True Faith

Title: True Faith

Summary: Buffy goes to Vancouver for a vacation.

Rating: Oh, I can probably ramp my way up to NC-17 eventually.

Disclaimer: This is a crossover. I hang my head in shame. (Oh, wait. The other kind of disclaimer: I don't own BtVS, I don't own Tru Calling, no characters are mine, yadda yadda yadda).

Timeline: Set Post-Chosen. As for the TC universe, whatever, their timeline annoys me.

Author's Note: No, I haven't forgotten about Smitten. But this story hit me late last night and wouldn't let me not write it. Damn brain! It was a mutiny!

True Faith

*

"So he slaps his cards down, aces over eights, and they all look at me to see what I'm holding, and I'm like, oh, shit, and then--"

Tru looked up from her shredded napkin when Harrison's story stopped mid-sentence. He was leaning back in the booth, his boots stuck out in the aisle, grinning towards the front of the diner. Grinning his 'ooh, a hottie' grin. It was never good news, especially when it was strong enough to knock him out of talking about himself. Tru prodded his shin under the table. "Yeah, and?" she asked. Because even hearing about whatever last-minute daring had saved Harri from his loan shark this week was better than watching him ogle girls.

"She's comin' this way," he said instead, and gave a low whistle through his teeth, his eyebrows locked permenantly at Leer.

Tru rolled her eyes and turned to look over her should The The girl in question was blonde, short, and looked like she could use three square meals a day for a month or two. Probably a model or a character actress…she kinda reminded Tru of some makeup ads from a few years ago. "Give it up, Harri," she said. "What about Lindsey?"

"Uh, yeah, about that," Harrison said. "Last night she threw a drink in my face and called me a pig. I think I'm a free man again."

Tru snorted. "And tomorrow you'll be searching the pawnshops for gifts," she said. "I think roses are in season, if you were wondering."

"It's all one big circle of life," Harrison answered easily, flashing his rakish grin at her. "If we go a week without breaking up, maybe it'll be time to worry."

"Uh-huh." Tru glanced at her watch. It was more than habit these days--she never knew when she was going to need to remember exactly whshe she was at a given time each day. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then. I'm going to catch some sack time. Another midnight shift tonight."

"Right, Davis works you like a slave," Harrison muttered, still stealing looks at the girl, who'd settled at the counter.

"The sympathy act is coming along great, you should do fine when you apologize to Lindsey," Tru said, standing up and punching him lightly on the shoulder.

Harrison nodded absently. etteetter wall than a window, Tru," he said.

Tru rolled her eyes. Was the girl really that good looking? Probably five minutes after she left the diner, Harrison would be sliding into the seat next to her and pulling lines like "What's your sign?" out of his handy collection of cliches.

"Fine. I'll see you around," she said, and headed for the door. She raised an eyebrow at the girl as she passed, wondering if she should warn her about a certain young charmer who was about to hit on her, but then figured it was none of her buss. ss. Somehow the girl looked like she could take care of herself.

As she brushed past, the girl suddenly spun around on the stool and grabbed her by the wrist. "Do you not undand and the concept of vacation?" she asked.

Tru blinked at the random question from the stranger, but the grip on her arm was tight enough that she couldn't just keep walking. "Um, not that I've had one recently, but I think so. Time off work? Sometimes involving travel? See the sights, relax?"

"Exactly," the girl snapped. "One week, that's all I asked. No locator spells! No Scoobies! Not even you."

"Me?" she asked. Spells? she thought.

"Yes, you. Are you really so hard up that you'd follow me to Canada?"

Green eyes, Tru thought randomly, and then shook her head as the meaning of the words penetrated. "Excuse me? Who the hell do you think I am?
Th
The girl's eyes narrowed and her hand tightened on Tru's wrist until she felt the bones creak. Trying to ignore the pain, she started reciting their names in her head--hammate, pisiform, scaphate…

She'd done five of eight when Harrison slipped onto the stool next to her. "Ladies?" he asked, practically leaking charm. "Is there a problem here?"

"This is the best you could do?" the girl asked. "Your standards have dropped alarmingly. I guess that's what prison will do--" She stopped and looked guilty.

"Prison!" Harrison said. "My good sis, my role model, Miss High and Mighty Example, you never told me. Was it juvie? Or was it, like, a do-over day? The world needs to know. That would make a nice round one hundred percent of the Davies kids in the slammer at one time or another." He turned to the girl and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Name's Harrison," he said.

The girl let go of Tru's arm and allowed herself to shake hands. "Buffy Summers," she said. She looked him up and down dismissively. "You're her brot" " Then, to Tru: "You have…family?"

"Hey!" Harrison exclaimed. "Does she have family? Come on, we're, like, everything to each other. My big sis! She rescues people, you know. I help."

"Help?" Tru asked faintly. It was news to her. He'd barely begun to believe her.

"I know," Buffy said.

"You know?" Tru asked.

"You told her?" Harrison echoed. "Why does she rate? You haven't even told Lindsey."

"I didn't tell her!" Tru said "I "It's kind of obvious," Buffy added. "I've seen her."

"You've seen her?" Harrison asked.

Buffy stared at them both like they were freaks. "Is there something in the water in this town that makes everyone all repeaty?" she asked. "Of course I've seen her. Who's Lindsey?"

"My best friend since about grade school," Tru said, wondering why she was still answering questions, since Buffy had let go of her arm. It still ached. The girl certainly had a grip on her.

"Oh." Buffy pouted. "I thought--well, other than that whole psychotic hatred thing--but, so not the point. I didn't tell you I was coming to Vancouver, so…but your family lives here? What about Boston?"

"What about it?" Tru asked.

"Great strip clubs," Harrison offered. "Or…so I've heard. A friend…an aeromiles plan…way too many beers."

"Looks like that much runs in the family," Buffy said acidly.

Tru tried to defend herself. "I don't--"

Buffy interrupted. "And you've changed your wardrobe. What, no leather?" Again, Tru thought she saw a flash of disappointment. She looked down at her clothes--jeans, a blouse, a jacket--and then realized how dumb it was to be worried about the fashion judgement of a girl who obviously thought she was someone else.

"Listen, I don't know who you think I am, but we've never met," she said. "I'm Tru Davies."

"Davies," Buffy said. "You have a last name? And it's Davies?" She shook her head. "Wait…Tru?"

*

I have no idea what I'm doing with this. Is it funny? Do you care? Should I continue?