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Title: A Step Forward 52/100 TtH Prompt: #19 Pain Summary: Cameron sits with Buffy during her recuperation. A Step Forward A frown marred Cameron’s face as Buffy softly whimpered in her sleep as her body twitched slightly. He wished they could give her something for the pain, but Dr. Lam had insisted that Buffy’s molecular structure was still too unstable. She hadn’t even wanted to give Buffy the serum that Giles had sent either, but had eventually relented. He blearily rubbed his eyes. He hoped that giving it to her was the right thing to do, even if she had been the one to ask for it. They weren’t sure how it worked or what was in it since they were under strict orders not to run any tests on it, but the way Giles had acted about it meant that it was some serious stuff. Buffy’s eyes flew open as she gasped in pain. It felt as if every muscle in her body was on fire. Her body tensed against the pain and then relaxed as it dissipated. “Bad one, huh?” “You could say that,” Buffy said, closing her eyes. Now that the pain had lessened to a dull ache, nausea was hitting her. She concentrated on keeping the few contents of her stomach down. Cam hesitated for a moment then reached out to take her hand. He had done it often while she was sleeping, but he just wasn’t sure if she’d accept it while she was awake. Relief flooded through him as she opened her eyes to give him a small smile and gently squeezed his hand for a moment. “Can I get you anything?” He asked. She went to shake her head and then thought better of it. She carefully swallowed and said, “I feel sick.” He reached down and grabbed a plastic pan. “Dr. Lam said you might get a little ill,” he said in explanation. Buffy closed her eyes again as she tried to will the nausea spell away. Her body convulsed in pain again and she lost what little control she had. She reached out for the bucket before it was too late. She wanted to cry as painful spasms rocked through her body and her stomach heaved all at the same time. She had never felt this miserable the entire time she had been tortured. Then Cameron was there gently rubbing her back and keeping her hair out of her face. His presence calmed her and her body’s rebellion against her subsided. She weakly relaxed back into his arms. “Weren’t you in a chair?” She asked, her throat raw from vomiting. “I moved,” he said simply. He reached for a cup of water on the small table next to the bed. “Here.” “Thanks,” she said, taking small sips so as to not upset her stomach again. When she finished, she handed it back to him. “Why are you helping me? You don’t even like me.” Pain of a different kind, along with shame, squeezed Cameron’s chest. “That’s not true. I’ve never said that,” he protested, placing the cup back on the table. “You stopped talking to me and you stopped calling me Buffy. Just called me Summers,” she said, tensing as pain shot down her legs. “I’m sorry about that,” Cam said with a sigh. “My temper got the better of me, but I never stopped caring about you.” “Oh,” Buffy said softly, relaxing some. Cameron showed no signs of moving and she enjoyed the feeling of letting someone support her. “But we can talk about it later, once you’re better again.” “’Kay,” she said. Her eyelids were starting to droop and she snuggled further into Cameron’s embrace without thinking about it. “As long as you know I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. When he didn’t get a response, he looked down to see that she had drifted off to sleep. A small smile graced his lips as the knowledge that the first step in restoring their friendship had been taken. Previous Chapter Buffygate Menu Next Chapter |
