Hunter and his boys ran to the bus, pushing four stretchers along with them. One by one, starting with Robin, they helped the injured off of the bus and onto them while the others watched.

"The rest of you will fly with me; come along."

There were thirteen of them, not including Wesley, but space didn't seem to be an issue. The helicopter was twice the size of the first and there was room for everyone. They all started piling on to the chopper. Buffy stepped forward to climb aboard, but Faith grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Wha-? Faith?"

"Where do you think you're goin' B?" Her tone was casual but concerned "You're hurt."

"Faith, I'm fine."

Wesley stuck his head out of the chopper and for the first time, noticed the large wound in Buffy's side. He hadn't realized that all that blood on her shirt was her own.

"Buffy, you may be a slayer, but a wound like that should be tended to immediately." Giles, who was standing next to Wesley, nodded in agreement.

"He's right Buffy. You should take the other helicopter. They can fix you up in no time, I'm sure." Buffy's jaw dropped.

"Giles, I'm fine. I don't need any- Ahh!" Faith poked Buffy ever so lightly in the side, causing her to buckle once more, and again Faith was there to catch her. "Ahh…God…what was that for?" she asked through clenched teeth. Faith looked at her and helped her to stand.

"Just proving a point."

Buffy closed her eyes and sighed. She knew Faith was right, but admitting weakness was never something she liked to do; another thing she and Faith had in common. "Fine," she said. She then turned to everyone on the helicopter. "I guess I'll see you guys there." Buffy started to head towards to other chopper but she stopped dead in her tracks and clutched her side in agony. I feel so pathetic. But to her surprise, a second later she felt an arm slide around her waist.

"Here…" It was Faith. She leaned forward and put Buffy's left arm around her neck. She then stood upright, supporting Buffy almost completely. "It's probably starting to get infected." Faith turned her head back to the others, who were watching in silence. "I'll stay with her," she shouted. "Make sure she gets fixed up." Wesley nodded and slid the helicopter door closed.

A determined Faith and a rather confused Buffy made their way over to the other chopper. Hunter had just finished lifting Rona onto the chopper; she was the last one.

"Wait!" Faith called out to him. "She's hurt too." She said, tossing her head in Buffy's direction.

Hunter nodded. "Alright, come on."

Faith helped Buffy into the chopper and then climbed in after her. It was a tight squeeze with four stretchers and four people. Buffy hissed in pain as Faith helped ease her down onto a stretcher cot that had been placed on the floor.

"You alright?" Faith asked as she took a seat next to the blonde slayer. Buffy nodded slightly. One of Hunter's men knelt in front of Buffy with a large first aide kit.

"Miss Summers, I'm Jeff. I'm gonna have to ask you to take that jacket off." he said, opening the kit and pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Buffy tried to lift her right arm to slide it out of her jacket, but the pain was too much.

"Here," Faith said. "Put your other arm behind your back."

Buffy took her left arm and stretched it out behind her. Faith then reached around behind Buffy and pulled the jacket from that arm; from there she brought it forward and was able to slide it off of Buffy's right arm without her feeling the slightest bit of discomfort.

"Alright, let's take a look." Jeff stuck out his hand and lifted Buffy's blouse up slightly, just enough to get a look at her injury. He squinted as he examined the wound. He had a confused look on his face. "This looks like an exit wound."

Faith, who had been holding Buffy's jacket, held it up to show a large slice in the back. "That's because it is." She shook the hair from her eyes. "The knife went in through the back."

Jeff asked Buffy to lean forward so he could take a look. "Dear God." He gasped. He couldn't believe that Buffy was still standing. He had to keep reminding himself that she was a slayer. "Uh, well. You'll need stitches. It doesn't look like any vitals have been punctured, so that's good. But for the time being we should clean the wound and wrap it."

They were all silent, not sure what to say.

"Okay…" Buffy wasn't sure what Jeff was waiting for.

"Yes, well…you'll have to remove your blouse." Buffy's face turned crimson red and Faith quickly looked away.

"Right." Buffy cleared her throat and began unbuttoning her shirt. When she was through she shifted uncomfortably. She couldn't get it off without hurting herself. "I…um, it…" Jeff was rummaging through his kit, pulling out gauze and bandages. He didn't even look up as he spoke.

"Could you help remove her blouse while I prepare?" he asked Faith.

"Umm…alright." Faith swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Buffy, who wouldn't meet her gaze. She just put her left arm behind her once more. Faith silently took the blouse from her arm and then slid it off of her right, more delicately then before, with trembling hands. Buffy sat still, exposed and uncomfortable in her black, lace, bra that somehow maintained its innocence. Her skin was lightly bruised and the area around her wound was stained a sickly shade of red. Faith couldn't help but stare; Buffy's body seemed so fragile. It seemed unlikely that she was capable of inflicting ever a quarter of the damage everyone knew she could.

Faith became aware that Buffy was uncomfortable with her staring, so she looked away and watched as another man in uniform worked on dressing the wounds of the others. Her eyes were focused, but her ears listened to everything going on next to her.

"I'm just going to clean the wound. It's already started to heal, but it's infected. I'm gonna have to open it up a bit to clean it properly." Jeff spoke slowly to Buffy as if she was simple. It pissed her off. She was feeling weak enough as it was, but she just nodded and closed her eyes as Jeff approached her skin with a small knife.

Faith stared straight ahead, yet unable to ignore whatever was going on next to her. From the corner of her eye she saw the glint of a small knife. She closed her eyes, trying not to imagine what was coming next. Suddenly, Buffy let out a wince and Faith felt a hand shoot out and grab her wrist. She looked down to see that Buffy's hand was clasped tightly around her forearm and was shaking slightly. Her eyes were closed but she seemed aware of what she was doing. Jeff was scratching at her wound with the small knife trying to open the tiny bit that had closed up.

"There." Jeff sighed and withdrew the knife. Buffy let out her own sigh of relief. Her hold on Faith's arm loosened but she didn't let go. Tears flowed from her eyes just like the fresh blood that was flowing from her side. Jeff began to clean the wound. Buffy's eyes snapped shut once more and she hissed in pain as the antiseptic washed the gravel and dried blood from her sore. Once again, her grip tightened on Faith's arm. Faith's eyes moved back and forth from Buffy's face to her arm, which Buffy had clasped firmly in her hand. Buffy winced again, and Faith's heart bled for her. She placed her own comforting hand on top of Buffy's. She felt Buffy's grip loosen and her muscles relax. Her touch was clearly calming her down, something Faith never thought was possible.