Disclaimer: All characters property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

Timeline: Takes place immediately after the body switch between Buffy and Faith; in this story Faith goes to Reno instead of to LA. Angel is working with Kate, the cop in this story.

Confrontations

"I get this chip out of my head, you and I are going to have a confrontation!" -- Spike, to Buffy, -- "Who Are You"

Chapter 1

Spike didn't know what hit him. One moment he was all ready to exchange insults with the slayer just like old times, and the next moment she had him at her mercy without a blow being struck. With just her words, she had brought him to the point where he was mere seconds away from grabbing her, crushing her against his body, bruising her mouth with his own, and dragging her off to his place, making her forget even the name of that soldier boy she had the audacity to be dating. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been this worked up. Not with Harmony, certainly -- hell, not even with Dru for the last several decades. The slayer had brought him almost to his knees with just the power of her eyes meeting his, her moist red lips forming words of impossible eroticism, the feel of her breath mere inches from his face -- and her hand in his crotch. Then she left. She left!

He hurled his beer bottle as hard as he could, wishing it could shatter even louder, and stormed out. He went home to his crypt, went inside, and began pounding his head against the granite wall. Slam, slam, slam, and it didn't even hurt as much as that foolish chip.

The chip. Placed there by the goodness of the slayer's impossibly good boyfriend. He growled, his face taking on its demonic ridges. He had to find some way to get the chip removed! He stayed awake long after the sun rose, concocting and discarding plan after plan. He finally came up with a possibility that might work, and, relaxing a little went to bed for the day.

Even after several days, Faith still sometimes felt twinges of Buffiness. It didn't make any sense. They had only switched bodies -- there had been no emotional or mental interaction. But even so, sometimes she felt an occasional pang of guilt as she lay under her boyfriend of the day, dispassionately watching him writhe and pant for his pleasure. She sighed.

Well, she had to do this, didn't she? Otherwise she'd have to find a place to stay and some way to eat, which would mean finding a job. She couldn't do that, because she had to keep on the move. This way, the boys fed her and gave her a place to sleep -- although, she thought candidly, sometimes the boys kept her so busy she didn't get much of that.

Her boy finished up and rolled off her with a groan, falling asleep almost instantly. Faith got up to take a shower. As she washed herself clean of any trace of tonight's encounter, she couldn't help comparing it to the one time she'd been with Riley. She hadn't known sex could be like that -- it was like some mythical ideal of "love-making" that had never existed to her before that.

It was new.

Being Buffy, even for a brief time, had taught her a great deal, even changed her. The things that never used to bother her, like using a guy for food and shelter while letting him use her for sex, were starting to get to her now. Later, lying in the dark in someone else's bed, she began to understand why she had felt so unhappy and out of place working on the side of Buffy and All That Was Right. In the beginning, they had treated her with respect, like one of the team -- and she just couldn't respect anyone who had the poor taste to show her any. Joining the mayor's side was different. He treated her like a princess, but then again, it felt more appropriate because he was evil.

She just couldn't feel comfortable being trusted by good people. She felt dishonest, like if they knew the real Faith they would hate her. So by joining the side of evil, she had proved herself right.

She could still hear Buffy's voice ringing in her ears, "The reason we forgot about you was because we wanted to!" Faith sighed again and drifted off into a troubled sleep.

Next morning Rob was gone just as she'd known he would be. Or was it Paul? Don? She couldn't keep track. Shaking her head, she got up and made herself some coffee and gathered her things together. Sitting on her shoes was a note with a $20 bill.

"Fathe,

Thanks. Have to do it again sometime.

Tom."

Faith slapped her forhead. Tom! Of course! She dressed and drank her coffee, rifled through his drawers and helped herself to the modest stash of cash under his socks, then placed the note in the center of Tom's bed and very carefully spat on it. She left without a second look.

Several hours later her bus arrived in Reno. She disembarked and gazed with a smile at all the casinos surrounding her. She began walking around, and half an hour later she found herself standing outside a gym, eyeing the "Help Wanted" sign, and watching the women who were going in and out.

First things first, though. With her unerring talent for finding the dark side of a city, she found a guy who would make her a realistic fake ID and social security card. That ordered, she set out to change her look. She got her hair cut in an older, sleeker style and colored to light brown. She lucked out at a Goodwill store and found an outfit that matched the sort of thing she'd seen the women at the gym wearing.

After picking up her new ID with her new name, she went back to the gym and approached the receptionist. "Uh, hi. I see you're looking for help. Can I fill out an application?"

"Certainly! My name's June," said the receptionist, smiling at her. "The manager's out right now, but he should be back by the time you finish filling this out."

"Thanks," Faith told her with an almost-smile. She took the application and, under "Name", she carefully wrote "Elizabeth Corey." Then the smile spread all across her face as she looked at the shiny new driver's license with that name on it. Still smiling, she finished filling out the application and turned it in. The manager was there by then, and asked to see her. Having given all mythical Boston names and addresses for previous work, she was reasonably sure that no one would bother checking her references.

"You're from the Northeast," the manager commented. His name was Dave. "Seems like everyone in this town is from somewhere else. How did you happen to come to Reno? How long you been here?"

Faith answered honestly, "About three hours. I just thought I'd like to see it, that's all."

Dave grinned. "Well, let's see what you can do. We need an aerobics instructor, a lifeguard, and several other positions filled. Seems no one ever actually stays in Reno; they just pass through on their way to somewhere else." He smiled ruefully and led her into the gym to test her.

After watching her swim the length of the pool underwater twice in a borrowed bathing suit, he grinned. Faith climbed out, dripping, and Dave shook her soggy hand. "Elizabeth, how soon can you start?"

Faith grinned. "Call me Liz. I can start tomorrow. I still need to find somewhere to stay for tonight."

"Oh, you can use the studio if you want. No one ever uses it anymore, and there used to be a folding bed and little kitchen in the back. I guess I shouldn't be surprised if people are more interested in self-defense than dancing in this town."

Dave showed her the studio with its tiny attached apartment, then left her there. Faith sat on the narrow bed and looked around in approval at the high mirrored walls. Out the window was a large dumpster, and she opened the window and slung her backpack of clothes through the window into it. "Goodbye, Faith!" she said. "Liz doesn't have room for you in her new place!"

Buffy was just glad to have her own body back. Giles had given her the night off and she went to her mother's instead of the Bronze. She didn't know whether to tell her mother about the switch or not, but when Joyce didn't mention any odd behavior, Buffy just let it rest. Besides, it was nice to be home again, rather like old times only without the angst. Buffy felt safe and strangely reassured. She even told her mother a little bit about Riley.

Riley. There was something a little off there, ever since the switch back. Riley had been distant. She found out he'd slept with Faith-as-Buffy, and even though he had thought it was her, it still bothered her. Even as she spoke glowingly of him to her mother, she realized that what bothered her was exactly that: Riley couldn't tell the difference. Even in the most intimate situation possible, he couldn't tell the difference between her and Faith.

Riley just wanted a girlfriend, she decided. It didn't even necessarily have to be her. Buffy was tired of guys wanting her because they wanted a girl, not because they wanted her, Buffy Anne Summers, Vampire Slayer and college student.

Joyce watched the tension slowly drain out of her daughter's shoulders through the course of the evening and smiled. Even though Buffy was all grown up now, with a boyfriend in the military and a schedule full of college classes, Joyce was still glad to see her relaxing at home.

For the first time, she felt she could get to know this Buffy. She had never known the guarded, teenage Buffy because the slayer secret had to be kept. She had never even known the slayer-Buffy very well, because, honestly, she was afraid to inquire too closely. She knew it was dangerous; she didn't want to know how dangerous. But this Buffy, who sat across the table from her sipping tea and sharing her life, this Buffy was one Joyce would like to get to know. Buffy the adult.

Buffy enjoyed the time with her mother more than she thought she would, but soon had to get back to campus. She had classes, had to call Giles, and had to talk to Riley. Oddly enough, Riley called as soon as she walked into her dorm room, asking her to come over. She went, glad of the chance so soon, but slightly worried about telling him she thought he should back off a little.

She didn't have to.

"Buffy," Riley began. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll make it straight." He stood up and paced the room, gesturing with his hands, while she sat still on his bed and watched. "Ever since that body-switching thing, you've been different. You've acted differently, talked differently... You take more chances. I realize you're used to working alone, but it's like this experience changed you. I don't know you anymore."

"You never knew me, Riley," Buffy said, when he seemed to wind down. "You looked at me and saw what you wanted to see. You looked at me and saw a girl who would understand your double life, someone you could finally be with. You didn't see me. You even saw that girl when I wasn't even in this body."

"Buffy, I already told you. I thought she was you. How could I have known?"

Buffy looked up sharply. "How did she come into the room, when she was me?"

Riley flushed. Faith-as-Buffy had slouched against the doorway looking sultry and calling him "Baby." She had just about asked him to spank her. She had not behaved as he had ever seen Buffy behave. "Well, she... uh..."

Buffy had seen Faith on the prowl often enough to know how she moved, how she walked, when she was around her prey. Buffy nodded. "I thought so. You could easily have known. You just saw what you wanted to see."

There was silence in the room. Riley continued pacing for a few minutes, then stopped and looked at her. She met his eyes with a level gaze. He dropped his. "Buffy, I don't think we should see each other anymore," he said.

"That's what I think, too," Buffy replied evenly.

"I mean, you've changed, and Forrest and the guys are saying you're distracting me, and -- what did you say?"

"I'm not comfortable with a guy who only wants someone. I want a man who wants me." Buffy stood up. "It's okay, Riley. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Yeah, you too," Riley said, stunned. Buffy went out the door and closed it softly behind her, like closing a book and putting it away.

Willow had gotten home while Buffy was at Riley's, so when the phone rang she picked it up. Spike breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't that blasted slayer. "'Allo, Red."

"Spike? What do you want?"

"I want some help. Can I stop by without getting staked?"

"Buffy should be here any minute. It would probably be better for me to meet you somewhere. The library?"

"Good. Be there in ten." He hung up, hoping this would work. He knew people, and he was betting he could get her to find out what he wanted to know. And he hoped she would be lulled by the harmlessness of his request.

"Oh good, you're here," he greeted the little witch. "God, I hate this campus. I keep expecting those army boys to be hiding out around a corner somewhere."

Willow smiled nervously. "Well, Spike, you don't exactly take pains to blend in. You still look exactly like the vampire they captured."

"My looks are none of your business, Missy," he growled. "Now are you going to help me or not?"

Willow stuttered, "Wh-wh-what do you want me to do? A-and what's in it for me?"

Spike stared. So the little witch had grown a spine, eh? "I'll pay you, uh, ten dollars for you to get this address for me. To look it up on the net, hack into city records, whatever you have to do."

"Fifty." There was a new software package Willow wanted.

"Twenty."

"Forty."

"Twenty-five," Spike didn't really even have that much money -- that's why he needed the address.

"Twenty-five?" Willow asked, incredulous.

"Right, done, then." Spike interrupted.

Willow gave him a sharp look, but he just blinked innocently at her. She sighed. "All right, whose address do you need?"

"Angel's."

"What? But you've been to his place in L.A."

"No, I mean his old address. The apartment he used to live in before he bought that stupid gradiose mansion. I need the address."

Willow's eyebrows lifted in surprise. She reached into her bag and brought out a small stone Tara had given her. "Hold this for a second, will you?" she handed it to Spike and he took it out of reflex... then found he couldn't put it down. Nor could he move to get up.

Willow softly chanted something under her breath while Spike grumbled. Wouldn't you know he couldn't even get a stupid address without the slayer's little brats trying to work some mojo on him! She finished chanting, then explained. "Spike, I know you're still evil even though you can't hurt anyone, so I really want to know why you need this address. All this spell does is make you answer me truthfully." She giggled. "Ever see 'Liar, Liar'? It'll be like that."

"Oh, sod it. That bloke had his life ruined for him by that little sprog. I'm not telling you a thing."

"Why do you want Angel's old address?"

"Because I want to break in and see if he left any money there, like he used to." Spike winced. "Oh, hell. I didn't want to tell you that!"

Willow smiled. The spell was working. "Why do you need money?"

"Why do you think? Because I can't hurt anyone, I can't rob my victims like I used to do, and I need to actually buy blood to survive! Plus I need to hire a doctor." Spike hung his head and thoroughly, fluently, cussed himself out.

"What for?"

"I want him to perform an operation. On me. To get the chip out." He swore again, glaring at her.

"Why, exactly, do you want the chip out? Do you really miss the violence and blood that much?"

"Hell, yeah! And I can't wait to confront the slayer." Spike buried his head in his hands and damned himself. He tried to stop talking, but Willow's insertion of the word "exactly," required him to answer completely. "I want her. After what she did to me, what she's been doing to me all these years... I want her. And if she fights me, I want to be able to fight her back."

"You want to kill her?" Willow just wanted to clarify.

Spike looked up, his dark eyes stormy and unreadable. "No. I just want her." He stared at her until she realized what he meant, then she blushed.

She looked up again after a minute. "Do... do you love Buffy?" She asked hesitantly.

Spike could have answered honestly even without Tara's enchanted stone in his fist. "I don't know." He took a deep, unneeded breath. "I haven't ever been able to forget her. All the women I've had since I left here --" and here he snorted. "Yeah, all two of them -- have been like her in some small way. I've tried to forget her, but I can't. I should move out of this town, but I can't. I should never have come back here, but I did. I even thought, with the gem of Amara -- but no, that didn't work out either. Yeah, I love her. And I hate her. I just don't know which one's going to win."

Willow sat there in silence for a long while, staring at the table. Spike stared at the table, lost in a reverie. Willow thought hard. She had been doing research into vampire lore -- and corresponding with Angel via e-mail had certainly helped. She knew there was some sort of blood-bond possible between a human and a vampire in certain circumstances, and she wondered if it were possible to combine that with a magic spell to achieve the results she was beginning to envision in her mind. She stood up.

"Spike, I'm going home." Spike started to protest, but Willow continued, "I am going to help you, but not for another couple of days. In the meantime, here's a couple of bucks for some blood. I'll come by your crypt with the address in two days, in the afternoon. OK?"

He looked up. "Do I have a choice?"

"Well, not really. Uh, one more thing." Willow took the stone from his hand and dropped it back into her pocket.

"Oh, thank God!" Spike muttered. If a vampire could blush, he would have. As it was, he just ran.

Willow went home to her dorm room with a lot to think about. To her surprise, Buffy was already there. They shared some girl talk about her hour-old breakup with Riley, and the reasons behind it.

Buffy explained that she wanted a man who wouldn't be satisfied with just anyone, but who wanted her, and only her. Riley didn't appear to be that man. Plus, she was tired of having to hold back all the time -- when they sparred, she was afraid she'd hurt him; likewise when they were intimate. She just couldn't relax around him, for fear she would damage him accidently. Buffy mentioned Angel, but without bitterness for once. She just said she missed having someone to train with who was as strong as she was.

Willow's eyes widened and she began thinking hard. As a test, she mentioned Spike. "If he didn't have the chip in his head, he'd be a good sparring partner -- we'd just have to make it so he couldn't hurt us first."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Let's see, Spike with implant, can't hurt anyone, but can't spar either. Spike without implant, dangerous vampire who wants to eat half of Sunnydale, but a good sparring partner. No, I'll still go with the implant. It's just a shame there can't be a happy medium," she joked.

Willow smiled a secret smile and said, in a graceful change of topic, that in order to perform a protection spell she was working on, she wanted a little bit of Buffy's blood.

Buffy blinked. "You want some..?"

"Blood," Willow stated calmly. "It's the only way it'll work. It's something I've been working on with Tara. It's to protect you from vampires." Or one of them anyway, she added silently.

Buffy shrugged. "Oh...kay. Uh, does it have to be with a needle, or in a cup, or what?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be sterile. It's a spell, not a lab test. It doesn't even have to be liquid. Do you have something that you bled on, before?"

Buffy went to the closet and pulled out a balled-up yellow halter top mottled with brownish stains. "Will this do? It's from patrolling a couple weeks ago and I didn't get it to the laundry in time."

"Perfect. Great. I should have the spell ready by the day after tomorrow." Willow smiled innocently, hating to lie to Buffy, but knowing she couldn't possibly tell her the real reason she wanted the blood. It was for a protection spell, she reminded herself.

Willow spent the next day alternating between Tara's room, the library, her computer, and Giles' house. She didn't tell Giles what she was doing, and only told Tara the sketchiest outline. She read and surfed the net and emailed Angel and researched. Then she did it some more.

Then she went back to her room and read Angel's email reply, and smiled. Of course! All the books had been saying the same thing, but in coded, prophesy-like language instead of the nitty-gritty details that Angel spelled out for her. Now she knew exactly what to do.

The only problem was, how to get some of Spike's blood for the completion of the spell?

She ended up simply asking him for it when she stopped by his crypt. "Spike, what if there was a way for me to help you get that chip out of your head, and give you an advantage with the slayer as well?"

"You know something I don't know, Red?" He asked skeptically, leaning up on one elbow as he lay on the slab of granite he called a bed.

Willow crossed her fingers. "Well, I found out a few things. One is the name of a forensic specialist who is open to... shall we say, outside projects? And the other is that Buffy and Riley broke up two days ago."

Spike hid his elation. Rising gracefully to his feet, he approached her. "So, did you just come here to gossip about your mates, or do you have the address for me? I need to find some of Angel's stash if I'm going to hire this doctor. And anyway, why are you helping me get the chip out? You know I'll just go back to killing."

"Well, I found a spell. Would you be willing to forego killing Buffy and the rest of us, as long as you could still fight, feed, and kill things?"

Spike thought for a moment, then nodded. Much as he would have loved torturing Xander in particular, he found he could give it up for the thought of not having to bag his blood anymore. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I need some of your blood for the spell, then I'll give you the address. Then you give me the money, then I'll give you the name of the forensic doctor. OK?" Willow asked.

"How can I trust you to work a decent spell? Last time all hell broke loose, figuratively speaking," Spike asked.

Willow raised her eyebrows as her face took on a curiously sophisticated expression. "Last time you got a chance to be with Buffy for twenty four hours with no consequences, Spike. I think you of all people ought to trust me on this one."

With an astonishing nonchalance, Spike vamped out and bit his own wrist. His blood began to drip down his hand and off the ends of his fingers. He coolly cought some of it in a paper cup someone had left on the floor and handed it to Willow. "This enough?"

Slightly sickened at the sight of the blood, and by the utter disregard for pain which marked his action, Willow nodded and handed him a slip of paper. He read it and nodded, face sliding back into its human planes again. He smirked. "Near the Bronze. Might have known it. He always liked to spy on the slayer and the rest of you." His smirk widened into a devilish grin. "Not that I blame him."

"Wh-where's my money?" Willow asked, suddenly needing a little fresh air.

Spike kept his grin. "It's at the apartment, I hope. Come on. I'll let you come with me to protect me from all the muggers out there that I can't hit. Yet," he predicted darkly.

Willow had no choice but to go along.

To her surprise, Angel had indeed stashed a great deal of cash in his apartment. Spike whooped when he found the cash, quickly tossed a couple of bills to Willow, and pocketed the rest. "Now listen, little witch. I don't want this spell to go wrong. I don't want it to hurt. And I want to get this chip out of my head today. Can you give me the name of that doctor?"

Willow gave him the doctor's name and Spike took off.

Faith, to her own great surprise, was enjoying life as Liz Corey. Dave had given her permission to stay in the tiny apartment behind the dance studio for a modest fee that was deducted from her pay. To her surprise, she discovered that she was a terrific Aerobics instructor and lifeguard. She enjoyed the workouts and helping other people make their bodies stronger and healthier. Sometimes she went out at night and slew the odd vampire, but mostly she went clubbing. It was just like her old life in Boston, except that she found she liked dancing more than she used to like hooking up with guys. She hadn't been with a single boy since she moved here and, though she didn't even know it, she was beginning to attain a certain poise, a dignity to her demeanor totally at odds with her prior sultry earthiness.

Faith, as Liz, was enjoying her first week of total independence.

Towards the end of it, her new boss Dave asked her out on a date. She turned him down. June, the receptionist, had heard the request and talked to her about it later. "He's a real gentleman, honey. The genuine article. Unless you're a lesbian or carrying a torch for someone else, you ought to go with him."

"Uh... yeah, well..." Faith stammered. "My, uh, dad died recently and I don't feel like getting involved with anything till I get over it." She leaned companionably on the front desk where June was sitting.

"Oh, poor thing," June commiserated. "Were you close to him?"

"He was the only man in my life who ever loved me," Faith said with a quiet simplicity. "He was the mayor in a small California town, his wife had died long ago, and he adopted me. He didn't have to, but he did."

"Well, Liz, maybe you ought to give Dave a chance. He sounds like the same kind of guy."

Faith smiled bitterly. "He wouldn't be interested in me if he knew me."

June looked up in surprise. "Liz, honey, don't sell yourself so short. You're an amazing woman. You're smart, beautiful, strong -- why, any one would be lucky to go out with you for an evening!"

Faith laughed. "Maybe I should go out with you!"

June just shook her head and pointed Faith in the direction of Dave's office. "Go on. Tell him you changed your mind."

Faith went. To her great surprise, she had a good time. Dave didn't seem to want anything from her and, while it was strange, she determined to enjoy it as long as it lasted. She could always find another job later when she found out what he wanted from her.

Willow, upon returning to campus from Angel's apartment, raced over to Tara's room. "I got them!"

"Did you have any trouble?" Tara asked.

"Surprisingly, no. They both just handed it over. So I think we can get right to work."

"Willow, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Tara was full of anxiety regarding this particular spell. Some of the details were still a bit... ambiguous.

"Sure, Tara. It's all pretty simple, isn't it? Through this spell, Spike won't ever be able to do anything Buffy wouldn't do. Which means he won't kill people but he'll still be able to kill demons. And he'll be able to defend himself if he has to. What could go wrong?"

Tara said nothing, but mentally crossed her fingers as they sat down and joined hands. They closed their eyes and began to synchronize their breathing and relax.

When they'd both arrived at a light trance state, Willow dropped her friend's hands and picked up Buffy's bloody shirt. Carefully, she poured Spike's blood onto it, wrapped it up, and placed it in a metal bowl in the center of the circle where the two of them sat. She lit a match and touched off the blood-mingled shirt, then joined hands with Tara again. The two girls began to chant together.

"Let this vampire be free from his demon nature.

Let him be bound to the will of this slayer.

Let his spirit cleave to hers

And yet remain his own.

Let it be so."

The girls dropped hands and Tara jokingly began to sing, "Let him fight for the right, without question or pause and be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause..." She smiled sheepishly at Willow's bewildered expression. "I, uh, just saw 'Man of La Mancha,'" she explained.

Willow smiled and shrugged. "Well, 'let it be so,'" she said, echoing the activating phrase of the spell. The two girls giggled.

Willow waited a few hours, then called the doctor she had set Spike up with, to see how he was doing. She learned he was beginning to wake from the anesthesia, and that the doctor was saving the chip for her.

Then she checked her email. She clicked on the new message from Angel, and her mouth fell open in shock. "Oh, no!" she moaned.

"What is it, Willow?" Tara asked.

"Oh, no," Willow groaned again. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no!"

"Willow?" Tara touched her on the shoulder. Her friend looked up, stricken. "What's wrong?"

Willow pointed to the screen wordlessly. She buried her face in her hands. "We did it wrong!"