Part 27 -Consequences of Betrayal

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Buffy heard Willow's voice
first, after the beeping of the heart monitor had faded from her
hearing.

"I injected her with the antidote, and the doctors said the blood-
loss wasn't too bad. So yes, she'll be fine." That was Giles.
*Antidote? What antidote?* She thought back, and remembered the
nightmare of her patrol. The sickening sound of Xander's skull making
contact with the concrete wall of the crypt.

"Xander?" Buffy fought her eyes open. She saw Angel, and Giles, and
Willow. No Xander. "Where's Xander?" she asked, beginning to panic.
*Please don't let him be dead.*

"He's down the hall," Willow said, and her expression told Buffy the
rest wasn't good.

She felt the tears spring to her eyes. "Please tell me he's okay!"
She looked to each of her visitors, but none of them would meet her
eyes. "Take me to him!" she demanded sitting up. A little too
quickly, as she felt a wave of dizziness. She waited it out, and it
soon subsided.

"Do you think you can walk?" Willow asked, approaching Buffy's
bedside.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two hours," Willow replied.

"I can walk, if you help me," Buffy said. Willow nodded, and offered
her arm. Buffy took it gratefully, and Willow led her down the hall.

"How bad is it, Will, I need to know before I go in there," Buffy
said, as they paused outside Xander's room.

Willow hesitated, looking at her then looking at the floor. "He had a
bad blow to the head, and he hasn't woken up yet. The doctor said
that the longer he's out, the worse it looks for him." She looked up
at Buffy again, and added, "The doctor said that if he doesn't show
any kind of improvement in the next ten hours, they're going to call
it a coma."

"NO!" Buffy yelled angrily, and entered the room. She stopped to take
a shaky breath as she saw him lying there. He was hooked to an IV,
and several other beeping machines. His head was bandaged, and Buffy
had a flash of seeing the vampire slamming that head into the crypt
wall.

"Xander," she said, approaching his bedside. She took his hand in
hers, and squeezed it. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you. You
saved my life back there, Xan, I would've been sucked dry by that
vamp. Although I don't quite understand how you knew I was in
trouble, but you always show up when I need you. I love you so much,
Xan, you can't check out on me now. Please wake up, I can't lose you.
We've lost so much time already," she said as the tears began to
fall. She climbed up on the bed next to him, and laid her head on his
chest, calming herself by listening to his heartbeat.

***************

Buffy woke an hour later, and looked at Xander. No change. She
sighed, and said, "I'll be back, Xander," before slipping outside.
She saw Xander's parents, but ignored them, walking down the hall.

She returned to her own room, where Giles and her mom were sitting.
Buffy was surprised at the angry way her mother was looking at
Giles. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is _that man_" she spat the two words out, "tried to
kill you!"

"What?" Buffy looked at Giles in confusion. "What's she talking
about, Giles?"

"I didn't," Giles said, but was unable to meet her eyes. "I was
following orders. The slayer, on her eighteenth birthday, is put
through a test. To see if she's strong enough using her other senses
to survive losing her powers for twenty-four hours."

"Oh my God," Buffy gasped. "You did this? Get out," she said
tearfully.

"Buffy--"

"GET OUT!" she screamed. "I TRUSTED YOU AND YOU BETRAYED THAT! AND IF
YOU HADN'T PULLED THIS, LAST NIGHT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED! XANDER
WOULDN'T BE LYING IN THAT HOSPITAL BED FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE! NOW GET
OUT!"

She turned away, sobbing, and her mother gathered her in her arms.
She heard him leave. "I couldn't save him," she said around the sobs
wracking her body. "I tried, but I was too slow. And Willow said that
the doctors are basically calling it a coma. They don't think he's
going to wake up."

"Hush, it's going to be okay," Joyce said comfortingly. "Xander's a
fighter, Baby. He'll come back to you."

Buffy took a few minutes to get herself under control, then pulled
away. "I need you to get me discharged. I just came back here to
change, and go back to sit with Xander."

"Consider it done, I'll talk to your doctor," Joyce replied. "I'm
sure he'll agree, since you'll just be staying here anyway."

"Thanks," Buffy said. Joyce smiled at her and walked out to take care
of checking Buffy out of the hospital.

Buffy found the clothes her mother had brought for her, and put them
on. A white tank top and black jeans. She ran a brush through her
hair, and tied it back in a pony tail. When she walked outside, she
noticed Angel. He had several bruises and scratches on his face. She
was sure he'd gotten quite a battering, as had
she.

She managed a small smile, and he walked over to her. "How are you?"
he asked.

"I'll survive," she said. "You?"

"Cuts and bruises, I'll heal," he shrugged. "Spike got away. When I
saw what had happened to you, and Xander, I let down my guard and he
disappeared."

"It doesn't matter," Buffy replied. "We'll get him sooner or
later. Thanks for protecting me."

"I didn't do that great of a job," Angel protested.

Buffy sighed. "Angel, you were outnumbered, even for you. It's not
like I was any help, with my lack of slayer powers. Giles... he--"

"I know," Angel said. "Willow filled me in. If it matters, he feels--
"

"I don't care how he feels," Buffy retorted angrily.
"Xander's..." she fought for composure. "...really not good. And it's
all Giles' fault. Xander must have found out, and he showed up to
help me--" She lost it then, and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Angel wrapped her in his arms, and tried to comfort her, stroking her
hair. "Buffy, it's going to be okay."

"How, how is it going to be okay?" Buffy sobbed against his chest.

He took her by her shoulders and pulled her away slightly. "He's
going to wake up," he said confidently.

"How do you know that?" she questioned.

"Because any man that's lucky enough to have your love would move
heaven and earth to stay with you," he replied with a shrug.

Buffy looked at him a moment in shock. He was taking it well, her
crying on his shoulder over another man. She knew it must hurt him,
and hated that. She paused to consider his words. He was right about
her loving Xander. She'd never
stopped. She was beginning to realize, though, how much a life
without Xander in it wasn't even an option. "Thank you for saying
that," she said. "I hope you're right. I need to go sit with him."

"If you need anything--"

"I'll let you know. Thanks, Angel."

"For what?"

"For being a friend," Buffy shrugged and walked down the hall to
Xander's room.

*************