What has Buffy done?

[shanshu_angel]

When Cordy had the vision; when we had left Miami to come back to a place where we had inflicted so much damage, when we had left behing a place where we had been unable to save Gwen or Groo, or do anything to stop Leonardo or Drusilla, or get that necklace, I hadn't envisioned everthing with Connor going this way

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[rory_the_rage]

This was really poignant, and it was a good thing that he doctors all were facing Connor, because Angel actually vamped for aminute there.

I stayed out of it, thankful that they weren't asking me questions about what had happened, because what could I say?

'He's my nephew and yes, I'm English?'

Cordelia had explained what had happened and I personally would have went with the bat to the face play, myself, because her explanation would mean that there would have to be some cutting and bruising elsewhere on the body, which there likely wasn't.

I laughed internally, as one of the doctors whispered to another of his colleagues that there was no ay that Angel was old enough to be Connor's father.

If they only really knew how old that he was, and if they only knew how miraculous his being Connor's father was.

They scrambled and apparently managed to stop Connor from dying due to cardiac arrest, but then they mentioned that there was no response, cranially.

I couldn't get over the surreality of this all. I wouldn't have ever pictured myself pulling for a boy in a hospital bed, but what was more then that, as how one punch had made his head so disfigured.

[shanshu_angel]

My heart felt like it was beating, with all of the emotion present in the room. The doctors all tense, asking questions, some of them trying to get his heart regulated, others trying to figure out how his head had been so badly battered.

Cordy said that I was his father and the doctors didn't believe that I was old enough to be, and they were also mumbling about this not being a fall.

Cordy definitely could have done better there, but although I was stressed, I realized that it was spur of the moment and she had just come up with something, anything that had come to her mind.

Still, if he had fallen, as opposed to Buffy smashing him with that vicious rght hand, all of her weight and anger behind it, then he would at least have scrapes, and they weren't going to find those.

I was just relieved that he wasn't dying now, and that his heart, as they had said, seemed to be working on it's own, which calmed me down, some.

Buffy kept flashing through my mind and I couldn't even look at his face. It was so leveled by one punch, and the talk was that of a lack of function, and they were trying to determine if he had cranial bleeding, or if he were just unconscious. And then they talked about the facial surgery that he would need.

All of this because of Buffy.

[parting_gifts]

I took half a step back away from the bed and crossed over to the corner of the room, dropping down onto a chair. Connor was literally seconds from dying but they had managed to get his heart to work on its own.

All I could think about was how when Connor was little .. which oddly enough was only 2 or 3 years ago .. I used to change his diapers. And now here he was facing death and god knows what else because of one person : Buffy.

Okay. So it's more because of Lindsey, but Buffy didn't have to punch him so damn hard. And I knew the doctors didn't believe my story, but would they rather have a vamped out Angel explaining it? I put my head in my hands and leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees.

Glancing up, I met eyes with Angel for the briefest of seconds before he broke eye contact. I sighed. This was going to be a long night.

[rory_the_rage]

I took the opportunity, as th doctors talked about setting his nose, which seemed odd to me, at the moment, to look out into the hallway.

I walked out into the hallway to explore some of the other rooms.

This was th emergency room and it was Los Angeles, and it was busy. Very busy.

I could hear the screams of the gunshot wounded penetrating the air, mixed in with those who were faintly whimpering, or mildly complaining about a symptom.

Humanity had never touched me in thsi way before.

I realized that Angel and Cordelia had become new friends, and that I should be in there to supoirt them, but I knew Angel enough to know that he didn't want me there.

Hell, he didn't even want his bloody girlfriend there, and was probably thinking of getting back at Buffy in some way, which I would have to talk him down from.

And, I didn't even know why it was that I felt that way. I just did.

I walked back into the room, a look of consternation on my face. The doctors started wheeling him out of the room, and I got out of the way, making room for them and Angel to barrel by, as I shared a concerned gaze with and for Cordelia.

[shanshu_angel]

Why were they talking about setting his nose?

The truth was, that they didn't know what hey were going to do with him, and that made me want to strangle them.

Rory had left the room, which eased my mind for some reason.

It wasn't that I didn't trust him now, but he wasn't as intimate with this situation as were Cordy and I, and it didn't feel right with him being here.

I was about to scream at the doctors fo them to get their heads on straight here, when they said something about taking him for a cat-scan so that they could get a handle on whether or not there was any internal bleeding.

Rory came back in, as they wheeled him out and the stretcher and me nearly ran him over on the way by.

These tests had to be god. Connor had super-healing, DAMMIT! He was banged up now, but tomorrow, he would be on his way to recovery, DAMMIT!

Except that he would have a battered face for weeks, if not forever, because of Buffy.

Because of Buffy.

[parting_gifts]

I watched Rory leave the room and then get his ass run over by Angel. I felt kinda bad .. cause you know after all he just wanted to help. Or something. My gaze met his for a second before I bolted from my chair and headed out the door with Angel and the doctors and Connor.

"Connor's strong." I said, quietly to Angel, knowing he could hear me even if he didn't want to acknowledge it. I caught up to him and fell into step with him as we turned a corner and I grabbed his hand, giving it a tiny squeeze.

Rory .. well where was he? Oh well. He wasn't going to help Connor. There was nothing any of us could do at the moment to help him. I just hoped he didn't fall into a coma. Cause hi, been there done that, not pretty. But it wasn't looking too good.

[rory_the_rage]

I followed, figuring that there wasn't going to be a roomful allowed into the radiation room, even though radiation wasn't going to hurt Angel or myself.

I gave that one some thought. Radioactivity was what was in atomic bombs. It had to have a force akin to the sun, akin to ultraviolet rays and yet, it wasn't something that was going to harm us, because ultimately, it's not like vampires were going to get cancer.

Then again, you could get skin cancer from the son if you were of the fair-skinned, while it did a number on us.

I had no idea as I turned the corner and saw an aide helping Connor, Angel and Cordelia into the X-ray room.

I wondered what a cat-scan was. I had been around for a long time, but hospitals were only good for blood to us, and since we fed upon humans when we had wanted to, I hadn't spent much of my life in hospitals.

I had changed my ways after Brandy had left me, but that was accomplished by simply cutting off the deliveries outside, and without killing.

They had been personal jobs, no knowledge of it going to Fangdan or any of the other lieutenants and if any of our legion saw it, then they weren't stupid enough to bring it into a topic of matter.

I guess it was part of the reason that God had chosen me to have a soul.

Yeah, thanks for that. Now, I even felt responsible for Connor being in trouble.

[shanshu_angel]

They wheeled him in, unconscious and everything faded away except for sympathy and prayer for my son.

I knew that he wasn't a saint right now and in part, deserved to be beaten down, and I knw that Buffy probably didn't mean to hit him as hard as she did.

I also knew that this had to be triggered by something, probably something having to do with Lindsey and WHEN he woke up, he would still probably be full of rage, but seeing him like this, made m want to weep, made me long to help him, to save him, but there was nothing that I could do.

I just had to pray that he was strong and that the doctors would get him better and that he would wake up, and get his nose set and we could worry about his rage after that.

As he slid, unconscious, under the large cat scan machine, I still couldn't help but think that Buffy didn't need to go SO schoolyard on him.

[parting_gifts]

I watched as they slid Connor unconscious under the CAT Scan machine, helpless. He was completely oblivious to the fact that they were doing this. And it was scary. Scary to think that one punch .. or a series of punches .. whatever from Buffy could do that.

Made me a bit hesistant to go back and beg our friends forgiveness once this whole thing was over. If she was so unyielding when she attacked Connor, she would go completely crazy when Angel and I attempted to apologize.

I just hoped that when Connor woke up, that things would settle down. I mean, inside Connor. That he wouldn't be so full of rage. Because well, I wasn't entirely sure what would happy if I glowed on a person while they were full of medications.

I glanced over at Rory, then back to Angel. I wanted to do something to stop his worrying, but short of healing Connor, I was helpless. I sighed and rubbed my temples, not sure of what else to do.

[rory_the_rage]

I had entered the room, more for support then for anything else.

I didn't really know if I as supposed to be here, but the girl taking the x-rays didn't seem to put up a fuss.

I hadn't known Angel this way for very long and he the same way for me, nor did I know Cordelia, virtually at all, and I only knew that his son, before Buffy had struck him so violently, to be a crazed kid that was supernatural in his birthing, but I did know that I felt bad about the situation.

I knew that Buffy probably didn't mean to inflict such injury and I knew that Angel didn't really care about her intentions at this point.

I also knew that if it turned for the worse for this kid, then I would have to stop Angel from doing something crazy.

It had become clear to me why the Lord had dumped me in the tarpits here in Los Angeles.

And I wished that I had stopped it all from happening on that roof, now, because this was not looking good.

[shanshu_angel]

Connor came back out and looking at his face saddened and angered me.

I didn't know how it worked, but immediately, I asked the woman if she could tell what had happened.

She told me to calm down and that they still had to get the results of the cat-scan and that the doctors would then tell me what the diagnosis was.

I didn't want to let the woman out. I wanted to scream at her and force her to tell me, but I looked at Cordy, looking at me sympathetically, as another woman came back into the room, with a man to help Connor back onto his stretcher.

Connor, a powerful being, reduced to this because of Buffy.

It made me not only mad at her, but it made me resent myself, for all of the pain that I had inflicted in the past.

I followed, Cordy with me, and Rory behind, looking down as we went by, as tey took Connor back to his room.

[parting_gifts]

Connor wasn't supposed to be lying helplessly like this on the stretcher, or in the hospital bed, or in the CAT scan machine. No. He was supposed to be REALLY pissed off and Angel and I were SUPPOSED to get back here in time and I was supposed to glow and things were going to be all right.

But they weren't. And now Connor was probably in a coma and I couldn't help but think, oh my god, I was in that same position just how long ago?

I knew that mystical coma-land wasn't a joy ride. And Connor wasn't even in a mystical coma. We entered the room and once again, I crossed over and grabbed Angel's hand. I needed to hold onto something because none of this felt real.

I just wanted the doctors and the nurses to leave. Cause if they did, I might be able to glow and maybe, just maybe that might I don't know. Help somebody.

I sighed and glanced back at Connor. This was going to be a long .. night. Day. Whatever.

[rory_the_rage]

I generally wasn't one to be passive, but I really didn't know what to say in this situation.

What did you say to one no longer evil vampire, coming from another one, who was looking at his son, which was an impossibility, who was now not looking very well because somebody that you were very interested in, had put the impossible son there?

The answer was, you didn't say very much of anything.

So there I stood, while doctors took evaluations, and bloody such, not knowing what that meant, just knowing that there wasn't much that I could do.

"I'll be back around in a little while," I said, feeling a little bad about leaving, but I was no good for anyone here.

I wanted to let Buffy know what was going on here.

[shanshu_angel]

I didn't even want to think about where Rory might go, and more or less, since he had proven to me that he was decent now, all souled, ripping off what had been done by SOMEBODY else, I didn't care.

Hell, I didn't care if he was bad.

Seeing Connor laid up like this was not only killing me, but I couldn't even lash out about it, which I wanted to do in the worst way.

How could Buffy think so little of me that she would do this to my son?

Even thinking that in front of the woman that I know would never hurt Connor,who loved me now, made me feel bad.

Not much was making me feel good, and seeing Connor was only making me feel worse.

Then a doctor came in with some x-rays.

I rushed to him, Cordy holding me back.

[parting_gifts]

I watched Rory leave the room and nodded in his direction, the most that I felt like I could do. I felt too tired to even raise my hand to wave him goodbye.

As Rory left, the doctor walked in. He was holding the x-rays and it was the moment that we were waiting for. Holding our breath for. Well, at least I was.

Angel rushed up to the doctor and I grabbed him by the arm, holding him back. The doctor seemed unfazed and held up the x-ray, explaining what was going on.

Truth be told, I almost completely zoned out. It was obvious he was in a coma. And it was obvious that one FREAKIN blow to the head courtesy of Buffy put him there.

But just how extensive the damage was was what we were waiting for. I snapped out of it for a second and glanced up at Angel's face. His face appeared blank, but well, it was obvious to me.

He was somewhere between plotting Buffy's death and figuring out how to wake up Connor. Let's just hope this didn't send him too far over the edge. Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough glow in the world to fix it.

[shanshu_angel]

I very nearly cradled the doctor in my arms and slammed him up against the wall, as he strolled in, all stuffy, not the least bit concerned about my son, and probably thinking about the birdie putts that he had missed this morning.

The temptation to slam him up against the wall didn't fade as his silence kept up and he looked at my boy, now all attached to wires, a powerful force, reduced to the help of life support to live because of one punch.

One.

"Doctor, if you don't mind, how about you tell me how it looks? What do the x-rays show?"

I stepped closer to him, but Cordy, sensing my need for destruction at the moment, after failing to save those intended, possibly occurring three times now, was in front of us, puttin her hand on me and prompting me to even look at hr with rage, which immediately made m feel bad.

The doctor said that he was in a coma, but that the facial swelling wasn't the worst that he had seen and any hour now, his body could start functioning again on his own.

I breathed a sigh of relief, without taking an actual breath.

"So, in layman's terms, doctor, that's a good thing, RIGHT??"

He smiled and nodded, but hen mentioned that the facial reconstruction was going to be costly.

Nothing would ever, and I mean, ever, be easy on this Earth.