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The Slayer	By : norwalker Category: BtVS AU/AR > FemmeSlash - Female/Female Views: 19613 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 29
- 30
- 31
The Slayer

By Norwalker

Part 30A of a multipart story.

Summary: What if Faith came first? If she were the slayer before
Buffy( if Buffy even became a slayer)? Just my take on what might have
happened. AU, of course.

Pairings: Not sure yet. You might be surprised.

Rating: M( R )

Disclaimer: Characters depicted in this story, except for
original characters created by the author, are the sole property of Mutant
Enemy, Fox and Joss Whedon.

1

"WAKE UP!"

Faith starts, looking around to get her bearings.

It's dim, there's hardly any light. But she knows this place.
It's familiar. She's been here before� she just can't remember when or why.

She hears a whoosh through the air, and ducks instinctively.

Just in time to avoid be decapitated by a large sword blade!

"What the fu�."

"Hold still, bitch," She hears a voice, a familiar but
can't quite place it voice snarl at her. "I need to take you out. You're
done!"

She hears something behind her, and she sees Angel, stand there,
vamped out.

"Angel?"

"Faith, look OUT!"

Faith ducks; the sword misses her. Barely. Again! She looks, and
sees Angel's head go flying through the air, and his body collapse into dust.

"ANGEL!"

"Hold the fuck still, demon, you're next!"

Faith whirls around, just in time to see the glint of a sword
coming at her. She dives, rolls and is back on her feet.

"What the fuck is you're problem?!" Faith yells at the
near invisible assailant.

"I hate vampires," Her assailant comes into the light.
"And, the skanky demons that protect them!"

"YOU!!!" Faith recognizes the person, but can't
believe it. "Who the HELL are you?"

"Your worst nightmare, bitch," She says, the sword
coming at Faith.

Faith ducks, and lunges at her opponent� and then, she's gone.
Her attacker disappears like a puff of smoke, and Faith, with no target, off
balance, falls into a heap.

"Maaan�" Faith grumbles, pushing herself up.
"Where the hell did she go? What's going ON around here? God, I hate all
this�"

She feels a touch on her shoulder, and instinctively, whirls and
slams a punch at whoever tapped her.

Which happens to be Bree. The fist goes right through her.

"What the hell?" Faith exclaims, backing up.
"What're YOU doing here?"

"Hi, happy to see you too, " Bree cracks, smirking.
"You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome."

"Where are we? What is this place? I know it, I've been
here before� and why is it, when it gets weird, you show up, anyway?"

"So many questions�" Bree shakes her head in
disbelief. "Of course you know this place. This is your dream, after all.
I'm just visiting here� look around, it'll come to you."

As if a flip has been switched, the room is suddenly filled with
light.

Faith looks around, her face stoic. She knows this place, all
right. She can never forget this place.

"This is�"

"Yeah, it is," Bree says shortly.

"� the crack house. Where you�"

"I know where it is, " Bree says impatiently.

Faith looks at her, frowning. "Why did you bring me
here?"

"Are you listening? I didn't 'bring you here'. You brought
you here, and dragged me along with."

"Yeah, well, that makes like zero sense," Faith's face
is hard, grim. "I hate this place. I don't wanna be here�"

"Maybe not�" Bree says, softly, "But I think you
never left�"

"That's crazy. No, you're crazy. Aw, fuck, everything is
crazy!� And it's always, things are
crazy, and there you are. You didn't answer that one. Why are you here?"

"You called me," Bree says, her face and voice calm.
It's only if you look closely at her eyes, that you see something else.

"Ok, and now, that's crazy too!" Faith exclaims. She
sits on an old box that is part of the 'd�cor' of the place. "I didn't
call you! God, I'd know if I called you. Know I was crazy, seeing you're
dead�"

Bree seems to appear next to her, kneeling. She puts a finger to
Faith's lips.

"Shhh, stupid. Not from here�" She moves her hand
down, touching Faith's chest. "Here. You called me from here."

Faith looks at her, startled. Her eyes are wide, shiny.

"I sometimes forget how pretty your eyes are," Bree
smiles. She shakes her head. "But this has got to stop. This is stupid,
and it has to stop."

Bree stands up, and moves away, not seeming to actually touch the
ground. She stands with her back to Faith.

"What're you talking about? Is this going to be more spooky
stuff? Because if it is, I'd really rather not go there, ok? Life's creepy
enough�"

"How would you know?" Bree asks, her voice sounding
hollow.

"What?"

"Life," She turns, looking at Faith.� Her face is a mixture of frustration and
sadness. "How would you know what it's about?"

"Well, duh. I�m alive� more than I can say about some
people here."

"Then why do you act like you're dead?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You know, I really fucked up my life, I mean totally
fucked up my life," Bree says, coming over to Faith. She reaches out,� grabbing her face and forcing it up.

"Hey! HEY!" Faith pulls away. "That hurt� wait,
how did you do that? You never did that before�"

"This is a dream, stupid.�
I'm as real here as you are� god�" She throws up her hands in
exasperation. "� Listen to me, would you, for once? Yeah, I screwed up my
life, bad. But thing is, until I died, up to the moment I died, I lived my
life. Get it?"

"No, I don't 'get it'. What're you trying to say?"

"Stop living your life like you died that night,
Faith. You walk around in a daze, you don't see what's around you. You don't
let anyone get really close. You keep pushing them away, when you need to have
them close. You can't keep banking on luck baby. It runs out eventually. And
yours is running out fast�"

Faith looks at her blankly.

"God you're so stupid sometimes. I used to think it was cute.
Now, I just think you don't want to think�" Bree takes Faith's hands.
"You're going to die if you don't get it together, Faith. You and those
you care about. Well, if you really do care about them�"

" You're nuts, you know that? Like this dream. It's just
another crazy dream�"

"I'm dead, Faith. I'm not coming back."

"Thanks for the newsflash. Oh, wait. I ALREADY KNOW
THAT!!!!"

"Yeah, but you don't believe it. And that's what killing
you� and is going to kill you�"

"STOP WITH THE CRYPTIC!" Faith yells, frustrated and
angry. She shoves Bree away, walking towards the window.� She looks out, but can't see anything.� She turns back to Bree, her voice calmer.
"If you got something to tell me, just tell me, ok?"

"Just think, Faith. " Bree says, coming over to her.
"Ever since that night, since you had to burn my body so I wouldn't �
become� a vampire � you've stopped
living. Sure, you breathe, eat and all the other stuff, but living? No. Every
time something goes wrong, or you're hurting, or whatever, you hide out
here�" She waves her arms around. "You call me, and I come, though
you don't see me, mostly.� But you can't
do it anymore. It's time to move on now, Faith. It's time to start living in
your life, and stop hiding from it."

"Shit, what do you want me to do? Get a chit from someone?
Life Anonymous? I'm living my life the best I can�"

"No, you're not. Not even close�" Bree reaches out,
touching her arm. "I remember how you told me over and over how much you
wanted a family. Never having one, that was everything to you�"

"Yeah, well, you were supposed to be part of that family,
you know?" Faith says, her tone a little bitter. "We know how that
worked out."

"Stop it, STOP IT!" Bree yells, "That's not going
to happen, and nothing can change that! "

Faith stands there, stunned.

"You have a family, you complete, utter moron, if you'd
only open your eyes and take what's given you. You have 4 people that care and
love you so much they can't imagine life without you. They would die for you,
with you, if that's what you need, and you're too damned wrapped up in your own
pain that you can't even see how much you have�"

"I'm expendable, Bree, don't you get it? I'm a Slayer. That
means my life is short, by calling, and my death will probably be brutal. How can
I ask anyone to share that? That's insane�"

"So you're life is short. That's the breaks, baby. Mine was
shorter, and I threw mine away. Don't throw yours away. Live it while you've
got it�"

"This is pointless, you know? It doesn't change anything. I'm
going to die, sooner than later, and nothing can change that�"

"Oh. So, it's ok then if your friends, your so-called
friends, die right along with you, then?"

"Shut UP! That's not going to happen. I won't let it
happen�"

"Unless you stop acting like you're acting, it's going to
happen, and soon. You need to be together now, all of you. Something bad, very
bad is coming. If you don't hold them tight, if you don't stop acting like
you're alone in this, then you can bet they'll all die. Giles, Willow, Xander,
and especially Cordelia�"

"You're lying! You don't know�"

"I know."

"I don't believe you!"

"He's been trying to keep you apart since you arrived,
Faith. Can't you see that? He can't defeat you if you're together, all of you.
But if you let him split you apart, then they , and you, will die. It's simple
as that�"

"He's too fucking strong. He made mincemeat outta me. How
am I supposed to beat him, if I can't even touch him?"

"He uses fear. Fear and doubts, against you. He's strong,
but he's not as strong as you think, or even as strong as he thinks. You can do
it�"� Her image starts to fade.
"� but not alone. You can't be alone anymore. It's time to live again,
Faith�"

"Bree, what the � don't go!" Faith tries to grab Bree,
but she can't hold her.

"We're done here� it's time to wake up now, Faith. Before
it's too late�"

And before the next beat of her heart, the room suddenly becomes
blindingly white. She can't see anything, all she knows is that she hurts.
Hurts all over. Everything hurts.

Faith opens her eyes.

2

"Hey. This is Faith's phone. Leave a message."

"Why don�t you answer?" Cordelia says into the phone,
knowing no one is listening. "Why don't you talk to me? How many times do
I have to say I'm sorry? Why don't you answer me?" Her tone gets angry, a
little belligerent. " How stubborn can you get, anyway?" Her tone
changes, becomes softer. "Please, I'm scared here� talk to me!" She
sounds almost desperate now "Please?"

She snaps the phone shut. She lays on her bed, staring at it, as
if it slapped her.

She's scared. More scared than she's ever been in her life.� Her life. Her whole life has flipped upside
down.

How can things go so damned crazy in one day? She mourns
to herself, quickly glancing at the door, and the chair she put under the
handle of the door to keep it from being opened. My whole life has gone
Alice in Wonderland in one stupid day�.

And she was tired. Exhausted, physically and mentally.
Emotionally wiped out. Moving was hard. Thinking was hard. Even breathing was
an effort. All she wanted to do was close her eyes, and sleep.

But she couldn't. She couldn't sleep, knowing what she knew. Not
in this house. Not now. Not with him anywhere� everywhere, not knowing if he
might not come in and �

What? Do what? He's my dad. He's not going to�.

But the look in his eyes. She can't forget that look. It was
definitely un- Dad like.

Still, her eyes are heavy. So heavy. Just wanna sleep�just
for a minute�.

No, gotta� gotta� She stares at the phone, stupid. Gotta
talk to her�

She dials the phone.

"Hey. This is Faith's phone�.�

SHIT!

Her head, feeling like lead, lowers on the bed. She stares out,
her eyes gradually closing.

Just for a minute�

Her eyes close.

* * *

"Get in there!"

Joyce, still firmly gripping Buffy, almost tosses her into her
room. She slams the door behind them.

"What is your problem?" Buffy almost snarls, feeling
anger and humiliation well up in her.

"MY problem?" Joyce asks, sounding incredulous. "
MY problem?" She repeats. "I'm not the one acting like an eight year
old brat! What is your �problem,
young lady? I raised you better than the way you acted downstairs
tonight!"

"Oh, right, what did you expect? After you dropped a nuke
at the table there�?"

"You could've acted more like a grown up�"

"Oh right. "So, you're going to marry, well, isn't
that just swell. Pass the potatoes?"

"No, of course not. But you could've been a little less
nasty�"

"I get it. I should've done back flips. Because you're marrying
Mr. Creepy for his money�"

WHACK!!!

Joyce slaps Buffy hard across her face.

Buffy stands there, in shock. She can't remember a time when her
mother ever hit her.� Not like that, not
across the face.

"You shut UP!" Joyce yells, her voice rising.
"How dare you? Mr. Chase has been more than kind to us; certainly more
than you deserve! I can't believe how� well, things are changing around
here!" She grabs Buffy, and hauls her across the room, tossing her on the
bed. "I'm tired of you being such a spoiled, ungrateful child. I don't
like punishing you, but it's pretty obvious you need to be punished. A lot�
"

Buffy, though she could obviously pick Joyce up and throw her
out a window, is so shocked by her mother's behavior, she doesn't resists, but lies
there while Joyce starts to tear at her clothing. She finally starts to wriggle
away.

"What're you doing?"

"I'm going to tan your bottom, young lady. I think you need
to learn exactly who's in�"

Suddenly, Joyce stops. She straightens up, and for a moment a
look of confusion covers her face. She looks at Buffy, as if seeing her for the
first time in a long time.

"Buffy? What�?"

Buffy, again thrown by the sudden change, stares at her mother.

Until� her eyes roll up
in her head, and she collapses onto the floor.

"MOM!" Buffy, scared, leaps off the bed and goes to
her.

But moving is difficult. Almost impossible. It's like moving
through glue. She can barely make her muscles work, and she sinks down beside
her mother, exhausted and sweating.

"What's � happening here�"

Then she fades out, her eyes falling shut.

* * *

Cornell sits quietly in his study, hands resting on the desk,
palms down. In front of him is a large crystal, blue in color with a slightly
blue purple glow emanating from its center.�
His look is a study of perfect concentration.

He raises his head, just a hair, and closes his eyes. He seems
to be testing the air, and whatever he discovers seems to please him. He smiles
briefly, then opens his eyes. Standing, he takes the crystal in hand, and walks
over to his bookshelves. Pressing a small, hidden lever, a group of books pop
out, revealing a safe. He places the crystal inside, and closing the door,
spins the lock. He replaces the books, and returns to his desk.

"Better," He murmurs calmly, staring off into space.

He's calmed the house, casting a powerful sleep spell. Everyone
except himself will sleep for the remainder of the night, and wake the next
morning,� calm and refreshed.
Remembering little of the previous evening.

He needs that. Something has gone wrong, terribly wrong, and he
needs to think. To plan and adjust.

Both his daughters rebelling so violently tonight has thrown
him.

Buffy is an unknown, and her reaction, while more extreme than
he cared for, was somewhat expected. He could deal with that.

It was Cordelia that threw him. Her reaction was most
unexpected.

Unexpected, and unwelcome.

He had quietly encouraged her relationship with the slayer, a way
for him to keep his eyes on her. To make sure that she was off balance when he
put his plan into effect.

What he hadn't counted on was the depth of feeling she had for
the girl in return. That was � just wrong.

He wasn't sure he could fix it, though he would try in the
ensuing days. But he also knew he had to plan a contingency. Just in case.

But what? Part of my plan depends on her� and now she's not
fully under control. Not like before�

And yet again, somehow, the Powers that Be seem to be thwarting
him through their instrument. Their 'slayer'.

He looks up, an ugly expression on his face.

Do whatever you like, you morons. But your time is done. It's
my time now, OUR time. And you will be nothing, hear me? You're done�

But he still feels that twinge of fear.

He has to take care of it, somehow. And soon.

He hears the phone ring, but ignores it. Whoever is calling can
wait. He has more important things to do right now.

He has to plan, to think.

3

Faith squeezes her eyes
shut quickly.

Bright, too bright,
too� bright�

She slowly opens them,
realizing after a little that the lights are actually lowered in her room to
promote her resting. Still, her eyes react as if the room is fully lit, and it
takes a moment to focus on her environment. Once she does, she groans.

Oh man, not again� she mourns, realizing she's once again in
the hospital. She slowly looks around the room; not so much from pain, but
because she feels week as a newborn kitten. Somehow, even the act of moving her
head is tiring, and she feels a strong urge to drop off back to sleep.

Must be the drugs, she thinks, realizing that she should be
feeling lots of� pain, and isn't. That
and the fact her thinking is fuzzy, and she can't for the life of her remember
what she was dreaming� she knows it was important� something involving � Shit� I'll think of it�

Her gaze wanders over,
and for the first time she notices a large window cut in the wall of her room.
More, she sees, somewhat indistinctly, some shapes at the window. People shapes,
pressing close to the glass as if looking in at her. �Hmmm� I'm an exhibit now. " Hey folks, come and see the
freak, the one and only slayer, laid low by some vampire�" Crap, some
vampire� that's what I'm supposed to kick ass. How'd he do this�? Geeze,
they're still standing there, staring at me. Why don't they go away? Don't they
believe in like, privacy or anything?

She strains to get a
better look at her observers, but then decides it isn't worth it. �Ah,
who cares� tired now� gotta sleep�

She settles back into
her cloud as her eyes slowly drift shut.

* * *

"Look, she's
awake!"

Willow presses closer
to the glass, trying to get a better look in the subdued light.

"Will, her eyes
are closed," Xander, standing next to her observes.

"Yeah, now, but
they were open� and she moved her head!"

"She's been moving
restlessly for awhile now," Giles, the third party at the observation
window pronounces. "I think she might be dreaming."

"Yeah,"
Xander agrees. "She's probably just dreaming�"

"No, she turned
her head. She looked at me. I know it. I saw her eyes�"

"Willow�"
Xander says gently, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe you just
thought you saw her look at you."

"Xander, don't
patronize me!" Willow says, a little irritated. "I know what I
saw."

"Ok, ok � "
Xander smiles, knowing now wasn't a good time to challenge her. He puts his arm
around her, and she leans into him. "She doesn't look real good, does
she?"

"Well, she just
got beaten up. What do you expect?" Willow rejoins.

But she knows what he
means. She looked awful; small, weak and helpless. It was heart wrenching.

And speaking of hearts,
she knew deep in hers, that someone else needed to be here. Because when Faith
woke up, she would need to see this person. It would lift her spirits, and that
was more important than� anything right
now.

Even if she didn�t like
it.

Willow slips her hand
into her coat, and pulls out her cell.

"What're you
doing?" Xander asks, noting her phone.

"I need to call
someone."

"Now?"

"Yes, now�"
Willow flips open her phone, but Xander stops her, pointing at a sign.

No cell phones allowed
in ICU.

"Damn, what the
heck?"

"I dunno, but
there must be a reason. And � I don't want to get kicked out because you need
to make a call� now�" Xander says, still not getting it.

"Fine,
whatever�" Willow heads for the exit.

"HEY!"

"I told you,
Xander. I have to make a call. Now. It's important."

She pushes out through
the double doors, and moving a little down the hallway, opens her cell. She dials
a number.

"What city,
please?"

"Sunnydale,
California. I need the listing for Cornell Chase�"

4

"What?"

Cordelia snorts, coughs, and sits up in her bed.

She looks around, squinting a little in the morning light. �Morning? When did that happen?

Getting up, she stands very still for a moment, feeling groggy
and disoriented. Her eyes feel hot and grainy, and her vision is a little
blurry. She rapidly blinks her eyes a few times to clear them.

She stumbles over to her vanity, her legs feeling a little weak
and rubbery. Peering into the mirror, she makes a face. God, I look like a
truck hit me� about 4 times� she makes a face at herself in disgust, then
straightens up. Her clothes are irreparably wrinkled; her silk blouse looks
like it might be torn.� She looks over
at the bed, noting that the covers haven't been pulled back. They're just
rumpled and messy, as if she slept on them.

She is about to sit down to think about this when she notices
her chair is missing. Looking around again, she sees it wedged under the
door.� "Why the hell did I do
that?" She grumbles, going over to retrieve it.

Putting it back by her vanity, she plops down on the chair, and
leans back, trying to figure out exactly what's going on.

She thinks hard, as her brain still feels foggy. Last night� and for a moment she draws a blank. Then slowly it comes back to her.
The dinner, the fight, her father giving her hell, and the bombshell.

"Oh, crap,"
She moans. She remembers that the nut job of guest living next door isn't a
guest. She's her sister� Half
sister, but that's still way too much�

And that her father is
going to marry Buffy's mom.

On top of the rest of
yesterday, it's just the cherry on her crap sundae. It was the worst day of her
life, so why shouldn't she find out that other crap, too? It couldn't get more perfect, she thinks, sardonically.

Sighing, she stands up.
That was yesterday, and now I've
gotta deal with today. And I feel like crap. Great. On top of everything else,
I'm probably getting sick, too. Crap, crap, crap.

For a brief moment, she
looks longingly at her bed. She wants to crawl under the covers, pull them over
her head, and just forget everything.�
Sleep, and hope she wakes up out of this nightmare�

Shaking her head, she
walks to her bureau instead. If there's anything her father has taught her, you
face problems head on� running away doesn't make them go away.

He's probably thinking
I'll go down there, all apologetic and weak, and of course just give in. Well,
not going to happen! If that's what he thinks, he's gotta another think coming.

She's a Chase, after
all.� She's got her pride, and there's
no way she's going to let him think she's whipped. She may lose this one, but
she's not going to be bullied into being some kind of weak little nothing.

Bluff it out. Pretend like
nothing's happened. What can he do? Yell at me? Well, not like I haven't been
yelled at before. If he's gonna dish it, I can take it.

Feeling better about herself,
she grabs some underwear and heads for the bathroom, whistling a little tune.

Even so, she has the
odd feeling she's forgetting something. Something important. But she dismisses
it. If its that important, I'll
remember it soon enough.

She disappears through
the bathroom door.

5

Three quarters of an hour later finds her on the stairs, heading
down towards the dining room.

She feels a lot better. The shower and fresh clothes have worked
wonders. While she still feels the tiniest bit off, more or less she's herself
again. What was I so worried about, anyway? God, just go in there, pretend
everything's normal� well, as normal as it can be� and get through it.� I mean, what's the big, anyway? So, I've got
a new spaz sister. Not like I really have to hang with her. And Joyce? Well,
when she isn't in her own little world, I guess she's nice enough� and anyway,
in a year? I'm outta here, at college. Far, far, away. Or maybe Europe. If I
play this right, maybe I can hang in Europe� yeah, that would be sweet� ok,
then. Go play nice, and see how you can turn this around to your advantage�

A sudden thought occurs to her. What about Faith? Are you
going to go off and leave her, too?

What about her? I mean, after last night, those things she
said about my dad? I'm just supposed to take that? C'mon, that's bogus. And
anyway, last night when I was calling her� where was she? She didn�t even
bother to return my voicemails. Not even one! So, if she's going to be that
way, well, forget her, too! �I
don't need her, do I? She's not like the boss of me�

She sighs. Ah heck, I'll figure something out. Right now, I
want to figure out how to get through breakfast, ok?

She turns the corner, and heads towards the dining room.� Glancing up, she stops. Hit by a sudden strong
feeling of D�j� vu.

Except for the lighting, everything looks the same as last
night. Everyone is in the same place, and somehow, she gets a small case of the
heebie jeebies. �Don't be stupid.
It's just breakfast with the fam� however disgusting that might be! Still,
she pauses, considering just turning around and forgetting about breakfast. Not
like it'd kill me. I could use to lose a few. And maybe I could go find Faith
and give her an earful for not calling me�

Turning, she's about to leave when a voice from the dining room
stops her in her tracks.

"Cordelia?" Cornell calls out to her

Crap!

She turns around, plastering on her patented charming smile, and
looks in at her father.

"Hey, Dad," She says, keeping her voice light.

"Aren't you going to have breakfast?"

"I thought I'd skip it, actually. I mean," she shrugs.
"I've got a lot to do this morning, and I thought I'd grab something
later�"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm sure whatever important thing
you've got to do can wait a few minutes until you've eaten breakfast."

"But, Dad�" Cordelia says, impatiently.

"Cordelia, I don't think asking you to delay your social
life to spend a little time with your family at breakfast is too much, do
you?"

It didn't sound like a question so much as a command. Sit down
and eat. Or else.

"No, I guess not, " Cordelia sighs heavily, making her
way into the dining room. She knows better than to defy her dad when he gives a
command. Even if it's not obvious he's done so.

She notices almost immediately an undercurrent in the room, a
tension she can't quite put her finger on. She sits at her usual place, facing
her father, and looks around the table.

She notes Buffy is staring down at her plate, not even
acknowledging her presence. Oh, like that's new. Look up rude in the
dictionary. Her picture's by it.

Joyce, on the other hand, also seems oblivious. But not because
of rudeness. She seems a little oblivious of her surroundings.

Is she using a new moisturizer, or something? I swear, she
looks � younger� all the time. Maybe it�s the lighting�

Arthur, carrying a plate, enters from the kitchen and puts a
plate down in front of her. She looks down at it, and her stomach turns over. The
last thing she wants right now is food. Still, with her father watching her
like a hawk, she forces herself to take a bite of food.

Looking up, she sees Cornell staring at her. The intensity of
his gaze gives her a small case of the nerves.

"What?" She says, finally, after swallowing something
essentially tasteless. "Is something wrong?"

"You mean, other than that outfit?" Buffy cracks,
chuckling to herself.

That seems to bring Joyce out of her reverie. "Buffy
Summers. That's rude. Apologize!"

Cordelia, because she is looking at her thinking up a rejoinder,
notices the furtive look Buffy gives her mother. She lowers her eyes back to
her plate. "I'm sorry�" not sounding the least sorry.

"Hey, it's no big," Cordelia says, "I mean, I can
always change my outfit. What ever are you going to do with that face?"

"Cordelia, that's enough!" Cornell says, not sounding
at all happy.

"Sorry, but she started it!"

"And that means you have to finish it?"

"Ok, I said I'm sorry!" Cordelia says, her irritation
plain. She looks down at her food, not really wanting to be within miles of
here.

"Do you two have to always do this?" Cornell sounds
aggrieved. "Can't you try to get along?"

"I try, I really try�" Buffy says, not looking up.
"But she makes it nearly impossible�"

"Me? Oh, I suppose it was ME that wrote Dyke on my locker
yesterday?"

"Well, you are, aren't you? I mean, you're out and proud
and all that crap, right?"

"Buffy!"� Joyce
sounds genuinely shocked. "How could you? That's a terrible thing to
do!" She turns to Cordelia, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry,
Cordelia. I raised her to know better than that. I simply don't understand her,
sometimes." She turns back to Buffy. "As for you, I think we'll need
to have another discussion� after breakfast. Obviously the last one didn't sink
in�"

Buffy blanches. Even�
Cordelia can't help noting the look of distress in her face.

"Joyce� Mrs. Summers, it's ok, really. I� she's right, I
guess I am gay, or something. Don't make a deal about it�"

"That doesn�t give her a right to do hurtful things!"
Joyce says, her tone firm. "How can you, Buffy? She's your sister, after
all�."

Buffy mumbles something to herself.

"What?" Joyce says, clearly getting more upset.
"I didn't hear you, young lady."

"I said," Buffy looks up, defiantly. "That's not
MY fault!"

"Ok, that's enough!"

Cornell, even though he doesn't shout, seems to silence the
room. The three women all look a bit cowed. None of them, even Joyce, look
directly at him.

"You two �" He looks at Buffy and Cordelia.
"You're simply going to have to make an effort to get along.� Especially you, Cordelia�"

"Me?" Cordelia sounds put upon. "What did I
do?"

"It's not what you did, young lady. It's your attitude. I
know I raised you better than the way you're acting. As I told you last night,
like it or not,� we're a family, and
going to be a family."

"Cornell�" Joyce starts.

"Joyce, let me handle this, ok?"

Joyce nods, and seems to withdraw a little.

Cornell sighs, and putting his hands on the table, stands up. He
leans over, looking at both his girls.

"Now, look. I know this is new for both of you, and well,
after talking with Joyce for some time last night, we came to the conclusion
that we handled the news badly. We should've prepared you better, but well� we
both thought you'd be happy for us�" He shakes his head. "I guess we
were wrong on that, eh, Joyce?"

"Hmmm? Yes, wrong," Joyce agrees, sounding a little
distant.

"Still, I think you could be a little less� childish about
this. I know you're always telling me how you're an adult now, Cordelia. Well,
maybe I'd believe you more if you actually acted like one�"

Cordelia looks at her plate, blushing.

"� and Buffy, I know this is very unsettling for you. I
mean, with all the instability in your life lately. Your mom divorcing Hank,
and you moving up here from Los Angeles�"

"My dad," Buffy says quietly.

"What?"

"Not 'Hank', my dad," Buffy says, her mouth tight.
"You might be my Bio father, but he� Hank� is my dad�"

"Yes, I know. I wish things could've been different, and I
were 'your dad' but�" he shrugs. "It wasn't. And I don't want to
interfere with your relationship with Hank� your dad," He amends.
"I've contacted Hank, and I'm making arrangements so he and you can get
together on a regular basis. How's that?"

She looks at him suspiciously. "Really? Why?"

"I know he means a lot to you, and that means a lot to me.
I want you to realize that I'm not an ogre, trying to cut your dad out of your
life. I just hope that someday, you'll let me be a part of it too."

"Oh," Buffy says, sounding a little mollified.
"Ok�"

Cordelia watches this scene, not sure what to make of all this.
Somehow, despite his words ,she can't help but feel something's off here. �Paranoid much? God, he's just trying to
smooth this over. Give him a chance!

"Cordelia?"

"Hmmm? What?" She suddenly realizes her father is
looking at her. "What?"

"Honey, last night? I said some things I regret, ok? I know
I should've done this better.� And I know
you still miss your mom, but � maybe we could try, ok? Please, sugarpop? I
really want this to work."

Cordelia can't help feeling a little like a heel. He's trying
here, you know?

"Look, Dad? I'm sorry, too. I mean, you did kind of throw
me for a loop last night�" she looks at Joyce, then Buffy, then back to
her dad. "And I guess I can try, too, ok? I don't want to fight. Really I
don't."

"That's my girl" Cornell smiles.� He stands up, and walks over to Joyce,
laying his hands on her shoulders. "You see, Joyce? I knew it'd be all
right."

"Yes, you did; didn't you Cornell?" Joyce says,
smiling up at him.

And again, Cordelia feels a little clench in her stomach. Oh,
please. Don't even tell me you're jealous of her! That's just stupid� and a
little sick!

"Buffy? How about you? Can you try too?" Joyce asks,
looking at her daughter. "I really want you to be happy. All of us to be
happy."

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Buffy shrugs, not committing to
anything. "I mean, whatever."

"Excellent!" Cornell beams, squeezing Joyce's
shoulders. "Perfect!"� He
removes his hands from Joyce, and reaches into his pockets. "I got
something for the both of you. It's not a bribe� not really�" He chuckles,
pulling two small boxes out his coat pocket. "But I wanted you to have these.
They� belonged to my mother, and I'm
hoping they will make you feel more part of this family we're creating."
He walks over, and sets a box down by Cordelia's plate, then circles around
her, and puts one by Buffy's.� Not
stopping, he returns to the head of the table. "Well. Go ahead, open
them."

Cordelia opens her box, and looks inside.

Lying on a bed of white wrapping paper is a long serpentine
necklace, made of twisted gold and platinum threads. Hanging from it is a large
red emerald cut stone. It is translucent except for the center, which is in the
shape of a star, and seems to almost glow.

Cordelia picks it up, and a sense of serenity fills her body.
She stares at the stone, almost unable to look away.

"Wow!"

Cordelia, startled, looks up to see Buffy holding a ring. It has
a stone the same color as the one in her necklace, and it too has a star
patterned center.� Buffy seems to be
staring at the stone in awe.

"Do you like them?" Cornell asks, a note of hope in
his tone.

"They're� lovely, dad," Cordelia says, her eyes drawn
once again to the stone.

"They belonged to your grandmother. She wore them all the
time. I hope you'll wear them too.� So
you remember you're family�"

Buffy smiles, and slips the ring on her finger. "Thank you.
It's very�lovely."

"I'm glad you like it," Cornell looks over at
Cordelia. "Do you need help with that?"

At that moment, Arthur enters the room.

Cornell looks a little cross at the interruption. "What is
it, Arthur?"

"There's a phone
call, sir. The caller says it's rather urgent�"

"I told you to
hold my calls, didn't I Arthur? I'm rather busy with my family at the
moment�"

"Yes, sir. But the
phone isn't for you. It's for Miss Cordelia."

Cordelia's head snaps
up. A moment later, she's on her feet. She has let the necklace slip back into
the box.

"Cordelia?"
Cornell doesn't sound very pleased.

"You heard Arthur,
dad. It's urgent�"

"I'm sure whatever
it is can wait until�"

"Cornell? Let her
go," Joyce says, quietly. "Everything is urgent to a girl at that
age."

For a brief moment,
there's a flash of anger across Cornell's features. He quickly dismisses it,
and crosses over to Cordelia.

"Very well. But
let me help you with the necklace, first. I'm sure whatever it is, it'll wait
one more minute�"

Cornell picks the
necklace out of the box, and slips it around Cordelia's neck. Somehow, the
whole 'ritual' makes her a little queasy. But she doesn't protest, and he
fastens it quickly.

"There�perfect,"
Cornell says, smoothly. "It looks very good on you�"

"Thanks,
Dad," She says, touching his arm. She looks towards the door. "I've
gotta�"

"Go ahead,"
He says, slightly amused.

She smiles
apologetically, but uses the call as an escape from this somewhat, to her mind,
Daliesque scene. Rushing through the doorway, she hurries down the hall towards
the phone.

"Hello?"

"Where have you
been?" The voice on the other end grills her, sounding annoyed.

"Uh, excuse me?
Who is this?"

"It's
Willow!" Willow snaps, " Where the heck have you been?"

"Well, good
morning to you too," Cordelia replies, somewhat coolly. "Did someone
get out of bed on the wrong side, or what? Did you call just to ruin my
day?"

There's a brief pause,
and Cordelia can almost hear Willow counting to 10 to herself. Well, maybe you'll be a little less rude
next time!

"I've been trying
to cal you all night. Do you people ever even pick up a phone around
there?"

"Excuse me, but
I've been here all night, and no phone has rung�"

A sigh, followed by something
said that she can't hear.

"Well, I've been
calling this number!" Willow insists. "Anyway, I thought you'd like
to know� but maybe not."

"Know�?"
Cordelia finds herself growing irritated. "Can we stop the 20 questions,
and just cut to the chase?"

There's another pause. �OH,
for god's sake, what is with this girl?

"Faith's in the
hospital�"

Cordelia suddenly feels
dizzy. She leans over, grasping hard onto the phone stand, her knees weak.

"What? In the
hospital? Where, what happened? Why didn't you tell me straight off?" She
barks into the phone, her tone belying the rising sick feeling she's having.

"If you would give
me a chance�" Willow's tone changes from�
irritated to slightly hostile.

"I'm sorry, I'm
sorry," Cordelia says contritely. "Why didn't you call me
sooner?"

"I told you,"
Willow repeats, as if to a slow child. "I've been trying to reach you all
night. No one was answering the phone�"

A sudden chill creeps
up Cordelia's back. She remembers vaguely a phone ringing, but she thought at
the time it was only a dream�

"Well, you must've
been dialing incorrectly," She covers, her skin feeling a little
crawly.� She remembers how angry she was
last night when Faith didn't answer her cell. �Oh my god, she must've�

"Look, believe me,
I didn't want to call you," Willow's temper snaps. "But Faith is
hurt, badly, and I thought you being here? Might help. However, if it�s too
inconvenient for you�"

"I'M SORRY,
OK?" Cordelia shouts back, last night, this morning, and the bomb being dropped
on her breaking her overstretched nerves. " God, do you have to be such a
biotch, anyway?"

Another pause, and
Cordelia can almost hear Willow breathing hard on the phone.

"Look, I've been
up all night, and my temper isn't too good. I'm sorry," Willow says, not
sounding all that sorry. "If you think you can make the time, could you
come down here? I think she'd like that� when she wakes up�"

"Stop being an
ass, Willow,"� Cordelia snaps back,
hurt by Willow's tone. "Of course I'll be there as soon as possible. Where
IS there?"

"Sunnydale
General. Just get here as soon as you can, ok?"

"Ok, fine, I
will!" Cordelia feels defensive, and more than� a little guilty.

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Cordelia hangs up the
phone with a bang.

She stands there for a
moment, trying to pull herself together. She notices her hands are shaking.

"Cordelia?"

She almost jumps out of
her skin, and whirls around to see her father in the doorway, looking at her.

"God, can you
scare me a little more, please?" She snaps, her nerves once again giving
out.

"What's
wrong?" Cornell comes to her, seeing her agitation.

"It's�" She
hesitates, then gives into her natural instinct and rushes to her father,
slipping into his arms. She starts to cry.

"Cordelia?" Cornell,
somewhat confused, holds her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Faith� "
Cordelia sobs quietly, clinging to him. "She's in the hospital. She's been
hurt�"

"Faith? That's
your friend?"

Cordelia nods, still crying.

"Well, of course,
you need to go to her," Cornell says, sounding reasonable. "I'll
drive you�"

"NO!" She
pulls away, last night, and all of it rushing back to her. "I� I'm ok, I
just� it was a shock. I'm sorry� I'll �I just need to go now�"

"I see�"
Cornell says. "Still, I don't like you being alone. Maybe Buffy could go
with you�"

"NO!" God, the last thing I need is the evil
munchkin from hell with me!

"Don't be
ridiculous, Cordelia. You're obviously upset. Someone should go with you. In
your state, you might have an accident� get hurt�"

"I'm fine, Dad,
ok?" Cordelia straightens up, shaking off her tears. " Faith and
Buffy� don't get along too well. I don't think it would be good if she were
there�"

"I see�" He
repeats. "Does this 'friend' of yours get along with anybody?"

"DAD!"

"I'm sorry, I'm
sorry," Cornell holds up his hands. "Just, from what Buffy told me
last night, she seems rather� peculiar. I mean, she tried to break into the
house and terrorized the servants and if not for�"

"Buffy� is
slightly � no, make that, majorly wrong herself, " Cordelia says, her
expression hardening. "Maybe if she weren't such a total �"

"Ok, that's
enough, Cordelia." Cornell's expression hardens. "I wonder if
associating with this person is such a good idea�"

"Dad�"
Cordelia's tone grows angry. "Don't even think it."

"I don't like her.
Not from what I've heard!"

"I'm going,
Dad�" Cordelia turns, planning to walk away.

Cornell grabs her arm,
stopping her. He turns her around.

"Cordelia."

"I'm going,
now." She stands there, staring him down.

Cornell sees the
defiance in her ,and for a moment feels the rage rise in himself. It takes a
moment, but he pushes it down.

"I'm sorry, dear,
I'm just concerned about you. That's what fathers do, they worry."

Cordelia backs down,
taking a cue from his tone.

"I'm sorry too,
daddy, " She says, softly. "But I'm going."

"Of course, be
with your friend. I understand�" He pats her on the shoulder. "Just,
be careful, ok?"

Cordelia looks at him,
and then turns, walking away.

He watches her go, and
she doesn't see the slightly amused but tight smile on his face.

Well, well, isn't this
interesting? The slayer, in the hospital. Mr. Spike must've done his job too
well� I think I'm going to have to talk to that vampire. Seems he gets a little
too eager, sometimes. He could very well have ruined everything� and that just
wouldn't do�

Hurry up, dear child. Go
be with your sweet girl friend. Yes, we wouldn't want her to be alone now, not
when she's ailing, would we? I just wonder, how will she feel when she realizes
that you're going to be the final piece in her destruction. I can hardly wait
to see the look on her face�

Whistling a happy
little tune, he turns and walks towards the dining room.

* * *

Cordelia grabs her coat,
ready to head for the door. She stops for a moment, feeling somehow off. She
looks down at the necklace around her neck, glowing faintly as it hangs on her
chest.

Something about it, all
of it, disturbs her. The necklace herself makes her feel off, strange. Her gaze
seems to lock on it, and for a few moments she seems to slip sideways,
elsewhere.

Something inside her,
something deep and primitive, and dark, responds to the stone. For a moment,
she almost relishes the feeling. A feeling of power, of ultimate pleasure
unburdened by civilized notions of right or wrong or anything.

And something else is
repulsed by this feeling, and that something right now is ascendant.

Suddenly, the necklace
bothers her, more than she can even express. It takes a strong act of will, but
she reaches behind herself, and undoes the clasp. She takes off the necklace,
and pockets it.

She immediately feels
better, more 'herself'. For a moment, she pauses, wondering exactly why that is
so.

Then she shakes it off.
Faith is hurt, in the hospital, and she doesn't have time for this. She'll
figure this out, but not now.

Later.

6

It�s half an hour after
the call that Xander comes out from the ICU unit, checking on Willow. Again.

He finds her leaning
against the wall, staring at her phone. Her grip on it gives him a clue that
she's not exactly happy.

"Did you get ahold
of Cordelia?" He asks, hesitantly.

"Yeah�"
Willow says, her tone not all that happy. "Finally."

"Really?"
Xander says, coming over and standing by her. "Did she say where she's
been?"

"Don't ask,"
Willow looks up.

�Xander sees the anger in her eyes, and his
stomach turns over. Oh, man.

"What
happened?" He asks, maybe not really wanting to know.

"What is that
girl's trauma, anyway? You'd think she'd be grateful I even called her to tell
her. Instead, she nearly bites my head off.�
And she's got a nerve, being all huffy and puffy after not answering her
phone all night!"

"Well, you know
Queen C," Xander says, using a light tone. Trying to defuse the situation.
"She's not know for being big on the grateful�"

"She didn't have
to be rude, Xander!" Willow huffs, "You'd think she want to know. But
she acted like it was some big inconvenience. Gosh, I hope we didn't interrupt
her tennis lesson with Pedro or something�" The acid drips.

"Willow�"

"Stop defending
her, Xander!"

"I wasn't
defending her!" Xander shoots back, growing irritated.

The duty nurse looks up
from her desk, questioningly.

Xander leads Willow a
little down the hall, away from the nurse.

"I wasn't
defending her," Xander repeats, in a lower tone. "but maybe you need
to lighten up�"

"WHAT?"

The nurse looks up
again, clearly annoyed.

Xander grabs Willow,
and leads her back into the ICU unit.

"What?"
Willow lowers her voice. "look, I wasn't the one that got all bent when
she started being snarky with me. God, I wouldn't even have called her, except
I thought Faith would want her to be here when she woke up� and now you're
getting on me about it!"

"I'm not getting
on you about anything," Xander says firmly, cutting her off. "but you
gotta get a clue about this, Willow. Maybe she handles these kind of things
differently, you know? I mean, you did rather drop a bomb on her� she didn't
know Faith was in the hospital. So maybe you should try being a little more
understanding�"

"Understanding my
butt, Xander!" Willow's mouth tightens. "I think she's just a
spoiled, pampered little�"

She's interrupted when
there's a� bang of doors behind them.
They turn to see Cordelia rushing forward through the ICU unit.

"Uh oh, Hurricane
Cordelia has landed�" Xander cracks.

" Miss!
MISS!" A duty nurse steps out from behind the desk, blocking Cordelia's
way.

"I'm here to see
Faith Lehane. Where is she? The woman at the receiving desk said she was in
ICU."

The nurse reaches over
the counter, and snagging her clipboard, checks her patient roster.

"Yes, she's
here." She affirms.

"So, where is she?
I want to see her!" Cordelia says, a touch of impatience in her tone.

"Visiting hours
isn't for another couple of hours, Miss."

"I just heard
about her being hurt. I came right over!"

"I understand, but
�."

"I need to see
her!"

The duty nurse pauses,
and looks at her clipboard. "Are you related to the patient?"

"What?"

"Are you
family?"

"Yes."

"Immediate
family?"

Cordelia stares at her
blankly.

"Are you perhaps
her sister?"

"What? No, that's
just sick!"

It's the nurses turn to
be confused.

"We're� we� well,
we're a � couple."

"I see," The
nurse intones, "I'm sorry, but visitation is limited to immediate
family�"

Huh? That blows!

Cordelia looks towards
the ICU rooms, and notices Giles, Willow and Xander. She looks back at the
nurse.

"Immediate family,
huh? Well, what about them?" She points at the three of them.

The nurse follows where
she's pointed, and her face flushes. She goes over to where the trio is
standing.

"Excuse me, but
what exactly are you doing here? Visiting hours is over!"

The three stand looking
at her, a little confused and guilty. When they had come in, there had been no
one at the desk, and they had just found Faith. They had been here ever since.

"I'm sorry,"
Giles says, quietly. "When we came in, there was no one at the desk. We
saw our friend lying here, so �"

"You're not
family?"

"Well, strictly
speaking, no�"

"You have to
leave."

"But�"

"You have to
leave," The nurse says, firmly. "Visiting in ICU is restricted to
immediate family."

Giles feels impatience
building inside him.

"That's absurd,
miss. The young woman�" he indicates Faith."� has no immediate family."

"That doesn't
matter, I'm afraid. It's the rules. You'll have to leave."

"We are her� family!" Xander speaks up. "We've
got a right to be here!"

"You tell her,
Xander!" Cordelia calls out from the desk.

Oh, why does she pick NOW
to help? Willow thinks, a little
angrily.

"Miss�" Giles
looks at the nurse's nametag "�Johnson, I'm sure there must be some way to
bend the rules, just this once�"

"I�m sorry,
sir," Nurse Johnson says officiously. "Rules are rules. You're not
allowed to be here. You'll have to wait in the visitors section�" She
points beyond Cordelia to the double doors, "� outside."

"Listen, you
undereducated, overpaid bureaucratic bi�" Giles, bright red spots in his
cheeks flaming, begins�

� and ends, when Xander
and Willow flank him, linking his arms and leading him away.

"We'll wait
outside," Willow says, agreeably, trying to head off a confrontation.

"Right out there,
" Xander adds, also wanting to end this before it gets ugly.

"I can walk by
myself, thank you, " Giles pulls away, feathers ruffled. "Why did you
do that? I'm sure I could've taken her�"

"Giles, do you
want to get us kicked out so we can't visit her when she's not in here?"
Willow asks.

"Yeah, what got
into you, G? You're never�"

"I'm sorry,"
Giles says, trying to stuff the anger genie back in the bottle. "I'm
sorry. I � lost my head for a moment. Thank you."

"How is she? Is
she ok? Can I see her?" Cordelia, only partially in the loop, comes up to
them.

Giles looks at her,
sympathetically. He can see the obvious worry etched on her face.

"I'm sorry, but
no. Evidently, they have rules around here�" He raises his voice, just
enough so it carries. "� enforced by Nazi's in white uniforms who
evidently don't have a life of their own�!"

"Giles, ix-nay on the
azi-Nay crack," Xander says, looking over at Nurse Ratchet renamed
Johnson.

"Let's just go
before she calls security on us, " Willow agrees, starting for the door.

"No, Giles is
right. Some low level� toady with
delusions of power shouldn't be allowed to get away with this!" Cordelia
declares. She pulls out her cell phone, starting to dial a number.

"Who are you
calling?" Giles looks at her.

"My father. He's
on the board of directors at this hospital. I'm pretty sure he� HEY!"

"There's no need
to involve your father,"� Giles
say, pocketing the phone. He starts towards the exit.

The three of them,
Willow, Xander and Cordelia, look at Giles with some bewilderment.

"What's the deal,
G?" Xander asks.

"Yeah, I mean if
Cordelia's dad can get us visiting rights, why not?"

"Giles?"
Cordelia picks up on Giles' expression. "What is it? My dad won't
mind�"

"No!" Giles
says firmly, frowning. "I'll explain later, but for right now, I don't
want to involve your father in this."

Without another word,
he pushes through the doors, leaving the others behind.

"What's got into
him?" Cordelia looks at Willow and Xander.

They shrug, not having
a clue. The three of them start towards the door.

"Nice try, anyway,
Cordelia," Xander says.

"Thanks."

"Still, it would've
been nice if you hadn't blown it in the first place," Willow gets in her
little dig.

"Huh?"

"We were just
fine, watching over her, until you came in and upset everything�"

She breaks away, and
pushes out through the doorway.

"What's with her? She
called me!"

Xander shrugs, and
together, they leave the ICU.

* * *

It's a long time before
Faith wakes up again, and during that time, she continues to dream.

She's in a mist, a fog
really, somewhere familiar yet strange.

She's running, has been
running for what seems like hours.

Her lungs are burning,
she can't get enough air to feed her oxygen starved body.

Her legs feel like
they're on fire, the muscles tight and cramping.

She can't stop running.
She can't. If she does, she knows it's over.

She can sense it behind
her. Coming for her. Always coming for her.

She can hear it, making
a sound as it moves, like a dried husk rubbing against silk, always the same.
It never sounds nearer, or farther, but just there, just behind her. It's
relentless, and hungry and wants her!

She can't see well, the
mist is so thick. She runs and runs, and runs into a fence, a chain link fence;
hitting it with some force, she's bounced back a little. Like jumping on a
trampoline. Like that.

She hears it clearly now,
it sounds just a little closer. It sounds� scarier.

She leaps at the fence,
her fingers grabbing at the links, her toes propelling her up. She starts to
climb, to get away, when she suddenly sees something on the other side.

At first, she can't
quite make out what it is, then relief washes over her. It's Giles, and he's
with someone.� She can't quite see who,
but it doesn't really matter. Giles is here. He'll save me, he'll know what to do�

Then, something
happens, something changes. Whoever is with Giles turns to him, on him, and
suddenly attacks him!

Something glows bright
red, and it penetrates the fog surrounding everything, and she can see clearly
what's happening.

And she wishes to god
she couldn't.

Giles, not expecting
the attack, screams out in surprise, and fear, and pain.

A lot of pain.

NOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOO! This
is all wrong, it's all wrong!

Faith scrambles, to get
over the fence, to get to him.

Something wraps around
her ankle.

And something else,
around her other ankle.

Something wraps around
her waist; and something slimy, and smelling horrible, slips around her throat.

And she's being pulled,
back , away from the fence. The only thing keeping her there are her fingers,
locked tightly through the links of the chain, and they hurt, hurt so badly,
the pressure on them is enormous.

She can't let go; she won't �let go. She knows if she does,
she'll be dead, very dead, very soon.

But she can't hold on,
either. The pain is beyond bearable, beyond intense, beyond anything she's ever
felt before. She tries, tries hard to cling to the fence, to resist, but she
can't. She feels one finger, then another and another slip from the links.

And worse, so much
worse, she hears Giles scream. Scream loud, in pain and fear. And other voices
join his, familiar voices that chill her heart.

And she screams,
screams in chorus.

"GILES!"

* * *

Continued in part 30B
- 29
- 30
- 31
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The Slayer