Disclaimer: If it's famous or well known, I don't own it...
Author's Note:
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Okay, I know it's been a long time, what can I say? I was having trouble figuring out which direction to take this, and I lost interest in this story for a while as well. But I found some inspiration, and now I'm back.
It occurs to me, that I use words that end in "-ly" quite often, and I just want to apologize if it bugs you- my wonderful readers. Also, before anyone points it out to me, yes I'm aware that Faith is OOC. I wanted to show that Faith had grown up quite a bit since her stint in the pokey, and that she is trying to prove to the Scoobies (but mostly Buffy) that she has changed for the better. And that she is willing to work on building a solid friendship with them, based on mutual trust, etc.
(Faith's POV)
Okay so this whole situation with Glory is gettin' serious, like for real now.
That thing with Spike gettin' kidnapped and tortured by Glory was the start of it. But the most recent situation is even worse.
Somehow, Glory got it into her warped head that Glenda is the Key, so she went after her at the college's culture fair thing.
We learned this after capturing one of the Hell Bitch's disgusting, scabby, smelly little minions as it was spying on us at the Magic Box. He/it told us that Glory had figured out that Glenda was the Key because she was the newest member of the Scoobies. I find myself slightly insulted that the Skanky One didn't even bother considering me.
And it took almost no "persuading" whatsoever to convince the Jawa reject to spill the beans on its boss. So I find myself rather disappointed that I couldn't use my powers of persuasion to make it talk.
If this is the quality of demon lackeys she surrounds herself with, then this is really sad. But I'm strayin' from the topic…
Needless to say, Red went into full-on panic mode when she realized her girlfriend was in major peril- not that I blame her, to be honest- but she tore out of there like the very fires of hell were lickin' at her heels.
But she was too late…
That Hell Bitch made with the brain-drain, and now Glenda is all kinds of crazy. On top of that, she broke several bones in Glenda's hand too. Red had to take her girl to the emergency room so that her hand could be fixed and put in a cast. Then the doc said they had to keep Glenda overnight in the loony section of the hospital for observations.
Now, I know I've got a reputation as a hard-ass most of the time, but I felt really bad for Red's plight.
Needless to say, Red was lookin' to go all payback-y on Glory's ass (again, not that I blame her), but B claimed to have talked some sense into Red just outside of the room Glenda had been in moments before. Afterwards, we left the hospital to go pick up Dawn and lil' Ro from Spike's babysittin' services, with B thinking she'd succeeded in talkin' common sense into Red.
Yeah sure, uh huh, if you say so…
I know if I were in Red's place, I would want to do some serious damage to the one who hurt the one I loved. And B would be the exact same way if it were Dawn or Rowan, so I don't understand how she can be so oblivious of Red's pain and reactions.
But, I decided it would be best to keep my comments to myself.
However, when we got to the caves that Dawn, Rowan, and Spike were hiding in, it was Dawn that managed to make B see the truth of the situation. So B took off after Red, while I was relegated to gettin' the younger and youngest Summers' safely home.
I really don't know what's going to happen when the showdown finally occurs, but I do know that it's gonna get real ugly, real quick. And if I were the type to go with the touchy feely crap, then I'd be admitting to how worried I truly am.
But I'm not into the touchy feely shit, so I won't be admitting anything to anybody.
Faith was pulled out of her musings by the sound of keys in the door, which meant that Buffy was home from rescuing Red.
Hopping off the kitchen counter before Buffy saw and scolded her for it, Faith sauntered into the entryway. "Hey B, how's Red doing?"
"Oh, hey there Faith. Under the circumstances, she's as well as can be expected, ya know?" Buffy responded with a sigh.
"Yeah, I get that. It's a rough deal, what happened to Glenda."
As Buffy moved towards the kitchen to start dinner, with Faith following on her heels, she asked, "So, is Rowan taking a nap? How is Dawn doing? I know she was upset with what happened to Tara and everything else that's happened recently. Did she happen to say anything to you on the way home?"
"Nah, she was real quiet on the walk home. I think she was doing a good job of impersonatin' Angel." At the confusion on Buffy's face Faith elaborated, "She was doin' a bang on imitation of Angel at his broodiest. As for lil' Ro, she was out almost as soon as I set her down. No real drama."
Watching as Buffy proceeded to pull out a really big roast from the refrigerator, and getting it ready to put into the oven. Faith could see the tense set of Buffy's shoulders, so she set about trying to get Buffy to spit out whatever was bothering her. "So B, are you gonna spit out whatever's got your goat, or are you gonna pull an Angel impersonation as well? Cos' I can feel the tension rollin' off of you all the way over here."
"Gee, I don't know Faith… could I be tense because I just had to rescue my best friend from dying by the hands a psycho Hell God bent on finding the Key- who happens to be my little sister- and doing God only knows what with it! And on top of that, I have an almost five week old daughter to care for along with my little sister, and the one person who was the foundation in my crazy life died from an aneurysm caused by the surgery that was meant to remove her brain tumor!" Buffy ranted somewhat hysterically, picking up steam as she went on.
"Then there's Spike, who is so convinced he's in love with me that he had a sex-bot created in my likeness to fulfill whatever sick fantasies that enter his twisted brain! And last but not least, I still have to cope with the slayer duties that never seem to end, even with you here to share the burden! And I just know that somehow I'm going to screw everything up! So yeah, I'm feeling rather stressed out right about now!"
"Whoa B! Tell me how you're really feeling. Don't bottle it up inside you!"
Instantly contrite, Buffy sighed and apologized, "I'm sorry Faith. The past few days have been super-stressful, and I just don't get how my mom pulled off having a career on top of raising children, and all the other things she did, making it seem so effortless. And I miss her so damned much! I just wish that she was here to tell me what to do, ya know?"
"First off: no worries about the venting thing Buffy, I get it. Second, you know you aren't alone in all this. You got Giles, Red, and Xand to help you. And Angel would be here in a minute if you needed him, you know that. And lastly, you got Wes and me too. So you have got to stop thinking that everything hinges on just you. We're here for you through all the crap you're goin' through, just like you'd be there for us."
Overwhelming gratitude filled Buffy at Faith's words, so going with the moment, Buffy threw her arms around Faith in a hug that had her sister-slayer protesting; Buffy replied, "Thanks for the pep talk Faith. I needed to hear that."
"Geez B! Enough with the touchy feely shit! I get it a'right! No need to get all "chick flick moment" on me!" Faith grumbled, squirming uncomfortably in Buffy's embrace.
Letting go of the taller girl, Buffy wiped at the tears in her eyes before retrieving the makings for the salad that she wanted to go with dinner. "Faith can you grab the big salad bowl for me while I get the salad ready?"
Glad to be out of the uncomfortable moment, Faith acquiesced, and went to grab the bowl Buffy requested. As she handed the bowl to Buffy the sounds of the baby waking up and starting to fuss floated down to both her and Buffy. "You want me to go get lil' Ro while you make the salad? Or do you want me to make the salad?"
"Can you go get her, and bring her on down please? I'm sure she's going to be hungry soon. Also, while you're up there, can you check on Dawn, make sure she's doing her homework? Tell her dinner is going to be ready in about an hour and a half please?"
"I'm on it." Faith headed upstairs to get her honorary niece from her crib.
Rowan started to squirm and fuss even more as soon as she saw Faith, clearly wanting to be picked up.
Carefully picking her niece up, Faith left Buffy's room heading for Dawn's; still in awe of how natural it felt to hold Rowan.
She'd always figured she wasn't the maternal type, but there was just something about Rowan that begged to be held and cuddled that Faith couldn't resist, although if you tried to call her on it, she would vehemently deny it.
Knocking on Dawn's door, she waited for a response. At Dawn's muffled "Come in." Faith opened the door walking into Dawn's room, "Hey brat! Just checking up on you, making sure you're doing your homework and all that. Also, big sis wanted me to let you know that dinner is in about an hour and a half."
"Yeah, fine, whatever," Dawn answered flatly, not even looking at Faith.
"What's the matter, pipsqueak? You usually aren't this pissy… well with me anyway."
"Nothing's the matter. I'm perfectly fine. Peachy with a side of keen," Dawn fired back at her.
"Yeah 'cos that just sounded so believable," Faith scoffed. "Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you, instead of being a brat, yeah?"
"Great, so now I'm being a brat! Why don't you just leave me alone?"
"Not happening, pipsqueak. Now spit it out already, or else big sis is gonna start worrying, and come up here to find out what's going on. So spill it…"
Relenting, Dawn confessed what was on her mind to Faith. "It's just that, I can't help but think that the Key part of me must be something bad. Because it seems to me that everyone I love keeps getting hurt because Glory wants to find her Key so damn badly that she'll stop at nothing to get it.
"Spike tried to convince me that I'm not bad, but I know he was just trying to make me feel better. I have to wonder if it wouldn't just be better to go to Glory and confess that I'm the Key that she's looking for, so that way nobody else will get hurt and you'll all be done with it. Besides I'm not real, so who would miss me?"
"Now you wait just a minute brat! You are not evil or bad. Sure the Hell Bitch is jonesing to get her hands on you, but it isn't through any fault of your own. If anyone's to blame it's those monk guys. They should have known that Glory would come looking for the Key eventually, and tried harder to hide the Key. And it was even stupider of them to not think about the consequences of what would happen should she figure out that the Key was a human- although I suspect that they knew that she is one seriously dumb bitch."
At that comment a muffled snort escaped Dawn, and Faith was happy she could make Dawn laugh, even a little bit. "Seriously though, there are plenty of people that would be mighty upset if anything were to happen to you- big sis being the main one, and I happen to believe that lil Ro here would miss her Auntie Dawn… Not to mention Red, Xand, Giles, Spike, me, and hell even Wes too. You are one of us; therefore, you are vitally important, got it?"
"I got it. Thanks Faith. I've got to finish my homework. I'll be down as soon as I've finished."
As Faith walked out of Dawn's room, she pondered the strangeness that was her life with the Summers' girls. If someone would've told her months ago that she'd be living with the Summers' girls and made co-godmother to B's daughter, and also be a part of the Scooby gang she would have kicked their ass. But here she was…
Faith still marveled at the fact that they had truly forgiven her for the hell she had put everyone through in the not so distant past. It was something of a miracle to her. And that Buffy had trusted Faith enough to allow her to be co-godmother to Rowan was another miracle. Buffy had even asked Willow to work some of her hacker mojo to create a new identity for Faith… She was now officially Faith Celeste Summers, and with no criminal record to complicate her new life.
This time around, Faith was determined to do whatever it took to show Buffy that her trust and respect were well placed.
Buffy watched as Faith came back into the kitchen with Rowan comfortably cradled in her arms. Buffy knew that Faith would ebecome defensive if she were to make a comment about Faith's seeming ease with her daughter, so instead of ribbing her about it, she just smiled at the picture they made.
It made what she needed to discuss with Faith a touch easier. Because this was a delicate subject to be broached in the best of circumstances. But with the impending threat looming over their heads, it was an even touchier topic of discussion.
"Here you go B. One just woken and no doubt hungry little ankle-biter," Faith teased as she handed Buffy her daughter.
"Thanks Faith, I appreciate the help," Buffy replied as she cradled Rowan against her body with just one arm while she reached for the nursing blanket she used to cover herself with while nursing Rowan. "Also, I need to talk to you about some stuff whenever you've got some time to spare tonight, okay?"
"I got time to kill right now. What's on your mind?"
"Well, I've been giving some thought into the very real possibility of a showdown with Glory. I have no doubt that it is going to be one ugly confrontation. And it got me to thinking…"
Pausing to collect her thoughts for a moment, she continued, "I met with an attorney a few days ago to have a will of my own drawn up- just in case. Because God knows that being a slayer is fraught with danger, and I wanted to make sure Dawn and Rowan would be taken care of, should anything happen to me."
Seeing how serious Buffy was, Faith waited quietly until Buffy got to the point of what she wanted to say without interruption.
"I know this is a going to be a touchy subject, but I want to you promise me something. I need you to take Rowan away from here before the showdown with Glory happens."
"What? Are you kidding me? You can't be fuckin' serious about this!" Faith exclaimed as she began pacing the kitchen, too aggravated to stay still. "What about me helping you in this fight? You want me to just walk away while everyone else risks their lives?"
"Faith, please listen to me… I need someone I trust- someone who has the strength needed to protect my daughter from all the dangerous beasties out there- because you know as well as I do, that there are plenty of demons and vampires out there that would love to get their appendages on the child of a slayer. I need you to make sure that she gets to her father should the worst case scenario come to pass."
Knowing that she couldn't refute anything that Buffy was saying- no matter how much she wanted to- Faith said nothing while she waited for Buffy to continue.
"I'm just trying to be realistic here. We're going up against an actual Hell God, who has, on more occasions than I care to admit, managed to hand me my ass with almost no effort on her part. And we both know that there's a very good chance that someone is going to die in this battle. It may just be me. So, if anything should happen to me or anyone else, I'm asking you and Wes to take Rowan somewhere safer; and protect her until either I, or one of the gang gets in contact with you."
"Damn B! Don't talk like that! Nothing's gonna happen to you or anyone else! You'll defeat the Hell skank, keep Dawn safe, and you'll be around to watch your daughter grow up into a little hellion herself."
"I really pray that that's the case. But we have to be prepared for the worst. So I'm begging you please Faith- if anything happens to me- please make sure that Rowan gets taken to Murphy. Promise me this Faith…"
The raw anguish on Buffy's face had Faith's resolve crumbling. She could see how much this was hurting Buffy, as she waited for Faith's decision. After a short internal struggle, Faith nodded her assent.