Happy Development
by Whedonist
Old Chinese Blessing
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Chapter 13 — Old Chinese Blessing
River pressed the cold compress to Faith's forehead. She had been watching the slayer sleep for about two hours now and every now and again would get images from the dreams she was having. The images caused a small tendril of sadness to seep through River. She and the slayer had been getting close and River was certain that sure being a government's toy wasn't tons of fun, but the things Faith had been through made her ordeal look like a holiday. River was pulled from her internal musing by the feeling of someone watching her. She smiled down at Faith as the brunette woke up.
Faith woke up to the sensation of a cold rag pressed to her forehead and a sticky mouth that she was sure contained remnants of some demon that had exploded. She let one eye flutter open and was greeted with a smiling River Tam.
"You ingested a tad too much fermented grain." River offered by way of explanation.
Faith's voice was scratchier than usual, "I get that. Ugh, what time is it?"
"8 ish. We, well, Buffy decided that you needed to "sleep it off"."
"So I take it everyone's gone?" Although the slayer wasn't needed for the plan she was supposed to be acting as muscle if the need arose.
"It's just you me and Inara, but Inara is sleeping it off too." River scooted closer and removed the cloth. "Thirsty?"
Faith nodded and was immediately offered a cup of water, "Thanks. Why didn't you go?"
"I...they said you would need someone here with you and I wouldn't be of use to them. Better to stay and offer comfort."
Faith sat up completely and moved to get up, "I'm going to go shower. You want to grab breakfast after and fill me in on the what."
River nodded and Faith left to shower. The brunette slayer started the water in the shower and tried to remember what all had happened last night. Mid-shampoo, her face dropped as she remembered the last words she said to Buffy before passing out. Groaning Faith steeled herself for the blowout with Buffy that was sure to come as soon as they had a moment for the blonde to beat her up. With any luck, Faith mused, she would be able to talk her way out of it and if things had gone the way she hoped they had maybe just maybe she could prevent Red from turning her into something squishy and gross.
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Willow checked her rearview mirror one last time before pulling into the main entrance of Lockheed Martin. Mal and Xander were following her and she gave a slight wave before pulling up to the security post. She rolled the van window down and handed the guard her and Buffy's ID and the paperwork allowing clearance for the rig behind them.
The guard took some time running their information and Willow began to get more nervous, "Uh, is everything ok?"
The guard, who looked to be in his late forties, smiled, "Just double checking. I haven't seen you two before. Everything is clear though. You ladies have a nice a day." He passed the ID's back and the gate slid open. The guard waved the truck through and Willow heaved a sigh of relief as she saw Xander pull up behind her.
Willow looked down at the map of the offices and began moving towards the back of the building. According to the layout, the storage facilities took up a large portion of the back of the property. She then looked over at a grinning Buffy and couldn't help the silly smile that came over her. Last night had been one of the best of the witch's life. The blonde had seriously rocked her world and Willow couldn't wait to get back to the house in New Mexico to repay the favor. Waking up wrapped securely in Buffy's arms, Willow had felt her world shift; the pieces of her life fell into place. It had been an excellent feeling after the uncertainty that seemed to be a constant in the wake of Tara's death.
Buffy reached out and took Willow's hand. Giving it a firm squeeze, she said, "So how long will this take and do you need me to say anything?"
Willow shook her head, "I don't know not more than an hour tops. You and undercover? No that's ok. I'll do the talking you just play my assistant and we should be okay."
"Okee dokee." Buffy lapsed back into silence and waited. They drove for a few more minutes passing different warehouses finally stopping by the side one. Willow switched off the van and got out grabbing a clipboard.
"Come on Buff." She turned and went over to Xander who had shut the
Peterbilt down and got out of the truck. "You three don't talk unless I say something to you and for goddess sake Xander no pirate jokes if they ask about your eye."
Xander just grinned and elbowed Mal, "She hates the pirate ones. But I ask you this, besides the X-men reference or the occasional Bond joke, pirates are all I got, what else are you going use?"
Mal shrugged, "Uh, Bond?"
"Bond. James Bond? You know the super spy? Never mind. Jeeze if you don't know who Bond is the future is not something I'm going to partake in."
"Xander..." Buffy let the warning trail off and the man shut up.
"Okay everyone ready?" Willow straightened her shoulders and prepared herself.
Willow looked around at the massive compound. Aluminum sided storage facilities were lined in rows and from what she could discern she counted a total of 24. Hoping her Intel was correct; she walked through the door and stopped at the front desk. The desk was occupied by an odd looking man, middle aged with a bulbous nose and thick eyebrows. Willow idly thought he looked like a distorted version of Robin Williams. He stood and smiled in greeting extending his hand, "Hi there, what can I help you lovely ladies out with today?"
Willow smiled and shook a sweaty palm, "Hi, I'm Doctor Rosenbaum with NASA. I've got paperwork here to pick up," Willow looked down at the forged invoice, "Half ton drum of carbon nano-tubing." She removed the invoice from her clipboard and handed the slip over to the man.
He took the offered piece of paper and looked it over. Willow shifted on her feet and waited. The man, whose name patch read Jack, settled behind the desk and started typing away at the computer. As he was looking over the monitor, Jack said, "Don't see many of you types coming in to pick up orders like this. Special project?"
"Uh yeah. I'm meeting a few people in the main offices and since my delivery guys are outside I thought I'd pop in and take care of it myself." The witch smiled nervously.
He looked up and grinned at the "doctor", "Smart. Some of the guys that come through here don't know the difference between what you got here and spaghetti."
Willow laughed, "That was kind of my thought."
He clicked a few more times and then stood, "Everything's in order Doc. Why don't you go tell your guys to get ready and I'll open the loading doors."
"Thanks, uh, Jack. Come on Beth." Willow guided Buffy out of the door and found Xander and Mal talking. "You two want to get ready. They're gonna let us pull the truck in."
Xander nodded and went to the truck. A few minutes later, he was backing the truck through and Willow was signing the required documents to release the wiring needed. The loading took less time then anyone had anticipated and right before Xander was ready to pull out of the bay Jack's phone rang.
"Yes? Yeah we got them right here...uh, Dr. Rosenbaum is here with her assistant and two others...yeah I can do that...Will do...No problem." Jack snapped the phone shut and smiled, "Seems someone from aeronautics wants to speak with you doctor. If you guys wouldn't mind waiting a moment, he said he'd be down in less than 5 minutes."
Willow swallowed and nodded. She turned to Xander, "You two go ahead and pull out and wait for me. Beth and I will be a few moments longer." She handed the clipboard to her friend and tried to look confident as she walked away.
Xander raised an eyebrow then nodded. Fear settled in his gut as he hopped into the cab and pulled out. Willow went back to the front office of the warehouse with Buffy and took a seat to wait. Xander parked the truck right outside the doors and waited on Willow.
"We got problems?" Mal asked.
"Don't know. I hope not."
The captain picked up the walkie-talkie from the seat, "Zoe we might have a problem. You and Jayne in position?"
Static came through then Zoe, "We're where you left us. What's the problem?"
"Willow got stopped so we're in a bit of a holding pattern. I'll let you know when I know more."
"Roger that Sir."
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Faith and River stepped out of the hotel room together. The younger brunette had asked if they could grab Inara as well. While River knew the reason for Mal's adamant stance on letting Inara sleep in, River was polite enough to not call the closest thing she had to a father on it. Instead she just smiled her compliance and resisted the urge to go pounce on her friend to force her to spill the details in the long time coming, oh so frustrating, romance that wasn't.
River reached down and grabbed Faith's hand. The girl was happy. Things were nice here. Sure the whole demon thing freaked her out, but not enough to dampen her mood. Simon and Kaylee were disgustingly happy, Zo' had been more willing to smile and even Jayne had loosened up. This "trip" had proved to be beneficial for everyone in her world and she was happier for it. Add to the fact that while she and romance never had much in common, the owner of the hand she was holding gave River a fair amount of butterflies and she wanted to see where they were headed.
Faith stopped in front of Inara's room and knocked. It took a few moments and some colorful cussing in mandarin, but Inara finally made it to the door. Faith took in the rumpled look and smirked. As graciously as possible Inara invited the two in and excused herself to the restroom.
River and Faith both fidgeted on the bed. The slayer could smell the after-sex smell and wondered if it was Mal who finally got the cojones to have it out with Inara. Faith's head was still hurting, but the water and 4 aspirin she took before leaving her and River's room seemed to be taking affect. She grinned at River and motioned towards the bed they were sitting on and wiggled her eyebrows. The other girl blushed and ducked her head which earned a small whistle from Faith.
"Inara, Faith and I are going to get breakfast, would you like to go" River asked through the bathroom door.
Inara stepped out of the restroom to finish getting ready, "Of course. Have you heard anything?" Inara inquired directing the question to Faith.
"I just woke up myself. Nurse River here was great though." Faith winked at the girl and stood as Inara signaled her readiness. "I'm, assumin' B and Red got everything locked up tight. It's what the Scoobs do. Make a plan, execute the plan, let shit get bottled up afterwards."
"Uh?" Inara queried.
"Nothin' Sorry. Just me having a small bitter moment at their sometimes idiotic methods."
The other two just nodded and followed Faith down the steps and across the street. The slayer looked around and could never seem to adjust to the fact that no matter where you went in any state there was a mildly run down motel next to either a Denny's or some other equally greasy spoon diner to eat at. The familiarity calmed her a bit and she led the two to a booth in the back.
Inara eyed the two girls sitting across from her and wondered just what exactly Faith was going to do with her "might as well be" daughter. She had grown so protective of River since coming back to Serenity that the way Faith occasionally looked at the other girl, Inara had to resist the urge to place River in a chastity belt. Conversation was kept to a minimum and when the food arrived both River and Inara sat and stared as Faith took out a full stack of pancakes, an omelet, bacon, sausage, and 4 cups of coffee.
"Uh, where did it go?" River was currently looking at Faith's stomach.
"What went where?" The slayer asked slightly confused.
"The food Faith. Jayne wouldn't have been able to eat that much." Inara smirked at the offended look offered by the slayer.
"I'm a growin' girl. Besides slayers, have a wicked metabolism. That was a light snack."
River just shook her head and then turned her attention to Inara, "I can either kill you with my brain or you can tell me what went on with you and Mal last night?"
Inara's mouth parted slightly at the bluntness River rarely showed and had the decency to blush, "I...I think we have come to an understanding."
River squealed and moved to embrace Inara in a hug, "I wish you hundreds of fat grandchildren!" She squeezed the companion for all she was worth and giggled as Faith spit out some of her coffee at the comment.
"Run that by me again Riv?" Faith said wiping at the spilled coffee.
River and Inara just grinned stupidly at each other. Inara took some pity on the confused face across from her and said, "It's a blessing. Used ages ago in the Orient. You've never heard of it?"
"Uh no. Hundreds of fat grandchildren?" Faith just shook her head and shrugged it off. "Next you'll tell me that 'I hope you have a pissy day' is also a compliment."
River cocked her head to the side, "What does peeing have to do with the quality of your day?" She thought a moment more, "Oh, I see, to pee is good so you would hope that the day your friend had was pissy? No wait..."