Dawn and Janice walked into the club and headed for the coat check. They shook the slight chill from themselves and rubbed their arms as they waited for the bouncer to check their ID’s. The large black man sat on his stool, and slowly examined each piece. “Don’t get many customers from California in here,” he said as he handed them back. He pushed his head in the direction of the stairs, “Enjoy yourselves.”

“Thanks,” the two girls replied. They turned and walked down the stairs. Entering the main room they looked around. There were several small tables in the middle of the room. Booths lined the side walls, with a long bar at the back. A small dance floor sat empty in front of a stage, set for a three or four piece band. The lighting was low, the booths almost invisible. Music posters and pictures of musicians adorned the walls in some spots.

Janice turned to Dawn, “Tell me why we’re here again?”

“Xander said if we’re going to go all the way to Chicago, we have to go to a ‘real’ blues bar.” Dawn did the finger quotes around the word real.

“So how did he find this place?”

Dawn looked at her friend and shrugged. “Knowing him, he probably picked it out of the phone book.” The two girls smirked at the statement. “Well, let’s get a table, and see if we can pull another one in. Then we wait for the rest of them.”

Janice walked towards a couple of empty tables. “Sounds like a plan to me.” She sat down at a table off to the side. The one in front was empty as well. She pointed to it, “Pull that one up to this one and we should be okay.”

“Why the hell should I pull it over? Is there a piano tied to your ass?”

“No,” Janice smiled, “We’re waiting for your sister and her friends, so, YOU, get to pull it over and move the chairs.”

Dawn looked at her for a moment, “It’ll go quicker if you help?” She smiled and dipped her head to entice Janice.

“Your sister might ride that train,” she snapped at the standing brunette, “but you and I, definitely don’t. So that shit, won’t work with me.”

“I didn’t ask you to sleep with me, I asked you to help me move the freakin’ table.” Dawn moved the chairs out of the way and stood there with her hands on her hips.

Janice rolled her eyes and dropped her purse on the table top. “Fine, we’ll do it your way.” She grabbed the close end of the table and they moved it in. They placed the chairs around the two tables and sat. Dawn was facing Janice, with the stage to her right.

The waitress stopped behind Janice. “ID please.” The girls dug it out and handed it to her. She took each ID and looked at the cards, “This your first time here?” Both girls just nodded. “Okay,” she smiled. “What can I get you?” She handed back their ID’s.

Dawn looked at Janice. “G and T?”

“Sounds good to start.”

“Alright,” Dawn spoke to the waitress, “We’ll each have a Gin and Tonic please.”

The waitress nodded, “Are you waitin’ for somebody else?”

“Yeah,” Dawn answered, “They should be along shortly.”

“Okay, do you know what they want?”

Dawn looked at Janice, and both girls shrugged. “Nah, we better wait ‘til they get here.” The waitress nodded, “The band should start in about 15 minutes.” She turned and headed for the bar.

People were slowly drifting into the club. The tables surrounding the two girls started to fill with 2 to 4 people per table. The voices intermingled into a quiet hum behind them. They could hear little bits of laughter interspersed with the tinkling of ice cubes in glasses.

“So when do we leave tomorrow?” Janice asked.

“We have to be at the airport at 2:00. The Council’s sending a plane for us and it has to be in the air by 3:30.”

“How does your sister get them to do all this?” Janice leaned forward and was whispering conspiratorially across the table. “Like they flew all seven of us here and back on a private jet, five star accommodations, meals, and the only reason I’m here is because I’m your friend!”

Dawn grinned back, “Can you think of a better reason to go to Chicago?”

“I’m not knockin’ it,” Janice laughed. “I think it’s great, but sooner or later they’ve got to pull the plug. Moving all these people around like this can’t be cheap.”

Dawn shrugged, “Yeah, but ever since Faith disappeared, the only slayer they’ve got is Buffy, so she’s writing her own ticket.”

“Still,” Janice replied. “The costs are enormous. It isn’t fiscally responsible to keep this up. They’ll at least scale it back to Buffy and one other at some time.”

“Listen to you,” Dawn laughed. “One year of business school and you’re already worried about someone else’s bottom line.”

“Well at least I’m paying attention.” Janice huffed.

Dawn raised her hands in front of her friend, “I’ve thought about it too. The thing is, since Faith vanished, no new slayer has been called. The line runs through her. So until they find Faith or a new slayer is called, Buffy’s all they’ve got.”

“But if that happens...”

Dawn interrupted her, “They’ll probably kick her to the curb so fast she’ll bounce. The Council is not hurting for cash. They’ve got billions. The way they treated her and the Scoob’s in the past, they do owe them something. We’re just lucky they let us share.”

Janice took a sip of her drink, and looked back at Dawn. “It still doesn’t explain why they flew all of us here for three lousy demons?”

Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “You know what my sisters like right?” Janice nodded at Dawn. “Faith left us for a three day trip, she had to fly to Memphis, deal with a demon then come home. She kissed Buffy and me goodbye at the airport, and we haven’t seen or heard from her since. Willow can’t find her, the Council can’t find her, and no new slayer’s been called. Buffy put her foot down and told the Council, ‘Where I go, my Family goes.’ So if she goes out of town,” Dawn spread her arms out, “We all go out of town.”

“Still,” Janice answered, “Despite her anal tendencies, it doesn’t explain why all of us get to go.”

“It’s because she lost Faith. Because we lost her.” Dawn’s voice was barely audible. “I was so afraid she was going to hurt herself over the first few months, none of us got any sleep at all.” She looked back up at her friend, “We get to go because she wants to keep her Family close, where she can keep an eye on us. In some ways I think she blames herself for Faith’s disappearance.”

“But Dawn, it’s been three years.” Dawn could hear the sympathy in Janice’s voice and see it in her eyes.

“You’re right,” her damp eyes glimmered in the low light. “But until another slayer is called, she has to believe Faith is still alive. That’s what keeps her going. If she ever loses that hope, it’ll be a hell of a train wreck.”

A wan smile crossed Janice’s face, “I really hope I’m out of town when that happens.”

“You and me both.”

A sharp rattle of a snare drum startled the two girls out of their conversation. They turned slightly to the stage and watched as three men did some last minute adjustments. A fourth walked out on stage, and placed two stools, side by side, in front of the drum kit. He walked off stage for a moment, returned with a mike and a bottle of water, and placed one on each stool. He turned picked up a guitar and slid the strap over his head.

“I sure hope your sister gets here soon.” Janice looked at Dawn. “I feel like such a dork holding all these chairs.”

“C’mon J,” Dawn smiled at her best friend, “You know she takes at least three hours to get ready, we’ll be lucky if she gets here before closing.”

Janice laughed and called the waitress over to order two more drinks.

About 5 minutes later Dawn saw Buffy and the rest of the Scoob’s standing at the bottom of the stairs. She stood and waved at them with a smile on her face. Xander noticed her and threw his hand up in recognition. He grabbed Anya by the arm and led her towards Dawn and Janice. Willow, Tara and Buffy, fell in step and followed behind. Buffy sat with her back to the band, Willow, Tara and Dawn on her left, Xander, Anya and Janice on her right. The waitress had followed them to the table and picked up their drink orders. The group started to settle in with casual conversation, when the house lights dimmed.

They faced the stage, as a man stepped up to the microphone, “Hi, welcome to Mike’s Palace of Blues. Tonight we’ve got the Canal St. Blues Boys, from here in Chicago, and a little later on, we have a couple of songs from a special guest. Enjoy.” He walked off the stage, and the band started to play ‘The Sky is Crying’.

“See?” Xander looked up and down the table. “Real blues in a real Chicago blues bar. Isn’t this great.” Anya rolled her eyes, and everyone else sort of nodded in his direction. Then picked up their conversations again. “Why do I get the feeling I’m just being humoured tonight?” he whispered to Anya.

“Because you are,” was the blunt reply. “Nobody else could come up with an idea of what to do, so here we are.” Anya watched as Xander started to sag at her pronouncement. She put her hand over his, gave it a gentle squeeze and whispered, “However we all seem to be having a good time, and when we get back to the hotel, we’ll have many orgasms, okay?”

“That’s why I love you.” He leaned towards her and gently kissed her. Sitting back smiling at his friends, he knew it was going to be a good night.

After the first set Janice looked to Dawn, “I’m surprised,” she said. “That was much better than I thought. Do you know who did any of those songs?”

Dawn shrugged, “When we get home, talk to Giles; I think he has some of those in his collection. Some of them sounded familiar.”

Willow noticed Buffy sitting quietly beside her, a pensive look on her face. “What’s up Buffy?”

“Hmm?” was the reply.

“You keep looking around, like you’re searching for something. Care to share?”

Buffy bit her bottom lip for a moment. “I don’t know Wills, it’s weird.”

“What?”

“My spidey sense is humming, but it’s not, you know?”

The redhead stared at her, and then slowly shook her head. “Not having a clue.”

Buffy sighed, and looked up at her friend with sad eyes. “It’s not a vamp or a demon, but it’s like something is just there on the edge. I can feel it, but I don’t know what it is.” She quickly looked around the table before leaning in to whisper in Willow’s ear. “It almost feels like a really, really faint echo of Faith.”

“What!” the redhead jumped and started looking around the room. Buffy grabbed her and pulled her back down into her seat.

“What’s the what, Buff?” Xander asked. The whole table was now looking at the blonde slayer. She rolled her eyes, “My spidey sense seems to be off that’s all.”

“Well, when we get back to the Dale, maybe you can take it in for a tune-up?”

“Actually,” Anya spoke up, “If she got laid, that might fix it.” Six sets of eyebrows shot straight up.

“An,” Xander put his arm around her, “we talked about that being sensitive thing.”

It was Anya’s turn to roll her eyes. “I know, but you’ve all thought it,” she looked at everyone at the table. “Why do I always have to say what you’re too afraid to say?”

Buffy smiled at Anya, “Because nobody can say things quite the way you can. Thank you Anya, I appreciate the fact that all of you care. I’m just not ready yet.” She looked at her family, “Lets just have a good time and we’ll worry about it later, okay?” Everyone sort of nodded at her and looked at each other. Conversation started up again and the night continued.

The band had returned to the stage, and played several more songs. The Scoobies were enjoying themselves and the music, but not really paying attention to the band. The notes from the last song died away, and the guitar player took it off and placed it on its stand. He walked off to the side of the stage and disappeared. A moment later he walked back, escorting someone on stage. He was between them and the audience, so few people had a good view of who it was. The slayer and her friends weren’t really paying attention. He reached down, picked up the mike off of the stool, and handed it to the singer. He told her where the water bottle was and she put her hand out to touch it before nodding at him. He put his guitar back on and addressed the crowd. “Ladies, and Gentlemen, we’re pleased to have as our special guest, Miss Stake.” There was a warm round of applause from the crowd. The brunette sat waiting on the stool; she was wearing skin tight leather pants, with a tight white tank top. Her sunglasses hid her eyes from the crowd. The drummer tapped out the count and the band started to play. She slowly brought the microphone up to her lips; she paused to catch the beat. A husky voice that spoke of too many cigarettes and too much whiskey slowly rolled over the crowd.

It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.

She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.

And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"

And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."

Janice idly glanced to the bandstand, because Dawn was talking to Tara. Her eyebrows shot straight up to the ceiling for a second. Then they came straight down into a furrow as she squinted at the stage. A quick look at the table told her no one else had noticed anything. Her foot reached across under the table and tapped Dawn on the shin. Dawn glanced at her, and then turned back to Tara. Another kick, this one not so gentle. Dawn looked at her friend. Janice was shaking her head towards the stage, trying to get Dawn to look.

We go to a party and everyone turns to see

This beautiful lady that's walking around with me.

And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"

And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."

“Are you okay?” Dawn asked.

“I’m fine,” she hissed, followed by another jerk of her head towards the stage.

Dawn tilted her head and just stared at Janice. “Are you sure?”

Janice leaned across the table, grabbed Dawn by the blouse, and pulled her to where she could whisper in her ear. “Look at the fucking stage!”

Dawn scrunched her eyebrows at her friend, “What is your trauma?” Then turned to look.

I feel wonderful because I see

The love light in your eyes.

And the wonder of it all

Is that you just don't realize how much I love you.

“Holy Fuck!” she yelped, then slammed her hand over her mouth. Janice was trying to shush her, but Tara heard her and saw the two of them staring wide eyed at each other.

“What?” she queried.

“Nothing.” was all Dawn could say, her eyes still wide as saucers.

Tara’s head slowly started to scan the club, trying to see what had spooked the girls. Her head turned past the stage, and then snapped back, when her brain told her what it had seen. “Oh Goddess,” she whispered.

It's time to go home now and I've got an aching head,

So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.

And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,

I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight.

Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight."

There was a warm round of applause for the singer as the notes died away. She lowered her head and waited for the next song to start.

Anya had become bored with what Xander, Willow and Buffy were discussing. She looked to see why Janice and Dawn had become so quiet. She saw Dawn staring at Tara, then turned slightly in her chair to find Janice staring at Tara as well. Anya turned her attention to the blond Wicca to see her staring at the stage. The drummer tapped out another count, and the music filled the club again. The sultry voice began to follow the notes.

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong

And carry on,

'Cause I know I don't belong

Here in heaven.

Anya’s eyes tracked towards the stage, but she didn’t see anything because Xander’s head was in the way. She pushed her chair up on it’s back legs to get a better view of what Tara was staring at. When she saw the singer she let go of the back of Xander’s chair and pitched forward into the table. Everybody turned to stare at her.

“You alright babe?” Xander put his hand on his girlfriend’s shoulder. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Anya looked across the table to see Dawn and Tara both shaking their heads no. Tara was pleading with her eyes for the ex demon not to say anything.

She quickly pasted a smile on and faced Xander, “Just goofing around and I slipped. Sorry about that.” She smiled at the rest of the table, “Really, I’m sorry.”

Would you hold my hand

If I saw you in heaven?

Would you help me stand

If I saw you in heaven?

I'll find my way

Through night and day,

'Cause I know I just can't stay

Here in heaven.

Xander, Buffy, and Willow, picked up the conversation again. The Buffy Fan Club didn’t notice the other end of the table was completely silent. Anya looked to Tara, Dawn and Janice in turn. Each implored her with her eyes to keep quiet and shrugged their shoulders in response to the unasked question, “Now what?”

Anya’s constant bobbing and weaving around his head so she could see the stage was starting to annoy Xander. He faced her, “What’s goin’ on?”

Anya’s eyes widened, “Umm, nothing, umm, just looking at the band.”

“Oh.” Xander looked past Buffy to the stage. ‘Hmm,’ he thought. ‘Pianist, check, Guitarist, check, Drummer, check, Bassist, check, Singer, check.’ He turned back to Anya, “They all seem to be there.” Then the visual his eyes supplied to his brain finished processing. “Jesus!” He started to turn his head back to the stage, but Anya grabbed him by the chin.

“He’s not here sweetie,” she said to him. “It’s just a guy with a beard.”

“But...” Xander pointed over his shoulder towards the stage. Anya leaned forward and kissed him before he could finish the sentence. She pulled back leaving him gasping like a fish.

“Don’t say a word please?” she whispered to him. “We don’t know what’s going on.” He nodded and turned to stare at the stage.

Time can bring you down,

Time can bend your knees.

Time can break your heart,

Have you begging please, begging please.

Beyond the door,

There's peace I'm sure,

And I know there'll be no more

Tears in heaven.

Willow turned away from Anya and Xander when they had started to kiss. She was okay with Anya, but sometimes found her hard to deal with. When that happened, she just went into ignore mode. She continued to talk to Buffy, but in the back of her mind, a little voice was telling her something was wrong. Still listening to Buffy prattle on, she quickly glanced at the rest of the table. The three people across from her were all quiet and staring at the stage. Seconds later she realized that neither Dawn nor Tara were saying anything either. She reached and picked up her drink taking a quick look at her girlfriend. ‘Jeepers,’ she thought. ‘They’re staring at the stage as well.’ Her eyes drifted past Buffy’s shoulder and took in the band. The singer was sitting on the stool, microphone loosely held in her hand, pouring her heart out into the song. Her face was pointed downward towards the floor. Her short brunette hair covered the sides of her face, and her sunglasses covered her eyes, but there was enough to make out some of her features.

“Holy Crap!” her jaw hung open as she stared at the stage.

“You think my new outfit looks like Holy crap?” Buffy asked the redhead.

“Wh-what?” Willow tried to focus on Buffy, but it was difficult to move her eyes.

“I asked what you thought of my new outfit,” she repeated, “and you said it looked like crap?”

Would you know my name

If I saw you in heaven?

Would it be the same

If I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong

And carry on,

'Cause I know I don't belong

Here in heaven.

“No!” Willow responded. “Somebody spilled a drink. Over there. It was messy and it surprised me and I thought somebody might get hurt but everything’s okay I just overreacted and I’m fine now but I thought for a moment that I was gonna get splashed, but I didn’t...” Tara put her hand on Willow to calm her and stop the babble. Willow looked at her with huge eyes, and Tara just nodded at her.

Applause broke out at the end of the song, and everybody but Buffy looked to the stage. “We’ll be back shortly for our third set,” the guitarist announced. He pointed at the singer, “Miss Stake.” As the crowd applauded her, she lifted the mike to her lips. “Thank you,” she said in her honey soaked voice.

Buffy sat straight up and stared up the table, her eyes as wide as plates. All six of her companions stared right back with fear on their faces. Buffy slowly blinked once, then her head spun around and she stood to face the stage. Her chair clattered to the ground, her fists clenched and she stared straight into the back of the guitarist. He stepped back from the stool and then followed the other band members off stage. Again, he was between the audience and the singer. At the bottom of the steps, she turned and smiled at him. Buffy had an idea when she had heard the two softly spoken words. When she saw the profile, all doubt fled. She pushed her way through the tables, heading for the side of the stage. She vaguely heard someone call her name, but her anger had shrouded everything in hatred. Stepping onto the small dance floor, her speed increased and she adjusted her angle of interception. The singer smiled at something, the guitarist said and that movement just inflamed the blond even more.

“You fucking bitch.” It was cold, it was hard and it was full of anger and vengeance.

The guitarist stopped and looked to the blond bearing down on them. He could see several people in pursuit of the blond, but they weren’t going to get there in time. He stood protectively in front of the singer, “Can I help you miss?”

“Yeah, get out of my fucking way so I can kill that bitch.”

He blinked, “No.” He waved at the bouncers who started to make their way over.

Buffy reached out and tossed him aside. “Three fucking years I’ve been trying to find you. I thought you were dead, but here you are hanging all over some fuckstick.”

The brunette was looking from side to side and backing away from the blond. She had her hands out like she was trying to feel something.

“Did you even wait ‘til you got to Memphis, or did you find him and fuck him on the plane?”

“Buffy!” the Scoob’s had caught up to her. Willow grabbed her arm, but she shook it off. Xander caught the falling redhead.

“Look Wills,” Buffy pointed at the brunette. “We found the fucking skank. I’m so gonna kick her ass.”

The brunette shrieked when she backed into the wall. Her hands outstretched, she tried to move along it, but her feet got tangled in a cord and she stumbled.

 “Oh yeah,” Buffy snorted. “You better be afraid of me.” The bouncer placed a hand on Buffy’s shoulder, before sliding across the dance floor unconscious. The blond slayer pulled her fist back and was ready to let it fly at the cowering brunette. Dawn reached out and grabbed her sister’s outstretched hand. She spun the blond around to face her. The rest of the Scoob’s watched in slow motion as Dawn’s hand came into contact with Buffy’s cheek at high speed.

“She’s fucking blind!” Dawn was right up in Buffy’s face. “She can’t see a fucking thing, and you’re terrifying her!”

“I don’t give a...” Buffy started to respond.

Dawn grabbed her hand again and pulled her away from the crying girl. “NO! You’re gonna go sit and wait at the table.” She pointed at Willow and Xander, “You, take her and sit with her. Try to keep her from getting arrested. Tara and I will go sort this out.” She stared at the slayer and her friends.

Buffy just stared open mouthed at her sister. Willow and Xander each took an arm and started to move her towards the table. She stopped and started to turn back towards Dawn. “I need to...”

“NO!” Dawn said forcefully. “Not till you’ve cooled off. I’ll talk to her and find out what the hell is going on.”

“Umm, Dawnie?” Janice spoke up.

“What?”

“Should we change our plans?”

Dawn tilted her head, “What plans?”

“Our travel plans,” Janice said. “In case we have to stay?”

“Oh, right.” Dawn sighed. She looked at her sister who was walking back to their table. “Not right now. Once we find out more, then we’ll decide.”

Janice nodded, “I’ll go keep them company, okay?”

Dawn nodded at her friend, before turning to Tara. “Where did they go?”

Tara pointed down a small hall off the stage. “Th-they went th-that w-way.”

Dawn patted Tara on her arm. “We’ll be okay, Tara.” Dawn sighed, “Let’s go see if they’ll talk to us.” They headed down the hall and found a small door marked ‘Band’. She looked at Tara with a small smile, and then knocked on the door. They heard muffled voices from the other side. After a few moments, the door was pulled open a few inches.

“What?” one eye stared at them through the crack. It looked like the drummer.

“Uhh, sorry for what happened earlier. Could we speak to Faith please?” Dawn asked politely.

The eye blinked, then furrowed, “Ain’t nobody here named Faith.”

Dawn glanced at Tara before returning to the eye, “Excuse me?”

The drummer sighed, “I said ain’t no Faith here.”

“Ok,” Dawn replied. She bit her lower lip for a moment. “Can we speak to the singer please?”

He looked back over his shoulder, then turned back to the opening. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Dawn glared at him. “Look, either we can come in and talk to her, or I go and get my sister. She will come in and kick everyone’s ass. We just need to talk to her. We need to find out what’s going on.” The door closed, and the two girls could hear voices again. A minute later the door opened and the drummer looked into the hallway. “Where’s the psycho?”

“B-back at the t-table.” Tara answered.

“Okay, you can come in,” He opened the door and moved out of the way.

The two girls saw the girl sitting on an old couch between the guitarist and the piano player. Her head was down and leaning on the guitarists shoulder. The bassist and the drummer were standing off to the side, watching them.

“Faith? It’s me, Dawn. Tara’s with me.” She waited for a response. The silence stretched through the room.

The guitarist spoke up. “Her name is Jane, and she doesn’t talk.” He eyed both girls. “How do you know her?”

Dawn and Tara exchanged a nervous look, “She looks exactly like my sister’s girlfriend. That would kind of explain the jealous reaction.” Dawn paused, “We’re sorry about that by the way.” She smiled wanly. “We haven’t seen or heard from her in three years, so it was a bit of a surprise.” The guitarist just nodded.

Silence descended on the room again. “Oh wait,” Dawn started to rummage through her wallet. “Here.” She had pulled a snapshot out and handed it to the guitarist. It showed Buffy and Faith wrapped up in each other’s arms, with a smiling Dawn crouched in front of them. “That was taken a month before she disappeared. We’d gone to Carmel for a weekend.”

“How’d she disappear?” the drummer asked.

Dawn shrugged, and Tara spoke, “She went t-to M-Memphis on business. We never heard from h-her ag-gain.”

The guitarist handed the picture back to Dawn. “I work as an orderly at Chicago Hope, on the coma ward. She was found in a cemetery about three years ago. She was unconscious when they brought her in. She was naked, beaten, and severely slashed up. They didn’t think she would survive the ride.” The girl wrapped up in his shoulder whimpered, “Its okay babe, they may be able to help us figure out who you are.” The girl’s head nodded imperceptibly. He turned back to Tara and Dawn, “All she had was a wooden stake clenched in her hand.” Dawn and Tara’s eyes opened wide. “They cleaned her up and she was in ICU for about a week, then they transferred her to the Coma unit. That’s where I met her.”

“She seems pretty mobile for a coma patient.” Dawn smiled.

“Yeah, she surprised everybody. Sometimes, when I’m working nights, I’ll take my guitar with me and I’ll practice. One night I’m playing and I hear someone singing along with me. It scared the crap outta me.” He rubbed his forehead. “She was still in the coma, but she was singin’. She sings half a dozen songs, says Thanks, after the second song, and that’s it. Nobody’s ever heard her say another word.”

“How do you communicate?”

“Her hearing is fucking amazing. She can hear a pin drop from a mile away. She just nods yes or no, that’s it. She’s starting to learn sign language, but she has to hold your hands to read it.”

Dawn walked over to a chair and sat down, “How long was she in a coma for?”

“She was out for about two years. Then she was still out, but singin’ along with me.” He looked at the girl for a second. “About three months ago, she came out of the coma, and was moved to an assisted living facility next to the Hospital. I’d go visit and play, while she sang along. Eventually the Doc’s thought it might be good for her if we got her out doin’ something she enjoyed.” He shrugged, “It’s made a little bit of a difference, but not much.”

“She d-doesn’t remember anything f-from before?” Tara asked quietly.

“No, they don’t think so,” the guitarist shrugged. “We don’t have any idea about her past, and neither does anyone else. Was she always blind?”

“No,” Dawn answered. “Umm, I don’t mean to be too personal,” She waved her finger between the guitarist and the girl, “But uhh, are you two, close?”

The guitarist laughed and the girl punched him in the shoulder. He winced, “Geez, Jane, I told you to take it easy when you do that.” He looked at the two girls, “She punches like a ton of bricks, I swear someday she’s gonna break something.”

Tara smiled, “She’s always b-been s-strong.”

“Anyways,” the guitarist answered Dawn. “We’re not dating, for some reason she’s become attached to me, but that’s as far as it goes.” The brunette nodded in agreement.

“Hey,” the pianist broke in. “We gotta get out for the next set.” He stood and the rest of the band members looked at the two girls.

“Oh,” Dawn stood and looked at Tara. “Can we come back after and talk some more?”

“Jane?” the guitarist asked. She shook her head no.

“Oh,” Dawn dropped her head and stared dejectedly at the floor. “Can I leave a contact number or something so we can stay in touch?” Again the girl shook her head no. Tears welled up in Dawn’s eyes, “Al-alright,” her words stumbled out. “We’re sorry to have b-bothered you.” She turned and grabbed Tara and the two sad girls started to the door.

The girl on the couch smacked the guitarist again, shaking her head no. “What Jane?” She motioned towards herself with her arm. “You want them to stay?” Her head started moving up and down rapidly. Dawn and Tara stopped at the door and hopefully looked at the girl. “I don’t know,” he replied. “After what happened in the club...” She raised her fist to him and scowled.

Dawn laughed, “That’s Faith. Not afraid to use violence to get her way.”

The guitarist looked at the singer, “Will you be okay?” The girl nodded and relaxed back onto the couch. “Okay,” he said. “You got your emergency pager?” She nodded and patted where it was clipped to her pants. “Good, I’ll come get you when it’s time for your next songs.” The girl nodded and waved as the band filed out the door.

Dawn walked over to the couch and stood beside the girl. “May I sit next to you?” The brunette slid to the far side of the couch and nodded. Tara sat on the chair Dawn had been in previously. Silence hung between the three girls. The dull thump echoed into the room as the band started to play. The singer sighed, pointed a finger to herself, then to Dawn, and shrugged her shoulders. Dawn tilted her head as she looked at the girl. “I don’t understand.”

“She wants to know who you are,” Tara spoke.

“Right,” Dawn sighed. She looked at the girl, and spoke to her. “My name is Dawn Summers. You lived with my sister and I, in Sunnydale California, up until three years ago.” The brunette pointed to Tara and shrugged.

“My n-name is Tara Mclay,” she dipped her head. “I’m a friend of yours.” Again the girl nodded. She pointed at Dawn, then to herself, and opened both hands, palms up. Dawn looked at Tara. “She wants you to t-tell her about herself.”

Dawn started talking to the girl, telling her what she knew about Faith. Tara watched them quietly. She closed her eyes, and concentrated on the silent brunette, feeling her aura, to see what it looked like. It suddenly dawned on her what was different about the girl; her aura was muted and fractured. The causes were not natural ones though. Someone had cast a spell, which explained why no one could find her. She used her powers to probe the spell and found that it would be easy to break. Whoever cast it had not counted on the dark slayer being found. “It’s you.” she said quietly. Dawn stopped talking and the two heads swivelled in her direction.

“What do you mean Tara?” Dawn asked.

“It is Faith,” she smiled at Dawn. “Her aura’s been d-damaged and m-muted, that’s why we couldn’t l-locate her.”

“But what about the blindness and amnesia?”

“More than l-likely the same c-cause. J-Jane? Can I s-see your eyes?” The girl tilted her head to the side and shrugged. “If I c-can see them, I’ll kn-now if I can fix them.” The brunette slowly lifted a shaking hand to her sunglasses. She pulled them off and looked towards Tara. She pulled back into the sofa as she heard her move. “It’s ok-kay, I don’t have t-to touch you, I j-just need to be closer to see.” She stopped in front of the girl and looked into the frosted orbs.

Dawn smiled hopefully, “Can you fix it?”

“Willow and I c-can.” Tara bit her lip and paused for a second. “J-Jane?” she waited until the girl acknowledged her. “If I c-could give your eyesight and m-memories back, would you want that?”

The brunette’s body started shaking. She folded her hands together and held them in her lap, but it didn’t stop. She looked to where she could feel Tara standing; she slowly lifted a hand, and then moved her index finger around indicating the room. Tara and Dawn watched her for a moment. “You w-will remember all of this,” Tara said softly. The girl brought her hand back down to her lap and clasped her hands together again. She sat quietly for a few moments, thinking about what to do. The door suddenly opened and the three of them jumped.

“You ready Jane?” the guitarist asked. She stood and reached for Tara, grabbing her arm. She pointed at the guitarist and motioned for her to explain. Tara blushed and stared at the floor. The girl started to shake her and pointed at the guitarist again.

“She’s shy,” Dawn answered for the witch. “What Faith, I mean Jane, wants you to know is that we can help her.” Dawn paused for a moment. “She should make a full recovery.”

“Are you Doctors?”

“Umm, no,” she looked at Tara, before turning back to the guitarist. “It’s a holistic method.”

“Oh,” he answered. “When do you need to know? I have to get back on stage with her.”

“We can talk after the set,” Dawn replied. “She needs to talk to Willow, and I need to talk to my sister.”

“Yeah, she’s been staring at me the whole time I was on stage. She’s pretty intense.”

“You have no idea. I’ll come back after the set with Willow, and Tara, and we’ll talk about it.”

“Sounds okay to me, Jane?”

The brunette smiled broadly and nodded her head, “Thank you.”

Tara and Dawn walked behind them back into the club. When they got to the side of the stage, they could see Buffy sitting with her back to the table ignoring everyone. She sat motionless, staring at the guitarist and the singer. She noticed Dawn and Tara approaching the table; she turned and said a few words to Willow. The entire table stood and moved down so the chairs on either side of Buffy were empty. She sat waiting for them, her arms folded across her chest.

“I’ll keep Buffy occupied, you talk to Willow, okay?”

Tara just nodded, and gave Buffy a wide berth on the way to her seat. Dawn smiled at her sister and sat down next to her.

“So?” The entire table was staring at her, waiting.

She looked into Buffy’s eyes, “It’s her.” Buffy started to stand, but Dawn grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. “It’s not that simple Buffy. You have to listen to me first. What ever happens is going to depend a lot on your attitude.”

“My Attitude!” the blond slayer shrieked. “She’s been gone for three years without a word, and my attitude is a problem?”

Dawn closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself. “It’s Faith, but it’s not Faith. Somebody cast a spell and left her in a cemetery for dead. She’s been in a coma for two and a half years, and has only really been awake for about three months.”

“It certainly didn’t take long for her to find someone to fuck.”

“No,” Dawn sighed. “I asked. He works on the coma ward where she was. She’s now in an assisted living facility next to the hospital. He’s just helping her through this.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Look Buffy,” Dawn held her sisters hand. “She’s blind and can’t speak. She can sing about six songs and say ‘Thank You’. Tara checked her aura while we were in there, and she says it’s been muted and fractured. Somebody put a spell on her so we couldn’t find her. She thinks her and Willow can break the spell. If they can, it’ll be hard on Faith, and it’ll take her some time to adjust. She’ll need our help if she decides to go through with it. Are you willing to help?”

“Why should I help that bitch?” the blond seethed.

Dawn looked at her sister with sadness in her eyes, “It’s not her fault Buffy, she has no idea about her past. All she knows about any of us is what happened earlier. She’s a little afraid of you, so is the rest of the band. We’ll have to build up their trust, because if they’re afraid of you and what you might do, they’ll try and talk her out of it.”

“Why should I care?”

“Because for the last three years you’ve been pining away to get her back. Now that you actually have a chance, you’re going to let your anger get in the way?” Dawn sighed again. “If you can’t get past it, you will lose her.”

Buffy’s shoulders sagged, and some of the anger slid from her eyes. “It just hurt so much to see her there, not caring about any of us.” She waved an arm indicating the entire table. “I just couldn’t handle seeing her laughing while my heart was breaking.”

“You have to let the last three years go and let her back into your life. This is the chance you’ve been waiting for. We’ve all been waiting for it.” Dawn bit her lower lip, “I’m going to take that chance no matter what.”

“Why would you say that?”

Dawn sighed, “She hasn’t said she’ll go through with it yet, that’s why you have to get over it now.”

The blond put her elbows on the table and rested her head on her hands. She turned slightly to face her sister. “What if she doesn’t?”

Dawn shrugged, “We’ll deal with whatever comes.” She reached over and laid her hand on Buffy’s arm. “It’s her choice; we’ll get through this, like we’ve done everything else.”

Buffy nodded her head, “I’m going to have to apologize, aren’t I?”

Dawn smiled at her sister, “Honey sweet, and buckets of it.” Buffy groaned. “Tara,” Dawn called, “How long will it take to remove the spell?”

Tara looked at Willow, then turned back to Dawn. “It should t-take about an hour. We’ve g-got everything we need in the room.”

They looked up to see the band members moving off the stage. “Okay,” Dawn stated. “Buffy and I will go talk to them, Buffy, you’ll have to apologize. If they don’t want you in the room, when we talk to her, please be understanding?”

“Yeah,” Buffy sighed. “I do want her back you know.”

Dawn nodded her head, “That’s what you have to tell her.”

She stood and looked at the table, “I’ll take Buffy back to see Faith. We’ll see if we can get her to come back with us.” She looked at Tara, “Would you do the spell here, or rather do it in the room?”

Tara shrugged, “Either is o-okay. We j-just need to b-be alone with her.”

“The room might be easier,” Willow spoke. “All the stuff is there, and we don’t have to leave ‘til tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dawn replied. “I’ll see if we can get them to agree to it. Any possibility it’ll take longer?”

Tara and Willow glanced at each other. “No more than an hour. If we go back to the hotel now, and set up, maybe half of that.”

Dawn nodded, “I’ll see what I can do. They probably won’t let her go alone.” She looked at everyone at the table. “We may have some company.” She turned and walked towards the side of the stage. Buffy stood and followed her.

The two sisters stood in front of the door. Dawn looked at her sister, “Are you ready?” The blond nodded her assent. Dawn knocked on the door and they waited. A moment later it was cracked open an inch and the drummer’s eye appeared. It widened when he noticed Buffy standing behind Dawn.

“I don’t think we want her in here.”

“She needs to come in and say a few things, after that, if you want her to leave she will.”

“Just a sec,” he pulled back from the door and closed it. Dawn and Buffy listened quietly to the muffled voices. A minute later it swung open and he told them to enter. They walked into a silent room. The girl sat on the couch, with the rest of the band arrayed around her in a protective arc.

Buffy looked at her sitting there, ‘She seems almost as nervous as I am,’ she thought. “Can you feel me?” she asked. The whole room looked at her. “I mean, when I came in here this evening, did you feel something different?” The brunette tilted her head and shrugged. “Before your...” she paused, “umm, incident. We shared a connection. I could feel when you were near.” The girl slowly nodded. “Could you tell when I was on the other side of the door?” She nodded again and pointed to the back of her head.

The guitarist watched her, “What are you talking about?”

“She felt a low tingling sensation at the base of her skull when I was outside,” Buffy stated. “I’m sorry for earlier, but it’s been three years since I’ve seen her, and I was jealous of you. I thought she’d left me for you.”

“You seem to have taken the break-up poorly.”

“We didn’t break-up,” she answered coldly. “She went to Memphis on business, and I never heard from her again. So, yeah, I was a little upset. I’ve never gotten over her.”

“Oh,” the guitarist glanced at the floor. “I’m sorry.” The brunette elbowed him to get his attention. She pointed to herself, then Buffy, and shrugged her shoulders. He looked at the blond for a second. “She wants to know who you are.”

“Uhh,” she paused. “I’m Buffy Summers, and I’m, uhh, I was your girlfriend. We were together for about two years, before, you, umm, you know...” The brunette nodded slowly.

“What else?” the drummer asked.

Buffy looked at him, “We run a, umm, ahh, security company with our friends. We were, umm, here on business. That’s how we ended up here.”

“How do we know you’re not shitting us about her?”

Buffy looked at Dawn, then turned back to the band. “She has a scar under her left breast.” Buffy slid her hand into her shirt and closed her eyes. She concentrated for a moment, before dragging her finger across the spot where Faith’s scar would be. The brunette shrieked and jumped. She clapped a hand over her shirt where the scar was.

“What the fuck?” the guitarist had jumped off the couch and was staring at Buffy.

She smiled, “Remember I said we had a connection? I can do that, because I put it there.” Her voice trailed off to a whisper, as her head drooped and shoulders sagged.

“Buffy,” Dawn put her hand on her sister’s arm. “You both got past that years ago.”

The blond nodded, “Yeah, but the memories are still there.”

The brunette girl was still standing and facing the two girls, slowly she moved to where the blond was standing. She stood in front of her, arms at her sides, just sensing the girl. She slowly moved to the side, then slipped around behind her. She did a complete circle of her then stopped in front of her again. Buffy hadn’t moved. She let the sensation of being this close to Faith, again, wash over her. Faith slowly brought her hand up to Buffy’s side, and paused. She moved it in, until it barely brushed the back of Buffy’s hand. She pulled back quickly when she felt the warm tremors travel through her body. She turned and faced her band mates with a huge grin on her face. She pointed to herself, then back to Buffy, she lifted her hand to her chest and placed it over her heart.

“Are you sure Jane?” the guitarist asked. The girl smiled and nodded at the band. She took a step back to stand beside Buffy. She moved her hand next to the blond’s, and slid it underneath. Their fingers automatically entwined, and both girls had warm smiles on their faces.

Dawn smiled; happy to see the joy on her sister’s face again. “We’d like to take her with us to the hotel, if that’s okay.” The band shrugged collectively and looked at the guitarist.

“I don’t know, I’m supposed to take her back to the facility.”

“Okay,” Dawn replied. “Come back to the hotel with us for about an hour. Then you can take her back.”

“Why do you need to take her back to the hotel?”

“Remember that holistic treatment we talked about earlier?”

“Yeah,” he answered

“Tara and Willow want to do it now, and that’s about how long it will take,” Dawn smiled to appease him.

He stared at her blankly for a few moments. “Let me see if I’ve got this right,” he let out a breath and paused. “Six of the best specialists have poked and prodded her for three months, and thrown their hands up in defeat.” Dawn nodded at him to continue. “Your two ‘friends’ can give her back her memories AND her eyesight, in an hour or less.” He waited, while Dawn nodded again. “How?”

Dawn looked at Buffy and Faith standing together holding hands, she could feel the happiness radiating off of them. She turned back to the band smiling, “I won’t lie. It’s going to involve some herbs, chanting and candles. Willow, Tara and Faith, I mean, Jane, will be in a separate room. According to Tara it’ll be an hour max.”

“That’s it?” he asked incredulously.

“Yup,” she answered. “The biggest part, is believing it will work.” He was still staring at her. “Look,” she told them, “The worst thing is, you’ll get room service at the Hyatt, and lose an hour of sleep.”

“I’m not sure,” he mumbled. “I’m responsible for her, and they kinda like it when I bring her back in one piece.”

“You will,” Buffy smiled at him. She could feel herself becoming complete again. There was no doubt this was Faith and they were together again, the Chosen Two.

“So what happens if she gets her sight and memories back?” the bassist asked. “You guys just take her away.”

“No,” Buffy cut Dawn off as she was about to speak. “It’s up to Faith. As much as I want her to come back with me, I can’t force her. If she wants to stay here she can.” The brunette stared at her. Buffy turned to face her, “I’ve missed you so much, and I will always love you. But it’s been three years. If you don’t want to come back with us I’ll understand. It’s your life, and it’s your choice.” Some tears started to slip down the blond’s face. Faith slowly lifted her free hand and gently wiped the tears away. She leaned into Buffy and gently kissed each cheek. She pulled back and smiled at her, before reaching out and pulling her into a hug.

Dawn looked at the two embracing in the room, “Alright, who’s coming to the hotel?”

Forty-five minutes later, Buffy, Dawn, and the guitarist were in the sitting area of the witches’ suite. Buffy and the guitarist kept looking nervously at the door to the bedroom.

“You know,” Dawn interrupted them. “If you keep staring at it nothing will happen.” She laughed and ducked as Buffy threw a cold French Fry at her.

“You sit here and wait while they try to bring your girlfriend back.”

“That’ll never happen,” Dawn smiled at her sister. “I’m straight.”

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes at her sister, “You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, but that’s not what you said.”

Buffy stared at her for a second, then leapt across the coffee table between them and started to tickle her sister. Dawn was giggling and thrashing around, trying to get away from Buffy. The guitarist just sat and stared at them. A few minutes later, Buffy bolted upright and jumped to her feet. She stared at the door and whispered, “She’s back.”

“What?” the guitarist and Dawn asked together.

Buffy didn’t move, “The connection, it feels like it used to. She’s back.”

Dawn shrieked, jumped up off the floor and hugged her sister. “That’s great!”

Buffy looked at her sadly, “What if she doesn’t want to come home?”

Dawn laughed, “You are such a moron! Really you should take this shtick on the road.” Buffy and the guitarist both just looked at her. Dawn sighed, “Buffy, when you got into the room and started talking to Faith, you just reeled her in. She was hanging on to you tighter than her pants and shirt. She didn’t let go until after Willow and Tara pried her off to go into the room.”

“Yeah, but...”

Dawn cut her off, “Buffy, have a little faith will you?”

Buffy leered at her sister, “I intend to.”

Dawn groaned, “I so walked into that one.”

A few minutes later the door to the bedroom opened. Willow and Tara stepped into the sitting room and quietly closed the door behind them. The three in the room just stared at the two witches. “Buffy,” Willow said quietly, “We’re so sorry.” Dawn, Buffy and the guitarist looked at each other with wide eyes, then back to the witches.

Her voice trembled, “What’s wrong?”

Willow sighed and her shoulders sagged, Tara reached out and steadied her girlfriend. “She’s just as rude and crude as she’s always been; we really hoped she’d softened some you know.” Buffy blinked a couple of times as the witches broke out into huge grins. Willow reached out and hugged Buffy, “She’s resting, her eyes are sensitive to the light, but she’s asking for you.” Buffy stood there blinking again.

“You go Buffy,” Dawn spoke quietly, giving her sister a little push. “While you’re in there, I’m going to be kicking some Wiccan ass out here,” she growled, and advanced on the giggling witches.

Buffy slipped into the darkened room, and closed the door behind her. She let her eyes adjust for a moment, before moving towards the figure on the bed. Halfway across the room, a low smoky voice rolled out to greet her, “Hey B.”

Buffy quickly crossed to the edge of the bed, a sob breaking out of her throat. “I never thought I’d hear that again.”

“I’m sorry, B, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She opened her arms and the blond crawled into her embrace and snuggled in.

“No Faith, it’s not your fault, somebody did this to you, and I’m going to kill them.”

“Don’t have to B, they’re already dead. The demon cast the spell as he died. I chased him all the way here from Memphis, before I caught him. It was a hell of a fight; I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Okay,” Buffy said quietly. The two women held each other tightly.

“B?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we go home tomorrow?”

“I think so; Dawn says I need to have a little Faith.”

“Do you know why I order thin crust Pizza?”

“No”

“So they can slide it under the door while you’re havin’ a ‘little’ Faith.”

Buffy laughed at her girlfriend, “I never stopped loving you.”

“I know.”