Part XII - "Where was I when you needed me?"
PRESENT DAY
About halfway through Buffy's recounting, Xander stopped giving Buffy a massage, and simply leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind. During the more difficult parts Xander hugged her tighter, ostensibly to offer her an extra measure of support. But there was another, hidden, reason that Xander pulled Buffy tighter against him during the more difficult parts of her narration. He held her tighter so she couldn't turn around in his arms and see the unshed tears in his eyes that he could barely hold back.
Swallowing, Xander did a mental gut check to make sure his voice sounded normal when he spoke. "So Buffy, what happened after the ambulance headed out for the hospital?" Mentally, Xander slammed down even more mental barriers to keep his emotions at bay.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy steeled herself as she began to walk down the rocky and treacherous path of Memory Lane. "Well, thank God, nothing eventful happened on the way to the hospital. I don't think I could have held it together if something else had happened to him." Because of their proximity, Buffy could feel every little movement Xander made. And usually, just the feel of him moving against her gave her a feeling of warmth and safety. But, just a few seconds ago, Buffy felt a shudder run through Xander that chilled her to the bone. That's twice tonight that Xander has had a reaction to something I've said. And, the reactions I've gotten can definitely be classified as bad ones.
"Anyway, as soon as we pulled up to the hospital, they wheeled him directly to the ICU." Right as she was about to say something, Buffy started to giggle. "I'm sorry, but looking back, I finally realized what bouncers do for a day job! 'Cause every time I tried to get back to the ICU to see you, umm him, one of those Neanderthals got in my way."
Buffy's giggles were apparently infectious, because Xander started chuckling along with her. In that one moment, Buffy's feminine giggles and Xander's deeper, masculine, chuckles melded into a melody of two people in perfect synch with one another. "Umm Buffy, not to point out the obvious ... Actually, that's exactly what I'm going to do... But if you wanted past those muscle-heads so badly, why didn't you just use a little violence?"
Buffy's eyes went wide and she turned about in Xander's arms to partially face him. "I don't ALWAYS use violence do I?" In answer, Xander merely raised his eyebrow in a mocking gesture. Buffy stuck her tongue out at Xander before turning back around in his arms. Settling back into his embrace, Buffy placed her small hands over Xander's arms, trailing them up and down his forearms lovingly. "Well, in answer to your almost-question, I would have loved to take out some frustration on a dumb creature, but spending the night in the county klink wasn't exactly in high on my list of "Things a Loving and Supportive Girlfriend Should Do". Xander just grinned at Buffy sheepishly and bade her to go on.
"Well, I must have worn a trench into that tile floor before we heard thing one from any of the doctors. It had only been a couple of hours, but hours seem like years when the love of your life is separated from you." Glancing up for a moment, Buffy was a little bit surprised to see the look of unabashed love and wonder on Xander's face. Almost as if he were picturing in his mind what it would be like to be loved that much, and loved most of all... by her. She was shaken out of her reverie by an expectant looking Xander, who also blushed when he realized that she wasn't staring off into space, but rather into his eyes. Softly smiling Buffy laid her head on Xander's chest and continued.
"Finally, after what seemed like forever, a doctor came out of the ICU. Just looking at his face, it was all I could do to stay on my feet." Buffy took a deep calming breath, which only served to excite her, because as she inhaled she smelled what she dubbed "Xander scent", which was just a good clean smell of soap and water, her favorite cologne, and something she couldn't identify but that was just the essential Xander. God, how she loved to smell this man. Quickly she returned to her tale before she got busted again.
"Well, that doctor came over to us, and asked if we were waiting for any news on the Harris kid, and if either of us were family. Well, you know me, I immediately blurted out that I was almost family, seeing that I was your fiancée."
SIX MONTHS AGO
Giles just looked over at her with a stunned expression as he let Buffy's exclamation sink in. The doctor however, was completely unfazed. "Well, Miss, I'm afraid I don't have very much good news to impart to you. Mr. Harris is alive, and his vital signs are stabilized, but that's the extent of the good news I can give you." Buffy's eyes immediately began to water, and Giles placed a comforting arm around her shoulder.
"Doctor, what happened to him?"
The doctor looked sadly at Buffy, asking her with his eyes if she really wanted to hear this. Seeing in her eyes that she had to know everything, the doctor rubbed his tired eyes, wishing for all the world that children like these two didn't have to endure things like this. "Well it seems as though your fiancée was beaten very severely with a wide range of items. The compound fracture in his leg, as well as the broken bones in his other leg, and his broken ribs seemed to have been caused with several blows from an aluminum baseball bat. We assume that Mr. Harris was struck several times with great force to cause such trauma to his legs, because it's really not that easy to cause a compound fracture in one of the strongest bones in the body." The doctor just watched sadly as the older man tried to comfort the distraught woman.
"Most of his welts seem to coincide with the bruises left from a severe beating with a very thick belt, and furthermore, the defensive cuts on his hands and the cuts on his upper body must have come when the attacker started to use the belt buckle instead. And of course the damage done to his face, is typical of blunt damage caused by a man's fist. We assume from the paramedic's report of the scene that the gash on his head was caused when he struck his head on the corner of some piece of furniture." When Buffy looked up, she saw a look of pride on the doctor's face. "You probably saved his life when you stopped the blood flow with your sleeves, as it was we had to give him a couple of pints of blood to replace what he lost."
As Buffy, shuddered and sobbed against Giles's chest, Giles knew that the worst news was yet to come. "We were able to set all of his bones, and they should heal normally with minimal loss of motion or usage. His face will bear no permanent disfigurement, except for maybe a slightly crooked nose."
Thinking that the worst of the news was over, Buffy looked up at the doctor with pleading eyes. "When can I go and see him? I want to be there when he wakes up."
The doctor hung his head. "Of course you can go and see him shortly, but there's a chance he might never wake up. Your fiancée is in a coma."
PRESENT DAY
About halfway through Buffy's recounting, Xander stopped giving Buffy a massage, and simply leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind. During the more difficult parts Xander hugged her tighter, ostensibly to offer her an extra measure of support. But there was another, hidden, reason that Xander pulled Buffy tighter against him during the more difficult parts of her narration. He held her tighter so she couldn't turn around in his arms and see the unshed tears in his eyes that he could barely hold back.
Swallowing, Xander did a mental gut check to make sure his voice sounded normal when he spoke. "So Buffy, what happened after the ambulance headed out for the hospital?" Mentally, Xander slammed down even more mental barriers to keep his emotions at bay.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy steeled herself as she began to walk down the rocky and treacherous path of Memory Lane. "Well, thank God, nothing eventful happened on the way to the hospital. I don't think I could have held it together if something else had happened to him." Because of their proximity, Buffy could feel every little movement Xander made. And usually, just the feel of him moving against her gave her a feeling of warmth and safety. But, just a few seconds ago, Buffy felt a shudder run through Xander that chilled her to the bone. That's twice tonight that Xander has had a reaction to something I've said. And, the reactions I've gotten can definitely be classified as bad ones.
"Anyway, as soon as we pulled up to the hospital, they wheeled him directly to the ICU." Right as she was about to say something, Buffy started to giggle. "I'm sorry, but looking back, I finally realized what bouncers do for a day job! 'Cause every time I tried to get back to the ICU to see you, umm him, one of those Neanderthals got in my way."
Buffy's giggles were apparently infectious, because Xander started chuckling along with her. In that one moment, Buffy's feminine giggles and Xander's deeper, masculine, chuckles melded into a melody of two people in perfect synch with one another. "Umm Buffy, not to point out the obvious ... Actually, that's exactly what I'm going to do... But if you wanted past those muscle-heads so badly, why didn't you just use a little violence?"
Buffy's eyes went wide and she turned about in Xander's arms to partially face him. "I don't ALWAYS use violence do I?" In answer, Xander merely raised his eyebrow in a mocking gesture. Buffy stuck her tongue out at Xander before turning back around in his arms. Settling back into his embrace, Buffy placed her small hands over Xander's arms, trailing them up and down his forearms lovingly. "Well, in answer to your almost-question, I would have loved to take out some frustration on a dumb creature, but spending the night in the county klink wasn't exactly in high on my list of "Things a Loving and Supportive Girlfriend Should Do". Xander just grinned at Buffy sheepishly and bade her to go on.
"Well, I must have worn a trench into that tile floor before we heard thing one from any of the doctors. It had only been a couple of hours, but hours seem like years when the love of your life is separated from you." Glancing up for a moment, Buffy was a little bit surprised to see the look of unabashed love and wonder on Xander's face. Almost as if he were picturing in his mind what it would be like to be loved that much, and loved most of all... by her. She was shaken out of her reverie by an expectant looking Xander, who also blushed when he realized that she wasn't staring off into space, but rather into his eyes. Softly smiling Buffy laid her head on Xander's chest and continued.
"Finally, after what seemed like forever, a doctor came out of the ICU. Just looking at his face, it was all I could do to stay on my feet." Buffy took a deep calming breath, which only served to excite her, because as she inhaled she smelled what she dubbed "Xander scent", which was just a good clean smell of soap and water, her favorite cologne, and something she couldn't identify but that was just the essential Xander. God, how she loved to smell this man. Quickly she returned to her tale before she got busted again.
"Well, that doctor came over to us, and asked if we were waiting for any news on the Harris kid, and if either of us were family. Well, you know me, I immediately blurted out that I was almost family, seeing that I was your fiancée."
SIX MONTHS AGO
Giles just looked over at her with a stunned expression as he let Buffy's exclamation sink in. The doctor however, was completely unfazed. "Well, Miss, I'm afraid I don't have very much good news to impart to you. Mr. Harris is alive, and his vital signs are stabilized, but that's the extent of the good news I can give you." Buffy's eyes immediately began to water, and Giles placed a comforting arm around her shoulder.
"Doctor, what happened to him?"
The doctor looked sadly at Buffy, asking her with his eyes if she really wanted to hear this. Seeing in her eyes that she had to know everything, the doctor rubbed his tired eyes, wishing for all the world that children like these two didn't have to endure things like this. "Well it seems as though your fiancée was beaten very severely with a wide range of items. The compound fracture in his leg, as well as the broken bones in his other leg, and his broken ribs seemed to have been caused with several blows from an aluminum baseball bat. We assume that Mr. Harris was struck several times with great force to cause such trauma to his legs, because it's really not that easy to cause a compound fracture in one of the strongest bones in the body." The doctor just watched sadly as the older man tried to comfort the distraught woman.
"Most of his welts seem to coincide with the bruises left from a severe beating with a very thick belt, and furthermore, the defensive cuts on his hands and the cuts on his upper body must have come when the attacker started to use the belt buckle instead. And of course the damage done to his face, is typical of blunt damage caused by a man's fist. We assume from the paramedic's report of the scene that the gash on his head was caused when he struck his head on the corner of some piece of furniture." When Buffy looked up, she saw a look of pride on the doctor's face. "You probably saved his life when you stopped the blood flow with your sleeves, as it was we had to give him a couple of pints of blood to replace what he lost."
As Buffy, shuddered and sobbed against Giles's chest, Giles knew that the worst news was yet to come. "We were able to set all of his bones, and they should heal normally with minimal loss of motion or usage. His face will bear no permanent disfigurement, except for maybe a slightly crooked nose."
Thinking that the worst of the news was over, Buffy looked up at the doctor with pleading eyes. "When can I go and see him? I want to be there when he wakes up."
The doctor hung his head. "Of course you can go and see him shortly, but there's a chance he might never wake up. Your fiancée is in a coma."