This is my first story. First published, anyway. I've always had a love for the likes of Buffy and Angel. I loved how Faith evolved in those two series, how her story started in Buffy, and how her redemption happened in Angel. I was recently rewatching Judgment, the first episode of Angel season 2, and how it had Angel visiting Faith in prison. I decided to play with the concept. I couldn't have done this without my wonderful beta reader, Mysterygal5.

I don't own anything here, and if you think they're OOC, it's my first fic so...here's hoping it's good.

Please review if you enjoy, or even if you hate it.


The first time Angel had come to see her, it was the end of May. She was surprised to say the least. She figured that when she turned herself in, it'd be the last time she'd ever see him. She should've known better because there he sat on the opposite side of the glass.

She picked up the phone and spoke into it. "What are you doing here, Angel?" She winced at the bluntness of her question. It's not that she wasn't happy he was there, she figured she'd burned this bridge.

"I wanted to see how you were settling in," he said. There was something lighter about him. Something more hopeful.

"I haven't killed anyone, if that's what you're asking." She bit on her lip after speaking. Once again, she was lashing out against the one person who bothered to help her. Man, she sucked.

"Then you're doing better than I would've," Angel said.

"Did you...just make a joke? What happened to you, man?" Faith asked, a small smile began to emerge on her lips.

"Got some good news."

"Care to share? Anything goes in this joint, and I could stand to hear something good."

"First, I wanna talk about you. You asked why I'm here, Faith. The last time we saw each other, you asked me to help you. I told you I would, and I meant it.

"And mission accomplished. I'm here, serving penance for my sins. You did your job, Angel." She sighed. She appreciated what he was saying, but she knew he had other things to do. People to save, what did his business cards say again? Helping the helpless? If one there's one word people wouldn't use to describe Faith, it was helpless.

"That doesn't mean you have to go through it alone," he said with such earnesty, it reminded Faith that Angel had gone through this alone. He'd had to live and carry the guilt for the things he'd done for a century all alone.

"And Faith," he added, "you're not just a job. You're my friend."

Now that took Faith even further by surprise. The last friend she'd had left a knife in her gut and put her in a coma. So to hear Angel, the love of loves of that former friend, tell her that he was her friend meant...a lot.

"How's…" She almost asked about Buffy, but, well, that was a sore spot for them both. "...Wes and Cordy?" Those two still left guilt feeling plenty of guilt, but they were easier to talk about than Buffy.

"Good. Doing better at least. They were both hurt recently but healing up."

"What happened?" She asked. Faith was surprised by being genuinely concerned about what happened to her former Watcher, and the other Sunnydale alumni in Angel's office.

"Wolfram and Hart. Blew up the office. Wes was caught in the blast but I got him out in time. Cordy...they put a curse on her, forced her to experience god knows how many visions. I managed to stop that too."

"Blew up your office?" Faith said with some surprise. She knew those lawyers were up to some down and dirty when they hired her, but to blow up Team Angel's office...yeesh. Talk about extreme measures.

Angel nodded. "We're working out of Cordy's place...That does lead into my good news though."

What he said next, about Wes's translation, about the Shanshu...she couldn't believe it.

"You. Human," she said. "Wow, that is tough to picture."

"Wes calls it my reward but...I don't know. I don't think people like us get a reward."

Faith stared at Angel for a moment. "Well...if anyone deserves one, it's you."

Angel smiled softly. "Really Faith, how are you doing?"

Faith looked down, and took a deep breath. "I'm five by…" She stopped. No. She knew that if she was gonna do this, she had to be honest. Angel deserved it, after everything. "It's hard, Angel. I've...I've gotten into a few scrapes since I got here, and...God, it's hard holding back. Every time I fought the urge, the thought to kill them crossed my mind. It's like…"

"Like a need. The darkness...it calls to you. Tells you to just...let it out, but we know better. We have to fight it off, not just for the sake of ourselves, but for the others around us," Angel finished.

Faith looked at him. "...Exactly like that...Can I ask you something? How much of what you've done do you remember?"

"All of it," he admitted. "Angelus...I was in it for the evil, Faith. I focused on the victims. Never took my eyes off them. Like my own twisted version of an art project."

"...I see blood. On my hands. Like the night I came to see you at your place back in Sunnydale. I can never get it off, can I?"

Angel shakes his head. "No. It's always gonna be there. You'll be haunted by it for the rest of your life. But that doesn't mean it owns you, Faith. It just reminds you why you have to work hard to keep from slipping back into the darkness. It's effort, it's work. It's doing what's right because it's right." It sounded like he told himself those words every morning. A constant reminder to stay on the right path.

Faith looked at this man. Her friend. "Means a lot you came to see me, Angel. More than you know."

"Happy to do it," he said. He knew that the darkness inside Faith was so similar to the darkness inside him. He knew they were kindred spirits, and that's how he knew she needed him to be there for her.

Faith couldn't help but let a question slip past her lips. "Does Buffy know? About the...Shanshu?" She didn't know why she asked. Of course B knew. She was probably already picking out wedding china for the day her and human Angel could settle down.

Angel looked down and sighed. "No. I - I didn't want to give her false hope and for now, this felt like the kind of thing to keep close to home."

So...wow. He'd told her before telling Buffy. He considered Faith more close to home than Buffy. That...that was a first.

"Angel…" She didn't know what to say, but as she sat there and thought about Angel's reward, she found herself happy for him. When she said he'd deserve it, she meant it. Angel was the best guy she knew and he wouldn't leave her behind while she needed him. "...I'd be okay if we made this a regular thing, you know?" Baby steps. Having him check in on her...well it meant she'd see her friend, and if she needed someone to talk her off a ledge, least he'd be there.

Angel looked at her and nodded. "Consider it done."