Surprises

Disclaimer - see part one

Part 3
Faith settled herself on the couch, and looked around the room. Jesus, she thought, this place is huge. You could fit my entire apartment in here. She looked around and saw Willow move to the answering machine, when she pushed play she recognized Dawn's voice on the other end, "Buffy are you there? Ok, well I guess you guys are out. Willow, Kennedy's doing something top secret that I couldn't go to, which basically means they're training and she's getting the crap beat out of her." Dawn giggled. Faith looked at Willows face which had become considerably paler, "I'm joking, Wills don't freak out. Anyway, she's gone to some training seminar or something, and said she would call later. She says to pass on a message, but there is no way in hell...so I'll just say she loves you. Talk to you guys later." The answering machine beeped, indicating the end of the message.

Faith glanced at Willow with a raised eyebrow, "No," Willow said, "they don't know. Dawn would freak totally out and try to come home." Faith nodded, "Buffy hasn't been herself lately," Willow began, and cleared her throat, "she's tired, a lot of the time, she sleeps constantly. I have to literally shake her awake in the mornings. But then other times she's...different."

"But she talked like she liked her job," Faith began to protest.

"Oh, I agree, I think she does. That isn't exactly it," Willow glanced at Faith's hands, she was wringing them, "do you still smoke?"

"Kind of obvious?"

"You seem a little nervous is all."

Faith sighed and pushed a dark strand off of her face and behind her ear, "I am. I haven't smoked since I left Boston, and for me that's like a freaking record."

"You can smoke," Willow suggested, "I don't mind."

"It's okay, I don't want to smoke in the house. I'll go out back a little later," Faith said to Willow, who was busying rustling things on the end table next to the sofa.

"Nah. Here's an ashtray. Buffy smokes," she said, handing it to Faith, " I told her it was bad for her, but she claims that she's a slayer, meant to die young and all."

"Buffy smokes?'

"Buffy does a lot of stuff," Willow said, sitting back down, "but yeah, she smokes."

"A lot of stuff? What is that supposed to mean?" Faith asked, lighting her cigarette.

Willow stood up and began to walk around, "She goes to work everyday. She seems fine. I mean, she does her job, the kids love her, she's excellent as a matter of fact. But it's one of the many faces of Buffy. If you know what I mean?" Willow sat back.

Faith nodded, "Yeah, I kinda do. I mean we all have different personas, right? "

"Yeah, I get that, Faith, but it's not the same thing. She started out small, and nobody was really even alarmed by it. I think that we just ignored it, if you want to know the truth." Willow sat up on the couch and put her elbows on her knees, hands to her face, "it's getting out of control. Or got out of control, actually."

"What is?"

Willow sighed again, "everything. She spirals. One minute she's crying and the next minute she's taking off to Fort Lauderdale. That's where she is now, Fort Lauderdale. I didn't want to tell you at the airport."

"What!?" Faith exclaimed, "What the fuck is she doing in Florida? If there is no demon, then why the fuck did she call me? And why am I here, and she's working on a tan at the fucking beach," Faith stubbed her cigarette out, and looked at Willow, "I'm sorry, it's just that this is getting a little more than infuriating."

"To tell you the truth Faith, it's way past infuriating." Willow said, "I love Buffy. I really do, but I can't deal with her sometimes. I'm sick of the messes, and with her and Xander there is always a mess. She's up one minute, and when she's up, well take my word for it, get out of her way. The next minute, she's in such a state of depression, that it takes everything in me to get her out of bed. Dawn and Kennedy try to help. Xander he's just as bad, they just facilitate each other."

"How?"

"When she gets that way, in one of her upper states, as Dawn affectionately dubbed it, he plays along, cause she's funtime Buffy. Kennedy actually dubbed it more along the lines of Buffy and Xander being super duper pains in our asses. To tell the truth, she's more accurate. It's nothing for the two of them to take off on some drunken spree to the beach, as they have done."

"Xander's with her?" Faith asked, still a little confused.

"Yep. They left a note. Going to Fort Lauderdale. Call you Monday.," Willow said. Faith looked at her mystified, "No shit, that is all it said. They just left. Both of them have jobs, let me remind you, and I've been on the phone half the morning making up excuses as to why they weren't coming in."

"So let me get this straight, Buffy is having theses mood swings?" Faith asked. Willow nodded, "Do you mean she's like, bi-polar or something?"

"I think so. We can't get her to go to the doctor. Hell, we've tried to get both of them to go. They'll mope around the house for days on end, and the next thing you know they are out until two in the morning at some fucking club. They'll sleep a couple of hours go to work, and start partying all over again. I have no idea where they go, or what they do, for that matter. I know they drink, but I don't know how much. They are obviously enabling each other. Xander does have moments of clarity that Buffy has seemed to lack, but she just pouts her famous little pout and he's all like, 'sure Buff, whatever you want, let me be your lapdog some more.'"

Faith looked at Willow, "so why did she call me?'

"I don't know. Did she sound strange to you the other night?"

"Sort of. I can never tell with Buffy. She sounded tired."

Willow nodded, "she had been up for three days straight. Going to work, going out, going to work. Then she just crashed. The day before she called you, she stayed in bed all day, crying. Every time I would go in there, she would throw something at me. Pillows don't hurt, but cordless phones, well, they aren't as soft as they look. Xander, for his part, slept. Neither said anything to me. I guess she called you the next night. The next thing I know, they're both gone. I heard the two of them up the night before they left, but I don't know what they were doing. Talking is all I figured, since they were in their pajamas when I went to check on them. I figured they cooked up some sort of plan, and left, before I got up."

"Holy fuck, Red. What's wrong with the two of them? I still don't understand why she called me," Faith sighed.

Willow looked at Faith suddenly, as if she was studying her, "How do you feel about Buffy?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean, what are your feelings? Really. I never really understand why you left us in L.A. Buffy never said anything, and we didn't ask. But she did change after that."

Faith leaned back on the couch and put her hand to her head. Here comes the fucking headache, she thought. "I don't know what to tell you. You want to know why I left?" Willow nodded, and Faith continued, "She's too much. For me, I mean. It's like a strong perfume or something, but being around her left me heady. I'd get so pissed off, I'd want to hit her, and actually almost did one time. I left right after that. I just couldn't take her, you know?"

Willow was busy nodding when she looked up, a small sense of shock crossing her face, "You love her." Faith, for her part, didn't answer, "Wow, I'm sorta of blind, huh?" Faith did nod at this. "I should have known better. The way you acted around her. Good god, I mean, if I look at it from that perspective, everything you ever did makes sense."

"I wouldn't go that far," Faith said.

Willow stood up again, "I would, though. Most of it was attention. You were just trying to get her attention. Jeez, I wonder if Xander knows? I can't believe I didn't see it. You were like a little kid really, just looking for a little love, or like a puppy or something."

Faith outwardly cringed, "Thanks Red. I hadn't really felt that much like a loser today."

Willow looked at her, "Oh Faith, I'm sorry I didn't mean anything by it. I was just a little stunned is all. I don't get it though. If you loved her, what could make you leave?"

Faith stood as well, and Willow sat down. Faith began pacing the floor, lighting another cigarette, "I didn't leave on my own Red. I would have stayed with her till I died. Fuck, I would have died for her. I know I had a funny way of showing it, but, you can't imagine what she does to me. But I didn't leave on my own, I never would have. She asked me to. In fact, she sort of demanded it." Faith said sitting back down.

Continued....
Feedback is much appreciated.