Then Sam asked him how he did it. That got a little smirk out of him, and he lifted his beer for another sip before he answered. "Something like her backsliding? It hasn't happened, not really, but there have been tough times. How do I deal with them?" He shrugged again. "I don't really have a formula for it. It would be so much easier if I did, if there was some kind of mathematical equation that I could rely on, but there really isn't. I have to take each instance as it comes." He paused, thinking about how he'd made it through Faith's brief MIA stint. "First demon I ever encountered here stabbed me." He gestured to his side, where the wound was. It was doing much better now. "It was during the kryptonite thing. Faith and I were getting the kryptonite from the place we'd been dosed, so we could give it to Clark in a little lead box." The little amused smile that played up his lips there was understandable. Helping Superman. Talk about surreal. "On the way back, we noticed that someone was tailing us, and sure enough, it was a demon. We had a scuffle, I got stabbed, and Faith got me out of there. She didn't have to. Back then, we were still getting to know each other. I was starting to care about her, but I don't know if she'd started to connect with me yet. I was bleeding all over the place, and I'm sure that wasn't easy for Faith with all she's been through, but even though she could've just turned around and left me, a relative stranger, there to die, she didn't. She got me back to the room, and she patched me up, and she even made sure Clark got that kryptonite." He glanced up at Sam, pride and confidence in Faith shining in his eyes. "She did an amazing thing, and not for any personal gain, not to get in good with anybody, not as part of some maniacal plan. She did an amazing thing because it was the right thing to do. I guess, when times get tough, I remember that. I remember that she has the capability of doing something genuinely good, for genuinely good reasons. I remember that and I know, about as certainly as I've ever known anything, that if she could just dig herself out of all that crap she could be an amazing person. Maybe even a hero." He considered Sam for a moment, and then said, "Remember the good. When times get tough, stop and make yourself remember the good things she's done. Remember her potential. It won't always be enough, but it can get you far enough that your love can take you the rest of the way."