Made by nmcil


Chapter Fifteen:






Buffy awoke to beeping sounds and someone whispering her name. Her eyes fluttered before she slowly opened them, wanting to call out for someone but not sure who, like there was a big fog surrounding each name of those she loved. She blinked at the person before her, trying to clear the haze. He was blond and thin and handsome, and he made her smile a little. The world around her was spinning, but she tried hard to find his name, until the fog was clear enough to realize it wasn't him.

Her small smile dropped unconsciously, looking at the blond in the white coat. "I'm sure there are no broken bones," he said, reassuring her. "You have a few bruises. All treatable."

"Buffy."

She blinked again, recognizing Xander's voice as he rushed in and was by her side in a second; his body almost fell on top of hers. One hand reached up to cup the back of her head while the other gripped her shoulder. He kissed her forehead and cheeks, rapidly muttering a thank you to God after each kiss. His reaction made her lower lip tremble and her eyes water a little.

Worry clouded his expression. "You okay?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"Is Andrea here?" she whispered.

Xander nodded. "Outside, with Renée."

Her hand went to touch the fist on her shoulder. "I wanna see her."

He nodded again and moved quickly outside. Seconds later, he was back with Andrea in his arms. Buffy reached out her hands, and he gently helped her hold their daughter in a comfortable position. She hugged Andrea to her chest, letting the tears gathered in her eyes slip down her cheeks, and feeling Xander's hand tenderly stroking her hair.

She realized after a while that the doctor had left them alone, and she was grateful for the privacy.

Andrea blinked confused eyes up at her. Her arms moved clumsily, making Buffy long for the day when her daughter would be able to control her arm movements and do more than just stare and cry for food or diaper change. When Buffy smiled down at her, Andrea smiled back. "She's smiling," she said, unable to hide her happiness.

Andrea sneezed, and Buffy heard Xander chuckle softly above her head. She looked up at him, and then his smile was aimed at her. "How are you?"

"A little woozy." Buffy pinched Andrea's cheek lightly. "Mostly glad I woke up from the nightmare."

"Hmm?"

Buffy stared at the bundle of innocence in front of her in sorrow. "Andrea was older, and just so beautiful," she said, trying to remember the dream. "You weren't there… I wish you were, 'cause I was such a Joan Crawford." Her voice wavered a little as her arms pressed Andrea closer to her chest. "I love her so much."

"Look, Buffy…" Xander started apologetically.

"I've been… so long, doing what I do. It's just so hard to leave it all behind."

Xander held her hand and pressed hard. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"But you're right. I should be here taking care of her, instead of running after some rogue Slayer."

"I'm here," Xander persisted. "I can take care of her. Renée told me about the Tuscany disaster. Saving the world should come first."

She stared at his affectionate eye, thinking about removing the eye patch from the other one, wanting to see another eye full of affection looking back at her.

"If the world is in danger, she is," Xander concluded, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on her lips. That small reminder of what they were to each other made her heart squeeze painfully with guilt. He would be crushed if he knew about Spike being alive, and especially in Scotland. She didn't want to cause him this kind of pain, which was why she knew she had to make up her mind about Spike sooner rather than later. That was, if there was something to make up her mind about, since this time it was Spike who'd stormed out with a huff. He was probably too fed up with her; he wouldn't want to talk again.

"Besides, you're not Joan Crawford," Xander said. "You're Angela Bower. Except with a daughter."

"Does that make you Tony?"

Xander gave his hair a ruffle and then combed it back, a failed attempt to pull off sexy. "With my dashing Italian looks and nice, big hair."

"Nice, big hair? Do you wanna be Tony or Peggy Bundy?"

Xander gasped. "Hey, if you wanna compare me to a TV mother, at least pick a cool one. Someone young and hip, like Lorelei."

Buffy pointed a finger, excited. "Oh. Or Kitty from That 70s Show."

Xander imitated the loud, shrill laugh that made Buffy burst into laughter, causing Andrea to bounce from the rise and fall of her chest.

"So…" Xander said when Buffy stopped laughing. "You're gonna move to the castle?" His lonely eye showed understanding and acceptance, and she knew it wasn't just about her moving back to the castle, because underneath she could see the disappointment he felt, realizing that their relationship had died before it had time to breathe.

"No, I'm just taking a team to Tuscany. Business trip. There will be no need for me to stay at the castle once the trouble in Tuscany is resolved." Gently, her hand held his, and she hoped her gesture would tell him that even though she didn't see him as a boyfriend, she saw him as something more. He was home.




~*~*~*~




Buffy wished Xander and Andrea had stayed longer, but Xander had suggested he would go home to pack up some clothes for her discharge, and since Buffy needed her rest –an argument Xander had to drill into her stubborn head- he took Andrea with him. Xander promised that he would bring Andrea when he picked her up from the hospital.

He had left his cell phone with her in case she needed to call anyone, since she didn't remember anyone's phone number. The first person she decided to call was Dawn, who had been worried and pissed at her. After enduring five minutes of Dawn's angry lecture about how to cross a street, they went on with their daily sisterly conversation, which mainly consisted of Dawn bitching about stuck-up college girls while chewing Doritos right next to the phone.

"So, you and Xander are broken up now?"

Buffy expected to hear disappointment in Dawn's tone, since Dawn had been pushing her to be with Xander since the first stages of her pregnancy. "Well, it was doomed from the start. Situations shouldn't be the reason for two people to get together, you know."

"Guess you're right," Dawn said quietly, sounding a little rueful. "And what's new with Spike?"

Buffy sighed. "We fought."

"Typical."

"He knows about the…" Buffy eyed the open door suspiciously. She might be using a cell phone but she was still in a public hospital. "… bank thing."

"Melodramatic much?" Dawn retorted. "Why would he act righteous when he's been working for Wolfram and Hart?"

"Why had I been acting righteous about Wolfram and Hart when I'm running a James-Younger Gang?" A nurse smiled at her through the glass window; Buffy returned the smile with a timid one.

Dawn huffed, apparently not sharing Buffy's concerns. "Stealing isn't like joining the forces of evil."

"It's still immoral, Dawn." On the other hand, Buffy did need money and there wasn't a lot of options as to how to get it. Bank robbery kind of was a victimless crime because it didn't really adversely affect anyone. Sure it had some economical impact, but overall it wasn't too harsh, and in the end it was all about the greater good. Right?

"Excuse me, miss," an expressionless nurse said by the door.

Buffy's heartbeat sped up, and she let out a loud nervous laugh as the heart rate monitor betrayed her reaction, but the nurse's expression stayed robotic.

"Your sister is here to see you."

Buffy blinked and then turned her attention to the cell phone. "Dawn, are you doing that thing in movies where you call and then suddenly you go all surprise on me 'cause you're just outside the door?"

"Huh?"

"I'll let her in," the nurse said, turning away.

"Wait…" Buffy called after her, realizing how mechanical the nurse's lifeless voice and movements were. She stared at the door in anticipation, and her eyes widened in shock when Amy came in.

"Amy?"

"Buffy, what's going on?" Dawn exclaimed on the phone.

"Came here to do my end of the bargain," Amy said with a dreadful smirk.

"What?" Buffy frowned.

Amy's eyes turned black, and suddenly Buffy was sucked into a blue-white tunnel of magical energy. Buffy screamed into the cell phone, and her other arm helplessly swung around in the air. Dawn's voice drifted into her ear yelling out Buffy's name.

Seconds later, she found herself in front of a metal door, feeling nauseous. She couldn't help throwing up all over the floor, letting go of the cell phone.

"Buffy Summers," a male voice hissed.

Buffy looked up while wiping her chin with the back of her hand. She was surrounded by men in uniforms. A man, apparently their general, was standing next to Amy. His face was filled with wrinkles and his expression ranged between ridicule and disgust.

"Where did you take me?" Buffy asked Amy, her voice low and dangerous.

Amy's only response was her smirk.

Swiftly, a man jumped at Buffy from behind, and she was a little too lightheaded to react as he stuck a needle into her arm.

"What the…?" Buffy gasped. "What's going on?" she addressed Amy again, desperately wanting to tear that smirk off her lips.

A few seconds passed and Amy split into two. Then merged into one. Then started to waver. Then turned all black along with everyone and everything around her.




~*~*~*~




Buffy felt drained, too exhausted to move from the uncomfortable hard steel underneath her. The air around her was chilly, and she shivered in her light hospital gown. She forced her eyes to open and was greeted with blinding light from the lamp above her. Blinking her eyes to clear the fog, she looked to her left, her vision landing on a cart that had all types of bladed tools.

"Wha…" She tried to wiggle her body a little but couldn't as she was restrained at both ankles, both wrists, and around the chest.

"You're awake?" Amy's voice rang in her dull ears like their high school bell, announcing the beginning of classes. Why the beginning? Because both, the beginning of classes and Amy's voice, made Buffy feel like vomiting inside her mouth.

She glared at Amy without saying a word.

"How do you feel? Exhausted?"

Buffy kept on glaring.

"I can sense that from your aura. It’s to be expected. I'd feel the same if I was stripped of my magical powers."

Buffy frowned a little before realization hit her, and her eyes widened, petrified. That was why she felt so worn out. She hysterically started pulling against the bonds with all her strength. Usually she could tear them up with one strong pull, but all her limbs felt lighter and feebler.

Amy laughed with ridicule. "Don't tire yourself anymore than you already are. There's no use."

"How?" Buffy gritted out under her breath.

"The scythe."

Buffy snapped her eyes at Amy. "What?"

"While you were in the hospital, everybody back at your fairytale palace was going nuts. I was able to sneak in during the fuss and steal your precious weapon with no one noticing. They're all lost without you, aren't they?"

"That's better for us." The general walked into the room, stood next to Amy, and loomed over Buffy. Her eyes fell on his patch that read: General Martin Voll. "Soon, we'll be able to attack your little army while they're busy wondering about your disappearance."

"The Slayers in Tuscany…"

"Trapped in our cells like animals, along with the other terrorist group you sent to check on your cell base."

"We’re not terrorists, you moron," Buffy grumbled. "You're talking about the girls who are protecting the world from...."

"Demons? Evil? Yeah, because your power came from such a pure place," he said sarcastically. "We all know what you really are. You turned thousands of girls into demons. And we're not gonna wait until you turn this world into a slaughter." He walked to the cart. "You're not dealing with just monsters anymore. It's humans, too."

He took a small knife from the cart. Buffy's heart missed a beat as he brought the knife to her body, which went rigid with anticipation. But he only used the knife to tear up the bonds that held her down on the metal table. Seizing the moment, Buffy tried to get away but General Voll knocked her down with a strong fist to her jaw.

"Look how weak you are." The corners of his lips curled up into a devious smile.

"Our first attempt to take away her powers is a total success," Amy said. "Now we're gonna start on the others."

Buffy winced at that and turned her throbbing head to Amy, whose stare was fixed on General Voll.

"So, you better start doing your end of the deal."

General Voll nodded and then looked at the two soldiers standing by the door. "Take her to a cell," he ordered. Two rough hands grabbed Buffy by the arms. She tried to fight them, but she still felt lightheaded, and secretly, she didn't want to admit to herself that they were far stronger than her.

"Which one, sir?" asked one of the soldiers.

"The one with the other girl we kidnapped from Scotland. Let the two Scottish girls bond."

"Funny, 'cause neither of them are from Scotland," Amy noted wryly.

Buffy was dragged into a long hall full of cells. She guessed that each one contained two Slayers inside, but couldn't see them because the only way to do so was by peering into the small slots in the metal doors. And with the way she was dragged like an animal by men twice as large and strong as her at the moment, she didn't have that choice.

They stopped in front of a door, and one of the soldiers unlocked it before Buffy was hurled inside. The door slammed behind her, but didn't drown out the gasp from her roommate, sitting on the bed. Following the sound, Buffy let out a gasp of her own.

The other Slayer kidnapped from Scotland, now Buffy's roommate, was Reem.




~*~*~*~