"Well it's like I said, I'm not you. I can't stop thinking about it. I can't just, move on. I just want it to finally end."

Oh god... Dawnie... what's happened to you?

"Just... get out."

How could you have gotten this bad?

"I said, get out."

How did your pain hurt you this much?

"GET! OUT!"

How could I have let this happen to you?

The look in her eyes when she looks at me breaks my heart.

I don't think there's anything I can do to fix this. At least not right now. I'm only making things worse by staying.

As much as every part of me is telling me not to, I turn around and walk out the door. Faith and Connor are there to meet me.

"Sounds like it went well."

Part of me can't help but chuckle at the joke Faith made.

"About as well as yours did."

She shifts uncomfortably but chuckles a little at my really bad joke by comparison. Connor looks between both of us.

"So what do you want to do?"

Faith and I look at each other.

I have an idea, but it's a terrible one.

She seems to see what's in my head.

"Not sure kid."

I guess it's our only option though.

"There's one thing we could try. But I don't like it."

He gets a concerned look on his face.

"What's that?"

"You said that Angel helped you find another way when you thought you were too far gone. How?"

"B, maybe we shouldn't..."

"No, it's okay."

He shifts uncomfortably for a moment.

"Basically, he... pushed me to go further than I really wanted to. He showed me that no matter how far I thought I was willing to go, I really wasn't."

"He pushed you."

"Where are you going with this B?"

"Didn't he kinda do the same with you Faith?"

There's a long silence as I think Faith clues into where I'm going. She looks to Dawn's room for a second before coming back to me.

"Yes, he did."

She pauses again, shifting uncomfortably.

"He didn't give me a choice. He forced me to face what I'd done even though what I wanted him to do was make it stop."

This is such a bad idea.

"Maybe that's what Dawn needs."

They look at each other, the uncertainty clear on both of their faces.

It's not like I'm that on board with it myself.

"I don't exactly like the idea either, but... I mean, you've both talked to her. Do you really think that if we just keep talking to her that she's going to just, decide we're right?"

There's a long silence where none of us say anything. Connor is the first to speak up.

"What did you have in mind?"

Faith looks to Dawn's door.

She's really not happy with me and my plan.

"Wrath... she's thinking about Wrath."

"He's the only serious threat to Dawn we have right now. We can use him to our advantage."

"Didn't both of you just finish telling me that he kicked your butts? Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

I look him right in the eye to let him know that I'm serious.

"Do you have another idea?"

He and Faith look at each other, clearly unsure.

"We'll do everything we can to protect her. I don't know how, but we'll get her through this without getting her killed. We'll call in more help if we have to. Once the others get here..."

"Buffy! Faith!"

Pike?

She and I look down the hall to see Pike coming down the hall. He waves at us as we see him. Connor tenses up.

"Friend of yours?"

Faith turns to Connor for a second.

"Yeah, he's fine."

Fine?

"We think."

Both Connor and Faith look at me, Faith clearly not a fan of me saying that. I turn to Connor as Pike is still far enough away to not hear me.

"I'll explain later."

Pike gets within range and Faith turns to him.

"Hey babe."

They hug and Faith gives him a kiss on the lips.

Why does that still bother me?

Connor seems kinda confused by the exchange, looking between me and Faith.

Please tell me he didn't...

"But I thought..."

Okay, let's not. We have more than enough problems.

"Thought what?"

It takes him a second but he clues in that this probably isn't something he should bring up right now.

"Nothing."

Pike notices Connor.

"Hi..."

"Pike, this is Connor. He's... a friend."

Pike and Connor shake hands.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"Connor, this is Pike. He's... an old friend of mine."

"Way to over simplify things B."

"Pike came looking for me because the guy looking for Dawn was killing people with our last name. He came to warn us."

"We probably wouldn't have been prepared if it wasn't for him."

Faith decides to step in and fill in the rest.

"Connor's a family friend who ran into Dawn going to school here by accident and has been helping her out."

"Is that why we're in the hospital?"

Wait, what?

Connor is a little uncertain how to react.

"Sorry, I didn't mean... I meant, did Wrath come after her here?"

"No, she was attacked by a vampire."

Pike looks at Faith and then me.

"Is she going to be okay?"

That's a bit of a loaded question.

Faith seems to get where my head is at.

"It depends on what you mean by okay."

He watches us with confusion.

Better give him the full picture.

"Physically, she'll be fine. But emotionally?"

I'm not even sure how to describe it.

Connor helps out with that.

"She's gone off the rails."

That's not how I would put it... but it's probably accurate.

"What are we going to do?"

Probably not a good idea to go into too much detail.

"We need a place to take her. This isn't the most defensible place."

He seems to get the idea.

"Right, Wrath is coming. I'm guessing you need me to find somewhere?"

Faith jumps in at this point.

"If you wouldn't mind."

He smiles at both of us.

"I'm on it."

Pike turns to Faith.

"She's gonna be okay."

Faith smiles at him and they lean in for a short kiss before he walks away. The sight of them makes me shift uncomfortably.

I really have to figure this out.

I look over at Connor who's looking back, clearly noticing how I'm feeling.

Damn it... this isn't going to end well.

We both turn to watch Pike leave and make sure he gets far enough away that he can't hear us.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Connor, don't."

Faith turns to us.

"What do you mean? What's he talking about B?"

This really isn't the time.

"It's nothing."

"Connor?"

"I was just wondering what the heck is going on between you two?"

That has Faith confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, whatever's going on between you two... and now this Pike guy?"

He's not making any sense.

"There's nothing going on between me and Faith."

"She's right kid."

"Oh come on, I'm not blind."

Faith and I look at each other for a long moment.

"Connor, Faith and I, we... have a complicated history."

"How complicated?"

Faith points out the obvious.

"VERY complicated. It's more complicated than you and your father's history with each other."

"And some of it involves your father, but there's nothing going on between me and Faith."

He looks at both of us, still confused.

"Then what's with the two of you being so scared to touch each other?"

Faith and I look at each other.

Damn it... I was hoping he wouldn't put that together.

"That's..."

Faith finishes my thought.

"Complicated."

"Of course it is."

"Something is happening between us, but it's not what you think."

Connor waits for us to explain.

"We... something... we think that someone or something has cast a spell on us."

"What makes you say that?"

"B and I... when we touch, it makes something happen to us. There's this intense feeling that comes over us. It makes us feel things that we normally don't."

"What kind of feelings?"

"The kind that you had for Cordy."

Sorry, what?

"Cordy? What?"

"Not the time B."

Right...

"But we're not feeling it now... right?"

"Right."

He looks at us, trying to figure out if he believes us.

"How intense does it get?"

Faith and I look at each other, the look on her face not entirely sure how to talk about it, which she probably sees in mine.

Well, we've already gone this far.

"The first time it happened? We... had sex."

"I KNEW IT!"

The three of us look to see Dawn throwing open the door to her hospital room.

Oh god...