CHAPTER 141 - INJURIES

AUGUST 11, 2009
MONDAY
10:30PM

"Buffy, wake up girl, come on!"

Groggily she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was William lying on the floor next to her. He was violently shivering, and had a sickly, gaunt pallor. Suddenly she remembered and tears came to her eyes, and her own shoulders started to quiver.

"Buffy, it's me, it's Clem," said the soft voice that went along with the hand she felt on her back then.

"Oh, God!"

"Yeah," Clem said, "but we're okay now. Right?"

She turned over and looked up at him, he was now in his more benign demon looking state. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "Much. Demon healing and all that."

She swallowed, her throat parched. She turned to look at William, who looked terribly pale, and his breathing was becoming erratic.

"Buffy, we need to get him back to the house; I think I'm strong enough now to carry him."

William opened his good eye; looking at Clem with renewed terror.

"It's okay, it's just Clem," Buffy said, trying to pat him, but he shook off from her touch as well.

"Maybe if I hold onto you, I can hold onto him then...I don't think he wants you..."

"I know," Clem said sighing, wishing William were just unconscious. Then at least, he could have carried him without him knowing it.

"It's raining out, I'll be back with some blankets," Clem said.

"Hurry," she said.

Clem nodded.

Buffy sat up, hugging her knees to keep herself warm, as she trembled from not only her own pain, but with fear for William, who was staring straight ahead, motionless, except for the shivering. Her stomach beginning to clench in panic, as she anxiously awaited Clem’s return.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise you," she whispered, her hand reaching out to touch him.

Just then Clem bounded up the stairs; he had grabbed the comforters off of the couch and some jackets as well.

He knelt down by Buffy, "Here," he said, holding out the arm of her jacket. He helped her on with it, steadying her, as she slipped it on.

"That a girl," he said, helping her with the zipper, when her fingers shook too hard to get it started. He pulled it up to her neck, then put a hat on her head.

"Here," he said, handing her a can of juice he'd found in the back of the refrigerator.

She shook her head, "I think I'll throw it up."

"I've got some Sprite back at the house, but this is all you had left. You'd better take a sip, get some sugar into you."

He opened the can, and she gagged back a swallow of Apricot nectar. It made her stomach feel queasy, but she could feel it helping a bit.

She nodded, and crawled over to William's side, "I'm going to help you sit up now, then we're going back to the house. Do you think you can sit up?"

He didn't answer.

She took hold of him under the shoulders and tried to pull him up. He was like a dead weight.

"I can't," she said, frustrated.

"I'll get him," Clem said. As he neared, William flattened himself against the wall. Clem stopped. "If you don't want me to help, then I suggest that you let Elizabeth help you. Otherwise, I'm going to have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out."

He looked at Buffy, and she looked at William, whose eye was on her this time. "Okay, here we go William," she said, pulling him into a sitting position this time.

She looked at Clem and he helped pull her up to her knees, then unsteadily to her feet. She took a couple of minutes to get use to standing before she felt strong enough to help William.

"Okay William. I'm going to help you to stand, but you're going to have to help. Once you're on your feet you can have as much time as you need, before we start to walk down, okay. Alright, ready, set, up," she pulled at him under his arms. At first he didn't budge, but slowly, he put some weight onto his feet, pushing with his legs, and slid up the wall to a standing position.

His legs shook and his head felt like he was going to pass out. "It's okay," he heard her say, and felt himself being pulled into her, as she put a warm blanket over his shoulders. She leaned him back against the wall, and he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"No, no, no," he heard her say, and felt himself being pulled up again. He hadn't realized that his feet had begun to go out from underneath him.

He finally managed to stand against the wall without help for a couple of minutes.

"Do you think you can walk?" she asked. "You lean on me, and Clem is going to help me, okay?"

He didn't say anything, but leaned on her when she put her arm around him, "Put your arm over my shoulders," she said, and he did.

She started to lead him away from the wall, and she felt his weight on her, as his legs trembled, "That's it baby, that's it. Just take little steps," she encouraged as they made their way towards the steps of the loft.

Clem had his arm around Buffy from the other side, his arm right above William's ready to grab onto him, if he faltered.

"Okay, just let your foot go down one step, hang on," she said. William took the step, and nearly fell forward, and would have if Clem hadn't grabbed hold of him by the shirt, pulling him back upright.

"Okay, you're okay," Buffy murmured, "I got ya. How about this. Just take one step at a time. Put one foot on the step, then bring the other one down. That's it," she coached, as they took each step, like a child would."

It took them nearly 5 minutes to get to the bottom, but they finally made it. William sank to the step, Buffy following, as Clem stood waiting.

"We made it," she said to William. "That's good. That was the worst of it, now we just have to get out of the barn, and to the house, okay?"

It took them almost another 15 minutes to make it from the steps, out the barn, and the 30 yards or so to the back door of the house. Despite the jacket and the blanket, they were soaked by the time they got inside.

"As they were passing through the kitchen, she looked over and saw two of the chairs on the floor, the table was leaning over part way on its side, the contents spilled off, and the pan he'd hit Drusilla with laying upside down on the floor. He followed her gaze, looking too. He started to shiver more than he already was.

He looked at her, non-comprehension in his eye; "It's okay. It's over William. She's gone, she's never coming back," she said, holding his gaze, until he looked down again.

"I have to get him out of these wet clothes," Buffy said to Clem.

"Where do you want him?"

"Bedroom."

"Okay," Clem said, as he helped her to help William walk towards the bedroom.

She turned him around, then pushed him gently back until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. She closed the suitcase that lay open behind him, and put it on the floor, trying not to think about it or all that had been lost that night.

"I'll go make some tea," Clem said, leaving them, closing the door on the way out.

"Thank you," she said.

She shivered in her own wet things. She tore off the jacket and threw it off to the side, then stood in front of him.
He sat there on the edge of the bed shivering, looking down, in his own world.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," she said, gently reaching down to pull the T-shirt off of his chest. She bit back a gasp, as she saw the bruises, scratches, and blood caked on his chest; the bite marks on his neck.

She went to the bathroom, filled a large bowl with warm water, and brought it to the bedroom. Squatting down, she took a washcloth and washed his arms and chest, until all the blood was gone. None of the scratches were too deep, but some were long, and he winced when she went over them. She got antibacterial cream from the medicine cabinet, and gauze and tape from under the sink, bandaging the more serious cuts.

She was glad she had finally bought those things, after years of being without. It had been her way to distance herself from being the slayer, and a time when she went through that stuff like candy, to deciding it was just sensible in case of a 'normal' accident, which might require first aid.

Next, she bandaged the neck wound, holding back the nausea seeing his beautiful neck black and blue, a chunk of flesh missing, and puncture wounds. She wished she could kill the bitch all over again! His left eye was caked shut with blood and goo. She was frightened most of all by this, not knowing if he'd been blinded permanently, or if his pupil had just been scratched. She suspected the latter, since there was a scratch mark starting at this forehead, going over his eye, and down his cheek. She carefully washed the dried mucous and blood off from around his eye with warm clean water.

"Can you open your eye now?" she asked softly.

His eyelashes fluttered open, but shut quickly again.

"Hurts?"

He nodded.

"Try again, just for a minute, I want to see you eye."

He opened it, and she held up his eyelid. His eye was red with blood, the pupil possibly scratched, but it seemed to be intact, but she wasn't sure.

"Can you see out of it, right?" she asked holding her breath.

He nodded a bit, before she let his eyelid close again, "Hurts," he said, his voice so low and filled with pain it brought tears to her eyes, as it did his. She saw a tear roll down his chest. She didn't think the word was only about his eye.

"Don't cry baby, please don't. It's going to be alright," she said, sniffling, trying to be strong for him. She had to be; she had to take care of him.

She bit her lip so hard she could taste her own blood, until she finally stopped her own tears. She wiped at them with the back of her hand.

Buffy took out a sweatshirt out of the closet and put it over his head, then pushed his arms through it. She then bent over and took off his shoes and socks. Next, she undid his belt and started to unzip his pants, when his hand went over hers. She looked up in surprise at him. He shook his head.

"It's alright, William. I just want to get you into something more comfortable, something dry," she said, and he winced, his tears starting again. She didn't understand why.

"You're either going to have to stand up or lay back so I can pull these off," she said.

He shook his head, “Please,” he croaked, his voice almost unrecognizable, “don’t.”

She looked at him and then down, seeing that the front of his pants was wet, more than from just rain. Tears formed in her eyes in understanding. She wished she could spare him the indignity, but she knew he didn’t have enough strength to take them off himself, or to attend to any wounds he might have.

Buffy took his hands, “It’s okay baby. Please, don’t be ashamed. I think I did, too,” she said. He looked down, then up at her, doubtful. Maybe that hadn’t been the best thing to say...

“What’s important is that we’ll get through this together.“

She got him to his feet somehow, covering him up with a blanket, then pulled his pants and underwear down, and tossing them across the room. He almost fell back down onto the bed. She had to leave him for a minute to go and get the towels that had been in the dryer. Clem had the tea ready and she brought that in to him.

He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, where she had left him, swaying a bit. “Here, drink a little,” she said, making sure to put down a couple of extra towels on his lap, in case he spilled.

She held the steaming mug for him, when his own hands shook too badly to hold onto it. He coughed at the first couple of sips, but then got about half the cupful down.

“That’s it,” she said, encouragingly, “just drink it slowly.”

“Okay?” she asked when he didn’t seem to want any more.

He nodded.

She put the cup on the beside table and lay down the bath towels on the bed, she got him to scoot back, so that they were under his legs, then she went to the bathroom and got a fresh bowl of warm water and a clean washcloth.

He had his eyes closed when she came back, but he held onto the blanket when she tried to pull it back, “It’s okay,” she reassured him. “Let me just take care of you, then we’ll put on your sweats or pajamas and you can rest.”

“Please, William,” she said again, when he still held tight to the blanket. She put her hands over his, rubbing them, coaxing them, until he finally released his hold.

She pulled the blanket down from his waist and once again bit her lip. From the waist to the knees, he was covered in bruises, including his genitals, which were also swollen and discolored.

Silently, her tears fell, “I’m so sorry, William,” she whispered.

He had a few cuts on his lower legs that she attended to after she’d washed him up, then put his sweat pants on him, figuring they’d be warmer than his pajamas.

She pulled the covers up to his neck, after getting a couple more sips of tea in him, by holding his head up.

Buffy wearily took the dirty water and washcloth into the bathroom, then looked at herself. Her hair was filthy and matted, and the left side of her face was swollen discolored from where Dru had kicked her. She turned on the water full blast in the sink and in the shower, before slumping to the floor and allowing herself a good cry.

About 10 minutes later, she pulled herself up, stripped down and got into the shower about a minute before the water ran cold, but long enough to wash off the filth and to warm herself up, somewhat. She toweled off and put on William’s robe, before going into the bedroom to check on William find some clean clothes of her own.

She was glad to see that he appeared to be sleeping. His eyes were closed and his breath appeared to be even. She threw on some sweats of her own, then took his teacup and went out into the living room.

Clem was sitting in the kitchen, staring at nothing, his own tea, apparently forgotten. She went up to him and hugged him and he sniffed a few times, before giving into his own tears.

“I’m sorry, Buffy,” he said.

“You don’t have to be ashamed to cry in front of me,” she said, her own tears running again.

“No, I’m sorry I couldn’t fight them better. Once I knew...She tricked me...”

“What do you mean?”

“She asked me if William was there, at my house, and I told her no...I should have told her I didn’t even know any William...she didn’t recognize me as a human,” he sniffed.

“No Clem, it’s not your fault. Dru knew he was here, she was sent,” Buffy said.

“By who?”

“Angel,” she said, through gritted teeth, now recalling Dru’s final words to her.

“Oh no...Buffy,” Clem said, at a loss for words.

“I’m going to have to take care of him once and for all,” Buffy said, starting to wobble on her feet.

Clem sprung up, catching her, before she collapsed and helped her into a chair.

“Not now, you worry about that tomorrow, Buffy. You need your rest right now, and some more tea,” he said, pouring some for her.

“I have to...” she said, tears running down her face.

“You have to rest and get better so you can take care of William,” Clem said, handing her a tissue.

Clem held the cup up to her, until she took it, and stood there until she drank it all.

Satisfied, he poured her another cup, adding generous amounts of honey, and when that ran out, sugar.

Numbly, she drank half of the second cup, before being allowed to set it down.

Her head ached, but there was something that she needed to remember. She closed her eyes for a minute, to help her think.

“The protection spell...Dawn!” she said, suddenly, trying to get up, but Clem held her back.

“Where are you going Buffy?”

“Phone. I need to call Dawn. I need to tell her...oh...” she said, starting to cry again.

“Can it wait until tomorrow morning? I don’t think it’s such a good idea right now. You’re going to scare her to death.”

Buffy nodded, “I know, but I have to let her know. Please, Clem." Buffy said, beseeching him with her eyes, "I have to. Could you get me my phone?"

Clem hesitated, then relented, "Where is it?"

"It's in my...shit, it's in my car. Could you find William's? It's around here somewhere."

Clem went off to look for it, hoping it wasn't in the bedroom. He located it on the table next to the couch.

"Here," he said, handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said, looking down at it. The time read 11:50, and it said there had been 5 missed calls. It was when she had tried to call him, when Dru...Tears sprung to her eyes again, unable to stop them. Clem handed her a tissue, patting her on the back until she was finished.

"Okay, I'm better now," she said, taking another drink of her tea. She had to keep it together when she called Dawn.

Hands shaking, she pressed the preset number for Dawn she found on William's phone. She listened, emotionless and drained as the phone rang.

"Hello?" a sleepy male voice answered, just as she was about to hang up.

"I'm sorry I must have the wrong number."

"Buffy? Is everything alright?"

It took her a couple of seconds to realize it was John on the line.

"What's wrong with Buffy?" she heard Dawn ask in the background.

"Could I please speak to Dawn?" Buffy said, her voice beginning to break. Clem sat across from her patting her hand for support.

"Buffy?"

"Dawn?" Buffy said, and started to cry.

"Oh God, what's wrong?" Dawn said, sitting up, as did John.

"Dru. She was here...she attacked William."

She heard Dawn scream and John in the background asking what was wrong.

"Is he...? Did she...? Buffy?"

Buffy realized what Dawn must have thought immediately, and made herself calm down. "He's alive. Human...but she came here, Dawn," she whispered, "and he's not in good shape."

She spent the next 15 minutes telling her all that had happened.

"We're leaving right now," Dawn said.

"No, you don't have to...not tonight, William’s asleep right now, and Clem’s here."

"We're coming!" Dawn said.

“Please Dawn!”

“Then we’ll be there first thing in the morning, and I do mean first thing!”

John was in the background saying something to Dawn about a hospital.

"Buffy, John wants to talk to you."

"Buffy, it really sounds like you need to take William to a hospital, especially if his wounds are severe, or if he's in shock."

Buffy swallowed, "He's asleep right now. I took care of as much as I could tonight. Could you...could you please check him over? If you still think I need to take him, I will, but there's reasons it would be better if we don't."

"Tell me what his injuries are," John said.

He listened as Buffy described the injuries, motioning to Dawn to bring him something to write with.

"I've got it," he said, "you realize that although I had medical training before going into psychiatry, I haven't attended to any patients like this in a couple of years, right?"

"I understand," Buffy said.

"I'll stop at the hospital on the way to your place, and get some things, but only if you agree that if I don't think I can help him, you'll let me take you to the local hospital right away."

"Yes, of course. Thank you."

"Hold on, Buffy.”

“Look Dawn, I’m going to run to the hospital now, it’ll be easier to get some stuff out of there now, rather than later. I’ll be back in an hour or so,” John said to Dawn, as he pulled his shirt over his head and put his pants on.

“Thank you, I love you,” she mouthed, gratefully at him.

“Love you, too Dawn,” he said, handing her the phone, then taking the car keys off the dresser.

"Buffy, is there anything else I can bring?"

"I don't think so...Dawn, I'm so sorry to have to involve you and John."

"Oh Buffy," Dawn said, sniffing through her own tears, unable to say anything else. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Thank you," Buffy said, and flipped the phone off.

"Okay Buffy, you made your call, now you go to bed and get some rest. I’ll spend the night on the couch. As soon as I hear Dawn's car, I'll let you know before taking off."

"You don't have to take off," she said, confused.

"Yes, I do. I can’t seem to morph back to my human features right now, "Clem said, shrugging. "Probably because I got hurt...it’s a demon thing...and with John coming with Dawn...John doesn't know, does he?"

Buffy shook her head, too tired to think of any other implications tonight.

"Let's go," Clem said, rising and giving Buffy his arm for support.

She didn’t have the energy to fight him, or any energy for that matter. “Okay,” she said. Clem nodded, then helped her to the bedroom door.

“Thanks,” she said, “I can make it from here.”

She took off the robe and climbed into bed. She turned to look at William, whose face was scrunched up in some sort of pain.

She put her arm around him lightly and turned her face into her own pillow, crying herself to sleep.

END CHAPTER 141

CHAPTER 142 - ASSESSING

AUGUST 12, 2009
TUESDAY
5:30AM

William awoke slowly, and for a half a second, thought about the fact that they would be in Michigan that evening, eating ice cream at the little store. He started to smile, and then the nightmare rushed in. He tried opening his eyes, but found that he could only open one; the other once again, sealed shut by goo. Next to him, Elizabeth lay, her face partly concealed by the pillow, but enough for him to see that her face was black and blue, dried tears on her cheek.

Guilt and despair shook him, seeing her that way.

With supreme effort, he rolled over, and every bone and muscle in his body screamed in pain. He managed after some effort to get himself sitting up, on the edge of the bed. He groped for the cup of tea from last night, but it wasn't there.

Holding onto the bedside table, he managed to stand up. He started to walk towards the bathroom, but his legs wouldn't support him and he fell.

A loud thud startled Buffy awake. She looked over to where William was, then heard him moaning.

"William," she croaked out, as she scrambled out of bed, her own legs still shaky.

She managed to get down on her knees next to him, before collapsing herself, "What happened? Are you hurt? Are you okay?" she asked.

He had gone over on his side, and now he pulled his legs in, and pushed with his arms, trying to sit up. Buffy put her arms around his back, giving him leverage.

"What happened?" she asked again.

"Bathroom," he croaked out.

"You were trying to make it to the bathroom?"

He didn't reply.

"Can you get up, if I help you?" she asked.

He nodded and she got behind him, and rose from her knees, while he pushed on the floor in front of him. They wobbled back, the wall preventing them from falling over.

"There, that wasn't so bad," she said, trying to make a joke, as she helped him over to the bathroom door.

"Maybe you shouldn't go in alone right now. I could help you..."

"Bathroom," he said tersely, shaking her off and managing to get in and close the door on her.

Managing to get his sweatpants pulled down, wincing in pain he put one hand on the wall behind the toilet to steady himself, as he tried to relieve himself. Frustrated, he collapsed onto the toilet, unable to stand any longer. Still unable to urinate, he shakily stood up, stumbling over to the basin. He held onto the sink with one hand, and turned on the cold water, filling a tumbler that was on the sink. He brought it to his lips and drank it down in one gulp. It hit his stomach, making it queasy, but he didn’t care. He filled the cup again and was about to drink, when he caught sight of his reflection. He stopped in shock, at what he saw. The left side of his face was black and blue, and his eye was swollen shut, pus caked around it. His lips were parched looking and cracked and his neck had a large bandage on it.

Shaking he pulled off the tape and looked under the bandage. Gagging he gripped the sink, as he threw up into it; water, followed by bile.

“William!” Buffy called from the other side, trying the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Unlock the door!”

She heard his body hit the door and slide down it, followed by the sound of his weeping.

“William” she said, her voice breaking along with her heart, “please, open the door...please!”

There was no response except for the sound of his sorrow on the other side of the door, and she soon followed it with her own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Buffy, what’s going on?” Clem called after being awakened by the noise coming from the bedroom.

Wearily, Buffy pulled herself up and went over to the bedroom door, opening it. “He’s locked himself in the bathroom,” she said, barely noticing that Clem was looking human again.

Clem started to say something, but just then they heard the crunch of gravel as Dawn and John drove up.

“I’m going to let myself out the back, Buffy.”

“But you look human again...oh, you probably have things to do, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t know how long I can keep this appearance. It’s been harder than normal this morning; and I don’t want it to be a problem for Dawn with John. Plus, I figure it will be easier on William if I’m just not around right now. I’ll be back later with some food.”

“You don’t have to...”

“Yes I do, you don’t have anything, besides, I want to do something to help,” he said, looking forlorn.

“You are Clem. You did; I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been here last night...”

Clem sniffed, then patted her arm, before walking out to the kitchen. She heard the back door open and close, just as Dawn was walking in the front door.

“My God, Buffy!” Dawn said, seeing her standing there in her pajamas, her face black and blue, looking lost.

“Dawn,” Buffy almost whimpered, as Dawn came up to her and hugged her tightly.

“It’s okay Buffy, we’re here,” Dawn said to her, letting her cry.

“Where’s William?” John asked, which only made Buffy cry harder.

“He wouldn’t let me help him into the bathroom a while ago, now he’s locked himself in, I don’t know what’s happening!”

“Both doors?” John asked.

“Huh?” Buffy asked, confused.

“Did he lock both doors to the bathroom?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Buffy said, suddenly remembering then that the spare bedroom, also had a door. “I didn’t try it...he was upset, I think he’s sitting on the floor still...”

“I’ll go see to him,” John said, patting her on the back, while taking a close look at her face. “Then we’ll see about you, too.”

“Thank you,” Buffy said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John quietly walked into the spare bedroom and made his way over to the bathroom door. He heard muffled sobs coming from the other side. He tried the handle and found it wasn’t locked. Keeping his hand on it, he said, “William? It’s John. Buffy called last night and told us you and her had been attacked,” he said.

The crying stopped, but he heard no response. “I’m going to come in now William,” he said, pushing the door open slowly.

William sat with his back against the other door; his legs splayed out in front of him like a small child would sit. His head remained down, as John approached slowly and knelt down in front of him.

“William, can you hear me?” John asked, waiting for a reply.

William made a short nod with his head, letting out a small, shuddering breath he seemed to have been holding.

“Good. I know you’re in a lot of pain; that’s why Elizabeth asked me to come with Dawn, and to take a look at you.”

William didn’t say anything, but his head shook slightly. John correctly interpreted that he was confused. “I think I told you that time we watched soccer at Dawn’s, that I was in a medical residency program, before going into psychiatry. That’s why Elizabeth called me, if I didn’t make myself too clear at first; I’d like to assess your injuries to see how bad they are, medically speaking.” He then reached out his hand, putting it on William’s shoulder. “And non-medically speaking; as your friend, I wanted to be here for you, to do what I can for you and Elizabeth.”

William’s eyes filled with tears. John knelt there, rubbing his shoulder until they subsided.

“Elizabeth?” he managed to croak out, “how...how is...she’s hurt...”

“Yes, I saw that. Her face is bruised, but otherwise, she seems to be alright. I promise you that I’ll take a look at her, as soon as I’m done attending to you, okay?”

William nodded.

“Good,” John said, “now lets see if we can’t get you back to bed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later Buffy sat quietly across from Dawn nursing a cup of coffee, which Dawn had made her.

“He’s been in there so long, I think I should go...” Buffy said, starting to get up.

“No,” Dawn said, Buffy by putting her hand over hers to stop her, “let John do his job, I’m sure...”

Just then they heard the bedroom door open, and rose as John came into the kitchen.

He nodded to them.

“How is he?” Buffy asked, her face showing her anxiety.

“He’s in quite a bit of pain, but it doesn’t appear that anything is broken, or that there are internal injuries. Of course, the only way to know that, would be to take him to the hospital for them to check him out,” he said, looking at Buffy.

“You think I should do that?”

John shrugged his shoulders, “I think that we can watch him carefully over the next 24 hours. If anything were going to show itself, it would most likely happen in that time period. But, I think that it’s fairly safe to let him recuperate here at home.”

Dawn had come over to where Buffy was standing and gave her a hug.

“As for his injuries...Dawn could I bother you for a cup of that coffee?”

“Oh, sure,” she said, leaving Buffy’s side.

Dawn brought him a cup, and he sat down, motioning Buffy and Dawn to do the same.

“As for his injuries, I examined his eye the best I could. From what I could see, his retina is scratched, but otherwise intact. I put some antibiotic eye-drops in it, which should take care of any discharge. I also suggested to him, that he keep it covered for a few days so it wouldn’t become irritated. Since I didn’t have a patch, we improvised with some gauze and tape. You’ll have to put eye-drops in his eye 3 times a day. Just change the gauze when you do that.”

Buffy nodded. “Can I see him?”


“He’s asleep right now. He allowed me to give him a sedative, so I could...” he looked at the girls. “William was unable to urinate, due to the groin injury you told me about," he said, nodding to Buffy. "I told him, that until the swelling went down, I could help relieve the problem by temporarily catheterizing him."

"And he agreed?" Buffy asked.

"Well, as I pointed out to him, it was either that, or he'd need to seek help for that at the hospital."

She nodded in understanding. After what had happened to him last summer, she wasn't surprised at all that William would be afraid of hospitals.

John patted Buffy’s hand, “It’s okay, it’s quite common in men for something like this to make it temporarily difficult for them to go.”

“Is that it, then?”

“I also started an I.V. on him. Just Ringer’s Lactate, in order to get some fluid into him; he’s a bit dehydrated. Oh, and an all-purpose antibiotic I added to it. Plus I’ll be able to tell...gotta have a good input and output, right?”

Buffy nodded, “Where did you...how?”

“Got the things I thought I might need from the hospital last night, after your call. When you mentioned the severity of the groin injury, I brought the necessary supplies.”

“How long will he have to be...?”

“I’m going to remove it before he awakens, so he won’t...become upset,” John shook his head, not liking to have to try to be both doctor and friend to them.

“And if he still...can’t?”

“Then I’m afraid he’ll have to go to the hospital. I only brought one and I can’t reuse it... But let’s cross that bridge when, rather if, we get to it,” he said, seeing her worried face. “Most times, that’s all it takes. I gave him something for pain and inflammation, so that should probably take care of the problem. And we’re applying some ice to the area. Brought some of those little ice packs with me, too.”

“I’m impressed. That’s some full-service doctoring,” Buffy said, almost grinning.

John returned it, wearily, “If it’s just the same to you Buffy, I’d much rather get back to the full-service friends part of my relationship with you guys.”

“Agreed. I really can’t thank you enough for doing this.”

“It’s alright. I wasn’t fishing for compliments or suggesting that I’m not glad to be able to help, because I am. You know how much I care for you and William, right?”

“I do, and we feel the same about you.”

“Hello, sister right here,” Dawn said.

Buffy managed a grin, “Sorry, and you too, of course!”

“That’s better.”

Buffy stopped grinning suddenly, as if she had forgotten that she wasn’t supposed to right then. Like how one catches oneself, almost acting ‘normal,’ at a funeral, before the reason you’re there, suddenly floods back like a rushing river, right into your stunned consciousness. It brings you up short, taking your breath away in its sudden cruelty and clarity.

“I still want to see him,” Buffy said, turning to John, ‘I promise, I won’t disturb him.”

“Under one condition, “John said, once more putting on his doctor’s persona, “you let me examine you, first.”

“I don’t need...”

“William was concerned about you, and I promised him I’d take a look at you, after I took care of him. You don’t want me to break my promise to him now, do you?”

Buffy sighed and shook her head. “Where do you want me?”

“I think the couch would be best,” John said, rising, holding out his hand to Buffy. She took it and they went to the other room.

“It would be best if you lay back,” he said, when she sat on the couch.

He examined her, making sure that nothing was broken.

“I’m sorry,” she said to him and Dawn.

They both assured her that there was nothing to be sorry for.

“Well, you look pretty good. A bit banged up, but nothing needing much attention,” John said to her, “your face will probably turn all other lovely colors within the next few days, but otherwise there doesn’t appear to be any damage; just bruising. Put cool compresses on it, to keep the swelling down.”

She nodded, and started to get up, but he stopped her.

“One more thing,” he said, and his hand went to the bandage that she had on her neck.

“That’s alright, it’s nothing...”

“Then you won’t mind my looking,” John said, already pulling it back.

Like William’s the skin was ripped, and there were two puncture marks, the same distance apart as his were. Unlike his, hers appeared to be healing faster.

He nodded, then replaced the bandage, after applying some antibiotic ointment, which Dawn brought him.

Buffy felt his questioning eyes on hers, but she avoided his look. “Can I go see him now?”

“Of course,” John said.

Buffy stood at the door of the bedroom for a couple of seconds, trying to compose herself, then opened the door.

John looked over at Dawn, who had been sitting in the chair next to the couch.

“Dawn,” John said, gently.

“What?”

“I have a difficult question to ask you, but I’d like an honest answer,” he said, as he looked into her eyes.

Dawn swallowed, “What is it?”

“Were William and your sister ever involved in a cult?”

END CHAPTER 142

CHAPTER 143 - AFTERSHOCKS

Buffy quietly shut the door to the bedroom behind her and walked over to the bed. She looked down on his sleeping form, avoiding looking at the bags attached to him, above and below. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if doing so would make the last 12 hours go away.

Had it only been that short of time that their life had been changed irrevocably, by forces she hadn’t even known were working against them? No, she corrected herself; she hadn’t wanted to know. She wanted to think they were safe in their little bubble, and that they could just live happily ever after, like normal people did or seemed to.

Guiltily, she made herself look at the things she had been avoiding looking at, from the makeshift patch on his eye, to the bag that hung off the bed, connected to a catheter. No, this was the result of her pretending that she had, or could ever have a normal life; that her and William’s past were truly were just that - in the past.

She watched as the fingers on the hand, which didn’t have an I.V. in it, twitched a little. Lightly she traced her fingers over his. Still asleep, his hand moved, capturing hers, and squeezing it as though a lifeline. She squeezed back; her heart constricting at the threat of emotions this mere gesture was about to unleash, if she didn’t withdraw soon. The last thing William needed right now, was to be awoken by her bawling her eyes out over him.

Buffy watched him sleep for a few more minutes, before bending over and lightly kissing his forehead. “I love you so much, William. And I’m so sorry that...that this happened. Just please, please believe that we’ll get through it together, I promise,” she whispered.

As if responding to what she’d said, his hand squeezed hers a bit more. Relieved, she gently released herself from his grip and left the bedroom.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“A what?” Dawn asked.

“A cult,” John repeated, “did Buffy and William ever belong to a...”

“I heard you the first time, John. I just can’t believe that you would ask...”

He leaned closer to her, “Then how would you describe that both their necks look like they’ve been mauled and bitten by some...something, I don’t know exactly what. I’ve never seen anything like it, but I know one thing. They were both bitten by the same thing.”

“John,” Dawn said, torn between fight and flight, “I can’t...”

“Can’t or won’t?” he challenged.

She sighed, “I can’t; not now.”

“Alright,” he relented, “not now.”

They were staring at each other, at a standoff, when a phone rang.

“I think that’s mine,” Dawn said, running to the kitchen to grab her purse.

“It’s Xander,” she called to John. Somehow, she had thought to call him on the way to Julian, worried that he would leave for Michigan, not ever knowing that the plans had been changed.

“I’m going to check on William,” John called. He met Buffy coming out of the door.

“How is he?”

“Still asleep, but stirring a bit.”

John nodded, “The sedative is probably starting to wear off. I’ll stay with him now.”

“Who’s Dawn on the phone with?”

“It’s Xander.”

“God, I forgot all about him,” she said, hurrying to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Dawn, listen to me. I talked to Giles and something happened the same night at the coven that Willow belongs to. In fact, she was there when it was attacked.”

“Attacked? Willow? Did something happen to Willow?” Dawn said, turning pale.

“Willow?” Buffy said, coming out to the kitchen, “what’s happened?”

“It’s Xander,” Dawn said, holding out the phone for Buffy to take.

“Xander, it’s Buffy.”

“Oh God, Buffy. Dawn told me what happened to you and William last night. I can’t believe that crazy Dru was still...I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I know...thank you, but please Xander, Dawn just said something about Willow. Is she okay?”

“Sorry, there’s so much...okay, here’s what I know...”

A half-hour later, Buffy was off the phone, recapping Xander’s side of the conversation.

“Xander said that Giles told him, that last night Willow and a potential slayer named Sabrina were at the coven, when around 3:00AM, their time, or about the time that Dru showed up here, they were attacked by demons. First, there was the making time-wonky demons, which I came into contact with back when Warren was playing with me, making me think I had killed Katrina. I can’t recall their names. Then there was a second wave of much more malevolent demons. Three of the coven members died, before the rest of them were able to put up a barrier spell and do something to kill the other demons.”

“How did Giles find out?”

“After you called Xander this morning, he tried to call Willow. When he couldn’t reach her, he called Giles. I guess either he called Willow or Willow called him.”

“So, she knows about William, then?” Dawn asked.

“Yes. I think so. Giles said that she’d be calling me as soon as she possibly can, right now they’re busy with the injured.”

There was a soft tap on the backdoor. Buffy got up, then motioned for Clem to come in. He was carrying a couple of bags of groceries in one hand, Buffy’s purse in the other.

“Hey Buffy, hey Dawn.”

“Hi, Clem,” Dawn said. “How are you? Heard you had a pretty rough night yourself.”

“I’m okay now. Special demon healing powers,” he said, then looked around quickly, relieved not to see John.

“He’s in with William,” Dawn said.

“Thank you for doing this,” Buffy said, taking the groceries from him.

“You’re welcome,” Clem said. “Oh, and I brought your car back, it’s out front.”

“I figured,” Buffy said, pointing to the purse Clem still had over his shoulder.

“Oh yeah,” he said, handing it to her.

Buffy took out her cell phone. The battery was low, so she took the recharged spare from a drawer and popped it in, putting the low battery in the charger.

John walked out into the kitchen.

“Hi Clem.”

“Hi John, how are you?”

“I’m good, and you look fine, considering Buffy said you got beat up last night.”

“Uh...yeah, well...I’m a fast healer,” Clem said.

“How is he?” Buffy said, interrupting.

“He’s awake now. He’s a bit disoriented, but he’s doing better.”

“What about the...?”

John looked at her, then nodded. “Removed; all systems are go, if you know what I mean.”

Buffy let out a sigh of relief.

“You should probably try to get him to eat something. I already told him you would be doing so,” he said, smiling.

“Right,” Buffy said, gathering together a few things from the grocery sacks. She grabbed a snack-size cup of ready-made Jell-O, a spoon, and a can of Sprite and a straw, and some graham crackers, before starting towards the bedroom.

“Buffy?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s still not quite himself.”

She stopped and looked at John, “No, I don’t expect that he would be, but that doesn’t really matter right now, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy pushed open the door to the bedroom and went over to the bed. William was lying there staring up at the ceiling.

“Hey,” she said to him.

He didn’t respond.

Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ve brought you something to eat. Just some Jell-O and graham crackers, and there’s Sprite.”

“John says you have to eat something, we both do,” she said, went on coaxing, trying to appeal to his sense of taking care of her, as well.

She smiled as he slowly turned his head towards her, but it quickly faded as she saw the unmistakable look of pain and hurt he fixed her with.

“William,” she whispered, as her eyes filled with tears.

His mouth twitched as he tried to reign in all the various emotions coursing through him; hurt, pain, fear, anger, betrayal, and confusion, to name a few. He settled on sympathy, at seeing her cry.

He brought up his hand, gently cupping the bruised side of her face, “You’re hurt,” he said softly.

She turned her face into his hand, closing her eyes for a moment and letting herself feel a touch of the comfort that she so wanted, but didn’t feel she deserved. Buffy sniffed back her tears, before they engulfed her. She put her hand over his and kissed his palm, before letting his hand go.

“I’m okay, its not too bad,” she said, opening up a Jell-O container and putting some on a spoon for him.

They held each other’s gazes for a moment, the spoon in midair, before silently he relented, allowing her to feed him.

“Better?” she asked, after he’d finished it off, had a cracker, and some Sprite.

He nodded.

“You want anything else?”

He shook his head, “Tired.”

“Okay, I’ll let you get some rest then,” she said, getting up from the bed and straightening the covers for him, as he sank back down against the pillows.

She was almost to the door when she heard him.

“Elizabeth?”

“What?” She asked, turning around and coming back over to the bed.

He hesitated, then shook his head, “Nothing.”

She looked at him for a minute, “William?”

His eyes closed and he didn’t respond, but felt her hand softly caress his cheek, then felt her lips kiss the top of his head. “I’ll be back in a while,” she whispered to him, and he nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUGUST 12, 2009
TUESDAY
4:00PM

After the flurry of activity that morning, the house was now quiet. William slept on; Clem had gone home, and Buffy had fallen asleep on the couch. John had talked Dawn into taking a nap in the spare room, intending to stay awake, and then fallen asleep himself, as he laid on one of the chairs outside.

Somewhere there was a ringing in Buffy’s dream, but she couldn’t find where it was coming from, as she frantically searched. Her eyes opened, and she realized it that the ringing was real. She sat up and reached her phone, which was on the table nearest her head.

“Buffy? It’s Willow.”

“Willow!” Buffy said.

“Oh God,” they both said at once.

“Xander told me what happened to you guys. Dru came? What did she want?”

Buffy laughed hollowly, “What didn’t she want?” she said, walking towards the kitchen, and away from within ear shot of the bedroom, “To kill and turn William again, kill me, who knows, she’s...she was a vampire. Crazier than a loon, too. One thing I know for sure is that Angel was behind it. She said he told her that he’d take care of me, himself.”

“But she’s dead? I mean...”

“Dusted,” Buffy said, taking a bottle of water out to the back porch, “William got in the killing blow. Chopped her head right off.”

“Oh God, Buffy. Poor William. How is he?”

Buffy told her about what had happened since.

“I’m so sorry, Buffy.”

“Me, too. I heard what happened to your coven. I’m so glad you weren’t...I’m so sorry it happened to people you know.”

“Thanks, I know you are, Buffy.”

“I’m sorry to ask you this Willow, but is what happened to the coven have to do with why the protection spell failed? Or did it fail earlier?”

“No, I’d bet my membership in the coven that this was definitely orchestrated to cause the failure of the protection spell, Buffy.”

“God, all those people dead because of us,” Buffy said.

“No, not because of you; because of Angel,” Willow said darkly, trying to keep herself in check, “and we’ll most definitely be dealing with him.”

“Good,” Buffy said, wondering how she might deal with him as well.

“There’s something else to consider, Buffy. There had to have been a locating spell done on you and William, in order for Dru to be there at the exact time, that the protection spell would be broken. I don’t think that Angel thought that it would be broken for long, so he had to have a window of opportunity in order for her to be there at the exact time.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means, that he had to have something of yours and Williams, in order to do the protection spell. Something personal that would retain some molecular component of yours still on it; sweat, hair, saliva, tears; that sort of thing.”

“Well, maybe he had something of William’s from the hospital still. Maybe mine, too, though I can’t imagine what.”

“I don’t know. I think it’s more likely that somewhere you were spotted around where you live and there was an opportunity to get something of yours.”

“I can’t...we haven’t been to a beauty parlor to take care of my hair in I don’t know how long; and I’ve cut both of ours. Saliva...where would I leave saliva? Dentists? Evil dentists? I don’t even have one right now, evil or otherwise.”

“Well, you can leave saliva on lots of things.”

“And to that, a big ewww!”

“No, think about it Buffy. You leave it on silverware when you eat somewhere, on glasses, cups, those sorts of things.”

Something at the back of Buffy’s mind was starting to nag at her. “Yeah, I guess so...I don’t know. I can’t think right now. Oh, sweat...we did probably leave some sweat around the gyms that we’ve taken classes at recently. You think someone is going around collecting our sweat?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them, if they were looking to get it from you.”

“But, say there was someone working for Angel at our gym, if they knew who we were, then they wouldn’t need a locator spell, right? I mean, around here, we use our names, we go to school, restaurants, etc. Couldn’t they just have followed us then?”

No, the protection spell prevented that. It also had an immediate dampening effect on anybody trying to recall your names; it was the way it was set up. However, once someone located you by other means, say they had a physical description of you or a picture, all they had to do was somehow get a piece of your essence, so to speak. Then once the protection spell was broken, it could be used to pinpoint your exact location and used at the very moment it was needed.”

“What about the protection spell? Right now Angel could be sending something or someone else...”

“Just hang tight, Buffy,” Willow said, “We’re working on restoring it. As soon as some of the members of the coven from Inverness come down tomorrow morning, we’ll get it right back into place. This time it won’t be able to be broken, I promise you that.”

“Thank you. But for tonight, should I...do you think we’re safe here?”

“I think that Angel must have had very specific plans to have orchestrated this whole thing on two continents on once. I doubt he’d have thought he’d need a backup plan, as well. That’s my opinion.”

“In other words, he wouldn’t have had time to put something else into place.”

“I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure. Maybe you guys could still go to Michigan, or...oh, I guess you missed your flight already, huh?”

“God, what was I thinking Willow?”

“Buffy? What do you mean? Oh, Buffy,” Willow said, hearing her start to cry.

“Damnit, Willow! I couldn’t even protect him! I’m the fucking slayer and I couldn’t...I was so stupid to think that everything was going to be alright, everything was safe,” she said, laughing bitterly. “Not to mention, I don’t seem to be as strong as I once was... It’s...he’s...I don’t know what I’m going to do, what I’m going to say to him, Willow? I’m so afraid of what he’s going to say, how he’s...I should’ve told him; he shouldn’t have had to find out this way!”

"You just wanted to protect him, Buffy. You just didn't want him to get hurt."

"You mean I didn't want to be the one to hurt him with the truth, but instead..." her voice wandered off and she wiped angrily at her eyes, "instead I left him open like a sitting duck. At least if he'd known, even if he would've...he might have been prepared for it."

"Buffy, unless he was chosen to be The Slayer like you were, I doubt he would've been ready for it anyway. It still would've been a shock to see Drusilla."

"There's even pictures."

"Pictures? What?"

"Of Drusilla, well, not photos, but drawings that Spike drew over 100 years ago. If I would have only shown him those and told him who she was, then he wouldn't have invited her in; she wouldn't have been able to hurt him."

"No? She could've waited for William to come outside last night. She wouldn't have needed an invitation then," Willow said, sighing as she searched for some words of wisdom or comfort, anything, which might help her.

"There's nothing you can do now about the past Buffy; what's done is done. It's what you do to help William cope with this now, and in the future; that's going to count in the long run."

“It’s not that easy,” Buffy said.

“Who said anything about easy? I haven’t forgotten who I’m talking to, you know?” Willow said.

She was glad to get a laugh out of Buffy for that.

“Buffy, it’s going to be okay. Just trust in yourself. You love each other, and you’ll work it out,” Willow said.

“I hope so,” Buffy said.

“You will. You’ll see. Listen, I’ll call tomorrow to let you know as soon as the protection spell is back in place.”

“Okay,” Buffy said, taking a deep breath. “Good-night Willow. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“You, too. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”

Trust. It was a little word, but it meant the world. It was she who couldn’t trust Spike at first and then later, much later, not her own feelings as they developed for him. Then he became the only person she could fully trust when her back was against the wall and it seemed that everyone else was against her.

Trust. A little word, which meant the world. She trusted him to be a good man now, and he had trusted her to show him the world, as he believed it was. Trusted her to show him his place in it, and how he fit.

Trust. A little word, which made the world a safe place. How would William perceive her, and what she hadn’t told him, in relation to that word now?

Trust. A little word one takes so long to build their world around, but only a moment to tear apart.

END CHAPTER 143

CHAPTER 144 - WE WOULD HAVE BEEN EATING ICE CREAM

AUGUST 12, 2004
TUESDAY
8:00PM

Buffy stood in the kitchen warming up a can of noodle soup. John had been in with William for a little while, and had finally come out saying that he'd gotten him to agree to eat something.

Although Clem had brought a full selection of foods, Dawn had made them grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. It was easy and required no mental energy to perform the task.

"Think William might want a grilled cheese, too?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Buffy asked John.

"It probably wouldn't hurt him, but to be on the safe side, I'd just stick with bland foods until tomorrow. When something traumatic happens to a person, their body winds up putting out excessive amounts of hormones, such as adrenaline, to name one. That can mess with one’s stomach pretty bad for a day or so."

"Soup it is, then," Buffy said, stirring it in the pan.

"Think I could turn on the TV out there?" John asked.

"Sure, help yourself," Buffy said. " I think the remote is over on the desk."

"Thanks," he called.

"Probably looking for a baseball game," Dawn said, smiling after him fondly.

Buffy watched her watching him, and understood that look. "Dawn? I was thinking, why don't you and John go ahead with your plans to go to Michigan. I know you wanted to go, and you should. I'll even pay the penalty for you guys, since you didn't get to use your ticket today."

Dawn looked at Buffy, "No, Buffy. We wanted to go because of you guys, you know that."

"But Dawn, Xander and his family could still come and you'd have him all to yourself, then!"

Dawn laughed, "Um...Buffy, I think those days of wanting him to myself are over. Plus, can you see Xander comfortable with me sleeping with John in that cabin? I swear; he'd probably faint. Either that or try to make us sleep in separate rooms."

Buffy smiled, "Well, Xander has his own two rug rats to consider now, so you'd probably be in the clear."

Dawn snorted. "I doubt it. I'll always be Xander's virginal little sister."

"Mine, too."

"Yeah, but you can't say anything," she said, sticking out her tongue, "not with all the moaning and groaning you've subjected me to over the years."

Buffy started to snicker, but abruptly stopped, shaking her head, as though to clear it. Did any of that matter now, anyway?

"Buffy, do you think it's possible that you and William might still be able to go?” Dawn asked, wistfully. “Might do you guys some good now.”

Buffy shook her head, "No, it's not possible right now. He...we...have to talk, whenever that happens. It will be better if he's here with what he's most familiar with."

"Well, that would be you, Buffy. He's most familiar with you, and think; you're portable," Dawn said, with a small grin.

Buffy let out a little, humorless laugh, "Besides me. I think he'll be..." she turned to look at Dawn, "I don't know what's going to happen, Dawn. I'm so scared. Last night I was so scared when I found Clem in the road and I didn't know if I was too late or not...and now, I'm scared of how much he's going to..."

"No," Dawn said, coming around to hug Buffy, "he's not going to hate you! He'll see that you only wanted to protect him from knowing something that would hurt him."

"I don't think so, I really don't think so, Dawn,” Buffy said. She pulled away, and went out to the back porch, then into the yard, first checking to see if it was 'safe' and vamp free. Something, she'd never done in all the time she'd been there.

Dawn followed her.

"What time is it in Michigan Dawn?" Buffy asked, looking up at the darkening skies.

Dawn looked at her watch, "10:00."

Buffy nodded, "We'd have been eating our ice cream cones right about now, having just gotten there in time for last call. William and I would share the big swing, overlooking the lake...where would you be, Dawn?"

"Don't, Buffy!"

"Where would you be, Dawn?"

Dawn sighed, "I guess we'd either be on the deck, or I think John would've liked to sit on the picnic benches on the dock. That's where we'd be."

Buffy nodded, "You and John should be there."

"No, we should all be there, but we're not. Not because of something you did wrong, but because there's a rotten, evil bastard in the world named Angel, who just, excuse my language, fucked with your and William's life. And since I love you guys, then he fucked with me, too. And John."

"You guys should still go," Buffy intoned again, sitting down on the grass.

"No, I don't want to go without you,” Dawn said, plopping down next to her, “it would only remind me of why you're not there. We'll go again sometime, when we can all go and enjoy it. Okay? John and I will just do something else.
I guess..." she said, her voice trailing off.

Buffy turned to look at her, "What is it, Dawn?"

Dawn sighed, "John. He asked me if you and William had ever been in a cult."

"A cult?" Buffy asked, "why would he ever think...?"

"Buffy, he saw the bite marks on both your necks; God only knows what he thought! I think he just concluded that you guys must have been in some sort of cult a long time ago. Maybe he thinks you pissed off someone back then, and they came to pay you back."

Buffy half-snorted, half-laughed, "Not so far from the truth, is it? Oh God, Dawn. I shouldn't have called and got you guys involved. I didn't think, I just..."

"Of course you should have! You did exactly the right thing by calling us! We're family, Buffy. And John is terribly fond of both of you."

Buffy smiled, thinking how Dawn had just sounded like Giles.

"I'm glad you came, both of you, I don't know what I would've done. I would have had to take him to the hospital, and that would...he’s afraid of them, since the other hospital. Not to mention, they would've wanted to call the police..."

“...which probably would have made headlines in this sleepy town," Dawn added.

Buffy shuddered.

"What are you going to tell him? You know,” Buffy said, thinking, “you actually could tell him that we were in a cult. I mean, there are those weird people that act like they’re vampires. I’ve even heard some of them get pointy teeth implants.”

“And drink blood, for fun,” Dawn said, “and worship the devil, while they’re at it.”

“Idiots! Stupid, risk-taking idiots!” Buffy said, shaking her head. “If they only knew the truth they wouldn’t...oh hell forget about them. But seriously Dawn, you could just tell John that William and I were in a cult when we were younger. Make that much younger! That way he won’t have to know about us, about all of it. He won’t have to deal.”

Dawn shook her head, “No, Buffy. Listen to yourself, I can’t do that; I'm going to tell him the truth, and if he can't accept it, well he can just...”

"No Dawn, don’t say it! John loves you, I can tell. And you love him just as much. I just wanted to let you know that it would be alright with me, if you didn’t want to tell him, that I’d certainly understand.”

“I just don’t want to lie,” Dawn said, her voice pensive.

“You mean like me?” Buffy asked, sadly.

“You didn’t lie Buffy, you just didn’t tell the whole truth.”

“Want to explain the difference to William right now?”

Dawn didn’t answer, just put her head on Buffy’s shoulder, as they sat there watching the stars come out in the night sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:15PM

“Hey,” Buffy said, as she walked into the bedroom, carrying a bowl of soup, some oyster crackers, and more Sprite.

She walked over to the bed and waited. Finally he looked at her without expression. Nodding, she handed him the bowl of soup, setting a smaller bowl filled with crackers on the blanket next to him, and setting the drink down next to the clock radio on the bedside table.

“You hungry?” she asked.

He shrugged, but his left hand searched around for the cracker bowl.

“Here,” she said, pushing it over to where he could feel it. She’d set it down to the left of him, and he couldn’t see it without turning his head, due to his eye being covered.

The bowl of soup wobbled, and she steadied it, until he had put the crackers into it. He ate the soup in silence, as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Good?” She asked, when he’d finished it. He nodded, handing her back the bowl. She handed him his drink and then put it back for him, when he was finished.

William had only glanced at her briefly as she had watched him eat, and now that he was finished; it was the same, except that the silence between them seemed more pronounced.

He had his head partially down, as if there were something of interest to him on the bed covers. Buffy swallowed a few times, as she tried to think of something to say to him, or wait for him to speak to her.

He didn’t.

Finally, she got up. “Guess I’ll go take care of these,” she said. “Do you want anything else?”

He looked up at her then, “Tell them to go home.”

“What? John and Dawn? I think they’re going to spend the night; they’ll probably leave in the morning.”

“I want them to go now!” William said, raising his voice. He took a deep breath, and fought for control. “I’m...better. John’s done all he can and...They should just go home now,” he said quietly, then added, “they shouldn’t be here.”

Buffy stared at him for a minute, trying to fathom his reasons; reasons other than what he’d stated, but he gave no indication, and she was afraid to push for them.

Regardless, she’d debated this herself. On the one hand, she wanted, even needed them here, but on the other, she wasn’t sure if there was going to be another attack tonight. If there were, she didn’t want Dawn or John getting hurt, or worse.

Finally, she nodded to him, “Alright, I’ll tell them.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8:45PM

“I’ll go check on him one more time, then we can be on our way,” John said to Dawn and Buffy, as he walked into the bedroom. She had only told them that she thought that they might as well leave, not what William had said.

“Are you sure about this?” Dawn asked.

Buffy nodded, “I’m sure. He’s feeling a bit better and you guys should get back home.”

Dawn looked at her, skeptically.

“Really, I’m fine. As fine as I can be, under the circumstances.”

“I’m telling you Buffy, I don’t feel right leaving you here alone right now. What if something happens?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if he...relapses or something?”

Buffy let out a silent breath of relief that Dawn hadn’t thought about the possibility of further attacks. If she had, she’d never had agreed to leave, even if it put her into danger. She knew that much about her sister, and loved her for it.

“I don’t think he will. John did a good job with him today.”

“Thanks, I’ll tell him you said so,” Dawn said, smiling.

“If you need me to talk to John about any of this, I will,” Buffy said.

“I know. I’ll see what happens, okay?”

Buffy nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:00

“Well, that’s it. I changed the bandage on William’s eye, and put in another eyedrop, so he’s set for the evening. Remember to do that 3 times a day, for the next 4 or 5 days or so, even up to a week. If his eye is still bothering him after that time, you should take him to an opthamologist for a checkup.”

“I will.”

“Better give him some vitamins with some iron, too. He seems to be a little anemic right now. Probably due to the blood loss at the site of the neck wound,” John said pointedly.

Buffy nodded, as she looked into his eyes, which were curious, but not condemning.

“I think everything else should heal just fine,” he finished.

“Good. I can’t thank you enough John, I don’t know what I would’ve done...you’re a good person, and a good friend; to both of us. He may not have told you, but William really needed you today. Not just as someone to patch him up, but to be there for him, too. And I know he’s grateful.”

John smiled, embarrassed. “I was just glad to be able to help; to be there for you both.”

Dawn cleared her throat, “I want to go say good-bye to him.”

John turned to her, “Dawn, I don’t think he wants to see you right now.”

“Why?”

“I just don’t think he wants you to see him that way...hey, where are you going?”

“The hell with that,” Dawn said, as she marched determinedly towards the bedroom.

John started after her, but Buffy stopped him, with a hand on his arm, “You don’t know my sister very well, if you think that’s going to stop her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn opened the door to the bedroom, just as William was coming out of the bathroom.

They both looked at each other with shock. She quickly crossed the distance, and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. “Stupid!” she cried into his shirt. He was taken aback, not to mention, she was hurting him by hugging him so hard.

“You think you can get rid of me this easily William? You think you have to hide from me, because you’re embarrassed? Stupid man!” she said, still crying.

William hugged her back, automatically, and felt his own eyes grow moist, as she woke up something in him that he had denied himself all day, “Stubborn bi...nt,” he whispered to her, stumbling over the word.

“Damn right! You should know that about me, as long as you’ve known me!”

He flinched, and she stood back a moment, looking at him. “That’s right, I’ve known you a long time William. Even when you were Spike.”

He sucked in his cheeks, his lips tight. Her words had made his heart start pounding, and his breath come faster, making him sway slightly.

“You listen to me, I may have been only 14 years old, but I always knew you were a good guy. You might have been a...a different person then, but you were still good! You may have tried to act like the Big Bad, but you never fooled me. Even mom liked you, and she had very good instincts. You hear what I’m saying?”

He didn’t reply, just lowered his head, as he bit his lower lip to keep it together.

Dawn stood there until he finally looked up at her. She could see the pain in his eyes and she felt her own eyes grow moist, “You’ll get through this. You and Buffy, both,” Dawn said, hugging him again.

She withdrew one last time, and took his hands, squeezing them, “I’ll see you soon, William,” Dawn said, with an encouraging smile, as she let go with a little nod, and walked to the door.

“Good-bye, Dawn,” he said softly, as the door closed behind her.

END CHAPTER 144


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