Part Three

United States - 1936

"Mom, I'm going out." Faith snatched up the box of chocolates, she'd bought for Buffy's present. It took her a whole two months to save for them. She speculated that Harry's gift would be better, seeing that he had an actual job in town, but there was nothing she could do on that account. Tinkering with Angel on her dad's old projects was a much worthier cause in her opinion. Besides, she was learning loads of things that they'd never teach a girl in school.

"Hey ma, did you hear me? I'm going out," Faith repeated herself, as she headed down the hall. A hacking cough filled the air.

"Mom?" Pushing open the older woman's door, the teenager stood anxiously in the entrance. Angel was with her. The young man had just traded bedpans, giving their mother a new one to cough into.

"What's the story?" Faith shifted from one foot to another, taking in her mother's pale complexion. The fading beauty appeared more frail than usual.

"I've sent Harry to get the doctor." Angel didn't look at her as he carried the blood-spattered pan out.

....................

Checking her hairdo one last time, Buffy Anne Summers backed from the mirror. She had applied some lipstick and pinched her cheeks like the other girls at school were doing. Faith and Harry would be over soon. It was her birthday.

With a happy smile she took the stairs two at a time, humming the latest hit. "Hi daddy," the blond beamed as her father offered her his arm.

"May I have this dance?"

Buffy scanned the room, seeing her mother placing a record on the record player. Streamers and other decorations filled the area. "What's-"

"Surprise!" All sorts of people jumped from hiding spots--kids from school, people her dad worked with, and even a few relatives.

"Wow." Buffy smiled, speechless.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart." Her father leaned to give her a kiss.

"When did you-"

"Ah," Hank tipped back on his heels proudly. "All your mother's doing." Holding out his arm once more, he grinned as Buffy took it.

The pair joined the already hopping mass of teenagers as the music played. Buffy continued to search the room.

"She's not here yet."

Caught off guard, Buffy lifted her eyes. "Who?"

"I assume you were looking for our wayward girl, Faith."

Blushing, Buffy glanced away.

Hank tilted his daughter's chin up, meeting her eyes as he spoke. "Never be ashamed to care for someone."

"Hot-diggity!" One of the kids called out as another record started playing. This one was a fast song.

A breathless boy tapped Mr. Summers' shoulder. "Sir, can I?"

"Have at it, son." He stepped back as Xander excitedly took his place.

"Ready to swing?"

Buffy smirked and enjoyed the fun. After all, Faith and Harry would be there eventually. Neither one would miss her sweet sixteenth party. They were her two best friends.

............

"Is it serious?"

"Har, it's always been serious," Angel muttered impatiently while the doctor finished his exam.

Walking past the boys, he shook his head. Harry ran out but Angel escorted the doctor to the door. "Thanks doc."

"Faith... Faithy. Where's my baby girl?"

"Right here, mom." The brunette laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"Did I ever tell you how Angel got his name?" The woman asked softly, playing with her daughter's hair.

Swallowing down her tears, Faith answered with a lie, "No." Her mother loved to tell this story.

"Well, he was a big baby, and so hard to have. The midwives thought I'd never get him out."

"Yeah?"

"They kept saying push, push or he'll suffocate. I closed my eyes and prayed to the angels, and they helped me have my baby."

Faith held her mother tighter as the woman began to cough uncontrollably.

"Mom, I hafta tell you-"

"No..shhh. I already know."

Faith gazed at her uncertain.

"You'll take care of your brothers?"

"Yeah mom, but so will you," Faith answered, sitting her mother up so that she could breath easier.

"That's right baby. Now let me speak to my Angel," the brunette woman gasped between hacks.

Faith got up from the bed and went out. On the porch sat Harry.

"Aren't you going in?"

"No." Harry stared straight ahead. "What's the point?"

Faith frowned. "When mom's feeling sickly she always likes to talk to us."

"She's not sickly, Faith." The boy spoke sullenly, "She's dying."

"Take it back! You dirty fink, take it back!" Faith screamed, diving on him.

The two rolled off the porch and into the dirt. Harry was trying his best to control his sister and block her punches. He didn't want to hurt her.

"Stop it! Both of you." Angel stood on the porch, glaring at his siblings.

The pair broke apart, a questioning expression on their faces.

"Faith, get Father Matthews. Harry, come inside."

.............

The day that they buried their mother was a rainy day. Buffy stood by Faith's side holding an umbrella over her. It didn't matter though; the teenager wouldn't have cared if the water soaked her all the way through. Getting a cold and dying would have been preferable to what she was feeling at the moment.

Now they really were orphans. Maybe this was god's punishment for what she had been doing. In that case, Faith might as well have given her mother the tuberculosis herself; her actions killed her just as certainly.

Faith watched as the casket was lowered not even noticing that Buffy had taken her hand. Feeling as a murderer must, no amount of water could wash away the guilt.

..........

To Be Continued (if you want)