Abused
Part Eleven

By Tango

when i fall, i always fall on you
face first, head down eyes closed
arms out to break my fall

Angel awoke alone in a room he didn't remember and clawed at his memory for details of what had brought him there. He remembered being shot, beating Riley and walking down the stairs where he spoke to Buffy's mother. Beyond that, he couldn't remember anything. He didn't know how he had gotten there, what happened to Riley or where Buffy was.

Struggling with the bedclothes, his own bandaged body and the wearing aesthetic, he ripped the IV from his arm and plucked away the monitors that were attached to him. Even before he could climb out of the bed and go on a search for his lost love, a young, timid nurse came into the room and frowned at him.

"Mr. Angelus," she said quietly, "You just got out of surgery. You can't get out of bed. You're not strong enough yet."

"I'm strong enough to do whatever I want, " he snapped, but even as he moved, he knew he wasn't getting far. All he wanted was for Buffy to walk through the door and let him know she was safe, then he could rest there and heal. But he hadn't seen Riley Finn being carted from their house and despite the fact the boy was unconscious when he left, he didn't trust his foggy memory. After a few moments of struggling and vain attempts from the nurse to convince him to stop trying to escape his bed, a strong familiar voice rang in his ears.

"What do you think you're doing, Angel?"

"Giles," Angel greeted frantically, "I have to get out of here and make sure Buffy's safe. Where is she? What happened to Riley? Where's my brother?"

"Get back in bed and let this lovely young woman reconnect you to those…those machines and then I'll tell you everything," Giles requested, stepping closer.

"Don't treat me like a child, Giles," Angel demanded, narrowing his eyes, "Either Buffy walks in this room or I'm walking out of it! I'm not going to lay here and get my temperature taken when she could be in trouble!"

"If you don't want to be treated like a child, Liam," Giles chided sternly, "then stop acting like one. You know very well that your brother, irresponsible as he is, would not leave Buffy in danger and neither would Gunn or any of the others. She is perfectly fine."

"I want to see her or I'm leaving," Angel reiterated, not even slightly ashamed that he was in fact acting like a child just as Giles suggested. If he didn't see his girl in the next ten minutes, he was going to have more than a simple tantrum.

"As your guardian, I am telling you that I checked you in this place and you will not leave until I grant your release!" Giles snapped, causing the nurse to gasp and take a step further away from both men.

"I'm an adult and I cannot be held against my will!" Angel shouted back, "You were my guardian, but I've taken care of myself for years now! As much as I love and respect you, Giles, I have to know if she's safe. Now please don't try to stop me."

"I'll bring her to you," Giles acquiesced finally, "Just let this young lady take care of you, alright?"

"Fine," Angel said, laying back down and wincing when he attempted to cross his arms over his broad chest. He glared at Giles as he approached the young nurse and bent to her in his traditional gentlemanly, British way. "He's going to cooperate with you now, miss," Giles said quietly.

"He looks like he…might not," she whispered, attempting to keep her voice low enough for Angel not to hear. She was new to this position, having been on her own rounds on her own for less than two months and overbearing patients still made her extremely nervous. Liam Angelus, well known for being wealthy in a small town, was very intimidating. His large, powerful frame seemed capable of leaping off the bed even though he could barely move.

Giles smiled down at her patiently and nudged her in that direction, "Don't worry, dear. He's a nice person, even when he's trying to be difficult."

***

i see you in the night
lying above me in the grass
i can't smile

"Are we close?" Gunn whispered as he walked next to Spike through a dark alley in Sunnydale. Spike jerked his head in Gunn's direction with irritation clearly imprinted in his blue eyes despite the darkness. Gesturing toward his wife, who was walking lightly in front of them, swirling her velvet red dress around her body as she went along, almost dancing in the night, he whispered harshly, "My wife is leading the way, you ponce! If I knew the bloody location, I would be leading, wouldn't I?"

"Damn man," Gunn complained, "What crawled up your ass? I was just asking!"

"Three people were involved in the near murder my brother and bint he's fallen for," Spike whispered again, keeping one eye peeled on his night dreaming wife, fluttering down the alley in front of them, "Graham helped us, although he will be getting his ass kicked before this is all over. Riley is laid up in the hospital with his neck broken nicely and a guard outside his door. Forrest is the last one still walking around and I have no idea if he is out carrying on some other plan that the wanker had plotted out ahead of time. Until I find him and beat him so hard he wishes he was the one shot instead of Angel, I will be in a foul mood."

"There," Drusilla said when she reached the end of the alley, "He's there."

"That's the hospital, ducks," Spike said, shaking his head slowly, "Why did we walk around for this long if he was at the hospital the whole time?"

"He wasn't at the hospital the whole time," she answered, puffing up defiantly, "and tracking a person through their psychic signature is not easy, Spike."

"Alright, pet," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist, "I'm sorry."

"He's in the bushes," she said, lowering her voice, "Afraid. He doesn't know he's been misguided."

"He hadta know!" Gunn announced angrily, "How could he not know?"

"The boy," Dru whispered, "his songs have lies."

"Huh?" Gunn grunted looking at Spike for a translation.

"He's convincing," Spike interpreted, "Come on." Turning to Dru, he kissed her lightly, "Now, you head back home. Don't dance with the stars without me, love."

"Spike," she complained with a soft smile, "I never get to have any fun."

"Later, pet," he said, smiling suggestively, "I promise."

***

we fall down
like a world of noise, we get lost
inside the length of our own time

More than she hated hospitals, Buffy hated not being there with Angel. They promised they'd call her the minute he got out of surgery and as much as she fought, her mother, along with Spike, Willow and Xander had talked her into going back to the mansion for a little while. Part of it, she was sure, was because Riley was admitted at the same time and once he was secured, the police would be tromping in and out of the room, asking questions and prodding her into upsetting conversations.

She went home, showered and put on one of Angel's shirts rather than her own and a pair of old, worn jeans before trying to head back to see him. Every time she even inched toward the door, one or more of them would corner her and steer her away. Finally, she strutted to the exit, planning on busting her way out if she had to, when the phone rang.

It was Giles, which wasn't at all surprising, but she felt her heart pounding in her chest in anticipation what he would say. She was relieved and almost cried when he told her that Angel was awake and fine, although violently demanding to see her or he would storm…or rather, limp away in search of her.

Ten minutes later, after catching a ride with Xander, she ran down the hall and up a flight of steps to his room, not having patience for the elevator. She nearly slammed into the young and weeping nurse that was exiting his room.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, gripping the nurse's shoulders like she actually knew her, "Is he okay?"

"He's pulled his IV out again," she said in a quivering voice, "and when I tried to put it back in he yelled at me. He says he leaving and I should leave him the hell alone."

"Again?" Buffy echoed in confusion.

"You must be the girl he's been asking for," she said, "Even his father couldn't get him to stay in bed."

"His father?" Buffy asked, "You mean Giles? Stuffy British guy?"

"Yes, that's the one," the nurse said, smiling slightly as she sniffled. She already liked Buffy and could only hope this girl could calm down the terrifying patient.

"Oh, he's not his father," Buffy confided, "But he acts like everyone's father. Come on, I'll get him to calm down and you can put the IV back in, okay?"

"He won't calm down," the nurse said, fear returning to her eyes, "He's been like this since he woke up. We tried to give him a sedative, but he fought so much, I called the orderlies and then he punched one of them!"

"It'll be fine," Buffy said, tugging her along, "I promise."

The nurse looked at her warily, but followed her in, giving herself plenty of room to run away if Mr. Angelus started acting crazy again. She was surprised to see that he had managed to get out bed and was halfway into his blood soaked jeans when they walked in.

"Angel!" Buffy shouted, running toward him.

"Buffy, thank God," he said, wrapping his uninjured arm around her and pulling her close, "I've been trying to get to you but these people are keeping me prisoner."

"You should be in bed," she admonished, helping him back out of his jeans and into bed, "Are you trying to hurt yourself even more?"

"No," he said, caressing her face, "I wanted to make sure you were safe." She couldn't help but let loose a sigh that tears closely followed when she looked down at him. He looked so much smaller in this bed attached to machines and in a hospital gown.

"I was so afraid that you wouldn't be okay," she whispered through her tears and with his good arm, he pulled her close to him, hoisting her onto the bed with him. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder, forgetting to watch out for his wounds.

"I'm okay, love," he whispered, holding her and threading his fingers through her hair, "Everything is going to be okay now."

"I thought you were going to die," she admitted hoarsely, "I thought none of them would tell me if you did, that's why they were keeping me away."

The nurse watched the reunited lovers share a kiss that was rapidly becoming more passionate and finally cleared her throat loudly to remind them of her presence. They looked slightly embarrassed when they broke apart but didn't separate as she went to work, reconnecting his IV and the rest of the monitors for the third time that day.

"Thank you," Angel said, sitting docilely as she worked. He was thankful that her hands were no longer shaking when he inserted the IV in his arm and he hugged Buffy closer before saying to the nurse, "I'm sorry I upset you earlier."

"That's okay," the nurse blurted before hurrying from the room. Buffy turned to Angel and swatted him for his behavior before snuggling against him once more.

"You really scared the crap out of her," Buffy said against his chest, and realizing his wounds, moved away, "Am I hurting you?"

"No," he said, pulling her back down, "You're not hurting me, Buffy. I'm just glad you're here."

"Me too," she admitted, closing her eyes.

***

i won't give in
I'm not like that
i won't give in

Spike didn't expect Forrest to actually be in the bushes, but he was, crouching there watching the comings and goings of visitors, and, more than likely, the police. Drusilla had a tendency to get fanciful and dreamy when she was focusing on her gift, because of that, her phrases often could not be taken literally. In this case, she was right on and Spike wasted no time, kicking Forrest's legs out from under him.

"How are you doin'?" Gunn asked casually as Spike pressed Forrest down, crunching his boot down hard against his chest.

"Yeah, mate," Spike added, "Having a good night? There's been a lot of excitement around here."

"Fuck you," Forrest spat, "What do you want with me?"

"I know you helped Finn," Spike sneered, but then grinned as Gunn bent over to punch his former friend in the mouth. Spike waited until Forrest looked at him again before he finished speaking, "I know you knocked my brother out and dragged him into Joyce's house."

"Then you walked away to let him rape Buffy!" Gunn shouted, punching him again, "And he almost did."

"So, I'm thinking, before you get yourself in more trouble, we should talk about how you're going to help us," Spike said

"I don't know anything that happened," Forrest said, turning his head to spit blood out into the grass, "All I did was help him get Angelus, then I left."

"That's not what you're helping us with," Spike said, meeting Gunn's eyes for a second. They both hauled Forrest to his feet and began dragging him away, but he protested, twisting his body and kicking his legs out to escape. Spike wrapped his hand out Forrest's throat and squeezed, which forced him to remain still.

"Scream and we'll turn you in to the police," Spike said, "We have witnesses that will be more than willing to tell them that you helped Finn. Now quitting fighting and play nice and we won't crack you in the noggin like you did to Angel, got it?"

Nodding with a grim look on his face, he went along quietly.

***

the laughing world will not forget
it's when you jam, that i jet,
i jet

The young nurse looked in on Buffy and Angel sleeping in the small bed together, intertwined and embraced tightly. They looked almost peaceful in each other's arms even though they must have gone through something traumatic. The nurse taking over her rounds strolled up beside her and peered in the window, clucking her tongue in disapproval.

"Amy," the older, more seasoned nurse said, "You let that girl spend the night in that patient's room? It's against policy and-"

"I wouldn't recommend asking her to leave," Amy replied, worry covering her face immediately, "Believe me, just leave them be."

"She's a tiny girl," the older nurse answered, "I'm sure the orderlies could remove her if we need to."

"She's not the problem," Amy said, "He is. He made a huge scene earlier and scared me so badly I almost went home. I had to reattach his IV at least 3 times. Trust me. They're better together than they are apart."

"Amy, you can't disregard policy because you're afraid of a patient."

"Fine," Amy said, hurrying down the hall to gather her things, "If you're going to wake them up, just wait for me to leave. Hopefully, when I come in tomorrow, they'll both be gone!"

***

Abused
Part Twelve

By Tango

E-MAIL: Tangofic@hotmail.com

FEEDBACK: THANK YOU for all the great feedback! Please let me know what you think of this part.

LYRICS: All lyrics are from Everclear

RATING: NC-17 **WARNING - DARK***

DEDICATION: For Trammie. Thanks for the great idea. And for Karine. You're in my thoughts, sweetie.

Note: Spiliasan, I have tried to return your emails, but your email address never lets me write you back. Just thought I'd let you know.

***

he knows if he ever lets her go
the pretty machine will swallow him whole

Buffy woke in the hospital in the late afternoon and shivered, snuggling more tightly against Angel's warm chest. She smiled down on him and realized he was the only person who could keep her in a hospital all night like this, especially if she wasn't even the one who was sick. Spending the morning fighting off the nurses that tried to separate them and then answering the multitude of questions that were shot at them from the police detectives, they were both exhausted. She wanted to just stay in his arms for another couple of hours until Angel's check-up was scheduled to see if he could be released that day, but she knew there was one thing she had to do.

Sitting up slowly and moving his arm from around her waist, she slipped off the bed and gathered her shoes from the floor. She slipped them on without bothering with the laces and then left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

She approached the guard standing outside of Riley Finn's hospital room and spoke to him for several minutes before he allowed her in. Riley was sleeping in the narrow bed, a halo around his broken neck, a cast on his right wrist and his face was temporarily disconfigured with cuts and bruises. Reaching out, she shook him lightly and then stepped away, hoping he would wake up. Unfortunately, she was forced to shake him several times until he awoke and she felt like punching him to bring him to consciousness, but since the guard was peering in through the small window she decided against that route.

He finally blinked his eyes open and focused on her. When she didn't speak, he managed to croak out, "Buffy."

"I just wanted to tell you something before I leave the hospital," she said quietly, her voice rigid and her fists clenched, "I spent so much time trying to help you, Riley, trying to protect you from yourself. I always thought that I could keep forgiving you forever as long as I remembered that deep down you were a good person. Well, guess what I realized? You're not a good person. You're a horrible one."

"Buffy," he said, panting for breath, "I'm so sor-"

"If you say you're sorry to me, I will beat you to death," she snapped, "You can't be sorry. ‘Sorry' doesn't begin to cover what you did to me. You raped me once and it nearly killed me, but when you tried to do it again and in front of the man I love...there's no excuse for someone like you. I'm pressing charges, Riley and you're going to jail for what you did. While you're sitting in a little cell rotting away your youth, I want you to carry this thought with you - I never loved you. All you ever had of me was my pity and now you don't even have that."

"Buffy," he called out in a strangled moan as she headed for the door, "I loved you! I'll always love you."

"You don't know what love is," Buffy said, turning to the knob, "You have to have a heart to love someone."

***

he'd sell his soul to make the monster dance
they can't hurt you unless you let them

"Is he handsome when he's not all bloody?" Drusilla asked her husband as he and Gunn handcuffed Forrest to a chair in the basement. They had brought him in through the back and were thrilled that none of the current residents of the mansion saw them when they did.

Spike looked over at his wife and gave her a disgusted look, not bothering to answer her question. Gunn pretended he never heard her ask, but he had to hold in his amusement at Spike's irritation. If he didn't know better, he would almost believe that Drusilla had done that on purpose just to piss him off.

"What do you people want with me?" Forrest demanded for the fourth time since they dragged him down there. Once the ropes were secure, Spike and Gunn stepped back and looked at him.

"We need a few things from you," Spike said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the coercion, "Buffy'll need another witness and since you know Riley so well, I think you'll do nicely. Then there are all the details about his life that we need to gather. The more information about him you give us, the more ammunition my brother's lawyers will have to send him on a long vacation...with bars."

"He's my friend," Forrest answered, "I'm not helping you send him to jail."

"Alright," Gunn said, nodding his head, "We're just going to go upstairs and have a little dinner, maybe take a nap. Hope you don't get thirsty or hungry or have to go to the bathroom or anything."

"I'll scream and someone will come down here," Forrest said, "Someone will let me go."

"Oh good point," Spike said, strolling over to the shelf on the far wall and snagging a roll of duct tape from it, "Thanks for reminding me."

"Wait!" Forrest said as Spike prepared to cover his mouth with the tape, "Don't leave me down here!"

"Then you're gonna have to answer a few questions," Gunn said, leaning lazily against the wall.

They all glanced over when they heard the click of Drusilla's heels. She blew a kiss to Spike and smiled at him, "Don't hurt him too much, Spike."

"Just a little, pet. Kinda want to see him cry," he said before turning back to Forrest, holding the tape inches from his face, "Do you have some things to tell us?"

"What do you want to know?" Forrest asked quietly, ashamed of his own weakness. Spike and Gunn shared grins as they strolled back across the room.

***

yes, i think they are diminishing
yes, i think that they diminish you and they diminish me
they are diminishing

Subconsciously, Angel was aware that he was asleep. It didn't make the nightmare any less frightening though. It had started in Buffy's room, with her stripped down to her panties and Riley giving her the final demand to take them off. Angel knew he could break out of the chair, that he was supposed to, but it wouldn't happen. This chair had to be made of titanium, because he kept slamming it back and nothing happened. No cracking of wood, no loosening of the ropes. Nothing. All he could do was roar for Buffy not to completely disrobe.

The Riley in his dream was even colder, sterner than the real one had been and he pressed his gun against Angel's temple, pressing the metal in hard and demanded that she take off her panties or he would shoot. She obeyed and then fell to her knees when Riley commanded it, pressing the gun harder into her lover's skull.

When Riley unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, positioning himself behind her, Angel released a bellow of pain that he didn't even know he could make. He slammed the chair against the wall again and again so hard that the wall caved in behind him but he couldn't get free. He was breaking through the wall, pounding at it as Riley pounded into Buffy. All he could hear was her whimpers and sobs, her voice breaking as she begged him to save her.

He felt a warm liquid trailing down his arms, over his fingertips, dripping to the floor and he knew it was his own blood, but he couldn't stop struggling to free himself, couldn't look at his feet where the love of his life was being violated. Tears streamed from his eyes, coursing down his face as he fought with the chair and the ropes, but he knew he had failed. It was too late.

***

see you roll your eyes
you know it makes me smile

"Come in," Willow said, looking up from her desk curiously as someone knocked on her door.

"Hey Red," Spike said. He walked in and Gunn followed, both of them looking suspiciously guilty.

"What'd cha do? You're lookin' evil," Willow accused, spinning around her desk chair. She had to admit that despite the apprehension she had with moving in with a house of male college students, she loved it there. She liked the little family that had formed and she secretly was in love with the rolling desk chair that Angel had in the guest room. She sometimes rolled around the room and spun it in when no one was around.

"We don't have to do anything to be evil," Gunn said with one of his trademark wide grins, "We just are."

"Good point," Willow said, smiling back, "What do you want then?"

"Need you to look someone up for us," Spike answered, plopping down on her bed and leaning back on it.

"Who?" Willow asked, twirling back around and pulling up her favorite search engine in preparation.

"Lily Robertson," Gunn answered, "We think she used to be a student at Sunnydale U, but she dropped out a year or two ago."

"Found her," Willow said, not looking up from her laptop as her eyes scanned the information before her, "Why are you interested in her?"

"Cause," Gunn said, "She was Riley's ex and we think that he raped her too."

"How'd you find out about her?" Willow asked, spinning around and glaring at them, "What have you two been up to?"

"Torturing Forrest," Spike said, shrugging and then standing up, "You got an address?"

***

you are like the sun to me
all bright as liquid fire
i feel so powerless
hold you up above the world
yeah, you are quite a lot of trouble
for such a pretty little girl

Buffy sprinted down the hall from Riley's room when Angel started screaming like he was being beaten to death. The orderlies were ahead of her, along with the nurse but she squeezed through them and hurried to his side. He was thrashing in his sleep and had reopened the wound in his shoulder. Tears were running down his face and he kept screaming like he was dying. He sounded like he was inches from death.

"Angel," she said, shaking him awake, "ANGEL!"

"Oh God," he groaned, "No, please, Buffy. I can't stand it. Please."

"Angel," she whispered, climbing next to him and ignoring the staff inching the bed, "Baby, wake up. It's a dream."

When he finally opened his eyes, it was only for a second and he pulled her into his arms, squeezing his eyes shut again. He held her tightly with both arms, ignoring his wounds and whispered hoarsely, "I didn't save you. I tried but I couldn't get free. I'm so sorry I let you down, love."

"No, you did save me," she whispered, clinging to him and kissing his face, "You saved me, Angel. Look at me."

Finally, he opened his eyes once more and looked into her tearful ones, "We're here in the hospital. You saved me. See? We're okay. Everything's okay."

After Angel deciphered the difference his drugged sleep and reality, he demanded to go home. The doctor balked, as did Buffy and Giles, he was adamant. He started out, telling her that he knew how much she hated hospitals and that he would feel better if they were both at home, but Buffy suspected that wasn't the whole truth. Setting her fears aside, she actually tried to get him to stay but he flatly refused.

"I don't want you near him," He finally growled out, "That fucker is just a couple of rooms down and I won't stand for him to be in the same building with you. Not overnight, not ever unless it's a court room if I can avoid it."

After arguing about what was best for everyone's interests, they agreed to go back home. Actually getting him there, however, proved difficult. He was in an incredible amount of pain even though he was on heavy meds and could barely walk himself to the car. Once they reached the mansion, Giles and Buffy both agreed that Angel was in no shape to climb a staircase and then walk down a long hallway to his rooms. Buffy recruited a couple of the guys to pull out the sofa bed in the living room, then she went about giving the residents instructions on how they were to be quiet and stay out of the great room as much as possible for that evening.

Giles smiled as he watched her instruct the guys and nearly laughed out loud when they all shuffled away, doing as they were told like scolded school children. He made his way to the door when they were done setting up the room, chuckling to himself and proud of his almost son's choice in a mate.

Once everyone was gone, Buffy helped Angel strip down to his boxers, got him into bed and then ran around the house making sure he had everything he needed. As adorable as she was, her scampering around was making him nervous and it took nearly ten minutes to flag her down and get her to lay down with him.

"I'm not tired," she complained, as she climbed on the bed and sat next to him, clasping his hand tenderly, "Are you sure you don't need something? Are you hungry?"

"Buffy," he said, blinking slowly in an attempt to keep his eyes open, "I don't need anything but for you to relax and sit down for a second."

"Kay," she said, nodding and watched him for a second as he struggled to keep his eyes open and waited with him as he fell asleep. Checking the clock, she noted the time she would have to wake him up to give him more medicine and then hopped up to find Willow. All the sleep she had gotten in the hospital with Angel was more than enough until later on that night.

"You guys having a party in here without me?" Buffy asked as she entered Willow's room and saw Spike, Gunn and Willow all talking excitedly.

"It's not a party without you, pet. You know that," Spike said, winking as he headed for the door, motioning for Gunn to follow. Buffy watched them leave and then raised her eyebrow at Willow.

"What was that all about?" Buffy asked after the door closed.

"Nothing," Willow lied nervously, turning to quickly close the open browser windows on her laptop.

"You so suck at lying," Buffy said, leaning over her shoulder, "I know you weren't surfing for naughty websites with the guys, so what was that?"

"They said not to tell until we're sure," Willow answered, keeping her eyes downcast.

"Well, now you know you have to tell me," Buffy said with a sigh, "So just give it up, Will."

***

i watch you in your sleep at night
reach out and touch your hair
i wanna make this world be just how you want it to be
yeah, you just don't understand
you are everything to me

When Buffy made it back downstairs to check on Angel, she had a whole hour before he was supposed to take his medicine, but he was wide awake and staring at the ceiling with his brow creased in pain.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, crawling in beside him.

"Hurts," he grunted, "I think the medication wears off way before I'm supposed to take it again."

"There's an hour left," Buffy informed him regretfully. "What can I do? Can I get you something? Want me to put in a movie or something to distract you?"

"You distract me," he whispered, pulling her against him, "Talk to me."

"Um..." she said, cuddling up against him and biting her lip as she tried to think of something to say. The only things that popped in her mind to say were about Spike and Gunn torturing Forrest to find out about Lily or about her little visit to Riley that afternoon. Both were topics she wasn't ready to discuss with Angel, but her mind wouldn't steer from them.

"I think you should sleep upstairs in my room tonight," he said after a moment, "I don't want you to stay down here with me."

"Why?" Buffy protested, sitting up so she could effectively stare him down, "You don't want me here with you?"

"Of course I do," he answered, "I just don't want the guys to walk through here while you're sleeping. Don't like them being able to see you in bed."

"Don't be ridiculous," Buffy sputtered, "I'm not leaving you down here by yourself. What if you need me? What if you have a bad dream? What if-"

"Alright," he said, shaking his head at her, "But you have to sleep in more than one of my shirts."

"Angel," she said, rolling her eyes, "No one's going to see my goodies. Get a grip, honey."

Angel's eyes lit up and then he frowned, turning head to look away from her. She waited for him to speak and when he didn't she asked, "What? What's wrong?"

"It's stupid," he said softly.

"It's not if it's bothering you," she said, "Is it about your nightmare today? Angel, just tell me."

"I almost...I almost touched you," he said after a moment.

"So? You touch me all the time," she argued.

"I mean...Buffy, I don't know how you feel about me touching you since...what happened with Riley," he forced out, "And I don't want you to feel like you have to let me if you don't want."

"Weren't you the one who argued with me about how you weren't him?" she said cupping the side of his face, "I love you, Angel and when you touch me, it's not even close to the same thing. Rape isn't sex, Angel, it's violence."

"I know," he said, "I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I can't believe you're frisky when you're on all that pain medication," she said, smiling accusingly at him, "Especially, since you were talking about someone seeing me a minute ago and the next minute you were thinkin' about seeing my goodies for yourself."

"Drugs wore off," he said, smiling back at her hungrily, "And when I think about distraction...Well, what can I say? I want you all the time."

"You have me," she whispered seductively and leaned down to kiss him, "So, just what are you going to do with me?"

"We shouldn't," he said, becoming seriously, "As much as I want to..."

"I told all the boys they weren't allowed in here," she whispered, turning off the lamp on the side table, making the room almost completely dark. She kissed him deeply and focused on his face in the darkness, letting her eyes acclimate to the dim light. He watched as she slipped off her jeans, leaving her in his oversized shirt. He started to protest as she slipped off her bra underneath the shirt and tossing it on top of her jeans, but she paused to place a finger to his lips and then slipped off her panties before pulling the covers aside and straddling his hips, carefully avoiding the wound on his leg.

"Tell me what you want," she said, rubbing her sex against the silk of his boxers and enjoying the feel of the material caressing her. She unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing and he grabbed her hands.

"Don't," he said, "What if someone walks in?"

"I'll leave it on," she whispered, finishing off the buttons and then opening it but left it on her shoulders. She pulled his hands to her breasts and said, "But I want to feel your skin against mine. I want you to touch me."

"Do you?" he teased, ignoring the pain he felt at moving his left arm. Pressing her to talk to him in the dark, he added, "Why?"

"You know," she answered, knowing her blush was lost in the darkness. She felt his arousal rising beneath her as she rocked her hips.

"Tell me," he moaned as she rubbed harder against him, "I want to hear you say it."

"I like the way your hands look when they cover my breasts," she said, "I love the feel of them rubbing me, pinching my nipples, moving all over my body. You make me feel small and beautiful."

"You are small and beautiful," he said, cupping her breasts lightly and running his thumbs over the erect points over and over in small circles. She moaned as he pulled her down to his mouth and sucked one nipple into his mouth, tugging lightly on the other while holding her against his lips like she was a banquet of flesh just for him. She rocked against his silk covered sex as he moved from breast to breast, peppering kissing in the valley in between. He caressed her body, moving slowly over the planes of her skin, mesmerized by her soft, firm curves.

She met his mouth once more, sucking lightly on his tongue before exploring him deeper. Inside their fevered kisses, he slipped a hand between her thighs and groaned at how wet she was.

"Need to taste you," he said huskily, nudging her to move up his body until she lowered her dripping sex to his lips. "You're so wet," he whispered, "Love the taste of you...beautiful, so tight and hot." She gasped as his hands settled on the gentle curve of her hip with one hand, pulling her hard against his mouth. He plunged his tongue into her channel, lapping her inner softness. She braced her weight on the back of the couch as he flattened his tongue, licking her all over, leaving no place untasted. He carefully slid his free hand over his stomach, attempting to not bring pain for himself into the experience, and pressed one, then two fingers deep inside her as he circled her swollen flesh with his tongue.

"Angel," she whimpered, "Need you to...please don't wait."

Latching on, he sucked her engorged clit into his mouth, nibbling at it, then swirling his tongue around before sucking harder. He alternated, teasing her until she came, panting hard, her thighs trembling. She rocked her hips, pressing her sex against him. She languidly made her way down his body, feeling rubbery and pleased all over.

"Now what do you want?" she whispered, kissing him and tasting her own juices on his lips, "Do you want me to return the favor or do you want to be inside me?"

"Inside you," he said, his voice coming out almost as a beg. His cock was straining against the material of his boxer shorts and he felt like all the blood in his body was there, throbbing for the tight, slippery sex he had just tasted. She carefully pulled his shorts down and off, tossing them on her pile of discarded clothing before positioning his painfully hard cock at her entrance. She rubbed the tip over her clit and squeezed his shaft, enjoying the sound of his groan of pleasure.

"Please baby," he said, this time truly begging as she teased him, lowering herself just barely over him and flexing her inner muscles. She moved down so slowly, clamping over every rigid inch inside her and he was contemplating screaming.

"Buffy, love, please. All the way, baby," he pleaded. He gritted his teeth as she continued to take her time, lowering herself as slowly as she possibly could and relishing in every thick inch of his cock. Years could have passed for all Angel knew when she finally, began moving against him more slowly than he thought was possible. Her erect nipples scraped against his chest as she moved, gently making love to him. She sucked at his lips before kissing him deeply, speeding up only slightly.

"I want you to feel every part of me," she whispered, as he cupped the firm, round globes of her ass and thrust up deeper inside her, "I want you to have every part of me."

"I love you, Buffy," he answered, moving up against her and realizing that the slow pace was keeping him from feeling the pain of his wounds, "Everything I have, everything I am is for you."

***

i tell you she was cool
she was red hot
i mean she was steaming

Spike and Gunn interrogated Forrest a bit further when they went back downstairs. They did need to make sure they got every sordid detail out of him before they let him go, but Gunn suspected that Spike enjoyed torturing his former friend a bit more than he probably should. He didn't seriously hurt him, so Gunn kept his mouth shut. Spike reminded him of a big cat pawing at his prey and not understanding why when it stopped moving.

Spike was actually a bit disappointed when they let Forrest go. He didn't trust him. Not that he did trust many people, but he had a genuine distaste for him. He was sure that the day would come when he would regret letting the wanker go but he couldn't very well leave him chained the basement like a rapid dog. Course, later, from the look on Dru's face, he knew that she saw right through him. His occasional sadistic streak was showing more and more since they returned to Sunnydale.

Gunn and Spike made their way up the stairs and escorted Forrest out, or rather, tossed him roughly out the back door, snarling out threats to find him if he did anything remotely questionable. As they shut the back door, moans coming from the great room sent them both in that direction. They allowed themselves to be lured despite their better judgment and stopped just in the doorway as they saw Buffy and Angel rocking slowly together on the sofa bed. Buffy arched her back, her firm breasts outlined in the dark and her long blonde hair streaming down her back as she lost herself in her lover.

Taking shaking breaths, they backed out to head to their rooms. Honestly, they moved awfully slowly, keeping their eyes trained on Angel's exceptional lover. His hands looked huge as they moved over her little body, caressing her flesh and thrusting up against her. When they finally made it to the door, they heard her suck in a deep breath and release it with a hard, shuddering moan. Gulping, they ran up to their rooms with the sight of her imprinted in their minds for the night.

"Angel," they heard her whisper in the dark as they retreated, "It's time for your medicine."

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