Faith's POV

Well, that was sobering. I heard the door shut. I'm not saying a damn thing. I'll just stand here and look at my feet all day. I don't care. Back for a day and…the Scoobies want to kill me. Least B and Angel were in the same boat.

Buffy cleared her throat, "Well…" She said.

I looked up to her. She was staring at the door, her mouth opening and closing, like she was trying to think of something to say. She looked from me to Angel. We hadn't moved from the wall. I felt like a coward.

Angel spoke first, "I feel like a jackass." I had to bite the sarcasm. Make up with Angel…right. That's what I was supposed to be doing. Fuck if that wasn't going to be hard.

"Should we go out there?" I couldn't admit to myself that the thought of Annie finding comfort with…Jesus Cordy of all people…was…well heartbreaking. I'm not even worried about being a sap anymore. I'm more worried about being an ass.

Buffy turned to look at me. She smiled a little, "You wanna go out there?" I shook my head fervently. She turned to Angel. He did the same. She shrugged, "Guess we are stuck in here then."

The thought of being stuck in here with B…well, we'd kill each other, but we'd have a whole lot of fun doing it. Angel…not as hot a prospect.

Angel smiled a bit. Don't get me wrong…would still stake him and all given less than a chance but at least he's trying. "What if I get hungry?" It would have been a stake-able comment if he hadn't been grinning. And not that creepy Angelus grin. Cause don't think I didn't check.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, "That would almost be poetic. Dying in here from starvation when you could eat us. The vampire community would just shun you." I laughed.

"Cause I'm their idol now. Certainly don't wanna fuck that up." He smiled.

Buffy was watching us like we were insane. "What is with the two of you?" She was serious. "You two were at each other's throat twenty minutes ago. Now you're best freakin friends."

"Well I wouldn't say we were best friends," I tried. "Plus finding myself shifting my anger."

"Don't hold it against them," Buffy said. "I think that we are getting on their last nerves."

I shrugged, "I'm not really mad at them." She was looking at me like 'yeah right.' "Seriously. I think they need…I don't know. They were mostly right. And highly pissed off. Cordy's kinda scary."

Buffy shuddered, "Not as scary as Willow." We watched her, "Hey, a girl isn't likely to forget things like that. Willow's done quite a good job at kicking my ass before."

I nodded, "And Dawn. Damn she was frightening."

Buffy agreed, "It's the mean streak. And then there's Ken. She's just looking for a reason to kick both of our asses." She turned to Angel, "She'd probably just add you in for fun."

Angel smiled, "Well, I don't know about you two, but Xander…see…you underestimate things about people."

We were all smiling. I knew that we should at least discuss what they were talking about. As much as we tried to make light of the whole thing, I had this sick feeling that they were serious. Not that they would actually take Annie…cause, whatever. They oughta know how psycho the three of us could actually get.

Angel spoke, "So…"

Buffy looked to him and then me, "So…"

They both turned to me. "What? You want me to say so?"

Buffy shook her head. She thinks I am retarded sometimes. "What are we going to do?"

I offered a solution. "Quit fighting?"

She turned, "It's a simple solution, but come on…are you two going to stop arguing over me?"

We were listening to her. "Hey, we weren't fighting over you!" I said. She can be so self-centered.

"Yeah," Angel answered indignantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot you guys get that emotionally involved with who's gonna win American Idol. Of, course that's why you were about to come to blows."

"Well," I said, "Angel likes that guy with the cheesy hair."

"Hey," he said, "that guy could sing."

"The blonde was way hotter."

"Guys!" Buffy yelled. "American Idol – over." She turned to Angel, "Sorry. Your boyfriend lost." I smirked at him. He stuck his tongue out at me. "Hey!" Buffy yelled again, "I'm serious. They're serious," she motioned to the door, "we've got to do something."

"Sorry," we both mumbled.

Angel spoke first, "I should have told you. But when I saw you. I don't know…it was a little too real for me. I didn't know if I could bring you back," he looked to Buffy, "what you would do to Buffy."

I started to get angry again. Told ya I could still stake him. "What did you think I would do to her?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I mean…you weren't ready to come back Faith. I could tell that. You can say what you want, but you weren't ready. I saw what you were doing. Your big plan. It was painfully obvious. You wanted to…"He trailed off. He didn't want to say anything about the woman in front of B.

Buffy was watching him. She turned to look at me, "You wanted to what?"

I sighed. Fuck. I guessed I should just get all of this out now. "There were women, B. You know that." She wouldn't look at me. "I don't know why I did it. I was sick of living in shitbag motels again," I watched her shudder, still looking down. "They didn't mean anything. I was a fucking heel. I used a hell of a lot of rich, and more times than not mentally disturbed, people to entertain me."

Buffy was shaking her head, "What? You prostituted yourself out to spoiled rich bitches?"

Ouch. Mean streak? Dawn has no clue. "No, B." I was holding my voice steady. "It was a mutual agreement. They knew what I wanted coming in. I knew what they wanted. Shit…I was getting to be a little bit like the old me, something I could do without thinking…"I looked down, "And they paid for it."

Buffy's face scrunched into a question. Angel was watching us. He knew what I was talking about. It helps to be a former evil being, I guess.

"What do you mean like the old you?" Buffy asked. "You mean you killed people? Beat them? What?"

Yeah, she could be a clueless…ok, not going to call her a bitch. That would be mean. She really couldn't understand. I felt almost sorry for her. The fact that she had distanced herself away from both Angel and I, moving closer to the door, spoke volumes though. She was never going to be in our club.

Angel tried to help. I think he realized exactly what I was talking about. "I don't think Faith did anything those women didn't want."

Buffy's face had a shadow fall over it as the realization sunk in, "Oh…oh," she opened and closed her mouth, "so you like…they let you…wow. I didn't think people like that really existed."

I nodded. See, I told you. She never really wanted to accept the fact that her sunny little world, even the ones with vamps and demons wasn't the only one out there. She had no idea there were people out there, people way more fucked up than anything she'd ever seen. Right and wrong were such simple concepts for her. She was right…the bad guys were wrong. Even when the line got a little shady for her…she pulled herself back. She was always better.

I felt sorta dirty. "Yeah, they exist. People with families…little kids…daddy's millions…in the basement of their houses, some of them had things…scary shit. I ran out of those places more than once." No one said anything, "but some of them…some of them I could handle. Leather whips, chains…I could do that. It was an exercise in strength. I had to be able control myself. And I could."

Buffy still looked disgusted, "As well as work out some issues. Who'd you beat on? Little blonde women who pouted well?"

"Fuck off B. You don't know anything about that. You have no idea how hard it is to control yourself. How I have to keep that darkness away from the surface." Control yourself Faith, "I ran from women like you. They scared me. I avoided people who reminded me of you like the plague. And it was hard to do…everyone I saw had a little bit of you in them." She looked at me like I was speaking Greek. "You were everywhere," I tried to explain, "I was running so far from you that I saw you everywhere I looked. And I looked. But every once in a while there was someone. Someone so damn dark and sinister themselves… like me, that I could do it. I could fulfill their little fantasies for a while."

Angel spoke, "You were testing yourself."

I nodded, "Yeah. In a way. I never hurt them. In fact, they never got what they wanted from me. I would get it going. Whatever they were in to. Drag it out as long as possible. Talk to them…" I was ashamed, "the way they wanted…but I never…I think the closest I got was cracking a scary ass whip a little to close to someone's head. I would've sooner hit myself. I got them worked up…and walked out. Usually taking whatever I could find with me."

"You stole from them." Buffy whispered.

I hung my head, "I have no excuse for that. I guess I don't have an excuse for anything I did." I looked to Angel, "I was testing myself. Maybe I failed. I did take from them. Things they gave me…and things they didn't. But I never hurt them…not physically anyway."

He smiled a weak smile of encouragement. I suddenly remembered why I had helped him so many years ago. This freak understands me, "I've been there."

Buffy looked at us like we were…in fact, freaks. "Well. I'm glad the two of you can share in you mutual experience of S and M. You two are soul mates." She looked sick.

I was about to speak, but Angel beat me to it. "Kinda like you letting Spike beat the hell out of you?"

She spun, "Fuck off. That's different."

I'd forgotten. How could I have forgotten that?

Her face seemed to lose its angry shimmer as she looked toward the ground. "I know that feeling," she was speaking so softly we both strained to hear her. "I know how it feels to want to…to feel like…the degradation…humiliation….that was my drug. I've reveled in my misery forever. I expected it." She looked at me, "When you left. It was sort of par for the course that sort of thing. I mean…I knew it was coming. I needed the misery…I deserved it."

I moved closer to her, "that's not true."

She moved away, "No it was. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The bubble to burst. And there were the signs. We had to fight, remember?" I nodded, "We had to have it. The sex afterwards…you were right, fucking or fighting. One was just foreplay for the other. How sick was that? The worst thing about it was that I think that you just followed along. Did what I wanted. You never wanted to fight. I knew what to do. Knew your weak spots. And I pushed. I always pushed."

I shook my head, "I think we both were at fault." She started to speak, "No. It doesn't matter. Things have changed. We should change," I looked to Angel, "All of us." I tried to smile, "We can't go through this anymore. Maybe we are all so self-involved that we have to create these dramas."

Angel nodded, "I…I was jealous." He looked to me, "of you," he turned to Buffy, "and you." Huh? Big boy wanted me too?

He saw our faces, "Not like that. Yeah, Faith had…" he was embarrassed, "the one person I've ever loved…I never felt that with Monica. There was no threat." He took a breath, "but you had Faith too." Buffy was watching him, "and she'd always needed me. I'd needed her. We grounded each other." He was right. "But as soon as you two…well no one existed with you except each other. It was just stupid petty jealousy." He looked up, "It was also sadness. I was watching the two of you…I knew you would self-destruct. It was like your relationship had it's own specific disorder. It was manic-depressive. Sometimes it was so up…well it was way up. And then it would be so down…I knew it was close to death."

Buffy looked near tears, "do you think we're like that now?"

Broody boy pondered the question, "I don't know. I think that it's not my job to decide that." He smiled at me, "even though I thought it was. But you have something…or better someone that you didn't have…and she loves you."

I smiled. Sometimes I could remember why I liked him. Plus the whole jealous of B thing. That made me feel kinda good. "So we'll try. Stop this other crap and stop feeling sorry for ourselves. Or we are going to fuck up our kid. And I don't know about the two of you, but I have a real need to prove Queen C wrong."

Buffy smiled, "Cordy's been…well…she's been great actually. Not that I still don't think about ripping her tongue out every once in a while…and I'm deeply concerned about Annie's hero worship…but she's right. She's almost always right…it's fucking frustrating."

Angel nodded, "No kidding."

"They are just concerned. I guess I've taken them for granted. I always have. We've always just been the…leaders, I guess." She put her hand on her forehead, "I am so self-centered."

I put my arms around her waist. She didn't push me away, "That's why I love you."

Angel spoke, "me too." He joked.

I shot him a look. "Watch it."

He smiled, "Just kidding."

Buffy pulled back to look at me. "So at least I kinda know what you were doing. But why did you come back? Was that because of me? Or did you just end up here? Is all the stuff…I mean is the rest of it over?"

I sighed. I should explain the rest of it. Tell her why I was here. Tell her why I stayed with Sara as long as I did. How I could have actually loved…no I won't go there. I should tell her about the elaborate and delicate trust I created with Sara just to get back to LA. Buffy had no idea I was actually in another country for part of the last year.

More importantly though, she had no idea of the dream I had of her. How she was screaming my name…over and over again…the darkness so thick it was palpable…and the worst part…running, running, running, trying to find her…her voice a little closer but never right there…and I could never get to her. It had made me sick. Literally. The sound of terrible pain and her screams. After the first dream I was scared, by the third night I was insane.

So I had her bring me back here. We left the middle of Europe and made our way back. I just wanted to check on B. Just going to look in and get out. Hopefully she would have no idea I was even there. I had no idea she would be…that Annie would be there. I wasn't prepared to stay…but then I wasn't prepared for what I'd see when I got here. I should have told her that. But I didn't. I should have told her I didn't come back to be with her…but I would just be lying to myself. I could never be near her and not have her. I knew that, and maybe I didn't want to admit it, but I was thinking that it was why I had left LA and not just the hotel in the first place.

She was looking at me, waiting for an answer. I swallowed and put on my best smile, "Of course it was because of you. I was an idiot. I wanted it to work."

She seemed relieved and leaned into me again. I couldn't believe that answer had satisfied her but I was glad that it did.

We heard a scuffling, the door flung open. Who was it? Take a wild guess. "Well thank god that shit is over. Now we don't have to listen against this door anymore. Xander was smudging my make-up, pushing me against the door with his big oafish body."

"Well that was uncalled for." Xander whined.

She rolled her eyes at us; "You know he's an oaf, right?" She turned to look at him, "Or maybe you are more troll like." She slapped his arm, an idea popping in his head, "I got it…a Cyclops. That's what they're called."

Mean ass Cordy. Maybe she and Xander were having a thing. I started to ask her but changed my mind when I saw who was standing behind them.

"Hey," Annie said shyly, running to B. Buffy picked her up, "No more fighting?" she asked looking between us.

Cordy smirked, "Well we can't ask for miracles Annie. What have I told you? We are just going for 'no more psycho slayer lesbo scary fighting,' remember?"

Annie nodded, "yeah that." She told us.

We both nodded back. So did Angel. Annie looked satisfied. I couldn't even be mad at Cordy.

We were walking out. Cordy turned to us, "Oh, we were talking. I don't think that school is the best thing for Annie," apparently she started in a month. "I think that homeschooling is the way to go. First of all, she is just going to be way more special than all the others. You know how mean those little crap heads can be. I'd just hate everyone else's children to feel so stupid in her presence. It isn't fair."

I looked at her, "What's the second reason?"

"Well isn't that obvious. Why would you want to send her to some second-rate school with a second-rate teacher when you have the smartest woman in the world standing right in front of you." She shook her head, rolling her eyes at us, "You would think you people would take advantage of the intelligence dripping off of me. I'm like a goldmine. A beautiful woman who's smart. So very hard to come by." She put her hand to her chin, looking thoughtful, "as a matter of fact…I'm gonna charge you for it too. There's no way I should be just giving this away."

She walked off. I looked at Buffy. The sad thing was, I think she was serious.

Angel voiced my concern, "The bad thing about that is…she is completely serious. She will charge you for anything. She used to make me pay her for having the pleasure of basking in her presence. It cost extra if she had just been to the salon."

Xander gave him a look, "Dude, that wasn't bright."

Angel looked offended, "Hey…it wasn't a lot…And you try to get her to shut up…come on…I mean she just goes on and on and on…"we were staring at him. "Hey, whatever…I bet all three of you that Cordy will be getting a paycheck pretty soon and on the line that says 'for' it'll say…Super hot teacher of Annie Summers." He nodded to himself, "yeah…cause she'll call herself super hot. Don't doubt me."

I'll take that bet big boy.

Buffy's POV

I was on my third cup of coffee. This was the day. The big one. I hadn't really expected it to happen this fast.

"Buffy, why do you always look like that? Don't you have any emotions? I can't believe this is happening. I don't think I can take it." Cordy was staring at me, wringing her hands, "Why are you just standing there? Have you no feelings? " And she said I was dramatic.

"Mommy?" Annie was barreling down the stairs. "Where are my shoes?"

What is it with the shoes? "Which ones?"

She looked at me like I was an idiot. Told you she had Faith's charms. "The ones with the silver laces. The new ones. You know." She whined.

Silver laces? What the hell? I know for a fact I didn't buy her any shoes with silver laces.

"Look behind your door," I heard Faith call behind me, "I think we put them there last night."

Annie winked at her, "Thanks." She said, skipping back to her room.

I turned and looked at Faith, "I think I'm gonna puke," she said.

I smiled at her. "Why?"

She actually did look like she was gonna puke. I kinda felt sorry for her. I also felt a bit amused. So sue me.

"What if she doesn't like it? I mean school's a really big deal. And I think Cordy was right. Remember when she said Annie was probably gonna be smarter than the other kids. She's probably too smart for school. We should just keep her at home."

Cordy nodded, "Finally someone is listening to me. Amazing. Probably too late. But amazing." She turned to Faith, "You are my new favorite slayer." Oh, please break my heart, really.

Faith had her hand against her face. I reached up and smoothed a piece of hair down, "Everything will be fine. I promise."

She shook her head. She obviously didn't believe me. "I don't know B…this…I don't like this feeling."

I was about to say something to make her feel better when Annie bounced back down the stairs, "I'm ready."

Her announcement brought the others into the lobby.

"Wow," Willow said, "look at the schoolgirl." She reached down and rubbed Annie's cheek, "Do you have the stuff I bought you?" Annie nodded. "Good, Try not to turn the teacher into a frog, unless you know…"she bent down and whispered, "She deserves it."

I was about to say something, when they looked at me, "Just kidding," Willow said. She looked like she was gonna cry as well, "Well…that's good. You'll be good…and everything is…ok, I'm not going to cry."

Annie held her hand, "Don't be sad Wills." She looked around the room, "You guys are silly."

Kennedy bent down and kissed her cheek, "Kick anyone's ass that is mean to you."

"Ken," A chorus of voices rang out.

"What?"

Annie was giggling. She walked up to Giles. He picked her up and slipped five bucks in her back pocket. Sucker. He gave her a quick hug. "Ah, yes…well you should be off. First day and all." Hey, I thought, that means I love you in Brit speak, doesn't it?

Xander wished her luck and spun her around, probably making her good and dizzy on her first day of school. "Remember. You are way smarter than your moms are, so you should have no problem."

Cordy walked up, "And cuter. Way way cuter. Remember that as well. Looks get you a long way in life. Thank god you took after me and not your aunt Dawn."

Dawn walked up and smacked her on the arm, "Hey." Annie was nodding at Cordy, "I can't smack you yet."

Cordy rolled her eyes in Dawn's direction, "Cause she's afraid you'll kick her ass. Ow…"she yelled, as Dawn smacked her again.

Dawn took Annie from her and set her on the ground, "Don't blow up the school until after they tell you if you passed or not. Your mommy had a tough time with that one."

My sister is insane. "You wish you were as cool as me, Dawnie. I was the hottest thing in that school. That's why it blew up."

Cordy scoffed, "You've got to be kidding me. I was so hot that people couldn't even look me in the eyes without going blind. Look at Xander there…"she turned to Annie, making her point, "He just had to keep one eye on me and see what happened."

Annie giggled. Cordy is insane as well. I heard someone sniffing behind me. Two someones for that matter. I turned around. Faith and Angel were both standing there. And both of them were crying. Ok, so everyone here but me is insane. Why were they crying? Was I missing something? She's just starting school, I thought, not joining the service.

Angel looked at me, "What?"

"Are you crying?" I asked, this was incredible. What the hell had happened to the two of them?

"No," He said. Ok, and he's lying as well.

Faith sniffed. I looked at her. "I'm not crying." I continued to stare at her, "Shut up B. We can't all be hardasses, you know."

Annie grabbed my hand, I looked down at her, "I think we are living in the Twilight Zone or something," I told her.

She nodded sagely at me, "I know. Everyone is so weird."

See, I told ya. In the end, she's my kid.

I picked her up, "You are the coolest kid on the planet," I said, hugging her to me, "I love you."

She hugged me back, and then wiggled out of my arms. "Get it out of your system now, cause no hugging once we get there."

What? What is she talking about? Why does she not want me to hug her in front of people? Is she…she can't be…she's embarrassed. Excuse me, while I go over here and die now.

"Ready?!?" Annie yelped, standing in the doorway. I looked up. I guess everyone did. There's our baby. Standing with the sun behind her. Smiling at us.

I looked around the room, everyone was smiling back. Cordy was wiping her eyes. Faith still looked like she was going to puke.

I actually had the thought – my baby is not a baby – I mean, where the hell did that come from?

Annie snapped her fingers, "Hello, ladies…let's go." She said, rolling her eyes.

Faith and I obediently followed.

Faith's POV

Oh shit. This was a bad bad idea. I've been back for three months. Living in that hotel, trying to make things right with the others, trying my damnedest to get into Buffy's pants when no one was looking. And most of all, I've been bonding with my Annie doll. I used to be worried I was turning into a sap. Now I know I am one. I so don't care though. The only thing I am concerned about is this school. Kindergarten, for god's sake. She doesn't need all of that shit. T.V.'ll teach her the things we forget. She already knows her ABC's and 123's. And she can kick both mine and B's ass without breaking a sweat. What the hell did she need school for?

I tried to persuade B that we could teach the squirt everything she needed to know. Buffy wouldn't have any of it.

"No, Faith, quit being retarded. She's going to school."

"Come on B, she's already smarter than everyone else here." I had tried.

Buffy had shaken her head at me like I really was a little slow, "You do hear yourself, don't you?"

"What?" I had asked.

She had turned around, "She's going. Get over it."

She better be glad I'm in love with her, cause I was ready to kick her ass that day. Now, though, I was ready to puke. Buffy was rubbing the back of my neck, "She's excited, isn't she?"

I tried to nod, "I don't know why I feel like this." I said to her.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the car, "You're just sentimental is all. I think it's adorable."

Annie was belting herself in. I looked to her and then back to her mother, "Adorable?"

Buffy put her back to the car, "Yep silly, adorable." She winked at me, "And when we get back, well…let's say that you and I take advantage of the fact that a super hearing mini-slayer is at school. What do you say?"

She was so damn naughty. Did I mention how much I loved her? She knew how to get me going, though, that's for sure.

I smiled at bit, "Well…I might need some persuading." I tried the pout. I know she said she perfected it, but still…well, it couldn't hurt.

She smiled back, "Come on, you big baby," She said, pulling me to the car.

                                                         **********

Ok, this school was…all right I guess. No prison bars or metal detectors. I took a chance to check out the other parents. Some kids were there with just a mom, some just a dad, some both, some like us. I was starting to feel a little better.

I caught the eye of a bigger kid, probably a second grader or something. He looked like he wanted to start some trouble. Probably one of those little bullies or something. I snarled at him. He started crying and ran to his mom. Yeah that's it you little mother fucker, go and hide behind mommy's skirt.

"Faith," Buffy smacked my arm, "Don't scare the kids."

I looked down. "Whatever…he looked like a little fucker. Don't think I can't tell."

Buffy swatted my arm again, "And don't cuss in here. Good god, they are going to kick us out on the first day."

Annie took my hand and Buffy's and we went to look for the classroom 2E. This was Ms. Hart's class and it was going to be Annie's home away from home, at least for the next nine months. I had to make sure she wasn't an evil entity or being from a hell dimension or whatever. I sure hoped she wasn't. I didn't feel like beating the shit out of a kindergarten teacher. At least, not in front of the kiddies.

Unless…what if she's mean? She could be mean. Some teachers were evil. I was living proof of that. I had this one bitch. Jeez…she was the mother of the devil. I swear to god. I still have nightmares about how she would make us eat our crayons. I swear to god, sadistic bitch…I thought back to Annie's new teacher. Oh, I'll kick her ass, I thought. Let her be mean to my baby. I wish she'd try. The other parents would probably cheer me on.

I watched them. Some of them looked like I felt, sick to their stomachs. The older ones, they probably had other kids or something, looked like they were pros at this, leading their little snot-nosed monsters down the corridor.

Some of the kids were cute. There was a little girl in front of us with blond hair in pigtails, her daddies (yeah, I said daddies…we didn't pick this school for nothing) seemed as hesitant as we did.

They stopped outside the room. I looked up. Our stop too.

The two men turned around and looked at us. The dark-haired one spoke first.

"Hi, I'm Jack, and this is Chris."

Buffy shook their hands. "Buffy…and this mute one here is Faith."

"Hi," I mumbled.

The other guy looked just like me. I feel you dude.

"This is Emily," Jack told us.

"Annie," Buffy introduced.

The two looked at each other and smiled. Emily grabbed Annie's hand. "Let's look in here." She said, running into the room.

"Ok," Annie smiled.

Well, isn't that special? Hello, here is your mom, having a coronary Annie. I see now you don't care.

Buffy smiled at Emily's fathers, "Well that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Jack smiled. He turned to his partner, "Told you." He turned back to Buffy, and whispered, "He's been sick all morning."

She motioned her eyes to me, "You should have seen this one. She hasn't slept in two nights."

The two of them walked into the classroom, leaving the two pussies…me and this guy Chris…standing in the hall.

"I can't help it if he is completely lacking in human kindness…" He muttered to me.

I nodded, "She acts like she's not nervous at all. I think there is something mentally wrong with her," I said motioning to B. I turned back to him. "Meanwhile, hope this teacher gives me a reason…" I said, cracking my knuckles.

He smiled a bit at me, "Yeah, maybe you and I could corner her. Scare the shit out of her one good time. She needs to know how special Em actually is."

I nodded again, "Ann too. I think we should let her…"

"Faith."

"Chris."

We looked to each other, "I am so whipped," he said.

"Don't I know it."

A woman with light brown hair and blue piercing eyes walked up to us. "Hi, I'm Amy. Ms. Hart to the children. You must be Faith," she turned to my newfound partner in crime, "And you must be Chris. Pleased to meet you."

We both shook her hands, tentatively, looking around the room for our respective families.

"They're over there," she pointed to the corner of the room, "I told them to take a look around." She linked one arm with me and the other with Chris and began leading us around the room. "I know you two are nervous." She didn't wait for us to protest, "Oh, I've been doing this for about seven years now," she fluffed her hair, "I know I look a lot younger than I am. Anyway, your two sweeties we'll be fine." She said, placing her hands on Emily and Annie's shoulders, "Won't we girls?"

They both nodded and ran off. She began shooing us out the door. "It's best if we discuss everything after school today. That way we don't make the first day into some dramatic experience that can scare the kids. It's best not to make a big deal of leaving them."

I stared at her. Was this bitch crazy?

Chris seemed to agree, "I think you may be…"

"A certified, experienced Kindergarten teacher who knows her stuff," Jack said.

Buffy nodded, "Don't freak Faith." She motioned to Annie, "They'll be fine." She said for mine and Chris's benefit.

I'm so glad she is cool, calm and collected. I watched her wave to Annie.

"Bye baby," B called out from the doorway.

"Bye sugar," Jack did the same.

Annie and Emily waved to them, and then turned to their more morose parents who weren't moving.

"Bye Mom," Annie said, running over and hugging me, "I love you. It will be ok."

I didn't want to let go, but B pried my hands away. Bitch. I'll get her later. I saw Chris being pulled away as well. This dude held a piece of my heart.

"Come on Faith, let's go," Buffy said, pulling me out the door.

"It will be fine Ms. Jackson," the teacher said, "I promise."

I nodded, a knot in my throat.

She pulled Chris and I to the side. "Why don't the two of you go get your cars?" She told B and Jack. She turned to us as they left, "Look here. I've got a special window, just for parents like you." She watched our partners walk down the hall, "Some just find it easier than others."

She showed us to a side wall. We could see inside the classroom. Anna and Emily were putting away their things. They were even holding hands. We watched them run up to the art center and start coloring, like they were best friends. Kids were so cool sometimes.

"God, how cute are they?" Chris said.

"Ok, so I think they're gonna be ok…right? They're ok." I stammered, "I mean the teacher doesn't seem like a murdering…"I looked at his face, ok, he didn't flinch. That's good, "they're cool, right?" I breathed a sort of sigh of relief. At least I was not alone.

He nodded, "Wanna go get a coffee?" He asked.

"Sure. What about the other two?" I motioned at the door B and his man had walked out of.

"Hey, they can go with us. Or not. I don't even care…I mean there's this great coffee shop…"He trailed off.

"Across the street…"I nodded, looking at him. "Yeah, just let me tell B."

"Meet you there in five," he said. And ran in the opposite direction.

Hey, that Ms. Hart might be the nicest woman in the world. Or she might be a brain sucking child eater. I didn't know. I had to at least make sure before I let the reason I was alive get sucked into her claws or jaws or whatever evil things used to eat small kids with. Nope, a cup of coffee didn't sound bad at all.

Chapter 22

Buffy's POV

If Faith thought that I was going to sit over there across the street all day, she was insane. I did not want to stalk my daughter on her first day of kindergarten. That was just retarded. I understood why this was hard on her; don't get me wrong. But come on, I had like a million and one things to do.

I saw her walking out of the building with that Chris guy. He looked just as sick as she did. What the hell? I turned to his partner, "They are 'tards."

"Astute observation. I have got all this stuff I need to do and he wants to stalk our kid all day."

I laughed, "I swear I was thinking the exact same thing."

"What's the what, B? We were thinking about getting a cup…"

I didn't let her finish, "Uh no. We have stuff we've gotta do Faith. I'm sure they do as well." I turned to Jack for help.

He nodded, "Yep, stuff to do."

Our significant others looked crestfallen. Give me a break. Faith used to be this uber-badass. Now she was a freaking pile of mush all the time. I appreciated the change, really I did, but she's got to get over the super protective thing at some point. I could only imagine how she was gonna be once Annie got old enough to date. I'd have to commit her.

We said our goodbyes and promised to do dinner soon. They seemed like a couple of nice guys. And I didn't mean to blow them off or anything, but I didn't particularly want to sit in the parking lot all day staring at the school. First of all, that's just creepy and probably illegal. Second of all, I wanted to get some shopping done. Just for me. I never get to shop just for myself. Of course, I had to take Faith with me. Otherwise, she would come straight back to the school.

When I told her we were going shopping, she whined. "Come on B. That is fucking torture. I can think of several other things I would rather do than shop with you. No offense."

None taken, jackass. "Too bad Faith. I'm not leaving you alone. You'll just be super- broody all day. And you have absolutely nothing to do. So, shopping it is."

She groaned, "For what? Please don't say clothes. Couldn't we shop for some fun stuff instead?"

Oh god, broody or not, her mind is always at least half in the gutter. Well, if it would shut her up. "Maybe."

She smiled, "My day just got a little brighter."

"If," I said, "You are good. And you let me look. Not pull me around and say 'Hurry up B. Just get whatever B. That looks fine B. I'm bored B.' Cause that shit gets on my nerves."

"Okay, first of all, I am nowhere near that annoying. Second of all, you could just drop me off at the freaking movies or something and I would be perfectly happy. I don't give a damn what you buy," I started to pout. She laughed, "I mean, you look good in everything you try on. I can never figure out why we spend eight hours while you try on basically the same damn thing except in different colors. It makes me batty."

Oh, that makes you batty. Well at least I am now aware of what made her crazy, this whole time it was shopping. Apparently all that insanity could have been avoided if we would have just steered clear of malls. "Don't be a drama queen. You will be fine. I promise. You can go in the dressing rooms with me."

She rolled her eyes, "Woo Hoo."

Smartass.

I looked over at her, "And we could… you know."

She turned her head sharply, "You're fucking with me."

I pulled into a parking place. I opened the door to get out, but turned to her first, "Guess you'll just have to come and see."

She groaned again. "Blondie, if you are teasing me, I'm gonna… hell, I don't know what I'll do."

But hey she did get out of the car. Do I know my girl, or what? And who knows, maybe I wasn't teasing.

Faith's POV

See that was smart of B. Throw the idea of sex my way, and I turned into a fucking lapdog. Someone once told me that I should learn to control my hormones. Why should I do that? I like my hormones just the way they were. Okay, so I was oversexed. So what?

I followed B inside. I wondered how the munchkin was doing. She so did not care that we left her there. The little devil. I couldn't help it if I was a tad bit overprotective. I loved her. Note to self – run a background check on one Ms. Amy Hart. What? Who does that hurt?

The mall. The seventh circle of hell, more like it. Shopping – that was what the internet was for. Why did she need all these freaking choices? And I had no idea what she wanted. Why didn't she just come with Cordy or something?

"Why don't you just shop with Cordelia?"

"Well, I could, but I think the whole making out thing would piss you off."

"What?!? I didn't say anything about making out with her. That is not funny."

She giggled, "You are too freaking easy." She pulled my arm, "come on, jealous girl."

                                                      ******************

"Which one of these do you like better?" She held up two shirts. They freaking looked just a freaking like. Was she kidding me?

"Oh god, B. Whatever."

She frowned at me."

"Okay, okay. They are both nice."

She rolled her eyes. "Grab that stuff. I need to try some things on."

Oh good god. Kill me now, please.

She stood there tapping her foot. "Faith, hurry up."

Yes master, whatever you say. I noticed the dressing room, "Oh look. It's private. Full door and everything."

"Is that all you ever think about?"

"Hey, you were the one who brought it up." I sat down on the bench.

She shook her head.

"Whatever B, just try the stuff on." I looked around. Shit, how many things did she bring in here? Wasn't there like a limit or something?

Another shirt, great. She started to speak, but I stopped her. "Don't. They all look great. You just keep undressing to tease me."

She bent over to pick up something. And I could see straight down her shirt. She so did that on purpose.

Fuck it. I pulled her to me.

"Faith what are you doing?"

"Come here, B."

She sat down in my lap. "What do you want, dorko?"

I pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You," I whispered.

She giggled. "Come on Faith. We can't do it in a dressing room. I was just kidding."

"Why the fuck not?"

"What if someone hears?"

"So."

"So? So, I don't want to be arrested. That's so."

I turned her around. Ok, twinkie you can't straddle a girl and not expect her to… Fuck. "We'll be extra special quiet."

"Shit Faith, you couldn't be quiet if your life depended on it. With all the grunting and the moaning and the… you know, sounds you make."

"Come on B," I realized I was whining, but come on, she had to kidding me here.

"No Faith, we just can't…"

Fuck this. I kissed her. She pretended like she was going to pull away, but I know my girl. And then she did this little moany thing in my mouth. Oh my god, I could so fuck her right now. She was wiggling a little on my lap. She was such a fucking tease. She knew how hot that got me.

She wrapped her arms around me and whispered in my ear, "You know what I want?"

"Hmm?"

"I want," she licked my ear a little, "you to," oh! She did it again. "To put your," Jesus, she was lightly pulling my ear with her teeth. Nothing got me hotter than that. "libido back in your pants."

What The Fuck!?!

She pulled away. "If you put it back there now, I'll let you go get any toy you like after we leave."

Fuck! No I wanted it now, goddamnit.

She winked at me, "Anything Faith. And then, when we get home tonight, and everyone is in bed…"

"Okay, I'm listening."

She grinded herself against me, "I want you to fuck me senseless," She said, hopping up.

I leaned back and knocked my head against the wall, "You are such a freaking tease."

She turned her head around and winked at me, "And you love it slayer."

She had absolutely no idea what she had unleashed. It was now my mission to… well, do things to her that would make even me blush. But she had started it.

"You got a deal," I said, winking back. "But you should be prepared now. Cause you have no idea…" I didn't finish. I could tell by the look on her face that I didn't have to.

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