Trials and Complications

Part 11: Ice show

"Can I come in?" Buffy asked, at the brunette's office door.

"Sure," Parker replied, giving the slayer authorisation to enter the room.

"I just came to apologise for what happened yesterday," Buffy explained, walking into the spacious room.

"You kidding?" Parker replied her, smiling. "Yesterday is a complete blur."

"You don’t remember it?"

"Not really," the brunette replied, his expression telling a different story. "Why don't you fill me in?"

Buffy smiled. She wore a pensive expression. "Let’s see," she replied him. "Well after you got really drunk, you got up on the table and started doing this weird dance."

The brunette’s smile grew wider. "Wow, that's, er, really embarrassing."

Buffy nodded.

"I can never look any he ohe other psychiatrists in the eye again," he told his colleague.

"I dunno," the slayer replied. "Give it a few days; I doubt anyone’ll even remember."

"That’s a relief," Parker replied, his eyes looking deep into the slayer’s hazel ones. Noticing the silence upon them, the older psychiatrist cleared his throat. "I was on my way to see you actually," he told her, looking around for something. "Oh," he triumphed, finding it. He held up the tickets in his hands.

"Tickets," Buffy observed, looking at the brunette.

"To the Christmas ice show in town tonight. I heard it was really fun and I thought you, me and Joyce could go," Parker clarified, handing her the tickets and adding, "They’re rink side."

"Wow, Parker. I don't know what to say," Buffy told him, taking the tickets and staring speechless at them.

"Hopefully 'yes' 'cause they cost me a fortune."

Finally bringing herself to speak, the slayer told her colleague, "I can’t accept these."

"Sure you can," Parker told her. "It'll be fun and you'll be helping me get over my skating fear."

Buffy smiled, recollecting the story. Her smile faded as she thumbed the tickets.
"Can I think about it?" she asked him.

"Of course," he replied, optimistic and adding, "It starts at seven and hey, if you can’t come don’t worry about it. I’ll just put extra jackets on the seats next to me and tell everyone my friends went to the car."

"Ah, the old jacket trick," the blonde replied.

Parker stared at her, his eyes revealing his expectancy.
"Hopefully I wont have to use it," he told her.

Buffy smiled. She held onto the tickets as her colleague stood silently in front of her. The two of their attentions, drawn by the intercom buzzing on Parker’s desk, they both turned to look at it. The brunette smiled, moving towards the device.

"I’ll leave you to it," the slayer told him, making a move to leave.

Parker nodded, pressing the intercom. He watched with a grin on his face as the slayer walked out of his office.

-------------------------------

Buffy let herself into her home. Removing her coat, she was alerted by the light coming from the dining room. She walked inside to see her daughter seemingly doing her homework.

"Hi sweetie," she said, walking over and planting a kiss on the young girl's forehead.

"Hi mommy," Joyce replied, continuing her work.

Buffy looked over her child’s shoulder. "How're you doing?"

"Ok," the youngster replied, adding, "I’m a little hungry."

The slayer grew concerned. "You haven't eaten?"

"Nope," the blonde child replied.

"Where's Faith?"

"I don’t know," Joyce told her.

Buffy sighed. She walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge door. Seeing the refrigerator empty the blonde closed it. She returned to the dining room.
"Honey get your coat," she told her daughter.

"Where are we going?" Joyce asked, standing up.

---------------------------

Parker looked up at the arrival of his date.
"You made it," he stated, standing up and allowing Buffy and Joyce past and into the empty seats beside him.

"Hey Uncle Parker," Joyce greeted, beaming at the brunette.

"Hey Joyce." He reached beside himself, pulling out something. "Check it out," the man told the youngster, handing her a cap.

"Is this for me?" the blonde inquired.

"Uh-huh," Parker confirmed. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" the child replied, putting the article upon her head.

Buffy smiled. "What do you say?" she prompted.

"Thank you, Uncle Parker," Joyce remembered.

"No problem," the psychiatrist replied.

"Wow," Joyce exclaimed, feeling the cap. She looked up at the one the tall brunette was wearing, noticing their similarity. "It’s just like yours!"

"Yeah," the brunette replied. He turned his cap around. "'Cept I’m wearing mine the cool way."

Buffy smiled at the display, enjoying the banter between Parker and her daughter.

"I wanna wear mine the cool way too," Joyce told him, turning her cap around.

Parker smiled. "Now we're all cool," he told her, a huge grin on his face.

Joyce looked to her mother. "Except for mommy, who doesn’t have one," she noticed.

Parker searched beside him, finding the other cap that he had bought. "Yeah she does." He handed the article to the slayer. "Here, I got you one too."

Buffy thanked her colleague and put the hat on. She turned as a sudden burst of music began playing. Excitedly remembering her days at ice shows as a youth, she gripped her daughter's hand, expectantly watching the rink.

Joyce beamed and turned as the start of the show was announced. The three of them sat and watched as the performance commenced and ice-skaters, one by one, filed onto the ice, each performing various stunts and acrobatics.

------------------------

Buffy pulled up outside her colleague's apartment.

"Thanks again for the ride," he told her. "I can’t believe someone had the nerve to slash my tyres."

"It's no problem," Buffy replied. "Thank you for the show. Joyce and I loved it."

Parker looked to the child sleeping in the back seat. "She’s a great kid, y’know. I can see where she gets it from."

Buffy smiled. "Thank you."

Parker nodded. He went to leave, opening the door of the vehicle. Suddenly stopping, he turned to the slayer.
"So I’ll see you tomorrow," he told her, leaning in and kissing the blonde's cheek.

Buffy remained silent, looking into the man's convincing blue eyes. She felt breathless as he leaned in for another kiss. Catching herself at the last moment, the slayer turned away from his advancing lips.

"Parker, I'm sorry," Buffy blurted out.

Confused, the brunette asked, "Why?"

"I'm seeing someone," the slayer confessed. She turned to the brunette, repeating. "I'm sorry."

Clearly hurt, the psychiatrist attempted to hide his emotion. Speechless, for a moment, he eventually replied, "Me too," letting himself out of Buffy’s car.

Overwhelmed with guilt, the slayer sat in her vehicle and watched as Parker walked up to his apartment, letting himself in. At a loss for what else to do, she started her car and headed home. Driving slowly, she questioned herself and replayed the event in her head. Convincing herself that she could not have behaved any differently, she parked on the road outside her home having found its driveway occupied by Faith's car.

"Joyce. Honey, we're home," Buffy told her daughter.

Joyce woke up. She looked around and recognising her surroundings let herself out of her mother's car.

Buffy used the remote's central lock before taking her daughter's hand and leading her home. She opened the door and let the two of them inside; the both of them almost immediately confronted by a worried Faith.

"Where've you guys been? I tried calling."

"Oh, my phone was off," Buffy replied.

"We went to an ice show," Joyce added.

"Yeah?" Faith asked, holding out her arms for the child. "Was it fun?"

"Uh-huh," Joyce told her, as the strong brunette lifted her up. "There were elves and Santa was there and there were funny dancers."

"You hungry?" the slayer interrupted the excited child.

The youngster shook her head. "Nope. Me and mommy went to dinner already."

Faith briefly looked to Buffy before turning back to the child in her arms. "So kiddo, you saw Santa?" the slayer asked her, taking the child upstairs.

Her guilt increasing, Buffy removed her jacket and hung it up. The slayer made her way to the kitchen, feeling even worse as she looked upon the neatly set table illuminated by candle-light with three dishes atop it. She opened the fridge to see it fully stocked.
Melancholy, Buffy grabbed an alcoholic beverage, strongly craving one. The slayer made her way to the living room spending a mere ten minutes alone before Faith joined her. Buffy looked to her lover, having prepared a long rant laden with apologies. About to speak, she found Faith beat her to it, asking,

"So. Who's Parker?"

"Parker?" Buffy echoed, caught off-guard. "Er, a guy from work. You met him at the lecture yesterday."

Faith nodded. "You usually take out guys from work?"

"He had extra tickets to an ice show and asked if I wanted to go."

"And what, you forgot how to say 'no'?"

"I didn’t think I had to," Buffy replied in earnest and slightly offended by the suggestion.

Faith shook her head in disbelief, her rage clearly apparent. "This shit’s all starting to make sense now," she told her girlfriend, standing up.

----------------------------------

"What is it?" Lieutenant Hammond asked, as he rushed into the meeting room having been summoned.

"Sir," he was told as he was handed a pair of headphones. "Listen."

Hammond put on the equipment, as the argument within the Summers' household continued. He listened to what sounded like one of the slayers shouting at the other.

"Faith, you’re acting like a child," he heard. "Now you're fucking callin' me stupid?" the argument continued.

Listening to the row until he was fed up, he ordered, "Turn it off,” with a huge smile plastered on his face. "This is unbelievable," he told the curious audio technician.

"Good news, sir?" the man asked.

"Very good," Hammond replied him. "But not quite good enough. We’re still gonna need the icing on the cake."


TBC……