Come Back to Me
by Spikesdeb
Chapter 5
The next few hours passed
in a blur for Buffy. The ambulance
had arrived at the café within minutes and after examining Dawn the paramedics
advised that her comatose sister had to be taken immediately to the hospital.
They couldn’t say what was wrong with her but she was deeply
unconscious and unresponsive.
Dawn all limp and
unmoving had totally freaked Buffy out and her Slayer strength seemed to have
gone AWOL. What remained was a
frightened young woman desperate for her sister to come round.
Seeing Dawn this way catapulted her back to the time she found her
mom’s body, cold and still on the couch and she began a silent mantra to
whichever deity was listening “Please god, no, not Dawn too.
Please god, no.” She
found herself rocking, arms tight around her body, as she watched the paramedics
work.
“Miss.
Miss? Is there anyone you
need to contact, we have to move your sister to the ambulance.”
“Oh…yes, I’ll
just… ‘phone, if I can find my ‘phone.”
Searching for her cell phone in the pockets of her jacket, Buffy’s
fingers were numb and reluctant to work. Finally
retrieving it, her fingers shook as she pressed the keys to speak to Giles.
Again the memories flooded back; her surrogate father - the first one she
always turned to when her family fell apart.
As she waited for him to answer she considered why, after all that had
happened with Spike and Wood in Sunnydale, she still instinctively reached out
to Giles in moments of crisis. The
answer was simple – she had nobody else.
“Hello Buffy.
Having a nice time with Dawn…..”
Giles’ voice was cut
off as he realised what Buffy was telling him.
“….so they’re taking her to the hospital; I have to go in the
ambulance. Giles …”
“Go Buffy.
Don’t worry – I’m sure she’ll be alright.
We’ll follow. We won’t
be far behind. Go.”
Buffy cut off the call
and followed the medics out to the waiting ambulance, her sister’s still form
wheeled ahead of her.
***************************
Giles flew round Wolfram
and Hart as if pursued by a pack of hellhounds. Gathering up the Scoobies en route, he burst into Angel’s
office to find him in conference with Senior Department Heads including Lorne,
Fred, Wesley and Gunn. There were
others there who ran the less glamorous aspects of the company such as Accounts,
Archiving, and Personnel - a cornucopia of demons with wildly varied faces,
appendages, and languages. As the
door through which Giles entered crashed back against the wall, all eyes turned
to the source of the intrusion.
Angel rose immediately as
he saw the expression on the former watcher’s face.
“Buffy!” he cried out
“is she…”
“No, not Buffy –
it’s Dawn.”
Without needing further
explanation, Angel strode towards the anxious group of Sunnydale veterans
flanked by Wesley et al.
“Let’s go.”
The mixed bag of warriors
swept out of the room leaving the confused bunch of W & H workers in their
wake.
All eyes turned to
Harmony as she peeped round the doorway. “Coffee,
anyone? Or blood, bile, bodily
fluid of choice?”
As various hands went up
she pulled out a pad and started to take the order. “And a selection of donuts – gotcha!”
**************************
As they walked towards
the elevator to take them to the parking garage, Giles filled them in on the
little he knew of what had happened. “I
don’t know much; Buffy just said they were talking and everything seemed fine
then Dawn just slumped forwards, no warning.
The medics don’t have a clue what’s wrong with her and they’ve
taken her to the General Hospital.”
“She is…alive?”
Andrew queried, his bottom lip quivering. Giles
turned to look at him, having forgotten he was there.
“Oh, yes, I believe so
– she’s in a coma.”
Angel took out his cell
phone and flipped it, starting to speak as the elevator doors opened.
“Harmony – no, we won’t want donuts.
No just…..HARMONY! Thank
you! Call the hospital wing and
tell them to arrange a transfer from the General Hospital. I’ll ring later to
let you know details but I want the full team standing by until I say
otherwise.”
Flipping the ‘phone
closed he looked up to see the steely glare of Rupert Giles fixed on him.
“I’m not sure that
Buffy would want Dawn here.”
“This is the best place
for her, Giles. Until we know
what’s wrong with her, we need to use all resources at our disposal.
It’s done.”
The elevator took them
down to the subterranean level in uncomfortable silence.
Splitting into two mixed
groups as they reached the bottom, Giles took the proffered keys from Angel’s
outstretched hand and got behind the wheel of the SUV indicated by the vampire.
Wesley sat in the front passenger seat, Faith behind him with Fred in the
middle and Andrew behind Giles. Angel
drove the other group – Gunn, Willow, Kennedy and Xander.
Wood was on the mend and had wanted to join them but Faith had insisted
he rest up. Lorne decided that he
could do without dodging in and out of doorways to avoid sending mental patients
into relapse and remained behind to ‘coordinate’.
It was more likely that he would be knocking back the Seabreezes to
fortify his soul. Angst made him
twitchy.
The convoy of two drove
out into the daylight and headed off to the hospital. Nobody spoke on the way – what was there to be said?
*****************************
Buffy felt helpless as
she bumped along in the back of the ambulance, her sister’s silent form hooked
up to monitors and tubes. The
medics continued to try and rouse her but there was no response.
If it wasn’t for the slight rise and fall of her chest, Buffy would
have thought it was too late.
Minutes later, although
seeming like eternity, the ambulance pulled into the emergency bay of the
hospital, green-clad figures racing out of the doors to meet the arrivals.
The medics pulled the gurney out of the back of the vehicle, the wheels
rattling and crashing assaulting Buffy’s overstrung nerves.
She scrambled out after it, straining to hear what was being said.
“Pulse slow and faint,
but we got her stabilised some in the rig.
BP, down slightly. Saline drip administered at the scene but no response
to outside stimuli. Not conscious
when we arrived, but some autonomic reaction to light. No visible signs of trauma – lady here says her sister was
talking then just slumped forwards.”
“Thanks boys, we’ll
take it from here.” The gurney
was wheeled off, surrounded by new medics, to disappear through swinging double
doors.
Buffy was left standing
alone unsure where to go, bewildered by the speed of the handover and feeling
completely lost in the sterile corridor in which she found herself.
“Miss Summers?
Hi there, I’m in charge of admissions.
Can you answer some questions for me?”
Buffy felt as if she was
running on autopilot as she replied to the questions posed by the young nurse.
God, this was so familiar – she felt useless and restricted, answering
seemingly irrelevant queries whilst her sister lay in a room somewhere being
stuck with needles and whatnot. She
missed her mom.
“When can I see my
sister?”
The dark-haired nurse
smiled gently. The young woman was
obviously deeply distressed and needed to do something.
“I’ll just go check,
be right back.”
“Thank you… Kat”
Buffy said as she spied the name badge on the uniform. Tossing Buffy a sympathetic smile over her shoulder, she
passed through double swing doors leaving the Slayer alone again.
“Buffy!”
Willow wrapped her friend
in her arms, closing her eyes as she recalled a previous time spent under the
glare of fluorescent lighting, nostrils filled with the antiseptic and ether
smells of a hospital. That time
Tara had been there to give her strength. A
pang went through her heart at that thought; Kennedy wasn’t Tara – she was
just…convenient. And it wasn’t
going to last, she knew that; but right now she needed warmth, love, support.
Although she didn’t feel very good about herself, using the younger
woman as she was, she wasn’t strong enough to walk away – yet.
Buffy looked up to see
all her friends, old and new, surrounding her.
Their faces showed just how concerned they were, and she was grateful
that she had such people in her life. But
there was still a gaping hole inside her that could be filled by one alone.
He would know exactly what to say to her, exactly how to hold her,
exactly how to reassure her. And he
would be pissed as hell with the doctors until they did something for Dawn.
His Niblet.
Giles, as usual, took
charge accosting a passing doctor and demanding an update on Dawn Summers’
condition. Buffy watched, too
nervous to approach, as Giles nodded and thanked the doctor. After removing his glasses and cleaning them absentmindedly,
he replaced them and walked towards the group.
“Ah, Buffy – shall we
sit? The doctor, he…I mean, they
need to run some more tests, scans and such.
They can’t say yet what it is, but she is stable…or she’s not
deteriorating were his actual words.”
“No, Giles, no sitting.
I want to see her. I asked
the nurse before; she said she was going to find out for me where she was.
She’s my sister, Giles – she’s all I have left now……
I...I…know I have you guys but she’s part of me, she’s my baby
sister……it should be me if anyone has to ….do you think she’s going
to……..oh god, Giles – how will I bear it if she leaves me?… Everybody
leaves me…please, Dawnie…”
Buffy’s voice faltered,
her words ending with a gulping sob as she collapsed against the only paternal
role model she could trust. Giles
was flummoxed as she wept against his chest, her warm tears leaving his
shirtfront soaked. He ineffectually
patted her about the shoulders and was relieved when Fred gathered her up and
walked her over to the seating area, murmuring words of comfort in her lilting
Texan drawl. She settled Buffy down
keeping her arm around her. Xander
sat to Buffy’s right, her head on his shoulder, as he had done so many times
before. Willow knelt in front of
the three, hands rested on Buffy’s knees and holding one of the Slayer’s
hands in her own. Kennedy stood
apart, awkward as she witnessed the intimacy of the friends and feeling a little
resentful that she couldn’t break into the tight inner circle. Andrew just paced around in the waiting room, swishing his
duster, black tears running down his cheeks as his carefully applied kohl melted
under the onslaught of his tears. Faith,
uncomfortable in hospitals since her own coma-induced stay, rested back against
the wall by the door observing from a distance.
She owed it to Buffy to be here if she needed her, but that didn’t mean
she had to be happy about it.
“Did they have any idea
as to what could have caused this?” Wesley queried. Gunn stood at his side, not knowing what to do as he didn’t
really know Buffy or Dawn at all well. He
just thought he’d hang with Wes.
“I’m afraid not.
They are monitoring her, of course, but she doesn’t seem to be in any
immediate danger. She’s just not
awake.”
Angel was suddenly in
front of the lapsed watchers, eyes glinting dangerously.
“We need to transfer her to our medical facility now.
You can see they know nothing here.
I’m going to make the arrangements right ….”
“NO. Now just hang on a
minute!” Giles interrupted. “Not
without consulting Buffy. You
can’t make decisions for her, for Dawn, for any of us, Angel.
Wolfram and Hart are evil…you know that.
And yet you want to take a seriously ill innocent young girl within the
walls of its medical facility? Who
knows what goes on there?”
“Didn’t see you
object when we were patching up the Slayer’s boy, Rupert. Weren’t we evil then?”
“That’s different.
He can make his own decisions; he’s not incapable.
And since when has Wolfram and Hart become ‘we’?”
“I am not arguing with
you, Watcher. She’s moving –
that’s final. Buffy will do what
I say.”
Wesley felt conflicted;
whilst he did think that Wolfram and Hart were the best chance of looking after
Dawn, he also saw the wisdom in Giles’ words.
Angel had slipped into the role of CEO of Evil Inc with astonishing ease
and had quickly assimilated the corporate image projected by the law firm and
wore it openly. Wesley appreciated
the research facilities but was still uncomfortable with the source.
Angel didn’t seem to have any qualms at all.
Clearing his throat, he
addressed the two men who were glaring at each other, “Perhaps we should just
ask Buffy, as Giles suggested.”
Angel spun to face him,
his eyes glinting yellow, before the calm demeanour of the rogue demon hunter
diffused the tension. Exhaling
needlessly, the vampire smiled – a tight smile which did nothing to detract
from his menacing posture – and laid a hand on Wesley’s shoulder.
“You’re right, Wes.
I’m sorry – I just don’t like Buffy being in pain.
I apologise, Giles. We’ll
let Buffy decide. I’ll speak to
her.”
“I’ll speak to her,
Angel. She rang me, not you.
I will deal with this.”
“As you wish,” the
vampire replied coldly, following the Englishman’s form with dead eyes as he
made his way towards the Slayer.
Wesley pursed his lips as
he considered the interplay between the two. Seems there was somewhat of a power struggle developing and
he honestly didn’t know on which side of the line between good and evil their
efforts would fall.
*****************************
Buffy agreed to move Dawn
to Wolfram and Hart’s medical facility, but more because she knew that she
could be there round the clock than any belief that the care she would receive
there would be better. Right now
she didn’t give a damn about demonic law firms or good versus evil – she
just cared about her baby sister lying still and quiet in a hospital bed.
Angel had thrown a look
of triumph at Giles when she murmured her assent. Again Wesley felt a twitch of concern. It was particularly…Angelus-like. He didn’t like the sense of foreboding it left him with.
The well-oiled machine
that was Wolfram and Hart had managed the transfer with chilling efficiency.
In less than an hour, Dawn was back within the walls of Wolfram and Hart,
her room along the corridor from Cordelia’s, and every conceivable machine
hooked up and humming as the nurses tended the new arrival.
Buffy hadn’t left her sister since she’d been allowed to see her and
sat at the side of the bed holding Dawn’s hand, refusing to let go even to
allow the nurse to take Dawn’s blood pressure.
She gazed at her sister fiercely, willing her to fight.
As Dawn was booked into
the medical facility, four doctors had given her a complete initial examination;
checking heart rate, brain function, liver and kidney function, blood analysis
and urine stick tests. Nothing
unusual had shown up and they had to admit they could find no physical reason
for her coma.
She had been made
comfortable, a drip inserted in her left hand and a nasal tube feeding her
oxygen to assist her breathing. She wasn’t on a respirator as she was
breathing for herself, so at least Buffy was assured there was one good sign.
Helpless to do anything
else, Buffy simply sat and waited, praying Dawn would open her eyes.
****************************
After leaving Dawn in the
medical wing and being unable to drag Buffy away for a second, the rest of the
clan retired to the conference room where the earlier meeting had thankfully
broken up. The remains of assorted
beverages cluttered the table and Angel hollered for Harmony as he strode
through the doors.
“Jeez!
What’s the emergency, boss?” the
ditzy blonde drawled as she entered the room, dabbing at her mouth with her
fingers and licking the remains of the jelly donut from her hands.
“Move these.
Now.”
“In a moment, Angel.
I’m entitled to a statutory break, you know – read clause 172 (a) (i) of the
standard employment contract; and I had to skip lunch to entertain the staff.
Do you know how much Personnel hates Accounts?
It was almost a bloodbath…which would’ve been kinda nice, now I come
to think about it.”
“I haven’t got time
for this, Harmony. Just do it!
Okay? Move now, whine later.”
“I’ll be speaking to
Demon Resources about this!” she sniffed as she gathered up the cups and
removed them to the canteen tray, wheeling the trolley out of the room.
Angel’s staff and the
remaining Scoobies, minus Faith who’d stayed with Wood in his hospital room,
stood awkwardly in virtually the same positions they’d been in that first day.
Nobody felt particularly anxious to be the first to break the silence.
Furtive glances were
exchanged between the uncomfortable figures as each of them waited for the
others to speak. Much shuffling of
feet and shoving of hands in pockets ensued.
Harmony re-entered,
glaring at Angel with her best ‘I’m evil – I dare you to mess with me’
look that he ignored, of course. “This
came for you but I didn’t sign for it so I don’t know from where.
It just turned up on my desk.”
She handed a brown
envelope to Angel, a padded one containing something bulky.
The thick black lettering on the front simply said ‘Angel, Wolfram and
Hart’ and the address. There was
no indication of where it was from.
Angel rested against the
edge of the desk as he reached for the letter opener and sliced through the top
of the envelope. Harmony swivelled
on her heels and was sashaying out of the doorway when a bright light filled the
room, causing everyone to cover their eyes.
Angel looked down at the object in his hands through closed lids; it
looked familiar – a chain necklace with a large single stone in filigree
setting suspended from the middle. It
was spewing out rays of light and the heat singed his hand, causing him to drop
it on the floor.
Everyone froze in a
silent montage of shock as thick dust appeared and swirled to mingle with the
light blazing from the amulet. As
they watched, mouths agape, the dust coalesced to form a familiar leather-clad
body, dressed top to toe in black, and finished off with peroxide blonde hair.
His howl pierced the
silence as the image solidified to reveal him, face contorted in agony, hands
held out as though in supplication, eyes closed to shield against the light.