Part of me feels sick. Part of me feels kinda numb. Part of me feels sad. Most of me though…most of me feels fucking relieved. We're all just standin' here looking at the hole formerly known as Sunnydale and I don't think any of us can really believe what happened. I think we actually won. I know I can't believe it.

For weeks the First has been on our asses and B and G-man have been making it this larger than life demon that we just can't beat. Well, ladies and gents, I think we've done it.

I hear Red say something to B about what we're gonna do and when she turns around, she just has this smile on her face. I watch as Dawn and Red approach her with X not too far behind and I just stand back, knowing this is sort of a Scooby moment. I head towards the back of the bus to have a smoke, passing Kennedy who's standing watchin' Red with pride in her eyes. She should be proud…damn. Her girl just made a whole hell of a lot of baby slayers. That's something I doubt too many people could pull off.

I only get to take a few drags from my smoke before G is freakin' out to get back on the bus ASAP so we can rush off to the hospital. It's only then that I remember Woody isn't doing too hot. As I'm about to get back on the bus I notice that B's still kinda standing there watchin' the hole like the things she wants most are just gonna come bouncing out of there. They never do and I think she realizes that they probably won't before we gotta jet so she turns around and notices me watching her. She gives me this fuckin' grin that I haven't seen directed at me since before Finch and for some reason I feel my stomach flip flop. I shake it off and grin back. "You ready to hit the road?"

She nods and approaches me slowly. When she's close enough she pulls me into a hug and squeezes me tight enough that it would probably kill me if I wasn't a slayer. I hug her back and I can feel her forgiveness kinda seeping into me as we stand there. "Thanks for coming back, Faith. I couldn't have done it without you." Her words are quiet, but they ring in my ears.

I pull out of the hug, a little uncomfortable with the attention and the praise. I shrug and wave it off, knowin' she's probably just blowing smoke, either that or she's fuckin' with me. "Don't sweat it, B. It's what slayers do."

"Girls, please, I really must insist that we get moving right away. Some of the girls and Robin need immediate care at the hospital," Giles tells us both as he hangs part way out the door of the bus.

Buffy nods and grabs my hand, pulling me into the bus with her. "Sorry, Giles. Let's go."

As we get closer to the hospital, I notice B looking more and more pale. She starts sweating and she kinda looks like shit. I nudge her quietly and give her a look, asking silently if she's okay. I don't want to alert the troops that their leader might not be five by five. She nods, brushing it off. I keep an eye on her and I notice a few minutes later, her head kind of bobs back and she looks really bad.

"We're here!" Giles calls out a moment later.

Red and Dawn start shooin' all the girls off the bus so they can help the girls bleedin' all over the place into the hospital. I know it sounds kinda weird, but it's almost like the hospital was expecting us. It musta been the big Ace to tip 'em off that a busload of injured girls were gonna be showin' up some time today. Leave it to Angel to take care of everything for Buffy.

Once all the baby slayers are off the bus I turn to make sure we don't have any stragglers and that's when I see that B still hasn't gotten up. Actually, I just now notice that she's out fucking cold. In a panic I yell somethin' out and grab her before running into the hospital like a damn nutbag, screaming the whole way tryin' to get someone to take care of her. A minute later, B's bein' wheeled off on a stretcher and I'm left standing with B blood all over me in the middle of the emergency room, probably looking like a fuckin' psycho.

"Faith, what happened?" Dawn asks me a minute later, scarin' the shit outta me from behind.

I shake my head and turn around to go back outside to smoke, I can't deal with all this shit. "She passed out on the bus."

Dawn gasps and runs off in the other direction to find big sis and I head outside. I don't realize just how fuckin' shaken up I am about B until I put my cigarette to my mouth to try to light it and I can't because my hands are shakin' so damn bad.

It's about now that I start seriously considering runnin' and never coming back. I know I could make it to Mexico without getting' caught and the Scoobies have so much goin' on right now that they probably wouldn't even notice I was gone. I can feel myself carin' again, especially about B and the fact that I'm this fuckin' shaken up when she gets hurt lets me know that I'm gettin' way too close.

I think for a second about the smile B gave me a few hours ago and the way it made me feel. I feel like I want to be on the receivin' end of that smile again and again. I feel like I want to be the one to make her smile like that again. B's always kinda done this to me. Dammit. I can be such a damn puss sometimes.

I have all kinds of weird shit goin' through my head when I finally get my cigarette lit. I shake it off as much as I can and try my best to ignore some of the thoughts involvin' Buffy going through my head at the moment. I end up smoking three cigarettes back to back before I wander back into the ER and back to Buffy. I don't even need to ask where she is…the slayer senses lead me back to her every time.

I think that I can honestly say that I hate hospitals more than any other place on the planet. I really hate that all the girls saw me so vulnerable and I especially hate that Faith saw me like that. She never should have had to see that. Dawn has been practically sitting on top of me since she ran in and found me. I think I was only out for a few minutes but apparently that was enough to have her convinced that I was gone again. Slayer healing took over almost immediately once I was out and I was back up in no time. Unfortunately, the doctors don't know about my slayer healing and they've been poking and prodding since I've been in this stupid bed. It's like I'm a science project.

"How ya feelin', B?"

Just her voice is enough to get those damn butterflies in my stomach going again. "I'm okay."

She nods once and smiles at Dawn before flinging herself ungracefully into the chair near the door. She sits and fidgets and taps her foot and I can't help that it just makes me that much more crazy about her. See, that's the thing, I've been in love with Faith since the moment we met. I tried denial…I really did. It didn't work and I couldn't deal with it so I pushed her away and when the thing with Finch went down, I used it as the ultimate excuse to push her away from me and I even hoped it would make her hate me so I wouldn't love her so much.

"Miss Summers, I'm Doctor Kelly. How are you feeling?"

Okay, here's where we convince the silly doctor that I'm actually okay and I don't need to be here any longer. "I feel fine. Can I go now?"

Faith snorts. "The direct approach. Nice, B."

I roll my eyes. "Faith now isn't the time."

"Sorry, baby, I'm stickin' around to see how this one plays out," Faith tells me with a smile and a wink.

My stomach clenches at the word baby, Faith has called me that before and it always had the same effect on me. I always wished Faith would really call me baby one day. "Why is that again?"

The doctor stepped in at this point. "Um, Buffy, I need to take a quick look at the wound you sustained. Your sister should probably go, but your girlfriend can stay if you want her to."

Faith and I lock eyes for a moment and I know that I'm blushing because Faith just smirks at me and stands up. She approaches the bed and kisses my forehead. "Don't worry, babe, we'll wait outside."

Dawn giggles and follows Faith from the room.

I am absolutely mortified that she said that in front of Dawn and I shake my head. "We're not together. She's just a friend."

The doctor just smiles. "Oh, I'm sorry. The way you interact made me think otherwise. I apologize."

Well, we would make a damn good-looking couple, but I can't really discuss this with the doctor so I smile and do my best to convince her that I'm okay.

Buffy finally managed to find Giles, Willow and Kennedy and the three of them looked up as she approached and they all smiled.

"Buffy, glad to see you up and about."

"Thanks, Giles." Buffy smiled at him and turned to hug her best friend. "Will, what can I say? You saved me again."

Willow blushed and Kennedy beamed, sliding a hand around her waist. "She was amazing."

Buffy took a long look at the two of them and realized how happy they both seemed to be together. "Kennedy, you were great in the fight. You take care of my Willow."

The younger slayer smiled appreciatively at Buffy and gave her a nod. "I will. Because if I ever hurt her, you'll kill me, right?"

Buffy nodded. "You may be a slayer, but I could still kick your ass."

A doctor walked out of the room at that moment and he and Giles stepped away for a moment to speak privately. The three girls watched them until Giles came back with a grim look on his face. "I'm afraid Robin didn't make it."

"Does Faith know?" Buffy asked immediately.

Giles shook his head. "I actually haven't seen her since she, ah, carried you in."

Buffy thought for a moment and turned on her heel, heading for the front of the building. She saw Faith sitting outside smoking and she and Dawn were chatting on one of the benches. She approached the two of them and smiled when she heard her sister giggling.

They both looked up when she approached and immediately picked up on Buffy's somber mood.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Dawn asked her as she stood up to approach her sister.

She met Faith's eyes and sighed heavily. "Robin didn't make it."

Dawn hung her head for a moment before looking at Faith, trying to gauge her reaction. Both Summers women were praying it wouldn't send her off the deep end. Faith simply pulled out a cigarette and lit it, pulling her legs up Indian style while she smoked.

"Dawnie, give us a minute," Buffy asked her quietly.

Dawn nodded and hugged her sister briefly. She turned to leave, but a second later she turned back to Faith and hugged her too before running off to find the others.

"Faith are you okay?"

The brunette slayer shrugged her shoulders. "He was a good guy. Kinda vain and diluted, but he was solid. And he could fight."

"And you kind of had a thing with him," Buffy reminded her.

Faith shrugged. "So? I've kinda had things with lots of people. He wasn't anything special. He just thought he was."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked.

Faith nodded. "I'm sure."

The slayers sat quietly until Faith pulled another smoke out and Buffy snagged the pack and grabbed one for herself. Faith simply raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word as she lit both cigarettes with the Zippo she pulled from her pocket.

Buffy took a drag of her cigarette and had to use all her slayer powers not to cough. Faith was watching after all and she wouldn't let Faith laugh at her. "Have you decided what you're doing after this?"

Faith smirked and shook her head at Buffy trying to be a little bit bad. "I'm gonna fight the good fight. I overheard G talkin' on the phone to somebody about maybe going to Cleveland."

Buffy mulled that over a minute and took another drag, blowing the smoke out slowly. "You still want to continue to risk your neck for this?"

Faith smiled. "Think about it, B. We have a ton of slayers now. Think about how much easier the fight's gonna be now."

Buffy snorted, and shook her head. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. If there's anything I've learned from Willow and her physics and magic, it's that you can't have anything without balance. If you increase the good, you'll increase the bad. There always has to be balance."

"All the more reason for you to stick with it, B," Faith told her with a shrug.

Something about Faith's statement, as simple as it was, rocked Buffy for a moment. She thought she'd made her choice, but it was in that moment that she altered her plans. "I think I need a break."

"So take one."

Buffy laughed cynically. "Is it that simple? I've wanted a break for years and the longest one I got was when I was in the ground."

Faith frowned for a second; something about Buffy's statement rubbed her in a weird way. She shook it off and stood up. "Are you just tuning in, B? We have a fuckin' army of slayers now. If you need to go off on a Vegas vacation, go ahead. We can handle it while you're gone."

Buffy grinned a little, they'd watched that movie together and both loved it. "You almost sound like you want me gone."

It was only there for a split second, but the look on Faith's face at that comment made Buffy's heart flutter and the butterflies were back. She felt her cheeks flush and her pulse quicken. She wasn't even sure what it was, but she saw something that gave her hope.

"No. I want you to be happy."

Buffy knew in the bottom of her heart that having Faith as her own would be the only thing that would ever truly make her happy. She knew that would never ever be a possibility so she pushed that thought out and moved the conversation forward. "I won't give up on this fight. But I promised Dawn I'd show her the world and that's a promise I fully intend to keep."

Faith exhaled a puff of smoke and gave her a smile. "B, go do what you need to do. I had a three-year break from this and I can't wait to get back into it even after that fight we just had. You go and take a break and when you get back, we'll all be here." She paused a grinned a bit. "Maybe not right here, but we'll be waitin'."

Buffy gave Faith a huge smile and reached out to snub out her cigarette and then she reached over to hug her. "Thanks, Faith. For everything."

Faith just shrugged and gave her a wink. "No sweat, B."

Giles suddenly emerged from the hospital with Kennedy and Willow following close behind.

"Buffy, Faith, I have a task for all four of you girls if you're both feeling up to it," Giles told them once he was close enough.

The two slayers nodded and Giles smiled a little at how the two of them were left alone and nothing had been destroyed. Maybe they really could get along.

"Kennedy has been in touch with her family and Willow with Angel and between them, we have managed to get our hands on some money."

"Well, Western Union has their hands on our money," Kennedy corrected him with a smirk.

"Now isn't the best time to get technical, Kennedy," Giles told her with an exasperated look. Buffy and Willow could tell he wasn't really that mad, but Kennedy kind of slinked back behind her girlfriend. "Now, as I was saying, I have a task. I would like the four of you to go out shopping." He smiled when he saw Faith's face fall and Buffy's light up. "None of us have any belongings and I would like all of you to go out and buy some new clothes and any other appropriate items we all may need for the next few days. I have been speaking to some of my Council contacts and they want me to rebuild and I fully intend to do so. I hope to be able to access Council accounts in the next few days and once I am able, I will have enough money to assure we have everything we need."

"You're gonna be in charge of the new Council?" Buffy asked him with a hint of pride in her voice.

Giles recognized the tone and blushed, looking away for a moment. "Yes. I plan to go on to Cleveland and rebuild there. The way it was meant to be done the first time"

"Shopping won't be a problem, G-man. We takin' the bus?" Faith asked him, jutting a thumb over her shoulder at the ragged bus still sitting in front of the emergency entrance.

Giles nodded, handing her the keys. "Be careful girls." With that, he hurried back inside.

Willow leaned over and snatched the keys out of Faith's hand and didn't even flinch when the slayer shot her a deadly look. "Faith, you don't scare me anymore. I'm far more powerful than you and I'm pretty sure that spell got rid of all the bad mojo inside. I'm not afraid to go there if I have to now."

Faith took a step back and grinned at the witch. "Damn, Red." She glanced at Kennedy, who was looking slightly turned on. "Remind me not to mess with your girl, Kennedy."

"Don't mess with my girl," Kennedy shot back without ever taking her eyes from Willow.

Buffy's face soured as she moved towards the bus. "Come on, lust bunnies. Let's go now before it gets too late."

Willow smirked. "You know, Faith, I think I finally understand the whole hungry and horny thing you mentioned all those years ago."

Buffy suddenly yelled out and covered her ears. "No! I don't want to hear those things coming out of your mouth, Will. To me, you're still a virgin and innocent and all that."

Kennedy smirked. "Well then, it's a good thing you couldn't hear what was coming out of her mouth last night."

Willow blushed and Faith laughed out loud, shoving Kennedy a little as the girls made their way onto the bus to do some shopping, all of them laughing at Buffy who had her fingers in her ears and was singing loudly.

Willow and Kennedy had gotten approximate sizes for everyone for their clothes before they left the hospital so they knew what to get.

They arrived at the super store a little while later and they got more than a few strange looks as they got out of the bus and headed inside. Mostly due to the fact that Buffy was wearing the top half of a set of scrubs they'd given her at the hospital and Faith still had Buffy's blood down the front of her shirt. They grabbed a few carts and Willow and Kennedy headed off with one half the list and left the older slayers with the other half.

"They are just itching for some alone time," Faith noted with a hint of a smile.

Buffy picked up on the sadness in Faith's voice and mistook it for feeling sad about Robin. "Faith, are you sure you're okay with the whole Robin thing?"

Faith gave her a weird look and then realized where that comment came from. "Yeah. B, it has nothing to do with him."

Buffy thought for a moment. "Well, what is it?"

Faith stopped short and looked at Buffy long and hard for nearly a minute. Their gazes locked as they stood in the isle. "You really want to try to do this again?"

Buffy's heart nearly jumped into her throat. "You mean try to trust each other?" Faith nodded. "I don't think we've ever really tried that."

Faith's mouth turned up in a tiny smile. "True. Are we really going to try it for the first time then?"

Buffy smiled. "Why not?"

The brunette slayer nodded and smiled, turning to throw some work out pants into their cart. "Wood was idiotic enough to think he could domesticate me. He was good-looking and smart and didn't treat me like a criminal. The point is, I was almost willing to try to let him try to kind of settle me down."

Suddenly, all the air went out of the room for Buffy and she had to force herself to breathe. She knew as long as Faith was a 'get some, get gone' girl, she almost stood a chance at getting her to love her back. If Faith settled down with someone, she felt like she would lose her chance forever. She wasn't sure what made her feel that way, but she just had a feeling that whoever got her to settle down first, would have her forever and she at least wanted a chance to be that person.

"You really think he would have been able to settle you down?" Buffy asked softly, dropping her head to look at her hands.

Faith picked up on something in Buffy's voice and she frowned for a second. When she didn't say anything right away, Buffy looked up at her. Suddenly Faith broke into a huge grin. "Hell no. I'm sure there's someone out there that might be able to do it. He sure as hell wasn't the one."

Buffy nearly started crying in relief. She pulled Faith into a hug for the second time that day and when she realized what she was doing she pulled away quickly and started her shopping again. Faith stood in the isle, completely thrown by Buffy's behavior. She wasn't sure what the other slayer was thinking, but then again, she never really understood her blonde counterpart so she followed along, throwing things in the cart as they went. They met up with Willow and Kennedy a little bit later and the two brunettes took the full carts with them to pay for the clothes and left Buffy and Willow with an empty cart to shop for toiletries.

The best friends found the two brunettes a few minutes later playing video games. They apparently thought that hitting each other in real life would be enough of a distraction to win the game and it seemed to be working. They appeared to be on the verge of an all out wrestling match when the other two girls found them and suddenly a store worker approached them all.

"Ladies, we've asked you to calm down once before and now we're going to have to ask you both to leave the store," he told them. His hands were shaking and he was so nervous he could barely speak.

A light suddenly went off in Buffy's head and she slid up behind Faith and whispered in her ear. "Just go with it." She decided she was gonna have some fun with the teenage boy working. She wrapped her arms around Faith's middle. "Baby, I thought I told you not to get into any trouble while I was shopping."

Faith stiffened for a moment before she realized what Buffy was doing and she turned in the blonde's arms and kissed her on the cheek. "I know. Sorry, babe. You two ready to go?"

Buffy nodded and gave her a sexy smile. "I'm ready to get you home and in bed, that's for sure."

Willow and Kennedy stood wide-eyed at the two and both smiled when the employee stood slack jawed watching the two girls. Willow finally rolled her eyes and grabbed Faith and Buffy each by an arm and dragged them away. "Come on, lust bunnies. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can get to bed.

The four girls burst out of the store laughing hysterically and could barely make it to the bus they were laughing so hard.

"Damn, B. I didn't think you had anything like that in you. That guy was about to pee himself he was so excited," Faith told her with a grin.

Willow took a deep breath and calmed her laughter. "I was wondering what was going on until I saw his face. That really wasn't very nice."

Buffy shook her head. "No, it wasn't, but I don't really care. I'm ready to have some fun and leave the responsibilities to someone else for a while."

"Are you sure there isn't something you two want to tell us?" Kennedy asked. "That was a pretty convincing performance back there."

Buffy and Faith exchanged a look, Buffy grinning and Faith winking with a sly smile. They both shook their heads. "That was just us having some fun," Buffy told her, not taking her eyes from Faith's.

Kennedy turned when she heard Buffy's tone, sensing something under the surface and she could see the longing in the oldest slayer's eyes. She couldn't believe she'd never seen it before. Suddenly the way Buffy acted towards Faith made perfect sense. She knew, without a doubt that Buffy was totally head over heels in love with Faith. She also decided that she was going to do something about it when the time was right.

Later that night, the gang boarded the bus and made their way to the hotel that Angel had booked for them. The group wearily exited the bus and after receiving their room keys they all met in Giles's room for a quick meeting.

"I know you are all tired," he stated to quiet the room. "I know you're all excited and anxious to find out what happens next. I am as well, but I think it can wait until tomorrow…or…next week," he joked with a small, tired smile and the gang found his comment funnier than it actually was. "I want you all to know how proud of all of you I am. I know we suffered losses today that will never be forgotten, but you were all outstanding in your fighting and defeat of the First." With that, the group let out a rather large applause. "I'm going to put Willow and Kennedy in charge of ordering some food and Buffy and Faith each have a bag for you with your clothes and toiletries so you can all shower and change."

As the group filed out of the room, Buffy and Faith handed each person a backpack with clothes and toiletries. Buffy sighed heavily and turned to Faith, handing her a bag as well.

"Faith, why don't you go ahead to the room and grab a shower. I'm gonna help Will and Kennedy order food for everyone," Buffy told her with a tired smile.

Faith raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "B, you go and shower and I'll stay and help. You were the one in the hospital today so I know you're dying to shower."

Buffy gave her a huge grin. "Thanks, Faith." Buffy tilted her head for a moment and studied the brunette slayer. She reached out and squeezed Faith's hand and gave her a grateful smile before heading out of the room to shower.

Faith smiled to herself a little, ignoring what Buffy's smile did to her. Her smile faded when she looked up and Kennedy was giving her a knowing smile. Faith rolled her eyes and approached the younger slayer. "What's up, Ken?"

Kennedy smirked and shook her head. "Nothing. That was sweet what you did for Buffy just now."

Faith rolled her eyes and glanced at Willow, who was on the phone with room service so she wasn't listening. "She was in the hospital earlier. I just thought she'd want to shower first."

Kennedy smiled. "Still, you seem close all of a sudden."

"No, we're just trying to get along. We're acting civil for once," Faith told her.

The younger slayer rolled her eyes. "No, I you're acting like you wanna sleep together, but you're too afraid to tell each other."

Faith froze, her eyes wide and she shoved Kennedy. "Shut up, Slick."

"Wow. Not the reaction I was expecting," the younger slayer replied with a grin. She approached her girlfriend, who noticed the grin on her face and gave her a look, wondering why she was smiling like that.

"Ken, what's up?" she asked cautiously.

The slayer shook her head and kissed Willow lightly. "Nothing, baby. I'm just happy we're all here and we're all okay."

Willow eyed her skeptically for a moment, but shook her head and continued to look over the room service menu to order for the girls.

It was actually a few days before they all gathered as a group again. Everyone was resting and recuperating and it felt good for them to take a few days to relax and regroup. Somehow Buffy and Faith found themselves sharing a room and the two of them had slept through the first night and the entire second day at the hotel. They got up a few times to eat some room service and watch a movie on TV, but neither of them left the room.

Faith was lying in her bed flipping through the channels and she could tell that they were both getting kind of restless. She wanted to suggest a bit of a celebration for everyone, but knew she needed to have a conversation with Buffy first. A knock on the door interrupted before Faith could get a word out of her mouth and Buffy got up to get the food they'd ordered from room service. "Can I ask you something, B?"

Buffy looked up with a smile and nodded her head. She went about setting up hers and Faith's plates on their beds as she waited patiently for Faith to talk to her.

"Thanks," Faith said as Buffy placed two plates on the bed in front of her. "Right after the crater thing with Sunny D, you just stood there forever and looked at the hole. What were you doing?"

Buffy saddened slightly and she sat down and took a few bites of her food. "I was saying goodbye." She sat silently for a moment and Faith wished she'd never brought it up. "I was saying goodbye to my mom and to Tara, to Miss Calendar, Anya and everyone else I lost along the way."

"Spike too?" Faith asked quietly.

Buffy nodded. "Spike too." She looked up and noticed Faith was sort of picking at her food, looking kind of down. "Why do you ask?"

Faith shrugged. "I just thought you might have been waitin' for him to dig himself out of the rubble."

Buffy's eyebrows scrunched together. "Faith he burned up from the inside. The amulet took all of him, there wasn't anything left to dig up."

Faith shrugged, wishing even more that she'd never brought it up. "Stranger things have happened, B. You know that."

Buffy sighed and began eating again. "People are in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime, Faith. I think that Spike fell into the reason category and the reason came and went. I needed him to let me be when Willow brought me back. He was the only one that would let me be." She paused for a second. "Spike will always be in my heart, just like Mom and Tara and Anya and everyone else that I loved and lost. I don't want to dwell on the past, I want to focus on the future and moving on with you." She paused and quickly added, "and everyone else."

Faith's head snapped up when Buffy said she wanted to move on with her until she realized what the blonde was saying and she looked down quickly. She gave a stern nod of her head and looked up at Buffy. "I say we start movin' on tonight. How about we throw a party for the gang so they know how much we appreciate them fighting with us?" She paused a moment as the wheels started spinning. "We can get some alcohol and party it up and get some food and music. It'll be great."

Buffy gave her a look. "The girls can't drink, Faith."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Who the hell said anything about the girls drinking. The alcohol is for us, baby!" She got up and started bouncing on the bed. "We are so gonna party tonight!"

Buffy grinned and got up, jumping to Faith's bed and jumping up and down with the other slayer. The two of them began jumping back and forth from bed to bed until they both collapsed on Buffy's bed side by side.

"So does that mean you're up for a party?" Faith asked.

Buffy grinned and rolled over so she and Faith were nearly face-to-face. Both girls were breathing a little heavier than usual and they locked eyes for a moment. Buffy licked her lips and smiled when Faith's eyes followed her tongue's movements. "I can't wait."

Faith shook herself out of her trance and got up, pulling Buffy with her. "Time to go shopping then."

Buffy grinned and the two got up, showered and changed before heading down to the lobby to secure a ballroom for the night to have their party. They decided to keep the party a secret from the rest of the Scooby's until it was party time.

The next day, everyone gathered in Giles's room once again to have a meeting at his request. He had everyone's attention and he was relieved to see how much better they all looked…most of them anyways. Faith and Kennedy looked hung over as the two of them sat side by side with sunglasses on drinking coffee. He smiled when he looked over and found Buffy and Willow looking fresh, and smiling at Faith and Kennedy.

He stood and held up a hand. "If I could have your attention, I'll keep this short and to the point." He looked around as everyone gave him their attention and stopped talking. "Now, as you all know, the council was destroyed recently and all but a few members were killed in the blast. I have been in touch with them and we have decided that we will rebuild the council and I will be in charge." He paused as a ripple of chatter floated through the group. "Now, my plan is to spend a few days here so I can make all the arrangements I will need to before moving on to Cleveland and the other Hellmouth. I hope that you all will decide to join me there as we rebuild the council into what it was meant to be, but if you decide you would like to go home or retire, I will completely understand." He paused for a moment. "Take, the rest of the week to decide and let me know."

The group began to chatter quietly and Buffy flopped down on the couch next to Xander. "Hey, Xand. How ya doing?"

He gave the slayer a smile and a shrug. "Not bad, Buff. What do you think of the new Council thing with Giles?"

Buffy shrugged and pursed her lips. "I think it's great for Giles and I think it's really going to make a huge difference."

He gave her a knowing look. "But?"

Buffy grinned. "You know me too well." He shrugged and smiled. "But, I think I'm gonna take a break and take Dawn away for a while."

He smiled and slipped an arm around her shoulder. "I think you should."

Buffy tilted her head as a thought came to her. "Why don't you come with us? Maybe getting away will help."

Xander sighed heavily and shook his head. "I've thought about it, but I think that vacations give you too much down time to think and thinking time is not what I need. I need to jump right back into things to keep my mind off Anya."

Buffy frowned. "Are you sure you aren't just ignoring your pain?"

He shrugged again. "I'm not. I just don't want endless hours to pine over her either. I want to move on to the next part of my life."

Buffy nodded and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you, Xand, don't forget that. And if you change your mind, we'd love to have you along."

He squeezed her shoulders again and gave her a nod. "Thanks, Buff. I love you too." He glanced over at Faith and Kennedy and grinned. "Those two don't look so good."

Buffy smiled fondly as she glanced over at Faith, who still looked a little green. "No, they don't. But that's what they get for having a contest to see who could take more shots. Faith was really sick this morning."

Xander gave her a surprised look. "Faith let you see her sick? I'm surprised she didn't kill you just for being a witness to that."

Buffy shrugged, watching Faith as she and Kennedy chatted quietly on a couch across the room. "I don't even think she remembers to be honest."

"Well, they did drink a lot," he told her with a shake of his head. "You slayers can hold your liquor."

Buffy's face soured. "Let's not mention drinking any more. I still feel kind of queasy."

He gave her a smile and stood up, pulling her with him. "No more talk of the drinking, but let's get some breakfast. I'm starving."

Buffy nodded and smiled. "Mmm, breakfasty talk is making my tummy all rumbly." The pair approached Faith and Kennedy who were now talking with Willow and Buffy smiled when she saw Faith sit up a bit and pull her sunglasses to the top of her head when she saw them approach.

Xander threw an arm around Willow's shoulders and smiled. "Breakfast anyone? Me and Buff are gonna hit the restaurant."

Willow looked to her girlfriend and gave her a sympathetic smile when the new slayer seemed to turn even more green at the thought of food. "You feel like eating, sweetie?" she asked gently.

Kennedy shook her head and frowned. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed."

Willow nodded and looked up to her friends. "I'm gonna put her to bed and I'll meet you guys in a few minutes."

They all nodded and Buffy watched as Faith watched Willow and Kennedy head off to their room. Buffy saw something in Faith's gaze that seemed to be longing and she gave the other slayer a soft smile when she finally looked at her. Faith seemed to shake something off and she stood slowly. "So, breakfast?"

Buffy slid an arm through Faith's and she smiled when the brunette slayer leaned on her a bit. "Faith, are you sure you're feeling well enough to eat?"

Faith gave her a sly smile. "Why do you ask, B? You gonna take me to bed if I'm not?"

Buffy blushed and looked away, not seeing Xander giving them both a strange look as Faith grinned and finished off her cup of coffee on the way downstairs to the restaurant.

The three sat at the table and Buffy and Xander immediately began flipping through the menu, trying to decide what to eat. Faith was suddenly overwhelmed by all the scents around her. She could smell the syrup from the pancakes two tables away, she could smell the whipped cream from the waffles some little girl had at the table behind her, she could smell the cigarette smoke from the teenagers across the room and her stomach turned.

"Okay, maybe this is a bit too much," she mumbled as she placed a hand on her tummy.

Buffy looked up and reached over to rub Faith's back. "You okay?"

Faith shook her head and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I think I might go back to bed."

Buffy nodded and stood up. "I'll come with." She glanced at Xander who nodded. "Willow will be down in a minute and I'll be right back."

Faith shook her head. "No, B, I'll be fine. You stay here with X. I'll be okay on my own."

Buffy rolled her eyes and slid an arm around Faith's shoulders as she stood up. "Faith just shut up and accept the fact that I'm coming along for the ride."

Faith finally relented and sighed heavily. "Fine." She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw the brilliant smile Buffy flashed her. Faith managed to apologize to Xander before Buffy dragged her away and Xander waved her off, telling Buffy he'd order for her.

Faith opened the door to the hotel room a few hours later and found Giles standing on the other side. "Hey, G-man, come on in."

Giles entered the room and smiled at her. "Hello, Faith. Do you have a moment?"

Faith nodded and sat on the bed while he took the couch. "What's up?"

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he got settled.

The slayer shrugged. "Better. I knew I shouldn't have mixed the clear and dark liquors last night."

Giles gave her an uncomfortable smile, not knowing what to say. "Right."

The sat in awkward silence for a few moments until Faith gave him a look. "I know you didn't come here to check up on me, G. What's really going on?"

"Right, sorry." Giles removed his glasses and looked her dead in the eye. "Faith, we're going to wipe your record clean."

Faith sat and waited. She waited for Giles to laugh; she waited for him to tell her he was kidding. She waited for the people to jump out and tell her she was on candid camera. When none of those things happened, Faith realized that Giles might not be kidding about what he was saying to her. "Can you do that?"

Giles nodded slowly, watching her carefully. "Willow and Angel can."

"Why?" Faith asked, still looking for the catch.

Giles gave her a smile and laid a reassuring hand on her arm. "Faith, you told me that you want to come with us to Cleveland and fight this fight. I can't allow you to come with us as a wanted felon. With Sunnydale's implosion, the authorities will most likely assume you didn't make it, and while there's still some confusion, we can make sure they don't look for you once things calm down."

"You can just trust me, just like that?" she asked him quietly.

Giles smiled softly and nodded. "Yes. We can."

"How do you know I won't run?" she asked.

"If you were going to run, you would have already," he told her softly.

Faith sat for a few minutes in stunned silence. She finally looked up at Giles and noticed he was watching her. "I won't do you wrong, G."

He gave her a warm smile and stood up. "I know you won't, Faith. This is the chance we've all been waiting for to do things the way they should have been done the first time."

She nodded as that statement swirled in her brain. It seemed to apply to just about every aspect of her life these days and she vowed in that moment that she was going to do everything the right way this time.

"Thanks, Giles. I mean it." She pulled him into a quick, awkward hug and released him just as quickly looking uncomfortable immediately.

He cupped her chin in his hand and gave her a warm smile, which was returned before he left her in the room alone to think about her newfound freedom for what seemed like the first time in her life.

Buffy found Willow down by the pool a few hours later watching Kennedy play in the water with Faith and a few of the other new slayers. The redhead smiled and waved Buffy over and the slayer took a seat next to her best friend.

"Hey, Will."

"Hey, Buff. How's the tummy?" she asked as she shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand.

The slayer shrugged and pulled her shirt over her head to reveal her bikini top. "All better. Slayer healing kicks ass as per usual." She glanced at the slayers in the pool. "They seem better."

"Slayer healing kicking ass, I guess." Willow smiled and turned towards the pool as she heard her girlfriend shriek. She caught the tail end of Kennedy flying in the air and splashing into the pool.

Buffy got herself comfortable and put some sunscreen on. She sat back in her chair and relaxed for a few minutes before asking the question she'd been dying to ask. "So have you two decided what you're going to do?"

Willow took a long look at Buffy and gave her a smile. "We're going to Cleveland with Giles I think"

Buffy nodded and smiled, knowing that was the answer she was going to get. "Really?"

Willow smiled broadly. "Really. I know that Kennedy is excited about being a slayer and I really want to stay close to Giles until I figure out what all that white mojo was in the school."

Buffy nodded, wishing she had that much enthusiasm. "I think I need a break for a while."

Willow gave her an understanding smile and grasped her hand. "Buffy, you should take one if you feel that way. You were drafted in this fight, we enlisted. You should take Dawn and go away for a while and when you come back, you'll have a clear head and be ready to fight again."

Buffy felt tears in her eyes, thanking whoever was listening that Willow was her best friend. "Thanks, Will."

The redhead smiled and shook her head. "Don't thank me, Buffy. Just promise you won't come back until you're ready. You really deserve a break."

Buffy grinned and nodded. "I promise."

Kennedy glanced up and noticed Faith watching the two best friends. She was fully aware of Buffy's feelings for Faith and she was trying desperately to pick up on anything from Faith to see if the feelings were mutual. She'd heard the stories of the classic battles between the two slayers back in the day and she'd seen them interact in the house before the fight with the first. She, like everyone, always sensed some kind of tension between the two of them, but she figured it was just a slayer thing and now she was wondering if it was something else entirely.

"I really hope it's not my girl that you're checking out over there," Kennedy told the older slayer with a playful shove.

Faith glared at her and splashed some water at her. "I'm not checking anyone out, kiddo."

Kennedy gave her a skeptical look. "Right. I'm guessing you were just deep in thought then?"

"Actually I was," she replied. "Giles told me earlier that he wants to wipe my record clean so I can come to Cleveland with you guys, no problems."

Kennedy grinned. "That's great, Faith."

The older slayer shrugged. "Forgive and forget, right?"

"I think the forgiving has already been done," Kennedy told her quietly.

Faith nodded, staying quiet for a minute. "I'll never forget."

The younger slayer pursed her lips. "I don't think they will either. I think the most important thing is that they won't forget what you did in the fight with the First either. That to me is a far bigger thing to remember."

Faith grinned suddenly when she realized how much the younger slayer had gotten her to say and she put her walls back up and began a wrestling match in the pool with the other slayer as Willow and Buffy watched wondering what had the two younger slayers in such a deep conversation only seconds before.

Faith looked up from her seat at the window smoking when Buffy huffed into the room and slammed the door behind her. "B, what's up?"

Buffy glared at her and Faith was almost positive that she heard the other slayer growl. "I should have staked him years ago."

Faith smiled and held out the pack of cigarettes to the other girl. "What did Angel do this time?"

Buffy scowled and grabbed the pack of smokes, plucking one out and letting Faith light it. She took a deep drag and blew the smoke out, feeling better instantly. "He's the CEO of Wolfram and Hart."

Faith choked on the smoke in her lungs and looked wide-eyed at Buffy. "Bullshit. The evil law firm that hired me to kill him a few years ago? I remember them, do you remember them? Does he remember them?"

Buffy looked at Faith with a raised eyebrow, she'd never really heard Faith babble and she suspected that was probably the closest she'd ever get to hearing it. She shook her head when she realized there were no words for this situation. "He tells me that he wants to fight from the belly of the beast."

Faith gave her a skeptical look and rolled her eyes. "Sure he does." She thought a moment and something else occurred to her. "The whole Angel Inc. crew is there?" Faith asked, thinking about Fred and Lorne, not sure she could see the two of them doing well at an evil law firm. The others, she was sure, could handle themselves.

"Apparently," Buffy told her with a dark frown.

"You don't think he's bad again, do you?" Faith asked quietly.

Buffy shook her head and took a deep drag of her cigarette. "No. I don't."

"How can you be sure?" Faith asked quietly, hoping Buffy was right.

Buffy sighed heavily. "Well, I talked to Wes and Fred and Gunn and even Lorne. They swore to me that it's all on the up and up."

Suddenly a very disturbing thought came to the younger slayer. "You don't think they're all bad, do you?"

Buffy looked up and met Faith's eyes and they both contemplated the question for a few moments and both shook their heads, thinking they were being a bit paranoid. "Let's really hope not, otherwise him getting us these rooms to stay in somehow fits into an evil plan and I'm not entirely comfortable going there."

Faith waved it off. "Yeah, I'm sure he really does think that he can fight the bad guys from that place. If they don't eat him or stake him or behead him or set him on fire first."

Buffy frowned again. "When you put it that way I'm less scared for us, which is definitely of the good, but more scared for him, which is of the bad."

Faith shook her head and waved her hand. "B, Angel survived all these years with Wolfram & Hart actually trying to kill him, he'll be fine now that he's in charge, don't ya think?"

Buffy shrugged and finished her cigarette. "Let's hope so."

Buffy and Willow sat side by side with their feet dangling in the pool late one night. Hours earlier they'd watched their friends celebrate with too much alcohol and pass out so they were the only ones still awake. Each had a fruity cocktail on the concrete next to them as they chatted like two best friends who hadn't been through what they'd been through.

"Do you think we're all becoming alcoholics?" Buffy asked, only half serious.

Willow took a sip of her drink. "No. I like to think of it as making up for lost time."

Buffy thought for a second and shrugged. "I can live with that."

They were both silent a few minutes, Buffy leaning back on her arms, just staring up at the sky. Willow could sense something was going on with her best friend, but she didn't want to push knowing Buffy would tell her in her own time.

"Giles got the Council accounts in order and he said we can all go out shopping tomorrow," Willow said with a wide smile. The alcohol was beginning to get her a bit tipsy.

Buffy grinned. "Really? That's great. I don't know how much longer I can live in the two sets of clothes we all got at the store that day."

Willow's face soured. "I know what you mean." She paused and smiled. "Ya know, despite being homeless and not having clothes and belongings and stuff, I'm still really excited about what we're doing."

Buffy glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "Will, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the redhead replied, knowing what was next.

"Do you think we're crazy for letting Faith back into this so quickly?" she asked softly.

Willow took a sip of her drink so she had a moment to think, that wasn't what she was expecting. "No. Buffy, I'm not sure we would have made it through that fight without her. When you went down, she stepped up and took over."

Buffy nodded sternly. "Good. I just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page when it comes with Faith."

The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly and she shot a sly glace at her friend. "Why all the Faithy talk all of a sudden?"

Buffy blushed, luckily it was unnoticed in the dark. "No reason. Just making small talk."

"Small talk?" she asked shaking her head. "If you say so."

"So how are you and Kennedy?" Buffy asked quietly.

Willow ducked her head and Buffy couldn't help but notice the grin on her face. "I started things with her thinking it would never work…" she paused. "She's all I think about. I want to be with her all the time. I think I even dream about her."

Buffy grinned and took a long sip of her drink, trying not to embarrass her friend any more. "I think it's great, Will."

"Do you think Xander will be okay?" she asked softly, taking the focus off of herself.

Buffy's brow furrowed a bit and she took a long sip of her drink. "I hope so."

"He told me you asked him to go with you and Dawn."

She nodded. "I did. I thought it might do him some good."

They sat silently for a few minutes and both looked up when they heard Faith and Kennedy's laughter getting closer. They soon heard hurried footfalls with the laughter and knew it was only a matter of seconds before the two slayers would be barreling past them. They both picked up their drinks quickly and leaned back out of the spray of water as the two slayers hit the water and splashed them both.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled out.

"Kennedy!" Willow yelled at the same time, both smiling.

The two friends tried desperately to get up, but the alcohol slowed them both down and they couldn't get away quick enough as the two brunette slayers swam over to them and yanked them in by their feet. Buffy and Willow both yelped as they were dragged into the pool, and grinned as the slayers surfaced, grinning from ear to ear.

"Nice, Ken," Faith called out as she held up a hand for a high five.

"Perfectly planned," she replied, slapping the hand up high. "Perfectly executed."

Buffy smiled and kept her eyes on Faith, who swam nearby, her chin barely touching the water, grinning at her. To Buffy, she'd never looked more beautiful. Her make up had been washed out, her hair slicked back from her face and the tiny drops of water threatening to fall from her chin and her nose made Buffy want to reach out and kiss them away.

The four girls played in the pool for a few minutes before pulling themselves out of the water. Buffy felt herself get warm as she watched Faith pull her hair from her face. Her shirt clung to her curves in all the right places and the blonde slayer found it terribly difficult not to reach out and kiss Faith silly.

She glanced over and happened to catch Kennedy watching them out of the corner of her eye so she shelved her thoughts and emotions and made her way up to the room to change.

Later that night, Buffy took a sip of her beer and looked over her shoulder at the clock. She pursed her lips when she saw that it was well past 4 in the morning. She burrowed deeper into the pillows and blankets around her on the bed and looked over when Faith emerged from the bathroom. The steam from the hot shower escaped around her and Buffy was absolutely captivated by her beauty.

Faith leaned over slowly, grabbing Buffy's beer and taking a sip. "Ya got more where this came from?" she asked holding up the beer in her hand, handing it back to her.

Buffy shook herself from her clouded state and smiled. "Yeah, there's some in the fridge."

Faith grinned and grabbed a beer and a cigarette and sat on the windowsill to smoke. Buffy took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. The cool night air filtered into the room along with the smell of Faith's shampoo and body wash. Wisps of smoke made their way in as well and her head swam with the sensory overload mixed with the alcohol.

"I can't remember the last time I was this happy," she mumbled happily.

Faith looked over and smiled fondly at Buffy sprawled out on her bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets, a beer resting on her belly lazily. "You look happy, B."

"It makes me happy that you're here…with me and with us," Buffy told her softly, her cheeks flushing and eyes bright.

Faith smiled and bowed her head. She took a drag of her cigarette and flicked it out the window. "B, I really am sorry about what happened back then."

Buffy stood up from the bed and approached Faith slowly and wobbly. She shook her head and pulled Faith into a tight hug. "I am too."

Faith pulled back and found herself nearly nose to nose with Buffy and for a moment the air became charged with something Faith had never felt before. Buffy leaned in ever so slightly and their noses grazed just enough to make her take a step back and shake her head. Faith suddenly exhaled a breath that she didn't even realize she'd been holding and took a long drink of her beer.

Buffy lit a cigarette and shook her head clear. She couldn't believe that she'd been that close to kissing Faith and messing everything up. "Can I ask you something?" she asked quietly.

Faith simply nodded.

"Did you ever get scared down in the seal?"

Faith gave a look that indicated that was the last thing she expected Buffy to ask her and she took in a deep breath, sighing heavily. "Honestly? Yeah," she replied.

Buffy nodded her head slowly, keeping her eyes trained on her beer bottle. "I didn't think we'd make it through that one. I was scared that I'd never see Dawn again."

Faith grinned a bit and lit a cigarette. "Of all the crazy ass ideas you've come up with in the past, making those girls slayers was definitely on the top of the list of crazy shit that really shouldn't work."

Buffy shrugged and looked serious suddenly. "Well, I knew Willow could do it. I just knew her making the girls into slayers would be the easy part. I didn't think we'd survive down in the seal."

"I gotta say, you scared the shit outta me when you went down," Faith told her, refusing to make any sort of eye contact.

Buffy suddenly felt a warmth consume her and she felt her heart swell. "Aww, Faith, I knew deep down you really cared about me."

Faith rolled her eyes and gave Buffy an evil smile. She flicked her cigarette out the window and stood up slowly. "You think that's funny Princess?" she asked as she held her hands up, wiggling her fingers. Buffy recognized that stance and flicked her cigarette out the window quickly, standing up and moving back.

"Wait, Faith we can talk about this, we can work this out without resorting to violence," she told her as her knees hit the bed and she toppled backwards. Faith took that opportunity to jump on the bed as well and she began tickling Buffy for all she was worth. It was short lived however, seeing as how it was well past 4 am and they didn't want to wake everyone up on the floor.

"Maybe now you'll think twice before you mess with me," Faith told her with a smirk as she approached her own bed.

Buffy smiled and rolled over on her belly, watching Faith move around the room. She watched as Faith turned out the bathroom light and slid her jeans down her taught legs until she was left in nothing but a wife beater and her usual boy cut briefs. "One more smoke before bed?"

Faith pursed her lips and shrugged. "Sure." She didn't bother putting her jeans back on and Buffy felt her stomach flip flop as she watched Faith approach the window and sit on the sill. She had to force herself to look away and light the two cigarettes in her hand as Faith sat next to her. Her hand shook ever so slightly as she handed a cigarette to Faith and the two sat in silence as they smoked.

"Ever feel like this is the way it was supposed to be?" Faith asked a moment later.

Buffy grinned and took a sip of her beer. "It's felt that way since the moment we beat the First."

Faith studied her for a moment and Buffy blushed under the scrutiny. "You and me are gonna be okay, B."

Buffy grinned. "Of course we are."

Faith smiled and snubbed out her cigarette a moment later and stood up, Buffy's eyes trailing her the entire way. She really couldn't help it, Faith made it impossible to look away, she was too damn beautiful. The dark slayer crawled into bed and turned off the light next to the bed. "Night, B."

"Night, Faith," she replied, her heart aching wishing Faith would love her back.

She drifted off to sleep after a long hour of simply listening to Faith sleep deeply, the steady rhythm lulling her to sleep.