"Come on in, now; don't be shy," Doctor Dana Gruden crooned as Buffy and her friends filed into the maintenance room in Sunnydale High School's basement. "It is so wonderful to put faces to some of the names I've heard so often."
Buffy shot a quizzical look at Willow, who was as white as chalk. Dana stood in the center of the room, surrounded by candles. The five of them formed a semi-circle in front of the psychologist, Willow and Giles on Buffy's right, Xander and Spike on her left. Once everyone had found their way into the room, Giles greeted Doctor Gruden with a sardonic smile. "Hello, Dana. I didn't think I was due to chat with you until Wednesday."
"She's your therapist?" Buffy cried, incredulous.
"Mine, too," Willow sighed.
"Willow," Buffy said as she narrowed her eyes, "why is your therapist hanging out at the entrance to the Hellmouth?"
"I know," Doctor Gruden interrupted, "it's not as cozy as my Santa Barbara office. Sorry I don't have enough seating for everyone." She gestured around the virtually-empty room. The space was utterly unremarkable, pipes lining some of the walls and a lone shelf of equipment towering in one corner. Every surface was made of cement. A pentagram of candles in the center of the room suggested that Dana was not here to offer counseling services.
Xander and Spike fanned out in an effort to get behind Doctor Gruden, but a wave of her hand erected a barrier that prevented them from going any farther. Seeing the demonstration of her power, Giles instinctively placed himself between Willow and Doctor Gruden.
Tilting her head in mock endearment, Dana spoke. "Oh, now that's just so sweet. Willow, I can see why you've been so torn up over him. Tell me, since last we spoke, have you two reconciled after your lover's quarrel, or are you still on the outs?"
"Willow, what is she talking about?" Buffy asked, confusion written all over her face.
Willow's mouth opened as she looked in Buffy's troubled eyes, but no sound came out.
"Giles? What does she mean 'lover's quarrel'?" Buffy's voice held notes of disbelief and agitation.
Giles couldn't meet the Slayer's eyes. His devastated expression, however, told Buffy everything she needed to know.
Xander spoke up. "Buffy, they weren't trying to hide it from you. It just happened."
Buffy turned to Xander, her eyes wide. "You knew?"
Like Willow, Xander found himself speechless. He couldn't think of anything to say that would lessen the feeling of betrayal washing over the Slayer.
Her words like venom, Buffy turned to the vampire. "What about you, Spike? Huh? Am I seriously the only one who didn't know?"
Spike cast his eyes down and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
"Great," Buffy spat. A single tear fell down her flushed cheeks. "My best friend is fucking my Watcher while my other best friend covers for them. And the vampire who claims he loves me knew about the whole thing."
"If I may," Spike retorted, holding up a single finger in the air, "I didn't know that Xander knew, and Willow hasn't fucked Giles yet."
Spike and Willow exchanged a significant glance.
"Scratch that, but I still didn't know about Xander." Spike took a large step back as if to excuse himself from the conversation.
Buffy inhaled sharply and set her face in a mask of barely-contained rage. "This isn't the time. We can deal with this later."
Willow took a step towards her friend. "Buffy, I – "
"I said 'later'." Buffy stared straight ahead, Doctor Gruden in her sights. Willow stepped back and felt a wave of shame wash over her. Giles grasped Willow's hand and squeezed.
"Oh," Doctor Gruden feigned surprise, "you didn't know?" She shook her head in dismay. "I suppose she probably didn't tell you she slept with the vampire, either."
Buffy's face twitched, but she said nothing.
"We've got quite a trollop on our hands, haven't we? The way she tells it, she rode him into the couch so hard, they wore out the springs."
At this, Xander's face screwed up into a look of total disgust. "Willow…Spike? Spike?" He leaned in her direction and cried out, "On my couch?!" He brought his hands up to the top of his head in a gesture of total shock and distress.
Spike stepped over to stand just behind Buffy and placed his hand tentatively on her shoulder.
"Don't you dare," Buffy growled. Spike removed his hand but didn't step away.
"Buffy, it didn't mean anything. I still only have feelings for you." He inclined his head towards Willow. "No offense, Red." He turned back to Buffy. "You're still the one. It just…happened."
"These things seem to 'just happen' to you an awful lot. Must be hard for you." The chill in her voice made Spike back off, returning to his original position.
Xander glanced over at the vampire. "Man, you are the shittiest roommate ever."
"That's fair," Spike conceded.
Doctor Gruden cupped her hands together in a diplomatic manner. "My, doesn't it feel better just getting these secrets out into the open? Rupert, shall we move onto the skeletons in your closet? I dare say they might be even more cathartic to air among friends."
Giles leapt at Doctor Gruden then, but she merely flicked her wrist and tossed Giles against the wall like a ragdoll. He went into the wall with a sickening thud, then slid to the ground in a heap. Willow screamed and ran to him. He was breathing but unconscious, and bleeding freely from a wound to his scalp. Willow pressed her palm to his head in an effort to stem the flow of blood.
The sight of her Watcher unconscious on the ground made something snap inside of Buffy. Calmly, she took a single step towards her opponent.
"Doctor Gruden," she began casually, "may I call you Dana? Dana, I'm sure we're supposed to chat for a few more minutes, when you reveal your motivations and I make threats on your wellbeing, but I'd rather skip to the end if that's alright with you. I'll still pay for the whole hour, of course."
Doctor Gruden grinned indulgently. "Oh, Buffy, there's not much to understand about my motivations. I've been building up a clientele in this area for fifteen years, specializing in supernatural psychotherapy. Demons, vampires, witches, were-creatures, fairies, ghouls…you name it, if it has trauma or neuroses to work through, that's my bread and butter. Over the past few years, my business has seen a bit of a slump. At first, I wasn't worried, but once it became clear that it was a long-term problem, I took action. I imbued the opening to the Hellmouth with amplified energy, drawing in more supernatural beings – more clientele, if you will."
"So," Xander clarified, "you used mystical energy to advertise the Hellmouth so you could get more business?"
Doctor Gruden raised her eyebrows and nodded. "An astute analogy, Xander. A pity your friends think so little of your intelligence." She revealed bright white teeth in a predatory grin. "Manipulating the energy of the Hellmouth isn't that hard for a witch." She slid her gaze over to Willow, who was still tending to Giles on the floor. "A skilled witch, anyway."
"Lady," Buffy announced, "we are gonna fuck you up." Looking over at Giles and Willow, Buffy called to her friend. "Willow, I need you here with me."
Willow looked up at Buffy, her face streaked with tears.
Urging her friend into action, Buffy reasoned, "We can't help him if she's still here. Help me. Please." She kept her eyes fixed on Willow's until the witch nodded. Willow stood and moved to stand next to Buffy. Spike and Xander did the same.
Rallying her friends, Buffy rumbled, "Whatever bullshit there is between us, whatever we have to deal with after this, it doesn't matter right now. We're going to stop Doctor Gruden and save Giles. Are you with me?"
Willow, Xander, and Spike all nodded. Eight eyes stared ahead at the petite blonde witch who threatened to end them all.
Moving into a fighting stance, Willow crouched slightly and extended her blood-stained hands in front of her. Doctor Gruden responded in kind. Although both were chanting in a language Buffy and the others failed to recognize, it was evident that each was trying to do harm to the other, but the spells were cancelling each other out. As both witches poured more and more energy into the fight, they began to show their exertion. Xander took the opportunity to sneak around behind Doctor Gruden, correctly guessing that her attention would be drawn away from maintaining the barriers at her flank.
Seizing his chance, Xander lunged low at Doctor Gruden, taking her out at the knees. Spike and Buffy stepped closer and tried to land blows while she was down, but she recovered too quickly, blowing them back against the wall with her magic. The spell had less power, though, than the one that had hurt Giles, and both Buffy and Spike were able to rejoin the fight.
Xander had not been quite so lucky, and held his left arm in a way that suggested something was broken. He knelt next to Giles and did his best to apply pressure to Giles' wound with his unbroken arm. Giles was beginning to stir, but was still lying prone on the ground.
Buffy and Spike took opposite positions around Doctor Gruden, waiting for an opportunity to arise. Willow, laboring under the effort of battling the other witch, got an idea. She began circling the pentagram. As she passed behind Buffy and, in a moment, Spike, she whispered to them her plan.
Suddenly, she cried, "Now!" and both Buffy and Spike dove for Doctor Gruden, causing her to lose her footing and shift the focus of her magic to the Slayer and the vampire. In that moment, Willow began another spell.
Here there lies a door within
A space where walls have worn so thin
I summon now this energy
I beckon now to open thee
The floor underneath the pentagram began to shimmer and pulse. Buffy and Spike immediately backed away, hugging the far walls of the maintenance room. Doctor Gruden looked around her feet at the throbbing floor.
"You wanted more energy from the Hellmouth?" Willow taunted. "You got it."
Raising her hands again to direct magic at Doctor Gruden, Willow placed a barrier around the blonde witch, containing her within the pentagram in the center of the room.
"I may not be able to beat you in a contest of power," Willow admitted, "but I can rock the fuck out of a barrier spell. You're not going anywhere." Pausing, she cocked her head to the side, considering the doctor. "Well, except to Hell."
Doctor Gruden appeared to be changing somehow. She was sinking slowly into the floor, and seemed almost to be phasing out of this dimension as she did so. It was clear that she was trying to disrupt Willow's barrier, but Willow's spell was holding, although it clearly was a challenge to maintain it.
As Doctor Gruden's attacks grew more and more frantic, Willow began to waver under the strain. Finally, she crumpled to her knees, panting with the effort. Doctor Gruden, now only a torso sticking up from the pentagram, levied one final curse at Willow, sending the young witch flying back into the shelf of maintenance gear.
Willow landed in front of the shelves, which then collapsed, covering her in hundreds of pounds of equipment. Buffy ran to Willow, casting a glance back at the pentagram, which was now completely gone. There were no candles, there was no shimmering floor, and there was no Doctor Gruden.
Buffy and Spike dug through debris and equipment, unearthing Willow. She was covered in dust and clearly injured, but she was breathing.
"Xander!" Buffy called, a note of panic in her voice. "Can you get Giles out to the car by yourself?"
"Yeah," Xander exhaled, picking the Watcher up using his good arm. "How's Wil? Is she – " He couldn't bear to finish the question.
"She's alive," Buffy replied curtly. "But we need to get to the hospital now. Spike, help me get her up. Try to keep her neck steady."
With Spike and Buffy carrying Willow and Xander supporting Giles, all five of them made their way out of the basement. Since their arrival at the school, the sun had slipped below the horizon, and dusk fell on Sunnydale. They piled delicately into Xander's car and sped off to Sunnydale Memorial.
"You're gonna be okay, Wil," Buffy whispered to her friend, "Everything's gonna be fine."
There was no response.
