Chapter 10: Faith, partie deux
B's got the Velvet Rope album spinning in the back, and a few lavender scented candles lit while Janet croons out the lyrics to Rope Burn. The water is nice and warm, a nice contrast from the dull, cool jet that's spraying outside. I leave my long forgotten clothes in a puddle at my feet, and as my foot slides in, goose bumps make their way up my shins, and all the way up my legs. B looks up from underneath her lashes and just smiles warmly as she spreads her legs, giving me room to sit.
And when I do, and the water is up to my chin, and my head is lying back against her shoulder, I can feel her fingertips drawing lazy patterns on my inner thigh. The night was long and hard, and she probably knows in her own little Buffy way, and it's nice that we don't have to talk about it. Don't know why, really, but I don't like wasting time thinking about it.
"This is nice." She says softly, "I mean, usually it's the other way around."
I laugh while our feet battle each other playfully at the other end of the tub.
"Yeah."
"How was your night?" She asks, and I know she doesn't expect an answer. Her fingers are in my hair now, our little foot war all but over and done with. My dry hair is sticking to her wet fingers and drops of water are wetting the left side of my face, especially my ear.
"Wet." I counter after Teresa mumbles something in her sleep then settles again. "It won't stop raining."
She lays a kiss on my bare shoulder before repositioning herself, bringing her knees up to cage me in. Being locked up never felt so good. Just stewing like this is honest; kinda makes us want to forget things that we'll no doubt try to remember in a few years time.
She circles her arms around my waist protectively, like she's afraid of letting me fall or something, and I smile again. I ain't gonna slip away, B. Isn't that more or less the truth. Warm water drips from my arms as I lift them in the air, and arrange them over her legs. We probably look like we're campaigning to be the national naked women's bobsled team.
Teresa moans again, this time a little bit louder, and I can feel Buffy flinch ever so lightly. We've both become attuned to the whole motherhood sitch like it was our second calling or something, but B seems to be more focused about it. Even kinda letting it take over the slaying, in all the ranges. Physically and even more so emotionally.
"She's okay." I whisper and I can feel her nod. "She'll always be okay." It's the only promise I can actually swear never to break. And I know that for a fact. I won't let you down, Baby T. You're my clean slate, kiddo.
Then nothing. Just the sounds and squeaks of the little movements in the tub, the soft little hums coming from the bassinet in the bedroom, as the water slowly gets cooler as the minutes go by. And I can't help but feel that maybe this is it: There's nothing more to live for… Except maybe saving it all.
A pair of icy blue eyes. That's the first thing that Faith sees when she groggily opens her eyes. After that, it's just a simple game of connect the dots as she realizes that Manny is sitting on top her, straddling her waist, with her hands laying on her shoulders.
"Whoa, Man, B is so gonna kill you." She says, brushing away the sleep from her voice. "And Sammy." She adds, smirking.
Manny doesn't bother to respond as the grim tone in her eyes stays the same.
"Manny? What's going on?" Faith sits up, causing Manny to fall off the Slayer, who's checking her watch. "I thought you had third watch, how come you ain't making like Lassie?"
Manny's steely gaze suddenly crumbles like a castle of cards, and she looks the other way, towards the spare bedroom.
"It's Terry. And Sam." She says finally, her voice tainted with sand paper. "They're gone."
"Gone..?" The word escapes Faith's mouth as she rushes to the bedroom, slamming the door open, and noting that Sam and Teresa are, effectively, gone. "Gone." She whispers.
Just a mess of empty bed sheets and a broken chair remain in the deserted room.
"Gravis!" Faith shouts out as she re-enters the living room where the mechanic's sleeping. "Get up. Manny, tell me what the fuck happened." She orders as Gravis gingerly wakes up.
I won't let you down, Baby T. The world's a dangerous place when you realize that one of the only things keeping you sane has left. Motherfucker.
Faith's on autopilot now, emotions have been kicked out to the curb, and a small part of her is delighted to finally be able to kick some ass. But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. The other part however is less ecstatic and just plain ruptured. Teresa.
She pulls on her boots as Manny explains what happened. She doesn't interrupt, just keeps her eyes fixated on the floor.
"It was almost three, so I got up to replace Sam. But when I opened the door, I noticed the open window, the broken chair and the empty bed. The room was empty. Then I tried to wake you up. Emphasis on the ‘try'." Manny explains softly, suddenly intimidated by Faith's change in demeanor. She's seen it before, and the only way she can cope, is by trying to laugh it off. Not always the best course of action. "Practically had to jump your bones." She adds, under her breath.
Faith hears her, but doesn't respond. She nods before she gets up again, and makes her way back to the room.
The window is, in fact, open.
"Gravis. Did you hear anything?" She asks curtly, turning to the mechanic, dismissing his increasing look of alarm in his furrowed brow, and it strikes her that this might be the first time he's witnessed or been part of circumstances like this one. And it makes her feel sick. You shouldn't be here.
"No." Is all he can say, as if finding the right words has suddenly become a tad more difficult.
Faith sighs before nodding back to the couch, inviting him to take a seat. She waits, as patiently as she can manage, until he gets comfortable, and just watches him bow his head down into his waiting hands. She gives Manny a cautionary glance before giving her a few quick instructions.
"Have a look underneath the window for footprints in the sand." She says quickly, and waits until Manny nods before she continues. "Do a little recon around the house, but don't stray too far. You find something, you come and get me."
Manny doesn't need to be told twice as she slips into her runners and darts to the door while Faith turns back to Gravis. He looks panicked and confused, and she curses under her breath for thinking that he could be ready for this.
"Hey," She starts off softly, grabbing a seat next to him. "It's not your fault."
He doesn't nod, instead just keeps looking through his fingers.
"Grav."
"Yeah?"
"Look at me."
Slowly and painfully, he lifts his head before resting his eyes in hers. Both are filled with sorrow and despair, but where Faith has learnt to mask them, Gravis' are haunting beyond despair.
"Teresa." He whispers softly, as if her disappearance is finally registering. "She's gone. And it's not like we're at the grocery store or something."
"Ugh! While I was keeping watch, how was Sam? Did she look different or something? I mean, she was a little rattled when she came to replace me, but… That was about something else, I'm sure of it."
"I guess, I mean, I don't know her that well, but sure. She looked a little perplexed but then again, we all kinda did, didn't we?"
Faith doesn't answer, instead lays a tentative hand on his thigh. Weakly, she tries to smile, tries to offer him comfort, but doesn't know how.
"If I'm feeling like I am, I can't imagine how you must feel." He murmurs softly, and lays his hand atop of hers.
When they first met, it was through a bar brawl, and Gravis came out of it bruised and battered. The start of their relationship was definitely superficial, and Faith knew that she was only with him to erase things she didn't want to be thinking about. Slowly, over time, and determination on Gravis' end, they came to an easy understanding with each other, and complimented each other tremendously well.
"So I'm thinking that after we come out of this, I could apply for the Council's Witness Protection Program." He says lightly, and it gets a smile out of the dark Slayer. "Just so, you know, I don't get tracked down for knowing too much stuff."
Faith just chuckles coldly before squeezing his thigh affectionately. "Please, if that were the case, you'd be holed up a long time ago."
"Faith!" Manny's voice calls out from outside, and seconds later, she rushes indoors. "The Humvee is still here, but the old Volks that was parked in the garage is gone. That's where the tracks from underneath the window sill lead to."
"Hold up Maestro, there was another car here?"
"Uh, yeah. Sam and Ry use it while they're here to save on gas. It's diesel."
Faith sighs and runs shaky fingers through her hair. Things have gotten a little more complicated.
"How many sets of tracks from the window?"
"One."
Faith frowns, before giving Gravis a fearful look.
"Terry's a light sleeper, especially in places she's not accustomed to." She says as it dawns her.
"She would have woken up for sure." Manny says, agreeing readily. Gravis just nods in confirmation.
"Unless…" He starts, but loses his train of thought, until Faith finishes it for him.
"They were caught under the same puppeteer scheme that Robin was?"
"Okay. Let's recap. What do we know?" Gravis says before Manny and Faith exchange amused glances from the driver and passenger seat in the Humvee.
It seems the initial shock has worn off, and has left him with renewed enthusiasm.
"I got hit on the ferry, so someone, presumably Robin, knew of our whereabouts, or where we were heading." Manny says as she tries to peel an orange while Faith keeps her eyes on the badly paved road.
"Right. So we hurried here, set up the shield, and checked the perimeter. Everything seemed clear at the time, but someone must have slipped in before we set up the shield. Otherwise, unless they've got mad magick skills, they couldn't have just come in." Faith sums up.
She glances in the rearview mirror and sees Gravis' pensive face as he looks out the window. She knows he's onto something, but is reluctant to tell.
"Grav?"
"Hmm?"
"Spill." She says softly, and Manny glances back between the two knowingly.
The mechanic simply frowns before exhaling loudly. He brings his fingers to his 2-day-old strawberry blond beard before tilting his head a bit.
"I was just thinking. There are a few things we didn't consider. One. Remember how Willow told us that Faeries are immune to Magicks? What if he came himself? Didn't send goons or whatever? He could've easily come through the shield."
Faith keeps her steely gaze on the road, knowing he's right, but not answering. With ease, she shifts the H1 into fifth gear as she steers the large vehicle onto the highway into the nearest town, Victoria.
"Two?" Manny asks as she offers him the other half of her orange.
"Two." He accepts the dripping fruit before carefully laying it onto his lap. He gives Manny an apologetic glance and she frowns in confusion in return. "What if… Sam took her?"
Faith nods. "Another possibility to consider."
"What!? Are you two serious?!" Manny says, and it's obvious she's outraged to even dare to think about it.
"Look Blue Eyes, you know better than anyone that we can't dismiss any possibility."
"This is Sam we're talking about! One of the good guys!" The Louisianan exclaims disbelievingly. "One of us." She softly adds.
"Manny."
"Fuck off. Both of you. There's no motive. Nothing at all."
"Hey!" Faith shouts and suddenly, the mood in the humvee turns sour. "Look, I know you don't wanna think about your girl that way, but we gotta cover all the angles and shit. Something we obviously didn't do right the first time. Teresa's missing, so get over it. We're not saying she did do it; so take a fucking pill, alright? Just… fuck." And the bravado finally crumbles as the Slayer loses her words and shakes her head. She softens a bit, before glancing at her Watcher.
Manny's eyes are hard and cool, and her features have sharpened.
"We all need to cool down." She whispers finally.
Gravis blinks before frowning Manny's way. "Your girl?"
"Yeah, just let it go already."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"You're in love with your best friend." Gravis states disbelievingly.
Manny just rolls her eyes while Faith leads them through the harbour in Victoria.
"Shut up." She snarks back, clearly uninspired.
They make their way through the maze of fruit and vegetable vendors, fishmongers, and souvenir peddlers before arriving at the ticket concession for the ferry. Faith quickly explains to the vendor who they're looking for, and asks if he's seen them. The vendor, a small elderly man with greying hair and squinting eyes, points to an old beat up red Jetta in the line of cars on the side, waiting to get on the ship.
"A woman and a girl. In that car." He says. "Bought a ticket in a hurry."
"Thank you. No one else was with them?"
"No. Just the lady and the girl."
"Okay. Thanks again."
Faith turns around and motions for Gravis and Manny to follow her around the corner.
"Okay, this is what we're going to do. They don't know that we're here so I say we wait until we're on board to do anything. Take them by surprise."
"Won't she recognise Ry's humvee?" Manny asks worriedly.
"Yeah, that's why we're leaving it here. We're getting on on foot." Faith explains as she digs her wallet out from her jacket. "Grav, go get us three tickets."
He nods and takes hold of her wallet before scurrying off to the concession stand, leaving t he Slayer and Manny alone.
"Look. She's just brainwashed. Don't worry about it, okay? We'll fix things." Faith tries, but she knows it's weak, and Manny knows too.
"I know." She whispers. "I'm just wondering where she plans on taking Terry.
