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.

Unburdened
By Kristjan Brezovnik

"That was great," Angel said, a little breathless, as she and Raven came out of a club.

Raven grinned.

"You bet. Those guys were drooling."

Angel smiled.

"What did you do to that guy who tried to grope you?"

"I grabbed his balls."

Angel's eyes went wide.

"You didn't!"

Raven grinned again.

"You bet I did."

"I think he was actually starting to cry."

"Good. So, what do you want to do now?"

Angel thought for a moment.

"I'm kinda hungry."

"Yeah, me too." Raven looked at herself and then at Angel. "Damn, we eat for a platoon and we still look hot."

Angel smiled.

"Yeah. Cool. No need for diets."

"Yeah, but all this eating is a bitch for the wallet."

"Yeah, there's that. McDonald's?"

"Nah, too late for that. I don't want junk food before bed."

"What then?"

"Don't know. Some restaurant."

"Okay, let's go see what's open."

"Okay," Raven said and they headed down the street. "Good thing tomorrow's Saturday, I just wanna sleep late."

Angel smiled.

"Me too. What are we gonna do tomorrow?"

Raven thought for a moment.

"Hey, we could go to the zoo."

Angel thought about it.

"Okay. Cool." She grinned. "Sounds like a date."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"You need to get laid, girl."

"Tell me about it."

"You need to get yourself a girlfriend."

"I'm trying to."

Raven smiled.

"Look, Angel, I told you…"

"I know, I know, but it could work."

"We don't even know who we are. Suppose we already have girlfriends. Or hey, what if we have boyfriends?"

"Maybe we do, maybe we don't. Or hey, maybe we actually are a couple. And what if we never regain our memories. I don't wanna be single all my life."

"You mean, you don't want to be celibate all your life."

"Well, yeah, that too."

"Then get a one night stand to take care of your itch."

"I want you to take care of my itch."

Raven grinned.

"You're gonna need a cold shower tonight."

Angel groaned.

"Raven."

"Just don't be too loud."

"Raven!" Angel said, wide-eyed, and mock-slapped Raven on the arm.

Raven grinned.

"It's making me horny."

"See! I could scratch your itch in return."

"Look, Angel, you're the only friend I got and I really don't want to screw our friendship, you know?"

"It's just sex, not a relationship."

"And we've had this conversation for… Hell, I lost count."

Angel sighed.

"I know. Sorry. But we could try a relationship, you know. I mean, we're both adults. And we live together. If it doesn't work out, we can still be friends. And don't tell me you haven't been thinking about it."

Raven sighed.

"I have. But for some reason, every time I think about sex or relationship, I just… It makes me shiver."

"Oh. Do you know why?"

Raven shrugged.

"Don't know. I guess it has something to do with my life."

"Just because you had bad experiences before doesn't mean that our relationship can't work. And we can take it slow, you know."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"No sex?"

Angel grinned.

"Not right away. When you feel comfortable. Until then I'll just have to make do with cold showers and my fingers."

Raven laughed.

"You're crazy."

"Dancing always makes me horny."

"Yeah, me too," Raven admitted. "And hungry."

"Yeah." Angel frowned. "Do you feel that?" she asked, looking around.

"Yeah, I was just wondering about that," Raven said and looked around as well.

"It kinda feels like you."

Raven glanced at Angel.

"Me?"

"Yeah. But differently. You feel better."

Raven frowned.

"Now that you mention it."

"You feel me too?" Angel asked, glancing at Raven.

"Yeah."

"Cool."

"Yeah. But this new feeling is giving me the creeps."

"Me too." She shuddered. "Must be those guys."

"Yeah."

They observed the approaching group warily.

"Maybe we should…"

"Hello, girlies," one of the approaching group said. "Looking for some fun?"

"No, just food," Angel said.

"Funny, so are we," the man said and morphed into his game face.

"The fuck!" Raven said, surprised.

The men attacked them. Angel and Raven were scared at first, but when the first hits started to score, their bodies took over. They were both confused, but they didn't complain. The only thing that made them worry was the fact that the freaks kept coming back, no matter how hard they hit them. But then one of the attackers hit a wooden bench and exploded in a cloud of dust. Angel and Raven were both surprised.

"Wood!" Raven called and ran to the bench. She kicked at the bench, breaking it. "Here!" she called and threw a sharp piece of wood to Angel, who was covering her back.

"What do we do with it?" Angel asked.

"Stake them!"

"What?" Angel asked, her eyes wide.

"Stake them!"

"But…"

"I don't know what they are, but they're not human! Aim for the chest!" Raven attacked the closest vampire and staked him. "See!" she said, glancing at Angel.

Angel followed her lead and staked the nearest vamp, but nothing happened.

"Nothing happened!" Angel called worried.

"What?" Raven said, confused. She thought for a moment. "Try the heart!"

Angel tried again.

"It worked!" she called, excited.

"All right!"

More confident now, they went on the offensive.

"They're Slayers!" one of the vamps finally realized.

Angel and Raven both noticed that the vamps suddenly became much more disorganized, like they were scared.

When only three remained, they decided to run away.

"We need to capture one," Raven said and ran after them.

"Why?" Angel called as she followed her.

"They got some answers!" Raven called as she threw her piece of wood after the closest vamp. The vamp tripped and went down. Raven was on him in a second, retrieving the wood as she went. "Okay, buster, we got questions," she said as she positioned the wood over his heart. "What the fuck are you? And what the fuck are we?"

"Raven?" Angel asked as she reached them.

Raven glanced at her.

"He has some answers," she said and looked back at the vamp. "So?"

"I'm a vampire," the vamp said.

Raven frowned.

"As in Dracula?"

"Yes."

Raven thought for a moment and then felt his pulse. There was none.

"He ain't got no pulse. And he's cold too."

"Really?" Angel said.

"Yeah. And what are we?"

"Slayers. I think."

"What's a Slayer?"

"You hunt demons."

"We're not human?"

"You are, but you have special powers."

"Like what?"

The vamp frowned.

"I don't know. You're, like, superhuman or something."

"Do you know our names?" Angel asked.

The vamp shook his head.

"No."

"Okay. Thanks," Raven said and rammed the wood into his dead heart. She got up and looked at Angel, who was staring at the dust. "You okay?"

Angel looked at her.

"Yeah, it's just…"

"Weird, I know."

"Yes." She frowned. "Did he say demons?"

Raven frowned as well.

"I think so."

"Did he mean just vampires or are there other demons?"

Raven glanced at the dust pile.

"I don't know."

"I guess that explains why we can feel one another and why we could feel them."

"I guess." Raven looked at the piece of wood she was holding. "We need to get ourselves some real stakes."

"Stakes?"

"Yeah, you know, if we come across more of them."

"Why not knives or something?"

Raven frowned.

"I don't know. Oh yeah, most clubs have metal detectors."

"Oh, right. Damn."

Raven grinned.

"Did you see how we fought?"

Angel's eyes went wide.

"Yes. It was so odd. I was scared, but when I got hit, my body just reacted."

"I guess we did that before."

"Yeah. And we've probably fought together too, considering how we covered one another."

"Yeah. It was like I knew what you were gonna do next."

"Yes, me too."

"We gotta practice this."

"Yes."

"Let's go find some place to eat. This fight made me really hungry."

"Me too." Angel hesitated for a moment. "And horny."

Raven grinned at her.

"Yeah, that too."

Angel shuddered.

"I'm gonna need a long cold shower."

"Tell me about it." Raven thought for a moment. "So what do you think our superpowers are?" she asked, oddly excited.

Angel smiled.

"I don't know." She thought for a moment. "He said we're, like, superhuman."

"So?"

"Well, those guys were awfully fast and they could take some serious beating. When I kicked one of them, he actually flew a couple of meters. I guess we're really fast and really strong." She looked at Raven's face. "Your bruise is almost gone."

Raven touched her face.

"I have a bruise?"

"Yes. Here," Angel said and touched the spot.

Raven ran her fingers across it.

"It doesn't really hurt."

"It's almost gone now, but a couple of minutes ago, it was swollen."

"Cool, we heal fast too."

"Yeah." Angel thought for a moment. "I guess that's why we eat so much."

Raven thought about it.

"Could be." Her stomach rumbled. "Damn."

Angel giggled.

"There's a Chinese restaurant over there."

"Let's go, we don't want to keep the king waiting."

The next day, they went to the zoo. Since they had all day and had decided to eat at the zoo, they slowly walked around, looking at the animals and chatting. After lunch, they sat down and rested a little.

"This is nice," Raven said as they watched the kids play.

"Yeah," Angel agreed.

Raven glanced at Angel.

"I kinda wish I could help them."

Angel looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

Raven shrugged.

"I don't know. Seems like I like kids."

Angel smiled.

"Yeah, me too."

Raven hesitated for a moment.

"You know, I was thinking. I don't wanna work in a club all my life."

"Yeah, me neither."

"But if we want better jobs, we'd need to at least take the GED."

Angel made a face.

"School?"

"Yeah, I know, it sucks. But I'm seriously considering going to college."

"You are?"

"Yeah. I'd like to work with kids some day."

Angel smiled.

"Somebody's a romantic."

Raven smiled back, blushing a little.

"Yeah, I guess."

"We need to get ourselves some fake IDs."

"Yeah."

"Ready to move on, or do you want to watch the kids some more?"

Raven smiled.

"Let's go. We still need to practice when we get back."

"Oh yeah. Okay."

When they got back, they changed into looser clothes and went out again. They went to the nearest parking house and went to the top of it.

"Okay, this is weird," Raven said after they stretched.

"What?"

"I'm not quite sure what to do."

Angel smiled.

"Yeah. I'm kinda worried about hurting you."

"Yeah, me too."

"Let's start slowly."

"Okay. Attack."

Angel hesitated for a moment and then attacked.

After an hour or so, they stopped, both breathless.

"Damn. This was so cool," Angel said.

"Yeah," Raven agreed. "But now I'm hungry." She frowned. "And horny."

Angel giggled.

"Me too."

"Let's go grab something to eat."

"Okay."

They headed toward the exit.

"We need to try some weapons," Raven said.

Angel glanced at her.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Staffs?"

"Okay." Angel thought for a moment. "Do you think we should go out and… slay?"

Raven thought about it.

"I don't know. I suppose we should, but I really want to practice some more before I go after any demon."

"Yeah."

"And we should go find some shop that deals with the occult. Maybe they have some books on demons."

"Or Slayers!"

"Yeah."

When they got home after dinner, they each took a shower. Then they lay on their bed and watched TV.

"Angel," Raven finally spoke.

Angel looked at her.

"Yeah?"

Raven hesitated for a moment.

"Do you want just sex or do you want to date?"

"Both," Angel said with a smile. "I mean, yes, I want to have sex with you, but I also want to date you, you know?" She reached over and took hold of Raven's hand. "And I'm not in a big hurry to get into your panties, so don't worry, whenever you're ready."

Raven smiled a little.

"Okay."

"Does that mean we can be girlfriends?"

"Yeah."

Angel smiled.

"Cool! What made you change your mind?"

Raven sighed.

"I was thinking about us being Slayers and stuff. Somehow I doubt Slayers have long lives."

"Oh."

"And you're right, we may never regain our memories. I mean, we might, and we might even have girlfriends or boyfriends, but at least we'll have some wonderful memories."

Angel smiled.

"I'm sure we will," she said, and Raven smiled back. "So, can I kiss my girlfriend?"

Raven blushed a little.

"Sure."

"Goodie!" Angel said and leaned closer, excited. She licked her lips and then slowly kissed Raven, who only hesitated for a moment before returning the kiss. "Nice," Angel said when they stopped kissing. She licked her lips again. "We definitely gotta do that some more."

"We can do it all you want," Raven said with a smile.

Angel smiled.

"Better not. We might end up having sex and I don't think you're quite ready for that."

"Oh."

"But we can cuddle."

Raven grinned.

"Okay."

They both lay down and moved closer together.

"I just hope I won't need another cold shower later," Angel said after they stared at one another for a few moments.

Raven smiled.

"So, want me to cuddle up to you or do you want to cuddle up to me?"

"I want to cuddle up to you," Angel quickly said.

Raven's smile grew bigger.

"Okay," she said and rolled on her back.

Angel cuddled up to her.

"Mmm, comfy."

Raven hesitated for a moment and then kissed her on the top of the head.

Angel looked up at her, smiling.

"I like this," Raven said, blushing.

"Good."

"Is there a library near here?" Raven asked on Monday as they walked home after work.

Angel frowned.

"I don't know. Why?"

"I want to see if they have anything on GED."

"You really want to do this?"

"Yeah."

"We can ask Gia tomorrow."

"Okay." Raven looked at a group of kids going home from school. "I really want to work with kids."

Angel smiled and gently squeezed her hand.

"I bet you'd be wonderful with them."

Raven looked at her, blushing a little.

"I hope so." She thought for a moment. "I wish we could have kids."

"Yeah, me too. Perhaps we'll be able to adopt them some day."

"But they'd still be in danger."

Angel frowned.

"Why?"

"Slayers, remember?"

"Oh. Right." She made a face. "This sucks."

"Yeah. But we could work with other people's kids. Or maybe in a shelter."

Angel thought about it.

"I guess. But that would mean going to college."

"Yeah."

Angel pouted.

"School sucks."

Raven smiled.

"At least we'd be going together."

Angel thought about it.

"I suppose."

"And if we go to college, we could apply for scholarship or something. And get a room at the dorm. We could save on the rent."

"I guess. But we'd still need to work."

"Yeah. We could work the evening shift. I know Gia would love that."

Angel smiled.

"Oh yeah."

"Okay, let's go home, I wanna kick your butt some more."

Angel laughed.

"In your dreams."

"I do other stuff with your butt in my dreams."

Angel grinned, blushing a little.

"I can't wait till you do it in the real world," she said and licked her lips.

Raven grinned.

"Be careful what you wish for."

Angel laughed again.

Three weeks later, Raven finally felt comfortable with having sex with Angel. She told Angel that just before their customary practice, which made Angel so horny that she could barely concentrate on fighting. Raven enjoyed every moment of teasing.

After practice, they first went to grab something to eat. Raven enjoyed watching Angel squirm, even though she could barely control herself.

When they got home, Angel pinned Raven to the wall and kissed her deeply.

"Shower. Now," she then said and started dragging Raven to the bathroom. Then she stopped. "That is, if you're okay with it," she asked, hoping she wasn't rushing things.

Raven smiled.

"Hell yeah."

Angel smiled back and they ran to the bathroom.

"Allow me," Angel said when Raven started to undress herself.

Raven grinned.

"By all means," she said and let Angel undress her.

"Mmm, very nice," Angel said when she was done.

Raven blushed.

"You like?"

"I definitely like. Turn around." Raven did so. "Yep, definitely sexy."

"Okay, my turn," raven then said.

"Hurry."

Raven chuckled.

"Somebody's horny."

"Like you're not."

"You have no idea."

"Wanna bet?"

"Right now I want to do something else."

Angel smiled.

"Me too. Now hurry up."

Raven quickly finished undressing Angel.

"You're dripping," she then said with a grin.

"So are you."

"Turn around." Angel did so. "Oh yeah, fucking hot."

"Good, not let's get in the shower," Angel said and pulled Raven after her. She pinned her to the wall and kissed her again. "As much as I want to fuck you right here, I'd much rather do it in bed. At least the first time."

"Me too."

"Okay, then we better wash ourselves instead of one another. It'll be faster."

"Okay," Raven agreed.

Angel gave her a quick kiss.

"Love you."

Raven smiled.

"Love you too."

After the shower, they quickly dried and then they ran to the bed. Angel tried not to push it, but she was horny and it was driving her crazy. Still, she focused and brought Raven to a wonderful orgasm.

"B!!!!!!!!!" Raven screamed as she came.

It took Angel a moment to realize what Raven was screaming. She continued to rub Raven even though she was confused.

"Uh, that was…" Raven started when she calmed down a little. Then she remembered what she screamed. Her eyes went wide. "Oh." She looked at Angel, who was looking at her expectantly. "Sorry," she said, feeling guilty for spoiling their first sex.

"Do you remember?" Angel asked.

Raven frowned.

"No."

"What were you thinking about when you came?"

Raven blinked.

"You."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

Angel moved up and kissed her.

"Hey, maybe we both have other people somewhere, but right now we're together."

Raven sighed.

"Still. It freaks me out. I should be screaming your name."

"Maybe you did."

Raven frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe my name is B. Or Bee. Or it starts with a B."

Raven thought about it.

"I don't know. I mean, I was thinking about you. And we did wake up together, so we knew each other from before. I suppose it could be."

Angel smiled.

"It's okay." She frowned. "Though now I'm worried what I'll scream."

Raven grinned.

"Let's find out."

"You sure?"

"Oh yeah. You're so horny they probably smell you next door."

Angel blushed.

"Shut up and make me cum."

"Yes, Ma'am," Raven said and rolled them over.

Five months later, they went on patrol as usual.

"That was great!" Angel said after they killed a group of vamps, and gave Raven a high five.

"You bet," Raven said with a grin.

"Buffy! Buffy!"

They looked toward the caller.

"Is she calling you?" Raven asked.

"Uh, I don't know," Angel said.

The caller and her friend came closer.

"It is you!" the caller said, excited.

"Uh, do I know you?" Angel asked.

The girl frowned.

"It's me, Willow. Your best friend."

"We lost our memories," Raven said.

Willow looked at her.

"Faith," she said coldly.

"You know me too?" Raven asked hopefully.

"Yes."

"So I'm Buffy and she's Faith?" Angel asked.

Willow looked at her.

"Yes."

"Buffy. I think it suits you," Faith told Buffy.

Buffy smiled at her.

"It's weird."

"At least you're not called after a noun."

"Faith sounds nice."

Faith smiled.

"Yours is nicer."

"Flatterer."

"Uh, excuse me?" Willow said, perplexed.

Buffy and Faith looked at her, blushing a little.

"Sorry," Faith said. She looked at Willow's friend. "And you are?"

"T-Tara," Tara said.

"Hey. We know you too?"

"B-Buffy does."

"Oh. Oh!" she suddenly realized. "We can go home now!" she said, looking at Buffy. "Right?"

"Yes," Buffy said with a smile. She looked at Willow. "Where are we from?"

"You're from Sunnydale and Faith is from Boston."

Buffy frowned.

"Where's Sunnydale?"

"Two hours from here."

"Oh."

"Let's go," Buffy said, excited.

"Uh, we still have to quit our jobs and return the books," Faith reminded her.

"Oh." She looked at Willow and Tara. "Can you two stay overnight?"

"Sure," Willow said.

"Great. Let's go to our place then." She looked at Faith. "We can quit our job tomorrow, before we return the books."

"We start early and Gia's bound to call if we don't show up," Faith pointed out.

"Oh," Buffy said with a frown. She looked at Willow. "We'll have to do a little detour."

"Where do you work?"

"In a club. But we work the morning shift."

"Oh."

"Let's go." They started walking. "Um, Willow, what can you tell us about us? Do we have a family?"

"You do. You have a mom. Well, and a dad, but they're divorced and I don't know where he is."

"And Raven? I mean, Faith?"

"No, no one."

"Oh." Buffy looked at Faith. "You'll stay at my place."

Faith smiled.

"Thanks."

"So, um, I guess you know about Slayers and demons, right?" Willow asked.

They looked at her.

"Yes," Faith said. "You know about them too?"

"Yes. How did you find out?"

"We were attacked by a bunch of vampires. We didn't know what they were, but we still kicked their butts. One of them called us Slayers."

"Then we interrogated one of them, that's how we know," Buffy said. "And we accidentally found out how to kill them."

"And we checked out the occult shops and got some books."

"Yeah. We started to train to see what we could do, and then we started going out."

"H-How long have you t-two b-been together?" Tara asked.

They looked at her, smiling widely.

"Almost five months," Faith said proudly, and took Buffy's hand.

"What?" Willow said, surprised.

"Do we have anyone?" Buffy asked, a little worried.

"Well, uh, Faith doesn't. You were flirting with your TA."

Buffy frowned.

"TA?"

"Yes."

"I go to college?"

"Yes."

"Cool." She looked at Faith. "I can skip the GED then."

"And me?" Faith asked.

Willow frowned.

"As far as I know, you dropped out of high school."

"Damn," Faith said.

"Hey, I'll keep you company while you study," Buffy said.

"You'll be studying for your own exams."

"Oh, right. Damn." She looked at Willow. "Is she pretty?"

Willow frowned.

"Who?"

"My TA."

"It's a he. Riley."

"Really?" Buffy said, surprised.

"Yes. And then there's your ex."

"Another man?"

"Yes. Well, sort of. He's a vampire with a soul."

Buffy's eyes went wide.

"A vampire?"

"With a soul. His name is Angel."

Buffy blinked.

"Angel?" she said, startled.

"Yes."

Faith laughed.

"Talk about irony."

"What?" Willow asked, confused.

"I named her after her ex."

Willow frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"We didn't know our names, so we gave each other names," Buffy explained, smiling. "She named me Angel and I named her Raven."

"Oh." Willow thought for a moment. "I didn't know you were gay."

"Me neither," Buffy said, blushing a little.

"How did you two end up together?"

"She seduced me," Faith said with a grin, making Buffy's blush deepen. "By the way, am I gay or straight?"

Willow frowned.

"Uh, I don't know. As far as I know, you're straight."

Faith chuckled and looked at Buffy.

"Looks like neither of us was as straight as we thought."

Buffy smiled.

"Yeah." She looked at Willow. "Was it serious with this Riley guy?"

"I don't know. You were very fond of him. But I think he moved on."

"Oh. Whew, no broken hearts then." Then her eyes went wide as she remembered something. "I was right!"

"About what?" Faith asked, confused.

"About B! You were calling my name."

Faith blinked and then grinned. She looked at Willow.

"You sure Ang… uh, Buffy and I weren't flirting?"

"Pretty much," Willow said.

"I hope coming home will help us remember," Buffy said.

Faith smiled at her.

"Yeah, me too."

Willow looked at Tara, not quite sure how to feel. Tara smiled at her and squeezed her hand.

When they got to Willow's car, Willow took them to the club, and Buffy and Faith quit their jobs. Then they went to their apartment.

"Not bad," Willow said.

"It's a dump, but at least it's clean," Faith said.

"Are these the b-books you n-need to r-return?" Tara asked as she looked at the pile of books.

"Yes," Buffy said. "Rave… uh, Faith insisted that we take the GED, so we were trying to get ready for it. Plus, we were trying to learn more about the occult."

"Faith insisted?" Willow asked, surprised.

Buffy smiled.

"Yes. Seems she's the more responsible of us."

Willow blinked.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No. Why?"

Willow hesitated for a moment.

"Well, Faith and responsibility don't exactly fit in the same sentence. Hell, not even in the same library."

"W-Willow," Tara chided her.

Faith stared at Willow quietly. She'd had the feeling before that Willow didn't like her, but now it was crystal clear.

"Uh, why don't I show you guys to the shower," Buffy said. "R… uh, Faith, you see if we can make them a makeshift bed or something."

"Okay," Faith said.

"Come, guys," Buffy said.

While Buffy showed Willow and Tara to the bathroom, Faith quickly got a couple of blankets and sheets and made a makeshift bed.

"They're taking a shower," Buffy said as she returned.

"Okay," Faith said.

Buffy looked at the makeshift bed.

"Not bad."

"We don't have a spare mattress, so…"

"It's okay." Buffy hesitated for a moment. "Sorry about Willow."

"Looks like I wasn't the nicest person," Faith said.

Buffy stepped close to her and put her arms around her.

"Perhaps, but you are now."

"But what about when we regain our memories?"

"You'll have these memories too. I'm sure they'll influence you a lot."

Faith smiled a little.

"I hope so."

Buffy gave her a peck on the nose.

"It'll be okay, you'll see."

"You sh-should be n-nicer to F-Faith," Tara chided Willow in the bathroom.

"What?" Willow said, startled.

"She doesn't rem-member."

"But…"

"Sh-She's a whole d-different p-person now. A-And she may remain n-nice."

Willow sighed.

"It's just weird. And I can't believe Buffy is gay. I mean, Faith, okay, I can believe she is, but Buffy?"

"You are," Tara pointed out with a smirk.

Willow blushed.

"I suppose." She sighed. "It's just… Seeing them together like that, it's weird. I mean, the last time they were together, they were trying to kill one another."

"What will you tell them?"

Willow sighed.

"I'll do a spell that will help them remember. Then it will be up to them."

"Give F-Faith a ch-chance," Tara said and kissed Willow.

"W-We're d-done," Tara said when she came from the bathroom.

"Okay," Buffy said with a smile, and went to the bathroom.

"Was I bad?" Faith asked Tara when they were alone.

"What?" Tara said, startled.

"Was I bad? Before. Willow doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Oh." Tara hesitated for a moment. "Yes, I think so. I-I didn't know you very w-well. We b-barely met."

"Oh. And, uh, Buffy and I? Were we friends?"

Tara hesitated again.

"N-Not exactly."

Faith sighed.

"I hope we won't end up hating each other."

Tara thought for a moment.

"W-Willow will r-restore your memories."

Faith frowned.

"How?"

"M-Magic."

"Oh. She can do that?"

"Yes. She's a witch."

"Cool."

Tara smiled a little.

"But then it will be up to you."

Faith took a deep breath.

"Yeah."

"Come, Faith!" Buffy called from the bathroom as Willow got up.

Faith smiled at Tara.

"Thanks," she said and went to the bathroom.

"Everything okay?" Willow asked Tara when they were alone.

"She's just w-worried. She f-feels that s-something isn't right."

"Oh."

The next morning, they first checked out. Then they bought themselves some breakfast and then Willow drove them around so Buffy and Faith could return their books. After that, they went back to Sunnydale. They went straight to Giles' house. Willow called ahead, so everyone but Joyce was there.

"Buffster!" Xander called, excited. "Faith," he said coldly.

When Faith saw the cold looks she was getting from Buffy's friends, she got really worried. Buffy could feel her anxiety, so she squeezed her hand. Faith looked at her, and Buffy smiled reassuringly.

"Uh, hello, Buffy," Giles said.

"Uh, hi," Buffy said, and looked at Willow questioningly.

"Oh, right," Willow said, realizing that Buffy didn't know anyone. "Uh, this is Giles, your Watcher. That's Xander and that's his girl Anya," she introduced them.

"Hi," Buffy said.

"Hey," Faith said, nervous.

"I'll get the spell ready," Willow said. "Giles, I need one of your books."

"Uh, books?" Giles said, startled.

"I'm going to restore their memories."

"Oh, right. Come."

They left.

"So, um, where's my mom?" Buffy asked.

"Home," Xander said. "She's waiting for you."

"Oh." Buffy frowned. "I thought she knew about this magic stuff."

"She does. Willow told her to make lunch."

Buffy frowned, confused.

"Oh." She looked at Faith, feeling her anxiety. "Hey," she said with a smile.

Faith smiled back.

"Just nervous," she said.

Buffy gently squeezed her hand.

"Why are you holding hands?" Xander asked with a frown.

Buffy and Faith looked at him.

"Because they're girlfriends, stupid," Anya said.

"What?" Xander said, surprised.

"Willow didn't tell them that?" Faith asked Tara.

"N-No," Tara said with a smile.

"You're gay?" Xander asked Buffy.

"Apparently," Buffy said with a shrug. "I don't know."

"And you’re with her?"

"Yes," Buffy said, mildly annoyed. She looked at Faith. "Let’s sit down."

"Okay, I’m ready," Willow said when she and Giles came back. "I’ll have to do you one at a time. Buffy?"

"What do I do?" Buffy asked as she got up.

"Just drink this."

"Okay," Buffy said and stepped closer.

Faith got up, ready to follow Buffy.

"Here," Willow said and gave Buffy a glass.

Buffy made a face.

"It stinks."

"Just drink it. Then I’ll do an incantation."

Buffy took a deep breath and then quickly drank the mixture. She made a face.

"Yuck. Couldn’t you add some mint?"

Willow ignored her and spoke an incantation in a language that Buffy didn’t recognize.

"Buffy?" Faith asked, worried, when Buffy shuddered violently.

Buffy looked at her, but the look of loathing in her eyes felt like a punch to the gut to Faith.

"Faith," Buffy said.

Faith swallowed. A single word, her name, and it sounded like the most vile thing in the world.

"You remember?" Willow asked Buffy.

Buffy looked at her.

"Yes."

Willow smiled, excited.

"Good." She looked at Faith. "Okay, Faith your turn."

Faith looked at her.

"Uh, I don't think I want to remember," she said, nervous.

Willow frowned.

"Why not?"

"I think you know why," Faith said and looked at Buffy.

"I want you to remember," Buffy said.

Faith shook her head.

"No."

"Yes."

"Buffy…"

"You will remember," Buffy said angrily and stepped toward Faith.

Faith backed off.

"Buffy, please…"

"I want you to remember, Faith!" Buffy screamed and grabbed Faith.

Faith's eyes went wide.

"Buffy!"

"Buffy, c-calm d-down," Tara said, worried.

"Don't tell me to calm down," Buffy snapped at her.

"Buffy," Giles tried to reason.

Buffy glanced at him.

"Give me the potion," she told Willow.

"Uh…" Willow said.

"Now!"

"Buffy, stop, please," Faith begged and tried to break free from Buffy's grip.

"Shut up, Faith," Buffy snapped at her. She looked at Willow. "Give me the potion."

Willow gave her the potion.

"Buffy…"

"Drink," Buffy told Faith.

Faith shook her head.

"No."

"Drink!"

"No."

Buffy tried to force Faith to drink the potion, but Faith pushed her away. They stared at one another for a couple of moments, Buffy angry and confused, Faith confused and scared.

"I'm sorry," Faith then said and ran away.

Buffy wanted to run after her, but she stopped. She was confused and her actions shocked her. She remembered their past, but she also remembered the past six months. She'd never been so happy. And now it was over. A part of her regretted remembering.

"Buffy," Willow said. Buffy looked at her. "I'll walk you home."

Buffy sighed.

"Okay," she said and gave her the potion.

Faith just ran for a while. She knew Buffy wasn't following her, but it felt good. She barely noticed the tears that were running down her cheeks. When she finally slowed down to a walk, she let the tears run for a while, before she wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked around. She knew in which town she was, but she didn't know her way around. She decided to grab something to eat first and then ask where she could get a cheap room.

"Buffy!" Joyce said, relieved, when Buffy and Willow finally arrived.

"Hi, Mom," Buffy said.

They hugged.

"Oh, baby, I missed you so much," Joyce said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just peachy."

Joyce let go of her.

"Buffy?" she asked, confused.

"She's just confused," Willow said.

"Oh."

"I need to use the bathroom," Buffy said.

"Uh, okay," Joyce said.

Buffy went upstairs.

"I'll, uh, go," Willow said.

"Okay," Joyce said. "Thank you."

"No problem."

Three days later, Faith had pretty much decided to leave town. A part of her, however, wanted to stay, so she put off her departure.

"Faith?"

Faith didn't react, because she still thought of herself as Raven. She paid for her food and then looked around for a place to seat.

"Hello, Faith."

Faith noticed that a woman was looking at her. Then she realized that the woman was calling her.

"Uh, hi," she said, wondering who the woman is.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Uh, no."

Faith walked to a table, and the woman joined her.

"How are you? Willow mentioned that she found you both, but Buffy's not saying much."

"I'm fine."

"Good. Do you happen to know what's wrong with Buffy?"

Faith frowned.

"Wrong?"

"Yes. She seems… Sad."

"Oh."

"She spends most of her time in her room… brooding. I tried talking to her, but she's not saying much."

"You're her mom," Faith suddenly realized.

"Yes," Joyce said, confused.

Faith looked around, but she couldn't see Buffy. Then she remembered that she would feel Buffy when she was near, so she calmed down.

"You don't remember?" Joyce asked.

Faith shook her head.

"No."

Joyce frowned.

"How come?"

Faith looked at her food, hesitating.

"When Willow and Tara found us, I noticed that Willow wasn't very fond of me. When we got to, uh, Mr Giles' place, I noticed that the others weren't very fond of me either. I asked Tara about it and she said Buffy and I weren't exactly friends."

"You weren't?" Joyce said, surprised.

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know." She sighed. "Anyway, when Willow made Buffy remember, she looked at me, like I was…" She shuddered. "I didn't want to remember."

"Oh." Joyce thought for a few moments. "So, um, what did you two do?"

"When?"

"While you had amnesia."

"Oh." Faith took a bite, thinking about it. "We moved around for a while, until we got jobs at a club."

"Club?"

"Yeah. It was okay and it paid well too, so we could afford a decent place to stay. We even started studying for the GED."

"Really? I thought you didn't like school."

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know. But I wanted to work with kids some day, so I needed some education for that. Angel… I mean, Buffy, she was the one who wasn't too fond of studying. But she knew I had a point."

"She's still not." Faith smiled a little. "You called her Angel?" Joyce then asked, curious.

Faith nodded.

"Yeah. We didn't know our names, so we named each other. I named her Angel, because that was the first thing that came to mind," she said, blushing. "She named me Raven. She said it was because of my hair. It's not really black, but she thought it sounded cool."

Joyce smiled.

"Angel and Raven."

"Yeah." Faith thought for a moment. "Anyway, we eventually found out that we were Slayers."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We were attacked by a group of vampires. We took care of them and we interrogated one of them. Then we went to occult shops and read some books."

"I see. Did you go on patrols?"

"Yeah. It was pretty weird at first." She thought for a moment. "Do I have anyone?"

"Anyone?"

"Yeah. Boyfriend or girlfriend."

"I don't know. I don't think you had anyone."

"Oh."

"Family?"

"I don’t think so."

"Oh." Faith sighed. "I’m glad she has a family." She frowned. "Do I have a Watcher?"

Joyce thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure. I know your first Watcher died. Then there was some woman, who was evil and whom Buffy killed, and then there was, uh, Wesley."

"Wesley?"

"Yes. But you didn't get along with him. He left town."

"Oh."

"So what are your plans now?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm leaving town."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't want to run into Buffy."

"You’re worried about how she’ll react?"

"No, I’m worried about how I’ll react if I remember." She hesitated for a moment. "I don’t want to hurt her," she said and looked at her food.

"Oh." Joyce thought for a few moments. "I’m guessing you two got along well?"

Faith frowned.

"She didn’t tell you?"

"She didn’t say much."

Faith sighed.

"We were together," she said and blushed a little.

"Really?" Joyce said, surprised.

"Yeah." Faith chuckled. "It was actually her that wanted to be with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Faith sighed. "I was hoping that we would at least be friends after we remembered."

She bit her lip and looked at her food.

Joyce observed her for a while, thinking over the fact that Faith and Buffy used to be girlfriends.

"Where are you going?"

Faith shrugged.

"I don’t know yet."

"Well, call me, okay? I want to know you’re okay."

Faith looked at her, startled.

"You do?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I like you."

Faith frowned.

"You do?"

"Yes," Joyce said with a smile.

"Oh."

Joyce rummaged through her purse.

"Here," she said, taking out a card. "My phone number at the gallery," she said, giving it to Faith. "You can call me there, if you don’t want Buffy to know we’re in contact."

"Uh, thanks," Faith said, glancing at the card before putting it away. "Oh, do you think you could get my stuff? It’s just one bag. I left it at Mr Giles’ house."

Joyce nodded.

"Buffy brought it home. We can meet here tomorrow at this time or I can deliver it somewhere."

"Tomorrow’s okay."

"Good."

After roaming around LA for a while, Faith decided she needed to go further. She considered going to Mexico, but she decided to go north instead. She ended up in San Francisco. When she got herself a place to stay, she called Joyce.

"Summers," Joyce answered.

"Um, hello, Mrs, uh, Summers," Faith said.

"Faith! Hello. How are you?"

"Okay."

"Where are you?"

"Uh…" Faith hesitated for a moment. "San Francisco."

"Ah."

"Just don’t tell Buffy."

"I won’t. I won’t even tell her we’re speaking."

"Thanks."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yes."

"Good. Keep me posted, will you?"

"Sure."

"And if you ever need to just talk, give me a call."

"Thanks."

"So, San Francisco?"

After she settled down at a motel in San Francisco, Faith thought about a job. She was still looking when Joyce told her she could try working at a gallery. Faith had nothing to lose, so she accepted Joyce's help. But while shuffling crates kept her physically fit, she knew she needed to keep her fighting skills up as well. And since she couldn't spar with Buffy anymore, she needed to find another sparing partner. The ideal opportunity offered itself when she spotted an ad for self-defense training. She didn't need one, but she could help with one.

"Hi, Mrs Summers."

"Faith! How are you?"

"I'm okay."

"How's the job?"

"Okay. A little boring, but at least I can study a little in between."

"Nice."

"Yeah." Faith hesitated for a moment. "I got myself another job."

"Really? What kind?"

"I'm a self-defense instructor."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah. I mostly train grownups, but there are a couple groups of children."

"You teach children too?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's okay." She hesitated for a moment. "I wish Ang… I mean, Buffy was here." She frowned. "I mean, I don't know how she feels about this now."

"She likes children."

"Oh." Faith hesitated for a moment. "How is she?"

"She's getting better. She's starting to prepare for school."

"That's good." Faith thought for a moment. "Um, if she needs help, you know, with saving the world, you can leave a message at the gallery."

"I will."

"Okay."

"So, how's the GED stuff coming along?"

"Hi, Mrs Summers," Faith said, excited, when she called Joyce after she got the results from the GED.

"Hello, Faith. How are you?"

"Great," Faith said, glad she had someone to share the good news with. "I got my GED results today."

"And?"

"I passed."

"Congratulations, Faith."

"Thanks."

"I'm glad you made it."

"Yeah, me too."

"Have you thought about going to college?"

"Yeah. But I need to find out how to apply and stuff."

"I can help you out, if you want."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

"No problem."

When Joyce heard Buffy worry that she couldn't handle Adam, she called Faith. Faith immediately took leave and came to Sunnydale. She met Joyce at the gallery and Joyce filled her in.

"What are you going to do?" Joyce then asked.

Faith thought for a moment.

"I don't know. I'm gonna scout the area and keep out of Buffy's way. I'll bring you the address of my motel later, so you can call me if you find out that Buffy is going on the offensive or if she needs help."

"Okay. And be careful. This Adam person has Buffy worried."

"Okay. I'll see if I can find out more about him."

"Okay."

During her patrols, Faith came across Spike. She had seen him interact with Buffy and her friends, but they didn't seem to like him very much. Plus, she could feel he was a vamp. She considered staking him, but she deciding against it, not knowing what his relationship was Buffy was. She did follow him around, wanting to learn more about him.

Her suspicions about him were soon confirmed when she followed him into a cave and saw him talk to a demon/human cyborg of some sort. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was Adam. He looked tough and she could understand why Buffy was worried.

Suddenly Adam noticed her. Spike immediately ran at her. Faith decided to kill him. She didn't know how Buffy would feel about it, but Spike was obviously not on her side. She started backing off, not wanting to engage Adam. Spike obviously mistook her retreat as fear of him.

"No need to run, luv," he said. "Uncle Spike is gonna take good care of you."

"I don't think so," Faith said when he got closer.

"What do you think you are, luv? The Slayer?" Spike mocked her when she took her stake.

"One of," Faith said and attacked him.

"Bollocks!" Spike said as he barely avoided a stake through the heart.

Faith knew that she had to kill him quickly or run away. Fortunately, Adam seemed to be in no hurry to engage her. Somehow that didn't reassure her, especially when she noticed that he was apparently studying her. It was only after she seriously wounded Spike that he intervened. Faith quickly found that he was a force to be reckoned with. It looked as though he didn't even feel her punches. She, on the other hand, felt every one of his. She also had to watch out for Spike, who was recovering quickly. She knew she didn't have the time to kill him, not with Adam pummeling her, so she decided to run away and kill him some other time.

Just as she was about to make her getaway, something pierced her shoulder. She screamed and quickly backed off. She saw that Adam had a spike in his arm. She wondered what other surprises he was hiding. She quickly ran away. When she was safely out of the cave, she looked back and was relieved that neither Spike nor Adam were pursuing her. She quickly inspected her wound. It was bleeding, so she pressed on it hard. She knew she needed help with bandaging her, so she decided to go to Joyce, because she didn't want to go to the hospital.

"Faith," Joyce said with a smile when she opened the kitchen door. Then she noticed the wound. "Oh my. What happened?"

"Adam."

"Adam?"

"Yeah. Is Buffy home?"

"No."

"Good. Can you help me bandage the wound?"

"Yes, of course. Let's go to the bathroom."

Faith entered, and Joyce closed the door. Then they went upstairs to the bathroom.

"What happened?" Joyce asked as she got the first aid kit ready.

"I was following this vamp, Spike."

"Spike?"

"You know him?"

"Yes. Sort of. He's an acquaintance of Buffy's."

"Yeah, I noticed. Anyway, he went to this cave and I followed him. I saw him talking to this Adam guy. They noticed me, so Spike went after me, but I kicked his ass. I wanted to kill him, so he wouldn't spy on Buffy anymore, but then Adam came to his rescue. Man, he kicked my ass. I don't think he even felt me hitting him. Anyway, he has this spike in his arm and he stabbed me with it."

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah."

"Have you lost a lot of blood?"

"Not really." She hesitated for a moment. "But I am kinda weak."

"I'll make you something to eat and you can stay here over night."

"Oh, no, it's not necessary. And besides, if Buffy finds me here, she's not gonna be a happy camper."

Joyce smiled.

"Don't worry, she's staying at the dorm and she usually tells me she's coming over."

Faith thought about it.

"I don't know."

"You're in no position to walk home right now. I'll drive you home in the morning."

Faith sighed.

"Okay."

After dinner, Faith carefully took a shower, making sure she didn't wet the bandages. Then she and Joyce talked a little. Faith soon got drowsy because of the loss of blood, so she turned in early. Joyce wanted her to sleep in Buffy's bed, but Faith adamantly refused, feeling she would violate Buffy's privacy. She slept on the sofa instead.

Two days later, Joyce called her and told her that Buffy would go after Adam. Since Joyce didn't know the details, Faith first went to Giles' house. When no one was there, she went to the Magic Box. When no one was there as well, she went to the campus. She wasn't completely sure where Buffy and her friends went, so she first checked out Buffy's dorm, but Buffy wasn't there either.

She slowly started to get worried, but then she remembered that Buffy's ex also lived on campus. She didn't know where, so she asked. After finding the right dorm, she asked for directions to Riley's room. But when she got there, there was no one there. She was confused and really worried, especially since she could feel that there were demons nearby.

Suddenly she felt great power surge through her body. She was worried for a moment, but then she recognized it, it was the power of Slayers, magnified a thousand times. Now she could definitely feel the demons. She frowned as she realized they were below her. She looked around and her sharpened senses quickly discovered the lift behind the mirror. She touched it and it crashed. She stepped through the opening and jumped down. She landed on the lift. She opened the hatch and jumped through.

As she looked through the lift doors, she saw that humans and demons were fighting. The Slayer in her wanted to go out and kill the demons, but the human in her knew that this was a government facility and that it was probably monitored. And for a moment she thought she remembered that she was a wanted woman. Then the Slayer took over again. She waved her hand and every electronic equipment in the base died.

Safe from the prying eyes of the government, she entered the base and looked around. She saw a couple of demons harass a group of soldiers. She waved her hand and a shower of shards ran toward the demons, shredding them. Then she reached out with her other hand and ripped out the heart of a demon that attacked her.

As she moved among the demons, ripping, shredding, stabbing, she thought she could see what Buffy was doing. It surprised her, but she didn't have the time to dwell on it. It was a comforting feeling though and she felt drawn to her, but she knew she had to kill the demons here first. So she did.

She moved among the demons, and the demons quickly realized that this wasn't an all you can kill buffet anymore. A group of demons rushed her, but she moved among them like the wind, slashing them with her fingers. A couple of smarter demons picked rifles, guns and tazers from dead soldiers and started shooting at her. Faith cocked her head and lifted her hand. The bullets stopped and the tazer shots dispersed around her. She moved her fingers a little and the bullets flew back at the demons. She faltered for a moment as memories came back to her, but the Slayer in her urged her to move on.

She noticed a couple of demons try to crash through a door. She waved her hand and shards flew at them, killing them, but not before they crashed through the door. Suddenly, all power left Faith and she fell on her knees, gasping. The power was gone, but the memories of what she'd done were still there. She felt overwhelmed without the extra Slayer power, but the attacking demons forced her to focus. She quickly got up and fought back. She decided to take out her frustration, her confusion and her fears on the demons. Fortunately, however, she had already killed most of them and some had ran away, so she only had to deal with a few persistent and not overly intelligent ones. Still, they gave her a workout and a chance to vent.

When Buffy joined the Scoobs after her fight with Adam and they entered the main theater of the base, the Scoobs were surprised to see Faith there, but Buffy had expected her. Still, actually seeing her brought up all kinds of conflicting emotions.

When Faith finally noticed that she was being watched, she looked at Buffy briefly, and Buffy could swear she could see tears. Before anyone could say anything, Faith ran away.

"How'd she know where to go?" Xander asked.

"She also shared the power of the Slayers," Buffy said.

"Really?"

"Yes." She hesitated for a moment. "She remembered."

"How do you know?" Willow said.

Buffy frowned.

"The look in her eyes."

"Oh."

Buffy sighed. She'd wanted Faith to remember, but after seeing that look of pain in her eyes, she regretted it.

"I suggest we get out of here, before your government sends troops," Giles said.

After she got out of the dorm, Faith ran. At first, she ran because she didn't want Buffy to follow her, but then she ran because it felt good. When she finally slowed to a walk, she felt emotionally numb. The tears had stopped and she wiped her face. She kept moving on automatic, until she reached her motel.

When she entered her motel room, she closed the door and leaned on it. She was trembling a little and she felt like screaming. She just wanted to cry. She knew Raven would have, but not Faith. The contrast between her two personalities tore at her and confused her. She took a deep breath and went to the bathroom to clean up.

After the shower, which had failed to wash away her confusion, she lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to clear her mind. On one hand, the memories of Raven were still fresh in her mind, her love for Buffy, but on the other, the memories from before the amnesia started to reinsert themselves, including her anger at Buffy and at herself.

"Hi, Mom," Buffy said when she got home.

"Hi, honey," Joyce said. "How did it go?"

Buffy shrugged.

"We won."

"Is everyone okay?"

"Some soldiers and scientists got killed."

"Oh." Joyce studied Buffy's face for a moment. "Are you okay?"

Buffy sighed.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment.

"Faith was there."

"I see. Is she okay?"

Buffy took a deep breath.

"She remembered."

"Really? She told you?"

Buffy shook her head, looking at her shoes.

"I saw it in her eyes."

"Oh."

Buffy looked at Joyce.

"I wanted her to remember, but after I saw that look in her eyes…" She trailed off with a sigh.

Joyce hesitated for a moment.

"How do you feel about her?"

Buffy thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know. Confused." She sighed. "We… We dated. While we had amnesia."

"I see," Joyce said, deciding not to tell Buffy that she was in contact with Faith. She thought for a moment. "Do you still love her?"

Buffy blushed a little.

"I don't know." She sighed. "I used to hate her, but… I'm confused. I mean, I've had some time to think about how I felt about her before the amnesia and after."

"Perhaps you should talk to her, after she's had the time to think about it as well."

Buffy sighed.

"I don't even know where she is or where she's been." She hesitated. "I'm worried she'll do something…"

"You're worried she'll hurt you?"

"Yeah."

"You don't give her enough credit."

Buffy smiled sadly.

"She was really messed up before the amnesia. I'm worried she'll go back to that."

"She has the memories of your time together. Was she happy then?"

Buffy smiled a little, blushing.

"Yeah."

"Enough to make her come talk to you?"

Buffy sighed.

"I don't know."

"I suggest you think about how you feel about her, before you talk to her."

"Yeah. I'll be in my room."

"Okay."

Joyce thought for a moment about whether to go see Faith, but she decided to let Faith come to her.

After a while, Faith decided to call Joyce. The old Faith had resisted at first, but she remembered how well Raven had gotten along with her. So she decided to give Joyce a try, after all, she had nothing to lose.

She got up and went to the phone. She hesitated for a few moments, before she picked up the receiver and dialed Joyce's cell phone number. Then she took a deep breath and waited.

"Hello," Joyce said as she answered the phone.

"Uh, it's me," Faith said, nervous.

"Faith. How are you?"

Faith sighed.

"I… I remembered."

"I know, Buffy told me."

"Oh."

"How do you feel?"

"Crappy. Confused."

"Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to come over?"

Faith shrugged.

"If you got the time."

"Sure. I'll be right over."

"Okay." She hesitated for a moment. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay. Bye."

"Good bye, Faith."

Faith hung up and took a deep breath, nervous.

When Joyce knocked on the door ten minutes later, Faith nervously approached the door. She ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath before she opened.

"Hi," she said when she saw Joyce.

"Hello," Joyce said with a smile.

"Uh, come in," Faith said and stepped aside. Joyce entered, and Faith closed the door. "Um, how's Buffy?"

Joyce looked at her.

"Okay. She was surprised to see you."

"Yeah." Faith frowned. "How did she know?"

"That you remembered?"

Faith nodded.

"Yeah."

"She said she saw it in your eyes."

"Oh," Faith said and looked at her feet.

Joyce decided to take the initiative.

"So, what happened?" she asked and went to the table. "Buffy didn't tell me much, except that some scientists and soldiers got killed," she said and sat down.

Faith followed her, a part of her relieved that Joyce didn't get straight to the point.

"I didn't get there until Willow, I guess, did some magic."

"Magic?"

"Yeah. It was like I had all the power of all the Slayers. Except Buffy. And I could share that power with her. It was… scary."

"Scary?" Joyce asked, curious.

"Yeah. It was as if I wasn't in control anymore. I mean, I was, but it was… primal. I kicked ass, but it freaked me out." She hesitated for a moment. "And it made me remember."

"I see."

Faith sighed.

"I don't know how to feel. I mean, before, I hated Buffy and then I loved her. And I… I'm just so… angry."

"At Buffy?"

"Yeah." Faith hesitated for a moment. "And at me."

"You?"

"Yeah." Faith looked at her hands. "I was so messed up before."

"What do you want?" Joyce asked.

Faith looked at her with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want in your life? You need to think about that. You know what you were like before you lost your memory and you know what you were like after. Just because you remember again doesn't mean you can't take the GED anymore or go to college. Think about that first and forget Buffy. And when you decide what you want in your life, then think about Buffy. Right now, she's just as confused about you as you are about her."

"She hates me."

"Are you sure?"

Faith frowned.

"What do you mean? I saw the way she looked at me when she remembered."

"That was then. She's had time to think about it since then. And when she saw the pain in your eyes after you remembered, she regretted wanting to make you remember."

"Really?" Faith asked, surprised.

"Yes. But, like I said, think about yourself first, about your future. And when you decide what you want to do, think about your past, about your relationship with Buffy and about how you can become friends again."

Faith hesitated for a moment.

"You think she'd want to be my friend?"

Joyce smiled.

"I think so." She hesitated for a moment. "And if you both wanted it, you could have that love you had while you didn't remember who you were."

Faith frowned.

"But she's straight."

"Is she? After all, you told me she initiated your relationship. So perhaps she's not as straight as you both think."

Faith thought about it.

"I guess," she then allowed.

Joyce smiled.

"Just don't forget to think about your future first."

Faith nodded.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, honey." She hesitated for a moment. "You want me to stay?"

Faith shook her head.

"No, I, uh, I need to think."

"Okay," Joyce said and got up. "And if you want to talk again, give me a call, okay? Or drop by the gallery."

Faith nodded and got up as well.

"Yeah."

"Good. I'll see you around then."

"Yeah."

When Joyce left, Faith first went to the bathroom to freshen up a little. Then she lay on the bad and thought about the future. Her future.

"You okay?" Joyce asked Buffy when Buffy finally came from her room.

Buffy sighed.

"Yeah." She hesitated for a moment. "I think I'm bi."

"Bi?" Joyce said, startled. "Oh. I see."

"As for Faith… I need to talk to her."

"Do you love her?"

Buffy blushed.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just… There's so much… baggage between us. We need to clear that up first." She sighed. "I know she hurt me, but I wasn't exactly a good friend either."

Joyce smiled.

"I think she needs some time to think about it as well."

"I just hope the old Faith doesn't take over. I liked Raven much better."

Joyce's smile widened.

"Don't worry. I think Raven has a good influence on her."

Buffy smiled.

"I hope so."

After several hours of thinking, Faith felt tired. She'd weighed the pros and cons and she decided that Raven's goals weren't that bad and that she could actually achieve them. She liked the way her life was while she didn't remember, even while she was alone after Buffy had regained her memories. There was a purpose and she liked that, which was why she decided to give school another try, she wanted to make something of herself. And even if she got killed before achieving her goals, it was better to be walking toward a goal than to be aimlessly drifting around and partying all the time like she used to.

Of course, after deciding on her future, it was time to clear up her past. She knew she'd messed up, but at least now she could admit it to herself. And she could also admit to herself that she wasn't angry so much at Buffy but at herself. She knew Buffy had had her own problems and she knew that Buffy was in no way obliged to help her. The reason why she had been so angry at Buffy was because it was easier than to be angry at herself, as well as because she had wanted Buffy to care, yet was afraid to open up at the same time. She just hoped Buffy would be able to forgive her some day.

The next day, when she woke up, Faith's head was much clearer and she had regained some of Raven's self-confidence. She had pretty much cleared everything in her mind and now she needed to clear it with Buffy. She called Joyce.

"Hello? Joyce asked as she answered the phone.

"Um, hi, it's me, uh, Faith."

"Hello, Faith. How are you?

"Better."

"That's good."

"Yeah." Faith hesitated for a moment. "Um, is Buffy home? I'd like to talk to her. I mean, if she's ready."

"She is. You can come over any time you're ready."

"Now?"

"Sure. I mean, I just sent Buffy to the mall, but she should be back soon."

"Okay."

"I'll see you soon then."

"Yeah. Bye."

"Goodbye, Faith."

Faith hung up and took a deep breath, nervous.

When Buffy got home and saw her mother and Faith talking, she panicked for a moment, but then she realized she was being silly. If Faith had wanted to harm her mother, they wouldn't be sitting on the sofa, talking.

"Ah, Buffy," Joyce said when she saw her. "Faith came to talk to you."

"Uh, hi," Faith said nervously.

"Hi," Buffy said.

Joyce got up.

"I'll leave you two alone." She looked at Faith. "I'll make lunch for you as well."

"Um, okay," Faith said, startled.

Joyce left, and the two Slayers stared at one another.

"How are you?" Buffy finally asked.

Faith shrugged.

"Better than I was yesterday." She hesitated for a moment. "I did some thinking."

"I'm sorry about the way I attacked you when Willow restored my memories."

"I understand why you did it." Faith hesitated again. "I… I'd like us to clear our past."

Buffy nodded.

"I'd like that too." She hesitated for a moment. "And perhaps we can start over."

"Yeah," Faith said, her heart starting to beat a little faster.

After they cleared up their past, Buffy and Faith sat quietly for a while, both thinking about what has been said.

"You think we'll ever have that again?" Buffy finally asked. "What we had as Angel and Raven?"

Faith looked at her, startled.

"You'd like that?" she asked, uncertain.

Buffy smiled at her, blushing a little.

"Yeah."

Faith smiled back.

"Me too."

"Great! Just… We'll go slow, okay? Having two sets of memories is a little confusing. Plus, you know, the bad memories."

"Yeah. I want to make this right."

"Me too."

Faith hesitated for a moment before reaching over and taking Buffy's hand into her own.

Buffy smiled at her, but didn't say anything. They just quietly sat for a while, both thinking about the future. Their future.

THE END

The End