Trials and Complications

Part 12: Icing on the cake

Christmas music blared through 'Greener’s gifts' as the customers within it bustled around the beautifully decorated store. Watching the gleeful shoppers, Faith sat at the counter, moping. She grit her teeth remembering the fight she had had with Buffy the night before. Despite her girlfriend’s assurances, she was convinced that the older slayer was sleeping with someone else. It had to be the reason for her behaviour.
Distracted from her thoughts by the store phone’s ringing, she picked it up and answered.

“Faith?”

“Hey Ken,” the slayer answered.

“Hey. How are you?”

“You know me.”

“Yeah, I do. And I know that you're not ok. What's wrong?”

“Nothing K,” the slayer assured.

“Ok, I talked to Buffy,” Kennedy confessed. “She told me you two were fighting. What's going on?”

Angrily, the slayer asked, "Did she get you to talk to me?"

"No," Kennedy replied.

Faith continued, “Well seein' as B thinks it’s alright to broadcast our private life; she's cheating on me.”

“What?” came the reply.

“You heard, Ken.”

“Yeah, I heard it, but I don’t believe it. Buffy loves you.”

“That's what I thought but, hey, I was wrong.”

“That's why you guys are fighting?”

“What are we supposed to do, go out for dinner?” Faith sardonically replied. “Of course we're fuckin’ fighting.”

“So you’re gonna make it easier for her by driving her away?”

“What? No.”

“Say if she isn't cheating and you’re treating her like this….”

“She is,” the slayer returned.

“So you caught her?”

“I don’t have to. She's been seeing some guy from work,” she told Kennedy, qualifying, “They went to an ice show with J last night.”

“Oh, ok,” the brunette replied sarcastically. “So Buffy's cheating on you and took your seven year old daughter as a witness?" She paused before asking, "Faith, do you have any solid proof she’s not been faithful?”

Faith thought on it. Her silence answering Kennedy, the woman continued,
“I didn't think so.”

About to answer, the slayer was caught off-guard when her name was uttered. Looking up, she beheld a familiar face.
“Ken I gotta go,” she uttered into the receiver, dropping it and standing. She moved to the other side of the counter, hugging the woman there. “Mrs G. Good to see you.”

“Hello Faith,” the old woman replied her. “How are Buffy and Joyce?”

“Good,” the slayer replied, once their bodies had parted.

“Is Robert not here?” Mrs Greener asked, looking around.

“Nope,” Faith replied, returning to her position behind the counter. “It's just me today.”

The older woman nodded.

“whatwhat are you doing here?” Faith asked, quickly adding. “I mean, you don’t usually come down.”

“I thought I should come and tell you my news in person.” Mrs Greener paused before revealing. “I'm leaving Sunnydale and returning home.”

“No way,” Faith replied.

“I know. I love this place. But I’m getting old and I’d rather retire near my family.”

“Shit,” Faith exclaimed, in disbelief. “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” the woman confessed. "Though you could always visit."

"Yeah?" Faith replied. "How far away is New Zealand?"

"It's a while. But my home there has plenty of spare rooms. You, Buffy and Joyce would be more than welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Thanks."

The both of them remained silent before Faith spoke up.
“What’s gonna happen to the store?” she asked.

“I’m going to have to sell it,” Mrs Greener told the slayer. “Which is another reason I wanted to catch you. How would you like to own 'Greener’s gifts'?”

“Me?” Faith asked. “Nah, Mrs G, I could never afford this place.”

“I’m sure we could come to some sort of an agreement,” the older of them told the brunette. “There is no one I'd rather own this place, Faith. You've been here for a very long time and if anyone could do this place justice, it'd be you.”

Faith shook her head in disbelief. “This is amazing,” she confessed. “Thank you.”

“That's more like it,” Mrs Greener told the young woman.

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

Faith rushed into her home.
“B!” she called, excited. “Buffy!”

“In here,” the older slayer replied, her voice coming from the sitting room.

Faith entered the living room. “B, you’ll never believe what happened,” the brunette professed, beaming. She looked at the sombre expression on her girlfriend’s face, her own smile fading.
“You still mad about last night?” she asked, walking closer to her lover. “'Cause if you are, I'm sorry. I was a jerk. Yadda yadda yadda.”

Buffy’s expression failed to change. She looked into the eyes of the younger slayer.

Faith advanced closer. “Baby, I said I was sorry," she tried, looking as apologetic as she could.

“I just had a visit from a detective Kane,” Buffy informed her girlfriend. “New evidence has been discovered in the Riley murder case.”

Faith paled.
“What evidence?” she asked.

“The murder weapon,” Buffy answered. She braced herself before adding, “A knife. He…er.. He said that your finger prints were all over them,” she forced. The blonde slayer remained silent, the expression on Faith’s face, confirming her greatest fear. She turned around, unable to formulate a thought.

“Fuck,” Faith muttered, momentarily covering her face with her hands and exhaling. “I dunno what to say B,” she confessed.

Buffy shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. “Tell me you didn’t do it,” she almost begged.

“I can't,” Faith replied.

“Dammit Faith, how could you?” the slayer asked, abruptly turning around in shock.

“I had to,” the brunette replied. “I did it for us.”

Buffy turned, tears running down her face. “When they questioned you, you looked me in the eyes and swore on your life you had nothing to do with it.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?" she wiped her tears. "Faith… I don’t believe this…”

"What do you want me to say, B? I can't change what happened. We've both made mistakes."

"I've never killed anyone," the older slayer reminded the brunette.

"Yeah, but you had someone else's kid."

Buffy expression changed to one a mixture of both rage and disbelief. "How does that even compare?" she snapped.

"Why d'you think I did it?" Faith returned. "If you hadn't have had his kid, I wouldn't have had to get rid of him."

"How can you even...? Wthe.the...?" Buffy struggled to articulate.

Faith took a deep breath. "B, look, he was trying to take Joyce away. I couldn't let him do that." She moved to hold the blonde. "I had to."

"Don't touch me," Buffy ordered, stepping back. "You didn't have to do anything. You wanted to. You killed Riley because you were jealous that he got me pregnant and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did that to you, but I won't keep paying for it. It happened."

"Just like this did."

Buffy shook her head. "No, Faith. It didn't just happen. Whatever made you kill him is still inside you. That jealousy that takes over you when I even just look at another guy. I can't go through life wondering what you're going to do next when you get the idea that I've been cheating."

"Do you blame me?" the other slayer tried.

"Yes," Buffy replied. "I've tried everything to make you trust me and if you can't, then I can't do this anymore."

Silently, Faith thought on Buffy's words. "I can't," she eventually replied.

Buffy sobbed. "Then you have to leave," she told her fellow-slayer.

Faith fought back tears and after glancing at the blonde slayer a last time, she left.

TBC……..