Feedback: Pretty please with a cherry on top! Feedback and criticism (but only constructive) is welcomed and appreciated.
Disclaimer: None of it's mine except the storyline, Chuck and Lucille, Commissioner Newtown, Jonah, Ulrich, Doctor Muerte and Helena Daley. If it were, Angel wouldn't have left Buffy in the first place. This is therapy for me. Quotes taken from season 1 and two of BTVS though they may have been changed slightly to suit the author's own storyline.
Rating: Pg - 13, for violence
Pairing: B/A, minor use of other ships e.g. W/O, S/F
Summary: AU. The whole gang are werewolves.
-#-#-
Warning: Character death
(Author chuckles evilly)
-#-#-
There was no way they were dead.
No one was accepting the possibility that Angel and Buffy could not be alive. It was just an unthinkable idea – one that they were trying to repress. There wasn't much of the building left standing, and piles of rubble lay scattered on the floor, as though God had been playing building blocks and childishly knocked them over.
At the moment they were searching through the rubble, shifting piles and piles of it, but the more they removed, the more there seemed to be. Progress was slow and it was with no small amount of gratitude that everyone was relived when Ethan and his remaining pack turned up to help. Tara and Penn, (who were Ethan's scouts),were of course already here and they greeted their pack with half hearted smiles, emotions strained too much to give proper welcome.
It was with a heavy heart that Giles informed the rest of the group what had happened. Ethan looked shocked, unusual for a man who was normally shrewd, calculating and who played with a poker face. But it was Doyle, Buffy's half-brother who took it hardest. Ignoring the sympathetic gazes cast in his direction, he shrugged off the comforting arms of his mate, Tara, and continued his search through the rubble, his face hard and unyielding.
It didn't take the police long to arrive, and when they did, the three packs made themselves scarce, watching as the police, along with assorted fire and ambulance crew searched through the wreckage. Bodies of soldiers soon began to be pulled from beneath the building, being tagged and bagged in black body bags to be taken to the city morgue to be identified later. Work continued late into the night and with each new body that appeared hope that Angel and Buffy could be alive soon faded.
It was only when one of the firemen gave a shout that the pack were given the news they had been dreading. The fireman and two other members pulled a tall, dark haired man out from underneath half of what looked like a stairwell and a door, followed by a petite, young, blonde woman. The ambulance workers were soon over and put the man onto a stretcher into the waiting ambulance. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief. Angel was alive. Wounded but miraculously still breathing. But what about Buffy? One of the ambulance women bent down and put her fingers to the blonde's neck, feeling for a pulse. She waited twenty seconds before straightening up and shook her head.
Buffy was put in a body bag.
-#-#-
"No," said Connor stubbornly. "She's not dead."
Giles put a hand on his shoulder but Connor shrugged it off, eyes blazing with anger.
"She's not dead , I would have felt it!"
"Connor," argued Giles, his voice choked. "We're all upset and grieved at the moment but …"
"I DON'T CARE. SHE'S NOT DEAD!"
"Connor!" Reprimanded Giles, running his fingers through his hair tiredly.
Connor shook his head backing away from the Clan and took a hiccuping breath, trying to master his emotions.
His chest was heaving, his body trembling. "I don't care," he said his voice quiet but determined. "She's my Mom and I know she's alive. If you aren't gonna do anything about it I am." And with that he turned, changing into his wolf form as he ran in the direction of the city morgue.
Dawn turned to head after her twin. "I'm going with him. We'll be back…with Mom." Without another word she was also gone.
Giles took his glasses off and wiped them with shaking hands. Spike clasped a hand on the older man's shoulder.
"Look mate, I'll go after the pups if you want and you can take the rest of the clan back to the hotel." Giles placed his glasses back on his nose and looked sharply at Angel's beta.
"Yes, go. They're upset and confused - which is no state for anybody to be in. Meet us at Gaia's hospital."
Spike looked at him confused. "Why there?"
"Because, Angel's been taken to a mortal hospital. When they realise he isn't entirely human we'll be …"
"Up shit creek without a paddle?"
Giles shot Spike a look. "Not exactly what I was about to say, but the sentiment is correct. We'll bring him to a Gaia's, he can be treated there without standing out from the crowd."
Giles glanced at Doyle who was being craddled by Tara, her hands stroking her fingers through his hair as he sat on the pavement, staring into nothing, tears running down his face.
"I'll try and cope with things here." The older man sighed. "Go."
-#-#-
Connor crept silently through the open basement window of the morgue. It was dark but he could smell dead bodies a mile away and he knew that this is where they would have put Buffy.
'But she's not dead,' his mind reassured him. 'You've just come to collect her from here.'
Changing slightly, so he could see in the dark, his eyes widened when he saw the rows and rows of bodies laid out in front of him, only the outlines could be made out under the body bags. How was he meant to tell which was his Mom?
It appeared they were being labelled and cooled so as to prevent decomposition, but not every body had gotton round to being put away. Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps heading this way and he ducked behind a large table, as the door swung open and the light flickered on.
"Which one next Ronnie?" Came a gruff voice. Connor wrinkled his nose. This man needed some serious deodorant.
"It's your turn to pick Bob, man, I did it last time," came a whiny voice. Connor peered over the table edge. A thin lanky man – obviously Ronnie – had his arms folded facing a larger, beefy man, who had large sweat patches spilling out from underneath his arms and over the swathes of fat surrounding him. This appeared to be Bob.
"Um, hey what about this one here," said Bob, pointing a podgy finger at a body bag directly in front of him.
"Yeah okay." Ronnie turned and Connor could see a grin break out on his face.
"Hey man, lets see what's in bag number 3?" Snorting in disgust, Connor watched as the two men unzipped the bag and looked under the cover.
"Hey hey, jackpot Bob. Seems you've picked a lady." Connor's ears pricked up. Was this his Mom?
"Pretty thing wasn't she?" Bob nodded, causing his three chins to ripple after him.
"Come on Ronnie, they'll be waiting for the next one and you know what they get like when we deliver 'em late."
"Alright," and saying so the two men zipped the bag back up and hefted it roughly between them, before carrying it through the doors. They didn't bother to switch the light off and Connor watched through one of the room's windows as they turned left and passed by.
He made to move when someone poked him in the back.
"Jeeze," he yelped. "Dawn, don't do that again." His sister just grinned mischievously at him.
"Aw, but it's just so much fun."
Connor glared. "Come on, I think I've found Mom, but if we don't hurry she's gonna have her autopsy now. Follow me." He headed to the door, poking his head around the corner before waving at his sister to come too. Cautiously making their way along the corridor, Connor followed the nauseating smell of sweat and death, before pulling up abruptly, beside a white, clinical looking room.
"She's in there."
"Yeah but how are we gonna get her out?" Connor peered through one of the windows, seeing the body bag being placed on metal table, with Bob, Ronnie and several other people decked out in surgical gloves and masks peering over it.
"I think we're gonna have to do a dash and grab. There's quite a few people in there and I don't want them waving those knives at me."
"So we're gonna - Spike don't do that!" Dawn jumped as Spike put his hand on her shoulder.
"Now what exactly do you two pups think you're doin'?"
Connor's eyes hardened. "Listen, if you think Mom's dead…"
Spike cut him off his eyes glinting. "What do you think you're gonna do eh?" He glanced through the window. "You have to accept it sometime. The building collapsed, they took her to the mortuary and now they've put her on the table and – oh no."
"What? What is it?" asked Conner, peering though the window. Buffy was laid out naked on the table and the surgeons were preparing to slice through the chest cavity.
"We've gotta get into there now," said Connor heading for the door. "Before they hurt her even more…"
And then what everyone thought was a corpse began to scream.
Before the others could even get into the room, the door banged open as the surgeons ran, faces white and hearts racing out into the corridor, screaming themselves as they ran from the dead body that shrieked. As everyone departed Spike, Dawn and Connor rushed into the room, the screaming stopping abruptly. Connor covered her up in Spike's coat, as Buffy's chest rose and fell. Her skin was deathly white and she was unconscious but alive. Spike stood back in amazement, eyes wide, as he took in the scene.
"Well, I'll be damned, she is alive."
Connor smiled triumphantly. "See I told you…"
"Kid, you finish that sentence, it'll be you on that table. Now, come on we got get Buffy to Gaia's," said Spike, picking her up. "Before other weird shit starts happening," he muttered to himself, as he followed them out.
-#-#-
By the time they'd reached Gaia's, Angel had already been seen to and patched up nicely. His healing made the job much quicker and had prevented him from sustaining much worse injuries than he should have had. Now he only had a large gash across his face and a few broken ribs. It hurt to move too much, but there wasn't much else they could do for him, his metabolism destroying the painkillers and sedatives quickly, as soon as they'd entered his bloodstream.
Buffy had been rushed off to surgery as soon as Spike had entered the place. The Clan had clamoured around the trio, asking what had happened and Spike had let Connor explain it all, seeing as it was only through his belief that they had managed to rescue Buffy as well. When everything had subsided slightly Giles had quietly taken Connor aside.
"I'm sorry I doubted you," he said, his eyes serious and contrite.
Connor shook off his apology. "Forget it," he said. "Mom's alive and that's all that matters." Giles had smiled.
"You'll make a very good clan leader one day Connor."
Now they were all seated in a family room, waiting for a doctor to come and report on Buffy's condition. Nervous anticipation filled the air as the hours passed by. Finally someone came.
"Hello," said the young woman who entered through the swinging doors. "I'm Doctor Muerte and I'll be looking after Buffy." She smiled brightly at the group, clipboard in hand and blonde hair neatly tucked into a bun at the back of her head.
"Is she alright?" Asked Angel desperately.
The doctor gave him a sympathetic glance. "Well," she said, "Buffy's wounds were extensive, and it's only through the strength of her beast that Buffy's managed to survive for so long.You say she was taken to the morgue as dead?"
The group nodded. "Well I would surmise that was because her beast was the only thing keeping her alive.She probably was technically dead for a minute or two, as her spirit tried to sort out the many problems she's got." Doctor Muerte looked down at her notes.
"She's had to have a fasciotomy, and we've treated the other injuries and burns she's sustained. It was touch and go for a while, but she'll be fine."
"What's a fasciotomy?" said Dawn nervously.
"Well, your Mom had two broken legs," said the Doctor. "With the nature of her injuries the swelling was so severe within the leg that it cut off the blood flow to it. This can cause damage to muscles and nerves of the leg and if it isn't treated quickly than amputation may be necessary. A fasciotomy is the operation performed to relieve this pressure." She smiled down at Dawn kindly.
"Fortunately, your Mom didn't need an amputation, but she'll need to keep off her feet for a while. So it looks as though you'll be doing the housework for some time." The doctor chuckled and then straightened, looking at the assembled group.
"Buffy's progress will be slow but steady and she should be out of the intensive care unit in a couple of weeks, due to her advanced healing. It shouldn't be too long before she's back into one of the other wards." There was a moment as they took some time to digest that Buffy would be okay, before whoops and yells of delight sounded through the room. Doctor Muerte tried to make herself heard over the din.
"Well, if that's all, I'll be going…"
"Can we see her?" asked Angel, catching her arm on the way out.
Doctor Muerte paused and a shadow passed over her features. "Buffy's been through a very traumatic experience. Though she's sleeping now, the drugs will soon wear off and we aren't sure what the state of her mind will be when she wakes up."
She looked at their worried faces. "I'll put it bluntly. Buffy was nearly raped and she's liable in the state she's in to attack any male she feels uncomfortable around or who is in the close proximity to her." She glanced at Angel, Doyle and then Connor. "Excepting her husband, son, and brother, the rest of you are in danger of being attacked by her if you go in the room at the moment."
Xander looked at the doctor in disbelief.
"But she's got two broken legs! How's she gonna attack us with her injuries?"
Doctor Muerte shook her head. "It won't matter. You'll put her into a flight or fight situation and when that happens the mind will overcome the pain, to make sure she doesn't receive anymore."
Xander smiled stubbornly. "Buffy's our friend. She'd never hurt us."
The doctor smiled at him strangely. "If you're that determined to see her, come with me. I've something to show you."
-#-#-
Doctor Muerte led them along whitewashed corridors, smelling of patchouli and thyme, mixed with the underlying scent of bleach and magik. Finally they stopped outside a dimly lit room and the doctor turned to them.
"Now," she said. "When Buffy wakes up she'll be groggy and disorientated, so I suggest only a small group go in and see her first."
The clan conferred quietly over who would go in. The chosen group consisted of Angel, Dawn, Connor, Willow, Faith and Xander. Doyle quietly demured, saying he would go in next.
"Right," said the doctor. "To minimise any risk of Buffy being distressed, Xander will be the only male in there – excepting her husband and son, and perhaps," she bit her lip, tilting her head to the side as if thinking. "Perhaps if Xander stays at the back of the group, so he's shielded by the females. Okay, is that alright with you?"
They nodded and the doctor opened the door to the room, moving out of the way to avoid the crush as Angel, and everyone else headed directly for Buffy. She turned to the remaining clan.
"I'll come back out in a bit, if you want to go and grab a coffee there's a café down this corridor."
Meanwhile Angel was sitting next to Buffy's hospital bed, one hand grasped tightly in his, whilst Connor was on the other side. Tears stained Angel's cheeks as he watched his tiny, fragile wife sleeping in the overly large bed. Connor smiled across at him.
"She's gonna be okay, Dad," he whispered, a smile catching his lips. Angel just nodded, thanking the Moon for sparing his mate. His thoughts were interrupted however, when Buffy stirred.
"Angel?" The voice was a raspy whisper.
"I'm here beloved," he said, squeezing her hand gently.
She blinked, trying to clear the fogginess that clouded her vision. She frowned, noticing a large cut running across his face.
"You're hurt."
Angel looked at her oddly. "Says the woman who's lying injured in a hospital bed."
Buffy tensed at the mention of being in a hospital and made as though about to get up. Angel pushed her gently, but firmly back down onto the bed.
"No, Buffy, I know how much you hate these places but this is Gaia's. Your safe, nothing can hurt you here." Buffy relaxed slightly, listening to the soothing words and turned her head to the right. She smiled at her son, who looked as though he thought she might disappear in a moment.
"Connor."
Her voice was soft and hoarse.
...It's from what they did to you... There was a small voice in the back of her head. ...It's time you did a little payback...
Buffy frowned, shoving the dark thoughts away from her and concentrating on the boy clasping her hand.
"Mom," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.
"Hey baby, it's okay." She squeezed his hand, coughing slightly from having to speak.
'We'll talk later.' Connor nodded and then made room for Dawn to come greet Buffy.
"Mom," she cried.
Buffy grinned as Dawn flung her arms around her.
"Ow," she winced feeling her body protest. "Not so tight Dawnie."
"Sorry," murmured Dawn, pulling back, smiling. "How'd ya feel?"
Buffy lay back in the pillows. ...You want to kill something very badly... The voice was growling now.
...You want to make them hurt like they hurt you, sink your teeth into their throats, feel that sweet, flowing bloo-
"I'm fine."
There was a snort from the end of the bed and Buffy looked down, squinting to make out the figures.
"Faith?"
"Heya B, looking great as always." Buffy rolled her eyes. Things were back to normal.
"Thanks." The figures moved closer and she caught a flash of red hair.
"Will?"
"Yeah," said Willow, "I'm here…" Willow continued to speak but Buffy tuned her out as her beast suddenly stirred.
...It's one of them... The voice was insistant now ...One of those who hurt you...
'No,' argued Buffy. 'Angel said nothing would hurt me here.'
...But Angel also said he would come back quickly didn't he? And where was he all that time you were hurting? No-one came for you then did they? Angel doesn't speak the truth. Ignore him and trust your senses. Trust yourself...
Buffy frowned. The voice was speaking sense. Angel had said he would be back. "I'll be back in a bit with Penn and Spike and everything will be fine love, you'll see."
Those were his exact words.
...And look what happened!...
Buffy sat up, ignoring Angel's concerned words about sitting up and minding her injuries. All she could concentrate on was the man swimming on the periphery of her vision.
Waiting, circling like a shark about to attack it's pray.
Waiting for the moment to attack its prey.
Waiting to attack.
Waiting…
She leapt, the tubes and drips tearing from her flesh as she jumped from the bed at the man who dared to come and haunt her. Ignoring the screams from her body and from her friends, she landed on the man's chest, knocking him over.
...That's it!... The voice was blood and anger and cruel laughter now. ...Make him pay for what he did to you! What they all did! All those tests, all those experiments. The abuse...this is vengeance...
Hands were clawing at her, trying to tear her away from the body underneath her, but she fought back, savouring the look of fear on his face as she wrapped her hands around his neck, squeezing the life out of him. Someone was crying her name, but she ignored them as she sank her claws deeply into the soft body underneath her, before dragging them sharply downwards.
Her claws ripped, shredded- something wet splattered on her face and body, spurting across the bed and walls. She breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of fear and blood - before she was ripped away from him, to meet a pair of golden eyes, staring at her in shock and horror. She growled, trying to escape, but the grip tightened and she felt a pressure on her neck, before succumbing to the darkness, which claimed her.
Angel looked down at his mate, held to his chest and covered in dark, sticky blood. He looked up, staring at the others, unable to grasp what he'd just seen. His eyes followed the trail of blood, which led from Buffy to her victim. He buried his face in Buffy's hair.
'Oh God, Buffy, what have you done?'
There was no need for anyone to check for a pulse.
The room was spattered in blood.
Too much blood.
Xander's blood.
Xander was dead.
-#-#-
Thanks to all of my reviewers!
PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY!
Please continue to write your support, ideas and general comments, they really are appreciated.
Thanks to those people who did review this story, your efforts are appreciated.
Dark Slayer: It seems everyone hates cliffy's but they're a writers best frined. You keep the audience hooked and make sure they keep reading.
Oppy: Jeeze, you people want updates like, immediately. lol. Well, I've tried my best, and I'm glad you like the tweaked history and stuff, I've tried hard to make it make sense, without going into great biographical detail about Buffy's revised life.
JayJay88: There you go, hope you liked the chapter, hopes its sated your need for more, but not enough that you won't stop reading ; ) .lol.
Slayerchick33: Well I granted your wish, they didn't die, but, well someone had to. Author grins evily. Oh I do love putting my characters through hell.
never look back: Well, it's never too late to read great fanfiction. Lol. And this reminds you of Blood and Chocolate? My life, that must be one of the highest compliments I've ever received. Thank you so much. You can review any time ; )
Buff: As ever, you are your understated self, but that one word from you makes me so happy. I know I have the seal of approval. lol.
Liz: Thank you for the compliment. And yes, it was evil, but then I'm the author from hell. lol
Goddessa39: Well, you were right. Buffy did survive the blast. Sadly Xander had to go in her place. Glad you understand my reasoning behind Buffy being slightly loopy, and hopefully I've shown in this chapter what would happen when this fear becomes anger. And Ethan's here. Of course Penn and Tara were already here, and though Ethan does like chaos and he doesn't really like Angel and Buffy he'd only wanted the title of Clan chief. He didn't want Angel dead, just deposed. Even he's a little bit shocked, which is saying something. And I knew you'd have to say something about my chapter lengths. lol. So, for your delectation and delight I've have now created this chapter, a chapter which is the size of Wales. I hope you understand this is all your fault ; )
Mickeyblueeyes: I know, I know, it's been a while, but hey look at this. An update in two weeks; impressive no?
Willow-189: Yep, don't you just love me. lol. I know that last chapter was a bit short, so this time I've created a really long chapter to counter balance it.
Blondiegrl: Well they survived. Poor Xander. Pity he didn't.