Chapter 9

Wesley called Angel downstairs to talk to him about something. Buffy stayed in the room for a little while longer until she was also ready to go downstairs. When she got to the stairs her headache was pounding and she started to feel a little dizzy. She was about to fall when she felt strong arms hold her from behind. "Be careful, pet. You don't wanna fall down these stairs." Spike told her. She looked at him and it was like she was seeing three heads.

"Sorry, I guess I'm feeling a little dizzy." Spike looked at her.

"Are you okay? You're looking pale all of a sudden." She nodded.

"I'm fine, it's probably nothing. Just to be safe though you should probably help me down the stairs." Spike nodded and gently grabbed her arm as they walked down the stairs to join the others. When they got to the bottom everything was spinning and she groaned and clutched her stomach. "Spike, something doesn't feel right." Spike saw her holding her stomach and he gently lifted up her shirt to see what was wrong. What he saw was the demon's claw marks back on her flesh, but there was no blood.

"Uh oh, this can't be good." He told her.

"Why, what's wrong?" She asked, a little scared.

"Come on, love. I think you better sit down." He was leading her to a chair when she suddenly stopped. He looked back at her wondering what was wrong now.

"I can't, everything is spinning." She grabbed her head and then she looked right into Spike's eyes. He recognized the look she was giving him. It was a goodbye look. Then she passed out. He rushed to her side and caught her before she hit the floor. He noticed that she wasn't dead, just unconscious. He touched her forehead and it was like he was touching fire, she was so hot.

"Oh god," he whispered. "A little help here!" He yelled to get the others attention. It worked and they all came running to see what was going on.

"What happened now?" Xander asked. Spike looked up at all of them.

"I don't know, she said she was dizzy and then she fainted. There's also this." Spike pulled her shirt up so they could see the claw marks.

"Oh my god!" Willow stated. "How did this happen?" No one knew what to say when Tara went over to Buffy. She kneeled down and felt her head.

"She's burning up; we have to get her to a hospital." She told them.

"That won't work, there's nothing they can do for her." They all looked up to see Wesley coming towards them, followed by Angel and Gunn. Spike saw the looks on their faces and knew he wasn't going to like what Wesley had to say.

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, getting a bit annoyed.

"When Buffy was slashed I recognized the claw marks on her and knew of the kind of demon that had those type of claws. I did some research on the demon." He took a deep breath and looked at everyone around him. "The demon is very deadly; its claws alone contain a very powerful poison. If a human is in contact with the demon's claws they would be dead within 12 hours. Buffy being a little more than human I would guess has at least a few days. Maybe two, three at the most. When Alex tried to heal her she was able to stop the poison spreading through her body for a short time, but it didn't last. The poison is too powerful. I don't know of a way to defeat it." After his speech everyone looked at Buffy. Dawn had tears in her eyes and Willow and Tara were trying to keep from crying. Xander looked away trying not to watch his friend suffer again. Spike just held her, not sure of what else to do. Everyone else just stared at her, feeling helpless.