Ok on with the tale. Its a bit of a filler chapter really but don't let that stop you.. Please read and review - it is really appreciated and thanks to those who have. A/N The title is based on a song by Savage Garden called Two Beds and a Coffee Machine and its about a domestic abuse victim. Its a lovely song really.

Chapter 9 – Hospital Beds and a Coffee Machine

"Oh God! Angel!"

Spike was the first to reach the crumpled figure at the foot of the stairs. He could smell blood and he could see that Angel's right arm was bent at an odd angle. What concerned him more was the fact that Angel was unconscious and Spike had no way of knowing what other damage had been done. The only comforting thought was that he was still breathing. Slayers could kill with a well aimed hit and the amount of force behind that one…

He grabbed Cordelia before she could touch him.

"Don't pet, we don't know what damage 'as been done. He may have hurt his neck or back an' I don't wanna move him."

Cordelia began to sob and not even thinking Spike pulled her into a hug, which he was surprised to find that she didn't reject.

"Ambulance is on its way! He gonna be ok?"

"Don't know Charlie… God I hope so."

If Angel died, Spike had no idea of what he would do, but he knew that there would be an awful lot of pain and death. Some of which might be his own. Ever practical, Wesley appeared from upstairs clutching a pile of woollen blankets to his chest. In situations like this he found that he had to do something.

"Blankets. Here Spike put these round him, we need to keep him warm so as to stop him going into shock. Try not to move him."

As Spike and Wesley carefully attempted to put the blankets over Angel without causing more damage, Cordelia was pulled into the arms of an equally scared Darla. At that moment the women shared a silent communion. Angel was their friend and they both loved him dearly. Right now, they needed to help each other. God help anyone who got in their way. They may be bitches, but they were Angel's btches.

"Do you want me to wait in the street for the ambulance?"

"That'd be appreciated Xander. Gunn, pull the car round so that we can follow the ambulance to the hospital."

"On it!"

"Lorne… Angel'd understand if you feel you can't…"

"Don't even go there Muffin. I care about the great lug as much as you do so save it I'm going."

"Cordy? Why don't you and Darla go and get a jumper. We don't know how long we'll be there and you won't want to sit in your coats all night."

Neither girl answered they just left, passing a very confused Riley on the stairs.

"Angel…"

"Take one more step towards him Buffy and you will find out how much I have changed since Sunnydale."

"Wesley… I didn't mean…"

"I don't care what you meant. You are a Slayer. You have no right to hit people. You could have killed him! Do you realise that? He may die yet as it is."

Not wanting to hear any more Buffy ran out of the building with a very concerned Willow and Riley following her.

"He's through here…"

Cordelia hated hospitals. They meant bad things and hurt friends. Angel had only been human for three days and he was already in hospital due to the one individual that was meant to protect mankind. Children got much longer than three days before they had to face the horrors that were in this world. Was it so wrong to expect or hope that Angel could have the same chance? Obviously it was. Cordy would never forget the looks on the faces of the paramedics as they tried to treat Angel, fearing to move him because he looked totally bent in half. There and then she decided that she would never forgive Buffy if Angel didn't recovery fully. Scratch that. If Angel didn't survive – neither would Buffy – it was written all over the faces of Spike and Darla. Spike was so distressed that he was having difficulty in remaining in human guise. He looked as though he was going to rip the throat out of the next doctor that passed them without giving them anymore information. As it was, any information would be welcomed. Cordy had never been so scared in her life.

Wesley couldn't sit still for a minute. He paced the corridors, read the posters and the leaflets, drank countless cups of coffee and talked to every doctor he could get his hands on. Nothing was helping. He couldn't get any word on his best friend and he was suddenly realising the very real truth that Angel was no longer invincible. It chilled him to the bone. He could very well lose Angel this night, not to a creature of the night, but to a warrior for the light. The irony was not lost on him. Nor was the fact that Buffy had done the very same thing that had caused Faith to go down the wrong road. The difference was that Faith had not meant to kill that man and Buffy had very definitely meant to hit Angel. This was no accident and could not be excused.

He glanced at Cordelia, she looked a mess. Her hair was pulled back off her face in a rough ponytail. Her eyes were red and puffy and there was mascara tracks down her face. If there was a greater sign that Cordelia Chase cared it was that she hadn't bothered to make herself attractive for all the doctors. Spike looked totally stressed out. He couldn't smoke so was busy chewing his nails down to the cuticles and picking at the hem of his t-shirt. Darla looked calm, but from her eerie silence he knew that she was anything but. The same went for Lorne as the loud demon was as silent and still as the grave. And didn't Wesley wish he hadn't thought of that. Gunn looked younger than Wesley had thought possible. A little boy dressed up in his big brother's place.

Gunn had thought that he was hardened to life. He always was cut deeply if he lost one of his crew to a vamp attack. However, he had never realised that he didn't view Angel and the rest as his crew. These people were his family. He didn't think that he would have that again. Now he was only realising it as he may be on the verge of loosing it. He felt just as helpless as he had done when he found a demon wearing the body of his sister. Why were the ones that he loved always the casualties? He watched as a doctor started down the corridor and couldn't be bothered to look up. They were never going to tell them anything. Then the doctor paused in front of him.

"Are you waiting for news on Liam O'Donnell?" Spike and Darla had provided Angel's real name. Darla had been unpleasantly surprised to find that she wasn't the only one to know that privileged information. But until Angel recovered she and Spike were allies.

"Yes we are Doctor. What can you tell us?" Wesley was in front of the doctor before he had finished saying Angel's name. Spike wasn't far behind him.

"Are any of you family?"

"We're all family mate. Just tell us what the bloody hell is wrong with him!" Spike could feel the chip in his head giving off warning twinges as he imagined all the ways that this doctor and the Slayer were going to die if Angel wasn't going to be ok.

"Spike, behave." Darla shared the vicious thoughts that Spike was having but at the moment she needed the doctor to tell her what was wrong with her boy and then she would set about unleashing her anger. What she didn't want was for Spike's explosive temper to get them thrown out. She wished that she was a vampire still. She could do with not caring about people right at this moment.

"Well, despite his injuries he is a very lucky man. His arm wasn't broken but we've bandaged it tightly as it is very badly sprained. He does however have 3 cracked ribs. One of the ribs punctured a lung; we managed to re-inflate it. We don't expect there to be any lasting damage though. His face and side are badly bruised, so he may have trouble eating and swallowing when he comes round. What we are most worried about though is the possibility of head injury. There is a hairline fracture at the base of his skull. Now, none of the CAT scans show any bleeding or swelling below the cranium but he hasn't regained consciousness yet. We won't know if there is any permanent damage until he wakes up. He isn't in a coma though; if he were we'd be a little more concerned."

"So he could be ok?" Cordelia didn't understand half of what was said. She just wanted the bottom line – was Angel going to be ok.

"There is every chance that he'll make a full recovery. Now we will be taking him through to ICU in a few moments and you will be allowed to go in and see him. No more than two at a time. I will say that for the moment he is on a ventilator. That is to help with his breathing. There are a lot of tubes and machines and it all looks very scary. It is all there to help him though. Many of the machines will be beeping but don't let that alarm you. It all looks worse than it actually is.

The police may be by to take a statement from each of you." Upon seeing their blank looks he decided to continue. "Due to the extent of his injuries and the way you said you found him, we had no choice but to call the police. I am afraid that it is routine procedure."

He noticed that they all glanced at each other but decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Having a loved one in this condition was a trying time for anyone and they seemed exceptionally distressed by this. In his experience, people weren't that good at acting.

"Now if you'll excuse me I have rounds to make. There are people around if you have any questions and a nurse will fetch you when he has been moved. He is a healthy young man, I am sure that he'll be just fine."

The doctor offered them a reassuring smile and left.

"What did he say Wes? How bad is it really because my high school biology covered none of that." Cordelia needed the reaffirmation from Wes that every thing would be ok. Wesley was information guy – he would tell her what was going on, he always did.

"Basically, he said that Angel is pretty badly beaten up but that he'll make a full recovery." There was no way that he was going to tell her there was the possibility of brain damage. That knowledge might just kill her.

"Don't lie to her Watcher. Tell her the truth. Tell her that Slutty almost killed him. That he could have died if they hadn't re-inflated the lung. Tell her that when he wakes up he may have brain damage and be a bloody vegetable for the rest of his life. Don't lie to her – the chit needs the truth right now." Spike was furious that Wesley was skimming over this. He knew that he was trying to protect Cordelia but she needed reality right now.

The response to Spike's outburst was a swift sharp slap – from Darla.

"Spike, if you do not calm down right now I swear to all that is unholy, that I will put everything that I learnt as a vampire to good use on your pathetic carcass. Angel does not need us fighting. Anyone who wishes to fight had better leave right now."

Darla may have the appearance of a weak and feeble woman but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was anything but. She would kill them all in a heartbeat to protect Angel and right now none of them wanted to be the one in her way. Spike felt uncharacteristically sorry for his ex-Great Grand Sire. All she really had right now was Angel and she may lose him.

"What are you dong here?" Cordelia's voice was harsh and cold and they all knew who it was aimed at.

"Is he alright?" Buffy wasn't a coward but she didn't want to have to face this group right now. They all looked ready to kill her. Having her friends behind her didn't give her the support that it usually did in these situations. She felt very alone.

"I think that you had better leave."

"Darla, I am not here to fight I just need to know that he is ok. Please." Buffy wasn't above begging, but Darla didn't care.

"You don't get to know that. In fact, you don't get to come near him at all. If I were you right now, I would be back at the hotel and packing my bags because there is no way in hell that you are staying there after this. If I see you near him, near the hotel or near any of us I will call the police." Darla didn't know when it had happened but Angel's friends had become 'we' and even Spike was included. Buffy wasn't going to cause any more damage.

"Call the police?" Buffy had expected threats of brutal and eternal torture. In comparison this seemed mundane. To Giles, Willow and Riley however, this threat had them very, very worried.

"You assaulted a man. We saw you hit Angel. Buffy, my sweet little fuck up, if we went to the police right now, you would be looking at charges of no less than attempted murder." Darla was cold. This threat was serious; for once there was no pleasure to be got out of doing this. She just wanted Buffy away from all of them.

"What! She just hit him, she didn't mean for this to happen!" Xander knew that the blonde ex-vampire was a bitch but he had no idea of how evil she really was. Buffy on the other hand had sunk into a chair. She could go to jail… She had almost killed Angel. All the fight left her. If a vampire had attacked her at that moment, she would have died, quickly.

"That doesn't really matter boy. What matters, is that Angel is lying in a room hooked up to a ventilator with a hairline fracture in his skull, three cracked ribs and a punctured lung. Oh, didn't you know that the damage was that bad? There is also the possibility that he may have brain damage. Now I don't know about you but when someone I love ends up in that state, I have this insane need for revenge. And before you open that mouth again think on this. Wolfram and Hart may hate Angel, but I am sure they would be delighted to put another Slayer in prison and leave the Hellmouth at their mercy."

The simple truth of that statement caused each individual to freeze. If Buffy went to prison then there would be no slayer to guard the Hellmouth, or the rest of the world. Also, the bare and basic way in which Angel's injuries had been listed, not embellished or described made them seem all the more serious. The possibility of brain damage hung over their heads like a guillotine.

"Get out of here Slayer. Darla may like to threaten you with the law but me? I'd rather use my own brand of justice. Now unless you want to learn what a rail road spike feels like as it enters your flesh I'd get out of here." The lack of accent made Spike's words more brutal.

Not risking the wrath of either Aurelian, Giles quietly guided Buffy to her feet and told Riley to take her out to the car. Xander stormed off after them, disgusted at the behaviour of Cordelia and Wesley as they hadn't tried to stop Darla or Spike. Giles turned to the LA crew.

"I doubt that we'll be going back to Sunnydale immediately. I do not think that it would be… Well I know that I do not want us to return with any animosity lingering here." He turned to leave but stopped himself. "For what it is worth, Buffy never meant to hurt him, she just didn't consider her actions."

"Neither did Faith Mr Giles, and look at what we did to her. Buffy seems to rely on her fists to sort problems. Angel was meant to be the monster, but he always tried to talk. Please, tell me, does this seem natural?" Wesley didn't care for any platitudes from Giles in defence of his slayer.

Giles could say nothing to that so he nodded and left.

"Tara and I will try to make a salve that should help with his injuries. Please keep me informed?" Willow knew that it would be quite useless to plead Buffy's innocence to them. They knew that she hadn't meant for it to go this far, but they were worried about their badly injured friend. She would be the same if the situation was reversed.

In fact she recalled that after Faith poisoning Angel, they had been that way with him, when he had been forced to feed from Buffy. He wasn't even in the wrong that time either.

She gave all of them a hug – even Darla – took Tara's hand and left. Only Anya remained. "Can I stay?"

Angel had been in hospital for two days and awake for a day and a half. His friends had been so pleased to see him that he felt guilty about having them worry. However, he felt honoured that he had a family that cared so much. They had stayed for as long as the doctors would let them. Spike even growled at an orderly that tried to get them to leave before Darla had dragged him out. It amused Angel to see them getting on. They had to be either really worried about him or up to something to be getting along like that. He wasn't going to rule out either.

Anya had been a pleasant surprise. She was staying at the hotel still and had not moved out with the Scoobies. He felt very bad for her. She seemed as confused about becoming human as Darla and he were. He and Anya were similar in many respects. The main one being the fact that he was unable to relate easily to the human world. He hoped that he could help her. She also found the black and white attitude of the Scoobies quite threatening. He could relate. She came to sit with him when the others couldn't. He was glad to have her as company, she made him laugh. Her stories and inappropriate comments brought out the Liam in him. She seemed to enjoy all of his stories as well, even the demon ones. Cordelia commented that they seemed to be setting up a mutual admiration society for their evil deeds. He didn't care. It was nice to be able to talk to someone besides Darla and Spike so freely. More importantly, she seemed to need a friend as much as he did

He also found that he liked morphine. His ribs hurt like a bitch and he kept getting headaches. But the morphine was like manna from Heaven. The doctors told him that he was lucky – he could have suffered brain damage. He had to agree, he knew what Buffy could have done to him. He would be lying however, if he said that he felt as lucky as they made. He was in a lot of pain. It hurt to breath, to swallow, to move; generally it just hurt to be awake. What he really wanted was to go to sleep and only wake up when all the pain had gone. It was sod's law that every time he did fall asleep a doctor or an orderly or someone would come in to check something and wake him up. That made for a cranky Angel.

He was also angry and hurt. Angry at his friends for treating Buffy badly and hurt that Buffy felt that she had the right to hit him, human or not. He understood that his friends were angry at Buffy and that they were trying to protect him, but he wished that they could have dealt with each other a little more peacefully. Now, rather than concentrate on getting better, he knew that he would have to play peacemaker. He didn't want them to go back to Sunnydale with this hanging over them. Also he was angry at the fact that they had gotten involved in a fight that was between him and Buffy. He may not be physically as strong as he was but he could still fight his own battles, he didn't need to be protected from the world anymore than they did.

He still couldn't believe that Buffy had hit him. She had wanted to really hurt him, and hadn't trusted that her words would have the desired affect, so she had hit him. He felt that she had betrayed him somehow. He was hurt that she had attacked him, hurt that she had yelled at him and hurt that she had been uninterested in his life until it suited her. Overriding all of that though was a great deal of worry. He was worried about how she was handling this.

He had told the police that he wouldn't be pressing charges as he didn't see the person, but that he would contact them if he remembered anything else. He had asked his friends to not pursue this either, to not tell the police or to keep arguing with the Scoobies. He didn't want any friendships destroyed because of him, so he had told them that he didn't want them to be enemies on his behalf – it wouldn't mean that much to him. He thanked them for their support but told them that all he really wanted was for his friends to be friends. If they couldn't though, he wouldn't force the issue.

He knew that a lot of damage was already done though. There was no way that Spike would be going back to Sunnydale, even if the Scoobies wanted him too. That didn't upset Angel too much as he was happy at the possibility of Spike staying. He was elated when he found out that his team weren't going to be upset if Spike stayed. The fierce loyalty that he and Darla had shown, protecting and defending him had earned them a place at the hotel for as long as they wanted. It also looked as though Anya would be welcomed to stay if she decided not to go back to Sunnydale with Xander. He hoped that she did, for her sake, as she may be really mad at him but he could see that she loved the idiot boy. He hoped that Xander would apologise for both their sakes. If not, then Anya was a welcomed addition to the family.

He felt that he would have to rename the Hyperion to something that reflected its ability to draw in waifs and strays. Perhaps he'd start calling it Perdita - Latin for the lost. Or maybe Cordelia wouldn't let him and he'd have to leave it as it was. He smiled as he imagined telling her that he had decided to call the hotel Bob. She'd probably would have a fit, threaten him and then banish him to his room whilst she went out to cause serious damage to his credit card. She'd return a few hours later, laden with bags from stores he had never heard of and forgive him. The hotel however, would remain known as the Hyperion.

He had learnt two things of great importance though over the past two days. Number one, hospital gowns were the most embarrassing thing to wear. Especially around Spike, who seemed to be enjoying the view way too much. Two, hospital food was the greatest torment that could be devised. In fact, had he been forced to eat some of this stuff whilst in hell, he may have never recovered. Thankfully the Devil was not that cruel. It seemed that it took a human soul and a kitchen to be truly evil. He still had another two days to survive this torture, although Gunn had promised him a McDonald's and Cordelia was insisting on bringing a healthy salad for him. For the moment however, he would have to survive on the grapes that Wesley had brought. (Ever the Englishman.)

He was brought out of his musings by one of the orderlies, Jake – the badge said, bringing him the phone. He put the phone card into the slot and dialled the number that he could only remember due to the fact that vampires practically had photographic memories. Otherwise, the only number that he would know would be Cordelia's. He waited until it was picked up at the other end.

"Hey. It's Angel."