Chapter 14
A few weeks later, Buffy wandered into her house, tossing her keys on the end table and dropping her book bag on the floor. It was her first day back at classes, and already she felt drained of all her energy. Spike and the rest of the guys had left two days ago for New York, and Buffy was already missing him.
Slowly drifting into the living room, she collapsed on the sofa, hoping to try and catch a quick nap before it was her turn to start dinner. Groaning when she heard the doorbell ring, Buffy slowly stood up and trudged back to the door. A frown immediately settled on her features when she encountered a somber-looking police officer standing on the other side.
“Can I help you?”
“Are you Buffy Summers?”
“That’s me.”
“I’m Officer White. I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Buffy immediately felt the color drain from her face as she gripped the door handle in a seizing hold.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“I’m afraid there’s been an accident.”
Buffy felt her heart jump into her throat as she waited for him to continue.
“You’re mother was, presumably, on her way home, when the side of her car was hit by a man that ran a stop sign.”
“She’s fine, right?” Buffy asked, her voice getting a little louder. “I mean, she’ll be okay. She’s just at the hospital, right? I-I need to go get her?”
“Miss Summers-”
“It’s Buffy,” she snapped, cutting him off. “Ms. Summers is my mom, and she’s not here right now.”
“Buffy, I’m sorry, but-”
“No…no…I just saw her…a few hours ago, and she was okay…she’s not…oh God!” Buffy fell to the floor in sobs as the officer tried to console her.
“I’m sorry, miss. I understand how hard this must be, but your mother…she passed away before she could receive any medical attention.”
“No…not my mom, she was the strong one. She knew what had to be done.” Buffy suddenly gasped. “My sister! M-my mom, sh-she was picking up Dawn, a-and-”
“Your sister is fine. The car impacted on the driver’s side, and the only injuries your sister sustained were a few minor bumps and bruises. She’s asking for you.”
“Dawnie,” she whispered. “I need to get there, I have to see her.”
“I’ll drive you.”
Buffy forced herself to function enough to locate her keys and lock the front door. She let Officer White help her into his patrol car and sat solemnly in the passenger seat as she tried to make her brain comprehend everything that was happening. Before she knew it, she was being led into the emergency room of Sunnydale Memorial and behind a curtain to see her sister. Dawn didn’t even look hurt, which further clouded Buffy’s mind that her mother was alright and waiting in another vicinity of the hospital.
“Dawnie,” she said softly. Her sister’s head snapped up, and she immediately launched herself into Buffy’s arms.
“It’s all my fault, Buffy,” she cried into her shoulder.
“Dawnie, don’t say that. You couldn’t have known.”
“But she was picking me up. If I had been a little faster, or even a minute slower…it’s all my fault.”
“Dawn, listen to me- I don’t want you to blame yourself. There was no way anyone could have realized what would happen.”
Dawn slowly nodded with tears still in her eyes.
“Miss Summers.” Buffy turned to face the nurse speaking quietly behind her. “We need to further observe your sister to make sure there are no internal injuries. She’ll be free to go home in an hour or so.”
Buffy nodded before turning back to Dawn. “Honey, I need to go make some calls. Will you be okay?” she asked, soothingly running a hand through her hair. She waited for Dawn’s nod before turning and making her way back out of the hospital. Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket, Buffy dialed the familiar number with a shaky hand.
After a few rings, she heard the comforting voice. “‘Lo?”
“Spike,” she said softly.
“Buffy?” She heard him fumbling around in the background before a door shut. “I’m in the middle of a meeting, pet, what is it?”
“I need you,” she replied, never raising her voice.
“I need you, too, baby, but this is a really bad time. I’ve got about five suits in the other room waiting on me.”
“Spike, I want you to come home.”
“Buffy, we’ve been over this. I’ll be back at the end of the week. Now, I love you, and I’ll call you later.”
Buffy heard a click on the other end of the line. “Spike…Spike!”
When he didn’t answer, she ended the call and tried again, only to be met with his voicemail. With fresh tears in her eyes, she quickly dialed another number.
“Giles.”
* * * * *
Later that night, Giles sat in the middle of the Summers’ living room. After making all of the funeral arrangements the girls wouldn’t have to, he had finally managed to get Dawn to sleep, but he could still hear Buffy’s quiet sobs coming from her room. The doctor had given both girls a prescription for Valium to sedate them. Giles had given one to Buffy twenty minutes ago, but it still hadn’t taken affect. His heart broke as he heard her hoarse voice crying over and over, “I need him, I need him.”
Giles was ready to gut his son when he was met with the answering service at the hotel who refused to disturb any of their famous guests, no matter what the emergency was. He didn’t have the cell numbers for the other boys, and Spike’s was still turned off. Hearing his surrogate daughter in so much pain, Giles had to restrain himself from throwing the phone against the wall.
* * * * *
Spike awoke the next morning with a pounding headache. He could hear someone banging on the door, and with a groan, rolled out of bed and made his way to the door. He had been in meetings all day yesterday, finally breaking at dinner, only to return after an hour. He felt like he was a lawyer instead of a singer, having to sit through all the legal hassle of exactly how to put out the next album.
“Spike, open up!”
“Don’t get your knickers twisted, Peaches. I’m coming,” he said, unlocking the door. “What the bloody hell do you want this early in the morning?”
“Call your dad.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Your dad just called my cell, said he had to call my parents and get the number. He said if he doesn’t hear from you in exactly ten minutes, he’s going to beat the living hell out of you.”
Spike furrowed his brow at the unseemly approach Giles took. Reaching for his cell, he noticed it was turned off and cursed under his breath.
“I was supposed to call Buffy back last night,” he mumbled, running a hand through his tousled hair. “I was so wiped out, I came back and crashed. She’s going to kill me.”
Dialing his father’s house, Spike’s frown only deepened when he was connected to the answering machine.
“Where the bloody hell is he? He’s the one who wanted me to call him.”
Spike quickly dialed Buffy’s house and became worried when a strange voice answered. “I need to speak with Buffy Summers.”
“Buffy’s unavailable at the moment.”
“Who is this?”
“Who’s this? You’re the one who called.”
“Is Rupert Giles there?” he asked, his patience running thin.
“One moment.”
Spike stood with Angel giving him a questioning look before breathing a sigh of relief at his father’s voice. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Where the bloody hell have you been?”
Spike pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it in bewilderment at his father’s shouting. “I’m in New York, Dad. Told you I was gonna be gone a week, remember?”
“That’s not what I mean. You have been out of contact with the outside world for nearly twenty-four hours!”
“Yeah, sorry ’bout that. Forgot to turn my phone back on.”
“Spike, we need you to come home.”
“Listen, Dad, I already had this conversation with Buffy, so let me tell you the same thing. I-”
“No, let me tell you something, son,” Giles spat out. “Maybe if you paid more attention to the woman you loved and spent less time on that blasted career of yours, you would have seen that Buffy did not just want you to come home. She needed you here.”
“Dad, what are you talking about? Let me talk to Buffy.”
“Buffy is unavailable at the moment, Will,” Giles said softly.
Spike’s temper erupted at hearing that. “You know, Giles, that’s the second time I’ve heard that in less than three minutes, and I’m really soddin’ tired of it. Now put my girlfriend on the phone.”
“Spike,” Giles continued in a soothing manner. “Buffy can’t come to the phone because she’s finally getting some much needed rest.”
“Okay, I’m getting really sick of beatin’ around the bush, so why don’t you tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Son, there was an accident yesterday.”
Spike felt his heart stop. “She’s okay, right? Buffy’s okay?”
“Physically, she’s fine. William…Joyce was killed in a car wreck yesterday afternoon.”
Spike swallowed hard, feeling the world shifting around him. He staggered over to drop into a nearby chair. “No…she can’t be.”
“Buffy needs you right now, son.”
“I’m on the next flight home,” he whispered, disconnecting the call. Spike sat there for another few seconds before turning to look at Angel.
“What happened, Spike?”
Instead of answering, Spike leapt from the chair, grabbed the nearest smashable object, and hurled it towards the far wall with a yell. Turning to look for something else, he felt Angel’s restraining grip on his arm.
“Spike, what the hell is going on?”
Spike sunk to the floor, feeling the tears come to his eyes. “I’m such a soddin’ ponce. She needed me, and I…oh God,” he said as the awareness suddenly hit him. “That’s why she called yesterday, she needed me, and I…”
Angel watched as tears began streaming down his friend’s cheeks.
“Spike,” he said softly, touching his shoulder.
Spike suddenly jumped from his sitting position and began running around the room, throwing clothes into his suitcase and quickly getting dressed at the same time. Finally turning to face Angel, Spike slowly took in a few deep breaths. “Joyce was killed in a car accident.”
Angel stared at Spike in disbelief. “Do you want me to go back with you?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, you stay here and finish up. I have to go see about my girl,” he said, nearly running from the room.