The Red Witch
Chapter 9
It had taken nearly three hours for everyone (or nearly everyone) to get home from the warehouse. It took Dawn and Faith thirty minutes to pull everyone out of the barrier. The resistance of the force field worked against them as well as the fact that several girls were badly injured and in no condition to pull themselves or others out so they had to be creative in figuring out a way to get them out. Finally they managed and Buffy with a new layer of guilt resting on her already troubled heart had to then get them to the hospital. Some of the girls were not bad enough off to require hospitalization and Tara could take care of them at home once she'd had enough rest. But the others especially those with broken ribs would require more immediate care and couldn't afford to wait for the blonde witch to get to them. All in all five of the girls had to stay at least overnight and three others were given care in the emergency room before being released and this was Buffy's fault.
Buffy wanted to insist that Dawn get checked over, but any doctor who saw her wounds would put her in suicide watch for the next 72 hours. They couldn't afford that so Tara kept Dawn back out of the way of any health care professionals and promised to look her over that night before bed. Buffy took out the time while they were there to touch bases with the four potentials on Shannon duty and update them as well as ensure that they knew to look out for the other potentials in the hospital, who were luckily placed close to each other making this easier. She promised to have them relieved by more potentials once Tara had a chance to go over them all the next morning. She heard the nurses near Shannon's room speak of a guy who'd had an eye put out but she just shuddered and allowed herself to be glad that her girls still had all their parts.
Once they finally reached home the entire group was more than tired and far past exhausted. The whole experience had used up quite a bit of adrenaline and energy and it was highly unlikely that anyone would do anything but fall into bed blood, dust, grime, hunger and all. For Buffy however the notion of bed was forcefully pulled from her head when she saw Spike pacing up and down the sidewalk in front of her house looking very agitated. It was then that Dawn finally remembered to tell the slayer about the ward Willow claimed to have put on the house. Buffy took Spike's pacing the sidewalk as evidence that Will's ward worked.
When Spike finally noticed the group he began rushing toward them. Buffy spared a though for Xander's location while she positioned herself to be directly in Spike's path. She was confused and upset when he blew right past her to Anya who was at the end of the group playing rear guard with Faith.
"You need to come quick Pet, your boy is in trouble." He said to her
"Xander, Xander... what kind of trouble Spike?!" Anya replied becoming visibly anxious and more and more agitated with each word.
"He's at the hospital and he needs you right now, we have to go."
Without another word both Anya and Spike took off running back the way the women had come from. Buffy was left with the others neither Spike nor Anya had paid her the least bit of attention and so she was left behind. However she wasn't going to stay home now not if Xander was in trouble though she did have a responsibility towards the girls so she made a few quick decisions.
"Faith, Tara take the girls inside and keep them there Willow's ward should be enough to keep you guys safe until I come back. No one leaves the house period." She then turned to run after Anya and Spike, but was stopped by simultaneous declarations from both Tara and Dawn.
"I'm coming too!"
"He is our friend as well Buffy" Tara added.
"Tara I need you here with the girls I'll update you as soon as I know what's going on. Dawn you stay here I mean it I can't worry about anyone else tonight, I need you to stay here." The last part was said while Buffy stared directly into Dawn's eyes her fear for her sister and emotional vulnerability, which lingered from her break down, showed clearly in her eyes and face. Dawn could do nothing but swallow and nod while Buffy turned her eyes to Faith.
"I've got this B, go take care of your boy."
Buffy gave Faith a faint smile and a look of gratitude that she rarely bothered with when it came to the dark slayer then she turned and ran as if hell itself were chasing her.
As fast as she ran Buffy never caught sight of either blonde until she found Spike waiting for her in the surgical floor's waiting room but Anya was missing. Spike quickly informed her that according to the doctor Xander pulled through surgery well and was being moved to a room on the third floor after he left recovery. Anya was being allowed as his wife to see him for ten minutes upstairs before they moved him. He then told her that they were to meet Anya upstairs in the third floor's lounge where he would explain exactly what happened.
Buffy tried pressing Spike for more answers but the vampire seemed more than a bit shaken and a little unhinged, so she got nothing more from him than an insistence that they go upstairs to wait for Anya. When Anya finally showed twenty minutes later under the escort of a no nonsense looking nurse Buffy was past ready for some answers but she made it a point of trying to comfort Anya first.
"Is he ok Anya?" she asked while holding the ex demon and guiding her to a chair. The nurse walked off after telling them that she'd return to let them know which room Xander was in.
"He lost his eye" Anya sobbed. "He did well in surgery but they couldn't save his eye. My husband is a pirate now!"
"Oh my." Buffy was in shock far too much had happened in one night. From the disaster that was her plan for stopping the demons, to Dawn's near death, to this. And there was still the mystery that was Willow if that was even Willow in the warehouse. Buffy was suddenly struck by the thought that maybe Willow could help Xander, she was his oldest friend so it wouldn't be hard to convince her. If the slayer could find her. But Buffy decided it was best not to speak about that out loud just in case, she would have to find the red head first.
"Spike what happened?" Buffy demanded.
Spike paced in front of the two women explaining as best he could what happened once he and Xander left Buffy's. About the search and following the bringer Caleb and the ambush. He ended by telling them that he and Xander had been lucky to even get out of there had Caleb brought more bringers with him Spike would have dust and Xander a corpse.
Neither Buffy nor Anya could fault Spike for what happened, much to his relief, but this was going to bring down morale even further. Already Buffy was beginning to feel even more guilt along with the sympathetic pain for her friend.
Buffy spent the next thirty minutes that it took the nurse to return with a room number filling in Spike about their night. When they finally did get to Xander he was asleep and according to the doctor very likely to sleep until the next morning at least and he'd be heavily medicated when he did wake. Buffy did call Tara to keep her promise about giving an update and to ask if Tara knew of anything that could help Xander. Unfortunately she didn't though she promised to look, but she wasn't very optimistic about it there was a big chance there would be nothing to find. Times like this made Buffy wish that Giles was available he'd know without a doubt if anything could be done, but he wasn't going to be back for at least another day.
Buffy and Spike returned to her home after about an hour and a half of sitting with Anya. As his wife Anya was allowed to stay in his room but Buffy and Spike were already past visiting hours when they were kicked out. Besides the slayer was due for some rest anyway. Both slayer and vamp were so tired and drained that they forgot about the ward so Spike literally walked into it before Buffy thought to invite him in. The house was quiet when they got in and Spike went to crash in the basement with Buffy's permission, she felt better having another experienced fighter near especially with all the attacks that they've gone through and that have occurred at her home since the First became active.