Chapter 8: Gettin’ Better
"... you, Faith."
Huh? Who's that?
The hand that's squeezin' on mine is a lot smaller than Giles'. Softer too.
B?
"Buffy, those people we captured are outside the wall, being brought in now!"
"I'll be right there!"
Fuck, don't they know not to yell in a hospital room?
"I have to go now, to Tokyo, but...." She sighs. "But when I get back I hope you're still here, I know you won't be, though." Her voice breaks a little. "You probably hate me and you'd be right to, but I just n-needed you to know..."
"Buffy, really, I'm sorry for interrupting, but it's now or we're in big trouble!"
"Bye, Faith. I'm really sorry." I feel a kiss on my hand and just like that she's gone.
Good fuckin' riddance. Get fuckin' gone to the land of Playstation and sushi, see if I fuckin' care.
I'm glad she's not here to see the tears streamin' down my face. Must be somethin' they gave me makin' me feel all whacky and soft ‘cause I sure as shit ain't cryin' over that bitch.
And her bitch.
A week later and I'm fuckin' still in Scotland. B and the gang aren't back yet. Giles went with ‘em so I figured I'd wait for him to get back.
"How's my favorite patient?"
Oh yeah, and gettin' to know Trina has helped me from goin' fuckin' nuts from boredom. She told me she's from St. John in the Virgin Islands. Showed me some of the pictures that she had of her hometown. That was a sweet place she lived. All near the water and shit. Well, it's an island, I guess everything's near the water. She told me how her sister became a slayer and she came with her here to see Buffy. Since Trina was in med school down there she just decided to stay and help out because they were needin' some docs.
I shrug, could be better. Could have the use of my jaw. Never knew I wanted to talk so bad.
"That good, huh?"
I smirk a little.
"Oooh, Dana, come here! I got the dimples!!!"
Dana, the doc who originally helped me when Buffy busted my jaw, rushes in. "You got the what? Ooooh there they are!! How pretty!"
They're smilin' at me like I'm their baby and made my first poo.
Heh. Poo.
"We've got some great news!"
Buffy and her woman broke up? Ha, just kiddin' I don't give a shit about those two. Who cares?
I quirk my eyebrow, ‘cause they're waitin' for some kind of answer, it's funny that they expect me to talk.
"You get to move out of the hospital ward!"
I shrug.
"You don't think that's great news?!"
I shrug again.
"Not sleeping in a room with 19 other empty beds?"
Another shrug.
"Not having Trina come in here and ask you how you're doing every 10 minutes?"
Yeah, I had the balls to shrug again.
Dana laughs. "You're something else, Faith. I'm truly going to miss you being here but you really need to move into the regular living quarters." She looks at me like she's gonna say something totally smart ass. "We need the bed."
I snort out a laugh and fuck! That hurts!! I'll get her for that! But that was pretty funny.
"I'm glad I got something more than a shrug out of you. Now, someone is going to come and help you move all of your things." She smirks. Again with the smart ass. "I suggest you get yourself ready."
Yeah, help me move ‘all my things', fuckin' funny. I just have the bag I brought with me when I came here the other night with Giles, and a few things some of the other slayers brought me while I was in here. I've got a robe and some slippers and a cool blanket with the Scottish flag on it. Someone even heard my last name was Irish and they bought me an Ireland hoodie. It's grey with Ireland written across the front like a baseball team logo and a green shamrock on it. Pretty sweet, it's nice an' thick. Real warm in this cold as shit place.
Dunno who gave it to me though, they didn't bring it in themselves and no one said who it was from. Didn't even know anyone knew my last name. Shrug. Heh.
After I shower and get dressed I pack up the things the girls got me and get the fright of my life as the ‘person who is going to help me move' puts a hand on my shoulder.
FUCK!! I have him up against the wall with my hand on his throat faster than it took him to squeak out his girly half squeal before it was choked off from lack of air.
Xander! What the fuck dude?! I say with my face and relax my grip on his throat a bit.
"Uh, Faith!! Sorry about the sneaking up. But I actually didn't sneak up, I called your name like three times." My eyes go wide, did she fuckin' crack me hard enough that my hearin' was fucked, too?! That fuckin' bitch, she's so dead if I'm goin' deaf!!
"Kidding Faith!!" Phew, Xander just saved B's life. But still, what the fuck?! I've been working on my senses and he shouldn't have been able to do that.
"Willow gave me some spells, said I needed to be less detectable." He shrugs a little. I let go of him and sit down on my bed. My heart is finally starting to calm down.
What Xander said about being less detectable finally registers and I let out a puff of air through my nose. That's about as much laughter as I can let out without my mouth screamin' at me. It's still so fuckin' sore I want to cry sometimes. Sucks that I do, ‘cause I hate bein' soft.
Xander senses my laugh and he's got the biggest grin on his face. "Well, yes. I know I'm usually master of all that is stealthy. But I just humor Willow, ya know?"
Yeah, I remember him bein' real stealthy back in the ‘dale. The Sisterhood of the Jhe were awed by how stealthy his screams were.
Fuck, that reminds me of that night we had together. I'm about to go all black cloud again when Xander saves me.
"I take it by your quietness that I'm right."
I snort out a laugh.
"You see, Faith, not many people can be as stealthy and coordinated as yours truly here." He picks up a ball one of the docs gave me to keep my reflexes sharp and covers his good eye. "Observe."
BAM!! CRASH!!! CLANG!!!!
Heh. He whipped it right into a stack of aluminum trays that would normally be for bringing medicine and junk to the invalids. Like me.
It sounds so much worse because this is such a cavernous room and the floor is stone.
Dana comes in clutching her chest and Trina sticks her head around the wall to see what the fuck just happened.
An aluminum lid is rollin' around on the floor and then keeps going around and around really fast until it finally stops. Shit, I thought only stuff like that happened in movies. It was perfect.
Xander slowly removes his hand from his eye. "Uhhhh, did I get it in the can?" His face is beet red and his eye is moving all around the room. Makes me wanna crack up, but I fuckin' can't and that's makin' me nutty.
"Xander, would you kindly help Faith with her things? And do try not to break anything while leaving." Dana gives him the Giles treatment.
"You think we should really trust him with Faith?" Trina's got my back.
"Uh, you've got it all wrong! We-we...it's not like that anymore. I'm not going to try to get any revenge for what Faith did back in Sunnydale! And I'm pretty sure she's not going to try to kill me, at least not today. Right Faith?"
X-man, I'm pretty sure she meant that they can't trust ‘Mr. Coordination' help bring a person with as bad a broken jaw as I have to their room. But way to tell them I'm a fuckin' loser who didn't deserve their expert care. Fuck.
Whatever. I shoulder my bag and don't look at their stares as I turn towards the door. Maybe B'll come back from Japan with a bitchin' katana and finish me off. Guess they were makin' sure I'd get all better so she could kick my ass longer this time.
"Oh, hell no!" Trina yells and it makes me stop. She's slippin' back into her Island accent and I guess that means she wants to start some shit.
She wants a fuckin' piece of me? Bring it the fuck on! I'm ready for anything. Just ‘cause we ‘bonded' don't mean I can't fuckin' get down and dirty with the punchin' and kickin'. It would be kinda good to get back into the fuckin' swing of things.
She puts her hand on my shoulder and I let her turn me around, let her get the first shot in ‘cause then I can say it was self defense.
"You're not gettin' of here without a hug. Don't make me go all ‘Island Betty' on ya!" She winks and pulls me into a hug. Island Betty was a crazy lady she told me about that used to go around in her town lettin' all of the air out of the policeman's bike tires.
Doesn't sound crazy to me at all. Whatever floats your boat though, huh?
Dana steps up and waits her turn, but she's British so I don't think she's gonna wanna hug. Trina gets her jollies and then lets me go. Dana extends her hand. See? I take it and she pulls me into a hug. Fuck, she's strong. She lifts me up showing me how strong she really is. Fuck, a slayer who's a doctor. Who woulda thunk it? And such a delicate lookin' person to boot.
Damn, that makes me think of Buffy. Shit.
"Didn't think I was a slayer, did you?"
I shake my head at her when she lets me go.
"Well I am. Probably just made the age cut off. I was 25 and an intern when I crushed a bed pan with my bare hands, one day last year. Luckily, my Auntie was a watcher so I knew what it might mean." She looks at me like she cares. "If you ever need anyone to talk to Faith, once you've got use of your jaw again that is, we're at your service. I'm guessing the same goes for Trina." She nods her head at Trina.
"Who else I'm gonna get to listen to me crazy stories?!" I let out an air-through-the-nose-laugh. "But seriously, girl. You're always welcome." Fuckin' funny how she can slip back and forth between her Island talk and the hoity toity voice she usually talks with. Either way, she's still a fox.
Xander steps up and takes my bag from me. I let him, but I've got my eyes on him. Don't fuckin' trust him. Even though he did help me out a lot after B tried to kill me last week.
He doesn't say anything as he leads me through the hallways of the castle. Shoulda fuckin' known the Princess would finally get her fuckin' castle. Makes me fuckin' laugh!
"Now, Faith. I hope you don't mind the living quarters, it's just we're pretty full at the moment and this is the only room that's left."
I suddenly recognize the room he's trying to show me into. OH FUCK NO!!!!!!! Not HER room. NO!!!
My breathing is increasing and my heart rate must be going through the fuckin' roof. Xander drops my bag and catches me around the shoulders. Why?
Fuck, I was about to pass out. I can't go in there!!!!!!! The look in my eyes must say everything. Xander backs me up until we're further in the hall. Whew, that's better.
"Sorry, Faith! Umm, it's just...Buffy," I flinch at the name. "Sh-she said to, to let you stay in her room. Like I said we've got no...No?" I'm shakin' my head real fuckin' hard even though it makes my jaw hurt so fuckin' bad. "O-Ok, well then. Let's think this through. Let's see.... There's...no, not there, well there's...nope no good. How about my bed?" I narrow my eyes at him.
"No? Oh no!? You didn't think that was a pass at you? I hope not. Ya see," He leans in all ‘confidence man' like, "I kinda got something going with one of the slayers, Renee. She's my number two."
You wanna elaborate, X? I mean, I really fuckin' wish I had the use of my jaw. The jokes ‘number two' inspires alone could make me very happy for the rest of the year, just from seein' him squirm. Apparently my eyebrow quirk and the smirk on my face was enough for him to catch my drift.
"Number two, uhhhh eheheh uhhhhh eheheheh." He does a Butthead voice.
Suddenly I want to use my voice REAL bad.
"Mmmm hehehe mmmeheheh." Fuck that hurt but the laugh Xander lets out makes me feel really good.
"Oh, Faith! That's priceless!" He's doubled over laughin'.
Damn dude, watch it, you don't want to pop out your other eyeball. I'm feelin' a whole lot better and his laughter is gettin' to me in a good way. I let out some other laughs that won't hurt too bad that also end up soundin' like Beavis even more and Xand is cryin' now.
Finally he recovers and I calm down too. He links his arm through mine and picks up my bag from the floor.
"Well, that was refreshing. Whew. Let's get you to another room. I know one that's empty, and I'm guessing the person won't mind too much that you're in there. I'll have to call her and let her know. Or wait," He gets thoughtful. "She'd crush the phone," he mumbles. "Well, I guess Renee can relay it to her and vice versa." Heh. Renee Relay. "Ha! Renee Relay! Funny."
We walk to my temporary quarters still chucklin' over Beavis and Butthead.
