Title: Stop Motion
Author: Shannon
Pairing: Willow/Giles eventually
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Joss Whedon, ME, UPN, FOX, and WB.
Distribution: http://magical-worlds.us/musings/ , My LJ (shannon730), Hairy Eyeball if Elisabeth wants it. Anyone else that has my other fics. Any one else just let me know first.
Summary: Buffy is injured. Willow and Giles work together to help her and find the vampires behind the attack.
Author's Notes: Thanks to Gabrielle for betaing this for me and for the wonderful title.
This is written in response to Michelle's challenge What would happen if Buffy was paralyzed? I'd like to see a story about this, and about Giles' reaction to it. Pairing: A Giles/Buffy pairing would be preferred, but any pairing would be good. (It could be interesting to see how Buffy's paralysis would affect Giles' relationship with someone else.) I hope it's at least close to what you wanted.
Prologue
Buffy ran through the dark cemetery, not wanting to take the time to look back. She hadn't seen them at first, not all of them anyway. She had seen the fledgling and one other vampire, the other ten had come later, or emerged from hiding. She still wasn't sure which. All she knew was that they had appeared out of nowhere, and she wasn't ready.
Now she had to get home. She was close, only of couple blocks. If she could get into the house she'd be safe. Not the bravest way for a slayer to react, especially not one of the slayers , but survival was better than saving her pride, right? She was almost to the edge of the cemetery, so close that she could see the street. And the people. A large group of people were leaving a restaurant on the other side of the street. She couldn't lead the vampires to them. She couldn't serve those people up as an all you can eat buffet, not to save herself.
She swerved to the left and ran back into the cemetery, it was a longer way home, but wouldn't endanger innocent people. She shouldn't have come here alone, that's why Giles had bought her the big house, and sent several, mostly trained, slayers to live with her and Dawn. Having so many new slayers in the world had made her more, not less, of a target.
Killing a slayer was no longer as impressive as it used to be, too many half-trained girls with super powers running around now. A vampire that wanted to make a name for themselves now had to kill one of the slayers . It had been open season on both her and Faith since news of what they had done in Sunnydale had spread. She had been fairly safe for a while; fear of the Immortal had kept the vampires away, but now…
She was almost there, she could see the empty street. A few more feet and she'd be on the road, the vampires would be less likely to follow. Then only a few blocks to her house and she'd be safe. They were getting closer, she could sense them gaining on her, she stopped running and spun around. She couldn't outrun them, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She pulled a stake from her pocket and threw it, hitting one vampire in the chest. It turned to dust as the others kept approaching. There were fewer than had originally been following her, she could do this, she thought, she had to.
“Buffy!”
Buffy turned at the sound of Dawn's voice, “Get out of here, Dawn,” she shouted. Before she could say anything more she felt something hit her back, and she fell to the ground. She could hear a lot of yelling and screaming. The vampires were running now, they were fleeing. Dust hit her face and she realized Dawn had someone with her, someone the vampires feared. Someone that made them abandon their chance at the glory of killing her.
“Call for an ambulance, Dawn,” she heard Willow say, before her friend's face appeared, hovering over her. “Buffy, don't move, okay? We're getting help.”
“Will…” Buffy's voice trailed off as the pain became too much and everything went black.
Part 1
Giles rushed down the long, empty hallway. He hadn't slept since Willow called him the day before. She hadn't given him any details. He wasn't even sure why Willow was there, in Rome, and not in Brazil. All she had said was that Buffy was seriously injured and he needed to come as soon as possible. He spotted Dawn and Willow through the glass of the waiting room window and pushed the door open.
“Giles!” Dawn was out of her seat and had her arms wrapped around him before he was completely through the door. “We were too late. We tried, but we couldn't find her in time.”
Giles wrapped his arms around the crying teenager and looked over her head at Willow. She was standing a few feet away, waiting. “I'm sure everything will be fine. Buffy's strong,” he said with more confidence than he felt, wanting to comfort her.
“Giles, can I…” Willow said hesitantly. Dawn was already suspicious that she was keeping things from her but she wasn't sure Dawn really wanted the information just yet. “We need to…talk.”
“Ah, yes,” Giles agreed. “In the hallway?”
“I'm not a child,” Dawn argued, when Giles stepped away from her. “I can hear…”
“Miss Summers?” A voice interrupted.
“Yeah,” Dawn said, turning her attention to the doctor standing in the doorway behind Giles.
“Your sister is awake and asking for you.”
“Can we all…?” Willow asked.
“Not just yet,” The doctor said. “Just her sister right now, later she'll be able to see more people. Right now she needs to rest.”
Dawn grabbed her purse from the chair she had vacated and followed the doctor out of the room. Willow sighed in relief. As much as she wanted to see Buffy, to see for herself that she was all right, this gave her the chance to talk to Giles without angering Dawn. “What's happened, Willow? Buffy is all right, isn't she?”
“Well, that depends on what you mean by all right,” Willow frowned and led Giles over to the chairs she had Dawn had been using. “She'll live, her life isn't in danger anymore, but… Giles, the doctors don't think she'll be able to walk.”
“Yes, but they don't know about the slayer and… Buffy heals faster than most…”
“Giles, she's not going to walk,” Willow said, stopping him; she'd tried to convince herself of the same things. “That's why I was here. That seer, from the coven in Brazil, she told me what would happen. She knew that Buffy would be attacked, and where, and I tried to get here in time but… She can't heal from this, Giles.”
“How did it,” Giles began, deciding he would deal with the rest later, when he had time to think. “How was she injured?”
“I don't know exactly,” Willow admitted, “I haven't been able to talk to Buffy. The seer said she was going to be ambushed. It was a trap, vampires out to get a real slayers again. They set her up. I don't know how they knew where she'd be, but they did.”
Giles closed his eyes for several seconds. They had all begun to think this couldn't happen to Buffy. They used to be prepared for it. The slayer's job was dangerous. Nine years later, they had grown overly confident in Buffy's ability to survive. They no longer thought of simple vampires as being a danger to her. They should've been more careful. Now Buffy was paying for their over confidence. “Dawn, she doesn't know?”
“No,” Willow said, “I talked to the doctor earlier; Dawn was too upset and I didn't want to tell her. I don't think Buffy knows either.”
“The others?”
”Xander and Faith are on their way,” Willow said, “They'll be here tomorrow sometime.”
“Dawn will have to be told,” Giles said quietly. His mind already trying to work out how they would deal with this new development, “They won't be able to stay here in Rome. Too dangerous, and Dawn won't be able to take care of her alone. When word gets out that Buffy's been injured…”
“Every demon in the world will be lining up to finish her off,” Willow finished. “I want to find the vampires that did it, Giles. I want them to pay. Make sure the demon world understands that we aren't going to accept this.”
“You scared the hell out of them last night,” Dawn said from the doorway. Then, in answer to their questioning looks, “Buffy's sleeping again.”
“Yeah, I've built quite a reputation in Brazil,” Willow admitted. “I didn't realize it had traveled this far though.”
“Well, I imagine Andrew can handle things at home for a while. At least until Buffy is able to travel. I can stay and help you.”
“What do you mean, until she can travel?” Dawn asked. “No more hiding. How bad is it? Willow, why did you come all the way here instead of calling?”
Willow took a deep breath, Dawn had to be told. “Buffy isn't going to… Dawnie, she's paralyzed.”
“She said she couldn't feel…” Dawn began, and hesitated. “It's temporary, right?”
“I'm afraid not,” Giles responded. “The injuries are too…”
“No,” Dawn said loudly, tears forming in her eyes again. “No, she's the slayer. Slayers can heal anything.”
“Most things yes,” Giles agreed, “But not everything. If that were true, they would be immortal. They can't heal if the wound is serious enough. Her healing power is probably what's allowed her to survive this at all.”
Dawn took a deep breath. She wasn't going to fall apart. That's why Willow hadn't told her earlier, they didn't think she could handle it. They thought she was just a kid and couldn't deal with it. She wasn't, and she could handle this. Buffy needed her to be able to deal with it. “Does Buffy know?”
“I don't think so,” Willow said, “The doctor was going to wait until she was stabilized to tell her.”
“She's…” Dawn said quietly, “This is going to kill her.”
“She's stronger than you believe, Dawn,” Giles said, then more quietly, “She has to be.”
Willow nodded in agreement. She wasn't entirely sure she agreed with Giles though. Buffy wasn't going to handle this news well at all. It was possible that Dawn was right, this information would accomplish what the vampires hadn't.
Part 2
Buffy stared at the doctor, then at her friends and Dawn, then back at the doctor. He was the only one meeting her eyes. Everyone else seemed very interested in the floor, ceiling, or walls of her hospital room. They had all known what the doctor was going to say, that much was obvious. The doctor was wrong, though, she thought, he didn't understand about being a slayer. She would heal. It was just taking longer than normal, the injury was worse, so she wasn't healing as quickly. They all knew that. So, why were they all looking at her like they wanted to be anywhere but in this room with her?
Giles was watching Buffy's reaction. He didn't meet her eyes when her gaze fell on him, but he was watching. They had all had a long discussion about this last night, when the doctor informed Dawn it was time to tell Buffy. No one was sure how she would react, but they also didn't doubt the possibility that Buffy would skip over the denial phase and move right into anger. Now though, he wasn't sure how she was taking the news at all. She wasn't saying anything. He looked at Willow, who he was sure was also watching Buffy more closely than the other girl realized.
“You're healing incredibly fast, Miss Summers,” the doctor said. “Much faster than anyone expected so I won't rule out the chance of you regaining some use of your legs in the future.”
“So this could all go away, then?” Buffy asked, “I could be fine?”
“I didn't say that,” the doctor corrected. “I said you may regain some use. If you do, it will be very limited.”
“But I could…”
“Miss Summers,” the doctor interrupted, “I know this is all shocking to you, and it will take some time to adjust but please don't put too much hope in regaining the ability to walk.”
“You don't understand,” Buffy said angrily.
“Perhaps I should leave you to talk to your friends,” the doctor said quietly, and left the room. There was nothing more he could say to help her and her sister had warned him that she would react badly. “Tomorrow we can discuss a physical therapy plan.”
“Buffy,” Willow said, as the doctor closed the door behind him. “Everything's going to be okay.”
“Of course it is,” Buffy said, smiling. “I'm a slayer. I can heal from this, I don't know why it's taking so long but it was more serious than usual, so I figure it's just slower to heal; right, Giles? The doctor doesn't understand that.”
“Buff, I don't think she meant…” Xander said. He stepped closer to the bed, still not meeting her eyes. He understood, probably better than the others did, what this was doing to her; but the doctor was right, she couldn't pretend it would go away. “I don't think you can heal this.”
“He's right,” Giles said, stepping closer to the bed. “The damage to your spinal cord was…”
“I am not going to stay like this, Giles,” Buffy protested. “I am not going to be in a wheelchair.”
“Buffy, I understand how,” Giles said quietly.
“What do you understand, Giles?” Buffy said angrily. “How it feels to be told you won't ever walk again? Not to be able to feel your legs? To know that what you did, who you are is gone because you couldn't outrun a few vampires?”
“I don't think that's fair, B,” Faith said from her place against the wall. “Giles is trying to help you, we all are. It may not have happened to us, but we are trying to help and understand.”
“And being a slayer, fighting vampires, isn't everything you are,” Willow added. “You're still Buffy, our friend, Dawn's sister. That isn't going to change just because you can't walk.”
“We want to help you,” Xander said.
“You want to help me?” Buffy said angrily, turning slightly so she could face him. “By telling me to accept that I'm going to be like this for the rest of my life? That's not helping, that's giving up. Did anyone even try to find those vampires? They're still out there, right?”
“We've all been here, Buffy,” Giles pointed out, “We felt that being here was more important than…”
“Right,” Buffy said, tears in her eyes. “You all had to be here to make sure I didn't actually hold on to any hope of walking. Well, great job, all of you.”
“Buffy, I…” Willow began. Buffy's reaction wasn't surprising at all, but it still hurt. None of them wanted to see her hurt like this.
“Just get out, all of you.”
“Buffy,” Dawn said quietly as everyone moved toward the door. “Don't…”
“Just leave. I want to be alone,” Buffy said staring straight ahead of her. If they didn't want to believe in her, then she didn't want them around her right now.
“Call if you change your mind, B,” Faith said as she waited for Dawn to leave the room before pulling the door closed and leaving Buffy alone.
Part 3
Willow stood in the doorway and watched as Giles skimmed the pages of another book. She had been watching for nearly an hour and he hadn't moved from the desk. He had barely even looked up from the books, other than to occasionally refill his glass. She didn't know what he was looking for. She wasn't even sure he knew, not really. They each had their own ways to deal with everything that had happened in the last week.
Xander had spent hours researching the various additions and modifications he could make to the house to make it more wheelchair accessible. Dawn had started moving all of Buffy's clothes and belongings from the bedroom upstairs to the guest room on the first floor. She was going out to buy paint in the morning. Willow and Faith had spent the time researching local vampires, trying to narrow down who may have planned this attack. Then they had gone patrolling. Giles had been sitting at the desk, looking at his books all night.
He said he was fine, he didn't want to talk about it. Willow knew it was bothering him, more than anyone else, she thought. She didn't know how to help him though, he was being so…Giles. That's why she had been standing in the doorway for an hour, trying to find a way to help him.
*****
Giles knew Willow had been watching him. He'd been aware of her presence for some time. He had hoped she'd go away because he didn't want to talk. There were still a lot of books to go through, texts that might give him the answer to helping Buffy.
Buffy's reaction had affected him more than he thought it would. Not her anger at the injury, they had expected that. That's how Buffy dealt with…everything, anger. Usually her anger was directed at whatever vampire or demon they were fighting at the time, but this time it wasn't. This time she didn't have a demon to fight, so she'd turned her anger on them.
She blamed them for not supporting her. He knew that wasn't true. Not allowing her to believe in the impossible and not supporting her were not the same thing. They had all spent the evening trying to help her, whether she was aware of it or not. They all wanted to help her, but she needed to want to help herself, and she wouldn't as long as she believed it would heal.
He slammed the book he was reading closed, the answer wasn't there. He turned to reach for another book. “The answer isn't in any of those books, Giles,” Willow said quietly.
“You don't know that,” Giles sighed, turning to face her. “There could be a spell…”
“A spell to do what?” Willow asked. She crossed the large room and sat in the chair across from him, watching him lean back in his own chair. “To heal her? To help her walk? Or to make her accept what's happened?”
“Anything,” Giles admitted, “All three. I don't know, Willow, all I do know is how…hurt she was today.”
“I know, and it was hard for me too,” Willow frowned, “For all of us. But magic can't fix it, you know that. You can't use magic to fix your problems, isn't that what you told me? I can do a spell to help for a while but it won't last. Then she'll be even angrier, because we played with her mind.”
“You're right, of course,” he said quietly. “She has to deal with this on her own, in her own way. How was patrolling?”
“Yeah, well,” Willow smiled slightly. “That's um, how Faith is dealing with her anger. I think she has sent a very clear message to whoever attacked Buffy.”
“She needs to be careful,” Giles said. “Until we know who is behind this, Buffy is…If Faith is injured as well...”
“I know, and I pointed that out to Faith,” Willow agreed. “She's frightened though, not that she would ever say that, but Giles, Buffy is the only slayer that has ever lasted this long. If Buffy could be hurt like this…”
“Have you found anything yet?” Giles asked. He understood Faith's fear and her need to…destroy the danger.
“No,” Willow sighed. “It's hard to question vampires when the slayer is beating the crap out of them. Tomorrow I'll go out alone and…”
“No,” Giles said, “No one is to patrol alone.”
“Okay, then,” Willow hesitated. This was her chance to get him away from the books for a while. The answers weren't there. This wasn't some old prophecy coming back to haunt them, and Giles needed an outlet for his anger as much as Faith did. “Wanna come then?”
“Me?” Giles didn't hide his surprise. He had expected her to argue with him, insist on going alone, or to agree to take Xander, or one of the younger slayers but he hadn't expected her to ask him. “I was going to stay here. We need to research as well as patrol.”
“No, I don't think we do,” Willow offered. “None of the answers we need are in books, and the others can research anyway, so you're patrolling tomorrow, okay?”
Before Giles could answer, the phone rang. “Hello,” he said. He hadn't been expecting a call this late. His voice immediately filled with concern when he heard the voice on the other end, “Buffy?”
Part 4
“Giles,” Buffy said softly, not sure why she had called at all. What could she possibly say to Giles, or to any of them after the way she had acted that morning. “Giles I…”
“Is everything all right?” Giles asked immediately, hearing the fear in her voice. Had the vampires that attacked her somehow found her again?”
“No,” Buffy sighed, “I mean, yes, I'm fine, nothing attacking me or anything, but… Giles, the doctor was right, wasn't he? I won't ever walk?”
“I'm afraid so.”
“How can I…,” she hesitated, unsure of how exactly to explain what she was feeling. “I'm the slayer, everything that I do, everything I am…”
“As Willow told you earlier, Buffy,” Giles interrupted, “You are more than just a slayer. You can and will survive this, and we're all here to help you.”
Willow stood by the desk listening to Giles talk to Buffy. She had meant what she said earlier. Buffy was more than just the slayer. But, being a slayer was a big part of who she was, it would take her a long time to adjust to not having that part of herself anymore. Part of Willow thought Buffy needed to talk to someone else; someone trained in helping people through this kind of injury. The other, more logical part of Willow, while agreeing that professional help would be good, was looking at the odds of finding a psychologist or social worker who could possibly understand the slayer issues involved.
No, there was no professional who could help Buffy right now. They were the only ones that could understand what she was feeling, what she was going through. They may not fully understand, but they had been there, they had seen and lived with everything she'd been through. But Willow wished there was someone thatwho could fully understand what it was like to suddenly not be a slayer. To have that taken from them.
Maybe not understand what it was like to lose their slayerness, but maybe…she knew he had survived the battle in Los Angeles, but she didn't know where he had gone. She'd ask Giles. If they could find him, he would understand at least a little of what it was like to lose that part of yourself that you had spent so much time believing was all you were.
Giles had settled back in the chair and was still comforting Buffy, reassuring her that things would work out in the end. Willow frowned, it was obviously going to be a long conversation and she had promised Dawn she'd go shopping with her in the morning. She waved to Giles, and when he nodded she left the room, closing the door behind her.
**********
“I'm not certain that bringing Spike here is a good idea, Willow,” Giles said. She had told him her idea shortly after they had left the house and they had been debating it ever since.
“She needs someone to talk to, Giles, someone who'll understand,” Willow said, knowing how important it had been that she had someone to talk to after Tara had died. How much she needed Giles and the coven, people who could understand what the magic felt like. How hard it was to give up that part of herself.
“She has all of us,” he insisted. He did understand what she was suggesting but wasn't sure if opening up those wounds for Buffy would be to her benefit.
“It's not the same thing. None of us can really understand what it is to lose so much of yourself. He can.”
“Why don't we wait and discuss this later, with everyone,” Giles suggested. “See how the others feel.”
“Okay,” Willow agreed. “The vampire nightlife seems to be very…quiet, doesn't it?”
“It does, perhaps Faith's message was stronger than we realized last night.”
“Maybe,” Willow sighed. “Dawn did give me the name of a demon bar that Buffy went to for information a couple of times.”
“They may not be as easily intimidated as Willy,” Giles said frowning. “Demon bars can be dangerous.”
“Yeah, and we always avoid danger, right?” Willow smiled. “Come on, if we don't go alone, we won't go. We certainly can't take Faith in there, and it would take too long to bring another slayer up here, you've already sent all the girls that Buffy had here to London.”
“If you insist,” Giles agreed reluctantly. He knew this was likely to lead to a dangerous situation, but he wasn't even sure he wanted to avoid that. Willow had been right, he had a lot of pent up…anger to work out.
“Oh, look,” Willow said, smiling and pointing at a building on the other side of the street as they emerged from the cemetery. “There it is.”
“Just happened to remember the bar, when the cemetery was empty, did you?” Giles asked. “Hadn't planned to visit here all along?”
“Are you suggested I tricked you, Giles?” Willow laughed, “Would I do something like that?”
“Right, then,” Giles frowned, “Do you have a plan of some sort. We aren't slayers, anyone in here may not be as eager to give up information to a watcher as they would to Buffy.”
“No, they probably won't tell a watcher anything at all,” Willow agreed, “But they might be willing to tell the witch who nearly destroyed the Hellmouth what they know.”
“No offense, Willow,” Giles said as they approached the door, “But you don't look…Willow?”
“Yeah,” Willow grinned. Giles stared at her for several seconds, Willow waited, giving him time to register what had happened and enjoying the fact that she was able to shock Giles; so little surprised any of them anymore. “Did I forget to tell you that I can control this now, I can make it happen whenever I want.”
Giles took in the black hair and eyes, trying to suppress the shudder of fear that went through him when he first looked at her. “Yes, you did. How long…?”
“A while now, since Kennedy left,” she admitted. “I found that it was safer to patrol without a slayer if I looked…um…more threatening.”
“But it's no longer connected to the dark magic?”
“Oh, it can be. It still happens on its own sometimes. When we found Buffy that night I didn't make it happen. I can control it now, so sometimes it's more like a glamour.”
“So, you plan on doing this by force then?”
“No, not if I don't have to, but we're less likely to be chased out this way,” Willow admitted. She extended her hand to him, “Ready then?”
“Ready,” Giles agreed taking the offered hand, and hoping that Willow was as in control as she believed she was.
**********
An hour later, Giles watched from the dark booth as Willow questioned the vampire pinned to the wall with a stake hovering several inches above his chest. Willow had been certain the vampire had information. Giles didn't believe he was involved in the attack, but agreed with Willow that he knew who had ordered it.
Unfortunately for the vampire, he wasn't feeling inclined to speak to them, and Willow wasn't feeling inclined to leave empty-handed. “I'm getting kinda tired here, magic is draining and all,” Willow said, allowing the stake to falter and move closer to the vampire's chest. “I can't promise that I can continue to hold this stake steady much longer. So, one more time, who attacked the slayer?”
“I don't know who attacked her,” the vampire said nervously. “I've just heard rumors that vamps were being approached.”
“Okay, so this wasn't a vampire plan then?” Willow said calmly. “So, who was planning it? Who wanted the slayer dead?”
“Willow, you may wish to be more specific,” Giles said, coming to stand near her, “Most vampires and demons wish to see Buffy dead.”
“Good point,” Willow said, glancing over to Giles. “Who hired the vampires that attacked Buffy a few nights ago?”
Giles watched as Willow continued to question and threaten the vampire. He had doubted her ability to pull this off. The only time he had seen Willow truly threatening had been when Tara had died. He had never seen her this confident or this in control of her power. Of course, he hadn't seen her nearly as often in the last years as he would've liked. She had grown and changed a lot in that time. She wasn't the shy little girl he had met in Sunnydale. Nor was she the inexperienced witch with the power to destroy the world. She still had the power, and she was still quite shy at times, but she had become a confident woman who had learned to blend and control both of those traits admirably.
“Let's go, Giles,” Willow said, dropping the vampire to the ground again, and floating the stake back over to her outstretched hand.
“I'm sorry,” Giles said, pulled out of his thoughts. “Are we finished here?”
“Yeah,” Willow said, “Obviously you stopped paying attention. Remind me later to ask what you were thinking about.”
“Did you find what out what we needed to know?”
“Sort of,” Willow sighed, “Let's get out of here. We need to talk to the others, and possibly Buffy.”
Part 5
Giles rubbed his fingers across his temple trying to make sense of all the noise in the room. Everyone was talking at once. Not an uncommon occurrence, but they hadn't all worked together in a long time and he wasn't as accustomed to it as he had been. Willow's information had not been well received. Not that he had expected it to be.
They knew that Wolfram and Hart had hired the vampires to attack Buffy. They also knew that the law firm had not wanted Buffy dead, just wounded. The vampire Willow had…questioned didn't know why. Just that the orders were to wound only. Giles was more confused now than he had been before Willow had told him what she'd learned.
He knew so little about the law firm. He knew it was run by demons; very old, very powerful demons. He also knew they'd been lying low since the battle with Angel in Los Angeles. Angel hadn't stopped them, but he had hurt them. Willow's idea of locating Spike was beginning to look better. He had been on the inside of the firm, he might have information that could help them.
“So, how do we find Wolfram and Hart then?” Faith asked, pulling Giles attention back to the conversation going on around him.
“We can't just ‘find' them,” Willow sighed. “It's not that easy. If it had been Angel would've succeeded two years ago.”
“What then?” Faith asked angrily, “We sit around and wait until they decide they do want to take B out completely?”
“Of course not,” Giles cut in. “Charging in without a plan is foolish. Fighting them is unlikely to be any easier than fighting the First. We need to act carefully.”
“Why just injure Buffy?” Dawn asked. “That's what I don't get. Kill the Slayer, I can understand, but why just wound?”
“I wish I knew,” Giles sighed. “Willow, are you certain the vampire told you everything?”
“Yeah,” Willow frowned. “I think that other thing we discussed could come in handy for this.”
“What other thing?” Xander asked. “Did we discuss something else and I missed it?”
“You didn't miss anything,” Willow answered. “Giles and I discussed possibly contacting Spike to try to help Buffy deal with her injuries.”
“No,” Xander yelled, “Buffy's finally over her thing for the undead and now you want to bring one of them here on purpose?”
“How can Spike help?” Dawn asked ignoring Xander's ranting.
“He knows what it's like,” Willow explained. “He lost a part of himself when the Initiative put in that chip.”
“Spike…” Xander continued, “Even Angel would be better than…”
“And he may know something about Wolfram and Hart,” Faith agreed, “More than we do anyway. He was on the inside for a while.”
“I can't believe you would even consider…”
“Xander,” Willow said angrily over Xander's ranting. “Get over it. You don't like Spike, we all know that. Deal with it.”
“We're agreed then?” Giles asked, when Xander leaned back in his chair, quietly glaring at Willow. “We call Spike?”
Everyone except Xander, who was still glaring at Willow, nodded in agreement. “Do I have a choice?” Xander finally asked.
“You can be an ass and make everyone miserable,” Faith suggested, “Or you can agree; but either way, Giles is calling Spike.”
“Fine, call him.”
“I'm going to bed,” Faith said, heading toward the door. “I told Buffy I'd go to the hospital in the morning.”
“I'll go with you,” Dawn said, following the slayer from the room. “We're going to have to tell her what we know.”
Willow and Giles waited until Xander too had followed Faith from the room before speaking. “He's our best chance, Giles.”
“I agree,” he sighed, “I'm just afraid of what he'll do to Buffy emotionally.”
“It can't be any worse than what this attack has done to her,” Willow said quietly, moving to sit next to him on the couch. “She'll be okay.”
“You sound so certain,” he said, looking at her. “You don't know that she'll be okay. We have no idea what's going to happen. She's so…crushed.”
“I know, but that was yesterday,” Willow offered. “Dawn and Xander both said she was better today. She's going to be depressed for a while. Anyone would be. But she's Buffy. She'll find a way.”
“We shouldn't have spread out all over the world,” Giles said, “We should've stayed together.”
“And what would that have changed?” Willow asked. “They're after her because she's a slayer. The slayer. You couldn't have protected her. If we had stopped those vampires, they would've sent something else, something bigger and harder to fight.”
“Intellectually, I know you're right, Willow,” he agreed. “Emotionally…”
“Emotionally,” Willow sighed, “Your slayer almost died, and is still in danger.”
“Yes,” he admitted quietly.
Willow had never seen Giles so beaten down. So defeated. That's why she had convinced him not to go to the hospital with Dawn and Xander. If Buffy saw him right now, it would cause her to backslide and give up hope. “Have you slept, Giles?” Willow asked. “At all, since we talked to that doctor?”
“Of course, I…” Giles looked at her, staring at him, and knew he couldn't deny lie, “No.”
“You need to,” Willow said, pulling him to his feet, “Buffy's healing fast, they're going to want to send her home. She's going to need us to be strong, Giles. She won't be able to fight this if she thinks we've given up.”
“I need to call Spike first,” Giles argued as she pushed him toward the door. “I'll try to sleep later.”
“Give me the number,” Willow insisted. “I can call Spike. You go to bed.”
Giles walked over to the desk on the opposite side of the room, quickly pulled a book from the drawer, and flipped several pages. “This is the last number I had for him. It's only a few months old so it should still be good. He's moving around often, trying to stay under Wolfram and Hart's radar.”
Willow took the book from him. “I'll get him here as soon as possible.”
Giles turned and headed back toward the door. He knew she was right; he needed to sleep. He had tried a few times in the last few days, but it always ended in nightmares. “Willow…”
“Yeah,” she glanced up, pausing in dialing the phone.
“Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
When he had left the room, closing the door behind him, she finished dialing the phone. She didn't want to think about what she'd do if the number wasn't good any longer. She breathed a cautious sigh of relief when she heard the familiar voice on the other end. “Hi, Spike.”
TBC