Buffy approached Faith and Xander as the two of them stood at the side of the street only a half block away from the mayor's office. It was the night of the mayor's anniversary party, and the unsuspecting guests were likely already lining up outside. Faith's hand was shoved up under her top, fidgeting around with something out of sight, and she didn't look particularly impressed. “This stupid thing keeps digging in me,” she complained.

“'Tis the harsh cost of espionage,” Xander said, shaking his head sadly.

“Where did you even get a wire?” Buffy asked. “Is this some part of your soldier-for-a-night thing?”

“Nah, I borrowed it from my uncle Rory. He bought it way back when he thought his wife was having an affair. Stuffed it in her pillow before hitting the town for a night of debauchery of his very own. A tale he likes to share when he drinks a little too much, which is to say at just about every family event ever.”

“So, little bit paranoid then?”

“Turns out, not so much. I don't think he much appreciated the sounds he heard.”

Buffy shuddered at the thought. “Yeek.”

“There can never be enough yeek,” Xander agreed, echoing her shudder with his own over the top version. He passed a small, plastic unit with a built in speaker over to her. “Please try and bring it back in one piece, or the next gathering will be just that little bit more uncomfortable.”

“I'll see what I can do,” Buffy said non-committally. She flipped the device up into the air, and Xander winced when she feigned letting it drop to the floor.

“You are a bad person,” he stressed, jabbing a pointed finger at her before turning to leave.

Buffy watched his retreat, left alone with Faith as he made his way over to join the rest of the group. “Hey, you,” she chirped.

“Hey,” Faith returned.

“Do you still want to go through with this?” Buffy asked earnestly. “No one would blame you if you changed your mind.”

“I'm good,” Faith said simply. Her hand emerged, seemingly content with the positioning of the listening device for the time being, and she pulled at the hem of her tight-fitting top, bringing it back down over her midriff.

Buffy smiled what she hoped was a convincing cover-up for the unease that had slowly been building up inside her over the past few hours. The very thought of sending Faith into a room with the monster who'd taken from her made Buffy's stomach clench with dread. While the plan may have been their best bet, and she wanted to be as supportive to Faith as she could, there were just too many ways it could end badly for her to feel entirely sure about the situation. “OK. Kinda lucky I guess, because plan B is pretty much we send Wesley in and hope he can talk the mayor into a deep sleep. I know one more reading from the books of ascension and I'd have been out on the floor.”

“Yeah.” Faith's eyes were already roaming down the street toward their destination. “The guy likes his research.”

“Some might say a little too much.” Buffy stood watching the side of Faith's head for several moments, waiting for the other girl to move, speak, or at least look her way; but Faith was showing far more interest in the empty street.

“Are we OK?” Buffy asked tentatively. Between her friends, her mother, and the general disarray that had come with preparing for the night, her and Faith hadn't had much alone time over the past day. What little they had shared could best be described as civil, and while that could have been seen as a huge step forward not all that long ago, Buffy found herself missing the rapport that the two of them had started to build.

“Five by five.”

“Right,” Buffy said, Faith's choice of words doing little to convince her. “It just sorta feels like... It's nothing.” She turned her back to Faith, took a single step away, and then paused before spinning back around on her heels. “No, it's not nothing,” she began with a renewed determination. “I know nothing, and this is definitely something. You've barely strung more than five words together since yesterday, and now you won't even look at me.”

Faith did exactly that, proving Buffy wrong with a single turn of her head. “We're good, B, really,” she said, the softly spoken words sounding sincere enough to Buffy's ears.

“Then what's wrong? I mean there is something going on, right? It's not just me being wacky, paranoid Buffy?”

“It's just--“ Faith shook her head. “It doesn't matter.”

“Faith, if something’s bothering you then it matters. Is it the mayor? Because he did this to you. You don't owe him anything.”

“It's not him.”

Buffy shook her head in confusion. “Then talk to me. Please. Tell me what's wrong.”

Faith's head bobbed back and forth as she looked around, her gaze dancing from point to point before finding solace in the concrete walkway. She took a deep breath, and her hand moved through the back of her hair, scrunching it tightly in her fist. “If we pull this off – I get my strength back, we stop the mayor, everything goes back to the way it was, right?”

“So far, so good,” Buffy said, her mouth twitching up into a cautious smile while her mind busied itself trying to conceive where Faith's train of thought was heading.

“Yeah, except then what? You go back to your life, your friends, and I...” Her voice trailed off, and she released the grip on her hair, her arm flopping hopelessly to her side. “There's no reason for you to have to stick around me anymore.”

“Hey, no,” Buffy gently objected, her brow furrowing from confusion. “This isn't some job for me, Faith. Trust me, when I help Joe Bloggs escape from a gang of bloodsucking fiends, he doesn't get to come home for dinner. So no, I'm not just going to walk away from you. Don't you even think that.”

“I can't help it, Buffy,” Faith replied, her voice approaching a ragged whisper. “You wouldn't exactly be the first. Probably not the last either.”

“I won't be any of them,” Buffy promised. She brought her hand up, gently cupping it around the side of Faith's face and guiding her head up until their eyes met. “There's a place for you here, Faith, if you want it.” She kept her eyes glued on Faith's, determined to show her that her worries were misplaced. “And I'd very much like it if you stayed a part of my life.”

Faith stared back for a moment without blinking, her brows hanging down close to her eyes. She forced out a laugh that sounded more nervous than anything else, her eyes flicking away for just a beat. “God, look at me. You must think I'm such an idiot.”

Even amongst the apprehension that tinged the girl's features, Buffy could still see the spark of intensity in Faith's eyes as it glistened brightly through the tearful mist. “I am looking at you, Faith, and you know what I see? A brave, passionate, charming girl who's not willing to give up no matter how many times life kicks her down. And I don't know about you, but I can't think of anything stupid about that.” Faith's eyes closed, her eyebrows pinching together, and her lips curled up at one side to reveal a thin glimpse of her teeth.

“Well, maybe charming is a bit of an overstatement, but we can work on that,” Buffy joked. Faith let out another short laugh, sounding far more joyful than the last, and as she opened her eyes a single tear was sent rolling down her cheek. Buffy carefully swept her thumb across Faith's face, catching the droplet in its descent and wiping it away before letting her hand drop down to Faith's arm.

“I should probably warn you though, in the interests of full disclosure,” Buffy said, smiling mirthfully. “You may not have heard, but we're kinda on a Hellmouth. Could be dangerous.”

Faith's mouth turned all the way up, the toothy grin overshadowing her smudged eye-liner and messed up hair. “Yeah? Guess we'd better not waste any time then.”

Buffy nodded. She wrapped her arms around Faith, pulling her into a gentle squeeze. “Remember, you won't be alone in there, Faith. I'll be as close as I can get.”

Faith didn't hesitate before leaning into Buffy to return the embrace. “I know you will.”

They stood together, holding each other in comfortable silence for several moments before pulling apart, Faith's fingers trailing down across Buffy's bare arm as they separated. “Then let's go kick some may-jor ass,” Buffy said, smiling hopefully at her own pun. “Get it? May-Jor?”

Faith rose a sceptical eyebrow, but Buffy continued to look at her expectantly and it didn't take long before Faith was shaking her head, a reluctant grin making its way onto her face. “That was just bad, even by your standards.”

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Buffy complained through pouted lips. “What's wrong with my standards?”

“Nothing, B,” Faith said, the confidence in her voice well on the way to recovery. “I like them just the way they are.”

----------

Buffy was crouched down with Willow, Xander, and Angel, the four of them huddled conspiratorially on the roof of the mayor's office, only a couple of feet from the skylight that looked down over the top floor office. Behind them, a worn rug was laid out across the floor beneath a thin, pre-prepared circle of sulphur. A trio of candles, waiting to be lit, formed a triangle around the circumference. Somewhere inside, Wesley and Giles were busy mingling, in place to try and evacuate the guests should the festivities start earlier than hoped.

Buffy clutched the receiver in her hand, listening intently to every sound that was made from inside the building. For the time being, that consisted of little more than the intermingled streams of footsteps as Faith was escorted up to see the mayor.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Buffy asked Willow, even though she knew it was a little too late to backtrack.

Willow nodded confidently. “If Faith can get hold of the shard, then we're plenty close enough for the spell to do its thing. Easy as eye of newt pie, and without that pesky thirty minute baking time.”

There was a short knock before the mayor's voice rang out. “Come in.”

“Hey, boss,” Faith said casually.

“Well, isn't this an unexpected visit,” the mayor said, his level voice giving nothing away. “I didn't think I'd be seeing you around these parts again.” There was a short silence before he continued. “And look at you; you're a mess. That Buffy has really done a number on you, hasn't she?”

Buffy caught sight of Willow's questioningly pinched eyebrows and gave an evasive shrug. “She's committed.”

“Sir. The guests are all inside.” Buffy had to assume Faith's escort was a vampire. With what the mayor had planned, there was bound to be a general skew toward a more supernatural workforce. “We're ready to begin.”

“Whoa there, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a party, remember. So OK, I plan to kill them all, but what sort of host would I be if I didn't let them enjoy the canapés first?” Buffy heard the mayor's cheery chortle through the speaker, and even from afar it made her want to scratch at her skin. “Has there been any sign of our special guests?” he asked more seriously.

“None so far. We'll keep looking though.”

“Good. See that you do. They'll be here; it's only a question of when. Isn't that right, Faith?”

Buffy couldn't help but start over analysing the question, her stomach twisting anxiously while she tried to identify any sign of suspicion.

“You know what they're like,” Faith said, her voice void of concern, and the smallest of smiles crept its way on to Buffy's face as she pictured the casual shrug of Faith's shoulders. “Can't keep their noses out of anything.”

“You're not wrong there. Too curious for her own good, that girl. And one of these days someone is going to bite that inquisitive, little nose right off. And by someone, I mean me.”

“Yeah, well we'll see about that,” Buffy muttered, directing a glare at the black box in her hand.

“Oh, and one more thing before you go,” Mayor Wilkins continued. “Send a team to the school. Have them tear the library apart if they have to, but make sure they come back with my box.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh no,” Buffy said. The box was locked away along with their stash of weapons, safe enough from the hands of prying students, but she knew it wouldn't take a group of vampires long to tear their way through to it.

“On it,” Angel replied as soon as their eyes met. He rose to his feet and took off across the roof without another word, his black clothing blending easily into the backdrop of the dark night.

“Angel!” Her hushed shout stopped him in his tracks. “Don't open it.”

He gave a curt nod, and then he was moving again. He didn't slow down to use the ladder, instead stepping straight off the edge of the roof and dropping down out of sight.

“And then there were three,” Xander said, trading worried glances with Willow and Buffy.

“Tell me, Faith, why are you back? I think you've made it pretty clear that you're not happy here. I can't for the life of me understand why not, but...” The mayor's voice trailed away, leaving Faith with an opening to explain herself.

“Come on, Faith,” Buffy whispered to herself after the silence lingered for a little too long.

“I was,” Faith said. “I mean am. I just needed time to clear my head, but I get it now. I don't belong with them. She's made that obvious enough. Just give me my powers back and I'll make sure that come graduation day Buffy Summers will already be in the ground.”

Another knock on the mayor's door interrupted them before Buffy could find out if he was buying any of it. “There's a call for you on line two,” came a new voice. “It's from the police department.”

“If you'll excuse me, Faith, I should take this,” the mayor said. “Can't be having any disarray in Sunnydale without my saying so, can we?”

“Alright,” Faith said a few moments later. “Alone at last. Now, if I was a magical jewel...”

Buffy was busy listening to the rustling and clunking as Faith searched the office when something occurred to her. “There's no way he'd leave it lying around. I bet he's still got it on him.” She held up the receiver in front of her, turning it in her hand as she sought out some sort of button or switch. “How do I talk to her?”

Xander looked at her like she'd lost the plot. “You don't. That thing was for domestic subterfuge, Buff, not to save on phone bills.”

“Wonderful,” Buffy muttered. Moving straight on to plan B, she quickly crept over to the skylight, being sure to keep the bulk of her weight on the roof as she leant across the window panes. Down below, Faith was trying to tug open a drawer in the mayor's desk, and Buffy tapped her fingers against the glass. Faith took a brief look around the room before returning to her task, and Buffy tried again, rapping her knuckles down hard. That time she caught Faith's attention, and the girl looked up, the confusion quickly falling from her face when she spotted Buffy.

“Hey,” Faith said, giving Buffy a friendly smile. “The desk's locked. Kinda need a key though.”

Buffy shook her head and mouthed down her suspicions.

“What? I can't hear you,” Faith replied.

Buffy started patting at the top corner of her t-shirt, trying to indicate that the shard was likely in the mayor's pocket, but Faith only raised a questioning eyebrow. Instead Buffy tried taking hold of the material between her finger and thumb, pulling it out and shaking it up and down.

“Right there with you, B, but I'm not sure this is really the time for self stimulation.”

Buffy sighed in frustration and rolled her eyes as she let her top fall back into place. She repositioned herself so that her lower body was over the skylight, and the glass groaned out in complaint. She froze in place, her teeth clenching as she waited to start hurtling toward the ground. After several nervous moments had passed, she still found herself safely poised above the office. She carefully twisted around to pull out the lining of her jeans pocket before repeatedly jabbing at it with her other hand.

“It's in his pocket? Well why didn't you say so?”

Buffy shot her a disapproving look, and Faith just grinned back. Buffy was busy inching her way back to the safety of the roof to rejoin her friends when she heard the unmistakable voice of the mayor. “Looking for something?” Giving up on the more careful escape, she quickly scurried the rest of the way off the skylight.

“Thought you might have some more of those cookies stashed away somewhere,” Faith replied without missing a beat.

“Did you now?”

“Sorry, boss. No manners, I know. I should have waited.”

“You know, Faith, not much goes on in this town without my hearing about it. I just got off the phone with the head of the police department, and they had a heck of an interesting incident to report.”

“Incident?” Faith asked.

“It's the darnedest thing. There's a report of a large fight at the docks the other night. Pretty vicious apparently. But do you want to know the most interesting part? The officers there swear they saw two teenage girls leaving the scene together. One blonde, one brunette, looking more than a little comfortable with each other. Of course, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?”

There was silence over the wire, and Buffy's anxiety spiked up, giving birth to a nauseous sensation that bubbled away in the pit of her stomach.

“It's a shame you know, it really is,” the mayor continued. “I had high hopes for you, but what kind of example would I be setting for the community if I didn't punish disobedience?”

“Come on, boss, you know I'll always be your girl. Here, let me make it up to you.” Faith's words had picked up a sultry edge.

“Is she...” Xander started, his voice trailing off instantly as he looked at Buffy, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“Oh God,” Buffy said. “That's it, I'm going in.” She tossed the receiver down to Willow.

“Don't you think you should wait--” Xander began.

Already to her feet, Buffy shushed him as the mayor started speaking again. “Well aren't you quite the little pickpocket. Admittedly the dismount needs a little work, but apart from that.” Another laugh erupted from his throat.

“Get off me,” Faith said, her voice strained.

“Or maybe now's a good time,” Xander amended.

“OK, Xan, you're up,” Buffy said quickly. “Help the others get everyone out of there. I don't want this turning into a massacre. Will, are you--”

“I'm good,” Willow interrupted. “Go.”

Buffy gave a quick nod before striding over to the skylight. She could see the mayor below, his hand wrapped around one of Faith's arms while she kept the other behind her back and out of reach. Not wasting any time to see if the glass ceiling could be opened, Buffy slammed her foot straight through it instead. The entire central pane was sent crashing down, sending hundreds of tiny shards shooting across the floor in all directions.

Following in its descent, Buffy landed in front of a surprised looking mayor. “Mind if I drop in?” She spun around as she kicked out, her foot landing in the mayor's stomach and sending him back. He kept his hold on Faith, and she was dragged down to the floor with him, the shard escaping from her hand as she fell. Buffy's eyes trailed it until it came to a stop only a short distance away, but the mayor reached out and grabbed her ankle as she tried to make her way over to it. He pulled hard, taking her legs out from under her, and she fell flat, her arms barely reacting fast enough to keep her head from crunching into the floor.

She wasn't down long, making it back to her feet a moment before he did. “Well aren't you just full of surprises,” he said. His backhand caught her across the face, and she flew across the room into a wooden cabinet, the beams of wood breaking around her. “Luckily, so am I.”

Sitting up, Buffy laid her eyes on the shrunken head that had fallen into her lap. She batted it away in disgust before pushing herself to her feet.

The mayor was almost at the shard when Faith darted in front of him. She plucked it from the ground without missing a step, moving fast enough to slimly avoid his reaching grasp.

“Willow, now!” Buffy shouted, loud enough that Willow could have heard even without the nearby listening device. The mayor was busy moving after Faith, but Buffy quickly intercepted, lashing out with a series of angry kicks. The mayor threw himself forward as he aimed a punch at her head. She ducked, using his momentum to send him flying over her back and across the room.

Even as he was pulling himself up, a bolt of hearty laughter left his throat. “I wasn't sure if you'd dare show your face tonight. I'm glad you did though. It wouldn't be the same without your head on a skewer.”

As the two of them squared off once again, the ear-piercing screech of an alarm sounded from somewhere out in the hallway, loud enough to be heard throughout the building. “Oops. Looks like the party's over, Chuckles,” she said. A flash from the corner of the room caught her eye, and she looked over to see Faith down on her knees, her chest visibly pulsating in and out while her mouth gaped open. A bright light emanated from the shard, shimmering as it washed over her and sunk down into her skin.

The office door burst open, the force slamming it back against the wall, and a trio of vampires came bounding in. They took one look at Buffy before closing in. She parried the attack from the first, then dived under the swing of another. Spinning as she came back up, her heel connected with the face of the third, flipping it onto its back. She pulled out her stake and brought it down, connecting with its heart just as the other two vampires rushed her. Without time to prepare, she was caught by a hard fist to the stomach, and she doubled over as the air whooshed from her lungs. Her stake fumbled from her hand, landing on the floor just out of reach. One on each arm, the vampires forced her down to her knees, keeping her locked in place as the mayor approached with another of the shards in his hand.

Buffy tried in vain to shrug the two vampires off, her awkward position not affording her enough leverage to break free. “It's a shame you'll miss the party,” the mayor said, his eerie smile in full throttle. “I've got quite the show stopper planned.”

“Hey, boss!” The mayor turned to find himself face to face with Faith. She cocked her head and flicked her eyebrows up. “Here's my resignation.” She swung a large wooden beam up and around. It connected with the side of the mayor's face with a satisfying thunk and sent him flying onto his once orderly desk. He landed back-first on top, scattering the neatly arranged ornaments all over the floor. As he rolled off the other side he grabbed desperately at the edge of the desk, managing nothing more than to tip it over as he went. Faith brought the beam down across her raised knee, easily snapping it in half, and then plunged the two makeshift stakes through both vampires' hearts in a single lunge.

“Welcome back,” Buffy said, smiling at Faith while the two piles of dust dropped to the floor at her sides.

“Miss me?” Faith asked through a wide grin, holding out her arm.

“Hmm, maybe a little,” Buffy replied teasingly. She took hold of Faith's hand, letting herself be pulled back to her feet. Side by side, they turned to face the mayor as he rose from behind the remnants of his desk.

“You think you've won?” he sneered, his narrowed eyes trained on Buffy. “We'll see how happy you are when you're spending the rest of your days trapped in a box you little bitch.” His chest angrily heaved up and down as he started to chant. He held up a glass vial, and the liquid contents swirled more and more impatiently against the glass confines as each word of Latin was spoken.

“Careful,” Buffy warned, holding her arm out in front of Faith to try and urge her back. Faith didn't budge an inch, instead stomping her foot down, flipping Buffy's lost stake up off the floor. In one smooth motion, she grabbed it, reared her arm back, and then thrust the stake forward. It sailed through the air, colliding point first into the mayor's vial. The glass exploded on impact, freeing the deep purple liquid to run through his fingers and down his arm. His eyes widened in horror as it crackled furiously against his skin.

That was the last movement he made. He didn't shout or scream; he only stood there in disbelief, the colour draining from his face as he watched, motionless. His features were left frozen in place, void of the cheerful smile that was proudly displayed in the photo hung behind him.