Title: Repercussions: Waiting 5/7
Author: Jadedragon
Email: blm55@bellsouth.net
Pairing: B/G, X/A
Spoiler: Grave
Disclaimer: Not mine, Buffy and company belong to Josh, Mutant Enemy and the WB and UPN
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Sequel to Repercussions: Tears. Waiting for Willow to awaken.
Thanks: I want to again thank, Aleta. A wonderful beta, who always makes my stories just that much better with her suggestions and ideas.
Notes: Information on Dartmouth, Dartmouth Castle and the surrounding area is correct to my knowledge. I pulled the information off various sites on the web.

"Ethan just called. The Court has made a decision about Willow!"

Buffy was instantly awake. "Did he say what it was?"

"No, Bri won't announce what they decided until Willow wakes up and we are sure that she's okay," Giles looked at her with great sadness in his eyes. "Buffy, there is a chance that she won't remember any of what's happened or even who she is."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, fearful concern on her face.

"Remember when I told you that she might not be the same person after her magick was taken from her?"

"Yes," she answered slowly.

"Until she wakes up, we won't know how taking her magick will affect her. Magick was a part of who she was, a large part that's been taken away. We won't know how she'll react until she regains consciousness, even then it may be several days before we know how she'll adjust, if she'll adjust. Buffy, the situation is still a very delicate one. Willow will need all of us, all of our love to help her through what for her will be a very traumatic time."

"Then, Watcher guy, why are we lying here? Let's get Dawn and get back to the mansion!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Giles answered her as they rose.

Buffy went to wake Dawn and pack her stuff while Giles repacked what little he had taken out of his luggage. They were ready to leave in ten minutes and were soon back in the Land Rover. Before Giles turned the SUV toward the mansion, he made a stop at one of the shops that Dawn had visited the afternoon before. He purchased two journals, one to continue relating Buffy's exploits as the Slayer and one to start recording Dawn's training. After that they were on their way back to Ethan and Brianna's home.

**********

Brianna relieved Ellen, who had watched over Willow since the end of the ceremony the preceding night. Ellen had been all but asleep and had gone straight to bed.

As Brianna watched over the young woman who had lost so much in such a short time, she was again drawn to her. She knew Willow had a very hard future before her when she woke up. She still had to deal with the grief of Tara's death and now the grief of losing a very substantial part of herself, her magick. Willow's magic had been very strong and very powerful and it's loss would make her recovery period that much longer. Bri couldn't even imagine what it would be like to lose the powers she'd had since childhood; it would be like loosing her best friend or her brother.

Ethan had changed so much over the last three years. He'd really been there for her when she thought she would go insane with grief. Losing Renee to a senseless accident was still a large ache in her soul, but Ethan and Ellen had helped her out of her grief and back to life. Now she would have the chance to give that same support to the former witch sleeping before her.

Bri knew that Ethan and Ellen, actually the entire coven, would help Willow in every way possible, but she connected with Willow in a way that they couldn't, both of them had lost a life partner. When you lost someone who was part of your soul, it was a void that was never truly refilled. Bri had learned that she could continue to live, even in time, find someone to spend the rest of her life with, but she would never forget Renee or the love they shared, and Willow would never forget Tara.

**********

Once they arrived, Giles, Buffy and Dawn when to Willow's room where they found her still asleep with Brianna at her side. Willow looked pale and drawn lying on the white sheets in the large four-poster bed, the massive bed making her appear smaller, almost like a child.

Giles broke the silence by inquiring about his friend. "Bri how is she?"

"Rupert, she's been quiet since we put her to bed. We're just waiting to see when she'll awaken."

"What if she doesn't?" Dawn asked, fear for her friend in her eyes.

"Dawn, if she doesn't wake up by 8:00 tonight, I'll call a friend who's a nurse to examine her to determine if she needs to be hospitalized."

"Hospitalized?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, but hopefully that won't happen, but I know who to call if it does. It's one of the contingency plans that we made."

"So you think that she will come out of this on her own?" Buffy asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I do. Willow is strong and the ceremony went well, but your friend will have many adjustments to make. She'll need your help and understanding.

"We'll do anything to help Willow get better." Dawn assured the seer sitting beside Willow. Buffy and Giles nodded their agreement with Dawn's statement. "Can I sit with her?"

"Dawn, when she awakens, she'll be disoriented and will need someone with her to explain and answer any questions she has. As soon as she is able, you can see her, but until then Ellen, Ethan or I will sit with her. We participated in the ritual and can answer the questions that she'll have. Why don't you go and have breakfast, Ellen's asleep, but Ethan can fix a passable breakfast in a pinch.

"Bri, do you need anything?" Giles asked her.

"No, not at the moment. Thanks for asking." She told them as she turned back to the young woman lying in the great bed.

Buffy, Dawn and Giles left the room and went downstairs to find Ethan and get more details of the ceremony.

********** Ethan was just putting breakfast on the table when they entered the dining room. He had seen them drive up and assumed, correctly it seemed, that they had gone to see Willow first thing.

As they all helped themselves to the breakfast that Ethan had prepared, he answered their questions. He explained the ritual in layman's terms for Buffy and Dawn, knowing that Rupert already knew the ritual in complete detail. All were more concerned about Willow and her condition during and after the ceremony than the details of the ceremony, itself. Soon they all were full and satisfied that they knew everything about the ritual that Ethan knew. Giles suggested that they take their luggage to their prospective rooms, change and meet in the small gym on the ground floor. Giles was surprised when Buffy followed him to his room.

"Buffy, aren't you staying with Dawn?" he asked, not expecting her to stay with him.

"Well, I will if you don't want me here?" she pouted.

"Of course, I want you here. I just didn't know if you wanted to go so fast."

"Giles, I'm not ashamed of what I feel for you. I want to spend every moment with you that I can. Do you mind sharing your room with me?"

"Can I help you unpack?" he asked her taking her into his arms. "But we better hurry and change or Dawn will come looking for us."

Giles took his sweats and went to the bathroom down the hall to change, while Buffy changed in their room. He couldn't believe that Buffy was in his room changing. Holding her as she slept last night had been heaven for him. I looked like he might revisit heaven again tonight.

Ten minutes later, they met Dawn in the drawing room and went immediately to the gym to test Dawn's strength and agility. Buffy put her sister through her training ritual, not giving her any slack and Dawn easily kept up with her, even surpassing her in some areas. After watching carefully for two hours while Buffy trained with Dawn, Giles came to the conclusion that Dawn was a bit stronger and faster than Buffy. He was amazed. At first, he thought that he had just imagined it, but as watched carefully a second and a third time he confirmed his observations. He wondered if Dawn being the Key had anything to do with her augmented abilities.

Next, he had them work with quarterstaffs and Dawn soon had taken Buffy down, astonishing him even further. Dawn learned everything that Buffy taught her very quickly, mastering even the more complicated moves faster that he had ever seen anyone learn them much less mastering them. They had been at it about four hours before Giles called it quits for the day. It was lunchtime and he was starved from watching the two.

Buffy and Dawn headed to take showers and change into clean clothes while Giles checked on Willow.

********** Ethan was sitting beside the young woman when Giles entered the bedroom.

"How is she, any change?" Giles asked his former lover.

"She's about the same. She called for Tara in her sleep a few minutes ago. That's a good sign, but she hasn't shown any signs of waking up yet." Ethan told the Watcher.

"I'm so worried about her. I should never have left Sunnydale!" Giles berated himself.

"Rupert, with the curse that was on her, she would have been pulled into the dark whether or not you were there. Don't beat yourself up!"

"But I might have recognized it and have gotten her help before it went too far."

"Don't play `what if' with me." Ethan told him with pain in his voice.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. I forgot what I was saying."

"I realize that, but I played `what if' for too many years, wanting to know if things had been different, would `Ripper' have stayed with me."

"Ethan, I never would have stayed, you know that. I can't change who or what I am."

"I know, and I can finally accept that and love and respect you for the man you are. We've both caused each other a lot of pain throughout the years. I won't speak of it again if you won't." Ethan offered.

"It's a deal. What are we doing for lunch?"

"There are plenty of sandwich fixings, chips and salads in the refrigerator. You can help yourselves. Ellen and Bri are sleeping while I watch Willow. I'm sorry you have to entertain yourselves, but.."

"Willow is more important, besides this is my home away from home, anyway," Giles finished.

"Rupert, I'm so glad to hear you say that. It means a lot to me."

"Ethan, you mean a lot to me, too. Buffy should be out of the shower soon and we'll join Dawn and fix ourselves some lunch. Would you like us to bring you anything?" he asked, as he got ready to join Buffy and Dawn.

"Thanks, but I ate before I relieved Bri. If I need anything I'll let you know."

Giles left to join Buffy and Dawn downstairs. They quickly made lunch for themselves and took it outside to enjoy the wonderful weather.

"Is there anything that you would like to do this afternoon?" Giles asked them as they ate.

"Well since we got this `free' trip to England, could we see some of it?" Dawn asked her Watcher.

"I don't see why not. There are a few sites of interest here in Devon. We could go to Dartmouth and see Dartmouth Castle. The estuary surrounding it is quite lovely this time of year and the Royal Navel College is also located there. Then there's The Cherub Pub…"

"A Castle, we could see a real castle?" Dawn said, jumping up and down.

" Actually there are two facing each other at the mouth of the Dart River. So you want to see the castles?"

"You bet!"

"Buffy, is that alright with you?"

"Sounds great to me, and I think Dawn would probably beat me up if I said I didn't want to go." Buffy teased her sister.

"Then Dartmouth and the Castle it is. I'll go get my keys and we can leave as soon as we clean up our lunch dishes."

They quickly cleaned the kitchen up and Dawn ran out of the room leaving Buffy and Giles to make their way to retrieve what they needed for the trip to Dartmouth Castle.

"Giles, should we go sightseeing with the chance that Willow could wake up?"

"Buffy, even if she does awaken while we are gone, there is nothing any of us can do at the point. She'll be very disoriented and will need Bri, Ethan and Ellen to explain what has happened and help her begin to cope with the loss of her powers. I really would love a chance to show you some of my country and Dartmouth is a lovely town right on the Channel."

Dawn was impatiently waiting for Buffy and Giles when they met her in the drawing room moments later. They made their way to the Land Rover and were soon on their way to Dartmouth. It took them 45 minutes to reach the turnoff for Dartmouth and another twenty to reach the city itself; the roads to Dartmouth were only two-way roads. Dartmouth had decided it didn't want the massive modern highways to disturb the ancient setting of the town.

As they traveled Giles told them a little about the seaport town they would be visiting. The town was called Dartmouth because it was located at the mouth of the Dart River, which formed a large natural port, which had been in use since the days of the Normans who used it as a trading center. Dartmouth Castle had been started in 1481 and had been completed in the 1500's. It's building had been commissioned by the merchants in the town to protect them from pirates and wars. Dartmouth Castle was one of the first to be designed with artillery in mind and was the earliest surviving castle of this type still in existence. In times of crisis, a chain would be strung between Dartmouth and Kingswear Castles to prevent any unknown vessels from entering the port. Kingswear Castle was the sister castle to Dartmouth and was situated across from it on the other side of the mouth of the Dart River.

Dawn listened to the history lesson with only half an ear, more concerned with Willow, but she knew if she had stayed there, she would have gone insane wanting Willow to wake up. At least this way she got her mind off Willow. < And I get to see a real Castle! >

Once they were in Dartmouth, Dawn and Buffy felt like they had gone back in time. The medieval style of the town was everywhere. Buffy was in awe. She had never seen such an old town. As they drove toward the castle, Giles continued with his history lesson, but neither Dawn nor Buffy were listening to him. They were amazed at the sites of buildings older than the country they called home. Once Giles realized they weren't listening, he quit talking and watched their amazement at the ancient seaport. Once the castles came into view Dawn started jumping up and down.

"There it is. There it is. The Castle!" Dawn cried.

"Dawn, if you'll look across the way on the other side you'll see Kingswear Castle." Giles informed her, again being the tour guide.

Dawn was out of the car as soon as Giles parked and rushed toward the castle ready to go exploring. Buffy, forgetting that she only had U.S. currency, had felt embarrassed when the cashier had handed her money back and Giles had then bought tickets for all three of them.

Buffy found the tour fascinating, but Dawn was disappointed. She couldn't explore on her own. Giles promised that if there were time he would take them to one of the ruined castles in the area where she could explore to her heart's content. It was late when the tour ended and he took them to The Harbor Bar, a 16th century inn on the quayside of the ancient port for refreshments before they began their way home. When Giles called Ethan and got an update on Willow's condition, he was told that it was about the same. Brianna's friend Mary Portsmith was coming over to examine Willow and would be there in about an hour and a half. Once they heard this news they started back, each wanting to be there when she examined their friend.

**********

As they pulled into the driveway, they saw a women get out of a mini. She was dressed in a tan slacks suit and carried a medical bag. They quickly surmised that she was Mary Portsmith. Ethan opened the door just as all four of them approached it.

"Mary, come in. Willow still hasn't woken up." Ethan greeted her. "I would like to introduce you to Rupert Giles, and Buffy and Dawn Summers. They are friends of Willow's." Ethan informed her as they all entered the house and started toward the room where Willow lay, still sleeping.

Once in the room, Mary became very professional, immediately beginning a through examination of her patient, sending everyone out of the room except Brianna who helped her. Everyone went downstairs to the drawing room.

"Mary is a nurse practitioner. She's the closest person to a doctor that we can call in situations like this. If need be she can even write prescriptions." Ethan explained to Giles, Buffy and Dawn.

"Is she a member of the coven?" Buffy asked.

"No Mary, her husband and their two children live about three kilometers from here. Mary is a very intelligent women who could have had a very lucrative career in London, but she chose to stay here and help the people who otherwise would have no medical care," Ellen told them.

"She sounds like a very warm, loving person," Giles commented.

"She is."

Again, they were waiting for news about Willow. Thirty minutes had passed before Mary came out.

"Willow is showing signs of waking up so I am not going to admit her at the moment. I will however stay here tonight and if she hasn't awoken within the next 24 hours, I will admit her and have a physician examine her. Ethan, would you be so kind as to run to my car and get the drip setup out of the back seat?"

"Certainly. Is there anything else you need?"

"Just a phone, I'll call Michael and let him know that I'll be staying the night."

"You can use the phone in the dining room. It will give you some privacy." Ethan informed her.

Looking at the clock and seeing that it was already 9:30, Ethan suggested that everyone get ready for bed, knowing that the next several days could be very rough on them all. Dawn moved into the room across from Buffy and Giles. She didn't want to be on a wing all by herself and she wanted to be closer to Willow and Buffy.

**********

Giles was reading when Buffy reentered their room after helping Dawn move into the room across the hall. She sat beside him on the bed and took the book out of his hand.

"Giles, I still worried about Willow," she told him as she reached to hold him.

Giles took her into his arms, pulling her to sit in his lap where he could hold her tightly to his chest. "Buffy, we are doing everything we can, but until she wakes up there is nothing else to do but wait."

They held each other for a long time before getting ready for bed. Once in bed they held each other, wanting nothing more than the comfort of holding the one they loved. Soon they drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

**********

Ethan entered the room where Bri watched over Willow as she continued to sleep.

"Bri you need to get some rest. I'll stay with her," he told his sister.

"No, I need to stay here. She'll need me when she wakes, it will be soon," she informed her brother.

Ethan, knowing that it was no use to argue with Bri once her mind was made up, quickly left the room to get what sleep he could. He knew that once Willow woke up there would be many things that would have to be done and many things that would have to be discussed.

Bri looked at the woman sleeping in the bed before her.

"You will have so many decisions to make once you wake up, so many changes in your life. Willow, I promise to help you cope with the changes, to support you however I can. I know that the road before you will be a lonely one and I will try to make it less lonely, if you'll let me," she told the sleeping girl as she sat back and waited for her to awaken.

**********

A petrifying scream woke Giles and Buffy from their sleep. The screams continued and were coming from Willow's room, getting louder and more terrifying with each moment. They both jumped from the bed and ran to the door connecting Willow's room to Giles. Bri was struggling to hold Willow to the bed and Giles went to the other side to help hold the disoriented woman to the bed.

"Buffy, go get Ethan!" Bri commanded.

Buffy immediately started down the hall and met Ethan coming her way before she had gotten very far. They continued back to Willow's room, Dawn, Ellen and Mary following closely behind them.

Mary quickly gave Willow a sedative and looked at Bri.

"What happened?"

"She woke up and started screaming."

"What's wrong with her?" Dawn asked in panic.

"She's trapped in her mind." Brianna answered.

NEXT