Giles and Oz had taken him to L.A. to see him off, where they’d met up with Angel, Cordy, and Wesley. They’d had a little mini-reunion, though it wasn’t quite the same without Buffy and Willow. However, Buffy and Willow were in England, an important part of the restructuring of the Watcher’s Council, and it was understandable that they would miss the gathering.

So they’d said all the requisite hello’s and good-bye’s and hugged each other as many times as they could, and then Xander boarded, winging his way to the East Coast.

He disembarked from the plane in Boston at ten pm local time, looking around uncertainly. It wasn’t like he was expecting Faith to show up with a huge “Welcome, Xander” sign, but he certainly expected more than this… nothing. With a sigh, he headed to the luggage carousel to grab his bag, a small one that, paired with his carry-on, represented all the luggage he had brought.

He hailed a cab outside the air terminal, giving the cabbie the address of the hotel closest to Faith’s old home, where she had returned. The cabbie nodded and within twenty minutes, Xander was deposited in front of it. He had reservations so he checked in and then was whisked straight to his room. He set about unpacking his things, trying to quell the nervousness in his stomach about calling Faith. When his meager belongings were hanging in the closet, he hesitantly reached for the phone, lifted the receiver, and dialed her number.

“Hello?” A quiet, sweet voice answered his summons, and Xander felt all the air rush from his lungs as if he’d been punched. It was her. Her enchanting voice that could turn him to butter without even trying. Yet, it didn’t sound like the Faith he remembered. This Faith was quiet, peaceful, not so full of the angry edge he’d become accustomed to.

“Faith?” he said after a long pause.

“Yes?” The voice was wary now. He could tell that she knew his voice, but didn’t know why.

Xander took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “It’s Xander.”

Faith’s sharp intake of breath was audible. “Xander.” Then, in a questioning tone, she added, “Where are you?”

Xander closed his eyes, reveling in the sound of her voice. “Here. In Boston.”

“You’re here?” Now she was incredulous. Xander couldn’t tell if it was a bad thing or a good one.

“Yeah.” He shifted the phone awkwardly. “I suppose I should have called before I flew out, but Oz suggested it and it all just moved so fast that here I am, in town, wanting to see you.” His breath caught as he nervously awaited her response.

She was quiet a moment. “You’re here. Well, I guess it wouldn’t be right for you to fly all the way here and then not see me.”

Xander exhaled. “You want to see me?”

There was genuine warmth and evidence of a smile in her voice when she said, “Of course I do.”

Xander grinned idiotically, thanking the gods that she couldn’t see him, and suggested that she meet him at the hotel, take him around and play tour guide. She readily agreed and told him she’d meet him the next morning in the lobby at ten am.

After saying good-bye and hanging up, Xander relaxed into his bed, more at ease with the whole venture now that he knew Faith wanted to see him.

At precisely ten am the next morning, Xander was downstairs, dressed in his favorite khakis, a plain white T-shirt, and a faded blue flannel. He peered around nervously, waiting for his first glimpse of her in a year.

He spotted a whirlwind of activity outside the lobby’s main doors, and then she was flying inside. She ran in and looked around, spotted him in two seconds, and flew across the lobby and into his arms.

“Xander!” she cried out exuberantly, hugging him tightly.

Xander’s knees threatened to buckle, not prepared for such an excited greeting. “Faith,” he cried back, holding her to him tightly. “I’ve missed you.”

Faith pulled back, careful to stay in the warm circle of his arms. “I’ve missed you too,” she confessed with a smile. She reached up to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead. “I’ve been thinking about you so much in the months that I’ve been gone. I was half-tempted to fly back out to Sunnydale, but I’ve made so much progress here. I’m at peace. I couldn’t risk losing all that.”

Xander smiled at her, a little over-whelmed that she was so open and honest about her feelings for him. “I understand, Faith,” he reassured her gently, and her grateful smile was brilliant. She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then grinned enthusiastically.

“Let’s go.” Not giving him a chance to respond, she took his hand and pulled him out of the hotel’s lobby. Laughing, Xander allowed her to lead him around.

They spent the afternoon touring the sites, seeing all the things that made Faith’s home special to her. She was careful to avoid mentioning her Watcher, whom she revealed briefly had lived about two blocks from Faith. They went out to lunch at some out-of-the-way, delightful little Italian restaurant.

Mostly, they talked.

Xander told Faith all about his life at home, how he’d moved in with Oz and they were friends, told her about the closeness that had been resurrected for all the members of the Scooby Gang. He talked a lot about Buffy and Willow and their England adventures. He explained that the Council had approached Buffy and asked her to help them redesign their operation, to fit in with the needs of the modern-day Slayer, to understand how to work with them instead of against them. They had recruited Willow to be a Watcher, she had all the necessary qualities and she knew how to approach Slaying in the way that they wanted to learn. Xander went on for ages about the stories they’d heard from England, and how happy everyone finally was.

Faith told Xander all about the therapy she’d been under-going, with a therapist trained by the Council to understand how a Slayer’s life is different from other people’s, and the progress she’d been making. She explained how she was finally at peace with herself, had been able to forgive herself for the horrible things she’d done. She talked about the life she’d set up for herself and how happy she was with everything, finally. Then she confessed that the one thing that had been missing from it was Xander.

“You know, the one thing I still haven’t forgiven myself for is the way I treated you,” Faith confessed later that evening, when they had walked back to the hotel. “Dr. Starling says that I need to forgive myself for that before you can, but I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s the opposite. I can’t forgive myself until I hear that you’ve forgiven me.” Faith looked to Xander with pleading eyes.

Xander took her face in his hands and looked down at her lovingly. “Faith, I forgave you a long time ago. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t because I want to be with you.”

Faith looked up at him questioningly. “You want to be with me?”

Xander nodded, swallowing nervously. “Yeah, Faith. I want to be with you. I want to make love to you and hold you in my arms at night, I want you to be happy knowing that I’ll always be there for you.”

Faith smiled luminously, unashamed of the tears that were tricking down her cheeks, no longer afraid that her emotions displayed her weaknesses. She reached her arms up, entwining them around Xander’s neck, and kissed him passionately. “Let’s go sign you out, get your things from your room, okay?” At Xander’s confused, yet hopeful look, she smiled. “You’re coming home with me.”

Xander nodded his agreement and he went to sign out while Faith packed his few things. She came back downstairs, handed the concierge the key, took Xander’s hand, and the two left the hotel, ready to begin a new life, together.