Prompt for 20.12.11:

Fandoms: -blank- & Mentalist; S/he got the package in the mail and while it looked innocent enough s/he was suspicious of it.

Include: 'smirk', 'chocolate' and 'toothache'.

Answer:

Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Faith Lehane) & Mentalist (Patrick Jane)

Pairing: past Buffy/Patrick

A/N: Companion piece to 'One Final Look' that can be found from Infinite Possibilities. This features a little softer, adult Faith.

Memories

She pursed her lips as she stared at the plain brown package on her kitchen table. Her arms were crossed across her chest in a plainly defensive way.

She got the package in the mail and while it looked innocent enough she was suspicious of it. It was only natural; she had seen the name of the sender.

She wasn't afraid of him, or that the package would contain something harmful. She was afraid of the memories the mere unopened package stirred. She was also confused why he chose to contact her after all these years. She had been under the impression that the unvoiced decision she had made not to be in contact with him went in both ways, and until today her assumption had been right.

She remembered the times she had met her sister and him; the one she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with. They had always been so sweet it had damn nearly given her toothache.

She herself had always gotten along with him, and had supported her sister in the decisions she made, much more than the brat had. Sure, she agreed he was a little arrogant and reckless, but who were she to cast any stones?

The death of her sister had hit them all hard. She had been there for the aftermath, watching from the sidelines as they blamed him for her death, repeating how she would be alive if it wasn't for him. The way she saw it, it was just the opposite. She wouldn't have lived as long as she did, if it hadn't been for him and the kiddo. Those two had meant the world to her.

She made her decision, is nothing else; she owed it to her sister's memory to open that cursed package. Besides, what kind of Slayer would she be if she let an inanimate object defeat her?

She sat down and draw the package closer. She cut through the tapes holding the box closed and carefully lifted the lid open. There was a plain brown book and a folded paper on it.

When she unfolded the paper, she found a short message from him.

'I was going through some of her possessions and found a box with photographs. I thought you would want copies.

Merry Christmas.
–P '

She lifted the heavy photo album that she had earlier mistaken for a book and laid it on her lap. With some hesitation she opened it.

Her hand rose involuntarily to cover her mouth and she bit her lip to keep the tear at bay when old memories and feelings coursed through her. The whole album was full of photos of her sister's life.

She was fast to leaf through the first pages that had photos of her life before her husband. She wanted to get to the photos of the part of her sister's life during which she knew she had been the happiest.

There was one of her and her sister and goddaughter baking chocolate chip cookies. After having her daughter, her sister had went to some classes and gotten better with cooking and baking, something she was sure he had appreciated.

She smiled softly when she saw one from her sister's last birthday. They had spent it on the beach behind their house.

She caressed the photo of her sister. It was a close-up and she was laughing with her hair blowing in the wind. Tears glistened in her eyes as she recalled how happy they all had been and all the plans they had made.

There was a photo of her sister with her birthday cake. Amusement replaced the bittersweetness and a smirk rose on her face at the memory of her sister's terrified expression when she had seen the mess her husband and daughter had made in the kitchen when baking that cake.

She spend hours going through the photographs, remembering stories behind them.

When she had gone through she put the album on her shelf with a gentle smile adorning her lips. It hadn't been nearly as painful as she had feared, reminiscing the old days.

A/N: It was surprisingly hard not to mention any names… I hope it's not too confusing. Tell me what you think? And once again it's unbetaed, so if you see typos, inconsistencies, etc. please inform me of those.