Xander shifted uncomfortably in the hard hospital chair, looking at the motionless form of his best friend, forcing himself to mentally block the pain shooting up his arm. Willow needed him now and it was his job, as her best friend, to stay beside her and ignore his own discomfort.
Beside him sat Cordelia and Oz. Oz was his usual silent self, although Xander could see the anger dancing in the werewolf's eyes as he looked at Willow's unconscious form. Cordelia too was silent, although silence was not a natural thing for the cheerleader. Xander knew that Cordelia was shocked about what had happened. Drusilla's attack on the library had been unsuspected, although in hindsight Xander knew they should have known. Druisilla was known for being psychic and naturally would have taken offense at an attempt to resoul Angelus. Still the death of Kendra and Willow's coma had shocked them all, especially in the wake of Giles' kidnapping and Jenny's death.
It had been a hard four months for all of the Scoobies, with Angel losing his soul and becoming a blood-sucking psychopath. Xander had said numerous times that they should have seen the day when Angel turned on them coming and killed him when they had the chance but the hurt looks sent at him each time from Buffy had made Xander stop commenting on it. Of course he still thought about it, imagining the day when Buffy finally staked Angelus with glee, but he no longer mentioned that.
Undoubtedly the last few months had been hardest on Buffy, since she was the one who had loved Angel the most and who had unintentionally released the vampire of his soul when they'd slept together on her birthday. Giles too had been forced to face his demons since Jenny's death at Angelus' hand. It had been only Xander, however, who had wondered what the implications of Angel being evil would have on Willow. As far as he was concerned, Willow had to be distantly related to Angel. There was no way Special Agent Booth and Angel could look so alike without there being some sort of blood connection. Xander had seen the pain in Willow's eyes as she thought about how the vampire that looked near identical to her father had killed her mentor and was terrorizing her friends.
A double blow for Willow had been receiving the news, a few weeks ago, that one of her father's colleagues, who Willow had struck up a friendship with, had been stabbed. Apparently Willow's new friend, Zach, had been struggling with things and had been approached by a person who had appeared to be able to help. It was only a few months later that Zach had realized that the person who had been helping him was actually the cannibalistic serial killer that Special Agent Booth and the team had been after almost all year. Zach had gone to Special Agent Booth and they had set up an operation. Zach went into the killer's lair first, followed by the FBI squad. All had been going well until the killer realized that Zach had betrayed him. The killer, whose name Xander had forgotten, had grabbed Zach and plunged a knife into him. Zach had survived but it had been a near thing and Willow had been quite upset by the news.
Xander frowned as he thought of Special Agent Booth. The hospital had contacted Ira and Sheila Rosenberg about Willow's coma and they had told the hospital staff that when they finished the conference they were currently attending, they would return to Sunnydale. It would be a couple of days until then, however, and Xander wondered if Special Agent Booth had been called.
"Did any of you guys call Willow's dad?" he asked softly.
"No." Oz shook his head.
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. How creepy, having Mr. FBI agent who looks freakishly like Angel walking around her after everything that's happened," Cordelia added.
"We should. though," Oz put in. "I mean, he'd want to know... and it's not like we know how long Willow is going to be unconscious for."
Cordelia nodded in agreement and Xander groaned. He wished Giles was there to tell him what he should do... or Buffy. As it was, though, it was down to him, Oz and Cordelia.
This was one phone call Xander did not want to make.
BtVS/BONES
Special Agent Booth frowned as his cell phone went off in his pocket. He was at the lab, having just wrapped a case. He was waiting for Brennan to finish up before they and the rest of the team headed to the diner for lunch, since it was the weekend. Brennan approached him as he fished around in his pocket for the beeping device.
"Hang on a sec, Bones," he told her. "I hope this isn't another case." Brennan nodded in agreement as the rest of the team joined them, carrying their jackets and bags.
"Booth," Booth said as he answered his phone. Bones frowned at the way Booth's face lost all color within moments of answering the call.
"How... how is she?" Booth asked, his voice carrying a shocked tone. There was a lengthy pause as the person on the other end of the line, whoever it was, spoke.
"Where are her parents?" Booth asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Brennan knew from his body language that Booth wanted to get moving. She exchanged a look with Angela, Hodgins, Zach, Cam and Sweets. The rest of the team looked equally concerned. The news Booth was receiving was obviously not good. Booth nodded, although whoever he was talking to could not see him.
"Damn. Okay Xander, I'm on way. Thanks for telling me... Look after her for me until I get there. I'll see you soon." Booth hung up and turned towards the squints, his brown eyes filled with pain and his face paler than Brennan had ever seen it.
"Booth, what's wrong?" she asked. Booth took a shaky breath.
"It's Willow," he said shortly. "The high school library was attacked by a gang of kids on PCP. Willow hid in the stacks and a bookcase got pushed over on top of her. She's in a coma and another girl was murdered."
"Oh, God," Cam said.
"Dude, that sucks," Hodgins agreed in a shocked tone of voice.
"I'm so sorry, Booth," Angela added.
"What are you going to do?" Brennan asked, stepping closer to Booth. Booth focused on his partner.
"I'm going to Sunnydale. I can't leave her alone there. The Rosenbergs aren't going to get there for another couple of days. She needs me in Sunnydale with her. Her friend sounded so freaked out."
Brennan nodded approvingly. "I know, Booth, you should go." she said softly before approaching him and giving Booth a comforting hug.
"Keep us up to date on how she is, okay, Booth?" Angela requested. Booth nodded and gathered his things, preparing to leave.
Zach nodded in support of Angela's request, his cheeks loosing the little color they had regained since his stabbing as he unconsciously touched the place in his side where Gormagon's knife had penetrated his skin. Special Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan had saved his life that day, maintaining pressure on the wound and trying to limit the amount of blood lost. Zach had only been back at work for two days and now Willow was in a coma after being attacked by a gang of drugged up kids.
It was a brutal and painful reminder of how fragile human life was, not that Bones and her team needed to be reminded of the fragility of the human life. They dealt with death on a daily basis after all.
"I so don't want to know what happens next," Angela said as Booth hurried off, his phone pressed to his ear as he arranged leave and flights to L.A.
"What do you mean?' Hodgins asked as Bones, Cam and Zach redirected their attention to the artist.
"Well," Angela explained, "you know what they say about bad things always happening in threes. First Zach is stabbed and almost killed by Gormagon, and then Willow is attacked and put in a coma, and one of her friends dies... I don't want to know what the next thing will be. I don't think we'll be so lucky if something else happens."
Cam privately agreed, although Brennan automatically dismissed Angela's fears as being superstitious speculation. The incident with Zach and Gormagon had been a near thing with the young squint almost bleeding out in the cold basement that was Gormagon's lair. Had Booth and Brennan not been there, quick-thinking as always, Zach would almost definitely not still be with them. Now Willow was in a coma, having been attacked by a drug gang in the safety of the high school library. From what Booth had told her about Willow, Cam knew that, just like her mother, Willow was the type of person who views the high school library as a sort of refuge, a home away from home so to speak. It sent shudders down Cam's spine when she thought about the safety of Willow's refuge being breached in such a fashion.
Brennan watched Booth's retreating back as he left the lab, wishing that there was something she could do for him. Comas were serious, although it sounded like Willow had not been unconscious for long. The longer the coma lasted, Brennan knew, the more the likelihood of Willow recovering diminished. Although she knew that it would do little good, Brennan found herself hoping that Willow would recover swiftly and that Booth would not be faced with the prospect of losing his child. Even though Willow was a recent addition to Booth's life, despite her age, Brennan knew that Booth cared deeply about his daughter and would be devastated if something happened to her. Going by that hypothesis, Brennan knew that Booth would already be devastated.
"Gosh, this sucks, doesn't it?" Angela commented, crossing her arms and leaning against Hodgins as they all stared at the door that Booth had exited through.
"Tell me about it," Zach agreed.
BtVS/BONES
"I hope Buffy doesn't stake first and ask questions later when she finally shows up," Cordelia commented as she walked into Willow's hospital room where Xander sat at Willow's side, holding his best friend's hand as Willow slept. She had woken up from the coma a couple of hours after Xander had called Booth and she had attempted the soul restoration spell once again. This time, however, it seemed that she had been successful. Xander had not been there at that point of time, instead going to find Giles, but Cordelia had explained to him the impressive light show Willow had produced. Xander was reasonably sure that, since the world hadn't been swallowed into Acathla's hell, either Willow had been successful or Buffy had staked Angelus. Xander privately hoped for the latter but he wasn't going to say that in front of any of the others. He knew that he should feel guilty after not passing Willow's message on to Buffy but, in the long run, Xander knew that the world would be a much safer place without Angelus in it, souled or otherwise, and that he was doing everyone a favor.
If only Buffy would just show up so that the rest of the group would know she was safe, Xander would appreciate it.
"What do you mean?" Oz asked and Xander blinked, having been so absorbed in his thoughts that he'd forgotten what Cordelia had said.
"Willow's dad... you know. I mean, Mr Guy who looks like Angel. I hope Buffy doesn't come in and see him and think he is Angel. It would be kind of weird if Buffy accidently staked Willow's dad, thinking it was Angel, don't you think?"
Xander flinched. He hadn't thought of that. After Willow had first woken up, Xander had tried to call Booth to tell him that Willow was conscious and according to her doctor, out of immediate danger but his calls had gone straight to voicemail. Xander had figured that Booth probably had his phone turned off because he was on a plane or something. Still, Cordelia raised a good point. Care would have to be taken to ensure that, should Buffy arrive back at Willow's hospital room after Booth, that it was obvious that the man was not Angel. Oz was obviously thinking along the same lines, because he got up from where he was sitting and opened up the curtains, letting sunlight stream into the room.
"Good idea," Xander commented as Oz sat back down. The werewolf nodded but otherwise said nothing. The group fell into a thoughtful silence, which was disrupted when the door burst open and Booth burst in. Despite the fact that he was bathed in sunlight from the open window, Xander and Cordelia both startled nervously.
"Oh my God," Booth said, his eyes falling on Willow's motionless form on the bed. Xander was grateful that they'd had the sense to pack up the leftover ingredients of the soul restoration spell; otherwise, things would have been worse than what they already were.
"She woke up about two hours ago. I tried to call you but you must have been flying or something," Xander told Booth softly. Booth turned and faced the teenager, taking in the cast Xander had on his wrist.
"Thank you for calling me, Xander. I appreciate it. I know I don't have any legal rights in regard to Willow but I'm glad you thought of me when she was hurt."
Xander shrugged. "Ira and Sheila aren't going to come back to Sunnydale for another couple of days. I thought Willow would like to have an adult that she knew around before then. Nothing against Mrs. Summers or Giles, but they're both... kind of busy at the moment."
"Oh," Booth said, a surprised look crossing his face. Xander blanched when he realized his mistake.
"Um, not like that. That's kind of gross. What I meant was that Giles will be mourning Jenny and Mrs. Summers will be busy worrying about Buffy, since she's kind of missing at the moment."
"Oh right, that makes more sense." Booth smiled weakly before he turned his attention to Willow, who had begun to stir. Seeing as there were no vacant seats in the room, Booth crouched down so his eyes were level with Willow's. Reaching up with his hand, Booth began to tenderly stroke Willow's head, avoiding the bandage that encircled it.
"Hey, Willow. It's okay, you're going to be okay."
"Dad," Willow whispered, cracking her eyes open and taking in the deep brown eyes of her father. Xander flinched as Willow awoke to find her father so close, fearing that she would think it was Angelus and react badly. As it was, though ,Willow smiled weakly at the sight of Booth.
"Hey there, Willow. How do you feel?" Booth asked softly.
"Sore, my head feels all fuzzy, and I'm really tired," Willow whispered in a tired voice. Booth nodded.
"You just go back to sleep then. I'll be here when you wake up and so will your friends."
"Where's Buffy?" Willow asked, this time looking at Xander.
Xander shook his head. "Nobody knows, she hasn't been seen yet. She will, though, and she'll come and see you as soon as she can."
"I know," Willow whispered before she fell back asleep, surrounded by her friends and family.
Well, most of them anyway.
BtVS/BONES
Temperance Brennan hurriedly answered her phone. Booth would almost certainly be in L.A. by now and would have been told of Willow's condition, even if it wasn't by a doctor, given that Booth was not the teen's legal guardian. Brennan found that she was anxious for news about Willow. Although Brennan had met Willow only briefly over Christmas, she was fond of the teenager and thought that Booth was lucky to have a daughter like Willow.
"Brennan," Bones answered her phone in her usual, formal way.
"Hey, Bones," Booth greeted from the other end of the call.
"Booth, how is Willow? What have you been told?" Brennan asked quickly.
'The doctors won't tell me much but she's awake. She woke up first when I was still flying to L.A. She's still pretty out of it and she's on some pretty strong painkillers but other than that, she's okay. She has a gash on her forehead from the bookshelf when it fell and her best friend has a broken wrist. She said to tell you she said hi."
"Tell her I say hello back," Brennan smiled. The rest of the team would be pleased. It had been obvious that they had all been deeply concerned about Willow, especially Zach. They would all be relieved to know that she was going to be alright
"Alright, Bones. I'll call you later. I just wanted to let you know that she was alright. All the doctors will tell me is that they think she'll make a good recovery but I want to head back to her room now."
"Goodbye, Booth." Brennan hung up and sat down on her comfortable house, getting ready to spread the good news to the rest of her team. Willow was okay and at the moment, it appeared that she would escape without any lasting repercussions following the incident. Brennan was glad as she called Angela, hoping her best friend was still awake. She wanted to be the one to spread the good news about Willow.
Booth's teenage daughter would be fine and that was all that mattered at the moment.
A.N. Hi there. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading. I really appreciate the feedback i have been getting for this story. The next chapter will be up soon. I hope you enjoyed. Reviews are much appreciated. R.W.