By: Sarah Latta(Crystal Dawn)
The Deal: This story's set a week after Buffy and Angel make love. Angel *didn't* lose his soul, and Xander's 'thought' still leads them to destroying the Judge(for obvious reasons, all the parts that happened because of Angel's soul loss never happened in this story).
Note: I usually don't go for the Angel-lost-his-soul denial thing, but I had an idea. What if there was *another* consequence to what happened(and no, I'm not going down the Buffy-gets-pregnant route either). Read and learn.
Spoilers: Well, Surprise and Innocence obviously. May be spoilers from any eps leading up to those as well.
It had been a week already since the Judge had been destroyed, due to Xander's actually smart idea. Xander didn't have too many smart ideas. None of the others had any clue about what had happened that night between Buffy and Angel, the night they'd almost been killed. That wasn't unusual for them, someone *always* seemed to be out to get them(a thought which might sound paranoid to some, but those some probably had safer lives). The only one that knew was Willow, since Buffy would *not* share that information, or very much Angel-related information, with Xander. Not that she was ashamed, she loved Angel..it was bound to happen sooner or later. She was glad it had, for she couldn't envision ever being so intimate with anyone other than him. She sighed at the thought. Angel. Willow often told her that she'd get this dreamy look on her face and just start smiling without warning sometimes. Buffy'd explained that that was when she was having Angel-thoughts, as Willow had suspected. Willow and Oz had went out again, and Willow definately seemed to like Oz. Buffy was glad she'd finally found a nice guy, one that might help her forget about Xander. As for Xander..he shoulda took the chance when he' *had* the chance, but he was stuck with Cordy now. The two were constantly bickering over every little, insignificant detail. What did they see in each other? Lust, plain and simple. No love, well..none that was evident anyway. Oh well, let them have their make-out sessions in the closet, they'd come around eventually. "Hey Buffy," Willow said, catching up to her friend "Anything new?" Buffy thought "No. No demons to kill, no worlds to save, nothing new." "How 'bout with Angel?" Buffy immediately smiled "Nothing new. On the other hand, repetition can be good." Willow smiled, glad that her friend's life was going smoothly for a change. "Hey guys." They heard another voice say. Lots of people to meet while wandering the halls of Sunnydale High. "Hey Xander." Buffy said as the boy walked up to them. She noted that Willow just looked away, still not quite over the shock of seeing Xander and Cordelia kissing behind the stacks in the library. "Hey Will." Xander greeted her awkwardly. "Hey." she replied. "So, what's up?" Xander asked the two. "Stuff." Buffy said. "Conversation." Willow added. "Oh," Xander said "About?" Willow and Buffy glanced at each other. "Stuff." they said in unision. "Well, aren't we informative today." Xander quipped. "So how's things with you and Cordy?" Buffy asked in an attempt to change the subject(if you consider their previous discussion a subject). "Good," Xander said awkwardly "It's good." More awkwardness ensued. "Look. Oz," Willow said, noticing Oz "I will go talk to him now." With that said, she left. "So," Buffy said "Still not in Willow's good books?" "How can I put this?" Xander said, pretending to think "She thinks I'm a freak dating a freak." "Oh," Buffy said "That good, huh?" "Yeah, but it could be worse. The world and all of our lives could be in mortal danger again. They're not are they?" he asked, suddenly looking a bit uncomfortable. "No," Buffy answered "Your mortality is safe." "Good, but now I've jinxed us. We've already gone a week with nothing big happening..is that a record?" The bell then rang to go to class. "See ya." Buffy told Xander, and they went their seperate ways.
That night, Buffy could be found patrolling in one of Sunnydale's many cemetaries. This was a dull night, as had been the past *few* nights. That was weird, going this long with no sign of vampire activity. "Hey." Well, almost none. "Hey." she greeted her undead lover. They fell into an embrace, and kissed. When their lips parted, he asked "How's the hunting going?" She sighed "Not good," She then realized her mistake "Well, not good if I *wanted* them to show up. Which I don't, but.." "But?" he asked. "But I haven't seen any vamps in a couple of days, which I consider to be weird." Angel shrugged "I'd wait a while longer before starting to worry." She nodded "You're probably right. But don't I always say that before something actually happens?" He smiled slightly "I think this job's making you paranoid." he joked. She smiled "You're right." They began to kiss, unable to contain it any longer. Their kissing soon turned into a full-fledged make-out session. "You know," Buffy said in a spare second that wasn't used kissing. They kissed again. "I wish vamps would take more days off." she finished in another rare, non-kissing second. He nodded in agreement. Their kissing then resumed.
"Oh, hello." Giles said to Buffy as she entered the Sunnydale High Library. He was shelving some of his old, dusty books. "Hey." was her reply. He continued putting away books. "Did last night's hunt go well?" he asked. She sighed and answered "In a sense." He again emerged from the stacks "So you found some vampires?" "A vampire." she corrected him. "Oh," he said "I trust you slayed it?" he asked her. "I trust I didn't" she answered. She almost giggled as a confused expression came over Giles' face. As smart as he was, he could sometimes take a while to catch on. She couldn't help but smirk. "Let me fill it in for ya," came Xander's voice as he walked up to them "Buffy, Angel, smoochies." Giles nodded awkwardly in realization(at his own inability to catch on to the obvious). He resumed the important task of filing away books. Buffy was about to speak, but a wave of dizziness came over her. As she put her hand to her forehead, her world fell into darkness.
She opened her eyes to see a very worried Xander and Giles. Upon looking around, she saw she was still in the library(or some other place that just happened to look exactly like it). "What happened?" she asked the two at her side. "You passed out." said Xander, stating the obvious. "Anyone know why?" she asked. They shook their heads no. "Well, that makes three of us." she said, getting up. "Wait, are you sure you shouldn't lie down?" Xander asked with concern for the Slayer. She shook her head "I'm fine." Giles interviened "As much as I dislike saying it, Xander may be right." "Hey thanks." Xander said before realization dawned upon him "As much as you dislike saying it?" he questioned Giles. Giles ignored him "Are you sure you're feeling well enough to continue about?" "I passed out, it's not like it's anything life-threatening." There was a look of concern on both of their faces. "I'm fine!" she insisted. The concern didn't leave their faces. She rolled her eyes and left the library, leaving them to their worridness.
She went the rest of the day without incident. Xander had told Willow(of course), who had also been concerned about her. That was probably the main reason she failed to mention the dizzy spells that had hit her periodically throughout the day. She didn't want them to worry about her over nothing, and god knows they had enough to worry about in their lives already. She was about to go out patrolling when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She closed the window and threw her bag in the corner. "Come in." she said. It was her mom(who else would it be?). "Buffy, can we talk for a minute?" Joyce asked her daughter. "Sure mom. What about?" she asked. Her mom sighed "You've just seemed kind of..different lately. Since your birthday, you've been kind of.." "Different?" she filled in for her mother. Her mom nodded "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Buffy nodded. Geez, concern was the big theme today. "I feel fine. Is that all you wanted?" Her mom reluctantly nodded. How could she tell her daughter what she really wanted to talk to her about? She knew something was wrong. Ever since a few years ago in L.A., weird things had started happening...especially after they had moved to this town. She didn't know what it was, but something just wasn't right. She'd felt it for a long time, but had never quite known how to talk about it to her daughter. Part of that was probably because of how close they *weren't*. Another part of it was probably fear. Fear of *what* she wasn't sure. "Mom?" her daughter asked, bringing her out of thought. "Well, I..guess I'll leave now. Get ready for bed soon." Joyce told Buffy. Her daughter nodded, and Joyce decided that was her cue to leave.
Another night and still no vamps. She was really starting to worry about this, the last time she'd saw a vampire(sans soul) had been almost a week ago. Something was definately up, she just wish she knew *what*. She'd get Giles to research it later, knowing he'd love an opportunity to look through those dusty old books of his. He really needed a hobby. Or maybe a girlfriend, say a certain techno pagan. In any case, she'd get him to check it out later. Without warning, a wave of dizziness struck her. The world began to spin before she was claimed by the dark of unconsciousness.
She awoke feeling nauseaus and headachy. What had just happened? As Xander would so eloquently put it, she passed out. Among the aching, she felt something else. She was moving. She wasn't on her feet, yet she was moving. Did something about this seem not right? With the feeling of arms underneath her, she realized she was being carried. She looked up, but was unable to make out the person's face(she assumed it was a person). Fear about how vunerable she was right now quickly set in. Some stranger was carrying her, and she was feeling less than great. She clenched her fist, and punched the person square in the jaw. They dropped her to the ground in surprise, and she quickly got up. Not feeling up to fighting, she turned to run. "Buffy, it's me!" the person yelled out to her. She turned to see Angel rubbing at his jaw. Ohhh damn. She quickly went back to him. "Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked him. "As okay as one can be after just being punched by a Slayer," he told her "What was all that about? She blushed with embarassment. "I didn't know it was you. I though it was just some stranger." she explained. "I'd have pitied that stranger." he told her. She pulled him into an embrace. "Sorry," she said gently "Forgive me?" He nodded "How could I refuse?" he then continued "What happened? I found you out cold in a cemetary." She thought. Even she wasn't quite sure. "I was patrolling, and I just passed out." she explained. A look of concern became etched in his features. "Look, I'm fine." she told him. Another wave of dizziness hit, and she put her hand to her forehead. Angel's concern grew deeper. "Has this happened before?" he asked. "Not under the same type of cirrcumstances." she told him. "So it *has* happened before." he pressed, his concern for her deepening. She nodded. She saw that that scared him a great deal. "Buffy," he started "If I hadn't found you, who knows *what* might have. You could have died." he told her. "But I didn't," she protested "I'm here." "It happened before, who's to say it won't again. If it does, you might not be so lucky," He was silent for a moment "I don't want anything to happen to you." She saw how deep his concern for her was. "I'll be fine." she again tried to assure him. "Will you?" he asked her. She couldn't stand seeing him so worried, and wrapped her arms around him. "Fine. Let's go see Giles about it and see what he says." she told him. He smiled at her in relief, and they walked down the street.
They had found Giles in the library(surprise, surprise) drinking tea and reading a new occcult book he'd had shipped in. Now he was worried along with Angel. "Buffy, all I can say is to get some rest. Maybe it's some sort of illness," he suggested, then continued "Unless the threat of Armeggedon comes up, I think it would be excusable for you to take a day or two off." "What about the vamps?" she argued "Giles, something's up..I know it is. I haven't seen any vamps for almost a week." Giles thought for a moment, then looked at the two. "How hard have you been looking?" he inquired. "Hard enough to know that something's up." she told him. He seemed to think for another moment. "Fair enough," he said, giving up "I'll look through the Codex to see if there are any prophecies about to take shape. And I doubt if a few days off will make any difference." he finished, going over to the stacks. She turned to Angel "See? I'll be fine." He nodded, not feeling so sure. "I'll walk you home." he offered. She smiled at him and they left the library.
Joyce got home from the art gallery to find Buffy asleep on the couch. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, like none of life's pressures could get to her. "Buffy." she said, gently shaking her. No response. "Buffy." she tried again to wake her sleeping daughter. She looked kind of pale. She put a hand to her daughter's forehead, which felt unusually cold. She didn't know why she did it, but she took Buffy's pulse. Her eyes widened as she realized how faint it was. Her daughter wasn't sleeping, Joyce realized. She needed to get her to the hospital.
Joyce had arrived and let the doctors take over. She'd called Buffy's friends, Willow and Xander. She didn't know it, but Willow called Giles, who in turn called Angel. Joyce was standing in silent worry for her daughter when Willow, Xander, and Giles arrived. The presence of the school librarian confused her. "Mr. Giles? Why are you here?" she asked the man. He answered "Oh. I help Buffy, Willow, and Xander study..a variety of subjects. We're a study group." Joyce seemed to buy it. Just then, Angel came rushing in and over to the group. "I came as soon as I could." he told them, then saw Joyce. "Aren't you her history tutor?" she asked. "He's..also part of the study group." Giles covered. Willow and Xander nodded in agreement. "But he's a college student." Joyce stated. "Yes, well, he's..my nephew. He comes in and helps them with their history, literature, that sort of thing." Giles once again covered(he'd thrown in the nephew part hoping that would help Joyce understand why he'd be studying with high school students). Angel threw him a look of thanks. Joyce seemed done with asking questions. A doctor came out and walked over to them. Joyce recognized it as the doctor that had taken Buffy. "Is she going to be alright?" Joyce asked the female doctor, who looked to be about middle-aged. "We haven't revived her," the doctor stated "But we *have* managed to stabilize her enough to keep her from slipping into a comatose state." A look of horror crossed everyone's faces. She could've went into a coma. Angel'd had a feeling this was more serious than the rest had thought. "We're going to run some tests, but first I have to ask a few questions." the doctor told the group, who all nodded. "Did she have any allergies?" "No." Joyce answered. "Any illnesses or medical conditions that might need special care?" "No." Joyce again answered. "Has anything like this happened before?" Joyce went to say no again, but Giles spoke up "She hadn't been feeling well. Dizzy spells and that sort of thing." "Did she take any medication?" "No." Joyce answered. "Does she take drugs or alcohol?" Joyce looked to Willow and Xander, who shook their heads no. "Was she sexually active?" That question caught Angel and Willow's attention. "Not that I know of." Joyce said. Willow and Angel shared a look, but didn't speak up. Giles noticed this, but said nothing. The doctor asked some more questions before going back to do some tests.
After an agonizing wait in the waiting room, the same doctor that had talked to them before again came over. "How is she?" Joyce asked, getting up. The doctor hesitated to answer "We still haven't revived her, but I did run some tests to try and determine what might have caused this." "And?" Joyce pressed, wanting to be told that her baby would be okay. "So far, we haven't been able to find anything. We *will*, however, keep looking." Joyce was now scared. Something was wrong with her little girl, and no one knew what it was. To add to that, they couldn't even revive her. She sat back down. They doctor left the waiting room, and Willow went over to Joyce. "Don't worry. Buffy's gonna be okay." she tried to comfort her. Or maybe she was trying to convince herself the same thing. They needed to keep optimistic, but everyone there had a bad feeling in the pit of their stomach. Would she be okay?