DISCLAIMER AND AUTHOR'S NOTE: All Buffy The Vampire Slayer stuff belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fiction. All other characters that appear belong to me. This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies may be made for private use only and must include this copyright notice and disclaimer. There is some subtext in this story. If this kind of stuff is not legal where you live, if you're under 18 or if you don't like the notion of two women being in love, then you should find something else to read.

Atlantean Lullaby
By Kristjan Brezovnik

Faith looked around. She had just arrived to Sunnydale by bus and she didn't like it already. There was evil here, she could feel it. Still, she had someone to see and something to kill. She considered calling a cab, but she decided to take a walk instead.

After she had gotten herself a room at a decent motel, she went to the address she knew by heart. She scouted out the place and then went on a tour of Sunnydale.

In the evening, she went to the house she had scouted out when she'd arrived. She sneaked closer and observed the family inside. After they went to sleep, she took another tour of Sunnydale, this time to kill demons and to familiarize herself with the town's darker side.

The next morning, she went to the house again. She waited until the parents and the children left and only the grandmother remained. Then she walked up to the house and rang the bell.

A few moments later, the grandmother opened. Her eyes went wide when she saw Faith.

"Mom! I thought I felt you near."

Faith smiled.

"Hey, honey."

The woman, Nancy, hugged her, and Faith hugged her back.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy asked.

"What, I can't visit my baby?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nancy rolled her eyes.

"I'm sixty-four, Mom, I'm hardly a baby anymore."

Faith smiled.

"You are to me. Now, can I come in or…"

"Yes! Sure, come on in."

Faith entered, and Nancy closed the door.

"You have time?"

"Yes, of course. Come, let's go to the living room."

They went to the living room.

"Nice," Faith commented. "But why on earth did you move to this hellhole?"

"Sunnydale?"

"Yes."

"Max is from here."

Faith smiled and sat down.

"I know. But this is Sunnydale, you know there's a hellmouth here."

"I know. But it's not that bad. Plus, we have the Slayer in town now."

"Yes, I've heard."

"Do you want anything to drink?" Nancy asked.

"No, thank you."

Nancy sat down.

"So, what brings you here?"

"Kakistos."

"Who's he?"

"A powerful vampire."

"Oh."

Faith smiled.

"I wanted to come here last year, but I got stuck in Africa."

"Oh."

"What?" Faith asked when she saw Nancy was giving her a strange look.

Nancy blushed, smiling sheepishly, and shook her head.

"Nothing," she said. She hesitated for a moment. "It's weird."

"What?"

"You still look the same."

Faith smiled.

"Yep."

Nancy smiled.

"Imagine how people would look if they heard me call you Mom when you actually look my grandchildren's age."

Faith smiled.

"Pretty confused."

"Yes."

"So, tell me, how have you been?"

In the evening, Faith went out again. She came across several of Kakistos' vamps, but they were too afraid of Kakistos to talk, so she killed them.

The next evening, she tried a different tactics. She killed all but two. Then she wounded one of them and when he ran away while she was busy fighting the last one, she quickly killed the last one and followed the wounded one.

After a while, they got to a warehouse. The vamp went in, but Faith stopped at the door and listened. She heard fighting. She thought for a few moments and then knocked.

A few moments later, a vamp opened the door and she staked him. As she entered, she saw a girl fighting a group of vamps. She'd never seen her before, but she knew who she was. The Slayer. Then she noticed Kakistos talking to the vamp she'd let go. A black vamp staked him a few moments later.

Then Kakistos finally noticed her.

"Get her!" he ordered his minions.

Everybody stopped.

"But the Slayer…" one of them started.

"Forget the Slayer!" Kakistos roared.

The vamps immediately rushed Faith.

The Slayer, Buffy, frowned, confused, but then she decided to use the opportunity and attack Kakistos, who, much to her surprise, was apparently afraid of the brunette and had decided to try to escape.

"No so fast, Khaki-boy!" she called and attacked him.

"Get lost, Slayer," Kakistos snarled and swatted her away like a fly.

Buffy shook her head, realizing she had to be more careful with him. She got up and rushed him again.

In the meantime, Faith had finished off the minions and the black vamp, Mr Trick, had escaped. She looked at Buffy, and saw her stake Kakistos, only Kakistos didn't go poof, much to Buffy's surprise.

"You need a bigger stake," Faith told Buffy after Kakistos swatted Buffy away again.

"You," Kakistos said.

Faith smiled.

"Hey. How's the face?"

Kakistos touched the scar on his face.

Faith immediately attacked him.

Buffy watched them for a few moments. She immediately noticed that was the superior fighter and was obviously just playing with Kakistos, apparently waiting for her to finish him off. She looked around and saw a pile of beams. She quickly picked one up.

Faith noticed Buffy's actions and she maneuvered Kakistos so that his back was to Buffy. Then she kicked him as hard as she could so that he staggered.

Buffy used Kakistos' inattention and quickly rammed the beam up his back.

Kakistos looked down at the beam pointing out of his chest.

"What…" was all he managed to say before he exploded in a cloud of dust.

"Who are you?" Buffy then asked Faith, dropping the beam.

Faith smiled.

"That's none of your business." Her smile disappeared. "All you need to know is that if you tell your Watcher, or anyone else, about me, I will kill you and anyone I might think you've told about me."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised.

"The only reason you're still alive is because you're a Slayer and I'm reluctant to kill you. But I will, if you start blabbering. Are we clear on that?"

Buffy stared at her for a few moments, not sure what to say.

"Who are you?"

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Just remember what I told you. I'll be watching you."

Faith turned to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Kill Mr Trick," Faith said without turning.

"Huh?"

For the next couple of days and nights, Faith tried to find Mr Trick, but he was smarter than Kakistos and had kept a low profile.

One night, when she was hunting Mr Trick again, she heard noise in an alley she was passing, and she went to investigate. She soon noticed movement in one of the trash containers.

Just then the source of the noise looked out of the container, and Faith saw it was a little girl. The girl quickly looked around and gasped when she saw Faith. She quickly climbed out, grabbed her loot and ran away.

Faith stared after her for a few moments and then followed her.

A couple of blocks later, the girl reached her shelter. She looked around to make sure she wasn't followed, and then got in. Then she looked out again and tensed when she saw Faith.

"Shh," she told her sisters.

"What is it?" her twin asked quietly.

"Someone followed me."

"A monster?"

"I don't know. Shh, she's getting closer."

Faith, who had been slowly approaching, her palms outwards as she tried to appear harmless, stopped when she reached the shelter. She hesitated for a moment and then sat on a wooden box. She knew she was being watched.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Faith." There was no response. "I'm sorry I scared you," Faith continued. "I know you're wondering why I followed you. I was worried about you, it's not safe out here at night."

"Are you a monster?" the twin who had gone scavenging asked quietly, scared.

Faith smiled.

"No, I'm not a monster." She heard noise from the shelter. "How many are in there?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer, but there was no response. "Look, I won't hurt you. In fact, I'll stay here and watch over you, so no monster can sneak up on you."

There was a pause.

"What do you want?"

Faith sighed.

"Do you have parents?"

"No."

Faith hesitated for a few moments.

"I was thinking I could become your mommy, if you'd want me."

There was another pause.

"Why?"

Faith frowned, realizing it was another voice, though very similar.

"Because I'm lonely," she admitted, "and because you need someone to take care of you."

"Why are you lonely?" the first voice asked.

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Uh-huh."

"Because I'm immortal."

There was a brief pause.

"What's that?"

"I can't die."

"Why not?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"A long time ago, when I was young, I was a bad person. I did some very bad things and I hurt people," she admitted. "When I hurt someone, I became immortal."

"Oh."

"Faith took a deep breath.

"So, wanna tell me how many people are in there?"

There was a brief pause.

"Three," the first voice said.

"Your siblings?"

"Huh?"

"Brothers or sisters."

"Oh. Sisters."

Faith smiled.

"I had a sister when I was little."

"Really?"

"Yes. But she's long gone now." She sighed. "Tell you what, why don't you go to sleep now, it's late. We'll talk in the morning."

"Okay."

There was movement and whispering inside and Faith quietly listened. When the girls stopped whispering, Faith started to sing a lullaby softly, waiting for the girls to fall asleep. When they did, she took her cell phone and called Nancy.

"Mom?" Nancy asked sleepily as she answered.

"Yes. I'm sorry I call this late," Faith said quietly. "I need your help."

"Is everything okay?" Nancy asked, more awake now.

"Yes. It looks like you might be getting three little sisters."

There was a brief pause.

"You found them on the street?"

"Yes. Do you have any girls' clothes?"

"How old are they?"

"Less than seven."

"I'll look."

"Can you bring them to my motel at seven-thirty?"

"In the morning?"

"Yes. I hope I'll be there by then."

"Where are you now?"

"Outside their shelter. They're asleep."

"Oh. Okay. I'll see what I can find."

"Thanks, sweetie."

"No problem, Mom. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night."

"Night."

Faith put her cell phone away and peeked into the shelter. She could see that there really were three girls, the one in the middle noticeably younger than her sisters and obviously sick. They didn't have any cover, so she took off her jacket and covered them, making sure she didn't wake them up.

In the morning, Faith ordered a pizza, and when it arrived, she woke up the girls.

"Wakey, wakey," she said aloud.

The girls woke up, startled, and looked at her, scared.

Faith smiled.

"Morning," she said, noticing that the older two girls were twins. "Hungry?" she asked and showed them the pizza box. The girls looked at it hungrily, but were afraid to say anything, so Faith just gave it to them. "Here," she said. "It's all for you."

One of the twins opened the box and hesitantly took out a slice, constantly watching Faith, in case she changed her mind. She gave the slice to her baby sister. Then the second twin reached in a took a slice for herself and finally the first twin took a slice for herself.

Faith quietly observed them, noticing how protective the twins were of their little sister, who kept scratching herself.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked her.

The girl looked at her, nervous.

"She's sick," the second twin said.

"Then we should get you to a doctor," Faith told the little girl, even though she could easily heal her. "Looks like you have measles or something."

"Is that bad?" the first twin asked, worried.

"Not really, but it itches," Faith explained. She looked at the little girl. "You shouldn't scratch yourself, you'll only make it worse."

"Are you really, um, immortal?" the second twin asked, curious.

Faith smiled at her.

"Yes."

"What's it like?"

Faith sighed.

"Lonely."

"Oh."

"How old are you?" the first twin asked.

Faith smiled.

"Very old."

"You don't look old."

"I know. I'll always look like that."

"Why?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Oh."

Faith observed them for a few moments.

"What are your names?"

"Christina."

"Annabelle," the second twin said. "She's Samantha," she said and nodded at her little sister.

"Nice names," Faith said. "How old are you?"

"We're six and Samantha is four."

"Where are your parents?"

The twins looked at one another.

"They're dead," Christina said.

"Oh. I'm sorry.

Samantha leaned closer to Annabelle and whispered something. Annabelle glanced at Christina.

"You really want to be our mommy?" she then asked.

Christina stopped eating and looked at Faith expectantly.

"If you want me to be," Faith said.

"We have a choice?" Christina asked.

"Of course you have a choice. We'd be spending a long time together and you need to be okay with me."

"And if we're not?" Annabelle asked, a bit nervous.

"Then I'd like to help you in some other way."

"Oh."

"But before you make up your mind, we should get you cleaned up and we should take Samantha to a doctor. Are you okay with that?"

The twins looked at one another.

"Uh-huh," Annabelle then said with a nod.

"Samantha?" Faith asked the girl.

Samantha tensed and glanced at her sisters, nervous. Then she nodded.

Faith smiled.

"Okay. We'll go to my place after you eat and I'll help you clean up. Then we'll get you some fresh clothes and take Samantha to a doctor. Okay?"

"Okay," Christina said.

"Are you done eating?" Faith asked when they stopped eating.

"Uh-huh," Christina said, nodding.

"Let me finish off the rest then."

Annabelle gave the box to Faith, who quickly ate the remaining slices.

"So, ready to go?" Faith asked when she was done.

"Where do you live?" Annabelle asked.

"At a motel. For now. Come."

The girls got out, and Christina gave Faith her jacket back.

"Thank you," Faith said with a smile, and put it on. "Come."

The twins each took Samantha's hand and they followed Faith.

When they approached Faith's motel, Faith saw that Nancy was already there.

"See that old woman?" she asked and pointed at Nancy. "That's where I'm staying. And the woman, her name is Nancy, and she's my daughter."

The twins looked at Faith.

"But she's old," Christina said, confused.

"Yes, she's sixty-four." She smiled. "You're forgetting that I'm immortal."

"Oh."

"Does that make her our sister?" Annabelle asked.

"If you decide you want me to be your mommy."

"Oh."

"But regardless of your choice, I'd like you to stay with me until Samantha gets better."

The twins looked at one another.

"Okay," Christina said.

They quickly reached Nancy.

"Hi, sweetie, waiting long?" Faith asked.

Nancy smiled.

"Ten minutes."

"Sorry about that."

"It's okay."

"Anyway, girls, this is Nancy. Nancy, these are Christina, Samantha and Annabelle," she introduced them.

Nancy smiled at the girls.

"Hi, girls, nice to meet you."

"Hi," Annabelle said.

"Come, let's go in," Faith said as she unlocked the door.

She went in and the girls followed her, a bit nervous. Nancy picked up the bags and went in last. As she put the bags on the bed, Faith closed the door.

"Girls, let's go to the bathroom and get you clean," she then said. "This way."

She went to the bathroom and the girls and Nancy followed her.

"I'm afraid they only have showers here, so you'll have to take a shower. I'll go in with you and help you. It'll be a bit tight, but we'll manage. Let's undress." Faith started to undress. The girls slowly followed suit. "Nancy, can you please get the shower gel and shampoo. And the towels."

"Sure," Nancy said and fetched the shower gel and shampoo. "This isn't suitable for children," she said, reading the labels.

"I know," Faith said. "I'll make sure they don't get it in their eyes."

"And rinse them well."

"I will. Oh, get the sponge, please."

Nancy got the sponge and gave it to Faith.

"Are you okay, honey?" she asked Samantha when she noticed the spots on her skin.

"I'm sick," Samantha said, still nervous.

"She has measles," Faith said. "I'm taking her to the hospital later."

"Oh."

"Do you have time?"

"Sure."

"I would like you to come along as well so you can watch Christina and Annabelle while I take Samantha do a doctor."

"No problem, Mom."

When Faith was down to her bra and panties, she turned on the water and set it to the right temperature. Then she waited for the girls to get naked.

"Okay, let's get in," she said and stepped in. She waited for the girls to follow her. "Here's the plan. I'll wash Samantha and you two wash one another's backs. Wait for me before you wash your hair, because the shampoo is a bit strong for you and it will sting your eyes if it gets in."

When Samantha was clean, Faith gave her to Nancy, who carefully dried her and then took her to the living room. Faith then helped the twins. When the twins were out, Faith took a shower herself.

In the meantime, Nancy dried Samantha's hair with a blow-dryer and the twins were sitting on the bed.

"Is she really your mommy?" Christina asked Nancy.

Nancy smiled.

"Yes."

"What is she like?" Annabelle asked.

"She's the best mommy in the whole world. You're lucky she found you, she's gonna take good care of you." She smiled. "While you're waiting for the blow-dryer, why don't you take the clothes out of the bags and see what you'd like to wear. And show the smaller clothes to Samantha, so she can choose as well."

The twins carefully emptied the bags on the bed.

"These are all for us?" Christina asked.

"Yes. My grandchildren are all teenagers now and they don't need them."

"Oh."

"Don't scratch, Samantha, you'll only make it worse," Nancy warned Samantha.

"But it itches," Samantha complained.

"I know. Press your palm against the spot and rub a little, but don't scratch. It won't make the itch go away, but it will lessen it a bit."

"Can I put this one on?" Annabelle asked and showed Nancy a dress.

"Sure. You can put on any dress you like, they're all yours."

"Oh."

"And see if the panties and the socks fit you."

Annabelle quickly dressed.

"They fit," she said.

"Good. Now find some of the smaller clothes and show them to Samantha."

"Okay."

While Annabelle searched for the smaller clothes, Christina dressed as well.

"Everything fits?" Nancy asked.

Christina nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Good. Now find some panties and socks for Samantha."

"Okay."

"That one," Samantha told Annabelle, who was showing her a dress.

"What do we do with these clothes?" Christina asked.

"Sort them by size," Nancy said. "And if you want, you can try and fold them the way they were."

"Okay."

By the time Nancy was done drying Samantha's hair, Faith came from the bathroom. She smiled when she saw the twins were already dressed.

"You look very pretty," she said, and the twins smiled. She looked at Nancy. "When you're done with the girls, can you please clean their shoes a bit? I'll see what I can find out about them."

"Sure."

"Thank you."

Faith fetched her laptop and turned it on. While it booted up, she got dressed.

"What's that?" Samantha asked when she was dressed, and pointed at the laptop.

"That's a laptop, a computer."

"What's it for?"

"Lots of things. You can use it to write, draw, search for information, listen to music, watch movies or play games."

"Really?" Samantha said, amazed.

"Sure. I'll show you all later, but right now, I need some information from you. I need to know your last name, your birthdays and you parents' names."

"Why?" Annabelle asked.

"So I can find your records and change them. I'll have to be Samantha's mommy while we go to the doctor."

"Oh."

"So, wanna tell me?"

The twins looked at one another.

"We were born July 7th and Samantha was born August 12th," Annabelle said.

"Our parents were Judy and Max," Christina said.

"Ross," Annabelle added.

"Thank you," Faith said with a smile.

"Can I look?" Samantha asked, curious, when Faith started to type.

"Sure. You can all look."

The twins joined Samantha, also curious.

Faith looked at Nancy.

"Can I use your address temporarily?"

"Sure," Nancy said.

"Thank you."

As she logged on the internet and searched for the girls' records, Faith explained to the girls what she was doing.

Nancy used the time to dry the twins' hair.

When she was done with faking the records, they went to the hospital. They had to wait a while and then Faith took Samantha do to the doctor's office.

"What will the doctor do?" Annabelle then asked Nancy.

"He'll examine her and find out what's wrong," Nancy explained.

"Oh."

"How long will it take?" Christina asked.

"Probably a couple of minutes."

A couple of minutes later, Faith and Samantha came out.

"Measles," Faith said.

"Just like you said," Nancy said with a smile. "You're a real doctor yourself."

"I am."

"Did you get a prescription?"

"Yes. Can you get it? I want to take the girls back to the motel."

"Sure, no problem."

"Thank you." She looked at the twins. "Come, girls."

"Hmm, I'm afraid I don't have any toys," Faith said when they got back to the motel. "What do you usually do?"

"One of us goes looking for food and the other watches Samantha," Annabelle said.

"And what do you do if you watch Samantha?"

Annabelle shrugged.

"We talk."

"Can any of you read yet?"

Annabelle shook her head.

"Uh-uh."

"Well, we'll have to do something about it. Now, do you want to watch cartoons, a movie or play games on the laptop?"

"I wanna watch cartoons," Samantha said.

"Get on the bed then," Faith said and went to the TV.

The girls got on the bed and Faith turned on the TV. She changed the channel to cartoons and looked at the girls.

"If you want to do something else, let me know."

"Okay," Christina said.

Faith turned on her laptop and started to plan.

A few minutes later, Annabelle came to her.

"What are you doing?"

Faith smiled at her.

"Planning. In case you decide you want me to be your mommy."

"Oh."

"You can watch, if you want. I'm just checking the available houses in Sunnydale."

"Okay."

Ten minutes later, Nancy came.

"Did you get it?" Faith asked her.

"Yes."

Faith got up.

"Samantha, sweetie, take off your dress, so I can apply this," she said as she went to her bag to get an oversized t-shirt.

Samantha got on her knees and started to take off her dress. Christina helped her.

"You'll have to wear this t-shirt, so the dress won't get dirty," Faith told Samantha.

"Here," Nancy said and gave her the salve.

"Thank you," Faith said. "Okay, sweetie, this might feel a bit cold, but it'll pass." She started to apply the salve and Samantha shivered. "It'll pass, sweetie."

"How long will she have measles?" Annabelle asked.

Faith glanced at her.

"Probably not longer than a week. But it'll itch most of the time."

"Oh."

"You need food," Nancy said as she came from the kitchen.

"Yes, I know," Faith said.

"I'll go shopping."

"Okay. I'll pay you back later."

"No you won't. It's the least I can do," Nancy explained when Faith looked at her questioningly.

"You know you don't owe me anything."

Nancy smiled.

"I know. But you helped me and I want to help the girls. I know you have enough money, but I want to do something for them as well, I mean, they're my sisters."

Faith smiled back.

"Okay."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay."

Nancy left and Faith looked at Samantha.

"Okay, sweetie, that's it," she said and put away the salve. Then she took the t-shirt. "Here you go," she said and helped Samantha put on the t-shirt. "Here. And no scratching, okay?"

Samantha nodded.

"Okay."

In the evening, Faith helped the girls wash up.

"Where do we sleep?" Christina asked as Faith applied the salve to Samantha again.

"On the bed."

"Where will you sleep?"

"On the sofa." She smiled. "Don't worry about me, I've slept in much worse conditions."

"Oh."

"There you go," Faith said and helped Samantha put on the t-shirt. "Now move to the foot of the bed." The girls did so and Faith uncovered the bed. "Okay, you can lie down now." The girls lay down and Faith covered them. "Sweet dreams, girls," she said and caressed them.

"Night," Samantha said.

At night, Buffy came across Mr Trick, who didn't show any willingness to fight and ran away instead. Buffy followed him and soon caught up with him.

"Slayer," Mr Trick snarled.

"Mr Trick, I presume."

"You know me. I'm flattered."

"Right. Who is that… girl?"

"Girl?"

"The one that helped me out at the warehouse. You know, the one you and your boss seemed to be afraid of."

"What's in it for me?"

"Fast death as opposed to slow torture."

Mr Trick grinned.

"You'll have to do better than that."

"Okay," Buffy said and attacked him.

Mr Trick fought her, but he soon realized that Buffy was better. He tried to run away, but Buffy didn't let him.

"Now," Buffy said when she knocked him down and straddled him. "Are you gonna tell me, or do I have to resort to violence?" she asked and staked him in the shoulder.

Mr Trick screamed.

"Just why should I do you a favor?" he asked.

"Because then I'll stop doing this," Buffy said and stabbed him in the other shoulder, making him scream again.

"Alright!"

"That was fast," Buffy said, surprised.

"I don't know who she is."

"Wrong answer," Buffy said and stabbed him lower.

Mr Trick screamed again.

"I swear! All I know is that Kakistos hid from her for two hundred years."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised. "What is she?"

"I don't know. An immortal?"

"Oh. Thanks," Buffy said and staked him.

"Crap," Mr Trick managed before he turned to dust.

"Wakey, wakey, girls," Faith said the next morning as she woke up the girls.

The girls opened their eyes and the twins looked around, confused a bit.

"Morning," Faith said with a smile when they looked at her.

"Morning," Christina said.

"Time to get up."

"Do we have to?"

Faith smiled again.

"There's no hurry. But, there's three of you and only one bathroom, so if you need to pee, you'll have to step in line."

"Oh."

"Plus, breakfast."

"I need to pee," Samantha said.

"Come here," Faith said and picked her up. "You two?" she asked the twins.

"I need to pee," Christina said.

"Me too," Annabelle said.

"Then come," Faith said and carried Samantha to the bathroom.

"Girls, when Nancy comes over, I'm going out to look for a car. I'll be back in an hour or so. Okay?"

"Okay," Annabelle said.

"Can I watch cartoons now?" Samantha asked as she finished her cereals.

Faith smiled at her.

"Sure, sweetie. Just wipe your mouth."

"Hi, Mom," Nancy said when she arrived.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi, girls."

"Hi," the girls said.

"I brought some food and some toys."

"Thank you," Faith said. "Let me take the food, you can show the girls the toys."

"Okay."

Nancy gave Faith the groceries and Faith left.

"Look what I brought you, girls," Nancy said as she sat on the bed.

The girls got closer, curious and excited.

Nancy reached into the bag and pulled out a stuffed lion.

"This is Mr Fuzzy," she introduced it. "Mom got it to me when I was little. She said he would comfort me while she was away." She put it aside and took a stuffed teddy bear from the bag. "This is Mr Cuddly. I gave it to my son when he was little." She put it aside and reached into the bag again. "And this is Mr Lazy Bones," she introduced the stuffed dog. "It was my daughter's." She smiled. "Why don't you pick which one you like, they're yours now."

"Really?" Christina said.

"Sure."

Samantha reached out and picked Mr Lazy Bones. Annabelle picked Mr Cuddly and Christina took Mr Fuzzy.

"Thank you," Annabelle said.

"Yes, thank you," Christina said.

"Thank you," Samantha said.

Nancy smiled again.

"You're welcome."

"Aww, you still got Mr Fuzzy," Faith said as she came from the kitchenette and saw the toy.

"Yes," Nancy said.

Faith sat on the bed and tickled Mr Fuzzy.

"I've seen the other two, right?" she asked Nancy.

"Yes. They were Audrey's and John's."

"Ah. Nice. Listen, I'm going out to buy a car. Can you stay with the girls?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." She looked at the girls. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay," Annabelle said.

Faith left.

"Were you watching cartoons?" Nancy then asked and glanced at the TV.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding.

"Well, don't let me bother you."

The girls sat back, each holding her stuffed toy.

"Nancy?" Annabelle said a few moments later.

"Yes?"

Annabelle hesitated for a moment.

"What if we don't want her to be our mommy?" she asked, wanting to be sure.

"I want her to be my mommy," Samantha quickly said, worried.

Annabelle looked at her.

"Me too. I just want to know what would happen if we didn't want her to be her mommy," she explained.

"Oh."

Annabelle looked at Nancy expectantly.

"Well," Nancy said, "she would be sad, because she really wants to be your mommy. But she would respect your wishes and she would try some to find some other way to help you."

"How?"

"I don't know, by finding you a family you would like."

"Oh."

"So you'd like her to be your mommy?"

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding.

"Yes," Annabelle said.

"Christina?"

"Me too," Christina said.

"Then you should tell her. I know she's worried that you might not want her."

"We will," Annabelle said.

Faith returned two hours later.

"Sorry it took so long," she said.

Samantha scrambled off the bed, ran to her and hugged her legs.

"I want you to be my mommy," she said.

Faith looked at her, surprised, and then at the twins.

"Me too," Annabelle said as she got of the bed.

Christina quickly followed her.

"Me too."

Samantha let go of Faith's legs and looked up. Faith got to her knees and hugged her, and when the twins got closer, she hugged them too.

"Thank you," she said and took a deep breath to calm down. "So, wanna see the car I bought?" she asked and blinked the tears away.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said.

Faith picked her up.

"Come."

They went outside."

"Wow," Christina said. "It's big."

"Well, of course," Faith said. "There's three of you."

"Wow," Nancy said.

"Let me show you the inside," Faith said and took them to the back door.

"What's that?" Samantha asked when she saw the baby-seats.

"Baby-seats. You're all too little to sit normally, so I bought them," Faith explained.

"Oh."

"Okay, let's go inside. We'll go on a test drive later." She closed the door and activated the alarm. Then she followed Nancy and the twins inside. "Okay," she said as she put Samantha on the bed, "when you're done watching cartoons, you can help me chose a house for us. Annabelle has already seen what's available, but I've shortened the list."

"Can we see now?" Christina asked.

"Do you all want to see?"

Samantha and Annabelle nodded.

"Uh-huh," Annabelle said.

"Okay. Just let me set up the laptop."

In the evening, before the girls went to bed, they watched TV a bit.

"What's the matter?" Faith asked Samantha when she noticed she was rubbing herself subconsciously. "Does it itch?"

Samantha looked at her and started scratching.

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding.

"Don't scratch, you'll only make it worse."

"But it itches," Samantha complained and started to scratch harder.

"Now, now," Faith said, got on the bed and took Samantha's hands into her own. "You'll hurt yourself."

"It itches," Samantha said and squirmed.

"Hmm," Faith said thoughtfully. "Let's see if this helps," she said and started tickling her.

Samantha started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Stop! Stop!"

"I thought you wanted me to stop the itching," Faith said, smiling.

"I do! I do!"

"And did it stop?"

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Annabelle giggled, and Faith looked at her.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" she asked and glanced at Christina, who was smiling as well. "Let's see how you like to be tickled," she said and started tickling them both at the same time.

Samantha recovered and she sat up. When she saw her sisters being tickled, she giggled.

"Feeling better, sweetie?" Faith asked her.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding.

"Good."

She stopped tickling the twins.

"That was mean," Christina pouted when she recovered.

Faith smiled at her.

"Yep, the tickle monster is really bad," she said and wiggled her fingers threateningly.

The girls smiled, and Samantha the yawned.

"Aww, it looks like someone's sleepy," Faith said.

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Faith kissed her on the forehead.

"Then it's time to go to sleep."

Faith got off the bed, and the girls made themselves comfortable, each hugging her stuffed animal. Faith covered them and then gave each a kiss on the forehead.

"Good night, girls."

"Night, Mommy," Samantha said.

"Night."

"Night."

Faith smiled and went to turn off the light.

A week later, Samantha was finally better, so they went to look at the houses they'd chosen. After they took a look at all four of them, the girls chose one and they went back to it. While Nancy watched the girls, Faith signed the contract.

"Okay, girls, here's the plan," Faith said when they got back to the motel. "We'll have to stay here for another week or so, because there's some changes I want done, plus we need the furniture and other stuff. And since Samantha is okay now, we'll spend the next week shopping."

"What will we buy?" Christina asked.

"Lots of stuff. We'll order furniture, get the linen, clothes, toys, stuff for you when you go to school."

"School?" Annabelle asked, excited.

Faith smiled.

"Yes. And Samantha can go to kindergarten."

"I wanna stay with you," Samantha said and hugged her legs.

Faith ruffled her hair.

"You will. But at kindergarten, you can make friends." She smiled at Samantha, when she looked up. "Don't worry, we'll take a look at the kindergarten, so you'll see what it's like."

"Oh."

"We can start shopping this afternoon, if you want."

"Okay," Annabelle said, excited.

"Good. You can watch TV and I'll call Nancy and then I'll make lunch."

After lunch, the girls took a nap and Faith used the time to change the records again and go over the list she'd made when Nancy was little.

When it was time for the girls to wake up, Faith called Nancy and then woke up the girls.

"Girls, you know what else we'll do today?" she asked them.

"What?" Annabelle asked.

"We'll have pictures of ourselves taken."

"Cool!" Christina said, excited.

"Okay, get up. Nancy's coming in a few minutes."

They spent the next week shopping and then Faith showed them where the school and the kindergarten were, and she also took them to the park to play.

When they could finally move into their house, Nancy went with them. Faith, who had been at the house before to check on how the modifications were progressing, showed the girls around. She started on the ground floor and then took them upstairs for the grand finale.

"And this is your room," she said when they got to the girls' room.

"Wow!" Annabelle said, excited, ran to the bed and bounced on it.

Her sisters followed her.

"Nice," Nancy said.

"I figured you'd like to sleep in the same bed," Faith said. "At least for a while."

"This is just our room?" Christina asked.

"Yes," Faith said with a smile. "And when you get older, you'll each have your own room."

"Really?" Annabelle said, her eyes wide.

"Yes. Want to see?"

"Uh-huh," Annabelle said, bobbing her head.

"Come."

The girls got off the bed and followed Faith and Nancy.

"This is my room, that's the bathroom, a guest room and those three are yours," Faith gave them a quick tour. "You can pick any one you like."

The girls ran to check out the rooms, and Faith and Nancy slowly followed them from room to room.

"I wanna have the first one!" Samantha said when they got to the last room, and ran to the first room.

"I wanna have this one," Annabelle said.

"Okay," Christina agreed.

"Come, let's go get the stuff from the car," Faith said.

"Okay."

"Come, Samantha, we're going to get the stuff from the car," Faith said as they passed Samantha's room.

Several hours later, they were done unpacking the girls' stuff and Faith ordered them a pizza. When the girls took a nap, Nancy helped Faith unpack her stuff.

"And? How do you feel?" Nancy asked when they were done.

Faith smiled.

"Excited. I have a family again." She frowned. "I mean…"

"I know what you mean, Mom," Nancy said with a smile. "And if you ever need a babysitter…"

"You'll be the first person I'll call," Faith said. "Speaking of which, do you have the time tomorrow night?"

"At night?"

"Yes. I need to go out and find Mr Trick."

"Oh. Sure, no problem."

"Thanks."

"What will you do now?"

"I'll let the girls get used to this house first. Then I'll enroll the twins into first grade and try to convince Samantha to go to kindergarten."

"Oh."

"Feel free to drop by anytime you want, just call me first, in case we're not home."

"Okay."

The next night, Faith tucked the girls in and then went out. She spent the whole night looking, but she could find no trace of Mr Trick. But she did come across Angel.

"Well, well, long time no see, Angelus."

"You," Angel said, surprised and worried.

"You remember. How nice. But I'm afraid that's unacceptable."

"Wait!" Angel said and backed off. "I have a soul."

Faith frowned and took a closer look.

"Hmm, you do. I heard you lost it again," she continued to interrogate him, even though she knew he spoke the truth.

"I did."

"And?"

"I got it back."

"How?"

"Willow, a friend of the Slayer, she is a witch, she gave it back to me."

Faith raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Really? Why?"

Angel hesitated.

"I… dated Buffy. The Slayer."

Faith stared at him for a few moments and then shook her head.

"I've heard rumors, but I just couldn't believe them. Hmm…" She thought for a moment. "Where do you live?"

"At the old mansion."

"Okay. I'll ask the Slayer about it," Faith said and attacked him.

Angel put up a good fight, but Faith had millennia of experience and she quickly knocked him out. Then she picked him up and carried him to the mansion.

At the mansion, she chained him up and waited for him to wake up.

When Angel woke up and saw he was chained, he tried to break free, but the chains were vampire-proof.

"Just as I thought," Faith said as she showed herself.

"What do you want?" Angel asked.

"Nothing you can give me," Faith said. "I'm still considering whether I should just kill you and be done with it or see if you're telling the truth and perhaps let you live." She thought for a moment. "How did you lose your soul?"

"I… Uh… I had, uh, sex with Buffy."

Faith raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"I see." She sighed. "I'll be back," she said and left.

When she got to Buffy's house, she peeked through the windows to see where Buffy was. When she saw Buffy was alone in the kitchen, she knocked on the back door.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, worried, when she saw Faith.

"Tell me about Angelus," Faith got straight to the point.

"Angel?" Buffy frowned. "What about him?" Then her eyes went wide. "You didn't kill him, did you?"

"Not yet."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because he has a soul."

"I heard he lost it."

Buffy blushed a bit.

"Yes."

"How?"

Buffy's blush deepened.

"He, um, he… He experienced a moment of happiness."

"And that was?" Faith kept prodding.

Buffy looked at her feet, embarrassed.

"We had sex."

"Mmm," Faith said noncommittally. "So he's bad?"

"No! He got his soul back."

"How?"

"Willow, a friend of mine, she did a spell that the gypsies used and restored his soul."

"Hmm."

"He helped us destroy the Glove of Mynhegon."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Faith sighed.

"I suppose he gets to live," she said. "For now."

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. I was hunting Mr Trick and found out Angelus was here."

"Oh. Oh! I killed this Trick guy."

"Good. I'll see you around."

Faith left, and Buffy stared after her.

"Who is it, honey?" Joyce asked.

"No one, Mom," Buffy said and went back in.

"You passed the first part of the test," Faith told Angel when she got back to the mansion.

"There's another?" Angel asked.

"A condition. You don't tell anyone about me. You don't know me, you never heard of me and you don't try to find out more about me. If I find out you did, I'm gonna kill you, soul or no soul, and anyone I might think you told about me. Got it?"

Angel nodded.

"Yes."

"Good," Faith said and unchained him. "I'll be watching you."

She left and Angel rubbed his wrists. He was curious about Faith, but he had a feeling Faith would really kill him if she thought he had been asking about her. And he had no doubt that she could.

"Morning," Faith said when she came home.

"Morning," Nancy said. "Did you get him?"

"No, the Slayer did."

"Oh."

"Are the girls up yet?"

"No. I wanted to wake them up in five minutes."

"Oh. I'll take a shower then and then I'll wake them up."

"Okay."

After the shower, Faith woke up the girls.

"Morning! Wakey, wakey!" she said as she opened the curtains.

The girls slowly opened their eyes.

"Did you get it?" Christina asked, excited.

Faith smiled.

"No, the Slayer did."

"What's a Slayer?"

Faith sat on the bed.

"Every generation, a Human girl is called by a higher power to fight monsters. She's stronger, faster than other people, she heals faster and she can sense the presence of monsters. And when she dies, a new Slayer is called." She thought for a moment. "I guess you could say she's a sort of superhero."

"Like X-Men?" Annabelle asked.

"Yes."

"Wow."

"Do you know her?" Samantha asked, wide-eyed.

Faith smiled.

"Yes. I helped her kill a really scary monster."

"Wow."

Faith ruffled her hair, smiling.

"Time to get up, girls."

After school, Buffy went to see Angel.

"Hey."

"Hey," Angel said.

"Is everything okay?" Buffy asked, not wanting to mention Faith directly.

"Yes," Angel said. "Why?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Just asking. Can we practice?"

"Sure."

A couple of weeks later, Faith was practicing martial arts after lunch, like she always did while the girls were napping. Suddenly, she noticed Annabelle.

"Hey, sweetie," she said with a smile as she stopped. "You awake yet?"

Annabelle nodded.

"Uh-huh," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"And your sisters?" Faith asked as she went to Annabelle.

"They're still asleep."

"Oh."

"What were you doing?"

"I was practicing martial arts."

"What's that?"

Fait thought for a moment.

"Martial arts are different forms of fighting."

"But it looked like you were dancing."

Faith smiled again.

"Yes. Some are practiced slowly, others fast. But in real life, they're all used with speed."

"Oh.” Annabelle thought for a moment. “Can you teach me?"

Faith ruffled her hair.

"Sure. Why don't you sit on the bench and you can watch me practice some more."

"Okay," Annabelle said and sat down.

A month later, Faith came across Buffy again. She had been secretly observing her for a while, but she kept out of her sight. She was drawn to her for some reason and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"You're still here?" Buffy asked when Faith came closer.

"Yes."

"I didn't see you around."

"Because I didn't let you."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a moment. "Do you plan to stay longer?"

"Why?"

"In case I need your help."

Faith thought for a moment.

"Yeah, for a while."

"How can I contact you if I need help?"

Faith thought about it.

"I'll get myself an e-mail address."

"Like what?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know, noneofyourbusiness666@hotmail.com."

"Oh," Buffy said, a bit disappointed, because she had hoped to learn Faith's name.

"I'll set it up when I get home. Just send me an e-mail, if you need help, I'll find you then."

"Okay. Thanks."

Faith nodded.

"I'll see you around," she said and left.

Buffy stared after her for a few moments and then went her own way.

"Sweetie, wanna come over for Christmas dinner?" Faith asked Nancy a couple of days before Christmas.

"I'd love to, Mom. I'd also like come on Christmas morning, I want to be there when they open their presents."

Faith smiled.

"Okay."

"When are you gonna get the Christmas tree?"

"Today. We're going out after their nap."

"Do you have the decorations?"

"No. We're going to get them before we get the tree."

"Do you need escort?"

"Do you have the time?"

"Yes."

"Great. We'll pick you up on the way."

"Okay."

After they got the decorations and the tree, they went back home.

"Okay, girls, now you can put the decorations on," Faith said after she set up the tree and the lights. "Careful!" she called when the girls grabbed the boxes with the decorations. "They're breakable, so be careful."

"Do the lower branches," Nancy said. "Then Mommy and I will get the chairs and you can do the higher branches. Then Mommy and I will do the highest branches."

After the tree was decorated, Faith plugged in the lights. Samantha clapped her hands, excited.

"It's pretty!"

"Yes," Nancy said. "You did a good job."

"Absolutely," Faith agreed. "Santa's gonna love it."

"Really?" Samantha asked, excited.

"You bet, sweetie," Faith said and ruffled her hair.

The next morning, Nancy came over early when she saw snow had fallen.

"Morning, Mom."

"Morning, sweetie."

"Can you believe it? Snow!" Nancy said, excited. "I can't remember the last time there was snow here."

"It's not natural," Faith said.

"I thought it felt odd. Is it bad?"

"I don't know. I'll go ask the Slayer later."

"Oh." Nancy smiled. "Let's go wake the girls, I bet they'll be excited."

Faith smiled as well.

"I was just waiting for you."

They went upstairs, and Faith woke up the girls while Nancy opened the curtains.

"Wake up, girls, it's Christmas," Faith said.

The girls slowly opened their eyes.

"And look what else Santa brought this year," Nancy said and looked out the window.

"What?" Annabelle asked, curious.

"Come and see."

The girls got off the bed and ran to the window, curious. Nancy picked up Samantha and Faith picked up the twins.

"What's that?" Samantha asked.

"Is that snow?" Annabelle asked.

"Yes," Nancy said.

"Wow."

"What's it like?" Christina asked.

"You can go and find out as soon as you dress up, open your presents and eat the breakfast," Faith said.

"Presents!" Samantha said, excited.

"Get dressed first."

After they got dressed in record time, the girls ran downstairs.

"Can we open them, Mommy?" Christina asked, excited.

"Of course," Faith said.

The girls ran to the tree and picked their presents.

"Just rip the paper off," Faith said when Annabelle carefully started to remove the paper.

Annabelle didn't have to be told twice. Samantha and Christina followed suit.

"A doll!" Annabelle said, excited.

"Me too!" Samantha said.

"It's a Barbie!" Christina said.

The girls also got a dress and a box of candy each, but the doll was the most important.

"Looks like Santa knew exactly what you needed," Faith said.

"There's another present for all of you," Nancy said.

The twins quickly ripped off the paper from the largest present and Samantha gave it to Faith.

"Thank you, sweetie."

"It's a house!" Annabelle said when they opened the box.

"Looks like it's a Barbie house for your dolls," Nancy said.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay, girls, take the dolls to your room, the breakfast is waiting," Faith said. "Then you can go out and find out what snow is like before it melts."

"Can we play with our dolls later?" Christina asked.

"Of course."

"Okay," Samantha said and ran upstairs.

"What about the house?" Annabelle asked.

"I'll take it upstairs," Faith said.

"Oh."

The twins followed Samantha.

"Where do you want me to put the paper?" Nancy asked as Faith picked up the house.

"Trash."

"Okay."

After breakfast, Faith dressed the girls warmly and then they went outside.

"It's cold," Samantha said as she picked up a handful of snow.

"Yes," Faith said. "This is actually water."

"Really?"

"Yes. Hold just a little bit of snow and it will melt in your palm, you'll see."

Samantha dropped some snow and then she and the twins stared as the snow melted.

"Wow," Christina said.

"You can also make snowballs," Faith said and made one.

The girls looked at her.

"What are they for?" Annabelle asked.

"Children usually throw them at one another, but you're a bit too young for a snowball fight."

"Why?"

"Because it hurts if you get hit in a soft spot."

"Oh."

"But you can make a snowman," Nancy said.

"Yes," Faith agreed.

"What's that?" Samantha asked.

Faith smiled.

"Why don't we make one and you'll see."

"This is a snowman," Faith said when they were done.

"Wow," Samantha said.

"Will it melt too?" Christina asked.

"Yes," Faith said.

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I took photos," Nancy said.

"I need to get a normal camera," Faith said.

"Mommy, I'm cold," Annabelle said and reached toward Faith with her hands.

Faith took them in her own hands and rubbed them.

"Don't worry, we're going in now." She looked at Samantha and Christina. "Come, girls."

When the girls were busy playing with Nancy, Faith went to Buffy's house. Because Buffy wasn't home yet, she waited.

When she finally saw Buffy, she showed herself.

"Hey," Buffy said.

"Hey," Faith said. "Have you any idea why the snow fell?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"The First tried to drive Angel crazy, so he would kill himself. I talked him out of it, but it was almost sunrise by then. I guess the Powers That Be thought he was worth saving."

"I see. The First?"

"Gone."

Faith nodded.

"Good." She hesitated for a moment. "Merry Christmas."

Buffy smiled.

"Merry Christmas."

"I'll see you around," Faith said and left.

A couple of weeks before graduation, Buffy sent Faith an e-mail, so Faith dropped by her house.

"Hey," Buffy said as she closed the back door.

"Hey. You need my help?"

"Yes. Do you know what Ascension is?"

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"The Mayor of Sunnydale wants to ascend."

"When?"

"On Graduation Day."

"You know which demon he's trying to become?"

"No."

Faith thought about it for a few moments.

"There's a solar eclipse that day."

"How do you know?" Buffy asked, surprised.

"I keep track of these things."

"Oh." Buffy frowned. "Damn. That means there'll be vamps."

"Yes."

"Do you have any idea how to stop him?"

"I'll think about it."

"Okay. Thanks."

After thinking about it for a few days, Faith made a plan. She could easily have destroyed it herself, but she avoided using her powers too openly. She knew the only other way to destroy a large demon was to blow it up. Which meant she needed explosive. Fortunately, there was a National Guard base near Sunnydale.

She called Nancy over.

"You're going out again tonight?" Nancy asked her.

"Yes. I need to get some semtex."

"Semtex?"

"Explosive."

"Oh."

"Apparently the Mayor of Sunnydale is planning to become a demon."

"Really?" Nancy said, surprised. "When?"

"On Sunnydale High Graduation Day. If you could watch the girls."

"You'll go after the demon?"

"Yes. There'll be a solar eclipse that day. "

"Is it bad?"

"Not really."

"Oh. Okay."

"I'll go get ready for tonight. I will be back in an hour."

"Okay."

After breaking into the National Guard base and stealing semtex, Faith made a bomb and hid it in a mausoleum. Then she went home.

The next morning, Faith went to Buffy's house.

"Hey," Buffy said as she closed the back door. "You got a plan?"

"Yes. I got a bomb."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised.

"It's gonna be a big demon. You take care of the vamps and I'll take care of the Mayor."

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"You sound like you kill big demons every day."

Faith shrugged.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It never is. I'll see you on the Graduation Day."

"Okay."

On the Graduation Day, Faith made sure the girls were not too scared. Then she retrieved the bomb and went to Sunnydale High. She stole a graduation gown and mingled with the students. She quickly spotted Buffy and went to her.

"Hey."

Buffy looked at her, but Faith faced away from her.

"Hey," Buffy said. "Where's the bomb?"

"On me."

"What?"

"Relax. Is everything ready?"

"Yes. As soon as he starts to change, we attack him."

"Are you trying to get killed? Concentrate on the vampires."

"Well, excuse me, if I don't trust you completely."

Faith sighed.

"Just get out of the way when you're done," she said and moved on.

When the Mayor started his speech, Faith marveled at his hypocrisy. When he started to change, Faith looked at Buffy expectantly, but Buffy waited, so Faith waited as well. Then, just as the eclipse began, the Mayor started to transform and ate the Principal, who had the nerve to scold him. Faith thought it was a good deed. She'd only just met the Principal and she disliked him already.

Buffy finally ordered the attack. Faith stepped aside and waited. When the students retreated, Faith moved in.

"Hey!" she called. "Don't you know it's bad manners to eat people? So unhygienic. Like a pig."

The Mayor looked at her.

"You should watch your language, little girl."

"Or what? You gonna punish me?"

"I'm going to eat you," the Mayor said and dived at her.

Faith dropped the gown and pushed up the spear she was hiding underneath. She knew the spear would not stop the Mayor, but the bomb attached to it would. The spear got stuck in the Mayor's throat and he roared.

"Run!" Faith called at Buffy as she ran away.

She waited for Buffy to start running and then detonated the bomb. The explosion blew the Mayor's head off.

"Move it!" she called to Buffy as she ran to fight the vamps.

Buffy snapped out of it and quickly followed Faith.

When the moon started to move on and the vamps started to retreat, Faith went home.

"Did you get it, Mommy?" Christina asked, excited, when Faith came home.

Faith smiled.

"You bet."

"What was it like?" Samantha asked.

"Like a big, ugly snake."

"How did you kill it?"

"I blew its head off."

"Wow."

"And what did you do?"

"We played with Nancy," Samantha said.

Faith smiled.

"May I join you?"

"Uh-huh," Samantha nodded.

"Okay. I'll just take a shower first."

"Mommy," Annabelle said one day, after the girls got up after their nap.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Do you know how to swim?"

"Yes."

"Can you teach me?"

Faith smiled.

"Sure. We'll go to the mall later to get the stuff you'll need."

"Okay."

"We'll start tomorrow."

"Okay," Annabelle said, excited.

"Can we get ice cream?" Samantha asked, excited, after they were done at the mall the next day.

Faith smiled at her.

"Sure, sweetie."

Ten minutes later, somebody took a picture and everyone looked.

"Say cheese!"

"Nancy!" Annabelle said with a smile.

Nancy took another photo.

"Hey, sweetie," Faith said.

"You've been to the mall?" Nancy asked.

"Yes. We bought some stuff for swimming."

"Mommy's gonna teach us how to swim," Samantha said, excited.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"She'll have you swimming like fish in no time."

"Will you join us?" Faith asked Nancy.

"No, no, I have to go home."

"Okay."

"Bye, girls."

"Bye, Nancy," the girls said.

"Bye, sweetie," Faith said.

At night, soon after Faith had gone to bed, a storm started. A few minutes later, the girls came, each carrying her stuffed animal.

"Mommy?" Christina asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"We're scared," Christina said, relieved that Faith was still awake.

"Come."

Faith removed the blanket and the girls climbed in, the twins on either side of her, Samantha on top of her. Faith covered them and then put her arms around the twins, who cuddled up to her. Faith quietly started to sing.

"What are you singing?" Annabelle asked.

"A lullaby," Faith said. "My mother sang it to me when I was little."

"But I don't understand it."

"That's because it's in Atlantean."

"What's that?"

"An extinct language."

"What's extinct?"

"Nobody speaks it anymore. At least not officially."

"Oh."

"Sleep now, sweetie, you're safe," Faith said and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Then she continued the lullaby.

Two days later, in the afternoon, Faith started to teach the girls how to swim. She had waited a day, because the storm had chilled the atmosphere and she didn't want the girls to catch a cold.

When she put on the bikini and the girls were naked, Faith inflated the air tubes.

"Okay, put these on," she then told the girls who were watching her curiously.

"How?" Christina asked.

"The easiest way would be to step in and pull it up. Come, Samantha."

Samantha stepped into the air tube and Faith pulled it up. The twins followed suit.

"It's tight," Annabelle said.

"It's supposed to be, so you don't slip through it."

"Oh."

"Okay, go to the stairs."

The girls went to the stairs and Faith jumped into the pool, head first. When she resurfaced, she swam to the stairs, which were at the shallow end of the pool.

"Come in, girls," she said when the girls hesitated.

"Are you sure this is gonna hold us?" Annabelle asked, uncertain.

"Absolutely. Look, I can float without moving." Faith took a deep breath and floated on her back for a few moments. "See?"

The girls slowly got in.

"It's cold," Samantha said.

"You'll get used to it in no time," Faith said. "Okay, when you're waist deep, try to sit and you'll see that you'll float."

Samantha tried to sit first.

"I can't sit," she said.

"See?" Faith said as she got closer. "Now push yourself toward me."

Samantha did so, and Faith caught her.

"I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" Samantha said, excited.

Faith smiled.

"Not yet, but you took the first step." She looked at the twins. "Come."

The twins hesitated for a moment and then hesitantly pushed themselves toward Faith, who caught them.

"See? Piece of cake," Faith said. "Now you have to learn how to move." She swam backwards a bit. "Come, follow me."

"How?" Samantha asked.

"Use you legs."

The girls started kicking and they slowly followed Faith around.

After a while, Faith led the girls back to the stairs.

"Okay, girls, we're gonna try something else and then we'll take a break," she said and sat on a stair. "Now go out and take off your tubes, then come back to me."

The girls did so, but they returned hesitantly, nervous because they didn't have the tubes on.

"Okay," Faith said when the girls were chest deep. "Now we're gonna try submerging."

"What's that?" Samantha asked.

"This," Faith said and demonstrated. "See? It's easy."

"Doesn't the water get in?" Annabelle asked.

"No. You can hold your nose like this. See? Try it. Hold your breath and lower yourself. And don't be afraid."

Annabelle tried it first.

"How was it?" Christina asked as Annabelle wiped her face.

"Okay," Annabelle said.

Samantha tried it next. She giggled when she resurfaced.

"Try to hold your breath longer," Faith said.

Christina took a deep breath, held her nose and submerged. She lasted five seconds.

"Very good," Faith said when Christina resurfaced, and clapped.

Christina beamed.

"It wasn't so hard," she said.

"I know," Faith said. "Try it again, all of you. And don't be afraid."

Samantha took Faith's hand, a bit nervous.

"Scared?" Faith asked her.

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh. How long do I have to stay under?"

"As long as you can. And when you can't any longer, just stand up."

"Okay."

"Good. Now, on three. Ready?" The girls nodded. "Okay. One. Two. Three."

The girls took a deep breath, held their noses and submerged. Faith gently rubbed the back of Samantha's hand to calm her down.

A few moments later, Samantha resurfaced.

"You okay, sweetie?" Faith asked her.

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh," she said and wiped her eyes.

Christina resurfaced next.

"Was I longer this time?" she asked as she wiped her eyes.

"Yes, sweetie."

Annabelle resurfaced last.

"Very good, sweetie," Faith told her. "Let's take a break now."

Christina and Samantha got out, and Annabelle followed them when she wiped her eyes. Faith went out last.

"Girls, grab a towel and dry yourselves. Then put on the bathrobes."

The girls did so, and then Faith helped them dry their hair.

"I'm gonna go get us something to drink and some cookies," Faith then said. "While I'm gone, I want you to stay away from the pool no matter what. Okay?"

The girls nodded.

"Okay," Christina said.

"I'll be right back.

When the twins' birthday came up, Faith considered sending the twins away with Nancy and then have Samantha help her make a cake, but she decided to include the twins as well.

"Wakey, wakey, girls," she said when she woke them up in the morning.

The girls slowly opened their eyes.

"Morning, Mommy," Christina said.

"Morning," Annabelle said

Samantha yawned.

"Girls, today, we're gonna make a cake," Faith said.

The girls' eyes went wide.

"Really?" Annabelle said.

"Yes." She smiled. "After all, it is your birthday."

"Yes!" Christina realized.

"Happy, birthday, girls," she said and gave them each a kiss on the forehead.

The twins beamed.

"We're seven," Annabelle said.

"Yes. And since it's your birthday, you get to chose what kind of cake you want."

"Really?" Christina said, excited.

"Yes."

"What about me?" Samantha asked.

Faith smiled at her.

"You get to chose the cake for your birthday."

Samantha's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Samantha smiled widely.

"I like chocolate."

Faith ruffled her hair.

"I know. And you can help us make the cake." She looked at the twins. "We'll go to the mall later. In the meantime, you decide what kind of cake you want. You know, the flavor, the shape, and so on."

"Okay," Christina said.

When they got from the mall, Faith called Nancy to help her supervise the girls. Nancy brought her camera and she took photos every once in a while.

In the afternoon, when the cake was finally ready, Faith took the girls to the kitchen to add some finishing touches and to give Nancy some time to get the presents to the living room.

"Let's go to the living room," Faith said when Nancy came to the kitchen and nodded at her.

The girls ran to the living room, excited, but they stopped, surprised, when they saw the presents.

"Happy birthday, girls," Nancy said with a smile.

"Are those for us?" Annabelle asked, excited.

"You bet," Faith said.

The twins squealed and ran to the bikes, which each had a helmet.

"Wow," Christina said as she sat on her.

"What's this?" Annabelle asked as she took the helmet.

"That's a helmet," Faith said. "You put it on your head."

"I'll show you," Nancy said while Faith put the cake on the table. Nancy put the helmet on Annabelle's head and fastened it. "There."

"What's it for?" Annabelle asked.

"Well, if you fall off your bike, it will protect your head."

Annabelle's eyes went wide.

"Bike?"

"Over there."

Christina put her helmet on as well.

"Nancy," she said as she tried to fasten it.

Nancy quickly helped her.

"There," she said when she was done.

"Thank you."

"You look funny," Samantha said as the twins ran to the bikes.

Nancy smiled at her.

"But their heads are safe."

"Oh."

Then Faith came back with plates, forks and a knife.

"Okay, birthday girls, time to cut the cake."

"Us?" Christina asked.

"Just the first cut, I'll do the rest."

"Oh."

The twins got off their bikes and went to Faith.

"Here, hold it like this," she said and gave the knife to Annabelle.

"What about me?" Christina asked.

"You'll do the next cut."

"Oh."

"Okay, now put the knife here," Faith instructed Annabelle. "That's it. Now push down. Like that, yes. Okay, you're doing fine. There. Christina."

Annabelle let go of the knife, and Faith pulled it out of the cake and gave it to Christina.

"Where do I cut?" Christina asked.

"How about here?" Faith suggested, making sure the slice wouldn't be too big.

"Okay," Christina said and made the cut.

"Excellent," Faith said with a smile when Christina was done.

Christina smiled and let go of the knife.

"Here," Nancy said and gave her a plate.

Faith put the slice on the plate and gave it to Christina, who was closer.

"Thank you," Christina said, excited, and then took a fork from Nancy.

Faith quickly cut another slice and gave it to Annabelle.

"Thank you."

"And?" Nancy asked Christina. "What's it like."

"Delicious," Christina said with her mouth full.

"Mhm," Annabelle said, nodding.

"Here, you go, sweetie," Faith said and gave the next slice to Samantha.

"Thank you," Samantha said, excited.

Faith gave the next slice to Nancy.

"Mmm, delicious," Nancy said after she took the first bite.

Faith smiled.

"Still got the sweet tooth, ha?"

Nancy chuckled.

"Yes."

"When can we try our bikes?" Annabelle asked between bites.

"When you're done with the cake."

"Okay," Annabelle said, excited.

"But only in front of the house."

"Okay."

A couple of weeks after the twins' birthday, Faith took the girls to the park as usual. On their way back, she carried Samantha on her shoulders and the twins walked in front of them, hand in hand. Suddenly Faith felt she was being watched. She looked around and noticed Buffy and Willow. She gave Buffy a cold look, and Buffy quickly looked away.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look! A horsie!" Samantha suddenly said and started to bounce excitedly.

Faith looked and saw a carriage with a horse. She smiled.

"You like horsies?"

"Uh-huh," Samantha nodded, still bouncing.

"Wanna go see it up close?"

Samantha's eyes went wide.

"Can I?"

"Sure. Come, girls," Faith called the twins.

They crossed the road and went to the carriage.

"He's so big," Samantha said when they got to the horse.

"Yes," Faith said.

"Can I touch it?"

"I don't know, let's ask the driver." Faith looked at the driver. "Can she?"

"Sure," the driver said with a smile.

"Go ahead, honey," Faith told Samantha.

Samantha touched the horse's neck.

"He's so big."

Faith smiled and looked at the driver.

"Are you for hire?"

"Not at the moment."

"Oh. Got a card?"

"Can I touch him too?" Christina asked.

"Me too!" Annabelle said.

"Sure," the driver said, smiling.

"Watch the legs," Faith warned them.

The twins caressed the horse.

"Here," the driver said and gave Faith his card.

"Thanks," Faith said and put it away. "I'll call you."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Come, girls, let's go home now."

"Can I ride a horsie, Mommy?" Samantha asked.

"When you're older, honey," Faith said as they moved on.

"How much older?"

Faith thought about it.

"When you're six."

"Does that mean we can ride a horsie?" Annabelle asked.

"Do you want to?"

Annabelle thought about it.

"I'd like to try."

"Me too," Christina said.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do about it," Faith said.

"Cool!"

"What's wrong?" Willow asked Buffy when she noticed that Buffy kept glancing backwards.

"Nothing," Buffy said, shaking her head.

She had been nothing short of astonished when she saw Faith carry a little girl on her shoulders. She'd come to terms that Faith was at least two hundred years old, but she didn't expect her to have children. And children it was, as it turned out, plural. The threatening look Faith gave her when she felt her look made Buffy feel nervous and she guessed that one of the reasons Faith didn't want her talking or asking about her was because she feared that someone might threaten the girls.

"You sure?" Willow asked.

"Yes. Let's go to Espresso Pump, I need ice cream."

Willow smiled.

"Okay."

A week after Samantha's fifth birthday, Faith arranged to take the girls riding. She went to the back yard, where the girls were playing.

"Girls, I got…" She trailed off when she saw the girls' serious faces. "Is…" she started, but then noticed the broken flower pot. "Who broke it?" she asked and looked at the girls. "Samantha?" she asked when she that Samantha was nursing her left elbow and had tears in her eyes.

The twins flanked Samantha protectively.

"Is she in trouble?" Christina asked.

"No, of course not," Faith said and kneeled in front of Samantha. "Let me see, sweetie." She checked Samantha's elbow. "Does it hurt?" she asked when she saw a cut.

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Come, let's take care of it," Faith said and picked her up.

She carried her upstairs to the bathroom, and the twins followed her. When they got to the bathroom, Faith sat Samantha on the toilet and fetched the first aid kit.

"This is going to sting a little, sweetie," she said as she prepared to clean Samantha's cut. "Okay, ready?"

Samantha nodded, and Faith started to clean her cut. Samantha gasped.

"It stings."

"I know," Faith said and started blowing on her cut to lessen the stinging. "Okay, "she said when she was done. "Now I'm going to put some salve on and a plaster now," she said and took the items. She applied the salve and then put a plaster on. "There," she said when she was done. She kissed the plaster. "All better."

"Are you mad at me, Mommy?" Samantha asked, worried.

"No, sweetie, I'm not mad," Faith said and caressed her. "But you should be more careful," she said, glancing at the twins. "You could hit your head and that would hurt much more. Okay?"

The twins nodded.

"Okay," Annabelle said.

"Come here, sweetie," Faith said and hugged Samantha, who hugged her back, relieved. When they stopped hugging, Faith wiped Samantha's tears. "There. Now, what happened?"

Samantha glanced at her sisters.

"We were playing tag and I tripped."

"Oh." Faith glanced at the twins. "If something like that happens again, don't be afraid to tell me, okay? As long as you don't break stuff on purpose, I won't be mad."

"Okay," Christina said.

"And if one of you gets hurt, I want you to come tell me immediately."

"Okay."

"Good. Now, let's go clean up and then we'll go riding."

The girls' eyes went wide.

"Really?" Samantha asked, excited.

Faith smiled.

"Really," she said and started to put away the first aid kit. "Consider it a late birthday present."

Samantha squealed, excited, and hugged Faith.

"Thank you, Mommy."

The twins hugged them both.

"You're welcome. Now come."

The girls let go of Faith and Faith helped Samantha off the toilet. Then they went downstairs.

When they arrived to the stables, the girls stared at the horses, wide-eyed.

"Okay, girls, go to that table, sit down and wait for me while I make the arrangements."

"Okay," Annabelle said, and they went to the table.

Faith waited until they sat down and then went to make arrangements.

"Okay, girls, come," Faith said when she came back, and the girls got up. "Here's the plan. First, you'll ride the ponies and then the big horses."

"Really?" Christina asked, excited.

"Can I ride too?" Samantha asked.

"Sure, sweetie. But we'll ride together on the big horse."

Samantha squealed, excited.

Faith smiled.

"Come."

They went to the ponies, where three were already waiting for them.

"I want that one," Samantha said and pointed at a pony.

"Okay, sweetie," Faith said.

When they got to the ponies, the stablemen helped the twins mount the ponies and Faith helped Samantha.

"Okay, girls, listen to the men. I'll be here with Samantha."

The stablemen guided the ponies around the farm and the girls enjoyed themselves immensely. Faith took pictures occasionally.

After a while, they went to the big horses.

"They're big," Samantha said, wide-eyed.

"Yes," Faith said with a smile. She looked at the twins. "Do you want to go alone or do you want me to ride with you?"

The twins thought about it.

"I want you to ride with me," Annabelle said.

"Me too," Christina said.

"Okay," Faith said. "Christina, you go first." She looked at Annabelle and Samantha. "Who wants to take pictures?"

"Me!" Annabelle said.

"Me!" Samantha said.

"Tell you what, you can each take three pictures," Faith said. "Christina, come here, so I can show you what to do." Christina came closer. "See? On this display you see what the photo will look like. When we're close enough, press this button and then this one. Okay? Here, Annabelle." She gave Annabelle the camera. "Let Samantha watch."

"Okay," Annabelle said.

"Come, Christina."

"Have you ridden before?" a stableman asked Faith.

"Yes, plenty of times. I'd like to guide the horse myself."

"Okay."

Faith mounted the horse and one of the stablemen lifted Christina.

"Comfortable?" Faith asked Christina.

"Uh-huh," Christina said, nodding.

"Then let's go," Faith said and spurred the horse.

"Nancy! Nancy!" Annabelle called when Nancy came over in the afternoon.

"We went riding!" Christina added.

"Me too!" Samantha said.

"I know," Nancy said. "I wish I could've gone with you."

"And tomorrow we're going to ride with a carriage," Christina said.

"We got pictures!" Annabelle remembered.

"Mommy let us take them!" Christina said.

"Really?" Nancy said.

"Uh-huh."

"Wanna show them to me?"

"Mommy has them on her laptop," Annabelle said.

"Come," Faith said and went to her laptop. She glanced at Nancy. "Can you come tomorrow morning?"

"I'll try. When?"

"At ten."

"Okay."

"How is Tim?"

"He'll be okay."

"Good." Faith sat down and opened a picture viewer. The she got up and let Nancy take her place. "Enjoy."

She stepped aside and the girls came closer. When Nancy started viewing the pictures, the girls started explaining excitedly.

"So, did you have fun?" Faith asked the girls as she tucked them in.

"Uh-huh," Christina said.

"Can we do it again?" Samantha asked.

Faith smiled."

"Sure, sweetie." She kissed each of them on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, girls."

"Night, Mommy."

On the first school day, the twins were all excited, but Samantha wasn't.

"I don't wanna go," she said when they got out of the car.

Faith picked her up.

"Tell you what. Why don't we escort your sisters to their class and then see what the kindergarten is like. What do you say?"

Samantha thought about it.

"I don't have to stay?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Okay."

They escorted the twins to their classroom.

"Have fun, girls," Faith said. "I'll pick you up after school."

The twins smiled at her.

"Okay, Mommy," Christina said, and they went in.

Faith waited for a few moments to make sure everything was okay.

"Come, sweetie," she then said.

She took Samantha to the kindergarten and they quietly watched the children.

"Hello."

"Hello, Mrs Jordan," Faith said.

"Hello, Samantha."

"Hello," Samantha said, nervous.

"Do you want to come in?"

Samantha shook her head, hugging Faith more tightly.

"You don't have to, sweetie," Faith said. "But if you do, you can make new friends. And Mrs Jordan has my number, in case something is wrong."

"You can go in and your mommy can wait here," Mrs Jordan said. "And if you don't like it, she can take you home."

"What do you say, sweetie?" Faith asked.

Samantha thought about it.

"You'll wait here?" she asked Faith.

"Yes. Until you decide whether you want to leave or stay."

Samantha hesitated for a few moments, uncertain.

"Okay," she then said, curious.

Faith put her down.

"If you have any questions, Samantha, feel free to ask me," Mrs Jordan said.

"Okay," Samantha said and slowly approached a group of children.

When she reached them, she looked back, and Faith waved at her.

After a while, Samantha, who had gotten caught up in a game, remembered Faith. She looked toward the door and saw she was still there. She smiled, relieved. She hesitated for a moment and then ran to her.

"Hey, sweetie," Faith said with a smile. "Having fun?"

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, bobbing her head excitedly.

"Want to stay?"

"Uh-huh."

"Can I leave?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. I'll pick you up when I pick up your sisters."

"Okay."

"And if you have any questions, ask Mrs Jordan."

"Okay."

"I'll put your stuff over there," Faith said and pointed.

"Okay."

Faith smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Go play now."

"Okay," Samantha said and ran off.

"Have fun!" Faith called after her.

In the afternoon, Faith picked Samantha first.

"Mommy!" Samantha called, excited, when she saw her.

"Hey, sweetie, "Faith said with a smile and picked her up when Samantha came running. She kissed her on the forehead. "Was everything okay? Did you have fun?"

Samantha nodded, excited.

"Uh-huh."

"Wanna come back tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. Let's go pick up your sisters and then you can tell me all about your day."

"Okay."

Faith put Samantha down and took her hand.

"Come."

They had to wait a few minutes before the twins' last class ended. When it did, the children came running out.

"Mommy!" Christina called as she and Annabelle ran to her.

"Hi, girls," Faith said and leaned down to hug them when they came to her. "Did you have fun?" she asked when she let go of them.

"Uh-huh," Annabelle said, excited.

"Come, let's go to the car and you can tell me."

When Faith woke up one morning, she found that something wasn't right. She turned on the news and found out people were suddenly mute. She went to her laptop and checked the texts at her disposal.

When she thought she had a solution, she called Nancy.

"Hi, sweetie. I know you can't talk. Can you come over and watch the girls? I need to find out what's wrong."

There was a brief pause and then Nancy answered with two taps.

Faith hung up and waited for Nancy.

When Nancy arrived, she used paper to communicate.

WHAT'S GOING ON, MOM? Nancy asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll find out."

Nancy nodded.

They went upstairs to wake the girls.

"Morning, girls."

The girls woke up. They smiled when they saw Faith and Nancy, but their smiles vanished when they tried to speak and found out they couldn't. They looked at Faith, worried.

"It's okay, girls. Something is making everyone mute. I'm going out to find out what. Nancy will be watching you. You can stay at home today."

The girls nodded.

Faith blew them a kiss, smiling encouragingly, and left.

When she got to Buffy's dorm, she went up to her room, but Buffy was already gone. She thought for a moment and then decided to go to Giles' house.

When she got there, she peeked in and saw that Buffy and her friends were already discussing the problem. Since she didn't know how long this would take, she decided to take a walk around the town and see what was going on. The news she came across seemed to confirm her suspicious as to who the culprits were.

Faith went back home for lunch to see how the girls were. She explained to Nancy and the girls what was going on, and then went out again. She searched for Buffy again, but it took her all afternoon to locate her, because Buffy was out, searching for the source of the problem. When she found her, with a whiteboard around her neck, she smiled, but she had to admit that the idea was good.

When Buffy saw her, she smiled and waved at her. Faith waved back. Buffy took off her whiteboard.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? she wrote.

Faith took the board and the marker.

THE GENTLEMEN, she wrote, even though she could speak.

Buffy simply wrote a question mark.

FROM FAIRYTALES, Faith wrote. THEY STEAL PEOPLE'S VOICES. THEY'RE GONNA START KILLING PEOPLE AND TAKE THEIR HEARTS. She waited for Buffy to read and then erased the board. IF YOU FIND THEM, DESTROY THE BOX AND SCREAM.

BOX? Buffy wrote.

YOU'LL KNOW. AND KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR SOME COMMANDOS, she warned Buffy.

WHAT COMMANDOS?

I DON'T KNOW YET. I'LL SEE YOU.

Faith gave Buffy back her whiteboard and left.

Buffy stared after her, a bit confused.

When Faith got home, she told Nancy to go home to calm her family and then come back to stay over, because she was going out again. She decided to investigate the mysterious commandos she had encountered once the Gentlemen were dead.

When she met Buffy again the next day, Buffy told her that Giles had agreed that it was indeed the Gentlemen. Then they went each her own way.

The next night, when Faith found out people could talk again, she went home.

In the morning, Faith was up before Nancy, and when Nancy woke up, Faith was already researching the mysterious commandos.

"Morning," Nancy said with a smile when she saw Faith.

Faith smiled at her.

"Morning. How are the girls?"

"I think they got used to it. We played mime and stuff."

Faith's smile widened.

"Good."

"I take it the Gentlemen are dead."

"Yes."

"Did you kill them?"

"No, the Slayer."

"Oh." She nodded at the laptop. "What are you doing?"

"I saw some commandos and I'm trying to find out who they are."

"Any luck?"

"Yes."

"Are they dangerous?"

"I don't know yet."

When it was time to wake up the girls, Faith and Nancy went upstairs.

"Wakey, wakey, girls," Faith said.

The girls opened their eyes.

"Mommy?" Christina said. "I can talk!" she said and sat up, excited.

"Yes, the monsters are dead," Faith said.

"What were they like?" Annabelle asked.

"Ugly. Now come, time to get up."

"Are we going to school today?" Christina asked.

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Mommy," Samantha said and reached out with her hands.

Faith smiled and picked her up.

"You okay, sweetie?" she asked her.

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Then let's get you dressed."

After she took the girls to school and kindergarten, Faith went to find Buffy. She got to the dorm just as there was an earthquake. She waited until it was over and then went upstairs. When she got to Buffy's room, she listened and she could hear voices. So she walked up and down a couple of times, waiting.

When the door finally opened and Riley came out, Faith quickly turned around, having recognized him as a commando. She waited until he was gone and then went back to Buffy's door. She listened for a moment and when she could hear no voices, she knocked.

"You," Buffy said, surprised, when she saw her.

"We need to talk."

"Come in."

"Where's Willow?"

"I don't know."

"Then we better talk outside."

"Okay." Buffy went out and closed the door. Then she followed Faith. "What's wrong?"

"You killed the Gentlemen?"

"Yes."

"Good. I've done some research on the commandos."

"And?"

"They're called the Initiative. They do research on demons, I'm still studying that."

"How do you know?" Buffy asked, surprised.

Faith glanced at her, smiling.

"I have my resources. Anyway, that guy that came from your room, Riley Finn, he's one of them."

"I know."

"Oh." Faith thought for a moment. "Does he know you're a Slayer?"

"Yes."

"That's not good. The Initiative might think you'd be interesting to experiment on."

Buffy frowned.

"You're kidding."

Faith shrugged.

"Just be careful."

"I will."

"Anyway, your psychology teacher, Professor Walsh, she's the head of the scientists there."

"What?" Buffy said, surprised. "How do you know?"

"Doesn't matter. Just watch your back."

"I will."

"I'll see you around."

Faith left, and Buffy stared at her, wondering who Faith really was.

"Faith!" Buffy called one night in February, when she was out on patrol and Faith joined her.

"Hey," Faith said as she approached her. "What's wrong?" she asked when she saw Buffy's face.

Buffy frowned.

"Is it that obvious?"

Faith smiled a little.

"Experience."

"Oh." Buffy sighed. "Well, you were right about the Initiative. They've created a super monster."

"What kind?"

"Half man, half demon, half machine."

"Fools," Faith murmured. "Do you need help?"

Buffy thought about it.

"I don't know. I mean, he's not going out on rampages, he's more like a science nerd."

Faith chuckled.

"I'll see what I can find out about him. Let me know how it goes."

"Okay."

"What's wrong, Mom?" Nancy asked Faith a couple of weeks later, when she saw her sitting on a bench in the back yard, hugging her knees.

Faith looked at Nancy as she sat down.

"Nothing," she said. "Just thinking."

"Not very happy thoughts, I see."

Faith sighed.

"Not particularly."

"Wanna share?"

"Don't know," Faith said.

"Mom, I'm sixty-five. I know I'm nowhere near as old as you are, but I think I'm old enough to offer some advice."

Faith smiled.

"I know. It's just something I think about occasionally." She looked at the girls, who were playing. "I feel lonely," she then admitted quietly.

"You got us."

Faith smiled briefly.

"I know. But that's not what I mean."

"What then?"

Faith glanced at her.

"I'd like someone to get old with. Hell, I'd like to get old in the first place."

"You are old," Nancy pointed out with a smile.

Faith smiled briefly again.

"That's not what I mean. Anyway, you're my children and children grow up and get families of their own. I'd like someone… a partner."

"Like my Robert."

"Yeah. A wife, or whatever you want to call it."

Nancy smiled.

"Do you have anyone in particular in mind?"

Faith blushed.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Wanna share?"

Faith's blush deepened and she looked at her toes.

"The Slayer."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Nancy thought for a moment.

"How do you feel about her?" she then asked.

Faith blushed again.

"I'm not sure. I just feel this need to be around her and I keep following her around."

"You're stalking her?"

Faith's blush deepened.

"No. Just, when I come across her, I follow her around for a while."

"Oh."

Faith sighed.

"I wish I could be with her," she said quietly. "Or at least be her friend."

"Why aren't you?"

Faith smiled sadly.

"I can't."

"Because you don't want her to find out who you are?"

"No." She took a deep breath. "I don't want to get close to her, because I know I'll have to bury her too some day."

"Like us," Nancy said, understanding.

"Sort of. But you're my children, and children grow up and move away. But a partner, or even just a friend… You're supposed to grow old with them. And even if you outlive them, you don't outlive them by long. At least if you're mortal. It's bad enough I outlive you, I don't want to outlive my partners. Or friends."

Nancy nodded, feeling sad for her mother.

"I'm sorry."

Faith glanced at her, smiling sadly.

"It's not your fault."

Nancy thought for a moment.

"Have you ever had a partner? Or a friend?"

Faith sighed.

"Not since I was young."

"So only us?"

"Yes."

Nancy put her arm around her mother.

"I can't tell you what to do, because I can't even imagine what it must be like to outlive so many loved ones, but maybe you should give it a try. I mean, you keep adopting children, even though you know you'll outlive them. You miss them after they die, yet you still adopt new children. Couldn't it be the same with friends?"

Faith thought about it.

"I don't know," she said after a while. "If she weren't a Slayer, I might even think about it."

"Is that the only reason?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"I don't know. I think I'm just afraid."

"Of the Council?"

"In a way."

"But she hasn't told anyone about you, so you could trust her," Nancy pointed out and let go of her.

"But she has friends."

"You don't need to tell them the whole truth."

"But Buffy knows at least a part of it. You expect her to lie to her friends?"

"She kept quiet about you."

"Only because I threatened to kill her if she did."

"Oh."

Faith sighed.

"This is such a mess." She glanced at Nancy. "You have no idea how much I envy you."

"What are you going to do?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know," she said and looked at the girls.

A couple of days later, Faith went out again. She did her route and then went to a bar. As she sipped her drink, she quietly observed the couples, wishing she had someone she could dance with. A couple of boys kept ogling her, but she ignored them. There were also a couple of girls that she thought would go to bed with her, but she just didn't feel like having sex with some nameless girl, especially not while she wasn't sure how she felt about Buffy. She knew it was ridiculous, but she felt like she would be cheating on her. She sighed. Like so many times before, she wished she was mortal.

A week later, Faith went out again. She was hoping to come across Buffy, but she was afraid of it at the same it. As luck would have it, she did come across Buffy. She hesitated for a few moments and then showed herself.

"Hey," Buffy said with a smile.

"Hey," Faith said.

"What's up?"

Faith shrugged.

"Nothing."

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

"Oh."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I'll see you," she then said and left.

Buffy frowned.

"Wait!" she called and ran after her, but Faith didn't stop. "Wait," Buffy said as she caught up with Faith.

"What?" Faith said, glancing at her.

"You didn't just show yourself for no reason. Did you?"

"What if I did?"

"No, I don't think you did," Buffy said. "You're way too paranoid for that."

Faith stopped.

Buffy stopped as well, but she took a step aside, in case she just pissed off Faith.

Faith thought for a few moments and then looked at Buffy.

"I'm trying not to be so paranoid," she then said.

"Oh."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I thought we could hang out, but I don't think it's gonna work."

"Why not?" Buffy asked, curious.

"Because I only go out about once a week, and during the day, I only have time in the morning, but you have classes then."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a moment. "So, um, what's your name?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Faith."

Buffy smiled.

"You don't want to kill me anymore?"

Faith sighed. She hesitated for a moment.

"I never really wanted to."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." She thought for a moment. "You could drop by the campus and we could have a drink together between my classes. And when you go on patrol, we could go together."

Faith thought about it.

"I'll think about it," she then said.

Buffy smiled.

"So, um, wanna come along?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Okay."

"How did it go?" Nancy asked Faith in the morning.

Faith blushed a bit.

"I nearly chickened out."

Nancy smiled.

"But?"

Faith shrugged.

"Buffy figured it out that I showed myself for a reason."

"And?"

Faith sighed.

"I don't know yet." She hesitated for a moment. "We went on patrol together."

"I see."

Faith sighed.

"You know what's funny?" she asked, smiling sheepishly. "I'm old enough to be the mother of humanity, but when it comes to asking a girl out, I'm like a teenage nerd who's afraid to ask out the head cheerleader."

Nancy chuckled.

"I guess affairs of the heart haven't changed much."

Faith rolled her eyes.

"Not really."

"And? Are you meeting her again?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I don't know yet. Probably."

Nancy smiled.

"Go for it, Mom."

"You're making me blush," Faith said sarcastically and went to the kitchen.

Two days later, Faith went to the UC Sunnydale campus. Buffy had told her which café she frequented, so she ordered herself a coffee and waited until Buffy had a break. The more the time of Buffy's break neared, the more nervous Faith was. She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Buffy.

"Hey."

Faith looked at her, startled.

"Hey."

"May I join you?"

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"Uh, sure."

Buffy smiled and sat down.

"So, you came."

"Yeah," Faith said, blushing a bit.

"Uh, my friend Willow is coming in a few minutes. Do you want me to move?"

Faith thought about it.

"No."

"But what do I tell her?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"That you met me on patrol, when I was fighting some vampires."

"She'll want to know more about you."

Faith sighed.

"I know. I'll make something up."

"Okay." Buffy thought for a moment. "Um, does the fact that you want to hang out with me mean I can ask you about yourself?"

Faith tensed for a moment.

"Yes. But I may not answer or I may lie."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a moment. "Um, those girls I saw you with. Who are they?"

Faith took a sip, considering what to say. She decided for the truth.

"My daughters."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh," Buffy said, remembering that Faith was at least two hundred years old.

"You're not gonna ask me how old I am?" Faith asked when Buffy did say anything.

Buffy hesitated for a moment and then decided to tell Faith the truth.

"I know you're at least two hundred years old."

Faith tensed.

"How?"

"I asked Mr Trick before I killed him."

"Oh."

Faith drank the rest of the coffee and got up.

"Wait!" Buffy said and got up as well. "Please, Faith, hear me out."

Faith stopped and looked at Buffy expectantly.

"The only reason I asked Mr Trick was because I knew for sure that he knew you and because I knew he wouldn't tell anyone about it, because I killed him," Buffy said. "I didn't ask anyone else. I just wanted to know who you were, okay? And I'm not telling anyone." She sighed. "Look, I didn't have to tell you this, but I didn't want to lie to you either, because I know how paranoid you are, especially since you have children. Please, Faith, don't go."

Faith stared at her for a few moments. She knew Buffy had a point, but the fact that Buffy knew that she was older than she looked worried her, she wasn't ready for Buffy to know that yet. Still, what was done was done. She knew Buffy didn't have to tell her about it. She sighed and sat down. She really wanted to give Buffy a chance.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Buffy said. "I won't tell anyone about your secrets."

Faith nodded and looked around for a waiter.

"Buffy, hey."

Buffy and Faith looked.

"Hey, Willow. Tara," Buffy said. "Guys, this is Faith. Faith, these are Willow and Tara."

"Hey," Faith said.

"Hi," Willow said as she and Tara sat down.

"I met her last night on patrol," Buffy said. "She can kick some serious ass."

"Really?" Willow said, surprised.

"Yes."

Faith saw how Tara was looking at her and she quickly guessed that Tara could read auras.

"Buffy says you're witches," Faith said.

"Yes," Willow said, surprised that Buffy had told her that.

"Can you read auras?" Faith asked and looked at Tara pointedly, who blushed and looked away.

"I can't, but Tara can," Willow said excitedly.

"Oh."

"Where are you from?"

"Boston."

"I've never seen you here before."

"I just moved here."

"Oh. You go to UC Sunnydale?"

"No, I've already finished college."

"Really?" Willow said, surprised.

"Yes."

"You don't look that old."

Faith smiled.

"I know. I'm twenty-four," she lied.

"Oh. What did you major in?"

"History," Faith said and glanced at Tara.

"Oh. Are you gonna be a teacher?"

"No."

"A researcher?"

"This isn't the Inquisition, Willow," Buffy interrupted her, not wanting Faith to feel uncomfortable.

Willow blushed.

"Sorry. Just curious."

"No problem," Faith said. She hesitated for a moment. "I don't need to work, I'm rich."

"Oh."

"What'll you have?" the waitress asked when she finally arrived.

They ordered.

As the conversation went on, Faith relaxed a bit, because she wasn't the focus of everyone's attention anymore. Still, she was worried about Tara, who, even though shy, had courage in her and had read her aura.

"You okay?" Buffy asked Faith after Willow and Tara left, and she saw Faith was staring after them with a strange expression on her face.

Faith glanced at her.

"Will she keep quiet?"

"Who?" Buffy said, confused, and looked after Willow and Tara.

"Tara. She can read auras."

"So?" Buffy asked and looked back at Faith.

"She read mine and she knows there's something strange about me."

"How do you know?"

"I saw it on her face."

"Oh." Buffy glanced after her friends. "I think so. I'll talk to her later."

Faith nodded.

"Okay."

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Will you come here again?"

Faith thought about it.

"Yeah."

Buffy smiled.

"Cool."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I take the girls to the park every couple of days, so you might find me there."

Buffy's smile widened.

"Okay."

In the evening, Buffy finally managed to get a hold of Tara.

"Tara."

"Yes?" Tara said.

Buffy looked around.

"I need to talk to you about Faith."

"There's something odd about her. She's old, very old, and…"

"I know," Buffy interrupted her. "But don't tell anyone about it, okay? She's extremely paranoid where her identity is concerned. When I first met her, she threatened to kill me if I told anyone about her, and believe me, she would have. She's trying to be less paranoid now, but you don't want to threaten her."

Tara nodded.

"Okay."

"Thanks."

Buffy waited a week before going to the park to see Faith, she didn't want Faith to feel like she was being stalked. Faith wasn't there the first two days, but on the third day, she saw her sitting on a bench. She smiled and approached her.

"Hey."

"Hey," Faith said and smiled.

Buffy hesitated for a moment and then sat down.

"Which ones are yours?" she asked, looking at the children.

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"The twins over there and the one in the blue dress over there."

"Oh. What are their names?"

"The twins are Christina and Annabelle and the little one is Samantha."

Buffy smiled.

"Nice names. How old are they?"

"The twins are seven and Samantha is five."

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"How did you get them? I mean, I don't think you could just adopt them."

Faith hesitated for a few moments.

"I came across Christina one night and I followed her. When I got to her shelter, I found out she had two sisters." She hesitated again. "I decided to adopt them and I told them that."

"And they said yes?"

"I didn't pressure them. I invited them to the motel where I was staying, because Samantha had measles." She shrugged. "They decided that they wanted me to adopt them."

Buffy smiled.

"That's nice." She frowned. "But what about the papers and stuff?"

Faith took a deep breath, hesitating.

"I forged them."

"Oh." Buffy frowned. "You're not staying at a motel, are you?"

Faith shook her head.

"No, I bought us a house."

"Oh."

Then Annabelle came running to Faith, a finger in her mouth.

"I cut my finger, Mommy," she said, taking the finger out of her mouth and showing the cut to Faith.

Faith looked at it.

"It's not that bad," she said as she reached into her backpack. "Does it hurt?"

Annabelle shook her head.

"Uh-uh. It itches."

"Hmm." Faith took a handkerchief and wiped the cut. Then she put a salve on and finally a plaster. "There," she said and kissed the plaster, "all better."

Annabelle smiled.

"Thank you."

"Just make sure you don't get sand behind the plaster."

"Okay," Annabelle said and ran off.

Buffy smiled.

"You come well prepared," she said as Faith put away her stuff.

"Experience," Faith said.

"Hello, Faith."

Faith looked at the newcomer.

"Hello, Barbara." She looked at the children. "Where's Tommy?"

"At home. He's got measles," Barbara said as she sat down.

Faith nodded.

"Samantha had measles, she kept scratching herself."

"I know."

"Try tickling him every now and then, it helps a little."

Barbara smiled.

"I will."

"Oh, Barbara, this is Buffy, a… a friend of mine. Buffy, this is Barbara," Faith introduced them.

"Hi," Buffy said.

"Hello," Barbara said.

As Faith and Barbara started to talk about the children, Buffy felt a bit left out.

After a while, Samantha came to Faith.

"Tired?" Faith asked as she picked her up and sat her on her knees.

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh," she said and ran her hand through her hair.

"Hello, Samantha," Barbara said.

"Hi," Samantha said and smiled at her. "Marcie said Tommy has measles."

"Yes."

Faith took a handkerchief from her backpack and gave it to Samantha, who wiped her hands.

"I had measles too," Samantha said.

Barbara smiled.

"I know, your mommy told me."

"It itched a lot."

"Yes. Tommy keeps scratching."

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh. I was scratching too, but Mommy tickled me and made it all better. But then it started to itch again."

"I know. But it passes."

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding. She looked at Faith. "Can we go home? I want to go for a swim."

Faith smiled.

"What about Christina and Annabelle?"

Samantha shrugged.

"They're still playing."

Faith gave her a bottle of water.

"Here you go," she said as she opened it.

"Thank you," Samantha said and took a couple of sips before returning it to Faith.

Faith put it away and took out a cookie.

"Here."

"Thank you," Samantha said.

She leaned on Faith, who kissed her on the top of the head, and slowly munched on the cookie.

The twins soon noticed that Samantha had a cookie and they came closer.

"Can we have a cookie too?" Christina asked.

Faith smiled.

"Sure. But wipe your hands first," she said and gave them a handkerchief.

"Hello, girls," Barbara said.

"Hi," Annabelle said.

"Hi," Christina said.

"Thirsty?" Faith asked when they wiped their hands.

"Uh-huh," Annabelle said, nodding.

Faith took out two bottles of water and gave it to them.

Buffy and Barbara moved aside and the twins sat beside their mother.

When the twins were done with drinking, they gave the bottles back to Faith, who put them away and gave them each a cookie.

"Thank you," they said.

Faith smiled.

"Samantha wants to go home and take a swim," she said.

"Okay," Annabelle said.

"Eat your cookies and then we'll go home."

"Okay."

The girls slowly munched on their cookies.

Buffy quietly watched them, wondering what it would be like to have children.

A couple of months later, things with Adam got bad, so Buffy asked Faith for help. Faith did some more research on Adam and then made a plan. She got Nancy to babysit the girls, and then left to get the equipment she and Buffy would need to kill Adam. She could’ve killed him herself, but she didn’t want Buffy to know how powerful she was. When she had everything, she went to Buffy's house, but Buffy had already gone out. So she walked around for a while, searching for her.

"Buffy!" she called when she finally found her.

Buffy stopped and waited for her.

"Hey," she said when Faith came to her.

"Hey."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Kill Adam."

Buffy blinked, surprised.

"What?"

"I'm going to kill Adam. Do you want to come?"

"You know how to kill him?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I'll show you when we get to the cave."

"Wait!" Buffy called as Faith started walking. She quickly followed her. "Is that what that gear is for? For killing Adam?"

"Yes," Faith said. "And disabling the Initiative."

"Can't you at least give me a hint?"

Faith glanced at her and smiled.

"I studied his plans. He's got a nuclear power core and I got something that will drain it. I also have an EM pulse emitter, which will fry the Initiative's computers. And Adam's. I'll download the Initiative's files and fry their computers."

"Wow," Buffy said, impressed. "If I'd known you could do that, I would've asked you sooner."

Faith sighed.

"If I'd known the Initiative was going to be such a problem, I would've shut them down sooner."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'll try to fry Adam's circuits with the EM pulse emitter. I'm not completely sure it'll work because he's half biological, but it will probably make it harder for him to function. I'll give you a modified battery, which you'll attach to his back, as close to his power source as possible. It'll grapple on to him and start draining him."

"Okay."

"Then we'll go in, download the files and shut down the Initiative."

"Sounds simple enough."

"Nothing's ever simple."

Buffy smiled.

"You're right."

When they got to Adam's cave, Faith took off her backpack.

"Is that the EM pulse thingy?" Buffy asked when Faith pulled out the first item.

"Yes," Faith confirmed. She took out another item. "You'll have to attach this to him."

"Okay," Buffy said as she took the device. "How does it work?"

"Just slap it on to him, the flat side down, and it will activate itself."

"Oh."

Faith put the backpack back on and took a scanner from her pocket.

"Let's go," she said.

"What's that?" Buffy asked.

"A scanner."

"Oh." Buffy looked closer. "Can it detect Adam?"

"Yes."

"Cool. Where is he?"

Faith adjusted the scanner.

"About a hundred meters from here."

"Is he alone?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell what he's doing?"

Faith stared at the display for a couple of moments.

"Walking around."

"Oh."

"Let's go in."

Buffy took her stake and followed her.

"He's on to us," Faith said when they were about twenty meter in.

"Really?"

"Yes. He's got sensors."

"Oh."

"Let's hurry. About thirty meters from here, there's a suitable place to fight him."

They started walking faster.

"Here?" Buffy asked when they reached a widening.

"Yes," Faith confirmed. "He'll be here in a few seconds."

Buffy concentrated and she could hear Adam approaching.

"He's here," she whispered.

A couple of moments later, Adam entered.

"Slayer," he said when he saw Buffy. Then he looked at Faith. "And who are you?"

Faith didn't answer. She simply aimed her EM emitter and fired.

"Go," she told Buffy. "It won't hurt you," she added when Buffy hesitated.

Buffy attacked Adam, whose cybernetic systems were acting erratically, making it difficult for him to move. She quickly got behind his back and attached the device Faith had given her. Then she backed off.

Faith kept the EM pulse on, until Adam froze. Then she turned it off and waited.

"Is it over?" Buffy asked after a few moments.

"Not yet," Faith said and looked at her scanner. She pulled the dagger out of the sheath on her belt. "Here," she said and threw it to Buffy. "When I tell you, cut his core out."

"Uh, okay."

They waited for a few seconds and then Adam fell down.

"Now," Faith said.

Buffy ran to Adam.

"What do I do with this?" she asked and pointed at the energy draining device.

"Take it off."

Buffy grabbed the device, but it came off easily.

"Here," she said and threw it to Faith. Then she stuck the knife into Adam's back and started cutting. "You know," she said as she cut Adam's back, "Slayer or not, this is just plain gross."

"I know, that's why I'm letting you do it," Faith said.

Buffy glared at her, and Faith winked at her.

"Very funny." Buffy quickly cut out the core. "This is it?"

"Yes," Faith said. "Bring it here."

Buffy brought the core to Faith.

"What are you gonna to with it?"

"Disable it. Put it down."

Buffy put the core on the floor.

"Now what?"

"We incinerate Adam," Faith said as she took her backpack off.

"How?"

Faith took out a weapon.

"With this," she said, checking the settings one more time. "Just press the trigger and don't let go until he's nothing but vapor," she said as she gave the weapon to Buffy.

"Okay."

Buffy went to Adam and pressed the trigger. A powerful beam came out and a few moments later, Adam was history.

"Cool," Buffy said, excited.

Faith, who was examining the core, glanced at her with a smile, and then concentrated on her work.

Buffy came to Faith.

"You know, if I had gadgets like this, my work would be much easier."

Faith glanced at her.

"But should you be discovered, the government would come investigating," she said, "and then there would be trouble."

Buffy thought about it.

"I guess," she said and put the weapon in the backpack.

"Okay," Faith said as she finished disabling the core. She picked it and the backpack up, and got up. "Let's go destroy the Initiative."

A couple of weeks after Adam's demise, Faith finally decided to invite Buffy over to her house. She wanted to properly introduce her to the girls, but she didn't want her to know that, so she told her they could practice.

"Hey," Buffy said when Faith opened the door.

"Hey. Come in."

Buffy entered, and Faith closed the door.

"Nice house you got."

"Thanks. This way." They went to the back yard, where the girls were playing. "Girls, you know Buffy."

The girls looked at them.

"Uh-huh," Christina said.

"Hi," Samantha said.

"Hi," Buffy said with a smile.

"Guess what," Faith said conspiratorially. "Buffy's the Slayer."

The girls' eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You don't look like a superhero," Annabelle said, gaping at Buffy.

"Neither does Superman," Faith pointed out.

"Oh."

"But you're just a girl," Christina said.

Buffy chuckled.

"Tell me about it."

"That doesn't mean she can't be a superhero," Faith pointed out.

"Do you have a costume?" Christina asked.

Buffy smiled.

"No."

"Why not?"

"So people don't recognize me."

"Oh."

"We'll be in the gym, practicing," Faith said.

"Can we watch?" Samantha asked.

"Sure."

"Cool!"

The girls got up and followed Faith and Buffy to the gym.

"They know about Slayers?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, but not much. They know about demons too, but we just call them monsters."

"Oh. Do they know about you?"

"They know… They know I'm immortal and very old," Faith admitted

"Oh.” Buffy quietly thought about the fact that Faith was immortal and the fact that Faith had admitted it to her. “Oh wow, you got your own gym," she said when they got to the gym.

"Yeah."

"Cool."

Faith looked at the girls.

"Girls, sit on the bench, okay?"

"Okay," Christina said.

The girls sat, and Buffy and Faith started to stretch a bit.

"You ready?" Buffy finally asked.

"I'm always ready," Faith said. "Don't hold back."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

They circled one another and then Buffy attacked. Faith dodged and Buffy barely avoided being hit. She remembered how Faith had killed Kakistos' minions, so she decided to see just how good Faith was. She started attacking for all she was worth, but Faith avoided all of her punches and even managed to hit Buffy a couple of times, thought Buffy had a feeling that Faith was holding back.

"Wow," Buffy said ten minutes later, when she backed off, having decided to take a break.

Samantha clapped, excitedly.

"You were so fast," she said, her eyes wide, when Buffy and Faith looked at her.

"She is a Slayer," Faith said with a smile.

"But you were better," Christina said, excited.

"Yes," Faith said and looked at Buffy.

"You're good," Buffy said. She hesitated for a moment. "You think you could teach me?"

Faith thought about it.

"Sure."

Buffy smiled.

"Cool."

A couple of weeks later, Buffy wanted to introduce Faith to the rest of her friends. She'd been thinking about it before, but this was the first time she asked. Faith said she'd think about it. Three days later, Faith decided to officially meet Buffy's friends, so she got Nancy to babysit the girls and then went with Buffy to the Magic Box.

"Hi, guys," Buffy said as she entered.

"Hey, Buff," Xander said. Then he looked at Faith and gave her a once over. "Hello."

"Guys, this is Faith," Buffy introduced her. "She's a friend of mine."

"Really?" Xander said, surprised.

"Yes. Faith, these are Xander, Anya, my Watcher Giles and you already know Willow and Tara."

"Hi," Tara said with a smile.

"Hey," Faith said.

"How come you never mentioned her?" Xander asked.

Buffy shrugged.

"She prefers to be anonymous."

"Oh." He looked at Faith. "Where are you from?"

"Boston."

"You're far away from home."

"I moved here."

"Are you in college?"

"I already graduated."

"Really? You don't look that old."

"Neither does Anya."

Xander frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I know she used to be a vengeance demon."

"What?" Xander asked, surprised, and looked at Buffy.

"I told her," Buffy said. "She already knew about demons and Slayers and stuff."

"Oh."

"We go together on patrols sometimes."

"You do?"

"Yeah. She kicks ass."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. We're gonna train now." She looked at Faith. "Come."

Faith followed Buffy to the training room.

The Scoobs followed them.

"Neat," she said as she looked around, even though she knew what the place looked like, because she had broken in soon after Giles had bought it.

"Xander built it," Buffy said as she took off her jacket. "It's not as fancy as your gym, but it works."

"You have a gym?" Willow asked.

Faith glanced at her.

"Yeah," she said and took off her jacket.

"Where?"

"At home."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Buffy started to stretch and Faith slowly went around the gym and inspected the equipment.

"Not bad," she declared when she got back to the gang.

"Thanks," Xander said.

"I'm ready," Buffy said.

"Okay," Faith said.

Buffy attacked.

After ten minutes of rigorous fighting, Buffy backed off. She was a bit winded while Faith barely broke a sweat.

"Wow," Xander said. "She kicked your butt, Buffy."

Buffy and Faith looked at him.

"Not quite," Buffy said.

"I guess you won't need me to be your punching dummy anymore."

Buffy smiled.

"No. Unless you're a glutton for punishment."

Xander smiled sheepishly.

"No."

Buffy looked at Faith.

"Let's take a break."

"Okay," Faith agreed.

The Scoobs filed out, and Buffy stepped closer to Faith.

"You held back," she said.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"If I kicked your ass, they would talk about it and the Council might find out."

"Which would endanger the girls," Buffy quickly guessed.

"Yes."

"Then we should only train at your place."

"Okay," Faith said, glad that Buffy understood.

The Saturday after Buffy introduced Faith to her friends, Joyce told Buffy to invite Faith over for lunch. Faith had expected that.

"Hey," Buffy said with a smile when Faith came over.

"Hey," Faith said.

"Come in."

Faith entered, and Buffy closed the door.

Then Joyce came.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi," Faith said.

"Mom, this is Faith. Faith, this is my mom," Buffy introduced them.

"Nice to finally meet you," Joyce said. "Come, lunch is almost done."

"So, Faith," Joyce said as they started to eat, "Buffy says you moved here from Boston."

"Yes," Faith said.

"How come?"

"Warmer weather."

"Oh. Buffy says you also fight demons."

"Yes."

"How come?"

"Somebody has too."

Joyce smiled.

"What do your parents think about it?"

"They're dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Faith smiled sadly.

"They've been dead for a while."

Joyce thought for a few moments.

"So, um, Buffy tells me you've already finished college."

"Yes. I majored in history."

"Really? And what do you do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Joyce said, surprised.

"No. At least not professionally. I have enough money."

"Oh." Joyce thought for a moment. "And how did you find out about demons?"

"It was common knowledge where I come from."

"Oh."

"Though I do research as a hobby."

"I see."

Faith thought for a moment.

"I've been to your exhibition two months ago."

"'Exploring the Body Through the Dark Ages'?"

"Yes. You left out some of the early artists, though I think they're extremely rare nowadays."

"Yes, I know. I've managed to locate some of them, but the owners wouldn't let me borrow them."

"Thought so."

"You're interested in art?" Joyce asked, curious.

"Anything before 20th century. Though I like some of the modern artists, but there are just too many of them."

"Any era in particular?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"I find the Dark Ages interesting. So much suffering and so much hope."

Joyce smiled.

"Yes. Do you have any favorite artists?"

"Dali and Da Vinci."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Which era did you focus on in your studies? The Dark Ages?"

Faith shrugged.

"I'm good in all ages."

"Oh."

"This isn't a job interview, Mom," Buffy said, feeling a bit left out.

Joyce smiled at her.

"Sorry, honey, we got carried away."

"No kidding."

"But it is nice to meet someone who appreciates art."

"Giles appreciates art."

"Unfortunately, he's more into researching demons than art."

"I guess."

"Though I suppose he could help me with fairytale monsters," Joyce said thoughtfully.

"Like Hansel and Gretel?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

Joyce blushed.

"Yes."

Buffy looked at Faith.

"There was this demon…" Buffy started to explain.

"I know," Faith interrupted her. "I read Mr Giles' diaries," she explained when Buffy gave her a questioning look.

"Oh. You did?" Buffy asked, surprised.

"Yes." Faith looked at Joyce. "You could make a show about wolves in sheep's clothing."

Joyce smiled.

"Yes." She took a bite. "But right now, I'm planning on doing a show about the art of games."

"Games?"

"Well, I haven't decided yet what kind of games to focus on. I mean, if I focus on cards alone, there's plenty of art around."

"True," Faith said with a nod. She thought for a moment. "You could do a show on superheroes," she suggested. "Children love superheroes."

Joyce frowned.

"Hmm… I guess. Though I wasn't much into superheroes when I was little."

"Me neither," Buffy said.

"And look at you know, a superhero yourself," Joyce said with a smile.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about it."

"Just go to a grade school and mention that you need help for the show, I'm sure plenty of children will volunteer," Faith said.

Joyce smiled.

"Probably too many."

Faith smiled back.

"Probably." She thought for a moment. "It would be interesting to compare modern superheroes to heroes from fairytales and to ancient heroes and gods," she said thoughtfully.

"That's enough material for a whole series of books."

"Yes." She hesitated for a moment. "Though I'll have to wait another fifteen years to do it."

"How come?" Joyce asked, confused.

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"I have three girls and it's a full time job raising them."

"You have children?" Joyce said, surprised.

"Yes."

"How old are they?"

"The twins are seven and the little one is five."

Joyce frowned.

"You were young."

"I was old enough," Faith said, and took a bite.

"Oh." Joyce thought for a few moments and then looked at Buffy. "You didn't tell me she had children."

"Yeah," Buffy said. She smiled. "They're adorable."

Joyce looked at Faith.

"What are their names?"

"The twins are Christina and Annabelle, and the little one is Samantha."

Joyce smiled.

"Nice names."

"Yes."

Joyce thought for a moment.

"The twins, are they going to school yet?"

"Yes, first grade. Samantha's in kindergarten."

Joyce smiled again.

"Do they like it?"

"Yes. Christina and Annabelle were all excited about going to school, but Samantha didn't want to go to kindergarten."

"Buffy didn't want to either," she said and smiled affectionately at Buffy, who blushed a bit.

Faith smiled a bit.

"Samantha changed her mind soon."

"Really? How did you manage that?"

Faith shrugged.

"We watched the children play and she got curious. I told her she can go play with them and that I'd wait for her to decide whether she wanted to stay or not. She decided to stay."

Joyce smiled.

"How long did it take her to make up her mind?"

"I waited an hour before she remembered that I was there."

"An hour?" Joyce said, surprised.

"Yes."

"You're patient."

"Yes."

"Are they a handful?"

"No."

"Why don't you bring them over sometimes, I'd like to meet them."

Faith nodded.

"I will."

Joyce frowned as she suddenly realized something.

"You're still going on patrol?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What about the girls?"

"I only go once or twice a week, unless it's an emergency." She hesitated for a moment. "I have their… big sister watching them."

"Big sister?"

"Yes. She'll take care of them if anything happens to me."

"Oh."

"And that's not very likely, because she's better than I am," Buffy said.

"She is?" Joyce said, surprised.

"Yes. We practice together and I've never beaten her."

"Really? How come? I thought you were a Slayer."

"Yes, but she's got lots of experience."

"Oh."

"And her girls, they know about demons," Buffy said. "And that I'm a Slayer."

"Really?" Joyce said, surprised, and looked at Faith.

"Yes. Though we simply call the demons monsters," Faith said.

"Oh. How did they find out?"

"I told them," Faith lied. "I want them to be aware of what's around them."

"I see."

They were quiet for a few moments.

"This is delicious," Faith then said.

Joyce smiled.

"Thank you."

"You use bio products?"

"I try," Joyce said.

Faith nodded.

"Me too."

"Want some more?"

"No, thank you."

"Some more to drink?"

"Yes, please," Faith said, emptied her glass, and handed it to Joyce, who went to the kitchen.

"Big sister?" Buffy asked when she and Faith were alone.

"Nancy," Faith said. "My daughter."

Buffy frowned.

"How old is she?"

"Sixty-six."

Buffy's eyes went wide.

"What?"

"I adopted her about sixty years ago. She's helping me with the girls."

"Do the girls know?"

"Yes." Faith hesitated for a moment. "If you come with me, you can meet her."

"Okay."

"Here you go," Joyce said as she returned from the kitchen.

"Thank you," Faith said and took her glass.

After lunch, Buffy went with Faith.

"Hi, girls," Faith said when she and Buffy came to the living room, where the girls were playing with Nancy.

"Hi, Mommy," Christina said.

"Buffy, this is Nancy. Nancy, this is Buffy, the Slayer."

"Ah, so you're Buffy," Nancy said and got up.

"Yes," Buffy said and glanced at Faith curiously.

"Nice to meet you."

They shook hands.

"She knows you're my daughter," Faith said.

"Oh," Nancy said, surprised. "How was lunch?"

"Okay."

"Are you going to the park now?"

Faith looked at the girls.

"Girls, wanna go to the park?"

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding.

"Okay."

"I'll go then," Nancy said.

"Okay. Thanks."

"No, problem, Mom. Bye, girls."

"Bye, Nancy," Annabelle said.

"Bye," Samantha said.

"Bye," Christina said.

Nancy smiled and left.

"She calls you Mom?" Buffy asked with a smile when Nancy was gone.

"Yes." Faith looked at the girls. "Okay, girls, let's get ready then."

A couple of weeks later, Faith decided to take the girls to meet Joyce.

"Girls," she said, "would you like to meet Buffy's mommy?"

"Why?" Christina asked.

"Well, I told her about you and she would like to meet you."

"Why?"

Faith smiled.

"Why not? And she cooks real good. I thought we could go there for lunch."

"What is she like?" Annabelle asked.

"Well, you've met Buffy, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you like her."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, her mommy raised her, so I guess she's nice."

"Oh."

"And I like her too."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"So, would you like to go to her for a lunch?"

"Okay."

"Christina? Samantha?"

"Okay," Samantha said.

"Okay," Christina said.

"Good. I'll tell Buffy."

"This is where Buffy lives," Faith said when she and the girls came to Buffy's house the next Saturday.

They went to the door, and Faith rang the bell.

"Hey," Buffy said with a smile when she opened the door. "Hi, girls."

"Hi," Annabelle said.

"Come in."

Faith and the girls entered, and Buffy closed the door.

"Ah, hello, Faith," Joyce said as she came to greet the girls.

"Hello, Mrs Summers," Faith said.

"Girls, this is my mom, Joyce," Buffy introduced her mother. "Mom, these are Annabelle, Christina and Samantha."

"Hello, girls," Joyce said with a wide smile.

"Hi," Samantha said shyly.

"I'm glad I finally met you, Buffy's told me lots about you."

"Really?" Samantha said.

"Yes." Joyce looked at the twins. "I hear you're going to school. Do you like it there?"

"Uh-huh," Christina said, nodding excitedly. "We learn lots of new stuff."

Joyce smiled again.

"Yes. Are you hungry?"

"Uh-huh."

Samantha nodded, and Annabelle shrugged.

"Come, let's go eat."

They went to the dining room and they sat, Faith between Annabelle and Samantha, who was opposite Christina, Buffy beside Christina. Joyce served lunch. She'd prepared stakes, so the girls needed help cutting them. Faith helped Samantha, and Buffy helped Christina.

"Need help?" Joyce asked Annabelle.

Annabelle nodded, a bit nervous.

"Uh-huh."

Joyce smiled.

"Here, let me," she said.

Joyce cut Annabelle's steak.

"Thank you," Annabelle said when Joyce was done.

Joyce smiled again.

"You're welcome, honey."

"Thank you," Samantha said when Faith was done cutting her steak.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Faith said.

"Thank you," Christina told Buffy.

"You're welcome," Buffy said.

"Like it?" Joyce asked after the girls had tasted the food.

The girls nodded.

"Uh-huh," Annabelle said.

Joyce smiled.

"Good. If you want more, let me know."

"Okay."

During lunch, Joyce talked to the girls, and the girls relaxed.

After lunch, the girls got sleepy.

"We'll go now," Faith said when Christina yawned.

"They can take a nap here," Buffy suggested. "My bed's big enough."

Faith thought about it and then looked at the girls.

"Girls? Do you want to take a nap here?"

The girls thought about it.

"Okay," Annabelle said

Faith looked at Christina and Samantha.

"Okay," Christina said.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding.

"Okay," Faith agreed.

"Come, girls, let's go upstairs," Buffy said.

Samantha took her hand and the went upstairs.

The twins followed them, and Faith brought up the rear.

"Let's go wash your hands and your mouths," Buffy said when they got upstairs.

She went to the bathroom and helped the girls clean themselves.

Then they went to her room.

"This is my room," she said as she entered.

Faith and the girls looked around, curious.

"Nice," Faith said.

Buffy smiled at her.

"Thanks," she said and pulled back the blanket. "Okay, girls, hop in."

The girls quickly took off their shoes and got in, the twins on either side of Samantha, who yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Sweet dreams, girls," Buffy said with a smile as she covered them.

"We'll be downstairs," Faith said.

"Okay," Christina said.

Buffy and Faith left, but they left the door open.

A couple of days later, while they were on their way home, Faith decided to introduce the girls to Buffy's friends.

"Girls, how would you like to go to a magic shop?" she asked them.

"A real magic shop?" Annabelle asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes. And you can even meet a couple of witches."

"Real witches?"

"Yes."

"Are they evil?" Samantha asked.

Faith smiled.

"No, of course not. Not many witches are evil."

"But Snow White's mommy was a witch and she was evil," Christina said.

"That's just a fairytale. I'll explain it to you when you're older."

"Oh."

"And besides, those witches are Buffy's friends and they help her fight evil."

"Really?"

"Yes. Wanna meet them?"

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding eagerly.

"Me too," Christina said.

"Me too," Annabelle said.

"This is it," Faith said when they got to the Magic Box.

"It doesn't look any different from the others," Christina said.

"I know, it's just like any other shop."

"Oh."

"Come."

She opened the door and they entered.

"Hi, Faith," Buffy said with a smile when she saw her. Her smile widened when she saw the girls. "Hi, girls."

"Hi," Samantha said and then started to look around curiously.

"Are they yours?" Willow asked Faith as she and Tara came closer.

"Yes," Faith said.

"They're adorable," Willow gushed.

"Girls," Faith said, "these are Willow and Tara. They're witches."

The girls' eyes went wide.

"Really?"

Willow frowned.

"They know?"

"Yes," Faith said.

"They don't look like witches," Samantha said.

Tara smiled at her.

"What are witches supposed to look like?"

"They have a big hat."

"And a black robe," Christina said.

"And they ride their brooms and have black cats," Annabelle added.

Tara's smile widened.

"Actually, most witches look like us. Though we do have a kitty."

"Oh."

"You can do real magic?" Samantha asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes."

"Can you show me?"

Tara looked at Willow, smiling.

"Willow?"

Willow looked around and then concentrated.

"Hey! Careful with those!" Anya protested when Willow levitated some candles. "They cost 2.99 a piece."

Willow ignored her and brought the candles closer.

"Wow," Samantha said.

"Grab it," Willow told her.

Samantha hesitated for a moment and then grabbed the candle.

"Wow," she said again.

"Okay, now just hold it in your palm."

Willow concentrated again and lit the candle.

"Wow!" Christina said, amazed.

"Hey!" Anya protested.

Willow smiled and levitated the candle out of Samantha's hands.

Samantha giggled.

"Put them back," Anya demanded. "And put out that fire."

Willow obliged her. She put out the fire and returned the candles to their place.

The girls clapped their hands, excited.

"Girls, this is Anya, that's Xander and that is Mr Giles," Faith introduced them. "They're also Buffy's friends."

"Hi," Annabelle said, smiling.

"Do they also, um…" Samantha started, but trailed off, not sure if they knew about demons.

"Yes," Faith said, guessing what she wanted to ask, "they also fight monsters."

"Wow."

"They know?" Giles asked.

"Yes."

"What are your names?" Tara asked the girls.

"I'm Samantha."

"Annabelle."

"Christina."

Tara smiled.

"Nice names. And how old are you?"

"We're seven and Samantha is five."

"So you two are going to school?"

Christina nodded.

"Uh-huh. First grade."

"Do you like it?"

"Uh-huh. It's fun."

"I go to kindergarten," Samantha said.

Tara smiled at her.

"You like it there?"

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh. We play games and we learn stuff."

"Yes, I know."

"Let's go sit down," Buffy said, and they went to the table.

"How did you become a witch?" Annabelle asked Tara when she sat down.

"I've always known I was a witch. My mother was also a witch."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And you?" Christina asked Willow.

"When I met Buffy, I got curious about all the supernatural stuff and I started learning about it. I soon discovered that I could do stuff, so I learned even more."

"Oh."

"Can we be witches too?" Samantha asked and looked at Faith.

Faith smiled at her.

"Maybe when you're older."

"You're a witch too?" Willow asked.

"Not really," Faith said, "but I know a lot about magic."

"Really?"

"Yes." Faith looked at Buffy. "We were just going to get some ice cream before going home. Wanna come?"

Buffy smiled.

"Sure."

Faith looked at the girls.

"Girls, wanna go get that ice cream now?"

"Okay," Samantha said and hopped off the chair.

"I'll come back later," Buffy said.

As Buffy, Faith and the girls left, Willow stared after them thoughtfully.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Willow asked Buffy in the evening, when Buffy came back from Slaying.

Buffy frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You and Faith."

Buffy's frown deepened.

"What about us?"

"What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing," Buffy said, confused. "We're friends."

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, smirking.

Buffy blushed.

"Yes."

"Do you want to be more?"

Buffy's blush deepened.

"More?"

Willow grinned.

"Like a girlfriend?"

Buffy looked away, nervous.

"Yeah," she admitted quietly.

Willow smiled widely.

"Welcome to the team."

Buffy's blush deepened again.

"I'm not gay. I mean, at least I don't think I am. I like boys just fine. It's just… There's something about Faith that… draws me to her."

Willow smiled.

"Looks like someone's in love," she teased in a sing-song voice.

Buffy smiled shyly.

"Not funny."

Willow grinned.

"How long?" she asked, curious.

Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know, a while. I just like spending time with her."

Willow nodded.

"Yep, definitely a sign," she said, and Buffy blushed again. "Do you know if she feels the same?"

Buffy frowned, thinking.

"I don't know. I mean, sometimes I get the feeling that she likes hanging out with me, but sometimes she's just plain hostile. Especially when the girls are in question."

"She's protective?"

"Very. But she's not, you know, smothering them."

"Sounds like she's a good mom."

"Oh yeah, she's a great mom, the girls adore her."

"Sounds like you adore her too," Willow said with a grin.

"Hey!" Buffy protested, blushing.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"I don't know. Nothing for now. I'll wait until I'm sure Faith feels the same."

"That might take a while."

"I know, but if I say something now, she'll say no."

"Oh."

Buffy sighed.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Tara probably already knows."

"How?" Buffy asked with a frown.

"Auras."

"Oh. Right. Well, nobody else then."

"Okay."

A couple of days later, while in the park, Faith's wristlet suddenly made a noise. Faith looked at it and tensed when she saw the message.

"Wow," Buffy said when she saw the surface of the wristlet move. "What is that?"

"A communication device," Faith said. She looked toward the girls. "Girls!" she called. "Come here!"

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"Some… people need my help. I need to go immediately."

"What is it, Mommy?" Christina asked when she and her sisters arrived.

"I need to leave right away, some friends need my help. We need to go home and then I'll call Nancy."

"How long will you be gone?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know, sweetie. I'll try to come back as soon as I can."

"Okay."

"Can I watch them?" Buffy offered.

Faith looked at her.

"You?"

"Yes."

"I might be gone a couple of days."

"I know."

Faith hesitated for a few moments, staring at Buffy, trying to decide if she trusted her enough. Then she looked at the girls.

"Girls, are you okay with Buffy taking care of you while I'm gone?"

The girls looked at Buffy.

"Okay," Samantha said and smiled.

Buffy smiled back and then looked at the twins.

"What about you?"

"Okay," Christina said.

"Okay," Annabelle agreed as well.

Faith looked at Buffy.

"If you have any questions, ask the girls or Nancy."

"I will," Buffy said, excited.

"Okay."

Faith looked at the girls.

"Come here," she said and hugged them. "I love you."

"I love you too," Samantha said.

Faith let go of her, smiling.

"I know, sweetie," she said and gave her a peck on the nose.

Samantha giggled.

"I'll tell Nancy," Buffy said.

Faith looked at her.

"Okay," she said and got up. She took the keys from her pocket and gave them to Buffy. "Here. I'll see you in couple of days." She looked at the girls. "Bye, girls."

"Bye, Mommy," Christina said.

"Bye," Annabelle said.

"Bye, Mommy," Samantha said, waving her hand.

Faith left, and the girls stared after her for a while. Then they looked at Buffy, a bit nervous.

"Can we stay in the park for a while?"

Buffy smiled.

"Sure. And then we'll go to the dorm so I can pack my stuff. Okay?"

"Okay."

When the girls got tired, Buffy took them to the dorm. She quickly packed and then they went home.

When they got home, the girls ran to their room to play, and Buffy called Nancy. When she was done talking to Nancy, she went upstairs to see what the girls were doing and to ask them what they usually did.

The next day, after school, Buffy took the girls home to lunch. She was annoyed that she couldn't cook the lunch herself, but she'd had classes.

"Mom! We're here!" Buffy called as they arrived.

"Hi, girls," Dawn said with a smile.

"Hi," Samantha said, smiling back.

Joyce came from the kitchen.

"Hello, girls. Lunch will be in ten minutes." She looked at Buffy. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, Mom," Buffy said. She looked at Dawn. "Dawn, can you find them something to do?"

"Sure," Dawn said, excited at getting to play the older sister. "Come, girls."

Joyce went back to the kitchen and Buffy followed her.

"What is it, Mom?" Buffy asked when they were alone.

"How are you managing?"

Buffy shrugged.

"Okay. I'm still a bit nervous. I mean, it's like babysitting, only full time. But I like it."

"When is Faith coming back?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know. She said in a couple of days."

Joyce hesitated for a moment.

"And if she doesn't?"

Buffy frowned.

"Why wouldn't she?"

"She might… Something might happen to her."

"Oh. Don't worry, she's… Uh, she'll be okay. And I know she would never abandon the girls."

"I see."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"I definitely need to learn how to cook properly."

Joyce smiled.

"Need lessons?"

"After Faith gets back."

"Okay."

A couple of days later, Faith finally came back.

"Good morning," she said when Buffy opened the door.

"Faith," she said, surprised.

"How are the girls?"

"They're fine. They're still asleep," Buffy reported.

"Did you have any problems?"

"Not really. I mean, cooking is not really my strong point, but I've already talked to Mom and she'll give me some lessons."

"Okay."

"I'm just making myself breakfast. Want some?" Buffy offered as they went to the kitchen.

"No, thanks."

"How did it go?"

"Not good."

"What happened?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"There is something called the Key. It's an energy matrix used for opening portals between dimensions. The monks gave it a Human form and sent it to you."

Buffy frowned.

"To me?"

"Yes."

"I haven't met anyone."

"They also manipulated people's memories."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a moment. "Okay, so they sent me this Key. Why? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Protect it."

Buffy frowned.

"How can I protect it if I don't even know what it is? And from what?"

"From Glorificus."

"What's that?"

"A hellgoddess."

"A goddess?"

"Yes. She was banished from her own dimension by her two co-rulers and she needs the Key to get back."

"Why not give it to her?"

"Because she's a monster. If she used the Key, she would probably destroy this dimension and many others."

"Oh." Buffy put her food on the table, thinking. "Do you know what the Key looks like? Or this Glorificus person?"

"No."

"Great."

"I'll know what the Key looks like when I see it, but I'm not sure about Glorificus."

"What do you mean?"

"I can protect myself from magical changes of reality," Faith explained. She thought for a moment. "Remember Jonathan?"

"Yes."

"I knew he was a fake."

"Oh. Do you know how to kill Glorificus?"

"Not yet."

"Do your friends know?"

"Most of them are dead. Glorificus killed them."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"They did their duty and protected the Key."

"Oh." Buffy thought for a moment. "Thanks for letting me take care of the girls. I loved it."

"Really?"

Buffy nodded, smiling.

"Yes." She hesitated for a moment. "I kinda felt like a mom."

Faith stared at her for a moment and then smiled as well.

"Would you like to babysit them again sometime?"

Buffy's eyes lit up.

"Yes."

"Okay."

Buffy smiled, blushing a bit.

"I was never that excited when I had to babysit Dawn."

"Dawn?"

"Yes. Fortunately, she likes Xander, so I get him to babysit, if Mom's away and I have to go out."

"Who's Dawn?"

Buffy frowned.

"My sister."

"You don't have a sister."

Buffy's frown deepened.

"What do you mean? Of course I do. She's seven years younger than me, remember? And she likes to play big sister to the girls."

"You didn't have a sister when I left."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"You think she's this Key thing?" she asked.

"Could be."

"Is she dangerous?"

"No. She probably doesn't even know what she is. But if Glorificus finds out who she is, she will kill her."

"Oh."

"Ask your mom if me and the girls can come over for lunch. I'll scan Dawn then."

"Will she know?"

"No. You'll have to tell me more about her, so I'll know how to behave."

"Okay. Why don't you go wake up the girls, I have a feeling it might take longer. I'll make them breakfast as soon as I'm done."

Faith smiled and left.

"Wakey, wakey, girls," she said when she came to the girls' room.

The girls slowly woke up.

"Mommy!" Christina said, excited, when she saw her.

Samantha and Annabelle were immediately awake.

"Mommy!" they said in unison.

Faith smiled.

"Good morning," she said and sat on the bed.

The girls immediately got up and hugged her. Faith hugged them back.

"So, was everything okay?" she asked when they stopped hugging.

The girls nodded.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said. "Buffy was really nice."

"You like her?"

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, she said she would love to watch you again sometimes."

Samantha smiled.

"Okay."

"What about Nancy?" Christina asked.

"Nancy can watch you too. It's your choice."

"Oh."

"And how do you two feel about Buffy?" Faith asked the twins.

"She's nice," Annabelle said.

"Uh-huh," Christina agreed, nodding.

"So you don't mind her watching you?"

"Uh-uh."

"Okay." She smiled. "She likes you too, by the way."

"Really?" Samantha asked.

"Yes. She said she felt like a mom while she was watching you."

Samantha smiled.

"She was like you, Mommy," she said.

Faith caressed her.

"Good. Okay, time to get up now. Buffy's already making breakfast."

After school, Faith took the girls straight to Joyce. The twins had homework, so Joyce sent them to the dining room, and Samantha watched TV. Buffy and Dawn weren't home yet, so Faith chatted with Joyce, who was still making lunch.

When Dawn came home, Faith discretely scanned her with a small scanner, even though she could see what she was. Then she scanned Joyce, as well as one of Buffy's hairs she found on her bed. Then she ran a DNA comparison analysis.

"Hi," Buffy said when she came into the kitchen after coming home.

"Hi, honey," Joyce said.

"Have you waited long?" Buffy asked Faith.

"About an hour."

"Oh. Come."

Buffy left the kitchen, and Faith followed her.

"Did you scan her?" Buffy asked quietly when they got to her room.

"Yes."

"And?"

"She's the Key."

"Oh."

"Biologically, she's your sister. You're almost twins."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Is she dangerous?"

"No, she's just a teenager."

"So yes."

Faith chuckled.

"No more than any other teenager."

"Right."

"And don't worry, it would take some really specialized medical tests for any doctor to figure out that she's more than human."

"Good," Buffy said, relieved. She thought for a moment. "So what do I do?"

Faith shrugged.

"Be her annoying big sister."

Buffy smiled.

"Right."

"And don't be too overprotective, it will annoy her and people might start to wonder."

"But how can I protect her?"

"Keep her away from Glorificus."

"What does she look like?"

"I don't know yet."

"Oh."

"She'll probably send her minions after the Key, but fortunately, they don't know what the Key looks like."

"Good. I won't tell anyone about it for now."

Faith nodded.

"A good idea."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"What do her minions look like?"

Faith thought for a moment.

"Like old people with wrinkles and warts. And they dress like monks."

"I'll keep an eye out."

"And also watch out for the Knights of Byzantium."

"Knights?"

"Yes. They're an order dedicated to destroying the Key."

"They want to kill Dawn?"

"They don't know that Dawn is the Key."

"Oh."

"They dress as knights, so you shouldn't have trouble spotting them. At least when they're out fighting."

"Okay. Thanks. I need to go pee."

"I'll be downstairs."

"Okay."

A couple of weeks later, the girls were playing in the back yard and Dawn was watching them. The twins were playing in the pool and Samantha was staring at the flowers, practicing what her mother had taught her about auras and energies. She looked at her sisters, but then she noticed Dawn and her eyes went wide. She stared at her, curiously.

“You okay, Samantha?” Dawn asked when she saw Samantha watching her.

“You’re so pretty,” Samantha said, awed.

Dawn smiled.

“Why thank you. You’re pretty yourself.”

Samantha smiled. She got up and ran to her sisters to play.

In the evening, as they were getting ready to go to bed, Buffy noticed Samantha stare at her strangely.

“You okay, honey?”

Samantha nodded.

“Uh-huh. I just wanted to see if you’re as shiny as Aunt Dawn.”

Buffy frowned.

“Shiny?”

Samantha nodded again.

“Uh-huh. When I looked at her like Mommy taught me, I saw that she was all shiny green. She was really pretty.”

“Oh.”

“But you’re not. Shiny, I mean.”

Buffy thought for a moment and then smiled.

“Well, she is special.”

“Really?” Samantha said, wide-eyed. “How?”

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

“Well, I have to talk to Mommy first, okay? I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“But don’t mention that to anyone, okay?”

Samantha nodded.

“Okay.”

“Faith,” Buffy said when the girls were tucked in.

“Yes?”

“Uh, I think Samantha knows that Dawn is the Key.”

Faith raised an eyebrow.

“She does?”

“Yes. She said she was watching her like you taught her and she saw that Dawn was all shiny and green.”

Faith nodded.

“Yes. What did you tell her?”

“I told her that Dawn was special. I said I needed to talk to you first and I’d tell her tomorrow. And I told her not to talk to anyone about it.”

Faith nodded.”

“Okay.”

“What do we tell her?”

Faith thought for a moment.

“Well, Dawn is your sister, so the choice is yours. But I think we should tell the girls the truth. If Samantha figured it out, the twins will probably soon follow. And I think you should tell Dawn and your mom, so they’ll be prepared.”

“And the guys?”

Faith thought about it.

“The less people know about it, the better. You know everyone will start investigating and observing Dawn and acting all weird. And Giles might write it in his diary.”

Buffy frowned.

“I guess.” She thought for a moment. “How about we have lunch at my mom’s tomorrow and tell everyone.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll call Mom.”

The next day, Faith took the girls straight to Joyce’s house after school. Since Buffy and Dawn weren’t home, the twins did their homework, Samantha watched cartoons and Faith talked to Joyce. Dawn was the first to arrive. When Samantha wanted to take a look at her, Faith told her to wait until Buffy came.

“Hi,” Buffy said as she arrived. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Now, Mommy?” Samantha asked Faith.

Faith smiled at her.

“Yes, now.” She looked at Dawn. “Dawn, get your mom, will you? Buffy and I have something to tell you.”

“Okay,” Dawn said and left.

Samantha went to Faith and sat in her lap.

“Come, girls,” Buffy told the twins and sat on the sofa.

“What’s going on?” Annabelle asked as they joined them.

“Yeah. Samantha’s been acting weird,” Christina said.

“You’ll find out in a moment.”

“Okay.”

Dawn and Joyce arrived.

“What’s up?” Dawn asked when she saw that everyone was seated.

Faith looked at Buffy.

“Go ahead.”

Buffy looked at her mother and sister.

“Uh, sit down.”

“Is something wrong?” Joyce asked as she and Dawn sat down.

“Well, no, not really.” She hesitated for a moment, thinking. “Well, there’s no easy way to say it. Uh, you remember we talked about the Key and how Glory was looking for it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, uh, Dawn’s the Key.”

Dawn and Joyce looked at one another.

“Me?” Dawn then said apprehensively.

“Yeah.”

“But… I feel normal.”

“You look pretty,” Samantha said with a smile, staring at her weirdly again.

The twins glanced at her and then looked at Dawn.

“Wow,” Christina said.

“She’s all shiny and green,” Annabelle said.

“Uh-huh.”

Dawn looked at herself, nervous.

“What does that mean?” Joyce asked, glancing at Dawn.

Buffy looked at Faith.

“Uh, Faith, I think you can explain this better than me.”

“The Key is an energy matrix for opening portals between dimensions,” Faith said. “It was protected by some friends of mine, but they were killed by Glory. But, before that, they transformed the Key into a Human and sent it to Buffy. They also changed the reality so that everyone would think Dawn is Buffy’s sister.”

“I’m not real?” Dawn asked.

Faith sensed that she was distressed.

“Of course you are. You’re as real as me or Buffy or the girls. Biologically, you’re practically Buffy’s twin.” She smiled. “Just because you’ve only existed for a few months and weren’t actually born doesn’t mean that you’re not Buffy’s little sister. Whatever your origin, you’re Human now. Well, a little more than Human, but you get the point. Your memories may have been implanted, but since you’ve been in Human form, they’re your memories and your life and you get to make the choices for yourself. The reason we’re telling you this is because Samantha noticed it and we knew that Annabelle and Christina would notice it as well. We felt you should know so that you would be extra careful.”

“Who else knows?” Joyce asked.

“Just us.”

“How long have you know?”

“Practically from the beginning. When Buffy was babysitting the girls for the first time, I went to help my friends. When I got back, Buffy mentioned Dawn. That’s when I figured it out.”

“Aunt Dawn, are you okay?” Christina asked, worried.

Dawn blinked, startled.

“Yes.”

“She’s just… shocked. I bet Mama was just as shocked when she found out she was a Slayer.”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, remembering. “I just didn’t want it to be true.”

Samantha slid off Faith’s lap and went to Dawn.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, Aunt Dawn,” she said, wide-eyed.

Dawn smiled at her.

“It’s not your fault, Samantha,” she said and caressed her.

“You’re not mad at me?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

“Does that mean Aunt Dawn is a superhero like Mama?” Annabelle asked.

“Sort of,” Faith said.

“What kind of superpowers does she have?”

“Well, she doesn’t have any superpowers like Mama, but she can open portals between dimensions.”

“Wow.”

Joyce put her arm around Dawn and kissed her on the top of the head.

“You’re still my baby, Dawn.”

Dawn sobbed for a moment.

“This is so weird,” she said.

“If you want to talk about how it is to be different…” Buffy offered.

Dawn smiled a little.

“Thanks.”

Buffy smiled.

“That’s what big sisters are for,” she said, and Dawn’s smile widened a little.

“Will you still play with us, Aunt Dawn?” Samantha asked.

Dawn smiled at her.

“Sure.”

Samantha smiled.

“Okay.”

“Lunch anyone?” Joyce asked.

A few months later, Buffy took the girls to the Magic Box while Faith was doing something at home. The twins were reading a book and Samantha was drawing when suddenly Glory entered.

“Aww, how cute,” she cooed.

“Buffy!” Willow called. “Girls, go to the back of the shop,” she instructed the girls.

The girls quickly moved, scared.

“What… Glory,” Buffy said when she saw the hellgoddess.

“Slayer,” Glory said. “I want my Key.”

“Even if I had it, I wouldn’t give it to you,” Buffy said.

“Hmm, I sense a certain lack of cooperation. Looks like you need some encouraging.”

She looked at the girls and extended her arm. Lightning flew out from her fingers and struck Christina.

“No!” Buffy screamed, scared.

Christina gasped and tensed, but her instincts kicked in and Glory's energy went right through her and into the ground. Samantha and Annabelle moved in to protect her and Buffy moved toward Glory. Suddenly Faith came out of nowhere. When she saw that Christina was under Glory's attack, she looked at Glory, and Glory was thrown out the door. She looked back at Christina. When she saw the girl was okay, she quickly sent a cleansing burst of energy at her. Then she moved toward the door and vanished.

"What the hell?" Xander said, astonished.

Anya ran to the door.

Faith reappeared next to Glory. She grabbed her and looked toward the Magic Box.

"Tara, follow me," she said.

Then she and Glory were gone.

"They're gone," Anya reported.

"Who?" Willow asked.

"Glory and Faith."

"Faith?"

"Yes."

"She wants me to go after her," Tara said.

Willow looked at her.

"Who?"

"Faith."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know."

Tara closed her eyes and concentrated. A few moment later a portal to the ghost roads opened. She opened her eyes and went through.

"Tara!"

Buffy went to the girls and hugged them.

"Shh, it's okay," she said. She looked at Christina. "Are you okay, honey?" she asked, worried.

Christina nodded, wide-eyed.

"Uh-huh."

"We have to cleanse her," Samantha said and let go of Christina.

Buffy let go of them.

"You sure you're okay?"

Christina nodded.

"Yes."

Buffy caressed her.

"What just happened?" Xander asked. "How did Faith do that? I thought she wasn't a witch."

"She's not," Buffy said.

"But how did she do that? You saw how Glory just flew out the door."

"I don't know."

"Mom!" Nancy called, worried, when she came across Faith and Glory on the ghost roads.

"Go to the girls, they're at the Magic Box," Faith said, struggling with Glory, who was quickly coming back to strength.

"Okay," Nancy said and left.

Faith didn't take Glory far, just to the nearest meadow outside Sunnydale.

When Tara came to the meadow, she saw Faith holding Glory by the neck with one hand and Glory's chest with the other. The energy discharges were enormous, but Faith seemed unaffected.

Faith looked at her.

"Erect a bubble around us to contain the energy," she said.

"How?" Tara asked, unsure.

"Follow your instincts," Faith said and concentrated on Glory.

Tara gulped, nervous. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated. A few moments later, a bubble slowly started to form. It was weak at first and most of the energy went through, but Tara soon learned how to harness that energy to reinforce the bubble.

When Nancy got to the Magic Box, she waited until no one was looking toward the door, and then left the ghost roads. She went straight to the girls.

"Hello, girls," she said with a smile.

"Nancy!" Annabelle said.

"How are you, sweetie?" Nancy asked Christina.

The girls hugged her, and Nancy caressed them.

"A demon attacked me," Christina said, wide-eyed.

Nancy kneeled.

"You don't look hurt."

"She… She threw a beam at me."

"Oh." Nancy touched her cheek and smiled. "I see she couldn't touch you."

Christina smiled a little.

"It went right through me."

"Good."

"We cleansed her," Samantha said.

Nancy smiled at her.

"Yes. And you did a good job." She ran her hands down Christina's body, then down Samantha's and finally down Annabelle's. "There, that should take care of the rest."

"Who is she?" Willow asked Buffy.

Buffy looked at her.

"Nancy. She's their… well, big sister."

"Sister?"

"That's how the girls think of her. She babysat them when Faith first came to town," Buffy explained.

"Oh. Is she a witch?"

"No."

"But she knows about cleansing." Willow frowned. "And so do the girls."

"Faith knows a lot about magic and she taught them how to protect themselves."

"She did one hell of a job," Xander said. "I mean, Glory can kick your ass, but Christina wasn't even phased."

"Yes."

Nancy looked at Buffy.

"What exactly happened?"

"That hellgoddess, Glory, she came here. She was being annoying as usual, but then she attacked Christina. I guess she wanted to hurt me. Fortunately, Christina channeled the energy away from herself, I guess. Then Faith showed up and somehow pushed Glory away. She went after her."

"I see."

"Do you have any idea where she went?"

Nancy concentrated.

"There," Samantha said and pointed toward the back wall.

The twins pointed as well.

"Yes," Nancy said.

"How do you know?" Xander asked, confused.

"They're Faith's daughters, they always know where their mother is," Nancy said.

"I need to go to her, she might need help," Buffy said. She hesitated for a moment. "You'll have to show me the way."

"I need to take the girls home."

"You can't leave them alone, they'll have to go with us."

Nancy looked at the girls, reluctant to expose them to danger.

"I don't know…"

"I know you want to protect them, I do too, but I want to help Faith as well."

"Can we go help Mommy?" Annabelle asked Nancy.

Nancy hesitated for a moment.

"Okay." She looked at Buffy. "You have Faith's car?"

"Yes."

"Let's go. I'm driving."

"Come, girls," Buffy said, and took the car keys from her pocket. "Here," she said and threw them to Nancy, who caught them. She looked at Giles. "Giles, I'm going to help Faith."

"I'm coming with you," Willow said. "You might need another witch."

"There's no space in the car."

"I can take Giles' car." She looked at Giles. "Giles?"

"Uh, yes," Giles agreed.

"Okay, follow us," Buffy said and followed Nancy and the girls out.

When they got to the meadow, they were all awed by the sight. Tara was standing on the edge of the meadow, projecting a bubble, which was holding in the energy which Glory was emitting. Next to Glory, Faith stood immovably, apparently unaffected by the energy. Glory, however, was raving, trying to break out of Faith's hold.

Buffy got out.

"Stay in the car," she told Nancy. "If things get complicated, get out of here."

Nancy nodded.

Buffy walked close to the energy bubble. She noticed motion with the corner of her eye and she looked toward Giles' car.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Dawn, worried.

"I don't know, I felt like I should be here."

Buffy sighed.

"Stay away from the bubble."

"Wow," Xander said. "How does she do that?" He looked at Buffy. "I thought she wasn't a witch."

"She's not."

"Then how does she do that?"

"I don't know."

Xander looked at Tara.

"I didn't know Tara could do that."

"Me neither," Willow said.

An hour later, the fight between Glory and Faith was still going on. Faith was completely relaxed, in spite of the fact that her daughters and Dawn were there. She knew now that she could defeat Glorificus, she could feel her fear. Still, there were two issues that she was still thinking about. First, how to rescue Glorificus' host, and second, how to send Glorificus back to where she came from without the fight lasting a week. She knew she could do both, but she wanted to go back to her girls as soon as possible.

When she finally felt that Glorificus' grip on her host was slipping, she started to separate them. Glorificus fought back, but Faith had no problem channeling the energy. Soon, Faith could feel that Glorificus started to concentrate on maintaining her own integrity and that she was letting the host go, even though she still tried to kill it.

"What's going on?" Xander asked.

"I don't know," Buffy said.

"Looks like she's tearing Glory apart," Dawn said.

"Yeah," Xander agreed.

Slowly, Faith separated Glorificus and her host. She could feel that the host was in pain and scared. She sent him a reassuring nudge and then let him drop to the ground.

"Ugh, that's the real Glorificus?" Xander made a face.

"That's Ben," Dawn said.

"Ben?

"Yes, the doctor."

"Yes," Buffy said.

"How did he get there?" Xander asked.

"I think he was her host," Buffy said.

"Ben?"

"Yes."

Suddenly Faith looked at Dawn.

"I need your help."

"Did you hear that?" Xander said, startled.

"Voice projection," Willow said.

Dawn gulped. She knew Faith wanted her because she was the Key, and she was scared. Still, she knew she had to go help and she knew that Faith would protect her.

"Dawn!" Buffy said, worried, when she saw Dawn move toward the bubble. "Dawn, stop!" she called again when Dawn ignored her.

"Where is she going?" Xander asked, worried.

"Help Faith."

"Why?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment. She didn't like lying to her friends, but she didn't want to risk Glorificus finding out that Dawn was the Key. Though she probably would once Dawn joined Faith.

"I don't know," she said.

When Dawn got to the bubble, she hesitated for a moment and then stepped in. Inside, she stopped and shuddered. The vibes were just freaky. She gulped and quickly walked over to Faith.

"Hug me from behind and relax," Faith told her.

"Okay," Dawn said and did so.

Faith waited until Dawn was ready. Then she connected to the Key. She heard Dawn gasp, so she slowed down a little. When she felt that Dawn was okay, she started to open the portal. She could feel Glorificus' confusion. She knew the hellgoddess was surprised and excited, but she could also feel that she was worried, because she was weak. Faith could easily kill her, but she didn't like using her energy to kill. So she decided to send Glorificus back home and let her peers deal with her.

When she finally opened the portal, Faith wasted no time. She pushed Glorificus through it, and then quickly closed it again. Then she took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Dawn."

Dawn opened her eyes and slowly let go of Faith. She looked around.

“Where’s Glory?”

“I sent her back to her own dimension.”

“Oh.”

Faith closed her eyes and concentrated for a few moments, cleansing herself.

Then the bubble slowly disappeared as Tara realized that Glory was gone.

“Let me cleanse you,” Faith said.

“Cleanse?” Dawn asked.

“Of residual energy.”

“Oh.”

Faith ran her hands down Dawn’s body.

“There.”

“That’s it?” Dawn asked, startled.

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“Dawn, are you okay?” Buffy asked, worried, as she came closer.

Dawn looked at her.

“Yes.”

“What happened? Why did you need Dawn?” Buffy asked Faith.

“Because she’s the Key.”

“Oh.”

“But don’t let the others know.”

Buffy looked at Ben.

“How did Ben get here?” Xander asked as he came closer.

“He was Glorificus’ host,” Faith explained.

“Oh. Is he okay?”

“Yes.”

Faith closed her eyes, kneeled beside Ben, and started to cleanse him.

“Are you okay?” Willow asked Tara as she came to her.

Tara looked at her and smiled.

“I’m fine.”

“Why did Faith choose you?”

Tara shrugged, feeling that Willow was jealous a little.

“You’ll have to ask her that.”

“Oh.” Willow thought for a moment. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

Tara smiled again.

“Me neither.” She shuddered. “I need a shower.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Yes. I feel like I just fell into a pool of slime that smells like rotten eggs,” Tara said and shuddered again.

“Oh.”

“Help me cleanse myself.”

When the girls saw that Glorificus was gone and that the bubble had disappeared, they started to unbuckle themselves.

“Girls…” Nancy said when she saw what they were doing.

“Can we go to Mommy now?” Samantha asked.

Nancy hesitated for a moment.

“I’ll ask her,” she said and got out of the car. She waited for Faith to stop cleansing Ben. “Can we come closer?!” she then called.

Faith looked at her and smiled.

“Yes!” she called.

Nancy looked into the car.

“Okay, we can go closer,” she told the girls and then went to the other side of the car. The girls quickly unbuckled themselves and got up. “Stay close to me.”

The girls reluctantly obeyed, knowing that Nancy was just being careful.

They quickly walked toward Faith, but when they entered the area where the bubble was, they all stopped.

“Nancy?” Christina said, scared a little, and moved closer to her.

“It’s okay, the demon’s gone now, you’re safe. Come, let’s go to Mommy.”

Christina took Nancy’s hand, and Samantha took Annabelle’s.

Faith, who noticed that the girls felt the bad energy, took off her jacket and covered Ben. Then she went to the girls.

“Mommy!” Christina called and ran to her.

Samantha and Annabelle followed.

Faith kneeled and hugged them.

“Shh, it’s okay, you’re safe now.”

Buffy also approached them, and she caressed the girls.

“Can we go home, Mommy?” Samantha asked.

Faith let go of them and smiled.

“Sure,” she said and caressed Samantha. “I just need to take that man to Mr Giles. Nancy will take you home. I’ll probably be home before you.”

“Okay.”

Faith looked at Christina.

“I see you cleansed yourself.”

“Uh-huh,” Christina said with a nod.

“Annabelle and me helped,” Samantha said.

Faith smiled at her.

“You did a good job.

“Nancy helped too.”

“Good.” She caressed each of them. “Now go with Nancy. I’ll see you at home.”

“Okay.”

The girls went with Nancy.

Faith got up and looked at Buffy.

“Will you go with them or with Dawn?”

Buffy thought for a moment.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Dawn?” she asked her sister.

Dawn nodded.

“Yes. I’ll have Willow drop me off at home.”

“Okay.” She looked at Faith. “I’ll go with the girls.”

“Okay,” Faith said.

Buffy hesitated for a moment and then hugged Dawn, who hugged her back, surprised.

Faith kneeled beside Ben and picked him up.

“I expect you to keep quiet about what happened here,” she said, giving everyone a stern look. Then she disappeared.

“Man,” Xander said.

“She means it,” Buffy said. “Don’t tell anyone about it.”

“What about Giles?”

“She’ll tell him what he needs to know.”

“That’s it?”

Buffy thought for a moment.

“She feels that if people knew about what she can do, it would endanger the girls. And you don’t want to do that, you saw what happened to Glory.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll keep quiet about it,” Tara said.

Buffy smiled at her.

“Thanks.”

When Faith came out of nowhere carrying a naked man, Giles stopped, startled.

“Uh…”

“This is Glorificus’ host. I don’t know where he lives, so I thought maybe he could stay at your place until he wakes up.”

“I see.”

“Is that okay with you?”

“Uh, yes, I suppose. He’s not dangerous, is he?”

“No. Lock up, we’re taking the ghost roads.”

“Uh, okay.”

When they got to Giles’ place, Giles led the way upstairs and showed Faith where to put Ben. Faith laid him on the bed and took her jacket.

“He’ll need some clothes,” she said as she covered him with the blanket.

“Yes.”

Faith looked at him.

“As far as the Council or anyone else is concerned, you think Glorificus was killed by the Knights of Byzantium and they used the Key to do it. I don’t want you mentioning me or the girls. Is that clear?”

For some reason Giles felt that it wouldn’t be good if he disobeyed.

“Uh, yes. May I ask why?”

“I don’t want anyone to bother me or threaten my girls.”

“Oh. Very well.”

“That goes for the others as well.”

“Yes, of course.”

Faith stared at him for a moment and then left.

When Buffy, Nancy and the girls got home, Faith was already waiting.

“Mommy!” Christina said, relieved, and ran to her.

Faith picked her up.

“Shh, it’s okay, sweetie, it’s okay.”

“Are you gonna stay home now?”

Faith caressed her.

“Yes. How about we take a shower, get that icky feeling off.”

Christina nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

Faith looked at Christina and Annabelle.

“You two wash your hands.”

“Okay,” Annabelle said and headed toward the stairs. Samantha and Buffy followed her.

Faith looked at Nancy.

“You too.”

Nancy smiled.

“Yes, Mom,” she said and followed the girls.

Faith looked back at Christina.

“It felt icky, didn’t it?”

Christina nodded.

“And slimy and it stank.”

Faith smiled.

“Yes. But you handled it well.”

Christina smiled.

“Just like you taught me.”

“Just like I taught you,” Faith said and gave her a peck on the nose. “Don’t worry, that demon is gone now and it’s not coming back.”

“Who was that man?”

“The host. The demon couldn’t survive here without a host.”

“Is he gonna be okay?”

“Yes. He’s asleep now.”

“Oh.”

When they got to the bathroom, Nancy helped Samantha and Annabelle wash their hands, and Faith helped Christina undress. Buffy felt like a fifth wheel. Nancy, Samantha and Annabelle were quickly done, so Buffy followed them to the girls’ room.

When Faith and Christina were done, Faith helped Christina dry. Then she wrapped her in a towel and carried her to the girls’ room.

“Buffy, could you help her get dressed and then dry her hair?”

“Sure,” Buffy said, glad she could do something.

Faith smiled and went to her room to dress. She had felt that something was on Buffy’s mind and she thought she knew what it was. Buffy’s relief just now confirmed it. She decided to talk to Buffy later.

When Faith dressed, she went back to the girls' room, where Buffy was already drying Christina's hair. Annabelle and Samantha were sitting on either side of Nancy. Faith didn't need any special powers to tell that they were all frightened. She smiled.

"You did well today, all of you," she said. She sat on a chair and looked at Christina. "That demon only wanted to hurt you, because she knew she would hurt Buffy. But you channeled that energy away from you, just like I taught you. And then you cleansed yourself."

"Samantha and Annabelle and Nancy helped," Christina said.

Faith smiled.

"I know. Anyway, you don't have to worry about that demon anymore, I sent her back to where she came from. She won't hurt anyone ever again."

"She was icky," Samantha said.

Faith smiled at her.

"Yes, she was."

"Why did she look pretty at first and then ugly?" Annabelle asked.

"Well, she was a demon. She couldn't survive on her own here, so she needed a host, a body she could use."

"That man?"

"Yes. That's how she could make herself look Human. But after I separated her from the host, she had to use her own form, which here on Earth looked very ugly."

"She looks different where she came from?" Christina asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, in different dimensions, different laws apply."

"What laws?"

"What's a dimension?" Samantha asked.

Faith thought for a moment.

"Well, let's take a book for example. It represents the universe."

"What's that?"

Faith smiled.

"I'll explain when you're older."

"Oh."

"Anyway, the pages inside then represent different dimensions, different worlds."

"Like planets?" Annabelle asked.

"Not exactly. In our dimension, there are different planets, but not all are inhabited. I'll show you later, if you want."

"Okay."

"Anyway, there are planets in other dimensions as well. Now, to make things simpler, let's say that there is only one planet in each dimension, even though there's not. Each page in the book represents one planet in one dimension. All together, they represent the universe. And in order to get from one dimension to another, you need to make a passage. Now, how do you get from one page to another? And you can't go across the edges."

The girls thought about it.

"Can you make a hole?" Annabelle asked.

Faith smiled.

"Yes. You need a passage to get from one world to another. It's a little more complicated, but you get the idea. Anyway, about the laws. There's many laws. For example, in our dimension, the sky is dark and the stars shine brightly at night. Now in other dimension, the sky could be light and the stars would be dim at night. You three look like pretty girls here, but in another dimension, you could look like green giants."

"Really?" Samantha asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes."

"So that demon could look pretty in her own dimension?" Christina asked.

"Yes."

"But she wasn't nice."

Faith smiled.

"Beauty has nothing to do with a person being nice. I've met beautiful people who were evil, and I've met ugly people who were really nice."

"Oh."

"There you go, sweetie," Buffy said as she finished drying Christina's hair.

"Thank you," Christina said.

Buffy smiled.

"You're welcome."

"Want to hear a story?" Faith asked.

"Uh-huh," Samantha said, nodding excitedly.

Christina hopped off the bed and ran to Faith, who picked her up and sat her in her lap.

Samantha crawled around Nancy to Buffy.

Buffy smiled at her, glad that she hasn't lost the girl's trust, and sat her in her lap.

"Okay, let's see what kind of story I should tell," Faith said, even though she already knew what story she would tell.

"That was me," Christina said when Faith was done.

Faith smiled at her.

"No, but she had a similar experience."

"Oh."

"It's okay to be scared, sweetie, I was scared too."

Christina's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes. But I did what had to be done, just like you did."

"Me?"

"Yes. You were scared, but you still channeled that energy away from you. And Annabelle and Samantha were scared too, but they still ran to protect you."

"And Buffy did too," Nancy said. "And then she went to help Mommy, even though she was scared of the demon lady."

"Oh," Christina said.

Faith hugged Christina a little tighter.

"You'll be okay, sweetie, and I'll teach you more. Now, wanna dry my hair?"

Christina nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Let's go to the bed," Faith said and got up.

Buffy and Nancy quickly made way.

When Faith felt the girls were gonna be okay, she left them playing with Nancy. Buffy followed her.

"Faith."

Faith stopped.

"Yes?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"I'm sorry I endangered the girls."

Faith smiled softly.

"It wasn't your fault. I know they mean a lot to you."

"But…"

"You didn't attack Christina, Glorificus did."

"Well, yes, but…"

"I could blame myself for letting them go with you, but I don't. So how about we get over it and blame the real culprit, Glorificus."

Buffy stared at Faith for a few moments.

"You're not mad at me?"

Faith smiled.

"No."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." She hesitated for a moment. "Uh, do you, uh, want me to stay here tonight?" she asked. "It might make the girls feel safer."

"If you want," Faith said, knowing that Buffy felt the need to stay.

Buffy nodded.

"I do."

"Okay."

Buffy smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Faith thought for a moment. "Uh, I told Mr Giles to claim that you think Glorificus had been destroyed by the Knights of Byzantium, who had probably used the Key to do it."

"Oh."

"I don't want anyone mentioning me or the girls. Or the fact that Dawn is the Key."

Buffy nodded.

"Me neither. I'll make up a story with them tomorrow."

"Okay. I'm going to that meadow to cleanse it. I'll be back in five minutes."

"Okay. I'll be with the girls."

A couple of months later, Nancy found Faith sitting on the bench in the back yard, hugging her legs, obviously deep in thought.

"Thinking about Buffy again?" she asked her.

Faith looked at her, blushing.

"Yeah."

"Happy thoughts?"

Faith smiled a bit.

"Yeah."

"Want to share?"

Faith raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Haven't we had this conversation before?"

Nancy smiled.

"And we're probably gonna have it again."

Faith chuckled.

"Yeah."

"And?"

Faith took a deep breath.

"I'm definitely in love with her," she admitted.

Nancy smiled again.

"That's nice."

"Yeah," she said and looked at the girls, who were playing.

"Does she feel the same way?"

Faith shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Sometimes I think that she might."

"Why don't you tell her how you feel about her?"

Faith sighed.

"Because I don't want to risk our friendship."

"You think she won't want to be your friend anymore?"

Faith shrugged.

"No, it's just… things might be awkward and she might avoid me."

"I see." Nancy sighed. "But unless you tell her, you'll never know if there might be more."

Faith looked at her, smiling sadly.

"I know."

"Are you sad, Mommy?" Christina asked as she and her sisters came to them, having noticed Faith's sad look.

Faith smiled at her.

"No."

"She's in love," Nancy said.

"Nancy," Faith said and glared at her, but her eyes told Nancy that she wasn't angry.

"Really?" Samantha said, excited.

"With who?" Annabelle asked, curious.

Faith sighed and looked at them.

"Buffy," she admitted, blushing a bit.

"Really?"

"But she's a girl," Christina said with a frown.

"So?" Faith said.

"But aren't boys supposed to go with girls and girls with boys?"

Faith smiled a little.

"No. Girls can love girls and boys can love boys. And Humans can love monsters too."

"Really?"

"Yes. Buffy was in love with one."

Christina's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yes. But he wasn't evil."

"Oh."

"Will Buffy be our mommy too?" Samantha asked.

Faith ruffled her hair, smiling.

"Would you like that?"

Samantha thought about it and then nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Faith sighed.

"Me too. Unfortunately, I don't think Buffy feels the same way about me."

"Why not?"

Faith smiled a little.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, "she just doesn't."

When Buffy came over to train two days later, it was Saturday. When Faith had gone to the kitchen, Buffy went to the living room to greet the girls.

"Hi, girls," she said with a smile.

"Hi," the twins said.

Buffy noticed that Samantha was pouting and, apparently, ignoring her.

"Samantha?" she asked and approached her. She glanced at the twins questioningly, but they shrugged, not knowing what was bothering their little sister. "What's wrong, honey?" she asked and kneeled beside her. She thought for a moment. "Are you mad at me?"

Samantha finally looked at her.

"Yes," she said and crossed her arms.

"Why?" Buffy asked, puzzled.

"Because you don't love Mommy."

Buffy blinked, surprised.

"Huh?"

"Mommy loves you, but you don't love her."

A smile slowly started to spread across Buffy's face.

"How do you know?"

"She said so."

"That she loves me?"

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh."

Buffy squirmed, squealing like a little girl, and hugged Samantha tightly.

"I do love her," she said when she let go of Samantha.

"Really?" Samantha said, her eyes wide.

Buffy smiled.

"Yes," she said, blushing deeply.

Samantha frowned.

"But Mommy said you don't."

Buffy caressed her.

"I know." She thought for a moment. "I think we were both a bit afraid."

"Oh."

"Anyway, as you grow older, you'll find that sometimes someone will be in love with you, but you won't be in love with them. Or you'll be in love with someone, but they won't be in love with them."

"Really?"

"Yes." Buffy thought for a moment. "Remember when you first met your mommy?"

Samantha nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"You know how she cared about you, right? Even though she didn't know whether you'd want her to be your mommy."

"Oh."

Buffy smiled.

"You see, her love for me, or you, doesn't depend on me and you loving her back."

Samantha frowned.

"Oh."

Buffy ruffled her hair.

"You'll understand when you're older."

Samantha smiled.

"Okay."

Buffy got up.

"Your mommy and I are gonna train now."

"Okay."

Buffy turned and nearly jumped, surprised, when she saw Faith.

"Jeez. You sure know how to sneak up on people."

Faith smiled a little.

"Yes."

"How long have you been there?" Buffy asked, a bit nervous.

"Long enough."

Buffy hesitated for a moment and then approached Faith.

"Is it true what Samantha said?"

Faith blushed a bit.

"Yes. Is it true what you said?"

Buffy smiled, blushing a bit.

"Yes."

They stared at one another for a few moments, both a bit nervous.

"I love you, Buffy," Faith finally said, her heart beating fast.

Buffy smiled.

"I love you too, Faith."

She hesitated for a moment and then stepped up to Faith and hugged her around her waist. Faith smiled and hugged her back.

"I think I understand why you're afraid of dating," Buffy said after a few moments of thinking.

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because you'll outlive me. Slayer or not, I'm gonna die sooner or later, but you'll live on for who knows how long." Buffy smiled sadly. "That's why I'm reluctant to date as well, because I know I probably won't live till I'm thirty."

Faith sighed.

"Yeah." She gulped. "But I'm willing to take a chance."

Buffy smiled.

"Me too."

Faith hesitated for a moment and then leaned in for a kiss.

When Buffy realized what Faith wanted, she blushed.

"I, uh, I've never been with a girl before," she said, nervous.

Faith smiled.

"Relax, it's been a while since I've been with one too."

Buffy frowned.

"You didn't sleep with anyone?"

"I had sex, but I didn't date."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, we'll take it slow. We don't have to kiss if you're not ready."

Buffy blushed again.

"I'm ready," she quickly said. "I'm just… nervous."

Faith smiled again and then leaned in.

Buffy stared at Faith's lips and licked her own.

When their lips finally touched, Faith stopped and let Buffy take the initiative. Buffy didn't waste time and she immediately deepened the kiss.

The girls noticed what they were doing and they stared at them, curious.

When Buffy and Faith stopped kissing, Samantha clapped, excited. Buffy and Faith looked at her, blushing.

"That was pretty," Samantha declared.

Buffy and Faith smiled.

"I'm glad you like," Buffy said.

Faith took Buffy's hand and they went to the girls.

"Well, girls, it looks like Buffy and me are a couple now," she said and looked at Buffy. "Right?"

Buffy smiled widely.

"Definitely."

"Does that make you our mommy?" Christina asked with a frown.

Buffy looked at Faith.

"I don't mind," Faith said.

Buffy smiled, relieved, and looked at the girls.

"If you'll have me," she said.

"But what do we call you? We can't call you Mommy, we already call Mommy that," Annabelle said.

"Well, you can call me Mama," Buffy said. "Or Buffy, whatever you feel suits you."

"Oh."

"Cool," Samantha said, excited, and hugged Buffy.

Buffy smiled and ruffled her hair.

"And guess what that makes my mom."

Samantha let go of Buffy and looked at her.

"What?"

"Your grandma."

Samantha's eyes went wide.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Cool!"

"Why don't you girls go on playing and Buffy and I will… talk," Faith said.

"Okay," Annabelle said.

"Are you gonna live with us now?" Samantha asked.

Buffy glanced at Faith.

"I don't know yet. We'll see."

"Oh."

"Go, play."

The girls returned to their game, and Buffy followed Faith to the back yard.

"It's been a while since I've been this nervous," Faith said after they sat down on the bench.

Buffy smiled at her.

"You're not the only one."

Faith smiled a little.

"So what now?" she asked. "Do we date?"

Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know. We could go out sometimes, just the two of us," she suggested. "Maybe to the movies or to a dinner. Or to the Bronze."

"Yes." She thought for a moment. "Would you like to move in with me?"

"Yes."

Faith nodded.

"I'll think about it."

"Okay."

Faith glanced at Buffy.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to this. The last time I had anything resembling a date was when I was seventeen."

"That's okay," Buffy said. "My relationships weren't all that great either."

Faith thought for a few moments.

"I suppose I could tell you a bit more about me."

"You don't have to, if you don't want," Buffy said.

"I want to," Faith said, "it's just that I'm still pretty paranoid."

Buffy smiled a bit.

"Don't worry, anything you tell me will remain a secret."

Faith sighed and nodded. She hesitated for a moment.

"I'm from Atlantis," she then said.

"Atlantis?" Buffy said, surprised.

"Yes."

"I thought that was just a myth."

"No, it was real."

Buffy frowned.

"Then you're, like, ten thousand years old."

"I was 12383 years old three months ago."

Buffy's eyes went wide.

"Wow." She thought for a moment. "How…"

"How come I'm immortal?" Faith asked when Buffy trailed off.

"Yes."

Faith sighed. She hesitated for a few moments.

"I killed someone and was cursed," she then admitted.

"Oh," Buffy said, surprised.

She hesitated for a moment and then took Faith's hand into her own.

Faith looked at her, and Buffy smiled at her. Faith smiled back.

"You're not upset?" she asked, nervous.

Buffy shook her head.

"No. I don't know what kind of person you were back then or why you killed that person, but I know you're a wonderful person now."

"Thanks," Faith said and looked away, relieved. She thought for a few moments. "Feel like training?"

Buffy looked at her.

"Not really. I kinda just want to sit here with you."

Faith smiled.

"Okay."

The End