Chapter Seven

Willy's Bar was still deserted at 8pm; his clientele became active much later in the evening. Willy was wiping down the bar and filling the snack bowls when Angel kicked the door in. He had Willy by the throat in mere seconds, and morphed into his vampire-self through the intensity of his fury.

"You've always been a friend, Willy," Angel snarled, "which is why I haven't snapped you in half like a toothpick. Yet. But you'd better start giving me answers, or I might not be responsible for what happens to you."

"We are friends, Angel. What - what's going on?"

"Where's your medallion? And how'd you get that black eye and those bruises? Little fight in the graveyard, Willy?"

"Y-you know I hate graveyards."

"Where's your medallion?" Angel demanded.

"Last night, after you left, a new vamp came in -"

"Who was it?"

"I - I've never seen him before. But he was real strong. He put a chokehold on me and just took it, right off my neck. Then he...he flew out the door."

Angel released his hold on Willy's throat. "He flew? Are you sure he was a vamp?"

"I saw the fangs, Angel."

"What'd he look like?"

"Little shorter than you, real thin but real strong. Blonde hair, almost white, sort of curly, cut real close to his head. Nasty, beady little dark eyes."

"And you're positive he flew?"

"I guess it was more like floating; just an inch or two off the ground."

"Any jewelry that you could see?"

"No, but when he grabbed me from behind, something metal dug into my neck. Felt like a ring."

"Willy, thank you." Angel turned toward the door. "Buffy!" he called. She'd been waiting outside with an instamatic camera. She took Willy's picture and then she and Angel regrouped in the alley beside the bar.

"I'll take this over to the hospital and have Steve look at it," Buffy said, holding the quickly developing photo.

Angel gently grabbed her arm. "Buffy, be extra careful. I'll have to look into this a little more, but if I'm right, I might know who this is, and at the moment, this vamp is unbelievably powerful. He can levitate, so you won't hear him coming, and he has the ability to attack in the sunlight, as well as the dark."

"How -?"

"Let me make sure I'm right, then I'll explain everything. In the meantime, please take extra precautions and stay alert."

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While Angel was pumping Willy for answers, Steve paced nervously up and down the hospital corridor. He knew that Jaime's injuries were potentially much more serious now, and cursed himself for allowing her to return to the cemetery, even though Rudy had cleared her to go and they probably couldn't have stopped her anyway.

"Steve!" Buffy hurried toward him, holding something in her hand. "How's Jaime?"

"She's still in there with her doctor, and it's been hours now. She's been unconscious ever since she passed out in the cemetery. Buffy, did she say anything to you before I got there?"

"Not much. She mumbled something about how she didn't hear him coming and she should've heard him coming."

"See, that's the part I don't understand. Jaime has exceptionally good hearing. I can't figure out how someone could sneak up -"

"I know how," Buffy told him. "Oh, but first I'm supposed to show you this." She handed him the photo. "Is this the man you saw attacking Jaime?"

"No. That's definitely not him."

"Good, 'cause that's Willy, Angel's friend. We had to make sure, since it was his medallion. What did the man you saw look like?"

"He had very short hair, bleached almost white, and -"

"Yep. That's him. We don't know his name yet. Well, I don't, anyway. But Angel's pretty sure he knows who did this. Apparently, he can levitate and that's why Jaime didn't hear him coming. No footsteps, no footprints."

"Alright, you've got me buying into your vampire theories, so I guess levitating isn't too big a jump."

"I've gotta go make sure Angel's ok. I'll stop by tomorrow and fill you in on what we find out, ok?"

"Thanks, Buffy," Steve said, noticing his tongue didn't tend to trip on her name the way it did at first. He resumed his pacing, but had only made two more passes up and down the hallway when Rudy finally emerged.

"How is she?" Steve asked anxiously.

"No sign of a skull fracture, but she's got a pretty mean concussion. Whoever hit her, they hit her damn hard. She's extremely lucky she wasn't killed. Three broken ribs, a couple more cracked - hairline fractures."

"Is she...gonna be ok?"

Rudy smiled and patted his friend on the back. "A few days, maybe a week, of total bedrest, enforced with sedation if necessary, and she'll be just fine."

"When can I see her?"

"How about now? She's showing signs of regaining consciousness; as soon as she does, I'll give her something for pain. I'll wait out here for now, so you two can have some time alone. Just hit the call button when she wakes up, of if there's any other change."

Steve pulled a chair next to Jaime's bed, sat down and took her hand in both of his.

"Steve..." she whispered, her eyes still closed.

"I'm right here, Sweetheart. Just waiting to see those beautiful hazel eyes of yours." Her eyes began to flutter open, then she closed them again with a sharp cry of pain. Steve hit the call button.

"Hurts..." Jaime mumbled.

"Rudy'll be right in," Steve told her in a soothing voice. "He had to wait until you were awake, but he'll give you something now." She moaned softly, her head moving side-to-side, inadvertantly hitting the goose-egg against the pillow. "Jaime, try and lie still. You're making it worse by moving your head around."

Rudy came in and looked questioningly at Steve. "She's awake," Steve told him. "She's in a lot of pain."

Rudy injected the contents of a syringe into Jaime's IV line. "That should work pretty quickly. Jaime, I need you to try and open your eyes for me, Honey." Rudy assisted her a bit by lifting each eyelid just enough to check her pupils. "You should start to feel some relief in just a minute or two," he told her. "Steve, call me if she starts to feel worse. Otherwise, I'll be back in about an hour to check on her."

Steve gently brushed the hair from Jaime's face, carefully avoiding her bumps and bruises. A few seconds later, she slowly opened her eyes.

"Steve..."

"Shhh...you need to rest now."

"Steve, I love you..." The medicine did its work and she was sound asleep.

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