Spike noticed Anya sitting in the chair he'd once occupied as he walked out of Buffy's room. The look on her face told him she was there to talk, and he suspected it was about Buffy and Dru. Seeing how protective Miss Jenkins was acting, he knew his girl would be in good hands when he wasn't around.
"Should I be afraid?" He asked, teasingly and noticed how she tried not to smile.
"It depends on how you answer my questions." Anya replied, liking this man more and more.
"Ask away!"
"What are your intentions toward Buffy?" She asked, knowing already he meant Buffy no harm in any way.
Spike decided he'd lay his cards on the table. "I intend to marry her one day."
"You hurt her, and I will cut your balls off and feed them to the sharks. Got it?" Anya said, "Now sit down here and tell me about yourself."
Spike chuckled as he replied, "I'll consider myself warned, and there really isn't much to tell."
"Oh, there's a lot you can tell me. I just don't want to hear about you and Dru, other than to say it's over and you won't be going back there." Anya told him as she pointed to the chair beside her, "Now sit, and start talking."
Spike shook his head and sat down as he started to tell her about himself. He got the feeling that Anya not Hank or Joyce, should be the one he should come to, to ask permission to date and then to marry his girl.
"Where are you and your uncle staying?" Anya asked once he was finished.
"He has some rooms at The Casa."
"Oh, now that won't do. That's just too far away. Rupert has a guest house with three bedrooms that you both can stay at."
"I think Buffy is going to stay with him for now." Spike told her, hoping the woman wouldn't try and keep Buffy from staying with them.
"Then, she gets the third and Faith can stay with her to keep it respectable. Not that I care, but it's not about me." Anya replied, "Let me go tell Giles the plan, and I'll have Angel take Faith over to get her and Buffy some things. I know she's left some clothes at our house."
"Honestly, Anya you don't have -"
"Don't say it. She's family to me, and Giles cares about her too, so let us help. I'm sure we can work something out so that your uncle can use the guest house anytime he comes to town."
"You do what you need to do. I'm thinking Buffy might like being closer to those she cares about." Spike agreed.
"I'll be right back after I talk with Giles."
Spike watched her leave and realized things were working out to Buffy's benefit better than he'd expected. Buffy accepting her mother's help showed what a deep bond they'd had prior to everything that had happened since Dawn's death. Now, all he had to worry about was Hank and Dru.
*******
Buffy sat next to Joyce anxiously holding her mother's hand, as Dr. Walsh explained to them what she needed to do to finish her exam. Basically, they'd start from Buffy's head all the way to doing a modified pelvic exam so as to accommodate her virginity. The thought of what the doctor was saying made her feel nervous and like she was ready to jump out of her skin.
"Buffy, if you could put these gloves on. Then I will need you to pull out a couple strands of hair from three different places on your scalp." Dr. Walsh explained, worried at how pale the young woman appeared. "Unless you'd rather I did it."
"No, I'd rather do it." Buffy replied, thinking she'd have a better idea how hard to pull.
Joyce bit back the tears that threatened to fall. Watching how frightened her baby looked was tearing at her heart. She'd give anything right now to take it all away and make this night as if it never happened. If she had her way, nothing bad would ever touch this family again. But she knew she couldn’t play with if only, she could only try and be strong for her daughter now.
Buffy sat beside her mother and took the gloves that the doctor handed her and did as she was told. She felt like her hands were shaking, but couldn't see if they were or not. Thank God, her mother put on a pair of gloves to help her separate the stands of hair. Between the two of them they were able to obtain two strands from three different places and place them in the envelope the nurse was holding open for her.
"Okay, done with the hair pulling." Buffy said, giving her mother a grateful smile of thanks.
"Buffy I'm just going to swab a few places in your mouth and take a look at your throat. I'm sure you've had a throat culture before." Maggie explained, as she showed Buffy the tongue depressor and some wooden Q-tips.
"Okay." Buffy replied as she opened her mouth and felt a swab on the inside of her right cheek, then another on the left cheek.
"Now, Buffy say ahhhh." Maggie instructed as she examined Buffy's throat before swabbing it as well.
Buffy couldn't help but gag a bit. "Sorry!"
"She's always had a bad gag reflex." Joyce offered as she squeezed her daughter's hand in support.
"Don't worry about it. I know it's not a comfortable feeling having something put so far back in your mouth." Maggie assured her.
Buffy took a deep breath and reluctantly asked, "What's next?" Her facing what lay ahead made Joyce want to shout to the world that she had the bravest daughter in the world.
"Next, we just use this little wooden pick and scrap under your nails. We only clip a nail if it appears damaged or stained with something. Then we just have to prick your finger for a few drops of blood." Maggie went on to explain.
Buffy offered up one hand at a time as they scraped up under her nails. The closer they got to the more intimate part of the exam the more nervous she became. She believed nothing had happened like that, but she couldn't shake the fear the doctor might find something to prove it had. The poke of her finger was like a little pinch, as she then placed a few drops of blood where the dots on the exam paper indicated.
Joyce could feel and see how tense Buffy was becoming and moved closer to her side. She would make sure Buffy knew just how proud of her she was, once all this was over. It hurt that she'd missed being a true mother to her daughter's over the last eighteen months. But more importantly, she felt ashamed she'd not been a part of the brave woman Buffy had become.
Dr. Walsh wished she could somehow make this easier on the young woman as she explained the next step of the exam, "Buffy, I know this is embarrassing, but we can do this part of the exam one step at a time. I'm going to use a black light to examine your body. It will illuminate fluids and things that are normally not seen by the naked eye. I will turn off the lights and just have you expose parts of your body one section at a time. That way you are never fully nude. If we find anything suspicious we collect it for the kit."
Buffy squeezed her mother's hand real tight as she said softly, "Just tell me what you want me to do."
Joyce leaned in and whispered, "I'm so proud of how you are handling this Buffy."
Her mother's words brought tears to her eyes, and the courage to continue with what she needed to do. "Thanks mom, I needed to hear that."
Maggie Walsh felt encouraged that Buffy would have a great support person in her mother. "Let me turn on the lamp, and then Tara will turn off the lights. We'll start with you showing me your back, first. Then work our way down to your feet."
Buffy nodded as she stood and reluctantly slipped off Spike's jacket that until this moment she'd been wearing. Losing the warmth of the leather jacket made her feel more insecure. When the doctor turned on the black light she heard the hum but when the lights were turned off it sent a wave of anxiety over her. She fought back the tears as she loosened the back of the gown and let it fall open.
Maggie carefully examined the girl from top to bottom with the lamp and found nothing so far that needed to be obtained for evidence.
"Buffy, now turn around and just drop the gown to your waist. We can look more when we do the pelvic exam." Maggie instructed gently.
As Buffy turned around she could feel the heat in her face and was thankful the lights were off. The funny lamp reminded her of Angel's posters that only lit up under the black light. One of the posters was an old Led Zeppelin poster for 'Stairway to Heaven' that had been his fathers. All this time she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see someone looking her over with a black lamp.
"Okay Buffy, go ahead and pull your gown back up." Maggie said, waiting for Miss Summers to do so before telling Tara to turn the lights back on.
"This next part is just like the pelvic exam by your GYN doctor, except we use scissors to cut a few of your pubic hairs." Maggie explained as she helped Buffy position herself on the exam table.
Buffy fought the rising fear, and the voice telling her to run. Saying it might be best not to know, that ignorance is bliss. But she did as the doctor told her, lying down and sliding down to the end of the bed. William's words that the coat would have him there in spirit gave her the idea of using it to cover the top part of her body.
Thinking she could handle anything if he was here she asked her mom, "Can I have Will's jacket, please?"
"Sure, baby." Joyce replied as she helped Buffy position it over her, and out of the way of the doctor's exam area.
Joyce made a mental note to thank Spike for helping her to be here right now. She knew if the young man had not opened her eyes to things, her baby would be facing this without her. For this moment she'd hold a very special place in her heart for the person that made it possible for her to be with Buffy right now. The sound of Dr. Walsh's voice interrupted her train of thought, bringing her back to the present.
"Buffy, I need you to put your feet in the stirrups here, and slide your bottom all the way to the end of the bed. I know this sounds funny, but if you just let your legs lay out like a frog, it will help relax your muscles a bit."
Buffy did as she was told, and then pulled the collar of the jacket up so she could inhale his scent. She was comforted somehow, having something of his close by as the doctor told Tara to turn off the lights again as she examined for any bodily fluids, with the black light. It lasted only for a few minutes.
"I see nothing out of the ordinary so far, Buffy." Maggie told her as she prepared to continue her exam. "I'm going to use a pediatric speculum for your exam."
"I find that if I close my eyes and just totally relax it makes it easier." Joyce offered as she felt her daughter squeeze her hand. "Don't hold your breath either, it tightens up the muscles, just continue to breath slowly in and out."
Buffy started to feel close again with her mother as she closed her eyes and did as she said. She could also hear the love in her mother's voice again, but with a touch of sadness. Buffy breathed as the doctor finished up the exam feeling a small pressure inside her vagina lasting only a few minutes at the most.
"Your hymen is still intact and I see no scratches or abrasions supporting any evidence he violated you in any way. I took a few swabs so we can be thorough. Only one thing left Buffy and that is to do the swabs of your rectal area. You will only feel a small pressure of the swab, nothing more." Maggie warned her.
Buffy felt the sensation just as the doctor described. For some reason she felt more embarrassment than pain with that part of the exam. Tara seemed to notice as she said, "You're not the only one that feels funny about this part of the exam. It's normal to feel like no stone was left unturned."
"Okay, Buffy…that completes the exam. Go ahead and scoot back and if you want go to the bathroom and clean up a bit go right ahead."
"I would like that." Buffy answered as she moved back and then stood to go to the bathroom. The need to get out of here and be able to shower and put on her own clothes started to overwhelm her.
*******
Ethan listened to Hank as he started to talk about the traumatic birth of his youngest daughter. It would seem there were many things left over from Dawn's premature birth and her fight to live he'd never dealt with. Hank revealed it was Dawn's fight for life that made them change their minds about having any more babies.
"Hank, I'm going to check on someone that can do some great grief counseling for you and Joyce. I think as I told Dru, you need someone that can assist both of you and do it fairly and with you both in mind. I would like to mainly work with Buffy one on one, and with all of you as a family." Ethan suggested.
"I think Buffy needs a fresh start…too much pain here."
"I agree, but I think that should be something you discuss with Buffy and see if she wants to leave. It might be good to discuss it as a family, and take it one day at a time."
"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy!" Dru snarled. "Why does this all have to be about Buffy? Is she the only one that has gone through hell?"
"Dru, honey…she's been kidnapped."
"But she's alive, so what is the big deal?" Dru asked, trying to get herself back under control before she said something she'd regret. "She isn't the one that killed Dawn but you treated her like she did. Now you want to get all…never mind."
"No, Dru, I think you need to explain yourself." Hank demanded, his temper getting the better of him.
"Oh yes, let us explain ourselves to dear precious Daddy." She purred sarcastically. "Did you ever ask her if she was the one that left Dawn alone that night?"
Hank looked at Dru and realized he didn't know this young woman looking back at him, "Are you trying to tell me something Dru?"
"Oh, how funny you should ask, Mr. Summers." Dru found she couldn't wait for the world to drop her on her head, she decided to just jump and get the pain and rejection out of the way.
*******
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Wow, you guys amaze and inspire me. Thanks so much for the reviews and for all that are come back for more and just read.......it does my heart good and feeds my muse.......we are far from over with Buffy, Spike and Buffy's friends and family........