Buffy awoke to the sound a loud ringing of the phone. She moaned out in pain as she rolled over, picking up the phone. She said a groggy, “Hello?” only to hear Troy’s voice, “I’m due to arrive at your place within the hour. I wanted to make sure you would be ready. I’m sorry to wake you but Angel said 10 was the time he had told you.” Buffy yawned then spoke still sounding tired, “I’ll be ready. I’m getting up now. Thanks for the call Troy.”
Buffy hung up the phone sitting up and frowned at the sight of blood on the sheets. She sighed wondering how hotels felt about bloody sheets but quickly forgot about that as she noticed her leg was seriously hurting her. She frowned as she pulled down her pants to see a long gash on her leg and it was turning black and blue. She pulled her leg up onto the bed and felt it and noticed it didn’t feel broken, just badly bruised and cut. She would need to pick up bandages for that since she hadn’t packed any. She limped to the bath turning on the water to be hot preparing for a soak to ease her aching muscles. She hadn’t had a work out like that since back when Spike and she would train together. He always gave her a good work out but wouldn’t leave her so bruised and battered. She pulled out a pair of black pants to hide the bruises and chose a pair of sensible flat sandals in hopes to make it easier for her to walk without the limp. She chose a three quarter sleeve red shirt to cover most of the scratches on her arms but sighed when she saw the distinct marks on her neck. It was made when the vampire tried to bite down on her before she had knocked him away leaving two long gashes on her throat. She frowned knowing that would be harder to cover up.
She tossed the three quarter sleeve garment away and instead chose a long sleeve turtleneck hoping no one would ask why she was dressed in such a wintry outfit today. She walked back into the bathroom and pulled off her ruined clothes and laid the duster carefully aside sinking into the bath water. She smiled as the scent of vanilla surrounded her, relaxing her muscles and her worries. She closed her eyes and was determined not to feel anything. She did lean over and set her watch for 30 minutes allowing herself 15 minutes to get dressed and ready before Troy would show up for her. With that done, she closed her eyes drifting off to a peaceful nap while the waters refreshed her, reminding her of how good it was to be human.
Buffy had just finished with some simple makeup when the doorbell rang. She walked carefully to it determined not to injure the leg anymore than she had already. She had carefully put foundation over the scrapes on her arms and neck thankful she had gotten the makeup. She had changed from a pair of jeans to a long black skirt that didn’t touch the barely closed gash on her leg since just the touch of the jeans caused her pain. This made it so that she was able to walk without much hint she was injured. She looked pretty good for a girl who was beaten to a pulp the night before if she did say so herself.
Troy smiled at her, “I was asked to see if you were hungry and if so, I was told to make sure you were fed before I took you to Angel. Are you hungry my lady?” She nodded realizing her stomach was definitely telling her she was hungry as she tenderly walked next to Troy. He noticed her careful walk and questioned, “Are you hurt? Did something happen to you?” Buffy frowned, “I was hoping no one would notice.” Troy simply offered her his arm as she entered the limo carefully as he whispered close, “I grew up with brothers who loved to fight. That’s the only reason I noticed. You carry yourself well for being injured my lady.” She smiled, “Thank you.”
As he closed the door Buffy lifted her skirt frowning. She was tempted to ask for a stop for some bandages but didn’t want to make it obvious she was hurt. She decided she would just brave it out. She had been hurt much worse in the past and had managed to hide it from her mom and sister. She would usually wrap her wounds but this time would just have to be an exception. She felt the limo stop and carefully exited and looked around. It was again morning and she was standing outside the weird tall building known was Wolfram and Hart. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as they entered the double doors. Again she was overwhelmed with vampire tingles that were beginning to drive her crazy. She had gotten used to Angel’s tingles and then to Spike’s even going so far as to call them comforting but the ones that covered her entire body instead of just her neck were definitely not comforting and in fact were nerve racking. She squeezed her hands together as the elevator dinged and she was led out into a cafeteria. Troy smiled as he stated, “Push 1 on the elevator when you are finished eating and Angel will see you then. I must take leave because I have another appointment in an hour. Take care my lady.” He bowed and left Buffy alone in the busy cafeteria.
She glanced around the room lost as she walked up to the counter. She quickly managed to grab a black tray and glanced at the food. She didn’t recognize a lot of it figuring it was demon food. She was then tapped on the shoulder to turn around to see Wesley standing in front of her. She gasped, “Wesley Wyndam-Price?” He nodded, “Buffy, good to see you up and about. I’ve heard stuff about you but haven’t seen you in years. You’re looking good for someone who had died two years ago.” Buffy smiled and couldn’t stop her slight giggle, “I sometimes forget I died although usually I just wish it stuck. You work with Angel still?” Wesley nodded, “Yes. I’m part of the whole ancient prophecy department here at Wolfram and Hart.” Buffy smiled, “Well at least you have something to do.” Wesley glanced down at her empty tray, “Um Buffy not to tell you what to eat but you are in the demon section of the cafeteria. You might want to try the human section over there.” He pointed towards a buffet that looked normal enough. She followed him as he collected a black tray and started to pile up his plate with eggs, bacon and toast. He turned to her noticing she was doing the same, “Usually I just have coffee but I want to eat with you if you don’t mind. This place can be overwhelming.”
Buffy nodded thankful for the friendly face and didn’t even protest as he pointed to her tray including her on his bill and watched as his card was swiped. He then turned towards Buffy walking to an empty table, “We don’t actually pay for our food here. We get a swipe card that takes care of all that. So I just managed to save you money because they would have charged you with you being the slayer and all. I can’t imagine them giving you free food. So Buffy, what happened that you are limping?”
Buffy frowned, “I got hurt last night patrolling a cemetery.” Wesley blinked looking surprised, “You patrolled here in L.A. last night?” Buffy nodded as she bit into the eggs finding them surprisingly good, “Yup. I needed some violence and boy did I get some. 21 vampires at least with 9 demons that are now dead thanks to me. I have never seen since action like that in a 3-hour period. I’m sure there was more because I had barely gotten into the cemetery when I found all those.” Wesley frowned, “We are busy in this place and don’t have time to go out and patrol really, therefore, I’m sure the population has gotten rather large.”
Buffy nodded chewing on her toast, “So what do you guys do exactly here?” Wesley grinned, “I’m in charge of the research and I also do the translating of different languages. We work with demon clients and we have to keep them happy pretty much. So my job is to research and learn how to relate to them in order to make the best arrangements for them.” Buffy chewed on her bacon pieces thoughtfully then asked, “What do the others of Angel’s group do?” Wesley smiled finishing up chewing his last piece of toast, “Well let’s see, Gunn is an actual lawyer. He had his mind implanted with tons of law information and represents our clients so he has kept busy with law cases. As I said I’m research. Angel is in charge of the whole place and what goes on. There isn’t much that he isn’t aware of. Lorne is the entertainment department. He runs a club where everyone has to sing for him.” Buffy blinked, “Sing for him?” Wesley nodded as he drank his juice, “Yes. He is an empathetic demon. This means when someone sings in front of him, he can see where they are headed and what their intentions are. If someone is really evil, he can pick them out and we can deal with them accordingly. It’s extremely useful.” Buffy could agree that it would be useful, “What about Cordelia?” Wesley frowned, “Cordelia died about two months ago. She was in a coma for a while and just couldn’t hold on anymore. Angel was crushed. He really loved the girl you know.”
Buffy didn’t know but she didn’t say so. She barely knew anything about Angel’s life other than what Dawn heard occasionally. Wesley finished up his plate and pushed it away inquiring, “So how are Dawn and the others?” Buffy pushed her tray away as well leaving some food on it but feeling full, “Dawn is great. She’s a straight A student looking into colleges and trying to make a decision as to where her life would take her. She is great with languages and wants to be watcher, which is now known as an assistant. I think you and she would get along well. Willow is doing great as well. She has been able to learn more languages as well and has been traveling the world picking up slayers who have freshly come into their powers. She’s a good witch now and powerful. Probably one of the most powerful on this earth which is scary but nice to have that kind of power on our side.” Wesley agreed so Buffy continued, “Xander is in a relationship with a girl. He was with an ex-vengeance demon, Anya, for a while but she died in the last battle and he has finally been able to move on in his life. He’s running the Slayer central in Scotland with her. He’s happy. Giles is running the new council in England where he trains assistants for slayers. He also is in charge of research and helping young slayers to find their way in the world.”