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DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters.

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A sense of deja vu came over Buffy as she hurried down the hospital corridor. She had already gone through this and hoped her mother didn't need to go through surgery again. All Dawn had said was that the ambulance was taking them to the hospital.

Her sister, with tears on her cheeks, sat in a chair at the end of the hall. She didn't seem to notice Buffy.

"What happened?"

Dawn jumped at her voice and threw her arms around Buffy. "She had a headache. I went to get her some aspirin, but when I got back she was unconscious. I tried to wake her up, but I couldn't."

"She'll be okay." Buffy tried to convince herself, too.

They sat for what seemed like hours. Buffy briefly thought of calling Spike, before shaking that thought away. She was supposed to be mad at him.

A door opened, and a doctor watched them for a second from across the hall.

News, Buffy thought, jumping up.

As he walked towards them with a grave look on his face, Buffy realized something was wrong.

"I'm sorry, we did everything we could. Your mother suffered a cerebral aneurysm." The doctor sounded so far away.

Buffy could faintly hear Dawn crying. She realized that he was helping her sit down, but she could barely feel the chair.

"Is there anybody we could call for you?"

Buffy slowly removed her cell phone from her pocket and looked at it. She needed to call her mother, she thought.

Dawn took the phone from her and searched the phone book. "Could you call Mr. Giles?"

"Of course." He wrote down the number and left.

"Buffy?" Dawn clung to her. "Please say something."

"You went to get her aspirin?" Her voice sounded strange, as if it wasn't from her body. She found herself standing up. "I need to use the restroom."

Shaking, she made her way down the hall. Once she got inside the restroom, she ran to the sink and threw up. She didn't know how long she was in there, leaning against the mirror. The glass was cold against her forehead. Her mother couldn't be gone. It must be a dream. What was she going to do?

Someone knocked on the door, but she didn't move to answer open it. "Buffy?"

She watched as the door opened and Dawn peaked her head in the room. Then, both Dawn and Giles walked over to her. She couldn't move.

"They want to know if we want to see her." Dawn's soft voice whispered in and out of the fog in Buffy's mind.

Giles supported her with his arm, when she nodded. Slowly, they made their way over to the room where her mother laid. The only sound in the room was the muffled beeps of hospital equipment from down the hall. Her mother was so pale, Buffy so numb.

The next week went by in a blur. The day of her mother's funeral was sunny and warm. Buffy shaded her eyes outside and wished for rain. It was too bright and reminded her that she was alone.

She glanced at all the people at the cemetery. They didn't help take the pain away, so she turned away from them. As she moved, a man caught her eye - a man with bleached hair. But, when she turned to get a better look at him, he wasn't there.

Everyone around her seemed to go back to normal after the funeral. Dawn went to school, leaving Buffy alone. Willow, Tara, and Xander stopped by everyday, concerned. She let them in, but when they left, she couldn't remember a thing they said. Giles tried to encourage her to play her guitar, saying that it would make her feel better. She refused to even touch it.

One week after her mother's death, while she sat alone at home, the doorbell rang. She opened the door to a short, middle aged woman.

"Hi, can I come in? My name's Doris Kroger, and I'm from family services."

Buffy's heartbeat increased. Something inside of her told her that this was important, and she forced herself to think clearly. "Come in."

The woman entered the home, looking around. The place had clothing and plates scattered everywhere. "I'm sorry to hear about your mother."

Buffy nodded and cleared a spot on the couch for her to sit. "It's been a rough week."

Doris sat on the couch. "The reason I'm here is that I'm concerned about Dawn. You're twenty-one, right?"

Buffy nodded again.

"I take it your father is out of the picture, and you want to take guardianship of your sister."

"I couldn't get a hold of him." Buffy bit her thumbnail.

"All we want is what is best for Dawn. Her grades have slipped this semester."

Buffy sat down. "Her mother was sick."

"We understand that. She's been skipping classes, though." Doris looked at her clipboard. "Now, you play in a band as your primary source of income?"

"Yes."

Doris frowned and wrote something in her notes. "That's not very steady income, is it? Your gigs vary each week."

"It pays.."

Doris continued, interrupting her. "And they last until very late at night when you have them. Plus, you have practice at night, which also can run late."

Buffy stared at her. "Are you saying I need to quit the band?"

"I think you need to do what is best for Dawn." She stood up. "I'm going to monitor you and Dawn for about a month. I need to see improvement in her grades and that she's attending class again. I would also like to be assured that you can handle the job of being her guardian. I'll see you in a month." With that, she smiled and left.

Buffy sat in shock and closed her eyes. Even though she wasn't playing her guitar now, she didn't want to quit the band. She'd have to get a regular job, but she was still in college.

She pushed her feelings down to the pit of her stomach, because they made her feel guilty. She was slowly resenting Dawn.

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"Buffy, you can't quit!" Willow's eyes widened.

"What are we going to do?" Xander turned away from her.

"I talked to Faith. She agreed to take my place, if that's okay. I got a job at the Double Meat during the day, so I can be there when Dawn is home from school." Buffy looked to the ground, her voice faint.

"What about your classes?" Willow gently touched Buffy's arm.

She gave her a grave smile. "I dropped out. I wasn't doing well this semester, anyway."

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them. "I really wish you'd reconsider. This band made you happy, and I don't think you need to lose another..."

"I have to do what's best for Dawn!" Buffy snapped at him. Angrily wiping the tears from her eyes, she took a deep breath and pushed her feelings back. "I'm sorry, I just need to take care of my sister."

"We'll play with Faith, but only to keep the band alive so you can come back." Willow gave her a small smile. "Just don't take too long, Faith will probably dump us in a month."

Buffy's heart felt a little lighter. They weren't going to pressure her.

"Thanks."

TBC





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