A/N: Hey everyone! Soooo sorry it's taken me so long to update but I've been extremely busy lately and I've run out of back up chapters so I'm kind of just posting as I get them written now which is taking me longer then I'd hoped. The problem is that I've got all the ideas in my head…but no time to write them down. It sucks! I love to write and I hate not having time to do it. Anyway…here's the next chapter so I hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks so much to everyone who reads and reviews this story! You guys are great!

Numb

Shortly after Dawn had received the call from the hospital she and Faith had woken everyone in the building. Faith, Dawn, Giles, Xander, Willow, Andrew, Kennedy and the other junior slayers all pilled into their cars and rushed to the hospital all with worry etched into they're faces.

They were at the hospital now waiting impatiently in the waiting the room. The information they had received when they got there was that Buffy had been hit by a car while running across a busy street and that she was currently in surgery. They'd been waiting for nearly six hours. The sun had come up and everyone was exhausted.

Most of the junior slayers and Andrew literally hadn't been able to keep they're eyes open. About half of the occupants in the waiting room were fast asleep. Everyone else who wasn't asleep looked like they could pass out at any moment. That is, everyone except for one person…Faith.

The slayer's eyes had been wide open the entire time. She couldn't seem to keep still. A million thoughts were racing through her head and she sat in her chair with a blank stair on her face, her leg shaking just to keep her body in motion. Why did this have to happen? Why now? Why this night? She'd never believed in stuff like this before but she was starting to think it was a sign.

She thought that maybe this was some higher power telling her that she should have just left things alone. She shouldn't have said anything. She should have just given Buffy the time she needed. If they hadn't gotten in a fight none of this ever would have happened.

Faith realized that Buffy had to have been after something. Her slayer wouldn't be careless enough to run out in front of a car unless she had a damn good reason. She must have been chasing something and just didn't even see the car coming her way. If they hadn't gotten in a fight, that never would have happened. Whatever it was that she was chancing she would have had Faith there as her back up.

From across the room Willow watched the dark haired slayer as she could sense the inter battle going on in her mind. Ever since becoming a goddess, the red head had become somewhat of an empath. She could sense people's emotions if she opened herself up to it. She rarely did this, however, so as not to invade people's privacies, but there was something about the way Faith was reacting to all of this that had her curious.

Right now she could feel the tension, the pain, the guilt, the regret, and the worry that the slayer was feeling. And then there were other emotions inside of the girl that Willow never expected to see. She felt compassion, devotion and love. The oddest thing about all of that was that those emotions were geared towards her long time best friend. They were geared towards Buffy. Faith was in love with Buffy.

Willow kicked herself mentally for not seeing it earlier. Her girlfriend had told her time and time again that there was something going on between the two senior slayers but she would never let herself believe it…until now. They must have been secretly seeing each other. It was either that or Faith was just secretly in love with Buffy, but Willow highly doubted it was the latter.

Looking back now she couldn't understand how she hadn't seen the signs. The way they would look at each other, the way they acted around each other, all the time they were spending together. She should have figured it out a long time ago.

She continued to watch the slayer as she tried to imagine what she must be going through right now. She had no idea what she would be doing if it were Kennedy instead of Buffy. Even now it was her best friend that was in surgery fighting for her life, and she was scared to death. But if it were the woman she loved she knew it would be worse. She couldn't even imagine losing another lover. She wouldn't have the strength to go on.

After some mulling over of the idea, Willow decided to go sit next to Faith and try to talk to her. She turned to her girlfriend sitting next to her holding her hand. "I'm gonna go talk to Faith," she told the young slayer as she squeezed her hand lovingly and then released it.

Kennedy just smiled up at her goddess as she stood up to leave. "You're finally seeing it aren't you?" she asked with a slight 'I told you so' ton.

Willow rolled her eyes. She hated admitting she was wrong but she was woman enough to do so. "Yeah, yeah," she admitted. "You can gloat about it later but right now I'm gonna go try and be comfort gal."

The junior slayer smiled up at the red head and took her hand in hers once again. She gave it a soft squeeze. "I love you."

The red head leaned down and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss. "I love you too," she responded with a smile. Then she let go of her hand and started to walk towards Faith.

"Good luck," Kennedy whispered under her breath.

Faith was sitting alone in the middle of a row of four chairs staring at the wall in front of her when Willow approached. She snapped out of her daze when she saw the red head sit down in one of the empty seats next to her. Somehow the air immediately became awkward and uncomfortable as soon as she sat down.

"Hey," Willow greeted uneasily. She tried to gather her thoughts and figure out what exactly she was going to say. Her intent, believe it or not, was to comfort the slayer. Willow hadn't always been a huge fan of Faith but over the past few months, and even back in Sunnydale when she's come back to help, she'd started to actually get along with her for the most part.

"Hey," Faith responded back with equal discomfort.

For a few moments they were both silent. Willow was trying to figure out how best to start the conversation. Finally she decided to just be straight forward and honest. "I just want you to know," she started, "That I know…about you and Buffy."

Faith took a deep breath and released it. She wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. She figured that it was possible that some people knew about the two of them and were just waiting until they actually told them instead of just revealing that they knew. It made sense that red would know.

When the slayer couldn't seem to find words to respond Willow decide to just continue with what she wanted to say. "I can't even imagine what you must be going through right now. I just wanted you to know that…if you need anything, if you wanna talk or anything like that, I'm here."

The dark haired slayer was a little surprised when it happened but a small smile appeared on her face at Willow's generosity. She never expected the witch to be this nice. "Thanks, Red," she responded sincerely. "That means a lot."

Willow smiled back at her. "No problem. I meant it. I'm a good listener."

Faith turned to face the goddess and smiled. She wasn't really in the talking mood but it felt nice to know that there was someone willing to listen.

Only about fifteen minutes later Faith watched as Buffy's doctor walked into the waiting room. She immediately jumped out of her seat and started walking towards the doctor. She was fallowed instantly by Dawn, Willow, Giles, Xander and Kennedy. As she and the doctor met half way in the middle of the room her heart began to beat faster, and the look on the doctors face was anything but reassuring.

"How is she?" Dawn asked anxiously.

The doctor took a deep breath before responding. "Well the good news is that she made it through the surgery successfully. To be completely honest with you all, with the type of injuries that she sustained she shouldn't have even made it through the ambulance ride here. I don't know exactly how she made it but…your friend should be dead right now."

Everyone looked around at each other nervously. It wasn't shocking to them that Buffy was able to survive something that most people normally wouldn't, but what was shocking to them was the fact that this accident was that serious. They'd hoped it was going to turn out to be something minor. A little six hour surgery and she would be good as new.

"She sustained severe damage to the brain," the doctor continued. "We were able to stop the bleeding and repair most of the damage."

"So what's the bad news?" Faith asked nervously.

The doctor took a deep breath before responding. "I'm afraid that the amount of damage incurred has caused Ms. Summers to slip into a coma."

Faith quickly looked away and bit her lower lip to try and control her emotions. Her eyes began to well up but she wouldn't let herself cry. Not right now.

Dawn immediately broke down at the news. She covered her mouth with her hand as she began to cry. Xander quickly stepped forward and wrapped the young woman tightly in his arms.

Willow too tried to fight back tears. Kennedy wrapped her arms around her waist and held her close protectively. "Is she going to be alright?" the red head asked through small sobs.

"We've done everything we can for her right now," the doctor responded. "We repaired the damage and we intended to place her in a drug-induced coma anyway to allow her brain to heal from the surgery. The natural coma will still allow her to heal but we've done all we can do. The rest is up to her."

"What are her chances of waking up, doctor?" Giles asked hopefully.

The doctor pursed his lips. "It's hard to tell. Believe it or not the real world isn't quite like they portray it in the movies. Coma patients often do wake up within days, sometimes even hours. However, the longer they remain comatose the less likely it is that they'll wake up."

"So there's still a good chance that she'll be fine?" Xander asked enthusiastically. He was coming through as mister optimistic once again. The gang could always count on him for that.

The doctor gave them a half smile and nodded his head. "Yes, all is not lost. There's a good chance that she'll wake up within a few days. But, I do want you all to be aware of the possibility that she won't. Coma patients are very unpredictable."

"Thank you, doctor," Giles responded.

"Can we see her?" Dawn managed to get out between sobs.

"We have her stabilized," the doctor explained. "She has the OK for visitors but we're going to have to limit it to two people at a time. She's still very sensitive right now. Her brain activity must stay farley low if she's to recuperate."

"Oh don't worry," Xander reassured, "Our Buffy's a fast healer."

"Yes, well, even so," the doctor continued. "Studies have shown that coma patients are sometimes able to still hear and understand what's going on around them. You have to be sure to try and sound optimistic and be sure not to worry her. If she senses that you're worried it could increase her own worry which will increase her brain activity."

Giles nodded his head for the group. "Yes, we understand."

The doctor nodded his head as well. "Good. Which of you would like to go in first? I'll show you to her room."

Everyone looked at Dawn. Naturally they all knew that she would be going in first since she was Buffy's sister. "I wanna go in," Dawn responded as she began to compose herself. She knew that if she cried while in the room with Buffy it might make her worry like the doctor said.

"I'll come in with you if you want Dawny," Xander offered.

Dawn smiled at his offer but then instantly turned to Faith. "Do you want to come in with me?" she asked the slayer knowing that she would want to see her girlfriend as soon as possible.

Faith was silent for a moment as they all turned to her, some with confusion at why Dawn had asked Faith of all people, and some with anticipation at what she might say. The dark haired slayer slowly shook her head. "I can't. I just…can't. Not just yet."

The youngest Scooby nodded her head understandingly. "It's ok," she comforted. Then she turned back to Xander. "Will you come in with me then?"

"Of course," Xander responded as he put a comforting arm around the young brunette.

The doctor nodded his head. "Alright then, right this way," he said as he pointed down the hall and started walking.

Faith watched numbly as Dawn and Xander walked down the hallway behind the doctor.