Return of the Prodigal Slayer: The Triumphant Return
by Hose Jockey 20
Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I make no money. All hail Joss and his band of mutants.
Spoilers: None.
Notes: This is the continuation of “Blast From the Past,” and is the second part of the “Return of the Prodigal Slayer” series. I know it’s been a while in coming, but at least it’s here. This one is just basically fluff and bullshit cuz I wanted to string you guys out. The real good stuff is comin soon. Read the sequels!
Thanks: All the guys and gals who read it and fixed it up for me. And to whoever gave me feedback and ideas. Rock on, guys!
Dedication: To my friends... especially Abby, Queen C, and Jackie. You guys rock!
Feedback: Please! I thrive on it!

“Hey, B, wake up.” The younger Slayer shook her girlfriend’s shoulder. “We’re here.”

The Chosen Pair and Faith’s friend, Lieutenant Jase Makusztak, had just touched down at Boston’s Logan International Airport. It ended a nerve-racking five-hour flight for Faith, who was not especially fond of airplanes and flying.

“Huh?” the older mumbled. Buffy had slept through most of the flight, oblivious to Faith’s terror. Jase had been drowning in the paperwork his captain had sent along with him, much to the lieutenant’s chagrin.

“I said ‘wake up, we’re here,’” replied Faith. “Jeez, B, you’d think that a college graduate would have better hearing abilities than that,” she quipped.

“Shut up,” replied Buffy, not unkindly.

The plane taxied to the terminal, and all the first-class passengers disembarked. Faith, Buffy, and Jase were among the first people off the plane, and the brunette had never been so happy to have dirt underfoot. The lieutenant quickly assembled all their gear, and led them out to the pick-up zone, where a Cadillac sedan was waiting for them.

“See, what had happened was,” began Jase. “I couldn’t get Boston City to let me borrow one of their engines for a few days. However, I do have us scheduled to do a ride-out with both them and the FDNY. Rescue 1 in Manhattan, if you can believe that.” The firefighter was especially excited at that last prospect, especially since September 11th. (Author’s note: Yeah, I am a firefighter. Yeah, I felt like shit after Sept. 11th’s tragedies. So remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, please.)

The trio piled into the car, and after the driver secured all their gear, rode in style to their hotel. During the ride, Jase sat up front, and the two Slayers snuggled in each other’s arms in the backseat. “Damn, you two are worse than some teenagers,” Jase joked. Faith stuck her tongue out at him in retribution.

The car pulled into the drop-off area, and the girls immediately got out. Jase lingered inside for a moment to give the driver some last-minute instructions. Neither girl could make out what he was saying, Slayer hearing or not. The ell-tee motioned for the bellhop to come and retrieve their bags.

“Ah, Mister Makusztak!” the manager exclaimed upon seeing Jase. “How have you been, sir?”

“Not bad at all, Jim,” answered Jase. “But it’s ‘Lieutenant Makusztak’ now. Damn, it’s been a while. How’s Joan?” The two men made conversation, oblivious to the presence of the girls until Faith cleared her throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry, girls,” apologised Jason. “Faith, Buffy, this is James Powell. Jimmy, these lovely ladies are Faith Adams and Buffy Summers.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, ladies,” Jim said, kissing the girls’ hands. They giggled and blushed.

“Jeez, Jimmy, looks like you’re pickin’ my stuff up left and right,” snorted Jase. “Next thing you know, you’ll be sayin’ stuff like ‘bloody hell’ or ‘sod off.’”

“Oh, bloody hell,” Jimmy joked, showing no emotion as usual. The little group shared some laughter, sans the manager, whose face stayed straight all the while. After that light moment had passed, Jim asked “So, which rooms are you folks staying in?”

Jase responded “Well, I got us adjacent rooms for the week, 168 and 169. I think the girls would be happy in ’69, don’t you?” he asked with a sly grin.

“What do you... Oh. Ohhhhh,” said Jim as he finally realized just what in the world Jase was talking about. “You mean...” he started, trailing off into nothingness.

“Yup. Got yourself another pair, man.” Jimmy was known for attracting the groups that were slightly “off-center,” and was proud of that fact, because like Jase, he was non-judgmental to the extreme. It seemed like nothing ever fazed the two men.

“Well, kick ass,” said James, stone-faced. “It’s a shame, ‘cause you two are gonna be breakin’ a coupla hearts this week when the guys find out you’re taken. Mine especially,” he finished with a rare grin.

The girls giggled and blushed again, realizing that under Jim’s stolid exterior, he was really a nice, funny man. Much like Lieutenant Makusztak used to be, until he met his girlfriend. Now Jase was just plain funny, and he actually showed some emotion.

“So, shall we go up to your rooms?” asked Jim.

“Sure, Jimbo, let’s roll,” replied Jase.

The little group made their way over to the elevators, when Jase’s pager went off. It took the girls 5 minutes to get Jason to remember that he wasn’t on duty, and that he could, in fact, ignore it.

“You know, it had to be that we get a three-alarm warehouse fire the moment I go on vacation,” he groused. “Bloody hell, there had better be some badass calls when I get back, or I’m gonna shoot something.” With that, he climbed into the elevator, and joined Jim and the girls on the ride up to their rooms.

The elevator stopped, and with an oath, Jim picked up the little party’s bags and carried them to the rooms. Jase stopped in front of 168, retrieved his suitcase and key from Jimmy, and opened the door to his room. He paused outside only for a moment.

“Hey girls,” he began. “Let’s meet in the lobby at about 7:30 for dinner, okay? And dress up, if you don’t mind.”

“Shit, J, why didn’t you tell us?” asked Faith.

“Yeah, I would’ve packed something nice if you had,” added Buffy, looking perturbed.

“Relax,” said Jason. “Go inside, and look on your bed. I think that might make up for it. Later.” And with that hanging in the air between them, he went inside and shut the door to his room. He opened it a second later.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Hey Jimbo, c’mere,” said Jase. Jimmy obliged, and when he got over to Jase’s doorway, Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a 20-dollar bill.

“Here’s your tip, old friend,” he said in Russian.

“Thank you very much, old friend,” replied Jimmy in Russian also. The whole conversation left the girls thoroughly confused.

“By the way, among his other talents, Jimmy speaks Russian fluently, along with German, Spanish, French, and a bit of Japanese and Portuguese,” Jase informed the baffled slayers. “And I also speak Russian, German and French fluently, and am currently learning Arabic, Japanese, and Portuguese.” With a little bow, and another of his trademark “Take it easy”s, Jase retired into his room and shut the door.

“You know, that man never fails to amaze me,” commented Buffy.

“Ya get used to him after a while,” Faith said, opening the door to their suite. The two girls went in and Jim went back downstairs to his post, pleased to see such a pair of happy people.

“Wow,” said Buffy when they went into their room. “This place is nice.”

“Yeah, it is,” replied Faith, impressed.

The two slayers took a little tour of their room and found a purse on their bed. Upon opening it, Buffy’s jaw nearly hit the floor, and Faith was dumbstruck. Inside there was $2,000 and a note.

"Wha-what’s the note say?" asked Buffy in a small voice. She’d never seen this amount of money just laying before her in her life.

“Girls,” began Faith, reading it. “Sorry I forgot to tell you to pack something classy before we left California, so here’s two thousand bucks. Buy something nice, willya? See ya soon. -J.” She stopped; both pleased at the gift, but angered at Jase’s ability to just throw money away like that. And she felt a twinge of jealousy, too.

But there’s one thing you won’t get, J, she thought. And that’s my babe over there. She finished the thought with a smile on her face, and went over and put her arms around Buffy.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Buffy began, “but what’s this?”

“Just wanted to hug ya, that’s all. What, I need an excuse now?”

“Never,” replied the blonde.

“Love ya,” said Faith.

“I love you too,” replied Buffy. “Let’s shop!”

Faith groaned. This was going to be a long day.

*****

“Come on, B, we’re pushin ‘fashionably late’ here! Time to motor, girlfriend!”

“All right, Fai, I’m coming. Can I just finish putting my makeup on?”

Faith sighed. Jase was not gonna be a happy fireman. But then again, he probably understood females and their desire to look good. Fuck it.

Five minutes later, Buffy came out of the bathroom, looking stunning as ever. She had on a strapless sparkling white evening dress, with open toed high heels. The hem of her skirt came down to just above her knee, so her muscular calves were showing. Her skin was beautifully tan, and had tracings of glitter on her arms and face.

“Oh. My. God,” uttered Faith, who was convinced she’d died and gone to heaven.

“I should say the same about you,” replied Buffy. Faith was in a similar spaghetti-strap dress, but black in colour and showing massive amounts of cleavage. Her hem came to about mid-thigh, and she was wearing black sandals whose straps came to mid-calf.

“Shall we roll?” asked Buffy.

“Let’s,” replied Faith with a grin.

The two made their way down to the lobby, attracting many stares from other guests as they strode to the doors. Waiting there was Jase, in his County Fire class-A dress uniform. His hair was freshly cut, and his moustache-

“Jase, where’s your moustache?” asked Faith in surprise.

“Eh, time for a change. What, you don’t like?”

“Actually, I like it. Makes you look younger and more innocent. I say keep it off. Whaddaya think, B?”

“I think he’s cuter like that.”

“Hey, now don’t go movin in on my girl, there, bud,” Faith mocked playfully.

“Who, me?” joked Jase. “Never! You two look stunning. I’m gettin turned on, here.” He grinned.

The two girls blushed, and Jase leered, making Buffy turn scarlet. He grinned and said simply, “Let’s go.”

The three made their way outside, where San Bernardino County Rescue 78 was parked in front of the hotel. Buffy and Faith’s jaws dropped at the sight.

“Did-didn’t we leave that in Ontario?” asked Faith.

“Yep. And it’s still there,” Jase replied with a grin. “Gotcha!” he exclaimed.

“Then what the hell is this?” asked Buffy.

Jase smiled at her. “Never underestimate the power of a county firefighter. I just took one of Boston’s rescue cars and had em put new stickers on. I don’t think a Boston City rig has ever looked better! You gals ready to jet?”

The slayers nodded, and the group loaded into the car, Buffy and Faith in the back, and Jase driving.

“Code-3 or no?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

“What’s code-3?” the girls asked.

His eyes lit up. “I guess I’m gonna have to show ya then. Ready?” They nodded, grabbing a hold of each other’s hands. “Then we’re rollin.”

He put the replica of Rescue 78 into drive, turned on the lightbar, and hit the siren as they got onto the city street. Almost immediately, cars pulled over to the side of the road to let them pass. Jase expertly weaved in and out of traffic, slowing down whenever they got to a red light or stop sign, but not entirely stopping. His face was scrunched in concentration, and he cursed every so often when people wouldn’t move. Faith and Buffy, however, were having the ride of their life.

“Oh man, this is great!” Buffy yelled over the siren. “I can’t believe they pay him to do this!”

“I know! Maybe we should re-think our line of work, B!”

The facsimile of R-78 screamed down the streets of Boston, with Jason making inaudible comments about their surroundings. Finally, after a 20-minute drive, the lights and siren were turned off, and they reached their destination.

“Hey, nice place, J!”

“Thought you guys’d like it,” he replied. “I made reservations while you two were out shopping. This is one of the best steak houses outside the five boroughs.”

The trio went inside, and were immediately greeted and seated. A bottle of champagne was ordered and delivered.

“A toast. To homecomings, vacations, and life in general,” Jase offered. “And to love. Amor vincit omina. Love conquers all.”

“To my love Buffy,” began Faith. “To the hope that we will be together each and every day for the rest of our lives. And to friends.”

Buffy’s turn. “To Faith. I never gave up hope that we would be together, and I’m never giving up hope that we will always be together. In this life and the next, and every single one after that. I love you, Faith.”

Three glasses clinked together, and the three drank.

“This is some good shit, J!” Faith proclaimed.

He shrugged. “You say so. I’m not much on booze. Yo! Maitre ‘d!”

The waiter came forward. “Yes sir?”

“Um, what do you have in the way of non-alcoholic stuff around here?”

“Well sir, we have non-alcoholic beer, wine, and champagne, if you so desire. And we have a variety of soft drinks and water.”

“Well hell yeah, that suits me fine. Anyone else for non-booze?”

Buffy raised her hand, and Faith stared at her. “What? Me and alcohol don’t mix all that well!” Faith shrugged and went back to her menu. “I’ll have a Coke,” said Buffy.

“Very well, miss. And for you, sir?”

“Yeah, uh, some Sprite’ll suit me.”

“Yes sir. I shall be back in a few minutes with your beverages and to take your orders.” With that, he left.

“Gee, all this pomp and circumstance, and the service sucks. Guess some things never change,” Jase commented sourly.

The waiter came back with their drinks, and started taking orders. Faith and Buffy were each having a 7oz sirloin well done, and Jase took a 7oz New Yorker, medium.

It took what seemed like hours for their steaks to arrive, but when they did, the crew agreed that this was the best part of a cow they’d had in ages. It took them two hours to finish up with dessert and coffee, and it was almost midnight.

Back in Sunny D, we’d prolly just be gettin patrol wrapped up, thought Faith. In a way, I’m kinda glad we’re on vacation.

Buffy was having much the same thoughts as they rode back home. By the girls’ request the siren was kept off, much to Jase’s chagrin. So they cruised back to the hotel with just the red lightbar flashing.

By the time Buffy and Faith got to their room, they were too tired to do much of anything but crawl into their bed with their arms wrapped around each other.

“I love you, Buffy,” murmured Faith as she slipped into unconsciousness.

“I love you too, Faith,” mumbled Buffy.

The two girls fell asleep almost immediately.

...to be continued...