Faith, Hope & Revelations

A/N: This is like 1 millionth Fuffy fic (not really, but I've written a shitload of them). BUT. This one is my favorite so far. It takes place mid season 4 and will replace "This Years Girl" and so on and so forth. Any changed backstories and stuff will be explained in the fic. Enjoy! AND PLEASE REVIEW! :)

Chapter 1

"By faith we began, by hope we continue, and by revelations we shall obtain the whole."
-Martin Luther

Buffy stood in front of the door but hesitated on whether or not to open it. She looked down at the envelope in her hand and wondered what good it was doing anyone by Buffy coming here. No one knew about her monthly visits. She hadn't even written about it in her diary. The only proof she'd been here at all were the past seven envelopes still unsealed, laying in the bottom drawer of the nightstand beside Faith's bed.

"Please let there be change," Buffy said to no one, "Please..."

It took a while but she finally went inside the room. Everytime she came she was hopeful that there had a been some change. But having been let down so many times before her hope had dwindled. Faith was still in a coma. She was unresponsive to anything Buffy said, and it was almost unbearable to see someone who had once been so fully of energy, nearly devoid of life. What hurt the very most was knowing that Buffy had caused it.

The hospital room floor was filthy. They'd stuck Faith in an abandoned room in the basement of the hospital and there were dirt and old crunchy leaves in the floor. The walls were a dark grey stone, and the floor an uneven slab of concrete. It was an empty, depressing room and besides the bed, the end table, and the machines monitoring the slayer's heart-rate and vitals, there was nothing else in it. Faith was monitored by a nurse that supposedly checked the girl everyday, but Buffy had never saw the woman. When she visited, she was always alone. The slayer wanted to believe that she wasn't the brunette's only visitor, but she knew it was true. Besides her and the mayor, Faith had no one else. And the mayor was worm food. Worm flavored worm food.

"Hey," Buffy said, her voice small, "Brought you another letter. I'll just.. put it with the rest." She placed the envelope with the others, and then she approached the bed.

Faith was pale and her lips were drained of color. Buffy took her hand, which lay on the simple hospital sheets, and stroked the slayer's knuckles with her thumb.

"I hate you being here," she said, "I hate it so much." She leaned over the bed, and with her other hand, she brushed some of Faith's hair away from her face. She tried to smile at her, but she felt tears forming in her eyes. She brushed them away with her fingertips. "If you would just wake up.." She shook her head. Visiting this room always choked her up. Seeing Faith like that made her feel sick, and useless. There was nothing she could do for her and it tore her apart.

Buffy let go of Faith's hand and went to leave, deciding at the last minute to turn around and place a kiss on Faith's forehead.