AN: Thank you to everyone leaving reviews!
Part 12
Buffy felt as if a thousand little cartoon birds were circling around her after her head and shoulder slammed into the concrete sidewalk. She had only a moment to try to recover when the full weight of Angel's body crashed down upon her, knocking the breath from her lungs. She grunted at the impact and thought the birdies began flying faster around her head.
What in the world had happened? She'd been talking to Angel and then he'd suddenly shouted her name. There was a loud noise and then next thing she knew, she was having and up close and personal meeting with the sidewalk. Oh, and after that, Angel seemed to fall on top of her.
Was she the only person confused? Or was that just because her head was being overrun by the damn cartoon birds?
"Angel?" she gasped, her breathing difficult due to his heavy weight on top of her.
Angel's only response was a groan. He didn't make a move to lift his body. His lack of reaction worried Buffy. She still didn't know what had happened. The need for air was a priority, though, so she wiggled a hand out from between them and gave a light shove to his shoulder while saying his name again. He groaned even louder and there was an undercurrent to the noise that set her nerves on edge. It didn't sound right.
Before she could think too much about that, Buffy realized that there was something squishing around the fingers she'd clasped on Angel's shoulder. She quickly yanked the hand away and stared disbelievingly at the red liquid covering her fingers and palm. Horror shot through her. Angel was bleeding!
And suddenly it clicked in her dazed mind. Angel's shout, his dive toward her, the loud noise, the fall...her stalker! It was the only thing that made sense. The bang had been from a gun! Angel had been shot!
"Angel!" she screamed frantically.
At that moment, the security man who had been guarding the door finally pushed his way outside and came running over. She could just barely see him over Angel's body on top of hers. "Help," she yelled. "Angel's been shot!"
The guard swiftly reached down and rolled Angel off Buffy. The action solicited another groan from Angel and she scrambled to her knees, blocking out the pain in her head and shoulder. Her lips trembled when she was finally able to look fully at Angel. His face was ashen and his eyes were barely open. Blood oozed from a spot between the end of his shoulder and his neck.
"Oh God, Angel," she cried out, realizing she needed to do something to staunch the bleeding. All she had was her dress. That wouldn't work. Frantically, her eyes searched for anything to use as a bandage. The guard was still kneeling nearby, a cell phone clutched to his ear. "Give me your shirt!" she ordered.
The guard didn't question the request and set the phone down momentarily to shed the navy blue button-down. Buffy snatched it from his hand and hastily folded it, then pressed it to the area of the wound on Angel's shoulder. He grunted in pain at the pressure and more color leached from his face.
"Angel? Angel, can you hear me?" she said, bending down closer to his face.
"Buffy?" he croaked, forcing his eyes open. The burning pain in his shoulder made him want to close them again, but he fought against the darkness. He had to stay awake...had to see... "Are you okay?...didn't get you...did it?"
"No, I didn't get hit. I'm fine," she assured him, growing more worried as Angel's blood began to soak through the make-shift bandage. "Don't try to talk. Just rest."
"Glad...you're...okay," he whispered, his eyes drifting shut as sirens began to wail in the background.
"Stay with me, Angel," Buffy pleaded, wishing she could hold his hand, but she needed to keep pressure on the wound.
"B!" came a shout from beyond. "What the hell happened?"
Buffy tore her eyes from Angel and saw Faith dashing towards her, as others from inside the gallery fought to exit the building to see what the commotion was. She could see Giles pushing through the crowd to get to her as well.
"Buffy!" Giles yelled, shoving another person aside. "Are you all right?"
"Angel...he's...he's been shot." She looked pleadingly at someone, anyone, to do something, to help in some way.
"The ambulance will be here soon," the guard who'd called for help told her.
Faith crouched down and used her hands to aid Buffy in applying pressure to the bleeding hole in Angel's shoulder. "He'll be fine, Buffy. Angel's a tough guy. A bullet couldn't stop him." She hoped she was right, but she was petrified. The wound was bleeding so much, and Angel was barely conscious. The only positive thought she had was that the bullet didn't appear to have hit in an area where there was anything serious to damage. He was probably just going into shock.
A truck screeched to a halt on the road nearby and Buffy could hear the commotion of doors opening and feet pounding on the asphalt. She looked up just in time to see two EMT's pushing people out of their way to get to their patient. The first one to reach her knelt and took in the situation. He called over his shoulder for his partner to get the stretcher out of the back of the ambulance, then looked to Buffy.
"You'll have to remove your hands so we can treat him," he said swiftly, pulling gauze and other items out of a medical kit. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he gave a sympathetic smile. "We'll do everything we can for him, but you need to step away."
Nodding vaguely, Buffy did as she was asked. She would have stayed by his side, but Faith tugged at her arm and made Buffy back up.
"We need to let them work," Faith relayed softly as Spike came to stand beside them.
So they could only watch as the paramedics tended to Angel. Their hands were quick and skillful, for which Buffy was thankful for. Within only a few minutes, they'd stabilized the wound temporarily and loaded Angel onto the stretcher. Her feet followed them to the back of the ambulance of their own volition.
The paramedic who had spoken to her before was about to close the doors when he saw Buffy standing helplessly at the back of the rig. He spared only a moment's thought before reaching a hand down to her. "Come on, you can ride with him, but we need to get going."
Buffy didn't wait for him to say it twice. She used his hand to jump up into the back and sat on the bench the man pointed to. The ambulance was moving seconds later. And still, she could just sit there and watch as they worked further on Angel. The jab of a needle into his hand made her grimace. Angel barely reacted to the pain of the IV being inserted.
"Buffy," she barely heard.
"I'm here Angel," she answered, leaning forward so he could see her.
"Buffy...just want...tell...I..." He never finished the sentence as his eyes fell shut.
Buffy looked anxiously at the EMT. The man checked Angel's vitals before saying anything. "He's just in shock. He lost a lot of blood."
Relieved, Buffy again sat back in her seat. Angel would be fine. He had to be! Tears burned her eyes. He had gotten hurt trying to protect her. He'd gotten hurt because someone hated her. This was her fault. She'd never forgive herself for causing him pain once again.
An hour passed, then two, as Buffy waited in a room at the hospital, sometimes pacing, sometimes not. What was taking so freakin' long? All she knew was that shortly after arriving at the emergency room, the medical team had stabilized Angel and then taken him up to surgery because the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. Since then, nothing. Wouldn't they ever come tell her how he was?
Across the room, Jenny Giles sat between her husband and her step-niece, watching Buffy's agitated fidgeting in her seat. She wished Buffy had let one of the nurses get her a pair of scrubs to wear. It was rather chilly in the waiting room and all Buffy had on was her blood-stained silk dress from the gallery opening. Buffy had to be cold, but even if she was, the girl probably wouldn't even notice. She was too worried about this Angel person to think about herself.
Who was Angel? Jenny knew he was Buffy's bodyguard, but there seemed to be...more...there. It was a curious situation, Jenny thought as she saw Buffy stand to begin pacing again. As Buffy passed by her, Jenny could see the goosebumps on Buffy's arms and shook her head. Enough was enough.
Standing, Jenny snagged Buffy's arm. "Come on," she gently ordered.
It took Buffy a moment to realize she was being pulled to the door, and when she did she tried to yank herself away. "I can't go anywhere!"
"We'll only be a minute. That nice nurse Tara said she could get you something to wear," Jenny reminded her.
"I'm fine," mumbled Buffy, unconsciously rubbing at her cold arms.
"You're not fine," her aunt disagreed. "You're freezing. You won't be any good to Angel if you catch pneumonia."
That thought made Buffy reconsider. Angel was going to need her when he was recovering. What good would she be if she was stuck in bed sick? Finally, she relented. "Okay, but you'll come get me if they have news?" she asked Giles.
"Yes, of course, Buffy," he assured her.
The two left the waiting room and Jenny marched them to the nearby nurses' station. Tara saw them coming and gave a shy smile. She'd figured the young woman's family would convince her to take the clothes sooner or later, so she grabbed the pile of hospital scrubs and held them up.
"Thank you," Jenny accepted them. "Is there somewhere she can change?"
"Th-there's a r-restroom just down the hall," nurse Tara pointed in the direction, and tried not to be embarrassed by the stutter that had plagued her since her mother died when she was a young girl. "On the l-left."
"Great! Thanks!"
Tugging a somewhat reluctant Buffy along behind her, Jenny arrived at the women's bathroom and gave Buffy a slight push inside. Her niece was a bit disoriented, it seemed, but Jenny couldn't blame her. She didn't know much about what was going on with this stalker, but it had to be taking its toll. And then with everything that had happened tonight, well, it was bound to make mush out of someone's brain.
"I'll wait here. You can go into one of the stalls and change," Jenny said, shoving the clothes into Buffy's arms and directing her to the nearest stall. Thankfully, no one else was in the bathroom to bother them.
Buffy returned a few minutes later, her body draped in the too-large nurses' clothing. At least it would keep her warmer. Jenny took the dress Buffy held in her hands and tucked it into her purse. It would most likely have to be thrown away, but she would try to get the blood stains out of it.
Seeing Buffy's face, mascara tracks trailing down her cheeks, Jenny sighed. The poor girl was a mess. After everything she'd already been through in her young life, this was the last thing she needed. She thought back for a few seconds about the mutinous girl Buffy had once been. Those days had been trying. More than once Jenny had wondered what she'd gotten herself into by taking over the guardianship of the two Summers' girls, but in the end it was worth it. She was so proud of what Buffy had made of her life after struggling for so long.
"Why don't you wash your face quick before we go back?" she suggested.
Buffy's eyes shifted to the mirror above the sink and she cringed. God, she looked awful! She didn't want to see Angel like this when he came out of surgery. So she did as Jenny asked and scrubbed her face clean of makeup and tears. Once done, she leaned against the sink and closed her eyes. She was so tired, and so worried about Angel. He would be okay. He just had to be!
"So..you and Angel seem pretty close," Jenny found herself saying, then bit her lip as she silently chastised her audacity. The last thing Buffy needed right now was to be questioned about whatever relationship seemed to exist between her and Angel. Jenny just hadn't been able to help herself.
The question made Buffy's hand still as she dried them with the coarse, practically useless paper towels next to the sink. She debated brushing the inquiry off, or repeating what she'd told her family earlier – that Angel was her bodyguard – but Buffy had made a promise to herself years ago: she would never lie to her family again if it could be helped. She wasn't about to back-off that decree now.
Sighing, she turned and faced her aunt. "I've known Angel for a long time. Sort of. We met when I still lived in Sunnydale."
"Uh huh," Jenny hummed pensively. Wasn't that interesting? "I take it you were involved?"
"Umm, yeah." Buffy shifted her feet around. This wasn't exactly a conversation she wanted to have with her aunt, or anyone in her family for that matter. "He was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. And I was a...a mess," she finished flatly.
"I see," replied Jenny, suddenly understanding. Buffy had first met the man when her life was still spiraling downwards. She was beginning to get a feel of the situation.
"Yeah," Buffy shrugged. "I did some really stupid things, and he left. I hadn't seem him for four years until recently when he and Faith responded about the break-in at my apartment."
"That had to be hard," Jenny said sympathetically. She was curious to know what exactly had gone on between the two in Sunnydale and how things were now, but she wouldn't press Buffy any harder. The poor girl was stressed out enough.
"I couldn't believe it when he showed up at my door with Faith," she answered, thinking back to that fateful day. "Things were...rough...for a while, but we finally talked. There were things I'd never told him. They don't excuse what I did to him, but I think he understands. I guess we're kind of friends now." Yeah, friends who climbed onto her kitchen table and had crazy monkey sex.
Friends, huh? Jenny was pretty sure they were a lot more than friends, but that was an issue for another time. At least now she understood the chemistry between the two better. From the first moment she'd seen them next to each other at the gallery earlier, Jenny had sensed something between them. It hadn't made sense when Buffy introduced him as her bodyguard, but now Jenny knew why that was.
Jenny was about to suggest that they stop at one of the snack machines in the hall on the way back when the door burst open and Dawn nearly fell into the room. Instantly frantic, Buffy leapt at her sister, her lips trembling and her eyes filling with tears.
"What's wrong? It's Angel? He's...he's not...not..." Buffy couldn't finish the thought. It was too horrible to consider.
"I think he's fine, but I don't know. The doctor just came down and is waiting for you," Dawn explained, already grabbing Buffy's hand and tugging her out of the bathroom.
By the time they reached the hall, Buffy was the one leading Dawn. The younger Summers had to almost run to keep up with her sister. But she didn't complain. She might like to rag on Buffy whenever possible, but now wasn't one of those moments.
Buffy jerked open the door to the waiting room, dropping Dawn's hand in the process. Everyone was standing, anxiously waiting for her to return so that the doctor could relay his news about Angel. A vague impression formed in her mind that the guy didn't look much like a doctor, but it was a fleeting thought. All she wanted to know was that Angel would be okay.
"Ah, you must be the famous Buffy," the man said, turning to face her. "I'm Doctor Lorne Caritas. I performed the surgery on Liam – err, Angel, I'm told he's called. Is there a reason for that? No, never mind. I'm sure you want to know how he's doing."
"Yes, please," Buffy entreated, desperately needing to know. "Will he be okay?"
"He'll be just fine, dumplin'," Lorne assured her with a smile. "The wound wasn't all that serious. There aren't any organs in the shoulder to pierce. He lost a lot of blood, and as you know, we had to remove the bullet. It entered about here," he pointed a spot about halfway between the neck and the ball of the shoulder. "It looks as though the bullet deflected off the collarbone. The bone cracked but didn't fully break or shatter, and we didn't have any trouble removing the slug. All in all, he was quite the lucky man."
"Oh, thank God!" Buffy sighed in relief and sagged against Faith, who'd come to stand next to her.
"His collarbone will be more than just a little painful for a while, and his motion will be restricted, but he'll be back to his big, manly self in no time," Lorne explained, and gave a snap of his fingers to explicate the point.
Faith gave him an odd look. Weird dude. But Angel was going to be a-okay. She blew out a breath, and shook off the sappy emotions overwhelming her. She didn't do sappy.
"Can...can I see him?" Buffy asked, wanting to see for herself that Angel was alive and well. She knew the doctor wouldn't lie to her about something like this. She just needed to see him.
Lorne hesitated for a moment. Technically, family were the only ones allowed to see patients in this situation. The other officer, though – Faith, he recalled – had already told him that Angel had no family living in the city. He supposed he could bend the rules this one time. How could he possibly resist the wounded, puppy-dog look on Buffy's face?
"Yes, you can see him," he relented. "He's still in post-op, so you'll have to wait until he's moved to a room and settled in. I have to warn you that he probably won't know you're there. The pain meds and recovery from anesthesia will likely keep him out of it until morning."
"That's okay," Buffy interjected quickly. She didn't care if he was sound asleep. "I just want to see him."
"All right, I'll have a nurse come get you when he's all tucked in." Lorne patted her arm then left the room.
Feeling her friend trembling next to her, Faith put an arm around Buffy's shoulders – that was about as close as she got to sappy. "Don't worry, B. The big guy's fine. He'll probably be up and spouting orders in the morning like usual."
"Excuse me," a woman interrupted.
Buffy realized then that there was someone new in the room. She hadn't ever seen the tall woman with medium blonde hair before. Who in the world was she?
"Sorry," Faith said sheepishly. "Buffy, this is Kate Lockley. She's a detective from me and Angel's precinct."
"Oh, umm, hi," mumbled Buffy, not really caring who the woman was, though she was slightly curious about her presence. Then again, she was a police officer. So was Angel. That probably explained it. "I'm gonna go wait in the hall for the nurse to come get me."
As Buffy started to leave, the woman's voice cut in again. "Miss Summers, I need to ask you a few questions."
"Geez, Kate. Can't this wait a little bit?" Faith muttered, giving the other cop an annoyed glare.
"No, it can't. Now," Kate focused back in on Buffy "if you could just tell me exactly what happened tonight."
Her words were forceful and no nonsense, a fact not lost on Buffy. The tone startled her a bit. She glanced at the door, wanting to be with Angel instead of in here. "I, umm-."
"Didn't the guard at the door already tell you what happened?" Faith cut in.
"I need to gather all the facts. You should know that," Kate accused haughtily.
"Oh for fuck's sake," grumbled Faith, eyeing the woman in disgust. "Just answer her questions, B."
"Umm, okay."
It was obvious she wouldn't get out of the room until she did, so Buffy explained. She told the stiff-legged cop everything she knew. How she and Angel had gone outside and how Angel had shouted her name and pushed her out of the way. Then the loud crack she now knew was a gunshot. And that was it. That was all she knew. It wasn't much. Apparently the cop thought so too because she slapped her notebook closed and looked annoyed.
"Thank you for your time," Kate snapped, and immediately left the room without another word.
Buffy couldn't stop the words that slipped out of her mouth. "Who stuck the pole up her ass?"
Chuckling, Faith shook her head and rolled her eyes at Kate's antics. "Miss Lockley there has had a hard-on for Angel for years. But he sees her as just a co-worker, which, as you pointed out, has shoved a pole or two up her ass."
Through narrowed eyes, Buffy stared at the door the woman had exited through. So she wanted Angel, did she? Well, that was just too damn bad. Angel was hers!
That wasn't quite true, she immediately corrected herself. Okay, it wasn't the least bit true. She had no claim at all on Angel. Most of the time, she didn't even think he liked her. He may not hate her anymore, but they didn't mean anything to each other. Or rather, she didn't mean anything to him. If she did, he wouldn't have been about to give her the 'it was a mistake' talk after their...rendezvous in the kitchen. But that was another issue for another time.
All that mattered now was that she get to Angel and see for herself that he was alive. But before Buffy could return to her plan to wait in the hallway, Tara – the nurse – entered the room and gave Buffy a compassionate smile.
"The d-doctor said you c-can go up now," Tara relayed. "If y-you'll follow me."
Ten minutes later, Buffy was standing outside the door to Angel's room. As soon as Nurse Tara had told her she could go, she'd wanted to race to his room. Unfortunately, everyone else had other ideas.
First her family had needed to speak with her. They wanted to wait at the hospital to take her back to her apartment once she'd seen Angel. Buffy had no intention of leaving. She was going to be there when Angel woke up in the morning. Telling her family that had resulted in a mild argument. They wanted her to go home and get some sleep. Finally, she'd gotten them to leave. As expected, they were going to stay in LA overnight, though. Jenny had already spoken to their neighbor about watching the baby longer, and Giles had made hotel reservations. Dawn was going to stay with them, since it was too dangerous for her to stay at the apartment by herself.
Once that had been settled, Faith and Spike had cornered her to tell her they were going across the street to the all-night coffee shop, but would be back to stay with her. Faith knew Buffy was not leaving. Even dynamite wouldn't have pried Buffy from Angel's room. Buffy tried to tell them that there was no need for them to stay, but Faith said they were, and that was the end of it. She'd also tacked on at the end that Buffy was still in danger and someone needed to watch out for her.
Which was why one of the officers who'd pulled guard duty at the gallery earlier was standing outside Angel's door. He would apparently stay there until Faith and Spike got back to take over the Great Buffy Watch. Would she ever get time to herself again?
The point was moot for now. Angel was what mattered. She could take an armed guard as long as she got to see him.
Slowly, Buffy pushed the door open and entered the darkened room. Only a small light over the foot of the bed gave the room illumination. It was enough, though, for her to get a good look at Angel's face.
He was still so pale, was her first thought. She was reassured about his condition, however, by the steady, rhythmic beep of the heart monitor he was attached too. That single noise told her for sure the doctor hadn't lied. Angel was alive and going to be fine.
Tears prickled her eyes for the millionth time that night, but she forced them back. She wasn't going to cry!
Pulling a chair up to the bed, Buffy sat, all the while staring at Angel's face and at the even rise and fall of his chest. Her mind was still having some trouble facing what had happened. In her experience, people only got shot on TV. People were only stalked in movies. This kind of stuff didn't happen in real life!
But it did, and it had. Angel was proof of that. He'd taken a bullet because of her. Would he ever forgive her?
It was just another thing to add to the list of wrongs she'd done Angel, she thought as she gently took Angel's hand in hers. She'd understand if he wanted nothing more to do with her when he woke up in the morning.
TBC!
