Chapter 2: Operation Thanksgiving
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Faith had forgotten what time she went to bed the previous evening. She knew it was sometime between midnight and dawn and it was probably the waking hour for farmers. All she did know was that she was freaking tired of painting and babysitting Drusilla who doesn’t really need to be watched. She may not be all there in the sanity department but she wasn’t helpless.
She woke up and did her usual routine. She got dressed somewhat. She left her pajama bottoms on and just put on an old t-shirt over it, brushed her teeth and hair and went down stairs to see how much coffee was left and if it had to be warmed up again.
“Good afternoon sleeping beauty,” Xander greeted her as she walked into the kitchen.
“Awakening greetings to you, Cyclops,” Faith said as she grabbed the canter from the maker. “Do I need to reheat this?”
“Considering that it’s been off since ten I would say so,” Xander said. He was studying the back of the box of Stove Top. “And I really never heard Cyclops before either. Ha ha ha so original.”
“Maybe I’m comparing you to the guy from the comics and movies.” Faith poured some coffee into a plastic mug and stuck it in the microwave. “Ya like those hero guys.”
“I have no idea if I’m like him.” He set the box down and went through the pantry. “He was never really my favorite. I always thought I was more like Peter Parker.”
“I kinda liked Gambit.” Faith pressed in the number for the coffee. “At least in that cartoon.”
“I see you as more of a Callisto.”
“The chick with the lip piercing in the third one?” Faith asked. “Cause we are both tough cookies?”
“Something like that.” He pulled out a few jars of gravy, cans of pumpkin meat and a can of cranberry sauce.
“Ever tried using the whole berries?” Faith asked as she pointed at the can of cranberry sauce. “There were a few times when we visited my grandparents for holidays. It was long ago, barely remember any of it, except my grandma always insisted on making the cranberry sauce from scratch. As the berries boil they pop. I liked that sound. When I first came to Sunnydale Joyce invited me for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We made the sauce that way.”
“I wish you told me sooner,” Xander said. “I would have gotten the berries.”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff X-man. The can stuff is pretty good.” She retrieved her cup from the fridge. “Where’s Dru?”
“In the living room,” Xander said. “She’s making stockings for the six of us.”
“She’s knitting?”
“Got her the kits from Michael’s yesterday while you were still sleeping in. She also wants to make some ornaments for the tree and she wants everyone to make at least one ornament.”
“Screw that.” Faith was not a real artistic person by any means. She did not draw, she did not sculpt and she as sure didn’t make cute little things by gluing shit together. She was a destroyer not a creator. She preferred to break, to cut and to kill. She loved weapons, dancing and drinking. Even before Diane found her she was a maiden of destruction. She actually was one of the only kids who hated doing arts and crafts in elementary school.
“Do it for her,” Xander said softly. “And for me.”
“Okay but afterwards I’m going to have to release some of that pent up frustration.” She looked deep into his eye. “I might have to tie you down in my bed.” She enjoyed the look of shock on his face before she grabbed a box of cereal.
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“Making ornaments,” Faith mumbled as she sat on the patio in the back yard and smoked. “Doesn’t even feel like the holidays down here.” Everything was still too damn green. Some of the trees had a little yellow, or brown or gold, but everything was still too green and the temperatures hadn’t really dropped. Faith had switched her pajama pants for simple shorts.
She remembered what real autumn and winter weather looked like. The trees had turned into various shades or red, orange, yellow, and brown. There were rich golds and bronzes and there was even a reddish violet in some of the plants. She loved walking on the sidewalks and listening to the sound of leaves crunching. Then there was leaf fights where she and a few others would gather up handfuls of dead leaves and throw them at each other as well as jump into piles of raked up leaves.
By this time in Boston the leaves would have all fallen off. Well there might have been a few dangling on some branches like that hang in there kitty, but they would mostly be on the ground, decomposing into mulch. There would be frost and maybe even snow.
“Poor kids down here,” Faith said before she took one last drag off her cigarette. “Never get a chance to play with real snow unless they take a vacation up North.”
“And they don’t have to worry about shoveling snow out of walk ways,” Xander said as he opened the sliding glass door of the house. “They don’t have to salt anything or have to put chains on their tires or worry about being snowed in.”
“You never had to worry about that,” Faith pointed at him. “You only experienced snow that one time.”
“We used to drive up the mountains in December,” Xander said. “There was snow there. It was part of a treat if I did all my chores we stopped doing that sometime before I turned ten.”
“Is there another reason why you are here?” Faith asked as she dropped her cigarette in a glass of water. They really needed to get some actual ashtrays for the place to replace the ones that Regine used. It was Xander’s idea to throw those away.
“Yep, you are going to help out with cooking.”
“No prob,” Faith shrugged. “I can nuke a few veggies.”
“No nuking we are cooking. I’m cooking the turkey, the rolls, stuffing and the pie. Dru wants to make a cake and she will be cooking the green beans and the carrots. You can handle the mashed potatoes and the gravy, but save one jar.”
“Why?”
“Spike says he was going to use it and I have an idea. I don’t like the idea and I wish it would leave my mind right now.”
“He could be thinking of living up to his nickname,” Faith said. She knew the vampire was planning on combining it with blood. “Not the railroad spikes in the eyes part. I meant spiking the gravy.” She stood up and grabbed the glass. “Never mind.”
Once she was inside she got rid of the water and her ashes and washed her hands. Drusilla was in the kitchen mixing something in a bowl and humming a little song.
“How goes the craftyness?” Faith asked.
“The kits make it too easy,” Drusilla said as she dumped a can of pumpkin meat into the bowl. “It saves time and it is fun and glitter is like herpes, it gets everywhere.”
“I’ve heard that.” She pulled out some potatoes and decided to use nine. Two spuds for each living person and one each for an undead.
“I saw the parade. There was singing and dancing and colorful costumes. There were giant happy creatures and everyone was happy.”
“I haven’t seen that in a while.” She grabbed a vegetable brush and started to scrub the spuds. “I heard they have a Macy’s down here and a Bloomingdales.”
“We can go shopping now. Everyone on TV skipped this holiday went straight to Christmas.”
“That’s cause Christmas brings in the money.” She grabbed the peeler.
“Having trouble?” Xander asked he stirred something in the pot and turned off a burner.
“Just explaining to Dru all about Holiday capitalism.”
“It isn’t right to skip a holiday,” Drusilla said as she poured the contents of one bowl and into another. “Thanksgiving is about being together with family. It’s about good food and being thankful. It’s about working together and making new friends like the Pilgrims and the Indians.”
“The better word is Native Americans,” Faith told her as she peeled. She wasn’t going to take off all the skins. Some of the skin adds a bit of kick and flavor to it.
“There is also the truth,” Xander started. “About what re-“
“Real reason why they don’t show a lot of Thanksgiving on TV,” Faith spun around and pointed at Xander. Now was not a good time to tell Dru the truth about colonization. “All that sweet wholesome stuff doesn’t bring in the dough and that’s what they care about.”
“They are bad people,” Drusilla said as she continued to stir everything together. “They do not care about the true meaning of Christmas.”
“No they don’t,” Xander removed the pot from the stove. “And we got stuffing. How’s the potatoes coming, Faith?”
“Five by five.”
“Good, cause I was going to suggest that if you don’t like peeling potatoes you could always imagine yourself as peeling the skin of some demon.”
“Dude, that is incredibly gross, and I can do some cooking. I lived on my own for a bit before the coma.”
“Just let me know if you do need any help.” He spooned the stuffing into a large bowl.
Faith finished peeling the potatoes and placed them into a large pot and filled it with water. She watched as Drusilla poured the mixture into two cake pans and placed them in the oven while Xander pulled out another mixing bowl, a pre-made pie crust and a can of pumpkin meat.
“Uh,” Xander stared into the pot. “There are still some skins left.”
“Skins are good for you,” Drusilla said as she cleaned the bowls. “Helps you go to the loo.”
“I was just going to say that they were yummy,” Faith said.
“I’ve never had mashed potatoes with the skins before,” Xander said as he combined the pumpkin meat with a few other ingredients.
“Have you ever had the kind that didn’t come from a box?” Faith asked. She turned on the heat and sat down to wait for it to boil.
“Actually I did,” Xander said. “Buffy wanted us all to have Thanksgiving one time and she whipped us into cooking shape and she made the mashed potatoes by scratch and she also whipped the cream.”
“A lot of whipping going on,” Faith pointed out.
“Spike and I liked whipping,” Drusilla said as she dried the bowls that she used. “I don’t think we do any more. We did it to victims and the whipping turned to flaying.”
“Enough about whips,” Xander said and poured the concoction into the piecrust. “We are going to have a nice Thanksgiving.”
Faith listened to some music waiting for the potatoes to boil and soften. She continued to listen to her music as she mashed them and mixed them with milk and butter and added a little pepper. Once she was done she went outside for some training and for another smoke. She went back inside once the sun had started to set and the temperature was dropping.
“Good evening, love,” Spike was in the kitchen and stirring something in a small pot.
“I don’t want to know what’s in that do I?” Faith asked.
“Gravy and a special ingredient,” Spike answered. “And we’ll leave it at that.”
Dru was on the other side of the stove and stirring something in a skillet. “Carrots are done and time to remove the saucer from the mother ship.”
“What does that mean?” Faith asked. She knew some of the food that was prepared earlier was going to have to be warmed up.
“I’m not her translator,” Spike said as he put a lid on the pot. “Sometimes she can be quite literal.”
Faith watched as Dru turned off the burners. She put the brazed carrots into a bowl and then she removed the steamer plate containing the green beans and put them in another bowl after the former vampire and placed the vegetables she folded the steamer bowl. It did resemble a flying saucer when it was like that.
“I see,” Faith said as she rummaged around for another pot. She set it on a burner and turned it on and poured in the gravy for the humans.
A few minutes later and the timer went off. Xander raced into the kitchen and pulled out the turkey breast and legs and brought out the rolls. Spike poured in his dark red gravy into one of the two gravy boats and Faith poured hers into another one.
“We have to remember which one is which,” Xander said.
“Ours is in the white one with blue flowers,” Faith said. She carried her gravy bowl to the table where Charley and Ed were arguing about the proper way to set it. “Chill guys, it’s Thanksgiving.” She went back into the kitchen to help either heat up some of the food that was made earlier or bring it out.
It wasn’t long till everything was set out and Xander and poured some wine into each of their glasses. Faith took one of the turkey legs for herself , a little of each veggie, good scoops of potatoes and stuffing, a roll and a slice of the sauce and poured a little bit of the normal gravy on her food.
“Can’t eat yet,” Drusilla said. “We need to pray first. It’s not proper to eat before we praise him.”
“I think you are the only one of us that knows how to do it properly, Poodle,” Spike said to her. “You lead us.”
“Everyone fold your hands and pray,” Drusilla instructed. “Dear our father who is watching us from the beautiful place. Thank you for making it so that we are here together and those of us who are hurt have friends and loved ones to help us heal and thank you for the delicious food. Amen.”
“Amen,” nearly everyone agreed.
“What are you all thankful for?” Drusilla asked as she dabbed her roll with some butter. “I’m thankful I’m alive and I’m here and I have another chance.”
“I’m thankful that I didn’t get turned,” Xander said. “And I’m thankful that I have Faith to help me with Lyra’s training and that I have a couple of great Slayers to work with and the whole team of Avengers.”
“I’m thankful I met someone as cool as Spike,” Ed said. “and I have a great friend in Brewster and a nice place to crash.”
“I would say that I am thankful to be just that cool,” Spike said as he stared at him. “But I’m not. I’m thankful that Dru has returned and that I’m with another group. Good times to roll.”
“I’m thankful I’ve been freed,” Charley said softly. “That the two worlds merged and I met Lyra and because of her I also met Xander and Faith and the rest of the Avengers.”
Faith was last. “I’m thankful that there are always people who believe in me, even when I don’t believe in myself. I guess you can say redemption and those who help provide it and guide your through it.”
“Good one,” Xander said and held up his glass. “To redemption and the future.”
“Redemption,” Everyone said and clicked their glassed together.
Faith took a bite of her turkey and the potatoes she had made. She was looking forward to more of this.
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