CROSS ROADS
Part 18
It had been a few hours since Willow had been brought to the hospital and Stacy hadn't strayed from her side once. She sat by her bedside and watched over her. Scully had left them to make a phone call and Stacy was grateful to be alone with Willow for a moment of quiet and peace. Scully was so full of anxiety and she had told Stacy what she had seen with Mulder and Barrington...or at least though she had seen.
"It was all a blur!" Scully had blurted out in frustration. "I still find it hard to believe. Did I see what I thought I saw? Is this all a bad dream and I'm going to wake up any minute to tell Mulder 'I told you so'?" She had thrown up her hands. "This can't be real! This can't be happening!"
And then she had stormed out to make her phone call.
Stacy sat watching Willow, and she had the feeling that for Willow, it wasn't over yet. "Oh, God..." she said softly, "she's so young."
"And her heart is pure."
Stacy turned her head. Jeremiah was standing at the foot of the bed, looking down at Willow fondly.
"Willow doesn't understand the battle she is in," Stacy told him as if trying to plead with him not to let Willow go through any more pain. "She cannot be thrown to the wolves like this. They'll..." she hesitated, "they'll tear her apart."
Jeremiah smiled reassuringly. "Willow is right where she needs to be, Stacy. It is her innocence and purity that can save her in this battle. It is her child-like faith that will help her defeat the enemy." He looked at Willow again who was sleeping peacefully.
Stacy looked at him. "What must she go through?"
"He will come for her soon. He will take her away."
Stacy closed her eyes and tried to keep her tears back. She looked at him imploringly. "Jeremiah...please don't let her go through this!"
Jeremiah shook his head. "She won't be alone." He paused to look at her thoughtfully. "He will also take you, and one other."
"One other? Who--?"
"Be strong and of good courage. Let not your heart be troubled. You will go and you must wait."
"Xander...?" Willow called out softly.
Stacy sat up and looked at her. "Willow...it's me...Stacy."
Willow opened her eyes. "Stacy?" She looked around and discovered that she was lying in a hospital bed and she was wearing a hospital gown. She frowned. "Oh..."
Stacy glanced toward the foot of the bed but Jeremiah was gone. She returned her gaze to Willow. "What's wrong?"
"Well...if I'm in this bed and not my own...then none of it was a dream." She looked at Stacy. "I was kind of hoping that's all it was."
Stacy brushed aside some of Willow's long hair from her face with her fingers. "No. I'm afraid it wasn't a dream."
Willow had a look of thoughtfulness on her face as if she were trying to figure something out. She let out a sigh. "All of the parts that I was with Xander...that was probably when I was dreaming."
Stacy shook her head. "He was with you when we found you, Willow. In fact, he got to you before we did."
Willow regarded her closely. "Uh, really?"
She nodded. "I'd say he cares for you." She smiled. "I can tell by the way he looks at you."
"Oh, oh..." Willow had a far-a-way look on her face.
Stacy looked concerned. "Willow, what is it?"
"Oh...uh...nothing...really. I-I'm feeling just a bit tingly." She turned her head to look at Stacy and tried to reassure her that she was okay. "No, no...th-this isn't a bad thing. It's really a good thing because, well...I-I only get tingly when I think of Xander." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then, she opened them again. "Oh, boy...I-I'm still thinking about Xander."
Stacy smiled. "Would you like me to get him for you?"
Willow looked surprised. "Uh...Xander's here? I-In the hospital?"
"Yes. He's in the waiting room." Stacy added, "Buffy, Giles, and Cordelia are here, too." She wasn't about to tell her that Jenny Calendar was also in the hospital as a patient, at least not yet. Not for awhile. "Would you like to see all of them?"
Willow hesitated, "Oh...d-do you think I look messy?" She ran her fingers through her hair.
"I think you look beautiful, Willow."
Willow stopped fussing with her hair as she looked at Stacy. There was something on her mind and she had to know. "Stacy...h-how did Xander find me?"
Stacy moved back toward the bed. "You said that you were in the tower waiting to be rescued by a knight from a dragon. It was something like that." She looked at her, puzzled. "Why?"
"But...how did he know I said that? I re-remember having a dream, and I told this angel named Jeremiah that I was in a t-tower waiting for my knight to save me from the-the evil dragon, but...how did Xander hear that?" She looked at Stacy in desperation. "D-did Xander have the same dream I had?"
Stacy decided not to tell her about the video tapes at this point. There was no telling how she would react. "Willow...we found you. Does it matter how we found you?"
Willow looked thoughtful. "Well...I suppose it doesn't." She rested her head back against her pillows. "At least tell me one thing..."
Stacy almost dreaded the question. "What?"
"How did you throw those vampires at the factory without even touching them?" Willow's eyes were wide with wonder.
Stacy laughed. "Well...Willow, that wasn't me."
"It wasn't? But you told them to get back...a-and they did!"
"It's called faith. That's how I was able to do that. Faith can do a lot of things for you if you truly believe with all of your heart. It makes you stronger, even when it seems that you are at your weakest. And sometimes, it is the only thing that can get you through a battle."
"Don't you need a lot of faith to be that strong?"
"No. Sometimes a little bit of faith is enough." Stacy put her hand affectionately on Willow's faith. "I'll go get your friends."
Willow grabbed her hand. "Thank you, Stacy."
"You're welcome."
Stacy turned to go. In the waiting room, she was in time to see Buffy, Giles, and Scully running off through the ER's exit. She frowned as she approached Cordelia and Xander. "Where are they going?"
"That Special Agent lady called the police to see if there were any more news about the terrorists," Xander began, "and they told her that there were hideously deformed men on a killing spree at the Mall." He glanced at Cordelia and rolled his eyes. "Not 'shopping' spree."
Cordelia sighed. "I didn't say they were on a 'shopping' spree. Vampires don't have any taste to shop anyway!"
Xander shrugged. "Anyway, Buffy went to do her thing, and Giles went as back up. I really don't know why Agent Scully went with them, unless she really is special." He looked at Stacy. "How is Willow?"
Stacy smiled wryly. "Willow is asking to see her friends."
"Well...she will understand that Buffy and Giles had to run off," Cordelia commented. "After all, they have to save the world."
They headed for Willow's room.
"Uhm..." Xander began, but then he hesitated, "Stacy...has Willow said anything about..." He trailed off as he glanced at Cordelia.
Stacy winked knowingly at Cordelia. "Willow has mentioned your name quite a bit, Xander. And every time she says your name or thinks about you, she experiences a symptom."
"A symptom?"
"Yes. She says she gets all tingly."
Xander's eyes widened as he thought about that. The three of them entered the room, and Cordelia and Xander hugged Willow at the same time. Cordelia backed away after the hug, But Xander found that when he went to back away, Willow wouldn't let him go.
"Don't leave!" Willow exclaimed.
Xander smiled at her. "I'm not going anywhere, Will." He sat on the side of the bed and held her hands.
Willow laid back on her pillows and looked at Xander. She was studying his face and searching his eyes. Without saying a word, she was trying to determine if he was a dream or if he was real. Xander seemed to know what she was thinking. He squeezed her hands reassuringly to let her know that he was truly there. She was not dreaming.
Her smile to him was far more beautiful than he had ever imagined.
"How are you feeling?" Cordelia asked.
Willow kept her eyes on Xander. "I'm tingly all over," she said dreamily.
Stacy smiled.
"And that's a good thing," Xander replied. "Right?"
Willow nodded. "Oh...i-it's a nice feeling." She paused. "Don't you feel tingly, Xander? I-I was kind of hoping that it was a contagious thing...like a sharing kind of tingly." She wanted to know if he felt the same way.
Xander shook his head. "No, Will...I don't have the tingles."
She looked at him. "Oh..."
"But I think I have other symptoms. One in particular I won't tell you about...because I'd really rather not." He cleared his throat. "But I can tell you about the sweaty palms, the rapid heart beat, shallow breathing, and sometimes...the room begins to spin."
"O-oh, that's nice." Willow smiled. She was wondering about the symptom he wouldn't talk about. She wanted to know what that one was.
Cordelia smiled at them. "Do you two want to be alone?"
Willow blushed and again Xander cleared his throat.
"Well, I'll leave you be. Besides, I'd like to look in on Miss Calendar anyway." She gave Willow another hug. "I'm so glad that you're back, Willow. It's really kind of dull around here without you."
Willow stared at her incredulous. "It is?"
"Yeah. You're all right, in your Willowish way." Cordelia waved and she left the room.
Willow looked at Xander. "Did Cordelia Chase just compliment me?"
Xander grinned. "Will wonders never cease?"
Stacy was watching Willow with concern. She was hoping that Willow had not grasped where Cordelia had said she was going. Unfortunately, Stacy saw the sudden knowing look in Willow's eyes.
"She's going to see Miss Calendar?" Willow looked from Xander to Stacy. "What's wrong with Miss Calendar? Why is she in the hospital?"
Xander looked at Stacy. "Willow...you need to think about you right now." He ran his fingers through her hair. "You've been through so much."
She grasped his hands. "No, Xander! You have to tell me what happened."
Stacy put her hand on her shoulder. "Miss Calendar is here, Willow. She's been shot, but she is okay."
"Shot?! But who shot her?"
"One of the terrorists shot her."
Willow's eyes began to form tears. "I-I don't understand. Why did they shoot Miss Calendar?"
"We don't know. We don't have all the answers but we will stop them."
Xander hugged Willow to him. "Miss Calendar is going to be all right."
"B-but if they're still out there, Xander," Willow began, fear trembling in her voice, "w-what if they come after me again?! Please don't let them take me!" Her body was trembling as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Xander was suddenly scared for her. "They're not coming back for you, Will. I promise you, they're not. Michael is out there right now making sure that they leave you alone. He won't let them come after you. And he will get them for what they put you through and for what they did to Miss Calendar."
They held each other for awhile in silence. Stacy rubbed Willows back as Willow buried her face on Xander's chest and cried softly. Stacy had seen this so many times before with other victims who had been kidnapped by terrorists. But this time it was harder. It had happened to someone whom she called family.
"Wiiillooow..."
Everyone froze.
Stacy and Xander turned their heads toward the door and Willow peeked out from where she was huddled against Xander. Her eyes widened in fear.
Julius had entered the hospital room and he had four others with him. He smiled as he showed Willow her collar and leash. "Willow...I've come to take you home." He showed her a box of Animal Crackers. "I've even gotten you some Willow treats for when you behave yourself."
"N-no..." Willow shook her head.
Julius' minions spread out and moved toward them.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Part 18
It had been a few hours since Willow had been brought to the hospital and Stacy hadn't strayed from her side once. She sat by her bedside and watched over her. Scully had left them to make a phone call and Stacy was grateful to be alone with Willow for a moment of quiet and peace. Scully was so full of anxiety and she had told Stacy what she had seen with Mulder and Barrington...or at least though she had seen.
"It was all a blur!" Scully had blurted out in frustration. "I still find it hard to believe. Did I see what I thought I saw? Is this all a bad dream and I'm going to wake up any minute to tell Mulder 'I told you so'?" She had thrown up her hands. "This can't be real! This can't be happening!"
And then she had stormed out to make her phone call.
Stacy sat watching Willow, and she had the feeling that for Willow, it wasn't over yet. "Oh, God..." she said softly, "she's so young."
"And her heart is pure."
Stacy turned her head. Jeremiah was standing at the foot of the bed, looking down at Willow fondly.
"Willow doesn't understand the battle she is in," Stacy told him as if trying to plead with him not to let Willow go through any more pain. "She cannot be thrown to the wolves like this. They'll..." she hesitated, "they'll tear her apart."
Jeremiah smiled reassuringly. "Willow is right where she needs to be, Stacy. It is her innocence and purity that can save her in this battle. It is her child-like faith that will help her defeat the enemy." He looked at Willow again who was sleeping peacefully.
Stacy looked at him. "What must she go through?"
"He will come for her soon. He will take her away."
Stacy closed her eyes and tried to keep her tears back. She looked at him imploringly. "Jeremiah...please don't let her go through this!"
Jeremiah shook his head. "She won't be alone." He paused to look at her thoughtfully. "He will also take you, and one other."
"One other? Who--?"
"Be strong and of good courage. Let not your heart be troubled. You will go and you must wait."
"Xander...?" Willow called out softly.
Stacy sat up and looked at her. "Willow...it's me...Stacy."
Willow opened her eyes. "Stacy?" She looked around and discovered that she was lying in a hospital bed and she was wearing a hospital gown. She frowned. "Oh..."
Stacy glanced toward the foot of the bed but Jeremiah was gone. She returned her gaze to Willow. "What's wrong?"
"Well...if I'm in this bed and not my own...then none of it was a dream." She looked at Stacy. "I was kind of hoping that's all it was."
Stacy brushed aside some of Willow's long hair from her face with her fingers. "No. I'm afraid it wasn't a dream."
Willow had a look of thoughtfulness on her face as if she were trying to figure something out. She let out a sigh. "All of the parts that I was with Xander...that was probably when I was dreaming."
Stacy shook her head. "He was with you when we found you, Willow. In fact, he got to you before we did."
Willow regarded her closely. "Uh, really?"
She nodded. "I'd say he cares for you." She smiled. "I can tell by the way he looks at you."
"Oh, oh..." Willow had a far-a-way look on her face.
Stacy looked concerned. "Willow, what is it?"
"Oh...uh...nothing...really. I-I'm feeling just a bit tingly." She turned her head to look at Stacy and tried to reassure her that she was okay. "No, no...th-this isn't a bad thing. It's really a good thing because, well...I-I only get tingly when I think of Xander." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then, she opened them again. "Oh, boy...I-I'm still thinking about Xander."
Stacy smiled. "Would you like me to get him for you?"
Willow looked surprised. "Uh...Xander's here? I-In the hospital?"
"Yes. He's in the waiting room." Stacy added, "Buffy, Giles, and Cordelia are here, too." She wasn't about to tell her that Jenny Calendar was also in the hospital as a patient, at least not yet. Not for awhile. "Would you like to see all of them?"
Willow hesitated, "Oh...d-do you think I look messy?" She ran her fingers through her hair.
"I think you look beautiful, Willow."
Willow stopped fussing with her hair as she looked at Stacy. There was something on her mind and she had to know. "Stacy...h-how did Xander find me?"
Stacy moved back toward the bed. "You said that you were in the tower waiting to be rescued by a knight from a dragon. It was something like that." She looked at her, puzzled. "Why?"
"But...how did he know I said that? I re-remember having a dream, and I told this angel named Jeremiah that I was in a t-tower waiting for my knight to save me from the-the evil dragon, but...how did Xander hear that?" She looked at Stacy in desperation. "D-did Xander have the same dream I had?"
Stacy decided not to tell her about the video tapes at this point. There was no telling how she would react. "Willow...we found you. Does it matter how we found you?"
Willow looked thoughtful. "Well...I suppose it doesn't." She rested her head back against her pillows. "At least tell me one thing..."
Stacy almost dreaded the question. "What?"
"How did you throw those vampires at the factory without even touching them?" Willow's eyes were wide with wonder.
Stacy laughed. "Well...Willow, that wasn't me."
"It wasn't? But you told them to get back...a-and they did!"
"It's called faith. That's how I was able to do that. Faith can do a lot of things for you if you truly believe with all of your heart. It makes you stronger, even when it seems that you are at your weakest. And sometimes, it is the only thing that can get you through a battle."
"Don't you need a lot of faith to be that strong?"
"No. Sometimes a little bit of faith is enough." Stacy put her hand affectionately on Willow's faith. "I'll go get your friends."
Willow grabbed her hand. "Thank you, Stacy."
"You're welcome."
Stacy turned to go. In the waiting room, she was in time to see Buffy, Giles, and Scully running off through the ER's exit. She frowned as she approached Cordelia and Xander. "Where are they going?"
"That Special Agent lady called the police to see if there were any more news about the terrorists," Xander began, "and they told her that there were hideously deformed men on a killing spree at the Mall." He glanced at Cordelia and rolled his eyes. "Not 'shopping' spree."
Cordelia sighed. "I didn't say they were on a 'shopping' spree. Vampires don't have any taste to shop anyway!"
Xander shrugged. "Anyway, Buffy went to do her thing, and Giles went as back up. I really don't know why Agent Scully went with them, unless she really is special." He looked at Stacy. "How is Willow?"
Stacy smiled wryly. "Willow is asking to see her friends."
"Well...she will understand that Buffy and Giles had to run off," Cordelia commented. "After all, they have to save the world."
They headed for Willow's room.
"Uhm..." Xander began, but then he hesitated, "Stacy...has Willow said anything about..." He trailed off as he glanced at Cordelia.
Stacy winked knowingly at Cordelia. "Willow has mentioned your name quite a bit, Xander. And every time she says your name or thinks about you, she experiences a symptom."
"A symptom?"
"Yes. She says she gets all tingly."
Xander's eyes widened as he thought about that. The three of them entered the room, and Cordelia and Xander hugged Willow at the same time. Cordelia backed away after the hug, But Xander found that when he went to back away, Willow wouldn't let him go.
"Don't leave!" Willow exclaimed.
Xander smiled at her. "I'm not going anywhere, Will." He sat on the side of the bed and held her hands.
Willow laid back on her pillows and looked at Xander. She was studying his face and searching his eyes. Without saying a word, she was trying to determine if he was a dream or if he was real. Xander seemed to know what she was thinking. He squeezed her hands reassuringly to let her know that he was truly there. She was not dreaming.
Her smile to him was far more beautiful than he had ever imagined.
"How are you feeling?" Cordelia asked.
Willow kept her eyes on Xander. "I'm tingly all over," she said dreamily.
Stacy smiled.
"And that's a good thing," Xander replied. "Right?"
Willow nodded. "Oh...i-it's a nice feeling." She paused. "Don't you feel tingly, Xander? I-I was kind of hoping that it was a contagious thing...like a sharing kind of tingly." She wanted to know if he felt the same way.
Xander shook his head. "No, Will...I don't have the tingles."
She looked at him. "Oh..."
"But I think I have other symptoms. One in particular I won't tell you about...because I'd really rather not." He cleared his throat. "But I can tell you about the sweaty palms, the rapid heart beat, shallow breathing, and sometimes...the room begins to spin."
"O-oh, that's nice." Willow smiled. She was wondering about the symptom he wouldn't talk about. She wanted to know what that one was.
Cordelia smiled at them. "Do you two want to be alone?"
Willow blushed and again Xander cleared his throat.
"Well, I'll leave you be. Besides, I'd like to look in on Miss Calendar anyway." She gave Willow another hug. "I'm so glad that you're back, Willow. It's really kind of dull around here without you."
Willow stared at her incredulous. "It is?"
"Yeah. You're all right, in your Willowish way." Cordelia waved and she left the room.
Willow looked at Xander. "Did Cordelia Chase just compliment me?"
Xander grinned. "Will wonders never cease?"
Stacy was watching Willow with concern. She was hoping that Willow had not grasped where Cordelia had said she was going. Unfortunately, Stacy saw the sudden knowing look in Willow's eyes.
"She's going to see Miss Calendar?" Willow looked from Xander to Stacy. "What's wrong with Miss Calendar? Why is she in the hospital?"
Xander looked at Stacy. "Willow...you need to think about you right now." He ran his fingers through her hair. "You've been through so much."
She grasped his hands. "No, Xander! You have to tell me what happened."
Stacy put her hand on her shoulder. "Miss Calendar is here, Willow. She's been shot, but she is okay."
"Shot?! But who shot her?"
"One of the terrorists shot her."
Willow's eyes began to form tears. "I-I don't understand. Why did they shoot Miss Calendar?"
"We don't know. We don't have all the answers but we will stop them."
Xander hugged Willow to him. "Miss Calendar is going to be all right."
"B-but if they're still out there, Xander," Willow began, fear trembling in her voice, "w-what if they come after me again?! Please don't let them take me!" Her body was trembling as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Xander was suddenly scared for her. "They're not coming back for you, Will. I promise you, they're not. Michael is out there right now making sure that they leave you alone. He won't let them come after you. And he will get them for what they put you through and for what they did to Miss Calendar."
They held each other for awhile in silence. Stacy rubbed Willows back as Willow buried her face on Xander's chest and cried softly. Stacy had seen this so many times before with other victims who had been kidnapped by terrorists. But this time it was harder. It had happened to someone whom she called family.
"Wiiillooow..."
Everyone froze.
Stacy and Xander turned their heads toward the door and Willow peeked out from where she was huddled against Xander. Her eyes widened in fear.
Julius had entered the hospital room and he had four others with him. He smiled as he showed Willow her collar and leash. "Willow...I've come to take you home." He showed her a box of Animal Crackers. "I've even gotten you some Willow treats for when you behave yourself."
"N-no..." Willow shook her head.
Julius' minions spread out and moved toward them.
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TO BE CONTINUED...