Title: Fever
Author: victoriamartynne
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Spoilers: None, I think!
Summary: When Cordelia's life is threatened by a fever is it medical or mystical?
"Do you want anything?" He asked when he'd got her settled her in his bed under two blankets. Only her head was visible.
She shook her head and let her eyes drift shut.
"I'll come up and check on you in a while." He promised and leaned down to kiss her forehead before leaving her.
"So, what's wrong with Queen C?" Buffy asked Angel as soon as he came back downstairs. "Has someone finally got their revenge on her by poisoning her food?"
Fred choked on her soda and excused herself to go to the bathroom.
Angel bristled. "She's ill, the flu or a virus."
"Maybe she got an STD?" She suggested. "Xander got one, remember when you came to Sunnydale at Thanksgiving, and he pretty much looked like she does right now."
Angel just stared at her and then replied. "She doesn't have an STD."
"Oh, come on." Buffy laughed. "She slept her way around Sunnydale why shouldn't she sleep her way around LA?"
"Cordelia never slept her way around Sunnydale." Angel began to get angry with her. "The first man she ever slept with was in LA. He impregnated her with demon spawn and she hasn't dated much since then."
Buffy shrugged but said nothing about that. "Where are we going tonight?"
"What?" He looked confused.
"Well, I'm in LA so surely you want to take me somewhere." She said. "Where can we go?"
"I really need to look after Cordelia." He told her. Seeing the sad look cross Buffy's face he relented. "Okay, I can get Fred to look after Cordelia for a while we go out but I can't leave her for too long. We could go to Caritas, I know the owner."
"Great!" She beamed. "I'll go shower and choose something to wear."
He watched her bound up the stairs and hoped that she wasn't getting any ideas about them getting back together.
Cordelia writhed under the blankets Angel had put over her. Her skin felt hot and seemed to pulsate with every breath. Her breathing had seemed to speed up and got heavier. Her heart rate quickened. Her head was thrown back on the pillow and a sheen of sweat covered her brow, cheekbones and neck. Under the blankets her fists clenched and unclenched. Her body thrashed from side to side. Images of people flew into her mind. They were trapped in a building. In an elevator shaft. There was a vampire in with them, they didn't know. They needed help. They were going to die. Pain filed her head and she screamed and sat up. "Angel!"
"Angel's not here." Fred said and passed Cordelia a damp cloth. "He went out. He told me to watch over you."
She started to swing her legs over the side of the bed. "I need to find him, now!"
She stood up wobbly and the look on her face told Fred not to argue and help her instead.
She helped her dress and tie up her hair and then let her lean on her while they went down the stairs.
"What are you doing?" Wes asked angrily. "Get back to bed at once!"
"I can't." She said her voice almost incoherent. "I need to find Angel. We need everyone, there's a group of people trapped in an elevator with a vampire. We need to help them."
"You have a vision?" Gunn asked and grabbed his axe.
"I don't know, I don't think so." She started to cough and just pointed to the doors, indicating for them to leave.
They pulled up outside Caritas in Gunn's truck. They could see Angel's Plymouth was parked a few cars down. Gunn offered to go in and get Angel while the others stayed in the truck. Cordelia drummed her fingers on the dashboard impatiently. It didn't take long for Gunn to come back with Angel. And Buffy.
"What's wrong?" He asked through the window, concern written on his face.
"There are people stuck in an elevator shaft with a vampire. The Monroe building on Wilcoxon and Fifth. Fourth floor. We have twenty minutes to get there and get in the elevator."
"Okay." He concluded. "Me and Buffy will go in my car, we'll follow you." He smiled and then went to the convertible, Buffy on his heels.
They arrived at the building with only a few minutes to spare. The guys and Buffy went ahead while Fred held behind to help Cordelia. They arrived in the lobby to see the gang stood in the crowded elevator waiting for the doors to close. Cordelia felt the world spinning around her and her knees begin to buckle. She fell towards the floor heavily taking Fred with her. Angel saw her fall and was about to go to her but the doors closed.
"Cordy!" Fred cried out. She held Cordelia's head in her lap. She looked around. "Can someone call an ambulance?"
Cordelia woke up in the hospital. She looked around. There were no wires attached to her or anything, she was just laid there. A nurse came in and smiled cheerily.
"Well, hello there. I'm Linda, your nurse." She picked up the chart at the end of the bed and looked at it. "We've run a drip through your blood and took a few tests. You've just got the flu. We're sending you home to rest. That means staying in bed. We don't want you fainting again."
She nodded and swung her legs off the bed. "Are my friends here?"
"There's a Texan girl outside." Linda told her and helped her to stand and walk out of the room.
"Cordelia!" Fred greeted her, a worried look on her face. "I was so worried."
"Where's Angel?" She asked and let Linda go back to work.
"I don't know. The ambulance came before they came out of the elevator. I came with you." Fred put an arm around Cordelia's shoulders and led her to the main doors.
She sat her down on a bench inside the door. "Wait here, I'm going to call a cab."
The cab dropped them off at the Hyperion. Gunn's truck and Angel's Plymouth were parked outside. Fred helped Cordelia walk in through the doors. The gang were all stood round the counter. Angel was on the phone. He slammed it down when he heard the door close behind them and came running across to them.
"What happened?" He took the weight off Fred and supported Cordelia himself.
"She fainted. I called an ambulance and they took us to hospital." Fred explained. "I was just calling them. What did they say?"
"That I have the flu." Cordelia said irritably. "And that I'm not allowed to get out of bed."
"Then you are going to bed now." Angel told her sternly and was about to pick her up to carry her there but she held her hand out.
"I can't just yet. I need to talk to you." She began to cough. "All. of. you."
He put his arm around her and directed her to the nearest couch.
Wes and Gunn came from around the counter to sit around her. Fred went to hop on the counter next to the bored looking slayer and Angel crouched down on the floor in front of Cordelia.
"Earlier, I saw those people. You did save them didn't you?"
"Yes we did." Wesley answered.
"I didn't have a vision."
"You didn't?" Gunn asked confused.
"No, I don't know." She looked even more confused than Gunn. "I was asleep and I was restless and I think I was tossing and turning. Then I began to see pictures. I saw those people."
"While you were asleep?" Wesley asked and jotted something down in his notebook.
"Yes, mo, I don't know." She shook her head and Angel realise she was near tears. "I saw them and they were screaming and suddenly I was screaming and then."
"Then what?" Buffy asked, feigning interest.
Cordelia looked up and glared at her. "I guess I woke up."
"So you were asleep." Wes stated and crossed something out in his notebook.
"I don't know!" She sighed and rubbed at her temples angrily.
"It's okay, honey." Angel told her and reached out for her hand which she obligingly gave him. "We'll research and find out what happened but you need to go upstairs and sleep."
"I can't sleep." She argued as he stood up and pulled her to her feet gently. "Every time I close my eyes I see them."
"Okay." He soothed and scooped her up into his arms to carry her upstairs. "Just rest then."
Wesley, Gunn and Fred looked on with frowns on their faces as he carried her up the stairs.
Buffy looked on in jealously.
Angel placed her gently on his bed and wrapped the thick comforter around her. He sat down next to her and smoothed her hair away from her eyes.
Her teeth were chattering slightly and her body was shaking.
"Are you cold?" He asked, feeling her forehead.
"I don't know, I can't feel anything." She answered weakly.
"You feel warm." He commented. "Do you want a hot water bottle or some more blankets?"
She shook her head. "Water."
He nodded and went into the small kitchen to get her a glass of water.
He came back and held up her head so she could take small sips from the glass.
"Better?" He asked and pulled the glass away.
She nodded, her eyelids were drooping. "If you want to go back to Buffy you can."
He shook his head but she didn't see. "I'm fine here."
He stayed with her until she fell into a light sleep. Only then did he leave her to go talk to Wes.
"What's happening to her?" He asked the former watcher.
"I'm not sure." He replied, looking up from the book he was reading. "I'm not altogether convinced that this fever is medical. It may be something like what happened to her when Wolfram and Hart gave her the fake visions."
"So Wolfram and Hart could be using her to get to me again?" Angel asked angrily.
"They could be, but I'm leaning more towards the idea that it could be some sort of test that a seer has to go through or some sort of rite of passage to test their strength and loyalty to their warrior and his mission."
"The Powers could be doing this to her?" Angel asked incredulously.
Wesley made a so-so motion with his hand. "I'm not altogether sure so please don't jump to conclusions just yet. I'll keep researching this and I'll get Lorne to come over tomorrow to read her."
"Thanks Wes." Angel said and flopped down in a chair next to him.
"No problem." He smiled. "How is she?"
Angel shook his head. "Not good, she's weak and in pain. And confused. I'm worried about her."
"I know, we all are."
Author: victoriamartynne
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Spoilers: None, I think!
Summary: When Cordelia's life is threatened by a fever is it medical or mystical?
"Do you want anything?" He asked when he'd got her settled her in his bed under two blankets. Only her head was visible.
She shook her head and let her eyes drift shut.
"I'll come up and check on you in a while." He promised and leaned down to kiss her forehead before leaving her.
"So, what's wrong with Queen C?" Buffy asked Angel as soon as he came back downstairs. "Has someone finally got their revenge on her by poisoning her food?"
Fred choked on her soda and excused herself to go to the bathroom.
Angel bristled. "She's ill, the flu or a virus."
"Maybe she got an STD?" She suggested. "Xander got one, remember when you came to Sunnydale at Thanksgiving, and he pretty much looked like she does right now."
Angel just stared at her and then replied. "She doesn't have an STD."
"Oh, come on." Buffy laughed. "She slept her way around Sunnydale why shouldn't she sleep her way around LA?"
"Cordelia never slept her way around Sunnydale." Angel began to get angry with her. "The first man she ever slept with was in LA. He impregnated her with demon spawn and she hasn't dated much since then."
Buffy shrugged but said nothing about that. "Where are we going tonight?"
"What?" He looked confused.
"Well, I'm in LA so surely you want to take me somewhere." She said. "Where can we go?"
"I really need to look after Cordelia." He told her. Seeing the sad look cross Buffy's face he relented. "Okay, I can get Fred to look after Cordelia for a while we go out but I can't leave her for too long. We could go to Caritas, I know the owner."
"Great!" She beamed. "I'll go shower and choose something to wear."
He watched her bound up the stairs and hoped that she wasn't getting any ideas about them getting back together.
Cordelia writhed under the blankets Angel had put over her. Her skin felt hot and seemed to pulsate with every breath. Her breathing had seemed to speed up and got heavier. Her heart rate quickened. Her head was thrown back on the pillow and a sheen of sweat covered her brow, cheekbones and neck. Under the blankets her fists clenched and unclenched. Her body thrashed from side to side. Images of people flew into her mind. They were trapped in a building. In an elevator shaft. There was a vampire in with them, they didn't know. They needed help. They were going to die. Pain filed her head and she screamed and sat up. "Angel!"
"Angel's not here." Fred said and passed Cordelia a damp cloth. "He went out. He told me to watch over you."
She started to swing her legs over the side of the bed. "I need to find him, now!"
She stood up wobbly and the look on her face told Fred not to argue and help her instead.
She helped her dress and tie up her hair and then let her lean on her while they went down the stairs.
"What are you doing?" Wes asked angrily. "Get back to bed at once!"
"I can't." She said her voice almost incoherent. "I need to find Angel. We need everyone, there's a group of people trapped in an elevator with a vampire. We need to help them."
"You have a vision?" Gunn asked and grabbed his axe.
"I don't know, I don't think so." She started to cough and just pointed to the doors, indicating for them to leave.
They pulled up outside Caritas in Gunn's truck. They could see Angel's Plymouth was parked a few cars down. Gunn offered to go in and get Angel while the others stayed in the truck. Cordelia drummed her fingers on the dashboard impatiently. It didn't take long for Gunn to come back with Angel. And Buffy.
"What's wrong?" He asked through the window, concern written on his face.
"There are people stuck in an elevator shaft with a vampire. The Monroe building on Wilcoxon and Fifth. Fourth floor. We have twenty minutes to get there and get in the elevator."
"Okay." He concluded. "Me and Buffy will go in my car, we'll follow you." He smiled and then went to the convertible, Buffy on his heels.
They arrived at the building with only a few minutes to spare. The guys and Buffy went ahead while Fred held behind to help Cordelia. They arrived in the lobby to see the gang stood in the crowded elevator waiting for the doors to close. Cordelia felt the world spinning around her and her knees begin to buckle. She fell towards the floor heavily taking Fred with her. Angel saw her fall and was about to go to her but the doors closed.
"Cordy!" Fred cried out. She held Cordelia's head in her lap. She looked around. "Can someone call an ambulance?"
Cordelia woke up in the hospital. She looked around. There were no wires attached to her or anything, she was just laid there. A nurse came in and smiled cheerily.
"Well, hello there. I'm Linda, your nurse." She picked up the chart at the end of the bed and looked at it. "We've run a drip through your blood and took a few tests. You've just got the flu. We're sending you home to rest. That means staying in bed. We don't want you fainting again."
She nodded and swung her legs off the bed. "Are my friends here?"
"There's a Texan girl outside." Linda told her and helped her to stand and walk out of the room.
"Cordelia!" Fred greeted her, a worried look on her face. "I was so worried."
"Where's Angel?" She asked and let Linda go back to work.
"I don't know. The ambulance came before they came out of the elevator. I came with you." Fred put an arm around Cordelia's shoulders and led her to the main doors.
She sat her down on a bench inside the door. "Wait here, I'm going to call a cab."
The cab dropped them off at the Hyperion. Gunn's truck and Angel's Plymouth were parked outside. Fred helped Cordelia walk in through the doors. The gang were all stood round the counter. Angel was on the phone. He slammed it down when he heard the door close behind them and came running across to them.
"What happened?" He took the weight off Fred and supported Cordelia himself.
"She fainted. I called an ambulance and they took us to hospital." Fred explained. "I was just calling them. What did they say?"
"That I have the flu." Cordelia said irritably. "And that I'm not allowed to get out of bed."
"Then you are going to bed now." Angel told her sternly and was about to pick her up to carry her there but she held her hand out.
"I can't just yet. I need to talk to you." She began to cough. "All. of. you."
He put his arm around her and directed her to the nearest couch.
Wes and Gunn came from around the counter to sit around her. Fred went to hop on the counter next to the bored looking slayer and Angel crouched down on the floor in front of Cordelia.
"Earlier, I saw those people. You did save them didn't you?"
"Yes we did." Wesley answered.
"I didn't have a vision."
"You didn't?" Gunn asked confused.
"No, I don't know." She looked even more confused than Gunn. "I was asleep and I was restless and I think I was tossing and turning. Then I began to see pictures. I saw those people."
"While you were asleep?" Wesley asked and jotted something down in his notebook.
"Yes, mo, I don't know." She shook her head and Angel realise she was near tears. "I saw them and they were screaming and suddenly I was screaming and then."
"Then what?" Buffy asked, feigning interest.
Cordelia looked up and glared at her. "I guess I woke up."
"So you were asleep." Wes stated and crossed something out in his notebook.
"I don't know!" She sighed and rubbed at her temples angrily.
"It's okay, honey." Angel told her and reached out for her hand which she obligingly gave him. "We'll research and find out what happened but you need to go upstairs and sleep."
"I can't sleep." She argued as he stood up and pulled her to her feet gently. "Every time I close my eyes I see them."
"Okay." He soothed and scooped her up into his arms to carry her upstairs. "Just rest then."
Wesley, Gunn and Fred looked on with frowns on their faces as he carried her up the stairs.
Buffy looked on in jealously.
Angel placed her gently on his bed and wrapped the thick comforter around her. He sat down next to her and smoothed her hair away from her eyes.
Her teeth were chattering slightly and her body was shaking.
"Are you cold?" He asked, feeling her forehead.
"I don't know, I can't feel anything." She answered weakly.
"You feel warm." He commented. "Do you want a hot water bottle or some more blankets?"
She shook her head. "Water."
He nodded and went into the small kitchen to get her a glass of water.
He came back and held up her head so she could take small sips from the glass.
"Better?" He asked and pulled the glass away.
She nodded, her eyelids were drooping. "If you want to go back to Buffy you can."
He shook his head but she didn't see. "I'm fine here."
He stayed with her until she fell into a light sleep. Only then did he leave her to go talk to Wes.
"What's happening to her?" He asked the former watcher.
"I'm not sure." He replied, looking up from the book he was reading. "I'm not altogether convinced that this fever is medical. It may be something like what happened to her when Wolfram and Hart gave her the fake visions."
"So Wolfram and Hart could be using her to get to me again?" Angel asked angrily.
"They could be, but I'm leaning more towards the idea that it could be some sort of test that a seer has to go through or some sort of rite of passage to test their strength and loyalty to their warrior and his mission."
"The Powers could be doing this to her?" Angel asked incredulously.
Wesley made a so-so motion with his hand. "I'm not altogether sure so please don't jump to conclusions just yet. I'll keep researching this and I'll get Lorne to come over tomorrow to read her."
"Thanks Wes." Angel said and flopped down in a chair next to him.
"No problem." He smiled. "How is she?"
Angel shook his head. "Not good, she's weak and in pain. And confused. I'm worried about her."
"I know, we all are."