Chapter 3 "Close and yet so far"
"Did you see the look on her face?" Angelus laughs as he, Spike, and
Drusilla walk back to the mansion.
"Bloody priceless it was." Spike says, with a smile. Drusilla giggles and
dances down the sidewalk.
"Who's next?" Spike asks happily. "Red and her mum weren't really all that
close, you know."
"I know, but it still stings. I can't wait to see her in some real pain."
Angelus says, almost lustfully. "I want to get close to her heart."
"Oh my God! Willow are you alright? What happened.? Is she...dead?" A million
questions pour from Buffy's mouth. 'I must be dreaming' Willow thinks out
loud. Her friend seemed close, yet far away, everything seemed far away.
"Willow? Willow! It's not a dream. I'm here. Are you okay?" Buffy drops down
to the floor beside her best friend.
Willow, still cradling her mothers head in her lap, looks up. "Buffy. Where
did you come from?"
"I was walking on the other side of the street when I saw your door was
open, so I ran here. What happened?"
"They killed her. Almost invited them in..."
"Vampires?" Buffy looked down at Mrs. Rosenberg, and knew the answer to that
question as soon as she saw her.
"Need to get her to a hospital. Still hope..." Willow continues to talk
crazily.
"She's dead Wil." Buffy whispers soothingly to her friend.
"No, no, NO!" Willow screams into the house, empty except for the two girls
and the body. The dead body. Her mother's dead body. "How could he?" She
whispers to herself, but Buffy hears.
Buffy is confused at first, but then she understands. Angel, or Angelus. He
did this. He killed Willow's mother. Knowing this makes it that much easier
for Buffy to prepare to kill him.
"Oh my God. Willow, I'm so sorry... so sorry I didn't get here before...
couldn't save her, couldn't help you. Did he hurt you?"
Willow, finally coming out of her crazed state manages to speak. "No, I
nearly invited him in, thinking it was you. How stupid!"
"Wil, you are not stupid. So he didn't hurt you? Can you tell me anything
else?"
"Spike and Drusilla. They were with him. Oh Buffy, I'm so sorry. This is all
my fault."
Buffy looks at Willow's head, and sees blood coming from a wound on the back
of her head, and a large knot appearing. "Willow, let's get you to the
hospital. I'll call an ambulance." Buffy says, completely ignoring Willow's
comment about it being her fault. If only she knew how close, and yet so far
she was from the truth.
As she watches Willow, the blood flow seems to quicken, and Willow's eyes
roll into the back of her head. Buffy jumps up and runs to the phone,
dialing 911.
Two men and a woman had come to Willow's house. One of the men took her
mothers body, and stuffed it into a black bag. The other man, and the woman,
put Willow on a stretcher, and hooked her up to an unneeded IV. Willow had
been conscience since a little while before the ambulance had arrived. The
ride to the hospital had been silent except for the static voices coming
through the emergency workers radios. Willow noticed the cleanness of the
ambulance, the metallic look and feel. She didn't cry anymore, she couldn't.
She was worn from the past few days, and seeing her mother dead, had topped
it all off. And yet she still hadn't told her friends the truth. Buffy had
heard her say it was her fault, but had written it off, as nothing more than
Willow's crazy talk. And Willow had let it stay that way. Buffy had rode in
the ambulance, and when they took her into the hospital room she had stayed
until Willow had, exhausted, fallen into a restless sleep. Buffy finally
left to get Giles and Xander, and they had all stayed with her through the
night. When Willow woke up the doctors told the group it would be best if
they went home, and that he would call when he felt Willow could deal with
company. The group agreed, saying that she was fragile now, and needed rest.
Willow slept through the day, and that night, she awoke to a doctor sitting
in the chair beside her bed, dead, and with a note attached to his jacket.
The note read:
Red
We will visit you soon.
-ASD
It was written in what looked to be the doctors blood. Willow read the
letter and destroyed it before using her call button to get someone in her
room to remove yet another body. She couldn't cry, her eyes seemed to be
dry. Willow slept for three days after that, never stirring from her deep
sleep. The doctors worried she would slip into a coma, but she finally woke
one night, more tired than she had been before she had slept. Late that
night while she stared up at her ceiling she heard the door quietly open and
close. The hospital had been buzzing with people earlier in the day, but
now it was silent, as people left to go home, and shifts were changed.
"Who's there?" Willow asked impatiently into the darkness of the room,
moving her arm from under her pillow, and slowly to the set of drawers
beside her. If only she could get to the cross in the top drawer.
"Hello, pet." Spike's voice broke into the dark silence around Willow. "Play
nice." He added as he saw her moving towards the drawers.
"Spike?" Willow said, almost uncaring. "How did you-?"
She was cut off by Spike saying "It's a public place, don't need an invite."
Willow started to sit up in bed, but Spike's hand was on her stomach pushing
her back down. Spike pulled over the new chair, and sat, facing Willow.
Willow looked around nervously. She was alone in a hospital room with a
vampire, maybe three vampires.
"I'm alone, luv." Spike said, teasingly.
"That's very reassuring." Willow said anxiously. "It doesn't make me any
less dead."
"Who said I was going to kill you, Red?" Spike laughed.
"Seeing that you killed my mother, I just assumed I was next. Am I wrong?"
"Yes, ducks, you are wrong. Angelus is up to his old tricks, and he likes to
go for the hurt, not the kill. You won't be dead... for a while."
"Why? Why does he want me to suffer."
"Because you did a little spell, and you didn't tell your friends. You have
potential."
"The spell to save Angel..." Willow whispered to herself. "But how did he-?"
"You forget about my Dru. She has visions, sees things we can't. She saw
your spell had changed the world. She was bloody giddy about that."
"I-is Angel mad?" Willow asks, slipping into her shy girlish love for Angel.
"Angelus you mean? No he's not mad. As a matter of fact, he wants to send
his regards. Oh, and he wants me to tell you the puppy is next."
Spike was gone before Willow could even say anything. "Oz..." she said into
the again empty room.
"Did you see the look on her face?" Angelus laughs as he, Spike, and
Drusilla walk back to the mansion.
"Bloody priceless it was." Spike says, with a smile. Drusilla giggles and
dances down the sidewalk.
"Who's next?" Spike asks happily. "Red and her mum weren't really all that
close, you know."
"I know, but it still stings. I can't wait to see her in some real pain."
Angelus says, almost lustfully. "I want to get close to her heart."
"Oh my God! Willow are you alright? What happened.? Is she...dead?" A million
questions pour from Buffy's mouth. 'I must be dreaming' Willow thinks out
loud. Her friend seemed close, yet far away, everything seemed far away.
"Willow? Willow! It's not a dream. I'm here. Are you okay?" Buffy drops down
to the floor beside her best friend.
Willow, still cradling her mothers head in her lap, looks up. "Buffy. Where
did you come from?"
"I was walking on the other side of the street when I saw your door was
open, so I ran here. What happened?"
"They killed her. Almost invited them in..."
"Vampires?" Buffy looked down at Mrs. Rosenberg, and knew the answer to that
question as soon as she saw her.
"Need to get her to a hospital. Still hope..." Willow continues to talk
crazily.
"She's dead Wil." Buffy whispers soothingly to her friend.
"No, no, NO!" Willow screams into the house, empty except for the two girls
and the body. The dead body. Her mother's dead body. "How could he?" She
whispers to herself, but Buffy hears.
Buffy is confused at first, but then she understands. Angel, or Angelus. He
did this. He killed Willow's mother. Knowing this makes it that much easier
for Buffy to prepare to kill him.
"Oh my God. Willow, I'm so sorry... so sorry I didn't get here before...
couldn't save her, couldn't help you. Did he hurt you?"
Willow, finally coming out of her crazed state manages to speak. "No, I
nearly invited him in, thinking it was you. How stupid!"
"Wil, you are not stupid. So he didn't hurt you? Can you tell me anything
else?"
"Spike and Drusilla. They were with him. Oh Buffy, I'm so sorry. This is all
my fault."
Buffy looks at Willow's head, and sees blood coming from a wound on the back
of her head, and a large knot appearing. "Willow, let's get you to the
hospital. I'll call an ambulance." Buffy says, completely ignoring Willow's
comment about it being her fault. If only she knew how close, and yet so far
she was from the truth.
As she watches Willow, the blood flow seems to quicken, and Willow's eyes
roll into the back of her head. Buffy jumps up and runs to the phone,
dialing 911.
Two men and a woman had come to Willow's house. One of the men took her
mothers body, and stuffed it into a black bag. The other man, and the woman,
put Willow on a stretcher, and hooked her up to an unneeded IV. Willow had
been conscience since a little while before the ambulance had arrived. The
ride to the hospital had been silent except for the static voices coming
through the emergency workers radios. Willow noticed the cleanness of the
ambulance, the metallic look and feel. She didn't cry anymore, she couldn't.
She was worn from the past few days, and seeing her mother dead, had topped
it all off. And yet she still hadn't told her friends the truth. Buffy had
heard her say it was her fault, but had written it off, as nothing more than
Willow's crazy talk. And Willow had let it stay that way. Buffy had rode in
the ambulance, and when they took her into the hospital room she had stayed
until Willow had, exhausted, fallen into a restless sleep. Buffy finally
left to get Giles and Xander, and they had all stayed with her through the
night. When Willow woke up the doctors told the group it would be best if
they went home, and that he would call when he felt Willow could deal with
company. The group agreed, saying that she was fragile now, and needed rest.
Willow slept through the day, and that night, she awoke to a doctor sitting
in the chair beside her bed, dead, and with a note attached to his jacket.
The note read:
Red
We will visit you soon.
-ASD
It was written in what looked to be the doctors blood. Willow read the
letter and destroyed it before using her call button to get someone in her
room to remove yet another body. She couldn't cry, her eyes seemed to be
dry. Willow slept for three days after that, never stirring from her deep
sleep. The doctors worried she would slip into a coma, but she finally woke
one night, more tired than she had been before she had slept. Late that
night while she stared up at her ceiling she heard the door quietly open and
close. The hospital had been buzzing with people earlier in the day, but
now it was silent, as people left to go home, and shifts were changed.
"Who's there?" Willow asked impatiently into the darkness of the room,
moving her arm from under her pillow, and slowly to the set of drawers
beside her. If only she could get to the cross in the top drawer.
"Hello, pet." Spike's voice broke into the dark silence around Willow. "Play
nice." He added as he saw her moving towards the drawers.
"Spike?" Willow said, almost uncaring. "How did you-?"
She was cut off by Spike saying "It's a public place, don't need an invite."
Willow started to sit up in bed, but Spike's hand was on her stomach pushing
her back down. Spike pulled over the new chair, and sat, facing Willow.
Willow looked around nervously. She was alone in a hospital room with a
vampire, maybe three vampires.
"I'm alone, luv." Spike said, teasingly.
"That's very reassuring." Willow said anxiously. "It doesn't make me any
less dead."
"Who said I was going to kill you, Red?" Spike laughed.
"Seeing that you killed my mother, I just assumed I was next. Am I wrong?"
"Yes, ducks, you are wrong. Angelus is up to his old tricks, and he likes to
go for the hurt, not the kill. You won't be dead... for a while."
"Why? Why does he want me to suffer."
"Because you did a little spell, and you didn't tell your friends. You have
potential."
"The spell to save Angel..." Willow whispered to herself. "But how did he-?"
"You forget about my Dru. She has visions, sees things we can't. She saw
your spell had changed the world. She was bloody giddy about that."
"I-is Angel mad?" Willow asks, slipping into her shy girlish love for Angel.
"Angelus you mean? No he's not mad. As a matter of fact, he wants to send
his regards. Oh, and he wants me to tell you the puppy is next."
Spike was gone before Willow could even say anything. "Oz..." she said into
the again empty room.