The Path To Redemption
Chapter 6
Author: twin who likes to travel
Rating: PG-13
Summary: the Sunnydale and L.A. teams celebrate Faith's birthday and beating The First.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Reviews: I would like them. Constructive criticism is ok.
Author's notes: RainbowSmurfette, thanks for the review. Does it mean that you think I'm doing a good job at keeping this story as error free as possible? QuarksEatLeptons, thanks for adding my story to your alert list. Maybe you could leave a review as well. It doesn't say anywhere in your profile about liking Buffy T.V.S..
Less than a minute later, the hotel kitchen
When she reached the kitchen, she saw Faith grabbing what probably was a beer from the refrigerator with her back to Dawn.
"What do ya want, D?"
"How did you know it was going to be me? It could have been Buffy."
"Lucky guess," Faith revealed as she closed the door but still kept her back to the younger girl.
"I'm s-sorry, F-Faith."
"Sure," Faith muttered softer than normal.
"I mean it. I thought you deserved at least one."
"Whatever."
"Would you please turn around?"
"Why?"
"Because I want you to see that I'm honestly sorry."
"I believe you," Faith stated casually without moving at all.
"If you turn around, we can cancel the party and let you do whatever you want to do until we go out again to celebrate winning the fight against The First."
"You promise?"
"Of course I do."
"Fine."
"See, that wasn't so…," Dawn asserted and paused at what she saw, "I knew it."
"You knew what?"
"That secretly you wanted to have one. So it would show that SOMEONE cared enough to go through any possible problems with having one."
"No," Faith denied as Dawn walked up to her.
"Ok, maybe you're not big on those types of parties, but you're touched that I convinced them to throw you one."
"You can't tell anyone," Faith ordered as she set her beer down on the counter and gripped Dawn's shoulders firmly.
"Ow," Dawn yelped softly, getting Faith to instantly let her go.
"I'm sorry, D, I mean it. Promise me you won't tell anyone."
"I won't," Dawn agreed before suddenly hugging her.
"Good." Why am I letting her do this, and why does it feel good?
"So we can still have the party?"
"Yes. But if they ask, I only agreed because I couldn't resist the 'Summers pout'."
"You mean this one?" the younger Summers guessed and made a pouting expression.
"That's the one," Faith informed as she fought the urge to take the girl in her arms and kiss the soft, pouty lips.
"But you have to promise me something though."
"What's that?"
"Try to quit smoking."
"Why?"
"Because now that we're getting a second chance at a friendship, I want you to stick around for awhile. Besides, if we ever kiss again, I don't want it to be like kissing an ashtray."
"Ok, I'll try, just for you."
"Thanks."
After Faith made sure she looked ok, she led Dawn out of the kitchen. Dawn was still smiling from the hug and couldn't help but think Faith looked cute when she showed emotion like that. She nearly gulped when she realized she had just checked Faith out and accidentally spent a few seconds longer than she should have on the brunette's butt.
"Is everything ok?"
"Five by five, B."
"Then what was with all the drama?"
"Yeah, being a drama queen is usually a Summers thing," Xander joked; only to receive a second punch and glares from both Summers' girls.
"So is the party still on?" Willow challenged.
"Yes," Dawn confirmed and continued when it looked like she was about to be interrupted, "Even Faith can't resist the 'Summers pout'."
The Scoobies then smiled at Faith.
"And we're still on about celebratin' a second time for beatin' The First," Faith replied.
"The s-second t-time?" Willow stuttered nervously.
"I know you celebrated already."
"H-How d-do y-you kn-know?"
"Call it a hunch," Faith divulged and kept going when it seemed that Buffy and Willow were going to say something, "And I get it….I do. It's just…It would have been nice if you could have waited until I was here."
Faith then let out a sigh. As much as she tried to, she couldn't completely hide the hurt.
"So…cake?" Willow asked to keep the upbeat mood they were in while preparing for Dawn and Faith's return to the hotel going.
"Sure," Faith consented.
"Then sit down here, birthday girl," Lorne suggested as he escorted her to a table they had set up earlier and surrounded with chairs, "Somebody, get the cake."
"I'll get it," Dawn offered and ran around what had been the hotel's check in desk.
She disappeared for a few seconds then reappeared with the cake with lit candles.
"Are you sure you want to be the one to carry that, Dawn?" Buffy teased.
"More sure than getting into a car with you behind the wheel," Dawn shot back with a smile.
After a giggle from the redheaded witch, Dawn carefully made her way to the table. She started the singing with everyone joining in immediately.
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, Faith! Happy birthday to you!"
Although she played it cool, inside Faith was feeling a little choked up at how softly Dawn had sung to her.
"Blow out your candles and make a wish, sweetiekins," Lorne announced as the others smiled excitedly at her.
Faith slowly scanned the lobby before smirking at the Scooby gang and easily blowing out the candles.
"What did you wish for?" the blonde questioned just as excitedly.
"Buffy, if she says it, it won't come true," her sister reminded her sarcastically before smiling at Faith, "You want it to come true, right?"
"More than anythin'. Well; almost more than anythin'."
This got the entire Scooby gang and Giles to arch their eyebrows at her even though they all had a rough idea of what she wanted. After each one of them got at least one piece of cake, the empty tray was taken to the kitchen. Faith watched curiously as present after present was set on the table. She smirked as she read each tag before opening them. She received more clothes, some of it leather. She smirked at Dawn's present, which turned out to be a big box filled with nicotine patches. The best came when the rest of the Angel crew had given her an iPod.
"It already has a bunch of music on it that you like, and room for more. It's just our way of saying happy birthday, and thanks for what you did for us and Angel," Fred explained as Faith made her way to each of them and surprised them with a hug.
"This is wicked. Thank you."
"We're glad you like it," Gunn declared.
Then Lorne brought out a karaoke machine, sang the first song, and dedicated it to Faith. There were groans, laughs, and giggles when the demon began singing "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones. When he was done, he got Angel to be the next one to sing, with help from Faith.
"Come on, Angel, it's my birthday. And I want to hear ya sing."
"Fine," Angel conceded before breaking into a song Faith didn't recognize.
"Not that one," the brunette interrupted and added when the vampire just stared at her, "You know what I wanna hear."
When Angel acted like he didn't know what she was talking about, Faith began humming the tune familiar to the both of them. Lorne recognized it almost instantly and started to smile. The Scoobies began the laughter when they discovered he was singing "Mandy" by Barry Manilow. This was quickly followed by his friends and the rest of the Sunnydale team. They laughed harder when Faith got out her lighter and held it up like a torch.
"Could he have sung a lamer song," Xander taunted before laughing again.
He didn't seem to care that Angel was getting angry.
"Says the guy who once owned a limited edition Backstreet Boys lunchbox," Willow commented.
More laughter happened as Xander lowered his head in shame and peered down at the floor, making Angel smile a little.
"Who's the lame one now?" Faith taunted back as she got out of her chair and headed to the machine to take a turn.
They all watched curiously as Faith made her selection. There were a few cheers when she sang "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS. It got even better when the slayer acted like she was onstage at a real concert. The moves from Faith and the expression on her face got Robin, Buffy, and Dawn to pay special attention to her. The brunette was able to notice this and held back the urge to get closer to either one of the trio. After each one had taken their turn, the entire group went out to celebrate at the same club. Giles and Wesley joined them just long enough to have a few drinks and take part in pictures taken to remember this night.
Shortly after Giles, Wesley, Angel, and Robin had left the club
Since the rest of their group went to get another round of drinks, Buffy and Willow decided to have a talk.
"So do you think we made the right decision in not taking Faith back to prison?" Buffy inquired before smiling nervously at the redhead.
"I think so. I mean if we can forgive each other for the past, the least we can do is try to give Faith a second chance. If everything she's done since breaking out to help Angel is any sign, then it's possible that she has changed."
"Ok. I just hope this doesn't blow up in our faces. Like I said on the bus, I don't know if I trust her. But I think I want to try."
"Me too."
"So what's up with you and Kennedy? I mean is there trouble in paradise?" Buffy continued.
"What do mean?"
"Well, you two don't seem to be as snuggly wuggly since we got to L.A.."
"We're still snuggly wuggly. It's just that she's jealous of the time I've started to spend with Fred and wasn't too happy with how close Fred was in some of those pictures. It's like she's afraid one of us will make a move on each other if she's not around."
"But Fred's not even gay, right?"
"No; we just have the same interests. And she thinks I wasn't as into…You know…What we did not too long after we got here."
"You mean curing the double h's?"
"Yeah?"
"Is she right?"
"I'm not sure, Buff. Maybe a small part of me wasn't. Do you think the fear and danger of what could have happened in Sunnydale was what made it so intense? I mean now that it's gone that we'll last?"
"If my history has proved anything, it's that I'm not the best person to be giving advice about that."
"Since you brought it up, what's going on with you and Angel?"
"I…Well; it's just that them taking over Wolfram & Hart can only lead to bad, evil…stuff."
"So that's why he left so early, and we're leaving as soon as possible?"
"Yes," Buffy sighed.
Before another word could be said, the rest returned with the drinks.
"Here ya go, B," Faith mentioned as she sat down to Buffy's left while Dawn sat to Buffy's right, "This should make that frown disappear."
"This isn't beer, is it? Because Buffy and beer don't go well together," Buffy replied.
"Give it a try. One can't hurt, can it?"
"If I go all cave girl on you, it's your fault," Buffy exclaimed before taking a sip.
"I think I would kinda like to see that," Faith confided before smirking at the smile on Buffy's face.
"That was magically tainted beer, Buff. I think you're safe. Besides; there's enough of us here if you go all, 'Buffy want beer.'"
"I'll remember you said that," Buffy told her best friend.
Most of the girls put away a few more drinks before deciding to dance.
"Come on, little Miss Tightly Wound, me and you are gonna have some fun since Angel and Robin left. Besides; we've earned it," Faith insisted as she grabbed the blonde by her left hand and began pulling her to the middle of the dance floor.
The Scoobies and the newbies watched curiously when their leader went without a fight. It got more interesting for them as Faith moved liked she had when she first arrived in Sunnydale and they had sneaked away after Buffy had left. The chosen two definitely attracted attention from the men around the club. The fact that Buffy appeared to actually be having fun encouraged her friends and her sister to join them. As the music continued to play, the blonde and brunette got closer and closer.
By the third dance, they were nearly touching with their lips about two or three inches apart. It was clear that both were feeling the heat inside them. Suddenly, Faith spun the blonde around and pulled her so that the only thing between them was their clothes. They were basically grinding against each other. Faith was definitely getting worked up at the feeling of the blonde's leather covered butt rubbing the front of her just as tight jeans. She wondered if Buffy was doing the same and decided to find out.
"You likin' this, B?" Faith whispered as her hands gripped Buffy hips in case the blonde decided she had enough.
"Kind of. I mean I'm not exactly being all avoidy."
Faith thought she'd take it a step further and began to nuzzle the right side of Buffy's neck with her nose before almost kissing the slightly exposed shoulder in front of her.
"You know you're possibly scarring me for life, don't you?" Dawn quizzed as she and Faith barely heard a slight moan from the petite blonde over all of the cheers and whistling from the male population.
Both slayers searched the crowd to see several people gawking at them, including their gang, and Dawn leaving to get another drink. Faith was worried that this would make Buffy pull away from her. It appeared to have the opposite effect though. That obviously surprised her.
"Don't stop unless I say so," Buffy warned as both girls smirked at everyone watching them.
"Got no problem with that," Faith determined as she dared to put her hands under Buffy's shirt, which managed to somehow become un-tucked.
This got the blonde to let out a moan that was slightly louder than the first. It shocked the blonde as well when she didn't mind Faith's hands on the skin just above the leather pants. She also didn't seem to care that Faith's head was no longer on her shoulder. She was having more fun that she expected to have with her former enemy. Faith had shifted her head to see Dawn talking to some guy. The guy and Dawn exchanged some words before facing them again. She caught the guy pouring some liquid from a vial into Dawn's drink as the teenager watched them. She instantly broke away from Buffy. The slayer got there just as the younger girl was getting ready to take a sip of whatever she was drinking. Buffy had sensed it the very second Faith had left and chose to follow her.