Thanks and adoration to my beta readers, Fab, Erica Olson and Stephen Lord.
I have a livejournal if anyone's interested. I'm called blinkytreefrog. Woohoo!
Disclaimer:
The Buffyverse belongs to Mutant Enemy as far as I'm aware. No money being made, no infringement intended.
Spoilers for Season Seven up to at least Episode 12 (Potential). It's set right after.
Change
Part Eight
"As lucid as hell
These images moving so fast
Like a fever
So close to the bone
I don't feel too well"
Pineapple Head - Crowded House
The Demoshaemon twisted and ducked and hissed and lunged. Tucker screeched with anger as he used claws to slash and fiery breath to burn. The fight was brutal and unremitting; no mercy was spared.
Tucker fought with little skill but much power and white-hot fury at the nerve of the creature that stood before him. He'd had Andrew, for god's sake!
In contrast to Tucker's rage, the Demoshaemon's movements were careful and measured and precise and...
Not enough.
To the untrained eye, the fight looked even. Only an expert would be able to see the Demoshaemon beginning to tire ever so slightly.
**************
"Omigod, omigod, omigod..."
"I don't believe this! The First is in retreat! We're supposed to be safe for the moment!"
"Kennedy, please! Okay Xander. Just lie back for now. I think it'll wear off eventually..."
"Omigod! He tried to kill me! My brother tried to kill me..."
"So we bloody heard. Look, has someone called Buffy?"
"I did straight away. I don't have Slayer powers; doesn't mean I'm stupid..."
"Kennedy! Not helping!"
"He just grabbed me and put me against the wall and..."
"Will someone shut the boy up? He's been rambling for the last five minutes!"
"Everyone's been rambling for the last five minutes. Can people please just BE QUIET?!"
The Summers residence went suddenly silent. Kennedy, Xander, Spike and Andrew looked uneasily at Willow.
She took a deep breath and tried not to look threatening. "I... sorry. It's okay, I just got a little... So! Buffy's coming, did you say? Kennedy?"
Kennedy nodded. "School's not out for an hour and a half though. She said she was going to fake sickness. Again."
Willow looked worried. "That's not going to be good for her work..."
"Yeah, well thads not gread Will, but I think this is kinda impordant, 'y'know? I feel like I've bin to the dentis' all ober..."
Kennedy glanced at Xander. "Willow said you'd be alright."
Spike frowned at her. "Still got a nasty demonic thing out there, though."
"It's not a nasty demonic thing! It's my brother!"
"Who happens to now be a nasty demonic thing. Same nasty demonic thing we dealt with last night, by the sound of it. 'Cept last night it was only trying to kill demons. Something you're not telling us?"
"Andrew's a demon? God, I knew nothing human could be that annoying!"
"What? I'm not a demon!"
Willow sighed and gave Spike a look. "Kennedy, he's not a demon. Spike knows that. He's just pulling your leg."
"But Tucker does look all demonic! He must have made some kind of dastardly pact with a force of horrible evil!"
Xander grimaced. "Andrew, for the lub of god..."
Willow patted his arm awkwardly. "Guys, let's just calm down and wait for Buffy to... Oh, damn. Are we sure that Anya and the potentials are okay?"
Kennedy frowned. "They went down to the corner store."
"And Tucker's still out there."
"He was fighding a big demony thing last we saw."
"A Demoshaemon. They're this really rare demon that..."
"Andrew, okay." Willow bit her lip. "Have they got a cell phone? We'll warn them if we can. If Tucker's really a big threat it might be better if they stayed in shelter until Buffy can escort them back..."
**************
The Demoshaemon hissed, its head flicking from left to right as it looked for an opening. Backed into an alley corner, it looked visibly worse for wear. Tucker smiled victoriously, easily shifting himself from side to side to block any sudden moves the snakelike demon made. It was worn down. He was going to win, and then...
He moved a fraction closer, relishing the panicked twitching this action produced in his opponent. This was just so much fun. The glory of the fight! The anticipation of the kill! God, who wanted humanity? It was nothing compared to this! He moved again, and the Demoshaemon pressed itself back into the wall. They stared into each other's eyes, oblivious to anything else. Almost, almost...
Now. He lunged forward, slamming the Demoshaemon against the wall and pinning it, claws pressed on what he imagined was its throat. It must be, because his adversary went still, its eyes still looking at him warily. Tucker smiled in anticipation and carefully flexed his jaw muscles. Lunchtime. He leaned forward, barely able to disguise his delight. This was going to be good. This thing had given him a good run for his money. It had power. This was just...
And then the demon cocked its head at him and its eyes blinked slowly just once, and it dissolved away.
Tucker started back. What the hell?! Where had it gone? And what was... He looked down at his arms and realised they were covered in blood. Familiar smelling blood. Blood that came from...
He hissed in fury. "Andrew!"
**************
"We've got a bleeder!"
Emily cursed under her breath as the paramedics veered Sunnydale Hospital's latest patient quickly through the doors. God, not another one.
She dropped the clipboard she'd been looking at and hastened up to the paramedics, keeping pace with them as they wheeled the patient to emergency. "Let me guess," she said. "Deep lacerations to the neck?" Emily had been working in Sunnydale for long enough to know how abnormally prevalent these types of injuries were.
One of the paramedics, Mike, shook his head. "Left wrist. Deep cut, looks like glass or a knife."
She frowned. "Self inflicted?"
"Guy who brought him in claims he tripped over. Said he heard him yell and found him bleeding profusely." Mike jerked his head to a pale looking brown haired guy with blood streaks down his clothes that was following anxiously. Several other nurses gathered around as Doctor Richards hurried up.
The Doctor flicked his eye from the brown haired guy to the patient. "He's unconscious, breathing regular... Nurse Jones, could you get Nancy to get some details from his companion pronto? I'll need a blood type especially; I think he's going to need a transfusion."
Emily nodded and hurried off. Never a dull moment...
************
Dust stood numbly in the corridor and stared into the emergency room at the crowd of people that were gathered around Andrew. He felt like he should be standing next to them demanding answers about what they were going to do. Except he knew nothing about medicine, so what was the point? He only barely remembered the number you were supposed to ring to get an ambulance, and he'd only been in a hospital twice before. They didn't have this kind of health service in Scathck.
God, there had to have been something else he could have done. The idiot.
"Excuse me?"
Dust jumped and looked up at the woman who was standing next to him with a clipboard and a sympathetic smile. "Yes?" he managed.
"You came in with him?" She nodded at Andrew, and when Dust nodded back in reply she continued, "I'm going to need to get some details. Do you know his blood type, firstly? They're probably going to have to do a transfusion."
"I think he's got medical details in his wallet," Dust said, relieved that there was at least something he could do. He rummaged around in Andrew's rucksack and managed to produce the wallet, then checked through the cards until he found one that said 'Medical details' in big red letters. There was a sudden surge of panic when he realised it contained Andrew's date of birth. Andrew had aged well, but he really didn't look twenty.
Okay, be surreptitious. He dropped the card and managed to scratch out the year while picking it up. Lucky the thing was cardboard.
The nurse took it and nodded. "Thank you. I'll just be a second."
He waited while she went over to the doctor and talked in a hushed voice, then came back. "Okay." She said. "So his name's Andrew Hayward?"
Dust nodded. Andrew had made a habit of using a fake last name, and for once Dust was relieved instead of thinking him paranoid.
"He was born in... I'm sorry, the year's unclear."
"Umm, seventy three. Sorry about that."
"That's alright." She scribbled something on her clipboard. "Any medical conditions you know of that aren't on this card?"
"No."
"Address?"
"We don't really have one."
"Itinerant?"
"I don't know what that means. We're travellers. Does that mean travellers?"
"Generally, yes." More writing. "And this was an accident?"
Dust tried to look sincere. "I didn't see what happened. I think he tripped over and his arm fell on something."
He thought she looked a little doubtful, but he might just have been imagining it.
"Right." She wrote something else on her clipboard and then looked up at him again. "Are you family, may I ask?"
"I... no. Not family, no."
She nodded and ticked something. "Right." She coughed a little uncomfortably. "And are you his partner?"
Dust looked slightly confused. "Umm... I guess? We've always been pretty equal..."
The nurse blinked at him, and then smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, let me rephrase. Are you his significant other?"
Dust stared incomprehensively. "Well, I like to think I'm fairly significant..."
The nurse stopped writing and looked at him suspiciously. He gazed back, genuinely baffled.
The nurse sighed. "Are you lovers?"
"What?" He gaped at her. "No! I mean, not that I have anything against... But why would you... what were you... oh. Oh! That's what you were... what you wanted to..."
She smiled apologetically. "That's it, yes. I'm sorry about that."
He looked embarrassed. "That's okay. Sorry, I just... I'm not from here, some words I get a little..."
The nurse nodded at him reassuringly. "That's quite okay. Now, just one or two more questions?"
**************
Buffy parked her car at the shopping centre, locked it up, and pulled out her cell phone. She talked for a few seconds, listened, frowned, and started off in the general direction of the alley Tucker had been in a few minutes ago.
Tucker was no longer in the alley. For the last few minutes he'd been sitting on the roof of a nearby building, seething and trying to plan his next move. Then the Slayer had suddenly turned up, and now he was pressed down on the roof with the Tilom demon's camouflage turned on, observing her every move.
He watched with interest as she walked into the alley, frowned at the pool of blood that was congealing just inside, and spoke on her phone. It looked like a heated conversation from the way she kept frowning and raising her voice as she examined the alley, but even with his heightened hearing he was too far away to hear anything but the occasional word. The implication was clear, however. The little moron and his keeper must have made it home and contacted her, which meant that she now knew who he was and why he was here. She was far from knowing the full story but this was still incredibly irritating. Buffy would be sure to keep an eye on this era's Andrew from now on. He briefly considered running ahead of her right now and storming the Summers while he was darn sure she wasn't there, but...
She wasn't the only powerful person there. He smelt the vampire she'd been with the night before all over the yard, which meant he probably lived there. Worse, there was someone in there that radiated magic. The Summers residence was not a safe place to be. His eyes followed Buffy as she stood in the alley and moved carefully around in a circle, as though she was trying to perceive something on the edge of her senses. So what would he do now? The Andrew from his time was here and probably relatively defenceless even despite the weird blood-spell demon thing he'd done. Problem was, Tucker had no idea where to find the bastard. He'd followed Dust's scent to the car park after washing the blood off his arms, but Andrew's annoying little sidekick had gotten into some kind of vehicle and the trail had faded.
Present day Andrew was being guarded, and future Andrew was god knows where. This sucked. He was going to kill both of them for this, one at a time. First though, he needed to get strong enough to be able to take on Buffy and her lackeys. Swallowing a few more demons would help, but he really needed something more hardcore. How about finding out about that Seal? It was riddled with dark magic, it had to be... Hang on; was Buffy looking in his direction?
He watched in surprise as Buffy started to walk over to the fire escape on the side of his building. Shit! What the hell was this?! Some kind of super sense? Since when did she have super senses?
He slid back hurriedly. Time to make a strategic retreat.
**************
Some time later, Buffy yanked open her front door and strode in, casting a worried look at Xander on the couch. "Sorry I took so long to get back, guys. I thought I sensed Tucker in the Alley, but it was a no-go. Then I went and picked up..."
Anya came in behind her, scowling. She was closely followed by a trail of nervous potentials. "Then she picked us up from where we were cowering in the corner store. I'm getting sick of weird creatures trying to kill me! I've already got demon assassins after me. I don't need this as well!"
Andrew glowered. "It's not a weird creature, it's my brother!"
"So that means it's your fault that I can't even go shopping? Will he go away if we just give you to him?"
Vi was still condensing the last part of the conversation. "Wait a second? Demon assassins are after you and you took us to the store?"
"Guys, please!" The group begrudgingly fell silent as Buffy glared at them. "I need a proper explanation of what happened, okay? Willow told me a bit of it on the phone, let's hear the whole story."
************
Andrew groaned as he swirled vaguely back to consciousness. Soft. Soft bed. He was lying on a soft bed and blurred voices whispered incomprehensible words in the background...
"...stat..."
"...need some blood..."
"...crash victim in ward three..."
"...nurse lily?"
Nurse. Blood. Hospital words. Was he in a hospital? Hadn't he been in an alleyway? He managed to open his eyes and then groaned again as his body let him know with full force just how crappy it felt. His head ached, his arm felt like it was on fire, his mouth was dry, and there was a nurse looking down at him shining a torch in his eyes.
He flinched. "Stoppit!"
She rewarded him with a grim smile. "Welcome back to the world, Mr Hayward. What's your first name?"
He blinked at her. "Andrew?"
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
He pulled his wits together and tried to remember how counting worked. "Two?"
"Well done! Do you know what happened to you?"
He hedged his bets. "I... I think I cut myself. I'm not sure how..."
"That's slightly worrying, but we'll wait for a while to see if the event comes back to you. You've lost a lot of blood, Mr Hayward. We had to stitch up your arm and give you a transfusion, but you seem to be reacting well to the treatment. We'll keep you here in emergency for the moment but we're short of beds... you don't have health insurance?"
He sighed to himself. The American hospital system sucked. "Not here, no. Was... was there someone who was with me?"
"Mr... Dust?"
He managed a watery smile. "Yeah."
"He was in the waiting room. I think he's actually gone to change his clothes; they were a little messy. Just lie back for now, Mr Hayward, okay? You need to rest. We'll give you some painkillers for the arm if you need them."
"I'm okay," he said. Then, as she hurried away, he looked around for a way to get out of this place.
***************
"Okay, let me get this straight. You're saying this guy knew who you both were, helped you get away from Tucker, then jumped out of the car halfway back to the house and ran away?"
Xander nodded weakly. "That's about it, Buff. Can we say major weirdness?"
"I can say major weirdness for the whole thing. And he knew Tucker too?"
Andrew jiggled nervously on the couch. "They talked like they knew each other. Or more like they hated each other." He thought for a second. "Actually, it was kind of like Tucker's now this super-villain and that was his arch-nemesis and we just got in the middle of one of their ongoing battles..."
"Ongoing battles? Andrew, this guy couldn't even fight! He waited for the Demonsha-thingy to come along..."
Willow interrupted. "So he knew the demon was coming, right? Meaning he probably knew who summoned it."
Buffy paced distractedly. "Okay, since I have no idea where Tucker ran off to and I doubt he's going to give us any information on what the hell is going on here anyway, I think finding this guy should definitely be our next move. It's obvious he's got some information about what's happening, at least."
"And about why Tucker's trying to kill me!"
Kennedy rolled her eyes. "It couldn't just be that he's sick of you?"
"He hasn't even seen me for months! And we were getting on okay then. Though, he didn't have the whole demon thing going on then either..."
Xander frowned. "The little guy did say that he'd gone insane."
"Which means that the 'little guy' knows a hell of a lot more than us and we need to find him!" Buffy looked thoughtful. "Look, you were driving home and he jumped out? What did you say to him?"
Andrew thought about it. "Well, I was telling him about the Demoshaemon. See, they're really hard to summon to this dimension 'cause you need a lot of the caster's freshly spilled blood..."
Willow held up a hand. "Hang on! Was that when he got worried? When you said that?"
"Umm... yeah, actually."
Willow looked triumphantly at Buffy. "Okay, so that fits in perfectly. He did know the person who was summoning the demon, but he didn't know what it involved. So as soon as he heard it from Andrew..."
Buffy nodded in understanding. "He ran off to find the guy. He realised he might be lying there bleeding to death."
Willow smiled. "Exactly. And, taking it one step further, if he was right and his friend was bleeding, he more than likely would have taken him to..."
"The hospital!" Xander looked pleased. "So we have a possible starting point, in any case. That is of the good."
Buffy was relieved. "Muchly of the good. Okay, I have to get Dawn and Amanda back here first and then I'll swing around to the hospital."
Spike cocked an eyebrow. "Don't think you should get there quickly?"
"If the summoning takes as much blood as Andrew's saying, the guy's friend isn't going to be in a state to bounce out of the hospital right away. Potential Slayer and Sisterly safety comes first. It won't take long, anyway."
"I can try to do a bit of hacking while you're there; confirm that the hospital has a recent bleeding victim. They might not have computerised the record yet if it's a busy night, though. Oh! What about the fact that he wanted to know about the Seal?" Willow asked. "Should we worry?"
Buffy sighed. "Well, he doesn't seem to know anything about it, so just keeping a regular check-up and making sure it's covered is about the best we can do there. I'll take a look while I'm at the school. Andrew, get yourself ready, I'll pick you up when I get back."
Andrew jumped up. "I'm coming?"
"Andrew, I don't know what this guy looks like and Xander's still half paralysed. Yes, you're coming!"
Anya stood up. "I'll come too. You might need another person to look, and I want to get some deodorant at the hospital gift store since I forgot to grab it before and I won't be allowed out again tonight."
Buffy looked at her.
"What!?"
She sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll be back soon."
************
Dust filled up a cup at the water cooler and paced down the hospital corridor back to the waiting room. He was worried, and his opinion of hospitals was rapidly going downhill. He'd attempted a couple of times to talk to Andrew but nurses kept apologising to him and saying that he was resting and they were really only allowed to let family members into emergency and if he'd just wait in the waiting room they'd be sure to give him updates. Except they weren't, and he hadn't even seen Andrew since they'd brought him in, and he'd drunken enough cups of complimentary spring water to sink a ship and Tucker was still out there who knows were and it was All. Falling. Apart. He sighed, turned into the waiting room...
And nearly had a heart attack as Buffy, Andrew and Anya walked through the hospital doors and up to the reception desk.
He stood stock still for two seconds, and then threw himself into the men's room. Crap!
************
Andrew was in a curtained off area of a large emergency ward, which meant that they wouldn't directly see him getting up, but he might have some explaining to do when he started to walk away. And there was also the matter of the drip in his unstitched-and-bandaged arm, which was going to hurt like heck to pull out. And where was his shirt, anyway? Wait, it probably had blood all over it. He'd have to find Dust and get another. That was okay. A hospital robe would do for now for his top half. Right, he'd better get going...
He pulled himself upright, and promptly fell down again as the world tilted alarmingly.
Crap.
***********
Buffy smiled cheerily at the receptionist. "Hi! I was wondering whether you could help me? I'm trying to find someone who was admitted today?"
The receptionist looked bored. "Name?"
"Well, I don't really have one. You see, we witnessed this... accident, and we wanted to see if the... person, was okay. Right guys?"
Anya and Andrew nodded with enthusiasm and a complete lack of subtlety.
The receptionist was unimpressed. "Do you have a description?"
"Well... Not as such. It was... all a blur really." Buffy's smile was beginning to look a little strained. "But he would have come in with a guy who was... umm... Andrew?"
"Kinda short and thin, with brown hair and wearing jeans and a brown shirt!" Said Andrew helpfully.
"Yeah. Wearing that." Buffy looked hopeful.
The receptionist sighed loudly and gave her a nasty look. "Look, miss. This is a busy hospital, and there are people coming in all the time. And even if I could somehow miraculously identify your person with the very vague description you've given me, unless you're family I can't release any details. I suggest you go home and check tomorrow's paper to see if they mention anything there. Otherwise, I can't help you."
Buffy stared at her. "But..."
The receptionist gave her an icy smile. "I. Can't. Help. You."
She deflated. "Fine. Thanks so much."
"My pleasure."
************
Deep breaths. Take deep breaths and ignore the dizziness. It'll pass. Stay upright. You're fine.
Andrew finally managed to pull himself shakily to his feet, albeit with a great emphasis on 'shakily'. His arm hurt like hell and he felt like he'd been smacked in the head. God, and he was going to walk out? This was nuts. Except...
He didn't have time to be sick. He didn't have time to feel like hell. Tucker was still out there, and Tucker was his responsibility because he was the one who hadn't managed to stop him before he got this far.
He closed his eyes. Build up your adrenaline. You are going to do this. This needs to be done. Ignore the pain for now. Feel it later.
He frowned and took another deep breath. Then he yanked out the drip, pulled aside the curtain, and began to stride out.
************
"Okay, so now what do we do? That unpleasant woman was of no help, and now I think she's keeping an eye on us and wondering why we're still here."
Buffy gave Anya a look. "I don't care what she thinks of us. We need to look through the hospital, specifically the emergency ward. I just hope that the guy hasn't got out yet. I took long enough at the high school."
Anya shrugged. "Well, you couldn't really leave the mysteriously uncovered seal... uncovered."
"Yeah. Look, maybe we could create some kind of distraction..."
"Oh! I could pretend to have a seizure! Then all the nurses would have to come out..."
"That's a fine idea, Monkeyboy, except for the fact that you're a terrible actor. Your attempts so far have been pitiful at best."
"Anya, please."
Andrew looked eager. "So I can try it?"
Buffy glared at him. "No, you can't try it. She's right, you are a terrible actor. We'll have to think of something else."
He looked slightly disappointed and then shrugged. "Well, can I go to the bathroom then? I forgot to go before we left."
Anya raised an eyebrow. "Well, if he's going to the bathroom, I'm going down to the gift store. I won't be long."
Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but both her companions were already heading off.
*************
Dust sat in a locked toilet stall and quietly panicked. Dammit, could things possibly get any worse? Now Buffy was here, and if she caught him she was so going to want explanations that he just couldn't provide. They were supposed to be trying not to interfere with history, and so far they'd done nothing but! God, they sucked. This whole situation sucked.
He took a deep breath. Okay, that was enough. Sitting here and moping wasn't achieving anything. He had to go and speak to his Andrew; they could figure something out together. He'd sneak into the emergency ward if they weren't going to let him in. He'd have to be sneaky anyway, with Buffy here.
Decision made, he opened the cubicle door and walked straight into the younger version of Andrew.
"Crap!"
*************
Andrew gaped at the man who'd just walked out of a bathroom stall and was currently looking extremely panicked. Hey, wait a second...
"It's you! Hey, we've been looking for you. Buffy wants to talk to you 'cause... Hey!"
The man turned and ran out the bathroom door.
*************
Buffy stood outside the men's room, annoyed. Honestly, Andrew was the most irritating... Woah! She jumped back as a man burst through the door and started up the corridor towards the water cooler.
Two seconds later Andrew followed, pointing excitedly. "That's him! That's him!"
What?! Oh, for the love of god. She ran down the corridor after the man.
**************
Dust ran like hell for all of two seconds before an arm with all the strength of a Slayer behind it grabbed him and he jerked to a stop.
Sighing in resignation, Dust turned to face a very annoyed looking Buffy.
"Okay, and what was that about?"
He managed a weak smile. "What was what about?"
Young Andrew hurried up behind them. "Hey, keep it down! A few people in the waiting room are looking curious!" His expression turned to accusation. "And why were you running away anyway?"
"That's what I just asked him!"
Dust stared at them miserably. "Look, I know you want answers. I know you want to know what's going on. But I can't tell you what's going on. The less you know the better, in fact."
Buffy glared at him. "So you were running away because you don't want to answer any of our questions."
"Uh, yeah."
"For god's sake! I am so sick of mysterious types who provide a sliver of information and then claim they can't help any more. You wouldn't believe how many I've dealt with!"
Dust winced. "Umm, sorry?"
"Why? Why can't you tell us what's going on? I've got a nutso demon guy who used to be Andrew's brother bullying his way through Sunnydale, a bunch of people who are irritated at being shut in the house again, and a best friend who's only just beginning to get feeling back to his legs! Why can't you give me some answers?!"
He grimaced. "Uhh... I can't tell you that either?"
The look she gave him could have drilled holes in steel doors. He really didn't want to be here.
******************
"Sir! Where are you going?!"
Andrew determinedly ignored the nurse's cry and kept walking towards the corridor until she walked around in front of him and blocked the way.
He sighed and tried to keep from swaying. "I'm leaving. Okay?"
She stared at him incredulously. "Sir, you came in here only a few hours ago needing stitches and a blood transfusion. You are certainly not well enough to be walking out of this hospital. And what have you done to your drip?" She turned to one of the interns. "Harry, can you come over here?"
He took advantage of the distraction and managed to make it to the corridor before he was stopped again, this time by Harry as well.
Harry grabbed him by the shoulders and made an effort to direct him back to the bed. "Come on sir, you need to be lying down."
Andrew resisted, trying to twist himself out of the grasp. "I feel fine! And I have very, very important things I need to be doing!"
The nurse looked irritated. "Sir, you are not well enough to be leaving this hospital."
"I'm telling you I am. Shouldn't I know best? Besides, I don't have insurance. Don't you want to get me out as soon as possible?"
This time the nurse looked positively ropeable. "I am a nurse. I am concerned about my patients. I certainly don't 'want to get you out as soon as possible'. And I find the implication to be... Sir!"
She jumped back in alarm as Andrew finally managed to twist out of Harry's grip and pushed past him towards the waiting room. He really needed to get out of here now.
***********
"Look, I'm sorry. I know you're probably pissed at me, but I really can't tell you anything!"
Buffy frowned at him. "How about you come with me and we'll discuss that?"
Dust looked at her incredulously. "What are you doing, threatening to kidnap me and force me to talk?"
"Right about now? Sounds like a good option."
He stared at her in dismay. Although, she was only holding him loosely now. He might be able to...
Dust pulled himself out of Buffy's grip and hurried off before she could grab him again. Startled, she and Andrew rushed after him and caught up just as he entered the waiting room. People looked up curiously. That was good. At least she'd have trouble trying to manhandle him now.
Buffy smiled uncomfortably at the people and then grabbed his arm again, looser now. She hissed at him determinedly. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, though since you seem to know my friends, perhaps you already know that. But I seriously don't see why you refuse to give me any information. People's lives could depend on this! If you're one of the good guys, and you haven't given me reason to think that you're not, then I need your help."
Dust gritted his teeth and hissed back. "Look, there's a reason I'm not..."
He trailed off as there was a gasp of astonishment from the younger Andrew, who was staring at the other end of the waiting room in utter amazement.
With a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, Dust followed his gaze.
"Oh my god!" The younger Andrew stared, eyes shining, at his older self. The older Andrew stood leaning on the doorway with a terrible look of resignation on his face. And the younger Andrew beamed.
"I knew Tucker looked older! I've come back from the future to protect myself from being horribly killed, thereby changing history irrevocably and appallingly!"
Buffy wrenched her gaze away from Future Andrew for long enough to flick an irritated glance at him. "Andrew for the love of god, this isn't the Terminator!" She turned to the older Andrew and then to Dust, who was wincing apologetically at his companion. "Okay, I think I'm going to assume you're together. Do either one of you want to tell me what's really going on?"
There was an awkward silence, and then Dust gave an embarrassed cough. "Umm, well actually..."
***************
I have a livejournal if anyone's interested. I'm called blinkytreefrog. Woohoo!
Disclaimer:
The Buffyverse belongs to Mutant Enemy as far as I'm aware. No money being made, no infringement intended.
Spoilers for Season Seven up to at least Episode 12 (Potential). It's set right after.
Change
Part Eight
"As lucid as hell
These images moving so fast
Like a fever
So close to the bone
I don't feel too well"
Pineapple Head - Crowded House
The Demoshaemon twisted and ducked and hissed and lunged. Tucker screeched with anger as he used claws to slash and fiery breath to burn. The fight was brutal and unremitting; no mercy was spared.
Tucker fought with little skill but much power and white-hot fury at the nerve of the creature that stood before him. He'd had Andrew, for god's sake!
In contrast to Tucker's rage, the Demoshaemon's movements were careful and measured and precise and...
Not enough.
To the untrained eye, the fight looked even. Only an expert would be able to see the Demoshaemon beginning to tire ever so slightly.
**************
"Omigod, omigod, omigod..."
"I don't believe this! The First is in retreat! We're supposed to be safe for the moment!"
"Kennedy, please! Okay Xander. Just lie back for now. I think it'll wear off eventually..."
"Omigod! He tried to kill me! My brother tried to kill me..."
"So we bloody heard. Look, has someone called Buffy?"
"I did straight away. I don't have Slayer powers; doesn't mean I'm stupid..."
"Kennedy! Not helping!"
"He just grabbed me and put me against the wall and..."
"Will someone shut the boy up? He's been rambling for the last five minutes!"
"Everyone's been rambling for the last five minutes. Can people please just BE QUIET?!"
The Summers residence went suddenly silent. Kennedy, Xander, Spike and Andrew looked uneasily at Willow.
She took a deep breath and tried not to look threatening. "I... sorry. It's okay, I just got a little... So! Buffy's coming, did you say? Kennedy?"
Kennedy nodded. "School's not out for an hour and a half though. She said she was going to fake sickness. Again."
Willow looked worried. "That's not going to be good for her work..."
"Yeah, well thads not gread Will, but I think this is kinda impordant, 'y'know? I feel like I've bin to the dentis' all ober..."
Kennedy glanced at Xander. "Willow said you'd be alright."
Spike frowned at her. "Still got a nasty demonic thing out there, though."
"It's not a nasty demonic thing! It's my brother!"
"Who happens to now be a nasty demonic thing. Same nasty demonic thing we dealt with last night, by the sound of it. 'Cept last night it was only trying to kill demons. Something you're not telling us?"
"Andrew's a demon? God, I knew nothing human could be that annoying!"
"What? I'm not a demon!"
Willow sighed and gave Spike a look. "Kennedy, he's not a demon. Spike knows that. He's just pulling your leg."
"But Tucker does look all demonic! He must have made some kind of dastardly pact with a force of horrible evil!"
Xander grimaced. "Andrew, for the lub of god..."
Willow patted his arm awkwardly. "Guys, let's just calm down and wait for Buffy to... Oh, damn. Are we sure that Anya and the potentials are okay?"
Kennedy frowned. "They went down to the corner store."
"And Tucker's still out there."
"He was fighding a big demony thing last we saw."
"A Demoshaemon. They're this really rare demon that..."
"Andrew, okay." Willow bit her lip. "Have they got a cell phone? We'll warn them if we can. If Tucker's really a big threat it might be better if they stayed in shelter until Buffy can escort them back..."
**************
The Demoshaemon hissed, its head flicking from left to right as it looked for an opening. Backed into an alley corner, it looked visibly worse for wear. Tucker smiled victoriously, easily shifting himself from side to side to block any sudden moves the snakelike demon made. It was worn down. He was going to win, and then...
He moved a fraction closer, relishing the panicked twitching this action produced in his opponent. This was just so much fun. The glory of the fight! The anticipation of the kill! God, who wanted humanity? It was nothing compared to this! He moved again, and the Demoshaemon pressed itself back into the wall. They stared into each other's eyes, oblivious to anything else. Almost, almost...
Now. He lunged forward, slamming the Demoshaemon against the wall and pinning it, claws pressed on what he imagined was its throat. It must be, because his adversary went still, its eyes still looking at him warily. Tucker smiled in anticipation and carefully flexed his jaw muscles. Lunchtime. He leaned forward, barely able to disguise his delight. This was going to be good. This thing had given him a good run for his money. It had power. This was just...
And then the demon cocked its head at him and its eyes blinked slowly just once, and it dissolved away.
Tucker started back. What the hell?! Where had it gone? And what was... He looked down at his arms and realised they were covered in blood. Familiar smelling blood. Blood that came from...
He hissed in fury. "Andrew!"
**************
"We've got a bleeder!"
Emily cursed under her breath as the paramedics veered Sunnydale Hospital's latest patient quickly through the doors. God, not another one.
She dropped the clipboard she'd been looking at and hastened up to the paramedics, keeping pace with them as they wheeled the patient to emergency. "Let me guess," she said. "Deep lacerations to the neck?" Emily had been working in Sunnydale for long enough to know how abnormally prevalent these types of injuries were.
One of the paramedics, Mike, shook his head. "Left wrist. Deep cut, looks like glass or a knife."
She frowned. "Self inflicted?"
"Guy who brought him in claims he tripped over. Said he heard him yell and found him bleeding profusely." Mike jerked his head to a pale looking brown haired guy with blood streaks down his clothes that was following anxiously. Several other nurses gathered around as Doctor Richards hurried up.
The Doctor flicked his eye from the brown haired guy to the patient. "He's unconscious, breathing regular... Nurse Jones, could you get Nancy to get some details from his companion pronto? I'll need a blood type especially; I think he's going to need a transfusion."
Emily nodded and hurried off. Never a dull moment...
************
Dust stood numbly in the corridor and stared into the emergency room at the crowd of people that were gathered around Andrew. He felt like he should be standing next to them demanding answers about what they were going to do. Except he knew nothing about medicine, so what was the point? He only barely remembered the number you were supposed to ring to get an ambulance, and he'd only been in a hospital twice before. They didn't have this kind of health service in Scathck.
God, there had to have been something else he could have done. The idiot.
"Excuse me?"
Dust jumped and looked up at the woman who was standing next to him with a clipboard and a sympathetic smile. "Yes?" he managed.
"You came in with him?" She nodded at Andrew, and when Dust nodded back in reply she continued, "I'm going to need to get some details. Do you know his blood type, firstly? They're probably going to have to do a transfusion."
"I think he's got medical details in his wallet," Dust said, relieved that there was at least something he could do. He rummaged around in Andrew's rucksack and managed to produce the wallet, then checked through the cards until he found one that said 'Medical details' in big red letters. There was a sudden surge of panic when he realised it contained Andrew's date of birth. Andrew had aged well, but he really didn't look twenty.
Okay, be surreptitious. He dropped the card and managed to scratch out the year while picking it up. Lucky the thing was cardboard.
The nurse took it and nodded. "Thank you. I'll just be a second."
He waited while she went over to the doctor and talked in a hushed voice, then came back. "Okay." She said. "So his name's Andrew Hayward?"
Dust nodded. Andrew had made a habit of using a fake last name, and for once Dust was relieved instead of thinking him paranoid.
"He was born in... I'm sorry, the year's unclear."
"Umm, seventy three. Sorry about that."
"That's alright." She scribbled something on her clipboard. "Any medical conditions you know of that aren't on this card?"
"No."
"Address?"
"We don't really have one."
"Itinerant?"
"I don't know what that means. We're travellers. Does that mean travellers?"
"Generally, yes." More writing. "And this was an accident?"
Dust tried to look sincere. "I didn't see what happened. I think he tripped over and his arm fell on something."
He thought she looked a little doubtful, but he might just have been imagining it.
"Right." She wrote something else on her clipboard and then looked up at him again. "Are you family, may I ask?"
"I... no. Not family, no."
She nodded and ticked something. "Right." She coughed a little uncomfortably. "And are you his partner?"
Dust looked slightly confused. "Umm... I guess? We've always been pretty equal..."
The nurse blinked at him, and then smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, let me rephrase. Are you his significant other?"
Dust stared incomprehensively. "Well, I like to think I'm fairly significant..."
The nurse stopped writing and looked at him suspiciously. He gazed back, genuinely baffled.
The nurse sighed. "Are you lovers?"
"What?" He gaped at her. "No! I mean, not that I have anything against... But why would you... what were you... oh. Oh! That's what you were... what you wanted to..."
She smiled apologetically. "That's it, yes. I'm sorry about that."
He looked embarrassed. "That's okay. Sorry, I just... I'm not from here, some words I get a little..."
The nurse nodded at him reassuringly. "That's quite okay. Now, just one or two more questions?"
**************
Buffy parked her car at the shopping centre, locked it up, and pulled out her cell phone. She talked for a few seconds, listened, frowned, and started off in the general direction of the alley Tucker had been in a few minutes ago.
Tucker was no longer in the alley. For the last few minutes he'd been sitting on the roof of a nearby building, seething and trying to plan his next move. Then the Slayer had suddenly turned up, and now he was pressed down on the roof with the Tilom demon's camouflage turned on, observing her every move.
He watched with interest as she walked into the alley, frowned at the pool of blood that was congealing just inside, and spoke on her phone. It looked like a heated conversation from the way she kept frowning and raising her voice as she examined the alley, but even with his heightened hearing he was too far away to hear anything but the occasional word. The implication was clear, however. The little moron and his keeper must have made it home and contacted her, which meant that she now knew who he was and why he was here. She was far from knowing the full story but this was still incredibly irritating. Buffy would be sure to keep an eye on this era's Andrew from now on. He briefly considered running ahead of her right now and storming the Summers while he was darn sure she wasn't there, but...
She wasn't the only powerful person there. He smelt the vampire she'd been with the night before all over the yard, which meant he probably lived there. Worse, there was someone in there that radiated magic. The Summers residence was not a safe place to be. His eyes followed Buffy as she stood in the alley and moved carefully around in a circle, as though she was trying to perceive something on the edge of her senses. So what would he do now? The Andrew from his time was here and probably relatively defenceless even despite the weird blood-spell demon thing he'd done. Problem was, Tucker had no idea where to find the bastard. He'd followed Dust's scent to the car park after washing the blood off his arms, but Andrew's annoying little sidekick had gotten into some kind of vehicle and the trail had faded.
Present day Andrew was being guarded, and future Andrew was god knows where. This sucked. He was going to kill both of them for this, one at a time. First though, he needed to get strong enough to be able to take on Buffy and her lackeys. Swallowing a few more demons would help, but he really needed something more hardcore. How about finding out about that Seal? It was riddled with dark magic, it had to be... Hang on; was Buffy looking in his direction?
He watched in surprise as Buffy started to walk over to the fire escape on the side of his building. Shit! What the hell was this?! Some kind of super sense? Since when did she have super senses?
He slid back hurriedly. Time to make a strategic retreat.
**************
Some time later, Buffy yanked open her front door and strode in, casting a worried look at Xander on the couch. "Sorry I took so long to get back, guys. I thought I sensed Tucker in the Alley, but it was a no-go. Then I went and picked up..."
Anya came in behind her, scowling. She was closely followed by a trail of nervous potentials. "Then she picked us up from where we were cowering in the corner store. I'm getting sick of weird creatures trying to kill me! I've already got demon assassins after me. I don't need this as well!"
Andrew glowered. "It's not a weird creature, it's my brother!"
"So that means it's your fault that I can't even go shopping? Will he go away if we just give you to him?"
Vi was still condensing the last part of the conversation. "Wait a second? Demon assassins are after you and you took us to the store?"
"Guys, please!" The group begrudgingly fell silent as Buffy glared at them. "I need a proper explanation of what happened, okay? Willow told me a bit of it on the phone, let's hear the whole story."
************
Andrew groaned as he swirled vaguely back to consciousness. Soft. Soft bed. He was lying on a soft bed and blurred voices whispered incomprehensible words in the background...
"...stat..."
"...need some blood..."
"...crash victim in ward three..."
"...nurse lily?"
Nurse. Blood. Hospital words. Was he in a hospital? Hadn't he been in an alleyway? He managed to open his eyes and then groaned again as his body let him know with full force just how crappy it felt. His head ached, his arm felt like it was on fire, his mouth was dry, and there was a nurse looking down at him shining a torch in his eyes.
He flinched. "Stoppit!"
She rewarded him with a grim smile. "Welcome back to the world, Mr Hayward. What's your first name?"
He blinked at her. "Andrew?"
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
He pulled his wits together and tried to remember how counting worked. "Two?"
"Well done! Do you know what happened to you?"
He hedged his bets. "I... I think I cut myself. I'm not sure how..."
"That's slightly worrying, but we'll wait for a while to see if the event comes back to you. You've lost a lot of blood, Mr Hayward. We had to stitch up your arm and give you a transfusion, but you seem to be reacting well to the treatment. We'll keep you here in emergency for the moment but we're short of beds... you don't have health insurance?"
He sighed to himself. The American hospital system sucked. "Not here, no. Was... was there someone who was with me?"
"Mr... Dust?"
He managed a watery smile. "Yeah."
"He was in the waiting room. I think he's actually gone to change his clothes; they were a little messy. Just lie back for now, Mr Hayward, okay? You need to rest. We'll give you some painkillers for the arm if you need them."
"I'm okay," he said. Then, as she hurried away, he looked around for a way to get out of this place.
***************
"Okay, let me get this straight. You're saying this guy knew who you both were, helped you get away from Tucker, then jumped out of the car halfway back to the house and ran away?"
Xander nodded weakly. "That's about it, Buff. Can we say major weirdness?"
"I can say major weirdness for the whole thing. And he knew Tucker too?"
Andrew jiggled nervously on the couch. "They talked like they knew each other. Or more like they hated each other." He thought for a second. "Actually, it was kind of like Tucker's now this super-villain and that was his arch-nemesis and we just got in the middle of one of their ongoing battles..."
"Ongoing battles? Andrew, this guy couldn't even fight! He waited for the Demonsha-thingy to come along..."
Willow interrupted. "So he knew the demon was coming, right? Meaning he probably knew who summoned it."
Buffy paced distractedly. "Okay, since I have no idea where Tucker ran off to and I doubt he's going to give us any information on what the hell is going on here anyway, I think finding this guy should definitely be our next move. It's obvious he's got some information about what's happening, at least."
"And about why Tucker's trying to kill me!"
Kennedy rolled her eyes. "It couldn't just be that he's sick of you?"
"He hasn't even seen me for months! And we were getting on okay then. Though, he didn't have the whole demon thing going on then either..."
Xander frowned. "The little guy did say that he'd gone insane."
"Which means that the 'little guy' knows a hell of a lot more than us and we need to find him!" Buffy looked thoughtful. "Look, you were driving home and he jumped out? What did you say to him?"
Andrew thought about it. "Well, I was telling him about the Demoshaemon. See, they're really hard to summon to this dimension 'cause you need a lot of the caster's freshly spilled blood..."
Willow held up a hand. "Hang on! Was that when he got worried? When you said that?"
"Umm... yeah, actually."
Willow looked triumphantly at Buffy. "Okay, so that fits in perfectly. He did know the person who was summoning the demon, but he didn't know what it involved. So as soon as he heard it from Andrew..."
Buffy nodded in understanding. "He ran off to find the guy. He realised he might be lying there bleeding to death."
Willow smiled. "Exactly. And, taking it one step further, if he was right and his friend was bleeding, he more than likely would have taken him to..."
"The hospital!" Xander looked pleased. "So we have a possible starting point, in any case. That is of the good."
Buffy was relieved. "Muchly of the good. Okay, I have to get Dawn and Amanda back here first and then I'll swing around to the hospital."
Spike cocked an eyebrow. "Don't think you should get there quickly?"
"If the summoning takes as much blood as Andrew's saying, the guy's friend isn't going to be in a state to bounce out of the hospital right away. Potential Slayer and Sisterly safety comes first. It won't take long, anyway."
"I can try to do a bit of hacking while you're there; confirm that the hospital has a recent bleeding victim. They might not have computerised the record yet if it's a busy night, though. Oh! What about the fact that he wanted to know about the Seal?" Willow asked. "Should we worry?"
Buffy sighed. "Well, he doesn't seem to know anything about it, so just keeping a regular check-up and making sure it's covered is about the best we can do there. I'll take a look while I'm at the school. Andrew, get yourself ready, I'll pick you up when I get back."
Andrew jumped up. "I'm coming?"
"Andrew, I don't know what this guy looks like and Xander's still half paralysed. Yes, you're coming!"
Anya stood up. "I'll come too. You might need another person to look, and I want to get some deodorant at the hospital gift store since I forgot to grab it before and I won't be allowed out again tonight."
Buffy looked at her.
"What!?"
She sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll be back soon."
************
Dust filled up a cup at the water cooler and paced down the hospital corridor back to the waiting room. He was worried, and his opinion of hospitals was rapidly going downhill. He'd attempted a couple of times to talk to Andrew but nurses kept apologising to him and saying that he was resting and they were really only allowed to let family members into emergency and if he'd just wait in the waiting room they'd be sure to give him updates. Except they weren't, and he hadn't even seen Andrew since they'd brought him in, and he'd drunken enough cups of complimentary spring water to sink a ship and Tucker was still out there who knows were and it was All. Falling. Apart. He sighed, turned into the waiting room...
And nearly had a heart attack as Buffy, Andrew and Anya walked through the hospital doors and up to the reception desk.
He stood stock still for two seconds, and then threw himself into the men's room. Crap!
************
Andrew was in a curtained off area of a large emergency ward, which meant that they wouldn't directly see him getting up, but he might have some explaining to do when he started to walk away. And there was also the matter of the drip in his unstitched-and-bandaged arm, which was going to hurt like heck to pull out. And where was his shirt, anyway? Wait, it probably had blood all over it. He'd have to find Dust and get another. That was okay. A hospital robe would do for now for his top half. Right, he'd better get going...
He pulled himself upright, and promptly fell down again as the world tilted alarmingly.
Crap.
***********
Buffy smiled cheerily at the receptionist. "Hi! I was wondering whether you could help me? I'm trying to find someone who was admitted today?"
The receptionist looked bored. "Name?"
"Well, I don't really have one. You see, we witnessed this... accident, and we wanted to see if the... person, was okay. Right guys?"
Anya and Andrew nodded with enthusiasm and a complete lack of subtlety.
The receptionist was unimpressed. "Do you have a description?"
"Well... Not as such. It was... all a blur really." Buffy's smile was beginning to look a little strained. "But he would have come in with a guy who was... umm... Andrew?"
"Kinda short and thin, with brown hair and wearing jeans and a brown shirt!" Said Andrew helpfully.
"Yeah. Wearing that." Buffy looked hopeful.
The receptionist sighed loudly and gave her a nasty look. "Look, miss. This is a busy hospital, and there are people coming in all the time. And even if I could somehow miraculously identify your person with the very vague description you've given me, unless you're family I can't release any details. I suggest you go home and check tomorrow's paper to see if they mention anything there. Otherwise, I can't help you."
Buffy stared at her. "But..."
The receptionist gave her an icy smile. "I. Can't. Help. You."
She deflated. "Fine. Thanks so much."
"My pleasure."
************
Deep breaths. Take deep breaths and ignore the dizziness. It'll pass. Stay upright. You're fine.
Andrew finally managed to pull himself shakily to his feet, albeit with a great emphasis on 'shakily'. His arm hurt like hell and he felt like he'd been smacked in the head. God, and he was going to walk out? This was nuts. Except...
He didn't have time to be sick. He didn't have time to feel like hell. Tucker was still out there, and Tucker was his responsibility because he was the one who hadn't managed to stop him before he got this far.
He closed his eyes. Build up your adrenaline. You are going to do this. This needs to be done. Ignore the pain for now. Feel it later.
He frowned and took another deep breath. Then he yanked out the drip, pulled aside the curtain, and began to stride out.
************
"Okay, so now what do we do? That unpleasant woman was of no help, and now I think she's keeping an eye on us and wondering why we're still here."
Buffy gave Anya a look. "I don't care what she thinks of us. We need to look through the hospital, specifically the emergency ward. I just hope that the guy hasn't got out yet. I took long enough at the high school."
Anya shrugged. "Well, you couldn't really leave the mysteriously uncovered seal... uncovered."
"Yeah. Look, maybe we could create some kind of distraction..."
"Oh! I could pretend to have a seizure! Then all the nurses would have to come out..."
"That's a fine idea, Monkeyboy, except for the fact that you're a terrible actor. Your attempts so far have been pitiful at best."
"Anya, please."
Andrew looked eager. "So I can try it?"
Buffy glared at him. "No, you can't try it. She's right, you are a terrible actor. We'll have to think of something else."
He looked slightly disappointed and then shrugged. "Well, can I go to the bathroom then? I forgot to go before we left."
Anya raised an eyebrow. "Well, if he's going to the bathroom, I'm going down to the gift store. I won't be long."
Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but both her companions were already heading off.
*************
Dust sat in a locked toilet stall and quietly panicked. Dammit, could things possibly get any worse? Now Buffy was here, and if she caught him she was so going to want explanations that he just couldn't provide. They were supposed to be trying not to interfere with history, and so far they'd done nothing but! God, they sucked. This whole situation sucked.
He took a deep breath. Okay, that was enough. Sitting here and moping wasn't achieving anything. He had to go and speak to his Andrew; they could figure something out together. He'd sneak into the emergency ward if they weren't going to let him in. He'd have to be sneaky anyway, with Buffy here.
Decision made, he opened the cubicle door and walked straight into the younger version of Andrew.
"Crap!"
*************
Andrew gaped at the man who'd just walked out of a bathroom stall and was currently looking extremely panicked. Hey, wait a second...
"It's you! Hey, we've been looking for you. Buffy wants to talk to you 'cause... Hey!"
The man turned and ran out the bathroom door.
*************
Buffy stood outside the men's room, annoyed. Honestly, Andrew was the most irritating... Woah! She jumped back as a man burst through the door and started up the corridor towards the water cooler.
Two seconds later Andrew followed, pointing excitedly. "That's him! That's him!"
What?! Oh, for the love of god. She ran down the corridor after the man.
**************
Dust ran like hell for all of two seconds before an arm with all the strength of a Slayer behind it grabbed him and he jerked to a stop.
Sighing in resignation, Dust turned to face a very annoyed looking Buffy.
"Okay, and what was that about?"
He managed a weak smile. "What was what about?"
Young Andrew hurried up behind them. "Hey, keep it down! A few people in the waiting room are looking curious!" His expression turned to accusation. "And why were you running away anyway?"
"That's what I just asked him!"
Dust stared at them miserably. "Look, I know you want answers. I know you want to know what's going on. But I can't tell you what's going on. The less you know the better, in fact."
Buffy glared at him. "So you were running away because you don't want to answer any of our questions."
"Uh, yeah."
"For god's sake! I am so sick of mysterious types who provide a sliver of information and then claim they can't help any more. You wouldn't believe how many I've dealt with!"
Dust winced. "Umm, sorry?"
"Why? Why can't you tell us what's going on? I've got a nutso demon guy who used to be Andrew's brother bullying his way through Sunnydale, a bunch of people who are irritated at being shut in the house again, and a best friend who's only just beginning to get feeling back to his legs! Why can't you give me some answers?!"
He grimaced. "Uhh... I can't tell you that either?"
The look she gave him could have drilled holes in steel doors. He really didn't want to be here.
******************
"Sir! Where are you going?!"
Andrew determinedly ignored the nurse's cry and kept walking towards the corridor until she walked around in front of him and blocked the way.
He sighed and tried to keep from swaying. "I'm leaving. Okay?"
She stared at him incredulously. "Sir, you came in here only a few hours ago needing stitches and a blood transfusion. You are certainly not well enough to be walking out of this hospital. And what have you done to your drip?" She turned to one of the interns. "Harry, can you come over here?"
He took advantage of the distraction and managed to make it to the corridor before he was stopped again, this time by Harry as well.
Harry grabbed him by the shoulders and made an effort to direct him back to the bed. "Come on sir, you need to be lying down."
Andrew resisted, trying to twist himself out of the grasp. "I feel fine! And I have very, very important things I need to be doing!"
The nurse looked irritated. "Sir, you are not well enough to be leaving this hospital."
"I'm telling you I am. Shouldn't I know best? Besides, I don't have insurance. Don't you want to get me out as soon as possible?"
This time the nurse looked positively ropeable. "I am a nurse. I am concerned about my patients. I certainly don't 'want to get you out as soon as possible'. And I find the implication to be... Sir!"
She jumped back in alarm as Andrew finally managed to twist out of Harry's grip and pushed past him towards the waiting room. He really needed to get out of here now.
***********
"Look, I'm sorry. I know you're probably pissed at me, but I really can't tell you anything!"
Buffy frowned at him. "How about you come with me and we'll discuss that?"
Dust looked at her incredulously. "What are you doing, threatening to kidnap me and force me to talk?"
"Right about now? Sounds like a good option."
He stared at her in dismay. Although, she was only holding him loosely now. He might be able to...
Dust pulled himself out of Buffy's grip and hurried off before she could grab him again. Startled, she and Andrew rushed after him and caught up just as he entered the waiting room. People looked up curiously. That was good. At least she'd have trouble trying to manhandle him now.
Buffy smiled uncomfortably at the people and then grabbed his arm again, looser now. She hissed at him determinedly. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, though since you seem to know my friends, perhaps you already know that. But I seriously don't see why you refuse to give me any information. People's lives could depend on this! If you're one of the good guys, and you haven't given me reason to think that you're not, then I need your help."
Dust gritted his teeth and hissed back. "Look, there's a reason I'm not..."
He trailed off as there was a gasp of astonishment from the younger Andrew, who was staring at the other end of the waiting room in utter amazement.
With a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, Dust followed his gaze.
"Oh my god!" The younger Andrew stared, eyes shining, at his older self. The older Andrew stood leaning on the doorway with a terrible look of resignation on his face. And the younger Andrew beamed.
"I knew Tucker looked older! I've come back from the future to protect myself from being horribly killed, thereby changing history irrevocably and appallingly!"
Buffy wrenched her gaze away from Future Andrew for long enough to flick an irritated glance at him. "Andrew for the love of god, this isn't the Terminator!" She turned to the older Andrew and then to Dust, who was wincing apologetically at his companion. "Okay, I think I'm going to assume you're together. Do either one of you want to tell me what's really going on?"
There was an awkward silence, and then Dust gave an embarrassed cough. "Umm, well actually..."
***************
