Chapter 31
"Will?" Buffy asked as she tapped lightly on Willow's door.
When she didn't hear anything she opened the door slowly and walked in.
She saw Willow bed still made and new Willow never slept in it last night.
Buffy left the room and closed the door behind her, then continued going down to the kitchen.
"Willow not hungry this morning?" Joyce asked as she set a coffee down in front of Buffy.
"She never came back last night. She must have gone to Lindsay's." Buffy replied.
"I was out shopping the other day and I saw a few dresses you might like. Wanna go take a look?" Joyce asked.
"Sounds good." Buffy replied. "We should wait for Willow. I know Faith and Cordy already got theirs, but Will still hasn't found one she likes." Buffy replied.
"How about we wait until noon, if she's not back by then we'll go. We can always take Willow down there later, or if we see something we can always get it for her and return it if she doesn't like it." Joyce suggested.
Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "Okay we can do that." Buffy replied as she sipped her coffee.
"Eat up." Joyce said setting a plate of waffles in front of Buffy.
Buffy began eating when Joyce moved over to answer the ringing phone.
"Hello." Joyce said as she put the receiver to her ear. Joyce smiled as she handed the phone to Buffy. "For you." Joyce said as Buffy took the phone.
Buffy smiled when she heard Spike's voice on the other end.
Joyce went around cleaning up the kitchen as Buffy and Spike talked for awhile.
"Feel better now?" Joyce asked as Buffy hung up the phone.
"Much." Buffy replied finishing her plate with renewed vigour.
When Buffy finished she set her plate and cup in the sink.
"I'm gonna shower and dress." Buffy said as she headed out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
Joyce just nodded as she poured another cup of coffee and sat at the counter with the paper to relax.
"Morning dear." Giles said as he placed a kiss to Joyce's temple after coming into the kitchen. "Buffy seems in fine spirits."
"William just called." Joyce replied chuckling.
Giles just nodded and grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee.
"What are your plans for the day?" Giles asked.
"Shopping with Buffy." Joyce replied.
"I'll be at the museum late tonight. Probably won't be home until around ten." Giles said.
"Do you want me to keep supper warm?" Joyce asked.
"No, I'll grab something on the way home." Giles replied.
They continued to talk until Giles finished his coffee and had to leave for work.
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Willow laid there, exhausted. The woman hadn't come back after she had received the delivery last night. Willow hadn't allowed herself to sleep out of fear. She fought her restraints for hours until she became to sore to continue.
Her wrists were now covered in dried blood as were her ankles.
Willow looked frantically to the stairway when she heard the door creek as it started opening.
Willow tried to back up as far as she could when she saw the woman coming down the stairs, watching her with a smug smile on her lips.
"So nice to see you've decided to stay awhile." The woman said as she came over to Willow slowly.
All Willow could do is watch her. With her hands and feet ties and her mouth taped, she couldn't move or even speak.
The woman walked over and grabbed the knife off the table, then slowly moved over to squat down at Willow's feet.
"Now where was I?" The woman said crinkling her brows. "Oh that's right. I was going to make sure you couldn't run. Isn't that right Buffy dear." The woman said.
Willows eyes widened at the woman calling her Buffy.
What did this woman have against Buffy.
Before Willow could try and pull away, the woman brought the knife down and sliced it through Willow's Achilles tendon.
Willow's muffled scream would go no further than the basement as tears came to her eyes when she felt the knife slice through her skin.
The woman stood up and left the basement, leaving Willow there feeling the mattress become soaked in blood beneath her feet.
After a little while Willow passed out from exhaustion and the loss of blood.
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Spike laid on the sofa in the Summers house flipping channels on the t.v.
"I take it you're enjoying the relaxation." Faith said as she and Angel came in from the kitchen carrying drinks and snacks.
"Yeah. Tour was great. Enjoyed every minute. But I did miss the lazy days. No practise, no playing, just me and Buffy." Spike replied.
"Buffy'll be here soon." Angel replied as he sat down.
"I know. Couple more weeks." Spike replied.
"Than the week after that, it's the trip down the aisle." Faith said.
Spike smiled as he thought about the wedding.
Angel stood up to go put the movie into the dvd player.
Faith was just about to sit down when the phone rang.
"Don't start it until I get back." Faith said as she went to the dining room to grab the cordless phone.
"Hello." Faith said as she moved back into the living room. "Oh, hey Cordy." Faith said as she started to sit, but froze half way before standing back up. "What?" Faith asked as Spike and Angel looked at Faith curiously.
"Oh my god. We'll be right there." Faith said hanging up the phone and dropping it on to the coffee table.
"What's going on?" Angel asked worriedly.
Faith only said one word before they got up and ran to the car.
"Xander."
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Oz was the first to make it to the hospital, followed by Spike, Angel and Faith only a few minutes later.
"What's going on? What happened?" Spike asked as they flew through the doors and spotted Oz.
"She wouldn't tell me until we were all here." Oz said shrugging his shoulders.
"Cordy." Faith yelled when she saw Cordelia coming around the corner.
Cordelia ran over to them all wiping the tears from her eyes.
When they saw her wiping her tears, they all started to tremble slightly.
"Cordy." Spike said with a raspy voice.
Cordelia took a deep breath before she started talking.
"Xanders parents came in today and signed the paper to have him taken off of life support. When they disconnected everything, the heart rate monitor, it...........he died." Cordelia said shaking slightly. "The doctors pronounced him dead. Then a few minutes later, I saw him take in a deep breath and open his eyes. He looked right at me. I ran for the doctor, but when we came back into the room, his eyes were closed, but he was breathing. He's alive." Cordelia said crying.
Everyone stood there for a moment letting everything they just heard sink in. Xander was alive.
"Can we see him?" Spike asked.
Cordelia led them all down the hall to Xanders room.
They all stepped in and stood around his bed watching him, hoping he'd open his eyes again.
"He hasn't opened his eyes since, but the doctor said it was a very good sign." Cordelia replied. "His system is functioning on it's own."
They all stayed around the hospital for the day, but ended up going home in the early hours of the morning exhausted.
Spike had called Buffy to let her know what had happened and to pass it on to Willow since no one could reach her on her cell.
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Willow's cell began to ring again. Which woke Willow from a deep sleep, only to feel excruciating pain in her right leg.
Her purse lay a few feet from her, but with her tied, it might as well have been on the other side of the world.
Willow spent the day coming in and out of consciousness.
The woman never came back down to the basement that day, leaving Willow laying there in fear. Part of her wanting the woman to come back so she wasn't alone.
Willow was going to die. She could feel it. She is never going to leave this place alive. Willow thought about the unborn baby she was carrying as tears began to slide down her face.
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Giles opened his office door to allow Inspector Lawson in.
The Inspector sat in the chair across from Giles as Giles moved behind the desk to take his seat.
"You said it was important. Have you found out whom it is?" Giles asked.
"No. I just thought you might want to know what the coroner had to say.....about his findings." The Inspector replied.
Giles closed his eyes for a moment before nodding his head for the Inspector to continue.
"By the depth of the abrasions on her wrists and ankles as well as the amount of decay, she'd been there at the very least three months." Lawson said. "Did she try to contact you after she was released?"
"No. When I contacted you I had just found out she had been released. But as far as I know, she never did. Not that her contacting us would have been welcomed." Giles replied.
Lawson just nodded, knowing what she had been incarcerated for.
"Her right leg......her Achilles tendon had been sliced so she couldn't really go anywhere to easily had she escaped. She might not have been able to do that anyway. She died slowly. Her captor had starved her to death. When we looked through the house, her bedroom, the living room, all the rooms had crosses, lots of religious things all over. I checked with the prison and found out that she had delved into religion, repenting for what she had done. She told one of the guards that there would never be enough forgiveness in this world to take away what she had done. She said she would never forgive herself for it. The best punishment she could think of was to live everyday with the memory and guilt of what she did. Just thought you might want to know that." Lawson said. "She was extremely close to another inmate. She was paroled a couple months after your ex-wife was. We still haven't been able to locate her yet. She might know something."
Giles just looked down at his desk but said nothing.
"There's more." Lawson said. "The private detective I told you about Ms. Talbot." Lawson said as Giles looked up to meet his eyes.
"What about her?" Giles asked.
"Her body was found by the cleaning crew this morning. She's dead." Lawson said.
Giles just looked at him with so many questions in his eyes.
"Her computer had been destroyed, her files rifled through. Maybe she found something she wasn't supposed to know. She put up a struggle, but here's the thing, her Achilles tendon had been sliced on her right leg. I'm guessing that's what stopped her from getting away. She was then tied to the chair so she couldn't get free, then her stomach had been sliced open, so she bled to death. Slow and painful." Lawson said.
"Good lord." Giles muttered
"Maybe she got curious as to who it was that hired her. Too curious maybe." Lawson said as he stood up.
"I'm going to send a car to keep watch over you and your family. Just to be safe." Lawson said as he opened the door.
"Yes, thank you Inspector." Giles said absently as he allowed all this information to settle in.
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Buffy hung up the phone, not getting any answer at Lindsay's.
"Well I guess she'll have to wait until she gets home." Buffy said smiling from the news about Xander.
"Do you think he'll wake up for good soon?" Buffy asked Joyce as she turned towards the counter.
"I don't know honey. I hope so." Joyce said. "His chances do seem better now."
"Who's chances seem better now?" Giles asked as he came into the room.
"Xander opened his eyes today and he's breathing on his own." Buffy said excitedly.
"That's great news." Giles said glad to hear some good news for a change.
"Yeah, it is." Buffy replied as she leaned her head on Giles shoulder when he came to stand beside her.
"Are we going back to Sunnydale now?" Giles asked hopefully, but hiding his desire to leave town for awhile. Wishing he could take them some where safe, fearing for what might happen.
"No. They said he hasn't opened his eyes since, that we might be coming back for no reason. They said it's best to stay here until we were coming down as planned. Unless he woke up sooner, they said they'll call if that happened." Buffy said quietly.
"Do you want to go back anyway?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, I do." Buffy replied.
"Then I think we should. You can get your assignments from your teachers. I'll have a talk with them and arrange for your finals to be done in Sunnydale and have the results sent back." Giles replied.
"Really?" Buffy said her mood brightening.
"I don't see why not." Giles replied.
"Thank you." Buffy said enveloping him in a tight embrace.
Giles smiled as he held her tight. "I'd do anything for you Buffy." Giles replied as he placed a kiss to her temple.
"I'll get my assignments tomorrow." Buffy replied as she bounced up the stairs to her room, grabbing her cell phone on the way.
Joyce waited until Buffy was out of earshot before she moved over to Giles.
"So why the big rush to go to Sunnydale?" Joyce said keeping her voice low. "What's going on?" Joyce asked looking at him with a concerned expression.
Giles waited until her heard Buffy's door close before he went on to tell Joyce about his meeting with Inspector Lawson.
When Giles finished telling her, Joyce stood there for a moment, her hands white from gripping the edge of the counter.
"I'll call the airlines and book our tickets." Joyce said moving to the phone.
Joyce jumped and dropped the phone when she heard a knock at the door.
"I'll get it." Giles said picking up the phone and handing it back to her before going through the living room to the front door.
Giles opened the door cautiously, relaxing when he saw who it was.
"Lindsay. Why are you knocking? You're a permanent fixture around here, just come in." Giles said shaking his head, opening the door wider for Lindsay to come through.
"Just trying to be mannerly is all." Lindsay said with a smile.
"What can we do for you?" Giles said leading Lindsay into the kitchen.
"Just came by to see if Willow wants to go out for a coffee." Lindsay said as he leaned on the counter.
"We thought Willow was with you." Joyce said as she looked at Lindsay confused.
"No." Lindsay said slowly, starting to worry slightly. "I thought she was here."
Giles and Joyce shook their heads.
"Buffy." Joyce shouted up the stairs loudly, hanging up the phone.
A minute later Buffy came down the stairs. "Hold on Spike." Buffy said into the phone. "Yeah mom. Hey Lindsay." Buffy said looking at Lindsay then to her mom.
"Buffy, do you know where Willow is?" Joyce asked.
"Yeah she's with.................Lindsay." Buffy said slowly as her brows furrowed. "
"When was the last time you seen Willow?" Lindsay asked worriedly.
"Last night. We were in her room talking, then she said she was going out. When she never came home I assumed she was with you." Buffy replied.
"Oh my god." Joyce said.
"What the hell is happening? Where's Willow?" Buffy asked Lindsay.
"I haven't seen her since early yesterday." Lindsay replied as he started pacing back and forth.
"But when she left last night, I thought she was going to see you. She was kinda upset. She wouldn't tell me what was bothering her though, but I knew something was wrong." Buffy said worriedly.
Lindsay closed his eyes and looked down to the floor.
Buffy brought her phone back to her ear when she noticed Spike was yelling.
"Sorry, I.......Willow is missing.'' Buffy replied when Spike had asked what was going on. "I don't know." Buffy said as tears started sliding down her cheeks.
"Do you no where she might be?" Giles asked.
"No. I had coffee with Dru and Wes earlier this afternoon. They hadn't seen her." Lindsay said remembering Dru's odd statement about him having to save the tree from the dark.
Giles moved and grabbed the phone, pulling out Inspector Lawson's number, he began dialling frantically.
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Spike hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Faith asked as she watched Spike moving at a harried pace.
"Red's missing." Spike said grabbing his car keys.
"What?" Oz replied coming to his feet quickly.
"What happened?" Cordelia asked as she came in from the kitchen.
"Don't know. Was talking to Buffy, she told me they were all coming back here within a day or so, then during the course of the call they found out Willow was missing. She hadn't been seen since last night, early in the evening." Spike said as he headed for the door.
"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked.
"What do you think? Going to London." Spike replied.
"Not without us you're not." Angel said as he and Faith grabbed their jackets and followed him out of the house and into Spikes car.
"Get in the van." Oz said to Cordelia as he climbed in behind the wheel.
Cordelia climbed in and Oz started the van and followed behind Spike to the Airport.
Chapter 32
Willow woke up slowly and looked around the basement. The woman hadn't come back to the house. Willow had been there by herself for two days, growing more exhausted by the minute.
Between the amount of blood loss and not having eaten in almost three days, Willow grew more tired and fought to keep awake, looking for away to escape.
Willow shifted to lay on her back as she looked up to the ceiling.
Willow looked at one spot in particular carefully before the feeling of determination consumed her.
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"Anything?" Spike asked as Giles came back into the living room from his office.
Giles shook his head. "Nothing I'm afraid." Giles replied quietly as he sat down on the sofa beside Joyce.
"I still don't understand what happened. Why would someone want to kidnap Willow?" Cordelia asked worriedly.
"We don't know why. Knowing wouldn't really make it any easier, the end result would be the same." Giles said closing his eyes and resting his forehead in his hands.
"All we know is it has something to do with me and dad." Spike replied quietly.
"That might not be it at all William." Joyce said.
"Thanks mum, but we all know it is." Spike replied.
Joyce just looked down and leaned in closer to Giles, who put his arm around her protectively.
"At least we know who it isn't." Spike said as he looked at Giles and got up and went into the kitchen.
Buffy got up and followed him into the kitchen. Spike leaned on the counter and Buffy came up and hugged him from behind. Spike brought his hands up to hold her to him tighter.
"It's gonna be okay. We'll find her." Buffy said quietly.
"How can you be so calm?" Spike asked quietly.
"I had my hysterics before you got here. I've moved to calm and determined, we'll find her and everything will be okay. I have to believe that. If I don't, I don't think I could stop crying." Buffy said just above a whisper.
"You're right. I guess I should try and calm down." Spike said as he squeezed her hands.
"It's been two days. Almost three. They should know something. Anything." Buffy said as she pulled away and went over to the fridge and grabbed a can of soda.
"Not if there wasn't anything to find." Spike said quietly. "There's no chance that Red just left. You know decided to get away for awhile." Spike said looking at Buffy for the answer.
"No. Willow wouldn't just take off like that." Buffy replied.
"Was there anything bothering her?" Spike asked.
"Yeah." Buffy admitted quietly. "But she wouldn't tell me what it was."
"I can tell you what it was." Lindsay said as he came into the kitchen.
"What was it?" Spike asked.
"This was something private. Between Will and me, we were dealing with it." Lindsay said as he leaned against the counter on the other side of Buffy and Spike. "She's pregnant." Lindsay said.
Buffy and Spike looked at Lindsay in disbelief.
"She told me a little while back. It was a shock, but we were dealing with it." Lindsay said.
"Exactly how were you dealing with it?" Spike asked looking at Lindsay scrutinizingly.
"Not much I could do other than to be there for her and stand beside her on whatever decision she came too." Lindsay replied. "I offered to marry her. She said no. She didn't want to get married because she was pregnant. I didn't ask her because of that." Lindsay added quietly.
Spike looked away for a moment before turning his gaze to Buffy. "You can't think of anywhere she might go?" Spike asked quietly.
"When she wasn't here she was always with Lindsay." Buffy replied sadly.
They all looked at the phone with trepidation when it started to ring.
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Willow fell to the floor when she managed to cut through the bindings on her wrists. Willow saw where the pipe had broken and had jagged metal sticking out, running the binds over the metal eventually tore them apart and she was able to get free.
She pulled herself into a sitting position and untied he ankles. She pulled herself to her feet steadying herself and hobbling on her one foot. She slowly reached down and grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone. A moment later putting the phone back into her purse, cursing under her breath as she headed towards the stairs. Her battery had to be charged.
It took her quite awhile to make it upstairs to the main floor of the house. She moved about slowly and as quietly as she could not sure what she might find. Without seeing anything, Willow closed the door to the basement as she entered the kitchen. She kept going until she reached the back door on the other side of the kitchen. She opened the door quietly and slipped through closing it behind her. Making it look like everything was the same so she wouldn't be missed right away, giving Willow a little longer to get to safety.
After she left the house Willow no longer took her time. She ran as best she could and as fast as possible trying to distance herself from the house. Willow was not even looking where she was or what her surrounding were, just the thought of getting away kept her going.
After about five minutes Willow slumped against a building, no longer able to run. Her injury as well as dehydration and starvation the last couple of days had taken their toll on Willows energy.
While Willow tried to catch her breath she took the opportunity to check out her surroundings. Willows brows scrunched as she looked at the all too familiar street. She pushed herself off the building and looked towards the corner one block over. The corner that led to home. She had been held captive in a basement no farther than two maybe three blocks from the her house.
Willow slumped against the wall in shock, her bag falling to the ground, sending her phone tumbling out.
Willow saw a light in the window of a house across the street. She reached down and grabbed her bag as she quickly made her way there. It was only another block home, but she was to exhausted and knew she wouldn't be able to make it the rest of the way.
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"Thanks." Buffy said as she accepted the cup of tea Joyce handed her.
"It's late. Maybe you should get some sleep. I don't think you've had more than a couple of hours since this whole thing started." Joyce said worriedly as she tucked Buffy's hair behind her ear.
"I haven't seen you sleeping either." Buffy replied as she took a sip of her tea.
"Still can't reach them?" Spike asked Giles as Giles walked back into the kitchen.
Giles shook his head. "No. Apparently Willow's parents are on some kind of safari or what have you. No phone where they are, the police still haven't located exactly where they are. It seems they like to wing their destination. Why have a plan and a route, it's more of a vacation if you let it happen." Giles said annoyed after he had been speaking with Willow's grandmother who was feeling much the same way about her daughter and son in law as Giles was at that moment. "Her grand parents will be here in the morning. They just booked the first flight out."
Joyce just shook her head but said nothing.
"Yeah, there's a shocker." Cordelia said rolling her eyes.
"Cordy." Buffy said quietly.
"What? I'm not saying anything everyone else isn't thinking. We all know Willows parents have really nothing to do with her." Cordelia said bluntly.
No one said anything but they all know it was true. Willow practically raised herself. The minute she was eleven her parents started going away for the weekends. Buy the time Willow was fourteen, they would leave her alone for a week or two at a time while they went away on business or took vacations without her. Most of the time Willow was alone. That's why when ever Willow or Buffy would ask, Joyce always said yes to having Willow stay over.
Joyce also knew that she wouldn't have a hard time talking her parents into letting Willow go to England with Buffy.
Joyce was also feeling at odds with herself. If she hadn't had let Willow go, this wouldn't have happened. Willow would be back in Sunny dale, safe. Joyce's thoughts were disturbed when the phone began ringing.
They all moved from the kitchen to the living room when they heard Giles answer the phone.
"Oh dear god. Yes, of course. We'll be right there." Giles said quickly as he hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket. "They have Willow. She's at the hospital." Giles added quickly as he headed towards the front door.
Lindsay, Buffy and Spike were right on Giles heels as they came out of the house.
Giles, Joyce, Faith and Angel went in one car, while Spike, Buffy Lindsay, Oz and Cordelia went in Spikes car. Both cars broke the speed limit trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.
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"Miss Rosenberg managed to break away from her captive and get to a house where the tenants called us. The house she made it to was just a block from your residence." The inspector said quietly.
"Willow was being held hostage only a few blocks from home?" Giles asked dumbfounded.
"No. Not a hostage. Different scenario altogether. She was a captive, never meant to be returned. She was meant to die, and would have if she hadn't gotten away." The Inspector replied waiting a moment before asking his question. "Does Miss Summers have any enemies?" The inspector asked as he raised his eyes to look at Giles.
Giles raised his eyebrows, a little taken aback by the question.
"No. Not that I'm aware of. Why?" Giles asked.
"Miss Rosenberg stated the her captive had called her Buffy. Miss Rosenberg was taken by a case of mistaken identity. Miss Summers was the target, not Miss Rosenberg." The Inspector replied.
"Why would someone be after Buffy?" Joyce asked quietly as she looked over at Buffy who was pacing back and forth waiting to get in to see Willow.
"What are you talking about?" Spike asked as he came up from behind Giles. "Who's after Buffy?" Spike said worriedly keeping his voice down so Buffy wouldn't hear.
"You're Miss Summers fiance, you would know more about what's happening in her life right now. Do you know if there's anyone that might hold a grudge against her?" The Inspector asked calmly.
"No. Buffy gets along well with everyone. What's going on?" Spike asked again a little more aggression in his tone.
"Miss Summers.....Buffy.... was the intended target. Not Miss.......it wasn't meant to be Willow." The Inspector replied quietly, keeping his tone quiet, so as not to be overheard by the others and cause upset.
Spike kept his gaze on Buffy, watching her intently. When Buffy noticed the expression on his face her brows crinkled as she stared back at him. Spike softened his expression and sent her a small smile, trying to hide his worry.
"Just find him." Spike said to the Inspector as he started to walk away.
"Her. The one we're after is a female." He replied quickly.
"Alright, find her then." Spike replied as he finished walking over to Buffy.
"What's going on?" Buffy asked as Spike came over to her and wrapped her in his arms.
"Nothing baby. Just worried about Red." Spike replied as he held her tighter.
Buffy just melted into his arms and stayed there, feeling safe.
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It had been a long night. Everyone had there chance to go in to see Willow. Lindsay never left the room, he stayed with her. Everyone else milled about in the lounge not wanting to go home.
"You should go home. Giles and I will stay. You should all get some rest." Joyce said as she looked at the exhausted group sitting on the sofa's lining the wall.
Nobody responded right away, not wanting to leave.
"Mum's right. We're all burnt out. We should go home, get some sleep. We can come back after we've rested." Spike said tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.
They all slowly got up and left the hospital and returned back to the house, going straight to bed and falling asleep instantly.
Spike rolled over and began to panic when he realized Buffy wasn't laying beside him.
"Buffy?" Spike called loudly as he got up and left the room only to bump into her in the hall.
"Oww." Buffy said as she rubbed her forehead.
"Sorry luv. Was a little worried when i woke up and you were gone." Spike replied as he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"Why would you be worried?" Buffy asked as she followed Spike back into the bedroom.
"Just with everything that's happened, I don't like when I don't know where you are is all." Spike replied. "Just want to keep you safe."
"You don't have to worry. I'm right here, with you. Always." Buffy replied quietly as she laid down beside him, laying her head on his chest as she started to fall back to sleep.
Spike pulled her closer and closed his eyes as he followed her into sleep.
Spike woke up when he heard a strangled cry come from Buffy. His eyes were opened long enough to see Buffy covered in blood and a flash of dark hair before he felt a sharp pain in his head as everything around him was cloaked in blackness.
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"Maybe we should call and check on them." Joyce said worriedly.
"They're all together, I think they'll be safe." Giles replied. "Give them a quick ring just to check in." Giles added, worried bout them as well.
Joyce went over to the payphone as Giles went over to the vending machine, paying for two coffee's. Giles retrieved the coffee's and walked over noting Joyce's worried expression.
"What's wrong?" Giles asked pensively.
"I'm not getting an answer at the house." Joyce replied.
"Maybe you didn't let it ring enough. They were all pretty exhausted." Giles said praying that's all it was.
"I let it ring until you came over here." Joyce replied starting to panic.
"Right. Wait here." Giles said as he went to Willow's room.
"Lindsay." Giles said quietly coming into the room.
Lindsay looked up from Willow to face Giles.
"We're heading home.'' Giles said quickly.
"What's going on?" Lindsay asked when he saw the anxious look on Giles face.
"There's no answer at the house. Could be nothing." Giles said.
"Could be something." Lindsay replied trying to stay quiet so as not to wake Willow. "I got it covered here. Go." Lindsay said quickly.
"Dammit." Lindsay said to himself as he watched out the window when he saw Giles and Joyce running to the car across the road in the parking lot.
Lindsay pulled the Inspectors card out of his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. "Inspector." Lindsay said when the phone was answered.
"Look something might be happening. I'm not sure but can you send someone out to check at the Giles residence.'' Lindsay said quietly.
Willow opened her eyes slowly to see Lindsay speaking quietly on the phone before putting it in his jacket.
"Hey." Willow squeaked out as she swallowed, trying to wet her throat.
"Hey honey, you're awake." Lindsay said as he came to the side of the bed and grabbed the pitcher of water and poured a small amount into a cup. Lindsay place a hand behind her head, raising it enough to take a drink.
"Are you okay? Should I get the doctor?" Lindsay said as he set the cup back down on the bedside table.
"No, I'm okay. Who were you talking too? Is everything alright?" Willow replied quietly trying to keep her eyes open.
"Every thing's fine." Lindsay said as he placed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Go back to sleep."
Willow nodded briefly before slipping back into a deep sleep.
Lindsay left the room and went to the nurse's station.
"Willow woke up for a couple of minutes but she's sleeping now." Lindsay told the nurse.
"How did she seem?" The nurse asked as she grabbed her chart.
"She seemed fine, other than being really tired." Lindsay replied.
"Great. Let's go have a check then." The nurse said as she came around the corner.
"I have to go out for a little while. If she wakes up could you tell her I'll be back shortly?" Lindsay asked.
"Sure. I'll pass it along for you." The nurse replied.
"Thank you." Lindsay said as he turned and started towards the elevators.
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Giles pulled up out front of the house only to see Inspector Lawson pulling up in front of the house.
"Inspector, what are you doing here?" Giles asked as he got out of his car, quickly followed by Joyce.
"Actually I was just going to the hospital with some news when I received a call from Mr. Green. He told me what was happening. So I came straight here." Inspector Lawson replied.
"News can wait a moment. We just have to check something." Giles said as they all ran to the front door and into the house.
They went through the living room, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, but as they started up the stairs they saw traces of blood on the carpet and banister, making them run up the stairs to the bedrooms in a panic. Inspector Lawson checked the first three bedrooms finding all the occupants sleeping but quickly waking up when he loudly threw open the doors. Giles and Joyce ran straight to Spike and Buffy's bedroom.
Inspector Lawson came running, Oz, Cordelia, Faith and Angel right behind him when they heard a scream come from Joyce.
Lawson pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance and back up right away when he saw Joyce and Giles beside the blood soaked and pale body of Buffy. Spike, no where to be seen.
tbc
Giles pulled Joyce to the side to let the paramedics through to do their job.
"Mr.Giles." Lawson said indicating to Giles he needed to speak with him.
Giles nodded and left Joyce's side momentarily and went over to Lawson where they could speak semi privately.
"I was on my way to speak with you when I received the call from Mr.Green." The Inspector said, then lowered his voice a little more. "We found the house Miss. Rosenberg was held captive in, it was only four blocks from your residence. The owner of the house has been in the United States for close to six months on Business. We contacted her by phone, she said she had rented her place to a Mrs. Lethbridge just before she left. The inmate your ex wife befriened in prison was a Mrs. Ellen Lethbridge." Lawson stated quietly.
"We think your ex wife may have found out what she had planned and she tried to stop her. The private investigator, possibly the same scenario. From the information we gathered from Miss. Rosenberg and the subsequent attack on Miss. Summers, she has fixated on your son. It's on obsession, a lethal one at that." Lawson said as he indicated the empty side of the bed where Spike had lain, but was now missing.
Giles and Lawson moved out of the way as the paramedics moved Buffy from the bedroom to the hall and down the stairs to the waiting ambulance, with Joyce climbing in the ambulance behind them before closing the doors and, turning on the siren and driving to the hospital.
Giles watched as everyone headed out the door to, piling in Spike's car to follow the ambulance.
"We know who we're looking for and we know what she looks like. Miss. Rosenberg gave a very good description that matched the photo in her prison records." Lawson said.
"But you have no idea where she is. Where my son is." Giles said in frustration, anger and fear as he raised his voice.
Lawson looked away knowing Giles spoke the truth. "We are looking." Lawson replied solemnly.
"By the time you find him, get a lead as to where he is, it may be too late. He may be injured or..........." Giles said not being able to bring himself to say it.
"No. She went to alot of trouble to get to him. She won't hurt him, not right away." Lawson replied. "We will find him." Lawson added hoping his statement would ring true.
Giles just stood there lost, not knowing what to do.
"Go to the hospital, when we know anything, you'll know." Lawson said leading Giles down the stairs. "Staying here will do you no good. You're needed there. I'll call you." Lawson said as he led Giles to the door.
Lawson continued out of the house and to his car and pulled away, leaving Giles standing in the doorway of his house while the crime scene investigators continued to go through the house bagging up anything that might be evidence.
Giles stood there a few minutes longer before taking Lawson's advice and going to his car and heading to the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsay stood in front of Giles house and saw the crime scene tape across the door and the plice cars parked out front.
Lindsay closed his eyes and leaned his head back as he let out a deep breath. Lindsay had hoped there would be nothing wrong and they were just sleeping as they were supposed to be. Looking at the house he knew something had happened. Lindsay turned his car around and headed back to the hospital to be with Willow until he heard anything.
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"Willow." Cordelia said as she came into the hospital room.
Willow opened her eyes slowly as she looked toward the door.
"Cordy, hey." Willow said a little groggily.
"I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you have a right to know." Cordelia said a she came over to the side of the bed.
"Know what? What's happened?" Willow asked as she started to worry.
"The woman who attacked you..........she got into the house and stabbed Buffy and now Spike is missing. She took him." Cordelia said quietly. "No one wanted to tell you, they told me not to, but I didn't think it was right that you didn't know." Cordelia added.
"Is Buffy okay?" Willow asked as tears streamed from her eyes.
"We don't know." Cordelia replied.
Willow struggled to get up when Cordelia held her down.
"I can't stay here, I have to be there." Willow said getting angry.
"I never said you should stay here. Just wait here a minute." Cordelia said as she left the room, returning just a few minutes later with a wheel chair.
Cordelia helped Willow into the chair and pushed her out of the room and down to the elevators.
Giles and Joyce paced back and forth as the rest milled around never leaving, other than to grab coffee from the cafeteria.
"Have you heard anything?"
Everyone looked down the corridor to see Willow being pushed in a wheel chair by Cordelia.
Everyone looked at Cordelia.
"Don't even think about it. She was right to tell me." Willow said standing up for Cordelia. "No news I take it."
"Nothing yet." Joyce replied wiping her tears away.
"Will, didn't you have an IV in your arm?" Oz asked.
"Yeah, I did." Willow said as she watched the door waiting for a doctor to come out and give them something, anything.
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Spike laid there, quiet as silent tears rolled down his face as the woman climbed off of him.
"You're mine now." Spike heard her say as she lowered herself and licked his shaft, that was wet with their mixed juices. "All mine."
Spike watched her stand up and walk around to stand in front of him, naked. "You're very pleasing to the eyes........as well as other places." She said as she reached down and began to fondle herself. "I knew you were meant to be mine. The first time I saw you, I knew." She said as she lifted her one leg onto the bed and her fingers delved inside, causing her to moan in pleasure.
Spike laid there with a blank expression on his face as she climbed onto the bed and straddled his shoulders. "Taste me. Take me in your mouth." She demanded as she rubbed herself against his lips.
Spike tried to turn his head away, but she would have none of that, she held his head firm.
Spike shut himself down as his tongue darted out and he began to do as she demanded of him.
He could barely hear her moans as he licked her, letting his tongue enter her.
He stopped when he felt her convulse and her juices flow out onto his lips.
"That was amazing my darling." She said breathily, slowly moving from her position, down his body as she took him in her mouth.
Spike turned his head to face the wall as he closed his eyes, letting the tears fall, unable to stop the sensations she was making him feel as he began to harden under her ministrations.
He felt her climb back on top of him as she straddled his hips, enveloping him in one hard thrust.
Spike pulled on his restraints as she moved on top of him, not able to break free, Spike closed his eyes again and faced the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles and Joyce ran over as soon as they seen the doctor emerge from behind the door.
"How is she?" Joyce asked quickly.
"Please come with me." The doctor said leading Joyce and Giles down the hall aways to have some privacy. "She in I.C.U. now." The doctor said as they came to a stop. "She passed twice on the table, but we were able to bring her back. She's had some damage to her small and large intestine as well as her spleen. The spleen we were able to repair. We had to remove small sections of her intestines." The doctor said as he lowered his voice a little more. "Her ovaries, were damaged significantly." The doctor said letting out a deep breath. "It was beyond repair, they had to be removed altogether. She will recover, but she will not be able to have children. I'm very sorry." The doctor said.
"You said she'll make a full recovery though." Giles asked quietly.
"Yes." The doctor replied.
"Thank you doctor." Joyce replied with relief and mourning for the grandchildren she'll never have.
The doctor gave them directions to the I.C.U. then left going down the hall and around the corner, until they could no longer see him.
Giles and Joyce turned to see the expectant faces watching intently waiting to hear what they were told.
Giles and Joyce came over to them and sat down.
Willows hand came up and covered her now empty womb as she listened to what the doctor had told them, letting her tears slip down her cheeks.
Willow looked to her side when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Lindsay was standing beside her listening, as a small tear rolled down his cheek, quickly wiping it away.
Willow grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze, as he held hers tightly.
Oz looked away, still having feelings for Willow, wishing he was the one to comfort her. He put his arm around Cordelia as she began to cry silently.
They all stayed there for a few minutes to compose themselves before going to see Buffy.
As they looked through the windows of the I.C.U., they saw how pale Buffy was, all the machines that she was connected to. The only one that went into the room was Joyce. Everyone else stayed outside and observed.
After several hours Giles managed to get Lindsay to take Willow back to her room for some rest. The other occupant of Willows room had already been released that morning, and the other bed had yet to be filled. They all doubled up, not wanting to leave the hospital, and having no where else to go. Lindsay and Willow shared her bed, Faith and Angel shared a bed and Oz and Cordelia shared the last bed.
None were in the beds more than a couple of minutes before they fell into a restless sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day they moved Buffy to a private room, she hadn't woke up but her vitals had improved and she'd had no problems through out the night.
Everyone had taken their turns sitting with her, never leaving her alone.
Joyce had just come back from grabbing a coffee from the cafeteria as she sat back down beside Giles. Giles and Joyce hadn't left Buffy's side for more than a few minutes at a time.
"Did you see Faith on your way back?" Giles asked.
"When was the last time she ate? She's so pale." Joyce asked.
"I don't think anyone has really eaten in the last couple of days." Giles replied.
"Mom." Buffy said, barely able to raise her voice.
Joyce and Giles jumped up quickly and leaned over the rail of the bed, getting closer.
"I'm here sweetheart.'' Joyce replied as she ran her fingers through Buffy's hair.
Buffy was silent for a minute as she started remembering what had happened.
"Spike? Where's Spike?" Buffy asked worriedly as she glanced around the room as she tried to sit up.
"Buffy you have to calm down."Joyce said holding her down. "You're in shape to be running around."
"He would be here if there wasn't anything wrong. Where is he?" Buffy replied a little louder as her voice started coming back.
Giles ran to get the doctor as Joyce told Buffy what happened to Spike.
Giles came back into the room followed by the doctor and a nurse.
The doctor immediately gave Buffy a sedative to relax her as the nurse to her vitals and wrote them on her chart.
Buffy fell asleep quickly once the sedative took effect.
After the doctor and nurse left, Giles and Joyce moved the chairs closer to the bed and sat down, keeping a watchful eye on Buffy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You have everything?" Cordelia's asked Willow as they glanced around the hospital room.
"Yeah, every things packed." Willow replied as she zipped up the bag.
"So you'll be staying with Lindsay and his mom?" Cordelia asked looking up from the bed.
Willow just nodded her head.
"We're all heading back to the house. We want to get it cleaned up before Giles and Joyce come back." Cordelia said.
"I'll just drop my stuff at Lindsay's and then come and help." Willow said.
"No. Willow you're still weak, you should be resting." Cordelia replied.
"I don't think I can sit still much longer. I need something to keep my busy." Willow said.
Cordelia didn't fight her knowing Willow was determined to do it no matter what she said.
"We'll bring you the laundry. How's that sound. That way you don't have to go up and down the stairs." Cordelia said.
"Fine." Willow said as Lindsay came into the room and grabbed her bag.
"Ready to see Buffy before you leave?" Lindsay asked.
"You take the bag to the car and bring it around. I'll take Will to see Buffy then help her down to the car." Cordelia said.
Lindsay just nodded, placing a kiss to Willows cheek, then grabbed the bag and headed to the car.
Cordelia started leading Willow over to the wheelchair to take her to see Buffy.
"CORDY I'M NOT A CRIPPLE." Willow shouted as she pulled out of Cordelia's grasp.
"Yes you are." Cordelia replied as she looked at Willows leg.
"No, Cordy....I'm not." Willow replied more gently as she started to tear. "I have a bad leg now, but that's all. I'm still me, I can still do anything I did before. I don't need you doing every little thing for me. I can do it myself." Willow said as she covered her face with her hands.
Cordelia came over and enveloped Willow into her arms.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." Cordelia said quietly.
"I'm sorry." Willow replied knowing she wasn't mad at Cordelia, she was just upset about her leg, about Buffy and Spike and felt useless not being able to do anything about it. "It's not you, I'm not mad at you." Willow said through ragged breaths.
"I know honey. You're feeling the same way we all are." Cordelia said wiping away her tears. "Let's get you cleaned up before we see Buffy."
Willow nodded and allowed Cordelia to take her to the washroom to splash some cold water on her face.
"You leaving now Willow?" Buffy asked quietly, placing a small smile on her lips.
"Yeah, Lindsay's bring the car around now. No more hospital food for me." Willow said bringing a smile to her face.
"There's alot to be said for jello." Buffy replied.
"I think being here a week is enough." Willow replied. "First thing I'm doing is getting a hamburger." Willow added. "I'll bring you one when I come visit tomorrow." Willow whispered in Buffy's ear when she leaned down.
"No onions." Buffy whispered back.
"Don't worry, I remember." Willow said quietly.
"Do you want us to bring anything tomorrow?" Cordelia asked.
"Something to read would be good." Buffy replied.
"Okay. We'd better go. We'll see you tomorrow Buffy." Willow said as she and Cordelia turned and left the room.
The smile Buffy had kept on her face left quickly as she laid back down, holding her stomach in pain as she moved.
Buffy had been in the hospital for five days now and had heard nothing about Spike.
Tears slipped silently on her pillow case as she cried herself to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faith and Angel took apart Spike and Buffy's bed, took it downstairs and helped load it into the truck Lindsay had borrowed. They removed the new bed they bought earlier that morning and took it upstairs and put it together.
Lindsay and Oz took the bed to the dump and threw it away, along with anything that had even a drop of blood and was replaced with one new from the store.
The entire room had been scrubbed and repainted. New linens and curtains adorned the room. Leaving they're personal items where they had been originally.
They had scrubbed cleaned and repainted the entire house. It wasn't necessary to do the whole house, but wanted it to seem like a different house when they came back.
Each room had been painted in different colours. The living room had been painted in a beige colour to match the dark brown furniture and curtains. The dining room had been painted in a nice moss green, matching well with the oak table and chairs, sideboard and lacy white sheers and dark green curtains. The kitchen was done with a pastel yellow, adding brightness to the room.
The only rooms left untouched were Giles' room and his study.
They had been working on the house night and day, keeping themselves busy until there was nothing left to be done.
They all sat in silence as they looked around the living room, all waiting to hear something, but the phone continued to stay quiet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joyce looked at Buffy worriedly as the doctor took her temperature.
"She's been in pain for some time now. She just didn't let anyone know. She's a very strong and determined young lady. Her fever is quite high. She could have an infection, may have gotten it during surgery. That's why we keep surgery patients longer, just in case this happens. We'll run some tests, take a few x-rays, find out what's causing it. For now we'll concentrate on bringing her temperature down. If we need to operate again, it's to dangerous to do it with a fever like this."
Joyce just nodded as she and Giles watched the nurse check vitals and the doctor giving orders as he administered medication into the IV.
For the remainder of the night they watched as the nurse came in and out, keeping a very close eye on Buffy.
The doctor came back first thing in the morning, her temperature had came down so he took some blood from Buffy, then sent her down to x-ray.
Several hours later the doctor came back into the room carrying his clipboard.
"She does have an infection in her abdomen. Penicillin will take care of that though, no surgery is necessary. Everything is fine. She also contracted a cold, that on top of the infection is what made the fever even worse. Antibiotics will help with her cold. We'll see how she is in a few days. If she's better then, I think she can be taken home." The doctor said with a smile.
"Thank you doctor." Joyce said relieved.
"Yes, thank you." Giles said as he shook the doctors hand. "For everything."
"You're quite welcome." The doctor said with a big smile, then turned and left the room.
"I'll call the house and let everyone know." Giles said as he left the room and went to the payphone in the hall.
tbc.
Chapter 34
Buffy had been home now for several days. She had taken to sleeping on the sofa, not wanting to be in the bed without Spike.
They all walked around, restlessly waiting to hear word from the police, but still no news came. Inspector Lawson called them every couple of days just to keep them up on any little thing they had found.
Willow and Lindsay spent the days at the Giles house, then at night they would go to Lindsay's.
While everyone else slept at night, it was usually Giles, Buffy and Joyce that wandered around the house unable to sleep, but laying down when they were to exhausted to sit up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike's head turned violently to the side, as his mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood.
She had taken to beating him now before, during and after she'd had her way with him.
His body was cover with bruises and cuts, dried blood all over the sheets as well as himself.
The blood seemed to turn her on, making each time more violent, more degrading and painful.
This time was the worst so far. No matter what she did, she could not get Spike hard. His member laid soft between her fingers as she pumped and licked him, with no success.
She screamed and flew into a rage as her fists and hit their mark every time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inspector Lawson grabbed the folder from his desk and was leafing through it as he walked starting to pass the information desk as he was heading to the stairs.
"John, you look terrible." a voice said from behind him causing him to turn around and look for the source of the voice.
''Erik, good to see you." John said placing the folder on the counter and clapping Erik on the back with one hand, then shaking his hand with the other. "Thanks ever so. Compliments mean so much coming from you." Lawson replied with a smile. "Does this mean you're back to work now, no more slumming?" Lawson asked.
"No. Still on vacation I'm afraid. God help Gloria. I think she'll go mad if I'm off work much longer." Erik said chuckling.
"I could see that happening." Lawson agreed.
"What are you doing tonight?" Erik asked.
"Working. What else would I be doing." John replied.
"Gloria would love to have you and Annie over for dinner. Why not join us?" Erik asked.
"Can't tonight. Rain check?" Lawson asked.
"Anytime." Erik replied with a smile.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Lawson asked looking at Erik.
"Parking tickets. Thought I'd get them paid and out of the way." Erik replied.
Lawson looked at him questioningly.
"Alright, Gloria made me come down and pay them." Erik relented.
"That sounds more like it." Lawson replied. I'll see you soon. Tell Gloria I said hello." Lawson said as he grabbed the folder off the counter and headed towards the stairs.
"I will." Erik said. "Wait, John, you dropped this." Erik said as he bent down to pick up a photo, then walked towards Lawson.
Erik too a quick look at the photo as he handed it to Lawson.
"She seemed so normal. What did she do?" Erik asked shaking his head.
"You know her?" John asked as he took the picture back.
"Yeah, she seemed like a nice lady. Guess you can never really tell nowadays." Erik replied.
"How do you know her Erik?" Lawson asked.
"She lives just a few doors down from me. Her and her nephew." Erik replied.
"Her nephew? Can you describe him?" Lawson asked.
"A bit I suppose. Didn't really get a good look at him. I helped her get him into the house. He looked in bad shape. She said he'd been drinking and got into a fight. Don't remember smelling any alcohol though. He didn't seem very tall, maybe 5'9 or so, but his hair, that I remember. Bleached blond, whiter than my teeth." Erik replied.
Lawson flipped through the folder and pulled out Spike's photo.
"Is this the young man that you'd seen?" Lawson asked as his heart started pumping.
Erik looked at the photo closely. "I remember the scar, right there on his brow. That's him." Erik replied.
"What's the house number?" Lawson said as he started running back into his office.
"Four doors down from me, it's 503." Erik replied. "What's going on? John? John?" Erik stood there as the entire office started moving and shouting commands. "What the hell is going on?" John said quietly to himself.
"Should we notify Mr.Giles?" One of the officers asked.
"No. Not until we know for sure and we have him. If it turns out to be false, I don't want to be the one to tell him we were wrong." Lawson replied as they started for their cars.
"Erik, you stay here. Call Gloria and tell her to stay inside." Lawson replied.
Erik just nodded and did as John had said, hoping for an explanation later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They stood outside the house as the surveyed the area. The street had already been cut off to any traffic. Officers made their way around the back of the house, while others went to the front door, the rest stayed outside blocking any possible exit.
They entered the house simultaneously from the front and the back quietly, making their way through the house. Once the main floor was checked, several officers went and checked the basement, while the other waited. When the basement was checked they all started up the stairs to the second floor of the house.
They stopped dead in their tracks when they heard a scream come from one of the bedrooms at the far end of the hall.
Lawson ran quickly to the room where the screams were coming from and threw open the door in time to see her holding a knife over her head getting ready to plunge it into his chest.
She turned quickly to see the officers shouting at her to lower the weapon, she grinned at then as she turned back and started bringing the knife down.
Before the knife made contact with Spike chest, she was thrown off of him as a bullet slammed into her, knocking her to the floor beside the bed.
Lawson ran to the side of the bed to check her, the bullet only hit her in the arm, but her head hit the night table as she fell to the floor, knocking her out.
They quickly removed the bindings holding spike as they covered his prone body until the paramedics arrived. One of the officers came over and cuffed Mrs. Lethbridge, removing her from the room and down to the living room.
Lawson looked at Spike and bent down to be eye level.
"Mr. Giles? William?" Lawson said as Spike turned his head and looked at him slowly, not comprehending who he was seeing.
"William, It's Inspector Lawson. You're safe now. We're going to get you out of here." Lawson said quietly.
It took a few minutes for Spike to understand what he was saying to him. When he finally understood, tears welled up in his eyes.
"That's right William. You have a very lovely young woman at home waiting for you. We don't want to keep you away too long now do we." Lawson said with a smile.
"Buffy." Spike said as he tried to get up.
"Lay still now son. We have to take you to the hospital. Have you checked out first." Lawson said as he pulled out his phone and dialed.
"Mr. Giles. There's someone here who wants to say something to you." Lawson said as he put the phone to Spike's ear.
"Dad."Was all Spike said then started crying.
"William." Was all Giles said as he started to tear.
"We found him. We're going to be taking him to the hospital. I just wanted to call you first so you could meet us at the entrance." Lawson said as he took the phone back.
"Yes, yes. Is he alright?" Giles asked.
"Abit banged up, but physically, he'll be fine." Lawson replied. "The paramedics just arrived."
"I'll meet you there." Giles said as he hung up the phone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Buffy, you have to eat something." Joyce said setting a sandwich in front of Buffy.
"I'm not hungry mom.'' Buffy replied as she sank back into he sofa.
Buffy had lost alot of weight during and after her stay in the hospital.
She had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep.
"If you don't start eating you're going to end up back in the hospital." Joyce replied.
Buffy just looked at Joyce but made no move towards the sandwich.
"I'm not hungry." Buffy said again.
Joyce shook her head and walked back into the kitchen.
Everyone stopped everything the minute the phone rang, and fell silent as Giles picked up the extension from his office.
A few minutes later Giles came out of his office and saw all the expectant faces watching him.
"They found him." Giles said as the tears rolled down his cheeks, and he fell to his knees.
Joyce came over and put her arms around him comfortingly.
"They found him." Giles said again.
Buffy watched in horror as Giles fell to the floor then being comforted by her mother.
Tears flowed down her cheeks as her heart felt like it was being crushed.
"He said dad, when the Inspector put him on the phone. We have to go." Giles said as he tried to pull himself together. All his fears that he's been living with for almost two weeks were now put too rest, but the relief of hearing his voice had been overwhelming. "They're taking him to the hospital now." Giles said as everyone jumped up and grabbed their coats. Giles went over to Buffy, who was still sitting on the sofa crying, going through what Giles had just gone through.
"Come on Buffy, he's there waiting to see you." Giles said with gentleness as he lifted her into his arms and helped her out to the car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles drove like a madman to the hospital, cutting off several cars on the way.
They all piled out of the car when they got near the emergency entrance and ran into the doors, passing the information desk when they saw Inspector Lawson standing there waiting for them.
"He's right in there." Lawson said. "But they'll only allow one family member in.
Giles nodded and continued through the doors where Spike was being examined.
"Mr. Giles, I would have thought you'd had enough of this place already."
Giles looked over to see the same doctor that had looked after Buffy.
"Doctor Addison." Giles said as he nodded his head in agreement. "More than enough." Giles said in reply.
"I'm guessing it's not my charm and stunning personality that brings you here." Dr. Addison said as he led Giles over behind the curtained bed at the back of the room. "He'll be fine." Dr. Addison said as he led Giles behind the curtain to see Spike, curled on his side, asleep. "We had to sedate him. Whenever a nurse came near him, he would start screaming and yelling. Physically he's going to be fine. I have gone through his medical files, it's quite understandable why he reacted that way, especially what he's been through the last couple of weeks. He's going to need more than what you can do for him." Dr. Addison said. "I think it would be best if you limit the people visiting him when he gets moved to a room upstairs. The less people, the less stressful for him."
Giles nodded as he sat down in the chair beside Spikes bed.
Dr. Addison was about to leave but hesitated and turned back to face Giles. "Did you want me to tell you what he's been through?" Dr. Addison asked quietly.
Giles waited for a minute before nodding his head wanting to hear what his son had endured.
Dr. Addison pulled up a chair and sat down beside Giles keeping his voice low. He sat there for several minutes telling Giles the amount of physical and sexual abuse Spike had to endure over the span of his captivity. The welts covering his chest, legs and arms. Burn marks, cuts and bruises. He couldn't tell Giles the extent of abuse this had done to his mental state.
Dr. Addison sat there a little longer before getting up to leave Giles alone with his son.
Giles stared as his son, who looked like he was sleeping peacefully, but was probably seeing demons and monsters behind his closed eyes.
Giles let his tears flow freely as he rested his forehead against the edge of the bed as he grasped Spikes hand in his.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles came out of the emergency room and back to the waiting room, coming right over to the impatient group waiting to hear news about Spike.
"How is he?" Buffy asked quickly.
"Sleeping. The doctor assures me he'll make a full recovery. They're moving him upstairs right now to a private room. The doctor wants me to limit the amount of people visiting. Too many people might do some harm to his mental state." Giles said quietly.
"Limit visitation? Are you telling me I can't see him?" Buffy replied dumbfounded.
"No dear, I would never say that. I was thinking just you, myself and Angel. He's had to be sedated when any female nurses came near him." Giles said when he looked at Joyce, Faith and Cordelia with deep sadness in his eyes.
Joyce said nothing but nodded her head going with Giles wishes.
"Look, we know he's going to be fine." Oz said as he looked at Giles waiting for Giles to confirm, which he did by nodding his head. "Then why don't I take Faith and Cordelia back to the house. You can keep us updated by phone."
Giles agreed and the three of them left, followed by Lindsay and Willow.
"Would you prefer it if I left?" Joyce asked quietly to Giles.
"No. I'd rather you stayed." Giles said just above a whisper.
Joyce nodded and stayed at his side.
Angel came over and put his arm around Buffy giving her some support as they turned and followed Giles to the elevators, then up to the fourth floor, to Spike's private room.
Buffy stopped as they came near Spike's door, starting to panic.
"What if he doesn't want to see me? You said he flipped out when ever the nurses came near him." Buffy said as she started to tear more.
Giles thought about it for a moment.
"What if we, Angel and myself went in first. We'll ask him what he wants, what he's ready for." Giles suggested not knowing what else to do.
Buffy nodded quickly agreeing to his idea.
Angel and Giles went into Spikes room, closing the door behind then quietly.
When they approached his bed the nurse just finished checking his IV.
"He'll be asleep for sometime. You can still sit with him though." The nurse replied as she turned and left the room just as quietly as they entered.
"Maybe you should just go back to the house and come back tomorrow.'' Giles said quietly to Angel.
"Maybe you're right. It's better that's he sleeping right now." Angel agreed, slowly turning to the door and leaving the room.
"He's sleeping. The nurse said he'd be out for quite awhile. It's pretty safe right now if you just want to go in and see him." Angel said to Buffy.
"How does he look?" Buffy asked.
"He's alive Buffy."Angel said with a small smile.
Buffy turned and inched the door open slowly, peeking through before crossing the room and coming to stand beside his bed.
"Come here dear." Giles said quietly, extending his hand to Buffy.
Buffy grasped his hand and came over to where he was. Giles pulled her to stand beside him as he hugged her while she shed her tears.
"Tell me he's going to be okay Giles. Lie to me if you have too." Buffy said as her body trembled.
"He's going to be fine, I have to believe that. So do you. If we don't, how will he believe it." Giles said quietly.
Buffy nodded as Giles continued to soothe and comfort her with words of well wishes and hopes, words of wisdom that kept her hopes high as she started to calm down and her tears abated.
Giles led Buffy over to the chair when exhaustion caught up with her. He helped her sit down, within a few minutes she was asleep in the chair, her hand sitting on the bed, holding onto Spike's hand for dear life.
Giles paced around the room, leaving only for a few minutes here and there to speak with Joyce who was waiting outside in the waiting room down the hall.
Giles came back to stand beside the bed as he saw Spike start to open his eyes and look around groggily.
Spike noticed his hand being held tightly and looked over to see Buffy asleep in the chair.
He laid his head back down as tears slipped from his eyes. "How is she? How's Buffy?" Spike asked so quietly Giles had to strain to hear him.
"She's fine William. She was more worried about you than herself." Giles said quietly.
''How bad was she hurt?" Spike asked.
"She's fine William, that's all that matters." Giles replied.
"I want to know what happened." Spike replied keeping his voice low.
"This isn't the best time. You need rest. I can tell you all this later." Giles replied.
Spike relented, too tired to keep arguing.
"Buffy." Spike said gently as he squeezed her hand.
Buffy slowly opened her eyes to see Spike looking back at her.
Buffy's lip started to tremble as a tear started falling down her cheek.
"I'm here baby. Hush now." Spike said gently as he tugged on her hand, indicating for her to come over. "I love you." Spike said with a raspy voice.
"I love you." Buffy replied as she slowly leaned down as Spike pulled her into his arms.
Giles stayed by the side of the bed with his hand on Spike's shoulder watching the two comforting each other.
"I'll leave you two alone for a bit. I'll be back shortly." Giles said, needing to leave the room.
Giles went to the waiting room and sat down beside Joyce as his tears flowed freely, her arms coming around him, rocking him back and forth as if to sooth a small child.
tbc.