Acknowledgements: Thanks to Charge Nurse Thomas for the medical stuff that I didn't make up. Any errors are mine not hers.
The heavy paper grocery sack slipped from Buffy's grasp and tumbled down the back steps of her house in a series of muffled crashes. The orange juice bottle broke and a puddle began to form on the path.
"Damn!"
"I told you not to try and carry it all" muttered Dawn. "Here," she said aloud, "Let me get the door."
Wordlessly, they carried the surviving groceries into the kitchen. Dawn plucked an apple from one of the bags and hopped onto the counter, watching as Buffy unpacked their shopping.
"Eww! Why'd you get so much of that cereal? It's gross!"
Because we're broke and it was in a two-for-one sale.
"It's good for you. Like helping me clean up that godawful mess outside will be good for you"
Dawn made a face, but tossed away the remains of her apple and headed for the door. Buffy salvaged what she could from the now-disintigrating paper bag and took it inside while Dawn swept away the broken glass. Buffy returned with a bowl of hot water and sluiced away the spillage. A few wasps attracted to the sticky, sugary mess buzzed away angrily. One or two got caught in the water and swept away. The girls went back inside.
"Ugh! Wasps. What was Nature thinking?" Grumbled Dawn
"They probably have some mystic purpose in the whole circle-of-creation thing."
"Doubt it, unless giving me the shudders counts."
Outside, one of the unlucky wasps beat its wings, buzzing feebly. A bird watched from a nearby bush and when it was certain that the insect wasn't going anywhere, pounced on it with a flurry of feathers and a snapping beak.
Sunnydale was a dangerous place to walk at night for anyone. For a young girl alone it was practically suicide.
"Looking for me sweetheart?"
The girl turned to face the speaker and was confronted by a vampire in full game face. To his surprise, she nodded.
"Help me"
The vampire was confused. Then he saw the Mark. Carefully placing his hands on her shoulders, he began to feed.
"Someone ask for help?"
The vampire looked up sharply and, pushing the girl aside, regarded the Slayer fearfully. The fight was short and sharp. A few kicks and a well-aimed stake and it was all over. Buffy turned her attention to the girl who was standing against the wall, watching evenly.
"Hey, you okay?"
The girl nodded. Buffy decided that the girl would be fine after a little sleep - the vamp hadn't fed for long enough to do any real harm and she really should get back soon. She nodded to the girl and walked away.
The girl watched her go. Her nose began to bleed freely. Casually, she wiped it with the back of her hand. Damn. Not enough time.
Buffy arrived home in time to catch Xander and Anya necking in a chair in front of the TV and Dawn eating the last of the chocolate ice cream in the kitchen.
"We were watching her attentively. I had one eye on her all the time, I swear." Anya lied, unconvincingly.
Buffy winced at the mess in the room and began to clear up. Xander noticed the look of strain of her face and after taking over cleanup duty, pointedly asked her if she was okay.
"Yeah, I'm dealing - I just never realised how much hard work it is being a career Mom" She stole a glance at her sister, contentedly licking the ice-cream spoon.
Anya stood abruptly and said "You know, I would like very much to prepare a variety of overcomplicated foods and share them with our friends while enjoying meaningless conversation."
Buffy looked at Xander quizzically. "Dinner party" he mouthed to her.
"Great idea, sweetheart. Buffy's the perfect dinner guest -" Anya smiled and turned away "-what with the supernatural powers of recovery and all" Xander added sotto voce.
Buffy grinned. "Name the day - I'm there." Ordinarily, their clumsy attempt at charity would have offended her, but they were so sweet and genuine that she was touched. Besides, her cooking left a lot to be desired, and the opportunity of a good meal was too good to pass up.
Next morning, Buffy saw her sister off to school, straightened up the house a little and headed off to the Magic Box to get in some training. On the way she had to pass by the alley where she'd dusted the vamp the night before. Coming from it was a thin trickle of what looked like blood, running idly into the gutter. Following the trail to its source, Buffy found herself standing in a huge pool of blood. In its centre was the girl from the previous night, her face and body covered in gore. Squeamishly Buffy felt for a pulse. Surprisingly it was there - even more surprisingly it seemed strong and regular.
"I'm gonna get help. Hang in there." Buffy ran out of the alley to a nearby phone booth where she called 911. Then after requesting an ambulance, she ran back to the girl. Taking her blood-caked hand, Buffy noticed for the first time the series of ragged-looking slashes down her arm which appeared to be the source of the bleeding. Next to her other hand Buffy observed what appeared to be a broken bottle.
"Oh, God"
The girls eyes fluttered open.
"Lie still," said Buffy "Help is on the way"
"You again? Why can't you just leave me alone?" Murmured the girl, anger mounting in her eyes.
Buffy shook her head. "I don't understand ... why ... ?"
The wail of a siren proclaimed the arrival of the ambulance. The EMTs got to work and Buffy stood back to give them room. They fired off a few questions - none of which she could answer - and loaded up, whisking the girl away.
Buffy stood and watched them go, then walked the remaining few blocks to the Magic Box in a daze. When she arrived there, she noticed for the first time how her hands, the knees of her sweatpants and the soles of her shoes were soaked with blood. Giles blanched a little and saw her to a chair. She sat blindly, opening and closing her hands and watching bubbles of sticky blood ooze between her fingers with a kind of primal fascination.
"My God, Buffy - what happened?"
"I ... don't know. There was a girl, she was hurt. Giles -" she looked at him, confused "I never knew people had so much blood."
Dr Frazer squinted at the chart in front of him, and at the patient, then back to the chart. Impossible.
"Nurse!" He hissed, urgently "Explain this please. This patient was brought in at 9 am with the EMTs estimating blood loss in excess of 10 units - which, incidentally should have killed her - and now 12 hours later you're treating her for hypertension?"
"I know, Doctor, it's the strangest thing. The EMTs got a line in and started fluids en route and we got a transfusion started straight away. By the time we took her pressure, she'd already popped the vessels in her nose. BP was up to 240/160 by midday so we started to medicate hypertension. Her veins are wide open, sir. It's like she has - too much blood."
As the doctor looked at the girl on the bed, a large red teardrop fell from her eye.
"Damn! The ocular vessels have gone. We're going to have to get a drain in - I don't see what else there is to do. If we don't get her pressure down soon, we're going to lose her."
The nurse rushed to fetch the necessary instruments while the Doctor retired to the bathroom to scrub.
Spike eased round the door of the private room. He hung around the hospital often - sometimes to buy blood, sometimes to see what he could steal. To him, a girl with too much blood meant only one thing.
"Shara? Is that you?"
"Spike?" She whispered "Help me?"
"I ... I'll try."
He bent over the girl, knowing time was short. He went into game face and, bracing himself, bit deep. He waited for the pain but it never came, so he drank. And drank. And drank. As the hot sweet blood poured down his throat he felt it warming his cold insides like a jolt of fine liquor on a cold night.
Replete, he pulled away. The girl closed her bloodshot eyes and sighed contentedly.
"You have to get out of here before they come back."
"Thankyou Shara."
She nodded and smiled. Spike slipped away, bumping into the returning nurse.
"Sorry, wrong room"
The medical staff of Sunnydale General have a 'closed eye' policy to the many strange phenomena they encounter. It was, therefore, duly noted that the girl's blood pressure dropped from 245/160 to 110/90 in a little less than five minutes. Her notes were then filed away neatly, and when she discharged herself shortly afterwards, they never mentioned her again.
Buffy's patrol was pretty much over. Heading back through town she started towards the Magic Box. Giles was watching Dawn, so she had better not take longer than she needed. She realised how much of a chore it was for Giles to take care of her. He was a quiet, intellectual man, happier in the company of books than people, sometimes. Dawn was a typical young teen who wanted to talk, listen to loud music, talk, watch TV and talk. Buffy smiled to herself. He always put up with it though - gritting his teeth and forbearing with infinite patience. Like a father. No - like a father should be.
Lost in thought, Buffy bumped heavily against a passer-by, knocking them over. She hurried to apologise and offered a hand up. She found herself eye-to-eye with the very same girl she had seen bundled half-dead into an ambulance that very morning.
"Hey! You're better already? That's great!"
"Sure. Yeah. Er - thanks"
As the girl got up, her long hair swung back and Buffy noticed the fresh bite on her neck.
"What the hell - ? Where did you get that cute little hickey? Have you got a death wish or what?"
"I'm fine. Just leave me alone, okay"
"Fine my ass, you need help. You'd better come with me, then I can make sure you don't decide to fall off a roof on the way or something"
"Let go of me"
"So you can get yourself killed? I don't think so"
"Please - let me go" The girl was struggling in earnest now.
"Let her go, Slayer" Spike stepped from the shadows
"Spike - get out of here. You don't want to give me a reason to stake you"
"Shara's not what you think. Let her go"
"What are you talking about? I take her to Giles - we keep her away from things like you - she stays safe"
"Please - I want to go with Spike. He'll take care of me - I promise. I'm not your problem."
Buffy's patience, fragile at best, deserted her. "Shara? Is that your name? What the hell, Shara - you wanna hang out with this creep, that's your problem. Just keep him out of my face"
Releasing her grip on the girl's arm, Buffy watched bemused as Spike gently took it and carefully led her away like she was his favourite Grandmother.
Arriving at the store Buffy could scarcely contain her irritation as she related events to Giles.
"...So she just went off with him"
"Well, it's odd, I'll grant you - but realistically, Spike can't actually harm the girl can he? You said they seemed to know one another - perhaps, distasteful though it may be, she's better off with him."
"Yeah but ... Spike. Eww! Whoever this Shara girl is, she has problems."
"Shara, did you say?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Sounds familiar somehow. Never mind, I'm sure it will come to me"
"Okay. Thanks for watching short stuff for me. Goodnight"
Giles smiled "Goodnight Buffy - Dawn"
As they left, he turned to his library. Shara ... Why was that name so familiar?
Giles called Buffy early the next morning with the news that he had remembered the true identity of the girl Shara. Buffy made the Magic Box in record time.
"So what's the deal?"
"Your friend Shara is a Chalicar. Specifically, the Master's Chalicar"
"Okay. Can I just ask one thing though? ... What?"
"Chalicar, Buffy. It's an archaic vampire tradition." He leafed through the slim volume he was using for reference. "She's the only one mentioned by name"
"Okay, so she's a famous whatever-she-is. What is she and should I be worried that she's hanging out with Spike?"
Giles frowned a little. Would Buffy ever learn patience, he wondered. "Chalicar - from chalice, meaning cup - is the chosen vessel for a master vampire. Only a master is permitted to create one. The vessel then becomes almost an iconic figure. Minions or lesser vampires can be killed for even touching one."
"Vessel? I don't get it"
"A human is chosen and undergoes a ritual during which a chemical is introduced directly into the bloodstream. This chemical promotes extended life and accelerated healing."
"Great! Where can I get some?"
"Unfortunately it also promotes the accelerated production of haemoglobin - blood, Buffy. The vessel can then feed their creator freely without ill effect. The ritual dates back to a time when master vampires considered themselves too important to hunt except in special circumstances. The other benefits were of course, that when ocean travel became necessary, a master could sustain himself over the long journey without arousing suspicion. Oh, this is interesting. The chemical leaves a star-shaped mark at the entry point - look."
Buffy glanced at the illustration. "So," she said, acidly "They take a human, make them a slave and use them as a lunch box. Nice." She paused for a moment "Did you say only masters could feed from her? 'Cos the one in the alley was no master."
"I'm assuming that since the Master's demise, she has had to be a little less selective."
"I don't get it. You mean she wants to get bitten?"
"Not wants - needs. The text refers to Chalicars who were captured after the deaths of their creators, and none of lived more that a few days. They appear to die from extreme high blood pressure, which causes rupturing of the veins and blood vessels leading to haemorrhaging. Very unpleasant. That might explain the bloodletting incident yesterday."
"Yeah, and I'm totally going to bill her for those shoes"
"Buffy this is serious. She might die. We need to get to her.. Just think - if Sunnydale's vampires could feed without killing..."
Spike lifted his mouth from the girl's throat and licked the blood from his lips. Shaking off his game face, he frowned. She was getting weaker. He had fed as much as he possibly could, but he got a strong feeling that she was beyond help.
He had always been fond of the Chalicar, and had been delighted to see her. The Master had disliked Spike, and he hadn't stayed around him long, but he always enjoyed the company of his chosen one. The fact that it had annoyed the ancient vampire greatly was merely a bonus. The implication was not lost on him as to what it could mean to have her with him.
He looked down at her. Her eyes were half-closed and her breathing shallow. Despite his recent feeding, a thin trickle of blood escaped from her nose. He put out a hand and wiped it away, licking his fingers idly.
At that moment the door of the tomb burst open. Spike stood in front of the vessel, prepared to defend her if necessary. Then he relaxed. The Slayer marched over and barged him aside with unnecessary force.
"Hey!"
Buffy ignored him. Giles walked over to the prone girl and examined her quickly, noting the fresh bites on her neck. He looked at Spike and indicated the marks "You?"
Spike nodded. "I don't think it's helping though. She's dying."
Giles looked concerned "Are you sure?"
"I dunno, I guess so. Look, I'm a bit upset about that. Girl's a friend of mine, y'know?"
Buffy looked sharply at him. Was he mocking her? She was interrupted in her thoughts by Shara who coughed and started to sit up. Giles pressed her gently back "You must lie still and rest. We will talk when you're stronger."
She shook her head. "You have to listen. I know what you're thinking. You know what I am and you think that I can help you tame your vampires. Until they're all like him" she nodded toward Spike, who looked a little offended. Tame? "Well I won't do it. Even if I could. Look at him," she reached out to Spike and taking his platinum head in her hands, softly kissed his forehead. "What do you think he is?"
"Don't even get me started on what he is."
The Chalicar frowned impatiently. Stupid girl. "He is beautiful. A perfect beast. Then you take this perfect beast and you put it in a cage and you feed it something cold and dead and call that progress. Now, what are you?"
Buffy looked blank. "The Slayer?" She replied uncertainly.
"Then why does he still live?"
"Because he can't do any h- ... Oh"
"Exactly. What he is ... What you are ... Everything has a purpose. I will help you if I can, or I will die and stop taking up space, but I will not help you to destroy a link in a chain that was forged at the dawn of time just so that you can take more holidays."
Giles looked a little embarrassed. "I take your point about the balance of nature, but where does that leave you?"
"I have had an idea. Take me back to the hospital."
The blood reserve at Sunnydale General was sadly depleted. The unusually high numbers of transfusions that took place at the hospital daily made their job hard enough, and a recent rise in break-ins had left them with dangerously short supplies of the commonest blood type. Staff were delighted, therefore, when a sudden rise in donations swelled their reserves enormously, with up to 25 additional units per day.
Shara sighed. She was bored. Still, it would be sunset soon, then Spike would come and visit and they would watch TV together and he would tell her all about what was going in the world outside her small basement room. She flicked the switch that started the pump and watched as her excess blood drained into a plastic bag, ready for the reserve. Maybe she'd save a little back tonight, see if Spike was feeling hungry.
Buffy opened her window and leaned out, enjoying the sun on her face. A cheery call from below heralded the arrival of Willow and Tara. They were going to a movie later, which should be fun. First though, there was a nasty job to do. Willow was going to try a spell to get rid of a wasps nest at the end of Buffy's garden which had scared the pants off them all earlier in the day.
Buffy wondered how she would manage without her friends - all of them. They each gave her something unique and special. She'd certainly never have made it through the last few months without them. But then again, they'd never have made it through their teens without her around.
She shook herself, and was going to close the window and head down, but stopped when she heard birdsong in the nearby tree. Looking over, she saw a nest with three fluffy chicks in it. She smiled. Cute. The mother bird returned and the chicks competed noisily for her catch. It was a wasp.
Closing the window, Buffy decided to tell Will not to bother with the spell. She'd just leave the nest alone. After all, it was out of the way and not really doing any harm. A world that wants birds sometimes has to put up with a few wasps into the bargain.
~end