Dawn-The following tuesday
So can I consider my life normal compared to all the other girls I live with? I would say yes. During the school year, I went to school then came home and did my homework. By the time I was finished with that I normally left with Lucas and came home later that night. Over the summer, I've been over at his house so much I don't even attend the little mini watcher meetings I used to lead all the time. It's gotten so bad, vamps and demons don't even know who I am. I even have my own drawer in his room. I kinda like being just another face in the crowd even though I missed a lot not being home as much.
Lucas takes a finger and pulls a few lose strands of hair behind my ear, and I shift around on his bed so I can gaze into his dreamy, blue eyes. "What are you thinking about?" he asks. He's always wanting to know what I'm thinking about. Which is funny because most of the time it's him. Other times something else completely random. The majority of the time my mind is blank and not really thinking about anything in particular.
"Oh, nothing really," I claim; not wanting to talk about the subject of never spending time with my only family, mainly because she's always with Faith. Lucas continued to stare at me. I think he knows I'm lying. "I doubt it. Whenever you're in deep thought, you crease your eyebrows," he described, mimicking my facial expression, and I nodded. At least he's observant. I sit up a little further. "I guess, I was thinking about how much time I spend with you," I explained, and his brow came together. "Am I smothering you? I can take you home if you like," he panicked a little, and I shake my head. "No you aren't…Your perfect. If anything, it's the lack of smothering I've been getting from my sister," I replied, and he smiles. I don't think he understand the full aspect though.
"Why do you think she's changed?" he questioned in genuine curiosity. He's a guy, of course he hasn't noticed; I guess it's a woman thing. "Faith," I answered, and he looked confused again. "You mean Ms. Lehane, the gym coach? She's really hot," he continued, and I just discovered how much of a jock or guy he really is. I smacked his chest lightly while rolling my eyes. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Yes, I know. I didn't think so either," I declared, and he put one arm behind his head and one arm over me; looking up at the ceiling. I know what he's thinking. What do all guys think when they learn about shit like that? "What do you think about it?" he persisted. I honestly don't know what I think about it. "I didn't ever think that either of them was gay. It doesn't bother me, but I would rather it be someone else. Faith is a…," I said but paused as I tried to think of how I could word it gently without freaking him out, "loose cannon." She is, I don't care what anyone says. She's awesome now, but you don't just forget about shit she did. She has Dominic; which having a kid changes anyone or at least it's supposed to. I'm just waiting for her to snap on all of us one day and turn into Ms. Crazy again.
"Dawn…" I stared down to see Lucas gawking at me wide eyed. "You're pinching my thigh," he announced with a smile, "You do that when you're pissed." I smiled back. He knew I wasn't pissed about him. "Right…, I'm sorry," I apologized and sat up completely. "You wanna go home?" he suggested, somehow knowing I actually missed Buffy. "Yeah," I agreed as I crawled to the end of the bed and stood.
When we pulled up at my house, I saw all the cars in the driveway. I turned to Lucas. "You coming in?" I muttered, and he shook his head. "I'm going to go to the gym for a little bit. Do you want me to come over after?" he responded, and I shake my head. "I'll see you tomorrow," I inform as I bid him adieu. I guess today we can spend some time away. I leaned in, and he captured his mouth with mine. I didn't want to deepen it, but I guess I could give him a little motivation for the gym and tomorrow. Our tongues play a forbidden tango, and I hear someone clear their throat.
"So, uh, the prodigal daughter returns." That's definitely Alex. I sway to my right side to find her leaning in my window. "Ya plannin' on coming inside or sittin' out her makin' out for the entire neighborhood to watch," she teased. I huffed and opened the door; pushing her away. "I'll see you tomorrow," Lucas told me. "Bye, BABY!" Alex joked while playfully backing away from me. "Bye," I relented, leaving a little kiss on his lips before getting out of the car. I spun around and hit Alex; who then jumped away as I went to swing again. "Hey, young lady, we can take this up in the training room if you like," Alex advised as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder.
Ignoring her, I walked past her and inside. As I strolled down the hall, the loose cannon appeared from the kitchen and made her way to the living room while shaking a bottle. Rounding the entrance, I spy at the happy family picture. Buffy sat on the floor in front of the couch playing with the baby. Faith settled behind her and was reaching for Dominic. I leaned on the wall. "Dawnie," Buffy yelped in excitement as she spotted me. Not being able to avoid the picture perfect scene, I went to the couch and sat next to Faith.
"Hey, brat, what brings you home so early? Ya miss us?" Faith kidded and smiled. I gave her a fake smile; which she noticed. Buffy went on viewing TV. I honestly didn't have a problem with the woman till she started dating my sister; who has a wreck of a love life. She really knows how to pick them. "Uh, Buffy..., are you doing anything Friday? I was thinking we could go on a double date to the movies?" I offered; not sure if what she would say. "What do ya think, B? Get the girls to watch Dom. We haven't done the whole date thing yet," Faith encouraged as she adjusted Dominic in her arms, giving him the bottle. "We really haven't been out, have we?" Buffy realized, "Yeah, sure, Dawn, that would be a great idea. Faith, I think Willow should watch Dom," Buffy requested and Faith nodded along. And let my evil scheme begin. "Great, so I'll let Lucas know and make some reservations at a restaurant close by," I asserted as they observed each other and pleasantly smiled. "You two are killing me with cuteness, I'm going to my room," I revealed. Buffy gives me the concerned expression as I stand. Since Dominic's head is in my direction, I lean in; giving him a kiss then left.
Friday-
Spending the majority of the week at home hasn't been as interesting as I thought it would be. The girls don't go out and patrol unless Buffy or Faith go with them. This doesn't give them as much time together as I thought. When I think about it, that's probably why Faith jumped on the idea of a double date. Well, we're here now at dinner, and at this point I wonder who's dating who? Faith and Lucas haven't stopped talking since we first sat down and someone mentioned Boston. They've been going through childhood memories like they have a photo album in front of them. It's all really annoying, so I've been sitting her chit chatting and catching up with Buffy. I guess I'll take the trade off.
"I gotta hit up the John, I'll be right back, babe," Faith assures as she stands. She struts over to Buffy, leans in, and kisses her forehead. As she attempts to stand upright Buffy wraps her arms around Faith's neck; pulling her closer to get a kiss. Faith giggles but gives into Buffy lips as she's trapped there. "B, I really gotta go," Faith complains as she came up for air for a moment. "Ok," Buffy complies before letting go. This is my chance.
I gawked as Buffy slapped Faith's ass, and she hopped; peering over her shoulder and smirking. "Ooooh, you'll pay for that later," Faith insisted as she swaggered away, over exaggerating on the ass shaking. "She is coming back to teach, right?" Lucas comments, and I slap his arm, "What?" he whines as Buffy just shakes her head. "On that note, I'm going to go freshen up myself." I affirm, giving Lucas a stern 'Be good.' stare before I leave.
Walking into the bathroom, I catch Faith walking to the sink. "Hey, brat, why didn't ya tell me Lucas was from Boston? I would have had him over for dinner a long time ago," Faith babbled. I just shrugged. "Didn't think about it," I mumbled as I leaned on the sink behind me. When Faith started washing her hands, she scanned up a little. I didn't comprehend I was almost glaring at her till just then. She smirks as she dries her hands. "Ya lookin' like ya wanna say somethin', D?" Faith states as she tosses the paper towels and finally turns to face me. I see the jail bird come out in her a little; I'm not all that great at threats but here's goes nothing.
"So you and Buffy are gettin pretty serious?" I declare, and she gets this drifty, spacey look in her eyes, smirks a little, and nods. "Yeah..., I guess you can say that. She really is somethin'" Faith confides. "Do you love her?" I interrogated more, and she pursed her eyebrows. "What ya gettin' at?" she asked; trying to get right to the point. Which I don't mind because I would rather not be forced to drag this out too long.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'll do anything for Buffy," I admitted, and she took a step towards me. "Right, and…?" Faith urged me to move along in this talk. "And if you do anything to hurt her, I won't hesitate to call LAPD or find some other means of ... Well, I think you get the drift," I warned her. She took another step toward me, and we were standing pretty close. "I'm not goin' back in," she demanded. Ok, so threatening a slayer isn't as effective as I thought it would be. Switch to drastic.
"A gun seems to work pretty well too," I added; taking a step in her direction, thinking showing how not afraid I really am right now would help. She gaped down a little panicked; taking a step back. I could see that she was taking me seriously. "Can't have...any of that...either," Faith gasped, having to breathe a little harder then she normally did. She actually seemed scared there for a second. "I…um..., we should probably get back," she guessed; placing her arm over my shoulder as if we were best of buds. "Ya know, we should really hang out more," Faith implied, but her tone was a little strange. It was like she was telling herself a lie. I wonder if she sounded like this back when she and Buffy were kids. Here I'm saying that as if it was in ancient times. "Yeah, right," I grumbled just so she wouldn't snap my neck like the homicidal maniac she is.
Heading back to the table, Faith wouldn't shut up about how good Buffy is with Dominic. I got the impression that her little family was almost sacred to her. I hope she got it through of how determined I am to keep her in check. Buffy focuses up and smiles when her and Faith I guess make eye contact. Lucas and I haven't quite gotten to that point yet Buffy says, 'Puppy love is never what you want it to be at first.' I think it's a connection thing.
"You two look all chummy," Buffy assumes as Faith and I face each other. This makes her smile. "Yeah...We, uh, were just catching up," she lied as she returned to her seat. The rest of the dinner was pretty even on the conversations. Faith didn't say much more about Boston, but there was a lot of talk about my senior year. Since Lucas is a senior, he'll be starting college, and Buffy was giving him some pointers about how things are.
I rode home with Buffy and Faith after the movie; wondering the entire time if Faith was going to tell her about what I said in the bathroom. Pretty sure Buffy doesn't want anyone stepping in on her love life and making decisions for her. I just want her to be safe and all. Is that to much to ask for? Last time I checked, it wasn't.
I like sitting outside on cool nights like this. The neighborhood doesn't have enough light to pollute the skies, so you can see the stars. "Didn't take you for much of a star gazer." I whipped around to see Faith as she roamed across the back porch to a beam overhead. "I thought you quit smoking," I remind, and she just smirked. "Eh, only when I have a bad night," she groaned as she grabbed her cloves from a hiding spot she thinks no one knows about. She's not very good at concealing bad habits.
"I know. B knows I'm out here, so it's no big. She wants me to get rid of my bike too," Faith mentioned as she sat down next to me. "I figured you would have done it already, seeing as Dom is here now," I remind as she studies and nods at me. "He's means everything to me," she confirms. I can tell how much growing up she had to do. Here she is taking care of Dom plus a bunch of other teenage girls. "I…uh... I love her. At least I'm pretty sure I do," she divulged, and I couldn't help but twirl to inspect her. It was as if I was watching a movie where the guy or in her case partner was coming towards some kind of understanding.
"I meant it, what I said," I commanded; almost determined to get a reaction out of her. Something that would prove a person like Faith never truly changes. "I know... I would be the same way. Buffy is lucky to have family like you. I wouldn't let me inta the house either. I wouldn't let anything happen to Dom or B," she promised, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't anything I could say at that point. "I just wanna make sure you know that, she's safe with me," Faith continued. I nodded; showing as much attitude as I could. Faith chucked. "You really gotta work on your tough look," Faith instructed. "I can look tough," I squealed. Faith shakes her head a little in what looks like disbelief. "Like cookie dough tough," she challenged sarcastically and started laughing.
"What did I miss?" I search over my shoulder to see Buffy standing at the door; holding Dominic. Faith perks up, stands, and tosses the half smoked clove. She smiles wide "Nothing much, B," Faith noted as she marched in their direction. "Come inside, Dawnie," Buffy pleads as she turned and disappeared.
As I got to the door and watched them traveled down the hall, Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's waist as they both played with Dominic and moving carefully. "You stare any harder, you're going to end up falling over," Willow chirped as she approached from the training room. "This doesn't bother you at all?" I debated and took steps; following to make sure they were headed upstairs. "What doesn't bother me?" Willow whispered in confusion. I'm not sure if I keep going with this conversation. "Aw, don't stop now. I'll read your mind, Dawn," Willow threatened. "That's so not fair," I argued. The glare offsets my resolve, and let's jus say I lost the draw without even really shooting a round. Makes me wish I spent more time at home; maybe I can be a wicca.
"I don't trust her," I hissed, and Willow shakes her head. "You weren't even...You didn't see. How it can bother you that much?" she lectured. I didn't have to be there. It's what Giles told me. "Reformed whatever, Anger like that doesn't just go away," I determined. Will nodded; agreeing with me, but she wasn't happy with the explanation. "She's..come a very long way, I would be able to see it now if she ever went back," Will exclaimed in an effort to reassure me. I sighed and shrugged. "Look, give her some time. She kinda grows on you," Willow defended, and the only reason why she is because they're actually good friends. Same age too. I'm at a major disadvantage. I smiled with no intention of it being genuine. "I'll cut her some slack," I lied. I'm not taking my eye off of Faith. I'm going to be on her like a stake in a vamp's heart.
Buffy- Saturday morning
I moved around the kitchen freely as Dominic chilled in his little bouncy seat. I rarely wake up before Faith because of him Today, I decided to give her a break, let her sleep in. I don't do it much, but after last night, she deserves it. Being able to put up with Dawn and me in one sitting was somewhat amazing. I wonder how she would fair with Will and I versus her and Kennedy.
I shook the bottle as I grabbed his blanket off the counter. Propping his bottle with the blanket and stood there till he got it flowing. I can so do the mom thing. I've been watching Faith. I don't know about breast feeding. That seemed painful, along with labor and nine months. And you know what, I'm going to go ahead and stop there.
It took me about twenty minutes to cook the food. Egg whites, turkey bacon, and wheat toast. Yeah, I know. Healthy, right? I think the girls and I have been eating too much junk food. So were going for the healthy route. Ok, so I'm not going to lie, they said the only way they would stick to the diet is if I let them play NON-CONTACT sports their senior year. Ehh, so softball, swimming, track, and volleyball are on the list, but that's it. I still can't believe I agreed to it myself. As long as none of the other kids get hurt, they can play. The moment one does, they all get pulled from the teams.
Dominic throws the empty bottle across the kitchen at me in a fit when I notice I hadn't paid any attention to him in the last five minutes. I strut in his direction; throwing my hands in the air, making wild movements and he laughs or smiles. He kind of makes this snorting sound. He hasn't quite gotten the whole laugh thing down yet, but I can see he's working on it. As I reach him, I tug on his socks. The outfit I got him in is too cute. I found it in the cartoon characters isle at Babies -R- US, Winnie the Pooh. Faith mainly goes for the white T and/or different color onezies. She claims she's going to dress him up when he gets a little older and adds style to him. Since he pukes on everything now, she doesn't want to ruin good clothes. I keep telling her that's just an excuse not to go shopping. It's like pulling teeth to get her to go to a mall or some store.
I make funny faces and go back to fixing a trey of plates for Faith and I. "Hey, Dom, let's say we go and wake up your mama," I murmur as I move over to the little lay back. Holding the tray and dancing towards him, I happen to glance up. Alex stood there watching me; holding back a laugh. I straighten myself up. "I think the baby's makin' ya go a little soft," she claimed as she wandered by. I set the tray down, swinging my arm up and making contact with the back of her head. That's Faiths thing, but when I can catch her off guard it's my thing too. "Oops, slipped," I explained and grinned evilly. Alex stumbled forward a step without saying anything. She just turned and glared at me. Then I hear a giggle, not a full on one but a definite a giggle. I whirl back to Dom as he was smiling an giggling, sort of.
"You find that funny little man...Huh?" Alex said as she headed in his direction. "His first laugh," I stated as I stood behind her. "Cool beans," Alex declared; seemingly uninterested and trudged back over to the food. "I thought it was cute, Dom," I decided while going back to the tray. Looking at the trey and him, I didn't see a way of bringing them both up at the same time.
"Your starting it now!" Alex yelped as she surveyed the food. They didn't give me a date to start or end, so I took advantage of it. "Sure am...Help me get all this and the baby upstairs, would ya?" I asked as she agreed around a piece of bacon. I carried the tray and Alex played with Dom the entire way up the stairs.
As we entered the room, Faith was still sound asleep. I'm sure the presence of a couple of slayers, plus me, has probably alerted her. Alex sets Dom down on the bed just behind Faith's back. Dom started playing the drums as I set the tray of food on her nightstand. Faith sleeps closest to the door, so she can get to Dom quicker; which is reasonable. I didn't argue with her on that note. I honestly didn't notice she would purposefully sleep there till last month. Alex snuck out. I picked up a piece of bacon and waved it in front of Faith's face. At the same time, Dom managed to pull the blankets off, and theyended up on top of him as he lie down between me and Faith. "Umm hmm," faith moaned and turned a little. Then fully sat up when she didn't see him. I laughed a little and she pulled the blanket off; finding her giggling baby boy.
Faith grinned, still half asleep and biting at the piece of bacon I held up in front of her. "Good Morning." "Mornin'" she said lazily as she picked up Dom; examining him for a second. When she noticed he wasn't hungry or whiny in any way possible like he normally was in the morning, she ogled at me. "Fed and changed...Wow, B, you out did yourself," Faith complimented clear as day, spotted the food, and smiled; giving me full on beautiful dimples. I couldn't help but smile along with her as I set a plate full of food on her lap. Picking up the plate, she let Dom roll till he was between hers legs and he started giggling again. It took her a second, but when she noticed he was laughing, she smiled. "Where's a camera when you need one?" she questioned around a mouthful of food. I started on my plate as I heard the girls file downstairs.
Few hours later-
As I hit the mat, the air in my lungs vacated my chest too quickly for me to respond in anything but a cough fit. The majority of Faith's body was on top of mine, and if it didn't hurt so bad, I might have been turned on by the situation. I stared to my side to see the rest of the girls had stopped sparring and began watching us. "Ah, come on, B, ya got more fight in ya than this," Faith taunted in my ear. So I struggled against her grasp for a minute, trying to regain the upper hand, but she didn't let go. She shifted her weight, ait and as she did, I pulled my arm forward as hard as I could. This yanked her off balance.
Faith stumbled forward a step, and I took the opportunity to knock her off balance even more as I punched her in the side. She fell to her knees in front of me, and I was on my feet as soon as she did. Taking the needed step, I wrapped my arms around her neck as if I was going to take her head off. A rush of clapping hands sounded in the distance, so I let Faith stand. Directing my attention over at the girls, I watched as they advanced towards us.
"She had you. Like you were out for the count cold," Rona described as they stopped a few feet away from us. Faith looked from Rona to me. "How'd she catch me off guard?" Faith scoffed at them. "When you shifted your weight, you had to move the knee. That's where you made the mistake," Chloe chimed in. "Right in any other situation, I wouldn't have allowed her to breathe easier. I think next time I won't," Faith glanced in my direction while smirking. Alex shakes her head and goes to exit the training room. Faith clears her throat. Alex turns to us. "Where do ya think your goin'?" Faith announced; taking a few step closer to her and the door.
We only sparred with the girls here at the house. So it was Chloe, Vi, Alex, and Rona. I'm thinking Alex doesn't feel challenged enough. She normally spars with me or Kennedy. "To take a shower," Alex says plainly as she turns for the door again. "You're not even sweat," Faith snapped as she compares her to the rest of the girls and takes a few steps in her direction. She just shrugs her shoulders. "The point of training is getting a work out. I won't fight Chloe," she demanded before observing Chloe. "Scared ya gonna unleash unnecessary anger," Faith taunted and stopped within an arm's reach of Alex. "What ya afraid of hurtin' her? She can take it. Who ya mad at Alex?" Faith continued as she punched her shoulder. Alex moved back but didn't respond to the love tap. "Come on, ya got a lot more fight in ya then this?" she sneered a little as she slapped the side of her head; getting a reaction. Alex snapped back up, looking a little angry. Any other time, she would have shaken it off and laughed.
"She didn't do anything, it's all you. Ya the one with the defect here," Faith alleged and Alex did nothing but bring her stare down to the floor. Faith takes step closer and she's almost right on top of her. The rest of the girls move over to me. I sat and watched curiously to see how bad Alex was going to get if Faith kept pushing her. I'm pretty sure Faith is trying to get a fight out of this. "Come on, punk. Don't bitch out on me now," Faith ordered in her ear as her eyebrows pursed, getting even closer and saying in her ear. "You're even more of a pussy then I thought," Faith snarled, "What's goin' on here? Can't take it. Can't take the fact that you got some major issue and can't or won't deal?" It was almost such a whisper, I had to strain to hear it.
Alex glared up at Faith. The thought that she was about to snap raced through my head. I took a step towards them in front of the girls. Faith held a finger up behind her back, so I stayed put. "You won't even try." It was as if it was the last straw. They started going at it. Alex fight a lot like Faith; uncontrolled and street like almost. Faith knew every one of her moves before she threw a punch, blocking pretty much everything. When Alex made a major mistake, Faith put Alex into the mat harder then I've seen her do in any spar. Faith and I go all out, not holding anything back. But this was a different side of Alex that I had never seen before.
Faith barks at all of us onlookers, "Get out!" The girls race past her as Faith holds Alex's face into the mat. "Fucking bitch!" Alex howls as she attempts to get up. "You sure?" I inquire as I kneel next to them. Faith struggles for a second, Alex almost gets the upper hand. "Yeah, B, stick around for me," Faith requests; giving me this uneasy display as she glares down at Alex; who's still under her. I guess she kind of caught her off guard too. As Alex jerks in a sincere effort to get free; I stood and took a few steps back. I backed up until I was leaning against the wall. I had a positive feeling this is going to get worse.
Faith eased up on her grip. Alex shot out from under her puttin' Faith on her knees and sat up. But she didn't take full advantage. "Eventually, you're going to have to face your past," Faith insisted as she stalked in her direction. "I can't tell if ya even want to, no one can," Faith predicted. "God damn it, shut up," Alex yelled as she came back at her. Alex threw a few punches; way more determined to land one. When she did land one, it caught Faith completely off guard. Alex kept throwing them, and Faith stopped fighting back. I couldn't tell if Faith did that on purpose or not. I shot out from where I was standing and caught a foot to the side of my face; sending me into the wall behind me. By the time I was regaining my composure to get up and help Faith I gawked up to see Alex out cold on the floor.
"What did I miss?" I asked as Faith knelt down next to her. She slapped her once. "Alex," she called out, and the scanned over her shoulder. "I saw her hit you. And she focused her anger on a better fight because I wasn't giving it my all. She would have hurt ya, had uh... Hadn't I…uh," Faith stumbled around the last few words. Didn't think she'd go all protective on me. "No one hits my B but me," Faith concluded; examining me sideways. We sit there for a second gazing into each other's eyes, searched for stars. Alex moans and sits up, forcing us to back off of her. "Can I go now?" Alex hissed as if none of that just happened. Faith nods. "We'll talk later," Faith adds as Alex stands and storms out. I give her an uneasy expression.
"The girl's got issues, she reminds me a lot of me," she explains, and I sigh, "That's just what we need," I complained. "I highly doubt she'll turn, B," Faith remarks, and I nodded in agreement. "She just needs some work. Ya got your work cut out for ya, B."
She perks up, stands, and holds out her hand. I roll my eyes and take her hand as she leads me out of the training room. I need some relief.
