Reprise Revised
Growing Pains
Email: marenfic@yahoo.com
Spoiler Warning: Angel Season 5 up to You’re Welcome—I’ve diverged at YW.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters, and I won’t be profiting off
of them.
Pairing: B/A and Wes/F
Feedback: Please!! Pretty please??
Author Note:< sty style='mso-spacerun:yes'> italics
generally indicate thoughts, although if it’s only one word it indicates
emphasis.
************************************************************************
It was two hours later when Wesley unlocked the front doors
to the Hyperion and moved aside to let Spike carry Buffy into the dark interior
of the lobby. He had no difficulty
finding a small couch to lay her on, even in the dark.
be a vampire.
Gunn pushed in behind Spike and moved swiftly toward the
bank of master switches behind the front desk that would illuminate the vast
room with light. As soon as they could
see where they were going, the rest of the entourage entered.
Faith let out a long slow whistle.
often—this place looks better than it did when you lived here.”
“Yes, it looks as though Wolfram & Hart took care of the
upkeep while we were away,” Wes murmured, looking around the lobby with a
guarded, distrustful eyes. He looked to
Lorne. “Hear any humming?”
Lorne nodded in response.
“Barely—I think they’re shopping a little more upscale than Sharper
Image for their bugs these days,” he said.
mal>“Damn. It could take
us days to find all of the mics and cameras, and we need to start taking care
of the situation immediately,” Wes cursed, scowling.
Fred smiled sweetly, but Wesley couldn’t help but notice
that her smile wasn’t quite as sweet and innocent as it had been before their
move to the firm. “I’m way ahead of you,”
she said before setting the large black duffle bag she was carrying down at her
feet and unzipping it. She began to pull
out various pieces of equipment and handing one scanner to Gunn and a wand like
instrument to Lorne, she began to move slowly around the room with her own
instrument. “When it beeps you’ve found
one. They’re precise within one inch and
magically enhanced so that they can see through the most powerful electronic
cloaking spells available.”
Faith sank down into a large red chair, threw one leg over
its arm, and grinned at the seemingly innocent woman.
a long time ago, but she might have to reevaluate.
eyebrow at Fred. “Miss goody-two-shoes
had a case of sticky fingers. I guess
the threat of bodily harm for stealing company resources didn’t bother you.”
Fred looked over her shoulder from where she was removing
the first mic she had found under the lip of the counter to give Faith a cute
smirk. “Please.
anytime they want to anyway. I figured
we might as well get some severance gifts out of the deal.”
Faith smirked back as she pulled a long, deadly looking
dagger out of the back of her pants. She
had seen it hanging on the wall of Angel’s old office as they were leaving, and
decided it would make a nice addition to her weapons collection.
still owed her for trying to kill her anyway.
The sound of Buffy’s low moan of pain pulled her attention
back to the woman who was moving restlessly on the couch.
so they could concentrate on finding out what was going on with her and take
care of it. With Angelus on the loose
out there they couldn’t risk having Buffy incapacitated.
off, but they might need Buffy to be healthy enough to kill him if Faith and
failed.
The sounds coming from Buffy pulled Gunn out of his own
trance. He wasn’t doing anyone any good
standing there brooding and if Gunn was anything, he was a man of action.
to be working whatever situation he found himself in.
“Got anymore of those things in that bag?
for her,” he said, jerking his head in the direction of the couch holding Buffy
while addressing Fred.
Fred shook her head no, but handed him the scanner she had
been using. “Go ahead and take this one,
Charles. We should try to make her
comfortable as quickly as we can and then get to work.”
“I’ll accompany him,” Wesley said, giving Gunn another look
of distrust. It was clear to everyone in
the room that Wes was going to make sure that Gunn didn’t “accidentally” miss a
bug. Spike moved his body quickly in
front of Buffy’s as though to protect her from the fight that was inevitably
going to break out again as Faith jumped to her feet and began quickly moving
to where the twn stn stood eyeing each other angrily not 6 feet from one
another.
With a snort, Gunn turned away from the group and began to
walk toward the staircase. “Whatever,
man,” he bit out, glad that Wesley couldn’t see the look of hurt that he was
sure was plastered across his face. He
had known that keeping the knowledge of the Connor-wipe from his friends wasn’t
right, but he had been swept up in the feelings of power and authority that had
come with his new position at Wolfram & Hart, his new knowledge of the law,
and most of all, his new connection with the Conduit.
the feelings of his friends in the matter.
He may have taunted Wes earlier about his history with Connor, but Gunn
had really thought that the other man would be happier, mor pea peace without
the memories of what he had done to Angel and his son.
had been based purely on altruism, but Gunn had genuinely thought that it might
be best for everyone if they could continue without memories of Connor.
For now he would concentrate on the work at hand and try his
best to forget for a few minutes about the loss of knowledge that he could feel
physically as though it were actually seeping out of his brain into a puddle on
the floor; forget for a few minutes about the loss of trust and camaraderie
that he could feel emanating from the other people in the hotel.
>&nb>
**************
Buffy’s sleeping form. She had finally
dozed off as the sun had heralded the beginning of another day, but her sleep
was fitful. He could hardly stand to see
her tiny frame, shaking and shivering despite the heavy down comforter covering
her, all alone in the big bed. He wanted
to slide under the covers with her, warm her with his body, but even if he
hadn’t realized that his cold body wouldn’t offer her any comfort, he knew he
couldn’t do it. She had been clear that
she couldn’t love him the way that he loved her.
always known that her heart belonged to the creature whose name she
occasionally called out in her delirium.
“Angel. . .” Buffy whimpered in her sleep, as if on
cue. Spike scowled.
grandsire! he thought. Once they had
cleared the hotel of bugs and settled Buffy into a room, he had forced the
others to tell him the complete story about this Connor kid yoneyone was
yapping on about. He still found it
nearly impossible to believe that Angel and Darla had created a human kid, and
the very thought that he was the cause of the torture Buffy was going through
now made Spike want to rip Angel’s head from his shoulders with his bare
hands. Just like him to take what he wants without caring about the
consequences,ke tke thought, and then shook his head in the negative.
anymore. Spending the last few months
fighting beside the other vampire had given him a little deeper insight into
Angel. Spike was genuinely puzzled that
he had gone to Buffy and lost his soul.
It seemed out of character foe gre gry ley leader that he had gotten to
know again.
His musings were interrupted when Buffy sat up in bed, her
eyes open for the first time since they had left the Wolfram & Hart
lab. He could hear the sound of her
heart racing, could smell the pain peaking now that she was conscious again,
but he could also smell something else . . . something like determination.
she went into battle against some big nasty.
He was familiar with it, and he was glad that at least for the moment,
she was fighting.
She looked around the room, confused, before settling her
eyes on Spike.
“Where . . . ?” she gritted out, the effort it took her to
speak clear to the vampire.
“We’re at Angel’s old hotel—got kicked out of Wolfram &
Hart,” he answered succinctly. She
didn’t look like she was in any shape forg exg explanations.
He was right.
“Bathroom?” she asked.
He pointed to a door on the left. Buffy glared at him. ger ger back from the force of her psychological blow. As soon as the words left her mouth, Buffy was “Spike . . . sorry. He shook off the hurt and gave her a little grin.
feet with effort, he jumped up to offer her assistance.
“No. You, me, bathroom, bad
memories,” she forced out.
she was rarely cruel.
horrified. She had put that incident
behind her last year and she had no idea why she had so cruelly struck out at
Spike. Every movement that she made took
an incredible amount of control and resolve, but she knew she had to turn
around and apologize to him.
Don’t know. . .” she forced out, pleading for his understanding with her
hazel-green eyes.
you’re saying,” he said, pretending not to be bothered.
so you can save your strength.”
Buffy nodded and let him partially support her body as they
walked the short distance to the bathroom connected to her room.
nausea that ripped through her as she used the facilities.
skin so despite her desire to return to the bed and the calm retreat of her
mind, she turned on the shower and quickly washed her body of the dirt and
grime of last night’s slay and her subsequent illness.
It was when she stepped unsteadily out of the shower that
the feeling of ravenous hunger her.
Buffy could scarcely control the urge to run out of the bathroom naked
in search of food. Although she could
exert some control over the pain that racked her body with pointed concentration,
the hunger couldn’t be ignored. She
grimaced as she put the dirty jeans and shirt that were still stained with
demon blood back on her clean body and stumbled back into the bedroom.
“Hungry,” she said in a near growl to Spike, who was sitting
in a chair waiting for her to reemerge.
Spike was on his feet in an instant to help her toward the
lobby. He pretended not to notice the
fierce desperation that tinged her demand for food, but it was difficult.
wasn’t something a ham sandwich was going to satisfy.
They made their way down the hall and had started their way
down the stairen Gen Gunn walked in the front doors carrying a full gry bay bag
in each arm.
“Looks like you’re just in time, mate,” Spike said as they
reached the bottom stair. Buffy pulled
away from Spike’s supporting hand and stalked toward Gunn, her eyes focused on
the bags.
At the look on her face, he nervously set the bags down on
the floor and backed away. He exged
ged
a look with Wesley and Faith, who had just emerged from the office together.
“Ah, Buffy, it’s excellent to see you up and about. . .”
Wesley stopped mid-sentence when he saw Buffy drop to her knees and ferociously
tear the paper bags apart. The contents
clattered to the floor, and the people gathered watched in horrified
fascination as she dug frantically through the contents.
opened a carton of eggs that miraculously hadn’t broken in her rooting, and
cracked two of them into her mouth in quick succession.
as she picked up a packagebacobacon, ripped apart the plastic encasing it with
her teeth, and shoved a handful of the raw pork into her mouth.
package and was working on her forth raw egg.
“Gross,” Faith said in a low voice.
“That can’t be healthy,” Gunn contributed, his face screwed
up in disgust.
“Perhaps we should stop her,” Wes suggested quietly.
in her direction. No one seemed too
eager to come between the ravenous slayer and her food, no matter how revolting
it was to watch her eat.
It was Spike who, with a roll of his eyes at the squeamishness
of the others, moved toward Buffy and picked her up off the floor, leaving the
cracked shells of 8 eggs and the empty bacon packing where they had been lying
beside her.
Buffy’s only response was a small whimper, and then she laid
her head against Spike’s shoulder and let him carry her back up the stairs to
her room. The hunger was still there,
but less now, and the pain was getting harder to control.
once again concentrated on pushing the agony back.
The three people left in the lobby watched Spike’s
retreating form until he was out of sight on the second floor.
over the floor and sighed. “Guess I’ll
be takin’ another trip to the store,” he said.
Wesley shot him a dirty look before addressing Faith.
see if she has awoken. I hardly need to
point out that Buffy’s behavior is extremely disturbing.
she has any information on how fast the gestation is progressing.
‘guest’ soon.”
Faith nodded and bounded up the stairs.
finally had a chance to safely call
transport herself back to them from
but it had drained her and she had gone directly to bed when she arrived, not
even having the energy to check in on Buffy.
Faith hoped she was recharged soon because based on what she had just
seen, they’d be needing her.
In the lobby, Wesley picked up a book from the front desk
and started towards the office. Stopping
in mid-step, he turned back toward Gunn who had begun tok upk up the mess off
the floor. “Gunn, it might be prudent for
us to start looking for Connor. In the
excitement of last night, I nearly forgot that he too would be getting his
memories back. According to Angel, he
wasn’t doing well after he killed Jasmine.”
Gunn looked up from the spilled groceries.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Sure, I’ll head out and see what the word on
the street is. Kid must be even more
confused than the rest of us.”
“Us, Gunn?”
**************
Night found the gang, minus Buffy, congregated in the office.
a>
and Fred had each examined the slayer who was neither sleeping nor fully
cognizant of her surroundings for the most part.
could share their findings with the others and come up with a plan.
genuinely frightened for the first time in a long while when she had used her
powers to probe Buffy’s mind and body.
The thing residing inside her had emitted a surprising amount of energy
for something as physically small as it was, and it radiated evil.
much pain—
sucking at Buffy for nourishment and
knew that if anyone but this slayer had this being inside hshe she would be
dead already.
When Fred had finished the tests that she was performing
with equipment stolen from Wolfram & Hart, the two women had
conferred. Whatever was growing inside
Buffy’s womb was still too physically small to accurately pinpoint and it
didn’t seem to have accelerated growing properties.
winced at the thought of her friend spending 9 months in the state she was
in. It wouldn’t be possible- Buffy would
die or worse, lose her mind from the pain but continue to live as a shell for
the thing inside her until it was ready to emerge.
With grim expressions, she and Fred shared the news with the
others.
Spike was the first to react to the news.
Fred and
exchanged a look before Fred replied, “I’m not sure we can.
lying around and we can’t take her to a regular hospital.”
apologetically at the group before continuing.
“Plus, I kind of already tried to cut her open and the knife wouldn’t
even scratch her.”
At the looks of utter horror that greeted her, she quickly
defended herself. “I . . . well, I
wanted to test the metaphysical properties of the pregnancy and the effect they
might be having on Buffy’s physical being.
I remembered how when Darla was pregnant she was nearly physically
invulnerable and I . . . well, I was curious and I . . . , anyway, she can’t be
cut and I suspect that we won’t be able to abort the fetus in any normal
medical way.”
“She’s not going to be able to withstand 9 months of this torture,”
Wesley said quietly.
“I wouldn’t call her down for the count, yet.
for,” Faith argued.
head, “Buffy’s strong, but you don’t understand how bad it is for her.
sorts, maybe expel it mystically. I
can’t make any guarantees that it will work.
This will require very dark magics, magics that are dangerous to all of
us, magics that I wouldn’t even try if Buffy’s situation wasn’t so horrible,”
she warned.
Wesley nodded in understanding.
from her offspring in the womb with magic.”
“So when we gonna do this?” asked Gunn.
“I’ll need a little time to gather some supplies, and I’ll
need to rest some more. I. . . I’ll also
need to contact the sisters and have them prepare for the possibility that I go
all dark and veiny again—I’d say it’ll take me at least 3 days, maybe a week,”
finished.
“Speaking of hocus-pocus and sisters, I arranged for a sanctuary
spell to be placed on the hotel. We
shouldn’t have to worry about any unwanted visitors of any variety for about a
month. We just need to remember to have
it recast when it hits its expiration date,” Lorne voleredered.
“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about any unexpected
dinner dates with Angelus,” Gunn quipped.
“Yes, well, we seem to have our hands full at the moment,
don’t we? Gunn, any news on Connor?” Wes
asked.
“Nope. My Wolfram
& Hart sources have already dried up—the news got out fast.
put the word out with some of my older sources.
When he turns up, we’ll find out about it.
right here” Gunn responded.
**************
Outside the hotel, a frustrated and enraged Connor was
struggling to break through the invisible boundary that prevented him from even
walking into the front courtyard. He had
wondered around for hours after his memories had been returned and he’d sent
his murdering father into another dimension.
With each step he took, with each hour that passed, his bitterness and
rage at the world had coalesced into a pulsing, nearly tangible hatred for the
people who had made his life hell.
Now they were using magic
to keep themselves safe. Connor’s upper
lip curled into a cruel snarl.
crazier than I am, he thought.
to pay if he ever finds his way back from the dream dimension.
His snarl turned into a slight smile when he thought of how
to start making them pay now. It was
just the thing to make them realize they weren’t the heroes they all made
themselves out to be. And when the magic
they were using to keep him out became weak, he’d be there to test it.
taught him to be stealthy, deadly, and above all, patient.
Connor quickly turned on his heals and began to retrace his
steps from the past day-and-a-half. He
had a series of presents in mind for the gang, and he knew exactly where to
start.
***********************************************************************
The next morning a loud scream revraterated through the
hotel. In seco eve everyone but Spike
and Buffy came barreling into the lobby, weapons already drawn.
standing in the front doorway, looking out the entrance to a spot on the
sidewalk. She quickly spun around at the
sound of their loud approach, her face drained of blood and her hands twisting
in the filmy fabric of the long skirt she wore.
pointed to the door, her hand shaking a little.
“They. . . they’re dead,” she stuttered, and turned away,
slightly embarrassed that after years of battling demons and the undead, she was
so disturbed by the sight of the two dead bodies propped up against the
entrance to the hotel. Seeing dead
humans still bothered her, would bother her until the day she died.
a human being had sensitized her to the horror of murder even more than the
years she had dedicated to saving human life.
on her way to a magic shop that she hoped would carry some of the rarer
ingredients that she needed for the spell that would expel whatever was growing
in Buffy’s womb. When she opened the
front door, she smiled up at the sunny blue sky before absently looking down to
see the man and woman slumped over one another.
The woman’s head was leaning on the shoulder of the man, and
could see where her skull had been crushed, her blood and cerebral fluid matted
into her mousy brown hair and dried in streaks down her face and neck.
had seen enough demons getting their necks snapped over the course of her
tenure on the Hellmouth to know that was the way he died.
“That . . that’s Eve,” Fred said before she was forced to
swallow the bile that was rising in her throat.
“Yep, and that looks like our old friend Lindsey next to
her,” Gunn stated, his voice grim.
“Lindsey?” Fred asked.
She’d never met the dead man who was lying on their doorstep, his head
twisted at a grotesque angle.
“He used to be employed as an attorney at Wolfram &
Hart. He was instrumental in bringing
Darla back to life before he decided to resign from the firm,” Wesley absently
answered, the majority of his attention on the two bodies that were sitting in
full-viewanyoanyone who might happen to walk by and look.
inside, out of view of prying eyes,” he suggested.
“Shouldn’t we just call the police?” asked
the business of dealing with human victims.
She didn’t know what they had done about
hadn’t been around to ask and no one seemed to think it was a good idea to tell
her.
“That’s a great idea Will.
While they’re here, we’ll let them know we thihe ghe guy who probably
murdered them is a vampire and ask if they can help us get rid of Rosemary’s
Baby upstairs. Plus, I’ve been dying to
go back to prison,” Faith answered her, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Oh, right. . .”
Gunn was the first to move out the door.
in appreciation when Faith moved to grab his legs.
down on the floor. Wesley deposited
Eve’s body next to Lindsey’s and the group stared in silence at the two dead
forms.
The silence was broken by another scream, this one echoing
from upstairs, and clearly filled with rage rather than horror.
in time to see Spike appear, covered in scrambled eggs, a single piece of bacon
clinging to the top of his head.
clasclass=MsoNormal>“Bloody damn picky demon baby,” they heard Spike mutter as
he hurried down the steps. When he
realized everyone was staring at him, he pointed to his egg splattered chest
and shrugged. “Apparently the little
monster doesn’t like my cooking . . .”
His words trailed off as he noticed the bodies decorating the floor.
“Hey, what’s my connection to the Powers doing lying dead in
the lobby with that bitch?” he exclaimed.
“Are you saying Lindsey was your connection to the Powers?”
Gunn asked, confused.
“Who the hell is Lindsey?
That,” Spike said, pointing at Lindsey’s body, “is Doyle, and yes, he
was the one who kept bothering me with visions of stupid bints in trouble.”
**********
Twenty minutes later Spike was in the hotel’s huge chrome
kitchen, gathering what was left of the raw eggs and bacon into a bowl to take
to Buffy. When Wesley had explained who
Doy- no- Lindsey really was, Spike had felt something very similar to
disappointment well up inside him. He
was kind of surprised. Spike had been
suspicious of the guy and his “visions” since he had approached him in the
strip-club; only went along with it because it was something to do and it
seemed to piss Angel off. Now that he
knew for sure he was being played by an ex-lawyer and his skanky girlfriend
Eve, Spike had to work to reclaim his indifference to the entire
situation. In the rare moments that he
let himself believe he was some kind of “hero”, it had felt unexpectedly
good.
He turned when he heard the approaching footsteps and saw
entering through the swinging doors. He
nodded in her direction and grunted in greeting.
the large glass bowl that he was carrying and grimaced.
Spike raised his eyebrows and nodded.
tastes. She was very clear about
that.” Spike moved toward the door.
hand on his forearm.
“Are you o.k.?” she asked, her voice low and full of
concern. The confused look on his face,
prompted her to explain. “You know, with
finding out about Lindsey and all.”
Spike was surprised at her concern.
toward him after he returned to Sunnydale with his soul, she also hadn’t been
friendly either. “I’m fine, Red.”
again. This time he was stopped by her
soft voice.
“You don’t need some connection to the Powers to know that
you’re a hero, Spike. You sacrificed
yourself to save the world, and some of us will never forget that,” she said
quietly.
Spike didn’t turn around, didn’t want her to see the silly
look that he knew must be plastered across his face.
himself to speak, and when he did, he uttered one word before continuing his
swagger out the door.
“Thanks.”
***********************************************************************
~~~~One Week Later~~~~
Wesley slowly spread the ground crystals in a circle around
Buffy. She was lying on the floor in the
fetal position, her body completely still except for the light movement of her
chest as it rose and fell in time with her shallow breaths.
They were finally prepared to perform the expelling spell
and Wesley thought it couldn’t have come a moment too soon.
her stupor each morning long enough to eat.
Each day she had consumed only sources of raw protein and her
interactions with them had been trying.
At times she seemed clear and lucid, and those were the worst.
simply whimpered in pain and pushed herself to take care of her physical needs
before her spike of morning energy waned.
When he finished preparing the circle, Wesley moved to take
his position st1:st1:City>
right.
sat cross-legged at the head of the circle, and she was deep in communion with
her power source in preparation for the spell.
He knew she was terrified of performing this spell.
Sunnydale had never been communicated to him, but he knew that she was
extremely powerful. If things went
badly, they would be in trouble. She had
spent the afternoon on the phone with Giles, and Wes hoped that the elder
Watcher had been able to ground her as he helped her prepare her mind for
tonight’s festivities.
her eyes and nodded to the others in the room, indicating that it was time to
begin. She forced herself to remain
positive as she watched Spike take his position at Buffy’s feet and Faith sit
to her left. This spell required the
combined power of strong people who could be depended on not to harm the
Slayer, and Buffy’s strongest allies weren’t available in
were each strong in their own way, and they all knew Buffy.
another been her adversary. Wesley, who
was the weakest connection in the circle, had at least never tried to kill
her. No one else could make that
claim.
She looked over to where Gunn, Fred, and Lorne stood in a
triangle formation, ready to perform the spell that might succeed in
temporarily stripping her powers if she went all black and veiny.
nearly an hour ago to build up the power they would need if they had to finish
the spell.
could tell that their voices were getting hoarse from the repetition.
circle, she began the spell.
Ceres, I invoke thee
to do my will,
Take our offering of power
and strengthen this woman against that which consumes her from within.
Take our offering of
love and fortify this woman against that which consumes her from within.
Take our offering of
sacred familial blood and expel that which consumes her.
<
As she spoke the final line of the incantation,
drew the blade of a special dagger across her palm, passed it to Wesley and
squeezed her bleeding hand into a fist over Buffy’s head.
Spike, and finally Faith.
felt the surge of dark power rise in her as the circle of blood was completed,
and she quickly tamped down the urge to give in to its siren call
completely.
As the blood dripped over Buffy’s body,
repeated the incantation, channeling her attention into the spell and her
request of the earth mother. She tuned
out Buffy’s screams as she continued the chant, her mind concentrating on the
task at hand. She ignored the heat that
emanated up from her friend’s body, her voice gaining strength as she felt the
being within Buffy fighting her power.
Her eyes glazed over as she let the power wash over her and her hand
never faltered as she focused the forces into Buffy’s very being.
break and the forces recede, she was startled and confused.
shook her head to clear it and looked up to see that the other three had
withdrawn from the outer circle. on his feet, Wesley had kicked away the ground crystal in front of him, making
a hole in the inner circle that surrounded Buffy.
“What . . . why did you stop?
out!”
Faith was breathing hard, still trying to adjust to the
feeling of her inner strength being cycled out of her body and then back in as
the circle broke. So when she answered
it was in a pant. “We were killing her.”
Spike, who didn’t need to recover his breath, made a demand
of his own. “Look at her.”
dropped to her friend and she was astounded at what she saw, and incredibly
worried that she hadn’t noticed it happening during the spell.
but now she was whimpering and clutching at her stomach.
attention though. Instead, it was the
jet black color of her friend’s formerly blonde locks.
hands flew to her own hair and she looked at Wesley questioningly.
negative that she let out the breath she had been holding.
that had been coming from the other side of the room for the last hour stopped
as she crawled toward Buffy and gingerly reached out to touch her
forehead. It was so hot to the touch,
and
as she began to cry.
“I’m sorry,”
whispered through her tears. “I’m so
sorry.”
Buffy stirred and slowly moved one hand out until she was
touching the fabric that covered
arm. She struggled toh heh herself out
of her haven, knowing that she needed to tell them something important while
she still could. For several horrifying
seconds during the spell, Buffy had been connected even more closely to the
being inside her. She knew what it was
and she had to make herself tell them while she could still manage it.
Opening her eyes and squinting against even the low light
offered by the candle illuminating the room, Buffy slowly licked dry dry lips
and mentally prepared herself to speak.
“Doesn’t have. . . . soul. . . . wants,” Buffy struggled to
say, stopping frequently to mentallyt bat back the pain.
before giving into a low moan of pain.
It was agonizing to be in full mental contact with the world, outside of
her inner retreat, outside of the carefully controlled environment of her own
meditative mind. Inside the pain was
horrifyingly intense-- outside, it was unbearable.
As though from a great distance, she heard Weslebrisbrisk
English accent ask her a question. In
her dazed state, she didn’t know what he asked but she was certain that she
knew the answer. With one last burst of
effort, she answered.
“Human . . . it’s some kind . . . of human.
she sought out the low, glowing sanctuary in her mind.
“What are we going to do now?
questioned, looking from
Wesley.
“I don’t believe it will kill her.
child then it will need her alive to provide nourishment,” Wesley offered.
“Might not kill her physically, but no one can survive that.
. .” exclaimed Gunn, gesturing toward her, “without losing a few marbles.”
Fred moved forward and knelt next to Buffy to check her
pulse. Her skin was still warm to the
touch, but not uncomfortably hot. She
chewed her lip for a second, deep in thought.
“We might be able to give her Droxymorph, a mystical pain killer.
woman a powerful drug like that, but I think in her case it might be o.k.” she
finally suggested.
Lorne bobbed his head up and down in agreement.
quantity we would need, but it ain’t gonna be cheap folks.
of the enhanced sanctuary spell . . . well, I don’t have to tell you all we’re
up the proverbial creek without a paddle,” he said.
“Screw the damn spell,” Spike forced out.
powerful witch livin’ here. Let Angelus
come over for a little visit—we can handle the bastard.
One look around the room confirmed that everyone was in
agreement. Wesley frowned, but nodded in
assent. When the current sanctuary spell
expired, they would be vulnerable to attack, but they couldn’t just sit by and
watch as Buffy’s sanity was eaten away from the inside.