Goodbye Cordelia
By WillowWood
Chapter 3
"She's Missing"
"Angel, Angel" I cried as I marched towards the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, feeling the dawning sunlight heating my leather clad back, and I silently thanked Baby for the tiny fragment of gem that was embedded deep beneath my skin and protected me from harm. But that single thought caused emotions I'd rather not deal with to surge back into my subconscious. Pushing them back to where they previously lay hidden for the time being, and with a sweet whisper of "Oh God, Dove, please be all right," I marched into the large hotel's lobby.
Once across the threshold, I practically stumbled backwards as the enticing aroma of pure blood evaded my senses. My mind and demon went on overload as I scanned the lightening room, searching for the source of this intoxicating liquid. Honing the demon within me I dived towards the staircase that stood to my left leading towards the upper level.
Finally I reached the top-most steps and every rational part of me shut down as the scene before me registered in my brain. An unconscious and bloodied Cordelia. "Oh Jesus Christ", I heard myself croak although I don't actually recall the thought passing through my mind. I took in an unneeded breath before dropping onto my knees beside her, swiping away the stray trestles of brunette hair that lay strewn across her pale face.
"Cordelia," I shouted reaching out for her hand in search of a pulse, even though I could already hear the faintest semblance of a beating rhythm, but the feeling of the flowing blood beneath my two fingers calmed my worries slightly.
"Cordelia" I cried again relief washing over me. "Cheerleader, can you hear me?" I fought the urge to shake her, when suddenly something occurred to me.
Peaches wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Angel!" I shouted studying the carpet carefully for any signs of dust. There wasn't any, and as much as I'd hate to admit it to most people, I was thankful for this sudden revelation.
I quickly jumped to my feet and jogged towards the Pouf's and Cordy's room. "Peaches" I cried bursting through the door, expecting to find him either still asleep, which was as unlikely as me getting a suntan, or unconscious surrounded by a shattered lamp or vase.
I found neither, only a spartanly decorated room that was completely deserted. "Angel, you stupid git!" I shouted again, beginning to panic. I studied the room before heading towards the door that led into the bathroom. I opened it to find the room just as deserted as the other. Before turning on my heels and heading back out into the corridor I grabbed hold of a towel off of the side bar, and then started back to where Cordelia still lay.
As I raced towards her form, I suddenly notice the painfully familiar bite mark that was framed by her milky flesh. "Oh bugger," I whispered, dropping down beside her once more. Pressing the towel against the still bleeding rupture, before jumping back up, I spun to face the door that stood directly behind me, bringing my clenched fists down on to it with as much force as my muddled mind would allow.
"Wesley! Drusilla!" I shouted, pounding my fists against the door once more in a desperate attempt to wake the two lovers. "Wesley wake up!" I tried again, kicking the door this time and reveling in the cracking sound that it created. "Dru!" I slammed the palms of my hand against it this time, trying everything to wake them up, and ignoring the burning pain that had slowly spread to my wrists.
I thought I heard some kind of movement from inside the room but continued to shout, "Wes! Dru!" Just as I was about to kick the door once more I heard the click of the lock.
Seconds after, a bewildered Wesley popped his head out into the corridor. "Spike, what the hell is all the commotion about?" he began, sparing an annoyed glance in my direction. Suddenly something caught his eye and I stepped sideways so that he could get a better look.
"Oh God, no," he whispered before dropping down besides Cordelia and repeating the movements I had already gone through. My mind was in too much of a disarray to take notice or to mention it. "Call for the paramedics," he ordered quickly. And without a second thought, I raced towards the staircase, taking them five maybe six at a time and then headed towards the phone that stood in the window to the reception area.
I quickly dialed the number. "Come on," I urged as the annoying dial tone continued to play.
Eventually the operator picked up. "911 emergencies…."
I interrupted her before she had a chance to finish the tedious introduction. "Hello….you gotta help us…it's my friend she's been bit by something……she's lost a load of blood." In the background I could hear the clicking of the keyboard as she took note of all the information I had just bombarded her with.
"Where are you?" she asked and it took me a few seconds to register her voice and then finally her question.
"….the erm, old Hyperion Hotel."
She made a few agreeing remarks before eventually informing me that the paramedics were on their way. Before she could finish the usual monologue, I slammed the phone down and raced back up the stairs.
When I reached the top of the stairs once more I was surprised to see Drusilla, dressed in a white night gown, standing in the doorway to her and Wesley's room "What happened to Sister, my love?? Daddy will be very cross when he returns with the Dove, very cross indeed." My head shot up at the mention of the pet name I often used for Baby, but Drusilla continued rambling and after a while I simply blocked out her voice, the same way I had done a million times before.
"Is she alright?" I eventually asked my breath coming in quick bursts, more from habit than the fact that I was actually out of breath.
Wesley looked up at me from where he still kneeled and had been changing the white towel that had now turned a deep crimson. "Her pulse rate's slowly deteriorating. Have you phoned for an ambulance?" he asked. I nodded my head in agreement.
"What happened???" he asked glancing down at her briefly before shifting his weight and staring at me questioningly.
"I….err…don't know. I came here looking to see if you or Peaches had seen Baby and I found her like this." I rambled.
He nodded his head in reply before suddenly turning his head towards me quizzically "Where is Angel? And why are you looking for Baby?" he asked.
I shrugged before I replied. "She's gone missing…" His brow crunched up in confusion, at what I had just told him and so I immediately continued. "She went out hunting with René and Jean Claude. They returned after two and a half hours, in search of her…" I took in another unneeded breath as my mind processed all of the information René and Jean had delivered to me on their arrival. "…Saying that whilst out hunting she had run off, disappearing into a nearby park. They frantically searched for her before coming to the conclusion that she'd obviously found her own way home. But I hadn't seen her since she left the house with them."
"Oh," Wesley replied, deadpan, as he lifted the towel off of the wound that had slowly stopped bleeding.
I glanced at the rupture once more, and every essence of me screamed to inform the ex-Watcher that the bite was painfully familiar. I took in another shaky breath and Wesley must have picked up on my discomfort.
"What's wrong?" he asked glancing from me to the rupture and then back again.
I took in another deep unneeded breath, before explaining my discomfort. "I haven't seen that particular bite mark in a while, but I'd know it anywhere." I began indicating Cordelia's neck. Suddenly Wesley's face lit up, and if our little world had been a part of some sordid cartoon strip, I imagine a little light bulb would have just appeared above his head.
And then his face fell. "Oh God, it's Baby isn't it? She's done this."
My face fell and I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but before I could retort we were interrupted by the opening of the hotel's front doors. Holding my tongue, and clenching my fists to prevent myself from knocking him down the corridor. I marched towards the opened area of the upper floor, and peered down into the lobby to see two paramedics, looking around. "She's up here," I shouted receiving two very startled glances from them before they both turned and headed upstairs.
I waited to show them in the right direction, ready to head off again in my search for Baby once I was sure that Cordelia was gonna be okay. To my dismay, Wes' head was suddenly full of what he considered important questions. "Where the hell is she, Spike??" he asked marching towards me.
I turned to face him quickly. "What?" I asked, preventing myself for going at his throat.
"And what the hell has happened to her???" Behind Wesley I could see the paramedics slowly lifting Cordelia on to a stretcher and then one of them turned and began heading our way. Ignoring Wesley's questions for the time being, I nodded towards the approaching paramedic. Wesley turned to him.
"We're going to take her to hospital for a blood transfusion, and we'll most likely keep her in for a couple of days until she's fully recovered," began the paramedic. Wesley nodded in agreement and the paramedic continued, "If you'd like one of you can come with us. Then you'll be able to inform the rest of her family, once we're at the hospital".
Wesley nodded again, allowing the paramedic to go and help his partner transport Cordelia into the ambulance. Wesley turned back to me a stern look in his eye. "What's happened to her, Spike?" he asked again.
I could stand it no more. "I don't know what happened to her Wes!" I shouted.
"If she did this, Spike, you've got to find her," he replied a lot calmer than I felt.
"She didn't do this Wesley!" I shouted again, and he turned to me as though he were studying me to discover whether or not I was telling the truth. After a moment he seemed to have come to a conclusion.
"Then who was it Spike???" he asked, but before I could answer there was the sound of a commotion downstairs, me and Wesley raced towards where the paramedics were attempting to get a now fully conscious Cordelia to lie back down.
"Miss, you're very weak. You need to lie down," the other paramedic ordered.
Cordelia spotted me and Wesley heading towards her. "Spike! Wesley!" she cried pushing against the paramedics restraint. "He's back!" she cried, finally lying back down before reaching out and clasping my hand. "Spike, he did this to me."
I glanced across at Wesley who was watching the scene before him in bewilderment, and then I glanced at the two paramedics whose whole body languages screamed to hurry up.
"Angelus is back," she whispered. I think the blood loss was making her slightly delirious, but I knew that she was telling the truth. I untwined my hand from hers and was about to walk away when she grabbed hold of the sleeve of my leather duster. "William! Angelus bit me!"