FIC: A Murder Of Crows (9?)

"I've got an idea," Cordelia pulled away from him, their lips disengaging with a pop. His girl-friend began to groom her hair, sighing as she did so. "God, Xander. You're just gropey!"

"I thought that was one of the things you liked about me," Xander muttered before taking a sip of his coke stuck in the car cup-holder. "What's the plan?"

"Oh that," Cordelia's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. Which was a look he kinda liked because Cor's eyes were sexy as anything, but also scared him because when she looked like that she had an idea, and when she had an idea, he usually suffered. "I figure we need to bond with your sister."

The words 'bond' and 'sister' set off various incestuous thoughts. Reminding himself he wasn't from Tennessee and definitely didn't want any three-headed babies, he shoved them aside to nervously ask. "Bond?"

"Oh yes," Cordelia nodded. "I know she's intimidated by me." Xander coughed to hide his amusement. Faith, intimidated? Cordelia glared at him. "What?"

"Furball," he lied, falling back on an excuse he'd frequently used.

"Ah," Cordelia nodded. "If you had better posture you wouldn't get them so often."

"I'll work on it," he promised. "What's the idea?"

Xander's eyes widened as Cordelia began to talk, her tone animated. Eventually his girl-friend finished. "What do you think?"

"Sounds great, hon," Xander said meekly. Let others tell her how crazy her idea was.

"Really?" Cordelia beamed at him. "In that case you can tell her when I drop you off at your home!"

"Yes, dear." Xander's heart dropped. Oh crap, he was in a world of trouble.

"Hey, X," Faith grinned as her half-brother, her having a family how fucking cool was that, as he walked into her room. "The princess not whisk you away to her castle?"

Xander glared at her. "You're hilarious, you know."

"I know," she agreed with a nod. "I'm thinking of getting a comedy club spot."

"Well when they don't laugh you can always beat them up."

"That's my back-up," she winked before nodding towards the chair by her desk. "Take a load off."

"Thanks," Xander sat down and stared at her.

"Hey X, I know I'm hot and everything but even I don't do the incest thing," she jokingly prompted after a minute or so of silence.

Xander jumped as if scalded. "Sorry," her half-brother, man just thinking that was fucking A, smiled. "I was talking to Cor," X's Adam's Apple did a nervous dance. Faith forced down a laugh, no need to ask who wore the pants in that 'ship. "She had an idea."

Faith's amusement faded as Xander talked. Thinking quickly, she blurted out the first excuse that came to mind. "Uh, I can't, patrol remember?"

"I've talked to dad," Xander got the same goofy, amazed grin he always got when he said Crow's name. "He said the others can manage a weekend without us."

Oh crap, betrayed by Crow, why was she not surprised? "I got schoolwork," Xander raised a sceptical eyebrow. Okay, even X wasn't dumb enough to buy her doing homework. "I can't afford it."

"Cordelia said she'd pay for everyone." Xander sighed. "Look, I know you don't like her much. But if you gave her a chance, she's a really a good person beneath all the fashion-conscious stuff... And it's not like you're ever going to be friends with Buffy or Willow," Faith snorted, not fucking likely. She guessed Red might be okay but for the Summers fixation. Way the Wicca acted around Summers, Faith half-thought Red might be gay. "Please," X pleaded. "For me?"

"One condition," Faith grumpily acquiesced before her brother's puppy-dog eyes. "Johnno's coming too." No way was she sitting on her lonesome while her bro and his demon-bride sucked face.

"Deal."

"You want me to go on a trip with you, Xander, and Cordelia?" Jonathan looked around the school corridor. There had to a hidden camera somewhere.

No, only lockers. Lots of lockers.

"It'll be fun," Faith's voice sounded like she had doubts too. Which only solidified his own fears.

"Fun?" Jonathan's eyes bulged. "Fun? With Cordelia? Have you met her? I mean, she's scary." He still remembered camping for days in the toilet in junior high to avoid her.

Faith shook her head, lustrous black hair that he loved to stroke bouncing wildly. "I'll protect ya from her," she promised.

"Who'll protect you from Cordelia?"

"Yeah," Faith pursed her lips, lips he loved kissing, together, "I haven't worked that out yet." His girl-friend shrugged. "You're coming with me."

"But-."

"Two nights camping out in the wild -," Faith sighed breathlessly. "A defenceless little girl like me, I'll need a man," Faith fluttered her long eyelashes, "to protect me from creepies-crawlies."

The logic of his fierce girl-friend being scared of anything bewildered him, and her little girl lost act stunk. Jonathan shook his head resolutely. This time was going to be different, he was going to be strong. "No, I'm not going. Cordelia scares me."

Faith's eyes hardened. "Two nights without any rents around, telling us what to do," Faith sighed before slowly running her tongue over her lips and stroking his neck, his skin pimpling at her soft touch. "Who knows what we could get up to."

"I'm in!" he squeaked. God, he was such a wimp.

"Something interesting came over my desk today."

Trick looked at the credit card statement his boss had passed him and then at the man sat opposite him. "Sir?"

His boss smiled benignly at him. "When I decided Miss. Summers and her little group might become problematic to me, I had surveillance ordered on her and each of her band. That," Mayor Wilkins tapped the piece of paper in his hand, "is a receipt for a log cabin Miss Chase has hired for the weekend, Friday and Saturday nights."

"Oh," Trick lamely replied.

Wilkins chuckled at his bemusement. "You see Mr. Trick, I've come to a conclusion regarding our formidable opponents. Both Miss Summers and Miss Crowe are physically exceptionally powerful, agreed?" Trick nodded. "But their friends," the Mayor chuckled, "now there is an Achilles heel. Miss Summers as the senior Slayer should be our primary target," the Mayor shook her head. "But unfortunately with her that wouldn't work."

"What about her friends?"

"Her Watcher, Harris, and Rosenberg?" his boss shook his head. "No, given her disappointing inaction over the Angelus affair her primary concern would always be the vampire, I'm not sure of her loyalty to them. Lack of moral fibre I'm afraid. And Angelus," the Mayor shuddered. "There is a demon none of us want to cross."

"What's the plan?"

"Miss Chase has taken upon herself to organise an expedition with Harris, Miss. Crowe, and her boy-friend. While I don't doubt Mr. Harris is a resourceful young man, and Miss. Chase has immense spirit, they are both just children. And Mr. Levinson," the Mayor snorted. "He's a complete nonentity, more evidence of the erosion of backbone in the nation's youth. It's a twelve mile hike to the cabin, dreadfully secluded." the Mayor tapped his fingers on the desk for a second before beaming, "Miss Crowe's loyalty would not allow her to desert her friends. Isolated and encumbered by her companions, she'd make an easy target."

"Brilliant, sir," Trick praised before standing. "I'll get some boys -."

"No," Mayor Wilkins shook his head, his expression sobering. "There is still the matter of the Slayer and Harris' father to consider. A not insignificant player. It's best that we use an outside contractor, someone who can't be traced back to us."

Hiding his disappointment that he'd not get a chance to feast on his first Slayer and further torture the brunette who'd escaped his Sire back in Boston, Trick spoke. "Who do you suggest sir?"

"I think the Order would make a fine job of butchering that pretty little girl," suddenly the Mayor smiled. "Now, my diary for tomorrow. Charity lunch at 1 pm, I believe?"

Cordelia beamed as her companions arrived and climbed out of their car, their arms filled with rucksacks. "Hello Xander, Faith. Jonathan, how are you?" Jonathan squeaked and scurried behind Faith. Cordelia tilted her head to one side. "Is he alright?"

"Nervous, C," Faith explained. "First time he's been in the wild."

"Ah," Cordelia nodded in understanding. "Well don't worry," she shoved her rucksack into a protesting Xander's arms before grabbing Faith's and shoving it into Jonathan's arms. "All this fresh air. It'll be great fun." Cordelia turned to Faith. "Now, Faith," she scolded. "Remember we have men for one reason. To carry things for us."

Faith grinned at her. "Well they have more than just one use, but I'll go with the carrying gig." The Slayer dropped in beside her.

"Hey!" Xander called out from behind them. "We can't carry your bags and our own!"

Cordelia shook her head. Xander, always complaining. "The longer you moan, the longer it'll take us to walk up to the cabin."

"Yeah X," Faith taunted. "Be a gent!"

"Be a gent," Xander groaned as they reached the crest of the hill, his calves and hamstrings burning, the log cabin that Cordelia had booked for the weekend beckoning them inside. "She's nuts."

"She's your sister," Jonathan wheezed beside him, the smaller boy's colour an unhealthy purple.

"Don't remind me."

"Ah," Cordelia threw her hands up. "We're here!"

Faith stared at the simple looking one-storey wooden cabin surrounded by woodland just paces in front of them. This was it? "Kinda rustic looking for your tastes C," she commented cautiously.

"Yes," the taller brunette agreed. "I usually prefer five star hotels and health spas. But I didn't want to intimidate you with that sort of place. I thought this would be perfect. The sort of place it doesn't matter if you eat with your fingers."

"Yeah," Faith stared at the other girl unsure as how to react. "Good of you."

Cordelia beamed at her, completely missing her sarcasm. And patted her on the head. Even as Faith was trying to recover from being treated like a freakin' poodle, the bitch spoke. "I try and be considerate of others." With that, the queen of Sunnydale High walked up to the front door and unlocked it.

Faith glared at the cheerleader. "Unfucking believable." She was gonna make X's life hell for dating her.

Faith groaned as her brother and his girl-friend started kissing again. Rising, she looked at her boy-friend knelt on his bunk. "Come on Johnno," she snatched the boy's hand-held video from him and threw it onto his bunk, ignoring his whining protest. Grabbing his wrist, she pulled him to his feet. "We're going for a walk. See some nature."

"I nearly had my highest score!" Jonathan fumed as she dragged him out of the door.

"Shut up," she winked at her boyfriend. "You're gonna score alright."

"But how can I?" her boyfriend queried. "My machine's in the cab-," Jonathan blushed and grinned goofily. "Oh right. Gotcha."

"Jeez," she poked her boyfriend in her shoulder, pushing him up against a tree. "For a smart guy, you sure are dumb." Faith shook her head before stroking his face. "Now, where were we?"

"I think we were going to make out?"

Faith grinned. "Oh yeah, we were weren't we?"

"So, she's the contract," Bill Snipes dropped the photo of the pretty teen on the careworn table.

"She's just a kid," commented one of his companions, a squat, one eyed black scaled blob, his forked tongue dangling a good foot out of his fanged mouth.

"Yeah," agreed the second of his fellow killers, a thickly muscled and heavily tattooed tribesman from deepest Africa known for both his tracking expertise and skills with a knife and bow and arrows.

"Don't be mistaken by her looks," he warned. "She's a Slayer."

"A Slayer?" commented the other of his companions, his four arms simultaneously scratching at his groin and back, the snout shaped head on the top of his giraffe-like neck scraping the ceiling. "I thought it was the."

"It's complicated." Bill put in. "But that's not important. What is killing her. Price is $ 100,000 each. We get the same no matter who does the kill, so it's teamwork, people. She's got friends with her, her brother, his girl-friend and her boy-friend."

"They die too?" asked the African tracker.

"Everybody dies."

"A fire?" Jonathan looked around the wood, his eyes bewildered. "We've got a cabin ten minutes away why do we have camp outside?"

"I'm with ya Johnno."

Xander heard Faith's mutter. Before he could answer, Cordelia spoke, her voice stridently defensive. "It's character building."

"And yet," again he heard Faith mutter to Jonathan, "she hasn't developed one."

Xander winced, waiting for the explosion. Fortunately, his girl-friend appeared not to have heard the comment. Instead she turned to him and smiled. "Xander, dear," she purred. "Could you and Jonathan go and get some wood for the fire?"

The moment Xander and Jonathan had disappeared into the undergrowth, Cordelia's head snapped towards her, eyes blazing. Faith gulped at the clear sign of demonic possession. "You bitch!" her sister's boyfriend hissed. "I organise this holiday for us all. Let you invite your boyfriend despite the damage it does to my coolness and what do you do? Take every opportunity to sneer at me!"

"Hey!" Faith shot back. "Since when did Miss. Platinum Card give a shit about me?"

Faith blinked when Cordelia stuck her face into hers. "You happen to be my boy-friend's half-sister. And I care about him, girlie, so there's no way I'm going anywhere! Wouldn't it be better for him if we got on?"

Faith had to force herself not to retreat at the cheerleader's ferocity. Suddenly ashamed of her behaviour, she nodded meekly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Excellent," Cordelia beamed. "Now, about those cowboy boots, where did you get them? They're simply divine!"

Faith gaped at the sudden change of subject. She was starting to wonder if C's brain was wired different than other people's.

Bill Snipes watched from the undergrowth as the four teens huddled around a crackling fire, led in a series of campsite songs by the taller brunette, the others listlessly and tunelessly joining in. Bill winced as the cheerleader hit a particularly painful note. "Killing her should get me into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame," he muttered before stepping back.

Closing his eyes, he allowed the call of the wolf to engulf him. In a few seconds, his body began to ripple and swell as the werewolf half of his personality overtook him, changing him from a lithely-muscled man standing just under six feet to a shaggy-haired, massively muscled werewolf standing just over seven feet tall.

And yet, a werewolf completely subjugated to his human half. Snarling ferally, he leapt out of the shadows and towards the kids.

Faith had to laugh as Cordy hectored them into another song. Once she gave the cheerleader a chance, Faith had to admit the cheerleader was wicked fun. Sure, this wasn't her idea of a good time, but at least Chase gave it her all.

Faith's amusement faded as she sensed something. "Shit," her hands dropped to the hatchet they'd used to cut wood as she stood.

Xander's eyes widened. "What's up-."

The question proved superfluous when a huge ball of fur roared out of the undergrowth, smashing Xander to the ground before backhanding her to the hard ground, the blow opening up her bottom lip, sending claret flying. Head swimming, Faith reached for her makeshift weapon. "Fuck!" she swore when she realised it had fallen behind her target.

Her heart leapt into her mouth when a pale-faced Jonathan was suddenly between her and the werewolf, practically standing on his tiptoes to wave a burning log in its snarling face. The wolf roared before grabbing Jonathan by his collar and flinging him down to the ground, his head cracking painfully against the ground.

Faith's blood boiled over. In an instant, she was on her feet, foot powering up to kick the demon full in the groin. "NEVER!" The monster roared and stumbled backwards. She smashed a left hook into its snout, snapping its head to the side. "Touch my brother!" She ducked under a palm swipe, grabbed the demon at its beefy wrist, both her hands needed to fully encircle it and flung it to the ground. "Or my boyfriend!" Snatching up her hatchet, she kicked the werewolf's legs as it attempted to rise before straddling it, punching it in its face when it attempted to bite her, she was bad enough three days a month, she didn't need another three, and set about hacking into its neck with her hatchet. "Again!"

"Uh, Faith," Xander interrupted her rampage after she'd hit the werewolf maybe a dozen times. "I think he's learnt his lesson."

"Yeah," Cordy shakily agreed. "On account of him being dead. And headless."

"Oh no," Xander breathed. "We got a problem."

"Werewolf dead," Faith rose, conscious that her denim shirt was dripping with blood. Grimacing, she took it off, dropping the viscera-laden shirt to the ground. "X, stop staring before I kick your ass and give me your leather jacket."

"Oh right," her brother reddened and passed her his jacket, shuffling uncomfortably under his girl-friend's glare. "Sorry." Xander crouched and picked up a beaded chain that had flown off their attacker's neck during her rampage, and stared at the brass ring hanging from it. "Damn. I was right." Xander looked up at Cordy. "Recognise this?"

"Shoddy workman-," the cheerleader paled. "Oh, bug guy."

"Yep," Xander nodded heavily.

Faith glanced from her brother to his girl-friend in confusion. "Yo, anyone want to fill me in on what the hell you two are talking about?"

Xander's head from Cordy to her, eyes widening at her impatient tone. "Uh, sorry. This ring This ring is worn only by members of the Order of Taraka."

"A member of the Sunnydale bowling league?" Faith guessed without any real hope.

"Hardly," Cordelia put in. " It's a society of deadly assassins. They tried to kill Buffy last year."

Faith shrugged. "Well, she's still here. And their assassin's dead -."

"Were there's one," Xander shook his head, "there's more."

"Damn," Faith turned to Cordy. "Your phone?"

"I tried it while you were fighting fur-boy, we're being jammed."

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

"What's," Faith turned to see Jonathan rising, a bump on his head, and a dazed look in his eyes, "happenin?"

Faith winced. "Cor, give him the talk?"

"You want me to explain the birds and bees?" Cordelia looked confused. "We did sex ed three grades ago. Okay, Jonathan probably didn't listen much on account of he probably thought he'd never find anyone desperate enough to -."

Faith glared at her choking with laughter brother. "The Slayer talk, Cordelia." Once the cheerleader had moved off to Jonathan, she turned to Xander. "What's our position weapons-wise?"

All at once, X turned serious. "Not good. There's the hatchet," Xander glanced down at the claret-covered axe in her hand, "my hunting knife, a hammer we were gonna use for the tent pegs, and two stakes. What are we gonna do, head back to the cabin?"

"Nah," Faith shook her head. "We'll be cornered there, best head for the car, see if we can make a break for Sunnydale." Seeing the others approach, she forced a smile. "You five by five, hero?" Her smile faltered at Jonathan's slight nod. Damn she hadn't wanted him to find out like this. Forcing her concentration back onto the task in hand, she looked around. "here's the plan -." Her head whipped to the right, hatchet coming up to chop an arrow in half as it flew towards her. "Xan," she ordered. "Be a minute. Look after the others."

Ajani Dume gaped as the brunette beauty he'd been contracted to kill chopped his arrow out of the air. He never missed and yet she'd stopped him. "Not as simple as I thought," he muttered as he reached into the quiver hanging off his back. His chest tightened as he realised she'd gone, leaving her nervous-looking friends alone. He was tempted to send an arrow sailing into the crowd, kill one of her companions, but if he fired, he might give his position away. He wiped at the sweat that had suddenly formed on his brow. Where was she?

"And now," he half-squealed at the voice from above, "the hunter is the hunted."

Heart pounding, he swung his bow upright and fired. The Slayer leapt from a branch some twenty feet up to meet his arrow and kicked it away. Frozen with shock, he was helpless to prevent the Slayer's cowboy boots from smashing into his shoulders. His collar-bones shattered with a blood-curdling pop, knocking him to the dirt-packed ground, the gorgeous teen straddled on top of him, her slender thighs squeezing tight enough to crack ribs. "Well lookee here," the girl drawled, her light tone not matched by the hardness in her dark eyes. "Seems," he screamed when she got hold of his shoulder and squeezed, enclosing his broken bone in a vice-like grip, "I turned the tables on ya. Tell me about your companions." He spat defiantly at the girl, his spittle hitting her in the face. "Rude," she shook her head before grabbing his nose and twisting, the bone broke and blood splattered the girl's leather-clad thighs. "All those bones to break," his blood froze as the girl drew a hunting knife. "Or maybe I should start cutting?" His nerves in pieces, he began to babblingly talk, betraying his comrades to the Slayers. Once he'd finished talking she nodded. "Who ordered the hit?"

"We never find out the client's name," he replied.

The raven-haired Slayer stared down at him for a long second, eyes boring through him as if testing his honesty. Then she nodded, and rose off him, taking his machete and bow and quiver. "There's a cabin, ten minutes up there. Get there if you can."

"You can't leave me here like this," he pleaded.

The girl turned back to him, there was more emotion in stone than there was in her eyes. "You were planning on killing me and my only friends in the whole damn world, be grateful you get this chance. I see you again and I will kill you."

Jonathan started as his girl-friend emerged from the woods, carrying a huge machete, bow and a quiver filled with arrows. He looked away as she glanced at him, uncertain as to what he thought of her. All the time he'd been dating and friends with Faith she'd been lying to him. Demons? Witches? Vampires? Slayers? How was he supposed to deal with this?

"You got him," he turned back to see Xander talking to Faith. They'd all known, all been laughing at him behind his back.

"I got him," Faith confirmed in her husky croak. The husky voice he'd found so sexy until just minutes ago. "You take this bow and arrows. I'll take the machete, Cordy, you take the knife and hammer. Stick close to -."

"He dead?" Jonathan interrupted.

Faith shot him a sad, hurt glance. "I don't kill humans."

Faith stared at Jonathan, heart breaking at the distrustful look in her boy-friend's eyes. She'd never wanted him to find out, loving have a guy who cared about her because he liked her, not 'cause she was the Slayer, or had a rep or was hot, but cause they were buds. Shaking her head, she turned to X, ignoring but hating the sympathy she saw in his eyes. "Let's go."

They'd been walking for close to an hour, the forest enveloping them like a green blanket when Faith heard it. "Wait-."

Two beasts erupted from the forest, advancing her on a pincer movement. Faith glanced from left to right, the left demon was a fat, scaled one-eyed creature with a long tongue that could probably do interesting stuff in the mouth of an expert hanging out of its uncomfortably fanged mouth. To the right stood a thickly muscled humanoid with a giraffe like neck and four arms. And four swords. "Oh," Faith muttered. "You have gotta be shittin' me?" Shaking her head, she spoke in her firmest tone. "X, back everyone out of here."

Despite the firmness of her tone, as usual her half-brother had to be mule-headed. "I'm not leaving you."

"DO IT!" Faith yelled as the two demons charged her. Deciding the four armed freak was the greater risk, she started towards him. "Ahh!" she screamed as dollop of acid splattered against her shoulder, spat there by the blob. "Fuck," shocked, she stumbled, only just managing to duck her head in time to avoid one of the swords decapitating her.

Regaining her poise, she speeded up, leaping into the air and cannoning both feet into the demon's chest, knocking him back but not down. Landing in a crouch, dust scuffling around her, she blocked a sword swing to her right while ducking one to her left, her blade whipping back to block another downwards slash. Deciding to take a chance, Faith slid into a forward roll, the movement taking her to the demon's feet. The monster squealed when she thrust her blade into the left of its webbed feet, Slayer-powered muscles sending the weapon ripping through muscle and bone in one smooth motion, trapping the foot. After a deft twist of the machete, Faith pulled the blade free and rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding being squashed by the demon crashing to the ground. Springing up, she snatched up one of the beast's dropped swords and flung it into its long neck, severing it.

Faith looked towards the other demon only to find it dead with two arrows in its head. She shook her head and smiled reluctantly at her brother. "I told ya to haul ass," she reprimanded even as she got a warm glow from the fact her bro, yeah and her boyfriend and Cor, hadn't done that. They'd stayed, had her back. Even if, Faith's mood dropped, Jonathan didn't like her much. "The tribesman said there was just these two-," she winced as a white-hot pain shot through her shoulder, sure it would heal, but it would hurt like a bitch 'til then.

In an instance, Xander and Cor were beside her, but not the person she really wanted. Jonathan hung back, a concerned but still distrusting look on his face. "Are you alright?" Cordelia queried.

Faith nodded. "I will be." Faith looked around, "we best keep heading back, just in case there's more."

"Hey, J," Faith fidgeted nervously outside her boyfriend's door. "Can I come in?"

"Uh," Jonathan looked as worried as she felt. "What if you're a vampire?"

"Sun out," Faith pointed out of the window. "'Sides, the important thing is not inviting someone through the front door, once a vamp's got access there, it can go anywhere it wants in a house."

"Oh." Jonathan stared suspiciously at her. "So why did you ask?"

"I was trying to be polite, dumbass." Faith raised an eyebrow. "So can I?"

"Um," the youth hesitated before nodding. "Come in."

"Thanks," Faith walked in and stood opposite her boyfriend, slouching against the wall. "Nice place," she complimented. "Your mom's wicked cool too," Faith smirked. "She was wicked surprised I was your honey." Jonathan blushed. Faith laughed before turning serious. "How come you didn't hang with us for lunch? I had to put up with X and C locking lips for an hour," Faith shuddered. "No one deserves that."

Jonathan stared at her for a long second. "I figured you wouldn't want me around any more."

Faith tilted her head to one side, confused. "Why?"

Jonathan looked down at the suddenly interesting carpet. "You were only dating me b…because I didn't know about your powers, you could be ordinary with me," her boyfriend quickly rubbed at his eyes before continuing. "Now I do, you won't want me."

"You're a fucking idiot," Faith strode across the room and cupped Jonathan's face in hers. "I date you 'cause you're sweet, you respect me, it was like a big deal to you that I wanted to be your friend, I wasn't just a piece of ass. I date you -," Faith grinned. "Fuck this." Placing her hands on Jonathan's shoulders, she pushed him down onto his bed, nimbly straddling his body. "You're mine!" she proclaimed before pressing her lips to Jonathan's, her hands rubbing his hair and stroking his shoulders. After a second, her shocked boyfriend responded, his tongue starting to duel with hers.

"Hello, can I come in?"

Faith bolted upright at the sound of Mrs L's voice outside the room. Winking at her honey, she leapt up and hurried to the door. "Hey," she opened it and smiled at the small woman stood there with a tray of biscuits and drinks. "Hi ma'am."

"Hello, dear," Mrs. L. passed her the tray. "I know how hungry you kids get so brought you some refreshments. Have fun." The woman smiled at her. "Would you like to stay for dinner, Faith?"

"Me?" Faith beamed, Mrs. L actually approved of her. She'd never been the sort of girl invited for dinner with the 'rents. "I'd love to, ma'am." Faith smirked as she had an idea. "Say, did Johnno tell ya how brave he was on our trip? See, there was this bear and it came out of the woods and I was wicked scared, but Johnno," Faith winked at her boyfriend, "just picked up a piece of wood out of the fire and threw it at the bear and it ran off. Man, he makes a girl feel safe." She hid a grin at Johnno's blush and his mom's pleased expression. Life didn't get much better than this.