Night Falls

Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep them coming!

Previously:

"God," Dawn said, suddenly seeing Hailey, where she was nearly crucified to the wall. Faith averted her eyes, looking to the ground and fighting the urge to vomit.

"Is she still alive?" She asked.

"Yes," Dawn replied breathlessly. "We have to get her down."

Chapter Thirty-Six:

"Why do you need for me to be a Slayer so badly?" Hailey yelled angrily. "What is that you want from me?"

"I want you to fulfill your destiny," Quentin replied evenly.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Hailey said disgustedly, shaking her head. "I don't have a destiny. No one has a destiny. It's all bullshit."

"You were chosen because you're special," Quentin insisted.

"I wasn't chosen for anything!" Hailey shouted. Her voice echoed throughout the room and Quentin cleared his throat.

"For God sakes, keep your voice down," he commanded. "Do you want everyone in the building to know your business?"

"I'm not a little girl anymore, dad," Hailey sighed. "I don't believe in fairy tales."

"You have to keep training. One day it will happen for us," Quentin said logically.

"Us?" Hailey asked. "What does any of this have to do with us? If I become a Slayer, it's me, not us. I'm the one who's going to be out there fighting and killing. Not you. You and all of these Watchers, all you do is sit around and try to control us like we're pawns on a chessboard."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Quentin replied, moving away from her.

"Yes, I do," Hailey said, suddenly enlightened. "You don't give a shit about my destiny. This is all about you, isn't it? You just want to have a Slayer that you can control. That's why you want me to be chosen so badly."

"This institution has been here for thousands of years," Quentin erupted. "Slayers have stood beside their Watchers for thousands of years. Obeying dutifully. Following every instruction. Now all of the sudden these girls think that they can do whatever pops into their heads. That is not the case."

"You're sick," Hailey muttered, moving towards the door.

Quentin reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him. "I will not see this institution crumble because some bitch can't get in line. And if you're chosen, I know that you will."

………………………………………..

Hailey awoke to the feeling that someone was ripping out her insides. Her eyes flashed open and she felt as though she was falling. Suddenly, she found herself staring up at the ceiling. Faith's face appeared above her, worry creasing her skin. "You're okay," Faith murmured. "Just hang in there."

Hailey wanted to respond, but found no words. Every thought had been scattered away by the pain wrenching through her midsection. Her stomach was seizing up, threatening to expel whatever was left in her body. "Fuck," she whispered.

"Hey," another voice said. Hailey shifted her eyes to the right and saw Dawn's face appear. "Is it okay if we move you?"

"I heard you," Hailey choked out, blood bubbling up through her lips. Faith reached down and wiped the blood away from her chin. Hailey felt something wet hit her cheek and noticed that Faith was crying.

"You heard me?" Dawn asked in surprise. "I knew it," she muttered.

"I knew you were coming," Hailey murmured. "I'm so cold."

"It's okay," Faith said, pulling Hailey into her arms and cradling her against her chest to warm her clammy skin.

"What did he do to her? What happened to her hands?" Dawn asked lowly, surveying the broken Slayer.

"I don't know," Faith whispered in reply. "It looks like he pulled out her fingernails."

"Get me out of here," Hailey muttered against Faith's chest. "I don't like it very much down here."

Faith choked down a sob that emerged from her throat as an indistinguishable, strangled sound. "We're going to take you to the hospital, okay?"

"Where's Caleb?" Hailey asked as Faith lifted her in her arms. The dark haired Slayer and Dawn quickly exited the room, practically running back up the stairs. They could smell blood everywhere. The stench of death lingered in the rooms below and they both felt the need to breathe fresh air again.

"Willow scared him away," Dawn answered.

"Willow's here?" Hailey asked, looking up at Faith.

"You know what happened wasn't her fault," Faith said. "Kennedy came on to her."

"Didn't look like she minded from where I was standing," Hailey replied.

"She loves you," Dawn added emphatically.

"I don't really care," Hailey said lowly. "I don't care about anything anymore," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Hailey," Faith said, looking down at her. "Open your eyes, baby."

"Is she okay?" Dawn asked.

"She's unconscious," Faith said. "She's in bad shape, Dawnie. I'm not so sure she's going to make it."

"Oh God," Willow said when she saw Faith carrying Hailey into the room. "Is she…?" She asked, her legs weakening beneath her. She fell to the floor, her knees crashing hard on the stone. Tears flooded her eyes until she could not see anymore.

"Will?" Buffy asked, kneeling beside her friend. "You have to get up."

"I can't," Willow replied shakily.

"She's alive," Buffy said. "But we have to get to a hospital."

"Come on, Red," Spike said, taking her by one of the arms while Buffy lifted her by the other. "She needs you to be strong right now."

"How could someone do that to her?" Willow asked as Buffy and Spike led her out of the vineyard. Dawn stood waiting for them outside.

"Where's Faith?" Buffy asked.

"She took off with Hailey," Dawn said, indicating to Faith's figure as it disappeared into the night. "She didn't think Hailey could afford to wait."

"Some people are just evil," Spike said. "They don't need a reason to be. It just comes naturally to them. No matter how many monsters we kill, no matter how many demons, there will always be people who are evil at heart."

"How do you stop those people?" Willow sobbed. "How can you stop someone from hurting the people you love?

"You can't," Spike replied sympathetically. "It's not up to you."

"I love her so much," Willow said. "And I fucked everything up. This wouldn't have happened if not for me."

"You don't know that," Spike replied emphatically. "We all have a destiny, Red. Maybe this is Hailey's."

"To suffer needlessly at the hands of a depraved maniac?" Willow said incredulously. "Why would the Powers that Be give someone that destiny?"

"No one can know why things happened, Willow," Spike said, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You just have to trust that there's a reason for everything."

………………………………..

Faith ran. She ran harder than she had ever run in her life. Even when Kakistos was hot on her trail, stalking her across the country, she had never run as hard or as fast. Hailey had lost too much blood. Faith knew that. She could smell death surrounding her friend. It permeated her being. Blood was caked all over her skin on top of blood that had already dried. Her breathing was slowing with every second. But Faith was not going to stop running. She had lost too many people in her life and she was not going to lose Hailey as well.

"Hang in there, sheriff," she whispered. The lights of the hospital came into view. She pushed her already straining legs harder, willing them to go faster. Pushing open the emergency room doors, she collapsed on the floor with Hailey still in her arms. Several nurses rushed over to them.

"What happened?" One of them asked, as someone wheeled over a gurney and several pairs of hands lifted Hailey out of Faith's arms.

"Someone kidnapped her," Faith said. "I helped her escape. Please," she said, grabbing one of the nurses' arms. "Don't let her die."

"We'll do everything that we can," the nurse said, smiling softly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Faith murmured. "I just need to rest for a minute." The nurse nodded and moved away. Faith crawled to her feet and moved over to one of the waiting room chairs as the nurses ushered away Hailey. Her heart was pounding in her chest, desperately trying to pump blood through her body. "I'm getting too old for this," she muttered.

The rest of the group found Faith sitting in the chair thirty minutes later, holding her head in her hands. "How is she?" Buffy asked, sitting down next to her girlfriend. Faith looked up at her and shook her head.

"I don't know," she said. Buffy could see tears in her lover's eyes. She had never seen Faith cry, but the dark haired Slayer's cheeks were wet with sadness. Buffy reached out and pulled Faith into a warm, loving embrace.

"It's okay, baby," she said.

"She's one of the only real friends I've ever had," Faith murmured into Buffy's hair. "I can't lose her."

"I know," Buffy consoled her.

Willow and Spike stood several feet away from the Slayers, both staring into the emergency room, wondering which room housed Hailey. "I'm sure she's going to be fine," Spike said finally.

"How can you be sure?" Willow asked doubtfully.

"She's a Slayer," Spike said. "Slayers are stronger than anyone can know."

"She's never going to want to see me again," Willow muttered angrily.

"You don't know that," Spike interjected.

"She saw me kissing another woman. If I would have seen that, I don't know that I would have given her another chance," Willow said.

"She may surprise you," Spike answered. "You may even surprise yourself."

……………………………

Hailey's eyes fluttered open. The curtains had been pulled over the window and small stream of sunlight crept into the room. She wiggled her toes and fingers, breathing a sigh of relief that she could still move. However, she regretted that movement instantly and bit her lip to keep from screaming out in pain. "Is anyone there?" She asked, her voice cracking and breaking.

"I'm here, love," Spike said, moving over to the bed.

"Water," Hailey muttered. Spike nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. He reappeared several moments later, carrying a glass of water.

"Drink it slowly," he said, lifting the glass to her lips as he sat in the chair next to her bedside. Hailey let the cool liquid slide down her raw, aching throat. After several gulps, Spike sat the water down on the nightstand.

"Where am I?" Hailey asked, her throat more conducive to speech after she had drunk.

"The hospital," Spike answered. "Faith carried you here."

"Where is Faith?" Hailey asked, memories flooding her mind of her rescue.

"She and the others are down in the cafeteria. They've been here with you the whole time," Spike said. "But they've gotta eat and I don't. So I stayed."

"How long have I been here?" Hailey asked in confusion.

"About a week," Spike answered. "The doctors were starting to worry that you weren't going to wake up."

"I'm kinda regretting that I did," Hailey muttered. "Everything hurts."

"We told them not to give you painkillers," Spike said apologetically.

"That's good," Hailey replied. "Of course, it's also incredibly painful."

"I'm sorry," he added.

"It's not your fault I was a druggie," Hailey replied. "Kinda regretting that choice too."

"Do you want me to get Willow for you?" Spike asked.

Hailey sighed, closing her eyes. "No," she replied after several moments. "I don't want to see her right now."

"She's worried sick about you," Spike replied. "She hasn't left your side."

"I can't deal with her, or Kennedy, or any of that mess right now," Hailey said softly. "Tell her not to come back."