Chapter Four -- A Rude Awakening/A Long Day

"Wherever you are
You will carry always
Truth of the scars
And darkness of your faith" -- Bush, "Cold Contagious"

Faith awoke from her sleep with a start. She was covered in sweat, but her skin was cold to the touch. Her breathing was incredibly labored, and a dull pain spread its way from her head throughout her entire body.

Faith dealt with the reaction the only way that she knew how. She pulled herself up into a seated position and sat Indian-style. She inhaled several deep breaths and began to meditate.

After a couple of minutes like that, she was finally able to relax herself a little. 'Shit. That was one of the most intensive dreams that I've had yet. I thought that maybe they would start to get a little easier by now.'


When Faith had first gone to prison, nightmares like the one she just had plagues her relentlessly. However, she figures that it was part of her 'redemption,' and simply dismissed them.

The dreams weren't so much nightmares as they were visions from her past. But there wasn't really a big difference between the two, faith thought. Her life, in her own opinion, was a giant nightmare. The reason that these dreams seemed so harsh to Faith was because she was now looking at her life from a different point of view. What may not have seemed wrong to her then definitely seemed wrong to her now.

Pretty much the dream that she just had was the one that replayed itself the most. However, Faith was never really given the whole "show." Never once did she get to see the dream through to completion. It had, for her, always ended just as she grabbed the Mayor's hand to seal the deal. As far as she knew it, that is where her dream ended; her memory didn't hold anything beyond that point.

Something or someone had always blocked the rest of the memory from her, thus holding it back from her dream as well. She never saw the Mayor perform the spell on her, and nothing had ever hinted to her that there was anything further about that particular encounter that she needed to investigate.

'Geez, I can't believe I was so naïve. Why did I reject Buffy's help? Why did I ever agree to work for the mayor? Why was I such a fuckin idiot?' Faith thought before settling back down on her cot.

There was no sense in trying to sleep again. 'I guess there really is no rest for the wicked.'

Faith's mind was flooded with thoughts. Memories of the past swept through her, making her entire body tremble. Suddenly, she heard a sob escape her lips. Then another, and another.

Soon, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Tears flowed freely from her eyes. She kept seeing Buffy in her mind. Buffy. Trying to make her feel welcome. Buffy. Inviting her to Christmas dinner at her house. Buffy. Coming to the motel to visit her. Buffy. Involving her in the nightly patrols. Buffy. Pleading with her to accept her help. Buffy. Telling her she wasn't alone.

'Oh God. How can anything I have to say to her make up for how I mistreated her? Words can't help. Not even actions can help. You're an idiot, Faith. You don't deserve her friendship, or her forgiveness.'

Faith continued to have these thoughts as she laid awake for the remainder of the night. As the lights came on in her cell and she heard the sounds of the other inmates waking up, she snapped out of her thoughts.

Faith had convinced herself that there was no use in writing a letter of apology or explanation to Buffy, not at this point. Nothing she could say or do could make things right. With that, she reached under her cot and pulled out the spiral notebook.

She opened it to the list of names and hesitantly scribbled out the name from the top of the list. Buffy.

Faith's POV

This day is definitely going by too slow. Sure, every day goes by kinda slow when you're locked in a 8x10 cell. But you do what you can to keep from losing your mind.

I was glad that they let me hop right into the Diploma program. It took up a lot of my time, but I really didn't care. It served as a welcomed distraction. I wanted to do well, so I really dove into it. I guess the fact that I scored a 95% on my final exam just goes to prove that point.

Besides studying, there really isn't too much that an inmate can do. Exercise. Write. Draw. Devise elaborate escape plans. Get off. Sleep.

Every now and then, they give you an hour or two of yard time. But no, not for me. Since I've been here, a couple inmates have taken it upon themselves to try to kill me. Whether it was to prove they were tough, or whether they were put up to it by the watchers Council, Wolfram & Hart, or any number of demon clans, I'll never know. But I'm not gonna stand around and get beat down, ya know?

So I defend myself. I'll throw down, but I don't go all bad-girl and permanently maim anyone. I give them just enough to let them know that I'm not gonna take their shit. The guards know that it's not my fault, so they go easy on me. I get along well with most of the guards; I think they can tell that I'm special (or at least I like to tell myself that).

Still, they think it's not a good idea for me to "mingle" with the general population. Therefore, I get about 20 minutes of solo yard time a day. I get to do my own thing, seeing as that the guards generally let me get away with just a little more that the average prisoner.

I started doing Tai-Chi and yoga, and that's mainly what I do outside. The fresh air, the sun, the space, three things I don't enjoy the luxury of while in my cell.

I know what you're thinking. Being outside and all . . . do I ever get the urge to run? Sure. What does the caged bird want? I know that I can out- run the guards and hop the wll in a cinch. But I don't. I'm here for a reason.

I don't deserve to be out in the real world.

Someday, but not yet.