Chapter 85

Drusilla sat beside Andrew in the Computer Lab. It was Friday morning and he had been working on editing on and off all week. “I think this is it,” he said, obviously tired. “Hit the “Play” icon and tell me what you think.”

Almost instantly the screen filled with a fuzzy image. It appeared out of focus at first, but within a second the image was clear. The lighting in the room was soft.Drusilla could be seen, lying nude, stretched out on the red sheets of a bed. She was wearing a blindfold and she was handcuffed to the headboard. A man could be seen walking into the room, though his face was slightly obscured. “Is that you? Parker?” Drusilla asked, her voice sounding frightened and hesitant.

The man walked up to her and began stroking himself, saying nothing at first. Suddenly he reached down and with a rough jerk grasped her ankles and pulled her down further, stretching her arms out. “You’ll speak when spoken to, bitch, or I’ll have to punish you. Is that nice and uncomfortable?” asked Parker.

“Don’t hurt me. Please!” Drusilla could be heard begging, her face hidden from the camera as Parker climbed onto the bed, on top of her.

“You like it rough, don’t you, Drusilla? I can do rough,” Parker could be heard saying as he flipped her over and penetrated her from behind.

“Stop it! Stop it!” Drusilla could be heard yelling.

“Gotta admit….your scream’s….such an aphrodisiac,” said Parker as he climbed off of her.

Parker could be seen pulling her blindfold off and unlocking her handcuffs. Drusilla pulled her hand back and slapped him across his face. Without a moment’s hesitation Parker struck back, the blow knocking her against the headboard. Drusilla grabbed her face and crawled into a fetal position.

Parker climbed off of the bed, seemingly through with her, and left the room. Off camera he could be heard to threaten, “You are to be at my beckoned call, whenever and wherever I please.”

Seconds later Drusilla scampered off of the bed. She could be seen frantically gathering up her clothes, before hurriedly escaping out the back door of his bedroom into the darkness. So frightened, so shaken, that she hadn’t even bothered to dress first.

“It’s wonderful,” whispered Drusilla, in awe.

“It’s horrible,” said Andrew looking over at her with tears in his eyes.

Drusilla pulled her chair closer to Andrew and taking both of her hands in his said, “I’m alright.”

Andrew looked away embarrassed.

“And that,” Drusilla said nodding towards the computer screen, “was a walk in the park compared to some of the things I’ve endured. It was nothing. More importantly, it’s over. You’ve done some great work. I mean, the way you edited it. How you managed to remix the dialogue. Andrew, you need to appreciate that.”

“This isn’t the kind of work I want to do,” said Andrew feeling a bit ashamed.

“I won’t forget what you’ve done for me, Andrew. How much all three of you have helped,” Drusilla assured him as she gave him a big hug. “Now, lets call Diggs and tell him we’re right on schedule.”

Parker’s doorbell rang. He had gone into the office today for a bit to start catching up and he was tired. It was Friday night and he was starting back on limited duty at the hospital on Monday. When Parker opened the door and saw Diggs standing there he groaned, “Please, not tonight, Diggs, I’m tired.”

“No work for you tonight, Doc,” said Diggs as he sauntered in. “Tonight’s a thank you. My Nana’s invited you to dinner. Her hip hasn’t felt this good in ages. She’s making chicken enchilada’s and she won’t take no for an answer.”

“Really,” said Parker, “I can’t.”

“You’re not gonna insult my Nana, are you?” asked Diggs menacingly.

“No!” said Parker. “Let me get my coat.”

Three hours, one dinner, and four margaritas later, Diggs brought Parker home. Diggs supported him while he used Parker’s keys to open the front door. “Those were some margarita’s!” marveled Parker. “I feel great. But, you know what would make this a perrrfect evening? Dru! Call her up. Tell her to come on over,” said Parker as he swayed unsteadily.

“I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night, Doc,” Diggs replied as he escorted him back to his bedroom depositing him on the bed. “Night!”

Diggs turned out the lights and quickly left the house. Once outside he leaned again the side of his car and made a quick call to Drusilla. “Dru? It’s me. Everything go alright with the Three Stooges? Yeah. We’re good on this end. I’ll be over in a half an hour with the package. We’ll meet.”

Approximately forty minutes later Drusilla could see the headlights of Diggs car as it approached the end of the street. She had slipped out and walked around the block to meet him at the appointed spot. “Here you go,” he said, handing her a plastic bag. “I took care of the house. Everything still a go?”

“Yes,” said Drusilla, sounding a bit uncertain.

“What’s wrong?” asked Diggs.

“Diggs? Do you think that sometime, it’s alright to do the wrong thing if it’s for the right reason?” Drusilla asked.

“You do realize I’m a criminal, right?” he responded.

“Oh, Diggs!” exclaimed Drusilla patting him on the knee, “Seriously! Tell me what you think!”

“It’s not like I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it,” started Diggs, “but…what really makes a thing wrong?”

“Huh?” said Drusilla.

“The way I figure it…the things…the stuff you do…it’s not what really matters. It’s the affect that you have on people, it’s the motivation behind what you do that’s most important. Not the action itself. Sometimes you need to sacrifice one to save more,” he concluded. “By the way, I called Gunn, like you suggested. I’m going to meet him on Sunday, at the park in Southeast. I’m gonna listen to his story…and…and I don’t know.”

“I’m glad to hear it Diggs,” said Drusilla, as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for all of your help. I need to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s the big day.”

“You sure you don’t want to go with my plan? It’s not too late. He’s so stoned he’d never hear anyone entering his place,” Diggs asked, leaning out the driver’s window.

“No!” said Drusilla, emphatically. “By the way, how did you do it?”

“Cocaine alkaloid in his margaritas tonight,” answered Diggs.

“He’ll still be positive tomorrow?” asked Drusilla.

“Hell yes!” said Diggs. “Taking cocaine like that isn’t the best way to get a high, but it’ll work. We needed to get it in him without him knowing, right? 

Drusilla nodded, uncertainly.

“Look, the acid in his stomach will slow down absorption into the blood stream, but about a third of it will go through. Trust me. I know this stuff. It’s all that we need, really. He’ll pop positive tomorrow. I guarantee it,” Diggs assured her.

“Diggs?” asked Drusilla.

“Yes?” he responded.

“You’re….really smart,” she said.

Diggs smiled brightly as he brought his index finger up to his lips, “Don’t tell anyone. I have a rep to protect,” he said, before driving off.

Drusilla heaved a big sigh as she stuffed the package into her pocket and returned to her room to await Wesley’s call.

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Chapter 86

It was early Saturday morning the sun had barely risen as Buffy opened her eyes. William was still sound asleep. Last night had been wonderful. William had worked hard all week and Wesley had been almost a constant presence in their lives. She liked Wes, really. But she desperately wanted William to herself. So last night, after their session with Father Clavin, they came home and stayed in, just the two of them. They cooked dinner, talked about their plans for their new home, and then made love before falling asleep in one another’s arms. Buffy realized that she had never in her life felt this happy.

She walked into the bathroom and quietly closed the door. Buffy crouched down, reached under the sink, and pulled out the package the Willow had picked up for her and left there. Buffy plugged the DC adapter into the wall, placed the headphones on her head, rubbed a bit of Vaseline onto her abdomen, then pressed the sensor to her stomach. She moved it around a bit, angling it just so…and then she heard it. A heartbeat. Tears filled her eyes and as her heart filled with joy one spilled over. She felt almost giddy with excitement as she removed the headset and quickly brushed her teeth.

Buffy tiptoed from through the bedroom to the kitchen to make coffee. As she entered the kitchen she noticed a post-it note stuck to the coffee maker. She flashed back to the note that Angel had left her…it seemed so long ago now. William had written, “Wake me up before you leave, so I can tell you that I love you.” Buffy smiled to herself as she turned on the coffee.

While the coffee brewed she went to retrieve the newspaper from the front step and scanned the morning headlines about the efforts to re-call Gray Davis. Buffy shook her head in dismay as she tossed the paper on the kitchen table and poured both she and William a cup of coffee.

She quietly slipped back into the bedroom, set the steaming mugs on the nightstand next to his side of the bed, and went back into the bathroom to retrieve the Doppler. Buffy sat on the edge of the bed and softly reached out to touch William’s cheek. “Honey? Wake up. I have a present for you.”

William opened his eyes and yawned, “Morning. Have you been up long?”

“No, just a few minutes. Coffee?” she asked.

“Yeah, thanks,” he said accepting the cup. “Did I hear you say something about a present?”

Buffy nodded and said, “Put your coffee down and sit up.”

William quickly did what she asked, “Now what?”

“Listen,” she said as she placed the headphones over his ears. Buffy untied the sash of her robe and placed the sensor over her stomach, where she had previously detected the heartbeat. They both sat completely still. Buffy could see that William was concentrating, and then suddenly his eyes widened and he broke into a brilliant smile. “You hear it?” she asked.

William nodded, while placing his finger over his lips. He reached over, grabbed the other pillows on the bed and stacked them behind his back. He then sat up, slid over a bit, and patted the space in the bed beside him. Buffy removed the sensor just long enough to ease back into bed alongside of him. She replaced it as she crawled into his waiting arms. After a few minutes William removed the headphones, “Thank you,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.

“You’re welcome,” she responded. “Unfortunately, I have to get ready for work though, and my stomach has to come with me.”

“Can’t leave it here with me today?” asked William.

“No,” responded Buffy, giggling, “we’re a package deal. You could come meet me for lunch?”

“You’ve got yourself a date,” he said, placing a kiss on her lips before sliding down and whispering to her stomach, “and you, too.”

Buffy climbed out of bed and headed to the shower, “Pet?” he called.

“Yes?” she said, turning around.

“Don’t forget to pick up those vitamins at the hospital pharmacy that Whistler wanted you to start as soon as the nausea died down,” he reminded her.

“Check,” she said with a wink and a nod before closing the bathroom door.

It was late morning and Buffy had just finished an assessment in the emergency room when Parker walked up to her, “Hey! You’re back?” she asked.

“Not full-time,” he responded. “Just came in to catch up on some overdue charting. Seems I’m on the medical records departments bad boy list. I’ve been trying to catch up. I was up in pharmacy chatting with Tom he told me you were working weekends now.”

“Yeah, I’ve cut down my hours, I’m only working Saturday and Sundays for a while. That reminds me, I’ve got to run up to the pharmacy myself,” said Buffy.

“Everything alright? With the baby I mean?” asked Parker.

“Yup!” responded Buffy. “Peachy, even. Just need to start taking prenatal vitamins.”

“I’m going back over there in a few minutes to pick up my own prescription. How about I save you the trip? I’ll swing by here and drop them off on my way out,” offered Parker.

“Great! Thanks! I’ll call Tom and tell him to give them to you,” said Buffy.

Fifteen minutes later Parker walked down the hallway on his way back to the emergency room. As he walked he casually tossed the vitamin bottle up into the air catching it in his right hand.

Warren had been watching as Parker walked into the pharmacy. When he emerged, minutes later, Warren began to hurriedly walk down the hall. His head was down and he was carrying some flowers as he bumped into Parker. “Watch where you’re going,” barked Parker as he bent over to retrieve the bottle of pills.

“Sorry,” mumbled Warren as he continued on, down the corridor.

As Parker walked past his office door he saw Buffy emerge from the emergency room. He paused and held the bottle up in the air, shaking it slightly. Buffy smiled and began to walk towards him. “One a day! Guaranteed to produce a healthy, happy baby!” said Parker as he opened the bottle and took out one tablet.

Buffy unscrewed the cap on the water bottle she was carrying and reached out for the pill. “Buffy!” called Drusilla startling them both. Parker watched as the pill slipped from his fingers onto the floor. Drusilla approached them quickly and as Parker bent over to retrieve the dropped tablet she innocently stepped on it while casually bumping up against him, knocking the bottle from his hands. The pills scattered as the bottle slid across the floor.

“Oops!” said Drusilla as she picked up the empty bottle and started gathering up the pills. “Sorry, Buffy.”

“No problem,” said Buffy kneeling down to help. “You’re working today?”

“No, I came to find you,” she whispered. “I need to speak with you about something, in private.”

Drusilla added the last of the pills to the bottle and stood up. She cleared her throat and asked, “Parker, could we use your office for a few minutes?”

“Sure. I’m supposed to be meeting Imperiale in his office to go over my schedule. Take your time,” he said, unlocking the door.

“I spoke to Spike this morning,” started Dru. “He sounds on top of the world. He and Wesley are going to pick me up here in a bit. We were thinking about having lunch, then going for a sail.”

“What’s up, Dru?” asked Buffy as she closed the door to Parker’s office.

“Let me make a quick call first,” said Drusilla, picking up the phone and dialing.

“Charles? It’s Dru. Would you mind meeting for your coffee break at the hospital instead of the Espresso Pump? I know the coffee isn’t nearly as good, but, something came up….really? Great! How about I meet you in ten minutes outside of the emergency room.”

“Who’s Charles?” asked Buffy, curiously.

“A new friend,” said Drusilla with a shrug. “Look, we probably don’t have much time. I have to show you something,” she said as she walked around Parkers desk and turned on the computer. As the computer booted up Drusilla surreptitiously tossed the bottle of pills into the trashcan underneath Parker’s desk.

“What you want to show me is on the computer?” asked Buffy.

Drusilla nodded, “It’s an e-mail. E-mail that Parker sent me around 3:00AM this morning. I’m…I’m frightened Buffy. His behavior has been getting more and more bizarre. And, well, you know that I have a pretty high tolerance for the wacky. He’s spooking me. The day that I went over to his house and told him it was over? He didn’t say anything, not one word. Then I got this,” she finished as she brought up her hot-mail account and selected the first message.

From: Parker.Abrams@cox.net
Date: August 2, 2003 @ 0300
To: IMAPrincess@hotmail.com
Subject: In the Dark with You

Dru,

It will never be over. Look at how beautiful we are…I want to slash…and bash and, oh…bleed you like beautiful poetry.
You belong here, with me. See you at midnight.

P

“Sit down and click on the attachment,” directed Drusilla.

Buffy sat down in Parker’s chair and opened the attached file. Windows Media Player automatically opened and within seconds an image filled the screen.

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Chapter 87

As the clip ended Buffy jumped up from the chair, ran into the bathroom, and emptied the contents of her stomach. “I’m alright,” called Drusilla, running in behind her. “It happened a while ago. And, and it wasn’t as bad as it looked.”

Buffy’s eyes met Drusilla’s in the mirror before she bent over and took a sip of water to rinse out her mouth. Buffy washed her hands, dried them off with a paper towel, and walked out of the bathroom.

“Say something,” said Drusilla.

Buffy walked over to the desk and picked up the phone, “I’m calling William.”

Drusilla nodded, resignedly, “He’ll be here shortly, anyways,” she said.

Buffy set the phone back down. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.” Buffy covered her face with her hands and released a sob before walking over to Drusilla and enfolding her in a loving embrace.

They stood like that as Drusilla counted down, looking at the clock on the wall behind Buffy. “We probably should get out of here,” said Drusilla. “Write down the URL for my hotmail account. I’ll give you my login ID and password. When Wes and Spike get here I’ll say I’m not feeling well and ask Wes to take me home. It’s true. I’m not feeling so hot. Then you can show Spike. I don’t want Wesley to see,” finished Drusilla.

Buffy nodded. After releasing Dru she walked back around to Parker’s desk and opened the top middle drawer in search of a pen and something to write on. As she stared at the contents of the drawer she froze. “No pens?” asked Drusilla. “Try the drawer on the left.”

Buffy didn’t respond at first. She merely pulled the chair back out and sat down. “You said he was behaving bizarrely,” started Buffy. “Did you ever see him taking any drugs?”

“You mean medications?” asked Drusilla, looking perplexed.

“No, I mean street drugs,” said Buffy.

“I’m not sure I would know. He seems to drink an awful lot. Why?” asked Drusilla, innocently.

“Because, I’m pretty sure this is cocaine,” said Buffy, pointing inside the drawer. “And there are bags of pills here and-” Buffy stopped as there was a knock on the door.

“And what?” whispered Drusilla.

“And prescription pads…from various doctors on staff here…lots and lots of prescription pads,” finished Buffy.

The knock came again, this time more insistent. Drusilla walked over and opened the door, “Good afternoon Drusilla!” said Dr. Imperiale as he walked into the room, Parker and I had a meeting.

“He thought it was in your office,” said Drusilla.

“It was, originally, but he sent me an e-mail early this morning changing it to here,” said Imperiale as he stuck his hands into his lab-coat. At least we’re getting closer…yesterday he stood me up altogether. I used to be able to set my clock by that boy,” he finished shaking his head.

“Vince,” said Buffy. “I think we have a problem.”

“What that?” asked Imperiale.

Buffy motioned him over and pointed to the contents of the drawer. “Shit!” said Imperiale as he pulled out first the bag of white powder, then the pills, and then the prescription pads. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Yeah,” agreed Buffy. “Kind of explains a lot, doesn’t it? For instance, his erratic behavior at your party… he wasn’t just drunk. He was impulsive, uninhibited, he wasn’t even thinking about getting caught. You said he’s been forgetting things. And…and there’s been some violence,” said Buffy, looking over at Drusilla.

“It wasn’t rape,” insisted Drusilla.

“It looked pretty damn close!” Buffy countered.

Imperiale looked back and forth between the two. “What happened?” he asked. Buffy looked at Drusilla and received a nod. She then leaned across the desk and clicked the play icon once again, allowing the clip to roll. In the few seconds that it took for the film to play out Vince Imperiale’s face went from its normal tone to a pale white, then pink, red and finally, it settled on a deep purple. Imperiale picked up the phone, dialed the operator and said, “Put me through to security.”

Buffy and Drusilla exchanged glances. “Mark? It’s Vince Imperiale. I need you to find Dr. Abrams and bring him to his office. Tell him I’m waiting for him. He’s probably over near my office, so look there first. What? No, everything is not alright. Just bring him here. I’ll explain then.”

Imperiale hung up the phone and asked, “How did you come to find this?”

“Drusilla asked to speak with me in private. Parker offered his office. She showed me an e-mail from him, the video clip was attached. She was upset and didn’t know what to do. I was looking for a pen and some paper so that I could write down the address and show it to William. That’s when I found the stuff,” concluded Buffy.

“Let me step out for a minute to let Charles know I’m running late,” said Drusilla as she opened the door and left the office.

As Parker rounded the corner with the security guard he noticed that Drusilla was talking, in hushed tones, to a police officer. As he placed his hand on the doorknob a chill ran through him. He looked back and noticed that the guy was glaring at him, menacingly. Parker shrugged it off and entered the office.

“What’s up, Vince?” he asked as he walked in. Drusilla slipped in behind him.

“Mark, wait outside the office. Parker? Would you care to even try to explain this?” asked Imperiale, gesturing to the contents that were piled on top of the desk.

Parker walked over, looked at the pile, shrugged his shoulders and simply said, “Looks like pills, prescription pads, and…I don’t know…maybe cocaine?”

“Care you explain why it was in your desk?” asked Imperiale.

“That was not in my desk,” insisted Parker.

“That’s where I found it,” replied Imperiale, calmly.

“Then somebody put it there,” countered Parker. “It’s not mine.”

“Don’t you keep you office locked?” asked Imperiale.

“They were in here,” said Parker becoming agitated as he, pointed back and forth between Drusilla and Buffy.

“Paranoia,” whispered Buffy to Vince.

“I am not paranoid!” said Parker. “Something funny is going on here. You people are setting me up!”

“Parker? Calm down. I’m going to ask you for a blood sample. If you haven’t been using, then there is nothing to worry about. Right?” asked Imperiale.

“Right!” agreed Parker. “Let’s get this over with!”

Imperiale picked up the phone and paged Conner. “Come to Parker’s office,” he told him when he called in. “Come prepared to do a stat blood draw. We’re screening for cocaine.”

“This is ridiculous!” snarled Parker as he pulled off his lab coat, rolled it into a ball, and through it onto the sofa.

“Why don’t you have a seat,” suggested Imperiale as he grabbed the coat hanger off of the back of Parkers door and handed it to him. Parker walked over to the sofa and picked up his coat. As he began to straighten it out they all heard something fall to the floor, it was a small glass vial, a vial containing a white powdery substance. All four of them watched, in rapt attention, as it rolled across the floor and stopped at Imperiale’s feet. “I suppose that’s not yours either?” asked Imperiale, dryly.

“No,” said Parker, gritting his teeth, it’s not.

Conner knocked, and then entered the office. He scanned the room, his eyes settling on Imperiale who gestured over to Parker. “Parker?” he said, as he pulled the paraphernalia out of his pocket.

Parker leaned on his desk, rolled up his sleeve, and confidently extending his arm said, “You’re not going to find anything, because there is nothing to find.”

Conner swiped an alcohol wipe across the inside of Parker’s elbow, then placed a tourniquet around his upper arm to apply pressure and restrict the blood flow through the vein. He deftly inserted a needle into the vein and watched as the blood collected in an airtight vial. Conner removed the tourniquet, pulled out the needle, placed a cotton pad over the puncture site, and then looked at Imperiale for instructions. “Walk it up to the lab personally. Have them run it right away. You stay there and watch. Then you bring me the results.”

“Yes, sir,” said Conner, solemnly.

The silence in the room was interrupted by Buffy cell going off, “Hello?” she answered.

“What are you wearing?” asked William.

“This isn’t a good time,” whispered Buffy.

“Oh, Sorry. Punish me later?” teased William. “Wesley and I are on our way to the hospital to join you and Drusilla for lunch. We’re running a little ahead of schedule, it she there yet?”

“Yeah, we’re in Parker’s office. We’ll meet you in a bit outside of the emergency room,” said Buffy adding, “I love you too,” before hanging up.

Parker looked over at her, understanding dawning on him, “He put you up to this! Didn’t he?”

“What?” asked Buffy.

“It’s all some elaborate cover, Vince. He’s really, like, in the mob or something. Something drug related. I’m telling you!” said Parker, adamantly.

“Who’s in the mob, Parker?” asked Imperiale.

“Crawford,” said Parker.

Imperiale raised his eyebrows and said, “William Crawford, my daughter’s wedding consultant, is in the mob? Are you even listening to yourself?”

“I’m telling you Vince-” Parker started to say before being interrupted by Imperiale holding up his hand.

“Stop. Do us all a favor and just…just stop,” said Imperiale. “You disgust me. You know that? You were a brilliant surgeon. Here you are…throwing it all away…”

“Dr. Abrams speaks out of turn,” whispered Drusilla softly to him, “He's a bad example, and will have no cakes today.”

They all sat, in silence, listening to the clock tick on the wall. Just as Parker was about to say something there was a quick knock on the door and Conner entered. He slipped inside, looked directly at Imperiale and said, “It was positive.”

“Liar!” yelled Parker as he lunged for Conner. Imperiale stepped in quickly, inserting himself between Parker and Conner.

“Get a hold of yourself,” said Imperiale, calmly. “You don’t need for things to get worse.”

“Yes, Parker, calm down,” added Buffy from across the room.

“And you!” yelled Parker as he swung around to face her. “You’re nothing but his whore! Doing his bidding. Why are you doing this to me?”

“I’ve done nothing to you, Parker. It’s the drugs. They’re making you paranoid,” said Buffy attempting to appeal to his rational side.

William and Wesley walked into the hospital and headed towards the emergency room. “Well, if it isn’t Officer Gunn!” exclaimed Wes as he rounded the corner and spotted Charles Gunn leaning against a wall. “What brings you here?”

“Actually,” said Gunn, “I stopped by to take a quick coffee break. Was going to visit a bit with Dru. She said she’d only be a second, but that was like twenty minutes ago. She’s in there,” he said, nodding towards the door. “I didn’t just want to abandon her without an explanation, but I need to get back. Will you well her we can reschedule?”

“Sure!” said Wesley, shaking his hand. “It was nice seeing you again.”

Just then they heard it, Parker yelling, “I’m not paranoid! You people are all out to get me!” Then there was a scream.

“That’s Buffy,” said William alarmed as he ran for the door. When he opened the door he saw that Drusilla, Conner, and Imperiale all stood close to the entrance. Parker had crossed over to the other side of the room and was standing threateningly in front of Buffy. Her back was to the wall and he had his hands placed on either side of her head, blocking her escape. “Confess!” he screamed, his face red with rage. “Confess!”

“Let. Her. Go,” said William calmly.

“This is all your doing!” Parker yelled as he released Buffy and charged at William.

“Mark! Call a code!” yelled Imperiale as he, Wesley and Gunn simultaneously moved to restrain Parker.

“Code Green, Emergency entry. Code Green, Emergency entry,” could be heard overhead. Drusilla quietly stepped outside of the office and waited. As the code team from the psychiatric unit entered the hallway she calmly directed them to Parker’s office and she watched as they injected him with Haldol and Ativan, placed him in 4-point restraints and strapped him to a gurney.

“You’re all in this together aren’t you?” he accused, looking frantically from one face to anther. “He threatened to kill me!” he screamed, when his eyes settled on Wesley. “He broke into my house…and I was naked…and-” he trailed off as they began to push the gurney out the office door towards the elevator.

Diggs happened to be standing in the hallway with his girlfriend Lorraine, who had just checked out of the hospital. They two of them were thanking Dawn for all of her help. As the gurney wheeled past them, Parker lifted his head up and shouted, “You put drugs in my food last night? Didn’t you? You bastard.”

He then noticed Warren, standing against the wall, holding the same bouquet of flowers, “And you! You planted that shit on me! Vince! Vince! You’ve got to help me Vince!” Parker’s screams were cut off as the elevator doors closed.

Imperiale walked over to Al, the nurse that took charge of the code, “Get me the 72-hour hold forms. I’m placing him on a 5150-involuntary commitment. Move him to a seclusion room and page McDaniel. We’ll want to transfer him to another facility as soon as he’s stabilized. The medications should kick in quickly. We can move him by ambulance. I don’t want him here…he wouldn’t want folks to see him like this either.”

“Where do want to transfer him to?” asked Al.

“Someplace far away, I’d wager. Conner? Get me the number for the California Medical Board’s Physician Diversion Program,” asked Imperiale.

Minutes later Al returned and handed Imperiale the hold papers. Imperiale quickly filled them out, and then he requested that Al complete the patient advisement. Imperiale exhaled deeply, suddenly exhausted. Conner returned, minutes later, with the telephone number. “I’ll be in my office,” said Imperiale, sadly, as he accepted the scrap of paper with telephone number on it.

“Right,” said Conner, nodding. “Vince? Did you notice, there at the end, how he was incorporating everyone into his delusion? Do…do you think he’s going to be okay?”

“Not for a long time, son. Not for a very long time. Best-case scenario? He’s going to be looking at six months of aggressive treatment and three to five years of careful monitoring by the board,” answered Imperiale.

“Will he still be able to practice medicine?” asked Conner.

“Not here,” said Imperiale before walking away. “That’s for sure.”

“Who the hell would hire him after this?” Conner wondered out loud.

“The Peace Corps,” answered Drusilla walking over to stand by Conner’s side. “He’s going to hate the weather in Botswana,” she murmured, a little regretfully. “But, then again, adversity does build character! Does it not?”

William walked over towards his sister and extended his hand. Drusilla reached for it and was pulled into a comforting hug. William leaned down and discreetly whispered, “It’s over?”

“Yes,” she said, quietly, “It’s over.” Drusilla left his embrace, walked over to Buffy, took her hand, and led her back to William. She then gently placed Buffy’s hand in his. After a moment, Drusilla leaned towards them, kissing each of them on the cheek.  As she pulled away Dru released a contented sigh, leaned her head back, spread her arms open wide and moaned, “Oh! Isn’t life glorious? I just love it when things work out! We have nothing to do now but…. live our dreams.”

Drusilla spun around, laughing for a few seconds, then stopped abruptly, in front of Wesley. “Come along, Wes! Let’s give the love birds some privacy,” she said, smiling sweetly at him before turning away and gliding back down the hallway towards the exit. As they watched, Drusilla proceeded down the corridor humming a soft tune and gently running the fingertips of one hand along the wall.

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Epilogue

Buffy stood, alone, in the entry of the church, butterflies swarming her stomach. There had been no rehearsals. They promised one another that they would keep the ceremony simple and they had. She was wearing her hair down, in loose waves, like she usually wore it. Her make-up was simple and in her hand she held a petite nosegay of red roses. Her only extravagance was the dress. She spun around, letting the skirt flare out and then nervously smoothed the white chiffon. It was a perfect copy of the white dress that Elizabeth Taylor had worn in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  The dressmaker who had made it required multiple fittings, including a last minute one this morning, but it had all been worth it. The dress was exquisite and she had never felt so beautiful.

She heard the opening bars of Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini, Op.43. As it began to play she closed her eyes for the briefest of moments. Then the Alter servers opened the doors leading to the sanctuary. There, standing at the end of the aisle was William. Her William. He was wearing the same black tuxedo that he had worn to Imperiale’s party. But the expression on his face was one that she had never seen before. He appeared completely enraptured as he watched her walk, slowly towards him.

There were no lights on in the church, but the glow that suffused Buffy’s face was one that William would never forget. The illumination came from the hundreds of candles that lined the Alter and the aisle, a nod to that night in London, when Buffy first told him that she loved him.