Mbwa Mwitu

Chapter Summary: The group gets to L.A. and call on a doctor.


Xander slowly stepped out of Spike's Desoto, shutting the door firmly behind him. He looked up at the towering building that was the Hyperion, briefly wondering if it wasn't some status symbol for Angel, much like a large truck for a man.

Shaking the thought out of his head, he quickly walking around the car to help Tara out of the backseat. Spike gently pulled out Oz, the werewolf mumbling something under his breath. Giles had given the werewolf a high dose of morphine earlier that afternoon, before he left. It seemed to have a lasting effect, thank goodness. While Oz woke up every once in a while, he seemed incapable of recognizing anything and soon fell back to sleep.

They entered the Hyperion quickly, Doyle and Angel struggling to keep Wesley on his feet. The Ex-Watcher was looking worse by the moment, his face nearly glowing a sickly yellow. Xander helped Spike settle Oz onto one of the sofas, before slumping down next to Spike on the other sofa. Tara sat down on the floor, her head leaning back against Oz's stretched out arm. He watched with half-lidded eyes as Cordelia stormed out of the office.

"A note!" She screeched, causing Xander and Spike to wince. "You didn't even leave me a note!"

"I told you she would be angry." Doyle muttered, while Angel cringed at the look on Cordelia's face. Indeed, after suffering through the horror of the Initiative, Xander suspected Angel would rather be back in the government base instead of with his secretary. A look flashed across Cordelia's eyes when she spotted Wesley. Her jaw dropped, before her eyes traveled over to Xander and Spike.

"Alright, tell me what happened." Cordelia ordered.

"Is Gunn still here?" Angel asked in a tired voice.

"I had a vision. He's taking care of a few vampires that thought they were tough shit." Cordelia said. Xander blinked in shock. He'd never heard Cordelia curse before.

"Hey, princess, do you think you could call in some food?" Doyle asked, smiling slightly. "Most of us haven't ate all day. We'll wait until Gunn arrives before we explain everything."

"Okay." Cordelia replied slowly, eyeing Wesley as they sat him down. "Should I call a doctor?"

"We'll need someone that wont ask questions." Spike piped up.

"No problem." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "We've got a guy... He's eccentric as hell, but he'll do."

"Oh, not him." Angel literally whined.

"Hey, he's an okay doc." Doyle defended. Cordelia snorted and made her way into the office to call for take-out. "He's fixed Wesley up loads of times."

"Please tell me you are not talking about that hick with the weird eyes." A deep voice asked from the doorway. A large black man walked in, placing his axe on the counter top. He full mouth twisted into a slight smile before a pair of deep chocolate eyes landed on Wesley's sleeping form. He rushed over to Wesley's side, taking the clammy hand into his own. "What the hell happened, man?"

As Angel and Doyle sat down, Xander opted to explain. Gunn, or at least Xander assumed that's who it was, remained staring at Wesley's face the entire time. Xander finally fell silent. Cordelia, who had finished calling both the doctor and the food, had a shocked look on her face.

"Buffy's dead?" She asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah." Xander whispered. Cordelia's eyes dropped to the floor.

"I'm sorry." She replied. A silence filled the room, only to be broken by the doorbell ringing. Cordelia jerked in surprise and discreetly wiped her eyes. Now in control, she walked over and opened the door. She quickly paid for their meal and brought over the bags of Chinese food.

"Oh, I smell sweet an' sour, I do!" A voice announced from the doorway. Xander looked over, only to have his jaw drop. A short little man with overalls and no shirt stood in the door way. Next to him was a taller young man in a wife beater and jeans, a black doctor's bag in his hand. Xander prayed that these two weren't the doctors.

"Shut up, Billy Bob, and get your ass over here." Gunn ordered, before going back to staring at Wesley's face.

"Alrighty." Billy Bob said in a deep Southern accent that reminded Xander of the Beverly Hillbillies. He bounced over to the sofa and cringed at the sight of Wesley. He glanced over at Oz and Tara, before nodding. "Billy Joe, you get started on that youngun', you hear?"

"Yes, pa." The younger man replied, his voice as deep and drawling as his father's. Tara stood and moved out of his way as he knelt in front of Oz. He gently pulled off Oz's bandages, eyes narrowed in concentration.

"What wrong with him?" Gunn demanded.

"Looks like he needs stitches. Got a bit of poison running through them veins, if his complexion is anythin' to go by." Billy Bob pulled out a suture set and some salve and started cleaning Wesley's wound. Wesley moaned slightly in his sleep.

"Pa." Billy Joe, who had been inspecting Oz, turned toward his father. "He ain't got no more skin!"

"Well, then. Looks like you'll have to help it grow back, eh?" Billy Bob raised an eyebrow. Billy Joe scowled. "Now, Billy Joe, if you're gonna run the family business, you need to learn these things."

"I ain't got no magic, pa!" Billy Joe protested.

"Umm..." Tara raised her hand nervously. "I can help."

"We'll need some supplies." Billy Bob stated a moment later, when he was finished with Wesley's wound. "This boy here is all fixed up, except I think he's got himself a virus or somethin'. Can't be too sure. I ain't no soul reader, after all." With a sigh, Billy Bob turned to Doyle. "Think you can go out and get some stuff for the girlie witch?"

"Yeah." Doyle replied. Billy Bob quickly wrote down a list of items and handed them to Doyle. Then, as Doyle grabbed his coat and left, he turned toward Tara and eyed her.

"You don't look so good, girlie." Billy Bob said, his strange, electric blue eyes trailing down her body. They paused just below her waistline, before snapping back to meet her flushed face. "I don't normally ask questions, but... Do you need anything for...?"

"For what?" Xander asked, frowning. He glanced at Spike and found the vampire gripping one of the sofa's pillows tightly, nearly shredding it.

"It's already taken care of." Tara informed him, her eyes serious.

"Ah." Billy Bob nodded. Then he turned to Xander. "You smell of blood, kid."

"Oh, yeah." Xander stood up and lifted his shirt, revealing a large stitched up wound. "I think it could used being patched up again. I don't exactly trust the guys that did this."

"Right. Anything else?" Billy Bob asked as Billy Joe started helping Xander with his wounds.

"We need an x-ray for Xander." Spike informed him, standing.

"And for you." Xander added, grimacing as Billy Joe started clipping his stitches. Billy Joe swiftly finished and grabbed the suture kit to begin re-stitching them. "We need to get those bullets out before they're stuck."

"Bullets!" Billy Bob exclaimed, shocked. Then, as though vampires being shot was an everyday occurrence, Billy Bob bounced over to the telephone. "Just gotta call my cousin, Bobby Lee. He's part Locutz demon. Got x-ray vision, he does!"

It was some time before Billy Bob's cousin arrived. By that time, Doyle had returned and Tara was in the kitchens, mixing various materials and grinding them down to a paste. Xander was half-asleep, curled up against Spike. Gunn and Angel were in the library, looking up any clue on what had attacked Wesley.

Bobby Lee turned out to look just like Billy Bob, except for his pitch black eyes. He was a no nonsense type of person, which was evident for his immediate attention toward his job. He pulled Spike off the sofa and sat him down on a stool, shirt-less. Without a word, he pulled out a black marker and began making small X's on Spike's back.

"Twelve." Xander stated, eyes wide. "You had twelve bullets in you all this time?"

"Around there." Spike replied, glancing over his shoulder as Bobby Lee recapped his marker. He turned back to Xander, to find his mate staring at him with angry eyes. "Love, it's okay-"

"No, it's not okay!" Xander snapped. "What they did to you and Oz and me and... I haven't figured out what happened to Tara, but, dammit, I will!"

"Xander, calm down." Spike ordered, his voice low and comforting. Xander took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"They ain't in deep." Bobby Lee stated, his Southern accent slow and deep. He turned to Billy Bob. "Scalpel and a pair of tweezers should do it, I think."

Bobby Lee moved out of the way as Billy Bob walked over. He watched his cousin slip on a pair of surgical gloves, before his eyes turned to Xander. They narrowed, a slight frown forming on his face. Xander shifted in his seat, eyes darting between Spike's scowling face and Bobby Lee.

"What?" Xander finally asked, agitated.

"Boy, this may sound strange, but you've got a piece of your brain missin'." Bobby Lee informed him. Xander stared at him in shock, mouth open.

"I... I... Huh?" Xander gulped.

"Said what I said." Bobby Lee stated. "Looks like it's the part that recognizes smells. Don't ask me what it's called, I ain't no brain surgeon."

"If it's missing then there isn't much we can do about it, anyway." Billy Joe commented as Tara entered the front lobby. She carefully handed him a large bowl with what looked like bright yellow goop inside. Billy Joe immediately took it over to Oz and began applying it on his wounds.

"What's missing?" Tara asked.

"Those bastards." Spike hissed, barely wincing as Billy Bob extracted a small bullet from his back. It hit the metal tray next to the doctor with a loud clank. "They cut out a part of his brain."

"Calm yourself down, boy." Billy Bob ordered. Spike made a noise in the back of his throat, which sounded almost like a low screech of anger. The vampire's blue eyes was lined with gold as he stared up at Xander.

"This is insane." Xander stated with a strange calm. Another bullet clanked as it hit the metal tray, causing Xander to jerk in surprise. Xander blinked, staring down at the blood coated pair of tweezers in Billy Bob's hand. "I... I need to go lay down."

"Xander?" Tara asked, reaching for his arm. Xander merely shook his head before heading upstairs. Tara watched him go, before turning back to Spike. "Spike...?"

"I'll kill them." Spike was saying, hardly acknowledging those around him. "I'll hunt each and every one of those bastards down and rip out their spines. And then I'll find those bloody ponces that dared to lay their hands on Tara and show them just how painful rape can be."

Tara winced visibly at Spike's words, before taking a deep breath and walking out of the room. She made her way to the library, not surprised to find Gunn and Angel there, looking up Wesley's symptoms. Drawing in a shaky breath, she quickly skimmed the titles of the many books.

"Tara?" The blonde witch jerked in surprise and looked up to find Gunn looking at her carefully. "It is Tara, right?"

"Y-y-yes." She replied, cringing at the stutter. She hadn't stuttered since being drawn into Xander's pack, it was strange to hear herself do it once more.

"How are things out there?" Gunn asked, watching as she pulled a few books off the shelf.

"Wesley is sleeping." She assured him, noting the look of relief on Gunn's face. "They're removing the bullets from Spike's back right now and Xander... Xander's laying down."

"What about the other one..?" Gunn asked. "Your..."

"Mate." Tara finished for him as she sat down. "He's sleeping as well. The balm should start rejuvenating his skin within the hour."

"That's good." Gunn offered. Tara nodded, opening one of the books to a random page. Gunn continued to watch her, a strange expression on his face. Neither one looked up as Doyle entered the library, carrying a steaming cup of blood for his lover. Angel, who had remained out of the conversation, finally came over and sat down near them.

"Spike's in a full rant at the moment." Doyle informed them. "Apparently they've found out what happened to Xander."

"What was it? A chip?" Angel asked. Doyle shook his head slightly and opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Tara.

"They removed his olfactory bulb and nerve." Tara stated, her voice deceptively calm. "Without that, there is no connection between the scent receptors in the nose to the parts of his brain that will recognize smell."

"Damn." Gunn muttered. He glanced up at Tara, a little amazed. "How do you know that, exactly?"

"I took Psychology 101 in college." Tara whispered, her hands twitching slightly on the tabletop. "It's okay, though. I can fix it. I can create a p-potion to rejuvenate him... I just need to find the correct ingredients."

"Tara." Angel said, his dark eyes watching the witch. "Perhaps you should get some rest first?"

"No!" Tara snapped, shocking Angel and Doyle with the harshness in her voice. Gunn glanced at their faces and knew from their expressions alone that she hardly ever yelled. "I can do this. It's the one thing I can do for them. I can make Xander whole again, and I will!"

"Okay." Doyle said, hastily. "It's just... You've been through a lot, yeah? You've been concentrating on helping everyone else, but you haven't took the time to help yourself or what... Well, what happened..."

"It's taken care of." Tara muttered. She raised her eyes, which looked bloodshot from grief. "I used a spell... Nothing will come from what they did to me."

"Good, good." Angel said, softly. "But that's not what we meant, Tara. You don't seem to be acknowledging what happened to you. You're safe here, you don't have to be strong right now."

"I'm fine!" Tara snapped, her hands curling into fists. Her breathing suddenly turned heavy, as though she had something closing around her throat and cutting off her air supply. Gunn sent the others a wide eyed look, before reaching over to touch her shoulder. He quickly jerked his hand back when, upon contact, a large jolt of electricity shot through his arm.

"Tara." Doyle called to her, his voice rising when it appeared that Tara could not hear him. "Tara, you've got to calm down. Tara!"

"W-what?" Tara blinked, her breathing slowly to it's normal pace. She glanced, with huge eyes, at Gunn, who was holding onto his now injured hand. Her breath caught in her throat as a single tear trickled down her cheek.

"Are you okay?" Gunn asked, looking worried. "What... What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know." A voice said from the doorway. Xander stood there, looking tired and older than his years. "I could feel you panicking from down the hallway."

"Tara, I think..." Angel said gently, glancing between Tara and Xander. "I think you should tell him, before his smell is restored. You're... Well, you're still coated in their scents."

Tara nodded, standing on shaky legs. She slowly made her way across the room, sending it's occupants an apologetic look. Gently taking hold of Xander's elbow, she guided him out of room and down the hallway. She automatically found herself going toward the room that had been given to Spike the last time they were there. As she entered, she could tell that it was the room that Xander had escaped to himself.

She wasn't shock by this connection. Even without his sense of smell, Xander was oddly tuned into his pack. Sighing, Tara carefully made him sit down. She curled up on the bed, pulling Xander with her until she could rest her head against his shoulder. Comfort and safety washed over her from his contact and she was once again caught off guard by the fact that she seemed to fit into this life so well.

"I'm not an animal." Tara said out loud, her voice soft and barely above a whisper. She knew that Xander could hear her, nonetheless. "And yet I can feel Spike and you as though I am filled with some primal beast as well. I... I can't explain it, but I can feel Oz's wolf. I can feel something inside me bending toward him, taking him as my own. But like I said... I am not an animal."

"But you're the closest thing to Mother Earth I have ever met." Xander replied, his voice gentle as well. Tara closed her eyes as he continued. "It's your magic, I think. It's not the same as Willow's. You don't just borrow the energy around you, you live it. You're connected to everything. Even I can feel it. Spike and I have told you, and I'll always say it, you're a goddess."

"I am not." Tara informed him. "I'm not otherworldly, Xander. I'm just a normal girl, who can be hurt and... And broken just as anyone else."

"I refuse to believe that." Xander insisted. "Hurt, yes. Nothing can escape pain, but you can't be broken. You're too strong."

"I almost am, though." Tara whispered. She reopened her eyes and fixed them on some unimportant point on the wall across the room. "I could so easily let them win. I can feel it, trying to take over me. Angel's right. I've been ignoring what happened to me. I paid attention, once we escaped, long enough to cast a spell that wouldn't permit them to... But, after that I've ignored it."

"Tell me, Tara." Xander said, his voice nearly begging. "I can't stand not knowing. I feel like I'm in a closed off room. I can touch you, as well as Spike and Oz, but you're not really there. I don't know what happened to you."

Tara was silent for a few minutes, almost to the point were Xander thought she was going to refuse. Then, with a heavy sigh, she spoke. "Very well."