Jennifer Calendar, or Janna of the Kalderash, rushed down the corridors of
Sunnydale General Hospital, desperately trying to find the Scoobies.
After of minutes of searching she finally found Giles standing in front of a water dispenser as he poured himself a cup.
"Oh God Rupert," Jenny exclaimed and threw her hands around the surprised librarian, who tried his hardest not to spill the water.
"Jenny?" Giles asked surprised, but couldn't help and smile for the first time in hours. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard in the radio that several people were injured at the mall. Something about a gang war," she explained. "I was afraid that one of you might end up here, so I wanted to check the hospital. The nurse at the front desk told me that Xander and Buffy are currently here."
Giles took her arm and led her down the corridor, to the part of the hospital where the rest of Scoobies were waiting.
"Xander is currently in surgery," he explained in a hushed tone, which resulted in a worried look from Jenny. "They won't tell us anything about his condition. And Buffy, well the doctors sedated her. She broke the arm of one security guard and another one's nose when they tried to separate her from Xander's stretcher. Her mother is now with her."
"Rupert, what happened there?" Jenny asked. "And how did Xander end up so badly that he needed to go to surgery."
"I really don't know all the facts," Giles said and sighed. "It seems that Buffy defeated Angelus, but she didn't destroy him. Xander waited until she was out of sight and then he killed him. Buffy just came back in time to see him die. She didn't take it very well. She beat up Xander and during their struggle he fell down a staircase."
Jenny gasped in shock. "Oh no," she muttered
"Oh, you haven't heard the worst part yet," he told her with a sad smile. "When I checked on him he said he had no feeling in his legs. Despite that he was fine until the ambulance arrived. Then he suddenly lost consciousness and it looks like he was in that state the whole time."
They had finally reached the waiting room, where the Scoobies had been since they had arrived at the hospital. Everyone was sitting on the chairs, Oz trying his hardest to comfort the red head, whereas Cordelia was simply staring at the wall other side of the small room.
Jenny sat down beside Willow and placed a comforting hand on the little girls back. Willow looked up form Oz's shoulder where she had buried her face for the last hour and looked with her tear streaked face at the computer teacher. Finally the red haired hacker threw her arms around the older women.
When suddenly a doctor stepped into the waiting room, everyone was on their feet, looking expectantly at the man.
"Doctor," Giles greeted him.
"You are the ones that arrived with Mr. Harris?" the doctor asked. That earned him a collective nod from the gang.
"Yes, how is he?" Cordelia asked impatiently.
"Well, I'm only going to tell it to you because we couldn't reach his parents," the doctor explained. "And only because one of his teachers is present."
The doctor took a deep breath before he started. "Mr. Harris has several broken ribs. He suffered a heavy concussion and a broken arm." The doctor looked at the shocked faces of the group and prepared himself for what was coming now. "What comes now might be shock, but Mr. Harris' spine was broken in several places. There was nothing we could do. He is paralysed below the waist."
That statement cause even more shocked looks from the scooby gang. Giles looked in defeat at the floor, Willow was trying her hardest not to cry again, while Jenny again comforted her. Oz, of course, didn't show any emotion, but surprisingly Cordelia almost rivalled his stoic façade.
Cordelia was the first to speak again. "Can we see him?"
"Well, he is awake. But I can only allow two persons to visit him and I suggest that you spend only a few minutes with him. He is under heavy medication and he needs to rest," the doctor explained. "And of course one has to be Mr. Giles, since he the responsible adult for Mr. Harris."
Willow looked at Cordelia. "Cord, I know you two are together, but...."
"It's okay Willow," the cheerleader interrupted her.
"Thanks," Willow told her with a small smile and the taller girl a quick hug before she left the waiting room with Giles.
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When Giles and Willow entered the room, Xander was lying in his hospital bed. He had his eyes closed and almost looked fine. But when they looked closer they could see the bandages that were strapped around his upper body and his head. Add to that that his face looked unnatural pale. The two silently walked up to the bed, trying to not make any sound that might wake him up.
When they had reached the bedside, Xander opened his eyes ana smiled weakly at them.
"Hi Xander," Willow greeted him hesitantly.
"Hi guys," he replied.
"How are you feeling?" Giles asked him.
Xander chuckled. "Like I rolled down a staircase"
"Did the doctors talk with you?" Willow asked him after a pause.
Xander sighed, but after a minute he nodded.
Willow leaned over the bed and hugged him, paying special attention to not hurt him while doing it.
"How could you do something so stupid," she accused him angrily after she sat down on the chair at the bedside. "God, Xander he could have killed you."
"Huh?" the boy asked confused
"Angel, he could have killed you," she clarified her statement
Xander sighed in response. "And I thought you were going to give me the whole 'how could you kill Angel, he was the vampire with a soul and it's Buffy's job to decide when he will be killed'-speech "
"After he nearly killed me?" Willow asked him with a raised eyebrow
"Yeah, good point" Xander told her with a half smile "Where is that bitch by the way?"
"Xander," Willow scowled at him.
"What?" he snapped at her. "I think I've earned me the right to call her that."
"She is resting in another room," Giles told him while he took his classes and started to clean them "She was a complete wreck after the whole thing."
"I think I'm more of a wreck than her," he muttered.
"Xander.." Giles tried to reason with him.
"No Giles. She went too far. She is supposed to protect humans, not to put them into wheelchairs," Xander yelled at him. "Killing Angelus was something that had to be done. If she couldn't do it, well tough choice, I could. She made her decision, I made mine. I knew that I would ruin every kind of friendship I had with Buffy, but I never expected her to do this to me."
"I agree with you Xander," Giles told him and sighed for the umpteenth time this day." God knows that Buffy didn't react very professionally. But you also have to consider the circumstances that lead to that point," he explained "All that pent up stress she suffered during the last 48 hours and..."
"Wait a fucking second," Xander interrupted him angrily. " Why are you searching for an excuse for her. She did that willingly."
"No, I don't want to excuse her actions. I simply want to explain them," Giles told him.
"Explain?" Xander yelled at him "Explain to me why I have to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Explain to me why I'll never ever will be able to walk. Explain that to me"
"Xander," Giles said and tried to calm him down.
"No, fuck you Giles. I could forgive her nearly anything, but she ruined my life. You want to explain things? Well explain to that bitch that, if she ever will get near me again that I will kill her. And don't doubt a second that I won't be able to do it."
"Xander," Willow tried to calm him down. "You are right. Buffy had no right to do that to you. But you can't just ignore the effect the death on Angel had on her."
"You too Willow." Xander said and shook his head. "Okay, that's enough. Out," he said and pointed at the door.
"Xander...," Willow tried to reason with him.
"I swear to you, if one of you Xanders me again, I'm going postal," he threatened the two." I get that shit that everything is my mistake already from home. I don't need it from the people I consider my friends. Now go before I call the nurse."
Giles sighed and lead Willow to the door. "We'll check on you tomorrow, okay?" Willow asked before she closed the door.
"Go to hell," he yelled after them, his voice clearly audible through the door.
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"Well, that went well," Giles muttered sarcastically as he spotted the rest of the Scoobie gang who had gathered outside Xander's room.
"What happened?" Cordelia asked and glared at the librarian. "We heard a lot of muffled yelling."
"It was Xander," Willow said silently.
"What?" Cordy snapped at her. "You angered him that much in his current state?"
"Cordelia." Giles said.
"No," Cordelia interrupted him. "I want to know what happened in there."
"We talked. Xander was pretty upset about his condition. He threatened to kill Buffy if she would ever get near him again. We tried to calm him down. But he was too angry," Giles explained.
"Condition?" the cheerleader asked bewildered. "He is paralysed for God's sake. And he has every right to be angry. I tell you, if I could, I would kill that bottle blond bitch myself."
"Cordy," Willow said and motioned for her to lower her voice.
"Oh, screw you Willow," Cordelia yelled at her." Xander's supposed to be your best friend and you are still on the side of the slayer?"
Willow looked shamefully down to her shoes.
Cordelia shook her head. "You people , you make me sick. I should have gone inside to him," she said and walked down the corridor. "He should have needed someone who really would be there for him," she said and disappeared behind the next corner.
After of minutes of searching she finally found Giles standing in front of a water dispenser as he poured himself a cup.
"Oh God Rupert," Jenny exclaimed and threw her hands around the surprised librarian, who tried his hardest not to spill the water.
"Jenny?" Giles asked surprised, but couldn't help and smile for the first time in hours. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard in the radio that several people were injured at the mall. Something about a gang war," she explained. "I was afraid that one of you might end up here, so I wanted to check the hospital. The nurse at the front desk told me that Xander and Buffy are currently here."
Giles took her arm and led her down the corridor, to the part of the hospital where the rest of Scoobies were waiting.
"Xander is currently in surgery," he explained in a hushed tone, which resulted in a worried look from Jenny. "They won't tell us anything about his condition. And Buffy, well the doctors sedated her. She broke the arm of one security guard and another one's nose when they tried to separate her from Xander's stretcher. Her mother is now with her."
"Rupert, what happened there?" Jenny asked. "And how did Xander end up so badly that he needed to go to surgery."
"I really don't know all the facts," Giles said and sighed. "It seems that Buffy defeated Angelus, but she didn't destroy him. Xander waited until she was out of sight and then he killed him. Buffy just came back in time to see him die. She didn't take it very well. She beat up Xander and during their struggle he fell down a staircase."
Jenny gasped in shock. "Oh no," she muttered
"Oh, you haven't heard the worst part yet," he told her with a sad smile. "When I checked on him he said he had no feeling in his legs. Despite that he was fine until the ambulance arrived. Then he suddenly lost consciousness and it looks like he was in that state the whole time."
They had finally reached the waiting room, where the Scoobies had been since they had arrived at the hospital. Everyone was sitting on the chairs, Oz trying his hardest to comfort the red head, whereas Cordelia was simply staring at the wall other side of the small room.
Jenny sat down beside Willow and placed a comforting hand on the little girls back. Willow looked up form Oz's shoulder where she had buried her face for the last hour and looked with her tear streaked face at the computer teacher. Finally the red haired hacker threw her arms around the older women.
When suddenly a doctor stepped into the waiting room, everyone was on their feet, looking expectantly at the man.
"Doctor," Giles greeted him.
"You are the ones that arrived with Mr. Harris?" the doctor asked. That earned him a collective nod from the gang.
"Yes, how is he?" Cordelia asked impatiently.
"Well, I'm only going to tell it to you because we couldn't reach his parents," the doctor explained. "And only because one of his teachers is present."
The doctor took a deep breath before he started. "Mr. Harris has several broken ribs. He suffered a heavy concussion and a broken arm." The doctor looked at the shocked faces of the group and prepared himself for what was coming now. "What comes now might be shock, but Mr. Harris' spine was broken in several places. There was nothing we could do. He is paralysed below the waist."
That statement cause even more shocked looks from the scooby gang. Giles looked in defeat at the floor, Willow was trying her hardest not to cry again, while Jenny again comforted her. Oz, of course, didn't show any emotion, but surprisingly Cordelia almost rivalled his stoic façade.
Cordelia was the first to speak again. "Can we see him?"
"Well, he is awake. But I can only allow two persons to visit him and I suggest that you spend only a few minutes with him. He is under heavy medication and he needs to rest," the doctor explained. "And of course one has to be Mr. Giles, since he the responsible adult for Mr. Harris."
Willow looked at Cordelia. "Cord, I know you two are together, but...."
"It's okay Willow," the cheerleader interrupted her.
"Thanks," Willow told her with a small smile and the taller girl a quick hug before she left the waiting room with Giles.
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When Giles and Willow entered the room, Xander was lying in his hospital bed. He had his eyes closed and almost looked fine. But when they looked closer they could see the bandages that were strapped around his upper body and his head. Add to that that his face looked unnatural pale. The two silently walked up to the bed, trying to not make any sound that might wake him up.
When they had reached the bedside, Xander opened his eyes ana smiled weakly at them.
"Hi Xander," Willow greeted him hesitantly.
"Hi guys," he replied.
"How are you feeling?" Giles asked him.
Xander chuckled. "Like I rolled down a staircase"
"Did the doctors talk with you?" Willow asked him after a pause.
Xander sighed, but after a minute he nodded.
Willow leaned over the bed and hugged him, paying special attention to not hurt him while doing it.
"How could you do something so stupid," she accused him angrily after she sat down on the chair at the bedside. "God, Xander he could have killed you."
"Huh?" the boy asked confused
"Angel, he could have killed you," she clarified her statement
Xander sighed in response. "And I thought you were going to give me the whole 'how could you kill Angel, he was the vampire with a soul and it's Buffy's job to decide when he will be killed'-speech "
"After he nearly killed me?" Willow asked him with a raised eyebrow
"Yeah, good point" Xander told her with a half smile "Where is that bitch by the way?"
"Xander," Willow scowled at him.
"What?" he snapped at her. "I think I've earned me the right to call her that."
"She is resting in another room," Giles told him while he took his classes and started to clean them "She was a complete wreck after the whole thing."
"I think I'm more of a wreck than her," he muttered.
"Xander.." Giles tried to reason with him.
"No Giles. She went too far. She is supposed to protect humans, not to put them into wheelchairs," Xander yelled at him. "Killing Angelus was something that had to be done. If she couldn't do it, well tough choice, I could. She made her decision, I made mine. I knew that I would ruin every kind of friendship I had with Buffy, but I never expected her to do this to me."
"I agree with you Xander," Giles told him and sighed for the umpteenth time this day." God knows that Buffy didn't react very professionally. But you also have to consider the circumstances that lead to that point," he explained "All that pent up stress she suffered during the last 48 hours and..."
"Wait a fucking second," Xander interrupted him angrily. " Why are you searching for an excuse for her. She did that willingly."
"No, I don't want to excuse her actions. I simply want to explain them," Giles told him.
"Explain?" Xander yelled at him "Explain to me why I have to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Explain to me why I'll never ever will be able to walk. Explain that to me"
"Xander," Giles said and tried to calm him down.
"No, fuck you Giles. I could forgive her nearly anything, but she ruined my life. You want to explain things? Well explain to that bitch that, if she ever will get near me again that I will kill her. And don't doubt a second that I won't be able to do it."
"Xander," Willow tried to calm him down. "You are right. Buffy had no right to do that to you. But you can't just ignore the effect the death on Angel had on her."
"You too Willow." Xander said and shook his head. "Okay, that's enough. Out," he said and pointed at the door.
"Xander...," Willow tried to reason with him.
"I swear to you, if one of you Xanders me again, I'm going postal," he threatened the two." I get that shit that everything is my mistake already from home. I don't need it from the people I consider my friends. Now go before I call the nurse."
Giles sighed and lead Willow to the door. "We'll check on you tomorrow, okay?" Willow asked before she closed the door.
"Go to hell," he yelled after them, his voice clearly audible through the door.
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"Well, that went well," Giles muttered sarcastically as he spotted the rest of the Scoobie gang who had gathered outside Xander's room.
"What happened?" Cordelia asked and glared at the librarian. "We heard a lot of muffled yelling."
"It was Xander," Willow said silently.
"What?" Cordy snapped at her. "You angered him that much in his current state?"
"Cordelia." Giles said.
"No," Cordelia interrupted him. "I want to know what happened in there."
"We talked. Xander was pretty upset about his condition. He threatened to kill Buffy if she would ever get near him again. We tried to calm him down. But he was too angry," Giles explained.
"Condition?" the cheerleader asked bewildered. "He is paralysed for God's sake. And he has every right to be angry. I tell you, if I could, I would kill that bottle blond bitch myself."
"Cordy," Willow said and motioned for her to lower her voice.
"Oh, screw you Willow," Cordelia yelled at her." Xander's supposed to be your best friend and you are still on the side of the slayer?"
Willow looked shamefully down to her shoes.
Cordelia shook her head. "You people , you make me sick. I should have gone inside to him," she said and walked down the corridor. "He should have needed someone who really would be there for him," she said and disappeared behind the next corner.