Chapter 6
A scream tore Spike from the hazy nightmare of his sleep and back to the reality of Buffy’s living one.
The cop in him took over as he rolled off his bed and ran to the living room without stopping to put on clothes. His eyes scanned the room quickly for intruders then another moan ripped through the air. It was Buffy and now there was no longer any time to think, only react. She was half running, half crawling toward the bathroom and he reached out to her to see where she was hurt. She pulled away from him and he watched in sickening horror as she fell. Her head hit the edge of the bathroom counter before she fell to the floor with a thud.
Spike turned the light on as he tried to assess what was wrong. Buffy struggled to her hands and knees while the moans turned to retching. He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her over the edge of the bathtub just in time. He watched helplessly as blood ran from an apparent head wound to mix with the vomit she was expelling. He adjusted himself so that he was balancing her with one arm while he tried to keep her braid out of the way. The horrible sound she was making was now crying and he sat them on the floor with her cradled between his legs. Reaching up he tried to grab a towel but Buffy struggled to get away from him.
“Buffy, I’m right here,” Spike said. “Shhh, what happened? Talk to me…please.”
“Baby…my baby…,” Buffy cried. “I was going to have a baby.”
“Oh, my god, you didn’t know?”
“No…no…its dead.”
Her words were like slicing open the river of her pain and she screamed in a never ending eulogy for the baby she had never known existed. Spike was helpless as he held onto her. How could they not tell her? Any kind of visit to a physician would require revealing a prior pregnancy. Did they think she’d never know or that it would never come back to haunt them?
For a brief moment his mind went back to the testimony by the ER doctor and her psychiatrist and what had been revealed. Buffy had been impregnated during her captivity. Due to her mental state the doctors felt it would cause her irreparable psychological harm to carry the child to term. Her parents signed the form, a judge approved it and the pregnancy had been terminated. And apparently all of it happened without Buffy’s awareness of it.
Now, Spike was the one left to deal with the devastating aftermath.
Forcing himself to return to the matter of the screeching woman in his arms, he held her a little tighter. The screams were reaching a crescendo that battled with the sobs that were shaking her body.
“I’m sorry…sorry…Buffy, I’m right here,” Spike whispered a litany of meaningless words to let her know that he was there and that he wasn’t leaving her. Her pain was too deep. Too much had happened and been revealed to her in too short of a time. She was overloading. In horror he saw her try to dig her fingernails into the flesh of one arm. He grabbed her wrists, wrenching them apart before she could do much damage. She fought him, trying to bite him or head butt him in an effort to get loose. He couldn’t let her go though and he desperately tried to contain her. He had no other choice.
The sound of banging on the door sent fear through him. He swore beneath his breath. They didn’t need interference. He didn’t want to lose control of the rapidly deteriorating girl in his arms. He couldn’t face the thought that this time he might not be able to save her.
“Nagle, it’s Kate, open up.”
Officer Kate Lockley. A friend, acquaintance, somewhere in between, she and her partner, Officer Dan Jacobs, patrolled the area Spike lived in. Someone had to have called in a domestic disturbance because of Buffy’s screaming. He couldn’t answer, he couldn’t move so he waited while he held onto his charge. A few more bangs then the sound of the door being kicked in. Spike looked up to see his friends pointing their guns at them.
“Let her go, Nagle,” Kate said.
“I can’t, Kate,” Spike said. His mind rapidly moved through what might help and he clutched onto the one person he knew that possibly could see them through this. “Call Cordy. Tell her it’s an emergency. Please.”
“Spike…”
“Do it, damn it…I’m losing her,” Spike whispered hoarsely. Tears slipped silently down his face.
Kate nodded and turned toward his phone. Dan started to lower his gun.
“Keep your gun on him,” Kate ordered. “We don’t know shit…even good cops go bad.”
It was okay. Spike wasn’t angry about it. They didn’t know. There was blood all over both of them. Buffy was struggling. He was naked. It had to look like a bad fight between lovers in which someone had crossed the line and gotten physical.
“She’s on her way,” Kate said, returning to the bathroom door, “So, are the paramedics. I still need you to let go of her. Okay.”
Spike laughed. She was using the calm voice. He shook his head even as Buffy suddenly stilled in his arms. The strangers holding guns on them had penetrated her hysteria and so had the fact that they wanted to separate the two of them. She turned in his arms, wrenching free of his grasp to wrap her arms around him. Her face was buried in his neck. Her breathing was becoming erratic.
“Don’t,” Spike whispered, running his hands over her body. “It’s going to be okay. Keep breathing, pet.”
“I’ll be good,” Buffy hiccupped. “I can’t…can’t…go back. Don’t let them take me away, Spike, please.”
“It’s not you they want to take away, lamb, it’s me,” Spike said, kissing the top of her head. “They think I hurt you.”
“Leave us alone,” Buffy said, shaking her head. “He didn’t.”
For the first time in his career Spike asked a favor from cop to cop. “Kate, call Captain Roberts. Tell him it’s Buffy…see if…”
“If he’ll let it go?”
“Yeah,” Spike said, cuddling Buffy closer. He hated cops who used their influence to bend the law to their whims. You played by the rules or what was the use of having a badge?
Kate moved away to the phone. She turned away so that he could only hear mumbled words. He prayed that for once someone would hear him. Not for his sake but for Buffy’s.
“Sorry,” Kate said. “He said go by the book. He’ll meet us at the station.”
Damn it.
Two paramedics hurried into the apartment and Kate quickly apprised them of the situation. Everyone was in a holding pattern until Cordelia arrived. Buffy was the center of attention. She knew it and it was only making it worse. The terror was radiating off her in waves. Spike could only hold onto her and try to let her know by touch that he’d find a way to make it all right.
“Will, this had better be fucking important,” Cordelia’s strident voice echoed when she entered the apartment.
Spike looked up to see Kate pointing into the bathroom and then Cordy was there. For the first time in what seemed forever he felt hope. His cousin’s wife dropped her purse, fell to her knees and crawled into the bathroom. Buffy jumped, tightening her grasp on Spike at the invasion.
~~~~~~~~
“I take it you’re Buffy,” Cordy said, sitting down just inside the doorway. There was no response. “Will’s told me a lot about you. Has he mentioned me at all?”
Buffy nodded.
“Yeah, good. It’s good to know that he cares enough to talk about us, huh?”
Cordy took the moment as she waited for a reply to assess the situation. The girl in Will’s arms was shaking. Fright? Shock? Concussion? Possibly all three? Will didn’t look much better and it tore at her heart. She knew that having Buffy back in his life would only rip it apart. She’d told him to stay away from Buffy but it hadn’t worked. Now he needed her help and no matter what her personal feelings were. She’d give it.
“Has he told you what I do…for a living?”
A small shake of the blonde’s head.
“I’m a counselor and a victim’s advocate. I work mostly with women who have been a victim of a violent crime.”
“I’m fine.”
“Doesn’t look that way to me. As a matter of fact neither of you do.”
Buffy lifted her head to look at Will. Her fingertips traced the tear tracks down his cheeks which only made her cry again. It was clear that she cared about him and something gave way in Cordelia’s heart. Will had been her baby since she first met him at his father’s funeral when he was thirteen. Anyone that looked at him with that kind of adoration already had big plus points going for them.
“I’m sorry…messed everything up,” Buffy whispered.
“Not you…not you,” Spike said, kissing the tip of her nose.
They gave the touches of two people who had been intimate. It shook Cordy to the core as she realized that Will was in way over his head.
“Buffy,” she called softly. “We need to get this all straightened out but we need you to let go of him.”
“He didn’t do anything.”
Good. She was gearing up to fight and that’s right where Cordelia wanted her.
“I know that and you know that but we need to convince them of that,” Cordy said jerking her head back to indicate the others that were still hovering. “So, let’s get you out of here so the paramedics can see what’s wr…can look over your injury and Will can talk to Kate.” She held her hand out and waited.
Buffy looked at her then up at Spike.
“Go on, kitten,” Spike said, gently pushing her away. “There isn’t anything I don’t trust Cordelia with.”
It was enough and Buffy grasped her hand. Standing she helped Buffy to her feet and with an arm around the smaller woman’s waist she helped her from the bathroom. Knowing that what was coming could be traumatizing Cordelia directed Buffy into the bedroom where she wouldn’t see.
“Spike, I hate to do this,” Kate’s voice floated to them. “But you have the right to remain silent…”
“He didn’t hurt me,” Buffy said, trying to stand. “Why won’t they go away?”
“Stay here,” Cordelia said, motioning for the paramedic to come in. “Let them look you over. I’ll check on Will for you.”
“He needs clothes,” Buffy said, sitting back down and letting the paramedic approach her. “T-shirts in the third drawer of the dresser and jeans are in the bottom.”
Cordelia nodded as she got his clothes. They had been more than intimate in the two days Buffy had been here. They had settled in like old married folks and she felt a flash of anger toward Will. He had fought so long to build a life for himself and he was willingly handing it over to this teenager so she could destroy it. Buffy might care about him and wouldn’t intentionally hurt him but inevitably she would. There didn’t seem to be any other realistic ending to this relationship.
She made her way back into the living room and her heart ached at seeing Will standing there nude while Kate asked him questions. She handed him the clothes along with a wet cloth and he didn’t even leave. He wiped as much of the blood off as he could and pulled the clothes on where he was. Once he was dressed he turned his back to Kate and put his hands behind him. Kate looked heartsick herself as she snapped the cuffs on her friend.
“Take care of her,” Spike asked, looking up at Cordelia. “She needs you, please.”
“I will,” Cordelia answered, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek. “Do you want me to call Lindsey?”
“Not yet,” he stopped and looked toward the bedroom for a moment then over to Kate. “Let’s get out of here.”
It had to be killing him to be taken away in handcuffs. Will had always tried to be the best cop he could be. Anything to take away the stigma of what his father had done in his betrayal of the badge. The rumors would run rampant through the station despite of what the truth really was.
Once the door closed behind them, Cordelia hurried back to the bedroom. The paramedics were tending to Buffy’s wound while she seemed to come in and out of reality. It left Cordelia concerned about her mental state and she leaned back against the dresser and waited.
“We’re going to take you to the hospital,” the one paramedic told Buffy. “It looks like you need several stitches and they will probably want to observe you for any side effects from the head trauma.”
In other words they wanted to have a psychological profile taken of Buffy. The hysteria and the scratches on her arm were a strong indication of a self-abusive personality that was easily identifiable to medical personnel. Cordelia figured that was going to happen so she wasn’t surprised by the suggestion. It seemed Buffy had an idea of what they meant also because suddenly the vacant look was gone.
“No, no hospital,” Buffy declared. “I’m fine. I need to make sure Spike is okay.”
“You need stitches,” the paramedic repeated. “It’s best you come with us.”
“I don’t have to go with them, do I?” Buffy asked, looking up at Cordelia. “I’ll go to the hospital after Spike is okay.”
It was the conviction that Buffy had toward making sure that Will was all right that swayed Cordelia. Personally her first priority was Will, too, so it didn’t take much convincing to agree with Buffy.
“No, you don’t have to,” Cordelia answered, and then turned to the paramedics. “You heard her guys.”
“It’s not a good idea,” the paramedic said. “But we can’t force her.”
Reluctantly they packed up their gear and made their leave. Buffy hurried to the bathroom to clean up as soon as they were gone. She was a little wobbly on her feet but was determined to go to the police station to check on Will. While Buffy was getting ready, Cordelia called her husband to have the apartment door fixed. When she hung up she turned with a smile to the small blonde hustling around getting dressed. She had already decided not to like Buffy but was finding it hard to dislike someone with her fortitude.
It didn’t take the girl long to get ready and it was only when the blonde hesitated at the door that Cordelia realized how much this was costing her emotionally. She slipped her arm around Buffy’s shoulder and after rooting around in her purse handed the girl a container of pepper spray. The relief on Buffy’s face told her that she’d been right.
“I’m trained in self-defense,” Cordelia said. “Trained by the best, Spike and Angel, and they’re tough teachers.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, Spike is a scrappy street fighter and Angel is more into the marital arts but they’re both relentless,” Cordelia said. “Maybe they can teach you a few things.”
Buffy nodded before opening the door herself. She glanced over at Cordelia with a look of determination and said, “Let’s go get, Spike.”
to be continued…
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Author's Chapter Notes:
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