...
Time seemed to have slowed, it felt like an hour since the first blare of the monitor had signaled heartbeat ceasing, but it hadn't even been five minutes.
Granted any minutes of poor circulation and oxygenation were more than enough to cause some major issues with brain damage and cell death.
"Angel?" Cassidy nervously called out, out of breath from chest compressions and deciding she couldn't keep going without causing harm to herself.
Angel's eyes were still open, his face hadn't shifted to demonic vampire brow and teeth, but his eyes were glowing that vampric feral yellow.
'What the hell is going on? I don't usually see demon eyes without the demon face, unless...is this his demon dying, fighting, something else?' The medic worried, moving closer. 'Or is something growly and demonic about to happen?'
As a doctor, her first code of ethics was 'do no harm', and right now Angel's health lay in her hands, but what she didn't know was what his body needed right now. His readings were already off the charts for adrenaline, another dose could cause seriously damage him, granted his heart wasn't actually beating at the moment, so how much worse than dead and one get?
A slayer would tell you that it could indeed get much worse than death.
What she did know was the breathing tube was still pumping oxygen into his lungs and his heart wasn't beating on its own. For lack of a better option to overdosing him on adrenaline, she'd been performing manual chest compressions.
Cassidy wasn't a slayer and didn't have their stamina, and now her arms and chest were aching from the work of pushing down Angel's broad chest down enough to compress the heart and force blood to circulate.
The monitor hadn't shown his heart regaining normal rhythm yet, nor a shock-able one with the defib, her last option was to use drugs.
'Now or never.' Cass though in nervous despair, desperate to revive him, feeling like she'd failed him so far.
It only took a few moments to stop compressions, dismount his body and load the syringe with epinephrine.
Lifting the needle, she was about to inject it for the sake of trying everything possible to resurrect him when the monitor abruptly ceased alarming and a normal steady rhythm appeared along the screen.
The change made Cass jump, which who wouldn't after the experiences she'd had with the living vampire.
Those blazing yellow eyes remained for a moment before the demonic color drained away, leaving dilated dark brown pupils, which were quickly hidden behind shutting lids.
"Okay." The doctor muttered in utter shocked uncertainly, "What the f*ck was that?"
Despite having no idea what just happened, she pulled her stethoscope onto her ears and placed the amplifier over Angel's heart, almost surprised to hear the rhythmic beats showing on the monitor. It would have made more medical sense if the machine had just been malfunctioning, but he'd had no hearable heartbeat a few moments ago and he did now.
The how and why were a medical mystery, but hey, he was alive so she wasn't going to object.
Almost shaking herself with adrenaline overload, Cassidy reviewed his vitals, checking and rechecking, looking for any explanation how his heart restarted on its own.
Nothing gave her an answer.
Unfortunately just having a heartbeat in itself wasn't an indication of overall health. Cassidy moved in closer to examine him for signs of any resulting neurological damage from prolonged oxygen deprivation. She didn't expect much, the breathing tube was in motion throughout the ordeal and she'd been giving him compressions for a majority of the time, but it wasn't a substitute for regular circulatory regulation.
Her lab smock had just barely brushed his arm when his hand snatched hers.
Cassidy yelped and tried to pull away, expecting him to lunge at her and drag her to his jaws, but his grip was iron, she couldn't escape.
After a terrifying second, she realized that although she couldn't break away, his fist was tightly gripping her wrist and bringing some pressure, but it didn't actually hurt. Plus his wrist was still cuffed to the bed, his reach was limited.
Taking a calming breath to help her racing heart subside a little, she gingerly called his name to try and ascertain if he was conscious or not. Maybe he'd reached out on reflex of being touched and this wasn't his demon trying to eat her?
It seemed to take an eternity, but slowly Angel's eyelids parted, revealing unfocused but very brown eyes.
"Angel, can you let go of my hand please?" Cassidy asked him, hoping he was just disorientated but otherwise able to comprehend her words.
He didn't move at all, except his eyelids blinked a few times before the unfocused pupils shifted towards her.
She thought he was letting go, but the movement in his hand wasn't it being released, his thumb slid up along her wrist then down. It felt like an intimate touch, one that immediately brought color to the medic's cheeks, 'Oh god, don't make him think I'm Buffy.'
"Buffy will be back soon, she just had to run out for a moment." Cass explained quickly, once again trying to loosen his steel grip on her.
His hand briefly squeezed tighter in response to her trying to pull away, before he tapped her wrist with his thumb and repeated the caress.
'What the hell is he doing...?' She thought, 'Why is he rubbing my wrist...my veins...veins?' A thought occurred to her, "Blood?" She asked out loud to him, "Do you want blood?" realizing he couldn't speak and at the moment wasn't coherent enough for charades.
There, the pressure on her wrist ebbed and she caught a faint nod.
"Okay, I'll get you blood, but I need my hand back. Can you let go?" The medic asked, tugging gently. She knew he wasn't demonic or feral at the moment, but being trapped by a super-strong anyone was unnerving.
His hand went slack and Cassidy was able to pull away. "Great, thank you. Be right back." She told him as she hurried across the room to the mini fridge that had stores of bagged blood, most of it slayer. It would be a few minutes, she needed to reheat the cooled liquid to body temperature before offering it to the living vampire, but even as she thought it she didn't know if he'd meant to drink or for the IV.
Turning back, she remembered the breathing tube made drinking it impossible. 'IV is better like this anyways, he's not vamped.' Angel showed little to no interest in drinking blood when not in need of it for healing or certain intimacies, and both of those were the demon in him craving it, not the human.
The warming was a little slow, but she returned to his bedside with the warmed fluid and quickly installed it onto his IV lines.
He didn't acknowledge her return, she wondered if he was resting or had fallen unconscious.
Cass didn't have much time to ponder it when a frantic blonde slayer came charging in from the back, screaming for help with a limp little girl in her arms.
'Oh no, not Katie.' Was the medics first thought, worried the child had been struck by a car or otherwise seriously injured. She'd been hoping Buffy would have found her right outside but when the minutes ticked by she suspected something more serious, or course she'd had her hands full with Angel so hadn't the bandwidth to focus on it...but now it came slamming back into her as Buffy laid her child on the nearest cot.
The medic was already there, stethoscope examining for signs of life.
"I've got a heartbeat, elevated, rapid breathing but the lungs sound clear." The red headed doctor listed as she began her examination. She brushed a lock of dark hair away from her face, revealing a bump to her forehead, "Signs of blunt head trauma, will check for possible concussion."
Buffy shifted nervously from one foot to the other, watching Cassidy's fingers as she lifted Katie's eyelids and used a pen light to test pupil function.
The medic glanced up at the slayer hovering across from her, "Can you remove her clothing? I need to check for other injuries."
Now that Buffy had something to occupy herself will, Cass continued her examination for several more long minutes, finding a few more bruises and several minor cuts.
"What's wrong with my baby?" The nervous mother demanded, uncomfortable with Cass's silence as she watched the medic probe a few coloring bruises on Katie's arm.
Straightening from bending over the limp child, Cass frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure. She's not concussed, her pupils are proportional and reactive, but I see no other signs of trauma serious enough that would render her unconscious.
"Well something must be, she won't wake up!" Buffy countered testily, frustrated her child wasn't responding to her plea's to open her eyes.
Both woman suddenly turned around when they heard Angel struggling to get up, the cuffs rattling on the metal bars as he pulled at the restraints.
Cass remained by Katie to continue looking for the cause of the little girl's unresponsive condition as Buffy jogged over to her husband's bed to try and calm him down.
"No, Angel you need to relax, okay?" Even as Buffy said it she knew he wasn't going to, she was too high strung herself to calm him down. Her own body was flooding with adrenaline and her heartbeat was pounding in her throat.
He didn't try to rise once Buffy was standing beside him, but he did grab for her arm and pull her towards him, granted only with limited movement, making like he wanted to say something before remembering the tube in his mouth.
He managed a growl deep in his chest before pointing in the direction of Katie, his hands pulling at the short tethers of his restraints.
"Katie will be okay, Cass just need to find out what's wrong." Buffy explained without putting too many details on the table, she really didn't need Angel freaking out again, he look bad enough as it was, too pale and nowhere near as strong as he should be even after expending so much energy earlier.
Buffy didn't know about his heart stopping experience yet.
'I know what's wrong with her.' Angel though groggily, pushing at the cloud of haze threatening to render him back to unconscious-ville, Angel gripped his wife's wrist and tapped over her vein.
"Blood?" Buffy asked, "Do you need blood?"
The blonde turned to flag the doctor when Angel pulled on her arm and shook his head, he pointed back to Katie.
"What?" Buffy asked, still worked up and getting sick and tired of not being able to just speak to her husband with words and sentences, "Katie needs blood? Or...you don't want Katie's blood...right?"
Angle was getting frustrated now too, and not coordinated enough to hold a pen.
His dark straining eyes scanned over his wife's clothes a moment before he reached for a handful of her shirt, his arms didn't reach.
"Angel, what...?" Buffy didn't know what he was doing, or if he even knew. She was about to pull away when she noticed he was indicating the drying black blood on her clothes that had splashed on her while staking the shape shifting demon earlier. "Oh that, long story." It wasn't really, she just wasn't in the mood for story time just now, her mind was too loaded with concern for her child.
By now Angel would have screamed if he could, granted if he could have screamed he would have been able to speak, so he could have told his wife instead of playing hand jester games. In fact, with the endotracheal tube running down his throat, he couldn't even take a few calming breaths as the machine regulated the rhythm.
Forcing himself to remain calm, the dark haired Irishman shook his head before pointing to the blood again then to Katie.
Slowly, Buffy was beginning to catch on. "Something to do with the demon blood and Katie?" She thought a moment before asking, "Is that what's making her sick?"
Across the room Cassidy called out, "I'm already running a sample of her blood in the analysis machine, I can run a sample of the demon blood too."
Finally getting somewhere, Angel nodded and tried to put his hand to his mouth, against nearly screaming at the restraint.
"Angel stop pulling, you're making yourself bleed." Buffy scolded as she noticed her husband's wrists were red. His being restrained was for his own good, but not when it was causing physical harm. Grabbing the key off the table, she unlocked his right hand, "Now, what is it you need to show me?"
Finally able to move his arm, he pointed to the black blood again before pointing to him mouth, then back at Katie.
The blonde was about to ask if he wanted a taste, but then it clicked, "Oh! Shit, Cassidy, Katie bit the demon, she got demon blood in her mouth!"
With relief, Angel nodded, his hold on consciousness beginning to slip.
Buffy leaned down and planted a big kiss on his forehead, whispering "Thank you!" before rushing back over to the medic to help with whatever Cassidy would be doing with the new information.
Now that Katie was receiving the right medical help, Angel surrendered to unconsciousness.
"Right, so I'll treat this like a poisoning now, flush and charcoal her stomach to help absorb any leftover toxins." As the medic worked she asked Buffy, "Do you know what type of demon it was? A species would greatly help define treatment options and I can check against known anti-venoms."
Buffy paled. "I don't know, it shifted shapes constantly, I never really got a descriptions of it, hell it even disguised itself as Angel and Katie."
Cassidy went to check the status of the blood analysis as Buffy sat down on the cot holding her child, brushing her fingers though her hair much like how she did to the child's father. She could really have used Angel's arms around her right now, offering some quiet strength, but instead he was also in the Med-ward laying prone and weak. Buffy wondered if today could get any worse when she remembered something, "Cass, where's Liam?" The boy had been down here when she'd rushed out, he didn't seem to be here now.
The deer in the headlights stare Cassidy produced with a slacked open jaw didn't reassure Buffy.
Feeling the tension headache growing, Buffy way too calmly reached over and lifted the nearest phone off the hook, hitting the extension for the front office. "Hi Janus, Buffy here, can you page Liam please, yes, my son Liam, thank you."
A moment later, the page sounded throughout the building, making sure that whoever had the boy would know his mother was looking for him. When the phone failed to ring for the next minute or so, Buffy's discomfort began to grow. "What if he came looking for me?" She asked as she stood and began pacing the rows of beds between her spouse and child, "That reminds me, there could be a small army of demons on their way here right now, the one that had Katie invited friends, they were going to auction her and I to the highest bidder...what if they got him?"
"I don't think he left the building." Cassidy reassured, pissed at herself for not keeping a closer eye on him, granted she'd been a little busy trying to restart Angel's heart, which she really had no intention of telling Buffy about any time soon, the poor woman had enough on her plate as it was.
Grabbing the phone again, Buffy dialed the slayer squad leader, "Hi Marie, Buffy, listen, I ran into a situation at 66 Ringleader St, multiple demons, one a shape shifter." Buffy explained a quick rundown of what happened and informed the slayer on the other line to assemble two teams and head over immediately for a sweep. Marie gathered all the Intel and took over from there, leaving Buffy to her current worries.
The eldest slayer was about to make another call for a search party for Liam, when the boy called from behind her, looking rumpled but otherwise okay.
In a second, Buffy had the boy in her arms and her lips on his cheeks, "Liam, where have you been! You scared me half to death." She had two loved ones in the Med-Ward, she couldn't take a third.
Liam dug his face into his mommy's shoulder and hugged back just as tightly, "Daddy's heart stopped and Cassy sat on him. I was scared and hid, fell asleep."
The red headed doctor was heading back over, a printout from the blood analysis machine in her hands, "Good news. I got an excellent reading, the demon's blood has narcotics lased inside, basically Katie is just in a drug induced sleep. I can either give her a stimulant to help rouse her or if we wait her body will metabolize it on its own in a little while." Cassidy stopped walking and looked up when Buffy grabbed her arm.
Before the medic could ask what she was about to be lectured on, the slayer launched into 'verbal attack mode', "What the hell happened while I was gone? Liam said something about Angel's heart? You didn't tell me anything happened when I was out. What happened with his heart?"
'Shit, can this be at a worse time?' Cassidy thought before realizing, that yes, things could always get worse... she should find some wood to knock on for luck.
Liam had now wiggled from his mother's arms and headed over to Angel's cot, curious to see that daddy was now 'okay'.
Once the two woman were 'alone', Cassidy quickly explained what had happened with Angel while Buffy had been off looking for Katie.
There wasn't much color in the slayer's face when the doctor finished, "He...he died?" The blonde condensed a two minute explanation into two short but powerful words.
"I guess technically, yes, for a short amount of time there was no natural heart rhythm, but he was oxygenated the whole time and I was performing chest compressions for a good chunk of it as well."
"Why?" Buffy demanded, glancing back over at Angel's cot and getting antsy to go touch him, just to reassure herself her was alive and mostly well. Unconscious wasn't ideal, but it was a hell of a lot better than dead.
Cassidy offered her an apologetic shake of the head, "I don't have a solid medical explanation yet. Tachycardia can cause cardiac arrest in extreme situations and the rush of adrenaline certainly didn't help. Beyond that, I'm thinking it was something his demon did, but that is based solely on his eyes turning color."
Looking in the direction of the subject of the discussion, Cassidy swore under her breath then headed over to Angel's bedside, grabbing some IV fluids as she went, "He must have dislodged the IV, those bags shouldn't even be a quarter empty yet." The attached bags were flat, completely drained.
Before replacing with full ones, Cassidy checked his lines, not finding anything immediately wrong, "Huh, that's odd, everything looks right..." The medic was perplexed, but refreshed the currently depleted bags for the new, "I'll add another blood pack, he seems a little anemic."
While Cassidy moved off to get the blood warming, Buffy brushed her hand though her son's hair as he stood beside his father's bed. "Daddy will be okay." Buffy told the boy, hoping she wasn't lying.
"And Katie?" Liam asked, looking over at his motionless sister on the cot a few rows over.
Buffy swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, she's just sleeping."
While the blood was warming, Cassidy covered Katie with a blanket and hooked her up to an IV line to help hydrate her.
The blonde mother had been sitting in the chair beside Angel's bed, her son sitting unnaturally quiet in her lap as he spun the wheels on the toy car when Cassidy's remark brought her back to reality, "Okay, something's defiantly wrong here."
"Wrong? What's wrong?" Buffy asked in alarm, looking up and seeing the medic fiddling with her husband's IV lines again.
"The IV fluids are still draining off too fast." The doctor remarked with a note of frustration, once against checking all the bags for leaks, flexing the flow restrictors and tracing the tubing to Angel's arm for breaks.
She found nothing amiss.
The slayer sat there getting more antsy, only not pacing due to Liam being in her lap. She laid her hand on her husband's bicep, calling his name to see if he would wake.
Cassidy checked his vital stats of the monitor, assuring them both that his blood oxygen, heart rate and beat pattern were within specs. "I don't get it, what the heck is going on?"
"Daddy's hungry." Came a soft voice from behind them.
Both woman tuned to see Katie sitting up on her cot, looking tiny and pale against the adult sized bed and crisp white sheets.
Buffy was beside her in an instant, asking her if she was okay, kissing her head, pulling her into her arms and squishing her up against her brother.
Tiredly Katie nodded, laying her head down on her mother's shoulder, "Sleepy. Can I nap with Daddy?"
Cassidy had Katie follow her fingers and checked a few other reflexes, making sure the little girl was coming out of her demon blood induced nap without any adverse side effects. Once she deemed Katie to be well on the road of recovery, she asked for clarification, "Katie, what did you mean by 'Daddy's hungry'"
Those big brown eyes that matched her father's were half lidded as she began falling into a more natural sleep in her mother's arms. She gave a little shrug, "Daddy said his body was depeeted."
"It was what?" The medic asked, momentarily perplexed.
Buffy corrected the word mispronunciation, "Depleted."
"Oh." The thought process clicked into place in the medics head, "The bags aren't loosing fluid due to a problem, it's because Angel's body is consuming them faster to build his strength back up, okay I can work with that."
With that said, the medic hurried off the other supply cabinet to find some higher dose nutrient bags and a to get a few more blood packs warming, she figured at this rate he'd need refills in under ten minutes.
When Liam started squirming in Buffy's lap, she released the boy and shifted Katie more comfortably against her shoulder, the little girl sound asleep by then.
Wanting to be closer to her husband, Buffy moved back to the seat beside her lover as her son began zooming his toy convertible on the floor beside her, content to play now that he knew his sister was okay and Daddy just needed to sleep to get better.
In a detached sort of way, Buffy watched as Cassidy readjusted Angel's IV lines again. The last few hours seemed to be catching up with her. Everything was sore, her feet, arms, legs, back, neck...she was sure even her insides were sore. 'I hope the baby is okay.' The thought whirled in her mind, remembering with a shiver the tight flesh rope coils that had been encasing her earlier. She hadn't had time to think about the baby then.
"Buffy." Someone said her name, for a brief moment she thought Angel had awaken, but it was only Cassidy, and she was gently removing Katie from her shoulder.
"What are you doing?" The blonde asked groggily, realizing she must have nodded off.
"I think she'll be fine right here, Angel's stable." The medic replied as she laid the little girl down on the cot with her father. Katie automatically shifting up against him, even Angel's unsecured right arm moved a little to better hold her on the small bed.
"There. Now that those three are settled, it's your turn." The red headed physician finished by eying the slayer.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, a little annoyed at having Katie taken away. "Wait, where's Liam?" The blonde asked after a moment of not seeing her son...he'd been here two seconds ago.
"I called upstairs, Xander was free so he took him to get lunch, Liam was pretended to be driving the hot dog machine across the floor earlier." Cass explained, "It was actually pretty funny, a shame you slept right through it."
Heat colored Buffy's cheeks, she hadn't meant to fall asleep.
"Anyways, now it's just you and me, so have a seat on this cot please." Cassidy patted the nearest bed as she reached for a new chart to log the stats of a new patient.
Buffy was about to protest that she didn't need any medical attention, but she happened to glance down at herself and saw the beginnings of bruises formed on her arms and the fact her clothes were torn, covered in black demon blood and in a word, ruined. Mixed sporadically in between with the black, she could see spot of her own red blood.
"Okay, fine, I look like crap." Buffy relented, realizing a physical wasn't a bad idea at the moment, as least Cass could assure her that the baby was fine.
It didn't take long, any open wounds had been minor to start and had already healed with Buffy's own slayer-speed healing, but the medic had thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned the sores and made sure all the bruises that covered pretty much all of Buffy's body weren't a concern.
To verify everything on the inside was okay, Cass did a quick ultrasound, assuring the slayer that everything looked as it should for 7 1/2 week old fetus.
Letting out a breath of relief Buffy hadn't realized she'd been holding, she thanked the medic and grabbed at her clothes, pausing as she realized she had no intention of putting them back on.
"Here." Cass supplied a typical hospital style jonnie, who doesn't love those generic sheet like garments that leave you bare assed? "Why don't you grab a shower, change and go meet Xander in the cafe, I'm sure you never got around to the meal you were supposed to be not missing." The young doctor said not unkindly, but adding in a bit of a jab because she could. "Take these with you too." The medic added, tossing her a bottle of prenatal vitamins.
Buffy cast a last longing look at her sleeping daughter and near comatose spouse, wondering if it might be better to just crawl onto the small bed with them and sleep the rest of this nightmare away.
Instead, the slayer decided she needed to take care of unborn baby first and foremost, which meant taking care of herself. "I'll be back shortly." The blonde wife and mother informed her physician before repeated it softly to the two sleeping on the cot, leaving a kiss to each of her most loved brunettes before heading off towards the female locker room and hopefully some hot water.
...
Cassidy was cleaning up the mess in the Med-Ward, restocking and reorganizing the draws when she happened to glance over at Angel and then did a double-take when her brain registered what she'd seen.
'Wait, what?' The Medic thought as she focused on him, he eyes scanning up and down any exposed skin, she even pulled the sheet off his chest to get a better look at his side and stomach.
Earlier, his body had been covered in the multiple little angry red spots the chicken pox virus was famous for, but as the medic ran her green eyes over his body, she found no signs of them, not even scars of marred skin where he'd scratches himself raw.
Since his demon shouldn't have been able to heal the virus induced sores, the idea that his heart-stopping experience was demon related was gaining credit now that said sores were healed.
Careful to not disturb Katie, who was still fast asleep at her father's side, Cass took a blood sample from the living vampire and checked his temperature. The thermometer revealed a normal 98.7 degrees F and a complete disappearance of his fever.
When the analysis of his blood was finished, it showed the virus was gone.
"Well, I didn't see that one coming." Cassidy spoke to herself as she rechecked the results, somewhat confused at what happened within Angel's body that literally killed the virus in a matter of an hour. She hoped whatever it was didn't have side effects.
The doctor wanted to run him into the next room for an x-ray of his chest to check if the pneumonia was also under control, but Katie was wrapped around her father and she didn't want to risk waking either of them.
Using her stethoscope instead, Cass listened to the mechanical in and out of Angel's breaths though the ventilator, not hearing any of the rattles or fluid that had been clogging his chest earlier.
'Hmm, he seems to be recovering quickly, let's see how he does if I start the weaning process.' The medic thought as she adjusted the setting on the ventilator, reducing the strength of the machine to allow Angel's lungs to work harder, and so to eventually take over breathing entirely unassisted.
For the next half hour, Cassidy fiddled with the ventilator settings and checked Angel's vitals, seeing his oxygen levels remaining steady even as she reduced strength on the machine.
Satisfied he was moving in the right direction, the medic reduced the machine to only providing a few breaths per minute which allowed Angel to breathe 80% of the time under his own power.
...
Buffy had taken a long hot shower, but not in the woman's locker room. She'd snuck upstairs to her office to avoid being spotted in a jonnie, then proceeded to use her personal shower with a shampoo that didn't smell like Lysol. By the time she was finished, the mirror was steamed over and the little bathroom sufficiently stuffy with moisture.
The heat had done her body good, some of the soreness and stiffness from her fight earlier was gone, the remaining much less noticeable. Her bruises were already beginning to fade thanks to slayer healing. With a towel soaking the water from her hair, she quickly dressed in a the spare outfit, one of many she kept on-hand for such an occasion.
Now feeling human again, she realized how hungry she really was. 'Okay baby, Mommy's listening, lunch it is...or is this dinner?' She wondered as she quickly pulled her towel dried hair back and into a quick ponytail, hoping to look somewhat decent as she headed to the cafe to grab some much needed food and see her baby boy.
Grabbing a pill from the prenatal bottle, she headed out.
The next half hour was bliss, at least the act of eating felt like that.
Liam had been pretty much done his meal by the time Buffy found him and Xander in the cafe, but the boy had sat in her lap enjoying his ice cream dessert as Buffy wolfed down a colossal burger and fries, stealing a few of Xander's onion rings in the process.
"So what's the word on Angel? He still playing connect the dots on his chest?" Xander asked after the small talk was over, curious as to how his friend's spouse was fairing. Everyone in the building knew by now he'd been sick with chicken pox, they'd all been doing their best to support Buffy while juggling their own busy schedules.
Guilt bloomed in Buffy's heart, she should be downstairs with him and Katie, making sure they were okay instead of sitting up here and making jokes.
As Liam finished his treat, Buffy informed her friend about the recent events concerning Katie and Angel, mostly to vent her fears, frustrations and get everything sitting on her chest out in the open.
"Whoa." Xander commented when Buffy was done venting, "And here I thought Angel just had a rash. So he and Katie are okay, but what happened with the shape changing thing?"
Buffy shrugged, "Not sure, I alerted Marie but I haven't heard anything back yet." She looked at the clock and decided she'd been gone from the Med-Ward long enough, "Anyways, I need to get back down to the Med-Ward. Thanks for watching Liam, I appreciate it." With that said, she gave her one-eyed friend a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out with her son on her hip.
...
The answer to the question about the shape changing demon's status was answered as Buffy was heading from the cafe to the elevator, her phone beeping a message from Marie to see if she was free to talk.
The elder slayer almost replied back she was busy, but agreed to meet the younger slayer for a brief debriefing first instead, mostly due to her wanting to know what the slayer teams found.
After sending Liam off to play with his trucks in the corner, Buffy sat down behind her desk in her office as Marie settled into the chair across. "The recon went well, the teams found evidence of what you described but unfortunately only found one demon, which was already dead. This your suspect?" Marie asked, bringing up a photo on her camera and showing the slayer across from her the body they'd recovered.
Buffy took the devise and studied the image, "I'm not sure, the thing was a shape changer, but I hadn't seen this shape. The black blood looks familiar, but I can't call it a positive ID based on that alone." The blonde handed the camera back and asked, "Were you able to recover anything useful?"
"Yes actually." Marie answered excitedly, "We found a book with a list of names and numbers, we think they might be the 'demon contacts' you mentioned. Hopefully we can use it to track down and eliminate some of the dangerous ones, like the kind that would want to buy a human child to eat."
"Good." Buffy nodded, relieved they got something out of this, if not a positive ID then at least a direction to take to prevent future selling of humans to demons.
Marie rose and held out a bag to the slayer, "Oh yeah, before I forget, we also found this in one of the rooms, figured you might need it back."
Taking the bag, Buffy smiled as she pulled out Gordy Jr. She'd dropped the toy when she'd heard Katie scream, then never picked it back up. "Thank you Marie, Katie will be thrilled."
The younger slayer could tell Buffy was eager to head down to see her husband, so she wished her superior well and headed out.
Now free of her responsibilities, Buffy collected Liam and hurried down to check on her husband and daughter.
...
When Buffy arrived at the Med-Ward she found Angel already had a visitor.
Connor was sitting on the chair by his father's bed, Katie awake and IV free in his lap, chatting away as her big brother listened intently to her story.
"When did you get back into town?" Buffy asked her step-son warmly as she came into the room, planted a light kiss on her spouses forehead before pulled up another chair, noticing her lover's face reflecting he was still out cold.
Liam wriggled out of her arms and went to play with his older sister, who jumped down from Connor's lap and grabbed the offered Gordie Jr with a happy squeal.
"About an hour ago." The young man answered, leaning back, "I heard dad's been sick so..." He shrugged, "Figured I'd stop in and see how the old man was fairing."
"Been a rough few weeks." Buffy admitted to him, giving the youth a run-down of what Katie had been explaining, but more fluid and will fewer holes and exaggerations.
"I've never had chicken pox either." Connor mentioned after Buffy was done explaining what happened to put Angel in the Med-Ward to begin with.
"Which is exactly why you're getting the vaccine right now." Cassidy informed him as she came into the room with a package in her hands containing the vaccination kit.
With a dramatic sigh but reluctant acceptance, the young man rolled up his sleeve, "You see why people don't come down here on a voluntary basis? You stab them if we do." He play jabbed at the medic as she disinfected a spot on his arm for the shot with an alcohol wipe from the kit before checking the syringe in her hand.
"Har, har." Cass rolled her eyes as she gave the injection, more than satisfied she never got guests if it meant no one got sick or hurt. Of course that wouldn't happen...especially not living on a Hellmouth.
"So how's Dad doing?" Connor asked the medic after his inoculation, Buffy turning to look at Cass as that was also a question of interest for her. Katie and Liam were engaged in a game of tag by then, so neither toddler were paying attention to the adults.
"Better than expected." The red head answered, "The virus is gone from his system, the rash has cleared up completely, and his lungs are open and functional."
They all felt the unsaid 'but' in the air.
Buffy took the bait, "So where does the pending 'but' fit in? I know there is one."
Cassidy nodded, "Yes, there is a 'but', that being he's still unconscious. I tried to rouse him a few times, but he's not responding to stimulation, verbal or physical. I'm guessing he doesn't want to be awake just yet, I just don't know why. Medically speaking he's stable and should be conscious."
"Does it have anything to do with the breathing tube?" Buffy asked, wondering if he could come off that soon.
"Nope." The medic responded, "I've already reduced the machine to 'as needed' status, he'd basically breathing on his own already."
"So why is he still one it?" The blonde questioned.
"It stays in until he wakes, just as a precaution. We in the medical field don't extubate anyone who isn't fully conscious and responsive first."
Buffy hadn't known this, which actually gave her an unexpected happy. "So when he wakes up, he can come home?" She asked.
"I don't see why not." Cassidy answered, "Provided he passes all my discharge tests."
"So why isn't Dad waking up?" Conner asked aloud, worried, "Does he have brain damage or something from when his heart stopped?"
Cassidy shook her head, "Not that I can detect, his brain scan looked normal, his oxygen levels are excellent, all my reading show his stats are normal. The only anomaly is his IV is still draining faster than usual, but not nearly as rapidly as earlier."
Buffy moved to sit on the bed beside her sleeping lover, brushing her fingers lightly though his hair, wishing he'd wake, "So his demon is still working overtime, that's why he'd drawing more fluids and such, he's using it to heal and recharge?" She asked Cassidy.
The medic nodded, "That's the working theory. I'm positive his heart stopping was the demon doing something that, I don't know, 'reset' his healing somehow to include fighting viruses. He is normally immune compromised, but maybe this new reset will correct that. We'll either have to ask him about it, or if he himself doesn't know, just wait and see how his immune system responds in the future."
"So what do we do until then?" Connor asked, eager to see his dad awake and preferably not in the Med-Ward, he seemed to spend way too much time down here. Maybe he should plan some father/son bonding time in the near future, like go to a hockey game...
The red head shrugged, "Let him sleep."
...
Hours had passed by uneventfully. To pass the time, Connor took his siblings out to the park to get them tried out as Buffy sat with her husband, somewhat impatiently waiting for him to awaken.
Instead of keeping the kids at the Med-Ward for another night, Buffy had Connor take the kids home to sleep in their own beds, but she decided to stay herself, insisting she wouldn't sleep at home if alone in bed anyways. She needed Angel beside her, and if he couldn't go there, she'd stay here. Simple as that.
Cass had made her final rounds for the evening around 9pm, so it was just Buffy and Angel now, the later unchanging in condition from earlier, stable yet unresponsive.
Buffy knew he wasn't physically damaged like Connor had suggested, he'd woken long enough to communicate about Katie being poisoned with the demon blood that morning, so she knew he was physically capable of waking.
It was frustrating that he wasn't.
"I wish you'd wake." She spoke into his ear as she settled down beside him, deciding the best course of action would be to sleep with him as she would at home. At the very least, she'd get a decent night's rest for once.
With her head resting over his heart and her arm around his waist, she drifted off to the rhythmic thump, thump, thump beneath her ear.
...
April 9, 2009
When she woke to find Angel's arms had wrapped around her during the night, Buffy thought he must have woken, but when she called his name he gave no physical indication he'd heard her. Trying again, Buffy sat up and gently shook his shoulders, but again he didn't respond.
Disheartened, she placed a soft kiss on his forehead and slipped off the small cot, needing to use the restroom and wanting to brush her teeth to remove the bed-breath.
Returning after her morning routine and coupled with a quick shower and clothing change, she sat on the bed beside her lover and began to talk to him, wondering if he could hear her and hoping maybe her voice would rouse him.
After an hour of one sided conversation, Cassidy came in for her morning check-in, looking over Angel's vitals for any changes.
"Anything?" Buffy asked the red head, getting worried now that Angel still wasn't regaining consciousness.
Cassidy shook her head, "No changes I can see, vitals are stable, his numbers look good, he's the picture of health."
Buffy tired hard to not roll her eyes, "Yeah, 'picture of health' and 'unconscious' aren't exactly synonyms."
The medic sent her a bland look, "Hey don't shoot the massager, just saying what I see. Stop worrying, he'll wake when he's ready."
''Ready' doesn't seem to be in the immediate future', "Buffy thought disheartened as she sat by her lover's bed.
She spent a few hours here in the morning, then had Giles drop her off at home to visit with the kids while Connor switched for her seat in the Med-Ward to watch over his Dad.
Over the course of the day, she'd made several visits to the Med-Ward, even bringing the kids once in hopes their energy would rouse their father, but nothing had seemed to work. At one point Katie had muttered something about "Daddy's not ready to wake up yet." but neither Buffy or Cassidy could figure out what she'd meant by it.
When night approached again, Connor brought the kids back home and Buffy slipped into bed beside her lover, resolute to another night of worried waiting.
...
April 10, 2009
Buffy walked along the empty street, her footfalls echoing in the night, sounding like gunfire in the quiet.
There were no other sounds, the silence was deafening when she stopped.
Alone.
That's what she felt, like the last person on Earth.
A shiver rushed over her, a cold chill in the empty darkness.
She hated this feeling, this remoteness, this solitude.
'I don't want to be alone.' She thought, a tear forming in her eye as she began to move again, her eyes darting around, becoming desperate for something, someone, anything but this terrible emptiness.
'What if he doesn't wake up? What if something is really wrong? What if I lose Angel?'
Abandonment washed over her in a wave, when her father left her, when Angel first left her, Riley left, her mom left, even Giles left for a time. 'Everyone leaves me eventually.' She thought, tears now rolling over the edges of her eyes, dripping down her cheeks. 'I'll always end up alone.'
A tremble washed over her skin, a mix of fear and dread crawling over her body, images of her husband's lifeless corpse slayed out of the ground in a pool of blood, skin white and blue, maggots in his empty eye sockets as his flesh began to rot.
"No!" Buffy cried out, sitting up and pushing at the sheet that was covering her, trapping her arms.
In a moment of frustration, she almost struck out at the fabric that was seemingly following her, but then she realized it wasn't cloth grabbing at her but flesh.
Turning, she found herself face to face with her lover, his dark eyes open wide as he tried to figure out what was causing her distress.
"Angel? You're awake?" She gasped in shock, then launched herself against him, knocking him back flat on the mattress as she kissed his cheek.
His hand came up and cupped her cheek, his eyes beseeching her as to what was wrong, he couldn't just ask her due to the breathing tube still blocking his voice box.
Her bad dream had raised her heart rate and adrenaline, her distress had roused her spouse from his deep slumber.
"I'm alright, it was just a dream, okay so really a nightmare, but I'm good now." She kissed his forehead as she moved to face him, "I'm sorry I startled you, but I'm glad that you're awake."
His arms were around her now, hugging her close as his own heart rate dropped back to normal. He tried to ask her what the dream had been about, but the endotracheal tube still currently running down his throat prevented him from speaking. A flash of anger rushed over him as he gripped the tube, fully intending to rip it out of the way so he could give his wife a comforting kiss.
"Angel no!" Buffy grabbed his hand as he reached for the tube, "Let Cassidy do that, you could hurt yourself."
He had no intentions of waiting for the medic to arrive, she'd only torment him with tests and questions. Of course the red head in question pushed though the Med-Ward doors while the two were tangoing with the tube. She'd been alerted by the heart monitor showing increased beats and hurried in to check.
"Whoa, no yanking on the medical equipment!" Cass warned as she jogged over, "I'll take it out, stop pulling on it!" The fear was Angel would hurt his throat if he pulled the tube out with the anchor ball still inflated, they'd been dealing with that threat since the moment he'd had it installed.
Buffy slapped Angel's hands away again, "Cass will take it out, so wait!"
Feeling like a scolded child, Angel surrendered his DIY extubation to the professional, who quickly checked the machine's readings and found Angel was breathing sufficiently on his own to try weaning him off. "Okay, leave the tube here for a second, I'm going to pause the machine and make sure your lungs and diaphragm can support breathing unassisted."
Angel rolled his eyes but followed Cassidy's commands as she ran the diagnostic, using her stethoscope to listen to his lungs and monitoring his oxygen levels as he inhaled and exhaled under his own power. After a few minutes he felt a rush of relief when the medic nodded that he was ready to have the tube removed.
Buffy, now standing nearby to be out of the way but still close enough in case something went wrong, did a little mental happy dance that he would be discharged soon.
"Okay, I'm deflating the anchor." Cassidy explained as she worked, letting the air out of the anchor bladder, "Take a deep breath now and hold for a second." After a pause to get the tube lined up properly, the continued, "Okay, now cough like you have water in your lungs."
"Breathing will be uncomfortable for a few breaths, wave if you need help." She added while she worked, more for Buffy's benefit than Angel's, she knew Angel would sooner pass out then alert he was having trouble.
Angel did as he was told, the medic guiding the tube out in one continuous move as he exhaled in a hard cough, his chest tightening as a coughing fit attacked him, brought on by the sudden removal of the tubing.
He could feel his wife patting his back as he worked though the discomfort, Cassidy expertly removing the remaining IV and monitoring wires from his arms and chest while his body readjusted to breathing independent of equipment.
"Okay, how's your throat, can you speak?" Cassidy asked when he'd caught his breath again, waiting to see if he'd need any pain relievers as she held out a glass of water.
Angel glanced briefly at the water, but there was something else he'd rather wet his mouth with.
Buffy sat down beside her husband on the cot, waiting to hear his answer, but he never spoke one. The stare he gave her said one thing.
'Oh!' She barely had time to think as she was yanked in against him, his mouth latching onto hers. 'Not exactly what I expected.' She thought briefly before melting into the kiss, her arms free to move as his wrapped around her, so she took advantage and gripped a handful of his hair and grasped the back of his neck as his tongue invaded her mouth.
Cassidy looked away with rolling eyes as the lovers were making out, moving to shut down the machines as it was apparent they was no longer necessary. If Angel could make out with Buffy, he certainly didn't need any monitoring equipment.
He pulled back from her lips first, a threatening growl issuing from his chest out as he grumbled, "Get this fucking catheter out." His voice sounded like shit, consequence of the breathing tube having pressed against his voice box for a few days.
It was probably inappropriate to snort, but Buffy found his distress actually rather humorous before turning to the Medic who was shutting down the monitoring equipment and trying to clean up the various wires. "Can we have a minute please?"
"I can remove it." The doctor replied, having heard his request, but Buffy's look told her otherwise, "Or you can, you know how. Call me before he leaves the Med-Ward, he's not discharged until I say so."
Buffy thanked her, graceful the medic could take a hint. Despite the humor, she knew Angel was genuinely angry and she wanted to know what was going on with him in private.
Turning back to him, she ran her hand along his cheek, "Are you okay?" She was positive the demon wasn't in control, the demon didn't speak, except to occasionally say 'mine'.
"Wasn't kidding." He growled out, in obvious pain.
Realizing the true level of his discomfort, Buffy lost the grin and quickly moved to do as he'd asked, performing the steps Cassidy had shown her to deflate the internal ball holding the catheter in place and how to remove it without causing damage to his urethra.
"Okay, it's out." She said unnecessary, he could well enough feel it.
No sooner than his body was free of the intruding tube, Buffy found herself pulled down into his lap. 'Well there's the source of the pain.' She thought amused as she felt his growing arousal nudging against her inner thigh. A catheter and an erection do not mix.
"Happy to see me?" She smiled into her lover's mouth, her hormones coming to life as they kissed and caressed.
"You have no idea." He muttered between kisses.
"I have some idea." Buffy countered with her hand wrapping around his attentive flesh, drawing a groan from his lips that resonated though them both in a low growl.
As much as he would have liked to make love to his wife right here and now, there were a few other basic needs to be attended to first.
"Rain check. I love you, but right now I need out of here." Angel spoke painfully, his voice not yet healed.
Reluctantly, Buffy released his groin and offered him the cup of water Cassidy had left on the table instead. Settling down beside him, she asked, "Your throat sore?"
He nodded, taking the water and greedily draining the cup.
When he was finished, he crumpled it and tossed it into the trash, his reflexes working just fine the paper ball sailed over a cot and into the barrel.
"Better?" She asked, watching him carefully for signs of discomfort and distress and noticing something was odd.
He smirked and pulled her back over for another kiss, when he ended it he added, "You taste good."
"Just good?" She teased back, looking up as Cassidy re-entered the room.
"Amazing." He corrected before addressing his doctor, "Discharge me...please."
"Wow, you said please, that make me suspicious." Cassidy joked as Angel sat up, his dark eyes watching her as she held up two fingers and asked him how many. She should tell he was tense to leave, she had a good idea about what was making him tense.
When she was done asking him ridiculous questions to test his cognitive skills, nodded and said, "Okay, you're conscious and coherent and your vitals are perfect, so other than a mild sore throat I've found nothing significant to keep you admitted. You're free to go."
Angel practically jumped off the bed, not caring he wasn't wearing anything under his sheet, "Great, thanks."
"Angel! You need clothes!" Buffy hurried after him as he practically raced from the room, not wanting him running around naked, she preferred to be the only one to see him nude, Cass being the only exception as she was his physician.
Cassidy laughed to herself, his reaction confirming her thoughts about where he was heading.
Buffy caught up to him when he disappeared into the bathroom. "Angel, are you okay?"
"Fine. Be out in a little bit." He answered, sounding a little annoyed she'd followed him into the men's locker room.
"Alright, I'll grab you something to wear." She answered, shutting the door and meeting Cass in the hall, who was struggling to keep a straight face.
The medic shrugged, "Nature calls."
"Apparently very loudly." Buffy answered, her own face breaking into a grin. If felt really good to be able to smile again.
"Here" The red head handed her some PJ bottoms, it would at least keep the unmentionables covered until they got upstairs where he had clothes in his office.
The slayer and medic spoke a little about Angel's rapid recovery as he took care of business, once the toilet flushed and he was wearing the pants, they said a more formal goodbye to the medic before heading upstairs.
In the elevator, Buffy leaned against her lover, enjoying the feel of his body, strong and standing under its own power. "So on a scale of 1 to 10, how do you feel?" She asked glancing up at him as they rode up to the top floor in relative silence.
He shrugged, "About a 6."
"Just a 6?" She asked, concerned since that wasn't exactly a great number.
He spun her around and pressed his lips to hers, pulling her up close, "Now it's a 8." He whispered against her mouth.
"Now just an 8 huh?" She teased, thinking kissing should be a 10.
He grinned wolfishly at her as the doors opened to the top floor, "Yeah, 9 when you're naked, 10 when I'm in you."
With color flooding her cheeks, she followed him to his office, knowing he'd wanted a shower before heading to get the kids and have breakfast together.
Once in the office, he made a bee line to the bathroom for the shower, eager to be free of hospital smell and dried sweat. "Be out in a minute." He called, heading in and turning on the water to hot.
"It'll be more than a minute." Buffy remarked to herself with a grin as she stripped off she shirt and followed in after him.
She wanted to see him at 9 and 10.
...
After their long and pleasant shower, Buffy called Connor to let him know Angel was out of the Med-Ward and they were on their way home.
They had been planning to eat there in the cafe, but Angel insisted they head home since the kids weren't already here.
"Want me to drive?" Buffy asked after they'd dressed and were heading out to the building's garage for their car.
"Nope." He flashed her a grin as he pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked her door before moving to his side. The GTX was old enough to not have a keyless remote.
"Why?" She asked, "Don't you like my driving?"
"Nope." He answered with another grin, feeling her wrath as she whacked his arm.
The ride home took longer than it should have, traffic being an ever presence in LA. During the ride, they talked about the new contract with the police, and how they had been awarded a temporary partnership that would automatically renew after a year if they provided results.
"That's great." Angel told her earnestly, "I'm proud of you, being all diplomatic."
Buffy smirked, having been waiting for an opportunity to have a little fun with him, since he seemed to like to push her buttons occasionally, now was a great time to reciprocate. "Are you really that surprised I have great negotiating skills? Or that I managed to score a contract from your old girlfriend?"
Angel gaped at her, "Hold on one minutes, Katie and I were never lovers."
Buffy knew this, but was enjoying watching his squirm, "She did try to kill you though, remember, I was there that day when Faith turned herself in. Kate knew you were a vampire and wanted to stick you a cell facing the sunrise."
"You didn't remind her of that, did you?" He asked, glancing over at his wife while navigating the traffic.
"We had a long discussion, you may have been mentioned a few times." She smiled sweetly at him, purposefully being cryptic.
He didn't like the sound of that, this was almost as bad as when Buffy drilled him about Nina. "Am I sleeping in the tree-house tonight?"
'Absolutely not.' Buffy thought, 'I want sex, comma, lots of.' "We'll see." She said out loud, smirking at his groan.
'God, he's so cute when he squirms. At least when it's purposefully induced by me.'
'Great, we're not even home yet...hell I'm barely conscious for an hour and I'm already in the doghouse.' He brooded to himself as he took the corner onto their street.
"Oh stop being such a broody pants, I was kidding." Buffy leaned over and put him out of his misery with a kiss to the cheek and a hand on his thigh, "I love you and am totally sexing you up tonight, so don't mope."
He sent her a surprised but pleased look, "You have no shame, do you?"
She grinned at him, "Nope."
...
Just walking though his front door made Angel feel better than he had in days, and when Liam and Katie charged at him, his life itself seemed to resume all at once.
"Cassidy finally kicked you out, huh? I guess she only likes the tall, dark and unconscious types." Connor commented from the doorway to the kitchen, watching his dad as he was tackled by his younger siblings.
Angel snorted as he scooped Liam and Katie up into his arms, "You can if you want, but I have no intentions of asking Cass what she looks for in men, I'm taken."
"Damn straight you are." Buffy said as she closed the door behind him, watching with a smile as her children laughed and squealed with their father.
When the little ones ran into the living room to play, freeing Angel's arms, he swung one around his eldest son's shoulders and gave him a half hug, "So what brings you back home, broke again? Need to wash laundry?" He affectionately teased the 25 year old college grad.
Conner elbowed him lightly in the ribs, "No, I'm actually doing pretty good. Got a new job, bought a car... seeing a girl."
"A girl?" Angel's head turned to face his boy, his eyes searching for more, "What kind of girl? Serious?" As much as Angel loved his son, he didn't want to be a grandfather anytime soon, especially not when his wife was currently pregnant. How weird would that be to have a child and grandchild the same age?
Connor squirmed out from under his father's arm, but couldn't escape his keen interest as easily, "Just a girl, not serious yet, still at the dinner and a movie stage."
"She human?" Angel, watching his son's body language, sensing there was something he hadn't told them.
The young man shrugged, "Yeah." After a beat, "On her mom's side."
"What does that mean?" Buffy asked, getting interested in the conversation.
Angel answered, "It means my son is dating a half-demon."
"What?" The boy defended, "Least you forget, both my parents were demons, it's in my blood. Besides, wasn't your friend Doyle a half-demon? You trying to say you can be friends with one but I can't date one? Gees, hypocrite much?"
"That's not what I'm saying at all." Angel countered, "I'm just..." He paused, not knowing what to say. He wanted his son to do whatever made him happy, but in the same breath he'd hoped his human son would have chosen to stick to the human world, not throw himself back into the madness of the demonic when he had the chance to avoid it.
Buffy stepped in, "He's your father, he's always going to question your choices because that's what dad's do." She smiled at the boy she thought of as her own son, "He loves you and just wants what's best for you, and even if he gives you crap about it he'll support you in anything you do."
She aimed her eyes towards Angel, "Right honey?"
He suppressed a growl as he nodded, "Right."
Buffy shrugged, "Okay, so if he doesn't agree, just slap him around a little until he does. Works for me."
That earned a grin from Connor and a scowl from her spouse.
"So tell us about her." Buffy asked, taking the steps Angel didn't seem to realize were his duty as a dad to take. "What's her name, how did you meet?"
Connor relaxed a bit as he told his adopted mom about his girlfriend, "Her name's Keesha, she grew up with her mom's big Spanish family, never knew her father or what kind of demon he is, but we met when I saved her life."
Angel peeked in interest in that, "Saved her life how?"
"She was being targeted by some low-life thugs, these 'white power' types. She's got purple skin and eyes, a few cute little horns on her forehead, so she doesn't exactly blend. I was walking home after a late night movie and heard a scream. Naturally I went to investigate and found her running for her life. Okay, I might have batman-ed it up a bit, but I neutralized her attackers and walked her home. She was shocked I was cool with her looks, since for the most part she'd never had good results when talking to strangers that weren't also demons. We exchanged numbers and have been getting close ever since."
Buffy grinned, "Sounds like someone is taking after their dad in the dark avenger damsel saving department."
Angel shook his head at his wife, planting a kiss on her crown as he walked by, "In the long run, pretty sure you saved me."
"Someone had to." She winked at him. "Powers know you needed the help."
Rolling his eyes at his girl, he turned back towards his son, "Connor, listen. I'm not going to tell you who to date or what to do with your life... "
The young man held up his hand, "Dad, I know. You will forever be lamenting about me having a normal life. But the truth is, demon is normal for me."
"Kid's got a point, demon is pretty normal for some. I should know, I married one." Buffy interjected.
Angel scowled, "I don't lament."
"Well I'm calling this a closed case then." Connor said as he turned to head out, "It's been fun."
"Whoa, where are you going?" Angel asked, quickly hurrying over to his boy, "You just got here."
The young man shrugged, "You guys must be busy catching up on family stuff, so I'm going to head home, do some laundry and such."
"You are family." Angel pointed out, not yet ready for the son to leave. He didn't see his son often enough, he missed him. Not to mention he was unconscious for the majority of him being in town.
"At least have breakfast first." Buffy interjected, her stomach reminding her it is time for the morning feeding.
Seeing they were both eager to keep him longer, Connor nodded, "Okay, breakfast sounds awesome."
Not long later, Angel had waffles and bacon cooking while Buffy brewed the coffee.
Connor was watching her a moment before interjecting, "Should you be having coffee?"
Buffy turned to ask him why he'd say that when she remembered, "Shit, you're right. I'm supposed to be caffeine free for the next 8 months at least."
After a moment, she asked, "How did you know I'm pregnant?"
Connor shrugged, "Good hearing." After a moment he added, "Sorry if I wasn't supposed to know, but congratulations."
Buffy leaned over and hugged him, "Nonsense, you're family, you get first dibs on the know. Don't worry about being a creeper, Angel does it so much I'm used to it by now."
"I heard that." The aforementioned responded from the stove.
Smiling to Connor, Buffy said, "See, creeper. Always listening and smelling what isn't his business."
"Keep it up and you get burned waffles and bacon." Angel warned.
"Trust me, you don't want to burn a pregnant woman's food. There will be blood." She countered.
When the meal was ready, the five of them ate with gusto.
Angel wolfing down five waffles and at least half the bacon to make up for his lack of apatite over the last few days.
...
After spending the day, Connor finally headed out that evening after dinner, claiming work in the morning.
The boys had a date planned for a hockey game in several weeks, sort of a guys night out.
Buffy was glad he'd stuck around, she knew Angel appreciated it even if he didn't vocalize it. The talk earlier had her thinking briefly of her own father, wondering where he was right now and what he was doing. 'Don't Buffy, cross that bridge when you get to it.'
She was finishing up the dishes and cleaning the kitchen as Angel gave the kids their nightly bath and got them ready for bed. She was really looking forward to the alone time that was pending once the kids were asleep.
She'd been not-so-secretly goading her husband all night, getting him in the mood for what she was hoping would be a long and pleasurable night. 'Should we have fun with the handcuffs tonight? Or maybe I can put on a little strip tease for him, get him all hot and growly.' The possibilities were endless in her head.
"Okay, this is as clean as it's going to get, now it's time for me to get dirty." Buffy address the kitchen with a playful grin as she tossed the dishrag onto the counter, eager to get upstairs and get the bedroom ready for a little romance.
Half hour later, the kids were washed, dressed, read to, kissed and in bed and Angel was walking though the bedroom door, yawning while pulling his tub dampened shirt up and over his head. "Man, feel like I could sleep for a month."
When the shirt pulled clear of his eyes, his steps paused as his gaze focused on the alluring sight before him.
There were scented candle burning on the nightstand, the bed was turned down, pillows tossed aside in expectation of sheet rumpling.
Buffy was laying provocatively on the bed, waiting for him.
Of course his lusty grin turned humorous when he noticed she'd totally fallen asleep while waiting for him.
Stripping, he laughed to himself as he blew out the candles and slipped under the covers beside his sprawled out wife, giving her a kiss on her cheek as he pulled her under the covers with him.
She roused a little, but just enough to scoot closer and rest her head on his chest.
Yeah, he was a little disappointed he wasn't getting the sex he was promised, Buffy had shown no mercy earlier when getting him all excited for a night of passion.
He could have woken her, taken what she'd promised him all night, but he didn't have the heart, she looked so peaceful. 'She's even drooling, so I know she'd deep under.'
He certainly wasn't going to pass up a good night's sleep in his own bed with his naked wife beside him.
"I love you." He kissed her crown as he pulled the covers up around them and closed his eyes, hopeful for a rousing morning instead.
...
It was dark when Buffy woke, she smiled into her lover's chest, hearing his heart thumping steadily under her ear. He felt so good against her, no longer obstructed with wires, equipment and clothes, just her husband, in their bed, with his arms around her.
She stretched and shifted position, wondering why she didn't feel stiff from a night of passion. Disappointment filled her, 'Why do I feel like we didn't have sex?' She ran her hand over the sheet beneath her, it wasn't damp or rumpled. 'Oh no... did I fall asleep? Shit, shit, shit! I totally got him all hot and bothered too. He's going to be mad.'
All her sexy plans...right down the drain.
"Sleeping beauty awakes?" A sleepy voice said into her ear.
"It's your fault, you should have woken me." She rolled back over and faced him, not that she could actually see him in the darkness, but she knew he could see her. Granted she hated that unfair advantage.
"Thought about it, you were a provocative sight, all 'come-and-lay-me " He smirked at her, knowing she couldn't see it, "But alas, you were out cold. Can't say 'unresponsive' is a turn on for me."
Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment. In defense she had to throw something back, so she aimed and fired. "That was the lack of sleep for the past few days catching up to me, which is totally your fault but the way, Mr. I-have-a-demon-I-wont-get sick."
"Burn." He chuckled, "I knew that I-told-you-so was lurking around in there someplace"
"Damn right it was."
He grinned to himself, "Well, I guess we can discuss the finer points of foreplay in the morning. You know, the 'Do's and Don'ts'. Like rule #1 of, don't fall asleep."
"Shut up." She laughed, punching him lightly on the arm. "Keep this up and you'll have to research the finer points of masturbation."
He sat up against the headboard, "Oh no. I retired from those days when you said 'I do.'"
"And if I don't?" She teased back at him, curious on how he'd respond. He was totally in a playful mood, she was glad he wasn't mad at her, but equally annoyed he was rubbing her nose in it.
He pulled her against him, his hands slowly rubbing up and down her back as he leaned in and kissed her neck. She felt him smile against her skin, "I'm thinking I could persuade you."
"I'm thinking you can too." She admitted, enjoying his teasing fingers and arousing lips.
'My turn.' She thought, her hands moving up his back, her right grasping the back of his head and pulling his mouth off her neck so she could plant it against her lips instead.
She tasted his pleasured growl as she moved to straddle his hips, already feeling his body stirring under her.
It didn't take long until they were both ready for the main attraction, and the thoughts from last night seemed to play out better in reality that she'd hoped for.
...
Morning light was just slipping in under the windows when Buffy woke again, this time her body achy in all the right places and she stretched. 'Mmm, much better.'
Turning her head, she looked up at her spouse, a smile pulling at her cheek now that she could actually see him. He was adorable, all sex ruffled and snoring slightly. 'Yup, totally rocked his world.' She thought to herself with a satisfied smirk.
She was contemplating falling back to sleep, she figured she had about an hour until the kids woke, maybe more since they'd gone to bed fairly late and their schedule has been a little off lately.
Beneath her, Angel stirred, groaning in his sleep.
Buffy looked up at him, his eyes moving quickly under shut lids. Her facing cracked into a smile when she realized he was dreaming.
His lips pulled up, he groaned again, a pleasurable sound.
'Erotic dream?' She wondered, checking under the sheet and confirming he was getting aroused. 'Oh I could have fun with this...'
Biting her lip, she grinned deviously as her hand slipped under the sheet, encouraging his dream with a few light touches. When she was sure he was still under, she moved her hand in a more proposed manner, enticing a deep throaty growl from him.
Watching his face squeeze in pleasure, she decided to take him up a notch and see how far he'd go until he woke.
Her name moaned from his lips, confirming she was the desire in his dream.
'Okay, time to really have fun.' She thought as she moved down his body, kissing until she reached his now full arousal.
Angel gasped in his now fitful sleep as Buffy took him into her mouth, her lips and tongue quickly rousing him.
He didn't last long under her assault, his body releasing as she eagerly finished him off.
After, he was panting, his body covered in sweat, his heart felt like a freight train.
"Speechless?" She asked, smirking as she laid down beside him, watching as his body shook slightly from the strain.
Sitting up, he nodded.
"Are you okay?" She asked, now growing a little concerned. 'Was that too much?'
He snorted and pulled her against him, kissing her temple, "Pretty sure I died for a second there."
"That good huh?" She beamed at him, leaning up to kiss him.
One thing she loved about her spouse, he wasn't squeamish about kissing her after going down on him.
They kissed for a few minutes, then he moved, flipping her down onto the bed and gave her a wolfish grin, "My turn."
"No." Buffy frowned, "We don't have time." It was late in the morning already, if time hadn't been a factor, she'd have been all for it.
"I'll make it quick." He said, ignoring her vocal denial for the screaming 'YES!' from her body.
Any thoughts on telling him 'no' faded out as his lips connected to her skin, slowly but firmly staring at her neck and moving steadily south, his fingers moving around, teasing various areas, especially her breasts.
By the time he got to her thighs, she was on fire.
He was so totally teasing her, bringing her to the brink then easing back, making her body quiver over and over but not pushing her over the edge.
She'd been determined not to beg, but finally she couldn't take it anymore. "Angel!"
He'd been waiting for her breaking point, he heard it in the form of his name straining from her lips. Satisfied he'd gotten her where he wanted her, he did a few little tricks and was rewarded feeling her spasm in orgasm.
Buffy gasped as Angel quickly moved atop her, his arousal sliding into her while she was still riding out her first orgasm. He was moving immediately, relighting the fire that was already smoldering, almost instant bringing her off again.
He was relentless, "One more, Beloved." He whispered into her ear between fiery kisses, "I'll come with you."
She wasn't sure she could handle another one, but his body didn't stop and hers was already building again.
'Oh god, I'm going to die.' She thought as she neared the edge, Angel strained along with her.
When they hit it together, she screamed his name as they fell over the edge together, literally off the bed and onto the floor.
Neither could move for a few minutes, their bodied needing time to come back down.
She was still panting in a pile on his chest as he began to laugh.
"I think I died a little too." She said with a straight face before cracking up alongside him.
They were still laughing on the floor when their bedroom door opened, Katie and Liam looking in with concern, "We heard a noise, are you okay...why are you on the floor?" The little brunette asked, looking curiously down at her parents sprayed out on the ground.
"We fell out of bed." Angel put of his serious face, Buffy had no idea how he could keep a straight face, hers was buried in the sheet, that thankfully come down with them and covered the worst of their nakedness.
Forcing the grin off her face, Buffy managed, "Go watch cartoons, we'll be right down."
"Mommy and Daddy are weird." Katie said to her sibling, shaking her head as she pulled the door shut behind her and led her little brother downstairs.
As soon as the door shut, the two on the floor erupted in silent giggles.
"I told you we didn't have enough time." Buffy threw at him as she struggled to get up, her cheek aching from grinning so much. Her legs still felt too wobbly for standing.
He grinned and pulled her back down into his lap, nipping and kissing her neck, "Not sorry."
"Mmm, me neither." She leaned into his mouth for a moment, enjoying it before gently shoving him away, "Okay, times up, cut it out." Wishing she could let him continue, but knowing their children were up and couldn't be left alone for long, she managed to pull herself up and scrambled to find her robe.
"You going to sit there all day?" Buffy asked as she wrapped her new fuzzy lavender robe around her, purchased by her spouse as a replacement for the one he got handprints on.
"Thinking about it." He answered, having made no move to rise from the pile of sheets on the floor.
"Slacker." Buffy said to herself as she headed into the bathroom.
"Pretty sure I earned the right to be a slacker today." He commented from the floor.
'Yes you did.' She thought, shaking her head at him. She cringed at the woman looking back in the mirror, she looked terrible. Lips all swollen from kissing and skin flush from sex. Sighing, she corralled her wild bed hair into a pony tail and shrugged. 'It's all Angel's fault I look like a bloated cow.'
She was just finishing wiping her face with a washcloth in the sink when he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her up close, "You look beautiful." He snuck a kiss onto her cheek.
"Lies will get you everywhere, but not right now." She told him, slipping away before she let herself be pulled back in under his spell. A part of her wished they didn't have kids, she'd have more cuddle time this morning.
"Taking a quick shower, be down in a few." He said as she moved away, his eyes following her like a lion might track a gazelle.
"If we'd had a sitter, I'd have joined you." She told him with a smirk as she headed out the bedroom door.
'Hmm, need to arrange that soon.' He though as he turned on the water and stepped under the cold mist.
...
"Hey Will." Buffy answered the house phone as she poured Count Chocula into two bowls, splashed in some chocolate milk, and slid them in front on the two eager toddlers sitting at the kitchen table. Listening to her friend ask about her family, Buffy replied. "Yeah, Angel's good. We came home yesterday, spent time with Connor and got some much needed rest last night."
Leaning against the counter, she apologized, "Sorry I didn't call, life's been a little on the side of distraction lately. By the way, thank you for helping me find Katie. AI sent a team to the house found some names and numbers of the demons involve in the human trafficking ring, seems we busted a major contributor."
She explained about the fight when asked and filled her friend in on what happened in the Med-Ward, explaining pretty much everything except for this morning's pleasant start.
Buffy wrinkled her brow as she listened to Willow, "I'm not sure what our Easter plans are, when is it?" Buffy glanced over at the calendar on the wall, noticing at the same time Willow replied that it was tomorrow, April 12. "Oh! Crap. Completely fell off the radar."
Buffy smiled at the phone, "I don't know Will, inviting us means inviting two small tornadoes into your house, I love you too much to ruin our friendship when my kids destroy your home."
After a small debate, Buffy finally relented, "Okay, okay, we'd love to come over, thank you. Yup, see you tomorrow afternoon. Bye."
"Where we going?" Angel asked, having overheard the tail end of the conversation as he entered the kitchen, hair damp, cleanly shaved and dressed in typical sweats and t-shirt. His eyes instantly picking up on the Count Chocula and honing in.
"Hey monsters." Angel greeted the little ones as he snagged the box and grab a handful.
Buffy took a few steps and snatched the box out of his hands, "Manners in front of the kids please." His wife scolded as she poured a big pile of cereal into a bowl, washed it over with chocolate milk and handed it back to him. "Willow invited us over their house tomorrow for Easter dinner." She explained as he shoveled a heaping spoonful into his mouth.
"Easter?" Angel questioned around his breakfast as he looked over at the calendar, looking perplexed. "Came up fast."
"Don't talk with your mouth full." She automatically reprimanded while pouring herself some orange juice, since coffee was off limits until after the baby was born.
"You didn't mind this morning." He sent her a devilish grin before shoveling in another big spoonful.
Buffy almost choked on her drink as she sent him a 'not in front of the kids' glare.
Dancing away from her swat, he grab the cereal box and disappeared into the living room.
Signing, she looked over at the mess on the table from the two hungry toddlers trying to eat with spoons, "Yup, life is back to normal." She announced to no one in particular, 'But I wouldn't have it any other way.' She added mentally as she grabbed a dishrag, ready for whatever happened next.
...
The End. (For the moment)
Was it worth the wait?