Chapter 7
Upon walking into the Emergency Department waiting room, Spike was surprised at seeing only Buffy there, the Bit stretched out on a few chairs next to her, head resting wearily on the Slayer’s lap. There were no signs of either Xander or Willow and her girlfriend… or even Riley.
She looked up at his and Giles’ approach, the lines of worry marring her face lifting slightly at seeing them.
“Thanks for coming…”
“What happened, Buffy?” Giles asked.
“I’m not sure. One minute the three of us were in the kitchen, for once laughing together while mom cooked. The next, she was on the ground. I called 911 and they brought us here.”
Spike sat down next to the slayer, offering her what comfort he could.
“’m sorry, Buffy,” he told her sincerely. “Have the doctors said anything yet?”
“No… but… I heard them talking… the ambulance guys. They think it may have something to do with mom’s head.”
Spike could feel the Slayer’s anguish and wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and hold her. Only Rupert’s watchful gaze as he sat down in one of the plastic chairs across from them kept him from doing so.
The four sat quietly as doctors and nurses scurried about, seeing to new arrivals and people in much the same situation as themselves – waiting anxiously for news of their loved ones. Spike wanted a cigarette to help ease his agitation, but the Slayer had gripped his hand at some point and had yet to release it, and he found the unconscious movement had gone straight to the region where his heart resided. However, it was a good thing he was a vampire and could better hold up against Buffy’s strength, or the bones would have been crushed under the pressure she exerted. Even now he could feel the strain, but did nothing to stop her. If crushing his hand was what it took to maintain her outwardly calm appearance… well, he’d suffered a whole lot worse in the past.
An hour later, a male doctor walked out through the double doors that separated the gravely injured from their waiting loved ones and made his way over to them.
“Buffy… hello.”
Buffy carefully extracted herself from beneath her sister’s head, mentally sighing as Dawn slept on, and stood up. She barely noticed Giles and Spike stand with her, or that she’d yet to let go of Spike’s hand.
“You know this man?” Spike asked, hoping he’d kept the jealously out of his voice.
“Uh… yeah. He’s the doctor that was here before… the last time mom was brought in.”
Her eyes were trained on the intern standing before her, trying to gauge the news he was about to impart. He’d obviously had practice at this sort of thing; his poker face gave no hint of whatever he was thinking.
“Oh…” Placated by her explanation, his stance relaxed and he offered the man a tentative smile. “Hello.”
“Hi.” Ben stared at the retro-fashioned male for a minute, trying to figure out where this latest male fit into her life, before turning back to Buffy. “I’ve got some news about your mother.”
“What is it?”
“She has a brain tumor,” he replied honestly, though at her stricken expression, wanted to kick himself for being so blunt.
Buffy would have crumpled to the ground if not for the arm Spike slipped around her back to keep her upright. Already she could feel the tears forming as the reality of the situation set in, and she struggled to keep them from falling. She couldn’t give in to despair.
“Can I… can we see her?” she whispered.
“They’re still performing the CAT scan. I probably shouldn’t have even told you yet, but I recognized the name and saw you out here… and I— I’m sorry.”
“No… thank you, Doctor. The wait was killing me.”
“Look… why don’t you come with me? I’ll see if I can get you back near the examination room. That way when she comes out you’ll be the first thing she sees.”
“Would you? I mean… you’re not going to get in any trouble, are you?”
“Sure. It’s no trouble. Besides, it’s not like they’re gonna fire me. They’ll just grumble about me being a stupid resident that doesn’t know any better.”
“Spike, can you…?” Buffy gave him a beseeching look.
“I’ll look after Li’l Sis. You go.”
“Thanks.”
Spike released Buffy and stepped back slightly; he allowed himself to gently stroke her cheek, uncaring that her watcher stood there watching him with narrowed eyes.
“Your mum’s a tough bird, luv. She’s got you for a daughter, yeah?”
Buffy nodded once, took a steadying breath, and nodded some more – like she was trying to convince herself of Spike’s words.
“If you’ll follow me…” Ben urged.
Spike watched as she walked through the double-doors and disappeared from sight. He made to sit down on the uncomfortable plastic, but then he heard the Slayer’s muffled scream.
“Watch the Bit,” he told the watcher and took off through the double doors. He saw red when he rounded a corner and a female with red-blonde hair wearing doctor’s scrubs slammed the Slayer up against a wall, wrapped her hand around her neck, and lifted her several feet off the ground.
“Where’s my key?” she demanded, and Spike knew that he was looking at Glory.
He was down the hall in an instant, catching the hellgod off guard enough that she relaxed her hold on the Slayer. Glory’s screech of outrage was enough to make him wince, wishing for once that he wasn’t possessed of such keen hearing. He forced himself to ignore the abuse to his eardrums and grabbed frantically at the Slayer’s hand and hauled her to her feet, intent to take off and put as much distance between them and the scrub-wearing creature starting after them.
“I want my key!”
“Spike? We can’t—”
She stopped, forcing Spike to stop with her.
“Slayer… Buffy… do you trust me?” He stared at her earnestly, praying she’d follow him. Escape the hospital and lead her away from Dawn and the others.
Buffy did. Staring up into his eyes, she realized at some point during their time spent in Cozumel, the barriers she’d erected around her heart had crumbled. Any number of things could have been the catalyst. Falling asleep with Spike on the couch. Enjoying his company as he treated her to dinner. Him suffering a slightly charred noggin in his quest to help her find whatever it was that would defeat Glory, and the way he offered his arm as a pillow.
He’d been her friend. Someone she’d come to rely on. Depend upon.
“Yes,” she told him unequivocally.
“Good. Then run!”
And they did. Out an emergency exit and into the woods that surrounded the hospital. The sound of the alarm ringing in their ears as they made good their escape.
They ran until Buffy’s lungs threatened to burst and her legs went numb. Then they ran some more. Until no sound of the hellgod’s pursuit could be heard by Spike. Finally, he stopped and Buffy sank gratefully to her knees, her chest heaving as she tried to gulp down huge quantities of some much-needed air.
“You alright?” Spike asked, squatting down beside her.
Buffy could only nod, still unable to speak. “Dawn?” she managed to gasp.
“Bit and the watcher should be alright. He’s smart; he’ll know to take her someplace safe.”
“We’ve got to go back… my mom.” Her tone bordered on hysteria and she tried to stand. Unfortunately, her legs gave out and she crumpled back to the ground – they just weren’t up to being used right yet.
“Come on,” he told her, easily picking the Slayer up into his arms. He started back towards the hospital, his sense attuned to the slightest disturbance.
~*~*~*~*~
“What happened?” Giles asked when the two reemerged through the sliding glass doors of the Emergency Department.
“We need to talk,” Spike told him. He’d set the Slayer down on her feet before they’d walked inside; Buffy hadn’t wanted to alarm her watcher. Now she was looking at him quizzically… right along with Giles.
“What? What is it?”
“Ben is Glory.”
“Ben is with Glory? Oh dear lord. We’ve got to—”
“No… Ben is Glory. Glory is Ben,” Spike explained patiently.
“Why would Ben be with Glory?” the Slayer asked. “He’s just a doctor. And a new one at that. He didn’t seem to know about all the nasties that lurk around Sunnydale at night, let alone a god from a hell dimension.”
“I saw her, Buffy. When she had you pinned up against the wall. She was wearing his kit, right down to the bloody nametag.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Oh, bollocks! Look… ya know what…? Never mind. She’s obviously worked some sort of mojo so no one that’s told will remember.”
“Remember what?” Giles asked. “My apologies, I must have dozed off.”
“Don’t worry about it, Rupes.”
“Miss Summers?”
Buffy turned away from Spike and Giles to see another doctor, this one much older than Ben, standing a few feet away.
“Yes?”
“Might I have a word?”
“Uh… sure.”
She walked off, leaving the two men to stare after her.
“Miss Summers. My name is Doctor Isaacs. Your mother has... the term is low-grade glioma. It’s a brain tumor. The clinical name is oligodendroglioma. It’s in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum. In your mother’s case, the tumor seems to have started there. In other words, it hasn’t spread from another part of the body...”
The majority of the doctor’s announcement went by in a blur, her mind stuck on two words: brain tumor.
“… things may progress quickly…”
She shook herself out of her stupor, latching into that last bit.
“Things? What things?” she whispered.
“Symptoms. Loss of vision. Appetite changes. Loss of motor control. I have some pamphlets. Look… I’m sorry, Miss Summers. I don’t want to appear like there’s no hope. I just want to inform you of the facts. Right now we’re trying to determine if the tumor is operable.”
“Can I see her?”
The doctor nodded. “They’re moving her to a recovery room right now. I’ll have a nurse come get you once she’s settled.”
“Okay.”
Buffy wasn’t quite sure if the word actually came out; she knew her mouth moved. She stood there, rooted to the spot, as the doctor disappeared back through the double doors, wanting nothing more than a do-over. That what just happened had been a dream and that he’d reemerge and tell her that nothing was amiss. That her mom was just overtired and needed to rest more.
Only… he didn’t.
A pair of arms slipped around her and she was drawn back against a hard chest. Tears fell unchecked down her face and her body shook slightly in her grief.
“I’m sorry, luv,” Spike whispered in her ear, soothing her as best he could. “Whatever you need… I’ve got a few markers out, demons that owe me a favor. We can bring someone in… get a second opinion. Please don’t cry, pet. We’ll get through this, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“You want me to call Red?”
Buffy shook her head. She didn’t want to have to deal with her friends right now. Having them see Spike here with her was bound to cause problems, and she wasn’t up to playing referee. And she damn well wasn’t going to send him home. She needed his strength right now. It was nice not having to be the strong one. The one everybody looked to in a crisis.
“No. I’ll call them later.”
After a while, a nurse led the four back to Joyce’s room. Giles and Spike waited while Buffy and Dawn slipped quietly inside – neither of the two felt comfortable intruding on what, to them, was a family matter.
Joyce had other ideas, however, and Dawn appeared at the door a moment later and bade them come in. They were a family of sorts, at least in the elder Summers’ mind.
~*~*~*~*~
“What do you mean you’ll handle it, Spike?” Giles demanded.
They’d been kicked out of the hospital room not long after Joyce had been settled, the nurse citing the need for her patient to rest. Buffy had reluctantly agreed and it was at that point she’d placed a call to Willow, telling her friend to rally the others at her home.
Now, as the Scooby team plus Riley sat around the living room, their looks ranging from concern about Buffy’s recent reveal as to her mother’s condition, to outright hostility at Spike’s presence, he barely refrained from growling.
“Look… I can’t talk about it. I know who the host is but every time I mention it, you lot forget.”
“Need I remind you that the chip in your head will prevent you from hurting someone,” Giles intoned.
“No, it won’t.”
“What? The chip is out,” Xander squawked. “Hurry, Buffy! Stake him!”
Spike just rolled his eyes.
“No, you git. Chip’s still there.”
“Then why? How?” Xander was confused.
“The chip doesn’t ‘prevent’ me from harmin’ humans, Harris. The pain does.”
“Spike, if you do this—” Giles began.
“I’m sure my brain will be fried. Yes. But, there’s no other option. Glory… she’s done something. Only it doesn’t appear to have worked on me. Prolly because I’m already dead. Look, it’s not open for discussion. ‘m doin’ it.”
That said, he stormed out of the room and out the front door, leaving the others to stare with astonishment at the space he’d once occupied.
~*~*~*~*~
“Spike.”
How was she able to stop him dead in his tracks?
He didn’t turn around. He didn’t have to. She walked around in front of him, her eyes full of regret and something else. Something that had hope threatening to blossom somewhere deep inside his chest.
“Don’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t… I can’t lose you… not with my mom…”
“Shhh…” He drew her forward and held her close. His eyes closed at the pleasure of feeling her pressed up against him. At how she gripped the back of his duster and hung on for dear life, her head buried in his chest. “It’ll be alright, pet.”
“No it won’t. Spike, please.”
“I’ve got to do this, luv.”
“Then let me come with you.”
Spike gripped the Slayer’s shoulders and gently eased her away so that he could look at her. “Can’t do that, Buffy. You couldn’t sit by while I snapped some bloke’s neck and not do something.”
“Yes I can… if it’s—”
“No, luv, you can’t. It’s what I love about you. Now, I’ve got to go. By tomorrow, Glory will be but a bad nightmare. You and the Bit’ll be safe and you can concentrate on getting your mum better.” He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. “This here’s the name and number of one of my buddies. He’s a nice enough bloke, if a tad on the wrinkly side. His name’s Clem. You need something, anything for your mum, you contact him. He’ll see to it that you get it.”
Spike released her and stepped back.
“Be seein’ ya, Slayer.”
He turned and walked away, determined to ignore her beseeching look. If he didn’t leave now, he never would.
One foot in front of the other, Spike. Don’t look back.
He couldn’t do it. When he got to the edge of her property, he looked over his shoulder.
She’d not moved from her spot.
Their eyes met and held, then they were moving as one, back towards each other.
Spike easily caught her as she launched herself at him. Oblivious to the male standing in the open doorway, he kissed the Slayer with everything that he had in him. Committing to memory the taste – the feel – of her, every breathy little moan she made as their teeth and tongues clashed. It was no gentle exploration. Spike threw himself into it whole-heartedly, determined to leave his mark on her.
He finally tore his mouth away from hers and crushed the Slayer to his chest.
“I love you, Buffy,” he murmured against her ear. He felt her grip tighten at his declaration and he allowed himself one moment to enjoy how she clung to him. That she would know how he felt even if she never felt the same.
Before she could start in on her “demons can’t love” speech, he wrenched himself free and raced away.
He didn’t see how the Slayer stared after him, long after he was gone. The way her legs gave out and she fell to her knees on the sidewalk. He didn’t see the one-sided shouting match by Riley and how she calmly broke things off with him, how he stormed off, vowing to get revenge against the vampire.
Nor did he witness her watcher come out and lift the broken girl into his arms and carry her back inside.
No, his mind was on Glory – Ben, specifically – and the best way he could get close to the human without raising his suspicions.
The hospital, he thought suddenly. He could hide out there and wait for Glory to turn back into Ben and for the human to go back to work. Then it was just a simple matter of getting the doctor alone and snapping his neck.
True, his brains would probably be scrambled, but at least the Slayer would be safe.
Want to leave a REVIEW?
