Chapter 35
“I’m very worried about my son. He hasn’t been sleeping well and he’s hardly eating. He doesn’t even care to talk to me.”
Joyce gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Things will get better, Rupert. We have to believe that. My baby will wake up, and William will go back to being the same person he always was. He just loves her very much. This is hard for all of us.”
Giles nodded in understanding. “I just wish there was more I could do. I have never seen him like this before. I don’t know what he would have done to that man if I wasn’t there.”
Joyce agreed, both of them thinking about their children.
* * * * *
“So, what’s going on down there?” Harmony asked her sister once she came back upstairs from eavesdropping on the adults.
Dawn sighed. “Just Giles being concerned for Spike. I’m kinda concerned for him, too. He’s not doing so well. We all miss Buffy and hope that she gets better, but he’s taking it harder than anyone else. We should go talk to him.”
Harmony didn’t like that plan. “I doubt he’ll listen to us. He won’t even talk to anyone right now. He would probably just bite our heads off if we went over there. I don’t wanna deal with a pissed off Spike.”
Dawn sat down on her sister’s bed. “He’s not really pissed off; I think he’s just sad. He needs a friend right now.”
Harmony nodded, but didn’t say anything about it.
Dawn’s eyes lit up when she finally got an idea. “I know just the person that can help him.”
Harmony was curious now.
Dawn went to the phone and dialed a familiar number, hoping that she would be able to help Spike.
* * * * *
Spike was lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, when someone suddenly barged into his room. He didn’t even bother to look and see who it was.
“You’re being really pathetic. I want you to get out of bed.”
Spike sighed when he recognized Faith and still didn’t care to move.
She had enough and grabbed his arm, pulling him off of the bed.
Spike snatched his arm out of her grasp and glared at her. “What do you want?”
Faith rolled her eyes. “I want you to stop acting like this. Dawn called me because she was worried about you. You’re not looking so hot right now. You need to get out of this room and get some fresh air. Eating something would do you some good, too.”
Spike turned away from her. “Sod off,” he mumbled.
Faith didn’t like to be ignored. She grabbed his arm harder and turned him back around. “You’re better than this, Spike. Sitting in your room and feeling sorry for yourself is not gonna make things better; it’s not going to help Buffy.”
Spike gave her a hard stare, but didn’t say anything.
“She needs you right now. She needs you to be strong. How would you feel when she wakes up and sees you like this? Knowing that you’ve been cutting yourself off from everyone? It would only upset her, and I know you don’t want that. She is going to pull through, but she can’t do it alone. She needs you now more than ever, Spike.”
His expression softened, tears forming in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”
Faith was pleased that she seemed to get through to him. “I can’t tell you what to do, but I can tell you what might help. You should go for a walk or something, clear your head. You just need to get out of this house. And if you don’t, I will personally kick your ass. You’re driving everyone crazy.”
Spike graced her with a small smile.
She was relieved to see it.
He then gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”
She held him tighter. “I love you, too.”
They pulled out of the embrace.
Faith gave him a pat on the back. “Now, get out of here.”
He nodded, heading downstairs and out of the house. Spike decided to go back to the hospital and see how Buffy was doing. He had been avoiding it for a couple of days now because he was afraid of what he would find out, but he couldn’t go any longer without seeing her.
* * * * *
Spike finally made it to the hospital a few minutes later and headed right for her room. He took a deep breath before walking inside and noticed that nothing seemed to change. She looked the same as the last time he saw her. He sat by her bed and realized that she had a little more color in her cheeks. He took that as a good sign and took her hand in his.
“Hey, baby. Sorry I haven’t been by lately, things have been crazy. I’m here now and I promise I won’t leave your side again.” He talked to her about everything that had been going on with him and the others, not leaving anything out. He didn’t care if she would be disappointed in him when she woke up. She had a right to know how he spent the last week.
“Is that her?”
Spike stopped at the sound of a voice coming from the doorway, smiling when he saw the same boy that he met before. “Yeah, this is my girl. It’s Matthew, right?”
He nodded and walked further into the room. “She’s really pretty.”
Spike agreed. “Bloody gorgeous is more like it. How’ve you been, kid?”
Matthew shrugged and sat down in another chair that was in the room. “I feel fine, some days are better than others. How is she doing?”
Spike sighed and turned his gaze back on Buffy. “She looks a little better, but she still hasn’t woken up. I don’t know what else to do,” he said in a defeated tone, finally realizing that he couldn’t do anything for Buffy.
“You’re doing all you can. Just being here and talking to her is enough. She can hear everything you’re saying.”
Spike raised his eyebrows. “How do you know that?”
Matthew shrugged again. “I know about coma victims. I had an accident when I was younger and was put in one for about a month. They need something to keep them on this plane, so they don’t drift off completely into their mind. She can hear you and knowing that you’re here will help her to wake up. She won’t drift away if you keep talking to her and try to keep her here. She’ll do whatever she can to come back to you.”
Spike nodded and realized that this kid was pretty smart. It was just sad because it seemed like he hasn’t had the best life. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Matthew nodded as well and stood up. “I should get back now. I wasn’t even supposed to leave my room, but I hate being cooped up in one place for too long.”
Spike could definitely understand that.
“Take care of yourself, Spike. I know she’ll be okay. It’s not her time yet.” He was about to walk away, when Spike spoke again.
“What about you?”
Matthew glanced back at him. “I think my time is about to run out. There’s not much else they can do for me, but I’m not afraid to die. I would miss my parents and everything, but I know I’ll be going to a better place. As long as I keep thinking about that, it’s not so scary.”
Spike gave a sad smile and really felt for him. He was very brave for someone so young.
Matthew then left the room.
Spike was left with his thoughts and gazed at Buffy. He was now more determined than ever that she would wake up. “I know you can hear me, love. I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here when you decide that it’s time to come back. I love you so much, Buffy. It’s important that you always believe that.” He didn’t know what else to say and just raised her hand to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. He then looked to see if he got any reaction from her. He sighed when nothing changed and was about to let her hand go, when he suddenly felt her fingers squeeze him. He was so surprised by that and looked at her face again. Spike was even more surprised to see a pair of beautiful, green eyes staring back at him.