Side by Side
by Kayleigh
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Joss and co. own all. I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Read Tired of Playing Games and Losing Hope first.
Feedback: Yes Please. And if you do, I promise more goodies in the shape of B/F fic.
Buffy woke up in her dorm room, to see Willow sat nervously on the end of her bed. "Wills, What happpened? I... I freaked?" she stammered.
"The hospital phoned me to pick you up because your mom is out of town" Willow turned to face Buffy, about to go on, when Buffy interrupted her.
"Where's Faith?" Buffy asked, looking around curiously.
"She's still in a coma, you were... shouting at her... a doctor took you out of the room and to the family room, where you fell asleep, Giles and I brought you back here" Willow explained.
"But.... but.... I sensed it... she woke up..." Buffy let tears fall freely down her face. "She IS awake."
"Buffy, she's not, the doctors would have said something" Willow put her hand on Buffy's knee to calm her down.
"Doctors don't know nothing.... she's.." Buffy was interrupted by the shrill ringing of a telephone. "..He..Hello" she stammered.
"Buffy your awake?" Giles' voice came down the line.
"Yeah, what is it Giles?"
"It seems Fa.... actually, may I speak with Willow."
"No" she said quickly down the line, then realised her rudeness, "She's out." Willow looked at her weirdly, but made no attempt to snatch the phone.
"Faith is awake." No sooner than the word awake was breathed Buffy was putting her coat on and out of the door. Behind her Willow picked up the reciver, "Giles?" she questioned.
"Faith is awake, but she's escaped the hospital. Where's Buffy?"
"The hospital, Buffy isn't in the state of mind to fight Faith."
"Let's hope it don't come to that" Giles sighed. "You should follow her to the hospital."
"I will. Bye Giles." Willow hung up the receiver and put her shoes and coat on as quickly as possible.
Faith pulled her arms tighter around her body, shivering in the cold air. Spotting a police car, she slipped into a dark alley.
"Hello" an old lady's voice rang in her ears, something touched her arm, she brushed it off and noticed it was the old lady.
"Go away" she barked at the lady.
"You look cold" the lady continued, Faith had to admit, the old lady had some guts. Faith smiled. "Would you like this?" she pulled out an almost brand new coat from in the box she was carrying.
"Nah I'm okay thanks" Faith declined, smiling she came out of the alley cautiously and headed towards her apartment block.
Buffy stared at the empty bed, unable to move her eyes since she got here. She was gone. Faith was gone.
"I'm sorry maam, I'm gonna have to ask you to stand aside" a police man, brushed past her.
"Wh.. Where is she?" Buffy asked.
"I wish we knew" the man said, then moved towards his colleague and a doctor across the room.
She began to walk back out of the room and spotted Willow. "Buffy!"
"She's gone Willow" Buffy said tonelessly.
"I know, Giles told me, we should go home." Willow tried to link arms with Buffy, but found herself pushed away.
"I'm sorry Wills, I have to find her." Buffy ran out of the double doors, leaving an astonished red-head behind her.
"Where would I go? Where would I go?" Buffy muttered to herself. "Apartment?" she asked herself. "No, too obvious. Cemetery?" She nodded to herself, which added to the talking to herself granted her weird looks from the passers by. "No, which one?" While she was thinking of the cemetery Faith would most likely be at she looked up. Her feet had brought her to the mansion. Angel's manision. A place which held many memories for Faith.
Buffy sat down in front of the fire and chucked a few spare logs onto it.
"Slayer" a rough voice growled from behind her.
"Y'Know? I'm really not in the mood..." she turned around, and trailed off. "Oh crap" she muttered, as one of the several vampires charged at her, fangs gleaming in the moonlight shining through the few windows of the mansion.
She ducked the first fist but was met with another one, which hit her in the jaw with brute force. She punched back, then swivelled on one leg kicking with the other. A vampire caught her leg and knocked her over. She really wasn't up to scratch today she thought.
Two vampires grabbed and pinned her arms, she struggled against them and trashed her arms but there was too many of them. As one grabbed her leg she kicked his face, but another was near enough to grab the stray foot.
They had her pinned by each limb, she closed her eyes as she saw the largest vampire above her. "Finally, the taste of the slayer in my mouth" he breathed into her ear.
Buffy felt his fangs graze her neck as he chuckled.
"Have a taste of this, asshole" Faith's voice echoed throughout the mansion. The brunette kicked the large vampire in the face, knocking him off Buffy. The vampires holding her down, being the idiots that they were, let Buffy free to fight Faith. Buffy jumped up and grabbed the nearest vampire to her, punching him in the face and kneeing him in the groin, she finished him off with a swift stake to the heart, which she had slipped out of her waist band as she jumped up. Pulling the stake out before it disintergrated along with the vampire, she span around and came face to face with Faith fighting a vampire. She smiled and mouthed "Thank You" before she went into the fray of vampires. Faith being there had given her a boost. And so, they fought side by side.
The last vampire turned to ash at the hands of two slayers. As the ash cleared they smiled at each other, then high fived, just like old times.
"You got my letter" Faith said, it was a statement, not a question.
"I got your letter" Buffy nodded in agreement.
"And you're not trying to kill me" Faith seemed to be speaking to herself now, trying to make some sort of conclusion.
"I'm not trying to kill you" Buffy agreed.
Faith stood in silence, searching Buffy's eyes, for some kind of indication. Buffy's smile slowly formed into a grin. Then she began laughing.
Faith gave her a confused look. "What are you laughing at?"
Buffy shook her head. "Shut up and kiss me" she ordered. And Faith wasn't exactly going to refuse.
...continued in Realisation...