Trying to stay calm, Buffy gently moved Tory out of the way and completed her trip. "Hey guys." Her voice shook only a little. "Faith told me you might be coming. Would you like to come in?" Buffy forced a smile as she opened the door wider – and then she pointed to Faith and Tory. Better to get this part out of the way now. "You know Faith, my fiancé; and that is my daughter Tory."
Let the fun begin. Buffy braced for the explosion.
It didn't happen right away. Faith got up slowly and walked to the door, too. Neither of the girls had come in yet, and she could see Tory was starting to freak. "Hey, Little T, can you grab us some drinks from the kitchen? Just soda for all of us, and I'll be there in a minute to help carry them out."
Tory gave her a wide-eyed nod and bolted. Smart kid.
"You guys better come in. Think there's a lot of shit we need to talk about." Making her position perfectly clear, Faith took Buffy's hand and kissed her softly. "That's husband. Not fiancé."
To make the situation even more farcical, Scott showed up with the pizzas. Buffy went with the addition. "Tory, your boyfriend is here," she called out, giving the teenager a wink as she turned and walked into the living room. Scooping up her laptop, Buffy placed it on the end table.
Tory gave her a dirty look as she handed off the sodas before stomping over to the door. "Were you both born in a barn? In or out?" she snapped at the still-motionless Willow and Tara.
Buffy couldn't help it. She snickered at Tory's questions.
"She sounds so much like Dawn," Tara said softly. She finally stepped into the house and made a beeline for Buffy. Almost before Buffy turned, Tara wrapped her up in a big hug. "She looks seven or eight, Buffy. How?"
Returning the hug, Buffy avoided an answer. "All in time," she promised, giving a silent Willow a brief embrace. She stepped away from her friends as Faith stalked past. Uh oh. Buffy bit her lip to hide a smile and watched the show.
Tory was way too young for this guy, Faith thought, as she scowled at the swooning little girl. What was he? Some child molester in the making? She stopped a few feet away from the door hung out by the door, arms crossed, and let the Slayer peek out.
Scott took one look at Faith and went grey. "Hey, uh…I have other deliveries. Maybe…maybe I should go."
Faith rewarded his brilliance with a teeth-baring smile. "Good plan. Very good. Bye."
He turned and bolted.
"Mom!" Tory whined as Faith closed the door behind the fleeing Scott with a bang. Lip thrust out, she glared at everyone and then did a little bolting of her own.
"Faith, he's harmless. His girlfriend is one of Tory's babysitters. Do you honestly think I would let anything happen? Cut me some slack. Now, I suggest you think about how to fix that," Buffy ordered firmly, pointing at the stairs Tory had just used.
Swallowing hard, Faith nodded. "Yeah. Sorry, B." She looked ready to face a firing squad as she moved closer.
Willow stared at the scene silently. If Buffy hadn't been worried about Faith and Tory, she might have asked if Willow was all right.
Tara's reaction, though, helped Buffy relax. Smiling crookedly, Tara said, "I'm going to step out on a limb and say Tory was pre-Sunnydale. When you still lived here in LA."
"Yeah, I had her when I was fifteen," Buffy answered. "Her father Pike and I ran away to Vegas when I got kicked out of school. When we found out I was pregnant, Mom told me we should let his parents raise her." It sounded so cold blooded, and Buffy took a deep breath. She had to get this out. Had to explain. "Mom was right – for all the wrong reasons. I didn't want Tory anywhere near the Slaying. I left her here and moved to Sunnydale, but when Willow activated all the Slayers… I knew this was my chance to be her mom. She accepted back without question when I came back." By the end of her brief explanation, Buffy was fighting tears.
"You lied to all of us, even Dawn. How could you not tell us about her Buffy?" Willow shouted, finally breaking her silence.
"Probably because you're a selfish bitch with even less tact than me." Faith wasn't going to let Willow get away with her usual shit. "Put the attitude away, Red, or you and me are throwing down right here."
Willow glared at Faith and her skin burned.
Faith didn't care. "B was fifteen when she had Tory. Fifteen," she repeated. "Add to that she just got activated and her life sucked. Would you have been big with sharing? Fuck no. I bet until the whole First thing, B tried not to think about Tory. Do you have any idea what it's like to think you're going to die any time? That the next patrol is your last? You don't go into that thinking about the past or some maybe future. You just think about the now."
Buffy tried to compose herself, but the tears kept flowing. "I was planning on telling you guys, but I wanted to get settled in as a mom before I did. I'm sorry for taking off, but I've earned this." She wiped at her eyes a couple of times before turning to Faith. "Can you take Tara upstairs and introduce her to Tory, please?"
"Sure, baby." Faith didn't want to leave Buffy, though. Willow still looked pissed and she wanted to be there. But she got up and waited for Tara to join her. "You need anything, just yell." Faith made sure to meet Willow's eyes when she said it.
Tara was really quiet as they started up the stairs. Faith almost felt sorry for her. She was always trying to smooth over Willow's issues and stupid comments. When they reached the second floor, Faith led her to Tory's room. The little girl was huddled in her big rocking chair, sketch pad in hand – and Faith could see the glimmer of tears on her face.
Leaving Faith at the door, Tara tentatively walked over to the spitting image of Buffy and knelt in front of the chair. "H-hi, T-tory, I'm your Aunt Tara. It's nice to meet you." She offered her hand but instead got knocked to the floor. "Goddess, is this how you got greeted, Faith?" She held Tory gently, feeling tiny arms squeeze around her.
"Pretty much. Like you said, the kid's a lot like Dawn." Faith grinned at Tara as she and Tory sprawled on the floor. "She's got good taste, though. Always thought you deserved a good hug."
Tory looked up at me. "Aunt Faith…" Oops. She'd been watching Buffy. Faith wiggled and bounced, not meeting Tory's stern look. Finally, she let Faith off the hook, turning her attention back to Tara. "Sorry, Aunt Tara, I didn't mean to knock you over." Faith could see her blush as she got up and held out a hand to Tara. "I…Mom says I just get carried away sometimes."
Tara sat and smiled. "Your Mom is like that, too. I think it's a Summers thing. So, Faith, how are you handling all this?" Tara really wanted to know. The situation was mind boggling – even for her. She could feel a little power in Tory. Nothing like that of a full Potential. But the Slayer heritage was clear. Faith still hadn't responded, and Tara decided to back off. "Tory, you have a nice spread here."
"Yeah, Aunt Faith bought it for me while I was in school today." Tory was all little-girl excited as she pointed out some of the supplies. With a big grin, she continued. "And we're looking for a house, Aunt Tara. For the three of us and my horses, and I think I heard Mom mention something about dogs and cats, too."
Tara glanced at Faith and raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
If Willow had asked that, Faith would have lost it. Tara was different. She wasn't mocking or mean. She just wanted to know. "Yeah. I…" Faith looked at Tara almost shyly. "I love B. I always have. She loves me, too." She held up my hand, showing off Joyce's ring. "We're a family now."
"And Aunt Faith wants Mom to get pregnant with triplets to fill the other three bedrooms in the house." Tory was nearly bouncing from the force of her giggles.
Tara reached for Faith's hand. "I didn't know what family was until I met
Buffy. We may have fights and arguments, but things always work out." She seemed to suddenly realize exactly what Faith's ring was. "And I'm glad you have 'your'family now, too, Faith."
Before Faith could respond, Tory interrupted. Her laughter was gone, and she seemed sad. "I thought Mom and Aunt Willow were best friends."
Out of the mouth of babes. Faith had a feeling things downstairs were going to get loud before they get better. "They are, Little T." She met Tara's eyes. "That's the problem. For a long time, your mom and Willow were kinda just the two of them. They shared everything. Slaying, school, boys…Since your mom couldn't tell your grandma all her secrets, she told Willow. When she didn't tell about you, she hurt Willow's feelings." That and Willow was a fucking control freak, but Faith left that part out.
Faith couldn't know how right she was in her explanation. Buffy waited just long enough for Faith and Tara to disappear before turning on Willow. She honestly don't know what to do. "What do you want me to say, Willow? Yeah, I hid Tory, but like Faith said, I figured I would never see her again. And to warn you, again, you might want to keep your voice down. Faith is a little protective of her family." Buffy relaxed slightly when she made that statement; she loved reminding herself of that.
"I noticed," Willow mumbled sullenly. "She almost attacked that pizza boy." OK, that might be an exaggeration, but not much of one. "Since when did Faith get a pass into the family, Buffy? We've always just tolerated her. I mean, she's been way better since getting out of prison, but how do you really know you can trust her? What if she suddenly goes off the deep end again?" Willow wanted to close her eyes at that last question. Why couldn't she stay on topic? Faith wasn't the problem. Not really. It was Tory and the not knowing.
"Two words, Wil, Warren Mears." Yeah, that was low, but Willow needed to understand. "We gave you a pass because he put Tara in a coma. In here…" Buffy pointed to her heart. "Faith has always been family. I was too young and stupid to realize what was there before. I'm not now."
Buffy's words hurt. Willow blinked back tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. How could Buffy compare her to Faith? She opened her mouth to say something – and then stopped. Buffy was right, even if Willow didn't want to admit it. "I'm sorry. So sorry." Willow was supposed to be Buffy's best friend. Buffy was supposed to know she could come to her. She didn't. Willow had let her down. "Please, tell me what happened."
Buffy gave Willow the more detailed story than she'd given Faith. She knew Willow would fill in any gapes in the tale if Tara asked. By the time she finished, she was tired. Only a little more left to reveal. "My original plan was to wait until Tory's school year was over and head to Cleveland for the big surprise. But now we're just going visit and do the intros because I'm a mom first. Tory's friends are here, and I don't want to uproot her." Buffy slowly relaxed, not feeling any angry vibes from Willow anymore.
"I think I knew you weren't ever coming to Cleveland." Willow got up and sat next to Buffy, leaning her head on Buffy's shoulder. "When you didn't show up after the first couple of months, I knew." Tears leaked out. Willow missed Buffy so much, but she'd always been up front about wanting to quit. Sucking up the hurt and the stabbing sense of loss, she asked softly, "Are you happy, Buffy?"
"I thought I was happy when it was only me and Tory. When Faith showed up, though, I felt complete." She picked up Willow's hand and placed it in her lap. "You know, you could do New Council stuff from here. I hear there is this nice family home possibly opening up. Tory wants to be the elder stateswoman of the next generation." Wrapping Willow up in a tight hug, Buffy asked hesitantly, "So, you want to meet your niece?"
It took Willow a second to answer. She was all caught up in the first part of Buffy's comments. The offer of moving didn't suck. Neither she nor Tara was really happy in Cleveland. It had been a good plan at the start, but it was more and more Kennedy's idea of a Slayer Army. And Willow was tired of the paperwork and politics. Who would have thought she'd miss the old days of research parties and doughnuts? "I'd love to meet Tory." The rest could wait until she talked with Tara. "Thank you, Buffy…for not throwing me out after I blew up and for letting me stay a part of your life."
Buffy kissed Willow's cheek. "I could never kick you out of my life. You were my
first friend, and you accepted me as the Slayer without thinking I was a crazy freak." Hoping that repetition would help Willow accept it faster, Buffy murmured, "I hope you can handle me now that I am a mother." She didn't dwell on that, though. Instead, she leaned back and shouted, "Tory!"
Buffy's shout left Willow's ears ringing, but she ignored the pain. She really wanted to get to know Tory. Her niece… About that time, footsteps sounded on the stairs and a blonde bullet streaked their way.
"Mom!" Tory's voice was almost as loud as Buffy's had been.
Willow hunched her shoulders. Goddess, she must have really scared Tory. She looked at Willow as if she'd been trying to fillet Buffy as she launched herself at her mother.
Buffy saw the flying body and pushed Willow to the floor. She snagged Tory out of the air and dumped her on top of Willow. "Tory, this is your Aunt Willow. She is going to teach you how to babble." Spotting Faith lurking at the edge of the couch, she mimicked Tory's jump – right into Faith's arms. "Hi, sexy; I'm hungry. How about you?" Buffy's grin grew. She was giving her own mini tutorial on babbling. That didn't stop her from adding, "And I think I might have a buyer for this place."
"You move fast, B," Faith said with a leer. She felt safe doing that since Tory had her head buried in Willow's neck. "Let's get you fed, though. I remember just how grumpy you get when you don't eat enough. Hey, T? Your mom still got all those yoghurts in the fridge?"
The little blonde head popped up. "Yoghurt? Mom hates that stuff."
Willow started giggling at that and Faith grinned at her. Oh, yeah. She so remembered that conversation, too.
Sensing a sudden gang-up at her expense, Buffy kissed Faith's lips. "Willow, cover Tory's ears," she order, ignoring Tory's pout as Willow's hands clasped the side of her head. "Yes, the yogurts were a big cover for me being a raging nympho. Now, husband, to the kitchen." Laying her head on Faith's shoulder, Buffy enjoyed the laughter from Tara and Willow.
"I knew it," Faith breathed into Buffy's ear. "I knew you were really just like me under all that holier than thou crap."
