CHAPTER 46: When it rains, it pours

Buffy sat at her desk, drinking decaffeinated coffee and going through some files. She'd just arrived a moment ago and had a hard time getting her mind into her work. She had arrived late this morning, which wasn't something she usually did. But she felt incredibly groggy and didn't seem to be able to shake off the tiredness weighing her down. She sighed and tried to focus her attention on the file in front of her and think of what she had to do during the day. But the unusual rain pounding her window kept diverting her gaze from the work at hand. The gray skies and torrential rain did nothing to improve her already gloomy mood.

There was a knock on the door. Buffy looked up, assuming it must be Harmony. But when the door didn't open, she called for the person to come in. The door opened and Faith looked inside.

"Hey B, sorry for knocking like this, but your very competent secretary is nowhere in sight."

Buffy frowned, noticing how lifeless Faith's voice was. "Everything all right, Faith?"

The guard opened the door wider. "Can I come in for a sec?"

"Sure..." Buffy stood up in a hurry as soon as she noticed the state of Faith's uniform. The front was dark with fresh blood. "Faith! Oh my God, are you all right? What happened?"

Buffy quickly walked up to her friend to examine her more closely. Faith shut the door behind her.

"No, don't worry. I'm fine. It's not my blood." But despite what she was saying, the tall brunette's hands were shaking badly.

The warden grabbed Faith's arm and led her to a chair, not caring if the blood stained the expensive leather of her office furniture. She poured her a glass of water, then turned the other chair and sat in front of her.

Faith took the offered glass with a thankful nod and drank half of it in three large gulps. Color was slowly returning to her too pale face as Buffy patiently waited for her to regain her composure.

Finally, Faith shook her head and snorted, her usual detached attitude slowly returning. "Seriously Buff, you have got to fire that asshole Jake. The guy's seriously deranged."

Eyebrows drawn together in question, Buffy gave her a blank look. "Huh? What the hell happened? What did Jake do? Can you please start from the beginning because I have no idea what you're talking about."

"We had a situation about an hour ago. I tried calling you on the radio but you weren't there."

"Sorry, I was late."

"'s' all right. Everything is back to normal now, but let me tell you... it wasn't pretty."

"So, if it's not yours, than whose blood is this? A prisoner?"

Faith took the time to finish her glass of water and put it down on Buffy's desk before answering. "Yeah. Parker was acting up again. He stabbed Rayne..."

Funny how such simple words, uttered so casually, could destroy your entire world. And this was the perfect example. In a matter of seconds, Buffy felt everything crashing down arround her. Time stopped and whatever Faith said after was completely lost on her, the sound not reaching her ears.

It only took a moment for Faith to realize that something was going on. Her boss was suddenly staring at her with blind, glassy eyes, her face pale as a ghost. But what really gave it all away were the tears streaming down her face.

"Buffy?" She looked at the petite blonde questioningly, but got no answer. Then, she understood. "Oh my fucking God! I should have known. You and pretty boy Rayne?"

Realizing she had the way to end Buffy's misery, Faith's eyes widened. "Shit! I'm such a moron... He's fine! Stop freakin' out B. He's at the infirmary being his good old self, talking and cracking jokes. Nothing to worry about, I swear."

This didn't have the expected effect. Buffy started bawling.

Faith knelt before her and pulled her into her arms. "Hey now, you know I'm not good with that kind of stuff. Makes me feel all awkward and shit." She said gruffly while uncomfortably patting her friend's back. "Come on now, I swear he's fine. I just spent the past hour by his side. He won't even need to go to the hospital. Thankfully, Parker can't aim for shit. It was bleeding a lot, but it was only superficial. The doc gave him something against the pain so now he's all stoned and happy."

Faith pushed away from Buffy and looked at her. "Chill, OK? Take a deep breath, fix your make-up--cause you look like Harmony when she got drunk at the Christmas party last year... scary. We'll go see him. I'll distract Anya so you can have a couple minutes alone with your hot prison boy. Deal?"

Buffy nodded pitifully.

Faith stood up. It was her turn to pour a glass of water. She handed it to Buffy. "Here ya go, boss."

"Thanks." Buffy watched as the guard went to get her purse for her. She took it and started looking for her compact. "Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"I... huh.."

Faith raised an eyebrow, waiting for Buffy to finally ask her question. "What?"

"I don't know. I was expecting you to be upset if you ever found out about me and Spike, but you seem OK with it."

"Why would I be upset? You're not stealing, you're not hurting anyone, you're not abusing anyone... If you're in love with Rayne, it's your business. Besides, who could blame you? The guy is beyond hot." She sighed. "Look, B, I know why you think I'd be upset. It's because of what happened with Wilkins, right?"

"Yes. I thought... You said you trusted me. I felt like I was betraying your trust. I lied to you, you know?"

"Yeah, that you did. But I can see why, so no hard feelings." Seeing that Buffy was done making herself look presentable again, Faith stood up. "Enough with the sentimental shit. You're banging Rayne--you are, right?"

Buffy nodded, her cheeks turning red.

"So like I was saying, you're banging Rayne, you're a lucky bitch, I'm happy for you, and I don't care if you lied to me about this. Can we go now? I'm sure Mr. Hot British Guy would love to have a visitor."

Buffy gave her a weak smile and followed her out of the office.

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As soon as they walked into the infirmary, Anya pounced on them; she'd obviously been waiting for them. The nurse looked excited beyond belief, but as usual tried acting as if she weren't affected by the morning's events.

"Finally. I was starting to think this prison didn't have a warden."

Faith gave her a murderous look and Anya visibly shrank back.

"I didn't mean that in a rude way... I mean... With all due respect and all..." She looked down, giving up.

"It's fine Anya." Buffy said, trying not to sound too exasperated. "You're right, I should have been here. Where is he?"

"He's in a private room. I gave him one of the painkillers the doctor prescribed and he's sleeping now. Dr. Stevens is still here if you want to see him. He's filling out some paper work in the office."

Faith answered for the warden. "Ms. Summers will go ask prisoner Rayne a few questions first..."

"But, he's sleeping right now." Anya argued, frowning in disapproval.

"So? He's a prisoner, not the prince of England. He's lucky he's got a private room and a private doctor. Now the warden wants to ask him questions. She has a job to do. So you and I will go have a chat with the good doctor and let her do her job. Got it?"

The nurse rolled her eyes at Faith. "God, Faith, you're so rude."

The guard smirked. "Something we have in common. Lets go."

Buffy watched as Faith and Anya disappeared into the office, Faith closing the door behind them. Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the closed door of the private room where William was resting. She opened the door and quietly walked in, afraid of what she'd see.

Spike was lying on his back, his torso bare except for the starched white dressing wrapped around his middle. Fresh blood had seeped through, creating a small dark circle on his right side. His eyes were closed, his dark lashes contrasting against his paler than normal skin. Buffy froze for a moment, then rushed to his side. As soon as she grabbed his hand, he opened his eyes. Seeing her there, he smiled weakly.

"Hey luv." He greeted, his voice raspy, the dose of painkiller he'd just received making his words slurred. His eyelashes fluttered, then his eyelids shut again. "Sorry, kitten. I don't know what nurse Anya gave me, but I'm sure it can't be bloody legal in the States. This stuff was strong."

Buffy grabbed his hand and squeezed it affectionately. She managed a shadow of a smile. "Maybe in Amsterdam it is."

He chuckled, but his amusement was cut short by the pain shooting through his torso. Silence followed. Silence while Buffy fought against the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes, and Spike fought to open his eyes to look at her. To be honest, she preferred that he kept his eyes closed so he wouldn't see the distress on her face. The last thing she wanted was for him to be worried about her.

But she failed at keeping the tears in, and he succeeded at opening his eyes.

"Luv, please don't cry. I'm fine. The wanker did manage to put a hole through me, but he was too much of a poofter to do it right. I just lost a bit of blood, that's all. Some orange juice and doughnuts, a night of rest, and I'll be right as rain. Stop worrying like that."

Seeing that this had no effect on her, he managed to scoot over a bit to make place for her on the bed and pulled on her hand. "C'mon luv, come lie with me for a bit."

He watched her as she carefully lie next to him. He put his arm up around her shoulder and she snuggled up to his side, careful not to touch his midsection.

"Nobody's going to interrupt, pet? I don't fancy another surprise visit. Might not be so lucky this time."

She shook her head no. "F-Faith just found out... about us. She said she'd keep Anya and the doctor busy for a while." Buffy manage to get out between two sobs.

Spike turned his head to place a tender kiss on her forehead. He knew instinctively there was nothing he could say to make it better so he just waited until her tears slowed down before speaking again.

"Are you gonna be all right, luv? I hate to see you like that."

Buffy chuckled bitterly. She reached up to brush the tears from her cheek. "You're worried about me? Are you serious? You get stabbed by some psychotic jackass and you worry about me?"

Spike smiled down at her. "What? Is there some kind of prison rule against that? Stabbed prisoners are not allowed to worry about their beloved warden when she's crying? Sorry luv, I missed the memo."

"S'not funny." She mumbled against the skin of his neck.

"Sorry Buffy. I'm just trying to lighten things up a little. I don't like seeing you so worked up over my well being. I know you're worried all the time and I hate that Parker succeeded at giving you another reason to worry."

There was a long, emotionally charged silence before Buffy finally spoke again.

"I don't know how to deal, Spike."

The desperation in her small, almost childish voice, broke his heart. He tightened his hold on her.

"Every time I think it's too hard and I can't take anymore, something else happens that makes the rest look like nothing. I want this to be over. I want to take you out of here with me. I'm lying here on this bed with you, and it's like a part of my brain doesn't understand why I can't just stand up, take your hand, and walk out of here with you. Take you home. Take care of you, make you all better, and forget this place even exists."

For once in his life, Spike didn't know what to say.

"Faith has a gun." Buffy continued, now more animated. "You could take it, use me as an hostage. We could get out of here and drive all the way to Mexico. Start a new life together. I could braid necklaces and sell them on the beach..."

Spike gave her a disbelieving look. "Somehow, that little plan of yours doesn't sound like it would end well. I can already see the headlines. 'Police chase ends in tragedy near Mexican border. Escaped prisoner and hostage both dead.' Not your brightest idea, luv."

"Fine." Buffy said with a pout. "If you have a better plan, I'd like to hear it Mr. Smarty Pants."

He smiled sadly at her. "No. No plan. I'm sorry baby. I know it's hard and I want so much to make it better, but there's nothing I can do. I can promise you to try to be more careful, but that's all I can do. I'll try not to get into anymore fights unless it's absolutely unavoidable. And I'll stay away from Parker."

Buffy sat up. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and ran her fingers through her disheveled hair. "That won't be a problem. I'm gonna work from home for the rest of the day because I can't stay here, but before I leave, there's one thing I need to do. I'm handcuffing this son of a bitch and shipping his ass to Donovan. See if he likes playing in the big leagues. He's had his fun here, now lets see how he likes being someone else's bitch for a change. I'm not even gonna wait for an answer from the warden at Donovan's. I'll send Parker with a little note attached to his shirt. "Stray dog looking for new home." They'll know what to do with the bastard.

Spike grinned. "That's my girl."

Buffy placed a hand on the other side of him and leaned forward until her lips met his, careful not to jar the bed or touch his injured torso. Spike slid his fingers through her hair to pull her closer and deepened the kiss. Their tongues caressed each other tenderly, lips devouring each other's in a desperate attempt at explaining the depth of their feelings for each other. Neither could bring themselves to end the kiss, not even when Faith cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Yo... Love birds, time to check out. I kept the good doctor and nurse girl busy for as long as I could, but besides a threesome, I really couldn't find anything else to keep them occupied. So we gotta hit the road before they barge in and discover your little secret."

Buffy groaned in protest, but pulled away from Spike's lips nonetheless. She reached up and caressed the side of his face. "Rest. I'll give them instructions to keep you here at least a week, if not more. Faith and Giles will come check on you. I'll stop by as often as I possibly can."

Spike nodded and smiled. "Thanks, pet."

"I love you... so much."

"Love you too kitten. And please... Stop worrying about me."

"Sorry baby, no can do. That's like asking me to stop breathing." She grinned and ruffled his hair.

From somewhere behind them, Faith sighed and rolled her eyes. "Absolutely sickening. You two should be ashamed of yourselves for being that cute. Come on, B, gotta go."

With one last chaste kiss on the lips, Buffy said good bye and left Spike to rest. The doctor and Anya walked in just as she was following Faith out of the room. Buffy stopped to give Anya instructions about Spike, then left the infirmary with Faith.

"Are you going back to you office?" Faith asked.

"Yeah. But just for a few minutes. I want to pick up a couple files, make a few phone calls, then I'm going home."

Faith nodded silently. Buffy noticed she looked tired. She'd almost forgot the guard had been through a lot too. "I might stop at the restaurant for lunch before going home. Wanna come with?"

Faith's face lit up. "Yeah, sure. Action like I've had this morning always makes me hungry. I wouldn't say no to a burger... or something else."

Buffy smile wearily. "Good. Let's go."

The two women were approaching the warden's office when Buffy stopped and put a hand on the wall to support herself.

"You all right, B?"

Buffy took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She finally looked up at a worried Faith. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm a little tired. Too many emotions this morning, that's all."

They went into Buffy's office and after she made the arrangements to transfer Parker Abrams, she followed Faith to the security check point.

"Are we taking one car or two?" Buffy asked. "If you want to come with me, I don't mind driving you back after lunch. It's up to you."

"Gotta admit, B, I wouldn't mind getting in that cute little toy car of yours. It's a beauty."

Buffy chuckled. "One car it is."

"I have to talk to the replacement for a sec. I'll meet you at your car."

The blonde woman nodded and left. As she walked across the parking lot, she waved at the parking attendant. Joseph, an old black man approaching his retirement, waved back.

The old man watched the warden making her way to her car. He liked her; she was a good girl. A woman, but in the eyes of the 63 year-old veteran, she was only a girl. But Joseph liked her because she was a good boss. Just, fair, strict but with a good heart and willing to listen to her employees. After dealing with so many wardens that he called 'bad apples' before, this tiny slip of a girl was like a breath of fresh air. She was sure to make his last couple of years working for the prison good ones.

The old man frowned when he saw the warden stop in her tracks. She was a little hunched over and not moving. But then she started walking again and he figured it was nothing. Until she reached her car, dropped her keys and fell on her knees, the hand holding on to the door handle the only thing still keeping her upright. Joseph got out of his booth and started jogging toward the warden as fast as his old age allowed him.

From the other side of the parking lot, Faith started running too. But Buffy didn't see either of them. There was nothing but the blinding pain in her lower belly and a feeling of fatality.

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CHAPTER 47: Tough girls cry too

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