Willow rushed into the emergency room of Sunnydale General, dodging the areas under construction. She hit the reception desk. "Dawn? Dawn Summers?"
"And you are?"
"Willow Rosenberg, her guardian. I adopted her. Is she okay? Can I see her? Is she okay? Tell me she's okay." Insides an earthquake of nerves, Willow begged the Goddess for Dawn's health, but she didn't get through. She bit her thumbnail as the nurse made a call.
"How did you know she was here? We haven't even called anyone." The receptionist rounded the desk, and guided Willow to the waiting room chairs, clipboard in her other hand.
"Doesn't matter. What happened? Is she okay?" Willow sank into the chair still pleading that Dawn be all right.
"They took her to surgery as soon as the ambulance brought her in from the accident site. Your friend Xander has a concussion, a broken nose, and a cut on his scalp that's getting stitched up." The receptionist sat next to Willow. "Can you give me some information about the two of them? Insurance? Basic information?"
Willow excavated her purse searching for her emergency notebook. The one with everyone's medical information in it. When she found it, she handed it to the woman, but then couldn't sit anymore and paced. When she caught site of the pay phone, she knew she had to call the house.
The phone rang and rang, and when Willow thought no one was home, Giles picked up. "Hello?"
"Giles! Dawn and Xander were in an accident, car I think. You and Buffy need to get here, to the hospital here." Her hands shook as she listened to Giles.
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Buffy's not here. Dawn was looking for her. I-I-I don't know if she found her or not. I need to call Cheryl. I need, I'm on my way."
After hanging the phone up, Willow turned to see every person in the waiting room approaching her, their lust clear in the way they touched themselves, licked their lips, and moaned. Her reserves depleted, she rushed out of the emergency department, and to the closest place she might find a pick me up. Spike's crypt. She knew he was there.
The crypt door slammed against the inside wall when she rushed through it.
"Oy! What's going on?" Spike yelled up from his bedroom.
Willow dropped through the hole in the floor and landed with a soft disturbance of the dirt. "I need. Spike, may I? I need to."
"Of course. Anything for Buffy, she's been fadin…" he got cut off by Willow sticking her tongue in his mouth. There was no Buffy in his arms, but as he removed her sunglasses, he found it didn't matter. It was for Buffy and that was enough. He gave Willow everything, and woke up on the floor, drained and unable to stand. Buffy wasn't in the crypt anywhere either. And no matter how much he wanted to go after her, his feet wobbled too much. Within reach was the box of cats and he got his hand on one. Once the box was empty, Spike could move again, though slow, and every move ached to the bone.
Luck had it that night had fallen while he'd been out, and he picked up Buffy's scent and followed it to the hospital. Before he even got through the door, he smelled the blood, and being this weak, he didn't know if he could control himself. Spike didn't think he'd survive the headache that would result if he lost control, so he walked around the hospital to their dumpster out back, and found a nest of rats.
Buffy sat with Giles in the emergency room chairs waiting for Dawn to get out of surgery. When the doctor informed them that Xander's alcohol withdrawal caused the accident, neither of them could even look at him. At least not until they knew Dawn would be okay.
As the night wore on, Buffy felt every time Willow fed and it seemed to be a lot with less effect. She lost count after ten. The sight of Willow with Spike, made Buffy sick and oddly jealous of both of them. Did Willow have to have sex to feed? Was there any other way? She realized she asked no questions about what Willow was now. Was Willow's demon why she knew Dawn had been hurt? She avoided the thought. Thinking about Dawn in surgery felt too close to the emotions Buffy had when Glory took her from that abandoned gas station only four months ago.
"What do you know about Willow's, um, condition?" Buffy asked trying to distract herself from having another coma.
"Since she brought you back from the long dead, and had to restore your decaying flesh, she had to make a sacrifice." He was careful in picking his words. Giles didn't want to inadvertently sic Buffy on Willow. "She gave up her humanity though not her soul to be granted such a gift. She needs to kill or feed sexually as a palliative measure to keep you from decaying and dying again. She's a succubus now. From what I understand she's been feeding off the demon population, killing them and thinning the herd. According to my sources, the demons are afraid again. They don't know her identity, but they know a succubus lives here and they won't risk becoming her victims. If she kills them, she absorbs them, everything about them in one fell swoop. If they fall prey to her sexually the process is a lot slower. Immortal demons can sometimes survive for hundreds of years, but they'll be connected to her until they perish, at her hands."
"What happens when I die? Does she get to be human again?" Why Buffy asked had to be wishful thinking. She knew that sacrifices like that were permanent.
"No. She'll never be human again, but she is immortal now, and when you die, she'll need to feed less often. That'll be the only change." Giles cleared his throat and rubbed his thigh above his prosthetic to try to get rid of the ache there. "She's still your friend. I know you're aware that she knew you may have been in heaven, but she'd vowed to take care of your loved ones. To make the decisions you would to save people and maybe the world. She had to pick between leaving you in heaven, one person's peace, and saving the world from the constant attempts to open the Hellmouth."
"So much has changed since I died. I don't even recognize anyone. Willow's a demon, Xander's drinking himself to death, Dawn's a gothic kleptomaniac with a foul mouth. Spike's being as responsible as he can be. Tara and Anya are the ones risking their lives on a quest that may not even offer answers. And all the while, I was in what may have been a heaven of liars, telling me that everyone would be okay." She threw her arms around his neck as she sobbed. "You wouldn't be this bad off if I hadn't jumped. But I still can't imagine letting Dawn jump for me. I could never do that. I'm not the leader I need to be. I couldn't make another sacrifice. Giles I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?"
Giles held her and stroked her hair. "There's nothing to forgive."
Spike walked into the waiting room and saw Buffy and Giles clinging to each other so he hung back, waiting for a polite moment to interrupt. Buffy noticed him before such a moment appeared.
"Spike?" Buffy let go of Giles and waved him over. "What are you doing here?"
"I followed you here. Or your scent anyway." He sat down next to her, noticing for the first time he was without his coat. "What's going on?"
"Xander and Dawn were in an accident." Giles said, his tone flat.
"Was that bastard drunk?" Spike asked, getting up again.
"No. His withdrawal symptoms appear to be the cause." Giles squeezed Buffy's hand when he saw her wince.
Sitting back down, Spike didn't know what to think about that. Xander's drinking problem was still the cause, but he'd been sober behind the wheel. "How's the Bit?"
"In surgery. They, um, won't tell us anything." Buffy's worry seeped into every word. But Spike could see her skin was bright, her eyes swimming with tears still looked more alive too.
Spike stood up when Willow approached them. "Red."
"Yellow." She didn't smile, but asked, "Any news on Dawn?" as she sat on the other side of the vampire.
"Not yet." Buffy reached over Spike and squeezed Willow's hand quickly.
The four of them sat in the waiting room, silent while other people came and went. Spike didn't have to leave before the sun rose since the window in the waiting room still had plywood covering it. But he could feel the sun creeping over the horizon when a doctor approached them. "Are you here for Dawn?" he asked.
The four of them stood up, even Giles, while they nodded. "How, how is she?" Buffy asked as she clutched Giles's hand.
"I'm Dr. Mccall. We'll know more when she wakes up. She'll live, but the crash caused more problems than the shoulder injury. Her head was jarred enough to burst an aneurysm she's likely had for years. We performed surgery to prevent further bleeding, but we won't know if she's suffered any brain damage until she wakes up. The shoulder injury may cause her to have limited rotation if she doesn't respond well to physical therapy." Dr. Mccall allowed the four of them to absorb what he told them. "Two of you can see her at a time, but she's unconscious, and we can't let you stay long. We must keep the room clear should there be any unforeseen complications we need to treat."
Buffy mumbled a thank you as they followed him to Dawn. Giles and Buffy went in first while Willow and Spike waited in the hall.
"Can she hear us?" Buffy asked the doctor.
"It's possible. Patients commonly report having heard their loved ones talking to them while they were unconscious when they wake up." He faded into the corner while Buffy brushed Dawn's pale cheek.
"It shouldn't take brain surgery for me to get to see you without all that makeup. But you'll be fine and I'll be telling you how much better you look without racoon eyes in no time. And you'll whine that I'm annoying, and everything will go back to normal." Buffy kissed Dawn's cheek since her forehead was wrapped in bandages.
"Her adoptive mother saved her life having her medical history written and ready. We wouldn't have known to look for a brain bleed if we didn't know there was a family history," Dr. Mccall said.
Buffy smiled crookedly. "Willow's good with that kind of thing. Always prepared."
He nodded at them and said, "If you need me, ask a nurse to page me," before leaving.
"Giles, she's going to be fine." Buffy touched his trembling shoulder. His sobs may have been shaking his entire body, but they were silent at first.
"I've failed so utterly. If I had talked to her after you died, reasoned with her, shown her the love she needed, she wouldn't have the criminal history she has and the police would've let her go. They rarely care about trespassing these days, and this results from my failure. I'm sorry Dawn. I'm so very sorry." He clutched Dawn's hand and as he touched it to his cheek, he lost his balance and Buffy had to catch him.
"Giles. This isn't your fault. It's Xander's if anyone's." She got him seated and knelt in front of him. "It'll be okay. Is there anything we can't handle? We've dealt with death and apocalypses by the dozen. We can deal with this too. And I know she'll be fine."
He breathed in and nodded. "You're right. We should let Spike and Willow in to see her now, shouldn't we?"
"Yes, we should."
"If you sing another note, Tara, I will rip your vocal chords out." Anya's entire body was soaked with sweat from heat worse than any she experienced before. And they hadn't even reached the halfway point yet.
"Sorry. It keeps me from b-being scared is all."
"Then can you pick a different song? You've been singing the same one about sunshine for hours and I can't take it when I'm this hot." Anya plopped on her ass in the middle of the bridge. "I need a break."
Griffin and Tara sat with her. "Is there a song you want to hear?"
"Are there any songs about ice?"
"You're as cold as ice. You're willing to sacrifice our love. You never take advice. Someday you'll pay the price, I know…" Tara sang as she saw Anya smirk and then smile and bob her head.