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*** After reviewing past BTVS and AtS episodes, I have concluded that there is no constant explanation for how long it takes for a vamp to rise. In the Angel episode “Why we fight,” (the flashback episode taking place on a sub) Lawson rises pretty quickly, like within the hour quickly. They never say it on the show, but the fact that they are dead in the water and rapidly running out of air with enemies all around, I am pretty sure it didn’t take three days. So since the Almighty Joss, who I worship by the way, can bend the rules in a pinch then I hope you don’t mind if a mere mortal like myself follows his example plus there are always well...cirumstances ***


“How could you do this?” Faith demanded shoving Spike back several steps. When Giles had paged her, she had known it wasn’t because the bank was handing out money but she had no idea that it would be this bad. “She tried to trust you and the second she turned her back you killed her.”

“She was dying.” Spike said simply, leveling her with a cold glare. “Turns out that being called as a slayer, shorted her lifespan in the not so normal way.”

“What are you talking about?” Faith asked, trying to burry her anger enough so that she could think again.

“Cancer, she had it and the power of the slayer made it worse.” He told them about what Buffy had shared with him. “You’ve always complained about how bein’ the slayer ruined your life but for her, it stole it away. So I gave it back and now I need to know how long it will take to get what you need for the curse.”

“I’m sorry that she was dying but we aren’t going to help her cheat fate.” Faith said coldly, as the memories of what had happened to Billy Fordham tore through her mind like a hurricane. He had been in the same position as Buffy and like her he decided that becoming a vampire was the perfect cure for cancer. He hadn’t deserved to die either but Faith had done what needed to be done and she would do so again.

“Oh what, you can whip a curse for your boyfriend when he’s tryin’ to destroy the world with blood still drying on his hands but when Buffy needs the same thing, suddenly it’s not something you’re willing to do to save her.”

“Angel didn’t chose to become Angelus; it was forced on him.” Faith shot back, that one point certain and clear in her mind.

“She didn’t chose to be a slayer, it was forced on her and it was going to bloody well kill her.” Spike said tossing her own words back at her.

“I’ll do the spell.” Willow said softly, seeing Spike’s point. When Faith turned to shoot her an accusing glare, Willow stood her ground. “Spike’s right Faith. I’m not saying that Buffy did the right thing but I can’t blame her either. She hasn’t hurt anyone but herself and that means she is still someone worth saving.”

“I gotta go with Will on this Faith,” Xander said adding in his two cents. “Buffy’s the victim here and if she needs our help, then we should help her.”

“There is another reason to perform the spell.” Giles told them stepping away from the wall. “She is not the first slayer to be turned and when she awakens she will have both the power of a slayer and vampire. As you can imagine that kind of power on the side of evil, puts many innocent lives at risk. The last time it happened was in the early sixteen hundreds and it took nearly an army to destroy the girl and the vampires who aligned themselves with her.”

“What is it with you guys, Buffy comes to town and suddenly you all take her side on everything.” Faith burst out before she could stop herself. “I told you she was dangerous and now that she has become some sort of ubervamp, you all are still defending her!”

“It’s not like that Faith,” Willow said getting to her feet. “This isn’t about us picking her over you; this is about us trying to do the right thing. She’s not a bad guy and the spell can make sure she stays that way.”

“Until she gets a happy and then how many people would have to die because we didn’t do the right thing now?” Faith shot back.

“Then I guess it’s time to go slay Angel, cuz the same goes for him, doesn’t it?” Xander asked getting up off of the sofa to go stand beside Willow and Tara. “It’s no secret that I hate the guy but even I gotta admit he’s saved the day once or twice. You know in between the murders and trying to end the world and hey Spike, another guy I hate, but you let him live. His chip could break but we just let him run around tame...which I said was a bad idea, I know, but you were the one who decided not to stake him. So you gotta see why I am all confused about why you won’t help Buffy.”

“It’s not the same thing and you all know it!” Faith said slamming her hands down on the occasional table hard enough to make the lampshade jiggle and clack against the base. Every time something like this came up, it always ended with someone bringing up Angel and she was getting sick of it. “This isn’t something that happened to her against her will, she chose this. She did have a choice, not a great choice but it was still a choice, and she chose to become a demon. I killed Ford for the same reason and If I don’t stake her he would have died for nothing. I left him in a building to be eaten by vamps, knowing what would happen and when you do something like that it should mean something.”

“Faith if we would have known about the curse then would you have used it on him?” Willow asked softly, seeing why this was so hard for her.

“No...” Faith said without bothering to think it over. “It takes more than just a soul to stop someone from being a killer, they have to care. Ford was so vampstruck that he would have still played the role he had seen a thousand times on TV. He was willing to kill me to get his slice of immortality and that meant that he wasn’t an innocent victim. You said it yourself Tara, Buffy was neutral and when she wakes up she won’t be.”

“Can I add my take on the situation?” Buffy said pushing open the front door. She looked back over her shoulder for a moment and then back at Faith. “I could hear you outside and let me tell you, you’re screaming loud enough to wake the dead.”

Without having to think about it, Faith grabbed one of the stakes off of the table and headed towards her. Seeing what was about to happen, Spike put himself between them. “She can’t come in without an invite; I’ll take her back to my crypt until you can do the spell. You don’t have to do this.”

Faith knew that if she staked Buffy, her friends would never forgive her but more than that, Buffy looked so innocent and happy that she couldn’t raise the stake or step forward. “If she hurts anyone before the spell is cast or it doesn’t work...then the deals off.”

“Don’t bother with the spell, it’s kinda pointless.” Buffy said stepping across the threshold without the slightest bit of resistance. “As you can see, I’m not exactly your normal vamp.”

Faith took a step back, putting her closer to her friends and cast a quick and desperate look at Giles. “What’s going on?”

Buffy walked into the center of the room and gave Faith a wry grin. “Your friends the Powers like having me around. Personally I think they like sticking it to me every chance they get and this is just the latest game of whack Buffy around. I died, followed the shimmering bright light down the yellow brick road and got a stiff lecture from my new guide. Seems they have some grand plan for me and since I wasn’t playing by their rules, they decided to lay on me their own version of a curse. I got to see heaven, found some peace and then they ripped me out of there and plopped me back down in my body. It hurt like hell, let me tell you and since Spike wasn’t there, I figured he came to give you the bad news.” She didn’t mention that she had cried for a good half hour thinking that he had abandoned her like everyone else, because that was something she was definitely not sharing, she’d rather be staked.

“If I wouldn‘t have known you would rise so soon I would have never left you.” Spike said softly, wrapping his arms around her to pull her close. Her words had explained the sadness that had assaulted him out of nowhere in the graveyard and he cursed himself for being such a sodden fool. He and Angel had risen after they were buried but Darla and Dru both had risen the same night they were turned. Just like every human birth was different so was the rebirth of every vampire. Sometimes it took days and with others it could happen within hours. As her sire and protector he should have taken some sort of precaution, because one thing was absolute, all new vamps woke up hungry.

As if she had read his mind or just the guilt on his face, Faith gave Buffy a considering look. “Have you fed yet?”

She pulled out of Spike’s embraced, but remained close by his side. “Nope but don’t worry, I’m not about to turn your friends into Scooby snacks. Thing is I don’t really feel any destructive urges. I’m actually believe it or not, in a pretty good mood. So either Spike’s blood was well...spiked or my guide left something out when he was explaining my new ‘gifts’.”

“You still have your soul...but it’s different. I me...me...mean in a good way. Before you were alive but your aura was dark and now that your dead your aura seems alive...I...I...can’t explain it.” Tara said shyly, still uncomfortable being the center of attention. She was shy by nature but she knew they were her friends, so she rarely stuttered around them anymore. Except when she was called on to explain something, she thought chastising herself. They all had been doing this for a while and she was afraid that she wouldn’t measure up because they had already done so much to prove themselves. “Maybe it’s a part of the reason you can come in without an invite.”

“No, I think it’s because of something else.” She gave Spike a look, knowing that he would understand what she was trying to say. “But my guide did give me a brief rundown about my new special skills, which is how I knew I could come in without an invite. But hey don‘t feel bad, you got a gift from the Powers too.”

“Yeah and what’s that?” Faith asked, calming down somewhat. Even she could admit that she had spun off kilter because she was starting to feel left out. She had saved the world how many times now and the new girl had willingly become a vamp and everyone was bending over backwards to help her, even the Powers. So it was nice to know that she hadn’t been forgotten.

“See I’m only part demon so to pull this off they had to give you back some of my slayer powers. The story I got was when you died, some of your power was fed into the next slayer and eventually that power made it’s way to me. When I died, it was suppose to go to another new Chosen One but the Powers think you’re a pretty good deal for a slayer. So to make a long story short they...well called you again. You were a couple gallons short of slaygirl power and now you just got your tank topped off making you the one and only again. So don’t die again or you will just end up breaking in another new slayer.”

Buffy saw the happiness dance in Faith’s eyes like fireworks going off and she cast a quick glance at Riley. “So go careful on your boy there, because you just got a major recharge. It might take you a bit to get used to all your new power.”

“Good to know I’m appreciated,” Faith said casually but she was unable to keep the smile from spreading across her face. “But what about you...how are you different?”

“Sunlight doesn’t make me go all flammable but if I stay in it for too long, I get weak and a very nasty sunburn. Crosses and holy water aren’t really a problem either but mirrors are out. So expect my personal appearance to suffer greatly until I work that one out. I’m on the liquid diet but check this out,” She opened her mouth and her front teeth elongated into fangs while the rest of her face stayed the same.

“You didn’t get well...bumpy!” Willow said brightly. It seemed like Buffy’s good mood was infectious and since even Faith seemed a little happier it was hard not to just go with it.

“I know, pretty nifty huh. I did get my very own demon but everyone has their demons right so atleast mine is upfront about it. But everything else is pretty much the same.” Buffy lied easily, not wanting to ruin Faith’s good mood by telling her that her own strength had also been doubled. As far as she could see the girl had earned her place in the Champion hall of fame so it was hard to be upset over her not being thrilled with everything that had happened. “But I bet that bastard Travers won’t see it that way, so maybe I just got a get-out-of-slayer-duty-free-card!”

“I highly doubt that, Travers will see you as more of an asset than ever.” Giles said dryly relieved that the Powers had intervened on the girl’s behalf. Like the others, he hadn’t been able to blame her for looking for a way out. After the life she had lived, he could understand why she had made a desperate decision in the heat of the moment.

But he would be a fool if he just trusted her on her word alone. “I hope that you won’t take this the wrong way but I think it is prudent to make sure that everything you’re telling us is the truth.”

“Listen, I understand. You all have to do what you gotta do.” Buffy said giving them all a bright smile, letting them know that she wasn‘t upset at them for not trusting her instantly. She knew better than most people that trust wasn‘t just something you gave away, it was something that had to be earned...and someday she wanted to earn theirs. “I caught the first act outside and Faith had every right to want to stake me. I mean if I were in her place, I wouldn’t be all forthcoming with the benefit of the doubt either. I can’t justify what I did but I told Spike that if the spell wasn’t a go or if it failed that I wanted to be staked. She was just trying to protect you and I’m cool with doing whatever it takes to make you feel safe around me.”

“I should have been more willing to try the spell, because something tells me you would have.” Faith admitted guiltily, hoping to ease a bit of her inner turmoil. She had been jealous plain and simple and since it was obvious that things had worked out, she had to be able to admit that.

“We’re a lot alike Faith, we both do what has to be done. There is no shame or blame in that and atleast in your case you weren’t thinking about yourself, but them. You were right about me taking the easy way out and as hard as it is for me to admit this...you were right. I spent a lot of years just getting by and it’s pretty sad that I had to die to understand what it was like to feel. You’re not like that, you feel everything and even though I have been discovering that part of myself for the last hour or so, I can say that it is a hell of a lot harder than closing yourself off.” Buffy reached out and took Spike’s hand in her own just because she wanted to be close to him, something she would have never done before tonight. “That tells me you’re a strong person and I respect that. Which is why you’re still standing here when all the slayers called after you have fallen.”

“You haven’t fallen Buffy,” Faith said touched by her words. To her it looked like Buffy had finally picked herself up and that was something she respected. “You’re just getting a fresh start.”





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