The Gift, Take Two

Title: The Gift, Take Two - Chapter 9: Asking The Right Questions
Email: Dafmeister@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse is owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox and a bunch of other people who aren't me. No infringement of copyright is intended blah blah blah...
Distribution: Faithfanfiction.net, Mystic Muse, Shades Of Grey, Slayer's Fanfic Archive, A Sorta Fairytale, Oralfxatn, anyone else who tells me first.
Rating: Overall R to NC-17
Timing: End of Season 5
Feedback: Yes please, it really helps keep my morale up when my muse is being difficult.
Spoilers: Everything up to the end of Season 5
Summary: The plan comes to fruition.
Author's notes: Huge thanks to Kaz, beta extraordinaire, and to Leila, my friend and sounding board. Also to Gabrielle and Alice, who helped me out of the legal minefield I wrote myself into.

*****
"Hello, Lindsey."

The former lawyer's head jerked up in surprise. He turned on his barstool to face the vampire behind him, a decidedly unfriendly look on his face. "What do you want?"

Angel had the decency to look uncomfortable as he replied, "I was hoping we could talk."

"You think we have something to talk about?" Lindsey tossed a couple of bills onto the bar and turned to walk out. "What was it you said? Oh, yeah, it was 'Don't come back.' Well, that one goes both ways - I stay out of your town, you stay out of mine." He headed for the door.

Angel followed a step behind him. "I need an expert opinion, and you're the only expert available. Believe me, I'm not happy to be here."

"So you're going to turn up every time Wolfram and Hart hits you with something you don't see coming? I told you before, I'm out. It's not my problem any more." Lindsey pushed through the door, out into the cool night air.

Angel waited for a moment before following. "Actually, this is your problem, seeing as you helped create it."

Lindsey paused, his hand on the door of his truck. "What're you talking about?"

"Faith."

Surprise passed momentarily over Lindsay's face before the mask of indifference settled into place again. "I thought she was in Stockton."

"She was. She broke out to help deal with Sunnydale's annual apocalypse." Angel walked over to the truck and leaned against the side.

"And you want me to find some way to keep her out?"

Angel shook his head. "Actually, we've got that covered. I need to know if Wolfram and Hart are going to come after her."

"Which part of 'not my problem' don't you understand?" Lindsey opened the truck door, and barely got his fingers out of the way as Angel slammed it shut again.

"You don't like me, that's fine. I don't like you either." Angel leaned in close, his voice dropping to a threatening whisper. "And let's face it, we've got history. You hurt my friends, I cut off your hand and locked you in a wine cellar with Darla and Dru. You want to walk out on that, be my guest. Hell, I'll hold the door for you. But you dragged Faith into our little dynamic, and now you're going to help deal with the fallout."

"As I recall, she didn't need to be dragged into anything." Lindsey said, refusing to be intimidated. "As soon as she found out you were the target, she couldn't take the job fast enough."

"So your defence is that you took advantage of a messed-up teenager? Not helping your case, Counselor!"

"You think I'm trying to make a case here?" Lindsey snapped. "You're the one on the epic journey to redemption. I just want to get on with my life."

"The sooner you give me what I want, the sooner I leave you alone."

"All right." Lindsey fell silent, working the possibilities out in his mind. Finally, he shrugged. "I think she'll be okay."

"Are you sure? She screwed you guys over pretty badly."

"You're asking the wrong questions." A hint of irritation entered Lindsey's voice. "Wolfram and Hart, the firm, the Senior Partners, don't care about Faith one way or the other. From what I read in her file, they looked at trying to recruit her after she went rogue, but they decided she was too unpredictable to be useful. Beyond that, she's just a Slayer - killing her would just mean another would pop up somewhere. It would be a waste of effort."

"So, if that's the wrong question, what's the right one?"

"You're confusing the firm with the people in it. You should be thinking about who within Wolfram and Hart has a reason to go after Faith." Lindsey gazed off into the distance, a wry smile on his face. "You keep making the same mistake. You think of Wolfram and Hart as this evil monolith with one goal. That may be true for the Senior Partners, but the rest are just people, and they've each got their own agenda. The only people with a reason to go after Faith are the ones who ended up looking stupid after she didn't kill you. That's me, Lee Mercer-"

"And Lilah." Angel broke in.

"Exactly. I'm out, Lee's dead and Lilah's got enough to deal with. She's vulnerable, and she knows it. Everyone knows she came off second best at the evaluation, and until she secures her position in Special Projects, she can't afford to use the firm's resources to go chasing some private vendetta. If she's half as smart as I know she is, she'll be throwing herself into every assignment that they give her, which probably means you. Watch your back."

"Always do." Angel stepped away from the truck. "Thanks, Lindsey. I won't be back."

"Good." Lindsey opened the door and climbed in. As he put the key in the ignition he turned to face the vampire again. "Lilah probably won't come at you directly, she'll go for the people around you." He drove off before Angel could respond.

*****

Buffy had been patrolling for hours without success, and she was just wondering if there were any demons left in Sunnydale when she heard a scream. Finally! She thought, taking off at a run. Rounding a corner into an alley she came upon two vampires closing in on a teenage girl. "Oh, I'm sorry, is this a private party?"

The vampires snarled in rage and charged her. Buffy looked over to the terrified girl and snapped "This is the part where you run!" before darting to one side as the lead vampire threw himself at her, his momentum sending him tumbling into a pile of garbage bags.

The second vampire's more cautious advance was no more successful. Buffy's foot lashed out, the toe of her boot catching him just below the kneecap. As the demon stumbled, clutching at his knee, Buffy kicked him smartly in the side of the head, knocking him to the floor.

The first vamp was on his feet and charging in again, arms outstretched to grab her, but Buffy easily ducked under the attack and, seizing his shirt and belt, tossed him headfirst into a wall. The second vamp was picking himself up when Buffy's knee crashed into his chin and sent him sprawling again, an easy mark for her stake.

The remaining vampire was struggling to get up, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, when Buffy reached him. As she grabbed him by the collar, the vampire seized the first object that came to hand and lashed out. The broken bottle sliced through Buffy's lightweight jacket and into her left arm, just below the shoulder.

"Ow! Damn it!" Buffy slammed her fist into the vampire's face, her blow fuelled by anger and unexpected pain. The dazed vampire collapsed against the wall and was staked a moment later.

Tucking her stake back into her pocket, Buffy shrugged off her jacket and inspected the wound. It hurt, but the cut didn't look to be a deep one. The vampire's intended victim had fled, so Buffy decided to call it a night.

*****

Dawn was dozing on the couch when Buffy opened the front door, but woke up as Buffy crossed the living room and switched off the television. The teenager yawned hugely as she sat up, and it was a few seconds before she noticed the bloody tear in Buffy's sleeve. "You okay?"

Buffy shrugged, immediately wincing as the movement sent pain buzzing along the cut. "It's just a cut, Dawn, I'll be fine."

Dawn took her hand and began to lead her toward the stairs. "Come on, let's get it cleaned up."

"Really, Dawn, I can take care of it. You should be in bed, anyway."

"Buffy!" Dawn glared at her sister, her face set in her version of Willow's "resolve-face". "Would you stop it? I know you get hurt, and I wanna help. We have to take care of each other now - isn't that what Mom would want?"

Buffy felt tears form at the mention of their mother, but held them back. "Actually, I think Mom wouldn't want us to have to deal with stuff like this, but you're right," she said grudgingly, following Dawn up to the bathroom.

Buffy stripped off her jacket and shirt as Dawn collected the first aid supplies. Having first washed away the congealing blood, Dawn cleaned the cut out with antiseptic, ignoring Buffy's faint gasps and winces as the stinging liquid cleansed wound.

"You sure it doesn't need stitches?" Dawn asked, gently dabbing the wound dry and examining it critically.

Buffy shook her head. "It's not that deep. As long as I don't pull it about too much it'll heal in a couple of days."

"Okay." Dawn tore the backing strips from a sterile dressing and carefully positioned it over the wound so that the edges of the cut were held together. "There, all fixed up."

"Thanks, Dawnie." Buffy smiled and used her uninjured arm to wrap her sister in a loving hug. "Dawn, there's something we need to talk about..."

A little concerned by Buffy's tone, Dawn stepped back and looked her sister in the eye. "What's the matter?"

"They're probably going to let Faith out of the hospital before she's fully healed, so even if she does end up going back to jail she'll need somewhere to stay for a while before that..."

"She's staying with us, isn't she? I mean, I assumed she would be." Dawn said.

Buffy smiled at her sister. "Yes, Dawnie, she's staying with us. It's just, we need to think about where everyone's going to be sleeping. I mean, we have three bedrooms, but..."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Buffy, it's okay for you to move into Mom's room. I know it'll be weird, but we can't just not use the biggest bedroom, right?"

"You just want to get your hands on my room, don't you?" Buffy teased.

"Hell no!" Dawn replied, smirking at Buffy's look of shock. "I've just got my room set up the way I want it, I'm not moving now. Besides, it'll be way funnier putting Faith in your 'shrine to girliness'."

"My what?" Buffy's eyebrows shot up her forehead.

"Oh, come on Buffy! Your room looks like it came out of a doll house."

"Unlike yours, which was clearly modeled on the city dump!"

"That is so not true!"

"I think that's why you don't want to move, you're afraid you'll have to clean up!"

"Oh, that's it! I am never helping to patch you up again, not even if you're bleeding to death..."

*****

Giles had just finished showering after his morning run when the phone rang. Cursing under his breath, he pulled on a bathrobe and went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Rupert." Quentin Travers' voice came over the line.

"Whether or not it's a good morning depends entirely on why you've called, Quentin." Giles replied dryly.

"The Council has reached a decision."

"Already? It's only been four days since I called you."

"Sarcasm is not a laudable trait in a Watcher, Rupert, especially one responsible for two Slayers." Travers replied, a touch irritably.

Giles almost dropped the phone in surprise - he hadn't let himself hope for a positive outcome. "They agreed?"

"Yes. Faith is to be returned to active duty as soon as she recovers, under your charge." Travers said, his voice completely neutral. "The details are being taken care of now. Speaking of which, one of the details is in Sunnydale, and since you and your associates are on the scene, so to speak..."

"Yes, of course." Giles jotted down a few notes as Quentin explained. "That shouldn't be a problem, we'll take care of it."

"You'd better be right about Faith, Rupert. I've stuck my neck out on this one, don't make me regret it." Without another word, Travers cut the connection.

*****

When Buffy arrived at the Magic Box for her regular training session, she found Anya re-arranging the candle display, while Giles was going through the order book. "Hi guys!"

"Hi Buffy." Anya replied absently, her attention completely focussed on getting the perfect balance of cedar- and pine-scented candles.

"Hello, Buffy." Giles looked up from his work. "If you'd like to get warmed up, I'll be with you in a minute."

Buffy nodded and was soon limbering up in the back room. After a few minutes Giles appeared in the doorway. He immediately spotted the dressing on her arm. "You're hurt?"

Buffy paused her exercise and glanced at her arm. "Ran into a vamp with a broken bottle last night. It's just a cut, my jacket took most of it. It'll be fine in a day or so."

Relief showed on Giles' face. "As long as you're being careful. The fact that you've defeated some extraordinary opponents doesn't make vampires any less dangerous."

"I know, Giles." Buffy began her warm-up sequence again. "I learned that one last year. Got my own stake in the stomach, remember?"

Giles suppressed the memory of the fear he'd felt that day, and changed the subject. "I had a call from Quentin this morning."

Buffy stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "And?"

"The Council has agreed to your proposal, Buffy. Faith can stay here." Giles winced as Buffy leapt over and hugged him harder than his ribs were comfortable with.

"God, I can't believe it!" Buffy said, releasing her hold on her Watcher and smiling brightly. "Travers actually came through for us!"

Giles smiled slightly at that. "I must confess, I was a little taken aback as well. I don't know how he persuaded the rest of the Council." Giles sat down on the bench under the windows. "Buffy, there is something we need to do here in order for this plan to work."

Buffy sobered slightly. "What is it?"

"We need to find out if Faith ever had a dental examination here, and if she did then we need to switch the records for another set that the Council will provide. Quentin already has someone dealing with her records in Boston, and it seems she never had an examination while she was in jail. He wants us to get a copy of any records on file, including computerised records, and send them to him. He'll then send us forged records to put in their place."

"Looks like Will and I are gonna be doing some breaking and entering." Buffy said with a slight frown. "I hope Will's okay with that. She really isn't happy about Faith being here."

"She'll come around, Buffy." Giles said soothingly. "You know as well as I do how passionately Willow holds her views on others. Breaking down her mistrust and anger will take time, but will happen."

"I hope you're right, Giles."

****

Faith was sitting up in bed when Dawn poked her head around the door that evening. "Hey, Bitesize!" she called as she saw the younger girl.

Dawn was at the bedside in a flash, hugging the dark Slayer. After a few moments, she took a step back and looked Faith over. The bandage around her head was gone, as was the sling immobilising her left shoulder. "You're looking so much better!"

Faith broke into her characteristic lopsided smile. "Yeah, they took the stitches out of my head this morning, and my shoulder's healing great so they say I can use it a bit now. They're gonna take some more X-rays of my hand and leg in a couple of days to see how they're healing. The docs keep telling me how amazing my recovery is, but it doesn't seem to bother them much; I guess Red and Blondie's spell really works, huh? Hey, is B with you?"

"I'm here." Buffy said as she came through the door. "I stopped off at the nurses station to make sure you're behaving yourself!" Buffy pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down, while Dawn perched on the bed itself. She held out a small bag to Faith. Faith opened it, a little nervously, and pulled out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. "I wasn't sure if they'd given you one, but I didn't remember seeing one in here so..."

"Thanks, B."

"Please don't encourage her! She's so overprotective already, it's like having three parents at once." Dawn said with a mock scowl.

"You shouldn't take chances with dental hygiene." Buffy said, glaring at her sister, before looking back at Faith. "I mean, have you even seen a dentist since we first met?"

Faith's expression clouded as Buffy spoke. "Once. Uh, the Mayor made me see the one he used..." Faith's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oh God, please tell me it wasn't Dr. Fredericks!" Buffy burst out. Faith stared at her in surprise. "What? I'm sorry, but the idea that I sat in the same chair as a wannabe demon snake gives me the wiggins!"

Faith surprised everyone, including herself, by bursting out laughing at that. "You're safe, B, this guy had a weird name, Russian or something."

Gotcha!

*****

It was after midnight when Buffy and Willow approached the office of Dr. Raymond Laskowski, DDS. A brief incantation from Willow had the lock open, and the two of them slipped inside. Buffy immediately began going through the files while Willow started up the computer.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this." Willow grumbled. "Okay, I've broken into the morgue a few times, and I've spent a lot of time in other people's computer files, but this..."

"Will, I've said thank-you like, a hundred times." Buffy replied. "Besides, we finally found out what Faith's full name is."

Willow giggled. "Yeah, that was almost worth it."

Buffy pulled out Faith's file and moved over to the photocopier. By the time she had finished making the copies and returned the file to its' rightful place, Willow was into the patient database and pulling up Faith's records. A few seconds later, the data was copied onto a disk, and Willow was busy erasing any of her intrusion.

*****

Eight days after the break-in, Buffy and Willow were back in the dentist's office, switching the old files for the new ones Travers had supplied. Six days after that, the doctors finally agreed to release Faith from the hospital.

"Christ, it's good to be out of there!" Faith exclaimed as the Jeep pulled away from the hospital. She was in the front passenger seat, which was pushed all the way back to accommodate the cast on her leg. The fracture in her kneecap was taking the longest to heal, and the doctors had told her that even with the "extraordinary progress" she was showing it, would be at least another week before the cast could come off.

"How's your hand?" Buffy asked, without taking here eyes off the road for a change.

Faith flexed her fingers slightly before answering. "Still hurts a bit, but all the bones are back together. I just gotta take it easy for while."

A slightly tense silence settled over the Jeep. Once the emotional turmoil of the battle with Glory had receded, some of the old awkwardness has crept back between the two Slayers. Both felt it, both hated it, but predictably, neither would talk about it.

Finally, Faith broke the silence. "Uh, B..."

"Yeah?"

"What happened about the hospital bill? I mean, I don't have insurance or anything..."

"Oh." Buffy wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved at the new topic of conversation. "Giles took care of it. He's charging it to the Council - expenses incurred during world-saveage."

"It feels weird, y'know. You working for them again." Faith's eyes wandered over the seemingly endless stream of neat, suburban houses. "After all the shit they pulled, I didn't think you'd ever go near them again."

"Yeah, well, they had the information we needed about Glory. Basically, we agreed to stay out of each other's way." Buffy glanced over and noticed Faith surveying the view, her expression slightly pained. "Something wrong?"

"I just realised, I've hardly ever seen your street in daylight." Faith replied with a bitter smile on her face. "Once when Giles came and got me before we all skipped town ahead of the Bitch God, and..."

"What?"

"Christmas Day." Faith turned her head away, hiding the tear trembling in the corner of her eye. "You were still out with Angel, and your mom and I just sat and watched the snow falling. I never thought snow could be beautiful."

"What's wrong with snow?" Buffy asked, turning the corner onto Revello Drive. "I mean, I haven't seen it very often, but I always thought it was pretty."

"Bad memories."

"What do you mean?" Buffy knew she was pushing, but just for once she wanted to get inside Faith's armour.

"When it got cold in Boston, we had to choose between heat and food. My mom couldn't pay for both, not without cuttin' into the liquor budget." Faith laughed briefly, joylessly. "Maybe all the Jack Daniels kept her warm."

"I'm sorry, Faith." The words sounded trite even to Buffy's ears.

Faith barely even noticed Buffy had spoken, her eyes gazing into a past Buffy still barely knew anything about. "Every Christmas, she'd be passed out by noon. And then, I'm sitting there in your house, and I'm watching the snow, and it's beautiful. Best Christmas of my life." The dark-haired girl hung her head. "So, of course, I find some way to fuck everything up." And I never got to apologise to her. I never even thanked her.

Buffy pulled up in front of the house. "That's all over now, Faith. Come on, let's get you inside."

It took a little while to get Faith settled into Buffy's old room, and as much as Buffy had objected to Dawn's 'shrine to girliness' comment, she had to admit that Faith did look a little out of place in the midst of the pastel colour scheme. Once Faith was comfortable, Buffy went down to the kitchen to fix them both something to eat. She was searching for something other than peanut butter to put in a sandwich when Dawn got home from school.

As usual, Dawn's first port of call was the kitchen. "Hi, Buffy! Did they let Faith out?"

Buffy pulled her head out of the cupboard. "Yeah, she's upstairs." Beckoning Dawn over, she lowered her voice. "Giles got the package this morning."

Excitement flooded Dawn's face. "Have you told her yet?"

"No, we just got back. Give me a hand with this, and we'll talk to her together."

The two sisters soon put together something resembling lunch. Buffy picked up the tray and said to Dawn, "It's in Mom's- my room, on the dresser." Dawn raced off upstairs, as Buffy followed at a more sedate pace.

"Here you go. Hope you're hungry." Buffy said, setting the tray on the bed beside Faith. "What am I saying? Of course you're hungry."

"Thanks, B." Faith picked up a sandwich and took a huge bite from it. She ate with obvious pleasure, but her face soon grew solemn again.

"Something wrong?" Buffy asked.

"Look, Buffy, thanks for doing all this for me. I just don't want to get too comfortable, y'know. Stockton doesn't have room service."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Dawn stood in the doorway, holding a large envelope with UPS markings.

Faith replied with her mouth full. "What do you mean?"

Buffy sat down on the bed beside Faith. "They don't tend to lock up dead people."

Faith's blood froze. What the hell? She's gonna kill me? Why now? Why not just let me die?

Buffy, oblivious to what was going through Faith's mind, took the envelope from Dawn and pulled out a sheet of paper, which she handed to Faith. Quickly scanning the text, Faith saw a lot of Spanish that she couldn't begin to translate. The only thing she recognised was near the top. Her name. "What's this?"

"That, Faith Amanda Shaw, is your death certificate, or at least a copy of it." Buffy replied, smiling broadly.

"B, what the hell is going on?"

Buffy giggled at Faith's agitation. "Well, from what I understand, it began when an tourist driving through Mexico picked up this girl hitchhiking near Ensenada. American, brunette, twentyish, ring any bells? Anyway, they're driving along, when the girl suddenly goes nuts about something he said and pulls a knife. There's a struggle, the car swerves off the road and into a ravine. The driver comes to pretty quick and gets out, but she's still unconscious and trapped when the gas tank goes up. She's so badly burned up they have to ID her from her dental records. The description the tourist gives the Mexican cops matches an escaped convict from California they've heard about, so they pull her records to compare, and they get a match. Which means that Faith Shaw died in a car wreck in Mexico last week, and can't really be put in a cell."

"What? How?" Faith's capacity for rational thought was swamped under a tide of conflicting emotions.

Buffy laughed out loud at the look of utter confusion of Faith's face. "I think I just explained the 'what'. How? Well, we got in touch with the Council, persuaded them to help, and they set this up. Willow and I switched your dental records here, someone else did it in Boston, and they set up a new identity for you."

The fog of confusion was lifting now, slowly replaced by a single distinct emotion, and not the one Buffy was expecting. "Why?"

"Because you earned a second chance, and we were able to give it to you." Buffy reached out to take Faith's hand, but the younger Slayer snatched it away, the anger she was feeling pouring out across her face.

"And you never bothered to tell me, to ask me if this is what I wanted? What the hell were you thinking, Buffy? I'm a murderer, remember?" Faith was practically snarling now. "How could you be this stupid?"

Dawn took a faltering step forward, her face ashen. "Faith, what's wrong?"

"I'm a killer, that's what's wrong! You think you can just wave some magic wand and make that go away?" Faith shook her head angrily. "

"It'll be different this time, Faith. We'll be here to help you if you need it." Buffy tried to make her voice soothing, but it came out with a hint of desperation.

"Damn it, B, it's not safe! I need to be locked up somewhere, I can't take the chance that I..." Faith turned her head away from the two sisters, unable to finish the sentence.

"You're a Slayer, Faith. You have a chance to make a real difference." Buffy stopped trying to soothe the situation and began to fight fire with fire. "Do you want that, or do you want to sit in a cell and hide from what might happen?"

Dawn sat down on the other side of the bed. "You saved my life, Faith. I trust you. I believe in you."

Somehow, the look of faith, for want of a better word, on Dawn's face cut through the anger and the undercurrent of fear roiling through Faith's mind. For a few, long moments she was silent, then she slowly turned to face Buffy again. "You sure this is a good idea?"

"I'm sure." Buffy replied. I have to be sure. I need someone else.

Faith forced a slight smile. "So, who am I? You said something about a new ID."

Dawn pulled another sheet of paper out of the envelope. "Your new birth certificate."

As soon as she saw the name on the certificate, Faith's eye widened in shock, before closing tightly as she fought off a swarm of unwelcome memories.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, totally confused. She already knew the name, having gone through the contents of the envelope as soon as it arrived, but she looked again in any case, wondering if she had missed something. "Faith Emily Harper. So? I mean, Emily isn't really you, but-"

"Emily Harper was my first Watcher." Faith interrupted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Buffy practically leapt off the bed, her face distorted with fury. "Those bastards! They couldn't just do what we asked, they had to find some way to make it hurt! I'm gonna-"

Faith cut her off again with a wave of her hand. "It's okay, B, it was just a shock." A really big, nasty, Kakistos-shaped shock...

Buffy calmed slightly, but her fists were still clenched so hard the knuckles were white. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Faith looked up at her with a sad smile on her face. "Miss Harper was... she was more like a mother than my mom ever was. Having her name feels kinda right."

"Okay." Buffy relaxed again. "In that case, pleased to meet you, Faith Harper."

"Welcome to Sunnydale." Dawn added. "It sucks, often literally."

"Speaking of things that suck, don't you have homework?" Buffy asked, slipping into 'Mom' mode. Dawn just rolled her eyes toward Faith and headed for her room, leaving the two Slayers alone.

Buffy sat down again on the bed and looked Faith in the eye. "This must all be a bit... Are you okay?"

Faith nodded, with less than complete conviction. "Yeah, I think so, it's just..."

"Just?" Buffy prompted.

"I'm scared, B." Faith said in a whisper. "What if I fuck up again? What if I can't do this?"

Buffy gently laid her hand on Faith's shoulder and smiled slightly. "Do you want it to be different this time?"

Faith nodded silently.

"Then it'll be different." Buffy said. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, you'll have to put some work into winning over Xander and Willow, but you can do it." You have to. We need you here. I need you here.