A. N. So, I'm a little sad that I didn't write a little note in the previous chapter, but hey. Speaking of sad, I just spent Valentine's Day alone, sick with the flu, watching Bring it On, as it was playing on tv. Hell, who am I kidding? Bring it On? Seriously underrated :oP Love ED in it. Well, love ED in practically anything (I hear they're thinking of making a True Lies sequel... False True Lies, maybe? Ha!)

A. N. 2. Not satisfied at all with this chapter, but shit happens, and even though I don't like it, it's important, or so I think it is anyway. Sorry for the lateness, but I'm currently housesitting, and they have major internet problems. Eek. Warning. This chapter is Faith-free. We dohave another new character that Buffy instinctively abhors, but we don't really know why... Also, little game! I slipped in a Whedonverse reference, and if you are lucky and smart enough to find it, you just might have a cameo in the next chapter! Wee! Fun! And if everyone finds it, well, what the heck, it'll be one hell of a chapter to write! Good reading!

Gravis has MOM tattooed on his left bicep. There's a small bird with some sort of branch in its beak next to the lettering. Typical. He's also got this massive scar right below it. It kinda zigzags downwards, towards his elbow. A tattooed, scarred and pierced hunk.

The slayer in me is raging inside; wanting to know everything there is to know about this guy. The mother in me is wondering what the hell I was thinking letting Teresa wander alone with him –a practical stranger. The teenage girl in me is drooling. All in all, I'm actually quite confused, and I haven't even touched base with what I'm feeling for his girlfriend just yet. There's no reason for me not to trust this guy; all signs are pointing towards him winning the perfect man award… but it's just… he's Faith's.

Basket case is the understatement of the day.

"What's that?" Teresa asks, pointing at his left arm.

Gravis lays his jacket on the hood of the car, and smiles.

"This," he says, dragging his fingers along the red mark, "is what happens when you lose a bar fight."

Terry's eyes go wide as she brings her little hand over her mouth in shock.

I have to hand it to the guy. Being totally honest to a six year old is a hard gig, and he pulled it off without a hitch. But losing a fight? Captain Marvelous? Losing? Who was he fighting?

"Did it hurt?" Terry asks, suddenly very concerned.

Gravis kneels in front of the tire and looks over the sad deflated form.

"Yep." He says. "Jack."

Ter picks up the jack in hurry and hands it over to her new best friend. Great. Just. Fucking. Great.

It takes the dynamic duo about a quarter of an hour to fix everything up, while I look on from my spot near the hood and try not to get in the way. I seem to have an allergy to grease and all it covers. I would not make Danny Zuko proud, but then again, I'm not campaigning to be Sandy either.

Finally, Gravis get up and dusts his pants off with his grimy hands.

"All done." He says, flashing me another thousand-watt grin.

"That's, huh, that's great." I manage. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome. But I couldn't have done it without the extra hand." He says, twirling Ter's ponytail, causing her to giggle.

Terry's got a huge smear of grease down her cheek.

"Ter, come here." And I do the mom thing, wetting my thumb on my tongue and wiping her cheek. Of course, I only end up smearing it more.

"Mom…"

Then an awkward silence settles in as all three of us wonder what the hell is going to happen next. Terry is probably wondering how Gravis fits in with us. Gravis' probably thinking about the perfect dinner he'll be cooking for Faith tonight. I mean, I'd be honestly surprised if the guy had no skills in the kitchen… or elsewhere for that matter. And me? What am I pondering? I'm wondering about… lots of things.

Did she really have to kiss me? What the fuck did that accomplish? Make me want her more? Dude, that's seriously messed up.

"So, should we get going?" Gravis says, breaking the tension. "I have some Gojo at the shop."

"Gojo?" I ask.

"Yeah. Some of that orange cleaner. For Teresa's face." He explains.

"Oh. Right."

And that's how all three of us piled up in the unbearably hot car. Terry in the back, in her trusty car seat, Gravis in the passenger bucket seat, and me; behind the wheel, hoping to dear God—assuming there is one— to make it to the garage, in one emotional piece. Pasadena, here we come. Wee.

I think I've found my ninth layer of hell. What was I thinking when I turned on the radio to break the intimidating awkward silence? Bryan, Bonnie and Gravis are belting out the lyrics to Rock Steady while Teresa hums along in the back. And the funny part? Mister Amazing has no singing talent whatsoever. I'm up to the point where I don't know if I'll burst out laughing or break down crying. Guess laughing is better for facial muscles.

"… You need a rock, not a rollin' stone, so when a boy just ain't enough and you wanna man made of stronger stuff…" He croons in a horrible falsetto, a smile painted on his face. "What's so funny?" He asks, staring at me, his smile slowly becoming a grin.

"Nothing." I say, but my fingers magically find themselves on the volume button, and thus, Bonnie and Bryan find themselves reduced to background noise.

Teresa doesn't seem to mind as she grabs the latest Pal'n'Gals Double Digest and gets lost with Jughead and Betty and the rest of Archie's posse. Gravis gets the hint and reduces his singing to a slight humming.

"Take a left at the stop sign." He finally says, staring out the door window.

I nod and wonder how long this little façade we've got built is going to last. How long before he starts treating me like his girlfriends ex and not like his long lost college buddy.

"So…" I start. "Faith works for you?" As a good a start as any, I suppose.

He turns his head, and I want to see the look in his eyes when he answers, but unfortunately, my eyes bounce back to me from the reflection of his Ray-bans.

"Only on weekends." He says. "She does Council stuff during the week."

Oh. Right.

"So you know about Slayers?" I ask, and I can't help but smirk in his direction.

"Make a right at the set of lights." He says, then adds, "Yeah."

I nod. "Cool." Can this be anymore pathetic?

"Mommy is the original Slayer." Terry says from behind the pages of her comic book, like it's common knowledge or something.

My eyes do the rolling thing and Gravis turns in his seat to face her.

"I know." He says, lowering his shades on the bridge of his nose. "Now that's cool."

Terry nods and goes back to her book. Gravis twists back into place and gives me a sidelong glance.

"Here." He says, pointing to a sophisticated looking building, complete with three garage doors and a neon red sign that reads Page's Garage. A smaller sign informs that the special of the month is a free tire rotation with every oil change. So. Downtown Pasadena. Nice.

"Thanks for the lift." He says, stepping out of the car.

"Thanks for the tire." I reply stupidly, suddenly remembering that a mechanic's service is rarely free. "How much do I owe you?"

"We'll talk about it inside." He says, opening the door for Terry before swinging her in the air and propping her on his shoulders.

I lock the car up and follow them to where the door's being held open by a rubber door stopper. Gravis sidesteps and lets me go in first; his eyes, an opal green twinkling in the sun are smiling and honest. It's when I see Terry wearing his sunglasses that I throw all my worries and trust issues about him out the window. Good riddance.

The inside of the garage lobby is clean and doesn't smell of motor oil like Larry's Garage, in Lenwood. It smells like orange zest. Kinda welcoming. Posters and pictures cover the walls tastefully. Posters of NASCAR and various car brands. Framed pictures of staff parties and past employees of the month. I catch Gravis, Faith and another guy in one of them, all of them sitting at a table, looking silly and drunk, wearing wool hats with ear flaps. Orange and red. Even with the happiness and all, Faith looks like she's not totally there... I dunno. It's weird. Like she's pretending to be... happy.

I'm just about to ask Gravis when this was taken when his voice makes its way to my ears.

"Hey Jo." He says to someone behind the counter. "Anything new since this morning?"

"I dunno 'bout you, but you got a kid on your shoulders."

When I finally tear myself away from the picture on the wall, and make my way next to him, my eyes land on who he's talking to.

"Seems to me that's new." Jo continues, and Gravis smiles.

Turns out Jo is a petite blonde with crazy green eyes, and a strong stature. She's got a white Stetson on her head, and two French braids slipping from underneath. She's got the same jacket Gravis and Faith had on their backs earlier this morning, except hers is a light shade of pink, stained with grease and crass. Ten bucks says: Sister.

"Jo, this here is Teresa." He says, lifting Ter from his shoulders and sitting her on the countertop. "Faith's daughter."

Jo's eyes go wide as she tilts her Stetson back a bit to get a better look.

"And this is Buffy. Teresa's mom." Gravis goes on. "Buffy, Teresa, this is Josephine, my big sister."

Score!

"No shit!" Jo whispers softly, before covering her mouth with her hand, but we still all heard. "I mean, howdy."

Terry giggles and Gravis frowns slightly in his sister's direction.

Hello? This bonding session is nice and all, but… For fuck's sake. Come on!

"Jo, hand me the Gojo." Gravis says and Josephine hands him an orange bottle, and in turn, he hands it over to me. "For Teresa's face." He explains.

"Gotcha." I manage, still staring at Jo. Fortunately, she's staring at Terry, mesmerized or something, so she doesn't catch me. She doesn't, but Gravis does.

"Jo, would mind cleaning Teresa up, while Buffy and I take care of… payment?" He says, grabbing hold of the bottle from my grasp and handing it back to his sister.

"Sure." She says, giving us a quick look as she helps Terry off the counter. "C'mon Ter."

My teeth involuntarily cringe as I hear her say Teresa's name like that. No one but Dawn andI have ever call her that.

Why you jealous, Buff? They both disappear in the back and Gravis moves behind the counter and studies what looks to be an appointment sheet. When he finally looks up, his eyes are serious and the twinkle is gone.

"So? What do I owe you?" It's cold and not fair for a guy who's only shown Terry and I affection. But I just want this morning to end. Just head off to the ocean and forget everything. Fuck Faith… Why are you so hard to forget?

"Well, Faith and I decided that…"

"Excuse me? I don't want your pity tire. I'm going to pay for this."

Gravis gives me an amused look and keeps going.

"We decided that maybe you and Teresa could treat us to dinner." He finishes.

It takes me a few seconds before it sinks it. What?

"Oh."

He ducks his head a little, as he waits for an answer.

"Oh." I say again. Dinner. Dinner with Faith. Well fuck a duck and fuck it hard. Just five minutes with her this morning and we ended up kissing and in a state of confusion. Now she wants dinner? Treat us to dinner.

"Us?" I say, and I surprise myself with the amount of jealousy that slipped in.

Gravis grins and a chuckle escapes his throat.

"Yeah. Faith and me."

"Oh." God, you'd think I didn't have anymore words in my incredibly vast vocabulary.

"Are you jealous of my sister?" He asks, suddenly. Too suddenly.

"What?"

"You know, if there's anyone you have a right to be jealous of, it's me. Not Jo." He says slowly.

My eyes narrow as I take a deep breath.

"Look. I'm not jealous of anyone, least of all your sister. I mean, that doesn't make any sense. As for dinner? Fine. Sure. It would make Terry happy and that's… Dinner is fine."

"Awesome." He smiles. "Bravo Bravo at 7 okay?"

I can only nod as Terry comes out looking fresh and clean-wearing Josephine's Stetson. Where the fuck have we landed? The Twilight Zone?

"C'mon, Ter. Give Jo her hat back. We're heading out. We have a date with the Ocean, 'member?"

Terry frowns as she hands the hat back and sulks my way.

"Can Gravis come with us?" She asks, hopeful, and I hate to break her heart.

Thankfully, Gravis takes care of this.

"No can do. I have some work to finish here before tonight." He says, handing her his sunglasses. "You can have them for today. I think it'll be sunny at the beach."

Teresa's eyes grow wide as she eagerly puts them on.

"I'll take good care of them." She says solemnly. Then her brow furrows a little and I know she's thinking about something. "What's tonight?"