Chapter 17 – Consequences
The sight of Wesley and Darla was the last straw for Buffy. Her knees gave way as she started to faint. Spike quickly reacted and caught her, lifting her up in his arms.
"Spike, bring her to my room." Wesley directed to Spike.
"You out of your mind Wesley. This girl is hurt and needs to go to the hospital. I'm not covering up for your boy." Spike growled.
"Spike, this is a family matter. I will take care of Buffy. You can go home now." Darla came over and stroked Buffy's hair as her head lolled against Spikes arm.
"'m not leaving the girl." Spike stated, standing his ground, staring down Wesley and Darla.
"Fine, then tag along. But we're not going to the hospital. We'll take her back to my house and call a doctor." Darla compromised, sounding exasperated.
"God damn it woman, she was raped! By your brother! This woman needs a hospital and to see the police."
"Damn it Spike, you know that's not how this works. This is Lady Summers-Giles. Her family is very close with the Angelus family, and my family for the matter. We will take care of this matter privately." Wesley stated firmly.
Spike was seething. Every fiber of his being knew this was wrong, but Wes was right. This was how these pansies handled their business. He knew they wouldn't let it get out in the papers that Lord Angelus had raped a girl, especially this girl if she was truly a Lady. He nodded at Wesley and Darla. "Fine then, but we'll go in my car."
Wesley and Darla followed Spike to his car. They got in the backseat with the still unconscious Buffy as Spike drove. Darla made some calls on her cell phone on the way over. When they arrived at the townhouse, Wesley attempted to pick up Buffy and take her in, but Spike quickly shoved him out of the way. "I'll take her. " he growled.
Darla led them up to the spare bedroom where they laid Buffy down. The housekeeper came to help her clean Buffy up. They sent the boys downstairs to wait for the doctor. Wesley and Spike stood in uncomfortable silence while they waited. Finally Spike couldn't take it any longer.
"God damn it Wes. I know you're a good man. And you know this is wrong. How can you take part in this. The girl needs to be in a hospital!"
"Spike, you know this is a private matter. Dr. Fitzpatrick is a very good physician and will take very good care of her. How do you know Lady Buffy anyway?"
"It's a long story." Spike mumbled and turned away. Finally the doctor arrived. They took him up to the room, but Darla wouldn't let them back in. The boys went back to sitting in silence until there was a knock at the front door. The housekeeper rushed to answer and Spike and Wesley stood to see who it was. Spike was surprised to see not only Lady Lilah Giles, but also Lord Holland Angelus.
"Lady Giles, Lord Angelus." Wesley greeted.
Lady Lilah stared coolly at Spike. "Who is this, why is he here?" She asked.
Spike was very aware of who she was and how she felt about his family. "Lady Giles, my name is William Martin. I found Buffy and was taking her to the hospital before Wesley and Darla intervened."
Lady Gils scowled. She did not care for his appearance. Black army boots, leather duster, obviously died hair, and was that a scar above his eye? He looked like a street hooligan. But she knew who his family was. The Martin's were very wealthy, far wealthier than her, but they lacked breeding and continued to marry commoners. His father had been knighted by the queen, but that didn't count. She knew William would have no concept on the proper handling of this matter. He would have to be dealt with in order to protect her granddaughter's reputation.
"Well William, I must thank you for helping my granddaughter. She means the world to me. I must go attend to her. I'm sure Wesley will see you out." Lilah gave him a fake smile.
"Well, I'd like to stay to make sure Buffy's okay." Spike noticed Lord Angelus was staring quite intently at him. Spike gave him a nod, which was ignored.
"Fine." Lady Giles and Lord Angelus made their way upstairs, leaving Spike and Wes. The doctor was just coming out of the bedroom.
"Doctor, how is she?" Lilah asked anxiously.
"She will be fine physically. We have cleaned her up and treaded the area. It will heal properly if she follows the instructions I've left her. But mentally, she's quite unhinged. She was very hysterical when I first arrived. I've given her a tranquillizer so for now she is calm. I've spoken with Lady Angelus who is in the room with her now. I understand this matter is to be kept between the families and I certainly will keep this private. But Elizabeth will need some sort of counseling."
"Thank you Dr. Fitzpatrick." Lady Lilah smiled at him. "Don't worry, we will make sure Buffy gets through this."
"Yes, thank you doctor." Holland Angelus smiled and handed the doctor a thick envelope. "We appreciate your cooperation."
The doctor pocketed the envelope and went downstairs. Lady Lilah and Lord Angelus went into the bedroom. Buffy was lying on her side, staring at the wall. Darla was sitting in a chair beside her, holding her hand. When she saw her father and Lady Lilah, she got up and went over to them.
"She's going to be okay." She whispered.
Lady Lilah went and sat beside Buffy. Buffy was very pale and her hand trembled as Lilah held it. Lilah brushed the hair off of Buffy's face and kissed her forehead.
"Buffy dear, are you okay?" Lilah asked, soothingly.
"Why?" Buffy whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Oh Buffy, it was a misunderstanding. Holland and I have already spoken with Angel, and he is quite sorry. He was very drunk, and didn't mean to hurt you." Lilah explained.
The drugs were very heavy on Buffy's brain, and she couldn't form all the thoughts and responses she needed to. She could only whisper, "He hurt me."
"Sweetie, I know. But the doctor said it will heal. Everything will go back to normal, you'll see."
Holland walked over behind Lilah. "Hi Buffy. Don't you worry. Everything will be okay. Angel is very sorry, and he understands why you're upset. He'll come over tomorrow when you're feeling better and apologize himself." Holland smiled at her.
Inside Buffy's head, she screamed. She thought she had heard Holland say Angel would be coming to see her. But the drugs had won out and Buffy's eyes closed.
"Well she's very sleepy. I'll sit the night with her. Holland, Darla, thank you for your hospitality, but I can take it from here." Lilah smiled at them. Holland and Darla nodded and left the room.
Darla walked her father to the door. He nodded his goodbye to Wes and Spike. After the door closed Spike confronted Darla.
"So what's going on? The doctor wouldn't tell us anything."
"Buffy going to be fine. Her grandmother is going to stay with her. You boys can go home now."
"Go home… I want to see her, make sure she's okay. When are the police going to get here? Surely her grandmother called them!" Spike demanded.
"Now is not the time for a visit, Spike. This is a family matter, between the Giles and the Angelus'. There will be no police. Angel has apologized and everything is fine now." Darla explained.
Behind Spike, Wesley cringed. He knew this was wrong but didn't know what to do. He couldn't help Spike; his family had deep ties to the Angelus family. Plus there was Fred. He couldn't do anything to hurt her family. He wondered where she was. It was nearly three in the morning. That was very late for her to be out.
Spike glared at Darla. He knew there was nothing he could do if the families were acting like this. It burned him up inside, all this 'Family Honor'. Buffy was raped and Angel should pay.
"Fine then." Spike slammed out the door and headed for the fraternity house. The party was over by the time he arrived and the house was dark. He used his key to get in. He was a member, but chose not to live in the house. He preferred his privacy. He had a flat nearby.
Spike made his way upstairs to Angel's room. He stood outside for a moment, contemplating what he was about to do. He had always hated Angel. They had been classmates way back in prep school as small boys. They never got along and had the occasional scuffle now and then, but mostly managed to avoid each other. Here at Oxford they had joined the same fraternity, both because their fathers were members. They attempted to be cordial, and for the most part it worked. They had words now and again, and secretly hated each other, but put on a good face. But no more. Spike didn't know Buffy, but he no girl should ever suffer what she was going through. If the police wouldn't be able to make Angel pay for raping Buffy, he would.
Spike opened the door to Angel's room. The lights were still on, but Angel lay snoring on the bed. Spike closed the door quietly behind him. He walked across the room and stood over the sleeping man. He stared angrily down at his face before reaching down and hauling Angel's body up into a sitting position. Angel's eyes popped open and he gasped in shock.
"Hello peaches." Spike greeted. He then pulled back his arm and swung as hard as he could, the punch landing square on Angel's jaw.
"Ow!" Screamed Angel. "You bastard, I'm going to tear you to pieces!" Angel bellowed, jumping out of the bed.
"I'll kill you first, Angelus." Spike growled and pounced again. The men tumbled around the room, fist flying. Some of their fraternity brothers hear the commotion and rushed in, separating them.
Lindsey McDonald, the president of the fraternity then came into the room. "What is this about?" He demanded. He had an idea about what the problem was since he had just got off the phone with his girlfriend Darla.
"He just came in and attacked me while I was sleeping." Angel shook his fist at Spike.
"Yeah, well you needed to be taught a lesson about hurting little girls." Spike growled.
"You need to mind your business Spike. What goes on between me and my girlfriend is my business." Angel tried to lunge at Spike again, but was held back.
"Okay boys, there will be no more fighting here tonight." Lindsey ordered. "You are brothers and will respect each other and the codes of the fraternity. If I see you two fighting again, you'll both be out. Try explaining that to your fathers." Lindsey turned and left the room.
The other brothers followed, taking Spike with them. In the hall, they released him. Lindsey was waiting for him. The others left him alone.
"Look Spike, I know what went down and I know it stinks, but that's the way things are." Lindsey patted him on the back. He may be dating Angel's sister, but he still thought the guy was an ass. "Just let it go man."
"I'm bloody sick of the shit." Spike mumbled. He pushed past Lindsey and went downstairs and got in his car. He felt good about the blows he got in before he and Angel were separated, but he still didn't feel it was enough. The look on Buffy's face when he found her in the hall haunted him.
He pulled up in front of his flat and got out. His neighbor Charles Gunn was outside saying goodbye to his girl. That made Spike chuckled. If the Angelus family only knew.
"Night Gunn, night Fred."
A/N: Please review!