Date Night (19 page)

The Boston girl bent her head and grit her back teeth. "Try to save Buffy's life."

Faith looked down at Buffy's unconscious form in her arms; the blonde's head bobbed slightly every time the jogging slayer's feet hit the ground. "Shit, don't die."

The scene outside of the City Center was chaotic. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars arrived and left the scene in frantic ebbs and flows. Camera crews and on-sight reporters jostled each other for prime footage, and the hordes of by-standers had nearly tripled since Faith had first arrived on scene.

It looked as though Vi and Rona had successfully helped numerous shoppers flee the mall and find the medical attention they required. The only problem was that they were monopolizing the attention of the rescue workers when Buffy was slipping away. With the woman she loved bleeding-out in her arms, still in the wedding dress she had planned on wearing in order to marry another person that same day, the Boston girl had never felt so utterly helpless.
"Hey! Somebody!" Faith yelled out when she spotted two EMTs taking a break from the carnage. "Need some help over here," she hollered, gingerly shifting her hold on the smaller slayer.

"Shit," one of the medical staffers cursed, throwing his half-spent cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his work boots. The man jogged over to the two slayers. "What happened?" he asked, breathing heavily through his mouth.

Faith swallowed hard. "She got stabbed in the stomach by one of those guys," she vaguely revealed. "She's losing a lot of blood."

The smaller of the two men pushed an emergency cart up to the group, and Faith carefully set Buffy on top of the white mattress. "Fuck," the second man mumbled when he saw the woman's wound and her clothing. "I know some chicks really love shopping, but don't tell me she was gettin' married in the mall?"

"Shut it, Bernie," the older-looking of the two men snapped. His eyes raked over Buffy's body, quickly surveying the damage. "Call it in so they'll be ready for us at the hospital. Caucasian woman. About thirty. Serious stab wound to the abdomen."

Faith continued to stare, feeling suddenly paralyzed now that the original rush of adrenaline was passing.

"You family or something?" the second man asked.

Faith shook her head slowly. "No, not family." The words felt funny in her mouth. "Just a friend," the dark-haired girl said.

"We'll take it from here," the first man stated grimly as they began to wheel Buffy to the emergency transport vehicle. "Don't worry, miss," he called out. "You did everything for her you could."

The Boston girl turned her head away from the EMTs and wiped at her eyes. The man's words made her feel physically ill. She certainly hadn't done anything to help Buffy. In fact, she was the reason Buffy had been stabbed. If only she hadn't reacted so poorly when Buffy told her she was pregnant, the blonde wouldn't have been fighting these demons on her own.

"Wait!" Faith called out. She jogged over to the ambulance as the two men hefted Buffy's body into the back of the emergency truck.

"What is it?" the smaller of the two men asked impatiently. His partner started to hook Buffy up to a variety of machines in the back of the vehicle. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Uh, yeah," she said, blinking a few times. "She's...she's pregnant."

+++++++++++++++++

The waiting room at the University Hospital was surprisingly empty, despite the recent happenings at the Tower Center. Giles, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, and Dawn, all still in their wedding outfits, sat in one corner of the room, quietly comforting each other. Faith paced the length of the room, the only one not able to remain seated.

When a man blustered into the room, everyone looked up, hopeful that it would be the emergency room doctor with news of Buffy's condition.

"Who called you?" Faith blurted out, flicking a glance at Buffy's friends, trying to flesh out the culprit.

"The Hospital," Preston, still in his tuxedo, revealed almost apologetically. "I'm listed as her emergency contact."

"Whatever." Faith turned away and continued pacing in the hospital waiting room.

"Have the doctors said anything?" the man asked, turning away from the snarling girl.

Giles shook his head. "Not much, I'm afraid." The Englishman removed his glasses and wiped them on the shirt-tales of his white dress shirt. "She's in surgery right now. They're trying to stem the internal bleeding she suffered from the stab wound."

"The doctor said he'd come out here as soon as they had any news though," Dawn added helpfully.

The co-ed wrung her hands together and dropped her head. Willow rubbed her hand in the small of Dawn's back, hoping to comfort the teen girl who had been through so much.

Preston glanced around at all of Buffy's friends and family gathered in the small waiting room. "So you all knew about this? About Buffy being a-a Slayer?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it, guy," Xander spoke up. "I'm sure she was just trying to protect you. That's what she does, after all - protect people."

Preston blinked. "I'm sorry. Who are you again?"

"I'm Xander," the dark-haired man frowned. "Her best friend."

Preston looked confused. "I thought Willow was her best friend," he said, pointing at the red-headed witch.

The one-eyed man bristled. "Well, I'm her best friend, too."

The groom coughed uncomfortably. "So what really happened?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject. "The hospital just told me she'd been injured at the City Center robbery."

Willow rubbed at her temples. "They weren't robbers. They were demons. Buffy and Kennedy went to kill them, but she got stabbed."

Preston flicked his glance at Kennedy, who still wore her mint-green formal wear. "So you're the one who saved her?"

The brunette snorted and leaned back on the hospital couch. "Wish I could take all the credit. That was Faith's doing," she commented, pointing at the leather-and-demin clad woman.

Preston glanced into the far corner of the room at Faith and his eyebrows furrowed even further together. The situation was getting more and more convoluted. "The stripper saved her?" he asked incredulously.

A bubble of laughter burst from Xander's throat. "You think Faith is a stripper?" he guffawed.

"Well, she does dress like one half the time," Willow chirped in, trying to stick up for the man who had just been left at the altar.

Preston walked toward the dark-haired girl who had remained silent and solemn since he had arrived. He stuck his hand out. "So I guess I should be thanking you instead," he said shakily. The rough-edged girl made him wildly uncomfortable, but he didn't know why.

Faith looked up from the ground at the taller man's outstretched hand. "Don't thank me just yet," she mumbled. Ignoring Preston's gesture, she turned away from the man and took a seat in an opposite corner, isolating herself from the Scoobies.

++++++++++

A few hours later, a doctor walked in and the room collectively held its breath. He held a light green scrub cap in his hands and cleared his throat. "Where's the group here for Buffy Summers?" he asked the room.

Willow waved her hand. "We're over here."

The doctor smiled earnestly and walked over to the group. "She's out of surgery," he started. "We were able to suture the internal bleeding, and she's doing remarkably well," he informed the anxious crowd. "She's in recovery right now. Obviously there was a lot of blood loss in the incident, so we've got her hooked up for a transfusion."

"When can we see her?" Dawn bravely asked.

"Well, she's just coming out of the anesthetic from surgery," the surgeon informed her. "I'm going off-duty right now, but I'll have someone alert you when she's awake and you're free to see her. I just want to gently remind you that her body's been through a bit of a shock," he noted, "so please keep your initial visit brief. We're obviously going to keep her overnight, but you can all come back and see her again in the morning."

Faith bit her tongue. She was relieved that Buffy was going to pull through, but her mind was laden with another concern. She wanted to ask the doctor about the baby's condition, but she didn't think it was her place to ask. Preston was the father of the kid, after all. If he wasn't concerned, then why in the world should she be?

But before she could second-guess herself and ask the question that lay heavily on her mind, the doctor excused himself and walked away.

+++++++++++++++++++++

A nurse in blue scrubs entered the waiting room a few hours later. "Which one of you is Preston?" she asked, looking up from a clipboard.

The tuxedo'd man stood up sharply. "That's me," he said, tugging at the collar of his stiff dress shirt.

The hospital staffer nodded. "Buffy's awake, and she'd like to see you first," she informed the anxious group.

Preston briskly followed the nurse around a corner and out of sight.

The remaining Scoobies began to stir and mumble amongst themselves. It had been a long day between the almost-wedding and the long, anxious hours in the hospital room.

"Why does she want to see
him
first?" Dawn grumbled miserably to herself. "I'm her sister, after all."

Noticing the dark-haired slayer's dour demeanor, Kennedy stood from her seat next to Willow and sat down next to Faith. She patted the Boston girl on the knee. "I'm sure it doesn't mean anything," she murmured to her friend. "He's the kid's dad, right? She must just figure she owes him this."

Faith unclenched her jaw and released a shaky breath. "Yeah, maybe you're right," she breathed. It was far too easy to imagine Buffy and her beau reconciling in the hospital room while she waited on the sidelines, however.

After a few minutes, the nurse reappeared. "Hi again, folks," she said, clearing his throat. "This is kind of unusual," the woman remarked, chuckling. "I've never had a patient request her family go in one at a time, but I suppose we can allow it since she's been such a trooper. Next she'd like to see Faith."

At the sound of her name, the Boston girl's heart leapt inside her chest. She stood up on shaky legs and immediately could feel the penetrating eyes of Buffy's friends and family on her. She knew they were all wondering the same thing. Preston was understandable, but why would Buffy want to see
Faith
of all people next?

Fighting the urge to lash out from her uncomfortableness, Faith ignored the glares of Willow and Dawn and instead obediently followed the nurse out of the waiting room and down a long corridor. The nurse stopped just before Buffy's room and ushered the brunette woman inside.

Inside the single room, the blonde slayer lay reclined in a large hospital bed. She was hooked up to a number of machines that monitored her vital statistics. An IV jutted out of her right arm, leading up to a cluster of dark-crimson blood bags. Buffy's skin was unusually pale and dark circles hung below her hazel-green eyes. But even though she looked half-dead, Faith still thought her sister-Slayer looked beautiful.

Faith bristled at the sound of the door being closed behind her. She let out a deep breath and took a tentative step towards Buffy's hospital bed.

"Hey, B," she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

The Californian's eyes turned to the familiar voice. "Hey," she responded, giving the Boston slayer an unbalanced smile.

"Where's Preston?" Faith asked quietly. She looked around the room and noticed, for the first time, that the blonde woman's fiancé was nowhere to be seen.

Buffy patted at her bedside and the dark-haired girl gingerly took a seat at the edge of the narrow bed.

"I sent him home," Buffy answered. "It's not like his being here is going to help me heal any faster," she pointed out. "Besides," she said with a sigh, "seeing him just makes me feel guilty."

"You had us all scared," the Boston slayer observed, looking down at her boots. "Me especially."

"Well, you shouldn't have worried," the blonde responded with a quick smile. "I had no intension of dying today."

Faith coughed uncomfortably, dislodging the lump in her throat. "And- and the baby?" she asked, afraid of the answer. Her voice seemed to choke on the words.

Faith didn't know what she wanted to hear. On one hand, albeit selfishly, it made her ill to think of Buffy impregnated with Preston's spawn. But if Buffy had made the decision to go through with the pregnancy, Faith's heart ached at the thought of her lover losing her unborn child. It might turn into Buffy's breaking point - her last gasp at Normality crushed - from which she could never recover.

Buffy took a shuddering deep breath. "The baby is fine," she revealed. She shook her head and clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "I don't know how...but it is."

"The kid's half-Summers, that's how," the Boston girl remarked easily. "It's got good no-dying genes." She didn't want to think about the other half of the baby's genes, however.

Buffy couldn't help the smirk that appeared on her face. Even though she had awaken in a hospital, the most unpleasant place she could imagine, Faith could still manage to pull a chuckle from her.

"How long are they gonna keep you here?" Faith asked.

"Well," Buffy drawled, "my doctor said I have to stay here for another week at least, just to monitor the baby's health. I'm hoping with my slayer healing, I can knock that prognosis in half and be home by Wednesday."

Faith raised an eyebrow at the bed-ridden woman. "What's the big rush to get outta here?" she asked. "Got a big date or something?"

Buffy gave the brunette an odd look. "No, weirdo," she said, shaking her head. "Date nights are Fridays, remember?"

Now it was the Boston girl's turn to chuckle. "Yeah," she said softly. "I remember." Faith interlaced her fingers with one of Buffy's hands. The Californian's skin felt cold.

"Kennedy told me you canceled the wedding," Faith abruptly observed, looking at their enjoined hands. Even though Buffy's skin was unnervingly chilly, their hands just felt right together.