DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this story involving the characters of Buffy or Charmed. No copyright infringement is intended and I claim nothing Charmed or Buffy. I unfortunately DO own the character of Travis Harwell.


The Kindred
By Jill R. Johnson



Chapter One

Faith tossed in her bed in the darkened motel room. Buffy and Dawn occupied the room with her. Willow and Xander were in a room adjoined to theirs. She stared up into the darkness, knowing that if it were day she would be able to see the cracked plaster in the ceiling. It was the same view as every seedy motel she had ever been in.

But it was night and she was wide-awake. She could hear Dawn softly snoring in the bed next to hers. Looking across the two-foot space between the beds she could barely see that Buffy had a protective arm wrapped around her little sister. Faith began to cry.

They weren’t loud sobs, or weeping, but rather gentle silent tears that fell unnoticed to the pillow. She closed her eyes and thought about the past five months. They had said goodbye to all the slayer wannabes three months earlier. She had hated saying goodbye to them. They had become her friends, her little groupies. She liked having groupies. But she knew that they had families to go home to now that the First was gone, they had lives to lead, school to finish.

Faith had no one but Buffy and the gang, and she knew she didn’t really even have them. She had been a nightmare to them from the day she arrived in Sunnydale. She had hurt each of them in one way or another. Faith knew she was a different person than she used to be. She had grown up and accepted all that she had done wrong.

She turned in the bed again, her thoughts making her unable to be still. She recalled the time she spent in prison. An era she would rather not think about, but couldn’t steer her mind clear of by any means. She had been a model citizen of D-Block, cell #4453. The other prisoners had respected her and had treated her accordingly. With the exception of the one woman the last week she was there, the other prisoners had given her no trouble whatsoever.

The guards on the other hand, she could not say the same about. Faith sat up in the bed, threw the covers back, and slipped quietly outside. She wanted to forget, she wanted to get it all out of her head. She needed a cigarette.

The asphalt was cool on her bare feet. She padded over to their car. It was an old station wagon complete with the wood paneling. Faith didn’t mind the atrocity. It gave them enough room to breathe now that they were playing nomads. She opened the door, knowing it was unlocked, and retrieved her cigarettes off the dashboard.

She looked around at their surroundings. They were in the middle of nowhere. Faith thought about where they were heading. San Francisco. They had a new mission. Buffy and Giles had decided that Buffy would find a new Hellmouth and start with the life saving again. San Francisco was a prime locale. Xander and Willow were forever a part of the team and Dawn was Buffy’s little sister, of course she would be wherever Buffy went. And Faith, she had no one else. And she couldn’t stand the thought of being alone.

She scoffed at the idea. Five months ago she had coveted the idea of being on a deserted island with no one but herself. Then she had fought with Angel, she had helped the Angel team overcome Angelus. Then along came Willow who told her about the First in Sunnydale. Faith helped the slayers-in-training and she helped Buffy, she had even hooked up with Principal Wood.

One thing leading to another had brought her to that exact moment where she stood in an almost deserted motel parking lot, leaning against the hood of a station wagon, taking a drag from her Marlboro Light, and wanting more than anything for someone to protect her and to want to save her the way Buffy was with Dawn.

The thought surprised her as she took another hit from the cigarette. She stared aimlessly at the ground and her feet. Months ago she would have run, gotten as far away as she could from the tight knit group. But something had happened in prison. Something had happened that made her only want to feel safe.

As she was pushing the thought far back into her mind, a voice from beside her made her jump. She looked up to see Buffy staring back at her, her eyes wide with curiosity. Faith half-smiled and offered Buffy the cigarette. Buffy shook her head no.

“Haven’t you heard? Smoking kills,” Buffy said lightheartedly.

“So do demons and vamps but we still chase ‘em don’t we?”

Buffy nodded and leaned against the hood of the car next to Faith. Faith could feel Buffy’s stare. She threw the cigarette on the ground and looked at Buffy.

“Happy now?”

“Yes, very. I wouldn’t want you to die you know. That’d suck.”

Faith’s smile fell slightly, “Do you mean that, B?”

Buffy’s face changed from an expression of amusement to one of concern, “Of course I mean it, Faith. Who else knows how to fight like me?”

They were silent for a minute and Faith could still feel Buffy’s eyes on her. Faith wanted to cry. She knew why, but she wasn’t about to give in to the satisfaction of letting it happen.

“Faith?”

“I’m going back to bed now.”

Faith walked away from Buffy and slipped back into the motel room. Buffy watched her walk away and noticed for the first time that Faith walked with a lot less confidence than she used to. Buffy hated that Faith closed up every time they got close to communicating on a deeper level. She wanted to find a way to get through to the heart of Faith.

She shook her head and followed her fellow slayer’s path back into the motel room. Inside, she glanced over at Faith who had her eyes closed tightly. She knew that since Sunnydale had turned to dust, Faith had only slept during the day in the car when the whole gang was around her. It made Buffy wonder. But more so, it made her worry.


***********************************

It had been the longest three months Piper Halliwell had ever experienced. Leo had been an Elder for three months. Even Prue’s death had not been this excruciating. Piper knew why. Leo had chosen to leave her and Wyatt, Prue would never have chosen to leave her. Piper glanced at the framed black and white photo of she, Leo and their son. No matter how angry she was with him, she loved him heart and soul, and always would.

She pushed the covers off of her and peeked into Wyatt’s crib. She was not surprised to see that he was gone. She knew that either Paige or Phoebe had taken him downstairs earlier that morning. She had made it a habit of sleeping in late on Saturday mornings after a hard night’s work at P3.

Slipping on her robe, she groggily made her way downstairs. She felt a wave of disappointment wash over her as she realized that Chris, their new Whitelighter from the future, was the only person sitting at the kitchen table. Piper rolled her eyes and moved slowly toward him. He looked up at her smiling, his bright blue eyes shining. Piper hated him for having blue eyes. They reminded her of Prue.

“Morning Piper!” he said, his voice filled with cheer.

“Where are my sisters?” Piper asked as she filled her gray mug with highly caffeinated coffee.

Chris frowned, “Didn’t they tell you?”

Piper looked at him with concern, “Tell me what?”

“They took Wyatt to the park. It’s a pretty day. Indian summer, maybe?”

Piper looked out the kitchen window and saw that Paige’s VW Bug was gone. Her shoulders sagged slightly at the thought of having to spend any time alone with Chris. She still couldn’t figure it out, but there was something about him she didn’t like. But she knew that Paige and Phoebe seemed to like him and trust him so that was good enough for her. “Besides,” she thought, “I’m just missing Leo.”

She smiled at Chris and sat at the table with him, sipping her coffee slowly, “So, did they say when they’d be back?”

Chris shook his head, “Sorry. All they said was that you need some sleep and that you were overdoing it, so they took

Wyatt to the park and told me to stand guard for any demon activity.”

“Oh…well, okay. Want to watch some TV with me?”

Piper didn’t want to like Chris, she wanted to continue to distrust him, but she knew that if she was really going to make a go at picking up the pieces of her life, then she’d have to put some faith in this man. He followed her into the living room. She curled up in the oversize armchair while he slouched on the couch.

Piper flipped through the channels before finally stopping on a channel showing the news. A reporter was standing next to a huge crater. Piper and Chris watched with interest as the anchor asked the reporter about the events that had caused the large dent in the earth.

“Well John, this is where the significant events of three months ago occurred. Where the town of Sunnydale was literally sucked into the earth. Geologists are claiming it was the most destructive earthquake in world history.”

Piper rolled her eyes and flipped channels again, “I can’t believe they’re still reporting about that Sunnydale crap.”

Chris shrugged, “Well, Piper an entire town did just disappear, it’s kind of phenomenal and if you ask me, it’s a little bit supernat…”

“I didn’t ask you,” she said with a grin as she tuned the TV into a cartoon channel. An animated creature appeared on the screen and Chris began to laugh. Piper looked at him, mostly amused.

“What’s so funny?”

“We used to watch this together all the time.”

“We?”

Chris’ smile became a somber grin, “Yeah, me and my mom.”

Piper’s curiosity got the best of her, “I thought you said you didn’t have family.”

“I didn’t. Not in the traditional sense of the word. But I had a mom. I had a dad too, but he’s not worth mentioning.”

Piper let the conversation die as she turned up the volume to the cartoon, enjoying the occasional chuckle from Chris and her own rising spirits.


************************


The old station wagon rattled to a stop at the top of the dirt path. The five road-weary passengers poured out of the vehicle, stretching and yawning. It had been a long drive from the motel in the middle of nowhere to San Francisco. Buffy looked at their surroundings and began to walk to where the view was best. She could hear Willow and Xander behind her setting up a blanket in the grass. They, along with Dawn, had decided to have a picnic brunch. Buffy was happy that they were smiling, but indifferent to the picnic.

Footsteps followed hers. She knew it was Faith. Buffy was surprised at how incredibly close she and Faith had grown in the months following Sunnydale, even though she still wasn’t sure she could trust her completely, and there was still the issue of Faith being a wanted escapee hanging in the air, but Buffy knew she loved Faith as much as she did Willow, Dawn and Xander. She only wished Faith would talk to her about the things that bothered her. Buffy felt as though they were more than friends. They were soul sisters.

Buffy stood close to the edge of the cliff overlooking the San Francisco Bay. She rolled her eyes as Xander made a joke about his eye patch. She was sad that so many people had been hurt and died in the final battle of Sunnydale, but it was the only path to salvation.

She let the cool breeze wrap around her as she took in the sea below. The sun shimmered off its every wave, leaving her feeling refreshed, ready for more. Dawn, Xander and Willow sat on the ground near the car they had managed to buy with what little money they had. She wasn’t worried about them. They were safe. They were alive.

She wasn’t worried about Giles, who had flown back to England to reconstruct the new system of slayers. Buffy felt freer than she ever had. She was not alone anymore. She had her family, plus an entire world of slayers to help her battle evil. And Giles was going to instruct and lead them all. Buffy knew he could do it, if anyone could.

She wasn’t worried about Principal Wood. She was worried that she still couldn’t call him Robin. She almost grinned as an image of him passed through her mind. She wasn’t worried about him. He was safe at a cousin’s house in Los Angeles, healing from his wounds in their ultimate supernatural battle against the first.

She wasn’t worried about the potential slayers, because they were now fully powered slayers, each back home with their families, training in secret with their newly initiated watchers. Buffy knew they would be safe.

Buffy wasn’t even worried about the incredible new Hellmouth they were about to face. Willow had reassured her that they would defeat it with minimal injury as long as they found the three sisters Willow had seen in a spell-induced vision. That was what had led them to San Francisco. That and the fact that San Francisco was a hellmouth greater than Sunnydale had ever dared to be.

The one person Buffy worried about was the person she least likely thought she would ever worry about. Faith. She looked to the brunette standing next to her. Her usual self-assured demeanor was missing from her posture. Buffy’s forehead creased in concern. She could have sworn she saw a tear falling down Faith’s cheek.

Buffy lowered her voice, so the others couldn’t hear, “Faith? Are you okay?”

Faith swiped at her cheek, taking the tear away. She looked at Buffy with a false façade of cool.

“Yeah B. I’m five by five,” she forced a laugh, “You know me, all I need is a warm bed, some grub, and every once in a while I need a good fu…”

“Faith. Really. I understand, don’t need the harsh verbage.”

Faith turned away from the edge of the cliff and her smile faded, “Do you think we’re ready for this again?”

“I don’t know.”


*************************


Paige stared at the object in front of her, willing it to leave her alone. But the control it had over her was more than she had ever imagined. Its power to make her want it, to make her want to be evil enough to take it into her, it was unimaginable. She had promised herself again and again that she was no longer going to let things of its kind destroy her or control her.

“You gonna eat that donut Paige, or are you gonna stare it to death?” Phoebe asked as she looked over her nephew’s head to her redheaded sister.

Paige looked away from the chocolate covered pastry and up at her older sister with a snarl, “Funny.”

Phoebe smiled, “I can’t believe what awesome weather this is.”

“I know. Reminds me of summers I spent on a farm,” Paige said as she turned her face up toward the sun.

“You used to spend summers on a farm?” Phoebe asked surprised.

“Don’t act so shocked, sis.”

Phoebe shook her head; “It’s not that you spent time on a farm that surprises me. It’s that we never knew that.”

Paige shrugged, “Weird, I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before.”

“No, you haven’t. But then again, you don’t ever talk much about yourself. We’re always too busy vanquishing things to talk, aren’t we, Wyatt?”

Wyatt grinned baring his few teeth. Drool covered his chin, so Phoebe gently wiped it away with a soft washcloth. She turned her attention back to her younger sister.

“We’re not busy now,” Paige said matter-of-factly looking straight into Phoebe’s brown eyes.

Phoebe smiled as Wyatt picked up a plastic red toy ring and started chewing on it, “No, we’re not. So what’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know…I mean, I’m not used to talking about me…so where do I start?” Paige asked as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

Phoebe let Wyatt crawl to Paige. Paige felt happy and wanted as Wyatt crawled into her arms and hugged her. Paige knew he was sleepy. Other than Piper she was the only one he’d let hold him when he was tired. Paige knew that Phoebe didn’t mind because Wyatt always went to Phoebe when he was hungry. Paige held Wyatt closely, giving him the security he needed to take his mid-morning nap.

“How about Sam…how are you doing with him?”

Paige looked up to the sky in a half-eye roll, half-angered look. “He hides so much of himself, Pheebs. We start talking and he clams up. It’s like there’s something he’s not telling me, or that he just doesn’t think I should know. I don’t know, it’s weird. But other than that, I can tell he loves me. I can tell he wishes that he would have been able to know me all along and that he regrets ever having to give me up. He would have made a great dad too.”

Phoebe’s face showed a bittersweet grin, “Yeah…me and Pipe regret it too…the giving you up part.”

“Well, I’m here now, right? That’s what counts.”

“Yes it is. You’re a natural with your nephew, you know that?”

“Yeah…I’ve always been good with kids. Probably comes from always wanting a little brother or sister growing up.”

Phoebe laughed, “Didn’t bank on getting two older sisters, did you?”

Paige grinned, “No, but I’m glad I did.”

“Yeah, well, we’re glad we have you too. You know what? I always wanted a little sister to love as much as my older sisters loved me. And now I have you.”

“Yeah.”

They both sat in silence just enjoying being near one another and enjoying the peacefully warm day. Both wished Piper was with them, but knew that Piper needed some time to herself.



Chapter Two

Xander made sure everyone was in the car and settled before he started the engine. He glanced to his right. In the passenger seat was his oldest friend. Willow looked back at him and smiled. Xander was happy that she had made it through the Sunnydale events alive. He was as happy about Willow’s survival as he was sad about losing Anya. He returned the smile and looked in the rearview mirror. Faith had volunteered to sit in between the two Summers sisters.

Faith looked rather uncomfortable and out of place as Dawn went on and on about mundane San Francisco trivia and as Buffy stared thoughtfully out the window. Xander almost felt sorry for Faith, but then she did something completely out of character for her. She actually talked to Dawn as though she were intrigued by what she was saying. Xander turned onto the main road and glanced again at Faith, completely amazed by her vivid, real smile.

Willow closed her eyes as they drove slowly down from the cliff where they had parked and picnicked. Memories of years past floated heavily through her mind. Tara smiled at her from across a room, Kennedy urged her to believe in herself, she killed Warren, Oz was a werewolf, Angelus hurt Buffy, Dawn was the key, and she almost laughed out loud at the image of her doppelganger.

She opened her eyes to see that they were nearing the interstate. They were headed for the heart of the city. Willow had seen a club in her spell-induced vision. P3 was the name of the place she had seen the three sisters. She had heard one sister’s name in the vision, ‘Piper Halliwell’.

They were on their way to find the club now that their appetites were sated. She reached for the radio and tuned into a station. She turned up the volume. Even though it was barely noon, Willow was in the mood to dance.

Buffy watched the asphalt as they moved quickly over it. Her mind was neither here nor there. She thought for a second that it felt really good not to think. She glanced at the other occupants of the car. Her sister and Faith were talking animatedly. Buffy thought that being so enthused about a conversation regarding population and geographic facts was odd for Faith, but it made her feel better to know that her sister was being paid some attention.

Music filled the car and Faith turned away from the conversation with Dawn long enough to say, “Oh my god! Turn this up! I love this song!”

Willow looked at Faith with some surprise. Had she not known better she would have imagined that Faith was in a good mood and acting as the teenager she never got to be. Willow returned Faith’s beaming smile and turned up the sound. Beastie Boys, “Brass Monkey” reverberated throughout the worn out car. Buffy couldn’t help but laugh as the people she loved most in life began to bob their heads up and down in rhythm with the song.


***************************************


Piper and Chris had been watching cartoons for about an hour when Piper decided that she wanted to hang out with her sisters. Chris looked a little disappointed, but smiled.

“Okay. Well, I’ll orb to the park and get them.”

Piper shook her head, “It’s called anonymity, Chris. We like it a lot.”

Chris didn’t follow her meaning and gave her a look that stated just that. She laughed before trying to explain herself, “You can’t orb into a park in the middle of the day. I’ll call Phoebe on her cell and then they can drive home.”

Piper picked up the cordless phone in the living room and dialed Phoebe’s phone number. After three rings, Phoebe picked up. Piper could tell that Phoebe and Paige were having a good time together.

“Hey, Pheebs. How’s my son?”

“Hi Pipe. He’s out cold.”

“So Paige has him, huh?”

“Yep. What’s up?”

“I was thinking maybe you guys could come home and the three of us could spend some time together. You know, some sister time.”

Piper waited, as there was a pause from Phoebe’s end of the conversation. She could tell the phone was being covered with Phoebe’s hand. Muffled voices filled the background. Piper couldn’t make out anything they were saying. She was beginning to grow impatient when she heard Phoebe’s voice on the line.

“Pipe? We’ll be home in twenty.”

Piper felt an odd sense of relief, “Good. I’m going to jump in the shower and send Chris away for a while.”

“We love you sis,” Paige said in the background.

“I love you guys too.”

Piper hung up the phone and looked at Chris, who had been listening to the conversation from his seat on the couch. He looked at her questioningly.

“What?” Piper asked him.

“Send me away?”

“Yeah. Just for a little while. So my sisters and I can have a good time.”

“Ouch,” Chris said looking at Piper with sad eyes.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just mean that my sisters and I need to spend some quality time together. We haven’t really done that since Leo…”

“Left you?” Chris asked.

“Yeah. Something like that,” Piper answered, her voice filled with the exhaustion that was creeping throughout her body.

Chris shrugged, “I completely understand. And I’m out of your way for the rest of the day. I have a Whitelighter meeting this afternoon.”

“Sounds so corporate,” Piper laughed.

“Yeah, well…it feels that way too.”

Chris waved and then disappeared surrounded by blue orbs. Piper moved out of the living room and to the upstairs where she went into the bathroom and got in the shower. After fifteen minutes, she turned the water off. As she got dressed in her room, she heard voices in the hallway. She was filled with joy when she heard her sisters’ laughing.

She came out of her bedroom and wrapped her arms around Phoebe in a bear hug. Phoebe hugged her back but looked at Paige over Piper’s shoulder. Paige shrugged and before she could say anything Piper let go of Phoebe and hugged Paige.

“What’s that for sis?” Phoebe asked.

Piper smiled walking toward Wyatt’s room, “What? Can’t I love my sisters?”

“It’s not the love that concerns us, Piper, it’s your really weird good mood,” Paige answered honestly.

As Piper picked a just-waking Wyatt up from his crib where Paige had just put him down, she chuckled, “Look…I just woke up on the right side of the bed this morning. I decided to pick myself up, dust myself off, and get back into the swing of things. No more feeling sorry for myself…I’ve still got three people who I love very much and who I need to be there for.”

Phoebe draped her arm around Piper’s shoulder, “Just don’t forget we’re here for you too.”

Piper nodded, “I know, and the next time I get emotional you two will be the first to know. Now…how about the two of you go to the store and dream up something really good to eat, buy the ingredients, go to the video store get a good movie, no romantic comedies, please, and when you get back we can cook together and then watch a movie after Wyatt is asleep…sound good?”

Phoebe didn’t hesitate to kiss Piper on the cheek. She grabbed Paige by the hand and pulled her toward the stairs. Paige paused for a moment and looked back at her oldest sister.

“If you need anything just call out. I’ll orb home.”

“Paige,” Piper looked at the red head with an amused expression, “What could happen in an hour?”

Paige gave Piper her best, “how can you even go there” face and then turned and followed Phoebe down the stairs. When they were in the car they both looked at one another grinning.

“Are you as happy as I am?” Phoebe asked.

Paige nodded, “I am, but why are we so happy?”

“Because Piper finally wants to spend time with us. She’s coming out of the dark, right?”

Paige stared thoughtfully at the manor as Phoebe pulled out of the driveway, “I hope so.”


*************************************


Buffy exited the Internet coffee shop and walked back toward the car where Faith sat on the hood. Buffy looked on as Faith twirled a cigarette in her fingers. Buffy raised her eyebrows toward the object. Faith smiled, “It’s not lit.”

“Security blanket?” Buffy asked as she handed Faith a cup of black coffee.

“Maybe,” she paused and then asked, “How long did Xander say it would take the three of them to find this Piper person?”

“Willow’s doing the work. She’s online going through the city’s chamber of commerce databases. She said it might take a few minutes. Meanwhile, Xander and Dawn are having a staring contest over a couple of cappuccinos.”

Faith didn’t bat an eyelash as she said; “I’m thinking that’s an unfair contest, what with Xander having only one eye and all.”

Buffy laughed despite herself. It felt good to laugh about something that had made her feel more than guilty. Xander had released Buffy from all blame, telling her it was part of the battle, but Buffy always harbored guilt when one of her friends was hurt.

Buffy took a sip of her hot chocolate, “I think the eye patch gives him a sort of sex appeal.”

Faith rolled her eyes, “Sex appeal? Xander?”

“Hey, it didn’t stop you from…”

Faith held up her hand, “Stop right there. That was the old me. That was the bitch…the hard-ass, don’t care bitch.”

Buffy nodded, “Yeah, you aren’t the same girl any more, that’s for sure.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Faith asked defensively.

“Nothing Faith, just that you’ve moved past that part of yourself. And now you seem more, I don’t know…huggable.”

Faith looked at Buffy threateningly, “Hug me and die.”

“I could be wrong on that,” Buffy said with a smile, “But you know what, I don’t think I am. I just don’t think you realize yet how much you need someone. I don’t mean just a warm body in the bed with you, but someone, as in family.”

Faith lit the cigarette she had been holding and inhaled the smoke deeply, “You’re wrong B. I do know how much I need a family more than you think I do.”

“Faith, talk to me. What’s been going on with you these past few months? Ever since we left Sunnydale, or rather Sunnydale left this earth, you’ve been…different.”

“Let’s just say that with all this free time we’ve had since the disappearance of SunnyD, my mind’s been working overtime on sorting through yet-to-be-dealt with issues, and then let’s leave it at that.”

“What issues, Faith?”

Faith slid off the hood of the car and placed her coffee where she had been sitting, “B…I said let’s leave it at that. It’s not important.”

Faith began to walk away. The cigarette dangled from her lips. Buffy could hear mumbling as the brunette slayer stormed off.

“It’s important if it jeopardizes our mission,” Buffy said hoping to stir up a bit of the old Faith, the one with more fire than a volcano.

Faith stopped in her tracks and turned to face Buffy. Buffy saw something in Faith’s eyes. She could have sworn it was sadness. Faith’s voice shook.

“I’m not going to jeopardize anything B. I’ve got this under control. It’s all good, got it?”

“Yeah, Faith, I’ve got it,” Buffy answered quietly and unconvincingly.

“B, why do you do this?” Faith asked, her shoulders sagging with the weight of her world.
Buffy blinked in surprise, “Do what?”

“We’re getting along fine, right? I mean we have a silent agreement of sorts, right? We don’t step on each other’s toes and things will be calm. Why do you insist on pushing me?”

“Excuse me for living…again…but Faith, I didn’t think what we had was an agreement or some kind of stay-out-of-the-way deal. I thought we were friends. Hell, I consider you more than that, Faith. I think of you as a sister. And you know it.”

“Do I? When would I know it? Have you ever said to me, ‘good job Faith’ or ‘hey Faith, just wanted you to know that you’re alright’? No, you haven’t, so how am I supposed to know that you think of me as a sister?”

Buffy stared at Faith. Tears burned the rims of her light green eyes, but she said nothing. She wasn’t sure what to say next to Faith.

“Thought so…” Faith threw her cigarette down and walked away toward a phone booth.

Xander, Willow and Dawn emerged from the café and approached Buffy. Xander noticed Faith in the phone booth, “Is Faith going to pull a superman?”

Buffy shook her head and ignored the comment, “What did you find out?”

Willow looked defeated, “Nothing. We might have to wait until the club opens.”

Dawn shifted restlessly from one foot to another as Willow and Buffy tried to figure out the next step to take. Xander sat behind the wheel of the station wagon and waited for them to tell him where to drive. Buffy, Willow and Dawn climbed in the back seat. The four of them watched as Faith talked into the receiver of the payphone. After a few seconds she hung up the phone, ripped a page from the phone book and strutted back to the car.

She slid into the front seat and handed Xander the torn page, “1329 Prescott Street.”

Willow looked stunned, “How in the world did you do that?”

“Not everything is high-tech Will. I looked up ‘P. Halliwell’ in the phone book, I called and asked for Piper, the girl that answered said that she was Piper, and then I hung up. Figured the best way to approach her would be in person.”

“Yeah, cause the Hellmouth and all,” Willow said.

“Right,” Faith agreed. She was aware of their eyes on her. She looked at each of them.“What are you waiting for Xander? Let’s cruise.”

“Okay,” Xander said as he started the car. Then he added, “You know, I find it strange that I’m the driver seeing as though I have only one eye.”


***************************


Piper hung the phone up and shook her head. The girl’s voice had not sounded familiar. She chose not to mull it over any longer as she played with Wyatt on the floor of the living room. She looked at her watch. Paige and Phoebe would be back soon. She turned her attention back to Wyatt. Before she could pick up his ball and roll it to him a loud crash resounded through the house. Piper knew it came from the attic.

“It’s always coming from the attic,” she said to Wyatt. Wyatt grinned. Piper picked him up and held him close as she moved up the stairs. Entering the attic she wasn’t surprised to see that the noise had been caused by wind. Wind was blowing through the attic even though the windows were closed. Piper kept a hand over Wyatt’s eyes shielding them from any dust and debris.

As she moved carefully into the attic, something began to form. Piper moved slowly away from the swirling black cloud that emerged. As the wind within the attic ceased to blow, she turned her deep brown eyes to the newly formed figure. Her mouth fell open in bewilderment and she clutched Wyatt closer to her. Her heart beat in a rhythm of panic, of fear.

She called loudly for Paige and Phoebe, and then for Chris. No one came. She wanted to back away from the evil within the room. But fear for her son’s life, and for her own life, kept her frozen in place.

“Do not be afraid Piper. I’m not coming back. I’m only here to warn you about an evil, greater than me. It’s growing now, beneath the city.”

Piper relaxed slightly seeing the look in his eyes, knowing he wasn’t there to hurt her, but only to warn her. She knew he was a ghost of some sort or another.

“How will we defeat it?” She asked, her mind reeling in exhaustion from all the things they had been through, including losing Leo to the position of an Elder.

He smiled, not an evil smile, but a confident grin, “There will be others to help you. You cannot defeat it alone.”

As Piper’s mind pondered the possibilities, the black cloud began to twist and twirl again. “What others?” she asked before he could leave.

“You’ll see,” he responded. “Tell Phoebe I love her.”

“Cole!? What others?”

It was too late; he was gone as quickly as he had appeared. Piper’s shoulders sank into relief, and yet the muscles in her jaw clenched in anxious query. Why hadn’t her sisters and Chris responded?


Chapter Three

Paige and Phoebe walked through the manor door bantering back and forth about movies and actors. Before they could drop their purses in the foyer, Piper was coming toward them from the living room. Phoebe could read the panic in her older sister’s eyes.

“Piper, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is where have you guys been. I’ve been worried sick. I’ve tried calling you and you didn’t hear me. Paige, are your powers defunct?”

Paige looked at Phoebe with wide eyes. She orbed out of the foyer and into the living room. She called to Piper, as she reappeared, “No, my powers are fine. Piper, what’s going on?”

Piper grabbed Phoebe’s hand and pulled her into the living room where Wyatt was playing quietly in his playpen. Paige was waiting for an answer from Piper. Piper urged her sisters to sit down while she began to pace in front of them.

“Piper, you’re going to wear a hole in the rug, now what’s going on?” Phoebe demanded.

“While the two of you were gone, I had a visitor.”

Paige looked alarmed, “A demon?”

Piper chuckled a bit, “Sometimes. Phoebe, it was Cole. But he was in some kind of evil ghost form. I don’t know.”

Phoebe looked angry, “Did he hurt you? Or Wyatt?”

“No, no, no…it wasn’t like that. He was here to warn us of evil.”

“Okay, if Cole was here to warn us about something it must be pretty huge, because nothing is more evil than Cole,” Paige concluded.

Phoebe shot the younger Halliwell a look of disdain. And Paige shrugged her shoulders, “No offense, Pheebs.”

Phoebe shook her head, “Some taken, but not much.” She turned her attention back to Piper, “What exactly did he say?”

Piper sat down in the chair across from the couch, “Okay, he said it’s growing beneath the city, it’s a huge evil and that there would be others to help us defeat it.”

“Others?” Paige asked.

“Yeah. He wasn’t any more specific than that. Oh and I tried to call for Chris and either he’s in trouble and can’t hear me, or he’s ignoring my call.”

Paige looked concerned, “Chris wouldn’t ignore any of our calls.”

Paige began to call out for Chris trying to demonstrate to Piper that she was right. Chris didn’t appear. The girls were exchanging fearful glances when the doorbell chimes echoed throughout the manor. The sound sent a sudden unexplainable chill through the Halliwell sisters. They crept slowly toward the front door holding onto one another.


****************************


Xander was watching the road carefully. They were in a rather abandoned part of a warehouse district with not another soul in sight. Xander knew he had made a wrong turn more than once. His female passengers were growing impatient. He took his eye off the road and looked back at the whining girls in the back seat. Before he could talk he heard Faith call to him to watch out.

Xander swerved as he saw something in the middle of the road. After hitting the object, he ended up driving into a streetlamp. He jumped out of the still smoking station wagon and ran to the front of the car to inspect the damage, “I told you it was strange that the one-eyed guy was driving. Look what I caused.”

Buffy patted him on the back, “Xander, you didn’t cause it.”

“I didn’t?” He asked, confusion creeping into his voice.

Faith stepped over a demon that was sprawled out on the asphalt and was now oozing green goo from a wound in its stomach, “Well, whatever it was, it’s dead now. Good hit Xander.”

“See, it’s my fault,” Xander said throwing his hands in the air.

Buffy rolled her eyes, “The thing came from nowhere. It’s its own fault for dying.”

Dawn was becoming fidgety, “Is the car going to work now?”

Xander shook his head and looked at the girls for some idea of what to do next. He wondered to himself if he’d ever meet a girl that would rely on him for a plan. He glanced at the demon. It was beginning to disappear.

“You guys, what’s it doing?” He asked pointing toward the diminishing puddle of demon.

“Self-disposing demon…cool,” Faith said as she jumped in the driver’s seat and shifted the car into neutral. She jumped back out and told Xander to steer while she and Buffy pushed the car off the curb and streetlamp and into an alley.

Buffy dusted her hands together and looked at her family, “Looks like a nice long walk for us danger-seekers.”

“Great,” Dawn mumbled weakly as Willow wrapped an arm around her shoulder.


*********************************


Piper reached for the doorknob as Paige and Phoebe clung to her like children. She pulled it open quickly and let out a sigh of relief as she saw that Darryl was standing before them. She could feel her sisters let go of her. She stood up straight and looked at the grim expression on Darryl’s face.

“What’s wrong, Darryl?”

Darryl shook his head, “I’ve got some nasty business I need your help with.”

“Your kind of business, or our kind of business?” Paige asked.

“Oh, it’s your kind, that much I’m sure of.”

Phoebe motioned for everyone to follow her. Piper got Wyatt out of his playpen in the living room and joined her sisters and their oldest friend in the kitchen. Phoebe poured them all a cup of coffee as Darryl sat down running a hand over his weary face.

“There’s been a rise in crime near the docks and the warehouse district. Lots of murders, assaults, what ever.”

“What does this have to do with demons Darryl,” Piper asked, her voice filled with doubt.

“The deaths and assaults are…well, at best they’re unexplainable. Some people claim to have been bitten on the neck; some murder victims have disappeared from the morgue. I got a total circus going on in my district. I need your help.”

Paige was playing close attention, “Bites on the neck?”

Phoebe was catching on, “Vampires?”

“Would explain the disappearing bodies,” Piper joined in.

Darryl looked at Paige, “Weren’t you a vampire once?”

Paige made a face at him ignoring the comment. They decided to spend a girls’ night checking out the warehouse district. Piper managed to convince Darryl to take Wyatt to his house. She knew Sheila, Darryl’s wife, would love to keep him for the night.

As they said their goodbyes to Darryl and kissed Wyatt goodnight, the sisters could feel a rush pulsating through their veins. They looked at one another smiling. Piper led the way upstairs for them to change into fight-worthy clothes. They met back at the door ready to go.

Piper laughed, “I think we must all be ready for the release that kicking evil ass will bring.”


*************************


The sun had set long ago and a crescent moon provided scarce illumination along with a few streetlamps. Buffy and Faith were always comfortable in the night. They had fought enough beasts and vampires to leave them with a true sense of security in darkened alleys. Willow, Xander, and Dawn huddled close to one another feeling the fear that non-slayers feel.
Dawn shivered from the cool night air, “Do we have any idea where we are?”

“No. None,” Buffy answered honestly.

She kept her eyes on the shadows along the streets. She realized that they had not seen another person since they wrecked the car. Her spider senses perked up as she felt someone watching them. Buffy could feel the wooden stake in her back pocket and felt a rush of adrenaline.

“Willow, Xander…take Dawn and hide in that doorway over there,” she whispered, pointing toward a door that led into a warehouse.

Xander and Willow knew something was about to happen so they didn’t hesitate to move Dawn quickly to the allocated hiding place. Buffy nodded to Faith and Faith’s face grew into an expression of cockiness. Buffy thought about how much calmer Faith was about fighting. She knew that even though Faith still enjoyed it, the rogue slayer didn’t get as excited about it as she used to.

Before she could finish her thought process about Faith, three men stepped into the street smiling. Buffy never grew tired of seeing how egotistical vamps grew quite humble after being beaten down by the slayers.

“Hi there little girls? You lost out here in big bad San Fran?” He was dressed in black leather pants, white platform boots, and a white silk shirt.

Buffy smirked, “By the looks of your outfit I’d say we’re definitely in San Francisco.”

Another of the three vampires laughed, “Told you not to wear that outfit, Freddy.”

“Hey. Are we going to fight or are we going to discuss the latest issue of Vogue?” Faith was growing impatient.

The third vampire, bigger than the first two took a step toward Faith, “Hey. I know you. Saw your poster in the post office. You escaped from prison.”

Buffy looked at Faith and Faith shrugged, “What? I guess vamps have to mail letters too.”

“Is that true? Are you an escaped convict?” Freddy asked.

Faith wordlessly stepped toward the vamp. Without making a show of it, she thrust a wooden stake into the heart of the vamp. He fell to the sidewalk in a flurry of dust. The other two vamps looked at Faith in anger. Buffy stepped to her friend’s side and together they began to fight.

Buffy dusted the fashion critic after a few simple martial arts move. Faith had taken on the biggest of the three. Buffy turned to see the dark-haired girl struggling. She was pinned to the ground by the vampire. He was straddling her and holding her arms down by her wrists. Buffy hesitated wanting to see how Faith worked her way out of the situation.

She was surprised when she heard Faith’s voice, “Get him off of me! Get away from me! Get off of me! Help me!”

Buffy ran to the spot where the vampire was holding Faith down on the ground. She quickly punched through his back with her stake and made dust out of him. She looked down at Faith. In the deep brown eyes she saw immense terror. It threw Buffy off guard. Buffy held out a hand to help Faith up. Faith ignored Buffy and pushed herself off the ground.

Willow and Xander emerged from their hiding place with Dawn following close behind. Buffy tried to reach out to Faith to ask her what was wrong, what had happened, but Faith shook her off and started walking. Xander and Willow followed behind Faith. They were mumbling about how the vampires always seem to find them.

Dawn stood next to Buffy. They watched the others walking away. Dawn looked curiously from Buffy to Faith’s back.

“What just happened, Buffy?” Dawn asked in a whisper.

Buffy shook her head, “I don’t know. Nothing I hope.”

“I’ve never seen Faith looked scared before. Not even before you guys fought all the ubervamps. She looked scared just now, didn’t she? She sounded really scared.”

“Nah, Dawn. Faith’s fine,” Buffy said trying not to worry the teenager.

“If she’s not, if she’s scared of something, we’re going to help her, right?”

Buffy looked at Dawn. Surprised at her little sister’s intuition. “Yeah. If something’s not right with Faith, if she needs us, then we’ll help her. That’s what family is about.”

“Yeah,” Dawn agreed as she and Buffy started walking to catch up to their friends.


**********************


Paige yawned as she, Piper and Phoebe made their way through the deserted streets of the San Francisco warehouse district. The youngest Halliwell was growing bored with the view. Street after shadowed street they had walked, seeing and hearing nothing.

“Can we go home? There’s nothing here,” Paige whined.

Piper flashed Paige an inquisitive glance, “I thought you loved vanquishing demons.”

“I do. But there are no demons to vanquish. We haven’t even seen another human. And no vampires either.”

Phoebe laughed, “Alright Miss Attention Span, how about we walk a few more streets over, and if there’s nothing there we’ll head back home, watch a few movies and call it a night.”

Paige nodded looking down at her watch, “Good. Because it’s already 9pm.”

“Are you going to turn into a pumpkin?” Piper asked facetiously.

“Maybe,” Paige answered.


*************************


Willow saw the girl coming before the rest of the gang, “Guys, looks like we’ve got more company.”

Xander turned around and let out a low whistle, “I may only have one eye and that might distort my vision, but as far as I can tell she’s a babe.”

Dawn rolled her eyes and watched Faith and Buffy reach for their wooden stakes. She looked at Xander and shook her head, “Your vision is more than distorted Xander. She’s a vamp.”

“Huh, what? How did you know that?” Xander asked fumbling over his misjudgment.

Dawn pointed at her sister and Faith. Xander shrugged and gave a “how was I supposed to know” look. The girl got closer to the group. She stopped and smiled.

“You know, you girls shouldn’t be out here in the big bad without a little manly protection,” her voice was sultry.

Xander raised his hand, “Hey, I’m a man.”

She flicked her gaze to Xander before focusing on Faith and Buffy, “Like I said…”

Buffy raised and eyebrow, “Do you want to chat, or do you want to die?”

The girl flipped her long black hair behind her shoulders, “Neither. Catch me if you can.”

The vampire took off running into an alley. Buffy ran after her while Faith decided to run in a different direction to cut her off down the street. Xander, Willow and Dawn followed Buffy.

As she ran through the alleyway alone, the only sound to accompany Faith was the sound of her boots making contact with the ground with each step she took. Each breath she inhaled stung her lungs and each exhale renewed her sense of fight.
As she neared the next alley she could hear more footsteps coming toward her. She knew it was the vampire with Buffy close on her trails. She increased her pace and found herself tackling the badly dressed girl vamp. They fell to the ground in a rolling tumble and came to a stop. Faith was on top of her getting ready to stake her.

The vampire managed to flip Faith off of her and land on her feet. Faith got to her feet immediately and she and Buffy stood on each side of the vampire. Willow, Xander and Dawn completed a circle around her and began tightening the circle.
The vampire struck out sending Willow flying into a pile of debris. She landed with a thud against the pavement. Xander called out to Willow but Willow didn’t respond. The vampire laughed as Willow groaned beneath the pile of debris. Knowing that their friend was alive, the remaining Scoobies advanced upon the vampire.


*******************


Piper halted in her steps causing Paige and Phoebe to run into her. She quietly gestured toward a group of people. The three of them watched as a group of three girls and one guy encircled a single girl. She noticed another girl lying in some debris. Piper could feel her blood boiling.

“I can’t believe they’d gang up on innocent girls like that,” Phoebe said as she looked up and down the alley they were watching from.

“Damn vampires,” Piper said.

After a few seconds of searching she found a broken mop handle. She picked it up and looked at Paige and Piper silently urging them to look around and find their own wooden weapons.

“We’re going to need these to kill all those vampires,” Piper said as she brandished a splintery piece of wood she had found next to a demolished crate.

Paige pulled a finely sharpened stake out of her back pocket. Phoebe and Piper stared at her in complete amazement.

“What?” She shrugged, “I was a bloodsucking beast once…I’ve been prepared since.”

“Okay,” Piper nodded quickly, “Let’s do this.”

“Wait,” Phoebe whispered, “Piper, why don’t you just freeze them and then we’ll stake them while they’re frozen?”

Piper nodded in agreement. The three of them slipped around the corner into the street. As they got nearer to the group of people, Piper gestured with her hands. Only the innocent girl and the guy froze. Piper stopped walking and looked at Phoebe and Paige. Paige’s eyes were wide with amazement.

“Okay, how does that happen?” Phoebe asked.

“I don’t know,” Piper whispered through a clenched jaw as the three girls left unfrozen began to look from their victim to one another.


************************


Faith looked at the vampire. She then looked at Xander. Neither of them was moving. A subtle panic rose in her heart as she looked to Buffy and Dawn. She was more than relieved to see that the two of them were looking back at her both as bewildered as she was.

Faith dropped her fighting stance and inched closer to the frozen vamp. She raised her stake ready to pierce the demons heart with it, when she heard a voice from behind them.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Piper called out to the girls.

The three unfrozen Scoobies turned to see three women. Faith forgot about the frozen vamp as she fell in line next to Buffy and Dawn. They stared at the three newcomers daring them to approach. Faith smirked as the copper-haired stranger shot her a threatening look. For some reason, the only one of the three women that intimidated Faith was the longhaired brunette with the vicious stare.

“Well, we aren’t you, thank God. Besides, are you going to stop us?” Buffy asked.

Phoebe twirled the mop handle in her hand, “That’s the plan Blondie.”

“Hear that B, she called you Blondie?” Faith repeated laughing, “I like her.”

“Faith…not a good time to go switching sides again,” Buffy retorted.

“Yeah, as if, Summers, as if,” Faith said feigning a hurt look.

Piper looked at Phoebe with an expression of amusement, “Think they’re sisters?”

“Nah, they don’t look anything alike,” Phoebe answered.

“Neither do we,” Paige remarked.

Piper looked at Paige, “Sure we do, we all have the same eyes, and before you went all dye-job on your hair that was the same too.”

“Hello?” Buffy interrupted the rambling women.

“What is it with the Chatty Cathies today?” Faith asked completely impatient by the stand off.

She heard Willow moving around in the pile of debris she had been hurled into. She thought it curious that Willow had not frozen either. Then it dawned on her that each of the four of them had some sort of mystical energy coursing through their veins.

She turned her attention back to the three women, “So…let’s rumble.”



Chapter Four

“Is she serious? Rumble?” Piper whispered.

Paige couldn’t help but giggle, “What is this, West Side Story?”

“If she breaks out into ‘I’m so pretty’ I’m going to hurl,” Phoebe remarked.

They looked at Faith, quiet amusement embedded in their expressions. Paige watched as Faith frowned at their comments. Something about her made Paige think twice about wanting to fight her. She could see something in the dark brown eyes that she had seen before.

Piper’s voice was one of contempt, “Who are you people supposed to be anyway, and why are you preying on innocent girls?”

“Innocent girls…I think you’ve got the wrong idea here,” Buffy answered.

Dawn, who had been quietly watching, spoke up, “They’re the slayers and their gonna kick you’re a…”

Buffy slipped a hand over Dawn’s mouth before she could finish her sentence. The Charmed Ones observed the young girl’s expression of anger. Piper stepped toward Buffy, and Buffy stepped toward Piper. They were toe to toe in the darkened street.

“Slayer, yeah, right,” Paige scoffed.

“Yeah, who wants to know?” Buffy asked.

Piper blew up a crate that was sitting nearby, “Me.”

Buffy, Faith and Dawn turned to watch the smoking pieces fall with a clatter to the asphalt. They looked back at the oldest Halliwell and showed no fear.

Buffy smirked, “Yeah, that’s nice, what other tricks do you have?”

“This is one I recently learned,” Piper spun around forming a roundhouse kick. It contacted with force against Buffy’s arm sending the slayer to the ground. She quickly bounced back up and came back at Piper with her own spin kick.

Faith, not wasting an opportunity to fight, moved toward the other dark-haired girl, “Hi, I’m Faith. I’m going to kick your ass now.”

With that, she swung a hard right hook into Phoebe’s jaw moving Phoebe backwards. Phoebe shook off the surprise. She levitated and kicked Faith in the face. Faith sprawled backwards and recovered quickly. She grabbed the back of Phoebe’s neck and spun her around.

“Nice tattoo,” Faith said referring to the one etched into the back of Phoebe’s neck.

Phoebe scratched her nails into Faith’s arm making marks through the black-ink tattoo on her upper arm, “Yeah, you too.”

“Oh, you are so gonna go down for that,” Faith growled as she swung a fist into Phoebe’s jaw pushing her back several feet.

Phoebe quickly regained her composure as she side kicked Faith in the ribs. The younger slayer bent down as air rushed from her lungs. She inhaled deeply and looked up to see Phoebe bringing a fist to her face. Faith blocked the hit and pushed Phoebe to the ground.

Paige and Dawn circled one another. Paige wasn’t sure if she should try to vanquish the young girl or not. Something inside her told her that these women weren’t really the bad guys. Before she could think it out any further she felt a sharp kick to her shin.

“Ouch! You little fu…” Paige began to snarl, but before she could fully respond, Dawn had a hand full of her hair and was pulling on it. Paige reached up and grabbed the girl’s hair as well. It was a lose-lose situation for both of them.

Pummeling was happening left and right as Willow’s eyes slowly focused. She finally managed to make out Buffy tangling with a longhaired brunette. She saw that Faith was fighting another girl and that Dawn was busy in a hair-pulling contest. She looked to Xander and saw that he, along with the vampire, were both standing completely still.

Willow reasoned out the scenario. She stood up and made her way to the place where Buffy was about to stake Piper. At that exact moment, seeing the women up-close, Willow realized who they were.

“Stop!” She called out to Buffy.

Buffy looked back at Willow, “Stop?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s not…they’re the ones. The ones I was telling you about, from the vision.”

Faith stopped taking swings at Phoebe, “Willow, are you sure, because this was just getting good.”

Phoebe moved to stand by Piper. They were still in fighting stance until they all heard some scuffling. Buffy, Faith, Willow, Piper and Phoebe turned to see Dawn and Paige still pulling one another’s hair.

“Paige! Hey, we stopped fighting,” Phoebe called to the youngest Halliwell.

Buffy smiled as Dawn kicked Paige in the shin again, “That’s my little sister, alright. Dawn! Stop.”

Dawn and Paige reluctantly pulled away from one another. Paige glanced at Faith and couldn’t help herself. She smiled and shrugged. Faith found the gesture odd, but didn’t comment on it. Instead she turned her attention to Willow.

“Will, what’s the deal? Are these our three witches?” Buffy asked.

“Yes,” Willow answered. She stared at the Charmed Ones in awe, “Wow. The most powerful witches ever.”

Faith looked doubtful, “I don’t know, Red, I heard what you did when you went all Wes Craven supernatural…somehow I doubt they’re more powerful than you.”

Willow blushed slightly at the mention of her dark side, “Oh...no…they are quite powerful.”

Piper raised her eyebrows while being scrutinized by Willow, “Anyone want to clue us in on what’s going on?”

Willow smiled, “Piper, right? Well, we got a message of sorts that we’re supposed to come here and you would help us defeat the Hellmouth.”

“The hell-who?” Paige asked.

Willow began to explain, “The Hellmouth. It’s a gateway to evil. There are many around the world and from the dawn of time there’s been one…”

Buffy interrupted, “Big hole, lots of demons and vamps come out of it. We kill them.”

Willow gave Buffy a sour look. Buffy shrugged, “What? You were about to go all Giles on us.”

Phoebe’s eyes widened in awareness as she looked at Buffy, “Oh my god. I knew something about you was familiar. You’re
Buffy. I’ve heard about you. Heard you were only a legend, that he slayer was a legend. But wow…you are Buffy, aren’t you, the slayer?”

“Like I said earlier,” Buffy said without a smile.

“Hey,” Willow said looking at Xander, “What did you do to our friend?”

Piper looked at the still-frozen man and smiled, “I froze him.”

“Can you unfreeze him?” Willow asked.

“How do we know you guys are telling the truth?” Paige asked trying to smooth down her out of place hair.

“What? Can’t trust these faces?” Faith asked grinning wildly.

Phoebe chortled, “Hardly.”

“You guys aren’t vampires?” Piper asked them trying to keep things calm.

“No, we’re not,” Buffy stated, “But she is.” Buffy was pointing to someone behind Piper. The girl vamp had unfrozen. Just as she was nearing Piper, Faith hurled a wooden stake through the air and it pierced the vamp’s heart.

The vampire turned to dust, leaving the Charmed Ones in awe and with looks of respect for the newcomers. All of the
women turned as they heard Xander.

“Hey. How did you? You were over here and now you’re…and there are three more…are they good?”

Willow patted Xander on the shoulder, “They’re good, you were frozen.”

“Did it hurt?” he asked.

“No,” Willow answered him before turning back to the others.

“Um, I’m Willow Rosenberg, this is Xander Harris.”

The others followed suit and introduced themselves one by one continuing to keep a close eye on those they didn’t know.

“Buffy Summers.”

“Dawn Summers, Buffy’s sister.”

“I’m Piper…Halliwell, but apparently you already knew that,” she said looking toward Willow.

“Phoebe, I’m the middle sister.”

“I’m Paige, the youngest.”

They all looked to Faith. Faith shrugged, “What? I introduced myself earlier, remember. I’m Faith.”

Phoebe laughed, “Just Faith? Like Cher, or Madonna?”

Faith shot Phoebe a look of spite and fought the urge to show her the middle finger, “No, like Faith.”

“Okay, intros are over. What’s the what here?” Buffy asked ready to get down to business.

Piper looked around, “Shouldn’t we go elsewhere?”

Xander raised his hand, “Um, problem there. I wrecked our car so we’re kind of grounded here.”

Paige looked at Phoebe and Piper, “I can orb a few of them and you can drive the rest of them to the manor.”

Piper nodded, “Okay, just be careful.”

Phoebe whispered into Paige’s ear, “And don’t let them get near the Book of Shadows.”

“Right,” Paige said.

“What’s the Book of Shadows?” Faith asked, using her extremely keen hearing to eavesdrop.

Phoebe looked at her with a glower and then grabbed Piper’s hand, “Paige, take that one with you,” she said, pointing at Faith.

Paige looked at Faith and noticed a look of loss on her face, “Ever orb before?”

Faith shook her head and watched as Buffy, Dawn and Xander went with the older two sisters. Willow was looking at Paige as though she were a movie star. A wide Willow-grin was plastered on her face.

“So, can I orb with ya?” Willow asked.

Paige nodded, “Yeah, sure. You have to take my hand though.”

Paige offered her hand to Willow who took it enthusiastically. She then held out her right hand for Faith. Faith looked at it and after some hesitation, she slipped her hand into Paige’s. The three of them disappeared in a sea of blue lights.
Buffy glanced back at the place where Willow and Faith had been standing with Paige. She blinked unbelievingly as she realized they had disappeared. She looked at Piper.

“Where did our friends and your sister go?”

“To the manor,” Phoebe answered.

“The manor? You guys live in a manor? How cool is that?” Dawn said.

Xander smiled and patted Dawn’s head, “We must calm ourselves young one.”

Phoebe smiled at Dawn. She admired the girl’s spunk, “No, that’s okay. It’s cool, Dawn. Lots of history. So, where are you guys from?”

“Sunnydale,” Buffy answered.

Piper stopped walking, “Whoa. Wait. Sunnydale? As in, it sank into the ground never to exist again, Sunnydale.”

“That’d be our home sweet home alright,” Xander confirmed.

“Why do I get the feeling you guys helped it into the ground?” Piper asked suspiciously.

“Well, um…it was either kill the hellmouth, or end the world. I’m thinking we made the correct decision,” Buffy responded.

Piper moved on. She was tired and was getting cranky. More than anything she missed Leo and wished she knew what happened to Chris.


*******************************


Paige let go of the newcomers’ hands. She watched them as they both turned a few shades paler and looked as though they needed to sit.

“First orb is always the hardest,” she said, concern in her voice.

Faith remained silent as she sat down on the coffee table in the living room of the manor. She looked around trying to regain focus. Everything remained blurry. She could hear Willow giggling.

“That’s the coolest thing ever. How did you do that? What kind of magic did you use?” Willow said trying to cut off her laughter.

Paige smiled at her, amused by her giddiness, “It’s the kind of magic found in the blood.”

Willow stopped smiling, “Your powers, they come from your gene pool?”

Paige nodded, “Yup.”

“Whoa,” Willow said as she sat on the coffee table next to Faith.

Paige looked to the young brunette. Her face was extra pale and dark circles had taken up residence under her deep brown eyes.

“Are you okay?”

Faith looked at Paige and tried to grin. It failed. As she tried to stand up her knees weakened and she fell to the floor with a thud. Paige quickly bent down to check the slayer’s pulse. A weak but palpable beat could be felt beneath the skin on Faith’s neck.

Willow looked worried, “Is she okay? What happened?”

“Orbing must have been too much for her, although it’s never had this much of an effect on anyone,” Paige replied.

“And Faith’s not…well, she’s not really a weak-in-the-knees kind of girl,” Willow added.

“Here,” Paige said as she grabbed Faith under the arms, “take her feet and help me get her on the couch.”

Paige and Willow got Faith to the couch. Willow asked Paige where the washcloths were. She wanted to put a cool one on
Faith’s forehead. Paige pointed in the direction of the stairs.

“There’s some upstairs, second door on the right. In the bathroom,” Paige answered as she sat down on the coffee table next to Faith. She watched the brunette and felt a strange curiosity about her.

Willow had reached the second floor when Faith began to mumble. Paige leaned in closely to listen. She could only make out muted whimpers. Faith began to turn her head from side to side indicating she was in the midst of a dream. As Paige saw an expression of fear contort the girl’s face she knew it was a nightmare more than a dream.

She heard the other girl opening the cabinet upstairs and turning on the water. She was about to try to shake Faith awake when instead Faith shot up into a sitting position on the couch. She stared wild-eyed at Paige. Paige stood up and backed a few steps away from Faith while holding her hands up in a sign of surrender.

“Whoa, it was a dream. Whatever it was, it was a dream.”

Faith looked up at the redheaded woman but didn’t see the brown eyes she had seen right before she had passed out. These eyes were cold, angry and blue. They belonged to a man. She shook off the image and focused on Paige.

“Are you okay?” Paige asked.

Faith wasn’t sure how to answer. She felt a pounding in her heart and knew why her world was aching. And for some reason, unexplainable to her, she wanted to tell this woman everything. Before she could speak, the opening of the front door diverted their attention.

Piper and Phoebe walked in followed by Dawn, Xander and finally Buffy. Buffy turned immediately toward Faith sensing something was wrong with her. She saw that Faith, near tears, was trying to walk to her from the couch.

“Faith?” her voice was unsteady. She had never seen the hard-hitting Southie look so lost.

Faith reached out her hand trying to balance herself, “Buffy?”

With that, Faith fell again to the floor. Buffy didn’t hesitate to go to Faith’s side. She looked up at Paige, her eyes glaring with accusations.

“What have you done to her?”



Chapter Five

“I didn’t do anything,” Paige answered defensively.

Willow had returned from upstairs and saw Buffy kneeling next to Faith on the floor and looking at the redheaded Halliwell, “Buffy, she didn’t do anything.”

Buffy looked at Willow. An expression of apology crossed her face as she looked back to Paige, “What happened to her, then?”

Paige looked worried, “I don’t know. Could have been the orbing, but no one’s ever fainted because of it.”

Dawn frowned, “Okay, when she comes to can you not mention the word fainting. I don’t think Faith would like the idea that she fainted.”

Xander smiled slightly, but looked at Faith with curiosity, “Dawn’s right. Faith doesn’t faint. Something else must be going on.”

Buffy looked at her friends and to the older Halliwells, “Do you have anything we can eat? I hate to impose on you guys, but we…”

Piper shook her head, “Say no more. We’ve got plenty.” Willow, Xander, Dawn and Phoebe followed Piper out of the living room and into the kitchen. They were all hungry and Piper was going to heat up some leftover spaghetti.

Paige helped Buffy move Faith back to the couch. As soon as they got her settled on to it with the cool cloth on her forehead, Paige covered her with a blanket that was hanging on the back of the couch. Buffy and Paige sat down on the coffee table each watching over Faith. Paige noticed that worry had taken up permanent residence on the young blonde’s face.

“Has she been having trouble sleeping?” Paige asked.

Buffy’s green eyes shimmered with tears, “I think we all have, but yeah, Faith more so.”

“Any idea why?”

Buffy shook her head, “I don’t know. She said something about issues she needed to deal with, or something like that. It’s hard to tell with Faith. She’s not big on talking about herself. At least not about anything that exposes her vulnerability.”
Paige nodded, “I can understand that.”

Buffy looked at her inquisitively but Paige brushed it off with a wave of her hand. Paige’s forehead creased in thoughts as she looked down at the ground.

“She fainted twice,” she said.

Buffy looked surprised, “What?”

“She fainted once before you guys walked through the door. It was strange, like she was having an instant dream as soon as she passed out.”

Buffy looked at Faith and then back to Paige, “Did she say anything? Talk in her sleep?”

Paige hesitated gazing at the still-form of the young woman on the couch. She inhaled deeply, “She didn’t say anything, but she looked…I don’t know her obviously so I don’t know how to interpret the look on her face, but she looked afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Yeah, afraid.”

Buffy pondered the thought, flashing back to the moment earlier in the evening when Faith had freaked out when the three vampires attacked and one had pinned her to the ground. She knew the look in Faith’s eyes then had been of fear. Buffy stood and motioned for Paige to follow her.

“Let’s get some food. We can let her sleep. I think that’s all the trouble is,” Buffy said as she headed in the direction of her friends’ voices.

Paige glanced back at Faith. Her intuition was telling her there was something more to the story than any of them knew. She shook off the thought and followed Buffy toward the kitchen.

Xander, Willow and Dawn sat at the kitchen table with Piper while Phoebe sat on the kitchen counter. They were all drinking milk, waiting for the spaghetti to warm up. Xander glanced impatiently at the oven.

“Hey, why didn’t you just put it in the microwave?” He asked Piper.

As Piper stared back at him, Phoebe laughed, “Piper never uses the microwave. It’s against her religion.”

“And would that be the non-nuke religion?” Xander asked trying to be funny.

Piper continued to look at him with an expression of intolerance, “No. I was a chef before I started P3. Therefore, I cook, I don’t ‘nuke’.”

Phoebe smirked at Xander, “See, told you.”

Xander smiled at the middle sister. He was definitely attracted to her, but he didn’t dare flirt with her. There were more important things to do, not to mention he didn’t think she’d give him a chance. He looked at the milk in front of him. He was getting sleepy.

Dawn looked up from her milk to see Buffy coming into the kitchen, “Is she going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, unsure, “She just needs some sleep. I think we all do.”

Paige looked at Phoebe and Piper. They nodded understanding the look. Paige smiled and cleared her throat.

“Hey, um…you guys can take my room, I’ll bunk with Piper tonight,” Paige said.

“I will too, that’ll give you guys more room,” Phoebe joined in.

Xander gazed at the three Halliwell sisters, “So…there’ll be three of you, together…in one bed.”

He yelped a little when Willow smacked him on the arm, “Down boy.”

“Yeah, like you aren’t interested in seeing that,” he said quietly.

The comment gained him another smack on the arm. He bowed his head and apologized. The timer on the oven went off indicating that the food was at the right temperature to consume. Piper got it out and got eight plates out of the cabinet.

“Should we try to wake up Faith?” Dawn asked.

Buffy glanced at the plates, “Um…no. We can let her sleep on the couch. We’ll leave a note for her that there’s food on a plate in the microwave for her.”

“Microwave bad,” Xander said facetiously as he smiled at Piper and Phoebe.

Buffy looked confused, but she didn’t delve further into it. Instead she helped Piper pass out the plates to everyone else and then to dole out food. Piper studied Buffy as they worked side-by-side making sure everyone had enough to eat. She could tell that the young woman was used to leading, to protecting those around her. Buffy reminded Piper of Prue.

As the two forces of good ate they talked animatedly about the things they had seen, and done, in their time as warriors. Willow explained to the Halliwell sisters that she was also a witch but had once been extremely evil.

“Been there bought the t-shirt,” Phoebe said, frowning.

“Yeah? Did you almost end the world too?”

Phoebe looked at the redhead with surprise, “No. Just married the source of all evil and almost had his demon spawn.”

“Oh…well, that sucks too,” Willow replied.

Piper and Phoebe told the group about Prue and how she had died and how they had found Paige. They explained to them what a Whitelighter was and that they were worried about theirs. Chris had still not answered any of their calls.

Xander filled Piper, Phoebe and Paige in on Sunnydale and those that were lost, while Buffy took her turn to tell them about Angel and about the group in Los Angeles. Everyone was talking excitedly except for Paige and Dawn who seemed to be locking eyes, each staring down the other in contempt. Paige smiled at Dawn though, and Dawn seemed to relax.

Paige had been listening intently to the tales of battle. An hour had passed before they knew it. Everyone was full and still sharing stories when Paige thought about the brunette on the couch.

“What about Faith?” Paige asked the group.

The Scooby gang exchanged wary glances before looking back at the copper-haired witch. None of them spoke as Paige, Phoebe and Piper waited for an answer.

“Faith is a long story,” Xander offered.

The comment worried Piper, “Is she dangerous? Because I have a son that’s just a baby and if anyone’s going to bring danger to Wyatt, I want to know about it.”

Paige felt the need to defend the strangers, “Piper, we deal with demons. What danger could one girl bring?”

Buffy almost spit out the milk she had been drinking. As all eyes turned to her she shook her head, “That’s a loaded question.”

Buffy paused to take a deep breath, then she began again, “Faith is…was dangerous. The girl in there now is not the same girl she used to be though. She fought with us side-by-side in Sunnydale, and she would never have let any of us die.”

“She may have once tried to kill us all…” Xander interrupted.

“Xander, don’t,” Buffy admonished.

Willow continued, “What Xander means is that Faith…well, we don’t know much about her childhood, or what’s happened to her over the years, and whatever that may be it’s no excuse for the violence she caused, but Faith after she first came to Sunnydale, she was a rogue slayer.”

“Wait, Faith’s a slayer too?” Phoebe asked.

“Yeah,” Buffy nodded.

Phoebe looked perplexed, “But I thought the legend was something like, in every generation a slayer is born…yadda, yadda, yadda.”

Buffy laughed quietly, “That’s supposed to be the way it is, but I died and a new slayer was chosen. Kendra. She was killed, and along came Faith. So there were two of us.”

“Well, now there are hundreds upon hundreds of them,”’ Dawn added.

“Right and that’s because?” Piper’s voice was filled with astonishment.

Willow answered, “Because when we battled the army of the First, I did a spell that invoked the power within all potential slayers.”

Paige was anxious to talk more about Faith, “So Faith, she was dangerous?”

Buffy ran a hand across her forehead. Her head ached and her shoulders felt heavy. “Faith killed a man. It was truly an accident. She thought he was a vamp, staked him, but he didn’t turn to dust. Turned out to be the mayor’s aide. He died right there in front of us. I knew it got to Faith. Kind of tore her up inside. But Faith, she doesn’t let people see these things. Anyway, long story short, she turned to the dark side. She killed several people, wrecked a few lives, slept with my boyfriend, and switched our bodies before Angel finally helped her. He made her see that she was redeemable. It took us a little while longer to see it. When she came back to Sunnydale, after breaking out of prison…”

“Prison!?!?” Piper almost screamed.

Buffy was taken aback. She was glad that Faith wasn’t in there. Then again she knew they would never be talking about Faith if Faith had been in the room.

“Prison?!” Piper was pacing now, “Is she reformed, I mean really reformed?”

Buffy nodded vigorously, “She’s pure gold now. I mean sure she’s got that tough girl act down to a tee, and a smart mouth, and she could probably crush a man’s skull with her thighs, but she would never hurt any of us. Or you, or your son. You have to trust me on that. If I thought she was capable of hurting an innocent person anymore I wouldn’t have her anywhere around my little sister.”

Piper calmed down after hearing the conviction in Buffy’s voice, “Okay, well, I don’t know why, but I’ll trust you, but if she even looks like she’s going to do something shifty, I’ll vanquish her, human or not.”

Phoebe leaned back stretching her arms out, “I knew there was something about that girl. You can tell by the way she punches that she’s bad news.”

Phoebe looked at Buffy who was getting angry at the way Faith was being talked about. Faith may have once been her enemy, but now she was her friend. She would die to protect her just as she would Dawn, Willow and Xander.

“You said she broke out of prison, does that mean the cops are looking for her?” Paige asked.

The Scoobies all nodded. Paige turned to Piper, eyes pleading. Piper crossed her arms, “Don’t look at me. If you want Darryl to do something about it, then you talk to him in the morning. I’m not having anything to do with an escaped felon.”

Paige sighed, “Fine. I will. But I think she’s got a good soul. You know? I mean, my intuition tells me that she’s here to help, not hurt, and if you had seen the look in her…”

She felt Buffy looking at her with a “don’t tell them” expression. Paige stopped herself from speaking further.

Phoebe looked at her, the scowl on her face softened as she saw that Paige was concerned for the stranger, “Maybe Paige is right. If she’s done as much good as her friends here say she has, then we should help her.”

Piper rolled her eyes and began to clear the plates from the table. Dawn helped her clear and Willow washed them.

“How can this Darryl help her?” Buffy asked Paige.

“He’s a cop, a lieutenant, here at the SFPD. I don’t know what he could do, but maybe he knows someone who knows someone, you know? It’s worth a try.”

“Yeah, it is,” Buffy relaxed a little.

Phoebe asked them for more Sunnydale stories. Dawn sat on Buffy’s lap while Xander, Willow, Piper, and Phoebe used the other chairs. Paige sat on the kitchen counter where Phoebe had been sitting earlier. As they exchanged grisly tales of demon possessions and big bads, they all failed to notice the person who was now in the living room with Faith.

Faith tossed and turned on the sofa caught in one violent image after another. She was asleep and didn’t see the man watching over her. But as she woke from the nightmare she was wrapped in, she was immediately on her feet. She was staring into a set of cold angry blue eyes, this time they were real.



Chapter Six


Faith’s breathing remained even although her heart was pounding. She did not know the man facing her, but she could already tell she didn’t like him.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” he asked her.

Faith didn’t blink, “I was invited. Can’t say the same for you.”

“Oh, well,” he put his hand on her upper arm in a friendly gesture, “I’m Chris.”

Faith didn’t hear what he had said. She was flipping him to the ground. He landed with a crash through the coffee table.

“Whoa! What was that for?” Chris asked as he scrambled to his feet.

Faith blinked surprised at her aggression, something she had fought to maintain. “You were touching me.”

“My mistake,” Chris looked around for a weapon. He didn’t feel as though he could trust the woman. He grabbed a vase from the end table. He hurled it at Faith, only to have her deflect it with her forearm.

“And you just made another one, ass” Faith growled as she flung herself toward the dark-haired man. She tackled him to the floor and together they rolled to a stop. She landed on top of him and kneed him. As he doubled in pain, he disappeared in blue lights.

“Uh oh,” Faith said as she realized he did the same thing Paige had done earlier.

The footsteps coming toward her from the kitchen sounded like running horses. She turned to see Willow, Xander, Dawn, and Buffy looking at her with concern. Piper was staring at her with animosity, Phoebe looked bewildered and Paige was moving toward her.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Paige asked her.

“There was a man here. We fought. I’m sorry about the coffee table,” Faith gestured toward the broken wood on the table.
Her voice was barely a whisper. Faith hated that her hands were shaking. She felt Paige close the gap between them.

Phoebe shrugged, “It’s not the first coffee table we’ve had to replace.”

“You’re bleeding,” Paige said matter-of-factly as she took Faith’s arm in her hand.

Faith didn’t pull away. Instead she let Paige look at the wound, “He threw the vase at me.”

“Grams’ vase?” Piper asked as though Faith would have that answer.

Phoebe frowned at Piper, “Not the important question, Piper. Faith, who threw the vase at you?”

“Some guy, I don’t know. He looked normal, I guess.”

Faith looked at Piper, “I’m sorry. If it was valuable I’ll help pay for it.”

Buffy flinched at the sorrowful sound in Faith’s voice. She looked to the rest of the Scoobies. They all knew that something was amiss with their friend.

“Yeah,” Piper hissed, “I’m sure you can afford it on prison pay.”

Faith pulled her arm away from Paige and glanced at Buffy, “You were talking about me, B?”

“They asked…I…I…” Buffy couldn’t find the right thing to say.

“Forget it. It’s no big deal,” Faith sounded defeated.

Paige took Faith’s arm again and held her hand over the deep cuts. Faith eyed Paige closely. She didn’t blink as a soft amber glow emanated from Paige’s palm and spread over the wounds. Faith instantly felt the pain disappear.

She remained quiet as Paige let go of her arm. She looked in awe at the now uncut skin on her arm. She looked at her friends and saw that they too were floored.

Willow managed to sputter out some words, “You…did you just…heal her?”

“Yeah, one of my Whitelighter powers,” Paige answered.

“This keeps getting cooler and cooler,” Willow said, sounding like a child in an amusement park. She noticed the stares she was getting from the rest of the crowd. “Sorry, but you know, excited, by the coolness and all.”

“Understandable,” Buffy said as she looked from Willow to Paige and then to Faith.

“Faith, this guy, do you think he was of the vamp variety?” Buffy asked her.

Faith licked her lips. They were dry and she felt oddly disoriented. She knew she needed more sleep. Even more than that she wanted to smoke.

“Faith?” Xander’s voice interrupted her cravings.

“What?” She realized that everyone in the room was staring at her again.

“Buffy asked if the guy was a vamp,” Xander repeated.

“Um. No, he was whatever Paige is. He orbed,” her voiced sounded stronger than she felt.

“A Whitelighter?” Phoebe asked.

“I guess, yeah.” Faith answered.

“Chris! Get down here now!” Piper yelled to the ceiling.

Blue lights formed behind Piper. Chris appeared with a shameful grin plastered on his face, “Honey I’m home?” he joked sheepishly. Faith glared at him. Paige rolled her eyes. Buffy waited patiently. Dawn looked like she was instantly in love.
Willow crossed her arms. And Xander stood up straighter and adjusted his eye patch.

“Explain, now.” Piper was not in the mood for humor.

Chris looked at Faith apologetically and smiled, “Just a misunderstanding. I orbed in, she was here, we didn’t know each other and she flipped me into the coffee table. So I threw the vase at her, I didn’t know she was a guest. Then she tackled me and kicked me and I orbed out.”

“Big chicken,” Paige said.

“What? It hurt, besides, she’s really strong,” Chris defended himself.

“Whatever,” Piper was angry, “I don’t care about the vase or the coffee table. Where’ve you been all night? We’ve been calling for you.”

Chris hesitated. Piper could tell that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was going to be a lie. For a brief second she wished Faith could have pummeled him a little more.

Chris finally spoke, “I didn’t hear you calling. The Elders were filling me in on a rising evil. It’s called the…”

“Hellmouth, lots of vampires and demons, yeah, we’ve got it covered, thanks for coming,” Paige completed his thoughts.
Paige glanced from Piper to Chris and then to Faith. The negative energy she felt while watching Chris caused her to become unnerved. Something in his face, a face she had grown to trust, made her very wary of him.

Buffy broke the awkwardness, “Okay, I hate to play leader here, but why don’t we all go to sleep and start off on the right foot in the morning. Hostilities are running too high to get anything accomplished tonight. What do you say?”

Piper nodded, “Agreed. Chris, go up there and sleep tonight, come back in the morning and we’ll make all the proper introductions. Just remember these faces, if you see any of them in the morning, do not throw a vase at them. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” Chris saluted sarcastically before orbing out.

“He’s your guide?” Willow asked noting the lack of maturity.

Phoebe nodded, “Yeah, cute huh?”

“Yeah,” Dawn determined.

“Ew, whatever,” Paige said. She then looked at Xander and pointed to the couch, “You sleep here, got it?”

Xander yawned, “Not a problem.”

As Xander lay down on the couch that was still warm from where Faith had been laying, the Halliwell sisters led the girls upstairs. Paige pointed out her room and Phoebe’s room.

“You guys can divvy up these rooms. We’ll be in there,” she said as she pointed to Piper’s room.

Piper tried her best to act civil, “Bathrooms are in there. Towels don’t go on the floor.”

Buffy and Faith exchanged a smile. They were amused by Piper’s strictness. Faith finally found something to say to Piper, “Thank you, for putting us up, and for everything. And I really am sorry about the table.”

“And the vase,” Buffy whispered.

“Yeah but I didn’t throw that, he did, I was just defending myself,” Faith refuted.

“Faith, just…come on…” Buffy said tilting her head toward Piper.

“Fine,” Faith finally said, “I’m sorry I broke your vase.”

Piper’s glare softened as she tried to smile, “Look, like Buffy said, we can start on the right foot tomorrow. Just get some sleep.”

“Okay, thanks. Thank you,” Faith repeated.

“Your welcome,” Piper said as she disappeared into her room.

Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Faith were left in the hallway to work out their sleeping arrangements while Phoebe and Paige changed clothes. Buffy hesitated before assigning herself a place to sleep. She wanted to stay close to Dawn, but at the same time she felt the need to watch over Faith. She wanted to know firsthand what was going on and figured it might be there one chance to talk.

“Dawn, how about you and Willow bunk up tonight. Faith and I will take this room,” Buffy stated indicating Paige’s room.

“Whatever,” Dawn said flippantly.


****************************


After Phoebe had changed and went to Piper’s room, Dawn and Willow settled into their bed. Willow had turned the lights out when Dawn got the urge to talk.

“Do you miss Kennedy?”

Willow smiled in the dark, “Yes, a whole lot, but I know she’s got things to do now. Just like we do.”

“Do you miss Tara more than you miss Kennedy?”

Willow hesitated before answering. Her heart twisted in her chest as she thought of her former lover, “I could never miss anyone the way I miss Tara. Besides, Kennedy’s alive and well. It’s a different kind of missing.”

“Yeah, I could see that,” Dawn paused before her next question, “What do you think is going on with Faith?”

Willow was only slightly surprised by the question, knowing that the younger Summers sister was always inquisitive, “I don’t know Dawnie. She seems lost, hurt even.”

“Was it something we did?”

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I think it was something that was done to her, you know, but it wasn’t us. I don’t know how to explain it, but Faith’s not easily offended. It would take something really big to get her lost. You know?”

Dawn sighed, “No. I don’t know. All I know is that after everything I ever heard about Faith, I want to not like her, but she’s been nice to me and I can’t help but feel bad for her. I think she’s been alone for a very long time, and no one should be alone, not even Faith.”


********************


Phoebe, Piper and Paige were comfortable in Piper’s king-sized bed. Piper hadn’t felt that safe in her own bed since Leo had left her. She chased away the thought by looking at her younger sisters. Phoebe was in the middle of the bed. Paige was on the other side of Phoebe. Although it was dark Piper could see that her sisters were awake.

“Are we crazy for trusting them?” Piper asked quietly.

“Absolutely, but crazier people have trusted us, so it’s only fair we give them a chance,” Phoebe reasoned.

Piper exhaled, “Yeah, I guess so. I like Buffy, I think she’s incredibly trustworthy, and her sister seems okay. The guy seems harmless and Willow is likable.”

“So basically you’re saying you can’t trust Faith,” Paige sounded frustrated.

Piper’s voice was filled with big sister concern, “What’s up Paige? Why do you feel this need to be on her side?”

She could feel Paige turn away from them and toward the wall before she spoke, “It’s not about sides Piper. I can’t explain it, but there’s something very important about Faith. Just a feeling.”

“Yeah, a feeling that she’s going to completely turn our lives upside down,” Piper stated.

Phoebe played referee, “Hey, Piper, give her a chance, okay. We don’t know her; we don’t know what she’s been through in her life or anything about her circumstances. And Paige, we do know she’s killed innocents before so don’t be so quick to defend her. We can give her a chance while being cautious at the same time, right?”

“Fine,” Paige reluctantly agreed.

“Whatever,” Piper said rolling over to face the wall opposite of the one Paige was staring at. Phoebe rolled her eyes and then closed them, wondering what it was about Faith that had her sisters in such a dilemma.


***********************************


The house had been quiet for several hours when Buffy decided to stop trying to sleep. It was a futile thing to continue to stay in bed when she knew she wasn’t going to sleep. She sat up in the bed and turned toward Faith. She could tell her counterpart was asleep although agitated. A few whimpers escaped Faith’s mouth as Buffy watched her closely.

Buffy gently shook Faith until the slayer opened her eyes. Faith looked up and saw Buffy staring back at her, her green eyes wide with questions.

“B, what time is it? Is something wrong?” Faith’s voice was groggy.

Buffy leaned her head to the side, “You tell me.”

“What?” she cleared her throat, “B? You wake me up at,” Faith looked at the digital clock on the nightstand, “at 3am to chat?”

Buffy wasn’t about to put her head back on the pillow, “Faith, talk to me, what’s going on with you? If you can’t tell me straight out, then tell me about the dreams you’re having. Please.”

Faith pulled herself up to a sitting position and looked into Buffy’s eyes. She saw more than just concern in them. For a half second, Faith swore she saw love there as well. Faith closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headboard. She didn’t know what love looked like so she brushed the thought away.

“Fine,” Faith finally sighed, “We’ll talk. I just don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Faith, just tell me why you’re having such a hard time sleeping, and why when you do sleep, you’re always tossing and turning.”

Faith nodded and inhaled a deep cleansing breath, “Simple, I have nightmares.”

“About?” Buffy wasn’t going to let it go.

“Things,” Faith was evading the issue at all costs.

“What things?” Buffy persisted.

Faith sank back down under the covers and turned her back to Buffy. Buffy didn’t move an inch.

“Faith, ignoring me won’t make me go away. I care about you. Not just because we kick ass together. I care about you because I…well, because I…” Buffy couldn’t find the right words.

Faith’s voice was made gruff by the crying that had overcome her, “Buffy, you don’t have to say anything.”

Buffy was surprised at the sound of Faith crying. She wasn’t sure how to handle it. Dawn crying she could handle. Dawn was her baby sister. Willow crying was not a problem for Buffy either. They were best friends and had shared many tears together. But for Buffy to know that Faith was hurting, crying, it shook her to the core. Faith didn’t cry. Faith didn’t hurt.
Buffy settled herself down on the bed next to Faith. Unsure if she should or not, Buffy took a chance and put her arm around Faith. She could feel Faith shaking.

“Faith?”

Buffy was beyond shocked when Faith turned over and buried her face against Buffy. Buffy remained silent as Faith cried. Buffy wrapped her arms around her younger friend. Her confusion and awkwardness lost themselves as she concentrated on holding Faith close.


*************************


Chris watched through the crystal sphere. He shook his head in disdain.

“What a bunch of needy, weepy girlie-girls,” he said as he turned to his mentor.

“Chris, those girlie-girls could take you out in a snap of their fingers. I’d be very cautious if I were you.”

Chris looked to his leader, “Yeah, well, you aren’t me. So what about it?”

The other man shook his head and smiled, “I’m not going to argue with you Chris. As long as they think you are still working for the Elders and not me, then everything will be fine. Understand?”

“Yeah, I get it. But when do we get to drop the bombshell and turn their lives upside down with the news that you’re the new power to be dealt with?”

“As soon as they’re ready,” the man answered.

“Yeah? And when will that be Leo?”



Chapter 7

The sun streamed into the kitchen giving Piper a sense of relief as night finally lifted and disappeared. She had tossed and turned the entire night thinking about the strangers in her midst. Images of the sunken hole that had been Sunnydale, California continued to torture her conscience. By the time the clock next to her bed revealed it was 4am; Piper was feeling more than sympathy for the young people.

She had crept out of the bed not even disturbing the peaceful sleep of her younger sisters. She wanted to do something nice for their guests. She felt some remorse over their first meeting. Even though she didn’t trust Faith due to the things Buffy had told them, she wanted to give her a chance as well, if not only for Paige.

Piper flipped the pancake over in the pan. She was on her fourth batch of flapjacks. As soon as she was sure there was enough for the entire group she turned the gas off and set the plate in the middle of the dining room table next to a plate of freshly cut oranges and bacon. She covered the plate of pancakes with the top from a pot to keep them warm.

She glanced around the room to make sure everything was ready. She had pulled four chairs out of the basement and had added a leaf into the dining room table to accommodate 8 people plus a high chair for Wyatt.

Darryl had called on her cell phone at 5am to let her know that he would be dropping Wyatt off at the manor around 6:30am on his way to work. Piper was glad that Wyatt would be there at any minute. She wanted to spend a few minutes alone with him before the herd of guests came to breakfast.

She glanced at her watch and smiled in amazement as a soft knock came from the back door. She turned toward the door to see Wyatt smiling back at her. Darryl was struggling to hold on to the squirming toddler. Piper reached out her arms and felt her heart warm as Wyatt reached back for her. She could tell he was far advanced for 8 months old. She cuddled him close and received a belly laugh.

She gave Darryl a quick hug and a big smile of thanks, “You and Sheila are lifesavers, Darryl.”

“Actually that’d be you and your sisters,” Darryl grinned bashfully.

“Well, thank you none-the-less. Would you like to stay for breakfast?”

Darryl shook his head, “Nah, I’ve got to get to work, but are you sure you cooked enough for the three of you?”

Piper looked at the massive amount of food on the dining room table and smiled, “Yeah, we have company. Add five adults to that three. Plus Chris. It’s a long story that has everything to do with the mission you sent us on last night.”

Darryl looked to the floor finding it hard to believe that he hadn’t even bothered to ask how the previous evening had gone. “Everyone’s okay, right, I mean you and your sisters are fine?”

“Yeah, we just picked up a few stranded vampire fighters,” Piper said nonchalantly.

“Vampires? So you guys were right? That’s what’s been going on in my district?” Darryl asked nervously.

“Yeah, come by tonight when you get off work, we’ll explain everything. Plus there’s someone I need you to try to help. If it’s possible.”

“Who?” Darryl asked suspiciously.

“A girl, her name is Faith. Tonight I’ll explain.”

Darryl glanced at his watch, “Yeah. Okay, I’ll be here around seven tonight.”

Piper said her goodbyes to Darryl. When he was gone she sat at the kitchen table and played with Wyatt. His wide blue eyes sparkled as only an innocent child’s eyes could.


*****************************


Faith’s eyes felt heavy, possibly even swollen. The night rushed back to her. She remembered crying and being held by Buffy. She opened her eyes to find that she was still curled into the older slayer, taking refuge in the comfort. It startled Faith to know that she had allowed herself to break down, especially in front of Buffy.

She slid away from the blonde slayer and crept out of the room. She crossed her arms in front of herself feeling slightly chilled due to having on a tank top. The black jogging pants kept her legs warm but she had no socks on so her feet were cold. She smelled food downstairs. Her stomach growled in response. Faith realized that it had been since their picnic brunch the previous morning that she had eaten.

She tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen, barely remembering where it was. She felt self-conscious when she realized that Piper was the one person already awake. It dawned on Faith that Piper had made all the food she now saw on the dining room table.

Faith almost turned around and went back upstairs when she realized that Piper had not yet seen her. The oldest Halliwell was busy buckling a baby into a high chair. Another comprehension hit Faith as Piper spoke lovingly to the child. Piper was his mother.

“Must have missed that conversation when I was asleep,” Faith thought as she continued to listen.

When Piper finally turned around and saw Faith standing there, Faith stumbled out an apology for eavesdropping.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…it’s just that you were so…and I couldn’t…”

Piper suppressed a smile, “Are you the only one up?”

Faith nodded. Piper gestured toward a chair next to Wyatt’s seat. Faith sat down obediently, not wanting to further upset the obvious head of the household. Faith was getting ready to apologize again for throwing Chris through the coffee table, but Piper spoke first.

“Sleep okay?” Piper asked innocently not knowing anything about Faith’s breakdown.

“Seems to be the question of the week, ‘How’s Faith sleeping?’” Faith answered half-jokingly.

“So, don’t want to talk about it huh?”

Faith shook her head and eyed the bacon as though it were treasure. Piper looked from the bacon to Faith and back again.

“You can go ahead and have some if you want,” Piper permitted.

Faith’s eyes brightened slightly as she reached a hand to the plate of bacon. She felt annoyed as Piper smacked the back of her hand.

“Hey. You said I could…”

“Yes, but first you have to promise me something,” Piper bargained.

Faith bit her lower lip, “What?”

“You have to promise me that you won’t let anything hurt this little boy, nothing, not even you.”

Faith, looking withdrawn, put her hand down on the table and looked at Wyatt, his bright blue eyes were gleaming and he was smiling at her. Faith would never admit it to anyone, but her heart melted for a mere second as she looked at the boy. She wondered what it must feel like to be him. Completely loved by his mother, never abandoned, never alone. Faith wanted to know what that felt like.

“I promise,” Faith stated. She felt that promise etch itself into her heart. She wasn’t sure why but she knew that if it came down to it, she’d give her own life for this stranger’s baby.

“Okay then,” Piper smiled, “Let’s eat.”

“Shouldn’t we call the others?” Faith asked.

Piper rolled her eyes, “If we must.”

Faith smiled her first real smile in days. Despite the previous night, she found herself liking Piper. But she knew all she had to do was mess up once and that could all be over. Her smile quickly disappeared as she saw blue orbs swirling next to the table. Chris formed completely and smiled at Piper and Faith.

“You two play nice while I go wake up everyone else. And please, do not break any more furniture. Please.” Piper begged as
she walked out of the room.

Faith turned all of her attention to Wyatt. She smiled at him and felt some sense of accomplishment when he smiled back. She tried to ignore the fact that Chris was staring her down. She was doing a good job of doing so until he spoke.

“You look like you’ve been crying,” he said, his voice carrying some type of amusement.

Faith shot him a look of distaste, “No, I haven’t.”

Chris sighed, “Look, I’m really sorry about last night. We honestly got started on the wrong foot. What do you say? Can we try to get along?”

Faith looked down at Chris’ now outstretched hand. She scowled and looked away from him. “I don’t shake hands with strange people.”

“But I’m not a stranger, you know I’m their Whitelighter and that my name is Chris.”

Faith’s face remained expressionless, “You’re still strange.”


***********************


Piper opened the door and peered into her room. Paige and Phoebe were still out cold. She hated waking them but knew they wouldn’t want to miss any food or conversation with the newcomers. Piper grinned inwardly as she remembered how Prue used to wake up she and Phoebe as children.

Piper leaned close to Paige’s ear and began to sing, “Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning dear sisters, good morning to you.”

She was greeted by a smack in the face with a pillow. It didn’t hurt so she laughed despite herself, “Come on, sleepyheads, I made a ton of breakfast. All our guests are going to eat all the pancakes and blueberry syrup if you don’t move now.”

Phoebe was crawling off the other side of the bed, “Dibs on the crispy bacon.”

Phoebe disappeared into the hallway, leaving Piper to try her best to wake Paige. Phoebe literally collided with Xander in the hall. Piper had woken him first and given him directions to the bathrooms upstairs. Xander was still half asleep as was Phoebe.

“I’m so sorry,” Phoebe mumbled.

Xander wasn’t wearing a shirt and was surprised to find Phoebe staring at his chest. He covered his upper body with his hands, “I haven’t been keeping my regular workout schedule.”

Phoebe grinned deviously, “Looks fine to me.”

“Yeah? Well, that doesn’t say much about you. I mean, not too much to say for one-eyed non-muscled men, eh?”

“I didn’t mean fine as in okay, I meant fine as in, fine.”

Xander blushed as Phoebe disappeared down the stairs. Xander shook his head in disbelief as he continued his journey to find the bathroom. He opened one of the closed doors in the hall and was greeted by a half screech. Dawn was changing clothes and Xander had accidentally walked in on her.

“Xander! Get out!” Dawn yelled.

“I’m sorry! Oh geez, my bad!” He said as he backed out of the room and shut the door behind him.

He leaned back against it and said, “It’s okay Dawn. I was looking with my bad eye.”

Willow was standing in the hall looking at Xander with disapproval. Xander shrugged, “What?”

“You. With the whole, ‘oh, my one-eye’, ‘I’m the one-eyed monster, argh’…” Willow said as she covered one of her eyes with her hand.

“Okay, Will…I beg you not to use the words one-eyed monster ever again, dirty connotations there. And I’m not throwing a pity-party.”

Willow looked at Xander beseechingly, “You are too. Everything that comes out of your mouth is about your missing eye. You know what…you lost more important things in Sunnydale, Xander. Quit hiding from it.”

Willow turned on her heels and marched down the stairs. Xander’s heart stung with her words, but he couldn’t be mad at her for them because she was right. Xander tried not to think about it as he headed for the bathroom that he finally found. Before he reached the door, Paige moved in front of him.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go,” she shot him a smile and then closed the door.

“Great,” was all Xander could say as he leaned against the wall and waited.


*************************


Buffy watched Faith carefully across the dining room table. Faith played with Wyatt and ignored Buffy’s gaze as they inhaled the breakfast Piper had made for them. Chris and Xander talked animatedly about how hard it was to be the only man in a group of women. Dawn and Phoebe talked about the history of the manor. Willow and Paige exchanged potion secrets while Piper watched Buffy watching Faith.

After everyone in the group had filled up they moved to the living room to discuss the issues at hand. Piper put Wyatt in his playpen, while she sat down in the chair in the living room. Paige and Phoebe sat on the arms of the chair. Dawn, Willow and Xander sat on the couch while Chris, Faith and Buffy remained standing.

“Okay, we have to discuss what steps we need to make in order to insure that the Hellmouth doesn’t open here in San Francisco,” Buffy started.

“What causes the Hellmouth to open?” Piper asked trying to get a good grasp on the subject at hand.

Willow filled the Halliwell’s and Chris in on the Master, the First, Warren, everyone who had ever attempted to open the Hellmouth. The sisters three listened carefully taking in every plan and notion that had been a potential threat to Sunnydale. When Willow had finished speaking, Paige shifted uncomfortably off the arm of the chair and stood next to Faith by the fireplace.

“So, basically any idiot with a chip on his shoulder can open the thing?” Paige said throwing her hands up in a frustrated gesture.

Faith looked at the ground as she spoke, “Look, we’ve beat everything that’s come at us so far, we can beat this too.”

Phoebe glanced at her with uncertainty, “That would be great, if you knew who we were going up against, but you guys don’t know anymore than we do why you’re here.”

“We’re here to stop the Hellmouth from opening. That’s what we do. Maybe it’s up to you three and Chris to figure out who’s going to open it,” Buffy’s words held no malice. She was offering a suggestion, not an accusation.

Piper nodded, “I think Buffy’s right. They’re here for the showdown. But this is our territory, we know it better and we know the people that create havoc in it.”

Paige looked at Chris, “So what do we do next?”

“The usual,” he said looking upward, “I ask the Elders for more information.”

As Chris orbed out, Willow whispered in Xander’s ear, “Is it just me or is there something really not right with that guy?”

Xander whispered back, “You mean other than the fact that he can disappear into thin air?”


**********************


Leo looked up as Chris orbed in. He greeted him with a guarded smile and then moved toward him, “How’s Wyatt?”

“Fine. He’s surrounded by three women who love him. He’s not hurting for anything, yet.”

Leo took note of the bitterness in Chris’ voice, “I can return to him before too long. We have to stop this from happening. The Elders must not be allowed to carry out their plan.”

“Leo, when the Elders find out I’m on the side of good and evil, they’ll take care of me, and you won’t have any choice but to let them carry out their plan.”

“How will they find out unless you tell them, Chris?”

“They’re Elders Leo, you know better than anyone that they know everything. You were an Elder for all of two seconds, right? So you should know.”

“I denounced my status and shed my powers to hide from them. That’s why you will be the one to go through with this. You have to.”

“I know Leo, and I will. I’m just not sure who I can trust, and who I can’t.”

“The newcomers are secretive?” Leo asked indicating the watching glass.

“Somewhat. The younger slayer, Faith, she’s…I can tell she doesn’t trust me at all.”

“I suppose when a girl throws you into a table it kind of gives it away, doesn’t it?”

Chris smirked, “Yes. But she’ll learn to trust me or else she’ll suffer.”




Chapter Eight


Chris paced back and forth in the abandoned house. It was where Leo was laying low. Having been off the Elders’ radar for three months, he needed a place to sleep, to shower, to think. A house located across town from the manor was perfect. He made sure that if he needed anything in the way of supplies, he shopped outside of San Francisco to avoid being seen by one of the Halliwells.

Leo stood by the window looking out at the burning sunshine and the wave of people. It was a Sunday. People were on their way to church, lunch, whatever it was people did on Sundays. Leo felt his stomach turn at the thought and looked at Chris.

“Don’t you think you should go now? Check with the Elders?” Leo asked.

Chris nodded, “Yeah, but what do you think they’ll tell me?”

“Whatever it is, you’re going to assume the exact opposite is true.”

“Understood,” Chris agreed as he orbed out.

Leo shook his head, knowing where the world had wronged Chris. Leo knew that Chris was inherently good but with a deep embitterment. Leo was intent on being Chris’ mentor, making things right. He also knew that by changing the way things could be, he risked Chris’ life. He frowned as he realized he was ready to sacrifice the dark-haired, blue-eyed Whitelighter.


****************************


Buffy opened the door and walked inside. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the amount of artillery found along the walls and aisles of the weapon store they had managed to find. Buffy felt her pulse race with the sight. Xander stepped next to her and smirked.

“Guess you’re feeling the big happy right about now,” he said.

Buffy shot him a gleaming smile, “If slayers get big happies, they would be here.”

“Do you think the others are okay?” Xander asked, a little worried about being separated from the other girls. It was the first time since they had left Sunnydale that they had been apart.

Buffy held up her smile, “Absolutely. I think the Halliwells are honest, and truly good.”

“True,” Xander paused and started smiling, “So, do you think the Halliwell sisters are okay then?”

Buffy laughed, “The only one I’d be worried about is Phoebe. Dawn will talk her ear off.”

Xander and Buffy meandered through the aisles picking up one weapon after another. Every time Buffy picked up a weapon she had a Scooby in mind. Buffy blushed as she nodded hello to the cashier and grabbed a cart to carry all of their goods.

“Hey Buffy, how are we going to pay for all of this stuff?” Xander asked as Buffy joined him in the crossbow department.

Buffy smiled and pulled out a credit card, “Courtesy of the new Watcher’s Council.”

“Thank you Daddy Giles,” Xander grinned.

“Okay, don’t say that again, it sounds wrong, very, very wrong.”


****************************


“So, basically every time I see a cute guy I’m just falling all over myself. Then my sister doesn’t understand because she has her head on straight. She thinks I’m totally nuts because she thinks that I think I need a guy in my life. Anyway. This is where I work.”

Dawn looked at Phoebe in awe. She had never met an adult who could talk as much as she could and she was completely fascinated by it. Phoebe unlocked her office door and the teen followed her in. Dawn took a seat in a comfortable chair in front of the cluttered desk.

“You know, they say the cluttered desk is a sign of a genius.”

Phoebe looked up at her from her seat behind the desk, “Really?”

“Yup,” Dawn muttered as she looked at a picture on Phoebe’s wall.

In the silver ornate frame were three girls. Piper and Phoebe were two of them, but Dawn didn’t recognize the third.

“Who’s she?”

Phoebe looked at the wall where Dawn was staring. She removed her glasses and smiled sadly. Phoebe knew further exploration on the subject of Prue would come up sooner or later with these strangers. She looked into the young girl’s blue eyes. The thought instantly gave her a vision of Prue. She closed her eyes and sighed. Opening them again, she saw that Dawn was looking at her, waiting patiently for some type of explanation.

“That’s Prue, our other sister, the one we told you guys about last night.” Phoebe said, the words coming out more quietly than she had intended.

“Oh,” Dawn looked to the floor, commiserating the loss. “I lost Buffy once, but we brought her back from the dead. She was in heaven, and we brought her back here, to hell on earth.”

“But, from all bad things that happen, good things arise.”

“Do you really believe that?” Dawn asked not really sold on the thought.

Phoebe nodded, “Yeah, I do. When Prue died, we found Paige. And Paige…she’s the little sister I always wanted, our salvation you could say.”

Phoebe forgave the girl’s curiosity and instead of changing the subject she began the long drawn out tale of the Halliwell sisters. Half and whole.


*************************


“Aisles upon aisles upon aisles of yummy goodness.”

Willow’s voice was filled with childish glee. Piper couldn’t help but laugh. They had been up and down every aisle in the grocery store. Piper’s basket was filled, but she didn’t mind how much it was going to cost to feed her guests for however long they needed to be fed. She was worried however, that she was going to have to cook for them all.

As though reading her mind, Willow stopped and looked