Working it Out

by JustSkipIt

Copyright © 2007

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Willow, Tara, and the Buffyverse and Angelverse and all characters and locations from those universes. No copyright infringement is meant by this fic and I will not make any money from it.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse http://mysticmuse.net
Feedback: Yes, please. Please leave feedback on the Working it Out thread on the Kitten Board.
Spoilers: Everything before the end of BtVS and AtS.
Author's Note: I've played around a bit with ages here. Faith is Faith aged and Dawn is a senior in high school in Season 7. Kind of had to, you know?
Pairing: Faith/Dawn

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4

Part 1
The Kid

Tara floated. Floated and floated. She felt no pain. No tiredness. She didn't actually feel. She just was. And had been and would be. She felt joy or was it nothing? No pain but no…Part of her wanted to remember someone. And someone. A life or was it more than that? But there was no memory and no thought. Occasionally a prayer or thought or pained expression pierced her float and for a moment she was powerfully aware. But mostly she floated. And once, she was so much more. So much greater and stronger than she had been knew she could be.

And she floated.

Shit, shit, shit Faith thought as she took another swig of her beer. She looked around the garden and shook her head. She was just here yesterday it seemed like. Ok, it was a few weeks give or take; it was all running together at this point. Earlier some of the junior slayers had been hanging out, telling jokes, playing music, dancing but they'd eventually all drifted off somewhere and she was left with a bucket of beer growing warmer and an unobstructed view of the stars. She was grateful that Angel was elsewhere but wondered how long it would be until Wesley wandered out to have a heart to heart or whatever.

She was going to miss the stars more than anything.

The others? The adults? Who knew where the "Scoobies" had hunkered down. They certainly hadn't invited her to their soirée which couldn't possibly seem like a big surprise. They hadn't really wanted her along years ago and now wasn't a big change. No. They needed her and called her to join them when she'd finished saving Angel's evil-again ass but once she'd done her bit with the sword of Slayeryness or whatever it was called, she was just left out again. Shit, the only one who had ever really made her feel welcome, wanted, a part of things was the kid. And that was something Faith was not going to think about tonight.

Nope. Tonight is about being shocked that we're all still here. Still here. We fought ultimate evil and turned it off. Damn. She finished off the beer and stretched her arms, feeling the soreness there. And damn again because if she used to get H&H fighting a few vamps, this ubervamp situation and killing off the entire bunch of them made her feel like she was going to explode.

And again, that's not something we're thinking about tonight. Because it's just…And there is no way that she thought she'd live through the day. Hell, none of them thought it.

Faith took another puff off her cigarette. "Never smoke in bed." That's what all those commercials, public fucking service announcements, said. But then they didn't really want you to smoke at all did they? Getting cancer and your teeth rotting and dying early and all that shit? Which hardly seems like a reasonable concern at this point. She let another smoke circle drift toward the ceiling. Figures, I finally get my smoking skills down and tomorrow is the fucking apocalypse. And she was feeling kind of pent up after her quick patrol. Not that there was much to kill in town but she found a few lesser demons all hopped up on the hellmouth's crazy and ripped their heads or hearts or whatever they had off. One of them had two heads or maybe the second one was something else. She shivered involuntarily and took another puff off her cigarette.

And the movie theater had plenty of crappy movie-time candy left like Mike and Ikes and licorice ropes and boxes of M&Ms so she had some of those and wasn't hungry anymore. And she could probably head back to get another shipment of Wood but he hadn't really rocked her socks so…

So here I am. The day before I die, lying in bed, blowing smoke rings and trying to decide if I want to work up some fantasy and give myself a happy or just lie here blowing smoke rings. She closed her eyes and tried out a little scenario having something to do with some of the potentials but it just wouldn't quite come. Maybe this was going to be like those nights in prison with her cellmate snoring so loudly that she couldn't get away to her own head.

She lit another cigarette and was setting down the lighter when she heard a light knock on the door. "Who is it? The world ends tomorrow and I'm trying to get some beauty sleep!" She wasn't in a mood to socialize.

The door creaked open just slightly. "Faith?"

Faith raised her head just enough to see who was speaking. "What's up, kid? Apocalypse coming early?"

"Can I come in?"

"Why the fuck not? I'm not sleeping and I don't have anything better to do." She plumped up her pillows and sat up in bed.

Dawn took a few steps into the room and then stopped kind of nervous looking. "Oh, you were…" She motioned toward the sheet.

"Naw. I'm wearing boxers under here. An old habit, you know?" She let another smoke ring drift up and looked the teenager up and down for a minute. The truth was, and she wasn't about to tell any-fucking-one was that Dawn looked good. No better than good. This kid was not the little follow-us-around thing who loved Britney Spears and N- Sync the last time Faith had been around. The last time before Faith held she and Joyce at knifepoint that is. The kid was wearing a robe and Faith couldn't tell what was under it, maybe Squarebob Spongepants pajamas. She seemed the type.

Dawn sat down tentatively on the edge of the bed. "Everyone else is…"

"Fucking?" Faith regretted the word when Dawn flinched as it came out of her mouth. "Sorry."

Dawn shrugged. "No. I mean I don't know what they're all doing. Willow's like locked in her room studying and studying and muttering about ending the world and losing control. Buffy's with Spike. Half the potentials are sleeping and the other half are obsessing. And the geeks are playing D&D."

"You didn't want to play?"

"Thanks, Faith." Dawn laughed and rolled her eyes.

"So what, I'm the only loser with no one in my room and you felt sorry for me?"

Dawn studied the brunette slayer for longer than Faith was comfortable and she found herself looking away. "Can I lie down?"

Faith stubbed out her cigarette and leaned over the bed to grab two bottles of water, holding one out to her visitor. She motioned to the empty side of the bed. "Make yourself at home, kid."

Dawn took the bottle and set it on the bedside table before unbuttoning her robe and pulling it off and draping it over the chair in the corner. She turned back and walked, quite unselfconsciously toward the bed and lay down on top of the covers on her side before remembering the bottle and rolling back toward the table to get it. After she'd taken a drink, she lay on her side facing Faith.

The slayer, meanwhile, was gulping water as she attempted not to gawk at the teenaged girl. No. She was not the kid who followed them around years ago. She was a woman. W-O-M-A-N. And there was no doubting it through the silky floor length nightie she was wearing. Faith wondered if it had belonged to Joyce or maybe Red's girl because it was a little too big for her thin visitor but she had no complaints.

Fuck.

Another sip didn't really help and she wondered if she should just pour the bottle on her head. Or maybe Dawn's? No. Did she really think that? Not good. Not good at all.

Faith Lehane, she thought sternly that is Buffy's little sister. Little being the key word here. Buffy being the other key word. Maybe Slayer should be a key word too like Buffy the Slayer will kill you if you lay a hand on her kid sister.

"Are you listening to me? Earth to Faith."

Faith looked up to see that Dawn was looking at her with a totally strange expression on her face – a little curious and a little pissed off. "Oh. Sorry. I got distracted." Faith uncharacteristically blushed and looked down at the bedspread hoping she didn't get distracted again.

"That's ok." Dawn looked like she was used to it. "No one listens to me."

"Hey. I'm listening. I'm well, I wasn't but I am now. What's up? Nervous about tomorrow?"

Dawn nodded her head. "Well yeah, since we're all going to die."

Faith reached out her hand to rub Dawn's shoulder and then thought better of it. "We're not going to die, kid." Dawn stared at her with a "oh yeah. Right" expression on her face. "Ok, we're all probably going to die."

Dawn shrugged and looked away. "The thing is that I had a lot of things I wanted to do before I die."

"Like what?"

"Well, I wanted to graduate from high school which I won't now. Visit the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China. Go to Law School and work for women's Rights. Pet a tiger. Sky dive. Ride a bucking bronco. Win a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar. The same year." Faith chuckled. "Learn to surf. Find a cure for cancer and the common cold and menstrual cramps. Have 3.4 children and teach them how to weave our own clothes from the hemp we grow in the back yard."

Faith just nodded. What could she possibly say to that shit? Heavy, you know?

Dawn turned toward her on her side. "And I was going to come pick you up when you got out of prison in a few years." Faith knew she had a surprised look on her face. "Take you somewhere for a good dinner. Steak and potatoes and cheesecake with strawberries and wine."

"I'm kind of more a beer girl."

Dawn ignored the interruption. "Then take you to the roof of a private building. The kind with a garden on top so we could smell the flowers and see the stars and make love with you all night long with no roof over our heads." She extended her hand and brushed the side of Faith's face.

"But now none of that is going to happen because we're all going to die tomorrow." Faith opened her mouth a few times to speak but couldn't really think what to say. "So now I just want you to fuck me, Faith." She took a breath. "I don't want to die without ever…"

The Slayer knew her eyes had popped at that last statement. "You're like sixteen." She took a deep breath. Good answer. No reason to be insane here. Just because this totally smokin bod girl is in your bed and…yeah. Good answer.

"I'm eighteen."

Faith tried to shrug off Dawn's hand subtly. And control her breathing which said hand was doing nothing to help as it moved to her neck and upper chest. "Buffy said you're seventeen."

Dawn leaned over so her mouth was very close to Faith's ear. "My birthday was the day that you led the assault and Xander lost his eye. For some reason no one made me a cake."

"Oh." Faith's voice was high pitched and she knew she hadn't been this spooked since she was fourteen years old or so. "Well, everyone was busy and…"

"Busy…" Dawn echoed as she laid her hand on Faith's stomach.

"I don't know that this is a…" Faith gently picked up the teenager's hand and moved it from her stomach. "You know, what with Buffy and the apocalypse…"

Dawn didn't wait for further answer but covered Faith's lips with her own. Faith felt the contact. Knew it was wrong. Wrong. And she really shouldn't…She should really push Dawn away. Stand up, move away. And not do this. At all. In spite of the fact that Dawn had moved closer and was pulling Faith toward her as they kissed, Dawn's tongue tracing Faith's lips and Faith opening her mouth to suck Dawn's tongue inside.

And the teenager was a very good kisser. Faith suddenly felt jealous wondering who had taught the girl to kiss so well. "Oh God. You're really good at that." The fact that Dawn's hand had somehow snaked up under her wife-beater and was cupping the underside of her breast really wasn't helping the Slayer put a stop to this insanity. She would just kind of push away, but gently. She put her hand on Dawn's hip and started to caress it through the silk. Her ass was smooth and hard. The ass of a very fit teenager. Faith rolled the girl onto her back, moving with her so that she could feel their bodies pressed together and heard the younger girl moan at the contact.

She pulled her lips away and looked at the girl, scratch that, the woman beneath her. Dawn's eyes were dilated, her lips reddened from kissing, her breath coming fast in shallow breaths and Faith nipped at her lips once again before beginning to kiss across her jaw and to her neck. Damn. Necks. She never liked to kiss a guy there with the stubble but girls? A woman's neck was so soft and you could feel the beat of her heart in your lips. And this woman? She smelled so sweet. Like she'd just showered with some fruity shower gel like every damn bathroom in this house was filled with. Faith's other hand began to trace a line up and down Dawn's side, brushing very gently the edge of her small breast.

Dawn's hands were cupping Faith's ass, pulling her closer into her center and kneading the flesh back there in a way that was making the Slayer lose all sense. Or start to lose all sense. "Dawn…wait…wait a minute…" She put her hands flat on then bed and pushed up as she tried to get her bearings.

Dawn's face began to redden and Faith could see that the girl was embarrassed. "Oh. I get it. I'm not…"

"Did you lock the door?"

"The door?"

Faith nodded her head and began tracing the outline of Dawn's nipple, dark and pebbled through the thin material with the tip of her index finger. "Yeah. You know. Door, lock, turn?"

Dawn took a deep breath, obviously enjoying the feel of Faith's fingers on her nipple. "I…I don't think so?"

Faith smiled sexily at the younger girl and leaned her head down to place a gentle kiss on her nipple through the material. When Dawn arched her back, Faith began to trace her tongue around over the hardening bumps. After a minute she removed her mouth. "Hold that thought…"

She slid slowly down Dawn's body, brushing her center with her cheek and inhaling deeply as she did so before kneeling up at her feet. Then, with Slayer grace, she hopped from the bed and crossed to the door in four steps. She locked it and thinking better of it, pushed the dresser a few inches in front of it. No reason to find out tonight that someone had a key to the door.

She turned back to the bed, shocked to see the silky nightie draped over her nightstand and Dawn under the sheets. "See, you're always thinking. That's why you'll make a good lawyer someday." She peeled off her top and tossed it to the teenager who batted it away and held out her arms.

Faith stopped at the foot of the bed. "Kid. Do you have any idea what you look like? I mean with the hubba hubba?" Dawn blushed again and Faith thought it was absolutely adorable. This kid had had so much shit in her life. Her mom and Tara and her lousy dad and from what Faith had gleaned some crazy bitch hellgod had kidnapped her just to get to Buffy or something a few years earlier. She crawled onto the bed and straddled the thin girl. "I'm…I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed, Kid."

Dawn reached her hands up and cupped Faith's breasts, palming the nipples which began to turn hard immediately. She smiled at the Slayer. "I doubt that, Faith."

Faith moved her hands to return the exact same treatment on Dawn's smaller breasts. She had only been able to lick one through the material and not pay attention to the other at all. She lowered herself, noticing the wince of sadness Dawn made as Faith's breasts moved from her reach. She began placing light kisses all over the girl's chest. "You asked me to fuck you but I don't think so."

"Don't tease me, Faith."

Faith sucked the nearest nipple into her mouth. "I'm not teasing you, Kid. It's just that I don't want to fuck you." She moved to the other nipple and ran her hand down the girl's flat stomach. "I am going to make love to you."

Dawn arched up as Faith's fingertips brushed her curls. Faith could feel the younger girl's wetness on her hand and it was making her feel like swooning, something she'd never done no matter how badly a group of vampires had kicked her ass. Add to that the fact that she was amazingly wound up. Her night of demon fighting, lying in bed, and finally Dawn's visit had taken her to a level of frustration that was growing every moment. And Dawn's scent was doing nothing to lower it. But she wanted it to be good for the teenager. It was her first time after all. And if Faith was going to die tomorrow, another credit on the "good" side of the ledger might be something to work toward. Again her Slayer coordination came into play as she managed to peel off her boxer shorts and drop them over the side of the bed without ceasing her attention to her young lover for a moment.

She moved her fingers away from Dawn's center and began kissing the girl's mouth again in earnest. She didn't want to scare the teenager but she felt like she somehow couldn't get close enough. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a part that wasn't controlling her hand moving back and forth from one nipple to the other, or her hips thrusting forward to brush her center against Dawn's leg and Dawn's center against her own, or her tongue tracing each and every tooth, she knew that she'd been holding this back since she had arrived. She had noticed Dawn the first day. Noticed how she had matured. How tall and poised and incredibly hot the girl was. And had lectured herself every night to keep her fucking hands the fucking fuck off.

Each time her clit contacted Dawn's increasingly slick leg Fiath felt like she would explode any second. She didn't want to scare the girl but she knew that her climax was coming fast and hard and holding it back was going to just make it more intense when it did arrive. "Fuck!" She pulled her mouth away from Dawn's and moved her hips to relieve the pressure on her center and dived toward the younger girl's breasts, sucking one nipple deeply into her mouth. Her hand began its journey toward Dawn's wetness again as she switched to the other nipple. There was no doubt of the younger girl's excitement either. Even without Slayer scenting, Faith could have smelled her sex filling the room. But with her senses? She could hear the girl's heartbeat racing with her own, smell her juices leaking from her body, could hear the urgent moans being held back by the back of Dawn's own hand over her mouth.

"Faith."

Faith began kissing a trail down Dawn's body, under her breasts and down her flat stomach.

"Faith. Faith…" She shook her head as it became clear that Dawn was trying to get her attention and turned her face so that her cheek rested on the girl's stomach as she looked up at her with a questioning expression.

"Faith? I'm…nervous."

Faith ran the palm of her hand over the girl's legs. "It's ok, Kid. I won't hurt you."

"I know that." She bit her lip and Faith just wanted to gather her in her arms. Quickly she rose up the bed and wrapped her arms around Dawn as she waited for her to speak. "I'm really nervous." She smiled. "Could I…you know? Um…touch you first?"

Faith winked. Actually winked. Jesus, you're a fucking pushover. She flipped onto her back and teased the younger girl. "Well, only because you're so nervous. I guess I can let…"

Her last word, let, was kind of howled as Dawn wrapped her mouth surprisingly adeptly around one of Faith's nipples and ran her fingers along Faith's opening and over her clit. She began caressing the Slayer's wetness with what seemed like practiced ease and a knowing smile on her face. "You have to be quieter than that, sweetie."

"Quiet. Yes." This time the final word was a whimper as Dawn slid one finger into her opening. Faith grasped the younger girl's arm and tried to force herself to release it so that she wouldn't leave bruises but the feeling was just so intense. "More. More. Please." Dawn complied with the Slayer's request. "Fuck. Fuck. Yes. Jesus. God. Fuck. Damn."

Dawn seemed to enjoy teasing the Slayer as she thrust deeply a few times and then pulled her fingers almost out of Faith's wanting body. "Your language, young lady." She tsk, tsked a few times and used her fingertips to circle Faith's opening.

"Dear sweet girl of no bad language. Please, please, please. I need…" Faith thought this would be the end. She would die here. Actually die. She needed this so badly. This release. This…Whatever it would be. She wasn't sure she had ever needed anything like she needed Dawn's fingers deep inside her pussy and she wondered for a split second if the girl had cast some sort of spell over her.

Spell or not, Dawn was apparently satisfied by Faith's improved language. She added a third finger and slowly pressed the set into her lover's opening as Faith moaned a long, drawn-out, sound. "This is ok?"

Faith tried to speak. Tried to assure the younger girl but she couldn't form words so she nodded and grasped Dawn's wrist to keep it from pulling away. Her feet pressed against the bed and her hips began to buck up from the mattress. With every motion, it seemed she had to remind herself to release her grip on the girl's wrist for fear of leaving bruises or breaking a bone. She couldn't even imagine how the teenager knew to curl her fingers like that, hitting the soft spot inside just so but she was. Faith opened her eyes to see a look of absolute amazement and fascination on Dawn's face. Like she was seeing a miracle for the first time.

She reached her other hand up to pull Dawn down on top of her so she could kiss her again. And again. And again. Now the younger girl was pressing her legs apart and her body to the mattress and still thrusting her fingers inside and Faith could feel her climax building inside her. It had been building inside her for…moments, hours, years? Who knew but…And then Dawn brushed the heel of her hand across the Slayer's clit and Faith screamed into her mouth. She wrapped both arms around Dawn's back, the girl so thin, that they nearly came back to her own body as she shook and quivered with pleasure.

"Faith? Faith? Oh fuck! Faith!"

Faith opened her eyes to see Dawn looking down at her very worriedly. Her hands were on the Slayers cheeks which meant that neither of them was inside her which was very disappointing. Not that she needed any more. "Graaah," she finally managed to answer.

Dawn giggled and lay down on the older girl's chest, twirling the long hair draped across Faith's chest around her finger. "I was worried about you."

"Um…"

The teenager began to pepper kisses over her lover's breasts in a playful way.

Finally Faith realized what had happened. She had climaxed so hard she had passed out, an unusual but not unheard of occurrence. As she tried to gather her senses, she picked up Dawn's wrist gently and touched it all along both sides before passing her palms over the girl's back. "Did I hurt you?"

Dawn giggled again and nuzzled her nose into the Slayer's neck. "I um…" she blushed which Faith found unbelievable and adorable, "I didn't know that the muscles would be so…I mean mine aren't…when I…"

"I'm so sorry, kid. I should have warned you that I was ready for that." Faith began kissing Dawn's eyelids, cheeks, and chin.

Her right hand she traced down the teenager's body until she reached her curls, finding them soaked as she had suspected.

"Do you need to recover, Faith?"

Faith smiled and winked playfully before whispering in Dawn's ear. "Do you want to know a secret?" Dawn nodded and closed her eyes, showing a little of what she was feeling as Faith touched her teasingly gently. "Slayers don't need long to recover." She ran her fingertips along either side of Dawn's clit and was rewarded with a long string of profanity from the teenager.

"Now what happened to 'your language, young lady'?"

"Fuck that."

Faith laughed as she slid down Dawn's taut body, pulling her face even with the dark curls between the teenager's legs. "Now relax, kid." Dawn nodded and Faith ran her tongue the entire length of her opening, avoiding her clit.

"Oh holy God."

Her next words were quite more explicit as Faith unceremoniously sucked her clit into her mouth. The Slayer lifted one hand to run it over Dawn's mouth to remind her of the full house, a house to which she didn't think they should advertise their activities.

She released her suction on Dawn's clit and began to flick her tongue over it in every direction, allowing the girl's juices to cover her face as she moved her free hand to touch her opening. "Kid. Do you want me inside?" She still just wanted to give this girl as much pleasure as she could and didn't want to move too fast.

Dawn whimpered. "I think so."

Faith placed a gentle kiss on Dawn's clit as she slid one finger slowly inside the teenager. "Ok?"

"Oh Jesus Fucking Christ!"

"I'll take that as a yes," was the last thing Faith said before lowering her lips again to Dawn's sex and beginning a slow methodical ravaging of it. She kissed every spot, every millimeter, licked, sucked, twirled, all the while slowly pumping and curling her now two fingers inside the Dawn as the other girl writhed in pleasure.

Dawn made inarticulate sounds in the back of her throat and Faith knew she was close. She speeded up the movement of her fingers, still not plunging hard into her new lover, but faster now and again sucked her clit into her mouth. "Come for me, Dawn," she whispered, her voice vibrating against the teenager's tiny bundle of nerves.

"F-a-i-t-h!" Dawn cried out as she climaxed powerfully, some small part of her mind grateful that Faith was strong enough to hold her as she bucked up from the bed and squeezed the older girl's fingers with her cunt.

Hearing her name, Faith slid up the bed and kissed the teenager as she continued coming, sliding her other arm around her to hold her tightly throughout her climax. "I'm going to pull my fingers out now, kid," she whispered when Dawn had stopped moving inside and out, a statement to which the teenager weakly nodded. "Come ere." She rolled onto her back and pulled Dawn against her chest, wrapping her arms around her.

For a few minute they simply lay in the afterglow. Then Faith smiled. "Where in the fuck did you learn that?"

Dawn chuckled. "Tara and Willow had some books and Willow had these bookmarks on her laptop which I borrowed to write some papers."

"Is that what we're calling it these days."

"Faith."

"I can't believe they lent you books like that. You're just a kid." Faith felt ironically indignant and protective over the teenager.

Again Dawn let out a long breath. "They didn't loan them to me. I…let's say found them when they were out a few times."

Faith kissed the top of Dawn's ear then whispered. "Do you think I should send Red a thank-you note?"

"Probably not the smartest idea, Faith."

"Good point, kid."

Dawn tried to get up onto her elbow, obviously still sated and tired from her orgasm. "We haven't done everything, Faith." She cast her eyes toward the triangle between the Slayer's legs. "I haven't even…" Unable to say it, she flicked her tongue out between her lips.

Faith laughed and hugged the teenager more tightly to her. "I think this is enough for now. And on the slim chance we don't die tomorrow, it gives us something else to do."

"Ok," Dawn agreed, already fading off to sleep. "Thanks for saying yes, Faith."

Faith kissed the top of the teenager's head, wondering if it was possible that she knew they were each having a first tonight. For Dawn, making love with someone. For Faith, spending the night.

Faith closed her eyes and took another puff on her cigarette, not really noticing how she had decided she needed one just as her memory peaked.

Fuck.

"I thought you might be hungry." Faith opened her eyes slowly and smiled as Dawn set down a pizza box. "Willow ordered, I don't know, thirty or so pizzas but most of the new slayers kind of demolished them. I grabbed this one and I've been searching for you ever since." As she spoke she handed the dark-haired Slayer two slices.

Faith took a big bite and pointed to the sky with the tip of the pizza. "The stars at night. They're big and bright. Bum bum bum bum…Deep in the Heart of Texas." She laughed as she took another bite.

Dawn laughed too. "How many beers have you had?"

Faith shrugged at the teenager. "Enough to make up for you." Dawn held out her hand in response to the challenge but Faith slowly shook her head. "No, kid. Just because I corrupted you last night doesn't mean I'm going to give you a beer." She winked and looked the teenager up and down very slowly in a way that made Dawn feel like she was being undressed once again.

Dawn reached around her into the bucket but came up with a water. "I prefer water anyway." She leaned close and whispered in the Slayer's ear. "And I'm pretty sure I corrupted you."

Faith finished off her first two slices and grabbed another from the box, taking a bite and speaking around it. "Sweetheart, that boat sailed while you were in elementary school." Dawn settled back into her chair and took a long drink of her water. For a few minutes the two women were quiet. Then Faith pointed at the sky again with her pizza. "I'm going to miss this, these stars more than anything."

Dawn was very quiet. "That's why the plan. Picking you up, steak and potatoes and cheesecake and then, you know…" She blushed red as she motioned toward the stars. "I knew you missed them more than anything."

Faith snorted. "Well, taking a shit in private has a lot going in its favor too." She thought for a moment. "I read something once: 'You don't have to be able to see the stars to know they're there…'"

Her mouth dropped open as Dawn finished the poem: "Just like I don't have to feel your hand to know how it would feel on my skin."

"You read Buffy's letter?" Faith's shock was palpable, her indignation even more so.

Dawn handed the Slayer another slice and took a long drink on her bottle. "Buffy never wrote you a letter, Faith. She threw yours away."

"No. That's not true. I got a letter from her every Thursday for over two years."

"And then she treated you like she'd never written a word of it when you arrived in Sunnydale two weeks ago?"

Faith's face was a portrait of confusion, she knew. She knew that she wasn't the smartest cookie in the box, and who ever said that cookies were supposed to be smart, but she'd always prided herself on her common sense. She slowly blinked. "You wrote the letters?"

Dawn nodded her head. "I'm sorry, Faith. I didn't mean to trick you. It's just that you sounded so lonely and well, sorry. The first time I just thought…you know…you'd feel better. And I kind of thought you'd not want to correspond with me. I mean, I was just a kid."

"You're still a just a kid." Faith took another drink and then lit her cigarette. She was still trying to wrap her mind around this revelation. Now Dawn's plan to take her out when she got out of prison seemed much more real. "Part of me wants to be really mad at you, kid. You tricked me and made a fool of me." Dawn hung her head. "But you know what?"

"What?" The teenager's voice was meek.

"I read those letters. 117 fucking letters every damn day. Some days they were the only thing that kept me from giving up. Knowing that there was someone who understood how much I regretted…well, things. And that it seemed like someone cared about me." She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean not every letter every day because that's a lot of words and…" She pointed at her head.

Both women sat in silence for a long time. "I bought a small safe like you keep important papers or whatever in and put it in my closet. It's filled with your letters." She started laughing. "So right now they're totally safe at the bottom of the Hellmouth."

Faith extended the pizza box toward her visitor. "Mine are in my cell, behind a brick so as soon as I go back to prison and get assigned to the same cell, I've got them." She laughed as well. "Did you eat kid? You're really skinny. I mean not that it doesn't look, well very fucking hot, but you should eat."

Dawn didn't really respond to the question. "You think I'm hot?"

Faith leaned over so that their mouths were almost touching. "That wasn't apparent last night?"

Dawn blushed and looked down at her hands. "I know you patrolled. Maybe you were just…you know?"

"Horny?"

Faith reached out and tipped the younger girl's chin up. "Well, I did patrol and I was horny." She shrugged. In for a dime, in for a dollar. "But I'd been watching you since I arrived." She winked. "And I don't come so fucking hard I lose consciousness for just anyone."

Dawn giggled. "So I guess I wasn't a total geek."

"Not a geek." Faith looked the teenager up and down again and Dawn suddenly felt like they were actually having sex at that moment. Oh my.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

Dawn sat back nodded. "Xander called." Fearing that the injured Slayers wouldn't make it to L.A., the bus had stopped at the first town safely outside Sunnydale. Xander and two healthy young slayers had stayed with Robin and the six injured slayers. "Robin's still in surgery and so are two of the slayers. Two are out of surgery and in I.C.U. and the other two didn't make it." She was a little caught off guard when Faith crossed herself, then remembered some references to confession in Faith's letters. She had always assumed it was just a figure of speech.

The silence stretched out between them and Dawn was just about to speak when Faith beat her to it. "You stayin with B?"

Dawn shrugged. "Willow's starting to set up some command central situation in the ballroom and asked me to come help her. I'm not sure I'm sleeping tonight."

Faith yawned. "I'll be out before you get to the door."

Dawn stood and stretched. "Good night, Faith."

"Hey kid? Thanks for not dying today."

Dawn smiled. "You too."

Part 2
Fresh Start

Some lesser mortal might be sleeping. Hell, most people would be sleeping but most people didn't fear sleep like Willow Rosenberg. Not that she'd admit it, except maybe to Buffy or Xander if they seemed to be in a particularly good listening mood. As far as everyone was concerned, she was just hyper and driven. Of course seven mochas in the last five hours would keep anyone hyper and driven.

The spell today had been…There could be nothing to describe it. Nothing to compare it. The only thing that would ever come close would be…every moment she'd ever shared with Tara.

Tara.

And that was exactly why she wasn't going to sleep tonight.

Because Willow Rosenberg still couldn't sleep alone. She'd never had a problem as a child or a teenager, even when her parents left town for weeks at a time and left her alone in the house in a town of evil demons. And when dating Oz, she would just as soon he get up and leave or she leave, fabricating an early class or study group, as stay the night. But with Tara? Even before they had made love, even before they were "dating," Willow just wanted to sleep wrapped in the blonde's arms. It had been the first hint to her that perhaps she liked her new friend as more than just a new friend.

Which meant that she had not had a good night of sleep in 392 nights. And when she lay in bed awake she ended up counting those nights as well as the ones that stretched out in front of her. "On my 25th birthday, I'll have slept alone the last 1113 nights. When I turn 57, I'll have slept alone the last 12801 nights." Occasionally Dawn came into her room, upset about an interaction with Buffy or having had a nightmare and Willow would hold the teenager while she slept. But that did little for Willow's sleep.

So this night? Having a good excuse to avoid sleep meant one less night of fighting it. She glanced at her watch. 2:38. She'd accomplished an incredible amount already. Most of the others were sacked out somewhere in the hotel. Wesley was still going strong and really contributing to the plans. He paced the other end of the room on yet a third phone. Andrew had returned from his errand, thankfully Gunn had offered to drive him, and the two men now were organizing supplies into bins at the side of the ballroom around their yawns.

Dawn had lasted until just a few minutes ago, handling the phone order before falling asleep at a table. One minute she had been talking to Wesley to confirm a count and the next she leaned forward, put her head on her hand and was out. Since Willow wasn't sure if she even had a room, Gunn had moved her to a settee, tossed a blanket over her, and left her in the corner.

The redhead sat back down at the computers, took off her headset and began to concentrate on the scrolling characters in front of her. This would be the most complex and intricate part of the transfer. If she missed her window, she didn't know that there would be another chance and they needed the money to fund the operation. White boards behind her began to spell out the coordinated effort she, Giles, and Wesley had begun to plan. After all, some one needed to guide and manage all these Slayers. And Giles theorized that more and more would arrive every day.

And someone had to set it all up.

Faith woke up with a crick in her neck and a stitch in her side. It was a far cry from the morning before. She'd awoken to find a thin, warm body wrapped in her arms. Her first thought was to try to remember where she'd gone dancing and who she might have picked up before the memory of the night before had come rushing back. The kid.

Oh Shit. Buffy's going to kill me for sure if we don't all die today. All throughout the house people were waking up which meant that B would be looking for her sister at some point. True, it didn't seem like her fellow Slayer put a lot of effort into watching her sibling but she might want her around the day of the apocalypse.

"Kid?"

"Mmm. I'm dreaming, let me sleep."

Faith smiled in spite of herself and kissed the teenager's neck. Oh. Some other day in some other place she knew a few techniques for waking someone up that would definitely get her attention. "You gotta get up, kid, before B comes looking for you."

And Dawn had shown her superior intellect and common sense by sitting up, uttering a few choice swear words, and shaking her head. She reached for her nightgown and the robe before turning back to kiss Faith once more. "You've got to move the dresser."

Faith finished pulling on her clothes and did as requested, pulling open the door just as Buffy appeared in the hallway. "Have you seen Dawn?"

Dawn stepped into the hall. "Hey Buff. I'm just making sure everyone is up."

"Good thinking." The two sisters continued knocking on doors together.

The memory warmed the Slayer only slightly and she cursed her uncomfortable chair but at least she'd been able to sleep outside. She stood and stretched and grabbed the box of empty bottles to dump in the garbage. Once inside the hotel she looked around. Young girls were scattered around the lobby but mostly the place was deserted. "That way," one of the newbies pointed.

Faith followed the vague directions down a hall and into a huge ballroom. It was like she was attending a conference, or what she always thought a conference would look like. Some folding tables were set up with a sign in front of each. "Last Name: A-H", "I–R", "S-Z" Boxes lined the walls and she looked inside to see loads of toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, tampons, etc. Another wall had a big pile of backpacks and sport bags while a third had a table with Danish and eggs. She went there first to grab three Danish and a cup of coffee. "You got any beer?"

Willow didn't answer but Andrew came over. "Um. No beer, Faith. Maybe you'd like coffee?" He shook as he spoke which was better than beer anyway since Faith just wanted to get a rise out of someone.

She poured a cup and went over to the "I-R" table. A box held large ziplock bags and she started to flip through them. There were four or five bags still in the box but no Faith Lehane. "No bag for me?"

Andrew shook again. "Um. I'm sure it's here somewhere. We've got one for everyone. Let me see…"

"Faith, come over here," Willow shouted from behind her bank of computers.

What the fuck is she ordering me around for? Faith wondered but she went over anyway. Willow handed her a bag like the others labeled "Francis Lindley." "Who the fuck is Francis Lindley?"

Willow pointed at her. "For today it's you. I'm still working on your records."

"What records?"

Willow motioned at the computers. "All the records. Your confession, arrest, the whole thing. Oh, also the juvie record for stealing a car which I don't think you'd mentioned before." The redhead smirked and then pointed at the bag. "For today you can be Francis but don't get arrested ok?"

"If you mess with the records how am I going to go serve my time, Red?"

Willow looked at the Slayer like she was crazy. "Why would you go back, Faith?"

"Cause I got time left on my sentence."

Willow shook her head. "I don't think you really need to. I mean…Have you talked to Wesley?"

Faith nodded. "I'm going to." She looked at the bag. "Francis?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Go by Frankie then. I don't care. Just don't get arrested today."

Faith started to flip through the contents of the bag. "Let's see. Phone. Thanks." She shoved it in her back pocket.

"Your number is under 'my phone.' Dawn was on with the company for hours getting all those. Most of the other numbers, mine, Buffy's, Giles, are in there already." Faith nodded and continued pulling items from the bag. "That visa is for you to go buy clothes or whatever you need. Grab a bag from the corner and whatever toiletries you want. " She motioned to a second card. "That one has $500 on it for you to get an IPod or X-Box or whatever you want. You know, discretionary."

Faith shoved both cards and her new ID, proudly proclaiming her to be Francis Lindley, into her pocket. "The baby slayers actually listening to you about only spending the $500 cards on their toys?"

Willow shrugged again. "I just give the directions."

Faith pulled a sheet of paper from the bag. It seemed like some sort of survey. "Name," "Parent's address and phone" (yeah right), "Prior location" (The Big House), "Age", "Watcher if Applicable", "Location preference", "Do you have a high school diploma?", "If not do you want to finish high school?", "If not do you want to get a Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED)?", "Any personnel you want to be stationed near?", "Any personnel you don't want to be stationed near?" and so on and so forth.

Willow reached up to pull it from Faith's hands. "You don't have to fill one of these out."

Faith grinned. Of course she didn't. She looked behind Willow at the white boards on the wall and walked around the table for a better look. They listed names and cities. "L.A.: Wesley & Angel" had eight girl's names under it. "Seattle: Xander and Lorena", another eight. "London: Giles" fifteen names, "Boston: Nigel and Eunice" (she'd never heard of either) listed another eight girls, Miami, Rio De Janerio, Constantinople, Moscow, Venice, Greenland (the fuck?), Paris, Chicago, and finally. "Cleveland: Willow, Buffy, Faith" with 25 names under theirs.

"Cleveland is a hole."

Willow nodded. "And a hellmouth. Buffy wants you there to help train the newbies. We're going to rotate Slayers through different cities and different watchers but we want the new ones to come through Cleveland first."

Faith pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "And she wants me close so she can keep an eye on me."

Willow looked at the dark-haired slayer for a minute. "No reason to lie to you, Faith. Yeah. She wants you near her."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?"

"You'll notice my name's on that list too."

"Yeah, I heard about your little temper problem last year, Red." Faith motioned at the wall boards and then the other room contents. "Who's financing this entire thing? This has got to cost."

Willow smiled and pointed at the computer. "The old Watchers Council is gone. They really don't need their money anymore so we've decided to um…liberate it."

Faith smiled. "Red! You're a total criminal."

"Takes one to know one."

Faith finished her cigarette and handed the empty ziploc back to the witch. "I gotta go spend some money." She smirked. "I'll try not to get arrested today."

She was almost to the door when she heard Red's voice. "Oh and Faith?" Faith turned around. "There's a box of condoms over there if you want to grab a few hundred."

Faith carefully extended her middle finger to give Willow the old sign. "I knew you couldn't be friendly for that long, Red. Have a nice fucking day."

Faith's eyes almost glowed as she entered the store. Now this was her kind of place. "Can I set these somewhere?" She held up the bags she already had, those with four new pairs of jeans and three new shirts.

The salesperson came over immediately and took them from her. "I'm Georgeanne. I'll set them over here, Miss…?"

Faith smiled. How come people in expensive stores always want to call you Miss something? "Lindley but you can call me Frankie."

The salesperson had turned on the charm. "Well, I don't think you'll have any trouble finding something that you like here. Can I get you anything?"

Faith walked away without answering and started inspecting the pants. White, no. Blue, no. Pink, hell no. Black. Yeah. That's it. She pulled two pairs from the rack and held them up. Georgeanne practically ran over to the dressing room. No wonder, given the cost of the leather pants.

The Slayer emerged a few minutes later to look in the 360 mirrors outside the dressing room. "You look great, Francis."

Faith turned around to spot Dawn sprawled in a nearby chair. "You know I like to go by Frankie better, kid."

Dawn stood up and strode over to the Slayer, leaning close. "Turn around so I can see your ass, Frankie," she whispered in Faith's ear.

Faith smiled and did as requested, happy to see the way the teenager was staring. "See something you like?"

Dawn didn't take her eyes off the Faith's ass. "Very, very, very definitely." She reached out to cup the other girl's bottom. "The leather is so smooth and soft." She nipped at Faith's neck but didn't kiss her. "Get these ones."

"How you'd find me, kid?"

Dawn slouched back into her seat in the chair near the dressing rooms. "There are only a few shops around that sell leather so I figured I'd try them all." She jerked a thumb at the salesgirl. "When I described you, Georgeanne knew who I was talking about."

Faith crossed the small area to lean over Dawn's chair and place both hands on the arms. "Maybe you'll be a detective when you grow up." She looked the girl up and down. "Although parts of you seem pretty grown up to me." She turned and grabbed another pair of pants from the rack and tossed them toward the teenager. "Come on now, kid. Turnabout is fair play."

Dawn held up the pants and laughed. "Buffy's going to think I'm in my adolescent 'follow Faith around and copy what she's wearing' stage again."

Faith pulled the teenager by the hand toward the dressing room. "I don't really give a fuck what B thinks as long as I get to see your ass in those and I don't think we should mention what phase you're really in."

Dawn opened the door and shoved Faith out as she closed it. "I'll be out in a minute then."

By the time she came out, running her hands over the leather and looking at herself in the mirror, Faith had changed back into her jeans and given the two pairs she was planning to buy to the salesgirl. The Slayer came up behind Dawn and returned the other girl's earlier action, smoothing her palms over her legs and ass. "You remember what I said about hubba hubba?"

Dawn smiled and leaned back into Faith's arms and wandering hands. "So you like?" The Slayer nibbled on Dawn's neck before whispering in her ear. "You have a filthy mouth, Francis Lindley."

Faith smiled at her. "Do you mind?"

Dawn laughed. "Not at all. Are you hungry?"

"Kid, your sister is a Slayer. Is she ever not hungry?" She ripped the price tag off the pants. "I'll pay for these and we can go after you change."

By the time Dawn handed Georgeanne the pants so the salesgirl could remove the anti-theft device and put them in a bag, Faith had signed the credit card slip. She held up her other bags and glanced at the clock. "You buying me lunch, Kid?"

"Why not?"

The found a "pho" restaurant on the next block and stood in line to order. Faith ordered a Japanese beer, declaring them better than the American ones and they carried their bowls to a tall table along the wall. They visited as they ate about Dawn's night helping with the phone orders and what he teenager knew of the grand plan for directing the Slayers. Actually, she knew a lot because she'd learned to listen well over the years. She would of course be going to Cleveland with Buffy, at least until it was time to start college in the Fall. Faith wondered but didn't really feel comfortable asking where that would be. The Slayer did find herself a little shocked as Dawn gave her a little more information regarding the size of the fund Willow had been working on getting from the Watchers Council.

"You're telling me that they had forty million dollars in the bank while I was living in a rat trap motel next door to junkies and whores?"

Dawn nodded. "And last year, Buffy worked at the Doublemeat Palace to pay the bills."

Faith laughed. "Do you have pictures? Because seeing B in that little hat sounds priceless."

"No. She was pretty humiliated but you're right; the hat was cute."

The Slayer pushed away her lunch and cracked open her fortune cookie. "Man, if I had known that I could see B working at the Doublemeat, maybe I wouldn't have turned evil. It should have been in the brochure."

"There was a brochure?"

"Well, not when I killed Deputy Mayor Finch but working for the Mayor? Yeah. He put together a whole presentation about benefits and insurance and everything." She considered for a minute. "I guess that's the only job I ever had that paid money and stuff."

"That's kind of pathetic you know?"

Faith ignored the teenager's remark. "Get this. 'You will survive a fight only to face another.'" She tossed the slip of paper into her bowl and bit off half the cookie. "No crap. I mean I'm a Slayer, I do nothing but fight."

"I remember you doing a little other than fight the night before last." Dawn tried to hold eye contact but blushed and looked away. She grabbed for her fortune. "Stupid fortune cookie company. They must only have one fortune. 'You will survive a fight only to face another.'"

"Maybe you're a Slayer, kid."

"Why do you call me kid? I call you Faith."

Faith shrugged. "I guess because you're a kid."

Dawn looked exasperated but couldn't see a reason to argue about it. Everyone knew that the dark-haired Slayer didn't like to use real names from B to Red to G-man. And a minute later when Faith changed the subject it was apparent that Faith didn't think she was just a kid.

"Do you think I should go back to prison?" Before Dawn could speak Faith elaborated. "I mean I just kind of assumed I'd go turn myself back in but I got down to the ballroom and Red tells me that she's working on clearing my record so I don't know if I could even turn myself in if I wanted."

Dawn reached across the table to take Faith's hand. She wasn't entirely sure that the Slayer would allow the contact, after all she was so intent on being tough but Dawn felt that she knew her better than most people. "I don't think you need to go back to prison, Faith. I mean if prison is about rehabilitating people, you're about as rehabilitated as a person could be."

"Kid, prison ain't about rehabilitating no one. It's about punishing people, most of who didn't have any choice in the situations they were in."

The younger girl reached out to tip Faith's chin up and force the girl to look at her. "You made some mistakes but when you first started writing your letters you were really mad. Sometimes I was scared of the things you said." Faith looked up and gave her a sad look. "But you changed. Somewhere in there, somewhere in those letters, you really changed. You realized that you made a mistake." When Faith rolled her eyes Dawn amended her statement. "Ok, you realized that you made some mistakes. And you were sorry for them. You were really sorry." She thought for a minute. "Plus, you just helped stop the end of the world. That should count for something."

Faith shrugged but she didn't fool Dawn that she was taking the girl's words lightly. "I guess. But I just always thought…I mean now what am I supposed to do? Be like B and dress all light and airy and fight the good fight and study and shit like that?"

Dawn smiled at the dark-haired girl and motioned toward their bags. "I think you can still be you, Faith. Just, better." She leaned forward to whisper in the other girl's ear. "And I don't want you to be good all the time."

Faith again fixed the younger girl with a sexy look before picking up her bags. "You done shopping, kid?"

Dawn hopped from her own chair and picked up the bag with her new pants. "I was going to stop at a sporting goods store and get some new running gear. You in?"

"Why the fuck not?"

The pair found a large sporting goods store a few blocks away and picked out some workout gear. Dawn was surprised when Faith chose a pair of good running shoes and said that they would have to go running sometime. Although the teenager always enjoyed the activity as a way to clear her head and get some exercise, Buffy had never wanted to go with her, always wanting to train with weapons instead.

Speaking of weapons, Dawn was hardly surprised when Faith discovered the hunting and fishing department and began salivating over the knives. The dark-haired slayer looked at the case with wonder and then glanced to Dawn as if asking for approval. Her only response was to wordlessly take Faith's shopping bags from her hands and lean on the counter as the other girl began asking the salesman to take various weapons from the cabinet for her inspection.

A few she held out to the teenager who had set down the bags, took the knives in her hand and wondered what she was supposed to be checking for. On the other hand, Faith obviously knew what she was looking for. It was clear to Dawn that she was checking for heft and balance but beyond that, her movements to swing and spin the knives were a foreign experiment. Most of the knives she handed back to the salesman but two she set aside before asking for a whetstone and sheathes. Before paying she picked up one knife in each hand and held them up like six- shooters. "What do you think?"

Dawn tried to suppress a shiver. "Smile at me, Frankie."

Faith dropped the knives on the counter immediately and smiled as she hugged the younger girl. "I'm sorry, kid." She wanted to say something else but she just couldn't quite figure out what. How do you apologize to someone for holding her and her mother at knifepoint. She couldn't think of anything more meaningful that apologizing again and cupping the girl's cheeks in her hands to place a soft kiss on her mouth. "You want to get out of here? Head back to the hotel?"

Dawn nodded and bent down to pick up the bags. As Faith turned from the counter she smiled. "Pay for your new toys, Frankie."

Faith narrowed her eyes at the younger girl. "Are you sure?"

Dawn laughed. "You know you're just going to wish you had them until you do. And we're here now."

Faith laughed too. "I'm a little spooked at how well you know me." She turned and handed her credit card to the salesman who had been attempting to ignore the personal conversation between the two women but who also, of course, really wanted the sale. When the transaction was finished, she dropped the small bag containing the knives, sheathes, and sharpening block into one of her clothing bags and led Dawn through the store to the exit. After orienting themselves they began walking back home, making a date for a late run the next day.

"You know I like running early. About 6:00 most days," Dawn teased the other girl.

"Kid, I get to bed after work about 2:00. If you think I'm getting up at 6:00 to run, I overestimated your sanity and your intelligence."

By the time they walked into the lobby of the Hyperion they were both laughing and having fun and weren't prepared for Buffy's reception. "Where in the hell have you been? And why were you with her?"

Dawn dropped her bags on the floor. "I was out shopping. What's your problem?"

Buffy stepped up face to face with her sister. "I've been looking for you for the last hour and a half to see if you'd eaten." Apparently realizing that they were attracting quite a bit of attention she lowered her voice. "And I don't want you following her around like you're thirteen years old again. She's dangerous."

Dawn could feel her temper starting to flare at her sister. "She's not dangerous."

"Dawn Summers. She's a killer and you know it. She may be reformed enough to not actually help the forces of evil destroy the world but that's not exactly the standard you should hold for lunch dates." She turned to the dark-haired Slayer who had been standing to the side throughout the confrontation. "And you can just leave my sister alone. You don't need her tagging along making you feel like a hero or whatever."

Now wanting to diffuse any potential fight between the Chosen two, in addition to feeling that Buffy deserved a piece of her mind, Dawn stepped between the two. She gave Faith a little shove and then turned to Buffy. "First off, she's not the only person around her who has 'killer' on her resume. You've never had a problem with my spending time with Willow or Anya or Andrew."

"Anya's dead," Buffy lamely offered.

Dawn ignored the interruption. "Second, I'll spend time with whoever I want. And third…" She pulled her cell phone from her pocked and then grabbed Buffy's from her hand. "…this is a cell phone. I'm speed dial #4." She hit the button on Buffy's phone and her's started to play the Flying Wallenzas. "See you call me. 'Hi, Dawn? Did you eat? Yeah? Oh, good. Any idea when you'll be home?'" She practically sneered at her sister as she disconnected and dropped the phone into her hand.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Ok. You're right." She reached out and patted her sister on the hand. "I think I'm still just on edge about the whole 'fight against evil' thing yesterday."

Crisis averted Dawn agreed and gave her sister a hug. Buffy told her that Willow could use her help again and Dawn said that she would go put her bags in her room.

"Hey B?" The sisters looked up to see Faith standing to the side of their touching reconciliation. "Do I have a room?" She held up her bags.

Buffy reached into her pocket and handed her key to her room. "214. Do you want to patrol tonight? Angel's out of town and Gunn said that they could use some help."

"Five-by-five, B. You want to take some baby slayers too or just us?"

"Gunn and Wesley wanted to take some of the girls out. Let's just go by ourselves."

Faith shrugged. "Whatever, B. I just work here." She turned and followed Dawn up the stairs, letting herself into her room and tossing the clothes on the bed. She would have to go down later to get a bag and the other stuff from the ballroom. Fuck Red anyway with her crack about the condoms.

Part 3
The Visitor

The two Slayers had a good but strange night, heading back to the hotel around midnight. Faith flexed her arm, still trying to work out the kinks from the fight the day before. "Not bad, B. I can't believe you're walking around today. You did get stabbed through the gut yesterday." She smirked at the blonde. "Hell, I was in a coma eight months from the same thing and you jumped from the rooftop to the bus."

Buffy sighed. "Is this how it's going to be from now on, Faith? You bringing up the past every hour?"

Faith stopped and squared off in front of the blonde. "Oh, I'm sorry. You yelling at the kid in the middle of the lobby that I'm a killer isn't from the past is it?"

Buffy sat down on the bus bench they were passing. "You are a killer."

"I think the kid pointed out that half the people in your little club are killers too. The difference is that I went to prison for my crime."

Buffy shocked the dark-haired Slayer as she actually seemed to think about it for a few minutes. "I can see that, Faith. And you seem different, more peaceful than you did." She took a long breath. "But please leave Dawn alone. You know how she was as a kid. I mean she idolized you and followed you around like a puppy-dog. She was crushed, absolutely crushed when…well when things went bad with you and I and you and she. Just leave her alone, ok? Don't encourage her? Please."

"Look, B. I hear you but she's not a kid anymore you know. She's a wicked intelligent woman and pretty damn mature too." No wonder Dawn felt so ignored by her sister and all the Scoobies. They just couldn't see her for who she was now.

Buffy stood up and started walking toward the hotel again. "I'm not going to argue with you about Dawn anymore, Faith."

"That's a relief," Faith muttered. She looked up to see that they had reached the hotel. "Hey B, it's kind of early. I think I'll…" She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Of course. Be safe."

Dawn stirred when she heard the window creaking open. She felt pretty sure it wasn't a vampire. They couldn't get into her room anyway. Or could they? Could a vampire enter a hotel room? She didn't own it. She would have to ask Willow or get the witch to set up a barrier.

"You just leave your window unlocked and cracked, kid? I could be a vampire or some other evil beastie."

Dawn sat up with a grin and allowed the sheet to fall to the bed, displaying her upper body which was again clad in a silky nightie. "But it's not a beastie." She yawned. "Sorry. I waited a few minutes after Buffy came in but…I fell asleep." Dawn looked down. "She said you were going to hit a nightclub and implied. Well, she wasn't all that complimentary about what else you were doing to do. Also she said that Willow tried to get you to take some condoms and you refused and were rude."

Faith grinned as she approached the bed and leaned over to kiss the teenager. "B makes assumptions, kid. I wasn't really feeling a need for condoms." She set down the plastic bag she'd brought with her on the nightstand and rubbed her arms. "Fourth floor? You couldn't be on the second floor?"

Dawn giggled. "You're a Slayer. You can't climb up?"

"Just did," Faith shot back. "I'm just not sure you want my arms all tired out." When the kid blushed, Faith smirked back at her. She was finding herself quite intrigued by this woman. On one hand she was smokin' hot and sexy, brilliant, and intelligent. On the other, she could seem so young and innocent in a way that Faith could never remember feeling. She kissed her again and this time lingered a bit, savoring the taste of toothpaste and cherry lip gloss on the teen's lips. "You mind if I take a quick shower? Patrol was a bit…yuck."

Dawn yawned exaggeratedly. "I'll try to stay awake."

Faith began stripping off her clothes where she stood. "I hope so." She leaned over one more time to kiss her lover and then strode toward the bathroom. Just at the doorway she turned around. "And don't look in the bag."

Dawn faked a move for the bag but wasn't serious.

Less than five minutes later Faith had emerged from the shower and came back into the bedroom toweling off her hair. "Much better. Not so stinky."

"Why don't I be the judge of that?" Dawn was looking the naked Slayer up and down with what could only reasonably be described as absolute, unadulterated lust.

Faith smirked as she picked up the bag and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I wasn't out clubbing. I saw a grocery store eight or ten blocks from here and needed to make a stop." Without further explanation she pulled a chocolate cake from the bag, on which Dawn could see the words Happy Birthday in red frosting, and handed the teenager a plastic fork to match the one in her hand. She also pulled a small bottle of milk from the bag for each of them. "I was going to get candles but I didn't want to set off the smoke alarm."

Dawn smiled broadly as she looked back and forth between the cake and Faith. "You are really sweet, Faith."

Faith waited for the teenager to take a bite before plunging her own fork into the cake and bringing up a big forkful. "For God's sake, don't let anyone else know."

"Mmm. This is fantastic." Dawn licked a dollop of frosting off her fingers, a motion which Faith felt relatively sure wasn't calculated no matter how sexy it looked. "So how was patrol?"

Faith shook her head. "Weird and strange with a side of bizarre."

"How so?"

Faith took another large bite and spoke around her chewing. "Ok. First off we run into a pack of vampire dogs."

Dawn wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "They're called hounds of hell. They're bred and trained to protect places where demons live." She shrugged. "Or unlive or whatever."

"Right. Not these. Those are hounds of hell and they smell terrible. These? Vampire dogs as in long fangs, no reflection, tried to bite our necks."

"No shit?"

"Yeah, we're like wrestling the damn things to the ground and finally I decide to shove a stake through one's heart. I mean it may be a hound of hell but you'd be surprised how many things that will kill. So I hit one. Poof! B sees me and starts doing the same. Poof, poof, poof…"

Dawn got a disgusted look on her face. "That means that some vampire bit a dog, drank its blood, and let it drink his. That's really disgusting."

"They weren't even cute dogs either."

Dawn laughed and set her fork down on the nightstand. "So what were these ugly vampire dogs guarding?"

"Nest of vamps. Killing them was easier than the dogs and but the dogs smelled better." Faith continued enjoying the cake. She hadn't eaten since dinner and was feeling the sugar racing through her veins.

Dawn lay down on her side with her head on her hand. "And what was the side of bizarre?"

Faith finally decided to take a break from the cake, setting in on the floor. She lay down facing the teenager. "You ever hear of a demon named Whistler?"

Dawn thought for a moment. "Short squirrelly-human-looking demon? Let me see. An immortal demon sent to balance out good and evil? Where was he for the last few months?"

Faith nodded his head. "Buffy asked him that too. After she got done tossing him against a wall. Seems they've met before. She ever mention that?"

Dawn shook her head. "She didn't but I remember one time Willow read something about him during research and Buffy got up and left the room."

Faith reached over and began to rub Dawn's hip through the sheet. "Yeah so they have some history. He tells her that she wants to hear what he has to say. She says he has thirty seconds. He says that she did good in the fight against the first and she gets a wish. Seems our little B has 24 hours to wish for any damn thing she wants. One wish."

Dawn thought about it. "She didn't mention it. Maybe she'll bring mom back."

Faith shifted her hand to brush the fingertips along her lover's jaw. "Or maybe she'll make Angel human. Who knows with B?"

Dawn took Faith's hand and kissed the palm. Then she thought for a moment. "What about your wish?"

Faith nodded her head and returned to stroking the other girl's hip, moving in larger circles. "That's what I said, yo. I was like, 'hey Whistler. What about me? You know, saving the world, fighting the good fight?'"

Dawn began to run her fingertips along the older woman's chest, between her breasts, allowing them to come closer and closer to the soft flesh with each pass. "And he said…"

Faith slipped her hand under the hem of Dawn's slip, noting that it was much shorter than the one the kid had worn their first night together. She began running her palm over the girl's stomach noting how her breath hitched with each movement. "No wish for me." She snorted a little. "He said that I'm on my destiny path. That right now I have everything I'm ever supposed to want. Said, get this, that I hold the key in my heart even if I don't know it yet."

"You 'hold The Key in your heart?'"

Faith rolled her eyebrows. "Yeah. These prediction winks always give a bunch of shit that doesn't mean anything. I guess he's telling me to go find what makes me happy for myself or something. He said that's my love." She leaned forward to kiss Dawn's neck where the pulse was vibrating the skin at the base of her throat. "Kid, right now I can think of a few things that might make me happy." She made a mental note of the sound Dawn was making as she kissed and then sucked that tender spot.

Faith was quickly losing interest in Whistler and knew that the kid was as well but she wanted to finish. "But I guess he had his prediction hat on, the thing looked like shit, and he tells me that once I find my key, I'll ultimately have to fight to protect it."

"You'll have to protect your Key?" Dawn's voice sounded frustrated and a little scared and Faith knew that she was losing the mood.

"But that I'll have help." She saw the look of obvious disappointment in the teenager's eyes and then glanced away, having a wicked thought as her eyes lit on the cake. She slipped her fingers back under the silk and pulled it easily from Dawn's body. "Mmm. You know I'm still kind of hungry." She leaned over and dipped her finger in the icing and was moving it toward a newly bared nipple when the teenager grasped her wrist and pulled the finger toward her mouth, locking eyes as she wrapped her lips around it.

Faith moaned. She regretted it immediately. Shit, reactions like that were going to…

Dawn reached her hand over and scooped up some more frosting. She extended only the tip of her finger toward the Slayer and let her lick some of the sweet goo from the end before pulling it away. "I think you've had enough for now." She lifted her finger in front of her face and seemed to study it. "Now what am I going to do with this?"

"Can I make a suggestion, kid?"

Dawn lowered her head so that she was giving a wicked sexy look at the other woman. "I don't want to have to get up and wash my hands and if I get it all over the sheets…" She moved the finger very near a nipple, which, conveniently and fascinatingly enough seemed to be hardening of its own accord. "I just have to put it somewhere…" She lightly brushed her fingertip across the tip of one nipple, then the other. "Now, that's just messy." She leaned her mouth down and swiped her tongue through the chocolate, making a "mmm" noise as she did. By the time she had cleaned both nipples the Slayer was breathing heavily and making a sort of clicking noise in the back of her throat, making Dawn feel pretty satisfied.

"Come here, kid." Faith shifted onto her back and pulled Dawn with her, bringing their lips together and tasting the chocolate on her lover's lips. Again, she thought about how good a kisser Dawn was. Actually she was a little disturbed about it. Not about the great kissing but about how much she seemed to be thinking about the kissing. She hadn't told Dawn about the time she had spent on her back fighting a vampire tonight after he'd caught her daydreaming do you call daydreaming at night nightdreaming while she thought about the kid's kissing. About the curve of her bottom lip. And now she wanted…

Well obviously she wanted to fuck Dawn. And be fucked by her. Preferably a few times or at the same time or both.

But for now. She was just kissing and being kissed. And that was kind of new too. Allowing Dawn to kiss her and explore her mouth. Allowing the teen to really run her hands over her body and let her. To let the teen be on top. Not really, really, on top of course. No one could…That wasn't fucking happening. But this, this letting her do what she wanted and enjoying the way it made her feel?

Faith actually made a whimpering sound as Dawn moved her lips over her jaw and neck. She knew she should make an effort to switch places and take some control but what the teenager was doing with her hands felt so fucking good that she didn't want it to stop.

When Dawn sucked a nipple into her mouth while twisting the other in her fingertips, Faith told herself she would switch in one minute.

When the teen moved to the other Faith promised herself that she would just…

When she abandoned the Slayers breasts and began moving down her stomach, Faith thought maybe just a few more minutes.

"Faith? If I don't do this…you know, right? Tell me?"

For a second, the Slayer was torn. Comfort the nervous teen or encourage her to continue? She reached down her hands and pulled the girl closer to hug her tightly. She kissed Dawn's eyelids and cupped her cheeks in her palms. "You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Dawn kissed the Slayer back and smiled. "I didn't say I wasn't comfortable." She leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I've been dreaming about making love to you for years, Faith." She pulled back and smiled. "What said was tell me if I don't do it right…" As she whispered she slid back down Faith's body, over her flat stomach until her face was even with the other woman's short dark curls. She seemed almost hesitant as she rubbed her cheek and chin over the softness, seemingly undisturbed or oblivious to the needy sounds coming from her lover's throat.

Dawn was, in fact, anything but oblivious to those sounds and to Faith's aroused state. Still feeling very nervous but wanting to show Faith that she could be a very good lover, and well aware of the relative differences in their experience levels, Dawn wanted to take her time and really make this wonderful for Faith. She knew that Faith had had a lot of sex – really, a lot of sex – in her life and while she knew it wasn't a competition, she also knew that Faith was hardly going to want to sit around playing scrabble for very long. She wanted sex, lots of it, and very very good. The teen used the fingers of one hand to separate the Faith's folds. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the Slayer's scent and smiled as she realized that she was going to really enjoy this. Her mind flashed back to those days reading Willow and Tara's books and her realization that those descriptions, descriptions of loving between two women, were more appealing to her than any she'd ever read involving men. She figured this would kind of be the test of that conclusion. Of course her feelings for Faith had pretty much convinced her that she preferred women, or at least preferred Faith.

She took a few seconds to really look at the beauty of Faith's sex. She'd only ever seen her own before and that with a mirror and at a strange angle. She moved closer and gently kissed the little bump she was pretty sure was the Slayer's clit. When Faith gave an uncharacteristic squeak, she felt pretty sure that she'd guessed right. Even though she remembered the feeling from the other night, she didn't want to attack, so to speak, Faith's clit right off. She slowly licked a long path along one side of the Slayer's lips and then the other. Oh yes. She felt Faith's hand at the back of her head, not cruel and hard but gentle but firm and allowed her instincts to guide her.

Faith tried to relax as Dawn began to make love to her. This was something that she'd done hundreds, maybe thousands of times, but somehow this seemed different. It wasn't like this was a first. Hell, it wasn't even the first time she'd been some girl's first time. But she felt an overwhelming wish for the kid to be good at this. For herself to make it easy on the teen, to guide her through it. And given her responses when kissing the kid, she thought this would be very good.

The first touch of Dawn's mouth to Faith's sex was electric and she had to will herself to keep from winding the girl's hair around her hand and forcing her to get busy. Instead she cupped the back of Dawn's head in her hand and attempted to keep from screaming as the girl licked her sex from bottom to top and then down the other side.

And her determination to not scream and not pull the girl's hair was definitely tested over the next…Oh hell, Faith didn't know how long it took or how long it went on. What the kid lacked in experience she made up for in care and her ability to accept some gentle coaching on the Slayer's part. It felt almost like…

Like love.

Or what Faith supposed that might feel like.

And she had to fight a different instinct now. To get up and run from the room. To push the teenager away and lash out with words. To tell her that nothing could come of this. That she was convenient and easy and that it would hurt Buffy to fuck her little sister. To spew words that would keep her from feeling what Dawn had to offer. That would make the kid leave her so she wouldn't have to.

She gripped the back of the kid's head more tightly and then had to scream at herself to release it as she heard a muffled whimper. She tried to tell herself that she wasn't that person anymore. That person who would hurt Dawn. Who would pull her closer and then push her away. Who would discard her without a second thought. That she was worth this…this caring…this…She couldn't say the word. Because that word was more than she could accept. Was more than she deserved.

The Slayer jammed her free forearm against her open mouth to keep herself from screaming and crying and whimpered around it when the kid slid two slick fingers into her opening without even asking.

That hadn't taken any coaching.

The Slayer could feel her own hum in her ears as she strained against her own arm and Dawn's mouth and hand. It was just so good and she could hardly stand the contrast in feelings. The kid's hand was so firm inside, curling up and driving deep alternatively. Her mouth was just as gentle as it had ever been and Faith was unprepared for the tears that started to spill from the corners of her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and whipped her head from side to side to stop her emotion. She didn't want this. This breakdown. This feeling. She just wanted release.

Then it broke. Her orgasm. Her will. Her everything.

Faith felt it. Felt it break loose and still wanted to escape. The kid was still loving her and was trying to bring it again and she had her chance. "Kid, I gotta go…" She tried to pull away and run for the bathroom but Dawn looked up at her and she could see the pity and concern in her eyes.

And then she was rising up the bed and Faith wanted to just get away. To send the kid away. "I really need…" She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks and felt the burn of shame.

Dawn knew that look the moment she saw it. She knew this was coming. All those letters and all those words and she knew what Faith felt. That she wouldn't be able to accept it. To know and take Dawn's love. She wanted to tread that thin line between showing Faith what it could feel like to be loved and scaring her away. She wrapped her arms around the Slayer as tightly as she could, all the while perfectly aware that if Faith really wanted to get away, she couldn't hold her. "It's ok, Faith. It's ok. I know…I swear I know." And her words were a prayer and a mantra and she repeated them over and over, not even sure if Faith could hear her. And she could feel her lover shaking and feel the tears on her chest and arms. "It's ok, baby. Don't go away. Don't go. You're where you're supposed to be. I promise. I promise. Don't go."

Faith wanted to run. Still wanted to jump from the bed and run. But Whistler's words echoed in her ears along with Dawn's. Destiny Path. Destiny Path. Destiny Path. And for the first time in her life, she relaxed into the pain. Let herself feel it all. The way no one had ever loved her. From her father she never met to her trashy mother to all her mom's boyfriends who had shown her her only value in their own sickening ways. Even her hardass Watcher who never had a good word to say.

And she couldn't do it anymore. It took so much strength to hold it all together. To be so tough. And the only time she'd ever let down those defenses was in those letters. But Dawn had already read those letters. Had read her moments of greatest shame and pain. Had read it all. And still felt…

Faith didn't know how long it went on. And still Dawn held her. Still she continued her words that it was ok. That she was ok. That she was where she belonged. And every moment took her will to resist leaving. To push the kid away and pick up her clothes and get the fuck out of there.

"I can't give you what you need, kid." Faith's voice sounded scratchy and tough in her own ears. "What you deserve." She expected the kid to answer. To argue or protest. And for a moment it seemed that she would. But then Dawn's lips were against hers and the Slayer resisted for a moment before giving in. Because how could she help but give in when it felt so damn good? And Dawn's fingers sliding into her body again were a surprise but it felt as if they belonged and Faith whimpered again.

And Faith felt it all coming back. Without breaking contact, she rolled on top and forced the kid's head back against the pillow, pushing their tongues back into her mouth and running her fingers along the girl's slit only once. The wetness seemed to invite her inside and she slid a finger in as Dawn arched to meet her movement.

And there was no more talk or thought of pain or hurt or love or care. There was just this movement. Two women joined through their lips and hands and skin and sweat, moving together and nearing the peak.

Dawn screamed when she came and her scream was swallowed by her lover's mouth and answered by Faith's cry of pleasure. And then the two lay side by side, breathing coming shallow and quick and hands entwined.

"Stay?"

Faith pulled the teenager closer and wrapped her arms around her. "I don't know how I would get out even if I wanted, kid." She raised her arm a few inches and let it fall back onto the other girl's back. "I'd be as likely to fall the four stories as climb down safely and I don't really feature running into B in the hallway."

Dawn giggled. "You could tell her you're just waking everyone up. It worked the other day."

The Slayer placed a gentle kiss on Dawn's forehead. "I'll sneak out tomorrow, kid." Then she wrapped the girl tightly in her arms and kissed her again.

Dawn was nearing sleep when she heard Faith's words whispered like those of a child. "Don't tell anyone."

And the teenager was able to resist the instinct to be a smart-assed brat. To ask who she would tell and how that would come up. "Hey Buffy, so last night while I was making love to Faith, she had a total meltdown." Yeah that would go over great. "No one, Faith. I promise." And she felt the Slayer relax and felt relieved that she was still in the bed.

Part 4

Still she floated. Sometimes more aware and sometimes less. It seemed that there was someone waiting. Someones. Someone who loved her and still loved her and who was in pain over her. At times a cry pierced her spirt. Someone shouting Tara and a feeling of loss. But the spirit can't hold onto thoughts or emotions or even piercing cries and she went on floating

Willow ran her fingers through her hair. Too long. Again. It seemed like she always needed it cut but maybe it just was that she didn't really care to pay attention to things like her hair any more. Hell, if she didn't feel like some authority was needed over all the new girls, she would wear pajamas, to hell with her image. Who was there to impress anyway? A smile graced her face as she remembered her angst over clothing selection when meeting Tara for spells. Why had that not been a clue? How could it have taken her months to realize that she was attracted to the shy witch when she spent hours trying to decide which pair of sneakers to wear and poured baby powder in each in case she took off her shoes? She never knew whether to be exasperated at herself for wasting those months falling in love when she could have been with Tara that entire time or loving the feeling, the secret romance, of their love. She'd been so selfish in the beginning – wanting to keep Tara all to herself. She knew that the blonde had thought her ashamed of their relationship but that wasn't it. She just didn't want anything to intrude on their little bubble.

She brushed the back of her hand across her eyes. Damn it. When would she be done crying all the time?

When Tara returns. She choked back a sob. Like that is ever going to happen. No. It wasn't and she had to go on living and that just sucked beyond all belief. And part of what hurt so badly was the knowledge that her lover hadn't died saving the world or even helping a little old woman cross the street. She had died randomly and with no warning, no reason. Stupidly.

Her coffee cup was empty and it gave her a chance to get up. She stopped first at the restroom and splashed some water on her face before proceeding down the hall to the hotel restaurant. Of course restaurant was a kind appellation for the large room with boxes of cereal, Danish, hard-boiled eggs, and kettles of coffee. At least the hotel had the large freezers and refrigerators or they would have been spending all their newly liberated funds on feeding the army of new slayers. And some of them were hardly able to feed themselves three times a day. The new setup would certainly require some supervision and chaperoning and again she missed Tara. The blonde would have loved having a role in guiding these young women. Willow couldn't really imagine herself or Buffy and certainly not Faith in charge of their daily activities.

She grabbed a donut with the cup of coffee and trudged back to her workspace. The planning progress was going great. They had most known Slayers assigned to their locations. Watchers or in some cases temporary Watchers would be flying out over the next few days to find residences and training facilities, then their charges would follow within the week. Fortunately everyone could travel light but it was still a massive undertaking. The witch glanced at the clock on her desktop. 10:07. She'd been awake and working on the plan for over three hours, having met with Giles and Wesley as well as speaking to Xander by phone. The three surviving Slayers had made what the medical staff at the small-town hospital had termed amazing recoveries. Gunn had agreed to drive down in the afternoon to bring them and the healthy Slayers back. Xander would remain with Robin who was doing well. Willow had not determined the best location for his deployment and didn't even know, in fact, if he wished to remain but his skill both with the vampire population and with a high school age cohort would be well utilized. She hoped that he would remain with them.

"Good morning, Will." Buffy took a seat across from the red-haired witch sighing loudly and setting down a plate with three donuts on it as well as a diet coke. "I'll be glad when we have something more nutritious to eat than donuts."

Willow nodded and continued typing. "Not more than a week, Buff." She finished her task and looked up, snapping shut the lid of her laptop. "How was last night?"

"Last night?"

Willow nodded her head. "Yeah. You know, patrolling with Faith?" Before Buffy could answer she looked up and saw Dawn coming in carrying an egg and donut with a diet coke to match her sister's. "Good morning, Dawn."

"Hey Willow. Hi Buffy." Dawn took a seat next to Buffy and began to eat her breakfast.

"You look terrible," Buffy declared as she took in her sister's appearance. "Are you not sleeping?"

Dawn shrugged. "I don't know. I mean I just couldn't sleep last night. I'm sure…I'm fine."

"And where did you get that bruise on your wrist? Dawn, are you ok?" Willow's voice rose and she was practically shouting, getting the attention of a few of the other girls eating breakfast in the large room.

Buffy quickly grasped her sister's hand and ran her fingertips over the skin. "Dawn. Where did you get this? I thought you said none of them touched you. Do you need to see a doctor?"

Dawn pulled away her arm quickly and tucked her hand under her arm-pit. "God Buffy. Worry when I'm really hurt. It's…from the other day but it's fine."

"Well put some ice and arnica on it," Willow added. "I was just asking Buffy about patrol last night with Faith."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. How was patrol? Anything interesting?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Interesting? It was about the most interesting patrol I can remember."

"How so?"

Buffy took a long drink of her coke. "Well we hit a few cemeteries. Poofed some vampires." She shook her head. "I think I had forgotten how much Faith gets off on the violence. I mean she was just…it's different." She looked over at the teen. "Dawn, you ok?"

Dawn shook her head. "Oh. Yeah, just wandering I guess."

Buffy continued. "So the night went on and we're out killing the bad guys, as we do, poof, poof, poof, slay, slay, slay…and we run into Whistler."

Willow reacted immediately setting her coffee cup down too hard on the table and having to grab a napkin to mop up the spill. "Whistler? Buffy, are you ok? What did he say?"

Dawn looked back and forth between the two older women. "Eternal demon who tries to balance good and evil right?"

"Someone's been doing research." Dawn gave her sister a snotty look and waved her hand for the Slayer to continue.

"Yeah Whistler. Not my favorite demon ever."

"Oh Buffy…" Willow trailed off. What could she say? Whistler had shown up and explained to Buffy how to kill Angel. She still thought it must be the hardest thing her best friend had ever had to do.

Buffy tried to wave off Willow's sympathy. "Anyway, he says that I have 24 hours to make a wish."

"A wish?" Willow repeated.

"A wish. I can't go back in time and change something but I can wish for anything now."

"Why, Buffy?" Dawn asked.

Buffy continued to shake her head. "Apparently someone has taken notice of all the good fight I've been fighting. Now I just have to figure out what to wish for."

"A pound of jelly beans," Dawn offered playfully.

"Lifetime supply of mochas," Willow joined in. Then she got more serious. "What are you going to do Buffy?"

Buffy shook her head. "I just don't know. I mean if I can have anything, what do I want?"

"Mom?"

Buffy smiled at her little sister and patted her shoulder. "I don't know, Dawn. I just…I guess I need to figure it out."

"Does Faith get a wish too?" Willow asked as the idea occurred to her.

Buffy smiled and seemed to take a perverse joy in her answer. "Nope. Apparently she hasn't been fighting the good fight long enough. Whistler told her that she holds the key to happiness and love in her heart and that's all she gets. You should have seen her face."

Willow rolled her eyes. "I've never noticed Faith's heart being where she holds happiness and does she even know what love is?"

Buffy shook her head. "She's changed a lot since she went to prison. I'm not Faith's biggest fan but I can see that."

Willow shook her head. "I know. I just have a hard time wanting to trust her at all. I mean she held a knife to my throat."

Dawn looked down at the table and pressed her fingertips to the fake wood. "Mine too, Willow, but she does seem different. Maybe you can give her a chance?"

Buffy saw a clear opportunity. "See, that's why I want you to stay away from her, Dawn."

Dawn rolled her eyes in response. "You were just telling Willow how much she's changed but now you want me to stay away from her. God, hypocrite much, Buffy?"

"I just don't want you getting hurt."

"She's changed," Dawn argued.

"Look, maybe Dawn's right." Willow tried to diffuse the Summers family tension. "Did you talk when you were coming in from slaying?"

Buffy smiled. "Well, we might have except that she didn't come in. She waved her thumb in the direction of some clubs and went to get wild or jiggy with it or whatever. She's all…you know…Faithy that way."

Willow glanced at the teenager at the table. "She probably just…you know, found someone to talk with and had a deep meaningful conversation." She looked around before adding, "or maybe they played board games." "And didn't come home last night?" Buffy argued. She glanced at her little sister and apparently decided that Dawn was old enough to hear talk of sex. "Willow, you know that it means nothing to her. She's trying to sow her oats from her time in prison. I mean if she was in 3 years she probably missed out on, what sleeping with a thousand or so guys or girls or whatever?"

Dawn couldn't believe Buffy's nerve. "Why are you checking up on her?"

Buffy took a deep breath and looked at her sister. "I wasn't checking up on her. I went past her room on the way down here and she wasn't in there." She saw the way the other two women were looking at her and pointed at her ear. "Slayer hearing."

Dawn shrugged. "Whatever. Willow here is the one who wants Wesley to talk her out of going back to prison."

"Oh!" The redhead nearly shouted. "He and she talked yesterday afternoon and as of this morning, I've got her records all fixed. She's as free as you or me and can use her name again."

Buffy snorted. "I'm sure she'll make good use of her freedom."

Willow could see that the two sisters were about to get back into a fight and it hardly seemed worth it for anyone to defend Faith's honor. The dark-haired slayer had certainly never wanted to defend it. She did find Buffy's supposition that Faith was interested in both men and women telling, having long suspected those leanings in the other Slayer but never really noticing that Buffy was that perceptive.

And apparently Dawn had had enough of it as well. "I'm going for a run. I'll take my phone in case you need me."

Willow had been going to ask the teenager to help her this afternoon but Buffy stood up and took her sister's hand before the redhead. "Hey, sis. Want to help me do some shopping this afternoon? I haven't gotten any thing new to wear yet." She motioned toward her current outfit with obvious distaste.

Dawn smiled. "Sure, you know mom here gave us all credit cards…"

"Hey!"

"I'm just teasing you, Willow." The teenager assured the two other girls that she would be back in a few hours and left the ballroom.

"Oh!"

Buffy turned back and looked at the red-haired witch. "Willow? Are you ok?"

"Yes, it's just…" she quickly opened her laptop and hit a few keys. "I wasn't exactly keeping up with my e-mail the last few weeks."

"Slacker."

"Right." She turned the computer around and pointed to the screen. "I missed this reminder from Amazon.com."

Buffy looked at the screen. "…reminder from wish list…Dawn Summers…. Birthday…Oh Crap!" She looked at her best friend. "We totally missed her birthday." She melodramatically banged her forehead on the table. "Ok. We need to plan a party for her. Or maybe not a party. Dancing? No. Dinner? You and me and Xander and her and…Yeah. A dinner. Maybe tomorrow night?"

Willow saw something on her computer that needed attention. "Why don't you worry about your wish today and Dawn's birthday tomorrow? It's already late."

Buffy smiled at her friend as she bent over the computer. It was obvious that she was absorbed already. "Right, Will. Talk to you later."

Dawn opened the door to her room quietly, not sure if Faith would still be asleep at 10:30 in the morning and was glad she had. The Slayer in question was asleep on her stomach, her arms wrapped around the pillow and Dawn had to suppress a giggle at how adorable the other woman looked. She quickly got her running gear and stepped into the bathroom to change. When she emerged, Faith was lying in bed watching the door with a smile on her face.

Dawn crossed the room and casually kissed her lover. "I'm going for a run. Want to go?"

Faith groaned. "You can't possibly expect me to go running this early after the workout I had last night." She reached up and pulled the teen back toward the bed and kissed her deeply. "Maybe you could stay here and get some exercise some other way."

Dawn pulled away with her eyes still closed. "Mmm. That is very tempting, Faith, but since I just told Willow and Buffy that I'm going running, unless you want a visit from them, it's probably not a great idea."

Faith laughed. "I don't know. B might learn something."

Dawn sat on the edge of the bed and began tying her shoes. "Sure like when's the next flight to Greenland so she can station you there and where to find a convent for me."

The Slayer nodded. "True. But it would be fun to see her turn colors."

Dawn looked at the dark-haired girl skeptically. "Are you just doing…" she waved her hand between the two of them "whatever we're doing to piss off Buffy?"

Faith picked up the teen's hand. "No. I'm doing…whatever this is…I don't know.. I guess I kind of…I mean I kind of like…you know…whatever…you know, kid?" She smiled and added. "Pissing B off would just be a French benefit."

Dawn kissed the Slayer but she was smiling and laughing when she did. "Did you say a French Benefit?"

"Sure. French Benefits. Something good like toast or fries or kisses." She leaned forward and demonstrated the last item in the list. "See, good things."

Dawn laughed again and tucked a piece of hair behind the older girl's ear. "They're not French benefits like good things. They're fringe benefits like something extra you get besides getting paid."

Faith rolled her eyes and flopped back onto the bed. "Great. Now I'm going to have to study or go back to school or something to date you."

"We're dating?"

"I don't know. I mean…I've never dated but this is kind of…I mean. Fuck. How about it?"

Dawn shook her head. "Well, gosh, Faith. You really know how to romance a girl. I mean 'fuck. How about it?' I'm overcome."

Faith stood up and paced over to the younger girl, kissing her on the cheek and taking her hands. "Sorry for the lack of romance, kid. I have an idea of somewhere I'd like to take you but I need to check some things out. Will you go with me the day after tomorrow?"

Somehow Dawn just couldn't help smiling although she tried to be tough. "Only if you stop calling me 'kid' and I'm not sure that I'll be putting out on our first date."

"I'll stop calling you 'kid' when you're not a kid anymore and I'm pretty sure that the boat already sailed on that putting out thing unless I dreamed the last few nights." She whispered in the younger girl's ear, "And believe me, if they were dreams, they were very very very…" she licked Dawn's earlobe, "wet."

Dawn shuddered a bit, regretting that she didn't seem to be able to resist the Slayer's attentions. "Yes, I'll go out with you." She stuck out her tongue in her best spoiled brat fashion and added, "on a date."

Faith smiled at Dawn's behavior and then leaned forward to capture the offending tongue between her lips, kissing her quickly. She swatted the younger girl on the bottom. "You better get going or I'm going to find something for you to do with that tongue."

Dawn tucked her phone into her pocket and winked. Since she turned and jogged to and out the door, she didn't see Faith watching her ass with a dazed look on her face. And of course she didn't hear the Slayer's mutter. "Damn. I gotta get my head back on business." Nor was she aware that the Slayer didn't exactly get her head back on anything but a pillow and memories of the night before for quite a few minutes. Nor was she able to be eternally grateful that her sister and her amazing hearing didn't, in fact, walk by the room during that time.

The teenager returned to the hotel an hour and a half later, saying hi to Willow and letting Buffy know that she'd be ready to shop as soon as she had showered and changed. She didn't mention the intense joy she felt about the fact that as she was finishing her run and stretching in the park, Faith had surprised her by meeting her there. The Slayer had shrugged it off as just needing to stretch her legs and seemed puzzled when she explained that she didn't know how she had known how to find Dawn but that she had run this way and that for ten minutes or so before arriving at the park. The two had goofed around for a few minutes before making plans to run the next day and some vague intimations that they'd be seeing each other before that. The teenager felt that she had "played it cool" in spite of the way she felt. A part of her couldn't believe that Faith was actually paying this kind of attention to her. More than that, seemed to be seeking her out. She knew what Whistler's words meant and while the warning about protecting her made her uneasy, the fact that she was in Faith's heart was, well, heartening. Of course, Faith clearly didn't know what his words had meant or she would be likely to bolt. And a part of Dawn wondered if she should mention the warning to Giles or Willow but how could she possibly do that without revealing why Whistler would have given the first part of the message to Faith? Not to mention, how mad would Faith be when she found out Dawn's identity? Sure she wasn't really the Key anymore, but that didn't mean that Faith wouldn't be pissed off when she found out that Dawn was keeping it from her.

By the time she had dressed after her shower she felt no more relieved about the situation than before but she resolved to put it out of her mind and enjoy shopping with Buffy. She wanted to be helpful to Buffy about her wish but at the same time, didn't want to influence her. The fact was that Buffy, with brief interruptions for death and a season of waitressing which had included a trip to Hell, had given everything, including her life to save the world over and over. If she wanted to wish for Mr. Gordo back and animate him with speech capabilities in ten languages that was her prerogative.

As it turned out, Buffy wasn't considering retrieving Mr. Gordo. The Summers sisters had lunch and shopped and had dinner and continued shopping. In spite of the younger sister's efforts the day before she found quite a few selections to her liking while Buffy, shopped so much that only her Slayer strength allowed her to transport the combined purchases home. Fortunately they had hailed a taxi to return them to the hotel with their loot.

By the time they arrived, Dawn knew no more about what Buffy would do with her wish than she had at the start of their afternoon. Not that Buffy was keeping it from Dawn; clearly Buffy did not know either. The Slayer had mentioned perhaps 25 ideas regarding her wish but had found reasons for and against every one of them. It struck Dawn as surprising that Buffy seemed to be considering ideas to bring joy to others rather than to herself and then struck her as ungenerous to be surprised by that.

"Do you want me to come with you while you think about it?"

Buffy considered it and then shook her head. "No. I think I'll go and pace on the roof. Hey, if you see Faith can you ask her to take out some of the newbies and that I'm taking the night off?"

Dawn shrugged. "I'll see if I can find her."

Buffy looked thoughtful. "Thanks. Hey, I'm thinking about this. Her room is way down on two and ours is up on fourth. Do you think we should move her up?"

Dawn tried her hardest to affect a nonchalant attitude in spite of how much easier that move would make her sneaking. Or at least Faith's sneaking. "So you can keep an eye on her? Sure."

"Actually, I thought she wouldn't feel left out that way. You know I've been thinking about her…well her little foray into evil and it seems to me like she was kind of lonely at the hotel."

Dawn had to mentally admonish herself again as she nearly smarted off about Buffy's sudden seeming care for those around her. "Well, I think that would be nice then." She smiled. "I could tell her when I tell her about patrol."

Buffy thanked her and they parted at the stairs. She realized partway up that she still carried all her bags so she went back down to four, dropped them in her room, and then went up the stairs to the roof. Maybe it was being a Slayer, who knew, but she had always enjoyed being outside when she really needed to think about a problem. She checked her watch and saw that she had only about two hours to make her choice. One idea continued to pop up no matter how many times she thought of other ones. And she could see how it would make the world a better place. But she couldn't see how it would immediately help her. And was that something that she wanted? To make a wish that wasn't directly Buffy-beneficial?

An hour and a half later, her decision made, she knocked lightly on the door to room 417.

"Buffy?" Willow pulled open the door and stepped back a step to allow her best friend inside while yawning. "How was shopping?"

Buffy shifted her weight from foot to foot and smiled. "It was great. I found these great boots." She lifted her feet one at a time. "Black, of course, and they're perfect in absolutely every way. Comfortable, light, durable." She lifted up her foot to show the sole and then her pant leg to show the uppers. "I'm telling you these things are going to be a miracle…although I don't know if I can fly wearing them. They have metal in the tips." She experimentally kicked a few times. "Very lightweight though." She smiled knowingly. "Faith is going to want a pair. But I think I only want them for me. What do you think?"

Willow yawned and ran her hand through her hair. "I'm sure they're great, Buff."

"Great? They're a miracle."

Willow nodded sleepily. "Are the boots your wish? I mean it's midnight, Buffy, and I'm sure that they're really, really wonderful. But it's midnight."

Buffy's hair barely moved in spite of the massive shrug, perhaps testament to her need for a visit to a beauty shop to go with the shopping spree. "I just thought you might want to know about my wish."

Buffy's wish. I almost forgot. Time to step up being a friend."I'm sure you made a great choice, Buff. What did you decide on?"

Buffy didn't speak at all. She just let the smirk on her face and the sight of the figure behind her as she stepped to the side do the talking.

"Tara?"

To be continued…

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