Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. They belong to Joss Whedon, the WB network, and Mutant Enemy.
As Buffy walked home from the Bronze her thoughts were on Angel. Her Angel. Oh God how she loved him! She loved every thing about him, the way he looked at her with his dark penetrating eyes and how when he smiled at her she could feel her heart beat race and her pulse quicken. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't see the four vampires that stood waiting for her in the shadows. As two of themattacked her from behind the other two waited off to the side. Buffy was quickly shaken from her thoughts as she felt one of the vamps grab her shoulder. "What the hell . . ." just then the other one gave her a swift kick to the ribs. Buffy fell to the ground, down only for a second before jumping back into action, pulling a stake from her sleeve she plunged it into the vampire's heart with such deadly force that the second vampire stood frozen in disbelief.
Buffy used his shock to her advantage. Giving the second vampire a roundhouse kick to the face she raised her arm ready to let the stake fall when the othr two vamps that she had forgotten about grabbed her arms and pinned her to the ground, before she could react the largest vampire of the four kicked her in the head with all his might as he yelled "Your not so tough now, are you Slayer!" As she lay on the ground curled up in a tight ball, she felt herself starting to slip away. Darkness was closing in all around her but she knew that she had to hang on, all she could do was cry out a name "Angel . . ." the way that her voice said his name sounded strange even to her own ears. As she hung on to consciousness, she could barely feel the pain as the three remaining vampires continued to beat her.
Angel had been waiting at the Bronze hoping to see Buffy there. He had spent the whole day thinking about her and their situation. He had finally come to the decision that being apart from her was even more painful than being with her. He knew that he had to tell her that he loved her and would do anything for them to be together. He waited around for what had seemed like hours to him, but had really only been minutes. All of a sudden he had this strange sensation that Buffy was in trouble and needed him. He quickly got up from the table he had been sitting at and started to make his way to her house.
As Angel turned the corner on to her street he saw Buffy laying on the ground being beaten by three vampires. He reached her attackers with such great speed that they didn't see him coming until it was to late. He fought the vampires with such strength that he killed all three of them in a matter of minutes. He turned back to Buffy, who was still laying on the ground unconscious, bruised and bleeding. He picked her up very carefully and checked for a pulse. He sighed with relief when he found it. She was alive but barely. As he held her in his arms and looked down at her face he started crying. "My beautiful Buffy, how could they do this to you. I should have been here sooner, I'm your Guardian Angel." Her eyes were swollen shut and the huge gash on her forehead where she had been kicked was gushing blood. He thought about taking her to the hospital but he knew they would never make it there before sunrise. He carried her into his apartment, surprised at how light she was. He laid her down on his bed with such gentleness, so afraid that he might injure her even more. As he checked her over he noticed that her thin white tank top was covered in her own blood, as he removed her top what he saw made him weak in the knees.
Giles paced back and forth across the library mumbling to himself "Where the bloody hell is she?" When Xander stumbled through the library doors with Willow close behind him as always. "Where the bloody hell is who?" Xander said in his best British accent. Giles, who seemed to be very annoyed looked up at the boy and answered "Buffy, have either of you seen her today? She was supposed to meet me before school. I thought she just 'blew me off' as you say." Well she's not with us, when she wasn't in class we figured she was here with you doing some extra training or something." Xander's tone had changed and he seemed almost scared. Willow, who had been listening to the conversation now shared the same worried expression as the others. "What if she's hurt and laying somewhere barely alive, or 'gulp' even dead!" Willows imagination was running wild, but she couldn't help it, she had this awful feeling. Giles, trying hard to stay calm and think straight, had an idea. "Willow, call Buffy's house, maybe she felt ill and stayed home today. Xander come with me." Xander, greatful to be able to do something asked "Where are we going G-Man?" "To look for Buffy, you know where Angel lives, and that's where were going."
Angel sat on his bed next to Buffy carefully bandaging her wounds. As hard as he tried he still couldn't get the image of her bruised broken body out of his mind. When he had removed her top last night he saw that her ribs were so swollen that she was having trouble breathing. She also had a slash that started at one hip and ended at the other. It was a deep wound, he gussed it was even deeper than the on her head which concerned him considerably. Her bleeding had lessened since last night but she still hadn't regained consciousness. He listened to her soft moans and quiet whimpering as if every sound of pain she made he felt too. He held her in his arms all night, fearful that if he let her go she would die. He had tried to call Giles as soon as he had gotten back to his apartment with Buffy but the phone line was dead. It was now early afternoon and he finally slipped out from under her and walked back over to his phone. He picked up the receiver, "Damn, still dead. Now what?" Angel had just slammed down the receiver when he heard a knock at his door. He looked up, startled at the noise he made his way over to the door and cautiously opened it. Angel stood before Giles and Xander. He had hoped that they would come to his apartment so that they could take Buffy to the hospital, something he wasn't able to himself because of the sunlight.
As soon as Angel had opened the door Xander and Giles had one question they needed an answer to. At the same time they both blurted out "Do you know where Buffy is?" "Yeah, she's right here." Angel managed to say before the two men made their way into his apartment. As they entered his bedroom they saw Buffy laying on the bed and their hearts sank. Their question had been answered but it wasn't the answer they wanted. Giles reached Buffy before Xander and stumbled around trying to find a pulse. Angel entered the room and said "Don't worry, she has a pulse." Xander looked up at him with rage in his eyes. "DON'T WORRY!!! What do you mean don't worry, Buffy's laying here barely alive and you're telling us not to worry!" Ignoring Xanders outburst Giles turned to Angel, "How did this happen?" "I was at the Bronze hoping that Buffy would show up, I had some stuff I needed to talk to her about, that's when I had this strange feeling that something was wrong and that she needed me. So I headed to her house, when I turned the corner on to her street, that's when I saw her. She was face down on the ground being beaten by three vampires." Giles managed to hold in a sob of greif before he spoke, "Oh dear God! Why on earth would they beat her?" Now it was Angel's turn to have rage in his eyes as he said "They wanted to make her suffer."
Willow sat in the library unable to shake the thought that something bad had in fact happened to Buffy. Waiting alone was the worst. There was no one there to stop her from letting her imagination run wild. Just as she thought she was about to go out of her mind the phone rang. She sprung up out of the chair and picked up the phone before the second ring. "Hello, hello?" Willow was more than relieved to hear the familiar voice that answered her. "Ah, yes Willow you're um there, very good then." it was Giles, she knew it, she only wished she could understand what he was saying. He was mumbling something about the hospital emergency room and Buffy. That was all she needed to know and with that she was on her way out the door.
When she reached the hospital Willow burst through the waiting room doors creating so much noise that it caused not only the nurse at the front desk to look up but the two men pacing the room to abruptly stop and face her. "Willow, oh wow, am I glad to see you." Xander ran to his friend and hugged her so tightly she had to catch her breath, not only because of how hard he was sgueezing her but also because of the fact that he was holding her so close. She could smell his cologne and feel his arms securely wrapped around her and for a moment she was in heaven. But she forced herself to face reality and focus on the problem at hand. "Buffy!" The name left her mouth with out Willow even realizing it. Xander slowly released her from his bear hug and gazed into her pleading eyes. How could he tell her that thay didn't know if Buffy would be alright. He was thankful that he didn't have to. Giles put a hand on her shoulder and gently led her over to the row of chairs that lined the wall.
"Buffy is in critical condition. The doctor said that she has some internal bleeding and that they were able to stop most of it but that they will have to do a second operation to fully stop the bleeding. She also has three broken ribs, a concussion, a large gash across her stomach that they closed with 67 stitches, her face and body are badly bruised and she also has stitches on her forehead." Willow's face now matched the pale white complexion of Xanders. As Giles continued Willow started to feel sick. "I am only telling you this to prepare you for when you see Buffy." Willow burst into tears and began to sob. "When I see her? You mean their allowing visitors?" Willow managed to choke out the words. When a thought crossed her mind. "Where's Angel? He should be here! I know Buffy would want him here. Where is he!" Now it was Xander's turn to talk, "Hey Will, calm down. Lets not freak out just yet. Angel is gonna be here in an hour when the sun sets. I'm sure Buffy will make it through this, after all she is the Slayer."
When Mrs. Summers had heard the news she was on the first flight back to Sunnydale. She had gone to San Francisco to pick up a couple of new paintings and visit one of her old college friends. She had hesitated about going even though she would only be gone for two days. So when she had gotten the phone call from Willow telling her Buffy's condition she knew that she had to reach her daughter as soon as she could. Now Joyce sat on a plane feeling as if the entire world around her was crashing in. She kept imagining the worst, 'Get a hold of your self Joyce' she thought 'You can't loose it now, you've got to hold it together for Buffy.' As soon as the plane had landed Joyce was the first one off. With out a moments hesitation she was running through the terminal blindly knocking peopleout of her way, almost falling her self more than once. With in a matter of minutes she was in a cab and on her way to the hospital.
The sun had set only five minutes ago but Angel had already reached the hospital and was making his way into the waiting room. Willow was the first person to se him come in. "Angel!" she cried as she got up from the chair she had been sitting in for the last hour and a half. She stretched her sore muscles and took it upon her self to fill him in on Buffy's condition. Grief-stricken Angel pushed his way past the two nurses that sat at the front desk in an attempt to see Buffy. But just as he was about to enter her room three security guards, which had been called by one of the nurses, escorted him back down the hall and into the waiting room. Angel knew that he could easily take the guards but opted not to because of the simple fact that he didn't want to get him self thrown out of the hospital. He had to be there when Buffy woke up.
Joyce Summers saw Willow and the others in the waiting room and ran to her daughter's friends. Seeing the expressions on their faces she could no longer hold it in and started to sob uncontrollably. Giles took Joyce in his arms doing the best he could to comfort her. "It's going to be all right."
Four hours later they finally let Joyce in to see her daughter. Buffy was awake now but was way out of it. When her mom asked her what had happened Buffy's only answer was "Vampires, it was vampires." Joyce was now shaking her head in confusion. What was going on in her daughter's head? The nurse who also happen to be in the room turned to Joyce and said "Buffy is on extremely powerful sedatives and will be delusional for at least a couple more hours. We should probably leave and let her rest." Joyce reluctantly allowed herself to be led out of the room.
When the sedatives finally did wear off and Buffy awoke she had a new visitor. "Angel, my beautiful Angel." As Buffy tried to sit up she let out a painful whimper. "Buffy, hey take it easy." Buffy looked up at Angel to see a concerned look on his face. "I'm so glad your here Angel. I think my mom was here earlier," Buffy pauses, horrified she remembers what she said earlier to her mom. "Oh shit! Angel I told my mom that it was vampires that had attacked me!" Angel seemed unfazed by her statment. "I know, she told us that when she came back out to the waiting room. Don't worry, the nurse had said something about a powerful sedative and that you were delusional. That's why we weren't allowed to see you." Buffy looked relieved, 'Thank God for sedatives.'
"Angel, where is my mom and how exactly did you get in to see me if I'm not allowed visitors?" "The doctor told us all to go home and get some rest because there wasn't anything that we could do for you. So your mom left with Giles, Xander, and Willow. I left along with them but than once they were out of sight I came back." "That still doesn't explain how you got in here." Buffy smirked. Angel was now blushing. "I snuck in past the nurses when they were on a shift change." Buffy and Angel talked for about a half an hour before the doctor came back in to check on Buffy. In an instant Angel was hiding in the bathroom listening at the door. "Good morning Miss Summers, I'm glad to see that you are awake. Are you feeling any better?" "Yeah, a little, but it hurts to move anything." "Have you been sleeping at all since the sedatives have worn off?" "No, I haven't been tired. The nurse said that I should try and get some sleep but I just haven't been able to keep my eyes closed." "I see, well I guess I'll just have to give you something to help you fall asleep." The doctor walked over to where Buffy's IV was hanging and inserted a needled into the drip, and with that he walked out the door. Before Buffy could even get the words out to ask her question she was out cold. Angel now came out from his hiding place and silently made his way over to Buffy's bed. He gazed down lovingly at the small, fragile looking form that lay sleeping on the bed before him. He gave her a parting kiss on the forehead, careful not to come close to her stitches, whispered "I love you." and left the room.
Xander sat on his bed staring out the window, he knew he should try to get some sleep considering it was 1:00 a.m. but he just couldn't. He kept reliving the day's events. He knew he needed to talk to someone and without even realizing it he had the phone in his hand and could hear a ringing sound which lasted only a second.
"Hello. Hello?" It was Willow.
"Willow, it's me." Xander sounded tired and frustrated.
"Hey, Xander. Is everything O.K.?"
"Yeah will, just peachy." Xander said sarcastically.
"Oh . . ." was all Willow could get out before Xander spoke up again.
"Sorry WIllow. I was just thinking about every thing that's
happened. Buffy was
beaten and nearly killed, but then she was saved by Un-Dead Boay, Giles and
I found her,
got her to a hospital and now the doctors don't even know if she'll make it.
Hey, throw in
a psychotic killing clown and it'll be my best day ever."
When Willow heard the last part of what Xander had said she couldn't
help but
let out a little laugh. She needed to, she had to. Her heart was being
weighed down by
the heaviness that comes with the possibility of loosing one of your best
friends. Xander
then continued to tell her the story Giles had given to the police when they
had showed
up at the hospital. He remembered how well Giles had lied and was both
impressed and
shocked at the same time. Giles had gone on to explain how Xander had been
walking
home from school for lunch and took a short cut through the part when he
found Buffy
laying under a tree, then he ran out in the street and that's when Giles
drove by and
Xander flagged him down and they drove Buffy to the Hospital. Xander's jaw had
dropped when he had heard how easily the words had flowed from Giles' mouth.
Now looking back on that he realized that he was so proud, Giles had lied like a pro. But one question kept nagging at the back of Xander's mind 'How did Giles lie like a pro? Oh well,' he though 'A question better left unanswered until another time.'
Willow and Xander continued to talk for another hour or so, that is until Willow almost fell asleep in mid sentence so Xander had decided that he better say goodnight and with that their conversation was over. Xander soon found himself drifting to sleep at 2:30 a.m.
Giles sat half awake in the library his head resting un-comfortably on one of his many large books but he didn't seem to care. He was too exhausted to continue reading. He had spent the entire night pouring over all of the old Watcher diaries and any other books he could find that might explain what was going on. He was convinced that what had happened to Buffy was more than just a coincidence. His Slayer was in the hospital and he had a bad feeling that it was because of some prophecy that he had failed to find. Giles had gotten off the phone with the hospital about 20 minutes before Xander and Willow dragged themselves into the library.
"I just had a chat with a hospital nurse, it seems that Buffy will
be having her
second operation today at 5:30 p.m." Xander's response was quick in coming
out of
habit, but the tone was full of nervousness.
"Tisk, tisk Giles. Where are your manners? Or did you just decide
to throw out
the whole greeting concept all together?" It seemed the more scared and
nervous Xander
was the more he said the wrong thing at the wrong time. He was quickly
silenced by the
look he received from both Willow and Giles.
Willow looked up from the chair she was sitting in. "So Giles are you driving us over there at 5:00 or what?" Both Xander and Giles turned to face a some what shocked Willow, who like themselves couldn't believe what she had just said. Willow muttered a quick apology under her breath and abruptly got up and left. Xander and GIles were left standing in confusion and then Xander spoke, "It's probably cause you know, the stress." Giles nodded in agreement, "Yes, I'm sure your quite right."
Buffy lay in her bed hooked up to three different machines that all seemed to be keeping her alive. Her surgery went on for an extra 30 minutes do to complications that the doctors said they now had under control, but they still had one major problem, Buffy had fallen into a coma.
Joyce now sat next to her daughter's bed crying every so softly at the image that lay before her. The girl in the bed was not the daughter she knew and loved so dearly. Her daughter was so energetic and full of life, this girl was a pale pasty color and except for the constant beeping of the machines, you would've sworn she was dead.
Slowly the door to Buffy's room opened and in stepped a very somber looking Giles followed by Xander and Willow. Joyce turned and looked up at the visitors and smiled a very sad and painful smile. As Xander entered the room he all but stopped in his tracks as his eyes absorbed the tormenting figure that lay in the bed before him. He wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms but knew better. he loved her but she didn't return the love that he held for her. Sure, he knew that she did love him, but only as a friend and nothing more. Willow gradually made her way over to Joyce and was the first to speak.
"Hi Ms. Summers, how is Buffy?"
"Well, right now it looks like it could go either way. The doctor
came in about ten
minutes ago and said that the surgery was successful and that they finally
stopped the
bleeding but that it was up to her if she's going to wake up." Joyce said
the last part in a
whisper that was barely audible.
"Come on Ms. Summers, you look like you could use a cup of coffee and
something to eat, why don't we all go to the little diner that's down the
street." Giles
nodded his head in agreement and Willow and Giles lead Joyce out of the room as
Xander lingered behind, his eyes never leaving her as he left the room.
Angel had been sitting on the ledge outside of Buffy's hospital room waiting for her to return from surgery. He would have gone in through the door when they had started to let visitors in except he didn't want to. For some reason he couldn't explain, he really didn't want to be around anyone except for Buffy. He would wait to see her until she was alone, and now she was.
He soon found himself standing by the foot of her bed, and slowly made his way to her side and gently climbed in bed beside her. He lvoingly wrapped his strong masculine arms around her and cradled her ever so tenderly. He know that it was up to her if she was ever going to wake up. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Buffy, I'm here for you, we all are. But it's up to you, you have to be strong. Oh God Buffy, you have to wake up, you have to. You're the only woman I've ever loved and ever will. You're my guiding light and I'd be lost without you. You're my reason for living Buffy and I'll love you till the end of time."
Buffy felt like she was drowning in a endless sea of black. Like she was being sucked down into an abyss and there was no way out. That is until she heard a voice she knew as well as her own. He was calling out her name and begging her to come back. She wanted to cry out to him but she couldn't, she knew that once the voice stoped she'd be lost forever. That voice, the voice of an Angel, her Angel, was her only link between the dark that surround her and the life that she longed to return to. With that thought she gathered up all of the strength that she had and reached out for the voice that would guide her home.
Angel drew back in surprise as Buffy's eyelids slowly started to flicker open. And then almost as if awakening from a dream she looked up and smiled. Angel felt his heart burst with joy, he knew that she would make it. She wasn't only a fighter, she was his reason for living and then he knew. Not quite sure how, but he knew, he knew everything would be alright.
*Note: Well, there you guys have it. The end of my story, *please* let me know what you thought of the whole story and especially the ending, cause I wasn't too sure about how I ended it, so let me know if you liked it 'kay.*