The sterile whiteness of the hospital, tinged with that bland operation scrubs green that was a sick place staple, was too oppressing for Xander. As he paced back and forth in the waiting area, his toes scuffing the cheap carpet, his mind jumped from subject to subject. Would she live? Was it his fault? What was he going to tell her parents? His parents? He reached up absently to rub the bandage on his ear. It had been torn some in the accident, and that, along with a twisted ankle, had been the worst of his injuries. But Cordelia had been hurt much worse. How badly, he didn’t know. The doctors were keeping a closed mouth as to her condition, only letting on that she was unconscious.

The frustration was killing him. And with that pain brought confusion. *I sure as hell don’t know if I love her…* Worry crossed over his dark features. *What if she dies? I’ll be… alone* He began to pace faster. The turmoil of his thoughts, crossed with the worry that she might die, was tearing him apart. He was confused, he was hurting, he was lonely.

Xander didn’t know what to do.

"Xander??" Willow’s voice wafted from across the hall. The red head rushed through the crowds of doctors and nurses, hurrying over to her friend. Xander’s face lit up some, and he met her half way. Before she could say a word, he collapsed into her arms.

*****

The vampire, the Watcher, and the young woman arrived on campus. Walking swiftly through the silent high school halls, Kathryne’s voice echoed off of the locker covered walls.

"One other thing you should be aware of… Robius is dangerously crazy. If you get on his bad side, he will stop at nothing to tear you apart."

Giles was nonplussed: he and Buffy had dealt with such characters in the past. It was nothing new. *But then again, with an army like his…* "Um, Kathryne, how exactly does one kill those mutants?"

Kathryne laughed, peals of hilarity floating through the hall. "Kill them? Not bloody likely. Maybe if you found a really strong ax and beheaded them…" Still giggling, she covered her mouth. Giles exchanged a look with Angel. *This girl is NOT right* the Watcher’s eyes expressed forcefully. But Angel only turned his head, looking down in shame.

"Any other means won’t kill them… your best bet is to give ‘em a good thrashing, and hope they run away." Snickering, Kathryne pressed on. When they reached the double doors of the library, she pushed her way in.

As Giles took in the library with his eyes, a worried look creased his brow. "Wasn’t Willow supposed to be here?" he muttered under his breath. Rushing to the table in the center of the room, he glanced at the open books, the note pads with scrawled notes and random doodles.

"Willow?" he asked loudly, hoping to himself that she was in the stacks, hunting down a particular text. In Sunnydale, you never know what could happen.

The library echoed his call, but gave no response. Turning on his heel, he headed towards the office, intent on finding the phone. But before he made it, Angel called his name. The librarian turned, seeing the vampire holding up a scrap of paper. A sigh of relief came to his lips, but halted there. Looking at the slip in the other’s hand, he was filled with a mix of ease and trepidation. Walking quickly over to Angel, he pulled the scrap of paper from his hands.

"Giles, 

	Xander and Cordelia were in a car accident. Xander is okay, but
Cordelia is in intensive care. I am over there now. Buffy is on her way. 
Please hurry.

			Willow"

Angel nodded silently in agreement, and began to rush towards the double doors. But Kathryne hung back. "What? What’s going on?" Her voice was impatient, angry.

Giles didn’t answer. His mind was too far from the library to even consider a reply.

"Hey, we need to focus on my problems here! What is going on?" But Kathryne went unnoticed. As the vampire and the Watcher left the library, she ran after them. As she caught up, her voice fell silent. But her cheeks glowed with bright color, and her chin jutted out. She felt flames of anger growing within her, but she stayed silent.