In the Space of Desire
Chapter Fourteen
Summers' Residence
"Any special instructions?" Sonya asked. The pill had taken effect, and now she was practically bouncing up and down with energy and anticipation. Buffy was laying on the couch, listening intently, wrapped up in her quilt.
Jenny looked at the newly mind-linked girls. "All you have to do is close your eyes and think of the other, and you'll be able to see out their eyes. Sonya, I recommend that you don't do it often."
"I need to keep my eye on the job," Sonya agreed.
"Here's the Orb of Kessla." Jenny handed it to Sonya. The girl tossed it into the air and caught it one-handed. Jenny gave her a look, took the orb back and handed it to Oz.
"Try not to kill Nigel if you can help it," Jenny said quietly, "but if there's no other choice..."
Oz shouldered the bag of weapons from Buffy's trunk upstairs. "Don't worry." Then he looked at Sonya. "Let's go." With that he headed toward his van.
Jenny watched them go.
"Now what?" Joyce asked.
"Now we wait until the time is right." Jenny paused, and then looked around at the preparations they'd made for the oracle spell that had never been performed. "Amy, would you mind clearing this up while I get things ready for the dispersion spell?"
"No problem!" Amy said eagerly. Soon the witch and the witch-in-training were working competently side-by-side.
Joyce laid a cool hand on Buffy's forehead. "How do you feel, honey?"
"Weak," Buffy answered honestly. "But it's better to know for sure what's causing it."
"You rest now," Joyce said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "You need to build up your strength for later."
Buffy nodded and closed her eyes. Her body welcomed the respite, but her mind was nowhere near inactive. With her eyes closed, she thought of Sonya, and suddenly she was there, in the other girl's mind. Buffy could see Oz driving and the familiar landmarks of Sunnydale flashing by the van's windows. But it was more than that. She could feel Sonya's emotions, and hear her thoughts. And then Sonya was aware of Buffy, too.
(This is weird) Sonya said in her mental voice. Buffy could hear it just as loud and clear as if Sonya were standing right next to her.
(Yeah) Buffy agreed.
(I can feel your thoughts and emotions) Sonya confided.
Buffy was interested to know that the closeness of the linking went both ways. (Me, too) she replied.
Then they were silent for a minute. There were so many things to say, that there was nowhere to begin. That was when they realized that they didn't need to begin. Buffy knew that Sonya was really and truly sorry for the pain she had caused. Sonya could feel Buffy's anger fading away, and the hurts that would take much longer to heal. This situation could have been extremely uncomfortable for both of them, but somehow it wasn't.
"Sonya," Oz said as the van pulled up to a stop sign. "Which way?"
Distracted from Buffy, Sonya looked at Oz and answered, "Straight. You go down several more blocks until we pass that big bank with the gold windows, then Keller's clinic will be right there."
Oz glanced at her, with what might have almost been called a smile. "Thanks."
"You're... you're welcome."
Buffy watched this exchange with interest. She could feel very interesting emotions roiling through Sonya when she looked at or thought about Oz. Buffy thought about mentioning it, but then decided not to. These emotions were deep, and possibly hidden, too. And there was something more important Buffy wanted to know.
(I want to know about you and Xander.)
Sonya started. She had almost forgotten about her tag-along visitor. (Do you really want to get in to all that now?)
(We've got a couple of minutes before you get there.)
(What do you want to know?)
Buffy was already learning a lot by seeing Sonya's conflicting feelings on the subject. Guilt, longing, fear, love, attraction, guilt again. There was a lot of guilt.
(I want to know what you're going to do now...) Buffy finally said.
(I don't know) Sonya admitted. (Things are going to be so weird between us now. I wonder if we'll ever be able to get back to just friendship.)
If either girl thought it was odd that they were being so open with each other, they didn't say anything. There wasn't any point to lying when the other person would know the truth in an instant.
(Would you be happy with just friendship?)
Sonya winced at the pain hidden behind that simple question. When Buffy thought about Xander, all her other emotions went away. Sonya had known that Buffy cared for him before -- maybe she'd even known Buffy loved him, but she hadn't realized the feelings were this deep and this strong.
(Before, no) Sonya admitted honestly. (Now, well, I wonder if Nathan wasn't right about one thing.)
(What was that?)
(He said my feelings for Xander were just puppy love, or infatuation. I don't know. I do love him -- I love him a lot. But maybe it's not that kind of love... I'm so confused, Buffy. I don't know what's going to happen. My life has just been completely trashed, and there's no way for me to fix it. Sure, I can try and get Nathan gone, but then where will I be? A cripple, again! But there's no way I can sell my soul to him for my legs. This is all so hard!)
If Buffy had been there in person, she would have reached out and given Sonya a hug.
(If it makes you feel any better, I understand how you feel now, and I don't hate you anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm still hurt, and I don't know what's going to happen either, but that deep, down feeling of utter loathing that I've had for you since the night I saw you and Xander behind the tombstone, well, that's gone.)
(Umm... thanks, I think.)
(I wonder if Jenny knew this would happen when she bonded us together like this?) Buffy pondered.
(Probably) Sonya replied. (I think that woman knows a lot more than she's telling. Not about Nathan maybe, but about life on the Hellmouth in general.)
(Maybe when this is all over, we'll have to invite her to join the team.)
(Maybe so.)
"Hey, Sonya... wake up."
The shock of actually hearing with her real ears instead of with her mind caused Sonya's eyes to flash open. Oz was staring at her. The van had stopped a block away from Keller's clinic.
"We should walk the rest of way," Oz said. "You know... the advantage of surprise. Tell Buffy goodbye, and let's go."
Sonya grinned. Somehow he always knew what was going on. But she didn't have to tell Buffy anything. Now that Sonya would need all of her mind on the job at hand, Buffy had withdrawn to the back of Sonya's mind -- a watchful, waiting, almost-friendly presence, comforting but not intrusive.
"I'm ready," Sonya said, hoisting the bag of weapons to her shoulder. "Let's go."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jenny walked over to Buffy's prone form. She knelt down and shouted into Buffy's ear to get the girl's attention. "What's going on?"
Without opening her eyes, Buffy replied, "They're at the clinic."
Looking at Amy and Joyce, Jenny said, "We should get into position. When Buffy gives the signal, we're going to have to hurry."
"But until then we have to wait," Amy mumbled to herself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I wish we could have found Angel," Sonya whispered as she and Oz crept up to the front door of the clinic. "I may not like him much, but he is sometimes an asset during battle."
"I drove the route I thought he would take," Oz replied in a similarly soft tone. "Nothing."
When they reached the door, Sonya tried the handle. Locked.
"Should we try around back...?" Oz started, but Sonya shook her head.
"Takes more than a lock to stop a Slayer." She grabbed the handle in both hands and pulled. The door came flying off its hinges and crashed onto the sidewalk with the noise of screeching metal. Sonya looked at Oz in dismay.
"So much for the element of surprise," Oz muttered.
Sonya pushed back her negative feelings and preceded Oz into the clinic. "If I can't control my powers, this may be more difficult than we thought."
"Sonya, there you are. I was wondering what had happened to you."
The pair of teens looked up to see Angel coming down the hallway toward them.
"Angel," Sonya demanded, "what are you doing here? And where the hell have you been?"
"I've been getting a little attitude adjustment," Angel replied with a saccharine sweet smile. "And how are you two?"
Oz and Sonya exchanged a glance. This was definitely not the Angel they knew.
(Body switch?) Oz mouthed silently with a raised eyebrow.
Sonya shrugged. It was either that or more unexpected effects from her taking the last pill.
As the pause lengthened, Angel's weird smile vanished into a scowl. "Well, if you two don't want to be polite about this, we can do it the hard way." He motioned with his hand, and Oz went flying backwards into a wall. "This is going to be fun."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Joyce sat next to her daughter, watching with intent mother eyes as Buffy experienced whatever she was experiencing. Joyce wished that she could be a part of it. All this had thrown her for a loop, but she was trying to deal, as Buffy would say.
"I wish I could help you, sweetie," she whispered, though Buffy was too involved to hear her.
A hand touched Joyce on the shoulder. "You are helping, Mrs. Summers," Amy said, a shaky smile on her face. "You're being a good, loving, supportive mother. And you trusted Buffy when she told you a story that sounded like some teen horror flick. Who could ask for more than that?"
Joyce reached up and covered Amy's hand with her own. "Thank you, Amy. I appreciate that."
The two shared a smile, and Joyce wondered for a moment what Amy's story was. There had been much sharing that evening, but obviously not everything. Then the phone rang, interrupting the moment.
Joyce stood and walked out into the hall to find the cordless. For once it was actually in the phone nook. "Will miracles never cease," Joyce muttered, picking up the phone and clicking the talk button. "Hello."
"Er... yes... Mrs. Summers, I presume?"
She recognized that British accent. "Mr. Giles. What can I do for you?" She couldn't help the sudden coldness of her voice. She knew that he wasn't responsible for his actions this evening, but he had shown such a callous disregard for her daughter that Joyce wanted to yell at him. She restrained herself.
"I am... er... looking for Sonya. I cannot find her anywhere, and I thought that perhaps she was with Buffy." Even over the telephone wires, the man's voice sounded rife with worry.
Joyce took pity on him, and told him what she knew. "Sonya was here, but she's gone now. But I'm sure she will be fine. Don't worry."
"Of course I worry," Giles replied angrily. "She is my... ward. I'm responsible for her. Almost like a father for his daughter. You should know something about parental feelings, Mrs. Summers."
"Yes, I do know something about that," Joyce snapped. "And I will thank you to stay out of my daughter's life from now on. You've hurt her terribly, Mr. Giles, and I don't know if either of us will ever forget that. If everything goes according to plan and Buffy gets her powers back I hope she gets a different... oh, what's it called... a different Watcher!" Joyce bit off her next insult before it could come out, realizing she'd said too much.
"Buffy told you?" Giles demanded. "I can't believe it! That is so irresponsible..."
"As irresponsible as ignoring a sick girl when she comes to you for help?" Joyce asked bitterly.
Giles didn't respond to the insult, instead tracking on the last part of Joyce's earlier statement. "What is this plan? What is going on here? It is my right to know these things!"
"You're the one who decided on this 'need to know' principle, aren't you, Mr. Giles?" Joyce asked in a saccharine tone. "Well, at this point, you aren't on my need-to-know list. I hope you have a lovely evening while we save the world." Then she hung up, feeling a mixture of empowerment and regret.
"I suppose I really shouldn't have said that," she said under her breath. Then she turned and went back into the living room to resume her vigil by her daughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nurse Esther Michaels had worked the night shift at Sunnydale Memorial Hospital for over twenty years. She did dinners, made sure all the patients on her floor were tucked in to bed on time, supervised the other nurses and did countless other tasks to see to the comfort and well being of her patients. She peeped in at her newest patient -- a handsome, unconscious young man that somehow made her think of her own son away at college -- one last time, and then headed back for the nurses' desk at the end of the hallway, her rubber-soled shoes squeaking on the tile floor.
"Hannah," Esther asked the younger, blonder nurse sitting behind the desk. "Have you reached Mr. Harris' family yet?"
"No, ma'am," Hannah replied, with a shake of the head that set her blonde curls to bouncing. "I've tried his home number, the one on his drivers' license repeatedly, but no one is home and there is no answering machine."
Esther sighed. "Well, keep trying. He's bound to have some parents somewhere that will want to know what happened to him."
"Yes, ma'am," Hannah replied, picking up the phone again.
Suddenly, from down the hall there was a loud crash. Esther was running before a second went by, Hannah following. Esther realized quickly that the noise had come from Mr. Harris' room. She opened the door to see the young man standing up, his IV laying on the ground. He'd pulled the needle out of his arm and was staring around the room with wild eyes.
"Mr. Harris," Esther said in her most soothing tones, "I know you're a bit confused right now, but you need to calm down. You're in the hospital. Do you remember how you got here?"
"I've got to get out of here!" the boy cried excitedly. "I've got to find her. She needs me!"
Esther made a shooing motion to Hannah, who understood the signal and quickly withdrew from the room. The older nurse stepped toward the boy. "Now then, you are in no condition to go gallivanting around, Mr. Harris. Who is this 'she'?"
"She needs me!" the boy yelled again. "Where are my clothes? I've got to get out of here!"
Esther sensed Hannah's re-entrance, and held her hand out behind her back so the boy couldn't see. Hannah slipped Esther the syringe. Esther stepped toward the boy, saying, "Your clothes are in that cabinet right behind you."
The boy turned and opened the cabinet door, and Esther got close enough to stick the needle into his buttocks revealed by the open-backed hospital gown. The boy yelped as she pushed the plunger. As the boy started to sink to the ground, Hannah came over and helped Esther get him back in the bed and reattach the IV.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris," Esther said to the boy as he stared at her groggily. "I can't let you leave just yet. It might set back your recovery. But don't worry, the tranquilizer won't last too long -- hopefully just long enough for you to sleep through the night."
Xander whispered something, and Esther leaned down to hear it.
"What did he say?" Hannah asked.
Esther looked up, confused. "He said 'Buffy.'"
Chapter Fourteen
Summers' Residence
"Any special instructions?" Sonya asked. The pill had taken effect, and now she was practically bouncing up and down with energy and anticipation. Buffy was laying on the couch, listening intently, wrapped up in her quilt.
Jenny looked at the newly mind-linked girls. "All you have to do is close your eyes and think of the other, and you'll be able to see out their eyes. Sonya, I recommend that you don't do it often."
"I need to keep my eye on the job," Sonya agreed.
"Here's the Orb of Kessla." Jenny handed it to Sonya. The girl tossed it into the air and caught it one-handed. Jenny gave her a look, took the orb back and handed it to Oz.
"Try not to kill Nigel if you can help it," Jenny said quietly, "but if there's no other choice..."
Oz shouldered the bag of weapons from Buffy's trunk upstairs. "Don't worry." Then he looked at Sonya. "Let's go." With that he headed toward his van.
Jenny watched them go.
"Now what?" Joyce asked.
"Now we wait until the time is right." Jenny paused, and then looked around at the preparations they'd made for the oracle spell that had never been performed. "Amy, would you mind clearing this up while I get things ready for the dispersion spell?"
"No problem!" Amy said eagerly. Soon the witch and the witch-in-training were working competently side-by-side.
Joyce laid a cool hand on Buffy's forehead. "How do you feel, honey?"
"Weak," Buffy answered honestly. "But it's better to know for sure what's causing it."
"You rest now," Joyce said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "You need to build up your strength for later."
Buffy nodded and closed her eyes. Her body welcomed the respite, but her mind was nowhere near inactive. With her eyes closed, she thought of Sonya, and suddenly she was there, in the other girl's mind. Buffy could see Oz driving and the familiar landmarks of Sunnydale flashing by the van's windows. But it was more than that. She could feel Sonya's emotions, and hear her thoughts. And then Sonya was aware of Buffy, too.
(This is weird) Sonya said in her mental voice. Buffy could hear it just as loud and clear as if Sonya were standing right next to her.
(Yeah) Buffy agreed.
(I can feel your thoughts and emotions) Sonya confided.
Buffy was interested to know that the closeness of the linking went both ways. (Me, too) she replied.
Then they were silent for a minute. There were so many things to say, that there was nowhere to begin. That was when they realized that they didn't need to begin. Buffy knew that Sonya was really and truly sorry for the pain she had caused. Sonya could feel Buffy's anger fading away, and the hurts that would take much longer to heal. This situation could have been extremely uncomfortable for both of them, but somehow it wasn't.
"Sonya," Oz said as the van pulled up to a stop sign. "Which way?"
Distracted from Buffy, Sonya looked at Oz and answered, "Straight. You go down several more blocks until we pass that big bank with the gold windows, then Keller's clinic will be right there."
Oz glanced at her, with what might have almost been called a smile. "Thanks."
"You're... you're welcome."
Buffy watched this exchange with interest. She could feel very interesting emotions roiling through Sonya when she looked at or thought about Oz. Buffy thought about mentioning it, but then decided not to. These emotions were deep, and possibly hidden, too. And there was something more important Buffy wanted to know.
(I want to know about you and Xander.)
Sonya started. She had almost forgotten about her tag-along visitor. (Do you really want to get in to all that now?)
(We've got a couple of minutes before you get there.)
(What do you want to know?)
Buffy was already learning a lot by seeing Sonya's conflicting feelings on the subject. Guilt, longing, fear, love, attraction, guilt again. There was a lot of guilt.
(I want to know what you're going to do now...) Buffy finally said.
(I don't know) Sonya admitted. (Things are going to be so weird between us now. I wonder if we'll ever be able to get back to just friendship.)
If either girl thought it was odd that they were being so open with each other, they didn't say anything. There wasn't any point to lying when the other person would know the truth in an instant.
(Would you be happy with just friendship?)
Sonya winced at the pain hidden behind that simple question. When Buffy thought about Xander, all her other emotions went away. Sonya had known that Buffy cared for him before -- maybe she'd even known Buffy loved him, but she hadn't realized the feelings were this deep and this strong.
(Before, no) Sonya admitted honestly. (Now, well, I wonder if Nathan wasn't right about one thing.)
(What was that?)
(He said my feelings for Xander were just puppy love, or infatuation. I don't know. I do love him -- I love him a lot. But maybe it's not that kind of love... I'm so confused, Buffy. I don't know what's going to happen. My life has just been completely trashed, and there's no way for me to fix it. Sure, I can try and get Nathan gone, but then where will I be? A cripple, again! But there's no way I can sell my soul to him for my legs. This is all so hard!)
If Buffy had been there in person, she would have reached out and given Sonya a hug.
(If it makes you feel any better, I understand how you feel now, and I don't hate you anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm still hurt, and I don't know what's going to happen either, but that deep, down feeling of utter loathing that I've had for you since the night I saw you and Xander behind the tombstone, well, that's gone.)
(Umm... thanks, I think.)
(I wonder if Jenny knew this would happen when she bonded us together like this?) Buffy pondered.
(Probably) Sonya replied. (I think that woman knows a lot more than she's telling. Not about Nathan maybe, but about life on the Hellmouth in general.)
(Maybe when this is all over, we'll have to invite her to join the team.)
(Maybe so.)
"Hey, Sonya... wake up."
The shock of actually hearing with her real ears instead of with her mind caused Sonya's eyes to flash open. Oz was staring at her. The van had stopped a block away from Keller's clinic.
"We should walk the rest of way," Oz said. "You know... the advantage of surprise. Tell Buffy goodbye, and let's go."
Sonya grinned. Somehow he always knew what was going on. But she didn't have to tell Buffy anything. Now that Sonya would need all of her mind on the job at hand, Buffy had withdrawn to the back of Sonya's mind -- a watchful, waiting, almost-friendly presence, comforting but not intrusive.
"I'm ready," Sonya said, hoisting the bag of weapons to her shoulder. "Let's go."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jenny walked over to Buffy's prone form. She knelt down and shouted into Buffy's ear to get the girl's attention. "What's going on?"
Without opening her eyes, Buffy replied, "They're at the clinic."
Looking at Amy and Joyce, Jenny said, "We should get into position. When Buffy gives the signal, we're going to have to hurry."
"But until then we have to wait," Amy mumbled to herself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I wish we could have found Angel," Sonya whispered as she and Oz crept up to the front door of the clinic. "I may not like him much, but he is sometimes an asset during battle."
"I drove the route I thought he would take," Oz replied in a similarly soft tone. "Nothing."
When they reached the door, Sonya tried the handle. Locked.
"Should we try around back...?" Oz started, but Sonya shook her head.
"Takes more than a lock to stop a Slayer." She grabbed the handle in both hands and pulled. The door came flying off its hinges and crashed onto the sidewalk with the noise of screeching metal. Sonya looked at Oz in dismay.
"So much for the element of surprise," Oz muttered.
Sonya pushed back her negative feelings and preceded Oz into the clinic. "If I can't control my powers, this may be more difficult than we thought."
"Sonya, there you are. I was wondering what had happened to you."
The pair of teens looked up to see Angel coming down the hallway toward them.
"Angel," Sonya demanded, "what are you doing here? And where the hell have you been?"
"I've been getting a little attitude adjustment," Angel replied with a saccharine sweet smile. "And how are you two?"
Oz and Sonya exchanged a glance. This was definitely not the Angel they knew.
(Body switch?) Oz mouthed silently with a raised eyebrow.
Sonya shrugged. It was either that or more unexpected effects from her taking the last pill.
As the pause lengthened, Angel's weird smile vanished into a scowl. "Well, if you two don't want to be polite about this, we can do it the hard way." He motioned with his hand, and Oz went flying backwards into a wall. "This is going to be fun."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Joyce sat next to her daughter, watching with intent mother eyes as Buffy experienced whatever she was experiencing. Joyce wished that she could be a part of it. All this had thrown her for a loop, but she was trying to deal, as Buffy would say.
"I wish I could help you, sweetie," she whispered, though Buffy was too involved to hear her.
A hand touched Joyce on the shoulder. "You are helping, Mrs. Summers," Amy said, a shaky smile on her face. "You're being a good, loving, supportive mother. And you trusted Buffy when she told you a story that sounded like some teen horror flick. Who could ask for more than that?"
Joyce reached up and covered Amy's hand with her own. "Thank you, Amy. I appreciate that."
The two shared a smile, and Joyce wondered for a moment what Amy's story was. There had been much sharing that evening, but obviously not everything. Then the phone rang, interrupting the moment.
Joyce stood and walked out into the hall to find the cordless. For once it was actually in the phone nook. "Will miracles never cease," Joyce muttered, picking up the phone and clicking the talk button. "Hello."
"Er... yes... Mrs. Summers, I presume?"
She recognized that British accent. "Mr. Giles. What can I do for you?" She couldn't help the sudden coldness of her voice. She knew that he wasn't responsible for his actions this evening, but he had shown such a callous disregard for her daughter that Joyce wanted to yell at him. She restrained herself.
"I am... er... looking for Sonya. I cannot find her anywhere, and I thought that perhaps she was with Buffy." Even over the telephone wires, the man's voice sounded rife with worry.
Joyce took pity on him, and told him what she knew. "Sonya was here, but she's gone now. But I'm sure she will be fine. Don't worry."
"Of course I worry," Giles replied angrily. "She is my... ward. I'm responsible for her. Almost like a father for his daughter. You should know something about parental feelings, Mrs. Summers."
"Yes, I do know something about that," Joyce snapped. "And I will thank you to stay out of my daughter's life from now on. You've hurt her terribly, Mr. Giles, and I don't know if either of us will ever forget that. If everything goes according to plan and Buffy gets her powers back I hope she gets a different... oh, what's it called... a different Watcher!" Joyce bit off her next insult before it could come out, realizing she'd said too much.
"Buffy told you?" Giles demanded. "I can't believe it! That is so irresponsible..."
"As irresponsible as ignoring a sick girl when she comes to you for help?" Joyce asked bitterly.
Giles didn't respond to the insult, instead tracking on the last part of Joyce's earlier statement. "What is this plan? What is going on here? It is my right to know these things!"
"You're the one who decided on this 'need to know' principle, aren't you, Mr. Giles?" Joyce asked in a saccharine tone. "Well, at this point, you aren't on my need-to-know list. I hope you have a lovely evening while we save the world." Then she hung up, feeling a mixture of empowerment and regret.
"I suppose I really shouldn't have said that," she said under her breath. Then she turned and went back into the living room to resume her vigil by her daughter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nurse Esther Michaels had worked the night shift at Sunnydale Memorial Hospital for over twenty years. She did dinners, made sure all the patients on her floor were tucked in to bed on time, supervised the other nurses and did countless other tasks to see to the comfort and well being of her patients. She peeped in at her newest patient -- a handsome, unconscious young man that somehow made her think of her own son away at college -- one last time, and then headed back for the nurses' desk at the end of the hallway, her rubber-soled shoes squeaking on the tile floor.
"Hannah," Esther asked the younger, blonder nurse sitting behind the desk. "Have you reached Mr. Harris' family yet?"
"No, ma'am," Hannah replied, with a shake of the head that set her blonde curls to bouncing. "I've tried his home number, the one on his drivers' license repeatedly, but no one is home and there is no answering machine."
Esther sighed. "Well, keep trying. He's bound to have some parents somewhere that will want to know what happened to him."
"Yes, ma'am," Hannah replied, picking up the phone again.
Suddenly, from down the hall there was a loud crash. Esther was running before a second went by, Hannah following. Esther realized quickly that the noise had come from Mr. Harris' room. She opened the door to see the young man standing up, his IV laying on the ground. He'd pulled the needle out of his arm and was staring around the room with wild eyes.
"Mr. Harris," Esther said in her most soothing tones, "I know you're a bit confused right now, but you need to calm down. You're in the hospital. Do you remember how you got here?"
"I've got to get out of here!" the boy cried excitedly. "I've got to find her. She needs me!"
Esther made a shooing motion to Hannah, who understood the signal and quickly withdrew from the room. The older nurse stepped toward the boy. "Now then, you are in no condition to go gallivanting around, Mr. Harris. Who is this 'she'?"
"She needs me!" the boy yelled again. "Where are my clothes? I've got to get out of here!"
Esther sensed Hannah's re-entrance, and held her hand out behind her back so the boy couldn't see. Hannah slipped Esther the syringe. Esther stepped toward the boy, saying, "Your clothes are in that cabinet right behind you."
The boy turned and opened the cabinet door, and Esther got close enough to stick the needle into his buttocks revealed by the open-backed hospital gown. The boy yelped as she pushed the plunger. As the boy started to sink to the ground, Hannah came over and helped Esther get him back in the bed and reattach the IV.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris," Esther said to the boy as he stared at her groggily. "I can't let you leave just yet. It might set back your recovery. But don't worry, the tranquilizer won't last too long -- hopefully just long enough for you to sleep through the night."
Xander whispered something, and Esther leaned down to hear it.
"What did he say?" Hannah asked.
Esther looked up, confused. "He said 'Buffy.'"