As always – thanks to all the great reviewers out there! Especially to RougeCrayon….for her comment! It made me chuckle after a loooooong day! Also, thanks to Carla-p for her many reviews J
Part Nine:
"What's keeping them? If they've stopped off for a quic-" Giles' voice stopped abruptly.
"...temperatures are expected to stay in the region of 80 degrees for the next two days, so we're in for a sunny weekend here in Sunnydale. This just in; a local clothes store has been broken into and vandalised. Police at the crime scene are attributing the break in to drugged up youths on the latest wonder drug PCP. At present it is unknown if any of the clerks have been injured. We'll have more as the story evolves. Now over to Brian, with the sport. It looks like the Celtics..."
Tara and Giles exchanged duplicate looks of panic as the radio report registered in their brains.
"Y-you don't think...?" Tara left the sentence trailing.
"I think we have to assume the worst." Giles asserted, removing his glasses from face and rubbing absently at the thin glass as he tried to think of a plan of action; all the time his heart screaming the unfairness of it all.
"Uh, Mr. Giles, do you think you could explain this sudden...revelation?"
Lilith Bradshaw. He'd forgotten about her.
"Ms. Bradshaw, we believe the attack on the shop to have been perpetrated by my Slayer and her Sire." He explained absently, his brain still ticking over.
"Yes, you mentioned him earlier - Angelus, was it?"
Giles regarded the woman coldly, irritated by her condescending tone. "No." He stated.
"Who then?" She snapped.
"M-Mr. Giles, s-sorry to i-interrupt, but maybe we should...." Tara blushed strongly at the sudden attention on her, but indicated the door with a nod of head - determined to get the point across regardless.
"Of course. Ms. Bradshaw, I'm sure you understand that now is not the time for questions. Some of our friends are still out there, and this is really something we should investigate."
"Investigate, Mr. Giles? Really! What kind of establishment is this? I was aware you had a rogue Slayer on your hands but -"
"Ms. Bradshaw, I really don't think this is the time-"
"I think this is the perfect time. Is this what happens to redundant Watchers, or just redundant men?" She asked snidely, her emotionless face not giving away an inch of the anger she was feeling.
"Look," Giles lost all semblance of politeness. "You have two choices, either you shut up and come with us, or you bugger off. Quite frankly, I don't care which."
Lilith's face took on a distinctly pinched quality, and she swallowed hard. "Very well, I have other business to attend to. Good night."
Giles, in the process of grabbing his coat, hastily opened the door to get her out faster. "Come, Tara."
Together, the two magically inclined creatures sped away in Giles' car, unknowing of the direction the other Watcher took.
Unknowing and uncaring.
---
By the time Giles and Tara had reached the crime scene the place was filled with paramedics and police. The pair broke into a run at the sight of their friends in stretchers. The couple were being carefully strapped into stretchers and deposited in the paramedics van.
"Anya! Xander!"
"Stand back, Miss." A near-by Officer moved in front of a suddenly confident Tara.
"They're our friends. We need to see if they're alright." Tara pleaded.
"Do you have any ID?" The man asked.
"Whatever for?" Giles exclaimed in frustration.
A young paramedic took pity on the obviously concerned pair and stepped forward, "We'll need family or friends to come with us. You can drive with them, if you like. I'm afraid there's only room for one, though." She explained, indicating the quickly closing doors of the van.
"Go." Giles urged, giving the once-again nervous girl a little push. "I'll follow in my car."
With a nod, Tara climbed in the van and with a wail of their sirens they disappeared towards the hospital.
Giles shot the Officer a hateful look, before rushing to his own car in order to follow them.
---
"But I don't want to be hurt!" Anya exclaimed, angrily eyeing the doctor in front of her.
"I understand, Ms. Jenkins. No one wants to be hurt, but you should be happy - you're very lucky to be alive."
"Whatever..." Anya looked down, glaring at the cast around her whole arm. "How long is this going to be here?" She demanded.
"Easy, Ahn, the guy's just trying to help." Xander said from his position by her bed. He was in a wheelchair, looking pale but alive.
"I know." The brunette muttered, then turned a fake hundred watt smile on the young doctor. "How long do you think I'm going to be like this?" She asked in a softer tone of voice, and then glanced at Xander for approval, smiling in satisfaction when he gave it.
"I'm afraid you've sustained some substantial damage to your arm and shoulder. While the cast should be ready to come off in a couple of months, you're going to have to come in for some light physiotherapy. A few of the tendons in your upper arm have been snapped. This can take a very long time to heal, and can be a very painful process. I'm afraid it may take years before you are able to retain full use of your arm."
"W-what?" Anya sat there, shocked into silence.
"It's not impossible, with hard work you should mend fine. It will just take time. The best thing you can do at the moment is to take it easy." The nameless doctor tried to smile in an effort to soften his news. Anya nodded wordlessly.
Tara smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner, but Anya seemed desolate.
"Now, Mr. Harris. It would seem, from your tests, that you have a slight case of anaemia." The doctor scribbled some notes down on a pad which he had produced from his lab coat pocket. "If you'd hand this to the nurse, we can put you on a course of iron tablets. It should clear the problem up, but we will need you to come in for further tests just to make sure."
"Thanks, doc." Xander nodded, taking the prescription from the doctors hands; his second of the night - the first being to ease the pain of his 'animal' bite. He tried to ignore Giles' agitated eye-roll at the ridiculous evaluation.
"Someone will be along shortly." The youthful doctor said with an absent smile, leaving the cubicle to attend to yet another patient.
***
"You're late."
Angelus smirked in the general direction of the voice, lighting up a cigarette. "Was busy, miss me?"
"Mr. O'Grady, please, let us get down to business." The curt voice spoke again. The woman didn't remove herself from the shadows, which only served to amuse the Vampire.
"I think it's pretty simple, doll. I'll deliver you your 'Master Vampire' but you leave the bitch for me." He rolled his eyes at the title.
"The Vampire we are looking for is William 'Spike' the Bloody." The voice clarified in that same clinical tone.
"And you'll get him. Just leave the Slayer." The dark-haired Vampire drew a drag of the smouldering, white stick in his hand.
The woman was still hidden by the shadows, and the Vampire didn't see the almost imperceptible tightening of her features at his last few words.
"May I ask, why the interest? I hardly see you as a do-gooder for society."
Angelus absently flicked away the end of the barely-smoked cigarette. "It's personal."
The woman smiled, unseen. "I didn't realise things could be personal for vampires."
Angelus smirked. He liked her. Pity he'd have to kill her.
Later.
Without a word, he turned and walked away, leaving the alley-way in apparent silence.
A few moments later Professor Walsh stepped away from the wall. She reached into her pocket for her cell and pressed a button.
"It's done." She murmured, and then cancelled the connection. "And I found something just that bit better."
TBC
A/N: Wantin' more? You know what you have to do….REVIEW!!!