REGULAR CAST

• Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
• Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
• Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
• Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
• David Boreanaz as Angelus
• Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

GUEST CAST

• Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers
• Richard Herd as Dr. Stanley Becker
• Willie Garson as Don
• Andrew Ducote as Ryan
• Juanita Jennings as Dr. Wilkinson

CO-STARRING

• Robert Munic as Intern
• Mimi Paley as Little Buffy
• Denise Johnson as Celia
• James Jude Courtney as Der Kindestod

SYNOPSIS

A flu-stricken Buffy, reluctant to stay at home, patrols the cemetery. Xander, Willow and Cordelia surprise her and she nearly stakes Xander. They try to convince her to go home but the damage that Angelus has done so far continues to fuel her fire. Angelus appears behind her and attacks Cordelia. Buffy and Angelus fight until he manages to pin Buffy down. Willow throws a burlap sack over his head and he is scared off by crosses that they all carry. Buffy faints and the gang rush her to the hospital. After being stabilized, she is admitted to the hospital for a few days against her will. Her mother reveals that Buffy has always hated hospitals ever since her cousin Celia died in one while Buffy was there with her.

Joyce brings up the topic of Jenny’s death to Giles and unknowingly brings up a topic Giles would much rather forget. Meanwhile, Xander, Willow and Cordelia wait to protect a very sick Buffy from the harms of Angelus. That night, Buffy has a dream where she sees a strange man follow a kid. As she follows the man down the hall, flashbacks of her cousin’s time spent in the hospital bring nightmares to her mind. She wakes up suddenly in the middle of the night and takes a walk down the hall. Two men exit the children’s ward with a child that died that night. At the door, she overhears a conversation between a Dr. Becker and a Dr. Wilkinson about the doctor’s experimental treatments on the kids. As she begins to leave, she encounters two children, one of them a boy named Ryan, that tell her about ‘Death’ and how he comes at night.

The next morning Buffy’s friends visit bearing gifts. All but Cordelia that is. They all take a walk and Buffy tells them all about the conversation she overheard. Becker was trying experimental treatments on the kids in the children’s ward that Dr. Wilkinson didn’t exactly agree with. Since forced to stay at the hospital, she plans to find out what Becker is up to and Xander volunteers everyone’s help. Cordelia and Xander sneak into the hospital record room and search for records on the girl that died the night before. Meanwhile, Giles and Willow search for information at the school library. At the hospital, while looking through the records, Cordelia is caught by the security guard. She flirts with him until Xander can escape with the records, and then leaves herself. Xander expresses his feelings towards her flirting with him and Cordelia expresses her anger about Xander’s behaviour around Buffy. She leaves to take the records to Giles and Willow, and Xander “watches her back” as she goes.

That night, Angelus comes to visit Buffy, but Xander stands guard. They stand face to face and exchange many harsh words until Angelus finally leaves discouraged by the fact that he may not make it to Buffy’s room with all the security. Buffy takes a walk and finds Ryan. He is drawing a picture of the man she saw in her dream: ‘Death.’ Willow digs up information on Dr. Becker at the library with Giles. She finds out that he has a large past involving experimental treatments and investigations into his practices. Meanwhile, Becker is working on trying to cure the children’s illnesses. After finding a solution that he thinks will work he takes it to the children’s ward to try it out. Before he can do anything, ‘Death’ attacks him and slashes him up. Buffy tries to stop him, but is thrown aside.

The next morning, Buffy informs everyone that Dr. Becker is not the suspect, and shows them the drawing that Ryan drew of the creature. Xander, Giles and Cordelia leave her alone and come up with a plan. Giles and Cordelia head back to the library while Xander stands guard against the threat of Angelus. At the library, Cordelia annoys Giles with constant questions. Finally, she finds a picture of the monster on the cover of a book and they research it. After searching, they find that it is called Der Kindestod. After Cordelia squeamishly describes what is going on, Giles takes over and then tells Buffy about how it sucks the life out of a child. Buffy flashes back to her visit to Celia at the hospital again. She sees her cousin freaking out while she helplessly watches. Buffy goes silent over the phone and then after several minutes, Willow takes it from her and hangs up. Buffy then realizes that Der Kindestod was the thing that killed Celia.

Buffy and Willow head to Dr. Becker’s office in search of answers. The find out about his research and that he meant the children no harm. Buffy then goes to his fridge, planning to take the drug that he was using on the kids. Willow stops her from drinking it whole, and dilutes it in water. Buffy’s fever rushes to 107 degrees as she stumbles to the children’s ward. She finds that all the children are gone. They have run down to the basement in hopes of escaping from the Kindestod. After a few moments, Buffy sees the Kindestod in the room and watches as he heads down to the basement after them. The door is locked, so Buffy and Willow rush to find access to the basement. Dr. Wilkinson tries to stop them, but Buffy shoves her aside. When security guards stop the two, Willow takes on the blame as Buffy makes her escape.

Buffy makes her way to Xander and he helps her down to the basement. The children wait quietly in hopes of not being found, but then the Kindestod picks up Ryan. He screams along with all the other children. Buffy arrives just in time and fights off the Kindestod. Just as he is about to kill her, she snaps his neck and she leaves leaning on Xander.

Buffy finishes her rehabilitation at home with her friends. Joyce reluctantly waits on them all, and delivers a picture to Buffy from Ryan: a picture of her slaughtering the Kindestod.

TRIVIA

CONTINUITY

GOOFS