Faith's POV

I'm not sure what to do.

I sit back in my chair in Anya's hospital room with Xander and Buffy, waiting for Giles to get here.

Buffy does have a point. She's my mother after all. I came back to Sunnydale to visit Joyce, a woman I've thought of as a mother for a long time. And now my real mother is actually here... or at least something that looks like her, and she wants to talk. Maybe I should give her a chance to talk. I just don't know if I can look at her without wanting to hurt her. She's the reason he was there that night. She's the reason he did what he did to me. She's the reason he was never caught.

I can't just pretend that none of it happened. I can't pretend that I don't blame her for letting it happen, for the way she treated me afterwards. Things were better for a while. People stopped coming over every night, and the drugs and alcohol all but disappeared from the house. We were an almost normal family again. But that only lasted as long as child services were watching us. Once that woman stopped coming around, it all started again, except it was worse than before. I tried to get her to stop what she was doing, and my dad, but every time I did, they'd hit me. It kept going like that, right up until she 'died'.

I should get Giles to figure out exactly what she is somehow, if she really is my mom though... I don't know. I might give her a chance to talk. Maybe...

I look over at B.

Maybe if Buffy was there to keep me from beating my mom to a bloody pulp.

"So, Anya... how's the rehab going?"

I look to Anya at Buffy's question.

"The doctors are trying to extort money out of me so they can make me bankrupt."

I can't help but smile at her accusation.

"Anya, honey, we talked about this. The doctors are just trying to make sure you heal properly so your muscles can work right."

Anya scoffs at her boyfriend.

"Xander, they keep telling me to go slower and not get better. Just so they can get more money out of me. I can't make any more money until I'm better, and I can't get better, until they get all my money out of me. They're trying to bankrupt me."

I'm just surprised at how completely paranoid she's being.

"Sweetie, you know that's not true. They just want to stop you from hurting yourself. You were going to hurt yourself with the way you were going."

"He's right Anya. When I was recovering from being tortured by Glory, the doctors kept telling me to slow down because I was pushing myself so hard. Looking back on it, they were right. I pushed too hard and I'm just glad I didn't get myself seriously hurt."

"Yes, but you have all that annoying slayer healing. You would've recovered."

Okay, time to weigh in.

"All the more reason to take it slow, you're an ex-vengeance demon, not a slayer. If you go too fast you'll get hurt and won't be able to do all the fun things you and Xander do that I really don't want to hear about."

Anya looks thoughtful for a few moments.

"You're right Faith. I do want to have lots and lots of sex when I get out of here. I should slow down."

Xander looks at me and smiles sarcastically. Just then, a short knock on the door has Giles coming in.

"Hey G-man..."

"Hi Giles..."

He looks over the room with a smile.

"Hello all... Anya, how are you?"

"Wishing I could have sex, you?"

Giles is thrown by Anya's statement. Xander, B, and I just look at each other and try not to laugh.

"Not quite I'm afraid. My mind is focused on other things for the moment."

He turns to me and B.

"Particularly the events of last night, I'm told there was an event of some interest?"

More than one...

B speaks up.

"Yeah, it was weird. We were attacked by a whole gang of vamps. There had to be at least, what, 15? 20?"

She looks to me for back up.

"Somewhere around there, yeah... but they didn't all attack at once. They attacked in groups. I think it was like 6 at a time."

Giles pulls a chair up and sits down.

"Interesting... why would they choose to do that? Tactically it would have been more prudent for them to attack all at once. Unless..."

He pauses for a moment.

"There are only two reasons I can think of that would make them taking such actions. The first is that without a definitive leader, the remaining hierarchies of Omega's cult are attempting to find a leader through your demise."

Well I don't think that will happen.

"Why?"

Anya follows up Xander's thought.

"Yeah, wouldn't it have made more sense to do that right after he was killed?"

"I suspect that they must have tried, but given the fact that Faith went on a one person crusade to rid the town of their kind and the demon population in general, I would imagine they needed time to regroup and increase their ranks as well. It's only now that they feel prepared. All they require now is a leader."

Hmm...

"You said there might be another reason?"

"Quite right, the only other reason I can think of at this time is that they have in fact chosen a leader and that the situation you found yourselves in last night was intended as a test of your abilities."

B gets thoughtful for a second before responding.

"You think there might have been someone watching us last night to see what happened?"

Wait... that could mean...

"It's more than likely."

"My mom..."

Everyone looks at me.

"Faith, what about her?"

"She was there B, she saw everything."

Buffy gets this questioning look.

"Your mom was just concerned about you."

"I told you there's probably something bad going on with her B."

"Faith..."

Giles interrupts.

"I'm sorry... but I would appreciate it if we could clear something up. Faith, you say your mother has made a sudden appearance in Sunnydale?"

"Yup..."

"Hmm, I must say I find that quite perplexing. I was given to understand that your mother had passed on."

"I thought so too until she showed up mysteriously after we fought off those vamps. But she's here... or at least something that looks like her."

Giles gets his deep thinking face on.

"Hmm, this could be significant. I take it this wasn't an apparition or manifestation of some kind?"

I shake my head.

"Nope, I had my hand around her neck at one point."

"It could be some sort of demon possession, or an advanced form of glamour perhaps."

B pipes in.

"Or maybe she's just back from the dead."

We all look at Buffy.

"I came back from the dead, why not her?"

"Yeah but Buffy, we had the last Urn of Cirrhosis..."

Giles corrects him.

"Osiris..."

"Right, we had that and a powerful witch for us."

"And how do we know that there wasn't that stuff there when it happened to her? Besides, we don't even know that either of those things was needed. Xander, what about that Jack guy?"

Xander looks at B, confused for a second.

"Jack guy?"

"Yeah, back in high school you told me about that guy who raised his buddies from the dead with some ritual thing."

"Right, Jack O'Toole, damn scary dead people."

She's really trying hard to assume my mother's not evil.

"Exactly, I'm just saying, we don't know enough to assume she's part of some evil plot."

Xander, Giles, Anya and I look at each other for a second.

"Buffy may in fact be correct. I will have to examine all of the options. I shall contact the Council and find out what they know about your parentage Faith, and perhaps even consult the Book of Karameth for clues. Until then, I suggest we exercise caution."

That was gonna be my plan.

"I'm for that."

"Yeah, good plan."

"Yes, much better than rushing in and getting killed."

We all kinda smile at Anya's comment. Giles breaks the silence after a moment.

"Very well then, I should return to my flat to investigate what might be happening."

I watch as Giles gets up.

"You'll let us know if you find anything?"

He nods before leaving.

"Of course..."

At least I'll know something for sure soon. Or at least I hope so.