Chapter 7

Dawn violently disliked hospitals. They always brought back memories of her mother's brain tumor and subsequent death by aneurysm. Julia and Vi were taken in right away. Andrew was taking care of the necessary paperwork.

"Thanks for being here," she said to Richie who had his arm around her shoulders.

"Where else would I be?" he asked giving her a small squeeze.

"There's the doctor," Dawn said as Vi returned with a dark-haired woman wearing a white medical coat.

"Woah," Richie said as they stood up.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"Duncan used to date the doctor," he explained. "Anne, hi!"

"Richie, it's been a long time," Anne smiled.

"Uh, Anne, this is my girlfriend, Dawn Summers. Dawn, this is Dr. Anne Lindsay," he introduced.

"Nice to meet, you," Anne said. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Likewise," Dawn said. "How's Vi?"

"She'll have a shiner for a few days and managed to pull a muscle in her shoulder," Anne replied causing Vi to shrug then wince. "I don't think it's a tear so she should be fine if she rests and gently exercises it."

"And Julia?"

"She's in stable condition. I'm concerned about the amount of blood loss and the extent of internal injuries so I'd like to keep her here for observations," Anne explained then checked the medical chart she was carrying. "Now, you say this is all because of a mugging."

"Yeah, a few blocks from Joe's," Dawn replied.

"There were some interesting wounds. Almost like puncture marks," Anne said.

"I think one of the muggers had a stiletto," Vi said.

Dawn could tell that the doctor suspected there was more to the story but accepted the explanation and gave Vi a pain killer prescription before releasing her. As they waited for all the paperwork to be completed, Duncan, Methos and Joe arrived.

"How'd everything go?" Joe asked.

"Julia has to stay in the hospital, but Vi's relatively okay," Dawn said as the red-headed slayer smiled wanly.

"Everything's ready at the club," Joe said. "We should get you back there."

"I just want to call Buffy and let her know what happened," Dawn said taking out her cellphone. "Mind staying with Vi and waiting for Andrew?"

"No problem," Methos said.

"Thanks," she said and left to make the call.

"Hey, Mac," Richie said. "Guess who the doctor was?"

"Who?" Duncan asked.

"Anne," Richie replied then noticed his friend's reaction. "Thought that might interest you."


Seeing her by the nurses' station brought back many bittersweet memories of their time together. He had understood and accepted her reasons for leaving him. He was glad they remained friends, but part of him wondered what their lives would have been like had she stayed.

He walked over to her. "Hello, Anne."

She turned to him and smiled. "Hello, Duncan. How are you?"

"I'm fine," he smiled back. "How are you and Mary?"

"We're fine," she replied. "Mary just started kindergarten."

"So Dawn was saying that Julia Raimerez is in stable condition," he said.

"Yes, with any luck, I'll be able to discharge her in a few days," Anne said. "Now, since the injuries seem more consistent with a brawl than a mugging, does what happened have anything to do with, well, you know."

"No, nothing immortal," Duncan replied.

"But," she prompted perceptively. "Off the record?"

"Let's just say it wasn't your average assault."


"So now what?" Dawn asked having explained the situation to Buffy and Giles through another three-way phone call.

"You're going to have to take charge," Giles said.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"You heard me," he repeated.

"Research, yes. Support, yes. Lead, no!"

"Look, Vi is one of the best slayers out there, but you have twice as much practical experience," he said. "She's going to need that if you want to shut down that portal."

"Giles is right, Dawn," Buffy said. "You can do this."

The knot in her stomach tightened as she realized there was no other way. "Okay, okay. I'll call tomorrow and let you know where we stand."

She disconnected the call and turned to find Richie leaning against the wall watching. "How much did you hear?"

"I got the gist of it," he acknowledged. "So you're in charge, huh?"

"Apparently," she sighed. "Richie, I don't know if I can do this."

"Yes, you can because you're not going to be alone," he said and put his finger on her lips before she could protest. "If you think that Mac, Adam, Joe and I aren't going to help, you're out of your pretty little mind."

Dawn relaxed slightly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks."

"It's going to be all right," he said.