Aug. 31st, '15: Neighborhood Watch - Part XX (2)
Title: Neighborhood Watch - Part XX (2)
Author: SweetChi
Rating: PG-13
Crossover: Castle
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Castle, I am making no money from this and am doing it purely for enjoyment.
Summary: Dawn and the others start the hunt. A certain Coma Girl wakes up.
“I told you that taco truck looked shady,” Dawn said, twisting to look at Kennedy from the front seat.
The Slayer had an uncomfortable look on her face and was shifting in her seat every few seconds. It was a testament to how off she must’ve felt that Dawn had actually managed to snag the front seat. If she had better manners, she would’ve offered it to Castle, but she couldn’t resist taking it for herself when Kennedy was distracted by her brewing diarrhea or whatever was going on inside of her.
“The one with half naked lady on the side that looks like it was done in chalk?” Castle asked. “Definitely not a good idea.”
“No, this didn’t even have that much effort. Just a white truck with a taco drawn on the side in sharpie,” Dawn said.
Kennedy just shot both of them a death glare, the lack of sniping telling Dawn better than anything else that she felt off.
“Maybe Xander can stop for some Pepto?”
“Sure,” Xander said from the driver’s seat. “It’d be better for all of us if you didn’t need a bathroom break in the middle fighting a demon. So, Tums, Pepto, Imodium, Depends - name your poison.”
“I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “Just feel a little… weird. Don’t have to crap or puke or anything.”
“That’s good,” Castle said. “That would put a damper on the evening. So, where exactly are we headed?”
“We got a list of some underground hotspots we’re going to check out,” Dawn said. “Think we should wait for Kevin before we dive in? He seemed like he really wanted to go…”
“He’ll call when he’s done with work,” Castle said with a smile, patting the pocket of his leather coat. “Any chance your sister will be joining us on this little outing?”
“Uh, I guess there’s always a chance,” Dawn said slowly as Xander shot Castle a weird look. “Haven’t heard anything from Willow about her waking up yet though.”
Castle’s smile got even bigger.
*****
Buffy’s left eyebrow twitched - someone was talking about her. She frowned and went to smooth it with a hand but ended up smacking herself in the face instead when the limb didn’t quite want to give its full cooperation.
“Owwww…”
“Oh! You’re awake!”
Willow’s chipper voice came in and out, like a bad radio signal - too loud then too faint. She peeked her eyes open and saw nothing but a blurry swath of grey.
“Not so much,” she muttered, tongue feeling heavy.
“What’s that mean? What’s wrong? How do you feel?”
It took Buffy a moment to process these words as she tried to blink away the fog.
“Like I need a bucket of coffee for the first two. Third can’t be answered until I have said bucket of coffee.”
“Right, coffee.”
Buffy frowned as Willow rushed off. What was going on? As the ceiling became a little clearer a more important question formed - just where the hell was she?
Sitting up took more time, concentration and effort than it should have. Every move felt heavy and clumsy. Her eyes were clearing though, because she was starting to realize the grey from earlier were the walls in the castle. In Scotland.
What the…
“Buffy,” Giles came in wearing a big smile and carrying what she hoped was a tray full of coffee goodness and not his usual tea. “Glad to see you’re awake.”
“Um, yeah, waking up’s a real achievement,” she said in confusion, eyes locked on the coffee.
Then Willow walked in with a plate of fruit and toast and she forgot all about the coffee.
“So, what’s the what?” She asked, after shoving the last piece of toast in her mouth and washing it down with a scalding gulp of coffee. “Wasn’t I in New York?”
“Tell us what you remember,” Giles said, leaning forward.
“Let’s see… Took care of a nest of Roknar demons, staked a few vamps, headed home. Was getting post-its to leave Kevin a note…”
She rubbed an eye and furrowed her brow. Something happened then… But it was all jumbled up… What was it…
“Oh!” She said, jumping up and spilling coffee all over as her legs weeble-woobled for a moment.
Giles grabbed an arm and gently pushed her back on to the bed.
“Giles! There was an ubervamp in my apartment!”
“So it was a Turok Han, then?” Giles asked, sitting next to her.
“Oh, yeah. Freaking thing came out of nowhere,” she said, distinctly remembering getting her butt handed to her as she got over her shock. Then…
“Oh!” She said, jumping up and weeble-wobbling again.
Giles pushed her back on the bed again. “Please refrain from hurting yourself any further.”
“Caleb!” She blurted. “He was there!”
“Caleb?” Willow asked. “Are you sure you’re not remembering Kevin’s friend?”
“I- What?”
“Kevin’s friend Castle. The guy that looks like Caleb?”
“Kevin has a friend that looks like Caleb? And you know this how?”
“Let’s start with what we know,” Giles said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. “Willow, tell Buffy what’s happened while she’s been in a coma-“
“I was in a coma?! Oh my God, Giles, you do look so much older now that I’m looking closer. How many years has it been? Kevin must’ve moved on by now. Is he married? He’s married with babies now, right? Giles, your eyebrow is twitching…”
“Are you quite sure the MRI showed no brain damage?”