Chapter 24- The Lucky Ones
Dawn awoke to the steady beep of machinery. She wiped away the hair that was stuck to her face from her ungraceful sleeping position. She rubbed at her eyes and focused on the bed beside her. Dawn smiled softly. She reached over and brushed a piece of hair from her sister's closed eyes. She didn't seem to notice.
Dawn pulled herself off of the stiff backed, white plastic chair she'd been curled up in. On the front of Buffy's bed was a little clipboard. She unhooked it off the edge of the bed and looked at it. Her blood level was good- Her body had accepted the blood that had been transferred. Heart rate normal. No irregular breathing patterns. So it was all good. The paper said that the last check up on Buffy had been at 6 AM. She glanced over at the clock. It was 8:30 AM.
She remembered something. She meandered towards the door and looked back at her peacefully sleeping sister one more time before leaving the room. The bright whiteness of the hallways made her wince. The smell of bleach was everywhere. Another thing the Summers' sisters had in common was their extreme dislike of hospitals.
The halls were relatively empty as she shuffled slowly to room 543. Dawn wondered if she was awake yet. What if she'd woke up and no one was there? No, no. There's doctors here. It's a hospital. Like, doctor central. If she woke up, there'd be people... She continued to comfort herself with her thoughts until she reached Cordelia's door. A doctor reached just as her hand was poised at the door.
"Whoa, there. Ma'am, visiting hours don't start for another hour and a half." He told her. Dawn noted that his coat matched the wall. And just about everything else in this place
"Oh, uhm...I-I'm sorry..." She muttered, staring at the floor. She could feel her eyes tear up. She wanted nothing more than to go in that room, see the one person who had actually accepted her presence on this trip and know that everything would be okay. And this man was preventing it.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice was much softer and was filled with concern.
"Yeah....it's just...my friend..." She choked on a sob that had managed to escape from her throat. The man laid a strong hand on her shoulder. "Please, just-just help h-her."
"It's my new top priority." He smiled comfortingly. She muttered a thank you and walked numbly to the lobby where she flipped open her cell and dialed the first number that came to her mind.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Will. It's me..."
"Dawn! How are you? How's Buffy? And Cordy?" Willow asked. Judging by the semi-frantic tone of her voice, it seemed to Dawn that she didn't get much sleep.
"Buffy's good. I'm not so sure about Cordy. I can't see her until ten." Dawn replied.
"Do you want me to come by? I was kinda planning on coming soon anyway." Willow asked.
"Yeah. Please." She added.
"Hospitals still give you the creeps, huh?" Willow asked sympathetically.
Dawn nodded enthusiastically, even though she knew Willow couldn't see her. "Very, still."
Willow smiled softly. "I'll be there in a few minutes." The hospital was only about a three minute drive from their hotel. "Do you want me to bring the guys?"
Dawn smiled at the thought of seeing Connor. She wondered if he was worried about her last night. "Yeah, but, um, would you mind if we talked alone for a little? Like, when you get here?" She needed to get something off her chest.
"No problem, see you in a few."
"Bye, Will." Dawn flipped her phone shut and shifted in the uncomfortable lobby chair. She crossed her right leg over her left. She crossed her left leg over her right. Where is she? She thought impatietly. After what seemed like forever, but was really only a few minutes, Willow appeared in the doorway. She had her auburn hair swept up in a messy half ponytail with a sea foam green clip that matched her skirt. Dawn was willing to bet that she looked better than she actually felt. Clasped to Willow's hand was Oz, followed by Xander, Angel and Connor.
Xander had spent most of the night at the hospital, with Cordelia. Around two AM a doctor came in and asked if he was family, to which he answered no. Apparently, the doctor that gave him permission to stay, wasn't aware that Cordelia and Xander weren't family, and the doctor ordered Xander to leave. He spent the rest of the night lying awake in his bed.
Dawn strutted over to Willow and the girls hugged each other lightly. Willow gave her a smile and a look that said they'd have time to talk later. Dawn advanced on to Connor, who enveloped her in another hug.
"Are you okay?" He mumbled into her neck. He pulled back and examined her face and arms, which had a few scratches and scrapes on them. She nodded.
Well, you said visiting hours don't start 'til ten, so how about we go for some breakfast white we wait." Willow suggested. Everyone agreed.
"Dontcha mean brunch, Will?" Xander asked, grinning. Willow smacked him on the shoulder.
"Same thing..."
They found a little cafe three buildings down from the hospital and went in. It was a cozy place, with walls of soft brown colors, all swirled together. It smelled like various coffee blends and other sweet things. They sat down at a large booth in one corner of the room and waitress came and took their orders. After she disappeared Dawn nudged Willow's foot under the table.
"Um, I have to go to the bathroom." Dawn said as she scooted off the egde of the cushioned seat. "And Willow needs to come with me." Everyone turned to look at Willow.
"Oh! Yeah, I do. Thanks for...reminding me." Willow said before she too slid out of her seat and the two hurried toward the bathrooms.
"Well, that was weird." Connor observed.
"Just another mystery that is women." Dander sighed.
"Wow, that was subtle." Willow joked when she and Dawn were in empty bathroom. Dawn smiled slightly, then her face fell. "What'd you want talk about?"
"I just...I want say sorry." She said, looking at the floor.
"Sorry? Dwaine, what could you possibly be sorry for?" Willow asked, deeply concerned for her best friend's little sister.
"Everything." She sniffled. "I know you didn't want me to come on this trip in the first place, and if I hadn't Cordelier wouldn't have had to jump--" Willow interupted Dawn's sorrowful babbling with a comforting hug.
"Dawnie, it's not your fault." Willow said, fighting back tears. "If it's anyones, it's mine."
"But how could it be your fault?" Dawn asked, looking at the reedhead curiously.
"If I hadn't of insisted that Cordy come on this trip..." She stopped and wiped her eyes. "I just wanted to spend some time with you guys before..."
"What? Before what?"
Willow just shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
"Will, it's not your fault, either." Dawn said, hugging Willow. "It's that jerk, Josh's fault." Willow nodded and wiped at her face and eyes again before walking over to the sink and checking her reflection in the mirror. She opened her purse and re-did her makeup, as did Dawn.
"There. Good as new." Dawn observed as she looked at their reflections in the mirror. "The guys won't suspect a thing." They shared a smile before leaving the bathroom. When they returned, their food and coffee was waiting. They talked about things and shared random high school stories to pass the time. Everything felt good, aside from Xander being a little distant, which, of course, had to do with his girlfriend's current situation. After they finished eating, Angel paid the bill, and the teens made their way back to the hospital.
They immediately made their way to the front desk where they talked to a woman in white. "Hi, can you give us the room numbers for Cordelia Chase and Buffy Summers? We're visiting." Willow explained.
"Sure. Miss Chase is in room 543 and Miss Summers is in room 112." The woman said kindly.
"Thanks." Angel said as they walked past the desk.
"Oh!" The woman called out, trying to get their attention. They turned to face her expectantly. "You might want to visit Miss Chase first." To everyone's confused expressions she added: "Miss Summers has a visitor already. Came by about five minutes before you."
"Ok...Thanks." Willow said before turning and pushing open the double doors to the patient's corridor. The smell of bleach and disinfectant hit them like a wave. They did their best to ignore it as they walked down the hall, searching for Cordelia's room.
"It's this way." Dawn said, remembering her encounter with the doctor that morning outside Cordelia's room. Once they got to her room, everyone decided that Xander should be the first to go in. But Xander, knowing how much the two girls had bonded lately, and how much Cordelia's injury upset her, let Dawn go in before her.
"Thanks, Xander." She said before hugging him quickly around the neck. After Dawn disappeared behind the door, the other teens grew silent.
The sound of Xander's voice surprised everyone. "If she doesn't make it, I don't know what I'll do." His voice was cold and steady. Willow reached over and laid a gentle hand over his.
"Don't worry. You know Cordy, she won't go out without a bang."
At this Connor spoke up. "Well, technically--" Willow cut him off with a sharp glare. "I'll be quiet."
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
When Dawn saw Cordelia laying there, so helplessly, her breath caught in her throat. She slowly moved forward, breathing deeply and wringing her hands nervously. She sat down in a familiar looking white, plastic chair. They really needed to get some cushioned seats.
There were tubes. Lots of tubes and wires, all connected to machines, and of course Cordelia. There was one in her nose, keeping her breathing, one on her wrist, probably monitoring her pulse. All the other ones just seemed to get in the way. Dawn wasn't sure if she was sleeping, or in a coma.
"Cordelia?" She tried. Nothing. She felt stupid for even trying to communicate with her. It was obvious that she couldn't hear her. "I, uh, don't think you can hear me, but if you can...I'm sorry. I know, I know. I'm not supposed to be. It's not my fault that you're here. But I can't help feeling that it is." Dawn paused. It looked like Cordelia's eyelids fluttered, just slightly. It's probably just my imagination... She told herself, not wanted to get her hopes up, only to be let down when she didn't immediately wake.
"I just..." She choked on a small sob that tried to escape her throat. "I wanna let you know, that I....Thank you. For everything. Not just for saving my life, but for giving me a vacation that I'll never forget. You...were the only one who actually accepted my being here. A-and you didn't act all annoyed and stuff when we'd hang out. Just...Thank you." Dawn repeated, letting the tears fall, not even bothering to wipe them off her reddening face. When Dawn had finally composed herself, she stood up and headed toward the door. A voice from behind her made her heart stand still. It was so soft, she'd almost missed it.
"You're welcome."
Dawn spun around, more tears were welling up in her eyes. Cordelia had her eyes half open, and she was smiling gently. She attempted to sit up, without success. She looked herself over and a horrified _expression came across her features.
"Oh. My. God. What the hell am I wearing?!" Cordelia said of the hospital gown that she had on. Dawn half laughed, half sobbed. She was really okay. Only Cordelia could wake up in the hospital and only care about what she was wearing. Dawn ran to her beside and wrapped her arms around her neck, then loosened her grip when she remembered how fragile Cordelia was right now. Cordelia stroked the younger girl's hair gently and soothingly.
"I thought you were really gone." Dawn told her, her eyes again shining with tears.
"Nah. I wouldn't leave you. Besides, Xander needs me. I mean, I still have to re-do his whole wardrobe. He'd be a mess without me." Cordelia grinned.
"He already is. He was worried about you- It was so obvious."
As if on cue, Xander's voice floated into the room as he opened the door. "Someone's overstayed their wel--" Xander stopped dead in the middle of his sentence when he saw his girlfriend awake. Alive. He forced his legs to move, and he surged forward to her bedside. Dawn backed away and slipped out of the room to give the couple some alone time, all the while, grinning.
At Dawn's smiling face, the other's grew excited.
"Is she?" Willow asked, hopefully. Dawn nodded enthusiastically. "Right when I was about to go, she woke up." Everyone broke into smiles, and hugs of joy and relief were shared by all.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
"I was so scared..." Xander mumbled into Cordelia's hair.
"You're admitting your moment of weakness? Who are you and what did you do with my boyfriend?" Cordelia joked. Xander backed away to look her in the eyes and saw that he was serious. He took her pale, slender hand in his and held is tightly. "It was scary to think about. Even the idea of losing you was like...Whoa. You're the only girl who hasn't stood me up after the first date, or passed me off as 'just another goofball' before you got to know me." Tears were threatening both of them.
"You are a goofball, Xand. " She said softly. "That's why I love you. Plus a bunch of other stuff, like how sweet you are, and how you can always make me smile...And your body..."
Xander grinned slyly and flexed his muscles. "You like?" He asked in a deep voice. Cordelia giggled. He leaned over and kissed her lightly, so not to hurt her. "I love you."
"I love you too."
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
For the next half our or so, the other teens circulated in and out of room 543. They told Cordelia what had happened after she was shot, and how everyone was probably going down to the house later on to survey the damage and try to clean up.
At eleven, a doctor came in to do some blood work and tests on Cordelia. Dawn recognized him as the doctor she'd seen that morning. She flashed him a winning smile before leaving the room with the others.
"Now, on to the Buffster." Xander shot his arm out as if he was leading an army. "March!"
"C'mon, Commando." Willow giggled as she grabbed Xander by the arm and dragged him to Buffy's room.
"Who's gonna go first?" Oz asked once they were outside room 112.
"I've already seen her. Let Willow go." Dawn suggested. Willow glanced back at Angel, who nodded and smiled slightly in approval. Willow let go of Oz's hand for the first time all morning. When she walked up to the door and went to open it, the door swung open and she jumped back a little. Out walked Spike wearing his trademark black outfit. Spike just held up his hand in a curt wave before turning and leaving the patient's corridor.
Willow just shrugged and entered the room, figuring that if Spike was in there for an hour, chances were that Buffy was awake. Willow was right. Buffy was propped up with various colored pillows and there was a vase of brightly colored assorted flowers next to her bed.
"Hey!" Willow squealed before running to her best friend and giving her a big hug, while being careful not to bump her shoulder. "How are you feeling."
"A little sore, but nothing I can't handle." Buffy grinned lightly. "How's Cordy?" She asked, concerned.
"She's awake." Hearing this, Buffy broke out into a full blown smile.
"I was so worried..."
"You weren't the only one." Willow assured her.
"So, everyone else is okay?" Buffy asked.
"Yup. Later, we're going down to the house to clean up, and Aunt Jenny's going to hire some people to look at the damage and fix it."
"Ooh, more money spendage on your family's part. Man, I feel like a burden." Buffy frowned.
"No, don't even think that! It's nobody's fault, and insurance will pay for all this, anyway." Willow replied.
"Oh. That's a plus."
Willow glanced over at the flowers next to her. "Are they from Spike? They're nice." Buffy nodded. She was surprised Spike had even cared enough to stop by after what happened between them the day before.
"Do you want me to let everyone come in?" Willow asked.
"I'm bracing myself." Buffy smiled and nodded. Willow returned her smile before walking out the door and coming back moments later, followed by the rest of the teens (minus Cordelia, of course). Angel and Buffy didn't talk much, just shared awkard glances every now and then. Angel wanted so badly to tell her how relieved he was that she was alright, be he couldn't. Not in front of everyone. He saw the flowers and assumed they were from Spike. He fumed silently, but didn't let it show.
A doctor appeared in the doorway.
"What's up, doc?" Xander asked goofily. All the girls giggled.
"Do you need us to leave?" Angel asked as he started to get up from the chair he was sitting in.
"No, no. I'm just here to give Miss Summers some good news." The doctor smiled as everyone gave him their full attention. "Buffy's test results show that she's healing surprisingly well. All we need to do now is re-bandage the wound and you can take her home today." Everyone smiled. Dawn squealed happily.
"When do I get re-bandaged?" Buffy asked.
"Whenever you're ready." The doctor answered.
"Now works for me." Buffy told him. The doctor chuckled.
"You just can't wait to get out of here, can you?"
At this, Buffy smiled and said: "I'm not a hospital-type gal."
The doctor nodded. "Let me go get some supplies and I'll be back to patch you up." He said before leaving.
"This is great, Buff. Now you get to come help us clean the house." Willow grinned.
"Yay?"
A few minutes later the doctor returned with a metal tray. On it were cotton swabs, disinfectant, gauze and some adhesive bandaging tape. The doctor removed the old bandage, cleaned the wound and wrapped the tape back around her shoulder and under her arm. The doctor informed her that the tape was waterproof, so she could shower and swim with it on.
"Do I get a sling?" Buffy asked when he was done winding the tape around her shoulder.
"You'll be leaving here with one, yes. But if you feel it's unnecessary, you can take it off. Just be careful not to jolt your arm."
"Got it." Buffy nodded. The doctor left the room and Buffy shed the hospital gown (She had clothes on underneath). "That was a fashion disaster."
Dawn giggled, remembering what Cordelia had said about the same gown. Buffy asked if they could stop by Cordelia's room before they left, which they did. It turned out that the doctors wanted her to stay for a couple more days, just to make sure she was okay.
"You'd better come visit me!" Cordelia ordered as the teens filed out of her room. "That means you, Harris! Don't and I'll kick your ass!" Xander turned back, grinned at her and mouthed a quick 'I love you' before the door closed behind him.
On the way out of the hospital, Xander's phone started ringing.
"Hello?"
"Xand, it's Mom." Jenny said on the other end.
"Oh, hey Mom."
"Where are you?" She asked.
"We're leaving the hospital and we've got Buffy." He told her.
"She's been released? Oh, thank God. What about your girlfriend? Is she alright?"
"Yeah, but the doctors need her to stay a few more days."
The conversation continued for a couple more minutes.
Xander flipped his phone closed and said: "Mom wants us to head down to the house now, and help her do the cleaning thing."
With that, the teens started on the trek back to Xander's house. They stopped at a McDonald's halfway to grab lunch, then continued on.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
When they got to the house, it looked about the same as it had when they left it. The fear and pain of the night before seemed to hang in the air above them like a dark thundercloud. Not one of the friends could stand in the living room and not feel sick. But they had a job to get done. There were a few men standing around Jenny, who was in the kitchen. When they entered the room, Jenny looked up from a catalouge she was engrossed in. She smiled at the sight of Buffy, and went to hug the blonde, thankful that she was alright.
"Whatcha up to?" Willow asked.
"I'm looking through this book to find a replacement for the front and sliding doors." She explained.
"Where's Dad?" Xander asked.
Jenny smiled slightly. "You kids. All you do is ask questions. Rupert's at the police department, figuring out Josh's punishment, and things like that."
"What do you need us to do?" Oz asked.
"Um, someone needs to call a carpet cleaner to wash the blood from the carpet." Jenny shuddered.
"I'm on it." Willow said, disappearing into the living room.
"The guys could help by cleaning up the glass around the slider and taking the door out of the wall- I can't replace the glass, so we're going to need all new doors." Jenny said, sighing. "Oh, and be careful, I don't want to make any more trips to the hospital today." She called after them.
Buffy and Dawn were left, waiting for instruction. "If you two could tip the furniture back over and straighten things out, that'd be great." She smiled in appreciation. "Oh, and Buffy, don't strain yourself, honey." She added.
The teens went to work fixing up the living room. They spent the next hour doing so. A carpet cleaner came and went. He seemed a little confused about the blood stains everywhere, but kept his confusion to himself. Everyone would be able to move back into the house if it wasn't for one problem. One big problem. Jenny found out that the new doors wouldn't be delivered for another three days, tops. And she didn't want to just put boards over the holes in the wall, especially not after all the rapist business that was still in the air. She knew that no one would be able to sleep at night knowing that there were two easy accesses right into the house. They'd just have to stay at the hotel until the doors were delivered.
"Ooh. Hotel. How fun." Buffy exclaimed.
"They have a pool." Willow informed. "A big pool."
"A big, indoor pool." Oz added.
"Goodie." Buffy grinned.
"Who's all staying with who?" Connor asked. "For the rooms, I mean."
"Uhh, all the girls can share a room." Dawn suggested. Everyone seemed to agree.
"For the guys we could get a conjoined room. You know, the kind that have two rooms that share a bathroom." Willow offered.
"Four guys sharing a bathroom? This could get messy." Angel observed with a smile.
"It's better than four girls sharing a bathroom, hooo, boy." Xander chuckled. The girls glared at him and he grinned sheepishly.
At that moment Giles appeared in the doorless doorway. Jenny saw him and went to greet him with a hug and a peck on the lips. She muttered something to him and he nodded before they both went into the kitchen and didn't come back out for a good ten minutes. When they did reappear, Giles' arm was slung over his wive's shoulder.
"Kids, how would you feel about a camping trip? It'd be something to get your mind off of everything that's happened over the past few weeks." Jenny suggested, smiling. The teens exchanged excited glances.
"Chyeah!" Xander exclaimed.
"It wouldn't be in the woods, of course." Giles added. Everyone stared blankly at him.
"Please don't tell me that your idea of a camping trip is a big tent in the backyard." Willow groaned.
"Those are highly underrated." Oz piped up. Willow looked over at him and rolled her eyes, grinning.
"No, I, uh, assure you that isn't the case." Giles paused. "Besides, we don't have a...'big tent'."
"Actually, we were thinking of camping out on Rupert's boat." Jenny explained.
"Which one?" Buffy asked curiously.
"We have one roped to a dock about five miles from here." Xander replied. "That one?"
"Yes, that one." Giles confirmed.
"When?" Dawn asked.
"Maybe in a week or so. After we're back in the house and Cordelia's ready to go." Jenny answered. "Plus, we need a while to plan everything."
"Yeah, that'd be great." Dawn smiled.
"We kind of figured you'd like that idea." Jenny replied. "Now, if only we could get some alone time..." She trailed off, grabbing Giles by the arm and dragging him upstairs.
"Well, what do you guys wanna do?" Willow asked.
"Ooh, I know!" Dawn chirped. "We could--"
"If you say 'go to the mall' I'll kill myself." Xander glared in a mock threat. Dawn grinned sheepishly.
"I need to bring my stuff to the hotel." Buffy remembered. She wasn't able tp pack up her things the night before on account of her being carried away on a stretcher.
"After that do you guys want to hang by the beach?" Angel suggested. Maybe if he got them all to the beach he'd be able to share some alone time with Buffy.
"Nah, the water's probably kinda cold today from all the rain- And plus, it's cloudy so there'd be more lack of warmth." Buffy sighed. She looked out the door, or should I say gaping hole where the sliding doors were, and looked out at the ocean. It was unappealing to her today. It looked choppy and rough. Angel tried to hide his disappointment.
"Let's do something different for a change." Connor said.
"Oh, I know something we can do!" Xander said excitedly. "There's an ice skating rink about ten miles away- It's a really nice one. We could go there for a while."
"Wow, for once you actually had a decent idea, Xand" Willow said patting his back. He beamed with pride.
The guys waited downstairs while the girls were upstairs in Buffy and Willow's room, helping Buffy pack up some clothes for their stay in the hotel. When they returned downstairs everyone loaded into Oz's van and left for the hotel.
"Wow, this place is nice." Buffy observed as they walked through the hotel lobby. It was very nicely furnished and there was a crystal lit chandelier handing above the center of the room.
"Wait till you see the pool." Willow said in a bubbly voice. As they made their way to the elevator, Willow pulled Buffy aside and they ran to take a quick peek at the pool. Needless to say, it was bigger than Xander's and had two sets of diving boards- A small one and a larger one that towered about twelve feet above the pool deck. It was indoor, and the ceiling was plated with glass, and the sun filtered through it.
"Ooh, check out the hotties." Buffy exclaimed of three built guys swimming in the pool.
"I've already got a man, thanks." Willow giggled as her best friend began to drool over the guys. "C'mon, or they'll take the elevator without us!" She said, pulling Buffy away from the view of the pool.
One of the guys in the pool looked up just as the girls ran off to catch the elevator.
"What are you staring at, Riley?" One of the other guys asked.
"Nothing, I just thought I saw...It was nothing."
Buffy dropped her stuff off at the room she would be sharing with Dawn and Willow and the seven teens made their way down the red, plush carpeted hall. They walked to the end of the hallway, where an elevator stood at the end and two staircases were on either side of it, both leading to the first floor.
Xander broke the silence by yelling at the girls: "Race you to the bottom!" Both the girls and guys set out down different staircases, earning them disapproving glares by the elderly staff.
"Well, that was invigorating." Buffy huffed as she stopped to catch her breath. "We so beat you."
"What are you talking about? It was obvious that we whooped you." Connor stated. Everyone got back into the van and Oz drove them to the ice skating rink. There was a ton of other cars parked in the lot, but it turned out that most of the people were either at hockey practice at the other rink, or upstairs at a birthday party.
Dawn and Buffy proved to be the best, most agile skaters of the bunch, not to say that the others were bad. Only Xander seemed to be having trouble. He had an excuse for every time he fell. 'It's these skates, really.' ,'The zamboni made the ice too slippery!' , and 'This is crazy! Sliding on bladed shoes over ice- Who comes up with this stuff??' were just a few.
All in all, a good time was had and it provided everyone with something new to do. The large arcade there also proved to be very entertaining.
"Look, they've got monkeyball!" Xander exclaimed excitedly. "I call the pink monkey!"
"It takes a very secure man to actually want to be the pink monkey." Oz chuckled quietly.
"It's true. I've become attached." Xander grinned goofily.
"Oh, boy..." Willow groaned.
"Fifty cents?! What a rip off!" Xander kicked the machine and it turned on. "Free game!! Sweet!"
The girls watched and rooted for different guys as they blew all their money on a came they could play at home for free.
"The testosterone level in this room just upped itself by ten percent." Buffy joked as she watched the guys yelling at the screen and jumping about.
"What the hell?! The monkey still can't jump!!" Xander yelled in frustration.
"Just go around it then! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out!" Angel shouted back.
"Apparently not, because you figured it out." Connor smirked. Angel glared at him.
They stayed at the rink until it closed at five.
x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x
"Do you guys mind if we stop by the hospital?" Xander asked when they loaded back into Oz's van. "I don't want Cordy to beat me." He grinned. Everyone knew he was still worried about her.
"Sure, man." Oz said, steering the van out of the parking lot and towards the hospital.
Once at the hospital, the teens made their way straight to room 543 where a very happy Cordelia awaited them.
"Told ya I'd come back." Xander said as he leaned down and kissed Cordelia softly.
"You only did 'cause I threatened you." Cordelia smiled.
Xander held his hand up to his mouth with a look of pure shock on his face. "You think that's the only reason I came?? I'm hurt." He joked. She slapped his arm playfully. Time flew as the group talked and after about an hour and a half, the gang was thinking they should head back. Unfortunately, they all knew that Cordelia didn't want them to go, so they silently agreed to stay longer. Xander, being himself, got bored and decided to look around the area.
"Don't do anything that'll make you get kicked out." Cordelia warned as he left the room. About five minutes later the door opened and a remote control car zoomed in.
"Check out my ride." Xander said as he waggled his eyebrows.
"Alexander Harris! I bet those are for the children here! Go take that back." Willow scolded him, while not able to keep a smile off her face. Xander made puppy dog eyes before driving the car out of the room and following it.
"Maybe we shouldn't have let him back out there alone." Angel said, only half joking. Xander returned moments later with a laptop.
"I didn't steal it! These are for the use of the public thank you very much." Xander said as he plopped down in a chair.
"And what exactly are you planning on looking at?" Buffy asked suspiciously.
Xander grinned slyly. "You know." Everyone turned to stare at him. "I'm kidding! I wanna look at some colleges online."
The group continued their conversation.
"Ooh, popup." Xander exclaimed. "Learn Chinese in five minutes. Sounds good to me." He clicked it.
Cordelia said what everyone was thinking: "Oh, boy..."
Xander scanned the page aloud. "Learn Chinese in five minutes...make sure you read the English first, then the Chinese. Got it. " He cleared his throat. "That's not right- sum ting wong. I don't get it." Everyone tried to hide their laughter. "Let's try the next one....You need a facelift- Chin tu fat. Don't get that one either...That's great- fa kin su pah!" Xander had a blank look on his face. Everyone burst into laughter. "What? WHAT??"
"Nothing, Xand." Dawn managed to say between fits of giggles. The teens stayed for about half an hour more before saying their goodbyes to Cordy and promising to stop by tomorrow.
When they arrived at the hotel everyone piled into the elevator, went to their rooms, decided to go for a swim and changed into their bathing suits.
"I wonder if those guys are still out there." Buffy said while pulling on her bathingsuit.
"What about Angel?" Willow asked.
"I don't know...I haven't talked to him, like all day. Do you think he's mad at me?" She asked, her voice sounding slightly frantic.
"What could he possibly be mad at you about?" Dawn asked as she emerged from the bathroom. Buffy couldn't think of a reason that he'd be upset...Unless...Nah, there's no way he could've found out about that...
"I don't know...C'mon, let's go." Buffy said as she and the other two girls grabbed their towels and headed out the door. When they made it to the pool, Buffy's curiosity was satisfied- The three guys were still there, along with Angel, Oz, Xander and Connor. They seemed to be getting along well for people who'd just met.
"There they are." Connor said as he waved the girls over to the pool edge. Dawn and Willow slid in and hugged their boyfriends. Buffy slipped in after them and waited as the two girls unlatched themselves from Connor and Oz.
The introductions began and the girls soon learned that the tall, built dirty blonde guy was Riley, his friend with dark brown hair and blue eyes was Jared and the slightly shorter one with white blonde hair, green eyes and the body of a surfer was Shane. Buffy decided that each of them was drool worthy. Everyone also learned that Riley, Jared and Shane were staying at the hotel because the place they were living was destroyed in the hurricane.
"Wow, I'm so sorry." Buffy said.
"Ah, we're okay. This place is pretty cool, anyways." Riley grinned, mostly at Buffy, who blushed slightly at the attention.
A steady rain was falling outside and hitting the roof and echoing throughout the entire enclosed area. A sudden crack of thunder and flash of lightening made the lights flick off. They were in complete and total darkness. Naturally, the girls all jumped into the guys.
"What do we do now?" Buffy asked over the roar of rain hitting metal.
Buffy shuddered as she felt Riley's breathy voice on the back of her neck. "We're probably better off waiting this out."
"I don't like this." Willow whimpered into Oz's shoulder as he stroked her hair soothingly.
"Me either." Dawn agreed from where she stood in Connor's arm.
"The breaker must've tripped." Angel observed.
"If that's the case, maybe we should try to get out of here and into the lobby." Jared suggested. "Chances are, emergency lights came on there."
Everyone muttered their 'okays' and 'yeahs' and they started, slowly and cautiously to move to the edges of the pool and climbed out. The sharp sound of pounding and scraping on the outside of the building stopped them dead in their tracks.
"What is that?!" Dawn asked frantically.
"Go, go!" Riley shouted above the noise. Everyone scrambled out of the pool blindly, made a quick grab for their things and ran into the lobby. Sure enough, the dim brown yellow glow of emergency lights lit the room. There was a few staff members behind the front desk looking anxious.
"Do you know that there's something pounding on the walls in there?" Buffy asked, jerking her thumb in the direction that they'd come from.
One of the men sighed. "It's probably some of the homeless people that live in the alleys around back, just wanting to get in from the storm."
"Oh, that's sad. Can't you let them in?" Willow asked.
"We can't be responsible for the well being of others." The other man replied coldly.
"Harsh, much?" Dawn muttered under her breath.
The main lights flicked on from brown until brightening to their normal color. Everyone sighed in relief.
"You wanna head back to the pool?" Shane asked.
"Nah, I think we've had our fill of adventure for tonight." Xander smiled. Everyone said their goodbyes and the seven teens headed up to their rooms as Riley, Jared and Shane went back to the pool.
Everyone got situated in their new rooms. (They had to separate and split up differently because of Buffy's return.) Just so everyone can get a visual idea of how the rooms are set up- The girls all shared one room. Directly across the hall are two rooms conjoined by a bathroom, each room has two guys. Next to the guys' room is one other room, that Giles and Jenny shared.
All the girls sat together on one bed, in a circle.
"Ohmigosh, did you see Shane's body??! Dawn gushed excitedly.
"Dawn! What would Connor say?" Willow giggled.
"Oops?" Dawn said, also laughing.
"Okay, I have to ask you something." Willow said to Buffy
"Shoot."
"How do you feel about Riley?"
"Yeah, cuz you acted all swoony and girlish around him." Dawn added.
Buffy took a deep breath before stopping short. "Girlish? Are you trying to say I don't act like a girl on a normal basis?"
Dawn shrugged. "That could be what I'm trying to say..."
Buffy grabbed a pillow off the bed and smacked her sister in the head with it. "Oww! You're so dead!" Dawn said as she whipped around and grabbed the other pillow. Thus began a lengthy pillow fight between the three girls. Apparently, it was also loud because the guys came in to see what was going on. They opened the door to see Willow on top of Buffy, smacking her with a pillow and Dawn struggling on the ground, stuck in place by Buffy's forceful grip on her ankles.
"Okaaay. I can see we clearly interupted something..." Xander said as he observed the scene before him.
"No, we were just--" Buffy was cut off as Dawn snuck up behind her and hit her with a pillow she'd been holding. The pillowfight started up again and the guys decided to join in, and the game turned to girl vs boys. It slowly evolved into a tickle/pillow fight and everytime a girl was tickled, needless to say, she screamed and squealed. All the noise brought Jenny to the door.
"I hate to be the party pooper, but Rupert says if you guys don't settle down, we'll be getting complaints." Jenny told them apologetically.
"Can do, Mom." Xander said. Jenny smiled, thankful that they didn't put up a fight and left the room.
"So what do you wanna do now?" Connor asked.
"We probably get pay-per-view." Oz offered. Everyone settled around the room. Angel and Xander sat on the groud at the foot of the bed in a mess of pillows. Willow and Oz were curled up on one of the three beds and Dawn and Connor took one of the others.
The girls wanted to see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, to which the guys strongly objected. They decided on a horror flick, The Amittyville Horror.During the movie.Angel tried not to let his mind wander to how close Riley and Buffy must've been in the dark...No, he did not want to think about that.
Once the movie ended, the girls said their goodbyes to the boys and got ready for bed. They'd all had a long day and were grateful for the soft, comfortable beds.
Meanwhile, in the guys' rooms....
The entire room(I'm counting it as one large one) was pitch black and the guys had just finished saying their goodnights, when....
"I GET IT!!"
"Get what, Xander?" Oz mumbled into his pillow.
"The Chinese!! Fucking super!!"
"SHHH!" Connor and Angel shouted from the other room.
Oz chuckled, "G'night, Xand..."
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
