*************
**Chapter 4**
*************
Phoebe jumped hearing Faith voice from behind her telling them that it was just some vamps.
Faith, comfortably seated, pulled off her back pack, placing it against the counter, and threw her coat over the chair next to her while she took a look around the kitchen.
It was a very nice kitchen, from what she could see. There were racks full of many different kinds fresh herbs and charms hung on the walls and above the doors. She was definitely in some witches' house.
Faith was certain about the witchiness of the gorgeous blonde; she'd seen her fly in the hall when the vamps attacked her. The other one she wasn't as certain about. Something had happened back there, though. In one moment, the blond had disappeared. Looking down at the destruction in the basement, it was quite obvious that the third was also a witch.
Moving on to completely different thought, she took an appreciative look at the blonde. She was one good looking...
Before Faith could finish her thought, she was interrupted.
"Get me out of here!" Prue finally had enough as she screamed at her sisters.
*****
Phoebe and Piper were trying to help Prue out of the cellar, but were getting nowhere. Considering Prue's angry comments, she was definitely not very happy with the situation.
After watching the spectacle for a while, Faith stood up and walked over to them.
"So who did you piss off enough to have six vamps send after you?" She asked them while she assessed the situation.
Glancing down into the basement, she could see Prue, standing in the rubble of the former staircase, looking up at her with a scowl on her face. She was definitely not a very happy camper. Bracing herself against the doorway, she got ready to get Prue out of her predicament.
"Need a hand to get out?" Faith grinned at her, not expecting an answer.
She quickly saw that a lot of rubble needed to be moved if she was going to help Prue. Faith began to tear the remains of the staircase to pieces, while Prue took a couple cautious steps back.
"Hey, sweetie, can you extend your hand so I can get you out of there, or would you just like to stay there?"
Prue didn't look happy at the idea, but she held out her hand anyway. In one smooth, startling move, Faith grabbed her hand and lifted her out of the cellar and into the kitchen, taking her completely by surprise.
Almost ignoring the super-human feat, the witches began to argue about whose fault the whole mess was. Faith listened half-heartedly, not really caring, but at that exact moment, her stomach decided to make its presence known by growling fiercely. The argument halted suddenly as everybody suddenly remembered she was there.
"Who are you, anyway?" Prue seemed a little suspicious of the stranger.
"I'm Faith." She answered, staring at Phoebe now that she wasn't distracted by having to fight the vamps. They asked her another question, but she had begun fantasizing about a certain blonde and didn't even hear them.
"Uh Huh." Faith completely missed her second question because of this. Reluctantly taking her eyes off Phoebe, she looked at Prue. "You said something?" She said absently, still dividing her attention between both of them.
"I said, what are you doing here and who were those guys?"
Faith jerked herself back to the present. "Um, I've got no idea who they were; I just arrived in town, and the first thing I did was run into those guys. I simply followed them to your house. Like I already said, they're vamps...and don't give me the speech about how vampires don't exist. I mean, who are you to talk? You're, like, witches or something equally supernatural."
The expression on the oldest of the three was priceless. Faith could see a lot of emotions playing over her face: shock, anger, confusion, mistrust, denial, curiosity, fear, then finally settling into mistrust and anger.
Faith looked impatient. "So, what, now you're going to tell me you're not witches?"
For a moment, none of them could think of what to say. Finally, Phoebe took charge, marching over to Faith. Forgetting everything else, Faith could only stare at her gorgeous body, before her words snapped her out of it. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. I'm Phoebe, that's Piper, and the one you rescued out of the basement is Prue. Why did you follow those...things, and how did you know how to take them out?"
Oh, she had a nice voice...Faith shook the thought away, smiling slightly at her. "Let's just say that I've had some bad encounters with them. When I saw them marching across the city, ignoring all those happy meals on their way, I got curious about what could be so important to them to pass up all that fresh blood. So what makes you three important enough to get six vamps send after you? Who did you piss off?"
"Who didn't we." Phoebe muttered under her breath, quietly enough that Faith, even with her slayer hearing, almost missed it.
It sounded to her like they had some really powerful enemies. She felt herself becoming very protective of the witches...especially the blonde one.
Before they could ask her anymore questions, her empty belly began to rumble again, and they looked at her, amused.
"Would you like to eat something?" Piper asked politely.
At the mention of food, Faith's eyes lit up. She was only able to nod at the glorious prospect of getting something to eat...
"Lets see what leftovers we have..." When Piper opened the fridge, Faith stared inside in astonishment. There was so much food! "There are all kinds of leftovers, any preference?"
Faith just stared at that delicious food. She shook her head slightly.
Grabbing a large container of food, Piper popped it into the microwave to heat it up while she quickly got a plate, knife, and fork for Faith.
As she handed them to her, the microwave dinged and Piper set the steaming food in front of Faith.
Faith took a deep breath, savouring its aroma...it was heavenly.
"Take as much as you like. There's plenty more where that came from." Piper smiled when she realized that Faith was hesitating, trying to reassure her that it was ok.
Hearing the encouragement, Faith dug into the food with a relish.
Piper decided that the mystery girl certainly had a healthy appetite, judging by the amount of food she put on her plate. The food was disappearing at an alarming rate, and Faith showed no signs of getting full.
Piper started to get other foods out the fridge, placing them in front of Faith as soon as she'd heated them up.
Faith, meanwhile, couldn't believe how incredible the food was! She had never has tasted such good grub in all her life; in fact, she began to wonder if she'd died and had gone to heaven.
"I've never had anything this good before!" She grinned at Piper between bites.
"Finally, someone who appreciates my cooking, and the effort and care I put into it. I was a chef in a restaurant, and I love to cook. However, most of the time, we don't get to eat it because some demon or warlock decides to come after us. It's lovely to see someone enjoy it." Piper smiled at Faith, who had slowed down the speed of her eating somewhat. "I can always make some more, so don't worry about it. Eat as much as you like."
By this point, the fridge had been about half-emptied, with almost all the leftovers gone at this point, but Faith was still eating.
Shaking her head slightly in amazement, Piper pulled out some bacon and eggs and started cooking.
*****
While Faith was eating, Prue dragged Phoebe the living room with her. "What happened? How did they get in the house? And what's she doing here?"
"I let them in; I thought they were coming for one of your photo shoots. She rescued me from them." As Phoebe spoke, she looked toward the kitchen where Faith sat. She definitely felt attracted toward the dark-haired girl and began speaking quietly, almost like she was thinking aloud. "She knows about vamps, and she knows how to take them out. She really could help us. We could ask her to stay..."
"We don't know a thing about her, Phoebe!"
"Hey, she didn't need to save me or fight those vamps, but she did it anyway. Besides, she's new in town, and I've got a feeling that she needs us as much as we need her." She drifted off again into her own thoughts.
Prue still wasn't convinced, but looking at Phoebe, she could tell she wasn't going to get her to change her mind or leave it alone. It looked like Manor Halliwell had acquired a new resident.
They could figure it out in the morning.
*****
Faith, having finally filled her stomach, helped Piper to clear the kitchen and clean up. As they finished, Phoebe walked into the kitchen.
"You can stay with us, if you'd like. We could use the help. Say yes, Faith!" Phoebe smiled hopefully at the girl and grabbing her hand excitedly. "Even Prue agrees with me that it's for the best if you stay with us."
Faith glanced at Prue, who just nodded in agreement.
"I agree as well." Piper added, smiling slightly.
Faith's first reaction to Phoebe's offer was to say no and leave, but the moment Phoebe touched her, she forgot everything else. Once both her sisters backed her, Faith made up her mind quickly as she stared at Phoebe. "I'll stay." She utters those words with great difficulty, all resistance evaporated to the idea of not staying.
"For tonight you can sleep on the couch. It's not a bed, but..."
"Don't worry. I've slept in worst places; the couch will do." She found that she instinctively need to reassure the blonde. That was new.
Grabbing a blanket and a pillow from the closet, the witches made sure that Faith had everything before they headed upstairs to their respective bedrooms, Phoebe going somewhat reluctantly.
Sitting on the couch, Faith began to scan her immediate area. The place gave off a weird vibe, kind of like the Hellmouth did. There was a major difference, though. The Hellmouth was cold, radiating darkness, evil, and death; this place was warm, spreading light, life, and goodness.
No wonder the demons and warlocks were all after this place. The havoc they could wreck with this much power would be unbelievable.
The house was nearly silent and she could hear the breathing of the sisters slow down and even out as they all fell asleep. The sheer quiet of this place was a drastic change from the constant noise of the prison. This was so relaxing and peaceful.
This living room which radiated warmth and joy was such a sudden change of scenery for her first day out of prison. Her first day free in a new city with a new chance and a place to live.
Seeing her backpack, she grabbed it and out of it fell the nearly forgotten papers she'd gotten from Wolfram & Hart.
Picking them up, Faith finally took a look at them. One envelope in particular caught her eye: it has her full name on it, written in the mayor's handwriting.
She could very clearly remember the last time she'd gotten a parcel from the mayor.
*************
**Chapter 4**
*************
Phoebe jumped hearing Faith voice from behind her telling them that it was just some vamps.
Faith, comfortably seated, pulled off her back pack, placing it against the counter, and threw her coat over the chair next to her while she took a look around the kitchen.
It was a very nice kitchen, from what she could see. There were racks full of many different kinds fresh herbs and charms hung on the walls and above the doors. She was definitely in some witches' house.
Faith was certain about the witchiness of the gorgeous blonde; she'd seen her fly in the hall when the vamps attacked her. The other one she wasn't as certain about. Something had happened back there, though. In one moment, the blond had disappeared. Looking down at the destruction in the basement, it was quite obvious that the third was also a witch.
Moving on to completely different thought, she took an appreciative look at the blonde. She was one good looking...
Before Faith could finish her thought, she was interrupted.
"Get me out of here!" Prue finally had enough as she screamed at her sisters.
*****
Phoebe and Piper were trying to help Prue out of the cellar, but were getting nowhere. Considering Prue's angry comments, she was definitely not very happy with the situation.
After watching the spectacle for a while, Faith stood up and walked over to them.
"So who did you piss off enough to have six vamps send after you?" She asked them while she assessed the situation.
Glancing down into the basement, she could see Prue, standing in the rubble of the former staircase, looking up at her with a scowl on her face. She was definitely not a very happy camper. Bracing herself against the doorway, she got ready to get Prue out of her predicament.
"Need a hand to get out?" Faith grinned at her, not expecting an answer.
She quickly saw that a lot of rubble needed to be moved if she was going to help Prue. Faith began to tear the remains of the staircase to pieces, while Prue took a couple cautious steps back.
"Hey, sweetie, can you extend your hand so I can get you out of there, or would you just like to stay there?"
Prue didn't look happy at the idea, but she held out her hand anyway. In one smooth, startling move, Faith grabbed her hand and lifted her out of the cellar and into the kitchen, taking her completely by surprise.
Almost ignoring the super-human feat, the witches began to argue about whose fault the whole mess was. Faith listened half-heartedly, not really caring, but at that exact moment, her stomach decided to make its presence known by growling fiercely. The argument halted suddenly as everybody suddenly remembered she was there.
"Who are you, anyway?" Prue seemed a little suspicious of the stranger.
"I'm Faith." She answered, staring at Phoebe now that she wasn't distracted by having to fight the vamps. They asked her another question, but she had begun fantasizing about a certain blonde and didn't even hear them.
"Uh Huh." Faith completely missed her second question because of this. Reluctantly taking her eyes off Phoebe, she looked at Prue. "You said something?" She said absently, still dividing her attention between both of them.
"I said, what are you doing here and who were those guys?"
Faith jerked herself back to the present. "Um, I've got no idea who they were; I just arrived in town, and the first thing I did was run into those guys. I simply followed them to your house. Like I already said, they're vamps...and don't give me the speech about how vampires don't exist. I mean, who are you to talk? You're, like, witches or something equally supernatural."
The expression on the oldest of the three was priceless. Faith could see a lot of emotions playing over her face: shock, anger, confusion, mistrust, denial, curiosity, fear, then finally settling into mistrust and anger.
Faith looked impatient. "So, what, now you're going to tell me you're not witches?"
For a moment, none of them could think of what to say. Finally, Phoebe took charge, marching over to Faith. Forgetting everything else, Faith could only stare at her gorgeous body, before her words snapped her out of it. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. I'm Phoebe, that's Piper, and the one you rescued out of the basement is Prue. Why did you follow those...things, and how did you know how to take them out?"
Oh, she had a nice voice...Faith shook the thought away, smiling slightly at her. "Let's just say that I've had some bad encounters with them. When I saw them marching across the city, ignoring all those happy meals on their way, I got curious about what could be so important to them to pass up all that fresh blood. So what makes you three important enough to get six vamps send after you? Who did you piss off?"
"Who didn't we." Phoebe muttered under her breath, quietly enough that Faith, even with her slayer hearing, almost missed it.
It sounded to her like they had some really powerful enemies. She felt herself becoming very protective of the witches...especially the blonde one.
Before they could ask her anymore questions, her empty belly began to rumble again, and they looked at her, amused.
"Would you like to eat something?" Piper asked politely.
At the mention of food, Faith's eyes lit up. She was only able to nod at the glorious prospect of getting something to eat...
"Lets see what leftovers we have..." When Piper opened the fridge, Faith stared inside in astonishment. There was so much food! "There are all kinds of leftovers, any preference?"
Faith just stared at that delicious food. She shook her head slightly.
Grabbing a large container of food, Piper popped it into the microwave to heat it up while she quickly got a plate, knife, and fork for Faith.
As she handed them to her, the microwave dinged and Piper set the steaming food in front of Faith.
Faith took a deep breath, savouring its aroma...it was heavenly.
"Take as much as you like. There's plenty more where that came from." Piper smiled when she realized that Faith was hesitating, trying to reassure her that it was ok.
Hearing the encouragement, Faith dug into the food with a relish.
Piper decided that the mystery girl certainly had a healthy appetite, judging by the amount of food she put on her plate. The food was disappearing at an alarming rate, and Faith showed no signs of getting full.
Piper started to get other foods out the fridge, placing them in front of Faith as soon as she'd heated them up.
Faith, meanwhile, couldn't believe how incredible the food was! She had never has tasted such good grub in all her life; in fact, she began to wonder if she'd died and had gone to heaven.
"I've never had anything this good before!" She grinned at Piper between bites.
"Finally, someone who appreciates my cooking, and the effort and care I put into it. I was a chef in a restaurant, and I love to cook. However, most of the time, we don't get to eat it because some demon or warlock decides to come after us. It's lovely to see someone enjoy it." Piper smiled at Faith, who had slowed down the speed of her eating somewhat. "I can always make some more, so don't worry about it. Eat as much as you like."
By this point, the fridge had been about half-emptied, with almost all the leftovers gone at this point, but Faith was still eating.
Shaking her head slightly in amazement, Piper pulled out some bacon and eggs and started cooking.
*****
While Faith was eating, Prue dragged Phoebe the living room with her. "What happened? How did they get in the house? And what's she doing here?"
"I let them in; I thought they were coming for one of your photo shoots. She rescued me from them." As Phoebe spoke, she looked toward the kitchen where Faith sat. She definitely felt attracted toward the dark-haired girl and began speaking quietly, almost like she was thinking aloud. "She knows about vamps, and she knows how to take them out. She really could help us. We could ask her to stay..."
"We don't know a thing about her, Phoebe!"
"Hey, she didn't need to save me or fight those vamps, but she did it anyway. Besides, she's new in town, and I've got a feeling that she needs us as much as we need her." She drifted off again into her own thoughts.
Prue still wasn't convinced, but looking at Phoebe, she could tell she wasn't going to get her to change her mind or leave it alone. It looked like Manor Halliwell had acquired a new resident.
They could figure it out in the morning.
*****
Faith, having finally filled her stomach, helped Piper to clear the kitchen and clean up. As they finished, Phoebe walked into the kitchen.
"You can stay with us, if you'd like. We could use the help. Say yes, Faith!" Phoebe smiled hopefully at the girl and grabbing her hand excitedly. "Even Prue agrees with me that it's for the best if you stay with us."
Faith glanced at Prue, who just nodded in agreement.
"I agree as well." Piper added, smiling slightly.
Faith's first reaction to Phoebe's offer was to say no and leave, but the moment Phoebe touched her, she forgot everything else. Once both her sisters backed her, Faith made up her mind quickly as she stared at Phoebe. "I'll stay." She utters those words with great difficulty, all resistance evaporated to the idea of not staying.
"For tonight you can sleep on the couch. It's not a bed, but..."
"Don't worry. I've slept in worst places; the couch will do." She found that she instinctively need to reassure the blonde. That was new.
Grabbing a blanket and a pillow from the closet, the witches made sure that Faith had everything before they headed upstairs to their respective bedrooms, Phoebe going somewhat reluctantly.
Sitting on the couch, Faith began to scan her immediate area. The place gave off a weird vibe, kind of like the Hellmouth did. There was a major difference, though. The Hellmouth was cold, radiating darkness, evil, and death; this place was warm, spreading light, life, and goodness.
No wonder the demons and warlocks were all after this place. The havoc they could wreck with this much power would be unbelievable.
The house was nearly silent and she could hear the breathing of the sisters slow down and even out as they all fell asleep. The sheer quiet of this place was a drastic change from the constant noise of the prison. This was so relaxing and peaceful.
This living room which radiated warmth and joy was such a sudden change of scenery for her first day out of prison. Her first day free in a new city with a new chance and a place to live.
Seeing her backpack, she grabbed it and out of it fell the nearly forgotten papers she'd gotten from Wolfram & Hart.
Picking them up, Faith finally took a look at them. One envelope in particular caught her eye: it has her full name on it, written in the mayor's handwriting.
She could very clearly remember the last time she'd gotten a parcel from the mayor.
*************
