Sorry I'm late in posting this. I've been dealing with some real life stuff that involved an emergency room visit and an ambulance ride to another state for my teenager. She's okay and should be released from the hospital tomorrow. So, yeah, I've been busy the last couple of days. I'm posting this from my iPad because I'm sitting in a motel room in that other state until it's time for visiting hours, so if the formatting goes wonky, I'll fix it when I get home.
Service Unit
Chapter Five – Back
The demon stood up from the crate and quietly cleared his throat, "Madam?"
Buffy looked over at him. "Yes?"
"You have requested that he not feel any pain during the removal procedure, and while the procedure is not particularly painful, it does cause a bit of discomfort, so I would like to render him unconscious."
"How would you do that? Because I'm not going to let you hit him or anything."
The demon reached into his torn robes and produced a small black stone. "I simply touch this to the nerve cluster at the base of his skull and he will be rendered unconscious for six hours. It is used when the un... uh... when they are transported to prevent movement and possible damage. I can also use it to wake him, if need be, before the six hours are up."
Buffy nodded. "Okay. Do it."
The demon stepped up behind Spike and touched the stone high up on the back of his neck and he immediately slumped forward. Buffy reached out quickly and grasped his upper arms, lowering him gently to the floor. She rolled him to his back then snagged a pillow off the couch and placed it under his head. Her eyes fell on his still painfully purple erection and she grimaced. "Hurry up and get that crap out of him so I can get that junk off him and get him cleaned up."
"Yes, madam, I will be but a few moments." The demon crouched over Spike's head and inserted a thin silver stick with a bulbous end into Spike's left ear. He twisted a few times then withdrew the stick and tapped it against an outstretched palm. A tiny brown blob that looked like a pebble dropped into the center of his hand.
Buffy leaned over to look at it. "That's what made him deaf?"
The demon nodded then pocketed the pebble and inserted the stick into Spike's right ear, pulling out another pebble. He pocketed that one as well then slid the stick up Spike's left nostril, pulling out yet another pebble, this one red.
The slide up Spike's right nostril produced another red pebble that was quickly pocketed then the demon moved to Spike's right side. "This is the most uncomfortable removal, madam. I will need to cut into his throat to remove the item that resides in his larynx."
Buffy scowled. "And you think that cutting him open is only uncomfortable? How much crack do you smoke?"
The demon's brow furrowed and he said in a querulous voice, "Crack?"
Buffy shook her head. "Never mind. Just get it done." She stepped into the kitchen and returned with a small hand towel just as the demon used one of his claws to make a small incision directly above Spike's Adam's apple. The claw was then pressed down hard until it popped through the tough cartilage of Spike's larynx. Spike didn't even twitch as the silver stick was inserted into the opening and twisted.
That pebble was a shiny black and was about three times as large as the others. The demon pocketed the pebble then flipped the stick over and ran it along both openings several times, closing the wounds. Buffy bent down and gently wiped the blood from Spike's neck then stood up and pointed at the chair. "Sit. Stay. I'm going to get him cleaned up and then you and I are going to talk."
"As you wish, madam." The demon scuttled over to the chair and sat down.
Buffy threw him a glare then bent down and hefted Spike into her arms as carefully as she could. She carried him to her bedroom and laid him on top of her comforter then stood back, trying to decide what to do first. He needed to be cleaned; there was blood and lubricant on his thighs and around his anus, and yeah, she'd been intimate with Spike in the past… but not quite THAT intimate.
She sighed. It had to be done. It wasn't like he'd get infected or anything, that wasn't the reason she needed to clean him at all. She could let him be and he'd heal up just fine… physically, anyway… but if she wanted to get her Spike back… the snarky, swaggering, always talking Spike she loved… then she would have to remove any trace of his slavery. Not that she had any experience in rehabilitating vampire sex slaves, but she knew deep in her heart that any reminder would send him back to that mind set and would make his recovery just that much more difficult.
She looked him over critically. He was thinner than she remembered, his muscles much more defined because of that thinness, and his blond hair was gone. His scalp was covered in fine, light brown fuzz, maybe a quarter of an inch long. She sat down next to him then reached out and clasped his slack hand in hers, her eyes welling up as she took in his battered form. "God, Spike. What happened to you? How did you end up like this?"
She let herself cry for a few minutes then sniffled a few times, squeezing his hand as she took a deep breath and stood up, muttering to herself, "As Spike would say, 'Stop dithering and shift your arse, Slayer.'" She used the hem of her shirt to wipe the tears from her face then squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, pushing the Buffy side of her back as she let the Slayer side take control. There were things that had to be done and sitting here sniveling wasn't going to make them happen. "That stuff on his... yeah. Need to get rid of that before I do anything else."
She went into the bathroom and came back with a pair of medical scissors from the first aid kit and a damp wash cloth, setting them on the comforter next to Spike. She sat down next to his knee then leaned down and peered at the ring around the base of his penis. It was partially sunken into his flesh and flipping open the catch was probably going to pinch some of it. She didn't want to cause him any more pain, but she had to get that thing off.
Steeling herself, she reached for the clasp and released the ring. Spike's penis jerked once then stilled, semen spilling from the tip in a sluggish stream as it slowly deflated. Once she was fairly sure that he was done, she considered the sizeable puddle on his stomach then looked at the washcloth. Not nearly big enough. He must have been ready to blow for a really long time. She went back into the bathroom and returned with a damp hand towel then quickly cleaned up the puddle, making sure to handle Spike's raw looking penis with care.
He'd deflated enough that the leather straps were now loose, so she cut the couple of straps that connected the ring to the web surrounding his balls then carefully removed the ring and the penis straps and tossed them into the trash can next to the bed. The web around his balls was still tight and she carefully slid the scissors between his skin and the leather then started snipping strips until she'd snipped enough of them to remove the web.
She tossed the bundle of cut leather strips, and the plug that was still attached to them, into the trash can with a grimace of disgust. Time for the next part. She stood up and headed out to the kitchen.
The demon was still sitting in the chair in her living room and Buffy glared at him as she stalked past. She grabbed her plastic dish tub from under the sink and filled it with warm water, adding a sizeable squirt of the lilac scented moisturizing hand soap she kept on the counter. She swirled the soap around in the water until she'd created a few suds then she picked up the tub and went back to the bedroom.
Spike was lying in the exact same position as she set the tub on the floor next to the bed then retrieved a stack of washcloths from the bathroom. She set about cleaning him up, starting at his head and working her way down, tossing the soiled washcloths into the hamper in the corner. He wasn't actually dirty, except for his groin area, but it made her feel better to wash him down. It felt, to her anyway, and she hoped it would to him as well once he woke up, that she was washing away some of the horrible things he'd been through since she'd seen him last.
Once his front half was clean, and thankfully not that damaged, except for his genitals and several deep punctures near his hipbones, she gently rolled him onto his stomach and started at the top again. His back was covered in bruises, welts, punctures, and what looked like claw marks, and she dabbed at the injuries gently, not wanting to disturb the scabs that had formed. She skipped over his rear and moved to his feet, figuring she'd work her way back up and clean that area last. She winced when she reached the backs of his knees, not wanting to know what had caused those deep puncture wounds, but her mind was conjuring up all kinds of disturbing images to explain them. 'Thanks a lot mind', she thought, 'just what I need… more disturbing on top of all the already disturbing.'
And then she was there, the site of what was probably his worst physical injury. The extent of his mental injuries wouldn't be revealed until he woke up, and that thought had her closing her eyes as she grimaced in nearly physical pain. She clenched her hands into fists then took a deep, fortifying breath and slowly opened her eyes. She carefully pushed his legs further apart then bent them so he was propped up on his knees, giving her clear access. His entrance was still torn and raw and swollen, but it looked like he'd stopped bleeding. She dipped a fresh washcloth into the water and squeezed it out then laid it gently over his abused hole, hoping the warmth and wet would soak some of the blood and dried lubricant off before she tried wiping anything.
She muttered under her breath as she pulled the cooled washcloth away, "You so owe me for this, Spike. Seriously. I love all of you, but this is a part of you I'd rather not have to deal with, thanks very much." She grimaced again at the blood staining the cloth and tossed it into the trash then snagged a fresh one from the pile. She dipped and wrung then wiped carefully until she could see no trace of blood or lubricant anywhere on his skin. She trashed that cloth as well and took a new one into the bathroom. She ran it under cold water then wrung it out and carried it back into the bedroom, laying it over his hole as a sort of cold compress. "Hopefully that will help with the swelling a little."
She picked up the scissors and leftover washcloths and put them away then she carried the tub of wash water into the bathroom and dumped it into the bathtub, leaning it against the side to dry. The washcloth was still cool when she checked it after dumping the tub, so she pulled the trash bag out of the can and tied it tightly shut then carried it to the incinerator chute in her building's hallway, tossing it down with a small smile of satisfaction.
She didn't even look at the demon when she passed back through the living room, but she did hear him gulp quietly. Apparently he could sense the rage of The Slayer bubbling just below the surface. She smirked slightly as she stepped into the bedroom and pulled the washcloth away then inspected the area. She thought the swelling might have come down a little, but that might just be wishful thinking. She sighed again and tossed the cloth into the hamper. "I'd have to leave it on a lot longer and I don't want to leave you in this position, Spike. It looks uncomfortable. Here, let's get you laid down right, okay?"
She pulled the covers down on the other side of the bed then maneuvered Spike's limp form into position and covered him up. She leaned down and brushed a light kiss across his lips then said quietly, "I'm gonna go talk to that little creep in my living room and then we'll see about waking you up and getting some blood into you, okay? We'll get you back, Spike. I promise."