And, excuse the language, but the new reply feature is bitchin' cool! It's my favorite part of TtH. Now if only the servers could handle instant editing and posting... I responded to a few reviews of the last chapter by the way, and will definitely incorporate that into my posting routine here as well!
Trick-Or-Treat: Chapter Five
Faith shifted the pizzas balancing precariously on her left shoulder as she swung one leg and dismounted her bike, leaving her sleek, red helmet dangling from chrome handlebars. It was eleven o'clock the day after Halloween and too early for lunch but she had felt like she should come bearing gifts or some other shit like that. It was weird, invading Xander's turf so to speak, despite its necessity.
Besides, the childish part of her wanted to make a good impression on the youngest of the Scoobies. She'd get them next after all. After they were sufficiently infatuated with Xander to ignore the majority of what SHE said for the first six months.
God, Xander had to be okay. There'd be worse consequences than the wrath of Willow and Buffy to deal with otherwise. They'd have dozens of heart-broken mini-Slayers, a distraught ex-key to the universe, and a blubbering Watcher as well.
Giles crying, not a pretty sight.
And yeah, if some military ass-holes permanently messed the X-man up, Faith would take em' down. They weren't friends, she and Xander, but they had history and that wasn't necessarily a step down from friendship- just a more complicated kind of relationship. Hell, she'd taken his virginity.
Besides, he did a damn fine job getting the girls ready for what Destiny and Fate had handed them. Faith and Buffy taught them how to fight and lead. Xander taught the girls how to live as fighters and leaders; taught them that it was okay to fight for what they believed in. He did after all and that was minus the super powers.
As much as Faith dug the Slayer gig she knew it wasn't all shits and giggles. People died messy deaths and lived damn short lives. But after Xander most of the girls were okay with all that. A one-eyed construction worker probably wasn't the best choice when it came to training a Slayer army, but he was the best choice when it came to raising a bunch of scared preteen girls especially since, pardoned or not, Faith was hardly a role model.
She rung the doorbell and waited for the trample of feet and a harried group greeting by hysterical children missing their Instructor. The somber girl who opened the door after several moments of silence hardly met expectations but then, Lindsay was good at that. The temporary leader of Xander's Merry Girls was wearing a faded pair of snug jeans that madder her tall frame seem even longer, especially with an equally worn gray polo shirt tucked into the jeans. Auburn hair was pulled back severely in a high ponytail and amber eyes regarded Faith with quiet expectation.
Lindsay had come a hell of a long way from the eleven year old who woke up screaming from nightmares about her father's drunken beatings. Most of her progress was due, of course, in large part to the X-man and Faith, just for a moment, let herself wallow in the self-doubt and pity that always seemed to plague her in the face of competency. She couldn't stand coming in second best.
So she didn't.
Faith didn't even bother to play the damn game anymore. She didn't try to be the best; she just tried to be herself. A couple of years in jail really gave a person the time they needed to find their inner child and kick its whining ass.
"I brought lunch."
Lindsay smiled wanly and stepped aside mutely to let Faith enter, the lack of invitation glaring. Good girl. Faith stepped inside.
Unlike the Big House, the Booty House was organized and sedate in its chaos. Some of the girls were still half attired in their costumes from the night before. Others were in their pajamas and a few, like Lindsay, were fully dressed. Dishes clanked quietly in the background and subdued mini-Slayers quietly completed their chores. Most, despite smiled greetings, pretty much ignored Faith as Lindsay led the older Slayer towards the dining room.
"I'm impressed. Military or not, my girls would neglect their chores in a heartbeat if I disappeared."
Lindsay flashed her a broader smile. "Oh we did that last year, when that poltergeist in the old Broadway theater dropped a tree prop on Xander's head and he got a concussion. Soon as we brought him home from the hospital and he wasn't seeing double anymore he doubled our chores and revoked TV privileges for a month."
A smirk curled Faith's lips but she was careful to reply, "Harsh."
Lindsay eyed a gangly girl who was dusting in the dining room before shrugging with amused resignation. "But effective." She waved absently towards the large, sturdy, and somewhat scarred table that dominated the large room. "Just put them down there."
Faith complied and waited for a bellow announcing lunch, the preferred method at the Big House, but Xander's second in command merely tapped the shoulder of a small blonde girl with pixie cut hair perched on the table with a cordless phone in her hands. "Ash, go get everyone for lunch."
The girl shook her head no sullenly and stared stubbornly at the phone she cradled. Lindsay sighed. "I'll watch the phone, promise. Go get everyone and make sure you eat. You didn't touch your cereal at breakfast."
"Xander puts brown sugar in his Cheerios."
"Xander's going to yell if he comes back and realizes you've lost weight again."
The girl scowled but hopped of the table. "Fine, I'll eat the stupid pizza. But I'm watching the phone!" She ducked away with that defiant stand and Lindsay watched her with worried eyes.
"She taking it hard?" Faith asked, somewhat awkwardly. The fighting she could handle. The touchy feely girly shit took her WAY out of her league. Especially with the kiddies. They were so damn sensitive about everything.
"Yeah, and she's hi-strung anyway."
"She have weight issues?" Faith knew a lot of the girls did, especially since it seemed to take their appetites a bit longer to catch up with their bodies new demands once they were Chosen.
Lindsay sighed gustily again before rolling her eyes in a way that made her seem very young. "Always too thin. She came to us too thin. Its not that there's anything wrong with her, Ashley just has the attention span of a gnat. I don't think I've ever seen her sit down and eat a full meal without being distracted by something, usually shiny and sharp."
That startled a rough laugh out of the older Slayer.
"Come on, let's go talk in the basement. Everyone will come up from training to eat and gossip so we won't be disturbed." They passed the girls, all quiet chattering and streaming towards the pizza and kitchen for drinks on their way down to the basement. The Booty House's training room was nearly identical to Faith's, thought more of the weapons were a beginner's wood and it was a hell of a lot neater.
Faith sprawled on a gym mat and propped herself up to watch Lindsay pace the empty basement. "All right," she said, going for what passed as her teaching tone, "tell me, what next?"
Lindsay's mouth pursed as she thought, long legs quickly eating the space in the basement. "Sit on it as long as we can unless we know bad things are going down. Willow just got a new batch of witches and wizards to train so she won't give a thought to Xander not calling. Buffy and Xan just talked two days ago so we're set there for at least the next two weeks, barring a crisis on Buffy and Giles's side."
"Where are they located currently?" Faith pressed.
"South Africa. They're looking into getting Namyan and Ms. Terry set up with a witch-doctor in Africa to keep an eye on the local demon tribes in that part of the world. The tribes are usually peaceful but occasionally they go crazy and start eating humans like twinkies; they suck out the insides."
"Good. Continue."
"We do research. Kiley is a whiz on the Internet. We figured out that they were Air Force and have mapped out all the known and suspected bases on the mainland. We need to keep pushing though, maybe look for links to the Initiative. Find out what kind of trouble Xander might be in."
"Any problems from social workers?"
Lindsay shook her head. "Nah, we got it covered. We always fib for Giles and they haven't caught on to that yet- its been what, four years now? We can handle putting any that show up off for a few days if we need to."
Faith reclined again. "Anything else?"
"Call Dawn."
Faith sat up again. "Wanna explain why?"
Lindsay paused her pacing and stared down at the older Slayer, arms crossed over her breast. "Because she's a legal adult. She can take care of stuff like grocery store shopping and unexpected hospital visits without raising too many eyebrows. Plus, as much as she loves Xander, she has a level head. She'll sit on it with us until we know more."
"Very good. All right, call mini B and see if she can come down from college for a few days at least. Restrict patrolling to your usual routes. We don't need anyone getting killed cause they're playing hero, got it?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
Faith rose fluidly and stretched languidly, though all of her attention was focused on how Lindsay answered her last question. "Why'd we talk alone? Why not include the other girls?"
There was a hell of a lot she could have said in reply. Faith knew most of what was going on in that so logical brain of hers, but Lindsay simply said softly, "Sometimes you need a leader. This is one of those times."
Faith chuckled dryly. "Ya know, kid, you're going to turn out okay. Once I have my way with you for a few years."
Lindsay snickered in response.
Xander was sitting up in bed, his curtain still drawn back, when voices filled the corridor outside his room. The blinding headache had moved to nestle between his eyes but the pain had subsided to a dull spoon scraping his brains out, instead of an ice pick. That, unfortunately, was progress.
Even with as little attention he had paid during the whole, snake down his throat trauma, he still recognized four of the five people who opened the door and entered his room. There was the blonde woman who sent him a warm, encouraging smile before moving to stand by the end of his bed. Another woman, this one brunette and obviously a doctor, went to stand next to the blonde. That left the three military men- the tall African American who was wearing a wigged out knit cap, a brown haired one with glasses, and the one whose presence screamed leader. Besides, gray hair, SO a military power statement.
The African American man stopped several feet away from the bed and stood loosely at attention, his lidded gaze glued to Xander. Glasses pulled up a chair and perched on it, looking way too like an eager puppy. Mr. Big Bad Leader Man also pulled up a chair, only he chose to straddle it, resting his arms on the back as he attempted to stare Xander down coolly.
Xander's eyes rested fleetingly on the patch emblazoned on one sleeve of Leader's uniform and recognized Air Force, but not much else. Though honestly, if he were allowed to walk away Scott-free and never know what all the funky symbols on the patches meant, he'd get over his disappointment.
Really.
Mr. Hey I'm in Charge, Look at Me let a slow smile bleed across his mouth as he drawled, "So, Lavelle, man that has got to suck."
Xander blinked and stared into Follow the Leader's hard, steely features before throwing back his head and laughing until he cried.