Creative Works   

Once Again (Page 6)
By Amy Mina
amymina(at)yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Characters such as Buffy, Angel, Xander and others belong to Joss Whedon and the WB. The few characters that I have made up such as Marissa and Jeff belong to me.
Note to Readers: This takes place before Becoming, there will probably be less blubbering reading this than watching that. *sob* Anyway, if you are looking for the next part to this story at any time and don't feel like emailing me (amymina(at)yahoo.com), check Chrystal's site first. She always gets it earlier than the other sites. The parts will probably be coming slower considering I am graduating from high school and then starting college in the summer. If it takes awhile for the next part to show up, don't panic, I am working on it! Thanks for all of the kind comments and interest!

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Part 6

Dr. Clerk walked into room 320 and looked at the chart to make sure he was in the right room. One the chart it said: Room 320, Buffy Summers, coma. Surprised that there were people there, he cleared his throat to make his appearance known.

"Excuse me," he said to them. He watched them and noticed the young girl standing next to the patient's bed. Suddenly feeling the weight of his job laid on his shoulders, he observed the scene in the room closer. Next to Buffy's bed was a young man, holding onto the girl's hand as well as Buffy's. Standing a few feet from the bed were a couple, not old, probably in their forties. When they turned around to the sound of his voice, he could see that one of them was the patient's mother by the similarity in looks. The elder man placed a protective arm around the patient's mother and took in a deep breath.

"My I help you?" he asked.

"Umm, well, yes you can," replied the doctor. "Are one of you a close relative to Miss Summers?"

"I am her mother," replied the lady that the doctor already guessed to be the mother. "How may I help you?" By her tone, he could tell that she really didn't want him there.

"May I speak to you privately?" he questioned.

"I'm sorry, Dr . . ." she paused while looking at his nametag. "Dr. Clerk. This is my husband, Mr. Giles, Buffy's daughter, and our dear friend, Angel. What ever you have to say about Buffy, you can say in front of all of us."

The doctor began to speak otherwise, when Mr. Giles turned towards the daughter and motioned her to come to him. Dr. Clerk watched the girl reluctantly let go of Angel's hand and slowly walk over. Mr. Giles bent down to her height and whispered something to her. She looked crushed and then slowly nodded. He gave he a quick kiss on the forehead and she walked back over to Angel, who was still clasping Buffy's hand.

"Come on, Mr. Angel," she said, taking his hand in her own. "Let's go for a walk." Angel slowly let go of Buffy's hand, and followed the young girl outside. As he walked by, Dr. Clerk noticed that he was blind. Quickly recovering from the bit of surprise he felt, he turned back to the couple at hand.

"Mr. and Mrs. Giles," he began. "We need to discuss Buffy's condition."

"What about it?" asked Mrs. Giles, still on the defensive.

"She is not getting any better," he said, slowly and in his most comforting voice. "We have tried many things, and there is nothing left we can do."

"Nothing at all?" asked Mrs. Giles, her eyes tearing up.

"No, nothing I'm afraid. We have consulted other institutions around the country, even a few in England and in other parts of Europe. We have tried what they suggested to help your daughter, but she has not responded to the treatments."

"What are you saying?" asked Giles.

"She will never get better," replied the doctor. "She will continue to say in a comatose state until her body fails her." Joyce let the tears roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

The doctor turned and quietly room. Back in the room, Joyce turned to Giles and cried her eyes out. "My little baby, my poor baby," she muttered over and over. Giles held her close and softly stroked her hair. When she finally began to calm down, she backed up and looked at him. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

Giles gave her a small smile, and ran his thumb across her cheek to wipe away some of her tears. "Pray," She returned his small smile, and he gently laid one of his hands on her abdomen. "And get ready to tell the upcoming little ones about their awesome sister Buffy." Joyce leaned forward and kissed her husband. When they broke off the kiss, she went over to Buffy's bed and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Arm in arm, Giles and Joyce left the room and headed to the car.

. . .

"And there is another red car in the parking lot next to the white one. It is really funny looking, I think those are dots on it." Angel laughed at Marissa's comment. When they had left Buffy's room, Marissa led them over to a tree and Angel sat down. Leaning against the tree, she sat in his lap and began to describe the scenery to him.

"What do you think the dots are?" asked Angel, wanting to get more out of her. She reminding him more of Buffy with every moment that they spent together.

"I think they are really big bugs," she said. "They look like they went SPLAT on the car when they were driving. Probably in a race or something like that." Angel laughed again, and even Marissa giggled along with him. He reached around, and began to tickle her sides. She squirmed and started to laugh hard in-between her screeches. "Help me," she tried to say, but was laughing too hard. Angel laughed along with her, but when he felt she had had enough tickling, he stopped, and listened to her try to catch her breath. "That was mean," she said, in-between gasps.

"I didn't think so," replied Angel, smiling. Before he could do anything, she pounced on him like a cat on a mouse and began trying to find his ticklish spot. She found it quickly, and they began to wrestle. After a few minutes, Angel through up his hands in a mock surrender. "I give up," he said.

"Yeah," she cried out. "I win!" He could imagine her jumping up and down in victory.

"What did you win?" came Giles' voice.

"I beat Angel," she said. "He surrendered."

"I think we missed something," replied Joyce, quietly chuckling. "Come on, you two, lets go to the library."

"The library?" asked Marissa. Angel quietly stood up. "Why are we going to a library?"

"It is where your mother spent most of her time as a student, and we were going to go visit the new librarian, Dan," replied Giles. "Is that okay with you, Angel?"

"Sure," he said, slowly walking over. Marissa ran up to him, and took his hand not holding the cane in hers. Joyce watched the way Marissa protected him and was surprised after only a day of knowing Angel that she was so attached. Maybe it is the fact that he is her father? she thought, surprised of the instant connection between the two. A few days ago, Angel was positive that there was no way a child could love him, and he was a totally different person. Always moping. Now after one day of Marissa being around, he was already happier. He has found his purpose in living, Joyce concluded. Smiling at everyone, they walked over to the car to make the short treck to the library.

. . .

"Dan!" called out Angel and they entered the library. Marissa looked around at the library and her eyes lit up with the thought of exploring. Letting go of Angel's hand, she turned around in circles to see everything clearer. Walking a few steps ahead of the adults, she laid her hand on the table.

Giles watched his granddaughter's reaction at the library, and his face lit up in a smile. She shared Angel's delight for books, he could see that already. When she turned to walk back toward them, he shook his head. "Go ahead and look around, Marissa," he said. She grinned and ran off into the stacks. Angel slowly used his cane to walk over to the table and sat down. Dan smiled at the noticeable change in Angel, but decided to deal with it later.

"Giles!" he exclaimed. Engulfing him in a hug, the older man smiled.

"Dan, long time no see. How are you doing?" He backed up and grinned.

"Pretty good. Snyder is a pain to work for. But I am enjoying my job. Angel has been great company everyday."

Angel sent the two men a sarcastic grin. "I'm sure. I'm the most depressing company possible. Dan just tolerates me."

"How is Lita?" asked Giles, changing the topic.

Dan groaned. "I don't think there has ever been a slayer this difficult in the history of the world."

Giles' grin grew. "You should have seen Buffy. She was worse, I guarantee it."

"I don't know if that is possible."

"Neither do I," said Angel. Giles and Dan laughed, the mood being kept very light. Marissa came running out from the stacks and jumped in Angel's lap.

"Angel, come with me, I have to show you something, and you don't have to see it!" Grabbing Angel's hand she pulled him up from the chair, and slowly led him over the stairs so that he wouldn't trip. Dan watched Giles' and Joyce's delight at the sight of Angel being pulled behind this young girl.

"Who is she?" asked Dan, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Buffy's daughter," answered Giles, looking at the stacks in pride. "And she reminds me so much of Buffy."

"And Angel's daughter, I am assuming."

"Of course," answered Joyce. "Marissa is quite taken with him, you can just see it in her face every time she sees him. But she doesn't know that he is her father yet."

Dan looked at them. "She doesn't know? And she gets along with him that well?"

"She is a very good judge of character. She trusts him, and I think she may already look at him as a type of father figure." Dan smiled and looked at the stacks. "Do us a favor, Dan. Don't tell her yet. It is up to Angel when she knows."

"Understood," answered Dan. "They make such a cute little family. Maybe someday Buffy will return and they can be happy together."

Giles felt tears well up in his eyes, and knew that Joyce was getting just upset. "Unless a miracle happens, there will be no family reunion," said Giles. Dan looked at him questionably, and Giles roughly wiped at his eyes with the sleeves of his tweed jacket. "We just talked to Buffy's doctor. There is nothing left they can do for her."

Dan knew his face showed his shock. The world without the hope of Buffy coming back would be a change. He bowed his head in prayer and regret that he never got to know the slayer himself. "Do Angel and Marissa know?" he asked.

"Not yet," answered Giles. "I'm not sure how to tell them, they both want to see her so bad."

"Did you every thing about a miracle?" asked Dan.

"I'm not a praying man, but in this case, I think a miracle is the only thing we can do for her."

. . .

"You think you can take me slayer?" asked Angelus, full of confidence. "It has been over five years and you are still stuck here."

"I can easily defeat you, you want to know why?" she asked. They began to circle each other in the alley. "Because I have a reason to go back."

"What reasons slayer? That washed up vampire? Your daughter that only knows you as a still figure on a bed? That friend of yours whose boyfriend died because of you? The list goes on, but so far, I don't see anyone."

"Of course you don't, Angelus. Cause you are a demon. Demons don't care what happens to others. They don't have feelings of compassion. Just as you have tried to destroy me from the inside out, I am going to do the same to you. Let's talk about failures, shall we." They continued to circle each other, and Buffy slid a stake from her wrist. "Let's talk about the Judge first."

"That wasn't me, that was Drusilla and Spike."

"Okay, lets talk about Dru. The vampire you wanted but never got." At the fake look of nonchalance, Buffy smirked. "What? You think I didn't notice. I saw how you coveted her, lusted after her, but even after everything, you never got her."

"I did too."

"Is she here with you now?" asked Buffy. "No, she is still with Spike. And how about Yanna, Angelus. Yeah, you killed her, but she still destroyed you and your rule over the minions. You can never win Angelus, cause sooner or later, someone defeated you." Angelus' face showed one of shock, before he became enraged. Charging at her, he ran right into the stake. Buffy's grin was one of triumph, and he looked up at her face in obvious pain. "Now, it has been almost six years," said Buffy. "I have a daughter to meet." Angelus looked down and turned to dust. As he did, Buffy could feel herself being sucked out of the vortex she had been stuck in for so long. Within a few seconds, she could feel herself fully inhabiting her body.

Slowly flexing her wrist, she stopped due to the IV. The first thing she noticed was the hunger pangs in her stomach. Taking up her wrist without the IV, she laid her hand on top of her stomach. She slowly moved the hand up to her neck and her face. When she ran her hands over her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief. Then a soft laugh filled with delight. Slowly opening her eyes, it felt like a pointed flaming stake was poked through her eyes. Wincing in pain and shutting her eyes, her laugh turned to a groan. I have to get out of here, but where is here? she thought to herself. Well, the first step is to open my eyes and get out of this bed. Pulling the IV from her arm, she slowly moved her legs over to the side of the bed. Placing them on the ground, she gently tested them and noticed that they were too numb to walk on. Bouncing them on the floor to regain feeling, she began to flex her arms and stretch. Being a slayer sure comes in handy at times like this, she thought. I don't feel so cramped. Feeling that her legs had enough feeling back in them, she began to stand. Grabbing on to the nearest object, she steadied herself. My muscles are going to need some major work.

Holding onto the wall, she inched her way to the bathroom, feeling her head began to swim because of being up and moving again. When she walked into the bathroom, she began to feel the contours on her face again, this time while staring into the mirror. Smiling at its appearance, she went to the bathroom, and then began to look for clothes.

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