Act 1
Starring:
Lacey Chabert as Skye Talisker
Guest Starring:
Evangeline Lilly as Marissa, Amanda Tapping as Dr. Regina Wagner and Michael Horse as Inspector Jimmy Osceola
Special Guest Starring:
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Fade In:
Int.
Watchers Council – Rowena’s Office – Morning
At the sound of a knock on her door, Rowena looked up.
“Come in,” she called. The door opened to reveal Andrew.
“Hi Andrew,” she said, motioning the sandy-haired young man to enter. “What’s up?”
“Um…” he stammered nervously as he stood in front of her desk. “I, uh… I kinda have a favor to ask.”
Rowena’s eyebrows rose. She stood and came around the desk to lead him over to the couch.
“Please,” she said, indicating he should sit next to her. Andrew did so. “Now, what can I do for you?”
“Well, I know it’s really short notice and all, but I was wondering if…” he paused, his eyes darting around the office at nearly everything except Rowena.
“Andrew,” she soothed. “It’s okay.”
Andrew took a deep breath. “Um, I’d like to have some time off next week and…”
Rowena’s lips curled up slightly and she bit her lip, as if to keep from laughing. “And with Valentine’s Day coming up, I’m guessing Tracey will be asking me for some time off, too?”
“No!” Andrew said with panic in his voice, finally looking at her. “I mean, yeah, but I haven’t asked her yet and I don’t know if she’ll say yes, but I know next week is her school’s break and she was looking forward to getting some extra hours in at the Council, but maybe she won’t wanna go and…”
“Wait, whoa! Slow down, Andy!” Rowena interrupted, placing a soothing hand on his arm as she laughed. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s just that every time we try to… you know…” His face blushed bright red as he added, “…have, like, private alone time, something always comes up. It’s either a crisis, or prankster slayers, or whatever. It’s frustrating, you know?”
Rowena grinned wryly. “Yeah, I can imagine. Well, okay, relate,” she said. “So you thought you’d take advantage of her time off from school to take her somewhere less Hellmouthy? Someplace more conducive to romance, eh?”
“Exactly!” he said in relief.
“I think that’s a very good idea. Of course you both can have time off,” Rowena said. “You haven’t had a vacation in years.”
“Oh, thanks Ro,” he said happily.
“Now,” she said, “next week is the full moon…will the Coven need you?”
“No,” he said. “Jeff did last month’s and Willow wants him to get in more practice before his initiation.”
“Good,” she nodded. “And is there anything the Council can do for you, like transportation?”
“No!” Andrew said emphatically. “I want this to be my Valentine’s gift to Tracey. I’ve got plenty from my savings to take care of everything.”
Rowena smiled. “That’s a wonderful gift, Andrew. Tracey’s a lucky girl.”
Andrew returned the smile and asked, “What are you getting for your lucky girl?”
“I have no idea,” Rowena said, rolling her eyes in frustration. “What does one get the witch who has everything?”
Andrew smirked and patted Rowena’s hand comfortingly. “I think she already has everything she needs.”
Rowena laughed as they both stood up.
“I’ve got lunch to get ready for, and then I need to start making reservations,” Andrew said. “Thanks again, Ro.”
Rowena sat down at her desk. “By the way, Andy,” she asked, “where are you taking her?”
Andrew turned around with one hand on the door handle.
“Orlando,” he told her, smiling, before heading out the door.
Rowena’s grin froze. “I thought he wanted less Hellmouthy?” she asked the empty room.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Robin’s Apartment – Same Tome
Robin was heading toward the front door when the phone rang. He swiveled agilely on his good leg and moved quickly over to pick it up.
“Hello?”
Cut To:
Int.
Hansen Residence – Same Time
“Hey, Big Slayer Brat,” Norman said happily into the phone. “How ya doin’?”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Robin’s Apartment – Same Time
“Hey, Lil’ Slayer Brat,” Robin replied, laughing at the boy’s imitation Boston accent. “I’m doin’ good. How ’bout yourself?”
Cut To:
Int.
Hanson Residence – Same Time
“Not bad,” Norman replied. “My dad and I went fishing before the sun came up today, and I caught a bass that was nearly a foot long!”
Cut To:
Int.
Robin’s Apartment – Same Time
“Wow! That’s a big ‘un,” Robin told the boy as he smiled. “What was that…about five, ten pounds?”
Cut To:
Int.
Hanson Residence – Same Time
Norman giggled. “No, silly!” he said. “It was barely two, but it was tough reeling it in. Mom’s cooking it up for lunch.”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Robin’s Apartment – Same Time
“That’s great, Norm,” Robin said. “Nothing tastes better than food you’ve caught yourself.”
Cut To:
Int.
Hanson Residence – Same Time
“So anyway, is Faith around?” Norman said. “I wanna send her a pic of the fish, but she hasn’t answered any of my emails recently, so I wanted to know where I could send it.”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Robin’s Apartment – Same Time
Robin paused. “Yeah, she’s out of town at the moment. Tell ya what, buddy…send it to RobinWood@clevelandcouncil.org and I’ll print it out and frame it for her for when she gets back. Okay?”
Cut To:
Int.
Hanson Residence – Same Time
“Yeah,” Norman replied. “But tell her to call me. Bye guy!”
“Goodbye, son,” Robin said, clicking off the phone. He rubbed a weary hand over his head.
Fade To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Xander’s Workshop – Later
Xander sat at his workbench, carving a small block of wood with his motor tool. His concentration was so intense that he didn’t notice Vi approach. The slayer watched him for a few minutes, her expression a combination of love and apprehension. Finally, Xander switched off his tool and glanced around, automatically checking the shop.
“Oh!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t hear you with the motor running.” He stood up and pulled his safety goggles off.
Vi smiled shakily. “Sorry to bother you, but I had Heli work with the squad while I took a break.”
“Great,” he said, returning her smile. “Wanna get some coffee? I could use the caffeine.”
“Yeah,” she said, hesitating before taking his hand.
As they walked from the shop, Vi asked, “So what were you working on?”
“Model for a new firing mechanism on the stake launcher,” he replied.
“No more jams?”
“Hope not.”
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Kitchen – Moments Later
Xander pulled two mugs from the cupboard and filled them from the coffee urn. Vi grabbed creamer from the refrigerator and they both hopped on adjacent stools at the island.
Xander automatically added sugar to Vi’s cup. She filled his with the cream. Xander smiled awkwardly and sipped his cup. He pulled a plate of cookies from the corner of the island and offered them to Vi. The slayer shook her head.
“No thanks,” Vi said. “The coffee is enough for me.”
Xander nodded and nibbled on a cookie.
Vi sighed. “This is hard, isn’t it?”
“What?” Xander asked.
Vi motioned between them. “Us. We used to talk more. Now…”
“Yeah,” Xander said miserably. “Vi…”
For the first time, Vi looked him in the eyes. “What?” she asked hopefully.
He met her look. “Can we…can we just get back to where we were? I’m tiptoeing around on eggshells here. I get the feeling I’m going to say something wrong or do something wrong again so…”
“It’s better to not say anything?” Vi asked.
“Exactly!” Xander said excitedly, before calming down. “Not that it’s a good thing, but…you understand.”
“Yeah, I do,” Vi replied. “I’m not mad, but sometimes I look at you and I wonder, do I know him like I think I do? …I’m not sure where we go from here, is all.”
“Forward is always good because reverse doesn’t work… Not unless those time travel movies I’ve watched with Andrew aren’t fictions but documentaries.” Vi gave him a light smile. “So… what do you say, ever forward?”
Vi’s eyes welled with tears. “I think…” She paused and reached out to take his hand. “I think we can try.”
Xander smiled, a hopeful look on his face. “It’s a start.”
Vi nodded and leaned forward until their lips matched softly.
“About time!” Tracey said, as she and Andrew walked into the kitchen.
Xander and Vi ignored the other couple and continued to kiss.
“I think they need a room almost as much as we do,” she whispered to Andrew. He giggled.
“Okay, okay,” Xander said, finally pulling away from his girlfriend. “Time to get back to work anyway.”
Vi shrugged apologetically at Tracey and Andrew and then downed the rest of her coffee in one slayer-sized swallow. “Meet ya at lunch?” she asked Xander.
“Uh, yeah about that,” Xander said, his features lighting up. “I’ve got some…uh, leftovers, yeah, lotsa leftovers in my apartment,” he said, pointedly not looking at anyone. “I can heat some up.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you can,” Vi answered, a smirk on her face. “I’ll see ya there.”
Xander’s eyebrows lifted up as he watched the slayer saunter out of the kitchen. His expression glazed over until Andrew cleared his throat.
“Oh, yeah,” Xander said, blushing. “Back to work.” He quickly left for his workshop.
“They look better,” Tracey commented as she started cleaning up. “I’m glad.”
“Um, me too,” Andrew said distractedly. He reached for Xander’s empty mug, but his hand twitched nervously and it flew off the island, shattering on the floor.
Tracey turned around at the sound and asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Andrew said, bending down to pick up the shards. Tracey reached under the sink and pulled out a whisk broom and dustpan. She kneeled down to start sweeping the fragments. “Careful,” she said.
“I’m okay,” Andrew said. “That was a dumb thing to do.”
“Nah, it happens,” Tracey said.
“Tracey?” Andrew asked.
She looked up at his tone. “Andy, you okay?” she asked worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said, taking the dustpan and broom from her. “Great, in fact. Tracey, will you…” He faltered again.
“It’s all right, Andy,” she said, taking his hand.
He took a deep breath. “Would you like to go away with me?” he said in a rush.
She blinked, as if trying to decipher his words. “Go away?” she asked, confused.
“Yeah,” he said, taking a deep breath. “For your break,” he explained. “I thought maybe we could fly down to Florida and spend a couple of days at Universal Studios. They’ve got great rides and movie attractions and a real working studio and…”
“And hotel rooms?” Tracey said in a sultry voice.
Andrew blushed. “Yeah, and restaurants and shops and…”
“And private hotel rooms?” Tracey said, moving forward on her knees until her body was pressed up against his. Andrew gasped at the contact.
“Uh huh,” he whispered. “With no noisy slayers or-or well-meaning friends and Council duties and stuff.”
“Umm,” Tracey said, putting her arms around Andrew and pulling him even closer. “I like the sound of that,” she said, nuzzling his neck. “When do we leave?”
“You mean, you wanna go?” he said, surprised.
“Of course,” she said. “A few days in the sun with my luscious boyfriend? I am so on board.”
“Good…great!” he said excitedly, wiggling in happiness. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you,” Tracey said. “No one’s ever given me such a romantic gift for Valentine’s Day, Andrew. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.” Her eyes darkened. “And I can’t wait to show you how much I appreciate it.”
Andrew groaned as she licked a path up his neck and took his earlobe into her mouth. His head fell back and his eyes rolled up until they met the angry face of Robin Wood.
“Not again!” the tall man exclaimed.
“It’s not what you think,” Andrew said, as he and Tracey quickly rose up.
A slight cough from the doorway made them all turn in the same direction to see Faith standing there.
“How’s it going?” she asked casually.
“Faith!” Andrew explained. “Oh, thank God you’re back. How was the ride home? Did you manage to save your bike or will you –?” Andrew suddenly stopped his rambling and looked at Robin, who was staring silently at Faith. “Uh, Tracey and I need to get some more supplies…We’ll be downstairs,” he said, tugging Tracey by the arm to follow him.
Faith walked deeper into the room, and Robin held his ground.
“Your son called today,” he said evenly. “He said he’s tried to email you and got no answer. I told him you were out of town and would get back in touch.”
“He okay?” Faith asked.
“Do you care?” Robin replied.
“Of course I care,” she answered. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t’ve asked.”
“Sorry,” he said, holding up his hands. “I’m still just a little…”
“Pissed?” Faith offered. “I don’t blame you, Ace. If you bailed on me, I’d be pretty ticked too. All I can say is, I’m sorry, and hope that’s enough.”
“How about you’re sorry and it won’t happen again?”
“How about I’m sorry and I’ll try not to let it happen again…I don’t want to make promises I might not keep.”
The pair looked at each other for a long moment.
“So this return is only temporary then?” Robin asked. “I thought you said you changed your mind about leaving?”
“I have,” Faith answered. “I made a dumb move for a dumb reason. But I can’t say I won’t ever make a stupid decision again. Given my track record, chances are I will. All I can promise is that I’ll try to think it through more…and I hope that’s enough.”
Robin folded his arms across his chest. “I’m gonna ask, and I want an honest answer, do you give a damn about me; about us?”
“That’s one of the reasons I’m standing here,” Faith answered defensively. “Look, I don’t want to fight about this right now. Can we just go so I can get my lickin’ from Blondie and then call it a day? You can beat me up later, after I’ve had a shower and a change of clothes. I’m gettin’ pretty ripe at this point.”
“Fine,” Robin answered. “Go upstairs and get changed. I’ll call a meeting together. Just go to the conference room after you’re finished.”
Without saying more, he turned and left. Faith breathed out slowly as she watched him leave.
Fade To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Lobby – Later that Day
Faith walked out of the walkway from the Slayer Wing to see Robin standing outside the conference room. She halted her steps for a moment before continuing on.
“You ready?” he asked her.
She only nodded and he opened the door.
All eyes inside the conference turned to the open door to see Robin standing there, motioning with his hand. Seconds later, Faith stepped through.
“Hey gang,” she said casually, although her physical presence lacked confidence.
At first, no one said anything.
“So…” Willow said nervously. “Anybody read any good books lately?”
Faith stopped and gave a small grin. “Things are tense right now, I know,” she began, “so let me start off with, I’m sorry to everyone in this room, for one reason or another.”
“Me too?” Kennedy asked.
“Especially you,” Faith answered honestly.
Kennedy let out a ragged sigh and Rowena put a hand on Kennedy’s shoulder, almost as if to keep her steady. Faith walked deeper into the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone in particular. On one side sat Kennedy, Willow and Rowena. Robin pulled out a chair for Faith and she sat down. As Robin reached for a chair himself, Rowena’s voice stopped him.
“Don’t bother sitting down, Robin.” He looked confused. “I’m calling a closed meeting between myself and Miss Lehane, and I’d like everyone to leave.”
“You can’t do that,” Kennedy answered. looking sharply at Rowena.
“Technically, she can,” Willow replied.
“What?” Kennedy asked.
“It’s in the by-laws,” Willow continued. “Any Division Head can close door a meeting with another Council member.” Kennedy slumped back in her seat, but Willow went on. “However, any other Division Head can challenge the reasoning…so… the Coven respectfully requests, why the closed meeting? I think we’d all be interested in hearing what Faith has to say.”
All eyes turned again to Faith. She fidgeted in her seat under the scrutiny.
Black Out
End of Act One