Good evening, All:)
Well, not quite as happy as the last chapter, but not quite as angsty as those before. The action is about to come to a head and we're about to figure out what is really going on in real time.
I think you will like where this goes, but, as always, let me know:)
The enxt chapter will be out on Thursday.
Enjoy!
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Buffy, and a widdle Spike, and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Findings (Time - Chapter Nineteen)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (with, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Set simultaneously with the Hero. Spike, Giles, Cyrus and Riley look for Emma with no success. Riley gets a phone call from Sam regarding Draconius's whereabouts. Spike agrees to go with him. Riley departs for the location to track him down for Spike. Tara and Anya cast a spell to find out if William has been trapped by mystical powers. Spike goes to tell Buffy but she is gone.
Findings
"Any luck?" Giles panted as he caught Spike jogging down the corridor of Buffy's floor.
"Looked in every *crevice* on this floor. No sign of either of them," Spike gushed, his eyes nervously scanning the hallway.
"Talked to the guards and they haven't seen Takina nor a little girl," Giles continued. "They've got their entire staff looking for her. Cyrus has had no luck either."
Spike stopped, a resigned terror blanketing his face. "Don't think she's here anymore, Mate," he said softly, more in shock than anything. "She's gone."
Riley scampered up the hallway, cellular phone tucked in his big farm boy hand. "Any sign of her?" He asked, skidding to a halt in front of the two men. Spike's eyes flashed his dislike, but he held his tongue. They needed all the help they could get.
"No," Giles said softly. "Spike seems to think that she's no longer here. I hate to say it, but I'm in agreement."
Riley sighed, looking at his feet. "I was afraid of that."
"Afraid of what?" Spike snapped, turning towards the tall soldier.
Riley raised his eyes to the men. "Just got a call from Sam. Seems that Draconius has made his way back into town...."
"What?" Giles and Spike gasped in unison.
Riley clutched the phone, white knuckled. "It has to be him. The girl isn't here."
Spike's eyes grew wide, fury boiling along with fear in his veins. "You sure?"
"Sam was positive," Riley answered, his face earnest and sincere.
"But Dawn saw her. She said Takina took Emma," Spike said, knowing it didn't matter. Appearances never mattered. Had to find her. Had to get her back.
"The woman. The Witch," Giles muttered.
"Who?" Riley asked, a confused expression on his face.
"Draconius is not really a person, nor even the spirit of a person. He is an evil essence. When he embodies a human form, he tends to find a female counterpart. One which he imbues with a portion of his essence. Marks her. Makes her his."
"The shifter," Spike continued. "Woman from the caves..."
"Right," Giles answered. "She can take on any appearance she'd like. Anything that would suit her needs. Draconius' needs."
"So she chose the doctor," Riley gasped, pretending a light bulb just clicked on over his head. "So, this woman, is she dangerous?"
Giles looked at the boy, shaking his head. "She is part of Draconius. Together, she and the male are nearly the equivalent of the One. The counterpoint in darkness."
"So, only the One together can defeat Draconius and his mate?" Riley asked, trying to hide a grin. Buffy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. But it would be nice to knock of the Vampire in the meantime.
"Correct," Giles responded, pulling off his glasses and wiping them on his shirttail.
"Do you think we can hold him off a while?" Spike asked. "Is there any way to transfer the entire essence into me?"
Giles looked at Spike with compassion. "Other than death, the essence will remain evenly divided between the two of you. That was the plan at the First, so that no one being carried that weight alone."
"Well, then I had better figure a way to fight them myself," Spike said, beginning back towards the rooms. "Now."
"Where are you going?" Giles called after him.
Spike stopped, turning back to the Watcher. "Need to talk to Buffy Tell her what's going on. She needs to know," he answered, his voice full of panic and rage.
"Maybe I should head out to where Sam said he might be hiding. Try to stake the place out. If we can catch one of them alone, maybe we can fight them. Find Emma. Although I would bet she's there."
Spike debated a moment. Rather have the pathetic-in-combat Harris by his side than this wanker, but he did have info and a bit of training. "Right. Give me the address."
Riley repeated it, reading it off the inside of his palm. Spike committed it to memory. "Going to see Buffy, then I'll collect weapons and meet you there."
"I've got some weapons in the car," Riley answered. He smiled shyly. "It'd save time."
"Just go," Spike snapped, bolting through the doors.
*****
The women sat facing each other on the floor of a broom closet on the third floor. They had talked the janitor into leaving them alone in there for a while. He thought it was kind of kinky, but the fifty dollars Anya plied him with made him find another place to keep his mop for the moment.
Tara had very limited supplies with her, but Anya, being a fully accredited and teleporting Vengeance Demon managed to disappear and within seconds reappear with a candle, some thyme and a small flat stone. On the stone was carved the rune for finding lost souls. A stone that Tara had only heard about but Anya produced with only a moment's hesitation.
They made a ring around them with salt pilfered from the cafeteria, containing their power. Tara walked the circle thrice, chanting, calling the Goddess, asking her with more politeness and love for her help than she would have asked her own mother. And that was saying a lot. She missed and adored her mother. But this was the Goddess. Her lifeline. Her love.
Slowly, she sat back down to face the demon. "Can't break the circle now," Tara whispered, grabbing her hands.
"Done this before," Anya retorted, a quirky smile spreading over her features. Tara returned it warmly.
"I know the spell, but you will have to anchor me and I will have to take a lot of your power," Tara whispered, studying Anya's face. She needed to trust the woman to do this. If Anya let go, if she even moved her hand outside the circle, then Tara would be lost as well.
"I won't let you down," Anya said quietly. "My idea, remember?"
Tara nodded, closing her eyes. "Great Goddess, come to me. Bring me forth and take me to the lost child of your Warriors. The flesh of your flesh. Blood of your blood. Lead me to the lost soul."
A strong wind blew through the circle and Tara rocked back against Anya's grip. She felt herself leaving her body, flying above it, streaking out of the hospital like a bolt of lightening soaring on air. She saw the trees . The parking lot, a roadway. Tara felt confusion. The baby had never left the hospital. He was still, lying in the incubator, caught inside himself. But there was no control over where the Goddess led her, so she watched the roads whip past. The cars. The box houses with shingled roofs until her light stopped abruptly over an large old house.
She felt herself flutter down, almost to the Earth, following the sidewalk up to a black door. Through the mail slot. Into the house. It was dark. Cold. She fluttered around the room until she reached another door and passed through.
Emma sat, tied in a chair, her feet dangling over the edge.
Tara could hear her body speak as though it was a million miles away. "Emma!"
The little girl looked up at the light, unafraid. She smiled when she saw it. And her eyes began to glow a soft, angelic white. Emma reached a hand towards the light and Tara felt herself fall into the child's palm. "Find Will'em," she said softly. "And send them back for me."
'How?' Tara thought. 'How do I find him?'
"Follow," Emma whispered, blowing the little ball of light from her hand. As the child's breath blew out, a trail of dark smoke appeared in front of Tara. She felt herself look back at Emma. But Emma was a child again. Staring at her feet with teary frightened eyes.
There was nothing she could do from here. But she would send them back.
Tara followed the smoky trail, bobbing and weaving through the house. She saw Sam. A shroud of blackness eating away at her soul. The smoke grew black when it reached her. Tara fluttered down and felt herself diving into the blackness. Falling into the abyss of the Evil's soul.
The trail was dark and wide, but nearly incomprehensible. Faces Tara knew flooded past her. Older. Younger. It was easiest with Emma and what she thought to be William. One second they were babies. The next they were in high school. Then babies again. Another girl. She looked like Takina. But a child. Then a teen. Death. Horrible, bloody death. Then rebirth and the children were small again. It repeated over and over. Not resolving but changing every time. It started with the babies and ended with Death. Every time. Over and over and over. Tara could feel it pulling her in. Reaching towards her to trap her. But Anya held fast, pouring her power into the Witch.
Finally, it stopped. There were babies. Then teenagers. Then she stopped dead in front of a white door. A huge one. Five stories high. It glowed in front of her in beauty and glamour. Tara imagined it to be the Goddess's chamber. But she didn't dare ask. And there was no knob. No way to go inside. But the dark smoky trail banged into the door and stopped.
It wasn't a *place* that William had been sent to. He was trapped in Time.
"Go back now," a sweet, lyrical voice whispered from the air. "You have seen enough."
"But how do I find him?" Tara asked, her human form now standing in front of the door. She was dressed in a white gown. Glowing like Emma's eyes had glowed.
"He will have to find his own way here," the voice answered. "When he does, my emissary can open the door and reclaim him if she desires him."
"Your emissary?" Tara repeated. She stopped, looking around. "Emma?"
"She is us," the voice responded. "Now go back, my child. It is out of your hands."
Tara felt herself begin to shimmer and fade. Or maybe it was the room. But everything became less real. Less solid.
And then it was gone.
*****
The ICU nurse met them at the staff entrance of the ward, helping the three of them from the elevator. She smiled kindly at Buffy. "You sure you're up to this?"
Buffy nodded. "I need to see him."
"We aren't supposed to let you," the nurse said, smiling as if she was sharing a big secret. "But Willow helps out a lot. So we thought we'd try and sneak you in."
"Thanks," Willow responded smiling.
"Now, Buffy, remember, he is doing well, physically. But he has a whole lot of monitors hooked up to him and he's being fed through a tube. So, it's going to look a little scary. "
"He's my son," Buffy whispered, her eyes tearing again. "Nothing about him is scary to me."
"Just want you to be prepared," the nurse said softly, patting Buffy's shoulder. "You ready?"
Again, Buffy nodded. The nurse opened a set of double doors and Willow pushed the wheelchair into the ward, Dawn following close behind. There were no other babies in the room. Just empty incubators. All but one.
Willow walked slowly towards him. Buffy could feel her tears as she read the sign on the outside of the box. His name. Spike's. The little yellow balloons. She hid the onslaught of sobs, knowing that the nurse and Willow wouldn't let her stay if she got too upset. So, she bit her lip and rolled ever closer to him.
The wheelchair stopped right in front of him. Buffy's hand pressed against the heavy plastic, peering inside. She ignored the pain ripping through her belly and leaned forward so that her face blew warm circles on the box.
"Will?"
The baby was still. Not just sleeping still, but completely motionless. Not a twitch. Not a blink. Not the little sucking face he had made at her just hours earlier. She ached to hold him. To feed him. To pull him back to her. But he was still.
The tears began to roll as she watched him. He didn't look peaceful. That was the worst of it. He looked lost. Like he wanted to be there but he couldn't. Her fingers slid along the outside, trying to reach out to him, but the walls were in the way. There was always a wall. A door. Something.
"You OK?" Dawn asked, crouching beside the wheelchair.
Buffy tried to nod, but she couldn't. She wasn't. Nothing was OK about this. Willow stroked her hair tenderly. "Do you want to go back to your room?"
It was almost too quiet to hear. "No."
"OK," Willow answered, trying to comfort her. To hold her together. "We'll stay with him a while. OK?"
She pulled a chair over next to Buffy and took her hand. Dawn pulled another to Buffy's other side and wrapped her arm around her sister. Buffy just stared straight ahead. Stared at the boy. Watching. Waiting. Hoping. She could control the sobs, but not the stream of tears that rained down her cheeks. Still, she didn't speak. Just hoped.
Find him.
*****
The ward seemed empty. Spike scanned the rooms, but there wasn't so much as a nurse inside the sterile green walls. Slowly, he made his way through the doors. No one was even on the inside. Must be some other woman with some other family to be tending to, Spike thought as he made his way through the deserted hall.
Her door was closed. Spike hoped that she was asleep. That he could just walk in and kiss her and hold her a moment but not have to tell her that another child was missing. That he'd let her down again. It would be so much better if she never knew and by the time she woke up, he'd have returned with Emma and a way to bring William back.
But life was never that easy. It was living.
Spike pushed open the door and walked into the darkened room. The blankets were balled on the bed. "Buffy?"
He flipped on the switch, looking around. "Buffy?"
She was gone.
He walked over to the bathroom door, knocking. "You alright?"
No answer.
Slowly, he pushed open the door and the shiny tiled room was as empty as the rest. "Buffy, you here?"
Nothing.
Where the bloody hell did she go?, He asked himself, as he performed all manner of irrational acts like checking beneath the bed and the on the window sill, panic seizing control. They were all missing. She was no where.
"Buffy?" It was almost a scream now. She can't get up on her own. Can't be gone. Can't.
Everything about him was torn. He wanted, needed, to tell her where he was going. Hell, needed to find her. Needed to tell her that he wasn't leaving her. But every minute he left Emma missing was a minute too long. He glanced around, finding a pen and the envelope to a get well card on the table. Quickly, Spike jotted a note.
"Be back soon, my Love. Tried to say goodbye. You weren't here. Please be safe. I love you Always. William."
He didn't think about the signature much. It's how he signed everything.
Spike looked once more around the room, kissed the note gently, and set it on the beside table, bolting back out through the door.
To be contd.
Well, not quite as happy as the last chapter, but not quite as angsty as those before. The action is about to come to a head and we're about to figure out what is really going on in real time.
I think you will like where this goes, but, as always, let me know:)
The enxt chapter will be out on Thursday.
Enjoy!
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Buffy, and a widdle Spike, and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Findings (Time - Chapter Nineteen)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (with, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: Set simultaneously with the Hero. Spike, Giles, Cyrus and Riley look for Emma with no success. Riley gets a phone call from Sam regarding Draconius's whereabouts. Spike agrees to go with him. Riley departs for the location to track him down for Spike. Tara and Anya cast a spell to find out if William has been trapped by mystical powers. Spike goes to tell Buffy but she is gone.
Findings
"Any luck?" Giles panted as he caught Spike jogging down the corridor of Buffy's floor.
"Looked in every *crevice* on this floor. No sign of either of them," Spike gushed, his eyes nervously scanning the hallway.
"Talked to the guards and they haven't seen Takina nor a little girl," Giles continued. "They've got their entire staff looking for her. Cyrus has had no luck either."
Spike stopped, a resigned terror blanketing his face. "Don't think she's here anymore, Mate," he said softly, more in shock than anything. "She's gone."
Riley scampered up the hallway, cellular phone tucked in his big farm boy hand. "Any sign of her?" He asked, skidding to a halt in front of the two men. Spike's eyes flashed his dislike, but he held his tongue. They needed all the help they could get.
"No," Giles said softly. "Spike seems to think that she's no longer here. I hate to say it, but I'm in agreement."
Riley sighed, looking at his feet. "I was afraid of that."
"Afraid of what?" Spike snapped, turning towards the tall soldier.
Riley raised his eyes to the men. "Just got a call from Sam. Seems that Draconius has made his way back into town...."
"What?" Giles and Spike gasped in unison.
Riley clutched the phone, white knuckled. "It has to be him. The girl isn't here."
Spike's eyes grew wide, fury boiling along with fear in his veins. "You sure?"
"Sam was positive," Riley answered, his face earnest and sincere.
"But Dawn saw her. She said Takina took Emma," Spike said, knowing it didn't matter. Appearances never mattered. Had to find her. Had to get her back.
"The woman. The Witch," Giles muttered.
"Who?" Riley asked, a confused expression on his face.
"Draconius is not really a person, nor even the spirit of a person. He is an evil essence. When he embodies a human form, he tends to find a female counterpart. One which he imbues with a portion of his essence. Marks her. Makes her his."
"The shifter," Spike continued. "Woman from the caves..."
"Right," Giles answered. "She can take on any appearance she'd like. Anything that would suit her needs. Draconius' needs."
"So she chose the doctor," Riley gasped, pretending a light bulb just clicked on over his head. "So, this woman, is she dangerous?"
Giles looked at the boy, shaking his head. "She is part of Draconius. Together, she and the male are nearly the equivalent of the One. The counterpoint in darkness."
"So, only the One together can defeat Draconius and his mate?" Riley asked, trying to hide a grin. Buffy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. But it would be nice to knock of the Vampire in the meantime.
"Correct," Giles responded, pulling off his glasses and wiping them on his shirttail.
"Do you think we can hold him off a while?" Spike asked. "Is there any way to transfer the entire essence into me?"
Giles looked at Spike with compassion. "Other than death, the essence will remain evenly divided between the two of you. That was the plan at the First, so that no one being carried that weight alone."
"Well, then I had better figure a way to fight them myself," Spike said, beginning back towards the rooms. "Now."
"Where are you going?" Giles called after him.
Spike stopped, turning back to the Watcher. "Need to talk to Buffy Tell her what's going on. She needs to know," he answered, his voice full of panic and rage.
"Maybe I should head out to where Sam said he might be hiding. Try to stake the place out. If we can catch one of them alone, maybe we can fight them. Find Emma. Although I would bet she's there."
Spike debated a moment. Rather have the pathetic-in-combat Harris by his side than this wanker, but he did have info and a bit of training. "Right. Give me the address."
Riley repeated it, reading it off the inside of his palm. Spike committed it to memory. "Going to see Buffy, then I'll collect weapons and meet you there."
"I've got some weapons in the car," Riley answered. He smiled shyly. "It'd save time."
"Just go," Spike snapped, bolting through the doors.
*****
The women sat facing each other on the floor of a broom closet on the third floor. They had talked the janitor into leaving them alone in there for a while. He thought it was kind of kinky, but the fifty dollars Anya plied him with made him find another place to keep his mop for the moment.
Tara had very limited supplies with her, but Anya, being a fully accredited and teleporting Vengeance Demon managed to disappear and within seconds reappear with a candle, some thyme and a small flat stone. On the stone was carved the rune for finding lost souls. A stone that Tara had only heard about but Anya produced with only a moment's hesitation.
They made a ring around them with salt pilfered from the cafeteria, containing their power. Tara walked the circle thrice, chanting, calling the Goddess, asking her with more politeness and love for her help than she would have asked her own mother. And that was saying a lot. She missed and adored her mother. But this was the Goddess. Her lifeline. Her love.
Slowly, she sat back down to face the demon. "Can't break the circle now," Tara whispered, grabbing her hands.
"Done this before," Anya retorted, a quirky smile spreading over her features. Tara returned it warmly.
"I know the spell, but you will have to anchor me and I will have to take a lot of your power," Tara whispered, studying Anya's face. She needed to trust the woman to do this. If Anya let go, if she even moved her hand outside the circle, then Tara would be lost as well.
"I won't let you down," Anya said quietly. "My idea, remember?"
Tara nodded, closing her eyes. "Great Goddess, come to me. Bring me forth and take me to the lost child of your Warriors. The flesh of your flesh. Blood of your blood. Lead me to the lost soul."
A strong wind blew through the circle and Tara rocked back against Anya's grip. She felt herself leaving her body, flying above it, streaking out of the hospital like a bolt of lightening soaring on air. She saw the trees . The parking lot, a roadway. Tara felt confusion. The baby had never left the hospital. He was still, lying in the incubator, caught inside himself. But there was no control over where the Goddess led her, so she watched the roads whip past. The cars. The box houses with shingled roofs until her light stopped abruptly over an large old house.
She felt herself flutter down, almost to the Earth, following the sidewalk up to a black door. Through the mail slot. Into the house. It was dark. Cold. She fluttered around the room until she reached another door and passed through.
Emma sat, tied in a chair, her feet dangling over the edge.
Tara could hear her body speak as though it was a million miles away. "Emma!"
The little girl looked up at the light, unafraid. She smiled when she saw it. And her eyes began to glow a soft, angelic white. Emma reached a hand towards the light and Tara felt herself fall into the child's palm. "Find Will'em," she said softly. "And send them back for me."
'How?' Tara thought. 'How do I find him?'
"Follow," Emma whispered, blowing the little ball of light from her hand. As the child's breath blew out, a trail of dark smoke appeared in front of Tara. She felt herself look back at Emma. But Emma was a child again. Staring at her feet with teary frightened eyes.
There was nothing she could do from here. But she would send them back.
Tara followed the smoky trail, bobbing and weaving through the house. She saw Sam. A shroud of blackness eating away at her soul. The smoke grew black when it reached her. Tara fluttered down and felt herself diving into the blackness. Falling into the abyss of the Evil's soul.
The trail was dark and wide, but nearly incomprehensible. Faces Tara knew flooded past her. Older. Younger. It was easiest with Emma and what she thought to be William. One second they were babies. The next they were in high school. Then babies again. Another girl. She looked like Takina. But a child. Then a teen. Death. Horrible, bloody death. Then rebirth and the children were small again. It repeated over and over. Not resolving but changing every time. It started with the babies and ended with Death. Every time. Over and over and over. Tara could feel it pulling her in. Reaching towards her to trap her. But Anya held fast, pouring her power into the Witch.
Finally, it stopped. There were babies. Then teenagers. Then she stopped dead in front of a white door. A huge one. Five stories high. It glowed in front of her in beauty and glamour. Tara imagined it to be the Goddess's chamber. But she didn't dare ask. And there was no knob. No way to go inside. But the dark smoky trail banged into the door and stopped.
It wasn't a *place* that William had been sent to. He was trapped in Time.
"Go back now," a sweet, lyrical voice whispered from the air. "You have seen enough."
"But how do I find him?" Tara asked, her human form now standing in front of the door. She was dressed in a white gown. Glowing like Emma's eyes had glowed.
"He will have to find his own way here," the voice answered. "When he does, my emissary can open the door and reclaim him if she desires him."
"Your emissary?" Tara repeated. She stopped, looking around. "Emma?"
"She is us," the voice responded. "Now go back, my child. It is out of your hands."
Tara felt herself begin to shimmer and fade. Or maybe it was the room. But everything became less real. Less solid.
And then it was gone.
*****
The ICU nurse met them at the staff entrance of the ward, helping the three of them from the elevator. She smiled kindly at Buffy. "You sure you're up to this?"
Buffy nodded. "I need to see him."
"We aren't supposed to let you," the nurse said, smiling as if she was sharing a big secret. "But Willow helps out a lot. So we thought we'd try and sneak you in."
"Thanks," Willow responded smiling.
"Now, Buffy, remember, he is doing well, physically. But he has a whole lot of monitors hooked up to him and he's being fed through a tube. So, it's going to look a little scary. "
"He's my son," Buffy whispered, her eyes tearing again. "Nothing about him is scary to me."
"Just want you to be prepared," the nurse said softly, patting Buffy's shoulder. "You ready?"
Again, Buffy nodded. The nurse opened a set of double doors and Willow pushed the wheelchair into the ward, Dawn following close behind. There were no other babies in the room. Just empty incubators. All but one.
Willow walked slowly towards him. Buffy could feel her tears as she read the sign on the outside of the box. His name. Spike's. The little yellow balloons. She hid the onslaught of sobs, knowing that the nurse and Willow wouldn't let her stay if she got too upset. So, she bit her lip and rolled ever closer to him.
The wheelchair stopped right in front of him. Buffy's hand pressed against the heavy plastic, peering inside. She ignored the pain ripping through her belly and leaned forward so that her face blew warm circles on the box.
"Will?"
The baby was still. Not just sleeping still, but completely motionless. Not a twitch. Not a blink. Not the little sucking face he had made at her just hours earlier. She ached to hold him. To feed him. To pull him back to her. But he was still.
The tears began to roll as she watched him. He didn't look peaceful. That was the worst of it. He looked lost. Like he wanted to be there but he couldn't. Her fingers slid along the outside, trying to reach out to him, but the walls were in the way. There was always a wall. A door. Something.
"You OK?" Dawn asked, crouching beside the wheelchair.
Buffy tried to nod, but she couldn't. She wasn't. Nothing was OK about this. Willow stroked her hair tenderly. "Do you want to go back to your room?"
It was almost too quiet to hear. "No."
"OK," Willow answered, trying to comfort her. To hold her together. "We'll stay with him a while. OK?"
She pulled a chair over next to Buffy and took her hand. Dawn pulled another to Buffy's other side and wrapped her arm around her sister. Buffy just stared straight ahead. Stared at the boy. Watching. Waiting. Hoping. She could control the sobs, but not the stream of tears that rained down her cheeks. Still, she didn't speak. Just hoped.
Find him.
*****
The ward seemed empty. Spike scanned the rooms, but there wasn't so much as a nurse inside the sterile green walls. Slowly, he made his way through the doors. No one was even on the inside. Must be some other woman with some other family to be tending to, Spike thought as he made his way through the deserted hall.
Her door was closed. Spike hoped that she was asleep. That he could just walk in and kiss her and hold her a moment but not have to tell her that another child was missing. That he'd let her down again. It would be so much better if she never knew and by the time she woke up, he'd have returned with Emma and a way to bring William back.
But life was never that easy. It was living.
Spike pushed open the door and walked into the darkened room. The blankets were balled on the bed. "Buffy?"
He flipped on the switch, looking around. "Buffy?"
She was gone.
He walked over to the bathroom door, knocking. "You alright?"
No answer.
Slowly, he pushed open the door and the shiny tiled room was as empty as the rest. "Buffy, you here?"
Nothing.
Where the bloody hell did she go?, He asked himself, as he performed all manner of irrational acts like checking beneath the bed and the on the window sill, panic seizing control. They were all missing. She was no where.
"Buffy?" It was almost a scream now. She can't get up on her own. Can't be gone. Can't.
Everything about him was torn. He wanted, needed, to tell her where he was going. Hell, needed to find her. Needed to tell her that he wasn't leaving her. But every minute he left Emma missing was a minute too long. He glanced around, finding a pen and the envelope to a get well card on the table. Quickly, Spike jotted a note.
"Be back soon, my Love. Tried to say goodbye. You weren't here. Please be safe. I love you Always. William."
He didn't think about the signature much. It's how he signed everything.
Spike looked once more around the room, kissed the note gently, and set it on the beside table, bolting back out through the door.
To be contd.