Joyce sat with Buffy and Tia in the living room watching the TV for a while. Buffy kissed Tia's head every now and then. She ran her fingers, on her left hand, through Tia's soft hair and would keep running a finger over Tia's little ear.
"Mommy." Tia whined, "You're doing it again."
Buffy looked and realised she was annoying Tia with the hair playing. "Sorry sweetheart." Buffy dropped her arm down beside her. She tried to move the fingers on her right hand but the pain was unbearable. Through the night her arm hadn't heart much but after breakfast it was getting more painful and swollen. As she tries to move her hand she groans a little.
"What's wrong?" Joyce asks hearing her.
"Nothing." Buffy replies, kissing Tia's head once again.
Joyce looked at her daughter, the slayer. So strong but the fear in Buffy's eyes hurt her more then anything. She looked at the bruising over Buffy's neck, the split lip and slightly black eye that was beginning to appear. She also knew that Buffy was hurting elsewhere but was refusing to say.
"Mommy when can I play with Angel?" Tia ask, turning on Buffy's lap.
"Not yet honey. He is really tired. He didn't sleep well last night. But we do need to get dressed. Go up and brush your teeth."
Tia nods and goes upstairs. Buffy tries to stand up but lets out a groan, trying to hide it from Joyce she adds a cough.
When Tia was out of ear shot Joyce says "Buffy you need to go to the hospital and get checked out."
"No." Buffy says trying to stand again. Her back ached, she was dizzy every time she moved and she could tell she had a bump on the back of her head. She finally stands up but Joyce steps in front of her.
"No, I will take you myself if-" Joyce starts but is cut off by Buffy.
"I can't leave Tia!" She says looking at her mom. "I won't leave Tia."
"I will look after her, she'll be fine."
"No!" Buffy almost shouts. "I'm not leaving her. I had to give her to Xander to carry home last night and I hated the fact she was so close to...him. I watched the gang walk her past him and I was terrified he would see her and hurt her. But he didn't know she was mine. So he came after me. I can handle that but I can't handle the thought of him going after her. If I'm not with her I won't know she is safe."
"So you plan to spend all your time inside? If she is always with you he will see both of you and guess she is yours."
"If she is with anyone he will know. He saw Angel last night, Willow, Xander and Giles. He knows you from years ago. No matter who she is with he will be able to guess now. She isn't safe unless she is with me. If I go to the hospital I won't be able to have her with me." Buffy can't help the tears that fall. Joyce wraps her arms around Buffy but hears she lets out a groan of pain.
"Sorry honey. But I mean it you need checking out."
Buffy knows she is right. The pain is just getting worse. "I'll see Giles. The amount of times he patched me up after a fight." Joyce agrees knowing she can't win against her daughter when it comes to Tia.
Buffy struggles to walk up the stairs but manages it. She goes into the bathroom expecting Tia to be brushing her teeth. She doesn't and panic hits her right away. She turns around and sees her bedroom door is open and Tia is standing next to Angel. "Tia baby, come on. We don't want to wake him." Buffy walks to Tia calming down.
"His not breathing." Tia says. "It's weird."
"Well that's because he is a vampire." Buffy explains.
"I know... but it's still weird." Tia starts to walk out the door again but then screams.
"Maybe you're the weird one." Angel says grabbing Tia and pulling her into a hug. Tia laughs then says,
"Sorry I woke you up."
"That's fine. I have some stuff I want to do today. But go do what mommy says. I need to talk to her."
Tia smiles and goes to do her teeth. Buffy walks to Angel slowly trying to walk properly. When Angel taps the bed for her to sit down she groans inside knowing it will hurt to bend down. She sits and although she was as quiet as possible Angel still heard her groan.
He wanted to hold her but not hurt her, which he knew most contact would do at the moment.
"I'm taking you to the hospital today."
"No!" Buffy snaps. "Mom tried convincing me earlier. We agreed I'll go to Giles. His good at patching me up."
Angel knows as did Joyce not to argue with Buffy. "Okay. We'll go once we're dressed."
Buffy nods and groans again standing up to grab her clothes. She goes into the bathroom and brushes Tia's hair before she goes into Buffy's room and picks out her clothes. Buffy washes and gets dressed in a struggle. Angel knocked on the door and see if she needed help but Buffy didn't want any help. She was ashamed she was able to get hurt that much from a human. Afterwards she goes into her room to see Tia is dressed and looking at a book on the bed while Angel puts her hair into a ponytail. Buffy smiles. Angel finishes with her hair and then goes to get dressed himself.
"Tia can you go get your shoes and coat on, it's cold outside today and we're going to the magic box." Tia nods and runs off. Angel comes in and holds Buffy very gently from behind. "I'll meet you there." He whispers. Buffy was so scared about leaving the house. She felt so unprotected but she knew she couldn't walk Tia through the sewers with Angel.
Angel made a start and Buffy was able to leave the house but first she called Xander. "Hey, you at home? Right could you come by here and pick me and Tia up please? Thanks see you soon."
5 minutes later Xander was outside and drove Buffy and Tia to the shop. "Thanks, I didn't mean to be a pain I just... I didn't feel like walking." Being careful about what she said around Tia but Xander understood she was scared Kevin would be waiting.
They enter the shop and Angel is already there. "Tia go to Willow and Tara and sit with them. Do not leave their side." Buffy says. She was happy for Tia to sit with the girls as she was only a few steps away. She didn't want her to hear what she and Giles would talk about.
Giles stood by the counter. "Hey." She looks at him with sorrow in her eyes. "Can you... help me?"
"Of course. What with?" Giles asks looking at her.
"I need patching up."
Giles understood she was ashamed about last night. "Yes, yes of course. Wouldn't a hospital be better?"
"No. I'm not letting Tia away from me."
"Right. We'll go the to the training room." Giles grabs the first aid kit, ice pack and some magical items to help.
"Angel take Tia into the training room, set her up on counting in there with some coloring please?"
Angel nodded and took Tia through after grabbing paper and pencils. Buffy followed and sat on the couch. Tia had her back to her and Angel sat on the other side of Tia watching her and Buffy.
Giles sat in front of Buffy on his knees. Keeping his voice low he asks, "where does it hurt?"
Buffy pulls up her baggy sleeve top to show Giles her right arm. He wrist bruised and swollen. There was another bruise by her elbow and running along her forearm.
Giles eye's filled with tears but he blinked them away without Buffy seeing. He places the ice on her wrist. She groans but lets Giles continue. He then crushes a healing crystal and places it on her wrist and then bandages it. After the swelling goes down he would be able to examine it more.
"Where else?"
"My back."
Giles sits next to her on the couch and she turns her back towards him. He slowly lifts her top up and see the blue marks on her spin as well as some grazes he assume had come from being pinned against a wall or the floor. Giles cleaned the wounds and placed more of the healing crystal on it. He ran his fingers alone her spin. When he got to one area Buffy flinched and let out a cry. Buffy jolted her back straight trying to get away from the pain but it just caused more throughout her body. Tia tried to look at her mom but Angel told her to carry on coloring and he would look after Buffy. Angel walked to his love and sat in front of her. He held her hand. "It's okay." He says and she nods.
"Sorry Buffy." Giles says slowly move his fingers again trying to find if her spin was damaged or just bruised.
"Not your fault."
Angel and Giles both shudder at the implied context of what she said.
"Well your back will heal in a few days. There is not permanent damage. Is there anywhere else?"
"Just my head." Buffy points to where it hurts. Buffy knew the bruising on her neck would go so didn't ask Giles to look at that.
Giles moves her hair and Buffy grits her teeth against the pain. Giles sees the swelling and places the last of the healing crystal on it and then the ice pack. He then moves back to her wrist and removes the bandage. The crystal had sorted the swelling so now Giles put a small amount of pressure on Buffy's wrist. Angel held her other hand. She didn't show any signs of pain so held her hand and her forearm and slowly bent her wrist. Again no pain showed on her face. But that's when both Giles and Angel noticed her eyes had glazed over. She just stared straight forward at the back of Tia.
"Buffy?" Giles says. He waves his hand in front of her face but still no response.
Angel tries. He holds her upper arm and shakes her. "Buffy?" He shakes her a bit more and suddenly Buffy punches him in the face. He falls back onto the floor and holding his nose.
"Oh God, Angel I'm sorry." Buffy looks at him.
"I'm fine." Angel sits up again shaking the pain out of his face.
"Angel are you okay?" Tia asks walking to him.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just made Mommy jump. Go finish you're picture we'll be leaving soon."
Buffy looked down at her knees. "I'm okay. Are you?" He says lifting Buffy's chin.
"I thought it was him again. I couldn't stop thinking about it." Buffy says tears glistening in her eyes.
"Last night?" Angel asks. Buffy shakes her head.
"All of it."
"Buffy can you tell me if this hurts?" Giles then moves Buffy's hand again.
"Ouch, yes very much so."
"I think it's broken. I can feel the bones rubbing against each other."
"I'm not going to hospital."
Giles goes to argue but sees the strong look in Buffy's eyes. Buffy's mind was set and nothing would change that. "I'll ask Willow and Tara to find a spell to mend it. Until then we'll keep it bandaged." Giles places a sling around Buffy's arm and around her neck to keep it still.
Buffy, Angel and Tia then go home. Angel through the sewers, Buffy and Tia get a lift home from Xander again. "Buffy," Xander says before she gets out. "I'm here. Any time. If you need me and Angel can't get there because of the sun or whatever, I will okay?"
Buffy gives him a sad smile and kisses him on the cheek. "Thanks Xand."
Buffy and Angel are back indoors and Tia is jumping on the bed. "What are you doing?" Buffy asks Angel as he clears the spare room next to the bathroom. "Tia needs her own room. I'm going to turn this into a room fit for a princess."
Buffy smiles at the sweet thought and how hard he was trying. "Can I help?" Buffy asks.
"No, just sit there and look pretty like always."
Buffy smiles and sits by the door to her room and watches Angel bring out all the boxes full of photos, old toys, unworn clothes and the Christmas decorations.
I hope you like the update more to come soon.