Nearly two uneventful weeks passed as they made their way south towards the Gulf Coast. During that time, Faith had grown closer to Buffy and the others, they had unspoken questions for them both. Faith could see it in their eyes every time they caught sight of her and Buffy spending some time alone together, sharing a bed, going off together just to have a moment to themselves thinking nobody else noticed, and every time one of the others caught them stealing kisses when they thought nobody was looking.
They had made their way down to what was left of Galveston, Texas, choosing to go there on rumours they'd heard from other survivors they'd come across in Houston. It was supposed to be safe there, the island itself protected from the infected, supposed to be untouched by the epidemic that had gripped not just the country, but the entire world. The rumours had been wrong. The second they'd reached the bridge that crossed over the Galveston causeway, they knew the rumours were dead wrong. The bridge had been blown to pieces and there was no way across on foot. They couldn't swim just over a mile to reach the island either, not without leaving behind all their supplies.
Eventually they found the railroad tracks that crossed the causeway were still mostly intact and they walked across carefully with Faith leading the way, Buffy and then Kennedy behind her, Willow behind them with Giles and Xander in the rear. It'd taken them far longer than anticipated to cross over onto the island, and when they landed on solid ground, they knew right from the start they'd made a grave mistake.
They hit the ground running, dodging bushes as they ran through the brush that surrounded the tracks. They kept close to the tracks, following the power lines across the brush filled field, the sounds of the infected all around them and closing in fast. The first road they hit, there was a wall over twenty feet high, topped with barbed wire and it ran down the road in each direction as far as the eye could see with no way to get over the top.
That was less than twenty-four hours ago and now they were holed up in a warehouse just off the docks not far from the train tracks they'd followed to get to the island. And they were surrounded, yet safe for now, maybe an hour or two more before the infected got past the barrier they'd built around the only doorway in the room they were in, the only way in and the only way out.
They needed to get out of there, fight their way back to the wall and find a way to the other side. Even Giles was convinced there was salvation on the other side of the wall that clearly had been built to keep the infected out. It was a risk, but the longer they waited, the worst it would get, and the infected that had them surrounded kept growing in numbers with every hour that passed.
"We gotta get outta here," Faith said to Buffy quietly as they stood on a stack of empty crates, just out of earshot of the others. "You know it and I know it, B. We can't stay here. We're surrounded. We stay here any longer and we're—"
"Dead. I know."
"We've gotta fight our way outta here."
"How, Faith? How are we supposed to do that? The only way out is through a horde of those things and we don't even know how many there are!"
Faith groaned quietly as she ran her fingers roughly through her hair. "I don't know, B, but we gotta figure something out."
"Willow," Kennedy said as she approached from the side, stepping out of the darkness and into the glow of the single candle that Buffy held between both hands. "She thinks she can clear a path for us."
"How? Her magic weakened after that spell with the scythe," Buffy replied. "The last time she tried to use magic was months ago and that left her sick for days."
"She's been feeling stronger lately," Kennedy said as she looked across the room over at where Willow laid on a pile of blankets, sleeping. "We have to let her try."
"What if she ends up hurting herself?"
"She won't."
"You don't know that."
"What do you want to do then, Buffy?" Kennedy asked, clearly frustrated. "Stay here and die?"
"No, I just—I don't know, Kennedy."
"She's strong enough to cast a spell that'll push them away just long enough for us to get out of this room and fight. Let her try. What other choice do we have? There is no other way. We either fight or we stay here, trapped, waiting to die."
"We're not gonna die," Faith said as she hopped off the crate. "We're gonna get outta here. We're gonna fight. We're gonna survive. And we're gonna get over that wall, no matter what lies beyond it. It's gotta be better than this, right?"
"No," Buffy said softly. "It's not. That rumour those people told us that we would find solace here isn't true, Faith! There is no safe haven here. This whole place is overrun with infected. We have no idea what is on the other side of that wall!"
"Guess it's time we found that out for ourselves, yeah?" Faith said as she turned and walked over to where Willow was sleeping and gently nudged her awake. "Willow?"
"Hmm? Faith? What is it—"
"Is it true?"
"What?"
"You're feeling strong enough to cast a spell that can help us fight those things and get outta here?"
Willow sat up slowly and cast a quick glance over at Kennedy across the room before she slowly nodded her head. She looked nervous as she stared at Faith, before she inhaled deeply. "I can try something small. It'll push them back, how far, I'm not sure. Faith, I don't even know if it'll work."
"Has to."
"I—I don't know—"
"We've stayed here long enough, sitting on our asses and waiting to die here. I ain't dying in this place, Willow, and I know you aren't either. We have no other choice. No other options. No other way out."
"She's right," Giles said from a few feet away where he'd been sleeping with his back to them. He sat up and slid his glasses on, blinking in the candlelight as Buffy and Kennedy joined them. "There aren't any other options right now, Willow. I can assist you in the spell, so you will not have to take the burden of it alone. We should get started. It'll be dawn soon and perhaps we can count on the horde to thin out when the sun rises."
"What's going on?" Xander asked groggily as he walked towards them, one fist rubbing at his eye. "Guys?"
"We're gonna try to get outta here," Faith replied and she turned to look at Buffy and Kennedy. "How many bolts do we have left?"
Kennedy looked at the bag and frown. "Not a lot. Less than a dozen."
"Make every shot count," she said as she grabbed the bag of bolts and tossed it at Xander. She handed him her longbow and smiled a tight smile. "We're counting on you to have our backs out there, Xander."
Everyone prepared for the fight, for their escape from the place that had kept the save for the last day. The roof was silent and the only sounds came from beyond the barricaded door, the growling and snarling, the sound of hands clawing at the metal door. Sounds that should only belong in nightmares, not in real life. As the minutes passed by quickly, Faith couldn't shake the sinking feeling that something bad was about to happen. She had to push it down, ignore it. Something worse would happen if they stayed there and didn't try to fight their way to survival. They packed up and wielded their weapons and everything about this was exactly the way it'd been for weeks, for months. How much longer would they be fighting for survival? How much longer would they keep running, trying to find that safe haven, solace somewhere in a world where there didn't seem like there was any hope left for survival?
After an hour of preparation, Willow and Giles were ready to do the spell, Faith, Buffy, and Kennedy ready to fight as they fled with Xander in the rear, wielding Faith's longbow and only half a dozen arrows. The plan wasn't spoken of and it wasn't needed. They all knew what they needed to do. Get out of there at all costs and leave nobody behind.
"Remove the barrier from the door," Giles instructed. "It is time."
Faith, Buffy, and Kennedy removed the piles of furniture, barrels and filing cabinets that were stacked up against the metal door. They removed each piece carefully and quietly, as to not alert the infected that were lurking on the other side of the door. With the last of the barrier removed, Faith tightened the strap of her duffel bag she had slung around her body, bringing it and all that she carried with her that belonged to her tighter against her back.
A wave pulsed past them and out the door the instant it came crashing down. Faith gripped her sword tightly, watching the dozens of infected being thrust back by magic and down the metal stairs. No one spoke a word as they moved forward, Faith taking the lead and leaping down the stairs to the first landing where one stray infected lay before her, the shock from the magic and being thrust down the stairs causing its body to convulse violently. She stuck her sword into its skull before moving further down the stairs.
And that was when all hell broke loose. Literally.
Faith was unstoppable, clearing herself a path through dozens upon dozens of infected that had filled warehouse. She was too far from the others, but she didn't stop, she didn't retreat, the only thought on her mind was getting all of them out of there alive, at all costs.
"Ahh!" Faith screamed, but it was drowned up in the intensity of the fight. She used the butt-end of her sword, smashing the infected who was latched on to her arm, its teeth sinking deep into her flesh even through her long-sleeve shirt. She hit it in the head once more before it released its strong jaw from her arm and she kicked it away, yelling furiously as she sliced the sword into its skull.
"Faith!" Buffy yelled out from behind her as she clutched her left arm. "Come on, we're getting out of here now! This way!"
Faith didn't respond, too busy trying to fight her way over to where Buffy and the others were, fighting their way towards the large opening in the crumbling wall, an opening that looked as if it had been hit by a bomb. She found her opening and sprinted towards the opening, her hand clutching her arm where she'd been bitten, blood seeping out slowly yet steadily.
Now wasn't the time to panic. She couldn't and wouldn't spend a second panicking until they were far from that place and somewhere safe, sort of. No where was ever safe enough.
Faith ran after the others, jumping over rotting, dead bodies like she used to jump over tombstones in the cemeteries when she was chasing down vamps. God, what she wouldn't give right now to go back to that kind of a life, where all she had to worry about was getting through the night and not end up dead and turning into one of the things she was made to kill. She shook those thoughts from her head, glancing back behind her for just a second to see over a dozen of the infected giving chase, but they weren't as fast as some of them and they were gaining a good lead.
"There's a door!" Buffy yelled from up ahead and Faith didn't let the relief wash through her for a second. False hope was something she just didn't have in her anymore. "Come on! Faith, Kennedy, I need your help!"
Faith moved quickly, joining Buffy and Kennedy at the steel door that didn't look like it would move. They pushed it together, hearing the groaning and grinding of the steel as it slid open, inch by inch. Even with three slayers, they could barely get it open and keep it open for the others to slip inside. Faith's bitten arm was aching, but she didn't let up, straining and using every last bit of her strength to open the door just a little more.
"Come on, on three," Buffy said and her eyes locked with Faith's just for a moment before she counted out quickly and the three of them tumbled past the door, Faith just barely making it through before it slammed shut. "Faith," Buffy panted as she walked over to her. "You're hurt."
"It's nothing, B."
"Did you—"
"No," she lied, knowing exactly what Buffy was asking her. She didn't want her to know. She didn't want it to be real. She was lying even to herself and now she has a death warrant on her head, her days numbered and she didn't want that to make whatever she had with Buffy any different.
"Can I—"
"No," Faith said firmly and the others were watching them, just like they had been doing in the last two weeks. "I'll take care of it once we're somewhere safe, B. Don't worry, okay?"
Faith took in their surroundings now that they were on the inside of the wall. It wasn't like it was on the other side, no dead bodies littered the ground and it seemed…clean, almost, in a way that Faith knew that whoever was living in this sanctuary had kept it this way. They were all exhausted, moving slowly down the street, the quiet feeling far heavier than it should've felt.
It was barely minutes after they got past the door before Faith was suddenly staring down the barrel of a shotgun. She didn't panic, she just stilled and inhaled slowly as she looked at the man holding the gun to her head.
"We're clean," she said evenly, willing her hands not to shake at the lie tumbling past her lips. "We're just looking for someplace safe, we're not here to hurt anyone."
"How'd you get in?"
"The door," Faith replied, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.
"That door is controlled, nobody can get in or out unless someone pushes the button from inside."
"We're slayers," Kennedy said and suddenly the gun was trained on her. "Look, like my friend said, we're clean and we're not here to hurt anyone. We just need a safe place to stay."
"Jerry, what's going on?" A woman called out as she stepped out of the building just in front of them.
"New arrivals."
"And you're holding the gun to some poor girls head?" The woman shook her head, a soft hand resting on his arm and she lowered them slowly and took the shotgun from his hands with ease. "Come," she said as she turned to walk back to the building she'd exited. "You all look positively exhausted and I'm sure you've traveled quite a long way. I'll put some soup on and you can tell us your tale of how you came to be here…"
Faith felt dizzy all of a sudden and she lurched, Buffy right there at her side, strong hands settling on her hips as she looked at her in concern and worry. Faith shook it off, the smile on her lips trying to play it off as exhaustion and the adrenaline finally slipping out of her system.
"Faith?" Buffy tried and she shook her head again. "Faith, what's going on with you?"
"Tired, B. So fucking tired."
"I know, me too."
Buffy slipped a hand into hers, both of them ignoring the blood that stained her skin and Faith let Buffy lead the way inside the building with the others. The sight she was greeted with was a surprise and the bottom floor of the building was filled with people sitting around, chattering quietly, chatter that came to a stop as soon as they were all inside the dimly lit room. Everything started to blur together and Faith could feel the room spinning. The last thing she saw was Buffy clinging to her, keeping her from hitting the ground as everything went black.
Faith groaned quietly as she felt the cool cloth over her forehead, pressed gently against it, over and over again. She blinked away the darkness that had clouded her vision and she couldn't help but smile when Buffy came into focus again.
"Good, I'm not dead."
"Not yet, but you will be," Buffy replied, her tone flat and void of emotion. "Why did you lie to me?"
"B, I—"
"You got bit, Faith."
"I know."
Buffy pulled the damp cloth away from her forehead as Faith moved to sit up from the pile of blankets she was laying on. She looked to her left arm where her shirt had been cut away, the bite wound cleaned and bandaged. She swallowed thickly as her eyes met Buffy in the dim light.
"You've been out for two days," Buffy said softly, her fingers reaching up to brush aside a few strands of Faith's hair away from her eyes. "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up."
Faith frowned as she reached to hold Buffy's face gently between her hands and she leaned forward, closing the gap between them and kissed her softly, feeling her tremble against her lips. The kiss doesn't last for very long and Faith sighed as Buffy pulled back first. This was what she was afraid of, the sudden shift in their relationship because she'd been bit. That was why she didn't want to tell Buffy because all she wanted was to spend her last days with the woman she'd fallen in love with, with the woman who had her whole heart, her whole soul in her hands.
"Two days," Faith whispered, frowning as Buffy's tears slid down her cheeks. "B, it's been two days."
"I know that."
"No, I should've been dead."
"Faith—"
"How the hell am I not dead? Nobody else has survived this long after being bit, B, you and I both know that so why the hell am I not dead right now?"
"Faith, keep your voice down," Buffy hissed at her. "Nobody else knows. Just me."
Faith sighed as she slumped back down against the bed of blankets. They were in a small room, maybe a closet at some point, and a sheet hung over where a door had once been. Her mind was swirling with thoughts she couldn't hold on to, the only thing she wanted to know was how was she still alive?
Faith moved over as Buffy laid down next to her, both of them just laying there and staring up at the ceiling, the backs of their hands brushing against one another's until Buffy slipped her hand into Faith's and intertwined their fingers with ease. She turned her head to the side, looking over Buffy's features in the dim light that just barely made it past the sheet hanging in the doorway. And just for a moment she thought back to that day two weeks ago, the day they holed up in the farmhouse and everything between them changed forever.
"You are so beautiful, Buffy," Faith whispered, watching the tears slide out of her eyes as she managed a small smile. "I've always thought you were so beautiful, right from the very moment I met you."
"Faith—"
"I love you," she whispered and Buffy turned to look at her then, a look of surprise in her teary eyes as she tightened her grip on Faith's hand. "I do. I love you, Buffy."
"I love you too," she whispered, her lower lip wavering as the words slipped past her lips.
Faith leaned in, kissing her softly, just wanting to kiss her, to seal that moment between them with an unspoken promise that she would always love her.
"You're not dying," Buffy trembled, parting from Faith's lips just to look into her eyes. "You are not dying on me, Faith. Not today."
"Not today," Faith echoed and she pulled Buffy on top of her, smiling at the feel of how good it felt to have her fully against her again. "Definitely not today."
Faith was kissing her again, soft and slow and deep. She wasn't sure just how much privacy the small space gave them or who was on the other side of that sheet, but she didn't care as she slipped her hands under Buffy's tight t-shirt, splaying her hands over soft, warm skin. Buffy's moan felt like a given sign to continue and she deepened the kiss, leaning up and into her as Buffy's thigh fell between her legs.
It felt like a switch was flipped inside of her as she rolled them over, grinding her thigh in between Buffy's legs hard. She breathed out heavily over Buffy's lips, needing more, wanting more. She wasted no time, kissing her hard in yearning as she slipped a hand between their bodies and deftly flicked the button of Buffy's jeans open. She wasted no time in taking what she wanted, sliding her hand inside tight jeans, her fingers spilling over hot, wet flesh. It took Buffy a moment before she mirrored Faith's desperate actions, both of them moaning as fingers sunk into one another hurriedly.
All she wanted was for them to be back at the farmhouse, naked and writhing against each other, tumbling over and over the edge until they just couldn't take it anymore. But they weren't and that place had been left behind hundreds of miles ago and they were here now, someplace safe.
Buffy came first, hard and fast, her hips jerking against Faith's hand as they kissed with hungry passion. Faith kept her fingers buried inside of her, her own orgasm building deep inside of her. And then she was falling and clinging to Buffy as her body twitched, her orgasm short but powerful and still rooted deep inside of her. She pulled back from Buffy's lips, her breaths coming out in small, hard bursts and they both smiled, a knowing smile, a sated smile as their hands unhurriedly slipped out of the tights confines of each others pants.
Faith wasn't sure how long they laid there, her head on Buffy's shoulder, her breath tickling over Buffy's neck as she watched her pulse throb in time to her racing heart, but she just took in the moment between them, just like she did with every moment she had with Buffy, a memory, forever etched into her heart and her soul.
"So, where are we exactly?" Faith asked, rolling off of her as Buffy just closed her eyes for a moment before she turned to look at her.
"They call it Safehaven," she said quietly. "And where we are right now? It's just a building and we are in a closet."
"I can see that."
Buffy let out a breathy laugh and she shook her head. "Jerry and his wife, they told us there aren't many people left. Everyone that is here, behind those walls, is all that's left. They are barely surviving here, Faith, barely but they haven't given up hope."
"How many are left?"
"About fifty including us," Buffy replied. "There's food, enough to last months. And clean water. Some people go out beyond the walls, trying to bring down the infected numbers, but they stopped doing that when they lost half of their people a month ago."
"That's heavy," Faith said and Buffy nodded. She turned to look up at the ceiling as she heard voices beyond the sheet, voices growing closer and louder. "You ever think we'll get to be alone again? Like truly alone without anyone coming to make sure we're still here and still alive?"
"I don't know, Faith."
"Damn."
"Tell you what," Buffy said with a smile as she turned on her side, her fingers dancing over Faith's stomach lightly. "The very next chance we get to be alone like we were that day at the farmhouse," she paused and leaned in to Faith's ear and whispered, "you can have me any way you want me."
Pleasure surged through her body at Buffy's words and now she was definitely going to make sure that she wasn't going to die, that she would fight off the infection she knew without a doubt was flowing through her veins, because she had something to live for, someone to live for and she wanted more than what they already had together.
"Hey," Willow said as she pulled back the sheet and looked down at them lying side by side, neither making a move to pull away from one another or even button their pants back up. "I uh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but everyone is gathering outside. Jerry and Lina called a emergency meeting and everyone needs to be there."
"Okay, Will, we'll be out in a minute," Buffy said as she slowly sat up, watching as Willow backed away and dropped the sheet. "Nobody else knows you were bit, Faith, and it's going to stay that way. I don't know how you're still alive either, but the fact is that you are. Now come on, let's go and find out what the hell is going on here."
"Okay."
They stood together, taking a moment just to straighten themselves out and before Buffy could lead the way out of their little closet, Faith pulled her in for one last kiss, one that left them both breathless in a matter of seconds. Faith grabbed on to Buffy's hand and smiled as their fingers intertwined and they walked out of the closet and with Buffy now in the lead, she led them over other beds, some cots, some just sheets and clothes piled on the floor and out the door on the other side of the large room.
The sun was shining and it felt warm against Faith's skin. She had to blink, the brightness hitting her suddenly, a start contrast to the dimness that she'd emerged from. They stood off to the side of the group that gathered in the street and Faith looked over all the unfamiliar faces until she spotted the others, standing together just as they always did and she tugged at Buffy's hand, leading them over to their friends, their family. Soft smiles were flashed at Faith and she didn't let go of Buffy's hand as the man, who just had pointed a shotgun at her face two days ago, moved to stand on top of a shoddy looking makeshift platform and raised his hands, the people all around them quieting down all at once.
Faith heard it, just faintly, the sound of a helicopter flying and coming closer. Buffy heard it too and they jut stared at one another before fixing their attention on the man that was about to speak. But as the helicopter grew closer, the sound louder, the people started to murmur in surprise, chattering loudly again as words of hope and being saved were floating through the air.
"People, please!" Jerry shouted and his wife placed her fingers between her lips and whistled loud enough to leave even Faith's ears ringing. "It's finally happened! We're finally going to be saved! This time it is not false hope, not a dream just out of reach. I got word an hour ago from the Army that they would be sending soldiers to retrieve us."
"The army?" Faith whispered and Buffy shrugged her shoulders.
"And where are they taking us?" A man shouted from the front of the crowd. "We're save here, why do they need to take us somewhere else?"
"Because," Jerry said, his voice still booming and echoing off the buildings all around them. "The end is near, a cure has been found and the infected that are still out there are being killed off. People from all over are no longer afraid, killing them off when they come upon them. We will work as a nation to rid our country of an epidemic that never should have been possible. We will take our country back and we will not lose any more people, not to them."
"A cure," Buffy smiled as she turned to Faith. "Someone found a cure."
"I heard, B."
"It feels like I'm dreaming," she whispered as people all around them were cheering and hugging and shouting out words of joy. "Is this real, Faith?"
"Let's hope so."
"Don't you die on me," Buffy whispered so only she could hear.
"I won't, B."
"If you do, I'll just kill you again."
"Of course you will," she chuckled, not feeling the dread she should've felt in that moment.
No, all she could feel was hope. A new kind of hope, the kind of hope she hadn't felt in a very long time because they were finally going to win. They were going to win and she was going to live.
Hours after they were picked up from beyond those walls that had kept all those people safe all throughout the epidemic that had gripped the nation, Faith found herself lying on a hard surface as military doctors poked and probed at her. As soon as the bite, although mostly healed at this point, was discovered once they had landed on the naval ship almost a twenty miles from shore, she was forced away from Buffy and ushered right down into the medic ward immediately.
Questions were asked by doctors wearing biohazard suits, their voices somewhat muffled from behind the masks they wore. She answered what she could and they left her there for a little while, monitoring her vital signs until they came back again, poking and probing at her with various medical instruments Faith had never seen in her life before.
"Tell me again," the male doctor said as the others left the room. "How long exactly has it been since you were bit?"
"Two days ago, like I said."
"And yet you show no signs of being infected."
"So, I'm not infected?"
"You are," he nodded. "We ran your blood work quickly and the virus is very much inside of you."
"So, cure me up then, doc," Faith said with ease. "What?"
"Who said there was a cure?"
"That guy who told us you were coming," Faith said quietly. "He said there was a cure."
Hope faded quickly as the doctor shook his head, frowning as he folding his hands in front of him. There was no cure and she was still alive, but she had the virus inside of her so why hadn't she turned into one of those things yet? She should've already been dead.
"Doc?"
"We know what you are," he said quietly, his voice still not too clear. "A slayer. We think that is why the virus hasn't killed you yet, why you show no signs of being infected aside from the virus mixed in your blood the way we've seen in so many others. I have a theory," he paused and he placed a rubber covered hand on her knee. "It's a risk and it has not been proven, but I know you are not the only slayer on this ship, but you are the only one who is infected."
"What are you saying?" Faith asked, her voice cracking as she desperately held off her tears. "You think you can what, take this virus out of me somehow?"
"It's a risk," he said again. "I need to know if you are willing to take a risk, Faith."
"What do I have to do?"
"A blood transfusion."
"That it? That's the risk?" Faith asked and she let out a dry laugh. "Why is that a risk, Doc?"
"Because we tested the other two and they do not match your blood type, but we know how powerful a slayer's blood is, we've seen it for ourselves once."
"You guys are Initiative—"
"No, we're not, but some of us were years ago. It is a risk because I'll need to use them both for the transfusion if we want to flush that virus out of your body completely and there's no telling how you will react to two different types of blood in your system. Your organs could shut down one by one, you could have a heart attack or a stroke."
"Or nothing could happen and I'll be fine?" Faith finished for him and he nodded his head slowly. "I'll take the risk, Doc, cos either way I'm pretty much dead already, right?"
"This is a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly."
"And it's not," Faith snapped, her patience growing thin with the man in the biohazard suit. "Do what you gotta do. I know the risks and I'm willing to take a chance. I'm not dead yet."
It seemed like it took forever for the doctor to leave, and even longer for Buffy to finally find her way down to the medic ward and into the sterile room she was in. Her heart was racing as she took in the sight of Buffy, her eyes red from crying and she slipped off the table and wrapped her arms around her tight.
"He said there was a cure," Buffy whispered as she buried her face into the side of Faith's head. "He said there was a cure and there's not."
"B—"
"I'm going to lose you," Buffy cried and Faith shook her head no. "I don't want to lose you, Faith."
"I'm not going anywhere, B," she said softly and she pulled back, taking Buffy's face in her hands and she wiped away at the tears that fell with her thumbs. "There might not be a cure, but there might be a way for me."
"What?"
"They didn't tell you, did they?" Faith asked and she shook her head no. "One of the doctors told me he had a theory but trying it is a risk, a big one. They know who we are, B."
"What theory does this doctor have?"
"Slayer blood is powerful, we all know that and there's three of us on this ship right now."
"Faith—"
"He wants to try a blood transfusion, but it's risky cos none of us have the same blood type. You and Kennedy don't either. I know it's a lot to ask you, either of you, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes just to get this virus out of me. It hasn't killed me yet and even they don't know why, but I have a feeling it's cos I'm a slayer and the virus is just…taking more time to kick in I think."
Before Buffy could say a word, Kennedy stormed in, dragging the same doctor who had came up with the theory in with her. Faith almost laughed at the determined look on Kennedy's face as she forced the doctor to look at her.
"Look, I'm in. Let's just do it now," Kennedy said and she turned back to Buffy. "Did she tell you?"
"Yes."
"Are you in?"
"I'm in."
"So, doc," Faith said as she looked at him, taking in how scared he looked to be manhandled by a woman half his size and twice as strong. "Let's do it."
"It'll take quite a few hours and a few sessions. I'll need some time to prepare. In the meantime, I don't want any of you to eat or drink anything and I want you two," he said as he pointed at Buffy and Kennedy, "to go down to room five and seven and I'll send a few doctors in to run a quick physical and ask you some further questions on top of the ones you had endured when you arrived on the ship."
Kennedy let him go and stormed out of the room, following his orders without hesitation. Buffy just turned to look at Faith again and she smiled a small smile as Faith leaned in to plant a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.
"It'll be okay, B," Faith whispered, kissing her again. "Everything will be okay. I'll see you soon."
"Okay."
"And after all this is over, you and me?"
Buffy chuckled as Faith wiggled her eyebrows as she let her eyes sweep over Buffy's body with a lustful leer. With one last kiss, Faith was alone in the room again and hope flooded through her heart, mind and soul all over again.
She was going to live.