The Gift, Take Two

Title: The Gift, Take Two - Chapter 8: The Proposal
Email: Dafmeister@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse is owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox and a bunch of other people who aren't me. No infringement of copyright is intended blah blah blah...
Distribution: Faithfanfiction.net, Mystic Muse, Shades Of Grey, Slayer's Fanfic Archive, A Sorta Fairytale, Oralfxatn, anyone else who tells me first.
Rating: Overall R to NC-17
Timing: End of Season 5
Feedback: Yes please, it really helps keep my morale up when my muse is being difficult.
Spoilers: Everything up to the end of Season 5
Summary: The ball starts rolling.
Author's notes: Huge thanks to Kaz, beta extraordinaire, and to Leila, my friend and sounding board. Also to Gabrielle and Alice, who helped me out of the legal minefield I wrote myself into.

*****

Come on, show yourself, you little bastard... The crossbow pistol was leveled at the corner of the wall, its target still veiled in shadow. She circled to the right, hoping to get a clear shot...

There was a blur of movement from the shadows, a gleam of light from feral eyes and sharp teeth. Her finger tightened on the trigger and the bolt shot forth.

"Damn it!" Cordelia shouted to no one in particular as her shot ricocheted off the marble floor of the Hyperion lobby at least two feet behind the rat, which scuttled off into the shadows by the basement access. Muttering curses, she began to reload.

"Hey, Cordy."

"YAAGH!" Cordelia jumped as Angel's voice sounded behind her. "God, Angel, didn't anyone ever to tell you not to sneak up on people with crossbows?"

"Sorry." Angel chuckled at his friend's look of chagrin. "If the rats really bother you that much, you should just call in an exterminator."

"Oh no, this is personal. I'm gonna get them all, especially that one with half its ear missing." Cordelia turned to glare at the basement door. "Oh yeah, rat-boy, your time is coming." She walked over to the reception desk and put down the crossbow. "Speaking of nasty little rodents, how's Faith?"

Angel sighed at the venom in Cordelia's voice. "She'll live. She has a lot of bones that need healing, but she'll be okay." He sat down on the circular couch. "She did a lot of good, and she damn near died in the process. Would it kill you to just give her a chance?"

Cordelia looked over at him, her expression unforgiving. "If last time's anything to go by, it might. In fact, I seem to remember that it almost did get you killed."

"People change, Cordy. I did a lot worse than anything Faith tried."

"Yeah, well, Faith isn't you." Cordelia replied, before changing the subject. "You should probably go see Fred; she's been asking when you're coming back every time we've looked in on her."

Angel stood and looked up toward the balcony. "Has she been out of her room at all?"

Cordelia followed his gaze. "No, she just sits up there and writes on the walls. Wes says it's 'either some of the most advanced math he's ever seen, or it's complete gibberish'."

Angel started up the staircase. A few steps up, he paused and turned back. "I'm going to have to leave again as soon as it gets dark."

"What?" Cordelia asked in shock. "You just got here! Where are you going?"

"Oklahoma. There's someone I have to see... about Faith." Angel replied as her disappeared up the stairs.

Who the hell's in Oklahoma? Cordelia wondered before realization sunk in. Oh God, not him!

*****

Quentin Travers was in his office, sipping his tea and leafing through Giles' report of the final battle with Glory when the call came. He was, to say the least, surprised to hear Giles' voice. "Is everything all right, Rupert? It must be almost one in the morning over there."

"Nothing untoward has happened, Quentin. Buffy and I want to talk to you about Faith." Giles replied.

"Miss Summers?" Travers' tone was questioning.

"Hello, Mr. Travers." Buffy's voice came over the line. "We've been discussing what should happen her now, and we think it would be better all round if she stayed in Sunnydale."

Travers' eyes narrowed. "Miss Summers, I agreed not to move against Faith on the understanding that she would be returned to custody once the situation with Glory was resolved."

"We're aware of that, Quentin," Giles said, a little sharply. "And if you've read my report, you'll know how important her presence proved to be."

"Yes, Rupert, your account of Faith's actions makes for interesting reading." Travers flipped open the file and re-read Giles description of Faith's injuries. "However, this does not alter the fact that Faith is a convicted killer and has shown herself to be dangerously unstable. She is entirely capable of-"

"I know what she's capable of, Quentin!" Buffy interrupted. "I also know that things could have been a lot different if Wes and your hit squad hadn't blundered in. And if the Council had told us that Gwendolyn Post had gone crazy, maybe Faith wouldn't have stopped trusting us in the first place!"

No one spoke for a moment after Buffy's outburst, then Travers sighed quietly. "What exactly are you proposing, Miss Summers?"

"Faith stays here with us. Being in jail isn't helping anyone, it's just punishing her. She's already made the decision to change, and who better can help her better than people who actually know who and what she is?"

"Think about it, Quentin." Giles added. "Six months ago you didn't have one Slayer to call on. This way there can be two of them guarding the Hellmouth. You know it makes sense."

"With you acting as Watcher for both of them, I suppose." Travers said dryly.

"You think it's a good idea to send someone new?" Buffy asked. "Didn't work out too well last time."

Travers thought for a moment, then asked, "Assuming the Council approves this plan, what will you be wanting from us?"

Buffy replied, "I want you to get the cops off Faith's back. I don't care how: parole, pardon, whatever, just so long as she isn't looking over her shoulder the rest of her life."

"Very well, I'll put your proposal to the Council." Travers said. "If I were you, though, I wouldn't get my hopes up. I'll contact you once a decision has been made." He hung up before they could reply. For a few moments he sat at his desk thinking, before he got up and left the office.

His assistant was at his desk going through a report on vampire activity in Eastern Europe when Travers called to him. "Julian, I'll need to speak to the head of our North American section and someone from the legal team with a good knowledge of American law. We may have some business to conduct in California."

Julian picked up the phone and began dialing. "The Summers girl, sir?"

"When isn't it the Summers girl?"

*****

Dawn knocked again on the crypt door. Again, there was no answer, so she pushed open the door and stepped inside, taking a moment to savour the cool air after walking through the afternoon heat. "Spike?"

There was no sign of the vampire on the upper level, so Dawn stuck her head through the hole in the floor and called again. "Spike? You here?" Where the hell else would he be?

"Niblet?" Spike appeared in her field of view, shirtless, limping slightly and covered in dirt. "What're you doing here?"

Dawn put on her best teenage pout. "What, I can't come visit my guardian vampire? And what the hell are you doing, anyway, mudwrestling?" Ooh, hello lusty wrong thoughts...

"Eh?" Spike looked puzzled for a moment before realising what she was talking about. "Oh, I decided to do some re-modeling down here. Look, if you want to chat, can you come down? I don't like tackling the ladder while my sodding leg's acting up."

Dawn nodded and scrambled down the ladder. Looking around, she immediately noticed a pickaxe and a stack of wooden planks beside a hole in what had been a wall. Moving closer, she could see the hole was actually a tunnel, roughly ten feet long and shored up with timber. She turned to the vampire, an unspoken question on her face.

"Decided to put a back door in." Spike said. "After Glory's little wankers nabbed me, I wanted a way out I can use in daylight, without bursting into flames. If I'm reading the plans right, I should hit that big electrical service tunnel in another twenty feet or so."

"I never knew you could do this kinda stuff." Dawn remarked, gesturing at the tools and timber.

Spike looked a little sheepish. "I picked up a thing or two while I was digging for that Gem of Amara trinket..." Looking around for something to change the subject to, Spike finally noticed the bag hanging from Dawn's shoulder. "You back at school?"

"Yeah, even world-destroying Keys need an education."

Spike laughed, then picked up his pickaxe again. "Look, Niblet, it's not that I'm not happy to see you, but I'm a tad busy, so..."

"I just wanted to thank you, for everything you've done for me the last few weeks. I know everyone's been going on about Faith, but I haven't forgotten about you. Buffy hasn't either; she's just been so caught up with worrying about Faith and taking care of me, and then Angel showed up... I came to thank you, for both of us." Dawn stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. "I'd hug you, but, well, eww..." She indicated his grimy state.

Spike chuckled as he said, "Thanks, Niblet. Now scamper off home before Big Sis starts panicking again."

With a last smile, Dawn climbed the ladder again. Spike hefted his pickaxe and disappeared into the tunnel.

*****

The sun had just set when the phone rang.

"Angel Investigations, we he-"

"Cordy, it's Willow."

"Oh, hey, Will! How are you?"

"Still a 'Great Big Lesbo,'" Willow deadpanned.

Cordelia grimaced. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Someday. Probably. Hey, is Angel around? I've some info he asked me to find."

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen packing blood for his little road trip." Cordelia covered the mouthpiece. "ANGEL!" When he emerged from the kitchen, carrying a freezer bag, Cordelia handed him the receiver. "It's Willow."

Angel placed the bag on the counter and put the receiver to his ear. "Hi, Willow."

"I found him. At least, I think it's him - the name's right and he moved in around the right time. He's in a town called Heyburn, just off I-44, about sixty miles east of Oklahoma City."

Angel jotted down the address. "Thanks, Willow, great work. I really appreciate this."

*****

Buffy quietly opened the door to Faith's hospital room. The dark Slayer had her eyes closed, and for a moment Buffy thought she was asleep. Then she noticed the earphones, almost invisible under Faith's dark hair, leading to a small cassette player on the bedside cabinet.

As Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed, Faith opened her eyes. "Hey, B!" Faith smiled her old crooked smile as she stopped the tape.

"How're you feeling?" Buffy asked.

"Not so bad. I get these dizzy spells once in a while, but the doc says that's normal after a bad knock to the head. Everything else just aches. By the way, the food in here sucks!"

Buffy laughed at that. "Yeah, I remember." She cast her eye over the small stack of tapes by the cassette player: The Clash, The Ramones, The Jam, The Sex Pistols. "I see Spike's been by."

"Yeah, he dropped in just after sunset. It's not my usual thing, but it's not bad."

"Well, if you get tired of it, I brought you a few things." Buffy held up a carrier bag and took out a bunch of grapes. "You can't be in hospital and not have grapes, it's like a rule or something." She pulled out a selection of comic books "Also, a little light reading." Buffy couldn't help laughing as Faith's eyes lit up. "I got Xander to pick them out; I wouldn't even know where to start. And finally..." Buffy took out a small stuffed panther, which she tucked under Faith's uninjured arm. "From Dawn. She wanted to come with me, but she started back at school today and she's got a lot to catch up on before finals..."

"It's okay. Tell her I said thanks - and please don't tell the others about this, I got a rep to protect!" Faith grinned, idly stroking the stuffed toy.

"My lips are sealed! Slayer's honour."

*****

Two nights later, Angel walked into a bar in Heyburn. Trying to ignore how out of place he looked, he looked around for his quarry, and finally spotted him sitting at the end of the bar. Angel walked up behind him, grateful that the bar didn't have one of those long mirrors for him not to show up in.

"Hello, Lindsey."