Faith woke up all sweaty. All night she had tried to contact Cordelia, but she couldn't, all she felt was fear, her own and Cordelia's. She got up and ran to Mrs Chase's room. "Mom! Wake up! Mom!"
Mrs Chase opened her eyes. "Faith?" she asked, sleepy, and checked the time. "What's wrong?"
"Cordelia. We didn't share dreams tonight," Faith quickly explained.
"So?" Mrs Chase asked, feeling it was important.
"We share dreams every night. If we didn't that would mean that one of us was dead."
Mrs Chase was wide awake now. "Cordelia is dead?" she asked, dreading the answer.
Faith shook her head. No, she's still alive, but she's in trouble. I could feel her fear." She paused. "I have to go to LA and find her."
Mrs Chase nodded. "I'll go with you," she said. "Go dress up."
Faith nodded and left.
After a quick breakfast, they left. On the way, Mrs Chase let her colleagues know she won't come to work for a few days and she excused Faith's absence from school and also let Maria know where they were. She cast an occasional glance at Faith, who seemed scared, confused and absentminded. And she was, she felt like a part of her was missing and it hurt like hell.
When they got to LA, Faith called Angela and he got to Cordelia's place a few minutes after Faith and Mrs Chase did. "Mom, this is Angel."
"The vampire?" Mrs Chase asked.
"Yes. Angel, this is Cordelia's mom. And mine."
"Hello," Angel said and offered her his hand.
Mrs Chase hesitated for a moment and then accepted it. She noticed Angel's hand was cold and she guessed it was because he was dead. Well, undead, to be more precise.
"When did you last see her?" Faith asked, impatient.
"Last night, around ten. She was going home."
"I want you to take me to where you last saw her," Faith said and Angel nodded.
"I'll stay here, in case she comes back," Mrs Chase said.
"Okay," Faith agreed, although she doubted it. "Oh, I almost forgot. In case you see things moving, don't worry, it's Dennis."
"The ghost?"
"Yes."
As if on cue, the lights flickered on and off and the curtains moved. "Dennis, behave," Faith told the ghost.
When Faith and Angel left, Mrs Chase started to look around the apartment, feeling a bit weird, knowing that there was a ghost there, watching her. The apartment was quite big and Cordelia kept it tidy. She smiled when she saw a photo of Faith on the nightstand. She realized that Faith probably knew more about Cordelia than she did. She sighed, hoping that Cordelia was all right.
When they got to the place where Angel had last seen Cordelia, Faith started the search. She was more thorough than she had ever been, but the emptiness she felt and the pain and fear, which she knew were Cordelia's, were distracting her. She tried to ignore them, suppress them, and for a time she succeeded, but they always came back. Tears occasionally threatened to emerge, but she pushed them back, knowing that she had to find Cordelia.
Several hours later, they came back to Cordelia's apartment.
"Any luck?" Mrs Chase asked.
Faith shook her head, sad. "No, but she's near, I can feel her."
"We'll try again in the evening," Angel said and Faith nodded. "Doyle will also help us."
"Okay. Will you come here? At nine?"
"Yes."
"I'll see you then."
Angel nodded and left.
Mrs Chase saw that Faith was worried, she herself was worried as well, and she decided to try and calm her. "Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Eh?" Faith asked distractedly. "Oh. Yeah."
"I'll order us something, okay?"
"Yes," Faith murmured, nodding.
Mrs Chase ordered the food and then sat on the sofa, beside Faith, who was watching TV, not really paying attention. "Faith," she said and took her hand.
Faith looked at her. "Mmm?"
"It's not your fault."
"Then why do I feel so lousy?"
"Because you care about her and you want to protect her, but you can't, not always. And besides, you know Cordelia chose this job, it's how she tries to protect you." She paused. "Should she. die, I want you to stay with me."
Faith looked at her, surprised, and then nodded, smiling briefly. "I wasn't thinking about that, but it's good to know."
Mrs Chase smiled. "She'll be okay."
Faith nodded. "Yes, she will."
Mrs Chase's face got serious when she heard the fatalistic tone of Faith's voice and she knew that Faith would do anything, including sacrifice her own life, to save Cordelia. She also knew she could do nothing to stop her. She smiled and caressed her, proud of her.
When nine o'clock came, Angel arrived and Faith left with him. Doyle joined them soon. "Hello," he said.
"Hi, Doyle," Faith said. "I suggest we spread out," she suggested.
Angel nodded. "I'll go this way, you go that way and you, Faith, go that way," he said, pointing into respective directions.
Faith nodded. "Okay."
"Good luck," Doyle said and left.
Angel and Faith moved as well. "How is Buffy?" Angel asked.
Faith looked at him, surprised. "Fine, I guess. Last I heard she was just getting over some asshole who only wanted to lay her. I think she kicked his butt."
Angel nodded and didn't ask any further. Faith decided not to ask him how he felt about it.
They were about to split when they heard a scream and ran to investigate. They saw someone tear up the body of a young woman.
"Hey!" Faith called and the killer turned.
Faith stopped, shocked, and stared at the killer. It was Cordelia and she looked like hell. Her clothes were dirty and covered with blood and her body looked old and tired. But what scared Faith the most was the savage look in Cordelia's eyes.
Cordelia immediately attacked Angel, who hadn't stopped. She attacked him with such ferocity that Angel had to back off at first. Faith then stepped closer. "Cordelia!" she called and Cordelia turned, ready to attack. "It's me, Faith."
Cordelia wanted to attack her, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it. Faith took a step forward, reaching out with her hand. Cordelia stared at her for a while and finally started to reach out. But suddenly she got a headache. She grabbed her head, moaning, and then ran away.
"Cordelia!" Faith called and ran after her, determined not to lose her.
Angel ran as well. Cordelia was fast, but Faith was faster, driven by fear for Cordelia's life. She quickly caught up with her, knocked her down and straddled her. Cordelia screamed and thrashed as she tried to free herself.
"What's wrong with her?" she asked Angel, worried, when he caught up with them.
"A dream demon, I think."
"A what?"
"A dream demon. They possess a person and make them do horrible things so they can feed on their fear. We have to find its body and kill it, but it may kill Cordelia before."
"Not if I can help it," Faith said and knocked Cordelia out. She dragged her into an alley and lay beside her. "Knock me out and then send Doyle to guard us. You go find that demon's body and kill it."
"Why do you want me to knock you out?" Angel asked, puzzled.
"So I can help Cordelia. It's a long story. Do it."
Angel did it and then left to find Doyle and the demon.
"Who are you?" the demon demanded, surprised, when Faith suddenly appeared in what it considered its domain.
"I'm her girlfriend and I'm also a Slayer."
The demon laughed. "This is my territory, Slayer, you can't destroy me here."
Faith grinned menacingly. "Wrong, this is my territory." She turned to Cordelia and reached out with her hand. "You feel you know me, right? That I'm important," she said and Cordelia nodded. "Do you trust me?"
Cordelia nodded and took Faith's hand.
"What do you think you're doing?" the demon demanded.
Faith looked at him and grinned. "Cleaning up the trash," she said and stepped into Cordelia.
"That's impossible," the demon said, surprised.
Faith/Cordelia grinned at the demon. "Don't ever mess with my family or my friends," she said. "Or anyone else, for that matter."
She attacked the surprised demon and started to kick the crap out of it, making sure it didn't escape from the dreamland. While the Faith part of Faith/Cordelia concentrated on making the demon pay for what it did to Cordelia, the Cordelia part found herself immersed in a flood of memories, strange yet familiar somehow. With Faith's help, she remembered the most important thing, that she and Faith were one and that Faith loved her and she loved Faith.
The demon was slowly getting desperate, confused that it couldn't escape. When it finally found out that it could, its momentary relief was immediately replaced my horror when it realized that its body was dying.
When the demon faded away, Faith stepped out of Cordelia and turned toward her. "You remember now?" she asked, even though she knew that Cordelia did. Cordelia nodded.
"Yes. Thank you."
Faith smiled and caressed her. "You would do the same for me."
Cordelia smiled briefly and nodded. "Now what?" she asked, still afraid.
"Now we wake up and go to your apartment. Mom's waiting there. We'll get something to eat, take a shower and go to sleep. Then we will meld again and you will remember everything. Okay?"
Cordelia nodded. "I'm scared," she said.
Faith caressed her again. "Everything will be okay, I promise."
Cordelia nodded.
"Faith?"
Faith opened her eyes. "Doyle," she said when her vision cleared.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine," Faith said and looked over at Cordelia, who was starting to wake up. "She has amnesia," she told Doyle, glancing at him. "Cordelia?"
Cordelia opened her eyes. "Faith?"
"I'm here," Faith said and hugged her.
Cordelia hugged her back, but when she saw Doyle, she backed off, scared.
"It's all right," Faith said when she saw what scared her. "This is Doyle. He's a friend." She looked at Doyle. "Wait here for Angel and tell him we went to her place. I'll give him a call later."
"Okay," Doyle said, still not comprehending.
"It's me and Cordelia!" Faith identified them after ringing the bell. Mrs Chase quickly opened.
"Cordelia!" she said and wanted to hug her, but Cordelia stepped back, scared, not recognizing her.
"It's okay," Faith calmed her. "That's your mom, she loves you." She looked at Mrs Chase. "She has amnesia," she explained. "It's a long story," she added, seeing Mrs Chase's shocked expression. "Do you have something to eat?"
"Yes, of course."
"Come," Faith said and led Cordelia in.
The curtains moved and Cordelia jumped, scared. "Dennis, behave," Faith told the ghost. "She has amnesia, she dones't remember you."
Mrs Chase quickly prepared some food and while Cordelia eagerly ate, Faith told Mrs Chase what she knew. Before she and Cordelia went to the shower, Faith told Mrs Chase to call Angel and tell him that everything was okay. In the shower, Cordelia was a bit shy at first, but Faith's loving touches made her feel safe and relaxed, even excited a bit, but Faith didn't push it.
After the shower, Faith led Cordelia to the bedroom and Cordelia instinctively cuddled up to her. Faith caressed her, smiling, and kissed her on the forehead.
"See you in our dreams," she said and Cordelia smiled.
"Are you ready?" Faith asked in the dreams and Cordelia nodded, scared and excited at the same time.
Faith stepped into her and they became one. Faith/Cordelia then lay on the bed and waited as the Faith part of her helped the Cordelia part regain her memories.
In the morning, they slept in. When Mrs Chase checked up on them, she saw that the were cuddled up one against another and, judging by the movement of their eyes under their eyelids, were dreaming. She smiled and decided not to disturb them.
Angel came later in the morning, but they were still sleeping, so he left. They finally woke up in mid-afternoon and Mrs Chase immediately ordered some food before they came out of the bedroom. "Cordelia?" she asked hopefully.
"Mom," Cordelia said, happy, and hugged her.
Her mother hugged her back. "How are you?" Mrs Chase asked.
"Fine, Mom. I want to go home for a while."
Mrs Chase smiled. "Sure, honey."
"I'll call Angel," Faith said.
"No, I'll do it," Cordelia said.
"Okay," Faith agreed and looked at Mrs Chase. "Mom, we're hungry."
Mrs Chase smiled again. "Already ordered," she said.
"Good."
"I'm fine, Dennis. Thanks," Cordelia said when Dennis announced his presence again.
She called Angel and told him she would be going home for a while. Angel agreed.
After the extremely late breakfast, Faith helped Cordelia pack and they left. Cordelia went into the back of the car and Faith joined her. Cordelia cuddled up to Faith and Faith put a protective hand around her shoulder, caressing her. She kissed her on the temple and pressed her closely to herself. Mrs Chase, who observed them in the rear-view mirror, smiled. Then she drove off.
When they got home, Faith took Cordelia's hand and took her inside. They went straight to Cordelia's room. Cordelia sat on her bed and Faith joined her. They were quiet for a while, Faith not wanting to pressure Cordelia, Cordelia still shaken from the experience.
"How will you feel when I die?" Faith asked.
Cordelia looked at her, startled. "You know how I would feel. Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm a Slayer and our life expectancy is not very high."
Cordelia stared at her for a few moments, confused as to why Faith was thinking about that. "And how will you feel if I die first?"
Faith frowned. "That's not very likely," she said.
"You never know. We both know how much more dangerous this world is than it looks. And besides, I nearly died yesterday."
Faith thought about it. "I guess it doesn't matter who dies first and when, as long as we make the best of the time that we have together."
Cordelia smiled and took a deep breath to release the tension. "And we will, tonight," she whispered conspiratorially into Faith's ear.
Faith looked at her, surprised, and smiled. "Yeah," she said and kissed Cordelia on the lips. "We will. First, however, we have to make plans for the Homecoming Dance."
"Is it already?"
"Yep, on Friday. It's late this year. I wanted to call you, but you. Well, you know."
"Yes." She pushed away the bad memories. "How about I choose the dress for you and you for me."
Faith grinned. "You sure you trust me to make such an important fashion decision?"
"Yes."
"I hope I don't embarrass us both."
Cordelia gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "You won't. We'll be the hottest couple there."
Faith laughed. "Definitely. Make all the boys and girls jealous."
"Absolutely. I just hope this one goes without the complications we faced last time."
"You mean those werewolf things with a good sense of fashion?"
"Yes."
"Well, I guess I better let the bad guys know that we will be extremely pissed off if someone disturbed the event."
Cordelia laughed. "Yes."
She leaned closer and kissed Faith on the neck. "Did you just give me a hickey?" Faith asked and touched her neck.
Cordelia smiled. "Of course. I have to mark my property," Cordelia said as Faith examined the mark in the mirror. "Trespassers will be dealt with."
Faith laughed. "Then I better mark my property as well."
"By all means," Cordelia said and offered Faith her neck.
Faith quickly obliged. "That's better," she said, satisfied, when she took a look at her tooth work.
Cordelia looked at herself in the mirror. "This hickey's the size of Montana!"
Faith chuckled. "The bigger, the better."
"I just hope the vampires won't see this as an invitation to continue where you stopped."
Faith bared her teeth. "They better not. This marks you as my property and trespassers will be slowly tortured to death."
Cordelia smiled. "You're so cute when you're mad."
"I think the vamps would disagree with you on that one."
"Who cares about the vamps."
"Well, I do, since I have to slay them," Faith said with a smirk.
"You know what I mean," Cordelia said, gently slapping Faith on the arm.
Faith smiled. "Yes."
Cordelia glanced at her watch. "We still have some time, how about we go shopping?"
"Sure!" Faith agreed. "Em, do we have enough money?"
Cordelia knitted her eyebrows. "I don't know."
"I don't have nearly enough for a fancy dress. You think Mom will help us out?"
"I don't know. Let's go ask."
"Mom?"
"Yes, Faith?"
"Em, we need money. The Homecoming Dance is on Friday and we still have to buy dresses. Unfortunately, we're both kinda broke. At least me."
"I could probably buy a dress, but it would strain my resources," Cordelia said.
Mrs Chase smiled. "I figured this would happen," she said and fetched her purse. "Here," she said and gave them the money.
"Mom!" Cordelia said, surprised.
"That's a lot," Faith said. "You sure we can afford it?"
Mrs Chase smiled again. "I don't think you will use all of it."
"Em, thanks," Faith said. "Eh, we're going out now to see if we can find something suitable."
"Okay."
"Thanks, Mom," Cordelia said.
"Lead the way," Faith said, took Cordelia's hand and they left.
"You know," Cordelia said as they walked down the street, holding their hands, "a while ago I would have wanted a dress that would make all other girls jealous. Now, though, I just want to please you."
Faith smiled. "Cordelia, you could wear the worst rags and be dirtier than a chimneysweep and you'd still be the most gorgeous girl alive."
Cordelia blushed a bit. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself."
"I know," Faith said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Cordelia suddenly stopped and Faith could feel her tense. "Cordelia?" she asked, worried.
Cordelia shook her head. "Just. a glimpse. Of what I'd done."
Faith gently squeezed her hand. "Everything's gonna be fine," she said softly.
Cordelia nodded and smiled. "I know," she said, her voice slightly trembling.
"Let's get to that store and get your mind off of that demon for a while." Cordelia gulped.
"I'll still have to deal with it," she said quietly.
"I know. We'll deal with it, both of us."
Cordelia nodded. "Yes." She smiled. "Like Anya's gonna have to deal with that stuffed bunny you gave her."
Faith laughed, remembering the stuffed bunny she had given Anya when she had learned that she had worn a bunny outfit on Halloween because she was afraid of rabbits. "Yep. Let's go shopping now."
Cordelia smiled. "Yes."