Uncursed

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6 & Angel Season 3 A.U.

Chapter Four:

Connor looked curiously at the Slayer asleep on his father's bed. He had no idea why she was there. Or even how Angel knew her. All Lorne had said was that Angel cared for her very much. Holtz had explained to him once about human sickness. How people got pale, clammy, or even extremely hot to the touch. But . . . Buffy wasn't any of these things. Here skin had a golden color with a hint of red. He gently touched her forehead. It wasn't hot or clammy. It was just right. So what was wrong with her? Why was she asleep like this? And why had Lorne made such a big deal out of it? And how could Angel love a Slayer? She kills his kind for a living . . . so why hasn't she killed Angel?

A million questions similar to those rang Connor's mind, confusing him. He'd been raised in a black and white world, where all demons and everything that wasn't human was evil. But now, he was in a world with black, white, and many different shades of grey. He wasn't sure who was good, who was evil, or even the fact if certain things happened, certain people would switch sides. None of it made sense to him.

And then there was the Slayer. She, whoever she was for her generation, was supposed to fight the monsters and protect the innocent. She was supposed to serve as the savior of mankind from any non-human, evil being that threatened the safety of the world. She was supposed to be the purest, whitest force on the side of good, below Holtz's 'God,' of course. And yet here she was, in love with one of the worst vampires on the face of the planet and asleep on his bed, no less.

What was he supposed to believe?

~*~

"No! No! Please!"

Angel raced upstairs immediately and was at Buffy's side seconds later. The comatose Slayer thrashed and screamed, kicking off the blankets on the bed. Sweat dripped down Buffy's face as Angel held on to her shoulders to keep her still.

"No!" Buffy continued to scream as Angel held her down. "No! Leave me alone! Please . . ." Angel faltered a moment, thinking he was hurting her, before he realized that she was dreaming. She didn't even know he was there.

"Buffy, it's okay," Angel pinned her wrists gently but firmly together to the bed with one of his hands and with the other he held both of her ankles together as she continued to thrash around, crying, "Buffy, stop! It's just a dream! It isn't real!"

"No . . ." Buffy, still asleep, rolled her head from side to side, "Stop . . . stop it! Leave me alone! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" Buffy was screaming now.

"Gunn!" Angel shouted at the top of his lungs. Just minutes later Gunn and Wesley appeared in the doorway, shock on their faces. "Get some ropes! Now!" The two men nodded, disappearing from the room. Angel turned back to the agitated Slayer. Her seizure-ish thrashes became more violent with the moment and he almost lost his grip a few times. A few minutes later Gunn and Wesley reappeared in the room with several lengths of ropes and a pair of handcuff chains.

Gunn and Wesley came up to Angel and Buffy and the three of them started strapping the Slayer to down to the bed so she couldn't hurt herself. She continued to thrash around but she was secure . . . for now.

Angel turned to Wesley, "That's not going to be enough to hold her. Is there a spell you could do to back up the chains and ropes?"

"Not that I know of," Wesley said, "But I could do a spell to calm her down a little."

"Okay," Angel nodded, "Now would be better than later." Wesley nodded and left the room to get the supplies he'd need.

Gunn turned to Angel, "What happened?"

Angel sat down on the bed next to the agitated Slayer, "She just started seizing. I was down the hall checking on Lorne and the baby and I heard her scream." Gunn glanced at the Slayer, who was still crying out and muttering under her breath, "I think she's dreaming. She's crying out, telling someone or something to stop and leave her alone."

"Must have somethin' to do with that "dark past" Lorne mentioned when he told us he read her," Gunn suggested.

Angel looked back over at Buffy, memories of so long ago when Buffy had still been in high school and that demon's blood had made her able to hear people's thoughts. She'd been in so much pain then. Angel wondered what was causing this pain for her now . . .

*~*

The Slayer, her expression angry yet tired, stood ready for anything. Staring at the evil fiends in front of her she gripped a pair of twin axes in her hands.

Not even two feet in front of her were twenty men wearing black military garb with tranquilizer guns locked, loaded, and aimed directly at Buffy.

Her maternal and Slayer instincts flared at full force, the muscles in her ever-increasing abdomen tightening. Her heart beat furiously and the adrenaline was pumping.

One of the operatives turned to man beside him, "The Senior Partners will want the target alive, men."

"The Senior Partners can kiss my ass!" Buffy spat, clutching the axes tighter.

"Shut your mouth, Slayer!" The lead operative commanded. They rushed her, surrounding her on every side.

"No, leave me alone!" Buffy yelled angrily. She swung one of axes but the lead operative caught it in his hand and flung it back. The handle reared back and clonked her in the forhead. Her vision blurred and soon she was plunged in darkness . . .

"No!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed before she was completely overtaken.

*~*

"DON'T LET THEM TAKE MY BABY!!!!!!"

Angel held her by the shoulders. "We need to find out what happened to her. It might help us figure out why she's like this."

"I quite agree," Wesley came back into the room with various herbs and other magical supplies in his hands.

"NO!" Buffy continued to cry out.

"Sounds like something's killing her," Lorne massaged her temple.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, BITCH!"

"Blondie's got a mouth," Gunn observed.

Tears made their way down her cheeks and Lorne wiped them awy. "She's in pain—she's protecting her child."

"The question is, from what?" Angel said.

"LILAH YOU STAY AWAY FROM LEXIE! YOU LEAVE MY BABY ALONE!"

The men all looked at each other. "Lexie . . ." Lorne said.

"Lilah Morgan," Angel grit his teeth, "Wolfram & Hart. They're the ones who are after her."

"Who's Lexie?" Gunn said.

"The baby," Wesley guessed.

Angel sighed, mumbling to himself, "I should have known."

"What was that?" Lorne looked at him.

"Nothing," Angel stood up. "Wesley, do the spell." He was gone even before any of them could figure it out he'd left.

To Be Continued . . .