“Oh we are so going to a hotel and one with room service because I am starved and need to lie down.” Cordelia blurted out before Xander could open his mouth. “Come on there has to be at least on three-star hotel in this town, right?” Xander smiled a little find Cordy’s bossy attitude somewhat familiar and comforting. After being away traveling throughout Africa for so long the ex-carpenter was glad some things had not changed.

“Hey it’s Boston so I would definitely think so.” The one eyed one said looking at Faith wondering if she would be offended by Cordy’s obvious disdain for her home town. Xander thought Faith had hated Boston more than anyone because of all the bad things that happened here, but he was not totally positive. Faith was not always the easiest person to read so there was a chance she had deeper affections for this town than she would ever admit.

As they continued walking Xander kept rubbing his neck finding the pain start to dissipate. Really it had stopped throbbing a while ago but the lingering memory of fingers digging into his flesh still bothered the Xandman. If Faith had not been there he would have died. Sure he was used to being the saved by women so that no longer bothered him, still it seemed weird that Faith would have been there just when he needed her.

“So um… have you heard from Buffy lately?” He asked trying to find a common topic. As the words left his mouth Alexander knew that had been a bad starting point. Still he decided not to back down and let it go hoping Faith would not take it the wrong way.

Hand raised, in silent encouragement for Cordelia to cease the whining. "Stop. It's not that bad." A beat of hesitation and her voice changed slightly. ". . not all of it's that bad." Before the other female could continue, she leaned forward slightly, making eye contact to the other side of Xander's person. "Talk less."

Grateful for the carpenter's interference, she nodded in agreement. "Lot of stuff's probably different in the ocean but I can still navigate the waves." Meant to be encouragement, it was downplayed by the somber expression washing over her features. It was a bittersweet reunion with her hometown. She could remember a lot of good times with friends. Mostly she could remember a lot of good sex.

But there was a dark side beneath the exterior, as with all things. There were memories and emotions the brunette was forced to repress in order to be able to focus on the task at hand. If she was going to protect Xander from whatever the Hell was coming, she need to be on top of things. Wallowing in self loathing and conflict over the past would only get him, and possibly all of them killed.

A step was lost at the mention of Buffy, jaw ticking once inadvertently in annoyance. The blonde was rarely a good venue for discussion, the two never being able to cooperate for long. They'd set aside differences for the battle in Sunnydale, but old habits die hard. It wasn't long before the bickering had become physical. They hadn't spoken since Buffy left for Rome and Faith would prefer to keep it that way.

"No." She replied bluntly, obviously put off by the question. It had been known before she broke out of jail to help Angel-- she was never going to be as good as Buffy. Not morally. Not in that hero, martyr, righteous way that had people flocking to her in adoration. Buffy was the Golden Child and no matter how much good Faith did to atone for past sins, she'd always be in the blonde's shadow. Her understudy. Inferior. So, really, she was exactly where she started. Buffy's legend had hindered her reputation from the first breath she took as the Slayer.

Needless to say, it was a wondrous feat for her to not bite off Xander's head. Waving a hand to signal a cab their direction, she opened the door for the other two and stood in wait. "Get in, pick a hotel. C. . no input, my expense budget isn't a toy for you." Realizing how lame she sounded in that scolding mother way, she sighed and climbed into the car.

Xander picked the Holiday Inn, mostly because he knew the name. He also picked it because as a child his Parents used to take him to the Holiday Inn in Oregon, and that one had a fountain in the lobby that Xander liked to throw pennies in. Also he knew they were cheap and most of them had a small restaurant inside.

The car ride was relatively quiet except for the music playing on the radio. Xander was really not sure what kind it was but it had a lot of drums and he was sure he could hear some chanting but was not certain.

“So first time in Boston?” The cab driver asked over his shoulder a thick accent that was as indefinable as the music. The only thing Xander could say was it was not African, or at least not from the countries in Africa he had been to.

“Actually Faith is from here but I’m new.” Xander offered as Cordelia rolled her eyes.

“You know there better be room service at the hotel.” She hissed under her breathe.

“Oh such anger! I would never let my wife speak to me in such a manner. I hope your other wife is better behaved.” Xander could not help but smirk but Cordy just fumed.

“Oh we are so not married, we dated in high school but that had been a mistake.” C added wanting nothing more than to get to the hotel, out of her clothes, and in a hot bath.

There was no objection about his choice of lodging. Alright, there wasn't any objection except from Cordelia. Something about lack of class and. . not of her standards. Faith honestly hadn't bothered with listening. She'd gotten the gist of C's snobbish attitude a long time ago. Xander had been sandwiched between both females, something Faith doubted he would mind. She'd neglected to answer the cabby intentionally, hint of the local accent would have given it away if she had taken the time to deny her hometown.

Xander answered for her, which drew her attention away from the window scenes she had been watching before. It wasn't a look of anger, but random annoyance. It wasn't his fault for her bad memories though so, with a bit of force, it faded and her face became expressionless once again.

A chuckle was soon pulled from her though at the assumption that the other two were married. She nearly choked on it though when he mentioned Xander's "other" wife. A quick exchange between the other passengers and finally, she spoke. "That suppose to be me ?" She waited for Cordy to get through her mistake ramble before continuing, this time directly addressing the presuming cab driver. "I gotta be the other wife ? What makes you think she isn't the other and I'm the original ?"

An odd topic for her to get offensive over ? Yes. A bit of bitterness for always being overlooked for Buffy ? Maybe. Palm out, she gave a push to the driver's seat, not enough to physically harm him, just enough to jar his position. "Jackass." She muttered to herself, none too quietly, and sat back in her own seat with crossed arms.

Feeling the other two looking at her, she added without looking at them, knowing their confusion without seeing it. "Shut up." Not a threat, as it was more exhausted than angry. With a bit of luck, they arrived to their destination a few moments later, Faith throwing a few bills to the driver as she exited the car. Bag fixed on her shoulder, she walked ahead of the others to the front desk and rang the bell.

A middle aged woman appeared soon enough with a courteous smile. "How can I help you ?" Faith looked to her own bag and her other companions, each who was carrying a bag of their own, then back to the woman, as if the answer should be obvious. "We need rooms." After a nod of acknowledgement the employee began typing away on the keyboard.