Chapter 25
Spike was in a state of shock. He still couldn’t believe what just happened as he gazed at Buffy’s lifeless body. The voices and screams of their classmates snapped him out of it.
“Buffy!” he yelled, running to her side and kneeling down. She had a wound on her forehead that was leaking blood. He gently moved her, resting her head in his lap. “Buffy, can you hear me? You have to wake up now, baby. Please, wake up.”
“Oh god, what happened?”
Spike glanced up to see a worried Xander standing over him, along with Dawn. “She was hit by a car. Call an ambulance.”
Xander nodded and quickly pulled out his cell phone to make the call.
Spike couldn’t hear anything after that, his focus remained on Buffy.
“They should be here in a few minutes,” Xander commented.
Spike finally looked around to notice a lot of the students coming out of the school to see what the commotion was all about, some of the teachers were trying to usher them back inside. He then felt pure anger when his eyes landed on the car that was responsible for what happened to Buffy. He turned to his sister. “Stay with her,” he said, not bothering to wait for a response as he got up and walked over to the wrecked vehicle, not surprised to see that it belonged to Adam Barton. His head was smashed against the steering wheel and Spike instantly knew that he was dead.
Xander placed a comforting hand on his friend’s arm, knowing that if the other man wasn’t already dead, Spike might make sure that he was.
It was then that Spike noticed Barton wasn’t in the car alone. He saw the unconscious body of Megan Walsh in the passenger seat, her being lucky enough to wear a seatbelt. “See if she’s okay,” he said, not even recognizing the sound of his own voice.
Xander ran to the other side of the car to feel for a pulse, then looked back up at him. “She’s still alive.”
The sirens in the distance put anything else that he would have said on hold. All that mattered right now was getting Buffy to the hospital. He just prayed they wouldn’t be too late.
* * * * *
The waiting was starting to drive Spike crazy. Buffy was taken in over an hour ago and they had yet to find out if she was going to be okay. He was joined in the waiting room by Hank, Xander, and Dawn. His parents were away on one of their business trips, but he spoke with them and they agreed to come home earlier than planned. Spike was broken out of his reverie at the arrival of the doctor; he quickly stood and headed over to him.
“Is she okay?”
The doctor took a deep breath. “We did all that we could for her. Ms. Summers has suffered from severe head trauma, and two broken ribs. She’s stable right now, but has slipped into a coma. It’s too soon to tell when she would awaken, if she does at all. I’m very sorry. It’s up to her right now.”
He was still talking, but Spike tuned the rest out. All he could focus on was the fact that his girlfriend was in a coma and might never wake up. He wanted to scream about how unfair all of it was. She didn’t deserve any of this. It pained him even more knowing that it was all his fault. She wouldn’t be in the hospital if it wasn’t for him. God, he should have never walked out of the school. He should have just listened to her when she wanted to go back inside. If she didn’t pull out of this, Spike would never forgive himself.
* * * * *
She looked so small and pale lying there. Spike moved closer to her bed and took a seat. Visiting hours were almost over, but they all agreed that he should be the first one to see her. He took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth, placing a kiss against her bruised knuckles.
“I’m so sorry, baby. It should have been me. I was a bloody idiot, I never should have left. You have to wake up, Buffy. I don’t care if you hate me forever, as long as you’re awake. That’s all I care about. Just open those pretty eyes for me.” A few more seconds and there was no change. “Please, bring her back. I’m nothing without her,” he said to no one in particular. A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts a moment later. Spike looked up at the concerned face of his father, but something inside of him snapped. He instantly got up and made his way out of the room, Giles right behind him.
“Son, it will be all right.”
Spike shook his head, glaring at his father. He didn’t care that he was about to make a scene. “How will it be all right? The love of my life is near death right now because Barton’s sadistic son decided to run me over with a car. Buffy’s here now because she pushed me out of the way. It should have been me. Your actions always have consequences, Dad. It’s your bloody fault this happened in the first place. You can’t expect to put a dangerous man like that away and not deal with the consequences. You didn’t even think about the fact that he had any family out there. He tried to kill me and now Buffy is suffering for it. I told you, we’re always the ones that end up paying. You think you’re doing the right thing, but what about those that end up getting hurt because of it?”
Giles was stunned into silence.
Jenny tried to calm her son down. “Honey, it was no one’s fault. The only person to blame here is already dead, there’s nothing more you can do.”
Spike moved away from her, not wanting any comfort. “No, I’m to blame. I’m always to blame,” he said softly.
Giles took a risk by stepping closer to him. “I’m terribly sorry, William. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. None of this should have happened, but you can’t blame yourself. Buffy is a strong girl, from what you’ve told me she has had quite a lot to deal with in her life. I have faith that she will pull out of this. She wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up about it. I know in my heart how much that girl loves you. I don’t believe she would have risked her life for someone that she didn’t love. This is not your fault, and it’s not my fault. This is the fault of a young man that had a bit too much to drink and decided to get behind the wheel of a car. I talked with the police; Barton’s blood alcohol level was extremely high. If the crash didn’t kill him, that surely would have. All he wanted was vengeance, it didn’t matter who got in the way. He’s gone now, son. He won’t ever come near you again. It’s time to move on and be there for Buffy. She needs you right now, and I promise that she will not blame you for what happened. It was not your fault,” he finished, hoping to get through to his son.
Spike didn’t even realize that he was crying, until he felt the wetness on his cheeks. He fell to the floor and buried his face in his hands, the sobs taking over his body. Spike felt a pair of arms hold him from behind, but he couldn’t tell who they belonged to. It didn’t matter; nothing mattered until Buffy woke up.