&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Hospital
Sunday, 2 am
Everyone was at the hospital, with the exception of Wesley, Oz and
Willow who had stayed at Giles' apartment with Willow. They'd been at
the hospital for over an hour, and nobody had given them any
information about Buffy yet.
Angel and Giles were pacing.
Doyle and Charlotte were sitting in a corner looking through the magic
books that Charlotte had retrieved from Angel's mansion.
Cordelia was sitting with Joyce, trying to distract her from the
situation.
Finally, a doctor walked up to the group. "Who are family," the man
asked.
"I am," Joyce said, as she looked up at him with eyes red from crying.
"Whatever it is, just say it," she told the doctor. "These people are
more than Buffy's friends, they're her family too."
"Okay," the man said. "I'm afraid it's not the best of news, though.
It would help if I knew what caused this attack." He waited for
anyone to offer information, but sighed as nobody did. *Damn
Sunnydale, why is it that we always get the most bizarre cases?*
"I see. You want me to believe none of you have a clue what caused...I
don't even know exactly what this is," the doctor dmitted. "Basically,
Buffy's heart stopped momentarily. But she shows no symptoms of
having a heart attack. We got her heart going again, but then it
stopped again. She's in bad shape, Mrs. Summers. I came out to ask
you if you want your daughter placed on life support or not."
"What?" Joyce asked, refusing to believe what she was hearing. "This
can't be happening," she sobbed. "I don't...I don't know what to do,"
she said.
"Joyce, can I speak to you for a moment?" Giles asked.
She nodded, and he led her down the hall a safe distance.
"We're very close to finding a counter-spell to remove the curse," he
said.
"How close?" Joyce asked. "Hours? Weeks? Months? Is it worth waiting
if she's suffering in the meantime?"
"I hope to have a way to save Buffy and Willow by sunrise," Giles
replied. "And as for what she's suffering, I'm afraid I can't answer
that. I've read the details regarding the curse, but I'm sure they
can't come close to explaining the reality. I won't try to tell you
what to do. It's not my place. I can say that I will support whatever
decision you make," he said.
"Thank you, Mr. Giles," Joyce responded. "And I know you'll do
everything you can to help Buffy."
She walked to where the doctor was waiting. "I'm sure my daughter
wants to live. She's a fighter, not a quitter. If putting her on life
support will give us the opportunity to help her come back, then do
it."
"Okay," the doctor replied. "I'll tell you when we have her
stabilized." He walked back to the Emergency Room.
Joyce collapsed onto her chair again, and said, "She's my only baby.
She can't die." She dissolved into tears, as Cordelia tried to
comfort her.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' Apartment
Sunday, 5 am
"Wait, I think I have something," Wesley said. "A counter-spell, to
break the effects of the curse. Giles looked through this book an hour
ago, and I looked through it two hours ago, but it just now occurred
to me that this is the spell."
"Well, then, let's call Giles," Oz said. "From what I hear, Buffy
needs it like yesterday." He walked to the phone, and as he was
dialing, there was a knock on the door. "Who's there?" Wesley called.
"It's Xander, Wes, no vamps," Xander answered. Wesley unlocked the
door, and Xander immediately went to Willow, who was still
screaming. "No luck?" he asked Wesley.
"We think we found something," Wesley replied. "But it's more urgent
to take care of Buffy first, she's in the hospital on life support."
"Um, guys? There's a big ugly demon walking toward the apartment,"
Anya said then. Wesley ran to the door and slammed it shut, and he
and Oz pushed a bookshelf against it.
"Someone take Willow upstairs," Wesley said. "Adam's going to get in
sooner or later and it would be better if Willow wasn't in immediate
danger."
"Already way ahead of you," Oz said, as he was already halfway up the
stairs.
"Anya, why don't you go up and help keep an eye on her," Xander
suggested.
"I wanna help kill the demon," Anya whined.
"Anya, please. You'll help us by watching out for her," Xander
replied.
"Fine," Anya sighed, and went upstairs after Oz.
"What a welcome home," Xander muttered, as he and Wesley gathered up
all the weapons they could find. "So is there any general plan here?
Or is it to just try to hurt him and hope he says 'Ow'?"
"I think the second one pretty much sums it up," Oz replied, coming
downstairs.
"He stopped pounding," Xander realized. "Why'd he stop pounding? Was
that a good thing, or a bad thing?"
Wesley went to the window and looked out, replying, "Angel and
Charlotte are here. They've distracted him for the moment."
"Oh good, I'm glad Angel's here," Xander said, followed by, "I did
_not_ just say that."
&&&&&&&&&&
Outside Giles' Apartment
Sunday, 5:30 am
Angel and Charlotte arrived at Giles' apartment, Anya having called
Giles to tell him about the reappearance of Adam. They saw Adam
pounding at the front door. "They must have barricaded themselves
in," Angel said.
"Smart move," Charlotte replied. "With Willow in the state she's in,
they don't need to have to deal with her."
Angel got out of the car and opened the trunk. "Weapons?" he offered,
as she followed him.
"Oh. That's an understatement. Always carry an arsenal with you?"
Charlotte questioned. She looked behind Angel and said, "Never mind,
duck!"
Angel didn't ask, but did as she said. He dropped to the ground and
rolled out of the way as Adam charged toward them. Charlie grabbed a
knife and threw it at Adam, it lodged in his shoulder. "I wish you'd
die, although I must say the crispy look works for you," she said,
referring to his badly burned condition due to the explosion. She
looked in the trunk to grab a sword, but then yelled, "Hey! Come back
here!" as she saw Adam running back to Giles' front door. She and
Angel ran after him as he punched a hole in the door, and forced his
way inside.
&&&&&&&&&&
Inside Giles' Apartment
Wesley jumped out of the way as the bookshelf went falling over. Adam
kicked the door open and walked inside. "Wouldn't an arrow to the
heart work?" Xander asked as he fired an arrow into Adam's chest.
Adam looked down at it, pulled it out, and smiled at him. "Oh, guess
that answers that question," Xander added as he jumped out of the way
of the sword that Adam was wielding.
Adam turned as Wesley ran up to him. Adam punched him in the face,
sending him flying. Oz then ran at him with an axe, and Adam turned
and swatted him away easily as well. He then turned on Xander again,
who had gotten to his feet, grabbing a sword. "You're not going
anywhere," Xander said. "Not after what you did to Buffy and Willow.
You're dead, and I don't just mean in the sense that you're already
well-used to."
Adam laughed, and said, "You can't stop me. And as for the Slayer and
the Witch, I don't have any interest in killing them. I'll let the
curse do that for me."
"NO!" Xander yelled and swung the sword, cutting Adam's arm clean off.
"Oh, probably should've done the other one," he realized as Adam swung
his sword at Xander. Xander blocked his attacks, once, twice, but then
was distracted by the awful sound of a louder-than-before scream from
Willow upstairs. In the split second that Xander looked toward the
stairs, Adam swung his sword, knocking Xander's sword from his hand.
"Oh," Xander said, looking back at Adam.
Adam said, "Now, you can beg me for your life."
"No," Xander said, calmly.
"What?" Adam said, an expression of surprise on his face. "I'm going
to kill you, you're supposed to beg for your life."
"I've been there and done that," Xander said. "It didn't get me
anywhere, except I learned that demons don't let their victims live
even when they do beg. So go ahead and kill me, but I'm not going to
give you the satisfaction of begging."
Xander blinked as he saw a sword come into view, slicing Adam's head
clean off. Adam's headless body fell to the floor, and revealed Angel
standing behind him, sword in hand. Xander looked at Angel for a
moment in silence and then walked past him and up the stairs.
"Well that was rude," Charlotte remarked as she walked to where Oz
was, and helped him up.
"Dont," Angel cut her off. "You don't know what I did to him as
Angelus. He doesn't owe me anything," he added quietly. He then knelt
down to see to the unconscious Wesley.
&&&&&&&&
End of 10
Sunnydale Hospital
Sunday, 2 am
Everyone was at the hospital, with the exception of Wesley, Oz and
Willow who had stayed at Giles' apartment with Willow. They'd been at
the hospital for over an hour, and nobody had given them any
information about Buffy yet.
Angel and Giles were pacing.
Doyle and Charlotte were sitting in a corner looking through the magic
books that Charlotte had retrieved from Angel's mansion.
Cordelia was sitting with Joyce, trying to distract her from the
situation.
Finally, a doctor walked up to the group. "Who are family," the man
asked.
"I am," Joyce said, as she looked up at him with eyes red from crying.
"Whatever it is, just say it," she told the doctor. "These people are
more than Buffy's friends, they're her family too."
"Okay," the man said. "I'm afraid it's not the best of news, though.
It would help if I knew what caused this attack." He waited for
anyone to offer information, but sighed as nobody did. *Damn
Sunnydale, why is it that we always get the most bizarre cases?*
"I see. You want me to believe none of you have a clue what caused...I
don't even know exactly what this is," the doctor dmitted. "Basically,
Buffy's heart stopped momentarily. But she shows no symptoms of
having a heart attack. We got her heart going again, but then it
stopped again. She's in bad shape, Mrs. Summers. I came out to ask
you if you want your daughter placed on life support or not."
"What?" Joyce asked, refusing to believe what she was hearing. "This
can't be happening," she sobbed. "I don't...I don't know what to do,"
she said.
"Joyce, can I speak to you for a moment?" Giles asked.
She nodded, and he led her down the hall a safe distance.
"We're very close to finding a counter-spell to remove the curse," he
said.
"How close?" Joyce asked. "Hours? Weeks? Months? Is it worth waiting
if she's suffering in the meantime?"
"I hope to have a way to save Buffy and Willow by sunrise," Giles
replied. "And as for what she's suffering, I'm afraid I can't answer
that. I've read the details regarding the curse, but I'm sure they
can't come close to explaining the reality. I won't try to tell you
what to do. It's not my place. I can say that I will support whatever
decision you make," he said.
"Thank you, Mr. Giles," Joyce responded. "And I know you'll do
everything you can to help Buffy."
She walked to where the doctor was waiting. "I'm sure my daughter
wants to live. She's a fighter, not a quitter. If putting her on life
support will give us the opportunity to help her come back, then do
it."
"Okay," the doctor replied. "I'll tell you when we have her
stabilized." He walked back to the Emergency Room.
Joyce collapsed onto her chair again, and said, "She's my only baby.
She can't die." She dissolved into tears, as Cordelia tried to
comfort her.
&&&&&&&&&&&
Giles' Apartment
Sunday, 5 am
"Wait, I think I have something," Wesley said. "A counter-spell, to
break the effects of the curse. Giles looked through this book an hour
ago, and I looked through it two hours ago, but it just now occurred
to me that this is the spell."
"Well, then, let's call Giles," Oz said. "From what I hear, Buffy
needs it like yesterday." He walked to the phone, and as he was
dialing, there was a knock on the door. "Who's there?" Wesley called.
"It's Xander, Wes, no vamps," Xander answered. Wesley unlocked the
door, and Xander immediately went to Willow, who was still
screaming. "No luck?" he asked Wesley.
"We think we found something," Wesley replied. "But it's more urgent
to take care of Buffy first, she's in the hospital on life support."
"Um, guys? There's a big ugly demon walking toward the apartment,"
Anya said then. Wesley ran to the door and slammed it shut, and he
and Oz pushed a bookshelf against it.
"Someone take Willow upstairs," Wesley said. "Adam's going to get in
sooner or later and it would be better if Willow wasn't in immediate
danger."
"Already way ahead of you," Oz said, as he was already halfway up the
stairs.
"Anya, why don't you go up and help keep an eye on her," Xander
suggested.
"I wanna help kill the demon," Anya whined.
"Anya, please. You'll help us by watching out for her," Xander
replied.
"Fine," Anya sighed, and went upstairs after Oz.
"What a welcome home," Xander muttered, as he and Wesley gathered up
all the weapons they could find. "So is there any general plan here?
Or is it to just try to hurt him and hope he says 'Ow'?"
"I think the second one pretty much sums it up," Oz replied, coming
downstairs.
"He stopped pounding," Xander realized. "Why'd he stop pounding? Was
that a good thing, or a bad thing?"
Wesley went to the window and looked out, replying, "Angel and
Charlotte are here. They've distracted him for the moment."
"Oh good, I'm glad Angel's here," Xander said, followed by, "I did
_not_ just say that."
&&&&&&&&&&
Outside Giles' Apartment
Sunday, 5:30 am
Angel and Charlotte arrived at Giles' apartment, Anya having called
Giles to tell him about the reappearance of Adam. They saw Adam
pounding at the front door. "They must have barricaded themselves
in," Angel said.
"Smart move," Charlotte replied. "With Willow in the state she's in,
they don't need to have to deal with her."
Angel got out of the car and opened the trunk. "Weapons?" he offered,
as she followed him.
"Oh. That's an understatement. Always carry an arsenal with you?"
Charlotte questioned. She looked behind Angel and said, "Never mind,
duck!"
Angel didn't ask, but did as she said. He dropped to the ground and
rolled out of the way as Adam charged toward them. Charlie grabbed a
knife and threw it at Adam, it lodged in his shoulder. "I wish you'd
die, although I must say the crispy look works for you," she said,
referring to his badly burned condition due to the explosion. She
looked in the trunk to grab a sword, but then yelled, "Hey! Come back
here!" as she saw Adam running back to Giles' front door. She and
Angel ran after him as he punched a hole in the door, and forced his
way inside.
&&&&&&&&&&
Inside Giles' Apartment
Wesley jumped out of the way as the bookshelf went falling over. Adam
kicked the door open and walked inside. "Wouldn't an arrow to the
heart work?" Xander asked as he fired an arrow into Adam's chest.
Adam looked down at it, pulled it out, and smiled at him. "Oh, guess
that answers that question," Xander added as he jumped out of the way
of the sword that Adam was wielding.
Adam turned as Wesley ran up to him. Adam punched him in the face,
sending him flying. Oz then ran at him with an axe, and Adam turned
and swatted him away easily as well. He then turned on Xander again,
who had gotten to his feet, grabbing a sword. "You're not going
anywhere," Xander said. "Not after what you did to Buffy and Willow.
You're dead, and I don't just mean in the sense that you're already
well-used to."
Adam laughed, and said, "You can't stop me. And as for the Slayer and
the Witch, I don't have any interest in killing them. I'll let the
curse do that for me."
"NO!" Xander yelled and swung the sword, cutting Adam's arm clean off.
"Oh, probably should've done the other one," he realized as Adam swung
his sword at Xander. Xander blocked his attacks, once, twice, but then
was distracted by the awful sound of a louder-than-before scream from
Willow upstairs. In the split second that Xander looked toward the
stairs, Adam swung his sword, knocking Xander's sword from his hand.
"Oh," Xander said, looking back at Adam.
Adam said, "Now, you can beg me for your life."
"No," Xander said, calmly.
"What?" Adam said, an expression of surprise on his face. "I'm going
to kill you, you're supposed to beg for your life."
"I've been there and done that," Xander said. "It didn't get me
anywhere, except I learned that demons don't let their victims live
even when they do beg. So go ahead and kill me, but I'm not going to
give you the satisfaction of begging."
Xander blinked as he saw a sword come into view, slicing Adam's head
clean off. Adam's headless body fell to the floor, and revealed Angel
standing behind him, sword in hand. Xander looked at Angel for a
moment in silence and then walked past him and up the stairs.
"Well that was rude," Charlotte remarked as she walked to where Oz
was, and helped him up.
"Dont," Angel cut her off. "You don't know what I did to him as
Angelus. He doesn't owe me anything," he added quietly. He then knelt
down to see to the unconscious Wesley.
&&&&&&&&
End of 10