Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Chp.1

Awakening

Info? You mean I have to have info.

I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the Prologue, and I hope you enjoy this chp. too.

Thoughts are in ' ' because again italics didn't work.

*****

Jumping down from her perch on top of the bus, Buffy stands in front of the giant crater, her mind taking in the destruction. 'Oh, my god! Spike did this?' the thought runs rampant through her brain, bouncing back and forth.

Dawn approaches her, awe evident in her eyes."What did this?"

"Spike." Is the only answer she gets, as she watches Buffy fall to her knees, and land face first in the dirt at the edge of the big, hole in the ground.

Buffy was getting dizzy, the world was spinning out of control. She'd heard Dawn scream her name, and that was the last thing she heard as her world had gone black.

In a flash of bright light, she opens her eyes. The stark white little room, blinds her and she flinches.

"I know this." She gasps, looking into a corner, remembering that she had sat there last year when she'd been stung and poisoned by that big, wax museum display the Gargle Kash M'nik Demon, thingy or whatever.

As she takes in her new surroundings, she can hear someone screaming bloody murder

'God what are they killing out there.' Her mind races, she doesn't even realize that the terrible sound is coming from inside the same room she is in. And she's the only one in said room.

Suddenly the door of the room flies open, as a doctor and a nurse rush to her side to try and calm her.

The two had been talking at the nurses station, when they'd heard a terrible noise coming from the room of a patient they'd never suspected would come to again.

As they'd gotten closer to her they'd heard her mumbling, under her breath. "Spike, Willow." Rambling off all of her friends and families names, she hopes that maybe if she concentrates enough they'll all come back in focus, and be there instead of the white room and the medical personnel standing beside her.

Being so caught up in the litany, she doesn't notice that one of them would be familiar to her.

She starts the naming over, and realizes Spike wouldn't be there, if she did look up and did find her friends in front of her.

"Spike!"

"Oh, God. Spike!" She pierces the still air; with the shrillest scream she can muster, as she sobs out the phrase.

The nurse looks over at the physician, quizzically. Asking with her eyes 'Who or what a Spike is.'

"A vampire in the delusions she has." He states, shaking his head, and gazing at his most intriguing patient, as she sobs uncontrollably.

The nurse being familiar with the patients status, nods her head in understanding.

She's still sitting on the bed, screaming and chanting that one name. The only name that is in her mind, nothing else registers, but "Spike!" She screams again, more tears streaming down her face, and into her mouth.

"Buffy? Buffy!" The doctor says, then finally relents and screams her name. Trying to get her attention and calm her down a little. Nothing seems to faze the girl. He's going to have to use a sedative so that he can get her to calm down.

"Go get the rest of the team. Bring a sedative." He says. Looking over at the nurse. Buffy is still screaming and mumbling as he looks back over at the blonde. "You better make it a strong one."

"Yes, doctor." She says exiting the room, to do the task.

As the nurse returns, with medical team in tow, and hypodermic in hand, Buffy finally calms, slightly. She had noticed a familiar face, standing in the doorway. She hears his breathed out "Buffy." as she looks at him.

The man takes a step into the room; her breath catches, hoping she's not imagining this moment.

She looks him over, seeing the disheveled, unruly, brown, mop of hair on his head. That didn't fit. Then her gaze falls into his eyes that also gaze at her. Those blue, blue eyes. Eyes that she couldn't forget, the eyes of an enemy, then a friend, then lover, and finally love, the eyes of the man that had given his life/unlife for her.

Looking from the man, then to the glazed look on Buffy's face, "Buffy, do you know this man?" The doctor asks, still glancing back and forth from one patient to the other.

Never taking her eyes off of the man leaning on the doorfacing in front of her, "Spike." she exclaims in answer. Jumping off of the bed, tearing the I.V. out of her arm in the process. She didn't even notice the thing pulling out of her vein, in her haste to get to him.

She pushes people out of her way, not registering anyone's face, and finally she's in his arms, sobbing and mumbling incoherently against his chest.

She hears him say her name, and make a promise to her, as he wraps her in his arms, and smoothes her own disheveled hair against her back.

"William?" A nurse asks coming up behind the couple embracing in the doorway.

She had gone to his room to check on her favorite patient, before heading out for the night and found that he wasn't there. Having looked for him, she'd finally seen the back of his head as she headed down the hall. "I'm s-sorry, usually he doesn't come out of his room. When he's awake th-that is." She stutters out an apology. "I-I'll take him back, if that's okay."

Looking at him again, William growls, against the last line of what the nurse says, surprising her, and making her jump.

"William?" She asks after her initial shock of such a noise coming from the usually quiet young man.

"Not goin' anywhere." He explains, gripping Buffy tighter to his chest.

The doctor walks toward the trio in the door "Leave them." He states, as they move away, to let the team of nurse and himself out of the room.

The nurse looks at him questioningly, not sure what to make of his decision in the matter. She follows him out the door.

Looking down on the woman, who's staring at him dumbfounded, "They seem to know each other, don't ask me how. I seen the recognition in their eyes as I observed them. All I can say is they seem to be comfortable with each other, and we tried everything to calm that girl down. The only thing that helped was that young man." He says in explanation, his brown eyes never leaving the green ones of the nurse. "Who is his physician?" He asks, starting to walk again.

"Dr. Giles." She answers, still wondering why the doctor would leave two delusional, schizophrenic, people alone together, which had just woken from coma's that lasted more than a year. She doesn't voice her concerns. She had seen the recognition in their eyes also, as they stood there embracing.

How that could be she has no clue, but she's seen stranger things since she started working here, why couldn't this happen, too? The only thing is that William had been sent here from a London hospital, when his family moved to Los Angeles six years ago. How could these two people that couldn't possibly know each other, know each other? She asks her self, as she turns away from the doctor to get her stuff and head home.

The doctor places his hand on her shoulder, stopping her descent away from him, "Dr. Giles and I need to consult each other, soon." He says in a matter-of-fact tone. With the seriousness of the matter coming across in his almost black eyes.

"Y-Yes, doctor. I'll see to it that he gets the message." She stutters, finally getting away from him, as they go their separate ways.

*****