FOLLOW YOUR HEART
DragonWriter17
PART 14
Fade In:
Summers Home - Buffy's New Room - Resume
Joyce watched in pain as Buffy screamed Faith's name and ran to the broken window. She saw her daughter search the darkness in vain, unable to see where Faith had landed. When Buffy turned from the window and tore off in a run, Joyce grasped the amulet Osiris had given her and absorbed its power. Then she whipped around and faced the Fury, who was still standing behind Willow but was now laughing maniacally and jumping up and down with glee. Joyce let out a roar and rushed the Fury. Unseen by the others, the two unearthly beings fell into a screeching body tangle. When the Fury managed to free itself and tried to flee to the ethereal plane, Joyce followed right after.
As soon as the Fury disappeared, Willow's exultant expression fell away. She blinked several times, and her eyes changed from black to their normal green. As she slowly realized what she'd just done, horror came over her face.
Tara shot her an accusing look before taking off after Buffy. Dawn just shook her head in confusion and shock and followed after Tara.
Cut To:
Summers Home - Front Lawn - Seconds Later
Buffy ran out of the front door and flew down the front steps. As soon as she cleared the porch, she started scanning the yard for where Faith might have landed. She saw the slayer lying on the ground beneath the towering palm tree near the bottom of the driveway. She ran to her and knelt beside her.
In the faint light of the distant street lamps, Buffy could see that Faith was out cold and unmoving, sprawled awkwardly on her back just a few feet from the base of the palm tree. Inexplicably, she still had the maroon jersey clutched tightly in her fist.
"Faith! Faith!" Buffy called out, trying to rouse the dark slayer. But Faith didn't respond. "Noooo...god, no..."
Tara and Dawn arrived seconds later. Tara knelt on the other side of Faith and began checking the slayer's pulse and breathing.
Dawn glanced at Faith, then back at the demolished window on the second floor. She looked at the upper part of the tree in front of the porch, where a sizeable limb had been ripped off, and then at the limb itself, which now lay several yards beyond the hedges, along with pieces of the broken window and its frame. Her eyes followed the scattering of leaves and branches that trailed across the yard toward the palm tree. Finally she looked high into the palm tree itself at the fresh abrasion in the bark of the upper trunk where Faith must have hit before tumbling to the ground.
Oh my god..." she said, realizing just how far Faith had gone and how hard she must have landed.
Tara turned to Dawn and said, "Go inside and call 911. Tell them Faith fell, and she's not conscious. Go!"
As Dawn took off to make the call, Willow hesitantly approached. Tears were streaming down the redhead's face.
"Oh, god, she's bleeding..." Buffy cried when she glimpsed blood on the grass beneath Faith's body. She looked up at Tara, "We have to do something, we have to-"
"No!" Tara ordered when Buffy went to lift the slayer. "We can't move her. It might hurt her more. But we can keep her warm. We need blankets."
Buffy leapt up and dashed inside, ignoring Willow's presence on the sidewalk. Seconds later, she was back with the afghan from the couch and another blanket from the coat closet. She helped Tara place them over Faith's body. Then she worriedly touched Faith's face as if pleading with her to wake up, to somehow be okay.
Finally daring to approach, Willow cried out, "I'm so sorry. I-"
Buffy stopped her with a scathing glare. "Don't you dare come close to her," she warned. "I mean it. Just stay the hell away from her!"
Sobbing even more, Willow backed away. Then she turned and re-entered the house, passing Dawn on the way, who was hurrying over to the others.
"They said the ambulance was just a few blocks away," Dawn informed them. "There it is!" she added when she saw the lights flashing down the street.
Within minutes, the EMTs arrived on the scene, assessed Faith's condition, and got her immobilized for transport. Just as the EMT in the back was about to close the door so that the driver could pull away, Buffy leapt into the vehicle. When the man started to object, she cut him off.
"I'm not leaving her," Buffy informed him.
The look on blonde's face scared the shit out of him, so he just slammed the door and called out to the driver, "Go!"
After watching the ambulance pull away, Dawn picked up the maroon jersey that the EMTs had removed from Faith's grasp when they'd strapped her onto the ambulance's gurney. "God, Tar...what's going on?" she said as she turned to the witch. "I don't understand..."
Tara pulled Dawn into a fierce hug. "I don't know, Sweetie, but we'll figure it out, I promise." She separated them but held onto Dawn's arms and looked her in the eyes. "I know you have issues with Faith, but you need to put them aside for a while, okay? Whether we like it or not, Buffy is very attached to her right now, and she needs our support."
Dawn nodded solemnly. Then the two of them headed back inside the house.
Cut To:
Summers Home - Living Room - Moments Later
Willow was pacing the floor when Tara and Dawn entered. She turned around and faced them.
"How-How is she?" she asked.
"Do you care?" Dawn shot back.
"Dawnie, why don't you go get dressed and then pack a bag for your sister?" Tara suggested. "I'm sure she'll want to change into some real clothes later."
Dawn did as Tara told her, but not before glaring at Willow. Soon Tara was alone in the room with her girlfriend.
"We don't know," she said in answer to Willow's question. "She's alive. For now. But beyond that..." She merely shook her head as a finish.
"Oh god..." Willow cried, sinking onto the sofa. "What have I done? What have I done? I'm so sorry, Tara...so sorry..."
"I know you are, Will, and that's good. You have a lot to be sorry about. But you're gonna have to deal on your own for a while. I need to be there for Faith and Buffy right now. Dawn will be coming with me, but you need to stay here. Don't show up at the hospital. Now's not the time."
"But...w-w-what can I do? There must be something I can do," Willow pleaded.
"Call Xander and Anya, tell them where we are." When Willow nodded, Tara added, "And pray, Will. For god's sake, pray. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Cut To:
Ethereal Plane - Same Time
Joyce and the Fury were still in mid-fight, and both were bruised and bloodied. They violently clashed once again, but it was clear by her amulet's fading glow that Joyce was beginning to tire. As the two circled one another, the Fury began to laugh.
"Useless Guardian with borrowed power," it taunted, "you are too late! Already the slayer's life drains from her body, and closer does her soul slide to the fires of hell!"
Joyce's face lit up in alarm. "No..." she cried before abandoning her battle with the Fury and blipping away.
Cut To:
Sunnydale Hospital - Emergency Room - Seconds Later
When Joyce materialized in the area where Faith was being worked on, she found the doctor and several nurses running around the gurney, taking emergency measures.
"Heart rate's spiking again," a nurse warned. When the beeps from the monitor became so rapid that they almost formed a single tone, she yelled, "She's gonna crash!"
As another nurse whipped the crash cart into place, the doctor took the paddles, gelled them up, and shouted, "Clear!"
Faith's body jerked slightly as he applied the shock.
"No effect," the nurse called out. "Rate's over 270 now...becoming erratic..."
Joyce rushed to the gurney and placed both of her hands on Faith's chest. Then she started sending energy from Ozzie's amulet into the slayer's body.
"Charging...charging..." cried the doctor as he prepared to deliver an even stronger jolt. "Clear!"
Just as the second electrical shock was delivered to Faith's heart, there was an unseen flash of light, and the last of Joyce's borrowed power left her. Now spent, the angel slumped to the floor.
The doctor and the nurses waited breathlessly for the few seconds it took for Faith's heart to reset itself. When the monitor began beeping in the familiar but slower buh-bump, buh-bump pattern, the group let out the collective breath they'd been holding.
"Normal sinus rhythm restored," the nurse announced.
"Okay, let's get her to the imaging room," the doctor ordered.
As the doctor and nurses started wheeling Faith away, a battered Osiris blipped into the room.
"Joyce!" he cried out as he knelt beside the exhausted guardian.
As he pulled her into his arms, she came to. "Faith..." she called out weakly.
Ozzie stared off into the hallway as if psychically checking something. Then he turned back to Joyce. "She's out of danger," he said, "and I'm taking you back."
Joyce tried to get up. "No...the Fury...I have to-"
"Joyce, you can't," he gently told her. "You haven't the strength, and neither do I. We must return."
Allowing no further argument, Osiris lifted Joyce into his arms and stood, then transported them both back to heaven.
Cut To:
Sunnydale Hospital - E.R. Waiting Room - Minutes Later
Tara and Dawn hurried into the waiting area and scanned the room.
"There she is," Dawn said, pointing toward the far corner, where Buffy was anxiously pacing. They headed in that direction. When they got closer, Dawn called out to her sister.
When Buffy turned around and saw them, she initially appeared relieved, but then her eyes narrowed, and she searched the area behind the two girls.
"Where's Willow? Is she with you?" the slayer demanded, her hands tightening into fists. "I'm going to-"
"She's not," Dawn quickly interjected, trying to calm her sister. "Tara made her stay home," she added as she set down the overnight bag she'd been carrying.
"Good...that's good...because I realllly can't see her right now," Buffy said, still clenching her fists.
Tara hung her head in that 'shame by proxy' reaction that people experience when their significant others have done something bad.
"I don't understand!" Buffy went on. "Why did she do that? Faith wasn't doing anything wrong. She was just...just...standing there. She wasn't threatening anyone." Tears began rolling down the slayer's cheeks. "I don't care what Faith's done in the past...she didn't deserve that..."
Dawn reached over and touched her sister's arm before asking, "Have you heard anything yet?"
Buffy wiped the tears from her face and shook her head. "No, but in the ambulance, it...it didn't look good..." She covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hold back the sob that was at the back of her throat.
Dawn pulled her sister into a hug. Although she was still suspicious of Buffy's attachment to Faith, she did what she could to comfort her sister. "She's a slayer," she reminded her. "She's strong, you know that. She'll be okay."
As Dawn and Buffy pulled out of their hug, Tara lifted her head and met their gaze. "I'm, um, I-I-I'm gonna go call Dr. Raine. Okay? I-I-I think she should know. I'll be right back."
At that, Tara scurried away to find a pay phone.
Cut To:
Sunnydale Hospital - Hallway Near E.R. - Moments Later
As Tara came out of the waiting room's double doors and into the hospital proper, she spotted a pair of pay phones in a small alcove next to the vending area. She hurried over and pulled out her pocketbook. Retrieving a pre-paid calling card and a slip of paper with Dr. Raine's number on it, she quickly went through the sequence of numbers required to place the call. After a few rings, someone picked up.
"Hello?" answered the British-accented voice.
"Dr. Raine? Hi, um...this is Tara, Tara Maclay from Sunnydale?"
"Oh, yes, of course. What can I do for you, dear?"
"I-I-I know it's late, but...Faith's been hurt, She's in the hospital. It...it c-c-could be bad. We really don't know yet."
"Good Lord!" Dr. Raine replied. "What happened?"
Tara paused before answering. She couldn't bear to put into words what Willow had done; plus she knew that Dr. Raine hadn't yet been informed of Buffy's return. "It's complicated," she said. "I-I-I don't think I can explain it over the phone."
"You can explain when I get there, then," Dr. Raine said. "I'll leave immediately. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Good," Tara said. "Thanks."
After hanging up the receiver, Tara leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, taking a moment to whisper a prayer to the Goddess.
Cut To:
Sunnydale Hospital - E.R. Waiting Room - Same Time
After Tara had left to make her phone call, Dawn had led Buffy over to a padded bench where they could both sit down. Despite the warmness of the earlier hug Buffy had shared with her younger sister, the slayer had immediately withdrawn into herself, leaving Dawn feeling alone and unneeded once again.
Dawn hated feeling this way. She wanted to blame Buffy or Faith or Willow or somebody, anybody. She just needed to find some strand of sense or reason in all of this. She knew that Buffy was fragile and really didn't need to be grilled, but Dawn's need to understand finally made her break the uncomfortable silence.
"Buffy?" Dawn asked nervously. "Can I ask you something?"
Buffy hesitantly looked over at her sister. "Ummm...I guess."
"You promise you won't get mad?"
"Right now I can't promise anything, but...I'll try. How's that?"
Dawn nodded then steeled herself. "What's going on with you and Faith?" she asked. "I mean, you were mortal enemies before-with good reason-and now she's...shirtless in your bedroom in the middle of the night."
Buffy gave her sister an intense glare of warning but said nothing.
"I'm not bashing Faith," Dawn immediately clarified. "I swear. I'm just...confused. I don't understand what's happening. The last time she was here in Sunnydale, you were ready to rip her head off for what she did to Mom. But since she's been back...since you've been back..." Dawn sadly dropped her gaze to her lap. "...I think she's gotten more hugs than I have."
Dawn's last statement instantly made Buffy's glare disappear. She glanced away and swallowed hard, her chin beginning to tremble. She couldn't deny the accusation; she knew it was true. She'd shown more genuine affection toward Faith than she had toward her own sister. As her eyes filled with tears, Buffy made herself turn back around. "You're right, and I'm sorry..." she said as she tugged her sister into a sincere hug. "...I'm so sorry. I'm trying, I am..."
Dawn began to cry, too, and hugged Buffy even tighter. "I know you are, I know..." After a moment, she pulled away and held her sister's arms. "But you don't have to keep things from me. I'm not a little kid anymore. You can tell me the truth. I won't break." She looked into Buffy's eyes and waited.
Buffy held the eye contact for a few seconds then looked away again. But she did attempt to answer Dawn's earlier question. "I'm not sure I know what the truth is."
"But there is something going on, right?" Dawn pressed.
I want there to be, Buffy thought to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud to Dawn. She was saved from actually answering by Tara's return from the pay phone.
"Did you get her?" Buffy asked when the blonde sat down across from her and Dawn.
Tara nodded. "She's on her way."
"Good. That's good," Buffy said with forced evenness. She wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect of this unknown watcher coming to town. She knew that Faith liked and respected the woman, but Buffy had learned the hard way that the Council shouldn't be blindly trusted. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Does Dr. Raine know I'm back?"
"No, we haven't told her yet," Tara answered. "Faith asked us to wait. She didn't want the Council descending on you while you were still adjusting."
Buffy smiled at that. It was such a thoughtful gesture-just another indication of how much Faith had changed. "Probably a good idea," she replied. "If they send another group of jackasses like they did during that Glory fiasco, I'm going to hurt somebody for real this time."
Just then, Xander and Anya entered the E.R. and rushed over to the group.
"Tara, what's going on?" Xander worriedly asked. "Willow called and said Faith was in the hospital. She was crying so hard I could barely understand her. What happened?" He glanced around the waiting area. "And where's Will?"
Tara cast a quick look in Buffy's direction before saying, "You guys better sit down. This might take a while."
As Xander and Anya sat, Buffy stood up. Not wanting to hear a recap of the night's events, especially Willow's part in it, she announced, "I'm gonna take a walk, maybe check in with the nurse again." She didn't wait for a response; she just strode away.
Then Tara and Dawn began telling Xander and Anya everything that had happened.
Cut To:
Sunnydale Hospital - E. R. Waiting Area - A Short Time Later
By the time Tara and Dawn got to the end of the story, Xander had a shell-shocked look on his face.
"I think I better sit down," he said.
"You already did," Anya reminded him.
"Oh. Good." He thought for a minute and then said, "So, what do we do? I mean, how do we-?" He stopped and raked his fingers through his hair. "God, this is messed up. She was just at the shop helping me and An clean up the place."
Anya nodded sadly. "And I didn't even have to pay her."
"I wanted to be mad at her, I tried to be mad at her," Xander went on, "I mean, I should've been mad at her, she tried to kill me before, but...she seemed so sincere..." He scrubbed his hands over his face. "Arggghh...now I don't know what to think."
"Look, I know Willow is kinda the bad guy here," Tara said to Xander and Anya, "but I'm really worried about her. Would you guys go with me to check on her? Maybe stay with her for a while?"
Xander glanced at Anya and then nodded back at Tara. "Sure. We can do that."
Tara turned to Dawn. "Take care of Buffy?"
"I will," Dawn assured her.
Tara, Xander, and Anya got up and headed for the admissions desk, where Buffy was finally getting a report from the nurse.
"Any news?" Tara asked.
Buffy shook her head. "They're still working on her. That's all they'll tell me."
"But she's alive," Xander noted. "I mean, they wouldn't still be working on her if she was-" He cleared his throat and went on. "Which she's not gonna be, of course."
Buffy nodded in gratitude for Xander's attempt at optimism.
"Buffy," Tara said, "we're going back to the house for a little while, but I'll be back before Dr. Raine arrives, I promise."
Knowing that Tara was going to see Willow, Buffy clenched her jaw several times, but she made no comment other than a tightly stated, "Okay."
As Buffy walked back to where Dawn was waiting, Tara and the others quickly exited the emergency room.
Cut To:
The Summers Home - Minutes Later
WhenTara, Xander, and Anya entered the house, they didn't see Willow in the living room. They called out to her, but got no response from the kitchen or dining room, so the three headed upstairs.
As they neared the master bedroom, they heard Willow inside, seemingly yelling at someone. "Shut up! Stop talking! I don't want to hear you anymore!"
They creaked the door open and found Willow pacing inside, holding her fists over her ears, though there was no one else in the room with her.
At least no one they could see. The Fury was back in place behind the redhead, whispering evil things to her.
"Shut up," Willow said again, this time beginning to sob. "Please..." she begged before sinking onto the end of the bed.
Tara gestured for Xander and Anya to stay back for the time being; then she cautiously approached Willow.
"Sweetie," Tara said softly, "who're you talking to?"
Still sobbing, Willow grabbed for Tara's hands, pulling her down to kneel in front of her, "Tara, thank god...please make it stop...please make it stop..."
Concerned, Tara asked, "Stop what, Baby?"
"The voice."
"Whose voice?"
"Mine," Willow wailed. "It won't stop...it won't stop..."
Willow doubled over, crying. Tara hugged her and stroked her back. "It's gonna be okay," she crooned to her, "it's gonna be okay..."
Tara made brief eye contact with Xander and Anya, who were looking as alarmed as Tara was. Xander and Anya then looked at each other. They turned back, though, when they heard Tara begin to sing.
It was a soft, beautiful melody in a language they didn't recognize. They noticed that Willow's cries lessened as the song went along. In fact, Willow eventually sat up and looked right at Tara as she sang.
Unseen by the those present, the Fury screamed at both Tara and Willow, but was unable to affect either one of them. With a final screech of rage, the Fury disappeared.
When Tara softly touched Willow's troubled brow, the redhead's eyes began blinking closed. As soon as Tara finished the final line of the song, Willow passed out. Tara caught her and gently laid her back on the end of the bed.
"We're gonna get through this, Baby," she told Willow. "Just rest for now."
After kissing Willow on the forehead, she stood up, closed her own eyes, and took in several long deep breaths to steady herself. When she opened her eyes and looked over at the doorway, though, she saw Xander and Anya crumpled on the floor, dead asleep just like Willow.
Tara rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Crap."
Tara walked over to Xander and Anya and knelt beside them. She leaned over them and whispered a command to them in the language she had sung in.
Immediately, their eyes fluttered open. Both had relaxed and contented looks on their faces. Xander grinned goofily at Tara. As he sat up, he touched her face and said almost drunkenly, "You sing pretty. Sing again."
By then, Anya was awake, and she gave Xander an elbow to the gut. "Snap out of it, Xander."
"Come on," Tara said, helping them to their feet. "Help me get Willow into bed."
After doing that, the three of them left the room and moved down the hallway, away from the open bedroom door.
"What was that?" Xander asked Tara. "What you sang?"
"An Orphic lullaby," Tara answered. "Willow likes for me to sing it for her when she's too wound up to sleep. I put it a little extra whammy on it this time, so it should keep her out for at least several hours."
"Then what?" Anya said. "She was seriously going off the deep end in there."
Xander gave Anya a reprimanding look, but Tara didn't appear to be offended by Anya's bluntness. Instead, she agreed with her.
"I know," Tara said, seemingly trying to put pieces together in her mind. "I mean, I figured she'd be upset, but...something's not right. I can't put my finger on it, but something is definitely not right."
"So, what do we do if she wakes up?" Xander asked.
"Just be with her, talk to her, listen to her," Tara recommended. "And don't take your eyes off her. One of you with her at all times."
"Even in the bathroom?" Anya inquired matter-of-factly but got ignored.
"Do you think she might try to hurt herself?" Xander asked worriedly.
Tara's eyes filled with tears as she gave a rueful shrug. "I don't know. She might. I hope not. I pray not." She wiped her tears away and then said, "I need to get to the hospital. I'll be back after Dr. Raine gets here."
"We'll take care of Will," Xander assured her.
After thanking her friends, Tara hurried down the stairs and out the front door. Once she was alone in the car, she finally allowed herself to really cry.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 15...