Faith walked up to the front door of Xander's home. She took a big
breath, and rang the doorbell. What she was about to do was going to be
very hard, but she had to tell him. He was the only one of the Scoobies who
had actually ever accepted her. Even though it was because he thought she
was hot. And that one night of intimacy they had together? Well, that was
what this whole visit was about. What she was about to tell the man she
thought she really loved, would probably turn her life upside down, and
push him away forever.
"Can I help you?" an older man asked bluntly, as he opened the door.
"I'm looking for Xander Harris. Is he here?" Faith asked as politely as
she could.
"He's in bed," the man told her angrily, "And so was I for that matter. Go
away!" He started to close the door, but Faith put her hand out to stop it.
With her Slayer strength, she pushed it open.
"I'm gonna make this short." She said, letting all manners she had, slip
away. "I need to talk to your son, right now. And if you don't go wake his
skinny ass up, there will be some serious consequences." The man, who was
obviously Xander's father, gaped at the girl. She raised her eyebrows at
him, and he scampered up the stairs. A few minutes later, he pushed Xander
out into the upstairs hallway, and ran into his own bedroom.
Xander yawned tiredly, and rubbed his eyes, as he started down the stairs. "What?" he asked, "What's going on? Is someone hurt?" He paused at the bottom of the stairs in front of Faith. She shook her head, looking shaken up herself. "Faith? Is someone in trouble?" Faith was about to shake her head again, but paused. She looked up at him, and nodded. "Trouble? Yeah, someone's in trouble." She said. "What!" Xander was suddenly awake now, "Well, come on! We should help!" He went for his jacket on the coat rack by the door. Faith grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "It's not bad trouble, and it's not any of your friends." she told him, calming his nerves. "Faith, we've been through this already," Xander told her, "They're your friends too. They just don't know what to-" "Xander, I'm pregnant." Faith told him. Xander gaped at her. He reminded her of his father at this moment. "Well, say something." she said. "I-I...y-you're... you're pregnant?" he asked as if to confirm. Faith nodded, and put a hand on her belly. "Yep, you know, little baby Harris growing inside here." she told him, rubbing her stomach. "You're kidding, right? Nice little joke to play on the gullable Xander, right?" he asked. He tried to think it was just one big joke, but deep down, he knew better. "Listen, is there somewhere that we can talk privately?" she asked him. "Yeah, just let me grab my coat." Xander replied. He grabbed his coat off the rack, and opened the door. Faith walked out, and he followed. Xander thought of where they should go. It was ten thirty, on Halloween, so Buffy was probably at the Bronze with Willow. Giles was probably at home doing whatever it is that he does to relax, or he was at the library doing more research. Angel had already been gone in LA for two months, so the old mansion he used to live in was probably empty. Yes, that's where he'd take her. To the mansion.
As they walked, Xander could practically feel the tension pushing them apart. He didn't want the tension, though. He loved her. Loved her more than anything. Of course, at first, it was just about her being hot, but now. Xander shook his head, and looked at Faith from the corner of his eye. She looked very worried, scared, and upset. But there was also confusion on her face. He did love her, and he had loved her ever since that night of passion they had had together. But that night of passion was why they were in this situation now. During the last minutes of their walk, Xander broke the tension between them, and took hold of Faith's hand. When he looked at her out of the corner of his eye this time, she looked a little more at ease. Inside the mansion, Faith sat on the floor in front of the fire, cross legged. Xander faced her sitting the same. "What are we going to do?" he asked her. "Well, I figured I'd leave town after we told Buffy and the gang. I'd probably go up to LA or something, have the kid and then put it up for adoption. You know, don't want to turn out like my mother and put the kid through that hell." Faith told him, tears welling up in her eyes. She turned her head away from him, letting her hair fall in front of her. "What?" Xander asked, shocked at her statement, "You can't leave!" "Why not?" she questioned, still not looking at him, "You're two weeks into a contracting job, and I'm a Slayer. You have a whole life ahead of you, and I doubt you want a pregnant girlfriend, and, later on, a kid." Xander put his fingers to her chin, and turned her head so he could look her in the eyes. "Faith," he told her confidently, "I love you, and whatever we have, we have together. I'm not one of those guys who leaves their girl when they find out she's pregnant. I'm part of this whole thing, so I'm going to take responsibility. I just don't know if you feel the same way." "I love you too." Faith choked out. She let the tears run freely down her cheeks now. Xander moved closer, and put his arms around her, holding her tightly. Faith welcomed the tight embrace. She had no idea how she was going to get through this before, but now she knew she had Xander. The hard part came next. Telling their friends.
After letting the bombshell off on their friends, the couple started working out plans. Buffy seemed to take it okay, Giles however was totally shocked and had to lie down with an ice pack for half an hour. Willow, on the other hand, had smiled weakly, and walked out of the Magic Box, followed quickly by Oz. After a few days, though, everyone was their normal selves again. Xander was moving out of his parents' place, and they had put up money for a nice roomy apartment near the construction sight. Faith had moved out of her crappy hotel room, and the gang helped her move into the apartment as well. Everyone in the Scooby gang was actually accepting her, and wanted to help in any way possible. On that Friday, Xander proposed to her, and Faith happily accepted. There was one thing that was troubling Buffy, though. Faith could tell.
"Giles?" Buffy walked into the Magic Box. She saw Giles at the table in the center of the room, and headed over. "What is it, Buffy?" Giles asked, still reading his book, "You're early for training." "I thought Slayers couldn't get pregnant." she shot at him. Giles looked confused. "That's why I'm researching." he told her, "Faith's not a slayer." Buffy just looked at him, as she sat down. "Okay, explain this to me, cause I just gotta hear it." Giles sighed, and set down his book, "Allright. There is another Slayer that the Council has over in England. Faith, on the other hand, is not the Slayer. She is the daughter of a Slayer. After her mother had her, she died. The Council went to all measures, after that, to make sure Slayers couldn't have children, or else there would be too many little half Slayers running around." "So the mom Faith remembers is her adopted mother?" Buffy asked. Giles nodded. "But how did the Council make it so Slayers can't have children?" "Well, you see, they performed a spell of some sort, and then the Watcher is supposed to put a potion in their charges drink or food." Buffy gave him a deadly glare. "Don't worry, I never did. So you're fully capable of having children." Buffy relaxed. "So, she's not really a Slayer, huh?" she said, leaning back. "Yes, but Faith knows nothing about her real mother." Giles stated. Buffy frowned. "Well, now I do." Faith said from the door. Both Giles and Buffy turned. "Faith, I-" Giles started. "Save it. I've known for a while about my real mom. Made Wesley tell me before he went off the LA." Faith walked over towards them. "Why didn't you tell us?" Buffy asked. "I guess I was afraid. You know, when it comes to people and socializing, I don't exactly get the A+." she replied, sitting down. Her stomach was not yet showing, but the nausea thing she had down pretty well. "We would've understood something like that." Buffy continued, "We're friends, Faith. Sharing is what friends do." "I know," Faith replied, "I just couldn't deal with it right then. I mean, he left around the same time I found out I was pregnant a few weeks ago. I had bigger fish to fry, you know?" Buffy and Giles both nodded. "I can contact the Council and get your mother's file for you if you like." Giles told her. Though he had only known Faith for about a year, he was really quite fond of her. Just like he was fond of Buffy. These two Slayers were his girls. Faith nodded her approval. Giles got up, and went to his office, shutting the door behind him. "Now, what can I do for you?" Buffy asked, smiling wide at Faith, who returned the smile greatfully. "Well," she said, "I figured when you got off work, maybe you'd like to go crib and other baby excessories shopping with me and Xander?" "Sure!" Buffy said, happily, "But why would you need me if Xander's going?" "Two reasons." Faith replied, "One, to carry stuff out to the car. Ever since I got pregnant, Xander doesn't want me doing any physical activities. And two, because Xander's a guy and his attention span is about three minutes long." Both women laughed. "Allright, I'll go." Buffy said, looking at the clock. "Shoot! I'm late for work!"
***nine months later***
"Yeah, got it. Right away, Buffy." Julian, Buffy's boyfriend, and Xander's partner contractor said, hanging up the phone. He went over to the door of his trailer and grabbed his coat and briefcase. "Who was that, boss?" Danny, Julian's personal assistant asked him, walking into the trailer. "Buffy," Julian replied, also grabbing Xander's coat and briefcase as well, "Faith's in labor. You're in charge now, Danny." "Right, boss." Danny said, handing him a hard hat, "Mr. Harris is on the third floor checking the emergancy sprinkler system." "Thanks, Danny." Julian said, putting the hardhat on. He walked outside. "Oh! And tell Mrs. Harris congratulations!" Danny shouted after him. "Will do, Danny!" Julian said as he entered the elevator. On the third floor, he saw Xander, in a nice shirt and pants, wearing a hard hat, and inspecting tiny metal pipes with huge gloves. "These look good, Charlie. Real good." Xander said, taking his gloves off, and laying them next to a tool box. He looked up, and saw Julian standing there. "Come on, man." Julian said, throwing his coat at him, "It's time." Xander's eyes went wide, and he hurriedly put on his jacket. He followed Julian into the elevator, and then to the car. When they reached the hospital, Julian took his best friends coat. "Go, man. Go." He told Xander as they reached the floor. Xander nodded, and took off down the hall to where Dawn, Willow and her husband Oz, Joyce and Giles all sat. As he approached, Buffy opened the hospital room door. She smiled at Xander, and gave him a huge hug. "Congratulations." she told him, "You can go on in, Daddy." Buffy stepped aside, and let him through. Julian came up behind her as she shut the door quietly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "What?" She asked him, smiling. "Nothing," he replied, "I was just thinking." "About?" she asked, leaning into him. "About what our children are going to be like." he told her, kissing her neck. Then, he took one of his hands, and lifted her right hand so that they could both see the diamond ring he had given her three months ago. Inside the hospital room, Faith lay on the bed, her hair down and damp with sweat. She lay with a tiny pink bundle in her arms. Xander approached slowly, and saw his daughter's small head with a pink cap on it. "Hey." He cooed softly to Faith, taking her hand, and sitting on the edge of her bed. He loved this woman, and so many things had gone great for her lately. First, Xander landed two other contracting jobs, and then Buffy and Joyce had adopted Faith into their family, making her Buffy's sister. Yes, everything had gone really well for her. "Hey." she replied, giving him a small, exhausted smile. "Is this....her?" Xander asked looking down at the small baby girl. Faith nodded. "Here." She said, raising the child into his arms. Xander felt awkward at first, but then he smiled. "What's her name?" the nurse who had come in to check on them asked. "Haylee Jo." both Xander and Faith said. They had agreed on that name a while ago. Xander laid his daughter back in Faith's arms, and went to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Xander leaned down, and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead. They were a family now. All three of them. A family.
*To be continued........*
Xander yawned tiredly, and rubbed his eyes, as he started down the stairs. "What?" he asked, "What's going on? Is someone hurt?" He paused at the bottom of the stairs in front of Faith. She shook her head, looking shaken up herself. "Faith? Is someone in trouble?" Faith was about to shake her head again, but paused. She looked up at him, and nodded. "Trouble? Yeah, someone's in trouble." She said. "What!" Xander was suddenly awake now, "Well, come on! We should help!" He went for his jacket on the coat rack by the door. Faith grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "It's not bad trouble, and it's not any of your friends." she told him, calming his nerves. "Faith, we've been through this already," Xander told her, "They're your friends too. They just don't know what to-" "Xander, I'm pregnant." Faith told him. Xander gaped at her. He reminded her of his father at this moment. "Well, say something." she said. "I-I...y-you're... you're pregnant?" he asked as if to confirm. Faith nodded, and put a hand on her belly. "Yep, you know, little baby Harris growing inside here." she told him, rubbing her stomach. "You're kidding, right? Nice little joke to play on the gullable Xander, right?" he asked. He tried to think it was just one big joke, but deep down, he knew better. "Listen, is there somewhere that we can talk privately?" she asked him. "Yeah, just let me grab my coat." Xander replied. He grabbed his coat off the rack, and opened the door. Faith walked out, and he followed. Xander thought of where they should go. It was ten thirty, on Halloween, so Buffy was probably at the Bronze with Willow. Giles was probably at home doing whatever it is that he does to relax, or he was at the library doing more research. Angel had already been gone in LA for two months, so the old mansion he used to live in was probably empty. Yes, that's where he'd take her. To the mansion.
As they walked, Xander could practically feel the tension pushing them apart. He didn't want the tension, though. He loved her. Loved her more than anything. Of course, at first, it was just about her being hot, but now. Xander shook his head, and looked at Faith from the corner of his eye. She looked very worried, scared, and upset. But there was also confusion on her face. He did love her, and he had loved her ever since that night of passion they had had together. But that night of passion was why they were in this situation now. During the last minutes of their walk, Xander broke the tension between them, and took hold of Faith's hand. When he looked at her out of the corner of his eye this time, she looked a little more at ease. Inside the mansion, Faith sat on the floor in front of the fire, cross legged. Xander faced her sitting the same. "What are we going to do?" he asked her. "Well, I figured I'd leave town after we told Buffy and the gang. I'd probably go up to LA or something, have the kid and then put it up for adoption. You know, don't want to turn out like my mother and put the kid through that hell." Faith told him, tears welling up in her eyes. She turned her head away from him, letting her hair fall in front of her. "What?" Xander asked, shocked at her statement, "You can't leave!" "Why not?" she questioned, still not looking at him, "You're two weeks into a contracting job, and I'm a Slayer. You have a whole life ahead of you, and I doubt you want a pregnant girlfriend, and, later on, a kid." Xander put his fingers to her chin, and turned her head so he could look her in the eyes. "Faith," he told her confidently, "I love you, and whatever we have, we have together. I'm not one of those guys who leaves their girl when they find out she's pregnant. I'm part of this whole thing, so I'm going to take responsibility. I just don't know if you feel the same way." "I love you too." Faith choked out. She let the tears run freely down her cheeks now. Xander moved closer, and put his arms around her, holding her tightly. Faith welcomed the tight embrace. She had no idea how she was going to get through this before, but now she knew she had Xander. The hard part came next. Telling their friends.
After letting the bombshell off on their friends, the couple started working out plans. Buffy seemed to take it okay, Giles however was totally shocked and had to lie down with an ice pack for half an hour. Willow, on the other hand, had smiled weakly, and walked out of the Magic Box, followed quickly by Oz. After a few days, though, everyone was their normal selves again. Xander was moving out of his parents' place, and they had put up money for a nice roomy apartment near the construction sight. Faith had moved out of her crappy hotel room, and the gang helped her move into the apartment as well. Everyone in the Scooby gang was actually accepting her, and wanted to help in any way possible. On that Friday, Xander proposed to her, and Faith happily accepted. There was one thing that was troubling Buffy, though. Faith could tell.
"Giles?" Buffy walked into the Magic Box. She saw Giles at the table in the center of the room, and headed over. "What is it, Buffy?" Giles asked, still reading his book, "You're early for training." "I thought Slayers couldn't get pregnant." she shot at him. Giles looked confused. "That's why I'm researching." he told her, "Faith's not a slayer." Buffy just looked at him, as she sat down. "Okay, explain this to me, cause I just gotta hear it." Giles sighed, and set down his book, "Allright. There is another Slayer that the Council has over in England. Faith, on the other hand, is not the Slayer. She is the daughter of a Slayer. After her mother had her, she died. The Council went to all measures, after that, to make sure Slayers couldn't have children, or else there would be too many little half Slayers running around." "So the mom Faith remembers is her adopted mother?" Buffy asked. Giles nodded. "But how did the Council make it so Slayers can't have children?" "Well, you see, they performed a spell of some sort, and then the Watcher is supposed to put a potion in their charges drink or food." Buffy gave him a deadly glare. "Don't worry, I never did. So you're fully capable of having children." Buffy relaxed. "So, she's not really a Slayer, huh?" she said, leaning back. "Yes, but Faith knows nothing about her real mother." Giles stated. Buffy frowned. "Well, now I do." Faith said from the door. Both Giles and Buffy turned. "Faith, I-" Giles started. "Save it. I've known for a while about my real mom. Made Wesley tell me before he went off the LA." Faith walked over towards them. "Why didn't you tell us?" Buffy asked. "I guess I was afraid. You know, when it comes to people and socializing, I don't exactly get the A+." she replied, sitting down. Her stomach was not yet showing, but the nausea thing she had down pretty well. "We would've understood something like that." Buffy continued, "We're friends, Faith. Sharing is what friends do." "I know," Faith replied, "I just couldn't deal with it right then. I mean, he left around the same time I found out I was pregnant a few weeks ago. I had bigger fish to fry, you know?" Buffy and Giles both nodded. "I can contact the Council and get your mother's file for you if you like." Giles told her. Though he had only known Faith for about a year, he was really quite fond of her. Just like he was fond of Buffy. These two Slayers were his girls. Faith nodded her approval. Giles got up, and went to his office, shutting the door behind him. "Now, what can I do for you?" Buffy asked, smiling wide at Faith, who returned the smile greatfully. "Well," she said, "I figured when you got off work, maybe you'd like to go crib and other baby excessories shopping with me and Xander?" "Sure!" Buffy said, happily, "But why would you need me if Xander's going?" "Two reasons." Faith replied, "One, to carry stuff out to the car. Ever since I got pregnant, Xander doesn't want me doing any physical activities. And two, because Xander's a guy and his attention span is about three minutes long." Both women laughed. "Allright, I'll go." Buffy said, looking at the clock. "Shoot! I'm late for work!"
***nine months later***
"Yeah, got it. Right away, Buffy." Julian, Buffy's boyfriend, and Xander's partner contractor said, hanging up the phone. He went over to the door of his trailer and grabbed his coat and briefcase. "Who was that, boss?" Danny, Julian's personal assistant asked him, walking into the trailer. "Buffy," Julian replied, also grabbing Xander's coat and briefcase as well, "Faith's in labor. You're in charge now, Danny." "Right, boss." Danny said, handing him a hard hat, "Mr. Harris is on the third floor checking the emergancy sprinkler system." "Thanks, Danny." Julian said, putting the hardhat on. He walked outside. "Oh! And tell Mrs. Harris congratulations!" Danny shouted after him. "Will do, Danny!" Julian said as he entered the elevator. On the third floor, he saw Xander, in a nice shirt and pants, wearing a hard hat, and inspecting tiny metal pipes with huge gloves. "These look good, Charlie. Real good." Xander said, taking his gloves off, and laying them next to a tool box. He looked up, and saw Julian standing there. "Come on, man." Julian said, throwing his coat at him, "It's time." Xander's eyes went wide, and he hurriedly put on his jacket. He followed Julian into the elevator, and then to the car. When they reached the hospital, Julian took his best friends coat. "Go, man. Go." He told Xander as they reached the floor. Xander nodded, and took off down the hall to where Dawn, Willow and her husband Oz, Joyce and Giles all sat. As he approached, Buffy opened the hospital room door. She smiled at Xander, and gave him a huge hug. "Congratulations." she told him, "You can go on in, Daddy." Buffy stepped aside, and let him through. Julian came up behind her as she shut the door quietly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "What?" She asked him, smiling. "Nothing," he replied, "I was just thinking." "About?" she asked, leaning into him. "About what our children are going to be like." he told her, kissing her neck. Then, he took one of his hands, and lifted her right hand so that they could both see the diamond ring he had given her three months ago. Inside the hospital room, Faith lay on the bed, her hair down and damp with sweat. She lay with a tiny pink bundle in her arms. Xander approached slowly, and saw his daughter's small head with a pink cap on it. "Hey." He cooed softly to Faith, taking her hand, and sitting on the edge of her bed. He loved this woman, and so many things had gone great for her lately. First, Xander landed two other contracting jobs, and then Buffy and Joyce had adopted Faith into their family, making her Buffy's sister. Yes, everything had gone really well for her. "Hey." she replied, giving him a small, exhausted smile. "Is this....her?" Xander asked looking down at the small baby girl. Faith nodded. "Here." She said, raising the child into his arms. Xander felt awkward at first, but then he smiled. "What's her name?" the nurse who had come in to check on them asked. "Haylee Jo." both Xander and Faith said. They had agreed on that name a while ago. Xander laid his daughter back in Faith's arms, and went to sit next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Xander leaned down, and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead. They were a family now. All three of them. A family.
*To be continued........*