Faith rinsed off the last of the soap, cursing the shower for not being big enough for two.  With a quick rub of the towel and some clean clothes, Faith went upstairs, leaving Spike to fend for himself.

 

Wanting nothing more than a hot cup of java, Faith headed into the kitchen.  She was tempted to turn back around when she saw that she wouldn't be alone.

 

"Dawn."  Faith walked over to the cupboard to grab a filter and coffee, extremely grateful that the coffeemaker was one of those that brewed an entire pot in less than three minutes.  She could deal with Dawn for three minutes.

 

Faith wasn't surprised when Dawn didn't answer her right away.  It probably was for the best anyway.  Faith wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with the youngest Summers.

 

"I don't hate you."

 

Faith stopped spooning the coffee, the laden scoop hanging midway between the can of coffee and the filter basket.

 

It wasn't often that Faith was left completely speechless, but the brat had pulled it off.  That simple comment, if acknowledged, could lead to an entire discussion Faith had no plans on ever having.

 

Faith continued to scoop.

 

"I said, I don't hate you," Dawn repeated, a little louder this time.

 

Faith sighed heavily, slipped the basket into the coffee maker, finished pouring water into the reservoir, and switched the machine on.

 

Three minutes.

 

"I heard," she finally said, turning around to meet Dawn's eyes.

 

"Does that surprise you?" Dawn asked, sliding next to Faith and grabbing her own coffee cup out of the cupboard.  

 

Faith arched an eyebrow.  Runt drinks coffee?

 

The silence was deafening.  Faith mentally wished that someone, anyone, would show up to save her from her never-ending run of bad luck.

 

Nobody magically appeared in the doorway.  What a surprise.  Dawn continued to stand there, looking at Faith, holding her coffee cup and not saying a word.

 

"What do you want, Dawn?" she finally asked.

 

"What makes you think I want something?"

 

"You're all hating me one day and not so much the next.  Tends to cause a little confusion."

 

Faith stepped aside as Dawn grabbed the coffeepot, cutting off its fresh-brewed flow, and poured herself some.  Dawn placed the pot back on the burner and began spooning sugar into her yellow mug.  Or more accurately, almost spooning sugar.  Faith watched with disbelief as Dawn repeatedly scooped and dumped the sugar back into the bowl, finally settling on a heaping teaspoon that looked identical to the other twenty she had debated and tossed aside.

 

After what seemed like a lifetime to Faith, Dawn poured some cream into her mug, stirred it all up and tossed the used spoon into the sink.

 

Faith could’ve cheered when Dawn finally snatched up her cup and sat back down at the kitchen table.

 

Felt a hell of a lot longer than three minutes.

 

Faith followed Dawn's lead reluctantly, knowing she’d need to deal with her sooner or later.  Faith figured sooner would just get it out of the way quicker, so Faith sat down next to Dawn, with her own coffee.  She sipped it, waiting to hear what shit was about to be unleashed.

 

"Emma and I were talking," she began.  "She told me I was being kind of hard on you and she didn't understand why.  So I told her all the bad things you had done since I've known you and even the stuff you did before I knew you."

 

Faith felt heart beat quicken.  If she wanted Squeak to know all her deep dark secrets, she would've told Emma herself.

 

"Thanks for that," she finally said through gritted teeth.  "Trying to get her to join the 'Let's hate Faith' party?"

 

"I said, I don’t hate you," Dawn repeated.

 

"And I think you're full of shit."

 

Dawn sighed loudly, glaring at Faith.  "I don't hate you, but I'm not saying I like you either.   I think if we're going to live together, we should try to get along."

 

Try to get along?  What in the hell was she talking about? 

 

"In case you haven't noticed," Faith said, "I haven't done jack shit to you since you got here, but you've been the queen of the 'tude.  You might want to listen to your own little pep talk there, Junior."

 

Dawn laughed.  "Haven't done anything?  Do you even know how to have sex without letting an entire household full of people hear you doing it?"

 

"Maybe you should stop listening outside other people's doors," Faith shot back, what was left of her calmness disappearing as quickly as a cigarette ash in the wind.

 

"I knew you'd be a bitch about the whole thing," Dawn shouted, jumping up and spilling her coffee on the table in the process.

 

Now it was official.  Faith's resolve to stay cool was now lying in a puddle along with the spilled coffee and she shouted into Dawn's sullen face.  "No way!  You little shit!  You are not going to pull this with me."  Faith took a deep breath and lowered her voice before continuing.  "You got issues with me.  You got issues with Spike.  I get that.  Doesn't take a genius to know that you want Spike with your sister.  But he's not.  Get over it."  Faith dropped back down in the chair, grabbing her coffee mug off the table.

 

"How is this my fault?" Dawn demanded.  "You're the one being the big ol' ho bag, making your move on Spike when Buffy was gone, not bothering to tell any of us that he was still alive.  Buffy went to Sunnydale to help you guys and you and Spike were being all sneaky.  Couldn't you have taken five minutes out of your life-of-porn to have told my sister that he was still alive?"

 

Faith was having a bad case of déjà vu.

 

"I've already been through this.   More than once, as a matter of fact.  If you want to know how things went down, go ask B.  I'm not getting into it again."  Faith stood up, throwing her mug into the kitchen sink, not giving a shit that it was ceramic and that it broke into tiny yellow pieces.

 

"What is going on here?" Buffy asked, her eyes darting from the broken cup to Dawn's sullen face.  "Dawn?"

 

Faith rolled her eyes.  Now someone decides to show up.

 

"You're lucky we had the chat, B," Faith said, turning around and leaning against the counter, her fists clenched at her sides.  "You were right about baby sis still having you and Spike issues.  And if she takes it out on me one more time, I’ll deck her."

 

"You’re not going to hurt my sister, Faith.  Ever," Buffy said.  "Do you hear me?  Because whatever you might do to her, will come back on you so much harder you won’t know what hit you.  Why couldn’t you just give her a little space like I asked?"

 

"Oh, for shit's sake," Faith said, refusing to look at Dawn.  "B, I'm not doing this with you.  Talk to the brat and then come talk to me if you want the truth."  Faith mumbled under her breath, "Wonderful way to start the day."

 

"This wasn't exactly how your day started, now was it Faith?"

 

Leave it to Dawn to dish out an extra scoop of sarcasm. 

 

Faith stormed out of the kitchen, past Buffy, not caring that she had crashed into the other slayer's shoulder, hard.  Anyone else would've been knocked off their feet.

 

Let B come after her.  She'd settle for kicking her ass.

 

If Faith had prepared for all possibilities, she would've grabbed her keys before leaving the basement.  Too bad she had left them in the pocket of her other jeans.  God!  She was slacking!

 

Faith grabbed the doorknob to the stairs, swung it open and almost crashed into Spike.

 

"What…?" he began.

 

"Keys," she said, trying to force her way past him.

 

"The hell is going on?" Spike finished, jutting his head towards the kitchen.  He grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let her go.

 

"I don't have the time or the energy for this right now," she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp.  "That little shit…"  Faith couldn't finish.  The more she thought about it, the more pissed-off she got.   Faith needed to hit something.  Break something bigger than an ugly coffee mug.  If Spike didn’t watch out, he was going to find himself lying at the bottom of the stairs with her boot prints on his back.

 

"Come on," he said, taking her arm again.  He dragged her back into the kitchen, keeping both of them in the shadows.

 

"Spike…" Faith began.

 

"So?" Spike asked.  Dawn and Buffy were sitting at the kitchen table.  Faith could tell they had been talking.  Someone had cleaned up the spilt coffee.

 

"That’s what I'm trying to find out," Buffy said.

 

"Someone mind pulling the blinds so I can get out of this corner?"  

 

Spike hung onto Faith’s arm.  Guess he didn’t mean her.

 

Buffy got up and closed the blinds in the yellow-kitchen-from-hell. 

 

"Thanks, love."

 

Buffy only nodded before rejoining Dawn.

 

Walking to the table, still keeping Faith in his clutches, Spike asked,  "What is this all about?"

 

"Can you let go of my arm?" Faith asked, trying to jerk her arm out of his grip.

 

"Promise not to run?"

 

Faith leveled her gaze on him.  "Let. Go. Of. My. Arm."  Spike finally released her and Faith chose to sit instead of leaving.   She picked a chair at the opposite end of the kitchen table, positioning herself as far away from the rest of them as she could.

 

"Okay, Bit."

 

"Don't call me that," Dawn said sharply, cutting him off.

 

"Okay, Dawn.  Care to explain?" Spike asked softly.

 

"I don't owe you anything," she muttered.

 

"Dawn, don’t." Buffy said.

 

Faith bit back a sarcastic barb as the part of her brain that got its jolt of caffeine realized that this entire scene had nothing to do with her. 

 

Spike sat down next to Dawn.  "Can't help you if you don't tell us what's bothering you."

 

"Why do you care?" Dawn asked.  "I mean it.  Why do you even care, Spike?"

 

"Dawn," Buffy said for the second time.

 

"No.” Dawn turned to Buffy.  “If he cared about us, he wouldn't have let us think he was dead all that time.  If you care about somebody…” she turned back toward Spike, “if you love somebody, you don't lie to them like that.  You tell them not to be sad anymore.  You tell them that they don't need to cry themselves to sleep anymore because they think their best friend is dead.  You don't let someone continue having nightmares about people being on fire and screaming out in pain before they disappear forever.  You don't let them lie awake at night wishing that they would've told them what they meant to you, not being able to sleep because you're afraid they didn't know and now you’ll never have the chance to tell them."

 

Dawn's eyelashes were beginning to glisten with unshed tears. 

 

"After everyone who died… everything's that happened…"  Dawn stopped, breathing hard before she finally finished.  “It's not fair for someone to be alive and not say something to the people who cared about them the most."

 

The dam burst.  Faith watched as Buffy took her crying kid sister in her arms and held her for what felt like forever.

 

Faith was tempted to leave during the waterworks, but one glance at Spike told her it wasn't over yet.  She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Dawn's tear reservoirs finally started to dry up.

 

Faith shifted in her chair, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with all the sisterly togetherness. 

 

Dawn began talking sullenly, looking directly at Spike.  "And even though you tried to rape my sister, I still don't understand why you’d do that,” she said, glaring at him.  “But since Buffy has forgiven you or moved on or whatever for trying to do that, I suppose I can too."

 

"Dawn!" Buffy said.

 

"What?" Faith stammered.  "What in the hell is she talking about?"

 

"Faith…" Spike said.

 

Buffy cut him off.  "Now's not the time.”

 

Faith ignored Buffy, her fury aimed in Spike’s direction.  "Unfucking believable.”

 

"Was before I got the soul," he said quietly.

 

"Shit," Faith said, falling against the back of her chair.  The feeling of being a stranger and not really knowing any of these people was back with interest.  She wanted to bolt, and that didn't make her feel any better either.

 

Dawn’s eyes flickered towards Faith briefly.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for you to find out that way.”

 

Faith wasn't sure what to say.  There was too much shit flying around her brain at the moment.  All she could do was sit there like an idiot, staring at Dawn.

 

"Everything that’s happened,” Dawn began, speaking quickly.  “I just couldn’t take it anymore. You all took me to Italy and then left me there, like an old pair of shoes that didn’t fit anymore. And then you’re keeping all these secrets from me, all of you! I cared about Spike, but nobody thought I was worth letting in on the big secret.” She glared at Faith. “And then I find out he’s with you. It’s not right, none of it.”

 

"Someone just get her to shut the hell up," Faith mumbled.

 

"God, Faith," Buffy said.  "She needs to talk about this.  How can you not get that?"

 

"How can I not get that?" Faith said, flying out of her chair like her life depended on it.  "I have been her punching bag since she got here.  Now I find out that he tried to rape you and then no one bothered sharing that little bit of information with me.  And then all of a sudden, you're all kissing and making up?   How long have you three had to deal with this?  A couple years?  Well, sorry, I've had a minute, so excuse me if I'm a little…"

 

"I didn't say it to make you mad," Dawn said.  "It wasn't personal."

 

"How can you say it's not personal?" Faith demanded.  "Is anyone even listening to me?" 

 

"Enough!" Spike said standing up.

 

"Don't you…"

 

“Faith, sit down.”

 

“Or what?  You’ll force me?”

 

The words were out before she could stop them.  And the look on Spike's face… well… shit.

 

Faith sat down.

 

Spike ran his fingers through his hair.  "Bit, I'm sorry.  Didn't broadcast being back because I didn't know how.”  He glanced at Buffy.  “Part of me figured you'd both be better off without me.

 

“And I know you've heard this more often than not, but,” he turned to Faith, “what Buffy and I had was beyond complicated.   Don't understand it m'self.  Doubt I ever will.  Makes it a little hard to try to explain it to somebody else.  You deserved better."

 

Faith wondered what wasn’t complicated when it came to Spike.

 

He continued, now looking at Dawn.  "None of this is Faith's fault.  You need to know that.  If you don't like her, probably not much I can do about it, but don’t be using my relationship with her to fuel whatever fire you got goin'.”

 

Spike sighed.  “I've done things I'm not proud of, both before and after the soul, but it doesn’t change the fact that I still care about you.”   Spike sank into his chair.

 

"I'm sorry," Dawn said quietly.  "I didn't want all of this to happen."

 

Faith was starting to think she was better off not having been part of an actual family if this was the shit that went down.

 

"It's all right, Bit," Spike said as he stroked her hair.  "It’s my fault.   I know that now.  Should've said somethin' to you sooner.  There's no excuse for that."

 

They stayed that way for what felt like forever to Faith.

 

“Dawn."  Buffy broke the silence, her voice tight, "Even when things were… at their worst between Spike and me, and I was unsure of nearly everything, I was sure of one thing.  That Spike loves you.  He always has.  I love you, too.  That’s never going to change.  We’re here for you.  We are always here for you.”

 

Spike had tried to rape B.  Spike?  None of this made any sense to Faith.  Not at all.

 

Spike let out a long, unnecessary breath.  "No one can spin me around 'til I'm arse over tea kettle like you three can and I love you for it.”

 

Love?  The three of them?  Is that what he just said?

 

How could people just toss the love word around like that?  Like it wasn’t a big deal?

 

"I love you too," Dawn said, throwing her arms around him.

 

Shit.

 

What had Faith gotten herself in to?  Damn dust.

 

Faith wiped away the minute amount of moisture that had gathered in one of her eyes.

 

She glanced at B.  Dust must have made its way into both of her eyes.

 

Going to need to keep this place a little cleaner, too much crap floating around, making people's eyes all watery and shit.

 

 

Part 18
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