I apologize for the absurdly long wait for this installment. I have the next chapter finished, I am editing it now. Thank you for your patience and I hope I still have some readers out there!
Chapter 7
Something was up, she thought. There was some kind of ulterior motive and she wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was. She had left Brady with Fred, joking about infants having play dates; there was no reason to bring her baby to what was sure to be a tension filled lunch. Drumming her fingers impatiently on the glass tabletop, Buffy wondered why Dawn had insisted they go out for lunch. Buffy was suspicious any time any one insisted on being in a public space, especially when the person was Dawn and she 'wanted to talk.' That statement had alerted Buffy that Dawn was in some kind of trouble.
Angel had left early, obviously tired, but determined to get back to saving the world. She had been reluctant to admit it, but she enjoyed having Angel all to herself. As selfish as she thought it was, she couldn't help but miss that he wasn't going to be with her all day. Even Brady seemed to miss Angel after he had left.
Sipping her ice tea, she fought back a sigh and forced herself to be calm. Whatever had happened, or was going to happen, she and Dawn would figure it out. They always had. Snickering a little at the memories of Dawn and her antics as a younger woman, Buffy carefully controlled her features when she saw Dawn starting to approach the table.
Standing, Buffy enveloped her sister in a tight hug. "Hey, Dawnie."
Smiling tightly, Dawn sat down and ordered a mimosa. Pointedly ignoring Buffy's incredulous look, she accepted the menu from the waitress and buried her eyes in it.
"A little early to be drinking, isn't it?"
"It's five o'clock somewhere," Dawn mumbled.
Forcing herself to relax in her chair, Buffy toyed with the ice cubes in her tea and waited for Dawn to start speaking. This was her sister's show and Buffy didn't want to rush whatever revelation was coming.
Swallowing hard, Dawn waited for her drink. When the waitress brought it, she quickly ordered another one, downing half the drink in one gulp. After both women had ordered their lunches, Dawn finished the other half of the orange liquid.
Buffy raised her eyebrows but kept quiet. Dawn seemed to be very intently studying the passing people on the sidewalk. The outdoor area of the restaurant was sunny and colored in calming blues and greens. The awning of the building overhead and the concrete beneath their feet provided enough of a cooling effect to prevent overheating of the patrons. Buffy wondered if Dawn had chosen this place because she knew Buffy enjoyed it.
Without breaking eye contact from the spot of concrete on the sidewalk she had chosen to focus on, Dawn took a deep breath and started, "I have something important to tell you. You have to swear not to get mad or start screaming."
"Is that why we're here? So I can't make a scene? Trust me Dawnie, I am not above public embarrassment."
"It's not funny Buffy!" Her head snapped towards her sister as their salads were set in front of them.
Pushing a mandarin orange around her plate, Dawn pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Seeing that expression, Buffy was certain that whatever Dawn was about to say was very bad. Stealing herself for news of an accidental homicide or pregnancy, either of which would have been equally bad Buffy thought, she chewed silently. Dawn stabbed a walnut angrily.
"I don't think the salad is making you mad. Talk to me Dawn and stop punishing the innocent nuts."
That got a small smile on Dawn's face. "Okay." Looking up at her sister, she took a deep breath. "I've been seeing someone and no one knows about it. It's really serious."
Buffy's shoulders sagged as relief flooded through her. "That's it? You wanted to tell me you're serious with someone? Dawn, that's great! I mean, I wish I would have met the guy earlier, but still, I'm happy for you." Seeing the look on Dawn's face, Buffy paused and winced. "You're pregnant, aren't you? You and serious guy are pregnant."
Dawn's fork clattered to the plate. "N-N-No…" she stuttered, "No, I'm, we're, not pregnant. God no."
Trying not to take offense to the look of distaste on her sister's face, Buffy didn't try and hide the confusion written on her own features. "Well, what's wrong, then?"
Taking a long drink of the second mimosa in front of her, Dawn swallowed hard. "We went to Vegas and got really drunk. I didn't mean to do it, Buffy. I never meant to hurt you and you can't disown me for it. You have to accept it because you're my sister and you love me. So, um…we got married in Vegas."
Buffy's jaw dropped as Dawns' words spilled from her mouth in one long sentence. Finding herself too shocked to answer, she watched Dawn delicately put a piece of lettuce and orange in her mouth. Finally able to move her mouth, Buffy took a deep breath and licked her suddenly dry lips.
"Are you going to stay married?"
"Yes. We are."
Before Buffy could respond with her request to meet her new brother in law, her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller I.D. in annoyance, Buffy flipped the phone open. No one called her from Wolfram and Hart unless it was an emergency. Anything less than an emergency interrupting their conversation, she vowed, would end in someone in losing a limb.
She answered tartly, but regretted it as soon as Gunn spoke. "What do you mean she hasn't been seen in hours?"
"She left a couple of hours ago, took a company car, no one has seen her since. I've called her about twenty times, no answer. Where would she go?"
"Are the cars lo-jacked?"
She heard the sound of Gunn typing as she waited on the other end. After a few moments, he said, "Yeah, the one she took was. Angel's aren't, he forbids it, but she took a general company car, anyone in the firm can rent it out."
"Okay, give me an address and I'll meet you there."
Scribbling the address on a napkin, she closed the phone and started to pull bills out of her wallet. "Gunn's worried about Faith, she hasn't returned his calls for a few hours. I'm meeting him to try and find her."
Slightly offended that her sister was leaving her so suddenly and for something so unimportant, Dawn didn't keep the edge of anger from her voice. "I'm sure she's fine. You know Faith, maybe she just needed a little alone time."
"Yeah I know, but Gunn sounds haywire, I need to calm him down. Do you recognize this address?"
Studying the napkin, Dawn tried to recall if the address was one she was familiar with. "I've never been there; I don't think it's in any files I've read. As far as I know, Wolfram and Hart doesn't have any business there, but I wouldn't be the right person to ask."
Nodding, Buffy stood, "We'll talk later, okay? Just…um…call me later today and we'll figure all this out."
As Buffy walked to her car, she was almost glad that she and Dawn had been interrupted. As she left, she heard her sister order two more drinks and a cab from the waitress. Her head was swimming. Dawn, her little sister, was married before she was. Admonishing her selfishness, Buffy mentally shook herself. Thanking whatever higher power was listening that Faith had chosen that moment to disappear for some alone time, she turned the car towards the historic district.
Turning her mind to happier thoughts, she pictured her baby in her mind's eye. By the time she had reached the address on the napkin, she had almost managed to forget that Dawn had married some mysterious man while drunk in Las Vegas.
Waving to Gunn, she stepped up to the small store, wrinkling her nose in disgust. The building smelled like urine, the paint was peeling in long stripes down the concrete. Standing in front of the doorway with Gunn, Buffy's feeling about Faith leaving for some personal time suddenly started to wane.
Gunn's face was crestfallen as they stood outside what should have been a condemned building. She was sure that he had hoped that Faith had left for some business related to the slayer school. The location of the car, which was parked just in front of Gunn's SUV, proved different. There was no reason Buffy could possible fathom that could bring Faith to this place. Taking a deep breath, Buffy thought wryly that her day was just getting better and better.
