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Witch's Faith
Time stood still. The flashing red and white lights glinted off the razor point of the crossbow bolt. Dorothy Betts' eyes were defiant, but betrayed just the slightest fear.
"Let... her... go!" demanded Buffy, the tears on her cheeks doing little to soften the hardness of her glare.
"What do you think you're accomplishing, Ms. Summers? There are seventeen of us and three of you. Every law enforcement agency for miles around knows we're here. The only thing you can do is dig you and your homicidal friend in so deep you'll never crawl back out again. May I say, you're doing an excellent job of it."
"You've obviously been tracking Faith for a long time," said Buffy coldly. "It must have been a massive effort. You've compiled an impressive-sounding crime spree, and sent your posse out to bring down this dangerous criminal!" Buffy's voice held an edge of anger now. "I find it very interesting that the whole investigation would be led by her parole officer. And it's also interesting how you aren't arresting Willow, who helped commit half of those crimes. And conspiring with Elise! I'd like to see the police file on her.... You are full of shit."
Buffy flexed her fingers meaningfully on the crossbow's trigger. "So you tell everyone to back off and get out of here, and hand Faith over right now!"
Mrs. Betts pushed Faith toward Buffy, hands still cuffed behind her back. Faith toppled forward down the steps. Buffy had expected Mrs. Betts to pull exactly that stunt, and instead of catching Faith she sidestepped carefully and kept the bow aimed at the parole officer's heart. Buffy winced when Faith fell helplessly onto the hard concrete steps, crying out in pain. Willow caught her before she could tumble further. Mrs. Betts' nostrils flared in rage. The officers still did not dare to move to draw their guns.
"Now throw down the keys!" said Buffy, "and then you go tell the Council, if they want Faith, they've got two Slayers to deal with!"
Mrs. Betts just stared at Buffy. She did not give up the keys, but said, "I see we have underestimated you again, Slayer. May I ask why you are so protective of that evil creature? You know as well as I do what she is capable of."
"You know nothing about Faith! You tell the Council that I personally vouch for both her character and her value as a Slayer. If you want Elise stopped, you don't want Faith locked up in some jail."
Mrs. Betts spoke to Mr. Tanaka. "All right. Get out of here." Mr. Tanaka opened his mouth to object. "Do it!" Mrs. Betts snapped. "If you don't hear from me in one hour, notify the Council and come back to collect Faith. At any cost."
All of the "police" silently climbed into their cars, removing their hats and badges, peeling the police markings off of their doors, and removing the flashers. Four of the cars drove away together. Mrs. Betts remained, alone, with the last car. Satisfied for the moment, Buffy lowered her weapon.
Mrs. Betts addressed the girls. "You wish to present a case for Faith to the Watcher responsible for her fate?"
"Yes, we do."
"Then we'd better sit down." Mrs. Betts tossed the keys to the handcuffs and Willow caught them. "You are the Slayer, so I will listen. And then I will take Faith away. If you kill me, someone else will take her. You will have more than the Council to deal with if you try to prevent it: the authorities have no idea that Faith is not working in L.A., but they can be told. When I take Faith, your conduct, Ms. Summers, will determine whether she faces prison or execution. If we cannot rely on you either, then we must call a new Slayer to take on Faith's powers. And that can only happen when she dies." Buffy raised her bow again, furious. "If, on the other hand, you have anything truly new to tell me about Faith, then I will report to the Council and they will vote on her situation." Mrs. Betts walked bravely up to the point of Buffy's crossbow. "But one thing I will not do, not out of pity, not to save my own life... is take any chance of letting an unstable, dangerous Slayer loose again. So... talk fast. You've got one hour to convince me."
Everyone went back inside, and Faith's trial commenced.
Together, Buffy and Faith presented Faith's story. Faith did not gloss over what she had done wrong. The Council surely already knew. Tara had arrived–startled to find Mrs. Betts–and she and Willow spoke their piece as well. Mrs. Betts wished to hear from Xander, who was watching Dawn, so he was called in as well, and brought Dawn with him.
Buffy was glad for Dawn's presence–she worshipped Faith–but Xander worried her. She knew he still had his doubts about Faith. But listening to the rest of the gang speak, he began to understand more clearly what they had seen in her. When questioned, he simply said, "She's on our side. I trust her." Faith smiled at him gratefully.
For Faith, the experience was surreal. She had lost all hope, knowing that her future was destroyed and craving only death. Then, minutes later, she was surrounded by more friends than she would ever have imagined having, and they were pouring their hearts out to help her. And what was in their hearts was the complete certainty that Faith was good. For the first time, Faith began to lose some of the deepest doubts about herself. She had spent most of her life believing, deep down, that she was shit. But she was not. She found herself in tears more often than not.
Buffy held Faith's hand throughout the proceeding, subconsciously afraid of letting her go. And on Faith's other side, Dawn clung to her arm, terrified by what was at stake here.
Eventually, there was nothing more to say, and the hour was almost up. Mrs. Betts summarized what she had heard. "So, if I understand what you have told me... Faith broke out of prison, assisted more vampires than she slew, plotted to assassinate you, Ms. Summers, but changed her mind for unknown reasons. She then claims to have stopped helping Elise–although nobody but Faith herself can verify that, and hundreds of reports suggest otherwise. Then she committed one selfless act for Ms. Rosenberg, motivated by lust as much as loyalty. Afterward, she kindly refrained from turning on you while she was helpless in bed. But when she did have some mobility, she left in an extremely violent manner. Nonetheless, she persuaded you afterwards that she was on your side again. Probably because that inspired you to let her in on your plans against Elise. Is that about right?"
"No! That's not fair at all!" objected Buffy, rising to her feet angrily but still holding on to Faith.
"The Council has not charged me with deciding if Faith might be a trusted ally in the fight against evil. She is guilty until proven innocent. What you have told me does not remove the intolerable doubt and the risk of letting her walk free. How many times has she chosen the wrong path before? With terrible consequences! Is her evil just a temporary disruption of her underlying goodness? Or the other way around? I will acknowledge the possibility that she may be worthy of the loyalty you have shown. But the Council needs certainty at this point–proof–and your time is up."
Buffy reached for the crossbow by her side.
"Calm down, Ms. Summers. I am not taking Faith away tonight. I will recommend to the Council that they vote again on Faith. Prior to that, Faith, you may consider yourself on trial. We will be watching your every move. If you are truly not allied with Elise, then you must prove it. You must destroy her organization utterly, and slay her."
Faith said, "What do you think Buffy and I have been working on?? But I don't have all my strength back yet."
"I am aware of that. You need an intensive training program. And you need someone on hand to keep tabs on you. Therefore, tomorrow, you will begin working with a new Watcher. Do not leave here until then."
Mrs. Betts rose and walked out without a look back.
It was not until everyone was gone and the door was locked that Buffy let go of Faith's hand–and let go of the cold, single-minded tension that had gripped her when Faith was taken away from her. She ran to the kitchen sink and vomited, and then sat on the floor and wept. Faith sat down beside her and stroked her hair. Faith had no more tears left, and felt almost dazed. But she felt hopeful, and she felt safe. Buffy was so fierce and strong! It was almost frightening. And Buffy would protect her from anything.
In bed, Buffy did not tense up as she usually did when Faith got too close. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Faith and spooned around her, holding her tightly against her chest and burying her face in the back of Faith's hair.
"Buffy... what I said before... about, you know... loving you..."
"Shhh. It's OK... I understand. You were really freaked out. You said to kill you, too–not a sign of someone thinking clearly."
"Yeah," said Faith, suddenly not feeling so good anymore. "I just wanted to make sure you knew I didn't really mean it."
"Don't worry. I know."
Continue to Episode 19 – Watcher.
As the two packed up to move, Faith found herself noticing new things about Buffy. The little reflective smile that meant she was reminded of something pleasant. The way the muscles of her upper legs moved when she climbed onto a stool to reach a high cabinet. The way her breasts pushed forward when she reached back to tie her hair into a ponytail. Faith sighed. It may not be love, Buffy was right, but she wanted Buffy badly.
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