Chapter 16
Angel knew something was wrong the second he left the club. He got all the way to his apartment, then turned around to go back to the Bronze. He had a gut feeling, and that was usually something he couldn’t ignore.
Of course the place was locked up once he got there, but a groan in the alley had him changing direction, gasping at the sight before him. A young girl was lying by the dumpster, naked and shivering, bruises and cuts covering her body. As he got closer, the girl started to become recognizable, but he was still hoping it wasn’t her.
“God, Buffy,” he whispered, running to her side and turning her over to see the same treatment on her lovely face. “It’s okay; you’re gonna be fine.” Angel wasn’t even sure she heard him as he placed his coat around her, picking her up and carrying her over to his car, immediately heading to the nearest hospital.
* * * * *
Spike burst through the hospital doors, quickly finding Angel in the waiting room.
“What happened? Is she all right?”
Angel shook his head. “They’re still running some tests, I don’t know much yet.”
Spike ran his fingers through his hair, a panicked expression on his face. “What the fuck happened tonight? All I know is that Buffy was supposed to be home hours ago, and then I get your phone call. I’m going out of my bloody mind here.”
“I left the Bronze before she did; I thought she was right behind me. I don’t know what happened. I just knew that something didn’t feel right, so I went back and found her in the alley behind the club, naked, and badly beaten.”
Spike sat down, not believing any of this was happening. “Are you telling me someone raped her?” he asked, a low tone to his voice.
Angel sat beside him. “That’s what it looked like. I’m sorry, man. I should have gotten there sooner. I never wanted this to happen, not to her. She’s a great girl.”
“Who could have done this?”
Angel gave it some thought, cursing himself for his stupidity when he realized who it had been. “Fuck, I should have never left her alone with him.”
Spike raised his eyebrows. “What are you on about?”
“Ben, he was the last one with her. I’ve known him for a few years now, but there was always something I didn’t trust about him. I never thought he could actually be capable of this, but I guess we won’t know what really happened until Buffy wakes up.”
Spike nodded, clenching his fists at his side. If this Ben wanker really was responsible for what happened to Buffy, Spike would make him regret it in a very painful way.
They rose when the doctor finally made his way over to them, Spike speaking up first.
“Is my girlfriend okay?”
Dr. Grant took a deep breath; this was always the worst part of his job. “We got her stabilized and she finally gained consciousness, but it looks like Buffy was drugged. We don’t believe it was anything too dangerous, just a simple pill to knock her out, and she wasn’t drinking alcohol at the time. There was some internal bleeding and semen found in her, which has all the signs of rape. I’m very sorry to say this, but we couldn’t save the baby. There was just too much damage.”
Spike’s eyes widened, wishing he was still sitting down. “She was pregnant?”
“I’m sorry, I thought you knew. Buffy looked to be about eight weeks along. She’s awake right now if you would like to see her, but I’m afraid she hasn’t said much.”
Angel nodded, seeing the state of shock that Spike was in. “We would like that. Thank you, Doctor.”
He nodded as well and walked away.
Angel turned back to Spike. “You should go ahead in, I’ll wait out here. I know we’ve had our differences, but I’m really sorry about this.”
Spike headed to her room in a daze, taking a deep breath before entering. He felt his eyes tear up at the sight of her. His beautiful girl was laying there, tubes sticking out of her, the machines beeping at her side. He moved closer and saw that one of her eyes was swollen shut, her delicate skin now marred with bruises. Spike sat down in the chair by her bed, taking her hand in his. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he started, wiping his eyes from the tears that were now there.
Buffy squeezed his hand as much as she could.
“Who did this to you? Was it your boss? I’ll fucking kill him.”
She felt tears in her eyes as well, but it was too painful to cry. “I don’t remember,” was her quiet response.
Spike found that hard to believe, but she obviously wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, and he had to respect that. He just sat with her in silence, neither knowing what to say after that.
* * * * *
Buffy was released from the hospital a week later, her face was healing better, but some scars would take a lot longer.
Spike hated how quiet she was being. He visited her every day, and she hardly said anything to him. She wouldn’t talk about what happened at all, and he was really starting to get worried. His girl used to be so vibrant and full of life, but some bastard took that away from her, and he was very determined to bring it back, one way or another.
But first they had to discuss something else. Much as he dreaded it, the subject had to be brought up sooner or later. He couldn’t avoid it forever, and neither could she. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were pregnant?”
Buffy turned her gaze away from his, speaking a few seconds later. “I tried, but you wanted it to be a joke, so I pretended it was. It doesn’t matter now, you got your wish. I’m not pregnant anymore, which is just what you wanted. I guess this is a true sign that I’m not meant to have kids, not that you wanted another one, anyway. Aren’t you just thrilled?”
Spike was stunned by her harsh words. He understood that she was hurting, but that didn’t make it right. “You think this is what I wanted? You think I could possibly be thrilled right now? If you were pregnant, I would have been bloody happy about it, whether I wanted kids or not. This was never what I fucking wanted! You think I can stand the idea of you being raped, and losing our child? You think this doesn’t bloody kill me? Just the thought of what happened to you, it eats me up inside. You have to talk to me, Buffy. You can’t shut me out, not now; we need each other more than ever. Please, you have to tell me who did this to you,” he practically pleaded, grasping her hand in his.
Buffy pulled away from him, more tears streaming down her face and she was so sick of it, of this. “I told you already, I don’t remember. I’m going to bed.”
Spike watched her leave with a heavy heart. A door slammed upstairs, and he immediately knew that it was Dawn’s, which meant she didn’t want to be around him tonight. He didn’t know what else to do, instead deciding to give her the space she obviously needed as he headed up to their room alone, closing the door softly behind him.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Things are going to get worse before they get better, but nothing too graphic will be shown. Thanks to those who have stuck with me through this one=)