Chapter 4-A Little Faith
Faith sat in silence as she watched Giles use whatever magic he knew of on Willow to help her. The poor girl was unaware of it, however, as she remained in blissful sleep due to the sedative Angel had injected into her. She laid peacefully on the bed in one of the hotel's many rooms as Giles placed his hands gently on her face. He stroked her hair and touched her forehead as he spoke some kind of chant.
Angel and Cordelia watched as they remained on one side of the room. Faith sat in a chair by the window, also watching. The only sound in the room was Giles chanting away with whatever magic ritual he thought would help. Faith hoped it would help. She wanted to make things right with Willow, but she never expected she would be doing that with Willow Rosenberg from five years past. A Willow she didn't even know. However, the events, which led her to where she sat now, only strengthened her resolve to do what she could, no matter what the cost.
After awhile, Giles got up and he moved away from the bed, leaving Willow alone. Faith stood up to follow but before she did, she looked down at the sleeping girl and she noticed how peaceful she looked. Did Giles' spells work? They would all know when the time came for Willow to wake up from her sleep.
Faith met with the others out in the hall, but she was reacting out of instinct when she remained in the doorway with the door partially closed. She wanted to be able to hear Willow if the girl needed help in any way.
"Giles, do you think it will work?" Angel was asking him as he glanced at Faith.
Giles looked exhausted. "Y-yes. I think so, Angel, but-but we really won't know until she wakes up." He blamed himself for the whole affair and everyone present knew it.
"Stop blaming yourself," Angel told him. "No one saw this coming. Giles, Willow is going to need your help. She's going to need you to be strong."
Giles nodded. "Yes. O-of course, you're right. I'm-I'm just having a difficult time accepting this." He paused. "Angel, she may need to stay here for a day or two...be-before I take her back to Sunnydale. Willow will need to recuperate."
Angel agreed. "She can stay as long as it takes."
"G-good. I'll...I'll need to call Buffy and t-tell her that we need more time helping you on your...latest mystery."
"Giles," Cordelia said, "why don't you tell Buffy what really happened?"
Giles hesitated. "No. N-no, Cordelia...I-I won't do that over the phone. When the time is right...I'll tell her." He headed slowly down the hall. His shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed in defeat.
Faith watched him go. When she turned her head, she found that Angel and Cordelia were watching her.
"Will you be all right with Willow?" Angel asked her. "You'll call us when she wakes?"
Faith cleared her throat. "Yeah. Sure." She nodded. "I'm good here. I'll, uh, I'll keep an eye on her."
"Thanks." Angel gave her shoulder a squeeze of affection. Then he and Cordelia walked away.
Faith closed the door and she went back to her chair by the window. She watched Willow for awhile. Some time later, Willow became restless in her sleep. She began to toss and turn, and occasionally she would cry out. Faith got up and looked at Willow with concern.
"N-n-n-no, no...noo," Willow moaned in her sleep.
Faith sat beside her and brushed Willow's hair from her face. She looked so troubled. Willow's lips parted as a sob escaped from her. She was having a nightmare. As she thrashed some more in her sleep, Faith became concerned she was going to hurt herself so she did the only thing she could think of. She sat up on the bed, took Willow in her arms and held her. She shushed her and began to rock her.
At first she felt very odd in doing it, but as she saw that it seemed to have a positive affect, she kept rocking her. Willow slept and Faith continued to hold her. Time slipped by, and the sun began to peek in through the curtains. Stifling a yawn, Faith got up from the bed and made sure that Willow was okay. Then she left the room to fetch a much needed cup of coffee. She went down stairs, made her way to the kitchen and found what she was looking for.
Coffee. Black. Strong.
Wesley was up and he had already brewed a fresh pot. With his arm wrapped in a bandage, he greeted Faith as she approached and looked at her with respect. "It's good to see you, Faith."
She smiled as she poured herself a cup. "Thanks. You, too."
"Is, er, Willow doing all right?"
She shrugged. "So far. She had a nightmare during the night, but she's slept soundly for the most part."
"Did you get any sleep?"
She shook her head. "Nah. Besides, I don't really need all my beauty sleep. Aren't I gorgeous enough?" She grinned to show that she was joking.
He smiled. "Well, of course, I can see that." He stopped as he realized what he had just admitted. "Uh, Faith, how are you doing?"
She looked at him and shrugged. "I'm doing fine. Nothing can keep me down, Wes. I always bounce right back up, but this time, I aim to do it right." She paused. "Tell me, what's going to happen to that trophy? Are you going to burn it?"
Wesley shook his head. "No. We'll send it back to the Council. They'll take care of it."
Faith thought about that. "Well, I hope they do take care of it." She waved at him. "I'd better check on Willow." She took her coffee and went back to the room.
Upon entering the room, she soon discovered that the bed was empty. "Oh, shit," she cursed herself. That's when she heard it. It sounded like someone was throwing up.
Faith put her coffee down onto the table and she went around the bed, moving toward the bathroom on the other side of the hotel room. She cautiously poked her head around the bathroom's doorframe and there she found Willow.
The poor girl had thrown up in the toilet, and now she was sitting on the floor trembling. She didn't notice Faith at all because she was staring at her reflection in the mirror on the bathroom wall. She could see herself from where she was sitting, and from the look on her face, she didn't seem convinced she was actually seeing herself. Her hands went to her hair, which she had remembered was longer than it was now. Even her face didn't look like the face of a fifteen-year old girl, but it was the face of a young woman.
She looked down at her chest. Then she looked into the mirror. Tears filled her eyes.
"I-I'm not me," she said in a hoarse whisper. "I-I'm not...me." She put her face in her hands and laid herself on the floor. She began to weep.
Faith entered and knelt beside her. "Aw, hey. C'mon there, Will. It'll be all right." She tried to put her arms around her. "C'mon now, I'll--"
Willow bolted upright and pressed her back against the bathtub. She stared at Faith, eyes wide in terror. "N-no, please..."
Faith spread her hands out. "Easy, Will. I'm not here to hurt you. Please. You have to trust me."
"W-where am I?" The tears were flowing down her face. "Oh, p-please, wh- what's happening to me?"
Faith swallowed as she tried to keep herself from crying along with Willow. Yeah, like that would really help. She took a deep breath. "Listen to me, Willow. You're in a hotel--"
"Wh-what?" She looked around fearfully. "H-hotel?" She focused her eyes on the young woman before her. "Who are you? W-why am I here?"
"My name is Faith." God, what the hell am I going to say to her? "Willow, I know you don't understand what's happening right now. But you have to believe me, I'm trying to help you. Giles is here, and--"
That name struck a memory. "G-Giles?" She thought back to Amy Madison. Buffy was dying from a spell cast upon her by Amy's mother. Giles was trying to break the spell...but why were they in a hotel?
"Yes, Giles," Faith said with an encouraging nod. "He's here. Cordelia's here, too."
"C-Cordelia Chase?" Willow began to cry.
Faith looked stunned. "Hey, c'mon, girlfriend. Cordelia's a friend...isn't she?"
"N-no. She's the Ice Q-queen of-of Mean."
Faith took a hold of Willow's hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "Well, c'mon. Let me help you. Please?" She looked into her eyes. "We'll take it slow and I'll be there for you every step of the way. I know you don't know me...but I really do owe it to you to be there for you."
Willow looked at her with tear-stained eyes. She saw in her mind a dark place, but somehow she saw Faith reaching for her. It was an image in her mind, and she didn't know what it meant, but somehow she felt a connection with the raven-haired girl. She recognized her and didn't understand why. Finally, she nodded. "O-okay." She didn't know what else to do. She was so disoriented and lost that she had no choice but to trust Faith.
Faith helped her up. Willow almost stumbled. Faith held her up and then she helped her back to the bed. "God, you're burning up, girl. Let me help you out of those clothes and under the covers. Okay?"
Willow nodded.
Faith helped to undress her. Willow couldn't do it because she was shaking too badly. The shaking didn't seem to stop. After Faith put her under the covers, she hurried to the door and called for anyone who would hear her. Then she went back to Willow. The girl was lying on her side with her face in her hands. She couldn't stop crying either.
That did it for Faith. Her eyes began to tear up as she got back onto the bed and held Willow to her. She was so angry with Catherine Madison she wanted to kill the bitch with her own bare hands.
"It'll be okay, Willow," she said to the sobbing red head. "I swear to God, it'll be okay."
Angel and Giles came into the room. Faith looked at them as she held onto Willow.
Giles stopped. "I-is she...?" he began to inquire softly.
Faith nodded.
Giles sat on the edge of the bed slowly. He put his hand on Willow's shoulder and said her name softly.
Willow turned her head to look at him. "G-Giles?" Her eyes were glassy.
He sighed a deep sigh of relief that she knew who he was as he smiled warmly at her. "Y-yes, Willow. It's, er, me." He hesitated. He put his hand to her forehead. "Oh, my...you've got a fever." He looked at Angel.
Angel nodded. "I'll be right back."
Willow watched the man go, and then she looked at Giles. "W-who was that, Giles?"
Giles took off his glasses. "That was, er, uh, Angel, Willow."
Willow looked at him blankly. She blinked her eyes at him. Then she closed her eyes and stopped breathing.
"Willow?"
Willow did not respond.
"Oh, de-dear Lord," Giles cried as he put his ear to her chest. "No!" He looked at Faith with a panicked expression. "She's-she's not breathing! Her heart has stopped!"
"Get out of the way!" Faith snapped. "I know CPR."
Giles did as well, but he was numb inside. He moved out of Faith's way as she checked Willow's airway. Then she blew in a breath for her. She began with compressions next, and blew in her mouth again. She repeated this three more times when Willow gasped. She was breathing.
Giles was so relieved, he fell onto his knees beside the bed and grabbed at Willow's hand.
Faith looked at Willow with increasing worry. "Giles, she's still unconscious." She paused. "Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?"
Giles hesitated. "We-we can't. We could lose her."
"What do you mean?"
"How can we-we explain what happened to her, Faith? They wouldn't believe us, and they would take her from us un-until they knew what to do with her. They-they might even keep her locked up in an institution with white walls, and-and she deserves better than that."
Faith touched Willow's face. She was so hot. "Giles, man, I'm scared for her. What are we going to do?"
"We'll help her. I-I swear it, we will."
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TO BE CONTINUED--
Faith sat in silence as she watched Giles use whatever magic he knew of on Willow to help her. The poor girl was unaware of it, however, as she remained in blissful sleep due to the sedative Angel had injected into her. She laid peacefully on the bed in one of the hotel's many rooms as Giles placed his hands gently on her face. He stroked her hair and touched her forehead as he spoke some kind of chant.
Angel and Cordelia watched as they remained on one side of the room. Faith sat in a chair by the window, also watching. The only sound in the room was Giles chanting away with whatever magic ritual he thought would help. Faith hoped it would help. She wanted to make things right with Willow, but she never expected she would be doing that with Willow Rosenberg from five years past. A Willow she didn't even know. However, the events, which led her to where she sat now, only strengthened her resolve to do what she could, no matter what the cost.
After awhile, Giles got up and he moved away from the bed, leaving Willow alone. Faith stood up to follow but before she did, she looked down at the sleeping girl and she noticed how peaceful she looked. Did Giles' spells work? They would all know when the time came for Willow to wake up from her sleep.
Faith met with the others out in the hall, but she was reacting out of instinct when she remained in the doorway with the door partially closed. She wanted to be able to hear Willow if the girl needed help in any way.
"Giles, do you think it will work?" Angel was asking him as he glanced at Faith.
Giles looked exhausted. "Y-yes. I think so, Angel, but-but we really won't know until she wakes up." He blamed himself for the whole affair and everyone present knew it.
"Stop blaming yourself," Angel told him. "No one saw this coming. Giles, Willow is going to need your help. She's going to need you to be strong."
Giles nodded. "Yes. O-of course, you're right. I'm-I'm just having a difficult time accepting this." He paused. "Angel, she may need to stay here for a day or two...be-before I take her back to Sunnydale. Willow will need to recuperate."
Angel agreed. "She can stay as long as it takes."
"G-good. I'll...I'll need to call Buffy and t-tell her that we need more time helping you on your...latest mystery."
"Giles," Cordelia said, "why don't you tell Buffy what really happened?"
Giles hesitated. "No. N-no, Cordelia...I-I won't do that over the phone. When the time is right...I'll tell her." He headed slowly down the hall. His shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed in defeat.
Faith watched him go. When she turned her head, she found that Angel and Cordelia were watching her.
"Will you be all right with Willow?" Angel asked her. "You'll call us when she wakes?"
Faith cleared her throat. "Yeah. Sure." She nodded. "I'm good here. I'll, uh, I'll keep an eye on her."
"Thanks." Angel gave her shoulder a squeeze of affection. Then he and Cordelia walked away.
Faith closed the door and she went back to her chair by the window. She watched Willow for awhile. Some time later, Willow became restless in her sleep. She began to toss and turn, and occasionally she would cry out. Faith got up and looked at Willow with concern.
"N-n-n-no, no...noo," Willow moaned in her sleep.
Faith sat beside her and brushed Willow's hair from her face. She looked so troubled. Willow's lips parted as a sob escaped from her. She was having a nightmare. As she thrashed some more in her sleep, Faith became concerned she was going to hurt herself so she did the only thing she could think of. She sat up on the bed, took Willow in her arms and held her. She shushed her and began to rock her.
At first she felt very odd in doing it, but as she saw that it seemed to have a positive affect, she kept rocking her. Willow slept and Faith continued to hold her. Time slipped by, and the sun began to peek in through the curtains. Stifling a yawn, Faith got up from the bed and made sure that Willow was okay. Then she left the room to fetch a much needed cup of coffee. She went down stairs, made her way to the kitchen and found what she was looking for.
Coffee. Black. Strong.
Wesley was up and he had already brewed a fresh pot. With his arm wrapped in a bandage, he greeted Faith as she approached and looked at her with respect. "It's good to see you, Faith."
She smiled as she poured herself a cup. "Thanks. You, too."
"Is, er, Willow doing all right?"
She shrugged. "So far. She had a nightmare during the night, but she's slept soundly for the most part."
"Did you get any sleep?"
She shook her head. "Nah. Besides, I don't really need all my beauty sleep. Aren't I gorgeous enough?" She grinned to show that she was joking.
He smiled. "Well, of course, I can see that." He stopped as he realized what he had just admitted. "Uh, Faith, how are you doing?"
She looked at him and shrugged. "I'm doing fine. Nothing can keep me down, Wes. I always bounce right back up, but this time, I aim to do it right." She paused. "Tell me, what's going to happen to that trophy? Are you going to burn it?"
Wesley shook his head. "No. We'll send it back to the Council. They'll take care of it."
Faith thought about that. "Well, I hope they do take care of it." She waved at him. "I'd better check on Willow." She took her coffee and went back to the room.
Upon entering the room, she soon discovered that the bed was empty. "Oh, shit," she cursed herself. That's when she heard it. It sounded like someone was throwing up.
Faith put her coffee down onto the table and she went around the bed, moving toward the bathroom on the other side of the hotel room. She cautiously poked her head around the bathroom's doorframe and there she found Willow.
The poor girl had thrown up in the toilet, and now she was sitting on the floor trembling. She didn't notice Faith at all because she was staring at her reflection in the mirror on the bathroom wall. She could see herself from where she was sitting, and from the look on her face, she didn't seem convinced she was actually seeing herself. Her hands went to her hair, which she had remembered was longer than it was now. Even her face didn't look like the face of a fifteen-year old girl, but it was the face of a young woman.
She looked down at her chest. Then she looked into the mirror. Tears filled her eyes.
"I-I'm not me," she said in a hoarse whisper. "I-I'm not...me." She put her face in her hands and laid herself on the floor. She began to weep.
Faith entered and knelt beside her. "Aw, hey. C'mon there, Will. It'll be all right." She tried to put her arms around her. "C'mon now, I'll--"
Willow bolted upright and pressed her back against the bathtub. She stared at Faith, eyes wide in terror. "N-no, please..."
Faith spread her hands out. "Easy, Will. I'm not here to hurt you. Please. You have to trust me."
"W-where am I?" The tears were flowing down her face. "Oh, p-please, wh- what's happening to me?"
Faith swallowed as she tried to keep herself from crying along with Willow. Yeah, like that would really help. She took a deep breath. "Listen to me, Willow. You're in a hotel--"
"Wh-what?" She looked around fearfully. "H-hotel?" She focused her eyes on the young woman before her. "Who are you? W-why am I here?"
"My name is Faith." God, what the hell am I going to say to her? "Willow, I know you don't understand what's happening right now. But you have to believe me, I'm trying to help you. Giles is here, and--"
That name struck a memory. "G-Giles?" She thought back to Amy Madison. Buffy was dying from a spell cast upon her by Amy's mother. Giles was trying to break the spell...but why were they in a hotel?
"Yes, Giles," Faith said with an encouraging nod. "He's here. Cordelia's here, too."
"C-Cordelia Chase?" Willow began to cry.
Faith looked stunned. "Hey, c'mon, girlfriend. Cordelia's a friend...isn't she?"
"N-no. She's the Ice Q-queen of-of Mean."
Faith took a hold of Willow's hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "Well, c'mon. Let me help you. Please?" She looked into her eyes. "We'll take it slow and I'll be there for you every step of the way. I know you don't know me...but I really do owe it to you to be there for you."
Willow looked at her with tear-stained eyes. She saw in her mind a dark place, but somehow she saw Faith reaching for her. It was an image in her mind, and she didn't know what it meant, but somehow she felt a connection with the raven-haired girl. She recognized her and didn't understand why. Finally, she nodded. "O-okay." She didn't know what else to do. She was so disoriented and lost that she had no choice but to trust Faith.
Faith helped her up. Willow almost stumbled. Faith held her up and then she helped her back to the bed. "God, you're burning up, girl. Let me help you out of those clothes and under the covers. Okay?"
Willow nodded.
Faith helped to undress her. Willow couldn't do it because she was shaking too badly. The shaking didn't seem to stop. After Faith put her under the covers, she hurried to the door and called for anyone who would hear her. Then she went back to Willow. The girl was lying on her side with her face in her hands. She couldn't stop crying either.
That did it for Faith. Her eyes began to tear up as she got back onto the bed and held Willow to her. She was so angry with Catherine Madison she wanted to kill the bitch with her own bare hands.
"It'll be okay, Willow," she said to the sobbing red head. "I swear to God, it'll be okay."
Angel and Giles came into the room. Faith looked at them as she held onto Willow.
Giles stopped. "I-is she...?" he began to inquire softly.
Faith nodded.
Giles sat on the edge of the bed slowly. He put his hand on Willow's shoulder and said her name softly.
Willow turned her head to look at him. "G-Giles?" Her eyes were glassy.
He sighed a deep sigh of relief that she knew who he was as he smiled warmly at her. "Y-yes, Willow. It's, er, me." He hesitated. He put his hand to her forehead. "Oh, my...you've got a fever." He looked at Angel.
Angel nodded. "I'll be right back."
Willow watched the man go, and then she looked at Giles. "W-who was that, Giles?"
Giles took off his glasses. "That was, er, uh, Angel, Willow."
Willow looked at him blankly. She blinked her eyes at him. Then she closed her eyes and stopped breathing.
"Willow?"
Willow did not respond.
"Oh, de-dear Lord," Giles cried as he put his ear to her chest. "No!" He looked at Faith with a panicked expression. "She's-she's not breathing! Her heart has stopped!"
"Get out of the way!" Faith snapped. "I know CPR."
Giles did as well, but he was numb inside. He moved out of Faith's way as she checked Willow's airway. Then she blew in a breath for her. She began with compressions next, and blew in her mouth again. She repeated this three more times when Willow gasped. She was breathing.
Giles was so relieved, he fell onto his knees beside the bed and grabbed at Willow's hand.
Faith looked at Willow with increasing worry. "Giles, she's still unconscious." She paused. "Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?"
Giles hesitated. "We-we can't. We could lose her."
"What do you mean?"
"How can we-we explain what happened to her, Faith? They wouldn't believe us, and they would take her from us un-until they knew what to do with her. They-they might even keep her locked up in an institution with white walls, and-and she deserves better than that."
Faith touched Willow's face. She was so hot. "Giles, man, I'm scared for her. What are we going to do?"
"We'll help her. I-I swear it, we will."
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TO BE CONTINUED--