FIC: These Roads We Travel (18/?)

[Kimber <kacoe@xxxxxxx>]

TITLE: These Roads We Travel (18/?)
AUTHOR: Kimber (kacoe@xxxxxxx)
DISCLAIMER: All BTVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant
Enemy. SUMMARY: The long awaited next story in "The Road Series".
SPOILERS: Everything is fair game.
DISTRIBUTION: The usual suspects. Anyone else, e-mail me please.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This comes because I've had so many great responses to
the series and many people begging for another. Be careful what you wish
for.

{{Indicates flashbacks}}
-----------

Pace. Pace. Pace. Pace. Stop. Turn. Pace. Pace. Pace. Pace.
Stop. Turn. Pace. Pace. Pace. Pace.

?Lisa! You?re gonna wear a track in the carpet if you don?t stop.?
Buffy smirked at her.

Lisa shrugged, took two steps to the left, and continued to pace.

?She?s as bad as you. Ya know that?? Buffy looked over to Faith.

?You know, B, we?ve been here for almost an hour, and no one?s come to
tell us about Red or Laurel.?

?And??

?You?re taking it kinda well. I mean, you?re calm. It?s new.? Faith
shrugged.

?Right now all I know is that my daughter and my Willow are being taken
care of. . .and they both have pulses. That?s what counts.? Buffy
rolled her eyes when she saw Faith?s disbelieving look. ?Okay, okay. .
.freaked isn?t the word for what I am right now,? Buffy stood up and
looked down the long white corridor again. ?But turning psycho isn?t
gonna help matters. . .not yet anyway. I?m trying to be level headed
here. And so far it?s working so don?t rock the boat.?

Faith nodded and looked up at Lisa who was still covering the length of
the waiting room like a champ. ?Li, come sit, will ya? You?re makin me
dizzy.?

Lisa shook her head no and continued to walk.

Faith got up and stood in her path. The girl literally ran into the
dark Slayer. She looked up at Faith with unshed tears. ?Tell me she?s
okay.? She said in a tiny voice. ?Tell me she?ll be alright.? She
wiped at her eyes in annoyance. ?I don?t cry, ya know. It?s just not
something I do. I mean, things tend to not effect me much and as far as
effects go . . .God, Faith, what if she?s not okay? What if. . .? Lisa
was unable to finish the sentence. She leaned into the Slayer and began
to sob.

---------

Giles walked over to where Buffy was standing in the hallway. She
looked up and gave him a weak smile. ?You okay, Giles??

He nodded and smiled warmly. ?I was about to ask you the very same
question.?

?I think I?ve been better.? She was quiet for a few moments. ?Yeah,
I?ve given it a lot of thought. I?ve been *so* much better than this.?

?Have you had time to digest everything? A lot has happened, Buffy, and
I?m just concerned you?ll. . .?

?Ignore it till it goes away like I do everything else??

He smiled. ?Well, I wouldn?t have put it that way but, yes.?

She turned to him in shock suddenly as if noticing where she was for the
first time.

?Buffy, what is it??

?She?s not dead, Giles.? She covered her mouth in shock. ?Willow?s not
dead. Oh my God! She?s in there. . .not twenty feet away from me.
She?s not dead.?

Giles sighed and hugged her. ?I know, Buffy, I know.?

------

Faith looked up over Lisa?s head and saw Giles comforting Buffy. She
smiled at him as she stroked the young girls hair. It was strange,
being needed, being a comfort to someone, but Faith decided she kind of
liked it. It felt nice that she could do this with Lisa. . .be there
for her. Poor kid had a rough life as far as she knew. Raised by her
father, doesn?t know who her mother is or where she is for that matter.
And just as she and Laurel found each other and were just starting out,
Laurel gets hurt.

?Is the Rosenberg family here?? A doctor walked into the waiting room.

?Yes!? Buffy rushed to him, followed closely by Faith, Lisa and Giles.
?I?m Willow Rosenberg?s partner, and Laurel is our daughter. What?s
going on? Are they okay? What?s taking so long?? She folded her arms
in front of her. ?Well??

?Buffy, give the man half a chance.? Giles placed his hand on her
shoulder then turned to him. ?Well? She asked for an answer, man.?

?Willow is doing as well as can be expected. I don?t know what she?s
been through. She has hypothermia and frostbite, we were able to save
her limbs, though she will have to go through extensive physical therapy
because of the rigidity that will have set in when she wakes up. That
is if she wakes up at all.?

?If?? Buffy said in disbelief. ?If she wakes up? Be straight with
us. What do you mean if??

?There was a lot of damage done by the frostbite, but that?s not even
the worst part of it. There is some brain swelling and her bones are
brittle so we had to be very careful in trying to treat her. What ever
this woman has been through, it?s amazing she?s come this far. She?s
malnourished and severely dehydrated, her white count is almost
unreadable and she could quite possibly be in a coma for some time. All
of her systems have shut down.?

?But she?s alive.? Buffy stated.

?She?s alive.? The doctor nodded. ?And so is your daughter. She?s
very weak, but there isn?t any physical damage that we can tell right
now. I?ve seen this before, it?s almost as if she?s been up for a week
straight without sleep. She?ll be fine, she just needs some rest.?

?Can we see her? Them? Both of them?? Buffy asked hopefully.

?Willow is in ICU right now. We have an oxygen tent on her and she?s in
a private room with a nurse stationed there round the clock. I can let
you in, but not for long. As for Laurel, she?s in a regular room and
you can see her, but visiting hours end at nine.?

--------

Buffy walked into Willow?s hospital room and looked over at the nurse
who walked over to her and smiled. ?If you need anything I?ll be right
outside. There?s a zipper on the side of the tent where you can go in
and sit on the bed with her. Be sure to zip it up behind you.?

Buffy nodded at the instructions and began to walk over. From behind
her the nurse commented. ?She?s a lucky woman. We almost lost her a
few times but she?s a real fighter.?

?I know.? Buffy whispered. She turned back to the tent and unzipped it
slowly, then stepped inside. She zipped it back up and sat down on the
bed.

Willow had a breathing tube in her mouth. Her whole head was wrapped up
in a white bandage and there were cuts and bruises all over her face.
She looked like she lost at least twenty pounds, and Willow was petite
to begin with. Her hands were a bluish color, probably from the
frostbite, and you could almost see the outline of the bones in her
arms. Over all she was a mess, but Buffy didn?t care. Buffy cared
that she was home, safe and alive and as far as she was concerned,
Willow looked as beautiful as the day they vowed to love each other for
the rest of their lives.

Gently, she reached over and picked up Willows hand. She brought it to
her mouth and kissed it and all the anger and frustration and sadness
rushed out of her. She was touching Willow, Willow was *right* in front
of her, Willow would get better, *had* to get better.

Buffy reached up and touched Willow?s cheek. ?Hey. . .? she took a
deep breath. ?You know, that?s the part where you usually say, ?hey,
yourself?. . .but I can wait for that. I can wait for everything. The
only thing that matters is I?ve got you here in front of me and I?m
never letting you out of my sight again.? She smiled. ?That?s some
daughter we?ve got there, Will. I told her recently that I thought I
had found the love of my life in you, but I was wrong. She?s the love
of my life too in so many ways. She?s the only thing that kept me going
when you were dea. . .gone. So now you have to get better really
quickly, okay? This mom stuff is a lot harder than it looks. You
always made it seem so easy, but then again you are such a natural at
taking care of people.? She paused a moment, then. ?Look, I?ll make
you a deal; wake up and let me see those green eyes and I?ll take you
and Laurel to England. Remember we always said we wanted to take her to
where we fell in love? But we kept putting it off. Well, no more. The
minute you?re okay to fly we?re going, and that?s the end of it.? Buffy
kissed her hand again. ?God, Will. . .I love you so much it hurts, and
when I lost you. . .I lost a part of me. Wake up, Will. Please wake up
soon.? Buffy laid her head on Willow?s chest and sobbed softly, then
smiled. Her heartbeat. . .she could hear Willow?s heart beating
steadily and feel her chest rising and falling with every breath. It
was the sweetest sound in the world.

-----

?Are you alright?? Giles asked gently.

Faith shrugged. ?Why wouldn?t I be??

?Well, we?ve all gained something tonight. But you?ve lost something
too.?

?It?s five by five, G.? Faith managed to smile and turn to him. ?Red?s
back, Laurel?s going to be okay. . .well, I think she will be until Lisa
gets her hands on her. Then she?s in trouble. And me? Well, I?ll be
just fine by myself.? She turned back and continued to look out the
window. ?I always am.? Faith heard Giles walk away down the hall. She
waited till she knew he was gone, then pulled a picture out of her back
pocket. It was the same picture she kept on her bookcase at home. She
smiled at it fondly and played with one of the tattered edges. ?Or
maybe I?m not okay by myself anymore. What do you think, little one??
She sighed and closed her eyes. ?Maybe it?s time I find you.? She
opened her eyes again and smiled at the picture. ?My Hope.? She
whispered.
----

Laurel opened her eyes slowly and tried to adjust to the light. She
knew she was in a hospital because of the annoying ?fluorescent bright
eye hurting? light. ?Ungh. . .? she blinked a few times. She looked
down and saw Lisa slumped over forward on the bed. Her top half was
across her lap, and her bottom half somehow managed to stay in the
chair. She smiled and reached over to touch the girl?s face. <She must
have been here all night.> Lisa stirred a bit and yawned. Slowly, she
opened her eyes and looked up at Laurel. ?Hey you.?

?Hey yourself danger-girl. What?s your next trick gonna be? Pull a
rabbit out of your ear?? She sat up and smirked. ?Or maybe have
lightening shoot out your. . .?

?Lisa, please,? Laurel rolled her eyes. ?Slayer in pain here?
Coddling and cooing, not finger shaking and berating. Who taught you
your bedside manners??

Lisa sighed. ?I can?t believe you did that last night.? She got up and
began to pace. ?Do you have any idea how dumb it was? You could have
gotten hurt,? She stopped and put her hands on her hips, ?What am I
saying? You *did* get hurt and it could have been worse than a bump on
the head and being tired.? She began to pace again. ?Do you have any
idea what you put everyone through??

Laurel sat up. ?Li, come here.? She patted the side of the bed. ?Come
on.? Lisa sat down and crossed her arms in front of her. ?Look, Li. .
.I don?t expect you to understand what I did last night.? Laurel
thought for a moment. ?Or maybe I do. What would you do if you knew
there was a chance you could get your mother back? How far would you go
and how much danger would you put yourself in if there was even a
possibility??

?That?s not fair. . .and how do you know I?m not looking for my mother??

?I don?t. You never told me.?

?You never told me either. I can?t believe you kept something so
important from me.?

?I told you about it. . .after I was sure about what I was gonna do.?

?You forgot to include the life threatening danger parts of it.?

Laurel sighed. ?Yeah, I did. And I?m sorry.? She reached for Lisa?s
hand.

?You don?t know how crazy I went, how crazy your family was.? Lisa
looked up at her. ?I could have lost you.? She whispered.

Laurel tugged on Lisa?s arm until she gave in and scooted over next to
her on the bed. She wrapped her arm around her and gave a soft
squeeze. ?But you didn?t.? She kissed her on the head. ?I?m here.
If I have anything to say about it, I won?t be going anywhere for a long
time.?

Lisa looked up at her. ?Promise??

?Promise.? Laurel looked down at her. ?Hey. Is that Faith?s jacket??

?Yeah, why??

Laurel smirked. ?She never even lets *me* wear her jacket. What?d you
do to get on her good side??

Lisa smiled. ?Well, we found some common ground.?

?Yeah, what?s that??

?We both care about someone very special. . . .speaking of Faith, I
should go see how she?s holding up. Along with Papa and Buffy too.
God, Laurel, what you did last night. . .it was just amazing. .
.incredibly stupid, yet amazing. You?re amazing. I don?t think I
would ever have the courage to do that. I mean, I don?t know the first
thing about magic but you. . .you seem to know everything. You just. .
.God, I can?t even begin to tell you how great you are and how much I
care about you. Do you have any idea?? Lisa sat quiet for a few
moments and then looked up at Laurel. . .who was fast asleep. She sat
up quietly and kissed her on her forehead. ?Figures. I wanna tell you
everything I feel for you, everything that?s been running around in my
brain these past few weeks. . .and you hit the snooze button.? She
shook her head then quietly slipped out the door.

------

?It?s the second sign of the prophesy.?

?Are you sure??

?Yes. I know it. . . .her strength, stamina, her magic center, they?re
all increasing. It?s only a matter of time now.?

Giles turned to him and studied him for a few moments. ?And how would
you know about her strength and stamina??

Angel paled. . .if that was at all possible.

Giles nodded. ?I see. How long??

?A few months.?

?Really? Care to calculate that again? Because according to my records
it?s been almost a year now.?

?How did you. . .??

?I?m retired, Angel, not dead. . .as much as I disapprove of your
methods, it seems that you?ve worked out a solid arrangement in training
Laurel. . .minus the, um, kissing of course.?

?Giles, I. . .?

?Save it.? His face grew more serious, then he turned around to look
out the window. ?You hurt her, you distract her, you put her through
even one one-hundredth of what Buffy went through with you and I swear
I?ll stake you myself. Are we clear??

?Yes.? Angel responded solemnly.

?Good. Now get the hell out of here before anyone sees you.? When he
turned back around, Angel was gone.

------

Lisa was standing in front of the vending machine trying to make a
decision. Health bar or chocolate. <What am I thinking? There?s no
competition.> She smiled. Realizing that she didn?t have any change on
her, she started fishing through the pockets of Faith?s jacket. ?I?ll
pay her back later.? She mumbled. ?Chocolate should never be denied
to. . .? She stopped when she pulled out a bunch of papers from the
inside pocket.

Lisa leaned against the wall and tried to keep upright. She couldn?t
believe it. In her hand she held her past, present and possibly her
future. There was an envelope and it was addressed simply to ?J? with
her house address on it, and no return address.

She closed her eyes and remembered when she was very small and the
postman handed her the mail like a ?grown up?. It was a game she would
play with her father to see who could get to the mail first. As she
grew older, she realized that at the beginning of the month, one letter
came with her father?s name on it, in the same handwriting, with no
return address. That?s how she started calling him J, because of the
mysterious letter. After she asked him about it, the mail game stopped
and her father met the postman at the door.

Lisa had gotten hold of the envelope one more time and looked inside
it. There was a money order made out to her father and on the memo line
was written, ?For Hope.?

Slowly, Lisa opened the envelope she?d found in Faith?s pocket. She
knew it was wrong but it wasn?t going to stop her. She pulled out the
exact same kind of money order she remembered seeing all those years
ago. . .and it had the same words written on it. ?For Hope.?

Giles turned the corner and Lisa practically ran him over. ?Lisa,
what?s the rush??

?Papa, I?m sorry. . .I just. . .I have to get home. Like *now*.?

?Is everything okay? Laurel, is she. . .?

?Fine, Papa. I can?t talk. Laurel is sleeping. . .I gotta go see. . .?
she took a deep breath and wiped the tears away from her eyes. ?I just
gotta go.? She took of down the hallway at top speed and through the
double doors leading to the street.

TBC. . .

--
~~Kimber

"Lisa's Personal-Pit Pet" *eg*
a.k.a. The Light Lobster
Tourist number 2
List Gutter Lust Goddess (yeah, I've finally given into my fate)
Proud Member of the BtVS Writer's Guild - ~~Because Fic makes anything
possible.