InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "just a kiss or two or three"

Watson; Dr. John H. (i_blog) wrote in we_coexist,
@ 2011-08-04 20:04:00

Entry tags:

bad moon, buffy summers, john watson, willow rosenburg

In the basement. (Buffy)
John's mouth was dry. As he awoke, he felt as if he'd like a drink of water, and his shoulders and back were stiff. He found these facts slightly peculiar. What followed was even stranger: he realized that he ought to hurt a lot more. The spot where he'd been bitten felt completely normal, and even the dull ache of his muscles had gone. He was cold. There was a blanket, half-flung across him and half-folded beneath as a sort of bed.

Odd. Watson groaned and tried to sit up.

The floor was concrete and bare. The walls looked like some sort of armory - they were covered in weapons he recognized from first-hand experience, and others that had come straight out of a medieval studies textbook. A punching bag hung in a corner. A washer and dryer sat in another.

It was all vaguely familiar, but also completely foreign. Where was he?

And, more importantly, how had he gotten there? Had he dreamed the previous night? Where were his clothes?

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i_diedtwice
2011-08-05 01:28 am UTC (link)

The door to the basement opened. Light from the upstairs poured in, hitting specs of dust that looked like golden fairy dust. Buffy made no attempt to be quiet as she made her way down a wooden set of stairs into the basement.

With the heavy building materials in her arms, it sounded like stomping. It was almost comical, to see her carry so many large boxes that her five-two frame should have been incapable of. It blocked her vision but her voice was unmistakable.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. But I can't let you run free and hurt anyone else. I need to know more about your kind. Is there a cure? Can you change on command? 'Cuz last night wasn't a full moon and I need to know what we're--"

When Buffy made it to the basement floor, she turned her back and set down the supplies she'd gotten from the hardware store. It was then she noticed it wasn't a stranger tied up in her basement but--

"--John?"

Buffy stared. It took a few seconds of processing before she was crouched down at his side and removing the rope from his hands and feet. "I'm so sorry. I thought I had the original wolf. Are you okay? When were you bit?"

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i_blog
2011-08-05 01:36 am UTC (link)

With his human ears, John recognized the voice instantly. How. How did they always wind up in these situations? He dragged a hand down his face in an attempt to pull his wits into action. It didn't work.

"Buffy." His voice was almost mournful. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could see you once without something having gone horribly awry."

But the City didn't seem keen on allowing it - and, had they been in London, things honestly wouldn't have been much different. John didn't like 'boring.' He couldn't live a simple life if he tried.

"I was bitten yesterday," he mumbled. "At the hospital. I came around a corner to find a wolf attacking another doctor. Apparently they don't like being threatened with cafeteria trays."

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i_diedtwice
2011-08-05 01:47 am UTC (link)

Buffy frowned.

"You were bit yesterday and you changed that night?"

The slayer stood up.

"I need to call Willow. Who was the other doctor? He'd have changed, too. And Sam. Can you get to the hospital and find out who the wolf was? Someone who came in with a bite? This is going to spread fast. We need to find the original werewolf, the one that escaped from the zoo. If we can reverse this, finding Patient Zero could be key."

Buffy pulled out her phone. She started sending out text messages. Willow was the first on her list.

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i_blog
2011-08-05 02:47 am UTC (link)

"I've never actually met him. Young bloke. I'll go back to the hospital and see what I can learn."

John was perfectly happy to be propelled into 'action mode.' He put his hands on the ground and started to push himself to his feet, only to remember that he was embarrassingly under-dressed beneath the blanket. Ahhhh. "I don't suppose you have any--"

Oh, goodness. Ask the Slayer to loan you a pair of trousers. That's sure to win her over and convince her that you're not trouble on legs.

"Perhaps just a coat? If you haven't anything else. I'll return it all."

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i_diedtwice
2011-08-05 02:56 am UTC (link)

Buffy didn't answer right away. Instead she concentrated on sending a text message:

will need help. also clothes. for a guy. medium size. in basement.

Send. Buffy reread the text from her outbox. That wouldn't sound strange, even for her. She sighed, closed the phone and dropped it in the pocket of her jeans. There was something slightly different about the slayer. Despite the circumstances she seemed happier. More confident. Finding out she hadn't died was a huge relief. Seeing Willow work past the veiny-ness was equally welcome.

It was a good thing she didn't know the whole story.

"One of my friends showed up in the City and moved in. She's a powerful witch. We'll get you clothes and then until we figure this out, you need to be back here before night fall until we know more about this."

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i_ampowerful
2011-08-05 03:19 am UTC (link)

Willow knocked her phone from the bed trying to look at it. She groaned and slid out of bed, dropping to the floor when she forgot that she wasn't a bird anymore. "Ow." The redhead picked up the phone and read the message. Immediately, she was on her feet, pulling on proper PJs and collecting some of the spare clothes out of the closet.

A few moments later, she was hurrying down the stairs into the basement, holding a pair of jeans, some trousers, and three different shirts. "I tried to find something that would match, but there were a few different styles, and I thought he could--oh!" When she saw the naked man, Willow fumbled with the clothes, set them down, and then turned her back, careful not to look at him after the first brief glance.

"Um. Just... take whichever ones you like. I'll have to find some shoes."

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	i_diedtwice 2011-08-05 03:29 am UTC (link)
	Buffy followed Willow's example and turned to give John some privacy. "Will, I think we have a big problem on our hands. There's a werewolf on the loose." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_ampowerful 2011-08-05 03:30 am UTC (link)
	Willow blinked, and rubbed the bite on her ankle against her other leg. "Oh. Umm..." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_diedtwice 2011-08-05 03:35 am UTC (link)
	"I think it started at the zoo. Will, can you do a location spell? I think this is going to call for serious jelly doughnut research time." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_ampowerful 2011-08-05 03:36 am UTC (link)
	More spells. On were-peoples. Willow shivered. "Buffy, umm.. I kinda..." How did she tell the Slayer that she was a were-thing now too? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_diedtwice 2011-08-05 03:39 am UTC (link)
	"If I'm right this thing works fast. Like bit and you change that night fast. For all we know, it might be every night. This could spread fast. Zombie plague fast." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_ampowerful 2011-08-05 03:41 am UTC (link)
	Oh boy. She was getting worked up. "Buffy?" Willow winced. This wasn't going to be pretty. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_diedtwice 2011-08-05 03:43 am UTC (link)
	"We're going to need more tranquilizer guns. I only have the two. Tonight we're going to have to patrol. We can let this thing spread any further. Someone could get hurt." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_ampowerful 2011-08-05 03:46 am UTC (link)
	"I was bitten." Willow shrank back, biting at her lip. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	i_diedtwice 2011-08-05 03:47 am UTC (link)
	"Wait-- what?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_ampowerful
2011-08-05 03:54 am UTC (link)

Willow lifted the leg of her pajama pants, to show Buffy the bite mark on her ankle. "Um. I sorta... had an accident. A guy at the dorms started saying mean things, and I, uh... well, I got mad, and I sorta threw a spell at him, but then he turned into a bunny, and I didn't mean to do that, but I thought it was me, and I tried to fix it, and he... well, he bit me, and then ran off, and nothing happened for a bit, and I didn't want to say, 'oh hey, I got bitten by a bunny rabbit' because that's totally something Anya would do, and it was just a bunny, but then I turned into a bird and... I got scared."

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	i_diedtwice 2011-08-05 04:12 am UTC (link)
	"...Werebunny." Buffy frowned. "...And now you're a werebird?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

i_ampowerful
2011-08-05 04:29 am UTC (link)

Willow nodded slowly. "More like a wereraven. I couldn't really talk, so I did that mental-talky thing that I do. And if I tried really hard, I could do some magic."

She frowned herself. "I thought it was weird that I didn't become a bunny too, but a plague of werebunnies would be really bad. They reproduce really fast and all. This... seems almost worse, if people are turning into all different things."

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i_blog
2011-08-06 05:44 pm UTC (link)

John had been silent while dressing. It was mortifying enough, waking up bound and nude in the basement of a girl he fancied - he wasn't sure his pride could survive making a production of putting on trousers.

Some things, however, could not go unmarked. "Wait. There are were-rabbits?"

Once the pants were on, he was less shy about turning around as he finished buttoning the shirt. John had a slightly rumpled, bewildered air about him, but at least he was getting his wits back. "That's not a virus. Presuming that there were viruses that could transmit shapeshifting abilities - the characteristics of infection ought to be the same, shouldn't they? All wolves, or all-- ah. Rabbits."

It sounded ridiculous.

Abruptly he realized he didn't know the new woman. Embarrassment hit him again. He ought to introduce himself, but blurting it out seemed so awkward.

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i_diedtwice
2011-08-06 11:16 pm UTC (link)

"Unless it's some kind of magic virus? What do you think, Will? This isn't like the werewolves back home. I'm thinking if we catch Patient Zero maybe you can magic up a cure? Or maybe someone at the hospital? The City is bound to have a brain or two."

Buffy did a double take and realized that seeing John mostly naked probably wasn't a real introduction.

"God, I'm totally in slayer-mode. Will, this is John Watson. John, this is my best friend, Willow Rosenberg. Find out what you can during the day but both of you should come back before nightfall. At least until we know how this works. I'll try and get cages set up and then patrol."

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i_ampowerful
2011-08-07 05:19 am UTC (link)

Willow waved a little over her shoulder without turning around. "Hi, John." She giggled a little. "Watson. Elementary, my dear Watson." Then she wrinkled her nose. "Sorry, you probably hear that a lot."

Her attention shifted back to Buffy. "Um. I think Patient Zero is this big wolf. It was in the City last night doing that creepy prowly thing, and Lestat fought some of them, but I couldn't sense that one at all, so I... well, I guess if we can get it, we can run some tests. If I can't work magic on it, I can ask Hank if he can help us out. Since he's a doctor and has a lab and all."

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i_blog
2011-08-09 10:33 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, well." John said, good-naturedly, "That's all right. Thank you for not commenting on my age or weight." Or his former state of undress. The smile was brief and shaky, but Watson did manage one.

"I've only the clinic, but if your friend Hank isn't available, I could shoo everyone out of one of the examining rooms. But I've a question - how do we know which wolf is the one? I'll still see what I can learn about the wolf from the hospital that bit me, but what if that isn't our Patient Zero either?"

John could handle running about after human criminals, but werewolves? Seriously? Not his area of expertise.

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i_diedtwice
2011-08-11 03:13 am UTC (link)

"Then we catch the wolf that bit you and find out who bit them. They have to change back eventually. Same goes for when we have Patient Zero. Wait for them to take human shape and find out what we can."

Buffy could plan, but it was generally in the moment or on the job. She didn't have anything especially clever to offer up. A lot of her job was patrolling. It was the best she could think of.

"What do you think, Will? A location spell could make this go faster." If Buffy knew what she was asking of the recovering witch, she wouldn't have opened her mouth.

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i_ampowerful
2011-08-12 07:17 pm UTC (link)

"I'd know the big one if I saw it again. I think. I was a bird when I saw it, though." She frowned a bit, biting at her lower lip and going a bit pale when Buffy asked about a spell.

Her hands twitched, clenching and unclenching arrhythmically. "It... it doesn't have any kind of magical aura. I... I can... maybe I could try to track the one that bit John, but I..." Her lip trembled and tears threatened to well up in her eyes. "If... if you need me to, Buffy, I can try... But the other night, it came back, and... and..."

She didn't want to let her friend down. She never wanted to let Buffy down. But if that darkness came back, Willow was too scared of it to know if she could control it. The last thing she wanted to do was be a danger to her friends again.

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