A/N: Meant to have this up yesterday, but now they've got me working Sundays which has thrown my whole schedule off. Updates after today might have to move to Wednesdays, which is my other normal day off. Anyway NOW we're getting the plot going.
Chap. 7: Little Moments- February 05
"Higher, Mama, higher!" a curly-haired brunette yelled from her place on the swing set. No fear whatsoever was on her face.
Faith smiled at the look of pure joy on her daughter's face as she moved to continue pushing the girl as requested. The two had been at the indoor park down the street for almost an hour now, and Nevaeh loved every minute of it, especially since she had her Mama all to herself for once. Faith was just happy the city had put in this park, since outside it was much too cold to play at the outdoor park. This way kids could get their energy out, year round.
Ever since the Chosen Two had gotten together as a couple, they had always done things as a family. Today was different, Nevaeh wanted to go to the park and Buffy had some things to do at the school. They had discussed waiting until Buffy was done, but Faith decided she wanted a little one-on-one time with her daughter. She told Buffy as much, and the blonde just gave her a big smile and told them to have fun.
"Underdog, Mama!" the girl demanded this time.
"You want another underdog, huh?" Faith asked, trying to keep the laughter from sneaking out. "Alright here we go," she told her, as she pulled the swing back as far as it would go, before running forward, pushing the girl up in the air as she ducked underneath her, careful not to send her too high, earning a high pitched scream from Vaeh.
The mini-Slayer begrudgingly got off the swing several minutes later when her Mama told her she needed a break. Almost as soon as her feet hit the ground, she took off running for the jungle gym. "Mama, come watch me," she yelled as she headed towards the top of the slide.
Faith glanced around, grateful that the few people around didn't seem to pay attention to her little rug-rat, who was running far too fast for a normal four-year old. Maybe she should talk to Giles about putting in a small playground at the school. Several more Slayers were pregnant right now, and no one knew yet if their babies would have powers. Chances were though that if her and Buffy did manage to have another one, that their baby would be a Slayer.
When she was sure her Mama was watching her, Vaeh took off at a run, belly flopping down on to the slide, and zooming on down. "Careful, baby, you're gonna break your neck doin' that," Mama told her.
"I okay, Mama," she insisted, standing back up where she'd landed at the bottom of the slide.
"You're as stubborn as your Mommy is what you are," Faith muttered, shaking her head, thinking about her wife.
Tilting her head to the side, looking up at her mother, she concentrated hard, trying to figure out what the word was her Mama had just used. She shook her head, realizing she didn't know it. "What stubborn?"
Faith smiled, impressed. Her baby's speech was getting better all the time. She still had a hard time putting sentences together correctly, but she was getting much better at pronouncing words right. Buffy was constantly working with her, whenever she mispronounced a word. "It means you do whatever you want, and don't give up, even when people tell you different," she tried to explain, unsure if she was doing it right.
"I, stubborn," Vaeh nodded her head in agreement. "Build castle now?"
"Alright, go get your stuff," Faith told her nodding to where they'd set all of Veah's sand toys next to one of the picnic tables.
~BF~
Buffy had finished her tasks for the day and headed home, only to be greeted to an empty house. Must still be at the park, she thought to herself. Turning back around, she started walking towards the front of the compound.
Fifteen minutes later she stood under a fake tree, out of sight, as she watched her girls build a castle, both covered in sand.
"No, Mama, like this," she heard Vaeh instruct, taking the red bucket out of Faith's hand and filling it herself. Her wife watched their daughter intently as she showed her just how she wanted the bucket filed.
Buffy smiled, placing a hand on her stomach, willing another baby to be there. They hadn't succeeded last month, but they tried again last night. She was really hoping that this time it took. She wanted desperately to have her lover's baby. She wanted to know what her wife had felt when she'd been pregnant, the flutters, the kicks.
Vaeh stood up with the bucket in hand, ready to add it to the top of their already existing structure. Instead she tripped on her untied shoelace and ended up dumping the bucket all over Faith, making the blonde snicker. The sound was easily heard by both girls with their Slayer hearing, making Vaeh snap her head up to look.
"Mommy!" She yelled when she finally caught sight of her other mother. She took off running towards Buffy.
"Slow down, baby. Gonna trip on those shoelaces again," Buffy told her. When Vaeh finally reached her, she lifted her into her arms, giving her a big hug, breathing in her little girl scent. It didn't matter that it was mixed with sand and sweat, it only mattered that it was the pure scent of her daughter.
"Let's tie those shoes, eh?" she asked her daughter after they finally released their hug. Putting Vaeh back on the ground, she knelt so she could tie the pink Sketchers. She took her time, so that the preschooler could watch her, hoping soon she'd be ready to start learning herself.
By the time she'd finished, and stood up, Faith had finished shaking most of the sand off her body and made her way over to them. "Hey, babe," she greeted, placing a quick kiss on Buffy's lips.
"Uh uh, more," Buffy told her when she pulled away. Grabbing onto Faith's shirt, she pulled her back to her, kissing her deeply. "Much better," she breathed when they finally separated for the second time. "I was thinking on my way over here, maybe we could go out for pizza tonight."
"Chuck E. Cheese!" Nevaeh screamed at the mention of pizza.
"You haven't played enough today?" Faith laughed. Nevaeh just shook her head, giving her Mama an 'are you serious' look. "Alright, Chuck E. Cheese it is."
Buffy helped Nevaeh get her coat back on while Faith gathered up all of Nevaeh's toys. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she reached down and took the little girl's free hand, the other already tucked into her Mommy's as they made their way home. They had to stop and drop off the toys and grab their car since the nearest restaurant was too far to walk to.
~BF~
"I swear I can feel sand in places a person should not have sand," Faith complained, as they made their way home several hours later. Nevaeh was passed out in the back seat, exhausted from her very adventurous day.
"Well, soon as we get this munchkin to bed, I'll share a shower with you," Buffy whispered in her ear, running a hand on her wife's thigh. "Help you make sure to clean out every crack."
Faith gulped at what Buffy was surely implying. Now she couldn't wait to get home. As soon as they were through the compound gates, Faith tore down the path to their house, no longer restricted by speed limits. Throwing the car in park, she raced out the door, and up to their porch to unlock the door. Buffy moved more slowly, careful to lift Nevaeh out of her booster seat so that she didn't wake up.
Her baby really needed a bath, but she didn't want to wake her up, so she conceded to just changing her into clean pajamas. She vowed she'd get a bath first thing in the morning though. She could sleep dirty for one night.
Making her way into her bedroom, she heard the shower already running in their connecting bathroom. Stripping as she walked, she made her way through the partially closed door. When the last of her clothes were gone, she stepped up behind Faith under the stream of water.
"Bout time you got here, B."
"Well, now that I am, how about we see about getting those cracks cleaned." Picking up the washcloth, she proceeded to wash every inch of Faith's body.
~BF~
Faith whistled as she made her way through the cemetery, a group of Slayers-in-training behind her.
"Mrs. Summers, what's with the whistling? Won't that alert our presence?" asked Kellie, one of the newest girl's to join the school.
"Valid point," Faith told her, not realizing that she had in fact been whistling. She couldn't deny that she had been, she was just in that kind of mood. Buffy had done more than wash her body earlier. It was like the blonde had to worship her, and Faith couldn't complain. She couldn't remember ever coming that hard. "I figure we can try something different tonight. You all spread out and hide, I'll be bait." She spouted out, quickly coming up with the plan. "If anything attacks, it's your job to 'rescue me.' I'll just be an innocent bystander tonight."
Most of the vamps around here knew who she was, so she didn't know how well this would work. Maybe they'd get lucky and a stupid demon who didn't know her would find them.
Or maybe a whole pack of really stupid vampires, she thought, as she saw a group of at least eight, maybe more, making their way towards her. Ooh this is going to be a good night, she thought to herself.
"All alone tonight, Slayer?" the ring leader asked.
"Looks that way, don't it?"
"Our lucky night. Always did want to taste the blood of a Slayer. Looks like I'm gonna get my chance."
"Same old lines. Don't they ever get old? What you all sit around chatting, telling each other, 'now when we see the Slayer, this is what we're going to say.' Or are you all just that stupid?" the dark Slayer taunted.
"Big talk for someone who's outnumbered."
Faith smirked, she was gonna enjoy this. "Yeah, well I know something you don't."
"And what's that?"
"Two of your boys are about to be dust," she shot back at the same moment Carly and LeAnne staked the two flunkies furthest back. "Oh, did I mention I wasn't alone," she grinned, when the ring leader noticed not only those two girls, but the other six making their way out from behind the trees. "He's mine," Faith told the girls, pointing at mister mouth. All the girls nodded their heads in understanding, before going after the rest.
"Alright, big boy, let's dance." Pissed off, he ran at her, aiming to take a swing at her, but missed as she ducked, throwing out a leg and tripping him. "That all you got? Guess we ought to make this fair." She took her stake out of her pocket and threw it to stick high up in a tree. She was going to enjoy taking him out with her bare hands.
Sneering, the vamp got up. He maneuvered around her, trying to find a week spot, but she kept pace with him. Angry enough not to care at this point, he charged again, only to be lifted and thrown over her shoulders. "You boys never learn do you?"
He tried to get up, but she placed a nice kick to his stomach, keeping him on the ground. "Don't matter, Tarzar is coming. You'll be dead then. It's been prophesized." He grunted, trying to take an unneeded breath.
"Yeah, we'll see about that," she told him, before reaching down and twisting his head clean off his shoulders. Brushing the dust off her hands, she looked around to see the trainees had taken care of the rest of his buddies.
"Alright, girls, think it's time we get back. Got a name Giles needs to get to work on." She didn't know if any of the girls had heard what was said. They probably did, they all had Slayer hearing and he wasn't quiet about it.
As they made their way through the cold back to the compound, she couldn't help but think of what she'd heard. Sounds like they had a new big bad to deal with so she wanted to get Giles right on this Tarzar thing. They'd figure it out, just like the always did.
That wasn't what was bugging her though. They'd dealt with and beat prophesies before, but this felt different. Something about it struck a chord with her. She'd felt something coming for awhile now, but she didn't dare mention it to anyone, afraid it would bring it to life.
Looks like now she'd have to. Maybe a long time ago she wouldn't have cared about leaving this life, welcomed it on some days. But not anymore, she had too much to live for. She had a wife and a daughter, and if all went well another baby on the way.
She needed to talk to Giles. Get their Watcher on this, look for any prophesies about her death and figure out how to beat it if there was one. If it was completely unavoidable, well she'd deal, but she'd put it off as long as possible. She wanted to see their baby born.
They didn't yet know if Buffy was pregnant, since they'd only tried again the night before, but she was praying for all that she was worth now that she was. She wanted Buffy to have the same piece of her that Faith had of Buffy because she carried their daughter.
And if God forbid, anything happened to the both of them, at least Nevaeh wouldn't be alone. Well she'd never be alone anyway, with all her 'aunts' and 'uncles.' But that wasn't the same as a parent or a sibling.
When they hit the compound, the girls headed for the dorms while Faith headed straight for Giles' place, knowing he'd still be up. He always waited for them to get back from patrol before going to bed, incase anything came up. She quickly filled him in on what had happened, and her feelings on the subject.
"I understand, Faith. We'll get right on it, first thing tomorrow."
"Thanks, G-man."
"Go home, get some sleep. Don't worry, we'll figure this out."
She gave him a pat on the shoulder in a sincere thanks, before making her way back to her own home. She entered the house quietly, slipping her shoes off at the door and sitting them against the wall.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she entered their room to find her wife sleeping peacefully. For a minute she just stood there, staring at the beautiful woman she got to call her own. She wasn't sure how she'd gotten so lucky. She certainly didn't deserve it, but she'd forever be grateful.
"Faith, come to bed," Buffy told her groggily, making it evident she was still half asleep.
Quickly stripping out of her clothes, she threw them in the hamper, knowing Buffy would get on her case in the morning if she didn't. Slipping under the covers, she scooted up behind her lover, pulling her as close to her as humanly possible. She just laid there, letting the feeling take over her entire body, before finally relaxing enough to fall asleep.
Tomorrow she'd tell Buffy everything.
