Ch 6
Willow was asleep by Faith's bed when she woke up. The new Slayer, experienced with waking up in potentially dangerous situations, carefully avoided moving and scanning the area with her eyes half closed while she got her bearings. The past day was a blur to her: meeting Xander Harris, her new Slayer powers, escaping her pimp, her initial encounter with the redhead currently curled up in the chair, and her ill-fated initial patrol with her new Watcher. She wondered if she would be held responsible for Wesley Windham Price's death.
Frankly, she was more than a little surprised to be waking up at all.
"You should be," Willow said, opening her eyes and stretching.
"What…" Faith started. "How did you…"
"There's a spell that kind of helps me read minds," Willow said, "I used it so I would know when you woke up. Didn't want you sneaking out. It also comes in handy when I play cards. I'll abate it now."
"You are a scary bitch," Faith whispered.
"Tell me something I don't know," Willow replied sadly as she tried to loosen the kinks in her back. "We found Wesley and you in time. You'll both be okay."
Faith was visibly relieved. "Look, I didn't know there would be more than one…"
"Faith," Willow said, raising her palm to indicate the Slayer could stop her explanation. "Wesley explained what happened…" Faith settled back in her bed. "We also know what you did to Xander."
That made the brunette tense again.
Willow's face broke into an understanding smile. "I know what it's like to be put into a strange environment and want to…impress… When I had my, incident…"
"When you set a guy on fire and gave Harris those scars," Faith supplied.
"Well, yeah," Willow admitted with a pained expression. "Anyway, afterwards, Giles sent me to a coven. I was around the most powerful witches on the planet. I had broken every code they believed in. The first few days I was so ashamed I didn't know how to face them. Eventually, I realized the only person I had to worry about facing was the one I saw in the mirror."
"How long did that take?" Faith asked.
"Seven months, two weeks, three days. More or less."
"How long till you could deal with the face in the mirror?"
"Still working on it," Willow admitted.
"Not exactly encouraging there, Red."
"It wasn't meant to be. How are you feeling?"
"Five by five," Faith answered.
"Meaning?"
"I'll get by. So, how much trouble am I in?"
"All there is," Willow answered. "We're fighting to preserve existence. That never goes away. But as far as last night, that's over. You have some work to do before you're ready to patrol. I don't know how Slayers deal with addiction, at least the chemical kind, so we don't know if you'll feel any withdrawal from whatever you've been taking."
Faith knew there was no way to avoid the truth now. "Nothing much, just some grass. I was into heroin for a while, but that shit was too expensive to use that often. There was other stuff, when I could afford it, pills mostly."
"How did you earn the money," Willow asked, staring into Faith's eyes.
Faith turned away from Willow and stared at the wall. "You know how, so why ask."
Willow nodded. "Anything else we should know about."
"You were in my head last night, you tell me," Faith said, still looking away.
Willow sighed. She actually had gotten more from Faith than she had anticipated. Maybe she really did have the potential to work through her issues. "Well, as comfortable as this chair is, I'm missing my bed. Will you be here when I come back later?"
"Didn't know I had much choice," Faith answered turning back to face the wiccan.
"You're a Slayer. There aren't a lot of things that can stop you if you put your mind to it."
Faith almost smiled at that thought.
Willow couldn't resist adding, "Of course, I'm one of the things that could. Stay here, get better, and don't make me hunt you down, okay?" She patted Faith on the knee to let her know that at least part of that was a joke.
"Okay, Red."
Giles entered the room, and Faith immediately became guarded.
"Hello, Faith," the Head of the Watcher's Council said.
"Hey. Red here was doing the 'good cop' routine. You gonna yell at me?"
Giles looked at Willow before turning back to Faith and removing his glasses. "No, I merely dropped by to see how you were feeling."
"Oh," Faith replied, a little embarrassed. "I'm okay. Harris told me Slayers heal fast."
"Excellent. I hope that soon we can commence your training."
Faith's wariness increased. "What's the deal? I was expecting one of you to put me in irons or whatever you English guys do."
"Sorry to disappoint you," Giles said, sarcastically as he put the glasses back on. Would Americans ever stop stereotyping him? "You'll find that most of us in this battle have had moments that we regret."
"Do tell, Ripper?" Willow snarked.
"Be that as it may," Giles continued, ignoring the interruption, "We will expect you to train diligently and to learn from your mistakes, but none of us are in a position to judge you. Once you are ready, we shall have you continue to work with Wesley and Xander."
"But Xander is…" Willow started.
Giles looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I received a message today from…well, from someone who has expressed an interest in helping Xander recover. She…they… will be arriving shortly."
"You got a specialist in spinal disorders?"
"Not exactly," Giles said.
Willow asked, puzzled by the strange way Giles was characterizing the person (people?) he was talking about. As she looked at her mentor's face, she realized, "Giles is scared to death of whatever it is that's coming."
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Willow and Giles met Oz on the way to Xander's room. The recovering werewolf had spent the morning on Wesley watch.
"How's Faith?" Oz asked.
"She's scared," Willow said. "I hope she'll make it, but it's not going to be easy."
"Never is," Oz observed.
"Wesley discharged?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, he said he would check on Faith later. I think he knows he rushed things with her."
"Understatement," Willow said sarcastically. "Giles and I are going to see Xander. Somebody is coming to help him."
"Doctor-type body?" Oz asked.
Willow looked over at Giles, "I'm thinking a magic-type body with a side order of scary."
"I'll be sleeping, Wesley snores," Oz said as he cleared out. Werewolves were generally skittish around magical beings. Especially ones that Giles or Willow would consider "scary."
As her former boyfriend began to walk away, Willow remembered something and called out, "Did you tell Wesley that we're kind of keeping what happened last night a secret from Xander?"
"Didn't come up," Oz said over his shoulder.
Cordelia and Dawn were visiting Xander. Willow walked in to see the two brunette girls in deep discussion about the perfect boot. "That proves Xander's paralyzed," Willow thought to herself. "It's the only way he'd sit still while those two were in shopping mode."
Xander caught her eye as she entered and gave her a "Please save me," look.
"Hi guys." Willow called. She turned to Dawn and Cordelia and said, "Why don't you guys grab some lunch, we'll keep the slacker company for a while."
"You want me to show you the place that has the boots?" Cordelia asked the younger Summers.
"Sounds like a plan," Dawn agreed. "Or at least a P-L." Both girls kissed Xander on the cheek and went of in search of footwear nirvana.
"How are you today, Xander?" Giles asked.
"Not up for a jog today, G-man, maybe tomorrow."
"Yes, well…uhm…"
Xander noted the look on his mentor's face. "What's the what, Giles? Spill already."
"Xander, do the names Verity and Bella mean anything to you?" Giles managed.
"You talked to them?" Xander asked. Giles nodded. "They're coming, aren't they?" Willow noted that the look on his face was surprise, not dread or fear. "I didn't think they got out that much anymore."
"So who are they?" Willow asked, "How do you know them, and why have I never heard you mention them before?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that they were two ladies who lived near my grandmother's house in North Carolina?"
"No," Giles admitted. "You speak of…them as if they were old friends."
"Well I met them for the first time when I was five. That's almost as long as I've known Willow."
"Known who?" Willow asked, tired of being left out of the conversation.
"It's kind of hard for me to explain," Xander admitted. "You want to try, G-man?"
The Head of the Watcher's Council turned to Willow. "Have you read Keats' poem, 'Ode to a Grecian Urn?"
"Sure, in college," Willow answered.
"Do you recall the ending, ''Beauty is truth, truth beauty, - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know?'"
"We always liked Johnny," A voice came from behind them.
Ever after, the stories of the three inhabitants of the room diverged at this point. Xander saw two young ladies, the images of his friends Willow and Tara. Giles saw two more mature ladies, one who looked like Jenny Calendar, the other a slightly older version of Joyce Summers. Willow saw someone who looked like Tara and another person who resembled an older Xander.
"Hi girls," Xander said, blushing in spite of himself.
"Girls?" Willow asked. She felt the power radiating from the visitors.
"Don't let it bother you," the one who looked like Xander said to her. "Appearances can be deceptive." "And you," the figure said, talking to Xander, "what are we ever going to do with you? We turn our back for a few moments and you let this happen." It carried a pink lawn flamingo and placed it by the bed.
"Sorry," Xander replied. "Forgot to duck. Let me guess, Bella?"
"Right in one," Bella said with a smile as she sat on the bed beside him.
Xander performed the introductions, "Truth and Beauty, meet Giles and Willow. Giles is the one with the glasses."
"A pleasure," the redhead on Xander's bed said before kissing him. "I'm glad you recognized me," she whispered in his ear.
"Well, he did have a 50/50 chance," Verity noted. Verity turned to Giles and the (to him) brunette lady asked, "You understand why we are here?"
"Not entirely," Giles admitted. "When you phoned earlier (and how Verity had his phone number the Watcher had no idea), you mentioned that Xander will be vital in an upcoming battle and you mentioned the rider of the red horse. I assume you are referring to War as described in the Biblical book of Revelations."
"Xander's going to fight War?" Willow asked.
"Not exactly," Verity answered. "But much as we are personifications of an ideal, so is the coming threat a manifestation of destruction and wrath. Without the heart of your group, without Xander," Verity turned to Xander and smiled warmly, "you could not succeed. With him, there's a chance."
The image of Tara approached Xander and kissed him. Then she said, "Get up lazy."
Tentatively, Xander tried to move his arm. The formerly immobile limb responded. He leaned up in bed and said, "You guys do good work."
"But there was no spell or anything," Willow said, surprised.
"We really don't like to show off," Bella said, to which Xander guffawed. "Okay, sometimes we don't like to show off," she amended.
Verity sat back on the bed and cradled the young man in her arms. "When this is over, if you win, I think you will need to visit us," she whispered to Xander. "You'll be welcome, and anyone you bring will be, too."
At this point one of the doctors responsible for Xander's care entered the room. He shouted, "Who is that old lady and why is she holding up a paralyzed man? Do you know the damage she could do to him?"
"Fire him, Rupert," Bella said. "He really doesn't care about anything."
"Who said that?" The doctor asked.
"See," Bella noted.
The doctor continued to look for the source of the (to him) disembodied voice. When he saw Xander sit up in bed, the medic fled the room.
Verity got up from the bed and walked over to Willow. Tara's voice said, "It was nice to meet you. I hope we meet again."
"You're leaving?" Willow asked, disappointed that the image of her lover was leaving.
"It's too cold here," Bella said. "We're really beach people. We have one stop to make before we go."
Truth and Beauty left Xander's room and walked to where Faith was sleeping. "She doesn't know either of us," Verity said, sadly.
"But she might, one day," Bella countered.
They both kissed the girl on the cheek and vanished.
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It was later in the morning when Wesley visited Faith. He took a deep breath before entering, and Faith broke eye contact as soon as she saw his face.
"I'm sorry," both said at once and exchanged confused glances.
Wesley recovered first. "It was my fault, Faith. I rushed you. I should have taken the time to establish procedures, make sure that you understand the dangers you'd be facing. I'm sorry."
"Hey, it was my fault," Faith argued. "I should have told you that Harris made me promise to talk to Giles before we went out."
Wesley couldn't help a small smirk from breaking out. "I have to admit I don't think hearing Xander's opinion would have changed my plans last night. I failed to take into account your…enthusiasm. Still, to have slain three vampires on your first patrol is very impressive."
"I don't know about that," Faith replied, thinking back to leaving Wesley unprotected and how the evening ended. "Besides, it was only two."
"No, I think you're mistaken," Wesley said gently. "I saw you fighting the original vampire, then there was one that Willow, destroyed. No doubt I will be hearing about that for the next decade," he mumbled as an aside. Of course, Faith's Slayer hearing picked up his muttering. "That leaves two other vampires that you…"
"One," Faith corrected. "One vamp accidentally stabbed the other one, then that guy got mad and cut the first one's head off."
"They fought each other?" Wesley asked.
"Yeah. In fact, they were fighting over you when I got there, then they started again later," Faith said.
"Really," Wesley said. "That is most unusual. Vampires almost never fight each other over a kill. My former instructor at the Academy had a theory that it was part of the disgust their demon personas have for their former human lives. Unless they are starving, they would rather see humans die and go hungry than take the chance on one getting away. Come to think of it, I have seen several reports of altercations in the vicinity of the cemetery. I always just assumed they were football hooligans or Scotsmen. I shall have to discuss this with Rupert."
"So, you okay?" Faith asked.
"Oh yes, only my pride damaged," Wesley said ruefully. "How about you?"
"Five by five," Faith replied out of habit. Seeing her Watcher's confused expression, she added, "I'm cool."
"Oz tells me you were a little the worse for wear when they found you," Wesley said, careful to avoid sounding judgmental.
Faith took a deep breath. "Look. I promised Har-, I mean Xander, that I'd tell you what the deal was. I was a working girl in Baltimore. I had a pimp who kept me high most of the time. When I found out I got all Xena, I agreed to work with you guys for a while so I could learn to take care of myself. I want to get clean and I…I guess I want to help. You guys have been pretty cool. But I didn't want nobody looking down their noses at me. So Xander said he'd tell the others I was a waitress, long as I was straight with you."
Wesley began to understand the situation, "So last night when you…"
"When I thought I'd gotten you killed, it just all came back on me. I'd had a chance and blown it, just like everything else in my life. Now everyone will know…"
"Your life before will make things more difficult for you," Wesley conceded. "I can see why you might have issues with trust, authority…"
"You name it, I'm gonna have issues with it," Faith sighed.
"But I hope that, in time, we can earn your trust. We'll give you the time you need. And the next time you patrol, we'll both know what to look out for." He smiled encouragingly at Faith.
"Well, you and Giles seem to have more faith in me than I do."
"That's our job," Wesley said quietly. Something Faith said struck him. "You say Xander made you promise to tell your Watcher about your past? Even after he knew that you were assigned to me?"
"Yeah, he said that I can't have any secrets from my Watcher. It was when I talked to him after his surgery."
"Interesting," Wesley said. "I suppose I should go and speak with him as well. Best to get all of the apologies out of the way at one time."
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Dawn and Cordelia had just finished shopping and they went to the nearby café to fight off the morning chill. Seeing the preoccupied look on Cordelia's face, Dawn said, "You know, you should just go ahead and tell Willow that you and Oz are dating."
Cordelia choked on the coffee she was drinking, spitting part of it against the wall. "Wh… I mean, how did you know?" She picked up some napkins and tried to clean up the mess she had made.
"Please, I was taught silence by Buffy and Kendra; basic sleuthing by Willow before she became all magic junkie, and how to see things by Xander. Do you really think there's much that goes on around here that I don't know about?" Dawn said as she handed Cordelia another napkin.
"Sometimes I kind of hate you," Cordelia said with a smile.
"Same here," the Key said. "So, why the sparkage with Wolfie?"
"He's nice. He never interrupts me when I'm talking. Besides, it's not like there's a lot of choices," Cordelia replied. "I mean, Xander and I are friends now, but there's too much history. Giles is too old, and Wesley….ugh."
"I don't know," I think maybe all he needs is time and some scars," Dawn suggested.
"Oh really," Cordelia said, looking at the teen. "I thought you were still deep in Xander worship mode."
"If Wesley hasn't had enough experience yet," Dawn said with a sigh, "I think Xander's had too much. After Kendra and Anya, I really don't think we could ever work."
"Yeah, our boy's made some strange choices. Hell, in high school, he chose Willow over me. How stupid is that."
Dawn dutifully agreed with her friend. She and Willow had never regained the closeness they had after Buffy's second death. After Willow's abuse of magic and attempt to use Dawn as a power source, the younger Summers' had never been able to completely forgive the redhead.
"Well, speaking of Xander, we better be getting back. Maybe we should bring him a hot chocolate?" Cordelia suggested.
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Giles had insisted that Xander remain in the infirmary until he had recovered from the blood loss caused by the gunshot wound. The younger man, tired after Bella and Verity left, had fallen into a dreamless sleep. He awoke to hear Wesley Windham Price's voice.
"Xander, are you awake?"
"I am now, Wes," Xander replied, noting the bruises on Wesley's face.
"Oh, terribly sorry." Wesley knew he had to get this out of the way quickly. Apologizing didn't come easily to him. "I just wanted to say that I appreciate what you told to Faith about the importance of being completely honest with me."
"It's the truth, Wes," Xander said. "If you don't know what she's been through, you won't be able to help her."
"It was very decent of you to tell her that. And I want to apologize for not listening to you more closely about the need to take it slowly with Faith. What happened last night was my fault completely."
"What happened…" Xander started.
"I should have told her that vampires sometimes travel in groups. Once she recovers…"
"Recovers?" Xander interrupted, his eye widening into a look that made all those who knew him well want to leave the room.
Wesley didn't notice the look.
"I don't know what kind of rehabilitation she will require, but she's a strong girl," Wesley continued.
"Wes," Xander whispered.
Wesley leaned in to hear what Xander was saying.
"I told you what I'd do to you if you let her get hurt," Xander replied, his strong arms finding their way around the Watcher's neck.
Wesley, shocked by both Xander's recovery and the threat to his life, was unable to dislodge the hands from his throat.
"Hey Xand…" Dawn started as she came into his room. When she saw Xander standing and choking Wesley, she dropped the hot chocolate and screamed.
Cordelia, following behind, ran to Xander and slammed into him to keep him from killing Wesley. The Englishman gasped for breath and crawled backwards as Cordy and Dawn restrained their friend.
"What the hell happened," Cordelia demanded.
"Wes almost got Faith killed," Xander spat.
"And you being all mobile isn't something you thought you should mention?" Cordelia snarled.
"I had a couple of visitors who helped me out," Xander said as he began to calm down. "Why didn't you guys tell me what happened with Faith last night."
"Gosh, do you think we might have wanted to find out ourselves what the deal is before breaking the news to you?" Cordelia said.
"Sorry," Xander said, looking away guiltily.
"I still got it," Cordy said to herself.
"So, are you…" Dawn started.
"Almost good as new," Xander said with a smile.
"You really had us worried," Dawn said, burying her face in his chest.
"I'm sorry," Xander said, hugging her back. Cordelia joined the embrace.
"Okay," Xander said softly. "Now if you guys will just let go, I can finish killing Wesley and we can go to lunch."
That's all for now. Next up, love and war. If you have any thoughts about this bit, please share them with me - ml