The Hart of L.A.

Angel was shocked. " what do you mean, she's awake? The doctor's said that she probably wouldn't ever wake up." Wesley nodded his head frantincally. " That's true, Angel, but nevertheless she is awake. Fred, Gunn, Lorne, and I are going to see her right now. Angel, you should come with us." Angel was torn. He knew he needed to go and see Cordelia, but this was Buffy. This was his Buffy. Willow, seeing Angel's inner turmoil, walked over to him. " Don't worry, Angel, I can call you if there's a change." Wesley spoke up then. " There's no need for that, Willow. Cordelia is in this hospital, I just think that Angel is just afraid to leave." Willow smiled gently at Angel. " Well, that's understandable. I'll just be sure to page you if there's a change. They're going to be okay, Angel. I know they are." Angel looked at her with a disbelieving look. " How do you know that? They haven't told us anything, we don't even know if they're still alive." Willow bowed her head, as tears started to form in her eyes. " I know, Angel, because I believe it. Buffy is my best friend in the whole world, and Oz, well he's Oz. I just got Oz back, so I can't lose him like this. I've already lost Buffy once, as you well know, so she can't die again like that. She just can't. You just have to have faith that she'll be okay." Angel nodded. He hadn't really thought about in that perspective. He couldn't lose Buffy like that again. At least he was here this time. As it was, it wouldn't be fair to Cordelia if he didn't go and see her. It was just really hard to leave, when Buffy was still in critical condition.

Angel was the first one to go in and see Cordy. She was propped up in her bed, but her eyes were closed. He didn't want to wake her up, so he sat down in a chair that was beside her bed. Unfortunately, the chair squeaked when he sat down. " Were you not even going to say hello to me?" Angel jerked his head up, only to see Cordelia smiling at him. " I didn't want to wake you up." She chuckled at him, then. " Angel, I've been asleep for six months. By the way, did Connor come with you?" Angel hung his head. " No, he didn't." Cordelia frowned. " He didn't want to come and see me?" Angel just sighed. He really didn't want to tell her. The nurse had been very adament, ' don't distress her.' When he didn't answer her, she became frantic, though. " Angel, he's alright, isn't he?" Angel nodded. " He's just fine, Cordelia. He just doens't have any idea who we are. At Cordelia's confused look, he told her what had happened...everything.

Cordelia was stunned. Sunnydale was gone? She hoped her parents were okay. " Oh, God, do they know if Buffy and Oz are going to make it?" Angel just shook his head, which just distressed her more. " Angel, you suck! Why do I have to wake up, when all the sad stuff is happening? Maybe if I went back to sleep for a year, there'd be babies and happiness. Wait, does this mean that if Buffy had been at a different hospital, you wouldn't have come to see me?!" Angel looked and felt very uncomfortable. " We always visit you on Wednesdays, Cord. It's kind of a tradition, we all get together, and come and see you." Cordelia got infuriated. " You guys only came to visit me once a week?! What the hell kind of friends are you!"

When they got back to where everyone was waiting, they were all gathering their things. Angel couldn't believe it. " What are you all doing? We can't just leave!" Giles went over to him. " We have to, Angel. The doctor said we should go, get some sleep, and come back this evening. Besides, the sun is coming up, and we have to get you and Spike out of here." Reluctantly, they all filed out of the hospital. It just felt wrong leaving, when they were just lying there helpless. It felt like they should be doing something. Really, there wasn't anything any of them could do, but it still felt wrong. Willow and Dawn had tried to call Hank Summers, but so far, he was unreachable. If Angel ever got his hands on him, it would be a bad thing. Truth be told, he'd have to stand in line. Giles and Xander had been wanting to get a hold of him for a long time. So far the only good news they'd gotten, was Cordelia.

Xander was so worried about Buffy, that he was sleeping very fitfully. He kept having nightmares about Buffy either Dying, or just never waking up. It made him feel bad that he wasn't more worried about Oz. It was like Anya had told him once, he just didn't have enough worry to go around. He was putting his foot down when Buffy did wake up. She was going to take it easy for awhile. If Angel had a problem with that, then that was just tough. Buffy was his best friend, besides Willow, and he didn't know what he'd do if he lost her again. Especiall like that.

Dawn woke up and looked at the clock beside her bed. It was 8:50 p.m. She still had a little over an hour before they were going back to the hospital. She was so upset. She couldn't lose Buffy again. Dawn realized that she'd never been very nice to Buffy, but she'd always looked up to her. If Buffy didn't wake up, where would she go? She knew that she was staying with Willow and Kennedy, but after school was finished, she was supposed to go back and live with Buffy. She'd never even got the chance to tell her sister how much she appreciated her sacrifices. Come on, no one should have to work at the Double Meat Palace. Luckily she'd gotten a better job, that she'd eventually gotten fired from. Just then Willow knocked on her door. " Dawnie, are you ready to go? Giles is here to pick us up."

Giles was putting up a brave front. He was devistated that this had happened to Buffy agian. Giles didn't think that he could go on if she passed again. He should have insisted that she bet the one to stay behind, but she would have refused. He was furious with Kennedy, though. She kept on talking about the battle, like she'd been there the whole time. The whole situation was getting way out of control. Kennedy kept making comments to Willow about Buffy and Oz being the ones to get hurt. Frankly, if the girl continued, Giles was going to speak up. It was long past for the girl to be put in her place.

When they got to the hospital, everyone was there, except for Gunn. Angel really didn't blame him for not showing up. After all, he'd only just recently met Buffy and Oz. Angel was very surprised when Gunn did walk through the door, though. " Gunn, you didn't have to come if you didn't want to." Gunn smiled weakly at him. " I know, but I really want to be here for you guys. They're your friends, and you're my friends. Hopefully they'll be my friends soon." Angel smiled at that statment. When the doctor came out and asked if anyone wanted to see her, he jumped up, but Xander stopped him. " We should let Dawn go in first. She is, after all, her sister."