Destiny Lost
#2: In the Space of Desire
Authors: Sonya and Erin
E-mail: sonyajeb@swbell.net OR carynsilver@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: B/X, O/Other, AU, action/adventure, romance
Summary: This is a sequel to our epic saga "In the Space of a Heartbeat," which is a story about what would happen if Buffy had never gotten the Slayer powers.
Disclaimer: We do not own Buffy or any of the original characters or ideas from the show. They all belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc. All we own is our own creative genius (unless that's too strong a word :) and any characters we make up.
Distribution: Regulars... SURE!!! Newbies... ask and you shall recieve!
Feedback: Love it! We want to know your likes AND dislikes. Flames are the only thing we do not accept.
Spoilers: None much for the shows, but heavy spoilers for the earlier installments of this fanfic series!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Two
Sunnydale High School
Xander ran across the quad and up the school building's front steps, barreling through groups of students without even stopping to apologize. He burst through the front doors and took off down the hallway, weaving back and forth between the kids clogging the halls with practiced ease, making a bee-line for the library.
"Hey, watch it, you jerk!" Cordelia snapped as he ran past, bumping her on the shoulder and sending her books flying in every direction. "Those morons," she muttered as she bent down to pick up her things. "Can't even watch where they're going!" A couple of her 'Cordettes' nodded in agreement and mumbled a few sympathetic words to console the Ice Queen.
However, Xander paid them no heed, he had more important matters on his mind. Namely, finding Giles and Sonya so that he could tell them his news.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles hadn't heard any of the long, boring faculty meeting. Snyder had been ranting about something, but Giles couldn't even remember what. There was too much on his mind, and no one to confide it in.
He walked into the library, and was relieved to find it empty for once. Absently, he hoped that the teenagers were enjoying a training-free morning. He would have to work them that much harder after school. The Hellmouth never let up.
Closing the door to his office, Giles walked toward his desk. An innocent-looking letter with an international postmark drew his eye. Every time he looked at it, he felt what he hoped wasn't an ulcer gurgle painfully in his stomach.
Not for the first time, Giles wished that things had been different. He loved Sonya like a daughter -- though admitting it could have serious consequences -- and he would not trade her life for ease in his own. But now that the year-long masquerade was over, it looked like Giles was going to have to pay. He hadn't told Buffy, Xander, or especially Sonya -- and he hoped he wouldn't have to. Sonya's emotional plateau hadn't completely leveled yet. Giles didn't want to upset her even more while she dealt with her new circumstances. And Buffy and Xander were doing so well lately in their training -- worrying them would serve no purpose, either.
He reached out and picked up the letter, removing a single sheet of expensive paper from the envelope. The seal of the Watchers Council was embossed at the top in gold. His eyes went over the typed words, though he already knew them by heart.
Mr. Giles,
Thank you for your report on the Slayer situation. Now that the problem has been brought to our attention, we can begin to take steps to rectify things.
Continue training Miss Summers for the moment. Though our trust in you seems to have been misplaced, admittedly you are the only man familiar enough with life on the Hellmouth to do the job for the time being.
A tribunal has been called two months from the date you get this letter. That should give you time to make arrangements to come to England. Miss Summers, Miss Parker and Mr. Harris are expected to come as well, for their futures must be dealt with.
Please contact us if you have any difficulties. Aid will be dispatched immediately.
Sincerely,
Marcus Whiteman III Attaché to the Watcher Proconsul
A tribunal had not been called among the ranks of the Watchers for as long as Giles could remember. The language of the letter was all politeness, but Giles could read between the lines. To put it in American teenage lingo -- the Watchers were pissed; pissed that he lied to them for so long, pissed that he'd allowed a non-Slayer to know his secrets, and worse, to take on the duties of the Chosen One, and they were pissed that he'd arranged for someone to break into the Compound and steal the forbidden Essence-switching spell that had been under lock and key for who knew how many centuries. And Giles was the one who was going to pay.
He wondered for a second about bringing the three young people to England, but there wasn't really another choice. He didn't think their lives would be in danger. Of course, Buffy would have to go. She would have to be tested and determined fit by a Watcher the Council trusted. Sonya didn't have the powers anymore, so the Council wouldn't need to kill her. The Council only advocated extreme measures for extreme situations. Most likely, they just wanted to make sure Sonya and Xander didn't pose a threat to the organization. He sighed and looked at the calendar. It had been only three days since he received the letter. That wasn't long to take care of his affairs here...
"Giles! Hey, Giles! Where are you?"
The yelling of his name and the banging of the library doors brought Giles out of his contemplation and into the main part of the library. He saw Xander looking around, fairly bouncing in excitement.
"Is something wrong?" Giles asked, his mind jumping to the worst possibilities. It was daytime so it couldn't be a vampire threat...
"No! Something's right! Very right! There aren't words enough to describe the rightness of this thing." Xander's eyes darted around the room. "Have you seen Sonya? I've got to tell her something."
"No," Giles answered. "I haven't seen her since I left the apartment. Oz was to give her a ride this morning." He glanced at his watch. It was 7:45. "They'll probably be here shortly."
Xander turned and ran for the doors. "I'm going to meet them in the parking lot!"
"Wait!" Giles called. "What's all this about?"
"I'll tell everyone at lunch today. We'll meet here, OK?" Without waiting for an answer, Xander was gone.
Giles watched the doors swing shut with another sigh. He hoped that whatever the boy was babbling about was good. He needed some good news.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sonya sat next to Oz in silence. She darted a quick glance at his profile. Never very talkative, he drove in silence, not even bobbing his head to the music coming over the radio. Used to Xander -- the boy who never shut up -- and Giles -- a man who could lecture for hours -- Sonya didn't know quite what to do with Oz.
"So," she tried to fill the silence, "it was really cool of you to pick me up this morning."
"No problem," Oz replied.
"I just meant, you know, that you didn't have to," Sonya babbled.
"I wanted to." That time he actually took his eyes off the road for a second and glanced at her.
Sonya blushed with embarrassment, and turned to look out the window. Was it possible that Oz liked her *that* way? She hadn't ever considered the possibility. Then she pushed the thought away. What was the point? She was only half a person anyway. She wouldn't inflict that on anyone.
When the van shuddered to a stop, Sonya looked around and realized they were in the school parking lot.
"I'll get your chair." Oz jumped out of the van, and went around to get the chair out of the back. He brought it up and opened her door. Sonya unfastened her seatbelt, but there was no way she could get down by herself. The van was too high. She flushed with embarrassment as Oz lifted her down. He was surprisingly strong for a little guy. Before she was stuck in this chair, Sonya knew she was taller than him.
"Thanks," she mumbled, finding it hard to look him in the eye. She hated being helped.
"Anytime," Oz replied.
"Hey, guys! Sonya! Oz!"
Distracted from her confusing thoughts, Sonya looked up to see Xander running toward her, pulling Buffy by the arm. (Great) she thought (what better way to start the day than a dose of the lovebirds?) Xander skidded to a halt in front of them and finally let go of Buffy.
"What's up?" Oz asked. Sonya thought she detected a gleam of curiosity in his eyes, but she could be mistaken.
"Yeah," Buffy added, smiling at Xander, "you couldn't even wait for me to say goodbye to Mom before dragging me over here. It must be big!" The Slayer glanced over at Sonya, and her eyes clouded a little. "Good morning, Sonya."
"Hey," Sonya said, acknowledging the greeting. Things between her and Buffy were so weird. On the one hand, Sonya really liked her. Buffy had come through for her many times since the girl had moved to Sunnydale -- both in things Hellmouthy and things makeup related. But Buffy was living what should be Sonya's life! She had Sonya's powers AND Xander. Thinking about that for too long just made Sonya crazy. She pushed it away, and tried to smile. She knew that Buffy knew, and that just made things weirder.
Sonya turned to Xander in hopes of distracting them all from the weirdness. "What's up with you, Harris? You look like you just won the lottery."
"I didn't win," Xander said, unable to keep a huge, goofy grin from his face, "but you did."
"What are you talking about?" Sonya demanded.
"I saw something on TV this morning. I was watching the news and..."
"Wait a second, *you* were watching the news? Now I know something's wrong. You hate current events!" Sonya's tone was teasing, but the comment caused Buffy's smile to falter a little bit. A quick glance showed Sonya that the comment had hit home. Sonya knew Xander better than Buffy. No matter how much fooling around Buffy and Xander did in their spare time, Sonya had an edge in the length-of-friendship department.
"OK, OK," Xander admitted sheepishly. "I was trying to watch Scooby Doo, and I put the TV on the wrong channel. But it was worth it!"
"What did you see, Xander?" Buffy asked, trying to get the conversation to the point.
"It was an interview with a Dr. Keller. He's an expert in experimental neurosurgery. He talked about this new technique he developed to restore nerve pathways in victims of paralysis. He's restored full function to thirty percent of his patients. And the best part is that he's relocating his practice here to Sunnydale!"
Xander looked around to see how his revelation had been taken. Oz's expression was implacable, as usual. Buffy had a small smile on her gorgeous face. But Sonya's face was a thunder cloud. She stared at him for a moment and then turned her chair and started rolling away.
"Wait!" Xander chased after her, catching her easily a few feet away from the other two teens. "What's wrong? You don't think that's exciting?"
She looked up, and Xander was astonished to see tears running down her cheeks.
"I can't believe you, Xander! You, of all people, should know how much I went through after the accident. You were right there with me! All those doctors who could never do anything -- and then all those witches and warlocks who made promises but never delivered! Do you think I want to go through that again? Get my hopes up only to have them dashed? Even Giles promised me he'd find a cure, but he didn't. All he found was a way for me to lose more of myself..." Her voice trailed off, as if she were afraid she'd said too much.
Xander was speechless for a moment. He'd never thought about it from that angle before. He'd assumed that any hope was a good one. He looked down at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Sonya... I didn't think..."
"That's right, you didn't." With that, Sonya wheeled herself away and into the school.
Xander watched her go, wanting to follow, but not wanting to offend his friend. He knew that sometimes Sonya just needed her space.
Buffy came up behind him and put a hand on his arm. "You all right?"
"Yeah. That was really insensitive of me, huh?" Xander looked to her for admonishment and got a sympathetic look instead.
"No, I don't think so." A smile flickered on her lips. "You were just trying to help. You meant well."
"But she's right. Thirty percent... that's not a big chance at all. I shouldn't have even brought it up!"
"Stop being so hard on yourself!" Buffy commanded. "You were just trying to be a good friend. And who knows, maybe she just needs time to get used to the idea."
"Oh, no!" Xander extended his hands in a gesture of denial. "I'm not bringing the subject up to her again!"
"Don't worry." Buffy looked into his eyes and for a second Xander gloried in their depths. He almost missed her next question. "Do you have the information written down?"
"Huh? ... Uh ... yeah." Xander dug into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper with the doctor's name and the phone number. Buffy took it and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. "What are you going to do?" he asked, a little worried.
"Don't worry," Buffy said again. "I won't press the issue if she doesn't want me to..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You need to call this doctor, Sonya!" Buffy had cornered the girl in the bathroom and refused to let her leave.
"It's none of your business!" Sonya yelled. "Now get out of my way!"
"No!" Buffy said, reaching down and gripping the arms of her wheelchair. "You're not leaving until you hear me out."
Sonya realized Buffy was serious and sat back in her chair. "Fine, I'll listen, but don't think you're going to change my mind."
"Good." Buffy stepped back and pinned Sonya with her clear gaze. "Now, I think you should call this doctor and at least see what he has to say about your case. What can it hurt? Your pride? What's that worth? I think a chance at walking is worth more than pride. We'll get references. We'll check the guy out, and you'll go in for a consultation."
"You just want me to do this because if I get my legs back you won't have to feel guilty about stealing my powers!" Sonya's gaze was as bitter as her words.
Buffy flinched as if stung. Yes, she wanted Sonya to be whole again, and yes, she felt a little guilty about how things had turned out, but that wasn't the only reason she was pushing this.
"Listen," Buffy said desperately, "do you know how many people thought I'd never walk again? There were plenty of them! But there were two people who never lost faith in me -- my mother, and Dr. Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins worked with me day in and day out for months after the accident, and I saw him every week after that until we moved here. I credit my recovery to him. Sure, shattered bones and shattered nerves are two different things, but I know how you feel stuck in that chair. And if there's even a one percent chance that you can get out, I say go for it! Find your Dr. Jenkins!"
"And what if the answer is no again," Sonya bit out, "what then? My hopes are dashed all over the place one more time, and I have to deal with the added pain of one more door closing."
"If you never open the door then it can't close on you, is that it?" Buffy asked. "Well, that's a stupid philosophy." She paused for a second, and then continued. "Try this. Don't open the door -- open the window. Just look through and see what this guy can do for other patients. Don't believe that he can help you until he tells you that himself." Buffy extended the slip of paper. "Take this. Call him. Make an appointment."
Sonya stared at Buffy's hand for a moment, and then took the piece of paper in her own trembling fingers. She stuck it in her pocket. "I'm not promising to call," she said defensively.
"Just think about it," Buffy urged, stepping aside to let Sonya pass. The girl wheeled herself out of the bathroom without another word, but Buffy felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe she would call...
#2: In the Space of Desire
Authors: Sonya and Erin
E-mail: sonyajeb@swbell.net OR carynsilver@yahoo.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: B/X, O/Other, AU, action/adventure, romance
Summary: This is a sequel to our epic saga "In the Space of a Heartbeat," which is a story about what would happen if Buffy had never gotten the Slayer powers.
Disclaimer: We do not own Buffy or any of the original characters or ideas from the show. They all belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc. All we own is our own creative genius (unless that's too strong a word :) and any characters we make up.
Distribution: Regulars... SURE!!! Newbies... ask and you shall recieve!
Feedback: Love it! We want to know your likes AND dislikes. Flames are the only thing we do not accept.
Spoilers: None much for the shows, but heavy spoilers for the earlier installments of this fanfic series!
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Chapter Two
Sunnydale High School
Xander ran across the quad and up the school building's front steps, barreling through groups of students without even stopping to apologize. He burst through the front doors and took off down the hallway, weaving back and forth between the kids clogging the halls with practiced ease, making a bee-line for the library.
"Hey, watch it, you jerk!" Cordelia snapped as he ran past, bumping her on the shoulder and sending her books flying in every direction. "Those morons," she muttered as she bent down to pick up her things. "Can't even watch where they're going!" A couple of her 'Cordettes' nodded in agreement and mumbled a few sympathetic words to console the Ice Queen.
However, Xander paid them no heed, he had more important matters on his mind. Namely, finding Giles and Sonya so that he could tell them his news.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles hadn't heard any of the long, boring faculty meeting. Snyder had been ranting about something, but Giles couldn't even remember what. There was too much on his mind, and no one to confide it in.
He walked into the library, and was relieved to find it empty for once. Absently, he hoped that the teenagers were enjoying a training-free morning. He would have to work them that much harder after school. The Hellmouth never let up.
Closing the door to his office, Giles walked toward his desk. An innocent-looking letter with an international postmark drew his eye. Every time he looked at it, he felt what he hoped wasn't an ulcer gurgle painfully in his stomach.
Not for the first time, Giles wished that things had been different. He loved Sonya like a daughter -- though admitting it could have serious consequences -- and he would not trade her life for ease in his own. But now that the year-long masquerade was over, it looked like Giles was going to have to pay. He hadn't told Buffy, Xander, or especially Sonya -- and he hoped he wouldn't have to. Sonya's emotional plateau hadn't completely leveled yet. Giles didn't want to upset her even more while she dealt with her new circumstances. And Buffy and Xander were doing so well lately in their training -- worrying them would serve no purpose, either.
He reached out and picked up the letter, removing a single sheet of expensive paper from the envelope. The seal of the Watchers Council was embossed at the top in gold. His eyes went over the typed words, though he already knew them by heart.
Mr. Giles,
Thank you for your report on the Slayer situation. Now that the problem has been brought to our attention, we can begin to take steps to rectify things.
Continue training Miss Summers for the moment. Though our trust in you seems to have been misplaced, admittedly you are the only man familiar enough with life on the Hellmouth to do the job for the time being.
A tribunal has been called two months from the date you get this letter. That should give you time to make arrangements to come to England. Miss Summers, Miss Parker and Mr. Harris are expected to come as well, for their futures must be dealt with.
Please contact us if you have any difficulties. Aid will be dispatched immediately.
Sincerely,
Marcus Whiteman III Attaché to the Watcher Proconsul
A tribunal had not been called among the ranks of the Watchers for as long as Giles could remember. The language of the letter was all politeness, but Giles could read between the lines. To put it in American teenage lingo -- the Watchers were pissed; pissed that he lied to them for so long, pissed that he'd allowed a non-Slayer to know his secrets, and worse, to take on the duties of the Chosen One, and they were pissed that he'd arranged for someone to break into the Compound and steal the forbidden Essence-switching spell that had been under lock and key for who knew how many centuries. And Giles was the one who was going to pay.
He wondered for a second about bringing the three young people to England, but there wasn't really another choice. He didn't think their lives would be in danger. Of course, Buffy would have to go. She would have to be tested and determined fit by a Watcher the Council trusted. Sonya didn't have the powers anymore, so the Council wouldn't need to kill her. The Council only advocated extreme measures for extreme situations. Most likely, they just wanted to make sure Sonya and Xander didn't pose a threat to the organization. He sighed and looked at the calendar. It had been only three days since he received the letter. That wasn't long to take care of his affairs here...
"Giles! Hey, Giles! Where are you?"
The yelling of his name and the banging of the library doors brought Giles out of his contemplation and into the main part of the library. He saw Xander looking around, fairly bouncing in excitement.
"Is something wrong?" Giles asked, his mind jumping to the worst possibilities. It was daytime so it couldn't be a vampire threat...
"No! Something's right! Very right! There aren't words enough to describe the rightness of this thing." Xander's eyes darted around the room. "Have you seen Sonya? I've got to tell her something."
"No," Giles answered. "I haven't seen her since I left the apartment. Oz was to give her a ride this morning." He glanced at his watch. It was 7:45. "They'll probably be here shortly."
Xander turned and ran for the doors. "I'm going to meet them in the parking lot!"
"Wait!" Giles called. "What's all this about?"
"I'll tell everyone at lunch today. We'll meet here, OK?" Without waiting for an answer, Xander was gone.
Giles watched the doors swing shut with another sigh. He hoped that whatever the boy was babbling about was good. He needed some good news.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sonya sat next to Oz in silence. She darted a quick glance at his profile. Never very talkative, he drove in silence, not even bobbing his head to the music coming over the radio. Used to Xander -- the boy who never shut up -- and Giles -- a man who could lecture for hours -- Sonya didn't know quite what to do with Oz.
"So," she tried to fill the silence, "it was really cool of you to pick me up this morning."
"No problem," Oz replied.
"I just meant, you know, that you didn't have to," Sonya babbled.
"I wanted to." That time he actually took his eyes off the road for a second and glanced at her.
Sonya blushed with embarrassment, and turned to look out the window. Was it possible that Oz liked her *that* way? She hadn't ever considered the possibility. Then she pushed the thought away. What was the point? She was only half a person anyway. She wouldn't inflict that on anyone.
When the van shuddered to a stop, Sonya looked around and realized they were in the school parking lot.
"I'll get your chair." Oz jumped out of the van, and went around to get the chair out of the back. He brought it up and opened her door. Sonya unfastened her seatbelt, but there was no way she could get down by herself. The van was too high. She flushed with embarrassment as Oz lifted her down. He was surprisingly strong for a little guy. Before she was stuck in this chair, Sonya knew she was taller than him.
"Thanks," she mumbled, finding it hard to look him in the eye. She hated being helped.
"Anytime," Oz replied.
"Hey, guys! Sonya! Oz!"
Distracted from her confusing thoughts, Sonya looked up to see Xander running toward her, pulling Buffy by the arm. (Great) she thought (what better way to start the day than a dose of the lovebirds?) Xander skidded to a halt in front of them and finally let go of Buffy.
"What's up?" Oz asked. Sonya thought she detected a gleam of curiosity in his eyes, but she could be mistaken.
"Yeah," Buffy added, smiling at Xander, "you couldn't even wait for me to say goodbye to Mom before dragging me over here. It must be big!" The Slayer glanced over at Sonya, and her eyes clouded a little. "Good morning, Sonya."
"Hey," Sonya said, acknowledging the greeting. Things between her and Buffy were so weird. On the one hand, Sonya really liked her. Buffy had come through for her many times since the girl had moved to Sunnydale -- both in things Hellmouthy and things makeup related. But Buffy was living what should be Sonya's life! She had Sonya's powers AND Xander. Thinking about that for too long just made Sonya crazy. She pushed it away, and tried to smile. She knew that Buffy knew, and that just made things weirder.
Sonya turned to Xander in hopes of distracting them all from the weirdness. "What's up with you, Harris? You look like you just won the lottery."
"I didn't win," Xander said, unable to keep a huge, goofy grin from his face, "but you did."
"What are you talking about?" Sonya demanded.
"I saw something on TV this morning. I was watching the news and..."
"Wait a second, *you* were watching the news? Now I know something's wrong. You hate current events!" Sonya's tone was teasing, but the comment caused Buffy's smile to falter a little bit. A quick glance showed Sonya that the comment had hit home. Sonya knew Xander better than Buffy. No matter how much fooling around Buffy and Xander did in their spare time, Sonya had an edge in the length-of-friendship department.
"OK, OK," Xander admitted sheepishly. "I was trying to watch Scooby Doo, and I put the TV on the wrong channel. But it was worth it!"
"What did you see, Xander?" Buffy asked, trying to get the conversation to the point.
"It was an interview with a Dr. Keller. He's an expert in experimental neurosurgery. He talked about this new technique he developed to restore nerve pathways in victims of paralysis. He's restored full function to thirty percent of his patients. And the best part is that he's relocating his practice here to Sunnydale!"
Xander looked around to see how his revelation had been taken. Oz's expression was implacable, as usual. Buffy had a small smile on her gorgeous face. But Sonya's face was a thunder cloud. She stared at him for a moment and then turned her chair and started rolling away.
"Wait!" Xander chased after her, catching her easily a few feet away from the other two teens. "What's wrong? You don't think that's exciting?"
She looked up, and Xander was astonished to see tears running down her cheeks.
"I can't believe you, Xander! You, of all people, should know how much I went through after the accident. You were right there with me! All those doctors who could never do anything -- and then all those witches and warlocks who made promises but never delivered! Do you think I want to go through that again? Get my hopes up only to have them dashed? Even Giles promised me he'd find a cure, but he didn't. All he found was a way for me to lose more of myself..." Her voice trailed off, as if she were afraid she'd said too much.
Xander was speechless for a moment. He'd never thought about it from that angle before. He'd assumed that any hope was a good one. He looked down at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Sonya... I didn't think..."
"That's right, you didn't." With that, Sonya wheeled herself away and into the school.
Xander watched her go, wanting to follow, but not wanting to offend his friend. He knew that sometimes Sonya just needed her space.
Buffy came up behind him and put a hand on his arm. "You all right?"
"Yeah. That was really insensitive of me, huh?" Xander looked to her for admonishment and got a sympathetic look instead.
"No, I don't think so." A smile flickered on her lips. "You were just trying to help. You meant well."
"But she's right. Thirty percent... that's not a big chance at all. I shouldn't have even brought it up!"
"Stop being so hard on yourself!" Buffy commanded. "You were just trying to be a good friend. And who knows, maybe she just needs time to get used to the idea."
"Oh, no!" Xander extended his hands in a gesture of denial. "I'm not bringing the subject up to her again!"
"Don't worry." Buffy looked into his eyes and for a second Xander gloried in their depths. He almost missed her next question. "Do you have the information written down?"
"Huh? ... Uh ... yeah." Xander dug into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper with the doctor's name and the phone number. Buffy took it and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. "What are you going to do?" he asked, a little worried.
"Don't worry," Buffy said again. "I won't press the issue if she doesn't want me to..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You need to call this doctor, Sonya!" Buffy had cornered the girl in the bathroom and refused to let her leave.
"It's none of your business!" Sonya yelled. "Now get out of my way!"
"No!" Buffy said, reaching down and gripping the arms of her wheelchair. "You're not leaving until you hear me out."
Sonya realized Buffy was serious and sat back in her chair. "Fine, I'll listen, but don't think you're going to change my mind."
"Good." Buffy stepped back and pinned Sonya with her clear gaze. "Now, I think you should call this doctor and at least see what he has to say about your case. What can it hurt? Your pride? What's that worth? I think a chance at walking is worth more than pride. We'll get references. We'll check the guy out, and you'll go in for a consultation."
"You just want me to do this because if I get my legs back you won't have to feel guilty about stealing my powers!" Sonya's gaze was as bitter as her words.
Buffy flinched as if stung. Yes, she wanted Sonya to be whole again, and yes, she felt a little guilty about how things had turned out, but that wasn't the only reason she was pushing this.
"Listen," Buffy said desperately, "do you know how many people thought I'd never walk again? There were plenty of them! But there were two people who never lost faith in me -- my mother, and Dr. Jenkins. Dr. Jenkins worked with me day in and day out for months after the accident, and I saw him every week after that until we moved here. I credit my recovery to him. Sure, shattered bones and shattered nerves are two different things, but I know how you feel stuck in that chair. And if there's even a one percent chance that you can get out, I say go for it! Find your Dr. Jenkins!"
"And what if the answer is no again," Sonya bit out, "what then? My hopes are dashed all over the place one more time, and I have to deal with the added pain of one more door closing."
"If you never open the door then it can't close on you, is that it?" Buffy asked. "Well, that's a stupid philosophy." She paused for a second, and then continued. "Try this. Don't open the door -- open the window. Just look through and see what this guy can do for other patients. Don't believe that he can help you until he tells you that himself." Buffy extended the slip of paper. "Take this. Call him. Make an appointment."
Sonya stared at Buffy's hand for a moment, and then took the piece of paper in her own trembling fingers. She stuck it in her pocket. "I'm not promising to call," she said defensively.
"Just think about it," Buffy urged, stepping aside to let Sonya pass. The girl wheeled herself out of the bathroom without another word, but Buffy felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe she would call...