FIC: Flying Without Wings (6/?)

[reddemon33@xxxxxxxxx]

Title: Flying Without Wings (6/?) 
Author: Red Demon 
Email: reddemon33@xxxxxxxxx 
Disclaimer: Buffy and Company belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy, 20th 
Century Fox and UPN. Pairing: Buffy/Willow 
Rating: PG13
Distribution: E-mail me and I'll let you know. 
Feedback: Must Have. Makes me write much faster. Thoughts, opinions. 
Where do you want the story to go?
Summary: Set in an alternate reality. Buffy is injured before 
becoming the slayer causing a certain redhead to be called instead. 
Lyrics: 10,000 Maniacs. "Love Among the Ruins" 


The sky was falling,
heaven was calling.
When danger crashes,
rose from the ashes.
I still hear the never-ending echo of those screams.
But it's a life not made for reliving,
it's a life that makes your soul forgiving.
We sealed our bond from the beginning.
Aching, affection,
vulnerable protection;
falling, captured,
crawling, rapture.
The sky was falling.

The wind rustled the treetops creating a lulling whistle. Birds 
chirped in the distance and she could hear the faint laughter of 
children at play. Her eyes were closed and she leaned her head 
back. The sun warmed her face starting a light tan.

She didn't know how long she stayed in that position. Somehow
she didn't care that she hadn't the slightest clue as to where
she was. She realized that for the first time in over a year she was 
completely happy and content. There was nothing here that she had to 
worry about. She could just relax and allow the gentle breeze to 
lull her into peace.

The sun settled in the distance but the light never completely 
disappeared. The laughter continued and the birds sang merrily. She 
closed her eyes, letting the songs lull her into sleep.

<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>

Joyce sat next to the bed stroking her daughter's once soft hair.
 
Now it was greasy and tinted pink with dried blood. She damned the 
Gods for making her daughter go through this again. And she damned 
the Gods for not giving her family a chance for peace.

"You're going to get better `cause?" Her mind
drifted back to when 
she had said those exact same words almost a year ago. She had been 
so still. The machines breathing air in and out of her lungs. And 
then she woke up, terrified and unable to move.

But this time it was different. Buffy wasn't in a coma and
fighting for life. She had made it through the night and the
Doctor's felt confident that she was out of danger.

But she wouldn't be the same.

She brushed a strand of blond hair off her forehead carefully 
avoiding the white bandages that covered the left side of her 
daughter's face. Tears formed in her eyes and she closed them 
quickly. There was a time for crying but now wasn't it.

"Mrs. Summers?"

Willow hovered nervously in the doorway. She had wanted to visit 
earlier but the doctor's wouldn't allow it. So she had left
the hospital and wandered around Sunnydale until she ended up back at 
the hospital in the early morning hours. She hadn't changed and
was still covered in Buffy's blood.

The pain that she had felt in the school had ended when she shot the 
animal. But she wanted the pain. She felt she deserved the pain, 
not Buffy.

"Willow come here." Willow heard the tears in the soft voice
of Buffy's mother and that scared her more than she wanted to
admit.
 
The older woman was always strong when it came to Buffy. Willow had 
never seen her when she was anything but in control.

Now, no one was in control. Giles was at the library desperately 
doing research. Xander had shed tears at the news and she had spent 
the last several hours walking around coated in blood.

Slowly almost unsure of what would happen, Willow moved further into 
the room until she was next to the bed. She felt the connection grow 
just a little bit stronger and she breathed a sigh of relief despite 
the damage that had been done.

Her eyes moved over Buffy's body taking in the damage. The left
side of her face was covered in white gauze that was starting to turn 
red. Her left arm was in a cast and lay on top of the pink blanket.  
The thick bandages on her right arm stuck out against the blue 
blanket. For a second she couldn't move her gaze away from the
blood being drained from beneath the bandages.

Tears once again formed in her eyes when she saw the sheet dip just 
above where her right knee should have been. Her legs lay bandaged 
on the blanket; tubes drained blood from them.

"T-the doctors say that there was too m-much damage. They had
to?" Joyce trailed off at the look on Willow's face. 
Hastily she tried to reassure the girl. "Buffy has been through
a lot. She's going to need several reconstructive surgeries and
therapy but she'll make it through this. We just have to be
there for her."

<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>

"I'm not going to be able to do it alone."

"Do what?"

She watched Buffy's hand slowly touch her face and she felt the 
paralysis slowly start to recede. "It won't be easy. Much
harder than the first time." It seemed like a haze had filled
the 
room when Buffy's lips gently touched hers.

As soon as she started to kiss back Buffy dropped like a sack to the 
ground. And a whisper floated up to her.

"It'll be hard but only you can help."

<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>

Willow nodded blindly to Joyce, as the vision from last night 
overwhelmed her. "I will Mrs. Summers. I promise."

"I know you will." Willow wouldn't let herself take
comfort in Joyce's hug. She was to blame for this. She should
have reacted sooner instead of passing out. She shouldn't have
let Buffy go.

In that second she knew what she had to do. She had to let go of her 
stupid insecurities and beg Buffy to forgive her.

<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>

She felt the sun on her face and a hand gently stroking her hair.  
Slowly, not wanting to disturb the peace, she opened her eyes.

"Hey Sweetie."  

"Am I Dead?" He laughed and she felt her heart melt just a
little, but the pain of what had happened still made it hard when it 
came to him.

"No Baby. You're just resting so your body can recover."

"My Body?" Fog seemed to cover her brain as soon as she
opened her eyes. She couldn't remember how she had gotten here. 
Or why she was even here. She realized she didn't know where here
was, someplace between this and that. She wasn't sure. But she
knew that he wasn't supposed to be here. Or maybe she wasn't
suppose to be there?

"Daddy I'm sorry for..."  

"Sshh!" He gently touched her lips, stopping her. 
"Here?" He 
motioned around them. The sun was just shining over the 
treetops. "Here it doesn't matter. I need you to do
something." He held out his hand to her.

Buffy looked at him quizzically. Didn't he know? Of course he 
didn't know. He was? He was dead because of her. "Daddy
I can't. You know, don't you?" She pulled her hand out
of his and scooted further away from.

Hank felt tears form in his eyes seeing her drag her body away from 
him. His oldest daughter had always been stubborn and he knew that 
his mission would not be easy but it had to be done.

"Do you trust me?"

"I can't."

"You can. Take my hand."

She had been scared many times in her life. When she first woke up 
unable to move. When her mom told her that they were moving to 
Sunnydale. When that thing had attacked her in the hallway. But she 
had never been as scared as when she took her fathers hand.