And now, the story continues.
An Eternal War
Chapter Thirteen
By IceWing (icewing@one.net)
"So, whats your choice for lunch? Thanks to Giles we missed breakfast, so an early lunch it is today."
Faith pondered this, then responded that she really didn't know. The choice was his. The Zeppo thought for a moment, then grinned. "I know where we're going," he said. When questioned, Xander simply told Faith she would just have to trust him.
Grabbing the car keys, he missed her almost silent response. "I do."
Twenty minutes later, as the Chevy was pulling into a parking lot, Faith pivoted in the seat, giving Xander a look that fell somewhere between confusion and admiration. "How did you know?"
Xander smirked. "What, that you liked House of Thai? Would you believe a lucky guess?" The look he got shot that idea down. "Well, actually, when I was in your hotel room that night, I saw the takeout box in the trashcan."
Faith looked down at her hands in her lap. "Xander, about that"
"Faith, you've apologized for it before. It's in the past."
"I know, but I"
He pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. He then looked over at Faith, then smiled. "Faith, tell you what, you want to make it up to me? Ok then, here's the deal. I'm going to take you out for lunch. We're going to enjoy it, then we're going to go somewhere else and do something else. After we have concluded those elaborate plans, we're going to swing by your place, get your stuff and then maybe go get a bad horror movie from Blockbuster before retreating back to my oh so pathetic abode. How's that sound?"
"Like you're treating me all day and I don't have to do anything to make up for what I did to you."
Xander sighed dramatically. "Faith, don't you know a good thing when it's presented to you? Just forget about what's in the past, and lets go get something to eat."
As they walked towards the restaurant, arms linked, Faith smiled inwardly, looking at Xander out of the corner of her eye. 'Oh yeah,' she thought, 'I know a good thing when I see it.'
Buffy tried to look nonchalant as she and Willow drove past Xander's house for
the eighth time in less than a half hour. Still no sign of Xander's distinctive
car.
"Where could he be? Giles said he was here earlier. How are we supposed to talk to him if he's not here?"
Willow just looked down at the plate of brownies she had made as a peace offering. She had never seen Xander as mad as he had been at the park. "Maybe they went out for some food or something."
The Slayer was not happy when she considered that Faith could be with Xander. Not when she wanted so badly to tell Xander how she felt.
Sadly, Buffy turned the jeep onto the side street and debated on where to look next for him. A single tear rolled down her check as she silently wondered if he would even care when she told him she loved him.
Faith and Xander strolled out of the restaurant, mouths ablaze with the after effects of the spices used in their meals.
"So, where to now, oh fearless leader?" Faith grinned as she interlocked her arm with Xander.
"Well, food has been taken care of. Its only noon thirty so breaking into your apartment is out of the question until dark. So, looks like we've got some time to kill. What say you to hanging out at our wonderful local shopping mall, followed by a trip to blockbuster, then a stint of breaking and entering?"
Faith looked down. "How about some place other than the mall. I hate window shopping."
Xander thought about it for a moment, then looked at Faith. "How about" Before he could finish, he let the sentence taper off into silence
"How about what?"
"Well, I was thinking But its gonna sound like some kind of lame pick up line or something really corny out of some chick flick." He looked down and kicked a small rock into the gutter.
Mentally, Faith was hoping that he would make a move, maybe try to kiss her. She wanted him to take that step, let him set the pace for whatever was going to happen. For a while anyway. She smiled softly at that last thought. "Xander, I think you have earned a couple of cheesy type lines, so please, say what you are thinking."
"Well, would you like to come to the park with me? I'd kinda like to show you something."
"Can a girl ask what it is she's going to be shown?"
"Just something I want to share with you. I promise it's not anything bad, just something that's kinda important to me."
"Xander Harris, I would love to see whatever it is you are being all cryptic about, so lead on."
"Ok, we've checked the Bronze, the mall, the arcade, his house, our houses, Giles' and Faith's apartments, the library and the hospital." Buffy paused and thought. "Its official, I am now out of ideas. Please tell me you are having an idea."
Willow looked up from the plate of brownies she was still holding. She was ticking off in her mind's eye all the places Xander liked to go. And was coming up empty "Sorry Buffy, I don't know. Maybe he decided to leave SunnyDale. I mean, Giles saw him this morning, but since he went off on us at the park" Willow paused.
"Incomplete sentence Willow Spit it out, what's up?"
"Well, I was just thinking, we used to go to this spot off of one of the old county parks in the hill's. When Xander's folks got too out of hand, he'd occasionally crash up there. I don't think he's been up there since you came to town. I know I haven't. Didn't feel right to me anymore."
"Can you find it?"
Willow hesitated. "I don't Maybe.. I wasn't the one who found it."
"Xander found it?
Willow sighed. "No. He didn't either."
"Then who did?"
"Jesse. Jesse was the one who found it. That's why I stopped going. It just felt wrong going there without him. I haven't even thought about it in over two years."
Buffy started the jeep and they headed east towards the foothills, following directions Willow gave her.
"Xander, where exactly am I being led?"
"To your doom!" Xander laughed maniacally. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Actually, we're almost there." The Zeppo reached back and took the younger Slayer's hand as he pushed the last of the brush out of the way.
Faith gasped as she took in the sight before her. Stretched out before her, framed by the branches of the trees, lay the small valley in which SunnyDale rested. She could see the entire town. Beyond that was the golden ribbon of the beach, then the glittering beauty of the Pacific Ocean. "Xander, it's beautiful. I've never seen anything like this before"
"Not even in Boston?"
"Xander, especially not in Boston. All Boston is made up of is old rough streets, really old buildings and skyscrapers. Nothing out there can compare to this."
Xander sat down on a smooth rock and watched as Faith drank in the landscape which was before her. "Jesse, old friend, I hope you don't mind, but I had to show her."
Faith tore her eyes from the scene and looked at Xander. "What was that Xander?"
"Nothing, just saying something to Jesse."
Slightly confused, Faith looked around the clearing to see if there was someone in the brush whom she had missed. "Who's Jesse?" she asked just as her eyes fell on the small brass plaque. She read it aloud. "In Memory. Jesse. A true friend. Never to be forgotten." She looked at Xander, not quite sure what to say.
"He was the third musketeer. Me, Jesse and Willow, we were inseparable for years. This place" Xander swept his arm to encompass all that was around them. "He found it. Told me once that he thought it would be a good place to spend eternity. Able to watch the entire town and see the ocean. It was his favorite place to just relax and think. We spent a lot of time up here, just talking and hanging out. It was sophomore year Buffy had just arrived in town. The short version is that we both got grabbed by the resident undead. Buffy rescued me. Jesse didn't make it."
"They drained him?"
"They turned him. At the Bronze a couple of nights later, during the Harvest, I staked him. I watched his eyes as he turned to dust." Xander looked out over the ocean, but saw nothing. "Right before they dusted, I could see a change in his eyes. The demon was gone and he was there for a split second. One look, that was all it took, but he said thanks. I set him free. But it didn't make the pain stop."
"So you made the plaque for him?"
"Yep. It didn't seem right to me that he never had a funeral. That there was no memorial to him anywhere. Those twits in the SunnyDale PD told his parents that he ran away and there wasn't really anything else we could tell them. So, the parents of one of my best friends are going to have to go on for a long time not knowing what happened to their only son. And there's not a bloody thing I can tell them. So I made the plaque and mounted it up here so there would be at least some kind of memorial for Jesse. He deserves it."
Faith sat down on the rock next to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry about your friend Xander. He's lucky guy to have had you as a friend."
"I just wish you could have met him. I think you guys would have liked each other."
Together, they sat there for a time, watching the wonderful view before them, relaxing and just enjoying each other's company. The peace was interrupted by a rustling of the underbrush. Tensing, but not moving, they silently waited to see what would emerge.
Xander sighed as he saw familiar red and blonde hair coming through the underbrush. "Oh happy day," he muttered, the sarcasm dripping from his words. "The gang's all here.."
A few seconds later, Willow, followed by Buffy, emerged into the clearing. All four locked eyes and for a moment, the tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Xander was the first to speak and break the silence. "Why are you here Willow?" The resignation in his voice was evidence of how disgusted he was with the situation.
"We've been looking for you," responded Buffy.
"Oh please. After ignoring me all year, now you want to track me down even though it should be blatantly obvious that I am not inclined to deal with you, nor am I particularly interested in even seeing you."
"Xander," Willow pleaded. "Please! We need you."
"Sorry Willow, but I don't buy it."
"I need you," said Buffy hoarsely.
His head turned like a turret, his eyes leveled at her. "Bullshit. You haven't thought you've needed me since we met. Oh wait, I forgot. You thanked me after I saved your life. No, forget that. You were using me as a convenient prop to use in order to make Angel jealous. For you to tell me that now, it's just wrong. Playing on my emotions now just isn't going to cut it Buffy, because my emotions are screaming at me to never put my heart on the line again. I gave you guys tons of chances, and I'm tired. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am trying to spend the day enjoyably with a friend of mine. Who actually wants to hang out with me."
With that, he and Faith got up and left.
Buffy and Willow looked at each other in silence for a moment before Willow spoke up. "Well, at least he talked to us."
"Are you sure you want to do this Faith?" asked Xander as they stood in front of the taped off door. "If its too much for you"
"No, its ok. We'll just grab some of my gear and we'll bail. Shouldn't take all that long." Faith put her shoulder to the door and shoved. The tape popped free and the door swung open. Inside, the apartment was still a mess, caused by the fight she and Buffy had begun here and ended outside the now shattered window. Faith paused before taking that first step across the threshold.
"Would it help if I invited you in?" Xander joked with one of his trademark grins.
Faith couldn't help but smile. She thanked him for the thought, then walked in. Although she tried to hide it, being here kinda brought everything back. The fight. The knife. The fall. The pain. It all washed up out of her memory and crashed over her. Xander noticed her hesitation and put his hand on her shoulder. That simple action snapped Faith out of the past, and back to the present.
"Maybe we should do this another time," suggested Xander.
"Nah, this needs done, then I can get on with life. See I'm cool. Five by Five."
Xander watched, not completely convinced, as Faith moved around the apartment grabbing certain things right away, hunting through cabinets for others. All of the effects she chose were placed in a pile near the front door. As he watched, it grew to include a backpack, three duffel bags and an old style steamer trunk. For some reason this last item snared Xander's curiosity. He kneeled down and looked at it carefully without touching. It was not the kind of thing that he really associated with Faith. This looked old. Antique type old as opposed to `70's old. It was cared for, but well used. The wood was gouged, but oiled and some of the metal fittings were definitely dinged up.
"Its not stolen if that's what you were wondering."
Xander slowly stood up. "Wasn't what I was thinking at all. Just seemed kinda out of place in here. Not quite the kind of thing I would have expected you to own."
Faith ran her fingers across the knotted wood. "It belonged to my grandmother. Only thing I managed to keep away from my folks when things went to pot. Hid it in an abandoned cannery down on the wharf when I bailed. Had it shipped in when I got here. She left it to me when she died, so I use it to keep some of my stuff in."
Xander watched, and heard more than Faith was saying. "She meant a lot to you didn't she?"
Faith just looked at him. "Not right now, please? Its not something.."
Xander held up his hand and told her if she ever was ready to talk about it, he'd be there to listen. After a moment of silence, Xander spoke. "So, is this everything you want to take?"
Faith looked it over, then looked around the apartment. "Yeah that's it." Her eyes drifted to the broken window once more, and Xander's followed them.
"It's not the past anymore Faith." Xander took her hand and squeezed it softly. "Things have changed, and you have a new chance at life. Not a lot of people get that these days. Don't dwell on what went wrong, just try to do right from now on. You're a good person and I for one believe in you."
"Thanks Xander. I don't know if I could have done any of this without you."
"Xander. That would be Alexander Harris I presume?" The two teens spun towards the door and the man who had just spoken. Neither one of them made a move though as the Uzi in his hand was trained on both of them. "That's interesting. Our files indicated that the two of you had had an encounter in which the young Miss Stevenson made an attempt on your life. Apparently the files are in need of an update. But that doesn't matter much at this point."
Faith tensed. Xander could almost hear the thoughts running through her head. The man at the doorway raised the gun slightly as he saw the Slayer prepare to leap.
Xander saw the gun raise also and stepped between the submachine gun and Faith.
"Now, as I was saying. I am from Wolfram and Hart and I am here to conclude some business"
End Chapter 13