Fic: All Night Long (8)
Title: All Night Long - chapter eight..
Series: Damned If I Don't, Damned If I Do.
Rating: R
Pairings: Buffy/Faith
Summary: Curses can pass from one generation to the next, even without biology involved.
The sound of the crash was fast replaced with a high pitched squawking noise. At first Buffy mistook it for sirens and panicked, until the flashing amber hazard lights clued her in. It was just a car alarm, blaring, screaming to the world that somebody had hit it hard, side-on.
It didn’t calm her panic as Buffy slipped and slid at speed around to the passenger side of her own car. “Faith! Faith, are you okay? Shit!” She nearly went down but saved herself with two hands on the lowered window. “Are you alright? Please tell me you’re not hurt?”
“I’m not hurt; don’t think I can say the same for our car. Or that car.”
Buffy yanked the door open and half fell inside to check Faith over for herself. If Faith was seriously wounded or, God forbid, the baby, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.
“I said I’m fine,” Faith griped at the fussing as Buffy patted her over for any obvious injuries. “I saw what was coming and braced for it.”
Satisfied, Buffy finally had time to think. Straightening up, she surveyed the damage over the roof. Faith had been steering them out of a line of assorted vehicles parked parallel to the sidewalk. The late hour and poor weather had worked in their favor, meaning there was ample space in front and behind them to pull out. Only, when the engine had caught and roared to life their car had shot forward with a burst of speed that was too much for the snowy road conditions and Faith had obviously not been able to control it from the passenger seat because it had skidded not just forwards but sideways too.
Unfortunately the car they’d crunched into was the smaller of the two and now had a new hood ornament, which doubled as a wing ornament and a door ornament. And it looked permanent. Pity it hadn’t killed the alarm too; it was still shrieking and attracting passers-by that hadn’t already stopped at the initial crashing noise. People were no longer minding their own business, they were too busy paying attention to hers!
“Well if you saw it coming,” she snapped, feeling even more frazzled because of the on-lookers, “why didn’t you brake?”
Despite the tight interior, Faith skilfully spun the hilt of the broadsword in her hand so that it was pointing up instead of down. “Why do you think, huh?”
Buffy gulped and didn’t dare look down in case she split her chin open. “Witnesses!” she hissed, suddenly grateful they were there.
“No jury in the land would wanna convict me once I explained. So say it.”
“Say what?”
“You know. What’s that thing that’s the opposite of what you usually love saying to me?”
Now seeing where this was going, Buffy did her best to fight against it. “Um, don’t fuck me?”
Faith laughed but the sword stayed where it was. “Nuh-uh, try again.”
Buffy sighed. “You were right and I was wrong. My plan wasn’t of the good. Now put that sword away before one of us loses a head, or the cops show up.”
Still laughing, Faith did throw the weapon onto the floor in the back and then began the laborious task of getting out of the car and onto her feet.
“Be careful you don’t slip,” Buffy warned as she helped by pulling on her arm.
“I’m fine. I have a decade and a half of experience when it comes to walking on snow. Just grab my bag for me, will ya?”
Once Faith was out of the way Buffy did so. She didn’t know what they should do next, but they weren’t going anywhere in the car tonight - or probably ever again. By the time she’d shut the passenger door and locked the car with the fob Faith was already on the sidewalk and walking away.
“Faith, we can’t just leave the scene of an accident. It’s illegal!” She’d never be sure if she said that because she felt it or for the benefit of their audience, but it was enough for Faith to turn around and head back.
Digging around in her purse for a moment, she used a sleeve of her coat to wipe the snow from the windshield of the car they had accidentally totalled. When she’d finished Buffy could see she’d written a series of digits on it in crimson lipstick and the word ‘Sorry!’ beneath.
“Faith, that’s Giles’ phone number!” she reprimanded with a scandalized chuckle.
“So what? It’s his insurance anyway. Now come on, before the cops really do show up.”
Buffy followed her to the opposite sidewalk, trying to keep her face turned away from the gathered crowd. One woman didn’t take the hint and approached her anyway.
“Is your friend okay? She’s pregnant. Maybe I should call an ambulance.”
She thought about letting her. If her phone actually worked maybe Buffy could borrow it afterwards to check in, but she was sort of with Faith in wanting to get far away from the scene as soon as possible.
“Thank you, but my girlfriend assures me she’s fine.” Buffy gave her the bright ‘Yep, I’m gay’ smile she’d been mastering since she and Faith had become a real thing. “But I promise I’m going to make her see a doctor just as soon as I can find one.”
She was pretty sure the woman kept on talking, but that was okay because Buffy just kept on walking. She was faster than Faith now - not that she hadn’t always been! - and caught up with her easily by the end of the block.
“So now what?”
“Now I figure we break the rules a little and stay out past curfew.”
“Pretty much a given at this point.”
“Do you think you can sneak out for the whole night? Without your pops finding out and being mad?” Faith grinned and Buffy mentally pencilled ‘role-play’ into her mental log for when things got boring in the bedroom.
Actually, she probably shouldn’t wait that long, or they’d already be too old to get the full fun factor out of it.
“I think I’m prepared to risk it. For you. Why, what do you have in mind?”
“You. Me. A room in the best motel I can afford.”
“So a pretty sleazy one then?” she joked.
“Only if you want breakfast in the morning too.”
“Happy birthday to me,” Buffy sing-songed.
Faith bumped her shoulder. “Nah, we can find a nice one. We’ll just make it sleazy after we lock the door for the night.”
“Sounds perfect,” Buffy smiled. “Are you really sure you’re really okay though? After the thing.”
“Really, really. I’m fine and Junior is still bouncing off the walls like an asshole so I think he’s alright too. I don’t know what’s got him so antsy tonight, though. Feels like he’s snap-kicking my kidneys or some shit.” She rubbed the bottom of her back. “He’s got some power in his legs, that’s for sure.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Kinda.”
“Are you sure it’s not some other reason, like the . . .”
“B, I said we’re fine, didn’t I? For real, if I thought there was something wrong I’d be doing something about it.”
Buffy believed that so she let it drop. They passed a Mexican restaurant, a bar lit up like it was still Christmas and a late-opening coffee house that wafted delicious mocha-aromas around them when the door opened. The area being so lively made her hopeful that they would come across a motel soon and until then it was kind of nice walking with Faith through the gently falling snow. She reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze before lacing their fingers together.
Faith smiled at her and squeezed back, but said, “One word about this being romantic and I’m sleeping in that motel room alone. You can find a bench.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Buffy promised, before slyly whispering. “You know it is though.”
“Walking through the snow is not romantic.”
“It is! It’s pretty.”
“It’s not. It’s freezing.”
“It is! Did you know that every snow-flake is different? No two are the same.”
“And that’s what makes it romantic? Every piece of ice that falls on my face is different so I should feel more in love with you than I already do? That’s so full of crap.”
Buffy smiled. She didn’t need Faith to believe it, she’d just heard the proof for herself.
About twenty minutes later the snow wasn’t romantic anymore, even to her. The walking was keeping the shivers at bay, but she still felt cold right down to her toes.
“Do you think we’re going to find a motel soon?” she asked, pulling her hands into her sleeves and tucking them under her arms.
“Thought we’d have found one already. There’s motels and B and B’s all over this fuckin’ city, I don’t understand it.”
Buffy thought about Troy’s ability to control space and time and about how some demons could cloak their lairs. Then she thought about how they were in a part of Cleveland that she didn’t know, that had given over to residential neighbourhoods about three minutes after leaving the road of restaurants and bars behind. Perhaps it just wasn’t a very touristy area.
With that in mind, at the end of the next block she insisted they change direction. “There’s nothing around here. Let’s head back towards the lake.”
Faith didn’t grumble about it as they turned at the corner, until they’d walked another three blocks. “Are we going the right way?”
“I think so. How far were we from it at the restaurant?”
“About half a mile.”
They’d walked further than that, but most of it had been in the wrong direction. “Let’s just keep going.”
“Really? Are you forcing another of your plans on me?”
“Fine. You pick the next direction.”
Laughing, Faith shook her head, “No, it’s cool. Despite the universe advising me otherwise, I trust you.”
She was right to, because only a block later they saw a red neon sign for a motel with a flashing green ‘vacancies’ sign beneath it. They picked up the pace as they approached it. The office was right off the road and warm and most importantly, snow-free.
The woman behind the high desk smiled as they walked in, shaking snow from their hair and clothes. “It’s getting worse, huh?”
“Doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop anytime soon,” Faith agreed.
“You need two rooms or a twin?” the woman had swivelled her chair around to her computer already.
“A double, please?” Buffy said with her ‘Yep, I’m gay!’ smile again.
“Oh.”
“Do you have a problem with that?” She could feel Faith smirking at her but she didn’t care. She’d struggled to be out and proud with Toni; she refused to be the same way with the love of her life. “Will you not give us a double room?”
“No, it’s fine.” The woman was so busy on her computer now maybe she hadn’t heard right.
“We want a double so we can sleep together.” Okay, that was too much information. Her mom was turning in her grave. “It’s what we do, together, in beds and . . . What’s so funny?”
Faith was slapping her leg at Buffy’s apparently rib-tickling routine while the receptionist was smiling too. “You can have a double, no problem, but there’s only one left and it’s our most expensive.”
As Buffy came down from her Pride Parade for one, Faith pulled out her bank card. “That’s fine. It’s her birthday anyway.”
“Happy birthday!” The woman said to her, before taking Faith’s card and saying, “its $120. Just give me a minute to print out the paperwork.”
“Are you kidding me?” Faith snatched the card back so fast the woman continued typing for a few seconds before she realized it had gone. “For one night?”
“Like I said, it is our most expensive room.”
“We’ll take a twin.”
The woman nodded and tapped some more on her keyboard. She’d learnt fast because she said, “Our cheapest twin room available is $87.”
“How much for a single?”
More tapping. “$45.”
“That’s more like it. We’ll take it.”
“You’ll need two of them.”
“No, it’s cool. We’ve shared a single bed before.”
“Actually, funny story, we shared this tiny, single camp-bed one time and . . .”
She was happy to be interrupted, because what was she thinking? She couldn’t share those stories with a complete stranger! “I can’t let the both of you share a single room. I’m sorry but it’s company policy. Fire regulations and all that.”
“We’re not gonna start any fires! We just want to sleep!” Faith argued.
“I’m really sorry. Look, help yourselves to a hot drink and I’ll get you the addresses of some other motels in the area. They might have more rooms. We just packed out early because of the snow.”
It was a nice offer and their best option so Buffy coaxed Faith away from the desk to the drinks machine against the wall of the reception area. Still irate Faith demanded an expresso, so Buffy got her a hot chocolate and gestured for her to sit down on the red couch.
When she complained, Buffy said, “The baby is already jumpy, do you really want to feed him caffeine?”
Faith groaned, but accepted the cocoa and nursed the plastic cup between her hands.
They’d barely sipped at their drinks before the desk-woman was calling them back to hand over a short list of motels that were close by.
“This one definitely has rooms, I spoke to the manager just a little while ago, but they’re not much cheaper than we are. These two are budget, but they might already be fully booked because of the snow storm. This one is . . . honestly, personally I wouldn’t stay there, or let my dog stay there, but they only charge $15 dollars a night. If you’re that desperate just . . . sleep on top of the sheets with your clothes on.”
Buffy took the list and thanked her, because she really was trying to help. Faith was in a less grateful mood, but she wasn’t outright rude so Buffy let her be.
“Stay and finish your drinks if you want.”
“Thanks, but I think they’ll be better as hand warmers as we walk. Not that they’re not tasty!” she lied as she pulled on Faith’s arm to get her moving again. “And thanks for your hospitality,” she called back as an afterthought.
“What hospitality?” Faith pulled on her hand until she could comfortably trap Buffy’s arm under her own and then passed her hot chocolate to her other hand so that it wasn’t jiggled with every step she took. “In case you didn’t realize, she turned us out.”
“But not because we’re gay!” Buffy pointed out.
“Times sure are a-changing,” Faith drawled, earning herself a poke in the ribs - or roughly where her ribs were - that spilled her cocoa anyway.
They stopped in a bus shelter to check the list of motels. There were more than just the four the receptionist had mentioned and surely one of them had a vacancy. Christmas was over, there had to be room in at least one inn.
Faith glanced up at the bus stop sign and nodded, “Right so we know where we are now, let’s take a look at the map and figure out where these places are.”
“What map?”
“The city map the chick behind the desk gave you.”
Frowning, Buffy looked through the papers the woman had given her. It didn’t take long. “There is no map.”
“Come on, she must have given you a map!”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Faith, I can’t see a map. Here,” she thrust the two pieces of paper at her girlfriend. “See if you can find one.”
“How can she not have given us a map?” Meticulously, Faith checked the top and bottom and front and back of each sheet in disbelief. “Doesn’t she get that we’re tourists? That’s why we need a freakin’ motel room in the first place.”
Buffy caught her arm before she could storm all the way back and demand one. Faith’s passion for carrying knives had landed her in prison back a long time ago, but she wasn’t above still twisting the occasional arm to get things done her way.
“Hey, let’s not. We can figure this out.” She gestured up at the sign. “The streets are numbered. How hard can it be?”
“I’m more worried how far it can be.”
Faith did look weary for someone who’d been glowing with health just a few hours ago. She was haggard and sweaty-looking despite the snow swirling in her face. “Are you . . .?” No, Faith would walk another twenty miles than admit any physical weakness. If Buffy hadn’t known that already Toni had said as much about their trip through Tartarus. “I mean, did you want to flag down a cab?”
“Then we really will be staying at that flea-pit. Just come on.”
They walked further down the street and turned at a cross-section, hoping they were heading the right way. If they were, one of the motels should be just two blocks away. The snow was settling fast now and they left inch thick footprints past terrace houses and large, upscale apartment complexes. Buffy gave Faith quick glances and was alarmed each time to see her panting lightly and holding her stomach. Was she in pain? Buffy felt worse about leaving the car lights on with every step she took, but each time she opened her mouth to say so she was convinced she could hear Faith growling under her breath.
“Looking on the brightside,” she said after another twenty minutes. “We’re sure to pass one of those motels by chance any second now. You know, with the law of averages and . . .” Buffy stopped abruptly when Faith did and wondered at the, uh, complicated look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t . . .” The sound of hissing steam overtook her words and Buffy looked down. “Oh, for fucks sake I am so done with pregnancy! Did I just fucking piss myself in the street?”
A nervous giggle escaped her, “Uh, not unless you were lying about going at the restaurant and, you know, turned into a racehorse.”
“What?!”
There was an uneven circle of steaming sidewalk showing in the snow between Faith’s feet that could only mean one thing.
“Faith, the baby’s coming.”
Series: Damned If I Don't, Damned If I Do.
Rating: R
Pairings: Buffy/Faith
Summary: Curses can pass from one generation to the next, even without biology involved.
The sound of the crash was fast replaced with a high pitched squawking noise. At first Buffy mistook it for sirens and panicked, until the flashing amber hazard lights clued her in. It was just a car alarm, blaring, screaming to the world that somebody had hit it hard, side-on.
It didn’t calm her panic as Buffy slipped and slid at speed around to the passenger side of her own car. “Faith! Faith, are you okay? Shit!” She nearly went down but saved herself with two hands on the lowered window. “Are you alright? Please tell me you’re not hurt?”
“I’m not hurt; don’t think I can say the same for our car. Or that car.”
Buffy yanked the door open and half fell inside to check Faith over for herself. If Faith was seriously wounded or, God forbid, the baby, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself.
“I said I’m fine,” Faith griped at the fussing as Buffy patted her over for any obvious injuries. “I saw what was coming and braced for it.”
Satisfied, Buffy finally had time to think. Straightening up, she surveyed the damage over the roof. Faith had been steering them out of a line of assorted vehicles parked parallel to the sidewalk. The late hour and poor weather had worked in their favor, meaning there was ample space in front and behind them to pull out. Only, when the engine had caught and roared to life their car had shot forward with a burst of speed that was too much for the snowy road conditions and Faith had obviously not been able to control it from the passenger seat because it had skidded not just forwards but sideways too.
Unfortunately the car they’d crunched into was the smaller of the two and now had a new hood ornament, which doubled as a wing ornament and a door ornament. And it looked permanent. Pity it hadn’t killed the alarm too; it was still shrieking and attracting passers-by that hadn’t already stopped at the initial crashing noise. People were no longer minding their own business, they were too busy paying attention to hers!
“Well if you saw it coming,” she snapped, feeling even more frazzled because of the on-lookers, “why didn’t you brake?”
Despite the tight interior, Faith skilfully spun the hilt of the broadsword in her hand so that it was pointing up instead of down. “Why do you think, huh?”
Buffy gulped and didn’t dare look down in case she split her chin open. “Witnesses!” she hissed, suddenly grateful they were there.
“No jury in the land would wanna convict me once I explained. So say it.”
“Say what?”
“You know. What’s that thing that’s the opposite of what you usually love saying to me?”
Now seeing where this was going, Buffy did her best to fight against it. “Um, don’t fuck me?”
Faith laughed but the sword stayed where it was. “Nuh-uh, try again.”
Buffy sighed. “You were right and I was wrong. My plan wasn’t of the good. Now put that sword away before one of us loses a head, or the cops show up.”
Still laughing, Faith did throw the weapon onto the floor in the back and then began the laborious task of getting out of the car and onto her feet.
“Be careful you don’t slip,” Buffy warned as she helped by pulling on her arm.
“I’m fine. I have a decade and a half of experience when it comes to walking on snow. Just grab my bag for me, will ya?”
Once Faith was out of the way Buffy did so. She didn’t know what they should do next, but they weren’t going anywhere in the car tonight - or probably ever again. By the time she’d shut the passenger door and locked the car with the fob Faith was already on the sidewalk and walking away.
“Faith, we can’t just leave the scene of an accident. It’s illegal!” She’d never be sure if she said that because she felt it or for the benefit of their audience, but it was enough for Faith to turn around and head back.
Digging around in her purse for a moment, she used a sleeve of her coat to wipe the snow from the windshield of the car they had accidentally totalled. When she’d finished Buffy could see she’d written a series of digits on it in crimson lipstick and the word ‘Sorry!’ beneath.
“Faith, that’s Giles’ phone number!” she reprimanded with a scandalized chuckle.
“So what? It’s his insurance anyway. Now come on, before the cops really do show up.”
Buffy followed her to the opposite sidewalk, trying to keep her face turned away from the gathered crowd. One woman didn’t take the hint and approached her anyway.
“Is your friend okay? She’s pregnant. Maybe I should call an ambulance.”
She thought about letting her. If her phone actually worked maybe Buffy could borrow it afterwards to check in, but she was sort of with Faith in wanting to get far away from the scene as soon as possible.
“Thank you, but my girlfriend assures me she’s fine.” Buffy gave her the bright ‘Yep, I’m gay’ smile she’d been mastering since she and Faith had become a real thing. “But I promise I’m going to make her see a doctor just as soon as I can find one.”
She was pretty sure the woman kept on talking, but that was okay because Buffy just kept on walking. She was faster than Faith now - not that she hadn’t always been! - and caught up with her easily by the end of the block.
“So now what?”
“Now I figure we break the rules a little and stay out past curfew.”
“Pretty much a given at this point.”
“Do you think you can sneak out for the whole night? Without your pops finding out and being mad?” Faith grinned and Buffy mentally pencilled ‘role-play’ into her mental log for when things got boring in the bedroom.
Actually, she probably shouldn’t wait that long, or they’d already be too old to get the full fun factor out of it.
“I think I’m prepared to risk it. For you. Why, what do you have in mind?”
“You. Me. A room in the best motel I can afford.”
“So a pretty sleazy one then?” she joked.
“Only if you want breakfast in the morning too.”
“Happy birthday to me,” Buffy sing-songed.
Faith bumped her shoulder. “Nah, we can find a nice one. We’ll just make it sleazy after we lock the door for the night.”
“Sounds perfect,” Buffy smiled. “Are you really sure you’re really okay though? After the thing.”
“Really, really. I’m fine and Junior is still bouncing off the walls like an asshole so I think he’s alright too. I don’t know what’s got him so antsy tonight, though. Feels like he’s snap-kicking my kidneys or some shit.” She rubbed the bottom of her back. “He’s got some power in his legs, that’s for sure.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Kinda.”
“Are you sure it’s not some other reason, like the . . .”
“B, I said we’re fine, didn’t I? For real, if I thought there was something wrong I’d be doing something about it.”
Buffy believed that so she let it drop. They passed a Mexican restaurant, a bar lit up like it was still Christmas and a late-opening coffee house that wafted delicious mocha-aromas around them when the door opened. The area being so lively made her hopeful that they would come across a motel soon and until then it was kind of nice walking with Faith through the gently falling snow. She reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze before lacing their fingers together.
Faith smiled at her and squeezed back, but said, “One word about this being romantic and I’m sleeping in that motel room alone. You can find a bench.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Buffy promised, before slyly whispering. “You know it is though.”
“Walking through the snow is not romantic.”
“It is! It’s pretty.”
“It’s not. It’s freezing.”
“It is! Did you know that every snow-flake is different? No two are the same.”
“And that’s what makes it romantic? Every piece of ice that falls on my face is different so I should feel more in love with you than I already do? That’s so full of crap.”
Buffy smiled. She didn’t need Faith to believe it, she’d just heard the proof for herself.
About twenty minutes later the snow wasn’t romantic anymore, even to her. The walking was keeping the shivers at bay, but she still felt cold right down to her toes.
“Do you think we’re going to find a motel soon?” she asked, pulling her hands into her sleeves and tucking them under her arms.
“Thought we’d have found one already. There’s motels and B and B’s all over this fuckin’ city, I don’t understand it.”
Buffy thought about Troy’s ability to control space and time and about how some demons could cloak their lairs. Then she thought about how they were in a part of Cleveland that she didn’t know, that had given over to residential neighbourhoods about three minutes after leaving the road of restaurants and bars behind. Perhaps it just wasn’t a very touristy area.
With that in mind, at the end of the next block she insisted they change direction. “There’s nothing around here. Let’s head back towards the lake.”
Faith didn’t grumble about it as they turned at the corner, until they’d walked another three blocks. “Are we going the right way?”
“I think so. How far were we from it at the restaurant?”
“About half a mile.”
They’d walked further than that, but most of it had been in the wrong direction. “Let’s just keep going.”
“Really? Are you forcing another of your plans on me?”
“Fine. You pick the next direction.”
Laughing, Faith shook her head, “No, it’s cool. Despite the universe advising me otherwise, I trust you.”
She was right to, because only a block later they saw a red neon sign for a motel with a flashing green ‘vacancies’ sign beneath it. They picked up the pace as they approached it. The office was right off the road and warm and most importantly, snow-free.
The woman behind the high desk smiled as they walked in, shaking snow from their hair and clothes. “It’s getting worse, huh?”
“Doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop anytime soon,” Faith agreed.
“You need two rooms or a twin?” the woman had swivelled her chair around to her computer already.
“A double, please?” Buffy said with her ‘Yep, I’m gay!’ smile again.
“Oh.”
“Do you have a problem with that?” She could feel Faith smirking at her but she didn’t care. She’d struggled to be out and proud with Toni; she refused to be the same way with the love of her life. “Will you not give us a double room?”
“No, it’s fine.” The woman was so busy on her computer now maybe she hadn’t heard right.
“We want a double so we can sleep together.” Okay, that was too much information. Her mom was turning in her grave. “It’s what we do, together, in beds and . . . What’s so funny?”
Faith was slapping her leg at Buffy’s apparently rib-tickling routine while the receptionist was smiling too. “You can have a double, no problem, but there’s only one left and it’s our most expensive.”
As Buffy came down from her Pride Parade for one, Faith pulled out her bank card. “That’s fine. It’s her birthday anyway.”
“Happy birthday!” The woman said to her, before taking Faith’s card and saying, “its $120. Just give me a minute to print out the paperwork.”
“Are you kidding me?” Faith snatched the card back so fast the woman continued typing for a few seconds before she realized it had gone. “For one night?”
“Like I said, it is our most expensive room.”
“We’ll take a twin.”
The woman nodded and tapped some more on her keyboard. She’d learnt fast because she said, “Our cheapest twin room available is $87.”
“How much for a single?”
More tapping. “$45.”
“That’s more like it. We’ll take it.”
“You’ll need two of them.”
“No, it’s cool. We’ve shared a single bed before.”
“Actually, funny story, we shared this tiny, single camp-bed one time and . . .”
She was happy to be interrupted, because what was she thinking? She couldn’t share those stories with a complete stranger! “I can’t let the both of you share a single room. I’m sorry but it’s company policy. Fire regulations and all that.”
“We’re not gonna start any fires! We just want to sleep!” Faith argued.
“I’m really sorry. Look, help yourselves to a hot drink and I’ll get you the addresses of some other motels in the area. They might have more rooms. We just packed out early because of the snow.”
It was a nice offer and their best option so Buffy coaxed Faith away from the desk to the drinks machine against the wall of the reception area. Still irate Faith demanded an expresso, so Buffy got her a hot chocolate and gestured for her to sit down on the red couch.
When she complained, Buffy said, “The baby is already jumpy, do you really want to feed him caffeine?”
Faith groaned, but accepted the cocoa and nursed the plastic cup between her hands.
They’d barely sipped at their drinks before the desk-woman was calling them back to hand over a short list of motels that were close by.
“This one definitely has rooms, I spoke to the manager just a little while ago, but they’re not much cheaper than we are. These two are budget, but they might already be fully booked because of the snow storm. This one is . . . honestly, personally I wouldn’t stay there, or let my dog stay there, but they only charge $15 dollars a night. If you’re that desperate just . . . sleep on top of the sheets with your clothes on.”
Buffy took the list and thanked her, because she really was trying to help. Faith was in a less grateful mood, but she wasn’t outright rude so Buffy let her be.
“Stay and finish your drinks if you want.”
“Thanks, but I think they’ll be better as hand warmers as we walk. Not that they’re not tasty!” she lied as she pulled on Faith’s arm to get her moving again. “And thanks for your hospitality,” she called back as an afterthought.
“What hospitality?” Faith pulled on her hand until she could comfortably trap Buffy’s arm under her own and then passed her hot chocolate to her other hand so that it wasn’t jiggled with every step she took. “In case you didn’t realize, she turned us out.”
“But not because we’re gay!” Buffy pointed out.
“Times sure are a-changing,” Faith drawled, earning herself a poke in the ribs - or roughly where her ribs were - that spilled her cocoa anyway.
They stopped in a bus shelter to check the list of motels. There were more than just the four the receptionist had mentioned and surely one of them had a vacancy. Christmas was over, there had to be room in at least one inn.
Faith glanced up at the bus stop sign and nodded, “Right so we know where we are now, let’s take a look at the map and figure out where these places are.”
“What map?”
“The city map the chick behind the desk gave you.”
Frowning, Buffy looked through the papers the woman had given her. It didn’t take long. “There is no map.”
“Come on, she must have given you a map!”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Faith, I can’t see a map. Here,” she thrust the two pieces of paper at her girlfriend. “See if you can find one.”
“How can she not have given us a map?” Meticulously, Faith checked the top and bottom and front and back of each sheet in disbelief. “Doesn’t she get that we’re tourists? That’s why we need a freakin’ motel room in the first place.”
Buffy caught her arm before she could storm all the way back and demand one. Faith’s passion for carrying knives had landed her in prison back a long time ago, but she wasn’t above still twisting the occasional arm to get things done her way.
“Hey, let’s not. We can figure this out.” She gestured up at the sign. “The streets are numbered. How hard can it be?”
“I’m more worried how far it can be.”
Faith did look weary for someone who’d been glowing with health just a few hours ago. She was haggard and sweaty-looking despite the snow swirling in her face. “Are you . . .?” No, Faith would walk another twenty miles than admit any physical weakness. If Buffy hadn’t known that already Toni had said as much about their trip through Tartarus. “I mean, did you want to flag down a cab?”
“Then we really will be staying at that flea-pit. Just come on.”
They walked further down the street and turned at a cross-section, hoping they were heading the right way. If they were, one of the motels should be just two blocks away. The snow was settling fast now and they left inch thick footprints past terrace houses and large, upscale apartment complexes. Buffy gave Faith quick glances and was alarmed each time to see her panting lightly and holding her stomach. Was she in pain? Buffy felt worse about leaving the car lights on with every step she took, but each time she opened her mouth to say so she was convinced she could hear Faith growling under her breath.
“Looking on the brightside,” she said after another twenty minutes. “We’re sure to pass one of those motels by chance any second now. You know, with the law of averages and . . .” Buffy stopped abruptly when Faith did and wondered at the, uh, complicated look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t . . .” The sound of hissing steam overtook her words and Buffy looked down. “Oh, for fucks sake I am so done with pregnancy! Did I just fucking piss myself in the street?”
A nervous giggle escaped her, “Uh, not unless you were lying about going at the restaurant and, you know, turned into a racehorse.”
“What?!”
There was an uneven circle of steaming sidewalk showing in the snow between Faith’s feet that could only mean one thing.
“Faith, the baby’s coming.”