FIC:Girl's Night Out **TOO** (1b/?) (B/W)

["ivygort" <ivygort@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Girl's Night Out Too Part One B 



Disclaimers in Part One A ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Devon takes a long way to Giles' house, backtracking several times to make sure we aren't followed. Buffy just sits hunched in the back seat looking miserable the entire way. We all have keys to each others house's just in case, so getting into Giles' apartment isn't a problem. Devon helps Buffy get out of the van, then follows us down the stairs.

 

Buffy still can't stand to have either her arm or her shoulder touched; which worries me because her Slayer pain tolerance is legendary. A Slayer hasto be able to deal with pain in the course of battle, and not to sound flippant about my best friend's injury, a dislocated shoulder for her isn't that serious. Once it's back into place it should be healed by morning.  

 

I open the door and she moves away from Devon and is able to walk into the apartment without help. We know better than to issue invitations after dark but Devon doesn't seem to notice, he just turns to me with a smile and a wink; "I gotta get back to the Bronze."  

 

Without another word he's back up the stairs and out of sight.

 

I walk into the apartment with a feeling trepidation. Something is going on in my Slayer's mind and I haven't a clue as to what it could be. I slowly place her jacket, purse, and my coat on the rack next to the door, watching her aimlessly walk around the room. I turn back and make a production about throwing the deadbolt, putting the chain on the door, and charging thewards to keep unwanted visitors out.  

 

It's really an ingenious shield Giles has up; it makes the apartment appearinvisible to demons. Instead of trying to use force, he uses guile and itseems to work better.  

 

I know she's watching me, I know her eyes are on me so I compose myself before I turn around. I still can't understand why her Slayerness hasn't taken over yet. I put on my resolve face and turn around. She immediately glances away, then tries to sit in Giles' overstuffed chair casually, only to jump up out of when her shoulder touches the back.

 

"Ok Buffy," I tell her, getting the First Aid out of the closet. "Sit downon the couch, do you want pills or a shot."

 

"No." She answers my question and I'm nonplused. I place the First Aid kiton the desk and then look up at her. She's wandered to the window and is staring out of it.

 

"What do you mean no?" I ask, "No you don't want pills or no you don't wantthe shot?" I try to clear up what she meant because she was going to need one or the other. Even without the pain she seems to be in, I'm not strongenough to set her shoulder when all her muscles are pulled taut like they are now.

 

"I'll wait until sunrise and go to the hospital." She tells me from the window. I wish she would turn around so I could see her face. All the normalbody language clues I use to figure out what's going on in her head have been rendered useless by her injury.

 

"But your arm will heal wrong and you didn't want to go .." She stops my protest by turning and raising her hand. Her face is a mask, a mask that I can't read.

 

"I don't care." The mask from the face passes to her flat unemotional voice. This confuses me as much as frightens me. I can't make Buffy do something she doesn't want to do.  

 

"You aren't making sense. Why don't you want me to put it back in place?" I try to reason with her. I go and stand by her at the window.

 

"I just don't." And she's beginning to scare me with the way she's acting. I can only think of one thing.

 

"Don't you trust me? I helped Giles do it last year .." I start, maybe it's because she doesn't think I know how to do it. And not what I'm beginning to suspect.

 

"No, I trust you." She tells me and for the first time I see her lose someof that ironclad control. She looks back to the window and another spasm runs down her side and I see her knees nearly buckle. "I trust you with you my life." The words are just a horse whisper but I still hear them.

 

"Buffy" I reach out to touch her and she shies away from me. She walks carefully to the stairs and sits down on them slowly. I swallow the hurt thatI feel, this is about her, something is wrong. "Ok then, do you want pills or a shot?" I persist, walking around the couch to the desk instead of infront of her. She looks like she's about ready to bolt.

 

"Neither, just do it." She grimaces.  

 

"Buffy you can't even sit in a chair it hurts so bad .." I plead with her as she moves and tenses on the balls of her feet, half-sitting half-standing.  

 

"I don't care." She says flatly and the blank expression is back.

 

"Well I do damn it." I'm almost at the end of my patience. But when she stands up, looking for the entire world like she's going to bolt out the door, I calm down. She's almost totally helpless and if she leaves .. "Buffy,Giles has very concise instructions on what drugs to use and how to use them. You know he would be very angry with me.."  

 

"Do you want to reduce it or should I wait?" She asks with the edge of pain tainting her voice now. I still don't understand why she hurts so much.

 

"No, no!" I quickly reassure her. "I want too, but Buffy I'm not strong enough. You know that from last summer." I remind her of last summer when shewas thrown against a crypt and showed up on Tara's and my doorstep at three in the morning. "Look, you'll only be out for an hour tops, and I have all the weapons and spell ingredients I need to keep you safe."  

 

She walks slowly back to the window. For a moment I think she's debating about jumping through it to escape me. I hear her mumble something but I can't make out the words. 

 

"What?" She's shrinking in front me.  

 

"I can't keep you safe." She turns with such raw emotion in her eyes that I have to take a step back. I look away trying to form an answer. And then I start getting mad at her for making such a big deal about always being in control, always having to protect me from the big bad world. 

 

"Buffy," I start harshly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big girl now. I'm becoming a very powerful Witch; I think I can protect myself in a fortified house for a few hours." I tell her and I feel my eyes blazing and the heat of my anger turning my face red. She doesn't react; the expressiondoesn't change so I continue. "You can't keep me safe right now in case you haven't noticed." That scored a reaction even if it was only a flinch. "So, quit being such a baby and for once just let me take care of you."

 

"No, you can't." She says heading for the door. And I wonder if I've misread the entire situation. I move to intercept her.

 

"I did fine last Friday night, remember?" I remind her, and when she stops by the couch I try to back off and let her have a little space. Her eyes are drilling a hole into the floor.

 

"That didn't matter. You were safe because she was out." Buffy tells me, she spins way to go stand in front on the window again. I sure hope Giles has it locked because I know she's about two seconds from going through it. Then her words catch up to me and now I'm really confused.

 

"Huh? Buffy you aren't making a lot of sense." I start. "It's like you're talking English and I'm talking English but I have no idea what you are saying." I tell her and it's true. I know I've misread something tonight but I can't figure out what.  

 

Her arm takes that moment to clinch and she can't hold back the small cry of pain.

 

"Your arm is just getting worse, so sit down on the couch." I order and I'm surprised to see her comply.

 

"No. Ok. but use the good stuff." She bargains without looking at me.

 

"Are you in that much pain?" Now she's being contradictory. So I remind her, "That's gonna knock you out for the night?"

 

"I know, it'll keep you safe." She states flatly and I know I'm not going to get anything else out of her. I realize the couch isn't the best place to set up the weights I'm going to need so I walk up to her.

 

"Ok, let me help you up the stairs to Giles' bed .." I tell her reaching down intent to help her stand, but she jumps up and way from my touch. She cries out at the movement.

 

"Don't touch me." Buffy says and it hurts. She's clinched tightly, every muscle locked, and her face is a pale mask of agony. "I can barely controlher as it is, your touch .."

 

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

 

"Just do it now." Buffy pleads sitting back on the couch. "Quickly. I can't protect you much longer."

 

I can tell that she's really very frightened, so I go to the First Aid kit.Giles keeps perfect records of what drugs he's used and how he thinks Buffy tolerates them. 'The Good Stuff' is actually a veterinary mixture of Ketamine and Valium. I double check the dosages, the expiration dates, and the seals on the vials. I seriously doubt that I could OD Buffy, but it's best to be careful.

 

Once I have everything I go back to her. I have to inject the drugs in hervein so she just holds her good hand out to me. It's as far away from herbody as she can get it.

 

"Ok but we are going to talk about this in the morning." I tell her as I inject the drug.

 

She looks up at me with the first smile since she hurt herself and nods; "Ipromise."

 

And within seconds she's face down on the couch and out of pain for the moment.

 

I wake the next morning to the sun shining into the window. I must have dozed off after I checked her arm at four. I look at the couch and I have toshake my head to clear the fogginess because I think it's empty. A feeling of dread begins to form in my stomach as I realize that my eyes are right; she's not here.

 

I want to yell at her that she promised but she's not here to yell at.

 

I see a piece of paper on the First Aid kit and the feeling of dread turns into a full scale attack. With shaking hands I pick it up:

 

Will,

 

Thanks for taking care of me last night. Sorry I gave you such a hard time, I'd promised Mom I'd be home early and didn't want to worry her. I was afraid that she would take things out on you and I wanted to protect you from her. She can really be a bear sometimes.

 

You look so peaceful sleeping I don't want to wake you. I'll call you in afew days, or with Mom and doctors and everything, it might be a couple of weeks.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Buffy

 

I'm smart enough to know the brush off when I read it. Jean McGee did it tome in First Grade. I know when a friend has decided to end a friendship and leave me. I methodically gather up everything I used last night and putit away. Then I make a notation about the drugs I used and the reaction Buffy had to them in Giles' notebook.

 

In a daze of hurt I lock up and leave Giles' apartment to go back to my empty dorm room. I know that Buffy's and my friendship is over, she crossed the line in the sand, she purposely lied to me. I think that fact is the most painful for me to accept . she lied.

 

Buffy broke my trust in her as a friend. As I drag up to my dorm I wonder what I should do? Like Jean McGee should I just let her go or should I fight?

 

One thing is for sure, something is wrong with the Slayer because Buffy never lies to me or at least never lies to me directly

 

TBC

 









Author's Note: 'A delicate ferocity' is a direct quote out of Nan Dibble's Spuffy story 'Enemy of My Enemy.' I am using it with her permission.

 

 

Bright Blessings,

 

Ivy

 

 

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