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A Girl Called Anne
Pike glanced at the still pale figure laying in the hospital bed from where he was standing by the window. Several hours had passed since they brought her to the hospital; Pike had stayed with her since her arrival. "Do I know you?" Pike thought again. He had been raking his brain trying to remember meeting the girl since she mentioned his name in the alley this morning. But where had they met. There something familiar about the girl but Pike couldn't put his finger on it. "Anne Giles", Pike whispered. He couldn't remember meeting a girl named Anne.
Buffy had thought up the name the day she left Sunnydale. The day she decided to runaway from everything and everyone. Anne was a simple name and it didn't make her stand out in a crowd. As for Giles, well, Rupert Giles had become somewhat of a father figure to Buffy since her move to Sunnydale. Buffy had put Giles down as her next of kin just in case something happened to her; she wanted him to be the one to be notified. She was still upset with her mother.
Pike looked over at the girl and noticed her eyes were fluttering a little. He walked over to the bed and looked down at her. "If you're a wake, don't be scared. Your in the hospital; your going to be OK".
Buffy slowly opened her eyes. "Hospital?" she thought "Why am I...?" then she remembered the attack in the alley this morning and being shot. Her leg still ached from the wound. Buffy adjusting her eyes, looked up at Pike "Pike..."
Pike, looking uncomfortable and confused, looked away for a second. When he looked back at the girl, he said, "Do I know you? Who are you?"
Buffy still drugged, closed her eyes and said "I'm the Slayer...I'm Buffy" and then she fell back to sleep. Pike, filled with shock and realizing who the girl was, slowly sank into the chair. He looked at Buffy as she slept. "Buffy? It can't be, can it?"
In Sunnydale, meanwhile, Rupert Giles is settling down for a cup tea when the phone rings. Setting his tea aside, he picks the phone up.
“Hello?"
"Yes, is there a Rupert Giles there, please?" said the voice on the phone.
"Yes, this is he. Who may I say is calling?" Giles responded.
"Mr. Giles, this is Nurse Smith at Perry Community Hospital. We had a girl named Anne Giles brought in this morning with a gunshot wound to the leg. She had your name in her purse as next of kin". Giles, confused had began to reply that he did not know an Anne Giles when he stopped himself when remembered a conversation he had with Buffy a few months ago. They had just come back from a night of "slaying" and were talking when Buffy said she wished her name was different. Giles had replied that she couldn't get a more different name than Buffy. Buffy proceeded to give Giles a look that would kill and said she wished her name was Anne. "Plain ole Anne", she had said.
"Mr. Giles are you still there? Is everything alright?" said the nurse on the phone.
"Oh..I'm terribly sorry. My mind wondered for a second there. Um, where did you say you were located?" Nurse Smith proceeded to give Giles directions to Perry and then to the hospital. Giles thanked her and told he would be there as soon as possible and hung up. “Buffy, what have you gotten yourself into now?", Giles muttered and then dialed Willow's number and told her he had to go out of town for a few days to check on some books. Giles didn't want to tell the others he had found Buffy until he was sure it was definitely her. Giles grabbed an overnight bag filled it with a few clothes and toiletries and left to go if this girl called Anne. "Was she really Buffy?", Giles wondered as he drove away.
"Buffy...I loved you. Why did you do this to me?"
"Angel?" Buffy looked around and slowly. Angel withdrew from the shadows, he looked so different. His hair, his face, but mostly his eyes were different. They were hollow, and had tormented look to them.
"Buffy...I trusted you. Why did you send me there?"
Buffy took a step toward him "Angel, I'm...I'm sorry" Angel looked away. "Angel! Please, try and understand!" Tears begin to fall down Buffy's cheeks, “I didn't...have a choice. I had to do what was right."
Angel looked at her, a look filled with anger and betrayal. " You had a choice and you choose to send me to hell. Do you have any idea what it was like there, Buffy?"
Buffy shook her head.
"No, of course not. You just like to send people you love there; but you've never actually visited there, have you?"
"Angel....please, try and understand," Buffy begged.
"Go away, schoolgirl. I don't want anything to do with you". Angel began to walk away.
"Angel...don't leave me! I love you. I'm sorry!! Angel..." Buffy sat up in the bed she was in
"Angel?," she cried. She realizes that everything that just happened was an awful dream...or was it. Buffy sighs.
"Buffy..?" Buffy looked at Pike standing by the window and wipes the tears from her face with the back of her hand.
"Buffy, is that really you?" Buffy nods yes and looks down. Pike slowly walks over to the bed; Buffy looks up and he looks her in the eye
"Prove it," he says. Buffy looks very sad for a moment and says "Lothos". Pike realizing that was the evil vampire that Buffy had fought and defeated in LA. Only Buffy would know his name. Slowly, Pike sank into the chair by the bed.
"Buffy...what happen to you after the fire at the school? Where did you go? What the hell happened to your hair?"
Buffy touched her hair and quickly jerked her hand away ."Always nice to see you too, Pike. As for my being here in Perry, it's a long story and I rather not go into it right now."
"Fine," said Pike and he looked down for a moment then looked at Buffy again in the eye, "Just answer one question for me".
"Sure if I can,” she said.
"Are you still the Slayer? You know...fighting vampires?"
Just then Nurse Smith walked in, much to Buffy's relief. "Oh..I see our patient is awake and looking better. Let's take a look at your vitals here. How are you feeling, Anne?"
Buffy looked at the nurse and then glanced at Pike who mouthed the word "Anne". Buffy quickly looked back at the nurse and smiled. "I'm OK ; just a little tired".
The nurse proceeded to take Buffy's temperature and pulse and made a few notations on Buffy's chart. "Well, everything looks good. Let's take a peek at that wound of yours for a sec". The nurse then looks at Pike, “Huh..could you leave us alone for a few minutes, please. Thanks".
"Oh..huh, sorry," stammered Pike, slightly embarrassed, "I'll just wait outside in the hall, Bu...Anne". As Pike walked out of the room, Nurse Smith says, "What a nice young man. He has stayed by your bed ever since you arrived this morning." Buffy glanced at the door again and smiled. "Good Ole Pike", she thought. The nurse moved the sheet back and moved Buffy's gown up to get at the bandage on her leg. Since the bullet went through her leg, there had been no need for Buffy to have surgery. Slowly, the nurse raised the bandage from Buffy's wound. "Let's see how your doing..."she then gasped and looked at Buffy.
"What?” said Buffy, getting a little scared. "What's wrong with my leg?"
The nurse looked down again "I've never seen anything like it. The wound....it's almost completely healed." Buffy breathed out, not realizing she had been holding it.
"Oh..that,” Buffy said nervously, “I’m a fast healer".
"It's amazing," said the nurse," I have to go get the doctor and show it to him." The nurse went to the door as Buffy laid her head back on the pillow.
Pike, meanwhile, had been standing out in the hall when he heard the elevator doors open. A tall guy with glasses got off the elevator and stopped at the nurses station to ask a question. The nurse sitting at the desk pointed toward Pike's direction. Pike looked away and then looked up to see the guy coming toward him. Just then Nurse Smith came out the door looking a little upset. "What's the matter?" Pike asked.
"What? Oh..nothing's wrong. Your friend has made an amazing recovery. I have to go find the doctor".
The guy from the elevator had reached them by now "Excuse me...is this the room of Anne Giles?" Nurse Smith nodded yes and excused herself to find the doctor, muttering something to the order of "never seeing anything like it before".
The guy, looking a little confused, glanced at Pike and smiled. "Do you know Anne Giles?"
"You could say that," said Pike, “she’s in there if you want to see her." Pike pointed to Buffy's hospital door.
"Oh, yes, of course. Thank you..." The guy started toward the door and glanced back.
"Are you coming?" Pike nodded and they both entered the room together.
Buffy glanced up as the door as it opened. "Giles! What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Giles glances at Pike.
"Huh...hello...Anne".
Buffy smiled and looked at Giles. "It's alright, Giles. Pike knows who I am. Pike, meet Rupert Giles. Giles, Pike" Pike nodded to Giles.
"Nice to meet you...Pike. As for your questions, Buffy, I received a phone call from the hospital saying that an Anne Giles had had been shot and was here recovering. You had my name and number listed as next of kin in your purse."
"Oh, I forgot,” said Buffy. She looked down. Giles couldn't believe how his slayer had changed since he last saw her. Buffy looked different, not only physically, but there was also a sadness in her eyes that wasn't there before.
Giles walked over and hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “Are you sure your alright, dear?"
Buffy looked up. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm a speedy healer remember".
Giles took off his glasses cleaning them with a kleenex he had took from a box near Buffy's bed. "Ah, yes, of course. That's good to hear" Putting his glasses back on, he glances at Pike and then looks at Buffy. “Buffy, what happened to you? Why did you leave Sunnydale?"
"Sunnydale?" Pike asked.
Buffy, looking impatient and tired, looked at Pike, "Sunnydale is where I lived after LA. Pike. Giles is my Watcher like Merrick was." Pike looked at Giles as if finally understanding why Giles was there and his relationship with Buffy.
"Giles, I'm too tired to go into it all now. Can we please talk about this all later? Please!"
Giles looked embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry! How insensitive of me. Yes, of course, this can wait. you rest now. We'll talk later".
Buffy smiled at her watcher.
"Buffy?"
"Yes, Giles?" Giles glanced at Pike again and looked at Buffy.
"Dear, what did you to your hair?" Pike snickered at this and Buffy proceeded to cover her head with a pillow and close her eyes and sigh.
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