Mona had also managed to teach Buffy how to cook a few meals without destroying the kitchen—and her taste buds—that went beyond Tuna Helper. That alone was a feat as far as Buffy was concerned, and she was happy to be able to put something other than take-out on the table with Spike too busy to do the cooking.
All in all, she'd managed to really settle into her new life in Los Angeles.
So when she got a call from Giles late one afternoon giving her the last news she'd expected to hear, it especially came as a shock.
"Buffy, it's about your mother. I know the two of you aren't on the best of terms right now, but well, the doctors have found a tumor. In her brain."
At Giles's statement, Buffy slunk down to the couch, her hand going over her mouth in a failed attempt to muffle her choked sob.
"Buffy? Are you still there?"
Buffy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Calm…she had to be calm… "Yes. Giles, I'm here. How long has this been going on?"
"A couple of months. We weren't sure what it was at first, thought it was possibly something less severe, but the doctors know for certain now. I wanted to tell you earlier, but…" Giles stopped, and Buffy could've sworn she actually heard him cleaning his glasses on the other end of the line. "I have no right to ask this of you, I know, and believe me when I say I'm only doing it because if I don't, I'm afraid you'll live with regrets. She's having surgery this Friday, and the doctors aren't sure if she's going to make it. She…she wants to see you, Buffy. She won't ask you because she's afraid of what you'll say, but I am asking. If you want any peace with your mother at all, now is the time."
When Buffy had told her mother she would never speak to her again, that "never" had been supposed to encompass a long period of time on both sides. Time enough for them to someday miraculously find a way to make it not really be a never at all. But now that never could possibly only be until Friday for Joyce…
"I'll…I'll come," Buffy said softly. "I'll come tonight."
"She's in the hospital, but you can certainly visit her there."
"Okay. I don't know when I'll get there. Spike's in the studio, and I don't have a car. Though I can't drive anyway, so maybe I should just take the bus or…"
"Buffy, I'll come get you. Don't worry about that at all," Giles said. "How soon do you want me up there?"
Buffy's voice cracked when she answered. "Now?"
"All right. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Giles?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For…for calling. If she had…and I hadn't…"
"I know, my dear. I know. That's why I called you."
"I'm glad you did."
"Me, too. I'll see you soon, Buffy."
"Okay. Bye, Giles."
"Good bye."
As soon as Buffy hung up the phone, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
Spike could tell something was wrong as soon as he got home. It was dark in the apartment, save for one light down the hall, in the bedroom. Normally, Buffy was bustling around, getting dinner ready, or at the door, happy to welcome him home.
"Luv?" he called down the hall as he went towards the bedroom. "Buffy, are you all right?"
The sight that greeted him was enough to answer this question. Buffy was packing a bag, tears streaming down her cheeks as she did. His first thought was a rush of fear that she was leaving him, but he quickly realized there was no possible way that could be happening. They'd been fine that morning, and he certainly hadn't done anything since then to make her leave. "Kitten? Where are you going?"
Buffy didn't look at him, and her answer seemed almost mechanical. "Sunnydale. Giles is coming to get me."
That brought more questions to Spike's mind than it answered. "Sunnydale? Buffy, what's…" Spike stopped short. If she was going there like this, something had to be very, very wrong. "Buffy, look at me. Tell me what's happened. Is it Dawn?"
Buffy shook her head, but didn't look at him, and Spike went over to her and grabbed her arms, turning her so she facing him. "Buffy! Tell me what's going on!"
She looked up at him with sad, frightened eyes, and Spike realized he'd never seen her quite like this, even when she'd been at her worst back in New York. "My…my mom," she said softly. "She's in the hospital. She's…" Buffy stopped speaking as she broke into sobs again.
Spike pulled Buffy into his arms, holding on to her as she cried against him. When she seemed to have calmed some, Spike looked down at her face again. "What's happened, pet?"
Buffy sniffed. "She has a brain tumor. Apparently, she's been sick for a while, but she didn't want to tell me. Giles called and told me she's having surgery Friday, and they're not sure she'll make it. My…my mom could be dead in two days…" She broke down again, her body slumping, and Spike guided them to sit on the bed when he realized her legs weren't supporting her anymore.
Spike held her, feeling helpless as he did. Buffy was hurting, and there was nothing he could say, nothing he could do to make it better. He remembered all too well being where she was now, and knew no amount of words or gestures could ease the torrent of emotion inside. "What did my da say when he called?"
"Not much. Just that she's been dealing with something for a while, they just didn't know what." Buffy took a deep, shuddering breath. "Dawn…she…she must've been having to deal with watching Mom be sick, and she couldn't talk to me about it." She looked up at Spike again. "My mom's been sick, and I didn't know! Why did I tell her I didn't want to talk to her again? I shouldn't have, I should've…"
"Shh. None of that now, sweetheart. Your feud with your mother wasn't one sided, yeah? She wasn't making a lot of moves to patch things up either."
"But she's sick now! She could be die, and if she does, then I've wasted years, I've…"
"Buffy, she didn't do right by you. I'm not saying you should hate her or that you shouldn't go see her, but don't let everything be colored by what's happening now. She hurt you, and you did what you did because of that."
Buffy took a deep breath. "I know. I'm just freaking out a little right now."
"Of course you are. It's natural to." Spike kissed the top of her head. He wanted to tell her that it was all going to be okay, but there were no guarantees like that with something like this, so he didn't. "When is my da getting here?"
"Soon," Buffy said. "I didn't want to wait."
"Do you need me to come with you?"
"Not tonight," Buffy said, shaking her head. "But do you think you could be there Friday? Will they let you take the day off?"
"I'll make them give it to me," Spike replied, tightening his hold on her. "They can work around me for a bit."
A knock on the front door caused them both to start a little. "That's probably Giles now," Buffy said.
Reluctantly, Spike let go of Buffy and stood up. "You finish what you need to do in here. I'll let him in."
Buffy nodded, and Spike went to answer the door. It was his father on the other side, and he was noticeably disheveled and tired. "Hey, Da," Spike said as he let him in.
"Hello. I assume Buffy told you?"
"I just got home, but yeah, she did." Spike coughed. "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better," Giles replied. "The whole time she's been sick, I kept telling myself it was going to turn out to be nothing, and then…" A tremor went through him, and Spike realized it was the closest he'd seen his father to tears in a very long time. "I never thought I'd be going through this again. When they told us it was cancer…" He trailed off.
Spike couldn't begin to fathom what it would be like to sit by and watch something eating away at the woman he loved once, but to go through it twice? "Da…"
"I'm holding together," Giles said, his posture straightening. "It wouldn't do a lot of good to Joyce to have me falling apart. And Dawn, too. She doesn't know how bad it is. Joyce is afraid to worry her too much."
Spike frowned. If he knew Dawn, she probably had a better idea of the situation than either Giles or her mother knew, and just wasn't letting on that they weren't protecting her from anything. "How bad is it?" Spike asked. "Really."
Giles pulled in a deep breath. "She's got a fighting chance. The doctors caught it early, and it hasn't had time to spread. There's a chance she'll make a full recovery."
"But only a chance…"
Buffy's soft declaration made both men turn to her, neither of them having realized she'd come into the room while they were talking. "It's a good chance, Buffy," Giles replied. His expression turned into something that was almost a smile. "Besides, you know how bloody stubborn your mother is. If anyone can get through this, it's her."
Buffy made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and Giles held his arms out to her. Buffy moved into them, hugging him tightly. "I don't want this to be happening," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I know," Giles replied. "I think it'll help her, having you there. I know it probably isn't enough, but she's sorry for what she did, Buffy. She knows she was wrong, she just doesn't know what to do to make it right again. She's stopped drinking. After you left, she started going to meetings."
Buffy pulled back from Giles and wiped at her eyes. "That's a start, I guess." She took a deep breath, walked over to her bag, and picked it up. "Let's go, okay?"
"If you're ready." Giles looked at his son. "What are your plans?"
"I told Buffy I'd be there Friday. What time's the surgery?"
"Ten in the morning."
"Sunnydale Memorial?"
"Yes."
Spike gave a small nod. "I'll be there." He felt Buffy's hand on his arm and he turned to look at her. "If you need me there sooner, you call me, kitten. I'll drop everything."
"I will. I love you, Spike."
"I love you, too, sweetheart." Spike gave her a gentle kiss, aware of the fact that they had an audience in the form of his father. "Call me tonight, all right?"
"Okay." Buffy started to move away, but hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Spike and squeezed as tightly as she could. "I love you," she whispered again.
Spike returned her tight embrace. "I know, baby. And I love you so much."
Giles had turned his head, knowing it was a private moment, and waited until Buffy had approached him again. "I'm ready now."
"Then let's go."
You didn't really think I'd let everything be all happy from here on out did you? Yep, I'm an evil author.