Title: Tumblin' Down 1/?
Author: Elisabeth
Email: dragonydreams@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.dragonydreams.com/
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Willow/Giles
Summary: What if Riley hadn't been there to pull Willow out of harm's way during "Wild at Heart"?
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Joss et al.
Distribution: My site, the usual lists, anyone with previous permission. Anyone else - please ask.
Feedback: Yes please! It makes me happy and keeps me writing.
Author's Note: Thanks to my wonderful Betas for all of your help and encouragement.
The world ended on a bright and sunny morning in Sunnydale, California.
For Willow Rosenberg it was when she skipped into the crypt her boyfriend locked himself up in when he went all wolfy, only to find him not alone, and naked. In her young life she had never known pain so acute before. The man she loved more than anything had just ripped her heart to shreds.
For Rupert Giles it was when Buffy called him from the hospital. Willow had been hit by a car while crossing the street, with Buffy having to watch from a block away. She was still unconscious. The woman he secretly loved might die without knowing how much she meant to him.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Giles couldn't remember how he got to the hospital. Ever since he hung up the phone after speaking with Buffy he felt numb. He was in complete denial.
"It's not true. It can't possibly be true. Please God, let her be alright," he muttered to himself in various combinations and tones of voice.
He had recently admitted to himself that the feelings he harbored for the redhead were different than the familial feelings he held for the others. He chastised himself, saying that it was wrong, he'd become a pedophile, she could never want him, and other self-recriminating remarks. He had gone and fallen in love with a vibrant young woman who was twenty-five years his junior. She wasn't even as old yet as he had been when she was born. How could she ever look at him as someone to desire?
With all of these doubts and judgments filling his head, Giles was able to hide his true feelings from those around him. He hid the pain he felt watching Willow and Oz fawn over each other. He longed for her to look at him with such love and devotion. Occasionally he would hope that she could ignore his age, perhaps come to love him for it, just as she dealt with Oz's lycanthropy. Then he would drink himself back to reality.
Tonight he didn't have time to wallow in depression and drink. Nothing sobers a man like learning that the woman who holds his heart could be dying, or dead.
Giles rushed through the doors of the emergency room, desperately seeking out Buffy. He finally found her in the waiting room, holding back her own tears.
When she saw him, Buffy rushed to Giles, wrapping him in a comforting hug. After a brief, awkward, hug Giles pulled out of Buffy's arms.
"How is Willow? Is she going to be alright? What happened? Does Xander know?" Giles asked in rapid fire.
Starting with the last question, Buffy replied, "I sent Xander to the vending machines to give him something to do." After a small smile she continued. "The doctor hasn't told me anything yet even though I've grabbed every single doctor and nurse trying to find out how she's doing. As for what happened…" Buffy couldn't contain the tears any longer. "It's all my fault."
Buffy collapsed in a hard waiting room chair; a bewildered Giles sat next to her. "I highly doubt that," he tried to comfort. "Tell me what happened. You mentioned something about a car accident."
Buffy nodded, tears splashing off her cheeks. "I was on my way to the cemetery to see if Oz was up yet. I wanted to tell him that I hadn't found the other werewolf on patrol last night, but I'd keep looking. Anyway, I saw Willow walking towards me like a block up on the other side of the street. She wasn't watching where she was going and she stepped into the street. I called out when I saw the car coming straight at her, but I was too far away. She stopped and looked up when I called out. She was just standing there in the middle of the street when the car plowed right into her." Buffy broke down into sobs, unable to speak for several minutes. "If I hadn't called out to her then this never would have happened. She would have made it across the street and been fine."
Giles took his sobbing slayer into his arms. "It's not your fault," he tried to reassure her, forcing his voice to remain steady. "As you said, you were too far away. And it sounds like the car was going too fast for Willow to have avoided being… hit. Did you catch the license plate?"
"No, I was too concerned about Willow to even look at the car. I'm sorry, I should have looked."
"No need to apologize. Willow is much more important."
"Yes, she is," Xander agreed, returning to the waiting room, arms laden with candy bars, chips and snack cakes. Buffy and Giles looked at his armload, neither feeling remotely hungry. Xander shrugged. "I didn't know what to get." He dumped the food on the chair next to Giles and sat in the empty one next to Buffy.
"Has anyone informed her parents?" Giles asked, knowing they were on yet another business trip.
"I left a message with their answering service," Xander replied. "They're in Europe, so I don't know if they'll get it."
Giles nodded. He didn't understand how her parents could spend so much time away from their wonderful daughter. Luckily a doctor entered the waiting area before Giles could contemplate any more of Willow's attributes.
Walking up to Buffy the doctor asked, "You came in with Willow Rosenberg, correct?"
"Yes, I'm Buffy. How is she?"
Checking his chart, the doctor answered, "Well, she has a mild concussion, her left hip was fractured, and she has several bruised ribs."
"When can she leave?" Xander asked, knowing his best friend's loathing of hospitals after her last stay.
"Well, she will need to have surgery on her hip to stabilize the broken bones," the doctor began. "We have scheduled the surgery for early tomorrow morning. After that Willow will need to remain here for at least a week so that she may begin to heal and we can monitor her progress, keep her properly medicated, and begin her physical therapy. She won't be able to get around on her own very easily – depending on the speed of her recovery she will need a cane or crutches to move around. Does she live alone?"
"No, she lives in the dorms with me," Buffy offered.
"The dorms… I see," the doctor frowned. "What floor?"
"Second," Buffy nervously answered.
"Is there an elevator?"
"No, just stairs. Is that a problem?"
"Unfortunately, Willow won't be able to navigate stairs easily for a while. What about her family?"
"They're out of the country," Xander supplied. "Besides, her room's on the second floor there too."
"She could stay with me," Giles offered. All eyes turned towards him.
"And you are…" the doctor asked, wondering who this Englishman was, who was much older than the others, and why he would take the girl into his home.
"Rupert Giles. I am a friend of the family," he bristled.
"He's cool," Buffy backed him up. "He's like an uncle, to all of us."
"Your home doesn't have an upstairs?" the doctor queried.
"Just the loft where my bed is. I have a guest room on the main level, which is also where the bathroom and kitchen are." Giles tried to keep the hope out of his voice. He would like nothing better than for Willow to live under his roof – aside from her sharing his bed, of course.
"That does sound ideal," the doctor reluctantly agreed.
Xander looked like he was going to protest Willow moving in with Giles, but Buffy's bruising grip on his forearm stalled any comments. Instead he ground out, "Is she awake yet? Can we see her?"
"She is awake, but heavily medicated. You may go visit briefly with her, but she needs her rest."
The doctor led the trio to Willow's room and was heartily thanked for his efforts.
Once the doctor left, Xander slowly pushed open the door to the room. Willow was lying propped up in the bed, the harsh lighting making her pale skin appear almost white, especially against her red hair. She tiredly blinked her eyes at the sound of the door opening and wanly smiled at her friends.
"Hey," she quietly greeted them. Buffy and Xander were instantly on either side of the bed, each holding one of her hands. Giles stood at the foot of the bed.
"How're you doin', Wills?" Xander asked.
"I've been better."
"I'm so sorry," Buffy blubbered.
A frown creased her eyebrows as Willow looked at the blonde. "For what?"
"I was too far away, I couldn't help you."
"It's not your fault. I was… distracted," Willow disagreed.
"By what?" Giles asked, having been wondering about this since he heard about the accident.
Tears welled in Willow's eyes and she looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Oz," Buffy suddenly exclaimed and Willow turned nervous eyes to the slayer, afraid that she knew. "No one called to tell Oz what happened."
Buffy reached for the phone next to the bed but Willow's frantic voice stopped her. "No! Please, don't call him."
Buffy immediately sat back on the bed, promising, "I won't. What happened Will?"
"I said I don't want to talk about it. Just don't call him."
Sensing a need for a change of subject, Xander said, "So the doc said you get to spend the next week relaxing at the lovely Sunnydale General Hospital."
"Yeah," she glumly agreed. "After they cut me open and stick pins in my hip."
"But the surgery will make it better, right?" Xander pressed, trying to find the silver lining.
"I guess so," Willow agreed. "I just hate sitting here by myself all day with nothing to do."
"You won't be by yourself all day," Buffy reminded her friend. "I can swing by between classes and patrol."
"And I'll bring by some books that you can read. Perhaps we can even do some research from here," Giles suggested.
"Yeah, it's not like G-Man has anywhere else he needs to be," Xander pointed out. Giles glared at the boy.
"Besides, it's only a week," Buffy reminded her. "I'm sure it'll fly by."
"But what about when the week's over," Willow began to panic. "Where will I go? I can't stay at the dorms or in my parents' empty house."
"If is alright with you," Giles started, "I told the doctor that you are welcome to stay with me."
"I don't want to impose…" Willow began to say.
"Of course not. You could never be an imposition," Giles warmly smiled. "Unless you would feel uncomfortable living with me."
"No, I just don't want to get in the way of your being a gentleman of leisure."
"In all honesty, I could do with the company," Giles admitted.
"Well then, that's settled," Buffy said.
"No it isn't," Xander objected. "Wills, are you sure you want to live with him? He's so… old."
"Xander, you act as if I have one foot in the grave." Giles sighed.
"Besides, it's not like he has anything better to do than take care of Willow," Buffy defended.
"It'll be fine, Xander," Willow told her oldest friend. "I trust Giles. I know he'll take good care of me." To herself she continued to mutter, "Not that I want to be taken care of. I don't know what he would want to be stuck with me for."
"Perhaps we should leave and allow Willow to rest," Giles suggested, noticing Willow's drawn, tired features. She smiled her thanks.
"Yeah, these meds are starting to get to me – no pain but very sleepy."
"We'll let you get some rest," Xander agreed.
"But we'll be back first thing in the morning," Buffy offered. "You'll have your own cheering section in the waiting room."
"That sounds good," Willow commented, slumping back on the bed.
"Sleep well," Giles fondly addressed the redhead as he slipped out the door. He couldn't wait to get home and begin preparing the spare room for Willow's arrival.