Buffy was sick as she walked through the cemetery.

Xander, Willow, Cordelia and I were standing next to a small mausoleum.

Buffy jumped around the corner, swinging it to strike at us.

Xander screamed and reflexively jumped back, holding on tightly to his own stake.

I caught Buffy's wrist before she staked me in the heart.

Cordelia let out a high-pitched scream behind him.

Willow and Cordelia both reflexively held up crosses at Buffy.

"Non-vampire," Buffy said, lowering her arm to her side. "Plus three."

Willow put her cross away, looking at Buffy sternly. "Hi."

We all stepped out into the open.

"Man, Buffy!" Xander said. "My whole life just flashed before my eyes!" He looked at Willow and me. "I gotta get me a life!"

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked.

"What are you doing here?" I replied.

"Well, I'm patrolling!" Buffy told us.

"Buffy, you're sick," I told her.

"No, I feel fine," Buffy told us. "I mean, I'm... the world's spinning a little bit, but I like it, it's kinda like a ride."

"Half the school's out with this flu," Cordelia told her. "It's a serious deal, Buffy. We're all concerned about how gross you both look."

"I'm touched," Buffy told her with a hint of sarcasm. "Really. But I have work to do."

"Buffy, come on, one night of rest is not gonna kill you," Willow told her.

"No, but it might kill somebody else," Buffy told us.

Xander pointed at her with his stake. "You mean Angel might." Buffy turned away. "Buffy, this is not the time to challenge Angel for the ultimate fighting championship. He's at full strength, you're only half a Slayer."

"Yeah, but I'm still the Slayer," Buffy told us. "And as long as I am, Angel's not gonna kill anybody else."

Angelus was behind her, his face transformed. "Aw, come on." Buffy turned to face him. "Just one more."

Angelus attacked.

Cordelia and Willow screamed.

Angelus ran right past Buffy straight for Cordelia and tackled her to the ground.

I grabbed him by the back of his coat and pulled him off of her, pushing him away.

Buffy turned him around to face her, taking him by the coat collar and swinging at him with her stake.

Angelus blocked her with his arm, grabbed hers and making her drop the stake. "Not feeling well, lover?"

Buffy looked up at him and punched him in the jaw. Angelus glared back at her and tried to kick her, but she grabbed his foot and shoved his leg up, making him fall hard onto his back.

"That helps," Buffy told him.

Angelus scrambled to all fours. She came at him from behind and tried to kick him, but he kicked out with his leg into her chest, and she staggered back a ways until she regained her balance. He got up and ran toward her. She took a couple of swings at him, but he evaded them easily.

Angelus blocked a third, grabbing her arm and taking her by the throat. "You know, you being off your game's kinda takin' the fun out of all this." He punched her in the face, and she stumbled backward again. "Nope, still fun!"

I looked around, seeing a fresh grave with a shovel next to it.

Angelus punched Buffy in the gut, then grabbed her by the neck and shoved her around and into a corner column of the small mausoleum. She was dazed and tried to regain her balance, but didn't get a chance because Angelus wasted no time punching her in the face and knocking her flat on her back.

Angelus got on top of her and pinned her arms down. "Uh-oh. This does not look good for our heroine."

Angelus started to bend down to bite her.

Willow threw Xander's jacket over Angelus' face. Xander pulled her away.

I grabbed his head under the jacket, punching him in the face, kneeing him twice right after. I picked up the shovel, swinging it up from my side, using the metal, sharp end to hit Angelus in the face, making him fall over onto his back, starting to get up. I swung the shovel around, aiming the metal, sharp end at him, which could very well decapitate him.

Willow and Cordelia pulled out their crosses and held them out at him.

Xander held his stake ready.

Angelus had to back away, turning toward me.

I pointed the end of the shovel at his neck. "Take a hike, overbite."

Buffy got to her feet.

Angelus slowly backed away. "We'll have to do this again sometime."

Angelus turned and walked off.

Buffy just watched him go.

I tossed the shovel in the air, catching a part of the wooden handle closer to the metal end.

"Buffy, are you okay?" Xander asked.

Buffy put her hand to her forehead. "I told you guys to leave, I..." She was getting dizzy. "I... Oh..."

Buffy fell to the ground unconscious.

"Buffy!" I told her.

Willow, Xander and Cordelia turned to look.

"Buffy?" Willow asked.

I knelt next to Buffy.

~~

We took her to the Sunnydale Hospital Emergency Room.

Xander ran in with Buffy in his arms. Willow, Cordelia and I were right behind him.

"We need help!" I told them.

"Somebody, please, now!" Willow told them.

An intern, a guy, approached us. "What happened?"

We all spoke at once.

"She fell," Xander said the same time I said, "She's sick," the same time Willow said, "The flu," the same time Cordelia said, "She fainted."

A nurse brought over the gurney.

"She's sick with the flu, fainted and fell," I told him.

"Make it better!" Xander told him.

The intern pulled the gurney up. "It's gonna be okay. Let's get her up." Xander laid Buffy out on the gurney. The intern took out his pocket light and checked Buffy's eyes for a response. The nurse took notes while he spoke as they started to wheel her into the emergency room. We all followed. "Patient's unconscious... Pupils are unequal and unresponsive."

"What does that mean?" Cordelia asked.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Willow asked.

"Please, you gotta give us some room," the intern told us.

A doctor arrived. "What do we have?"

"High-grade fever, possible fractures," the intern answered.

"Get her into Trauma 1, give her a CBC, Chem 7, type and screen," the doctor told him.

"Right," the intern, both he and the nurse taking her through the doors to the emergency room beyond.

We all tried to follow.

The female doctor blocked our way. "I'm sorry, you can't go any further."

"Someone should be with her!" Xander told her.

"I'm sorry!" the doctor told us. "You can't go any further."

She backed in and closed the door in our faces. We looked through windows for a couple of seconds.

Willow reacted first. "I'll call Giles, tell him what happened." She looked at Cordelia. "You call Buffy's mom, tell her, n-not what happened, just get her here."

The two of them went to find the phones.

Xander and I kept looking in through the emergency room door, where we could see the doctor and intern still working on Buffy.

We looked away as they wheeled Buffy into Trauma 1, both of us exchanging a worried look.

~~

Cordelia, Xander, Willow and I were sitting on a row of chairs in the waiting room with worried looks.

Giles was also waiting and nervously by the door, cleaning his glasses.

The elevator door opened and Mrs. Summers walked out. She saw us sitting there. "Where is she?"

We all stood up.

Giles walked closer. "She's still in the emergency room."

"I wanna see her," Mrs. Summers told us, starting to walk out of the waiting room.

"They won't let us in there," I told her.

Mrs. Summers stopped and looked back at me.

The doctor walked into the room. "Mrs. Summers?"

Mrs. Summer turned to face her. "Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Wilkinson," the doctor told us.

"Is Buffy okay?" Mrs. Summers asked.

"We were able to stabilize and--" Dr. Wilkinson.

Mrs. Summers interruptes insistently. "Is she okay?"

"She's going to be fine," Dr. Wilkinson told her reassuringly.

"Thank you," Mrs. Summers told her in relief, putting her hand to her face.

"Good," Xander said. "Good." He rubbed his hands. "That's good."

"I wanna keep her here a few days, though," Dr. Wilkinson told us. "She still has some healing to do."

Giles and Mrs. Summers looked at her anxiously.

~~

We went to the hall upstairs near Buffy's assigned hospital room.

We were all waiting for her to be brought up.

When we saw her coming, we all approached the bed.

Buffy had an IV in her right hand. Her left forearm was wrapped in an elastic bandage.

"Buffy?" Mrs. Summers asked, reaching the bed. "Hi, sweetheart."

We all accompanied her toward her room.

"Hey, Buffy, we're all here," Xander told her.

Buffy was groggy. "Hey. Here we are. It's all of we. Are we taking me home?"

Buffy tried to get up.

Dr. Wilkinson pushed her back. "No. Buffy, you need to lie down, honey."

"Yeah?" Buffy asked. "Lie at home. My bed is better than any bed that's... not my bed."

Dr. Wilkinson looked at Mrs. Summers. "She's still a little out of it."

Mrs. Summers nodded back.

"Shhh!" Buffy said. She pointed at me. "Hospital zone. No singing."

"She'll feel better after she's been here a while," Dr. Wilkinson told us.

"No!" Buffy told us, trying to get up again. "Let me go. Look, I wanna go."

The orderly pushing the bed, two nurses and Dr. Wilkinson struggled to get her to lie back down.

Buffy put up a fight.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Willow asked.

"No!" Buffy told us. "No! Let me go!"

"I think she wants to go," Cordelia told us.

They managed to get her pushed back down on the bed.

"No, don't do that!" Buffy told them. "Stop it!"

"Hold her steady!" Dr. Wilkinson told them.

"Giles, tell them!" Buffy told him deliriously.

"I got her," the orderly told us

"The vampires!" Buffy told us. "I need to kill the vampires!"

"This'll help you relax," Dr. Wilkinson told her, putting a needle against Buffy's inside elbow and injecting her with a sedative.

I looked at Giles with a concerned look.

Cordelia cringed and looked away.

"Ow!" Buffy told them, wincing in pain. "No!"

When the doctor pulled the needle back out, Buffy lied back and breathed heavily.

"It's gotta be the fever," Xander told us.

"Yeah, it made her delusional," I agreed.

Buffy looked at Giles insistently. "They're out there!"

Giles smiled reassuringly. "Yes, uh, well, we'll, uh, we'll get those, uh, vampires later." He laughed lightly, looking at Mrs. Summers. "I hear it's best t-to play along."

The sedative took effect and Buffy began to relax.

One of the nurses checked her IV.

Mrs. Summers leaned in and stroked her hair. "Honey, listen..."

"I wanna go home," Buffy told her.

"It's gonna be okay," Mrs. Summers told her. "I promise."

They started to wheel her away again.

"Please don't make me stay here," Buffy told her.

"I promise," Mrs. Summers told her.

We all followed as Buffy was taken to her room. We waited outside. The door closed.

Xander looked in through the narrow window. After a moment, he looked over at Giles. "That was a new experience. I'm not used to seeing Buffy scared like that."

"Yeah, she just hates hospitals," Mrs. Summers told us. "Ever since she was a little girl."

"What happened?" Willow asked.

"When she was eight, her cousin, Celia, died in a hospital," Mrs. Summers told us. "Buffy was alone with her at the time."

"Yuck," Cordelia said.

"Yeah, they were very close," Mrs. Summers told us.

"Wow, and she was eight?" I asked.

Mrs. Summers looked in at Buffy. "Well, it looks like she's asleep. I should go call her father."

Mrs. Summers walked toward the nurse's station.

Giles accompanied her. "Um, I-I think there's a, a phone..."

~~

"Do you think she's gonna be okay in here?" I asked.

Cordelia was pacing. "I don't know, Lysette got her nose done here, and she came in looking for the Gwyneth Paltrow, and it looked more like the Mr. Potatohead."

Cordelia stepped over to the door and looked into Buffy's room.

"Cordy..." Xander trailed off.

"Buffy's not here for cosmetic surgery," Willow told her.

"No, but while she's in here, she might as well get that thing done," Cordelia told us. I gave Xander a look. "You know, that thing on her face?" She turned them. "You know that thing."

Willow looked at Xander and me. "Do you think Angel will attack Buffy in here?"

"He can come in, it's a public building," I told them.

"That's true," Willow said, worried.

"What's the problem?" Xander asked. "Just get Zo another shovel, except this time, break it in half and stake him in the heart."

"Am I the only one that's noticed that thing?" Cordelia asked.

No one answered.

~~

Giles, Xander, Willow, Cordelia and I went to the hospital the next day with get well gifts.

Giles knocked on the door. "May we come in?",

"Please!" Dr. Wilkinson told us. "Maybe you can keep our patient from bolting." She looked at Buffy, sternly. "Rest! Hmm?"

Dr. Wilkinson left.

Xander presented five balloons. "Flowers for milady."

I looked up at them. "I think they call those balloons."

Xander looked up. "Yeah, stick 'em in water, maybe they'll grow."

"Not to be outdone..." Willow trailed off, setting school books on the bed.

"Homework," Buffy said.

"It's my way of saying, 'get well soon'," Willow told her.

"You know, chocolate says that even better," Buffy told her.

I smiled at Willow.

"I did all your assignments," Willow told her. "All you have to do is sign your name."

Giles munched on a grape.

"Chocolate means nothing to me," Buffy told her.

I took out a box of chocolates. "Oh, so does that mean I get to keep these now?"

"No!" Buffy told me excitedly. "I take it back."

I smiled, handing her the box of chocolate.

Willow stepped back and looked up at Cordelia.

"Nobody told me I was supposed to bring a gift," Cordelia told us. She looked at Giles. "I was out of the loop on gifts."

"It's, it's tradition among, um... people," Giles told her. "Um..." He walkes up to the bed. "Grapes." He set down the bag. "Well, did you, uh, pass the night well enough?"

A nurse walked into the room and walked around the bed.

"Not really," Buffy told us. "Something happened I thought you..." The nurse checked Buffy's IV. "You know what? Let's take a walk."

~~

We went outside the hospital main entrance.

I pushed Buffy along in a wheelchair while the others walked alongside.

"Now, this part I could get used to," Buffy told us.

"Do you want me to go real fast?" I asked. Giles gave me a look. "Not that I would."

"We were discussing, um, stuff," Giles told her.

"Yes, stuff," Buffy told us. "Um, you know, a girl died here last night."

"How?" Willow asked.

"Well, the flu," Buffy answered.

"Flu doesn't exactly sound monsterrific," Xander told her.

"I know," Buffy told us. "But there's this Dr. Backer, and he's been giving them these experimental treatments." We stopped by a bench. Giles sat down. "I-I'm not sure what he's up to, but he's a little creepy. A-and then there was this kid, Ryan. He said he saw something."

"Saw what?" Giles asked.

"Death," Buffy answered.

"Death?" Cordelia repeated.

"The Death?" I asked. "As in, 'it is your time'?"

"Buffy, a-a-a frightened child--" Giles started.

"Yeah, but I thought I saw something," Buffy told us. "I'm not sure, I was really out of it, but..."

"But you do know that you saw Death," I told her.

"Did it have an hourglass?" Willow askes.

"Ooo, if he asks you to play chess, don't even do it," Xander told her. "The guy's, like, a whiz."

"Maybe it wasn't Death," Buffy told us. "Maybe it was something else."

"So this isn't about you being afraid of hospitals 'cause your friend died and you wanna conjure up a monster that you can fight so you can save everybody and not feel so helpless?" Cordelia asked.

"Cordelia, have you actually ever heard of tact?" I asked.

"Tact is just not saying true stuff," Cordelia told me. "I'll pass."

Willow looked at Buffy. "Your mom did tell us about your cousin."

Cordelia sat down.

"This has nothing to do with that," Buffy told us. "This little boy Ryan is afraid of something, something real. As long as I'm forced to stay here, I'm gonna find out what."

"So, is this the part where we say, what can we do to help?" Xander asked.

Xander and Cordelia went to see what they could find out.

~~

Giles, Willow and I walked into the library.

"So, where do we start?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Giles asked. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe look into the history of the hospital, bizarre incidents, that sort of thing."

"I'm sensing a little less than full committal here," Willow told him.

We stopped by the counter.

"Oh, I-I suppose so," Giles told us. "Cordelia may be homerically insensitive, but she may also be right. Death and disease are, are things, possibly the only things that, that Buffy cannot fight. It's only natural for her to try to create a-a defeatable opponent. Especially now, after... after Jenny."

Willow gave Giles a sad look. "That's true."

"But on the 'we live on the Hellmouth' side, these kids may have seen a monster," I told them.

Giles started toward the stacks. "What, a monster that grown-ups can't see? Doesn't ring a bell. Unless..."

I sat on the table. "Unless?"

"Well, sometimes small children do see something we adults don't," Giles told us. "Us. Our true selves, our, our... our hidden faces."

"So the kids might be afraid of a regular person?" Willow asked. "Like the weird doctor!"

"Stanley Backer was his name, no?" Giles asked.

"Let's look him up," Willow told us, going to get her laptop.

~~

Willow was sitting at the table surfing for information on her laptop.

I was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder.

Dr. Backer's medical database file came up on the screen.

"Our Dr. Backer has something of a rap sheet," I stated.

"Reprimands for controversial experiments, risky procedures, a malpractice suit," Willow told us. "Looks like it was dropped suddenly."

Giles took off his glasses. "Factor in Buffy's observation that he gives her the, um, uh, wiggins..."

Giles turned away.

"This may be our death guy?" I asked.

Giles turned back to us. "I just wish I knew what he was doing to these children."

We looked up at him.

~~

We went to the hospital to see Buffy in her hospital bed.

Giles appeared in the doorway and knocked.

Buffy looked up as he, Xander, Cordelia, Willow and I walked into the room.

Willow closed the door behind her.

"Uh, well, it looks as if you, uh, were on to something," Giles told her.

"I know," Buffy told him.

Giles walked around the bed. "The, uh, the, the girl Tina, um, it's apparent that she, she died of the fever." He sat down. "Simple enough, but, but her records show her improving and then suddenly deteriorating w-w-w-without any apparent cause."

"So we checked Dr. Backer out," I told her. "This guy was not a solid citizen."

"It wasn't Backer," Buffy told us. "He was clean."

"What do you mean, 'clean'?" Cordelia asked.

"What do you mean, 'was'?" Xander asked.

"He's dead," Buffy answered. "This thing killed him, and not with kindness."

Buffy handed Giles the picture drawing she had been looking at.

"You saw it?" Willow asked.

Giles looked at the rough child's drawing.

"No, it's invisible," Buffy answered. "I saw Backer nearly shredded and the thing knocked me down. But it's real. Which means I get to fight it."

"Um, this is your work?" Giles asked.

"No, one of the kids," Buffy answered.

"Oh," Giles said. "Um... Well, it would help if-if we knew what it was. I-it's invisible to you, but the, the children can see it."

"But you said you did see something the other night," I told her.

"Uh, yeah, but I was pretty delirious," Buffy told us. "I mean, it doesn't make any sense. Why would I see it then and not last night?"

The door to the room opened, and Buffy's mother walked in. "Good morning." She set down the bag she brought with her. "Ooo, looks like I interrupted a secret meeting."

We all let out forced laughter.

Cordelia smiled widely. "You sure didn't!"

Mrs. Summers looked at Buffy.."Honey, I, I just talked to the doctor, and she said I can take you home."

Buffy considered a moment. "No. I should stay here."

"But, honey, I thought you'd be raring..." Mrs. Summers trailed off.

"I think my symptoms are flaring up," Buffy told her.

"She doesn't look well," Willow told her.

"'Cause I'm not well," Buffy told her. "Uh, I feel all oogy."

"Increased ooginess," Xander said. "That's a danger signal."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Summers asked.

"Oh, yeah, but just for a day... or s-so," Buffy answered.

"Okay, well, I'll, uh, I'll talk to the doctor," Mrs. Summers told us, walking out of the room.

Cordelia closed the door behind her.

"So what's the drill?" I asked.

"Giles, see if you can get a mug shot on that guy," Buffy told him. "I need to know what I'm fighting."

"Right, yes," Giles told her, walking around the bed.

"I'll check Backer's office," Buffy told us. "See if I can find any post-its marked 'why a monster might want me dead.'"

"Sounds like a plan," Xander told her.

"Course, if I find anything, I won't know what it means, so, Will..." Buffy trailed off.

"Oh, yeah, I'm good at medical stuff since Zoey and I used to play doctor all the time," Willow told us.

I chuckled. "No, she's being literal. She used to have all these medical volumes, uh, and diagnosed me with stuff. I didn't have the heart to tell her she was playing it wrong."

"Wrong?" Willow repeated. "Why?" She looked at Buffy. "How did you play doctor?"

"I never have," Buffy told us evasively. "Wait, Zo, does that mean . . .?"

"Yeah, I know some medical stuff," I answered.

"Good," Buffy told me.

Cordelia raised her eyebrows at us and cleared her throat.

Giles picked up on the hint. "Um, fascinating though this is..."

"Yeah, right," Buffy told them. "Go."

"W-w-we'll call you if we... know something," Giles told us.

Giles, Cordelia and Xander left.

I sighed. "Know something soon."

~~

We went to Backer's office.

Buffy opened the door and poked in her head. Seeing that it was empty, she opend the door further to let Willow and me in.

I checkd the hall and closed it behind me.

I started to look around and checking out the reference volumes on the shelves.

Buffy walked toward the mini fridge.

Willow looked over the papers on his desk. "It's weird going through his things." Buffy opened the fridge. "Look, he didn't finish his coffee. Guess he won't."

Willow looked at the printouts.

Buffy closed the fridge.Yep, another person I wasn't in time to save." She walked up to the desk. "It's too bad Angel didn't put me in the hospital sooner. There's something I never thought I'd hear myself say."

We kept looking.

"Hey, wait, I think I have something," I told them.

"Hmm," Willow hummed. "She's a ninja and a Sherlock."

"Okay, this makes sense," I told them. "Dr. Backer was trying to . . ." I read from the paper. "'Inoculate the kids with a controlled dosage of the same virus they already have.'"

"Is there a translation?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, yes, there is," I answered. "'Raising their temperatures to burn the fever out of them.'"

"Would that work?" Willow asked.

"According to this it was starting to," I told them. "So he really was trying to help the kids."

~~

We sat in Buffy's hospital room. She was on the phone. "Who is this? Where's Giles? Well, can you put him on? Right. So it did kill Tina? Backer was curing the kids and taking away the Kindestod's food. What? Hanging on every eww."

Buffy stared off into space.

~~

Buffy was still staring off into space.

I took the phone from her. "Thanks."

I hung up.

"It killed Celia," Buffy told us.

"Your cousin?" Willow asked.

"We have to get this thing, before it gets any more kids," Buffy told us.

"You will," Willow told her. "We will."

"But how?" Buffy asked. "I-I can't even see it."

"You saw it once," Willow told her.

"Did I?" Buffy asked. "Uh, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I mean, I was crazed with that fever. Who knows..."

I realized why. "That's why you saw it."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"Look, this guy goes after sick kids," I told them. "Backer was curing them, so that's why he killed him. Buffy was sick when she saw him."

Buffy realized what I was getting at. "You have to be sick to see him."

~~

We went back to Backer's office.

Buffy opened the fridge.

"Buffy, think about this," Willow told her.

"I have," Buffy told us. "Lots of thoughts."

Buffy crouched down.

"It's crazy," Willow told her.

Buffy searched the test-tubes. "Zoey's right. It's the fever. That's how you see the Kindestod. That's why Celia could see it. That's why Ryan still can." She found the right one. "It's the only way."

Buffy stood back up and faced Willow and me.

"But how are you gonna fight this thing with 107 degree temperature?" Willow asked. Buffy and I exchanged a look. Willow realized why. "No. I know what you two are thinking and the answer is no."

"It's the only answer," I told her. "You have to be sick to see the demon. Even if Buffy's the Slayer, this guy can kill her one-on-one, just like Angel did the other night."

"That's a little harder to do with two," Buffy told her. "And Zo proved that she can do this. Repeatedly."

Buffy uncapped the tube and raised it to drink the serum.

Willow quickly stopped her. "Buffy!"

"Willow, we're going to do this," I told her.

"Zoey, that's 100% pure," Willow told me. "It'll kill both of you in an instant."

"Oh," I said.  "They really should put that on the label."

Willow reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of drinking water and grabbed a beaker that was sitting on top.

Buffy closed the fridge.

Willow set the beaker on the desk and opened the bottle. "It needs to be diluted."

Buffy poured some water into the beaker and closed the bottle. "Okay, but this better work fast."

Willow took the test-tube and drew some of the serum into a dropper. She held it over the beaker and let two single drops fall in.

"Faster than that," I told her.

Willow looked up at us, worried, but gave in and put two more drops into the water.

Buffy took the beaker, held it up and looked at it, then over at me. "Here's to our health."

After another moment's hesitation, Buffy drank half the water and serum, holding it out to me.

I took it, hesitating, drinking the rest.

~~

Willow, Buffy and I walked around the corner and headed toward the ward.

I was already feeling the effects of the virus and walked unsteadily, breathing heavily.

Buffy didn't seem much better.

Willow supported us.

"Oh, God," Buffy told us. "I'm not sure this was such a good idea."

"Hang in there," I told her. "We'll be okay."

"Okay," Buffy said. "We're okay." We reached the door to the ward, and Buffy looked in through the door's window. The beds were all empty. "The kids. They're gone."

We exchanged a surprised and very worried look.

~~

"What could have happened?" Willow asked.

"I don't know," Buffy told us, turning away from the door. "Maybe we're too late. Maybe they moved." She felt her forehead. "Maybe I don't... I'm burning up!"

I looked back into the room and started to see something. "Buffy?"

Buffy turned to me. "What?"

"I think it's in there," I told her.

A form began to take shape, as though unfolding. It stepped over to a bed, and suddenly the Kindestod was clearly visible. It looked into a bed and found it empty.

Buffy stood next to me, looking inside.

The monster looked over at another bed and noticed us staring. It stood straight and looked at us.

Our eyes went wide with fear.

It just giggled maniacally and took off its hat to us. It kept an eye on us for another moment as it turned toward the other door to the ward, then put the hat back on and walked to the other door. It opened it and walked through, closing it behind him.

I read the sign on the door.

Basement access.

Buffy frantically tried to follow, but the door to the ward was locked, and the virus had weakened her enough so that she couldn't break it open.

"It's going after them!" I told them. I turned to Willow. "We gotta get 'em."

Dr. Wilkinson walked around the corner. "Buffy?"

Buffy looked at me. "Okay, we'll get 'em in a second."

Dr. Wilkinson quickly approached. "What's wrong?"

"I, uh, she's not feeling well again," Willow told her.

Dr. Wilkinson looked at the sweat beading on my forehead, noticing heavy breathing. "It looks like your friend's coming down with it, too. You should be in bed."

Dr. Wilkinson put her arms around Buffy and me.

"No, no, it's not that bad," I told her.

"No, you're coming with me," Dr. Wilkinson told us, starting to pull us away.

"No!" Buffy told her, running away

I pushed the doctor away and startd to run down the hall after Buffy.

Willow quickly followed. "They're sorry!"

~~

We got to an intersection in the halls.

We ran through a pair of doors.

Two guards ran toward us.

"Okay, come on now," one told us, holding his baton threateningly. "We can do this the easy way."

We gave each other worried looks.

Willow had an idea and started to swat at herself with her hands frantically. "Frogs! Frogs! Get 'em off of me!" The two guards made for her, assuming she was the reason they were called. "Oh, my God, frogs! Get them off of me! Please, help!" Buffy and I edged around the corner and quickly walked down the other hall. "Get 'em off! Frogs! Frogs! Oh, my God, horrible frogs!" Willow squealed. "Get 'em..."

We heard Dr. Wilkinson. "Not her, the other two!"

Willow was completely calm again. "No more frogs."

"Come on!" one of the guards said.

Buffy and I ran faster, but still not fast, when we heard them following.

~~

Xander was sitting at his post in the hall across from the nurse's station.

Buffy and I walked into view.

I bumped into the wall, unsteady from her fever.

Xander looked up, seeing us, jumping to his feet and running to us. "Zoey, Buffy, are you okay? Did Angel..."

Buffy shook her head. "No. We need to get to the basement."

~~

We each hurried down the stairs to the basement tunnels.

"You don't know how to kill this thing," Xander told us.

"I thought we might try violence," I told him.

"Solid call," Xander told us.

We headed down the tunnel.

~~

We saw the Kinestod kneeling and leaning over Ryan, and now he started to scream again. It took his head to hold him steady. He watched as the monster's eyes bug out and split open. They extended from their sockets down toward his forehead. The monster drooled heavily and licked its lips. Its eyes made contact with Ryan's forehead. He screamed as he felt his energy being drained.

I hit him with a large pipe, making him fall and his eyes go back into its sockets. "You make me sick."

The Kindestod stood up and faced me. I swung the pipe at it again, but the monster blocked it and knocked it out of my grip.

Although Xander couldn't see it, he saw that Buffy and I were fighting something and took the opportunity to go to Ryan and lifted him up from the floor. "Up."

Xander carried Ryan over to the other kids.

I was not in top form as I fought the Kindestod, and it gained the upper hand and punched me twice in the face, then threw me against a pipe, making me fall to the floor.

Xander found the other children and started to herd them away. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Hurry!"

Xander followed them, throwing a few glances over at Buffy and me along the way.

Buffy swung twice at the monster, but it just leaned back and avoided the blows. It grabbed her and threw her into another pipe.

I recovered quickly, spotting a raised grating and hopping up onto it. I took a good look at the Kindestod, and then jumped from the grate and landed a hard kick on its face. It stumbled back and to its knee as I landed on my feet.

Buffy was standing, kicking it three more times while it tried to get back up.

Xander came back after leading the kids away and watched us fight. He saw Buffy kick, but to him it looked like we were fighting thin air.

The Kinestod punched me in the face, making me spin around and let out a grunt of pain. The monster took me by the shoulder and backhand punched me in the face again. He took me by the throat, lifting me up and throwing me into some sections of large duct tube. The Kindestod reachef down for its hat, brushing it off and putting it back on. I recovered from my daze, but not in time to get away as it knelt and reached for my head. It held me steady with both hands. Its eyes bugged out and split open again.

Buffy appeared behind him, snapping his neck, letting his dead body fall next to me.

I turned my head to look at it, breathing heavily in relief.

Buffy held an arm toward me.

I took it, letting her help me up. "That is the last time I am being used as bait."

We both looked at the Kinestod's body.

Xander finally dared to come closer, concerened. "Are you okay?"

"Actually . . ." Buffy trailed off, looking up at him. "I think I'm starting to feel better."

Something clicked in Xander's head. "Wait." He looked at me. "Bait?" He looked between us. "You two planned this?"

Neither of us answered.

I took a step, but lost my balance. "Let's . . ."

Xander supported us, leading us away. "He's dead right? I mean, I heard something snap."

"That would be his neck," Buffy told him.

Xander looked between us. "You're not gonna yak on me, are ya?"

~~

Xander, Willow, Buffy and I laid in Buffy's bed in her room at her house.

Mrs. Summers walked in with a sandwich on a plate and a glass of juice. "Here you go, honey. Peanut butter and jelly, without the crust, just the way you like it."

Mrs. Summers put the glass on the nightstand.

"And the juice?" Buffy asked.

Mrs. Summers handed Buffy the plate. "Two parts orange, one part grapefruit."

"That's my drink," Buffy told her.

"I measured it exactly," Mrs. Summers told her, getting up to go.

I was munching away on cheesy chips and watching TV.

Buffy looked at the sandwich. "Oh, Mom?"

"Mm-hm?" Mrs. Summers asked.

"I wanted crunchy peanut butter," Buffy told her.

"Oh, sorry," Mrs. Summers told her, walking closer.

Willow was sitting on the floor next to the bed surrounded with pillows.

"A-and I said extra jelly," Buffy told her, holding up the plate.

Mrs. Summers smiled. "Anything to help my daughter get well."

She started to walk away.

"Oh, and while you're up, could I get a refill?" Willow asked, holding out her glass. "It's just I'm so comfortable."

Mrs. Summers stepped over, taking the glass. "Of course."

"Thanks," Willow told her.

"Oh, oh, oh," Xander said, holding up an empty bag. "And another bag of cheesy chips."

Xander tossed the bag away.

Mrs. Summers raised her eyebrows at him. "Uh, you ate the last one."

"No, there's another bag hidden behind the raisin," Xander told her.

Mrs. Summers sighed. "I'm on it." She looked at me. "Anything else?"

"Juice?" I asked what sounded like a cute statement.

"Coming right up," Mrs. Summers told us, turning around and leaving.

Xander looked at Buffy. "Your mom's tryin' to Bogart the cheesy chips. What's that all about?"

Mrs. Summers walked back into the room holding an envelope. "Oh, Buffy, Zoey, here. Um, this came in the mail."

She handed it to Buffy.

Buffy read the return address and smiled at me. "It's from Ryan."

I smiled.

Buffy opened it.

"The boy from the hospital?" Mrs. Summers asked. Buffy took out the paper inside and unfolded it, holding it for me to see. Mrs. Summers looked down at it, smiling. "Oh, he drew you two a picture." It was of Buffy, the blonde, and me, the fair-brunette, standing over the Kindestod with Buffy's foot up on its chest and a pipe in my hand, presumably the same pipe I had used to hit him with. The monster's neck was split open and blood was gushing out. "How... nice."