Faith held Tru's hand as she put down her bag. She lifted her free hand and knocked on Zac's door, waiting patiently for him to open it.
Her hand dropped from the door and ran through her hair, raking the ringlets out of her eyes.
Tru rested her head against her mother's leather clad legs and yawned slightly.
"This is where Daddy lives?" Tru asked sleepily.
"Yep, and you can meet your brothers and sisters," Faith replied.
"However many there might be now. I've been gone for like 4 months, who knows how many more women got pregnant in that time span," she thought dryly.
Zac
Zac heard the knocking at the door.
"Oh darn," he said, as Dee Dee was in his arms, thus making door answering slightly awkward.
"I'll take her," Ella said, sliently appearing in the room.
"Oh, thank you," Zac smiled.
Ella nodded, and took up Dee Dee. Zac trotted to the front door and peered out the window before he opened it.
"Hey..." he said softly.
Faith and Tru
"Hey," Faith replied.
"Hiya!" Tru chirped.
"Zac, this is Tru. Uh, can I come in?"
Zac
"Uhh, sure," Zac said.
He stepped inside and held the door open so they could come in.
"Hi Tru."
Faith and Tru
Faith stepped in, Tru by her side.
"Hi Dad," Tru said happily.
Faith shook her head, smiling.
"Yeah, this is your daughter. Accelerated time in hell dimensions and all that stuff. You know me. Impatient."
Tru reached up with her arms to hug Zac.
"Hug?" she asked timidly.
Zac
Zac smiled and bent down to give Tru a hug.
"It's good to see you," he said, then glanced up at Faith. "Both of you."
Faith and Tru
Faith smiled.
"How've you been?"
Tru clapped happily.
"It's nice to meet you."
Zac and Saku
"I've been good," Zac grinned.
He studied Tru thoughtfully for a moment.
"You look just like your mother," he commented admiringly.
"Faith!" shouted Saku, racing into the room.
He promptly latched onto her legs and nuzzled his face against her knee.
"Hey who's that?"
"This is your sister, Tru. Tru, this is Saku," Zac said.
Faith and Tru
"Hey gorgeous," Faith said to Saku.
"Nah, I reckon she's got your hair. And eyes."
Tru grinned at Saku.
"Hiya Saku."
Zac and Saku
"Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi!" Saku grinned. "Oooh... oooh shoelace!"
Saku let go of Faith's leg and pounced on Zac's shoelace.
"Ow! Saku, kindly restarin yourself from attacking my shoe."
"Not your shoe. Your shoelace. Aha!"
"It's not even moving. Why are you pouncing on it?"
"Umm, because?"
"You'll have to excuse Saku, Tru," Zac said. "He's a werecat. Or is that a weredathrian? It's hard to tell."
Faith and Tru
Faith laughed.
"He's cute, and if he wants to eat shoelaces, let him."
She promptly lifted Saku up and spun him around gently.
"Stop picking on your dad. He's not as tough as you and me."
Tru grinned.
"Or me!"
Zac and Saku
Saku giggled.
"Don't wanna eat shoelaces, just wanna chase them," he said.
"And what's this about me not being tough?" Zac demanded, then gave Faith a pathetic look.
Faith and Tru
"Oh, you're very... tough... yeah..." Faith said, nodding.
"Really."
Tru giggled.
Zac and Saku
"Hmph," Zac pouted.
"I taught him everything he knows," Saku giggled.
Zac chuckled.
"Sooner or later, Tru, you will see Saku's uber pout of death," Zac nodded.
Tru
"It won't work on me."
Tru stuck her tongue out.
Zac and Saku
"Is that a challenge?" Saku said, giving her a wild look.
"Here it comes," Zac nodded to Faith.
"'Cause I think it is! Just you wait, once I have something to pout about, you'll melt."
Saku giggled evilly.
Tru and Faith
"Maybe, but I bet I can beat you up," Tru replied, nodding.
"So anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to mind this bundle of joy for awhile," Faith said to Zac.
Zac ans Saku
"I bet you can't!" Saku replied.
"Yeah, I think I can do that," Zac said. "She have any furniture or toys or whatever I need to know about?"
Faith and Tru
"Nah, I haven't had a lot of time to get her heaps of stuff," Faith said, handing Tru's bag to Zac.
"She's a shapeshifter. Oh and she has Slayer senses and strength."
Tru grinned.
"Bet I could."
Zac and Saku
"Okay, well, I guess an excuse to go shopping for stuff. Or at least an excuse to send certain female friends of mine shopping for 'cute stuff'," Zac joked. "Sooo a shapeshifting slayer? This should be interesting."
"Bet you can't!" Saku shouted.
Faith and Tru
"So, how many pregnant now?" Faith asked.
Tru grabbed Saku's arm and pinned it easily behind his back.
"So can."
Zac and Saku
"Just two, well, that I know of. Oh, but I found out that I had a three month old son the other day. Name's Brett and he lives with his mother in Boston," Zac said.
"Can not!" and Saku promptly sprayed her with a heavy stream of water by way of hydrokinesis.
"Make sure you clean that up, Saku," Zac warned.
Faith and Tru
Faith nodded.
"Fair enough. You're letting me down though. Only two, and it's been... what... 3 months?"
Tru's eyes twinkled cheekily.
"Hmm, Saku, how about we quit fighting and put our powers to better use."
Zac and Saku
"I said 'that I know of'," Zac nodded. "And if it makes you feel better, I've actually gotten married. I don't know if you've heard... we had a new race of aliens join us at the station. The Adigei. Anyway, the more spouses and children you have, the higher up in society you are. So I'm like, the cream of the crop."
"Yeah? Like what?" Saku asked.
Faith and Tru
"Well, at least you're good for something," Faith said.
She nodded and grinned.
Tru giggled.
"We could... play tricks on the neighbours!"
Zac and Saku
"I like to think I'm good for a few things," Zac said. "Anyway, apparently, me being so high up in society makes me very desiable for Adigeian women. So, purely out of diplomacy mind you, I got married to a girl named Sari-Lyka. I say that because I hardly know the girl and she never writes to me or anything."
Zac look put out.
"Yeah!" Saku said gleefully.
Faith and Tru
"Have you even seen her before?" Faith asked.
Tru grabbed Saku's hand and led him outside.
"Ok, which neighbours should we attack first?"
Zac and Saku
"Oh, yeah," Zac nodded. "In any case, they're polygomus, and their word for 'sex' is the same as 'marriage'. Soooooo by their law, I have heaps of wives, and they don't have a word for 'divorce' either, so we're still married."
Then Zac bit his lip, wondering if he should have said that.
"Hmm... those ones," Saku pointed. "They smell funny. And they have dogs."
Faith and Tru
Faith laughed.
"Ah well, who cares. It's just a word, right?"
Tru clapped.
"Ok, let's do it."
Zac and Saku
"Yes, yes it is," Zac smiled, somewhat relieved. "Hey, ya wanna stay for dinner?"
"This way!" Saku said, leading the way out the door, and then went to the fence, and peered through to next door.
A rather large woman was putting washing up on the line.
"See? There are the ugly doggies," Saku pointed. "And there's the big fat smelliest one."
Faith and Tru
"Yeah, sure, why not? I've got nowehere else to be anyway," Faith replied.
Tru nodded.
"Ok, as soon as she's done, you use your hydrokinesis to make the yard muddy. I'm gonna shift into a dog and kick mud onto the clothes. I'll deal with the real dogs somehow."
Zac and Saku
"Great," Zac smiled. "We were going to have pasta with a creamy, chicken sause. That okay with you?"
"Okay," Saku agreed. "Hey... can I hit them with fireballs? That'll make them hot dogs!"
He laughed at his own joke.
Faith and Tru
"Yeah, that's cool," Faith replied.
She looked out the window and noted it was getting dark.
"I might do a quick patrol, then I'll be back, ok?"
Tru giggled.
Zac and Saku
"Okay," Zac nodded.
"Goody, she's gone in," Saku smiled broadly.
He sent his hydrokinesis to work, soaking the ground.
Faith and Tru
Faith took her jacket off and stretched her arms out, cracking her elbows, then her wrists.
"Ok, I'll be back once I've killed something."
She saluted and left.
Tru shifted into a dog and went about kicking up the mud and digging holes and the like.
Zac and Saku
Zac chuckled, then headed upstairs to get a room ready for Tru.
The neighbours dogs started coughing up at fuss at Tru. So Saku promptly decided to turn into a cat. He wandered into the yard, pounced on one of the dogs and scratched him.
Then he jumped up onto the top of the fence where the dog couldn't avenge himself.
Faith and Tru
Faith walked around, lazily scanning for demonic activity.
Tru barked and then shifted into a monkey, and promptly started making mischief.
Saku
The woman of the house, heard the noise and yelled out the window.
"Quiet you samn dogs!"
Saku hissed at the dogs and drenched them with water.
Faith and Tru
Faith killed a few demons and headed back to the house.
Tru shifted back to human form as she and Saku headed back to Zac's house.
"Hehe, we're muddy."
Zac and Saku
Saku grinned.
"Yep we are," he exhulted.
"And you two will get unmuddy before dinner," Ella said, appearing in front of them.
Somehow, unbeknownst to Saku, despite her wispy voice, Ella seemed to command some sort of authority.
"Okay."
Zac wandered back downstairs and started organising dinner.
Tru and Faith
"Damn," Tru muttered.
"I like mud."
Faith knocked on the door, stretching her arms.
Saku and Zac
Saku considered for a moment, then drenched both he and Tru in water.
"Will this do?" he asked Ella, charmingly.
Ella sighed.
"Now you can get dry. With towels. Inside, please."
Zac checked that he could leave the kicthen for a moment, then hurried to the front door.
"Hi, Faithy," he said cheerfully. "Come in. I'm just cooking dinner."
Tru and Faith
"Adults," Tru muttered.
Faith came in and took her jacket off.
"Cool."
Zac and Saku
"Yeah," Saku muttered.
Ella lead the two inside and gave them towels.
Zac headed back into the kitchen and stirred the sause.
"Almost done," he said.
Tru and Faith
"Is she mean?" Tru asked, towelling her hair off, then shifting into another version of herself, just with green eyes, and a clean dry outfit on.
"Cool. I might go check on Tru," Faith said, before going to do just that.
Zac and Saku
"Aww... she's... she's strict, but she isn't mean," Saku replied, after some thought.
"Okay," Zac called after her.
He opened up the cupboard and pulled out some soup/salad bowls, which he had found rather useful for pasta dishes.
Tru and Faith
"Ok, cool," Tru said, tying her hair back.
Faith walked in and lifted Tru up from behind.
"You guys behaving? Dinner's nearly ready."
Zac and Saku
"Like angels," Saku smiled mischeviously.
"Dinner's ready!" Zac hollared.
Ella brought Dee Dee down and settled her in her high chair before obtaining some food suitable for the 4 month old.
Faith and Tru
Faith eyed Saku suspiciously as they went to go get dinner.
Tru giggled and skipped ahead.
Zac and Saku
Saku ponked down on his seat as Zac put the plates on the table.
"2, 4, 6, 8! Bog in, don't wait!" Saku declared.
And promplty dug into his dinner.
Tru and Faith
Tru giggled as she climbed into her seat.
Faith shook her head slightly.
"So, how's the music thing going?"
Zac and Saku
"We're at a bit of a standstill at the moment," Zac admitted. "But hoping to go on tour again soon."
Saku swallowed.
"Mmmmmmmm chickennnnnnn," he said happily.
He gobbled down some more.
"Careful you don't choke," Zac advised.
Tru and Faith
"Yeah, coz if you barf, I'd like to be elsewhere," Tru said.
"Although it would be funny."
Faith looked at Zac.
"That gross streak, I assume she got from you."
Zac and Saku
Zac chuckled.
"Could be," he said evilly.
Saku started to laugh, then had to stop himself choking, and spat out his pasta before it came out his nose.
Tru and Faith
Tru snickered.
"So... what else is new?" Faith asked, eating some pasta.
Zac and Saku
"Umm, lemme see..." Zac began.
"I learnt a new twick!" Saku said enthusiatically. "Watch!"
Saku stuck his tongue out, narrowed his eyes in concentration and shot a little fireball at a fly that that been flying around the room.
"Saku... what have I told you about throwing fireball around the house?"
"But... but Daddy! Throwing fireballs at," and here Zac joined in with Saku, "insects is fun!"
Saku gave Zacn an appealing look.
Faith and Tru
"So, you probably need to fireproof the house, yeah?" Faith asked, taking a sip of water.
Tru giggled.
"You could so set people on fire!"
Zac and Saku
Saku laughed evilly.
"He had better not," Zac said warningly.
Saku grinned, then dug back into his pasta as his reply.
Tru and Faith
"We can do that later," Tru whispered to Saku.
"No you won't," Faith said, enhanced senses catching what she said.
Zac and Saku
"No... we won't..." Saku said innocently.
"Saku..." Zac said warningly.
Saku gave Zac his doe-eyed look.
"No."
Pause.
"I mean it, no."
Longer pause.
"That look no longer works on me, Saku."
"Drat."
Tru and Faith
Tru grinned at Saku.
"We'll talk about it later," she whispered, so only Saku could hear.
Faith eyed her daughter suspiciously, then focused on Zac again.
Zac and Saku
"So," Zac said. "How's the slaying business coming?"
Saku hid his silly grin behind his hand.
Faith and Tru
"Ah, you know, evil pops up, chaos ensues, I undo it, life goes back to normal," Faith replied, shrugging.
Tru ate more pasta while giggling.
Zac and Saku
"Same old, same old then?" Zac asked.
"Can I have seconds?" Saku asked.
Zac looked at Saku, glanced at his empty plate, then back at Saku.
"You really love this pasta don't you?"
Saku nodded.
"Yeah, okay."
Faith and Tru
Faith nodded and finished off her pasta.
"So I'll probably be leaving Tru here for a few weeks," she said.
Tru looked up, hearing her name, then went back to munching on her pasta.
Saku and Zac
"Okay," Zac nodded.
"You're gonna stay?" Saku beamed at Tru. "Yay!"
And then prompty dug into his seconds.
Tru and Faith
"Yep, while mommy goes with Uncle Angel," Tru said, nodding.
Faith shrugged slightly.
"Just for a bit."
Zac and Saku
"Angel, huh?" Zac asked with raised eyebrows.
"Ooooooh," Saku giggled. "Goody, this means we can play together. 'Cause Dee Dee is too little for me to play with her yet."
He nodded.
Faith and Tru
Faith laughed.
"No, it's not like that. I quit the Watchers Council, and Angel's gonna take me to different countries to study different fighting techniques and stuff. It's more a business trip rather than a holiday."
Tru grinned.
"We can cause heaps of trouble."
Zac and Saku
"But you're still gonna have a ball," Zac grinned.
"Trouble is fun," Saku agreed.
"Ahem," Ella said in her wispy voice.
Saku gave his nanny a look of innocence.
Faith and Tru
Faith grinned.
"Maybe."
Tru giggled.
Zac and Saku
Zac stood up and started gathering the plates.
"Anyone up for dessert?" he asked.
"Me!" Saku declared happily.
Faith and Tru
Faith got up and helped Zac, following him into the kitchen.
"Whoo, sugar high," Tru said, nudging Saku.
Zac and Saku
"Thanks," Zac said to Faith. "Hey, there isn't anything else I should know about Tru? Allergies? Bedtimes? Homocidial tendancies?"
"Sugar is good," Saku agreed.
Faith and Tru
"Um... nothing really. She's just kinda strong for a three year old. Oh and she's kinda like I was as a kid, so she's extremely hyper," Faith said, grinning.
"Good luck putting her to bed."
Tru bounced in her seat.
"So what can we do now? Seeing as we so won't be able to leave the house."
Zac and Saku
"Okay, thanks for the warning," Zac nodded. "I'll be sure Ella knows too."
He started serving the ice cream for everyone.
"Ummmmmm..." Saku considered. "Scratch the scratching post? Oh... you're not a cat. You're not even a werecat, so you can't do that..."
Faith and Tru
Faith leant against the counter, looking out the window.
"How's the house?"
Tru grinned.
"Silly. You forget I'm a shapeshifter."
Zac and Saku
"Is good," Zac nodded. "Master bedroom gets a little lonely sometimes."
He shook his head, wondering why he said that.
"I'm thinking of turning the room you had for a gym into a studio."
"Oooooh yeah!" Saku beamed. "Brilliant! Because scratching the scratching post is really fun! And, and, and there's a little mouse, albeit a pretend one, that hangs down, and I love playing with that. And pretending it's real. Although, a real mouse would never dangle like that, but I don't care because I like dangling things. Such fun targets..."
Faith and Tru
"Was that a hint?"
Faith laughed slightly.
"Yeah, go for it. I should move all my stuff into my new place. I'm living in New York at the moment, but I'm thinking of moving to LA."
Tru grinned.
"Fun."
Zac and Saku
"Cool," Zac nodded.
He picked up the bowls of ice cream and started taking them out to the dining room.
"Ice cream!" Saku cried happily. "Mmm... creamy goodness... I like creamy stuff. Do you like creamy stuff?"
Faith and Tru
Faith picked up a few bowls and followed him out.
"Mmmm."
Tru giggled.
"It may just be both mom and dad coming out in me, but I found that statement funny."
Zac and Saku
"Hehe, well, I didn't mean it like that..." Saku giggled.
"Should I be concerned that my children have dirty minds at this age?" Zac mused.
Faith and Tru
"Nah, they are your kids."
Faith shrugged.
"Ok, well, I should probably get going, people, places and all that shit," she said.
Tru climbed out of her seat and wriggled into Faith's lap.
"Come back soon."
Zac and Saku
"Okay, well, I guess I'll talk to you later then," Zac said, getting up to walk Faith to the door.
"Bye bye Faithster!" Saku said, waving enthusicastically.
Faith and Tru
Faith kissed Tru's head.
"Be good."
She punched Zac's arm playfully.
"You too. See ya guys."
And with that, she was gone.