Time Travel pt. 5
Title: Time-Travel
Author: Ivy Gort
Part 5/?
Rating: PG B/F
Spoilers: Enemies
Note: Faith loves Buffy. The entire story is contrived. In no way am I
trying to be historically correct. If I insult anyone I am very, very sorry
and I wasn’t trying too.
Note Two: I know it has been accepted on the list that Faith’s watcher’s
name was Eme, but that is my mother’s name so I just can’t bring myself to
use it.Feedback: Please!!! I need all the help I can get!
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, Faith, Willow or the Mayor. Joss owns the
world, though Fox thinks it does!
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Part 5
Faith watched Buffy toss and turn in the sleeping bag on the floor of the
cave. Sweat pouring off the blonde slayer’s face despite the damp coldness
of the air. The rain blew into the mouth of the cave despite Faith’s
efforts at using a tarp to block the entrance. With each gust of wind Faith
could tell the temperature was dropping and soon the rain would change over
to snow. She didn’t think Sunnydale could have snow and yet, she was about
to be stuck in it for a second time.
“Faith, Faith, I’m so cold….” Buffy mumbled. Faith took the stones off of
the camp stove and placed them under Buffy’s sleeping bag. She noticed that
the sleeping bag was soaked, most likely from sweat but she knew as sick as
Buffy had been it could be from something else. But whatever it was wet or
dry the bag would still keep Buffy warmer than the blankets the mayor sent
as back up to the two sleeping bags.
When they had first gotten here, to this time, Buffy seemed more alert. She
even helped Faith by dragging some of the equipment up the hill and into the
cave. The tiny blonde was slightly confused and disoriented but the
explosive fever had gone down and she was breathing normally. Then about
the time the storm hit, Buffy doubled over and started losing everything she
had ever thought about eating. With the retching the fever and the labored
breathing returned and now Faith was sitting in the cold cave watching her
friend die.
The younger slayer sat back thinking; if she could get to the mayor’s house
before the snow started then she could bring him back here to help her. She
knew, even in this time period, he would help her save her friend. With the
decision made Faith pulled Buffy and her sleeping bag closer to the stove
and turned it to its highest setting. Faith was so grateful for the Boss’
foresight: he had supplied everything the two girls would need for the three
days it would take for the storm to end. Faith wrapped herself in one of
the many blankets. She looked at Buffy so helpless and delirious—despite
her feeling that Buffy was beyond understanding—she kneeled down again next
to her.
“Buffy, I need you to listen to me for a minute,” Faith said, as she pulled
her up into a sitting a position. Buffy’s chin dropped to her chest but she
opened cloudy green eyes and peered up at Faith. The tiny slayer squinted
trying to focus on Faith’s face.
“Faith?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes!” Faith crushed Buffy to her in a hug. “Buffy listen, I have to go get
help.” The younger slayer explained.
“Giles? Go get Giles.” Buffy begged. Faith felt a blow to her heart, no
matter how much she tried she would never be a part of Buffy’s life as long
the shadow of the those superfriends hung over everything.
“I can’t get Giles, but I will get help.” Faith promised. “I have to leave
for a while.” When Buffy didn’t reply after a few seconds Faith laid her
gently back down. She watched the steady, if some what congested, rise and
fall of the blonde’s breathing for a moment and then purposefully stood up
to leave.
Faith stalked out of the cave and was soaked by the rain after just three
steps. The wind was relentless in its intent on driving the rain under the
blanket and through her light jacket. Halfway down the hill she slipped in
the mud and then slid the rest of the way landing hard. She lay there
trying to catch her breath as the water from the ground finished the job the
rain had started by soaking her clothes to the skin. By the time she was
able to stand the rain and wind had leached all of the heat out of her body
and she was shivering uncontrollably. Still, it was only a few miles to the
bosses’ ranch so she decided to continue. Faith made it another couple of
feet before she realized she didn’t have the compass with her. Like Buffy
she could normally tell which way was north, the direction the boss said his
ranch was, but she just couldn’t risk it. Faith knew instinctively she
would have only one chance to make it to the ranch before the storm overcame
her and that if she died in the storm then Buffy would die, too. With a
frustrated sigh she started back up the muddy hill. Faith was literally
exhausted as she reached the mouth of the cave—the climb up the hill taking
every bit of energy she had.
The younger slayer decided to hang the muddy blanket on the tree just
outside the entrance. “Let the rain clean it off.” She told herself as she
pushed back the tarp covering the opening—and came face to face with the
biggest dog Faith had ever seen. “Well, fuck….” The slayer said without
realizing it. Some part of Faith’s mind registered the fact that it wasn’t
a dog, standing over Buffy, it was a wolf. A big wolf. A huge wolf. Bigger
than the wolves at both the San Diego and Boston zoo’s combined. Standing
over Buffy, repeated in her head and her body instantly reacted as she
launched herself at the wolf.
The wolf seemingly as stunned to see the slayer, as Faith was to see it
didn’t resist as the slayer tackled it. She grabbed it around the chest and
rolled with it—knocking it easily off its feet despite its size. She hugged
it to her until she was on her back and then she used both her feet and arms
to propel it into the wall on the opposite side of the cave. The wolf let
out a yelp and scrambled to its feet snarling and snapping in Faith’s
direction as it backed towards the cave’s entrance, when he reached it, for
by now Faith could tell it was most assuredly a he, he turned and dashed off
into the storm.
Faith sunk to her knees as the shock of finding a wolf bending over Buffy
wore off. She knew she had royally fucked totally up leaving the other
slayer by herself and helpless. Tears of frustration made slow tracks down
her muddy face as she thought of a life without Buffy in it and then guilt
crashed into her mind when she thought of her betrayal. Faith sat there
beyond conscious thought, some part of her was screaming at her to get up
change out of her wet clothes that she was getting too cold—but the other
part just didn’t care. The best thing in her life was lying across the cave
from her dying because the other best thing to ever happen to her saw Buffy
as a threat that needed to be dealt with.
Faith’s numbed mind registered thunder off in the distance. The old wives
tale about thunder in the winter meant snow would surely come frittered
slowly back and forth—bouncing from one side of her head to the other.
Finally, a blast of thunder directly outside of the cave jerked her out of
her spreading stupor.
“Oh, god Buffy!” She said and crawled on frozen hands and knees over to the
other slayer to check on her. Much to the younger slayer’s relief Buffy
was actually better, her flushed face still showing signs of a high fever,
but her breathing was easier and she looked asleep, not unconscious. Faith
tested her theory by trying to arouse her, “Buffy wake-up.”
The tiny blonde opened bleary eyes blinking to clear them. “Faith? Tired….
Sleep….” She said as she rolled over on her side facing the bigger slayer,
while tugging part of the wet sleeping bag over her shoulder. Faith lightly
touched the little slayer’s face to make sure she was real and there and
getting better. Buffy snaked a hot hand out to grab the other slayer’s cold
one and pull it to her, “Cold, why so cold?” She asked Faith, with her eyes
still closed. A muddy drop of water splashed onto Buffy’s face as Faith
noticed she was still crying. She used her other hand, the free hand to
wipe at her tears—letting Buffy hold the hand she had taken possession of
just like the little slayer held Faith’s heart. After a few moments the
grip on Faith’s hand lighten as Buffy drifted once more to sleep.
Faith glanced around the cave, the camp stove was blazing away and she knew
there was enough propane for it last as long as they needed it. She stood
on shaky legs, picked up the huge iron pot the mayor had insisted they
bring. She put it on the stove and filled it water. Living in Boston had
taught her to get out of the wet clothes or she would get sick. Since she
was covered in mud she felt a need to be clean. And she thought, after a
second or two of hesitation, that Buffy could use a bath and dry clothes
too. The odor of sickness hung around the tiny slayer.
While, the water was heating, Faith dug out the rest of the blankets from
the packs. Much to her surprised delight she, also, found a self-inflating
air mattresses. She chuckled at how kind the Boss was to worry about her
comfort. Buffy’s relapse had happened so fast that Faith had not thought,
in her panic, to check out all of the supplies. She took stock of the cave
they were in and she noticed that ceiling towards the back of the cave
sloped downward as the walls narrowed, creating a smaller area that could be
blocked off with the help of another tarp. It would be a prefect place to
set up the mattress and to make a bed out of the extra blankets.
By the time Faith had finished making the little alcove into a full-fledged
nest, the water was boiling. She had found a change of clothes for the both
of them, though she was only going to dress Buffy in sweats. During all her
preparations she kept one eye towards the front of the cave in case the wolf
returned, she really didn’t expect him to, but she kept her cross bow close
to her at all times. She didn’t want to test her luck at trying to wrestle
the wolf bare handed, again.
She used a tee shirt to take the water off the stove then she hurriedly
cleaned herself and got redressed. She steeled herself—she had always
wanted to see Buffy naked—but never like this. In her dreams Buffy was
awake and willing to play, not asleep and unaware. Faith carried the
remaining water and a dry blanket over to Buffy and unzipped the sleeping
bag. She quickly removed Buffy’s coat, blouse, and bra all the time
wondering at her own reactions—Faith felt no desire towards the tiny girl at
the moment. Sure she marveled at the girl’s perfection—spending longer than
was absolutely necessary cleaning her arms and hands—soaking up the way they
looked, memorizing the feel of Buffy’s skin; just not in a sexual way.
Which really confused Faith, because she always thought of love as a sexual
act, not this…this simple giving.
“It’s really helping that you are staying safely asleep….” The younger girl
mumbled as she put the sweatshirt on the older slayer and started to remove
her pants. “Always wanted to get into them….” The random thought entered
Faith’s mind, and she realized she was rapidly sinking into exhaustion, she
was moving on autopilot. When the pants were halfway down Buffy’s legs
Faith noticed a mark on blonde’s inner thigh. “Shit, B drugs?” She thought
as she bent down to examine the mark. Faith flashed to the way her mother
would ‘shoot-up’ in that vein because “it wouldn’t show”. The mark looked
sort of like the way her mother’s would look when she got those awful
infections from dirty needles—yet it didn’t look like it at all. One of the
differences it wasn’t in the vein, it was still infected, the edges of what
appeared to be the needle mark were black and the skin and muscle around it
appeared to have a sunken quality—like something was eating away at Buffy’s
thigh from the inside out. Distracted Faith continued to pull off the
blonde slayer's pants, only realizing she had to remove Buffy’s shoes and
socks when her pants wouldn’t come off. The wound reminded Faith of
something familiar.
Perplexed, trying to remember why the sore looked so familiar if it wasn’t
like her mother’s ‘tracks’, she washed Buffy’s legs. When she came to
wound--being as gentle as she could she wiped the cloth across it. And was
met with the most god-awful scream as Buffy sat straight up clutching at her
leg in agony. Startled Faith jerked back only to lose her balance and land
on her ass knocking the pot with the water in it over. She watched, still
slightly stunned at Buffy’s reaction, as the older slayer slowly blinked
down at her leg and then seemed to fold into herself as her tiny body was
rocked with a wave of convulsive shuddering. Having seen this happen
before, earlier, Faith knew what was coming next so she scramble over to
catch the blonde and turn her head to the side just as the first of the
retching crashed through little body. Faith could almost feel Buffy’s
strength of spirit flowing out of her with each spasm until once again the
tiny slayer was left weak and shivering in Faith’s arms.
The younger slayer placed Buffy on the dry blanket, still shaken by what
just happened. Buffy was out of it again; it was like she never had been
better. Only this time Faith could tell the wound in Buffy’s leg was
causing all the little slayer’s problems. Faith bent down to examine the
sore again and was shocked to see that it had opened up into a hole big
enough to put her little finger all the way in it. And then Faith knew what
it was—a demon bite. But, how did a demon bite Buffy on the leg and why
didn’t Buffy report it to Giles? The taller slayer felt the skin around the
hole and realized it was hot to touch, literally burning up, compared to the
rest of Buffy’s body, which was hard to comprehend considering the fever
Buffy was spiking at the moment.
Faith thought back to everything Kate, her Watcher taught her about demons
and demon bites. The brunette fondly remembered their shared lessons on
“the gory demon of the week.” The watcher saw right away that Faith did not
care for school so to make learning about demons more interesting Kate would
let Faith pour through all the demonology books and watcher diaries for the
goriest demons. After Faith chose one they would spend the entire week
researching it. The memory of Kate’s death came unbidden to Faith’s mind and
she tried to shut the emotions out that it caused—she had to think about
Buffy. Yes, she told herself, think about Buffy not about Kate or how her
mother had sold them out to Mr. Trick for the price of fix.
The more she looked at the sore the more familiar it appeared until it came
to Faith what it was—“that's a what’s it demon bite” she said to herself.
The one that would inject digestive fluid into its victim as it chewed. The
drawing done by that monk-watcher person had been wicked gross—but the
wounds looked exactly the same. Faith would have put it together sooner
except Buffy’s leg wasn’t chewed on so the toxin, as Kate called it, had to
have been injected. The younger slayer felt physically ill at the thought
that the boss would do this, unnecessarily, to her friend. “Nah, it
couldn’t have been him!” She said decisively. It must have been the big
huge vamp who took Buffy away while she talked to the Mayor. All vamps
hated slayers so this was his revenge for the boss befriending her. Man was
that vamp toast when they got back!
But first she had to figure out what to do about the non-bite. Kate had
said most demon toxins worked on a very real physical level and then on
another magical one. For slayers, if you could take care of the physical
then the innate slayerness or what ever would destroy the magical. The best
situation would be to get the antidote, Faith was sure the mayor would
help—but she couldn’t risk leaving Buffy again because of the Wolf. Kate
had explained that without an antidote the next way was to use heat or burn
the bite. Kate had made it very clear to Faith, fearing one day Faith would
be bitten and she wouldn’t be there to help her, that it was better for a
slayer to try and recover from a serve burn than the poison of demon.
With a heavy sigh Faith got up and plowed through the supplies again. She
found what she was searching for—a thick metal tent stake. She placed one
on the stove and then tidied up the cave as it heated. Taking both their
clothes outside to put in the tree like the blanket. When she pushed the
tarp covering the entrance back she noticed the snow had started and that
about six inches already covered the ground. When she returned she checked
on Buffy who, just like earlier, seemed to be delirious with a high fever
and labored breathing…. Faith just hoped her friend was out of it enough.
Faith found another tee shirt and used it to take the stake off the
stove—the irony that she was about to stake Buffy was not lost on the weary
girl. The stake did not have to be red-hot only hot if she remembered Kate
correctly. The brunette slayer wanted to be anywhere doing anything other
than what she was doing but she did not shy away from the task. If this was
what it would take to get Buffy back, this is what she would do. The young
girl purposefully walked over to her friend and pulled the blanket she had
wrapped her in away, kneeling down beside her she glanced up at the sick
girl’s face to see if she was even aware that Faith was next to her. Doubt
and guilt stilled her once again—was she doing the right thing? Or was she
just causing Buffy more pain? Faith thought as she paused examining the
wound; to her horror it appeared to be even bigger. Without hesitation she
steadied the tiny slayer's leg with one hand and plunged the stake into the
wound.
Buffy let out an animalistic scream and tried to jerk her leg away from the
heat but Faith held her steady. The taller slayer let the stake stay in
only for a few seconds then she pulled it out and bandaged the wound.
Faith wrapped the now unconscious little slayer back up in the blanket and
then carefully carried her over to the ‘nest’ she had made for them. After
she settled Buffy in a cocoon of blankets the bigger girl grabbed her cross
bow and lay down next to her pulling the sleeping girl closer. The younger
slayer tried to stay awake so she could watch over her friend in case the
wolf came back. But for the first time since her aborted attempt to get
help she was warm, and the tiny slayer’s steady breathing under her hand was
lulling; without realizing it Faith drifted off to sleep.