"They're in a coma," Wesley declared, standing up and facing the worried eyes of the group staring back at them. "A mystical one, if I'm correct."

Dawn and Connor had, with the help of the others carefully relocated Buffy and Angel to his bedroom where they might be more comfortable. They had done everything they could to awaken them, but nothing had worked. It had been Connor's idea to call Wesley and despite the tensions that still existed between them, nobody had argued.

"Will they..." Dawn hesitated, then changed her wording so as not to upset anyone, including herself. "How do we wake them up?"

"Well I...I'm not sure," Wesley admitted. He bent down closer, inspecting Buffy and Angel's bodies a little more thoroughly. "If my guess is correct, then the reason they are injured so severely is likely from re-entering our world, from the demon God's. I would bet that he brought them hear via the most painful mystical means possible and being that they could only take so much, their systems just....shut down causing this.....state. Lord only knows how we can bring them out of it, but I will get to work on it right away."

"It just looks like they're sleeping..." Dawn murmured softly, trying to keep the worry and fear from her voice. Connor squeezed her hand gently, offering solace in his strength. Looking into his eyes, she saw the same fear in them as well and smiled gently, letting him know they would be strong together.

"Yes, well that's what comas are essentially," Wesley said absently. Something about the sleeping figures was disturbing him. They looked different, they looked.......suddenly Wesley's eyes widened and his heart nearly stopped all together in complete surprise and utter shock.

Noticing the look on Wesley's face, Fred spoke up.

"What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost or something!"

"Just the opposite actually," Wesley told them, in a hushed, shocked tone. "Dawn you said they looked like they were sleeping and you were right, but look......both of them are sleeping! Angel...he's, he's....."

"Breathing." Connor stated flatly. "He's human. How?"

"Human? Angel?" Cordelia's voice echoed all of their thoughts as she stared at the sleeping figure.

"Must've happened in the hell dimension." Gunn mused to himself more than anyone else.

"Buffy won his freedom and his humanity?" Lorne exclaimed. "Whoo boy, she must have been one busy little bee in that world."

"Who knows what she....what they've gone through," Dawn whispered softly. "What if they never recover? What if it was just too much?"

"It's going to be OK Dawn," Cordelia promised. "Angel is tough and your sister....well, slayer so tough is pretty much a requirement. Anyway, they're together in this and if they could get out of that place together than my guess is that they will wake up at some point." They have to, she thought despairingly, Angel please, you have to!

"Dad," Connor murmured, touching his father's bruised hand gently and allowing tears to form in his eyes. "I never got to....you gotta wake up."

"Everyone, I think it may be best if we leave them be for a little while." Wesley suggested, seeing just how emotionally charged everyone seemed to be. "I'll go home and get to work looking up some spells and whatnot that might be of use. I'll call you if I find anything. At the moment I'm not sure of much, although I do suspect that whatever bones were broken will mend while they sleep, being that this is a mystical injury. In the meantime, it's best if they aren't crowded."

"Wesley's right," Dawn agreed, hating to leave Buffy, but realizing it was for her own good. "Do you need any help? With research? Anything?"

"We have some volumes here that might be useful." Fred told her, "if you want you can help me look through them. The more people that help with this the better, right?"

"Absolutely." Wesley agreed. "Contact me if you find anything."

Turning, he walked quickly out of the room, wanting to get far away from the hotel and everyone in it. Although they had called on him for help a second time, he was still very painfully aware of how unwelcome he still was. It was like a knife through his heart that wouldn't heal. He was so caught up in his own thoughts, that he didn't hear Fred following him as he headed towards the door.

"Wesley!" He turned at the sound of her voice, still hating himself for not being able to shut her out of his heart. She would never love him, or look at him the way she looked at....he shook the thoughts from his head and smiled at her.

"Yes, Fred?"

"I...." she paused, trying to put into words what she was feeling. "This is the third time you've helped us....helped him. You keep coming through for him, even though he....we, treated you so badly. Why?"

"Because it's what I have to do." Wesley answered simply. "I could have left Angel at the bottom of the ocean, or in that hell dimension, but he is a champion and I am, well I was a watcher. That still means something to me. Whatever might happen between him and me, or the rest of us, we still fight for something greater than that. At least, I still do."

"Wesley I'm sor..."

"Don't," he interrupted, swallowing back the tears. "Don't apologize to me Fred. This is something a mere 'I'm sorry' can't fix and we both know it. You all made a conscious choice when I took Connor, and I won't have you apologize for it just because I lend you a hand every now and then."

"But our friendship...." She protested, her voice weak to her own ears. Ever since they had all turned their backs on Wesley, Fred had felt sick inside. It had always felt wrong to her, to treat him the way they did, especially since he still fought for their side, and every time he helped them that feeling only intensified. The hotel felt empty and barren without his presence and she hated that it couldn't be fixed as simply as she wanted it to be.

"There is no friendship anymore Fred, I'm sorry." Wesley said, his tone of a broken man, his eyes haunted with pain and heartache. "I'm beginning to wonder if their ever was. You can always call me for help if you need it, but other than that.....it's best if I stay away."

"Wesley..." her voice was strained and a tear slipped down her face, unnoticed by her. Wesley felt his heart lurch upon seeing her cry, but looked up, only to spot Gunn heading towards her, his own face a hard mask of anger and defiance.

"I'll call you if anything turns up." He said, keeping his voice as controlled as possible so that his emotions didn't slip through. Turning, he left and headed towards his car as quickly as he could before the tears came to his own eyes as well.