Title – I wasn’t sure – any suggestions? (‘Any suggestions’ isn’t meant to actually be a clever title; I really couldn’t think of one.)
Author – Leipreachan1
Feedback - Well, how do I know if I've screwed up – or if it’s generally a pile of shite and I shouldn’t bother continuing – if no one tells me? This is my very first fanfic though, so don’t be too tough!
Spoilers – No references to any specific episodes, but Willow and Tara have been broken up for a month or so and Willow’s off the magic for about the same time.
Summary – The Magic Box has been attacked by something and Willow was injured pretty badly. Will her stretch in hospital make Tara realise that she still loves her – and will she act on it?
Note – This was inspired by a similar situation with a friend in hospital and in limbo with his ex. Not having been the easiest of times, this isn’t exactly an action-packed tale but I hope it’s not too boring and keeps you reading. Also, I’ve tried to make it as American as possible but if there are any bizarre foreign phrases etc (while not being English I have been known to say loo, shag and brolly, though rarely ‘a capital idea’) – my bad.
Rating – I think this would be a gentle enough PG but tell me if it’s higher/ lower.
Disclaimer – If I owned anything relating to the Buffyverse, there would be a lot more digits on my bank statement and I’d be writing this on the computer I could afford to have at home instead of the one at work that I’m currently pretending to be doing my job on...
Chapter 1
The shop
The first thing that struck Tara as odd as she walked into the Magic Box was that the bell didn’t ring. The next terrified her. She walked into the shop to find… chaos. It looked as if a hurricane had hit the place, followed by a very strong earthquake possibly resulting in a tsunami. There was broken glass all over the place and everything that could possibly have been overturned now lay smashed on the ground while water streamed from a pipe – where the hell had a water pipe come from? Tara stood rooted to the spot, with no clue as to what had happened or what she should do.
And then she heard something. It was the slightest of groans, barely audible. To Tara, though, it may as well have been a scream. Willow’s scream. Where was she? Still unable to move, Tara looked desperately around the shop and nearly collapsed at what she saw: a single runner lying beside the overturned table. Willow’s white runner – or at least it should have been white. There were red blotches all over it. Tara flew across the room to her.
Maybe she’s just been painting something red. On the floor. Underneath the table.
Funny the things that run though your mind when you’re desperate. Tara tore away the books and shelves that had smashed the table in half and nearly vomited at what she found. Willow lay with her eyes closed, barely breathing. Two legs of a chair lay on either side of her chest, trapping her, and part of the heavy table had fallen directly onto her hips and stomach. Her right arm was twisted backwards and there was blood everywhere.
Oh holy fuck.
Tara heard a groan coming from behind the counter. She rushed over to find Xander and Anya lying on the floor. They looked almost peaceful, as if they had fallen asleep side-by-side. That picture was shattered, though, when Xander moved onto his side, revealing a large gash on his arm and an even larger gash on his ex-fiancé’s forehead. There was blood all over both of them. Tara shook him and to her surprise he woke immediately. He jumped straight to his feet but collapsed to his knees as soon as he saw Anya unconscious on the floor.
“What the hell happened?” he shouted at Tara.
“I- I don’t know.” stuttered Tara “You were the one here.”
“I don’t remember. I was just standing there and… we have to call an ambulance right now. Is Willow –” Just then he saw his best friend lying on the ground.
“Call an ambulance now!” he shouted.
Tara was already on the phone. “I n-need an ambulance. Two, two ambulances, there are two… The Magic Box, please hurry, they need help.” She dropped the phone and ran to Willow, cradling her in her arms and whispering softly in her ear. Xander had Anya in his lap, trying to wake her.
“Do we move them? Should we move the table?” asked Xander.
“I don’t know… No, we might break something. I think we should wait. Unless – maybe we should. Oh Christ, I don’t know.”
Just then, the paramedics rushed in. Tara and Xander stood side-by-side, utterly still as the watched their former girlfriends being attended to. They blindly followed the paramedics to the ambulances, each hardly aware of what they were doing until the scream of the sirens snapped them out of their trance.
Willow’s ambulance reached the hospital first and her stretcher was pulled away from Tara, who had been sitting next to her, praying non-stop that she’d be okay. The doctors wouldn’t let her go any further than the waiting area, where Xander joined her. Once again, they sat beside each other in total silence. In what seemed like hours later Xander spoke.
“We should call Buffy. She’d want to know.”
“Right. I’ll do it now. And you should get that cut looked at.” Neither moved.
Three hours later, Buffy appeared.
“Is everything okay? I went to the Magic Box and found-” At her friends’ blank faces – and the blood all over both – Buffy collapsed onto a chair.
“What’s wrong? Who…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Anya. And Willow. They're hurt, but we don’t know what happened. We’re waiting for the doctors.”
“And you two?”
“I’m fine. Xander’s hurt,” said Tara softly. Suddenly she jumped to her feet as Willow’s doctor approached. “Is she okay?” she nearly screamed.
“She’s hurt, badly. But it’s nothing that won’t heal. The weight of the table broke her left hip quite roughly, but she’s very lucky you were smart enough not to move the table yourself-”
“Lucky? You call that lucky?” interrupted Xander, almost angrily.
“What I mean,” continued the doctor, “is that, while she does have a few broken bones, there is no internal bleeding at all. Bones heal, but internal bleeding can be extremely serious.”
“What else is there besides a broken hip?”
“It looks like she tried to move the table herself as she has one broken rib and arm, 4 dislocated fingers and one shoulder, a fractured knee and ankle and a few cuts and bruises.”
“Can I see her?” whispered Tara.
“In half an hour or so. We’re making her a bit more comfortable at the moment. She won’t be awake though- she’s on a lot of medication.”
While Tara waited, Xander had been called over to talk to Anya’s doctor and to be stitched up himself. As he sewed the cuts closed, the doctor explained that Anya had looked worse that she was: she had a light concussion from a hit on the head. She’d had quite a few stitches but nothing too serious. Xander had never been so relieved in his life.
Exactly 30 minutes after talking to the doctor, Tara raced to Willow’s room. She made it to the bottom of the bed before coming to a complete standstill. All she could see was white. White casts, splints, bandages. All over Willow’s body, even her beautiful face. Once again, Tara couldn’t move. It was as if she was in quicksand; struggling would only make it worse. It wasn’t until her watch beeped the hour that she realised she’d been standing still for over 20 minutes, and it wasn’t until she touched her chin that she realised there were tears streaming down her face. She had to sit, and barely made it to the chair beside Willow’s bed before she collapsed.
Buffy and Xander stood still at the door of Willow’s room, Buffy resting her head on Xander’s shoulder. They watched as Tara sat with her head on the bed, her hands on Willow’s arm, completely oblivious to her friends’ presence.
“I have to pick up Dawn. I think we should leave them be and come in tomorrow. Tara doesn’t look in much of a mood to talk.”
“Right. I’m gonna stay with Anya tonight. See you tomorrow.” After Buffy left, Xander stood at the door for another few minutes before heading back to Anya’s room.
So, is it worth continuing? I'm quitting here soon so who cares if I don't do any work-related work for the next while.
That last update give me that bad sense about the culprit of the mess at the MB. Hope I'm wrong because if not, things gotta go far more complicated.
no money in the cash register thats gotta be bad.. who would steal from the magic box and tear it apart..hmm i see some evildoers afoot. Im kinda thinkin the trio had somethin to do with this but hey thats just me.. but haha i love buffy in this fic shes full of jokes makes me laugh alot.. as for willow i hope she gets better and gets on with the smoochies 
but still hopin for angstyness.. well i left my feedback and i await another update...until then later!
