Title: First comes the Dark, Then comes the Light
Author: Nikita
Wesley walked onto the floor where he had met Rose and looked around. Rose spotted him and went over to him.
"You came back! Oh I'm so glad. After you left I just couldn't stop thinking about it and the more I thought, the more I remembered. I didn't have your number though so I didn't know how to reach you." she said smiling.
"You remember why Buffy was admitted?"
"Maybe. See the girl who came in that night...her name was Anne."
"Of course. That's her middle name. I don't know why I didn't think of that." Wesley said shaking his head.
"So it is the right girl?"
"Yes. She would have used her middle name. I just didn't think."
"Oh good. Well, I remember why I don't know what happened. Because I was set to go home as she was coming in. While I can't tell you much, here's what I know. That night, the girl came into the e.r. screaming for help. She was scared. You knew it at first glance. We rushed her to a room and called for a doctor. She had been there only a few moments, or at least that's how it felt, when she started bleeding. She really lost it then. She just started begging us to help her. At one point she grabbed my hand and looked me right in the eye and said, 'Please don't let this happen.' then she was taken to surgery." Rose took a breath and Wesley forced himself to breathe.
They had walked down to the waiting area of the floor and claimed the two chairs in the farthest corner.
"I had no idea." Wesley said.
"I felt so bad. I see this so much but something about her, I tried to wait for her to get out of surgery but I needed to go home and sleep. When I came on the next day she was the first patient I thought of. When I got to her floor though, the place was in an uproar. She had taken off sometime during the afternoon. Her records were gone too. I remember cause I wanted to know what was wrong with her and couldn't find out."
"Were her medical bills ever paid?"
"Yes actually. I checked with billing the other day after I remembered her story. I have a friend down there. She told me that a money order had arrived a month later that cleared the bills. Get this though. When we went to pull it up, there was no such file." Rose said.
"Why would her files not be here?" Wesley asked.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. Your sister isn't CIA is she?" Rose asked
"Not at all." Wesley smiled.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you more but that's all I know. I've asked around and it looks like I'm the last nurse here who was here that night. Us nurses, we move around a lot." Rose said as she stood.
"Well thank you for this. You've been very helpful." Wesley said shaking her hand.
"Listen, when you talk to her next, will you ask her to come see me? I'd love to know that she is in fact okay."
"I will do that. Thanks again Rose."
***
"Well, nothing." Angel said frustrated.
They had been searching for three days now. Buffy had been gone for almost a month now.
"Same here." Cordelia said, sighing.
"Look alive people. I found your girl." Gunn said walking in the door.
"Who?" Angel said jumping up from his seat.
"Guys, meet Anne." Gunn said bringing the girl in.
"I know you." Angel said.
"Yes, but under a different name. I'm Anne now." Anne said smiling.
"Where did you get the name?" Angel asked smiling back.
"While I was staying with Gunn's friend. See, her name was Anne and she was just so strong. If I had been through what she went through...I wouldn't be here." Anne said, a sadness touching her tone.
"Are you talking about Buffy?" Angel asked offering Anne a seat.
"Yes. That was her name. I knew I had known her under a different name. She was the one who saved me from those vampires and that jerk Ford." she said as she sat down.
"How did you meet Buffy here?" Angel asked.
"Me and my boyfriend went into the diner where she worked. It was a chance meeting. She tried telling me I was wrong but you don't forget a person who saves your life. One day, my boyfriend disappeared and I went to her for help." here Anne stopped and giggled.
"You would have thought I was asking her to do the hardest thing in the world she fought me so hard. She said all she was good at was killing boyfriends, not finding and helping them. I took it to mean that she had a rough breakup and was still bitter about it."
Angel grimaced.
'Yeah, rough about covers it.' he thought.
"Anyways, she found my guy. He was dead. That's a different story though. In the time we spent searching for him, she and I had become friends. I moved in and became her roommate. It was cool." Anne said becoming lost in the memories.
"So what happened?" Gunn asked wrapped up in the story.
Anne's face darkened.
"She went through something no girl should ever have to go through. It changed her. I lost my smiling, full of life friend. She fell into a deep depression and stayed there for a while. Just about the time I'm getting ready to panic, she comes out of it. Says she ought to go home. So she left me the apartment and said I could use her name."
"Anne, what happened? What did she go through?" Angel asked.
"I'm sorry. I swore I would never tell anyone. I won't break my promise." Anne said quietly.
Angel stared at her as though he expected her head to explode.
"I'm sorry. It really is her choice who to tell though." Anne rushed to explain.
"We understand. It's just, she has gone away again and no one knows why. She seemed so happy." Gunn said.
Anne's eyes teared up.
"Again? She told me she was through running." Anne said.
"When was the last time you talked to her.
"We've stayed in touch through the years. The last time we talked she said that she had found a new guy. Which to tell you the truth stunned me. See, the whole reason she had left in the first place was because the guy she had loved had left her."
"Left her?" Gunn asked.
"How much of her story do you know?" Anne asked.
"We know she is the slayer." Cordelia said realizing what Anne was really asking.
"Okay. She had to kill her boyfriend because his blood was the only thing that could close the gate to hell back. She didn't sleep the first month I knew her. When she finally had to, she would only sleep for a few moments before the screaming would start. She never told me details, it was to painful. All I know is she killed him by sticking a sword through his heart." Anne said, a tear escaping her eye.
"That's detail." Gunn said.
"That I got from her nightmares. She would beg for his forgiveness in the dream for doing that." Anne said.
Cordelia looked at Angel. He was even paler then normal.
"Would you excuse us please?" Cordelia said as she pulled Angel into the kitchen.
***
"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked
"I never knew..." he said as he shakily sat down.
"I didn't either. When she got back home, they all attacked her too."
"Attacked?"
"Well, in their mind she had abandoned them. A lot of mean things were said. I can't believe she didn't go off on them."
"I can. Look how hard she has tried to cover her tracks."
"You think she's the one who took all the records?"
"It's the only logical thought. You saw how Anne clamed up. I need to know what happened. Anything that made Buffy react like this is important. What if I sparked a memory or did something that brought her back to this moment? Giles told me it had to be something that put her in the mindset she was in at that time." Angel said as he lowered his head.
"We'll get to the bottom of this. I promise." Cordelia said.
"Angel?" Wesley called from the lobby.
Author: Nikita
Wesley walked onto the floor where he had met Rose and looked around. Rose spotted him and went over to him.
"You came back! Oh I'm so glad. After you left I just couldn't stop thinking about it and the more I thought, the more I remembered. I didn't have your number though so I didn't know how to reach you." she said smiling.
"You remember why Buffy was admitted?"
"Maybe. See the girl who came in that night...her name was Anne."
"Of course. That's her middle name. I don't know why I didn't think of that." Wesley said shaking his head.
"So it is the right girl?"
"Yes. She would have used her middle name. I just didn't think."
"Oh good. Well, I remember why I don't know what happened. Because I was set to go home as she was coming in. While I can't tell you much, here's what I know. That night, the girl came into the e.r. screaming for help. She was scared. You knew it at first glance. We rushed her to a room and called for a doctor. She had been there only a few moments, or at least that's how it felt, when she started bleeding. She really lost it then. She just started begging us to help her. At one point she grabbed my hand and looked me right in the eye and said, 'Please don't let this happen.' then she was taken to surgery." Rose took a breath and Wesley forced himself to breathe.
They had walked down to the waiting area of the floor and claimed the two chairs in the farthest corner.
"I had no idea." Wesley said.
"I felt so bad. I see this so much but something about her, I tried to wait for her to get out of surgery but I needed to go home and sleep. When I came on the next day she was the first patient I thought of. When I got to her floor though, the place was in an uproar. She had taken off sometime during the afternoon. Her records were gone too. I remember cause I wanted to know what was wrong with her and couldn't find out."
"Were her medical bills ever paid?"
"Yes actually. I checked with billing the other day after I remembered her story. I have a friend down there. She told me that a money order had arrived a month later that cleared the bills. Get this though. When we went to pull it up, there was no such file." Rose said.
"Why would her files not be here?" Wesley asked.
"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. Your sister isn't CIA is she?" Rose asked
"Not at all." Wesley smiled.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you more but that's all I know. I've asked around and it looks like I'm the last nurse here who was here that night. Us nurses, we move around a lot." Rose said as she stood.
"Well thank you for this. You've been very helpful." Wesley said shaking her hand.
"Listen, when you talk to her next, will you ask her to come see me? I'd love to know that she is in fact okay."
"I will do that. Thanks again Rose."
***
"Well, nothing." Angel said frustrated.
They had been searching for three days now. Buffy had been gone for almost a month now.
"Same here." Cordelia said, sighing.
"Look alive people. I found your girl." Gunn said walking in the door.
"Who?" Angel said jumping up from his seat.
"Guys, meet Anne." Gunn said bringing the girl in.
"I know you." Angel said.
"Yes, but under a different name. I'm Anne now." Anne said smiling.
"Where did you get the name?" Angel asked smiling back.
"While I was staying with Gunn's friend. See, her name was Anne and she was just so strong. If I had been through what she went through...I wouldn't be here." Anne said, a sadness touching her tone.
"Are you talking about Buffy?" Angel asked offering Anne a seat.
"Yes. That was her name. I knew I had known her under a different name. She was the one who saved me from those vampires and that jerk Ford." she said as she sat down.
"How did you meet Buffy here?" Angel asked.
"Me and my boyfriend went into the diner where she worked. It was a chance meeting. She tried telling me I was wrong but you don't forget a person who saves your life. One day, my boyfriend disappeared and I went to her for help." here Anne stopped and giggled.
"You would have thought I was asking her to do the hardest thing in the world she fought me so hard. She said all she was good at was killing boyfriends, not finding and helping them. I took it to mean that she had a rough breakup and was still bitter about it."
Angel grimaced.
'Yeah, rough about covers it.' he thought.
"Anyways, she found my guy. He was dead. That's a different story though. In the time we spent searching for him, she and I had become friends. I moved in and became her roommate. It was cool." Anne said becoming lost in the memories.
"So what happened?" Gunn asked wrapped up in the story.
Anne's face darkened.
"She went through something no girl should ever have to go through. It changed her. I lost my smiling, full of life friend. She fell into a deep depression and stayed there for a while. Just about the time I'm getting ready to panic, she comes out of it. Says she ought to go home. So she left me the apartment and said I could use her name."
"Anne, what happened? What did she go through?" Angel asked.
"I'm sorry. I swore I would never tell anyone. I won't break my promise." Anne said quietly.
Angel stared at her as though he expected her head to explode.
"I'm sorry. It really is her choice who to tell though." Anne rushed to explain.
"We understand. It's just, she has gone away again and no one knows why. She seemed so happy." Gunn said.
Anne's eyes teared up.
"Again? She told me she was through running." Anne said.
"When was the last time you talked to her.
"We've stayed in touch through the years. The last time we talked she said that she had found a new guy. Which to tell you the truth stunned me. See, the whole reason she had left in the first place was because the guy she had loved had left her."
"Left her?" Gunn asked.
"How much of her story do you know?" Anne asked.
"We know she is the slayer." Cordelia said realizing what Anne was really asking.
"Okay. She had to kill her boyfriend because his blood was the only thing that could close the gate to hell back. She didn't sleep the first month I knew her. When she finally had to, she would only sleep for a few moments before the screaming would start. She never told me details, it was to painful. All I know is she killed him by sticking a sword through his heart." Anne said, a tear escaping her eye.
"That's detail." Gunn said.
"That I got from her nightmares. She would beg for his forgiveness in the dream for doing that." Anne said.
Cordelia looked at Angel. He was even paler then normal.
"Would you excuse us please?" Cordelia said as she pulled Angel into the kitchen.
***
"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked
"I never knew..." he said as he shakily sat down.
"I didn't either. When she got back home, they all attacked her too."
"Attacked?"
"Well, in their mind she had abandoned them. A lot of mean things were said. I can't believe she didn't go off on them."
"I can. Look how hard she has tried to cover her tracks."
"You think she's the one who took all the records?"
"It's the only logical thought. You saw how Anne clamed up. I need to know what happened. Anything that made Buffy react like this is important. What if I sparked a memory or did something that brought her back to this moment? Giles told me it had to be something that put her in the mindset she was in at that time." Angel said as he lowered his head.
"We'll get to the bottom of this. I promise." Cordelia said.
"Angel?" Wesley called from the lobby.