As much as the idea of staying at the hospital to have doctors poking and prodding her sounded bad to Buffy, it didn’t quite sound as bad as going to LA and jumping right back into the slaying game. They’d closed the Hellmouth and destroyed Sunnydale. She’d been run through with a blade.
She deserved a day or two of rest!
Besides, without the Hellmouth and The First acting as some kind of weird mystical homing beacon, how would the Bringers even find new slayers? After all, eyes don’t just mysteriously grow back over night . . .
Buffy sighed and rubbed her hand over her face, feeling suddenly tired and a bit unsteady. Just when she thought that she might falter, a strong hand was on her shoulder to keep her steady. She opened her eyes to find Faith standing there, a look of concern on her face.
“Look, I don’t mean to step on your toes or whatever, but ya look like shit, B. Let the doctors check ya out tonight and we can head to LA or wherever in the morning,” Faith said.
Buffy looked at her, raising one eyebrow.
“Why are you so anxious to stay with me? It’s just so you can watch them poke me with needles and prod me with . . . proddy things, isn’t it?”
Faith chuckled. “Fun as that sounds, it’s more because it kinda seems wrong to leave all these injured girls here alone, yunno? They didn’t ask for their powers; we kinda just gave it to them and told them to fight. Least we can do is be here for them.”
Buffy raised her eyebrow up even higher.
“Giles?” she called out. “Start researching the next apocalypse. Faith is being sensible; that has to mean that the world is ending soon.”
“Har-dee-fucking-har,” Faith said, narrowing her eyes when Buffy laughed.
“I believe Faith is right,” Giles said, stepping forward. “It might be wise for a few of us to stay with the girls, make sure they’re properly taken care of. Faith, you must be tired from the battle, so you can take leave to a nearby hotel if you’d like. I can arrange . . .”
“I told B I’d stay with her, Giles,” Faith interrupted. “Thanks for the offer and all, but I can cop a squat on a chair in her room and catch a few Z’s if the need be.”
The group of friends discussed the situation further and decided that it would be good to keep people there in shifts. Giles and several of the slayers were headed off to find a hotel while Faith, Xander, Dawn and Andrew stayed with the injured at the hospital. Giles had the doctor paged and Buffy was admitted immediately, much to her dismay. Hospitals and her were un-mixy things, but she was willing to get checked out if it meant that she got a short break.
Besides -- and she wouldn’t admit this to anyone else – she was still feeling pretty sore and worn out. Her slayer healing sure was taking a long time to kick in, but she figured it had to do with the spell to call all of the new slayers.
Or at least she hoped that’s what it was.
She looked off to the side as a nurse pushed her down the hall in a wheelchair to find Faith following along just behind them. Faith smiled and winked at her, a comforting gesture, but Buffy didn’t feel comforted. She’d feel a whole lot better about the situation once she started healing and that damned stab wound stopped seeping.
When she finally reached an examination room, she winced as she awkwardly tried to stand, feeling the stretch and pull on her wound. Immediately Faith was at her side, holding her steady with a hand on her elbow.
“You finding it trippy at all that you’re not healing yet? That none of the slayers are healing yet?” Faith asked quietly, hoping that the nurse wouldn’t overhear. “Back in the day something like this wouldn't have set ya back this long.”
“I’m sure we’ll start to heal soon. It’s probably just because of the spell,” Buffy answered but refrained from acknowledging that it indeed was tripping her out a little bit too.
“Could be,” Faith agreed, helping Buffy into the exam room and up on the table. “See what the doc says, I guess. You don’t start gettin’ better in a few hours though, I’m callin' Giles.”
“Fair enough,” Buffy said.
They didn’t have any more time to discuss the matter as a doctor came in then, ready to get down to business. He ordered some blood work as well as an ultrasound to see if she had any internal bleeding in her abdomen. Unnecessary, Buffy thought, but she went along with it anyhow. As long as she wasn't footing the bill . . . oh god, was she footing the bill?
Hours passed by and tests were done, Faith anxiously sitting and waiting for Buffy to return to her room nearly the entire time. She nearly picked a fight with the attending doctor when he'd told her she couldn't be in the room with Buffy when she had her tests done but decided that she could probably use some time to recuperate between fights as well.
Not that she was tired, though. Her body felt strong; completely powerful and sound despite taking a few good beatings and for having been out of practice for a few years. Her bruises were fading and nearly gone, a far cry from the other slayers in the hospital. If she'd sat and thought about it for a while she may have realized that there was something weird about that, but instead she satiated one of her most primal urges.
The hospital cafeteria food wasn't much to rave about but she'd had worse. She'd strolled down while Buffy was having her ultrasound done and eyed up the slices of room-temperature pizza, growling appreciatively as the cafeteria worker put three pieces of it on her tray.
The cafeteria itself was mostly deserted except for a table of young nurses having salads and gossiping. Faith had no problem quickly scarfing down the pizza and chasing it down with a cold can of Pepsi, offering the women a wink as they watched her chow down with much amusement. They'd probably never seen a feeding frenzy like that before, but Faith wasn't embarrassed. She was too worried about getting back up to Buffy's room before the doctors brought her back from her testing.
Soon Faith found herself back up in Buffy's room, flicking through the scarce channels on the television while sitting awkwardly in an old wooden chair. Sure there was an empty hospital bed next to Buffy's, but Faith had spent way too many months of her life laying in one. No way did she want to revisit that anytime soon.
Just when she'd rested her head back against the pastel-blue painted wall and closed her eyes did she hear the sound of a wheelchair coming through the door. She opened her eyes to find a nurse pushing a much less pale-looking Buffy in. Faith stood up and helped the nurse get Buffy situated in the bed, then waited for the woman to leave before getting down to business.
“You're lookin' better,” she said as she pulled the table closer so that Buffy could reach her carton of juice.
“Feeling better too. About time the slayer healing kicked in.”
“I'll say. You were starting to look like some kinda goth wannabe. Was kinda scary.”
“Aren't you supposed to be comforting me?”
“Pretty sure you're not into the kinda comfort I can offer,” Faith said and winked.
“Sexual healing is the last thing on my mind at the moment,” Buffy said with a chuckle, then winced slightly in discomfort.
Faith immediately noticed and furrowed her brows. “You okay?”
“Umm, yeah,” Buffy said, looking a bit uncomfortable and confused. “I was starting to feel better and now . . . not so much.” The newfound color she'd had in her face began to drain again, leaving her pale and weak looking again.
“Should I get the doc?”
“No, no,” Buffy said, stopping her. “I think maybe sleep would be good. I just feel beat.”
Faith watched over her for several long seconds before nodding.
“Okay. We wait 'til morning to decide who to tell, see if ya can't sleep it off. You need me, just holler; I'll be in the chair.” She nodded her head to the side, indicating the old wooden chair.
“Are you sure? You can go and stay with one of the younger girls if you want, I can . . .”
“Positive, B. Said I'd stay with ya; it's the least I can do.”
“Thank you,” Buffy said, smiling appreciatively. “Me and hospitals don't go so well together.”
“Me neither,” Faith said, smiling sadly.
********************
The morning came quickly for Faith who had slept soundlessly the whole night. She woke up to someone shuffling around nearby and opened her eyes to see a nurse standing near Buffy, pulling back her hospital gown to check on her wound.
“Hmm,” the nurse said, perplexed. “The night nurse said that this was looking great and probably didn't even need sutures, but it's still weeping and looking pretty gross.”
“Thanks,” Buffy said with a grimace.
“I'll have Dr. Sztaba come in and check it and go from there. How is your pain, honey? Scale of one through ten.”
Buffy thought about it for a moment, biting nervously on her lower lip.
“About an eight,” she said quietly, hoping Faith hadn't woken to hear the conversation.
Something was definitely wrong.
“Okay dear, I'll be back with something to help take the edge off. Now you just rest.”
The nurse picked up her chart and quickly walked out and Faith was at Buffy's side before the door was even closed. She began to pull back Buffy's gown to check on the wound but Buffy slapped her hand away and quickly covered back up.
“These hospital gowns don't leave much space for modesty. I'd like to keep what little bit I have left,” Buffy explained as she fixed her rumpled gown.
“Why didn't you wake me and tell me you were in pain?” Faith asked, upset.
“What could you have done about it? It's just a bad, deep wound I guess. This one is gonna take some time.”
“That's bullshit and you know it, Buffy. I'm gettin' Giles and Red. Something's not right here. Listen, I'll send Xander or Dawnie over to stay with you. Just sit tight ‘til I'm back.”
Faith grabbed her coat and was out of the room before Buffy would argue. Dawn was in a room just two doors down with Chao-Ahn, so she quickly made her way over there and borrowed Dawn's cell phone. Dawn, too, told her that Chao-Ahn didn't seem to be healing like she should be, not since she'd been moved to that floor last night. Xander and Andrew were still a few floors above with a few of the less seriously injured girls but they hadn't noticed any problems.
With that information in hand, Faith stepped outside of the hospital and opened the small phone, thumbing through the address book. When she came across Willow's name, she hit send and exhaled loudly while she waited for her to answer.
“Hello?”
“Red? It's me. I think we've got us a problem.”
********************
Faith was still outside when Willow, Kennedy, and Giles showed up in a rented car. They parked and quickly exited the vehicle, making their way over to the bench she was sitting on while having a smoke.
“Faith,” Giles regarded her with a simple nod of his head.
“Hey,” she said with a nod. “Sorry to bust up the party but I think we've got a bit of a situation on our hands.”
“Willow said something in regards to Buffy's healing capabilities. What's happened?”
“Don't know for sure. She's not healing and she's feeling pain. Lots of pain. Chao-Ahn isn't doing so good either, but I think that the less-injured girls Xander is with are doing okay.”
“So it's only the critically injured slayers who are having the problem?”
“Maybe. All the girls in the critical care unit seem to be having the same problem so it's a possibility. Do you think it has to do with the spell?” Faith asked and looked towards Willow.
“It's doubtful,” Willow said, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “If something had gone wrong, it would have happened to all of the slayers, not just a select few.”
“But something's definitely not right,” Faith said, shaking her head.
Kennedy flomped down on the bench next to Faith and relaxed back.
“Maybe they're just taking some extra time. I mean, Buffy was injured pretty bad. Something like that just can't heal up overnight,” she said.
“Yeah, but she also shouldn't be in this much pain. And I mean, I had a sneak peak of her injury, that thing is looking worse than it is better. Least you look like you're doin' better,” Faith said, addressing Kennedy.
“Yeah, feeling better. No problems in the healing department here,” Kennedy replied. She'd had a pretty bad gash on her head just in her hairline, but it was barely noticeable now.
“We'll look into it, Faith,” Giles said assuringly. “In the meanwhile, you should go to the hotel and get some rest. It's just a few miles back on the highway, we passed by it yesterday.” He handed the car keys to Faith and she nodded, vaguely remembering the place he was talking about.
“I'll meet you guys inside in a few,” Kennedy said from her place on the bench, clearly wanting a few minutes to speak to Faith alone.
Willow bent down and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, then followed Giles towards the hospital entrance.
“Things are lookin' good in newlywed land then,” Faith said as she leaned back against the bench again.
“Better than good. You've been holding out on me about the whole slayer benefits package. I mean . . . the whole stamina thing is crazy. When we got back to the hotel last night, it was like all of my injuries were never there. Ate more Mexican food than I have in my entire life and then I kept Willow up half the night. She had to put a spell on me to knock me out, which I'm still pissed about by the way.”
Faith just laughed and crossed her arms over her chest smugly.
“That's something ya gotta learn on your own, junior. Hungry and horny is just one of the many side-effects of the slayage gig.”
“For real. And the slayer healing thing is amazing. I keep waiting to get tired out, whatever, but I'm just like bursting at the seams with energy.”
“Know the feeling,” Faith said with a smile, but it quickly changed to a frown. “Just wish B and the other hurt girls could say the same.”
“Hope so. I suck at playing nurse, and besides, I'd look like a complete tool in one of those little white outfits.”
Kennedy laughed aloud, quickly nodding her head.
“Yeah, I don't think you'd make the cut. Maybe if we . . . whoa,” Kennedy said, her mood instantly changing. She sat forward and rested her head between her legs, trying to right herself.
“Hey, what's up?” Faith asked, quickly sitting forward.
“I'm just dizzy all the sudden. Did you . . . shit, do you feel that? There's this hum. It's getting quieter, but . . . whoa.”
Faith frowned. Sure she felt a hum, but she figured it was her connection to all of the new slayers. Only problem was her hum was getting louder, as it had been since they got to the hospital yesterday.
“Sit up, Ken, I'll help you inside.”
Faith's eyes widened as Kennedy sat up. There was a trickle of blood dripping down her forehead and cheek, coming from the injury she'd had on her head during the battle.
“Shit!” Faith exclaimed. She quickly grabbed onto the bottom of her shirt and tore off a piece, holding it to Kennedy's head.
Kennedy was pale and breathing heavy, trying hard to focus and get her wits about her again. Faith quickly stood and pulled her up, ducking under her arm so that Kennedy was propped up with her arm around Faith's shoulder.
“We gotta get you inside, Ken. Shit, I need to talk to Willow.”
“Faith?” Kennedy asked, watching Faith's face carefully.
Faith sighed loudly and picked up her pace. She could barely find her voice, but she managed to say,
“It's me, Ken. I'm the reason none of you can heal.”
They'd barely made it in the front entrance when they found Willow and Giles standing in the front foyer speaking to Dawn. Willow looked over with a smile but it quickly fell as she came running over to see what was wrong, followed immediately by Giles and Dawn.
“What happened?” Willow asked as she pulled Kennedy's other arm up over her shoulder, helping to support her girlfriend. Faith immediately ducked out from Kennedy's other arm and stepped back a few feet.
“It's me. Something's wrong; every time I'm near a slayer she stops healing. Buffy, Chao-Ahn and the other girls in the rooms around her, now Kennedy . . . I'm like slayer plague.”
“Surely it's just a coincidence,” Giles said, removing the material Kennedy was holding against her head to stop the bleeding to take a look at her wound.
“Then explain to me why B felt better when she went for her testing but got all weak and sick again when she came back to her room where I was?” Faith asked angrily.
“Calm down, Faith,” Willow said, doing her best to support Kennedy. “What you're saying is impossible. The spell was to awaken the slayer within the potentials. There should be no logical reason why you'd cause them to lose their abilities . . .”
“But she's right,” Dawn said, a look of concern on her face. “Ever since Faith left to get you guys she's been feeling a lot better. The nurse brought the doctor in to check on Buffy and suggested that she might need sutures, but when the doctor looked her over, he said she's already mending.”
“See?” Faith said. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
“I don't think there's anything wrong with you, Faith,” Giles finally spoke up. “It sounds to me like the slayer – whose line runs rightfully through you – is trying to reclaim the essence that we spread throughout the potentials.”
“Giles, that can't be possible!” Willow said excitedly. “The spell was done perfectly.”
“Yes, the magic was done correctly. That doesn't mean, however, that the slayer is going to cooperate. I'm afraid that she's trying to reclaim the slayer line through Faith.”
“Great, so the gist of this is that I suck,” Faith said.
“You should stop being so hard on yourself, Faith,” Dawn said, resting a comforting hand on Faith's arm. Faith shook it off though, agitated.
“No, I mean . . . I'm sucking the slayer outta these girls, or something basically like that.”
“Very basically, yes,” Giles agreed. “We need to get in touch with the coven, see if they can offer any insight.”
“Angel might be able to help in the meanwhile,” Willow offered. “We can call him . . .”
“Fuck that!” Faith said angrily. “So I sit around here and wait while all these girls keep getting worse? That ain't gonna happen. I'm outta here. Tell B . . . I'm sorry.”
She turned around and began to make her way toward the exit but stopped when she heard Willow and Dawn calling after her.
Contributed by Electra
Where Do We Go From Here?
-If Faith decides to leave and go off on her own, click here.
-If Faith lets Willow and the coven try to find out what’s going on, click here.
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