Bonnie wakes up / Spike cares for Buffy and discovers something new / Elena gets served / Damon has work to do

In her bedroom, Bonnie woke up with a sore feeling down the side of her face. She rolled over groggily and saw Elena sitting by her side. Elena snapped closed her book and set it down when Bonnie moved. She shifted and offered her friend a damp towel, "How you feeling?"

Bonnie took it and touched it gently to her swollen jaw. "Not so great."

Elena leaned back, "There's someone who's feeling worse right now." After a sharp look from Bonnie, Elena crossed her arms. "Don't you dare play the righteous card. You were wrong."

"You almost killed her. Jeremy told me that you guys thought I was dead, but you couldn't be bothered to ask, you had to jump to conclusions instead of waiting three seconds because you think she's...I don't even know what you think she is! I even said I would help you figure out if she was for real. But that was when we were on the 'research who she is' phase, not the 'crazy killing spree' phase. Whatever you've got against Buffy, I need you to bench it because she's going to be unconscious for at least a week, and Klaus is coming back tomorrow to get some answers on why Stefan is missing."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it. But she-"

"I don't want to hear it." Elena put up a hand. "I trust her. So leave it alone."

Bonnie silently fumed, then pretended to relent for the moment. She'd bring up Buffy's crater-filled town and risky spells some other time when Elena calmed down. She could count on Elena's eventual need to hear the truth, no matter how painful. "Who was it that died?"

Elena relaxed when Bonnie gave up. "It was Rebecca. She was waiting at the ruins for me and Stefan." When Bonnie asked about it, Elena shared the details of the entire fight.

"That's intense," Bonnie commented.

Elena nodded, "That's an understatement."

Bonnie's analytical mind already sorted through Elena's story. "How did she know that you'd be there? And why wasn't Damon by your side if he really is compelled to protect you?"

"No idea on the first one." Elena took in a deep breath. "But Damon says that compulsion is subject to interpretation. So, he thinks that he must trust Buffy and Spike to defend me when he's not around. Or that she was lying and there's no compulsion. Regardless," she glanced out the window, "he's outside right now."

Bonnie laughed. "That must be hell for him, not knowing."

"He said it didn't make a difference. That he'd protect me nevertheless, and I believe that." Elena laughed along, "But he's very paranoid about it now."

Spike had returned with Buffy to their lodgings and set her in bed. He rummaged in her suitcase for a small bracelet. Willow told him before they left that it had some healing properties. He hadn't thought much of it until now. After he set it on her wrist, he watched her for a few minutes, his anger now stretched into worry.

Buffy had rings of blood circling her closed eyes. Spike pushed an eyelid open and found that it was stuck with the congealed mass.

He ducked into the bathroom and turned on the tap. The water hissed into warmth while he grabbed a fresh towel. Sparing one glance into the mirror, he jumped. Where there had always been an empty room, his reflection stared at him.

Not changing position, he scowled at his double. The scar over his eyebrow cut a deep v-shape. Everything else seemed as he remembered it. He ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it into the spikes he loved in the 70's. Then his eyes danced to the ring on his finger. What else does it do, he wondered. With the barest twitch Spike dismissed his reflection in the mirror, muttering "for nancy boys." He ran the towel under the hot water.

The dampened towel wiped away Buffy's bloody tears, and he managed to pull up an eyelid and frowned at the redness that filled her sclera. He wished this was a stab wound or a broken bone. Then he could do something to help. For this, there was nothing to bandage or set. He growled in frustration. Only thing was to wait and hope.

When Elena left Bonnie's house, Damon stopped pacing in the front yard. "Well?"

Elena didn't react. "Well, what?"

His eyes spared no scorn for her. "Well, did Bonnie say she'd do the spell that would turn off the pesky hell-mouth tonight before Klaus arrives tomorrow looking for vengeance on Stefan and now Rebecca's death?" His manic smile had no joy in it.

"No." Elena kept walking to the car. "She's not in shape for it, and I don't think she'll ever cast it. She didn't say she wouldn't, but it's pretty obvious that she doesn't think Buffy's on our side."

"You didn't even ask her." Damon stated.

Elena drew her hair back over her shoulders. "I didn't."

"You realize how hard you're making my job?" Damon opened the passenger-side door for Elena, then crossed to the other side of the car. It turned easily. "One more visit before going home."

"Piss off," Spike answered the knocking at their door without looking up. He reached for the tv remote, turning up the volume. "Come back next year."

Damon forced the door, bending the frame slightly to gain entrance. "Happy New Year," he noticed Buffy's inert body on the bed, then stepped aside for Elena. She brought in a vase of flowers.

Spike leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at Elena. "Keep them. They'll wilt before she wakes."

Elena's mouth worked, not sure whether to smile sympathetically or frown at the news. "It's that bad?"

"Your friend blew up her brain," Spike stood, his body lumbering to her and setting the flowers unceremoniously on the nightstand. "She's been through worse, but not much." He faced Damon, who dropped a satchel into the room.

"Here's some supplies to get you through a week." Damon explained tersely. "We're not going to come back here while Klaus is in town. I don't want to lead him here, and I don't want him ever knowing that a slayer's anywhere nearby."

"I'll stay out of sight," Spike nodded, keeping his face low. "Now get out of mine."

Damon pulled his eyes to Elena. "Come on," he tried to lead her out.

She refused and pulled away from him, "Why are you so angry? We're trying to help you out."

Spike lit up with anger and came forth to seize Elena's arms. A warning growl kept Damon from attempting to get in between the two. Boring into her eyes, he hissed out, "The way I remember it, we were trying to help you with a hellmouth, and then we were going to stick around to kill a hybrid for you. She killed one of his servants and gave the witch some handy spells for hellmouth destruction. She helped the witch sanctify your home. We killed the hybrid's sister for you. We have been nothing but helpful around here. Your little witch friend better be sealing the gates now, because I'm tempted to open it myself and let this town get what it richly deserves."

Elena didn't breathe, her small frame easily held in place by Spike's grasp. This close, she saw that his eyes weren't brown as she thought, but a shadowed clear blue that told her the same thing that his words did. To stay away. She gasped with relief when he released her. Damon guided the stunned Elena out of the room.

Spike picked up the satchel that Damon had delivered and rummaged through it. Enough blood for a week as promised and some old books. He stashed the blood in the mini-fridge and picked up one of the books to read as he stretched out on the bed next to the sleeping Buffy.

Damon watched Elena go into her house from the car. She had asked him to spend the night, but he wasn't finished yet. Her house was protected, and she promised not to go to school in the morning without him. Not that her promise was worth much, he reflected. But this was more important. If Bonnie refused to seal the hellmouth, then he needed to find someone who would.