By PassionFish
TimeLine: Not set in any season, but the gang are all
in their early twenties. Joyce is still
alive, no Riley, Dawn is around, but there is no big bad. Future AU - Spoilers - Season Four -
Anything from Beer Bad and before. Although
the timeline is slightly out, assume Spike has been chipped and that the
Initiative moved on.
Summary: After a violent accident, Buffy finds herself all alone. And Spike is the only one that can handle
her.
Feedback: Please do - morbiddesiresbypassionfish@hotmail.com
Dedication: To Marster’s Girl – thank you for all your
help over the past six months, it’s meant the world to me and I hope you will
be happy in your new home!
A/N: thanks to my
beta Lady Brandywyne for beta-ing this chapter!
Chapter Two: While
She Was Sleeping...
Two weeks later...
"Hey,
Buffy!" Dawn began in an overly
cheerful tone as she tried to smile at her sister's prone figure. "We started school this week. I know I told you before, but I figured you
might have forgot or something."
Beep......Beep......Beep......
She took deep breath,
trying to calm herself down in the face of Buffy's non-reaction.
"Day was pretty
good. Well, same ole, same ole. Oh, but we do have this really hot new math
teacher. I can see my grade going up in
that!" She tried to laugh,
but it came out choked.
Another deep breath.
"Um, Paula - this
girl I sit next to in English was saying that Rick, that’s the guy I liked last
year for a bit, 'member? Anyway,
apparently he's gay. But I'm not sure I
believe her 'cause I saw him like totally brush her off on Monday, so you
know...."
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Her voice trailed off
and she waited, desperate for a reaction; any reaction.
When Buffy didn't
move, a sob ripped from her throat, even though she'd tried to force it
back. "I really miss you. Please Buffy..." Tears dripped down her cheeks and she buried
her face in her hands.
"Please..."
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Dawn jumped as the
door opened and she stood, quickly wiping the still-flowing liquid away. A nurse stood in the doorway, a fresh IV bag
in her hand. She waited a moment,
before moving in.
"Hi..." The brunette smiled softly at the young
girl, moving to replace the almost empty IV.
The girl didn't
respond, but then, the nurse had hardly expected her to. She turned around to say something else, but
found that Dawn had slipped away.
---
"...and a yea on
the balloon thing right?" Xander
tried to smile as he tugged on the string that kept the helium-inflated balloon
weighted to the ground. "I was
thinking: balloon, pretty!"
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Anya cleared her
throat, "We would have brought flowers but we decided that they would end
up dying and that wouldn't be a very good role model for you."
"Anya..."
"What? All I'm saying is: don't die." The ex-demoness' eyes clouded with unshed
tears and the carpenter was immediately contrite.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
"You're right;
good message. Right, Buff-?" He cut himself off as realisation hit him
that she wouldn't be answering. He felt
his girlfriend's hand close over his and he gave it a squeeze, her strength
giving him he courage to continue to talk like nothing was wrong.
"So....I
discovered this really cool snack the other day, you'd like it. You get some cheese...."
---
"You know, you're
lucky to have so many friends. They
seem to care about you deeply. When you
wake up you're going to be spoiled rotten." Buffy’s plump, motherly physical therapist smiled at the comatose
young woman as if nothing was wrong and continued to straighten the sheets.
"And so you
should be." She continued. "Dr. Walker is good at her job, so
you're in good hands."
Beep......Beep......Beep......
She lifted one leg,
rotating it at the joints and massaging up the muscles before replacing it
softly on the bed and giving the other the same treatment. She glanced over at the oriental lilies that
sat, fresh, in the vase next to Buffy's bed.
"I see your night-time caller has left another present, Ms
Summers. Pity I'm not on night shift
this week; now, there’s a face anyone would be willing to wake up
for." Doris chuckled softly,
carefully tucking both legs back under the covers.
"Just ignore me -
the ramblings of an old woman and all that." She finished up around the room, keeping up a soft stream of speech
as she did so. "Well, I'll see you
tomorrow, rest well." With an
unseen, yet sad smile she closed the door behind her.
---
"I have a
surprise for you." Joyce smiled
encouragingly at her daughter, absently brushing a lank piece of blonde hair
from her pillow. "I know how you
mourned the loss of HBO and as a treat we're getting it put back on next
month." She waited expectantly for
some reaction, but received none.
"Dawnie went back
to school a few days ago. I think she's
doing better this year. She wasn't too
happy about the surprise pop quiz they had on Tuesday but I think she's
enjoying herself. Not hanging around
with that Kaylie-girl which is a blessing in disguise."
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Joyce tugged on the
sheet covering Buffy, attempting to pull it straight as she talked but it kept
crumpling. With an agitated sigh she
let it go. Then quickly caught it back in
her hands, lest some higher power thought it was symbolic of her letting Buffy
go. Her fingers curled so tightly
around the sheet that her knuckles were white.
A machine beeped
loudly in the room, startling her.
She forced herself to
relax, but refused to let go of the sheet.
"I think Mr. Giles said he was coming to visit later this
afternoon. I know if you were awake
you'd be blaming his many visits on his love of grapes..." She tried to laugh but it came out as a
tearful hiccup.
The machine beeped
again, then the room was silent.
---
The brunette nurse was
silent as she quickly changed the IV's that were connected to the various tubes
travelling in and out of Buffy Summer's body.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
She moved round the
bed, placing the empty bags on her tray as she went. Her hands moved swiftly through the routine of removing and
replacing the full catheter bag.
Her job completed, she
left the room to the sound of the gentle beating of the machine; the only sign
of life.
---
"T-the, uh, gang
has continued to patrol in your, uh, absence." Giles stared in to the brown bag, full of seedless grapes that
sat on his lap, anxious to keep up the pretence that Buffy was simply being
quiet....as if that ever happened.
"It has been getting
quieter...I know you're thinking apocalypse around the corner." He smiled tightly, taking a deep
breath. He slipped his glasses from his
face, absently rubbing at the perfectly clean lenses.
"Your mother and
sister are h-holding up as....as best they can. As are we all.....don't worry.
I know you'll be up and about soon....slayer healing and so
on." Tears clouded his eyes and he
stood, walking over to the small window at the other side of the room, not
wanting her to 'see' him cry.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Once he was sure he
had himself under control he opened his mouth to start again.
"Sir?"
He spun around with a
gasp - he hadn't heard the door open.
In the doorway stood a nurse, a kind smile on his face. "Uh, yes, is there a
problem?" Giles' eyes darted
worriedly to Buffy's bed, hurriedly searching for any change in her statue-like
appearance....but there was none.
"I'm afraid
visiting hours are over." The
nurse spoke softly, not wanting to upset the clearly ruffled man.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Giles, suddenly
realising that he couldn't see the other man very well, quickly slid his
glasses back on. "Of course, I'm
sorry..."
"It's
fine." The nurse was quick to
reassure him. He gave a little laugh to
try and put the other man at ease.
"We're open again at nine, tomorrow, if you'd like to come
back."
"Uh, yes...I'll
do that."
---
"Hey
Buffy!" Willow and Tara spoke
softly and simultaneously, as they walked through the door to the private room
that housed their friend.
"How've you
been?" Willow asked automatically,
then winced. "I mean, obviously
you've not been great 'cause of the coma and all but, well-"
"Honey, it's
okay." Tara's quiet voice broke
through the redhead's babbling as she reached towards her girlfriend and
squeezed her hand to try and calm her.
"We thought we'd let you know where we've been getting with the
research." Tara began, urging
Willow to continue.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
"Oh, yeah,
well....not so good. I mean we're still
trying, and we're gonna keep on trying...." Willow trailed away.
"Giles is trying to contact the council, see if they know of
anything that might, you know, help..."
Tara whispered
something in her ear and Willow suddenly shot up. "Oh, but we've been looking into healing spells."
"W-we haven't
found anything strong enough, yet...."
Tara began.
"B-but we were
thinking of trying to write our own, like a combination of what we've
got." Willow continued.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
"Like on
'Charmed'." Tara said with a small
smile.
"Yeah!" Willow smiled back, then sobered as she
looked down at Buffy. She tried to
smile. "I've been keeping track of
all your school assignments, like last time...when you're better you can just
roll-uh, I mean slide right in."
Willow blushed at the slip up and reference to Buffy's damaged spine,
but the comatose Slayer didn't react.
Not that they'd really
expected her to.
With a sigh, Willow
sunk into the arms of her lover, a tear rolling down her face.
---
Doris was silent as
she moved about her daily duty of tending to Ms. Summers. It had been just over two weeks since Buffy
had first slipped into a coma, and while her body appeared to remain stable the
kind nurse knew from experience that the recovery rate of such cases was low
after the first week.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
Very low.
She shook her head,
trying to distance herself from the patient she had become quite attached to
over the past fortnight. With a forced
smile she began to speak, hoping that her voice at least eased some of the
boredom Buffy's inner mind must be feeling while she prayed for her body to
heal itself.
---
With a heart-felt sigh
he turned the silver doorknob and silently slipped in to the room, closing the
door behind him. It was dark, the only
light in the room came from the full moon outside and the flashing LED's that
were part of the various equipment the girl in the bed was hooked up to.
With preternatural grace
he moved forward, carefully removing the day-old flowers and replacing them
with fresh ones. The task, which had
built into a routine over the past couple of weeks, helped ground him.
The lone chair still
sat by the door, and he pulled it as close to the bed as he could get it; the
sound of the rubber against the metallic floor aching loud in the silent room.
Suddenly feeling very
old, he slumped down into the plastic chair that stood solidly by the bed. His pale hand dragged itself over his tired
features, as he stared at her through his fingers.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
"Oh,
love..."
He sighed, leaning
forward in his chair so that his elbows rested on his knees, his face still
cradled in his palms. "You've got
to wake up, ducks. Everyone's hanging
on by a thread....even demon-girl."
"Your mum and th'
bit need you. They all need
you." He stared across at her
eyes, willing them to open as he did every night.
But they stayed
closed, as they did every night.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
His eyes filled with
fresh tears. "I need
you." He murmured roughly.
And then he broke the
rule. The one, unspoken rule that every
visitor had unwittingly and unknowingly kept.
He touched her.
With a shaking hand he
reached for hers. His touch was
hesitant at first, as if he were afraid that he might injure her further. But then, as his emotions overcame him, he
clasped her hand tightly.
"Please,
Slayer...."
He went to bend his
head, but hesitated, before ploughing forward and brushing the lightest kiss
over her pale skin.
Beep......Beep......Beep......
"I love you,
Buffy...." He whispered against
her skin, resting his forehead on her limp hand, selfishly stealing her warmth,
if only for a moment.
Beep......Beep.....Beep....Beep...Beep..Beep..Beep..
Spike's head shot up
as the monitor confirmed what he'd barely detected. Her heartbeat was quickening.
His eyes shot to Buffy's chest and watched as it began to rise and fall
at a faster and more regular rate.
His mind raced, unsure
whether to hope for the possibility that she might....
That it could be.....
His eyes darted over
her face, searching anxiously for a sign of movement, anything.
It was a twitch at
first.
Spike's heart jumped
to his throat, it could be nothing, it probably was nothing - there had been
slight twitches before - twitches that the doctors had said could be positive
signs...
"B-Buffy?" He wanted to give her room and hold her to
him all the same time, should he call for the nurse? His mind was a mass of contradictions.
Spike let out a small
yelp as he felt a pressure in his hand and quickly looked down. It was Buffy's hand. He was still holding Buffy's hand. Buffy's hand had just squeezed his.
Buffy's hand had just
squeezed his!
His eyes shot to her
face....
And she was staring
right back at him.
To Be Continued…
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