Not Beneath Me - Chapter 25 (Eureka)
By Tasha

Previous Chapter Summary: Joyce collapsed and Spike saved her from having the aneurysm kill her. Xander, Spike and Buffy have a bit of a truce, and Xander has offered to take Dawn and Spike to the hospital where the ambulance with Joyce is headed.

Chapter Summary: Wesley, Tara, Willow and Angel are still working at the Magic Box on the injection. What happens when Angel and Giles have a difference of opinion about Giles leaving for the hospital? Will they finally figure out everything they need to do to make the injection work again? What happens when Ben shows up in the waiting room at the hospital? How is Joyce doing?

(Disclaimer and Distribution notes are listed in the Prologue of this story. Thank you ahead of time for reading and accepting or abiding by them.)

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

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Giles ran into the emergency room. The moment he received the call about Joyce he dropped everything to get to the hospital. He hadn't even waited to hear what happened. He'd dropped the phone as soon as he heard the words Joyce, ambulance and hospital.

Giles searched the emergency room for any trace of Buffy, Dawn or Spike. He knew that one or all of them would be there with Joyce. He was surprised to see Dawn, Spike, Xander and Anya sitting in the waiting room facing him. He was amazed that no one in there was trying to kill the other.

'Sometimes it takes a bit of tragedy to get everyone to get along.' Giles hoped that the tragedy wasn't going to be Joyce's death. He wasn't sure if he was prepared to handle the death of another woman he loved, and he doubted that Buffy and Dawn would handle it very well either. 'When is anyone really prepared for the death of someone they love?'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A half hour earlier at the Magic Box ...

"What's wrong?" Wesley stared at the white-faced and frantic ex-Watcher. "Did Glory reappear?" He never saw anything affect Rupert Giles like whatever was told to him on the phone had.

"Joyce ..." Giles stuttered while he tried to find his keys. "I have to get to the hospital."

Willow and Tara both lifted their heads at the same time. "What happened?" They asked in unison.

"I don't know, but they took her to the hospital." Giles snatched his keys off the top of a bookcase. He nearly knocked two cases over in his haste. He did knock several of the books off the table when he brushed by.

"I think one of us should come with you," Wesley stated to Giles who was on his way to the front door. He was worried about Giles' state of mind. It wasn't wise to drive when a person was upset.

"And I think we need every possible mind working on our Hellgod problem," Angel interjected. He pointed at the dangling phone against the counter. "Dawn said there was nothing to do right now but wait."

Giles pivoted on his right foot and turned back around. For a moment Angel thought he got through to Giles. When Giles walked past the research table muttering something about parking out back, Angel stood in front of Giles and shook him by the shoulders. "We need you here more than they need you there, Giles."

Giles' attention snapped back to everyone in the room. His fearful gaze morphed into one of anger as he realized who was stopping him from getting to Joyce. "Do NOT get in my way." Giles pushed against Angel. "I will not be kept from the woman I love because of you again, Angel." He pulled a stake from his leather jacket pocket.

Angel backed away from Giles more from shock and regret than fear. "Giles, I can never make up for what Angelus did but ..."

Giles interrupted Angel, "Don't pretend that you and Angelus are all that different." He advanced on Angel. "I've believed that farce for too long as it is. Spike doesn't have a soul, and he still chooses to do what is right now and not wrong."

"He'd be murdering all of you if his little leash was gone. You can't trust him," Angel argued back. "Once the chip is gone, his demon will reassert itself, and it will be a blood bath."

"Spike's chip has been gone for at least a week." Giles took great pride in the revelation to Angel. "He still loves Buffy, Joyce and Dawn. He's protecting them just as forcefully as he was before. Can you say the same when you lose your soul?"

A dumbfounded Angel sat down and glowered. He still hated that Buffy believed Spike actually cared for her. Although Spike cared for Drusilla for close to 100 years, Angel was unable to fathom how or why Spike would profess to love Buffy. 'Spike kills Slayers. He doesn't love them.'

"If Spike is as duplicitous as you are without your soul, shouldn't he be tearing Sunnydale apart right now?"

"William always was too sentimental for his own good," Angel muttered. "The demon is always there, but it is my soul that keeps the demon's true motives at bay."

"Then I think we all should be glad that Buffy chose Spike over you Angel," Giles sneered. "We don't have to worry about him murdering us in our sleep because his "conscience" went on walkabout."

"I hate to admit it, but he is more of a what you see is what you get vampire. Well, except for his pathetic human side, which you have nothing to fear from." Angel rolled his eyes at the thought of what William was like when he was first turned.

"I suggest you stop trying to warn us about Spike, Angel," Wesley, who had watched the two men go head to head, spoke up. "Things are as they are. Let it rest."

Cordelia stood up. "I'll head to the hospital with you, Giles." She turned to Giles after she retrieved her coat from the back of the chair. "If that is all right with you?"

"Fine." Giles headed through the training room to the back entrance of the Magic Box.

"Call us, Giles!" Willow shouted out before Giles and Cordelia completely disappeared. She looked back at the book in front of her. She noticed Angel brooding out of the corner of her eye. "You brought it on yourself, Angel."

"Let's just figure this out. The sooner we find what we need, the sooner I can get away from this delusional world you're all living in."

Tara covered her mouth to muffle the giggle that wanted to escape past her lips. She smiled at Willow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Cordelia slipped into the waiting room behind Giles. She looked from one person to the next. "So what's the what?" The whole room felt like a thundercloud was hovering over it.

"It would appear that Spike saved Joyce Summers' life." Dr. Kriegel found the young man's name to be a bit unorthodox. Then again Joyce's daughter was named Buffy. "Though his methods were a bit crude, it got the job done."

"Used what we had on hand, doc." Spike sat up straighter. A sense of pride and relief washed over him with the doctor's arrival and praise.

"How is she doing?" Xander asked in a concerned and subdued voice.

Giles' worry for Joyce made his fuse short, and he snapped, "Will someone please tell me what is going on?" He'd lost all patience at being in the dark.

"Joyce almost died from an aneurysm near the surgical site," Dr. Kriegel explained. "Spike found a way to relieve the pressure of the blood building up until the EMT's arrived."

"When may I see her?" The pain in Giles' eyes was palpable.

"You can see her now, Giles." Buffy walked around the doctor to stand by Spike. "She will want to see you when she wakes up."

Giles looked up at the doctor for confirmation that Joyce being unconscious was a good thing.

"We repaired the damage, but we're going to need to be even more diligent about her care. She'll be weaker than before." Dr. Kriegel explained several precautionary measures to be taken when Joyce went home in a couple days.

"Well take care of her, doc. If she bleeds at all, I'll know about it." Spike squeezed Buffy's hand. "We'll be careful."

Dr. Kriegel's pager went off. He looked down at the number. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my rounds." He stood up. "You may visit the room one or two at a time until she wakes up. Don't stay too long once she wakes up, or it will tire her out further."

"Yes, doctor," Buffy spoke with tears in her eyes. "Thank you." She squeezed Spike's hand harder. "What would we have done if you weren't there?" She threw herself into the arms of the man she loved. "I don't know if I could have handled it if she died."

Dawn stood up. Spike opened his arms for her to join Buffy. He rocked them both in a slow motion back and forth. "She's all right now. The world needs all the Summers' women it can get." He ran his hands down the back of each of their heads and whispered soothing words of comfort to both of them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles followed the doctor out of the waiting room. He checked the nurse's station for Joyce's room number. With that knowledge at hand, he quickly located her room and slipped in.

Giles shivered at the sight that greeted him. Joyce was hooked up to more machines and IV tubes than her first foray into the hospital. His knees were weak, and he nearly fell to his knees on the floor next to her bed. He grabbed a nearby chair in time to fall into it instead.

"Oh Joyce." Giles picked up Joyce's hand and kissed the back of it. "You have to stop scaring us like this. "I don't think any of our hearts could mend if you were torn from our lives."

Giles rubbed the back of her hand against his cheek. "Come back to us, my love." He laid his head on the bed near her shoulder with his cheek pressed against the mattress. He never let go of her hand while he softly wept, both for the joy of her still being alive and the worry that he might lose the woman he loved.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wesley picked up the book he'd been reading. He walked over to another bookcase. He removed two books from the collection and opened them on the table. After he scanned several pages, he stood back up to gather some ingredients.

Tara tapped Willow on the shoulder. She pointed to Wesley who moved around the Magic Box in a meticulous fashion to locate what he needed.

"Are you onto something, Wesley?" Willow asked. She craned her neck to read from the two new books he opened.

"I might have the right spell to help us identify which spell or spells were performed on the ingredients or the potion itself."

"That's great news!" Angel slapped his book closed. "I'm all for giving anything a try at this point."

Willow rolled her eyes at Angel. 'And they say Spike is the impatient one,' she thought. "I'm sure Spike and Buffy will be happy if we can put this Hellgod to bed once and for all."

"Indeed." Wesley continued his search for everything he needed to perform the spell. He placed everything on the research table in a circle.

"We should write down what we take," Tara spoke softly. "You know Anya will be furious if we don't."

"I doubt Giles is going to charge us for this one, Tara." Willow smiled warmly at Tara. "But if Anya's inventory is off by the least bit, she does have a conniption." She chuckled, picked up her pen, and wrote everything down.

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"What was Giles so grumpy about?" Anya queried. "He nearly bit all our heads off. I knew he'd be upset about Joyce, but he was acting crazy like."

"Angel tried to stop him from leaving the Magic Box," Cordy answered.

"Peaches is getting dumber in his old age." Spike shook his head back and forth. "You'd think the wanker would know by know not to get in-between a man and the woman he loves." He looked at Buffy. "Okay so he hasn't learned that one yet."

Buffy playfully slapped Spike's shoulder. "He better learn it soon because if he tries to get between us again, he and Mister Pointy are going to have a talk."

"He should know it now." Cordy smirked. "Giles had a few choice words for Angel. He pulled out a stake to emphasize his point quite clearly."

"I would have enjoyed seeing that," Xander chimed in. "What?" He looked at the faces around him. "Don't tell me I have to be all accepting of him too? Even Spike doesn't like him."

Spike laughed and slapped Xander on the back in a manly display of solidarity. "You won't hear me say you have to."

Anya swatted Spike's hand. "Don't you go putting a wrench into my hard work, Spike."

Spike continued to laugh until Buffy swatted his shoulder. "Oy, what's that for?"

"If Xander can make the effort, you can too." Buffy wanted Angel gone as much as Spike did. Until Glory was defeated she needed all the help she could get. "You don't have to kiss and make-up, but don't antagonize Angel either."

Spike rolled his eyes in disgust. "There is no way I'm kissing anything on him every again though."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Again?"

"Vampire, luv," Spike offered in explanation. "Things are a little bit different where sex is concerned." He sighed. "Trust me when I say you don't want to know how sadistic that bastard really was back in the day."

Anya and Buffy both cringed. Buffy hated the thought of what life must have been like being a part of the Scourge of Europe. "Spike ..." Spike told her about what he was truly like as a human. The transformation he went through from that time until the present told the tale of what vampire life was like for him as a fledgling.

Anya knew some of the things a Sire and other clan elders expected of the younger vampires. If Spike's hatred for Angelus was anything to go by, Angelus must have delighted in abusing the younger vampire.

"Leave it, Buffy." Spike hugged Buffy. "None of it ..." His voice trailed off to a steady low growl when another male entered the waiting room.

"The family for Cald ..." Ben blinked in shock to see the Summers daughters and Spike. He tried to back out of the room, but he wasn't fast enough.

Spike blocked off Ben's exit, and Buffy stood in front of Ben. Dawn was quickly moved between Xander and Anya with Cordelia standing guard in front of Dawn. Although Anya and Xander weren't aware of Dawn's key status, they still wanted to protect Buffy's sister.

Spike growled louder. "Why are you still here, mate?"

Buffy glared at Ben. "You are stupid to still be here, Ben." She crossed her arms over her chest, but she was ready to jump at a moments notice.

"Um ... what are you talking about?" Ben tried to act innocent and naïve.

Spike spun Ben around to face him. He slipped into his game face. "Don't try to play us, mate. We know exactly who you are and who else you are."

Ben shrieked in surprise before he could reign in his wits about him. He tried to squirm his way out of Spike's arms, but Spike wouldn't let go.

Spike slipped back into his human face, and Buffy spun Ben around to face her. "You will get out of town. Take your skanky ho, and her little scabby ones with you." Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze darkened. "This is your last warning. We know how to get rid of you both permanently, and we will if you don't disappear."

"But ... how ..." Ben stuttered.

"It doesn't matter how. It only matters that we know how." Buffy pushed Ben into Spike's arms. She wasn't going to tell Ben that they knew of something that worked, but they weren't sure how to make more of it.

Spike turned Ben to face him. "If you value your life at all, you'll vanish."

Glory was still weak from the last confrontation with these people. Ben had a nagging headache from Glory's attempts to assert herself without enough power to come forth. He ran out into the hall when Spike stepped to the side. He vowed to get away from Sunnydale. He just hoped Glory would be kept at bay long enough for him to escape.

Spike and Buffy walked over to Cordy, Anya, Xander, and Dawn.

Dawn launched herself into Buffy's arms. "Do you think he'll go?"

Buffy looked over Dawn's head at Spike. "He'll try, but we can't expect Glory to just let him. We have to be ready." She caressed her hand down the back of Dawn's head in soothing motions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Eureka!" Wesley shouted out with euphoric glee. He waved his hand in front of the bowl to keep the smoke from his face. He watched the spell take effect.

"That smells nasty," Angel choked. He would have turned green if it was possible. He was eternally grateful that he didn't have to breathe.

Willow and Tara watched the smoke hover over several ingredients on the table. Before mixing what was needed to locate the magical influences, they'd placed all the necessary ingredients for the injection onto the table. They also mixed up a small amount of the ingredients for a completed injection in case the spell needed to be on the finished product. The empty glass vial was in the middle of the table.

Different colors hovered over different items on the table. A glowing silver nimbus hovered over the final injection as well. The empty vial twinkled between various colors of the rainbow with a metallic sparkle added in.

Everyone gaped in amazement at the complexity of what was needed. Willow spoke first, "We never would have figured that out individually." All around the table books magically opened to the correct pages needed for each spell.

Tara nodded her head in agreement. "There are at least 5 different spells working on the ingredients alone."

Wesley picked up the vial of liquid injection. He turned it from side to side. "I haven't heard of this spell being used in a couple centuries." He watched the silver halo around the vial sparkle.

"How could one person know all of this when put together would do what it did?" Tara looked at Willow in confusion. "Wasn't Drusilla insane?"

Angel answered instead of Willow, "She was insane, but she wasn't stupid. She was a bit of a seer before I turned her, and it only got stronger when she became a vampire." He rubbed his face with his hands. "She was even more dangerous when she had her bouts of sanity."

"I know she was your Childe, Angel, but I am glad that we don't have to deal with her anymore." Willow motioned to everything on the table. "If she was getting smart enough and strong enough to come up with all of this, she could have destroyed us all."

Angel nodded somberly. He sighed. "Let's get what we need for these spells." He picked up a couple pads of paper. "Write down lists of what you need that we don't have in the Magic Box or at Giles' place."

"Maybe we can have some good news for the group when they return from the hospital," Wesley offered as encouragement. "I'm sure they could use some good news right now."

Everyone in the Magic Box nodded in agreement and got to work on their lists.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)