The Three of Us

Reviews and Feedback are more than welcome. (Big Hint!)

This Chapter is beta free. Please disregard all gramma tickle errors and mastikes.

Last time I checked none of these Characters belonged to me!
***********************************************************************

Buffy peered through the door into the library, trying to see where Giles was. Slowly she pushed the door open and quietly stepped into the room. She glanced toward the office and saw the form of her watcher bent over his desk. Stepping softly across the floor, she made her way toward the large table.

“Ah,” Giles’ head had popped around the corner of his door, “You’re here.”
Buffy’s shoulders dropped, and she pasted a wan smile on her face, “Yup, I am.” She looked away quickly, biting her lower lip. Turning back to Giles, she asked, “I’m going to do some studying first.” She paused for a moment, “If that’s okay?”

“Oh,” Giles seemed taken aback, “Is everything alright?”

“Umm,” Buffy hesitated, “Yeah?” Giles’ forehead creased as he watched her. “Everything’s okay,” she tried to reassure her watcher, “I’m just gonna be over here.” She pointed toward the table and started moving in that direction.

“You’re sure?” he asked softly. A moment passed as the blond stared wide eyed at him, before she nodded her head. “Well then,” he half smiled, “I’ll be in here if you need anything.” He watched her nod again, “Anything at all, someone to talk to, I’ll be here.” He pointed toward his desk before moving back into the office.

Buffy heaved a sigh of relief, and closed the distance to the table. She dumped her armload of books and binders onto it and stared mutely at the pile. She knew she had several things to do, but her mind wasn’t on anything that had to do with school. It was busy ricocheting around her skull with the events of the morning. She flopped into a chair and pulled her math book towards her. ‘Chapter 12,’ she thought to herself and slowly opened the book to the page she had marked. The words started to swim in front of her unfocused eyes, all she could see was Faith and Cordelia smiling at her as they shared a joke. The sound of Faith’s laugh echoing in her ears brought goose bumps to her arms. Her thoughts leapt from coffee to lunch and back again as she struggled to make sense of what she wanted from the other two girls. There was no doubt the shared dream had opened a world of possibilities, but which ones did she want to pursue and how far?

“Buffy!” Willow called, coming through the doors of the library, “Buffy!” she called again. She strode up to the blond, who was sitting with her back to the door, “Buffy!” she called for the third time.

“Huh?” the blond’s head snapped up, “Oh, hi Wills.” She blinked and looked around, “Were you calling me?”

Willow stared at her, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Uhh, nothing?” Buffy looked up at her friend.

“Are you sure?” the redhead queried. “You were here this morning, then you were gone.” She paused for a second, “You came back after lunch, but your minds been somewhere else all afternoon. You’ve ignored Xander and I whenever we’ve tried to talk to you, and did I see you talking to Cordelia?” The young witch took a deep breath, “Is that what it is? You’re dumping us for her? Are you going to become popular and hang out with Cordelia now? Oh no, Buffy, I thought we were your friends? How can you hang out with her after everything she’s done? Are you going to be mean to me and Xander now too?”

“What?” the blond shook her head, “No!” She sighed at the stricken face on the redhead. “I’m not doing anything like that! She asked about Faith, and I told her about lunch. You guys are still my friends; nothing is going to change that.” She squinted, “Where did all this come from anyways?”

“Sorry,” a light red tinge had crept up Willow’s cheeks. “You totally ignored us all afternoon, so I guess my mind went into ‘worst possible scenario’ mode.” She moved around the table and dumped her books onto it. She settled into the seat across from the blond slayer, “Why have you been so distracted all day, and where were you this morning?” Willow’s forehead scrunched up and she blinked several times, “Why would Cordelia ask about Faith’s lunch?”

“Crap,” Buffy muttered. There was never an apocalypse when you needed one. She glanced at the clock quickly, it was 3:45, she still had another 40 minutes or so before Faith arrived. She sighed, ‘I wonder if I can stall until Faith gets back?’ she asked herself. Willow was staring at her expectantly, ‘I’ll just tell her...’she sighed again, ‘Tell her what exactly? I can’t lie to myself, and I can’t lie to her. How do I tell her I’m gonna go all Sapphic and shack up with Faith and Cordy?’ She slowly let out a breath, ‘Do I even want to do that?’ her eyes blinked, but her mind didn’t register the movement. ‘If I don’t know what I want, how do I tell anybody what’s going on?’

“Buffy?” a worried Willow peered at her, “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” she answered and blinked, looking into her best friends eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” a small smile crept onto her face, “I think I am.”

“Oh,” Willow still had a concerned look on her face. “What do you think you’re okay with?”

“Actually, now that you mention it,” Buffy half smiled, “There are a couple of things I need to talk to you about.” She looked over her shoulder toward the door, “Is Xander coming by?”

“No,” Willow shook her head, “He had to go do some stuff for his mom. He’ll be by later, why?”

“I’m not ready for him to hear this, and I don’t think he is either,” Buffy spoke quietly. She clasped her hands together on the table and looked at them. Willow waited while her friend gathered her thoughts. ‘I can do this,’ Buffy sighed to herself, ‘What can possibly go wrong?’

Willow’s brow furrowed in concern when the intense slayer she was watching, snorted and shook her head. “What?” she asked as the Slayer looked up at her.

“I need to talk to you about something that happened to me,” Buffy paused, “Is happening to me?”

Willow was concerned as the blond went quiet again. She watched Buffy’s eyes slowly go out of focus for a moment, then with a blink she was back. “Nice trip?” the redhead smirked.

Buffy tilted her head for a moment, before catching on, “No, no tripping involved.” She smiled at her best friend, “I need this to stay between us for now. You can’t say anything to Xander, or Faith, or Giles,” she paused for a moment, “Or Dawn, or anybody for that matter.” She held Willow’s eyes with her own for a moment. “You have to swear Willow.”

“I-I will,” the red haired girl stammered. “What’s this all about Buffy? Some big bad? Another Apocalypse?”

“No,” Buffy shook her head, “It’s just really personal.”

“Okay, what?” Willow leaned forward, waiting. She’d switched into Best Friend mode and could hardly contain herself. “OOH,” she jumped, “Is it about Scott? Did he ask you to prom?” She inhaled sharply, “Oh no, he didn’t ask you to prom?” Willow looked crestfallen.

Buffy smiled at how Willow could go from thrilled to panic stricken, in a split second. “No, it’s got nothing to do with that. It’s so far from that, they’re not even in the same universe.”

Willow’s face scrunched up for a moment, “What then?”

A weak smile appeared on Buffy’s face, “I need to talk to you about something,” she bit her bottom lip as she paused, “Something personal.”

Willow shrugged, “Okay, you know I don’t have any secrets from you.”

“Yeah,” Buffy was getting nervous, “That doesn’t make it any easier.” She sighed and looked toward Giles’ office; she could see him sitting at his desk, ignoring them. Looking back at Willow, she steeled her self, ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought. “Last night, I...” her voice trailed off. Biting her bottom lip, she looked at her friend. “Last night I had a dream,” she paused again, “And it really caused me to ask a lot of questions.”

Willow furrowed her brow, “What kind of questions?”

Buffy glanced around the room before she answered, “It made me question my behaviour, how I’ve treated some people, things along those lines.” She sighed, It made me wonder if I’m a good person or not.”

The redhead’s eyes popped open at the blond. “How can you say that?” she yelped. “You’re like the bestest person I know!” Willow’s hands were flapping around in front of her now, “You save strangers from vampires, you’ve saved the world at least three times! You’re kind to puppies, you’re polite, how can you say that?”

Buffy smiled warmly at her best friend, “Thanks, Will.” She chewed on her lip for a moment and glanced toward Giles’ office. She could see him hunched over his desk, ignoring them. ‘Time to try a different tactic,’ she thought. Looking at her friend, “What do you think of Faith?” she asked.

“W-why?” Willow stammered out.

“Well,” Buffy started, “I want to know what you think of her. Do you like her? Do you hate her, or you don’t care one way or the other?”

“Umm,” Willow was quickly looking around the room. She spotted a battleaxe in the weapon’s cage, “OOH! Shiny!” She pointed toward it, her hand jumping up and down in front of the slayer. “You like shiny!”

Buffy smiled at her friend, “Nice try, Wills.”

Willow’s arm sagged down and rested on the table between them. “Not gonna work, is it?”

The blond shook her head, “Nope.” She stared at Willow for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “Do you have a problem with Faith?” she asked quietly.

“N-no,” The redhead’s eyes were staring into her lap. “Yes,” she barked out, followed quickly by another, “NO!” The redhead shrugged her
shoulders and whispered, “Maybe?”

“Why don’t you like her?”

Willow started to fidget in her chair; she glanced at Buffy quickly, before her eyes began looking around the library. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbled on it. Buffy waited patiently for her to tell her. “It’s not that I don’t like her, I don’t know if I like her or not. I don’t really know what to do, she’s all big and brash and chasing boys and drinking and staying out late and swearing, and dressing so all her,” she took a breath, “You know, all her parts are hanging out all over for people to see everywhere, half the time she comes into a room Xander gets all red and tongue tied, crossing his legs and not being able to stand for awhile.” She took another breath, “Then there’s the whole let’s go kill something and scratching her itch, whatever that means, does she need some calamine lotion, because I’m sure you don’t need a prescription for that, unless it’s something other than poison ivy. Does she have poison ivy?”

Buffy just stared at the young witch. She blinked a couple of times, “Geez, Willow, that must be some kind of a babble record, even for you.” Willow blushed at the comment. “So, what I get out of that speech is you need to get to know her better. Right?”

“Umm,” Willow hesitated, “I guess?” She pinned the blond slayer with a curious stare, “Why do you need to know if I like Faith or not?”

It was Buffy’s turn to start to fidget. She glanced at Giles’ office quickly, “It has to do with what I said earlier. The dream I had caused me to wonder if I’m a good person or not, and a lot of it has to do with Faith.”

“Huh?” Willow didn’t understand.

Buffy sighed, “We’ve,” she paused, “I’ve been treating her like she doesn’t belong.” Her eyes dropped down to the table top. “She sits in her motel room, and waits for us to call her when we need her.” Her bottom lip rolled between her teeth, “we don’t really include her in anything, do we?”

Willow tilted her head to the side, and stared at the blond. “She’s not like us, Buffy,” she tucked some hair behind her ear. “I don’t think she’d spend any time with us. It would cut into her ‘wild’ lifestyle.” Buffy’s eyebrows disappeared under her hair line. “She doesn’t go to school, she’s irresponsible, and she doesn’t care about anyone or anything else. Why would we want to include her in anything? She’s just another Slayer, not The Slayer”

Buffy stared wide-eyed, and slack jawed at her friend, trying to process what she just heard. The only sound in the room was the quiet tick of a clock marking the passage of time. “What?” Willow asked after a few moments, “You asked me what I felt about Faith.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I-I did,” she stammered, “But I didn’t expect Cordelia to show up.”

It was Willow’s turn to be surprised, “How can you say that? I’m nothing like her! How can you compare me to her?” The witch’s face had turned red, and tears started to form. "You want Faith to be your best friend now? Is that it? First you try to dump me for Cordelia, now you’re trying to replace me with Faith!”

Buffy’s eyebrows leapt up again, “Is that what it is?” she asked. “You think I’m trying to replace you?” The redhead stared at her defiantly. Buffy blinked before breaking out in a laugh, “That’s hilarious Will.” She shook her head, while Willow’s face reddened, “No one can replace you, Will’s.” She smiled warmly, “You’re irreplaceable. You’ve been my best friend, and you always will be.” She sat back and regarded her friend, “I don’t know why you’d think that?”

Willow picked a piece of lint off the arm of her woolly turtleneck, she didn’t raise her eyes when she spoke, “Because she’s a Slayer,” she whispered.

Buffy thought for a moment, “Yeah, she’s a slayer. So what?”

The redhead sighed, afraid to look into the concerned eyes of her friend, she kept her eyes on the table. “She’s a slayer, you can do slayer type things with her,” she paused again, “You can patrol with her, spar, talk about weapons and stuff, Slayer things. Things I can’t do.”

“Do you think Faith would help me with my homework?” Buffy spoke gently. “Would she hack into the city’s database for a map of the sewer system? Would she be able to find the stuff you do about demons?” She watched the red hair in front of her slowly move side to side. “Willow, do you not think those are all slayer type things as well?” The head moved up and down this time. “Look at me Willow,” Buffy waited for Willow’s eyes to meet hers. “The reason I asked about Faith, is because I realized I need both of you in my life. I’m not trading one in for the other, and nobody is taking anyone else’s place.” She smiled at her friend, “I want to add Faith to the group, and I’m asking you, if it’s okay.” She tilted her head slightly, “Does that tell you anything?” Willow shrugged her shoulders and dropped her gaze back to the table. “What it should be telling you, is that I value your opinion and want to know how you feel about including her,” Buffy waited for an answer.

“What would happen if I said no?” Willow mumbled at the desk top.

Buffy sighed, “I hoped you wouldn’t say that, but if you did, I’d have to separate my time with both of you.” She watched her friend, waiting for a reaction.

After several seconds, Willow spoke, “Why this sudden interest in including Faith? You never had any problems with the way things have been, what caused the change?”

Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, ‘This is what happens when you have a brainiac for a best friend,’ she thought. She opened her eyes and focused on the redhead, “The dream I had, showed me a lot of different things.” She looked away for a moment, trying to figure out why she felt like she was lying. She slowly brought her gaze back to the witch, “I can’t tell you everything that happened in the dream, because it’s not my place to do so.” Willow tilted her head and looked quizzically at the blond. Buffy held up her hand to stop the question she could see forming on her lips. “When you said Faith wasn’t like us, you’re right, she’s not. But,” she held up her hand again, “If Faith wants to tell you why she’s different from us, she’ll tell you. It’s her decision and you have to respect her privacy. The only thing I can tell you, is that what I learned, made me cry.” She paused, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “It also changed the way I think about her. I have a lot more respect because of the things she’s been through.”

Willow sat back in her chair and stared at Buffy. The blond watched the emotions flit back and forth across the witches face. “Buffy,” she said quietly, “It was only a dream, how can you be sure any of it was real?”

Buffy dropped her eyes to the table top, “It was a slayer dream, she was there.” Silence hung between them for a moment. “Because of the dream,” she raised her eyes to her best friend, “We went for coffee this morning. That’s why I wasn’t in class. She confirmed a lot of the things I saw in the dream.”

Willow nodded and watched the emotions playing across her friends face. She brought her hand up to her mouth and pulled a finger into her mouth. She knew her next statement was going to cause a ruckus. “Buffy?” she started out slowly, “Don’t take this wrong, okay?”

The blond shook her head, “Take what wrong?”

Willow sighed, “What I’m about to say.”

Buffy crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward. She had a small smile on her face, “What could you say that I’d take wrong, Wills?”

“Wel-l-l,” she dragged out the syllable, her eyes looking anywhere but her best friend. “It’s Faith, you’re talking about.” She nervously bit her bottom lip, “I think there’s a strong possibility she’s lying to you.” Willow’s voice had trailed off to nothing. After a few moments, she slowly raised her eyes to see the confused and angry look on Buffy’s face.

When Willow had finished, the blond had slumped back into her chair and was staring wide eyed at the person across from her. She thought she knew everything there was to know about Willow Rosenberg, but the last statements had proven her wrong. She wasn’t sure who this person was, and she really wasn’t sure if she wanted to know her.

“Buffy?” Willow squeaked out. The unblinking eyes pinning her to her chair were scaring her. She clasped her shaking hands together and dropped them out of sight into her lap, hiding them from view. “Buffy?” she tried again. She could feel the blood flushing her cheeks, waiting for something from her friend. She’d started to open her mouth to speak again when Buffy answered her.

“What?” cut across the table in a voice laced with steel. Her blazing anger had turned her hazel eyes to the colour of scorched earth.

Willow jumped back at the vehemence directed at her. “I...” the redheaded witch looked away from Buffy and tried to start again, “I...” she sighed, and hung her head. Closing her eyes she focused on what she wanted to say. This was her best friend, and somehow she had infuriated her beyond anything she’d ever seen. “I-I believe you had the dream,” she took a breath, “B-but part of me wonders if Faith didn’t, y-you know, manipulate it somehow?” She shot a quick glance toward Buffy, the anger still radiating off her in waves.

Buffy finally blinked, her stare returning just as hard. “Have you ever done that Willow?” She leaned forward, “Have you ever done that to someone’s dreams? Do you even know anyone that could?”

“Th-this isn’t about me, Buffy,” Willow stammered out, “I-it’s about Faith.”

Buffy’s left eyebrow inched slowly upward in astonishment. “Yeah, you’re right, this is about Faith,” Buffy’s eyes never left Willow. “Faith,” she began, “Who’s a slayer, someone who doesn’t do magic, has the ability to manipulate my dreams.” She slowly pulled back, “Unlike my ‘Best friend’, who’s a strong witch, who can’t.” Buffy crossed her arms across her chest, “Who doesn’t even know if it can be done, let alone anyone who’s actually done it.”

“I-it’s dark magic, Buffy,” Willow snapped her head toward the slayer. “I don’t think I want to know anybody that can do that sort of thing.”

“Which is exactly my point Wills,” Buffy sat back in her chair, “If you can’t do it, what makes you think Faith can?”

“We don’t know anything about her,” the redhead glared at the blond, “She could be paying somebody to do that!”

Buffy sighed and looked at her best friend, “And that brings up my other point, we won’t get to know her unless we make an effort.” She watched her friend for a moment, “If it makes you feel better, you can check to see if I’m under some big, bad mojo.”

Willow blinked, “What?”

Buffy smirked at the witch, “Do a spell, Willow. One that will tell you if I’m under the influence of some kind of magic.” Willow blinked, wide eyed. A cold, hard, smile grew on Buffy, “C’mon, Willow, you’re the one that told me magic leaves traces. So if I’ve been under a dream spell, you should be able to tell me, right?”

“Y-yeah,” she stammered, “I could do that I guess.” The redhead was staring at the table.

“Okay,” Buffy answered. “What do you need and how long will it take?” She waited for the witch to answer. “Should I get Giles to see if he’s got what you need? Or maybe lend you a hand?”

Willow sighed and looked up at the blonde. “Why are you doing this?” she choked out, “What did I do to hurt you?”

Buffy’s smile dropped, “You didn’t hurt me, Wills. I just want to prove to you that Faith isn’t what you think.” She leaned toward her friend, “I’m not 'The' Slayer any more. I’m 'A' slayer. There’s two of us now, the only difference between Faith and I, is I’ve known you guys longer.” She reached across the table and grasped Willow’s hand, “We’re a team, all of us, and that includes Faith. I’m not replacing anybody, and I’m not belittling anyone’s position. We’re all in this together Wills, Faith and I both need you here with us.” She squeezed her hand gently, before sitting back in her chair, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Willow took a deep breath, her eyes slowly moved up to lock with the blond’s. “Yeah,” she mumbled, “I think I’m starting to get it.” She looked away for a moment, “I don’t know how you want me to behave with her; I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“I’m not asking you to be best buds with her, I’m just asking you to try and get to know her,” Buffy was smiling warmly at her best friend. “Just give her a chance, Wills,” she leaned forward and squeezed the redhead’s hand again, “Give her a chance and hopefully, you’ll become friends.”

Willow snorted, “I’ll give her a chance, but I’m not holding my breath.”

“That’s all I want.” Buffy suddenly bolted upright in her chair, her head swivelling from side to side.

“What...?” She put her hand out to shush Willow when the redhead started to speak. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on the sudden rush of feelings that enveloped her. Her head tilted to the side as she looked at the doors to the library, a quizzical look on her face.

“What?” Willow asked again.

Buffy bit her bottom lip, “I’m not sure,” she said softly, “But I think it’s Faith.”

“Huh?”

Buffy turned slightly toward the witch, while she kept an eye on the doors, “I can sense Faith when she’s getting close,” she paused, “It’s like a connection thingy.”

“What are you talking about?” Willow’s face was all scrunched up as she tried to follow what the slayer was saying.

Buffy turned to face her, glancing back to the doors, “You know I told you I can sense a vampire?” Willow nodded, “Same thing with Faith, only different. We can feel each other when we’re near.” She looked to the door again, The only thing is this time, I feel a lot of anger.”

“Anger?” Willow spoke, “You can sense that she’s angry?”

“Actually, pissed, would be a better description.” The blonde bit her bottom lip, “Pissed right off would be even more accurate, and that bothers me.”

“Why?” Willow was starting to look scared.

“After lunch, she went somewhere with my mom, and she was dropping her off here.” Buffy quickly glanced at the witch, “I don’t know why she’d be so upset if she was with my mom. I wonder what the hell happened.” She turned to face the doors again. Willow had also looked up toward the closed doors.

With a sudden fury, they flew open and slammed into the wall revealing an angry dark haired slayer. She stood in the center of the doors with her arms extended, catching them as they swung back at her. “You, bitch,” Buffy had never heard such hate filled words directed toward her. “You knew.” The anger was radiating off of Faith in waves. Willow was looking around, wishing she could make herself disappear. She definitely didn’t want to be in the middle of this.

Buffy slowly rose up from her chair and faced the dark slayer, “Knew what?”

“Don’t fuck with me, B, you knew.” Faith was slowly advancing on the blonde, her blazing black eyes locked with the confused hazel set across from her. “You knew exactly what she was going to do and you didn’t say a fuckin’ word.” Faith stopped inches from Buffy, staring straight into her eyes.

The blonde was getting angry as well, Faith could see it building behind Buffy’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, F. Why don’t you tell me?” Buffy put her hands on her hips and leaned toward Faith.
The brunette closed the distance, and the two were nose to nose, “You knew, and you didn’t tell me. All that ‘Ooh, Faith let’s be friends,’” her voice rose into a girly squawk, “What a pile o’ crap. And I bought it.” Faith shot a look at Willow, and the witch shrunk down in her chair, whimpering. “You two probably been sittin’ here laughin’ at me all afternoon.”

“I’ve got better ways to spend my afternoons,” was the shot from the blond. “What happened? You go somewhere with my mom, everything’s peachy. You come in here pissed at the world, and it’s my fault!”

Faith’s voice was rising, “She took my stuff, all of it! Everything I own, she took it all! And you knew!” Her eyes burned into Buffy’s, the tips of her clenched fists turning white. “You fuckin’ knew. You and your ‘buddy’ over there’ve probably known all along. How long you been plannin’ this, B?”

“Planning what, Faith?” Buffy’s voice was climbing as well. “And what do you mean my mom took your stuff. She’s doesn’t need your stuff, let alone want it.”

Faith’s voice dropped down to an eerie calm, “What’s wrong with my stuff?”

Buffy huffed, “Nothings ‘wrong’ with your stuff, Faith. It’s ‘your’ stuff. Why would my mom want your stuff?”

The commotion in the main part of the library had finally caught Giles attention. He stood and looked at the two slayers an inch apart and glaring at each other. ‘Gads, this doesn’t look good,’ he thought to himself. Just as he put his hand on the door handle to see what was going on, his phone rang. “Bollocks,” he mumbled, picking up the phone. “Rupert Giles speaking,” he answered, watching the girls through the window. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” he turned back to the call. “Oh, Mrs. Summers, sorry about that,” he smiled into the phone. “Yes, you could say Faith has arrived,” he replied, sitting back down at his desk.

Buffy and Faith were still standing nose to nose glaring at each other, “Answer me Faith,” Buffy was turning red, “tell me why you’re calling my mom a thief? Why would she take your stuff? How did she take your stuff?” She stared at the dark slayer, “What, no answers, Faith? Huh? Trying to come up with a lie?”

Faith growled, “She took my shit this morning, while we were out havin’ coffee. Then she took me to Child and Family Services after lunch and told me she was gonna report me and turn me into the cops. Then she dragged me to a lawyer, made me sign a bunch o’ papers, and dropped me off here. I think I’m some kinda indentured servant now.”

Buffy blinked, and furrowed her brow, “My mother wouldn’t do that? At least not without a good reason, what did you do Faith? I left you alone with her for three hours, what the hell did you do?” Willow was shrinking lower in her chair; the tension in the room was escalating again.

Faith scoffed, “I didn’t do fuck all blondie! You got outta the car and she turned on me! Far as I know, this is all your idea. You just wanna keep the second class slayer in her place! Don’t want her gettin’ all uppity and thinkin’ she belongs do we?”

Buffy pulled back in amazement, “Is that what you think?” Her eyes widened in shock, “God no, Faith,” she reached for the dark slayers elbow. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know you felt like that.”

Faith pulled her elbow away and stepped back from the blond, crossing her arms. “Like it fuckin’ matters what I feel. You and your Scoobies don’t give a fuck, and neither do I. I don’t know what you and your old lady are cookin’ up, but you got your wish.” Buffy blinked at her. “First chance I get, I’m fuckin’ gone blondie. Nobody makes a patsy outta me. Not if they wanna fuckin’ live.”

“What the hell is going on, Faith?” Buffy yelled. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. You haven’t made a lick of sense since you got here, and you’re scaring the hell out of Willow. Just tell me what’s going on!”

“Huh,” Faith snorted, “Like you don’t fuckin’ know. Your mom wouldn’t do a thing without your input, so don’t hand me that crap. You fucked me good, but this time you ain’t gettin’ your way.” She sneered at the frustrated blond, “I ain’t one o’ your lap dogs, so I ain’t gonna roll over for ya.” Her lip curled up in disgust, “Nope I’m just gonna fuck ya right back.”

The blond rolled her eyes, before staring back at her dark haired counterpart. “How slow do you want me to go to get you to understand? I. Don’t. Know. What. Is. Going. ON! Tell me, please.”

Faith snorted again, and closed the distance to the blond, “You ain’t foolin’ me with that shit. I’m wise to ya now, and it ain’t gonna work no more.”

Buffy growled at her and clenched her fists, “What part of ‘I don’t know’, don’t you get? Are you really that stupid?” Willow gurgled, and scrunched her eyes closed. Faith just stared at the blond; the whole situation had come to a knife edge. It was going all to hell fast and they weren’t going to be able to stop. The two slayers each poised to strike, watching the other for any kind of a move.

“Ooh,” startled the two slayers. “Is this our first fight? How come I wasn’t invited?” Cordelia sauntered up to the Slayers. Her books held to her chest she turned sideways and squeezed between the two of them. They fell back a step as she forced her way between them. They both just blinked and stared at her. “That’s better,” she smiled. “You know you can hear your ‘discussion’ all the way down the hall?” she looked at each slayer in turn. “Just so you know,” she turned away from them and looked at Willow. She smiled and walked up to the table, “Do you mind if I sit here?” she pointed at the empty chair next to the redhead. All three of the girls were staring awestruck at Cordelia; she just waited for a response from the witch. “Normally, the response would be, ‘No Cordelia, please have a seat’, not silence.” She was still smiling at Willow, “Shall we try again?” She moved around the table and stood next to the empty chair, “Do you mind if I sit here?” Willow quickly gathered her things, and started to stand. Cordelia put her hand on her shoulder, stopping her, “I didn’t ask you to leave, Willow, I asked if I could sit next to you. A yes or no is all that’s required.” Willow blinked rapidly, before slowly sinking back into her chair, a slight nod was her only answer. “Thank you Willow, that’s very nice of you.” The three watched as Cordelia placed her books and purse on the table. She pulled out the chair and sat, adjusting herself for a second or two. She turned to Willow, “So, what did I miss?”

They all jumped and stared when Giles’ office door creaked open and he appeared in the doorway. “Ah, yes” he smiled. “You are still here and nobody’s bleeding.” He looked at the table, “Good day, Willow, Cordelia.” He turned to the slayers, “Buffy, I’ve just been on the phone with your mother. Please sit and I’ll explain the situation to you.” Faith turned on her heel and started for the door. “Tut-tut Faith,” he smiled at her back, “This includes you. Please have a seat.” He trembled when she glared at him. He cleared his throat, “Yes, I know you’re not pleased at the moment, but I do need you to sit and listen.” Faith just stared at him, she grunted at him and stomped over to an empty table and flopped down into a chair. She crossed her arms over her chest and slouched down, not even looking toward the other three girls. “Buffy,” he smiled at the blond still standing in the middle of the library, “Please take a seat.” She strode over to the chair across from Willow and sat down, keeping her back to Faith. Giles glanced at everyone in the room, “Thank you for not destroying the library.” He moved out in front of the counter and leaned back on it so he could see them all. “As I was saying, I just finished talking to Buffy’s mother,” he pulled his glasses off and started to clean them. He held them up to the light and inspected them before putting them back on. “It seems that she had a rather, interesting afternoon with Faith.”

Cordelia giggled when both slayers snorted in disgust, “What?” she queried Buffy when the blond shot her a look. “You have to admit your timing was perfect, right Willow?” The redhead lurched, wide eyed at the brunette. “This is where you say something or nod your head,” Cordelia whispered to her. Willow’s eyes were still big as saucers, but her head did move up and down twice. Cordelia smiled at her, “That didn’t hurt did it?” Willow’s head moved left to right, not taking her eyes off the glowering blond.

“Shall I continue?” Giles refocused their attention on him. “Mrs. Summers explained to me what happened this afternoon, and asked me to inform you as to what is going on.” He smiled a little, “She seemed to think that it might lose a little in translation otherwise.” His eyes sparkled as he smiled at Faith. “She thought, correctly I might add, that the two of you would probably let your emotions get the best of you.” Faith started to rise, “Sit,” he commanded. “It’s not an insult, Faith; it’s an observation of how you two react with each other. She knows you’re upset and she wants the air cleared before anyone does or says anything they may regret.”

He looked at all four girls, “Right,” he clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Let’s get started, shall we?” He smiled at them again, “Faith, Mrs. Summers did take all your ‘stuff’ as you call it,” He held up his hand to quiet the protest coming from Buffy. “You can ask questions later.” He waited for her to sit back again, “She took your belongings and put them in the basement so they would be there when you get home this evening. She told me to assure you that she didn’t go through or examine anything; she just collected it and moved it. She was trying to respect your privacy.”

The two Slayers quickly shot an angry glance at each other. Buffy’s eyebrows knit together, “Hey!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry Buffy,” Giles interrupted her, “Wait until I’m finished, thank you.” There was a slight hint of a smirk on Faith’s face. He ignored it, knowing it would disappear in a second. “The papers Mrs. Summers signed, with the lawyer, make you her ward.” He watched the brunette's eyes open wide. “It means she is responsible for you, until you turn eighteen. What it means, is if you decide to run away, as you were implying, they’ll just return you to her. It also means, she’s responsible for your wellbeing.” Buffy had turned a bright shade of red, and looked like she was going to explode. Giles cocked his head and held up his finger to keep her quiet. “The actions you choose to take, Faith, will have a direct impact on Mrs. Summers and her family. Do you understand that?” Faith just nodded. “Good,” he smiled at her, “She does want you to understand, that the reason she is doing this is because, and these are her words,” He looked straight at Buffy, “You deserve a place to live where you are respected and cared for.” He paused for a moment, “She feels you have enough to worry about, without worrying if you’ll have a roof over your head or something to eat. She also said that she expects some growing pains, but if you ‘all’ make an effort, you will be successful. And she did stress the all,” he was looking at Buffy again.

“What?” she huffed, crossing her arms over chest, “Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?”

Cordelia laughed, and Willow moved slightly away from the brunette. “Look over your shoulder, and say ‘Hi’ to your new roomie, Summers.” Buffy’s head snapped around and she stared wide eyed at Faith. The dark haired slayer just shrugged, her face devoid of any expression.

“What?!!” exploded out of the petite blond. She whirled on Giles, “She’s my what?”

“I believe,” he had a smirk on his face, “that you two are now ‘flat mates’.” Cordelia smiled, and Willow stared at her friend. “There is one more thing, Faith,” he had a large smile on his face. “It seems that the school board made a mistake. The test you wrote this afternoon, it seems it wasn’t for your GED placement.”

“Crap,” the brunette slayer swore, “Do I have to write it again?”

“No,” he was still smiling, “Did you have any difficulties when you wrote it?”

“Hey!” Buffy yelped, “I’m not finished yet!”

“I know, Buffy,” Giles replied. “We will return to you in a moment. Faith?”

She shrugged, “Some of the math questions were kinda tough, took me some time to figger ‘em out, but no.” She pinned him with a look, “Why?”

He had a full grin on his face, “The exam you wrote was an SAT.” He watched the looks on the girls’ faces. Cordelia looked interested, Willow seemed confused, and Buffy was pouting.

Faith looked like she could care less, “So?”

“So, Faith,” he was starting to bounce he was so excited. “The one you wrote was a College entrance exam for gifted students.”

“Yeah, so?” she really didn’t seem to care. Willow’s eyes had bolted wide open.

“Bloody marvellous is what it is!” he rushed toward her. “You scored in the top half of a percentile in the nation!” He was grinning from ear to ear, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Faith shifted uncomfortably in her seat and shrugged, “Just never came up.” Giles stared at her, open mouthed. She sighed, and looked down at the floor, “Nobody ever asked, so I just showed ‘em what they thought they saw.”

Buffy looked at Willow, who was staring wide eyed at Faith. “What?” she asked, looking between Willow and Cordelia.

“Willow,” Cordelia reached out and gently touched the redhead’s elbow. The witch’s head snapped around and gawked at her. Cordy pursed her lips for a second. “Willow,” she spoke quietly, “When you wrote your SAT, did you write the regular one?”

Willow blinked and looked at Cordelia; she was having a hard time matching this girl up with the one who usually tormented her every waking moment. She sighed and closed her eyes, Thinking of what Buffy had said about giving people a chance. Everything she’d thought about Faith had just been blown out of the water. She took a breath and looked into Cordelia’s eyes. All she saw was compassion and caring. Releasing it, she made up her mind, “Yeah,” she nodded. “I’d heard of the one for gifted students, but I didn’t qualify.”

Cordelia gently placed her hand on her shoulder, “Still, you kicked its ass, right?”

Willow was surprised, she actually smiled, “Yeah, I did kick its butt.”

“What?” Buffy asked again.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, “Your girlfriend over there?” she pointed at Faith, who was watching them now. “She’s a freaking rocket scientist, Buffy. She’s smarter than 99.5% of the population.”

The blond blinked as she processed that information. She looked at Willow, who smiled, “I really hate to say this, But Cordelia’s right.”

“Of course I am,” the brunette bumped Willow’s shoulder. “I’m always right.” She looked at the blond, “And the Cliff’s Notes version of the rest of the conversation?” She waited a moment, “That smokin’ hot braniac, over there?” she pointed at Faith. “She lives with you now. Deal with it.”

Buffy’s head whipped around to stare at Faith. The brunette raised her hand and moved it almost in a wave.

She turned to look at Willow, who nodded, “I really hate this, Buffy, but she’s right again.”