Author’s
note: I’d wondered how they got Giles out of the Winnebago that quickly in
“Spiral”. So here’s my take.
Buffy
saw the Winnebago skid and tip over. She sat there for a moment, in shock
of the sight, then was on her feet in the next, running to the vehicle.
It had tipped over on the passenger's side, unfortunately, so she couldn't use
the door as an entrance. She checked the front to see what had
happened. The long pole sticking out of the driver's window made her
blood run cold.
Giles had been driving.
Buffy rushed to the window. "Giles!" she cried.
Her Watcher lay slumped over the wheel. At first, she thought the worst
until she saw him twitch and groan. Buffy banged on the window.
"Giles!"
Giles lifted his head and looked around, slightly confused, then winced.
He looked at her. "Get them out of here," he said.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine."
"Bull!" she retorted. "We're all leaving." Then
she left.
She climbed the undercarriage, opened the window and entered.
Inside she saw a mess. Things were strewn everywhere and her friends were
in various places, moaning. She looked towards the driver's seat...and
saw a point sticking out the back of the seat.
Oh, God, no...
She made her way over, careful not to step on anyone as they came around and
started moving.
Giles lay hunched over the steering wheel. His lapbelt kept him in the
seat along with a long piece of wood protruding from the window.
"One of the knights threw it just before we crashed."
She spun around to see Xander standing there.
"Help me get him out of here."
"We need to get rid of that pole first."
Buffy nodded. "I'll go back out and break it." She looked
at Spike, who'd just gotten to his feet. "You pull the other when I
say and we'll get out of here." To Xander, she said,
"Catch him when he falls."
"No, Buffy..." Giles protested.
She placed a hand over his. "We're leaving together. No
arguments." When he looked up, she held his gaze for a few moments,
then left.
Once outside she made quick work of the wood, though the cry from the inside of
the Winnebago made her shiver. 'He's okay,' she thought. 'He'll be
okay.'
By the time she made her way back to the door, the others had roused and were
making their way out. She climbed in and made her way to Xander and
Giles.
Xander was holding the Watcher upright now that Giles was no longer
pinned. Xander looked up at Buffy. "He doesn't look too good,
Buffy," he commented.
She looked at Giles' pain-filled face and her heart constricted. Keeping
a tenuous hold on her emotions, she said, "Let's get him out of
here."
It was slow-going, but between Buffy and Xander, they got Giles' 6'2"
frame out of the Winnebago.
Willow was the first to notice Giles' injury. "Oh, God,
Buffy..." She reached out.
"C'mon," Buffy said, taking her place at Giles' right side, Xander on
the Watcher's left. "I saw a place we can hide."
****************************
The pain was immense. Sitting there, pinned to the seat by a large pole.
'Way to go, Ripper,' he thought grimly. 'All these years have boiled down
to a pole in the gut.'
He heard banging. At first he thought was the little man in his head
banging on the anvil. Then he realized it was someone banging on the
window. Oh, god, it was the knights! He looked up, but didn't see
any knight -- just Buffy. He sighed in relief. Buffy.
Summoning his strength, he said, panting in the effort, "Get them out of
here."
"What about you?" Her face looked like a frightened child and
his heart went out to her.
"I'll be fine." He winced as pain decided to scream at him at
that moment.
"Bull!" she retorted. "We're all leaving." Then
she left.
"Buffy!" he cried, but it was too late. She was gone. He
put his head on the steering wheel, determined to stay conscious.
He lost the battle and darkness enveloped him.
**********************
Extreme pain woke him with a scream of agony.
He heard voices in the near vicinity, though they were fading in and out.
"Catch him when he falls."
"No,
Buffy..." Giles protested.
He felt her hand cover his.
"We're leaving together. No arguments."
He looked up and held his gaze for a few moments, then dropped his head to the
wheel as another wave of pain washed over him. When he opened his eyes
again, she'd gone.
He didn't remember passing out. A scream of agony woke him and the next
thing he knew, he was being supported by something other than the spear.
"He doesn't look too good, Buffy."
Xander.
Giles opened his eyes and saw Buffy standing in front of him. Her face
softened and he felt his eyes sting as she reached out and hesitated.
"Let's get him out of here."
He faded in and out of his pain-filled haze as they got him out of the
Winnebago. When he became aware again, he was out of the vehicle and
supported by Xander and Buffy as they made their way to an abandoned gas
station.