AB/BtVS FF: Nightmares in Waking Life 41/?
TITLE: Nightmares in Waking Life
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40
PART FORTY-ONE
After leaving Emily with her sister (and two pack guards nearby), Richard rushed to the shapeshifter hospital. He had hoped to see Willow and Anita immediately; he was disappointed, though, to find himself being moved into another room by Jean-Claude where some of his pack seemed to have been waiting for him.
"I do not have time to argue with you, mon ami," Jean-Claude said, cutting across the protest Richard had been putting forth. "Willow and Anita have been gravely injured and I must attend to Samuel's son and our safety before I can sit at ma petite's bedside."
"But----"
Jean-Claude shook his head. "Non, Richard. You will feed safely from your pack. You will not let your frustration or sadness feed you. You will give your pack some sense of calm---you will find a sense of calm because your Lupa requires it of you."
His arguments died with the Master of the City's words. It wasn't because the vampire was calling to his wolf; it was because the vampire called to his sense of loyalty and used logic to do so. It made Richard want to hate Jean-Claude even more than he sometimes did.
So, he had done his best to feed from his pack---only willing participants, of course, and as few men as he possibly could manage for his own comfort level---and as much as he didn't want to admit it (even to himself) he felt stronger and more stable, as if helping the others helped him, too.
He thanked his wolves and then left to go check on Willow and Anita. He saw Anita first because he knew once he saw Willow he wouldn't want to leave her side.
The necromancer was a pale woman, normally, but after suffering from a severe lost of blood her pallor was more pronounced. He saw Jean-Claude sitting by the bed with his hands on one of hers; he saw Micah and Nathaniel around her, the former stretched out and up against her side while the latter was curled up against and partially on Anita's legs with his head resting on her abdomen. A few pieces of older monitoring equipment beeped and whirred in the background.
He walked over to the gurney and sat in the empty chair next to the vampire.
"How is she?"
"Recovering," Jean-Claude said tiredly. "The doctor was hesitant to give her blood transfusions, of both human and lycanthrope varieties, so we've been feeding and pushing energy into her. She's been responding well, given the circumstances."
Richard sighed. "How did this happen?"
"She was with Asher. He lost control while feeding---"
"He what?!"
"Shh, shh, mon ami," Jean-Claude murmured in the same patient and exhausted voice. "I do not blame him. I, too, jumped to that conclusion, but after pondering the evidence I decided to believe his side of the story. Once speaking with Willow, I'm more certain that something else was the cause of tonight's events. He is not to blame."
"Sampson?"
Jean-Claude shrugged without the gesture's usual casual air. "I have not been able to speak to him yet," he replied. "He has been rather... if I did not know him well, I would say he is intoxicated. He is delirious and unresponsive."
"Have you called Samuel or Leucothea?"
The Master of the City shook his head. "I'm waiting to see if he will recover on his own. I do not want Perdita snooping about and making reports to her true master."
"Thea?"
"Non, les sirènes ordinaires," Jean-Claude replied. "I believe Perdita is serving Samuel and his wife, but that she is also serving the mermaids in the territory. They did not want Sampson to gain his full powers. I suspect she would have tried to assassinate him if she was given the order and if she had the opportunity to do so before he went to Anita's house."
Richard grunted his agreement. He reached out and put his hand on Anita's arm, well above Jean-Claude's hand. She was warm; he could feel that she was becoming stronger.
"Thank you for feeding for the five of us," Jean-Claude said in a quiet voice. "I took the edge of l'ardeur but Willow and Anita cannot feed to strengthen themselves."
The Ulfric nodded, suddenly aware of Micah's eyes on him as he responded to Jean-Claude's words. The Nimir-Raj hadn't visibly paid him much attention to him when he entered the room; however after the vampire spoke, his feline eyes were open and focused on the werewolf king.
"I don't like it... but for them, I'd do anything," he said quietly.
Jean-Claude smiled a bit. "I know, mon ami." He paused and then gently put his hand over Richard's fingers, a ghost of a comforting caress in his touch. "If you wish to sit with your mate, I will tell Anita you were here."
"Thank you," Richard replied. "I'll sit here for a few minutes, though, first."
The werewolf waited until Anita's eyelashes fluttered open, until she showed a stronger sign of recovery, and until he told her that he loved her before he left her bedside. She gave him a weak smile and he kissed the nearest corner of her mouth; then, he stood and walked from the private room.
He nearly bumped into Doc Lillian on his way out of Anita's private room. She stepped out of his way with quick reflexes before giving him a smile.
"Hello, Richard," she said in her calm and soothing voice. "We're not stitching you up today."
He gave a small, sheepish smile. "No, Doc, not today."
She stepped closer to him. "How are you holding up?" she inquired, more professional than personal in her tone of voice.
"I'm tired... worried---"
"Physically, Richard."
"I fed."
"You should eat," she told him. "Actual food... and not that metaphysical energy or whatever it is."
He sighed. "I had to feed for Anita," he said. "I just saw her, but I want to see Willow first---"
"And then you'll eat?"
He nodded.
She smiled again. "Willow's in the next room," she said, pointing to a closed door. "Asher's with her. Go in, but don't rile anyone up. She's pretty weak right now."
Richard gave the doctor another nod. "Yeah... I just want to sit with her. Them."
Lillian motioned towards the room where Willow was recovering. "Go on in, then. I'll be in the lab a bit longer, and then I'll check on the girls again before heading to the Circus."
"The Circus?" Richard echoed.
"Yeah," she replied. "Jean-Claude asked if I'd go and check on Sampson. They're not sure what's wrong with him."
Richard frowned. "If it's a drug that caused all of this, won't it just run its course?"
"Probably," the doctor agreed. "But, drawing a bit of blood and checking it won't do any harm. And if there's nothing there, then we know it's something I can't cure. At least it's a relatively quiet time, so we're not swamped here."
Richard bowed his head for a brief instant. "We need to get you more staff... you work too hard."
Lillian laughed. "Well, lycanthrope-saavy doctors are a rare breed, so to speak. I'd settle for nurses. Cherry's great, and there are a few swans that help out... we do okay."
"You do great," the Ulfric asserted.
"Thanks for saying so, Richard," Lillian murmured, after a chuckle. "Anyway, you better go in and sit with your Lupa."
After a polite nod, he ducked away from the wererat and through the door she had pointed out to him.
Richard found Willow sound asleep in bed. She was pale against the sheets; her freckles seemed to stand out sharply against the white bedding and her ashen face. She was in a nightgown that he knew wasn't standard hospital wear---so he assumed that Asher had put her in it for her comfort.
The vampire was sitting in an uncomfortable chair. He was leaning forward, his chin on his hands and his elbows on the gurney. His eyes were open but unblinking. He wasn't moving; he was simply watching Willow and seemingly enjoying it.
"How is she?"
"Dreaming," Asher replied. "She fell asleep again after Jean-Claude left us. Her eyelids are twitching. I suspect she's dreaming."
"You're not giving her the dream?" the werewolf asked.
The blond vampire shook his head. "Non," he said, "she is having this adventure on her own." He sighed unnecessarily and turned his head to look at Richard. "She faded rather quickly. Even with us trying to help. She... I do not understand what happened this evening."
"She was rolled---we all felt it."
Asher turned away from Richard. He didn't look at Willow, either, and Richard guessed he was feeling a little shame at his actions---and at being rolled, himself. Richard hadn't been very swept up in the actions but he wasn't as tightly bound to Willow and Anita as the two vampires were.
"Yes, but... was it my error with Anita that caused her defenses to weaken?" Asher asked. "Or was it the other way around?"
Richard sighed. "I don't know."
"Moi, non plus," the vampire said on a sigh.
"She's going to recover though."
"Oui, but at what price?" Asher asked.
On impulse, Richard reached out and touched Asher's arm. "She's stronger than we give her credit for being," he reminded the blond man. "She's not alone. We'll help her."
Asher nodded and patted the Ulfric's hand. "Merci, mon ami," he said in a quiet and glum tone of voice. "You are trying... and I appreciate that tonight."
Richard nodded but he didn't say anything else. He had too much on his mind to say much more; however, even if he could think of something else to say to the vampire, he wasn't sure if it would be of any use to the blond member of their pentumvirate.
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40
PART FORTY-ONE
After leaving Emily with her sister (and two pack guards nearby), Richard rushed to the shapeshifter hospital. He had hoped to see Willow and Anita immediately; he was disappointed, though, to find himself being moved into another room by Jean-Claude where some of his pack seemed to have been waiting for him.
"I do not have time to argue with you, mon ami," Jean-Claude said, cutting across the protest Richard had been putting forth. "Willow and Anita have been gravely injured and I must attend to Samuel's son and our safety before I can sit at ma petite's bedside."
"But----"
Jean-Claude shook his head. "Non, Richard. You will feed safely from your pack. You will not let your frustration or sadness feed you. You will give your pack some sense of calm---you will find a sense of calm because your Lupa requires it of you."
His arguments died with the Master of the City's words. It wasn't because the vampire was calling to his wolf; it was because the vampire called to his sense of loyalty and used logic to do so. It made Richard want to hate Jean-Claude even more than he sometimes did.
So, he had done his best to feed from his pack---only willing participants, of course, and as few men as he possibly could manage for his own comfort level---and as much as he didn't want to admit it (even to himself) he felt stronger and more stable, as if helping the others helped him, too.
He thanked his wolves and then left to go check on Willow and Anita. He saw Anita first because he knew once he saw Willow he wouldn't want to leave her side.
The necromancer was a pale woman, normally, but after suffering from a severe lost of blood her pallor was more pronounced. He saw Jean-Claude sitting by the bed with his hands on one of hers; he saw Micah and Nathaniel around her, the former stretched out and up against her side while the latter was curled up against and partially on Anita's legs with his head resting on her abdomen. A few pieces of older monitoring equipment beeped and whirred in the background.
He walked over to the gurney and sat in the empty chair next to the vampire.
"How is she?"
"Recovering," Jean-Claude said tiredly. "The doctor was hesitant to give her blood transfusions, of both human and lycanthrope varieties, so we've been feeding and pushing energy into her. She's been responding well, given the circumstances."
Richard sighed. "How did this happen?"
"She was with Asher. He lost control while feeding---"
"He what?!"
"Shh, shh, mon ami," Jean-Claude murmured in the same patient and exhausted voice. "I do not blame him. I, too, jumped to that conclusion, but after pondering the evidence I decided to believe his side of the story. Once speaking with Willow, I'm more certain that something else was the cause of tonight's events. He is not to blame."
"Sampson?"
Jean-Claude shrugged without the gesture's usual casual air. "I have not been able to speak to him yet," he replied. "He has been rather... if I did not know him well, I would say he is intoxicated. He is delirious and unresponsive."
"Have you called Samuel or Leucothea?"
The Master of the City shook his head. "I'm waiting to see if he will recover on his own. I do not want Perdita snooping about and making reports to her true master."
"Thea?"
"Non, les sirènes ordinaires," Jean-Claude replied. "I believe Perdita is serving Samuel and his wife, but that she is also serving the mermaids in the territory. They did not want Sampson to gain his full powers. I suspect she would have tried to assassinate him if she was given the order and if she had the opportunity to do so before he went to Anita's house."
Richard grunted his agreement. He reached out and put his hand on Anita's arm, well above Jean-Claude's hand. She was warm; he could feel that she was becoming stronger.
"Thank you for feeding for the five of us," Jean-Claude said in a quiet voice. "I took the edge of l'ardeur but Willow and Anita cannot feed to strengthen themselves."
The Ulfric nodded, suddenly aware of Micah's eyes on him as he responded to Jean-Claude's words. The Nimir-Raj hadn't visibly paid him much attention to him when he entered the room; however after the vampire spoke, his feline eyes were open and focused on the werewolf king.
"I don't like it... but for them, I'd do anything," he said quietly.
Jean-Claude smiled a bit. "I know, mon ami." He paused and then gently put his hand over Richard's fingers, a ghost of a comforting caress in his touch. "If you wish to sit with your mate, I will tell Anita you were here."
"Thank you," Richard replied. "I'll sit here for a few minutes, though, first."
The werewolf waited until Anita's eyelashes fluttered open, until she showed a stronger sign of recovery, and until he told her that he loved her before he left her bedside. She gave him a weak smile and he kissed the nearest corner of her mouth; then, he stood and walked from the private room.
He nearly bumped into Doc Lillian on his way out of Anita's private room. She stepped out of his way with quick reflexes before giving him a smile.
"Hello, Richard," she said in her calm and soothing voice. "We're not stitching you up today."
He gave a small, sheepish smile. "No, Doc, not today."
She stepped closer to him. "How are you holding up?" she inquired, more professional than personal in her tone of voice.
"I'm tired... worried---"
"Physically, Richard."
"I fed."
"You should eat," she told him. "Actual food... and not that metaphysical energy or whatever it is."
He sighed. "I had to feed for Anita," he said. "I just saw her, but I want to see Willow first---"
"And then you'll eat?"
He nodded.
She smiled again. "Willow's in the next room," she said, pointing to a closed door. "Asher's with her. Go in, but don't rile anyone up. She's pretty weak right now."
Richard gave the doctor another nod. "Yeah... I just want to sit with her. Them."
Lillian motioned towards the room where Willow was recovering. "Go on in, then. I'll be in the lab a bit longer, and then I'll check on the girls again before heading to the Circus."
"The Circus?" Richard echoed.
"Yeah," she replied. "Jean-Claude asked if I'd go and check on Sampson. They're not sure what's wrong with him."
Richard frowned. "If it's a drug that caused all of this, won't it just run its course?"
"Probably," the doctor agreed. "But, drawing a bit of blood and checking it won't do any harm. And if there's nothing there, then we know it's something I can't cure. At least it's a relatively quiet time, so we're not swamped here."
Richard bowed his head for a brief instant. "We need to get you more staff... you work too hard."
Lillian laughed. "Well, lycanthrope-saavy doctors are a rare breed, so to speak. I'd settle for nurses. Cherry's great, and there are a few swans that help out... we do okay."
"You do great," the Ulfric asserted.
"Thanks for saying so, Richard," Lillian murmured, after a chuckle. "Anyway, you better go in and sit with your Lupa."
After a polite nod, he ducked away from the wererat and through the door she had pointed out to him.
Richard found Willow sound asleep in bed. She was pale against the sheets; her freckles seemed to stand out sharply against the white bedding and her ashen face. She was in a nightgown that he knew wasn't standard hospital wear---so he assumed that Asher had put her in it for her comfort.
The vampire was sitting in an uncomfortable chair. He was leaning forward, his chin on his hands and his elbows on the gurney. His eyes were open but unblinking. He wasn't moving; he was simply watching Willow and seemingly enjoying it.
"How is she?"
"Dreaming," Asher replied. "She fell asleep again after Jean-Claude left us. Her eyelids are twitching. I suspect she's dreaming."
"You're not giving her the dream?" the werewolf asked.
The blond vampire shook his head. "Non," he said, "she is having this adventure on her own." He sighed unnecessarily and turned his head to look at Richard. "She faded rather quickly. Even with us trying to help. She... I do not understand what happened this evening."
"She was rolled---we all felt it."
Asher turned away from Richard. He didn't look at Willow, either, and Richard guessed he was feeling a little shame at his actions---and at being rolled, himself. Richard hadn't been very swept up in the actions but he wasn't as tightly bound to Willow and Anita as the two vampires were.
"Yes, but... was it my error with Anita that caused her defenses to weaken?" Asher asked. "Or was it the other way around?"
Richard sighed. "I don't know."
"Moi, non plus," the vampire said on a sigh.
"She's going to recover though."
"Oui, but at what price?" Asher asked.
On impulse, Richard reached out and touched Asher's arm. "She's stronger than we give her credit for being," he reminded the blond man. "She's not alone. We'll help her."
Asher nodded and patted the Ulfric's hand. "Merci, mon ami," he said in a quiet and glum tone of voice. "You are trying... and I appreciate that tonight."
Richard nodded but he didn't say anything else. He had too much on his mind to say much more; however, even if he could think of something else to say to the vampire, he wasn't sure if it would be of any use to the blond member of their pentumvirate.