Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own, much to my displeasure, any BTVS or KTE characters you may recognize. I am just borrowing them for a bit and plan on returning eventually, though they might be a bit scuffed. The characters that you do not recognize are mine to use and abuse.

Warning: Potty language and violence

They drove over to St. Monica's school to pick up Alexia, who came running out of the building, dragging her bright pink Barbie book back behind her.

Tara and Dawn moved over so the child could climb into the SUV.

"Daddy! Guess what we did today? We read a really cool story about a grouchy ladybug and then we made ladybugs and counted the number of spots on them and then the teacher hung them up on the bulletin board for everyone to see then we went to music and learned a really cool song about five monkeys jumping on the bed and then we went to lunch and then the playground and then we took a nap and I took mine next to Sara Rice who had a new puppy," she rattled off at a rate that would have boggled even Willow.

All of the adults blinked for a bit.

"Damn, she really sounded like Willow just then," Faith commented from the front seat. "Sorry Tara," she amended when she realized that what she said was a sensitive topic.

"Ummm! You said a bad word! Daddy and Mom said saying bad words isn't nice. They won't even let me say crap," Alexia said and pointed at Faith. "Who are you?"

"Sorry kid. I guess I'll have to watch my mouth. I'm Faith. I knew your dad back in high school – well, he was in high school and I hung out there a lot."

Alexia looked at her father expectantly, wanting to ask the important question but knew better than to ask it out loud in front of strangers.

Alex smiled at his daughter. "No, she's not like your mom and me. Faith is human and she knows about us. Now put your seat belt on so we can get going and don't say crap."

"Oh," the little girl said and struggled with the belt for a second before snapping it into place. "Did you remember about tonight? Mrs. Bennett gave us all a note to give to you to remind you about Parent night. She said it was important that you and Mom go. Who's going to stay with me when you go? Larry or can I go over to Mr. Luna's to see Uncle Cash?"

Uh?

"How about we stay with you tonight?" Tara asked her, smiling at Alexia gently.

"You're strangers," Alexia said, becoming shy all of the sudden.

"Lexi," Alex admonished his daughter. "Tara, Dawn, and Faith have known you since you were a baby."

He then spoke to the women, never taking his eyes off the road. "You don't have to watch her. My friend Larry was going to watch her."

Dawn spoke up. "We're already there and it's not like we have big plans for tonight."

"Thanks," he said.

The drive back to Alex's home was uneventful.

Once there, the women hung out while Alexia brought out her coloring books and crayons. She insisted that the others help her color and the women could not say no. Alex in the meantime, busied himself in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the humans and mentally preparing himself for Emily to return home and find a slayer in her house.

By five o'clock, dinner was ready and Emily walked in through the front door. She was wearing a pair of dirty jeans and an old concert t-shirt that had mud stains on it. It had been a long day at the Conservatory and she was really looking forward to a long hot shower, preferably one with Alex joining her.

The Gangrel took one look at the women sitting in the living room, zeroing in Faith's unfamiliar form. She looked over at Alex, an eyebrow arched, indicating that an important question was on her mind.

Alex came out of the kitchen, a towel slung over his shoulder. "Emily, this is Faith. Faith, this is Emily," he introduced the two women to each other.

"Hi," Faith said, giving Emily her most winning smile.

Emily gave her a frosty smile then turned on her partner. "Alex, didn't you once know a girl named Faith that was a vampire slayer?"

"That would be Faith," Alex said, unease in his voice as he slowly backed up.

Literally in a flash, Emily was by his side and grabbed hold of his ear and hauled him out of the room, out onto their backyard deck. Since it only takes twelve pounds of pressure to rip someone's ear off, Alex wisely didn't struggle and went where she wanted him.

As he was leaving, he tossed the spoon and towel towards Tara and yelled that the spaghetti sauce needed stirring.

All three women looked at each other with no small amount of trepidation.

Alexia smiled as she continued to color. "Daddy is in big trouble," she announced.

Once outside, Emily turned on her partner and lover, though careful to keep her voice low enough so the neighbors wouldn't hear her words. "Are you out of your fucking mind? You let a Slayer into our home? Does Cash and Luna even know that she's in the city? Why the fuck is she in our house? Couldn't she get a hotel, sleep on the beach, or something? Do I even have to remind you that you are Kindred?"

The tirade went on for a bit longer and Alex sat there on one of the Adirondack chairs he had build the year before taking it.

Eventually, Emily ran out of words.

Once this happened, he took a deep breath, mentally crossed himself, and explained himself. "Em, I know you're not happy," at this she snorted at his understatement. "Faith seems to be okay with things and yes, Luna and Cash know about her being in the city. She was brought in by the Watcher's Council to make sure Tara and Dawn were okay and to help find the amulet. I've been ordered by Luna to watch her like hawk."

"Does that include letting her into our home? She kills vampires for a living. Have you forgotten what we are considered by outsiders? What if she decides to off us in our sleep?" Emily asked her arms crossed across her chest, her deep blue eyes dark and narrowed. "Kick her the hell out."

"I can't do that to her. When I first met her, the Council let her, all of sixteen years old stay in some rat-hole flop house motel, not caring that a kid had no business being there," Alex explained.

"She's not sixteen anymore," Emily said. "If she's lasted this long as a slayer, then she should be able to find a hotel on her own that doesn't rent by the hour."

"I know, but I can't treat her how I was treated. I won't treat her like she's an inconvenience."

"But she is," Emily retorted. "She's a fucking slayer! We're Kindred. Our kinds mix like oil and water."

"We get along fine with Taylor," Alex reasoned.

"Taylor was Herd before she got made into Wonder Woman with a stake," Emily shot back. "She earned our trust a long time ago, Faith hasn't. Didn't she try to kill you back in high school?"

"Okay, yeah, she did try to kill me back then, but she was going through some bad times and had some major problems. Also, if I am to watch her, how can I watch her if I send her off to parts unknown? What if she goes out, causes some problems and gets herself killed?" Alex tried a new tactic, reason.

"Big fucking deal. She'll just be another dead slayer and you won't see me crying over it," Emily growled.

"Fuck Emily," Alex swore, pressing a hand to his forehead, feeling phantom head ache pains forming. "If she gets killed, the Watchers will send their army to the city and then we are all truly fucked. The Kindred will be outted and then will we not only have to deal with the normal clan rivalries, we will have a massive war with us on one side and the Slayers and Watchers on the other.

Emily thought that one over. "Can she be trusted?"

Alex nodded. "I honestly think so. She saw me fighting a Brujah today over in Oakland and I got shot in the process. It was a hell of an afternoon. Surprisingly, though she wasn't immediately let's-hold-hands-and sing-Kumbaya-My-Lord, she seemed to accept that we aren't like Primordials. In fact she's handled it better than what I could expect," Alex said tiredly.

"Fine," Emily said and turned and slid back the sliding glass door. She stuck her head inside and called out sweetly to Faith. "Can you come outside so we can talk for a second please?"

Faith stood up and stretched. "Only if it means I don't get killed the minute I step outside," she said and walked over to the door.

"Not for now," Emily smiled a predatory smile. "Just a quick chit-chat between us is all I want."

Faith went outside and Dawn, Tara, and Alexia all looked at each other. The next thing they all did was run to the door and pressed their ears to the curtained glass, wanting to hear what was going on outside, even though it was partially muffled by the thick fabric.

"Well, so is this my execution or are you going to welcome me into your home with open arms?" Faith tensely asked, well aware that either thing could happen.

"It depends on you," Emily said, not a trace of humor in her voice.

"Okay," Faith said. "So what's the deal? I behave nicely and don't shove any wooden stakes into your hearts while you two don't start snacking on me."

"And you threaten any of us, you will be killed instantly. I will not have a Witch-hunter threaten the lives of my family and live," Emily said with chilling calmness. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. Of course if you try to do anything to Tara or Dawn, or even me, don't expect me to just stand there and take it. You bring it, I'll give it back just as hard," Faith replied, ever the tough one. "I haven't survived this long by being someone's doormat and I ain't about to start, even to the almighty Kindred."

Emily gave her a hard look before nodding. "It's good that there's an understanding between us."

Faith nodded, feeling a glimmer of respect growing for this woman. Very few people, or whatever Alex and Emily called themselves, had the balls to stand up to her and tell her like it is. "So how did you two crazy kids meet?" she said, switching topics without missing a beat.

Emily also grinned. "We met at a bar. One thing led to another and here we are now. The blood-sucking Brady Bunch."

Faith snorted. "Better the Brady Bunch than the Seavers from Growing Pains. That family was seriously disturbed," she said.

Emily nodded. "Yeah, could the family have been more perfect? Though I think the Tanner family from Full House was worse. The Olsen twins looked like monkey children and who in the hell has their best friend and dead sister's brother living with them? Not to mention that there is no way someone of Danny Tanner's economic bracket could afford a house that could actually house three adults and three children like that, plus at the end another adult and two more children."

"No joke," Faith agreed with her. "And I totally agree with you about those creepy Olsen twins. They are evil monkey children."

Alex looked between the two of them in amazement. Not even five minutes ago Emily had been about to castrate him over Faith being in their home and now they were ripping apart 80s and 90s sitcoms.

"Did I just enter the Twilight Zone and you guys forgot to tell me about it?" Alex asked.

"Can't two gals bond without a man interrupting things?" Emily asked with a smirk on her face. "Don't worry too much. I'll make you pay later." With that, both women went back into the house, leaving him to imagine the worst.

Crap.

XanderXanderXander

Later that night, after a dinner without the two Gangrel who both said that they just weren't in the mood to eat, the women hung out with Alexia while Alex and Emily got ready for their night at Alexia's school.

"I am not wearing a tie! I don't even own one!" Alex yelled at Emily who was telling him to wear something nice.

"I never said you had to wear a tie! Find a shirt that will cover up the tats and one that isn't ripped!" she shouted back at him from the bathroom.

"Goddamn it," he grumbled and dug into the back of the closet to find the one semi-dress shirt that he owned. "If I was worried about fashion I would have joined the Toreador clan."

"I heard that!" she yelled and came out of the bathroom, wearing a simple black skirt and light blue blouse. Her hair was gathered back at the nape of her neck and tied back into a simple pony tail. The effect helped to make her look a bit older than what she normally appeared as. "I so could see you spending eternity writing poetry and music," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Alex held up a blue and white striped button-down shirt and a pair of khakis. "Will this work, oh-fashion queen?" he asked.

"Fine," she said. "It will add some years on to you. You know eventually, clothes aren't always going to cut it for us."

"Yeah, I've been working on a couple of spells that would be able to temporarily make us look older. I don't want to use it unless we have to. I hate having to manipulate people's minds, it's such a violation, plus I could always end up screwing it up and hurting them in the process," he explained. Always, in the back of his mind, was the fear that he would be come so comfortable with magic that he would resort to it first and become addicted to it like Willow had become.

He finished getting dressed and by the time he joined everyone in the living room, it was time to go.

Emily had given Tara a list of important phone numbers that included Alexia's doctor, Poison Control, their cell phone numbers, and Larry and Reed's phone numbers.

"Make sure you find my ladybug on the bulletin board," Alexia said, hugging her father.

"I will and you be good. Mind Tara, Dawn, and Faith," he told his daughter. "We'll be back in about an hour or two. Call us if anything comes up. There are wards on all of the doors and windows, preventing anyone from getting in that aren't invited. Kindred don't need to be invited, so this is a stop-gap measure. Don't let anyone in. Even if Alexia recognizes them, there are clans that can shift their shape, disguising themselves as someone else."

Tara and the others nodded, understanding the need for security.

"Thanks for watching her and we'll be back soon," Emily said and soon left, with Alex in tow.

XanderXanderXander

They spent the next two hours wandering the halls of St. Monica's School, meeting Alexia's teachers, the principal, librarian, and even the custodian. Mrs. Bennett, Alexia's primary teacher, was a woman in her upper thirties, and had a vague resemblance to Madeline Khan. Mrs. Bennett was a nice enough lady and praised Lexi's academic potential and social skills. They found the ladybug that their child had gushed over and got to see other examples of the girl's work.

As they were walking through the cheerful halls, moving from classroom to classroom, they couldn't help overhear a couple of the staff commenting on how young the parents of Alexia Harris looked. Emily glanced over at Alex and eyeballed him, silently saying: I told you so.

Finally, they had seen everything there was to see and talked to everyone they were supposed to (not to mention signing up to help with holiday parties and the up coming school carnival).

Afterwards, they went out hunting, knowing that because of their lifestyle – being a parent to a human child and having human guests, their ability to hunt was sometimes limited. Therefore, since they had some time to kill before they were expected back, they enjoyed their little bit of freedom.

Once they were done, they headed back to the house and found that, to their surprise, everything was calm. Alexia was already in bed and the women were hanging out in the living room, watching the television.

Alex and Emily went into their bedroom and changed out of their "respectable" clothing.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" Dawn asked once the others had joined them in the front room.

"Em has work and I have to go in to the shop for a little bit. Also, our next move will depend on what Luna learns from Foley," Alex said easily.

"You work? Like as in a job?" Faith asked, and incredulous look on her face.

"What? Of course we work," Alex replied, a bit confused. "How do you think we can afford a house and send Lexi to a private school, stealing wallets and pocket change?"

"No, it's just, that, I don't know," the dark slayer said. "I just never thought a vampire would hold down a nine-to-five job."

Emily rolled her eyes. "We prefer the term Kindred thank you."

Alex grinned. "Em works at the Conservatory and I work in construction. Other than the Kindred stuff, we lead pretty normal lives."

"What about the demon killing thing? Hellmouth and slayer issues aside, that's not a normal, everyday thing," Dawn piped.

Alex shrugged and sank down on to the couch. "The both of us are enforcers for the Prince. We don't do it as much as we did before Lexi came to live with us, but we have our moments."

They chatted for awhile longer before someone brought up sleeping arrangements. After much arguing, Dawn settled it by announcing that Tara would take her bed, while Faith and she would sleep out in the living room, therefore allowing Alex and Emily to sleep in their own bed. Alex put up a token resistance, but was secretly glad that they were back in their bedroom. While he might trust Faith, he didn't like the idea of a Slayer being able to get that close to him when he was at his most vulnerable. He trusted her, but only to a point. He wasn't a Pollyanna fool.

Later he stepped out side to get some fresh air. Emily had gone to bed and he was still a bit restless. Alex stood there for a little while before the door quietly opened and closed gently, interrupting his peace and quiet. Without even turning, easily sensing who it was, he spoke. "What's up Faith?"

"You said that we would talk later and this is later," she retorted, her tone a bit defiant, the cool wind off the ocean whipping her hair around her face.

"You're right," Alex replied and turned. He sat down on one of the chairs and gestured towards the empty one across from him. When she didn't move, he said, "I don't bite, well not too much."

Faith snorted. "Oh you're the hilarious one. Is that a power you inherited along with the glowing eyes and the pointy teeth?"

Alex smiled in the dark. "Nope, I was born with that super power. Funny Man was my super-name and it came complete with a cape and spandex."

"So," Faith said, leaving the rest of her sentence open.

"So," Alex agreed. "Got any questions?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Christ up in heaven X! You are a fucking vampire, no matter what you call yourselves. You may have you secrete society and rules, but in the end, you are still a blood sucker."

Alex shrugged. Faith was correct after all.

"Why did you try to kill me back in high school? All I was trying to do is reach out, but you fucking tried to strangle me," Alex asked abruptly.

Faith shrugged. "I was fucked up X. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" he shot back, a bit irritated.

"No, but it is the truth," she said quietly. "So don't take it personally."

"I tend to take it very personally when someone I was trying to help tries to off me. The others were all for being harsh and taking action against you because of Finch and the Mayor, but I told them that maybe I could reason with you, that you just needed help."

"You weren't all about helping me when Buffy stuck a knife in me to help her boyfriend," Faith accused him.

"Yeah? So what?"

"You let her try to kill me, a human, to save a vampire. You lied to her to get her to send Angel to hell when he lost his soul. Why the change of heart," she said.

"At the time, Angel was the lesser of two evils. While I wouldn't have cried any tears over Dead Boy's demise, we needed his help, with me being key guy of course, at graduation," Alex explained, knowing how cold he sounded, but refusing to soften the truth. "Speaking for my graduating class, your death would have been preferable over us getting eaten by a high demon that went by the title of Mayor of Sunnydale. Sorry sister, you made that bed and then you had to lie in it."

"So would you sacrifice me today if you had to?" she asked.

"I pushed you out of the way and saved you from getting shot by an AK-74 didn't I?"

Faith shrugged. "Yeah, but if it came down to it would you chose me over another member of your society, excluding Emily and Alexia of course. I wouldn't expect you to choose me over your wife and kid."

Alex sighed, knowing that if he lied to her, she would see right through it and it would greatly insulting towards her. "Probably not," he admitted.

Faith grunted in acknowledgement of his words. She didn't blame him for answering the way he had. First off, she had asked; secondly, he wasn't human anymore. His loyalties had to have shifted to his own people.

"If it makes you feel any better," Alex said quietly, "I'd choose you over a Hellmouth vampire any day."

"Thanks a lot," she retorted. "It's nice to know I rank above a demon."

They sat there for a bit longer, neither of them saying anything, just enjoying the silence. It was only broken when Tara came outside and told Alex that Giles was on the phone and wanted to talk to him.

A/N: Well, what do you think? Crap or not? Hit the shiny review button and let me know.

I want to say thank you to everyone for their encouragement with the previous chapter. It helped me to figure out what was wrong and somewhat fixed it with this chapter. I really needed it – thank you!

Finally, I am not 100 percent sure that it takes 12psi to rip someone's ear completely off. I have found several figures that range from 3psi to 30psi. I found 12psi a couple of times, so I went with that. If there is anyone who would like to find out for themselves, grab hold of one of your ears and don't stop pulling until it comes completely off. Then take a picture of it and send it to me so I can get a good laugh that someone would ever take me seriously. You also might want to take a quick trip to the emergency room and explain it to them what you just did.

Cheers!