Previously: Buffy and Tara are wounded and are taken to the hospital.
Spike finds out threw a news story that Buffy has been shot and is currently inside Willies bar waiting for sunset so he can go see her.


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Spike paced up and down the bar waiting for the sun to go down so that he could go to Buffy and make sure she was ok.

"Please don't let her die" Spike thought "not agiain" he said outloud as Willie tried to calm him down.

"Spike they haven't announced that shes dead, so that is good isn't it?" Willie said as he poured Spike another drink.

"Just wish I could be there" Spike said as he ran his hands through his hair and took the drink and downed it in one swallow.

"Well you only have anohter hour to wait" Willie said as Spike returned to pacing up and down the floor.


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"What happened?" Dawn said as she rushed into the truck. Willow had called the school and they had made sure Dawn was ready to go as soon as Willow and Xander pulled up.

"I don't know Dawnie, We drove straight to get you. They wouldn't let us ride in the ambulance with them" Willow said as they pulled up into the hospital parking deck.

"Um.. Ambulance.. hospital.. ok wigging out here what happened?" Dawn said as she noticed that Willows once white shirt was now covered in small red splatters. "B..Buffy?" Dawn said as her eyes started to water up.

"and.. and Tara" Willow added starting to cry. They all got out of the truck and ran in the front door of the emergency room.

"May I help you?" a young nurse asked at the front desk.

"yeah.. uh.... Buffy Summers and Tara McClay..." Xander said a bit out of breath.

"Are you a family member?" She asked as she reached for their charts.

"I'm Buffys sister" Dawn said as the nurse opened her chart.

"Tara doesn't have any family, I'm sorta her girlfriend" Willow said not caring to go into her sexuality with the nurse.

"Ms. Summers is out of surgery, they had to go in and retreive the bullet and control her bleeding. Shes in room 316, but shes still unconcious. Ms. McClay on the other hand is still in surgery, all I can tell you is that she had quite a lot of bleeding. uh... Would you like a set of scrubs young lady?" The nurse asked Willow.

"Oh yeah thanks" Willow said as she went with the nurse and Dawn and Xander hurried off to Buffys room.

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The hospital room was small, it had 2 chairs in each corner, a small window and a standard hospital bed. As Xander and Dawn entered they saw Buffy hooked to a lot of machines. She looked as if she was sleeping. Xander walked over and rubbed his hand down her hair.

Dawn sat down in a chair and sat beside her sister, she grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

Willow walked in and sat in the other chair as they waited for news about Tara.

They sat in silence for about 20 minutes when Dawn decided to break the silence.

"Somebody should let Spike know what happened" she said as she rubbed Buffys hand.

"No Dawnie I don't want him near Buffy" Xander said abruptly.

"Xander I know that you and Spike might not be on the best of terms right now but deep down he really does love Buffy" Dawn said as there was a knock at the door.

"Excuse me I'm looking for a Xander Harris and a Willow Rosenburg?" the young police officer said sticking his head into the hospital room. "I need to speak to them about the incident that happened this morning" he concluded as Xander and Willow went to walk out of the room.

"You ok?" Xander said as he turned to Dawn.

"Yeah I'm not going anywhere I promise" Dawn said as Willow and Xander walked out into the hall to talk to the police officer.

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Spike hurried to the hospital as quick as possible, he looked around and saw Xander and Willow comming out of Buffys room.

As soom as the others had vacated into a small waiting room he walked to her room.

The door opened and he saw Dawn laying next to her sister on the hospital bed. "Hello Nibblet" Spike said as he closed the door softly.