So Damn Domestic

The Next Day. BPOV


Faith woke up with a little bit of a hangover but she got over it pretty quick. We have to be at PJ’s in about an hour. We haven’t told the kids exactly who they’re going to be meeting, just that he’s really important and they have to be good or they’ll be in a lot of trouble. I still haven’t told Faith about Mattie beating up that kid yesterday. I figured she has enough stress at the moment, why add more to it? I talked with Matthew a little about it this morning before Faith woke up and I explained that standing up for Addison is a good thing and I’m glad he did it but that level of violence against a human being can’t be done. I think we’re going to start focusing his training a little more on control and holding back when he has to.


We’ve been training him more and more over the last couple years, well year and a half actually. Xander and his family came out for a visit and while they were here he and Faith built a training room at the very back of our backyard. It’s ok sized. I thought it was going to be a little bigger, but whatever. It has two rooms, the really big training area with the different equipment and blue gym mats, and a smaller room that has crosses all over the walls. Faith explained that when the kids are old enough and are ready for ‘live prey’ we’re going to bring back a newbie vamp and let them practice. She didn’t tell me that before she built the room. I’m not too sure how I feel about it but we’ll deal with it when we have to.


“Mommy, will you braid my hair?” Addison asks as I wash her back with the loofah. Matthew’s had his bath already because he doesn’t take as long to wash up as it does to clean Addison. Mostly because she’s like all little kids and she likes to play while she takes a bath. That and she wants to wash herself but since she’s still little she doesn’t do a very good job, not her fault, so I always have to go back and do it again and it takes up time. So this morning I convinced her to just let me wash her.


“Yeah, sweetie, after you get out of the tub and get dressed.” She groans because she wanted me to do it right now. “Addison, lose the ‘tude.” She sighs and washes her feet with the washrag that she usually plays with. She has bath toys and stuff. Faith went out and bought like ten rubber duckies, but she likes the rag, don’t ask me why ‘cause I have no idea.


“Who are we gonna go see?” She’s been asking about it ever since I told her we were meeting someone at the diner. Matthew hasn’t questioned it too much but he knows something’s up. It’s little Addison here who’s been asking about it every five minutes or so. Even thought I keep telling her the same thing she still asks about it. She’s way smarter then people realize. Just because she’s little it doesn’t mean she’s moronic. She’s pretty sharp and can usually pick up when people only tell her half-truths. I say usually because sometimes she either doesn’t pick up on it or doesn’t care enough to want to find out.


“An old friend of Mama’s that she hasn’t seen in a really long time.” That’s what I’ve been telling her for the last three hours. And every time she just nods her head and goes back to what she’s doing. “Ok, lean back.” She leans her head back and I use the large plastic cup to wet her hair. I put some of the shampoo in my hand first but she says that it’s really cold right out of the bottle. Ok, now for a talk I’ve kind of been holding off for the last couple of weeks because it’s taken me that long to convince Faith it’s a good idea. And trust me when I say I really did need her to agree with me. If I went behind her back with this she’d probably give me the silent treatment for a month.


“You’re getting to be a very big girl, you know.” She nods her head and uses the rag to wash her hands and arms as I lather up her hair. “And in a couple years you’re gonna be in kindergarten.” She looks up at me for a second and then washes her chest and belly. “Lean back.” She closes her eyes and leans her head back and I rinse out the shampoo and start working on the cream rinse. “But you can go to school before kindergarten, ya know.” She gives me a weird look like ‘what the hell are you talking about?’


“You mean daycare?” Well, that was unexpected. Where did she hear about daycare? We’ve never talked about it in front of her before. And yeah I think daycare is a good idea. It’s not like I don’t want my kid around all day it’s just, well if she’s in daycare then maybe I can take some classes at the community college now instead of waiting until she’s in kindergarten. It would just move things along a little faster. And the fast I get my degree the fast I can open up my own place and the faster we’ll be financially independent from Giles. He spent a small fortune on the wedding and honeymoon and I feel guilty.


“Yeah, daycare. So, what do you think? I mean it sounds nice, doesn’t it? You get to go to a place with other kids your age and learn a lot of really cool things.” Ok, well I don’t know if that’s true but I’m sure it is. “And you’ll be home a little bit before Matthew so you’ll still get to greet him when he gets home from school.” She’s always made a big deal about him coming home, even when she was really little.


“I know, Mama already talked to me about it.” What the fuck? When did Faith talk to Addison about daycare? Faith hated the idea and it took me so damn long to convince her that it’d be a good thing. Besides, with Faith in school it’s not like she’s around Addison all day long and Faith could pick Addison up when she gets out of school. Five o’ clock is the deadline when the kids need to be picked up from the daycare, and we can work out a special schedule, I’ve already talked to the people at the daycare about it.


“She did?” She nods her head yes. “Lean back.” She closes her eyes and leans her head back and I rinse out the conditioner. “So, do you want to go or do you want to stay home with me all day?” I do want to leave it up to her a little bit. If she doesn’t want to go then I’m not going to make her. We didn’t put Matthew in daycare and I don’t think it would be very fair to her if we made her go. I can put my plans on hold for a little while if I have to.


“I dunno. Mama said if I wanted to I could go there for a couple days and if I don’t like it I don’t haffta go back.” Hmm, that sounds like a good plan, why didn’t I think of that? We finish with her bath and I help her out of the tub and dry her off with the towel. While her hair is still kind of damp I french braid it. She looks so damn adorable with a french braid. She puts on a light purple dress and her pink sandals. I’ve learned my lesson from when Matthew was a baby and have learned a very important word when it comes to kids’ shoes: Velcro. It’s so much faster and easier when you’re in a hurry. She has other shoes that have laces but she wants to wear these and I’m glad ‘cause I still need to get ready.


After Faith took half a bottle of aspirin and drank about a gallon of water her hangover slowly went away and she was ready in half an hour. She’s not dressing as…sexy as she normally would. Just some simple jeans that aren’t as tight as her others, and a black tank top with a big red heart that’s cracked at the top and at the bottom there’s a little bit of blood dripping off of it and under it are the words ‘Heart Breaker’ in dark red. She’s been fussing over her hair for a while but only because she’s so damn nervous. She’s trying not to act like it but every ten minutes or so she’ll walk to a mirror and run her fingers through her hair to try and make it look perfect, which it is


Matthew’s dressed in his normal attire: blue jeans and a plain t-shirt. Today’s color is navy blue. He doesn’t like shirts with any kind of writing or print on them anymore, I think it’s because it makes shopping for him so much faster. All he has to do is find his size and pick out two or three of each color and he’s done. He has some Vanz shoes that we bought about a month ago because his other ones were starting to fall apart. And these are just some plain black shoes so they go with everything. Very simple.


I’m glad Addison doesn’t like dressing simple ‘cause I like dressing her up. Making her look very girly. What can I say? I’ve always wanted a little girl to play dress up with. She’s like a walking, talking Barbie, only with a brain and without the eating disorder and the need to be almost every career the world has to offer. Ok, enough babbling, I still need to get ready.


FPOV


And we’re on our way. We’re going to be a couple minutes early but that’s what I wanted. I told B we have to be at PJ’s at noon when we’re really supposed to be there are twelve thirty, it’s almost twelve seventeen so we’re doing pretty good. It’s not that B’s slow or anything when it comes to getting ready but…well…ok she is. But only ‘cause she’s nervous. She wants to make a good impression and that involves a good outfit. She changed ten times and spent twenty minutes picking out the right shoes and then found the perfect shoes and changed her outfit one more time.


But I can’t complain. I changed shirts fifteen times, spent thirty minutes debating whether or not I should put my hair in a ponytail or not and changed my shoes three times. I don’t know why I did that because I’m wearing the ones I put on the first time. My steel toed boots. They go great with these pants, gotta love ‘em. I tried not to dress like I normally do. I mean, this is my dad, me dressing up really sexy to try and impress him would be creepy and wrong on so many levels. So I’m keeping it simple: my dark blue jeans that aren’t as tight as the rest, my black Heart Breaker tank top, and my boots. My make-up is lighter then normal and I am wearing a bra today. When you’re rushing to get somewhere on time sometimes you forget to put one on.


I pull into the parking lot and B starts yellin at Addy for sayin something mean to Mattie or something like that. I haven’t been paying attention. All I can think about is my dad. How is this meeting going to go? Will the kids act up? Will he be proud of me when he sees the life I have? When he sees that I have a happy family, which is what he’s always wanted. I’ve always wanted one too but that’s why he married my mom, mostly, I think.


They were right outta high school, just nineteen, she was eighteen, and they got hitched. They’d been dating for two years and figured if they could make it work that long then they’d could make it work forever. And well, it worked out in the beginning, but when I was born things got stressful. Too stressful for my mom to handle and she started drinking. My dad took care of me, and after a while, when I got older and more independent, she didn’t really have a reason to drink anymore, but she was an alcoholic, she couldn’t stop. He tried getting her help, tried to fix everything so he could have that happy family he always dreamed of, but it wasn’t any good. She didn’t want to quit and you can’t help someone if they don’t want the help, I know that first hand.


“Ok, now remember what I told you two?” I ask them as they start to get out of the car. It’s Addy who speaks up first. Not that Mattie doesn’t remember or want to answer but she seems to want the spotlight all the time and will do almost anything to get it.


“If we’re good we get to stay up all night and eat as much ice cream we want.” Yeah, she’s really excited about that. B gives me the evil eye and unhooks Addy from her car seat and Mattie gets out of the car. There’s nothing wrong with bribery when you really want something to go your way. The reason B’s giving me the evil eye is because I don’t go back on my promises. So if they are really good I will let them stay up all night and eat all the ice cream their little tummies can handle. Did I really just use the word ‘tummies’? I think I need to go to Vegas for a little ‘grown up time’. B can tag along, and we’ll hit a couple strip clubs. We’ve talked about it, but I don’t think she was serious.


Ok, I’ve gotten off track here. I lock up the car and we go inside. We’ve been to this place over a hundred times at least. Everyone here knows us by name and we’ve memorized the schedules of the waiters and waitresses. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays Melissa and Lauren work from opening until closing. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays Danny works from opening until three and then Stephanie comes in and works from three until closing. Sundays are always really slow for some reason so Sheri handles it by herself. There are only two cooks, PJ Daniels and his son Ian. Best damn cooks on the planet, no joke. Anyway, we sit down in the booth we always sit in. The one closet to the door and right by the window. Then Danny walks up to us with the little order pad and pen already out.


“What can I get our favorite customers this afternoon?” he asks and smiles wide. All of the people here like us a lot, probably ‘cause we’re pretty big tippers. No matter how much the bill is we always leave twenty bucks. We don’t need menus anymore since we’ve memorized the entire thing. Addy always orders the chicken strips with fries and extra ketchup and a kid’s sized Coke, Mattie gets a burger with curly fries and an orange soda, I get a double decker burger with extra everything and fries and a large Coke. B’s usually changes ‘cause of the pregnancy and today she’s craving two cheeseburgers with onion rings and a vanilla milkshake. When I made the plans with my dad yesterday he said that if we get here before him to go ahead and order. And if we try to make the kids wait they’ll get restless, and when they get restless they turn into hellspawn. Not literally, but you get what I mean.


Danny writes down our orders and says it’ll be ready in a bit. There aren’t too many people here today. Only seven, normally on Saturdays it’s packed but they always keep our table reserved because we come in here a lot and they never know exactly what day. And after all we are their favorite customers. Especially ever since they found out B’s pregnant. They give her free food all the time, mostly ice cream, but we all get that for free thanks to her. We’ve been coming in here for a long time now, almost two years, they’ve practically seen Addy grow up, they can’t believe how big Mattie’s getting, and they all can’t wait to see B’s belly grow. What can I say? These people are like an extended family, as stupid as that sounds.


I sigh and look out the window. He should be here any minute now and I’m nervous as hell. Our talk yesterday didn’t go exactly as I planned. I was nervous then and also a little angry. I didn’t want to admit it, didn’t want to blame him because it wasn’t his fault, but I was pissed that he was gone. He left and I was all alone. I didn’t want to admit it, guess I thought I’d be this horrible person if I thought that way. But when he opened the door and I looked up into those dark eyes I couldn’t help but feel it. The anger, the pain, the sadness, the fear, the abandonment. It was all there and I couldn’t make it go away.


I asked him if his name was Christopher Nathaniel Lehane and he said yes in a very…gruff voice. I looked at his neck really close and I saw a scar and I had to look away. I don’t know when it happened, obviously, but somehow his throat had been slit, not deep enough to kill him, just deep enough to mess up his voice. Enough to make it so I didn’t recognize it anymore. I asked him if he knew who I am and he said, “Yes, you’re my baby girl.” And he stepped back and I walked into his room and he closed the door.


I asked him why now? Why did you show up now? And he explained about getting out of prison and me being gone. He said he went to every hospital in Massachusetts but he didn’t find a death certificate for a Faith I. Lehane, said he almost cried with relief. He said he asked around the neighborhood, some of his old friends who he knew were keeping an eye on me. They just knew that my mom died and some woman took me in and something happened to her and I took off and no one heard about me since. He told me he got two jobs to save up and hire a private detective and the guy kept lookin for a little over a year until my dad couldn’t afford him anymore.


He said he had no other choice but to stop looking. He couldn’t afford to leave the state that he didn’t have a car or anything. He told me every Saturday he’d go to the public library and use their computers to Google my name. He did that for a while until he got word from one of his connections he made in prison about a Faith Lehane that got locked up out in California. He said he saved up enough cash to get him a plane ticket but by the time he got there I was missing, I had broken out and no one could find me, not that they were lookin too hard what with everything that was goin on.


He said he stayed in LA for a while until he had to go back to Boston ‘cause he had to pay his rent and all that shit. But he kept lookin, every Saturday he’d Google my name until he finally found that article. By the time he found it he had boughten a car, a piece of shit but it runs. He pulled all of his money out of the bank and drove all the way across the country just to find me. He’s been in Vegas for five days. He said once he got here he realized he had no fuckin clue has how to approach me (his words not mine). He didn’t know if I’d want to see him or not, or if I’d even remember him. So he stayed at the motel mostly, by the phone with the piece of paper with my phone number and home address written down on it. Then he finally got up the courage to call and I wasn’t even there, but he left a message.


I asked him what he wanted to know. If here was anything he wanted to ask me. He said there were billions of things he wanted to ask, and wanted to say. But we started simple. He asked about what happened from the night he left up until my mom died. So I told him, all of it. Every beating, every angry word. All about me becoming a slayer and my watcher finding me and then my mom dying. His friends got that part wrong, ‘cause my mom didn’t die until after I moved in with my watcher. I told him about the destiny, and how I flung myself into it. He didn’t believe me right away, not until I took him to a cemetery and showed him.


He was a little…freaked at first. Then we went back to the motel and he pulled out a couple of beers from a little mini fridge he bought. I vaguely told him about the boys, about the way my body responds to the slaying. And let me tell you that was awkward. Then I told him about my watcher being killed and me runnin off to Sunnydale. And everything that happened after that. He was a little…shocked. He didn’t say anything until after he finished his beer. And all he said was, “But you’re better?” And I told him, “More then better.” And I told him all about Buffy and the kids. He said he wants to meet them, if it’s ok with me. And I told him about the plans to go to PJ’s. He said he’d be there and he said that I better get home to my family before they start to worry about me.


And now here I am, staring out the window of the diner and barely listening to my kids argue over which is better: regular fries or curly. I haven’t touched my food yet because I’m too nervous. He hasn’t given me a reason to think he won’t show up, but then he hasn’t really given me a reason to think he won’t run off. I mean, what if all of this is too much. What if it was just the beer talking and he doesn’t want to see me after all? But I guess I’m freaking out for nothing because I can see his car pulling into the parking lot. I inhale a deep breath and hold it for a little bit until I see him get out of the car and walk towards the door. Well, here goes nothing. I just hope the kids behave.


BPOV


I glance out the window when I hear Faith suckin a deep breath. She hasn’t touched her food yet, which is something to worry about. I see a beat up old car, rusted and loud because of the bad muffler, pull into the parking lot. I guess that must be him. He parks the car in front of the building and shuts off the loud engine and gets out. He’s tall, six foot four maybe. He’s wearing a leather jacket that looks a little warn, and dark jeans and a black shirt. His hair is dark brown and he has a buzz cut. He looks young for his age though. I’d guess he was forty-five but he’s really fifty-one.


Faith looks like she’s about to piss herself. I get why she’s scared though, a little. I can’t speak from experience or anything but I can imagine what it’s like. I glance over at my babies as they fight over which is better: regular or curly fries. I swear these two fight over the dumbest stuff. I tell them to be quiet and remind them about the deal they made with Faith and they quiet down. I hear the little jiggle of the bell as the door opens and in walks Christopher. He looks a lot taller up close then he did out there and I subconsciously move a little closer to my kids. Mother’s instinct I guess: protect from all things big and unknown. And this man is both of those.


He looks around the room and smile when he sees me and the kids. He’s never seen us, obviously, so he doesn’t recognize us but he’s giving us that look that strangers usually do, the ‘aww, look at the woman and her cute kids’. I get that look a lot out in public. Well, unless one of the kids is acting up, then it’s ‘God, look at that woman and her brats, why doesn’t she just take them home?’ I glance over at Faith when she turns around in her seat and she locks eyes with him. She stands up and he smiles a big smile and walks up to her. They hug for a few seconds and he steps back and looks at me and the kids and then at Faith.


“Buffy, this is my dad Chris. Dad, this my wife Buffy.” It’s really weird to hear her say that. Not the word itself but the sound of her voice. She’s not used to saying it and it’s making her a little uncomfortable, almost like she doesn’t believe this is happening. He holds out his hand and I shake it for a few seconds. He has really calloused hands. From the little that Faith told me about him this morning he ‘worked harder then a dog all his life’. And I know he’s been to prison and they don’t have the best weights there and I’m sure they don’t get to use the tape to protect your hands.


“Nice to meet you,” he says in a horse voice. I tell him ‘nice to meet you too’ and they sit down, Faith on the outside because she’s a slayer and it’s slayer instinct to be on the isle seat of anything. “So, who are these two little rugrats?” he makes his voice a little rougher and a little louder on purpose and he looks over at me and winks. He’s trying to freak them out a little. Well, this should be interesting. Matthew eyes him up and down a little and he’s tense, really tense. But he olds out his hand for Chris to shake.


“I’m Matt,” he says in a very serious tone. Now that there’s another male present he’s going to act very serious and ‘grown up’. He’s always been like that. Then Addison sticks out her as far as she can ‘cause her arms are shorter then Matthew’s, and in a very enthusiastic tone she says,


“My name’s Addison. What happened to your neck?” I glance at Chris’ throat and I see a scar, probably from a glass bottle. Ah, so that’s why his voice is so…rough. I can’t help but get a little nervous. Was it bad that she asked that? Does he not want to talk about it? I glance at Faith and she looks a little nervous too, but hers is a different kind of nervous. She’s nervous because she knows the answer and she knows our little girl shouldn’t hear it. Chris lets out a little laugh and shakes Matthew’s hand first and then Addison’s.


“Nice to meet you both. And you really wanna know where I got this from?” he asks and points to his neck. He asked the question in a very hushed tone, like the answer is some big secret or something. Both of the kids nod their heads vigorously, like they’re just dying to know the answer. I tense up a little bit and take in a deep breath. Chris looks over at me and winks again and for some reason it calms me down. He leans in real close to them so he can talk lower.


“One day I was workin at the factory, like I did everyday, and I was at my station, mindin my own business when this really pretty girl walks by, the fourth pretties girl in the world…” He looks into Addison’s eyes. “After you and your moms.” She blushes and smiles really big at him. Oh yeah, she’s really gonna love him. “So, anyhow, I looked up and watched her leave.” Probably lookin at her ass. Faith does the same thing, and I’m sure almost every guy on the planet does. “And because I’m too busy lookin at this girl I’m not paying attention to what I’m supposed to be doing and the piece of metal I’m supposed to be cuttin hits the saw wrong and a little piece comes flyin up and cuts me.” He drags the back of his thumb across his throat, across the scar. “Right across the throat.” The kids don’t say anything for a few seconds but I know it’s coming. It always starts with Addison and they go back and forth like a ball at a tennis match.


“Did it hurt?”


“Was there a lot of blood?”


“Did you faint?”


“Did you almost die?”


“Who took you to the doctor?”


“Is that why your voice is messed up?”


“My mommy cut her hand with a big knife a couple days ago and she cried. But she cries a lot ‘cause of the baby in her belly.” Ok, she so didn’t need to tell him that. He looks over at me and tries to glance down at my stomach but the table is too tall. He just laughs a little, like he did before and looks back and forth between the both of them.


“Well aren’t you two a hoot and a half?” I smile and look over at Faith and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid looking at me. Now she’s working on her food, chewing really slow like she’s tasting the best thing in the world. Addison starts eating her food again but Matthew’s looking at Chris with this suspicious look on his face. Oh no, here we go. I was wondering how long it would take until the interrogation started.


“If you’re really my mama’s dad, why haven’t we met you before?” I can tell Faith wants to say something to him but she’s keeping quiet. Instead she glances over at her dad to see how he’s going to handle this. I am too. Faith holds her breath while she waits for the answer. Chris laces his fingers together on top of the table and looks my boy right in the eyes.


“Me and your mama’s mom got inna fight, cops came and took me away. When I got out of jail your mama had moved away and I didn’t know where she was until a couple weeks ago.” He looks over at Faith and gets this proud smile on his face and then looks back at Matthew. “I looked her name up on a computer and found somethin, a newspaper article, sayin how she’s a hero because she saved a little girl from a wild dog.” Wild dog my ass, that was a demon and Faith and I both know it. But it got away and we haven’t seen it since.


“Oh that wasn’t a doggy, that was a demon.” Fuck, I can’t believe Addison said that. Wait…I can’t that back. I’m surprised she waited this long to say something about demons. “But you can’t tell anybody, ‘cause it’s a secret.” My daughter ladies and gentlemen. Faith laughs a little and takes a big bite of her burger to cover it up.


“What she meant was-” I start to say but Chris interrupts me. Oh yeah, that definitely is a genetic thing after all. And all this time I thought Faith had no manners.


“It’s alright, Faith already told me about all that stuff.” I sigh in relief and keep eating my lunch. Danny comes by again and Chris orders some food and when Danny leaves he says, “Somethin about it is buggin me though.” Both me and Faith look at him in anticipation. “If there are so many slayers out there now how come the whole world doesn’t know about it?” Oh, well this is an easy one.


“Confidentially clause. All of ‘em have to sign it,” Faith says. “Only their families can know. If they tell anyone else and then the person’s memory of it is erased, if it happens again the girl will get her powers taken away.” Remember that drug Giles used on me for that stupid test on my eighteenth birthday? Well he came up with something like that only a little stronger. Stronger as in one syringe full lasts forever. Only Giles knows the recipe to it and only the scoobies, and Faith, knows about it. Well, and now her dad and our two kids.


“So the only thing keepin these girls from shoutin it out to the whole world is a piece of paper?” We nod our heads yes. It is flawed and we’ve had a couple of bad things happen from some freaked out girls but that was only in the beginning. We haven’t had one of those bad things happen in…well I don’t know exactly how long but a really long time. “Hmm,” he says and takes the plate from Danny and thanks him. He waits until Danny’s out of earshot. “Doesn’t seem like it’d work but hey, who am I to judge?” And he takes a large bite of his turkey sandwich. I smile a little. I think I can see myself liking this guy in a very father-in-law sort of way. But we’ll just have to see and find out. I mean, I just met the guy and being a slayer has taught me not to trust very easy. I hope Faith remembers that too.


FPOV


Things are going way better then I thought they would. The kids have been angels, B is still a little weary of him but that’s ok. She’s always like that around people she’s just met when they’re around the kids. But my dad won’t do anything to try and hurt them. At least I’m pretty sure he won’t. He’d be crazy to try, especially knowin about me bein’ a slayer and all of the power I have. But let’s not think about that, alright? I’d like to think positively ‘cause this is going really good, and hopefully it’ll stay this way. I laugh at the story he’s tellin, like everyone else does. He’s talkin about the time I got stuck up a tree when I was five.


“It took half the fire department and a bag a gummy worms to get her down.” Buffy and Mattie laugh again and Addy laughs just because they’re laughing but she doesn’t really know why it’s funny. B gives me this look and I do everything in my power not to look into her eyes. I know she’s gonna give me shit about that later.


“Ok, how about me not tell embarrassing stories from my childhood, ok?” I ask and sink down a little in my chair and take a drink of my Coke. B gives me that look again. Huh, there’re bubbles from the carbonation. Why does carbonation cause bubbles? And what is carbonation anyway? Just more of life’s little mysteries.


“Dolly-face, that was nothin.” I look up at him and my eyes water up a little. Dolly-face, that was his nickname for me when I was little. I guess it still is. “I gotta couple that’ll make your ears burst you’ll be so embarrassed if I say ‘em.” Ok, so don’t. But B isn’t just gonna let it go. She sits up a little straighter in her seat and raises an eyebrow.


“Oh? Do tell,” she says and takes a long drink of her milkshake. Dad takes a sip of his Dr. Pepper and puts the glass back down and leans forward a little bit. That’s one thing I’ve noticed about him, when he eats or dinks somethin he won’t let his arms touch the table but when he’s goes to tell a story he’ll lean on his forearms. Just an observation, nothin big or anything.


“Alright, but don’t blame me when she gets mad.” He gives B a little wink and then goes into ‘story mode’. His voice is always a little lower, and his tone deeper when he tells a story, and he’s told at least five so far. All about me and embarrassing moments of my childhood. “It’s Saturday and I have the day off, which is rare ‘cause I was workin two jobs at the time. Faith was…three, maybe four, and she was learnin how to wipe herself after she uses the bathroom.” I was too young for me to remember what he’s talking about, but I think he’s told me this story before when I was like seven or eight. Please, don’t let it be that story. “And it’s about two in the afternoon, Lorie, Faith’s mom, was out at the grocery store and I was watchin T.V. when I hear a knock on the door.” Please no. “I grumble a little to myself a little and get up to answer it and there’s five Jehovah’s witnesses standin on the doorstep.” Please God, kill me now just don’t let him finish this story.


“So I invite ‘em in ‘cause it was hot out and they looked like they needed a cold drink.” I stare down at my plate and I can feel his eyes on me for a few seconds before he looks at B again. Oh she is so gonna pay for askin him to tell another story. “So I get ‘em some water and they’re sittin on the couch, I’m in my recliner, and while they’re talkin about their religion and all it has to offer I notice that it’s really quiet in the house ‘cept for the guy talkin, ‘cause I turned off the T.V. when we first went inside.” I can feel my neck start to burn as I blush crimson. “And after a couple minutes I hear these little footsteps walkin down the hall and Faith into the living room, stark-naked, and in front of all these people turns around and bends over and spreads her butt cheeks and says ‘is my butt clean yet?’”


I think I just heard something pop. Oh, that was all of my self-esteem popping like a balloon when you stab it with somethin sharp. B and the kids start laughin so hard I think everyone else in the diner is starin at us. I scrunch down really low and try to hide my face without it seeming obvious but that’s impossible. I just keep lookin down ‘cause I know what I’m gonna see if I look up and it’s gonna be Buffy with a very teasing look in her eyes. I really wish he hadn’t told that story because now that B knows it she’s never gonna let me live it down.


“And those people, bless their hearts, were tryin so hard not to laugh. I thought I was gonna die right there I was so embarrassed.” You may be wondering why my dad talks he way he does? Well, if not I’ll explain it anyway. He lives in Boston now but he didn’t move there until he was fourteen. He lived in Missouri most of his life until his mom and dad got a divorce and his mom moved him there to live with her sister while she got her life together. And he met my mom and they fell in love. And all of those years of living in Boston haven’t changed the way he talks, he doesn’t have much of an accent, never has, but the phrases and stuff haven’t changed. And that’s why I went to Missouri when I first became a slayer. I wasn’t there just to kill that big daddy vampire, I was lookin for him. They quiet down and the only sound I can hear is Addison chewing on a piece of chicken. Then she swallows and narrows her eyes a little bit at my dad.


“If you’re my mama’s daddy, does that make you me and my brother’s grampa?” She’s always had trouble saying the word ‘grandpa’. It’s always been grampa Giles and hopefully if things work out the way I want them too it’ll be grampa Chris. I look over at my dad and he takes a drink of his soda then puts the glass down and looks at Addison and it’s almost like they’re squarin off or somethin ‘cause she’s not looking away.


“Technically,” he says and shrugs his shoulders. “Yeah I am.” She looks at him again with her eyes all narrowed and shit. It’s almost like she suspects him of doin something bad or something like that.


“But we already have a grampa. Well, a grampa Giles.” I can tell he’s trying not to laugh and he glances over at Buffy and she is very quick to explain.


“He’s not my biological father. He was my watcher when I first moved to Sunnydale and we became really close. He’s been more of a dad to me then my real dad. He took off with his secretary, moved to Spain, and I haven’t seen him since.” She says it as casual as you’d talk to your neighbor about the weather or something. B got over it a long time ago, and yeah she thinks it’s a little sad that she doesn’t have a relationship with her ‘real’ dad, but she has Giles and she’s grateful for that. My dad just nods and takes another sip of his drink. “So, you have anymore…colorful stories about Faith as a little girl?”


“Ya know, B, they didn’t happen when you were little but I got plenty of stories I could tell that I’m sure you’d rather nobody know.” I can’t help it, she knows too much now. I raise my eyebrow at her and she looks me dead in the eye and we just sit here, silently challenging each other. Until I feel my dad bump me with his elbow.


“Now, Faith, knock it off. She’s just curious.” Then he looks at B and smiles and big toothy grin. “And yeah, I got plenty of other stories.” Well this isn’t good. I don’t know about my dad and my wife being in cahoots. Hmm, I don’t know how I feel about me saying the word ‘cahoots’. I mean this little alliance could make things uncomfortable for me. “But I won’t tell anymore. I think I’ve embarrassed her enough for one day.” Alright well maybe they’re not in cahoots. Yeah, I definitely feel weird sayin that word, so I’m not gonna say it anymore. I look over when I see Addy reach for her drink and she gets a blank look on her face and starts to blink a lot and she accidentally knocks the glass over and soda goes everyone. It spills over the edge of the table and gets all over my dad’s lap.


“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Addy says and she sounds a little scared. I feel my blood boil a little bit. A few months ago there was this guy who came in here, just passin through on his way to Arizona or some shit like that. Anyway, when he was walkin by our table to leave Addy accidentally knocked her plate off the table and ketchup got all over this guy’s shoes. And these were like twenty-dollar sneakers, not much to cry over, right? But he starts yellin at my little girl like she just ruin some fuckin million-dollar leather loafers or some shit like that. Luckily PJ and Ian heard what was goin on and they grabbed the guy and threw him out ‘cause I was getting ready to punch my fist through that guy’s face. And it really scared the yell outta Addy ‘cause she’s never really been around men before, especially ones as tall and stocky as that guy, and my dad.


“It’s alright, sweetheart,” he says and grabs a few napkins and starts to clean up the soda off his lap first then the table. “It’s just a little soda, nothin a wash machine won’t take out.” She calms down a little but she’s still upset. B gets really worried for whatever reasons and reaches behind Mattie so she can rub the back of Addy’s head.


“Was it your eye again, baby?” B asks and she sounds pretty concerned. Addy nods her head yes and starts rubbing her eye. “Well don’t worry, you have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday.” B sounds like she’s trying to convince herself more then Addy. Wait…doctor’s appointment?


“What doctor’s appointment?” I ask and shove a couple fries in my mouth. B gives me this ‘do you have to eat like a pig?’ type of look and I just shrug. She really can be a pain in the ass sometimes.


“Her eye was bothering her yesterday so I called the doctor and made an appointment for Wednesday at two-thirty. I can take her myself if you don’t want to leave early.” What the hell is she talking about? Of course I’ll leave early, this is our baby she’s talking about. And if something’s wrong with her then I wanna be there to find out what. Ok Faith, calm down. It’s probably nothing. She’ll be fine. It’s probably just allergies or something.


“I’ll leave early, or I won’t go at all.” My dad gives me a questioning look as he takes another sip of his soda. “I’ve been taking some summer school classes at the high school so I can earn some extra credits and get my GED earlier since I dropped out of high school.” That’s the one thing I didn’t want to tell him. I didn’t want him to think I’m stupid or something, like almost everyone else does when they find out I never graduated. But he just nods his head.


“At least you’re gettin it done. Man, if I could go back and get my diploma I would.” Wait, what? But he told me him and my mom graduated high school and then they got married. So I give him my own questioning look. “Oh I had all the credits, passed all the classes I need to but I skipped too many days and they wouldn’t let me graduate. Never thought I should just put in one more year ‘cause your mom was pregnant with you and I needed to work.” Oh. Well that explains that, doesn’t it? Ok and getting off the very awkward subject of my mom before one of the kids asks about her.


“So, what are you doin now? I mean, work wise.” He takes the last drink of his soda and pushes the glass out to the middle of the table. Danny comes by and takes our empty plates and glasses and B orders another milkshake. And she said I had it bad when it came to the pregnancy food cravings. Whatever. She’s got it bad too. Normally I would give her some shit about it but she has a tendency to cry when I make fun of her. I know she does it on purpose and uses the pregnancy as an excuse but I still can’t stand to see her cry even if she is faking it.


“Well, I work part time at a scrap metal factory, we cut down the pieces to whatever size the customer needs, and I work part time at Uncle Bernie’s as a bartender.” I just nod my head. He worked at the scrap metal place before he was put in jail and then another job as a grocery store clerk. Uncle Bernie’s is a strip club that I snuck into before when I was thirteen. I did it because of a dare and wow I wasn’t expecting what I saw. It sort of…turned me on to a whole new way of thinkin.


“What’s Uncle Bernie’s?” Addy asks and before anyone else can even blink my dad answers her.


“A place you’re never, ever gonna work at.” B gives me a questioning look and I lip the words ‘strip club’ and she nods her head with an ‘oh’ look on her face. Then she gets this other look on her face like ‘damn straight she’s not’. Then my dad sighs and stretches his arms out as best he can without bumping into me and looks at his watch and then scratches the back of his head. “Well, it was nice meeting you but I gotta get goin. There are a few phone calls I need to make to some people in Boston and it’s almost…six there.” I get up so he can get out of the booth. He wraps me up in a big hug and gives me a kiss on the top of my head. “I’ll call you later, ok?” I nod my head yes and he says bye to B and the kids. I don’t sit down again until he’s out the door.


“So, whatta you guys think?” They give me some weird looks. Well B and Mattie do. B’s givin me this look like ‘don’t get too attached’ and Mattie still looks a little suspicious. Jeez, what’re their problems? I look at my girl and she’s all smiles. Leave it up to my baby girl to make me feel better about something. And no, that wasn’t sarcastic.


“I like him. He said I’m the prettiest girl in the world.” Ha, I knew that comment wouldn’t be forgotten. “And he didn’t get mad when I spilleded my soda. And he has a lot of funny stories about you.” Well, the first two are really good reasons to like him. I look over at Buffy and she’s lookin at me with that look again. I know that look, I’ve given that look. It was the same look I gave her when she brought home that stupid little kitten and named it Tink. I wanted to get rid of it but B wanted to keep her and she kept sayin ‘at least until she’s not all skin and bones, then I’ll find a home for her’. But she got attached and we kept the cat. And then Tucker moved in and ended up chasing her off. I really do love that dog.


“He’s nice,” she says and smiles and it looks really forced. “Really Faith, he is.” I raise my eyebrow a little and she sighs. She can’t lie to me, I know her too well. And she’s bad at it. “I’m happy for you, really I am. It’s just….” She stops and gives me the ‘lets talk about this later ‘cause what I have to say shouldn’t be said in front of the kids’ look. I nod my head a couple times then look over at Mattie. I guess he caught B’s look too and he’s frownin at her. He hates it when we do that ‘cause he thinks he’s old enough to hear everything we have to say. Then he shrugs and looks at me.


“He’s alright. I just met him or I don’t know if I like him or not.” Well, that’s a logical answer. It’s passed three now so Stephanie’s working now, and since we finished our meal she’s bringing us some ice cream. Strawberry for Addy, Chocolate for me and Mattie and Vanilla with lots and lots of chocolate syrup. We always get the same thing every time, it’s our routine. I watch B a little closer then normal. I wanna know what her problem is with my dad. I guess I’ll find out later. I’m not gonna get on her ass too much about it ‘cause she’s sensitive right now and the last thing I want to do is upset my baby.