FIC: Human Layers (Chapter 10)

["wwabbit19" <wwabbit19@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Human Layers (Chapter 10)
Author: Pat Kelly
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Buffy and Cordelia get closer during junior year, discovering a few
things along the way.
Spoilers: Season 2.
Disclaimer: All hail Joss and his army of Mutant Enemies. I don't own BTVS.
I make no money. Long live UPN! Burn the WB!
Note: This post only has one chapter in it, because I plan on Chapter 12
being the end, and I figured one at a time would be the best way to go. Hope
you enjoy :-)


Ten
-----

"I can't believe this. Why didn't...?" Buffy trailed off, thinking it wasn't
right to go on the attack. "You could've told us."

"I didn't know until -" Jenny began to respond.

"I meant about who you are. You could've been honest with us."

The teacher had asked to speak to the slayer alone after she woke up, even
though she wasn't feeling too great. Her left leg was in a cast, her lower
lip was cut, there was bruising on her face and wrists, as well as on areas
she didn't realize Angelus had hit. But above all, she was worried about
Giles. Being in worse shape than she was, they'd immediately rushed him into
surgery, and it'd been nearly three hours since the two of them were
admitted. They weren't saying anything to her about his condition.

He wasn't supposed to get caught up in her tribe's ancient crusade, but
outside involvement was pretty inevitable at this point. The situation was
out of her control. Well, almost.

When she learned that she had visitors, she knew she had to tell Buffy the
whole story. Now that the secret was out, Angelus would step up his plans -
whatever they happened to be. In any case, she needed to get ready for him.
Her reaction to the news, to the truth, had been a relatively calm one, but
she wanted answers. Jenny would've been happy to oblige, except that there
weren't many to give.

"I know...I should have. It was a mistake, and I'm sorry. I really am,
Buffy, but I was taught to put my people ahead of my life. And they were
fools." She closed her eyes, pushing back the pain. "I guess that makes me a
fool, too."

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "So you care about people that used
you, and act like they were the only ones hurt by Angel...a hundred years
ago. I'm trying to understand, here."

"No, not anymore." There was bitterness in her voice.

"What about Giles?" The teacher-student dynamic was still in place, but her
eyes gave her feelings away. "Good." Then she wasn't a fool. "Cause he cares
a lot about you."

"I think I blew my chance." She sighed. "How is he? Do you know?"

"The doctor said there was some internal bleeding..." Her forehead creased.
"There was other stuff, but the only thing I really heard was the, 'he'll
heal' part."

Jenny was obviously relieved. "Thank God."

The blonde's expression softened, her arms dropping to the side. The woman
had gone through hell; she'd paid enough. "How're you doing?"

"I won't ever badmouth drugs again." She received a chuckle in response. "My
uncle said they were going to send me a permanent spell before..." She
swallowed; his death was fresh in her mind. "It'll save Angel."

"We just gotta find someone to do it in time, right?" Buffy frowned. This
was bad, but the scariest thing, was that it began to explain his recent odd
behavior. "You're sure he's still there?"

"If he wasn't, I wouldn't be alive right now. Neither would Rupert. Angel
isn't doing this, Angelus is."

"But you have no clue why they're, uh, separating?"

Jenny shook her head on the pillow, as the gang came in.

"Can we...is it okay?" The redhead gently asked.

"Sure, Willow." She smiled.

They were definitely a special group of kids.

"Hi, Miss Calendar." Cordelia greeted her, grabbed Buffy's hand, and then
focused on the teacher. "Oh geez."

"I see your 'geez' and raise you a 'whoa.'" Xander looked away, realizing
how not tactful that sounded, which was one of the side effects of being
around the cheerleader. "Sorry."

"Ooh. Who did that?" Willow questioned, getting angry. "I'll-I'll...do
something real mean to them! And glare at them when they're...um, in jail.
A-a whole bunch, though!"

Buffy shrugged, giving Jenny a "they're gonna find out, anyway" look. Still,
she hesitated.

"They're moving Giles to a room." Xander said. "We'll keep her entertained
if you wanna go see him."

The slayer nodded. "I'll let him know you're all right."

"Tell him," The techno-pagan wanted to be able to move, "tell him I wish I
could get up and come with you."

"Bet he's thinking the same thing." Buffy smiled. "Don't worry, you haven't
run out of chances yet. Just get better." She looked at her friends. "Make
sure she stays comfortable, guys."

"Will do." The hacker stated firmly.

Cordelia wordlessly followed her exiting girlfriend, not releasing her grip.
Sensing a new level of stress, she figured she should remain close. Stress
mixing with Buffy wasn't a good thing.

***

The cheerleader walked slowly across the parking lot, making her way to her
car. A very ill-looking Buffy was barely managing to trail behind her, which
was why she wasn't leaving school grounds as quickly as usual. Everyone knew
the slayer had been pushing herself too hard. She had passed exhaustion
after the second day, but they were afraid to say anything. Angel had moved
out of his apartment, so they didn't know where he was, and they were all
anxious about what he was going to do next.

Opening the passenger-side door, Cordelia watched as Buffy wearily climbed
into the seat, a hand on her forehead. Then she spotted Snyder, and ducked.
He had been trying to corner them; their "open displays of affection" were
inappropriate and unwelcome in his school. There was an occasional, kiss,
hug, or handhold. What was so wrong about that? If it was the gender issue,
then she didn't buy it. All he wanted to know was how he could get his hands
on a videotape.

Ugh. Yeah, she'd avoid him.

"Don't patrol tonight." The brunette said, focusing on the blonde. "You're
sick."

"I have to; and I don't get sick." No sooner had the words come out of
Buffy's mouth, that she sneezed. "First time for everything."

"Uh huh. Right." Her face displayed concern, but she wasn't budging. "You
should stay in and get your mom to make you soup or something. At least you
have a parent that lets you milk illness."

Buffy smiled a little. "Would you make me soup if...nah. You wouldn't wanna
have what I got."

"I'll risk it if it'll keep you inside. Where you can't get killed."
Cordelia hated saying it even more than she did thinking it. "Besides, it's
going around. Probably catch it anyway." Her eyes widened as an idea came to
her. "Hey, maybe I could mooch off your mom, too. It's not like Marta's an
option. She's the maid, but somehow, there's a list of things she swears she
won't do. Which I don't get."

"Lemme guess...'nurse' is at the top?"

Cordelia nodded. "Figures, doesn't it? But that's actually fine by me, cause
frankly, there's no way I'd put my life in her hands."

The blonde saw the forceful look behind the humor. She knew it well by now.
"It won't be a long one, okay?"

"You can barely stand!" She sighed, not used to people arguing with her. "No
wonder you're ready to collapse! All week you've been going to cemeteries
looking for Angel, then you spend the rest of the night at the hospital,
playing stakeout waiting for Angel to show up, and then you come to school
and worry about what he might've done. Do you even sleep? Am I in there
somewhere?"

"Of course you're in there. That's why I'm..." Buffy's words dropped off. "I
don't want him coming after you. And Giles and Miss Calendar are getting
released tomorrow -"

"Buffy, you're missing the point. So I just won't go out at night. Fine, I
can cope. But what happens if you run into him this time? What're you gonna
do? Cough on him?"

"What choice do I have, Cordy?"

"Wait till you can breathe. It's great that you wanna save people's lives,
especially mine, but you won't be able to do anything like this, and you
know that."

"It really gets to you, huh?" The dizzy slayer was slowly starting to
understand that.

"The idea of you dying? Yes!" Cordelia was ready to rank her girlfriend's
question up there amongst the dumbest ever. "Oh, and since I don't trust you
to move past your Super-Girl complex, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Maybe it was because she was delirious, but Buffy thought that was the
sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

***

Spike's legs hung over the side of the mausoleum; he had been sitting there
for the last twenty minutes, puffing on a cigarette. Being able to move
freely once again had its advantages. He was back in the loop with
everything from Angel's unpredictable behavior, to the new twist Slayer's
love life. No middlemen or lackeys for him anymore - he decided that now was
the time to take charge, and be his own man. Yeah, he was the master of his
destiny, no one else would tell him what to do.

He'd used his brief period of disability not only to grieve, but also to
make a clean break from his attachment to Druscilla. Oh, he'd definitely
have his revenge...and when that was over, he was going to say so long to
this damn town. He and Sunnydale were through. Where would he go? Maybe back
to his old haunts, establish a permanent lair, and let eternity pass him by,
all the while achieving the vampiric status he knew he deserved.

Alone and solitary. Love? Who needed it? Certainly not him. Why'd he get so
upset, anyway? He was a demon - the biggest and baddest of them all. It was
time that they all knew that.

Hearing the crunch of footsteps, he nonchalantly blew one final cloud of
smoke from his mouth and flicked the cigarette to the grass. One of the
shoes that was the cause of the sound, stamped out the faintly glowing butt.
The bleached vampire had known he was here; that's why he had picked this
spot to wait for him. Took the guy long enough. But then again, Spike was
okay with the staking delay. It allowed him to get motivated.

"Know what I heard? I heard somebody's been unstable lately." Angelus looked
up at him. "What's the matter, Angelus? Soul got you down?"

"It's a phase, Spike, and it's almost over."

"Really? Well, that's a relief. I'm no doc, but I bet it's gotta be bloody
crowded in there."

"Like I said -"

"Yeah...phase...right. Got the message. Don't get repetitive on me,
Granddad. You'll start showing your age."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just enjoying the night air, is all. I hope that doesn't bother you." Spike
smirked. "Hiding from the Slayer yet?"

"Hiding?" Angelus asked incredulously with a touch of annoyance. Like he
would hide.

"Not that I blame you. Hell, I'll be the first one to admit she's got the
stuff, and word is, she's on full alert."

"I happen to be recruiting, so -" He was cut off.

"Oh, my mistake. Waitin' for one of your boys to wake up, are ya? Smart. I
mean, you've never needed reserves before, but it's nice to see that you've
figured out when you're outmatched. I had to learn the hard way, but you've
always been the strategic one. Are you rushing off to smother her watcher
with his pillow or to tear apart the slut she ditched Softy for? No, not
you. You say, why be rash? Not cause you're scared, but cause you've got
brains. And that's why you won't ever stop teaching the rest of us."

Angelus was leery. "I'm a giver."

Spike hopped off the mausoleum to stand in front of his elder. "I don't
wanna sound greedy or anything, but could you give me something else? Only
an answer; nothing big."

"What's the question?"

"Who did Dru in? You or the Lapdog?"

"He did. And I -"

"Thanks." His knuckles connected with Angel/Angelus' forehead, then.
"Doesn't make a difference, but I appreciate it anyway."

He hated them both.

***

Buffy had to admit it - Cordelia had a good idea. After spending the whole
day in the house because her mother forced her to stay home from school (if
she didn't know better, she would've thought there was some conspiring going
on), her girlfriend had come to get her outside. The brunette commented that
the entire place smelled like sweat and germs, and her response was that
they didn't have a particular smell, which then led to a debate on the
purposes of scented Lysol.

But the night before, Cordelia stuck to what she had said. She kept Buffy at
her house until Joyce finished at the Gallery, and then took the blonde
home, to be monitored by a watchful, motherly eye.

It was two forty-five in the afternoon now though, and they had nearly
absorbed all the fresh air that Wetherby Park had to offer. The rest of the
group had accompanied them - including Amy and Oz - and soon they were going
to pick up Giles and Miss Calendar from the hospital. Buffy rested her head
on Cordelia's shoulder as they walked, but other than feeling completely
drained, she thought she was doing okay. Her fever had broken a half-hour
ago.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" She asked the cheerleader, as there had mostly been
silence so far.

"Thoughts." Cordelia loved sarcasm.

"Wanna narrow it down for me?" There wasn't enough energy in her body to
devote to smacking.

The brunette glanced behind them, judging their distance from their friends.
"You don't wanna hear them; not when you look that pale and splotchy."

"What's it have to do with how I...?" Buffy lifted her head up, as the
answer dawned on her. "Oh." She flushed, but the reason for it was totally
unrelated to her health. "Really?"

True to form, Cordelia wasn't the least bit fazed at being found out. "Did
you forget that we're kind of involved? Also called 'dating'? It was bound
to cross my mind eventually."

"How much?"

"Enough that it causes me problems, all right? Sheesh. Too much flattery can
be bad for you, you know. And don't tell me you haven't."

"No, I-I have...I mean, look at you." The brunette grinned. "But I
just...that's far."

"Do you have somebody else in mind? Cause I'm not going anywhere."

"That's not what I meant." Now she checked the gang's distance, whispering.
"I'm a...I've never...and I want us...except...there's this thing where I
don't exactly know how."

"And I do?"

"Well, you've had...experience."

"Hello? In case you didn't notice before, they were guys. I'm just as
clueless as you are about...that."

"Um...we could rent some videos, or...books. Are there books?"

"Yeah, in a back room somewhere." Cordelia wrinkled her nose as if she had
just caught a whiff of a really bad odor.

"What's your bright idea then? We gotta know what we're doing."

"Xander's probably read all about it. We could ask him." She paused. "Ew.
Even as a joke, that's *so* wrong."

"What're you two talking about?" Xander questioned, which was very good,
almost creepy timing. "Can't be any more interesting than the conversation
we've got going on. Birds, bees, and nature in all its glory."

"That's too easy even for me."

The slayer wanted to laugh, but grimaced instead; her unpredictable monster
of a flu was coming back with a vengeance.

"Can we sit?" Buffy requested, not knowing why the trees had to spin.
"Dizzy."

Cordelia briefly wondered if this was just a way to leave the topic they
were discussing, but one look at her girlfriend told her it wasn't. "Hang
on, there's a bench right..."

Things were darkening - they weren't going to make it there.

***

"What do I owe ya, Danny?" Spike asked the blood bank's delivery boy, as
they stood at the back of Sunnydale General that night.

Just as he'd gotten the upper hand, the recruits decided to rise. Three of
them - Angelus must have had a big meal. Could anyone blame him for not
liking those odds? If it had stayed one-on-one he would've taken him, but as
soon as he saw an opening, he decided it was better to split. He probably
wouldn't have an opportunity to get the drop on Angelus again, though. It
was always a bad idea not to finish what you started.

"That's five bags...three AB positive, two O negative...got a special this
week. Thirty-five. Outside shipment - quality straight from Virginia. Lucky
you." The substantially younger vampire answered.

He reached into his pocket and handed over the requested price. "Yeah, lucky
me."

"Laying low, huh?" Danny said as he accepted the cash. "It's
understandable."

The Brit had issues with rage, and showed in his face. "What's that supposed
to mean?"

Hands went up. "Nothing, Spike, nothing. Just...you don't normally buy this
much from me, and we all heard about Angelus. What you did."

"And I'd do it again. It's not him I'm worried about; it's the Slayer. She
doesn't know I'm out and about, and I'm trying to keep it that way. Don't
need them both to be on the hunt. Got that, Danny Boy?"

"Sure, sure. But I don't think the Slayer'll be a problem. Least for a
couple nights. She checked in this afternoon."

This caught Spike's attention. "You're kidding." He smiled when Danny's head
shook. "For what, Bitchitis?"

The information would be worth parting with his money.

***

Before she even opened her eyes, Buffy knew exactly where she was, and she
mentally groaned. The smell gave it away, though she also felt the IV in her
arm, and the too tight blankets pulled up over her. She didn't want to see
just yet, but she would've bet anyone that they put her in one of those
gowns. When she finally allowed herself to look at the hospital room they'd
given her, she had to rationalize.

"Well, was coming here anyway."

But for other people, not for herself. As she reached for the controls to
make the bed sit her up, several questions flew through her mind - Did they
get Giles and Miss Calendar out okay? Where is everybody? They didn't
patrol, did they? How's Cordelia? When could she leave? And because the
blinds were closed she didn't know what time it was, so was it day or night?
She'd be a sitting duck.

Then she remembered something. Whether it was last night or a few hours ago
or a dream, she didn't know, but she thought she got out of bed after seeing
a kid walk down the hall, and there were two doctors arguing about treatment
for them...was there some sort of demon wearing a hat? And a dead girl? It
was probably just all in her head; she knew she hadn't been thinking
straight.

Her mother came in. "Oh good, you're awake."

"Hi, mom."

"How're you feeling?"

"Groggy, but okay."

"The doctor said you're doing much better. You want me to tell them to bring
you breakfast?"

So it was morning. Hospital food? That would make her sick all over again.

"No, I want you to tell them that you're taking me home."

Joyce went over to the bed and rubbed her daughter's hair. "They only want
to keep you a little while longer."

Buffy pouted. "You weren't here all night, were you?"

"No, they made Cordelia and I both go home. She was scared for you."

"She was? How come?"

"You were out of it when they were wheeling you away, honey. Saying
things..."

The younger Summers' eyes widened. "What things?"

"Just about how you didn't want to be here. And something about vampires..."

"Heh." She smiled nervously. "You don't say?"

"But we all knew it was because you were sick."

"Right." Buffy sighed, nodding. "Sickness leads to crazy talk. I'm a
nut-job."

"I told your friends why you didn't like hospitals, and Cordelia seemed to
take it hard. I think she felt guilty. She drove you here, you know."

Celia. Her cousin had died in the hospital while she was there in the room.
It was a very traumatic thing for an eight-year-old to experience; she still
thought about her. Now the gang knew one of her biggest fears, and her
girlfriend was wrongly punishing herself for revealing it. Even though Buffy
didn't want to admit it, going to the hospital more than likely had saved
her life.

"Are the guys at school?" She asked.

"Hmm mm. Xander said to expect them afterwards, and Mr. Giles said he'd call
to see how you were. Miss Calendar is staying with him until her leg heals."

She couldn't blame him for not wanting to come back after spending a week
here, but thinking about the living arrangements, the slayer had to mask a
grin. "Really?"

"That was a horrible thing that happened to them. Did they ever find who was
responsible?"

Her eyes got both sad and angry. "I'm sure they will."

The older Summers' glanced at her wrist-watch. "I should go to work. Will
you be all right? I promise I'll be by later."

"I'll be fine, mom." She smiled.

After her mother kissed her forehead she headed for the door, but for some
reason, she suddenly stopped and turned around.

There was a questioning look on her face. "You and Cordelia...you spend a
lot of time together, don't you? More than you used to last year?"

"I guess..." Buffy answered shyly, a big 'CAUTION' sign going up. "Why?"

"I just thought she hung out with a different crowd, that's all."

"Things change." The daughter shrugged. "And she's really a cool person."

"She didn't wanna leave; she challenged security to try and throw her out."
The blonde gaped. "It's nice that she's learning who the good people are,
but is she usually that direct?"

"I think it's impossible for Cordelia to be anything else. She lives by it;
it's practically a code." The slayer smirked.

Joyce smiled. "That's a good quality to have. It shows she has confidence.
Not many people will say 'no' to her."

'I know I didn't.'

"So...then what?"

"I talked her down." Buffy looked surprised. Her mother deserved a medal.
"I'm a parent, it's what I do."

***

"Party Wagon's here!" Xander announced, bursting into the room with balloons
several hours later.

She was happy to see them, especially after getting Giles' call. He asked
how she was, said that he and Jenny had talked things out, but the main
reason he called was to tell that he'd been doing some thinking about Angel.
He didn't want to get into specifics because she was in the hospital where
their conversation wasn't entirely private, and so he left it by saying that
he'd know more when she came home.

"Good!" Dr. Wilkinson said as the rest of them flooded in. "Maybe you can
keep our
patient from bolting." She looked at Buffy before leaving. "Rest! Hmm?"

"Flowers for milady." He presented the patient with his gift.

She looked up at them. "I think they call those balloons."

"Yeah, stick 'em in water, maybe they'll grow."

Cordelia shut the door, and then joined the group, biting her lip almost
like she was frightened.

"Not to be outdone..." Willow put the books she was carrying on the bed.

"Homework?" Buffy asked.

Her friend had to know her better than that.

"It's my way of saying, 'Get Well Soon'."

Perhaps not.

"You know, chocolate says that even better."

The redhead grinned. "I did all your assignments. All you have to do is sign
your
name."

Her eyes appeared to light up. "Chocolate means *nothing* to me."

Amy was next in line. "I just did a healing spell for you. I didn't know
what else to do, really."

"I knew doctors were full of crap." Buffy smiled.

The brunette was last, but not least. "Nobody told me I was supposed to
bring a gift." She eyed everyone. "I was out of the loop on gifts."

She wanted to smack herself; she was the girlfriend. Out of the group, she
was the most expected to bring something. It was just difficult to keep
track of all the relationship rules. Buffy's well-being was on her mind
every single period, though. They had to give her points for that.

"Silly. We've discussed this. You're my gift." The slayer patted the
mattress, and the cheerleader climbed up onto it to sit beside her.

"You look good." Cordelia couldn't hold back any longer. She touched her
lips to her girlfriend's for one, impressively long French kiss. "Feel good
too."

"Not too shabby yourself." They turned to stare at the spectators. "Yes?"

"Isn't it traditional to unwrap gifts?" Xander wondered hopefully.

"It's also traditional to take dogs for walks." Cordelia countered, glaring.
"Amy, maybe you should tie him up outside."

"How about I give him fleas?" Amy suggested, crossing her arms.

"Hey, that's not fair. You have no idea how hard it is being a guy,
constantly surrounded by high levels of estrogen." Xander defended himself.
"Plus, you two with the rainbow action..."

"You've been a guy, what? Seventeen years now? Get used to it." Buffy told
him.

"Sleep okay?" The brunette asked. "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"Not really, but I'm glad you finally got me here...and I know you didn't.
Thanks for doing what I needed instead of listening to me." She kissed her
that time. "Heard about the fight you put up."

"Well...visiting hours suck."

All day, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that the thing she saw last night
was real. At the risk of sounding insane, she thought she ought to place it
before the group. They could research.

"You know? Let's all take a walk. I gotta tell you guys something."

***

Angelus was thoroughly enjoying his new abode. The mansion fit him - large,
antique...it always came down to status. If vampires didn't grab a hold of
the finer things in life, then they were only animals. Not him. He
appreciated art and wealth, as did his more moral half. Though it had kept
quiet for the most part; conserving what remained of its strength, no doubt.
For when it would truly come in handy.

Smart in a way, but just plain stupid in another. People still continued to
die.

He figured that Spike's little attack was a formal announcement that the
bleached blonde had chosen to enter into the game, and he could handle that.
Right now, he was content to wait and see just how much Spike was willing to
put on the line; the move was his. Buffy wasn't going anywhere, but he
wanted to be there when she disposed of the competition. A part of him
almost felt sorry for his grand-childe.

*Almost*. Not really.

Hearing his dinner moan behind the gag, he wondered how he could have
forgotten. Where were his manners? The ones who fought were the most fun.

***

The sun was going down the next day, as Buffy sat in her hospital room with
Willow, contemplating how to deal with Der Kindestod. The thing went after
sick children, and it killed the doctor that was trying to treat the kids,
because he was taking them away. She didn't see anything; it was like it was
invisible, but she knew she had seen it the first night of her stay. She
needed to be able to look at it to fight it - she wasn't a Jedi.

"She actually brought it up?" Willow asked.

What she was thinking and what they were saying were two different things.

"Technically I guess the 'word' wasn't used, but yeah. We had a
non-conversation conversation about the possibility."

The hacker pushed aside the embarrassment that wanted to overtake her.
"Well, you should research. Knowledge is power. I'm a firm believer in that.
The firmest."

"We should be the best we can be, right?" She paused. "And that sounded way
too Army. But then I think that maybe going with flow is the best thing.
It's supposed to be natural, so...I dunno."

"What don't you know?" Cordelia questioned, walking in and up to them
carrying a McDonald's bag with a milkshake.

Fast food had never smelled so good.

"How I ever could've survived in here without you." Buffy eyed the bag
hungrily, clawing for it, but her girlfriend held it just out of reach.

The cheerleader ignored the whimper. "Honesty first, imitation chicken and
grease second."

"This is something that's priv..." Willow trailed off as she was silenced
with a look. "Who ever said hospital chairs weren't comfy? Nothing could get
me out of this. Nuh uh."

"You obviously know what it is, so why shouldn't you be here?"

"Fine. We were trying to find the most enjoyable way that I could ravish
you. Happy?" Buffy spilled, too starved to be evasive. "Now gimmie."

"B-but there was no experimenting. No, uh, testing or anything remotely
close to...talking! We talked. Oh! But no talking about experimenting. There
was none of that. Bad cause of Oz and you, and best friends and boundaries
and they have Hungry, Hungry Hippos in the waiting room...okay, leaving."
Willow bolted.

"The chair must not have been as comfortable as she said." Cordelia
commented. "She should really see someone about that."

"I swear I'll get her a Babble Specialist as soon as they let me out, just
feed me. I can't slay on an empty stomach."

"Feed you? Did you break your arms when I wasn't looking?" She chucked the
bag, and the blonde caught it. "Didn't think so."

Carefully positioning herself beside Buffy so she didn't drop the cup,
Cordelia handed it over as she kicked off her shoes. Then she stole the
fries once her girlfriend got them out, resulting in a mini staring contest
as she dared the slayer to challenge with her eyes. Buffy silently admitted
defeat when she stuck a straw in the milkshake and took a sip, but gave the
"Puppy-Dog" look nonetheless.

"You're such a baby sometimes...here." The brunette held a fry in her hand.
"If every vampire knew -"

"But they don't." She cut her off, and was fed, the fry being contorted and
pushed into her mouth. As she accepted it, she couldn't help but accept a
fingertip as well.

Cordelia's eyes widened at this development, but then became very focused.
"Is it getting hotter in here?"

Buffy chuckled, ceasing her actions. "Not even two seconds, and already
you're going 'badly-acted porno' on me. I'm definitely filing that for
future reference. But see?" Getting the kissing underway, she didn't even
realize that the solution to the demon problem had presented itself. "I
receive, I give...I'm versatile."

"I demand proof." The cheerleader's lips managed to reach neck, and her
hands started to feel up the gown. That was all Buffy was wearing.

All Buffy was wearing.

"You had to pick here? Now?" A few more seconds of touching, and she
wouldn't be coherent. "Where it's public, where there's nurses making
rounds...and..." Did she just hiss? "God, thanks to you my temperature's
gonna go back up and they'll keep me here for a month."

"That good?" Cordelia looked up.

"Who said stop?" Question answered. More than one actually, because then it
clicked. "Temperature! That's it! That's how I'll be able to see it when I
kill it."

Her girlfriend could sense that their heavy groping session had come to an
end. "Kill what?"

"Der Kindergarten or whatever. I was sick when I saw him before, so I need
to be sick again; Willow can help me. She was going to a waiting room,
right? Which one did she say?"

"She didn't." Cordelia sighed. "This slaying thing is going to put a serious
cramp in our sex-life, I can tell. Meaning, we're never gonna have one."

"We will too." Buffy insisted, hugging her close. "And anyway...hospital?
They catch us, we're in jail."

"Not necessarily. I think that nurse would've cut us some slack, no
questions asked." She grinned.

"Can we save the kinkiness until after I have one, normal sexual experience?
Who knew Cordelia Chase was such a -"

"It's a flaw, you *did* know that, and I can't help it if you drive me
crazy." The kiss was more chaste than the ones before it. "I suppose you
want me to track down Willow."

"Would you?" Buffy smiled, and released her.

"Yeah." She tried to look put out, but it turned into a smile. "I have to go
to the bathroom and get presentable, anyhow."

"Thanks. And I know you can't possibly blame your appearance on me, you
animal." Cordelia stuck her tongue out. This was the childish side only she
witnessed. "Don't try tempting me."

Buffy resumed eating the fries.

***

The second Cordelia emerged from the bathroom and turned to go search for
their missing friend, a hand reached around to cover her mouth from behind.

"Hello, luv."

She was quickly and quietly dragged over to the next door, which led down to
a sewer grate. It was great for entering and exiting without being seen.


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