A week had passed since the incident at the mall and been forgotten by everyone involved. A week in which everyone helped patrol and dusted vampires and dealt with one weird yellow skinned thing that looked like it had pus in its eyes and a stench that made everyone want to vomit and ruined Buffy's shirt and Cordelia's shoes and had her ranting for a good hour before she finally calmed down. She threw the shoes in the garbage behind the Bronze and to her delight Xander picked her up and carried to her car, before driving her home. It sure help with the calming her down part as she did like being taken care of, especially by Xander. She fell asleep with a smile on her face,
Unfortunately, she didn't wake up with one. What she did, was wake up naked, in the woods next to a dead and bloody rabbit. Which, naturally enough, freaked her the hell out! Scared, Cordelia backed away from the dead animal and wondered where she was and how she got there. Looking around, she saw she was near what looked like a pond. She walked over to it and saw her reflection in the water. Oh gross, her hair was a mess. There were leaves and dirt – what the hell had happened to her?! Had she been kidnapped, had someone done something to her?
As Cordelia looked around wildly, her eyes landed on a tree near the pond, with markings on it. She walked over to it and saw a heart with X and C inside. With a jolt she realized she was in the woods behind the Chase Mansion. She and Xander had come here in August and had a picnic that Lupe, her housekeeper had packed for them. Xander had carved the heart and their initials into the tree before they got here, as a surprise. She remembered how touched she'd felt at his shy gesture. They'd made out for over an hour on the blanket and nearly hadn't stopped. She had known he hadn't wanted to stop, but he hadn't whined or pouted or anything, just held her while they'd laid on the blanket, getting themselves back under control. It was one of the things she loved about him, how he let her set the pace and didn't hold it against her that she wasn't ready for more yet. That had been the day he told her about the Hyena possession and how only Giles knew he remembered it. How scared he'd been that he'd hurt Buffy. And how he sometimes had nightmares that he had hurt her. It was why he didn't push. It all fed into his fear of being like his father. Of hurting people and enjoying it. They'd talked for a long time that afternoon. She'd told him of her own fear after the frat boys had nearly sacrificed her as a virgin sacrifice and how she'd done something stupid by acting on that fear so she'd never be in that position again. And how she would always regret it because it had felt so wrong. He'd been so sympathetic and non judgemental. It was funny she was sure she could smell his aftershave, lingering in the air.
Now that Cordelia knew where she was, she was able to calm a little and oriented herself back toward home. As she snuck in, she was, for once, grateful that her parents weren't home and Lupe slept on the other side of the house. She made it upstairs with no one seeing her and headed straight for the bathroom to get cleaned up. She spent a lot of time cleaning her hair and then drying it. Only then did she begin to feel more like herself. She glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly seven. It being Saturday, Xander was likely sleeping in, but she was in need of some serious boyfriend comfort, so she called his line and waited while it rang repeatedly, "Huh?"
"Xander it's me, something happened and I need you to come over."
"Cor is that you? What's wrong?"
"Yah, it's me, Xander something crazy is going on, I don't know what it is but I woke up outside, naked, in the woods. Can you come over, I think I need help."
Maybe it was the lack of insults, but Xander could tell she was scared. "I'll be right there."
"I'm in my room just come right up." she hung up and grabbed a large stuffed bear from the chair next to her bed and held on tight to it.
As Xander drove to the Chase Mansion, he wondered what could have happened. What little Cordelia had mentioned hadn't made any sense. Naked in the woods, not knowing how she got there? Had she been sleepwalking? As far as he knew she had never done that before, so probably not. 'Hope it's nothing Hellmouthy,' he thought, as he pulled into the driveway and keyed in the code to the gate.
He parked near the back of the driveway and entered through the backdoor. Taking the steps two at a time, he hurried up to Cordelia's room, knocking gently, he called out, "It's me, Cor."
"Come in." She answered.
He entered and felt his heart twist when he saw her looking so lost and scared, holding that big bear of hers. He moved quickly over to the bed and sat down beside her. She put the bear aside and let him take her into his arms, inhaling deeply as she did so, seeking his scent, the aftershave and clean scent that was all Xander. When she found it, something in her, that had been feeling anxious, relaxed. His arms around her made her feel safe.
Cordelia quickly explained what little she knew, including her impressions.
"If it wasn't for the rabbit, I'd think you were sleepwalking. Although, as far as I know you've never done that, but stress is supposedly a trigger and boy are our lives stressful."
"Yah, I'd have to agree. My first thought was that I'd been kidnapped."
"Well, what if you were? Maybe you got away before anything could happen. Maybe that's why you were so messed up, trying to run though the woods at night, maybe whoever it was gave you something. Maybe the rabbit was killed by something else. Cor, I think we should take you to the free clinic, they don't ask questions and they won't tell your parents. Just as a precaution, in case you were injected with something. Please, I'd rest easier if we could at least rule some things out."
Though reluctant, Cordelia finally agreed. It would helped ease her mind too, to make sure she hadn't been hurt in anyway.
