Title - Dawn, The Key: Ghost's of the Future Part 2
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. The Ghost Roads, The Gatekeeper and The Gatehouse come from the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer novels The Gatekeeper Trilogy Books 1, 2 and 3 by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder (Great set of books get em if you can) What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit. There is one exception to this and that is Quinton Everett III, he is mine and you can't use him whatsoever.
Authors Note - To be introduced to Quinton Everett III please read one of my previous stories "Love's Energy"
Authors Note 2 - This story follows directly on from my previous one "The Reality of War"
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Ghost's of the Future - Part 2
"He shouldn't be remembering those events." Quinn said.
It was midmorning and Quinn and The Gatekeeper had just finished asking James and Juliet questions about the past, they had discovered that James had memories of both timelines but Juliet did not.
"It could be a side effect of his genetics." The Gatekeeper said.
"Then why is it not happening to Juliet?" Quinn asked no one in particular.
"I wish we had something we could reference for this." Dawn said, "Because this is starting to scare me."
"Don't worry I don't thing there will be any harmful side effects." The Gatekeeper said.
"She's right." Quinn said quietly.
The Gatekeeper stared at him, "Why do you say that?"
"neither of the children should be showing any abilities tied into their heritage until they're 14." Quinn said looking thoughtful, "We always thought they would display some abilities that the Key has but we could never figure out which ones."
"Yea, and?" Dawn prompted when he paused.
"If he's displaying abilities beyond those he should have then he may have accelerated mental growth." Quinn said, "Have his grades been getting better?"
"Yes, he's straight A+ student." Dawn answered.
"That could come from the same cause." The Gatekeeper said matching Quinn's
thoughtful expression.
"Why?" Dawn asked.
"It could be our altering of the timelines." Quinn said looking at The Gatekeeper for confirmation.
"But it could be anything." The Gatekeeper said.
There was a scream, Dawn and Quinn ran to the children's bedroom there lying on the floor unconscious was James, Juliet was the one screaming.
"What happened?" Dawn said as she ran to her son.
"H-he just collapsed, I-I thought he was f-faking it." Juliet said when she stopped screaming.
"Dawn, pleas may I?" The Gatekeeper said coming up behind her.
Dawn moved aside and let him examine the boy.
"This isn't magical." he declared.
"Hospital. Now." Quinn said picking up the boy and standing next to Dawn, The Gatekeeper came and stood next to them and after focusing his powers he was able to open a portal between the two points. The trio stepped through and found themselves outside Sunnydale Memorial Hospital.
Quinn ran to the door, pushing it open with his back and yelling, "We need a doctor!", Dawn and The Gatekeeper ran in after him.
Several nurses ran to them, one with a gurney, onto which Quinn laid Jason.
"What happened?" asked a male doctor as he came up to them.
"He just collapsed." Dawn answered.
"Has he had any blows to the head?" the doctor asked.
"No, not that we know of." Quinn answered.
"Are you the father?" the doctor asked.
"No, we are his uncles." Quinn said indicating The Gatekeeper and himself, "This is his mother." he said indicating Dawn.
"We will need you to sign some forms." the doctor said to Dawn.
"Okay." Dawn said following him over to the counter.
"What could the problem be?" Quinn asked The Gatekeeper.
"I've only seen it once before, about ten years ago." he answered.
"What was it?" Quinn asked.
"A brain tumour." he answered very quietly.
"Damn." Quinn said in an equally quiet voice, he pulled a cellphone from his pocket and dialled a number, "Buffy, it's Quinn . You need to get to Sunnydale Memorial, ASAP . No, it's Jason." with that he hung up.
"Good idea." The Gatekeeper said.
Dawn walked back towards them, "They're taking him up to get a CAT scan." she said.
"It'll be okay." Quinn said pulling Dawn to him.
Dawn gave a small laugh.
"What is it?" Quinn asked.
"Just remembering when mom was in hospital getting a CAT scan, I asked Buffy if it was tested on cats." she said looking up into his face.
"Where is he?" Jason said as he came into the hospital and walked up to them.
Dawn moved away from Quinn and turned to hug her husband, "He's getting a CAT scan."
"Do they have any ideas?" Jason asked.
"No." Dawn said.
"Mrs Summers?" the doctor said coming up to where they were sitting in the waiting room.
"Yes?" she answered as she stood up.
"Your son . has a mass . in his brain." the doctor looked uncomfortable.
Dawn broke down, sobbing she started to fall to the floor, Jason caught her.
"Can you do anything?" Quinn asked.
"We.we really don't know yet, we'll goin and see if the tumour is operable." the doctor said before turning to Jason, "We'll need you to sign some forms to authorise that."
"Okay." Jason said as he handed Dawn to Quinn.
Buffy, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles and Marie had all turned up about two hours later and Quinn had just finished bringing them up to speed on what had happened when the doctor approached them, he did not look happy.
"What is it?" Jason asked.
"I-I'm sorry, your son, he didn't survive the operation, I'm very sorry." the said, Dawn let out a scream before breaking down completely, even the battle hardened Buffy and Jason were crying. Quinn could see the others barely holding back tears, and he felt a single tear roll down his cheek.
Quinn went to Buffy, as the others all paired up and comforted each other. The Gatekeeper kept a respectful distance, he turned to the doctor, "What happened?"
The doctor led him away from the group, "It was an extensive brain tumour, it had spread through most of his brain."
"Shouldn't there have been some warning signs?" The Gatekeeper asked.
"Yes, and I don't see how they could have been missed." the doctor said looking over at Dawn and Jason.
"Do not even think that, doctor." The Gatekeeper said with a look of almost anger on his face.
"I'm sorry, but the signs are unmissible." the doctor said turning back to The Gatekeeper.
"James was good at hiding things from people, when he was five he hid a broken arm for a bit more than a day before Dawn found out completely by accident." The Gatekeeper said.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to bid farewell to a much loved and much missed young man." the priest stood on a small platform overlooking the small grave in Restfield Cemetery, "James Quinton Summers-Denel, was only eight years of age, that is a short time on this earth, but it must be remembered that he is now in a better place with our lord God almighty, James' mother has requested to say a few words."
The funeral had ended several hours ago but Dawn and Jason stood over the grave of their son, Buffy and Quinn were standing a respectful distance away. Juliet was being babysat by Willow and Tara.
"How? He was so young." Dawn said with a sob.
"I know." Jason said.
They stood there looking at the gravestone.
James Quinton Summers-Denel 2014 - 2022
He lived briefly but he will live on forever in our hearts
THE END
Author - Shane A. Hopkins (thesorcererbard@I-am-the-key.com)
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - What I don't own. Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and everything related to them. The Ghost Roads, The Gatekeeper and The Gatehouse come from the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer novels The Gatekeeper Trilogy Books 1, 2 and 3 by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder (Great set of books get em if you can) What I do own. Everything not owned by the above mentioned people / companies is owned by me but you may use any of it as long as you give me credit. There is one exception to this and that is Quinton Everett III, he is mine and you can't use him whatsoever.
Authors Note - To be introduced to Quinton Everett III please read one of my previous stories "Love's Energy"
Authors Note 2 - This story follows directly on from my previous one "The Reality of War"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Ghost's of the Future - Part 2
"He shouldn't be remembering those events." Quinn said.
It was midmorning and Quinn and The Gatekeeper had just finished asking James and Juliet questions about the past, they had discovered that James had memories of both timelines but Juliet did not.
"It could be a side effect of his genetics." The Gatekeeper said.
"Then why is it not happening to Juliet?" Quinn asked no one in particular.
"I wish we had something we could reference for this." Dawn said, "Because this is starting to scare me."
"Don't worry I don't thing there will be any harmful side effects." The Gatekeeper said.
"She's right." Quinn said quietly.
The Gatekeeper stared at him, "Why do you say that?"
"neither of the children should be showing any abilities tied into their heritage until they're 14." Quinn said looking thoughtful, "We always thought they would display some abilities that the Key has but we could never figure out which ones."
"Yea, and?" Dawn prompted when he paused.
"If he's displaying abilities beyond those he should have then he may have accelerated mental growth." Quinn said, "Have his grades been getting better?"
"Yes, he's straight A+ student." Dawn answered.
"That could come from the same cause." The Gatekeeper said matching Quinn's
thoughtful expression.
"Why?" Dawn asked.
"It could be our altering of the timelines." Quinn said looking at The Gatekeeper for confirmation.
"But it could be anything." The Gatekeeper said.
There was a scream, Dawn and Quinn ran to the children's bedroom there lying on the floor unconscious was James, Juliet was the one screaming.
"What happened?" Dawn said as she ran to her son.
"H-he just collapsed, I-I thought he was f-faking it." Juliet said when she stopped screaming.
"Dawn, pleas may I?" The Gatekeeper said coming up behind her.
Dawn moved aside and let him examine the boy.
"This isn't magical." he declared.
"Hospital. Now." Quinn said picking up the boy and standing next to Dawn, The Gatekeeper came and stood next to them and after focusing his powers he was able to open a portal between the two points. The trio stepped through and found themselves outside Sunnydale Memorial Hospital.
Quinn ran to the door, pushing it open with his back and yelling, "We need a doctor!", Dawn and The Gatekeeper ran in after him.
Several nurses ran to them, one with a gurney, onto which Quinn laid Jason.
"What happened?" asked a male doctor as he came up to them.
"He just collapsed." Dawn answered.
"Has he had any blows to the head?" the doctor asked.
"No, not that we know of." Quinn answered.
"Are you the father?" the doctor asked.
"No, we are his uncles." Quinn said indicating The Gatekeeper and himself, "This is his mother." he said indicating Dawn.
"We will need you to sign some forms." the doctor said to Dawn.
"Okay." Dawn said following him over to the counter.
"What could the problem be?" Quinn asked The Gatekeeper.
"I've only seen it once before, about ten years ago." he answered.
"What was it?" Quinn asked.
"A brain tumour." he answered very quietly.
"Damn." Quinn said in an equally quiet voice, he pulled a cellphone from his pocket and dialled a number, "Buffy, it's Quinn . You need to get to Sunnydale Memorial, ASAP . No, it's Jason." with that he hung up.
"Good idea." The Gatekeeper said.
Dawn walked back towards them, "They're taking him up to get a CAT scan." she said.
"It'll be okay." Quinn said pulling Dawn to him.
Dawn gave a small laugh.
"What is it?" Quinn asked.
"Just remembering when mom was in hospital getting a CAT scan, I asked Buffy if it was tested on cats." she said looking up into his face.
"Where is he?" Jason said as he came into the hospital and walked up to them.
Dawn moved away from Quinn and turned to hug her husband, "He's getting a CAT scan."
"Do they have any ideas?" Jason asked.
"No." Dawn said.
"Mrs Summers?" the doctor said coming up to where they were sitting in the waiting room.
"Yes?" she answered as she stood up.
"Your son . has a mass . in his brain." the doctor looked uncomfortable.
Dawn broke down, sobbing she started to fall to the floor, Jason caught her.
"Can you do anything?" Quinn asked.
"We.we really don't know yet, we'll goin and see if the tumour is operable." the doctor said before turning to Jason, "We'll need you to sign some forms to authorise that."
"Okay." Jason said as he handed Dawn to Quinn.
Buffy, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles and Marie had all turned up about two hours later and Quinn had just finished bringing them up to speed on what had happened when the doctor approached them, he did not look happy.
"What is it?" Jason asked.
"I-I'm sorry, your son, he didn't survive the operation, I'm very sorry." the said, Dawn let out a scream before breaking down completely, even the battle hardened Buffy and Jason were crying. Quinn could see the others barely holding back tears, and he felt a single tear roll down his cheek.
Quinn went to Buffy, as the others all paired up and comforted each other. The Gatekeeper kept a respectful distance, he turned to the doctor, "What happened?"
The doctor led him away from the group, "It was an extensive brain tumour, it had spread through most of his brain."
"Shouldn't there have been some warning signs?" The Gatekeeper asked.
"Yes, and I don't see how they could have been missed." the doctor said looking over at Dawn and Jason.
"Do not even think that, doctor." The Gatekeeper said with a look of almost anger on his face.
"I'm sorry, but the signs are unmissible." the doctor said turning back to The Gatekeeper.
"James was good at hiding things from people, when he was five he hid a broken arm for a bit more than a day before Dawn found out completely by accident." The Gatekeeper said.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to bid farewell to a much loved and much missed young man." the priest stood on a small platform overlooking the small grave in Restfield Cemetery, "James Quinton Summers-Denel, was only eight years of age, that is a short time on this earth, but it must be remembered that he is now in a better place with our lord God almighty, James' mother has requested to say a few words."
The funeral had ended several hours ago but Dawn and Jason stood over the grave of their son, Buffy and Quinn were standing a respectful distance away. Juliet was being babysat by Willow and Tara.
"How? He was so young." Dawn said with a sob.
"I know." Jason said.
They stood there looking at the gravestone.
James Quinton Summers-Denel 2014 - 2022
He lived briefly but he will live on forever in our hearts
THE END