Angel saw a face hovering over him. *Buffy?* It focused some. It wasn't Buffy. *Cordelia?*

He was able to see a pair of green eyes, and Angel croaked, "Willow?"

"Good guess," Willow clapped her hands. "You recognized me."

"What happened? Where am I?"

"Your room," Willow giggled. "Believe it or not, Harmony beat you up."

He waved a hand in front of his eyes, "I'm back in Hell, aren't I?"

"Unless Hell has all of Oz's stuff in the dresser, you're still in your room. Dr. Goldenvich checked you out and said you were exhausted and needed to eat something." She handed him a cup of blood. "So, like a good girlfriend, I went down to the cafeteria and picked up your favorite food."

"It's my only food," Angel thought back on her words. "My girlfriend?"

Her face clouded, "I am, aren't I? We've been seeing each other one and off for a month. I thought that equaled a more than friends status. I could be wrong. Am I moving to fast? Because I can slow down if you want me to."

"It's fine. The girlfriend part," Angel took the cup and drank it, finishing it off with a satisfied `ahh'. "My favorite, essence of pig." He set the cup on his nightstand and grabbed Willow's arms.

While Angel pulled her until she straddled him, Willow protested, "Angel, we need to-"

"Hmmm?" Angel rolled up her tight black shirt and unfastened her strapless bra, throwing it across the room. As her chest spilled out, Angel sat up and took one of her breasts in her mouth. He laved the peak with his tongue, tasting her strawberry flavor.

"Angel," Willow gasped breathlessly, his teeth and tongue driving her wild. Her hands reached down, tangling in his dark button-down shirt.

"Yes?" Angle switched sides and stuck a hand down the front of her pants. Lifting her slightly with his other hand, he got his hand underneath her and slid one finger into her slick channel. She was so warm and willing, ready for him to take her, now.

He wiggled his finger and made certain to put pressure on her clit. She shrieked in the depths of her throat, tearing at his shirt. That sent Angel over the edge, her cry, all for him. He wanted her on her back screaming his name.

As he fought with his belt, Angel stopped. He distinctly heard a click from the door. Someone was coming in. Angel pulled his hands and mouth away from Willow and shoved her top back down.

The door opened, and his roommate, Oz, entered. Willow took one look at him and scrambled off Angel. Her soaked ex-boyfriend seemed to have lost his shirt somewhere.

"Hi, guys," he greeted them calmly, his face not revealing anything. He dropped some beach stuff on his bed.

"H-hi, Oz," Willow tried to be casual.

A wet Cordelia came in the room right after Oz. Both Willow and Angel gaped at her, surprised by the same thing, but had much different reactions. Angel stared at her in Oz's T-shirt, coming to the conclusion that he liked the wet T-shirt almost as much as he had liked the string bikini. It was much too tight over her chest, straining to hold her charms in. At that, he also came to the conclusion that the source of such thoughts was what he had been doing, something he'd like to get back to if Cordelia and Oz could leave in the next five seconds.

*Cordelia and Oz?* Willow's mind was screaming. Had those two been doing it? Ugly jealousy reared its head, and Willow tried to tell herself that the T-shirt meant nothing. Oz probably was lending it to her since she was clearly not wearing the top of the bikini. Maybe that was because Oz had taken if off of her . . .

"Willow, I'm so sorry," Cordelia apologized profusely. "I can explain about the bikini."

"You don't have to," Willow stayed firm.

"I was playing in the water and didn't see the wave. Oz lent me his shirt," Cordelia proceeded with her story, "I promise, as soon as this apocalypse thing is over, I will go to the mall and buy you a new suit. A new hat too."

Willow scanned the two, and even though it was hard to get a good read on Oz, she couldn't detect a falsehood in those words. Relief washed over her. "Don't worry."

Cordelia cocked one eyebrow at them, "Why aren't you at the meeting?"

"What meeting?" Angel asked as Oz got a clean shirt from his dresser.

"The one we were called back for," Oz put on shoes and socks. "I'm going."

"I'll see you there," Cordelia said. Oz gave her bandaged hand a quick squeeze and walked out. "You know what? I'll be in my room, changing. Now. Willow, when you can: come see me." She ran out the door.

Angel yanked Willow back to him as the door shut. Kissing her fiercely, he maneuvered her onto the mattress beneath him and positioned himself between her legs. He butted his jean-covered erection against her, and she met his thrust with one of her own. When he broke off the kiss, he saw her eyes closed in pleasure as her hips pumped wildly. Unable to restrain his hands, he pushed her shirt back up to bare her breasts. Shifting his weight to his elbows, he took each nipple between his thumbs and forefingers and began to tweak them in time with the frantic motions of their lower bodies.

"We," Angel pinched her hard, and she purred. "Are," He twisted them; she cooed. "Going," He dug his fingernails into her sensitive skin while driving himself even more forcefully against her, causing her to yelp in both pleasure and pain. "To do," He released her and set his hands on the waistband of her pants. "This."

She pushed him away, using magic to pin him on the opposite wall. "Soon," she told him, adjusting her clothes and going over to him. He flailed against her invisible bounds with no avail. "We have to go to the meeting." She took a step up on nothing so she was eye to eye with him. The witch leaned forward and fastened her mouth to one of the silent pulse points on Angel's neck. He moaned, and she licked his jaw mischievously and tweaked his flat nipples before stepping back on the ground. "I'll see you later."

When she left, the force holding Angel disappeared. He slumped to the floor, almost paralyzed with unfulfilled lust. If he wasn't careful, this was going to kill him.

Willow was just out the door before she fell heavily against the wall. That was almost out of hand. It had taken everything she had to resist him. And then she'd gone after him and licked him. She thought he was going to die of want right there. The whole thing with her keeping him motionless, as if she could do whatever she wanted with him was so . . . naughty.

"Wow. I, Willow Rosenberg, am a bad girl. I am very, very bad," Willow said out loud in complete astonishment.

Then she remembered that she wasn't wearing her bra anymore. She was acutely aware of her lack and felt rather insecure about it. Maybe she wasn't ready for the whole bad girl thing yet after all.

Willow rushed to her room and found a dry and dressed Cordelia waiting for her. "Hi, Willow," Cordelia winked, "How was that good-bye kiss?"

"Were you listening?" Willow sputtered, referring to Cordelia using the web to eavesdrop.

"Not really, but it was a little loud." She tossed Oz's shirt on her bed. "Had I paid more attention earlier, I wouldn't have let Oz go in the room."

Remorse hit Willow. How could she be mad at Oz for his non-existent relationship with Cordelia when she and Angel were in a serious physical relationship? And poor Oz had almost walked in on them. "Do you think he knew?"

"That you and Angel were a half step from chancing the soul-losing thing?" Cordelia shrugged, though there was a sharpness in her voice. "In addition to the whole heightened sense of smell werewolves have, as I wanted to tell you, your bra was on his bed. I don't think Oz could have missed it."

"Oh, no. I never wanted Oz to see that," Willow hid her face in her hands.

"Like we can talk. I mean, I know what we looked like. I had his T-shirt on and didn't have the other half of a bikini. Thought you would never ever think of it, it's possible that an innocent bystander would believe we had crazy, naked, dirty sex on the beach," Cordelia tried to be comforting.

It didn't help because that was exactly what Willow had been thinking at first.

Cordelia kept going, "Now we both know that Oz and I are not a couple. Strictly a seer and her friendly neighborhood werewolf."

Composing herself, Willow realized what Cordelia had said earlier, "Did you say `soul-losing?'"

"Yeah, I did," Cordelia confirmed readily.

"Do you mean that I could make Angel's soul-"

"Disappear? Bring back Angelus? Right on," Cordelia took a bra out of Willow's dresser and gave it to her. "Have you met Rebecca Lowell? She brought Angelus back once."

"She did? But I thought he hadn't been with anyone since Buffy," Willow was instantly angry that he hadn't told her about Rebecca.

"He didn't sleep with her. There's been no one in the past century except Buffy. Rebecca drugged him with this `happy pill.' Angelus showed up and chased us around for awhile, but we made it," Cordelia assured her of the obvious. "This makes me kinda leery about Angel's soul. It doesn't seem to be tied on that well, no offense." Cordelia turned her back so Willow could dress.

"None taken. So you think that I could bring Angelus back?" Willow put on her bra and fixed her clothes, alarmed that Cordelia was so scared. "I'm done. Maybe we should slow things down."

Cordelia turned back around, "I didn't mean that. I know you've been thinking about sex with Angel. We can't be sure about much. The web may keep his soul, and even if it comes off, he might not even be able to hurt you. Plus, it's nothing for the mages to put it back on. I only want you to be prepared for the possible consequences of boinking my boss."

"I see," Willow could tell Cordelia was sincere about her concern.

"On the good side, if you wake up with Angelus, your morning after will still be better than my last one. Second worst moment of my life, those eight demon babies," Cordelia shared brightly.

"Huh?" Willow had no idea where that came from.

"Never mind. We're gonna be late."

Thirteen people had assembled in the semi-private confines of Curtain Two in the medlab. Scattered around in various positions about Faith's bed, it was a close group with some distinct divisions. Buffy and Spike were close to each other as usual, but Willow was sitting on Buffy's other side. Anya was with Xander who had Forrest next to him. Confused that Willow was not with him, Angel sat by Oz, Cordelia, and Wesley. On the fringe though, Kate Lockley was holding hands with Giles, who was talking quietly to a much-aged Sam Zabuto.

"I suppose you're all wondering why I called you here," Xander stood up.

"If you accuse one of us of murder," Buffy warned, "I'm leaving."

"In that case, I'll let your boyfriend explain how we can help Faith."

"Well," Spike ignored Buffy's glare. "Faith has a few serious problems, mental ones at that. They're based on Buffy and a Deputy Mayor."

"Whom she killed," Willow pointed out quickly.

"That is part of the problem. He seems to haunt her, and combined with her insecurities about Buffy, either of the two send her into homicidal frenzies," Spike sighed.

"That sounds promising," Anya stated.

"There is a chance to bring her back, which I have discussed with Spike," Giles got their attention, "It is possible to remove those tendencies from her, but it would require erasing certain parts of her memories. This would remove her frustrations and guilt."

"No!" Buffy protested. "She killed a man, more than one. You're just going to free her from that?"

"Every time she remembers, she goes crazy," Xander took over again. "I brought all of you here because you should at least get a chance to say how you felt."

"I'll go first," Willow lifted her chin. "Faith kills people. She belongs in jail, and that's all I have to say."

"I can't agree," Angel spoke out. "Faith did some dark things, but who among us hasn't? She made mistakes and regrets them."

"She didn't seem regretful when she held me at knifepoint or shot you with a poisoned arrow," Willow replied hotly. "She's evil, and that's it."

"That's never it."

"Okay, next volunteer," Xander said quickly.

"I agree with Angel. We can reform almost anyone," Anya perked up.

"Very reassuring," Cordelia commented. "I didn't get to spend much time with the Evil Faith so we should do whatever is best for the web."

"Any words from the Watchers' Council? We practically have a quorum," Xander mentioned. "How would they handle it?"

"Well, the Council is rather fickle in this type of matter," Wesley started awkwardly.

"They'd want to send another team to take her back to England and rehabilitate her," Giles didn't dance around the facts.

"You do not want them here," Same Zabuto stood up. In the past 18 hours, he had aged years. "They would not understand the delicate situation here. Their agenda is not always clear or in the best interests of the participants. Who do you think wanted Kendra in Sunnydale? Not I." He resumed his seat, shaking with emotion.

"So force is not an option," Oz said.

"What about you, Slayer?" Spike asked his girlfriend.

"You guys want to make it so all the bad stuff never happened with her," Buffy chose her words slowly. "Faith was good at her job, maybe even better than me, but if we free her without letting her learn from her past . . . what's to keep her from going bad again?"

"The web and me," Spike said shortly.

"She turned on us once; she could do it again. You think mind control is the answer?"

"Really, Slayer, if we can control demons, vampires, and werewolves, one more girl isn't going to be a problem," Spike discounted her objections.

"Don't you dare dismiss me! You still think you're God, you Evil-Bad-Guy." Buffy fumed.

"Let's not resort to name calling. Now you're just being combative," Spike pointed out.

"I am not - okay, maybe I am being a little combative," Buffy reconsidered.

"A little? Displacing much," Cordelia couldn't resist.

Buffy didn't even bother with replying to that one. "I still don't think it would be a good idea to make Spike carry the whole burden of her sanity."

"He won't," Forrest announced. "That's what I'm here for. She'll be my partner, and I'll keep her one the straight and narrow."

"So what will happen if we do this?" Angel looked over at Faith.

"Spike'll block out most of the bad stuff, turn the clock back a long time," Xander walked to Faith. "I can't tell you how far, but it will be before the sisterhood of Jhe showed up, when I had to cool car."

"That's before you and her-" Willow started.

"I know when it is, but it has to be done," Xander said wearily. "After spending a day here, she and Forrest will be on their own." He stopped, "If we choose to do this."

"Then why am I here?" Kate asked, letting go of Giles's hand.

"Faith had a police record. If we set her lose, not only will she not remember committing the crimes, an arrest would put a kink in getting her into the Initiative."

"So you want me to destroy her files."

"As much as you can," Xander verified.

"I won't do it. It's bad enough that your want to make this murderer guilt-free, but I tamper with the evidence, and she'll never get punished," Kate refused.

"Kate, it's the lesser of two evils," Giles put his arm around her, much to the amazement of the rest of the room. "I'm sure if you misplace the evidence for a few months, we can replace her memories after this ends." He glanced at Spike, "We can, can't we?"

"It will be a bit of a bother, but yes, I can," Spike assured them.

"Fine," Kate relaxed, but kept a threatening note in her tone, "When this is over, I'll take her and the Initiative down."

"What?" Forrest hadn't expected that.

"Long story. I'll explain later," Xander jumped in before another fight could start. "I think we should go ahead and do it. It's gotta be worth the price."

"You're taking a big risk here," Buffy reminded him. "It could backfire."

"A calculated risk," Xander's eyes glittered. "Leaders have to make choices like this all the time. If it works, we'll have two top agents in the Hannibals."

"And if it fails, we get to witness an atomic reaction at ground zero," Willow bit out. "Do you need me here?"

"No," Spike said. "Everyone needs to leave except Forrest, Cordelia, and Anya."

"I'm staying," Xander insisted as almost everyone else left.

"You're not. If I'm going in there, I need the most objective people with me. You're not it," Spike frowned at the boy.

"I want to help," Xander didn't budge.

"You want to help? Then go talk to our Teen Witch. I don't think the Poof is doing a good job. Same goes for you."

Buffy stuck to her guns while Xander went up the stairs, "Don't even try to make me leave. I'm going to stay right here and make sure you come out of this in one piece."

"Luv, there's no one else I'd rather have with me."

"But?" Buffy waited expectantly.

"But I'm doing brain surgery, and you're a big distraction."

"A distraction? What's that supposed to mean?"

He caressed her face with his palm. "If I can spend hours on end watching you sleep, imagine how hard it would be for me to be in the same room as you and not be able to touch you."

"Imagine how hard it is for me to leave you with someone I don't trust as far as I can throw her."

"You can throw pretty far," Spike kissed her cheek. "We'll be okay, even if you argue too much."

"I argue too much? You know you love it. Couples who can't argue for fun are boring."

"And there I was hoping to be boring," Spike smiled.

"Shut up and kiss me already."

Forrest couldn't believe the palpable tenderness between Hostile 17 and the Slayer. He shook his head in wonder. "No wonder Riley's so sore. He never stood a chance."

"And the fact that he's Blighted," Cordelia prompted him and breathed, "God they make me so jealous."

Mayor Wilkins picked up the little snake and said, "Hey there, little fella. Heh. I don't know where you belong, but it's not here with us. There you go. You see? There's nothing that's gonna spoil our time together. Who wants cheesecake?" He laughed merrily at the picnic he was sharing with Faith. Her heart swelled; he was the only person in the world who cared for her.

"NO!" Faith shouted as Buffy appeared behind him with the knife.

Buffy raised the knife to strike, and a voice yelled, "Stop."

The scene froze, with Buffy in mid-swing.

A young blonde man walked between Buffy and the Mayor. He looked at Faith gravely, "You know that's not the real Buffy." He took the knife and tossed it on the cloth by Faith.

"Yes it is. She wants to destroy me," Faith pointed to her bloody stomach as proof.

"No, she wants to fight evil, same as you," The man gestured once, and Buffy faded away. "The real problem isn't Buffy." He poked the Mayor with a finger, "It's him."

"It is not! He's the only one who gives a damn about me!"

"Come on, girl. Do you think he gave a rat's ass about what happened to you? He was helping you out of what? The evilness of his heart? He had a problem in his town, two Slayers to be exact. How better to solve the problem than to turn them against each other?"

"That's not true!" Faith jumped up. "He wouldn't do that to me. He liked me."

"You think he didn't know the only cure for that poison you hit Angel with? It was a setup."

"But he bought me a dress . . . for the Ascension."

"Or for your funeral." He took a cigarette from his trenchcoat's pocket, lit it, and started smoking. "You got played. Don't worry; he tried to arrange for my death too."

"He did?" Faith regarded him carefully, "Who are you?"

The man flashed his game face at her, "No one to be trifled with."

"You here to help me?"

"Something like that," he flicked some ashes into the grass.

"So you're like my vampire Fairy Godmother? You gotta name?"

"Not sharing, Faith, but you can ask me questions. I might even answer."

"You're a vampire. You think B's all good?"

"Nobody's all good. She sure as Hell isn't a paragon of virtue."

"Does that mean you don't put her on a fucking pedestal like the rest of the world?" Faith put her hands on her hips and mocked, "`She's so brave. So pretty. So powerful. So perfect. Are you having problems? Let me help you, Buffy.'"

"I'm not here to talk about Buffy. I'm here to talk about Faith," He tilted his head. "You regret anything?"

"No."

"The red stuff on your hands tells me otherwise."

Faith looked down and saw the rust-colored stains of drying blood on her hands. It was flaking off in huge chunks to show even more underneath. "I have nothing to regret. I'm five by five."

"Then why can't you face Him?" The scene blurred, and they were back in that dark alley where the Deputy Mayor was dying in front of her.

"No," Faith gasped.

"Hello," Finch stood up.

"No, you're dead. I . . . I killed you," Faith stammered.

"Faith," He whispered.

"I killed you!" Faith stabbed Him in the chest with her knife.

He was standing right beside her. "Hello, Faith."

"You're dead!" She decapitated Him.

Finch was on her left, "Faith."

"Die!" Flinging herself at Him, she rained down blows on Him until His chest was an empty, oozing cavity.

A hand gripped her shoulder; Faith spun around to see Finch again. "Hello, Faith."

"Why don't you die?" Faith dropped the knife.

"Because he can't be killed. You kill him, and he'll come back, every time," The stranger told her, having been silent for the fight.

"Then how do I make him disappear?"

"You don't. All you can do is walk away," The man pointed in another direction. "He'll always be here, but you don't have to come here. He doesn't need to control you, even if he never leaves."

"That's not fair. I want him gone," she complained.

"Sorry, did the rules change? I didn't know things were supposed to be fair. I was under the obviously misguided impression that all you could do was take what life threw at you and run with it. Nothing's ever fair."

"You wanna hear unfair? How about the fact that the Watcher's Council cared so little about me that they sent me some prick called Wesley? Or knowing that Xander would rather sleep with Cordelia, Willow, and Buffy than me? What about killing someone by mistake and then having it hang over your head for the rest of your life?"

"Things are tough. Who the Hell cares? But here's your chance. Turn and walk away. Don't let the little Scooby Gang, the Watchers, Buffy, or this Finch character make your decisions. You make the choice. You want out? Then you gotta leave on your own. Last chance," he told her.

Faith considered it for a long time, gazing at the Deputy Mayor before her. At last she nodded and moved toward the stranger. "I wanna leave."

"Sure," he handed her a playing card from his duster and took her elbow, leading her into toward the light.

"The Empress?" Faith exclaimed, reading the title on the Tarot card. "Hey, where are we going?"

"Does it matter?" The man asked.

"No, it doesn't," she agreed and followed him into the sun.