For badcompany_muse : [029] Slay
OOC: Co-written with howbig_canitbe and sonata_adagio.


Her opponent wasn't any different than any other opponent. He wasn't stronger than her. He wasn't faster than her. He most definitely wasn't smarter than her. In fact, later when she looked back on it and went over every move in her mind, she had thought that her execution of each fighting move had been flawless. But then it wasn't flawless somewhere in the montage of attacks and defenses that she had performed. There had been an opening, a small enough of an opening that the demon had shoved one long and sharp talon into the fleshy part of her gut. The wound was a through and through.

The moment she felt it, she thought she had simply been sliced at her side. That wouldn't have been any big deal. But then it ached too much for a simple slice. Her breathing hitched and she felt her heart inside working overtime to pump blood through her veins. Looking down, she saw the gaping wound in her stomach along with the blood that seeped too quickly onto her skin and into her clothing. She staggered back, somewhat in shock. She had never ever been wounded like this.

The moment of uncertainty gave the demon enough of an opening to bash one fist across the side of her head. Jill fell to the ground hard and didn't even notice that the demon loomed above her preparing for a final blow.

Hellboy always followed Jill when she patrolled without Lucy. He didn't crowd her or even get involved in the fray. He just kept demons, vampires and other monsters from ganging up on her and stayed close enough to help her out if she needed it. He didn't even realize Jill had been wounded until he smelled the blood. He finished off the demon he was fighting with and turned just in time to see the demon knock Jill to the ground. He fired his gun and then leaped, not waiting to see if he'd hit the demon or not. It turned out that he'd clipped the demon on the shoulder, distracting it from Jill. He hit the demon hard, sending him several feet away from Jill to slide across the pavement and slam into a building. He fired his gun again, getting a clean head shot this time and killing the demon. He knelt down next to Jill, ripping his tee shirt off as he did and pressed the cloth to the wound on her stomach. He slipped his right hand underneath her head, easily cradling it there.

"Hey, what'd you go and do?" he asked her, worry making his voice thick and a little deeper than usual.

She heard the sounds of a scuffle and only moved when she felt Hellboy move her a bit. "I don't know but I think I have grass in my hair." That wasn't the most logical thing to be concerned with, but Jill was suddenly past logic. She hurt too badly for logic. She hurt worse than she used to when her father had beat her. Plus, if she focused on how much of her own blood was everywhere she felt like she might turn to freaking out instead of a calm acceptance that she had been severely wounded. "Do I have grass in my hair?"

"Just a little bit," he told her. "I gotta get you to a hospital so I'm gonna pick you up. I'll try not to hurt you, alright?" He slid one arm down her body, cradling her close to his chest and then stood up. "Just stay awake and keep talkin' to me, Darlin."

As always, Hellboy was so warm to the touch. Jill easily turned into that warmth, her head burying against his shoulder. "I want to go home. Let's go home to Angel." She knew Lucy was out of town and Angel had become almost too much of a 'dad' figure to her. It was easy for her to substitute him in that parental slot in her mind since she had never had anyone worthy of that slot there.

By contrast, Jill was abnormally cool in his arms, blood loss already taking it's toll on her body. Hellboy hesitated, not sure that she didn't need to go to the hospital but he also knew she was a slayer and they healed faster. "You sure, Darlin?" he asked as he turned to head toward the Hyperion. If nothing else, Angel had to know some kind of medical training and they'd get an ambulance there. He would rather take her home because he knew if he took her to the hospital they'd all scream, freak out and assume he'd done this to her. It was a headache (and whether he'd admit it or not, heartache) he'd just as soon avoid.

"Nnnhuh." Jill nodded against Hellboy's shoulder. She could feel him moving but somehow felt very secure in his arms. She also felt very small in his arms, which in comparisson she was. But the movement made her hurt even more. Suddenly, she realized that the sting wasn't just at her front, it was at her back too. She wrinkled her nose, desperately clinging to the calm, not the hysteria that she could feel bubbling inside of her. "I can't go into public with grass in my hair."

He could feel her blood seeping out over his skin as he carried her. They were too far and it made a lump rise in his throat. He stopped long enough to get the grass out of her hair because he'd rather waste a few precious seconds than risk the damage she could do by panicking. "Now you don't got grass in your hair," he promised her. "Close your eyes, Sweetheart. I'm gonna do some building climbin' instead of going around them." He gave her a second before he tightened his arm around her then jumped, grabbing onto a window ledge then swinging up using his tail and his right hand. He continued that way until he was on a rooftop then took to running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Thankful that he got the grass out of her hair, she closed her eyes when he asked her to. As she felt his moves become more elaborate and quick, she still felt secure. But as he went, she began to drift in the constant sway and shift. She felt weightless and like she was being pulled under a sheen of water. And then she felt very cold and shivered even against the heat of Hellboy's skin.

He felt her shiver and clutched her a little closer. He wished he'd worn his long coat now so he cold wrap her in it. "Hold on, Darlin', we're almost home," he told her. Two more leaps across rooftops and he landed on the Hyperion's. He scrambled down the side of it and landed in the courtyard.

Angel was in hte lobby going over some case files when he heard the sound on the roof. He smelled the blood next, almost distinctly slayer. By the time Hellboy barged in the front door with Jill in his arms, Angel already had an extensive first aid kit out.

"Lay her here on the couch," Angel directed. Hellboy did as he said, pulling a blanket from the back and tucking it in around her legs.

"Her body temperature is already dropping," he told Angel.

The moment she heard Angel's voice she opened her eyes. She watched the two work around her and suddenly the fact that Lucy was so far away was almost blinding her. Instead she tried to focus on the two there. "Angel I think I messed up. I had it and then it hurt."

"It happens to us all," Angel said as he smoothed a hand over her forehead. "Don't worry about it. We're going to fix it."

"Dontcha think you oughta take her to a hospital," Hellboy said, pointing out what he thought was obvious.

Angel shook his head. "They'd put stitches in her and they'd be taking them out within twelve hours, at the most. Her healing rate would set off alarms. As long as we get this bleeding stopped, she'll be fine." He had taken away the black shredded tee shirt that Hellboy had pressed against her stomach and replaced it with large squares of sterile gauze. He slid one large pad of gauze underneath her to stop the bleeding from the wound on her back. "It's slowed down a lot already. She's going to be fine. Weak and sore for a few days but fine."

"I didn't kill it." Jill whispered, resting her head back to look up to Hellboy. "Lucy isn't here but Hellboy got the grass out of my hair." She was sure that Hellboy didn't realize that he was taking the place of Lucy right now, but he was. Angel was too but she was pretty sure that he knew that. Lucy had always been there with her through bad stuff. This was so weird for this to be happening without her here.

"I got him, Honey. You don't gotta worry about that," Hellboy promised her as he smoothed her hair back, watching Angel. He wasn't really aware that he was taking Lucy's place but at the moment he didn't care. He'd be whatever she needed him to be at the moment.

Angel finally got the bleeding stopped and started using some Bactine on the wound. He didn't really see the point in stitching it up considering he'd be taking them out by the next evening. She would heal without scarring regardless of whether he stitched her up or not and he didn't have any painkillers to give her. He got some butterfly bandages out of the first aid kit and started pulling the edges of the wound together using those.

"How are you doing, Jill?" Angel asked. Mostly he just wanted to keep her awake and talking.

It ached. Angel kept messing with her wound and it ached. When he finally finished and spoke to her, she opened her eyes again. "It hurts. Sorry I slipped up. I'll do better tomorrow night and make Hellboy go with me." Nevermind that she probably would still be in bed tomorrow night. Right now she just wanted to not have messed up.

"You're staying here tomorrow night," Angel told her. "I'll do your patrol. Hellboy can stay with you. Don't worry about slipping up. It happens. Just make sure it doesnt' happen again."

Because next time Hellboy might not be there. Or next time they might be a little luckier and Angel had gotten used to his little family here. He'd grown to care about them. Jill was a big part of that. He didn't want to lose that.

Hellboy just watched, concerned and nervous. He never knew what to say or do during things like this. He always ended up just going quiet and fidgeting. Angel taped some gauze over the wound and patted her hip.

"Now we gotta get you turned on your side, Jill. I need to look at your back," Angel told her. He looked up to Hellboy and nodded.

Hellboy helped her turn facing the couch so that her back was to Angel. With cool fingers, he pushed her shirt up and started treating that wound. Each touch hurt and Jill looked up to Hellboy, her eyes wide. "You were following me again. Thank you for following me."

"You kidding? Where else would I be?" Hellboy asked as he ran his fingers through her hair, watching Angel with careful eyes.

Angel was just glad that Hellboy was keeping Jill talking, keeping her distracted while he cleaned up the wound. It was smaller in the back, just the point of the claw going through. There wasn't much of anything gaping so he sprayed it with Bactine and bandaged it up.

"Jill, I'm going to go get you some orange juice. You need to sit up and drink it because it'll help you make more blood and you're pretty low on it right now." He looked up to Hellboy. "Why don't you get her some blankets, get her wrapped up and warm."

Hellboy nodded and grabbed some blankets from the linen closet. He spread them over Jill, tucking them in around her then heel-toed his boots off. Very carefully, he managed to sit down on the couch, gently pulling her against him then tucking the blankets around the both of them. His body temperature was a lot higher than hers and it would help warm her up a little bit.

Angel returned a few moments later with a full glass of orange juice he sat down on the end table next to Jill and Hellboy.

Jill curled in close to Hellboy. Every movement hurt but once she was still she was okay and Hellboy did indeed warm her up. She picked up the orange juice and began to slowly sip on it. She just wanted to sit here and simply 'be' next to Hellboy. She wanted to sit still and wait for Lucy to be here with her. Tonight she had come close to losing her life. Had Hellboy not been there, she would have. A close call on an ordinary night patrolling had shaken her. And now she wanted to just drown in the warmth next to her.

[Temptation]

At night he dreams of fire and power. He dreams of a world crushed and a race enslaved. He dreams of the way things should be and the way they will never be. Not if he has his way but it’s not as easy as he’d like to make everyone think. It tugs at him, scratches at his soul and pulls him in especially when the balance is thrown off. He covers the desire to switch sides with a smart ass remark, along with a lot of gun fire and misplaced anger.

Right now, NYC is battering at him. Whatever is coming wants him and it’s playing hard to get. It’s creeping under his skin, into his dreams and monopolizing his thoughts. It’s not giving him the chance to breathe and any chance to relax is stolen, wrapped around a little blonde that he doesn’t understand. He knows its coming and he knows one of these days he’ll slip and he’ll fall. He just hopes someone catches him before it’s too late.