A/N: It donned on me the other day that I am evil for leaving you guys hanging like I did. So after I returned to my dark lair, finished cackling evilly to myself, and finished my evil genius plans for world domination…. Um, forget I said that. :-) But thanks again guys for all the feedback you've been giving. It totally makes my day!

**********

"Sir, would you like something clean to wear?" the nurse asked.

Wesley did not respond. Slouched in the unforgiving plastic chair, his eyes remained focused on his lap. On her blood that stained him through to his skin. Covered in blood that he wished were his own, he clenched his fists tightly.

The nurse watched him for a moment, not sure what else to say. She cleared her throat before asking again, "Sir?"

Wesley finally looked up at her, his face pale and eyes tired.

"I could get you some clean scrubs if you like," she said, smiling kindly down at him.

"No," Wesley replied with a slight shake of his head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you." He pulled himself upright in the chair. "How is she?"

The nurse's smile began to fade. "They had to stabilize her before they could proceed with surgery. They were able to get her blood pressure up high enough so they could proceed."

The nurse watched as Wesley dropped his head into his hands.

"Sir, she's a very lucky woman. She was technically dead for nearly ten minutes. Not too many people come back from that."

He sighed and looked back up at her. "Will she regain consciousness?"

The nurse shifted uncomfortably. "Dr. Malkin will be able to tell you about her progress as soon as the surgery is complete."

Wesley laughed bitterly. "I'll take that as a no."

The nurse frowned. "The doctor will be able to clear everything up, sir. I promise."

Wesley nodded and slouched back into his chair.

The nurse hesitated before continuing, "Sir, I know it isn't my place to say, but if you lose hope now, she has no chance."

Wesley could only nod as the nurse disappeared down the hallway.

Faith had no chance because he had taken it away from her. Hope had nothing to do with it. It was the bullet he had let rip through her body that had taken away her chance….

"Wesley?"

He didn't stir at the voice. He remained seated, his head back against the cold wall and his eyes looking off into the distance.

"Wes?"

Cordelia moved to sit beside him, but stopped short when she saw his blood-stained clothing. The others remained behind her as she slowly sat beside him. As she reached to gently touch his hands, she noticed more blood. Cordelia frowned and took a gentle hold of Wesley's wrist.

"Wesley?"

He slowly turned his head towards her in acknowledgement.

"Wes, why are you covered in blood?" Cordelia asked cautiously. "Is Faith…? Is she…?"

"You weren't followed, I presume," Wesley simply replied.

"Weird thing," Gunn said from over Cordelia's shoulder. "We were just in the middle of kicking some Elite ass when they backed off for no reason."

Fred, who held tightly to Gunn's hand, added quietly, "And then you called us."

"They had a reason for backing away," Wesley said gruffly as he sat up again. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs as he clasped his hands together.

"They killed her, didn't they?" Angel said as Connor sat down next to Cordelia. "That's why they backed down. A new Slayer was called."

"Yes, but they didn't kill her…. I did," he whispered.

Cordelia frowned and gently rubbed Wesley's back. "I know it seems that way now, Wes, but you didn't kill Faith…."

He laughed quietly, and for a moment Cordelia wondered if he was crying. He turned to her as he replied, "Cordelia, I killed Faith. I'm the one who pulled the trigger. I… I killed Faith."

Cordelia's hand stopped over his spine. "What? You shot her?!"

He nodded and turned his eyes back to the tiled hospital floor.

Cordelia glanced up at the others, and they could only return her look of utter shock. She looked back at Wesley as she asked warily, "Can I ask why?"

"Because she asked me to," he sighed. "She believed in me. She thought I'd be able to bring her back, that if the Council did it, they would finish the job."

"So you shot her to save her?" Fred asked meekly.

Wesley simply ran a hand through his hair.

"Wesley, is she dead?" Cordelia asked, bracing herself for the news as she felt the muscles in his back tense under her fingertips.

"I don't know. She was…. She was gone for seven minutes or so. Dead, but… but they brought her back. She's in surgery right now."

"And her chances?"

He shrugged.

Fred mumbled to herself. "With that kind of cut off of oxygen to the brain…." She stopped thinking aloud as everyone but Wesley turned to look at her. Fred frowned as she read everyone's faces. "Was I thinking out loud again?"

Cordelia shot the girl a "shut up, Fred!" look as Gunn pulled at Fred's hand. "Why don't we go get something to drink?" he said as he pulled her away. "Connor, you want to come?"

Connor glanced at Cordelia and Wesley before turning to Angel. "Go ahead," Angel replied gently and the boy took off after Gunn and Fred.

Angel hovered for a moment before sitting in the chair Connor had vacated.

The three sat in silence for a moment before Cordelia sighed and leaned into Wesley. She rested her chin on his shoulder as she said quietly, "She'll be okay, Wes. I know it."

"How do you know?" Wesley asked as he buried his face in his hands.

She smiled gently. "Because I'm Cordelia. That's how."

Wesley nodded and smiled in appreciation.

**********

Wesley laid peacefully, slipping into slumber. The bed shifted before he felt Faith straddle his back. She trailed her fingernails up and down his bare skin as she asked, "You sleep?"

His arms crossed under his head, Wesley grunted. "Was it the serene look on my face and the closed eyes that gave me away?" he mumbled.

"Smart ass," Faith smirked.

"Remind me why I put up with you again?"

Faith shrugged. "Because I'm the only woman who will put up with your shit. Because I could hurt you if I wanted to." She leaned forward and bit his earlobe. She chuckled as he shifted underneath her. "And because the sex is amazing."

"Yes, now it's all coming back to me," he smiled.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is. So are you up for it?"

Wesley simply grunted again.

"Come on. Don't wimp out on me now, Pryce."

Wesley's eyes shot open. Those words. He knew those words. "What did you say?"

He felt the bed shift again as the weight on his back disappeared. "Don't wimp out on me now, Pryce."

Wesley turned over quickly, but by the time, he sat up, the room was empty. The scent of Faith's lilac shampoo lingered in the air.

**********

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce?"

Wesley opened his eyes, and it took him a moment to get his bearings. The glare of the fluorescent lights and the smell of antiseptics quickly reminded him that he was in the hospital. He glanced quickly to his right where Cordelia was asleep in her chair. Connor sat next to her, eating a candy bar and flipping through a magazine.

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce?"

Wesley looked up at the older man. He wore a lab coat over his light green scrubs, and Wesley caught a glimpse of the nametag. Faith's doctor.

He instantly got to his feet, waking Cordelia in the process. "How is she?" he asked.

Dr. Malkin adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses upon his face. "The surgery itself was a success. There was very minimal internal damage. Luckily, the bullet missed her major internal organs."

"I hear a but coming…."

"We managed to stabilize her, but she was dead for seven minutes, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. Her brain was cut off from its oxygen supply for a significant amount of time. In these kinds of situations, people very rarely regain consciousness."

"But there's still a chance, right?" Cordelia asked from her seat. Beside her, Connor watched helplessly, his candy bar dangling from his mouth.

"There's always a chance," Dr. Malkin said with a nod. "These next few hours are critical. If she's able to regain consciousness within the crucial timeframe, we're out of the woods."

"And if not?" Wesley frowned.

"Like I said, there's always a chance."

Connor finally spoke. "Can we go see her?"

Dr. Malkin shook his head. "Not at the moment. She's still in the recovery room. As soon as we move her to the ICU, I'll let you know, and you can go see her."

"Thank you, Doctor," Cordelia smiled appreciatively.

Dr. Malkin nodded and disappeared back down the hallway.

Once he was gone, Cordelia turned to Connor. She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. She handed it to him as she said, "Hey, Con, why don't you go get us all something to drink in the cafeteria?"

"Okay," he said and took the money from her hands.

Cordelia watched him leave before turning to Wesley. He sat back down in his chair with a sigh.

"You don't have to stay, Cordelia."

"I know I don't, but I want to. I mean, Angel hates hospitals, and Fred and Gunn really felt weird being here. But I want to be here." She smiled gently as she added, "And so does Connor. We're not going to abandon you."

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," she said as she gently squeezed his knee. They sat in silence for a moment before she asked, "It was Faith, wasn't it?"

Wesley looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Your rhetorical question from earlier. It was Faith. She told you she loved you."

Wesley nodded.

"And you didn't say it back."

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head.

"Wow, so you really are a guy," she smirked.

He turned to her again and Cordelia smiled softly at him in response.

"Wes, you aren't the first and you won't be the last man to be completely dumbstruck when your girlfriend says she loves you. Especially when your girlfriend is as stoic about emotions as Faith. I mean, they base entire movies around the concept." She paused with a sigh. "Maybe you don't tell her right at that moment, but all the matters is that you say it to her. That she knows." She hesitated before continuing. "You did get a chance, didn't you?"

Wesley nodded and scoffed bitterly. "Right before I shot her."

Cordelia frowned as she watched Wesley slouch back into his chair. "Wes, you can't beat yourself up. You did what you had to do to save her…."

"And in the process I've killed her."

"No, you haven't. Besides being highly violent, unpredictable, and at times highly antisocial, Faith's also a fighter. She's not going to give up without a struggle, and she'd be extremely pissed if she knew you were giving up." Cordelia paused with a slight smirk on her face. "Now unless you want a really pissed off Slayer ghost haunting the hotel day in and day out, I advise you to suck it up and have some faith. Pun intended."

Wesley finally looked up at her and smiled despite himself. "You may have a point."

"Of course I do," Cordelia shrugged. "Now are you going to let Lilah and the Council win this battle?"

"No."

Cordelia smiled and took Wesley's hand. "Good."