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Timeless Faith	By : norwalker Category: BtVS AU/AR > FemmeSlash - Female/Female > Buffy/Faith Views: 3106 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Timeless Faith

By Norwalker

Part 5 of ?

Rating : R for
language, sexual situations and violence.

Category:
Romance/Angst/Drama

Disclaimer: Most,
if not all of the characters depicted here are the property of Joss Whedon,
Mutant Enemy, Inc. and Fox. This is a
work of fiction; any similarities to anyone living or dead are purely
coincidental.

Summary: Third in
a series of stories started with " Summer of faith" and continued in
"Seasons of faith". In the last book, Buffy died fighting Glorificus,
the Hell goddess. This book picks up where that book ended. How does Faith deal
with the loss of Buffy? How does life change for the scoobies? Buffy will be
with them always, but is there more to it than just memories? Stay tuned.

Spoilers:
Possible season 6 and season 7 spoilers. Hope you've watched them by now.

Timeline: Season
6, maybe season 7 and beyond( don't know yet).

WARNING: There
is always the possibility of major character death. Romance between
members of the same gender(duh). Sexual situations between members of the same
gender. This is an Alternate Universe (AU) story. The real(by the series
'coda' ) relationship between Buffy and Faith never happened here. So if you're looking for the dark, knife
wielding, don�t give a crap about nothing but me Faith, She's not here.(ok, bit of an exaggeration, as we all know
by now that Faith redeemed herself, but the "dark, evil" Faith never
got a chance to live here). Violence happens. Adult themes( someday, I plan on
being one, too). Sexual situations. All the usual stuff.

Faith stood at
her window, looking out over Revello Drive.

It didn't take
too much to see Restfield Cemetery from here. She has to admit it sometimes
creeped her out to be so close to a cemetery. Know what she knew about what
hung out in cemeteries. But in Sunnydale, you weren't going to get too far from
a cemetery� 12 for such a small town. And 43 churches. Comfort zones for the
spooked of heart, she thinks. Welcome to the Hellmouth!

However,
Restfield being so close meant Buffy was close too. Faith stops a minute, and
grips the windowsill. Even after 4 months, it was hard to accept she is dead.
Really dead. But what happened last night, and tonight, drove that point home.
She's dead, and she's not coming back, Faith sighs to herself. Why can't I
start to move on? Why am I so stuck in this place� why can't I let her go? She
wants me too� she told me that last night. I know I should. I got Dawnie to
worry about. She's growing up, and it's tough for her now. She needs me to be
here for her� not mooning over her lost sister. Never mind she's grieving over Buffy
too, and needs someone to lean on. How much attention can I give her if I spend
all my free time remote, holed up, afraid to live? I'm sorry, B! I'm really
tryin' to do what you want. But � damn you, you're all twisted around my heart.
How can I just let you go when you got my heart all tied up? 'N if I try to
untie it, it's just gonna all fall to pieces, like me.

As much as she misses
her, what they were doing tonight makes Faith's blood boil. It isn't right, and
it's dangerous. Foolish, stupid and in a way, hurtful. She knows they mean
well. They want her back, and god , she so wants her back. But raising the
dead? Using dark magicks? That's beyond foolish� it's insane. She coulda come
back so wrong. Then what? WHAT? Kill her� you think I'd let you kill her? Lose her again? Even if she were�wrong?
Stupid -STUPID �STUPID ! God what were they thinking?

Faith sighs. It's
not that easy, though. They didn't do it meanly. They were afraid she was
suffering. Trapped in some hell dimension,
subjected to some unspeakable torture. They wanted to save her. They
love her too. They didn't know� she's happy. So happy. My fault, I should've
told them. I was afraid. Afraid they'd think me nuts� send me away. Not let me
be here anymore. Away from Buffy� from Dawnie� little P-nut� god how she hates
me calling her that. But she is my little P-nut� sweet and salty and silly.
She's growing up� getting to that age where boys are sooo important. She needs
her big sis now to guide her. If it'd worked, she'd have Buffy. Yeah they
fought. Yeah they got all scary and angry at each

other� but
they need each other, ie nie needs her sister. Faith pauses, and confesses, I need
her sister!

Faith walks out
of her room, and over to Dawn's doorway. She looks in on the sleeping girl.
Dawn's sleep has been restless. The covers are all twisted and kicked off� her
limbs are all akimbo. Her hair is half covering her face. But she looks like
she's settled now. Faith smiles, and walks into her room. She retrieves the
covers, and covers the sleeping teenager. Dawn turns on her side, and snuggles
down into the mattress. She looks so
sweet when she's sleeping, Faith
thinks to herself, what's going on
in that head of yours, girl? So young, and so much pain going on. Losing your
mom and your sister so fast. No one's paying attention to you, are they baby?
We're so wrapped up in our own thing, we don't see how bad it is for you. Faith
reaches out, and brushes the hair out of Dawn's face, I'm gonna do better, I promise P-nut. I'm
gonna pay attention better, try to make it easier for you. Promise! Faith
leans over, and kisses Dawn gently on the cheek, Goodnight sweetheart, sleep well. She turns and walks to Dawn's door. She stands, looking out. Her
face reflects her sadness and frustration.

I need you so bad, honey.
Faith stands, the emotions churning within her. It's wrong, I know. You're happy now, where
you are. I know that. But � god, so selfish, I kinda wish it'd worked. Even if
you came back a little wrong. I wouldn't care, as long as you knew me and still
loved me. God, that's so greedy. But I can't help it, B. I need you, and I'm
weak. I'm so trying to be strong, but everyday hurts without you. It just hurts
without you. Sorry. Faith clenches her fists, and lets out a little self deprecating
noise. Knock it off, Faith. She's not coming back. She's gone, she's
happy. She's probably not even listening anymore. Just get on with your life,
girl, and stop mourning her, like she asked you to. Faith feels the frustration rising in her. Damn, even when
you're gone, you still got me dancing on your string. Grrr. God, I'm done. I
gotta get outta here. I gotta find something to kill. Surely there's some nice
cooperative vamp out there waitin' to be staked!

Faith marches off to her
room to dress. She needs to get out of here, she's suffocating here. She's so
wrapped up in her thoughts and frustrations, she doesn't see Dawn sitting up in
her bed, looking at her.

Dawn watches as Faith
marches off to her room. Her heart is beating quickly in her chest, and her
breathing is shallow. She woke up when Faith brushed Dawn's hair out of her
face, and she lay there, eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. When Faith
kissed her cheek, it was everything Dawn could do to keep from moving. Her
heart started hammering in her chest. Then Faith stood in her doorway, and was
backlit by the hall light, revealing her form through her robe. Dawn was
entranced; she couldn't take her eyes off of Faith.

Dawn was crushing badly
over Faith. More and more, her feelings were getting all tangled up concerning
Faith. When Dawn had to take back all the stuff she'd� ok, stole� a lot of the
times Faith went with her. Faith made her confess, but if the store owner got
really hostile, or threaten like calling the police, Faith jumped in, calming
things down. She always did that. Even before Buffy died. When she and Buffy had a fight, Faith would work it out
between them. Dawn knew Faith made Buffy see her as a teenager, and not like a
kid.

So why can't you see that, Faith? I'm not a kid anymore!
I've grown up .I'm a woman. I can handle stuff. Why won't you see past me being
you're 'P-nut' and realize I can help make it better? I know you're hurting. I
see how sad you're eyes are. I wanna help, I wanna make it better for you. Just
like you make it better for me. I know you're missing her so badly, me too. We
can make it better for each other. If you'd only let me. If you'd only see me�
really see me!

Dawn snuggles back down
into her bed, and searching through the covers, hugs Mr. Gordo close. She
sighs, and begins to feel the warmth of the covers relaxing her. As she drifts
into sleep, she thinks I can so
help, Faith, if you'd only see me as I
am�.

In Willow and Tara's
bedroom, Willow is thrashing about in the bed. Tara, disturbed, wakes up and
moves closer to Willow.

"Willow? Honey?"
Tara says, gently shaking the sleeping Willow, " You're dreaming honey�wake
up".

"Wha�No�Don't�please�.don't�!!!
" Willow mumbles. Her eyes fly open, and for a second she looks around,
really frightened. She calms down realizing she's been dreaming, and looks over
into the concerned face of Tara.

"Hey, baby"
Willow whispers, " Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you".

"It's ok, honey"
Tara says softly, " you were having a nightmare, I think. Are you
ok?"

" It was awful,
Tara" Willow says, her voice fearful, " We were out by Buffy's grave,
doing the spell. This time it worked, and she came back�"

"That was
awful?" Tara says, teasing her.

" She came back
wrong, Tara." Willow says, " She � she didn't know us. She was angry,
really angry. She attacked us, one by one. She killed Xander, and Anya, and
then she came after you. I tried to protect you, but �." Willow has a look
of genuine fear on her face.

"Shhh�there, there,
honey" Tara says, " I-It was just a dream. Doesn't mean
anything" Tara soothes Willow.

"Tara, I messed up. I
really blew it. All that, and nothing" Willow says, reproaching herself.
" I was so careful about it all, but � it didn't work! I don't get it, it
should've worked!"

"I-It's not y-your
fault, Willow" Tara says, " Y-You did your best. You know that
s-spells sometimes just don't work�who knows why?".

" I can't fix it
though" Willow says, sorrowfully, " the urn is broken. There isn't
another one to replace it. It's gone, Tara. I � I made a mess of it!"

"M-Maybe it's for the
b-best then, Willow" Tara says, " m-maybe this is telling you that
it's just not to be. You heard Faith. She's happy w-where she is".

"And maybe Faith is
wrong" Willow says, " Maybe she was tricked, or hallucinated it. I
mean, she's been broken up by grief� it wouldn't be the first time something like
this happened."

"Faith was pretty
sure it was Buffy�." Tara says, but Willow interrupts her.

" That doesn�t mean
she's right, Tara." Willow's face changes to her resolve face. " No�
she might still be somewhere bad. I � I can just feel it. I've got to find
another way. There's got to be another way!"

" Willow, no!"
Tara says, her tone disapproving , " No" She says , more gently.
" Enough. We already risked
bringing her back wrong. It's time to let it go".

" But I can't just
let it go, Tara " Willow says, firmly, " Too much is at stake here. Buffy
might be hurting. Faith� and Dawn, both need her. We can't just let it
go!"

"Willow, you have to
slow down. You're going too fast�doing things too fast!" Tara says

"What do you mean,
'too fast?' " Willow says, her tone turning suspicious. "What're you
trying to say?"

"You're using powerful
magicks, Willow. Dark magicks not meant to be used." Tara says, her tone a
little uneasy, " They always have consequences. You're just not thinking
this through. You have to stop, now, Willow".

"Stop now? I don't get
it." Willow says, upset, " We failed once, but we can still find a
way. I know it. I've thought this through carefully. And I know I'm right. You just
got to believe in me. You do believe in me, don't you, Tara?"

Tara takes an extra beat
in answering. " Y-Yes of c-course I believe in you, Willow" Tara
says, nervously, not looking at Willow " But you're doing such complicated spells. You're moving so fast,
sometimes it� frightens me".

Willow sits up straight in
bed. Her face is surprised, and confused. " Frightens you? Do I frighten
you?" Willow asks, her tone strange.

" N-No, of course
not" Tara says, " I� bad choice of words. I meant your changing so
much, so fast�"

" Changing? I'm�getting
better at casting spells, yes, but changing?" Willow's brow furrows,
" This is more than the magic, isn't it?" Willow asks.

"N-No� just� it �"
Tara begins, but again Willow interrupts her.

" You think my
feelings for you are changing, don't you?" Willow says, her tone
defensive, " You� oh, Goddess, you think� that I'm bringing back Buffy because
I want her. For me. That's� just � ridiculous!"

"Is it?" Tara
asks, quietly, "Is it ridiculous?"

" YES" Willow says,
louder than she meant to . She looks around, but no one seems to be stirring.
She continues, quieter, " Yes� I'm bringing back Buffy because Faith and
Dawn need her. And she might be in pain. No other reason!"

Tara just looks at Willow,
and doesn't say anything. But her expression says it all. Willow gets up from
the bed.

" I think�I think I
better sleep downstairs�before anything more gets said�" Willow says, her
tone low but angry. " I � guess I haven't proved how much I love you. Sorry.
I don't know what you want me to do or say to prove it. But� what you're accusing me of is �it just
hurts! Goodnight, Tara." Willow leaves the bedroom, making for the couch
downstairs. She's fuming.

Tara watches Willow go.
Her expression is hurt and puzzled. She knows Willow loves her. That's not in
question. But this obsession with Buffy, bringing her back, is scaring
her. Possibly angering her a little
too. It's just not right! She lies back
down in the bed, but sleep eludes her. She's left staring at the wall. She just
hopes this Buffy fixation ends soon.

Really soon!

Buffy sits by her grave,
looking dazed, confused and frightened.

She doesn't know where she
is, and it's scaring her silly. Worse, she doesn't know WHO she is, and that's
just plain insane. Even more crazy�why was she buried underground? God, I
coulda died down there. Was this some kinda sick joke? I'm not dead� but geeze.
I wake up in a box, and I'm buried in a grave. Who'd be crazy enough to do that?
I got so scared, I thought I was gonna die down there. Lucky whatever they buried
me in was weak� I managed to punch through it and dig myself up to the surface.
But � why can't I remember anything? Even my silly name. I � maybe somebody hit
me real hard� maybe I got�.ummm�what's that called??? Amnesia�yeah� that's gotta
be it! Buffy
checks her head, but doesn't feel any lumps or wounds�feels normal� not even feeling
like she's been hit. She puzzles over it, then another thought hits her. I feel kinda woozy� maybe someone drugged me!
Some special drug that makes you lose your memory. Maybe I'm some kinda� spy or
something� and I learned too much, so they knocked me out, and buried me, to kill
me� and the drug was just in case. Yeah� Ok, that's totally insane. That's almost
as nutty as�vampires! It's just crazy. No, gotta be something else�but what???

Buffy starts to get up, but
her legs give out under her. Weird�like I've not been using them for awhile.
How long was I buried under there? Couldn't
have been too long, I'd be dead�but why are my legs so weak? She crawls over
to the marker and reads it again.

Buffy Summers

1981-2001

Beloved Daughter

Devoted Friend

Cherished Love

She saved the world

A lot

Her brow furrows. She was so young� just 20. Obviously somebody�somebodies�
really loved her. So sweet. But to die so young! And, what does that last line mean?
" She saved the World � A lot. " That's weird. Maybe she was like� in
the military. Oh, yeah, sure. With a name like Buffy? " Private Buffy reporting
for duty, SIR!" Buffy giggles That's just nuts. That's so gonna strike fear
in the heart of the enemy, huh? What kinda name is "Buffy" anyhow? Sounds
so� snobby. Kinda like a cheerleader. Eewww. God, who'd wanna be a stuck up snob
like that? Can you imagine? " Buffy, darling, Biff is on the phone for you.
He wants to know if you're going to the Country club this evening!". Buffy giggles
some more. Ok, giggling at
headstones now. Yeah, I gotta be nuts. Nuts to sit here� but that last line�what
do they mean by it? " She saved the world� a lot." How? Buffy shrugs,
probably just some sentimental
crap or something. Maybe she volunteered. Who knows? Who cares?

She stands up again. This
time her knees are still a bit wobbly, but better. She can stay standing. She
walks, a little shaky, but ok, making to leave the gravesite. But something draws her back to that stone. If I could only figure out why I wound up
here� I could get a handle on this. Why does this stone intrigue me so? Maybe
it's a clue or something. Maybe I knew this woman. I just wish I could
remember. Something� anything. She sighs. This is totally pointless.
I gotta get outta here� maybe somebody knows me? God I hope so� this so blows,
otherwise.

She leaves the gravesite,
looking(and feeling) confused. She
looks around, trying to orient herself, but she's lost. Not a clue. She sighs�Damn,
now what? How do I get outta here? Nothing personal, but I don't wanna be
wandering around this place all night. Anyway, I need to find the way to town�
maybe find a police station or something� She starts north, and walks for awhile, getting more and more
discouraged as time passes. She's more lost than before, cause she's obviously
going deeper into the cemetery. So, where does it end, anyway? She looks around,
and sees a man standing a bit off, over by another grave. Kinda weird, comin' here at night. Oh yeah, I
should talk� anyway, maybe he can help me find my way outta here. She walks
towards the man, who's not moving.

"Mister.." Buffy
calls out. No reaction. She runs up a little, and calls again " Hey,
mister!!!".

The man turns around. He
doesn't say hinghing, just stands there. Ok, silent type. Right. She walks
up to him. She can't quite make out his face� it's in shadow, light behind him.

" Mister? Can you help me out here? Kinda lost�do you know how�" But
she doesn't get more out, because the man growls at her and leaps at her.

" Holy crap!" Buffy
yells, turning around. She starts to run.

The man , a vampire it
turns out, is in hot pursuit. Buffy, panicked, just keeps running blindly.
Oddly, he's not catching up�. Whoa�I'm goin pretty fast here�cool. She seems she's going to lose him, starts to really
kick in� and boom, she trips over a low marker, and goes flying. Without even thinking, she does a roll, and
lands on her feet. But she's facing the vampire now, and he's almost on top of her. She turns to
start running again, but he grabs her.

" Hey�HEY!!! What's
your deal?" Buffy yells out, elbowing him. The vampire, catching it in the
solar plexus, keels over. Buffy, not a moron, turns and starts running again. The
vampire quickly recovers, and follows after. Again she kicks in the speed, and
it looks like she's really going to lose him this time, because she's watching
where her feet are going. She's almost lost him when she runs into two other
men, standing as a group

"Whoa, am I glad to
see you!" Buffy breathes, " Some nut is chasing me. Get a little help
here?"

The two men turn, and she
sees their faces. She screams. They're deformed, and lookin' like that dude
that followed her

" Well, hi, little
girl" The vampire on the left says, grabbing her, " Gotta say, this
is handy. Most time gotta go looking for food. Nice you happened along".

"Food?" Buffy says,
puzzled," What're you talking about? I don't have any food". She's
struggling against him, but he's got a good grip on her

The vampires laugh. "
You, you idiot. We're gonna eat you!"

"Huh?" Buffy says,
really not getting it, " Eat me? You're cannibals?" Now she's getting
scared. This is too weird!

" God, where did this
one come from? Kansas?" The first vampire says. The other vampire grins at
his joke. " Listen, we're vampires. We're gonna suck you dry, girl".
About that time the third vampire runs up.

Buffy bursts out laughing.
The vampires look at her like she's nuts. The first vampire turns her around.

" What's so
funny?" He says, growling.

"Hey, uglies. Didn�t you
get the memo? If the lady says no, she means NO!" Faith says, coming up
behind the group.

" Hey, look guys�dessert!"
The third vampire says, turning on Faith. Faith just smirks at him.

" Now, fellas. Didn't
you're momma teach you better? Stake first, then dessert!" Faith says.
Before the third vampire can react, her stake is in his heart. He looks down,
surprised, then up� and crumbles to dust.

" Shit� the
Slayer!" The second vampire says, turning on Faith. The first vampire lets go of Buffy, to face
Faith.

" I'm so
touched!" Faith says, sarcastically, " You know me!" She sees
the victim is free, but can't see her f She She turns and starts to say "
Hey, girl, this is your cue�." But she stops, and nearly faints.

BUFFY !!!

Faith , in shock, stands
stock still, almost frozen. The vampire, seeing an advantage, punches Faith,
who is knocked back and down.

" HEY!!!" Buffy says,
angry, "That wasn't nice!" She starts to kick the vampire, aiming for
his shin. But as if guided by another hand, her leg comes up, and she hits him
in the thigh with a kick, and the bone snaps

"SHIT�what the hell
did you do?" The vampiroanroans, going down in pain. Buffy, seeing what
she did, is getting cocky. She turns, and sees the first vampire advancing on
the prone Faith. She runs over, and stands in front of him, blocking Faith.

" Get outta my way,
shrimp!" The vampire reaches over and shoves her. She is thrown, landing
on her butt. She's up in a second, and without thinking, does a flying kick on
him, sending him flying. He smashes against a gravestone, and gets up, looking
mad.

By this time, Faith has
recovered. Seeing the vamp with the broken leg on the ground, she runs over and
quickly stakes him. The first vamp is coming towards Buffy. She gets up, ready
to fly at him

" You little
pipsqueak. How'd you do that? You're barely big enough for a meal". Losing
his temper, he lunges at Buffy. She sidesteps him, and with a kick, sends him
flying into another gravestone, head first. He lays there, stunned.

Faith, not waiting for an
invitation, is on the vampire. She pulls out a stake, raises it and is ready to
plunge it down when she hears a scream.

" NO� You'll KILL
him" Buffy says, running over. " That's murderuot;uot; She grabs
Faith's hand, stopping the downward plunge of the stake.

"B? What the hell?
He's a vampire. We kill them" Faith says, confused. She struggles to free
her hand.

The vampire, shaking off
the blow, stands up. He starts for Faith, punching her in the jaw. She goes
flying backwards, landing on her back. Figuring she's the easier kill, he
ignores Buffy for the moment, and jumps on Faith� just in time to land on her
up pointed stake. He turns to dust.

" WHOA� what the
hell?" Buffy says, flabbergasted.

Faith, rubbing her jaw,
stands up. She looks intently at the disheveled blonde standing in front of
her. She walks over, and looks closely at her face. Her eyes go wide, and for
the second time in her life, she faints.

Buffy instinctively
catches her. she lowers her to the ground� then realizes she must be stronger
than she thinks. Even so, she's panicking. She so doesn't want to meet up with
any more of those muggers. She's gotta get outta here�but she can't just leave
the girl here. They might hurt her� or
worse.

" Miss? MISS?" Buffy
says, slapping Faith's Faith. " Oh, please, miss. Wake up� I'm really
scared, and I don't wanna be here. Wake up, please!" Buffy begs.

Faith, feeling the blows
on the face, wakes up and catches Buffy's hand. She stops her from continuing.
She looks up at her, and her heart goes pounding in her chest a mile a second.
She feels lightheaded again, and is afraid she'll faint again. She sits up, and
stares at the small blonde woman.

t;B?t;B?" She asks,
in a whisper�still in shock.

" Bea? As in
Beatrice? Is that my name? Do you know me?" Buffy asks, excitedly.
Instinctively she hugs Faith. " God, thank you. I� I can't remember
anything!"

me!
Faith thinks, What's
wrong with her? Damn� damn� she must be disoriented. God� it musta been scary
to wake up in a coffin!

" B� It's me,
Faith" Faith says, gently. She slowly approaches the nervous looking
woman. Buffy backs up, looking around for some kind of weapon. This dark
haired chick's gotta be nuts!

" I don't know any
Faith� I don't know anybody� and why do you keep calling me different names?
First it's Bea, then it's Buffy�then back to Bea� what the hell? Are you
nuts?" Buffy says, spying a rock. She quickly bends down and grabs it. She
holds it up, threateningly. " You� you stay back�leave me alone! Hear? I
don't care if you� helped me or not� you're crazy!" She shakes the rock,
her eyes wild and angry. Faith stops.

She really doesn't
know me! Something's way wrong here! What happened to her?

" Buffy� please�
You're just confused. I understand that. I just want to help you" Faith
says, edging closer. Buffy looks at her warily, but doesn't move. " What
do you remember?" Faith asks, gently.

Buffy looks at Faith,
confused. She�she's nuts� she has to be� but� she's not � I mean� she's
not trying to attack me. Buffy doesn't get any hostile vibe off of
Faith�and she seems to recognize her, even if she keeps getting her name
confused. She looks carefully at Faith. She looks ok� She realizes she has to trust somebody, if
she's going to get help. She lowers her rock.

" I� I �I don't remember anything&; Bu; Buffy says,
plaintively, " I � can't remember my name�or where I am� where am I , anyway?" She asks.

" Sunnydale. You live
here" Faith says, quietly. She edges a little closer.

"on�ton�t remember
anything" Buffy cries, her lip quivering, " All I know is I woke up
in some box. Had to claw my way out, and I'm buried in some grave. What
happened? Why can't I remember anything?" She starts to cry. She drops the
rock.

Faith walks over, and
s Bus Buffy into a hug. Buffy stiffens, looking frightened.

" It's ok, B. I'm not
going to hurt you" Faith says, tenderly.

"What�what's my name?
I mean, you keep changing my name" Buffy sobs. " I'm so damned
confused!"

Faith looks at the
confused woman in her arms, and her heart sinks. Damn. She doesn't remember anything about
herself. This can't be just that she's disoriented. Something happened.
Something bad happened. Faith feels her anger
rising. It musta been that spell. Something went wrong with that spell.
Red screwed up, big time.

" Buffy. Buffy Summers.
You're name is Buffy Summers," Faith replies.

Buffy looks at Faith as if
she grew another eyeball. " That's� no way, that's just not so!" Buffy
says, angry, " Why're you lying to me? I can't be Buffy Summers. She�
she's � dead!" Buffy bursts into fresh tears, " I'm NOT DEAD!".

"Nou'reu're not dead,
" Faith says. But I know one red-headed witch that's gonna be! She continuequotquot; ummm� can I call you Buffy,
just for convenience sake?" Faith
asks.

Buffy nods. Why not?
I mean, not like I know who I really am!

"Buffy� I can prove
who you are, if you'll come with me?" Faith asks, holding her breath.

Buffy seems to shrink into
herself, and moves away from Faith. " I dunno�" She says, doubtfully.
She might be some kinda weirdo!

" B� Buffy.. I
promise, I won't hurt you" Faith says. She moves a little closer to the bewildered
woman. Buffy backs up just a little bit.

" Y-You really know
who I am?" She asks, in a small
childlike voice. Faith nods.

" Yeah, Buffy. I know
who you are. Promise! " Faith swears.

" Help me?" Buffy
says, pleading in a small voice. " Please?" .

Faith looks at this
scared, frightened Buffy, and she wants to cry. This isn't the Buffy she knows.
The one who's so strong sometimes it scares Faith. Who can be such a stubborn,
buttheaded bitch that she makes Faith feel useless. That has saved the world 5
times, and died�twice. This.. Buffy is like a child. Frightened, scared,
needing someone to trust. Needing to be protected. This isn't the Buffy that Faith
loves, but she knows that she still has protective feelings for her. Faith
feels an angry rage building in her. Red. I'm gonna throttle her. She did this. She did this with that
damned magic of hers. She stole the Buffy I love from me, and I'm so angry at
her I could wring her stupid neck! Faith
breathes deeply, trying to dissipate her rage. Then it hits her. Dawn. Oh god, Dawn's gonna freak so badly
when she sees Buffy. But I can't hide her� this so sucks�this so is Red's
fault. She shoulda known better than play with magicks she didn't understand.

" Faith?" Buffy says
hesitantly.

Faith looks up , sharply,
startling Buffy. " You�remember me?" Hope upon hope.

" N-No�sorry�I� I
just remember you telling me that" Buffy says, " Are you ok?"

" Yeah, " Faith lies, " I just�lost in my thoughts. Sorry."
She smiles at Buffy.

Buffy smiles back,
hesitantly. " C-Can we go now? I'm
kinda scared of this place!" She looks around, nervously.

It's just another piece to
make Faith angry. Buffy never was scared of a cemetery. But this girl�she's
terrified. So much to tell her. God, she's gonna be freaked� and so not believe
it!

Faith reaches out a hand,
and Buffy hesitantly takes it. They start to walk, Faith leading Buffy to the
house on Revello Drive.

As they walk along, Faith
can't help but look at Buffy� and she at times catches Buffy looking at her.
But Buffy immediately turns away. Faith is a bundle of conflicting emotions. On
one hand, she's gonna � god, she's so angry at Willow, she doesn't know WHAT
she's gonna do. But, Willow is so going to pay for this. This is worse than if
she hadn't brought her back. What if she never remembers who she is� Who I am? Who we are� were� are� dammit! It'll
kill me if she's so close, alive� and � and doesn't want me anymore! Dawnie�poor
P-nut. She's gonna be so�upset. Her sister doesn't remember her? God, how'd
that feel? Giles. Oh my god, I'm gonna
have to tell Giles. He's�shit, this is just getting worse and worse. And if
Hank Summers shows up while she's like this�Damn!!! We can kiss Dawn, and Buffy,
goodbye. Magic. Magic this, Red! Faith flips
her a mental finger.

But then there's the touch
of Buffy's fingers in her hand. Even if it's only for now. And being able to see
her again. Looking at her, so shy� she even smiled a tiny smile at me once. I thought
my heart was gonna beat right out of my chest. I love her so much, and she's right
here� and so far away. God, I love this, and I hate it. Grrr.

They reach the sidewalk leading
to 1630, and stop. Faith starts to lead Buffy up the walk. Buffy stops, pulling
her back. Damn, still has the slayer
strength� bet she doesn't even know it!

Faith has to smile, remembering how many times Buffy complained about
the house.

" I live here, yes, "
Faith says, " But it's your house, Buffy. You own it."

" I do?" Buffy says, now astonished. " Me?
This is my house?"

" Yup, yours� and your
sister's" Faith says.

" Sister? I got a sister,
too?" Buffy is more and more astounded. " God, this IS cool !".

"C'mon, I'll
reintroduce you" Faith says, grinning. Buffy still hesitates. " You
ready?"

" Kinda scared now,
" Buffy says, " What�do I do?". Faith looks at Buffy, sadly.

" Don't worry, Buffy.
Everyone's gonna be glad to see you" Faith says, truthfully. Well, except for the not remembering part.

" Ok" Buffy says,
childlike.

Faith leads Buffy up the
steps. She goes to the door, and hesitates. Should she wake the household? Or
wait?� She so wants to nail Red� but Dawn? She's gotta be prepared for this. No�
she'll not wake 'em.

She slips her key in the
lock, and motions Buffy in. Quietly, she turns on the light.

" Hey� that you ,
Faith? What's going on? Kinda late, isn't it?" Willow calls out from the
living room.

PERFECT! Faith thinks.

Buffy hides behind Faith,
at the unfamiliar voice.

" Who's that?"
She whispers. " is that my sister?"

" Er� no" Faith
says, quietly, " She's a� friend."

Willow enters the foyer,
rubbing sleep from her eyes. She looks at Faith

"What's going on,
Faith?" Willow asks, " It's kinda late�" She looks behind Faith.
Her eyes go wide, and her jaw hits the floor. " Buffy? Buffy !!! " Willow cries, running around Faith to hug
Buffy. Buffy, startled, runs away from her, trying to hide in a corner. She is shaking , scared.

"Faith? What� what's
wrong with her?" Willow says. She tries to approach Buffy, but Buffy pushes
herself more into the corner. "Why� why is she acting like that?" Willow
asks, puzzled.

lasslass=MsoBodyText>" Well, we got good
news and bad news, Red, " Faith says, a derisive edge to her tone. "
The good news is� you're spell worked".
Willow looks puzzled.

" The bad news? She
doesn't remember a damned thing!"

To be continued
- 4
- 5
- 6
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Timeless Faith

Timeless Faith