Faith took a deep breath, luxuriating in the aroma of night. God, that sounded hokey even in her own head when she thought that, but night had a scent, one that Faith particularly enjoyed. All danger and sex, it promised so much, but rarely delivered. Unless you were the slayer, of course. She grinned to herself, looking around. The street was quiet, with hardly anyone around, and they were all human. Sighing, she struck out left, ambling down the street in her most innocent manner.

Whistling slightly off-key she wandered for an hour, getting a good look at the neighbourhood, but drawing a blank on the `creature of the night' front. She had all but given up on finding a vampire in Kate's remarkably quiet corner of LA when she heard a scream coming from the back of an alley, and smiled widely. Finally, a bit of action.

Entering the alley slowly, she saw two vamps menacing one young woman, who can't have been older than nineteen. One vamp was behind her, holding her arms, and the other was standing in front of her game face on. They were both laughing.

"What's the matter little girl? Scared?" Faith snorted, and stepped out of the shadows.

"That was imaginative." she commented, sizing them up. Adrenaline started to flow through her, setting her veins on fire. She gripped the stake hidden in her pocket more tightly, outwardly putting on a bored face. "Almost scary too. Bet you thought that one up all day, huh?" she asked, teasing.

The vampires were both giving her confused looks. Faith took a couple of cautious steps forward, focusing more on the girl, who was staring blankly at Faith, terror still showing in her eyes. The vampire who spoke shook his head.

"Go away unless you want to be next." Faith pretended to consider it, then shook her head.

"Nah. I wanna be first." She said cockily, thrusting her chest out so he got a good view. Predictably, both vamps glanced down, then glanced at each other, grinning. The leader stepped forward, looking her up and down. The second vamp let go of the girl, who stumbled to the side of the alley, falling to the ground and staying there.

"Well, if you insist." The leader said, stepping forward, still grinning. Faith let him get close, before clocking him as hard as she could in the face, breaking his nose. He stumbled backwards, clutching his nose, blood flowing out between his fingers. The second vamp growled, and jumped forward.

Spinning on her heel, she kicked him in the head, driving him into the wall. Backing off, she faced the first one, who was glaring at her, hate in his eyes.

"Bitch. You'll pay for that."

"I doubt that very much." She replied, as his partner joined him, glaring at her. They were both so dumb they didn't realise how much trouble they were in. Faith shook her head, and pulled a stake out, determined to end this as quickly as possible. She wanted to get back to the apartment and share another bottle of wine with Kate. It occurred to her as she charged the two vampires that she had been drinking a lot since being let out, but that thought got forced out of her mind and she let instinct take over.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Half an hour later she was standing outside the apartment, working up the courage to just go in. Kate was going to freak. One of the vamps, she wasn't actually sure which one, had been carrying a knife. She hadn't noticed until he tried to stab her. Now she had a nice big gash on her shoulder, and blood all over her hands, all over her in fact.

She wasn't entirely sure what had happened after she got knifed. But it had ended ten minutes later with two piles of dust, blood all over her and the young girl looking at her like she was some kind of monster. If only she could remember what had happened, she might be able to convince herself she wasn't. With a sigh, she set her shoulders, and went in.

"Hey honey, I'm home." she called out cheerfully. Kate was sitting on the couch watching tv. She glanced over at Faith, then back at the tv, then back at Faith, jaw dropping.

"What the hell happened to you?" she exclaimed, standing up and staring. Faith shrugged, heading to the bathroom, trying to keep her shoulder out of Kate's view. She wanted to get cleaned up before letting Kate get a good look at her.

"I'll tell you later, just gonna jump in the shower, `kay?" Before Kate could protest she slipped into the bathroom and locked the door, leaving a bewildered Kate standing outside.

Kate stood outside the bathroom door for a minute, before shaking her head and going into the kitchen to make some coffee. She wanted to be more awake to question Faith. Forty minutes later the bathroom door opened, and Faith went to her room, carrying a bundle of what looked to Kate like towels. Curious, and worried, she got up to check on Faith, but the door was shut. Instead of trying to enter, knowing instinctively that she wouldn't get anywhere, she sat back down on the couch, to wait for Faith to come out and talk.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

It was one am before Faith ventured out of her room. Kate resisted the urge to jump up and question her straight away, instead just studying Faith for signs of injury she knew where there. When Faith didn't say anything, her resolve broke down.

"So are you going to tell me what happened tonight or what?" she demanded, exasperated. Faith shrugged slightly, managing not to wince. Her shoulder hadn't looked so bad once it had been cleaned, more awkward than anything else.

"Just ran into a couple of over-eager vamps, that's all. No big." Kate almost growled at Faith's flippant response.

"If that's true, you wouldn't mind letting me see the towels you used?" Kate asked, going on a hunch. Faith looked at her sharply, then sighed.

"Alright. One of them had a knife, I got a little cut."

"What!?!" Kate yelled, dropping the tv remote. She looked for blood, but didn't see any. Faith placed a placating hand on Kate's shoulder, fixing her with a stare.

"Kate. It's alright. I'm fine, really, I'm okay. It's just a little scratch."

"Let me see." demanded Kate, nowhere near convinced. She had seen how tough Faith had pretended to be after beatings in prison, and wasn't about to let her do the same now. Faith hesitated, then started unbuttoning her shirt. Kate was too distracted to enjoy the prospect of a half-naked Faith, instead she went through to the kitchen and got the first aid kit that Faith had put together over the past week.

When she got back, she froze, and nearly dropped the bag she was carrying. Faith was siting on the couch, shirt off, with her back to the door. For a moment all Kate could think about was how perfect she looked in the light from the tv, skin soft and still slightly pink from the shower, how toned she was. Then her gaze fell on the wound on her shoulder.

About three inches long, it looked pretty shallow, but still stood out as an angry red line to contrast with the pale skin around it. She hissed in sympathy as she sat behind the slayer and got a closer look at it.

"If that's what you call a little scratch I'd hate to see a major wound." she said softly as she got what she needed from the kit. Faith didn't say anything, merely chuckled slightly. "Do you want something for the pain?" Kate offered, coming across a bottle of painkillers. Faith shook her head.

"Doesn't hurt." Kate smiled wryly, preparing some antiseptic to clean the wound.

"It will in a minute when I clean it." she replied. She waited, in case Faith reconsidered the painkillers. When she didn't say anything, she swabbed the wound as gently as possible. Underneath her she felt a body go tense, and heard a hiss of pain.

"Sorry." she apologised once she had finished.

"'S'okay." came the mumbled reply. She covered the wound in cream, to stop it getting infected she explained to Faith, who merely nodded. Finally she bandaged the shoulder with gauze. When she was finished she sat back and considered her handi-work. Seeing the amount of gauze she had used, she considered that she might have gone a little overboard.

"How does that feel?" Faith tested her shoulder, rolling it. She sat back in the couch, and smiled.

"Great. Didn't realise you moonlighted as a nurse." she teased. Kate rolled her eyes at the slayer, who simply stuck her tongue out as Kate tidied up.

When she came back through and sat next to Faith, she realised that the slayer was still sitting there in dark blue jeans and her bra. She threw a sidelong glance at her, taking in the well defined shoulders, the taught, smooth stomach, and the ample breasts that were captured in a black lacy bra. She eyed her for a long minute, before realising what she was doing. Kate blushed slightly, hoping that Faith hadn't noticed her gaze, and looked at the tv.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked, pointedly watching the tv. Faith frowned, puzzled, before glancing down and realising that she was sitting there half-naked. She hadn't even noticed. Shit. She wasn't cold, but reached for her shirt anyway, and started to pull it on. She had a problem when trying to put her injured arm through the sleeve though. She couldn't quite reach it.

Kate noticed the slayers problem, and felt guilty for mentioning it in the first place. So she turned round and snagged the shirt, guiding it so Faith could put her arm through it more easily. Pulling the shirt up and tugging it into line, Kate started to button it up. Her fingers skimmed lightly over flesh at each button, and Faith gasped at the contact, a shudder going through her each time. Kate noticed, and took her time to do up the shirt.

By the time Kate was finished, both women were breathing heavier, and slightly flushed. Kate looked up, and realised just how close they were sitting. A few scant inches separated them. As she gazed into Faith's chocolate brown eyes, she realised that she had to back off right now or something was going to happen. Something good, or something bad she wasn't sure, but she knew that it couldn't happen. Not now.

Closing her eyes, she slid back to the end of the couch. She already missed Faith's presence, and fought not to slide back closer. Not looking directly at Faith she stood up.

"It's been a long day. I think we should get some sleep." She said softly, not wanting to completely destroy the mood. On the couch Faith nodded slowly.

"Yeah." From the softness of her tone Kate knew that Faith was feeling it too. Kate quickly retreated to her bedroom to think, leaving Faith sitting on the couch, staring into space, wondering what had just happened, and what had been about to happen.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

"So where are you and Faith going for lunch today?" Kate looked up from the book she was pretending to read. Cordelia, sat at her desk, presumably finished with work, and was watching Kate. Realising that the seer had asked her something, she tried to remember what.

"Oh, uh. I'm not sure if Faith is coming today." Neither woman had looked at each other this morning, and they had spoken as little as necessary. Kate had tossed and turned the whole night trying to figure out what was going between them, and it didn't sound like Faith had done much better.

"Really?" Cordelia arched an eyebrow, looking more interested. She leaned forward, resting her chin in one hand. Kate just nodded, concentrating on the book in her hands. She could tell that Cordelia sensed gossip, and that she was going to probe until she got it.

"Yeah." She closed the book, and stood up. "I'm going to get some coffee. Want some?" Kate was not in the mood to deflect Cordelia's probes, and decided to cut it off before it got started. Cordelia stared at her just long enough to let Kate know that Cordelia was not going to just let this drop. When she dropped her gaze Kate stifled a sigh of relief.

"No thanks. I-" Cutting herself off, Cordelia put a hand to her head, and started swaying. When she grunted, Kate knew she was having a vision, and rushed over in time to catch the young seer in her arms, and cradle her until the vision had passed. When it finally had Cordelia sighed, and started reaching for her `vision notebook' to write down all the pertinent details, all the while speaking to Kate.

"We'll need all the guys on this one, looks big. Actually, all three of them look big. With teeth and horns to match." Kate shook her head, already not looking forward to fighting them, and called down the guys. When they were gathered Cordelia explained some more.

"Three demons, trying to kidnap a young couple down by the beach. One of the really bad one's that has a lot of sewage, not one of the nice one's. And one of them had this big old knife. Looked ceremonial."

By the time she had finished the guys had kitted out. Wesley and Gunn had small(ish) axes, while Angel had a short sword. Kate just had her guns. They couldn't kill, but they could blind a demon, slow him down. Kate had no intention of going hand to hand with the demons, her priority was helping the humans.

"Alright. Did you see anything else?" Cordelia thought for a minute.

"They had really big teeth. And they smelled like downtown sewer."

"As opposed to up-town sewer I suppose." Wesley commented wryly. Cordelia gave him the long suffering look she reserved just for him.

"Yes. I have been in enough sewers, and had enough of these visions in the past three years to tell the difference." Wesley looked like he was going to retort, but thankfully Angel interrupted.

"That's great. Go home and get some rest." Angel then grabbed his cars keys and left, followed by Gunn, Kate the Wesley. Cordelia looked around the now empty hotel, and sighed. There went her ride home.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Kate gulped a little when she saw the demons surrounding a young couple. They all stood over six foot, and they looked like a tank wouldn't take them down. Drawing out her pistols, she emptied both clips into the nearest ones head and upper body. By that time the guys were close enough to attack hand to hand. Wesley sliced the head off the one she had shot, and then started to help Gunn. Angel took on the last one, the leader by the looks of it, by himself.

Kate ran over to the unlucky humans who had just been taking a romantic stroll along the beach to check that they were okay. Both looked uninjured, but more than a little terrified.

"It's okay, we're here to help." She said, and offered a hand to help the woman up. She didn't accept it, her gaze locked on the battle going on behind Kate. With a sigh Kate crouched down. "Are you okay?" she asked patiently. This time she got a response. The man, a young guy who looked like he belonged behind a computer writing code, shook his head.

"What are those things?" His voice trembled slightly, and he clutched his girlfriends hand tightly. Kate glanced behind her to check on the battle. Angel and his demon were fighting in the surf, and it looked like it was a good thing he didn't need to breath, given that his head was currently being held under. Wesley and Gunn were doing a little better, driving their one back, although it still looked like it had a lot of fight left in him.

Looking back at the terrified youngsters, she tried to decide what to say. She opted on putting the explanation off for as long as possible.

"I'll explain later. For now, lets get you to safety." This time when she offered her hand, it was taken. She pulled the woman up, and guided them to the car, which was thankfully far enough away from the fight that they couldn't see anything. Not well enough to make you throw up everything you've ever eaten anyway.

As they reached the car, Kate heard footsteps behind her, and could smell something awful. Something a lot like a sewer. Cursing soundly, she shoved the couple at the car. Hand on her gun, pulling it out, she turned to see who or what it was. She only got halfway round before she felt a blow to the head, and her world went black.

*****
Part 5:

Faith paced the living room. It had seemed spacious before, but now she was thinking it was entirely too small. Faith had gone by the hotel earlier, thinking to take Kate out for lunch, and maybe talk about last night, if she worked up the guts.

The Hyperion had been empty, so she assumed that they were out on a case, and slowly wandered back to the apartment. It was now approaching six o'clock. Kate was usually home for five, and Faith had something on the table by six. When she called the hotel, there was no answer. To say that Faith was worried was something of an understatement.

Glancing one more time at the clock, she made a decision. Grabbing her jacket and keys off the table she left, slamming the door shut behind her. Setting off in the direction of Angel's, she sent up a quick prayer that the reason there was no answer was because there was something wrong with the phones.

There was no rational reason for her to assume that something had happened to Kate. Nothing is wrong she told herself forcefully, willing herself to believe it. Her stomach still insisted on trying to tie itself into knots.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Kate slowly became aware that she was conscious. As soon as she realised that she wasn't dreaming, or dead, her head jumped in and told her it hurt. Really hurt. Mentally she debated what might have happened to her. After a few minutes of half-coherent theories being debated, her brain threw in the towel and offered a memory of demons, and the beach.

She groaned loudly as it all came flooding back to her. There must have been a fourth demon lurking around somewhere. Either that or Wesley and Gunn had let theirs go. She hoped for their sake that it was a fourth demon.

"Hey, I think she's waking up." A voice broke into her musings. It sounded remarkably like Cordelia. Kate groaned again, only this time from the pain of having to wake up to Cordelia, and not any physical pain. She much rather be waking up to Faith she thought idly, then ignored that thought when she tried to open her eyes.

Blinding pain for a split second before she shut them again. Hearing people move around, she waited a minute before opening her eyes again, this time more prepared. Wesley was sitting by her bedside, watching her intently. Cordelia stood in the corner by the door, a concerned look on her face. Kate realised that she was at the hotel.

"How are you feeling Kate?" Wesley asked, brining her attention back to him. Kate tried to speak, but winced as her head started pounding again.

"Shitty." She mumbled, dropping her head back on the pillow. She closed her eyes, blanking out the glaring light. "What happened?"

"A fourth demon joined the battle. It saw you occupied, and attacked you, knocking you unconscious. Thankfully Angel had beheaded his occupant, and managed to kill it before it could harm the Denziger's." Who? Kate wracked her brain, before realising that he must be talking about the victims.

"So they're okay?" She croaked out, opening her eyes again. Cordelia was handing her a glass of water, which she gratefully took, sipping it slowly to clear her mouth. Wesley nodded.

"You were the only one that got hurt." Cordelia offered helpfully. Kate just smiled wryly, before noticing something. It was dark outside.

"What time is it?" she asked, suddenly focused. If it was dark outside, then it was late, and if she wasn't home yet, then god only knows what Faith was thinking. Confused, Wesley looked at his watch.

"Half past six. Why?" Kate muttered a curse under her breath, and sat up. Her strength was already starting to return, but she still had to wait for the world to settle back down after sitting up. As she waited for her eyes to refocus, she became aware of a commotion going on downstairs.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

That commotion was Faith. When she entered the hotel, and saw Angel standing by the reception, looking a little worse for wear. A bolt of fear went through her, and she stalked up to him, covering her fear with anger like always.

"Where is she?" she demanded, getting right in his face. She could hear her voice waver slightly, and could tell from the confusion in Angel's eyes that he heard it as well. "Where is she?" she asked again, and this time there was no waver. Angel took a step back.

"She's resting upstairs." Oh god. Something did happen, something must have, or why else-. She cut off her mental panic.

"Resting?" She asked, pleased when her voice came out steady. This time Gunn answered for him.

"Yeah. Took a wicked blow to the head." Faith went pale, and felt her stomach lurch as he spoke. The anger came back.

"What the fuck happened!" she practically yelled, not caring who answered. Typically Angel answered, his voice soft and calming.

"Cordelia had a vision. We took care of it, but not before a demon attacked Kate from behind, knocking her unconscious." If it was possible, the dark slayer got even paler, and was starting to get slightly dizzy. "She's fine though. Just sleeping." Angel tried to reassure her, worried at how ill Faith looked.

"Where is she?" She asked for the third time. This time Gunn jumped in.

"Upstairs. First room on the left." Faith smiled gratefully at Gunn, and just barely managed to resist the urge to run up the stairs, instead bounding up them two at time. She had to see for herself that Kate was okay.

Stopping at Kate's door, she took a moment to gather herself, in case Kate was worse than Angel had said. She took a deep breath, and went in. Cordelia and Wesley looked surprised to see her. Wesley actually stepped away from the bed, closer to Cordelia, looking a little wary. He might have stammered something out, but if he did Faith didn't hear it.

Faith watched as Kate sat up, wincing slightly in pain. Aside from a little pale and tired, she looked alright. Faith let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. As well as tired, Kate also looked confused, presumably at Faith's abrupt entrance.

"Faith? What are you doing here?" Despite herself, Faith felt a little tremor at Kate's voice, all low and husky. Suddenly Faith felt shy, and blushed slightly.

"I was worried." she said softly. Kate still looked confused, so she elaborated, forgetting that Wesley and Cordelia were standing in the corner of the room, staring.

"There was no-one in when I came round for lunch, so I assumed you guys were out on a case or something, and went back to the apartment. But then you didn't come home for dinner." Cordelia and Wesley looked surprised when she said that, and exchanged looks, but stayed silent. Faith carried on as Kate listened to her explanation.

"And when I called the hotel no-one answered, and I started to get worried that maybe something had happened, so I came by to see if I could figure out what had happened, or something." She trailed off, and looked down suddenly at her shoes as if they had turned to gold. Kate's looked softened as she watched Faith, and then hardened when she caught sight of her co-workers in the corner trying to melt into the wall.

"I'm sorry no-one called you Faith." she said, looking directly at them. They had the good grace to look ashamed, not meeting her eyes. Faith ignored them, seeming to have forgotten they were there. Cordelia looked intently at the slayer, who was sneaking glances at Kate. A glimmer of understanding entered her eyes.

"I'm real sorry no-one called you Faith, wont happen again." Then she grabbed Wesley and pulled him out the door, ignoring his protests. She shut the door firmly behind her to give the two women some privacy. Kate took that as her cue to speak.

"Faith?" She tried to get the slayers attention, shifting to sit on the edge of the bed. Her head was sore, but at least it wasn't pounding like it was when she woke up. Faith didn't respond, still looking at her boots. Kate tried again. "Faith. Look at me." Still no response. "Please." Faith finally looked up, and Kate was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "Faith?" She stood up and approached the brunette, stopping half a foot away.

"I was so scared when Angel told me you got hurt." She whispered, and then the tears started to fall. Instinctively Kate gathered her into a tight embrace, and let Faith cry against her shoulder. Kate was surprised that Faith was crying. In the whole time that she had known her Faith had never cried, had never shown any strong emotion at all, and here she was, crying in her arms.

"It's alright, I'm okay. I'm okay." she whispered softly, rubbing her back gently. After a few minutes Faith managed to get herself back under control, and stopped crying. She liked the feel of Kate's arms around her though, so she stayed where she was. It was easier to talk when you didn't have to look someone in the face anyway.

"I should have been there." Kate stopped rubbing Faith's back, confused.

"What?" Not entirely sure she heard right.

"I should have been there." Faith repeated. "If I'd been there, you wouldn't have been hurt. I would have been able to protect you." Kate sighed.

"Faith, you don't know that. Nobody knew there was a fourth demon. Even if you had been there, you might not have been able to stop it." At this Faith tensed up, and pulled back slightly to look Kate in the eyes.

"I would never let anything hurt you Kate." She said, dead serious. Kate was touched by the amount of emotion in Faith's eyes when she said that. No, fuck that, she on the verge of tearing up herself. At that moment Faith's eyes where so open and expressive her heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her throat. They gazed at each other intently for long minutes, not saying a word. The mood from the night before settled down again.

The moment was broken however when a fresh wave of pain went through Kate, and her vision blurred. She groaned aloud, putting a hand to her head. Maybe not so good after all she thought to herself. Faith tightened her grip slightly, then sighed audibly.

"Lets get you home."

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Cordelia watched as Kate and Faith came down the stairs. Kate was leaning against Faith, who had an arm wrapped around her waist, somewhat possessively for a friend offering support, she thought to herself. Cordelia did a double take as they got closer. Faith looked strange. Like she'd been crying or something. Hmm. That was something to think about.

Concentrating on the conversation, she was in time to catch Faith announcing that Kate was taking the rest of the week off. Wesley spluttered beside her, and Cordelia had to hide a scowl. He always had to revert to the pompous git he had been three years ago whenever Faith was around. Not that she blamed him, it was just insensitive right now.

Faith turned to stare at him, and everyone flinched from the look in her eyes. She was just daring Wesley to say something. Cordelia waited for his response, as did everyone else, with baited breath.

"That sounds like a good idea." He eventually forced out, looking away. Cordelia could see that he was torn between feeling guilty, and angry, and sympathised. She really should have a talk with him soon, try and get him to open up. It wasn't good to bottle feelings, they all knew what happened then. People go psycho and deaths are usually involved. Angel decided to break the tension.

"Do you want a ride home?" He asked from the corner. Faith glanced at Kate, who nodded, and she accepted gratefully.

"Thanks soulboy, that'd be great." Angel nodded, grabbing the keys and heading out, the two woman following slowly behind him. Cordelia watched as Faith managed to open the door while still holding Kate close to her. The glimmer she had gotten in the room earlier, was starting to develop into an outright idea. As the door shut behind them, everyone slowly wandered back to work, not saying a word.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

On the drive home, Kate fell asleep, leaning against Faith, snoring softly. Faith watched her sleep, a thoughtful look on her face. Oblivious to the fact that Angel was watching her closely, she thought about how she should have been there, not lurking at the apartment feeling sorry for herself. She made a vow to herself to protect Kate, and if that meant she had to start slaying again, then she was just going to have to get around her little problem.

She smiled to herself as Kate snuggled into her a little more, and Faith draped an arm around her shoulders, holding her tight. She wasn't sure what was going on with the two of them, or where they were going, but it was the most natural thing in the world to drop a kiss onto her forehead and lean the detectives head against her shoulder.

Looking up, she noticed that they were parked in front of the building where they lived, and that Angel was watching her, a curious look on his face.

"She's asleep, and I really don't want to wake her." she said. Angel nodded, understanding what she meant, then got out to get the door for Faith, who picked Kate up and cradled her closely as she climbed out. As Angel escorted them to the apartment door, it occurred to Faith that if she got to hold Kate like this every time she got injured, she should get injured more often. Of course when she thought that she gave herself a thorough mental ass-kicking for being a moron.

Angel opened the apartment door for Faith, and waited in the living room while she took Kate to her bedroom and put her to bed. She sat on the edge of the bed once she had gotten her settled, and brought her hand up and gently caressed her cheek. Smiling, she leaned down and dropped another kiss on Kate's forehead before leaving.

Angel was still waiting when Faith came out. She indicated that he should sit on the couch, before disappearing to get herself a beer. Coming back she sat close to him so that they could talk quietly without disturbing Kate.

"Thanks for the lift."

"Anytime." They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, Faith sipping her beer, and Angel watching her, waiting for her to say what was really on her mind.

"I want to get back into slaying." She said, taking a long pull on her beer. Angel nodded.

"Do you want to patrol with me?" Faith looked surprised.

"You patrol? I thought you didn't do that anymore." Angel shrugged.

"I still do it occasionally. Keeps the numbers down, little bit of exercise." He explained. Faith nodded, hearing what he wasn't saying, that he would patrol with her if she wanted that.

"Uh, yeah, I think that might be a good idea. I went on a patrol yesterday, got in a spot of trouble." Angel's blank expression turned to one of concern.

"Are you okay?" Faith shrugged it off. She was healing fine.

"It was nothing really. I think I'm just a little rusty, like I could use some back up until I get into the swing of things. Ya know?" she explained, bashful. Angel nodded. He didn't say anything for a while, as Faith took another pull of beer.

"Why." He asked, still talking softly. He had an idea why, he just wondered if Faith would admit it, even to herself. He could sense that something was developing between the two woman, you would have to be blind not to see it. He just wondered if they actually realised it themselves yet.

"Why what?" Faith asked, confused.

"Why now, all of a sudden." he clarified. Faith's eyes immediately flicked to the back, betraying the source of her sudden decision.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt because I'm not doing my job." She said, studying a patch on the couch intently. "Kate could have died today, and I don't want that to happen again. Not to her, or anyone else." She paused, trying to sort out in her own head what she was thinking. "It's my duty to protect people, and I think it's about time I did it. About time I start taking responsibility."

That's what she went to jail for in the first place, to take responsibility for her actions. And now, she has another way to do it, and if she doesn't she might as well kill herself, because not doing it, not slaying, was the first step on the trip to the dark side. She shivered, and hugged herself. And she didn't want to go back to that cold, lonely, dark place again. Never again.

Looking up at Angel, he saw the determination in her eyes, could see it in the set of her jaw. He smiled, glad that she had finally found direction. He had been starting to worry about her just drifting through the days.

"We can talk more tomorrow. I think you should get some rest." He said firmly. Faith nodded, and stood up, taking him to the door. Just after saying goodnight, she smirked.

"It's called a phone soulboy. Remember that next time." She said catching sight of his embarrassed expression before closing the door in his face and going to bed. He was right. It had been a long day, and she was exhausted from lack of sleep the night before. Hopefully after a good nights sleep things would make more sense. Hopefully.

*****
Part 6:

Kate woke up the next morning, to find that she wasn't alone in her bedroom. Faith was curled up in a chair in the corner watching her with tired eyes.

"Morning sleepyhead." she said quietly, smiling. Kate was confused.

"Faith?" Faith heard the question in her voice, and decided to explain her presence.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. Wasn't sure if the knock to your head was your only injury." Faith shrugged. "Thought that you might like to wake up to a friendly face as well." Kate smiled, once again surprised by the young woman's thoughtfulness.

"A much better sight than Cordelia. I'd rather wake up to you any day." she said sleepily, before realising the double meaning to her words. Faith smiled again, blushing ever so slightly. Apparently she picked up the double meaning as well, but Kate didn't say anything. It was true after all. Faith shifted in the chair.

"Want some coffee?" Kate nodded, and Faith disappeared to put some on. While she was gone Kate took the opportunity to get up and get dressed. Or at least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, when she stood up a wave of dizziness hit her, and she fell to her knees, trying not to loose consciousness. Faith heard the muffled thump, and went running through, coffee forgotten.

"Kate!" she exclaimed, flying to her side and putting an arm around her. "Kate!" she said again, worry evident. Kate fought off the blackness, and slowly sat up, helped by Faith, who leaned her against the bed. She smiled weakly, embarrassed at her weakness.

"I'm alright. Just got up too fast that's all." Faith's concern turned to reproach.

"Kate. You got in the head by demon yesterday. You don't have slayer healing. You are not to get out of bed today without my help. For any reason. Understand?" she asked, fixing Kate with a look that she couldn't escape. Biting her lip, Kate nodded, knowing that she was right. Satisfied with Kate's answer, Faith nodded, then helped her back into bed. Handing her the remote to the tv that Kate noticed for the first time Faith stood up.

"Now, I'm going to finish fixing the coffee. Watch some tv or something."

"Yes mother." Kate said, smirking as Faith scowled slightly before leaving. Seeing as there was no way Faith as going to relent, Kate decided to do what she was told, and switched on the tv. Instead of the news, she was greeted with cartoons. Instead of switching the channel like normal, she settled in to watch them. She was curious as to what the slayer saw in them.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Faith came back through half an hour later with coffee and breakfast, to find Kate sitting up in bed, giggling at the PowerPuff Girls. The innocent smile on the detectives face made her stop in the doorway and watch, a similar smile crossing her own face. When Kate turned to look at her, Faith shook herself out of her stupor, and crossed over to the bed.

"I made you some breakfast. Thought you might be hungry." She said, holding up the tray for Kate's inspection. Kate eyed it hungrily, licking her lips as her stomach growled. Faith found herself staring at the blondes lips, a torrent of emotions sweeping through her, before looking down guiltily. Bad Faith! She chastised herself for thinking those kind of thoughts about a friend, before smiling and placing the tray on Kate's lap.

"Thank you Faith." she managed to say, before tucking in. Faith just shrugged, moving back to sit in the chair again, enjoying the look of pleasure the blonde had right now. Kate devoured the simple breakfast, while Faith tried to concentrate on the cartoons. She failed miserably, even when her favourite, X-Men, came on.

Kate finished her breakfast quickly, placing the tray on her bedside table, holding her coffee. She looked over at Faith sitting in the hard chair in the corner, and spoke up impulsively.

"Come sit over here." Faith jerked her head round, surprised.

"What?" she breathed out. Kate smiled, and shifted over in her double bed, patting the space next to her.

"Plenty of space." Faith glanced at the bed, then back at Kate, She still looked reluctant. "I don't bite." she said, a gleam in her eyes. Faith saw the teasing glint in the detectives eyes, and gave. It wasn't like she didn't actually want to lie there after all. So she slid under the covers next to Kate, careful to leave some space between them, though not much, and settled down to watch the rest of the morning line up.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

Somewhere over the course of the next couple of hours Faith fell asleep, and migrated closer to Kate, cuddling into her like she was a human teddybear. Kate, who didn't mind one little bit, found herself watching Faith sleep, studying her. She looked so much younger when she was asleep, more innocent, like the world hadn't had a chance to leave it's mark yet. Kate found herself gently pushing the waves of thick dark hair off her face, stroking it tenderly.

Faith's face contorted suddenly, and her breathing changed, becoming rapid and shallow. She started to shift uneasily, and when a whimper escaped her, Kate knew for sure that she was having a nightmare. A bad one. Faith twitched again, curling up into a little ball, whimpering loudly now. Seeing the pain and fear on Faith's face, Kate felt her heart break just a little bit, and gathered her into her arms, holding her tightly.

Kate held on, whispering soothing nothings into her ear, and rocked her gently. She had no idea if any of this was even getting through, but couldn't just sit there and do nothing. She was shocked when Faith wrenched herself out of Kate's grasp, sitting straight up in bed. The scream Kate expected never made it out of her lips, only a strangled choking sound.

Faith was seemingly frozen in fear, eyes wide but blank. Kate tentatively reached a hand out, and touched Faith gently on her shoulder. Faith spun around, terrified, before she saw who was with her. Everything came flooding back, and it was all too much for the exhausted slayer. She was tired, physically and emotionally, and she collapsed into Kate's open arms, sobbing.

Eventually the sobs slowed, then stopped, the only thing coming out the odd sniffle. Kate continued to hold her tightly, rocking her gently and stroking the young brunettes hair soothingly. Faith shifted slightly, tightening her own grip around Kate to almost bruising.

"Faith?" Kate questioned softly. She got a moan in response. "Do you want to talk about it?" For a long minute all she got was silence, and she thought that Faith was going to say no, until the body in her arms sighed, and slumped in on itself.

"What's to talk about? Just another nightmare." she muttered darkly, already starting to put her walls back up. She'd never broken down like that in front of anyone before, and now she'd done it twice in as many days. She was afraid that Kate was starting think that she was weak. The rational part of her mind was telling her that crying wasn't weak, it was healthy, but when had she ever listened to the rational part of her mind?

"Faith. . ." Kate trailed off. "I just want to help. But I can't do that if you don't talk to me." Faith clung onto Kate, and considered her words. She wanted to talk, wanted to tell someone all her secrets, and more importantly, she wanted that someone to be Kate. But wanting to talk about her problems, and actually talking about them were worlds apart.

Faith took a deep breath, and prepared to start telling Kate about the nightmares. Unfortunately, just as she was about to start the phone went off, startling them both. Faith jerked away, looking around for the source of the interruption, before realising it was the phone. Kate answered it, practically growling down the phone.

"What?" Faith felt sorry for whoever was on the other end.

"I'm fine. Why are you calling?" Faith watched a range of emotions flicker across Kate's face as she listened intently. Kate looked up and saw Faith watching her, and offered a tiny smile, before her attention was called back to the phone.

"Are you sure?" She sounded faintly worried. Whatever the answer was, it wasn't good, because she sighed, and brought a hand up to massage her temple. "Yeah, we'll be there. Give us a couple of hours though." Faith groaned under her breath as she realised who was on the phone, and the most likely reason why they were calling.

"Bye." Hanging up the phone, Kate closed her eyes, and sighed deeply. "That was Wesley. They need our help." Faith frowned. She hated being right.

"Do they?" Her voice clearly showed her lack of enthusiasm for that idea. Quite frankly, nothing short of an apocalypse would convince her to help the others right now. Kate looked up to study Faith, who was sitting at the end of the bed. Her body language was screaming hostility. Why couldn't things go right for once? she thought plaintively, tossing up her plea to whatever gods might be listening.

"Yeah. The demons that we took care of earlier. That wasn't a random attack. Half an hour ago they attacked, and took the Denziger's. What little information they've come up with, isn't good." She paused, seeing that at least some of what she was saying was getting through. "They need our help to try and stop the demons from doing whatever it is they're doing." She finished up. Faith smiled wryly.

"So much for lying in bed and watching bad movies." She stood up, stretching. "I suppose we should get ready then." She looked down balefully at the bed. "I was really looking forward to a lazy day as well." She sighed, before remembering something. "How are you feeling?" She asked, studying Kate for signs of weakness. Kate on the other hand stretched, pleasantly surprised by how good she felt.

"I feel fine." Faith looked sceptical. "Really. Us Lockley's have thick skulls." She grinned cockily. "Takes more than a single demon to put us out of the game." she quipped, putting on a confident front to rival Faith's. Faith still didn't look convinced, but Kate stood up, thankfully without dizziness, and playfully shoved her out of the room. "Now go get ready. We don't want to keep the guys waiting."

She could hear Faith grumbling under her breath, but move off to her own room. With a sigh of relief Kate leaned against the door, and prayed that whatever the `serious situation' that demanded both her and Faith's attention was, it could be solved with minimal effort.

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

It was mid afternoon before they made it to the Hyperion. The air was thick with tension, and everyone looked more than a little haggard. After making sure Kate was comfortable, Faith moved off to stand in the corner of the room. Everyone noted that she was as far away from Wesley as possible, but chose not to mention it. Angel briefed the new arrivals.

"The demons attacked this morning and took the Denziger's. Thankfully no-one here was hurt, and the care they took not to injure the couple hopefully means they need them alive."

"What for?" Kate asked intently. Angel sighed unnecessarily. Wesley decided to answer, since he knew the most about the situation.

"The demons that attacked were Droneth demons." He stood up and started to pace, going into `watcher mode'. "They worship a great leader of theirs who died a couple of thousand years ago. Apparently this leader had great plans for humanity, namely enslaving them as lower beings." He ignored the fact that Kate and Faith looked entirely uninterested in a history lesson, and carried on.

"Apparently this leader had succeeded in his plan, at least partially. He succeeded in enslaving a significant corner of the African continent before he was killed by a small army of rebel humans." He stopped, and looked at the two woman, who were watching him looking more than a little irritated.

"Yeah, and?" Kate prompted him to get the point, and he obliged.

"Apparently they have found a way to resurrect him." He said simply, long past feeling anything about the situation other than a dim feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Kate paled slightly, eyes going wide, and stammered slightly.

"Wh-what?" Faith's face remained blank, and the only sign that she was following the conversation at all was in the slight clenching of her jaw, and her eyes growing a shade darker. Given that he was used to the impulsive wild girl who didn't care about the background, just about the fighting and killing, he was somewhat surprised when she spoke.

"What do they need the Denziger's for?" He coloured slightly, embarrassed that they didn't know.

"We're not sure." Faith's eyes narrowed slightly as she digested that information.

"Do you think they're still alive?" Her voice was calm and thoughtful, and this threw Wesley off even more.

"We think so." Angel answered for him, allowing Wesley to gather his focus, something he had been doing a lot lately when around the openly apologetic and remorseful slayer. "They were particularly careful not to injure them in the attack."

"So the demons need something from them to complete the ritual. Probably their blood. These things always need blood." she mused aloud, oblivious to the distasteful expressions on the others faces. "So if we can locate the Denziger's and get them back, that will give us time to stop the demons before they complete the ritual."

Cordelia's jaw dropped in shock. She was slightly amazed that she had reached the same conclusion in a matter of minutes that it had taken the guys a whole morning to reach. She wasn't the only one surprised if the looks on the men's face's were anything to go by. Angel was the only one who didn't look surprised, apart from Kate. Faith looked up, and frowned slightly when she saw the scrutiny she was under.

"What?" she asked, confused. Angel shook his head, smiling slightly with pride.

"That's what we think as well." he explained.

"Oh." Faith shrugged, still not sure why everyone except him and Kate where staring at her like she'd grown an extra head. Surreptitiously checking to make sure she hadn't, she carried on with her earlier train of thought. "So do we have any idea where the Denziger's are, and how much time we have?" she asked, all business. Angel shook his head.

"Do we have any leads at all?" Kate asked, finally joining in the conversation as the detective part of her brain decided to kick-start.

"We think that their base might be in the sewers, somewhere downtown." Wesley said. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, that narrows things down. There's only what, about a hundred miles of sewer downtown." she said sarcastically.

"It's better than nothing." Gunn pointed out, speaking for the first time. Kate sighed, conceding the point.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, looking to Angel.

"We pair off and search the sewers. Check in every couple of hours."

"That's it? That's the plan?" Faith asked, somewhat incredulous.

"Do you have a better plan?" Angel asked.

"Well, don't you have people you can go to for information? Like Willy only less cowardly?" she asked hopefully. Angel shook his head.

"I've already tried. No-one's talking." Faith muttered under her breath, then sighed resignedly.

"All right soulboy. Lets get started."

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\

As she splashed through yet another foul smelling stream, Kate wondered why she was doing this. Behind her she heard a louder splash, as well as a stream of curses that would make a sailor blush. Smiling, she turned around to see Faith giving the stream a dark look. Looking at Faith's boots she saw why. The left boot was covered in slime. Really disgusting slime that was soaking into the canvas and probably staining it.

"Remind me again why I didn't wear my leather boots?" she asked in a disgusted, but curious, tone of voice. Kate grinned.

"Because you said that since they were new you were quite certain you didn't want to kick demon booty in them, thus risking the possibility of slime." she replied smartly, grinning again when Faith scowled.

"Oh yeah. I forgot." Casting one more dark look at the stream, she sighed. "I am so going to get a job after this." she said distractedly, shaking her head and moving off down the tunnel, not noticing how Kate was staring after her. After a second of just watching Faith, she shook herself, and followed the slayer, keeping her eyes and ears open for signs of danger.

Faith and Kate were just reaching the end of the tunnel when Kate stopped. Faith gave her a curious look as the detective sniffed the air. Oh yeah, she remembered that smell all right. She indicated to Faith to stay quiet, indicating that they were close. Understanding instantly Faith nodded, and took the lead, making sure that Kate was close behind her.

Peering round the corner Faith was just able to make out a door, with one of what had to be a Droneth demon standing in front of it. It was a little daunting, with it's horns just scraping the ceiling, and a scabbard strapped to it's belt, and Faith's jaw tightened as she realised there was no way she could take on more than two at the same time.

She realised that Kate was trying to get past her, anxious to see, but Faith put her arm out, blocking the blondes way. Ignoring the look she was getting Faith continued to stare. She saw the demon move aside, and realised with a start that the door was opening. Cursing mentally, she shrank back even further, melding to the wall. She didn't want to risk getting seen, but she had to see if the couple was there, and that they were still alive.

Peering intently into the darkness of the open door, she was able to make out at least two more demons, lit by flickering candlelight, but no hint of humans. She gritted her teeth, ducking back round the corner as a demon came out. She listened intently to the conversation it had with the guard, but since she didn't speak Droneth, she had no idea what was being said.

Kate was standing with her back against the wall, gun drawn even though it wouldn't do any damage, it made her feel better. She wanted to leave, to sneak away now that they had the location, but Faith was making no move to leave, and had an intense look on her face. She was about to grab her arm, and try and drag her away when a scream broke the silence.

"No, please just let us go." It was a woman's voice, broken and pleading. Faith tensed beside her, and looked like she was going to charge in there, but Kate knew that was suicide. Placing a hand on her arm, she shook her head when Faith looked at her. Faith glared, eyes blazing, but Kate drew herself up to her full height and shook her head again. No way was she going to back down. There was another scream, but it was cut off with the sound of a door slamming, and they both turned to look round the corner.

Both women were so intent on spying on the demons that they completely missed the splashes behind them. They didn't, however, miss the loud growl. They spun round to face the demon that had appeared behind them, Faith sliding in front of Kate protectively.

The Droneth demon promptly swiped at Faith, who stumbled back to avoid it's claws. The tight confines of the tunnel worked against them, as she fell back into Kate who was struggling to get her gun out. Kate completely lost her balance. Throwing out a hand to try and stop her fall she came up empty, and they both landed roughly, legs entangled.

As Faith struggled to get up, two more demons came running up, swords drawn. They were lowered threateningly, and Faith stopped moving, holding her hands up in defeat. She smiled weakly at the three glaring demons.

"Would you believe we're just travelling insurance dealers?" she quipped, trying to lighten the mood. Apparently the demons hated insurance dealers as much as the human race did, because one of them kicked her in the head, and her world went black.

*****