Disclaimer and stuff in the first part.
The Night Remembers - Part 22
By Jill
Kate Lockley wasn't so sure if she was still a mentally sane member of the
human race. She was exhausted a lot lately, thinking about taking a
vacation, feeling burnt out and here she was, sitting in her car, driving
towards a God forsaken town called Sunnydale, a convict next to her and to
top it all off she'd taken three days of her precious vacation time for it.
Not to forget that she had needed to call in all the favors people owed her
to get said convict out of jail for a couple of days, without actually
giving them an explanation for it. So she lied. Kate Lockley, the detective
with a conscience lied, for a vampire - who of course happened to be a
friend, go figure - of all people. Or non-people for that matter.
But vampire or not, Angel was a friend. They'd been through a lot over the
past two years. First Kate hitting on him - even now she felt little flush
of embarrassment at that - then accusing him of murder, hating him for too
long because of what had happened to her father and then having her life
saved by him.
That man just never ceased to amaze her. He was too good to be true. But
then he wasn't really true. Up until about two years ago she hadn't known
vampires were more than just a creation of fiction. He was almost 250 years
old and still alive - or not, however you wanted to see it. But fact was he
was there, talking, walking, and being a friend.
Offering friendship and help to everyone in need. Even a heavily screwed up
girl like the one sitting beside her now.
She turned her head to glance at said girl beside her, or rather the young
woman, who was nervously chewing her lower lip, her hands tightly entwined
in her lap, the knuckles white, while her forehead crunched into a frown
from time to time. Kate remembered the shocked expression on her face when
the detective told her why she was needed and where, but she'd instantly
agreed to come with her.
And now they were sitting side by side, not talking, because there wasn't
really a lot they could talk about. There had of course been some questions,
about Angel - is there any lost soul he didn't know these days? - about
Cordelia and then with a grin about Wesley, although even there something
like pain had flickered through the brunette slayer's eyes. Or was it guilt?
Kate remembered the former watcher's bruises and cuts the day Faith had
showed up at the police station. Kate had never asked, but she had an
imagination.
"Are you alright?" Kate asked finally, to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Sure," came the quick answer, but the slayer's eyes were cast down to her
entwined hands.
"When was the last time you've been here?"
"A bit over a year, I think," Faith replied, frowning. "I was in a coma for
eight months, woke up, went berserk. Then Angel sorta... uh... well, he
seemed to care. Not that I wanted him to. But he just couldn't give up." She
laughed slightly, but it wasn't a happy sound. "He's kinda stubborn. Even
got in a fight with his ex over me. Go figure!" She laughed again, even
unhappier this time.
More guilt, Kate assumed. Then the words sunk in, "His ex?"
"Uh-huh," Faith nodded, "skinny blonde. You should remember her she was
there too. You sorta looked as if you've been in an argument."
The older woman did a double take, "*That* was his ex? This little girl?"
"Yeah," the slayer's breath came in a whoosh. "Her name's Buffy. We... uh...
we're not on the best of terms. She helped though. Protected me from the
watcher guys. We... go way back. It was," she swallowed hard, "difficult."
"A guy?" Kate asked, not quite understanding.
"Huh?" Faith laughed again, this time it was genuine. "No, not really. There
was a bit of jealousy, but the guy only wanted her and to tell the truth, I
didn't really want him," she cocked her head and grinned at Kate. "I'm not
much into vampires."
"Angel?" the blond was even more surprised. "It was about Angel?"
"As I said, not really. He made it perfectly clear that he was hers. A
one-woman-vampire." Then she was serious again, "No, a lot of... stuff
happened. Me being a huge ass, and Buffy," she shrugged, "we could've been
friends. She could be really cool, but I suppose I was already too screwed
up to notice. I messed it up, big time. It wasn't her fault. It was mine."
Suddenly she smiled, "It's one of the first things I learned - you know at
the group in jail - to accept what you've done. Without it there's no way
out."
Kate frowned slightly, "You've still got a long way to go."
"Oh, I know that," the slayer waved her hand. "I know I'm going to go back
after this, but hey, there isn't anything better than two slayers in
action."
"From what I heard the current slayer died some months ago," the detective
said.
"WHAT?"
Faith's horrified shout had Kate almost driving into the ditch. At the last
moment she got the wheel into direction again. "What's the matter?"
"Buffy died?"
"Huh?" now the blond was confused. "Buffy is the slayer? Angel's Buffy? His
ex?"
"Yeah," the brunette replied fighting tears. God, what was the matter with
her? Buffy and she didn't even like each other. Why the hell did she feel
like bawling her guts out? Had to be her therapy sessions in jail. Nothing
good ever came from them. "But who is the slayer then?"
"It's still her. They got her back somehow. I'm not quite sure. Gunn told me
a few days ago. That's why Angel went to Sunnydale in the first place, there
was something about a memory loss."
"Oh sh- I mean, that's really tough," Faith swallowed hard, feeling suddenly
light from the relief that flooded her body. "So she's still kickin', huh?
That's good." She quickly turned her head towards the window, wiping her
tears away, hoping Kate wouldn't look. It wasn't that she didn't like Kate,
but the detective was more or less a stranger to her. No need to open up
your soul for her.
"From what Angel told me on the phone, I guess it's a safe bet. He and...
Buffy, right?" she saw Faith nod and went on, "They were attacked last night
by a very strong vampire. They couldn't handle it on their own."
The brunette's eyes went wide, "Holy sh- I mean, that doesn't sound too
good. Too strong for Buffy *and* Angel. No wonder they wanted me there,"
there was more than a hint of pride in her voice and Kate smiled inwardly.
This girl just wanted so desperately to be loved and needed, why hadn't
anyone seen that before. Why did it take a vampire with a soul to see that
she was trying to cover up the vulnerability laying underneath?
Suddenly Faith narrowed her eyes, tilted her head and watched Kate through
her lowered lashes, "What's in this for you? Why are you doing this? Helping
them?"
The detective shrugged, "Lots of reasons, first being a serious dislike of
vampires."
"No kidding." Faith grinned and Kate did the same. For a moment they shared
something. None of them knew exactly what, but it was there. Then the blond
spoke again and the moment was gone.
"Vampires killed my father," she said quietly. "We weren't that close at
the time, just trying to rebuilt a relationship or whatever, then he died."
"That's..." the brunette couldn't find the words, so she just said, "My
watcher was killed by a vampire. He was the closest I ever had to a family
then. My old lady wasn't much fun to be around you know."
In silence they shared another moment, realizing that they had more in
common than they thought. "Angel was there," Kate went on. "When my dad was
killed. Right in front of the door, but Daddy wouldn't invite him in, so he
couldn't do anything. After that I was," she shrugged again, feeling
helpless, seeing her father dead on the floor for a moment, "I just lashed
out I think. At least that's what the shrinks probably would say."
"Yeah," Faith agreed. "Been there, done that. So I know. At least you're not
going to jail for it. So it seems you've done better at a certain point."
"Or had a friend at the right time," the blond said with a small smile. "He
made me believe again, you know. That there really was something worth
fighting for and that we're always responsible for what we are and do."
"Yeah," Faith said again. "I know what you mean."
****
"Hi, can I come in?" Willow smiled at her childhood friend, doing her best
not to start crying at his red-rimmed eyes and the dark circles underneath
them.
"Uh..." Xander blinked at her, "sure." Then he added in a way to apologize, "Just
don't look around. I didn't have time to clean up."
"No problem." The redhead followed him into the living room, trying her best
to ignore the empty pizza box, the several cans of soft drinks lying around
everywhere. Anya was gone for not even 48 hours and already this place
looked pure Xander. "How are you?" she asked as soon as she found a free
spot on his sofa and sat down.
"How do you think?" he asked, disappearing into the kitchen. His voice was
louder when he said, "I just need some coffee. You want some?"
"No thanks, you know too much caffeine..." she trailed off with a smile.
"Yeah, I know," he replied, then came back holding a steaming mug. Throwing
clothes from a chair, he sat down as well. He looked at her over the rim of
his mug, sipping the hot brew, needing every drop of energy after a
sleepless night of missing someone who obviously didn't give a damn about
him. He was pathetic, he knew, but he was hurting and so he didn't care.
He wasn't like Angel, all stoic and suffering inside. He was just human and
seemed to have a talent in falling in love with the wrong woman. Either they
weren't interested in him at all, or preferred to switch off the light when
kissing him, or they just ran away the moment he needed them. Face it Xander
Harris, he thought, your love life sucks.
"Did you try to find her?" Willow asked after a long silence.
"Find her? Why should I try to find her?" he asked, slightly shaking his
head. "She left me. And besides, even if I did try to find her, she's
probably long gone, on her way to Europe I'd say."
"Don't you think you're a bit hard on her?"
Hard on her? He had been hard on her? Xander couldn't believe his ears. "Did
you even listen to yourself? She just left. There is some danger coming and
she left," he snipped his fingers, "just like that."
"Dawn said she wanted you to come with her," Willow argued gently. "So I
think that shows she cares. At least for you."
"But that's the point, Willow," Xander shouted, setting the mug down. "You,
Buffy, Giles, you aren't just friends. You are my family. I know there's
Mom, who's suddenly interested in every step I take, but somehow I can't
forget she ignored me for the first 20 years. But you have been the people
closest to me. I can't just go and leave you."
"*I* know that," the redhead replied, "but Anya is still new to this. You
know, the whole human thing. The concept of friendship, and of family. She's
still learning and she's trying so hard and all this just to please you."
She paused, and then slightly tilted her head, "And there's another thing
you might have forgotten. She's actually seen it happen before and lots of
other things. I think sometimes you tend to forget she's 1100 years old
because she looks like the average 20 year old."
"Why are you defending her?" he asked, not understanding what she was up to.
"Because I'm trying to see both sides. Don't understand me wrong. If Tara
would run, I'd be pissed royally," they both grinned at the expression, so
unfamiliar for Willow. "But I'd still try to understand why she's doing it.
Or at least I hope I would," she suddenly laughed, "after cursing her of
course and trying to do some other horrible spell, that'll probably
backfire." She sighed, both smiling at each other.
Xander sighed, reaching for his coffee, "I know you mean well, Will, but I
just can't. I can't go after her, maybe that's the problem, but I haven't
got it in me. If there is a chance for us, she has to come. She left, so she
needs to come back, as simple as that."
Willow looked at him for a long time, and then smiled - but it was a bit
sad, "I know what you mean, Xand, I just hope you know what you're doing."
****
"This is nice," Buffy, sighed, snuggling to Angel's chest, his arm
automatically pulling her closer, planting a kiss on her head.
"Yeah, it is," he replied, feeling completely sated and relaxed. Buffy had
spent the night at her house - much to his disappointment, but he understood
that she wanted to be near Dawn, and Spike who had seemingly returned to the
basement. But immediately after driving her sister to school she'd come to
him, woken him up. Not that he minded, actually he didn't mind her
disturbing him at all. How could he, when he'd been woken up by her soft,
*naked* body pressing itself against him. In moments like this he could
forget there was danger lurking near by.
They'd made soft, gentle love, and now they were just enjoying being
together like this. "I didn't ask you yesterday," Buffy said, "I have only
fuzzy memories of Faith. I suppose she's Kendra's replacement?"
"Yeah," he confirmed. "You remember Kendra?"
"Uh... not really. Willow told me. It kinda slipped. But I think I remember
Faith. She's brunette right? Kinda like Cordelia."
Angel had to laugh at that, "Never let Cordy hear that. I don't think she'd
ever forgive you for comparing her to Faith."
"Uh. Oh," Buffy giggled at his side and he turned his head to look at her.
God, she was beautiful, her face flushed, her hair tousled in the afterglow
of lovemaking. How had he managed to live without her for over two years he
asked himself?
"You and Faith, you didn't really get along," the vampire said. "You had
some differences about how to work, how to slay and," he chuckled,
"boyfriends."
The blond raised a brow. "She had the hots for you?"
"It seemed like that, but it wasn't real." Angel propped himself up on one
elbow and looked down at her, "You need to know that Faith had a very
difficult childhood. And as it often happens she got very angry, began to
hate the whole world, envied everyone who had more than she. In the end the
situation was so difficult, she didn't find a way back anymore."
"I remember a fight between us, there's lots of shouting in my head and
I'm... uh," she suddenly had a funny expression in her eyes, "Did we ever
use... chains?"
Angel stared at her for a moment, then he began to laugh. "Oh Buffy," he
shook his head, "no we never used chains. Well, we did, but not..." he
sobered at her confused expression. "Maybe it would be better for you to
remember on your own. But Faith had switched sides, she was working with the
enemy, and we needed proof of that and a certain information. So we tricked her.
Giles, you and I. And a friend of Giles'. We pretended I had reverted back into
Angelus. Part of the plan was bringing you here and chain you to the wall."
"Oh, I see," she nodded, then frowned, "We... uh... you know. In front of
her?"
"No," he grinned then hugged her to him. "Did you forget, there was still
the clause in the curse."
"Oh, right," she seemed honestly relieved. "So Faith and I didn't get along.
And now she's in jail?"
"Yeah. She killed a man in Sunnydale," he told her. Seeing her shocked
expression he nodded, "That's where her downward spiral began. I think after
that nothing made sense to her anymore. I tried to help her, but it didn't
work. Then she came to L.A., tried to kill me. In the end she turned herself
in. End of story."
"Or not," Buffy muttered.
"Or not," he agreed on a sigh, "But she's changed. I see her from time to
time and she tries her best." Suddenly he laughed, "But I'll bet she's
really looking forward to this fight. She always had a taste for her duty."
"And I don't have a taste for it?" the blond teased, running her fingers
over his chest.
Angel wiggled his eyebrows, his mouth descending on hers, "Oh, you have. But
fortunately you've got more than one talent."
"Isn't it great," she joked, giggling when he began to nibble at her
earlobe, then drawing in a sharp breath at the sensations running through
her body.
"Hmmm," he made, "You could show one more talent today."
"Huh?"
"Stop talking," he growled, his mouth wandering lower.
Stop talking? Why, of course she could do that!
... to be continued
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