Chapter 14 - The Unicorn
Song
When I was growing up my best friend was a unicorn
The others smiled at me and called me crazy
But I was not upset by knowing I did not conform
I always thought their seeing must be hazy.
The unicorn and I would while away the hours
Playing, dancing, and romancing in the wild flowers
And we’d sing,
Seeing is believing in the things you see
Loving is believing in the ones you love
Peter, Paul & Mary
Apparently he had never seen
anything like it before. Even Max had to admit it was impressive. They were
stacked to the ceiling in a wide variety of colors and size. Dylan let out a
soft whistle as he gazed around the large toy store.
“It’s not that bad,” Max
said, with a chuckle. “Most of them don’t bite.”
“Yeah, but they beep,
whistle, screech, run over your toes, or can be propelled at your head at a
hundred miles an hour,” Faith said, with a smile. “Especially in the hands of a
four-year-old.”
“I didn’t think that picking
something out for her would be that hard,” Dylan said, shaking his head. “I
wish I had asked Spike what to get her.”
“Who got his list from
Buffy,” Max said, patting the younger man on his back. “It was her you should
have asked.”
Dylan only made a sound that
sounded like a combination of a laugh and a grunt. The relationship between the
Slayer and Spike’s new partner was rocky at best and almost hostile at its
worst. Buffy seemed to be more accepting of Dylan since breakfast, but there
was still standoffishness about her when it came to him. Max didn’t think Dylan
would ever be considered family but as Spike’s family and friends it was their
duty to at least get along with him. Well, at least until they found that
something that would prove their suspicions correct.
“So, any clues, guys?” Dylan
asked, looking back and forth between Max and Faith. “Cuz I am at a loss here.”
It was Max’s turn to shake
his head. The only reason he was even there was because he refused to let Faith
go anywhere alone with the blonde. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take care of
herself, but because he was afraid that she might get interested. Dylan seemed
to be more her ‘type’ than he would ever be. And of course it had nothing to do
with the fact that he wanted her back. That was a done deal, he told himself as
they moved over to look at the dolls.
“Does she have any baby
dolls?” Dylan asked.
“Okay,” Faith laughed,
tossing her hair over her shoulder with a slight thrust of her chest outwards
that Dylan couldn’t miss. “We are talking about Journey here. The daughter of a
Slayer and a vampire whose favorite past time is to pretend she is patrolling.”
“Yeah, with Candy the first
Slayer dog beside her,” Max added, breaking into Faith’s flirting. He
innocently raised an eyebrow when Faith flashed him a dirty look.
“So, nothing too girly or
frilly right,” Dylan said, giving Faith an appraising look, lingering for a
moment on the swell of her breasts before moving down to her hips encased in
black leather.
“Nope, that’s not exactly
true either,” Max said in an effort to stop the other man’s visual feasting on
the Slayer. “She’s Buffy’s daughter so she is very feminine.” He glanced at
Faith. “She’s just a very tough feminine.”
“This is going to be fun,”
Dylan muttered under his breath while looking decidedly helpless. “I should
have stayed in LA.”
“Nope,” Faith said, casting
Max a look that was filled with hurt and anger. “You need to mingle with
Spike’s family. Show us how wonderful you are.”
“Yeah, sure,” Dylan said,
throwing his arm around her shoulder and throwing Max a look of triumph. “Come
on. Let’s see if we can find the kid a present.”
It took Max a second to
follow them down the aisle especially when Faith put her arm around the punk’s
waist. What was she doing? Last night she was badmouthing him to everyone and
today she was falling all over him. Anger bubbled under the surface but he
refused to let it out. He pushed it away into that part of him where he hid
things that he didn’t want to deal with. With an easy gait he followed them as
they wandered through the store.
They looked briefly at video
games but they were dismissed. The Blood house had tons of games and they
couldn’t be guaranteed to pick one out that they either didn’t already have or
someone else had gotten. It was the same with books and games. Spike and Buffy
were generous with their children and with the large family there was never a
shortage of presents.
“Maybe I should just get a
gift certificate or something?” Dylan asked, looking around.
Thankfully the walking
arm-in-arm had settled down to handholding so Max had relaxed a little. He
looked around the store once more, determined they wouldn’t leave empty handed.
He knew if Dylan didn’t get Journey the right present it would never be
forgotten. It wasn’t that she was greedy. A flower picked from the garden or
even something that had been made for her could bring a delighted smile to her
face. It’s just that it was her birthday and she felt it was her right to be
adored on that day.
“Come on,” Max said with a
small sigh. “I know something that she would probably like.”
“Oh, and you bring it up
now,” Faith snapped. “Now that we’ve wandered through this store twice and have
found nothing.”
Max shrugged. “Eh, I thought
it would be better if it came from Dylan’s view but since that…since he’s inexperienced buying presents for
princesses, I’ll help.”
“Thanks ever so,” Dylan
said, and even his smile couldn’t hide the sarcasm in his tone. “I appreciate
it.”
“No problem,” Max said,
leading them to the costume aisle. “Look she’s got a vivid imagination and
likes to play dress up a lot. See,” He picked up a package of large scarves in
bright colors. “Like with these she can build a tent or drape them around her.”
He dropped them and pointed to the different outfits on display. “Or something
like this so she has all the accessories for whatever game she’s interested
in.”
“This is actually cool,”
Faith said as she stared entranced at the costumes. “I never got stuff like
this when I was kid.”
”It would have been a lot of fun, wouldn’t it?” Dylan said. He turned his
glance to Max. “Bet you had all the cool toys, huh?”
Max only shrugged but knew
he was on the outside again because Dylan was right. His childhood had been
idyllic with all the right things to make them look like everyone else on the
block. He crossed his arms and stepped back as the other two made selections. A
part of him gave way as he listened to Faith talk about the different costumes
and the games she played in her childhood. The curtains, sheets and her mom’s
old castoffs that she had used to fill her make believe hours.
It was too much for Max. It
hurt him to hear the pain in her voice and wished she’d let him make it better.
He’d give her anything she wanted and would dress her anyway she wanted to. He
wanted to see her smiling and happy but knew he wouldn’t give up his pride to
do it. No, maybe he would if he thought it would do any good.
“What do you think?” Faith
asked, holding a couple of items out for his inspection.
“Perfect,” Max said, and
meant it.
They had kept the scarves
and had added a pirate’s costume complete with eye patch and plastic sword
along with a more traditional girl set which Journey could use to pretend to be
several different characters. The little girl would be ecstatic over the choice
and it would give her hours of play with them.
“Great,” Dylan said. “Let’s
get this stuff paid for and we can go get some lunch before we head back.”
“Sounds good,” Faith said,
with a smile. “I know the perfect spot.”
Faith’s perfect spot turned
out to be a small sports bar in the middle of downtown. Somehow though it was
romantic to her and Dylan, as they drank beer, played pool and ate burgers. The
flirtation was going full force between the two and by the time they left, Max
was fuming. She was deliberately rubbing his nose in their differences. It wasn’t going to work and he really hoped
she wasn’t going to do anything stupid, like sleep with this jerk just to prove
a point.
Max barely waited until the
jeep stopped in the driveway before he took off. He needed some serious cooling
down time before he would say something he’d regret.
“Max, wait a minute,” Faith
called before he was even halfway across the backyard. “I want to talk to you.”
Sighing, he stopped, hands
on his hips as he waited. She wanted to gloat, cause a scene or make sure his
heart was a little more broken and he was going to let her. Just like the fool
that he was. He watched as Dylan went by him wearing a smirk. He closed his
eyes as he waited for her to start and he almost smiled when she didn’t disappoint.
“What was that?” Faith
asked.
“Just doing what you
wanted,” Max said, feeling the man slip behind the cold mask of the agent. It
seemed a part of him was determined to not let her break his heart anymore,
after all. It was a surprise to him but then he was trained to not show
emotions so he let it be. “It was the whole purpose of that performance this
afternoon, wasn’t it?”
“Performance?” Faith asked,
stepping closer to him. “It wasn’t a performance. I like him and think he’s
hot. Is there a problem with that?”
“Yeah, when he’s the guy
who’s causing trouble in Buffy’s marriage or don’t you care?”
“If he’s paying attention to
me then he won’t be causing trouble, now will he?”
“You’ll regret it,” Max said,
lowering his eyes to mask his sadness.
It wasn’t really what he
meant to say but he was running out of options. Faith was too stubborn for her
own good and he knew that the chances of her sleeping with Dylan had just
risen. She’d do it just to prove a point. Not to him but to her. She’d do it to show that she really didn’t
care about Max.
“Don’t interfere in my
life,” Faith spat. “You’re the one who walked away from me.”
“All because Angel wouldn’t
approve of me…”
“No,” Faith interrupted with
a laugh. “That’s not the reason. Get that through your head. Look at me, Max.”
She stepped back and threw her arms wide. “I’m not in your league and I don’t
want to be. The only reason I’m out of prison is because the Watcher’s Council
pulled some strings. I’ve seen things. Done things that you…”
“What, Faith?” Max said,
grabbing her wrist and pulling her so close that he could feel the heat of her
breath. “The fact that you killed a man when you were in the middle of a battle
makes you unworthy to be loved. I know who you are but you’ve never taken a real
look at me. You have no clue who I really am. I’ve looked men and demons in the
eye then taken their lives. I never asked if they deserved it or if they were
good or bad. I did it because I was ordered to. Because someone felt they were
a threat to the common good. Now, what does that make me?”
He didn’t wait for an
answer. He didn’t need one. He turned away from her stunned expression to head
for the cemetery. The only thing he wanted then was something to pound on, a
strong drink or a hard fuck. It wasn’t likely that he would get any of them so
he took off running. His friends knew some of the things that he had done while
in service of The Guardians but rarely did he talk about it. Buffy and Spike
knew because they were among the few people that were privy to his past.
Love was a crazy thing, he
thought as he caught a glimpse of Buffy and Spike kissing on their bench. It
was never over with when you found the one who fascinated your very soul. And
he wondered if he would ever stop loving Faith.
~~~~~~~
The rule was that she
couldn’t open her presents until everyone had finished their cake and ice
cream. Journey was convinced it was going to take forever for that to happen.
She eyed the pile of presents waiting on the table and she could feel her fingers
itch with the need to rip them open. She wondered if Daddy had remembered the
sequined purse she had spotted in the mall while visiting Angel.
It was apparent that there
was going to be lots of new stuff to play with. Mummy had made her go through her
toys earlier this week and pick out which ones to get rid of. They would be
donated to some kids who didn’t have any. That was okay with her but she didn’t
understand why their Mummy’s and Daddy’s didn’t get them presents. She decided
that when Daddy was tucking her into bed she’d ask him why.
She picked up her milk glass
and took a big drink while scanning the room. Aunt Faith was barely eating her
cake because she was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Dylan. Her eyes narrowed
when she looked at him. He made her nervous. She didn’t think he really liked
her. It was fine with her. Mummy didn’t like him either. Daddy did. She put her
glass down and continued around the room. Raven, Sean and the other kids were
almost done then there was Angel and Aunt Cordy. She wasn’t eating very much
but Joy knew it wouldn’t affect the opening of the presents. Aunt Cordy never
ate very much anymore besides she’d given the little girl her present earlier
in the afternoon.
Journey patted the locket
hanging around her neck. On one side was a picture of her parents and on the
other side was a picture of her Angel. Aunt Cordy had taken her on her lap and
told her a story about the little girl’s future. It convinced Joy that Aunt
Cordy was her fairy godmother just like the one in Sleeping Beauty who saw the
baby’s future. Except in Joy’s future there wasn’t horrible needles and sleep.
Aunt Cordy said that she had a very special future to live. She knew because
she’d had one of her visions about it. She had also made Joy promise to help
look after Angel. He would need her in the years to come. Journey thought the
promise was silly because there wasn’t a need to promise something she already
planned on doing.
Eyeing her plate, Journey
tilted it toward her and scooped the last bite of ice cream into her mouth. She
wiped her mouth on her napkin then turned to her parents who were sitting next
to her. Mummy was sitting with her legs over Daddy’s and was feeding him ice
cream. She patted Daddy’s arm to get his attention then held her arms out.
There was no doubt that she would be lifted onto their laps where she would be
cuddled and kissed.
“You getting sleepy, Luv?”
Daddy whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.
She shook her head and
pointed to her presents.
“Silly man,” Mummy giggled.
“There’s no way she’s going to sleep until after she’s collected her bounty.”
Their arms were around her
and she laid her head against Mummy’s chest. She could hear her heart beating
like it always did around Daddy. A little faster just like the way Mummy
breathed. Raven said it was a man woman thing she would understand when she
grew up but she knew. It was because Mummy loved Daddy. She wished Daddy
wouldn’t go away anymore because Mummy was sad when he was gone and so, was
she.
“Hello, Joyness,” Angel
said, coming over. “You ready to open the presents?”
“Uh-huh,” Joy said, sitting
up and patting the table. “I want to open yours first.”
She flashed him her
prettiest smile and was rewarded with her uncle going to the pile and
retrieving one for her. The others quickly gathered around, taking seats on
anything that was handy or on the floor once the chairs ran out. Joy squirmed
under the attention but forgot about it when she pulled the wrapping away. It
was a silver mirror and brush set just like the ones the fairy princesses used.
Yep, it was a great birthday
and she looked up to await the next present to be handed to her.
to be continued…
