DISCLAIMER: Do I have to? OK. Don't own anything but maybe a plot idea or two and a couple of characters. Other than that, all hail Joss.
SPOILERS: None really. This is an AU fic which picks up shortly before season four
starts. From that point on, it's all me.
Chapter 1
"Dawn! Buffy!" Joyce Summers yelled from the foot of the stairs. "Your father will be here to pick you up in thirty minutes!"
"Coming, Mom!" With that, fourteen-year-old Dawn Summers bounced down the stairs.
"Where's Buffy?" Dawn shrugged. Buffy had met her friends at the Bronze the night before after which she was supposed to patrol. Dawn hadn't heard her come in and apparently neither had Joyce.
"I would have figured she would already be down here ready to go. She seemed pretty excited to go yesterday."
Joyce walked up the stairs to check Buffy's room. It was empty and obviously had been all night. Joyce started calling each of Buffy's friends. All of them saw her at the Bronze last night but had no idea where she was now. The last call she made was to Buffy's Watcher. Giles asked her to give him an hour and then call back. He had a phone call or two to make.
"Justin, I need to find Angel. Buffy's missing and no one seems to have any idea where she might be."
"I'll go talk to him and have him call you. Keep the line clear for a while."
Twenty minutes later, Justin Fitzpatrick walked into Angel's room. "Angel?"
"What is it, Justin? Council want to make sure that I'm still here?"
"No. Giles just called. He needs your help in Sunnydale. Buffy's missing and--" Justin never got to finish the sentence. A hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him off the ground. His back made contact with the wall.
"I know you didn't just say that Buffy's missing."
"I swear. Giles called me and I came straight to you." Justin had never seen Angel in his game face before. "You can use my cell phone to call him. It's in my shirt pocket."
Angel fished out the phone and called Giles. Giles verified the explanation. He asked Angel to get back quickly. "Be there later tonight." After he apologized to Justin, he got ready so that once the sun set he could be on the road in ten minutes.
Back in Sunnydale, no one had thought to check the mansion. They all thought she had too many bad memories of that place to be there. But, the night she disappeared, Buffy had followed a particularly nasty demon to the mansion where she fought it. It slashed her open in several places. Thankfully only one was deep enough to actually bleed.
When she killed the demon, it fell on her, breaking both legs. Buffy passed out from the pain and exhaustion. She woke up about six hours later to a great deal of pain. She also discovered that she was still bleeding and trapped under the demon. She tried to get free but it only made her bleed more. She finally relaxed a little and somehow fell asleep, weakened by blood loss and pain.
Buffy had been missing for almost 24 hours when Angel got back to town. He started by talking to Giles. Then, he headed for the mansion. Something told him that Buffy would be there. When he opened the front door, the smell of blood that hit him made his head swim. There was a great hulking body laying in one corner of the front room.
Suddenly, he heard a moan come from that very corner. He ran toward the body and drew up short when he saw the blond hair laying in a puddle of blood.
With a roar, Angel threw the demon off his beloved Slayer. He took in her apparent condition at a glance. He ran to the bedroom and grabbed the sheet off the bed. Wrapping Buffy in the sheet, he sprinted out the door.
Giles was awakened to a heavy pounding on his door at 3 in the morning. When he opened the front door, he went from being half asleep to wide awake. He grabbed his phone and called the hospital, telling them to call Dr. Rachel Carrington and tell her that Rupert Giles was bringing in Buffy Summers. Then he ran for his car where Angel sat holding Buffy as tight as he could without hurting her.
Angel walked into exam room 1 at Sunnydale Hospital. Dr. Carrington was waiting for them when they got there. "What kind of demon was it?"
"I don't know." Angel described the demon and both Rachel and Giles knew what demon Buffy had fought.
"Torlonin. They have a poison and an anti-coagulant on their claws. The anti-toxin should be in the kit the council sent with me."
When the doctor brought in the kit, she looked up the demon type on her laptop and administered the right dosage of anti-toxin and clotting agent.
About this time, Buffy started to come around. She saw the doctor setting up an IV to give her blood. She could tell that she was already starting to heal.
"Doctor, she's waking up." Giles? Giles was here? "Buffy? You're going to be alright. Doctor Carrington is specially trained by the council. She has already given you the anti-toxin. She's getting ready to set your legs. They're both broken." She felt a strong hand take hold of hers while another one brushed the hair from her forehead.
Turning her head, her glazed green eyes met a concerned pair of warm brown ones that she had believed she would never see again. "Angel?"
"Rest. I'm here and I'm not leaving you."
"Angel, stay with her. I'm going to go call her mother." Angel just nodded.
"I'm ready to set her legs."
"Are you ready, love?" Buffy just nodded, keeping her eyes locked on Angel's. The doctor set the first leg and Buffy bit her lip, drawing blood. Tears welled up in her eyes. She squeezed Angel's hand and he felt the bones snap and crack under the pressure. The doctor cast the leg quickly and moved to the other leg following the same procedure.
"Angel!" Buffy cried as the doctor set her second leg.
"Hang on, sweetheart. She's almost done." Angel kept his eyes on Buffy's face the whole time. He wanted to pick her up and carry her out of there but he knew that she needed medical attention.
"Angel, it hurts. Make it stop!" she whimpered, wrapping one arm around her stomach.
"Buffy! Buffy! Tell me what's wrong!" He pulled her into his arms and brushed the hair out of her face. Panicked, he looked at Rachel. "What's wrong with her?"
"It looks like an allergic reaction. But I don't know what's causing it. If it's the clotting agent, antitoxin or the toxin itself."
Giles walked back into the room. "Maybe it's a combination of things. Why don't you check the database?"
Rachel turned back to her laptop. After a few moments, she found what she was looking for. "Mr. Giles?"
Giles stepped over to look at the screen. This was not good. The toxin and the clotting agent caused a violent reaction when mixed. Unfortunately, the only way out was to let the reaction run its course. That could take up to 24 hours.
"What's wrong with her, Giles?"
Giles pulled off his glasses and started wiping them. "Angel, it looks like this is a reaction between the clotting agent and the toxin. I'm afraid all we can do is let it run its course."
"How long will that take?"
"It could take as long as 24 hours. It will be very painful for her. She will even have convulsions."
"Can I stay?" Giles nodded and wiped off his forehead. They were all in for a long night.
"That might even be for the best. She may need to be restrained at times to prevent her from hurting herself further. I don't think the straps that the hospital has will be enough to hold her down." He gazed straight into Angel's eyes, knowing he was asking a lot of the vampire. "You may be the only one who can hold her down."
"I'll do my best."
Just then, Joyce burst through the door to the room. "Where's Buffy? What demon got to her this time? And why is HE back?"
"Mommy." Joyce ran to the other side of the bed and took her daughter's hand. "Don't be mean to Angel. He brought me here. He saved me."
"I'll try, baby. Let's just get you better." Buffy nodded and lay back on the bed. Joyce stepped over to Giles. "Now, tell me what's going on."
"Joyce, apparently last night Buffy had an encounter with a Torlonin demon. They have a poison on their claws as well as an anticoagulant. Buffy was pretty badly slashed in one place and mildly in a few others. The doctor made a mistake and administered the antitoxin and the clotting agent at the same time. The clotting agent reacts rather violently with the poison. Both of her legs were broken in the battle but that seems to be the least of her injuries. It looks like she'll have to stay here about 24 hours. There's no way around that. This reaction is violent enough to cause convulsions. That's one of the main reasons you should be grateful that Angel is here. The hospital doesn't have straps strong enough to hold her when she convulses. Angel will have to hold her down. And that won't be easy for him to do. Look at him. Does he look like he wants to hurt Buffy? It will hurt him to restrain her more than she could hurt herself if he doesn't." Joyce was now looking at Angel in a whole new light as he murmured soothingly to her oldest daughter.
Suddenly, a look came across Angel's face and he stood up. "Joyce, Giles, you might want to stay back." He placed one arm across Buffy's thighs and one across her chest. As the convulsion started, he simply put just enough pressure on his arms to hold Buffy on the bed without hurting her.
His tears started falling as he talked soothingly to her. "That's right, Buffy. Don't fight me. It's ok. I'm here. Don't fight." As the convulsion faded away, he eased up on the pressure while continuing to croon to her. "That's my girl. That's right. Relax. That one's all over. Take it easy, sweetheart."
Angel looked at Joyce and she wanted to cry when she saw the pain in his eyes. She turned to Giles. "I can't help but feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn't pushed for him to leave, she would have had someone to back her up out there that night. She wouldn't be lying here so weak."
"Joyce, this isn't your fault." Angel had stepped up behind her. "Even if I had been here, there's no guarantee that she would have even asked me to come along on patrol. If I had, she still may have ended up here. Just would have gotten here a little sooner. That's all."
"Angel, I'm sorry. Please don't leave her. I realize that you could be the one that keeps her alive. Help me to take care of her."
"I will, Joyce. I love her too."
With the truce laying between them, they settled in to wait.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////
A/N: I know, here comes another one. As if I didn't have enough fanfics started that I haven't worked on in a while. Oh well, deal with it. I'm trying to update the others that need it. Just hang in there. I had to get this one out because the muses kept kicking me in the butt.
Please to r&r this one and the others. Thanks.
SPOILERS: None really. This is an AU fic which picks up shortly before season four
starts. From that point on, it's all me.
Chapter 1
"Dawn! Buffy!" Joyce Summers yelled from the foot of the stairs. "Your father will be here to pick you up in thirty minutes!"
"Coming, Mom!" With that, fourteen-year-old Dawn Summers bounced down the stairs.
"Where's Buffy?" Dawn shrugged. Buffy had met her friends at the Bronze the night before after which she was supposed to patrol. Dawn hadn't heard her come in and apparently neither had Joyce.
"I would have figured she would already be down here ready to go. She seemed pretty excited to go yesterday."
Joyce walked up the stairs to check Buffy's room. It was empty and obviously had been all night. Joyce started calling each of Buffy's friends. All of them saw her at the Bronze last night but had no idea where she was now. The last call she made was to Buffy's Watcher. Giles asked her to give him an hour and then call back. He had a phone call or two to make.
"Justin, I need to find Angel. Buffy's missing and no one seems to have any idea where she might be."
"I'll go talk to him and have him call you. Keep the line clear for a while."
Twenty minutes later, Justin Fitzpatrick walked into Angel's room. "Angel?"
"What is it, Justin? Council want to make sure that I'm still here?"
"No. Giles just called. He needs your help in Sunnydale. Buffy's missing and--" Justin never got to finish the sentence. A hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him off the ground. His back made contact with the wall.
"I know you didn't just say that Buffy's missing."
"I swear. Giles called me and I came straight to you." Justin had never seen Angel in his game face before. "You can use my cell phone to call him. It's in my shirt pocket."
Angel fished out the phone and called Giles. Giles verified the explanation. He asked Angel to get back quickly. "Be there later tonight." After he apologized to Justin, he got ready so that once the sun set he could be on the road in ten minutes.
Back in Sunnydale, no one had thought to check the mansion. They all thought she had too many bad memories of that place to be there. But, the night she disappeared, Buffy had followed a particularly nasty demon to the mansion where she fought it. It slashed her open in several places. Thankfully only one was deep enough to actually bleed.
When she killed the demon, it fell on her, breaking both legs. Buffy passed out from the pain and exhaustion. She woke up about six hours later to a great deal of pain. She also discovered that she was still bleeding and trapped under the demon. She tried to get free but it only made her bleed more. She finally relaxed a little and somehow fell asleep, weakened by blood loss and pain.
Buffy had been missing for almost 24 hours when Angel got back to town. He started by talking to Giles. Then, he headed for the mansion. Something told him that Buffy would be there. When he opened the front door, the smell of blood that hit him made his head swim. There was a great hulking body laying in one corner of the front room.
Suddenly, he heard a moan come from that very corner. He ran toward the body and drew up short when he saw the blond hair laying in a puddle of blood.
With a roar, Angel threw the demon off his beloved Slayer. He took in her apparent condition at a glance. He ran to the bedroom and grabbed the sheet off the bed. Wrapping Buffy in the sheet, he sprinted out the door.
Giles was awakened to a heavy pounding on his door at 3 in the morning. When he opened the front door, he went from being half asleep to wide awake. He grabbed his phone and called the hospital, telling them to call Dr. Rachel Carrington and tell her that Rupert Giles was bringing in Buffy Summers. Then he ran for his car where Angel sat holding Buffy as tight as he could without hurting her.
Angel walked into exam room 1 at Sunnydale Hospital. Dr. Carrington was waiting for them when they got there. "What kind of demon was it?"
"I don't know." Angel described the demon and both Rachel and Giles knew what demon Buffy had fought.
"Torlonin. They have a poison and an anti-coagulant on their claws. The anti-toxin should be in the kit the council sent with me."
When the doctor brought in the kit, she looked up the demon type on her laptop and administered the right dosage of anti-toxin and clotting agent.
About this time, Buffy started to come around. She saw the doctor setting up an IV to give her blood. She could tell that she was already starting to heal.
"Doctor, she's waking up." Giles? Giles was here? "Buffy? You're going to be alright. Doctor Carrington is specially trained by the council. She has already given you the anti-toxin. She's getting ready to set your legs. They're both broken." She felt a strong hand take hold of hers while another one brushed the hair from her forehead.
Turning her head, her glazed green eyes met a concerned pair of warm brown ones that she had believed she would never see again. "Angel?"
"Rest. I'm here and I'm not leaving you."
"Angel, stay with her. I'm going to go call her mother." Angel just nodded.
"I'm ready to set her legs."
"Are you ready, love?" Buffy just nodded, keeping her eyes locked on Angel's. The doctor set the first leg and Buffy bit her lip, drawing blood. Tears welled up in her eyes. She squeezed Angel's hand and he felt the bones snap and crack under the pressure. The doctor cast the leg quickly and moved to the other leg following the same procedure.
"Angel!" Buffy cried as the doctor set her second leg.
"Hang on, sweetheart. She's almost done." Angel kept his eyes on Buffy's face the whole time. He wanted to pick her up and carry her out of there but he knew that she needed medical attention.
"Angel, it hurts. Make it stop!" she whimpered, wrapping one arm around her stomach.
"Buffy! Buffy! Tell me what's wrong!" He pulled her into his arms and brushed the hair out of her face. Panicked, he looked at Rachel. "What's wrong with her?"
"It looks like an allergic reaction. But I don't know what's causing it. If it's the clotting agent, antitoxin or the toxin itself."
Giles walked back into the room. "Maybe it's a combination of things. Why don't you check the database?"
Rachel turned back to her laptop. After a few moments, she found what she was looking for. "Mr. Giles?"
Giles stepped over to look at the screen. This was not good. The toxin and the clotting agent caused a violent reaction when mixed. Unfortunately, the only way out was to let the reaction run its course. That could take up to 24 hours.
"What's wrong with her, Giles?"
Giles pulled off his glasses and started wiping them. "Angel, it looks like this is a reaction between the clotting agent and the toxin. I'm afraid all we can do is let it run its course."
"How long will that take?"
"It could take as long as 24 hours. It will be very painful for her. She will even have convulsions."
"Can I stay?" Giles nodded and wiped off his forehead. They were all in for a long night.
"That might even be for the best. She may need to be restrained at times to prevent her from hurting herself further. I don't think the straps that the hospital has will be enough to hold her down." He gazed straight into Angel's eyes, knowing he was asking a lot of the vampire. "You may be the only one who can hold her down."
"I'll do my best."
Just then, Joyce burst through the door to the room. "Where's Buffy? What demon got to her this time? And why is HE back?"
"Mommy." Joyce ran to the other side of the bed and took her daughter's hand. "Don't be mean to Angel. He brought me here. He saved me."
"I'll try, baby. Let's just get you better." Buffy nodded and lay back on the bed. Joyce stepped over to Giles. "Now, tell me what's going on."
"Joyce, apparently last night Buffy had an encounter with a Torlonin demon. They have a poison on their claws as well as an anticoagulant. Buffy was pretty badly slashed in one place and mildly in a few others. The doctor made a mistake and administered the antitoxin and the clotting agent at the same time. The clotting agent reacts rather violently with the poison. Both of her legs were broken in the battle but that seems to be the least of her injuries. It looks like she'll have to stay here about 24 hours. There's no way around that. This reaction is violent enough to cause convulsions. That's one of the main reasons you should be grateful that Angel is here. The hospital doesn't have straps strong enough to hold her when she convulses. Angel will have to hold her down. And that won't be easy for him to do. Look at him. Does he look like he wants to hurt Buffy? It will hurt him to restrain her more than she could hurt herself if he doesn't." Joyce was now looking at Angel in a whole new light as he murmured soothingly to her oldest daughter.
Suddenly, a look came across Angel's face and he stood up. "Joyce, Giles, you might want to stay back." He placed one arm across Buffy's thighs and one across her chest. As the convulsion started, he simply put just enough pressure on his arms to hold Buffy on the bed without hurting her.
His tears started falling as he talked soothingly to her. "That's right, Buffy. Don't fight me. It's ok. I'm here. Don't fight." As the convulsion faded away, he eased up on the pressure while continuing to croon to her. "That's my girl. That's right. Relax. That one's all over. Take it easy, sweetheart."
Angel looked at Joyce and she wanted to cry when she saw the pain in his eyes. She turned to Giles. "I can't help but feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn't pushed for him to leave, she would have had someone to back her up out there that night. She wouldn't be lying here so weak."
"Joyce, this isn't your fault." Angel had stepped up behind her. "Even if I had been here, there's no guarantee that she would have even asked me to come along on patrol. If I had, she still may have ended up here. Just would have gotten here a little sooner. That's all."
"Angel, I'm sorry. Please don't leave her. I realize that you could be the one that keeps her alive. Help me to take care of her."
"I will, Joyce. I love her too."
With the truce laying between them, they settled in to wait.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////
A/N: I know, here comes another one. As if I didn't have enough fanfics started that I haven't worked on in a while. Oh well, deal with it. I'm trying to update the others that need it. Just hang in there. I had to get this one out because the muses kept kicking me in the butt.
Please to r&r this one and the others. Thanks.