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Willow entered the familiar dormitory and trudged up the empty stairwell to her floor. She checked her watch and saw that it was 4:30 AM. "Only four hours till my first class," she grumbled. "Oh joy."
Not only was Willow tired, but discouraged as well. It hadn't been a very productive research night at the Magic Box. They had gone through every reference book they could find and still weren't any closer to helping Buffy.
The witch stopped in front of room 214 and fumbled through her bag for the key. She then quietly opened the door to her room and tiptoed inside so as not to wake the sleeping slayer. Her eyes needed a moment to adjust to the dark, but she could already make out the Buffy-shaped figure curled up on the bed. Willow smiled. She looked so peaceful, so innocent.
As her eyesight grew clearer, the witch noticed that there was something else on Buffy's bed. She inched her way closer and realized that it was a man. 'Buffy brought a man home with her?' she thought with disbelief. 'A man who looks strangely familiar...'
"Spike!" screamed Willow when she recognized the blond-haired vampire. What had he done to Buffy?! She wanted to rush over and pull her friend to safety...shout at the top of her lungs for help...grab Spike by the collar and throw him to the floor...but instead she watched motionless, her heart pounding with fright.
The startled vampire jumped with alarm and swiftly fell off the bed. He hit his head on the end table and grimaced with pain. "Bloody hell!"
Buffy opened her eyes and strained to see into the darkness. "Willow? Is that you?"
"Buffy!" exclaimed Willow with relief. "You're ok!" She ran over and threw her arms around a dazed and confused Buffy, completely ignoring the irritated vampire at her feet.
Spike stood up and rubbed his aching head. "Way to wake a bloke when he's sleeping Red. Just glad there weren't any stakes on the floor."
Willow looked up at him, her cheeks red with embarrassment. "I...I guess I overreacted a little. It's just...when I saw you with Buffy I thought you'd gone all grrrr..." She scrunched up her nose to give her best vampire impression. "...and I was afraid you hurt her."
"I'm ok Willow," Buffy reassured her friend. "See for yourself. Completely hurt free."
"Which is more than some of us can say," mumbled Spike.
Buffy noticed a hint of self pity in the vampire's words and couldn't resist. "Aww...does poor Spikey have a headache? Did the big bad end table give you a booboo?"
Spike stared at her in amazement. "Are you mocking me slayer?" He tried to act offended but a small smile crept across his lips.
Buffy looked at him innocently. "Me? Mock you? I'd never dream of such a thing. Would I Willow?"
Willow caught on quickly and grinned. "No...you're right Buffy. I always knew that end table was evil."
Spike was about to return the sarcasm when Buffy suddenly grabbed her stomach and groaned. Willow and Spike were quickly at her side.
"What is it luv? What's wrong?"
Buffy held her stomach a moment longer and took in a shaky breath. When the pain went away she leaned back against her pillow with exhaustion. Something was wrong with her. She was sure of it now.
Glancing at Spike, Buffy noticed that his eyes were overflowing with worry and fear. Was he really concerned about her? Buffy didn't think vampires could feel concern for humans. Well, not soulless ones anyway. It just strengthened her belief that Spike wasn't your average vampire.
"I...I think I'm alright now," Buffy said barely above a whisper. "But you were right Spike. Something's wrong."
Willow placed her hand on Buffy's forehead and frowned. "You're burning up. We have to get you to a doctor. I'll call Xander and have him drive us to the hospital."
Fifteen minutes later, Spike and Willow were helping the sickly slayer into the back seat of Xander's car. Willow scooted in next to Buffy as Xander started the engine.
Spike stood silently at the curb, his eyes never leaving Buffy's pale face. He didn't want to leave her, but Xander had made it quite clear that vampires were not welcome passengers in his car. Sensing his unease, the red head rolled down her window and managed a small smile.
"Don't worry. We'll take good care of her. You better get inside or in a few minutes you'll be crispy fried Spike."
Spike knew she was right. He could sense that dawn was approaching.
"Just let me know what's wrong," he said as the car starting pulling away. "You know where to find me."
Willow gave some sort of reply but Spike couldn't make it out. He watched as the small vehicle made a left turn and chugged down the road. The last thing he saw was a glimpse of Buffy's blond hair through the rear mirror. Then she was gone.
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One by one they entered the spacious, elegantly adorned conference hall. Each took a seat at the large, rectangular table in the center of the room and waited patiently for the meeting to start. The only sounds were that of hurried footsteps and animated voices speaking in muffled whispers...
"I must say...the service at this hotel leaves much to be desired. Can you believe my room has no teakettle?"
"The one with red hair is a witch I understand. She could be dangerous as well."
"...and she said he fights for her now. Imagine a vampire fighting for the slayer. The idea is preposterous!"
The whispering stopped abruptly when Quentin Travers entered the room. The gray-haired man stood before the assembly of watchers, pleased to see that all were present.
"Let us begin, shall we?" His face was void of expression. "Last night was a great disappointment for the council. I had assumed Miss Summers would gratefully accept our terms in return of her slayer abilities, but that was not the case. Therefore, we must decide upon an alternate course of action."
Travers paused a second to sort out his thoughts.
"But we will get what we came here for," he continued, his voice ringing with confidence. "We will find the vampire...and we will get the chip."
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"How are you feeling?"
Buffy turned her head and smiled when she saw Willow enter the room. The red head pulled a chair over to Buffy's hospital bed and sat down.
"Not so great," Buffy replied, knowing she could be honest with her friend. "The doctor just left to run a blood test. He said he'll be back with the results in a few minutes."
Willow nodded. "Xander will be here soon. He was getting antsy waiting so I gave him five dollars and sent him to the vending machine. You know his philosophy. There's no illness that can't be cured with pudding cups and junk food."
"Ugh..."groaned Buffy. "Don't mention food in front of my stomach. They aren't getting along very well."
At that moment, Xander appeared in the doorway carrying a week's supply of candy bars and chips in his arms. "Who wants food?!" he asked with a grin.
In response, a pillow flew across the room and hit him smack on the face. He stood there stunned while Willow started giggling. "I'll take that as a no then."
An out of breath Giles suddenly barged into the room, nearly crashing into Xander. He looked around frantically until he caught sight of Buffy.
"Buffy!" he exclaimed. "You're alright! I heard Willow's message and thought...I thought you were going to die!"
Buffy looked at him in horror. "Die?! Why would you think that? I'm fine Giles, really. It's probably just a stomach virus."
The agitated watcher turned to Willow for answers. "But...in your message...you said that Buffy was at the hospital and I should meet you in the waiting room. You told me to hurry because Buffy wouldn't be there much longer."
Willow realized her message had been pretty vague. "I meant in the waiting room!" she explained. "Buffy wouldn't be in the waiting room much longer because the doctor was going to see her. I didn't mean she was dying! Sheesh Giles. Overreact much?"
"Oh...yes...umm...quite right," stammered Giles, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.
A fifth person entered the room and surveyed the scene before him. He wore a grave expression on his face.
"Miss Buffy Summers," he said glancing down at the chart in his hands. "There are some things I need to talk to you about."
"Sure Doctor Adams," Buffy replied, glancing nervously at Willow. A somber doctor was never a good sign.
The doctor looked inquisitively at Xander and his mountain of food. "Are these your relatives?" he asked politely. Xander, oblivious to the stares, was shoving half a snickers bar into his mouth.
"These are my friends," Buffy answered, reddening at Xander's immaturity. "My mom is out of town on business but she's driving back now. It's ok if they stay. I want them to hear everything."
The doctor nodded and began flipping through his papers. "Well Buffy, I'll tell you the truth. I've never seen anything quite like this before. It appears you have come down with three separate illnesses all at once. You have been diagnosed with mononucleosis, the flu, and a rare form of stomach virus. None are especially dangerous on their own, but I'm afraid the combination of diseases can be very serious."
Buffy didn't know how to respond. She couldn't remember the last time she'd caught a cold let alone mono! What was happening to her?
"It will be best if you remain in the hospital overnight for further observations," Doctor Adams continued. "Right now, the most important thing you can do is get some rest. If you need anything at all, just let the nurses know."
"Thank you doctor," Giles said as the man left the room. He turned to Buffy and shook his head. "I was afraid of this."
"Afraid of what?" Willow asked in a small, frightened voice. "There's more to be afraid of?"
Giles sat at the end of Buffy's bed and took off his glasses. "I was afraid Buffy's loss of powers would have unforeseen side effects. It seems that her body has gone into a state of shock. Her immune system doesn't know how to cope without the excess strength it has become accustomed to."
"When will it learn to cope?" asked Buffy with fear in her eyes. "I'm going to get better, right Giles?"
Giles saw the worry and exhaustion on Buffy's face and his heart almost broke in two. She was his slayer, the girl he loved like a daughter. He wanted nothing more than to wash away her sorrow, take away her pain, but this time there was nothing he could do. Or was there?
"Yes," he lied with a smile. "You will get better Buffy."
She returned the smile, finding comfort in his words. "Thanks Giles." Buffy yawned and the Scoobies took it as their cue to leave.
"We'll let you get some rest now," said Willow as she helped gather up the bags of junk food.
"Yeah Buffster," added Xander. "I want you to start resting this instant! That's an order."
Buffy laughed and said goodbye to her friends. When they were gone, she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overcome her. A surprising thought echoed in her mind and she felt a twinge of sadness. If only Spike were here...
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Xander caught up with Giles in the hallway and pulled him aside.
"So it's on for tonight?"
Giles didn't hesitate a second.
"It's on."
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Willow entered the familiar dormitory and trudged up the empty stairwell to her floor. She checked her watch and saw that it was 4:30 AM. "Only four hours till my first class," she grumbled. "Oh joy."
Not only was Willow tired, but discouraged as well. It hadn't been a very productive research night at the Magic Box. They had gone through every reference book they could find and still weren't any closer to helping Buffy.
The witch stopped in front of room 214 and fumbled through her bag for the key. She then quietly opened the door to her room and tiptoed inside so as not to wake the sleeping slayer. Her eyes needed a moment to adjust to the dark, but she could already make out the Buffy-shaped figure curled up on the bed. Willow smiled. She looked so peaceful, so innocent.
As her eyesight grew clearer, the witch noticed that there was something else on Buffy's bed. She inched her way closer and realized that it was a man. 'Buffy brought a man home with her?' she thought with disbelief. 'A man who looks strangely familiar...'
"Spike!" screamed Willow when she recognized the blond-haired vampire. What had he done to Buffy?! She wanted to rush over and pull her friend to safety...shout at the top of her lungs for help...grab Spike by the collar and throw him to the floor...but instead she watched motionless, her heart pounding with fright.
The startled vampire jumped with alarm and swiftly fell off the bed. He hit his head on the end table and grimaced with pain. "Bloody hell!"
Buffy opened her eyes and strained to see into the darkness. "Willow? Is that you?"
"Buffy!" exclaimed Willow with relief. "You're ok!" She ran over and threw her arms around a dazed and confused Buffy, completely ignoring the irritated vampire at her feet.
Spike stood up and rubbed his aching head. "Way to wake a bloke when he's sleeping Red. Just glad there weren't any stakes on the floor."
Willow looked up at him, her cheeks red with embarrassment. "I...I guess I overreacted a little. It's just...when I saw you with Buffy I thought you'd gone all grrrr..." She scrunched up her nose to give her best vampire impression. "...and I was afraid you hurt her."
"I'm ok Willow," Buffy reassured her friend. "See for yourself. Completely hurt free."
"Which is more than some of us can say," mumbled Spike.
Buffy noticed a hint of self pity in the vampire's words and couldn't resist. "Aww...does poor Spikey have a headache? Did the big bad end table give you a booboo?"
Spike stared at her in amazement. "Are you mocking me slayer?" He tried to act offended but a small smile crept across his lips.
Buffy looked at him innocently. "Me? Mock you? I'd never dream of such a thing. Would I Willow?"
Willow caught on quickly and grinned. "No...you're right Buffy. I always knew that end table was evil."
Spike was about to return the sarcasm when Buffy suddenly grabbed her stomach and groaned. Willow and Spike were quickly at her side.
"What is it luv? What's wrong?"
Buffy held her stomach a moment longer and took in a shaky breath. When the pain went away she leaned back against her pillow with exhaustion. Something was wrong with her. She was sure of it now.
Glancing at Spike, Buffy noticed that his eyes were overflowing with worry and fear. Was he really concerned about her? Buffy didn't think vampires could feel concern for humans. Well, not soulless ones anyway. It just strengthened her belief that Spike wasn't your average vampire.
"I...I think I'm alright now," Buffy said barely above a whisper. "But you were right Spike. Something's wrong."
Willow placed her hand on Buffy's forehead and frowned. "You're burning up. We have to get you to a doctor. I'll call Xander and have him drive us to the hospital."
Fifteen minutes later, Spike and Willow were helping the sickly slayer into the back seat of Xander's car. Willow scooted in next to Buffy as Xander started the engine.
Spike stood silently at the curb, his eyes never leaving Buffy's pale face. He didn't want to leave her, but Xander had made it quite clear that vampires were not welcome passengers in his car. Sensing his unease, the red head rolled down her window and managed a small smile.
"Don't worry. We'll take good care of her. You better get inside or in a few minutes you'll be crispy fried Spike."
Spike knew she was right. He could sense that dawn was approaching.
"Just let me know what's wrong," he said as the car starting pulling away. "You know where to find me."
Willow gave some sort of reply but Spike couldn't make it out. He watched as the small vehicle made a left turn and chugged down the road. The last thing he saw was a glimpse of Buffy's blond hair through the rear mirror. Then she was gone.
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One by one they entered the spacious, elegantly adorned conference hall. Each took a seat at the large, rectangular table in the center of the room and waited patiently for the meeting to start. The only sounds were that of hurried footsteps and animated voices speaking in muffled whispers...
"I must say...the service at this hotel leaves much to be desired. Can you believe my room has no teakettle?"
"The one with red hair is a witch I understand. She could be dangerous as well."
"...and she said he fights for her now. Imagine a vampire fighting for the slayer. The idea is preposterous!"
The whispering stopped abruptly when Quentin Travers entered the room. The gray-haired man stood before the assembly of watchers, pleased to see that all were present.
"Let us begin, shall we?" His face was void of expression. "Last night was a great disappointment for the council. I had assumed Miss Summers would gratefully accept our terms in return of her slayer abilities, but that was not the case. Therefore, we must decide upon an alternate course of action."
Travers paused a second to sort out his thoughts.
"But we will get what we came here for," he continued, his voice ringing with confidence. "We will find the vampire...and we will get the chip."
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"How are you feeling?"
Buffy turned her head and smiled when she saw Willow enter the room. The red head pulled a chair over to Buffy's hospital bed and sat down.
"Not so great," Buffy replied, knowing she could be honest with her friend. "The doctor just left to run a blood test. He said he'll be back with the results in a few minutes."
Willow nodded. "Xander will be here soon. He was getting antsy waiting so I gave him five dollars and sent him to the vending machine. You know his philosophy. There's no illness that can't be cured with pudding cups and junk food."
"Ugh..."groaned Buffy. "Don't mention food in front of my stomach. They aren't getting along very well."
At that moment, Xander appeared in the doorway carrying a week's supply of candy bars and chips in his arms. "Who wants food?!" he asked with a grin.
In response, a pillow flew across the room and hit him smack on the face. He stood there stunned while Willow started giggling. "I'll take that as a no then."
An out of breath Giles suddenly barged into the room, nearly crashing into Xander. He looked around frantically until he caught sight of Buffy.
"Buffy!" he exclaimed. "You're alright! I heard Willow's message and thought...I thought you were going to die!"
Buffy looked at him in horror. "Die?! Why would you think that? I'm fine Giles, really. It's probably just a stomach virus."
The agitated watcher turned to Willow for answers. "But...in your message...you said that Buffy was at the hospital and I should meet you in the waiting room. You told me to hurry because Buffy wouldn't be there much longer."
Willow realized her message had been pretty vague. "I meant in the waiting room!" she explained. "Buffy wouldn't be in the waiting room much longer because the doctor was going to see her. I didn't mean she was dying! Sheesh Giles. Overreact much?"
"Oh...yes...umm...quite right," stammered Giles, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.
A fifth person entered the room and surveyed the scene before him. He wore a grave expression on his face.
"Miss Buffy Summers," he said glancing down at the chart in his hands. "There are some things I need to talk to you about."
"Sure Doctor Adams," Buffy replied, glancing nervously at Willow. A somber doctor was never a good sign.
The doctor looked inquisitively at Xander and his mountain of food. "Are these your relatives?" he asked politely. Xander, oblivious to the stares, was shoving half a snickers bar into his mouth.
"These are my friends," Buffy answered, reddening at Xander's immaturity. "My mom is out of town on business but she's driving back now. It's ok if they stay. I want them to hear everything."
The doctor nodded and began flipping through his papers. "Well Buffy, I'll tell you the truth. I've never seen anything quite like this before. It appears you have come down with three separate illnesses all at once. You have been diagnosed with mononucleosis, the flu, and a rare form of stomach virus. None are especially dangerous on their own, but I'm afraid the combination of diseases can be very serious."
Buffy didn't know how to respond. She couldn't remember the last time she'd caught a cold let alone mono! What was happening to her?
"It will be best if you remain in the hospital overnight for further observations," Doctor Adams continued. "Right now, the most important thing you can do is get some rest. If you need anything at all, just let the nurses know."
"Thank you doctor," Giles said as the man left the room. He turned to Buffy and shook his head. "I was afraid of this."
"Afraid of what?" Willow asked in a small, frightened voice. "There's more to be afraid of?"
Giles sat at the end of Buffy's bed and took off his glasses. "I was afraid Buffy's loss of powers would have unforeseen side effects. It seems that her body has gone into a state of shock. Her immune system doesn't know how to cope without the excess strength it has become accustomed to."
"When will it learn to cope?" asked Buffy with fear in her eyes. "I'm going to get better, right Giles?"
Giles saw the worry and exhaustion on Buffy's face and his heart almost broke in two. She was his slayer, the girl he loved like a daughter. He wanted nothing more than to wash away her sorrow, take away her pain, but this time there was nothing he could do. Or was there?
"Yes," he lied with a smile. "You will get better Buffy."
She returned the smile, finding comfort in his words. "Thanks Giles." Buffy yawned and the Scoobies took it as their cue to leave.
"We'll let you get some rest now," said Willow as she helped gather up the bags of junk food.
"Yeah Buffster," added Xander. "I want you to start resting this instant! That's an order."
Buffy laughed and said goodbye to her friends. When they were gone, she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overcome her. A surprising thought echoed in her mind and she felt a twinge of sadness. If only Spike were here...
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Xander caught up with Giles in the hallway and pulled him aside.
"So it's on for tonight?"
Giles didn't hesitate a second.
"It's on."