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DISCLAIMER: Who owns these characters? Not I, they belong to Joss Whedon and company.

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Buffy woke the next morning in a strange bed, cuddled next to a warm, male body. She felt relaxed and a little happier than she'd been in a while. She hadn't planned on sleeping with him - her past experiences had men running the next morning. He was still around, she thought with a smile as she noticed Riley watching her.

Riley smiled and kissed her. "Morning."

Buffy smiled and stretched, rolling to her back. "Listen to that."

"I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. No little sister or mom making noise." She glanced at the clock. "And it's ten. I haven't slept in this late in a long time."

Riley hovered over her and kissed her shoulder. "Well, we did stay up pretty late, so I don't know how much more you got."

Buffy chuckled. Riley had been pretty good. She got out her frustrations with Spike. She paused. Was she thinking about Spike during sex? She reached up and kissed Riley, trying to focus on her boyfriend. She sighed with relief that she was able to enjoy kissing him.

An hour later, she was on her way home. Riley had to meet with Maggie Walsh about work. Buffy felt sorry that he had to work on Sunday, but was glad to leave. She needed some alone time.

Her cell phone rang, and Buffy noticed that it was her sister calling. Buffy had told her mom that she wasn't coming home the night before, they knew where she was.

Buffy flipped open her phone. "Dawn?"

"Buffy?" Her sister sounded upset. "Something's wrong with mom. She fainted or something, and I couldn't wake her up."

Buffy's heart stopped. "I'm on my way home, now. Did you call an ambulance?"

"Yes. We're going to the hospital."

"I'll meet you there." Buffy made a u-turn and headed the other direction.

Buffy's hands tightened on the steering wheel. Why didn't she spend last night with her mom like she wanted? Now, she may never see her again. No, don't think that way, she scolded herself. Mom's young and healthy. She just fainted. People faint all the time.

By the time she arrived to the hospital, her mother was awake, but they wouldn't let her see her. Dawn rushed to Buffy, crying. Buffy patted her on the back, staying strong for her sister.

After what felt like an eternity, a doctor walked up to them. "Miss Summers? Your mother is doing fine, but we'd like to keep her here a few days for observation and some more tests."

Buffy sighed a breath of relief. "What happened?" Buffy squeezed Dawn's hand.

"That's what we'd like to find out. Her blood pressure and sugars are normal."

"Can we see her?" Dawn bit her nails.

The doctor smiled. "Sure. Right this way." He led them down the hall to the elevator. "We've already moved her to a private room."

Her mother looked pale. She was getting fluids through an IV, and she had bandages where they'd drawn blood.

"Hey, girls." She sighed. "They want to keep me here for a few days."

"We'll stay here with you." Buffy touched her mom's hand.

"You both are going to school tomorrow." Her mother's voice was stern. "I'll be fine."

"I'll take Dawn to school, but I can miss a few classes." Buffy didn't want to leave her alone.

"No." Joyce shook her head. "You can come by after class, but I want you both to do your homework while you're here. I'm not going to be responsible for bad grades."

"I don't want you to be alone." Buffy pleaded, but her mother just gave her a monitory look.

Buffy pulled out her cell phone, but then she remembered that she couldn't use it in the hospital. She picked up the phone on the table next to her mother and called Willow. One way or another, her mom wasn't going to be alone. After talking to both Willow and Xander, she turned to her mother.

"Okay. Both of us are staying today until they kick us out tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take Dawn to school at 8:00. My first class is at 9:00. Xander said he could come by to keep you company until the end of my 11:00 class. Then, Willow and Tara will come by at 1:00, and I'll go back to campus. I'm done with classes at 3:00, so I'll pick up Dawn and come back here."

Her mother gave her a small smile. "You have good friends." Her smile widened. "But, sometimes you can be pretty stubborn."

"It helps get things done."

She nodded. "Just know when to let things drop. You could end up staying in one place and nothing gets resolved."

Buffy wasn't sure where this conversation was heading, so she took her mother's advice and dropped the subject. "Do you want me to run home and get some of your things?"

For the rest of the day, she and Dawn stayed with her mother. At ten, they had to leave because visiting hours were over. She hoped nothing was wrong.

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The Magic Shop was dark when Spike pulled his car into the parking lot at seven. Usually, they still left the lights on when they had practice. Frowning, Spike attempted to open the door, but it was locked. He made his way to the alley behind the store to try that entrance, but it too was locked.

Pissed off that they canceled practice and didn't think to call him, Spike pulled out his cell phone and called Buffy's number. He got her voice mail. Shaking his head, he called Willow.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice answered.

"Willow? Don't we have practice tonight? Where is everybody?"

"Nobody called you?" Willow paused. "Buffy's mom is in the hospital. She fainted and they're trying to find out why. I guess with all the drama, nobody remembered to call you."

Spike's anger melted away. "Is Buffy at the hospital?"

"I think so. She was going to go after picking up Dawn from school."

"Thanks." He hung up the phone.

He stopped by a coffee shop before going to the hospital. He'd never met Buffy's mom before, but he didn't want Buffy to be hurting. He remembered his own mother's illness. As much as Buffy irritated him, she didn't deserve this.

At the hospital, he walked to the room where he was told she was staying. He peeked in the window and saw Buffy and a younger girl doing homework by their mother's bedside. Her mother was sleeping. He knocked.

Buffy looked up at him from across the room. He could have sworn there was a slight smile, before it disappeared.

"I heard about your mum." He held up the coffee and pastries when she opened the door. "The food in hospitals is horrible, so I thought you'd like something better."

The younger girl ran to the door. "Ooh, food. I'm Dawn." She held out her hand.

He smiled at her and shook her hand. "You must be Buffy's sister."

"Come in, Spike." Buffy pushed open the door. She took a cup of coffee, and walked back to her chair by the bed.

"How's she doing?" Spike indicated the bed.

"Tired. She's been poked and prodded all day."

Spike nodded. "And she just wants to go home, right?"

Buffy gave him a small smile. "That's all she talks about."

For the next few hours, Spike stayed. He helped Dawn with her homework and talked to Buffy about her mom. He could tell she was guarding her feelings, probably to be strong for her little sister.

Joyce woke up during that time, and he found her to be a pleasant woman. He hoped that she wasn't sick. She still had many years left in her, he thought sadly.

"Buffy tells me that you used to tour with your father's band. I bet that was fun." Joyce smiled.

Memories of himself at a younger, angrier age flooded him. He had resented his father for not being there for him and his mother. Her last wish was that Spike would spend time with him. After she died, he reluctantly went on tour with his father's band.

Not wanting to bring up his past, he nodded. "I learned all I know about the music industry from those years."

Dawn spoke up, intrigued. "Did you play an instrument?"

He paused, trying to think of the best way to answer. "No. I didn't want to be like my father. He was always touring when I was a kid."

Buffy gave him a small smile before turning back to her homework. He knew her parents were divorced, and wondered if her own father had spent a lot of time away. That small smile was probably the closest he was going to get to the truth.

At that moment, Spike realized that Riley had never come by to visit. As much as he disliked Buffy's boyfriend, he knew Riley would have been there in a heartbeat. Obviously, Buffy had never told him. Instead of gloating, he was concerned.

"They want to take a CAT scan tomorrow," Her mother said, quietly. "They haven't found anything so far, and they want to check this."

Buffy looked up at her mother. "Is it your brain?" She asked in a monotone voice.

"They don't know, honey." Joyce reached up and touched Buffy's cheek. "It's probably nothing. They just want to check everything. And if it is something, they said it's early enough that it probably won't be a problem."

"I want to be here when it's done." Buffy glanced at Dawn. "I can take Dawn to school."

"It's supposed to take a few hours. You don't need to wait around for me."

Buffy didn't answer her. A nurse came in at that moment and told them that visiting hours were almost over. Spike excused himself from the room. He had started to feel a little uncomfortable in there. It was if he was witnessing a private family moment.

He had only come to the hospital to make Buffy feel better.





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