"Sure," Oz said. Dawn just smiled and looped her arm through Xander's, causing Oz to chuckle. The trio turned and headed out of the hotel.
"Hey!" came a shout from behind them. "Got room for one more?"
Xander turned to see Faith jogging to catch up. "Sure," he said, choosing to ignore the fact that Robin was nowhere to be seen.
The group climbed into Xander's truck, Dawn claiming the front passenger seat, leaving Faith and Oz in the back.
"Sleep well?" Oz asked as they pulled out into traffic.
"Oh God yes," Xander said. "Oh, it was so sweet... my pillow was so cool, and soft and..." Xander sighed. "I need a life."
"Wanna join mine?" Dawn asked.
Xander turned his head to look at the young woman next to him, who was beaming her best smile up at him. Xander smiled back at her. "Dawnie, some day you're gonna make a guy really happy, and I'm going to be there to intimidate him into treating you right, and to arrest him if he doesn't."
"But that guy won't be you," she said, sullen.
Xander looked at Dawn for a moment, then pulled to the side of the road. He turned to the back seat. "Guys can you give us a minute?"
After Oz and Faith got out of the truck, Xander turned back to the young woman seated next to him. "Dawn, I love you more than anything."
"But not like that," she said, her eyes damp. "I get it. It's Buffy, isn't it?"
"Buffy has absolutely nothing to do with it, Dawn," he said, taking her hand in his. "It's just... listen, do you know how much Willow has meant to me throughout my life?"
Dawn nodded. "That's how important to me you are, okay? You're like Willow was. I don't want to know what my life would be like if you weren't here. Dawn, you are one the most extraordinary young women I have ever known, and I've known some special ones."
"So how come –"
"I don't know, Dawn," he said. "I don't know how this whole thing works, the... attraction and stuff. And I know you have feelings for me, and you have no idea how much it means that you think of me like that. And I'm sorry that I can't return the feeling, sweetie, because I do love you, so much. And you are going to make some guy so happy one of these days, and I promise you I'm going to be there every step of the way."
Dawn wiped her eyes. "You mean it?"
"I really do," he said, pulling Dawn into a hug. "You're gonna do great things, Dawn, and I'm gonna be there, cheering you on."
Dawn smiled up at him, her eyes still glistening. "If you ever change your mind..."
"You will know it instantly, I promise. I'll be as open about it as you are. You deserve that much."
Dawn nodded and wiped at her eyes again.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"No," she said, looking out the front of the truck. "I'm all hungry and we're not making any progress toward the food."
"Okay," Xander said, smiling. "Now where are those two miscreants?" Xander honked his horn and leaned out his window. "Come on, you two, you're holding up the line!"
This drew looks from people in other cars who were stopped at a red light. Xander smiled at them, grabbed his badge from his ashtray and held it up for them to see. They immediately turned away, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Let's get goin'" Faith said. "I'm hungry enough I could eat a uh... well, I'm trying to think of something other than a horse, but I'm coming up all demons. So, something not as gross and I'm your girl."
Xander smiled and pulled out into traffic.
"Hey, kiddo," Faith said, having followed Dawn into the Ladies Room once they reached the restaurant. "You okay?"
Dawn smiled as she touched up her make-up. "Yeah," she said. "I'm okay."
"You got it pretty bad for the X-man, huh?"
Dawn nodded. "You could say that, yeah."
"How come him?" Faith asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I ain't judging or anything. Just wondering where the attraction comes from."
Dawn sighed. "I don't know. I mean, he's definitely a total babe. And that uniform..."
"Right with ya there," Faith said with a chuckle. "But, I mean, there's gotta be more to it."
"Definitely," Dawn said, turning around to face the older woman. "A big part of it is the way he treats me. He never talks down to me, and he doesn't tell me I'm too young to know stuff, or that I wouldn't understand something."
Faith nodded as Dawn continued. "And I mean, tonight is a perfect example. He sat there in the car and basically said that I had no chance with him, but he was up front. He didn't coddle me, or try to tell me I didn't know what I was feeling. But he was still gentle, and respectful."
Dawn sighed.
"I get—"Faith started.
"And also," Dawn said, cutting Faith off, "he stands up to my sister. That counts for a lot."
"You like a guy who disagrees with B?" Faith asked.
"Not like that. I mean, if he thinks she's wrong, he'll tell her. He always has. He doesn't put up with her bullshit like everyone else does. Doesn't just follow her around like a little puppy, like Spike did, even though Buffy could kick his ass six ways from Sunday. You gotta respect that."
Faith nodded, opened her mouth to speak, but paused to see if Dawn was going to continue. "I know what you mean," she said. "Plus, he's got some pretty good judgment."
Dawn's face darkened. "What, because he rejected me? I should have –"
"No," Faith said, taking her turn to interrupt this time. "Because he said you're gonna be a heartbreaker, kiddo."
"Oh," Dawn said, blushing slightly. "I uh... thanks. Oh, hey, how come you're not with Robin?"
"He couldn't make it," Faith said, her face suddenly expressionless. "Come on, let's go join the boys."
"Oh man! Did you see the part where he—"
"Yes, we all saw that part."
"But, then when he –"
"Yeah, we all saw that part, too."
"And then he –"
"Xander!" Faith snapped. "We all saw the damn movie, okay? Did you not notice the three people in the seats next to you? We were there!"
"Sorry," Xander said, looking down into his ice cream with a quick wink to Dawn. "It's just... good movie."
"Besides," Faith said with a smirk. "The best part was definitely when they took the little ship."
"Oh man," Dawn said, pushing her ice cream away from her. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"You all right?" Xander asked.
"Yeah," Dawn said, holding her stomach. "I think this doesn't go to well with my dinner... and the popcorn... and the candy. I'll be back in few minutes."
Dawn got up and left the table.
"The lessons of youth," Oz said. "Mixing foods can be dangerous."
Xander turned to Faith. "How come Robin's not here?" he asked.
"Couldn't come," Faith said, her face shutting down.
"Do you wanna –"
Faith's eyes flicked for a moment to Oz.
"Oh, look," Oz said, standing up and looking for an excuse to make himself scarce. "There's a... newspaper..." Oz walked away.
"What, now you learned to fetch?" Xander called after him, eliciting a chuckle from Faith, whom he then turned to. "So, what's up?"
Faith shook her head. "He just said he had a lot of things to do, and couldn't make it," she said.
"Well, that sounds... legit," Xander said.
"Yeah, but... I don't know, I guess I'm just being stupid."
"No, what is it?" Xander asked.
"It's just... he called like two hours after his flight was supposed to have left. And, I dunno, maybe it just slipped his mind."
Xander frowned, not wanting to pass judgment on a man he barely knew.
"What?" Faith asked.
Xander hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "That's... very inconsiderate," he said.
"Yeah, but he's busy," Faith said.
"I just..." Xander started. "It doesn't take that long to pick up a phone."
"I don't know," Faith said. "Whatever. Fuck him, I ain't that attached."
"Yeah you are," Xander said.
"Fuck you, no I'm not," Faith insisted.
"Yes, you are," Xander said.
Faith opened her mouth to deny again, but Xander cut her off.
"Look, I'm not saying you want to marry the guy or anything, but there's obviously something there, otherwise you wouldn't be wigged about it."
"I am not wigged," Faith insisted. "And I'm not attached! I'm Faith. Use 'em and lose 'em right?"
"Yeah, you're Faith, but you're not the same Faith. You've changed."
"Not that much," she said.
"Yes, that much," said Xander.
"Why would you say that?" Faith asked. "Why would you think I'm even remotely attached—"
"Because you are, Faith," Xander said. "And denying it isn't going to make it any less true. Because you need to deal with things. Cuz not dealing didn't work out so well last time."
"I know, Xander," she snapped. "Look just drop it. I'll deal with it in my own way, okay?"
"Just make sure you deal with it," Xander said, drawing a glare from Faith. "I'm only saying that because—"
"You don't trust me."
"No!" Xander insisted, looking Faith straight in her eyes. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't let you anywhere near Dawn. I'm saying this because I care, and I don't want to see you hurt."
Faith's expression softened a little, and Dawn chose that moment to return to the table, holding her stomach.
"Hey guys," Dawn moaned. "Can we cut this short? I'm not feeling so hot. Where's Oz?"
"Oz took himself for a walk," Xander said, pulling his eyes away from Faith's and glancing up at Dawn, who looked pale. "And yeah, we can go."
Xander and Faith got up from the table and took Dawn outside, where they found Oz sitting on a bench on the street.
"Ready to go?" Xander asked Oz.
"Sure," he said.
"Shotgun!" Dawn yelled, sprinting for Xander's truck despite her apparent illness.
"I used to be that young," Oz said.
Xander laughed. "We all did."
"Hey," Faith said to Xander. "You really think you could keep me away from Dawn, if you didn't trust me?"
Xander smiled. "I've learned a thing or two," he said.
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
Without warning, Xander lashed out at Faith with his left hand. She knocked his arm away then grabbed him by his shirt with both hands and slammed him against the wall, albeit more gently than she would have an actual threat.
"Not fast enough," she said cockily. Looking at his smile, she assumed it meant he knew she meant him no harm. She was wrong.
"Plenty fast, actually," Oz said, nodding down between their bodies.
Faith looked between them and saw Xander holding his finger mere inches away from her stomach. Faith looked at Oz, then at Xander, not yet having let go of Xander's shirt. "Your finger?" she asked. "What, you're going to poke me in the stomach?"
"He pulled his finger from behind him," Oz said.
"So?" Faith asked.
Xander's smile was so confident that it scared Faith for a moment. "At other times, when I'm not with a Slayer I trust," he said, "back there is where I keep my gun."
Faith looked down at his finger again, which was still pointed at her stomach. She looked back into his eyes and released his shirt, backing up a few steps, a new respect springing to life for the man she was still just really getting to know.
"Bang," Xander said with a smile. As they walked back to Xander's truck, Faith lagged behind a little so neither Oz nor Xander saw her shudder.
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End Chapter 10