Part 5
"Faith? W-what are you doing here?" Willow asked nervously
"Funny, I should ask you the same question" Faith replied cynically "cause your GIRLFRIEND…told me you would be in LA for the day" she said narrowing her eyes at the blonde lady
"Uh…I think I should…uh…go" the blonde said awkwardly "call me"
"It was nice NOT meeting you" Faith shouted bratty to the retreating woman
"Faith, it is not what you're thinking" Willow said almost defensively
"Oh really?" she asked in a mocking tone "so I guess you have a pretty good explanation about why you lied to Tara"
"As a matter of fact, I do" the redhead nodded emphatically. The slayer took the blonde's sit and crossed her ankles comfortably on an empty chair across the table
"I'm all ears"
"Okay, uh…where should I start?" Willow scratched her head trying to come up with something
"Start with the bimbo…and give me a nice story cause I'm not planning on keeping my mouth shut" Faith crossed her arms in front of her chest threateningly making the redhead swallow dryly
Buffy and Giles were working on the training room
"So, any new lead on this new big evil?" Buffy asked doing some arm stretches
"No…I'm afraid we have no idea of what's coming" Giles replied picking up a large piece of wood. Buffy put one leg up on the horse and stretched
"That's bad, isn't it?"
"Usually…so have you noticed anything out of the ordinary lately?" he held the wood and Buffy kicked it in two
"Nope…it's been pretty much the usual around here" she answered doing some shoulder rolls
"What about patrols?" he put the wood down "hyperactivities, lack of activities?"
"same old, same old…" she answered stretching her arms again "I'm telling you Giles, things are pretty normal around here" she said doing a handstand on the horse "oh…oh…" she leaped from the horse quickly
"What?" he asked startled by her outburst
"You should talk to Faith"
"Faith?" he frowned and she nodded
"Yeah…last night she was very...introspective" she furrowed her brows "and when I asked her what was wrong she asked if I had noticed anything weird about Tara"
"Tara? Why Tara?"
"Dunno" she shrugged and moved to the punching bag "she was going to explain it but then we met a group of vamps and…Spike" she made a disgusting face and started punching the bag
"Hum…where's Faith now?" Giles asked with a pensive look on his face
"Oh, she went for a job interview...but she must be done by now" she turned to look at him "call her cell"
"I will" he said nodding "uh…can you…finish by yourself?" he asked motioned to the weapons on the floor
"Yeah…sure go ahead" she waved him off and resumed her punches
"So…you switched teams, huh?" she jerked her head to look behind her
"Spike…" she said annoyed "seriously…put a bell around your neck" she turned and started kicking the bag
"So is it for real?" he asked entering the room
"What are you talking about?" she asked in a bored tone
"You not driving stick anymore" he asked cocking his head to look at her butt
"Oh that…" she turned to face him "is it so hard to believe?" she asked putting her hands on her hips
"Kinda…I mean, you used to like…it" he used his head to point to his crotch "a lot…I never thought you would swing that way" he smirked at her
"Just proves that you don't know me as much as you think" she replied and started cleaning up the room
"Maybe…but, are you…satisfied?" he insisted furrowing his brows; she stood straight and narrowed her eyes at him
"Not that it's any of business, but…totally" she closed her eyes and sighed very pleased
"Oh, yeah? And what does she do to you?" he asked provocatively. She moved closer to him and whispered in his ear
"Everything you couldn't" she walked past him and left, leaving him mute and alone
Meanwhile
"So Red, I'm waiting…who's Blondie?" Faith asked impatiently; Willow released a big sigh and answered
"Her name's Jessica Taylor, she's a…jewelry designer"
"A what?" Faith raised a questioned eyebrow
"Jewelry designer…she designs jewelry" the redhead explained gesticulating
"I know what a designer does…" she rolled her eyes "I just don't see any relevance here" Willow ran both hands through her red locks and went on
"I asked her to meet me here today cause I…uh…I want her to create this…uh, ring so I can ask Tara to marry me" she said the last sentence very quickly in a single breath
"You're gonna propose? " Faith's eyes almost came out of their sockets
"I'm planning on it, but… I can't seem to find a ring...cause it can't be just any ring it has to be the most perfect ring ever cause Tara is the most perfect woman in the world a-and I always dreamed on getting down on my knees and ask her to be my wife and I simply can't do it with an ordinary ring cause she deserves the best…I-I-I see violins a-and flowers a-a-and champagne but there is this stupid ring I can't seem to find anywhere" she finished her babbling with slumped shoulders. The rogue slayer kept her gaze fixed on the redhead as if considering something; she then sat straight and declared
"I think I can help you"