Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
Chp.43
Hope
Other info is in the first chapter
Sitting behind his desk, Angel mulls over the implications of what Spike had told him moments before. The thought that Buffy could love that menace, just appalls him. As he sits there thinking about it, realization finally hits him. 'Buffy's awake? Why hadn't anyone told him, and why was Spike the one to tell him the news?' He scatters the papers that are on the desk as he plants his hands on it to push his seat back.
He doesn't think to use the intercom. Anyway he always pushes the wrong button, and ends up getting that sacrificial line. He bellows, angrily. "Harmony!" The shout echoes around the glass fronted office, and his gaze lands on the blonde secretary, as her head jerks up.
Harmony sits at her desk, with her unicorn collection displayed for all to see in a neat, little, single file row across the front of it. She notices that one has been turned backwards when she glances up, as she reaches to turn it back to its proper position she hears her name being shouted. She startles, knocking the crystal figure from its perch, off of the edge, and to the shiny, lobby floor. Where it shatters into a thousand pieces.
The blonde watches in shocked horror, as the unicorn falls. It seems as if it takes eons until it hits and shatters. When she hears the sound of crystal breaking, she stands up with a pout, and stalks haltingly over to the door of Angel's office.
Angel still stands behind the desk, his hands planted firmly on its wooden surfaced top. His eyes follow the blonde vampire as she makes her way from behind the desk out front, with a pout on her face, as she opens the door, the pout has changed to a look of anger.
Angel chuckles lightly, as he watches her. The set of her shoulders, and the look of anger, is just adorable. 'Did he just think that Harmony was adorable? Oh god' He shakes his head trying to get the thought from his mind, and remembers why he called her into his office in the first place, and his own anger returns.
"Why wasn't I notified that Buffy had awoken?" His eyes flash to yellow for a moment, as his anger raises a notch.
"What?" Harmony shouts. "You made me break one of my precious, pretty little unicorns, for news that I didn't know?" She angrily places her hands on her hips, turns on the heels of her Vera Wang's, and stomps back out to her desk.
Angel's head falls, and he shakes it from side to side. He figured that the news would have been spread all over the building by now, and he'd been the last one to know about it. "Well, at least she answered the question." He whispers, as he walks over to his private elevator. The doors automatically open, he presses the button for the medical ward, and mumbles the words to the Manilow song piped into the car.
The doors open up, Angel steps into the hallway, and he slides his hand through his hair as he makes his way to Buffy and Cordy's room.
He approaches the door, and opens it quietly. Looking around he sees that the privacy curtain between the two beds has been pulled, and looks longingly at the brunette laid out on the bed he can see. "If Buffy can come out of a coma, maybe there's still some hope that she'll wake some day, too." He mumbles to his self, and hears the hushed voices on the other side of the curtain.
He slowly makes his way over to the barrier, but stops at the head of Cordelia's bed, and runs a finger down her soft and pale cheek. "I'll be back to see you in a few moments." He whispers against her forehead, as he places a soft kiss on it.
He stands from his stooped position beside of Cordy, and lays his hand on top of the comatose girls, lightly squeezing it. Dawns' giggling brings him back to the reason that he'd come down in the first place.
He turns from the prone form, making his way to the end of the curtain, pushing it open just enough so he can slip between it and the wall, and finds the scene he's presented with strange, but to the other three occupants it looks like an everyday occurrence.
Dawn sits beside the bed, her chin resting on her crossed arms, Spike stands beside her, with an amused smirk, and Buffy lays on the bed, her hair fanned out around her, talking animatedly to the both of them.
"That's not all, Dawnie. Xander was. . ." Angel picks up part of the strange conversation.
"Alex. Pet." Spike corrects, reaching out his hand to her, but it passes right through her head.
Angel notices the flash of pain, and disappointment cross the other vampires face, at the non-action.
Buffy's eyes look up in adoration, and some annoyance. But still with a slight smile. "Yeah, right. Alex." She rolls her eyes. "Was eating this gooey pizza, and every time he talked, it'd roll around, all mashed up, and at one point..." She looks up and her eyes fall on Angel standing by the curtain, with a smile on his face. "Angel?" She questions, and hears a growl coming from her right.
"Hello, Buffy." He replies with hesitation. "How are you?" He steps from the edge of the curtain, and over to the left side of the bed, with his hands stuffed, deep into the pockets of his leather coat.
Spike growls a warning to the other vampire, for getting too close. Angel ignores it, and places his hand on the slayers.
At his touch, Buffy jerks her hand from under his, and sits up more on the pillows that Dawn had stacked up behind her a few moments ago. "Well, after being in a coma for three weeks, I'm feeling quite rested." She says sarcastically. "Then when I awake I find that my boyfriend has come down with a severe case of ghostliness." Her sarcastic tone gets more defined, as her eyes find Spike smiling down on her. She wants to touch him, feel him, and know that she has his reassurance. "I'm just peachy, Angel." She finishes the sarcastic tone all but deafening in her voice.
Spike can't help but chuckle as he stands proudly beside of her.
"We tried..." Angel starts to explain, but the words won't come to him. Then he realizes that she'd said something about a boyfriend. 'I thought she said she was cookie dough?' His mind wonders. "Your boyfriend is a ghost?" He stupidly asks. Not realizing whom the blonde had been referring to.
"Come on, Angel. Are you really that dense?" Dawn couldn't resist the urge to call Angel dense. She gives him a patented Dawn eye roll.
"What?" Angel looks over to the brunette, and notices that Spikes' hand is passing back and forth through the girls' head.
As realization hits, Angels shoulders slump, imperceptibly under his coat. "Oh!" He mumbles and his eyes fall back on Buffy. He'll try and talk to her later, about the incorporeal pain in his ass. Hopefully she'll be alone. "I'm glad to see that you're alright." He tells her, turning to leave, and makes his way back to Cordy's bedside on the other side of the curtain.
(Yeah, I know it's been awhile, but I intended to have these chapters up long ago. The thing is there's a horse show this weekend, and I have four horses that I'm helping with, including my own. I haven't had a day off since the middle of April. Today has been the first, and hopefully I'll be able to get two more out before I leave on Friday. I'm not making any promises, but I can try.)
Chp.43
Hope
Other info is in the first chapter
Sitting behind his desk, Angel mulls over the implications of what Spike had told him moments before. The thought that Buffy could love that menace, just appalls him. As he sits there thinking about it, realization finally hits him. 'Buffy's awake? Why hadn't anyone told him, and why was Spike the one to tell him the news?' He scatters the papers that are on the desk as he plants his hands on it to push his seat back.
He doesn't think to use the intercom. Anyway he always pushes the wrong button, and ends up getting that sacrificial line. He bellows, angrily. "Harmony!" The shout echoes around the glass fronted office, and his gaze lands on the blonde secretary, as her head jerks up.
Harmony sits at her desk, with her unicorn collection displayed for all to see in a neat, little, single file row across the front of it. She notices that one has been turned backwards when she glances up, as she reaches to turn it back to its proper position she hears her name being shouted. She startles, knocking the crystal figure from its perch, off of the edge, and to the shiny, lobby floor. Where it shatters into a thousand pieces.
The blonde watches in shocked horror, as the unicorn falls. It seems as if it takes eons until it hits and shatters. When she hears the sound of crystal breaking, she stands up with a pout, and stalks haltingly over to the door of Angel's office.
Angel still stands behind the desk, his hands planted firmly on its wooden surfaced top. His eyes follow the blonde vampire as she makes her way from behind the desk out front, with a pout on her face, as she opens the door, the pout has changed to a look of anger.
Angel chuckles lightly, as he watches her. The set of her shoulders, and the look of anger, is just adorable. 'Did he just think that Harmony was adorable? Oh god' He shakes his head trying to get the thought from his mind, and remembers why he called her into his office in the first place, and his own anger returns.
"Why wasn't I notified that Buffy had awoken?" His eyes flash to yellow for a moment, as his anger raises a notch.
"What?" Harmony shouts. "You made me break one of my precious, pretty little unicorns, for news that I didn't know?" She angrily places her hands on her hips, turns on the heels of her Vera Wang's, and stomps back out to her desk.
Angel's head falls, and he shakes it from side to side. He figured that the news would have been spread all over the building by now, and he'd been the last one to know about it. "Well, at least she answered the question." He whispers, as he walks over to his private elevator. The doors automatically open, he presses the button for the medical ward, and mumbles the words to the Manilow song piped into the car.
The doors open up, Angel steps into the hallway, and he slides his hand through his hair as he makes his way to Buffy and Cordy's room.
He approaches the door, and opens it quietly. Looking around he sees that the privacy curtain between the two beds has been pulled, and looks longingly at the brunette laid out on the bed he can see. "If Buffy can come out of a coma, maybe there's still some hope that she'll wake some day, too." He mumbles to his self, and hears the hushed voices on the other side of the curtain.
He slowly makes his way over to the barrier, but stops at the head of Cordelia's bed, and runs a finger down her soft and pale cheek. "I'll be back to see you in a few moments." He whispers against her forehead, as he places a soft kiss on it.
He stands from his stooped position beside of Cordy, and lays his hand on top of the comatose girls, lightly squeezing it. Dawns' giggling brings him back to the reason that he'd come down in the first place.
He turns from the prone form, making his way to the end of the curtain, pushing it open just enough so he can slip between it and the wall, and finds the scene he's presented with strange, but to the other three occupants it looks like an everyday occurrence.
Dawn sits beside the bed, her chin resting on her crossed arms, Spike stands beside her, with an amused smirk, and Buffy lays on the bed, her hair fanned out around her, talking animatedly to the both of them.
"That's not all, Dawnie. Xander was. . ." Angel picks up part of the strange conversation.
"Alex. Pet." Spike corrects, reaching out his hand to her, but it passes right through her head.
Angel notices the flash of pain, and disappointment cross the other vampires face, at the non-action.
Buffy's eyes look up in adoration, and some annoyance. But still with a slight smile. "Yeah, right. Alex." She rolls her eyes. "Was eating this gooey pizza, and every time he talked, it'd roll around, all mashed up, and at one point..." She looks up and her eyes fall on Angel standing by the curtain, with a smile on his face. "Angel?" She questions, and hears a growl coming from her right.
"Hello, Buffy." He replies with hesitation. "How are you?" He steps from the edge of the curtain, and over to the left side of the bed, with his hands stuffed, deep into the pockets of his leather coat.
Spike growls a warning to the other vampire, for getting too close. Angel ignores it, and places his hand on the slayers.
At his touch, Buffy jerks her hand from under his, and sits up more on the pillows that Dawn had stacked up behind her a few moments ago. "Well, after being in a coma for three weeks, I'm feeling quite rested." She says sarcastically. "Then when I awake I find that my boyfriend has come down with a severe case of ghostliness." Her sarcastic tone gets more defined, as her eyes find Spike smiling down on her. She wants to touch him, feel him, and know that she has his reassurance. "I'm just peachy, Angel." She finishes the sarcastic tone all but deafening in her voice.
Spike can't help but chuckle as he stands proudly beside of her.
"We tried..." Angel starts to explain, but the words won't come to him. Then he realizes that she'd said something about a boyfriend. 'I thought she said she was cookie dough?' His mind wonders. "Your boyfriend is a ghost?" He stupidly asks. Not realizing whom the blonde had been referring to.
"Come on, Angel. Are you really that dense?" Dawn couldn't resist the urge to call Angel dense. She gives him a patented Dawn eye roll.
"What?" Angel looks over to the brunette, and notices that Spikes' hand is passing back and forth through the girls' head.
As realization hits, Angels shoulders slump, imperceptibly under his coat. "Oh!" He mumbles and his eyes fall back on Buffy. He'll try and talk to her later, about the incorporeal pain in his ass. Hopefully she'll be alone. "I'm glad to see that you're alright." He tells her, turning to leave, and makes his way back to Cordy's bedside on the other side of the curtain.
(Yeah, I know it's been awhile, but I intended to have these chapters up long ago. The thing is there's a horse show this weekend, and I have four horses that I'm helping with, including my own. I haven't had a day off since the middle of April. Today has been the first, and hopefully I'll be able to get two more out before I leave on Friday. I'm not making any promises, but I can try.)