Chapter 2

Charity Hospital
New Orleans, LA
9:55 AM, May 7th 2006

Xander greeted the nurses at the nurse's station as he walked past it, and nodded to the police officer guarding the door to the CCU room as he entered. He walked over to the table and set the bag with his bagels inside on the table. He placed the fresh Starbucks triple mocha latte down as well and shrugged out of the custom made leather blazer that he favored.

Four days. Four long days and she still hasn't woken up yet, thought Xander.

He walked over to the side of the bed and sat on the edge of it. He gently brushed her hair back out of her face and ran his fingers softly down the side of her face. He could almost feel a slight current pass between them, and Faith's face seemed to relax some.

Why am I so obsessed with her? I mean, ever since she threw me out of bed I just couldn't stop thinking about her.

He stood and walked over to the window and looked out over the city. He just stared, not really seeing anything, and was still like that when Dana Scully entered the room.

He saw her reflection in the window and spoke without turning.

"Morning, Dana."

"Morning, Xander," she replied, walking over to check Faith's chart. "Any news yet?"

"Nothing," Xander said as he turned to face her. "It seemed like she relaxed a little when I brushed her hair out of her face, though."

Dana put the chart down and looked at the young man. She and Mulder had come to have a lot of respect for Xander in the time that they had known him.

"Xander, she will be fine. She was just extremely malnourished and physically exhausted. Who knows how long it had been since she had a good meal and a decent amount of rest? Add to that the number of wounds she had acquired and you can get a picture of how run down she was," Dana stated softly. "But you can see that many of the scars are fading already."

"I noticed," said Xander. "I just hope she wakes up."

"She will when she is ready. I've studied Buffy's healing ability, so I am pretty sure it will be soon. And when she does, it will be your job to help her recover emotionally and get some pounds on her. I'll check her again this evening. If you need me, just call," Dana said as she left the room.

Xander sat by the bed in one of those formed plastic chairs that seem to put everyone's butt asleep in record time and started to talk to Faith.

"You know, Faith, when Angel told us about you turning yourself in, and how deeply he believed that you were really sorry for what you did, I was relieved.

I had hoped that I could have been the one to help you out, but I was glad that someone finally reached you."

He paused to drink some coffee before starting again.

"Things got really screwed up after you left us. Buffy never really did get over Angel, and then Oz left Willow and it seemed like, for a while, we were just falling apart. I hooked up with a former vengeance demon, and thought about marrying her. Then one night my dad kind of lost it and beat both my mom and me pretty bad; bad enough that we spent several days in the hospital." He paused, thinking back. "You should have seen the look on his face, though, when Buffy stopped him. This tiny blonde was just holding his arm and not allowing him to swing. Then he swung at her and she decked him. After that, the gang pulled back together again, tighter, and we were there for each other then. Buffy jumped into Criminal Justice classes at the college, and Giles helped me get some money from the Watchers to go to UC Sunnydale as well. I took the Criminal Justice classes more to help Buffy out with them than anything else, and found that I liked them."

Xander paused again, sipping his coffee.

"Then came dad's trial. It was pretty bad, my mom and I having to tell what happened. Then we had to sit through his testimony about how worthless we were and how I was the result of an affair that my mom had had. It got pretty ugly. Anyway, we were doing fine for a while, my grades were good, and I had a part time job as a short order cook at a diner just out of town. Then came the day that dad walked away from a work camp that he wasn't even supposed to be at. He shot mom and beat me pretty badly before the cops showed up. Willow moved in about that time and helped me take care of mom."

Xander wiped his eyes.

"We got a large cash settlement from the city because of that. Mom is fine now, and is seeing a man from the Watcher's Council. Anyway, to get back to what I was telling you. Willow graduated from college and was trying to decide what to do. She had a idea for a software program, and was trying to sell it, but wasn't having any luck. I talked her into taking some of my settlement money and marketing it on her own. Took her awhile to finally agree, but she did, and she is now the owner of Wiccan Software. She markets occult type games and a lot of other kinds of software. I'm a forty percent owner; I tried to get her to not include me, but she says that I still contribute many ideas to the company."

He got up to pace, and then continued.

"Well, between school, part time jobs and patrolling, the time just flew by. Pretty soon, I was ready to graduate. It even surprised me when it happened. I ended up with a 3.8 GPA, and was being recruited by several Southern California police departments. They said I had remarkable skills and instincts. During classes, I found that the more I concentrated, the more memories from Soldier Guy came back, so I did really well at the self defense classes, and even ended up being a teacher's assistant in a couple of them."

Xander sipped some more coffee and sat back down.

"I am so, so sorry that I wasn't there when you got out, Faith. I wanted to be there for you when you got out, but I couldn't make it in time, Angel promised that he would take care of you till I could get there. But he got torn up pretty badly by a demon the night before, and you had already disappeared by the time he finally made it."

He took a deep breath before he continued.

"Faith, I did look for you. When I found out you were gone, I really looked for you. By then, I had tons of money and I hired several private investigators to try to find you, but you were just too good. That set the stage for my next big step.

I applied to the FBI. I made it, too. I did just okay on the testing, did excellently on the physical evaluation, and clinched it during the interview. I entered the Academy, and graduated at the top of my class. Now, if you're thinking that everything went well for the old Xan-man after that, you are way off."

"My first case, when I was assigned to the Washington DC office, was to help locate a serial killer who went after children. The case was ugly, and I still occasionally get nightmares from it. Anyway, that's when I met Fox Mulder. He had been assigned to profile the killer, even though he normally worked on the X-Files. His partner, Dana Scully, was on medical leave after being injured. So I helped keep track of the evidence, and was gopher boy for the AIC, or Agent in Charge, for you civilians."

Xander left and got another cup of coffee.

Oh, Xander, we always made you do that kind of stuff for us, didn't we? thought Faith, as she started to awaken.

When Xander returned, he continued.

"Well, it took several months, but we tracked the guy across the country and caught him in LA. Before heading back, I visited dear old dad in Prison. I tossed him my bank statement and badge. You should have seen the look on his face."

"After that, I returned to Washington and did background checks for weapons permits for a couple of months, until another assignment came up. This time, they were looking for someone to volunteer to help Mulder and Scully investigate a Vampire Cult, which was murdering people in upstate New York. I volunteered, and ended up proving to them that vampires really existed. We solved the case, and actually captured a couple of vamps and a small demon."

"The government just about shit bricks when they found out what was really out there. They expanded the X-Files division, and made me the head of the paranormal branch. We even negotiated a deal with the Watcher's Council. They provide us information and skilled researchers, and we provide a data gathering network and backing. Buffy is now Special Agent Buffy Summers of the FBI. She is based in Sunnydale and handles everything from there. Giles is a consultant to the FBI, as well."

"It was funny. A couple of years ago, Buffy had been in LA and returned unexpectedly, and she caught her mom and Giles in bed together. They finally got married last year."

"The FBI didn't really fund the X-Files very well, or treat them any better than they had previously until about two years ago. Some Middle Eastern terrorists made a deal with a group of demons; they allowed themselves to be implanted with demon eggs, and then entered the county carrying the eggs, along with another group who would care for the young demons until they could be on their own. Do you remember hearing about Turners Falls, Massachusetts? Well, that was the town. Over four hundred people were killed by those demons. We had to bring Angel, Willow and Spike in to help us. But the big bosses woke up over that. We now have the money we need to train more agents, and have specially trained SWAT teams located across the country, who we can call on for back-up."

Xander got up and went over to the window and looked out again, not noticing that Faith was waking up.

"Faith, I have been searching for you ever since you got out of prison three years ago. For the last two, the FBI has been trying to locate you. I wanted, no, I needed to tell you that I was sorry for not being there to help you, for not caring enough when you started to turn to the dark side. For not being a good enough friend," Xander said in a voice thick with emotion.

"It was never your fault, Xander," Faith said with a dry rough voice. "It was my fault."

Xander spun around quickly, his eyes wide with shock, searching her out. He was across the room in two steps and he grabbed her hand.

"Are you okay, do you need anything?" He asked.

"Just a little water," Faith asked, her voice shaky, and her eyes full of tears.

Xander rushed to get her some ice water, and he hit the nurse's call button as he passed it. Returning with the water, he helped her hold it to her lips and told her to take it slow. When she was finished, he set the glass down and pulled his phone out. When the nurse came in, she summoned the on call doctor, then started to ask Faith some questions. Xander went over by the window and made his call.

"Dana, she's awake!" Xander blurted out when the phone was answered.

\\ That's great, Xander, I'll get over there as soon as I can. Stay with her, and watch out for what she might say to the doctors there. //

"Okay, Dana, see you then," Xander finished and clicked the phone off.

Xander walked over to Faith and interrupted the doctor. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I can't allow you to ask Special Agent Summers anything concerning what she was doing before she arrived here. She was undercover on a classified mission. Dr. Scully can handle any necessary questioning regarding that."

The duty doctor reluctantly agreed, then ordered some blood work and a light meal to be sent up to her, along with fruit to be made available for snacking. The nurse drew the blood and exited the room, leaving the two alone together.

"So you were looking for me huh?" Faith asked.

"Yea, just missed you in both Memphis and Mobile. Was a week too late in Houston, but we kept looking," Xander said, looking deeply in her eyes.

Faith blushed slightly.

"So, what is this about Special Agent Summers, did you register me under Buffy's name?" she asked.

"Nope," Xander said, as he pulled a box out of the night table and handed it to her. She opened it and found an ID folder containing a badge and ID card with the name of Faith Summers.

"Mulder arranged to have you hired as an agent when he made the deal with the Watcher's Council. We knew you were still fighting the bad guys from the info we did get, and he covered a few things up. You have been undercover for three years, and are now on medical leave,." he finished.

Faith looked up at him; once again her big brown eyes were filling up with tears.

"But, I'm not a good person, Xander. Remember, I killed two people," Faith said softly.

"Yes, you did, but one was by accident, and the other deserved it. Faith, people make mistakes, but you served your time, and paid your debt to society. Now, you are out there risking your life to protect humanity still," Xander pointed out.

"Xander, there is something I have to tell you," Faith started, and then paused to raise up the bed a little more. "That night we had sex really got to me. I never told anyone this, but I was a virgin as well. All my stories were just that, stories. I was afraid to trust anyone to get that close to me until you came into my life," Faith said, pausing her explanation when the nurse brought in her lunch tray and a covered bowl of mixed sliced fruit.

"You made me feel so much when we made love that it petrified me. I could not get you out of there fast enough." She paused, taking a shuddering breath. Tears openly ran down her face as she continued. "You were so loving and gentle and tender, that I just went into shock. No one had ever made me feel like that before,." she said. And never have since then, either, she thought to herself.

Xander took her hand and gently rubbed the back of it with his thumb.

"Faith, I felt a lot too, and it hurt when you threw me out. I wanted to hate you, but I couldn't. Then, when I tried to talk to you later and you ignored me, part of me felt like dying. But I am here for you now, and will be for as long as you need me. Besides, you have three years of paper work to catch up on," Xander joked, trying got lighten things up.

Faith laughed softly and reached for her food.

She was just finishing up when Dana came in.

"Faith, this is Special Agent Dana Scully, head of the X-Files R & D Department. Dana, this is Faith, and she is currently using Summers for her last name," Xander said making the introductions.

Dana spent some time checking Faith's health out, then she asked some questions.

"Faith, what happened to your leg? I would have thought that your Slayer healing would have worked better than it did," Dana asked.

"I got clawed by a Molin' Ra demon. Their claws ooze septic oils and pus. I cleaned it out and flushed it with several bottles of peroxide, and tried to tough it out. But I couldn't work and got fired, and then my food ran out. I was going to go to a hospital, but passed out before I could get out," Faith said.

"Xander found you in your motel, after following two vamps that had located you and were setting you up to be turned or killed. He brought you here four days ago, and you have been comatose since then." Dana said.

"Thanks, Xander. You saved me again,." Faith said softly.

"Again? I have to hear this story," said Mulder as he entered the room.

"Mulder, this is the famous Faith we heard so much about. Faith, this is Special Agent Fox Mulder, but he prefers to be called just Mulder," Dana introduced the two.

"Hello, Faith." Mulder said, offering his hand.

"Mulder," Faith acknowledged back.

Mulder shook her hand gently, and then turned to Xander.

"I just got off the phone with Skinner. Faith is officially on medical leave, and you have been assigned to guard her and help familiarize her with FBI procedures and processes. She will be sent to the Academy next year for the accelerated course. For now, you are to stick with her till her medical release is given, and are to then take a two-week vacation. I reserved Iguana Villa, a three-bedroom private home in Malmok, Aruba for you. We will try to get Buffy and the rest of the gang down there for a couple days, toward the end of it. For now, just take it easy, and you can catch up on the paperwork," Mulder said, as he left.

Scully ordered Faith to keep eating, to drink plenty of fluids, and explained that she would return that evening.

Xander and Faith were alone again.

"How are you really, Faith?" Xander asked.

"What do you mean?" Faith asked.

"You're different, now, Faith. Quieter, not so aggressive, and you're not using as much slang as you used to," Xander stated, looking in her eyes.

Faith turned away for a minute or two before she turned back to Xander.

"I've changed. In prison, a shitty attitude can get you beaten or stuck with a homemade shiv. I didn't want to fight another human, so I got beat on pretty regular 'til Maggie, another prisoner, took pity on me. She was like a mother figure to many of the girls. She told me what I needed to do, and helped me out of a couple of scrapes. Did you know I got a college degree Xander? Maggie got me into the fast track education program while I was there. I got my high school GED, then went into the college program, I have a Bachelors Degree in Abnormal Psychology, now. Strange, huh? But it gives me an edge, when tracking down vamps," Faith said, as she looked at Xander.

They talked for a little while, and when Faith started to doze, Xander sat back and let her sleep. All the feelings he had for her before, and which he had hidden deep down inside himself had come popping up to the surface when Faith had awoken. He looked at her gaunt frame and once again felt a deep remorse that he had failed to meet her when she was released. Never a thin girl, Faith's very curvaceous frame had grown gaunt and spare over the past few years.

The way I am acting, you'd think that I've been taking guilt lessons from Mulder, Thought Xander.

* * * * *

Faith slept for most of the day, waking for lunch and to talk now and again, and was awake when Dana returned to make her evening examination.

When she finished her examination, Dana called Xander back into the room from the hall where he had been sent.

"Faith, your Slayer healing has kicked in full force, now that you have gotten some food in you and the infection is gone. I am going to sign the discharge orders, and you can go home with Xander, tonight,." Dana said, smiling at the look on Faith's face.

"However, there will be some restrictions. One, you will have to stay with Xander at his place. There are two bedrooms, so you shouldn't have any issues there. Two, I will be checking you once a day, and three, you need to consume a lot of calories, so Xander, I want that place stocked with food, and no junk food. This girl needs meat, vegetables and plenty of fruit," Dana instructed.

When Dana left to sign the papers, Xander went to the closet and pulled a bag out and handed it to Faith.

"I put some clothes and stuff in there for you the day after we brought you in," Xander explained.

Faith eased out of bed, still weak but moving very well for someone who had been in a coma until this morning. She went into the room's small bathroom and sat the bag down on the sink. She opened it and pulled out the neatly folded clothes. There was a pair of jeans, tee shirt and the appropriate underwear.

She smiled to herself, thinking of Xander picking out her underwear. Then she looked at her face in the mirror. The haunted look that had been present for so long was gone, and she had a smile on her face for the first time in a long time. And all because the boy that she had kicked out of her bed eight years ago had returned as a man. And because he still made her weak in the knees when he smiled at her.

Turning away, she dressed slowly, still not fully recovered, and was surprised to find that Xander had included her makeup kit as well. She ignored most of what was in there, and merely added some lip gloss, because her lips were cracked from running a fever. She pulled out a hair band and pulled her hair back into a pony tail. Gathering up all of her stuff in the bag, she left the room.

Xander heard the door open and turned to look at Faith. My god! She still looks great! he thought. He threw her a lopsided grin and said, "You look good, Faith."

"Thank you, Xander," she answered nonchalantly, while inside she was doing flip flops.

The moment was broken when Dana returned to the room with an orderly pushing a wheelchair.

"Got a prescription for you as well, Faith. Follow the instructions on the bottle, and I will see you tomorrow evening. Still meeting at five for dinner, Xander?" Dana asked.

"Yep, the four of us can go out and talk some, and you guys can get to know each other," Xander replied.

"Okay then, see you tomorrow," Dana said, as she headed out.

Faith looked at the wheel chair, but Xander looked right back.

"You know the rules, Faith. If you want out, you have to ride," Xander stated the obvious.

She sat down, putting the bag on her lap, and allowed herself to be pushed out of the hospital.

When they got to the entrance, Xander rushed out and brought up a new Crown Victoria to where she waited. He helped her in the car and they drove off together.

"Where are you staying?" Faith asked.

"Oh, at the Royal Street Condo. The FBI has a couple units there, for visiting Agents. It's over in the French Quarter, and is really pretty nice; two bedrooms, with an office with a computer and high speed Internet connection, a hot tub in the room and a pool in the courtyard."

As Xander drove, Faith quietly watched him. He wasn't aggressive, but she could tell he knew where every car on the road near them was. She smiled to herself; the "Zeppo" was no more. In his place was a strong, determined, and handsome man.

tbc