Note: Thanks to my beta t_geyer for her unending patience, perseverance and support.


SECTION 6 - GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun

Hey now, hey now
What's a matta with ya?
Girls just wanna have fun now
Come on

(Cyndi Lauper, Album - 12 deadly Cyns... and then some)




Chapter 6.15
Wednesday, May 15th, 2002

Spike picked up the heavy boots from the corner of the car. He turned to make his goodbyes to the LA crowd.

"I don't reckon as I've really got time to say thanks properly, what with me needin' to get this stuff back to Dawn and grandpa here-."

"Would you stop calling me that?"

"Okay. Angel-ass here needs to get back home before the sun's up, but I wouldn't want you to think we're not grateful. So, next time we're down, dinner? You pick the restaurant. I'll foot the bill. Prob'ly about a week an' a half, but I'll give you a bell nearer the time." He transferred his gaze to Gunn who still held the trash bag with all the samples.

"You'll see that gets burned or something?"

"Straight in the boiler when we get back," the young man confirmed.

"Right, then. Next time we're in LA."

With a wink to Connor and a, "see ya, kid," he left.

 

As soon as he could, he pulled off the train tracks and made his way onto the highway, though he considered turning back when he saw the road he was driving along now had the appellation of The Ronald Reagan Freeway. "What's next? I hope to hell no one in England's re-naming the M1 as The Maggie Thatcher Motorway."

Once he hit a clear stretch of straightish road he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Buffy? I'm on my way back. I've got what we need. She's going to be okay."

"And Sam?"

"Out cold, last I saw. Riley and his mates have got her." Spike's teeth nibbled gently at his lower lip before he continued. "They're takin' Red home, too. She collapsed."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Well, it looked pretty much like what happened that time she teleported Glory, but she's been out for longer. I think she should throw it off in time.

Buffy, there's something else. about Dawn. We found a Dictaphone. Sam was using it to make notes. Love, according to what she said it sounds like. Pet, let's just say her examination was thorough enough to know that Bit's a virgin-."

"She what? I am going to kill the bitch."

"That was pretty much my reaction as well, which is how come Red knocked herself out tryin' to stop me. The point I'm trying to make, though, is that it might be no bad idea, if they have some sort of rape counsellor there, for her to be around when she pulls out of it."

"Spike, I'm going to have to go. We're pulling up at the hospital."

"Okay, love. I'll be there with the antidote as soon as I can. oh, an' it's that Glargkh Guhl Kashma'nik venom, so you pretty much know what to expect until I get there."

"Okay... love." Buffy hesitated over the endearment but brought herself to say it after a couple of seconds. "We'll be waiting."

"On my way."

Spike selected the number for the second call, which he was dreading almost as much.

"Spike?" Tara immediately sounded puzzled that it was the vampire calling and not Willow.

"Yeah, pet. 'S me."

"What's happened? Buffy said you and Willow were heading on, but that she and Wes were bringing Dawn back."

"Which they are. They'd just made it to the hospital when I spoke to her. Look, Pixie, best I just spit this out. Willow fainted. Cardboard's takin' her back to the house. I told him I'd let you know so that you'd be there to look after her when she got there."

"I knew it-."

"Now, before you blame her, if she hadn't done what she did, then I would've probably done something really stupid. She did you proud, pet. If I hadn't lost my temper she'd have been just fine. In fact, if I'm still at the hospital next time you see her awake, tell her I said thank you."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Well, it looked to me like that last time at the hospital when you two did your hoodoo on Glory, only she'd been out for a good ten minutes when I headed out. I would have hung around and kept an eye on her but I figured it was best to get this antidote to the Niblet quick as I could."

"Spike, it's okay. You don't have to explain."

"Just didn't want you thinkin' that it was 'cause I wasn't bothered. Look, pet, can you ring Clem's lot and let them know panic's over, for now."

"Sure, Spike. I'll pass the word."

"Thanks, love. See you later."

"Bye."

 

---

 

Buffy scooped up her sister in her arms. She had wrapped her own coat around her to provide her with more cover than the skimpy, pvc dress. Wesley stepped out from the shadows by the entrance, having arrived and parked up his bike a couple of minutes earlier. He picked up Buffy's helmet and backpack, leaving the somewhat unsure soldier with nothing to do.

As it was quite some hours since all the bars and clubs had ejected their patrons and not late enough for many people to be up for the day, the ER was blessedly empty when they arrived.

Even as she approached the desk, a male nurse came forward and took Dawn from her arms, while the receptionist took her details, before passing her over to the triage nurse to give as much detail as she could about what had happened to her sister. Buffy explained as much as she felt able, wondering how this was going to look to social services, but knowing that Dawn needed the medical attention for her other injuries if not because of the venom in her system.

"Her boyfriend called earlier to say that someone had spiked both their drinks. By the time his dad got there Brandon was hurt and was brought here and my sister was gone. We've been looking for her ever since. When we found her she was like this. She came out of it once, but reverted back almost straight away.

My fiancé and some friends managed to track down the people who'd taken her. She's been poisoned with a rare, animal venom which causes hallucinations. He's on his way here now with the antidote, but we're more worried about her other injuries. It seems. The person who took her may have abused her, but she hasn't been herself long enough to tell us anything."

"It's okay, miss. We've been expecting you. Your friend in the army managed to arrange for their specialist to be-."

"No!" Buffy's response startled the nurse with its vehemence. "I don't want her treated by army physicians. I want her treated by normal doctors." Frustration welled up in Buffy as she knew blurting out that the army was responsible for her sister's injuries would ultimately bring them more trouble. "Please, I just want her to be examined by a normal doctor. Someone who can treat her for the wound on her thigh and the damage she's done to her feet. Once Will gets here with the antidote it'll take care of the rest unless there's any further damage we don't know about."

The nurse's sympathetic attitude seemed to harden slightly. "Miss Summers, I have to say that in my opinion it would be remiss of you to not take advantage of the specialist. It's almost certain he would have more experience with these types of cases."

Buffy bit back the temptation to point out that he probably had more experience causing them.

"Okay, how about this? He can watch while she's examined by a proper doctor and if he has anything to say he can tell us, but I'm not having anyone from the army administering drugs to her or laying a finger on her and wherever possible I want to be with her in the treatment room. Are we clear?"

"Perfectly." The nurse bustled off toward the line of treatment cubicles, presumably to tell the army doctor his services were to be barely tolerated. Buffy followed after her but Wesley hesitated.

"Perhaps I should go and let Mr Michaels and Brandon know that we found her?"

"Sure. If they'll let you." Buffy looked over at the nurse.

"I think under the circumstances, he might be allowed a brief visit."

Wesley headed for the lift. "I'll be back shortly."

 

---

 

"Mr Michaels," Wes knocked softly at the door, before pushing it open. The police guard was gone, so it seemed like either Brandon had come round for long enough to tell them what they wanted to know or they had realised that they weren't going to be taking a death-bed deposition.

Brandon's father looked up from his seat by the far bed. "Yes?" he responded equally quietly to Wes's whispered greeting, as though afraid to wake the youth in the bed.

"It's Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. We met earlier. I just wanted to let you both know that we found Dawn."

"How is she?" the older man asked.

"We're confident in time she'll make a full physical recovery. She's been poisoned but Spike and some other acquaintances managed to find out what had been used and he's on the way here with the antidote.

It's really not her physical injuries that are our major concern."

"So what is your major concern."

"Well, when Buffy was explaining to the admitting nurse about Dawn's condition she mentioned there was a possibility of 'abuse', a word which has certain connotations in these times, which if it's true could obviously have long-lasting psychological effects. As I came back on the bike, I don't actually know exactly what Spike may have been able to tell her.

Added to this, you don't have to be a genius to know that Buffy is understandably concerned that this may affect her case for guardianship." Even in the dimly lit room Wesley's gaze met the other man's squarely.

"I think, bearing in mind that the prime culprit is now in military custody and unlikely to face a civil trial, it would be better if your army friends began their cover up before word of this gets to social services. Buffy, Dawn and Spike deserve the chance to be a family."

The man on the other side of the room nodded. "I think that can be arranged. Why don't you stay with Brandon in case he wakes up, while I go find somewhere I can use my phone?"

 

---

Thursday, May 16th, 2002

Spike didn't even wait to check with the nurse when he made his way through the hospital doors. He simply let himself be guided by the scent of Dawn's blood. It didn't even register that the receptionist had scuttled out from behind her desk to try to stop the intruder. He paused as he reached the curtain that separated him from his girls unsure whether Dawn might not be suitably dressed for him to visit.

"Buffy?" he asked. "Is it okay to come in?"

The curtain was flung aside, and if not for the orbs Spike had a funny feeling he would have been bowled over by Buffy's fierce welcoming hug. He was in for another surprise as he caught a glimpse of Dawn dressed in a hospital gown sitting up in the hospital bed behind her, a huge grin plastered across her face at her sister's enthusiasm.

"She's..."

"Jeez, Spike. Don't you start talking about me as if I'm not here. I got enough of that from the doctors. I'm in and out, so make the most of it and get me that antidote before I go back to being a ball of light again."

"Antidote, right." Spike looked round, searching for a member of staff, suddenly noticing the receptionist who had been about to head back to her desk when she saw the welcome Spike received. "Excuse me, miss. You wouldn't know where we could find a syringe or someone who can administer an injection?"

The receptionist sniffed. "I believe Miss Summers told the doctor his services could be best employed fetching her and her sister a soda from the vending machine."

Spike raised a questioning brow as he moved round to give Dawn her own hug and Buffy flushed beneath his gaze. "Riley sent some army specialist, who just happened to be so close to hand that he got here before I did."

"You think the boys are back in town?"

"Up until tonight I haven't seen anyone I recognised but then, they wouldn't want me to. I think once everything's settled I'm going to want a nice long chat with Mr Michaels."

Dawn's grin vanished. "Not any longer than the one I'm going to want with Brandon."

"Now, look, pet. Give him a chance to explain. A guy doesn't-." Spike's pleas on Brandon's behalf were cut short by the arrival of the soda delivery guy.

Buffy pulled the can from his hand with a look of distaste. "Didn't we tell you to get diet?"

"Pet. Be nice to the man who's going to make your little sister better."

Buffy pulled herself in close against her fiancé once more. "You're the one who got the stuff. All he's going to do is stick a needle in her. and why does she get a needle when I had to drink a liquid compost heap?"

"Just lucky, I guess," Spike replied.

"Now, you want me to administer an injection?" the doctor asked.

"Well if you want I could do it, but I don't know what the insurance company might make of that," Spike suggested.

"Can we quit squabbling and somebody just give me the jab so I can get out of here and put on some clothes that cover my butt?" Dawn interrupted.

Spike pulled a bottle of antivenin from his pocket and tossed it to the doctor, who peered rather too intently at the label for comfort.

"You got some sort of problem, there, doc?"

The doctor turned to look at Spike. "This substance is from an army dispensary."

"And so is what made her sick in the first place. Just give her the damn shot."

The doctor looked distinctly uncomfortable with the situation but moved to follow Spike's instructions. "How much?"

"All of it."

The doctor moved to find a syringe in the trays of the trolley by Dawn's bedside but it seemed that their time had run out. Even as he filled the syringe Dawn's eyes seemed to lose focus once more.