Shattered

DISCLAIMER: All hail Joss Whedon, UPN, the WB, FOX , Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. Theirs not mine “I need you to help me,” I said thickly. My lips were swollen and it was hard to make the words come out right. “Oh, Spike,” said Tara, horrified. She reached out her hand to touch my face, but I pushed it away. “That’s not why I’m here,” I said. My head swam a bit and I leaned forward sharply. She caught me before I fell, and my face pressed into her shoulder. She smelled the way I remembered, sweet like honey and spicy like cloves. It brought back the memory of her tending my wounds after I was pushed off the tower, her kind attempts to soothe me as I fell apart with grief. “Everything is going to be fine,” she said as she pulled off my duster. “I’m going to take care of you.” She helped me to her bed, and laid me down on soft pillows. Quickly she unlaced my boots and tossed them on the floor. The witch moved her hands steadily from my ankles up my legs. “I’m fine,” I said to her. “She just went for the face.” She slid her hands over my ribs, and I gasped with pain. “Whoever she was, she hurt more than your face,” Tara said angrily. She stepped away for a minute, and I closed my eyes. I felt so disoriented, like my head was floating far above me. My face stung with pain, so fiercely that it felt like it was on fire. I smelled Tara strongly again as I felt a cold sharp sensation drift up my chest. I opened my good eye to see her cutting off my new shirt. “Don’t do that,” I said faintly. “I’ll have to steal some more clothes.” “I’ll buy you what you need, don’t worry about it,” she said as she pulled off the pieces of clothing. She made a pained noise when she saw my chest. It was covered in small lacerations, with deep black and blue bruises that hinted at broken ribs. “It’ll all heal by itself,” I explained to her. “No need to worry about it.” She looked up at me, and her eyes were filled with tears. “No use crying over me, ducks,” I said. “I’m just an evil thing.” “You’re more than that. And no one deserves to be hurt like this,” she said through clenched teeth. “It’ll be all healed in a few days,” I explained. “No reason for anyone to get upset about it.” She held one of my hands for a moment and placed it gently down. “Well, if you’re going to let yourself be victimized, I guess I’ll just have to get upset for you,” she replied. She wiped the tears from her cheeks. Carefully she ran her fingertips over my chest and gently prodded around my ribs. “I came here for a spell, Tara. You don’t need to take care of me,” I said. I moaned in pain as she touched a particularly sore spot. “You can’t take care of yourself, obviously.” She turned away and rummaged in a chest at the foot of the bed. “There isn’t a bruise or cut on your hands. You didn’t even try to fight back.” “Drop it, Wicca,” I snapped. “You let someone torture you tonight.” She looked at me with soulful eyes. “Why?” Her stare burned into me, and it was as if she could see straight into my heart. “I’m leaving. I can find another witch who can leave well enough alone.” I stood up with difficulty and moved to the door. “Please don’t go,” said Tara, and I turned to look at her. She held several small stone jars in her hands. “I’ll do whatever spell you need, just let me heal you first.”  I saw the sincerity and concern on her face, and nodded my assent. The pain of the movement hit me like a hammer, and this time I lost my balance. Face first I hit the floor. A gruesome crunch rang in my head and then it all faded to black. I woke up fiercely coughing, my nose and throat raw.  My head rested in Tara’s lap. The bodice of her robe was an interesting swirl of scarlet ribbons. She leaned close to my face, lips pursed. “I blew some kiriana powder in your mouth,” she said distinctly. “It will make you more alert so I can tend you better.” She sounded remote, like she was trapped in a well.