Opening the door to Faith's room, I go inside, the backpack shrugged up over my shoulder. I look around to make sure no one's coming before taking off my backpack and opening it up. When I know I'm alone with Faith, I pull out the book and set it down on her bedside table and pull out the rest of the items I need. A couple of candles, holy water, and a few herbs to burn.

This has to work. She means everything to me and I don't know if I can keep living this way. Wondering if she'll wake up today or tomorrow. It feels like she's been asleep forever. I can't take it anymore. There has to be more that I can do to help her recover faster. And I'm right. I just hope that this works the way I want it to.

After I take all the right ingredients out of my bag, I start putting them where they need to be. The candles go around Faith's hospital bed, lighting each one as I place them in position. Then I place one candle in front of me and light it, completing the circle around her. With each candle in place, I pick up the Ziploc bags of herbs that have been sitting on Faith's beside table.

Buffy would kill me if she knew I was doing this. She doesn't like me messing with magic and stuff. In fact, as a general rule, she doesn't like me having to deal with anything demonic or supernatural at all unless I absolutely have to. But this is something I have to do. And it's not like this is anything big, like the spell I tried to do to bring my mother back from the dead. I'm not stupid enough to mess with things that powerful again, no matter how tempting it is.

My eyes watch Faith's face while she sleeps and take out a pinch of the first herb, sprinkling it gently over the candle flame. It flickers slightly, and I take a pinch of the second herb, doing the same thing I did with the first. This time the candle flickers more and there's also a small spark, letting me know I'm doing it properly.

Okay, and now the incantation with the third one.

I pick up the book along with the pinch of the third herb and find the right spell. As I sprinkle the herb, I say the spell.

"A simple spell for the one I love, hear my call, listen to my words from beyond your wall, speak to me from within your slumber and speak to me a simple number. Listen to my words sincere and rescue me from my fear. With the words I speak, hear my heart and obey my call from finish to start."

A small puff of smoke shoots up from the candle in a swirl before it disappears in the air.

That should do it. Now I just hope that it actually worked.

Leaning over her on the bed, I whisper to her softly.

"Faith..."

Faith stays still and doesn't say anything.

She's supposed to say a number or something if she hears me.

"Faith?"

Nothing happens.

Why can't she hear me and do something?

"Faith, can you hear me?"

She doesn't move or say anything.

"Faith, if you can hear me please wake up."

Reaching out, I take her hand. It stays as limp as it's been for the past seven weeks while I hold it. She doesn't move when I squeeze her hand gently.

"Come on Faith, wake up for me."

She stays still in her sleep, barely moving except for the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"Come back to me baby."

Again all that happens is nothing.

"I need you to come back to me and tell me that you love me. Because I love you."

Nothing...

"And I need you to know that. I need to tell you that and hear it back. You mean everything to me Faith. So please, wake up."

The woman I love keeps sleeping in her hospital bed.

"Please baby..."

I squeeze her hand gently again but it doesn't happen.

"I don't know if I can handle another week of sitting here watching you sleep like this. It's killing me Faith. But it doesn't have to. I can be okay and so can you. All you have to do is wake up for me."

There's a long drawn out silence as I watch my girlfriend's almost lifeless face, hoping to see some sign that she's waking up. But it never comes.

Why isn't the spell working? It should've worked. I did everything the spell told me to and it all worked like the spell said it should. So why isn't Faith waking up when I ask her to? Maybe the spell wasn't powerful enough. It was just a small little power of suggestion spell. I might need to use something bigger. But I didn't want to because something could go wrong. And sometimes people get hurt when a spell goes wrong. But what else can I do other than a more powerful spell?

Another squeeze of her hand does nothing.

"Faith..."

This spell obviously didn't work. There has to be one that will. But I didn't really think that this one wouldn't work, so I don't know what else to try. What do I do now?

Just then, there's a soft knock at the door and someone walks in.

Oh crap...

All I have time to do is put the book down on Faith's side table before standing up and turning to see Candy walking into the room. She smiles at me and I try and smile back as much as I can, both our smiles are half hearted though.

"Hey Dawn..."

"Hey Candy..."

"How's Faith?"

I bring my eyes back to Faith's sleeping form and sigh.

"She's fine... except for still being in a coma."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

Trying to make it seem like it's not a big deal, I shrug.

"It's all right. I was hoping she might come out of it today, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen."

Candy pulls up a chair and sits down.

"Why today?"

I really wish she hadn't asked me that. It makes me wish the spell had worked.

"Because... well... today is, kind of, our anniversary."

"Oh..."

"It was one year today that we had our first real date. We went to the movies and saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But I couldn't tell you what the movie was really about, cause we spent most of it making out."

The room falls silent for a moment and I reach out to take Faith's hand in mine, holding it tightly when I feel like I almost wanna cry.

"One year ago today I had the greatest first date of my entire life, and I was really looking forward to celebrating it with her."

Another long moment of silence passes through the room.

"But I don't think that's gonna happen now."

Dropping my eyes down to the floor, I take a deep breath to try and hold back the tears that I feel stinging the corners of my eyes.

I wanted us to spend the whole day together, on a day long date. But I guess I don't get to have that. Instead all I'm gonna do is sit here and wish for her to wake up. The same thing I did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before and the day before for the last seven weeks.

"I'm sorry..."

With a deep breath, I wipe my eyes clean of the tears. Then I pull my head up to face hers.

"It's all right. I'll just survive without it."

My best friend gives me a sympathetic look.

"I'm still sorry. Faith saved my life seven weeks ago in that fight. I owe her my life, and I hate that it cost the two of you your anniversary together."

"Thank you... but what about you? How are you feeling? We haven't really talked much since you woke up."

Her smile turns less happy.

"Well... I'm alive, I guess. All but healed up after almost dying three or four times a couple weeks ago. At least that's what the doctors tell me. Even knowing that though, I feel like I'm lucky. A lot of the people I went into that fight with... didn't come out."

There isn't much I can say to that.

Except maybe...

"I'm sorry, about Carmen."

Candy sighs heavily.

"Thanks..."

"She was a great person. I'm gonna miss her."

"Yeah... but the way Buffy talks about where slayers who die in the line of duty go, I know she's gone to a better place. Makes it easier to live with."

I probably shouldn't joke but...

"You can't really argue with someone who's been there, can you?"

There's a small chuckle from her and I guess I made the right choice.

"Not really."

We sit there in silence for a minute.

"I miss her badly, but I know she's in a better place. So I'm as happy for her as I can be, knowing she's not here with me."

All I can do is sigh from her words.

"That sounds like the best way to handle it. Does it work?"

The girl I call my best friend shrugs.

"So far so good..."

I don't think I could handle things as well as Candy is when it comes to Faith. It'd kill me to have to live without Faith. If she doesn't wake up from this coma, or if she never came back from the fight. I'd go insane.

Suddenly, there's a whisper in the room.

"Five..."

Is that?

I look up to see Faith whisper again so quietly.

"By five..."

It was.

"Was that?"

Instead of answering Candy I'm up on my feet and leaning over Faith's bed slightly, looking down on her.

"Faith... Faith can you hear me?"

Her eyes stay closed, making it look like she's still sleeping.

"Dawn..."

She heard me. Oh my god she can actually hear me.

"Faith, baby I love you."

"Why does it look like she's still sleeping? Shouldn't she be awake if she's speaking to us?"

For a split second, I look back at Candy to answer her.

"I don't care. She's speaking to me, that's all that matters."

Gently, I reach out and caress Faith's cheek.

"Faith, I love you. Please wake up."

"D... Dawn... I-I love you."

Tears start to sting the corners of my eyes again when I hear her say that.

"I love you too baby. Come back to me."

"This doesn't feel right Dawn. She should be waking up. Something about this isn't right."

Hearing Candy say that has me meeting eyes with her again.

"What isn't right about my girlfriend speaking to me? Everything's fine."

Maybe the spell I did didn't fail after all. Maybe it worked and now I can talk to my girlfriend on our anniversary.

"Faith, please, I want you to wake up for me. I need you to wake up for me. Please."

Her eyes flicker a little but she isn't quite waking up.

"I'm going to get a doctor."

For god's sake...

Turning around swiftly, I knock the side table over as my eyes meet Candy's with every bit of anger in me.

"GOD DAMN IT Candy, just leave it alone. Everything's fine now shut up and let me talk to my girl."

A long moment of silence passes before Candy looks down at the floor. My eyes go where Candy's line of sight is and see what she's looking at.

Damn...

She crouches down, picking up the spell book I was using not too long ago. It takes her only a second of looking at the cover to realize what it is. Her eyes go wide while jumping to the exact wrong conclusion.

"This is a spell book. I recognize it from the collection Buffy has that she makes us read every so often. What the heck did you do Dawn?"

"Nothing..."

Neither of us says anything for a moment.

"It was... it was nothing. All it was, was... a spell so I could talk to my girlfriend on our anniversary. It's nothing. I'm not raising the dead or anything. Just, leave it alone."

Candy holds up the book so the cover is facing me.

"Dawn, I'm not the smartest person in the world but even I'm not stupid enough to mess with magic. What if something had gone wrong?"

"Nothing did... she's, she's fine..."

Suddenly, I hear someone gasping for air in pain.

Oh god no...

I turn around and see its Faith convulsing in her bed. The heart rate monitor and the other machines she's hooked up to start going crazy.

Please no... don't do this to me.

"We... get a doctor... we need a doctor..."

My best friend reacts before I do and opens the door to Faith's room, calling out for help.

"We need a doctor in here!"

All I can think to do is lean over Faith to try and help her somehow.

"Faith! Faith please don't die, I need you baby. I need you, don't leave me."

Tears form in my eyes at the thought of what's about to happen. A bunch of nurses come in and all the sudden they're pushing me aside to get at her.

"What happened?"

"I... I don't know... I... she just started convulsing."

One of the nurses steps between me and Faith, pushing me back even though I don't want to go while the others try and figure out what I did to her.

"You have to leave. Let us do our work."

"Please save her. You have to save her."

"We'll do our best, just leave and let us work."

Candy grabs me and pulls me back with her slayer strength, taking me out into the hallway.

What did I do?