September 21, 2008

The day had been going so well, but of course it didn't last, it never does. Eventually something demonic crops up when life was getting too good to be true.

Buffy sighed as she punch the blue horned creature that had charged her, wishing for a stake or a sword or something at all to fight the thing with. They'd been strolling though an open grassy area with pretty much nothing to use as weapons when they were surrounded.

The slayer was relieved beyond measure that Dawn had taken the kids home with her a short while ago so Buffy could spend some time getting Angel and her dad acquainted. She'd realized they'd barely exchanged so much as a paragraph since he'd come to live with them weeks ago and wanted the two most important men in her life to be a little more comfortable with one another.

A stroll though the park at sunset wasn't so romantic when you were getting jumped by demons.

Buffy spun and kicked, sending the creature sailing across the grass to impact a tree. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Angel handling his foes easily enough and was relieved to see her father seemed to be ignored thus far.

Turning her attention back to the two approaching her, Buffy smiled, "You know, I was annoyed a moment ago, but I'm actually enjoying this now. I'll admit, I don't Slay like I used to with a job, husband and kids, but I really needed some good old fashioned demon bashing to beat the stress out."

The creature just growled and ran at her.

She knocked the thing sideways into his buddy, "So much better than a punching bag, those don't grunt in pain or fall with such a satisfying thump."

Grinning, she moved to the next. 'This is almost too easy, like they aren't even trying.'

…

Angel felt his face shift as the creature he fought rammed a fist into his gut.

He had no idea how or why these assholes knew where to find him, the last time he fought with their leader had to have been over a hundred years ago, and on the other side of the world. This time he was finishing them off so they didn't come back to bite him later, which was exactly what one was doing at the moment.

Ignoring the pain as best he could, he pulled his knife out of his boot and jammed it up and under the beast's chin, a killing blow which sent it sprawling a few steps back before dropping dead and giving him a second to breathe.

At least before the other three around him closed in.

Before they could attack, three loud bangs echoed into the night air. The three hairy, horned beasts surrounding him shuttered as three big holes suddenly appeared in each of their torsos in tandem with the sounds.

Angel turned to find Hank walking up behind him, the weapon he held was turning away from the falling creatures to aim directly at him.

"Hank." Angel warned, suddenly finding himself facing his father-in-law's hard face down the barrel of a gun, a Dirty Harry .44 Magnum revolver to be exact. He dropped his boot knife and held his hands out away from his body to show he was unarmed.

"I knew it, you're one of those things." Buffy's father spat towards his son-in-law, looking at the grotesque mask of the vampire that had taken over his features during the fight.

"It's a part of me, I can't deny that." Angel defended, his features shifting back to human as he spoke, "but it doesn't rule me.

Buffy had just taken care of her foes when she'd heard the bangs from the gun, she'd been relieved for a second before she saw where her father was now aiming his weapon.

"Dad!" Buffy screamed in alarm when she realized her father was pointing a gun at her husband's heart, "What the hell are you doing! That's Angel!"

Hank's blue eyes were dark with rage, "I'm sorry Buffy, but he's one of those things, a demon…I saw it with my own eyes…he's a monster."

"Dad, put down the gun!" Buffy repeated as she inched closer, terrified Hank would pull the trigger and destroy the only happiness she'd ever known in this life. "Angel's not a monster, he's my husband and I love him and you really need to stop pointing a weapon at him."

The three stood in a triangle, Buffy not close enough to either of them to stop anything. She was beginning to realize those demons had herded her away from her spouse on purpose. Slowly she began to inch towards her husband, hoping her body would be a shield for Angel, knowing her father wouldn't fire if she were too close to being hit.

"You didn't see his face Buffy, he is a monster." Hank stubbornly repeated. He hadn't liked Angel to begin with, and this was the opportunity he's been looking for to get him out of the picture.

The plan had worked wonderfully, those demons from the bar agree to the set-up (unknowing they would be shot before they could rat Hank out for paying them to attack Angel). The only issue now was apparently his daughter had failed to see the demon that masked itself as her lover.

"Mr. Summer, please just put the gun down so we can talk this over like adults." Angel attempted to reason with the man, although he knew it was useless, he could sense Hank's fear and hate, the man wouldn't part with that gun until the barrel was empty and his chest was full of lead. Three bullets went into the demons lying dead on the ground by his feet, so Angel knew there was at least three more waiting to take him down.

That was two more than it would take to kill him if he aimed right.

Angel's real worry wasn't in his death, but that Buffy would be a widow and left to raise their children on her own. He didn't want to leave her; he wanted to stay with her as he'd promised he would. As a double punch, he didn't want her own father to be the one to kill him, not only would it ruin Buffy's relationship with him, but the kids would lose their grampa and Dawn would lose her father all over again.

"Dad, for the last time, put the damn gun down, NOW!" Buffy screamed, getting more angry than afraid as she looked towards the deceivingly innocent looking black hole at the end of the long barrel.

Looking to Angel, Hank snarled, "I'll be damned before I permit a thing such as you to touch my little girl. I won't let her be fooled like I was, to let your mind control destroy her life."

"There is no mind control!" Buffy denied, realization suddenly blooming that he thought Angel was like Melissa, that he was controlling her into being his wife, "This isn't the same situation you had with Melissa, Angel may have a demon in him, but he's human. He's like me Dad, I have the essence of demon too. All slayers do, it's what give us our strength."

Hank looked to his daughter; he could see the fear in her eyes. He remembered how vivid Melissa's delusions of love had been to him while under her control; he knew how far he would have gone in those days, of how much he's believed every word she'd told him. He felt guilty his own daughter had suffered the same fate, but at least he could free her from her slaver. "I'm sorry Buffy, but you'll thank me for this later."

He fired, angry and determined, emptying the last three bullets into the air towards Angel.

"NO!" Buffy screamed as she dove towards her husband, unable to just stand and watch him get gunned down in front of her like an execution.

Angel heard his wife's scream, but it wasn't the bullets he'd been concerned about. He was horrified she'd jumped towards him, putting herself in the path of death. "Buffy!" He yelled, desperate to keep her out of harms way, to shield her as she lunged towards him.

Pain exploded somewhere on his body, but Angel ignored it as Buffy slammed into him, them both being knocked to the ground by the force.

...

Hank immediately dropped the empty gun as Buffy leaped into the line of fire; horrified she would risk being hit. His heart slammed into his chest as he watch her collide with Angel, them both dropping in a tangle of legs and arms. His mind was still swirling over how fast she had moved, faster than any human had the right to move.

Moving fast as he could but no where near as quickly, Hank ran over, calling his daughter's name.

Angel growled in pain as he felt his left arm throbbing in agony, everything below his forearm was numb and useless. Forcing is eyes open, he immediately looked to his wife's still form as she lay covering him, her back to his front. "Buffy?" He called, carefully sitting up and grimacing as his stiff arm unwrapped from around his wife's waist, blood was already reddening the once yellow shirt over his wife's middle.

He forced his screaming arm off her, unwilling to bloody her more, but as he sat with her draped in his lap he realized her shirt was still growing wetter with the sticky substance.

Terror smacked into him as he realized the blood wasn't only his, but Buffy's.

"Buffy!" He repeated, shifting to roll her limp form into his arms so he could locate the wound and apply pressure to minimize the bleeding.

Her blond head turned, a gasp of pain issued from her lips as she regained consciousness, "Angel?" She asked weakly, looking up to see if he'd been hit. "Are you ok?"

"Shh, Buffy, I'm fine. Just lie still, you're hurt." He told her while trying to contain the fear her felt as his right hand warmed with her blood.

"Oh no!" Hank gasped as he realized Buffy was bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to her abdomen. "No, Buffy, no. Why did you get in the way?" Her father turned his again angry blue eyes back to Angel, "Why couldn't you have just died and set her free! Look what you did to my little girl!"

"I'm not the prick that shot her!" He snapped, and then took a calming breath as he felt Buffy whisper his name. The only thing that kept Angel from rising and ripping Hank's tongue right out of his mouth to strange him with it was the fact he was currently holding Buffy. Instead, he pressed his injured hand weakly over his lover's wound so he could pull his cellphone out of his back pocket and toss it to his wife's now pacing father. "Make that flapping mouth useful, call Cassidy, and get help here for Buffy."

The older looking man opened is mouth as if he were going to argue, and then quickly decided against it. He scrolled though Angel's contacts and selected Cassidy's name from the list. Hitting send, he paced as he waited for the call to connect. When an unfamiliar female voice answered, "Cassidy speaking, what's the emergency Angel?" Hank informed the woman on the line of the situation and to send help to their current location.

When the call ended he looked back over at his daughter, his eyes softening slightly as he watched who he'd honestly thought was nothing but a cold hearted demon a few moments ago gently caressing Buffy hair with his thumb as he spoke softly to her, while holding her small trembling form tightly against him and pressing his torn and balled up shirt against her stomach to keep steady pressure on her wound.

Her hazel-green eyes were open, but unfocused and laced with pain as she rested her head against his chest.

'He's alive.' Buffy's mind whispered as she listened to her husband's voice speaking softly to her, although his voice sounded too far away, like he was talking to her from underwater.

Her eyes were growing heavier as the moments passed, her body felt cold despite being snug in her lover's warm arms, even the pain had seemed to be fading.

Somewhere far away, she thought she could hear he father yelling, maybe even Angel yelling back, she wasn't sure. Everything was so far away, so very far away.

…

Angel was pacing, had been doing so for the last five hours while Cassidy performed surgery to repair the damage the bullet caused to Buffy's lower intestines. The slayer had lost a great deal of blood in the fifteen minutes it had taken to get the medical van to their location, had Angel not been applying steady pressure she would have bled out before the van had even left the garage.

Cassidy was overly nervous, and was preparing for the worst if Buffy didn't survive the intense surgery. There was a lot of internal bleeding and locating all of it was both difficult and time consuming.

Angel had been asked to leave the Operating room the moment Buffy had been brought in, but he outright refused and there wasn't anyone willing to try and force him out. However his presence had been making the nurses nervous and his hovering was beginning to interfere with their moving around Buffy's sedated form. Finally Cassidy told him he was upsetting the staff and endangering Buffy's life. Reluctantly he relocated his restless self just outside the OR doors, far enough to be out of the way but close enough to still hear the faint pulses of his wife's sluggish heart.

The living vampire was still worrying a hole in the floor with his feet when Dawn and Giles entered the Med-ward, both looking anxious.

"How is she?" The former librarian asked when he was a few feet from his son-in-law, behind his glasses his eyes scanning the closed Operating room door.

"No change." Angel muttered, barely acknowledging their presence though the blanket of worry and guilt he was wearing.

"Angel, you should sit for a while." Dawn suggested, not liking how pale and drawn he was.

"I'm fine." He bit out, tense as ever and not even slowing in his pacing.

"You're cover in blood." Dawn pointed out; unnerved knowing it was her sister's.

His dark eyes dropped to his shirt and for a moment his steps did falter. He'd been so focused on Buffy he hadn't even noticed he was drench in her life's fluid. He wasn't about to correct his sister-in-law by saying it wasn't all Buffy's blood, but he would worry about his own injuries later. Swallowing hard, he tore his eyes away from his clothes and continued pacing. He had no intentions of leaving the area to get cleaned up until he knew his wife would live.

Seeing he wasn't going to leave his sentry position, Dawn exhaled in defeat and headed upstairs to find him a change of clothes, hoping if she brought them to him he might take a moment to clean up from in the Med-ward.

After Dawn left, Giles wanted to speak to Angel, but he could tell now wasn't the time, his demon was agitated and anything Giles said would go in one ear and get torn right to sheds.

Nodding his concern, Giles left his son-in-law to his pacing in went back upstairs to inform the others there was still no change in Buffy's condition.

...

About a half an hour later, Dawn returned with a change of clothes she'd found in Angel's office closet and a sandwich and bottle of water from the cafe, hoping he'd change out of his ruined garments and put something in his stomach.

She tried speaking to him, but he was just as stoic as he'd been before, never pausing in his paces. Finally she had to threaten him with something she knew he couldn't ignore. "Katie and Liam have been crying for hours now, nothing's helping and they won't eat."

Angel stopped and turned to look at her, "Why not?"

"Duh Angel, they know something's wrong with you and Buffy, they're scared." She informed him. For little kids, they sensed a lot more of their surroundings than they should at their age.

He looked around nervously, she could tell he was torn about going upstairs to see his children and staying here to make sure their mother was alright.

"I can bring them down." Dawn offered, "But I'm not letting my niece and nephew see their father covered in their mother's blood."

Angel's dark eyes glanced down at his red stained clothes again, and then at the fresh set Dawn had brought down with her. Gritting his teeth, he relented, "Fine, give me ten minutes and bring them down."

Glad she's 'won' the battle; Dawn thanked him and went to get the children.

When she was gone, Angel walked over to the sink against the wall and stripped off his clothes, throwing the soiled garments in the trash. There wasn't anyone else in the Med-ward and he didn't really care if anyone saw him naked, he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

Washing up the best he could, he grimaced down at the bloody hole in his left forearm, the arm that had been around Buffy's waist when the bullet tore though it then into his wife. He knew the bone had been shattered by the bullet, but his healing seemed to have mended the bones enough to be slightly functional. Still it hurt like hell.

Hastily, he wrapped a bandage around the wound so it wouldn't stain his clean shirt and wrapped a second bandage around his bloody and bruised left rib cage where a second of Hank's bullets had grazed him. Luckily the third had missed both of them entirely.

Pulling the clean clothes on was a chore with only the fingers of one hand working but he managed. Glancing at the sandwich Dawn had brought and left on the table he felt his stomach turn in revolt. He took a few shallow swallows of the water and glanced into the OR door to check the slow progress of Buffy's surgery.

When everything looked to be as it had been hours ago, he resumed pacing until Dawn returned with his children.

A few minutes later, Katie came charging threw the Med-ward doors, her nose and eyes rimmed red from recent tears. "Daddy!" She cried as she bee-lined at him, barely giving him enough time to catch her when she jumped up into his arms.

Biting back a gasp of pain as the bullet wound in his arm protested Katie's added weight; Angel winced into his child's hair so she wouldn't see the pain in his face. "Shh, it's Ok baby." He soothed, holding his daughter close and rubbing his good right hand down her small back.

"Nuh ah, Mommy has an ouch, a big ouch. I heard auntie Dawn and grandpa Giles talking to auntie Willow and uncle Xander." She snuffled as she spoke, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

Knowing he couldn't out-right lie, he told her as gently as possible, "Yes, mommy does have an ouch in her belly, but Dr. Cassidy is working real hard to make her better."

"Is she going to get better?" Katie asked, looking scared.

The best yes he could manage was, "Cassidy is a very good Doctor, and mommy is very strong." He'd wanted to say yes, but in truth he didn't know, Buffy was in critical condition and even Cassidy had not yet been able to give a prognosis until the surgery was rated a success or failure.

Katie rested her head on her father's shoulder, both tired and upset. It was 11pm now and well past her bedtime, but sleep wasn't finding her.

He was gently rocking her when Dawn entered into the room, Liam walking slowly beside her with his hand tightly clutching hers. When he saw his father, he let go of his aunt's fingers and quickly crossed the Med-ward to attach himself to Angel's leg.

Angel leaned down and ran his hand threw his son's blond hair, stroking his thumb along the back of his neck in a calming manor.

Dawn came to stand across from her brother-in-law, her blue eyes glancing to the OR door before focusing on him, "Any change?" she asked, worried beyond measure for her sister's life.

Angel shook his head, "No."

She was glad he'd cleaned up, but noticed he hadn't touched the food.

Moving a few paces, Angel sat down heavily in one of the stiff chairs lined up outside the Operating room door, feeling like the first time he'd been off his feet in days. Liam quickly climbed up into his lap as Katie re-positioned to use him as an armchair.

Angel's arm felt a little better now the pressure was off it. The bone was barely healed and the flesh and muscles were still raw, leaving the limb weak, barely responsive and agonizingly painful.

Leaning down, he kissed both his children and softly began to talk to them, trying to get them to relax and not focus on their mother's injury.

Yawning, Dawn glanced at the clock, grimacing at the late hour.

Noticing her fatigue, Angel told her she was relieved of babysitting duty; he would keep the kids with him overnight and asked if she could collect them in the morning.

Reluctantly Dawn agreed, wanting to get some sleep but also wanting to stay up for her sister and help Angel with the kids. However she knew the two youths were already helping calm her brother-in-law down, their presence alone had already stopped the neurotic pacing. She hoped they would keep Angel distracted enough so he didn't have a heart attack while waiting for Cassidy to finish the surgery.

Buffy's sister made him promise to call her at anytime if he needed help, and then went upstairs to crash in a dorm room, hoping for a few restless winks before morning. She knew Angel wasn't going to sleep tonight, so at least she'd be rested enough to handle the kids tomorrow.

After Dawn left, Angel got his son and daughter to eat the sandwich their aunt had brought for him earlier, along with a bag of chips and some cookies he'd slipped from their hiding place in Cass's cabinet.

Neither tot wanted to go to sleep, but Angel tucked them into one of the cots and quietly recited bedtime stories until they drifted to sleep.

Once they were resting, Angel found himself looking into the Operating room window again before resuming his worried pacing.

…

It was just shy of 6am when the OR door opened and one of Cass's assistance stepped out.

Instantly Angel was in-front of him, asking about his wife's condition.

The exhausted young medical student rubbed his eyes and spoke tiredly, "Dr. Cassidy believes the internal bleeding is under control, but her vitals are still unstable and there is a serious concern for infection."

Angel nodded a mix of relief with another dose of worry. "Can I see her?"

The young man looked behind him into the door window before turning back to Angel, "I wouldn't recommend it, the room needs to be kept sterile and Dr. Cassidy isn't yet finished closing the wound. I would say to wait until the surgery is finished and you've spoken to the doctor before making physical contacting with the patient."

The living vampire wasn't pleased with the answer, "How long will that be?"

"Umm." The boy thought a moment, "They're in the closing stage now, so I'd give Dr. Cassidy at least another hour before she'd finished, excluding any complications."

Angel resuming pacing as the intern left the room, likely heading home to recover from ten hours of assisting in surgery.

…

An hour or so later, Giles entered the Med-ward.

"Angel." The watcher greeted, noticing with dismay Angel had spent the night restlessly pacing instead of resting.

"Giles." He greeted back, more on auto pilot than conscious thought.

"Any update on Buffy's condition?" The older looking man asked, removing his glasses and wiping them on his shirt.

"Somewhat." Angel answered, pausing to speak with the man he more considered to be his father-in-law than Hank Summers, "Cass stopped the internal bleeding but Buffy's vitals are still unstable and she's at risk for infection. They should have finished by now." He grumbled, getting more annoyed every passing second.

Giles nodded; glad for news but wishing it was better. He was still waiting for the 'all-clear', not so much more 'wait and see'.

A few minutes later, Liam awoke and asked to use the bathroom. While Angel took his son to the restroom across the hall, Giles sat with a still sleeping Katie. As Giles watched over his granddaughter, he couldn't help but worry about the girl's mother. He prayed his slayer would recover, and that her wounds wouldn't cause any lasting effects.

When Angel returned, the former vampire asked if Giles could bring Liam up to the cafe for breakfast, the boy was hungry and Angel was afraid to leave the area in case Cassidy called for him.

Katie awoke when Angel ran his hand over her back; he knew his little girl would sleep the day away if given the chance. After a quick restroom stop, she joined her brother and grampa Giles for breakfast as her father resumed his sentry over the OR door.

…

Angel was seriously considering banging on the door for an update when an exhausted Cassidy finally emerged.

He was standing in-front of her in a second, demanding to know his wife's condition.

Cassidy took a few steps before sitting heavily on a nearby cot, having been standing for over 11 hours she really needed to sit. Looking up at Angel's nervous face she gave her honest opinion, "Buffy's still in critical condition. The internal bleeding has stopped and the wound is clean and sealed, but her vitals are still unstable. Honesty Angel, I'm out of ideas on how to stabilize her."

Upon hearing that, he turned and shoved through the OR doors, he would have walked right over the second intern had she not moved out of his way.

Stopping at the table holding his wife's unconscious form, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead before taking her hand in his. "Hi beautiful." He spoke quietly to his weak and pale wife, "I miss you. We're all waiting for you to wake up, especially the kids, they're worried sick about their mom." He spoke softly to her for what felt like years before Cassidy re-entered the room, looking as if she'd taken a shower and changed clothes.

The redhead grabbed the medical chart and began to scribble notes while Angel sat quietly with his wife's hand folded into his. She was comparing Buffy's vitals from at end the surgery until now, shocked at the improvement that occurred in only 30 minutes, despite no medical treatments having been applied.

Buffy's vitals were still low, but at least they were stabilizing.

'Damn it, why didn't I even think of that?' Cassidy scolded herself as she realized the only thing that had changed from the initial decrease in Buffy's vitals until now was Angel's presence. Buffy's heart rate had been dropping slightly almost the moment Angel had been kicked from the room, however the MD hadn't even noticed the coincidence at the time, since she'd been too absorbed in finding and repairing the internal bleeding.

Now as she watched Angel gently caressing his wife's face with his knuckles, she knew kicking him out had been a bad decision.

Cass knew Angel could hear Buffy's heartbeat without need of the monitoring equipment that was scattered along the walls of the Operating room, thus she was positive he knew Buffy's heart rate was better now than when he'd first entered the room. The doctor also knew that until Buffy opened her eyes, God himself would have a hard time getting Angel away from her.

Checking the ventilator, she suspected Buffy would be breathing on her own by early afternoon. Once that happened, she could be moved out of intensive care and into the open space of the Med-ward.

'Holy shit I'm tired.' She thought to herself as she stifled a yawn, figuring Angel was capable of watching over Buffy while she grabbed a nap. The slayer's vitals were only improving and if there was a problem, she knew Angel would literally drag her back to the Med-ward in one second flat.

Cass was about to let Angel sit in privacy with his wife when she noted his shirt had bloodstains on the left sleeve and under his left arm. "Angel? Were you injured?" She asked concerned, the medic in her already itching for a bandage.

"I'm fine." He dismissed, not looking up from his wife's face.

Cassidy didn't believe him for a second, but knew the chances of her wresting his shirt off were less than 0%. She could have tranquilized him if she was sneaky about it, but in the long run she didn't want him pissed off at her if Buffy wasn't awake enough to leash his demon.

She made a mental note to ask him again when he was in a better mood, which likely wouldn't be until Buffy awoke, and went to take a much needed nap.

…

Angel blinked back the exhaustion from his eyes. Until he saw Buffy's open, his weren't allowed to shut.

He sat hunched over her cot, holding her right hand to his lips. He spoke quietly every now and again, telling her how much he wanted her to wake up and repeating how much he loved her.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on his wife's pale face and sat stone still as he waited to see those hazel-green eyes again.

…

For 3 days, Hank Summers had been sitting alone in a cell, waiting for news of his daughter, waiting to know if she lived or died.

He was certain Buffy was alive; he knew if she'd died, Angel would have killed him. The day he shot her had been replaying in his mind from the second it happened. How everything had spiraled out of control in the moment she'd shoved her demon lover aside and taken the bullet that had been aimed at him. Hank still couldn't believe Buffy had done that, he was still convinced Angel's control over her had been what made her do it.

It had to be.

He'd rushed into the Med-ward the moment he'd gotten back to Angel Investigations, Angel hadn't permitted him to ride in the med-van so he'd had to walk, or in his case, jog as fast as possible without having for coronary on the spot.

Hank had barely been able to ask about his daughter when Angel had grabbed him roughly around the neck and hauled him down the hall to the containment rooms. The demon's vampire features were blaring as he'd yanked Hank in close, "She dies, you die." Were the last words he'd heard before the vampire had crushed his right trigger hand and shoved him into the cell.

One of the guards had tended to his wounds and he got food once a day, but none had told him of Buffy's condition. Angel had forbidden anyone from speaking to him, only to give him the bare minimum food and water.

The dull throb in Hank's hand was nothing to the ache in his heart. 'I left my family for a demon, and now I've shot my own daughter because of another demon.'

He was lost in his own personal hell when a voice brought him back to the present.

"Dawn?" He asked, looking upon his younger daughter's face with a mix of relief and shame. "Buffy?" He pleaded, hoping she'd tell him what no one else would.

Swallowing hard, the younger Summers nodded, "She's alive, but critical."

Relief rushed over him, so much in fact he though he might faint. "Thank God." He whispered, knowing if he had killed his daughter, Angel wouldn't have the change to kill him; he'd have taken his own life first.

"She was in surgery for nearly 12 hours, and still hasn't woken up yet. Dr. Cassidy is still working hard to fight the swelling and infection." Dawn revealed to him, keeping a little bit of bite in her words.

"But she'll live? Right?" He begged, looking into his daughter's blue eyes, the same eyes he saw every morning in the mirror.

Dawn didn't answer, mostly because she didn't know.

"Damn him." He gritted out, furious at that creature his daughter had been spelled by, wishing he'd died and released her as was the intention.

The young woman turned to face her father, "This isn't Angel's fault Dad, it's yours. Angel didn't shoot Buffy, you did."

"I wanted to shoot him!" Hank countered, "Don't you see it? He's a demon, just like Melissa was! He's using Buffy! You should be siding with me!"

Dawn took a step back from the bars, appalled. "No Dad, Angel is nothing like Melissa. He loves Buffy, and she loves him. Killing Angel isn't going to break any spell; in fact, Buffy would likely have killed you." She took a few steps closer, "You haven't been around for years, but I was there when they started dating, when they got married and when Katie and Liam were born. I've seen the fear and pain in Buffy's eyes when Angel's hurt. You just need to look into their eyes to see the love they have for each other, no spell can fake love that intense. Angel hasn't moved from Buffy's side since the moment she was brought in, not even to sleep or eat."

Hank stared at his daughter, not able to believe what she was telling him.

"You don't believe me do you?" She asked, seeing it in his eyes.

"He's a demon." The older man repeated, "Demon's don't have feelings."

Dawn bit her lip and knew what she had to do. She knew it was a bad an idea and under normal conditions, she'd never willingly release a criminal from the containment cells, but this was her dad. Seeing was the only thing that could possibly change his mind, so she drew the keys from her pocket and told him they were going for a walk.

A few minutes later, they stood outside the doors to the Med-ward, "Look inside." Dawn ordered, folding her arms and waiting as he took a few steps towards the closed doors and peered though the silted glass window.

Hank could only see one occupied bed, on it the small form of his firstborn lay pale and still. Like a shadow, Angel sat beside the bed, holding one of her hands and taking quietly to her unconscious form.

Mr. Summers swallowed hard at the scene, mostly for his daughter's weak condition. Anger filled him at seeing that demon putting his hands on his child, so much in fact Hank shoved the door open and barged in, "Get your hands off her!"

Dawn gasped and chased after her father, horrified at what Angel would do to both him and her.

Instantly Angel jerked his head up, his demon side responding to the threatening tone as he stood and moved forward to meet his so called father-in-law.

"Get out." Angel growled, grabbing Hank roughly by the shirt lapels when the older looking man went to punch him.

Dead set on bringing down the demon that ruined his daughter's life, with his left hand and legs he jabbed at the creature's chest, face and legs, trying to break the hold on him.

Angel growled again at the pathetic punches and quickly moved forwards, smashing Hank hard against the wall.

"Stop it!" Dawn was yelling, wanting to pry the two apart but not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

Turning to face her, Angel narrowed his golden eyes at her, "Why the f*ck did you bring him here?"

While Angel was distracted interrogating Dawn about his release, Hank took the opportunity and slammed his elbow hard into Angel's throat.

Shocked and gasping for air, Angel dropped the man and stumbled back, his hands clamped over his neck as he struggled for breath.

Hank grinned as he picked up a hammer looking item from a nearby tray, fully intending to bring it down on Angel's skull before he could catch his breath.

He raised the hammer, but before the blow could be struck, Buffy's heart monitor alarm began to blare out a deafening tone.

Before Hank could even think, he watched the demon blur across the room to his daughter's bedside, panic and fear clearly showing on the again human face as Angel hovered over his wife's bed and tried to call her name though the vise in his vocal cords.

Cassidy came running in a few seconds later, barely noticing Dawn or Hank as she raced to the alarming machine.

Hank watched shocked as Angel ran his thumb down Buffy's cheek and kissed her forehead, in conjunction the alarm began to lower then fell into a normal rhythm as Buffy's heart rate calmed back to resting levels.

"Angel was hurting and wasn't beside her, even though she's unconscious, Buffy knew it and got upset." Dawn explained from behind him, he still watching frozen as Cassidy nodded everything was fine now with Buffy's vitals. "Now she knows he's Ok, she's calmed down. That isn't a spell Dad, that's love, it's having a soulmate."

He tried to say something, but his tongue refused to move. He remembered that Melissa had only ever used him, she'd fucked him, but she'd never shown him actual love because she wasn't capable of it. Watching with a new prospective, Hank saw far more than the indifferent and cold demon he'd once see in Angel, now he could clearly see the worry and love and the whole depth of emotions that played behind those dark human eyes.

"It really isn't a spell, is it?" Hank muttered, knowing even a demon couldn't have altered Buffy's heart rate, that her response to him was something far deeper, almost primal.

"No, it isn't." Dawn answered, watching as Angel's focus was completely absorbed in Buffy again, his hand stroking her cheek as he resumed speaking to her quietly.

"You're not supposed to be in here." Cassidy scolded as she came to stand in front of them, the scowl in her lips proof of her annoyance at having to run down the hall in a panic for essentially nothing.

Hank finally tore his eyes off the demon and his daughter, "I'm sorry…I…oh God what have I done?" He trailed, his eyes filling with tears over his actions the last few days.

Cassidy noticed the poor bandage job on Hank's broken hand and that the guy was close to going into shock. Taking his un-damaged arm, she led him across the room and well away from Buffy and Angel so she could treat the hand and prescribe some pills for the emotional damage.

…

Slowly, Buffy forced her heavy eyelids open. Pain laced through them from the sharp contrast from dark to bright due to the halogen lamps on the ceiling above her. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, she let her irises re-adjust to light before slowly opening them again and squinting around. She wasn't sure where she was until she turned her head and spotted the line of cots beside hers. 'Med-ward.' She acknowledged, now beginning to make sense of the dull ache in her belly.

Looking down at herself, she pulled her bed sheet up enough to examine a thick white bandage covering over her middle.

Memories suddenly flashed back, yelling to her father about a gun, seeing the weapon pointing towards her Angel, jumping in front of the bullet.

"Angel!" Her mind yelled her husband's name, but her dry lips and throat brought forth a hoarse whisper.

Turning right, her sudden fear lowered as she saw her lover beside her, his head was resting on her bed, his arms pillowed beneath.

A small grin tugged at her lip, seeing him sleeping beside her. 'He must have fallen asleep watching over me.' She assumed, picking up her hand and running it lightly over his dark spiked hair, hoping her caress woke him so she could alleviate the worry she knew he must be feeling for her.

The smile faded from her lips as she realized his face was too pale in the bright light, his eyes were ringed in darkness and his cheekbone were vividly showing. Even at rest he looked pensive and tense, leading her to believe he was more 'crashing' than actually sleeping.

'From the look on his face, I'm guessing this is the first time he's slept in days.' She thought uneasily to herself, wondering how long she'd been unconscious.

Somewhat uncoordinated, she raised her right hand and brushed it along his cheek this time, trying again to rouse him.

Angel stirred, his eyes blinking open as he quickly sat up and glanced around for what woke him, looking tussled and groggy. When his dark gaze fell over her face, she watched in slight amusement as his eyes widened in recognition to her being back in the land of the conscious.

"You're awake." He spoke, almost sounding afraid to speak or else he'd wake himself to find it had been a dream.

"You're a mess." She bounced back, worried over how stressed he was and over how dry and crack her voice sounded.

Ignoring his own dry throat, he poured her a cup of water and gently lifted her head and shoulders to help her drink. "Here, but take it easy and go slow."

Suddenly, she felt as parched as desert sand and hungered for the water as if it where the nectar of the Gods. Gulping down a mouthful, the liquid felt cold but wonderful flowing down her throat, but it burned once it hit her gut.

"Ow." Buffy muttered, pulling away from the cup and running her hand over her core, signaling she was done with the water for now.

"I'll get Cass." Angel was panicking as he practically jumped at her wince, fear clearly visible on his face.

"No, I'm fine." Buffy argued, equally not wanting him to leave or to have the MD start probing her with medical torture devices. "Please, just sit with me." Truth be told, she wanted him to sit, he looked like he needed rest as much as her.

Angel looked back indecisively at her, clearly at war with himself over whether to do as she asked or as he know he should do, which was tell Cass that Buffy finally awoke.

"Please." Buffy asked once more, purposely pouting her lips just the way she knew Angel wouldn't be able to resist.

She watched in victory as his resolve crumbled and he settled down beside her on the bed, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Alright, but just for a little while."

"Thank you." She whispered, taking his right hands in hers and running her fingers along the familiar callused skin.

After a few minutes of quiet companionship, Buffy asked, "How long was I out?"

Angel glanced down at her a moment, then away. His dark eyes looking even darker in contrast to his pale cheeks. "A while." He mumbled.

Slipping one of her hands free from around him, she ran it over his cheek. "How long?" She asked again, probing his eyes with hers.

He shifted a little then sat closer to her, like he was reminding himself she was still there. After checking the clock hanging across the room, he answered, "About four days."

Buffy's eyes widened, "Oh." Well at least now she knew why he looked so rumpled, he'd likely been restlessly pacing her bed for practically the whole time. "When did you last eat?" She questioned him, not liking his pallor one bit.

He shrugged, "Not sure." He replied almost sulking. Trying and failing to lighten a mood a little he added, "Pretty sure I swallowed a cracker a day or two ago." What he was remembering was Liam 'sharing' his animal crackers by stuffing one into his father's mouth as Angel discussed Buffy's condition with Cassidy.

Buffy tossed him a look that would have scared the spots off a leopard. "Angel!" She chastised, upset with him over his own total lack of self-maintenance.

"I know, I know. I don't need the lecture." He could already hear her words repeating over and over how he needed to keep his strength and not neglect himself.

She shook her head, annoyed at him but loving him for being his-stubborn-bull-headed-self. As she looked at him, she noticed blood around his lower left arm for the first time, the white shirt slightly pink from staining. "You were hit?"

Angel looked at her uncomprehending a second before he noticed where her eyes were glued to his wounded arm. "I'm fine." He denied automatically, not wanting to get into the details of his injuries when she'd clearly gotten the worst of the three shots.

"Let me see." Buffy demanded, determined not to let this drop.

"Buf-"

She cut off his protest before he could even finish her name, "Show me, now!"

Scowling, he pulled his shirt over his head and exposed the dirty bandages. When she glared to see the wound itself, he grumbled and fumbled awkwardly at the rough knot holding the bandage on before Buffy reached out to help him. He moved closer so she wouldn't have to sit up and cause her stitches to pull painfully.

Buffy was shocked when she peeled the damp bloody cloth away to reveal an angry red and swollen hole where a bullet both entered and exited, "Angel, this is infected!"

He growled something under his breath as he snatched the bandage back from her before hastily and clumsily wrapping the oozing wound back up.

"Get Cass to look at that, like right now!" She ordered him, afraid if the injury was left untreated he would get really sick.

"She did." He mumbled out a lie, clearly not wanting the conversation to still be on the subject of him. "It's fine."

The injury was clearly not fine, but she could tell he was done with the subject. As much as she wanted to be mad at him for being so testy and grumpy, she could see it was purely driven by being overtired.

All she had to do was fake a yawn, which wasn't quiet as fake as she'd hoped, and he was practically tripping over himself getting her bundled back up under the thin covers, "You should be resting." He told her as he pressed his lips against her forehead.

"I need my pillow." She smiled at him, referring to his shoulder usually being her pillow of choice.

That indecisive look flashed across his features again, but a moment later he slipped down into the cot with her, sliding his uninjured arm under her as she lifted her head. When he was settled, she shifted a little and pushed closer, wanting to feel as much of him as possible.

"Sleep beloved." He whispered as he kissed her temple, his arms wrapping gently around her, just below her breasts so he wouldn't put pressure on the stitches near her bellybutton.

She wasn't sure which one of them fell asleep first.

…

When Buffy awoke, the first thing she noticed was Cassidy hovering beside the bed. Right before she could say hi, Cass held her hands up in a 'Shh be quiet' motion and pointed to Angel who was still lying under her.

Buffy turned her head a little and looked up at her spouse's sleeping features, understanding Cass didn't want him to wake.

When she looked back over at Cassidy, the MD was holding a bottle of disinfectant and some new bandages. She obviously wanted to treat Angel's wound but not risk waking him and getting him agitated. The doctor had been on the receiving end of Angel's demon more than a few times, and wasn't eager to add another near miss to her list.

Not planning to give him the ability to say 'no', Buffy began to unwrap the hastily covered bullet wound in the arm lying protectively over her chest. As much as she didn't want to wake him either, since he finally looked like he was actually getting some restful sleep, she also needed him to get medical attention for the non-healing hole in limb.

Wincing at the possible negative reaction it might cause, Cass timidly dabbed a little of the disinfectant on the now exposed angry red injury.

Angel's arm jerked away from the pain as he growled and opened his eyes, he would have sat up had Buffy not been using him as a pillow.

The doctor pulled back quickly, not wanting to get eaten or clawed into steak.

"What the hell are you doing?" Angel grumbled, his demon wasn't presenting but he was annoyed at being woken.

"She's trying to treat your wound, so hold still and don't be a baby." Buffy scolded him, wanting the infection to be treated before it got out of hand.

"It's fine." He protested, trying to find the bandage she'd removed.

"Angel." Cass attempted, "That hole in your arm is still as open and raw as it was 4 days ago, you're not healing."

"She's right." Buffy continued, "And not to kick you when you're down, but you need to eat something and take a shower, you look and smell like a homeless guy."

Angel's eyes narrowed as he abruptly removed himself from under Buffy and stood beside the bed, looking back defensively at both woman. "God, first I'm assaulted and now I'm getting insults too?"

Buffy could clearly see his exhaustion was making him uber cranky, "Angel, I'm going to be fine, right Cass?" She turned to the Medic for reassurance.

Nodding, the MD agreed, "The swelling has gone down and there is no sign of infection. Buffy's conscious and lucid, vitals are stable, her motor skills are functioning and in a few days I might even be giving her leave to rest at home."

"See." Buffy repeated to her husband, "I'm fine." Softening her tone she continued, "I know you were worried about me, trust me, I know how it feels to see your lover hurt and not be able to help, but I'm going to be OK, so you really need to stop ignoring your own needs Angel, you're human too, you need to eat and drink and sleep…and wash."

He stood there eyeing them both a moment before he slowly nodded.

"If you want to shower first, that will save me from having to clean and bandage your arm twice." Cass told him, that way he wouldn't be pulling off a fresh bandage just to jump in the shower.

Nodding again, he turned to head upstairs to shower where he had a change of clothes when Buffy cleared her throat. He turned to look at her confused, he though he was doing what she'd asked for.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She questioned.

When he still didn't get it, she pointed to her mouth.

Finally understanding what she wanted, he smirked a little and leaned down to give her a kiss.

Despite that fact he was unwashed, had itchy, stubbly cheeks and was needing some serious mouthwash, he still tasted amazing to her lips. "Mmm, next time we do this, I want to taste minty breath."

She was glad when he laughed, but almost whacked him when he suggested she needed it too. "Hey, I've been unconscious, what's your excuse?"

"The same." He muttered, figuring her being unconscious was as much of an excuse for him as for her.

Once he left, Cass hovered over Buffy a few minutes, checking her vitals and asking how she felt.

"It feels fine to swallow, but once water hits my stomach…" Buffy admitted to the doctor when asked about any pain.

"Makes sense when you're on the receiving end of penetrating abdominal trauma" Cass explained to her about what happened, "You're lucky, the bullet hit Angel first, as it passed though his forearm, it slowed down a great deal, so when it entered your abdomen, it was at a much lower velocity. Unfortunately it still caused a lot of damage to your small intestines, but it was slow enough not to create an exit wound too."

Buffy looked down at the bandage covering her gut, placing her hand tenderly over it. "How bad was it?"

Cassidy looked her straight in the eyes, "I wasn't sure you were going to make it. Your intestine was torn in several places; you were loosing too much blood into your abdominal cavity and as a result going into shock." After a second Cass added, "Angel refused to leave your side, even during 12 hours of surgery he was pacing just outside the door…I think that's why you survived…he wouldn't let you go."

The lump in her throat made it hard for Buffy to swallow, she hadn't known she'd been that close to dying. "Oh." Now she really understood why Angel looked so ragged, he literally hadn't left her side or let himself sleep in over four days. "He didn't even go see the kids?" She asked quietly, a little worried they'd been without either parent for days.

"Dawn brought them down a few times, as did Giles, Willow and Xander. Everyone's been anxious to see how you were, and all were a little paranoid of Angel guarding you like a rabid wolf. The furthest he went from you the whole time was that chair over there, and that was to talk to the kids when they wanted to know how their mommy was. I didn't tell him this, and I suggest you don't either, but the only time your vitals dropped was when he was away from you."

Buffy finally swallowed the chunk of emotion in her throat, now feeling like a bitch for how she'd spoken to her spouse a few minutes ago. "I shouldn't have scolded him like that."

Cassidy shook her head, "Oh yes you should have. Trust me, we've all told him something similar over the last few days, but unfortunately you're the only one he receives audio input from. If you didn't say it, he'd still be planted in that chair."

"I guess." Buffy said, still feeling bad.

…

Angel slipped into his office and leaned heavily against the door.

Even the ride up in the elevator was exhausting.

It took far more effort than he thought possible to pry his clothes off as he entered the small bathroom and turned the knob in the shower. He stood there watching the room grow steamy for a few minutes before remembering to actually get under the spray.

The water felt good, amazing even against his suddenly cold and clammy skin, but he quickly found himself getting too hot. He rinsed the shampoo out of his hair and was about to lather his body when the dizziness struck. 'Oh shit' crossed his mind as he grabbed the tile wall for support, feeling like someone just dropped a truck on both his shoulders. 'Not good.' Fumbling for the nozzle, he managed to shut the water but found himself gasping against the cool wall as the word spun around him. The floor of the shower was streaming red, he noticed with dismay the heat had opened his wound and blood was freely flowing down his arm and into the drain. 'Ok, that could explain the dizzy.'

His legs felt weak and wobbly as he gripped the sink and slowly inched out of the tub, grabbing a towel off the hook and wrapping it around his waist. He wrapped a second towel around his arm, the dull throbbing a constant reminder it was not yet healing. 'Got to get out of here.' The bathroom was thick with mist from the shower, making the air heavy and hot and hard to breathe.

He opened the door and almost fell out of the small room, clutching the wall for support. His vision was beginning to blur, a white haze following wherever he looked.

'What the hell is wrong with me?' He thought as he stumbled to the small closet and tugged on a pair of sweats, every movement felt like he was trapped in a vat of molasses.

As he was looking down to pull on the pants, he noticed his makeshift bandage was stained pink and growing redder.

He brought his hand to his head, feeling the heat from the shower had followed him. 'Fever' He thought annoyed, already feeling the ache in his skull, a dull throb that seemed to be spreading everywhere. His arms and legs were growing heavier and his muscles growing weaker as he moved towards the couch. 'Maybe I'll just sit and rest my eyes for a moment...' he took a few more steps before his legs gave out.

With a thud, he crashed to the floor.

He didn't get back up.

...

TBC...