Her heart beats endlessly in my ear as I lay my head on Faith's chest, the same place it's been since we went to bed hours ago.

God, that's such a beautiful sound. All that gentle, rhythmic thumping gives me such a good feeling inside. No matter how many times I hear it, I never get tired of it. That wonderful beat is so simple and yet so beautiful at the same time. I don't know how I could've ever worried that it would stop.

Reaching up gently, I place my hand on her naked chest to feel what I've been listening to with my fingers.

Maybe, I did the right thing by casting that spell on her while she was in a coma. I mean, everything did end up working out in the end. Faith's awake and she's completely healthy. She may have had a problem or two because of it but she's recovered now and she's fine. The demon is dead. Everything worked out for the best in the end.

So maybe... it was a good thing that I cast that spell on her. I don't know that things would've worked out the way they did if I hadn't. And since everyone I've ever loved almost always ends up getting taken away from me, maybe I did the best thing by not waiting around for Faith to be the next one.

If doing the spell had been the wrong thing then some terrible disaster would've happened by now, wouldn't it? Tara always used to say that the universe has a way of balancing itself out when it needs to. So why hasn't the universe balanced itself out yet and done something terrible? Unless Faith getting hurt was the thing that unbalanced it and the spell I did that eventually woke her up was what balanced it out.

What other explanation could there be?

I can feel her chest rise and fall under me as her calm, steady breathing lets me know that she's alive. Every breath seems to make me feel even more alive then I feel, and I let my hand caress her skin lightly.

Faith and I are together and everything's perfect. That's the only thing that matters. Anything else that might've happened is in the past and doesn't matter anymore. The two of us are the only thing in the world that makes any difference.

She shifts under me in what I think is her sleep, but the sound of her voice quickly puts an end to that theory.

"Hey... you still up?"

Slowly, I turn my head up to look in her eyes and she's smiling down at me, sleepishly.

"Yeah, couldn't really sleep."

There's a look of concern in her eyes.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Without really moving all that much, I shake my head.

"No I'm... I'm okay. I worked it out on my own. But thanks."

Faith reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ears.

"Well, I'd still like to know what was keeping you up so late. It must've been pretty important to keep you up."

I can't tell her what I was thinking about. She'd... I don't know what she'd do actually, but I'd rather not take the risk.

"I... you know it wasn't life threatening, world ending type stuff. It was just some random thought I was having about something."

Her concern turns to slightly confused.

"About?"

Why isn't she letting this go? Now I actually have to think of... well, at least it's half true I guess.

"I, I don't want to have to put this on you now. You just got out of the hospital and everything."

She gently pulls me up to her just enough for us to kiss sweetly.

"Tell me."

"Well, we... you know we kinda missed our anniversary."

The second I say the word anniversary she gets this sad look on her face that I feel terrible for putting there.

"God, DK, I'm sorry."

Does she think I'm angry about it?

"No, Faith, I... I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything I... I was just thinking about it is all. You were in a coma because you went up against a demon that nearly killed a whole group of slayers. I understand."

My beautiful and heroic girlfriend touches my face gently. The feel of her hand on my skin feels so good.

"Still, it must've been a hard day for you to have to go through that. What with me lying there like a rock and not saying anything."

Trying my best to smile, I stare into her eyes.

"I got through it."

When I see her expression get even sadder, I feel like I need to do something to stop it.

"I'll make it up to you babe. I promise."

She doesn't have to do that.

"You don't have to do that."

Then her expression changes and she tries her best to smile.

"I want to Dawn. It's kind of a big deal."

I do my best to shrug it off.

"I'll get over it. It's fine."

"It's a big deal for both of us Dawn, you and me both."

Lifting myself up a bit, I roll off of my girlfriend and lie down next to her.

"This is the first relationship I've ever had that has lasted long enough to even have a one year anniversary. I was actually kinda looking forward to sharing it with you."

She was?

"You were?"

"Yeah... before everything happened, I was starting to think about planning something for us then."

She was?

"You were?"

Faith chuckles in that sexy way that she does while she rolls over enough to look at me.

"Yeah, I was. Guess now that I'm awake and mobile again, I can finish what I was wanting to start before. Do you mind?"

Do I mind?

"And I would mind because?"

She smiles and it just makes me wanna kiss her so badly, so I do. We kiss and I can't help but let the happy feeling in me push the passion between us into making things deeper. After a few long moments of making out, we break the kiss. The two of us hold each other in bed tightly, enjoying the warmth of being together again.

"I promise, when we finally do celebrate our anniversary, it'll be a great night for both of us."

That puts a smile on my face.

She has a habit of making those kinds of promises so much better than I expect them to be.

"Okay..."

Faith and I lie together in silence for a while and I start to feel a little sleepy.

"You're sure that was all that was bothering you DK?"

Now? Yes...

"Yes... I'm fine now. Thank you, you made me feel better."

I feel her lips on the side of my head as my eyes start to feel heavy and I close them.

"Any time babe, any time..."

Slowly, I drift off into sleep.

* * *

A pair of soft lips touch mine, gently waking me up in the absolute best way possible. Despite how short the kiss is, I moan and start stretching on the bed.

"Is it morning already?"

"Mhmm..."

It doesn't feel like morning. It feels like I should still be asleep. But then, I always feel that way in the morning, whether I can get more sleep or not.

"Sorry to wake you up so early, but I wanted to say goodbye before I got an early start."

Goodbye?

"What time is it?"

"Five thirty in the morning."

Finally opening my eyes, I see Faith out of bed and getting dressed. The sight doesn't exactly make me feel good.

Where is she going?

"Are you going... slaying?"

Wait, she said it was five thirty...

Looking towards the nearby window, I can see some soft light seeping in through the blinds.

She can't be going slaying with the sun coming up.

"Nope..."

"Where are you going then?"

She turns to me while she does up her pants. I sit up in bed to look at her.

"To the dojo..."

The dojo...

"But... the dojo doesn't open for another four hours. And... the first class isn't for five hours."

Faith finishes putting on her pants and then grabs her shirt, putting it on too.

"I know. I need to be there early though. Will and B were looking to do some research before the place opens and it'll go faster if I'm there."

Why is she doing research? She hates research.

"What kind of research? There's nothing to research."

My girlfriend looks at me with a slightly confused look.

"Of course there is DK. That demon wasn't working for itself. And whatever it was working for is still out there somewhere. Buffy wants to work out a list of demons that might be able to hire a demon like that. In case it comes looking for its lackey. My guess is it'll be a pretty short list."

The idea her words give me sends a shiver of cold fear through my body. She seems to notice because she leaves her shirt just barely on before coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed next to me.

"Hey, it's all right. It's just a precaution... nothing to worry your pretty little head about okay?"

She shouldn't be going at all. The demon is dead, the problem is solved.

"But... you hate research baby. You're always talking about how it's a lot worse then any torture you could've inflicted in your bad days. Why would you volunteer for it?"

She reaches up and cups my cheek lovingly.

"Because... the sooner I know that the two of us are safe from whatever it is that this thing wanted, the better off we'll be. And the sooner we can get back to our life together."

She can be so sweet sometimes.

Gently, we lean into each other and kiss softly.

That's completely besides the point though.

"Can't you just... let Buffy and Willow take care of it? They don't need you there. Not really. They spent seven years in Sunnydale researching demons. What can you do that they don't already know how to do?"

Faith has a little bit of a hurt look on her face from that but eventually only shrugs at me before getting up again and straightening out her shirt.

"Dunno, but I'm gonna find out."

I don't want her to have to go alone.

"Well, let me come with you then. I... I have some experience researching demons. Maybe I could help."

She smiles at me.

"Thanks for the offer babe, but you've got school in a couple hours, remember? It's better if you just stay here and try and get a little more rest before you go. You missed a pretty big chunk of school because of me and I'd hate to think of what your sister would do to me if you missed any more."

She always brings up my sister when we're talking about me doing something I don't really want to do. Sometimes that can get annoying. Especially because she's almost always right.

With a deep breath, I let out a frustrated sigh.

"All right, fine... I'll go to school."

I hear Faith chuckle while she crosses the room towards me and I let myself fall back flat onto the bed. Her beautiful smile hovers over me a few seconds later when she looks down into my eyes.

"Come by after school some time and help if you want. We'll do something together, like maybe a movie or something. Okay?"

Ooh, I miss doing that. It's been so long since we've been on a date together. That'll be fun.

"Okay..."

Faith looks deep into my eyes and smiles happily.

"Good...."

She leans in and we kiss again, more passionately this time. We stay locked together for a good minute before pulling apart. There's an even happier smile on her face when she looks at me, gently pushing the hair out of my face.

"I'll see ya after school then. Make sure to lock the door when you leave."

Then she pulls away and heads for the door.

Wait, I didn't...

"Faith?"

The woman I love stops just in front of the door and looks at me.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

My words turn her smile into a bit of a grin.

"I love you too Dawn."

After that, she's gone.

And now I'm here... all alone.