Part One: Things Born of Fire - Chapter 5
Nov. 16th, 2006 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aurey09
Title: We Can Run Away Now They’re All Dead and Gone.
Author: Aurey09
Fandom: Buffy
Part One: Things Born of Fire.
Chapter: 5/10
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon, not me.
Summery: Set after 'Chosen'. The Scoobies leave town and sure enough trouble follows them.
A/N: thanks for the beta ![[info]](https://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
noandwhere
Buffy and the others had left. Faith had stopped at the hospital because of Robin; it was the right thing to do - she’d resisted the surge of energy in her legs, the panic urging her to run away from the responsibility. She felt a little better after getting some fresh air, and cigarette - even without college learning she figured out the irony in that. With the new Slayer regime, she might actually get a chance to die from lung cancer after all.
Faith lingered in the hospital corridors, wandering in the general direction of Robin’s room; after picking up an extraordinarily bad cup of coffee. She looked into the room, Robin was still sleeping.
When she’s been laid in her bed in her a coma, months spent motionless - trapped in nightmares cooked up by her own mind. She hoped he was alone in there, no monster of his own stalking him.
She took another sip of her coffee and that was enough. She spotted a bin in the room across. She dumped the contents of the cup in there, some of it splashed onto her jeans, she cursed - that was when she noticed a woman hovering over a girl’s bed, mother and daughter, at a guess. Faith’s own mother would have never looked over her like that, no wonder she was struggling with caring about someone, it was the thing absent while she was growing up.
“Uhhh, sorry didn’t know anyone was in here.”
“She was in a car crash.”
“Yeah…” Faith wasn’t sure if the woman was talking to her.
“She the only one…” Faith knew the girl wasn’t, girl even those not supernaturally inclined were being picked off all the time. “They said it was miracle - one of them was her best friend, are they going to tell her parents the same?” She looked to Faith for an answer; people kept doing that and Faith didn’t know why. She wasn’t the hero - she was never the hero.
++++
The motel was anything besides picturesque, Willow didn’t want to think about all the human disasters and demon horrors the place had seen, the place being a major pit stop before the Hellmouth.
Despite the crappiness of her surroundings Willow hadn’t felt this light-hearted in ages. Apocalypses always gave her a new lease on life, not just with the not dying part - well the not dying for the most of it - all the petty stuff dropped away and you could be glad you were alive.
She missed the Hellmouth, stranger things had happened. It had been her home after all, in the way that Spike and Anya had been her friends. She hadn’t always understood them or even liked them but they’d been family, in the way that they all were. She’d miss some aspects of them, like she would Sunnydale.
She had the ability to bring all of it back, but she couldn’t. She was on her good witchy path now - no forks in the road for her. This was what Tara would have wanted, Willow wanted it too. She wanted to be the person Tara must have seen she could be, not with the magic but the good naturedness - her Willowness.
She still missed Tara, being with Kennedy hadn’t changed that. She wasn’t sure how things would turn out but right now they were looking on the good side of things. As much as Willow had been reluctant to move on, she had to.
She knew it was hard to go through, both Xander and Buffy had it to come. She was worried about them, not that she thought they’d go off the deep end like she had but just how they’d manage.
Tomorrow, they’d all be headed out to LA, Giles had suggested that they go there and Willow had offered to phone Angel, he did after all have a big hotel with hundreds of empty rooms, just seemed like too much good math to ignore. She didn’t feel comfortable inviting herself, the remnant of the Sunnydale crew and dozens of Slayers . She knew they probably wouldn’t mind, particularly, because, hey, she’d re-ensouled their boss and all.
She had a bit of trouble finding a phone and after looking around the place, she acutally found a working one. The majority were out of order, through neglect or vandalism.
Willow dialled a not so familiar number, she put the receiver to her ear and waited, the phone rang four times before someone picked up.
“Hello.” Lorne spoke like he was expecting it to be a helpless client with a hellish demon problem. She always noticed how business in the under world naturally slumped over the summer. She guessed demons all went on vacation, that or they couldn’t take the heat.
“Hi Lorne.”
“Hey there Willow.” He replied his chirpiness levels rising a couple dozen notches. “Good to hear from you sweet pea how you been keeping.”
“Um, fine.” She said taken back by the joyful voice. His demeanour reminded her a little of Clem, once you switched the floppy ears and wrinkles, with a green complexion and horns. “Actually we averted an apocalypse.”
“That’s wonderful, you’re doing a better job than we are. We might have ended a little thing called world peace.” He laughed, with some level of shame.
“I’m not one to judge, I nearly ended the world last year.”
“So what can we do for you? We’re sort of indebted to you saving the world and all.”
“We kind of need a place to stay - you having a hotel.” She went on further with the explanation. “The Hellmouth went boom, no more Sunnydale.”
“Of course you can stay, there’s always room for you at the inn, darling. Now sweetheart, what’s the word on Buffy and Faithy, Angel's been moping about the place, he’s good at it - he’s perfected his craft over the last few centuries.”
++++
Lorne finished up talking with Willow, he’d liked the girl when only hearing about her but she was even more of a gem in person. And talk about powerful, she didn’t even have to sing her big old heart out for him to know that. And now he was going to meet all of them; Wesley and Cordy had been telling stories about them for years, Angel less so but he knew what Buffy meant to the big lug.
Lorne breezed into the main lobby, they were sat around in they’re preoccupations.
Angel had been sifting through old case files, adamant they be sorted before the big move to Wolfram and Hart. He’d managed to rope the others into helping. Fred and Gunn were sat on the floor; a chaos of books and paper scattered round them, Wesley was sat behind the counter, his reading glass glued to his face with concentration. Angel was pacing untouched case files in hand.
None of them looked up to acknowledge Lorne’s presence. Well this wouldn't do, his big announcement needed their full and undivided attention.
“Hey we better get some beds made up. Sunnydale kept their corner of the sky safe.” Yep, that got their attention.
“They’re headed over, here?” Angel looked at him.
Lorne knew what Angel’s immediate thoughts were. “Yes miss Slayer pants made it through. She’s alive in that ‘oh my god, sound of music way. Okay, so maybe not in the musical way of things but still poetic license here! Give the demon, me, my dues.” Nothing. “They won the war against the…” He waved off his lack of information. “They’re all in the homeless way of thing and us being good Samaritans and all I said they could stay at the hotel.” A rapid succession of blinks followed, taking their time to digest the information.
“Who was it you talked to?” Fred asked her interest was quick to form.
“The Wicca of the moment.”
“Willow.” Angel nodded at the others.
“Yes, didn’t I just say that?” Lorne pointed out.
“Did she say anything else?” Fred stood up giving Angel a reassuring smile and pat on the arm.
“Not much just that she was okay and that the Hellmouth was out of commission.”
“How?” Wesley asked.
“She didn’t really go into details. They’ll be here tomorrow, you can have a boring discussion about it then, hopefully I won’t be around or I‘ll have a very large drink in my hands.”
“Well I guess we all should get with the bed making.” Gunn said.
“It’s like we’re a real hotel.” Fred said and smiled at him, they were getting to something near friend-like again.
Lorne sighed. “As long as I don’t have to do any heavy lifting or physical labour.” They’d already started to move, paper work and him forgotten. Lorne shrugged his shoulder following them. They’d miss me if I was gone. Right, I’ll just keeping telling myself that.
++++
Booph... booph... booph... booph... Robin Wood became dimly aware of the steady rhythm of his heart, coming from the ECG machine. This meant he was alive to some extent. He wondered if this was his last hanger on sense, maybe the others had gone but he became aware of the pungent, signature smell of hospital bleach and a faint coppery taste at the back of his throat and an ache-y drowsiness.
He couldn’t feel anything below his neck. It should have terrified him but he was just grateful that he couldn’t feel the pain. He was sure it was the drugs, he couldn’t remember any injury that he sustained that could have caused paralysis. His eye lids wouldn’t open, the mind was willing but the body was reluctant and darn right stubborn.
He heard the flickering of blinds - open, shut, open, shut. He forced his eyes open at last, glad for it. It was Faith, equal parts of boredom and apprehension coloured her movements. She seemed different when she thought nobody was watching; more peaceful maybe the Slayer part of her was just on vacation when she didn’t need it. She was surprisingly a puzzle, nothing else these days was to him.
She turned suddenly catching his eyes. “Decided to join the world of the not so unconscious? I don’t like being cooped up in the hospital. You’re lucky I decided to stay.” She said. “Didn’t think you we’re gonna de-vegetate this side of forever, by the look of all the machines they’ve got you hooked up to.”
“I wonder if I can get cable for this thing?” He strained to look at the machine beside his bed.
“I know a guy who can get you sorted out but its not totally legal.”
“I bet.” He smiled and took her hand into his. “Where is everyone?”
“At the nearby flea bag motel, not unlike me of my old place.”
He tried to sit up. “Wouldn’t think hospitals were your thing.”
“I spent the better and worse part of eight months coma in one.”
“Have I been out long?”
“Long enough for two nurses to leave their numbers, one was real old and one was a guy.”
“Was he cute?”
“No, so a threesome can’t be your next surprise.” Faith disentangled his hand from hers. “I should probably check in with the others, tell them that you’re okay.”
“Alright…” He wanted her to stay but she was gone, before he could think of anything to say to her.
++++
Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Faith lingered in the hospital corridors, wandering in the general direction of Robin’s room; after picking up an extraordinarily bad cup of coffee. She looked into the room, Robin was still sleeping.
When she’s been laid in her bed in her a coma, months spent motionless - trapped in nightmares cooked up by her own mind. She hoped he was alone in there, no monster of his own stalking him.
She took another sip of her coffee and that was enough. She spotted a bin in the room across. She dumped the contents of the cup in there, some of it splashed onto her jeans, she cursed - that was when she noticed a woman hovering over a girl’s bed, mother and daughter, at a guess. Faith’s own mother would have never looked over her like that, no wonder she was struggling with caring about someone, it was the thing absent while she was growing up.
“Uhhh, sorry didn’t know anyone was in here.”
“She was in a car crash.”
“Yeah…” Faith wasn’t sure if the woman was talking to her.
“She the only one…” Faith knew the girl wasn’t, girl even those not supernaturally inclined were being picked off all the time. “They said it was miracle - one of them was her best friend, are they going to tell her parents the same?” She looked to Faith for an answer; people kept doing that and Faith didn’t know why. She wasn’t the hero - she was never the hero.
++++
The motel was anything besides picturesque, Willow didn’t want to think about all the human disasters and demon horrors the place had seen, the place being a major pit stop before the Hellmouth.
Despite the crappiness of her surroundings Willow hadn’t felt this light-hearted in ages. Apocalypses always gave her a new lease on life, not just with the not dying part - well the not dying for the most of it - all the petty stuff dropped away and you could be glad you were alive.
She missed the Hellmouth, stranger things had happened. It had been her home after all, in the way that Spike and Anya had been her friends. She hadn’t always understood them or even liked them but they’d been family, in the way that they all were. She’d miss some aspects of them, like she would Sunnydale.
She had the ability to bring all of it back, but she couldn’t. She was on her good witchy path now - no forks in the road for her. This was what Tara would have wanted, Willow wanted it too. She wanted to be the person Tara must have seen she could be, not with the magic but the good naturedness - her Willowness.
She still missed Tara, being with Kennedy hadn’t changed that. She wasn’t sure how things would turn out but right now they were looking on the good side of things. As much as Willow had been reluctant to move on, she had to.
She knew it was hard to go through, both Xander and Buffy had it to come. She was worried about them, not that she thought they’d go off the deep end like she had but just how they’d manage.
Tomorrow, they’d all be headed out to LA, Giles had suggested that they go there and Willow had offered to phone Angel, he did after all have a big hotel with hundreds of empty rooms, just seemed like too much good math to ignore. She didn’t feel comfortable inviting herself, the remnant of the Sunnydale crew and dozens of Slayers . She knew they probably wouldn’t mind, particularly, because, hey, she’d re-ensouled their boss and all.
She had a bit of trouble finding a phone and after looking around the place, she acutally found a working one. The majority were out of order, through neglect or vandalism.
Willow dialled a not so familiar number, she put the receiver to her ear and waited, the phone rang four times before someone picked up.
“Hello.” Lorne spoke like he was expecting it to be a helpless client with a hellish demon problem. She always noticed how business in the under world naturally slumped over the summer. She guessed demons all went on vacation, that or they couldn’t take the heat.
“Hi Lorne.”
“Hey there Willow.” He replied his chirpiness levels rising a couple dozen notches. “Good to hear from you sweet pea how you been keeping.”
“Um, fine.” She said taken back by the joyful voice. His demeanour reminded her a little of Clem, once you switched the floppy ears and wrinkles, with a green complexion and horns. “Actually we averted an apocalypse.”
“That’s wonderful, you’re doing a better job than we are. We might have ended a little thing called world peace.” He laughed, with some level of shame.
“I’m not one to judge, I nearly ended the world last year.”
“So what can we do for you? We’re sort of indebted to you saving the world and all.”
“We kind of need a place to stay - you having a hotel.” She went on further with the explanation. “The Hellmouth went boom, no more Sunnydale.”
“Of course you can stay, there’s always room for you at the inn, darling. Now sweetheart, what’s the word on Buffy and Faithy, Angel's been moping about the place, he’s good at it - he’s perfected his craft over the last few centuries.”
++++
Lorne finished up talking with Willow, he’d liked the girl when only hearing about her but she was even more of a gem in person. And talk about powerful, she didn’t even have to sing her big old heart out for him to know that. And now he was going to meet all of them; Wesley and Cordy had been telling stories about them for years, Angel less so but he knew what Buffy meant to the big lug.
Lorne breezed into the main lobby, they were sat around in they’re preoccupations.
Angel had been sifting through old case files, adamant they be sorted before the big move to Wolfram and Hart. He’d managed to rope the others into helping. Fred and Gunn were sat on the floor; a chaos of books and paper scattered round them, Wesley was sat behind the counter, his reading glass glued to his face with concentration. Angel was pacing untouched case files in hand.
None of them looked up to acknowledge Lorne’s presence. Well this wouldn't do, his big announcement needed their full and undivided attention.
“Hey we better get some beds made up. Sunnydale kept their corner of the sky safe.” Yep, that got their attention.
“They’re headed over, here?” Angel looked at him.
Lorne knew what Angel’s immediate thoughts were. “Yes miss Slayer pants made it through. She’s alive in that ‘oh my god, sound of music way. Okay, so maybe not in the musical way of things but still poetic license here! Give the demon, me, my dues.” Nothing. “They won the war against the…” He waved off his lack of information. “They’re all in the homeless way of thing and us being good Samaritans and all I said they could stay at the hotel.” A rapid succession of blinks followed, taking their time to digest the information.
“Who was it you talked to?” Fred asked her interest was quick to form.
“The Wicca of the moment.”
“Willow.” Angel nodded at the others.
“Yes, didn’t I just say that?” Lorne pointed out.
“Did she say anything else?” Fred stood up giving Angel a reassuring smile and pat on the arm.
“Not much just that she was okay and that the Hellmouth was out of commission.”
“How?” Wesley asked.
“She didn’t really go into details. They’ll be here tomorrow, you can have a boring discussion about it then, hopefully I won’t be around or I‘ll have a very large drink in my hands.”
“Well I guess we all should get with the bed making.” Gunn said.
“It’s like we’re a real hotel.” Fred said and smiled at him, they were getting to something near friend-like again.
Lorne sighed. “As long as I don’t have to do any heavy lifting or physical labour.” They’d already started to move, paper work and him forgotten. Lorne shrugged his shoulder following them. They’d miss me if I was gone. Right, I’ll just keeping telling myself that.
++++
Booph... booph... booph... booph... Robin Wood became dimly aware of the steady rhythm of his heart, coming from the ECG machine. This meant he was alive to some extent. He wondered if this was his last hanger on sense, maybe the others had gone but he became aware of the pungent, signature smell of hospital bleach and a faint coppery taste at the back of his throat and an ache-y drowsiness.
He couldn’t feel anything below his neck. It should have terrified him but he was just grateful that he couldn’t feel the pain. He was sure it was the drugs, he couldn’t remember any injury that he sustained that could have caused paralysis. His eye lids wouldn’t open, the mind was willing but the body was reluctant and darn right stubborn.
He heard the flickering of blinds - open, shut, open, shut. He forced his eyes open at last, glad for it. It was Faith, equal parts of boredom and apprehension coloured her movements. She seemed different when she thought nobody was watching; more peaceful maybe the Slayer part of her was just on vacation when she didn’t need it. She was surprisingly a puzzle, nothing else these days was to him.
She turned suddenly catching his eyes. “Decided to join the world of the not so unconscious? I don’t like being cooped up in the hospital. You’re lucky I decided to stay.” She said. “Didn’t think you we’re gonna de-vegetate this side of forever, by the look of all the machines they’ve got you hooked up to.”
“I wonder if I can get cable for this thing?” He strained to look at the machine beside his bed.
“I know a guy who can get you sorted out but its not totally legal.”
“I bet.” He smiled and took her hand into his. “Where is everyone?”
“At the nearby flea bag motel, not unlike me of my old place.”
He tried to sit up. “Wouldn’t think hospitals were your thing.”
“I spent the better and worse part of eight months coma in one.”
“Have I been out long?”
“Long enough for two nurses to leave their numbers, one was real old and one was a guy.”
“Was he cute?”
“No, so a threesome can’t be your next surprise.” Faith disentangled his hand from hers. “I should probably check in with the others, tell them that you’re okay.”
“Alright…” He wanted her to stay but she was gone, before he could think of anything to say to her.
++++
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