Sorry guys! sorry it took so long! i'm gonna try and update my fics sooner and with more consistency but i make no promises. plz review!
"And? I'm waiting." Cordelia says impatiently after a few long seconds of waiting for Faith to speak.
"Got somewhere ya need to be? I'm not stoppin ya." Faith says back. Cordelia rolls her eyes and huffs. "Cos I wanted too." Faith says simply. Cordelia motions with her hands for Faith to continue. "What?" Faith asks.
"That's it? Cos you wanted too?! You put us through all that because you fucking wanted too?!" she asks. Faith nods her head.
"Yep." the former slayer says. Cordelia stands up and paces the room glancing at Faith from time to time. Finally she sits down and studies the younger woman's face.
"Can we clear something up here?" Cordelia asks casually. Faith frowns in confusion but nods. "Angel wants me to live with you but I don't trust you and apparently you don't trust me," she begins.
"Glad we cleared that up!" Faith says cheerily.
"But that little arrangement isn't gonna work," Cordelia continues as if Faith hadn't interrupted. "How about I give you the benefit of the doubt, that you wont kill me in my sleep, and you tell me something about yourself?" Cordelia offers. Faith nods and thinks about something to tell Cordelia.
"My birthday is December fourteenth." she says randomly. Cordelia groans in annoyance.
"Can you tell me something else maybe?" she asks through gritted teeth. Why wont she just tell me why she did it?! She thinks to herself.
"My favorite food is spaghetti." Faith says. She almost smiles at the annoyed look her answer gets her but holds back. How can I tell her when I don't know my damn self? She silently asks herself.
"Whatever." Cordelia mutters standing to leave the room. Amanda stares Faith down for a long second before opening her mouth to speak. Faith cuts her off,
"I wasn't bein' an ass on purpose, I just can't answer that question yet." she says.
"Why not?" Amanda asks.
"Cos I don't know the answer to it myself." Faith whispers. She doesn't notice the door close or the almost shocked expression on Cordelia's face.
--
Cordelia leans against the hospital wall heavily and rolls her eyes skyward.
"This is going to be difficult isn't it?" she asks nobody in particular.
"Dealing with Faith? Yeah." she hears from her left. She almost jumps out of her skin when she notices one of the baby slayers standing close to her. She also notices the younger girl carries a teddy bear and flowers and a card.
"Uh..." she trails off.
"Kennedy." the younger girl extends her hand outward. The older woman just nods.
"Cordelia." she says not bothering to shake the slayer's hand. "Look, tell Faith I'll be back later." she says and then she's gone. Kennedy just stares down at her hand that's still outward and shrugs.
"Oh well." she says entering Faith's room.
--
Faith glances up at the sound of her door opening. She allows a small smile to grace her lips when she sees it's just Kennedy.
"Hey, Junior." she greets. Kennedy smiles and moves over.
"Hey, how ya feelin'?" the younger woman asks. Faith shrugs.
"Not bad I guess. Just wanna get outta this damn place." she says. Kennedy nods and turns to look at Amanda.
"Hey, uh, Dawn was lookin' for you earlier. Something about borrowing one of your tops." Kennedy says with a shrug. Amanda nods and turns to Faith.
"Be good, no abusing doctors, or Kennedy." she says leaving the room. Faith just lets a soft smile play on her face before it vanishes. Kennedy eyes the former slayer with a close, concentrated look.
"I think..." she starts. "I think that this," she says motioning around the room. "is what you needed. I mean, sure I don't know you very well but you just seem so... lost." Kennedy says. She always was the bold one. Faith thinks.
"I'm not lost and this really isn't what I need. I did somethin stupid now I'm stuck in here for a few days. Nothin more too it." she says with a note of finality in her voice. Kennedy decides not to press her luck. She nods and hands Faith the teddy bear and balloon.
"From me, Willow, and Andrew." she says. Faith nods.
"Thanks." she says. An awkward silence falls over them.
"I'm ju-" Kennedy starts.
"You remind me a lot of me. You wanna do the slayer thing cos it makes you feel special, like an individual even though you're one of many. You're a strong fighter but you don't use your head. A lot like I was. Just...be careful with that, Kid. Don't let it control you." Faith cuts in. Kennedy stares at her for long minutes before nodding and silently leaving the room. Good things never come when ya do, Faith thinks in the silence of the room.
--
Angel stood outside Faith's hospital room later that night. He could see Faith in the room working on a word search, he could smell the anxiousness from outside the door. Faith was getting antsy and wanted to move but the soreness of her body wouldn't allow for it. He opened the door quietly, moving into the room not making a sound.
"Sometimes you're just plain creepy," Faith says not looking up. The vampire smiles.
"The whole watching from a distance thing?" he questions dryly.
"The sniffing the air." she says simply. She remains focused on her word search as he studies her.
"Cordelia told me she asked you why earlier." he says breaking the silence.
"And I told her." Faith replies, voice devoid of any sign of emotion. This was not a talk she was ready to have with anyone. Not even Angel.
"You lied." he says. He runs a hand over his face, "Look, I know you probably don't wanna think about it but one day you'll have too. In order for anybody to get closure, they're gonna need answers and you're gonna need to give them." he says gently. Faith puts her word search aside but doesn't look at Angel. He rests a cold hand on her warm forearm. "I trust Cordelia. I know she can be," pause. "Difficult but she's a good person. She needs someone to give her half a chance. Just like you do." he says softly. Faith takes a deep breath.
"How do you feel whenever Angelus takes over?" she asks. He blinks at her, confused.
"Wrong." he replies. She shakes her head.
"No, what does it make you feel? Honestly, Angel." she looks at him then. He takes an unneeded breath.
"Like... like nothing can stop me. I feel invincible. I feel so... powerful, it's... its a rush and it feels good but there's this voice," he stops and swallows.
"A voice telling you to stop it. That everyone is just gonna end up hurt but that power is taking over you big time. You can't stop it, hell you don't want too. You can make people bend at your will and you're not 'Angel, the vampire with a soul,' or a good guy anymore, you're free. That's how you feel isn't it?" she asks him, looking blankly into his dark brown eyes. He nods, understanding what she's saying.
"Yeah. It can take over you and... it's an addiction you don't want a cure for." he says. "Until you finally see what you've done," he adds. She nods.
"Yeah, then you feel like a dick." she says lightly. He nods.
"Faith..." he trails off searching for what to say.
"I'm not ready. Not yet." she says before he can finish. He can only nod and pat her hand awkwardly.
"Alright." he says. He leans over to kiss her temple before breezing from the room. Outside the hospital he bumps into Cordelia. He stops when he notices she has food from some burger place a couple blocks away. He raises an eyebrow.
"You wanted us to get along, so I brought a piece offering." she huffs, turning away from the souled creature. He nods,
"I hope you got apple pie. She loves apple pie." he says before walking away leaving a slightly annoyed Cordelia Chase behind. She huffed.
"Why should I care if she likes apple pie...." she muttered, but turned back towards the resteraunt anyway.