Rating: R

Pairing: Buffy/Faith

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine and I make no money off this.

Summary: Set right after Season Three. Faith changes sides and ends up fighting with Buffy against the Mayor but gets injured in the fight and ends up in a coma. All Buffy wants is for her to wake up.

A week came and went and nothing changed. Faith was still in a coma.

Buffy couldn't believe she hadn't woken up. Even though she knew they'd won, defeated the Mayor, she didn't feel like celebrating. Far from it, in fact. The only thing on her mind was that Faith needed to wake up. Then she could celebrate another win for the good guys.

Everything in the last few weeks had happened so fast. Two weeks before the graduation something changed with Faith. She didn't know what it was but one morning she opened her front door to find Faith there. At first Buffy thought it was time for their big showdown, the one where they fought until one of them went down for good, but Faith didn't want to fight. She wanted back on Buffy's team and came with info on the Mayor to prove it.

It wasn't much, of course. Buffy wasn't shocked that the Mayor didn't let Faith know a whole lot on his ascension, or maybe Faith chose not to know for awhile, but she brought the other slayer and what she knew to the library all the same. She knew that was what she needed to do and wanted Giles' opinion on what they should do with Faith and her info.

No one wanted to trust Faith at first but Buffy saw something right away that no one else did. Now that Faith had betrayed her old boss, her life was in danger. She was risking her life to help them and Buffy knew that wasn't something her fellow slayer could fake, not to mention she was a horrible liar.

After she convinced everyone Faith was on the level, they hatched a plan against the Mayor. No one thought it would work but they had to try and they had Angel and the entire senior class to help.

A miracle happened: they won. There had been some casualties but most everyone survived. The only problem was Faith. The Mayor definitely wanted her dead because he sent most of his minions after her. Buffy lost track of her during the fight and didn't see her until after the school exploded with the Mayor inside. It should have been a time for celebrating but that stopped when she saw Angel walking toward them, an unconscious Faith in his arms.

Buffy rode with her in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and stayed with her as much as the hospital staff allowed. The entire time the only thing running through her head was it wasn't supposed to be like this.

While they were researching and planning, she and Faith had gotten friendly again. There was even what could only be described as a little sexual tension between them since they ended up kissing a little a couple nights before graduation. It was in the library and of course, they were interrupted before they could go any further than kissing or could talk about it.

The night before the big day Buffy could have even swore she felt Faith on the other side of her bedroom door during the night. She wasn't sleeping and had thought about seeing Faith more than once but never went through with the urge. It could have been her imagination but she thought maybe Faith had felt the same.

Now Buffy just wanted Faith to wake up. It hurt to see Faith lying helpless in a hospital bed and Buffy wanted to know why that was. It was more than guilt over the other slayer's sacrifice during the fight. It felt like she was losing a part of herself, that Faith was slipping away, and she didn't like that one bit. She needed Faith to open her eyes.

No one knew why she wouldn't wake up either. At first, the doctors thought she'd wake up in a day or two because aside from some minor injuries and some head trauma, there wasn't much wrong with her. Buffy even thought it might be sooner due to the wonders of slayer healing but two days came and went without any change.

The doctors couldn't explain it since her body was healing and after the third day, Buffy became convinced there was something else keeping Faith in a coma. She was sure the Mayor had gotten his last revenge on the other slayer by using a curse or a spell or something on her.

The gang researched and researched until they couldn't anymore but no one found anything that fit. Buffy spent so much time thinking about it while with Faith that she even tried kissing her, thinking maybe if it was some sort of love spell that Faith would wake up.

Not that she loved Faith, or at least she didn't think she did. She didn't know what to make of her feelings for Faith and wished she knew what she felt about her. Of course, Faith needed to be awake for the conversation. Buffy had tried talking it over with her the night before and it made no sense if Faith couldn't talk back.

Today most of the gang had been in and out of Faith's room. By the time graduation came, everyone had accepted Faith as a reinstated member of the team and no one wanted to see her hurt. Buffy's mother was also visiting as Faith had been staying with her and Buffy after she left the Mayor. The only one who didn't was Angel since he left for LA after graduation like he said he would but Buffy had a feeling he was being kept informed on Faith's condition.

It was late afternoon and Buffy was left alone in the room with Faith. Her mother had just left to make dinner and Buffy knew that meant her time at the hospital was coming to an end for the day. As much as she wanted to stay with Faith, her mom was making sure she didn't spend her days and nights there. No one thought that was very healthy.

Aside from an IV in one arm, Faith wasn't hooked up to any other machines so Buffy eased herself onto the bed and carefully laid down next to Faith. She always wondered if anyone ever held Faith without anything else being involved so she had a couple times since she had been in a coma. Both times she swore she felt something coming from Faith, like she was close to waking up. She'd had to stop after only a few minutes, being interrupted both times, but today she hoped it worked.

Buffy wrapped her arm gently around the other girl and placed her head on the pillow next to hers. It could have just been her mind giving her some false hope but she could have sworn there was now some color in Faith's pale face. She turned her head and placed a soft kiss on Faith's cheek, keeping her head against hers.

"I need you to wake up, Faith," Buffy whispered into her ear. "I'm gettin' a little confused here."

Faith groaned quietly and the shock of it nearly made Buffy fall off the bed. She managed to keep her balance though and only sat up instead.

"You and me both," she mumbled as she began to open her eyes.

"Faith? Oh, my God," Buffy said in almost a rush. She couldn't believe Faith was actually waking up. "Are you really awake?"

"It's fuckin' bright in here, B," Faith mumbled as she squinted and looked around the room. "Where am I?"

Buffy jumped off the bed quickly and closed the blinds, effectively dimming the light in the room. "You're in the hospital, Faith. You've been out for a week."

"Fuck." Faith moved a little on the bed and reached over to take the IV out of her arm.

"Oh, no, you don't." Buffy grabbed her hand and moved it away, keeping it in her own. "What happened, Faith?"

"Dunno," she said, looking down at the hand currently holding hers. "Vamp bastards ganged up on me but I thought I was doin' okay, ya know? Next thing I know I'm here."

Faith used the fact that Buffy was holding her hand to pull her closer and look into her eyes. Buffy almost wanted to break away because the stare was so intense but she didn't. "B, it felt so weird. Like one big dream, ya know? I kept hearing everyone talk to me, telling me how much they wanted me to wake up, but I couldn't. I felt so weak."

Buffy sat on the bed again and withdrew her hand from Faith's only to place it against her cheek. It was a bold move by her but she wanted Faith to see that she cared for her, not to mention happy she was awake. "Did you hear me?"

She was referring to the speech she'd made where she went over her feelings and the pros and cons of them. She never would have done that in the room if she knew Faith could hear. At the time, she'd wanted that, of course, but now that she thought Faith heard everything she wanted to take the whole thing back.

Faith nodded slowly. "Was that real?"

"Uh . . ." Buffy thought for a second about lying and saying it really was a dream but then she knew she wouldn't get the chance she wanted when Faith was in a coma. She wouldn't have the chance to talk to Faith about the fact they'd kissed or that she felt Faith had been looking at her differently since she'd come back from the dark side. "Yeah."

They only looked at each other for a minute. Buffy didn't know what to say next so she leaned and softly kissed Faith. Her lips were so soft and even though she couldn't feel Faith respond in the kiss, she did feel her hand on her back. That had to count for something and Buffy knew she probably caught Faith off guard. After all, the other slayer was the one who started the kissing last time.

When they broke away, Faith smirked. "At least I know I wasn't dreaming."

Buffy gave her a small smile as she slowly moved to lie down next to her again. "Nope, everything you heard I said."

"No, I mean the first time, too." Faith leaned against Buffy as she moved next to her. "We were making out and it was hot but then stupid Wesley interrupted us and you never said anything about it. Was like it didn't happen."

"It definitely happened," Buffy said quietly. "It's confusing."

"Not that confusing to me," Faith commented, her voice husky and dry. Buffy wondered if she should get up and get her some water but Faith had a grip on her hand so she didn't think that was possible. "I kinda helped out 'cause of you."

"What do you mean?"

"I was in the Boss . . . Mayor's office and he was talking about what would happen once he ascended," she explained. "He was saying that the first thing he was gonna do was kill you or that maybe I could do it. I realized right then I didn't want you to die and I definitely didn't want him to have you killed. I might not be all that bright but I knew I couldn't stay on his side."

"I gotta say I'm more than happy you didn't want me to die." Buffy turned and smiled at her. "I didn't want to hurt you either."

They looked at each other for a minute and Buffy was thrilled at what she saw in Faith, even though it scared her at the same time. She could see how much Faith liked her and it made her wonder if it was there all the time and she was too dense to realize it. So much had gone wrong since Faith had shown up in Sunnydale that Buffy didn't pay much attention to most of her actions, only the bad ones. She felt bad about that but she knew she couldn't change that now. She could only try to make up for it.

Faith gave her a little grin before closing the distance between them and kissing her lightly. Buffy smiled a little before fully committing to the kiss, moving her lips along with Faith's. It felt so good, so natural, and the one problem she had with it was that they were doing it in Faith's hospital bed.

The light kissing only lasted for a couple minutes before the need for more kicked in. Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy and pulled her closer, a move that almost made Buffy stop. She was still concerned about her condition and didn't want to pull out her IV but the other slayer seemed to be better than ever.

Faith didn't seem to care about any of their surroundings since she was trying to pull Buffy on top of her. Buffy thought better of that for about a second before beginning to do just that. At the same time she broke away to catch her breath and placed a hand against her cheek.

"Are you okay, Faith? Are you still hurt?"

"I'm fine, B," Faith said quietly, smirking. "I dunno if I should be thanking the slayer healing or whatever, but it feels like I was never injured."

Buffy smiled down at her as she moved to straddle her waist. She wanted more of the other slayer but didn't want her to move, not really believing that she felt perfectly fine. This was the easiest way because Faith couldn't move now and it didn't look like she wanted to either.

They kissed again but it was deeper this time, more passionate. Buffy kept herself steady by placing one hand on the bed next to Faith head but kept the other hand caressing her cheek. Faith's hand immediately went to her hips, keeping Buffy right where she was.

The feel of Faith's hands and lips were almost too much for Buffy. It felt like it was meant to be with them. Everything she felt from the other slayer was so intense, so positive in what they were doing. The feel of Faith's tongue sliding against hers and that her hands were almost massaging her skin as they moved slowly on her sides was incredible.

They broke apart and Buffy started placing kisses along Faith's neck, causing the other girl to laugh quietly. "Damn, B. If I'd have known this is what would happen when I woke up, I'd have tried a hell of a lot harder to wake up sooner."

Buffy couldn't help but laugh along with her. "You should've tried harder."

"Let's make up for it then," Faith said, a smirk on her face.

They began kissing again just as deep and passionate as before but this time Faith's hands moved toward Buffy's fly. She unbuttoned her jeans slowly, almost as though she was afraid Buffy would stop her. Buffy was too preoccupied with the kissing currently happening though to really pay much attention to where Faith's hands were.

After a minute, they broke away from each other, both out of breath. Buffy immediately began kissing and licking along Faith's neck, becoming completely caught up in the moment. A part of her knew this was not the time or place for making out or even the possibility of sex. Faith was still in the hospital and no one even knew she was awake yet. She knew she should slow it down or even stop entirely but the part of her that thought that was pushed aside by the rest of her that suddenly really wanted Faith.

As Buffy began to suck on Faith's neck, the other slayer slipped her hand down her pants and into her panties. Both of them moaned out at the action and Buffy knew there was no turning back for them now. She moved back to Faith's lips and kissed her deeply, moaning into her mouth as she felt Faith's fingers brush over her clit. It felt too good to be true.

Buffy thrust her hips lightly into Faith's fingers, wanting her to go further, but the sudden noise of a door opening stopped both of them dead in their tracks.

"Buffy, excellent news! We've found the spell that was used on Faith . . . oh, dear God!"

Their lips broke apart with a loud smack and Buffy nearly fell off the bed in an effort to not be in the compromising position her old watcher found her and Faith in. She knew she was blushing a bright red and silently hoped no one else was with him. She looked at him and saw he was shielding his eyes. It would have been funny if she wasn't so mortified. When she looked at Faith though, she didn't see embarrassment, only irritation.

"Fuck, Giles, get out of here," she said, her hands almost gripping Buffy to make sure she didn't move. "I'm about to get lucky."

Buffy almost smiled at the comment even with the massive embarrassment. Being with Faith was going to be very interesting.