Faith
Faith had been tracking Zac for the last few hours. Man, he wasn't making it easy, what with the being in public places a lot. She finally found him again. Standing on top of the hill they had sat on at their first date. She snickered and approached him from behind, her hands wrapped around her knife tightly and an evil glint in her eyes.
"Nice up here, isn't it? I mean, there's a nice view and... well, no one around here to hear you scream. So, all in all... it is a nice day. To die."
Faith held the knife up slightly. "I had to relinquish control of my knife, little run in with the soul boy. He wasn't exactly impressed with me. What with the killing and all. Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you... you terribly distressed now that Zada's gone? I mean, I know you were gonna help support your kid and all... but now... she's gone, and well, so is the kid, so... you heartbroken?"
She stepped closer to him. "You know, I never did thank you for breaking my heart. So I thought... how could I do this? Fruit basket, evisceration?"
Zac
Zac stared at Faith. The look in her eyes was rather frightening.
"I don't know where you got the idea that I was going to support that baby," he said calmly. "I didn't know they were gone either, but I'm gussing you killed them recently, huh?"
He sighed.
"I'm sorry Faith, but I'm not in the mood to die today."
And on that he cryogenically froze her. Then he pulled out his mobile phone and called the Halliwells. They had previously warned Zac about Faith going evil again.
"Hello, Paige? You might want to orb here. I've frozen Faith."
Paige and Piper
Paige orbed in and took Zac's hands and then lay a hand on Faith's shoulder. She sighed and orbed them down to the basement, where Piper helped to chain her to the wall.
"That should hold her..." Piper said.
"It didn't before," Paige replied.
"Well, I can freeze her and so can Zac... well in different ways, but you know what I mean."
"Ok. So... what's the plan?" Paige asked.
"I'm not sure... but I guess this is up to you, Zac, so whenever you're ready."
Zac
Zac nodded.
"I'll try talking to her," he said.
He looked at Faith sadly. Whatever could have happened to turn her into this?
Faith
Faith unfroze and saw Zac sitting by her. She looked around and saw Piper and Paige lingering. She struggled to get up, then realised she was chained again.
"Mmm, all our time together, did we ever do chains, Zac?"
Zac
"Lemme see..." Zac said thoughtfully. "Chocolate, spa, whipped cream, collar, my shoe, the bracelet... nope, no chains."
He winked and then turned to Paige and Piper.
"It may be safer for your virgin ears if you leave," he teased.
Piper, Paige and Faith
Piper nodded. "I was just thinking that I didn't want to know any of this."
Paige looked confused. "Your shoe? How is that... you know, wait, I don't wanna know. Eww."
Piper and Paige left and closed the door behind them and Faith smiled.
"Just you and me now, baby. And seeing as I'm all tied up... looks like you have me at your beck and call."
Zac
"As the way it should be," Zac joked.
Then he sobered.
"What happened, Faithy?" he asked softly. "All of a sudden you became someone... someone I didn't know any more."
Faith
"You know, this room really ain't that bad. Has that wicked creepy feel about it. With some curtains, we could really brighten this place up."
Faith avoided looking into Zac's eyes, instead looking down at herself.
"You know, bondage looks good on me... I even have the right outfit."
Zac
"Faith... Faith you... argh," Zac said, trying to get his words straight. "Faith, I love you. I love you a great deal. But I... I don't know what happened to you, but I want the Faith I fell in love with back."
He gestured to her.
"This isn't... this isn't who you are. This is an imposter."
Faith
Faith let her eyes wander over to Zac's face. She grinned.
"This is finally me, Zac. Don't you get it? The girl you fell in love with... she's gone. That Faith doesn't live here anymore."
Zac
Zac looked Faith right into her eyes.
"I don't believe you."
Faith
Faith scoffed.
"Right, and you'd know. Because what, we've been so close and open with each other? You don't give up, do you?"
Zac
"Well, see, that's the thing, Faith. When you love someone you don't give up on them. You keep fighting for them," Zac said. "And when you see they're going downhill you grab hold and you help them up again. I know. I've fallen down heaps of times and there's always been someone there to help me back up again. And I'm gonna help you back up, Faith."
Faith
"Aw, tear." Faith rolled her eyes.
"Zac, there is no help for me... because there's nothing wrong, so just give up. Look, are we gonna party or not? Coz I'm getting slightly antsy."
Zac
"Party? You wanna party huh?" Zac said. "Okay, we can do that."
He lowered the temperature, and sat down, with a smile on his face.
"I'll just sit here and enjoy the view then. If all you want to do is reject me, then we're going to sit here in silence."
Faith
Faith crossed her arms across her chest, as best she could while she was tied up.
"You know, if you're gonna make it cold, you should warm me up." A grin spread across Faith's face.
"At least you're not trying to shrink me, like Angel and Xander."
Zac
"Shrink you?" Zac repeated. "Umm, okay."
He leaned back.
"Do you remember our first date?" he mused. "You know I was so nervous about that. Been a long time since I actually wanted to take out and impressed someone I actually like-liked. You looked so beautiful."
Faith
Faith looked away. She let out a loud breath.
"Well, that's what I do. I live to give. Well, actually no, that's not true. I want, I take, then I have."
Zac
Zac smiled to himself, slowing increasing the temperature again.
"We had that great dinner and then we went to the kill. And then Mom rang and you tried to turn me on while I was talking to her, you cheeky thing."
Faith
Faith continued to look anywhere but at Zac.
"Maybe it's one of those unhappy childhood things. See, when I was a kid I used to beg my mom for a dog. Didn't matter what kind. I just wanted, you know, something to love. A dog's all I wanted. Well, that and toys. But mom was so busy, you know, enjoying the drinking and passing out parts of life, that I never really got what I wanted, until now. Coz now... well, when people aren't out to spoil my fun, I have everything."
Zac
"So," Zac mused. "You wanted something to love."
Faith
Faith shook her head, feeling her defenses break inside. She wasn't going to crack, she wasn't.
"Everybody always asked, why can't you be more like Buffy? But did anyone ever ask if she could be more like me? Nopes. So now... they gotta pay."
Zac
"I don't even know who Buffy is," Zac replied. "But whoever she is, I don't want you to be like her. I would rather that you were you."
Faith
Faith swallowed hard, she bit her tongue to keep from speaking for a second.
"Well, I am who I am. And this is me, so buckle up, kid, this is it. And no amount of... is this the big plan? You're gonna talk me down?"
Zac
"Do you remember our first big breakup? I did everything I could think of to get you back. I even sang you a song."
And Zac began to sing the song that he sung for her then.
Faith
"What are you hoping to..." Faith felt a tear roll down her cheek and she brushed it away.
"What, you think that I'm gonna come over to this side of the force? Just, get over it, just like that? Right? Forget what you said to me."
Zac
Zac frowned.
"What did I say to you that's made you so upset?" Zac asked.
Faith
"Like you don't remember? When you came over and told me that your little stalker was pregnant and you were gonna stand by and support her kid."
Faith looked away.
"What was that about? I mean, was I meant to just step aside and take that lightly?"
Zac
"What the hell? I never said that!" Zac exclaimed. "Why would I want to anyway? She raped me for goodness sake. It might sound harsh, but I'm glad she's dead. I don't have to worry about her doing something else to me. No, Faithy, the only baby I ahve any plans to support right now, is Julie's."
Faith
Faith looked at Zac for a long moment then looked away.
"You know, I'm getting really sick of being tied up. I mean, at first, yeah, it's a turn on, but then, when no sort of sexual activity actually takes place... it's like... like ebing all wound up and then let down. But, I'm used to disappointment."
Zac
"No one wants you to go around killing people again," Zac said quietly.
He paused for a moment, then started unlocking the chains.
"If you... please don't do anything... you shouldn't... I swear I'll freeze you and lock you up again."
Faith
Faith rubbed her wrists.
"So, you took a big risk. What makes you think I'm not going to kill you?"
Zac
"Because... because I love you Faith. And I think that you love me too," Zac replied.
Faith
Faith looked away as her tears started falling.
"No... I don't... and you don't love me. This is..." She stood up and looked for a way out. He was going to make her crack, and she didn't want that. It was safer, away from those emotions... just staying with the hate and the pain.
Zac
Zac reached up his hand and wiped away her tears.
"I love you," he whispered before sweetly kissing her.
Faith
"No..."
Faith let her defenses crumble and she collapsed into Zac's arms, crying her heart out.
Zac
Zac wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder.
"It's okay now," he said.
Faith
Faith suddenly had a vision of stabbing Zac and she pulled away and cringed.
"No, no, no," she whispered to herself.
Zac
"What?" Zac asked in concern, search her face for a clue.
Faith
Faith brushed her tears away.
"Nothing."
She looked away, not wanting to look at Zac. How could she after what she'd almost done.
Zac
Zac wasn't sure he believed her. But he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her.
"C'mon, how about you and me go out to dinner tonight?"
Faith
"I don't think I can go out... could we just... hang at home?" Faith asked quietly, thinking that she really had no right to ask him for anything.
Zac
"Yeah, sure," Zac said. "Whatever you want."
It felt so good to hold her in his arms again.
Faith
Faith stood up from the ground and brushed her pants off, finding some blood on them. She stared at her blood covered hand for a long moment, her breathing becoming heavier. She wiped it off again, ignoring it.
"I'm going to have to apologise, aren't I?"
Zac
Zac shrugged.
"There are probably a few people who will expect an apology. I, however, am happy just to have you back."
Faith, Xander and Paige
Faith looked up as Paige and Xander entered. She backed up behind Zac.
"We didn't hear... we thought something had happened," Paige explained.
Xander looked past Zac at Faith. She cringed. "Xander, I'm sor - "
"Don't. Don't say it, Faith. It doesn't have to be said."
Faith relaxed slightly, and took Zac's hand after some hesitation.
Paige turned to Zac. "Are you... do you need a lift somewhere?"
Zac
Zac took fast hold of Faith's hand.
"Maybe just back to Faith's place?" he asked.
Faith
Paige nodded and took Zac's hand. She orbed them into Faith's house and orbed out again.
Faith let go of Zac's hand and looked around, spotting weapons everywhere she looked. She closed her eyes.
"Oh god..."
Zac
"Hmm..." said Zac. "I reckon I should melt them."
There was a cheeky glint in his eye.
"I'll met them all into one big pile of metal! And then maybe I'll make a pot. Or a pan. I dunno. Any suggestions?"
Faith
Faith sat on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest. She could smell the blood all through her house, all over her hands, her clothes, her hair. It was all dirty. She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to give in to her emotions, she was simply going to turn them off again. She'd lived most of her life like that, it wouldn't be hard to do it again. She stood up.
"I need a shower."
Zac
Zac nodded.
"Okay," he said. "I'll melt all this rubbish. Do you want me to meet you up there?"
Faith
"What? Yeah... sure."
Faith nodded and went upstairs slowly, and headed for her shower.
Once in the shower, and watched as the blood ran off her body. She punched the wall angrily, then again, and again, before finishing her shower and getting dressed. She headed out to her bedroom.
Zac
Zac began melting the weapons. It was rather simple. He would just heat up the specific weapon to it's melting point, it would melt and then he'd cool it to room temperature again. Easy as pie.
Then he noticed a knife. It was rather beautiful. The handle was even jewelled. It would be a shame to destroy it.
But he knew he couldn't very well keep it. It wouldn't do for Faith to see it.
Still, tempation got the better of him and he hid it away.
He finished destroying the rest of them and hurried upstairs to meet Faith.
Faith
Faith sat staring unseeing out the window. She sighed and lay back, still facing the window. She closed her eyes and the memories of the last few weeks danced in her mind and she struggled to send them away. Her eyes shot open again.
She clenched her hands into a fist and looked at them, her knuckled bruised and bloodied from her punching the shower. She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, and was lost within her own mind, and didn't even hear Zac walk in.
Zac
Zac saw Faith sitting on her bed and sat down next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her necky softly.
"You okay?"
Faith
"It was touch and go for that four minutes you left me alone, but somehow, I got through it."
Faith relaxed into Zac's arms.
"How do you... nothing."
Zac
Zac smiled.
"I'm always going to be here for you, Faithy," he promised her.
Faith
"How do you know I won't lose it and kill you?"
Faith shuddered and clenched her fists again.
Zac
"Because I have faith, Faith," Zac grinned. "Besides, even if I died tomorrow, I'd rather that than live the rest of my life thinking I could have helped you, and didn't."
Faith
Faith closed her eyes. She turned and kissed Zac's cheek.
"Thank you for saving me."