Author's Note: What do you think will happen when she goes back to Sunnydale?

Faith's POV

What am I gonna do? I know what I have to do. I have to go back to Sunnydale to see the only woman who's ever been anything close to a mother to me. The only real problem is Buffy. There's no telling how Buffy will react to seeing me again. With everything that's happened in the last little while, with Dawn, and now Joyce... she must be on overload. I just hope she'll hold together long enough for me to talk with Joyce.

I look down at the bag I packed by the bed.

If she can't then I'll just have to kick the crap out of her until she won't be able to stop me. Joyce might die if the treatment doesn't work and if her last wish is to see me then she'll get it. It doesn't matter if all she wants to do is yell at me for killing her daughter. It's her dying wish and I owe her enough to give it to her. I hope that's not her last wish. I hope the treatment works and she lives a long time. But I can't help thinking that Joyce wouldn't have asked to see me if there wasn't a real possibility that it might not. I hope she can make it through this.

There's a knock at my door.

"Yeah?"

He opens the door and comes in.

"Hey..."

"Hey Angel..."

"You all packed?"

I look down at my bag again and then back at Angel.

"Yeah I think so, it's not like I have a lot of stuff worth taking with me."

He stops a few feet from the bed I'm sitting on and folds his arms across his chest.

"Well you know you could always think about changing that."

I kinda smile at him.

"I really didn't have all that much time to pack. It was more just get out as quick as possible."

"Well now you might have a chance to go back and get some of what you left behind."

"Maybe, maybe not..."

He gets that look on his face that I never know how to describe.

It's not a smile, and not a frown, the only thing close would be thoughtful. Except it never seems like he's thinking when he looks at me that way.

He comes over and picks up my bag for me, being all chivalrous.

"Come on let's get you to the train station."

Angel moves to the door and I get up and follow him out. We walk down the hall to the elevator at the end of it.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

I take a deep breath as we continue down the hallway.

"I guess... I'm a little unsure what to expect... except resentment, anger and probably some violence. Which I'm all for, I never quite get enough violence here. There aren't enough cemeteries in L.A. You actually have to go looking for evil in this town instead of staring it in the face when you walk out the door in Sunny D."

"Things are more complicated here, that's true. But things aren't exactly simple there either."

I look at him and smile for a second as we stop at the elevator and I push the down button.

"No, they really aren't."

The elevator opens up and I step inside, but Angel holds back. I look at him as the door starts to close and stop it.

"What about Buffy?"

I just stare at him for a minute and he stares right back with a warm look.

"What about her?"

"Well I seem to remember you saying that she threatened to kill you if she ever saw you again. You're not worried about that?"

"If it happens, it happens... I'm sure you'll hear from Giles or someone if it does. It won't though."

I let go of the door and it starts to close so Angel grabs it.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, for two reasons. B doesn't have it in her to kill humans, and she and I both know that even if she did, she doesn't have the muscle to kill me. In the past two years I've killed the original demon, and a mightily pissed off hell god. She doesn't have a chance and she knows it."

He gets in the elevator with me and we stand side by side as it starts its way down.

"Do you still love her?"

I turn my head his way and he just keeps staring ahead.

"Whatever we had, it's over now. If she wants to be enemies, I'm good with that. I'm going back for Joyce, not to kiss and make up."

He actually looks at me.

"So you do still love her then."

We just stare at each other for a moment as the elevator stops and the doors open.

"Do you?"

He gets this sorta sad smile on his face.

That's what I thought.

"You know as well as I do Angel, love isn't always enough."

I walk out into the Hyperion lobby.

Buffy's POV

I can't stop crying. I don't know that I could stop crying even if I wanted to. My mom is probably gonna die. She's the only family I have left and she could be dying. Oh god... my mom could die on me.

I wipe the tears off my cheeks, which are quickly replaced by new ones.

I don't want my mom to die, but there's nothing I can do to stop what's happening. I'm helpless to do anything about it except wait and see if she pulls through. I can't do this. I can't handle... everything. First Dawn, then Faith and now, my mom? When is it all gonna stop?

"Hello?"

Someone's here?

I look up at them through blurry eyes and I think they take a few steps back.

Who?

I wipe the tears from my eyes with my sleeve and take another look at... oh.

"Hi..."

I hug my knees a little tighter, not sure what to do.

"Um, it's Fay right?"

"Yeah, you remembered..."

"Kinda hard to forget someone you randomly punched out. It's not something I like to do everyday."

"Does that mean it's safe for me to be around you today?"

She really does look a lot like Faith.

I bury my face in myself, my forehead against my knees.

"I wouldn't say that."

There's a long pause of silence. I just sit there in the hospital outdoor quiet zone, trying not to cry.

"Are you all right... Buffy?"

Another moment of silence passes.

"It is Buffy, isn't it?"

I rub the tears out of my eyes again and look at her.

"Uh, yeah it is and... I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

I wipe the tears off my cheeks and run a hand through my hair.

"Really, I'm fine..."

I try for a smile but it doesn't last long and I start bawling again. She comes over and sits beside me on the bench. My forehead falls against my knees as the tears keep coming and I feel a comforting hand on my upper back. We sit there for a while and I just cry.

She shouldn't be here with me. She isn't safe around me. She shouldn't even be trying to make me feel better. I don't deserve her comfort. I punched her and gave her that black eye. I shouldn't...

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I pull my head up and look in her direction, but with the tears all I see is a blurry outline.

"What... what are you doing here? Is it because of what I did? Did you get a c-concussion or...?"

"No, no I'm fine, aside from the eye being black."

My eyes drop and I look at my thighs as I try to clear my eyes once again.

"I'm very, very sorry about the punching."

"It's okay, I'm over it. It'll fade. Bonnie isn't exactly happy about it though, but she knows I wasn't picking a fight."

"Yeah neither was I..."

"Well, to answer your first question, I volunteer here whenever I can. I like to help those in need."

She suddenly gets very uncomfortable.

"Is that, why you're here? Are you, a patient?"

A patient?

"What? N-no I'm not a... patient. It's, my mom... she's the patient."

"Oh, is she gonna be okay?"

I look around at the garden style quiet zone.

"They don't know..."

I feel tears coming again.

"Maybe not..."

She puts her arm around me as I can't stop the tears from flowing.

"I'm sorry..."

The tears keep coming but the words that she says somehow make me feel a little better, so I smile at her. I lean a little towards her and reach out to touch her face. I'm not sure why. She just smiles back, and for some reason, I lean the rest of the way in and kiss her softly. Our lips touch for all of 5 seconds before she pulls away quickly.

"Whoa, okay uh... whoa..."

What did I just do?

I let go of my knees and back away a bit.

"I... I'm s-sorry I... don't know why I d-did that..."

"It's okay..."

Okay?

"I think it's a couple counties over from okay. I shouldn't have... kissed you like that."

I stand up to back away some more.

"No, you shouldn't have, but I understand why you did."

She understands? How can she understand?

"How can you understand if I don't? How can you say you understand?"

She stands up to comfort me.

"Whatever is going on with your mother is making you feel needy. I'm not sure why it keeps happening around me, but I see it a lot working here, I understand."

I look at her and I have to back up to keep from slugging her again.

"I... I'm sorry..."

She gives me a sympathetic smile.

"You know, I meant what I said about talking about it."

That is SUCH a bad idea.

I look toward the hallway entrance.

"No, I should go back to my mother. I kinda bailed on her when the doctor told us. I should be there for her."

I start backwards toward the hallway, looking at her.

"Besides, bad things keep happening when we're around each other."

"Right..."

I turn completely to the hallway.

"Buffy?"

I face her for a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Why is it that bad things keep happening when we're together?"

I clear my eyes a bit.

"I think, it's because you remind me, of... someone."

"Oh... someone you don't like?"

"You could say that..."

I turn and leave.