They were all in shock at the news the doctor had just told them. Apparently something, which even extensive testing couldn't identify, was slowly weakening her immune system. It was also beginning to attack her blood cells, and there was a chance it may move on and harm her organs. They still couldn't revive her. Joyce was in tears, with Willow comforting her. Xander was leaning against the wall in silence, dealing with the pain his own way. Giles just sat in shock, unable to believe that the Slayer, *his* Slayer, could be in such a condition. What had caused this? He loved Buffy like a daughter, and was suffering as much as any of them. Angel tried to hide it in the presence of Buffy's mother, but the fear and pain etched on his face was evident. There really wasn't much the doctors could do for Buffy until they knew what it was. All they could do was give her medical treatment, try to help her body fight it out, and try to help protect her system. This wasn't a demon or something else they could help her fight, she'd have to do it on her own with their love and support. That helpless feeling wasn't something any of them were used to in their lives, where everything had to be fought for. And yet here it was. Joyce decided to go home and rest, leaving them to theirselves. The shock of this had overwhelmed her. "Giles, what can we do?" Willow looked to the Watcher for answers. He hesitated "I..I really don't know." They didn't expect this..he *always* knew. How could he not know? "I suppose we, we can research. Try to find out if it could be a-a demon or-or a curse of some sort." he suggested. "I have to go." Angel said. They turned to look at him. "It's almost sunrise." "Ye-yes, o-of course." Giles stammered in his Giles way. "If *anything* happens, let me know right away." the vampire told them, then left. "Do you think she'll be okay?" Willow asked them. "We really can't be sure." Giles told her. Xander looked angered by the comment "What do you mean we can't be sure? She's the Slayer, Buffy. I say we quit wasting time and find out what did this to her." Lashing out: Xander's usual way of dealing with this type of news. "Xander, we don't know that this isn't just an ordinary, unfortunate disease of some sort." Giles said. "Yeah, well think about it," Xander continued "She's the Slayer..wanted dead by the many demons whose plans she'd foiled or those who just generally don't like her. Now along comes some 'mystery' disease that-" "Xander!" Willow snapped angrily at him "You're *not* helping any." "And sitting here doing nothing is?" he shot back at her. Awkward silence ensued. "We can research later." Giles told them, breaking the silence.
At his apartment, Angel found himself unable to sleep. Also, he hadn't eaten since yesterday..but couldn't bring himself to force down the red liquid that he so needed to survive. All he could think about was Buffy. What had happened to her? *Why* was it happening to her? Would she be okay? He knew this wasn't getting him anywhere, but he couldn't help it. He just wished he could help her somehow. He hated not being able to protect her..despised it. Maybe a demon was the cause. If so, then he could fight it..do *something* to help. He'd get some answers outta Willy come sunset. For now there was nothing he could do but worry.
Later on, Giles was at the library researching. Willow and Xander had helped, but had gone back to the hospital with Joyce. Giles would stop by himself later, so as not to arouse Buffy's mother's suspicion. He had a sudden feeling of another presence in the room, but turned around and saw no one. He thought it must have been a mistake, and turned back around. He was startled to now see Angel standing in front of him. Needless to say, he hadn't been expecting that. "Angel, you really musn't do that." he told the 242 year old vampire. "Sorry, old habit." he told the Watcher. "So, ah..what brings you here this evening? I would have figured you'd be at the hospital by now." "I, um..I've been thinking," the vampire said "I might know what did this to Buffy." He'd gained the Watcher's full attention "Go on." "Um.." he hesitated "Buffy and I, um..we, we were intimate." The Watcher's eyes widened in shock. Had he been drinking tea, he probably would've choked on it. "I-I'm sorry, did you just say..?" The vampire remained silent. "Good lord," Giles muttered "When?" "About a week ago, after we were almost killed by the Judge." Angel told him. There was a silent pause. "Giles, I have a demon inside me..Is it possible?" The Watcher thought, still in shock from what he'd just been told. He hesitated with his answer, and looked to the floor. "Yes, I..I suppose it is." he replied quitely. Guilt flooded Angel's mind. He may have done this to her. He may be responsible for whatever it was that was hurting her. "I'm sorry," Giles said with deep sympathy for the vampire "But Angel? It could be something else entirely. Just because-" he was interrupted as the phone in his office rung. "Stay there." he ordered the vampire as he went to answer it. "Hello?" Angel heard from the office. Then there was a period of silence, and he felt something wrong in the air. "Yes, yes I'll be right there." Giles said hastily, hanging up and grabbing his tweed coat off the chair. He turned quickly to Angel "It's Buffy. She's gone into cardiac arrest." Fear filled their hearts as they rushed off to the hospital.
They arrived at the hospital to find Willow sobbing into Xander's shoulder. Joyce leaned against the wall, lost in her own world of confusion and pain. "How..how bad is she?" Angel asked, his voice choked with emotion. Willow continued to sob, unable to do anything else. Xander turned to him, tears in his eyes as well. "Real bad," he stated "They're doing everything they can, but, um... And they still, still don't know what it's from. They say they can't find a thing wrong, but there's *something* happening." Angel nodded and turned away from them, as his own tears could no longer be held back. Guilt weigh heavily upon him. Giles put a hand on his shoulder and lead him back down the hallway, out of earshot from the others. "Angel..I know you must feel terrible guilt, but you *musn't* blame yourself for what's happening." "Giles," he said "They can't find anything. I have a demon in me. What else could it be?" "Well, the vampires *have* been rather scarce. For all we know it's something of their work, some.. curse or something of that sort. We can research it-" "I don't want to leave her." Angel stated firmly. "I-I'll research it," the Watcher offered "It's not as if I can be of any help here, so I'll try to find out possible causes and and maybe even cures." Angel nodded and Giles left the hospital to go research it. The vampire went back to join the group. None of them said a word, just hoped, prayed and feared in silence.
Giles groaned. This was going nowhere and getting exceedingly aggrivating. He had been researcing for a while, but could find very little on curses, diseases and such against Slayers. Pretty much the only thing mentionned was the Slayer's high immune system, strong body funtions, ability to heal very rapidly, and other such information of no importance. It mentionned nothing of mysterious diseases that sprung up out of nowhere. He flipped through another book and his eyes immediately fell on a certain passage. As he read, his eyes grew wide. It seemed that there were several recorded cases of vampires *raping* their victims before killing them(possibly to torture them). In one or two cases, the victims had actually managed to *survive*. In these cases, however, illness would befall them..resulting, most likely, from part of the demon having entered their body. The people would have their internal system attacked, which would eventually lead to death(the time-period prior depending on which areas of the body the demon chose to attack). This meant that, chances were, that Angel *had* indeed caused this. If they couldn't find a way to stop it... he dreaded what the consequences may be.
Giles found them all still at the hospital, standing silently. "Has there..been any sort of improvement?" he asked. "She's stabilized, for now." Xander spoke. "They still haven't found the cause." Willow added. "You three," he said to Willow, Xander, and Angel "I, uh..I've found something the three of you must see..at the library." They nodded, knowing it must have something to do with Buffy. Giles turned to Joyce "Would you call..if anything were to develope?" She nodded, her gaze on the floor. They understood her silence, her *pain*, as they left the hospital.
They arrived at the library and sat quietly around the table, waiting for him to explain. Giles took a deep breath before addressing Angel "Angel, I'm afraid your earlier suspicions may have been correct." "Damn it." Angel muttered under his breath, angry with himself, and with what he was. "Wait a minute," Xander spoke up "There were earlier suspicions and you didn't tell *us*?" Giles looked to the boy "We didn't think you needed to know until we had some type of information to back it up." "So..what is it?" Willow interjected before an arguement ensued. The Watcher looked to the vampire, then back to the other two "I've found cases in which a demon, from a vampire, has entered a victim's body..without them becoming one. If the victim somehow lives, it can look forward to an internal attack caused by the demon. It can attack any part at anytime, until it.." he trailed off, then finished "Kills them." A grim silence overtook the group. Willow glanced at Angel, understanding how this must have happened. He must feel terrible. They *had* to save Buffy, somehow. "Wait," Xander spoke, breaking the silence "How did a demon get inside her?" "The victims that had this happen to them..they were raped by the vampires." Giles explained. "So you're saying a vampire *raped* her?" Xander spoke, angrily. "No," Giles said "It wouldn't have had to be rape..intercourse itself would do it." "But what vampire would...?" he began to question, before realizaton dawned upon him. His gaze turned, pointedly, to Angel..who just looked away. He scoffed "I can't believe you..you..*bastard*!" he jeered at the vampire. "Xander!" Willow snapped angrily at the boy, diverting his attention from Angel "He's probably feeling guilty enough *without* your help!" Xander continued to stare icily at Angel, but remained silent. The air became tense with silence. "So, what can we do?" Willow asked, breaking the silence but not the tension. "Yes. Well, I was hoping we could research further..*if* we can all manage to *get along*." He looked at Xander. The boy got the message. "Let's get to it." Xander said, only agreeing because it could help Buffy. They all went to research.
"Ah ha!" came the sound of Giles' voice, breaking the heavy silence of the library. They knew he must've found something, and their gazes went to the stacks. He emerged from them a moment later, and they all gathered around the research table. "So?" Xander asked the eager librarian "What'd you find?" "A spell," came the reply "Quite simple, really. It merely involves casting the demon out of her body, and doing a healing ritual to repair the damage caused by the demon. Then we just, uh..pray that it worked." They all looked bewildered. "That's it?" Willow asked. He nodded "If performed correctly..yes, that would be all that was needed." "Can I help?" a voice came from the doorway. They turned to see Miss Calendar - their friend, computer teacher, and techno-pagan - standing there. "With whatever it is you need help with?" she finished. Giles nodded, a shy sort of smile forming on his lips. "Yes," he told her, his heart speeding up a bit "Yes, I do believe you could be of help...with your knowledge of the black arts and all." He realized he might be babbling..she'd think he was a babbling fool. She was so beautiful though... Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. "So..what are we doing exactly?" she asked them. "Ah, yes," he said, snapping out of it "We're doing a spell to rid a demon..from Buffy." "Is she..?" she began to ask. "No," he quickly told her "She's not. She just, um... she, um..." "We got close," Angel spoke up from the table, the guilt obvious in his eyes "And now it's killing her." The techno-pagan stood in shock. "Oh," she said finally "I-I'm sorry." "Don't be," Angel told her "It's my fault." There was a moment of awkward silence. "Yes, well..um...we should prepare." Giles said. "Right," Miss Calendar replied "What needs to be done?" Giles walked over and handed her the book, which was opened to the page they needed. She looked over it. "Willow, Angel, and I can get the herbs," she said, looking to them "And you and Xander can wait at the hospital in your car." she told Giles. They all agreed and went their seperate ways.
Xander and Giles waited outside of the hospital, parked in Giles' about-to-break-down-any-second car. "You really need a new car, G-man." Xander observed. Giles looked at the boy with an annoyed expression on his face. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?" he asked the boy. Then they went back to silently waiting for the others to arrive, each with his own thoughts. "You don't look too upset over this." Xander stated after another long period of silence. "Pardon?" Giles asked, confused. "About Buffy. Most Watchers would be more upset if they knew their Slayer was sleeping with a vampire." Xander spat at him. Giles glared at the insensitive teenager, not able to grasp how he could be so utterly jealous of a vampire. He then spoke "Buffy loves Angel, and I have no doubt he feels the same way about her." "Yeah," Xander said "And now she might die. Love's great, ain't it?" Giles proceeded to ignore the boy, for he didn't feel like having a debate over something so petty. A few minutes later he noticed Miss Calendar's car pull up outside the hospital. The two got out and went to meet the others. They got out of Miss Calendar's car carrying the book and all of the supplies. "One question," Willow began "How will we get in without anyone noticing?"
A few minutes later they were setting up in Buffy's room, the door closed and a chair wedged against it. Apparently, Angel's strength, Giles various 'skills', and Miss Calendar's use of magic had come in handy. The sleeping spell she'd used on the hospital employees wouldn't wear off for another little while, giving them more of a chance to get it done. None could help noticing how fragile and weak Buffy now looked..the demon was obviously getting to her. Miss Calendar and Willow set up the candles around the bed and the small table they'd use as an alter, so that there was a surrounding circle. Xander and Angel set up the herbs and incense on the table, while Giles flipped through the book to the appropriate page. He handed the book to Miss Calendar when she and Willow had finished, and the techno-pagan moved to the table so that she faced Buffy. They all entered the circle of candles, Giles and Xander lighting the candles while Willow and Angel lit the herbs and incense. Then all except the techno-pagan and the unconscious Slayer exited the circle, and Miss Calendar began to recite in some foreign language, tossing some runes on the table as she did so. The techno-pagan seemed to enter a trance as she continued to recite, and a swirling mist began to form in the circle's center. It grew and expanded, until it was a large white fog. It enveloped the area of the circle, so that nothing but the still evenly flickering candles could be seen. Then bright orange and blue lights began to emit from the center of the circle, swirling around and through the fog. Soon the fog was gone, replaced by the colorful lights. They all stood in awe and watched as the lights glowed and swirled, not revealing what was going on inside the circle. Then a sound - like that of crackling fire - could be heard, and soon their was an explosion of light. It seemed to blind them, before dying down and eventually fading altogether. The room returned to normal, with Miss Calendar standing before the table and Buffy still on the hospital bed. All of the supplies used in the ritual had vanished, except the book. The only thing that seemed out of place was the bright white light emitting from Buffy, seeming to fill her. Then it became clear, like more of an energy, before it couldn't be seen at all. They were all silent, wondering if it had worked. "Do you think it worked?" Willow finally asked, breaking the silence. The sight of Buffy beginning to stir was their answer..and she looked fully healthy again. They saw her lips move as she whispered something inaudibly. "Angel?" they heard her say, more loudly this time..her eyes still closed. He moved towards her, and was at her side in an instant. She finally opened her eyes, looking up into his. He took her hand, smiling down at her. She slowly sat up, testing her strength, and proceeded to throw her arms around him..holding him to her tightly. He closed his eyes and stroked her hair, just holding her. She pulled back from his embrace after a long while, looking into his eyes. "What happened?" she asked him, and surveyed her surroundings..noticing the others standing off to the side. She glanced back and forth between him and them, her confusion mounting. "Why am I in a hospital?" she asked, to anyone who might have some answers. They all just glanced at each other.