More Than You Know
by
Melville22000
Rating: PG (violence)
Spoilers: Until the last scene of "Seeing Red"
Disclaimer: All honor to Joss, it's his world and characters. I take the blame for everything I changed.
Author's Note: This was inspired by my last story, "Easy To Love." In order to continue in the same Buffy/Tara vein, I realized I would have to do an alternate ending to Season 6. So I've jumped forward from the Buffy/Tara encounter I added onto the end of "Dead Things," to the climactic scene of "Seeing Red" and redirected Warren's bullets.
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"More than you know,
More than you know,
Girl of my heart,
I love you so.
Lately I find,
You're on my mind,
More than you know.
Whether you're right,
Whether you're wrong,
Girl of my heart,
I'll string along.
You need me so,
More than you'll ever know."
-More Than You Know, Vincent Youmans-Billy Rose-Edward Eliscu
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"You think you could just do that to me!!?" shrieked Warren, pointing the gun at Buffy. "You think I'd let you get away with that?! Think again!"
Before she could move, Xander leaped in front of her, shoving her down and away. She heard the shot as she hit the ground.
"This isn't over," she could hear Warren yell. As she got to her feet she saw him running away. He fired the gun wildly toward the house and she heard something in the distance that sounded like glass breaking. But before she could give chase there was a groaning sound much closer.
"Xander!"
He was on the ground beside her, his hands clutching his stomach. They were doing little to stop the blood leaking out, the stain of it slowly spreading across his shirt.
She dropped to her knees beside him. "Don't move," she cried. He gasped and nodded. "Don't worry," he managed to say. "I don't think I could move if I tried."
"I'll get help," she said. In an instant she was on her feet, dashing toward the house. It seemed to her to take forever to get to the door, though Xander had never seen anyone run so fast. Finally she reached the phone and dialed 911.
"I need an ambulance at 1630 Revello Drive," she said, managing to keep her voice steady. "Someone's been shot. Please hurry."
She hung up and headed back to the door. But before she could exit she heard something from upstairs. It sounded like a woman sobbing, almost wailing. She raced up the stairs. It was coming from Willow's room.
She enterd to the sight of Willow laying splayed on the carpet, a horrible bloody hole in her chest. Her head was in Tara's lap, Tara's hands gently cradling it as she wept.
Tara looked up at Buffy, her tear-stained face a mask of agony.
"She's dead," said Tara, her voice choked with pain.
Buffy forced herself to look again at Willow. Her body was motionless, and she knew with a sickening certainty that Tara was right. Her heart suddenly felt like lead inside her. She sank down beside her and touched her shoulder.
"Tara," she said gently, "You can't stay here. You've got to get out of this room."
Tara shook her head. "No, no, I can't..." She looked tearfully into Buffy's eyes. "I can't leave her again."
Buffy put her arms around Tara and held her. Then she heard the sound of the front door flying open. "Buffy! What's going on?! What's happened?" It was Dawn. In the background she could hear sirens approaching. The ambulance! Xander! She leaped up and flew back down the stairs.
Dawn looked frightened. "Buffy, what is all this? There's an ambulance out front. They want to know--"
"It's Xander. He's in the backyard. Warren shot him."
Dawn's eyes widened in panic."Xander! Oh, God!" She began to head for the back door, but Buffy grabbed her."No, I'll go with him. You have to go upstairs. You have to stay with Tara."
"Tara? Is she hurt?"
"No...Dawn...It's Willow."
Dawn stared fearfully at her. "Willow...?"
"She's dead, Dawn." Buffy swallowed hard. "I'll send the police back for...the body. Just...stay with Tara...Don't leave her alone."
Tears sprang from Dawn's eyes, but she fought them off. "I'll be okay," she said, struggling to look calm and sober-faced. "Go. Help Xander." She gave Buffy a brief hug, then headed up the stairs. Buffy wiped off her own tears and went out the door.
The emergency workers had already found Xander. Buffy raced up as they were lifting the stretcher into the ambulance. Ignoring the cries of the EMT's, she climbed in beside him. In seconds, the door closed and they were off.
Buffy looked down at Xander. Though pale and grimacing in pain, he was still conscious. "Know what's funny?" he managed to say.
"I'm sure you'll tell me," she answered.
"It doesn't feel like a shooting pain. Y'know, how they describe something as 'a shooting pain?' Turns out that a real gunshot doesn't feel like that."
"That is funny. Who knew?"
"Makes me wonder how it feels to get stabbed. Maybe that's not a 'stabbing' pain either."
"Could be. You never know."
He grimaced again, but suppressed a groan. "If it's not, we should alert the authorities. Truth in labelling and all that."
"I'll get right on it."
The ambulance pulled up at the hospital. As the others carried Xander out, Buffy approached the driver.
"You'll have to go back to my house," she said. "There's another,... it's not an emergency..., there's another victim...body, back there."
"We've already called the police," he said. "Standard operating procedure for shootings. They're probably already there."
"Oh, I see. Good."
"You probably should go back there, miss. I'm sure the police will need your help getting who did this."
Buffy's face tightened into a grim expression. "Oh, I think I can do more than just help."
