Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
Chp.37
Who's a True Champion?
All other info: Chp.1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After Giles's talk with Dawn, the group had decided to wait a few days before moving Buffy to the law offices. Thinking it better for Dawn if she had that time to become accustomed to the notion.
Dawn had stayed by her sister's side the whole way to Wolfram & Hart. Now she sits by her bedside. She hates this place, and she wants to not be here, but there's no way that she'll leave Buffy here alone, even if the rest of the gang were wandering around the place. She wasn't leaving her sisters side.
Dawn looks to Buffy, laying on the bed, there's tubes and hoses coming from various places on her body, where the doctors had insisted on putting them in her, and Dawn had argued an hour over each thing they wanted to do to Buffy. In the end the doctors had won, because Dawn wasn't old enough to say no, and she's the only true family that Buffy has left.
She watched as everyone had come to check on the prone slayer, at least once today, which ever since they'd brought the shell of her sister here, they'd done like clock work everyday. They never stayed too long, but they had come in. Being the ever vigilant little sister, Dawn hadn't moved from her position by Buffy's bed, for the two days they'd been in this hellhole.
The Scoob's had tried everything to get her out of the room, even if it was just for a short walk down the hall, but she wouldn't move. Xander would bring in food, and something for her to drink every once in awhile. He never said anything, but looked at her with a despairing look in his eyes, and turn and leave. The first time he'd come in he'd asked her to go to the café in the building with him, but she'd just looked over to him. "If she wakes up, I want to be the first person she sees." She'd told him, and he'd left only to return a half-hour later to hand her a burger and fries.
She sat there and thought about what had happened since leaving Sunnydale, her head on her crossed arms that lay limply on the edge of the bed. She glances up as the door to the shared room opens, and Angel walks in with his hands planted firmly in the pockets of his pants, and his head lowered as if in mourning.
"Hey Dawnie." He quietly speaks, as he looks from one prone form to another on the other side of the room. "Came down to see how my girls are." He explains. Taking a step closer to the brunette lying on the bed in front of him, pulls the chain on the privacy curtain, and takes the girls hand afterwards. "Hey, Cordy." He whispers, looking at the girls face he reaches up with his free hand and brushing her cheek with the tips of his fingers.
On the other side of the curtain Dawn hears his muffled voice talking to Cordelia. She can't make out the words; because his voice is so low she can't make sense of the mumbling.
Dawn rolls her eyes. She knows that Cordy has been in L.A. since Angel had come here, but wasn't he supposed to love Buffy? He's supposedly her 'One true love.' From the way Angel was acting, that didn't seem to be the case any longer.
Angel had seemed fixated on the other woman, only giving Buffy a cursory glance, before pulling the curtain shut. She was happy to see that he'd moved on, because he was such an over-protective pain in the butt when he and Buffy had been together. She thanked whomever that the vampire wasn't hovering like a big, old, hot air balloon, over her sister. Then it strikes her that she's now the over-protective pain in the ass, which doesn't bother her in the least.
She hadn't liked Angel then, and she sooo didn't like him now. She knows that the vampire is helping her sister, but after Faith had told her about the law firm that he is now the head of, and the place that she now basically resided in. The last being that her sister was not going to be left alone and helpless in this evil place, she'd lost what little trust of Angel she did have.
Dawn is sitting quietly in Buffy's side of the room. The only sounds, being the beeping, and whooshing of the machines hooked to her sister, that tell her Buffy still lives, and the almost silent, incomprehensible murmurings of Angel on the other side of the room.
In her musings, she hadn't noticed that the curtain was being pulled aside, the vampire's chair had been turned around, and his hand now held Buffy's. That is until he looks over at her, after tracing a few circles over the back of the slayers hand with his thumb. "You know." He sighs, "You're sister's a fighter, Dawn. She'll find her way back to us. I just wish we could figure out what happened to make her catatonic."
Dawn looks to the vampire across the bed, an evil stare crossing her face as she does.
Angel, taken aback by the look on the girls face, hangs his head. "Well now I know you've been hanging around Spike." He says under his breath, hoping the girl couldn't make out what he'd said.
She squints her eyes more, and purses her lips, after making out every word he'd said. He can tell just from the way she looks at him that he's somehow pissed the girl off.
"You know Angel." He's startled by her voice. "For someone that swears my sister is the love of his life, you sure don't act like the concerned boyfriend, and further more." Her blue eyes find his brown one's with the coldest stare he's ever seen. "Who are you to judge Spike?" She says it with control, being as cool as possible, but she's seething. "He's dead!" She finally lets a bit of her fury out with the last two words.
She abruptly stands-up, the chair she'd occupied tumbling over behind her. Her hands clench into tight fists. "You know you're a pathetic excuse for a champion." She says through her clenched teeth, and storms over to Angel's side of the bed. "I could dust you right now!" She yells directly into his ear. "The only reason I don't, is because of HER!" She points to Buffy lying motionless on the bed."She's the only reason the rest of them haven't dusted you, also." Her hands find her hips. "Although when she wakes, she might do it herself. Espeacially, when she realizes where you're working now."
Angel turns from his brooding, perusal of his once love, and takes in the girl standing in a fighting stance beside of him. He smiles. "What do we know? A bitty, Buffy." He states, as he takes in her arms crossed, defiantly over her chest, and the cocked hip as she glares down at him.
She almost laughs, but keeps her composure; as she remembers Spike say almost the exact same words about her, not even two years ago. "What the hell possessed you to take this place over, Angel?" She quickly changes the subject. "You're supposedly the champion of the PTB's, yet the only thing I can see is you sitting in a plush, and cushy office, telling everyone else what they're supposed to be doing." She flips a piece of hair over her shoulder, and the glare from earlier returns to her features. "Spike saved the world, not once, but quite a few times." She rolls her eyes, at the look of pure disbelief on Angel face. "Okay, he helped with it quite a few times." She reiterates. "But, still. . . Most of those times he didn't have a soul." She turns her back to him, "He's a true champion." She finishes, stomping back over to her chair, sitting it back to rights, and plops into it like a teenager. She grabs hold of her sister's hand, and notices something she hadn't before. Rolling the hand over, she sees that the skin on Buffy's hand is all burnt, and scarred.
Angel sits with his head down, and doesn't notice Dawn inspecting her sister's hand, she notices as she looks across the bed at him. She's relieved that he hadn't noticed, because Giles is the one who needs to know about this, and not the vampire she wouldn't trust with her tennis shoe.
She quickly turns the hand back down onto the bed, as the vampire looks over to her, and scoots his chair back to get up.
He nods to her, his mind deep in thought from everything that Dawn had said to him. She'd given him more than enough to think about.
She doesn't acknowledge him, as he slowly makes his way over to the door, and silently leaves the room. A smile spreads on her face as she watches the door close behind him. When the door clicks, telling her that it is completely closed, she turns the hand under hers back over, and traces the burn marks on the palm with her index finger.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lilmamaday: About the whole Angel/Doctor thing I never thought of that, but there's a reason why Buffy is going to W&H. Also the question in last chapters review. You'll just have to wait and see. There's a lot gonna happen, but I'm not gonna give anything away.
Spuffyfan4eva: Glad to see that my reply made you smile. I get over emotional sometimes too. I'm glad to see that at least there's one person out there that wouldn't send death threats, but I think not having Spike cookies just might be worse. Yeah, I've seen the Spike candy bar, but the way I am with chocolate it wouldn't take long for me to eat it, and then I wouldn't have it.
Soveriegn of Selenity: Happy to see that my updating made your day. You'll see what's gonna happen at W&H, I promise. I know that the last update was short, but I didn't want to start getting any death threats.
BuffyFan: W&H helping anyone's a big, mistake, but I needed Buffy there. I love to keep you guys guessing, it keeps me writing this. It's my favorite thing about this story, it even keeps me wondering what's actually gonna happen.
Josie: Yes I'm obsessed, although I think there might be another word for it, but I can't think of one right now.
Kari: Happy Birthday! It's a little late, but better late than never I always say. Also, you don't have to apologize for taking so long to review; I'm the one that has to apologize for the lateness of my chapters lately.
Ponceybugger: I hope you continue to think the story is good.
Let me rest in peace: Dru is psychotic, that's why she showed up in the mental institute instead of in L.A. The religion of Spike sounds like a good idea. We could pray at the altar of the duster.
Chp.37
Who's a True Champion?
All other info: Chp.1
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After Giles's talk with Dawn, the group had decided to wait a few days before moving Buffy to the law offices. Thinking it better for Dawn if she had that time to become accustomed to the notion.
Dawn had stayed by her sister's side the whole way to Wolfram & Hart. Now she sits by her bedside. She hates this place, and she wants to not be here, but there's no way that she'll leave Buffy here alone, even if the rest of the gang were wandering around the place. She wasn't leaving her sisters side.
Dawn looks to Buffy, laying on the bed, there's tubes and hoses coming from various places on her body, where the doctors had insisted on putting them in her, and Dawn had argued an hour over each thing they wanted to do to Buffy. In the end the doctors had won, because Dawn wasn't old enough to say no, and she's the only true family that Buffy has left.
She watched as everyone had come to check on the prone slayer, at least once today, which ever since they'd brought the shell of her sister here, they'd done like clock work everyday. They never stayed too long, but they had come in. Being the ever vigilant little sister, Dawn hadn't moved from her position by Buffy's bed, for the two days they'd been in this hellhole.
The Scoob's had tried everything to get her out of the room, even if it was just for a short walk down the hall, but she wouldn't move. Xander would bring in food, and something for her to drink every once in awhile. He never said anything, but looked at her with a despairing look in his eyes, and turn and leave. The first time he'd come in he'd asked her to go to the café in the building with him, but she'd just looked over to him. "If she wakes up, I want to be the first person she sees." She'd told him, and he'd left only to return a half-hour later to hand her a burger and fries.
She sat there and thought about what had happened since leaving Sunnydale, her head on her crossed arms that lay limply on the edge of the bed. She glances up as the door to the shared room opens, and Angel walks in with his hands planted firmly in the pockets of his pants, and his head lowered as if in mourning.
"Hey Dawnie." He quietly speaks, as he looks from one prone form to another on the other side of the room. "Came down to see how my girls are." He explains. Taking a step closer to the brunette lying on the bed in front of him, pulls the chain on the privacy curtain, and takes the girls hand afterwards. "Hey, Cordy." He whispers, looking at the girls face he reaches up with his free hand and brushing her cheek with the tips of his fingers.
On the other side of the curtain Dawn hears his muffled voice talking to Cordelia. She can't make out the words; because his voice is so low she can't make sense of the mumbling.
Dawn rolls her eyes. She knows that Cordy has been in L.A. since Angel had come here, but wasn't he supposed to love Buffy? He's supposedly her 'One true love.' From the way Angel was acting, that didn't seem to be the case any longer.
Angel had seemed fixated on the other woman, only giving Buffy a cursory glance, before pulling the curtain shut. She was happy to see that he'd moved on, because he was such an over-protective pain in the butt when he and Buffy had been together. She thanked whomever that the vampire wasn't hovering like a big, old, hot air balloon, over her sister. Then it strikes her that she's now the over-protective pain in the ass, which doesn't bother her in the least.
She hadn't liked Angel then, and she sooo didn't like him now. She knows that the vampire is helping her sister, but after Faith had told her about the law firm that he is now the head of, and the place that she now basically resided in. The last being that her sister was not going to be left alone and helpless in this evil place, she'd lost what little trust of Angel she did have.
Dawn is sitting quietly in Buffy's side of the room. The only sounds, being the beeping, and whooshing of the machines hooked to her sister, that tell her Buffy still lives, and the almost silent, incomprehensible murmurings of Angel on the other side of the room.
In her musings, she hadn't noticed that the curtain was being pulled aside, the vampire's chair had been turned around, and his hand now held Buffy's. That is until he looks over at her, after tracing a few circles over the back of the slayers hand with his thumb. "You know." He sighs, "You're sister's a fighter, Dawn. She'll find her way back to us. I just wish we could figure out what happened to make her catatonic."
Dawn looks to the vampire across the bed, an evil stare crossing her face as she does.
Angel, taken aback by the look on the girls face, hangs his head. "Well now I know you've been hanging around Spike." He says under his breath, hoping the girl couldn't make out what he'd said.
She squints her eyes more, and purses her lips, after making out every word he'd said. He can tell just from the way she looks at him that he's somehow pissed the girl off.
"You know Angel." He's startled by her voice. "For someone that swears my sister is the love of his life, you sure don't act like the concerned boyfriend, and further more." Her blue eyes find his brown one's with the coldest stare he's ever seen. "Who are you to judge Spike?" She says it with control, being as cool as possible, but she's seething. "He's dead!" She finally lets a bit of her fury out with the last two words.
She abruptly stands-up, the chair she'd occupied tumbling over behind her. Her hands clench into tight fists. "You know you're a pathetic excuse for a champion." She says through her clenched teeth, and storms over to Angel's side of the bed. "I could dust you right now!" She yells directly into his ear. "The only reason I don't, is because of HER!" She points to Buffy lying motionless on the bed."She's the only reason the rest of them haven't dusted you, also." Her hands find her hips. "Although when she wakes, she might do it herself. Espeacially, when she realizes where you're working now."
Angel turns from his brooding, perusal of his once love, and takes in the girl standing in a fighting stance beside of him. He smiles. "What do we know? A bitty, Buffy." He states, as he takes in her arms crossed, defiantly over her chest, and the cocked hip as she glares down at him.
She almost laughs, but keeps her composure; as she remembers Spike say almost the exact same words about her, not even two years ago. "What the hell possessed you to take this place over, Angel?" She quickly changes the subject. "You're supposedly the champion of the PTB's, yet the only thing I can see is you sitting in a plush, and cushy office, telling everyone else what they're supposed to be doing." She flips a piece of hair over her shoulder, and the glare from earlier returns to her features. "Spike saved the world, not once, but quite a few times." She rolls her eyes, at the look of pure disbelief on Angel face. "Okay, he helped with it quite a few times." She reiterates. "But, still. . . Most of those times he didn't have a soul." She turns her back to him, "He's a true champion." She finishes, stomping back over to her chair, sitting it back to rights, and plops into it like a teenager. She grabs hold of her sister's hand, and notices something she hadn't before. Rolling the hand over, she sees that the skin on Buffy's hand is all burnt, and scarred.
Angel sits with his head down, and doesn't notice Dawn inspecting her sister's hand, she notices as she looks across the bed at him. She's relieved that he hadn't noticed, because Giles is the one who needs to know about this, and not the vampire she wouldn't trust with her tennis shoe.
She quickly turns the hand back down onto the bed, as the vampire looks over to her, and scoots his chair back to get up.
He nods to her, his mind deep in thought from everything that Dawn had said to him. She'd given him more than enough to think about.
She doesn't acknowledge him, as he slowly makes his way over to the door, and silently leaves the room. A smile spreads on her face as she watches the door close behind him. When the door clicks, telling her that it is completely closed, she turns the hand under hers back over, and traces the burn marks on the palm with her index finger.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lilmamaday: About the whole Angel/Doctor thing I never thought of that, but there's a reason why Buffy is going to W&H. Also the question in last chapters review. You'll just have to wait and see. There's a lot gonna happen, but I'm not gonna give anything away.
Spuffyfan4eva: Glad to see that my reply made you smile. I get over emotional sometimes too. I'm glad to see that at least there's one person out there that wouldn't send death threats, but I think not having Spike cookies just might be worse. Yeah, I've seen the Spike candy bar, but the way I am with chocolate it wouldn't take long for me to eat it, and then I wouldn't have it.
Soveriegn of Selenity: Happy to see that my updating made your day. You'll see what's gonna happen at W&H, I promise. I know that the last update was short, but I didn't want to start getting any death threats.
BuffyFan: W&H helping anyone's a big, mistake, but I needed Buffy there. I love to keep you guys guessing, it keeps me writing this. It's my favorite thing about this story, it even keeps me wondering what's actually gonna happen.
Josie: Yes I'm obsessed, although I think there might be another word for it, but I can't think of one right now.
Kari: Happy Birthday! It's a little late, but better late than never I always say. Also, you don't have to apologize for taking so long to review; I'm the one that has to apologize for the lateness of my chapters lately.
Ponceybugger: I hope you continue to think the story is good.
Let me rest in peace: Dru is psychotic, that's why she showed up in the mental institute instead of in L.A. The religion of Spike sounds like a good idea. We could pray at the altar of the duster.