by Wil & Nina
Requium in Wrapping
Buffy choked on her scream and flung her head to the side to wretch off the edge of the bed. She gasped for breath, steam rising from her skin, her entire inner body feeling raw and burned before she collapsed onto her back. Her chest heaved as she gasped for air.
"Lord, in heaven..." Wesley gasped looking almost frantically at Giles, "What happened?"
"It didn't work," Riley said. "It looked a heck of a lot worse than what happened to me."
"I should have known," Angel said quietly, stepping back and closing his eyes take in the severity of the situation. "We almost killed her."
"What should you have known, Angel? What could you have-" Giles began, only to be cut off.
"It's been two years, Rupert. Two years to work it's way into her system."
Giles considered this, then replied, "But she seemed quite well. No vision problems, no-oh. Oh well that certainly does explain a few things."
Both Wesley and Riley stood in silence, the plea of an explanation plane on their faces. Riley finally spoke up, "Mr. Giles, I don't understand."
***
I don't see her. Let's have sex." Anya stated, leaning heavily against a tree.
"We haven't even gotten out of the park yet. This, being as small a town as Sunnydale is, is a lot of ground to cover, looking for one vampire. Besides, I have a headache."
"You do not."
"Do to." Xander shot back childishly.
"Do not."
"Do too infinity, and tomorrow I'm washing my hair. Look Anya, now is not the time. Can you just do me a favour and not think about us having sex? Just think about-ANYTHING else for a while, Ok?"
"I suppose I can manage that," Anya answered, getting up from the tree to trail behind Xander, through the cemetery.
"Good." He seemed content that Anya would be off the talking sex kick for five seconds.
"Xander?"
"Yes?"
"Guess what I'm thinking about now."
"Not a clue."
"Other people having sex."
***
Willow and Tara sat on the steps of Stevenson Hall, having covering most of the Sunnydale Campus. It was a huge campus, and Harmony could have been hiding anywhere. Willow sat with her chin pillowed on her hands.
"We checked everywhere. I wonder it the others are having any luck?"
Tara leaned back on her hands and sighed, "Probably. I mean we've got everything covered, right? I mean, do vampire's actually reside anywhere?"
Willow frowned, "Hey wait, Spike said something about he and Harmony having a lair around here... I wonder if she's-"
"Dust," Spike finished. "We found her at the Bronze."
"No kidding. How am I going to explain this dusty-yuck to my drycleaner?" Cordelia added as the two of them stepped into view.
"Does you drycleaner speak English?" Spike shot back with an evil snort.
Cordelia just glared, then focussed her attention to Willow and Tara. "Anyway, the job's done... except for Faith; but I refuse to kill a human being, and we all know the cockney here, can't."
"Advertise it to the world, please!" Spike snapped defensively. "I don't think Bangladesh heard you."
"No, but I did, and that's what really, truly counts," Xander remarked, as he and Anya emerged from the line of trees. "And as for Faith, we'll huddle at Giles to wonder about it. If Faith doesn't want to be seen, she's not."
***
"So, what you're saying is that because Buffy's the Slayer, the disease's effect on her has a retarded effect?" Riley reasoned, after hearing Angel and Giles explain the situation to him.
"Precisely."
"But she'll still die from it?" There was a dreaded hope that Riley was wrong in his question.
"Probably not," Wesley commented from where he'd place a cool compress on Buffy's forehead. "She IS the Slayer which stands to reason that she will most likely die in the line of duty before the severe effects of the disease ever come to bloom."
"You say that as if it were a good thing," Giles remarked.
"Considering the alternate? It is," Angel finished.
"Is what?" Willow asked, as she and others made their way into the room. "Oh, is Buffy asleep?"
"Awake, just sore," Buffy rasped, her throat still raw from the 'treatment'. "It's nothing to worry about, Will. Update status?"
"Harmony's taken care of. The question is what do we do about Faith and Drusilla?" Xander answered.
"I'll track Faith and see if I can cure her," Angel said.
"I'm leaving for Brazil tomorrow night," Spike added.
"Ok, then that takes care of the threats, how about the humans?" Buffy inquired, trying to push back another dooming aspect of her short life.
"I can access Sunnydale's water supply through military connections. With Mr. Giles' and Mr. Price's help, we'll get it blessed."
"Glad I'll be out of town. Sounds like one bloody shower and I'm a pile of steaming ash."
"You say that like it'd be a BAD thing, Spike," Buffy retorted.
"Sounds like everything's wrapped up all nice and tight. Just like one of those delightful sitcoms!" Xander zinged.
Buffy looked down, "Yeah, everything solved. Everyone happy."
Riley's brow furrowed, and he kissed Buffy on the cheek before heading down stairs. He knew she needed some time to herself, so he took it upon himself to clear the room. "Celebration downstairs. Who's coming?"
Spike watched the Slayer with scrutiny. The army-boy's reaction sent bells ringing in his head, but other didn't seem to take much notice, aside from Wesley, and followed him down the steps. Only Angel, Giles, and himself still stood in the room.
"Spike, go with the others," Angel said.
"It didn't work, did it?" Spike said from where he stood.
"No, it didn't," Giles confirmed. "Please, Spike, go join the others."
"Right. Sorry to hear it, Slayer, guess I won't have the chance to ever do it myself." With that, Spike turned and headed for the main room of Giles condominium. Giles followed a few paces behind him, to be sure he didn't say anything to the others.
Angel sat on the edge of the bed, but didn't have the courage to look at Buffy. She faced insanity and death, because of him, "Buffy I-"
"I know, Angel. You didn't know," she said, touching his shoulder. "We didn't know."
Finally Angel looked up at her, "If I could cure you, I would."
Buffy tried to smile but it wavered. She knew Angel would give up everything for her, but he couldn't. It was the way things were. She was the Slayer, and if that didn't kill her, the Powers That Be were going to be sure she died at a young age of something.
Finally, Angel looked at her and the fear in her eyes. He pulled Buffy close and held her tight until she fell asleep in his arms.
-The End-