Another Day - 29
Title: Another Day
Author: Snag
Rating: FR18
Crossover: Rescue Me
Pairing: Faith/Xander
Word Count: 1632
Disclaimer: Copyrighted characters are copyrighted. Property o' Joss Whedon and Denis Leary.
Summary: The firefighters of 62 Truck in the FDNY get a woman in their house. Is she more woman than they can handle?
Warning (if any): Strong language, adult situations, violence, graphic descriptions of burn victims, and gender, religious and racial epithets.This chapter: Loss, betrayal, wife stealin'.
Author's notes: Almost there, gang.
The quiet of the moment that Tommy had just experienced was rather rudely broken by both the front and back doors being violently rattled by another few demons trying to make their way inside.
"Sweet chrome plated Christ, they're like evil vacuum cleaner salesmen," Jerry grumbled as he and Robin went back to work.
"Except less cleaning, more ooze," Robin noted.
"That's what I like about you kid. Always findin' the bright side of things."
Faith grunted as she intercepted two demons at once, arms and legs whirling fiendishly as she worked to keep one demon off balance while getting a solid hit in on the other, than switching off. Seeing that the Slayer was occupied, a third smaller demon juked around her and tried to get to where the magic was happening.
Xander saw his cue and barreled into the smaller demon, knocking him back toward the front door so that it'd keep things clear until Faith could free up some time and pointy objects.
Hurriedly, Dawn began her final incantation.
"Final of the fallen,
Staying at your own behest.
See the eyes of our cousin,
Let your troubles off your, er, chest."
Tommy blinked. "Wait, what? What kind of magic spell was that?"
"It's more about the intent than the words!" Dawn hissed, embarrassed at being caught bobbling her lines. She walked around sprinkling more dust, this time creating a slight orange and yellow haze. Tommy felt uncomfortably like there was a fire nearby. Meanwhile, Mickey once more began to murmur in Latin.
A heavier breeze picked up, blowing everyone's hair around and making the candles flicker eerily. The haze coalesced and Jimmy Keefe's ghostly form took shape. He stood near to where Xander and the demon he'd picked off were still wrestling, arms folded and a death glare aimed at Tommy.
"So, couldn't deal with us by yourself, huh? You had to go and get the Ouija board and incense crowd involved." He squinted at the melee at the back door. "Holy shit. Chief?"
Jerry gave a growl of exertion as he buried his axe in the small of the demon's back, giving Robin the opening he needed to jab his knives into the demon's major organs in alphabetical order. He straightened up and saw Xander occupied. "You gonna be okay for a minute, kid?"
Robin nodded his assent. Jerry moved over to the scuffle on the floor. "Yeah, it's me Jimmy. Wouldja talk to Tommy already? I'm too old for this shit." He emphasized his feelings by spiking the pointy end of his halligan through the demon's hand, pinning it to the floor and freeing Xander up to do the cleanup. Jerry hefted his own axe in both hands and rejoined Robin at the back.
"Well Jimmy, as it turns out, I'm not just seeing ghosts and pink elephants because of drinking or PTSD. I'm being friggin' haunted." Tommy scowled. "By my own cousin, no less!"
"I hadda stay and make sure things were going to be okay! You made a promise Tommy!" Jimmy's voice went up a decibel or two. "You swore you'd keep an eye on my wife and kid! Make sure Sheila wasn't being chased by some other asshole firefighter, make sure Damien grows up into an okay kid!"
"Hey, I've been keeping tabs on Damien, okay pal?" Tommy jabbed a finger at Jimmy, his own voice rasing in volume as well. "He helped the family when we asked him to. When he was caught with pills in his room I sat him down and ripped him a new one. If he ever asks about going to probie school, I still got your god damn firefighter badge ready and waiting. Don't think I haven't been lookin' out for Damien, asshole!"
"Alright, fine, you pass on that one. And I appreciate it, cuz, I really do." Jimmy's face became a thundercloud. "Which doesn't explain why you decided to interpret 'taking care of Sheila' by starting from her vagina and working your way outward from there!"
"That's not what I meant to happen!"
"Then what did you mean to happen? 'Cause when I ghosted by your window, it sure looked like you were going above and beyond! Just because Janet wants a divorce doesn't give you the green light to start banging my wife!"
"Christ, Jimmy." Tommy folded his arms.
"Talk to him, Tommy," Dawn murmured softly. "He's not going to go away until you and him have it out."
Tommy looked at the floor and shook his head angrily. "You know, Jimmy, for the first year, she was inconsolable. It was like a shroud of grief, this wall that kept her from letting anyone get too near. Like she was afraid if she let it out, she'd forget about you."
Jimmy's angry expression softened slightly. "I remember."
"It wasn't until a year or two later that she would actually leave the house for anything other than shopping and family get-togethers. Then someone hit on her at a department Christmas party. Sheila freaked out and screamed for help, and I just about ripped that asshole's head off. Got myself suspended for two weeks, remember?"
"Yeah." Jimmy smiled at the memory. "You spent the whole two weeks drunk off your ass and proud as hell. I never figured being a ghost could be so much fun." Then Jimmy's expression resumed its anger. "Which is why it pisses me off beyond the telling of it that you'd sleep with Sheila yourself!"
"It's not like I woke up one morning and thought, 'hey, it'd really roast Jimmy's balls if I put it to Sheila', you jackoff!"
"Then what? What in the world could make you do something like that?"
Tommy's jaw clenched visibly, and he paced around the small circle he had to stay inside. "Sheila said she actually wanted to get dolled up and go out, have dinner, just the two of us to catch up. She hadn't said anything like that for so long, how could I say no?
"We ate at Luigi's, she had a bottle of wine, I stuck to ginger ale and the food and we just talked. About the divorce, about you, about Damien, the whole nine yards. We had a nice night, I drove her home, she said we should do this more often, like a regular thing." Tommy scratched his chin. "And then out of the blue, she kissed me."
"So why didn't you stop her?" Jimmy growled.
"At first, I was too surprised. Then later, when we talked again and things started happening, I just - I don't know. Of everyone we know, Sheila and I are the ones that knew you the best, Jimmy. The only people we can talk to about you is, y'know... each other. I can't speak for Sheila, but for me it's like-" Tommy chewed on his lip. When he began speaking again, his voice was unsteady. "It's like we're all we have left to remember you by. Us and Damien. And when we got closer, we got a little too close."
Jimmy's expression lost some of its anger. "So how're we gonna fix this, Tom?"
Tommy exhaled slowly. "Well, I dunno if you could see before, but I was talking to the guys before you. They said I should, y'know, stop being full of shit and do what I can to get Janet back. I'll still look after Sheila and Damien, I won't go back on that. But I'm gonna break things off with Sheila. It's what I gotta do to make things right. With her, with myself -" He swallowed and whispered, "-with you. You're the last one I wanted to hurt in all this, Jimmy."
"You think you can do that and still keep your promise?" Jimmy asked, his anger forgotten.
"I'll find a way to make it work."
Jimmy gave Tommy a long, long look as the fighting died down at the entrances to the house. "You promise? You'll make it work, keep Sheila in the loop and stay out of her bed?"
"I will, Jimmy. I swear," Tommy murmured.
"Alright. And you pull your head outta your ass and take care of your family too." Jimmy waited for Tommy's return nod before he actually cracked a smile. "Knew I could count on you, cuz. Keep your nose clean, yeah?"
"Yeah Jimmy, you bet."
Jimmy nodded and fiddled with his finger, the one that had been severed when he'd died. He looked to Mickey and gave a 'bring it on' gesture. "Let's have it Mick. I got places to go."
"Sure thing, Jimmy." Mickey looked like he was contemplating taking up drinking again, or at least heading for an abbey and not setting foot outside for a few years. He finished his words in Latin and began to sprinkle the holy water.
"Hey Jimmy?" Tommy called suddenly.
"Yeah Tommy?"
Tommy let out a shuddering breath. "I'll miss you."
"You'll see me again." Jimmy Keefe gave him a crooked smile and slowly faded from view.
The candles flared once, brightly, and then guttered out. The room was dark, and a few demon bodies were laying at the entrances to the room. Faith, Xander, Jerry and Robin all came back in the room, unsure of what to say.
Tommy shot a questioning look at Dawn and looked down at the circle. She nodded and waved him out. "So, what do you guys do after a night of ghost banishing."
Xander shrugged. "Pizza, movies, board games, clean up the bodies. You know, the usual."
"Pizza? I could eat." Tommy found he was suddenly starving.
"I'll order!" Dawn offered.
"No!" Xander, Faith and Robin all shouted in unison. As an aside to the others, Faith added, "She likes anchovies."
Tommy snorted. "Gah. And you thought I needed the exorcism?"
Author: Snag
Rating: FR18
Crossover: Rescue Me
Pairing: Faith/Xander
Word Count: 1632
Disclaimer: Copyrighted characters are copyrighted. Property o' Joss Whedon and Denis Leary.
Summary: The firefighters of 62 Truck in the FDNY get a woman in their house. Is she more woman than they can handle?
Warning (if any): Strong language, adult situations, violence, graphic descriptions of burn victims, and gender, religious and racial epithets.This chapter: Loss, betrayal, wife stealin'.
Author's notes: Almost there, gang.
The quiet of the moment that Tommy had just experienced was rather rudely broken by both the front and back doors being violently rattled by another few demons trying to make their way inside.
"Sweet chrome plated Christ, they're like evil vacuum cleaner salesmen," Jerry grumbled as he and Robin went back to work.
"Except less cleaning, more ooze," Robin noted.
"That's what I like about you kid. Always findin' the bright side of things."
Faith grunted as she intercepted two demons at once, arms and legs whirling fiendishly as she worked to keep one demon off balance while getting a solid hit in on the other, than switching off. Seeing that the Slayer was occupied, a third smaller demon juked around her and tried to get to where the magic was happening.
Xander saw his cue and barreled into the smaller demon, knocking him back toward the front door so that it'd keep things clear until Faith could free up some time and pointy objects.
Hurriedly, Dawn began her final incantation.
"Final of the fallen,
Staying at your own behest.
See the eyes of our cousin,
Let your troubles off your, er, chest."
Tommy blinked. "Wait, what? What kind of magic spell was that?"
"It's more about the intent than the words!" Dawn hissed, embarrassed at being caught bobbling her lines. She walked around sprinkling more dust, this time creating a slight orange and yellow haze. Tommy felt uncomfortably like there was a fire nearby. Meanwhile, Mickey once more began to murmur in Latin.
A heavier breeze picked up, blowing everyone's hair around and making the candles flicker eerily. The haze coalesced and Jimmy Keefe's ghostly form took shape. He stood near to where Xander and the demon he'd picked off were still wrestling, arms folded and a death glare aimed at Tommy.
"So, couldn't deal with us by yourself, huh? You had to go and get the Ouija board and incense crowd involved." He squinted at the melee at the back door. "Holy shit. Chief?"
Jerry gave a growl of exertion as he buried his axe in the small of the demon's back, giving Robin the opening he needed to jab his knives into the demon's major organs in alphabetical order. He straightened up and saw Xander occupied. "You gonna be okay for a minute, kid?"
Robin nodded his assent. Jerry moved over to the scuffle on the floor. "Yeah, it's me Jimmy. Wouldja talk to Tommy already? I'm too old for this shit." He emphasized his feelings by spiking the pointy end of his halligan through the demon's hand, pinning it to the floor and freeing Xander up to do the cleanup. Jerry hefted his own axe in both hands and rejoined Robin at the back.
"Well Jimmy, as it turns out, I'm not just seeing ghosts and pink elephants because of drinking or PTSD. I'm being friggin' haunted." Tommy scowled. "By my own cousin, no less!"
"I hadda stay and make sure things were going to be okay! You made a promise Tommy!" Jimmy's voice went up a decibel or two. "You swore you'd keep an eye on my wife and kid! Make sure Sheila wasn't being chased by some other asshole firefighter, make sure Damien grows up into an okay kid!"
"Hey, I've been keeping tabs on Damien, okay pal?" Tommy jabbed a finger at Jimmy, his own voice rasing in volume as well. "He helped the family when we asked him to. When he was caught with pills in his room I sat him down and ripped him a new one. If he ever asks about going to probie school, I still got your god damn firefighter badge ready and waiting. Don't think I haven't been lookin' out for Damien, asshole!"
"Alright, fine, you pass on that one. And I appreciate it, cuz, I really do." Jimmy's face became a thundercloud. "Which doesn't explain why you decided to interpret 'taking care of Sheila' by starting from her vagina and working your way outward from there!"
"That's not what I meant to happen!"
"Then what did you mean to happen? 'Cause when I ghosted by your window, it sure looked like you were going above and beyond! Just because Janet wants a divorce doesn't give you the green light to start banging my wife!"
"Christ, Jimmy." Tommy folded his arms.
"Talk to him, Tommy," Dawn murmured softly. "He's not going to go away until you and him have it out."
Tommy looked at the floor and shook his head angrily. "You know, Jimmy, for the first year, she was inconsolable. It was like a shroud of grief, this wall that kept her from letting anyone get too near. Like she was afraid if she let it out, she'd forget about you."
Jimmy's angry expression softened slightly. "I remember."
"It wasn't until a year or two later that she would actually leave the house for anything other than shopping and family get-togethers. Then someone hit on her at a department Christmas party. Sheila freaked out and screamed for help, and I just about ripped that asshole's head off. Got myself suspended for two weeks, remember?"
"Yeah." Jimmy smiled at the memory. "You spent the whole two weeks drunk off your ass and proud as hell. I never figured being a ghost could be so much fun." Then Jimmy's expression resumed its anger. "Which is why it pisses me off beyond the telling of it that you'd sleep with Sheila yourself!"
"It's not like I woke up one morning and thought, 'hey, it'd really roast Jimmy's balls if I put it to Sheila', you jackoff!"
"Then what? What in the world could make you do something like that?"
Tommy's jaw clenched visibly, and he paced around the small circle he had to stay inside. "Sheila said she actually wanted to get dolled up and go out, have dinner, just the two of us to catch up. She hadn't said anything like that for so long, how could I say no?
"We ate at Luigi's, she had a bottle of wine, I stuck to ginger ale and the food and we just talked. About the divorce, about you, about Damien, the whole nine yards. We had a nice night, I drove her home, she said we should do this more often, like a regular thing." Tommy scratched his chin. "And then out of the blue, she kissed me."
"So why didn't you stop her?" Jimmy growled.
"At first, I was too surprised. Then later, when we talked again and things started happening, I just - I don't know. Of everyone we know, Sheila and I are the ones that knew you the best, Jimmy. The only people we can talk to about you is, y'know... each other. I can't speak for Sheila, but for me it's like-" Tommy chewed on his lip. When he began speaking again, his voice was unsteady. "It's like we're all we have left to remember you by. Us and Damien. And when we got closer, we got a little too close."
Jimmy's expression lost some of its anger. "So how're we gonna fix this, Tom?"
Tommy exhaled slowly. "Well, I dunno if you could see before, but I was talking to the guys before you. They said I should, y'know, stop being full of shit and do what I can to get Janet back. I'll still look after Sheila and Damien, I won't go back on that. But I'm gonna break things off with Sheila. It's what I gotta do to make things right. With her, with myself -" He swallowed and whispered, "-with you. You're the last one I wanted to hurt in all this, Jimmy."
"You think you can do that and still keep your promise?" Jimmy asked, his anger forgotten.
"I'll find a way to make it work."
Jimmy gave Tommy a long, long look as the fighting died down at the entrances to the house. "You promise? You'll make it work, keep Sheila in the loop and stay out of her bed?"
"I will, Jimmy. I swear," Tommy murmured.
"Alright. And you pull your head outta your ass and take care of your family too." Jimmy waited for Tommy's return nod before he actually cracked a smile. "Knew I could count on you, cuz. Keep your nose clean, yeah?"
"Yeah Jimmy, you bet."
Jimmy nodded and fiddled with his finger, the one that had been severed when he'd died. He looked to Mickey and gave a 'bring it on' gesture. "Let's have it Mick. I got places to go."
"Sure thing, Jimmy." Mickey looked like he was contemplating taking up drinking again, or at least heading for an abbey and not setting foot outside for a few years. He finished his words in Latin and began to sprinkle the holy water.
"Hey Jimmy?" Tommy called suddenly.
"Yeah Tommy?"
Tommy let out a shuddering breath. "I'll miss you."
"You'll see me again." Jimmy Keefe gave him a crooked smile and slowly faded from view.
The candles flared once, brightly, and then guttered out. The room was dark, and a few demon bodies were laying at the entrances to the room. Faith, Xander, Jerry and Robin all came back in the room, unsure of what to say.
Tommy shot a questioning look at Dawn and looked down at the circle. She nodded and waved him out. "So, what do you guys do after a night of ghost banishing."
Xander shrugged. "Pizza, movies, board games, clean up the bodies. You know, the usual."
"Pizza? I could eat." Tommy found he was suddenly starving.
"I'll order!" Dawn offered.
"No!" Xander, Faith and Robin all shouted in unison. As an aside to the others, Faith added, "She likes anchovies."
Tommy snorted. "Gah. And you thought I needed the exorcism?"