Part 2
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They had been there for over an hour. The doctors were still working on Taylor, trying to save her legs.
Riley shot a sad smile in Wesley's direction before he saw the doctor coming out of the room.
Both Riley and Wesley were on their feet in a flash.
"Is she okay?" Riley asked.
"You might want to sit down." The doctor warned.
Wesley glanced at Riley with worry before taking his seat again.
The doctor sighed. "At the moment Taylor is unable to walk. We were able to save her spine but she lost circulation in her legs for the last hour. She may be able to walk in the future with the help of physiotherapy and it doesn't look good."
Riley stood up again. "Can we see her?"
"Family only."
"I'm her cousin."
The doctor nodded. "Follow me."
Riley looked at Wesley. "I'll tell her that you're here." Then he turned and followed the doctor toward Taylor's room.
"Fifteen minutes." The doctor told him, then closed the door.
Riley turned to see Taylor watching him from the bed. her left eye was bruised and he could see a purple bruise creeping up her neck.
"Hi." He said, smiling softly then coming to sit by her bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I was hit by a ten tonne boat. Which I was."
"Did they tell you?"
"That I can't walk?" She laughed bitterly. "Yeah, they told me." She paused. "Why didn't you come Riley? I called for help, where were you?"
His eyes widened. "I was there Taylor, I swear. I just didn't hear you."
"You told me if I needed anything that I should just call and you'd come. Well you didn't come Riley and now look at me."
"Taylor, this isn't my fault."
She shook her head. "Not completely. Why couldn't you hear me?"
"I had turned the volume down so I could tell Buffy."
"So you could tell her you're a demon hunter? That's more important than this?"
Riley shook his head. "No, it's not more important. I didn't know something like this would happen. Taylor I swear."
She looked at him for a moment, her blue eyes boring holes into his then she turned away and stared at the wall.
"Taylor I,"
"Just don't Riley." She said, still facing the other way. "Just don't speak."
"Wesley came to see you." He said meekly. "They wouldn't let him in."
He waited for a moment, waiting for her to reply. When she didn't, he stood up and began to walk from the room.
"Tell them I want to see him." She said softly before he reached the door.
Riley turned around hopefully but found her still facing the wall. He nodded. "I will."
* * *
Wesley crept toward the door slowly, watching for any doctors. They had forbidden him to go into the room but Riley said Taylor wanted to see him. He glanced either way then slipped into the room and closed the door behind him.
When he turned toward Taylor she was already watching him. Her blue eyes were both shrouded by dark circles and she looked tired and weak.
He slipped into the chair by her bed and picked up her hand gently in his own.
"They let you come." She said.
He shook his head. "I had to sneak in."
"Why?"
"Family only."
She nodded slowly. "So you know right? That I can't walk. That I'll be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life."
"They said you might be able to walk with physio." He said.
She laughed. "And you believed them? They sugar coated it." She muttered. "I'll never be able to walk again."
"That's not necessarily true." Wesley insisted. "If you try I'm sure you'll be able to,"
"I can't." She said, cutting him off. "I just can't." She sighed. "But this did make me realize one thing."
"What's that?" Wesley asked.
"My life is at risk all the time. It's dumb for me to hide things from people and to be scared to try something, because tomorrow I could be dead."
He sighed. "Scary but true."
"So now I've decided that I have to tell people what I think and how I really feel."
Wesley looked at her hopefully. "And how do you feel?"
She struggled to lean toward him and Wesley moved his head to meet hers. Taylor kissed him lightly and then smiled when he moved away.
"Does that explain it?" She asked.
Wesley nodded. "I think so." He paused, not wanting to ruin the moment. "Riley said you blame him."
Taylor's eyes hardened. "Not completely but I'm angry at him. Wesley he said he'd be there for me if I needed any help. When I did need help, I called for him, but he wasn't there. He was too busy with Buffy. She came before I did."
Wesley shook his head. "You know that's not how he meant it. He didn't mean it,"
"I know." She sighed. "But it still hurts. To know that telling Buffy that he hunted demons came before my life. I thought he'd be there for me whenever I needed him and all of the sudden he wasn't. That's so scary Wesley."
"I know." He lightly rubbed her hand. "But don't blame him for something he didn't do."
She sighed. "I just don't know what else to do. I don't know how to tell him that I need him to help me. It's horrible. I'm supposed to be a slayer, I'm supposed to be able to take care of myself. Instead I need my cousin to come save the day for me."
"There were five vampires Taylor." Wesley said. "You couldn't have handled them all on the docks like that. Slipping down between the dock and the boat was just an accident. It has nothing to do with your abilities and it's not your fault."
She looked up at him. "Then if I'm not at fault and Riley's not at fault, there has to be someone else to blame for crippling me."
"You're not crippled!" Wesley insisted. "You'll be able to walk again. I promise."
She sighed. "I hope you're right Wesley. How can I be a good slayer when I'm in a wheelchair?"
* * *
Riley sunk onto his bed and stared at the ceiling as he thought about all the events of the night. He had told Buffy he was a demon hunter, Taylor had been injured and was now paralysed and she blamed him.
He chuckled bitterly. She had every right to blame him, it was his fault. He had promised her that he would be there if she needed any help and she had trusted him to save her. But he hadn't been able to. He had turned off the walkie talkie and had ignored her when she called for his help. And now, she would be stuck in a wheelchair, probably for the rest of her life.
Riley sighed and sunk deeper into his bed, trying to escape the memories and the guilt of what had happened. All he wanted to do was sleep.
* * *
Taylor tested out the wheelchair slowly, rolling around in her room. She stopped by the window and looked out sadly, debating whether or not to leave the room and wheel herself down to the waiting room where Riley and Wesley sat. She wanted to see them, she really did but she didn't want them to see her like this. It was humiliating and it was painful. She wasn't the only one it would be painful for. She was almost certain Riley wouldn't be able to handle the sight.
A nurse rapped on her door. "Are you ready?"
Taylor nodded and the nurse moved around to the back of the chair to push her.
"I can do it myself." Taylor said in a low voice and the nurse backed off slowly. She placed her hands on the wheels and began to push herself out the door and down the hall. It wasn't hard for her to make it to the waiting room, her arms were strong, she was a slayer after all.
Wesley and Riley both stood up to meet her, but her watcher though better of it and sat down again.
"Hi." She said, forcing a fake smile to her face.
"How are you feeling?" Wesley asked.
She shrugged. "Okay I guess. I don't hurt anymore."
Wesley nodded. "That's good. They told me you're starting physio next week."
Taylor sighed. "Yeah, that'll be great fun."
"Well, you want to walk again don't you?"
Taylor nodded then glanced at Riley who had remained quiet this whole time.
"Wesley, I have to talk to Riley for a minute." She said, then glanced at her watcher. He nodded, then kissed her forehead lightly and walked away.
Riley sat in the chair Wesley had just been in and smiled.
"Hi." He said.
"Hi."
They both sighed in unison, then glanced up at each other.
"I want to apologize." Riley began. "I told you I'd be there for you if you needed me and I wasn't. I'm sorry Taylor."
She nodded slowly. "Do you even know why I'm angry Riley? It's not because I'm in this chair, there's a different reason."
"What is it?"
"After everything we've been though together, it felt like you abandoned me. We're cousins Riley, family, in fact you're my best friend. I thought maybe that would mean a little more than some girl."
"She's not just some girl."
"I know, but you still picked her over my life. She came before me Riley and that's not fair."
He gazed at the floor. "And it's not fair for you to make me choose. Think about this," he looked at her again, "you were having a very important moment with Wesley and all of the sudden I called for help. What would you do?"
Taylor's eyes widened. "I'd get up and go help you. Whatever else was going on at that moment can always be relived another time. You have your whole life to tell Buffy that you're a demon hunter but you only had one chance to help me. It's not a matter of choosing someone over the other, it's a matter of importance. Isn't someone's life more important than telling someone a secret?"
He nodded. "It should have been. You have no idea how guilty I've been feeling Taylor. I'm so sorry." He put his head in his hands and sighed. "If I could rewind everything that's happened I wouldn't have ignored you when you called for me. I'm sorry."
Taylor's face softened. "I'm sorry too Riley. I think I've been kind of nasty about this. I just felt so alone."
He grasped her hand. "You're not alone, I swear. I'll always be here for you."
She smiled. "Thank you Riley."
He hugged her. "I love you."
Taylor laughed into his shoulder. "I love you too."
He released her and looked at her smiling face. "It's been a while since I've seen you smile."
She nodded. "Oh yeah since, you know, last night."
"It's felt like a lot longer."
"It has."
"Let's go." Riley stood up and grabbed the back of her chair. "I think the others want to see you."
Taylor smiled again. "All right Riley. Giddy up."
"I'm not your horse." He muttered as he pushed her out of the hospital.
"No, but you can certainly be my slave for a while, after all, this is all your fault."
"Shut up Taylor. You're never going to let me forget this are you?"
She shook her head. "Never."
The End
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