CHAPTER 2<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cYOU BROUGHT HOME WHO?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia winced holding the phone away from her ear as Angelus lay sprawled on the kitchen counter, the blinds on the windows were closed and in the florescent lights of her kitchen, the deathly still vampire looked very much like the walking corpse that he was.<\/p>\n
She sighed and decided a different tactic with the screaming on the phone. She\u2019d seen the state of the vampire and decided to call the cavalry earlier. He didn\u2019t look like he\u2019d make it through the night.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiles, it took me almost two excruciating hours to drag him here. Believe me, stupid I am not. He really can\u2019t seem to bite me and he really is in bad shape.\u201d She watched Angelus try and take off the tattered remains of his shirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides, he\u2019s three sheets to the wind with hunger and blood loss and keeps raving about this Initiative group.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIT\u2019S ANGELUS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to keep shouting, Librarian man, because believe me I WILL hang up on you.\u201d She raised an eyebrow when Angelus let out a very undignified squeak.<\/p>\n
\u201cANGELUS!? OF ALL PEOPLE!\u201d<\/p>\n
And she hit disconnect on her cordless before staring at it nonchalantly. She counted to three softly in her head before the phone rang again. After four bells she picked up. \u201cChase residence, Cordelia Chase speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a throat being cleared on the other side. \u201cWhat do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou and some very large Band-Aids. Also something for him to eat, he hasn\u2019t fed in a week, he says.\u201d She grabbed the edge of Angelus\u2019 shirt and pulled.<\/p>\n
The beaten, already slashed silk tore easily and Angelus let out a hiss of pain. She admonished him with a roll of her eyes before chucking the remains of his shirt into the trash.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he\u2019s not even TRIED to bite you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The brunette rolled her eyes as she walked around the prone body of the groaning vampire. \u201cHello! Fangless vampire here! Were you NOT listening before?\u201d<\/p>\n
Facing Angelus she met his pain laced eyes. \u201cThe pants will have to go too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCORDELIA! He\u2019s undressing!?!?!\u201d<\/p>\n
She let out another lamenting sigh. \u201cDo you want me hang up again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLord! No. Don\u2019t. I can\u2019t get through to Buffy at the moment. Willow\u2019s parents were in town; she\u2019s with her.\u201d Cordelia watching Angelus struggle with the leather pants and took pity on him.<\/p>\n
Reaching out she deftly unbuckled his belt and nearly screamed when his hand caught her wrist. Shocked hazel eyes drifted up to his face and she frowned at him as he looked at her with gritted teeth and stormy obsidian eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d She mouthed while Giles talked.<\/p>\n
A scarred eyebrow arched, his mouth twisting into a cocky half smile.<\/p>\n
Her eyes widened as she jerked her hand out of his grasp, her cheeks flaming. Gives a whole new meaning to commando, this one; she concluded, her own eyes mapping the curves of his ass once before turning away.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
Clearing her throat she stepped away from the deliriously smirking vampire and addressed Giles on the phone. \u201cYeah Giles. I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be there in an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d She hung up and turned to finally regard the bruised and battered dead man on her kitchen counter. \u201cOkay. So what shall we do till then? How about a game of poker?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at her incredulously. \u201cSweetheart I suggest you fetch a pair of pliers and get these bullets out of me before I turn to dust on your nice clean kitchen floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
She let out a snort of breath. \u201cThat drunk I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
She\u2019d gone from a penniless May Queen to vampire nurse in training.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re pulling it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill you PLEASE just NOT talk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re dislocating my solar plexus woman! Do you really expect me sit back quietly!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you KNOW how many bullets were in here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cARGH! THAT was my liver you just poked!\u201d<\/p>\n
The brunette sat back on his thighs, her weight making him wince as she sat atop him while the vampire lay on her kitchen table. Her hands were soaked in his blood. She had agreed to get the bullets out of his body to give it a chance to heal.<\/p>\n
Even though the sight of blood was making her squeamish, the heavy amount of liquor she\u2019d been consuming since the call to Giles had steadied her nerves. It didn\u2019t seem to work on the vampire though.<\/p>\n
Pointing the blood soaked tweezers into his face, she glared.\u00a0\u201cDo you or do you NOT want me to do this for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus\u2019 entire body was humming with pain. The insane need to feed was making him delirious and the alcohol in his veins wasn\u2019t helping.<\/p>\n
Besides this little girl was stubborn and uncharacteristically brutal when she was tipsy. At first he\u2019d thought it would be a good idea to get her to relax before she tried her hand at helping him, seeing as the watcher wouldn\u2019t be there sooner.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t risk infection. The bullets had been there the entire day yesterday. Besides the lack of feeding wasn\u2019t helping his healing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is fucking unacceptable! Can you at least TRY not to rearrange my internal organs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I look like your surgeon, Angelus?\u201d She grabbed the blood stained bottle of whiskey she\u2019d found in her father\u2019s study and took a swig, nearly toppling off the kitchen counter. \u201cOoo, I\u2019m a fairy princess.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vampire gritted his teeth before he grabbed the bottle away from her. \u201cThink you\u2019ve had enough Chase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia shook her head to clear the sudden haze before her eyes before she blinked at him. \u201cThe bullets are out. It\u2019s not my fault your blood is abnormally thick. I couldn\u2019t see anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSurprising considering where your hands landed\u2026\u201d He winced as he shifted on the flat marble top before draining the last few gulps of the whiskey.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow was I supposed to know your spleen is supposed to be there? If I\u2019d paid that much attention in Bio 101, I might have been Cordelia Chase Nerd Slayer instead!\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus let his head fall back against the cold marble and sighed. \u201cFuck, just finish the bandaging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordelia huffed as she cleaned the excess blood from his wounds before taping him up with medical tape and securing his bandage.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just lucky we had a First Aid kit and you\u2019re even luckier I knew were it was.\u201d She watched his eyelids drop shut and frowned slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you dying?\u201d There was a distinct growl in his chest, but it was too soft for her liking. \u201cYou can\u2019t die you big lump of rotting brain! I didn\u2019t half carry you here to let you turn to dust. Think of the cleaning bill and I\u2019m broke!\u201d<\/p>\n
Grabbing the languid sway of his jaw she shook him. \u201cHey! Wake up Fangless! You\u2019re not dying on me! You hear that! Wake up now or I\u2019ll paint your toes pink!\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus dragged on eye open between the bright lights exploding behind his closed lids and the screaming voices in his head. He watched bright hazel eyes watching him with something that looked like concern, her fingers securing the bandage over his forehead.<\/p>\n
She glared down at him, a dull fear settling in her belly, the alcohol in her system dampening her defenses as she panicked at the prospect of him actually dying. She *so* didn\u2019t want his death on her hands.<\/p>\n
She knew she\u2019d get the blame eventually. Cordelia realized she should have just left him there in the stupid alley instead! That way, she could have just gone on with her lack of life and left Sunnydale in the middle of the night like she originally planned.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to me Angelus, I\u2019m covered in vampire goo! I ruined a perfectly nice Perry Ellis dress, if you make all that in vain I will come after you in hell, believe me, I\u2019m that depressed to try!\u201d The dilated pupils shifted and she realized at least he was partially coherent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to get you some painkillers, I don\u2019t know if they will work, but hey; desperate times. Don\u2019t go away.\u201d His tongue slid out to wet his dry lips and she took that as a yes before sprinting out of the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Her mother took the strongest pills in the world. If they could work on her migraines, they sure as hell would be able to hold of a vampire for a while until Giles came back. She was riffling through her mother\u2019s drawers when the sound of barking startled her.<\/p>\n
Then her eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh shit! SAMSON!\u201d Screeching down the stairs, she hoped the dog had not made it into the kitchen. It would so not look good telling Giles her dog ate Angelus.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamson, don\u2019t!\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angelus was propped up on the floor leaning against the cabinet under the sink while Cordelia sat on the stool, her head cradled on blood soaked arms, and that was how Giles found them.<\/p>\n
Freezing in the archway of the brightly lit, white tiled kitchen Giles almost reeled. He was too late. \u201cCordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am still an Armani privilege member!\u201d The brunette\u2019s head snapped up, one finger pointed up amidst her fashion nightmare and the shock of falling back to earth. She blinked disoriented before meeting his gaze with lassitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiles?\u201d<\/p>\n
He silently thanked god he hadn\u2019t eaten breakfast, the sight of the kitchen would have made him lose it. Rushing to her side, Giles watched the vampire sitting there a few feet away; his head leaned back against the cabinet, his eyes closed.<\/p>\n
He swallowed thickly, trying to keep the bile down his throat. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngelus ate my dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moist hazel eyes looked up at Giles and the watcher took in the blood stained floor, the prone Doberman and the very still vampire before gathering Cordelia in his arms.<\/p>\n
Why couldn\u2019t things be slightly normal for a change? Every time Giles looked at these kids, he realized how young they were.<\/p>\n
They deserved so much better. \u201cCordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmmm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is your furniture?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTip of the iceberg, Librarian man. There\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n