The two slayers lay in bed together, the sheets sticking to their sweat-slicked bodies. They were lying on their sides, Faith spooned against Buffy's back. "I love you," Faith whispered to her girlfriend.
Smiling, Buffy snuggled in closer to Faith. "I love you, too." Sighing, she drifted off to sleep.
After about an hour of watching Buffy sleep, the younger slayer eased herself out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, she made it to the toilet just in time to empty her stomach.
When she was finished, she took a deep breath and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. It was the second time that day that she had thrown up blood.
Flushing the toilet, she quickly cleaned up and returned to bed.
* * * * * *
Buffy sat back down on the bed after pulling on her shirt. Reaching over, she lightly brushed a hair off of her lover's forehead. "I'll see you later tonight?"
Smiling, Faith nodded slightly. "You just enjoy your day with your mom. I'll catch up with you after patrol."
After giving Faith a quick kiss on the lips, Buffy walked out of the room and down the stairs.
As soon as she heard the front door close, Faith dashed to the bathroom, only to throw up more blood.
* * * * * *
Faith dusted the last vampire, leaving a previously pinned Xander covered in ashes. Reaching out a hand, she helped him up. Overcome by dizziness, she closed her eyes and put her hand to her head.
Alarmed, Xander and Willow were by her side immediately, lending support to the swaying Slayer.
"I'm fine," Faith said, unconvincingly. Leaning against the nearest headstone, she struggled to steady herself. She had had a severe headache all day, accompanied by bouts of dizziness, black spots in front of her eyes, and vomiting.
But she hadn't told the others that. She hadn't told anyone. If she had, Giles wouldn't have let her patrol, leaving the night unprotected. And Buffy might have worried, which was the last thing she needed. Her mother was just recovering from surgery, which was the only thing Faith wanted her to worry about.
She didn't know how much longer she could last, however, as the headache was getting progressively worse. The adrenaline that had carried her through the fight was now gone, and she was a hair's breath away from passing out. Observing her surroundings, she was forced to look away from the street lamp, its light causing her head to throb even more.
"Faith?" The voice came from her right, though she was unable to identify the speaker. It sounded distorted and far away, but when she turned to look, Xander was right next to her.
"What'd ya say?"
Xander and Willow exchanged concerned looks. Faith was obviously confused, and her skin had turned a pale gray.
With her hand covering her eyes, she let out a choppy sigh. "Don't tell B," she begged quietly. "I just… need… to go… to Giles." Moving to step forward, she collapsed to the ground before Willow or Xander could catch her.
* * * * * *
By the time Giles arrived at Sunnydale Memorial, Faith had already been examined and moved into a room. Opening the door to said room, he found Xander and Willow quietly sitting in the corner. He nodded his greeting to them, unwilling to break the silence. Moving to the side of the bed, he lightly placed his hand on her forehead, which felt warm to his touch.
Feeling his hand, Faith slowly opened her eyes, looking into Giles' worried face. "Did they get the number of that truck?" She croaked out with a smile. When his expression didn't change, she stopped smiling. "What?"
Sighing, he took her right hand in his. "I think you should tell Buffy." When he saw she was about to protest, he held up a finger, silencing her. "Hear me out. I know that you didn’t want to trouble her, what with her mother's condition and all, but that's over now. I think she should know. You cannot handle this by yourself, Faith. From here, it's only going to get worse. You're going to need her help when it does."
"Yes, she will." Everyone turned to the voice to find Buffy standing in the doorway, a hurt look on her face. "Can I talk to Faith alone please?"
Quietly, the others stood and walked out, Giles closing the door behind him.
After the others left, Buffy looked around the room, quietly taking it all in. There was the heart monitor, its wires disappearing under the top of Faith's hospital gown, and the breathing machine, which was hooked up through a tube in her nose. Along with this, there was also the IV drip running into Faith's left hand. As for Faith herself, she was lying quietly on the bed, her skin pale and drawn, her collarbone jutting out profusely.
"What are you doing here?"
Buffy sighed. "Something told me I needed to come."
The younger slayer nodded in understanding. She'd always felt the bond, more so here than in the other reality, but she still felt it.
Stepping forward, Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Faith's left hand in her own. She was quiet for a minute, softly stroking the other slayer's arm. "Are you okay?"
With a small smile, she nodded again. "Five by five, B."
"Seriously," Buffy said softly. "How are you?"
Closing her eyes, Faith dropped her cheery façade. "It hurts, B. So much. I ain't never felt pain like this before. It's like… everything hurts. And it's hot and cold. I'm tired, but I can't sleep. I need to puke, but I'm completely empty. I haven't been able to eat in days and my head is about to explode. I got cut the other night, on patrol. It still hasn't healed. And it was just a little cut. Everything's wrong. I… I don't know how much longer I can take this." Her last statement was accompanied by a choked sob as a single tear slid down her cheek.
"Why didn't I notice this before?"
Faith smiled reassuringly. "Cause I didn't want you to. You didn't need to worry about me. You needed to focus on your mom."
Buffy lightly stroked her girlfriend's face. "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
"You could get me out of this hellhole." Faith looked at Buffy pleadingly. "I wanna go home, B."
With a small smile, Buffy leaned down and kissed Faith lightly on the forehead. "I'll see what I can do." Standing up, she turned to leave, but stopped at the door. "Get some rest. I'll let you know when I find something out." With that, she turned off the light, bathing the room in darkness, and left, softly closing the door behind her.
* * * * * *
"How bad is it?" Buffy looked up at her Watcher, hoping for reassurance.
But there was none to give. "She's dying. Her body is shutting down, and her Slayer healing is gone. From what I can gather, her natural healing is almost gone as well. There is… nothing that anyone can do, except make her more comfortable." Giles looked down at his oldest charge with the beginning traces of tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Buffy."
Sighing, Buffy looked away from him, fighting back the tears. Faith had been strong for her. Now she had to be strong for Faith. With determination in her stance, she turned on her heel, walking quickly to the nurse's station.
"What do I need to do to get Faith D'Amato released?"
* * * * * *
Opening the door, Buffy helped Faith into their apartment, practically carrying her into their bedroom. Sitting her down on the bed, Buffy got Faith's pajamas out of the dresser drawer, quickly dressing her in them. Afterwards, she turned down the bed and tucked Faith in. "Do you want anything?"
"Just you," she whispered in response.
With a smile, Buffy put on her own pajamas before turning off the lights. Climbing into bed, she pulled Faith to her closely, offering up a silent request that things would go smoothly, whatever the outcome.
* * * * * *
Faith slowly made her way to the door, her right leg protesting every step of the way. She had banged it against Giles' coffee table the day before, but instead of getting better, it had only gotten worse. Faith had been comfortably resting in front of the television when there was a knocking at the door. Opening said door, she found a grinning K.B. on the other side. Promptly, she shut the door, or tried to. The door, however, was momentarily blocked by one of K.B.'s size 16 feet.
"I need to talk to you," he told her, gently pushing the door open.
Throwing her hands up in the air, she made her way back to the giant beanbag she had previously been occupying, leaving K.B. to find his own seat.
Choosing to sit on the floor in front of her, he sadly looked her in the eye. "It's time for you to go back."
Normally, Faith would've flown off the handle at that, somebody telling her what to do, beating the shit out of whoever had challenged her. But she had since learned patience. And the fight was gone. She was now devoting all her energies to staying alive. She didn't have any to spare for ass kicking. So, with voice calm and quiet and demeanor non-threatening, she did something she almost never did. She begged.
"I can't leave," she told him. "All my life, I've been looking for the love I've found here. And now you want me to give that up? I can't do that. Please, don't make me do that."
"I'm sorry. You've learned what you needed to know. Now, it's time to leave." His voice wasn't forceful or condescending, just soft and apologetic.
"Learned what I needed? What did I learn? That I could've had this if I hadn't screwed up? That I could've been happy? Could've been loved? That I might have a chance if I better myself? I don't care."
"If you stay here, you will die."
She sighed, her body relaxing and her voice quieting again. "I know. But I would rather die loved than live hated, knowing I could've been loved. I want to stay here. I *need* to stay here. With Buffy. For as long as I have." She sat forward, staring him in the eye, visibly pleading. "Haven't you ever loved someone that much?"
Staring off, his eyes took on a haunted look. "It's how I got my name. It's why I do what I do." Sighing, he locked eyes with Faith again. "When I was still alive, K.B. was just my nickname. My real name was Zach. I got K.B. my freshman year of college, from my boys, when I started dating Kelli, the love of my life. 'Kelli's Bitch.' That's what they called me. I didn't care though. I was in love. And it was perfect. She became my best friend and I could never get enough of her. Then one night, we had a fight. I got mad and went off with my boys, leaving her by herself. After a while, though, I regretted it. So I jumped in my truck to go back." Taking a breath, he looked away from her, wiping away his tears that had started to fall.
"I never saw the other car. I was drunk. I screwed up."
Faith closed her eyes, feeling his pain, knowing what was coming next.
"She was coming to see me. To apologize. For my screw up." His voice was filled with pain, bringing a tear to Faith's eye. "I killed the only person I ever loved. And this is my punishment. I'll spend eternity fixing other people's mistakes, because I couldn't fix mine. I'm opening their eyes, so they can be happy."
Reaching down, Faith touched one of his large hands, causing him to look at her again. "I tried to kill everything that made the love of *my* life happy. And I did it on purpose. But here, I haven't fucked up. Here, I have a chance. *Here*, I can be happy. Please let me stay."
Nodding, he clasped her hands in both of his, completely hiding her hands. "I'll see what I can do." With a smile, he stood up and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him.
* * * * * *
The next day was a Saturday, allowing Buffy to sleep later than usual, Faith comfortably wrapped in her arms. Gently shaking Faith awake, Buffy whispered her plans for the day in Faith's ear. "Let's have a picnic in the park." At Faith's smile, she got out of bed and quickly began to get ready.
An hour and a half later, Faith was dressed and on the futon while Buffy was looking for her car keys. "Okay," she said, pulling them from the bottom of her purse. "Let's go."
When they got to the park, Buffy set up the blanket before helping Faith out of the car. Faith insisted she could do it herself, but Buffy would hear none of it. None of Faith's injuries had healed in the last two weeks. Some had ever gotten worse. She had a severe limp, several cuts, and was almost completely covered in bruises. Lately, it seemed as if she would bruise at the slightest touch.
After making sure Faith was comfortable on the blanket, Buffy began to set up the picnic, pulling out their quickly-thrown-together lunch. There were chicken and turkey sandwiches, chips, a bowl of fruit, a small bowl of tomatoes, a sliced lemon for Faith, a thermos of iced tea for Buffy, and a fruit punch Powerade for Faith. Buffy had also packed a few Debbie cakes for dessert.
The day was beautiful. The sun was shining. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. They were surrounded by happy people, yet set apart to enjoy it by themselves. Even the ants had stayed away, leaving them with the perfect picnic. The slayers talked about everything and nothing, merely enjoying their time together. Faith even managed to stay awake the whole time.
After a few hours, though, Buffy noticed that Faith was having trouble focusing. With a smile, she rubbed Faith lightly on the back. "Let's go home, huh? We'll take a nice, warm bubble bath. Then, we can move the television into the bedroom and cuddle up in bed for the rest of the night. What do you say?"
Leaning into her girlfriend's touch, Faith nodded, a contented smile on her face.
"Okay," Buffy said quietly. After packing their picnic back up, she stood up, helping Faith back to the car. Putting the basket in the backseat, she slid into the driver's seat, making sure that both she and Faith were buckled in. Softly, she ran her fingers through the brunette's hair. "Are you okay?"
Nodding, Faith leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes at Buffy's touch. "I'm just really tired. That's all."
Leaning over, Buffy kissed the other slayer lightly on the lips before starting the car. "Well, just go to sleep, and we'll be home before you know it."
Nodding again, Faith closed her eyes, relaxing into her seat even further.
The trip back to their apartment took longer than Buffy expected, as she seemed to hit every red light in Sunnydale. After about twenty minutes, though, she pulled her car into its usual parking spot.
"Faith, we're home," she reported, opening her door as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Not receiving a response from her girlfriend, she leaned over. "Fa-aith. Wake up."
Still nothing.
Shaking Faith slightly, her voice became more worried. "Faith?" Leaning over further, Buffy placed her ear to her girlfriend's chest to hear… nothing. Closing her eyes, she let out a choked sob.
* * * * * *
"How many are my foes, Lord! How many rise against me! How many say of me, 'God will not save that one.' But you, Lord, are a shield around me; my glory, you keep my head high."
The priest's voice seemed to fade as he read from the Book of Psalms. The next thing Buffy knew, the funeral was over, and people were leaving. Not many had shown up to begin with. Other than the Scoobies, there had just been a few people from high school and college.
Willow, Xander, Tara, and Anya stood behind Buffy, along with Wesley and Cordelia, who had driven down for the funeral. Only Giles stood by Buffy's side. Even Joyce and Dawn had stepped back, allowing Buffy her grieving space.
Buffy stared down at the simple black casket, hoping that her girlfriend had finally found the painless peace she had been searching for. In her hand, the remaining slayer held a single rose, white and thornless. Bringing it up, she inhaled deeply, storing the smell in her brain. Then, placing a kiss on the rose, she laid it on the casket and walked away.
* * * * * *
Faith woke with a snap, sitting bolt upright in her bed. Looking around, she realized that she was back in her prison cell. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed. Before she had enough time to think about this, though, there was a cough from outside her cell. Looking up, she saw a familiar face looking back. Eyes darting to his uniform, Faith saw that his name badge read "Z. Pulliam."
Tall and lean, his muscles were visible under his uniform, but not in an excessive manner. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, his lips formed a constant half-smile, giving his looks a boyish charm. When he spoke, his voice was soft and warm, inviting the listener to feel comforted, no matter what was being said. "You've got a visitor, D'Amato." With a wink, he unlocked her door, preparing to escort her to the visitor's station.
Walking next to the guard, her thoughts were racing through her head. Was he 'K.B.'? Had it all been a dream? Should she ask him about it, or would he think she was crazy? Looking up at him, she had just about worked up her nerve, ready to ask him… something.
"Here you go," he said, his smile lighting up his entire face, his eyes included. And then he was gone, before Faith could form a single thought.
Turning away from him, she sat down at the cubicle and picked up the phone. Expecting to see the usual vampiric Angel, it was an understatement to say she was surprised at the sight before her. There, on the other side of the glass, was the woman of her dreams.
Blonde hair framing a slender face, with hazel eyes standing out, Buffy Summers was one of the last people she expected to see. And Faith D'Amato made sure to voice that. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a quietness and vulnerability that only assured Buffy more.
"Something told me I needed to come."
The End
A/N: Yeah, did I mention "Untamed Heart" is one of my favorite movies? I don't own the death scene, either.