Rage (n.) - Violent anger; passion.
Faith was standing next to the coffin, her hand lying flat on top, except her eyes, which were darting back and forth. From one end of the coffin to the other, tears blurring her vision. She was listening to the hushed whispers and the snuffling of the other mourners in the room.
How could he be so stupid? The tears came faster as she tried to shrug the oncoming memory but she couldn't. He jumped right in front of that darting sword, one of the vampires were throwing at her back. She watched as fell backward, the sword sticking out of his chiseled chest. He was so stupid! She caught him just before he hit the ground, wrapping her arms around him; the tears welled up then, just as they are now. She turned her gaze to the sword he was pulling out with cries of pain. She wanted to tell him to stop, your going to make it worse, but his fate was screaming at her in plain sight. A small trickle of blood escaped his lips, and she choked back a sob. Her throat was tight, she tried to swallow but the pain and tightness was too much. She blinked back the second on slaught of tears because they were blurring her vision. It was just too much. How could this happen! He was gazing at her as he took one of her hands in his. The man that taught her how to love again was dying, his blood staining her clothes.
"I love you, Faith." His last words sounding distant, as he stopped breathing. She sobbed laying her head on his. She wished she could return those words but even if he lived just a second longer to repeat them, she couldn't anyway. Yes, she loved him. But she wasn't in love with him. He was more like a brother to her.
"He was a good man." She jumped, that was one voice she wasn't expecting to hear. She thought Buffy still hated her because Faith hasn't seen her in a while, since they patrolled one night together… which ended in a fight. A fight that Robin ended. Faith turned around, Buffy wasn't crying, but she did look genuinely sad. Faith didn't wipe her tears from her eyes as she walked past Buffy. Why is she acting like this anyway? He was stupid. He jumped in front of that sword for her. He shouldn't have done that. Faith deserves to be dead, not him. Buffy grabbed Faith's arm, just as she took a step past her.
"Look." Faith turned around at the sincerity in Buffy's voice. "I don't think I ever said this, but I'm sorry and I know it doesn't mean anything right now, but I am." She let go of Faith's arm, but Faith didn't go anywhere.
"Your not talking about Robin's death are you?" Faith whispered, her voice cracking in some places.
"Partly, but mostly I'm not." Buffy shook her head back and forth. "I also know I shouldn't be asking you this, but I was wondering if you'd help us train slayers. We need somebody who can deal with rogue slayers." Buffy held out a folded piece of paper. "It's my cell phone number and address." She paused, waiting for Faith to take it, after a second, she did. "If you ever need a place to stay, Dawn and I have an extra bedroom we're not using." Buffy stared at Faith for a couple more seconds, backing up as her heart fluttered when Faith opened the paper to read it. She smiled to herself, she should feel bad, she knows that and she's tried to feel bad. But ever since Robin and Faith moved to Cleveland, she just couldn't get Faith out of her mind. After a couple days of converting her true feeling into hate, she just couldn't do it anymore. She could do it before, because she had someone to fall back on like Riley, Angel and Spike but not this time, there's no one there to distract her. She finally started cherishing the moments they had without fights in Cleveland, when they went to the city's clubs, when they fought side by side. Buffy just might be falling in love with Faith, but whatever it is, she knows she'd rather have Faith by her side.
As Faith walked back into her apartment, drunk, she fell to the ground sobbing. When she could finally get up again, she grabbed the stand next to the couch and tipped it over with full force, shattering the two pictures that were on it. The two pictures of Robin and herself. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed another beer, taking only two gulps before whipping it at the cupboards across the room. She ran into they're bedroom, a bedroom they've only been living in for one month. She momentarily stopped at the heart wrenching memory of the way he smiled like a 5 year old when she said yes to moving in with him and of the way he handed her his apartment key in a beer bottle, slapping him as she tried to pull it out. She started moving again, tipping the stand on her side of the bed with hysterical fury. The lamp flew into the wall and shattered into little, tiny pieces. She was just about to tip his stand over when she stopped dead in her tracks and looked around. Just looking around the room hurt her terribly. All the memories you can get from just looking around a room. A painful giggle escaped her throat as she remembered that one time he tripped over a random axe they dropped on the ground one night after coming home from slaying. She burst into a fresh new set of sobs. That night was just like the night he died, 10 days ago. They were just regular vampires. Regular vampires Faith and Robin always fight… fought together every night. He was such a good man. The funeral... Buffy. 'He was such a good man.' She said those words too. She ran over to a pile of clothes and sifted through them, looking for the jeans she wore at the funeral, finding them she pulled the piece of paper out of the pocket, grabbed a bat and walked outside. She stopped at Robin's nice little car and swung the bat with great force, shattering the windshield, she swung it again, shattering the drivers' side door and again, and again. Until every glass part on that car was in a million pieces. What makes her think Buffy will still be offering? It's been exactly a week, 7 days, since she offered. Well she needs to try; Buffy was the only one that offered anything. Kennedy and Willow both gave their apologies. Xander gave his apology with a pat on the back. Giles gave his apology over the phone. Buffy was the only one. Faith went to her motorcycle and rode about a mile before the tears blurred her vision too much to see. She pulled over at a gas station, tugging lose change out of her pocket as she stumbled her way to the pay phone. The phone rang 4 times before Buffy picked up.
"Hello?" She yawned into the phone. The breath caught in Faith's throat, she forgot it was 2 in the morning.
"Buffy?" Faith slurred into the phone, Buffy was the only one noticing that Faith was quite drunk. Tears weren't the only things blurring her vision on the ride over to the gas station.
"Faith? Is that you?" Buffy sat up in her bed, sleep already the thing of the past. She heard a stifled whimper before Faith answered again.
"Yes. I know you offered to let me stay a week ago, I was wondering if you were still holding that offer?" Faith slurred, and Buffys' heart leaped.
"That offer is still holding. Where are you? I'll come pick you up." Faith was in awe, why was she being this nice?
"No, no." Faith was shaking her head rapidly. "I'll just drive –"
"Faith, I'd rather come pick you up." Buffy cut in sharply. Faith was definitely drunk, there is no way, she is driving. "Where are you?"
"I'm at a gas station about a mile from our apartment." Buffy cringed at the way Faith said 'our' because there is no 'our', Robin is dead.
"I'll be there shortly." Faith said thank you and hung up, stumbling her way to the sidewalk curb, lying back and covering her face with her hands, sobbing still.
Buffy put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, told Dawn where she was going then flew out of the door and into her car. Driving at a suicidal pace. Faith lived almost an hour away from Dawn and herself.
When Buffy found Faith an hour and a half later, she was passed out on the sidewalk. She had to shake her to get her awake, then practically carry her into the car. The hour and a half it took Buffy to get to Faith, Faith had another 3 beers.
The ride to Buffy's house consisted of Faith slurring out nonsense and trying to stay awake, she stayed awake long enough to thank Buffy the whole entire time bringing her into the house, apologize to Dawn for disturbing her, taking off her shoes and jacket, then she was out.
"Hm, I'd say she's drunk."
"Dawn!" Buffy sighed and Dawn just shrugged her shoulders and went back to bed. Buffy found some aspirin and put that with a cup of water on the nightstand
The next morning Faith woke up, and jumped out of bed, momentarily forgetting where she was. She remembered everything up until she found Buffy pulling her into a car and then she just remembers bits and pieces. She looked around the bland room she was standing in, the bed still made, her indent on one side. The walls of the room were white, a window in the middle of one wall, no curtains to cover to it. She turned her head away from the bright, sunny light of window, massaging her temples. She turned around, still examining the bland room, noticing a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin on the table. She smiled and poured out two tablets into her hand, gulping them both and the glass of water down. There was a chair in the corner of the room, next to the closet, with her jacket and boots on it. She walked over and put them on. She meant to sneak out of the house, save herself from all the possible embarrassment, but as she cracked the door open, Dawn walked by. She stopped dead and her tracks, spinning around on her heal as Faith opened the door all the way.
"Buffy's at class right now. She said you could meet her at the picnic area at lunch –" Dawn checked a clock. "Or in 10 minutes, since it's almost lunch." Then she walked away, only checking back as Faith looked confused in the doorway.
"Um. How do you get to the picnic area?" Dawn smiled to herself, Buffy told her she'd cooperate.
"Just find the first pathway and go straight on that path around the first building." Then Dawn disappeared through her room and Faith walked downstairs. The first room she walked into was the living room. This room pretty bland, too. Same white walls, with a couch next to one, a rocker next to the couch and a small TV on an end table. She walked through the living room into the front room, which held a plastic lawn chair and a closet. Same white walls, again. She thought of how the Summers' home back in Sunny-D looked, and this was nothing like it. Faith went outside, walking into crisp fall air. Breezy, but not too chilly. She looked around, noticing that she was on some kind of campus, nice green lawns and a big 3 story building ahead. A smaller, one story building was to her side. She took the path that led straight ahead to the tall building, walking around it; coming to what she guessed was the picnic area. There was about 5 or 6 picnic tables with teenagers, adults and adults in suits seated at them. She found Buffy and Giles seated by themselves at a table off near the end of the picnic area. She doesn't know what she's going to say, but she knows she's not going back to their apartment, it isn't home with Robin. Giles looks up when she gets near, but Buffy just keeps on talking. Faith takes a seat next to her.
"… And it's just one demon. You know this demon doesn't have as much strength as Willow. I'm sure all it will take is a few of our best slayers and Willow." Giles sighed at that.
"Yes, Willow is stronger than this demon but we don't know what kind of magic it's using. We can't just charge in there."
"It's just one demon, Giles!" She said angrily. He shook his head back and forth.
"This discussion is over, Buffy. We will not just charge in there." Then he got up and nodded to Faith. "Hello, Faith. I hope you are feeling better." She smiled and nodded her head.
"What's going on?" Faith asked. Buffy turned to her, a grimace on her face.
"One of our slayers on patrol was attacked. She's fine, it's just that the demon she saw was using some kind of magic on her, making her delusional."
"Delusional? As in how?" Faith asked. Buffy got up.
"I'll show you. I'd doubt you'd believe me if I just told you." Faith got up and Buffy started walking.
"Did you say there's only one, though?" They walked around the first building and to the building Faith thinks is the medical one.
"Yes." Faith nodded. This slayer must be really bad for Giles not to let Buffy attack. They got to the second building and Buffy led Faith through a corridor, men and women running about, some with suits on, others with white coats on. Faith was led through double doors, then stopped dead. This room had a bunch of cells in it. Faith heard the screaming before; she just thought nothing of it. Buffy was the opposite; her breathing got heavier as they walked closer to the crazy slayer. Crazy would be an understatement, of course.
"I thought you said she was 'fine'." Faith whispered and Buffy cringed.
"I meant physically." Buffy was correct about that. She only had a few scratches on her arms and face. She was screaming viciously and punching walls. Then she turned around at the sound of their entrance, screaming directly at them. The scratches, as it turns out, were done by herself. The two guards, one a tall man with rippling muscles, holding a gun and the other, a red-headed girl standing against the wall with her arms crossed both flinched when she started clawing at her face.
"Desmond, Ashley go ahead and sedate her." Buffy yelled above the screams. "You guys can take your lunch break." Ashley started talking to the screaming brunette with pure red eyes in the cell and she ran to her, trying to claw her way through the bars. Desmond shot the gun, a dart landing right in Crazy's neck. She stopped screaming, plucked the dart out of her neck, looked at it and threw it at Ashley. Ashley ducked and rolled, landing back over next to the wall with ease. She must be another slayer. Then the vicious slayer fell to her knees, staring daggers at everyone in the room before closing her eyes and falling to the floor.
The slayer seemed to be in a state of pure rage.