Part Four

  Xander felt cold. Very cold. He wanted to open his eyes, but that
  seemed a momentous task that his body wasn't willing to comply with. He
  thought he could hear voices very far away. It sounded like the clipped
  tones of an argument. But they wouldn't come closer and concentrating on
  them so hard made him tired. So he tried to think of warm things.
  Fireplaces. Beaches. The broom closet. Hell.

  His eyes flew open at the last thought. At first things were blurry,
  sharp reds and blacks. And then he saw a face hovering over him. He
  shrieked weakly as he realized it was Druscilla. He felt completely
  powerless. He was too weak to even move to get away.

  "Spike, he's awake." She pronounced.

  "That's nice, love," Spike replied absently.

  "Am I d-dead?" Xander asked. He noticed that his teeth were
  chattering.

  "Noooo," Druscilla cooed at him. "You're just mostly dead." Then she
  laughed.

  "W-Why am I so c-cold?"

  "It's the blood loss," Spike bellowed to him from his position across
  the room. "The more blood you lose, the colder you feel. The good news is
  that humans regenerate their blood fairly quickly. You should have all
  your blood recovered in about two weeks. The bad news is in two weeks
  you'll be dead. "

  "C-Can I have a blanket?" Xander asked.

  "Certainly," Dru sing-songed. "All you had to do was ask."

  "Well, h-how about t-taking me to a h-hospital for a q-quick
  t-transfusion then?" he suggested, trying to see the area around him as
  Druscilla moved away to get the blanket. I'm in the warehouse, he
  realized.

  She laughed again. "You're Angel's prize. He gets to decide."

  Spike returned to his argument with Angelus. "We can't keep him here!
  You know she'll come looking for him!"

  "Look, if I'm going to convert him, it has to be done before morning,
  before Buffy tracks him down. And you know today is the spring Blood
  Token. Where else could I take him? I was hoping you or Dru could hold
  her off long enough for me to do the job." Angel's voice was desperate.
  "All the others have either been killed by the Slayer or fled. Spike, it
  would destroy her so completely. Think of the guilt she'd feel. Think of
  how she would have to kill one of her best friends. What better revenge
  could I find? I NEED you to do this!"

  Spike chuckled before he exploded. "And exactly how do you expect me
  to fight the Slayer in this bloody chair!?" He gestured wildly at the
  wheelchair in which he was sitting. "It's the Blood Token for God's sake!
  No blood conversion for twenty four hours every equinox and you pick the
  day of the Blood Token to convert him!? Do you have any idea how long the
  ceremony'll take? One hour! One whole bloody hour! Why couldn't you have
  just waited until tomorrow night when all it takes is one damn minute! And
  as for your suggestion about Dru I want you to know that I won't let her
  fight the Slayer while you do your dirty work! You know that the Slayer's
  a better fighter than she is. It would be like staking her yourself!"

  Druscilla turned back to the two men in horror. "Is Angel going to
  kill me?" she asked.

  "No, pet. Of course not. Angel doesn't want you to get hurt. So
  Angel is going to take that boy away so we'll be safe. Aren't you Angel?"
  Spike asked pointedly.

  Angel pounded his fist on the table once in a fit of anger. "Spike,"
  he hissed, "If you make me leave now, you had better not be here when I get
  back."

  "That can be arranged." Spike replied coolly. In truth, he'd been
  looking for an opportunity to get Dru away from Angel for a while now.

  So Angel wants to make me into a vampire, Xander thought. That'll
  suck. He then laughed mentally at his own joke. He slipped into the
  darkness again as he felt a blanket settle over his shoulders.

  ***

  Giles grabbed two book bags from his office and handed them to the
  waiting teens. "Fill these with every stake and container of holy water
  you can find." Cordelia and Oz began the task while Buffy grabbed her
  crossbow from Giles' weapons stash. Giles approached her slowly. "Buffy,
  are you sure you can do this?"

  Her puffy, tear-stained eyes regarded his seriously. "I have to," she
  replied.

  "Buffy, I wasn't going to tell you this until I was certain, but I
  think I may have found a way to restore Angel's soul. He wouldn't be
  Angelus any more." He paused as she turned to face him. "Jenny -- Ms.
  Calendar – was working on a permanent restoration process when she died.. I

  think she may have succeeded." Giles noted the new tears in the corners of
  Buffy's eyes. "The side effect from her, uh, cure, seems to be that the
  undead body transforms – Angel would be human. He'd age and die like
  anyone else."

  "Why are you telling me this NOW Giles? I have to end this. Tonight.
  Before--" she stopped and looked to her feet in shame. "Before anyone
  else gets hurt." If she hadn't loved Angel, he never would have turned.
  If she hadn't loved Angel, she would have been able to end this nightmare
  before Angel got Xander. Before he'd killed Ms. Calendar.

  "I – I don't know if you're strong enough to defeat him yet. He
  certainly tried to gain the upper hand for this confrontation. I think it
  might be best if we restored his soul rather than let you fight him."

  "Your confidence in me is overwhelming," Buffy whispered brokenly.

  "No Buffy – It's not that. It's just that I don't think any of us
  could bear to lose both Xander and yourself on the same night." He let
  this sink in and watched her consider the idea. "Willow would be
  devastated," he continued in a soft voice. " * I * would be devastated.
  After Jenny, well, you're all I have left," he admitted. He paused again
  as she met his eyes. "All I'm suggesting is that if he hasn't done
  anything to Xander that we consider this option instead of a confrontation.
  Willow gave me a full copy of the spell and I have an orb we can use to
  capture his soul in my office."

  "Agreed," she replied. "But only if Xander's okay."

  ***

  Willow was relieved when her parents finally left for the night. They
  had hovered over her the entire time she was being transferred from
  Emergency to a regular room. She had waited impatiently for them to leave.
  Now that they were gone, she had absolutely no intention of staying in the
  hospital overnight with Xander in mortal danger. Even if her head hurt and
  she was occasionally dizzy. She rummaged around for a few minutes in her
  room, looking for her clothes. She found them in a drawer under the sink
  in the small bathroom.

  Okay, she thought, all I have to do is follow Buffy around without her
  knowing. Then she won't worry about me and I can help if needed. How hard
  can it be? A momentary pain shot through her temples as if to exemplify
  exactly how hard it could be. It was a rhetorical question, she snapped at
  her own brain.

  Fully dressed, she stuck her head out her door, checking to see which
  way to go. She could see the nurse's station at one end of the hall. Not
  that way then. So she slipped quietly from her room and headed the other
  way. She found a door to the stairs and opened it as quietly as she could.
  Looking to make sure no one saw her, she moved through the door and began

  descending the stairs. Now, she thought, they've probably gone to the
  library, and then they'll look at the warehouse. I'll meet them there
  after a quick stop.