Loss of Faith

Chapter 10: Confrontations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters contained within.

That would be Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc….

Xander's POV –

Well, that was unexpected. I thought for sure Faith was going to bolt for the door when she turned around and saw Joyce standing there. Heh, heh, like Joyce would have ever let her get anywhere near the door before grabbing her in a hug. I did enjoy the look on Faith's face though. It's not often I get to see her with her jaw dropped open in surprise. It's a little awkward at first with the two of them sitting here trying to make small talk and not really saying anything. Joyce just finished asking Faith to come by the house later tonight so she could meet the new slayer Shannon. This might be a good time to stir the pot a little.

"Yeah Faith," I say in my most innocent voice, "you'll really like her. She's all British and proper and stuff. Almost like a baby Giles. I just know you'll really be a hit with her."

"Thanks Xand, we all know what a great judge of female character you are," she tells me. She's glaring daggers at me as she continues, "But I think I'd rather pass for right now. I gotta get settled in the new place and all."

Joyce asks, "You have a place already? I was hoping you could stay at the house with Shannon and me." You could sorta hear the disappointment in her voice but she kept her smile in place. Joyce was always good at hiding what she was feeling.

"I'm actually stayin at Angel's old place. I gotta really good deal on it. Besides, I don't know how good an idea it is for me and the mini to be up close and personal," Faith says.

Joyce is looking a little confused so I try and explain it. "Joyce, most of the last few years Shannon was with the Council, they spent convincing her that Faith is dangerous. Didn't Giles mention anything about it to you?"

"No," she answers with a frown forming on her lips, "Rupert never really says anything about Faith anymore. I just assumed it hurt him too much to talk about it. And as far as Faith being dangerous, that's just ridiculous. Anyone can see that she's a sweet girl." Joyce looks over at Faith and she's smiling again as she continues, "We'll just have to sit down and let Shannon get to know you better that's all dear. You come on by for dinner tonight and we'll get it all straightened out, okay?"

I look at Faith and can see she's not totally up for the idea, but I also know there's no way she can refuse Joyce anything. "Yea, sure Joyce," she says in a resigned voice, "that'll be fine."

Joyce turns to me and says, "You too Xander. You don't come around as often as you should and it'll be good for you to spend time with Shannon also. It might help get rid of some of those crazy notions you have about her."

Okay, I'm the one with the crazy notions? "Sure thing Joyce," I say. "We'll be over tonight after I help Faith get settled in."

Joyce's order is ready and she gets up to go saying, "It's good to have you back Faith." Then she leans down and kisses Faith's cheek. "I wish I didn't have to go back to work so we could spend the day together, but I will see you tonight, right?"

"You bet Joyce," Faith tells her. "Have a good day." Is it me or are Faith's eyes just a little bit shiny?

"You too dear, goodbye," Joyce tells her. She then says, "Goodbye Xander," and leaves.

Faith lets out a breath and says, "Well that went better than I thought it would. And what's with you being all rah, rah about me meeting the slayerett?"

I give a small evil smile to her and say, "Knowing you Faith, and seeing how Shannon is, it's gonna make for anything but a dull evening." Faith grabs the mustard bottle from the table and chucks it at my head. She didn't use any slayer strength, so I'm able to duck it easily. When I pop my head back up from under the table she's sitting there grinning at me.

"Well, just remember if I hafta put the little half pint in her place, it's your fault," she says.

I tell her, "Okay, I'll take the blame for it, but you've got to do me one favor."

"And that would be what?" she asks with a tilt of her head.

"Before you two begin tangling tonight, can you both be in bikini's and oiled up. Please….," as the last word leaves my mouth I jump up and run to the door. I figure I have a couple of minutes head start since Faith needs to pay the check before she'll catch up to me. By that time I'm pretty sure she'll be calm enough not to hurt me too badly.

An hour later I'm sitting in the car watching a very pissed off Faith come stomping out of the DMV. As she comes up to the car I'm a little worried she's going to rip the door handle right off. When she gets in, without doing too much damage thankfully, I ask her what the problem is.

"Ah, let's see," she starts telling me. "First, the freakin line was about a mile long. Second, most of those people smell like they never heard of soap and water."

I interrupt her with a smirk. "Faith, when I first came to get you, you were a little less than springtime fresh yourself."

"That's so not the point Xand. Besides, I had just spent the night in a jail. Now, do ya mind if I finish my rant?" she growls out.

"Just as long as you know it's a rant, be my guest," I tell her.

She continues, "Where was I? Oh yea, and after waitin in line forever I get up to the desk and they tell me I need proof of residency before I can apply for a license. Where the hell am I supposed to get that and why wouldn't they have like a big sign out front tellin ya that you're gonna need it? What are you laughin at?"

I can't keep the smile off of my face as I listen to her going on about the virtues of the DMV. I try and stop smiling as I tell her, "Once we get to the bank we should be able to get your proof of residency for them. It's just a matter of being able to prove you live in the state. It's really no big."

"Fine." She says as she folds her arms across her chest. "But I'm tellin ya now Xand, if anyone at the bank tries to give me a hard time, I'm gonna really wanna hurt somethin. Ya got me?"

"Loud and clear, Oh Slayerly One," I say to her and it cracks her up like I knew it would. The laugh makes her relax some and the tension leaves the car. I pull out and we head over to the bank. I'm really hoping that things go smooth there, cause I'm not sure she was kidding about hurting someone.

I pull into the curb in front of Joyce's house and see Faith pulling her used BMW motorcycle to a stop in the driveway. We had made it in and out of the bank without anyone needing to go to the hospital and then stopped by the bike shop. They still had the Beemer and Faith paid cash for it on the spot. Turns out they weren't as picky about having the proper paperwork once they saw the roll of cash she pulled out. Anyway, she has the title to the mansion now and can go back and get her license at any time. Another thing we both have is a greater respect for what Buffy could do when she puts her mind to it.

Faith is more or less setup for life. And her kids' life, if she has any. And they're kids' lives. Buff had it setup so that the capitol is invested, the interest rolls over into two different accounts, one savings and one checking, then a portion is returned to the original investment account. I'm not clear on everything but the guy at the bank, the manager no less, says that the money will keep making money and the only way it'll stop is if Faith feels the need to start spending about two hundred thousand dollars a week, every week for a couple of years. That's a little above even Buffy's old spending potential so I think it's safe to say Faith will be alright. I'm glad too. She deserves to have gotten a break in life, finally.

I get out of the car and meet her at the foot of the steps leading up to the porch. She's looking a little nervous and I can't really blame her. Last time she saw this place she was calling it home. There are all kinds of memories here for her. Good and bad. "You going to be okay?" I ask.

"Yea," she answers rolling her shoulders to loosen them up. "I can feel mini me in there though and it's not givin me the warm and fuzzy, ya know?"

"Just try and play nice," I tell her as I reach out to ring the bell. "And if it comes down to it, try not to do any permanent damage to her, okay? I'm tired of breaking in new slayers."

Faith chuckles at that as the door is opened. Joyce is standing there with a big welcoming smile and steps back to let us come inside. It's amazing how we all have gotten use to inviting people into our houses without ever really issuing an invitation. All part of fighting the good fight on the Hellmouth I guess. We go inside and I see Faith looking around. The house hasn't changed much in the last couple of months. There are some new pictures on the walls and Joyce has moved the furniture around some. The couch is over next to the fireplace and there are two chairs backed up to the front window with the coffee table between them.

Giles is just rising from one of the chairs as we come into the living room. He has a slightly nervous look as his eyes meet Faith's. For her part, Faith is looking him in the eyes, but at least she doesn't seem openly hostile to him. Not yet anyway. Giles must see the lack of anger in her and tries a small smile as he says, "Faith, it's good to see you."

She doesn't smile back but answers him, "You know me G, never know when I'll turn up."

"Yes, well I must admit I was quite surprised when Joyce told me she ran into you today. I was under the impression that you were moving north," he says and his eyes shift to me for a moment before looking back to Faith.

"So, ya been keepin tabs then?" Faith asks. I can hear the challenge starting to creep into her tone and figure I better head it off.

"We've been trying to keep track of you in case you needed our help, Faith," I tell her. I give her a look to let her know she should drop it for now.

"Yea well I'm back now so it should be easier on ya," she says in a lower voice as her eyes snap over to the stairway.

Just then Shannon comes down from upstairs. Whereas Faith or even Buffy would have come bouncing down two steps at a time, she slowly walks down each step. She's wearing her usual dress slacks and button up blouse with low heeled shoes on. Her shoulders are held back and head held high. I glance over at Faith in time to see her roll her eyes. Shannon reaches the bottom step and is looking at Faith strangely, I guess she can feel that Faith is more than human too and it has her a little confused.

Joyce walks over to her and says, "Shannon, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Faith, the slayer that was here before you." Then turning to Faith she says, "Faith, this is Shannon. She's been staying with me since she came to town." Joyce seems totally relaxed and has an expectant smile on her face, like she thinks the two of them are going to hug or something. I'm thinking Joyce doesn't remember too well how Buffy and Faith were when Faith first came to town.

Shannon hasn't taken her eyes off of Faith the whole time Joyce was talking. Now she takes a step forward towards Faith and says, "You are her? You are the Slayer that died when I was called?"

Faith looks her up and down and says, "Yea, that would be me, Shan. Guess you're the backup, huh?", and flashes a huge grin, dimples and all.

Shannon takes a deep breath and says, "By the power of the Watchers Council, I am taking you into custody." She then launches herself straight at Faith. Faith trips over the coffee table from the impact and the two of them fly backwards through the living room window. I just stand there for a minute with my head down and eyes closed thinking, 'Kid, you got no idea what you just started'. Then Joyce, Giles and me all move at once for the front door. Somebody better call the Watcher's Council and tell them we're gonna need a new slayer.