Ch 14. Tell
"Hey Dawny, how was your day?" Buffy says cheerily, as she comes in.
"Fine." Dawn looks up at her sister, "Yours?"
"Good, it was good." she heads over to the kitchen.
"You look um, happy?'
"Yeah…yeah, well I just came from the hospital."
"Oh well that explains it. You saw David."
"Yep…" Buffy says, as she opens the fridge & pulls out a carton of milk. "Do you mind if I drink the rest of what's left?"
Dawn nods that it's okay, and she watches Buffy gulp down the whole thing. After Buffy's made sure that there's absolutely nothing left, she sets it down on the counter & exhales loudly. "David kissed me."
"What?"
"He kissed me…" she repeats herself, "…today, at the hospital."
"Well, uh that's great. That's really great." Dawn says, somewhat indifferently. " I'm glad to see you happy."
"Yeah, I really am." she smiles slightly, "I mean I'm not like super ecstatic, the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music happy, but you know…" she shrugs, in a gesture.
"I think so."
"I just, I really enjoy this feeling of something new, and fresh, and normal… I guess."
"Buffy…"
"And David's a really sweet guy. Granted maybe it's not absolutely normal, he does live in a hospital & has no memory whatsoever about his past. But when you talk to him, its like you even don't notice those things. He doesn't act like a patient, he doesn't let those things hold him back… does that make sense?"
"Yeah. Kinda…" Dawn says, kinda offhandedly.
Buffy studies her little sister, "You don't like him, do you?"
"No, no… I uh, like him."
"Do you really?"
"It's not that I don't like him, it's just…I guess I'm not over the fact that David, well you know, looks just like Spike. He could be like the same guy."
"But Dawn, I've already told you tha--"
"Yeah, I know. I know. But I'm sorry, I know it's farfetched, but I just can't help thinking that maybe he really is Spike."
Buffy turned away from her sister. Maybe Dawn wasn't thinking logically, but maybe it she makes some sort of sense. Buffy felt torn, in that a part of her thought the same, but another was so sure that it wasn't . It was like if she believed that it would make her naïve, but at wasn't she being naïve in thinking that is wasn't at all possible. No. I can't torture myself in scrutinizes thing whole thing & complicating things that could be so simple & normal, if I just drop this.
"But it's not." she finally says, God why she can't see that?
Dawn doesn't say anything.
So David looks like Spike, big deal…
"How about this?" Buffy tries to reason, "Since I obviously cannot convince you that David is not Spike, then go ahead & think it if you want, okay? But give him a chance as David. Because that is who he is, whether you want to believe it or not."
"Um, yeah… okay." Dawn brushes her hair back, "Yeah. I guess." she finally gives in.
"Thank you."
"And I'm sorry if I've been annoying about this. I'll just try to just treat him like any other guy, that you're dating."
Buffy walks over & hugs her and pecks her on her forehead. "You know, it's really important to me that you like him. Your opinion matters to me. That's why you need to get to know him."
"So you're saying that if I ended up not liking him, you would quit seeing him?" Dawn asks.
"Well, no." she says it like duh, and Dawn laughs lightly.
"Besides, I dunno if we're dating, exactly. I mean it's not like we've gone out anywhere together beside the hospital."
Back at the hospital…
"David…?"
"Yeah?"
"Guess what?"
"What?"
"Guess!"
"I don't know."
"Come on…" she pleads with him.
He shrugs, "You cut your hair?"
"No. Why… does it look shorter?" Nurse Alyssa pulls out a compact mirror out of her pocket, & checks herself.
"No it doesn't, I was just…" he watches her adjust her hair, "…guessing anything…" David says, but she's not
paying attention anymore. "Alyssa…"
"It looks bad, doesn't it? I didn't have time to blow dry it this morning & when I…" she begins rambling.
"Alyssa!" David interrupts her. "It looks fine, okay? Really, it does."
"Alright."
"Now, what were you gonna tell me?"
"I forgot."
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah huh."
"You forgot?"
"Neh." Alyssa smiles sheepishly at him. "Okay, you know how you're always going on about how bored you get here at the hospital. I mean when you're not working with the doctors, you don't really do much…"
"Not really, I have the tv. There's no cable, but lately I've been watching Passions, its pretty interesting. Tomorrow, Ethan finds out about what really happened to Theresa … "
"No, no… but weren't you telling me the other day that sometimes you feel claustrophobic stuck all day here in theses same four walls?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I asked the head nurse and she says that with the doctors permission, you are able to check yourself in & out of the hospital." she says.
"Really?"
"Yeah, but there are only certain times your allowed to leave, kinda like visiting hours. And since you can't walk yet, you'll have your very own specialized wheelchair assigned. No more of these smelly ones we use to take you form room to room."
"Thanks, you're the best."
"Well, you're very welcome."
"I really appreciate it."
"It's no prob. Anything for my favorite patient."
"Meeee..."
"Well…" she sits down and pulls out her database, "Better start doing my job." she begins writing stuff down.
"You've been feeling pretty good, right? No more headaches?"
"I'm good."
"And your leg?"
"About the same. But I'm progressing, slowly. Dr. Dillard's helping and uh, now I can wiggle my toes!" David answers.
"Uh huh, that's great." she continues writing.
"Except for the pinky… can't move that yet."
"Okay, now I'm gonna take you temperature." Alyssa pulls out a thermometer.
"…Damn that pinky."
She smiles & shakes her head at him, while she clicks the thermometer in his ear and then checks it. "Normal."
"Dandy." he says.
"So…when are you gonna tell me about that kiss with Buffy?"
"What?" he chokes with his own saliva, surprised. "How do you know about that?"
"Well I saw it."
He just looks at her funny. "Okay I walked in…" she explains herself, "…and saw ya'll two kissing & I didn't want to interrupt so I left quietly. And you were so swept away in it, you didn't notice me."
"Ah."
"Well?"
"Mmm…" he leans back, "…I'm not really one to kiss and tell."
"Come on, tell me."
"Neh."
"You have to!… I'm like your best friend. Well more like your only friend."
"Hey! You're not my only friend. Um… I've got Buffy…"
"Nah, you kiss Buffy. You don't kiss friends, you kiss girlfriends…" she teases him.
"Well… Buffy isn't really my girlfriend. Not that I wouldn't want her to be, I mean she's great. And well I'm just some guy hospital, who can't wiggle his pinky."
Alyssa rolls her eyes, "You're so cute."
"I know." He sighs, playfully.
"So come on, was it like planned or just spur of the moment? And, and was it soft & sweet, or more like raw, passionate like?"
"Mmm…" he thinks about it, "All of that."
"Wow." she sighs, "I really need a man."
"Maybe I can hook you up?"
"With who?"
"I dunno…ooh, Buffy has a friend named Xander?"
"Nah, that's okay. I find me one, myself." She gets up, about to leave.
"Hey Alyssa…", he stops her.
"Yeah?"
"…Well uh, I kinda wanna tell you something."
"Sure, what is it?"
"But the thing I'm not sure if I should."
"Ugh, don't start with the whole, 'I have a secret, but I'm not saying what', 'cuz I hate it when people do that."
"It's not like that. It's probably not a big deal, not even worth mentioning…" he sees her getting a look of 'just freakin' tell me!' & he continues, "Alright, but just do me a favor & not tell the doctors about it…especially someone like Dr. Tilberg."
"Okay now you're getting me kinda worried, what's this about?"
"Well for awhile now I've been having these really weird, vivid dreams…"