The Quickening

Notes: I'm heading to Nebraska for the better part of the week. I'll wrap the story up once I get back. After that, I'm going to start posting a Season 7 story that I've been working a bit. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.

Previously:

Then he felt it. The wound started to burn as if someone had set it on fire. Grimacing, he braced himself against the wall as pain wracked his body. It suddenly dawned on him why there had been no follow-up attack. The arrow itself had not been meant to kill him. It had been meant to do something else.

"Poison," Angel muttered to himself.

Chapter Seventy-One:

Buffy sat beside Angel, holding his hand in her own. "He's running a fever, Giles," she said as she wiped the vampire's forehead with a wet rag. Giles had driven Buffy and Angel back to the mansion after he collapsed on the front lawn of Sunnydale High. Willow, Xander, Oz, and Cordelia had remained at the high school to research the origin of the poison they believed was slowly killing Angel. Meanwhile, Faith and Wesley had hit the streets to try to find information from anyone in the demon community willing to talk.

"I'm not sure what else we can do for him," Giles replied from where he was standing in the doorway of Angel's bedroom. Though he and Angel had a strained relationship, he found himself oddly distressed at Angel's condition. He would never be able to forgive Angelus for murdering Jenny, but he was starting to realize that Angelus and Angel were two very different people, though they shared the same face.

"Can't we give him something?" Buffy asked.

"Not until we know what's causing this. Any medication we give him could interact negatively with the poison," Giles explained. Moving into the room, he placed his hand reassuringly on Buffy's shoulder. "We're doing everything we can, Buffy. He'll be alright." Buffy nodded and looked back down at the unconscious vampire.

"I just hate sitting here watching him suffer like this," Buffy said, her voice quivering as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"Buffy," Giles said, folding his arms over his chest, "I understand that you're worried about Angel – justifiably so. But there's a lot that we have to do before the Ascension."

"I can't think about that right now," Buffy replied.

"Don't you think that's exactly what the Mayor wants?" Giles asked.

"We don't know that the Mayor did this," Buffy argued.

"No, you're right. We don't know for certain. But doesn't it seem suspicious to you that a day before graduation, Angel is shot with a poison arrow? He's trying to distract you, Buffy and it's working bloody well," Giles said.

"What do you want me to do, Giles?" Buffy shouted, losing her temper. "My lover is dying right in front of me and there's nothing I can do to stop it. It's all too much."

Giles looked down at the ground. "I know that you're upset," he began.

"No, I don't think you know anything," Buffy said. "You've never liked Angel. He could live or die and you wouldn't care. For the past three years, I've busted my ass to save everyone in this town time and time again for an assortment of demons and vampires. I'll do it again, but right now, I need to be with Angel," Buffy said sternly. "If you don't like it, you can get out."

"I'll be at the library," Giles said, realizing that he had overstepped his bounds. "I'll call if the others find anything."

"Thank you," Buffy said, listening as Giles's footsteps echoed through the mansion. The front door opened and closed. Buffy sighed, knowing that she should not have lost her temper with Giles. The Ascension was more important that one person, but when she closed her eyes, all she could see was Angel's face clouded with pain. As the silence of the mansion closed in around her, Buffy found herself silently weeping, tears staining her face. A sob ripped through her and she clapped her hands to her mouth to silence the sound. Giles was right; if the Mayor meant to distract her by poisoning Angel, his plan was working.

………………………

"Okay, here's what we have," Willow said, looking up from the microscope sitting in front of her. Several books were lying half open on the lab table and an assortment of papers and pens were spread in front of Xander, Cordelia, and Oz as they researched and wrote notes. Giles was sitting beside them, eager to cure Angel if for nothing more than to shift Buffy's focus from her vampire lover to the apocalypse at hand. "The compound on the arrow tip is definitely a poison. What's more, it's mystical," Willow explained. "According to this," she said, pointing to one of the books in front of her, "The Latin name roughly translates into The Killer of the Dead. It's only used on vampires."

"Do any of the books mention a cure?" Giles asked as he absently removed his glasses and wiped them clean on the front of his shirt.

"We haven't found one so far," Cordelia answered. "We've gone through most of the books, but there aren't a lot of instances where a victim has been cured."

"But there are some?" Giles asked hopefully.

"Very vague," Xander said. "As in they mention absolutely nothing that can help us."

"Wait a second," Oz said, suddenly speaking up. "I think I found something."

"Oh?" Giles asked.

"Damn," Oz muttered.

"False alarm?" Cordelia asked.

"No," Oz said. "It mentions a cure."

"Specifically?" Willow asked.

"Yeah," Oz replied. "The only way to cure this thing is the blood of a slayer." Silence greeted Oz's revelation. Finally, Cordelia spoke.

"The blood of the slayer," she stated. "What does that mean? Are we talking like a pin prick amount or rivers of blood?"

"More like rivers," Oz said.

"This isn't good," Willow muttered.

"No, it's not," Giles replied gravely.

"I don't see the problem here, guys," Xander said. "I mean, it's not like Buffy would let Angel drain her or anything." Everyone in the room turned to look at Xander. Sliding down in his seat uncomfortably, he gave a little laugh before saying, "Right?"

"When it comes to Angel," Giles said, "Buffy isn't exactly known for thinking straight."

"She finds out about this, she'll be cutting veins open left and right to save his ass," Cordelia added.

"So then we don't tell her?" Willow asked. "That's not right. This is the only way to save him."

"Which begs the question, is it absolutely necessary to save him?" Giles responded. "The Mayor is about to ascend into a powerful demon. We can't have Buffy sacrificing herself for a vampire on the eve of a potential apocalypse."

"He gives a good argument," Xander said.

"Xander!" Willow said sharply.

"Well, let's face it, Giles is right," Cordelia replied. "Buffy needs to be at full strength to defeat the Mayor, not lying in some hospital bed too weak to move from blood loss."

"Or dead," Xander added.

"So then we don't tell her?" Oz asked.

"No, we don't tell her," Giles reiterated.

"How can you justify this?" Willow asked, completely shocked at her friends' attitudes.

"We have to save the world," Giles replied. "That will always be more important than anything else."

……………………….

Faith and Wesley walked into Willy's bar. The usual group was gathered inside the dingy establishment. As soon as Willy saw them, he groaned. "Not tonight, guys, really," he whined. "I'm sick of having my nose broken."

"We wouldn't have to break your nose so much if you would just cooperate," Faith shot back. "We need some information."

"I'm all out of information," Willy replied. "I got booze, but no information."

"You don't even know what we were going to ask," Wesley said. "How could you know what your answer would be?"

"Fine," Willy said, glaring at them. "What do you want to know?"

"Friend of mine got shot with a poisoned arrow tonight," Faith said as she and Wesley took a seat at the bar. "We will take a drink too, by the way," she added.

"Got ID?" Willy asked. Faith shot him a glare and threw up his hands defensively. "Hey, I just gotta ask. Anyone comes in here, you look twenty-one to me."

Willy placed two shot glasses in front of Wesley and Faith and filled them to the brim with Jack Daniels. "Who was the friend?" Willy asked.

"Angel," Faith replied. "Know anyone who has it out for the big guy?"

"Like everyone," Willy responded sarcastically. "I've heard some things."

"What have you heard?" Wes asked, cautiously taking a sip from his drink while Faith slammed hers back. "Do you drink often?" He asked, looking over at her. Faith shrugged.

"When the mood strikes," she replied.

"The Mayor sent one of his boys after Angel," Willy said, cutting short their conversation. "Wanted to get him out of the way."

"Well, it worked," Faith muttered. "Hear anything about the poison?"

"Yeah," Willy said. "It's called The Killer of the Dead. Can only be used on vampires."

"Is there a cure?" Wes asked.

"There is," Willy replied. "But you're not going to like it."

"Spill, Willy," Faith said.

"The blood of the slayer," he answered.

"As in how much blood?" Faith asked, not liking his answer, as he predicted.

"A pretty good amount," Willy replied.

"How did you find this out?" Wes asked suspiciously.

"I own a bar, man," Willy answered. "I hear things. Demons come in here, get drunk, and go off. Not too long ago, a vampire came in here bragging about how he took down Angel. Asked him how after he had a few drinks, he told me. Simple as that," Willy said.

"Thanks, Willy," Faith said, reaching into her pockets and throwing some money down on the counter. Grabbing Wesley by the elbow, she dragged him out of the bar. "Keep the change," Faith yelled over her shoulder to Willy as they left.

"That went well," Wes commented once they were outside. "I thought we would have to beat him up."

"Me and Willy get along really well," Faith replied. "I give him big tips, he gives me info. Buffy, on the other hand, doesn't know the power of money."

"Speaking of Buffy," Wes said. "What're we going to do with the information Willy gave us?"

"Tell her," Faith replied. "What she decides to do with it is her choice."

"Should we tell the others?" Wes asked, following after Faith as she began to walk to the mansion.

"I don't think so," Faith replied. "Something tells me they would try to stop us."