Loss of Faith
Chapter 23: We Just Can't Catch a Break
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters contained within.
That would be Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc….
Xander's POV –
There's a dull thud that comes from the bedroom like bodies hitting the floor, then a loud drawn out scream, "Faith!!!!, Nooo!". I'd know that voice anywhere, it's Buffy screaming and it doesn't sound anything like the harsh whisper she was speaking in the last time I was in the room with her. I'm out of the chair I was sitting in and across the room to the door in a flash. The others are right there with me. I slam the door open and what we see pretty much stops us all in our tracks. Buffy is sitting on the floor trying to pull Faith into her lap. Faith is laying there paler than the sheets that are on the bed. I can see a trail of blood that runs from under her hair by her left ear down along her neck. I can't see the bite marks, but from the way Buffy looks I have a very bad idea that I know what happened.
We all try to squeeze through the door at the same time, which pretty much means none of us was getting in. I pull back a little dragging Willow, Shannon and Giles with me and that let's Joyce get through the door first. I follow her in and the others sort of stumble through behind. Joyce's face is almost as pale as Faith's is, as she falls to her knees next to them. Her arm goes automatically around Buffy's shoulders as she tries to comfort her. I don't think that she really realizes that Buffy is going to be okay now. Or at least she's not going to die from the poison. I don't think that Buffy is ever going to be okay again if Faith dies.
Willow and Shannon both are clinging to each other, Willow with a look of shock on her face, while Shannon just looks confused. At least Will was able to clean her up some and help set her broken nose. I don't think Shannon gets how Faith could offer up her own life for Buffy. She still sees Buffy as a vampire, not a person that is loved by everyone else in this room. Giles is muttering, "Dear God!", over and over and doesn't appear to be processing what happened. Yeah, he has seen his share of bad things, but to walk in on a scene like this, something so unexpected, I think it broke him a little.
I go over and get down next to Faith, first thing I check is the neck wound. The bite is pretty clean considering. Just two small holes, there's not even that much blood coming out of it. I'm hoping that's because of the slayer healing starting to kick in and not because there's no blood left in Faith to be pumped out. Next thing I check is her pulse. I try and feel it in her carotid artery but can't find it. Maybe it's just too faint right now. I lean over and put my ear right over her heart to listen for it and that's about when Shannon starts freaking out.
"I told you she was a demon," she starts yelling. "She lured Faith in and attacked her!" She's looking around like she's trying to find something to stake Buffy with. I'm really starting to wonder why I tried to talk Faith out of feeding her to Buffy.
"Will," I say loud enough to get her attention, "Can you please shut her up! Tell her what happened since she's too slow to figure it out for herself. I'm trying to see if Faith's still with us." Shannon shuts up at my outburst and I can finally hear the faintest thump in my ear. It's almost more of a feeling than a sound. I let out the breath I was holding and tell Giles, "Her heart's still beating but we have to get her to a hospital, and like now." He heads out to the phone to get an ambulance on the way. I grab a pillow off the bed and yank the case off to use as a dressing for Faith's neck.
I finally spare a look up at Buffy and see the tears running down her face. Joyce is still trying to hold her, but Buffy just will not stop cradling Faith in her lap. "Buff, Buff…Buffy," I had to call her three times to get her to look at me. "Faith is going into shock, I need to lay her flat and get her feet up. Can you help me move her?" I figure giving Buff something to do, that may actually help Faith, is the best way to get her to come back to us. She nods her head slowly and starts moving Faith gently back onto the floor. "Joyce?" I ask next, "Can you grab the blanket off the bed? We need to keep her warm." Joyce moves to get the blanket without saying a word. Okay, three of them are moving and helping, Willow is talking to Shannon in the corner and I really don't give a shit what Shannon's frame of mind is. Although, if she wants to go terminator on Buff, I'm going to try and put her down myself.
Buffy has Faith laying stretched out on the floor and even thought ahead enough to grab the pillows to slip under her feet. That'll help what little blood Faith has left pool around her heart and maybe give it something to pump. Checking Faith over again, I notice that her breaths are getting even more ragged as the minutes pass. I'm just about to yell to Giles to find out where the fuck the ambulance is when I hear the siren in the distance and getting closer fast.
"Buffy," I say gently, "They're going to be here in a minute and then we'll take Faith to the hospital. Why don't you let Joyce help you get cleaned up then she can drive you over in my car?" It takes a moment for her eyes to focus on me, then she looks down at herself and over to Joyce. Looking back to me she nods her head. She leans down and kisses Faith's forehead then stands to leave. Joyce is right there by her side and as they leave the room I get a good view of the look that Buffy sends Shannon's way. Something tells me Shannon better start praying that Faith makes it out of this shit alive. If not, I don't think Shannon's going to set any records for longest living slayer.
Giles has come back in the room at this point and is hovering by the door just waiting for the ambulance crew to show up. In the quite that the room has fallen into I can finally hear what Willow and Shannon are talking about.
I hear Willow saying, "Buffy would never have attacked Faith, Shannon. They love each other. Buffy had her humanity returned to her month's ago but we didn't realize it. We all thought she had died before the spell could work. That's why she was only attacking vampires and demons, she was actually keeping Sunnydale safe. Faith knew the only way to save Buffy was the blood of a slayer and she wasn't willing to sacrifice you, well maybe she was willing. But, Xander just made her think about it a little more."
"She, she gave herself to keep Buffy alive instead of using me?" Shannon asks. "Why would she do that? Why would she care about me when I was the one to give Buffy the poison to begin with?"
Willow looks over at Faith and almost makes me cry with what she says next, because it's nothing but the truth.
"It's simple, Shan," Willow tells her, "She did it because she's a hero." And I think that Willow really believes it for the first time. I always knew Faith was a hero, I'm probably the only one who still thought she was one after she took off, when we all thought Buffy was dead, again.
"But the Council and my Uncle swore that she was evil. That she had to be stopped. How could they be so wrong?" Shannon says quietly, "Why would they lie to me?" You could almost see her loss of faith in everything she had believed.
Willow takes her hand and gently tells her, "Shannon, we weren't lying to you when we told you those stories about what the Council tried to do. I know that Quinten Travers is the only family you have now and I'm not saying that he doesn't really care for you. But, you have to remember that the Council will always use whatever they can to get what they want. And what they want most is power over the slayers."
And I think that Shannon is finally getting it. You can see the change come over her. It's like Willow's words had finally extinguished the light of blind obedience from her. Too bad it's too little too late to have avoided all this shit. Don't get me wrong. I 'm very glad that Shannon is waking up and smelling the coffee but, she should of just trusted us to begin with and I wouldn't be sitting here wondering if I'm going to lose one of the best friends I've ever had.
The paramedics are coming through the door now and it's about time. I quickly move off to the side to give them room to work. "What happened to her?" the one in charge asks.
"We're not sure," I lie to them. "We came in to check on her and found her laying on the floor and bleeding."
"She's lost a lot of blood," in charge guy continues. "More than what looks like is on the floor."
I just shrug at him, let them think what they want. This is Sunnydale after all. It's not like it's going to be the first loss of blood accident they ever had to report. "Shouldn't we be getting her to a hospital?" I ask. I really want them to get moving, I can fill them in on general stuff while we're on the road. Hopefully they'll be too busy to ask any questions I don't have answers for. If they do I'll just have to make it up as I go along.
They load Faith onto a gurney and start giving her oxygen. They told me that they were starting a blood drip using O positive until they could type her at the hospital. I think that's Faith's blood type anyway so it shouldn't be a problem. They seem satisfied that she's as stable as they're going to get her and we all move out to the ambulance. They put Faith in and I climb in right behind them. Giles and Willow head over to his car, they're going to follow us. Strangely, Shannon is with them and it looks like she's going to come also. Huh, wonders never cease. The driver hits the lights and siren and we're finally on our way.
As we speed through the Sunnydale night, I keep a tight hold on Faith's hand. The paramedic is busy constantly checking her heart rate and blood pressure so every once in a while I have to let go, but as soon as I can, I grab her hand back up. Her hands feel ice cold, like she was swimming in the ocean at night. I keep staring at her face, almost willing her to open her eyes and give me a smirk. Jesus, I'd do almost anything to have her crack a joke right now, instead of her laying here looking even paler in the light of the ambulance. She looks so frail right now. Who would ever believe that this woman could fight vamps and demons and lived life so fully it exhausted the rest of us just watching?
I don't know if Faith is going to make it out of this, but I do know one thing. Sooner or later someone needs to teach the Council a lesson and I know a certain ex-slayer turned vamp that would be happy to do it.