Hey folks! Thanks for the reviews and your interest in Annie. No worries, she'll be here next chappie hopefully.
Angel paced back in forth in front of Gunn.
"And you're absolutely sure she'll be clear? None of those charges will ever come back?" he asks for the hundredth time causing Gunn to role his eyes.
"Yes Angel. Faith won't have to worry about anything. She doesn't even have an out of date parking ticket. She can apply for a job and not be hunted down." Cordelia and Gunn say at the same time in bored tones.
"See man? Even Cordelia knows the answer by heart, you seem to be the only one not getting it." Gunn teases. Angel smiles apologetically.
"I know it's just... I don't wanna get her hopes up for a full life. I don't want her to be all happy and settled and then one day... boom." he explains.
"Boom?" Wesley asks walking into the room.
"Yeah, 'boom'" the vampire replies somewhat defensively.
"Angel, things will be fine, jeez. If you're so worried, why don't you go over everything yourself?" Gunn offers him the file. Angel shakes his head.
"No.. no I trust you. I believe you." he says. Everyone in the room nods in agreement. A beat of silence. "So are you sure..."
"Yes!" everyone echos
"Just checking, gosh." angel says walking out of the room.
--
"Got any threes?" Amanda asks Faith.
"Go fish." Faith mutters. Plucking a card form the deck, Amanda eyes Faith. "Got any sevens?" Faith asks not moving her eyes from the cards.
"Yeah, here." Amanda hands over her sevens. "You, OK?" she finally asks. Faith sighs and throws all her cards down.
"Yeah...no. I just wanna get outta here." she says shifting uncomfortably in her bed. Amanda straightens up in the chair she's taken and picks up the entire deck of cards shuffling them.
"Why don't you like hospitals?" she asks. Faith raises an eyebrow.
"You know anybody who does like hospitals?" she asks. Amanda shakes her head.
"Well, no. But... you seem to loathe them. Why?" she asks. Faith sighs and shrugs.
"Same reason anybody else hates 'em. Too many bad memories." she says. "I've lost eight months of my life in one. I've lost people I care about in one. Same as anybody." she says. Amanda continues to eye her. "The smell of them... it's so wrong. It's like... it makes you not wanna be here, y'know? Then the doctors, those fuckers." she mutters. "I watched a group of doctors stop workin' on my Ma when they found out she didn't have insurance to cover the visit. She had a broken leg and when the stopped, it never healed right. I started takin' care of her after that, wasn't too long before she died though." Faith tells her.
"What'd she die of?" Amanda whispers, continuing to shuffle the cards.
"Uh... a head wound. She fell off her crutches and banged her head on the table." Faith explains. "Apparently alcohol isn't only bad for you're liver, it's bad for the blood too." she tries to joke but the sadness in her eyes betrays her.
"I'm sorry."
"It was years ago." Faith's response is automatic. An awkward silence falls over them, the only sound in the room is Amanda's shuffling cards. Finally, Faith breaks it. "Wanna go pick on Dr. Miles?" she asks. Amanda nods.
"Sure." they make their way out of the room.
--
Cordelia strode into Faith's hospital room buzzing with excitement. She was going to be the one to deliver the news that Faith was a free woman. She wasn't exactly sure why she was so excited she just knew she was. Because, I'm helping someone who will hopefully be a friend one day, she rationalizes. Nodding in agreement with her inner self, her smile drops at the empty bed that greets her. She sighs.
"Poor Dr. Miles." she mutters before turning out of the room and walking through the halls to find the two who are always in trouble.
--
"Shh, he's gonna hear us if ya don't stop gigglin'." Faith says nudging Amanda. Amanda straightens up and nods her head. She's focused on the task. The both look over the rail at the doctor whose smoking a cigarette. Faith raises a water balloon and prepares to drop it before another body steps in her way. "The hell?!" she hisses to Amanda. Leaning over, Amanda shrugs. They watch as the woman says a few things to the doctor before he goes back inside. The woman looks up. Cordelia smirks at the two and strides back into the hospital.
"Great, now we gotta get her too." Amanda mutters. Faith nods.
"Hm, she knows too much." she says. Gathering their water balloons, they toss them all over without a second glance until they hear someone shriek. Glancing over, they smile at a nurse who is now soaking. They wave at her but when she looks up with a deadly glare, they run back inside.
--
"....can be released tomorrow morning. Her bones are healing nicely and there doesn't seem to be any permanent damage. However, I will have to request that you take it easy for a while. No heavy lifting, no straining yourself. If you feel dizzy, sit down and breath deeply. Deal?" Dr. Miles looks from Cordelia to Faith. Faith nods happily. At this point she'd agree to almost anything to get out of the hospital.
"Is there anything else we should worry about doctor?" Cordelia asks.
"No, nothing else." Dr. Miles smiles at Faith, "Well my little hell patient, it's been fun. Bye." he says striding from the room. Cordelia turns to glare at Amanda and Faith,
"Will you two at least try to act your ages?" she asks. Faith shrugs.
"Could but where's the fun in that?" she asks just to be annoying. Cordelia closes her eyes and counts backwards from ten.
"Angel has gotten your record cleared up. When you get outta here tomorrow, we'll be going to your new apartment. I'll live across the hall from you. Since the doctor said no straining," she looks pointedly at Faith before turning to Amanda, "I think it might be best if she waited a while to train you. Like a week." she says.
"Nah, I'm good Cor. I can train the runt." Faith says knocking a fist to Amanda's shoulder.
"Ohh, the pain! The agony! Etcetera Etcetera Amanda starts with the theatrics she learned from Andrew during their stay in the Summers home.
"I don't think it's such a good idea." Cordelia tries again.
"Trust me, it'll be fine." Faith says calmly. She didn't like being told what to do.
"And if you get hurt? Then what?" Cordelia asks aggravated.
"Look, just cos some doctor says I shouldn't strain doesn't mean I can't train the rugrat. It was a suggestion Cor, not an order." Faith snaps.
"I'm pretty sure it'll be in your discharge papers." Cordelia snaps back.
"That's all fine and well but I know my body better than any doctor could and I know I can train her." Faith says getting annoyed with the slightly taller woman.
"Fine, go ahead and train her. When you're right back in here, don't say I didn't warn you." Cordelia says gathering her stuff and leaving the room. After the door clicks shut behind her, Amanda turns to Faith, hesitant look on her face.
"Faith..." she starts.
"I can handle it!" Faith snaps at the younger woman. Nobody can tell me what my body can't handle