“What do you mean, Buffy never showed up this morning?! She should’ve been here more than an hour ago!” Spike knew it wasn’t really fair of him to take it out on Anya, but he was starting to get really worried. He’d already tried calling Buffy several times, only to get her voice mail. This wasn’t like her; something must have happened.
“I told you, I don’t know where Buffy is. She called me last night and said she’d be here today, but then she wasn’t, and now I have to take her shift instead of meeting up with Xander for our usual morning sex. I’m very upset!” Anya glared at him, looking anything but happy.
Spike rolled his eyes, staring at her in exasperation. “That all you bloody think about? Something might have happened to her, and all you care about is missing out on sex?”
Before Anya got the chance to respond, the phone suddenly rang, causing them both to jump. She hurried to pick up, clearly relieved by the interruption. “Buffy? You better have a good…” She stopped with a frown. “Willow? Slow down, I can’t…what? Oh my God!” She looked at Spike, a look of concern in her eyes, and he immediately realized that whatever it was, it had something to do with Buffy.
“Anya, what’s wrong? Is it Buffy? What happened?!” He tried to take the phone from her, but Anya took a step back, motioning for him to be quiet.
“Okay. Yeah, he’s here. Sure, we’re on our way.” Anya hung up, a dead-serious expression on her face. “We have to go.”
“Go where?! Anya, I swear to God, if you don’t tell me what’s going on…”
“That was Willow, calling from the hospital.” Anya sighed, obviously not happy about being the one having to tell him this. “Apparently Buffy’s listed Willow as the first person to call in case something would happen to her.” She took a deep breath. “Spike, there's been an accident.”
Since he first arrived to Sunnydale, Riley had been staying at a small motel called the Sunnydale Inn, and was now pacing nervously back and forth in his room. Everything had happened so fast, and now he wasn’t sure of what to do. After calling 911, he had quickly explained that he’d just happened to pass by, and hadn’t witnessed the accident. Now he wondered if Buffy was okay, but since he’d already claimed that he didn’t know her, he couldn’t really go to the hospital to find out.
He didn’t know why he said that, he’d just panicked. It wasn’t like he’d actually pushed her, but he figured the cops would probably be suspicious if he told them that he and Buffy had been arguing, and then she just happened to fall down the stairs. Riley wasn’t stupid, he knew nothing good could come out from such a statement.
Of course, as soon as Buffy would wake up, she would most likely tell them that she did in fact know him. And lying to the paramedics wouldn’t exactly make him come out in a good light. Riley groaned, cursing his stupidity. He’d lied to make sure he wouldn’t get into trouble, but now he realized that his plan had back-fired. The accident may not have been his fault, not really, but now he’d managed to make it seem like he had something to hide. There was probably just a matter of time before the cops would show up, starting to ask questions. But by then, he’d be long gone.
With a determined expression on his face, Riley started gathering his belongings, throwing them down into his suitcase. It was time to get out of Sunnydale.
“Spike! Anya! Over here.”
Spike spun around at the sound of Willow’s voice and rushed over to her, Anya following behind. “Where’s Buffy? Is she okay?!”
Willow looked upset and he could see that she had been crying. “I haven’t seen her. I asked the nurses, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. They just told me to wait for the doctor. Sorry.”
“Well, I sure as hell won’t just sit here, waiting for that git to show up. Excuse me.” Spike quickly looked around the room, then headed straight towards the information counter. “I’m looking for Buffy Summers.”
Willow – who had followed him up to the counter with Anya – carefully tapped him on the shoulder. “Um… I kinda tried that already.” Spike ignored her.
The woman behind the counter looked up. “Just a moment, please.” She started typing on her computer, then looked up again with an apologetic smile. “If you’ll just go and sit down in the waiting area, I’m sure someone will…”
Furiously, Spike slammed his fist down on the counter. “Don’t bloody tell me to go sit down! I wanna know where my girlfriend is, and I wanna know NOW!”
Anya’s eyes widened as she leaned over to whisper in Willow’s ear; “Did you try that?” Willow shook her head.
The woman gave Spike a stern look. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to wait for the doctor. There’s nothing I can do. Now, if you don’t want me to call security…” She made a gesture towards the waiting area.
“Okay! We’ll just…” Seeing that Spike was about to answer, most likely with a number of British curses, Willow hurried to grab his arm and pulled him away from the counter, casting a nervous glance over her shoulder. She was relieved, although a little surprised, when he just followed without objections.
Slumping down on a nearby chair, Spike buried his face in his hands. Willow looked at Anya for help, but the other girl just shrugged. “You talk to him. I’m not good with emotions and stuff like that. Besides, I’d better go call Xander.” With that, Anya hurried away, leaving Willow to wonder what to do now.
After hesitating for a moment, Willow sat down on the chair next to Spike. She sat in silence for almost a minute, before blurting out; “So, have you seen any good movies lately?” She immediately cringed, realizing that such a question was hardly appropriate in a situation like this.
Spike looked up, staring at the red-head like she had just grown a second head. “What?”
Willow started fidgeting on the chair, looking anywhere but at Spike. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say, and I’m nervous and scared and… I tend to babble when I’m nervous. I’m sorry.” She frowned. “I already said that, didn’t I?” He nodded. “Right. I, um…” She jumped up from the chair in panic. “Coffee?”
TBC