Discovery

Chapter 39

Willow leaned wearily against Booth as he sat on the edge of her bed, revelling in how great it felt to have him close, to finally have a parental figure that cared enough about her to fly across the entire country just to be by her beside when she was injured. It was something of a novelty for her after being neglected by Ira and Sheila Rosenberg for so long, being considered to be far less important than the couple's respective careers.

Oz and Cordelia had gone home, both of them feeling tired after the traumatic last couple of days but Xander had stayed, not willing to leave Willow's side despite Booth's assurance that he would not leave Willow's side.

It wasn't just for Willow that Xander was concerned, but for Booth as well. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before Giles got himself sorted out and came to see Willow, if only to quiz her about the spell she had used to resoul Angelus. Xander was certain that Giles would react, quite possibly violently, if he saw Booth without being warned beforehand that the FBI agent was there. Night had fallen, so it was not like the sunlight coming through the window and bathing Booth in a golden glow (with no ashes in sight) was going to be an indication that it was Willow's dad, rather than the vampire, in the room. It would undoubtedly raise many awkward questions if Giles attacked Booth with a stake the moment he laid eyes on the agent. Now if only the Watcher would just show up, Xander could let himself relax.

In fact, Xander was surprised, and slightly annoyed by the way that the English Watcher had not come by visit Willow. Xander understood that Giles was devastated by Jenny's murder and the Englishman had been soundly beaten and tortured by Angelus and Drusilla, but Xander thought that Giles would have wanted to check on the remaining Scoobies, especially given Buffy's absence. In truth, Xander viewed Giles as a sort of father figure, and he knew that Willow did as well, and the Watcher's prolonged absence from Willow's hospital room was beginning to feel a little like rejection and neglect, as if now that Buffy was missing Giles didn't care about the other two members of the original Scooby gang.

Xander jumped when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, indicating that he had a text message. Willow glanced over at him at the sound, holding her breath in anticipation. Had Buffy been found? Was it Buffy herself that was responding to one of the many messages she and Xander had sent her since Willow had done the spell? Xander felt his shoulders sink as he read the message. There was no word of Buffy but Giles was on his way to the hospital and wanted to know which room Willow was in. Xander quickly sent back a reply telling Giles that Willow was on the first floor but Xander would meet him at the admissions desk.

"Not Buffy?" Willow asked, reading the disappointment on Xander's face. Xander nodded.

"Not Buffy," he confirmed, "but Giles is on his way. He wanted to know which room you're in," Xander told her. Willow looked surprised.

"I'm kind of impressed. I didn't think Giles would be able to send a text message. I've lost track of how many times I've had to show him how to use the check out software on the library computer. It's a good thing not many people take out books." She commented. Xander and Booth both snorted at the comment as Xander got to his feet.

"I'll just go and meet him at the reception desk. Do you two want anything?"

"No, thanks, Xander." Willow smiled, knowing what Xander was doing and feeling very grateful that her best friend had stayed behind.

Booth shook his head. "No, thanks, I'm fine," he told Xander, who nodded before heading out of the room. Once he was out of eyesight of the room, he leaned against the clean hospital wall and exhaled. It was going to be an interesting evening. Giles might know that the man sitting with Willow was just her father but Xander knew that for a while, his mind would play tricks with him and he would forget about Booth and think it was Angel. Xander himself had done it consistently for the first half an hour of Booth being there. After that, however, Xander had adjusted and been able to settle down. It would undoubtedly be harder for Giles, given everything that had happened.