Trials and Complications

Part 15: Birthday

Taking a much-needed deep breath, Faith stood outside the place she had once called home, holding a gift. About to press the doorbell, she was stopped when she heard someone walking up behind her.

"You forget your key?" the brunette was asked.

Turning around, she recognised, "Dawn."

"Hey Faith," the younger brunette replied, hugging the slayer. She pulled back adding, "Long time."

"Yeah," the older of them agreed. "How've you been?"

"Good," Dawn replied. "Hey, has the party started yet? I know Buffy said three but in Buffy-time that's really like... eight, right?"

"I dunno," the brunette answered. "I just got here."

"Okay," Dawn replied. "Well if we're late we've got the whole strength in numbers thing going. Plus, I had to come all the way from LA. You live here - she's gonna be way madder at you."

Faith made no attempt to speak, causing Dawn to une uneasy.

"Let's just go inside," the younger brunette decided, ringing the doorbell. Waiting and looking expectantly at the door, the brunette beamed as her sister opened it.

"You made it!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing her arms around the younger woman. Pulling back, she looked Dawn over, complimenting, "You look great."

The slayer calmed as she caught sight of her ex. Not sure how to behave after her excited out-burst, she kept the smile and motioned for Faith to come in.

Hearing the commotion in the hallway, Joyce bounced outside from the decorated and crowded living room.

"Aunt Dawn! Faith!" she cried, rushing up to the latter.

Bending down, the brunette slayer took the child into her arms, giving her both a kiss and the gift she was holding.

Failing to hesitate, Joyce ripped open the outer packaging. "The new 'Death Fighters' game! It's the best! Thanks!" The eight-year-old threw her arms around the slayer, taking her by surprise.

Faith returned the embrace, reminding the child, "Yeah, but don't go playing it too late. You know how scared you get."

Interrupting the display by audibly clearing her throat, Dawn handed her present to her niece.

"Thank you, Aunt Dawn," Joyce told her, opening the package to see a golden crucifix.

"I figured with all the monsters and the demons in your life-" Dawn told her, looking to Buffy whose wide-eyed expression forced her to look around and remember the living room full of children. "From your computer games," the brunette added, despite the lack of attention from the guests.

"Thank you," Buffy returned.

"Yeah, thank you Auntie Dawn," Joyce echoed.

"No problem," the woman replied, giving the girl a kiss before standing up.

"Oh guess what?" Buffy asked her sister as she stood to full height. Prompted by Dawn's, "What?" She proceeded to answer, "Giles called. He said he'll be here in time for Christmas."

"That's great," Dawn agreed. "It'll be like old times."

Looking up from her crouching-position where she was helping Joyce put on her new chain, Faith motioned to ask about Christmas day arrangements, when she was distracted by a male voice announcing,

"Here we go."

The slayer fastened the chain and stood to face the man coming from the kitchen holding a large, lit birthday cake. Gritting her teeth, Faith recognised the brunette from the party at the clinic, as he walked past them into the living room and began singing 'Happy birthday' placing the cake on the table.

"Wow!" Buffy exclaimed, looking to the cake. Taking Joyce's hand and following behind Parker into the room of guests. They joined in the chorus, positioning themselves beside the cake.

Once finished, Buffy instructed her daughter, "Blow out your candles."

Getting ready to do so, Joyce was instructed to, "Make a wish." She watched whilst Dawn picked up and poised her camera before she blew out the candles on her cake, causing the adults and children around her to cheer. Posing for pictures, the blonde youngster smiled cheerily. She happily allowed her mother to begin cutting the cake, looking up to her brunette friend who knelt next to her.

"Have you opened all of your other presents?" Parker publicly asked the eight-year-old.

Joyce nodded.

"Good. I wanted mine to be the last," the psychiatrist explained, smiling. He spoke on to announce, "Now, I can't take all the credit 'cause your mom helped me set it all up. But if you go upstairs and into your room, I think you'll find the latest and finest widescreen TV with all the surround sound, digital picture quality etc and a certain console and games that a certain someone has been pestering her mom for."

"Really?" Joyce asked, her eyes lighting up. She turned to her mother. "Thanks! Can I go?" she asked.

"Sure," Buffy replied, smiling at the expression of joy on her child's face.

Joyce rushed upstairs beckoning for her friends to follow her.

Standing in the corner of the room, Faith watched as the children grabbed slices of cake and rushed past her, upstairs. She glanced at Buffy who was smiling after the youngster. What she had intended to be a mere glance becoming a stare, she listened as the blonde slayer thanked Parker for his gifts and grimaced at the sight. Feeling awkward standing in the corner of the room now absent of the children, she powerlessly watched as Buffy briefly introduced her sister to her colleague before making her way to the kitchen with Parker following her. At a loss of what to do, Faith was momentarily relieved when Dawn approached her.

"Okay, now Faith, what's going on?" the brunette asked her, as if in confrontation.

"What do you mean?" Faith asked for asking sake.

"Usually when I come here, I'd have to set the place alight to get you two to even glance in my direction; you're so into each other," Dawn explained. "Today you've hardly said two words."

"That's usually how exes are," the slayer dryly returned.

"Oh God, I thought as much," Dawn uttered, as her suspicions were confirmed. Her expression showing mixed emotions, she asked, "When did this happen?"

"A few weeks ago," Faith informed, bitterly adding, "And she's already all over this new guy."

"Him?" the younger brunette asked, pointing towards the kitchen. "No. He's all over her, the sleaze. Did you see him?" she asked, mimicking the psychiatrist's earlier behaviour. "'Joyce, have you opened all of your less important presents yet?’Cause I got you the latest finest most expensive TV'" As if just having given evidence, she emphasised, "Sleaze!"

"Preaching to the choir," Faith told her ex's sister. She shook her head. "I don't know why I even bothered coming today."

"What?" Dawn asked, taken aback. "It's Joyce's birthday."

Continuing in her rant, the brunette slayer asked, "Did you hear what Mr big-shot got her? My gift doesn't even compare to all that shit."

"Faith, can you hear yourself? It wouldn't matter if he bought her a planet; no one could replace you to Joyce. Did you see the look in her eyes when you came? Not to mention the one in Buffy's."

Faith's expression became one of questioning.

"Are you kidding? She was so happy you came – I could tell."

"Yeah?"

"Totally. I don't know what Buffy's playing at with this guy, but I'm going to find out and put a stop to this nonsense. Don't worry, the two of you will be back together before you know it."

"It's not that simple," the older brunette confessed. "You don't know why we broke up."

"I don't care, Faith," Dawn told her, shaking her head. "You two have been together way too long to let anything stand between you. Especially some pretentious long haired Mr Big-shot."

Faith smiled. "Thanks D," she returned graciously. Remembering herself, she added, "I gotta get back to work. How long're you in town for? We should hang out."

"I was gonna go back tomorrow," Dawn answered. "But I'm not leaving 'til all of this is sorted out."

Faith laughed, ascending the stairs. "I'm gonna go say bye to J. I'll see you around."

"Yep," Dawn replied, heading for the kitchen. "Leave it all to me."

Entering one of the home's three bedrooms, Faith looked around at the mass of brand new electronics filling the eight year old's room.

Joyce looked towards the door to see that the person who'd entered was Faith. Getting up from her position in front of her new TV and handing its controller to a friend, Joyce moved to be beside the slayer. "Faith, look!" Joyce told her, pointing to the wide-screen and its large speakers. "Isn't it cool?"

"Yeah. Looks like something out of a catalogue," Faith dismissed. She bent down to be at eye-level with the child. "Hey kiddo," she told her. "I gotta go back to work-"

"But you just got here," Joyce complained, interrupting.

"I know, but I only just snuck out so I could come see you. Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow and we can do something, ok?"

Joyce nodded. "D’you promise?" she asked.

"Of course. I'll see ya."

Hugging her tightly, Joyce replied, "Bye Faith."

The brunette winked, smiling. She got up and let herself out into the hall, almost bumping into Buffy who was on her way up.

"Hey," Buffy said, meeting her. "Dawn told me you were leaving."

"Yeah," Faith replied, trying to remain cool in the presence of her former lover. She waited for the blonde to speak, time seemingly standing still as she noticed the other slayer's newly acquired radiance.

Unsure about how to phrase the question on her mind, Buffy decided to say, "I just thought that seeing as you're here and all, we could," she walked into her bedroom and picked up a box full of things. Holding it out for the brunette, she completed, "Get some of this stuff out of the way."

Faith took hold of the box full of items that appeared to belong to her. Having been taken by surprise by the scenario presented to her, she stood staring at the contents for a while, deciding, "You know what?" dropping the carton and allowing a second for the 'thud' as it hit the ground and tipped over. "Burn 'em."

Increasingly upset, the dark slayer left Buffy staring after her. Walking down the stairs, she felt the fine line between hurt and anger disappear as she collided with Parker, who having heard the crash upstairs was alerted and on his way upstairs.

"Hey, watch it," the man berated.

"What was that?" Faith asked him. Enraged, the slayer grabbed hold of the brunette by his shirt, pushing him and shoving him against the wall before dealing a left hook to his face. Pulling him down by his shirt, she delivered a knee to his groin, letting go of him as he fell to the floor. About to continue the assault, Faith stopped as she felt herself pulled back with great force.

Having removed the threat, Buffy knelt in front of a reeling Parker. "Oh my God, are you ok?" she asked him.

"Yeah," Parker forced out.

Angry, Buffy looked up to castigate her ex-girlfriend only to be met with the door slam as the brunette left.

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

Nursing his facial bruise with an ice pack, Parker smiled as Buffy sat aside him on the couch.

"They're all gone!" Buffy announced, throwing her head back as if exhausted. "Peace at last."

"For some," Parker returned. "I can still hear the buzzing in my head from Rocky's blow earlier. What is that woman's problem?"

"It's complicated." Buffy decided to answer. She took hold of the hand Parker was using to nurse his face. Feeling the ice in the pack having liquidised, she told him, "Let me get you an actual ice pack."

Taking hold of the blonde's hand, Parker told her, "No need. I can barely feel it anyway."

"We could always use the ice to cool down other places." the slayer told him, smiling. She allowed her smile to fade as the psychiatrist placed his hand on her cheek and leant in to kiss her. Their lips about to meet, the mood was interrupted by sounds of Joyce screaming in pain.

Rushing up to go and help her, Buffy found her daughter laid out on the stairs holding her ankle.
"Mommy, I'm hurt," the child proclaimed.

Helping her daughter to her feet, Buffy refused her colleague's offer of assistance before taking Joyce upstairs. Once in the child's room with the door firmly shut, she asked, "Ok, what was that about?"

"I'm sorry, mom," Joyce confessed. "It's just that I saw you going to kiss Parker and I didn't know what else to do."

"You shouldn't be spying on mommy," Buffy told the child, slightly taken aback by her forwardness. "Besides I thought you liked Uncle Parker."

"I do," Joyce explained. "He's my friend. But I want Faith to come home and she wont if you and Uncle Parker are together."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Buffy looked to her child. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked rhetorically, holding her. Needing a subject change, she looked to her watch. "You've only got a few hours of your birthday left, what's say the two of us go downstairs, watch some movies and stuff our faces with loads of pizza and ice-cream."

Beamimg. Joyce replied, "Cool!"

Taking her daughter's hand the slayer told the small blonde, "C'mon. Let's go say goodnight to Uncle Parker."


TBC…