Shattered Souls

Tara stirs the stew before trying a bite, frowning as she tries to figure out what it needs. Adding a little more pepper and onion salt, she stirs the stew meditatively for a few minutes, until all of a sudden Phoenix starts barking and howling at the front door. Dropping the spoon, she runs out of the kitchen towards the door as Anya comes flying down the stairs from where she’d went up to use the bathroom.

Throwing the door open, Tara groans as the slayer practically collapses in her arms. “Goddess!” Tara cries, trying to hold the woman up, so she doesn’t hit the floor. “Anya!”

“I’m here.” Anya wraps her arms around the slayer, helping Tara move the slayer towards the couch. “Where are you hurt?” Anya questions, as they lay Buffy gently on the couch.

“Phoenix, go lay down, please!” Tara hoarsely states to the puppy that’s running around, growling and whimpering. With a shaking hand, Tara brushes the hair away from Buffy’s face, frowning at the bruised, swollen cheek and the blackening eye. “Where are you hurt, Buffy?” Tara questions the obviously disoriented slayer.


“Ribs mostly.” Buffy finally whispers, her eyes closing.

“Anya?” Tara questions as she pushes Buffy’s shirt up out of the way.

“I’m on it.” Anya jumps up, running to get the first aid kit, pain pills and ice.

“Buffy, I can use my powers to help heal you, but there are side effects.” Tara looks up into the slayer’s pain filled eyes.

“What?” Buffy swallows, closing her eyes briefly as the pain shoots through her side.

“To heal you properly, it will link us in a way. But it‘ll take quite a bit of my power to heal you completely.” Tara frowns, trying to think of how to explain it.

“No.” Buffy states adamantly. “I’ll heal on my own, with the slayer healing. Don’t drain yourself for this.” Buffy whimpers loudly as she shifts and she feels her ribs shift. “It’ll probably only take three days give or take for them to heal.”

“Here.” Anya frowns as she sees the bruising on the slayer’s side. “Is there any internal damage?”

“I can’t tell.” Tara admits, biting her lip. “Buffy, we should get you to the hospital. There could be more damage than just your broken ribs.” Tara gently places the ice against the slayer’s ribs.

“I’ll be okay.” Buffy shakes her head, frowning hard. “Don’t have the money for the hospital bills. Wrap them up.”

“I’ll pay the damn hospital bills.” Anya growls at the slayer.

“No, you won’t!” Buffy snarls at the ex-demon. “I’ll be fine, get me wrapped up, I’ll take a handful of pain pills and crash. Simple as that!”

“Fucking pain in the ass.” Tara growls as she yanks some ace bandages out of the first aid kit. “Anya, can you prop her up while I wrap her?”

Anya nods her head, frowning heavily. Shifting behind Buffy, she pulls the shirt up, to keep it out of the way as Tara gingerly starts wrapping Buffy’s ribs.

“Is this too tight or not tight enough?” Tara questions the slayer as she wraps her ribs.

“A little tighter might be good.” Buffy groans as she feels the ribs grating against each other.

Tara flinches as she hears the pain in Buffy’s voice. Unwrapping what she’d done, she quickly re-works the wrapping, pulling it snugger as she wraps the slayer’s ribs. “Better?”

“Perfect.” Buffy nods her head, closing her eyes as she tries to concentrate on breathing and ignoring the pain shooting through her side.

Tara finishes wrapping the slayer’s ribs, nodding to Anya to lay the slayer back down. “Do you want to stay down here, or do you want to try and make it up the stairs to your own bed?” Tara questions quickly as she opens the pain pills, shaking out five of them into her palm handing them to the shaking slayer before grabbing the water Anya had the foresight to bring with her.

Buffy pops the pills in her mouth, accepting the glass of water from the witch, her hands shaking so bad from the pain that she splashes the water over her.

“Let me.” Tara whispers, wrapping her hand over Buffy’s to help steady her, helping tilt the glass to her lips, watching her quickly swallow the pills. Putting the glass on the coffee table, Tara looks intently at the slayer.

“Bed, in a little while.” Buffy murmurs, easing back down on the couch from where she’d shifted up slightly to drink the water.

Anya works down to the end of the couch, quickly untying the slayer’s Doc Martin’s and gently pulling them off.

Tara places the ice back on Buffy’s ribs, her hands starting to shake. “What happened?” Tara hoarsely whispers looking back at Buffy.

“Warren.” Buffy rasps. “Got the orbs, but he got in a couple good shots first. Jonathan actually helped, but Warren got away with a fucking jet pack.” Buffy grouses, her eyes closed, the pain obvious on her face.

“Rest for now, Buffy. Is there anything you need?” Tara questions softly, her hand stroking the hair off the slayer’s forehead to gently cup her cheek, surprised as Buffy presses her face into her hand.

“No, thank you.” Buffy whispers as she allows herself to enjoy the witch’s soft caresses.

“I’ll go put up the stew, I don’t think any of us are going to be eating tonight.” Anya clasps her hands on Tara’s shoulders, smiling down at the witch tilting her head knowingly towards the slayer.

Tara looks towards Buffy, seeing the closed eyes and the way she’s pressing in against her caress. Looking back up at Anya, she sighs, nodding her head in acceptance that Buffy obviously does care.

“You fixed stew?” Buffy questions hoarsely.

“Stew and a big salad.” Tara admits softly, brushing her thumb over the slayer’s cheek for a few moments before easing her hand away. “Let me get a wash cloth and wipe some of the dirt off your face. Would you like some juice, or something?”

Slowly opening her eyes, Buffy nods her head. “Juice would be great.” As Tara goes to stand, Buffy reaches for her hand, grasping it gently. “Sorry for being a bitch earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it, Buffy.” Tara smiles softly down at the slayer. “Let me go get the cloth and your juice.”

Buffy sighs as she closes her eyes, smiling as she feels a warm tongue lick over her hand. “Come to see how I am now that Tara’s disappeared, huh? She wasn’t mad at you Phoenix, she just wanted to make sure I’m okay.” Buffy scratches the puppy’s head gently.

Tara watches as Buffy pets Phoenix. As Phoenix looks at her, she smiles at the puppy before walking completely into the living room. “Here, Phoenix.” Tara kneels besides the couch, handing Phoenix a piece of Beggin’ Strips that the dog loves before gently wiping the slayer’s face clean. Placing the damp cloth aside, Tara reaches for the juice. Placing the straw in the slayer’s mouth, she smiles as Buffy quickly drinks the juice.

“Thank you.” Buffy whispers, finally opening her eyes searching the witch’s worried eyes. “I’ll be okay, honest.”

“Did you damage anything else with the broken ribs?” Tara questions softly. “You didn’t puncture a lung or anything else, did you?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I didn’t. I’m not having any other pain from that area, except for the ribs themselves.” Buffy admits, as she raises her other hand to wipe it across her eyes.

“Are you hurt elsewhere, besides the shiner you have?” Tara smiles crookedly at the slayer, finally allowing herself to relax a tiny bit.

“No, not really.” Buffy sighs quietly, her eyes closing.

“Here’s an ice pack for her face.” Anya hands it to Tara, smiling gently at the witch. “How long will it take for the pain pills kick in?”

“Soon, hopefully.” Buffy whimpers as she shifts slightly on the couch.

“Try and stay still.” Tara admonishes quietly as she gently lays the ice pack on Buffy’s cheek, looking up at Anya. Reaching up, Tara grasps the ex-demon’s hand, squeezing gently.

“Would you be more comfortable upstairs?” Anya frowns looking at the slayer lying on the couch.

“Probably.” Buffy admits, slowly opening her pain filled eyes. “I just don’t think I can make it up the stairs.”

“We could carry you.” Anya suggests looking from Buffy to Tara. “Couldn’t we do one of those chair with our arms, carrying her up the stairs. She’s going to need to get up there anyway, if she needs to use the bathroom.”

“We could. She doesn’t weigh anything.” Tara turns to Buffy, watching her intently. “Even with carrying you, your ribs are going to probably get jostled. Want to go now, wait for the pills to kick in, or wait until you have to go up the stairs?”

Buffy frowns as she thinks for a moment. “I don’t want to make you two carry me. I’ll probably be able to make it up the stairs later.”

“Buffy!” Tara growls the slayer’s name. “We can carry you, that’s not a big deal. So, do you want to wait for the pills to kick in, or go now, that way you can rest comfortably in your own bed?”

Anya bites back a laugh as the two women stare each other down. “Forget it! Your choices just disappeared. Tara, try and shift around the other side of Buffy.” Anya gently pulls the ice packs away from the snarling slayer, setting them on the coffee table. Waiting for Tara to ease her leg on Buffy’s other side. Both women gently ease an arm around the slayer’s back and the other under her legs. “Ready?” Anya questions softly, over Buffy’s protestations.

“One, two, three.” Both women gently lift the slayer as Anya and Tara shift slowly from the couch. “Sorry, sweetie.” Tara murmurs as she hears Buffy grunt in pain as she’s shifted.

“It’s okay.” Buffy whimpers, wrapping her arms around the two women’s backs as they carefully carry her up the stairs.

“Do you need to use the bathroom now, before we take you to your room?” Tara questions as they reach the top of the stairs.

“Uhh.” Buffy blushes deeply.

“Bathroom.” Anya states calmly as the three women slowly work their way into the bathroom. “Can you do this on your own, or do you need help?”

“I’ll figure it out on my own.” Buffy grumbles, frowning.

Tara sighs as she and Anya gently set the slayer on her feet. Not giving the slayer a chance, Tara nods to Anya before sliding her hands down to quickly unbutton and unzip the slayer’s paints. “I’m closing my eyes, to help protect your sensibilities. Anya, can you do the same?”

“Of course.” Anya smiles at Tara before closing her eyes, while holding onto Buffy.

Buffy blushes even more as Tara closes her eyes, as she gently eases her pants and panties down, before standing, helping Buffy to sit on the toilet.

“We’ll go outside to give you some privacy.” Anya reaches ahead, grasping Tara’s hand as the two slowly make their way out of the bathroom, with minimal banging into things.

Buffy sighs quietly after the two women leave, shutting the door behind them. “This is absolutely embarrassing.” Buffy grumbles before relaxing enough to use the bathroom, sighing in relief. Quickly finishing, Buffy flushes the toilet before trying to stand, crying out in pain as she twists her body, making her ribs grate.

“Buffy! We’re coming in.” Tara yells, hearing Buffy cry out, her and Anya come barreling into the bathroom. “Tried doing it yourself, didn’t you?” Tara states more than questions as she and Anya help Buffy to stand before Tara quickly pulls Buffy’s pants and panties up, leaving the pants undone, figuring she’d probably end up taking them off anyway. “Bedroom.” Tara nods towards Anya as they lift Buffy, quickly carrying her to the bedroom carefully maneuvering to yank the covers down before lying Buffy down gently.

“Do you want to bother with sleepwear, or just sleep in your underwear?” Anya questions as she pulls off the slayer’s socks, her hands quickly shifting up to slide her pants down over her legs.

Tara sighs quietly at Buffy looks away, blushing in embarrassment. “Buffy, there’s no need to be embarrassed.” Tara eases the slayer’s shirt off. “Do you want a nightshirt?”

“Please.” Buffy states shortly, clenching her teeth tightly as the two women gently take her clothes off, trying to ignore the soft hands accidentally brushing against her body.

“There, all situated for the night.” Anya states calmly as she pulls the covers gently over the slayer.

“Thank you.” Buffy keeps her head turned to the side until the two women silently leave her room.

“Come on, Phoenix. Let’s go downstairs.” Tara murmurs softly to the dog. “If you need anything, yell.” Tara sighs softly as she leaves the room, following Anya down the stairs.

Tara walks straight to the kitchen, opening the back door for Phoenix to go out before stepping out on the steps, sitting down staring up at the dark sky.

Anya slowly follows Tara, grabbing the holy water and cross that Tara had given a cursory glance to before continuing to go outside. “She’ll kick your ass for this when she gets better.”

“Can’t kick my ass for something she doesn’t know.” Tara whispers watching the stars twinkle up in the sky. “She can’t even stand for us to help her, or see her unclothed, Anya.”

“No, she can’t stand the thought of needing help, Tara.” Anya explains. “She’s stubborn and pigheaded and doesn’t like accepting help. You know that even better than I do.” Anya finally sits down behind Tara, placing her legs gingerly on either side of the witch, before wrapping her arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. “Tell me honestly, wouldn’t you be embarrassed if you were hurting and needed help like she did?”

Tara thinks for a minute, wanting to deny that she’d be embarrassed before groaning and dropping her chin on her chest. “Don’t make sense, Anya. I want to be upset and you’re trying to make me see reason.”

Anya chuckles softly, squeezing Tara gently. “She’ll be better in a couple days.”

“Yeah, but that bastard is still out there, Anya.” Tara sighs quietly, reaching down to pet Phoenix after she butts her hand.

“Hopefully Jonathan turned him in, like Buffy told him to.” Anya places a soft kiss on the witch’s neck. “Come on, let’s go inside. That way if Buffy yells, we’ll hear her.”

“Okay.” Tara sighs, allowing a small smile to cross her face as the two women stand, walking into the house. Stopping at the refrigerator, Tara pulls out another juice for Buffy before turning the kettle on.

“Take that up to her, I’ll fix you another mug of tea. Any special requests?” Anya questions as she grasps Tara’s mug before reaching up for the tea bags.

“Whatever you make is fine.” Tara watches Anya for a moment as the woman sets down the tea bags, turning to look at her. “Thank you.” Tara whispers, wrapping the woman up in a tight hug, kissing her softly on the neck.

“You’re welcome.” Anya hugs Tara back, chuckling softly. “I love you, and as soon as Buffy’s aware enough, we’re having a discussion.”

“We’ll see.” Tara rubs her cheek over Anya’s shoulder, enjoying the hug before pulling back slightly, placing a soft kiss on her lips. Groaning quietly as Anya gently deepens the kiss, softly stroking their tongues against one another before bringing the kiss to a soft series of light presses. “Goddess, I love you.” Tara whispers tilting her head against Anya’s.

“Go check on the disgruntled slayer.” Anya brushes her hand down Tara’s neck, smiling as Tara closes her eyes.

“Okay.” Tara sighs smiling softly before grabbing the juice and slowly heading towards Buffy’s room. Chuckling as she sees Phoenix curled up on the end of Buffy’s bed.

Buffy glances towards the door as Tara comes in with some juice. Watching her silently as she sets it down on the nightstand within reach before slowly backing out of the room.

“Let me know if she bothers you and I’ll make her come out.” Tara offers quietly before turning and heading down the hallway to go downstairs.

Buffy sighs silently as she slowly reaches for the juice, shifting the straw so it bends at the proper angle so she can slowly sip it with minimal fuss and movement. As she starts to feel a little woozy, the pain pills finally kicking in, Buffy sets the juice down, pulling the covers more firmly around her neck as she smiles at the warmth of Phoenix lying at her feet. “I’m crazy, aren’t I, Phoenix? They’re just being helpful, nothing more, right?” Buffy chuckles as Phoenix slowly works her way up the bed to lay down gently beside her. Rubbing her hand over the dogs head, Buffy sighs quietly. “What do you think, Phoenix? Is there something there with those two? Or is Tara just being her usual caring self and Anya being helpful?” Carefully shifting her body to try and get a little more comfortable, Buffy allows the pain pills to finally do their job, slowly falling out of consciousness.

***************

Anya smiles as she sets the tea down beside Tara. “How’s grumpy?”

Tara shrugs as she picks up her tea. “She didn’t say anything. Phoenix is lying on the bed with her. I figure the pain pills should be kicking in anytime, so she’ll probably be snoozing before long.” Tara blows gently over the cup before sipping the tea.

“What are you wanting to do tonight? Because we need to do something to get your mind off grumpy butt upstairs.” Anya sits down beside Tara, patting her gently on the leg.

“Got anything in mind?” Tara questions, quirking her lip at the shopkeeper.

“I know one thing that keeps your brain from working too hard.” Anya wiggles her eyebrows at the witch, before chuckling.

“Got that right.” Tara admits, laughing quietly as she sets down her tea, tilting her head against Anya’s shoulder. “You definitely have a tendency to make me forget anything and everything but what you’re doing to me.”

“When I put my mind to it. Sometimes I don’t want you to be that out of it.” Anya admits. “I kind of like having you still comprehensive. I kind of really like the wicked things you do back.” Anya admits, kissing the top of Tara’s head as she gently eases her arm around the witch, hugging her gently.

“I love you, sweetie.” Tara murmurs as she closes her eyes taking a deep cleansing breath.

“I love you, too.” Anya smiles. “Do you think if we went upstairs you might be able to rest?”

“I might be able to crash just from the emotional turmoil.” Tara admits quietly.

“Finish your tea, then we’ll go upstairs and see if you can’t get some sleep.” Anya offers softly.

“Just sleep?” Tara questions seriously.

“If that’s all you want, which I figure you‘re confused and upset enough, without throwing us into the mix tonight.” Anya presses her lips to Tara’s cheek after the witch shifts.

“Thanks, honey.” Tara sighs as she grasps the mug, sipping the tea as she quietly watches Anya turn everything off but the light by the end of the couch before checking the door and heading into the kitchen to check the back door. Finishing the tea, Tara turns off the light at the end of the couch before taking her mug into the kitchen, placing the mug in the sink as she hugs Anya after she locks the back door.

Anya hugs Tara back gently. “Let’s get you upstairs and ready for bed.” Anya whispers into Tara’s ear before releasing the witch, clasping her hand in hers as they make their way upstairs to Tara’s bedroom.

“I’m going to look in on Buffy before coming to bed.” Tara offers quietly as she stops outside the slayer’s room.

“See you in a few minutes.” Anya watches as Tara gently pushes the door the rest of the way open, walking into the slayer’s room. Silently Anya goes to the bathroom, doing her nightly ritual before walking to the bedroom.

********

Tara sighs quietly as she looks at Phoenix glance up at her from where she’s lying against the sleeping slayer’s side. “You probably aren’t supposed to be up there, but I’m not going to argue.” Tara softly tells the puppy before looking at an obviously sleeping slayer. Reaching down, Tara brushes the hair from the slayer’s forehead, looking at her worriedly. Placing the pain pills beside the half bottle of juice, in case Buffy wakes up needing them, Tara turns her gaze back on her. Watching her for a few minutes, Tara finally brushes the back of her fingers against the slayer’s cheek before turning and leaving the slayer’s room, walking down to her bedroom, smiling as she watches Anya slowly strip her clothes off before pulling on a silky negligee. Smiling at the ex-demon’s predilection for the sexy sleepwear, Tara gently shuts the door.

“She okay?” Anya questions as she folds down the bed, climbing in between the sheets, propping her head up on her hand as she watches Tara change.

Tara slides her shorts on before unhooking her bra, pulling it off to toss in the hamper as she digs around for one of her tank tops to pull on.

Anya bites her lip as Tara’s breasts sway gently as she leans over the dresser drawer. Turning her gaze to Tara’s butt, she rolls her eyes. “Like that’s any help.” Anya grumbles as she plops down on her back, looking up at the ceiling.

“What was that, honey?” Tara questions as she slides the drawer shut, pulling the tank top on as she walks to the bed, turning the light off before climbing in beside Anya.

“Just made the mistake of watching you change.” Anya grins at Tara, her eyes twinkling.

“Hmmm. Liked what you saw?” Tara turns on her side to look at Anya.

“Always.” Anya admits quietly, reaching up to tuck some loose hair behind Tara’s ear. “I never realized the absolutely sexy, gorgeous, voluptuous, kick ass body you were hiding all these years.” Anya grins as Tara blushes, looking down. “I can talk about doing all kinds of nasty wicked things with you and it doesn’t make you look twice, I say that and you blush. You are one strange woman, Tara Maclay.”

“Not just say, but do.” Tara chuckles as she eases her body in against Anya’s, wrapping her arm around her waist as she tucks her head in against her shoulder. “And yes, I know I’m strange.” Tara grumbles before sighing gently as Anya wraps her arms around her hugging her against her side.

“Go to sleep, Tara.” Anya whispers kissing Tara on the head.

“I love you, Anya.” Tara whispers as she shifts her body around, burying her face in Anya’s neck before kissing the skin within reach.

“I love you, too.” Anya smiles, squeezing the witch gently as she finally feels Tara starting to relax.

*****************