Her eyes opened slowly. Looking around the strange room, she realized she didn't know where she was or what was going on. As she became more consciously aware, she realized there was something in her mouth and began to panic, pulling at the tube a bit
"Whoa, luv, relax. It's okay" a man with bleached blonde hair told her, coming closer and gently moving her hand away from the tube in her mouth. "Oh, god, baby, you're awake." His eyes were happy, but hers were confused, scared even.
"I'm gonna go get a doctor" an older woman said happily as she hurried out of the room. The girl in the bed turned her attention back to the man, who was still smiling happily at her.
"I thought you'd never wake up, luv. You gave us quite a scare" he told her, kissing her forehead.
What the hell is going on here? The girl's thoughts were racing, but cluttered. A few moments later, the older woman rushed back into the room with a man wearing a white coat—a doctor, the girl in the bed assumed.
"Well, hey there" the doctor said with a smile. "We were wondering when you'd wake." The girl in the bed still looked confused, touching the tube in her mouth again. "It's just a breathing tube. I'm going to take it out now, okay?" The girl nodded and the doctor smiled calmly at her. "Okay, when I say so, I'm gonna need you to cough, alright?" The girl nodded again and the doctor began removing the tube. "Cough now, Buffy." Looking confused still, the girl did as the doctor instructed and coughed a few times as the doctor removed the breathing tube from her throat. "Good girl."
"Here, luv, drink some water" the man with the bleached hair told her, holding a cup with a straw in front of her. The girl looked at him, still confused, but took a sip from the straw, being that her throat was quite sore.
"Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy you're awake!" the older woman exclaimed, now at her bedside stroking her hair.
"What… what happened?" the girl in the bed asked, her voice still horse from the tube that was just removed.
"Buffy, you were in a car accident" the doctor told her. "You hit your head and have been a coma for a week."
"Buffy?" the girl, apparently named Buffy asked with confusion.
"Are you okay, luv?" the man with bleached hair asked worriedly.
"Who… who are you?" Buffy asked, confusion in her eyes. The bleached man, the older woman and the doctor looked at each other with shock and worry.
"W—what do you mean, baby?" the bleached man said, trying to take her hand, but she pulled it away with fear. "It's okay, luv. I'm Spike. I'm your fiancé, don't you remember?"
"No" Buffy said, fear growing in her voice. "I—I don't remember anything… I don't remember who I am." Tears were now forming in the blonde girl's eyes as the bleached man, who she now knew as Spike, looked at the doctor and the older woman, not knowing what was going on.
"Doctor, what's wrong with my daughter?" the older woman asked, her tone laced with fear.
Daughter? That must be my mom, Buffy thought.
"The head injury must've caused amnesia" the doctor said, looking in Buffy's eyes with a penlight.
"Well, that's bleedin obvious. What do we do about it?" the bleached man, who Buffy noticed was speaking with an English accent, said in an annoyed tone.
"Well, unfortunately the only thing we can do is wait" the doctor said, turning off his pen light and putting it back in his lab coat pocket. "You can take her home tomorrow."
"So, wait, there's nothing you can do for her?" Buffy's mother asked.
"I'm sorry, but no. The only thing anyone can do for amnesia is to wait it out. You can help her by taking her home, showing her the life she has. Hopefully her memory will return in no time" the doctor said.
"Hopefully?" Spike asked.
"You mean you don't know how long this is gonna last?" Buffy's mom asked, both her and Spike panicked and a little annoyed the doctor couldn't do more.
"No, I'm sorry, but everyone is different. We have no way of knowing how long the amnesia will last."
During all this, Buffy just sat there, looking between Spike, her mother and the doctor as they spoke as if she wasn't in the room.
"I don't understand" Buffy spoke up meekly.
"Buffy, when you had your accident, you hit your head on the steering wheel. That hit to your head caused amnesia, that's why you don't remember anything; your mother, your fiancé, or even who you are" the doctor explained. "It'll be okay. We're hoping you'll remember little by little over time." Just then his pager beeped and he looked at it and then back at the people in the room. "I'm sorry, but I'm needed elsewhere. I'll be back to check on you in a little while." With that, he left the room, leaving Buffy alone with these people who were like strangers to her.
Once the doctor left, Spike and Buffy's mother just sat there, staring at her with awkward smiles, not knowing what to say. Buffy looked at them, also speechless. Finally, much to her relief, Spike spoke again.
"It's okay, baby, we'll do everything we can to help you remember" he told her, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. Buffy just gave him a small, awkward smile, not knowing what to say.
"So…" Buffy said after a few moments. "Y—you're my…"
"Fiancé" Spike finished her sentence with a smile. "Yeah, we've been dating for a year and a half, engaged for three months. We're actually supposed to get married in June."
"What month is it?" Buffy asked.
"10 days before your birthday, sweetheart, January 9th" Buffy's mother told her with a small smile.
"So, my birthday is January 19th?" Buffy clarified and got nods from Spike and her mother. "A—and, what's your name?" she turned her attention to her mother.
"My name is Joyce, honey, Joyce Summers. Your name is Elizabeth Anne Summers, but everyone calls you Buffy" Joyce told her.
"How…?" Buffy began, but hesitated.
"How what, luv?" Spike asked sweetly.
"How old am I?"
"You're 21, sweetheart, almost 22" Spike told her.
"This is… so strange. I—I don't… I don't remember anything. I…" she said, getting teary-eyed. "I don't understand."
"I know it must be hard, baby, but I promise it'll be okay" Spike told her, leaning over to kiss her forehead, but she flinched away. There was hurt in his eyes, but he quickly pushed it away, trying to remember that she had amnesia, and—to her—he was a stranger.
"I'm not gonna hurt you, luv. I would never hurt you" he told her sweetly. She tried giving him a smile, but it came out weak.
"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Joyce asked her daughter and Buffy looked at her.
"I'm tired" Buffy told her, laying her head down on the pillows.
"Okay, you sleep, luv. We'll give you some peace and quiet. We'll be right outside in the waiting room, okay?" Spike told her, kissing the back of her hand.
"Okay" Buffy said quietly, closing her eyes as Spike and Joyce left the room, shutting the door behind them.
Spike and Joyce went out into the waiting room, meeting up with Dawn who had just exited the elevator.
"Hey, I got your text, mom. Buffy's awake? Can I see her?" Dawn asked, moving to go into her room.
"No, wait, Nibblet" Spike said, grabbing her by the shoulders to stop her. "She's sleeping, and…" he looked to Joyce, not sure if he should tell her the rest.
"Sleeping? She just spent a week in a coma" Dawn said with a bit of a chuckle.
"Honey, there's more" Joyce said, taking her youngest daughter's hand and leading her over to a group of chairs and they sat down, Spike standing in front of them. "Your sister… has amnesia. She doesn't remember the accident or anything for that matter."
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked, looking from her mother to Spike.
"Well, you see, Bit, when your sister got into the accident, she hit her head, which caused a head injury. That head injury caused amnesia. Buffy doesn't remember any of us, being engaged to me, or even who she is." Spike explained. Dawn looked back and forth between the two adults a couple times, dumbfounded.
"How is that possible? How can she not remember who she is or any of us?" Dawn asked.
"It happens sometimes with head injuries" Joyce told her.
"But she's gonna get better right? In a few days she'll start to remember everything?" Joyce and Spike looked at each other and sighed. "Right?"
"We don't know how long it's gonna take, Nib" Spike admitted to the fifteen-year-old. "The doc said only time will tell."
"This is… bullshit!" the brunette teen exclaimed, receiving a shocked glare from her mother.
"Dawn Kathryn Summers! Watch your mouth, young lady" Joyce scolded and Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.
"I'm sorry, mom. This is just not acceptable. The doctors should be doing something to help get her memory back" Dawn told her mother.
"Sweetheart, it isn't the doctors' fault. There's nothing anyone can do about amnesia. The only thing we can do is remind her of the things she can't remember and hope her memory comes back soon" Joyce told her, stroking the back of her hair.
"I wanna see her, please" Dawn pleaded, looking at her mother and then Spike. Joyce and Spike looked at each other and then back at the teen girl.
"Okay, sweet bit, I'll take you in to see her. Just for a minute though, she needs her rest. We'll be able to take her home tomorrow" Spike said, standing up; Joyce and Dawn stood up as well.
"I'm gonna go call Willow and the rest of the gang and tell them what's going on" Joyce said. Spike nodded at her and put a hand on Dawn's back, ushering her toward Buffy's room. As they approached the hospital room, Dawn, now feeling nervous, gripped Spike's hand, squeezing a bit. Spike looked over at his soon-to-be little sister and smiled softly at her.
"It's okay" he assured her, opening Buffy's door and leading Dawn into the room. Buffy was still laid back on her pillows, eyes closed. When she heard the door open, she opened her eyes, looking over at Spike. "Hey, baby, your sis wanted to see you, is that okay?" Buffy just nodded, looking at them with the confusion she'd been wearing ever since she woke up.
"Hi, Buffy" Dawn said, trying to sound cheery.
"Hi, uh…" Buffy said, realizing she didn't know her sister's name and looked to Spike for help.
"Her name's Dawn, luv. She's your 15-year-old sister" Spike clarified and Buffy shook her head, indicating she understood.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Buffy. I was so worried about you" Dawn said, going over and hugging her big sister. Buffy, still not completely sure about everything, patted the teen on the back a couple times before Dawn let her go.
"Thanks" was all Buffy could think of and then turned her attention back to Spike. "When can I get out of this room? It's depressing." Spike chuckled at that, she was definitely the same Buffy, memory or no.
"Tomorrow, pet. The doctor said we can take you home tomorrow" he told her.
"Where's home?" Buffy asked as Spike sat in the chair next to her bed and Dawn sat in the other one under the TV that was on the wall.
"You live with me now, luv" Spike said. "You just moved in with me last month."
"And where's that?" Buffy asked, pulling the blanket up to her chest, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"We live in an apartment just a few minutes away from your mom and sister" Spike said.
"Okay" Buffy said, feeling a headache coming on. Everything was so strange. It was like there was a blindfold on her life and she could see what she should be able to see.
"Mom's calling the gang" Dawn chimed in again.
"The gang?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, Willow, Xander, Tara, Anya, Faith and Giles. They're your friends. Well, Giles is Spike's uncle, but he's also your friend" Dawn told her. "I think they're gonna come down to see you."
"No" Buffy said. "No more visitors, please. It—it's just too much."
"Okay, baby, it's okay" Spike told her. "We'll wait until we get you home for them to see you, okay?" Buffy again just nodded, laying her head back down. "Come on, Nibblet. Let's give your sister some time to rest." Spike and Dawn got up and Spike went over and took Buffy's hand, placing a small kiss on the back of it. "We'll come back later, baby."
"Okay" Buffy said quietly, turning away from them and closing her eyes again. Spike took Dawn's hand, leading her out of the room and shutting the door behind them. As Spike shut the door, they were met again by Joyce.
"How is she?" Joyce asked.
"Overwhelmed" Spike sighed. "She doesn't want any more visitors right now so I told her I'd make everyone else wait until we get her home."
"Okay. I called Willow and let her know that Buffy's awake, she's gonna tell everyone else" Joyce said as the three of them again sat down in the group of chairs in the corner of the small waiting room.
"I'll text everyone and tell them to wait until we get Buffy back home to come by" Dawn said.
"Thanks, sweetie" Joyce smiled at her daughter. Spike sighed once more, standing up again. "Where are you going?"
"Need a smoke" he said simply. "I'll be back in a few."
"Okay" Joyce said. He nodded at them and walked toward the elevator, feeling helpless, knowing he couldn't really do anything to help his girl. As he stepped in the elevator and pressed the correct button, he sighed again, watching the doors close. After the elevator stopped at the right floor—the main floor lobby—the doors opened and he stepped out, walking out of the hospital and to his car. He unlocked the door and sat inside, leaving the door open as he retrieved his pack of cigarettes from the center console. Lighting a smoke, he leaned the seat back a bit and sighed yet again, taking a long drag of the cigarette.
"God, what are we gonna do about you, luv?" he asked himself.
Meanwhile, Buffy laid in her hospital bed, her head spinning as she thought about everything that had happened since she woke up. She knew her name, and the names of her apparent fiancé, mother and sister, but she didn't know them, didn't know herself. The only thing she did know was that she was confused and afraid and would have to go home with a stranger in the morning when she was released from the hospital.