is highly dangerous!" Wesley said firmly.

"Wesley is right," Fred said. "Every situation I've researched with someone talking part demon into them who wasn't born that way hasn't been good. They all have a tendency to lose themselves in darkness. That goes for vampires...and for- for Cordelia."

Connor frowned. Faith was not really that great with out a demon. Cordy hadn't been perfect either. With her demon, she had done a lot of damage, and now she had split. Cordy probably had the right idea, with the splitting.

"Unfortunately the Slayer demon is so old that I can't find any connotation or spell to take it out," Fred said.

"Can't you just do a run of the mill Exorcism. Tie me to the bed and sprinkle stuff around and chant... How bad can it be? I'd be willing to be a bottom to get the demon out," Faith said. There had to be a way to get it out. How could Faith had been so stupid? Robin was right she was insane.

"No, trying to take out a specific powerful demon like the Slayer demon that is already part of you is very dangerous. There's no telling what would happen," Willow said.

"Well, we'll keep looking," Wesley said.

"Yeah, you do that... In the mean time we'll listen to the Seer," Spike said.

"A minute ago you said he was crazy! And he's been wrong before. It's crazy to trust you!" Wesley snapped.

"Crazy doesn't mean wrong!" Spike demanded.

"Oh, I didn't see anything about the Slayer demon... I only saw what I told you...The light is good. For all I know the Slayer demon could be as damaging as a William Shatner album," Lorne said

"It doesn't matter; the demon killed a person. I want it out," Faith said.

Angel came in frowning.

"We found out some new things," he sighed

"Can I get this demon out? Is It about Spike's light?" Faith demanded feeling nauseas with hope.

"No, I didn't get anything on that," Angel said

"Well, great Peach because that is what we sodding needed," Spike snapped.

"I know who sent the Turok Han," Angel said "Part of the Roshobi clan revolted and they believe the prophecy is real, and they are still after you."

"So much for them being harmless Gits," Spike said.

"Yeah, and you were so sure of that," Faith said. He was really pissing her off. She realized she liked him a lot better when they were alone.

"I was wrong," Spike said.

"You were what?" Faith asked.

"I said I was wrong," Spike repeated

"Didn't hear you. Sorry," Faith said mockingly.

"Wrong! Bloody wrong! Are you happy?" Spike grumbled.

"Wow! Maybe you are even wrong about other things," Faith mocked. Faith knew he was wrong about Angel and Wes. But, maybe he was wrong about being the only one to trust the demon.

"The Pylean demon said you have to trust me, or were all gonna die!" Spike said to Faith.

"What can we do Angel?" Faith asked.

"Why are you asking him?" Spike demanded.

"Be prepared for more of a fight, Not a lot is known about the Roshobi. They mostly keep to themselves, but they have a lot of power... I'll send some men to Sunnydale with you," Angel said

"I don't need your stinking corporate minions eviling up the place!" Spike grumbled.

"I'll go," Connor said.

"Absolutely not!" Angel yelled.

"I thought we were gonna work here," Dawn said to him.

"NO bloody way!" Spike grumbled

"You aren't my father!" Dawn yelled.

"And you gave up any right to tell me what to do a long time ago....besides I'm 20," Connor said to Angel.

"And I'll be 18!" Dawn said

"This is all your fault!" Spike grumbled to Angel.

"WHAT?" Angel fumed, "THAT is it! I'm ripping your teeth out of your head!"

They charged each other. Faith and Connor went to intervene. The kid looked like he wanted to rip Angel's guts out, and Angel really looked like he was gonna make good on his threat to Spike. Faith didn't even want to look at Spike for some reason. She felt exhausted.

"Separate!" Willow said firmly.

Angel and Spike flew apart from each other and hit opposing walls. Angel grunted in shock, while Spike just waited. Well, go Red! Faith wished Red could do more of this.

"Apparently, you need something a little bit stronger than my resolve face. So there you have it!" Willow said.

"You okay, Honey?" Kennedy asked. K was the anchor of Red's ship, but Red was always herself. How could Faith ask Robin to anchor a demon that wasn't her but did things because of her?

"Oh, I'm fine, Baby. I have experience working on these two," Willow said.

"

Now!" Willow said to Spike and Angel "There will be no ripping out of teeth from heads...in fact no maiming of any kind and especially no killing! And those hurt puppy dog boy looks don't work on me!... Here is what's going to happen! Connor and Dawn will spend sometime in Sunnydale with us and then they'll spend some time at W&H...We could use the open connection with you since we're fighting a huge demon clan."

"But, Willow, Sunnydale is dangerous! I want my son to have a normal life now," Angel insisted.

"You-" Connor began.

"Your sodding Wolfram and Heart is what is dangerous! Something bad will happen to Dawn there I know it!" Spike yelled.

"Um, hello they are both dangerous... this way they'll get to have a well rounded danger

experience that people like to see on college transcripts," Xander said.

"Look! We are adults and we're doing...we're doing what Willow says," Dawn finished firmly.

"Yeah!" Connor said, "I won't let anything happen to Dawn. ... I have a lot of experience surviving in LA."

"And I won't let anything happen to you... I have a lot of experience surviving in Sunnydale... It worse than LA," Dawn said.

"Brilliant. Welcome back to LA, Blade." Spike smiled, "But, Nib is right just wait 'till we get you to SunnyD."

"God Angel, you don't have to look that depressed about it. You'll get to see your kid more. Maybe he'll even start to show you some appreciation once he drives one of the company cars. You can't protect him forever," Faith said.

"It's not that...Well, it is partly that but, there's more news, of the it's a small world variety" Angel said. "That Electro-Guy had ties with the government."

"What assassin doesn't?" Fred said with an eye roll. So, she did know a thing or two.

"Didn't you tell 'em, Wes?" Angel asked

"He had special ties...he worked for the Initiative." Wesley said.

"Bloody Hell!" Spike frowned.

"The Initiative? You mean those soldier guys, like that lamo B dated? .... Sorry, sorry...I didn't mean that," Faith yelped.

"Don't be sorry, he tried to (bloody) kill me," Spike and Angel said in unison and then looked at each other uncomfortably. Well, only Spike said the "bloody."

"What? Oh man...I'd love to see that guy again, and this time I won't be so friendly!" Faith grumbled.

"Hey, Riley is a good guy!" Xander said. "Yeah, he's our friend!" Red said. "Who's Riley?" Kennedy asked.

"Are you guys on crack? He tried to kill Spike and Angel... and now there is a connection between him and the guy that tried to kill us!" Faith snapped.

"You don't know Riley! At least not un-biblically. He'd never try to kill us, at least when he was not hopped up on super-drugs and under some mind control, which is more than I can say for you and Spike and Angel," Xander snapped.

"Lay off, Harris," Kennedy said coolly.

"Just promise me that if Riley comes to town you won't unleash the demon in him and get him killed...any of you," Harris was talking to Faith too.

Xander thought that Faith could kill one of his friends, and why shouldn't he? Faith wished she could will the demon out. What had she taken in to herself?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sun had just set. The two cars were halfway to Sunnydale and they stopped to get gas. Faith examined herself in the dingy gas station mirror. Her face had no injuries but her skin looked pasty. She had dark rings under her eyes and her lips were dry. She hit the mirror with a yelp and it cracked. She held a piece of glass from it in her hand

She heard footsteps. She put her hands in her pockets.

"Here is Faith!" Kennedy announced to no one but her and Faith. "This is what she does with mirrors. She looks into them and just stairs in awe and thinks: 'I do be the pitty-est girl. I do be the pitty-est girl'" Kennedy finished in a baby voice.

"Okay, you are now totally prohibited from watching 'Gia' ever again!" Faith smiled. Her voice echoed on the cracked blue tile. It sounded like some raspy cigarette-smoking girl's happy voice.

"Are you still upset?" Kennedy said.

"Upset that I have an uncontrollable entity in me and that there could be more than one powerful group trying to kill us? No way" Faith chuckled.

"The demon isn't uncontrollable," Kennedy said.

"I can't get it out. It made me kill someone," Faith said.

"You or it did the right thing. Thank God it was there or we would have lost Amanda," Kennedy said.

"We don't know that he threatened to kill Amanda, but then he just went after Spike. I saw his MO. He didn't really kill kids. He only really killed assholes. Human assholes, yes, but assholes. If I follow your logic, me and the guy are exactly the same. I deserve to be dust just as much as him." Faith sighed.

"Faith, WE are the good guys! We are right. It's really that simple. Sometimes, I just don't get you, Chica" Kennedy scoffed and walked out of the bathroom. She looked a lot like Faith when she was walking away.

They were in that nothingness part of Southern California. The part that was sandy and reddish colored where you chocked on the dust of your own footsteps. The part that reminded people they were kidding themselves and they were all trying to make cities and 'Burbs out of a scorpion filled desert. It looked like a place you'd be stranded, or have a bad dream...a dream about all the darkness in you.

"E...I want to leave! What the hell are you doing down there?" Faith said as she stood at the edge of a dried out swimming pool where Spike stood smoking.

"Having a fag," he said.

"You can smoke in the car... Hell, you can have a fag in the car if you let me drive I just want to get to Sunnyhell!" She yelled. She wanted to see her boyfriend, be normal for a change.

"You have been a sodding bitch the whole trip so I asked Special K to come in our car to warm up the ice zone a little. She doesn't want smoke in her face...Guess we are kind of having a fag in the car, Can gay girls be called fags?" Spike asked.

"Why the Hell did you do that? I just want to be alone, Okay... Don't any of you get it! God!" Faith grumbled.

"Oh no! We couldn't possibly understand any of the pain the Lone Slayer goes through because the poor Slayers are the only ones to feel any pain at all...At least they bloody think so!" Spike yelled looking up at her.

"I'll kick your ass!" she yelled looking down at him.

"No you won't. You're shot. You'd be at your worst. I'd win," he stated.

And this...Fucking this...Talking to a one hundred and forty something year old twice dead guy that was as hot as Kurt Cobain when he was alive about kicking his ass and who would win...was not normal!

"You want me to fucking talk about this ...Fine!" she said.

"I didn't say that I wanted you to talk about anything, if I were you I'd say that this was your subconscious not-"

"Okay, I'll fucking talk to you, but we are going to set up ground rules." Faith said.

"I'm not much for rules of any kind," he said.

"Fine!" she said and began to walk away.

"But, you know I like games," he called after her.

"All right we'll play a game. It's called answer me in four words or less," Faith said.

"I played this game before with Buffy... It was surprisingly fun, but she gave me five words. Not surprisingly you are even meaner and are only giving me four," he said.

"You're not doing it and the last thing I wanna hear about right now is some sick sex game you had with B... A woman I want to respect!" Faith grumbled.

"Has the game started?" he asked.

"Fine it's fucking started...I'm still so pissed at you about the way you acted in LA! It's not all about what's up with me."

"I know," he said

"Good," she said

"But, I hate the fact that everything I do comes back to bight me on the ass so painfully. All I ever do is make the mistakes B knew how to avoid. I know I got this demon in me for a good reason, but if it ends up killing what does it matter? Everyone is trying to make me feel better and saying that it wasn't my fault that I did what I had to do... It doesn't matter!"

"I know," he said. It looked like it was torture for him because he wanted to say so much more. So, this game could be fun. But, it wasn't enough fun for now.

"You want to know the most fucked up thing, E? I only remotely care that I killed that guy, because all this killing and death seems normal. That asshole could have been anyone's father or son or brother!" Faith began to cry now.

"I know," he said as he walked closer to her and looked up from the pool bottom. Was he actually listening to her? About the four-word thing, and not telling her she was wrong or what to do?

"And...You know what else I hate? I fucking hate that the two people that can understand me best, the two people that I can breakdown in front of are vampires... The things I'm supposed to kill. It's supposed to be that simple and it's not."

"I know, nothing is" he sighed.

"Good job...exactly four words," she laughed miserably as she stopped crying.

"I can count, Bitch," he smirked.

"Oh yeah? Well, you wanna know what else I hate? The person that tolerates my darkness best isn't the man that loves me. It's a fucked up overgrown teenager with a mass murdering past. And, I hate what that says about me!"

"I know...I know," he said sadly.

"But, even though I hate that.. I do like you E. I like you a lot. I think you're a good guy. A great guy," she assured him now.

"I know," he smiled.

"And Lorne must be a dyslexic seer because I don't forgive you, but I trust you,"

"No you don't," he smiled

"Wait. Time out, You don't think I trust you and we have been fighting together for over a year?" Faith demanded.

"A girl like you won't trust anyone due to your past, Buffy was the one that trusted me, but she never forgave," he said.

"Could it be possible that B and I could both trust you? Do we have to be two sides of a fucking coin to everyone!" Faith blustered. Faith the girl with the checkered past, the bad one. B the girl with the clean record, the good one.

"You aren't two sides of a coin to me. There are a million ways you are the same and even a million more that you are different," Spike said to her as if it was obvious. "She was just THE one that trusted me, I'm not saying I deserve trust or forgiveness from anyone."

"That's the thing, E. You get stuff whether you deserve it or not. Good and Bad. You really think I don't trust you? I admit I have a trust problem, but I trust you... Okay, maybe not to be alone in a room with Angel tied up...or Wes. But, trust you with everything else...with me,"

"You don't trust anyone with you. If you did why would you go into the shadow dimension and get that demon in you. Didn't you think that Buffy would come back to help? Didn't you think anyone would help? And why do you want it out so bad, when you know I can heal you?" he laughed.

"It made me kill someone! You've totally lost the four word game by the way!" she snapped.

"We're not still playing that. You said 'time out'" he asked.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"Well, it was just an expression!...Fuck it! We'll play something else now," she yelled down at him.

"What?" he called to her as she walked to the other side of the pool.

"Catch," she yelled to him and did a dive toward the concrete pool.

"Oh, I win," she smiled as she laid in his arms.

"BLOODY HELL!" he yelled. "You could have told me you were going to do that! Most people say when they are going to do a trust fall...and they don't do it 15 feet above sodding concrete!"

"If I said I was going to do it would that have really proven anything? I know you're sharp. I know you'll do what it takes for the team, for the Slayer and all. Why are you breathing so fast? You don't need to," she said.

"Habit and bloody terror. You almost got your head split open because Harris thought it would be a hoot to throw my fags down here."

"Terror? You're never scared. A big whiney cry-baby, yes, but you're never scared."

"Not for myself, and I don't have time to be scared for anyone else is battle. I just do what I can do to help them. But when I see someone hurting themselves-That's scary, I can't do sod off about that." he said.

"I wasn't hurting myself. I was proving I trust you!" she insisted.

He set her down and they climbed out of the pool. He walked ahead of her and didn't look back.

"Well, fuck you that you don't trust that I trust you! You're reminding me of Robin. Men! What do you have to do to get them to quit bitching?" she snapped as they got in the car. She knew Robin was going to be upset by all the news she was brining. She knew he had a right to be, but why was everything so hard?

"I know you like hurting yourself. I heard you break glass in the bathroom. Was it the mirror you were breaking? What does it say when you analyze that?" he asked.

"I want to go back to the four word game for the duration of the car ride," she said. She didn't have to answer HIM.

"Fine!...Cranky, ungrateful, Bint! " he grumbled. They were silent for a minute.

"Let K drive. I have something for you we might as well do now...It's not like we have anything else to do," she said.

"What is it?" he asked.

She took out some black nail polish.

"I know everything grows back on you. Most of the time, but it really bothered me when you lost your two fingertips. It's funny, I've seen people, demons, totally eviscerated...I've caused their injuries but, injured hands freak me out... Maybe it's some childhood trauma... Hands are very important. I remember when I met you how you had your nails all painted black, and I thought it said so much, and now you don't do it anymore," she said.

"What did it say?" he asked surprised.

"It said you knew how important your hands were. It told me you were a man of action. Can't really act with out your hands, and you took the time to make them look bad-ass," she said.

"Or pretty," he smiled.

"Nah. Black isn't for pretty people. It's for bad asses. And it didn't show you wanted to be pretty, it showed that you were a REAL bad ass. Because, if anyone thought it was 'Poofter Nancy boy'..." she said in a British accent laughing, "You could give a fuck... That was why I always like punk boys...GOD! Talk about over analyzing. You probably just wanted to try a Marilyn Manson look that week to scare people... I should just shut-up! This whole limiting your responses has a bad side affect of making ME look like the talker here! I'm going to restrict myself to answering YOU in five words or less."

"I don't get five!" he grumbled.

"I'm not the asshole," she smiled.

She took his hand and put it on the front seat headrest and shook the nail polish bottle. He took her hands and turned up her palms to reveal all the half-moon of blood where she had been digging her nails into both palms.

"What does this say?" he asked.

"Ouch," she answered. It was stupid to think she could hide it from him. He could smell it.

She started doing his nails. She held one of his hands in her palm. She jumped back when his hands started to glow a little bit.

"You're controlling it better," she said taking his glowing hand back.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"It won't heal my hands..." she said and then went to continue but stopped. This five-word thing was hard. He had made it look easy

"I know...go on," he laughed.

"Only works after... demon shows," she said obviously counting the words in her head. He had a lot more brains for this sort of thing than she did.

"I know," he said.

"Feels good though," she said looking down at the nail polish.

"I know," he smiled.

"Don't you fucking know everything!" she spat. She looked worried for a moment and then counted the words in her head and smiled. She probably looked stupid to him, but he had been a live a lot longer, and he had played this game before. She wondered if B had to concentrate on word counting when she played this game with Spike. Probably not.

"I know enough," he sighed as he looked and Kennedy and Willow doing a make out good-bye.

"I get to drive! Coolness!" Kennedy said as jumped into the Mazda.

"What's that smell?... You're doing each other's nails by the light of the healing hands? Oh, I have definitely crossed over to the freak car! And do you know what that says about you guys? They were just doing a sing along to a Jewel song! Jewel, people!...What the Hell is that song supposed to be about? I don't care how small that bitch's hands are!... So, what do you guys think we'll have waiting for us when we get back to Sunnydale? Do you think this demon clan is as bad as that Angel guy said?... It's kinda cool that he's sending people. They'll have good weapons. I told him to make sure they understood that we were in charge... So, that kid of his is coming? What was the deal with him? I'm so confused. I thought he was like Dawn- a key or something, but no. She was trying to explain it to me. She was giving waaay me too much info. I need a cliff note version. I just want to know the kids story, I don't wanna go to bed with him," Kennedy said .

"We still playin'?" Spike asked Faith.

"I need to for sanity," she said.

"Angel black magicked Blade," Spike answered Kennedy.

"Only to protect him," Faith explained. The word count was getting easier.

"Forgot who he was," Spike said.

"Right...He got fake memories...So, what happened?" Kennedy asked.

"Now Blade is back," Spike said.

"And Angel is pissed because he thinks the Kid is gonna die in battle...Geez! Isn't Angel Mr. Over-protective Dad? That kid can kick some serious ass! And he old enough to decide what's what." Kennedy said.

"It's not that simple," Faith sighed. Nothing was four or five or a hundred word simple.

"I got Blade's back," Spike said as he looked at Faith. Well, maybe Spike could make it simple.

"That's really cool of you. Ya know, since Angel fucked things up with you and Buffy... But, I guess that doesn't matter since she had to jump dimensions anyway... Straight people's relationships get so screwy... That reminds me Wood is going to shit bricks that Angel's company couldn't figure out a way to take the shadow demon out of you, Fi," Kennedy said as she merged on to the freeway.

"No he won't!" Faith insisted. Well, he would, but only because he cared. Poor Robin.

"I don't know he seemed to really want you demon free. I think that was the only reason he didn't whine about you going to see your other vampire friend with your vampire friend."

"Can you blame him?" Faith asked. He probably would want Faith to go away again.

"I guess not... I mean this whole Slayer demon in you thing is freaky. I guess all of us potentials have it in us. But who knew when you got an extra dose it got so out of control? Did you hear what your old Watcher said?: without Spike you'd have been dead in a week! That really freaked me out. Spike, I dunno what kind of connections you got when you died, but I dig em'. I just wish your little healing hands would work on all of us all the time!" Kennedy said.

"Can't have everything, K," he said as Faith blew on his nails. He sounded like Faith.

"Who says? ...Well even if I can't have it all, I can want it! I want the demon to be able to kill everything but not hurt Faith. You think that Angel's little company would know all about how to make that happen, and yet they don't even know how to get it out of her! Powerful my ass!... Anyway, enough talk... You guys and your shit; you make my head hurt...I want tunes!" she said and blasted the tape Spike made.

**Love is a burning thing and it makes the fiery ring...

End Forget Me Not Part 5- (Scroll for 6---