~~~~~~~~~~ Prologue ~~~~~~~~~~
In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against
the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.
The cemetery. The camera closes in on the top of the perimeter wall. A
pair of hands hook over the top, and Buffy pulls herself up. She coughs
while she pulls her legs over. She jumps down the other side. When she
hits the ground she can't keep her balance, and has to use her hands to
keep from toppling over. She breathes heavily through her mouth because
her nose is stuffed up. Every now and then she sniffles. She pulls a
stake out of her jacket. She puts her hand on her forehead and moans as
she stands up. Slowly she starts to make her way across the graveyard.
Cut to in front of her. The camera follows her as she walks, still
sniffling and rubbing her nose. She senses something and tries to
concentrate while she slowly approaches a small mausoleum. She raises
her stake and jumps around the corner, swinging it to strike at
whatever's there. Xander screams and reflexively jumps back, holding on
tightly to his own stake. Cordelia lets out a high-pitched scream behind
him. Willow is there, too, and the girls both reflexively hold up
crosses at Buffy.
Buffy: Non-vampire. Plus two.
Willow: (sternly as she puts her cross away) Hi.
They all step out into the open.
Xander: Man, Buffy! My whole life just flashed before my eyes! (glances
over at Willow) I gotta get me a life!
Buffy: What are you doing here?
Willow: What are *you* doing here?
Buffy: Well, I'm patrolling!
Willow: (concerned) Buffy, you're sick.
Buffy: No, I feel fine. I mean, I'm... the world's spinning a little
bit, but I like it, it's kinda like a ride.
Cordelia: Half the school's out with this flu. It's a serious deal,
Buffy. We're all concerned about how gross you look.
Buffy: (with a hint of sarcasm) I'm touched. Really. But I have work to
do.
Willow: Buffy, come on, one night of rest is not gonna kill you.
Buffy: No, but it might kill somebody else.
Xander: (points at her with his stake) You mean Angel might. (Buffy
turns away) Buffy, this is not the time to challenge Angel for the
ultimate fighting championship. (gestures with his stake) He's at full
strength, you're only half a Slayer.
Buffy: Yeah, but I'm still the Slayer. And as long as I am, Angel's not
gonna kill anybody else.
Angelus: (behind her) Aw, c'mon. (she turns to face him) Just one more.
He attacks, and the girls scream. He runs right past Buffy straight for
Cordelia and tackles her to the ground. Buffy grabs him by the back of
his coat and pulls him off of her. She turns him around, takes him by
the coat collar and swings at him with her stake. He blocks her with his
arm, grabs hers and makes her drop the stake.
Angelus: Not feeling well, lover?
Buffy looks up at him and punches him in the jaw. He glares back at her
and tries to kick her, but she grabs his foot and shoves his leg up,
making him fall hard onto his back.
Buffy: That helps.
Angelus scrambles to all fours. She comes at him from behind and tries
to kick him, but he kicks out with his leg into her chest, and she
staggers back a ways until she regains her balance. He gets up and comes
toward her. She takes a couple of swings at him, but he evades them
easily. He blocks a third, grabs her arm and takes her by the throat.
Angelus: You know, you being off your game's kinda takin' the fun out
of all this.
He punches her in the face, and she stumbles backward again.
Angelus: Nope, still fun!
He punches her in the gut, then grabs her by the neck and shoves her
around and into a corner column of the small mausoleum. She is dazed and
tries to regain her balance, but doesn't get a chance because Angelus
wastes no time punching her in the face and knocking her flat on her
back. He gets on top of her and pins her arms down.
Angelus: Uh-oh. This does *not* look good for our heroine.
He starts to bend down to bite her, but just then Willow throws Xander's
jacket over Angelus' head. As she backs away, Xander grabs his head
under the jacket, punches him and knees him twice in the face. Angelus
falls over onto his back. Willow and Cordelia pull out their crosses and
hold them out at him as he gets up, and he has to back off.
Xander: Take a walk, overbite.
Buffy gets to her feet. Angelus slowly backs away.
Angelus: We'll have to do this again sometime.
He turns and walks off. Buffy just watches him go.
Xander: Buffy, are you okay?
Buffy: (puts her hand to her forehead) I told you guys to leave, I...
(getting dizzy) I... Oh...
She falls to the ground unconscious.
Xander: Buffy!
Willow and Cordelia turn to look.
Willow: Buffy?
Xander kneels next to her and looks at the fallen Slayer.
Opening credits roll. Buffy's theme plays.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 1 ~~~~~~~~~~
The Sunnydale Hospital Emergency Room. The camera pans from an empty
gurney past the admissions desk and over to the entrance. Xander rushes
in with Buffy in his arms. Willow and Cordelia are right behind him.
Xander: We need help!
Willow: Somebody, please, now!
Intern: (approaches them) What happened?
They all speak at once.
Xander: She fell.
Willow: The flu.
Cordelia: She fainted.
A nurse brings over the gurney.
Xander: The flu, fainted and fell. She's sick, make it better!
Intern: (pulls the gurney up) It's gonna be okay. Let's get her up.
Xander lays Buffy out on the gurney. The intern takes out his pocket
light and checks Buffy's eyes for a response. The nurse takes notes
while he speaks as they start to wheel her into the emergency room. They
all follow.
Intern: Patient's unconscious... Pupils are unequal and unresponsive.
Cordelia: What does that mean?
Willow: Is she gonna be okay?
Intern: Please, you gotta give us some room.
Dr. Wilkinson: (arrives) What do we have?
Intern: High-grade fever, possible fractures.
Dr. Wilkinson: Get her into Trauma 1, give her a CBC, Chem 7, type and
screen.
Intern: Right.
The Intern and nurse take her through the doors to the emergency room
beyond. They all try to follow, but Dr. Wilkinson blocks their way.
Dr. Wilkinson: I'm sorry, you can't go any further.
Xander: Someone should be with her!
Dr. Wilkinson: I'm sorry! You can't go any further.
She backs in and closes the door in their faces. They look through
windows for a couple of seconds. Willow reacts first.
Willow: I'll call Giles, tell him what happened. (to Cordelia) You call
Buffy's mom, tell her, n-not what happened, just get her here.
The two of them go to find the phones. Xander keeps looking in through
the emergency room door, where he can see the doctor and intern still
working on Buffy. He looks away as they wheel Buffy into Trauma 1.
Cut to later. Cordelia, Xander and Willow are sitting on a row of chairs
in the waiting room with worried looks on their faces. The camera pans
over to the door where Giles is also waiting and nervously cleaning his
glasses. The camera continues to pan over to the elevator. The door
opens and Joyce comes out. She sees them sitting there.
Joyce: Where is she?
They all get up. Giles comes over also.
Giles: She's still in the emergency room.
Joyce: I wanna see her. (starts out of the waiting room)
Cordelia: They won't let us in there.
Joyce stops and looks back at her. Just then Dr. Wilkinson comes to the
door.
Dr. Wilkinson: Mrs. Summers?
Joyce: (faces her) Yes?
Dr. Wilkinson: I'm Dr. Wilkinson.
Joyce: Is Buffy okay?
Dr. Wilkinson: We were able to stabilize and...
Joyce: (interrupts insistently) Is she okay?
Dr. Wilkinson: (reassuringly) She's going to be fine.
Joyce: (with relief) Thank you. (puts her hand to her face)
Xander: Good. Good. (rubs his hands) That's good.
Dr. Wilkinson: I wanna keep her here a few days, though. She still has
some healing to do.
Giles and Joyce look at her anxiously.
Cut to a hall upstairs near Buffy's assigned hospital room. They are all
waiting for her to be brought up. When they see her coming they all
approach the bed. She has an IV in her right hand. Her left forearm is
wrapped in an elastic bandage.
Joyce: Buffy? (reaches the bed) Hi, sweetheart.
They all accompany her toward her room.
Xander: Hey, Buffy, we're all here.
Buffy: (groggy) Hey. Here we are. It's all of we. Are we taking me
home? (tries to get up)
Dr. Wilkinson: (pushes her back) No. Buffy, you need to lie down,
honey.
Buffy: (groggy) Yeah? Lie at home. My bed is better than any bed
that's... not my bed.
Dr. Wilkinson: (looks at Joyce) She's still a little out of it.
Joyce nods back.
Buffy: (to Xander) Shhh! (points at him) Hospital zone. No singing.
Dr. Wilkinson: She'll feel better after (Buffy looks at her) she's been
here a while.
Buffy: No! (tries to get up again) Lemme go. Look, I wanna go.
The orderly pushing the bed, two nurses and Dr. Wilkinson struggle to
get her to lie back down. Buffy puts up a fight.
Willow: Buffy, what's wrong?
Buffy: No! No! Let me go!
Cordelia: I think she wants to go.
They manage to get her pushed back down on the bed.
Buffy: No, don't do that! Stop it!
Dr. Wilkinson: Hold her steady!
Buffy: (delirious) Giles, tell them!
Orderly: I got her.
Buffy: The vampires! I need to kill the vampires!
Dr. Wilkinson: This'll help you relax.
She puts a needle against Buffy's inside elbow and injects her with a
sedative. Xander throws Giles a concerned look. Cordelia cringes and
looks away.
Buffy: Ow! (winces in pain) No!
When the doctor pulls the needle back out she lies back and breathes
heavily.
Xander: It's gotta be the fever.
Willow: Yeah, it made her delusional.
Buffy: (to Giles insistently) They're out there!
Giles: (smiling reassuringly) Yes, uh, well, we'll, uh, we'll get
those, uh, vampires later. (laughs lightly, looks at Joyce) I hear it's
best t-to play along. (keeps smiling)
The sedative takes effect and Buffy begins to relax. One of the nurses
checks her IV. Her mother leans in and strokes her hair.
Joyce: Honey, listen...
Buffy: I wanna go home.
Joyce: It's gonna be okay. I promise.
They start to wheel her away again.
Buffy: Please don't make me stay here...
Joyce: I *promise*.
They all follow as Buffy is taken to her room. They wait outside. The
door closes and Xander looks in through the narrow window. After a
moment he looks over at Giles.
Xander: That was a new experience. I'm not used to seeing Buffy scared
like that.
Joyce: Yeah, she just *hates* hospitals. Ever since she was a little
girl.
Willow: What happened?
Joyce: When she was eight her cousin Celia died in a hospital. Buffy
was alone with her at the time.
Cordelia: Yuk!
Joyce: Yeah, they were very close.
Willow: Wow, and she was eight?
Joyce: (looking in at Buffy) Well, it looks like she's asleep. I should
go call her father. (heads toward the nurse's station)
Giles: (accompanies her) Um, I-I think there's a, a phone...
The camera follows them.
Joyce: Thank you for coming. I-I *really* appreciate the way you look
out for her.
Giles: Oh...
Joyce: *All* of you.
Giles: Well, we're, uh, we're very fond of her. (they stop at the
nurse's station) The, uh, the telephone. (starts away)
Joyce: I, I... (stops him) I hope I'm not out of line, but... I-I-I
wanted to say how sorry I am about, uh, that teacher, Ms. Calendar.
Buffy said you were close.
Giles: (nods slightly) Oh, uh... (looks down) Thank you. (looks up)
Joyce: (exhales) Buffy's been so down since it happened. I mean, she
never gets sick.
Giles: (looks down) Well, I'm sure she'll be, uh... (looks up, smiles
reassuringly) She'll be fine.
Joyce: I'm sorry, I, I babble when I'm nervous, I just wanted to...
Well, if, if you need anything...
Giles: (nods) Thank you. (quietly) Thank you. (walks off)
Joyce turns to the nurse to ask to use the phone.
Cut to outside Buffy's door.
Xander: Do you think she's gonna be okay in here?
Cordelia: (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.
She steps over to the door and looks into Buffy's room.
Xander: Cordy...
Willow: Buffy's not here for cosmetic surgery.
Cordelia: No, but while she's in here, she might as well get that thing
done.
Willow gives Xander a look.
Cordelia: You know, that thing on her face? (faces them) You know that
thing.
Willow: (to Xander) Do you think Angel will attack Buffy in here?
Xander: He can come in, it's a public building.
Willow: (worried) That's true.
Cordelia: Am I the only one that's noticed that thing?
Cut to the hospital at night. Cut to Buffy's room. She stirs in her bed.
The clock on the nightstand changes to read 2:27am. Cut to her IV slowly
dripping in. The LED on the heart monitor next to the IV blinks
steadily. The camera pans down from it to Buffy's face. She takes a deep
breath as she wakes up. She blinks her eyes several times before looking
over at the door. It's standing open, and a young boy is there just
silently staring in at her. A few moments later he starts away down the
hall. She continues to look out the door, and a man in a black suit and
hat walks by.
Cut to a closeup of the man. He glances into Buffy's room as he walks
by. She sees his face. It's all disfigured, his nose is long and bent
down to a point, his teeth are all long fangs, and his fingers are
grossly elongated. He looks back after the boy and continues to follow
him out of view. Buffy raises her head in disbelief. She pushes her hair
back with her bandaged hand and slowly sits up. She gets out of bed and
steadies herself to a stand. She ties her robe closed as she walks out
of the room.
Cut to the hall. It's deserted except for the janitor mopping the floor
behind her. As she walks she has a flashback to her youth, and the
corridor is suddenly brightly lit. Little Buffy comes walking down the
bright but deserted hall. The camera closes in on her face. Cut to her
view of a cart of surgical instruments. Cut to her again, looking around
nervously as she walks. Cut to a shot from behind her as she approaches
Celia's room. Sunlight is pouring brightly from the door. She edges up
to it and goes in.
Cut to inside the room. Little Buffy comes in and slowly goes over to
the curtain pulled around Celia's bed.
Cut to Buffy in her hospital bed. The clock on the nightstand changes to
read 2:27am. She stirs and wakes from her dream. Her door is open, but
there's no one there. She pushes her hair back with her bandaged hand
and slowly sits up. She feels the IV in the back of her right hand and
looks at it. She pulls the tape off and the needle out. She covers her
face with both hands, draws them back through her hair and starts to get
out of bed.
Cut to her walking down the hall, holding her robe closed with her
hands. It's deserted except for the janitor mopping the floor behind
her. She hears coughing coming from a room and looks in. A woman is
tucking in an old man and comforting him.
Woman: You'll be fine. Is that better?
She continues down the hall and looks into the next room. An old woman
is sitting on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands. She
continues, hears the old woman cough and lets out a little cough of her
own. She passes another doorway and walks past the camera. A security
guard looks out from the doorway and watches her go.
Cut to another part of the hall near the children's ward. Buffy comes
walking toward the door as two orderlies wheel a child covered with a
sheet out of the ward.
Orderly: Man, I hate it when you lose the young ones.
They go down the hall past Buffy. She looks at the gurney as they go by.
She turns back to the children's ward door and slowly approaches it. She
can hear Dr. Wilkinson and Dr. Backer arguing inside in hushed tones, so
she doesn't go in.
Dr. Wilkinson: I'm just saying, step back on the dosage until we can
analyze the results.
Dr. Backer: There isn't time. I should think that would be clear to you
by now.
Buffy peeks into the room and sees them arguing.
Dr. Wilkinson: The normal course of treatment...
Dr. Backer: (interrupts) They *aren't* responding to the normal course
of treatment. (gestures to the kids) Look, they're getting worse.
Dr. Wilkinson: Raising their temperatures is poten...
Dr. Backer: (interrupts) Dr. Wilkinson! I have the consent of the
parents.
Dr. Wilkinson: They're desperate! They don't understand what you're...
Dr. Backer: (interrupts) You know what, if-if you have a problem with
my methods, just take it up with the board.
Dr. Wilkinson: I have!
Buffy has heard enough, and turns away to go. There in front of her is
the little boy she saw in her dream and a little girl. She stops and
they look at each other.
Ryan: He comes at night. The grownups don't see him. He was with Tina.
He'll come back for us.
Buffy: Who?
Ryan: Death.
Buffy looks back and forth between the two kids in disbelief.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 2 ~~~~~~~~~~
Sunnydale General. Xander is sitting on a chair outside the waiting room
across from the nurses' station that is down the hall from Buffy's room.
There are two police officers talking to a security guard. Nurses and
orderlies are going about their tasks. Angelus comes walking out of the
waiting room from the elevator bearing some white flowers and whistling
a few bars of "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's 9th symphony. Xander hears
him and looks to see who's coming. When he sees Angelus he quickly gets
up and faces him down in the hall.
Xander: Visiting hours are over.
Angelus: Well, I'm pretty much family.
Xander: (trying hard to stay cool) Yeah. Why don't you come back during
the day? Oh, gee, no, I guess you can't.
Angelus: (threateningly) If I decide to walk into Buffy's room, do you
think for one microsecond that you could stop me?
Xander: Maybe not. Maybe that security guard couldn't either. Or those
cops... or the orderlies... But I'm kinda curious to find out. You game?
Angelus: (pauses) Buffy's White Knight. You still love her. (leans in
close) It must just eat you up that I got there first.
Xander: (fighting his nervousness) You're gonna die. And I'm gonna be
there.
Angelus slaps the flowers against Xander's chest.
Angelus: Tell her I stopped by.
He gives Xander one final look and then goes back through the waiting
room to the elevator. Xander shudders, covers his mouth and lets out a
breath of relief.
Cut to a flashback of Little Buffy and Celia. Celia is on the bedroom
floor covered with pillows and writhing around, pretending to be trapped
under a pile of snow and ice.
Celia: Help me, help! Avalanche! Help! Help! I'm trapped! Avalanche!
Help! Help!
Little Buffy comes in through the door and stops in a heroic stance with
her hands on her hips.
Little Buffy: Power Girl to the rescue!
She kneels down and starts to heave off the pillows as though they're
huge, heavy blocks of ice and snow and thuds them aside.
Celia: Help me! Help! Help! Please, help!
Buffy gets the last pillows off of Celia's face, and she sits up.
Celia: You saved me! Thank you, Power Girl!
The two girls embrace.
Little Buffy: You're safe now.
Cut to a flashback of Little Buffy coming into Celia's hospital room.
She slowly approaches the curtain around the bed and opens it enough to
look in at her cousin. She steps through. Celia is lying there
peacefully asleep.
Cut to Buffy in her hospital bed. She wakes with a start.
Dr. Wilkinson: (coming in) Good morning.
Buffy moans, rubs her eyes and sits up.
Buffy: Could've fooled me.
Dr. Wilkinson: How are you feeling? Looks like your fever's gone down.
Buffy: Well, good! Thanks for having me. Let's try and keep in touch.
(tries to get out of bed)
Dr. Wilkinson: (pushes her back) Not so fast. (inspects Buffy's
bandaged arm) Hmm.
Buffy: Good 'hmm' or bad 'hmm'?
Dr. Wilkinson: Swelling's... gone! (looks up) Does this hurt?
Buffy: Nope.
Dr. Wilkinson: Amazing. (gets the chart)
Buffy: Well, then I should probably go, right? (tries to go again)
Dr. Wilkinson: (stops her again) No. Soon. We have to make sure that
fever is gone. That's a strong virus you have. Maybe not as strong as
you, but...
Buffy: I-is that the same virus the kids have?
Before Dr. Wilkinson can answer there's a knock on the door.
Giles: May we come in?
Dr. Wilkinson: Please! (they all come in) Maybe you can keep our
patient from bolting. (to Buffy, sternly) Rest! Hmm? (leaves)
Xander: (presenting five balloons) Flowers for milady.
Buffy: (looks up at them) I think they call those balloons.
Xander: (looks up) Yeah, stick 'em in water, maybe they'll grow.
Willow: Not to be outdone... (sets school books on the bed)
Buffy: Homework!
Willow: It's my way of saying, 'get well soon'.
Buffy: You know, chocolate says that even better.
Willow: I did all your assignments. All you have to do is sign your
name.
Giles munches on a grape.
Buffy: Chocolate means *nothing* to me.
Willow steps back and looks up at Cordelia.
Cordelia: Nobody told me I was supposed to bring a gift. (looks at
Giles) I was out of the loop on gifts.
Giles: It's, it's tradition among, um... people. Um... (walks up to the
bed) Grapes. (sets down the bag) Well, did you, uh, pass the night well
enough?
A nurse comes into the room and walks around the bed.
Buffy: Not really. Something happened I thought you...
The nurse checks Buffy's IV.
Buffy: You know what? Let's take a walk.
Cut to outside the hospital main entrance. The camera pans over to
Willow pushing Buffy along in a wheelchair while the others walk
alongside.
Buffy: Now, this part I could get used to.
Willow: Do you want me to go real fast? (gets a look from Giles) Not
that I would.
Giles: We were discussing, um, stuff.
Buffy: Yes, stuff. Um, you know, a girl died here last night.
Willow: How?
Buffy: Well, the flu.
Xander: Flu doesn't exactly sound monsterrific.
Buffy: I know. But there's this Dr. Backer, and he's been giving them
these experimental treatments.
They stop by a bench and Giles sits.
Buffy: 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.
Giles: Saw what?
Buffy: Death.
Cordelia: Death?
Willow: *The* Death? As in, 'it is your time'?
Giles: Buffy, a-a-a frightened child...
Buffy: Yeah, but I thought I saw something. I'm not sure, I was really
out of it, but...
Cordelia: But you do know that you saw death.
Willow: Did it have an hourglass?
Xander: Ooo, if he asks you to play chess, don't even do it. The guy's,
like, a whiz.
Buffy: Maybe it wasn't death. Maybe it was something else.
Cordelia: 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?
Giles: Cordelia, have you actually ever heard of tact?
Cordelia: Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass.
Willow: Your mom did tell us about your cousin.
Cordelia sits also.
Buffy: This has nothing to do with that. 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.
Xander: So, is this the part where we say, what can we do to help?
Cut to the hospital records room after hours that evening. The place is
deserted. Cordelia and Xander quietly come in.
Cordelia: (whispers) You had to ask that, didn't you?
They walk over to a records cabinet.
Xander: (quietly) Pft! It'll be cake. Just gotta figure out what killed
this little girl Tina, we'll be out. Five minutes tops. (opens a cabinet
door)
Cordelia: (leans against the wall) This is what happens when you're
compassionate towards sick people. They take advantage of you.
Xander: (gives Cordelia a look) Uh-huh. Buffy almost died just to put
you out.
Cordelia: I didn't wanna be the first one to say it.
He finds nothing and points over to the cabinet to his right.
Xander: You there. (points to his left) Me here.
Cordelia: Right.
He goes on the next one around the corner. She reluctantly goes back to
the one on the other side of the door where they came in. She opens the
cabinet and looks in. Suddenly a security guard appears next to her, and
she jumps and gasps.
Guard: What are you doing here?
She gives him a worried smile and lets out a breath.
Cut to the library. Willow and Giles come walking in.
Willow: So, where do we start?
Giles: Hmm? Oh, I don't know. Maybe look into the history of the
hospital, bizarre incidents, that sort of thing.
Willow: I'm sensing a little less than full committal here.
They stop by the counter.
Giles: Oh, I-I suppose so. Cordelia may be (inhales) 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: (gives Giles a sad look) That's true. But on the 'we live on
the Hellmouth' side, these kids may have seen a monster.
Giles: (starts toward the stacks) What, a monster that grown-ups can't
see? Doesn't ring a bell. (pauses) Unless...
Willow: (sits on the table) Unless?
Giles: Well, sometimes small children *do* see something we adults
don't: us. Our true selves, our, our... our hidden faces.
Willow: So the kids might be afraid of a regular person? (realizes)
Like the weird doctor!
Giles: Stanley Backer was his name, no?
Willow: Let's look him up. (goes to get her laptop)
Cut back to the hospital records room. Cordelia has the guard wrapped
around her finger. She smiles sweetly at him and pretends to be
interested as he leans against the wall and talks.
Guard: You know, most people think that security guards are just guys
that failed the police exam. But that's not me. This is my career.
Cordelia: Stereotypes are so unfair.
Guard: I did take the fireman's exam, though. I didn't do so good.
Cordelia: Oh, well, you know, I think that security guards (plays with
his badge) are *way* sexier than firemen. They're all sooty.
Guard: Well, this is where all the action is anyhow. I'm all the time
restraining people.
Cut to Xander behind the other storage cabinets. He's found the file he
wants and is waiting and listening for an opportunity to get out.
Cordelia: Mm, how thrilling. (cut to her) Do you ever get scared?
Guard: 'Fear is for the weak.' That's my motto. Either that, or 'Live
in the now.' I haven't decided yet.
Cordelia: I bet you see a lot of tragedy. You know, like that little
girl?
Guard: Oh, one of Dr. Backer's patients. Dr. Backer's a great man. He
understands...
Cut to Xander. He cringes at what he's hearing and thuds lightly back
into the cabinet.
Guard: ...the real truth about children.
Cordelia: (cut to her) What's that?
Guard: Sometimes they die.
Cordelia closes her eyes. Xander makes another bumping noise, this time
loud enough that the security guard hears it.
Guard: What was that? (draws his baton)
Cordelia: Uh, you know, I didn't hear anything. (tries to get his
attention) You know, you have the most... perfect nose I've ever seen.
He turns to face her. She giggles and reaches up her finger to run it
over his forehead and down the length of his nose. Behind the guard
Xander steps over to the door, quietly opens it and goes out.
Cordelia: You must work out.
Guard: (gives her a little growl) Yeah.
Cordelia: (smiles and nods her head) Mm-hm.
Cut to the hall outside the records room. Xander waits around the corner
for Cordelia. She walks around it and lets out a surprised gasp when she
runs into him there.
Xander: Could you make just a little more with the touchy-gropey?
Cordelia: Jealous?
Xander: Of Rogaine boy? (chuckles) I don't think so. (hands her the
file) Here, take this to Giles, okay?
Cordelia: What about you?
Xander: I'm gonna stay here.
Cordelia: Oh, right. Your obsession with protecting Buffy. Have I told
you how attractive that's not?
Xander: Cordelia, someone's gotta watch her back.
Cordelia: Yeah, well, I've seen you watch her back.
Xander: What is that supposed to mean?
Cordelia: Well, I was using the phrase 'watch her back' as a euphemism
for 'looking at her butt.' You know, sort of a pun.
Xander: Oh! Right. (gets the insult) Hey!
Cordelia: Well, you do.
Xander: Jealous?
Cordelia: Fine. Watch *my* back.
She walks past him and down the hall. He turns around and watches her
go. He tilts his head to check out her butt, but quickly straightens
back up again.
Cut to the hall outside the children's ward. Buffy comes along, stops by
the door and looks into the room. Ryan is sitting at a table drawing a
picture with crayons. Buffy walks over to him.
Buffy: Hey. Remember me?
Ryan: You shouldn't be here.
Buffy: Why not?
Ryan: Contagious.
Buffy: Nah. I already got what you got.
She sits down by the table. Ryan goes back to drawing his picture.
Buffy: Oh, what, you think because I'm a grown-up? Believe me, I'm not
that grown up.
She takes a look at his picture. It's of the monster that he's seen
coming after the other kids. Buffy briefly flashes back to when she saw
it walk past her door in her dream.
Ryan: He'll come again tonight.
Buffy: Ryan, listen to me. (he looks at her) I'm not gonna let this
thing hurt you. Any of you. Grown-ups don't believe you, right? Well, I
do. We both know that there are real monsters. But there's also real
heroes that fight monsters. And that's me.
He looks away and goes back to drawing his picture.
Ryan: Can't fight death.
Cut to the library. Willow is sitting at the table surfing for
information on her laptop. Giles is standing behind her looking over her
shoulder. Dr. Backer's medical database file comes up on the screen.
Giles: Our Dr. Backer has something of a rap sheet.
Willow: Reprimands for controversial experiments, risky procedures, a
malpractice suit. Looks like it was dropped suddenly.
Giles: (takes off his glasses) Factor in Buffy's observation that he
gives her the, um, uh, wiggins... (turns away and thinks)
Willow: This may be our death guy?
Giles: (turns back to her) I just wish I knew what he was doing to
these children.
She looks up at him.
Cut to a deserted hall in the hospital. Cut to Dr. Backer's office. He's
deep into his research and mutters under his breath. He looks up from
his printouts and steps over to his refrigerator. He opens it, pulls a
specimen from a rack, checks the label and marks it. He puts the test-
tube back, closes the fridge and reaches for a reference volume on his
desk. He sits back down as he quickly leafs through it and finds the
page he wants. He reads it back to himself and jots some notes onto his
papers.
Dr. Backer: Yes. Yes.
Cut to the hall. Xander is sitting on a chair, waiting out his self-
imposed sentry duty. He nearly nods off, but jerks his head back up. Cut
to the table between his chair and the next one. A bag of Krispy Kreme
doughnuts plops down onto it. The camera pulls back, and Cordelia walks
in front of it and sets down a tray with two cups of coffee. Xander
looks up at her as she sits down. She looks back at him, then turns her
attention to a copy of Cosmopolitan that she brought with her. Xander
reaches for one of the coffees. He gives Cordelia another look and takes
the bag of doughnuts also. He takes a long sip of coffee and then opens
the bag.
Cut to the hall outside Dr. Backer's office. He walks out, and the
camera precedes him as he makes his way to the children's ward. He goes
through one of a pair of doors. The camera stops, pans over to Buffy
waiting behind the other door and closes in on her suspicious face.
Cut to the children's ward. Dr. Backer comes in and looks around at the
various beds as he makes his way over to a particularly sick child. The
boy is asleep. He checks his watch and looks at the child for a moment.
The boy lets out a labored breath. Dr. Backer raises a syringe, taps it
twice to get the air bubbles to the top and depresses the plunger until
the fluid starts to squirt out. He takes the IV line and pushes the
needle into the drug administration stopper. Behind him he hears a
muffled laugh and turns to look, but sees nothing. He looks back at the
boy again. Suddenly he gets hit in the back and spun around by something
unseen.
Dr. Backer: Uhh!
He is hit again in the chest and yells out in pain. Ryan sees what's
happening from his bed and cowers in fear. Dr. Backer is choking. Four
slashes appear on his lab coat that go deep and draw blood. He grabs his
wound, but is bent backward onto the bed, still being choked. On the
wall a shadow can be seen swinging its arm for another slice at the
doctor. He screams, and blood sprays onto the wall. Ryan cowers further
under his covers.
Cut to the hall. Buffy slowly approaches the door to the ward and looks
in, but she quickly has to step back and out of the way as Dr. Backer
comes flying out and onto the floor. He groans, and she bends down to
help him, but something pushes her away and throws her back into the
wall. She hits it hard and slides down to the floor unconscious. Dr.
Backer's arms are lifted by the unseen being, and his body is pulled
around and dragged down the hall. Further down the hall he is dragged
around a corner and out of sight.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 3 ~~~~~~~~~~
Sunnydale General. Cut to Buffy's room. She's in her bed looking at the
picture Ryan drew. The grapes Giles gave her are on a plate on the
table. Giles appears in the doorway and knocks. Buffy looks up as he,
Xander and the girls come into the room. Willow closes the door behind
her.
Giles: Uh, well, it looks as if you, uh, were on to something.
Buffy: I know.
Giles: (walks around the bed) The, uh, the, the girl Tina, um, it's
apparent that she, she died of the fever, (sits) simple enough, but, but
her records show her improving and then suddenly deteriorating w-w-w-
without any apparent cause.
Willow: So we checked Dr. Backer out. This guy was *not* a solid
citizen.
Buffy: It wasn't Backer. He was clean.
Cordelia: What do you mean 'clean'?
Xander: What do you mean 'was'?
Buffy: He's dead. This thing killed him, and not with kindness. (hands
Giles the picture)
Willow: You saw it?
Giles looks at the rough child's drawing.
Buffy: No, it's invisible. I saw Backer nearly shredded and the thing
knocked me down. But it's real. Which means I get to fight it.
Giles: Um, (takes off his glasses) this is your work? (indicates the
picture)
Buffy: No, one of the kids.
Giles: Oh. Um... Well, it would help if-if we knew what it was.
(exhales) I-it's invisible to you, but the, the children can see it.
Cordelia: But you said you did see something the other night.
Buffy: Uh, yeah, but I was pretty delirious. I mean, it doesn't make
any sense. Why would I see it then and not last night?
The door to the room opens, and Buffy's mother comes in.
Joyce: Good morning.
Giles puts his glasses back on. She sets down the bag she brought with
her.
Joyce: Ooo, looks like I interrupted a secret meeting.
They all let out forced laughter.
Cordelia: (smiling widely) You sure didn't!
Joyce: Honey, I, I just talked to the doctor, and she said I can take
you home.
Buffy: (considers a moment) No. I should stay here.
Joyce: (confused) But, honey, I thought you'd be raring...
Buffy: I think my symptoms are flaring up.
Willow: She doesn't look well.
Buffy: 'Cause I'm not well. Uh, I feel all oogy.
Xander: Increased ooginess. That's a danger signal.
Joyce: Are you sure?
Buffy: Oh, yeah, but just for a day... or s-so.
Joyce: Okay, well, I'll, uh, I'll talk to the doctor.
She goes back out of the room. Cordelia closes the door behind her.
Xander: So what's the drill?
Buffy: Giles, see if you can get a mug shot on that guy. I need to know
what I'm fighting.
Giles: Right. Yes. (walks around the bed)
Buffy: I'll check Backer's office. See if I can find any post-its
marked 'why a monster might want me dead.'
Xander: Sounds like a plan.
Buffy: Course, if I find anything, I won't know what it means, so,
Will...
Willow: Oh, yeah, I'm good at medical stuff since Xander and I used to
play doctor all the time.
Xander: (chuckles) No, she's being literal. (gets a look from Cordelia)
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.
Willow: (to Xander) Wrong? Why? (to Buffy) How did *you* play doctor?
Buffy: (evasively) I never have.
Cordelia raises her eyebrows at Buffy and clears her throat. Giles picks
up on the hint.
Giles: Um, fascinating though this is...
Buffy: Yeah, right. Go!
Giles: W-w-we'll call you if we... know something.
He starts out with Cordelia and Xander close behind.
Buffy: Know something soon.
Cut to the hall. The three of them start toward the waiting room.
Giles: I'd best head for the library. Research beckons.
Xander: I'm on sentry duty. Angel won't show till sundown if at all,
but maybe I'll get lucky with this death guy.
Cordelia: He's invisible.
Xander: Yeah, but if I see a floating pipe and a smoking jacket, he's
dropped.
Giles: Well, you two, stay alert.
They stop outside the waiting room.
Xander: Finding out who this thing is takes priority. Cordy, you should
go with Giles.
Giles: Why do I have to have... (looks at Cordelia) Uh, good thinking.
I-I-I could do with a research assistant.
Cordelia: (to Giles) Let's go, tact-guy.
Giles: Yes. (goes to the elevator)
Cordelia: (to Xander) Be careful. (follows Giles)
Xander sits down on the chair across from the nurse's station.
Cut to the children's ward that evening. Ryan opens the door and looks
out into the hall. The only person there is the security guard checking
things. Ryan steps back into the ward and closes the door.
Cut to Dr. Backer's office. The camera closes in on his nameplate on the
door. Cut inside. Buffy opens the door and pokes in her head. Seeing
that it's empty she opens the door further to let Willow in, checks the
hall and closes it behind her. She starts to looks around and checks out
the reference volumes on the shelves by the fridge. Willow looks over
the papers on his desk.
Willow: It's weird going through his things. (Buffy opens the fridge)
Look, he didn't finish his coffee. Guess he won't. (looks at the
printouts)
Buffy: (closes the fridge) Yep, another person I wasn't in time to
save. (comes 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.
The two of them keep looking.
Willow: Hey, wait, I think I have something.
Buffy: Hmm. Sherlock.
Willow: Okay, this makes sense. Dr. Backer was trying to inoculate the
kids with a controlled dosage of the same virus they already had. (gets
a confused look from Buffy) Oh, raising their temperatures to burn the
fever out of them.
Buffy: Would that work?
Willow: According to this it was starting to. So he really was trying
to help the kids.
Buffy: Till that thing stopped him.
Cut to the library. Giles and Cordelia are going through a stack of
books on the table. He has Ryan's drawing for comparison. She turns a
page and finds a picture of a demon. He takes a sip of his tea.
Cordelia: Eww, what does this do?
Giles: (puts his mug down) What?
Cordelia: What does this do? (pushes the book toward him)
Giles: Uh, it, uh, extracts vital organs to replenish its own mutating
cells.
Cordelia: Wow! (leans over to look at his book) What does this one do?
(points to a drawing)
Giles: (looks up at her) Um, i-it elongates its mouth to, uh, engulf
its victim's head with its incisors.
Cordelia: Ouch. Wait, what does this one do? (points to another)
Giles: (frustrated) It asks endless questions of those with whom it's
supposed to be working so that nothing is getting done.
Cordelia: Boy, there's a demon for everything.
He slaps down Ryan's picture and gets up from the table in disgust. He
takes off his glasses and rubs his forehead.
Giles: I don't even know if we're on the right track. Since this, uh...
miscreant has only been seen by select individuals, there's a chance we
won't ever... find a picture of it.
Cordelia: Well, it's not in here.
She closes her book, and on the cover is a drawing of the monster they
are seeking. Giles looks down at it and puts his glasses back on. She
notices his gaze and looks at the book's cover also.
Cut to Giles' office. Cordelia is on the phone with Buffy.
Cordelia: It's called Der Kindestod.
Buffy: (cut to her on her bed) Who is this?
Cordelia: (cut to her) It's me. I've got your monster!
Buffy: (cut to her) Where's Giles?
Cordelia: (cut to her) Looking up stuff.
Buffy: (cut to her) Well, can you put him on?
Cordelia: (cut to her) Hey! (closes the book and heads for the desk) I
found your guy, (cut to Buffy) okay? Just listen.
Buffy: Right.
Cordelia: (cut to her at Giles' desk) The name means 'child death'.
(cut to Buffy listening intently) This book says that he feeds off of
children by sucking the life out of them. (cut to her) Eew! But anyway,
afterwards, it looks like they died because they were sick.
Buffy: (cut to her) So it did kill Tina.
Cordelia: Yeah, that's my take. (cut to her) 'Cause it would be looking
at the children's ward as basically an all-you-can-eat kind of thing,
y'know.
Buffy: (cut to her) Backer was curing the kids and taking away the (cut
to Cordelia, nodding) Kindestod's food.
Cordelia: Hence, the slice-age.
Giles: (comes into his office) I found a picture of how it kills. Let
me talk to her.
Cordelia: (takes the book and looks) Oh! Eww!
Buffy: (cut to her) What?
Cordelia: (cut to her) Oh! (cut to Willow, looking concerned) Uh, you
should see this thing! The way it does its thing, (cut to her) I mean,
eww! (hands the phone to Giles and gets up) Why do I let you guys drag
me into this stuff? (leaves)
Giles: (into the phone) Uh, uh, Buffy? (cut to Buffy) Are you, are you
still there?
Buffy: Hanging on every (cut to Giles) eww.
Giles: (sits) Uh, the, um, the Kindestod gorges by sitting atop his
prey, (cut to Buffy listening closely) pinning it down, uh, helplessly.
Then he slowly draws out the life. I-it must be, uh, h-horrifying for
the victim.
Buffy just stares off into space.
Giles: Buffy? Hello?
Cut to a flashback of Little Buffy pulling aside the curtain around
Celia's bed.
Little Buffy: Celia?
Celia wakes and starts to scream. She holds her hands in front of her as
if trying to push something away.
Little Buffy: What's wrong?
Celia keeps screaming at the top of her lungs in complete terror.
Little Buffy: I don't know what to do, Celia!
Celia continues screaming and swats with her hands at something unseen.
Little Buffy: (toward the door) Help! Help! Help! Somebody help!
Celia: Get it off of me! (screams)
Little Buffy: Come on, Celia!
Celia: Get it off of me! (screams)
Cut to the bright and empty hall outside Celia's room. No one is coming
in spite of all the screaming.
Cut back to Buffy holding the phone to her ear and staring off into
space.
Giles: (cut to him) Buffy, w-what is it?
Willow: (cut to her) (takes the phone) Thanks. (hangs up)
Buffy: It killed Celia.
Willow: Your cousin?
Buffy: (looks at Willow) We have to get this thing, Willow, before it
gets any more kids.
Willow: You will. We will.
Buffy: But how? I-I can't even see it.
Willow: You saw it once.
Buffy: Did I? Uh, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I mean, I was
crazed with that fever. Who knows...
Cut inside Dr. Backer's refrigerator. The door opens and the light goes
on.
Willow: Buffy, think about this.
Buffy: I have. Lots of thoughts. (crouches down)
Willow: It's crazy.
Buffy: (searches the test-tubes) The fever. That's how you see the
Kindestod. That's why Celia could see it. That's why Ryan still can.
(finds the right one) It's the only way.
Cut to the office. Buffy stands back up and faces Willow.
Willow: But how are you gonna fight this thing with 107 degree
temperature? (42d C)
Buffy: I guess we'll find out.
She uncaps the tube and raises it to drink the serum. Willow quickly
stops her.
Willow: Buffy!
Buffy: Willow, I'm going to do this.
Willow: Buffy, that's 100% pure. It'll kill you in an instant.
Buffy: Oh. They really should put that on the label.
Willow reaches into the refrigerator for a bottle of drinking water and
grabs a beaker that's sitting on top. Buffy closes the fridge while
Willow sets the beaker on the desk and opens the bottle.
Willow: It needs to be diluted.
She pours some water into the beaker and closes the bottle.
Buffy: Okay, but this better work fast.
Willow takes the test-tube and draws some of the serum into a dropper.
She holds it over the beaker and lets a single drop fall in.
Buffy: Faster than that.
Willow looks up at her, worried, but gives in and puts another drop into
the water. Buffy takes the beaker, holds it up and looks at it, then
over at Willow.
Buffy: Here's to my health.
After another moment's hesitation she quaffs the water and serum.
Cut to the hall outside the children's ward. Willow and Buffy come
around the corner and head toward the ward. Buffy is already feeling the
effects of the virus and walks unsteadily, breathing heavily. Willow
supports her.
Buffy: Oh, God. I'm not sure this was such a good idea.
Willow: Hang in there. You'll be okay.
Buffy: Okay. I'm okay.
They reach the door to the ward, and Buffy looks in through the door's
window. The beds are all empty.
Buffy: The kids. They're gone.
She and Willow exchange a surprised and very worried look.
~~~~~~~~~~ Part 4 ~~~~~~~~~~
The basement tunnels under the Hospital. Ryan leads the kids from the
children's ward as they try to run away from the Kindestod.
Ryan: Come on!
Girl: Hold me!
Ryan: Keep quiet!
Cut to the hall outside the children's ward.
Willow: What could have happened?
Buffy: I don't know. (faces her) Maybe we're too late. Maybe they
moved. (feels her forehead) Maybe I don&