Chapter 6 - Hello Again

"You saved her life. And everything worked... wait, what worked?" Cordelia stopped her rant and looked quizzically at Angel.

"Nothing, I just..." Angel sees Cordelia about to have a vision.

"Oh, no." Cordelia starts to fall, but Angel rushes over and catches her.

"Big demon, club on Crawford Street. Got it." Angel helps Cordelia stand back up.

"But, I didn't even..." Cordelia watches as Angel runs out into the night. "That was weird."

Angel walked into the club and started to look around. "Come on, I know you're here..." He kept walking, and then remembered what had happened before. He caught the elbow aimed for his face just before it made impact.

"Angel."

There she was. Still in Buffy's body, but here just the same. "You're alive." He wanted to grab her and kiss her, but he restrained himself.

"Yeah... why wouldn't I be?" She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Great, way to freak her out. "Oh, no reason. I'm just happy that you're not dead. And of course you aren't, I don't know why I said that. I'm just... never mind." Smooth, real smooth.

"Umm... okay, then." She started to turn away when a demon crashed through the window. She was about to attack it, but Angel's large hand suddenly appeared on her chest, pushing her back.

"Wait here." Angel lifted his arm and looked for a weapon. In his hurry to get to the club, he had forgotten his axe. He ripped a two by four off the wall, and turned around to fight the demon. When he looked, he saw that someone was already fighting it. "Faith, no!"

The girl stopped hitting the demon and turned to face Angel. "What did you just call me?" While she was distracted, the demon took the opportunity to smash a blow into her stomach. When she doubled over in pain, he grabbed her upper body and threw her back into a wall.

"No!" Angel rushed full speed at the demon, and smashed the board into the jewel on it's forehead before it could even blink. The demon exploded in a bright flash of light. Angel walked over to the girl and extended his hand to her. "Here. Let me help you."

She looked up at him, but didn't take his hand. She pulled herself up off of the floor. "You... you called me Faith."

"I did. I know it's you, you don't have to lie to me." Angel was terrified that she would run away.

"I'm not. I don't know what your problem is, but I'm not Faith." Her hands were shaking and her voice kept cracking while she talked.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" Angel knew that she wouldn't, but his heart sunk a little to see it with his own eyes.

"Remember what? That you're a psycho looney? Cause you're really acting like one." She tried to push past him so she could get out.

Angel stopped her and lightly squeezed her shoulders with his hands. "Please, don't leave. I know that you and Buffy switched bodies. It's okay, I'm not mad." His big brown eyes were pleading her to be honest with him.

"I... I'm not. I didn't switch with anyone, that's crazy." She tried her best to sound convincing, but the pain in her voice gave her away.

"Faith, I know it's you. Just admit it. Please." It was killing him. He had saved her life... but what good had it done? She was still the old Faith. Nothing had changed... and she didn't love him anymore.

"I-I need to go." She tried to break free of his grasp, but he wouldn't let her go. "Stop it. Just stop. I'm..." She felt the tears well up in her eyes, and she didn't know why. "I'm not... I'm not her." The tears started flowing in a steady stream down her face. "You're wrong. I... I'm not her." She started sobbing harder.

Angel gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Shh... it's okay. I've got you now. You're gonna be okay." He closed his eyes and held her tighter, fighting back his own tears.

"How... did you know? How did you know it was me?" Faith mumbled her words into his now tear-stained shirt.

"Because... I love you." Angel couldn't believe he was telling her this. But he needed her to know how he felt.

Faith pulled back and looked into his eyes. "You... what?"

"I love you, Faith."

Faith felt something strange go through her. She looked down at herself, and saw that her body was her own again. "What? I'm... I'm me again. I didn't think that I could..." She looked back up at Angel. "What is this? What are you trying to do to me?" Her defenses went back up as she moved away from him.

"No, I didn't. I don't know why this is happening." No, she's gonna freak. I can't let her run.

"You did this. You turned me back, and you're lying to me. Just stop. Let me go." Faith tried to find an escape route so she could get away.

"I'm not lying. Please Faith... I love you. I mean that. I know it seems strange, and I wish I could make you understand, but I can't. I just need you to trust me." Angel reached out to touch her face. She flinched at his touch. "Hey, it's alright." Angel lifted her face up to his and their lips slowly met.

Faith finally gave into him and she relaxed in his arms, deepening the kiss. She didn't get it. It didn't make any logical sense in her mind why she was here, kissing Angel. And more confusing were those three words. He said he loved her. Faith. It just couldn't be real. Faith pulled back, ending the kiss, but still tight in Angel's embrace. "No. This isn't real." She tried to shove him off, but Angel only held her closer. "Ge-get away!" Faith was frantically shoving at him now, but her hits became weaker as her eyes filled with tears again. "Just... leave." Faith sniffled and tried to hold back the tears. "Leave me alone." Her actions betrayed her words as she stopped hitting him. She let her face fall to his chest and deeply inhaled his scent. She wrapped her arms around his body, and pushed her face further into his shirt.

Angel watched as she broke down and his brow furrowed with worry. He was scared of what might happen now. When he had rewound the day, his only concern was getting Faith back. He hadn't stopped to consider the consequences that came along with it. What if she couldn't change? What if now she was going to be stuck as the same old murderous, distrusting Faith that he knew from before? "Shh, shh. Don't cry." He stroked her hair with one hand, and rubbed her lower back with the other. "Everything's going to be okay." Angel said the words, but he wasn't even sure if he believed himself anymore. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe."