Chapter 3:

Since Gunn had no immediate family the hospital hadn't allowed anyone in to see him while he was in I.C.U. Not that he would have been aware of anyone for the first week; his skull had been fractured badly enough for the doctors to have kept him in a drug induced coma for most of that time anyway. The nurses had passed messages from Spike but they had been vague; telling him not worrying over details such as who was paying the hospital bills or the rent on his apartment. A note left at the nurses station had informed him that Angel was being 'a miserable bloody git' and getting on everyone's nerves. Everyone? There had only been the four of them in that alley, had they all survived? And if they had, how had they managed to defeat a hundred thousand demons? Had the Slayer turned up with her army after he'd lost consciousness?

Damn it, what the hell had happened? Worry gave him almost as many headaches as did the fractured skull and the blurry vision. The eye problem got him down too; he wouldn't be able to fight if he was half blind and 'Angel Investigations' had made a lot of enemies in the recent past. If any of the senior partners of 'Wolfram and Hart' were still active then Gunn was a sitting duck stuck here in a hospital bed. This morning they had moved him into this private room and now he waited impatiently for nightfall and a visit from Spike and Angel; or anyone who could fill in the blanks for him.

The cute blond nurse was taking her time in doing her hourly observations and holding his wrist for an unnecessarily long pulse count. Gunn didn't notice her pout of disappointment as she slid his chart into the holder on the foot of the bed, or the way she sashayed out, hips swinging. He glanced at the window and decided it was dark outside, dark enough for a vampire to be out and about. He heard a small female squeal of outrage and an unmistakeable English voice pronounce breezily,

"Your loss luv, I only make one time offers."

The blond vamp strolled into the room and tossed a damp paper bag on the bed. The bag split and grapes spilled over the snowy counterpane as Gunn scrabbled to stop them slipping beneath the covers where he could lie on them. His questions exploded from him in a machine gun rattle,

"Spike! Man I never thought I'd be so pleased to see you! Where's Angel and Illyria? How'd we manage to survive? We did win, didn't we?"

"Been missing me huh? See, I told you I'd grow on you. Oh yeah, these are for you. I wanted to bring booze but Dawnie went all traditional on me and you get grapes instead of bourbon."

Spike dragged a chair to the side of the bed and stretched out, lifting both booted feet to rest on the snowy bed cover. Gunn wondered if he should warn the vamp that the evening charge nurse would take him apart at the seams for it. Spike versus 'Nurse Ratchett'? It would be one hell of an argument!

He kept his mouth shut as Spike explained,

"The Slayer's kid sister got back from Hell just in time to save your life and our un-lives. She and her friend tossed a portal device over the hordes and sucked nearly all of them into a black hole. Blue ignored my warning and chased the buggers through the portal. She's probably out there somewhere having a blast and slaughtering everything in sight! Least I hope so."

Gunn sighed and nodded an agreement. Spike sat silent and stared at the wall for a moment and Gunn knew it wasn't just Wes and Illyria the vamp was mourning; it was Fred as well. Damn, Gunn thought, Cordy, Wes, Fred, Illyria and Lorne. We lost a lot, but Lorne might come back one day.

Spike continued,

"Angel was unconscious and it turns out that he's got a broken back. Adanar is a Ganaru healer so Peaches is healing faster than even a vamp normally would. We decided to get you to a normal hospital because Adanar isn't up to full speed after four years on a Hell world called Kridjator. Unless I dust Angel for being a right pain! Sod thinks he's the only one to lose friends! I reckon we were dead set bloody lucky for the three of us to still be around! The poof doesn't see it that way of course!"

Gunn shook his head in disgust. Angel was good at this sullen crap; he had to agree with Spike on that one. He asked,

"Old broody got a bad case of the moans huh? Let me guess; he's on about it being down to him that we lost Wes and Illyria? He needs a good butt kicking sometimes! Anyway, who's paying for all this then? I got a message saying not to worry about my rent or the bills but I'm sure we effectively resigned from 'Wolfram and Hart' and I can't see the senior partners keeping us on the payroll. Are there any senior partners left, do you know?"

"Dunno. None of them have been around. There were a few demons roaming around after the battle but me and Dawnie have been weeding them out. Wait till you see her fight! She's temporarily faster and stronger than me or Angel; better than the Slayer too. Kridjator has almost three times the gravity of Earth and a similar time differential; Dawnie should be sixteen but she's closer to twenty. She and Adanar were trained to be gladiators in a Death Ring. Kinda like the Roman Coliseum."

Spike sounded like a proud father and Gunn was amused and surprised. The vampire's tone changed and turned sombre as he went on,

"Dawn spent time as a slave in a mine and managed to hide a few gems as her 'retirement plan'. Berdea crystals are worth a packet. Magic users can store power in them and collectors love them because they're actually jet black diamonds. So money's not a worry."

"The Slayer must be pleased her sister's back?"

Gunn had noticed that Buffy hadn't been mentioned; she must not have turned up to help out. He wondered if he'd finally get to meet the famous Buffy; 'The Slayer' up until a year ago when Willow's magic had brought every potential slayer to full power; breaking the ten thousand year old rule of 'one Slayer alone.' He was curious about the girl who had two vampires fall in love with her.

"We'll find out tomorrow when she gets into town. Niblet had Angel call Giles and get him to tell Buffy because she thought she'd get shrugged off if she phoned out of the blue. Buffy's in for a shock; it's hard to remember that Dawn isn't a kid anymore."

The end of visiting buzzer sounded and Spike stood up to go. He scowled and muttered,

"I was supposed to ask if there was anything you need? And how much longer they think you'll be here? I don't even think I asked how you're feeling! Sorry mate."

Gunn laughed,

"Hey, don't sweat it! I was the one with all the questions, remember? My vision's still blurry so reading's out. I could do with my 'walkman' and a few discs? The doctors want me to wait until the eyes clear up and the headaches ease down. I think they're talking another week at least. I sure hope the money isn't a problem; this will cost a packet. Tell Dawn I said thanks. Bring her with you sometime; so I can thank her in person. If you give Angel a butt kicking; give him a few from me! Just remind him that neither Wes nor Illyria would be too impressed with the whole 'woe is me' crap! All any of us can do is just get on with it."

Spike grinned and made a generous offer,

"Tell you what, I can put up with the bugger for another week. You're gonna need to get back in to training when you get out, so how about we wait till then and we can both have a fun workout?"

"Sounds good to me! We might have to paint a bulls-eye on the seat of his pants if I'm still not seeing straight."

"Not a problem. I'll get your stuff to you tomorrow night."

Spike promised as he left.

Less than thirty seconds later Gunn heard a tiny shriek and a nurse with an angry flush stalked into the room. Gunn smiled innocently only to receive a glare in return. He protested,

"Hey, I never saw the guy until tonight! He said he was a visiting preacher."