Chapter 7

Giles paced the length of the hallway as he waited for Angel to bring news of Buffy's condition.

He had arrived the day before, along with Dawn, Faith, William, Willow and Xander, everyone packed their bags as soon as they got the call that Buffy was in bad condition.

He had been furious when Andrew told him about what had happened, it was down right irresponsible of Buffy to just go down there without even giving him a call. But that wasn't important anymore, Buffy's condition was serious.

Dawn was sitting down chatting with Willow, Xander and Andrew as Faith leaned against the wall silently, content to let the others converse as she held a sleeping William in her arms.

At the far end of the room, in the shadows, a different vampire leaned against the wall. The others were oblivious to his presence and he was perfectly content that way. They didn't need him to bollocks things up by letting them know that he was still alive. He had been at his apartment when they arrived and had come to Wolfham and Hart to check up on the Slayer.

He wanted so much to hold her again. To look into those emerald green eyes that he loved so much, but it was impossible. For him to get to Buffy's room he would have to pass the Scoobies. And then would come the questions.

He didn't feel like giving them any explanations, he didn't even know why he wasn't burning up in some hell dimension. God knows he deserved it, but he wasn't one to question that sort of thing.

Giles looked up as Angel walked out of the medical ward, "How's Buffy? Is she alright?"

Angel took an unnecessary breath, "Its not good Giles. Buffy…Buffy may not make it if we don't find out whatever we can about that amulet."

Dawn felt tears forming in her eyes, "What's wrong with her?"

Angel glanced at the ground before answering, "The doctors said that her insides…they're disintegrating. They don't know what's doing it. She's dying from the inside out."

"Bloody Hell! NO! She can't be dying." Spike cried out, "Not her, God not her." He slid down the wall, tears in his eyes.

Everyone turned around, and was shocked to see Spike sitting on the floor in the far corner of the room crying.

"Spike?" said a confused Dawn

Suddenly the vampire was up, grabbing Angel by the shirt and slamming him against the wall, "You're Bloody Doctors had better save her! Buffy can't die. Not yet, its not her time!" Spike let go of Angel's shirt taking a few steps back before crumbling to the floor. "They have to save her" he whispered, tears still streaming down his face.

Something about seeing his grandchilde crying for the first time since becoming a vampire made Angel act kinder towards the vampire. He knelt down in front of the younger vamp and put a hand on his shoulder, "Listen Spike, I...I know how you feel. I still love her too. And Theses doctors are the best ones. They are trained to deal with humans, vamps, and demons. You know that, they fixed you up a few months ago. They won't let her die. I won't let her die." Angel helped the vampire to his feet, "You should go see her."

Spike nodded, " I haven't seen Buffy since…since those last few minutes in the cave." He wiped his face on his t-shirt, fixed his duster and sprinted into the medical ward to find Buffy's room.

The room was silent until Dawn finally spoke up, "Spike is alive?"

Angel nods, "for awhile now. Think he showed up a few days after the battle" He stared at the floor.

Faith shook her head, "This party just keeps getting better and better doesn't it, first B dying and now Spike is alive." Faith left the wall and glanced at Angel, "You got a place round here for the little dude to sleep?"

"I'll have Harmony take you to the sleeping quarters in a minute, Is anyone else tired as well, we have plenty of rooms here, not like the hotel but enough."

Dawn stood up, "I think…I think I'm going to bed to, this is just too much for me. I hope you mean what you told Spike."