Trust Is Hard To Find
Disclaimer: You've heard it all before. Not owning anything worth suing for.
Summary: Lack of trust abounds. Faith searches for answers.
Reviews: Yes, please. Craving the warm fuzzies brought on by the reviews. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!
A/N: The hope was expressed that this was not a Faith/Spike romance. Sorry, I write what the voices tell me. Can't be helped. Pairings are usually beyond my control, they chose who they like. This fic is season sixish with no real spoilers for any specific episodes. I guess that would make it an AU. I'm not going into any major episode changes. Buffy in season six would have thrown a week-long party if Spike dropped out of sight. I won't even go into the nasty attitude brought on by her resurrection. As for where this fic is going? Well, I guess we'll see.
Wayward Childe: What can I say? Had to add a note to you just cause you make me smile.
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Stunned silence settled over the magic shop. Faith stood on the step by the front door and glared at the Scoobies. Giles moved forward from his alcove and removed his glasses. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket, he thoughtfully polished them.
"Faith, how did you get out?" He inquired a little more casually than expected. Buffy whirled around and gaped at him.
"Parole. Angel and Wesley had a word with the board. That and good behavior got me out. Now, answer the question. What the Hell have you done to Spike?" Faith directed her question to Giles.
"What do you mean 'done to Spike'? Nobody's done anything to Spike. We haven't seen him in weeks." Buffy stated hostilely. She still hadn't forgiven the other slayer for the whole body-switch episode. "How do you know Spike anyway?"
Faith shrugged. "Met him when I swiped your body. Came back to apologize for that by the way. Didn't remember his name the other night when I ran into him at the Bronze. But last night I remembered who he was. There's something wrong with him."
"You realize that he has a chip that prevents him from harming humans. Is that what you're talking about?" Rupert asked as he replaced his glasses. He made a mental note to call Angel at the first opportunity.
"I know about the chip. I saw what it does last night when he took a swipe at me. No, this is different. Wait. Are you telling me you don't know?" Faith was confused. She'd been positive it had been the Scoobies that had made the vampire mute. Suddenly it occurred to her that maybe he didn't want them to know which would explain why they hadn't seen him in weeks. A frown crossed her pretty face.
"Don't know what?" Willow ventured to ask. She edged closer to Tara and grabbed her lover's hand. Tara frowned. She couldn't see any deceit in Faith's aura. She wondered why younger slayer so worried about the blond vampire.
"Nothing, maybe I'm wrong. I have to talk to him again. Where does he live?" The brunette slayer backpedaled. There was something funky going on and she needed to figure out what it was.
Giles watched her curiously. She was hiding something. Information about Spike if he wasn't mistaken.
"Where does he live?" Faith asked again. She ran her hand through her hair.
Buffy stared at the dark haired slayer. She was remembering all the evil things this girl had done the last time she'd been in Sunnydale. She didn't believe that she was out on parole and vowed to have the story checked out as soon as possible.
"We don't know." Buffy lied casually, ignoring the shocked gasps of her friends.
Faith's face hardened as she heard the lie in Buffy's voice. "Fine. I'll find it myself. Call me sometime, B. We'll do lunch." She spun on her heel and left the shop.
Giles moved to follow her only to be stopped by the blonde slayer. "Giles, what is she doing out? Call Angel. She's lying."
"I fully intend to call Angel. Then we need to figure out what she means. I wonder if there is indeed something wrong with Spike." Giles moved back into his alcove to pick up the phone.
Later, Willy's Bar…Faith noticed the demons backing away as she made her way to the bar. Willy leaned over the greasy counter. "Slayer, come on. It's bad enough when the other one comes around. You're just bad news and I don't need the trouble." He hissed.
Faith smiled evilly. "Haven't you heard? I've reformed. I just want a little information. No trouble. Tell me what I need to know and nothing gets broken. Especially your head."
Willy shook his head. "I don't know anything."
"Aw, come on." She pouted, leaning against the counter and gazing around the bar. "I didn't even ask you what I wanted to know. How do you know you don't know anything about it until I ask?"
The human bartender sighed. "What is it?"
"You know Spike, right? Vamp. Blond. Black leather coat. When was the last time you saw him?" Faith turned around and lowered her voice.
"Yeah, yeah. I know Spike. Haven't seen him in a while. Been two, three weeks at least. Been real quiet without him. Haven't had a bad fight in here since last time he 'graced' me with his patronage." Willy glanced around fearfully. "I heard a rumor that he got dusted but his friend is still coming around. He does little chores for me for blood and stuff."
"His friend? What friend? What's his name and where do I find him?" Faith hid the little flash of elation that shot though her.
"I've said too much. If Spike is still around and he finds out I ratted him out, he'll find a way to kill me." Willy nervously polished a glass. He glanced toward the back room reflexively. Faith noticed.
"What's back there?" She smiled. Her dark eyes gleamed. "Is he back there? Thanks Willy. You've been a peach."
"Just go, slayer. You're ruining my rep." Willy pleaded.
She waved at him as she made her way to the back room. She stepped through the door and stopped in surprise. A poker game was in progress. Five demons of various descriptions were holding cards and placing kittens on the table. She snickered.
"Kitten poker? Now I've seen everything." She laughed.
"Slayer!" Several of the demons jumped up and ran past her, knocking her into the wall on their way past. The one who remained calmly gathered up the kittens and placed them carefully in a covered basket.
Faith hadn't seen anyone like him before. He was a tall gray skinned demon with red eyes and loose skin that fell over his frame in large folds. She watched him for a moment.
She tilted her head quizzically. "So, why didn't you take off like the rest?"
Clem flipped the hooks down so the kittens couldn't crawl out. He shrugged. "I can't outrun you. They left all these valuable kittens behind. Their loss. I need them. Are you going to kill me?"
Faith shook her head in bemusement. "Not right away. I'm looking for someone. If you help me I'll let you go."
Curious red eyes scanned the brunette. "Who is it you're looking for?"
"There's this vamp named Spike. Willy says Spike has a friend that comes in and does odd jobs. Do you know who it is? Spike's friend that is." Faith tried to explain without giving away why she needed the information.
"Depends on what you plan on doing when you find him. I don't rat out innocent demons to a slayer. Not good for the health." Clem's curiosity was growing. She looked a little too worried to be out for Spike's head.
Faith's slayer senses were screaming at her. Suddenly she knew this placid-looking demon was Spike's friend. She decided to play along and pretend she still didn't know. "I want him to pass a message to Spike. I want him to tell Spike that I want to help. Can you get that to him?"
"Why would you want to do that? Help a vampire. You're a slayer, you kill vampires." Clem sat down as shock buckled his knees. This was not what he'd expected to hear.
Faith uncharacteristically ducked her head. "I don't know. I saw Spike last night. There's something wrong and I want to help. He tried to get me to stake him. I couldn't. Not like that. Can you just let him know that?" She said quietly.
Clem stood up and collected his basket. "If I see Spike's friend I'll tell him. I'm not making any promises though."
Faith nodded and stepped aside to let him pass. She waited until he stopped at the bar and collected several bottles of alcohol before he went out the front door. Then she followed him at a distance. She watched as he made his way to a small apartment and went inside. A few minutes later he came back out. Then she watched as he went to a pet store not far away. He went in and quite a while later came out without the basket. Still trailing the large demon, Faith watched as he stopped at a convenience store and exited with a carton of cigarettes. She noticed that they were the same brand Spike smoked.
Clem's next stop was the Bronze where he came out with a take out bag. She continued to keep a safe distance, certain he didn't know he was being followed. He led her to the cemetery she'd met the blond vampire in the previous night. He carried his bags to a crypt tucked in a quiet corner of the cemetery. He set some of his burden down and took out his keys, unlocking the deadbolt that looked out of place on the heavy door. Faith smiled and shook her head ruefully. She should have known.
Inside…Spike was listlessly lying on his sofa with the television on. It had taken all his strength to climb up the ladder out of the lower level. A tiny part of him regretted what he'd done the night before but a bigger part of him, mostly demon, relished the pain. He hadn't been able to get a bag of blood out but he hadn't wanted to put much effort into it either.
He heard Clem come in and sighed a little when he heard the familiar clink of whiskey bottles. He could smell food and knew his friend was trying to cheer him up by getting his favorite snacks. He remained where he was and listened as the other demon bustled in the kitchen area.
"Hey, Spike. I saw that slayer today. She claims she wants to help. I don't know though, she seems to be bad news. The grapevine says not to trust her. She told me you tried to get her to stake you last night. Is that true? Why? I don't have that many friends I can afford to lose one. I did notice you were upset when you came in. Are you…" Clem broke off when he finally faced the unresponsive vampire on the sofa.
Spike was still in the same clothes that he'd been wearing the night before. He had dried blood on his face and in his hair. He was shivering. He had his arms crossed over his chest with his hands curled in as if protecting them. He lay on his side facing the television. His eyes were fixed on the flickering screen. What shook Clem most was the condition of Spike's hands. They were broken, mangled. Bruises covered them to past the wrists and the awkward angle of his fingers told Clem how badly they must hurt. He wished with all his heart he hadn't left the previous night when he'd heard Spike pounding on the stone walls below. He'd figured his buddy would heal whatever damage he'd managed to inflict. He swallowed the bile that had risen at the sight.
Passing in front of Spike's gaze deliberately, Clem sat down on the battered coffee table. "What have you done?" He asked softly.
Spike blinked slowly and dragged his eyes away from the television. He let Clem gently grasp his biceps and ease him upright. The larger demon tugged on the vampire's forearms and pulled the damaged hands away from his chest.
"Oh my God. You must have been at it for hours." Clem's voice was ragged.
Spike watched dispassionately as his friend carefully turned the hands over. Clem caught Spike's gaze. Spike shrugged, his lean face expressionless. Clem's tender heart ached at the defeat in his best friend's blue eyes. Suddenly the vampire stiffened. His head snapped around toward the door. Clem turned to look. Faith stood in the open doorway. She shoved the door closed. Then she walked slowly into the crypt, her dark eyes fixed on Spike. The deep chocolate gaze dropped to the battered hands.
"Holy crap, Spike. What did you do?" She gasped, her voice wavered a bit at the end of her question.
Spike pulled his arms from Clem's grip. He cradled the wounded appendages close to his chest, laid back down and turned back to the television, shutting both of them out.
