Armageddon SagaIt was late afternoon the day after Angel rescued the children. Giles was sitting at the
Chapter Twenty- Three:
Undead Baby-sitter
By the Lady Sirona ladysirona@LadySirona.com
dining room table reading. He felt comfortable in believing that that Angel was healing,
since Buffy hadn't budged from their room. Willow had taken her food and fluids, but
nothing could get the Slayer to leave his side.Giles glanced up as Karl approached, "We have a problem." Karl looked uncomfortable.
A homestead of the Tribe, on the other side of the river, had numerous vampire attacks
last night."Giles looked up at the headman. It was likely that the recent attacks on the Pack would
bring some sort of repercussions. Unfortunately, they seemed to be blaming the Gypsies,
and not the Slayer. Maybe they really didn't believe there was a Slayer in the area. "Do
you think they will be back tonight?" Giles asked Karl, whom only nodded.Giles thought a moment. It would be better to attack them there, and have it so they do
not associate the Slayer with the main compound. "We'll go with you tonight. Xander,
Buffy and I, ah, will come with you to help you." Karl nodded and seemed relieved. He
had hoped they would, but he felt it was wrong to ask for such assistance after all they
had done so far."What about Angel?" Xander asked having overheard the conversation. He had his
doubts about being able to pry the Slayer away from her healing lover, but that was
Giles's problem."Angel was too badly injured, ah, and he needs to heal." Giles was distracted, making
battle plans in his mind. "He will have to stay here. We will leave Willow, ah, to see to
his needs while we are gone. He will probably sleep the night through, and ah, and not
wake at all" Giles took off is glasses and massaged his eyes. "Xander, does Angel have
his...""Yeah." Xander answered Giles's unspoken question. "Giles, why is he taking in so much
blood? When he was home, he got by with one or two pints a night!""Injuries and the energy to heal them. His repetitive injuries severely, ah, increase his
body's need for blood. You are sure he has enough?" Giles didn't want to leave Angel in
a house with people, if there wasn't enough blood available for his healing needs."Yeah" Xander sighed. The guy at the slaughterhouse thought he was a real sicko for all
the blood he had been getting lately. "He has two, five gallon buckets at his bedside.”
Xander noticed Karl swallow hard when he said that. Karl wasn't too comfortable with
Angel in his house. It apparently went against everything he believed in.Buffy wasn't happy when she found out she was going out slaying that evening. Angel
was still sleeping the sleep of the dead. She was less happy when she found a young man
hanging a cross in the doorway of the outer door to the bedroom. "What are you doing?"
She hissed in her displeasure at him."Karl told me to do this, to hang this here." The man said simply and quietly to the
Slayer. He didn't like displeasing the Slayer, but he dreaded waking the sleeping vampire
inside the room even more. The thought of a vampire in his house made his skin crawl.Buffy stared at the cross as it hung in the door way... *Well if it makes them feel better,
it wouldn't bother Angel where it was...* She turned to get ready.Karl came up to her before she entered the room. "I am sorry, I am trying to protect my
family." He told her quietly. "I don't want to, but I am leaving Angelus, injured in my
home with my women and children. The cross is to assure he stays in your room until we
return."Buffy stared at him. Obviously, he felt it was enough protection and would work. Let
him think so. She shrugged and turned to leave. He watched her slid back into the
darkened room that held the vampire.The young children and their mothers were all in the main house that evening with
Willow, while the men and the Slayers went to help the other homestead. Willow really
enjoyed watching the children play after dinner. She had frequently checked on Angel,
but he continued to just sleep.Later that evening, Willow was sitting downstairs reading a Watcher's journal. She
wondered if in the future, Watchers and Slayers would read Giles' journals of Buffy.
What would they think of some of the things they have seen and done?A scream brought her out of her book. She looked up to see some vampires entering the
house. Obviously one had gotten invited somehow, and invited the others. She started to
get up, and suddenly, there was a vampire in front of her, pushing her down into the
couch. She stared in shock as they spread out and covered the entire room and all the
people in it.A larger, meaner vampire grabbed her off the couch and held her up against the wall.
"Well little one, I speak your language... so where is your Slayer now?" he snarled into
her face, his fangs reflecting the light. "Who is going to save you all now? You can
scream to your heart's content... No one will hear you!" He laughed...The women and the children where cowering in the corners of the room. They didn't
understand what was being said, but they were sure it was going to be their death soon.
The vampires had them cowering and seemed to be enjoying terrorizing them.Willow took in a deep breath, and did the last thing the vampire ever expected... She did
scream, a long, blood curdling scream and finished it with "ANGELUS!"The women and children stared in abject fear at Willow. They didn't know what the
vampire had been saying to her, but if her scream was correct, and that vampire was
Angelus... they were all dead!The vampire looked at his fellow vampires, who were chuckling, and laughed. "Thanks
for the compliment little girl... but I am not Angelus!""No. I AM!" Angel snarled as he pulled the vampire off Willow and drove one of Buffy's
stakes through his heart rendering him to dust. They had never even seen him come down
the stairs he had moved so fast.The other vampires turned toward the sudden fight. Apparently one of the men had
been left, and obviously he knew how to fight vampires! They left their victims alone andattacked Angel enforce. What the new fledgling vampires lacked in strength, they made
up with numbers. Angel snapped one's neck and Willow staked him. He grabbed another
as Willow grabbed holy water and threw it at the two others, who dived, screaming to get
away from the water that burned like acid.The children cowered on the floor and in the corners. Their worst nightmares had
become reality. Their Mothers cowered with them, as they watched Angel and Willow
fight the vampires.Angel snarled as he broke a vampire's arm, then spun him around and snapped his neck.
He was being very careful to maintain human visage. He didn't want to terrify the
children anymore than they were already scared.The remaining vampires jumped him before he could stake is current opponent. One of
the girls grabbed one of the bottles of holy water she saw Willow had thrown earlier, and
threw it on the fighting group covering the vampires and Angel with the scorching liquid.
Willow winced at the screams of all the vampires made, including Angel.Angel recovered quicker and staked one, and then Willow staked the one at his feet,
rendering him to dust. Angel grabbed one of the kids at his feet and hugged him, using
his body and clothes to wipe off the holy water off his chest. No one seemed to upset by
his actions, hopefully they probably thought he was just checking the kid out...Angel sat on the couch wearily, and looked at the dust layer settling on everything. The
dust of multiple killing of vampires made a hell of a mess when in a closed environment.Amina came over to Angel. ~ Thank you ~ She said softly. She climbed up into his lap,
laid her head on his cold chest and sighed. Her mother was pacing around distraught and
was checking her brother's and sisters.A woman came over to Angel. ~ Your name is Angelus? ~ She asked quietly. Angel just
nodded. ~ Oh I am so glad. I was so afraid that vampire was Angelus! ~ She wandered
off in shock"Angel? Want me to go upstairs and get you a shirt?" Willow asked him. She was
looking at his healing wounds, and the darkening holy water burns. He had a mark on his
left cheek, which also looked like a burn. She looked at it with questioning eyes."I hit a cross some idiot hung in the damn doorway, on my way out of the bedroom on my
way downstairs." He said ruefully."Oh," Willow said. She remembered. The cross in her doorway and Buffy mumbling
something about crosses in doorways before she left. Willow quickly went upstairs to get
Angel a shirt.~ You’re a vampire Slayer too aren't you? ~ a little girl asked Angel, as she too climbed
into his lap. The children knew who made them feel safe and they started to cluster
around him.~ Yes, little one. Now I want you to go to sleep. I will make sure no more vampires scare
you tonight ~ Angel told the children. They sprawled around him, next to him on the
couch, at his feet on the floor. Willow looked in surprise at them clustered around
Angel like chicks to a mother hen. She handed him a shirt and he pulled it on to hide his
wounds and the burns developing.
Buffy and the others were frustrated. They had no problems at all at the other
homestead. When they tried to drive back, they discovered the bridge had been
damaged, and they had to drive 40 miles to the next bridge. Fear grew in them as they
made their way home.When they drove up, they saw that all the lights were on, and the front door appeared to
be torn off the hinges. Buffy raced in first, armed with stakes to stop short in the door.
The rest came up behind her to be met with a startling sight.Angel was on the couch with a child under each arm, another on his lap. Children of
various ages were sprawled around him on the couch, the floor and near by furniture.
Dust, obvious from vampire slaying, covered everything with a fine coating. Angel looked
up at Buffy and smiled."What the...?" Giles asked no one in particular as he came in and took in the unusual
sight. Karl was right next to him, and was just as confused."We had some unwelcome, undead visitors," Willow started slowly. "But Angel and I
took care of it." She smiled at Angel who was looking somewhat like he wanted a shadow
to disappear into.Buffy went over to Angel and looked him over. He looked 'off', but not newly seriously
injured. She looked carefully at him and frowned at he burn on the side of his face. She
continued to check him over as Karl signaled for the men who had gone with them to take
their families home.After the last child was gone, Angel leaned forward towards Buffy. "Get this off!" He
motioned toward the small silver cross hanging around his neck. Giles looked at it with
his eyebrows raised in question.Buffy unclasped the cross and tried to pull it off, but it didn't move. She had to pull with
alot of strength, and when it came it had burned into his skin. She winced as it came free.
"What happened? Why the cross? I thought you wore a little gold one.” She
remembered seeing him wear a very small gold one, to help him control his demon. She
thought it was just a masochistic tendency of his."I wear gold for a reason, I can get it off when I want to... silver is too hard. One of the
little girls put it on me to 'protect me' from vampires" He told her. They were both
distracted by Giles who was sitting down suddenly at the kitchen table, and starting to
laugh. Everybody stared in confusion at the Watcher lost in mirth, laughing so hard he
was having a hard time breathing."Oh that is funny!" Giles finally blurted out. "The big bad vampire, and a small child
bells you like a cat!" He dissolved into laughter again. The idea was too funny. The restseeing the humor joined him in his laughter, all except Angel. The image of a 5 year old
putting a cross around the neck of Angelus to protect him from vampires was too funny...
Angel didn't see the humor, which just made it funnier to everyone else.Later, Buffy was walking out in the yard. Two young men from the tribe walked along
near her, not sure if they were protecting her, or her them. They thought it was the later.She was ignoring them, and was lost in her thoughts. She was angry she had fallen for
the bait and switched game. Had they taken Angel, the camp would have been
destroyed! Angel appeared at her side silently, and before the two young men could
register his appearance. It really bothered them how easily he came on them."I need to hunt, Buffy." He whispered in her ear, as he enfolded her in his arms. She
turned to him with her eyes wide. "No, not human, but I have been too severely injured
lately, and we don't have the kind of time it will take to heal me. I need a bio-kill to heal
enough to finish the job we have here and then the Demon lord." Angel avoided her
eyes. He was terribly ashamed of his need to kill. "Ever have venison?""What's that?" She asked. She was having a bit of a problem thinking. She was trying to
deal with the fact Angel 'had' to kill. She was too used to him getting by on 'cold blood'
as he sometimes called it."Deer meat. I'm going after a Stag I saw when I was going to rescue the children the
other night. He will meet my needs, and I can feed the tribe at the same time," He felt
better
about killing if it would help the tribe also... it wasn't such a waste."No I have never had deer meat, but if your providing it, I will try it." She smiled a big
smile and hugged him. "I love you, be careful." She whispered back and kissed him."I love you too." He kissed her and hugged her. "I have got to go. I can smell him.
Someone has injured him, he's bleeding." Angel unconsciously licked hi lips in
anticipation. He hadn't 'hunted' in 80 years. "Hold this for me," He handed her is leather
jacket. When she looked up from taking it, he was gone.
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