Episode 9: The Shielder

Hunter leaned over the unconscious form on the concrete. Blood was pouring out of a dozen wounds all over her body and her face was pale, covered in sweat. He cursed his limited power; he knew that in this state he couldn't even pick her up. He looked around, hoping to find help. Suddenly he heard pounding footsteps and when he looked a large group of Slayers rounded the corner with Kennedy in the lead. When she saw him leaning over Fray's form she put on a burst of speed and rushed ahead of the other girls. "What in the hell happened?" she asked, skidding to a stop next to Hunter.

"One of the Timers came after me. So did Fray and she was shot."

"What about those Timer creatures?"

"They're gone for now but they'll be back. They won't stop until she goes back to her own time."

Kennedy picked up Fray in her arms, blood covering her shirt. Hunter tried to get up but he had to wait until Vi and Rona got there to help him. "I don't have enough power left to heal her and without healing she'll die," Hunter said, leaning on the two Slayers.

Kennedy started walking towards her apartment. "I have someone that can help. You guys help him. I'll go ahead. Alice and Zee, you come with me. Take him back to the Coven and we'll send news."

"No," Hunter said, fighting against the Slayers. "I go where she goes. I'm a Shielder; it's my job to protect her."

Kennedy turned on him, drops of blood flying off Fray like bullets. "And you've done a bang-up job so far. It's our turn now. You're going to wait for her where they take you and if you don't you'll have a hundred really pissed off girls on your ass. That's not something you want."

Hunter nodded. "You're right but if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"Fair enough," Kennedy muttered turning back away from him.

Kennedy walked down the street towards her apartment. Alice and Zee surveyed the area, their eyes alert and watching for more of the masked creatures. Kennedy noticed that Zee was carrying a broken table leg in one hand. "Zee," Kennedy called to the girl next to her, "run ahead and let Willow know what's going on. Tell her to get ready for Fray."

Zee nodded and ran in the direction of the apartment. Kennedy got there a few minutes later and Willow was waiting at the front door. Zee was standing next to her. The young Slayer's eyes were still alert and surveying the property surrounding the building. "Come on," Willow said, opening the door, "take her to her bedroom and then put a pot of water on to boil."

Kennedy jogged up the stairs and Zee came behind with a roll of paper towels wiping up drops of blood. Xander was standing in the doorway of the apartment and he stepped aside to allow Kennedy and Fray inside. "Oh God," he moaned when he saw the shape in Kennedy's arms. "Will she be alright?" he asked, stopping Willow as she walked by.

"I don't know," Willow answered, her dark eyes solemn.

Xander followed her into Fray's bedroom and watched as Willow knelt beside the bed. Kennedy looked back once before running to the kitchen and putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. She was back in the room in no time though. With Alice and Zee also inside, the room was becoming quite crowded. Willow put her hands over Fray's stomach and touched the skin lightly with the tips of her fingers. She closed her eyes lightly and when she opened them again they had turned bright blue. A pale light seemed to radiate around her. Kennedy had only seen that the once, when she had activated all the Slayers. She knew that she must be drawing amazing power to heal Fray.

"Come on," Kennedy heard herself whisper.

Xander moved a little closer and finally Willow let her hands drop. "I don't think I can do it. I could heal the external wounds but there's so much internal damage that I'd have to make new organs. I don't think I can do that. I don't have enough power."

Kennedy knelt beside Willow and took the young woman's hand in her own. "Try again," she said, squeezing it tightly.

Willow looked at Kennedy, her eyes opening wide. Finally she smiled lightly and nodded. "I'm sorry about this," Willow hissed between clenched teeth.

"Sorry about what?" Kennedy asked.

Then she got her answer. A wave of needles washed through her, pricking her skin and making her eyes water with pain. Then she felt a wave of cold wash through her and drain away. She slumped on the bed, all her energy gone. She could see a brighter glow though, coming from Willow.

Kennedy forced her eyes open and she pushed herself up on the bed. She felt Xander's hands on her shoulders, holding her up. She saw Willow, her hand still gripping Kennedy's tightly. Her other hand was extended over Fray and her eyes were shut tightly. Suddenly the glow left and Willow opened her eyes. "It's as good as I can do," she said slowly, her blue eyes tired.

"The bullets are out," she said, turning over her hand and dropping about twenty little pellets of metal out onto the bed. "The internal wounds are gone but she still had about five external ones to heal. Xander, Zee and Alice, I'll leave you to take care of those. Make sure they're clean and bandaged well. Make sure that she's comfortable too. We won't be any good to anyone until tomorrow afternoon so if you can keep an eye on her until then, that would be great."

"No problem Will," Xander said, helping her up. "We'll take care of everything."

Willow smiled at him. "Come on Kennedy," she said, their hands still clasped together. "Let's go have a cup of tea and then go to bed."

Kennedy smiled and forced strength into her body so she could help Willow out of the room. She felt drained and weak and like she had said the first time, if hurt. But this time Kennedy was welcoming the hurt because it meant that she had helped Willow. That was more important to her than anything. Kennedy helped Willow into the kitchen and sat her down at the table before taking care of the tea. She smiled as she sat down next to Willow. Willow took a drink of her tea and laid her head on Kennedy's shoulder. "Don't," Kennedy said, her voice soft. "If you fall asleep I don't want to wake you up but I don't think I could carry you into the bedroom."

Willow smiled and lifted her head reluctantly. "Fair enough, but drink fast or I might fall asleep in my cup."

Kennedy smiled and downed her drink in three big gulps and then waited for Willow. She left the cups on the table. She'd get them tomorrow. Kennedy put her arm around Willow's waist and helped the young woman into the bedroom and then helped her change into her night clothes. "Thanks," Willow said. Kennedy climbed into bed beside her and smiled. "For what?" "For helping me save her life." Kennedy kissed Willow lightly on the forehead. "Anytime."

Xander shook his head and put down the novel. Zee and Alice were spread out on the sofas in the living room and Xander was stuck with the chair in the bedroom once again. Fray was looking better. The bleeding had stopped and she had awakened long enough to drink some water so her color was starting to come back. Xander heard some noises from the living room and a second later Zee was standing in the doorway, her eyes tired but still alert. "I can't sleep," she said. "I'm going to go back to the Coven and let Dawn and the others know what happened. I'll send Rona and Vi over here as soon as I get back. You need someone to relieve you in a few hours."

Xander smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm too old to be pulling these all nighters."

Zee smiled and walked out of the room. Xander heard the front door shut a few seconds later. He heard Alice turn over and then he didn't hear anything else for a while. Xander stood up and walked around the room for a few minutes before sitting back down in the chair, the though of going into the kitchen and making a cup of coffee for himself was running through his head when he heard a key turn and the front door opened. Dawn popped her head inside and smiled at him. "You're relief crew is here," she said.

Xander yawned and smiled at the same time. "Thanks," he said. "I'd better get back home. I have a meeting to go to in about four hours and If I don't get at least a little sleep I'll look like a zombie."

Dawn nodded and stepped out of the way as he walked into the living room. Alice, Rona, and Vi were all standing around a bag of weapons that one of the girls had brought. Xander saw Vi pull out a crossbow and he was sure he saw a battle axe somewhere in there. A young man was also sitting in one of the chairs and he waved lightly at Xander when he walked by. "Who are you?" Xander asked, doing a double take.

"I'm Hunter," he said, extending his hand for Xander to shake. "I'm Fray's Shielder. It's a long story that I'm sure you're not in the mood to hear right now but don't worry. I've been checked out."

Dawn walked over and put her hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "We grilled him for over an hour. He's one of the good guys."

Xander just nodded and walked out the door, his head still bobbing sleepily. "Is she alright?" Hunter asked as soon as the door had shut.

Dawn nodded. "She's a little bandaged up which means that Willow couldn't heal everything but she's not bleeding anymore and she looks better. She won't be in the ring for about a week but besides that she's fine. Willow would kill herself trying to help Fray." "Why?" Hunter asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Because she likes Fray. They're friends."

"Sorry," Hunter said, his eyes softening. "I don't understand friendship, compassion, love, anger, hate, anything like that. Human emotions elude me even though I can copy them."

Dawn sat down and Hunter sat down next to her. "So what are you if you're not human?"

Hunter smiled. "I'm human in every way but my upbringing. I am not born, I am made. Shielders are created after Faders are found. In my time, Faders are discovered at birth. Their genetic makeup allows them to travel through time without having a huge effect on it and without suffering side effects. Faders are like shadows in time, you can see it but you can't touch it and you don't notice it after a while.

"Most people, if you sent them back in time for even a second, the whole future would be changed. Faders are shadows, the past doesn't register that they exist. I was created to protect her from people that want to replicate her genetic makeup so they can mass produce Faders. My powers of healing and strength can only work on her so I can not be captured and put to other uses by people that would choose to hurt her. I was made in a laboratory though and raised there until I was sixteen. I was only out in the world for five months before they called on me to come here. Most Faders never even meet their Shielder because they don't need them."

Dawn nodded and leaned back, taking it all in. "Did they tell you what her mission was?"

Hunter shook his head. "No," he said. "They gave me clues but my mind can be cracked and secrets can be found. I can only show her the way and pray that she will remember on her own."

Dawn was silent for a moment and then she looked back at Hunter. "You care for her don't you?"

Hunter started and turned towards her. "I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped.

"I saw how you looked at her at the Bronze," Dawn said, a smile curving her lips. "You weren't looking at her like a job."

"I can't care about a Fader, it's forbidden."

Dawn smiled. "Have you ever read Romeo and Juliet?"

Hunter shook his head. "Never heard of it."

Dawn sighed. "Look, just because you can't love her, well it doesn't mean that you don't love her."

Hunter stood up and walked around for a few seconds. "A Shielder has never been sent on a mission and come back from it. It's a one time deal; I can't survive the trip back to my time. Even if I do care about her, I won't put her through that kind of pain."

"Damn," Dawn said. "That sucks."

Hunter laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, just a little bit. I've never met Fray before today in school. I just feel drawn to her. It doesn't mean that I have feelings for her."

"Hey," Dawn said, putting up her hands. "You're the one that's still talking about her."

Hunter smiled and sat back down. "Good point."

"We should make you an honorary Slayer," Dawn said.

Hunter looked at her. "Aren't all Slayers' girls?"

Dawn smiled. "Alright then," she said. "How about a Watcher?"

Hunter nodded. "Much better," he said.

Vi looked around, tucked a knife in her pocket and walked into Fray's room. Hunter started to lunge forward but was stopped by a hand on his wrist. Dawn was looking at him, amusement in her eyes. "It's hear turn to watch Fray. Calm down and get some rest. You're wound up tighter then a top."

"A what?" Hunter asked.

"Don't look at me," Dawn said. "I'm just saying it. I didn't say that I knew what it meant."

Bright sunlight was streaming in the window when Fray finally woke up. She could feel some bandages on her left arm and on her shoulders but besides that she was only sore from head to toe. She turned and saw Hunter sleeping in the chair next to her bed. Vi was spread out on the floor and Fray saw through the open door that Dawn was sitting in the living room and reading and Rona was still asleep on the sofa.

Fray quietly got out of bed, ignoring her protesting back and arms. She hissed in pain as the covers brushed one of her still healing wounds. She could tell that Willow had healed her, there was a slight tingle in her stomach and she felt stronger than she should have with the kind of blood that smeared her clothes. She walked quietly out of the room, stepping lightly over Vi, and tapped Dawn lightly on the shoulder.

Dawn jumped out of her chair and smiled, hugging Fray tightly. Fray hugged her back, once again ignoring the pain. She broke the embrace and put a finger on her lips before walking into the kitchen. Dawn followed as quietly as she could. Rona turned over but didn't wake up. "How are you feeling?" Dawn asked when they reached the kitchen.

"I'm fine," Fray said, cleaning the tea cups off the table from the night before. "How's Willow?"

"Pretty tired," Dawn said. "She had to have Kennedy's help with the spell last night. You were in pretty bad shape."

"Yeah," Fray said, moving her shoulders. "I can still feel it."

"Hunter's been here all night. I had to force him to go to sleep. I thought I was going to have to give him something but he finally dozed off in the chair about two hours ago. He was crazy at the Coven, pacing up and down the training mat. He punched a hole through one of our bags."

Fray stifled a laugh. "Sorry about that," she said. "I would have been there if I could but I was tied up."

"That's alright, but you get to take care of your friends next time. He almost took off Faith's head when she suggested that both of you were actually working for the hooded guys and were using them as a decoy."

Fray shook her head. "You'd think she would have learned by now."

"Hey," Dawn said. "Faith is more loyal than anyone I know but you have to earn that. You have but he hasn't."

Fray just nodded. "How about Kennedy?"

"She's just as tired as Willow. She carried you all the way home last night and then helped Willow with the spell."

Fray opened her eyes in surprise. "Kennedy carried me home?"

Dawn smiled. "She had to or Hunter would have been stumbling down the street dragging you behind him. I could have poked him and he would have fallen over but he was still standing up to Kennedy. He's a brave guy. He cares about you but well."

Dawn took the next few minutes to tell Fray the story about Shielders and the future and everything like that. She told Fray everything about the conversation she had had with Hunter, everything but the part about this trip being a one time deal. Fray just shook her head when she was done with it all. "That's a lot to take in," she said.

Dawn nodded and smiled lightly. "Yeah, it just finally sunk in this morning."

Fray looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost nine o'clock in the morning and she was ready to go. "I'm going to go take a shower and change out of these," she said, pointing to her bloodstained clothes. "We'll talk more when I get out."

Dawn smiled. "You just want to find out more about Hunter."

Fray smiled. "I can find out about Hunter on my own. I need you to tell me more about the Shielder. There's a difference."

Dawn smiled. "Yeah, you have a crush on Hunter and you haven't decided about the Shielder yet."

Fray flashed Dawn a smiled over her shoulder and it said everything that needed to be said.

Exactly.