Author's Notes: So glad there are people liking this fic and willing to give it a chance. I can promise you that after a few chapters, the payoff will be...delicious...er, I mean worth it...
Tensions are running high as we all wait for Xander to get back from the airport with Giles. Just being in the same room as Faith makes my skin crawl and my blood boil. Just a little. To say I'm irritated is a definite understatement and I can tell from the way Satsu keeps glaring at Faith that's she's truly not happy she's here either. I can't stop pacing and I can tell that Satsu is growing irritated with me. On my next pass she reaches out and grabs onto my hand and I find myself pulled down onto the couch next to her.
"Relax, Buffy," she whispers. The sweet smile she offers me honestly does make me relax a little.
Her hand leaves mine, but she cops a quick squeeze of my thigh before she moves her hand away. She wasn't quick enough and now Kennedy's looking right over at us. There's a curious glint in her eye, and she obviously wants to know more about what she just saw, but instead—thankfully—she goes back to listening to whatever story Faith has been telling her for the last half an hour.
"Shouldn't they be back by now?" I ask, directing my question to Willow. "It's been an hour, hasn't it? It's never taken Xander an hour to pick Giles up from the airport."
"His flight was probably delayed," Willow tells me. She glances around, then moves across the room to the couch I'm on and I hear a little laugh escape as she settles beside me. "You might want to watch how close you and Satsu are right now, you have an audience," she whispers into my ear as she motions over to Kennedy and Faith.
"Great," I mutter under my breath as I sit back on the couch and cross my arms heavily over my chest.
"Xander said something about Giles has some good news and bad news for us. What do you think that could be about?"
"I don't know, Will. You know when it comes to Giles, the bad news could be the fact that he's got to drink American tea while he's staying here because customs wouldn't let him bring any in," I respond. She laughs along with me and Satsu joins in even though she really doesn't get the joke. Even though Willow just warned me, I'm a creature of habit and don't even think as I both reach out for Satsu's hand and lean in close to say, "I'll explain it to you later, baby."
Willow's hard nudge to my ribs kick-starts my brain and my eyes fly wide open as I quickly let go of Satsu's hand. I look over at Faith and Kennedy and then gust out a heavy sigh of relief as I see they're far too engrossed in their conversation to notice my slight PDA slip-up. Satsu's upset, though—I can feel it as she leans back on the couch and lets out a soft groan. I want nothing more than to take her into the other room and calm her down, but time's not on my side. I hear Xander's truck pull up in the driveway and turn to look out the window at their arrival.
"Finally," I say quietly. I stand up from the couch and head for the front door with Faith right behind me. Seems like she can't wait to see Giles again herself. "Impatient much?"
"He's bringing me fuckin' candy, B. You know how I can't get enough of that British candy," she chuckles and for a second there I see the little kid in her just desperate to come out. I barely have time to register that thought, though, before her usual mask falls back in place and she yanks open the door. "You gonna come out and help with the luggage, B?"
"In the rain? No thanks."
"What're you, the wicked witch of the west or somethin', B? Little bit of rain ain't gonna hurt you," she teases me, and with a wink runs out the door and over to the truck.
I laugh as I watch her slip as she runs across the grass. The way she manages to save herself is nothing short of comical. It dawns on me that I don't remember the last time I ever really laughed this hard. My laughing fit passes, though, as I see a woman with long blonde hair get out of the truck along with Giles and Xander. She's far too old to be a Slayer and I wonder if this is the woman Giles has mentioned—in ways that piqued my curiosity—once or twice before.
Moving away from the door seems wise as they all charge up the front steps, but I do take a few bags from Faith and help her lug them upstairs to the spare room. She's grumbling under her breath over her almost wipe out and I'm trying my hardest to keep from bursting out and laughing at her all over again. As soon as the bags are dropped she bolts back downstairs but I decide to take a moment to check my hair in the mirror hanging on the wall near the top of the stairs. After a little finger-combing I head down the stairs myself to join the others in the living room.
Great. The only seat in the entire room not taken just happens to be right beside Faith on the small loveseat by the window. I can see Satsu realizes that as well, because she's giving me a look like she's not too happy as I make my way across the room and sit down next to Faith, trying to put as much distance between us as I can. Everyone's just making small talk and I'm a lot more interested in checking out Giles and the woman sitting next to him. I knew from the moment the two looked at each other and shared a smile that there was definitely something going on between them. They're almost acting as if they're keeping a secret from all of us and I really wouldn't be surprised if Giles ends up telling us that he got married to this woman.
"When is Dawn expected back home?" Giles asks as he turns to look at me. I shrug and glance over at the clock. Hmm. Good question, really. I turn my gaze back his way and shrug again, throwing in a questioning eyebrow raise. "I wanted everyone to be here for the news I have to share, both the good and the bad," he elaborates.
"She's out with friends at the beach, not sure when she'll be back," I say as I fold my hands in my lap and take in a deep breath. "We'll catch her up later. Tell us the news, Giles."
"I'm not at all certain where to begin, though perhaps this somewhat cliché'd question might help: Would you like the good news or the bad news first?"
"Actually, I'd..."
"Oh!" Giles interrupts me as he turns to face the woman next to him. "Perhaps we should start with proper introductions?"
"That'd be a good place to start," Faith mutters under her breath and I can't help but smirk a little since I'm thinking the exact same thing as her.
Giles takes a deep breath as he reaches for the blonde-haired woman's hand and lovingly looks her in the eye before he turns to look around the room at the rest of us. "Everyone, this is Rachel. My wife."
I think I'm probably the only one aside from Faith and Xander that isn't completely shocked at what Giles has just told us. Willow's jaw has dropped to the floor, Kennedy is looking at him in stunned disbelief and Satsu, well, maybe there is another one who isn't shocked, but it's kinda hard to really make out her reaction. She looks like she really doesn't care, actually, and I can't blame her for that. She doesn't know Giles like the rest of us do and to her he's just another retired Watcher who comes around each month to spend a weekend, sometimes an entire week with us.
"Is that the good news?" Willow asks, breaking the silence the room has fallen into in the last few moments. "Please tell me that was the good news."
"It is indeed the good news," Giles beams as he leans over and kisses his wife lightly on the cheek. "I would have invited you all to the wedding, but it was-"
"It was a spur of the moment decision," Rachel interrupts, smiling just as widely as Giles still is. "It was such a beautiful ceremony and Rupert is by far the sweetest man I've ever known. I knew from the moment I set my eyes on him that he was the one I'd marry one day. Who knew that day would come just three months after first meeting him?"
It's almost too sweet to see the way they are acting and at the same time it sends pangs to my heart because I know I'll never be able to find that kind of happiness. Not with Satsu and definitely not with anyone else. Suddenly the room erupts in noise as everyone wants to know the details of the wedding, but I'm already slipping off into my own little world and cease to pay attention to anything that's being said around me. This has been happening a lot lately—it's as if I can't see another happy couple in love without those pangs shooting through my heart and soon I'm lost in my head wishing I could feel those very same things. I shake off the trance enough to look over at Satsu and I see her looking right back at me with a longing in her eyes. I just know she's thinking of the same things I am right now, and it makes me want to get up and leave, escape, but then Giles clears his throat, everyone quiets down, and I try to bring my focus back to him.
"Now that the good news has been announced, I'm afraid the bad news is next," he starts, and now the glasses are off and he's gently pinching the bridge of his nose. I catch the eyes of Willow and Xander, the three of us knowing from that familiar Giles gesture that the bad news is definitely bad. "First of all, what do you all know about a half-demon, half-human named Falken? Nothing, I assume?"
I shake my head no, mirrored by all those around me. Obviously this is the first time any of us have ever heard of the guy. With one exception. I look over at Faith as she fidgets next to me and all it takes is one look at her to know she knows exactly who this guy is.
"I am afraid he is our newest 'big bad' and he plays a major part in an apocalypse that has been carefully crafted over the last half a century. Faith," Giles says as he turns to look at her, "you remember him, don't you?"
"Vaguely," she replies as she lowers her eyes to the floor. "Been a couple years since the last run in I had with him. Barely remember what he looks like."
"His appearance changes on every third full moon, unfortunately for all of us," Rachel says before Giles can even speak and I suddenly wonder if this woman who's so intimate with Giles also knows everything about our lives. I'm betting she does. "We have next to nothing to go on when it comes to Falken, but we do know that his plan is about to begin."
"What plan?" I ask after a few moments of silence. Apparently I'm speaking for everyone since nobody else seems to be willing to step in. "What plan does this Falken have? Wait no, let me guess, he wants to open a Hellmouth and end the world? Do these guys ever come up with anything new?"
"You are indeed very close," Giles responds as he wipes his glasses with his crisp white shirt before putting them back on. "He has plans to open each of the Hellmouths around the world and from the scant information we've so far obtained we do know that he has plans to open the one in Scotland first."
I shudder and I feel Faith do the same. I turn to look at her and wonder if maybe she's been having the same dreams as I have lately. Now is really not the time to ask her about them, but I do know I can't keep the dreams a secret for much longer. I don't even know why I haven't said anything about them yet...okay, lying to myself is probably bad. I know exactly why I haven't said anything, and it's because those dreams always start out as rather...sexual dreams. With Faith.
"But," Giles interrupts my thoughts, shaking his head slowly as he continues, "we could possibly be mistaken about the location of the first Hellmouth he plans to open. We still need to ascertain just as much as we possibly can about Falken and his vast army of followers."
"Full on research mode?" Willow asks, looking a little too excited about it, but I know it's been a long time since any of us has gone into full on research mode. "Should we order pizza now, get ready for an all-nighter?"
Giles nods and I see the faintest of smiles curl over his lips. It's weird, I guess, but I can see that he's missed times like this even if the whole world is in danger of ending at any given moment. Unfortunately, I'm not sharing that enthusiasm. I get up from the couch without bothering to say a word to anyone and make my way out to the front porch. I'm actually feeling a little bit numb as I stand here, watching the rain as it continues to fall steadily from the sky.
Faith joins me a few minutes later. I don't need to turn to look to know it's her, the telltale sound of the lighter clicking and her inhaling a cigarette gives her away. She takes a moment to herself before she moves to stand next to me, leaning against the railing as she looks up at the sky. I can tell she wants to talk, not about Falken or about the fact that Giles randomly got married to a woman he barely knows, but about whatever is going through her head right now. Call me crazy, but somehow I can just sense it. There's also some crazy sixth sense that's telling me major changes are about to take place and I somehow know that one of those major changes has to do with Faith. Maybe this is the turning point in our lives, the crossroads I felt that I was at earlier. Maybe having this new big bad is the catalyst that will finally turn this quasi-friendship into a real one.
"Crazy, ain't it?" Faith asks as she turns to look at me. "Giles being married now and all."
"Yeah," I nod as a short laugh escapes, "who knew he'd ever find a woman willing to marry him."
"Love is crazy sometimes, I guess," she shrugs. "Wouldn't know. Ain't ever been in love with anyone before."
She's opening up to me, slowly, but those walls she's built around herself and the mask she has in place is slowly crumbling apart. I'm too afraid to say anything to her, afraid that if I do, she'll close right up again and we'll take a dozen steps back instead of the half step forward we seem to be taking right now.
"I knew about Giles and Rachel."
"You did? How did you know?"
"Was in London a few weeks back," she replies with a shrug. "Figured I'd go see G, catch up, hang out, y'know, just get outta here for a couple days to clear my head of the shit that's been going on in my life lately. Knew I shoulda said something, especially to you, but I figured it wasn't up to me to tell you what's going on in his life."
"Is that why you got evicted?"
"Three points for you, Princess," Faith chuckles, pausing to take a long drag of her cigarette before she continues. "Used whatever money I had saved up for rent on a flight out there. Who fucking knew a ticket to London would be almost two fucking grand? Last time I went, was barely a thousand."
"You can stay here for a while if you need to," I say, my voice soft, and instantly I know I'll probably regret saying that to her in a couple of days. "The couch is all yours until Giles and Rachel leave and if you're still here by then you can take the spare room until you find a place of your own."
"Appreciate the offer, B. Ain't like it's the first time I've had to couch surf and probably won't be the last. Some things never change, huh?"
"Things do change, but only if you want them to and only if you're willing to do what's necessary to make it happen."
"Might be better this way for me to stick around with this new big bad and all," she sighs as she takes one last drag of her cigarette before flicking it down into the muddy garden. "So," she says, and as she turns to me the slight glint in her eyes that tells me she's about to change the subject. Probably in some sort of embarrassing way.
"So..." I trail off as I raise an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to say what I know she's wanted to say since she walked out that door.
"About that panty-wrassling demon, it was really a hot date of yours last night, wasn't it?" Faith laughs and I only shrug, unable to keep the smile from slipping out. "Who is the lucky guy, B? Anyone I'd know?"
"Um...no?"
"Keeping him all to yourself, huh? Can't say I blame you. Our lives are pretty fuckin' crazy even without any big bad tryin' to make our lives hell. Literally. Everyone's always in each other's business too, and I know how you like to keep your life private. Bet you keep the fact that you're a hot chick with superpowers from the guy too."
I can't help but feel really awkward about this conversation and I don't want to lie to her, I really don't, but I don't want to tell her about Satsu either. I can't even think of an excuse or a way out of this conversation without lying to her. I feel the sudden urge to ask her for a cigarette and I have never had that urge before in my life. Maybe a drink would be more fitting for this kind of a conversation; then again, it'd probably make me blurt out something stupid and do nothing to calm my fears and nerves about having this kind of a conversation with Faith in the first place.
She laughs after a couple of moments and casually throws her arm around my shoulders. "I know we ain't exactly the best of friends here, B, but what's a little cock talk between two girls?"
"There was no hot date last night," I manage to get out, my voice shaking slightly as I shrug her arm off of me. "And I really don't want to talk about this, Faith."
"Suit yourself, B. At least I'm trying here."
"Trying to do what?"
"Be a friend," she replies softly, sounding a little hurt, but then she seems to just shrug it off. "Guess I was right about some things never changing. Looks like some people never fuckin' change either."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Faith? Just because I won't talk to you about some non-existent date doesn't mean a damn thing!"
"You remember what I said back in Sunnydale?"
"You said a lot of things back in Sunnydale," I point out, but I kind of get the feeling I know exactly what conversation she's referring to right now.
"About us never being able to be friends 'cause we were never meant to exist together. Starting to think it really is true."
I want to tell her that she is wrong and that a lot has changed since we had that conversation four years ago, but I just can't seem to find the words. I turn to look up at the sky as the rain finally begins to come to a gradual stop. I'm so very aware that she's standing a little too close to me, so close I can feel the hair on her arm brush against mine with every breath she takes. This closeness causes an involuntary shiver run through me and I move away from her just as the door opens behind us revealing Willow, who tells us everyone is about to settle down for a late afternoon research session. As much as I was looking for an escape just a few moments ago, I really don't want to leave the conversation hanging this way with Faith. That's definitely a first for me, but I feel like I'm at a crossroads in my life and my choice here will determine the path that things take. Maintaining the status quo just isn't an option.
"We'll be right in, Red," Faith says to her with a smile. Willow disappears back through the door with a nod and Faith turns to look at me. "I'm right, ain't I, B?"
"No, you aren't right this time, Faith. It's different now."
"Why?"
"I don't know why. Because it is."
"You think maybe it's 'cause we both did some growin' up and got over a lot of the shit that went down between us before?"
I smile over at her, wondering why we've never really talked like this before. I want to ask her about the dreams, but the sound of Willow's voice as she yells out from inside for us to hurry up and join them makes me roll my eyes and puts a definite end to our conversation. Giving Faith a shrug and one last grin, I lead the way back inside only to inwardly cringe at the look Satsu has on her face when she looks up from the book that's open in her lap. I don't know what's going through her mind right now and from that look I'm not at all sure I want to know. I quickly grab the book that Willow's holding out to me and make a bee-line for one of the armchairs so I can stay as far away from Satsu and Faith as possible. I just know that it's going to be one long night.