The next time I awoke, Angel was carrying me into a small building. It looked more like a brick box to me, but once we were inside the steel doors that opened for us, I saw that it indeed wasn�t just a box. It was a hospital of some sort. The only difference was that everyone here had nothing less than five million in their bank accounts.
I heard someone explaining that this is where the rich come to have their injuries treated. It�s a place where they don�t ask questions, and they don�t report things to the police. I wondered why Angel would have brought me here. Why wasn�t he going to report it to the police? Why wasn�t he going to file an arrest warrant for the person that had shot me?
Angel was noticed immediately, and I decided to assume it was because he was so rich and powerful, and not because he�d been here before. He was pointed in to the first door on the left. It was a large room with an operating bed in the middle.
Angel set me down, and no sooner had I shut my eyes again, did the door open and a doctor walk in. Talk about service! Most people with gun shot wounds had to wait for the women with broken hips to get any attention from a nurse! Let alone a doctor.
�Back again, Angelus?� the doctor seemed to know Angel quite well by the way he joked with him. �Who�d you bring me this time? Another weekend fling?�
I noticed the look on Angel�s face, even in my state of half-consciousness, at the same time the doctor did. The doctor shut up and covered by saying, �just joking. It�s been a long time, old friend.�
I could tell he was faking it, even in my current state. But I ignored my thoughts and musings as the man started asking questions and looking at the wound on my shoulder.
Then there was a poke in my arm, and all of my cares went away. I smiled to myself as I started to fade out, the pain leaving instantaneously. That was a miracle shot!
Was it patented?
**
�Angelus?� Doctor Sanders came out of the operating room. I looked to him from where I sat, and stood immediately.
I went over to him, and anxiously asked, �is she going to be alright? What happened?�
�Angelus, I�m only going to say this once, because I care about my patients, and I care about my friends,� he placed one arm on my shoulder. �Angelus, I don�t know who this girl is-and I�m not going to stress over finding out. But I do know this�Whoever shot her, was serious. The bullet they used is called a Durix Ninety Three. It�s a new bullet being sold on the street. I�d heard of it, but never worried about checking for authenticity in the rumors. This bullet, Angelus, it poisons the respiratory system. It causes a victim�s heart to squeeze together and hold, sort of like a heart attack, but much more painful.�
�But is she going to be alright? Is she poisoned? Will she�Will she make it?� The details weren�t important to me. I just wanted to know if Buffy would live to stay with me. But then there was another aching question on my mind�Would she want to stay with me now? After all of this?
My thoughts rushed away as the doctor continued.
�Angelus, it seems this girl�s not exactly�Normal. She�s reacting to this bullet slightly differently than anything I�ve ever seen.� His eyes bore into mine, trying to express his concerns.
�Is it bad?� I asked, my voice choked with emotions that I wasn�t aware I could ever feel for one woman alone�Or any woman at all, for that matter. Buffy was special to me, of that I now knew more than ever, was for sure.
�No,� the doctor surprised me with his answer. �She�s not taking the poison. In fact, her body has started pushing it out of her system. It�s nothing short of miraculous, Angelus.�
�Pushing it out?� I was confused. �How? Where?�
�We hooked her up to an IV about half an hour ago, and instead of accepting it, she started pushing the poison out into the IV. Now, as you know it takes a tremendous amount of strength to push something in to an IV when it�s trying to pump something out.� His eyes grew smaller. �Angelus, this girl is amazing. I don�t know what she is�But she�s different than anything I�ve ever seen in my entire medical career-and I�m not a young man.�
I looked all around, trying to process the information. Then I asked, �Can I see her? Can I just go in and sit with her?�
�Absolutely,� Doctor Sanders said. �In fact, she was asking for you about an hour ago, when we were stitching her wound. She�s been talking to us non-stop about one thing or another. And she�s-�
The doctor never finished his sentence. I was already in Buffy�s hospital room, at her side. �Buffy,� I whispered, taking the hand that didn�t have an IV needle in it, and kissing her forehead tenderly. �Buffy, baby, how are you feeling? Are you okay?�
She frowned, �you know how people say that a paper cut is the worst kind of pain?�
I nodded, �yeah.�
She looked out the window and answered after a moment, �I have a sinking suspicion that none of those people have been shot before.�
I smiled and kissed her knuckles, �nice to see you haven�t lost your sense of humor.�
�Angel,� she looked at me; suddenly serious. �Angel, I don�t think I can go with you. I think I should go back to Devil�s Gorge.�
I straightened up, but refused to let go of her hand. �Buffy,� I began, trying to think of how to beg her to stay. It was selfish to put her at risk, but I was confident that now that she�d been hurt, I wouldn�t let her anywhere near danger.
�No, listen,� she whispered, her eyes focused on my own. �Angel, I want to stay with you. I really do. But there�s someone who doesn�t want that. They�re near desperate to separate us.�
�So we can�t give in-� I started.
But she caught me off, being incessant. �No. Angel, I can�t get shot again. It hurt too much. It was terrifying. I don�t want to know what else the people or person after us will try. I just�� she looked down. �I can�t wait around with you to find out.�
�Is it about what Willow told you?� I asked, as that suspicion took over my being. If Willow had said something, I was damned sure to be paying her a little visit very soon. �Is it about what she-�
�No,� Buffy cut me off. She was quiet a moment, and then said, �but Angel I�ve heard things. I�m not going to deny that. I�ve tried to ignore them and form my own opinion of you, but being shot kind of makes you wonder if people could be right.�
�Buffy, I�d never hurt you. You know that,� I was getting desperate. I looked into her eyes, praying to God that she would see how honest I was. I would hurt anyone who hurt her, but I would never cause her any pain. �You know I�d never hurt you.�
She looked down at her lap, and to the IV. �I think so�But Angel, you�re doing things that make me wonder.�
�Like what?� I was surprised.
�Like taking me to a place that won�t ask questions or tell the police. Like making sure no one in the hotel knew or called the police. The way the doctor asked who you had THIS time?-�
I cut her off, �you know he was joking about that, Buffy.�
�But what about everything else?� she asked.
�Everything else is�Buffy, if people knew, then they�d cause a scene, and it would be all over the press, because of who we are. Then your dad would have known where you were, and he�d come to get you, and�I just thought I was doing the right thing.� I hoped that seemed believable. I couldn�t stand the thought of Buffy wanting to leave.
Ever.
She looked at me, and then down at her hand, �I think I should go. Angel, if I stay with you�Someone could kill one of us. I want to stay with you, but�I�m not going to die for it.�
Before I could say anything, there was a sound of another gun being fired, and people started screaming as loudly as they could in fear.
Doctor Sanders burst through the door, �Angelus!� he gasped, holding his bloody stomach. �Angelus, they have come�� he fell over then, his eyes rolling back in his head like in a movie.
�Angel,� Buffy whispered softly, her voice beginning to quake with fear..
�Get dressed,� I commanded in a stern voice. �Right now. We need to get out of here.�