Crossing Over by Susan
Summary: SPOILERS: ER - Up to "Lockdown", BTVS - Up to "Grave"

LAST EPISODES SEEN: ER - "Lockdown", Season 8 Finale; BTVS - "Grave", Season 6 Finale.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own ER, that's owned by Warner Brothers, Amblin and a load of people with more money than I will ever have. I also don't own Buffy, that's owned by Mutant Enemy, et.al, I would love to own Carter and Spike and use them as the perfect bread for a Susan sandwich.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: First off, although this chapter isn't, this series will be NC-17 for het and slash. this is me, we're talking about, remember? With the cliffhangers on both shows (mainly ER), I've decided to fill in the blanks. For BTVS, Willow, was of course, "saved" (or whatever the term is) in the finale, though she's going through a great deal of grief over Tara's death and her skinning of Warren, and that whole trying to destroy the world thing. Spike has been resouled and is back in Sunnydale but has yet to contact the Scoobies because of the "attempted rape" and a bunch of issues/guilt associated with now having a soul. Giles is still in town, I figure that this episode takes place about a week after "Grave" on the Buffy side of things. For ER, the mysterious disease did in fact turn out to be smallpox, albeit a weakened strain. Everyone in the ER was given the vaccine in time, except for Pratt, who died (I wish!). Hey, he can die, this is my alternate universe, okay, Pratt is dead and Deb mysteriously survived. It's about two weeks after the "outbreak" and things have pretty much returned to normal, or as normal as things at County get. So without further adieu, here's the beginning of what seems like it's going to be a VERY long story.
Categories: Regular Characters: John Carter, Other-Male
Genres: Crossover
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 10 Completed: No Word count: 12356 Read: 253830 Published: September 14, 2004 Updated: September 14, 2004

1. Chapter One by Susan

2. Chapter Two by Susan

3. Chapter Three by Susan

4. Chapter Four by Susan

5. Chapter Five by Susan

6. Chapter Six by Susan

7. Chapter Seven by Susan

8. Chapter Eight by Susan

9. Chapter Nine by Susan

10. Chapter Ten by Susan

Chapter One by Susan
CHICAGO



"They're CURED?!?!" A cloaked figure spat angrily.



"Cured and over it. completely." A small brown demon confirmed. He
stood huddled next to another small demon in a large dark room that held a
cauldron, some weapons, and not much else.



"How can this be? It was supposed to be lethal!" The figure fumed as
it began to pace back and forth. "They should ALL be dead by now!"



"I'm telling you what we saw" The second demon spoke up. "One was
killed, the rest lived."



"That can't be right. there must be something. a SPELL!" The figure
raged, grabbing one of the demons and throwing him against the wall.



The demon whimpered with the force of impact. "I didn't do it!" He
whimpered.



"No, YOU wouldn't be able to tie your own shoes if I wasn't around
to make sure you didn't tie your shoes together." The figure spat.



The figure started to slowly pace and muttered. "I'll find the
Wicca."







SUNNYDALE







"So you're telling me, you don't have ANY power left, Willow?" Giles
said, seated in the Magic Box and surveying Willows attempts to zap various
things.



"Nope, I'm drained." Willow said with a sigh, as she unsuccessfully
tried to close a book.



"Well, this might just be me, but that's a relief." Xander replied,
clearly disturbed by the memory of Willow on the cliff.



"Guess I'm back to yellow crayon girl." Willow said, trying to mask
her disappointment.



"But we love yellow crayon girl." Buffy replied, putting her arms
around her friend.



"At least yellow crayon girl can't destroy my store." Anya said,
picking her way through the ruins of The Magic Box, "Though it'd be nice if you
could like zap things better."



The group stopped to give her an assortment of glares and odd looks.




"What?" Anya protested "Every day that we're closed, we're losing
money!"



"God, Anya." Xander said frustrated and rolled his eyes.



"Well, Anya is right, the damage is extensive" Giles reluctantly
agreed, stooping to pick up a piece of a broken bookshelf.



"Damage schmage." Xander said, standing and putting a hand on
Willow's shoulder. "Could be worse."



"Yeah, it could be the end of the world" Willow noted sadly, looking
down.



A ringing sound interrupted everyone then.



"Is that the phone?" Xander asked with a confused look.



"Ooo! Can I get it?" Dawn asked excitedly, thrilled to finally be
allowed to be at The Magic Box with the grownups.



"Uh, if you can FIND it." Buffy replied, slowly making her way
through the rubble trying to find where the phone was.



"Found it!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly, putting the most professional
tone she could muster she said into the receiver. "Magic Box, may I help you?
Oh, yeah, he's right here."



She held the phone out to Giles. "It's for you" She said, the disappointment
clear in her voice.



"Who were you expecting it to be Dawnie, got a boyfriend?" Xander teased.



"No." Dawn said, flushing bright red.



"Uh oh, I think she's got a boyfriend. What do you think, Will?" Xander turned
to Willow, who was sitting off to the side looking lost.



"Huh? Whatever" Willow murmured.



Before Xander could say anything to Willow, Anya jumped into the conversation.



"Dawn, it's not worth it to date, men just hurt you." She said with a pointed
glance at Xander. Lowering her voice, she whispered to Dawn. "If you want
vengeance, you know what to do."



"No vengeance spells, Anya" Buffy warned, rolling her eyes.



"Not after what happened last time." Dawn added with a shudder.



"You know, one little wish."Anya began.



"NO!" The rest of the Scoobies called back.



"Oh my" Giles said hanging up the phone.



"Problem, Giles?" Buffy asked.



"That was the coven, apparently they've sensed something going wrong, very
wrong." Giles replied, taking off his glasses and rubbing his head.



"Uh, I haven't noticed anything." Buffy replied, confused.



"No, not here." Giles replied.



"NOT at the Hellmouth? Isn't this like the center for everything bad?" Xander
asked incredulous.



"Where then?" Willow asked quietly.



"Chicago" Giles replied.



"Chicago? What's going on in Chicago?" Dawn spoke up.



"Whatever it is, we have to go." Buffy decided.



"With the store a mess?" Anya said disdainfully.



"It's not like you can open for business, An." Xander muttered.



"I'll get a flight for us." Giles said, picking up the phone.



"Chicago, isn't it cold there? And on fire?" Dawn asked worriedly.



"It's not on fire NOW, Dawnie." Buffy replied.



"And it's summer" Anya added.



"Yes, I'll need six tickets on the first flight to Chicago." Giles said into the
receiver.



"Uh, better make it five." Anya corrected.



"What? I thought I got to come along now!!!" Dawn whined. "I don't want to be
left at home all by myself!"



"No, I don't need to fly. Vengeance Demon, remember?" Anya said sheepishly.



"We're flying." Giles stated, "All of us."



Ten minutes later all left the wrecked Magic Box in order to pack and meet up at
the Sunnydale Airport.



Spike stepped out from behind a pile of rubble.



"Chicago, huh? Well, they say it's a "toddling" town, whatever bloody hell that
means." He paused to light his cigarette. "Willow's powerless, Tara's gone,
they're going need some help, guess I better go along."
Chapter Two by Susan
UNNYDALE





"Are we ready?" Giles said, looking at the assembled group. By the time
everyone had packed it and met up at the Summers' house the sun was setting.



"Just about." Dawn replied, dragging a large trunk behind her.



"Uh, Dawnie, we're not moving there." Xander replied, raising an eyebrow.



"I know that." Dawn replied, testily as she struggled with trunk.



"What's in the trunk?" Willow said, trying to show some interest.



"Oh, just weapons." Dawn said proudly, excited about being part of her first
official Scooby mission.



'Weapons?" Buffy questioned, looking up from her suitcase and examining what
Dawn had assembled. "Hey, that's my axe!"



"Well, I didn't think you'd MIND." Dawn said meekly.



"Uh, and how do you think you're going to get on a plane with that stuff?"
Xander asked in amazement.



"Well, I don't look like a terrorist!" Dawn protested.



"And Anya doesn't look like a demon." Xander countered.



"I don't?" Anya said, flattered. "Hey, what's WRONG with looking like a demon?"




"Well, oh, look it's Willow!" Xander turned to Willow, and hugged her as if he
hadn't seen her in years.



"Thanks, Xander. I think." Willow said softly, not fully returning the hug.



"One little wish." Anya muttered.



"No wishing." Buffy said shooting a glare at Anya.



"Well, uh, I can't bring the weapons then?" Dawn asked.



"NO!" The rest of the Scoobies chorused.



"But how are we gonna defend ourselves? I mean, can't I at least take a stake?"
Dawn asked pointedly.



"Ooo! We're flying first class?" Anya asked excitedly, thrilled at the prospect
of it.



"What?" Willow asked, clearly confused.



"She meant a wooden stake, Anya, not fillet mignon." Buffy replied with a slight
eye roll. This was going to be one LONG trip.



"Well, can I help it if expensive cuts of meat make a voyage more exciting?"
Anya shot back.



"Look, we really must be going," Giles cut in, "Dawn, leave the weapons here, I
know some people in Chicago who can get us what we need."



As Giles lead the way to the van, Xander interjected, "Hey, Giles, happen to
have any OTHER connections in Chicago?"



"Get in the car, Xander." Giles replied with mild annoyance. If the bloody
boy hadn't saved the world last week, he would have let him have it.



"So we AREN'T flying first class?" Anya spoke up, the disappointment evident in
her voice.



"No, Anya." Xander said rolling his eyes.



"Well, if THAT'S the case." Anya began and teleported herself away.



"Well, that's one less ticket to get." Buffy said with a shrug.



They drove off, minus Anya, of course to the airport.



**********



"Look, I need a bloody ticket on that flight to Chicago." Spike said glaring at
the counter clerk.



"Um, I understand sir, but the flight is boarding." The young clerk replied and
winced.



"Then make it bloody wait." Spike said forcefully. He wanted to make sure he
beat the Scoobies to Chicago; he didn't want his first meeting with Buffy to be
on the airplane.



"Um, sir." The clerk trembled. "I really can't."



Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, Spike reasoned and morphed
into full vampire face. "You were saying." He growled.



"One ticket coming up." The kid trembled and handed Spike the ticket.



Spike returned to normal as he grabbed the ticket. "All I was asking for." He
heard the overhead boarding call then and dashed off to the gate.



The clerk was still getting over the shock when Giles lead the gang up to the
desk. "Five tickets on the first flight to Chicago."



"Well, the other flight just boarded, next one's not for two hours." The clerk
trembled, not again.



"Two hours?" Buffy said irritated.



"Yes, please don't kill me." The clerk said, ducking his head and putting his
hands up.



"Uh, why would we kill you?" Dawn asked, the confusion evident in her voice.



"The other guy got all funny when I told him he couldn't get a ticket." The
clerk muttered.



"What other guy?" Willow asked skeptically.



"He was all in black." The clerk began.



"Day glow hair, made a scary face?" Buffy supplied



"Yeah, that's him." He whimpered in response.



"Spike." Xander said angrily.



"It would appear so." Giles confirmed. "Did he say why he was going to
Chicago?"



"No, just wanted a ticket really badly." The clerk winced at the memory.
"Really, REALLY badly."



"Great." Buffy muttered. "Looks like it's reunion time."







**********



Six hours later, they finally landed in Chicago.



"I didn't like that plane. it was too bumpy." Dawn whined.



"So this is Chicago..doesn't seem that windy to me." Xander said looking around.




"Uh, Xander we're in an airport." Buffy said as they tried to locate baggage
claim.



"Still, I thought it'd be like. windier." He said looking clearly let down.



"Maybe it is outside." Willow said softly, wishing she'd just stayed home.



Dawn spied a window, looked outside and grimaced. "It's RAINING." She said
pointedly.



"Yeah, well, you won't melt, Dawnie." Buffy said with a shrug.



"Even witches don't melt in the rain, it's a myth." Willow added.



"I know that." Dawn sniped.



"Whatever." Buffy rolled her eyes as they reached baggage claim.



"Took you guys long enough." Anya said standing up from the bench she was
sitting on.


"Well, excuse me for being human and having to go through a security check."
Xander griped as he reached for his bag.



"Play nicely." Giles ordered as he reached down for his bag.



"Oh, you'll need these." Anya said passing a bag to Buffy.



Buffy opened it and looked up at Anya in surprise.



"What? I think of things!" Anya said defensively.



"What'd you get, Buffy?" Dawn asked excitedly then pulled back when she saw the
bag full of wooden stakes, holy water and crosses.



"The metal stuff is out in the car." Anya added in a low voice.



"Good job." Giles said impressed and squirmed uncomfortably when Anya blushed.



"More importantly, I got a great deal on the rental car!" Anya exclaimed
happily. "I saved us a lot of money!"



Buffy smiled in spite of herself. "That's great, An." She glanced around at
the rest of the crew who had been grabbing their bags during the conversation.
"Are we ready?"



"Wait, I'm not!" Dawn protested. "My bag didn't come out yet!"



"See, that's the problem with air travel, little in the way of quality control
these days." Anya responded.



"The belt's probably stuck." Xander observed as the belt stopped moving. "I'll
get it."



"Xander, I really don't think that's a good idea." Willow responded.



"Nah, don't worry about it." Xander replied hopping up onto the belt and headed
to the end of the conveyor.



"Xander, you probably shouldn't do that." Buffy warned.



"Geez, don't be such wusses girls." Xander said with a laugh. "I'm from
Sunnydale, remember?"



"Aha! I found the problem, it's blocked." Xander said, peering into the entrance
to the bag chute.



"Xander, be careful." Anya found herself warning.



"I saved the world, I think I can handle a blocked baggage chute." Xander
replied, trying to yank at what was causing the obstruction.



"Um, Xander, maybe you should be careful." Dawn said timidly.



Xander gave a final yank and pulled Dawn's bag from the chute. He stood there
triumphantly for a second before the belt began to move and he fell headfirst
into a nearby pole.



Xander yelped as he lost consciousness.



"I told him to be careful." Anya said with a sigh as the others rushed to
Xander's side.



"He's alive." Giles replied with relief in his voice as he the unconscious
Xander's pulse.



"We better get him to a hospital." Buffy replied.



"I'll call the ambulance." Willow volunteered and headed for the nearest pay
phone.



"Thanks for getting my bag." Dawn said meekly as she approached Xander's side.





To be continued...
Chapter Three by Susan
Carter leaned against the admit desk and sighed. This had been a long day; of
course the fact that he was avoiding Abby was part of it. Ever since the kiss
they had come to a mutual silent decision to avoid each other. It would have
seemed that it'd be difficult to avoid Abby, especially during traumas, but with
both of them working at it, Carter had discovered that it was much easier than
he'd thought.



"Penny for your thoughts?" Susan said with a grin as she came upon Carter lost
in thought.



"Oh, nothing." Carter said with a sigh.



"Still avoiding her, huh?" Susan asked although she already knew the answer.



"That obvious?" Carter asked looking over at Susan. Even though they'd broken
up months ago, the two remained on speaking terms.



"Well, kinda." Susan admitted. "Anyway, incoming trauma."



"When?" Carter asked looking up as the ambulance pulled up to the doors.



"Now." Susan replied as they headed outside.



"What've we got?" Carter asked as the ambulance doors opened.



"A headache." Doris replied as she jumped out of the ambulance.



"Bufffy.that ride was too bumpy. Why do I keep having to ride bumpy things
today?" Dawn whined.



"This is a nice ambulance you have here, is it rather expensive?" Anya said
appreciatively as she got out of the ambulance.



Carter and Susan exchanged glances. Who the hell were these people?



"Didn't realize you had so many victims." Carter said raising an eyebrow.



"Them?" Doris snorted. "The rest of them are fine, all insisted on riding in
the ambulance with this one." She gestured to Xander, who lay on the gurney.



"That was a most enjoyable ride, have you ever considered charging for rides in
your spare time?" Anya said to Zadro as he got out of the ambulance.



"Not really." Zadro replied giving Anya a strange look.



"You should, it would supplement your measly paramedic income." Anya explained.



"Not now, Anya." Buffy said with a sigh as Doris and Zadro pulled Xander's
gurney out of the ambulance.



"You know, I'm ON a gurney here!" Xander exclaimed, having come to by the time
they arrived at County.



"What's the bullet?" Susan asked looking oddly at the rest of the passengers.



"21 year old male, LOC at the scene, he apparently fell off a conveyer belt at
the airport." Doris said as they rushed down the hall.



"A conveyer belt?" Carter said looking at the Scoobies who followed along
behind.



"What were you doing on a conveyer belt?" Susan asked, looking down at Xander.



"Well, I had to get Dawn's bag out." Xander said embarrassed then grinned up at
Susan.



"Seriously! I should have ridden in the car with Giles! That ambulance was too
bumpy!" Dawn protested.



"Well, I didn't tell you to get in the ambulance, Dawnie." Buffy replied rushing
along behind the gurney.



"Wow, this really isn't a fancy hospital is it?" Anya asked taking in the
interior of County. "I guess you don't cater to those with money here?"



"And what's wrong with the rest of them?" Susan whispered, glancing at the
Scoobies.



"Tell me and get a prize." Zadro replied, frustrated over having to hear Anya
question him about the price of various items and Dawn whine each time they hit
a bump on the way in.



"How many fingers do you see?" Susan asked holding out two fingers to Xander.



"Two and an angel holding them." He winked.



"Well unless you're seeing something with wings, you'll be fine." Susan replied
with an eye roll.



They reached the exam room and Carter stopped the Scoobies at the door. "You
guys will have to wait here."



"Can't we come in?" Willow asked concernedly.



"Are any of you family?" Carter asked eyeing the crowd.



"I was his fiancée!" Anya replied.



"Was?" Carter asked raising an eyebrow.



"Well, he left me at the altar. don't you want bad things to happen to him for
that?" Anya asked hoping for Carter to make a wish.



"I'd say falling off a conveyer belt is pretty bad." Carter said, wondering if
she'd pushed him off the conveyer belt.



"She slept with that soulless thing!" Xander called out angrily from the room.



"Well, so did Buffy!" Anya replied haughtily.



"Not now." Buffy growled.



"Okay, you guys can have a seat in chairs." Carter said looking over the
assembled group. Maybe he should get tox screens on all of them.



"Don't worry, Xander, your injuries don't look expensive, and besides this place
looks like a bargain!" Anya called out as she headed down the hall.



Carter shook his head. Soulless thing, that was a new one. He entered the
room where Xander was trying to hit on Susan.



"Yeah, I'm QUITE single." He said eyeing Susan's chest.



"Yeah, that's what happens when you ditch your fiancée at the altar." Susan
replied with a snort.



"I wasn't ready to get married! That did NOT give her an excuse to sleep with
Spike!" Xander protested.



"I take it Spike is the "soulless thing"." Carter said as they assessed Xander's
injuries.



"Any pain?" Susan asked.



"Of course, she broke my heart!" Xander exclaimed.



"I meant from your swan dive off the conveyer belt." Susan replied.



"Yeah, throbbing." Xander made a puppy dog face at Susan.



Carter chuckled at Susan's annoyed expression. "Well, Mr."



"Harris, Xander Harris." Xander supplied, not once taking his eyes off of Susan.




"We'll do some tests and make sure there's no damage, but you probably have a
concussion." Carter said trying to keep a straight face.



"Not funny, Carter." Susan muttered.





*********





"Where is he?" Giles said breathlessly as he rushed into the ER. He didn't
need to lose another of them so soon.



"They took him in there." Willow replied sadly. "They said we couldn't come
in."



"Oh, did he wake up?" Giles asked as his breathing returned to normal.



"Where's the cash register?" Anya replied as she surveyed the room.



"What?" Buffy asked looking up.



"The cash register, you know where they charge for services." Anya said slowly.




"This is a hospital, Anya." Willow replied looking oddly at Anya. "Don't you
even CARE that Xander's hurt?"



"Huh? Xander? Yeah, I guess." Anya said with a shrug. "Where do you think they
keep the register?"



She looked up to see the glares she was getting.



"Well, it's not like he's going to die or get a weird penis disease!" Anya
protested.



"Buffy, these chairs are hard!" Dawn whined. When she got no response she
looked at Buffy who was lost in thought. "Buffy?"



"Yeah, whatever, who's that?" Buffy said glancing at a man with dark hair
standing at the desk.





******



Luka approached the desk. "Are my labs back yet, Frank?"



"If they're back they're in the box." Frank snapped, not looking up.



"Thanks for your help." Luka muttered.



Luka turned and found himself face-to-face with Buffy.



"Excuse me." Luka said in surprise.



"Hi, I know this is going to sound really weird.. " Buffy began staring into
Luka's eyes, "but your remind me so much of someone and I can't put my finger on
it."



"Maybe we have met before?" Luka asked, captivated by the young blonde in front
of him.



"No, I don't think so." Buffy said slowly.



"I'm Dr. Kovac" Luka said extending his hand.



"Buffy Summers." Buffy replied with a grin as she took his large hand in hers.





To be continued...
Chapter Four by Susan
Spike leaned against the wall of the outside of the airport and took another
drag on his cigarette. Damn it, where were they? He had figured that Buffy
and the rest of the Scoobies would be on the next flight out which had gotten in
an hour ago, according to the TV monitors around the airport. He had
positioned himself in the shadows by the door so he could watch their arrival,
but so far he'd yet to spot them.



Just then an ambulance pulled up. "Well, that's interesting." He muttered
dropping the butt of his cigarette.



As he reached into his pocket for another, he overheard the paramedics talking
about a young male with an LOC, whatever that meant. He shrugged it off and
continued to wait for a glimpse of Buffy. his Buffy, well, he hoped she'd be his
at least.



A few minutes later he heard a familiar voice shout out. He glanced at the
door to see Willow rush out beside a gurney and yell "Xander, wake up!"



"Bloody hell, what'd the wanker do now?" Spike muttered to himself, as he
watched the rest of the Scoobies rush behind the gurney.



Anya was already seated in the back of the ambulance and Willow jumped in as
well.



"I'm sorry, only one of you can ride in the ambulance with him." A paramedic
spoke up.



"I'm going." Willow growled wishing for the first time in a week that she had
her powers back.



"I'm his fiancée. well, I was." Anya said with a shrug.



"I'm coming, too." Buffy decided and vaulted into the back of the ambulance.



Spike chuckled at Buffy's determination.



"Wait! I don't wanna be left alone!" Dawn whined.



"You can ride with me, Dawn." Giles offered, holding car keys in his hand.



"I don't want to be left out, I'm ALWAYS left out!" Dawn wailed.



"Dawn, just get in already." Buffy said with a sigh. She turned to the
questioning paramedic and ordered, "Just drive."



"Better listen to the Slayer." Spike grinned, she was so cute when she was all
bossy.



A few minutes later the ambulance drove off, followed by Giles in the car.
Spike hailed a cab and ordered the driver to follow behind.



The cab finally pulled to a stop in front of County General. Spike paid the
driver and stood out and surveyed the hospital.



"THIS is it? Looks like a bloody dump." He muttered, lighting a cigarette.



He caught sight of a young woman in pink scrubs standing by the door trying to
light her cigarette.



"Need a light, love?" Spike asked stepping up to her.



Abby looked up and wasn't sure of what to make of the man all in black with
bleached hair in front of her. She nodded, her lighter had run out anyway.



"Thanks." Abby said, blowing out some smoke.



"No problem, love." He said taking in the short brunette and noticing her
scrubs. "You work here?"



"No, I just wear this stuff to confuse people." Abby snorted.



"Well, love, you don't have to be all bitchy." Spike said, not put off by her
snappy behavior.



"Why the HELL are you calling me love? I'm a nurse, not some damn sex toy!" Abby
snarled angrily.



"Well, I don't know your name, so unless I call you Nurse Bitchy, it ain't gonna
work." Spike said, trying to conceal his laughter.



"Gee, I'm honored." Abby said sarcastically, flicked her cigarette and turned to
head back inside.



"You treat your patients that way too?" Spike called out after her.



"Only if I inflict their injuries." Abby called back. She didn't need weird
guys hitting on her today, it was bad enough she had to spend the day hiding
from Carter. Plus, Luka had been giving her odd looks ever since she had kissed
Carter. He must have found out through the ER grapevine.



"Snarky bitch. Mustn't be getting any." Spike muttered as she retreated
inside. He finished his cigarette and followed her inside.





******



"So you DON'T have a cash register?" Anya asked, looking shocked and put out.



"No." Frank growled at her. Why couldn't she just sit down already?



"But what do you do with the ones who don't pay?" Anya persisted.



Frank was quiet for a second and then grinned and pulled a bat from under the
desk. "I use this!" He said proudly.



"A bat?" Anya asked. "And that works?"



"Isn't called the homeless helper for nothing." Frank bragged.



"Oh, so you beat those who can't afford to pay for medical care then?" Anya
asked looking interested.



"Not when I'm around." Kerry said crutching her way to the desk. "Put the bat
away, Frank or I'll beat YOU with it."



"Damn liberal." Frank muttered and put his bat back under the desk.



Anya looked at Kerry with interest. "So are you a doctor?"



"Yes, can I help you?" Kerry said turning to the young blonde.



"Does it pay well?" Anya asked her.



"I get by." Kerry muttered.



"Can you support your family on the measly salary you make as an emergency
physician or do you have to resort to other sources of income?" Anya looked
closely at Kerry.



"Who ARE you?" Kerry asked, the irritation clear in her voice.



"I'm Anya." She replied, blinking. "And you?"



"Busy." Kerry replied and crutched off down the hall.



"What happened to your leg?" Anya called after Kerry, who didn't turn around.



"Well, she's quite the commanding redhead." Anya commented.





*******



"We need to find out how he's doing." Willow said worriedly.



"Maybe Buffy's finding out?" Dawn suggested.



"Uh, I don't think she's asking about Xander, Dawnie." Willow said, observing
Buffy laugh at something the dark-haired doctor said.



"I'll ask someone, they might be more likely to give me answers." Giles decided
and headed off in search of the first doctor he could find.





********



Dave pulled his car into the parkade at County. He hadn't relished the thought
of coming back to this place at all, but he'd left his mug behind when he came
to pick up his stuff months ago. It had sentimental value, a present from his
former girlfriend and the mother of his child. He wanted it back.



He stepped into the ER while giving himself a pep talk that he'd just go get
his mug and leave. As he was on his way into the lounge, a person tapped him
on the shoulder.



Dave turned around and found himself face to face with Giles.



"Excuse me, but I'm wondering on the status of a patient?" Giles said,
adjusting his glasses.



"I don't work here." Dave said and turned around.



"Well, shouldn't you not be going into the lounge then?" Giles pointed out.



"Shh. you don't tell and I won't." Dave said with a wink.



"I really don't think you should be going in there." Giles persisted.



"What are you? Like the changing of the guard or something?" Dave asked,
slightly annoyed.



"Something like that." Giles replied.



"Whatever. Look, I used to work here and I'm just going to get my mug. Now
why don't you return to your tea time and leave me alone okay?" Dave said,
entering the lounge.



"Well, I can see why he no longer works here." Giles mused.





*******



"Oh, forget this." Willow muttered, "I'll find out for myself how Xander is."



She got up off of her chair and walked off down the hall in the opposite
direction Giles had gone earlier.



"Don't worry about me anyone, I'll be okay, sitting here. all alone." Dawn said
with a sigh. Well, she'd just go amuse herself if everyone was going to ignore
her.



She wandered down the hall and in a few seconds found a supply room. She
slipped inside and looked around. "Jackpot." She said with a grin.
Chapter Five by Susan
"Who called for a surgical consult?" Elizabeth called out coming down the stairs
to the ER. It was her first day back and she wasn't that thrilled to have to
be spending her time in her late husband's element.



"Excuse me, doctor." Giles said stepping up to her.



"What? Oh." Elizabeth said turning around. "Can I help you?"



"I know you must be busy, but I was wondering if you knew the anything about a
friend of mine." Giles stopped when he saw the expression on Elizabeth's face.
"Is something the matter?"



"No. I mean, yes, I mean." Elizabeth sighed. "It's a rather long story, I'm
afraid."



"Well, I appear to have time." Giles said, his heart going out to the beautiful
surgeon.



"I don't think I do." Elizabeth said uncertainly.



"Sorry, Dr. Corday, your consult was cancelled. guy coded." Frank said,
noticing Elizabeth in front of him.



"Well, it would appear I do as well." Elizabeth said with a sigh turning back to
Giles.



"I assume doctors drink coffee?" Giles said uncertainly.



"It's our nectar of life." Elizabeth said with a small smile. "There's a little
place across the street."



"Well, I shouldn't leave them, then again. I did already." Giles said with a
shrug. "Show me the way."





*********



"Wow, that looks expensive!" Anya exclaimed looking at the man who was being
rolled by on the gurney.



Deb looked questioningly at the young woman who was following along but turned
her attention to the bullet being given.



Anya glanced at Deb and asked "Are you going to charge by the stitch? You'll
make a fortune on this one!"



"Excuse me?" Deb said looking up.



"Well, if you charge by the stitch you should receive adequate financial
compensation." Anya explained. "However you could charge by the hour, of
course."



"And who ARE you?" Deb asked as they wheeled the patient into trauma one.



"I'm Anya, have you been scorned by a lover recently?" Anya said sizing the
doctor up.



"Not really." Deb replied with an eye roll.



"Well, I have, would you like to make a wish for me?" Anya asked hopefully.



"Get out of my trauma room!" Deb ordered as the monitors beeped.



"If you get jilted give me a call!" Anya called out as Malik lead her from the
room.





*******



"So give it to me straight, doc, am I going to die?" Xander said glancing up at
Susan.



"No, Mr. Harris." Susan began.



"Please, call me Xander." He corrected.



"Fine, Xander, you're not going to die." Susan replied with a slight bit of
irritation.



"So, if I'm not going to die, maybe we can get together tonight?" Xander asked
hopefully.



"You'll be a bit busy nursing that concussion." Susan replied.



"How about tomorrow then?" Xander persisted, staring at Susan's chest.



"I don't date patients." Susan said flatly.



"I'm sure you can make an exception, just this once." Xander said, trying to be
charming.



"You're too young for me." Susan replied.



"Ah, age is relative." Xander grinned.



Susan jammed an ice pack onto Xander's forehead, causing him to fall back
against the gurney. "Here, that'll help with the swelling. and if it doesn't,
move it to your groin."



******



Spike entered the ER and took a look around. He breathed a sigh of relief when
he saw that none of the Scoobies were in sight. So far so good. Now, to
find Buffy.



He had taken exactly five steps when he saw the very familiar back of a blonde
head. He then registered whom she was talking to, another man.



"Bloody hell." Spike muttered as he took Luka in. "Who's this bloke?"



Buffy tossed her hair slightly and Spike became enraged.



"If I didn't have that bloody chip, I'd rip his heart out and eat it." He
muttered angrily. That thought reminded him that he was hungry. The only good
thing about this was that he was going to get a nice meal here. He headed off
down the hallway.





******



"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed as she moved a box and found a pile of emesis basins.
"It's like a little kidney pan!"



She paused for a second, and thought. "Gee, I hope they don't keep kidneys in
them." She shrugged and shoved one into her backpack. It'd make a cool
souvenir regardless.





******



"So, Dr. Kovac." Buffy said looking up with the tall doctor with awe.
Something about him seemed so familiar.



"Call me Luka." Luka replied with a grin. "Would you like to get something to
eat? You seem to have been here a long time."



"Okay. Luka, that'd be great." Buffy replied with a grin as she brushed his hand
and found it warm to the touch. At least this one was alive.



******



"Got it!" Dave called out happily as he found his mug stashed in one of the back
cabinets of the lounge.



He glanced over; his locker had been taken over already. He didn't expect it
not to be though. He shrugged and went to exit the lounge.



He looked around for signs of that weird British guy and not finding him, he
breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back into the hallway.



He took a few steps and spotted a hot young girl, looking lost.



"Hey, can I help you with something?" Dave said leaning against the wall in his
most charming manner.



"Uh, no" Willow said turning around. Great, she'd found Mr. Hormone.



"I'm Dr. Dave. And you?" Dave said stepping in front of her again.



"Gay." Willow replied rolling her eyes.



"Well, I don't mind sharing." Dave said excitedly. "Got a girlfriend?"



Willow glared at him, and then sadness enveloped her again. "Not anymore."



"Sorry to hear, that, how about we." Dave began, putting a hand on her shoulder.


"DON'T touch me." Willow said flinging his arm off and stalked off down the
hall.



"Why the hell are all the lesbians around her crabby as hell?" Dave questioned.






******



"Do you miss England?" Elizabeth asked as she sipped her coffee.



"Well, considering I just got back from there, not really. Though when I was
living in California, I did." Giles admitted as he stared snuck glances at her.



"California? That must be culture shock." Elizabeth replied, a bit relieved to
find someone who spoke in a familiar accent.



"A bit." Giles admitted and noticed her left hand. "Are you married?"



"Not anymore." Elizabeth said sadly.



"I'm sorry. How long has it been?" Giles asked uncomfortably.



"Almost four weeks." Elizabeth said softly.



"Oh my that is dreadful." Giles replied, feeling sorry for the woman in front of
him.



"He had cancer, we knew it was only a matter of time." Elizabeth replied tears
filling her eyes.



Giles reached across the table and took her hand.





*********



"Where the hell is Weaver?" Romano bellowed as he entered the ER.



"I don't know." Frank barked.



"Well, YOU'RE a lot of help." He turned and found himself face-to-face with
Anya.



"Hello, little bald man." Anya greeted Romano.



"Can I help you?" Romano replied exasperatedly.



"I notice you have a gold colored stethoscope, is that because you're important
around here?" Anya questioned.



"Yeah, I'm chief of staff." Romano replied, pleased to be getting respect.



"Wow, you make the most money then?" Anya said excitedly.



"Pretty much." Romano replied smugly. He liked this one and she wasn't
anything bad to look at either.



"Well, I usually like my men with washboard abs, but your advanced financial
standing is rather impressive." Anya began. "May I rub your shiny head?"



"What?" Romano said looking confused. "No, you nutjob!"



"It's considered a sign of respect!" Anya explained.



"It's also considered a sign of respect that you've got a screw loose." Romano
snorted and walked off. Damn lunatics in the ER.
Chapter Six by Susan
"Can you help me?" Willow said, approaching Kerry.



"Yes?" Kerry said hesitantly, after that weird girl she'd seen at the desk
earlier she was wondering if it was a full moon.



"I'm looking to see how my friend is. Xander, I mean Alexander Harris." Willow
said to the older redhead.



"Well. I'm not treating him." Kerry glanced at the board. "Seems that Dr. Lewis
is. Has she come to see you yet?"



"No." Willow said slowly.



"Well, let's go find her, shall we?" Kerry said testily. She was going to give
it to Susan when she saw her.



"Dr. Weaver, phone call!" Frank called to Kerry as she crutched down the hall.



"Take a message, Frank!" Kerry called back.



"It's Sandy." Frank stated and watched Kerry rush to the phone.



"Hi, how are you. yeah, yeah." She said softly smiling into the receiver.
"You're going to cook? Okay, sure, we do have medical training after all."



Willow watched with a sad smile as Kerry talked into the receiver.



"Okay, yes, I'll try to be home on time. Well, I wouldn't want THAT." Kerry
purred into the receiver. "Okay, yes, miss you too."



Kerry glanced over her shoulder at Frank who was pretending not to be listening
in on the conversation. Screw it. "Love you too." She said softly into the
phone.



"Um, sorry, personal call." Kerry said trying to regain her professionalism.



"It's okay, I was in love. once." Willow said softly.



Kerry looked at her questioningly.

"She was shot. died." Willow said with tears in her eyes. "A week ago."



As Willow began to cry, Kerry put her arm around her and led her to a vacant
room.





*******



Spike wiped his mouth and tossed the blood bag into the trash. It had been
rather easy to find a good supply and as he sated his hunger he tried to forget
what he almost did to Buffy and the way she was looking at that other man.



"Bloody women." He muttered angrily and headed outside for a smoke. He had time
for a quick one before the sun started to rise.





*******



Carter leaned back on the bench in the ambulance bay. He was tired; it'd been a
long day and an even longer past few weeks. He took another drag on the
cigarette, he'd tried to stop but the smallpox thing and Mark's death had made
that impossible.



"Mind if I join you?" A voice spoke up next to him.



Carter glanced up and saw Spike standing next to him.



"Go ahead." Carter said, scooting over.



"Bloody women." Spike muttered lighting his cigarette.



"You can say THAT again." Carter muttered in agreement.



"Some bitch break your heart?" Spike said looking at Carter with interest.



"Well, kind of." He said hesitantly. "What do they want? They look at you,
break up with their lame boyfriends for you."



"Save your bloody hide." Spike added.



"And then when you get to the point where you want to be WITH them, they push
you away." Carter muttered.



"Or they tell you that they can NEVER love you." Spike muttered in agreement.



They both took a drag off their cigarettes.





********



"So you're a nurse?" Anya said stepping up to Abby.



"Yes." Abby began warily.



"Aren't you annoyed that your hard work isn't properly rewarded financially?"
Anya asked.



"I'm not in this for the money." Abby said tightly.



"Oh, are you in it to date hot doctors then?" Anya asked. "You know the ones
with deliciously sexy bodies and thick wallets?"



"NO, that's not why I'm a nurse." Abby snapped.



"I see, but HAVE you dated doctors?" Anya asked slowly.



"Well, yeah." Abby admitted.



"Have you been scorned recently?" Anya asked, rubbing her hands together.



"Well. not technically." Abby said slowly. "It's complicated."



"My fiancé left me at the altar." Anya stated.



"That sucks." Abby said, unsure of where this was leading.



"Don't you wish bad things would happen to him?" Anya prompted.





******



"Ooh! Look at this!" Dawn exclaimed, holding up a small bedpan. "I bet I could
use this for all kinds of things!"



She surveyed the object, wondering what its intended use was, then shrugged and
shoved it in her backpack.





******



"You must miss him very much." Giles said gently.



"I do." Elizabeth murmured.



"It's not easy to lose a loved one, ever." Giles handed Elizabeth a napkin.
"Surely you can remember good things about him though?"



"Well, he would sing our daughter to sleep." Elizabeth began.



"You have a daughter?" Giles interrupted.



"Ella, she's a little over a year old." She confirmed, and pulled a picture out
of her wallet. "It's a little old, but there she is with Mark."



Giles looked at the picture and his heart went out to her. "She's certainly a
beautiful little girl." He handed the picture back to Elizabeth. "I'm sorry
for your loss."



"I guess. I guess part of me expected it, but." She trailed off.



"You never expect it." Giles supplied.



"Yeah." Elizabeth sadly agreed.





******



"How are you doing, Mr. Harris?" Susan asked warily as she came into the exam
room to check on her patient.



"I'd be a lot better if you'd go out with me." Xander answered.



Susan glanced down and noticed his massive hard on. "I don't do anything to
fix THAT." Susan replied with a bit of disgust.



"Not up for "playing doctor"?" Xander said with a wink.



"Persistent." Susan observed as she did a neuro check.



"All systems go?" Xander asked, jumping off of the gurney and immediately
slumping to the floor.



"Damn." Susan muttered. She opened the door and called for help. In a few
seconds Malik and Haleh were helping her lift Xander back to the gurney.



"Guess I overdid it." Xander replied a bit embarrassed.


"Thanks guys." She said as they left the room. Turning to Xander she added.
"Now STAY down, and it'd help if the rest of you did too."
Chapter Seven by Susan
"I'm sorry the food is not gourmet." Luka said as Buffy wrinkled her nose at the
cafeteria offerings.



"It's okay, I work fast food. I'm used to eating odd stuff." Buffy said, trying
to find a salad that wasn't too wilted.



"So, you are from California?" Luka asked, his eyes lighting up as they began to
set up for breakfast.



"Sunnydale." Buffy confirmed and then glanced up at Luka. "I take it you're not
originally from Chicago."



"What makes you say that?" Luka said feigning innocence.



"Gee, I don't know." Buffy said with a laugh.



Luka filled a plate with scrambled eggs and replied, "Croatia."



"Uh, wasn't there like, a war there?" Buffy asked looking skeptically at the
tall doctor.



"Yes." Luka said a little testily. She was confirming what he had thought;
Americans were ignorant on world affairs.



"Whoa, that must have been all kinds of bad." Buffy said sympathetically and
tried to find a bagel that wasn't as hard as a hockey puck.



"Yes." Luka replied softly.



"I'm sorry." She said turning to the sad Croatian.



Luka shrugged. "It was many years ago."



"But not many enough?" Buffy suggested, placing a hand on Luka's back.





*********





"They MUST die!" The cloaked figure screamed in frustration. "Why won't my
curses work?"



"It's the Wicca." Brown demon said hesitantly and ducked.



"Well, go to the damn hospital and FIND the Wicca!" The figure shouted.



"How do we know the Wicca's at the hospital?" The other demon asked
uncertainly.



"Because you MORON, the Wicca's protecting the hospital. Now go!" She screamed
and kicked him in the rear.



"Oww. okay, County General, here we come." The demon muttered, rubbing his sore
behind.





*******



"Excuse me, ma'am." Susan said flagging Anya down in the hallway.



"Oh, you're the doctor from earlier." Anya said taking in Susan's appearance.
"How's Xander?"



"A concussion, I'm afraid." Susan gestured to the door behind her, "He's right
through there if you want to see him."



"Oh, okay." Anya said and paused a second. "Why does your hair look like that?"




"Excuse me?" Susan asked taken aback.



"Does your meager salary not afford you the opportunity to visit a decent
hairdresser?" Anya asked.



"Gee, and I was wondering why he left you at the altar." Susan muttered walking
off down the hall.



"You seem like you've been scorned!" Anya called after her, hopefully.



"I'll show her scorned." Susan growled.





*******



"Sometimes, you just have to let them lead their own lives." Giles finished up,
leaning back against the booth.



"But you're back?" Elizabeth asked, slightly confused.



"Well, when I found out about Tara, how could I NOT have come back?" Giles
replied, thinking of what else drew him back to Sunnydale.



"That must be terrible." Elizabeth agreed. "So what brings you to Chicago?"



"Oh, um." Giles stammered then quickly added, "Visiting a friend."



Elizabeth seemed to accept that as she watched Giles frantically grab his glass
of water.





******





"It's just. I didn't expect her to go." Willow sobbed into Kerry's shoulder.



"Shh, honey, it's okay." Kerry said, patting the back of the younger redhead.



"I did some bad things when I found out, VERY bad things." Willow murmured.



"We're all entitled to make mistakes." Kerry said soothingly.



"Not like mine." Willow sighed.



"It can't be that bad." Kerry reasoned.



"Trust me, it is." Willow said softly.





******



"Hey, are you still working?" Spike asked looking up at Carter as he stood to
put his cigarette out.



"No, off. Why?" Carter asked turning to Spike.



"Figured you might know of a good place where we could get a little drink and
forget those bitches." Spike said with a grin as he checked the skyline. As
long as they left soon, he'd be okay.



"Well, I really don't drink." Carter began hesitantly.



"Don't be a bloody poofter." Spike replied, standing. "One little drink ain't
goin' hurt you."



Carter thought briefly, it wasn't like he really had any guy friends to hang out
with. A drink, well, that couldn't hurt as long as he didn't drunk.



"Yeah, okay." Carter replied. "There's a place around the corner, a short walk
from here."



"Lead the way." Spike grinned.





******





"TAPE!" Dawn shrieked finding cases of bandage tape. "I could play mummy!"



She started tossing rolls into her backpack.



"Grrr. arrgh!" Dawn growled and then burst into giggles.





******





Dave spotted a hot blonde and grinned. Well, when you fall off the horse.



"Hey, there." He said coming up behind her.



Anya turned around and found herself face to face with Dave. "Oh, hi, are you a
doctor here?"



"Not anymore." Dave grumbled.



"Oh, it must be financially devastating to be unemployed." Anya said
sympathetically.



"Well." Dave began.



"I usually reserve my powers for scorned women, but you appear to have
well-defined muscles, not to mention an impressive penis." Anya said glancing at
the bulge in Dave's pants.



Dave was flabbergasted.



"Would you like vengeance?" Anya asked, placing a hand on Dave's shoulder.



"Is that a code word?" Dave asked hopefully, growing harder by the moment.





********



"What are we supposed to do?" The brown demon mumbled to his partner as the two
snuck into the back door of County.



"I don't know, but the Master is displeased." The partner muttered back. "We
must find the Wicca."
Chapter Eight by Susan
"John Carter." Carter said out of nowhere as they walked.



"What's that?" Spike asked curiously.



"My name." Carter replied. "I realized we hadn't introduced ourselves yet."



"Well that was bloody rude of me." Spike said with a laugh. "I'm William, but
my friends call me Spike."

Carter raised an eyebrow.



"Very old nickname." Spike replied with a wink, realizing that the true story of
how he got the nickname wouldn't sit well with Carter.



"Hey, you with those others?" Carter said suddenly. If he remembered they
called him a "soulless thing."



"Not exactly with them, mate." Spike said with a shrug. "It's a long story."



"Oh, because you slept with that one girl right?" Carter asked, now curious
about the bleached blonde in front of him.



"Which girl?" Spike said hesitantly. He didn't mean Buffy did he?



"Uh, the weird one. the one who was engaged to that other guy." Carter said
slowly, what the hell was her name again?



"Anya." Spike said with a sigh. "Yeah, it was a mistake, a big bloody mistake."




"Damn, they're closed." Carter muttered as he approached the bar.



"Well, it's late. or early." Spike said with a shrug. "How bout we grab a bit
of this and that and head back to my hotel room?" He checked out the skyline,
they'd have just enough time before daybreak, but they'd be cutting it close.



Carter hesitated, he barely knew this guy. For all he knew he could be some
kind of sick twisted murderer.



"I'm not going to bloody bite you." Spike said with a bit of disgust upon
noticing Carter's hesitation.



"Well." Carter replied slowly.



"Look, you go across the street." Spike pointed to an all-night liquor store.
"Get whatever you think will make us forget those bitches. I'll head inside
the hotel here and get us a room."



"Don't you already have a room?" Carter asked skeptically.



"Didn't get a chance to, came straight from the airport. Bloody wanker fell
off a conveyer belt or some such." Spike explained heading inside. "See you in
a bit?"



"Yeah, okay." Carter replied, heading across the street to the liquor store.





*********





"Damn." Elizabeth muttered as her pager went off.



"Do you have to return to work?" Giles asked reluctantly.



"I'm afraid I do, will I see you again?" Elizabeth asked sliding out of the
booth.



"Well, I'm here with a friend in the ER." Giles said suddenly remembering the
reason he was at the hospital in the first place.



"Ah, well, I hate to run off." Elizabeth said, with a last look at the fellow
Brit.



"Go, I understand." Giles said with a nod as Elizabeth sprinted away.



Giles stopped to pay the bill then wandered back across to County. It was time
for him to return to work.





********





"How do we know who the Wicca is?" The brown demon grumbled as they snuck
towards the ER.



"Don't know, look for someone who seems mystical." The other demon replied. The
two crept along until they caught sight of Abby who was hooking up an IV.



"There you go." Abby replied, taping the needle down.



"Did she give that man a potion?" The brown demon replied in awe.



"She must be the witch!" The other demon said excitedly.





*******





"Did I ever tell you how much I adore strong women?" Xander said groggily as he
came to.



"So even a loss of conciousness doesn't stop you from hitting on me." Susan
replied with a mix of irritation and a laugh.



Xander tried to sit up, only to be pushed down by Susan.



"You enjoying this?" Susan replied with irritation as she noticed the growing
bulge in his pants.



"It's been a while." Xander admitted sheepishly.



"Then don't leave your fiancée at the altar." Susan snorted.





*******





"It's not your fault." Buffy said, reaching across the table for Luka's hand.



"If I hadn't have left them home, if I'd gotten her help." Luka said sadly.



"It's not your fault." Buffy repeated.



"But I." Luka protested.



Buffy cut him off by leaning across the table and planting a quick kiss on him.




Luka stared up in surprise before leaning towards her and kissing her
passionately.





*******





"I fell off the wagon." Willow admitted.



"You're grieving." Kerry said rubbing her back. "People in grief do dumb
things."



"I knew she hated it. I know she wouldn't have wanted me to. but I. god, losing
her." Willow sniffled.



Kerry enveloped her into a hug. "I know, honey."





*******





Dawn snuck out of the supply room, her backpack full to capacity and ran almost
directly into Giles.



"Oh, um, hi!" Dawn said a little too cheerily.



"Have you seen where everyone else went?" Giles asked, relieved to have at least
found one of the Scoobies.



"No, they all left me." Dawn replied bitterly.



"Well, did you see where they went?" Giles asked.



"Buffy was staring at some doctor guy with dark hair. I think he's a vampire!"
Dawn whispered to Giles.



"Don't be silly, Dawn, vampires don't work in emergency rooms in Chicago." Giles
said, brushing off Dawn's observation.



Dawn looked put off. Hey, there could be vampires in the ER, couldn't there?





*******





"Wanna know how I got fired?" Dave asked, eyeing Anya up and down.



"Well, sure, it'd help me get you vengeance." Anya replied eagerly.



"Follow me." Dave said eagerly, grabbing Anya's hand and leading her to the
ambulance bay.



When they arrived outside, Anya looked skeptically at the ambulances.



"Oh, you stole one of these? Well, they do look rather expensive." She said
glancing at Dave.



"Oh, I didn't steal one." Dave explained to Anya's visible relief.



"What then?" Anya asked puzzled.



Dave pulled open the door. "Get in." He said with a grin.





*******



Abby slipped into the lounge and took a seat. God, she needed a drink. She
checked her watch, another hour to go then she could get completely plastered.
After all, it wasn't like she had to put up a front for Carter anymore.
Suddenly, everything went dark.



To be continued.
Chapter Nine by Susan
Spike had just gotten the keys to the room when Carter came into the hotel lobby
carrying a large paper bag.



"I wasn't sure what you liked." Carter said a bit bashfully when Spike looked
questioningly at the bag.



"I'm sure whatever you got is fine." Spike said with a little grin as he watched
the doctor fumble with the bag. He was rather cute, in a clumsy sort of way.



"Oh, okay." Carter replied with a bit of relief as he followed Spike down the
hall to the hotel room.



Spike unlocked the door and rushed to close the drapes. Daylight would be
breaking in a matter of minutes and Spike had no intention of being crispy.
He breathed a sigh of relief as got them closed and turned to face Carter.



Carter looked strangely at him. "Afraid of someone seeing you?" He asked
questioningly.



"Oh, ah, no, no, not quite that." Spike replied quickly. Damn, how was he going
to explain THIS one? "I've. I'm used to being up late. working nights and such,
seeing the sun kind of throws off my schedule." Not exactly a lie.



"Oh, okay." Carter said with visible relief. That he could understand, he'd
worked his share of night shifts and usually made the room as dark as possible
after one of them anyway.



"So, drink?" Spike asked, glancing at the bag Carter was holding and thankful
for other man's acceptance of his explanation.



"Oh, right." Carter said, suddenly remembering the large bag he was still
holding. He placed it down on the nightstand and began to pull out the
contents.



Spike grabbed a bottle of whiskey and opened it. "Damn women, I tell you." He
muttered. "You fall in love with them, go through all kinds of shit for them,
and how do they repay you? They go off with the first bloody poofter they see."
He grabbed two glasses from the nightstand and poured whiskey into both of them.
He handed one to Carter. "You want it on the rocks or something?"



"Nah, this'll work." Carter said accepting the glass. No reason he couldn't
just have a little, he reminded himself. He took a drink of it and made a
face.



Spike laughed. "Been a while since you got drunk?" He took a drink with no
problem and looked at the doctor again.



"You can say that." Carter said sheepishly. He took another drink and didn't
react, having grown accustomed to the taste.



"So what's your story?" Spike said, sitting on the bed. "Who's the bloody
bitch that broke your heart?"



"Who didn't?" Carter replied bitterly and took another swig of the whiskey.



"Ah, I hear you." Spike said, downing the rest of his glass and refilling it.
He offered the bottle to Carter.



"Just a long line of them." Carter muttered and downed the rest of his glass.



"They don't bloody know what they want. One day they want you, the next they
don't and the bloody next they want to be a makeup commercial or some such
garbage." Spike rambled.



"Exactly!" Carter replied refilling his glass. "I date this one, she breaks up
with me and tells me that I'm in love with Abby, this other girl. Abby flirts,
pushes me away, flirts, pushes me away, etc, etc." He took a drink and
continued. "Doesn't know what she wants, I finally get up the nerve to kiss her
and she runs for the hills."



"Eh, they all do that. She'll act all like she wants you then she'll say that
she can never love you and you're beneath her." Spike muttered angrily as he
gulped down another glass and reached for a refill.



"They'll tell you there's no chemistry." Carter added, finishing off his glass
and accepting the bottle from Spike.



"Well, I never had THAT problem." Spike said with a grin as he remembered the
first time he'd been with Buffy.



"Oh." Carter replied a little embarrassed as he took a sip.



"Don't worry about it. Bloody bitch probably didn't know what she had." Spike
said trying to reassure him.



"I guess I'm a lousy kisser." Carter murmured as he took the bottle and poured
himself another glass.



"That can't be true." Spike replied staring at Carter's lips. The man
certainly didn't LOOK like a bad kisser. Spike downed another drink and reached
again for the bottle.



"Well, a kiss is what it took to convince my ex-girlfriend to break up with me.
Then, of course with Abby, and I tried to kiss her and she's been avoiding me
ever since." Carter tried to explain as he finished his drink and reached for
the bottle again.



"I don't think that's true." Spike said. "Sure a kiss can do a lot, but you
can't be bloody awful."



Carter snorted.



"C'mere." Spike said putting down his glass and gesturing toward Carter.



"What?" Carter said looking at Spike. Surely he couldn't mean?



"I'm going to evaluate for myself." Spike replied, scooting next to Carter.



Before Carter could say anything, Spike leaned in and brushed his lips against
Carter's.



Carter pulled away hesitantly.



Spike laughed slightly. "Well, if you act that way when you kiss, I can see
your problem."



Carter was angry for a second, what right did he have to judge him? I'll show
him, Carter thought as he leaned in and began to kiss Spike.



Spike was surprised by the feeling of Carter's lips on his but responded
eagerly, parting his lips and letting Carter add his tongue to the mix.



Carter was intently focused on the kiss. First, he was trying to prove to Spike
that he could kiss, but soon he found himself enjoying the feeling of Spike's
lips on his. Then he went hard and the urgency increased.



His teasing had been off the mark, Spike soon discovered. The man could
certainly kiss; in fact he was making him hard. He hadn't been with anyone
since Anya. He needed this and badly.



When the two men finally came up for air, they stared deep into each other's
eyes.



"Well, the bloody bitches don't deserve you." Spike stated, staring at Carter's
groin.



Carter blushed.



"Aww, look at you." Spike said softly, brushing his hand against Carter's cheek.
"Stupid bitches, don't bloody deserve you."



Carter blushed redder at the praise. He'd never been able to take a
compliment. "You're not so bad yourself." He said, his voice thick with
desire.



"Not anymore." Spike replied with a laugh. He gently put his arms around
Carter, thankful as Carter settled into his embrace. He didn't need a migraine
to ruin this moment.



Carter enjoyed being held, it'd been a long time since anyone had bothered to
hold him, especially in a tender way.



"When's the last time someone made love to you?" Spike whispered into Carter's
ear.





**********





"This is the second time that I've been in an ambulance today." Anya observed as
she followed Dave into the back of the rig.



Dave placed a quick kiss on Anya's lips and grinned. "Bet you didn't do THAT
the first time."



"Sadly, no. Do you think that if I was willing to pay that a cute paramedic
would have been willing to kiss me?" Anya asked with a grin as she leaned into
Dave for another kiss.



Dave hadn't been kissed so eagerly by a woman since his LAST time in an
ambulance. At least he couldn't get fired for doing it with Anya here. His
tongue eagerly met hers as his hands roamed his way up her body and brushed
against the outside of her breasts.



"It's a shame you couldn't have kept your job just on the basis of your apparent
sexual skill. Why must employers not take into consideration vast sexual
experience and talent when making such decisions?" Anya mused as the kiss broke
apart.



Dave shrugged and leaned into resume the kiss. He started to slide his hands
under her shirt again, when she interrupted him.



"After all, sexual skill IS a necessity to ensure survival of the population."
Anya added.



"Right." Dave agreed as he slipped his hands under the hem of her shirt. He
was almost at the outer edge of her bra when she spoke up again.



"What would we do if there weren't enough sexually skilled people around? The
race would die out and demons would end up taking over the earth." She paused
for a second. "That might not be so bad."



"Are you going to keep talking?" Dave asked the annoyance creeping into his
voice.



"Huh, why?" Anya asked clearly confused.



"Well, I was thinking that we could do something other than talk." Dave purred
as he ran a finger down the soft skin of her arm.



"Oh, you want to play a game?" Anya asked. "I don't think we have any board
games here."



"No, I was thinking something ELSE." Dave replied frustrated.



Anya became excited; she certainly knew what a symbol like that meant. She
slowly stroked the growing bulge in Dave's pants.



"So you want to be my sex puppy?" Anya asked eagerly.



Dave barked in response then they both giggled.



When he was finally able to brush against the soft material of her bra, Dave
moaned as he gently moved his fingers against her hardened nipples.



Anya took that as an invitation to unzip Dave's pants and slide his member out
of the layers of material that poorly contained it.



Dave broke their kiss and began to slowly kiss his way along her jaw and down
her neck.



"Hey, won't we get caught?" Anya asked suddenly. She wasn't sure if the
prospect of being caught bothered her or not.



Dave grinned. "If this rig's a rockin' don't come a knockin'"





************





Luka slowly pulled away from their kiss and looked deep into Buffy's eyes. It
seemed like she knew pain and death as well as he did.



"I don't." He said throatily.



"We can't." Buffy said slowly.



He leaned across the table and began to kiss her again. It wasn't like Abby
hadn't kissed Carter at work, after all. How could she expect that he wouldn't
hear about that?



Buffy responded to the kiss, realizing that the last guy she'd kissed who'd been
alive was Riley. Of course, to be fair Luka DID look rather vampish.



"Luka." She breathed as they broke the kiss.



"Not here." He whispered, knowing that he'd be hard as a rock in a moment. He
grabbed her hand and led her out of the cafeteria.



Buffy followed along eagerly. It wasn't like she couldn't kick his ass if he
got too fresh anyway.



Luka quickly led her to a room long abandoned in the basement.



"The basement?" Buffy asked trying to mask her disapproval. Why the hell did
she keep falling for guys that liked to do it underground?



"A former. friend once mentioned this room to me." Luka said with a grin as he
led her into the room and pulled aside a ceiling tile.



"What are you looking for?" Buffy asked skeptically.



"This." Luka replied, pulling candles and a few other objects out of the
ceiling. This was probably the first time he ever wanted to thank Doug Ross.
Chapter Ten by Susan
"Giles? Giles? Earth to Giles!" Dawn said waving her hand in front of his face.
He had just stopped talking and was staring off into space at nothing.



"Hmm?" Giles said tearing his thoughts away from the beautiful surgeon. She
was just so. captivating, he hadn't met anyone like that since Jenny.



"You're like in outer space or something." Dawn said, put off at being ignored
again.



"It's.. the time change." Giles said quickly.



"It's only two hours later here than it is in Sunnydale." Dawn pointed out.



"On top of the change from England." Giles added. "So have you seen Xander
yet?"



"Xander?" Dawn asked, momentarily confused. Oh, right, Xander, why they were at
the hospital. "Um, not yet."



"Perhaps Willow's found him." Giles replied with a sigh, this was getting to be
a long day.



*********



"There's no shame in addiction." Kerry said soothingly, rubbing Willow's back as
she cried.



"I did. horrible things. Things I can't even describe." Willow sniffled,
thinking of Warren and the whole almost ending the world thing.



"We've all lost people we've loved." Kerry said with a far away look, thinking
of Lucy, Mark, her parents and Gabe among others.



"It doesn't excuse what I did." Willow insisted. "Tara deserved better."



Kerry felt torn, something about the young woman reminded her so much of
herself. She was silent for a few moments then spoke up.



"I don't normally do this, but I'm off in a few hours, why don't you come over
to my place for breakfast?" Kerry asked hesitantly.



"No, you have plans. Sandy right?" Willow blew her nose.



"She'll understand." Kerry said, patting Willow on the shoulder.





*********



"We found her!" The demons exclaimed as they dragged a large bag behind them.



"Good! Time to get rid of the witch!" The cloaked figure replied and opened the
bag.



An unconscious Abby tumbled out onto the floor. The figure glared angrily at
the demons.



"YOU MORONS!" The cloaked figure screamed hitting the demons.



"What?" The brown demon trembled.



"I wanted you to bring me the WITCH, not the BITCH!" The figure screamed and
threw the other demon against the wall.





*********





Xander looked up weakly as the door opened. "Hey, thought you all forgot about
me?"



Giles entered, followed by Dawn. The latter surveyed Xander and made a face.



"You look all icky." Dawn said, surveying Xander's bruised forehead and pale
color.



"Thanks Dawnie, like I wasn't feeling bad enough about my attractiveness to
women today." Xander replied with a sigh.



"How are you?" Giles asked, finding himself to be relieved by seeing Xander
alive and conscious but yet also worried by the bandage covering his head.



"Doc wants to keep me I think." Xander said with a shrug.



"I'm sorry." Dawn said in a small voice, remembering that it was her bag that he
was trying to get when he fell off the conveyer belt.



Xander shrugged. Turning, to Giles he asked, "So any news on the bad mojo
stuff going on here?"



Giles blushed slightly. "Actually, I haven't had much of a chance to
investigate."



"You? Not investigate? Isn't that what you were born to do?" Xander asked
skeptically.



"Well, your swan dive into a pillar rather put us behind schedule." Giles
pointed out.



"Hey, where's everyone else?" Xander asked, suddenly curious about the
whereabouts of the others.



"They haven't been in yet?" Giles asked, concern evident in his voice.



"You guys are the first ones." Xander replied.



"Well, I went off in search of information." Giles replied. Not exactly a lie.




"Willow went to go find you and Anya said something about a cash register." Dawn
added.



"What about Buffy?" Xander asked.





********





Buffy leaned back as Luka kissed his way down her neck. She moaned happily,
she'd been initially a bit apprehensive about Luka going after her neck, but she
reminded herself that he didn't have fangs.



Luka reached the scar on her neck and paused. "What happened here?" He asked,
looking into her eyes. The faint light of the candles gave off a beautiful
glow that highlighted her features, but hid their emotions.



"What?" Buffy asked, momentarily confused. She then realized what Luka was
referring to. "Um, long story. I really don't want to talk about it."



"Okay." Luka replied with a shrug and went back to kissing her. It wasn't like
he wasn't used to NOT talking to the woman he was with.




*********





"Has anyone seen Abby?" Haleh said with irritation in her voice as she came up
to the desk. "Her patient in three keeps asking when the nurse will be back to
give him a bath."



"I'm not a baby sitter." Frank grumbled. Damn staff, it wasn't up to him to
keep track of them.



"Hey, did anyone see where Abby went? She said she'd hang an IV on my patient
two hours ago and I haven't seen her since." Susan said coming up to the desk.




"Is this your guy with the crush on you?" Chuni said with a grin.



"He doesn't have a crush on me. He's just horny." Susan corrected. "I was
really hoping I wouldn't have to go back in there and have him ask me out again.
The guy can NOT take no for an answer."



"Could be worse, he could be a dirty old man wanting a bath." Haleh said with
disgust. "If anyone needs me I'll be in three."



"Hey, has anyone seen Abby?" Kerry asked, crutching her way to the desk.



"That's the question of the hour." Susan replied.





********





Abby groggily came to and looked around the dark room. She tried to speak but
found herself gagged and chained against a wall.



"Oh, you're up." The cloaked figure said patronizingly. "Well, lucky you, you
don't get to die with the others, no, you'll die here."



Abby tried to shout against her gag as the figure gently pressed a knife against
her skin.



"Oh, don't worry, you won't die. YET." The figure laughed.





*********





Willow looked surprised to enter Xander's room and find Dawn and Giles there.



"Oh, you guys beat me here." Willow said, trying to cover that she'd been
crying.



"Yeah, apparently there wasn't that big of a rush to come in." Xander said, with
a touch of bitterness in his voice.



"Oh, um, Giles, any news on the big bad?" Willow said, trying to change the
subject.



"Well, no, actually." Giles admitted.



"Whatever it is, it has to make itself known eventually, right?" Xander asked,
settling back onto the gurney.



"Maybe Buffy and Anya know something. They could be investigating." Dawn piped
up.





***********





"You didn't answer me." Spike whispered playfully.



"Hmm?" Carter asked distractedly.



"When's the last time someone made love to you?" Spike repeated, gently stroking
Carter's cheek.



"A long time ago." Carter admitted.



"Maybe we can change that, love." Spike said with a grin.



Carter responded by leaning into Spike for a kiss.

To be continued...
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