Learning Curve
by rebelrsr
Chapter Nine
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers, etc.: I altered the timeline of "The Yoko Factor," "Primeval," and AtS "Sanctuary" with reckless abandon. It's mostly AU from here.
A/N: Character thoughts are enclosed by **. Flashbacks are enclosed by //. Thanks to Desirata41 and Zenithar for the beta and encouragement! Thanks to Zigpal for the continuing support and suggestions. I couldn't do it without you.
Archiving: By permission only.
A/N2: I promise the Wiffy is on its way...Just taking care of the plot development. If you have grave objections to other pairings, you might want to skim past the Faith/Tara section at the top!
Tara walked to stand opposite Faith as the Slayer dispensed with the grating. "Cordelia said you were both down here."
"Yeah, Blondie. That don't explain why you're here. I thought you guys had something big on the calendar." Faith was trying really hard to ignore the witch's opening statement. The only way she planned on going back to Sunnydale was — well, OK, she wasn't planning on ever going back.
The tired blonde walked around Faith. "H-Hi, Angel. I'm Tara." She held out her hand and the quiet vampire shook it. "I guess you could say I'm the newest Sc-Scooby. Cordelia left a message for Willow that Faith was here." She grinned crookedly at the Slayer's snort of amusement. "Can we sit down? You need to know what's going on."
Angel could tell Faith was going to be difficult, so he stepped in. "Sure, Tara. Faith, why don't you get something else to eat and get Tara something to drink." He motioned the two women into the living room. When the dark-haired girl hesitated, he placed a firm hand on her shoulder and gently propelled her in the right direction. He joined Tara on the couch, turning to face her. "If you came to get Faith, then things aren't going well." There was no doubt in his statement. He was very sure of the Sunnydale crew's dislike for the second Slayer.
Tara nodded. "You could say that. Do you want me to get started, Faith?" She raised her voice slightly to reach the girl in the kitchen.
"Yeah. The sooner you get done with the explanation, the sooner I can hit the road."
Witch and vampire shared a look. Neither of them had any intention of allowing the Slayer to run. "We've been trying to find a way to defeat a government-created human-demon hybrid named Adam. Yesterday, we found a spell that would let me or Willow channel the power of the Slayer line through Buffy. Unfortunately, before we could tell Buffy, she ran into Adam." Tara paused, trying to find the best way to continue. Nothing came to mind. "Buffy's in the hospital."
The faint noises in the kitchen stopped. Tara waited through an uncomfortable silence. When it became clear that neither Angel nor Faith was going to ask, she clarified, "She was unconscious when I left the hospital several hours ago."
This finally got a response. "So, B's in a coma? What do they call that — poetic justice?"
Tara's eyes closed at the mocking statement. It was well after midnight, and she was running on nerves. Her shielding was impaired by a fog of exhaustion. The Slayer's words were crude, but the emotion behind them cut at her control. "Not a coma. At least, the doctor's didn't think so. She was really banged up — head injury, bunch of broken bones, and some swelling along the spine."
Angel drew in a breath he didn't need. "But they think she'll be OK?"
"The doctors wouldn't really say. But Willow helped bring her in. She got a chance to do a quick scan and try a little healing. Enough that Buffy should be fine." Angel sagged in relief. Faith came in and offered Tara a bottle of water. She also held out a plate piled with food. The witch took the water and waved off the food. She just wanted to get this finished, get Faith's commitment to return to Sunnydale.
"If B's gonna be fine, then you don't need me there."
"Faith," Tara's fatigue morphed into impatience. *Damn it, I wouldn't drive out here if I thought Buffy could do this.* "Yes, Buffy will be fine — eventually. But no one knows how long it will be before Adam makes his move. We need you to replace Buffy as the focus of the spell."
Sandwich frozen halfway between her plate and her mouth, Faith stared at the blonde in shock as she went on. "The focus has to be a Slayer. With Buffy out of commission, we need you, Faith." Tara sensed that this was the way to convince the brunette — need. The witched searched for words, pressing her point. "No one else can do this. You have to go to Sunnydale."
Nothing showed on the Slayer's face, and tired blue eyes closed in frustration. "For Goddess' sake —"
"So, the Scoobies sent you out here because the first stringer is out and you need to pull in the second?" Faith asked.
Tara nodded.
"I'm not buying it, Blondie. Ain't no way the gang's onboard with me being back in SunnyD."
"You're right, Faith." The Slayer's eyebrows shot up, and she opened her mouth to speak. Tara rushed on, though, her words harsh with fatigue and too much emotion. "I'm the only one that believes we'll need you. Everyone else is betting on Buffy getting back on her feet and being strong enough that the spell won't tear her apart." Tears began to fill her eyes. "Even Willow wouldn't believe me when I told her."
Slayer and witch stared at each other until a quiet voice interrupted. "You have to go, Faith" He had been so quiet both girls had forgotten he was in the room. "This is your chance."
"My chance to what, Fang? Have B kick my ass again when she's out of the hospital? Hell, Red might not wait that long. From what I saw, she's long past floating pencils."
Faith shot out of the chair. Angel stood, too, and they went toe to toe. Tara watched apprehensively. The Slayer was on the edge of losing control.
"Why'd you stop to talk to Willow?" The witch's voice was soft, barely audible. When both Faith and Angel turned in her direction, she said, "I just want to know. Why would you risk accidentally running into Buffy or the police by going to the dorms?"
Tara wasn't really expecting an answer and was shocked when Faith replied, "Couldn't let Buffy make the same mistakes as me. When I was feelin' all overwhelmed after Finch, that's when I started lookin' for ways to get killed. Didn't want B making the same dumb decisions."
"Then help me! If you don't go back with me, then Buffy will crawl out of the hospital and face Adam. Believe me, Faith, with or without the spell, she won't survive the fight. Even Slayer healing takes more time than she has."
Glancing between pleading blue eyes and sympathetic black ones, Faith bowed to the inevitable. "OK, Blondie. When do we leave?"
***
Willow paused just outside the room. The hacker was nervous about seeing her best friend. Finally, she peered around the doorframe at the small blonde. Buffy smiled at her from the bed, and Willow slowly walked toward her.
"Mom said she would go find you. I thought maybe something was wrong; she's been gone a while." Buffy's voice was a mere whisper. She took a deep breath, and Willow saw her wince. "Guess I should thank you for finding me."
The redhead frowned. Her friend didn't sound all that sincere. "Hey, no problem. I think you're still way ahead in the 'saving your friends from certain death" competition. Your mom was pretty happy when I talked with her. Seems you'll be back to saving the world in no time." She watched Buffy's reaction carefully.
"Yay, me."
This time, Willow couldn't mistake the bitterness in the Slayer's voice or miss the tear that trailed down the pale cheek. She pulled a chair close to the bed and sat, gripping the hand nearest her. "Why the tears, Buffy?"
The blonde head shook violently against the pillow.
"Come on. You know you can't keep a secret from me." The witch tapped her fingers lightly against the hand in her grasp. "Buffy, I'm really worried, and I'm not going away."
A choked sob broke from the form in front of her. "Will, I...I don't want to do this anymore. There's just too much; I can't deal with it all. There's always something looming ahead, and one day, I know I'm gonna make a mistake, and that'll be it."
"Buffy," Willow hesitated. She wanted to promise the distraught girl that it wouldn't happen that way, but they'd both know she was lying. "You're not alone, you know. We're all here to keep the chance of mistakes to a minimum. But, you need to let us help. You've been kinda 'Loner Gal' for a while."
Buffy didn't respond. Her eyes stared sightlessly past Willow, tears streaming steadily.
Maybe the supportive best friend wasn't what the Slayer needed. "Buffy, I wish you could send the Council your resignation. But it doesn't work that way." She snuck a glance at the blonde. She had her attention. "Yeah, it sucks that you have no life and that the whole world relies on you to keep them safe. A little bitterness is understandable. But I'll say it again: you are not alone." Willow bit off each word, trying to force the Slayer out of her depression. "Can you honestly say things haven't changed? Xan and I used to sit in the library while you single-handedly took on the bad guys. We don't do that anymore. We're out there with you, and Tara's helped me harness my powers. I don't think you'll be the only one fighting anymore."
"It's not fair that you guys have to be out there. It's my job."
Willow nearly laughed at the contradictory whine from her best friend. She smiled lovingly at the Slayer, leaning as close as possible from the chair. "Buffy, come on, when has life been fair? If life were fair, Cordelia would be fat and ugly and Principal Snyder would have had horns and carried a pitchfork." The hacker relaxed slightly at the smile tilting Buffy's mouth. "Now, take a long nap. I'll make sure no bad guys get in and when you wake up, I'll know everything we need to know about Adam and his evil plan."
"You'll wake me if you find anything, right?" Getting a nod in response, Buffy reluctantly said, "OK." As soon as the words left the Slayer's mouth, her eyes drifted shut and she quickly fell asleep. Willow leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and simply watched the sleeping girl. The beeping monitors and hushed hospital noises lulled her into a trance-like state for a while until movement by the door caught her attention.
Mrs. Summers stood holding up her laptop case. Willow got up carefully to avoid waking Buffy and walked over to the older woman. She reached for the equipment, ready to go to work on the disks, but Buffy's mother didn't let go. "Let's go talk about my daughter and what Faith had to say."