Buffy broke down the door quickly and rushed inside, knowing there were at least three slayers behind her to give her backup if she needed it.

This mission was different than she’d ever attempted before.  For one, she was wearing more high-tech gear than she ever had before.  She thought Xander had gone a little overboard when he purchased all the equipment over the last few months but it was definitely helping her today.  The headset she was wearing had a light on it, which helped since Falentrek demons weren’t big fans of light, and the vest everyone wore helped lessen the hits the demons threw out.

The first room was empty and Buffy cursed silently.  She could hear the voices of the other members of the team through her earpiece and knew that some of them were already fighting two of the demons outside the complex.

She heard the rest of her team fall in behind her, the lights on their sets shining on a dirty wall along with hers.  “She’s not here.  Let’s stay together and start searching every room.”

“And if we encounter a demon?” one of the girls asked.

“Kill it,” Buffy answered strongly.  “They crossed the line yesterday.  No going back now.”

No one responded and Buffy knew they would follow her orders.  Taking a slayer was serious business and in the end Buffy didn’t care why they had.  It didn’t matter that they were trying to move into the castle grounds or that they normally didn’t hurt people.  They were now and they’d taken one of their own.

They’d taken Faith.

Buffy wasn’t sure how it happened, only that the demons jumped Faith and three other slayers as they walked back from a patrol but the three had shown up at the castle bloody and injured . . . and without Faith.  The thought was they were holding her hostage so they could get the land they wanted and not have the slayers pass through on a nightly basis but they hadn’t been contacted on it and Buffy didn’t want to wait.

She was so concerned about what might happen to Faith that she organized a rescue mission for the very next night.  Everyone thought she just wanted to solve the demon problem once and for all and that was true but she also felt guilty. 

It should have been her.

When they were working with the younger slayers the afternoon before Faith was kidnapped she’d mentioned she was a little tired and Faith offered to take over the patrol for the night.  Buffy accepted, grateful for the night off, but now she was sick about it. 

The next room proved to be empty and the anger inside Buffy grew.  The demons were completely screwing with everything and she wanted desperately to take that anger out of one of them but it sounded like they were outside defending their crudely constructed complex of rooms.  Instead, she channeled that anger into searching for her friend.

Buffy thought maybe that wasn’t the best way to describe Faith any longer.  Something was going on between them, especially over the last few months, but nothing had been acted on yet.  There were looks, hands that lingered on shoulders and backs a second too long and awkward silences where it seemed something would happen.

It was Buffy’s opinion now that maybe something should happen.  Of course, then Faith had to be taken and according to the other slayers it wasn’t without a fight.  Buffy was concerned with how badly Faith was injured and even more importantly, what had been done to her since the kidnapping.  Giles had read up on the demons and said the worst violation against them was crossing into their territory.  He didn’t tell her what the punishment was and Buffy didn’t care.  She only wanted Faith back and them gone.

They searched a third room and then a fourth but all of them were empty and there wasn’t any sign that Faith had even been in the room.  The place wasn’t big and Buffy knew there would only be a couple rooms left.  She didn’t have a plan if they couldn’t find Faith.  She didn’t even know if the demons spoke English, another thing she knew she should’ve found out first.  There just hadn’t been time.

The fifth room was empty as well but something told Buffy not to leave it.  “Go to the next room,” she told the others.  “I’ll be there in a second.”

“But Buffy . . .”

“Go!” she yelled.  “If you find Faith call out, if you see a demon use every weapon Xander supplied you with.”

“I love your confidence in me, Buff,” Xander said through her earpiece.

Buffy didn’t reply and started looking over the room, shining light on every corner of the room.  She tapped her foot angrily and stopped.  She stomped down again and listened to the echo as she looked down and raised an eyebrow.  The floors in all the rooms were dirt but there was something under the dirt of this one.

She got down on her knees and pushed aside the dirt as fast as she could, her mind racing with what she might find.  Within a few seconds she could see outlines of a door, finding how to open it moments later.  Buffy realized she hadn’t been breathing and took a deep breath before lifting up the door.

“I need team one back with me now!”

Faith was lying on the floor of the underground room, bloody and unconscious.  Buffy ran down the shaky steps, careful of the couple holes in them, reaching the other slayer as fast as she could.  She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief that other than Faith the room was empty.

She kneeled at Faith’s side and leaned over her, trying to figure out where her injuries were and what was simply dried blood.  Her hand pressed gently against her side and Faith let out something between a groan and a cry, shrinking away from her.

“Faith, it’s okay.  It’s me,” Buffy said softly into her ear.  “We’re gonna get you out of here.”

The only response she got was a quiet groan and Buffy suddenly heard Giles’ voice in her ear.  “Have you found her, Buffy?”

“Yeah,” Buffy breathed out.  “Be ready when we get there.  She’s hurt.”

She didn’t elaborate and was thankful Giles didn’t ask her to specify.  Both Faith’s eyes were blackened and from that one touch Buffy figured she had broken ribs, too.  There were bruises everywhere and Buffy hoped moving her wouldn’t make anything worse.

“Faith, I’m going to pick you up and get you out of here, okay?” Buffy said as she saw the lights of the other slayers as they gathered around the opening, likely guarding it.  “Help me if you can.”

As carefully as she could, Buffy picked her up and let the smallest of smiles show as Faith gripped her tightly.  It showed that the other slayer had at least a small amount of strength left and that made it easier to carry her up the steps.

The others in the room gasped when they saw Faith’s condition but Buffy knew they couldn’t dwell on it.  They needed to focus and get back to the castle as fast as possible.  “Report?”

“The whole place is empty.  They must all be outside trying to protect their territory.”

“Everyone cover me and Faith.  We’re getting out of here.”

******

Buffy had practically run back to the castle with Faith, everyone else retreating from the area and running back behind her.  She wasn’t sure how many demons were dead and at this point, didn’t even care.  From her standpoint, the mission was a success because they’d gotten Faith back.  They could deal with whatever else happened later.

Giles had Buffy take Faith into the infirmary soon as she rushed through the front doors carrying her and the two doctors on staff checked her over for the next two hours.  They wrapped her broken ribs, put a cast on her broken left foot and cleaned all the blood and grime off her.  Faith drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the whole thing which Buffy thought was a good sign.  At least she was semi-aware of her surroundings which had been more than when she found her.

When it was all over Buffy convinced Giles that Faith would rest much better in her own room instead of in the infirmary.  There was a small amount of protest but Buffy promised that she would watch over her and make sure she was okay throughout the night.

Xander helped her get Faith up to the wing of the castle where all their rooms were and Buffy got her into bed easily.  She thanked her friend then shut the door, hoping there would be no interruptions for the night.  Faith needed to rest for the slayer healing to work.

“B?”

Buffy turned back to the bed and noticed Faith was opening her eyes as much as she could.  Both eyes were swollen but not enough that she couldn’t open them at all.  She walked over to the bed and looked down at her, smiling as best she could.  “Hey.”

“Am I in my room?”  Faith’s voice was scratchy and she coughed quietly as she spoke.  “Wasn’t a doctor just poking at me?”

Walking over to the mini fridge Faith had in her room, Buffy opened it and was relieved that there were bottles of water there along with her other drinks of choice.  She picked up two and walked back to Faith, setting one on the small table beside the bed and twisting off the cap of the other.

“Here, you should drink something,” Buffy said as she helped Faith sit up enough to take a drink.  The other girl coughed again as she did but still drank as much as she could.  “I thought you would be more comfortable if you recuperated in your own room.”

Faith pulled away from the bottle and placed her head back on a pillow.  “So you’ll watch over me instead of a doctor?”

“Pretty much.”  Buffy grabbed the unopened bottle and carried it with her to the other side of the bed where she moved to sit next to Faith.  “You’re basically gonna have to stay here until the slayer healing does its job.  Thought I could keep you company.”

The only response from Faith was that she closed her eyes and seemed to be trying to relax.  Buffy only watched her for a few minutes, drinking her bottle of water before setting it aside.  She wanted to ask her a few questions but didn’t know where to start, especially when there was something nagging at her.

“It should’ve been me.”

“No, B,” Faith said as she turned her body toward Buffy as much as she could.  As soon as she moved too far she groaned and placed a hand against her ribs.  “This one’s all on me.”

“But you took over for me,” Buffy said, looking at Faith as she frowned.  “If I had been the one on patrol you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“And you would have.”  Faith took a couple breaths, looking as though she was still in some pain.  “This is a lose-lose topic, B.  Those demons needed a good ass-kicking.  Just needed more slayers to do it.”

Buffy shifted so she was lying next to Faith, turning her body so she was facing her.  “Do you remember what happened?”

“We were walking back and they jumped us.  They were just too big, you know, and we didn’t have the right weapons.  I told the girls to fall back but I felt a couple bones break then something smashed against my head and it was lights out.”

“What happened after?” Buffy asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

“I think it’s pretty obvious they kicked my ass pretty good,” Faith said, letting out a sarcastic laugh that quickly turned into a groan.  “One of them kept yelling at me but it wasn’t in English and after awhile they must have realized I wouldn’t understand no matter how much they beat me.  Then they put me in that hole.”

Buffy placed a hand on Faith’s shoulder as gently as she could.  “I’m sorry.”

“Still not your fault, B.”

A moment passed through them and Buffy knew it was one of those moments the two of them had been experiencing more and more.  She smiled at Faith and before she knew what she was doing she moved so she was hovering over the other slayer.  Then she gently placed a kiss on Faith’s forehead followed by a light one on the lips a couple short seconds later.

When she moved away she opened her eyes, which she didn’t remember closing, and looked down on Faith.  She was met with a smile that she was sure would’ve been wider if not for the cut on her lip and the multiple facial bruises.  It was definitely a good response, making her smile.

“I didn’t realize I’d have to do this much to get you to kiss me.”

Buffy laughed.  “Are you telling me this was a way to get me to kiss you?”

Faith shook her head.  “No, no, no.  The kiss you just gave me is for something like stubbing a toe or getting a hangnail.  Maybe to save a little embarrassment if a newbie slayer gets in a good shot during a training class.  I think I’m a little worse off than any of those.”

“That so?” Buffy asked, laughing quietly at how Faith looked.  She was trying her best to give her the sexy grin Buffy secretly loved but it wasn’t quite working with her injuries.  The look did make her lean down to kiss her a little more forcefully, letting it linger a few seconds longer before breaking away again.

They shared a look again before Buffy moved away but not too far.  She moved back to lie next to Faith, letting only a few inches separate them.  Once she was situated on her side she let a hand slowly move over Faith, keeping it light so that she wouldn’t cause her any pain.

This was new to her and she had a feeling it was new to Faith as well.  All the near misses between them would’ve probably ended in a night of mind-blowing sex with some morning after panicking.  That’s not what was going to happen now and Buffy wasn’t prepared for it.  The other slayer was very obviously in no condition to do anything of the mind-blowing sort and neither one of them had mastered the art of small talk since they’d become friends.

“You know what I want to do right now?”

Buffy propped her head up so she had a better view of Faith’s face.  “What’s that?”

“I want to get my hands on you so bad it hurts,” she laughed then groaned, “but my fucking ribs keep reminding me why I can’t by hurting me just a little bit more.”

“Do you want me to get you something for the pain?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Faith said as she let out a breath.  “Having you here helps.”

The words made Buffy happier than she thought they would.  The attraction she felt to Faith was also stronger than she thought.  She wished they were lying on the other slayer’s bed under different circumstances.  There were a lot more activities they could do if she was healthy.

“Do we need to talk about what’s going on?” Buffy asked as she lightly ran her fingers over Faith’s arm and then over any part she could reach.  “What’s been going on for months now?”

Faith looked at her then and the stare was nothing like Buffy had ever seen before.  “Do you really think we need to?”

They looked into each other’s eyes and Buffy had to smile.  She didn’t know if it was because of their connection or if it was due to the attraction they felt for each other but Buffy felt she knew what Faith was feeling without any discussion.

“Nope,” Buffy said with a smile as she rested her head on the pillow next to Faith’s.

Doing her best not to hurt Faith, Buffy snuggled up next to her.  She draped an arm lightly over her stomach in the process, already enjoying even the simple act of lying next to the other slayer.

“I can’t wait until you’re healed.”

“Me, too.”

The End