Chapter Twelve

(Three Days Later...)

Things had been quiet ever since Faith had found Buffy. Willow made the decision to send majority of the girls back to their families of an undetermined amount of time, at least until Buffy was well again. Giles had left the day before, early in the morning, saying only goodbye to Faith before he had left.

The last fifteen days of her life had changed everything. What she had gone through was nothing compared to what Buffy had been put through though. Faith felt like she was living in some kind of a dream, one where no matter how many times she tried to wake herself up, she was still there.

It was raining hard outside, much like it had been since the night Faith found Buffy. She ran on the treadmill in the training room, her mind focused mostly on the sound of her running shoes hitting the platform in a steady beat. She had spent some time with Buffy in the med unit, but she'd been sleeping each time. Earlier that morning, Buffy was moved to her own suite in hopes that her recovery would be a little quicker with her in her own bed.

Turning off the machine, Faith stepped off and reached for her towel. She dabbed at her forehead and the back of her neck as she walked to the doors and out into the hallway. The quiet kind of bothered her since she knew that the castle was very rarely as quiet as it was. It was eerie in a sense, but knew that having most of the girls gone and back home with their families was necessary.

"Hey," Faith said as she tapped on the open door to Willow's office. "Ya got a minute?"

"Sure, come in," Willow nodded as she closed the lid to her laptop. "You've got some great timing, you know that?"

"Do I?"

"Take a seat?" Willow said as she pointed to the chair in front of her desk. Faith shook her head no and stayed where she was. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but I've been running tests on Buffy to figure out why she is still so weak and tired."

"And what'd ya find?"

"She has a compound of drugs in her system and there's evidence they've been in her body for close to two months, ingested daily, likely through whatever food Satsu brought for her to eat."

"So, the little bitch was poisoning her? With what?"

"The very same compound of drugs the Council would use during the cruciamentum. But I found something else. It wasn't just taking her slayer powers away, it was slowly killing her, Faith. Another day, maybe even another hour and...and she might not have..."

Willow tried to keep herself composed and Faith was seeing red. She clenched her jaw tight and sat down in the chair across from Willow's desk, knowing if she didn't force herself to sit down, she'd take off running to where they were holding Satsu and she would stop at nothing to kill her for doing this to Buffy.

"I think it's why she hasn't bounced back yet, because there is so much of it still in her system," Willow continued after a few moments of heavy silence between them. "I keep hoping she'll recover quickly being in her own room."

"But, she's gonna be okay right? Once the drugs are outta her system, she'll be five by five?"

"We hope so. We do have a great doctor here who is monitoring her regularly throughout the day. The good news is, even though she's been severely malnourished and dehydrated, there will be no lingering side effects. Part of that has to do with the healing capabilities every slayer has."

Faith was trying to keep calm, but just knowing that Satsu had not only imprisoned Buffy in her own home, she had a young and very powerful witch release two dangerous demons and was drugging Buffy. Only someone who has completely lost their sanity would do something like that. Satsu wasn't just in love with Buffy, she was completely infatuated and obsessed and hurt because it wasn't returned and never would be.

"As you know, we've been uh, interrogating Satsu," Willow continued. "She hasn't been completely cooperative, but we've got some answers from her earlier this morning as to why she did this."

"And why's that?"

"Love, it makes people a little..." Willow circled a finger by her head, "crazy sometimes, you know?"

"Right."

"She said she found out a little bit of history in this place, that over four hundred years ago in the original part of the castle, two demons had been forever banished inside the walls after terrorizing an entire village. When she found out what these demons were, her intent was not for what had actually happened, but to use the succubus to her own advantage and have Buffy want to...well, you know."

Faith chuckled dryly. "You know what Satsu feels isn't love right?" She asked and Willow nodded slowly. "She's obsessed, infatuated, thinks what she feels is love, but it's not. If she loved Buffy, she would've never done what she did. She would've accepted that Buffy didn't feel the same way and moved the fuck on. Did she tell you why she kept Buffy prisoner?"

"When things took a turn for the worse, when the demons weren't going to play by her agenda and only their own, taking Buffy ended up being a decision she said she made in an attempt to keep her safe. But we all know that's not how it turned out."

"Why was she drugging her?"

"To keep her weak enough that she wouldn't have the strength to fight back or to try to escape."

"Makes sense, you know, if you're not playing with a full deck up here," Faith said as she tapped on the side of her head. "So, what are we gonna do about her then?"

"We can't keep her here," Willow replied and she let out a soft sigh. "But, I have an idea that might just work out in our favor, and in Satsu's as well. She's mentally unstable, she's proven that much by pulling this off. I do have the ability to completely strip a slayer of her power. In Satsu's case, I'll take her power from her and we'll have her committed to an institution that can deal with people in her situation."

"Just like that?"

"It wouldn't be the first time we've had to do it."

"And Buffy will be safe? From her at least?" Faith asked and Willow nodded her head slowly. "Did you get anything else out of her?"

"Just a bunch of inane drivel and ramblings of an insane person."

Faith inhaled sharply and took a moment to let it all sink in before she looked at Willow again. "What about Kate and her kid sister? They're a part of this as much as Satsu is."

"The coven is dealing with Jessie in their own way. Kate is still recovering from her injuries at the clinic in Rome, but once she's well, the coven will deal with her as well."

"And how are they dealing with Jessie exactly? Kid is pretty powerful for someone her age."

"She is, but the coven has managed to strip most of her power for the time being, likely forever if she isn't fully cooperative during the rehabilitation process. Calais and Sabine are there with the coven, helping them with Jessie. They promised they'd keep me updated on the situation."

It seemed like, to Faith, that everything was being dealt with and it all had happened in a few short days. Nothing was impossible, she knew that, and a part of her felt relieved that those who had done this to Buffy were no longer an immediate threat to her or to anyone else.

"So, that's it? Everything is taken care of, just like that."

"It wasn't as easy as it looks, Faith, but yes, everything is taken care of and all that's left is for Buffy to get well again," Willow said quietly. "Was there something you came to see me about?"

"No, I just came in to see if ya had any new info. Got what I came here for," Faith replied and she smiled at Willow as she rose from the chair and headed for the door.

"Faith?"

"Yeah?" Faith asked as she looked back at Willow. Upon the look Willow had on her face, she laughed. "Before ya ask, yeah I'm gonna go see her."

"Good," Willow smiled as she opened her laptop back up. "Good, she'll like that. Oh and Faith?" Faith groaned as she stopped walking out the door again. "Stop by and see Andrew before you do?"

"Why? He been looking for me or something?"

"No reason, just that there's a little surprise for you and he kind of has the keys."

Faith laughed and walked out of her office. Keys? To what? She wasn't sure and she knew there was no way Willow would tell her. Whatever the surprise was, it included keys and that meant, to her, it could be anything.

Andrew excitedly opened the door and made a flourish as the door swung open. Faith rolled her eyes and as she had since she'd found him in the kitchen after leaving Willow's office, she went along with it. Stepping inside the suite, it was fully furnished and clean.

"You gonna tell me what this is all about, Andrew?" Faith asked as he stepped into the room after her.

"Welcome to your new room!" Andrew said and he clapped his hands together and walked over to the middle of the room, standing next to the black leather sofa. "When we found out you were going to stay here for a while, well, it was kind of an unanimous decision that you needed something more than just a simple room."

"Right, but-"

"Don't let it irk you, but this used to belong to Satsu. We've gotten rid of all her stuff, brought in a new bed, a new couch, stuff like that. But it's yours if you want it, Faith. No more sharing the bathroom with the younger slayers! Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah, great. Thanks," Faith muttered as she looked around the room. It had belonged to Satsu and despite it having no trace of her left behind, she felt a little uneasy about it.

"I had to bribe a few girls with a vacation to Portugal for a week to scrub this room top to bottom. They even repainted it. I hope you like the color."

"Uh, it's great and everything," Faith replied, looking at the stone walls painted slate grey. "But I was fine in the room I've been in, Andy. Didn't have to go through all this trouble for me."

"Oh, it was nothing. You've done a lot for us, for Buffy. You fought those demons, you were nearly killed, but you found out where Buffy really was and you found her and brought her back to us," Andrew replied. "You don't like the color?"

"It's fine, Andy it's not the color."

"It's because Satsu used this room, isn't it?" Andrew frowned and Faith shrugged. "Trust me when I say that there is absolutely nothing of hers left behind. Not even a single hair."

"Whatever, I just-"

"Oh, I already had all your stuff brought up here while you were in the training room. Please don't tell me you don't want to stay in here," he frowned again and Faith rolled her eyes.

"It's fine. Thanks."

"You are one of us, you know?" Andrew said and he walked around the room. "We're all on this floor and it only made sense that you were too. You're not one of the girls, Faith, you're one of us. Even if you leave, this will always be yours."

Faith looked around the room, at the five windows that lined one wall and allowed the early afternoon sunlight to come flooding in. The furniture was dark, the drapes that were open were black, same with the bedding. There was a flat screen TV as well and she smiled as she ran her fingertips over the top of it. She moved over to the small kitchenette and opened the mini-fridge, smiling to herself when she saw it was stocked with a few different kinds of beer, water, and in the freezer were some hot-pockets.

"Maybe it's not so bad after all," she muttered under her breath as she shut the door. "Bribing me with beer and hot-pockets, are ya?"

"Totally my idea," Andrew laughed and he headed for the door. "It worked too, didn't it?"

"Little bit."

"Oh," Andrew said as he opened the door. "Buffy's room is just four doors down to the left, the one at the end of the hall if you weren't sure."

"Got it, Andrew, thanks."

"If you want to borrow any games for your Playsta-"

Faith laughed and shut the door as soon as he stepped out into the corridor. Turning around she looked at the suite again and sighed heavily. What he had said was weighing heavily on her now, the part about her being one of them, a part of their tight little inner circle, the Scooby gang. Was she? She wasn't sure if she really was. She had spent time with the others over the last couple of days, drinking beer and playing pool with Xander, Kennedy and Dawn in the games room, hanging out with Kennedy and Willow after lunch, bugging Andrew just because she was bored, even playing video games with him, Xander and Kennedy until three in the morning the night before.

Faith opened the dresser drawers and found all of her clothes she had brought with her folded neatly inside. One drawer on the bottom was entirely dedicated to the few weapons she had that were solely hers and she noticed right away that there were a few knives in there that definitely weren't hers and a pile of freshly carved stakes.

Shaking her head, she pulled out some clean clothes and tossed them on the bed before heading into the small bathroom for a nice long, hot shower. The only thing now on he mind was how surreal the day was turning out to be.

Faith lingered by Buffy's door, listening to her and Dawn talking inside quietly. Dawn was telling her what they had planned to do with Satsu once they got some more information out of her and Faith could hear the relief in Buffy's voice. Even when she heard her laugh, it send chills through her body. She definitely sounded like she was getting better, even if it was slowly, she was still getting better.

Raising her hand, she knocked quietly on the door and stepped back. She could hear soft footsteps approaching and she shoved her hands in the front pockets of her jeans and waited.

"Hey," Dawn said with a smile as she opened the door. "She's been asking for you. It's good that you came."

"Sure."

"Have you talked to Willow today?"

"Saw her about an hour ago. She filled me in on everything," Faith replied with a nod. "How's she doing?"

"Better, but not, you know, better yet."

Faith nodded and stepped aside as Dawn exited the room. Flashing her a small smile, Dawn turned and headed down the corridor, disappearing around the corner. Taking a deep breath, Faith turned to the door leading to Buffy's room and stepped inside. She stared at Buffy as she sat up in her bed, back against a bunch of pillows all propped up against the large headboard. Faith shut the door quietly behind her before shoving her hand back into her pocket.

"Hey," Buffy smiled at her as she took a few steps further into the room.

"Hey, B," she replied quietly. She noticed the IV machine and the needle that was in her hand. Buffy noticed her staring as she idly picked at the tape keeping the needle secure. "How are ya feeling?"

"Better."

"Good."

Buffy continued to pick at the tape that held the IV in her hand and Faith stared down at it as well. "It's um some kind of fluid," Buffy said as she pointed to the bag. "It's to make sure I keep hydrated and to help flush out the drugs that are still in my system."

"Right. Makes sense."

"You can sit down if you want," Buffy said softly and Faith shrugged again, feeling a little bit awkward and nervous and she wasn't sure why. "I don't bite," Buffy said, chuckling as she patted the empty space on the bed next to her. When Faith didn't move, she pointed to the chair beside the bed. "Or you could just sit there, whatever you want."

Faith didn't answer her and instead of sitting, she walked around the suite, looking at the books the lined the only bookshelf in the room. She looked at the pictures that lined the walls and sat on top of the dresser, most of them were pictures salvaged from Sunnydale and there were a few recent ones of Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Xander. The room was very much like her own, the walls painted white, the furniture lighter than her own. The only difference was, instead of a TV, Buffy had a beautiful stone and marble fireplace.

"It's nice," Faith said, motioning around the room.

"It's home, but sometimes it feels like there's something missing. It's home, but it's not at the same time sometimes. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know how that is."

"So," Buffy said as she stared at Faith from across the room. "Are you going to sit or are you going to look at all my stuff and completely avoid talking to me all together?"

Faith ran a shaky hand through her hair before walking back over to the bed. She looked at the space on the bed beside Buffy for a moment before she sat down in the chair, thinking it was a bit more of a safer option, especially with how her heart was racing.

Buffy did look a lot better than the state Faith had found her in three days earlier. While she wasn't completely back to her normal self, she had a little bit of color in her cheeks and she was clean, her hair pulled up loosely in a ponytail. Faith couldn't help but smile as she looked at the pajama's Buffy had on, bright pink with dancing bananas all over them.

"Cute pj's, B," Faith chuckled. "The pink really doesn't distract you from the dancing bananas all over the place."

"It-it was a gift. Dawn got it for me for Christmas last year," Buffy replied, blushing as she lowered her eyes to her hands in her lap. "It makes me look completely ridiculous, I know. I guess that's the whole point."

"Suppose it is."

"Faith?" Buffy lifted her head and stared right at her, her eyes meeting Faith's in a lingering gaze. "Thank you for what you've done, for everything you did when you were trying to find me."

"It's no big deal, B. I gotta admit that when I came into this sitch, I never thought it was gonna play out the way it did. Just glad it's all over now and that you're safe."

You should tell her how you feel.

Faith inhaled sharply, trying not to think of that. Just thinking about it was making her nervous and if there was one thing she wasn't used to feeling, it was that. She ran a hand through her hair as she stared over at Buffy. She felt her heart race faster when Buffy simply just smiled at her.

"Dawn told me what happened in the last couple of weeks," Buffy said and she dropped her hands to the bed beside her, probably to keep herself from picking at the tape even more. "The things you had to do..."

"It was nothing, B," Faith said when Buffy's voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes. "Just did what I had to do. Only thing that mattered to me was finding you and getting ya back home."

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"When you had that borrowed power inside of you?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Powerful. Kind of dark too," Faith replied, her voice cracking as she shrugged a little. "It was a rush too, but it ain't something I'd want to have again. Kind of got out of control for a little while."

"Dawn told me that Kennedy saw you rip apart vampires with your bare hands. That must have been something else."

Was that amazement she saw in Buffy's eyes? Or was it something else. She wasn't sure and it made her uncomfortable remembering that night, remembering how it felt when she was out there, killing vampires without much thought, without even breaking a sweat, without really having to fight.

"And now?" Buffy asked after a few moments of heavy silence between them. "You're just you again?"

"Just me."

"Right."

"Yeah."

Faith groaned softly. The tension between them was growing and the awkward silence between them was becoming a huge elephant in the room. Talking to Buffy had never been easy, not now, and definitely not in the past. Back in Sunnydale, right before they fought the First, she remembered they did share a little moment together, but it was lost, just like the rest of the good memories and the few good moments they actually had together.

She found herself staring at Buffy, drawn to her. She licked over over own lips as her eyes lingered on Buffy's, wondering if she'd ever get a chance to kiss her again, be it for real or in a dream-it didn't matter to her. She licked over her lips again before her eyes met Buffy's in an intense gaze, her heart racing even harder than before.

Now wasn't the time to think about kissing Buffy, touching her, feeling her tremble with pleasure under her fingertips. Trying to keep her libido in control, Faith sat back in the chair and closed her eyes. Her heart was racing, thundering in her chest and with her eyes closed, all she saw was Buffy there in front of her, kissing her, smiling and giggling and moaning as Faith ran her hands over her lithe body.

Get it together, Lehane. It's never going to happen.

She shook her head and opened her eyes again and saw Buffy staring at her curiously. Standing up quickly, she tried to keep her cool, tried to slip on that mask of indifference to hide what she was thinking, what she was feeling.

"I should go," Faith said as she motioned to the door. "Let you get some rest and everything."

"Faith-"

"I'll uh, I'll come back later if you want?"

"Faith, don't go," Buffy called out as Faith quickly walked to the door. The way Buffy had said her name had made her stop in her tracks. She turned to look back at Buffy and was greeted with a warm smile. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Inhaling sharply, Faith walked back over to the chair and sat down. "What's up, B?" She asked, trying to hide the shakiness to her voice with a subtle laugh. "Do you need me to get you anything? You hungry? Thirsty?"

"I'm fine, I just-I wanted to talk to you, that's all. I feel like it's been forever since we've talked, you know, in person rather than in a dream."

"Right, like we did a whole lot of talking before."

"Maybe we should have?" Buffy shrugged a little, yet it was clear Faith's sarcasm had hit a nerve. She groaned loudly as a knock sounded on the door and she cleared her throat. "Come in," Buffy called out and she tore her eyes off of Faith as the door opened.

"Hello, Buffy," Dr. Haines said as she walked in. She was carrying a small bag and she looked over at Faith and smiled warmly. "Faith, how is your leg healing?"

"Closed right up. No bleeding or anything oozing or something gross like that," Faith replied, laughing a little as she ran her hand over her left thigh.

"Come by tomorrow morning and I'll have Gina remove the stitches."

"You're hurt?" Buffy asked Faith, ignoring the doctor as she looked at her with concern. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Faith shrugged it off and upon Buffy's look that told her she wanted to hear more, she sighed. "Almost got hit by an arrow after I got ya outta that room. No big deal, B. It just barely missed me. Ruined my favorite pair of jeans too."

"Oh."

"Buffy, how are you feeling this afternoon?" Dr. Haines asked as she opened the bag she laid out on the bed and pulled out a stethoscope. "Any changes from this morning?"

Buffy nodded, but didn't say anything as the doctor quickly checked her over and took a listen to her heart and lungs before placing the stethoscope back in her bag. Faith itched at her tattoo, wondering if she should just leave and give Buffy some privacy with the doctor, but neither of them said anything so she just stayed where she was.

"I think it's time we get you off the IV," Dr. Haines said and she smiled at Buffy. "It's been a few days. I also believe it's time for you to start getting up out of bed and move around. You may just bounce back a little quicker than you have been doing already."

"Okay," Buffy said quietly as Faith leaned forward in the chair, her eyes on Buffy the entire time.

"Faith, I'm charging you with the responsibility to make sure Buffy gets out of bed at least once after I'm gone. Do you think you can handle that?"

"I guess so, yeah, but shouldn't someone else-"

"Great," Dr. Haines said and she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. "Okay, Buffy, you'll feel a slight pinch as I pull the needle out."

Faith had to look away as the doctor pulled the needle out. Her lips twitched as Buffy moaned quietly and a small gasp followed afterwards. She looked back over at her and the doctor was placing a bandage over her hand. After a few minutes, the doctor had packed up her things and was wheeling the IV machine out of the door, leaving them alone once again.

"You feeling all right there, B?" Faith asked quietly as Buffy just stared down at the bandage on her right hand. "You need me to get you something?"

"You already asked me that before and the answer is still the same," Buffy replied, chuckling quietly. "Um, what I was trying to say before was-I should thank you for what you've done for me, for saving me."

"You already have, B."

Buffy shook her head no as she moved to get up from the bed. Faith was up and at her side in an instant, not even sure if she was strong enough to stand up on her own yet. Reaching out for Buffy's hands, she helped her stand slowly, feeling Buffy grip on to her hands tight as she stood on her own.

Letting go of one of Faith's hand, Buffy lifted her hand and placed it on Faith's cheek. Her touch was warm, not like it had been before, and Faith could swear she felt her fingers trembling slightly as she let her hand linger on her cheek. The touch and the intensity of Buffy's eyes as they gazed into her own sent a wave of chills through her body. Faith couldn't stop herself from licking over her lips as she found herself becoming lost in the deep intensity of Buffy's hazel eyes.

Faith dipped her head down, brushing her lips softly over Buffy's waiting lips. She knew she was testing the waters between them and taking a risk, a giant leap that had a high possibility of it not ending well, yet she quickly pushed those thoughts aside, remembering how Buffy had kissed her just before she'd opened the portal again that got them both out of the room Buffy had been imprisoned in.

Buffy slid her hand from Faith's cheek to the back of her neck, pulling her in closer as she kissed her harder. Faith moved her hands to Buffy's narrow hips and pulled her in a little closer. She pulled back and stared into Buffy's eyes for a moment, searching for what, she wasn't sure.

Buffy sighed softly, her fingers slipping over the back of Faith's neck and sending a wave of pleasure through her body with just a simple touch. She wanted to ask Buffy what was happening-aside from the obvious-yet before she had a chance to get the words out, Buffy's lips were back on hers, kissing her hard. Her tongue dipped out and she teased at Faith's lips until she parted them, allowing Buffy to kiss her deep and slow. Everything about that moment wasn't like anything she expected. It was slow and passionate and nothing else had ever made her feel the way she was feeling in that moment.

Needing to breathe, Faith broke away from the kiss first and looked down at the ridiculous pajama's Buffy was still wearing. Laughing, she met Buffy's lingering gaze and licked over her lips, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again and never stop.

"We should uh, probably talk."

"Yeah," Faith nodded slowly. "We should, but then again..."

"It's kind of hard to talk if we're kissing," Buffy finished for her. "But no, we definitely need to talk about what's happening here."

"Yeah. Definitely."

Buffy's eyes were searching Faith's and it was Buffy who pulled her back in, kissing her again. Her whole body was buzzing, her heart racing, and all she could feel was Buffy. Never had just a kiss made her feel this way. Her head was spinning and she felt completely immersed in Buffy. Sliding her hands over Buffy's ass, she lifted her up, smiling against her lips as Buffy let out a soft squeal. Moving to sit on the plush purple couch, a safer choice than the bed, she felt Buffy relax as she settled on her lap.

Buffy gripped tight on to the back of her neck as Faith moved her lips over her jaw and across her neck. Her grip was tight, but nowhere near as strong as she should be and she knew that Buffy was still weak, too weak to take this too far, too fast. Faith let her hands slide under the edge of Buffy's pajama top, feeling how smooth her back was under her fingertips. Buffy moaned as she grabbed Faith's head and guided her lips back up to her own.

"Mmm," Buffy sighed, parting from the kiss and she opened her eyes, staring into Faith's. "That was nice."

"Just nice?"

"Mmm, more than nice," she smiled and she ran the tip of her thumb over Faith's bottom lip. Her smile faltered and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Faith asked and she slid her hands out from under her top.

"I'm feeling a little tired," Buffy sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Faith said and she cupped Buffy's face before she could look away. "It's not your fault, B. No need to apologize. I know you're not, you know, completely better yet. Do you want me to go?"

Frowning, Buffy moved to get off of her lap. She let out a heavy sigh before she reached for Faith's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Will you come and see me tomorrow?"

"Sure, B, if that's what you want?"

"Yeah. We still need to um, talk about...this," Buffy said softly as she motioned between them. "But tomorrow. We'll talk tomorrow. We have to."

Nodding, Faith stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. What had just happened felt unreal, but she knew it really happened. She wasn't completely stupid. Without looking back, Faith left her room and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding once she'd shut the door behind her.