Willow hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, then sat back down. “Buffy is going to be okay. You know that, right?”
Spike sighed, a miserable look on his face. “She fell down the sodding stairs, Willow! She could’ve…” He stopped, not able to get the rest of the sentence out.
“I know, but I’m sure it’s not that bad. She’s gonna be okay,” Willow repeated. In all honesty, she was not sure of who she was trying to convince, Spike, or herself. Truth to be told, she was terrified. When she’d gotten the phone call from the hospital, she’d panicked. Buffy couldn’t be seriously hurt. Horrible images of her new friend, lying on the floor with a broken neck, now came rushing through her mind and she had to close her eyes.
Suddenly a familiar voice interrupted her disturbing thoughts. “Willow? I-I came as soon as I could.”
Willow jumped up and threw herself in Tara’s arms. “Tara, thank God! I’m so glad you’re here, sweetie!”
Tara hugged her close, then pulled back to look from Willow to Spike. “H-have you heard anything?”
Shaking her head, Willow felt tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn’t fall apart now, she needed to be strong. “Not yet, but I’m sure…” She looked at Spike and their eyes met. “I’m sure the doctor will be here any minute, and everything will be okay. Right?” She looked at Tara when she said that last part, searching her girlfriend’s face for confirmation.
Tara leaned over to kiss her, gently. “I’m sure he will.”
Willow looked over to where Spike had been sitting, only to realize that the chair was now empty. She frowned. “Where did he go?”
“I’m sure he just needed to be alone for a while. Why don’t we go sit down and wait for the doctor.” Tara took Willow’s hand and led her over to the couch.
Spike wandered through the long corridors, desperately searching for someone who could tell him anything about Buffy’s condition. This was a bloody nightmare; he couldn’t believe it had only been a few hours since he had happily kissed her goodbye, leaving to go to work. Why had he left her this morning, why couldn’t he have just stayed home for one more day? Then Buffy probably would’ve stayed as well, and none of this would’ve happened.
Lost in his thoughts, Spike almost walked right into a male nurse, who just stepped around the corner. The other man quickly excused himself and was about to leave, but Spike grabbed his arm to stop him. “Wait! Can you please tell me…?”
“Sorry, I’m in a hurry. I’m sure they can help you at the information counter.” Before Spike could object, the man was gone.
Furiously, Spike kicked a nearby chair, causing the small group of people who’d been sitting there to stare at him. He forced back a sob, refusing to break down in the middle of the hospital. He should’ve known that it was all too good to be true; when he finally found the perfect girl, something like this had to happen. He couldn’t lose Buffy now, he needed her!
He felt a pang of guilt for thinking like that, this wasn’t about him. The girl he was in love with was here, somewhere in this hospital, and she was hurt. He should just go back and wait for the doctor, there was nothing else he could do. He started to head back, when he suddenly stopped again, hit by the realization. He loved Buffy. He’d known that his feelings for Buffy were strong, but the word ‘love’ had never come up.
His previous relationships had all ended badly to say the least, and to tell the truth, Spike had given up hope of ever loving someone and being loved back in return. But something inside him had changed when Buffy had entered his life. She had nestled her way into his heart, and actually saw him for who he was. That had meant the world to him. He didn’t know if Buffy felt the same way about him, but he had a feeling she might.
Spike realized that it was probably way too early to talk, or even think about love at this point. After all, they hadn’t even been together for a week. But yet, deep inside, he knew that his feelings for Buffy were real. He didn’t care if she’d think it was too soon, suddenly, all he wanted to do was go to her, telling her how he felt. But he couldn’t. Tears started welling up in his eyes and he swallowed hard. What if he wouldn’t get the chance to tell her? No longer able to hold back, he backed up against the wall and slid down to the floor. He buried his face in his hands, hard uncontrollable sobs shaking his body.
“I don’t like hospitals. Xander, can we go somewhere and have sex?” Anya frowned when she saw her friends staring at her. “What?”
Xander, who’d just arrived at the hospital, cast a nervous glance around the room before turning back to his lover. “Anya, sweetie, remember that talk we had about…”
He was interrupted by Willow, who glared at Anya in exasperation. “Oh my God, how can you just…? How can you be so insensitive?! We’re at the hospital, Buffy’s been hurt, and all you think about is sex!”
Tara reached for Willow’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Sweetie…”
“But I don’t understand!” Everybody stared at Anya when she jumped up from the chair, tears streaming down her cheeks. She backed away from Xander, who had also gotten up and now reached for her in an attempt to comfort her. “I don’t understand why this had to happen. I like Buffy, and now she’s been hurt and we don’t know if she’s gonna be okay. She might die, and that would make me very sad. I hate being here because that’s what hospitals are all about, sickness and death, and that makes me scared!” She wiped at her eyes and sat back down, facing away from the others.
No one knew how to respond to that, so for a moment they all sat there in silence. Finally, Tara spoke. “Anya, we-we’re all scared.” She looked around the room for confirmation before continuing; “What happened to Buffy was terrible and unfair, but right now, all we can do is wait. We have to believe that she’s going to be okay.”
No one objected, and for almost ten minutes, the four friends sat quietly, each of them in their own thoughts. Therefore, no one noticed the doctor who walked up to them until he spoke; “Excuse me. I’m Dr. Backer, and I have some information about Miss Summers’ condition.”
TBC