FIC: Three Years in Hell, A Lifetime of Pain (11/?)

[William Labarbera <asagiri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Three Years in Hell, A Lifetime of Pain


By Red Demon & Bill Gopher


Disclaimers - Beth and Co. belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and UPN.
We're just borrowing them for a while. 


Archiving - As our girl Faith said, "Want, Take, Have". Just drop us a line
and let us know where it is going.


Rating - PG-13 to light R (Things have calmed down some at this point.)


Feedback - Is like candy to us. The more you write us, the faster we write.
<mailto:billgopher@xxxxxxxxxxxx> billgopher@xxxxxxxxxxxx or
<mailto:senseiferret@xxxxxxxxx> senseiferret@xxxxxxxxx 








Chapter 11


3 Days Later...

Faith moved back to where she had left Beth hidden, the last few days they
had kept moving east and away from the prison. She had wanted to put as much
distance between them and it as possible.
She wasn't sure how, but Beth had managed to keep up with her despite the
frantic pace she was setting. Exhaustion had finally overwhelmed Beth and
Faith had been carrying her for the last few hours. 
Faith had spotted the house and left B hidden while she checked it out. The
house had been abandoned for sometime, but it was what they needed for now,
a place to rest...
<<<<<<>>>>>>
Faith blinked and turned from the window and back to the figure sleeping on
the bed a few feet away. She frowned and moved through the doorway.
Entering the kitchen she grabbed a bowl from the counter and moved towards
the sink, <Merle lived in a better class of shit-hole than this! > Turning
she opened the refrigerator. The light inside flickered twice before
blinking out, a strong odor of rotting meat flowed out and Faith slammed the
door shut quickly. <Damnit, We're gonna have to move soon, we can't stay
here. > Turning back she waited for the water to clear before she filled the
bowl and moving quietly back through the small house.
Faith walked back into the bedroom with the large bowl of water and some
towels. Putting them down on the dresser she walked over to Beth who was
still sleeping on the bed. <God she stinks! I wonder why I didn't notice it
before. >
Faith put her hand on Beth's shoulder gently, a strong hand grabbed her
knocking her off-balance and then jumped on top of her. Faith lay still
underneath Beth, "B, it's okay. It's me, Faith. Listen to my voice B, you're
safe." Faith gently ran her hand up and down Beth's arm.
Beth leaned forward as she heard the voice, it was familiar somehow. She
leaned close to her and sniffed the woman's neck several times. She knew
that smell! "Mate?" she asked as the image of her tall, dark haired mate
came to mind. 
"Uh yeah B, it's me. Faith." <What is it with the mate thing all the time?
Did I miss something? > Faith wondered to herself.
Faith wriggled from underneath Beth, "B, we need to get these rags off of
you okay?" Faith took the rags on Beth's shoulder and started to pull it off
when she saw Beth smile widely at her. "Mate want to play?"
Beth grabbed the rags and started pulled them off of her. Faith saw a naked
Beth kneeling in front of her..."Uuhhh B, uhmm this is wash time. Not play
time." Instead of being aroused by the sight of Beth being naked, Faith was
shocked by what she saw.
Leaning closer Faith moved Beth's long hair gently aside as she saw the
scars, burns and welt marks that criss-crossed her back and stomach. <Mother
of God!! What did they do to you B? > Tears fell from her eyes as Faith saw
the old scars underneath the half-healed new ones the covered her. Faith
touched Beth's left side where she saw a large purplish area by her ribs and
felt that Beth had several broken ribs as well
Faith reached over and grabbed a wet cloth from the bowl, her hand shaking
as she took the cloth and started to wash the layers of dirt off of B. Faith
wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand.
Beth heard sad noises and felt her mate's sadness wash over her. She reached
out and touched her face and felt it was wet by her cheeks, "Why mate cry?
Do something bad we did? We hurt mate?" Faith heard Beth ask in an upset
voice.
"No B, you didn't do anything bad. I just got something in my eye, k? You
stay still as you can while I clean you up some." <Snap out of it Faith, you
can't go weeping like a little girl. She needs you to be strong for her, so
suck it up! > Faith continued the process of washing the dirt off, rinsing
and continuing to gently clean B. 
After making quite a few trips for clean water, Faith finally finished
washing Beth from head to toe and into some clean clothes. 
<<<<<<>>>>>>
Faith looked out the shuttered window of the cottage she was holed up in
with Beth. The last few days had been really rough on them both. They had
been forced to flee several times when patrols had come to close to where
they had been hiding and after 12 hours of being on the run, they had
finally thrown off the patrols and found this abandoned cottage. 
Turning Faith looked back and saw Beth curled up with a blanket on the floor
sleeping finally. <I don't know how the hell she could keep up with me. Not
with the shape she's in.>
Faith looked back out the window as she felt the tears in her eyes, <I won't
let them take you back B, I promise. >
Faith moved away from the window quietly, trying not to wake Beth. As she
moved past Beth, she heard her start mumbling, "I won't break, I'm a Marine.
I won't break." Faith paused as she saw Beth relax and walked out of the
bedroom. 
Beth's voice kept getting louder and louder. "NO! STOP! NOOO!!!!!!!!!!"
Faith ran back into the room with Beth who was shaking and crying. Faith
pulled her into her arms, "Sshhh, it's okay, ssshhh. You're safe now." Faith
kept repeating the words as she gently rocked Beth in her arms and held her
until she felt her fall back asleep. Beth was wrapped around her like an
octopus, but when Faith started to untangle herself from Beth she heard her
start to whimper. So she stayed there and drifted off to sleep, in the arms
of the one person she longed to be with. 
<<<<<<>>>>>>
Faith woke to a sound she hoped to never hear in her lifetime. A faint
keening sound. She looked around the room noticing that it was empty.
Quickly Faith got up off the floor and headed towards where she heard the
keening. 
She found Beth sitting on the kitchen floor, pulled into a tight ball her
arms wrapped around her. She was covered in sweat and rocking slowly back
and forth. Faith walked slowly over to Beth and knelt down in front of her.
When she reached out to touch Beth she saw her flinch and pull away. "B,
it's me Faith. You're safe now."
Faith moved her hand slowly towards Beth's face and brushed the long hair
away that was covering her face. She ran her fingers gently along Beth's jaw
and cheek. "It's okay Beth, I'm here and no-one's gonna hurt you, ever."
She searched Beth's face for any signs of recognition but received none.
There was only fear. "B you know me. Somewhere in there you know me. I'm
Faith, your slaying buddy. We used to walk through the park on down nights,
and sit on the merry-go-round and talk. I won't hurt you Beth."
Faith moved forward just a few inches and stopped, "Remember the time you
took me to play miniature golf and how much I said I hated it. But you knew
I was lying, as long as I was with you it didn't matter." Faith kept her
voice calm and soothing as she spoke and she saw Beth relax just slightly so
she continued to talk.
"Do you remember the night I kissed you? I do. There was a full moon that
night and we were done patrolling. I looked at you and leaned over and
kissed you. I just wanted to ruffle your feathers, but you kissed me back.
And...and...it was like nothing else B." 
Faith continued to gently caress B's cheek and saw her slowly stop rocking
back and forth. Faith saw the fear slowly leave Beth's face and a
semi-recognition take over. "Come back to me, you're safe now and nothings
gonna hurt you 'cause I'm here now. It's okay." 
Faith watched Beth move forward towards her until she was only inches away
and then sniff her neck several times. 
"Mate? Mate protect from bad men?? Bad men come and take away and hurt.
Leave and then come back and hurt more. Tired of hurting pain. Want it go
away. Mate make it go away now?" Beth asked almost pleadingly.
Faith nodded and put her arms around Beth, pulling her close against her.
"They won't hurt you again B. I promise." 
Faith felt Beth's arms hesitantly wrap around her as she settled closely
against her. "Is tired now, need rest. Safe now. Mate protect us."
Holding Beth closely, Faith gently rubbed Beth's back until she felt Beth's
breathing slow down and even as she fell asleep in her arms. 
Gently Faith picked Beth up so as not to wake her and carried her into the
master bedroom. She looked at the upturned and sighed. She laid Beth down in
the center of a blanket on the floor and then lay down next to her. Beth
immediately moved over to Faith and wrapped herself around Faith and held
her tightly. Faith saw a small smile played on Beth's face as she snuggled
close to her.
Closing her eyes, Faith felt drained emotionally and exhausted, she was
scared by what she had found out and what could have happened to Beth to
make her retreat into herself the way she was now. <I mean it B, I'll kill
the next person who tries to lay a hand on you. > With a fleeting glance at
Beth she let sleep overcome her.
==================

Council Chambers...

The room was dark except for large circular table in the center, seated
around it were seven, black robed and hooded figures.
A large figure at the top of the circle spoke, "Is everything prepared
brothers?"
"Yesss, all has been sset in motion. We need but one piece for usss to
complete the ritual Lord Vaarden." The second figure to his left hissed in
reply.
"What of the last piece?" The fourth figure asked in a deep baritone voice.
"What of the other?" a silkily seductive feminine voice asked. "We cannot
verify that she has been 'removed' from the playing field."
The large figure turned to look at the 'woman'. "She will be taken care of
shortly." 
A green-scaled fist slammed down on the tabletop across from the head of the
Council. The figure was tall and massive even under the robes it wore that
hid it's features, "You underessstimate her Vaarden. Three timesssess you
hass tried to kill her and three timesssess you hass failed. Ssshe iss
becoming too powerfulss. We ssshould have desstroyed her long ago, before
ssshe could be a threat..."
"No Sharas, you worry over nothing. It does not matter if she lives or not.
She has been captured and is no longer a threat. Soon everything will be in
place and then 'nothing' will stop us. The Watcher's Council and their
annoying Slayers will be unable to stop it. The time of the Prophecy is
almost at hand, nothing can stop it and we will rule once again."
Sharas hissed loudly, "A foolsss you are Vaarden, underssesstimate thisss
oness and you ssshall follow in your predecessssor'sss fate. Do not forget
her failure at the handsss of the Slayersss at Rakata. When Krakatau erupted
we losst many of our brotherssss and sissstersss."
"Enough Sharas!! I rule the Council and you will silence that forked tongue
of yours or I will remove it! We will have our Slayer and we will kill the
other at our leisure, and then...then we shall have what is rightfully
ours." 
==================

1 Week Later...


Faith snuck through the bushes at the side of the house. Her eyes darting
wildly, searching for any signs of intruders or patrols, she made her way
quickly to the back of the house, keeping low to the ground. She pulled open
the door and entered into the darkened hallway.
Gripping her M4 rifle she darted quietly up the stairs. The stairs groaned
underneath her feet and she flinched. <Dammit! Faith! Dammit!> She checked
the first bedroom and then the second room they were abandoned just like the
last house they were in. Quickly she darted back down the stairs and out the
door. 
The rain hit her eyes and she blinked covering them with her arm before
moving back into the bushes where she'd left Beth. They'd been on the run
for the last five days, and the skies had decided to punish them for
whatever they had done wrong. She slung her rifle over her back and bent
down next to Beth and touched her forehead feeling the heat coming off her
despite the rain that was coming down on them.
"Okay Beth there's a nice house waiting for us just a few yards away." She
waited a few seconds for Beth to reply but got none. Struggling to remain
calm Faith pulled Beth upright and draped her arm over Beth's shoulder,
supporting almost all of B's weight as they moved.

Beth's head lolled forward and her breathing was coming in rasping hitches,
but Faith kept up the pace. They had to get inside before someone saw them.
Beth stumbled, losing her footing, and nearly pulling Faith down into the
mud with her as the rain picked up more.

Faith pulled Beth out of the mud and started forward again. "Come on B, just
a few more steps." But she couldn't even see the house through the sheet of
rain. Beth started to go down again but Faith quickly grabbed her, she
winced as Beth let out a moan of pain. "I'm sorry B, here." She tucked one
arm underneath Beth's knees and cradled her against her chest.

"Faith...... hurt...... make stop...." Faith felt Beth rest her head against
her shoulder as she collapsed into a wheezing fit.

"You just need to a warm bath B. I'll get you some blankets. Just stay awake
please."

"Can't...... make hurt...... stop..... please." 

****Beth slammed the door open to her room, storming across and into the
bathroom. "Leave me alone Tay."

Taylor smirked as the bathroom door slammed in his face. "No can do Beth.
Marines don't leave Marines. What the hell happened out there?"

"Get out of here Taylor! It doesn't matter." Beth threw a punch, barely
pulling it before her fist smashed into the wall.

Taylor sighed pacing in front of the door. "It does matter. What the hell
where you thinking Beth? You could have gotten us all killed. You know they
are just looking for a reason to fry your ass. And as your squad leader..."

The door slammed open and Beth marched right up to him. "Don't pull that
higher ranking bullshit with me Taylor. You know as well as I do that I
could kill you before you ever knew I moved."

Taylor backed up a few steps, raising his hands in surrender. "True. But as
a friend, what is going on with you?"

Taylor watched Beth cross the room to the window. She pulled open the
curtain slightly letting in the sunlight. "This isn't me Taylor." She
motioned to the fatigues she was wearing and the duffle she'd dropped in her
haste. "I.. can't do this anymore, Tay. This isn't me."

"You're right Beth, this isn't the you from Sunnydale." He crossed over to
her and turned her around so she could see the sincerity on his face. "But
this is you. This is the new you, and you love what your doing in the
Marines. I know this 'cause I can tell by your eyes. On the practice field,
the parade ground, even hanging out with the guys...your eyes light up Beth.
Whatever's bugging you, it doesn't involve the Corps. So don't lie to me and
please don't shut me out."

Beth sighed but didn't back away from him, "Dawnie turned sixteen today, I
promised her that when she turned sixteen I'd help her start a down payment
for her first car. I failed her, just like I failed the guys during the
combat exercise today. I can't to this anymore Taylor.

"You made a mistake today Beth, that's what the exercise is for. And I've
never met your sister, I know she doesn't blame you for anything. If she's a
tenth of the person you are, she'd never do that."

"No Taylor I can't. I'm tired of this," Beth waived her hands around, "of
having everyone looking over my shoulder and every CO trying to get the
'convict' out of their unit as fast as possible. For the last year and a
half I've played by all the rules and I've had to do everything three times
better then anyone else just to be judged half as good. I can't do that
anymore."

Taylor reached over and grabbed Beth by the shoulders and shook her, "Yes
you will Beth, because that's the choice you made when you chose the Corps,
so deal with it 'cause you're not going anywhere. And one more thing Beth,
Marines don't say can't. It's not in our vocabulary."

Beth smirked at Taylor, "Fine Mr. Smarty pants. Cannot," and stuck her
tongue out at him before she picked up her duffle bag and headed back
towards the barracks.*****

Faith kicked the door open, stumbling into the house. Rainwater pooled at
her feet as she struggled to hold Beth and not lose her footing on the wet
floor. Leaning against the wall Faith caught her balance and knocked the
door closed with her foot. Walking a few steps, Faith felt her strength
ebbing. Gently she laid Beth down on the floor, Beth shivered violently in
her soaked clothing and her lips were blue from the cold..

"T-T-Tired of pain. W-Want it t-t-to end..." Faith forced herself up and
towards the bathroom down the hall, <Gotta get some blankets and get B dried
off and warm.> She pulled the linen closet door open and grabbed several
towels and blankets. Turning Faith ran back towards where B was shivering on
the floor.

Faith started removing Beth's clothes hurriedly so she could get her wrapped
in some warm blankets.

A blow to the head knocked her back and Faith looked up from the floor and
saw Beth struggling to stand up, barely able to stand, "NO! Not again! I'll
kill you first!"

Beth fell back weakly against the wall, "No!" she mumbled weakly as Faith
leapt up to grab her before she fell. 

"Ssshhh, it's okay B. You're safe." Faith said as she felt Beth weakly
struggle against her grip.

Beth's struggles slowly ceased, "B, I have to get you out of those wet
clothes okay? You're safe with me here." Faith slowly started to remove
Beth's clothes and got her wrapped up in the blankets she had grabbed.
Picking Beth up again Faith moved her toward the living room and in front of
the fireplace where she laid her down, moving over to the fireplace Faith
threw several logs inside along with some kindling and after several tries
got a fire started. Quickly she got it blazing and the heat began to rise,
looking back Faith heard Beth mumble weakly and moved over by her side. 

"I'm tired Tay...always alone now. Tay?" Faith sat silently trying to decide
whether to reply.

Faith saw Beth shiver and put her arm around her and pulled Beth close to
her. "Yeah, I'm here Beth." Faith finally replied. "Beth, why are you
hiding?" Faith asked.

Beth snuggled closer to Faith, "Not hiding, it hurt. Safer here now. Found
Faith." Faith saw Beth smile as she said her name.

"Are you sure it's safe there Beth? How can you tell?"

"It safe. If can't see, I can't hurt. Beside, Faith loves me, can feel it
when she is nearby. All warm and comfy feeling from her." Beth smiled again.

"You need to open your eyes look at the real world sometime Beth, you can't
hide forever."

"I'm afraid Tay, I'm afraid of what I'll see."

Faith scowled as she heard B's words, "What are you afraid you'll see
B...Beth" Faith asked, concern coloring her voice.

"Afraid...mate leave..." Beth yawned loudly, "Hate....me..." Beth drifted to
sleep in Faiths arms, her head was pillowed on Faith's chest and she held
Faith closely. Even in her sleep Faith noticed Beth seemed to hold onto her
as if she'd disappear.

Faith eyes started to droop as exhaustion started to overwhelm her. Shaking
her head, Faith tried to stay awake, but her eyes slowly drifted shut and
her last thought <Gotta stay awake....>

====================


LA

Angel Investigations

Angel heard his private phone ring and picked it up on the fourth ring.
"Yes?"

"Good morning Angel." Giles said to get the pleasantries out of the way.

Angel sighed mentally, even after all these years he didn't like talking to
Giles. The rift between them from when he had killed Jenny Calendar had
never healed and 
only grown over the intervening years. "Yes Giles? What is it?" he asked
impatiently. 

"Ahh yes. Always to the point. I need to get in touch with Faith."

"Faith? Why do you need to contact Faith Giles?" Warning bells had gone off
in Angel's head when Giles brought up Faith. 

"I have a problem over here and Willow asked me to contact Faith and ask her
to come down to Sunnydale to give us a hand."

"If Willow asked you to call, why are you calling me instead of Faith? She
'did' give you Faith's phone number, right?' Angel asked trying to mask his
suspicion.

"Of course, however when I rang her number there was no answer at her flat.
That's why I'm talking to you, to see if you know where she can be reached."

Angel walked over to his desk and started scribbling notes on pad. "I see,
well she's not here right now. Did you want me to have Faith call Willow
when I see her?"

"Uh, no! No, have her call me at The Magic Shop actually it will be easier
that way. Good day."

Angel waited until he heard Giles hang up and then walked out of his office
and headed over to where Cordy was sitting at her desk. Just as he reached
her Angel saw Cordy grab her head as she was assaulted with a vision from
TPTB.

TBC....