Seeing Red
by TheBear
Chapter 4
[reviews]
Part 4
========== BtVS ==========
Willow woke up feeling refreshed, even though she'd only slept about five hours. Xander had come by the hospital just after midnight to tell her she could go home. After, of course, she'd soaked him with holy water. "It's really his own fault!" she thought, still chuckling at the sight of her other best friend standing in the doorway, poised to say something, with water dripping all down the front of him, his hair and face soaked. "He shoulda knocked!" she snickered. "Oh! Plus, he owes me for scaring me half to death!" she thought, not snickering quite so much.
She'd been in a halfway state between wake and sleep, plus she was focused on her thoughts of Buffy- just getting in to a rather romantic fantasy when the door swung open and a figure walked in. She immediately snatched up her supersoaker and let fly with a stream of holy water, arcing it up and down, seeking maximum saturation in hopes of driving the vampire away, rather than just making him cranky. By the time she realized Xander, not Angelus, was standing there, she had already half-emptied the squirt gun.
The dirty look Xander gave her only added to the humor of the situation, and Willow had to fight to stifle her laughter.
He'd told her that Angelus was dust and she felt a wave of relief that was almost palpable. Sure, there was still Spike and Drucilla to contend with, but they didn't have the same kind of personal vendetta against Buffy that Angelus did. She'd leaned over and kissed her sleeping girlfriend's hot forehead and left with Xander.
Xander had been kinda quiet on the way home. She'd made a few efforts to start a conversation, but his responses were all short. When she asked what was wrong, he just gave her his sad smile- the one that meant he was trying to work through some issues.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she'd asked.
"Nah, it's nothing big, I just need to think about some stuff. It's no big- promise," he'd responded.
She looked at him seeking any sign of deception or deeper emotion. Not finding any, she turned back to walking, saying, "Ok. But you know if you need..."
Xander's smile turned more genuine as he interjected, "Yeah, Will. I know. Thanks."
When she got home, she'd been too keyed up to go right to sleep and decided to do Buffy's homework for her as a 'get well soon' present.
Now she needed to get herself ready and over to Giles, as he was taking them all back to the hospital to visit.
As she showered, she tried not to think too much of how they would celebrate once Buffy had gotten well- she didn't want to be late to Giles.
========== BtVS ==========
Xander made sure he arrived early to Giles house. He thought the watcher might still be passed out on the couch- and he didn't want Willow or Cordelia to find any evidence of what happened here last night. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to the watcher about it, if anything. He'd just wait and see how Giles handled it.
If he brought it up, though, Xander was going to suggest that perhaps they not tell the girls exactly what happened.
When he arrived, Giles was already up and having a cup of tea out on the front patio, reading the paper.
"Good morning Xander," Giles said with a quite chipper voice.
Xander looked surprised, and said, "G-man... you seem strangely... 'up' this morning."
Giles smiled, and completely ignoring the abuse of his name, said, "Yes, well, a good night's rest and all..." he trailed off as he drank his tea, his smile firmly fixed on his face.
Xander waited a moment for him to elaborate. When nothing more seemed forthcoming, he asked, "So, did the plan work? Did Angelus show?"
Giles smile, if anything, got even wider. "Yes. Willow's plan worked quite nicely," he said.
Xander again waited in vain for more information. "Giles! Spill, is he vacuum food or what?"
Xander didn't think his eyes could bug out any further, but then Giles giggled. Giggled! Giles!
Giles snickered and repeated Xander's euphemism, "Vacuum food, that's funny! Yes, Angelus is now 'vacuum food." He looked at Xander, ignoring his slack jaw and wide eyes, "That's quite clever."
Xander was getting wigged. Maybe even more so than last night. "So... torture turns the Watcher into a giggling school-girl!" he thought with some concern.
"It was all rather anti-climactic, I'm afraid," Giles said, his humor dissipating as he explained. "He came into the parking lot on his way to the hospital, I waited until he passed and shot him in the back."
Xander was strangely reassured that Giles was still such a poor liar. It made him seem less psychopathic, somehow. "So, you dusted him in the parking lot at the hospital." Xander said, more of a statement than a question, but Giles answered anyway.
"Y- yes that's r- right," he stuttered.
Xander decided this conversation could wait indefinitely. "Too bad. I wanted him to suffer first," he said, giving his tacit approval for Giles actions. He went on to say, "Hey, the girls aren't due for a few- I'm going to run over to the flower shop and get something..."
Giles watched in silence as the young man walked briskly away. He did feel somewhat guilty about not telling the group exactly how Angelus met his end, but he thought it better in the long run. It might make for difficult working conditions if they knew exactly how ruthless he was capable of being.
He was feeling exceptionally fine this morning. He had worked out his rage on the vampire, and his heartbreak afterward. "All in all, it was quite the cathartic experience.
His pain before last night was like an open wound- still bleeding with every breath he took. While he would always miss Jenny Calander, now at least the wound was closed, and could begin to heal.
Giles quietly hummed the refrain from Beethoven's 9th symphony as he went back to his tea and paper, waiting for the others to arrive.
========== BtVS ==========
Buffy Summers woke with a start, momentarily forgetting where she was, and not recognizing the room she was in. A middle aged black woman walked into the room and Buffy thought she remembered her from last night. Things were still a little hazy, but she realized she was in a hospital room- one of her least favorite places to be.
Dr. Wilkinson smiled at the blonde and said a cheery, "Good morning."
Buffy moaned lightly and sat up stiffly, rubbing the crusties from her eyes. She said, "Could've fooled me."
The doctor asked, "How are you feeling? Looks like your fever's gone down."
Buffy, in a sudden burst of energy tried to get out of the bed, saying, "Well, good! Thanks for having me. Let's try and keep in touch."
The doc pushed her back down. "Not so fast," she said while inspecting Buffy's bandaged arm. "Hmm..."
Buffy looked at her warily, asking, "Good 'hmm' or bad 'hmm'?"
The doctor furrowed her brow, muttering, "Swelling's... gone!" She looked up with surprise at the slayer and asked, "Does this hurt?" giving Buffy's arm a gentle squeeze
Buffy answered, "Nope."
Wilkinson muttered, "Amazing," as she picked up Buffy's chart.
Buffy again tried to get out of bed, saying, "Well, then I should probably go, right?"
The doc stopped her again, "No. Soon." She explained, "We have to make sure that fever is gone. That's a strong virus you have. Maybe not as strong as you, but..."
Buffy, struck by a sudden thought asked, "I-is that the same virus the kids have?"
The doctor was saved from answering by a knock at the door, followed by Giles sticking his head in and asking, "May we come in?"
The doctor said, "Please!" and gestured for them to all come in. "Maybe you can keep our patient from bolting," she said plaintively. She turned to Buffy and sternly said commanded "Rest! Hmm?" as she left the room.
Xander quickly presented the bed-ridden slayer with five balloons, saying, "Flowers for milady."
Buffy looked up at them and said, "I think they call those balloons."
Xander joked, "Yeah, stick 'em in water, maybe they'll grow."
Willow grinned and said, "Not to be outdone..." as she set school books on the bed.
Buffy raised her eyebrows and said, "Homework!" in an obviously false-cheerful voice. She looked up into the eyes of her love and added in a very whiny voice, "I thought you loved me, Will."
Willow, smile firmly in place, said, "It's my way of saying, 'get well soon'"
Buffy responded, "You know, chocolate says that even better."
Willow added, "I did all your assignments. All you have to do is sign your name." Her smile turned seductive as she lowered her voice and said, "This way, when you get better, you'll have time for more... 'enjoyable' stuff..."
Buffy's voice was slightly breathless as she said, "Chocolate means *nothing* to me!"
Willow gave Buffy her 'delighted' grin- the one showing all her teeth, and just the tip of her pink tongue between the front teeth. After a moment she stepped back and glanced at Cordelia.
Cordelia said, "Nobody told me I was supposed to bring a gift." She shot a look at Xander and Giles, adding, "I was out of the loop on gifts."
Giles mumbled, "It's, it's tradition among, um... people. Um..." He tentatively walked over to the bed and set down the bag he had been munching from. "Grapes," he stated. "Well, did you, uh, pass the night well enough?" he asked.
At that moment nurse came into the room and walked around the bed.
Buffy started to respond, "Not really. Something happened I thought you..." she trailed off as the nurse checked her IV.
Buffy said, "You know what? Let's take a walk."
========== BtVS ==========
Willow was pushing Buffy along in a wheelchair while the others walked alongside.
Buffy was curled up in the chair under a blanket. "Now, this part I could get used to," she said with a sigh.
Willow bent down and whispered in Buffy's ear, "You look adorable, all curled up like that."
Seeing Buffy's blush Giles tried to move the conversation back to the matter at hand, "We were discussing, um, stuff?"
Buffy said, "Yes, stuff. Um, you know, a girl died here last night."
Willow asked, "How?"
Buffy said, "Well, the flu."
Xander quipped, "The Flu doesn't exactly sound monsterrific."
Buffy said, "I know. But there's this Dr. Backer, and he's been giving them these experimental treatments."
The mini-caravan of people stopped near a bench and Giles sat down.
Buffy continued, "I-I'm not sure what he's up to, but he's a little creepy. A-and then there was this kid, Ryan. He said he saw something."
Giles frowned slightly and asked, "Saw what?"
Buffy said simply, "Death."
Cordelia interjected "Death!?"
Willow had one hand stroking the slayer's hair. She suddenly stopped and asked, "*The* Death? As in, 'it is your time'?"
Giles stammered, "Buffy, a-a-a frightened child..."
Buffy, knowing the whole thing sounded kinda fishy said, "Yeah, but I thought I saw something. I'm not sure, I was really out of it, but..."
Cordelia was still fixated on the whole 'death' issue. "But you do know that you saw death," She interrupted.
Willow was picturing the scene in her head. "Did it have a scythe?"
Xander, ever the punster, asked, "Ooo, if he asks you to play chess, don't even do it. The guy's, like, a whiz."
Buffy gave Xander a low-grade glare and turned back to Giles, "Maybe it wasn't death. Maybe it was something else."
Cordelia, always sensitive to the feelings of others, asked, "So this isn't about you being afraid of hospitals 'cause your cousin died and you wanna conjure up a monster that you can fight so you can save everybody and not feel so helpless?"
Everyone stared at the cheerleader in shock and horror for a moment. Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Cordelia, have you actually ever heard of tact?"
Cordelia, immune to the looks of disapproval, said, "Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass."
Willow rubbed her hand gently on the slayer's shoulder and said, with empathy, "Your mom did tell us about your cousin..."
Cordelia sat down in a huff next to Giles.
Buffy said, "This has nothing to do with that. This little boy Ryan is afraid of something, something real. As long as I'm forced to stay here, I'm gonna find out what."
Xander, jumping on the chance to be helpful, said, "So, is this the part where we say, 'what can we do to help?'"
Buffy said, "well, we need to see that little girl's file?"
Xander, now a man with a mission, said, "Consider it done!"
Cordelia stood up and crossed her arms, giving Xander a look.
Xander, seeing his girlfriend's glare, amended, "Uh, we'll do it tonight, after we spend the day shopping... right, Cordy?"
Cordelia grabbed his arm and began to pull him away, "Oh you'd better believe we're spending the day shopping..."
Xander Half turned to the others as he began walking away and gave an apologetic grin and wave, saying, "Uh, we'll bring it by your place tonight, G-man!"
========== BtVS ==========
Xander stood in the hallway around the corner from the records room of the hospital, waiting for Cordelia to escape the evil clutches of the security guard who had interrupted their records search. He snickered a little at the way she had him wrapped around her finger in less than two seconds.
His grin turned to a frown as he recalled her touching the bald-headed rent-a-cop. He wasn't exactly jealous of some random security officer- but he definitely felt a twinge of anger when he saw her hands on him, even as he acknowledged that she was saving his hide.
Unfortunately he was replaying that exact scene in his head as she walked around the corner and let out a surprised gasp when she run into him there. "Could you make just a little more with the touchy-gropey?" he said in a not-pleasant voice
Cordelia merely smiled and arched one perfect eyebrow. "Jealous?" she asked, her voice dripping with honey.
"Of Rogaine boy?" Xander laughed. "I don't think so."
Cordelia snipped, "And why are we here again? Oh, right. Your obsession with helping Buffy. Have I told you how attractive that's not?"
Xander said, "Cordelia, someone's gotta watch her back."
Cordelia archly said, "Yeah, well, I've seen you watch her back."
As the clue flew just out of reach over Xander's head, he asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Cordelia gave him one of her patented 'what are you, and idiot?' looks and said, "Well, I was using the phrase 'watch her back' as a euphemism for 'looking at her ass.' You know, sort of a pun."
Xander said, "Oh! Right." Just then the clue descended, stricking him upside the head and he snapped, "Hey!"
Cordelia said "Well, you do." There was just the most minuscule little bit of hurt in her voice as she said it.
Xander almost quipped back "Jealous?" but at the last possible moment, his brain processed the emotional component of her last statement. "I... Oh..." he trailed off.
Cordelia stood there in silence, awaiting the inevitable comeback, mentally preparing for another round of argument.
Xander stepped close to Cordelia, putting one arm around her- his hand low on her back, just above her own ass. He looked right into her suddenly confused eyes, and said, "I don't know if it's any consolation... but I like 'watching your back' even more."
Cordelia looked up into his eyes and read sincerity, and a little lust. And, maybe, just maybe she saw a burgeoning love there. Maybe it was a reflection of her own, as she had been finding herself sliding inexorably closer to that state herself. She smirked up at him and pushed him away, snapping, "Well, let me clear it up for you... It isn't." She then walked away from him down the hall toward the elevators.
Xander had seen the twinkle in her eye, and the grin at the corners of her mouth. Now she was walking away from him with an ever so slightly exaggerated sway to her step. He recognized it right off- he had, after all, been completely honest when he had told her that. She had a great ass, and he spent much time watching it.
Xander hastened after her, not wanting to miss out on the elevator smoochies that were about to happen. "Almost as good as a supply closet!" he thought as he jogged down the hall.
========== BtVS ==========
As Cordy drove them to the library, Xander watched his raven-haired girlfriend. She was still slightly flushed from their impromptu make-out session in the elevator. Fortunately, it was late enough that no-one else got on while they were busy. Unfortunately, the ride was all too brief. Xander used the folder he was carrying to hide the erection he was sporting.
Cordelia had smirked at him as he hid the evidence of his arousal. That was nothing new, she always did that. What was new was that she licked her lips as she looked down at it.
He didn't know if she did it deliberately, or not- but he went from about eighty percent erect to one-hundred and ten percent- 'Yes Sir, Ready for Action, Sir!' in a heartbeat. It took him the entire walk to the car thinking about Giles and Angel making out to get the hard-on to subside.
Xander was enjoying the time he spent with Cordelia more and more these days. Even their 'bataan death march' shopping trip today was better than he had feared. He still wasn't an eager shopper, but... watching Cordelia try on clothes, making fun of clothes that wouldn't look good on anyone- and of course making fun of the people who bought and wore such clothes anyway- as well as just talking... it had been nice.
He'd even let her pick out a couple of outfits for him, stuff he wouldn't normally have chosen, but seeing the look on her face when he wore them for her, well there was something about watching Cordy lick her lips...
One thing that amazed him was that- away from their friends, and especially away from her friends, Cordy wasn't quite so aggressively shallow. Occasionally the subject went from clothes, fashions, and entertainment; to life stuff. They talked about Buffy and Willow's new relationship, about Giles and Ms. Calendar, about Angelus and Ms. Calendar, about Buffy and Angel... just the stuff in their lives. And, the cheerleader had actually showed some compassion- especially for Giles and his loss.
Of course, they traded barbs like always, but there was none of the serious ones- just the fun and playful- foreplayful- ones.
After Cordelia noticed Xander was staring at her, she shot him a glance and asked "What!? Is there something on my face? Is my hair messed up?" She began to try and check herself out in the rearview mirror.
Xander laid his hand on her thigh, stilling her frantic movements. "Nothing's wrong, Cordy," he tried to assure her.
Cordelia gave him a glare for scaring her like that. "What's your problem then?" she snapped.
Normally Xander would have been unable to resist such an attack and would have snapped back. Tonight, however, for some reason he was in a very laid-back, and strangely honest, mood. "When's the last time I told you how beautiful you are?" Even as he asked, he knew he'd never actually told her; not in so many words, anyway.
Cordelia stared at him for a second, as if trying to gauge his sincerity. "Xander... I..."
Xander interrupted, pointing at the turn into the school parking lot. "We're here Cordy," he said.
Cordelia just barely made the turn. When she stopped the car and put it in park she was flustered and confused. Xander had never spoken like this to her, and she didn't know what to think.
Xander grinned slightly at having reduced his girlfriend to stunned silence. A state she rarely inhabited. He waited until she looked back at him, and said, "Lets take this in to Giles and Willow, and then find someplace quiet."
His last words as they exited the car both excited and frightened her.
"We need to talk..."
========== BtVS ==========