Note: Remember, italics for Wes/Faith conversations, if FanFiction doesn't mess with them uploading.
Chapter Fifteen – Alive, for Now
"Is he alive? You have to wake him up. Did you find her?" Connor's voice echoed in his head, which didn't seem right because he thought he had died along with Faith. That meant only one thing.
"Faith," he tried to yell, but only coming out with a rasp.
"He's waking up," he heard Giles off to the right. He hadn't gotten two people he knew killed this time.
"What happened?" came out slurred. The whole world above him was blurry. People flitted in and out of his narrow vision. Being incapacitated wasn't something new to him. He'd been hurt enough times to know what the sensation felt like. Like he was drowning without anyone to save him.
"We need to give him something for his wounds. He has to be in a considerable amount of pain," he heard an official sounding voice say.
He didn't remember any significant wounds on his body. What the hell had happened after he had passed out?
"No pain medication," he heard Connor tell the others. Good boy, he remembered. Although the pain medication might have helped him at that moment.
Everything hurt and not just his head. It was so much more pain free to be Research Guy he realized now. Maybe he'd rethink the whole Go To guy attitude. Waving his hand proved to be a chore besides just moving his lips to form a single word.
"How many down?" Giles asked from his right again.
"We lost five of yours, at least ten of mine. Three are still missing." Riley didn't sound pleased.
"Injured?"
And here Wesley thought that those were just the injured. Five young girls and ten men, including probably countless innocents had lost their lives.
"I may have ten guys that can actually walk if you include me. And you have three." The attack had reduced their numbers from fifty to fewer than twenty. He heard Giles sigh at the decimation.
"Faith," Wesley croaked out again, a little louder this time.
Giles came into view. "We're still looking for her."
Wesley pulled the older man down so he wouldn't have to shout above the noise. "She's gone. They took her," Wesley told him carefully, so Giles would understand.
"But why?"
"What? What does he know?" Connor came into view again.
"He says someone took Faith."
"Well, she's not dead, at least not yet or English Muffin here would not be yapping to us." Lorne had joined the others.
"Did you see Dawn with her?"
"No." Wesley shook his head to the group gathering. "Dawn?"
"She's missing also. Along with Brianna. Do you remember anything else?"
"Just, have to find her. Help me up. Lorne, tell them." His words were coming out in tight gasps, like there was a weight on top of his chest, constricting his breathing."
"We'll know if Faith bites the big one because soon after, it's bye-bye Wes too. We need to find her and now."
"They're that interconnected now," Giles answered back.
"What? Giles, is there something you're not telling me?" The soldier boy wanted to know about Faith and himself.
"Piss off," Wesley grunted out before falling unconscious once again.
The first thing that Faith noticed was a weight on top of her. A weight that seemed to be breathing. Who the hell was it? It definitely wasn't Wes, because the man did not ever smell like lavender.
And he was a lot harder on most of his body. It took three heaves on her part before the body on top of her rolled off. Turning with a groan, Faith moved her head to see a figure with long hair. Since it was quite dark where they were, she couldn't make out whom the person was, only that she was a she.
"OK, can my head hurt any worse?" Dawn, it was Dawn she had just tumbled off of her.
"Sorry, Dawnie. You were makin' me a pancake."
"Faith, where in the hell are we?" Dawn asked.
"Uh, language. And how the fuck should I know?"
Dawn snickered in the darkness. "There's someone else in here with us."
Faith felt around to find some hair. "Definitely not Wes."
"No, I'm thinking another girl if I'm not mistaken."
"Stop poking me," the other girl answered. "Oh, my head."
"That seems to be a theme here," Dawn quipped back.
"Cannot feel as bad as my whole body does at the moment, Bri," Faith told the other girl.
"We're moving," Dawn said, shifting in the darkness
Faith could see faint outlines of the two girls now. "We need to find a way out of here."
All three searched the box they were in for any kind of door so they could pry it open.
"Faith, there's nothing," Dawn announced.
"Let me check again," Brianna said, starting to check for a way out again.
"Hey, I've been kidnapped way too many times not to know how to get out."
"Not a contest here, Dawn. And yeah, you do seem to attract this kind of thing."
"Not that I ever wanted to, you know."
"Don't worry about it. Kept Buffy on her toes."
Dawn laughed a little. "What do you think they want?"
"Find out in a fat hurry, that's for sure. We'll be ready."
"What are we going to do?" Brianna asked, voice now shaking.
"How much experience do you have in the field?" Dawn inquired of the slayer.
"Enough." Faith knew for a fact that not much should have been the answer.
"Cakewalk, Faith." Dawn probably had figured that out too.
"We'll see about that, won't we Dawnie. Cakewalk my ass." Faith took a couple of cleansing breaths, fully awake and ready to go. Wesley was obviously nowhere near. But she could feel that he was still alive. So she concentrated just on that.
"Faith?" Brianna asked.
"Shh. I'm concentrating."
"What?" Brianna continued.
"Be quiet," Dawn implored the other slayer.
Faith could see images, flashes in Wes's mind. His thoughts weren't very coherent at the moment.
I'm here. We're OK. For now.
His mind heard her telepathy, but it started thrashing around, causing her a little pain.
You have to calm down. One thought at a time.
I love you and where the bloody hell are you?
I love you too sweetie and I wish I knew. In some kind of truck, going somewhere.
Dawn?
Here. Come on, didn't you know it's Tuesday?
Huh. I don't understand?
Buffy joke. You OK?
I'll live. You?
Same here. At least the connection hasn't broken yet.
You're not dead.
Yeah, want it to stay that way too.
Faith could feel how bad Wesley's head felt. Their talk wasn't helping matters.
You need to rest.
We'll find you.
Close your mind.
I can't.
You will, or so help me when we get out of this, you know what will happen. Take care of yourself.
My job is to take care of you.
I'm a big girl you know.
My girl.
Always, big guy.
Wesley's thoughts faded somewhat as they both eased off the mental connection. She could feel him in the back of her mind, always there, but not taking up all of her brain.
"So?" Dawn finally asked.
"Guys aren't even near us."
"Connor?"
Faith had forgotten to ask. Wesley would have been royally pissed off if the kid had bitten the dust. "Alive. That's all I know."
"What did you just do, Faith?" Brianna didn't know the truth.
"Luckily, my ace in the hole. Just have to stay alive long enough to use it."
TBC
