Soul Blooded
by Wispr
Chapter 2
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Soul Blooded
Chapter 2
Buffy ran, her legs blurring under her as they devoured the distance between them and her goal. With each step, trails of fiery agony shot up from her bloodied and abused bare feet, which had suffered from the broken glass and other such debris that covered the streets and sidewalks of Sunnydell. The tail of her long bathrobe that she had hastily put on to cover her nakedness snapped behind her with the wind of her passing. Never in her life had she moved so fast, but she took no joy from the new experience. No the only emotions she felt now was desperation, terror, and soul wrenching guilt over what she had done.
Glancing down Buffy gazed upon the precious bundle she cradled in her arms, a blanket shrouding Willow.
Willow was barely alive, but alive nonetheless. Buffy couldn't help but to recall the circumstances that led to this tragedy, her capture, waking up as a soulless vampire, and then the events that lead to her regaining her soul while straddling a lifeless Willow.
Flashback...
"Willooowww!" the newly souled Buffy screamed as she gazed down at the body of her best friend that she had just drained.
"No, no, no, no..." she chanted to herself as her mind raced in a thousand directions at once, finally her eyes fell on the neck wound, and a plan blossomed in her mind.
Leaning to her left she open the drawer to Willows nightstand, reaching within she grabbed the small first aid kit that was kept there for treating minor cuts and bruises, that way they didn't need to drag out the huge first aid kit in Buffy's closet for the little stuff.
Dumping the contents on the bed beside Willow, she picked up a pressure bandage, and after tearing it open she preceded to tape it over the bite wound on Willow's neck. Buffy slid off the bed while removing the pillow from under Willow's head, she whimpered at the flaccidity that Willow's body was displaying. Taking the pillow, Buffy placed it under Willow's feet to raise her legs up in the hope that the blood that was left in her body would flow to where her heart was.
With the training from the CPR classes coming back to her, Buffy bent Willow's head back in the proper position while trying not to meet the stare of her unseeing eyes. She then pinched Willow's nose shut. Buffy bent down to start mouth to mouth, and when she took a deep breath, she froze. With a growl of frustration, Buffy remembered that though vampires could talk and smoke, they couldn't breath life back into a person. Buffy immediately moved to start chest compression, being careful not to crush Willow's ribs with hers newly enhanced strength.
About twenty compressions later, Buffy knew it wasn't working. Growing even more desperate then before, Buffy frantically searched her memory for another way to restart Willows heart. Then inspiration struck. With graceful movements that belied the desperation that Buffy was feeling, she grasped the flexible neck of the reading lamp Willow had clipped to the right side of her headboard to allow her read without the light bothering a sleeping Buffy. Tearing it off the headboard while ignoring the clamp on its base as it broke off, when she was through with it wasn't going to be working anyway, Buffy yanked the cord from the base of the lamp, and after dropping the remains of the lamp preceded to pull the two wires that made up the cord apart from the top down.
As she bent over Willow, Buffy whispered, "Sorry Wills", just before touching the exposed ends of the split lamp cord to Willows chest, one above and one below her right breast. Willows body arched under her hands has the current arced through her.
Cocking her head slightly Buffy listened for a heartbeat... nothing.
She applied the wires again; Willow's body convulsing again, and again... nothing.
Whimpering, Buffy shocked Willow a third time, again her body convulsing under the current, then...
Willows finger's sank into the bed sheets that she was lying on as her newly revived heart started to beat and she took huge gasping breaths as her lungs drew in large amount of oh so sweat air.
Simultaneously Buffy fell to knees on the floor, with her head thrown back and chest arching out her body mimicked Willows down to her hands clawing at the air at her sides, and incidentally pulling the now unneeded lamp cord from the wall socket.
Buffy could feel a wrenching, stretching sensation from the center of her body, and for a moment she swore that she felt the sweetest air passing her lips as her heart thundered in her chest. Then it was gone and so was the force holding her. She fell to the floor to lie twitching in a daze.
"Buffy?" a strain whisper floated to her ears.
In a flash Buffy found herself crouching by Willow's bed staring into the eyes of a very much alive Willow.
"Buffy" Willow drowsily whispered, "did I...?"
"Yes, yes you did Wills. I got my soul back thanks to you" A now crying Buffy replied.
"Good," A smiling Willow said as her eyes drifted shut, "but Buffy it wasn't yours, it was mine."
Buffy was stunned by the enormity of the gift and the sacrifice Willow was willing make for her.
As she gently caressed Willow's forehead, Buffy whispered to her friend, " I'll take care of you Wills, don't worry about a thing.
Cocking her head to the side Buffy listened to Willow's heartbeat, it was weak but steady. With a soft sign, Buffy stood up and reached across Willow's unconscious form to push the scattered first aid kit onto the floor, allowing her to cover Willow up with the bed sheets she was lying upon. She was going over the things she had to do, call 911, then call Giles, and then throw something on. Buffy had trepidations on the upcoming confrontation with Giles and the rest of the Scoobies, but first she had to get Willow to the hospital for some major blood transfusions.
Buffy wiped her mouth clean with the back of her hand, as she crosses to her side of the room, trying not to look at the blood that was removed. The exquisite taste of Willows blood still lingered on her tongue and even though she felt revolted by it, she could feel the demon inside of her was savoring the aftertaste.
As Buffy was reaching for the phone that rested on her own nightstand the lights went out.
The sudden silence was shocking to her, but the noise of the deadbolts closing up and down the hall with snick hit her like a bucket of ice water.
"The Initiative," With that thought adrenalin flooded her system and her game face flowed forth, with a snarl Buffy changed the direction of her hand from the phone to grab the bathrobe she had left lying on her bed. Spinning around Buffy quickly donned and tied the bathrobe around her waist as she hurried over to Willow's blanketed form.
She could hear the tread of booted feet trying to move stealthily out in the hall coming closer to the door. With as much speed that she could dare Buffy picked Willow up, then lightly jumped from the floor to the bed, and then up onto the large windowsill that ran the length of the room.
Recognizing Riley's voice as he urgently ordered his commandos into position outside the door, Buffy awkwardly, while cradling an unconscious Willow, unlatched one of the large windows, allowing her to push it the rest of the way open with her right foot, and without a backward glance she jump through the flimsy screen.
As she landed from the several stories dropped, Buffy took extra care to bend her knees to absorb as much of the force from the impact so as not to jar Willow overly much. With the sounds of the barricaded being broken down echoing from above her, Buffy sped off into the night with her precious cargo held firmly in her arms.
End Flashback...
By the time the Hospital had come into view Willows heartbeat had become slow and strained. By the time Buffy had reach the automatic doors to the emergency room she had slowed to a normal running pace, not that she was worry of anyone noticing something out of the ordinary, it was due to the fact that she didn't want to run into the doors before they could open fully.
Bursting through the doors as they opened with a whoosh, Buffy was staggered by the bright lights from the ER hitting her hypersensitive eyes. Once she left the carpeted entranceway, she had to force herself to stop for the fear of falling caused by her bloody feet on the tile floor.
The next several minutes were a blur, her babbling about blood loss to the doctors and nurses who rushed up to take Willow from her, keeping her eyes on Willow has the emergency room personnel surrounded her so to treat her for the massive blood loss.
Buffy allowed herself to be helped up onto a gurney so her feet could be looked at, but she did remember not to let them take her blood pressure. She also asked for the use of a phone.
Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring... The ringing of the phone woke Giles up, where he had fallen asleep on the couch while doing his own research. As he straightened his glasses he fumbled for the ringing phone, finally grabbing it he answered groggily, "Hello?"
"Giles its Buffy," He snap awake at the tone of Buffy's voice.
"What wrong," And with those words he suddenly had a sobbing Slayer on the phone.
"Oh Giles I'm so sorry", Buffy cried, "It's Willow, she's here at the hospital, their having to replace all the blood she's lost. I...I should've been stronger, if I would have been a little faster, or smarter Willow wouldn't had to do...do what she did."
Giles felt his heart lurch for Willow as Buffy talked, but he was also thankful that she was alive. Returning his attention to the phone Giles spoke as he stood up to gather his things for the trip to the hospital, "Buffy I'm coming right over, now do you what me to pick Xander too?"
"No!" Buffy cried, "Don't tell anyone right now... the... ah," Her voice dropping to a whisper she continue to speak, "Vampire that did this...ah...Willowgaveithersoul" Buffy finish is a rush.
Giles literally had to catch himself on the arm of his couch at the meaning of Buffy's word sank in. "Oh dear Lord, she did the spell!" He thought to himself, forcing his thoughts in order he asked Buffy, "Are you sure Buffy that the Vampire has a soul, the spell calls for the caster to die for the Vampire to be resouled."
"Yes Giles I'm sure," Buffy whispers back to him in a strangely subdued voice, "I had to restart her heart Giles," Buffy softly whimper, "But until Willow wakes up we will play it safe, so do you have any of those leg and wrist manacles on a belt thingies and they got to be really, really strong Giles."
"Yes, actually I do. Is there anything else?" He asks.
"Yah, could you bring both Wills and I a change of cloths too. Also one of your long trench coats to, so we can hide the cuffs."
" The vampire is there!" Giles asked fiercely as his voice rose with the anger that he felt towards the demon that had attacked Willow.
"I... I'm sorry Giles, I need you, I need my Watcher tonight." Buffy sobbed over the phone.
""It's ok Buffy, be on your guard until I get there. I'll be about fifteen minutes." Giles spoke soothingly, he could tell his Slayer was an emotional wreck and she needed to be strong until he got there, she was the only thing standing between Willow and that blasted vampire!
"Ok, you know the drill, by now the hospital staff should know all of us pretty good," Buffy said trying to lighten the mood in her normal Buffy way.
"Yes, yes they should. Buffy take care and I'll see you in a little while," Giles replied, and after saying their goodbyes, he immediately went to the guest bedroom to grab Willows and Buffy's duffel bags that were lying next to Xander and Anya's. Buffy and the Scoobies had started leaving a change of clothes here so they could remove any gore cover clothing after a messy slaying.
After finding the manacles and wrapping them in the requested coat, he hurried out the door with a purposeful step in his stride that he hadn't shown all summer. His slayer needed him.
To Be Continued,
Wispr