“Wish Granted.” Cordelia Chase murmured while lovingly stroking the amber bauble dangling between her perky breasts. Deep inside she knew that her boss, D’Hoffryn, was going to flip when he got wind of her latest wish, but she was hoping that she could slide by with the weak “but he wished it” excuse.
Normally, as a vengeance demon, Cordelia popped in and out of people’s lives granting wishes to women in distress; her previous forte had been that of jilted lovers. With each wish granted over the course of her eleven hundred plus years on earth, she had grown to become one of the most revered and feared vengeance demons. However, as of late the satisfaction of cursing a man to severe pain or embarrassment had seriously dwindled. Instead, she found her once cold heart to be yearning for something more meaningful; to help others in need, rather than wish years of torment upon them.
In fact, tonight of all nights was the first night she had ever gone farther than contemplating a change of employment and actually did something about it. After observing the depressed and extremely intoxicated Slayer for several nights, she approached him; luring him into an intense conversation focused on losing the love of his life. In a twist of irony, it was then that Cordelia had learned that the Slayer’s now deceased girlfriend was world renowned vampire, Buffy. Figuring if someone as evil and demented as Buffy could change her ways and walk on the good side, Cordelia had made the decision to grant the lonely man’s desperate wish as he stumbled drunkenly from the seedy bar into the stormy night.
“Ooh, Hoffy is so going to make you pay for that one, Cordy!” Harmony Kendall announced excitedly, clapping her hands together in anticipation of her boss’s punishment on her co-worker. While the two buxom demons had worked together for many years, they possessed a love-hate relationship. “I bet he’s going to make good on his threats to take away your power source this time! Helping a Slayer! Oh it’s just too much!” The annoying blonde erupted in a fit of giggles at the idea of her competition being sentenced to a life as a human.
Staring at the door that Spike had just barreled through, Cordelia shrugged her shoulders and said, “He can do whatever he wants to me, but I know that I made the right decision. It’s in our job description to find people in pain and grant their hearts desire; which is exactly what I did. So what if it wasn’t some gruesome, bloody torture thingy!” Confident in her decision, Cordelia turned away from her coworker and with an audible pop she teleported out of the squalid bar.
Stumbling to his car, Spike fumbled with his car keys for a second before finally yanking the driver’s side door open with such force that it almost came off the hinges. Falling into the car seat, he stared at the trio of steering wheels and promptly decided he’d had too much to drink and was in no state to drive. Closing his eyes, he fell sideways across the cracked leather bench seat and passed out; keys clattering to the junk filled floorboard below.
Had he managed to stay awake just a few more minutes, Spike would have been blinded by the flash of light that spilled across the darkened night streets before fizzling out after a resonating boom. Yes, in deed, his life would have changed that very minute had he imbibed in more water than whiskey, because as his head thunked down onto the seat, his wish was granted.
Two blocks south of Willy’s, the unmistakable shape of a nude woman laid prone on the puddle splashed floor of the now crumbled warehouse that the Watcher’s had burned to the ground just weeks before. Her golden hair spilled across the dark gray cement in a halo of rain soaked strands. Pale skin illuminated the night, her petite form shaking lightly against the cool night air. With no one around to notice her arrival, she laid there for hours, unconscious and completely unaware of the potential danger that lurked in the shadows of Sunnydale.
As dawn was breaking, Jonathan Levinson shrugged the heavy newspaper filled satchel onto his shoulder and prepared to make the exhausting trip to the neighboring businesses and cheap loft-style residences. His small stature often hindered his performance, slowing his journey as the intensity of the bag dragged him down and caused his speed to dawdle as he made his rounds. However, no matter how tiresome the work was, he hoped to one day become a writer for the Sunnydale Times and had managed to get his foot in the door delivering newspapers while he waited to be noticed by his superiors. As he trudged off for the first leg of deliveries, the gangly brunette had no way of knowing that this was the morning his dreams would be discovered.
Rounding the corner where the charred remains of a warehouse stood bleakly against the gray backdrop of the industrial section of the small town, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Coming to a stop, he let his paper bag slide off his shoulder to the ground as he moved closer to inspect. After a few short steps up to the crumbling floor, his eyes widened and mouth gaped open in shock.
“Hello? Miss, are you all right?” Jonathan asked timidly, approaching the prone female with caution. When there was no response from the naked lady, he reached into his pants pocket with a shaky hand, pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911 for help. After giving the operator his name, location and description of what was wrong, he hung up and waited for help to arrive.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, but was actually closer to thirty minutes, Jonathan arrived behind the ambulance at Sunnydale Memorial hospital. Following the paramedics inside the brightly lit emergency room, he watched helplessly as the unconscious female was wheeled into an exam room and the door was shut behind her. Sinking down into a nearby chair, he prepared to wait as long as possible for an update on her condition.
What seemed like hours later Jonathan was shaken awake and he groggily rubbed his eyes and accepted the lukewarm cup of coffee that was offered and asked, “Is she going to be ok?”
“The doctors have informed me that she is in stable condition with no apparent signs of attack and will most likely make a full recovery. However, she is still unconscious at this time so we have no leads on who she may be.” Detective Kate Lockley advised; her gentle smile and pretty features instantly luring the distressed man into a calmer state. “You did a really good thing helping her this morning. Most people wouldn’t, not nowadays. There are some questions I need you to answer and then you can go ahead and go home, I’m sure you don’t want to spend your afternoon cooped up in a hospital waiting room.”
“I don’t mind, I mean…I kinda wanted to make sure she was going to be ok.” He admitted. “But I have no problem answering any questions you have.”
“Great. Thank you, Mr. Levinson. Maybe when we’re through she’ll have woken up.” Opening a small black notebook, Kate dug in her purse for a pen and waited for him to polish off the last dregs of coffee before beginning her barrage of necessary questions.
Sadly, when they were done there was still no change in the young lady’s condition and a dejected Jonathan finally decided to go home for the evening, making sure to leave his name and number so the hospital could contact him if there was any change. Even though he wasn’t a family member, or even a close friend, both he and the hospital staff agreed that since he was technically her savior that they would call with any updates.
Hours ticked away, the afternoon sun faded away into dusk and eventually darkened night skies before there was any change in the mysterious woman’s condition. Lying all alone in the stark white hospital room, she woke up; eyes wide with confusion. Sitting up in the stiff bed, she sat up and tugged uselessly at the needles that stuck out of her pale white arm; instantly setting off shrieking alarms in the tiny room. Wincing at the annoyingly loud chirps, she jumped with surprise when the heavy door was thrown open and clanged against the wall.
“You’re awake! Wonderful!” The balding man in his late forties announced as he grabbed a metal chart from the end of her bed. Quickly, he checked her vitals and wrote them down before asking, “We’ve all been very concerned about you. Can you tell me your name?”
Worry marred her ethereal features as she nibbled on her bottom lip and whispered, “I don’t remember.”
“Not to worry, dear. It is fairly common to have a slight case of amnesia in response to trauma. Physically, everything appears to be all right. Of course, I would like to keep you overnight for continued observation.” Dr. Reynolds announced to the distressed patient. “Why don’t you lay back down and rest. I’ll have the nurse bring you something to eat soon and the police still have a few questions they’d like to ask you.”
Nodding her head, not trusting the strange sound of her own voice, she crawled back underneath the sea foam green coverlet and closed her eyes. She must have drifted off to sleep, because a little while later she was awakened by the sound of someone entering her room. Looking up, she saw a trim blonde lady and a nurse with a tray of food standing by her bed.
“Here you go, sugar. I want you to eat everything on this plate and get your strength up, ya hear?” The bubbly nurse instructed with a drawling Southern accent. “This is Detective Lockley, she’s gonna ask you some questions and see if we can’t figure out just who you are, ok? Just push that button on the wall if you need me!”
Realizing she was famished, she polished off the chicken and rice in a matter of moments before moving on to the salad and fruit cup. Feeling as though she should be ashamed by her lack of manners, she looked up guiltily at the officer sitting by the bed.
“Don’t worry about me; I’d be starving, too!” Kate chuckled, watching in amazement as the tiny slip of a girl polished off the tray of food like a champion. Finally she finished, slurping down a carton of chocolate milk before turning to Kate with luminous green eyes and they proceeded to run through a list of questions, each one met with a scared look and vague answer. “Well, I’m sorry to say that I cannot seem to find any leads as to your identity. I’ve ran your prints through the National Crime computer, checked all the local missing files and canvassed the area you were found and still…nothing. It’s as if you just appeared out of thin air; which we both know isn’t possible.
So, I’ve called a friend of mine to help you get back on your feet until we can figure out where you belong. She runs a local shelter for abused women, but has agreed to let you move in after she heard your story. Her name’s Jenny Calendar and she said she’d come by in the morning after the doctor says you can be released. Here’s my card, too, in case you have any questions or regain your memory. Don’t be afraid to call me if you need me, ok?”
Taking the proffered card, she gazed at the bold black lettering before turning her attention back to the Detective. “Thank you.” Tears brimmed in her green eyes, threatening to spill over as she realized she was going to be left alone again. “I…I just wish I could remember…something about my life.”
“It’ll all work out eventually, just don’t get discouraged; things like this take time. You get some rest, I’ll check on you tomorrow.” Standing up from the most uncomfortable chair in the world, Kate headed to the door and said, “Day or night, I mean it. I’m here to help you.”
Alone again, she slid back under the covers and finally gave way to the tears that stung her eyes. Crying earnestly, it was a long time before she allowed exhaustion to take over and slipped into a deep sleep once again; the fear of what tomorrow held burning in her heart.
[Reviews - 76]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 5665 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
So here it is: the continuation of Lose Control. I hope you guys like what I have so far. There will be angst, not that you wouldn't expect that from me, but overall this will be the happy ending my wonderful readers crave. I told you I would do it eventually! Hope you enjoy, and please...take the time to review if you did. I would love to hear the reaction so far!