Chapter 9
Author's notes: Thank you all for the reviews and private messages received after the last update – yes, it's been a while. I will try and post more regularly, but that will likely mean shorter chapters. There are a lot of story lines that are gradually coming together, and I'm excited to see how it works out. As always, questions, praise, criticism and any kind of feedback are most welcome.
Inside Luke's truck en route to Tree Hill, North Carolina
20 August 1999 – 23:58 EDT
"How is she doing," Lucas asked, concern in his voice as he glanced over at an unconscious Peyton who was sitting in between Brooke and Xander. Brooke had an arm around Peyton, whose head rested on Brooke's shoulder.
"Her pulse is a little slow, but strong," Xander replied after checking Peyton's wrist. "I think she's ok for now, but we should look up the Rohypnol online when we get home to make sure."
Brooke looked over at Xander, studying his profile before her eyes wandered down to his blood-stained shirt. "Does it hurt?"
He felt her eyes on him and knew what she was referring to. It's weird. I don't feel any pain. No burning, nothing. He looked at Brooke and gave her a reassuring smile. "Nah, it's nothing. He barely scratched me," he lied.
Brooke nodded, but wasn't convinced. She wanted to say more, but didn't want to create an awkward situation. "I hope so," she said as she reached over and briefly took Xander's hand, squeezing it lightly. "Thanks for doing this for her."
Xander looked at her with surprise, a small smile appearing on his face. "Anytime."
A warehouse near Pier 3, Tree Hill Harbor, Tree Hill, North Carolina
21 August 1999 – 00:35 EDT
"We are ready to move out, Archbishop."
Polonia nodded at his lieutenant. "Has the patrol returned?"
"They haven't come back in. We tried contacting them, but were not successful."
Polonia stared at the vampire in front of him. "So you are telling me that this little shithole of a town is not secured? That a second patrol has gone completely missing?" He didn't raise his voice, but the seething anger he felt came through with every word.
There was an uncomfortable silence between them. With Polonia known for his short-temper, providing an answer that he didn't like might get you killed. So may not giving an answer at all. Debating between these two options, he decided that answering was the way to go. "Unfortunately, it seems that way," Dominguez said, his voice slightly cracking from nervousness and fear for his "life".
Polonia continued to stare at Dominguez for a few more seconds before turning away from him. "We are moving out!," he shouted into the warehouse at no one in particular. Kine and kindred looked up to Polonia on the elevated walkway and started to board the fleet of vehicles that was going to bring them to Washington D.C.
When Dominguez turned to leave, Polonia moved in a flash and cut him off, standing mere inches in front of him and startling the vampire. "Not you," Polonia spat through clenched teeth. "You and your pack will stay behind. There's additional reinforcements arriving tomorrow night. Take two additional packs and flush out the resistance. I don't care if you have to raze this entire town. Just get it done!"
Peyton's House, Tree Hill, North Carolina
21 August 1999 – 1:12 EDT
What is going on with me, Xander thought as he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. His hand traced the spot where the knife had entered into his chest, but the skin was unbroken. Xander pressed on the spot, but felt no pain. I don't understand, that's not possible. He started washing the dried blood off of his skin, wondering if he was losing his mind.
Lucas tucked a soundly asleep Peyton in under the covers before walking over to Brooke, who is sitting in front of the computer.
Brooke smiled at Lucas. "Says here she'll be disoriented, may have some short term memory loss, which is maybe not a bad thing."
"How long 'til it wears off," Lucas asked.
"Overnight, probably. Think she'll be okay?"
"I don't know, Brooke," Lucas replied.
Brooke nodded, looking back over at Peyton's sleeping form on the bed. "I feel terrible. It's all my fault," she said quietly.
"Yeah, well, what's done is done," Lucas said. "The med student says she's gonna be okay, right? So we just need to watch her until she wakes up."
I want to believe that, Brooke thought. I need to believe that. I could never forgive myself for dragging her to that party if she is not going to be ok. She cleared her throat to get rid of the lump that was forming. "I can do it. You've done way too much already."
"I don't mind hanging out. This time, I'd worry about her too much if I took off anyway."
Brooke gave Lucas a grateful smile. "Okay."
"So we don't have to do anything other than watch her," Xander asked into the phone as he paced around the kitchen. He nodded as he listened to the answer. "Okay, will do. Thanks for the help, and I'm sorry about calling so late."
Happy with the answers, he walked back into Peyton'd bedroom, where Lucas and Brooke were watching over Peyton. "She's going to be fine," he announced. "I spoke to a friend who is a doctor, and he told me we just need to watch her to make sure she's not throwing up in her sleep, but that she will otherwise be fine."
Brooke breathed a sigh of relief. "That's great. I can't stand the thought that she got hurt because of me, so hearing she will be ok is a good thing," she said quietly.
Xander walked over to Brooke and squatted down so he did not tower over her. Looking into her eyes to make sure she understood, he said, "Look. It's not your fault, okay?" When Brooke didn't look convinced, he added, "And hey, you did get her out of there. You're a good friend."
Brooke nodded and flashed a small smile, "Thanks, Xander."
Lucas, who had silently watched the exchange from across the room, cleared his throat. "Hey, Xander? How are you doing," he asked as he pointed at Xander's bloody shirt.
"Not even a real scratch. It looked much worse than it is. I thought he really got me, but it's really nothing. I think all of the blood is really from him," Xander lied, putting a smile on his face to make sure they believed him.
"Are you sure." Brooke asked, the worry back in her voice.
"Trust me, I'm sure."
Peyton's House, Tree Hill, North Carolina
21 August 1999 – 3:01 EDT
"Still sleeping," Xander asked as he came back to the bed room, mugs of coffee in hand. Brooke was sitting on the bed next to Peyton, but got up and joined Xander by the doorway. "Lucas is crashed out on the couch. Here, I made some coffee if you want..."
Brooke flashed him a nervous smile. "I don't know how you do it," she said as she took on of the mugs from him.
Xander laughed. "It's easy. The directions are on the bag."
Her smile widening, Brooke said, "You know what I mean. You'd give up everything to help someone you don't even know." She paused a moment and took a sip of coffee, her eyes never stopping to study Xander's face. "I wanted to apologize for last night, and for this morning," she continued, her voice sounding sincere. "I was out of line to tear into you like that, especially after you took care of me instead of taking advantage. Guys often do, you know?"
"I can imagine," Xander responded, biting his lower lip before continuing. She's not going to like this one, but I think it needs to be said. "Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I would really like to know." When Brooke nodded, he continued, "Why do you act like this when it's actually hurting you to be this way?"
Brooke turned her head, her hair falling in front of her face. And there it is again – the same straight to the core no nonsense I got from him this morning. Oh God, he must think I'm this pathetic brainless loser. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she answered timidly' "I don't know. People expect me to be this way, I guess. "
"I know what you mean, Brooke," Xander said. "Back home, people treat me this way, too. Even my friends. They have this image of me in their minds, and they stopped looking at me a long time ago. Stopped really seeing me, seeing how I changed. Seeing how I'm different. Seeing the real me. And I tried to fight that for a while, but it is hard to change that perception." His words seemed to resonate with Brooke, who looked up again while he was speaking as she was closely listening. "I made the mistake of stopping to try, just accepting that this is how people see me," Xander acknowledged. "Don't make that same mistake, Brooke."
Brooke nodded thoughtfully and took another sip of coffee. "I promise I'll think about that."
"Fair enough," Xander said. "It's all I can ask for." His gaze shifted to Peyton on the bed, who was shifting in her sleep. "Listen, you can grab some sleep if you want. I'll watch her for a while."
"Okay," Brooke replied, flashing Xander on of her signature smile that brought out her adorable dimples. "I'd rather stay and talk to you if you don't mind."
Xander smiled back at her. " I don't mind."
New Brunswick County Airport, Tree Hill, North Carolina
21 August 1999 – 6:45 EDT
"Welcome to Tree Hill, North Carolina. On behalf of the crew and all of us at Delta Airlines, thank you for flying with us. We hope to welcome you again on your next flight."
Buffy barely listened to the captain's announcement as she intently looked through the small window out onto the tarmac as the plane was taxiing to the gate.
"Are you alright, Buffy?" Willow asked.
Buffy looked at her, shaking her head. "No, not yet. Not until we find him and know he's ok. And once we do, I will kill him for making me feel this worried," she said with a small laugh that did not hide her true concern.
Willow nodded. "Yeah. Let's go and find our Xander-shaped friend."
Parking lot near Duke University, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
21 August 1999 – 7:23 EDT
Xander pulled the truck to a stop and shut off the engine. Looking over at Brooke in the passenger's seat, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. The sunlight from the sunrise was illuminating her silhouette and made her hair glow.
"You want me to follow you home," Xander asked.
Brooke gave Xander a small smile and shook her head. " No. I'll be okay." She looked at him for another second and then started to turn to open the door.
"Hey Brooke," Xander said, causing Brooke to turn around again and look at him questioningly. "You did a good thing for Peyton. You're a good friend to her."
Brooke nodded slightly. "You sound surprised," she responded, her eyes studying Xander's reaction.
Xander shook his head. " Sorry, I just... I guess I just figured that you were..."
"A brainless slut," Brooke interrupted. She averted her gaze and clinched her jaw, her insecurity getting the best of her. For a moment, I thought he was different. But why would he see me any other way after how I acted lately? She felt a lump form in her throat, dreading what Xander would say next.
"No. You're not," Xander quickly stated emphatically. Brooke looked up at him again, waiting for him to continue. "What I was gonna say was that I just…I didn't think that you were... that tough. But I was clearly wrong about you." Xander smiled at her.
Brooke couldn't help but flash Xander one of her signature smile. In a soft voice, she said, "It's okay. Most people are." After a moment, she flipped her hair out of her face, leaned in and tenderly kissed Xander on the check before leaning over again to open the passenger door.
"Hey Brooke... I'm staying with Lucas for the time being. Call me if you need anything, okay?"
Brooke nodded. "Count on that," she replied before climbing out of the car and closing the door again. She smiled at Xander once more and turned to go before deciding otherwise and stepping back to the open car door. "Thank you, Xander," she said quietly, the sincerity evident in her voice.
"For what," Xander asked curiously.
Brooke averted her gaze for a moment. Opening up to someone was something that she was clearly not used to. Finally, she looked back at him and continued, "For really seeing me." Not waiting for a response, she turned away and walked to her car, leaving Xander to ponder their exchange in silence.