Chapter Fourteen

When the two slayers got back to the waiting room, they noticed Willow talking to a doctor.

"Faith, Buffy, this is Dr. Stevens. He's the surgeon that worked on Kennedy's shoulder." Willow told the two as they approached.

"Doc, how is my sister doing?" Faith asked, looking worried.

"We got the object out and repaired the damage done to the muscles and tendons in the area with no problem. Her temperature is still a little high for my liking though. We are doing some tests to see what is causing it."

"Is she awake? Can we go see her?" Buffy asked.

"She's in recovery right now. Once we get her into her room, you can go visit. I'll have a nurse come get you. I would recommend that you keep the visit short. She lost a lot of blood and is really weak."

"But she will wake up soon, right?" Faith asked, thinking about her time in the hospital.

"We'll know more about that once the anesthesia wears off. We've done all we can for the time being."

"Thank you doctor." Buffy said.

At that the doctor turned and walked out of the waiting room. Buffy turned to Faith and Willow to see how they took the news.

"Guys, she will be fine. They got the tip out. She should wake up soon. For now, lets go get something to eat then go see if she is in her room."

"I just have this bad feeling. Like something isn't right."

"Well, there is nothing we can do till we can go see her. Besides, we all know how you feel about hospitals, Faith." Willow said.

"It's not just that. I've had this feeling since last night. Something is going on, I just don't know what. I really wish Giles was here."

"He should be back soon. If you want, I can go call the house and see if they've arrived." Buffy said.

"Would you please? While you do that, I can go get us some coffee or something. Faith, can you wait here for the nurse?" Willow asked.

"Sure. If I'm not here when you guys get back, I'll be in with Hope."

When Willow left to get the coffee, Buffy turned to Faith and asked, "Can you sense her yet, Faith?"

"No and it is really worrying me. Even when she was attacked by the bringers, there was still something of an echo there. This time, there is nothing. It's like something is blocking the connection. B, when I was in the coma, did you still feel our connection?"

Buffy had been waiting for Faith to ask about that. She dreaded telling her the answer, knowing how she would take it.

"No, I couldn't feel it, but I know it was still there. If it wasn't, how were you able to come to me in that dream so you could help us with the mayor?"

"But that only happened after Angel almost drained you dry. You know what this probably means, she's not going to be waking anytime soon."

"We don't know that, Faith. She's strong. You saw how quickly she healed from that stab wound she got the other day. She'll pull through this too."

"But that wasn't with a silver dagger. She's been through so much in such a short amount of time. Maybe this was just too much for her. All that on top of changing the last two nights. It's just too much. If I lose her, B, I don't know what I will do."

Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's waist. "No talk like that. You are not going to lose her. You heard what the doctor said, the surgery went fine, even with her having a fever. Let's wait and see how she's doing before you start thinking like you are going to lose her."

Faith put her arms around Buffy's shoulders and sighed. "How do you know exactly what to say to calm me down?"

Placing her hand on her heart, Buffy replied, "Because I feel you, here. I don't like seeing you that upset, especially if we don't know if there is anything to worry about. It could just be the drugs they used during the surgery that is blocking her from you." Noticing a nurse coming towards them, she then said, "Here comes the nurse now. Why don't you go with her and see Hope. I'll go call the house to let them know what is going on and see if Giles is back yet, then I'll get Willow and join you up there. Ok?"

"I guess. Just don't take too long."

"I shouldn't. You just go. She'll be fine."

Buffy leaned up and gave Faith a peck on the cheek, then went to make her call. Faith went with the nurse to her sisters room. What she saw when she got there just made her worry even more. Kennedy was lying on the bed, looking even paler than when they brought her in. Her left shoulder was nothing but bandages, and she had machines and tubes running from almost everywhere Faith could see. It took a large amount of will power for Faith to not turn and run out of the room. Instead she slowly made her way to her sister's bedside and gently grasped her hand, making sure she didn't disrupt anything important.

"God Hope. This should be me lying here. You've been through so much in lately, and it's all my fault. If I had never come back to Sunnydale, you'd be fine right now."

Kennedy knew her sister was there, but it was too much of an effort to open her eyes. So instead, she squeezed her hand, trying to let Faith know she would be ok. When Faith felt that, she looked up to see if the younger girl was awake. Noticing her eyes were still closed, she tried the connection again. When she felt the weak echoes coming through, she almost yelled with joy. The only thing keeping her from doing so was remembering where they were. So instead, she gave her sister's hand a light squeeze back, and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"You had me so worried. You rest now. I'll be right here when you wake up."

When Faith was sure Hope was asleep, she quietly made her way to the hall, to wait for Buffy and Willow so she could tell them the good news. By the time the other two made it up to the room, Faith was about to go look for them. The three then decided to let Willow go in and sit with her girlfriend for a bit so Faith could go get some air. When the two slayers got outside, everything finally hit Faith and she practically collapsed on the stairs in front of the hospital.

"She's going to be ok. You were right."

"She woke up?"

"Yes and no. She didn't open her eyes, but I felt her through the connection."

"Can you still feel her?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping now, but she knows Willow is in there with her. They really love each other. I wish you could feel this."

"I can, through you. Plus, I know what we have, and if what they feel for each other is close to how we feel, then wow."

"I know." Suddenly Faith's head shot up and she looked up towards Kennedy's room. "Something's wrong. We need to get back up there."

"What happened? I thought everything was fine."

"She's scared. Come on, let's go."

When they got back to the room, they noticed Kennedy sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth. She had ripped the tubes out, and took off the bandage from her shoulders. There were a couple of nurses in the room, trying to get her back into the bed, all without success. Willow was trying to make her way over, but was being held back by a security guard.

"What happened in here? What did you people do to scare her? Let go of Willow, she'll have a better chance of calming Hope down than any of you."

One of the nurses turned from trying to get to Kennedy, to address Faith. "All we were trying to do was check her shoulder. The minute I got the bandage off and she saw it, she panicked."

The minute the security guard let go of Willow, she ran to the corner where Kennedy had holed up in. "Kenn, hun, what's wrong? They are just checking to make sure everything is ok. These are good people. They aren't going to hurt you."

Kennedy looked up at her girlfriend. "You sure? They won't hurt me?"

"I'm sure hun. They are only here to help you. Come on, let's get you back into bed."

"Ok." Then she looked up at her sister, "Fai, when did you get here? I thought you were in Boston."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Hope..."

"No, no Hope. Hope's gone. No Hope here. Kennedy now."

"Hope, what are you talking about?" Faith asked, scared by what she thought her sister meant. What happened next scared everyone. Kennedy jumped up and ran at her sister.

"I told you Hope is gone." Kennedy yelled at Faith, eyes briefly flashing yellow.

When Faith saw that, she backed off a little. She then turned to the nurses in the room, then to Buffy. Under her breath she asked, "B, think you can get these people out of the room. We have a really big problem here. Then, if Giles is back, get his ass up here. Willow and I should be able to handle this till then."

"You sure? You don't look like her favorite person right now."

"I'm sure. She's right. Hope isn't here right now. I just hope I don't have to hurt her too badly to get her calmed down."

"That doesn't sound good Faith."

"I know, but it's my only choice at the moment. I can't risk anyone else. Willow is her mate, she won't hurt her. Right now, she thinks I am challenging her. I may have to fight her. I don't need an audience for that, if you know what I mean." Faith told Buffy, letting her see her eyes flash to yellow briefly.

"Oh God, not that. But the full moon is over. She should have control back."

"That is why we need Giles here. I have no idea what is going on. All I know is what you are seeing is the wolf, not my sister. Just get these people out of here, before she hurts someone."

Willow watched the exchange between Faith and Buffy, noticing how scared the two looked. She then looked at Kennedy. The first thing she noticed was her eyes. 'Oh Goddess. She isn't in control.' She slowly walked over to the younger girl, trying to seem calm. When Kennedy saw Willow, she relaxed slightly, till she noticed the bruises on Willows arms from where the security guards were holding her. The thought that someone had hurt her mate enraged her and she attempted to attack the guards.

Faith had been watching her from the corner of her eye. When she saw her going to attack the guards, she intercepted, only to have Kennedy hit her with a hand that started to change into a claw. When Kennedy saw the blood start to flow from where she hit Faith, something snapped and she gained some control.

"Oh God, Faith. I am so sorry. I don't know what happened."

"Hope, is it you?"

"Yeah, I'm back. I think we need to get me out of here and back home."

"I think that is an excellent idea." Turning to the nurses that Buffy hadn't had time to get out of the room, she asked, "What do we have to do to get Hope released?"

"I can't recommend that. She just got out of surgery. She needs to stay here so we can keep an eye on her."

"You're doing such a fine job of that. You can't even get close enough to her to change her bandages. Now, I am taking her home with me. If any of you try to stop me, you will regret it."

"If you refuse to listen to reason, then you will have to sign a form so the hospital cannot be held liable if anything should happen."

"Fine, get me the form. Willow, can you help her get dressed while I fill out the paperwork? Buffy, bring the car around to the front. I want to get her out and home as soon as possible."