Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.
"It looks like a hospital bed." Joyce frowned when Anya's sharp voice penetrated her sleep. As she tried to wake up she thought about the events of the last night. She and Rupert spent hours watching Buffy as she slept, gaining little comfort from her peaceful form. Faith eventually returned from her patrol, waking up Daniel gently, before they retired to their favorite guest room. The two older adults followed their example, stopping just long enough to put Alex to bed before retiring to their own beds. That was around two in the morning. Joyce knew she had tossed and turned for a few hours before she was finally able to sleep. She glared at her clock. It was barely eight. What in the world were people doing awake at this time of the day? She was about to roll over and fall back asleep when she heard Xander answer.
"That's because it essentially is a hospital bed." His voice sounded strange which effectively woke her up. She sat up, looking around her room until she found where the voices were coming from. Buffy's room. The door Xander has just installed was closed, but it did little to hide the voices coming from the other side. She put on her robe before opening the door. She saw Xander and Giles struggling to get the bed into position. Anya was watching helpfully from the other side, ready to hand Xander whatever tools he needed.
"Good morning Joyce," she greeted when the door joining their rooms opened. "I hope we didn't wake you? We were trying to be quiet."
"It's okay," she said, yawning despite her best attempt to stifle it. "This is her new bed?"
"Yep," Xander said, as he struggled with the frame. "The stuff Ben ordered just arrived."
"What are you trying to do?" Joyce asked. She had helped put several beds together in her lifetime. None of them took this much effort.
"The bed is fully adjustable," he said, "which means it has to be anchored to the floor. And anchored exactly."
"It's putting up a fight," Giles said as they slowly moved the bed frame inches at a time. "And I think it's winning."
"Wait," Xander said, "Just a bit more. Yes." Anya quickly handed him the drill he needed to secure the frame to the floor. A few minutes later the frame was secured and Giles gratefully relaxed his grip. "Ready for the second frame?" Xander asked.
"Give me a minute," Giles said, breathing hard. "That was a bit heavier than I expected." Xander frowned.
"The bed will be heavier. Maybe we need Daniel's help."
"Or Spike," Anya said. Joyce looked at her in confusion. "He didn't go back to his crypt last night," she explained.
"Is he okay?" Joyce asked. Spike rarely stayed at the house overnight, preferring his crypt. Anya and Xander shared a look.
"He seemed a bit shaken," Xander said quietly. Joyce sighed, heading towards the hallway. She headed downstairs, slightly startled at the boxes that littered the entryway.
"How much did they order?" she asked out loud before making her way into the kitchen for coffee.
"Just because I was in one of these bloody things does not mean I know how to put one together," Spike grumbled. Joyce looked up in surprise. Spike was in the dining room with the witches, struggling to put together Buffy's new wheelchair.
"There's instructions," Tara said helpfully, holding out an unfolded piece of paper that was almost as big as she was.
"I've got all the pieces lined up," Willow added helpfully.
"I think I've got these two rods lined up," Spike said suddenly. "I need which screw?" He threw Tara an inquisitive look. She quickly checked the instructions.
"Fourteen A," she said suddenly. Willow quickly handed the vampire the screw and the screwdriver to tighten it. A few seconds later he grinned in triumph.
"Step one done." He looked at Tara. "How many steps are there?"
"Forty-seven," she told him, "but we need to do some of them twice." His face fell.
"Like step one?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. Willow grimaced.
"We are building the frame of the wheelchair," Tara told him, "and it does have two sides." Spike sighed as he began looking for the other pieces he would need to assemble until he saw Joyce standing in the doorway.
"Joyce," he greeted. "Want to lend a bloke a hand?"
"No thank you," she said, smiling at them, "but if you want to take a break I could use some company." They all nodded and followed her into the kitchen. She quickly poured coffee for all of them and prepared a mug of blood for Spike. "So what's all this?" she asked, gesturing to the boxes they could see in the hallway.
"The stuff Ben ordered arrived," Willow told her. "Mostly the bed and the chair, though there's some railings and stuff for the bathroom too."
"I offered to help the whelp put these things together. Volunteered to help with the chair. Thought it would be easier than the bed," Spike grumbled.
"It's easier," Xander said as he led Anya and Giles down the stairs. He and Giles were both rubbing their shoulders sorely. "But the frame is finally secured. Now we can work on the second, some assembly required frame."
"Well we all need some breakfast first," Joyce said. She made her way to the stove and started preparing pancakes. "Where's Dawn and everybody else?"
"Dawn is using the time honored excuse of babysitting to get out of work," Xander told her. Anya pouted, upset that Dawn had beaten her to that excuse. "She took the twins into the hospital room and says they are not coming out until all the boxes are clear. Safety hazard for the children."
"Wish I thought of that," Anya mumbled under her breath.
"Veronica and my father are in my flat," Giles added, "claiming Council business, though they were gracious enough to take Andrew and Jonathan out of our hair."
"And we woke up Faith and Daniel even though we were trying to be quiet," Willow added. "They headed over to someone's house to rest up before they take out the next arm." Willow looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh. I guess we woke you up too. Sorry."
"It's okay," she said, quickly frying up some bacon to go with the pancakes. Once everything was cooked she placed the large stack of pancakes in the middle of the island. They were gone within minutes.
"What?" Xander asked, fidgeting slightly as Joyce kept shifting her gaze between him and Willow.
"Are you two okay?" she asked in concern as she brought a plate full of bacon to the island. Xander put his fork down and shared a long look with Willow.
"No," he admitted. "I am so very not okay. Words can't describe what they did to her. And we experienced it through her memories, so it was like they did that stuff to us too. So no. I won't be okay for a very long time." He looked around the island, reaching his hand out to Anya, who immediately took it. He noticed Tara wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "But this helps. Being around family who will listen while you rant, who will hold you while you cry, who care without passing judgement. I realized last night that this wasn't just Buffy's burden, or ours, but this one falls on the whole family. And I think we're strong enough together to beat it."
"Here here," Willow echoed, tears in her eyes.
"Well said Xander," Giles gave his approval. Even Spike wiped away a tear before tearing into his blood like never before.
"So," Xander said, trying to break the silence that fell after his speech. He turned to Spike. "Wanna swap? I'll take the chair if you finish the bed."
"Not on your life whelp," he answered. "The ladies and I have finally got a system worked out."
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "We've even almost finished step one."
"You have instructions?" Anya asked. Joyce smiled as she quickly finished her plate.
"I'm just gonna take a plate to Dawn then grab a shower," she told them, "then I will be available to help whoever needs me the most." They nodded as the conversation turned to whether or not instruction writers were demons or just plain evil people. She quickly fixed a plate then headed for the hospital room, knocking gently as she opened the door.
"I can still see boxes," Dawn said without looking up. She was playing with Billy, who was latching onto her finger and giggling softly.
"I know," Joyce said, which caused Dawn to look up quickly. "Safety hazard."
"Oh hi Mom," Dawn said, picking Billy up and placing him in a swing. She noticed that Alex was also in her swing.
"I brought you some breakfast."
"Thanks. I was starving." Dawn was already reaching for the plate. Joyce folded her arms, leaning on the wall as she watched her youngest.
"You know you can leave the room right?" she asked. Dawn looked up sheepishly. "The twins are fine. They're not getting out of their swings any time soon. It's okay to leave them for a few minutes to get something to eat. I promise I won't let them put you to work."
"It's not that," she said as she slowly cut up her pancakes.
"Dawn?" Joyce prompted. Dawn sighed.
"I didn't want Buffy waking up alone," she admitted, not looking up from her plate. "I know it's bad and I know you guys won't tell me anything, but I do have a good imagination and know what would have had to happen for Xander, Willow, and Giles to react that strongly and after all that was stirred up I just didn't want Buffy waking up alone."
"That's very thoughtful," Joyce said, moving to stand behind Dawn. She brushed her long, brown hair while Dawn ate her breakfast. When she was done she kissed her lightly on her temple. "Buffy is very lucky to have you as her sister."
"Thanks," Dawn smiled, leaning back against her mom. Joyce put her arms around her, the two of them savoring the moment together before Joyce straightened up.
"I can stay for a few minutes if you need to leave."
"Thank you," Dawn cried, rushing out of the room. A few seconds later she heard the door to the bathroom slam shut. She chuckled lightly, turning to watch her other daughter sleep. A few minutes later Dawn came back.
"Come get me when she wakes up," Joyce instructed, picking up the plate now that Dawn was finished. Dawn nodded, retaking her seat at her sister's side. "And I need to use your shower again."
"That's okay," Dawn told her, "but I would recommend locking the door again. Andrew isn't hovering but they still have parts and pieces scattered around everywhere, including my room. Don't want anyone to accidentally walk in on you." Joyce smiled, taking the plate back to the kitchen. Giles was just finishing the dishes and he quickly cleaned the last plate before heading back upstairs. Joyce followed him, grabbing some clothes before heading to Dawn's room. Taking her advice, she locked the door before starting her shower. Twenty minutes later she found herself helping Xander as they tried to get the newly assembled bed frame into place.
"This bad boy will be fully adjustable," he was telling her as they held the pieces in place while he screwed them onto the metal frame bolted to the floor. "The height can be adjusted with a push of a button. Same with the angle of the head and the foot of the bed. We can even rotate it three hundred and sixty degrees if we need to."
"Plus it has a double cotton quilted top for extended use comfort," Anya said as she dutifully handed the screws and bolts to Xander. "And the best part is it's a standard queen sized bed so we won't have to special order any bedding."
"And once we get everything set up we'll be able to control everything from the bed," he said as he screwed in the last bolt. Everyone sighed as they released their grip. The bed frame stayed exactly as it should. "The lights, the heat, the TV."
"TV?" Joyce asked. "We are not putting a TV in here."
"How else are we going to lie on this amazingly comfortable bed and watch TV?" Anya asked, before adding, "with Buffy."
"She's not going to be up to doing much right away," Xander reminded her. "What better way to pass the time." Joyce sighed. Xander was right.
"Fine," she relented. "But just a small one." Xander gave Anya a high five.
"Xander," Giles frowned, standing straight as he addressed the young man. "Have you given any thought to the problem with the stairs?" Joyce blinked, realizing for the first time that they were on the second floor. How could she have forgotten that?
"I have," he said proudly. "The smaller steps are no problem. I can easily make a ramp and have even begun designing several options, but the stairs inside the house are a bit trickier. Luckily Wayne designed this with a very open floor plan which leaves plenty of room for a wheelchair. Once we overcome the stair problem we'll be good to go."
"And how do we overcome the stair problem?" Joyce asked.
"Ben sent some brochures on various stair lifts, but to be honest they're bulky, unattractive, and we can do better. Plus, they're really not meant to be in homes with small kids. You know, safety hazards."
"What do you propose?" Giles asked carefully. Xander grinned.
"I think we should put in a lift."
"An elevator?" Joyce asked.
"No," Xander quickly explained. "An elevator uses a pulley system to raise and lower a box to various heights." Joyce nodded her head, with him so far. "A lift uses a hydraulic system to raise and lower a section of the floor to various heights."
"Like when I take the car to the shop and they put it up on a lift," Joyce said, understanding what he was going for. "Why not just get an elevator?"
"Well they take up more space, cost more to operate, and are generally designed for commercial use, not home use."
"And a lift?" Giles asked. "Do they design those for home use?"
"Yep. I've already looked into it. It won't take up much room, just a section of the last guest room on this floor and a small part of the library on the main floor. The basement will need more room though, since all the machinery will be located there."
"So let me get this right," Joyce said, studying him intently. "For safety reasons, you don't want to install a chairlift on the stairs because the twins might play on it and fall, but you're okay leaving a hole in the middle of the floor?" Xander grinned.
"Yep," he said. Anya looked at him awkwardly before leaning toward Joyce.
"Is this guy logic Willow keeps talking about?" she whispered, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear. Giles grinned, turning his back as he desperately tried not to laugh.
"Absolutely," Joyce sighed, raising her eyes upward. "Men and their tools." Xander laughed at that one. "I guess it won't hurt to see what you come up with," she said.
"We have plenty of time," Xander said, grinning crazily. "For modifications like this we'll have to get approval from the zoning board. They won't be meeting until the beginning of next month."
"Will they deny our request?" Giles asked. "Do we need to get the Council involved?"
"Shouldn't be necessary," Xander said as he double checked the frame. "We have a legitimate need. Ben already said he would be willing to officially state that for the record, even swear to it in court if needed." Joyce nodded as Dawn rapped on the door.
"She's awake," Dawn said, heading back downstairs without looking to see if anyone was following. Joyce and Giles followed her. Xander looked on in confusion.
"Morning routine," Anya answered his unspoken question. "The spent IV bag gets removed and the ostomy bag changed, whether it's full or not. Joyce will give her a sponge bath, since the bathroom isn't quite ready yet, and dress her. Next Giles will go through the morning exercise routine." She looked over at the bed frame. "Is it time for the mattress yet?" Xander nodded, leading them downstairs.
"How do you know all of this?" he asked.
"We all should know this," she told him. They entered the kitchen in time to see Spike put the newly assembled wheelchair on the ground.
"Ta da," he grinned as he gave it an experimental push.
"Nice," Anya said, helping herself to a glass of water before turning back to Xander. "What if something happened to everybody and you had to care for her? Do you know what to do?"
"What?" Xander asked, looking to the witches to see if they had any insight. Anya glared at him before looking to Willow.
"He doesn't know about the morning routine."
"Ah," Willow said, smiling slightly. "Dare I ask about the nightly routine?"
"What?" Xander asked again.
"Feeding time?" Tara asked, joining in the fun and poking him slightly in the side. Xander looked from woman to woman and sighed. He turned to Spike, hoping to find him as confused as he was, but he only smirked back.
"Hers or mine?" he asked. Xander huffed.
"Fine, I've been a bad friend," he admitted, "but I was busy."
"We know," Willow assured him, giving him a playful slap to the chest. "And you haven't been a bad friend. Look at everything you did for her."
"Right," he said, puffing out his chest. "I am good friend builder guy. And now I will be good friend helper guy. So what are these routines I'm hearing about?"
"I find the nightly one more interesting," Anya said helpfully. "Since it involves bowel movements."
"Anya!" Xander gasped. Anya was ready to say more when there was a knocking at the door.
"Saved by the bell," Willow laughed as she went to open the front door. The Watchers were standing patiently, waiting, while the nerds were discussing something a few feet behind them. Willow opened the door wide, letting everyone in.
"It seems the shipment has arrived," Gregory said, mentally counting the boxes he could see. He was overjoyed when he saw the assembled chair. "Wonderful," he said, examining it closely to make sure it was put together correctly. "We could work on the bed next. It can be trickier than the chair."
"Wonderful," Xander said repeated, "but I've already started the bed. The frame is put together. We just need to move the mattress."
"Amazing," Gregory patted Xander on the shoulder. "You seem to have a knack for medical equipment. Not many people can assemble a chair and bed from scratch."
"Not a knack for assembling medical equipment," Xander told him bluntly, "just a knack for helping my friends out in whatever way I can. And if you want to gush about the chair you should get your facts straight. I didn't do anything with the chair. Spike did."
"The vampire?" Gregory asked. "What would a vampire know about human medical equipment?" He jumped slightly when said vampire emerged from the shadows.
"Heya doc," Spike smirked, before turning to Xander. "What the hell was that about whelp? Usually you're first in line for a little Spike bashing and now you're defending my honor?"
"I don't know," Xander admitted. "I don't know what came over me. I just felt a sudden need to protect the Scoobies and you were the one he went after."
"I guess that is better than discussing bowel movements," Spike said, his characteristic smirk firmly on his face. Xander shuddered.
"Don't worry sweetie," Anya said softly. "We'll discuss that later."
"Can't wait," he said as Faith and Daniel walked through the open door.
"Are we ready to party?" she asked as Giles slowly joined them. "What's up G? Where's your game face?"
"I think I'll leave this one up to you," he told her, leaning against the walls tiredly. "Last night I returned to a place I never wanted to go. I let Ripper lose. I can't do that again."
"You wailed last night," Faith said with awe. "You can't say you didn't like punishing them for what they did to B."
"I did," he admitted. "A little too much." He pushed off the wall, coming to stand in front of her. "A Slayer does not punish the guilty. She protects the innocent. We forgot that last night. I forgot that."
"Are you saying that we should just let them get away with this?" she asked outraged. He shook his head.
"No," he said gently, "but if we lose ourselves in our vengeance, in our retribution, we become the monsters we are charged to fight." He held her gaze until she nodded.
"We still need to stop them," she said, but her tone was much more calm and controlled.
"You will," he told her confidently. "Do you remember the signs I showed you?" he asked, looking at Daniel as well. They both nodded. "Those are the entrance markers. Find them and you will find their lair. Stop them and shut down their horrendous operation, but remember why you're doing it." She nodded again, breathing deeply to calm her bloodlust. He turned to his father. "Is the Council ready?"
"Watchers are being staged in the places you listed last night," he confirmed. "We also have local law enforcement ready and standing by." He handed the list Giles gave him last night over to Faith. "Whenever you are ready, Slayer."
"Let's gear up," she said, putting the list in her pocket. She turned to get her weapons.
"Before you go, do you think you could help us move a mattress?" Xander asked.
The rest of the day moved quickly. The Giles family returned to his house where they monitored Faith's cleanup effort. Gregory helped Xander finish with the bed, then helped him install the railings and the equipment in the bathroom. Spike seemed determined to help every step of the way. At first Xander just thought Spike wanted to prove something to the doctor, but the first time Spike growled unexpectedly and Gregory jumped Xander knew better. Instead of intervening, he sat back and enjoyed watching the show play out, though he almost broke a rib trying not to laugh at the terrified look on Gregory's face when Spike put on his game face halfway through. He could tell Spike was enjoying himself too. He never thought he would see the day when he and the bleached menace would bond over terrifying someone.
"This is beautiful Xander," Joyce gushed as he showed her the newly renovated bathroom. Along with the new shower and Jacuzzi tub, it gained a second sink, large medicine cabinet, and even a couple chairs in the corner next to the scale. Plus, everything was done in the granite countertops she preferred. She pulled him into a big hug. Xander returned it before pulling away. He quietly went to join Anya.
"Hey!" Spike protested. "I helped."
"Thank you," she said, giving the vampire a quick hug as well. She released him and headed over to Gregory. He was calibrating the scale they had installed. "And thank you. I don't know what I would have done without your help."
"You would have figured it out," he told her honestly. He finished his calibrations before standing up and facing them. "Your daughter is a very lucky young woman. We've forgotten that at the Council. We focus on the Slayer, but we often forget there's a very real young girl as well. This experience has opened my eyes. I think we both learned something from this." He turned to the vampire. "You've also taught me something. I freely admit the Council can be rather arrogant, but I never realized how bigoted they had allowed themselves to become. Just because something is different does not make it inherently bad." He held out his hand to Spike. "Before I go, I just want to apologize for my behavior. I have not been treating you with the respect you have more than earned. I'm sorry."
"It's okay doc," Spike said, shaking his hand. "I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't need to be used to it," he said sadly, giving one last shake before letting go. Spike sighed, before facing the Watcher.
"You're right," he said. "And you're right. Vampires and demons are not friendly. You shouldn't welcome them with open arms, that's likely to get you killed. If there's one thing the Watcher's Council has figured out over the years, its survival. Survival of the Watchers anyway. Those lessons will keep you alive in our world."
"But you're not like that," Gregory countered. Spike shook his head.
"I'm unique, even for a vampire. Now I'm not saying you should drop your weapons and hold hands with every demon you meet, but the world is changing. Demons are too, but they'll never change if you don't give em a chance."
"I'll keep that in mind," he told the vampire. Spike nodded, leaving the room quickly. Gregory turned to Joyce.
"You're leaving?" she asked as she examined the scale. He nodded.
"I'm heading over to Russia to help the victims of The Ring," he told her. "I'm not needed here anymore and there's so much to do there."
"Thank you for your help," Joyce repeated. He smiled.
"You never needed it." He smiled at her, shaking her hand too. "If you ever need my help, or just want to talk, you have my number. Day or night." She nodded and he excused himself to go pack. She stood there gazing at her functional, yet beautiful bathroom before her gaze drifted through the open door and into Buffy's room. Anya was lying in the middle of the bed, idly flipping through the channels on the TV when Xander finally brought Buffy to her room. Anya smiled and shifted to the side to make room for the girl. Xander laid the Slayer in the middle of her bed before climbing up, leaving Buffy firmly ensconced in the middle.
"Find anything interesting?" Willow asked as she and Tara entered the room. She held a big bowl of popcorn. She put it at the foot of the bed while Tara pulled over a couple chairs for them.
"Here we go," Xander said once he wrestled the controls away from his wife. "Nice foreign film. Unfathomable plot lines, extreme over acting, and lots of subtext. Literally. I think that's like four lines up there." Tara glanced over.
"I think that's French," she said. She pulled a chair to the top of the bed, angling it slightly so she could put her feet up. Willow was doing the same thing on the other side.
"Why are we doing this?" Anya asked. "Why are we watching something in a foreign language when there are several shows that we can actually understand and enjoy?"
"It's what we used to do," Willow said, getting a faraway look in her eyes. "Back when we were young and didn't have any money to do anything actually fun, we'd get together at someone's house and watch these movies."
"We'd used to make up our own plot lines, since we never could figure out what was going on," Xander added wistfully. "And remember when we tried to ad lib our own dialog?"
"Yeah," Willow sighed before turning to Anya and Tara. "It's the first real memories we have with Buffy that didn't involve Slaying. And now that she's back it seemed appropriate that this should be our first activity with her."
"I think it's sweet," Tara said, helping herself to some popcorn. "And I'm glad you're sharing it with us." Anya looked confused.
"But we have money now. We can go have some real fun."
"We'll do that tomorrow," Xander promised. "Whatever you want to do." That seemed to satisfy Anya. She sank back into the mattress, letting the events unfold around her. Joyce smiled as she watched the friends bicker softly. She quietly closed the door and made her way back to the kitchen, leaving the group to bond.