ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 141 - INJURIES

AUGUST 11, 2009
MONDAY
10:30PM

"Buffy, wake up girl, come on!"

Groggily she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was William lying on the floor next to her. He was violently shivering, and had a sickly, gaunt pallor. Suddenly she remembered and tears came to her eyes, and her own shoulders started to quiver.

"Buffy, it's me, it's Clem," said the soft voice that went along with the hand she felt on her back then.

"Oh, God!"

"Yeah," Clem said, "but we're okay now. Right?"

She turned over and looked up at him, he was now in his more benign demon looking state. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "Much. Demon healing and all that."

She swallowed, her throat parched. She turned to look at William, who looked terribly pale, and his breathing was becoming erratic.

"Buffy, we need to get him back to the house; I think I'm strong enough now to carry him."

William opened his good eye; looking at Clem with renewed terror.

"It's okay, it's just Clem," Buffy said, trying to pat him, but he shook off from her touch as well.

"Maybe if I hold onto you, I can hold onto him then...I don't think he wants you..."

"I know," Clem said sighing, wishing William were just unconscious. Then at least, he could have carried him without him knowing it.

"It's raining out, I'll be back with some blankets," Clem said.

"Hurry," she said.

Clem nodded.

Buffy sat up, hugging her knees to keep herself warm, as she trembled from not only her own pain, but with fear for William, who was staring straight ahead, motionless, except for the shivering. Her stomach beginning to clench in panic, as she anxiously awaited Clem’s return.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise you," she whispered, her hand reaching out to touch him.

Just then Clem bounded up the stairs; he had grabbed the comforters off of the couch and some jackets as well.

He knelt down by Buffy, "Here," he said, holding out the arm of her jacket. He helped her on with it, steadying her, as she slipped it on.

"That a girl," he said, helping her with the zipper, when her fingers shook too hard to get it started. He pulled it up to her neck, then put a hat on her head.

"Here," he said, handing her a can of juice he'd found in the back of the refrigerator.

She shook her head, "I think I'll throw it up."

"I've got some Sprite back at the house, but this is all you had left. You'd better take a sip, get some sugar into you."

He opened the can, and she gagged back a swallow of Apricot nectar. It made her stomach feel queasy, but she could feel it helping a bit.

She nodded, and crawled over to William's side, "I'm going to help you sit up now, then we're going back to the house. Do you think you can sit up?"

He didn't answer.

She took hold of him under the shoulders and tried to pull him up. He was like a dead weight.

"I can't," she said, frustrated.

"I'll get him," Clem said. As he neared, William flattened himself against the wall. Clem stopped. "If you don't want me to help, then I suggest that you let Elizabeth help you. Otherwise, I'm going to have to throw you over my shouland and carry you out."

He looked at Buffy, and she looked at William, whose eye was on her this time. "Okay, here we go William," she said, pulling him into a sitting position this time.

She looked at Clem and he helped pull her up to her knees, then unsteadily to her feet. She took a couple of minutes to get use to standing before she felt strong enough to help William.

"Okay William. I'm going to help you to stand, but you're going to have to help. Once you're on your feet you can have as much time as you need, before we start to walk down, okay. Alright, ready, set, up," she pulled at him under his arms. At first he didn't budge, but slowly, he put some weight onto his feet, pushing with his legs, and slid up the wall to a standing position.

His legs shook and his head felt like he was going to pass out. "It's okay," he heard her say, and felt himself being pulled into her, as she put a warm blanket over his shoulders. She leaned him back against the wall, and he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"No, no, no," he heard her say, and felt himself being pulled up again. He hadn't realized that his feet had begun to go out from underneath him.

He finally managed to stand against the wall without help for a couple of minutes.

"Do you think you can walk?" she asked. "You lean on me, and Clem is going to help me, okay?"

He didn't say anything, but leaned on her when she put her arm around him, "Put your arm over my shoulders," she said, and he did.

She started to lead him away from the wall, and she felt his weight on her, as his legs trembled, "That's it baby, that's it. Just take little steps," she encouraged as they made their way towards the steps of the loft.

Clem had his arm around Buffy from the other side, his arm right above William's ready to grab onto him, if he faltered.

"Okay, just let your foot go down one step, hang on," she said. William took the step, and nearly fell forward, and would have if Clem hadn't grabbed holdhim him by the shirt, pulling him back upright.

"Okay, you're okay," Buffy murmured, "I got ya. How about this. Just take one step at a time. Put one foot on the step, then bring the other one down. That's it," she coached, as they took each step, like a child would."

It took them nearly 5 minutes to get to the bottom, but they finally made it. William sank to the step, Buffy following, as Clem stood waiting.

"We made it," she said to William. "That's good. That was the worst of it, now we just have to get out of the barn, and to the house, okay?"

It took them almost another 15 minutes to make it from the steps, out the barn, and the 30 yards or so to the back door of the house. Despite the jacket and the blanket, they were soaked by the time they got inside.

"As they were passing through the kitchen, she looked over and saw two of the chairs on the floor, the table was leaning over part way on its side, the contents spilled off, and the pan he'd hit Drusilla with laying upside down on the floor. He followed her gaze, looking too. He started to shiver more than he already was.

He looked at her, non-comprehension in his eye; "It's okay. It's over William. She's gone, she's never coming back," she said, holding his gaze, until he looked down again.

"I have to get him out of these wet clothes," Buffy said to Clem.

"Where do you want him?"

"Bedroom."

"Okay," Clem said, as he helped her to help William walk towards the bedroom.

She turned him around, then pushed him gently back until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. She closed the suitcase that lay open behind him, and put it on the floor, trying not to think about it or all that had been lost that night.

"I'll go make some tea," Clem said, leaving them, closing the door on the way out.

"Thank you," she said.

She shivered in her own wet things. She tore off the jacket and threw it off to the side, then stood in front of him.
He sat there on the edge of the bed shivering, looking down, in his own world.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," she said, gently reaching down to pull the T-shirt off of his chest. She bit back a gasp, as she saw the bruises, scratches, and blood caked on his chest; the bite marks on his neck.

She went to the bathroom, filled a large bowl with warm water, and brought it to the bedroom. Squatting down, she took a washcloth and washed his arms and chest, until all the blood was gone. None of the scratches were too deep, but some were long, and he winced when she went over them. She got antibacterial cream from the medicine cabinet, and gauze and tape from under the sink, bandaging the more serious cuts.

She was glad she had finally bought those things, after years of being without. It had been her way to distance herself from being the slayer, and a time when she went through that stuff like candy, to deciding it was just sensible in case of a 'normal' accident, which might require first aid.

Next, she bandaged the neck wound, holding back the nausea seeing his beautiful neck black and blue, a chunk of flesh missing, and puncture wounds. She wished she could kill the bitch all over again! His left eye was caked shut with blood and goo. She was frightened most of all by this, not knowing if he'd been blinded permanently, or if his pupil had just been scratched. She suspected the latter, since there was a scratch mark starting at this forehead, going over his eye, and down his cheek. She carefully washed the dried mucous and blood off from around his eye with warm clean water.

"Can you open your eye now?" she asked softly.

His eyelashes fluttered open, but shut quickly again.

"Hurts?"

He nodded.

"Try again, just for a minute, I want to see you eye."

He opened it, and she held up his eyelid. His eye was red with blood, the pupil possibly scratched, but it seemed to be intact, but she wasn't sure.

"Can you see out of it, right?" she asked holding her breath.

He nodded a bit, before she let his eyelid close again, "Hurts," he said, his voice so low and filled with pain it brought tears to her eyes, as it did his. She saw a tear roll down his chest. She didn't think the word was only about his eye.

"Don't cry baby, please don't. It's going to be alright," she said, sniffling, trying to be strong for him. She had to be; she had to take care of him.

She bit her lip so hard she could taste her own blood, until she finally stopped her own tears. She wiped at them with the back of her hand.

Buffy took out a sweatshirt out of the closet and put it over his head, then pushed his arms through it. She then bent over and took off his shoes and socks. Next, she undid his belt and started to unzip his pants, when his hand went over hers. She looked up in surprise at him. He shook his head.

"It's alright, William. I just want to get you into something more comfortable, something dry," she said, and he winced, his tears starting again. She didn't understand why.

"You're either going to have to stand up or lay back so I can pull these off," she said.

He shook his head, “Please,” he croaked, his voice almost unrecognizable, “don’t.”

She looked at him and then down, seeing that the front of his pants was wet, more than from just rain. Tears formed in her eyes in understanding. She wished she could spare him the indignity, but she knew he didn’t have enough strength to take them off himself, or to attend to any wounds he might have.

Buffy took his hands, “It’s okay baby. Please, don’t be ashamed. I think I did, too,” she said. He looked down, then up at her, doubtful. Maybe that hadn’t been the best thing to say...

“What’s important is that we’ll get through this together.“

She got him to his feet somehow, covering him up with a blanket, then pulled his pants and underwear down, and tossing them across the room. He almost fell back down onto the bed. She had to leave him for a minute to go and get the towels that had been in the dryer. Clem had the tea ready and she brought that in to him.

He was still sitting on the edge of the bed, where she had left him, swaying a bit. “Here, drink a little,” she said, making sure to put down a couple of extra towels on his lap, in case he spilled.

She held the steaming mug for him, when his own hands shook too badly to hold onto it. He coughed at the first couple of sips, but then got about half the cupful down.

“That’s it,” she said, encouragingly, “just drink it slowly.”

“Okay?” she asked when he didn’t seem to want any more.

He nodded.

She put the cup on the beside table and lay down the bath towels on the bed, she got him to scoot back, so that they were under his legs, then she went to the bathroom and got a fresh bowl of warm water and a clean washcloth.

He had his eyes closed when she came back, but he held onto the blanket when she tried to pull it back, “It’s okay,” she reassured him. “Let me just take care of you, then we’ll put on your sweats or pajamas and you can rest.”

“Please, William,” she said again, when he still held tight to the blanket. She put her hands over his, rubbing them, coaxing them, until he finally released his hold.

She pulled the blanket down from his waist and once again bit her lip. From the waist to the knees, he was covered in bruises, including his genitals, which were also swollen and discolored.

Silently, her tears fell, “I’m so sorry, William,” she whispered.

He had a few cuts on his lower legs that she attended to after she’d washed him up, then put his sweat pants on him, figuring they’d be warmer than his pajamas.

She pulled the covers up to his neck, after getting a couple more sips of tea in him, by holding his head up.

Buffy wearily took the dirty water and washcloth into the bathroom, then looked at herself. Her hair was filthy and matted, and the left side of her face was swollen discolored from where Dru had kicked her. She turned on the water full blast in the sink and in the shower, before slumping to the floor and allowing herself a good cry.

About 10 minutes later, she pulled herself up, stripped down and got into the shower about a minute before the water ran cold, but long enough to wash off the filth and to warm herself up, somewhat. She toweled off and put on William’s robe, before going into the bedroom to check on William find some clean clothes of her own.

She was glad to see that he appeared to be sleeping. His eyes were closed and his breath appeared to be even. She threw on some sweats of her own, then took his teacup and went out into the living room.

Clem was sitting in the kitchen, staring at nothing, his own tea, apparently forgotten. She went up to him and hugged him and he sniffed a few times, before giving into his own tears.

“I’m sorry, Buffy,” he said.

“You don’t have to be ashamed to cry in front of me,” she said, her own tears running again.

“No, I’m sorry I couldn’t fight them better. Once I knew...She tricked me...”

“What do you mean?”

“She asked me if William was there, at my house, and I told her no...I should have told her I didn’t even know any William...she didn’t recognize me as a human,” he sniffed.

“No Clem, it’s not your fault. Dru knew he was here, she was sent,” Buffy said.

“By who?”

“Angel,” she said, through gritted teeth, now recalling Dru’s final words to her.

“Oh no...Buffy,” Clem said, at a loss for words.

“I’m going to have to take care of him once and for all,” Buffy said, starting to wobble on her feet.

Clem sprung up, catching her, before she collapsed and helped her into a chair.

“Not now, you worry about that tomorrow, Buffy. You need your rest right now, and some more tea,” he said, pouring some for her.

“I have to...” she said, tears running down her face.

“You have to rest and get better so you can take care of William,” Clem said, handing her a tissue.

Clem held the cup up to her, until she took it, and stood there until she drank it all.

Satisfied, he poured her another cup, adding generous amounts of honey, and when that ran out, sugar.

Numbly, she drank half of the second cup, before being allowed to set it down.

Her head ached, but there was something that she needed to remember. She closed her eyes for a minute, to help her think.

“The protection spell...Dawn!” she said, suddenly, trying to get up, but Clem held her back.

“Where are you going Buffy?”

“Phone. I need to call Dawn. I need to tell her...oh...” she said, starting to cry again.

“Can it wait until tomorrow morning? I don’t think it’s such a good idea right now. You’re going to scare her to death.”

Buffy nodded, “I know, but I have to let her know. Please, Clem." Buffy said, beseeching him with her eyes, "I have to. Could you get me my phone?"

Clem hesitated, then relented, "Where is it?"

"It's in my...shit, it's in my car. Could you find William's? It's around here somewhere."

Clem went off to look for it, hoping it wasn't in the bedroom. He located it on the table next to the couch.

"Here," he said, handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said, looking down at it. The time read 11:50, and it said there had been 5 missed calls. It was when she haied ied to call him, when Dru...Tears sprung to her eyes again, unable to stop them. Clem handed her a tissue, patting her on the back until she was finished.

"Okay, I'm better now," she said, taking another drink of her tea. She had to keep it together when she called Dawn.

Hands shaking, she pressed the preset number for Dawn she found on William's phone. She listened, emotionless and drained as the phone rang.

"Hello?" a sleepy male voice answered, just as she was about to hang up.

"I'm sorry I must have the wrong number."

"Buffy? Is everything alright?"

It took her a couple of seconds to realize it was John on the line.

"What's wrong with Buffy?" she heard Dawn ask in the background.

"Could I please speak to Dawn?" Buffy said, her voice beginning to break. Clem sat across from her patting her hand for support.

"Buffy?"

"Dawn?" Buffy said, and started to cry.

"Oh God, what's wrong?" Dawn said, sitting up, as did John.

"Dru. She was here...she attacked William."

She heard Dawn scream and John in the background asking what was wrong.

"Is he...? Did she...? Buffy?"

Buffy realized what Dawn must have thought immediately, and made herself calm down. "He's alive. Human...but she came here, Dawn," she whispered, "and he's not in good shape."

She spent the next 15 minutes telling her all that had happened.

"We're leaving right now," Dawn said.

"No, you don't have to...not tonight, William’s asleep right now, and Clem’s here."

"We're coming!" Dawn said.

“Please Dawn!”

“Then we’ll be there first thing in the morning, and I do mean first thing!”

John was in the background saying something to Dawn about a hospital.

"Buffy, John wants to talk to you."

"Buffy, it really sounds like you need to take William to a hospital, especially if his wounds are severe, or if he's in shock."

Buffy swallowed, "He's asleep right now. I took care of as much as I could tonight. Could you...could you please check him over? If you still think I need to take him, I will, but there's reasons it would be better if we don't."

"Tell me what his injuries are," John said.

He listened as Buffy described the injuries, motioning to Dawn to bring him something to write with.

"I've got it," he said, "you realize that although I had medical training before going into psychiatry, I haven't attended to any patients like this in a couple of years, right?"

"I understand," Buffy said.

"I'll stop at the hospital on the way to your place, and get some things, but only if you agree that if I don't think I can help him, you'll let me take you to the local hospital right away."

"Yes, of course. Thank you."

"Hold on, Buffy.”

“Look Dawn, I’m going to run to the hospital now, it’ll be easier to get some stuff out of there now, rather than later. I’ll be back in an hour or so,” John said to Dawn, as he pullis sis shirt over his head and put his pants on.

“Thank you, I love you,” she mouthed, gratefully at him.

“Love you, too Dawn,” he said, handing her the phone, then taking the car keys off the dresser.

"Buffy, is there anything else I can bring?"

"I don't think so...Dawn, I'm so sorry to have to involve you and John."

"Oh Buffy," Dawn said, sniffing through her own tears, unable to say anything else. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Thank you," Buffy said, and flipped the phone off.

"Okay Buffy, you made your call, now you go to bed and get some rest. I’ll spend the night on the couch. As soon as I hear Dawn's car, I'll let you know before taking off."

"You don't have to take off," she said, confused.

"Yes, I do. I can’t seem to morph back to my human features right now, "Clem said, shrugging. "Probably because I got hurt...it’s a demon thing...and with John coming with Dawn...John doesn't know, does he?"

Buffy shook her head, too tired to think of any other implications tonight.

"Let's go," Clem said, rising and giving Buffy his arm for support.

She didn’t have the energy to fight him, or any energy for that matter. “Okay,” she said. Clem nodded, then helped her to the bedroom door.

“Thanks,” she said, “I can make it from here.”

She took off the robe and climbed into bed. She turned to look at William, whose face was scrunched up in some sort of pain.

She put her arm around him lightly and turned her face into her own pillow, crying herself to sleep.

END CHAPTER 141