I wonder how their meeting will go. Update soon please!

NOOOO!!!! I WANT TO READ WAT HAPPENS NEXT!!! i love this story so much and am so happy u updated. i cant believe that giles said all that about spike and im so glad that joyce stuck up for him and wants him and buffy to work things out. i really hope that buffys glad to see him and that they talk and work their problems between them out. also i hope that spike doesnt let buffy push him away and that buffy sees that theyre meant to be together. please update as soon as u can, i CANT wait to read the next chapter and see wat happens between buffy and spike. thanx

Giles was very protective.. of Buffy or of William? He is trying to protect Buffy though. ~ Good that Joyce didn't tell Giles everything Buffy told her. Buffy has to tell Giles herself or tell Joyce she can tell Giles (me thinks). And William is there now. I wonder what Buffy will say now. ~ Till next chapter!

Waiting on the next chappy for Spike to show up Very deep and intense this chappy was, great job hon.

loved it. glad buffy got everything out in the open. post soon.

One reviewer said they didn't think Buffy would tell Joyce all of this stuff like that, and in a way I agree that that is a logical thing to think. But I recall my brother a few years ago stayed out late (he was seventeen) and my mom waited up for him to come home which happened at almost three am. He was really drunk and he'd been driving and would have been yelled at except he was really drunk and my mom decided to save the yelling and punishment til next day when he'd understand it better. But my brother was really really loopy with the drink and decided that it would be a good idea to tell my mom everything he did, everything he thought, the whole thing, And when she'd try to get him to go to bed so they could sleep and discuss it fully in the morning he wouldn't do it, he said he needed to get it all out now, while he wanted to say it and just told her EVERYthing. It was funny really and he regretted it the next day. But he'd been loopy and just decided to do a full confessional while loopy. Which is a lot of words to say that the stuff in her system still and the stress of the situation could cause Buffy to suddenly decide to confess things that she wouldn't otherwise even though she might not be so brave under other circumstances. I was sorry Joyce reacted a little more negatively than I would have liked at some points, but I guess she was pretty shocked. If I had a kid who had just tried suicide (and sadly I have one who started at age eleven, long story) I wouldn't have reacted negatively in any way to absolutely anything they told me right afterward, when they were trying so hard to get it out in the open and were looking for understanding and support. So I thought Joyce was a little harsh in places. That's not a criticism, because that's what you wanted Joyce to do so that's just her character and you wrote her the way you wanted her. I was just sorry she did that. As for the hold, I am not aware of any twenty four hour hold in California law, just the 72 hour one. And although I'm dealing with med social work it's mostly with industrial patients and work comp is exempt from HiPPA privacy laws for the most part so that's why I'm not dealing with HIPPA as much as others might so I'll defer to the other posters who are working in general mental health in California for the latest actual practice issues. Like I said, I'm not gonna complain about what you do as long as you don't go on a complete flight of fancy and ignore reality entirely, which you have not at all. I really like your story and I'm following you where you wanna go. It will be interesting to see what happens next -- now that Joyce knows. And will she tell Giles - if I were Buffy I'd prefer to have Joyce tell Giles as at least I wouldn't have to look in the eyes of a man I love like a father and have to tell him all that extremely embarrassing info. Bad enough if he must know, but please let someone else tell it and spare me that is my thinking. Please update soon -- I'm can't wait to see where you go next. Thanks. Mac 1. :-)

Let's hope Joyce doesn't try to OD after hearing all of that about her daughter! ;) OK-- not something really to job about. Buffy really needed to unload all of that baggage. Now maybe Joyce won't be so critical of her, when she sees how really critical she has been on herself.

I didn't read the reviews about all the confidentiality stuff and 24 vs 72 hour holds, since - hey- fiction here. But I actually work for the State of California doing disability evaluations, so I read a LOT of medical records, including mental health treatment notes. When someone is admitted for a suicide attempt, they are first stabilized medically (what Buffy went through in the ER). Then, they are automatically placed on a 72 hour hold for being gravely disabled (danger to self or others). The only way they wouldn't qualify for this hold is if they weren't really homicidal or suicidal (i.e. they said it to get out of going to jail, or some other difficult family situation) and they manage to convince the psychiatrist of that. If the person is still gravely disabled, they can go to a hearing to extend the length of hospital stay. Considering how many pills Buffy ingested, I doubt anyone would believe this wasn't a serious suicide attempt.

In terms of confidentiality, California has passed a new privacy law (HIPPA) which is much more strict. One possible way around the confidentiality issue might be if Buffy were still on Joyce's medical insurance, as many students under the age of 24 still are on their parents' insurance. However, since I've never been hospitalized for such a thing, I don't know if Buffy would have had an opportunity to speak to Joyce, or if the 72 hour hold would have taken effect as soon as she was medically stable and evaluated by a psychiatrist.

Bottom line-- It's fiction, and it was great that Buffy could finally really talk and communicate with her mom about her internal conflicts and her horrible self-esteem. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter where Buffy (hopefully) gets to talk with Spike.

I don't think the chapter was too long, there was a lot the needed to be said. great as always

Great update! I can't wait to find out what happens when William shows up.

So what's gonna happen next when Will comes? Update soon please!

Liked the chapter and glad everything is out in the open now. Its good Buffy wants to try and fix things with Spike, but she really painted him in a bad light with her mother, when none of this, her situation, etc, are his fault. Yea he said some not nice things to her, but she made him feel cheap. I just hope Joyce doesn't start treating Spike badly.

Other then that ,nice chapter.

liked the update, and yeah, it makes sense to get the explaination out all at once. spike next?? :)

That should have read 'be glad you're NOT dealinig with federal wlefare...' I hate these tiny review boxes. :-)