Paige and Xander
Paige stood up and pulled out her cell phone.
"I think we should call Zac."
Xander looked up. "Why?"
"Because they were meant to go out this week and she really does like him, and I think he has the right to know." Paige dialled the Hanson's and waited for someone to pick up the phone.
Zac
Zac picked up the phone.
"City Morgue," Zac said professionally. "You stab 'em, we'll slab 'em."
Paige
"Zac?"
Paige sighed, what he said may have just been more accurate than he knew.
Zac
"Speaking," Zac replied. "And who's on the other end of this line?"
Paige
"Hey Zac, it's Paige."
She took a deep breath.
"I have some bad news."
Zac
"Hi Paige!" Zac said cheerfully.
Then he paused.
"Aww," he complianed. "I don't like bad news. Are you sure it isn't good?"
Paige
"Well... it depends on how you wanna look at it. Me, I say it's bad news."
Paige took another deep breath.
"I think you should come down to the hospital. It's Faith... she's... she's in a coma."
Zac
Zac was silent for a moment.
"A coma?" he whispered. "Oh man... is she going to be okay? What happened? Which hospital?"
Paige
"Just get down here as soon as you can."
Paige gave him all the details and hung up and turned to the others.
"He's coming..."
Zac
Zac grabbed his keys and headed to his van. If he broke any speed limits getting there he didn't realise it, and, more importantly, didn't get caught. Finding parking at hospitals is always a pain, but he managed to find a spot and hurried inside, looking urgently for Paige.
Halliwells, Lorne and Xander
Paige was standing out in the waiting room with Xander. Lorne, Piper and Phoeve had gone home a few hours ago, and not wanting to leave Faith alone, Xander and Paige stayed.
"Hey Zac, in here."
Zac
"Paige!" Zac said hurrying to her. "Where is she? How is she?"
Paige, Lorne and Xander
Paige and Xander led Zac into Faith's room.
"We don't know." Xander paused and extended his hand to Zac. "I'm Xander, by the way, Faith's Watcher."
"I tried healing her, but Lorne says," Paige's eyes filled with tears. "He says that the damage may not be just physical but mental... and that's why... that's why I can't wake her up."
"What she means is that Faith's fighting her inner demons, and until she wins, she won't wake up."
Zac
Zac stared at Faith sadly.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" he asked, taking her hand.
Paige
Paige shook her head. "It's up to her now. If she's strong enough, she'll make it through."
"Come on, Paige, we'll go get some coffee. You want anything, Zac?"
Zac
"No, no thanks," Zac replied.
He gazed at Faith in silence for a few minutes, and then gently touch her face with his hand.
"C'mon, girl," he said. "I know you're strong enough to get through this. Besides, we have a date on Saturday, remember?"
His hand touched her lips.
"Okay, I know this is real corny but..."
He leaned over and kiss her lips softly. When he pulled away, he looked at her hopefully. Then sighed in disapointment when she didn't wake up.
"Pity life isn't a fairy tail, huh?" he observed dismally.
Faith, Paige and Xander
Faith could hear Zac, she was so close to the surface.
*Let me go!*
Buffy's laughter sounded cruel. *No, I don't think so. Thing is Faith, you ain't gonna survive this. Can't you feel it? Everything's shutting down.*
*You're wrong.*
*Am I? I mean, no one cares about you Faith, no one will mourn when you're gone. You have no one.*
Faith watched as Zac looked disappointed. *I have someone. I have him.*
*You don't have him. Don't kid yourself Faith. You don't deserve him. It's why this happened.*
*Zac, I'm still here!*
*Ready to see something new?*
*No!*
***
Paige and Xander sat drinking coffee in the depressing hospital cafeteria. "I should ring Mouse."
Paige pulled her phone out again and dialled Mouse's number.
"Hey, Mouse? Paige. Bad news."
Mouse
"Is it anything to do woth why Sidhe's wailing at the top of her lungs and Fafnir won't stop growling, and Nevyn's hiding under the tv?" GUYS, SHUT UP! Mouse cradled the phone between her shoulder and her head as she tried to calm her animals down. "They've been like this all yesterday too." She knew the cacophony had to be coming down the line.
Paige
"Faith went up against Glory, she's in a coma. Zac's already here. We're at the hospital. We just thought you should know."
Mouse
"Jesus Christ." Mouse sat down heavily. "I'll be right over. Maybe I can reach her." Mouse willed back the tears, she didn;t have so many friends she could afford to lose one. "I hope they settle down." She breathed heavily for a moment, then imperiously ordered her animals silent. They froze. "I'll leave them all at home, and I'll be over as soon as I can get a ride."
Paige
"Stay here, I'll orb in and get you."
Paige orbed to Mouse, smiled sadly and held out her hand.
Mouse
Mouse took Paige's hand, angrily swiping with her other hand at the tears coursing down her face. "Stupid tears. Like they ever helped anybody. Let's go, please? Be good, guys. I'll be bak soon."
Paige
Paige nodded and orbed her into Faith's room where Zac was.
"I'll be back in a sec." Paige left to go get Xander. She appeared a second later again with him.
"Hi Mouse."
Zac
Zac was still holding, and caressing Faith's hand when Mouse arrived.
"Hi Mouse," he murmered sadly, before turned back to Faith.
He stroked Faith's hair with his other hand.
Mouse
"Hey. Oh, Zac..." Mouse swiped at her tears again as she felt all the pain in the room. "Faith..." She stepped up to Faith's bedside and put her hand on Faith's. "Oh, she's lost so deep...Faith, come back. You don't belong there anymore." Mouse cried some more. "We love you, Faith. Please come back."
Xander
Meanwhile. Xander pulled out his phone and dialled Dawn's number.
"Hey Dawnie, it's Xand. Look, there's been... I have bad news. Faith's in a coma, because... well, Glory's back. Look, stay with Spike and whoever else is there, I don't want you around for this. She's looking for you again."
Dawn
Dawn's eyes widened. "Xander, hold on a sec." she held her hand over the phone. "SPIKE! NYX! SCOTT! GET DOWN HERE NOW! I NEED YOU!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Xander, what dio you mean stay here? How the hell do you expect me to stay here? She's my sister!"
Nyx and Logan
Nyx walked up, shivering hard and wrapped in Logan's arms. "We know. I know. I felt her come back. I'm connected, remember? Priss needs a hand, she'll call. And we aren't letting you go. You can't. You'd just be a weapon in her perfectly manicured hands."
"What's going on, nibblet?"
"Glory's back," Nyx said briefly.
"WHAT? I thought she couldn't cme back! Giles killed that Ben guy, how in the bloody hells did she manage to get back?!" Needless to say, Spike's reponse was less then calm.
"My sibs and I will be talking quite harshly to the people in charge, don't you worry. She wasn't meant to be able to come back."
Dawn
"But Faith's in a coma. She's my sister, as much as Buffy was. Oh god, if Glory knows this, she's going to try and use Faith to get to me." Dawn started to hyperventilate. "Somebody, please, talk to Xander," she handed the phone to Logan who was closest.
"Okay, so we need a plan. Janusz and Dagon may be able to help," she said, walking over to the corner to sit down cross-legged. "Can somebody please get me a candle or two?"
Xander
"I don't care, I don't want you anywhere near when everything starts to fall to bits."
Dawn
Dawn growqled, a move she had perfected from hanging around Spike and Nyx. "Fine." she said, obviously upset.
Nyx
"We just want you safe! I *hate* caring about mortals, you just die too damn easily." Nyx buried her face in Logan's chest. "If Priss needs us, she'll call. We have enough on our plate."
Dawn
"Okay, so I won't go after Glory, though she needs to pay dearly, we also need to know something, are she and Ben still sharing a body?"
Nyx and Logan
"No...there's something different about her this time. Something even more off then usual." Nyx xhook her head slowly.
"I want the full story later, baby." Logan's hand was rubbing Nyx's back in soothing circles.
"I will, Logan. And I better tell the professor too. We'd wanna be ready if Glory decides to come after her Key. If we have to, we can take the Mavericks and go skipping. Jumping. Never stay still long enough for her to catch more then a flicker."
Dawn
"Janusz is pissed at his unholy daughter, she will not touch me, he has promised," Dawn said, as a shiver went through her spine, her 'father' whispering to her mind.
Nyx
"That's comforting," Nyx said. "Dawnie, sweetie, I promise you, if Priss calls, or something else happens, we'll head down there straight away."
Dawn
"Okay," Dawn said, letting Spike pick her up and carry her.