Trust

by Rob Sorenson

Chapter Nineteen

**********Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, 6:00 PM*********

(What have you done to my baby? What’s wrong with his eyes?)

(He has his father’s eyes.)

Willow jerked in surprise when she heard a knock on the door. “Come in!”

Buffy poked her head inside. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Yes, thank God.” Willow switched off the television.

The Slayer frowned slightly as she entered the room. “How did you rate a TV? We didn’t get one.”

“Well…it wasn’t here originally.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow as she sat on the bed next to Willow, propping herself against the headboard with a couple of pillows.

“You stole someone’s TV?”

Willow looked offended. “Of course not! Take another look, Buffy.”

Buffy peered for a second. “Wait a minute…isn’t that-“

“Mine from home, yes. I’ll teleport it back before we leave. Stealing.” Willow said reproachfully. “Even at my worst, I never did THAT.”

“Well…technically, you took stuff from the Magic Box all the time.”

“That wasn’t…did you ever talk with Anya about this?”

“No, why?”

Willow waved a hand. “Never mind. So…what’s up?”

Buffy shrugged. “Nada. Much with the boredom. Spike’s taking a nap until sundown-“

“Wore him out, huh?”

The Slayer lightly smacked Willow on the leg playfully. “Shut up. Anyway, I decided maybe this would be a good time to talk.”

“You’re not going to tell me you were pregnant before, are you?”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “I say, huh?”

Willow grinned.

“Nothing. I appreciate everyone’s attention, but I’m doing fine. Really. Well,” she corrected herself, “other than the fact that I have no idea how I got this way. That’s a little unsettling.”

“A little? I’d be full-throttle freaked at this point.”

Willow shifted slightly. “There are moments when I am, but…I never seem to explain this well.”

“You feel the child growing inside of you for unexplained reasons isn’t evil?”

“O…kay. Maybe I AM explaining it well.”

“I’ve been working on my listening skills.”

“Say again?”

“I said I’ve been…” Buffy squinted at Willow’s smirk. “Cute.”

“Gotcha. Sincere kudos on the paying attention front, though.”

“Let me give you an example: I was listening pretty closely during that meeting downstairs.”

“And?”

“Is it me, or do you and I have absolutely nothing to do?”

Willow considered a moment. “Hey…you’re right! How did that happen?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing. Are we no longer relevant?”

“I remember when you were the leader with the Bruce Lee skills and incisive logic.”

“You used to be the Wicca Version 1 million point oh…with an Einstein I.Q.”

“Now I’m just Unexplainable Pregnancy Girl, and you’re…what are you, exactly?”

Buffy threw her hands up. “Hey, don’t look at me. I came to you, remember?”

Willow shrugged. “You’re…Sign Off On The Plan Girl.”

The Slayer folded her arms. “We used to be respected.”

“You’re telling me? Revered, even.”

“I still revere you, Wills.”

“Aww…thanks. I respect you oodles.”

“Thank you as well,” Buffy replied smugly. “Now…how do we go about getting everyone to remember just who they’re dealing with here?”

Willow’s eyes widened. “I know! We can come up with our own plan to foil the evil lawyers!”

“Right! Excellent idea! We’ll show ‘em.” Buffy rubbed her hands together. “Ok, we can do this. Let’s make with the planning.”

There was a long silence before Buffy spoke again.

“I was planning on getting a sandwich at some point.”

“Better than anything I’ve got. Grilled cheeses?”

“Mmmm…cheese.”

*************Home Depot, Los Angeles, CA***************

Riley cleared his throat. “Ok, this is about everything we’re going to need, I think.”

Xander merely nodded and headed toward the exit, scanning the checkout lines for an opening.

“So…did you happen to bring any money? We sort of left in a rush.”

Xander stopped for a moment, glancing at Riley briefly before performing a neat about face, heading for the rear of the warehouse-style palace of hardware. Riley followed uncertainly.

“Umm..so, where are we-“

“Just follow me.”

Wow. Actual speech, Riley thought. The ride over had been painfully quiet; if there was one thing the soldier always felt he could count on, it was Xander’s complete inability to remain silent. Of the Scooby Gang, Xander had been Riley’s closest confidante…in darker times, even closer than Buffy in some ways. Now even that last bit of reassurance had been removed.

After moving through swinging double doors, Riley had to sidestep a stack of wooden pallets. Xander slowed, taking a brief glance left and right before continuing. Riley actually had to wait as a forklift came trundling by, carrying a diaassembled entertainment center toward a waiting SUV. Once he made his way across the makeshift concrete street, Riley spotted Xander approaching a sliding glass window.

The man inside was enclosed in a small dispatching office, talking animatedly on the phone. Xander tapped gently, receiving a raised forefinger as a response. After about thirty seconds, he tapped again. This time the man turned with a barely-concealed look of annoyance…then did a quick double take. Riley was surprised to see how quickly the phone was replaced in its cradle. The window was pulled back so fast the glass nearly flew off its track.

“Mr. Harris! I had no idea you were even coming in today!”

Riley was even more surprised when he saw Xander’s face transform into the guy he’d always known before; the trademark crooked grin was out in full force.

“Tommy, do I have to pay you to stop calling me that? How many times have I asked now?”

“Right. Sorry, Alex. So…” the salesman looked from the file cabinet to his digital clock nervously. “This is late for you.”

“Easy, man. I didn’t call in an order. Crew’s still shut down.”

Tommy hid the exhale of relief as best he could. “I heard about that. The hardest working man in LA actually taking time off? Is the world ending or something?”

“Jury’s always out on that one. Anyway, I’m just grabbing a couple of things for my own personal use today. You wouldn’t mind taking care of us here-“

“Course not.” His eyes fell upon Riley for the first time. “Don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

Xander spoke before Riley could respond. “Used to be part of our crew back in the day. You need the account number?”

Tommy tapped his keyboard rapidly without taking his eyes from Xander. “Oh God, no. We know yours by heart ‘round here. What is that stuff, ropes and…”

Riley handed over the equipment. Tommy looked at it quizzically. “This is new stuff for you. Going camping in the mountains?”

“Yeah. Well, that…or scaling the wall of a high rise building in the dead of night. Haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Following the time-honored tradition in the saleman-client relationship, there was a much longer laugh than the quip actually deserved. “You never change, do you Alex?”

“No more than I have to.”

After he signed for the items and bade the salesman goodbye, Xander strode quickly back into the front of the store, flashing his receipt at the exit.

“Alex?”

“Willow’s idea. Thought it sounded more professional.”

“Ah.”

“Of course, as much money as we throw at these guys, I could call myself Ass-master and they’d say it with a smile on their face.”

“Well…Willow’s the one who named you Xander, right? Seems fitting that she keep control of the name thing.”

“I guess.” Xander tapped the remote with his thumb, unlocking the truck. He glanced at Riley. “Sorry I haven’t been saying much. We haven’t really had a chance to-”

“It’s cool.”

“Just…long day, you know?”

Riley nodded as they fastened their seat belts. “Yeah.” After a moment, he continued.

“So do you think it’ll work out?”

Xander shot him a dark look. “Meaning?”

“Dawn and…Fred? Is that her name?”

“Oh. I don’t know much about what Fred is capable of, to be honest. We haven’t actually worked together. Angel trusts her, though. That says a lot.”

Riley raised his eyebrows. “It does? To you, I mean?”

For the first time, Xander actually showed a trace of a smile…a real one, at least.

“You’re gonna have to let go of some of the preconceived notions, dude. People change, you know.”

“Well, technically he’s not a pers-“

Xander turned abruptly into Burger King.

“Wasn’t talking about him. You hungry? I don’t have an account here, but I might have a couple of bucks on me.”

************************************

“Ummm…how many more bottles of grape juice are you going to drink?”

Willow grinned sheepishly, her lips slightly tinged with purple. “Have I had that many?”

“Uh-huh. Like…four, I think.”

“Yeah, well…you’ve had three sandwiches.”

Buffy frowned.

“They had three kinds of cheese in the fridge. I was left with no alternative. Anyway, there’s an established precedent when it comes to me and cheese. You, on the other hand…I’ve never even seen vamps drink that fast.”

“I don’t know. I just…wanted more and more.”

“You want another sandwich? Remember the doctor said-“

“I was there, Buffy.” Willow rolled her eyes and held out her plate. “See? I cleaned my plate.”

The Slayer made a show of inspecting the dish. “Ok, then. You may be excused.”

“Um, can I stay here for another minute? Kinda full of juice.”

Buffy smirked. “Better than being full of-“

“Hey,” Dawn said from the entrance. Willow smiled.

“Hey, Dawnie. Aren’t you and Fred supposed to be practicing rope tricks or something?”

“Riley and Xander aren’t back yet. I was going to wait for them in the lobby, but…” she trailed off, noticing Willow’s lips.

“Grape juice attack.” Buffy filled in.

“Oh. Hey, that reminds me.” Dawn bounded to the refrigerator and bent down to look inside. “Wait a minute. You drank ALL the juice!? I bought five of them or something.”

“Huh. I missed one.” Buffy mused. Willow shrank slightly in her chair.

“Sorry. I think there was one more in the back, behind the provolone.”

“Wait, there was provolone? I totally missed that too!”

“That’s not grape juice, Willow.” Buffy and Willow winced simultaneously.

“Remind me to make sure what I’m drinking from now on.”

“Good call,” Buffy agreed.

“What the hell am I supposed to drink now? There’s nothing left but blood and beer.”

“Sounds like happy hour at Willy’s. Ah, memories…”

“Buffy, this isn’t funny!”

“Oh, fine. Call Xander. I’m sure he could stop and get you something.”

At the mention of his name all three fell silent. Dawn closed the refrigerator door and joined them at the table.

“As I was about to say before I was so rudely deprived of Vitamin C, the lobby isn’t exactly a fun place to be right now.”

Willow nodded. “Faith’s still sitting there?”

“In the exact same spot. Hasn’t said a word since…” Dawn shivered slightly.

Buffy sighed. “Yeah, that was…is awkward a strong enough word?”

“Train wreck wouldn’t be overstating it.”

Willow straightened slightly in her chair. “Maybe we should-“

“No,” Buffy said softly.

“But-“

“Willow, you know better. We can’t work this out for them.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that, exactly. It’s just…I can’t believe she said that to him. Especially now.”

Dawn shook her head. “It was pretty harsh.”

Buffy looked from one to the other. “Put yourself in her place. Xander’s…vulnerable right now.”

Willow frowned. “Yes, but-“ Buffy held up a hand to stop her.

“Agreed, she could have said it better. On the other hand, she was just forced to tell us about…”

“Her pimp,” Dawn finished with a shudder.

Buffy nodded. After a few moments of silence, she stood, heading out of the kitchen.

“Ok, no way I’m just sitting here all night. I’m going to back up Faith.”

“Umm…didn’t she want Spike and Angel to go?”

“So I’ll go with them.”

Dawn folded her arms. “I want to do something too, you know. Instead I have to do climbing practice. SO lame.”

Willow patted her arm. “For what it’s worth, I’ve done it before. It’s not that hard.”

“You walked on the outside of a building?” Dawn asked in disbelief.

“Not exactly. It was an elevator shaft, but…same concept. Hang on and go slow.”

“Well, hell…if you can do it, I KNOW I can.”

“Exactly.” Willow tilted her head slightly. “Wait a minute, that encouragement turned on me big time.”

“Sorry. Didn’t come out well.”

Buffy re-entered. “It’s not late enough yet.”

“Where’s Spike?” Dawn asked.

“Sleeping until it’s time to go,” Willow answered with a grin. Dawn grinned back.

“Wore him out, huh?”

Buffy scowled. “You two are both sick.” She allowed a half-smile. “Plus, vampires don’t tire out that easily.”

Willow closed her eyes. “I didn’t need to know that.”

“Hey, you brought it up.” Buffy glanced at the fridge. “So was there really provolone?”

**********************************

“Preconceived notions.”

Xander looked at Riley. Both now carried multiple bags of Whoppers and fries in their laps.

“What?”

“You were saying something about preconceived notions. Enlighten me.”

Xander shrugged one shoulder. “People change. Especially people like us. We were 18, 19 years old when you were around.”

“I’ve been back since.”

“Yeah. Once for a couple of days. Not exactly quality getting-to-know-you time.”

“Ok, so you got older. So did I, you know.”

“Yeah, but…at some point, I’d think you’d let go of the the hostility toward Spike and Angel. And yeah, I realize hearing that from me is sort of a jolt…but maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I’m the one that should tell you.”

“I can work with them if I have to. Just like you always did.”

“Yeah, but the difference is, they’re my friends now. Especially Spike.”

Riley raised both eyebrow. “You and Spike? Are you kidding me?”

“You learn something about people after going through hell a few times. Both of us did. Look, whatever else happened back in the bad old days, they’re the good guys now. Took me years to finally get it when it comes to Angel, ‘cause love makes you do stupid things. I know you understand that.”

Riley merely nodded.

“As far as Spike goes…I learned from my mistakes. Guy got a soul, and that’s a big deal any way you slice it. Plus, I think he grew up a little and met me halfway on some stuff. Spike’s as much a part of the family as any of the rest of us now. If you’d stuck around, maybe you would’ve got to the same place I did eventually.” Xander hesitated. “Probably best that you didn’t, though.”

“Why?”

“I’ve never seen Buffy this happy. Wouldn’t trade that for anything, and Spike would’ve never entered the picture if you stayed.”

Riley blinked a few times, unsure how to take that. Finally he decided to just move on.

“Ok. About you, then…”

Xander accelerated to make a yellow light before it turned. “What about me?”

“Are you happy? With Faith?”

There was a long silence. Riley was about to change the subject again when Xander responded quietly.

“You didn’t get the best impression a while ago, I guess.”

The soldier focused on the floorboard. “Ok, I realize I’ve been gone a while, but that doesn’t mean I stopped caring. Honestly, it worried me when I heard.”

Xander glanced at him. “Heard…oh. You mean the fact that we’re married? Should’ve shown up for the ‘speak now or forever hold your peace’ section. Kinda late now, don’t you think?”

Riley swallowed, choosing his words carefully. “Buffy gave me a pretty strong impression of her…past. Plus, from the time I spent with her-”

“When did you spend time with Faith?”

“The body-switch thing.”

“Right. Forgot about that.”

“Yeah. She seemed…” He trailed off, glancing sideways. “Just forget it.”

“No, go ahead. I really want to hear this.”

Riley looked out the passenger window for a long time before continuing.

“Damaged. She seemed damaged.”

“Fair enough,” Xander agreed. “She’s changed more than all the rest of us combined. Faith paid her debt for the mistakes she made. There’s a pardon in our living room desk that proves it…and she earned the second chance. I don’t want to come off nasty, but you have no right to judge her until you get to know her. Hell, man, you didn’t even know her before except for one day.”

What the hell, Riley thought. “I’m not disputing that. Thing is, a pardon doesn’t automatically fix everything. Ok, so I only saw her for that one night in Buffy’s body, but…things aren’t just that simple. The stuff she said…the way she acted-”

“Is there a point coming soon?”

“Has she had professional help?”

“Counselors in prison.”

“Anyone on the outside?”

Xander glanced at him once more. “Don’t you already have our current dossiers somewhere? You wouldn’t leave home without it.”

“Actually, no. Therapy is confidential information.”

“Know what? You were right the first time. Let’s just drop it.”

“Ok.”

They drove in silence for several minutes. Just as the truck pulled into the parking garage of the Hyperion, Xander spoke softly.

“Wait a minute. Not long after Faith went to LA, you and Buffy were having trouble of some kind. Wasn’t my business, so I never asked…but you guys seemed to be doing fine…until Faith woke up and did the body switch thing. I sort of forgot about it, ‘cause Jonathan did that whole mind-warp deal right after, than Adam starting doing his thing. Now, though-“

“Xander-“

“Now that I look back and really analyze what could have made her so upset with you-“

“I thought it was Buffy. I didn’t know.”

The tires screeched slightly as the truck came to an abrupt halt in a parking space. Riley took a deep breath; Xander’s knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

“It was before. Doesn’t matter.”

Riley nodded slowly. “Right.”

Xander opened the door. “Food’s getting cold.”

**********************************

Angel glanced up from the Wolfram and Hart blueprints when he heard a knock on his office door. “Come in.”

Faith entered. “Dark in a few.”

“Right. I’ll have Buffy get Spike out of-“

“Already here,” Spike said as he approached the doorway from behind. Faith nodded quickly. “Ok, let’s…” She trailed off, noticing Buffy donning her jacket. “What’s this about?”

“I’m coming too.”

“Look, I don’t need a buncha Goddamn babysitters.”

Angel spoke gently. “Couldn’t hurt to have an extra hand just in case.”

Faith huffed. “Don’t take this personal, B, but where we’re goin’ ain’t exactly your style.”

Buffy stared at her. “I’ll find a way to fit in.”

Faith stared back for a long moment. Realizing the argument was futile, she waved dismissively.

“Fine, whatever. Just keep outta the way and-”

Xander entered, immediately causing tension in the lobby to increase considerably. After a long moment, he walked slowly toward his wife, holding out the bag of food.

“Eat.”

She took his offering, staring absently into the sack. “We’re already headed-“ Faith broke off as he walked away, slowly heading up the stairs. Riley quickly passed a bag to Buffy, who handed it back with an apologetic smile.

“I already had something. Sorry.”

“Oh. Ok.” He looked to Spike and Angel. “Umm…either one of you guys want it?”

The vampires exchanged glances…then looked back at Riley.

“You know…maybe you could suck on the meat or something?”

They slowly shook their heads. Buffy touched Riley’s shoulder.

“Did you get Cokes?”

“Oh, yeah! We left them in the truck.”

“Ok, why don’t you bring everything into the kitchen? I know for sure that Dawn’s thirsty, and I doubt the rest have eaten anything yet.”

Riley nodded. “Right.” He didn’t see the confused shrug she exchanged with Spike and Angel as Riley left to fetch the drinks.

Faith was staring at the top of the stairs, listening as Xander closed the door to their room. Buffy spoke gently.

“Do you want to-“

“Let’s get this done,” Faith barked, striding quickly out of the hotel.

*******************************

Riley walked into the industrial-sized kitchen. “Anyone hungry or thirsty?”

Dawn practically leaped toward him. “You are a God! A non-hell kind, I mean!”

He chuckled, handing her the soda as Willow checked the bags, finding herself strangely hungry again. She was quickly joined by Cordy, Fred, Gunn, Wes and Lorne, who had all come down to find some dinner at the same time. Gunn spoke first as he snatched all four bags out of Riley’s hands.

“I don’t care what they say about you. You’re a good man. Cordy was about to cook. Lemme tell you, no one deserves that.”

Cordelia took a bag. “Bite me.”

Everyone waited a moment. Gunn raised an eyebrow. “That’s all I get?”

“I’m too tired to come up with a good one. Sue me.”

Fred looked to Riley. “So we have work to do after dinner, I assume?”

“That we do. Everything is set up.”

Dawn gave Riley a light punch on the arm. “Seriously, it was cool of you to stop and get food for everyone.”

“Yes, thank you.” Wesley added.

The soldier smiled slightly. “Just trying to help out wherever I can.” He stood, moving toward the bags. “So did anyone leave me a burger, or is there nothing but debris and ketchup packets-“

Willow suddenly gasped, staggering back toward her chair. Gunn, who happened to be the closest person, grabbed her arms.

“You ok?”

She blinked. “I think so.”

Instantly Dawn had pushed her way through. “Willow, what is it?”

“I’m…not sure.”

Dawn glanced at Gunn, who moved aside. “Come on, let’s sit down, ok?”

Willow nodded, sitting shakily in her chair. Dawn knelt in front of her.

“Tell me what happened. Are you in pain?”

“No, none at all, actually. Just really-“

*********************************

“-dizzy,” Buffy said. “That was so weird.”

Faith, Angel and Spike were surrounding her.

“What happened, luv?”

“I was just walking. Everything was ok, then out of nowhere, there was this really super fast-“

**********************************

“-flash of light.” Willow said. “I don’t even know how to describe it…but it was so powerful I lost my balance. Like a camera…but times ten. You know how you can still see it afterward? Like an echo? If I close-“

**********************************

“-my eyes, I can still get a glimpse, but it’s not that square light that a flashbulb makes, you know?”

“B, you should go back to the hotel. We got this.”

“Faith’s right,” Angel agreed. “Maybe you need some rest.”

Buffy shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Spike said softly. She smiled in reassurance.

“I’m ok. Let’s go.”

Spike hesitated a moment before taking her hand. “All right. Stay close then. Let me know what-“

******************************

“-the hell was that?!” Xander said, lying on his hotel bed with a pillow over his eyes.

- End Chapter Nineteen -