Part Eleven
I’m gasping for air, drenched with sweat, when I bolt upright, shaken by the dream. “She’s awake,” someone says off to the side. I look around and see everyone…we’re in Angel’s mansion.
“Faith?” Angel asks me gently, sitting down on the bed I’m in. “Faith, are you okay?”
I stare at him…I can barely understand what he’s saying. My mind’s a mess, all scrambled. I try to focus on him. “Angel?”
He nods. “How do you feel?”
Then I remember. “Sloan?” I ask weakly, and I suddenly need to lay back down. He looks a little alarmed as I lie back.
“He’s fine. We got him out. Nice moves back there, ducking like that. I can imagine how much that hurt.”
“My neck…he bit me…never been bit before,” I whisper, my hand reaching for the spot where the teeth sank into my neck. It’s covered with a thick bandage.
“You’ll be okay. He barely got a sip,” Angel says.
“Doesn’t feel like it…God…how B musta felt after…” I trail off, my throat’s all dry.
Angel looks down at his hands, ashamed. “Oh, I’m sorry, Angel,” I apologize softly. Always saying the wrong damn thing…
He holds my hand. “No, it’s fine. I’m just glad you woke up.”
Someone’s standing in the doorway. “’bout time,” I hear Xander say. I turn my head to face him. He’s grinning. “You’re harder to wake up than I am.” He steps inside. “I think someone out here wants to see you.” He turns back to the door, nods and Sloan appears.
“Hey kiddo…” he says. God, he looks awful…I tell him that. “Yeah, well. I’ll heal.” He crosses to the bed. “No thanks to you…socking me in the stomach like that.”
I give him a small, sleepy smile. “S’your fault…payback…remember…no fries the other day.” He grins, remembering our trip to the local burger joint.
“Yeah, well, teach me a lesson…next time, the lady gets fries,” he says, grinning at Angel.
Then I remember the dream. I struggle to sit up but they push me back down. “Faith, you need your rest. The vampire drank from you…it makes you weak,” Sloan says, concern in his voice.
“Angel…you have to know…B…Dawn…blood…mine,” I say, but I can feel unconsciousness calling to me.
Blearily I see confusion come over his face, and he turns to look at Sloan, who shrugs. Angel leans in more closely. “Faith, what?”
My vision clears momentarily and I look him dead in the eye. “It’s me and Dawn. We bring her back,” I say, and then…nothing.
***
When I wake up again my head’s cleared and I feel stronger. Slowly I sit up…the place’s empty, but I can hear voices from another room. I swing my feet over the side of the bed and stretch…my neck’s killing me. I think the vamp got a huge chunk of skin along with a little taste of my blood. Gingerly I ease my body out of bed and walk out of the room; the light, while not bright, I remember Angel’s a fan of the dimmer switch, makes me squint. The voices are more clear from the hallway.
“I just want to know what she meant,” Willow says. “Why Faith and Dawn?”
“I suppose, Will, as Giles has now pointed out several times in the past few hours, that it’s because she’s a Slayer and Dawn’s…well, Key-like and all,” Xander says, patiently.
“He’s said it four times actually,” Anya says, not so patiently.
There’s a pause in the conversation, then “But why her?” Willow asks, and several people groan. I hear sounds like they’re getting out of their seats and walking around. Spike walks into the hallway and sees me. “Well now, all better then are we?”
I nod, slowly. “I just woke up, I-I wasn’t listening,” I stammer.
He cocks his head. “So what if you were? I’m not one to point fingers, at least, not about spying. I, myself, love a good eavesdrop.” He glances back behind him, towards the others, then back at me. “Ready to do some explaining?”
I look at him doubtfully. “Do I have a choice?”
He grins. “Probably not. Come on then, get it over with. I’m a little curious myself. Way to go, by the way, giving Angel a cryptic message, then slumberin’ down again. Shoulda seen the look on the bloke’s face…priceless.” He’s still grinning like a madman. Man, this guy is bent.
We walk into the room together. “Look who decided to join the party,” he says, strolling ahead of me. Angel and Sloan get to their feet.
“Faith,” Sloan says, walking over to me. “How do you feel?”
“Like I got bit,” I say, and let him lead me to the couch. Everyone else is scattered around the room, staring at me.
“At least he didn’t take your sense of drama,” Sloan teases.
I glance at him. “Yeah.” I sit, staring at my hands. When I look up, everyone’s still watchin’ me, expecting big news. “I guess you guys got out okay,” I say.
Giles nods. “Yes, we’re all fine. You did very well, considering how long you’ve been, well…that you just returned to Sunnydale.”
I glance at Willow, then Tara. “I had help.”
There’s a pause, uncomfortable. Finally, Angel clears his throat. “Faith…what you said, before…”
“We can bring Buffy back?” Dawn asks me, her voice soft, faraway. “You and me?”
I turn to her. “I had a dream. Sometimes I have them and…I know B did…sometimes we had them together,” I say, remembering, then shake myself out of the memories, “I was in some sort of construction site…it’s where…that’s where it went down with Glory, wasn’t it?” A few nods, more sad expressions. I swallow and continue. “Something…called me…I walked up this huge metal staircase…out onto a catwalk all the way at the top. And you were there,” I say to Dawn.
She nods, bleakly. “That’s where the ritual was performed,” Willow says.
“I walked over to you, and asked you where we were. You said, ‘You know.’ And…I did. I just knew that’s where it all happened. And then I asked what we were doing there, and you took my hand. Cut it with a knife. You said, ‘Your blood,’ then you cut your hand and said, ‘My blood.’” Then you grabbed our hands and held them together and this…shock went through us, like we got struck by lightening. It was intense. But you looked calm, you held onto my hand so tight…” I can’t do this…why is this part so hard?
Angel takes my hand in his, squeezes it. Sloan takes the other, does the same. “Then what?” Sloan asks me.
I take a deep breath, blow it out. “There was this…light…from below us. It was beautiful, all white. And then…Buffy. She fell from the sky. Alive.”
The entire room is silent for what seems like years until the sound of Dawn crying wakes up Tara who rushes to her and wraps her arms around the girl in a motherly hug. She rocks her slowly, murmuring comfort words in her ear.
Giles, good old reliable Giles, takes off his glasses and clear his throat. “We’re researching this. Now,” he says, and walks over to the weapons that are lying about on the floor. Picking some up he glances at the rest of us. “I’ll need your help.” His voice is stony.
Everyone moves slowly. I remain on the couch, not sure how to feel. Part of me is so happy, the other part of me is scared beyond anything else.
They turn to leave, it’s just me, Angel and Sloan still in the room, when I bolt to my feet. “I want to help,” I say. Giles and the others turn and look at me.
“Come on then,” Willow says. I lock eyes with her for a moment. Such sadness in them. Like poetry. But I also see a small bit of acceptance. Not forgiveness, but acceptance.
And I can deal with that.
***
It’s back to the magic shop for us…I guess this is the new school library for them. Giles is in a frenzy. I’ve never seen this man so worked up. He throws down everything he’s carrying and begins pulling book after book off the shelf, slapping them down on the table. We stand there and watch him, amazed. He spares us a hard glance. “Get to work,” he orders.
“Woah, G-man,” Xander says. “Slow down.”
Giles continues to pull books down. “Xander, if you’re going to make snide remarks and use nicknames that I’ve requested you not, you may leave.”
Xander’s hurt, it’s obvious. Angel steps forward. “Giles, we want to find this as much as you do.”
Giles looks up, anger in his eyes. “Do you, Angel? Really? That’s interesting. Because I don’t remember you being here when she needed you the most. What I remember is you leaving her, as none of the rest of us ever would have. Even Spike was there for gods sakes. If she’s brought back, you’ll leave her again.”
Angel’s pissed, that’s obvious too. I step up to him. “Let it go. He doesn’t mean it,” I whisper to him. Angel glances at me, and I see the hurt. But he nods, and picks up a book, heads to the back of the shop.
Giles looks up again. “Research or leave,” he says to the rest of us.
Willow’s not taking it anymore. “All right, Giles, that’s enough. We get it. You want us to figure this out. And we will, but the yelling, the orders, the crankiness, that stops now.”
Giles raises an eyebrow at her. She walks over to him, puts her arms around him and draws him close to her. He resists for only a moment, then hugs her in return. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.
She nods, still pressed to him. “We know. We want this too.” She pulls back and look him in the eye. “But not like this, okay?” she asks him in her little Willow voice.
Giles looks to Angel, who is seated on the steps that lead up to the loft, leafing through a book. He leaves us to choose our own research books and walks over to the vampire. They speak momentarily, Angel glares hard at the Watcher, then softens and nods. All’s well.
“So…if we’re done with the arguing segment of tonight’s research party…”Xander says from his seat at the table. “Whaddya say we bring back a Slayer?”
Dawn looks at him. “Whaddya say we bring back my sister,” she says pointedly.
“And my best friend,” Willow adds softly.
“And my daughter,” Giles says, walking up to us, putting an arm around Dawn.
“And…my hero,” I add quietly. Everyone turns to me. Finally, Willow offers me a smile.