"This place is, I guess, what, 600 square feet. Only one death on this property. Fully furnished, like you see. Air conditioning, cable, gas heat. Electric stove, an oven, full bath. You pay cable and phone, everything else is included."
"Good natural light," Giles said. "It's a little cramped, though."
"Yeah, but in your price range, it's probably the best you're gonna do. It's a nice area," the man said. "Well, not too bad."
Giles turned to Faith. "What do you think?"
Faith looked around at the apartment. "It's tight," she said.
Giles glanced at her. "I should take that to mean you like it?"
"Yeah," Faith said. In fact, it was the nicest place she could have imagined herself living since Linda had… since she had left Boston. "You sure you can afford it, though?"
Giles smiled at her. "The council has yet to stop paying for my flat," he said.
"Yeah," the skeezy looking guy said. "This is a pretty nice place to stash a little slice on the – urk!"
Faith slammed the man against the wall, her arm to his throat.
"I don't know what you think is goin' on here," she said, her voice low and dangerous, "but I wouldn't make any assumptions if I was you. It ain't how you think."
Giles cleared his throat, and Faith turned to see the former watcher peering over his glasses at her. Faith released the man and stepped back, still giving him a death glare.
"Right," the man said, rubbing his throat. "Not what I think."
"What is the deposit?" Giles asked.
"Uhh… first, last and one month security."
"And your fee?"
The guy rubbed his throat a little more. "Half one month's rent."
"Bringing the total due at signing to…"
"Fifteen seventy-five," the little man said.
Giles turned to Faith. "You're sure this is adequate?" he asked.
"More than," Faith said.
Giles nodded and started writing a check. "I can come by tomorrow and sign the papers?" he asked.
"Sure, sure," the guy said.
"And she can stay here tonight, sans a signed lease?"
"I don't see any problem with that," the man said, glancing warily at Faith. He edged away a step. "In fact, why don't you two stay here, I'll run back to the office and get the keys. Take ten minutes."
Giles nodded as the man left, and Faith looked around closer at the furnishings in the apartment for a few minutes.
"This place is wicked," Faith said eventually. She looked up at Giles. "You're all right."
Giles smiled, removed his glasses and began cleaning them. "Well, it's closer to the school. Very near Xander's house, if I'm not mistaken."
Faith looked up sharply. "The hell does that matter?" she asked.
Giles was taken aback at her tone. "I just thought… if you wished to see a friendly face, you needn't go far, is all."
"Oh," she said, her voice softening. "Yeah."
"It's close to… to the um, Bronze, too," Giles said, poking through the cabinets. "Well, closer than the hotel, anyway."
"Listen, G, I'm not… well… look, nobody ever did nothin' like this for me before, you know? It's… I mean, what I'm trying to say is…"
"You're welcome, Faith," Giles said. "In fact, I should have done something about this long ago. We have Xander to thank that it now came to my attention."
Faith frowned. "What's he like?"
"Xander? Giles asked, turning to his charge. Faith nodded. "Immature. Juvenile. More than a little selfish at times. Often irresponsible. He frequently drives me mad."
Faith nodded. That was about what she expected.
"To be fair though, he also has one of the best hearts of anyone I've ever met. He's loyal to the point of ignoring his own well being for those he loves. I believe that one day, he'll grow up to be a fine man. Assuming any of us survive that long."
"He ignores his own health, but he's selfish?"
Giles smiled. "Selfish in everyday life, as, you'll find, are all eighteen-year-old boys. But nothing short of an act of God will stop him from protecting those he loves, and even that might not be enough. I recall… early last school year, just after Buffy had returned from visiting her father for the summer. Buffy had… shall we say, issues, stemming from the fact that she had died the previous spring.
"She made some bad decisions, and it ended up with Willow, Cordelia, Ms. Calendar – whom you never met – and myself being abducted by some vampires."
"Okay," Faith said.
"Well, when Buffy found Xander at the library, he told her that if Willow was hurt, he would kill her. I believe he meant it, too."
"Damn," said Faith. Xander threatening Buffy? She could hardly wrap her mind around that. He seemed like such a lap dog sometimes.
"Why the interest?" Giles asked.
"No, I just –"
"Here we go," the real estate agent said, re-entering the apartment. He handed Faith a couple of keys. "First one's the main lock, second is the deadbolt, third gets you in the building. That one also works for the laundry room. Only tenants are allowed, or have keys, so it's pretty safe. Don't think you have to worry about that, though."
Faith nodded, and the three of them just stood there.
"I think that's about it," the agent said. "Mr. Giles, I'll see you in my office tomorrow, to sign that paperwork?"
Giles nodded and the man left.
"Yes, well," Giles said. "We should let you get settled. Do you need a ride back to the motel to get your things?"
Faith shook her head. "I'll grab that stuff later."
Giles nodded, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small roll of twenties and handed it to her.
"What –"
"As I said, I would be reimbursing you for your expenses staying at the motel," he said.
"G, I can't –"
"Of course you can," Giles said. "I insist. Besides, I'll just have the new watcher reimburse me, whoever he is. And I'll have him take over the payments here, too. Seems only fair. They should be paying for it anyway. Should have all along, though it's my fault they weren't."
"I see," Faith said, softly, with what sounded like disappointment.
Giles looked at the girl, and took a guess at the meaning of her tone.
"Of course, I can keep the payments, if you'd prefer not to be beholden to them," he said. "I've the money for it. I just rather felt like giving a little grief to the council, now that I am no longer in their employ."
"It's cool," she assured him. "If you don't wanna –"
"It's not that I don't want to," he interrupted. "I would be happy to keep the payments. I only thought, as the Slayer, you might want to keep closer ties to the Council."
"Nah, screw 'em," Faith said.
"Very well," Giles said. "Whenever my replacement arrives, I'll not mention –"
"No," Faith said. "I meant… screw 'em. Send 'em the bill. I'll still do what I want."
Giles smiled. "Of course. I shall be happy to."
Faith nodded. She thanked Giles for everything again – a somewhat awkward exercise for both of them – then accompanied him to the library.
The whole gang was researching anything they could about the Mayor, even, Willow was surprised to find, Faith. Although, really, Xander wasn't researching the mayor, so much as trying to work on his history paper so he wouldn't fail the course, and would be allowed to graduate in a few months time.
"Willow," he said, making notes in his book.
"Yuh huh?" she asked, still immersed in hers.
"Roosevelt put in the New Deal, right?"
"Yup."
"So how come it didn't happen during his administration?"
Willow looked up, confused. "What?"
"The New Deal," Xander said, pointing to his book. "It was, like, thirty years later."
"Franklin Roosevelt," Willow said. "Franklin Roosevelt instituted the New Deal. Teddy Roosevelt was the big stick guy."
"Oh, him," Xander said. He closed the book and looked at the title. "I think I got the wrong book. Maybe I have something in my locker. I'll be back."
Willow shrugged and went back to her book as Xander left the library.
"Bathroom break," Faith called a moment later, tossing her large, dusty tome down. "Back in a few."
Willow looked up as the dark slayer passed through the swinging doors. Xander's words registered with her at that moment.
"Poop," she said, sighing. "I forgot, Xander has one of my books in his locker."
"Man, everybody's leaving," Buffy said. "It's as if we didn't want to be here or something."
Willow smiled, set her book down and walked out of the library and towards Xander's locker. She was about to round the corner when a loud slamming noise and a voice brought her up short.
"The hell is wrong with you?!" asked a voice that Willow quickly identified as Faith. She stayed out of sight. "You go tellin' Geeves that shit? You're just bragging to anyone who'll listen, ain't ya?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Xander's strained voice said.
"Oh, come on," said Faith. "G knew about what happened between you and me. Said you talk about that shit all the time."
"I don't know what he told you," Xander said, "but all I told anybody was that I used your bathroom after driving you home."
Willow frowned, unhappy that Xander had apparently lied to them.
"What?"
"I didn't tell anybody anything, Faith," Xander said. "Not about our little tryst, and not about any bun that may or may not be in your oven."
Willow stifled a gasp, and stumbled backwards a couple of steps.
"You swear on… on… what, on Willow's life?" Faith challenged.
Willow could almost hear Xander straighten up.
"I would never swear anything on any of my friends' lives, especially hers. No matter how truthful I was being," Xander said.
Willow smiled for a moment, but quickly remembered the 'tryst' and her frown returned.
"Fine," Faith said. "Swear on yours."
"I swear on my life," Xander said, almost immediately, "I didn't tell anybody. Are we done now?"
"No," Faith said.
Willow heard another slam of a body on a locker, and a grunt of surprise, followed quickly by what sounded like a moan. She was pretty sure she knew what they were doing. Willow heard the lockers readjust as the bodies stopped putting pressure on them, followed by Xander panting.
"What was that for?" he asked.
"For gettin' me my new digs," Faith said.
Willow decided she'd had enough voyeurism for the day, and scurried back to the library.
"Where's your book?" Buffy asked. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"I'm fine," Willow lied. "And Xander must have gone to the bathroom or something, he wasn't at his locker. I didn't feel like waiting."
"Don't you have his combination?" Buffy asked.
Willow sat down hard on the chair. "Oh yeah," she said. "I must just be tired."
Buffy shook her head and stuck her nose back in the book. Willow did the same, and tried her best to suppress everything she had just heard. At least until later, when she could go home and have a good cry.
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End Chapter 3