"Come on, B., hold on, ok? You're a strong girl, you can do it! You'll be fine..."-Faith kept talking to her as she ran. She put all of her power into running and it still felt like she wasn't fast enough. Buffy's body was limp and heavier than it would have been if Buffy had been awake. Faith's breathing started getting faster and faster, and her legs started getting slower and slower.
"I can do this, I can... Buffy, you're gonna be ok, I promise..."-Faith tried to encourage both herself and Buffy and realized she had never been so scared before, even though she had been through some really bad things during her childhood and early teenage years. Losing Buffy wasn't an option. Tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them away, she couldn't afford to cry until Buffy was safe in the hospital. Faith rarely cried. Sometimes she wanted to, but it was like tears just wouldn't roll down her cheeks. Now she wanted to cry, felt like it, but it wasn't the right moment. And to cry in front of people that weren't unconscious wasn't an option. Faith would have never allowed herself to open up that much with anyone but Buffy. She NEEDED Buffy to live, she needed her to keep her sanity, to be able to live like a person and not like a lonely Slaying machine.
Finally, she got to the hospital and yelled: "Help me! My friend has been... bitten... when I got to her she had been unconscious already... She's lost a lot of blood. Please, help her!"
Luckily the doctors were all very vigilant and fast. They assured her they would help Buffy and even brought her a cup of tea to help her calm down.
At least I dusted the motherfucker.-Faith thought and noticed the public phone in the corridor. She had a quarter in her jeans pocket and she inserted it in the phone with shaking hands, hoping Joyce would answer the phone. As much as she didn't wanna scare Joyce, she thought Buffy's mother had a right to know what happened to her daughter.
"Joyce? Hmm, Mrs. Summers? It's Faith..."
"Honey, is something wrong?"-Joyce got worried when she heard the urgency in Faith's voice.
"I'm at the hospital, with Buffy... She's been bitten... Docs assured me she'd be fine, but I just wanted to let you know..."-Faith said and Joyce almost dropped the phone. She always had tough time accepting Buffy was the Slayer, and the part where something could harm or kill her only daughter was in the back of her mind constantly. Nightmares about Buffy's death weren't anything unusual, but when the harsh reality kicked her in the face, Joyce felt like she couldn't breathe.
"I'll be right there."-Joyce managed to say, she grabbed her coat and ran to her Jeep as fast as she could, considering that suddenly her legs felt a little wobbly.
Faith jumped every time she saw a nurse or a doctor, hoping they'd tell her anything about Buffy, but it seemed like they all had more important things to do and they'd just run past her like she wasn't even there. Her pack of cigarettes was completely squashed in her pocket, but she managed to straighten a cigarette to light it in front of the hospital. Still she made sure she was able to see if any of the doctors appeared. She was smoking and pacing, counting the tiles and checking the clock every 30 seconds because time seemed to have been frozen. She just finished a cigarette when Joyce showed up, running and almost bumping into Faith.
"Hello Faith... Do you know anything about Buffy?"-Joyce asked and sighed when Faith waved her head slowly. They both ran back to the hospital when they saw a doctor come out of one of the rooms.
The blonde doctor recognized Faith and said: "Your friend is still unconscious, but she's stable. It's a good thing you reacted straight away..." He thought it was a bit strange that the young brunette girl was able to run into the hospital, holding an unconscious friend in her arms, but he thought it must have been an adrenaline rush or something that kept her going.
"Can we see her? This is Buffy's Mom..."-Faith said and ran off to Buffy's room as soon as the doctor said: "Yes..."
Joyce ran after Faith a moment later and was very touched when she saw Faith hold Buffy's hand and kiss her forehead gently. Faith moved away when Joyce entered the room, to give her some space, but Joyce said: "Honey, keep holding her hand, she knows you're here..."
Faith didn't say anything, she just nodded, but Joyce noticed so much gratitude in her eyes and she smiled. Then she went to the other side of the bed and kissed Buffy gently, and whispered: "Sweetheart, wake up... Faith and I are here, waiting for you... How could that vampire hurt my little girl?"
Seeing her daughter unconscious made her think of her as a little girl, not a strong and powerful vampire Slayer. She looked so innocent and at the same time, so tired and way too mature for her age. It broke Joyce's heart and she burst into tears, making Faith a bit uncomfortable because she didn't know how to deal with crying people. But then she thought she didn't know how to deal with many things, and she was starting to learn about family, friendship and love. She really liked to feel like she belonged somewhere, for the first time in her life. So, she caught Joyce's hand too and said: "I dusted the vampire, he's not a threat anymore. Buffy's gonna be ok... She's so much stronger than she looks..." A sad smile appeared on her face and she whispered: "Come on, babe... Time to wake up... Oh, I see what you're doing... You want me to start crying too so you could tease me about it for ages... Right?"-Faith joked a little and realized her eyes got all teary again. She swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat.
Joyce then realized she hadn't thanked Faith for saving her daughter's life and she pulled a surprised brunette into her arms and said: "Thank you... In all the fuss I forgot to thank you for saving Buffy. If you hadn't arrived on time, that vampire would have killed her."
Faith never thought about it, really. She was just happy she got there on time...When Joyce said those words and hugged her tightly, she finally started crying because it hit her how she almost lost her best friend, her girlfriend and one person she loved more than anything else. She saved Buffy. For the first time ever, she was proud of herself, and someone else was proud of her, and thankful to her. It was something new to Faith and she was completely overwhelmed by her emotions. Joyce was crying too, they held each other tightly and didn't even notice when Buffy slowly opened her eyes. Seeing her Mom and Faith like that made her smile and cry at the same time... Her neck hurt a lot, but she knew she'd be ok in no time. Thanks to Faith.