The vampire loomed in front of Buffy as it eyed her hungrily, salivating at the prospect of its next meal. She waited until it skulked into range before making her move. Using the vampires holding her, she pushed herself up and planted both feet into the aggressor's chest, doing enough to knock it away.

Its grin faltered as it stumbled back, and it bared its fangs. “That's right, get that blood pumping,” it hissed. “Makes it all the--”

Its face twisted into shock, and the tip of an arrow protruded from its chest.

“Hold that thought,” Buffy quipped as she watched its remains blow into the wind. She found Giles stood across from her, his empty crossbow still raised.

She stamped out against the side of one vampire's knee, and it roared in pain over the sound of cracking bone. Its grip on her arm loosened instantly, and it fell to its knees as it tried to hobble away. With the stake still clutched tightly in her free hand, she put the vampire on her other arm to rest with one quick jab.

An arm wrapped around her neck from behind, trying to drag her back. She took a firm hold and pulled forward, easily flinging the vampire over her shoulder to the ground. After dusting it quickly, she turned her attention to the last one.

It was trying desperately to distance itself from her, but with one leg damaged it was getting nowhere fast. Buffy took aim and threw her stake forward. It whirled through the air before piercing straight through the vampire's back.

Buffy couldn't even manage a smile as it turned to dust. Without wasting a moment she spun to face Faith. The girl was supporting a large, dark chest with both hands. One half of a pair of handcuffs was attached to the side of the chest, and the other hung below, covered in a layer of blood that periodically dripped to the floor.

“What the hell was that?” Buffy demanded, making no attempt to hide her anger.

Faith gave her a wide grin. “Knew you could take them.”

Buffy narrowed her eyes. As she tried to wrap her head around the situation, she found herself giving voice to the doubt that niggled at the back of her mind. "If this is all some kind of trick you and the mayor thought up, I swear..."

Buffy let the threat hang in the air, and the smile left Faith's face quickly. “Whoa, no way, B. There's another vamp watching from the car behind me.”

“So?” Buffy asked, not really caring who or what was watching.

“So I can't exactly start staking the boss's crew without raising a few questions.”

Buffy stared at her, unconvinced. “I hate to break it to you, but he's probably going to wonder why you handed over his new toy.” She gestured a hand toward the chest.

“I know.” Faith paused for a moment. “That's why I can't give it to you.” Her voice was level, and there was no smile on her face to suggest that she was messing about.

“What?” Buffy asked incredulously. “Oh you have got to be kidding me.”

“Look, I'm not going to hide away in my room while you clean up my mess, and besides, you could do with someone on the inside.” She kept her eyes locked on Buffy's as she shifted the chest to support it with one hand. “But this needs to look real.”

Buffy could see where they were headed, and she shook her head. “Faith, I am not going to fight you for it. If you want to help, that's fine. Good even. But we'll find ano--”

Faith's free fist moved fast, striking Buffy on the side of her face. She automatically raised her hand to the stinging in her cheek. Faith stood there and waited, her expression blank.

Buffy's anger had started to reside as Faith explained herself, but the sudden blow took her in the opposite direction. She glared intensely at Faith. “I really wish you'd stop doing that,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

Then she swung a fist of her own, catching Faith in much the same spot. She deflected one kick from Faith, and then another, before catching her with a back handed strike. Faith swung the chest around with both hands, but it was high and wild, and Buffy easily ducked the attack, using the opportunity to kick out at Faith's unguarded midsection. The box left Faith's grip and flew off to the side, bouncing and skidding across the ground before it came to a halt.

Buffy hoped that would be enough, but Faith showed no sign of slowing down. Buffy matched Faith's attacks, blocking first a left swing and then a right one, but she couldn't react fast enough to keep Faith's knee out of her gut. It hurt, enough to make her wince, but not as much as it should have.

Buffy ducked a highly aimed kick, sweeping her leg out to take Faith's remaining foot from the ground. Faith landed straight on her back, but didn't stay down for long. She rolled on to her front before pushing herself back to her feet. At that moment Buffy found Willow and Xander arrive to one side and Giles to the other.

“We should have known you hadn't changed,” Xander said, holding his stake up threateningly.

Buffy thought she caught Faith's eyes flinch. “Xander, don't,” she warned, and she held out an arm to make sure he stayed back.

Faith's eyes remained locked on Buffy's as she took a tentative step back. Then she turned and ran. Buffy watched as the girl quickly crossed the ground toward the car she had alluded to earlier. Faith pulled open the door to the passenger seat and jumped in. The car screeched to life before the door was even closed, and Buffy's eyes followed it until it disappeared from view.

She dropped from her fighting stance with a sigh and looked over to the chest. “Well at least we have our bait,” she said half-heartedly. She tried to tell herself the fight wasn't real – that it didn't mean anything – but she had had missed the signs that something was wrong last time, and the stringing in her cheek did little to reassure her that all was well.

“Buffy, I'm sorry--” Giles began.

“Don't,” she said, holding up her hand as she cut him off. “It's not what you think.”

----------

Reassembled in Buffy's kitchen, the group stood watching as Willow rubbed a fine, greyish powder between her hands.

They had the chest, but unfortunately they'd hit a small snag. It was locked, and it didn't seem like they could easily force their way through the solid exterior. Giles had been wary that they could break the contents if they applied too much brute force, and he'd suggested they double back to the airport to look for a key. Willow, however, proposed a more direct solution, and Giles had driven her to pick up supplies.

Willow held her hands up, ashen palms facing down over the box. Her breathing slowed to a steady, controlled pace while her hands hovered in place. She spoke slowly but firmly as her hands lowered on to the lid of the chest, sliding over the surface. “Aperio. Ego imperium tu. Aperio.”

The spell was a lot less wordy than Buffy had expected, but she heard the loud, distinct click of the latch none the less. Willow beamed triumphantly as she stepped back.

“Nice work, Will,” Buffy said as she took Willow's place and grabbed hold of the chest with both hands.

“Wait!” Xander blurted out. “What if it's a bomb?”

Buffy looked at him and raised an eyebrow when she found his hands shielding his face. “It's not a bomb,” she said with confidence. Then she hesitated, looking anxiously to Giles. “Right?”

“Well I certainly hope not,” Giles said dryly. “This tie is brand new.”

“How reassuring,” Buffy muttered as she gave him a disapproving stare. She turned her attention back to the chest, eyeing it distrustfully. “Well, what's the worst that can happen?”

“Pretty much the bomb thing,” Xander answered. “Hey, maybe I should wait outside? You know, just in case your mom comes home.”

She rolled her eyes and then closed them tight before she started to pull the lid up. Nothing happened, and she cautiously took a peek. She jumped back a mile as a large creature flung itself out into the kitchen. It was a licorice black and about the size of her head. It scurried quickly on eight spider-like legs before leaping smoothly from the counter to the kitchen table.

“I've got it!” Xander shouted as he dived heroically across the table, reaching out to grab it with both hands. The creature was much quicker though, easily darting out of the way before jumping across the room to stick on the wall. Xander's momentum kept him going as he slid straight across the smooth surface. He collided shoulder first into an unsuspecting Giles, who in turn let out a startled grunt, and the two of them landed on the floor in a crumpled heap.

“Err, where did it go?” Willow asked as she started spinning in place, her eyes darting frantically about the room.

Buffy scanned the walls, and when she found nothing she looked upward instead.

“Will, move!” she warned, but even as she spoke the overgrown arachnid dropped down from the ceiling.

It landed right on top of Willow's head, and the shrill scream was enough to make Buffy wince. Willow's hands shot up to knock it off, and again the creature jumped away. That wasn't enough to calm her down though, and she feverishly ran her hands through her hair as she took cover behind Buffy. “Oh God, oh God, I'm never going to sleep again.”

Buffy had lost sight of the thing, distracted by Willow's panic. She edged forward slowly, her eyes searching from side to side and wall to ceiling while Willow whimpered from behind. She couldn't spot it anywhere, and she stopped her search just long enough to pull open a drawer in the counter and take out the largest kitchen knife she could find.

The creature darted across the wall in front of her, and she thrust the knife toward it. She was marginally too late and did nothing more than embed the knife an inch in to the wall. Her teeth clenched and she squinted her eyes; her mother was not going to approve of that. She pulled the knife back out and observed the damage, deciding that no amount of white tac was going to cover up the hole convincingly. Maybe a tactically placed potted plant though, she considered.

Forcing herself to focus, she turned to her side just in time to see the spider fly toward her face. She quickly ducked her head, narrowly avoiding the contact as it flew past her, legs first. Her eyes followed it around to watch as it landed on the refrigerator, and again she thrust the knife forward.

She didn't miss the second time, and the the creature's plump body made an audible squelching noise as the blade pierced through its flesh. It released a high pitched squeal and wriggled briefly against the blade before coming to a stop. She observed the motionless creature, wrinkling her face in disapproval. She let go of the knife and it, along with the creepy corpse, dropped to the floor.

“Is everyone OK?” she asked, looking around.

Xander and Giles were back on their feet, and both gave nods of confirmation.

“I don't think I'll ever be OK again,” Willow said glumly, her frown not shifting.

“It's alright, Will. It's gone now.” Buffy tried to comfort Willow with a reassuring smile before returning her eyes to the chest. “Now let's see what's worth the creeptastic guardian.”

“Do we really want do that that?” Willow asked, sounding more than a little concerned.

“The box isn't that big,” Buffy reasoned. “How many more can there possibly be?”

Giles stepped forward, his eyes on the chest. “Willow may be right. Perhaps we should research first and open later. Just to be safe.”

“Seconded!” Willow said instantly, and then her face slackened. “Not the opening later, just the fun research part,” she quickly amended.

Buffy couldn't deny she was curious, but it was good enough that they had it. Plus she didn't want Willow to have a complete meltdown. “OK, sure,” she agreed.

“Right then. We'll need to head back to the library. There are a few volumes there which may shed some light on the contents,” Giles said.

“Well I'd love to join you, but Faith called while you were off gathering your eye of newt. She wants to meet.”

“Do you know what she wants?” Giles asked. Buffy detected the concern in his voice. She had explained to them all that the fight at the airport was only for show, but she didn't think it was a stretch that he may have picked up on her lack of conviction.

“Didn't say.” She shrugged. “Probably just needs to punch me in the face again,” she muttered bitterly.

----------

It was well into the evening when Buffy walked into the small alleyway, and the sun had been set for some time. The alley was closed off at the other end, and it was empty but for a couple of skips and a row of trash cans. When Faith had phoned earlier, she had given directions to the meeting place which, as it turned out, was only a block or so away from Faith's hotel room. Handy for Faith. A short hike for Buffy.

Faith was leant casually against the fence in the far corner, masked in shadow where the lights along the road couldn't reach, and partially hidden from view by one of the skips. Buffy made her way to the back as well, and, after making sure it wasn't too dirty, she perched against the edge of one of the lidded bins opposite Faith.

“Well this is all very cloak and dagger,” she said in greeting.

Faith shrugged. “The boss's got vamps watching my place. After the airport thing he seems pretty worried you turn up for round two.”

“Or he doesn't trust you.”

“Nah.” Faith seemed to dismiss the idea without thought. “He definitely wasn't psyched, but you should've seen me. I totally sold it. He thought I was completely pissed, and the vamp was there to back it all up. Like clockwork, B; whatever that means.”

Buffy didn't share her pep, and she wanted to get straight to the point. “What do you want, Faith?” It came out colder than she intended. She hadn't meant to be quite so abrupt, but she couldn't help but be put off by the whole affair, and she found herself in no real mood for stories.

The light in Faith's eyes dimmed, and she wrapped her arms around herself. “Right. I didn't mean to drag you out here.” The enthusiasm was lost from her voice, replaced by glimpses of insecurity that Buffy hadn't seen much of until the past few days. Faith averted her eyes, moving a short distance away as she gazed out over the road that ran past the alley.

Seeing the complete change in demeanour, Buffy felt a tinge of guilt. “I'm sorry, it's not you. I'm just being cranky,” she lied. She was being cranky, but it was very much because of Faith. The girl just seemed to have a way of getting under her skin sometimes, and it had pretty much been that way from day one.

Faith didn't respond, and silence filled the night, broken up only by the occasional passing car. Buffy stared at the ground, her eyes following a small beetle as it skittered across the length of the alley. It disappeared through a gap between two fence posts just as Faith spoke up.

“Hey, B.“

Buffy's head rose at the sound of the voice, and she found Faith looking back at her once more.

“Back there, I would have stepped in if – I wouldn't have just stood there, you know?“

Buffy studied the solemn look on Faith's face and could find no real reason to doubt her. Is that why Faith had call her there, Buffy wondered. She couldn't know for sure, but she did realize that once again Faith was making more of an effort than she was, and that made her feel like a jerk. If this was going to work – if they were going to work – she knew she had to truly get over the things that Faith had done. It was one thing to tell Faith they were OK, but she needed to let herself believe it as well. Trust was not something that came easily to her – not anymore – but she had told Faith to take a chance, and now Faith was doing exactly that, even after everything that had happened. She knew she owed it to Faith to do the same.

“I know,” she said softly, and she meant it.

The words seemed to bring an instant boost to Faith's spirit, and a small smile made its way across her face. After a few seconds she slyly added, “But just so you know, I'd totally have taken you if I was trying.”

At first Buffy was unsure of how to respond, but then Faith's smile widened to a playful grin, and Buffy couldn't help but smile herself. “Yeah? The important thing is you believe that,” she returned in jest. Then something occurred to her. “While we're on the subject, we should really agree to stop with the face punching. And when I say we I pretty much mean you. It's nothing personal, but I'd rather not be bruised in my graduation photos.”

“Sorry, B, don't like to make promises I can't keep,” Faith replied easily.

Buffy looked away, shaking her head as she felt her mouth widen in to a grin of her own.

They lapsed back into silence, but Buffy didn't find it as awkward. She was content to focus on the soft breeze that blew across her back as she took in the scene. Something about it just felt so, well, right. OK, sure, they were skulking around in alleyways, hiding from their enemies. But they were together. Like everything hadn't spun crazily out of control. She knew it wasn't over – not yet – but for the first time she wasn't just hoping it would all work out. She was willing to believe it as well.

“When this is all over, do you think...” Faith began, bringing Buffy out of her thoughts.

Buffy waited for her to finish, but when nothing more came she looked over at Faith, whose downcast eyes stared at nothing but a patch of empty ground.

“Do I think what?”

It took a moment before Faith met her look. “Nothing,” she said with no real conviction, and Buffy caught a glimpse of her fleeting furrowed brow. “So what's in the box?”

Buffy wondered what Faith had wanted to ask, but she went along with the subject change. “Oh yeah, some creepy, overgrown tarantula. It totally ran amok in my kitchen.”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “No way!”

“It had fangs, and glowing, red eyes and everything,” Buffy exaggerated.

“So basically, cool new pet?”

Buffy eyed Faith curiously. It wasn't quite the response she has expected, though perhaps she should have known better.

“What?” Faith asked after there was no response, completely oblivious, and Buffy couldn't help but laugh.

“I think I'm really more of a dog person.”