Sorry it took me forever and a day to update. Thursday was my birthday, and I had a busy weekend and didn't get a whole lot of time to write. I got a lot of writing done today however, so I can drag that out for a few days. Mwa ha ha. I got a new laptop as well so please excuse any errors – I'm not quite used to this keyboard yet.
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Joyce's Point of View
The girls really love my cooking. You know, I'm beginning to enjoy cooking a bit myself.
Hmm. Maybe Dawn will go to Janice's tonight. With the girls out of the house I could invite Rupert over for dinner. I'm sure he'd enjoy a night away from his books. It'd be fun for both of us, and I need to go to the grocery store anyway. These girls are going to eat me out of house and home.
"Buffy, could you help me with the dishes?" I still need to have a chat with her.
"Can't Dawn do it?" she asked. I know she wants some alone time with Faith, but this won't take that long. Plus, it's not really a life or death situation here.
"It's alright, B. Maybe Dusk can show me that park she's been raving about," Faith said, smiling – she knew what reaction she was going to get from Dawn.
"EEEE! Really?" Dawn yelled excitedly. She was waving her arms around again – oh dear.
"Dawn, look out!" Buffy said, but it was too late. The syrup bottle went flying off the table and onto the floor. It shattered and glass and maple syrup went everywhere from the wall, to the surrounding appliances, to the chairs. Sigh.
"Sorry," Dawn muttered. Seeing the murderous look in her girlfriend's eyes, Faith stepped in.
"Ok, Dusk. I think you've caused enough destruction for one day. It's a good thing you're not evil."
"Yes. If I were Anya, which I most assuredly am not, I would say that you would make a fine chaos demon," Buffy said through gritted teeth. She was going to have to help me clean that up, and she was not happy about it.
"Girls," I said, warning them of an impending mom spazz attack.
"C'mon, Dusk." Faith said, leading her out the door by her shoulders. I looked at Buffy. She was practically shaking, she was so mad. I took a deep breath and reached out and put a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"It's ok, honey." I went downstairs to get a mop, and a new bottle of dish soap. By the time I had gotten all my cleaning supplies together and walked up the stairs, I could hear Faith and Buffy speaking quietly in the kitchen. I decided to stay where I was for the time being and let them have a moment alone. I put the full bucket down on the stair next to me, along with the mop and the bottle of soap, and I sat down heavily next to them. It had been a long morning so far. And I still had a dinner to plan.
Faith's Point of View
Well, I'm glad I had that little chat with Dawn earlier. Kinda made it easier to talk to her. We had just talked a bit about how I got where I was, and how much I cared about her and B and Mrs. S. How I wasn't going to leave like her dad, so she didn't have to worry.
When little D and I left the kitchen, B looked like she was going to explode. I took Dawn upstairs and told her to put some jeans on or something so we could go to the park she'd been whining about.
I went into B's room and put on the same outfit I had been wearing yesterday, since I didn't have any other clothes with me. That was kind of a pain. I found B's hairbrush sitting on her desk, so I raked it through my tangled curls. I was going to put it back down, but then I realized that B would probably freak if she found my hair in it. She's got weird phobias sometimes for getting demon goo and blood all over her all the time. Anyway, I cleaned out her hairbrush and then headed to Dusk's room.
I told Dawn to just hang out for a minute. I wanted to talk to B. Just as I stepped off the bottom stair, I heard Mrs. S go downstairs – no doubt to get cleaning supplies. Good, I could talk to B for a little while.
"Hey babe," I greeted, coming in the kitchen. B was standing at the sink, filling it so that she could do the dishes. I walked up behind her and put my arms around her stomach and gave her a little hug. She sighed and leaned back into me, placing her hands over mine.
"Hey, I know Dawn can be a pain in the ass, but she didn't mean it. Do you want help cleaning up?" I asked.
"No, it's alright. Mom just went downstairs to get a mop and stuff. We'll manage."
"Ok. Are you sure you don't need anything? Dawn and I shouldn't be gone more than half an hour, and it's not that far away, so-"
"No, Fai, I'm fine. Thanks," she continued quietly, "I love you so much, baby."
"Mm, I love you too. Thank you, Buffy."
"For what?" she asked.
"I just…I've never had this…" I paused. She knew I'd continue in my own time so she just held my arms around her a little tighter. "Family."
"You'll always have us, Faith. Always. I love you, and Dawn loves you, and I know Mom loves you too. I'm glad you're here." Man, I love this girl. I'm going to cry. No, no. Faith Lehane does not cry…or get all mushy or just, no. No.
"Good." I started to back away from her to head out the door with Dawn, but B stopped me. She turned around quickly and threw her arms around my neck.
"Thank you, baby. Thank you for talking to me about stuff like that. I know you don't – you know – do that, open up, whatever. So, thanks," she muttered into my shoulder. I put my arms back around her and kissed the top of her head.
"Sure, B. Just let me know if you need something. I've got my cell with me."
"I don't want you to go anywhere," she said quietly.
"I'll be back, B. Its daylight and we're just goin' to the park."
"No, I mean…Faith? Would you stay here? Like, move your stuff out of your motel room and stay here?"
"Jeez, B, I don't know. I don't think your mom would want me here all the time," I said.
Joyce's Point of View
Yes, I am a terrible person, and I am eavesdropping. However, what makes me a terrible person makes me a well-informed mother.
Having Faith stay here would be interesting to say the least. But the way things go around here…There's an apocalypse every other month it seems, and everyone's constantly in danger. I could use a break from all of it. I think that having Faith here would give us all a little bit of a break.
I know Dawn loves Faith like another sister, so there wouldn't be a problem there. Buffy would obviously be more than ok with a closer arrangement. I don't think Rupert would mind much either if he was to stay here…occasionally…sometime…in the future… I think he would support it if I did, and I do. So it's settled. I'm going to heave my stiff butt off this step and tell Faith that I would be more than happy to have her here.
Faith's Point of View
Speak of the devil; Mrs. S just came upstairs. I pulled away from B a little so that I could see her face, but still hold onto her.
"Nonsense, Faith. I'd be delighted to have you stay with us. It'd be a nice change to have someone else around the house," Joyce said. I looked anxiously between her and B.
"Please?" Buffy asked, pouting. I hate when she does that. It's like my entire reasoning just melts.
"Sure. Yeah, why not?" I said with a smile.
"Eeee!" Dawn screeched, returning to the kitchen.
"STOP!" Everyone yelled at Dawn. She was about two steps away from slipping in the syrup puddle.
"Jeez, guys. Have a cow," Dawn said and rolled her eyes. Her expression got lighter when she turned to me, "You're really going to stay here?"
"Sure, little D," I said, grinning. What did I have to lose?
"Well, Faith, by the time you return from the park, I should be about ready to go to the Gallery. If you want, I can drop you off at your motel and you can grab your things. Depending on how long it takes you, I could give you a ride back here, or, I think Ru- Mr. Giles is stopping by. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take you home from the shop.
"Thanks Mrs. Summers. That's really…damn. Thanks," I said. Nobody had ever been this nice, or considerate towards me.
"Of course," Joyce said. Man, she was a wicked cool lady.
"C'mon Faith! Let's go!" Dawn exclaimed. I figured I had better go before she destroyed something else. I wrapped my arms tighter around B, holding her close to me for a second. I pulled back after a couple seconds with a grin on my face and I gave her a kiss. Damn, that was some feeling.
"Love you, babe. See ya in a bit," I said and pulled away.
"Bye, baby," she said and pulled me back to give me another kiss. I smiled a huge smile and headed out of the kitchen – grabbing Dawn around the waist on the way. The kid had to have reminders that I could kick her ass if she did something stupid in the future.
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