Until Death Does Us - wlw, lesbian

Chapter 17- The Recovery.

It's a long, hard night when Elizabeth returns to the apartment. Faith wakes up four times groaning in pain, even through the painkillers Cassie gives her. Every time, it wakes Elizabeth up down the hall on the couch, and she lays there in the darkness, listening to Faith struggle and feeling the twinges of pain that Faith lets slip through the bond. Even when Faith is asleep, Elizabeth is restless, wondering when morning will come, and bring with it Alison and Abigail, fully rested and ready to start healing again. Maybe tomorrow they'll be able to get Faith's clothes out of her wounds and finish up the more minor burns on her face.

Sleep finally comes for Elizabeth awhile past three in the morning, and dawn comes not too long after that, drifting through Cassie's curtains and dragging her awake. She's the first one up, and she uses the spare bathroom upstairs before going to check on Faith.

Faith has made surprising progress in the night. Her prophet healing seems to be kicking in: the swelling on her head is gone, and the burns have faded, new skin replacing burnt flesh at their edges. She doesn't look good, she doesn't even really look better, but she looks a little more human. She's awake when Elizabeth walks in, and she smiles through the wounds and the dark circles under her eyes.

"Hey, E," Faith says. "So, fun fact, I can walk, but my leg is bleeding now."

"What?" Elizabeth hurries forward, leaning over the side of the bathtub to get a better look. The burn on the outside of Faith's thigh—easily the worst one on her whole body—is oozing blood and what looks like pus. Elizabeth grimaces. She sees a lot of disgusting wounds as a nursing student, but not usually on someone she cares about—and she usually doesn't have to stick around for the healing process. She probably won't have to again, given the fact she hasn't been to class in... way, way too long to keep her status standing.

"Why did you get up?" Elizabeth asks, straightening up. She grabs the medical kit from the corner and starts looking for something to clean the wound with.

"Had to piss," Faith says. "Wasn't about to ask for help." Elizabeth can't fault her for that. "Walking was fine, but my jeans were stuck to the burn. Ripping them out didn't go great. How'd the patrol go? You didn't come see me when you came in."

Elizabeth sighs deeply, glancing at the floor as her hands still. The darkness still makes her feel cold even beneath the layers of sweaters. It felt too much like that night all those years again...

"You know what?" she says. "That's not our problem right now." She grabs a pair of fabric scissors and a lot of gauze and antiseptic from the medical kit. "Can you roll onto your other side?" she asks Faith. "I need to clean that." Faith grits her teeth, but does as she's asked, shifting onto her side so Elizabeth can get at the burn on her thigh.

Elizabeth cleans it as quickly and efficiently as possible. She cuts away most of Faith's jeans around the wound and rinses it out, gently patting away the blood and pus. Faith doesn't complain, but her breath hisses loudly, and she grits her teeth all the way through.

"Done," Elizabeth says, once the burn is as clean as she can get it. "I don't know if it's worth bandaging it, since Alison and Abi are just going to come by and heal you some more."

"S'fine." Faith rolls back off of her side, settling against the back of the tub, mostly upright. "I figure one more magic session and I can heal the rest on my own. And take a fuckin' shower."

Elizabeth nods, wincing sympathetically. The bathroom still reeks of smoke, sweat, and blood.
"Can I get you anything?" Elizabeth asks. "Food? Water?"

"I should probably eat somethin' before I take more drugs," Faith says with a sigh. "I dunno. Toast or something. I'm not that hungry." Elizabeth nods, and fills Faith's water glass before she leaves the room, setting it on the chair by the bathtub where Faith can reach it. She heads back up the hallway to the kitchen