A/N: I had to change and add to some of the dialogue from the scene in Graduation Day II.
"I am just a pilgrim on the edge, on the edge of my perception.
We are travelers at the edge, we are always at the edge of our perception."
- A surrationalist poster
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Faith really begins to panic as she frantically continues to pace and look around at the room. White padded walls? Pale green hospital gown? I'll take Twilight Zone for $500. She sighs and takes a seat in the corner facing the door and pulls her knees up to her chest, but then immediately stands right back up again.
"What's going on?" She shouts forcefully at the mirror. "Did I die? Is this Hell?" She asks with increasing fear building up.
The door opens and the nurse enters carefully. "Hello Ms. Porter. I'm Nurse Parker," she states sweetly at the young girl.
Seconds later, Faith has her hands wrapped around the nurse's throat up against the wall. "What's going on? How did I get here? Where is 'here'?" She asks slowly in a low growl.
"Ms. Porter, good to see you moving around again," the doctor says. Faith hears the voice and turns to the man, a wary smile on her face, the nurse forgotten.
"Giles?" Faith says questioningly with relief written all over her face. "Thank god. You have to get me out of here by graduation. I need to be there to help Buffy with the Mayor," she says as she approaches the man.
"You know I cannot do that with you in your current condition," he tells her as he takes a step back at her advances. "Why do you need to be at graduation? And what does the mayor have to do with anything?" He asks curiously.
"You know…his Ascension. I know she told you about that, I was there," Faith says as she begins to grow worried again. "What condition are you talking about?" She asks after a second.
"You just woke up Faith, some things have changed. You've been away from us for quite some time," Giles tells her as gently as he can while nodding discreetly at the nurse behind her, who begins to approach.
"What are you talking about G-Man?" Faith asks shakily. "Where…when…what is going on?" She stammers.
"You've been unconscious for two years. It's 1999 now. You're at the Los Angeles Psychiatric Hospital," Giles says slowly and calmly.
"No, no, no. It was '99 when I jumped. This is something else totally," Faith frantically states as she feels the nurse approaching behind her. She punches Giles hard in the face to get past him, but then is restrained by two security guards. She struggles to escape, but stops dead in her tracks when an unexpected figure steps into view.
"Mommy?" Faith says in a little voice. "I'm sorry- whatever I did, I'm just…sorry. Please, don't let them do this to me," she pleads.
Her mother goes to answer, but before another word is spoken, a needle lodges itself into the back of Faith's arm as Faith cries out in pain. Then, everything seems okay again as Faith relaxes and falls back into the doctor's arms.
"This reminds me of that whole thing with Buffy," he murmurs to the nurses and Mrs. Porter, who nod in agreement.
"What about Buffy? Where is she?" Faith manages to ask…or slur rather, unsure of when the doctor started carrying her.
The doctor exchanges worried glances with Faith's mother. "She's here in the hospital Faith," he says, still unsure.
"Can I see her?" Faith asks weakly, her energy ebbing away.
Faith's mother nods at the doctor, who looks back down at Faith. "Only for a minute," he says as they head down a wing of the hospital.
They stop at a door and the doctor gently lets Faith back to her feet after the door is opened. Faith is momentarily sobered as she sees Buffy sitting in a corner on the floor hugging her knees and staring vacantly into the air. Taking a few tentative steps towards the other Slayer, Faith sits down on the floor in front of her.
The empty look on the smaller girl's face disappears as a flash of recognition and life appear when she is forced to stare into the brunette's eyes as Faith takes her hand. However, Faith's body catches up with her at that moment to give out as and she passes out, still holding the hand of the blonde.
Faith wakes up and finds herself back in the apartment the Mayor got for her. She breathes a sigh of relief as she realizes that it all must have been a dream. She sees all of her stuff boxed up and she goes over and idly looks through the contents. As she opens a box, memories started to flow freely and she finds herself getting caught up in them. Buffy. The Mayor. Her family.
"Are you moving again?" Comes a familiar voice from behind Faith, pulling her out of her reverie.
She turns around and sees Buffy behind her, looking around. "When did you get here?" Faith asks, wondering why her thoughts are so muddled and desperately wondering if she was supposed to be mad at Buffy.
Buffy tilts her head to the side in confusion. "I'm not sure," she responds.
Faith sees things in the room flashing around her. A cat on the bed, turning into her in a hospital bed. She blinks hard. This is just a dream then. She realizes.
"Who's going to take care of her?" Buffy asks, pointing to the cat on the bed, which flashes to Faith and back again.
"Aren't these things supposed to take care of themselves?" She answers carelessly, still trying to figure out what is going on.
Buffy nods in understanding. "I get it. Like a higher power," she answers knowingly.
Faith turns to look at Buffy again and tilts her head to the side, paying attention to what is being said. "I'm pretty sure that's not what I meant," she replies with a smirk.
Buffy closes her eyes in concentration and Faith watches the flow of emotions over her counterpart's face. "There's something I'm supposed to be doing," she states after a moment.
Nodding, Faith turns to look out the window and is struck by a thought. "Oh yeah. Miles to go," she nods in agreement, knowing the world still needs the blonde. "Little Miss Muffet counting down from seven-three-oh," she states with a sad expression. She knows she told Buffy something she shouldn't have told her yet, but can't put her finger on what she said wrong.
"Great. Riddles," Buffy sighs sardonically.
Faith smiles because Buffy didn't figure out the secret either. "Sorry. It's my head. A lot of new stuff," she sheepishly apologizes. Probably whatever those doctors pumped into my system. Must've been some powerful shit. She sighs as she looks out the window, trying to ignore her body laying on the bed. She realizes the window is still broken. "They're never going to fix this are they?" She asks with a frown.
Buffy looks when Faith's attention is, but pays no mind to it. "What about you?" She asks with concern.
Faith looks away from the window and smiles at the cat on the bed. She stabs me then wonders if it will be all right. Will the world ever cease to amaze? She smirks slightly. "Scar tissue. It fades. It all fades," she responds instead, staring distractedly at the fading knife in Buffy's hand. She flinches at the…What? At the memory? Is it even a memory? She briefly wonders, but then shakes it off. "Human weakness. It never goes away. Even his," she states, drifting off into a faraway memory, that might not even be real.
She nods in response. "I wasn't talking about your stomach," she replies absently.
Faith knows this and she looks down. "Like I said, these things are supposed to take care of themselves," she shrugs and Buffy follows her gaze to see the cat rubbing against Faith's leg.
Buffy looks strangely at her and Faith wonders, absurdly, if Buffy is reading her mind. "Is this your mind or mine?" Buffy asks with a smile.
Faith pauses, not knowing herself before breaking out into laughter. "Beats me," she responds with a shrug. She feels a strange tug and looks at the clock, the little hand moving forward, then backwards rapidly. Her laughter fades as she realizes that time is short. "Getting towards that time," she sighs.
Buffy takes another look around. "How are you going to fit all of this stuff?" She asks, looking at all the boxes.
Faith thinks for a moment. None of this will be real when I wake up. These memories are all fake anyways. When I wake up, the last few years will have just been a lie. "Not gonna. It's yours," she says noncommittally.
Buffy looks at all of the boxes in amazement. "I can't use all of this," she states while shaking her head.
Faith smiles and shrugs slowly. "Just take what you need. I won't exactly need it where I'm going," she points out. Buffy goes to say something, but Faith touches her face lightly to silence her. "You ready?" She asks in a low voice and Buffy closes her eyes, nods and then…disappears.
After a sleeping Faith is put back into her room, her mother turns to the doctor. "When will my baby be able to come home?" She asks in whispered tones.
"Hopefully in a few days. We will all have to try our best to help her forget about her fantasy world where she is some 'Vampire Slayer' and reacquaint her with reality," he responds. "Your husband may be able to help with that. When will he be back?" He asks.
She sighs and hangs her head. "I gave him a brief call a moment ago. Richard said he'd be back tomorrow, tomorrow night at the very latest," she replies and the doctor nods.
Meanwhile, in Sunnydale
Buffy suddenly wakes, knowing how to destroy the Mayor and thanking whoever is listening, that Faith was willing to help…in her own way. She lets a sad smile take over as she realizes that her one time friend is in the hospital as well. She stands up and looks into a nearby room and sees the dark-haired girl resting in a bed. At least she's peaceful. Buffy thinks as she pecks Faith on the forehead and gently brushes a stray hair off of the brunette's face.
Faith groans and begins to stir and she stretches…at least tries to. Why can't I move? She thinks groggily as she tries to recall what is happening. After tugging with her arms and legs she finds she is worn out and looks and sees that she is restrained to a bed. Kinky. She thinks idly as the door opens and Dr. Giles steps through.
"Did Buffy put you up to this because it isn't funny?" Faith asks as he takes a seat in the swivel chair next to his bed. She briefly notices the bandage on his, now bruised, nose. He looks down at his clipboard briefly. "Okay! It worked. I'm not all psychotic and crazy anymore, please, just let me go," she pleads.
Finally, Giles looks up at her. "Do you know who I am?" He asks.
"Giles, you're Buffy's watcher. Why are we even talking about this? You're the librarian at Sunnydale High," she adds as she wonders why she can't break her bindings.
"No. I am both yours and Buffy's doctor," Giles responds as he subtly moves to the edge of his seat. "What is the very last thing you remember?" He asks, pen poised to take notes.
Faith sighs. "Buffy and I were fighting. She stabbed me, I punched her, I jumped off of a building. G, come on, what's happening here? What is B trying to accomplish with all of this?" She questions, growing increasingly afraid.
He removes his glasses and begins to clean them. "Faith, you and Buffy never fought or stabbed each other. None of that. You were the healthiest couple I'd ever seen," he says with a light smile, which almost immediately fades. "However, when Buffy got into her…current state, you tried to kill yourself," he informs her gravely. Faith stares at him, dumbstruck.
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So, what do you think? Does it totally suck ass? Should I continue?
Again, apologies on 'Chasing Shadows' chapter 8.