Several hours later, Willow awoke with a jerk when she heard the front door open, briefly grimacing when pain flared up in her back and neck, reminding her of the fact that she had fallen asleep in a rather uncomfortable position on Buffy's couch; next to her, Dawn slumbered on undisturbed, the sound of the door closing again distracting the witch from the rather cute sight though. Making sure that she wouldn't wake Dawn up, she carefully got up from the couch and snuck towards the hallway, mentally preparing a spell in case it would be someone else than her girlfriend who just had entered; to her relief, it was Pat though, the demon giving her a smile and a shrug when she asked how it had been.
"The usual", the black haired woman then mumbled, keeping her voice low as well, figuring that her girlfriend had had a reason to do so, "a few vamps and one random demon who thought it'd be a good idea to tackle me from behind."
"Did he hurt you?" the redhead wanted to know, sounding slightly worried; smirking, Pat shook her head, then told her that she simply had flamed up and had burned "the shit out of that creep", making the witch giggle before she reprimanded the taller woman with the usual "Language", another giggle escaping her when the demon rolled her good eye in reply.
"How's Dawn?" she then asked, the smile fading from Willow's face while she shrugged, looking towards the living room afterwards, her voice showing her worry when she replied. "A bit better, I think, but not much… She's worried."
"Like we all are", Pat sighed, asking the next question even though she already knew the answer. "And Buffy? Any changes?"
"None since I last checked on her", Willow told her what she had been expecting to hear. "Let's wake up Dawn so she can go to bed and then we can check on her once more", the redhead added, making her girlfriend nod; together, they returned into the living room, waking Dawn up there and telling her that she'd sleep better in her bed than on the couch, making their way upstairs with her afterwards.
"Sleep well", Willow told the teenager in front of her bedroom door; Dawn nodded and smiled weakly, then entered her room and closed the door behind herself while Pat and Willow moved on to Buffy's room, not really surprised to find the state of the Slayer hadn't changed.
"I just wish we knew what is happening to her", the redhead sighed after just looking at her best friend for a while; next to her, Pat nodded, putting an arm around her shoulders to give her some comfort, making her smile weakly again.
"Come on", she then sighed, "let's go back down and ready the couch, I'm tired…"
"So am I", the demon agreed, yawning as if to underline her point; both looked at Buffy once more, then made their way downstairs together, readying the couch for the night there before they undressed and laid down to get some sleep, the house soon falling silent as they drifted off into slumber.
In the next morning, Dawn's alarm clock tore her out of her uneasy slumber, and the first thing she thought of was Buffy and her still unexplained state; even though she knew that it was silly, she allowed herself to hope while she got out of bed and put on her bathrobe, then made her way to her sister's bedroom, her heart sinking when she found her in the same state she'd been in when she had gone to sleep the previous night.
Holding back the urge to sigh, the teenager moved closer to the bed and tenderly touched her sister's cheek, her heart clenching up at how cold the skin felt; she took another moment to make sure Buffy's heart was still beating and that she was still breathing, then finally left the room again and made her way downstairs, smiling slightly when she entered the living room and spotted Willow and Pat on the extendable couch, both of them still slumbering soundly, the witch snuggled up to her girlfriend.
Deciding that she wouldn't wake them up yet and that she wouldn't go to school that day, not as long as they had no idea what was wrong with Buffy, knowing that she wouldn't be able to concentrate on the lectures anyway. With that decision made, Dawn moved from the living room into the kitchen, filling the coffee machine there and switching it on before she checked the fridge, quickly settling on cereal when she saw that there still was enough milk; just when she had finished filling up her bowl, footsteps from the living room made her look towards the kitchen door, a small smile appearing on her face when she saw Willow enter.
"Good morning", she then greeted, "did you sleep well? I know that couch isn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but…"
"It's okay", Willow reassured her, stretching afterwards, "I think I slept halfway on Pat most of the night anyway, and that's always comfy."
"For her, too?" Dawn asked with a smirk, making the redhead giggle before she shrugged, then she gestured towards the living room, still smiling when she replied. "Well, I guess so, since she's still asleep. And you know how she is when she's woken up too early, so I suggest we don't wake her up yet."
"Agreed", Dawn gave back, sitting down at the kitchen counter with her cereal while Willow moved to the coffee machine and checked how far the coffee was done, turning around again though when the teenager was speaking on behind her. "Um… Are you gonna go to college today? Because, well, I honestly don't want to go to school as long as Buffy…"
She trailed off, not sure how to finish; as an answer, Willow let out a sigh, then shrugged, smiling at the brunette slightly ruefully.
"Well, I guess I have to, if only to tell the professors that Buffy's… sick", she then told Dawn, "but it'll be okay if you don't go to school for a day or two… Pat will stay here with you if you want her to, so you won't be alone."
"I'd like that", Dawn admitted, "I know this is a horrible thing to say, but… I don't wanna be alone with Buffy as long as… she's like this… and what if something happens?"
"I'm sure things will be fine", Willow reassured her, moving over to her and giving her a hug; moments later, they both looked over to the door as a familiar deep voice came from there, making both of them smile. "First thing I see in the morning, my girlfriend hugging the sister of her best friend. Should I get jealous?"
"Don't be silly", Willow chided in reply, pulling back from the hug and moving over to Pat to give her the same treatment, along with a good morning kiss, smiling up at the taller woman afterwards.
"I'm never silly", the demon mumbled, surprisingly coherent, considering the fact that she just had gotten up, "with my age, that's impossible. Age makes wise, you know."
"If you say so", Willow smirked, ignoring the way the taller woman raised an eyebrow at her afterwards and moving back to the coffee machine where the coffee had gotten done by now, finding two clean cups in the cupboard and pouring the steaming hot liquid into the them, smiling at Dawn when she handed her the carton of milk.
"Do you mind if we stay here for a while?" she then asked, looking at her girlfriend again, a look which quickly turned strict when she saw that the demon had her pack of cigarettes in hand, making her sigh before she tucked it back into her pocket.
"Nope", she then stated, "no problem at all, I'll just go to our place and get some clothes and stuff, then we'll be all set to keep you company, Dawn."
"Great", the teenager sighed out, clearly relieved, "thanks so much…"
"With clothing and stuff, she means clothing, her favourite axe and her stash of cigarettes", Willow helpfully informed Dawn, prompting Pat to roll her good eye before she shrugged, sounding a bit indignant when she replied. "I happen to really like that axe, okay? It's… cute."
"You're the only person in the world who'd call an axe cute", Willow pointed out, "but that's one of the reasons why you're so cute to me."
"You two are like an old married couple", Dawn giggled before the demon could reply anything, making them both grin at her; then, Willow finished her coffee and let her girlfriend and Dawn know that she'd have a quick shower before she'd leave for college.
"Get some of my stuff too, will you", she stated, Pat just nodding in reply, holding back any snarky comments which might have popped into her mind; smiling, Willow moved up to her for a quick and innocent kiss, then moved upstairs to the bathroom while Pat and Dawn finished their breakfast, silence filling the room as they both sat and wondered how to help Buffy and how this situation might be solved.
At college, Willow took the time to inform the student office that Buffy was sick and that it wasn't sure yet when she'd return; the lady there told her that it was no problem and that she'd mark it down so the teachers would know, making the redhead smile weakly while she thanked her, then moved to the room where her first class of the day would be held, painfully aware of Buffy's absence when she sat down alone.
"Hey, Willow", Barry's voice distracted her from her musings, making her look up at him and return his greeting.
"Where's Buffy?" the young man wanted to know, sitting down next to her and giving her a curious look, his face falling when the witch replied. "At home, she's sick."
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that", Barry gave back, sounding so honestly concerned that it made Willow smile, "I was hoping I'd get to talk to her again…"
"And that she'd wear the earrings you got her?" the redhead teased, giggling slightly when the young man blushed brightly in reply; before he could say anything though, the door opened and Professor Rowe entered, greeting the class as she made her way to the lectern in her usual fast stride.
Without wasting much time on small talk, the blonde asked her students to open their textbooks to a certain page, barely giving them enough time to do so before she started talking; giving her best to pay attention, Willow tried to focus on what the professor was saying, something which was harder than usual though, thanks to the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was missing something important and that this small detail, whatever it might be, could be the solution to the problem the gang was facing.
