Faith was wrong.  There was patrolling, and for a change, she was patrolling with B.  “We haven’t done this in a while.”

“Told Giles if I didn’t get out and patrol I was going to blow something.” 

Faith just looked at her. 

“Why do you take everything I say and twist it that way?”

“Just not you, B, I twist what everyone says that way.  Xander is always a mess when I get through with him.”

“How did Emma take it when she found out that Xander wasn’t going to sleep with her anyway?”  Buffy asked.

“Oh, man.  She was pissed!  She went on some ‘I thought we were friends’ rampage.”

“What does that have to do with it?  Not like she wanted to sleep with you and you said no,” Buffy said.

“How does your brain work?” Faith asked, shaking her head. “She figured I’d put a good word in for her.  You know, ‘tell Xander that it’d be a good idea’ or something.  Like I’d do that.” 

Buffy smiled.  “Sounds like you got yourself a little sister wannabe.”

“Yep, she said that too.”  Faith sighed.  “I feel bad for the kid.  She’s been on her own so long.  Not many friends.  Having to fend for herself.  Gotta be hard.”

It was Buffy’s turn to stare at Faith.

“What?”  Faith asked.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not kidding.  What’s with the look?”

“Been on her own, not many friends, fending for herself, gotta be hard? Sound like anyone you know?”

“Vampire…”

“No, not a, vamp…  Oomph!”

“…coming up fast behind you.”

Buffy was quicker than Faith gave her credit for.  Tackled from behind, she never even hit the ground.  Using her momentum in a way Faith doubted she could duplicate, Buffy spun around, kicked the vamp in the head and staked him before he knew what hit him.

“Thanks for the warning,” she said, putting her stake back in the waistband of her jeans.

“No problem,” Faith said, grinning, and continuing on with the patrol.

“I’m serious, Faith,” Buffy said, keeping pace.  “I think you and Emma have a connection. And a lot in common.”

“Just stop right there, B.”  Faith spun around, stopping them both dead in their tracks.  “Emma is nothing like me, got it?  We don’t have anything in common.  Her life was nothing like mine, so whatever bonding game is going on around here, this slayer doesn’t want to be part of it.”

“Whoa,” Buffy said, raising both hands in surrender.  “Didn’t mean to hit a nerve.  Just being observy, is all.  No need to bite my head off.”

“If I was biting your head off, you’d know it.”

“Truce, already.”

“Fine.  Whatever.”  Faith kicked a rock that was in her path.

“One day Faith, you’re finally going to let somebody in.”

“Did that already.”

“Spike?”

“You and Xander compare notes or somethin’?”

“What?”

“Was there some meeting I missed?  Some agenda with the topic being, ‘This week we’re going to make Faith wicked crazy by asking her all sorts of questions she doesn’t want to answer.’?  Well, just forget it.” 

What happened to the days when people just left her the hell alone and didn’t care what she was thinking?  Those times seemed pretty rosy right now.  She could tell by Buffy’s expression that she didn’t know what the hell Faith was talking about.  “Never mind.  Let’s head back.”

Buffy didn’t say anything, but Faith knew she wanted to.

XXXXX

“They’re in Detroit?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Angel said, stomping into the elevator.

“I thought the hellmouth was in Cleveland,” Spike said, rushing in directly behind him.

“Detroit.”

“That’s just… interestin’.”

Angel eyed him suspiciously.  “Why is that interesting?”

“From what I heard, Faith thought they were going to Italy.  That’s what Buffy said, anyway.  And now they’re in Detroit.”  He laughed.  “I’m sure they had one brassed-off slayer on their hands.”

“Why are you following me?” Angel asked, stepping out of the elevator and making his way toward his office.  “I have things to do.  Isn’t there someplace you need to be… that’s away from me?”

“I want to know why Giles called,” Spike said matter-of-factly as he and Angel walked into Angel’s office.  “If he called you and asked for help, it’s something important.”

Spike enjoyed the shock that registered on the prat’s face.  “Who said he called?” Angel demanded.

“Like anything’s a secret around this place,” Spike said, sitting down on the couch.  Then spotting the expression on Angel’s face, added, “Harm told me.”

“Remind me to get another secretary if we survive the latest apocalypse,” Angel muttered, sitting down behind his desk.

“What’s going on?”

Angel sighed.  “He wanted to know if we heard anything that could be going on in their neck of the woods.  Been pretty quiet there, or so they thought, but it looks like something big is coming their way and they don’t know what it is.”

“Big?  How big?  What did you tell him?”

“Been a little busy, Spike.  Told him what I’m telling you now, and then I don’t want to hear anymore about it.  I haven’t heard anything.  Got my own problems on this end, haven’t had time to find out what theirs are.”

“Of all the selfish… you do know that Buffy and Faith are in Detroit, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, Spike.  I also know that they’re big girls and they can take care of themselves.”  Angel dropped the folder that he had in his hands, Spike watched as it slowly fluttered to the desk.  Angel sighed, hard.  “I Told Giles if they needed help to let us know.  Told him that if we heard anything we’d let them know.  Happy now?”

“Happy is not exactly in my vocabulary of late,” Spike said, standing and storming out of the office, not bothering to close the door behind him.

XXXXX

“He called Angel?” Faith asked, dropping down onto the couch.  “When? Why’d he do that?”

“Called him over a week ago, I think.  It’s the evil law firm thing,” Buffy said, sitting next to her.  “Thought he may have heard something through the underworld grapevine.”

“What’d Angel tell him?”

“Not much, from what I can tell.  Looks like Angel is working on a mess of his own.  Not that he would tell Giles what it was, even if Giles would listen, which I doubt he would.  Those two, not the best of friends.”

“There’s an understatement.”

Buffy smiled.  “See, not everyone is as evolved as we are.  Look at us, friends and everything.”  Buffy nudged Faith with her elbow.  “Yay, us.”

“B.”

“What?”

“Your cheerleader is back.”

“So?”

“She’s annoying as hell.”

“Buffy isn’t annoying,” Xander said, coming in the front door with both Willow and Giles behind him.  “She’s far too perky to be annoying.”

“Xander, in my book, perky is annoying.”

“It’s better then being all Grr all the time,” Willow chimed in.

“I’m not Grr all the time,” Faith shot back.

“I didn’t mean you,” Willow said apologetically. 

“Perhaps a change of subject is called for,” Giles said stepping around both Xander and Willow.  “We believe we have found the ‘why’ of the demon gathering.”

“Spill it,” Faith said.

“They plan on opening the hellmouth.”

Faith rolled her eyes.  “What a surprise.”

“Different hellmouth.  Same plan,” Buffy sighed.  “You think they’d come up with something original.  Who are they?  And how do they plan on doing it?”

“By sacrificing a virgin.”

XXXXX

“Sacrificing a virgin?  Xander so should’ve slept with me,” Emma said, obviously pissed off.  Faith couldn’t help but suppress the smile that threatened to overtake her entire face.

“Giles wants you to move into the house for safety and all.”  Faith was thoughtful for a minute.  “Jeez, if you think about, if virgin blood is that powerful, virgin slayer blood has gotta be a hundred and fifty proof.”

Emma stopped pacing and finally met Faith’s gaze.  “I get to move in?  Live in the same house?  With you and Buffy and Willow and Mr. Giles and… Xander?”

“Kill the puppy-dog eyes already.  Just because you’re living in the same house doesn’t mean you’ll be playing house, little girl.  I’ll be watching you.”

“Are we going to be roomies?”

Faith laughed.  “Most definitely not.  You get the couch.  All the rooms are taken.”  Faith watched Emma’s mood transform right before her eyes.  “Don’t get all pouty.  We’ll find the big bad, save the day, and then you can move back home, all nice-n-cozy like, your folks none the wiser.  What are you going to tell them anyway?”

“Maybe I’ll just tell them I’m going to visit my brother.  That’ll give me a few months to play with before they catch on.”  She rolled her eyes.  “Parents.”

“Oooh, look at you… the sneaky little one.”  Faith thought about it for a second and then added.  “I like it, not sure how you’ll pull it off, but I like it.”

XXXXX

Emma pulled it off.  Didn’t take her long, either.  She was the newest houseguest within a week.  Faith thought as she watched her bop around the living room anxiously waiting for Xander to get back.

“How cool is this?” Emma asked to no one in particular.

They all had talked about it earlier in the day.  What better way was there to welcome the latest member of the mock family then a movie and popcorn night?

“About time,” Faith said. 

Xander had finally gotten back from the video store. “Okay, we have all sorts of movies to pick from,” he said, spreading them out over the coffee table.  “No chick flicks though.  I draw the line at chick flicks.”

“I like scary movies,” Emma said.  “Did you bring anything scary?”

“Since when haven’t you watched chick flicks?” Willow asked, coming into the living room with popcorn.  “I beg to differ, Xander Harris.”

Xander glanced nervously at the girls that surrounded him.  “The new Xander Harris doesn’t watch chick flicks.  How’s that?” he asked uncomfortably, his gaze settling on Willow.

“I’m with Harris,” Faith said.  “No sappy shit for me.  Give me a movie where something blows up and I’m happy.”

 

“And nothing too gross,” Willow said, setting the popcorn down.  “I get enough gross in real life; don’t need to be watching it on the television.”

“Nooo,” Buffy said, holding up a movie.  “Blade?  You got Blade?  We are so not watching this.”

Faith snatched it out of her hand.  “This movie rocks.  And Wesley Snipes defines the essence of hotness.”  She tossed the movie to Xander.  “We’re watching this one.”

“Well, if you think about it,” Emma began, “It’s not a chick flick, it’s not too gross,” she added tentatively.

“Not too gross?  Says who!” Buffy exclaimed.  “There’s blood everywhere, remember the sprinklers?  And body parts and biting and…” she shuddered, “…just, well, eww.”
 
Xander added, “Ladies, I believe we have a winner.”

“Where’s Giles?” Buffy asked.  “I’m sure he’d like to have a say in this.”

“You’ve been out-voted B.  And no way,” Faith said, shaking her head.  “He’d pick something British and boring and then I’d probably have to shoot myself.  We’re watching Blade.  Wesley is just plain hot…”  Faith realized what she had just said.  “I can’t believe that just came out of my mouth.”

“Freudian slip?” Buffy asked teasingly.

“Okay B.  I’ll hook up with Wesley right after you and G get it on.”  Putting both arms at her side, Faith mimicked a pumping gesture.

“Faith!” Buffy exclaimed.  “That’s just, gross.  And there is so much wrong with that statement I wouldn’t even know where to start.”  Faith watched as the horror dawned on Buffy’s face.  “Not that Giles is gross… to the right woman and all.  But not him and me because, well…” Buffy dropped her face into her hands, obviously giving up on a losing battle.

Emma looked at Xander.  “Sounds to me like she knew where to start.  Who’s Wesley?”

“Faith’s old Watcher,” Xander told her quietly.

“Can we not talk about this?  Changing the subject, good idea,” Willow pleaded.

An eye roll or two later, Xander was loading Blade and Wesley Snipes in all his glory into the DVD player, bowls of popcorn had been scattered around the room and Faith longed for a beer.

“Okay, night off, I want a brew.” She stood up.  “Get anyone anything?”

After tallying who wanted what, Faith headed for the kitchen.

XXXXX

“Waitress, I ain’t,” she said, as she looked through the refrigerator, trying to find the requested beverages.  “There’d better be a beer in here,” she said pushing aside the orange juice and milk.  “They’re so lucky.”  Faith snatched a beer from the stash she had hidden in the back.  She grabbed the sodas everyone else wanted, and, realizing she didn’t have enough hands, left her beer on the counter.

“If anyone wants ice, you can get it yourself,” she added as she turned and headed back into the kitchen.

She cracked open her beer and was about to head back when she had the uncanny feeling of being watched.  Walking back towards the living room, she peeked in and saw that everyone was accounted for.  Well, everyone except for Giles, who had gone on some fact-finding mission.  Faith suspected he just needed to get out on his own for a bit, who could blame him?

 

She went back into the kitchen and realized she couldn’t shake the being watched feeling.  Knowing that the kitchen only had one way in and out, Faith went to the back door and opened it.  Reaching into the waistband of her jeans, knowing in that moment that she didn’t have a stake on her.  And if some baddie was waiting for her…

She snatched a knife out of the butcher’s block. 

Nothing jumped out at her.  Faith took one step out the back door to see if she could get a better look or a better sense of what was out there.  There wasn’t any question in her mind, she knew she wasn’t alone.  She was just waiting for whatever it was to show itself.

Nothing like bringing the fight to your door.

Faith ventured further into the backyard, around the porch, to the back of the garage and the shed that sat right behind it.  She checked behind the bushes and along both sides of the house.  Nothing.

She and B had talked about how wonky their slayer vibe had been lately, maybe this was just another one of those times.

Faith turned towards the house and headed back to the porch. 

She didn’t make it that far.  Someone was standing in her way.  Someone she recognized immediately.

“Heard you might be needin’ some help, pet... and I kinda missed the Viper.”

XXXXX