Hospital corridors were too damn bright. Phife sidled as close to the
wall as he could get. Hollow footsteps warned him of someone's
approach and he ducked into a darkened room. An orderly and a nurse
aid walked by gossiping about their co-workers. Once they were out of
sight, Phife slunk out of the room. He was almost at the ICU. That's
where things would get tricky. Nurses were everywhere there. He would
need a distraction.
*****
The steady thump of Willow's heartbeat was overwhelmed by the sound of
the alarm at the nurse's desk. Angel lifted his head, instantly awake.
He looked over at Xander, who had also become alert at the sound. The
activity outside of Willow's room indicated that another patient was in
distress. Still, Angel sensed something. His own feelings of
impending danger were confirmed by Xander when he removed a stake from
its hiding place at his back.
They didn't need words. Angel stood up and walked without a sound to
the door. With a quick flip, he shut the blinds, cloaking the room in
further darkness. Xander moved to the foot of Willow's bed ready to
back Angel up and protect Willow.
A tiny slice of light appeared as the door was cracked open. Both men
stiffened, waiting for the intruder to show himself. It could be a
nurse or one of the Scoobies here to check on Willow. The triangle of
light widened. Angel's nostrils flared as he sampled the newcomer's
scent. It wasn't human. He took a step back as the door inched toward
him. From his periphery vision, he saw Xander's hold on the stake
tighten and he crouched in a fighting stance. The years on the
Hellmouth and fighting by the Slayer's side had sharpened the boy's
senses and fighting skills. Angel's attention turned back to the
door. He found himself trusting Xander as he would Gunn or Wesley,
something he had never done while he had lived in Sunnydale.
The hesitation in the intruder's entrance took an abrupt turn as the
door suddenly slammed open. Ready for such a tactic, Angel sidestepped
the swinging door with vampiric speed. His hand lashed out, grabbing
the demon by the throat and pulling him into the room. The door
whooshed shut. With a quick jerk, Angel broke the thing's neck.
Unfortunately, that wasn't how you killed this particular demon. A
silver razor sharp tongue slashed out of the demon's small mouth and
cut Angel's cheek. Angel hissed and vamped. He pushed the thing
away from him and out of its tongue's reach. At the same time, Xander
shoved his stake through the demon's chest, piercing right through its
body until it poked out the back. As an added measure, Angel pressed
his hands to the demon's temples, crushing its lumpy head. He dropped
the body to the ground.
"Is it dead?" Xander asked. He hesitantly knelt down by the creature's
body. That was the trouble with demons, unless you knew what the hell
it was, you didn't know what killed it.
"It's a Bultak. It dies when its heart and brain have been destroyed."
Angel walked over to Willow's side. She was still breathing evenly
and her heartbeat was strong. More importantly, her soul still
flickered through the link. "It's okay, Willow, you're safe." He
kissed her forehead. He turned back to Xander. "We'll have to get rid
of the body. Bultak's don't disintegrate." Angel spun around as he
heard the door softly click shut. He moved swiftly to the door,
pulling it open.
"Oh," the startled nurse gasped, placing a hand over her racing heart.
"Is everything all right?" She tried to look into the room, but Angel
blocked her view.
"Fine, everything's fine." Angel tried for a casual smile.
"The blinds are closed. I have to check the patient."
This was her job, Angel knew the woman wouldn't be dissuaded. He eased
away from the door and let the woman past him. Xander sat innocently
by Willow holding her hand. His sweater had mysteriously disappeared
and he was only wearing his t-shirt. The body of the demon was also
no where to be seen. The nurse crossed over and opened the blind.
"The, um, commotion out there...we, uh, didn't want it to upset
Willow," Xander offered a halting explanation. He watched nervously
as the nurse checked Willow's vitals and the lines of the oxygen tank
and IV that were connected to her. Angel hung out by the door,
shifting his weight from foot to foot.
The nurse gave them both a comforting smile, misinterpreting their
restlessness. "She's doing very well. She might even be moved to a
private room by morning. Until then, the blind has got to stay open
so that we can keep an eye on her."
"Of course. Sorry." Angel held the door open for the nurse. As soon
she left, he turned to Xander. "The body?"
"Under the bed. Why would a Bultak come after Willow?"
"I don't know." Angel tossed Xander his cell phone. "Call Giles.
Maybe he'll have an idea." Angel ran a hand through his hair and went
to his place at Willow's side. He rested his forehead on her temple
and stroked her soft tresses.
"Hey, Giles. Angel and I have a bit of a situation. Could you come
down to the hospital and, uh, maybe bring a really big duffel bag, a
sharp ax, and some towels." Xander turned off the phone and handed it
back to Angel. "He'll be here in a few minutes."
*****
The nurse at the main station turned to get herself another cup of
coffee giving Phife the opportunity to duck out of another patient's
dark room and leave the ICU. The witch was being protected by a damn
vampire. And not just any damn vampire - it was Angel. Phife's black
forked tongue flickered out of his mouth. He shuddered as he thought
about the fate of the Bultak. He didn't want to end up like that.
Phife left the hospital by the nearest exit. There would be another
time to get to the witch and her lovely power. Preferably one when
Angel's guard was down. Phife liked his mis-shaped head in one piece.
*****
Giles arrived at the hospital in the few minutes he had promised with
the prescribed items. Intercepting the suspicious look of the nurse,
he headed straight for her. "Hello, I've brought some things for
Miss...Mrs. McAlistair, at the request of her husband. Clothes and
things for when she wakes up." Giles held up the large duffel bag,
well aware that it was more than what would be required. "I...wasn't
sure what to bring."
"That's fine. You can take it in, but please don't stay too long.
Mrs. McAlistair needs her rest."
"Of course." Giles crossed to Willow's room, relieved that he had
remembered the last name Angel had given the hospital. Angel and
Xander were sitting by her side. She was so pale. Now that he had
worked through his feelings about Buffy's death and subsequent
resurrection, he could concentrate on his concern for Willow. He
never should have allowed the girl to play with magic the way she did.
He should have had her sent away to be properly trained. Just because
they would have all missed her desperately was no excuse. "What
happened?"
"Giles, thank God you're here. I think this Bultak thing is starting
to smell already." Xander stood up and took the duffel bag from Giles.
He set the bag down, reached under the bed and pulled out the body of
the dead Bultak. A thin layer of silvery slime covered the dark
scaled demon. Its head was twisted around and crushed and its silver
tongue protruded from its mouth. A large stake was stuck through its
body.
"Do you have any idea why a Bultak would attack Willow in a hospital?
Their hunting grounds are beaches and they don't usually go this far
from the water," Angel asked Giles. He hadn't moved from his place at
Willow's side.
Looking at the demon and hearing Angel's question, something occurred
to Giles that he should have thought of hours ago. Dear, sweet Jesus,
if something had happened...if Angel and Xander hadn't been here....
"She's a witch. Willow is a full-fledged witch. I still have trouble
thinking of her that way, to me she's still just a child. You're all
children, extraordinary children...."
"Giles," Angel barked, interrupting his rambling excuse. "What's going
on? Is Willow in danger?"
"Yes, yes she is. As a full-fledged witch, Willow has gained her own
power which she uses for her spells. Conscious and unhurt, this power
is a part of her, other creatures would sense it, but wouldn't bother
with it. In this state, Willow is vulnerable, her power isn't being
used. It can be taken from her."
"So, this guy isn't the last." Xander kicked at the Bultak.
"I'm afraid not. The Hellmouth is acting as an amplifier. It's
projecting Willow's inert power all around Sunnydale, acting as a
beacon for all the demons here." Giles sighed. They would have to set
up a twenty-four hour watch over Willow. He noticed a look exchanged
between Xander and Angel. They must have already discussed this, but
they couldn't possibly watch over Willow themselves. They too needed
sleep and they would need help.
"Xander, why don't you take Giles out of the room and make sure no one
comes in. I'll take care of the Bultak."
"Actually, Angel, I need to speak with you." Angel's hand immediately
tightened on Willow's, like he was going to be pulled away. Giles
frowned. Angel's behavior was puzzling. He lived in L. A., as far as
Giles knew, he had had very little contact with Willow since leaving
and, Anya's observations aside, Giles couldn't really believe that Angel
had romantic feelings for Willow. Or maybe he just didn't want to
believe it, it would explain why Angel was excessively reluctant to
leave her for even a second. But then where had these feelings come
from? They didn't just appear out of no where and they didn't just
transfer from one person to another. If it was Buffy in that bed, then
there would have been no questions, no mystery about Angel's behavior.
There had to be a reason Angel felt so connected to Willow. "It's
important."
"Xander...."
"No need to ask, Deadboy. I'll take care of clean up and keep watch on
any demons that might come through the wall. She'll be fine, Angel."
Angel nodded and followed Giles out of the room. Another puzzling
thing was this sudden trust and friendship between Xander and Angel.
When they had both been enamored of Buffy, they could barely look at
one another without posturing like alpha males, but their mutual
adoration of Willow seemed to have a uniting effect instead.
"What is so important, Giles?" Angel leaned against the window looking
in on Willow's room. He didn't look at Giles, his eyes never left
Willow through the open blinds.
"It's about the message you gave Spike, about what Willow said to you
before she...lost consciousness." Giles paused for Angel's reaction and
didn't get one. He hoped the vampire was actually listening to him.
He wasn't kidding or being overly dramatic when he had said it was
important. "You misinterpreted. I looked through the Book of Lost
Souls and Willow had completed the ritual to restore Buffy's soul.
She's safe."
"Is Willow's soul in danger?" Angel looked at Giles now. "Is that
what's wrong with her? Is that what she was trying to tell me?" There
was a desperate gleam of hope in Angel's eyes. He wanted to be able to
fix Willow with a quick spell. Have her whole and conscious like
Buffy.
"No." The gleam died. "You forget, Angel, we are talking about
Willow. Her last concerns would hardly be about herself. They were
about you and your soul."
Of course. Willow would have thought about making his soul permanent
while she had the book in her hands. That probably would have been for
Buffy too. Willow was a romantic and had been their love's biggest
champion from the beginning. She believed in it more than he and
Buffy did. She was the only one who hadn't baulked at the thought of
them together after he had returned from Hell. Angel took the book
that Giles offered him and opened it to the page Giles had placed the
silk bookmark.
On the page was the spell that restored his soul. At the bottom was a
footnote. Angel turned to the page it indicated. He read out loud.
"If ever the soul is to know complete happiness without guilt, it shall
leave, its purpose unfulfilled. If ever the soul is to know complete
despair, it shall stay bound to the vampire until the creature is dust
for it will have served its purpose and the creature may seek
redemption free of guilt." Angel stopped speaking, the words
resounding in his mind. Soon a name was added.
