Title: When You Win (11/?)

Buffy looked at Xander on the ground for a moment before turning to Willow and Anya and dropping the dagger.

Willow looked at Buffy as she climbed down into the cavern, "Xander." she whispered while she took in the sight of the broken body of her best friend.

He was badly bruised and laying crooked in the dirt. He was covered in blood and Willow noticed that the crimson liquid was even flowing out of his eyes and ears.

"I did it." Buffy said with a slight smile, her back still to Xander, "I won. I told you we always win Xan.", she said turning around, "Didn’t I say that? That I always win."

Willow tried to move in front of Buffy who was beginning to make her way towards Xander who lay motionless on the ground. "Buffy…" She tried to redirect her friend softly.

"Xander. What’s your deal?" Buffy demanded stepping around Willow and moving to stand at Xander’s side, "Answer me."

Willow watched as Buffy looked down at him skeptically and then back up at her, "He’s pretending." Buffy whispered while kneeling at his side, "Sometimes he pretends that he’s sleeping, but I can tell."

Buffy reached out her hand and brushed some of Xander’s now bloody hair out of his face, "I won, Sweetie, did you see it?" Buffy asked again in a child like voice.

"Anya go get help." Willow ordered. Willow slowly walked up to Buffy and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, "Buffy. Get up please." she pleaded, "Anya went to go get help."

"This isn’t funny anymore Xander. Alex." Buffy said ignoring Willow’s plea, "Alex!" she shouted again shaking him.

"Anya said there was trouble." Giles said as he ran into the lair. "Call and ambulance!" Willow shouted . Giles took a look at a battered Buffy kneeling beside a bloody Xander, "Dear God." He breathed as he ran out of the cavern again.

"I know the problem." Buffy continued, ignoring the presence of anyone else, while she looked down at Xander. She moved her hands down his torso where she grabbed the horn hat was protruding from his stomach and pulled it easily from his body causing a new gush of blood to flow. "There." Buffy said triumphantly, tossing the horn to the side. "Get Up!" she yelled at him smacking his arm.

"Buffy stop it." Willow yelled in a shaky voice as her tears finally started to fall, "What’s the matter with you?!"

"Ask Alex," she replied glancing at her, "he’s the one joking around. But I know how to get him up." Buffy said before she slowly leaned down and pressed her lips to his. When Xander didn’t respond Buffy pulled back unaware of the fact that his blood now covered her face, "Alex stop it. Please! It’s not funny anymore!"

"Helps coming!" Anya exclaimed as she rushed back into the room, "Giles is going to lead them down here."

Willow was to numb from the scene before her to respond, while Buffy didn’t seem to hear.

Buffy looked down at Xander again before laying down and positioning herself next to him so that her head was resting against his chest. Buffy wrapped her arm over his stomach and held him tight, "I want to go home now. You promised.", she whispered as she shut her eyes, "You promised."

End Part 11

Title: When You Win (12/?)

"Down here!" Giles’ voice re-entered the cavern. "Hurry!" Anya called as she heard the footsteps of multiple people rushing towards the room, followed by the entrance of six paramedics.

"Are you alright?" one of them asked Anya. "Not me," she said shaking off his hand, "Over there!" she yelled pointing at Buff and Xander who were laying on the floor.

Two paramedics immediately rushed to the couple and pulled them apart, "We got a pulse here.", one said as he checked Buffy, "she’s unconscious, but she’s alive." They put the backboard under her body and lifted her easily onto the gurney while the three others worked on Xander.

Willow watched on in shock as Buffy was wheeled past her. She stood and looked on while the remaining paramedics set Xander’s leg so that he was laying more evenly. Giles came up to her and put an arm over her shoulder to lead her away.

"He’s losing a lot of blood! Are you getting anything?" a paramedic asked while his partner tried to find Xander’s pulse. The medic who was looking for the pulse briefly shook his head and Willow turned into Giles’ shoulder.

He was leading her towards the mouth of the cave when she heard the medic shout, "I got one! It’s faint, we haveta hurry!"

Willow gasped and turned back to Xander while he was being hoisted onto a gurney. The medics ran Xander out of the cavern followed by a crying Willow who was being led by Giles. "We’ll follow you!" Giles yelled to the paramedics as they hoisted Xander into the ambulance.

"Where’s Anya?" Willow asked meekly as she climbed into the SUV and Giles jumped into the driver’s side, "I sent her with Buffy.", he answered while starting the car and headed down the road after the ambulance.

"Perhaps you should call Joyce, tell her to meet us there."

"Okay." Willow muttered as she retrieved the cell phone. She didn’t want to call Buffy’s mother, she had no idea what to say. Willow knew that Buffy could very well died, from what she had seen she would have thought that her friend already was, and now it was her job to tell Joyce that she was losing her oldest child. She felt the tears start to fall again, if Buffy died she would be losing her best friend, and if Xander was dead… she wouldn’t have anything left.

Willow shakily punched in Buffy’s mother’s phone number. It rang five times, and Willow contemplated hanging up after each one, unfortunately on the sixth ring Dawn answered.

~~

Willow clicked off the phone and looked numbly out of window before closing her eyes against her tears. She could hear the sirens blaring and if she looked ahead she could see the medics rushing around in the back of Xander’s ambulance. Willow closed her eyes again and tried to block out the nights' events while Giles drove through the night at break neck speeds.

Title: When You Win (13/?)

Joyce and Dawn ran through the automatic doors of the Emergency Room of Sunnydale Memorial Hospital and rushed to the nurse’s station. "Where’s Buffy! Buffy Summers!" Joyce yelled to the nurse behind the desk. "It might be under Buffy Harris." Dawn added a little calmer than her mother did while the nurse checked the charts.

"Where is she!" Joyce shouted again as she looked up and down the corridor frantically.

"Calm down please, I’m trying to find…" the nurse started

"Tell me where my daughter is and ten I’ll calm down!" Joyce shouted back and slammed her fist down on the desk. She could not understanding how an ER nurse could tell a parent to calm down while they had no idea what was happening to their child.

"Joyce?" a voice called and both she and Dawn spun around.

"Anya! Oh God! Where is she?" Joyce asked rushing to her after casting the nurse a snide look.

"I don’t know. We got here and they just rushed her away. They won’t tell me anything, they just said to sit here." Anya said pointing to the waiting room.

"I take it you’re the victims mother?" another nurse asked approaching the three women carrying a chart.

"The victim? Yes. Yes I am." Joyce answered shaking her head, "What happened?"

"I’m going to need you to fill these out." The nurse answered handing Joyce some forms, "it appears that there was a cave in at Burton’s Caverns."

<The Caverns? She said she was working late at the shop tonight.> she thought, "Where is she?" she managed to get out.

"Um…" the nurse glanced at the chart in her hand, "She was prepped for surgery. Went in about twenty minutes ago."

Joyce watched the nurse walk away as she all but fell into the seat behind her and took a deep breath, "I need a pen." she stated and Dawn ran to find one. "Where is Willow? Willow called and told us to come here." she asked when Dawn left the room.

"Willow and Giles are coming with Xander." Anya answered quietly, "I didn’t see them because Buffy got taken out first. I called his parents."

Dawn came running back into the room and handed her mother the pen before sitting down next to her. Joyce had silently started filling out the forms when the hospital sprung to life again. Doctors and nurses rushed to the doors as a new ambulance arrived.

The three occupants of the waiting room ignored it until Willow and Giles rushed into the room, "That was Xander." Giles stated, "any news on Buffy?"

Dawn sat in disbelief that all those doctors were necessary to take care of Xander, but her mother, on the other hand, stood up angrily.

"What the hell happened?" Joyce yelled, "Buffy called and said she was working late at the shop tonight, and then I get a call saying that my baby is in surgery, and my son is half dead, and it’s all because of you. You did this!" she yelled hysterically as her tears started to fall, "If my little girl dies…"

"Where is he?" a man’s voice asked from behind the group. Willow recognized it as Xander’s father, Tim’s, voice and answered, "He just got here."

Tim Harris walked into the room, seemingly ignoring its other occupants, and sat down while his wife, Jane, went to fill out Xander’s forms. "What happened?" he asked glaring at Giles.

"I believe it was a cave in." Giles answered nervously.

"Why was the boy in a cave?" Tim asked, Joyce snorted as she sat down again, "That’s exactly what I want to know."

Giles swallowed and started to answer, "I…" he looked into Joyce’s eyes and realized that he couldn’t lie, but because of the presence of the Harris’ he couldn’t tell the truth, they had no idea about their son’s wife’s real identity. "I sent then to the Caverns…" Giles admitted, "I needed research done on the…"

"Research!" Tim yelled, "In a God damn cave at night! I won’t buy those bullshit stories that he came home with in high school. I want to know why my son is dying right now Mr.Giles."

Giles’ eyes darted around the room while he searched his mind for an answer. He had no expectations of this turning out the way that it had, despite the knowledge of the Localv’s formidability. He wished for a distraction, something to draw the focus off of this situation, but it wasn’t coming, and both Buffy’s and Xander’s parents were waiting impatiently for his answer.

"Joyce Summers." a new voice broke through the tension in the room and replaced it with horror. All eyes turned to the doctor that had entered the waiting area and Dawn rose to stand next to her mother.

Joyce closed her eyes against the sight of the middle-aged man who had called her name. He looked tired and was wearing what she supposed were once bright green hospital scrubs, now they were stained in blood that Joyce could only assume was her daughters’. She barely felt Dawn squeeze her hand and she drew in a deep breath.

"I need to speak with you." The doctor continued.

Title: When You Win (14/?)

Joyce shot Giles a deadly glare before turning to look at Dawn. "It’ll be okay mom.", she said weakly. "Buffy’s strong." Jane Harris spoke up to comfort the other woman, "She can pull through."

Joyce nodded briefly and walked towards the doctor. <Please no. No. No. No. No.> her mind repeated over and over again as she was led further down the hall and away from the group.

"Mrs. Summers…"

"Joyce." The woman interrupted.

"Joyce." The doctor started again, "I’m Doctor Foster. As you know, your daughter…"

"Buffy." Joyce interrupted again with a weak smile, trying to stall the information with idle information.

"Buffy." Dr. Foster said with a small smile of his own, "Buffy was badly injured and we had to operate." He paused, "She had lost a lot of blood and was suffering major internal bleeding. She has five broken ribs that accounted for the majority of the internal damage."

Dr. Foster paused again, and Joyce wished he would just finish everything he had to tell her in one breath instead of trying to be dramatic. When he continued she released a breath of relief, if he was waiting for a reaction, it wasn’t going to come yet.

"Less seriously," he said, "Buffy has three separate concussions, but one of them was sustained prior to tonight. She also fractured her wrist."

"Is she…" Joyce finally managed to find her voice.

"Alive. Yes." The doctor said with a smile that quickly died, "but she is in serious condition."

"Will she be alright?" the mother asked with apparent relief hidden behind worry.

"Buffy is under observation, and will have to remain there until she wakes up. It’s still uncertain, but at the moment she is alive."

<AT THE MOMENT> Joyce’s mind screamed, but all she did was whisper, "Thank God."

Dr. Foster offered another comforting smile before she added, "Thank you." And reached for his hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Mrs. Summers, the next part is never easy." He continued.

"What part? I filled out all the paper work. When can I see her?"

"As soon as we get her down to the ICU you can visit, but…"

"What?" Joyce asked, her brow furrowing.

"It seems that your daughter suffered severe trauma to the abdomen. I haven’t seen anything like it personally, besides a case study in med. school, but, none-the-less…" he got back on track only to be interrupted.

"What is it?" Joyce asked, her worry bubbling to the surface again.

"She was hemorrhaging." Dr. Foster took a deep breath, "We couldn’t save the baby."

Joyce stood in shock unable to wrap her mind around the news that had just been delivered. She hadn’t known that her daughter was pregnant, but now, not only was her oldest child’s life hanging in the balance, but she had lost her unborn grandchild. Even worse, her little girl had lost her first child, something she would not wish on her worst enemy.

"…I’ll keep you updated on her condition and let you know when she regains consciousness," Dr. Fosters voice broke through her thoughts, "And once again, I’m sorry." he continued honestly even though Joyce had had hardly heard him.

"Is there any news on her husband, Xander…Alexander…Harris?" Joyce whispered still reeling <I can’t tell her that she’s lost them both…>she cut the thought off.

"I’m not sure. I can check, but I’m sure that somebody should be out with information shortly."he said comfortingly.

"Good. Good. I should go tell the others…" Joyce said while turning around, "Thank you again.", she said minutely walking back towards the group and feeling her tears start to fall.

~* Waiting Room *~

"Thank you for being here." Jane told Anya and Willow while they waited for Joyce to return and Tim continued to glare at Giles.

"You girls can go home, there’s no sense in all of us just sitting here." Tim said in a cold voice, flicking his eyes away from Giles.

"It’s alright," Willow opposed, "I would just be worrying at home then."

"Perhaps Tim is right." Giles agreed, "It has been a long night, go home and get some rest. We’ll let you know if there are any developments." He cast a glance at Tim and added, "I can drive you."

Willow glanced at Anya who was yawning in the seat next to her. She, herself, didn’t know how much longer she could sit there while her friends were possibly dying down the hall. Willow knew that she definitely didn’t want to be there when the news of Buffy and Xander’s fate was revealed even though she knew she should be there for them, "Alright." She said warily, taking a deep breath before standing up. Giles silently followed , "I’ll be right back." He stated earning another glare from Tim before walking out of the room. "Call as soon as you know something." Willow said softly while giving Jane a hug. "It’ll be fine." Anya tried to reassure, using the phrase that had become the groups’ mantra since they had arrived.

The two girls walked out the waiting room, following the path that Giles had taken, leaving Xander’s parents and a sleeping Dawn to themselves. Tim sat and listened as his wife broke into tears, he had it in his mind to tell her to stop, but instead put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

His own eyes started to sting at the prospect of losing his only son. He knew he had been anything but the perfect father but he never wanted his boy to die. He felt Jane pull away from his hold and opened his eyes, half dreading what he would see.

Watching Joyce walk towards that doctor was like watching someone walk to their death, and he wasn’t ready for that yet. When he turned his gaze to the waiting room entrance, though, he saw a the other woman entering the room shakily.

Jane immediately stood up and walked over to her gripping the other woman’s shoulders for support. "The others went home. Rupert said he’d be right back." Tim offered from his seat. Joyce nodded then turned her gaze to Dawn who was watching anxiously from her seat.

Joyce gripped Jane’s hands on her shoulders giving them a gentle squeeze before going over to Dawn. She immediately pulled her other daughter into a hug, renewing the tears in her already red eyes. "She’s alive." Joyce told the occupants of the room and there was an audible sigh of relief, "but she’s in serious condition. The doctor said that they’re taking her to the ICU then we can see her."

"Thank God." Jane breathed, "If anything would have happened to her Alex would be devastated."

"Have you heard anything?" Joyce asked, still holding Dawn’s hand.

"Not a damn thing yet." Tim huffed out, "But its good that Buffy is alright."

Joyce smiled slightly before turning to Dawn, "Why don’t you go get something to drink?" she asked reaching for her purse.

"I’m fine." Dawn answered, "I want to be here in case they say we can go in."

"I’ll come find you if hat happens when you’re gone," her mother assured giving the girl two dollars, "You look like you could use some caffeine."

Dawn eyed her mother briefly before taking the money. She could tell that she wanted her out of the room so she decided to play along, this was no time to argue, "Cool. I’ll be right back." she said as she walked towards the elevator.

Joyce waited until she saw the elevator doors close behind Dawn before turning to face Tim and Jane. Xander’s parents watched her expectantly while she took a deep breath, "Buffy was pregnant." she said quickly, "She lost the baby."

"What?" Tim asked sitting up, while Jane inhaled a sharp breath.

"I didn’t know either, I didn’t get all the details…" she continued quietly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Harris." a voice called in a familiar tone.

Tim looked at his wife , "You wait here." he told her while he walked toward the doctor, "About damn time." he muttered at her as they walked down the hall.

Title: When You Win (15/?)

Dawn made her way down the hallway back towards the waiting room. She had never liked hospitals and she knew that Buffy felt the same way. <I wonder if its hereditary?> she questioned. She passed the swinging doors to the ICU and raised up on her toes to stare through the glass portals, for some reason hoping to see her sister.

She walked cautiously up to the doors and contemplated walking in. "Honey?" her mother’s voice called from behind her making her jump.

"Sorry." Joyce offered resting a hand on the teenager’s shoulder, "We can go in. You were right, they told me while you were gone."

"Thanks for waiting." Dawn said quietly.

The mother and daughter stood still for a few more minutes before Dawn pushed open the swinging door, "One of us had to." She sighed taking her mothers hand and walking through.

~* Outside the Waiting Room *~

Tim Harris stood around the corner from the waiting room breathing deeply with his eyes closed. He had seen a nurse lead Joyce out of the room while he was talking to his son’s surgeon and figured Buffy was awake.

He sighed and bought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose against the tears that were threatening to fall while he recalled the conversation he had just had.

The doctor, Dr Anderson, had gone on about sever damage to internal organs and heavy bleeding. She said that Alex had been crushed, and had suffered an unexplained stab wound to the abdomen and that they could not stop the bleeding.

He had to be resuscitated four times on the table.

Tim only picked out the key works, he couldn’t made his mind pick up anymore than that, not that the rest mattered anyway. All that mattered right now was what it all meant.

His only son was gone. Alex hadn’t survived.

And now he had to tell his wife that she didn’t have a son anymore. He had to tell his daughter-in-law that her whole family had been lost in a matter of hours.

<I need a drink.> Tim thought as he took one more breath and walked into the room, taking a seat next to his wife. The hopeful smile she held died when Tim sat down and couldn’t meet her eyes. "NOOOOO!" she shrieked while he pulled her into a hug.

Title: When You Win (16/?)

Joyce and Dawn followed a nurse to the partitioned section the Buffy was in. The woman pulled back the curtain and Joyce’s breath hitched in her chest. The nurse walked to the side of the bed and picked up the chart, "Buffy Harris." she said reading, "She’s unconscious, but she can probably hear you if you want to talk to her."

Joyce simply nodded a little as the nurse walked past her, she could not take her eyes off Buffy. Joyce walked further into the room while starring at her daughter, she was laying impossibly still, tucked firmly in the white sheets of the bed.

She had a mass of cuts all over her face, Joyce assumed that there was a bad gash on the right side of her forehead because of the slightly crimson gauzy bandage that was taped there. Her nose appeared to be broken because of the two black eyes that were apparent and there was a tube affixed in Buffy’s mouth, which Joyce traced to a respirator. Buffy’s broken arm was cradled at her side and was the last visible injury that could be seen.

"My little girl." She whispered while moving to brush some of Buffy’s hair out of her face, thankful that she couldn’t see anything else.

Joyce glanced at Dawn who was standing uncomfortably at the foot of the bed and followed her line of vision tot he various machines that Buffy was hooked up to. She wasn’t sure what they all did, but she knew that she was standing next to the heart monitor from the steady pings it was making, and she recognized the various drips that were connected to Buffy’s hands and arms.

"Are you sure she’s alright?" Dawn asked, moving to sit in one of the chairs near the separating curtain. Joyce wanted to say ‘yes’, but could only manage, "She looks so peaceful."

Joyce had ‘borrowed’ a chair form another room because Dawn had fallen asleep in the two provided for Buffy. She sat next to Buffy’s bed and had taken her hand before resting her head on the mattress.

Xander was dead. Tim had come in to tell her what his doctor had said.

She was thankful Dawn had finally fallen asleep and she, herself , was trying to rest her eyes, which were bloodshot form the constant stream of tears that she had shed that night.

Joyce had loved Xander, almost like a biological son, she had known him since he was fifteen and had watched him grow up. She watched her daughter fall in love with him, and she knew that if Buffy pulled through she would never be the same.

Tim had said that he was taking Jane home and told her that Giles was in the waiting room, but Joyce hadn’t gone out to see, and he hadn’t come into the ICU.

Joyce hadn’t moved or lost contact with Buffy since the news had been delivered and she was thankful the nurse on call hadn’t asked her to leave. She didn’t want to have to yell.

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair for the thousandth time and felt Buffy’s body jerk violently in the bed.

Joyce shot up to see if her daughter was awake, but she wasn’t. Buffy began to convulse inhumanly as if she were fighting something invisible, tossing back and forth harshly, but still unconscious. The IV tore out of her hand as her body swung involuntarily to the side, and what Joyce supposed were screams were muffled by the presence of the tube that held firmly to her mouth.

Joyce tried frantically and unsuccessfully to calm her daughter down and watched with wide eyes as the heart rate monitor went haywire.

The rapid beeping and the sound of Buffy’s thrashing in the bed caused the nurse to come rushing in. "I’m going to have to ask you to leave." she said hurriedly while trying to usher the now wide awake and frightened mother and daughter outside. Dawn and Joyce were forced to the side as three doctors rushed into the room and surrounded Buffy.

They heard the doctors barking out orders through the now closed curtain while the nurse led them back to the waiting room.

Title: When You Win (17/?)

"Gaaahhh! What the…" Xander complained as he opened his eyes. The light in the room was so bright that he had to shield his eyes. "Hello!" he called uncertainly looking around. From what he could tell he was in a hospital due to the abundance of monitors in the room, but he wasn’t sure why none of them were turned on.

The room was silent and empty except for him.

Xander grabbed the bed sheet and pulled it away from him while he sat up. He was expecting a viscous wave of pain because of the beating that he had just taken, but it didn’t come. Xander didn’t feel anything as he pushed himself from the bed and to his feet. He didn’t have time to worry about it though, he just had to find Buffy.

Xander walked through the swinging doors of his room and looked around his new surroundings, <I’ve never seen this part of the hospital.> he thought back on the numerous visits that he had made to this particular place while he surveyed the bright tile hallway.

"Excuse me, I’m trying to find my wife. Buffy Harris." he stated when he saw two nurses stop in front of him. "Excuse me." He tried again when they didn’t respond. Xander watched as they giggled together and walked away, "Hey! Where are you going?! Great!" he yelled running his hands through his hair.

Xander was still thinking about what to do when he heard faint yells and hurried muffled footsteps. His head shot up and he saw three doctors run by him, "Yeah, it’s the girl from the cave-in, in the ICU." the doctor in front yelled back to the two following him as they turned the corner.

"Hey!" Xander called desperately, "Wait! Somebody!"

Nobody stopped. Nobody seemed to even hear him.

Xander took off in the direction of the doctors, however he lost sight of them so he settled for looking for the ICU, something was drawing him there and he knew that he had to find it quickly despite his lack of success in the communication department.

"I’m going to have to ask you to leave." he heard a woman say and he ran towards the voice. Something told him that he had to find where it was coming from. Xander sprinted down the hall until he saw the swing doors that led to the ICU. He started towards them at a slower pace, trying to prepare himself for…he didn’t know what, but he was stopped when he walked past the waiting area.

Xander stood just outside the door and saw Giles kneeling in front of Dawn, who was sitting next to her mother with her face buried into her neck. He could see that Joyce was crying and Giles was trying to be comforting, but it didn’t seem to be working.

He was not prepared for what he saw. "Buffy." he called again more quietly while moving to her side. He took in all her injuries before he looked at the two doctors who were trying unsuccessfully to hold her down.

"What the hell is this?!" one of them asked while using all of his strength to try to restrain her while the heart rate monitor raged out of control, "She’s unconscious!"

"She’s like the Hulk!" another answered breathlessly, "Max, give her the sedative!"

"Sedative? What? What’s happening?" Xander asked mostly to himself, he now was not even expecting an answer.

"Hurry up man! We gotta stabilize her heartbeat."

"You have to hold her still, I can’t get a vein!" the one Xander figured was Max answered.

"We’re trying!" the other two responded harshly while doubling their efforts, "You might just have to do it, her heart won’t be able to take this much longer!"

"Buffy," Xander whispered, "It’s okay baby. I’m here. Everything’s fine." he cooed while stroking her hair.

"What was that?" one of the doctors asked when Buffy calmed down suddenly and Max injected the sedative. Xander watched as the heart rate monitor resumed a steady ping and Buffy resumed a seeming restful state.

"I’ve never seen anything like that. Ever." Max exclaimed while they walked out of Buffy’s room. Xander looked after them briefly then rested his hand on top of Buffy’s, "Hi there," he whispered stroking it gently with his thumb. Xander starred down at her unmoving form and then leaned in, pressing his lips to the left side of her mouth then moving his head down to her ear, "Can you hear me?" he whispered.

Xander jumped a little in surprise when Buffy groaned lightly while turning her head slightly towards the side he was standing at. "I need you back." he continued in her ear, "I need you to wake up Honey. Can you do that? Please Buff."

"lex." Came the muffled reply. Xander stood back shocked that she could hear him <She’s the only one who can.> "aex. Alex." Buffy groaned again while he watched her eyes open slowly.

"Oh God." Xander breathed as Buffy stared at him through half closed eyes, "I’m going to get someone. A doctor." he told her and she looked at him with a confused gaze before her tears started to fall.

Xander was at her side immediately, "It’s alright. I’m here. I won’t leave you." he whispered while brushing his hand against her bruised cheek.

Buffy shivered and clenched her eyes shut at his touch. Xander stepped back when he noticed the heart rate monitor speed up again and looked down at her, "I’ll be right back." He said quietly running out of the room.

"Nurse!" Xander yelled running to the nurse station, "she’s awake." he stated pointing towards Buffy’s room.

The woman behind the counter continued working on, what Xander saw was a crossword puzzle that was resting on top of patients’ charts.

"Look. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I need you to get a doctor for my wife." He said firmly, "Dammit!" he yelled slamming his fist down on the desk. The nurse didn’t look up while she replaced the papers that had blown off the counter.

<No one can hear me but Buffy> he thought as he backed out of the room, "Joyce!" he called while he turned and ran back to the waiting room. He had expected to be slightly winded when he arrived at the room, but he found that he wasn’t. Xander didn’t take the time to dwell on that fact as he walked purposefully towards Joyce.

Xander stopped dead in his tracks when he picked up on the cold, formal, conversation that she was carrying on with Giles. "Dear God," he heard Giles breath while putting his head in his hands, "I had no idea."

"You had no way of knowing. I didn’t know." Joyce answered in a cold tone despite the tears in her eyes.

"That explains their behavior…I would have never sent…"

"I sincerely hope that Buffy doesn’t blame you for losing her child as much as I do." Joyce interrupted in the same tone, "As much as I blame you for me losing mine."

Xander shut his eyes, his mind screaming in protest to the news he had just heard. News that he had no power to reverse. He felt his body start to shake as his world was crashing down around him.

Yesterday he was ecstatic, both he and Buffy were. Their life was perfect. Now…now he didn’t know. He didn’t know what was happening, but whatever it was he couldn’t stop it. Xander was helpless, he hated feeling like that, like he couldn’t help himself, like he couldn’t help Buffy.

Xander felt his eyes start to sting, but he shut them, he wouldn’t allow himself to cry when he needed to be strong for Buffy. He knew that if he let his tears fall he wouldn’t be able to stop. "Joyce." he called in a quieter husky voice, but she continued her conversation with Giles. "Joyce." he said again moving to shake her shoulder, "Please listen to me. Buffy’s awake, you need to get a doctor."

Joyce merely shrugged her shoulder at his touch. Xander moved to sit in the chair next to a sleeping Dawn. "Buffy’s awake." he said again in an almost child like voice more to himself then to anyone else.

"Wha…" Dawn mumbled while she sat up slowly in her chair. Xander’s eyes went wide and he stopped himself from reaching out to hug her, "You can hear me?"

Dawn looked around the room trying to find where the whispery version of the familiar voice was coming from, but all she saw was her mother and Giles talking a few chairs away.

"Dawn, Buffy’s awake." Xander said again at the girls confused look. Dawn jumped out of her seat causing Joyce to do the same, "Buffy’s awake!" she exclaimed running out of the room with Joyce following her and Giles taking up the rear.

Xander sat in the waiting room alone and let his head drop into his hands willing the tears not to fall.

"I’ve been looking all over for you, Xander." a voice from behind him said, "I never knew you to move that fast."

Xander jumped up and turned around trying to locate who was speaking to him. He turned in a slow circle scanning the area, "Who’s there?" he asked in a shaky voice. He caught sight of a blurry object dart to the right of him and he quickly turned to face it. He focused on the figure, which was hard because it seemed to melt and reform with each move, but it seemed to be a person. A woman.

"I bet you want to know what’s going on." she stated more than asked while walking up to him.

Xander recognized the voice from his past and squinted his eyes to try to see her face before he asked uncertainly, "Ms. Calendar?"

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