AN: Thank you all for the continued feedback...keep it coming!

Warning: Language; Female!Spike

Chapter 8

Angel carried a limp, pale Spike in his arms as he rushed down the hallway towards the medical ward at Wolfram and Hart. In front of the entrance a team of medical professionals waited.

"Mr. Angel. I am Dr. Smith, chief of staff." A short mustached man in his fifties spoke. "Mr. Wyndham-Price alerted us to your arrival." He took one look at Spike and turned to his team. "Let's get her to a trauma room!"

Angel followed the team into a large white room with a myriad of medical equipment. He placed her down on the gurney but continued to hold her small hand. "Spike." He spoke next to her ear. His chocolate eyes watered. "Honey, can you hear me?" Spike lay still on the bed but her eyes flickered opened. Her usual bright blue eyes seemed dull and vacant. "Angel..." She whispered.

"Stay with me." Angel pleaded with her as he grasped her small hand.

"Excuse me, sir." A nurse asked Angel. "We need to get her clothes off." She said as she held a large pair of scissors. Angel backed up to give the doctors and nurses some room.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Dr. Smith asked the dark vampire.

Angel looked flustered as he tried to concentrate on what they were doing to Spike and answering the questions. "I...uh...S-Spike was shot by a Farouk demon..." Angel ran his hands through his gelled locks. "She seemed okay at first...I mean we're vampires...we've been shot lots of times." He paused. "And then she looked pale and passed out...w-we brought her straight here."

"Angel!" Spike weakly yelled as she arched from the bed. Angel ran back to her side and grabbed her hand.

"I'm here! You're going to be fine." He smiled to reassure her.

Spike's face looked pale and gaunt as she panted. She slowly turned her head to him and said in a small voice. "I-I'm c-cold." She said as she shivered. When Angel felt her head, she was sweating and felt very warm.

"Please, Mr. Angel." Dr. Smith implored. "I need you to step back so we can properly do our survey."

Angel turned to him with yellow eyes blaring. "She NEEDS me here." He hissed.

The doctor hung his head and tried to work around him. As they cut off Spike's clothes, blood was seen slowly seeping from her two wounds. As they attempted to wipe the blood, they also saw large red rings surrounding her wounds; the discoloration extended down her chest and right arm.

"Let's get xray in here to see how deep these bullets are. We need to get them out." Dr. Smith said as he stood to the side watching his team. He turned back to Angel. "Do you know what she was shot with?"

"I've sent a unit back to the warehouse to retrieve the weapon." The dark vampire answered while still holding her hand.

"Draw a comprehensive blood screen for toxins and other substances." The doctor continued.

"Dr. Smith, I am having trouble with getting an IV." A nurse reported.

"Were you able to draw the blood we need?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Good. Keep trying." The doctor answered as he continued to look over Spike.

Angel watched as the team placed Spike in a gown after dressing the wounds. Finally, a thought dawned to him. He turned to the Doctor. "I was poisoned a few years ago. The only cure was Slayer Blood. Could this be what we're dealing with?"

Dr. Smith thought for a moment. "Perhaps. I won't know until we run some tests."

"Doctor?" Another nurse spoke. "Her temperature is 85 degrees."

Angel's eyes widened. "How can that be?" He said in a slight panicked voice as he looked at the doctor. He turned back to Spike and whispered words in her ear in Gaelic to try to calm the shivering, barely conscious vampiress.

A voice from the back yelled, "Stand back, people! XRAY." A machine from the ceiling lowered to stop just above Spike. Angel stood back while the picture was taken, but immediately returned to Spike's side when it was over.

After a few minutes, Dr. Smith spoke. "Good news, Mr. Angel. The bullets are fairly superficial. We should be able to remove them with a little local anesthesia." He tried to smile and then returned to discussing the case with his team.

Angel absently nodded. At this point, he was barely able to process what the doctor was telling him. He just continued to stroke Spike's long wavy hair that was currently wet with perspiration. She occasionally muttered something unintelligible. Angel switched to hold her left hand as the doctor placed a mask, gown, and gloves on to retrieve the bullets from her right side. The doctor worked quickly and within fifteen minutes, he removed both bullets. He placed them in a plastic bag and turned to the nurse. "Send those to the Science Department for analysis." He closed her wounds and a nurse put a dressing over them.

Angel sat at her side feeling helpless. "Is there anything I can do?" The dark vampire asked nearly desperate for a task.

"Are you of family line to her?" Dr. Smith asked. Angel nodded. "She will require blood. I understand that family blood is quite potent."

"Whatever you need." Angel responded. He looked down upon his Grandchilde. "Spike?" He asked quietly. "Can you hear me?" He squeezed her hand. He nearly smiled when he saw Spike's eyes fly open. She gasped as her eyes rolled back, and then suddenly, she started violently arching and convulsing.

Angel stood up and knocked his chair down. "Spike!" He said as he watched saliva running out of her mouth as she continued with her seizing. Angel tried to hold her down, but to no avail.

"Two milligrams of Ativan, STAT!" Dr. Smith shouted as he ran to her side. "NOW!"

"Doctor," a nurse replied, "we still don't have an IV."

"Then give it in her muscle." He responded as he watched the nurse empty the syringe in Spike's left shoulder area.

"Spike!" Angel said as tears poured from his eyes. His undead heart was breaking at watching her in this state.

"Somebody, please remove him." Two male nurses attempted to escort Angel from the room. He vamped out and snarled at them.

"Mr. Angel, if you want me to help her, then please leave!" The doctor said forcefully. Angel bowed his head and left. He heard the doctor ordering more seizure medicine as the doors closed in front of him.

Angel stumbled over to a chair in the waiting area. He buried his face in his hands as he attempted to get a reign on his demon. He wanted to kill something. He breathed deeply as tears fell from his eyes.

"Angel!" He heard Fred yell as she ran down the hall. Lorne and Gunn followed. "Oh my gosh, is she okay?" Fred looked stunned as she noticed the state the dark vampire was in. She had never seen him look so devastated and vulnerable. Her heart sank as she began to fear the worse. "Where is she?"

Angel still couldn't speak. He just looked up at his friends and they knew this was serious. They all sat down and waited. Occasionally the doors would open and people would rush in and out; but, still no news yet. The others tried to engage Angel in some conversation but he remained silent. He stood over in the corner staring out the window.

"Angel?" Wesley walked up after receiving medical attention. His right arm was in a sling. "Is Spike alright?" He said as he walked towards the dark vampire.

Angel growled and turned towards him with yellow eyes; he practically flew to him and pinned against the wall and held him by the throat.

"ANGEL!" The others yelled as they attempted to extract Angel from a choking, gasping Wesley.

"Who gave you permission to take her with you!" Angel's chest heaved as he spoke. "Answer me, HUMAN!" He hissed as he vamped out. "ANSWER ME!"

Gunn and Lorne succeeded in tearing the dark vampire from Wesley. The Ex-Watcher slid to the ground gasping, as Fred helped to calm him down. Gunn pushed Angel against the opposite wall. "This isn't helping Spike!" Gunn said as he tried to pacify Angel who was still glaring at Wesley. Angel broke free from Gunn and slowly walked towards Wesley.

"I told you that you would need some backup and to take Special Ops. You disobeyed and instead took my Grandchilde and placed her in danger." Angel spoke as his eyes burned yellow.

Wesley stood and stared at Angel with sad eyes. "I am so sorry for what happened to Spike, Angel." He bowed his head and spoke quietly, his voice a bit hoarse. "I needed someone to work with that I trusted."

"Farouk demons are not tolerant of vampires!" Angel hissed.

"Nor of humans, Angel. Yet, you sent me." Wesley looked intently at the dark vampire.

Lorne intervened. "Look, friends. Enough of the testosterone show. We need to focus on our little Blondie Bear right now." The Green Demon looked at the two. They each lowered their heads and walked to opposite sides of the room.

One hour passed before they heard any news of Spike's condition. Dr. Smith emerged from the room wiping his brow. He walked slowly towards Angel who stood to meet him. His friends gathered around him.

"Mr. Angel." He began.

"Look, it's just Angel."

"Very well, Angel. We were able to stop Spike's seizures for the time being. She required a large amount of sedatives to do so." He paused.

Angel eyes watered. "Do you know what is causing this?"

"Not of yet." Dr. Smith turned towards Fred. "We have sent the bullets and samples of her blood to your department Ms. Burkle." Fred nodded and he turned back to Angel.

"We could use some of your blood for her, Angel. As soon as we can identify what the cause of her illness is, we can tailor our therapy to it."

Angel's dark eyes were wide with fear. "And if you can't figure it out...will she die?"

"Let us not speak hypothetically at this time. For now, we will give her supportive care: blood and fluids. We will try to make her as comfortable as we can."

Angel hung his head and whispered. "Thank you, Doctor." He looked up. "Can I see her now?"

The doctor tried to smile. He placed a hand on Angel's shoulder. "Let me show you where you can make your blood donation for Spike and then, feel free to sit with her. " Angel glanced briefly at his worried friends and then disappeared with the doctor.

After giving blood, Angel slowly walked down the long, gray corridor towards Spike's room. He allowed a tear to escape his eyes before roughly wiping his face. He knew that he had to be strong for his Grandchilde. He nodded his head and took a large unneeded breath as he walked into the Intensive Care Unit.

TBC...