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After hearing more than a few things that didn’t sound physically possible , even for a slayer, Faith was still shaking her head when Buffy eased the small two-door, into a space in front of Angel’s building. “So your leg goes where again?”

Knowing that she was stalling, Buffy gave her a bright smile. “Get your mind out of the bedroom and follow my lead. This has the potential to turn into a huge drama but if we do this right, everyone will feel better when it’s all over. I know you have no idea what I am talking about or why we are here but it‘s going to be explained real quick, so just go with the flow.”

When Faith nodded, Buffy unhooked her seatbelt and climbed out of the car heading up the short flight of steps that would lead her to the office. Opening the door the first thing she saw was Cordelia’s tear streaked face and Angel doing his best to comfort her but she also saw the small fridge and that gave her an idea. “Take some time to pull yourselves together but I am starving, so I hope you don’t mind if I help yourself.”

While they looked over at her in total shock, she crossed the room and pulled open the fridge. She scanned the shelves and pulled out a coffee cup filled with blood. This would be her first meal as the undead and even she knew it would be better warm but she was too hungry to care. Raising the glass to her lips she took the first drink, instantly her face contorted into unpleasant lines. “Yech, please tell me that it gets better with time, or else I might just stake myself and be done with it.”

“You died, you’re a...” Angel said unable to force the words past his lips.

She pulled down her shirt to bear the mark on her neck and took another quick sip of blood, which wasn’t any better than the first, she thought disgustedly. “I died but then I wasn’t the only one, I mean those tears are for Doyle right?”

Angel reached into the drawer and pulled out a stake and moved to stand between her and Cordy. “I’m so sorry Buffy.”

“Don’t be but you can put up the stake. I’m a vampire but not the soulless killer kind.”

“You cursed her?” Angel asked looking over to Faith for an explanation.

“Nope, I made a deal with the Powers and part of that is why I am here.” Buffy answered, sitting down the cup and taking a step forward. “I’m only part vampire but I also got a mystical guide to help me fulfill my destiny. I’m guessing that the Powers weren’t to thrilled that I decided to become a vampire so they figured I needed someone looking over my shoulder to keep me out of any more trouble.”

“You willingly let yourself be turned?” Angel asked her, the first notes of rage working it’s way into his voice.

“If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black,” Buffy said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s a long story and not why I am here.”

“Then why are you here?” Angel asked feeling like he had been sucked into an alternate reality. Since Faith was here he believed that Buffy was telling the truth but he still couldn’t see the bigger picture.

“My guide he’s a friend of yours and he asked me to swing by and deliver a few messages. I had to come back to town and get my things and since Doyle’s a nice guy it seemed like the least I could do. I mean he died fighting the Scourge, earning his own little slice of redemption and since he was the one who sent me to Sunnydale in the first place, is it really that big of a surprise that he got tapped to be my guide?” Since Angel still hadn’t dropped the stake, she didn’t come any closer but she shifted so that she could look around his shoulder to Cordelia. “He didn’t just kiss you goodbye; he gave you his visions.”

“What!” Cordy asked getting to her feet to look at Buffy.

“Yeah, I was shocked that he picked you too but he assured me that you were the right person to guide Angel to his own redemption. He gave me some soppy speech about you being a hero in your own right and since I had chosen to be vamped it was really hard to debate the subject with him.” When Buffy saw the raw pain still evident in Cordelia’s eyes, it reminded her of the look in Spike’s eyes as he held her while she died. Misery, as cold and as broken as a winter wind and seeing it color her soft eyes, made Buffy gentle her tone. “He’s happy there, at peace and he wanted me to let you know that.”

“Really,” Cordelia asked softly, afraid that it was just a lie meant to comfort.

“Really but if you want him to stay that way, I would dry those tears. He has a soft spot for the two of you a mile wide and if you keep this up he’ll just send me back here and you wouldn’t want that would you?” Buffy said walking back over to pick up the cup. Hoping to give them some time to absorb everything she had said, she looked down at the cold thick blood and tried to convince herself it was tomato soup.

It might have worked if two humans in the room hadn’t smelled so tasty to her rapidly developing senses. A cup of cold animal blood had nothing on the warm blood of a seer and the slayer. Even though she knew she didn’t want to bite either of them, she was starting to feel like a kid with it’s nose pressed against the glass of a candy store window. Quickly she turned to Faith, “Fill them in on what’s been going on, I’ve gotta go find something to eat.”

“There is some fresh blood downstairs,” Angel said stepping forward. “You can tell me what happened to you, while you warm it up in the microwave.”

“Actually I think you and Faith should have a talk, seeing as she’s in town and all. I bet you two have tons of things to talk about.” Buffy said giving him a pointed look. “I’ll run out to the butcher’s shop and you two can catch up.”

“You may not be a normal vampire Buffy but you can’t be trusted to be on your own just yet. You’re going to need help adjusting to the change and I can help you with that.” Angel said taking a step towards her, thinking that was part of the reason she had come.

“I just spent two hours in a car with Faith, who as you know is just chock full of slayer blood and I didn‘t so much as take a sip. That alone should say I can be trusted but just to head off the inevitable argument, I’ll go downstairs instead of going out. Besides I’m not in town to stay and the sooner you two talk, the sooner we can head back.”

“Buffy you’re going to need someone to explain to you about what it means to be a vampire. Normally your sire would tell you those things but since he or she is probably dust; I am the only person that can help you.”

“Sorry but my sire isn’t dust and since I’m going to be moving in with him when I get back, I’m sure he can handle teaching me vampire basics 101.” Buffy said heading towards the door.

Everyone watched her go and not wanting to witness another Faith/Angel fight, Cordelia gathered her things and said that she was heading home. “Dennis is probably waiting for me.” She said easily, quickly making her way out of the office before the rising tension in the room hit critical levels.

When they were alone, Faith and Angel just looked at each other unsure of what to say or where to begin.

“She’s something isn’t she?” Faith said walking over to take a seat on the sofa. She knew Angel’s face to well to miss the signs of guilt. “She was dying from cancer before you met her Angel, you couldn’t have saved her from this.”

“Couldn’t I Faith? If I hadn’t sent her there...then this wouldn’t have happened. She had survived so much before I met her, then I let her down and she just quits fighting. I destroyed her and in a moment of weakness she became a vampire. So from where I am standing all of this is my fault.”

“The Powers offered to let her die Angel but this was the choice she made. She loves him and for her, he was worth coming back for, whatever the costs. I didn’t understand it at first either but I can tell that he loves her back. He’s the one thing she would give anything for and if I had never met Riley, I wouldn’t be able to understand that.” Faith said bringing the conversation around to while she was here.

“Do you love him that much?” Angel asked expecting to feel his heart twist and when it didn’t, he knew that Buffy had been right when she had told him Faith wasn’t the one for him. And since Faith was here he was willing to believe that Buffy had some sort of talk with her as well.

“I love him enough to know that I can let you go,” Faith said quietly, looking up to meet his eyes. “I’ve been holding onto the idea of us for so long that I almost pushed Riley out of my life. He doesn’t fit in the normal life you left so I could have but then again my life isn’t normal. I’m a vampire slayer and he’s a commando guy trained to fight demons but when we are together we both feel like normal people. And Now that I’m with him, I understand why the world is worth dying to protect.”

“I loved you Faith but I was so busy trying to decide what you needed in your life that I never stopped to ask what you wanted. That was my fault, not yours and I am glad that you found someone who puts your wants and needs first. I couldn’t do that because I don’t know what I want or need, not because you didn’t love me enough. If things could have been different for us, if we were different then maybe I could have.” Angel admitted honestly. His one day as a human had told him that it wouldn’t ever work between them but it had taken seeing her again as he was now, to truly understand that.

“Let’s not worry about what we might have had, lets just leave it in the past where it belongs and move on to our separate futures.” Faith said getting back to her feet. “I’m sure that in some part of my heart I will always love you but given enough time it will turn into the same kind of love I feel for Xander and Willow.”

“From lovers, to enemies, to friends,” Angel said giving her a soft smile, glad that they still had something to show for everything they had been through together. “Maybe that is where we were meant to be all along.”

“Well then, for my first official act as your friend I’m going to give you a bit of advice. If you want to be a part of Buffy’s life, you better be willing to accept friendship because that’s all she has to offer right now.”

“What aren’t you telling me Faith,” Angel said seeing the tense set of her shoulders and her strained smile.

“Her sire…was Spike.”





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