Title: Sinners and Saviors
Summary: Graham meets some new people, learns a little history, and gets closer to Xander. . . literally
Rating: R
Spoilers: Any Faith eps, general season 4
Disclaimer: They?re not mine
Archive: UCSL, Graham Crackers, Grahamslash
E-mail: Saone@yahoo.com

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Part 1
*****

Now, I don?t have nearly the kind of ?Spidey-sense? that Buffy does, but even I can tell that there?s something definitely off about this situation. This girl, about Buffy?s size, surrounded by piles of ash, her hand still wrapped tight around a makeshift stake is staring at me like I?m a bug. . . or the main course.

She looks me up and down, not really in a lascivious way, just. . . sizing me up, and. . . Why do I suddenly feel like running home and hiding under my bed? She?s just a girl. Okay, a girl who obviously knows about the nightlife on the Hellmouth and was able to dispatch at least five vampires by herself, but still. . . but nothing.

I can feel my body shifting, tensing, getting ready to move if I have to. Fight or flight, whatever might be called for. I think she notices, cause she backs off a little. That. . . predatory look she had disappears and her body relaxes. Guess she doesn?t think I?m much of a threat. For some reason I don?t think I?m much of a threat to her either.

Her eyes drift past my right shoulder to. . . oh, the crossbow. She crosses her arms. "So, either you?re part of an all new, after hours archery team, or, you?re friends with Buffy."

Huh. At least I don?t have to try to think up an excuse for the weapon. . . actually, that after hours archery thing sounds kinda good. Should file that away for future reference. "Kinda. I?m a friend of Riley, Buffy?s boyfriend." Is it my imagination, or did she just. . . flinch?

"You?re a friend of Riley." She grimaces. "Perfect. I bet you?re best pals with Willow and Xander too."

"Well, yeah, Xander and I are. . ." How should I put this? "Pretty close."

"Of course you are." She lets out this sharp little laugh, and shakes her head. She straightens up, throws her shoulders back and looks me right in the eye. "I guess I should go ahead and get this over with. I?m Faith."

"Nice to meet you." I nod, for some reason not quite in the mood to put my hand out to her. "I?m Graham."

She blinks a few times. "No. I?m *Faith*."

"Yes, I know. You just said that."

Her eyes narrow. "Don?t you know who I am?"

"Uh," Is this a trick question? "You?re. . . Faith?" Good. Go for the obvious answer.

"They didn?t tell you about me." She said softly.

"Tell me what?" And, why do I really think I?m not going to like what I hear?

"Nevermind. Look, you need to give Buffy a message. Tell her that something attacked me in L.A. and Angel told me to come back here. He should be down sometime tomorrow night. Tell her I?m staying at the mansion. She knows where that is." She starts to walk past me.

"Wait." I reach out to grab her arm, but the look she throws me stops me cold. No, this is not a person to mess with. "I know where Buffy is. In fact, I?m headed there right now. Why don?t you come with me?"

"No!" Her fists clench. I could still take her. . . right? "Just. . . just do it. Okay?"

I hold my hands up. No, getting into anything aggressive with this girl would *not* be a good idea. "Fine."

"Good." She turns and I could do the same, continue on home, but some part of me really doesn?t want to show her my back.

About twenty feet from me she stops. "One more thing." She looks over her shoulder at me. "Tell Buffy I don?t want to be here anymore than she wants me here."

Wow. Something tells me the next few days are going to be just. . . fun! I wonder if it?s too late to put in for vacation time?

*****

I haven?t known Buffy that long, but I?ve never seen her this. . . subdued before. You would think that having her *special* time with Riley interrupted, again (which, by the way, I feel absolutely no guilt about whatsoever. Serves them right for that time with me and Xander on the couch), would have had her bouncing off the ceiling. Actually, that?s what she did do, until I mentioned Faith?s name. All of a sudden, me pounding on the bedroom door became irrelevant.

Buffy sank down onto the bed, and Riley followed suit. He grasped her hand, and looked beyond tense. They?ve been that way for the past few minutes, Buffy staring at the carpet, Riley staring at her. This cannot be good.

"Is that all she said?" Buffy?s looking at me now. "Just that something attacked her in L.A., and Angel sent her here?"

I nod.

?And, she didn?t try anything with you?? She askes.

Try anything? I frown. ?What do you mean??

?Like, did she try and. . . hurt you, in any way??

Hurt Me?! I shake my head.

"Okay." Buffy stands up, her hand still connected to Riley?s. "I?m gonna go check on Mom. Scooby meeting. Eight A.M. Giles? place. I?ll call him, and Willow, give them a heads up. Graham, can you contact Xander?"

"Sure."

"Good." She bends down and kisses Ri and, averting eyes time. "Everything will be fine." I wish I knew who Buffy was trying to reassure with that statement.

Riley walks her to the door, then locks it behind her.

"Okay, I?m pretty much in the dark here, and I really don?t like it." I cross my arms over my chest. Ri may look bedraggled as hell, but he?s gonna give me some answers. Who?s Faith? What did she do?"

He runs a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more then it did before. "I don?t know *everything*, but I know what she?s done recently." He lets out a deep sigh. "Faith?s another Slayer."

Another Slayer? That doesn?t fit in with the legend I?d heard. "But I thought. . ."

"That there?s only supposed to be one at a time? There usually is. One Slayer dies and another is called." He snorts. "One hell of a system. A couple years ago Buffy did die, but Xander brought her back, thank God." Yeah, that sounds like my Xander. "Still, she was gone long enough for a new Slayer to be called."

I nod. "Faith." Well, that certainly explains her propensity for killing already dead things.

Ri frowns. "Actually, I think there was one before her, but, she?s the latest. She?s also very. . . troubled."

"Troubled?" Is happy go lucky really asking that much? "As in, worried, or upset, or. . ."

"As in, needs large doses of Thorazine."

Oh. "Oh. What did she do, Riley?" I ask softly.

"She killed some people, tried to kill a lot more, basically made everyone?s life a living hell."

There?s more there. "And?"

He shakes his head. "It?s nothing."

"Not buying it, Ri." I take a deep breath, put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, if you don?t want to tell me as a friend, that?s okay. I get that. But, as your teammate, I want to know just what kind of person we?re gonna be dealing with."

He stares at me, then ducks his head. "There was this thing, I suppose it was some kind of magic something, that switched them. Faith ended up in Buffy?s body and I slept with her."

Oh man. No wonder he?s so tense. Riley?s middle name is chivalrous. He?s the type of guy that doesn?t even check out other women. I can?t even imagine how bad he must have felt when he found out he had cheated on his girlfriend with his. . . girlfriend. Okay, that should freak me out more then it is, right? I?ve spent way too much time in Sunnydale.

"I mean, logically, I know that there was no way I could have known what had happened, but the illogical part of me still thinks I should have been able to tell the difference." He grimaced. "I don?t even want to think about what Buffy must feel about it. It would be so easy for the whole thing to just blow up in our faces." He rolls his eyes. "Geez, and I thought it was bad when Buffy?s ex came to town."

Oh, yeah. Oops. "Um, Ri, heh, there was something else that Faith said that I had forgotten until now, and thanks for helping me remember."

He looks a little frantic. "What is it? Is it bad?"

"Well, depending on your point of view, and for you, yeah, probably." Ri?s giving me this ?get the hell on with it? look. "Buffy?s ex is coming town."

He blinks. "What."

"Angel. Faith said he?s coming in tomorrow night." I shrug. Well, what else can I do? "Sorry."

"Oh." He blinks again. "Funny, I can?t decide if I?m gonna need chocolate, or Pepto-Bismol."

Something tells me we might want to stock up on both.

**********


Part 2