As much as Faith had fought Buffy on it, they decided – or rather Buffy decided – that carrying big and heavy boxes wasn’t in Faith’s or the baby’s best interest. Thus, Faith was on Jackson duty while everyone else carried and loaded.

And honestly, even though she’d protested at first, Faith was beginning to realize that she got a pretty sweet deal out of the situation.

“Mush, mush!” she yelled as she relaxed back on a couch that two slayers were struggling to carry with both her and Jackson on it.

“Did she just tell me to mush?” Rona asked Vi who nodded as she struggled with the other end of the couch. “Oh no she didn’t. I’m ‘bout two seconds away from dropping her and this couch.”

“Oh no you’re not,” Buffy said as she breezed by with a large television in her arms. “That couch is brand new.”

Rona and Vi laughed while Faith just scoffed.

“Thanks for lookin’ out for us, babe,” she said. “Tell your Ma, Choo-Choo.”

“Tanks for wookin’ out for us babe!” he repeated, jumping from one end of the couch to land on Faith’s lap. She grabbed him under his arms and pulled him up so that they were level with one another, both of them grinning at the look Buffy was giving them.

“That’s all I need, Faith. He already calls me ‘B’ when I drop him off at daycare two days a week.” She gingerly set the television down on the walkway and grabbed Jackson from Faith, lifting him up and spinning him around a few times. “Come on, mister. Aunt Dawn’s gonna take you for a walk to the new house. You wanna go see your new bedroom?”

At Jackson’s enthusiastic nod, she handed him over to Dawn who was patiently waiting for him with a big smile on her face. She held out her arms and he practically dove into them, hugging her tightly.

“I bet if we walk really fast we can beat the truck to the new house,” Dawn said to him, then leaned down and whispered into his ear. “And if we’re really sneaky, we might be able to find the ice cream truck along the way.”

Jackson pulled his head back from her shoulder, looking at her with wide eyes. “I wuv ice cream!”

“So does Auntie Dawn. Now come on, let’s go!”

Dawn set him down on the sidewalk and took his hand and they were off towards the new house only a few blocks away. At the pace Jackson was tugging her along, there was no doubt that they’d beat the moving truck there.

When they were finally out of sight, Buffy bent over to pick up the television but was pulled back by a pair of strong arms around her waist. She flomped back onto the couch with Faith, ignoring the loud groans from both Rona and Vi who struggled to hold onto it.

“Nice move sending Jack with Dawn. Leaves us a little bit of extra time to go back inside and say goodbye to our old bedroom one last time,” Faith said, waggling her eyebrows.

“So do not need to be hearing stuff like that,” Rona said under her breath.

Buffy laughed and gave Faith a chaste kiss on the lips just to placate her, then hopped off the couch before she could stop her.

“As much as I’d love to, we have far too much to get done today. Raincheck for later?”

“Count on it,” Faith said with a wink.

“Now, when you say later, you mean later in a different bedroom in a different house, right?” Vi asked uneasily. “Because Mr. Giles promised me that I could have your old bedroom and, not that you’re not welcome to come back and visit it, but I think that any such rainchecks should be saved for areas that are less . . . mine.”

“Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it Vi, we’ll leave your new room alone,” Faith said. Then she grinned and continued, “Besides, we already said goodbye to it this morning. Twice.”

Vi groaned and Rona sighed, then the couch was on the ground and both young slayers were grumbling as they walked back into the house for something else to carry. Faith rested back down and adjusted the pillow behind her head, laughing as Buffy shot her a mock glare.

“Do ya think it was something I said?”

With the truck fully loaded up and already on its way to the new house, Buffy and Faith finished packing the last of their small belongings into their own car to take over. They turned and took one last look at the house they’d shared for three years, smiling at all of the craziness that had happened there in that time. Sure they’d be able to come back and visit as often as they liked and there was no doubt that they would. How could they say no to free babysitters? But it was time now to move on to bigger and better things. They had a whole new house just waiting for them to fill with newer and even crazier memories.

Faith jumped in the driver’s seat before Buffy could, ignoring her protests as the girl handed over the keys. A few blocks, a few miles, there was no difference. Buffy was a bad driver no matter the distance.

The drive over only took a few minutes and they pulled up to the new house to find it bustling with activity. The young slayers were busy unloading the trucks and carrying things inside while Willow directed them on which items went in which rooms. Even Xander was lending a helping hand, trying not to look like a complete lightweight in front of the young slayers. Dawn was already helping Buffy and Faith unload their car which brought up the question: where was Jackson?

“Mush, mush!” They heard a small voice from across the lawn.

Buffy and Faith looked over to see Jackson riding along on the couch as it was carried inside the house with Andrew sitting right next to him.

“I told you he always picks up on what you do,” Buffy said to Faith who was busy laughing at the sight.

Hearing Faith’s laughter, Jackson looked over at Buffy and Faith and waved, a proud smile on his face.

“Ma! I ridin’ on da couch! Yee-hah!”

“Good job, buddy!” Faith yelled back.

She grabbed Buffy’s hand and walked up to the front door, stopping when they got to the entrance.

Grinning, she scooped the blonde up in her arms and carried her over the threshold despite her protests.

“What did I tell you about heavy lifting?!” Buffy scolded. She would’ve jumped out of Faith’s arms but Faith had too good a grip on her.

“You weigh like a hundred pounds, B. Chill. Besides,” she paused, putting Buffy down gently and pulling her into her arms, “it’s like tradition or something, and no way am I messing with tradition. I need all the luck I can get if you plan on keepin’ me around.”

Ignoring the other people walking through the house, she leaned in and gave Buffy a soft kiss on her lips. It was one of those rare moments where Buffy got to see Faith’s squishy romantic side and she decided to indulge in the rare occurrence. They were interrupted, however, by a pair of slayers carrying the couch past them with Andrew and Jackson still perched atop it.

“I feel just like Cleopatra, and you’re like my son with the brave Mark Antony,” Andrew said to Jackson, posing like a statue of Cleopatra as the couch moved along. At Buffy and Faith’s questioning gaze, he quickly shifted to a different position and corrected, “I mean I feel like Mark Antony. Just like him. Because he’s a man. As am I.”

“Cleopatra wasn’t the only queen of de-Nile,” Faith said under her breath, earning a smack on her butt from Buffy who was still in her arms. “What?”

“Do not force him out of the closet,” Buffy said quietly.

“Cos that’s where we keep all your fancy girly dresses that he loves so much?” Faith asked quietly, grinning at the scolding look Buffy gave her. She leaned in and kissed Buffy’s scowl away, stopping only when she heard a little thump and a pair of footsteps running their way.

“Jack-Jack sammich!” came a small voice from beside them, Jackson tugging at Buffy’s shirt.

And just like one tradition Faith didn’t want to break, this was another that needed to be kept firmly in place. Buffy stepped back and scooped Jackson up in her arms, then smiled as Faith wrapped her arms back around her, effectively sandwiching Jackson between them. Jackson laughed and cooed happily as he rested his head on Buffy’s shoulder, curling his chubby little fingertips around her hair.

“Oh, you guys can’t leave us when you’re being so darn cute,” Willow said as she walked into the room and found them just inside the front entrance. She stepped up to them and joined in, hugging Buffy from behind.

“We were always this cute, you just failed to notice,” Buffy said with a smile.

“Well now I notice and I’ve decided that you can’t leave me all alone in that house. What will I do for my daily cuteness intake?” Willow replied.

“I can be pretty cute sometimes,” came a voice from behind them. All three women and even Jackson turned their heads to see Andrew standing behind Faith participating in their hug. Noticing the way they were looking at him, he stepped back and pretended to pick a piece of lint from the back of Faith’s shirt.

“Just so we’re on the same page here, I don’t think you need to be that close to me ever again,” Faith said to Andrew.

“Understood,” Andrew replied with a nod, then walked off into another room before things could get awkward again.

Jackson wriggled out of Buffy’s arms and ran off after Andrew. As strange as it was, the two of them got along great. Andrew loved to play games and teach Jackson new things and Jackson just loved having a male to look up to that spent time with him. If he wasn’t busy spending time with Faith and Buffy he was usually with Andrew, Xander, or even Giles on occasion.

Besides, Andrew was the only person who would actually sit and watch the ridiculous kid shows with Jackson. No one else could quite figure out what the appeal of a beret-wearing cartoon goat that drank Pepsi and sang kids’ songs was but Jackson – and Andrew – couldn’t seem to get enough of it. Their matching beret-wearing goat t-shirts proved as much.

With Jackson preoccupied, Buffy and Faith got to unpacking some of the boxes that had already been carried into the house. They had enough people helping them so that the empty house soon started to look like a home. Their bedroom was basically set up with only a few boxes and totes scattered throughout. Dawn and Willow were busy setting up Jackson’s room, and Xander and Kennedy were left to re-assemble the crib in what would be the baby’s room. Despite the fact that they had the easiest job, they took the longest time doing their task, both clueless as how to actually set the crib up.

“I thought you were supposed to be some kinda construction guru,” Kennedy said as they emerged from the room, sweaty and frazzled.

“That crib was made by demons. Japanese demons that wrote the instructions in Japa-demonese and hated humans,” Xander defended as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“You can oversee the building of a high school but you can’t put a crib together. That’s all I’m sayin.”

“Well at least I didn’t let a Neptil demon possess me last week.”

“Hey, you try slaying a five-hundred pound demon with a stake and see how far you get,” Kennedy said bitterly.

“And I think it’s time for a break from Moving Day fun,” Willow interrupted just in time. She took Kennedy’s hand and started tugging her towards the back door. “Come on Kenny, it’s time for Jackson’s magic lessons.”

“Why do I have to come?”

“Because he needs to work on his defense spell today.”

Kennedy came to a complete standstill then, disbelief written across her face.

“Baby, why me? I’m sick of getting my butt handed to me by Faith Junior.”

“Because everyone else is busy and it gives us a chance to spend some time together. Besides, you know how he loves it when you make that cute little yelping noise when you go flying backwards.”

Ignoring Kennedy’s further protests, Willow yanked her outside to the fenced in backyard where Andrew was busy teaching Jackson how to walk like a supermodel. Xander leaned against the wall and watched them go, happy to rest for a moment. His back hurt, his legs hurt, and being stuck in a room with Kennedy for so long had him completely on edge. He just needed to relax his body and nerves for a bit and . . .

“Make way, comin’ through, lady with a baby!” Faith practically shouted as she passed behind him in the hallway with a huge sub in her hands, making him nearly jump out of his skin. She flopped down onto a chair and kicked her feet up on a box, ready to enjoy some food for about the tenth time that day. “What’s up, Xan?”

“You mean besides my blood pressure?” he asked as he sat on a chair opposite her.

“Ha! Kennedy givin’ you a hard time?” she asked around a mouthful of food.

“And then some,” he answered. “Are there any more subs left in the kitchen?”

Faith’s chewing slowed down and she swallowed loudly, a guilty half-smile on her face. That was all the answer Xander needed.

“Have mercy, woman. You’ve already eaten like four of those today. Spare half for a starving man? A bite even? Shred of lettuce?”

Faith took one last whopping bite and handed the rest to Xander, smiling as he began to devour it. He looked over at her between bites, paying special attention to her stomach under her tight shirt.

“You’re just over three months along now, right?” At Faith’s nod, he continued. “Why aren’t you showing yet? No belly, no bump, no anything. Which I guess would probably be normal if you weren’t eating your weight in food every day.”

Faith simply shrugged and lifted up her shirt to look at her stomach.

“No clue. It’s defo in there though, got the pic from the doctor to prove it. Know I’ve been eatin’ like a pig too but I’m just hungry all the time. Whatever though. If the kid wants a triple-decker sandwich, it’s gonna get a triple-decker sandwich. No way am I gonna piss it off while it’s livin in there.”

After pondering it for a moment, Xander shrugged and nodded. “That’s probably smart.”

“Still can’t believe it’s really happening though,” Faith said. “It’s all kinda surreal, like I’m just dreamin’ it or something. It’ll all kick in when I start to show though and when I can feel it wormin’ around in there.”

“And until then?” Xander asked.

Faith grinned, “We have Buffy make us some more sandwiches.”

“Let go.”

“No!”

“Jack, I’m serious. Let go.”

“I don’t wanna!”

Faith tugged a little harder on Jackson’s ankles but he didn’t budge, his hands gripping tightly around the bars of the crib. He was completely horizontal in the air, his death-grip on the wooden bars the only thing keeping him from swinging upside down and into Faith.

“I know you don’t wanna say goodbye to your crib but you’ve got a nice new big-boy bed that’s just waitin’ for you to come and sleep on it.”

“Don’t want da bed, want my crib.”

Faith sighed and let go of his feet, shaking her head as he continued to cling to the side of the crib.

“Alright, I didn’t wanna do it but you’re leavin’ me no choice here. B!” she called out and instantly found her mouth covered by a little hand and two brown eyes pleading with her to be quiet.

“Yeah?” Buffy called out from their own bedroom where she was busy unpacking the last of their clothing.

Now that everyone had cleared out of the house, it was time for their nightly bedtime ritual with Jackson which Faith volunteered to do solo to give Buffy more time to get things settled. Jackson, however, wasn’t quite as willing to leave behind his crib as Faith was hoping he’d be. Looking at his pout and puppy-dog eyes though, she knew that she could placate him now that he knew she was serious.

“Nevermind,” she mumbled loudly around Jackson’s hand, then whispered so only he could hear. “You ready to try out your big-boy bed?”

“No.”

“How about if we read three stories instead of two?”

Jackson pondered it for a moment. “Five.”

Faith playfully narrowed her eyes at him.

“Four and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Jackson held out his hand and Faith shook it then hoisted him up over her shoulder so he was hanging halfway down her back. She carried him out of the soon-to-be nursery and to his own bedroom where she plunked him in his new bed despite his giggling.

She read the agreed upon four books to him, then two more for good measure, and then two more to keep him firmly rooted in bed and not wandering around the new house at all hours of the night. The crib had always kept him confined so this was going to be a new experience for them all. They’d have to ask Willow to create some kind of mystical security spell to keep Jackson from wandering too far from his room but that would have to wait until the next day when she came back for his magic lesson.

Wandering down the hall and turning off the lights as she went, Faith finally made it to their new bedroom and was surprised to find it mostly settled. Thank god Buffy was organized because if it had been left up to Faith they would’ve been living out of boxes for months. She stood and watched the girl for a moment, admiring how hot she looked even when dressed in an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

Sneaking up behind an unsuspecting Buffy who was busy reaching into the bottom of a tote, Faith reached out and pinched her butt, making her jump up in surprise.

“Very funny,” Buffy said, scowling and rubbing her butt as Faith laughed at her.

“Sorry B, but it was up in the air and practically had a target on it. No way could I pass up that opportunity.” She pulled Buffy into her arms and just hugged her for a minute, rocking back and forth a bit.

“Just remember that actions like that come with consequences,” Buffy said against her shoulder.

“Such as?”

And then it was Faith’s turn to yelp as both of Buffy’s hands slid down her back and grabbed a handful of ass none-too-gently.

“So that’s how you wanna play it, huh.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“You realize what you just did, right?”

“Maybe you should tell me,” Buffy said playfully, grunting softly as she felt her back hit the wall and Faith press against her keeping her pinned.

“Pretty sure you just started a grope-war, B.”

And then Faith’s hands were traveling from Buffy’s hips and up her sides, moving in to fondle her breasts as she kept their bodies pressed together. Her warm breath caressed Buffy’s lips before she kissed them, softly first and then in a series of fleeting little French kisses as their hands started to roam and caress.

“Mmm . . .” Buffy mumbled between kisses, “there should be peace, not war.”

“I’d certainly like a piece,” Faith mumbled back as her fingertips slid under the hem of Buffy’s shirt and swiftly lifted it off over her head.

“Nuh-uh,” Buffy mumbled again, putting her hands on Faith’s shoulders to get a bit of distance between them. “No piece until there’s a guarantee of peace and quiet, and we won’t have that until Willow can do the sound spell on our room tomorrow.”

“But Buffy!” Faith whined uncharacteristically. “New house! New room! Christening! Promises were made, rainchecks were signed . . . I’m cashing in.”

And then not even Buffy’s hands on her shoulders could keep Faith away. Her hands slipped down Buffy’s back and under her shorts, cupping her ass within the confines of the fabric. She pulled Buffy against her and reclaimed her lips again, smiling to herself when she felt Buffy give in.

“You’ll just have to be quiet,” Faith said, kissing down Buffy’s neck as she pushed the girl’s shorts and panties down in one fell swoop, leaving her completely naked.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re still dressed!”

But Buffy couldn’t complain too much though. She was too busy focusing on the cool wall against her back and the hot body holding her up against it. On those fingertips that were caressing her thigh, slipping underneath and lifting it up so she could wrap her leg around the girl. On the soft scratch of rough denim over her heated center. On soft fingers replacing the scratch of fabric, touching her right where she needed it the most. On soft lips sliding over hers and sweet breath making her lightheaded.

So wrapped up in feeling that she never heard the creak of a door and the pitter-patter of tiny feet until,

“…Jack-Jack sammich?”

Faith immediately tried to move away but Buffy clung to her, hoping to keep whatever modesty that remained intact.

“Hey buddy!” Faith said a bit overzealously. “What are you doin’ out of that nice new bed of yours?”

“Want my cribby,” Jackson replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“I thought you were gonna stay in your big-boy bed?” Faith asked, receiving no help from Buffy’s whose face was pressed against her shoulder and burning bright red with embarrassment.

“Want my cribby,” he said again, this time with his bottom lip coming out in the perfect Buffy Summers pout and his eyes wet with tears.

And as much as Faith didn’t want to cave in to his demands, she knew that breaking the crib habit wasn’t going to happen in just one night. There needed to be counseling and crib rehab and possibly a crib support group, all things that she couldn’t do while acting as Buffy’s blanket. Ever so carefully, so as not to expose Buffy’s nakedness, she slipped her foot under the girl’s discarded shirt on the floor and kicked it up into the air, catching it in one of her hands.

She handed the crumpled shirt to Buffy and waited for her to get re-dressed until she moved over to Jackson’s side. Scooping him up in her arms, she carried him down the hall to the nursery, deciding to let him have one last night with the crib. Besides, with him being confined behind its wooden bars, it meant she got more time to cash in her rainchecks.