A/N: The scene written in italics is a flashback from Angel's POV, not a dream or Buffy remembering something, just so you know.

Buffy stared at herself in the mirror, disgusted at the pale image reflected back at her. There was nothing like a stint in the hospital that made a person feel worse about themselves.

You almost died, Summers.

Buffy sighed, feeling guilty for hating the reflection in the mirror. She should be grateful to still be alive.

She slowly opened the door and made her way out of the bathroom, being careful not to move too quickly. Her head was already starting to ache.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing out of bed?" Hank said, walking into his daughter's room. He immediately rushed over to assist her.

"I just had to use bathroom, Daddy," Buffy explained. "I'm allowed to do that, right?"

"Can you at least call a nurse next time? You hear all the time about hospital patients falling on the floor and no one comes to help them."

"I think they say that about old people." The moment she said this, of course, she nearly lost her balance. Buffy grabbed on to her father's arm. "Okay, maybe I do feel a little woozy."

"Come on, let's get you back to bed." Hank held Buffy steady as she climbed back onto the mattress. "Better?"

Buffy nodded, feeling settled now. "Yeah."

"Hi, Buffy." One of the younger and friendlier nurses walked into her room. She nodded at Hank. "Hello."

"Hello, Nurse…" Hank looked for her nametag on her floral-covered scrubs. "Chloe. Pretty name."

The young nurse smiled. "How are you feeling today? Any more headaches? Dizzy spells?"

"Just a little, but mostly I feel better."

"So will my daughter be able to go home soon?"

"Please say yes," Buffy begged.

"I'm not sure. I think Dr. Drake will probably want you to stay a few more days. But if you keep improving, I don't see why not."

"So there's a possibility I can go home soon?"

"It's a possibility. You know, you're very fortunate."

"She certainly is," Hank said, smiling at his daughter.

"I saw you when you first came in. It's a good thing your boyfriend was able to bring you in so quickly. If he hadn't, it may have been too late."

Hank turned to Buffy, surprised. "Riley saved your life? Buffy, you didn't tell me that."

"Actually, it was Angel who brought me in."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Chloe said, blushing. "I just assumed he was your boyfriend. He spent so much time here with you. That's why I thought—"

"That's okay. He's a good friend." Buffy supposed she would have to get used to thinking that way. She had to remember she and Angel weren't together anymore.

"Well, I'll come check on you later. Call if you need anything."

"I will."

Buffy watched as the nurse walked out of the room, then turned back to her father. "What?" she asked when he kept smiling at her.

"It's so good to see you, sweetie. I'm sorry I haven't been around much. I'd like to change that."

"I'd like that too."

"I have something I want to show you." Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo envelope. "I just had these developed. Thought you'd like to see where I'm staying."

"It must be picture day," Buffy said as she took the pictures from her father. "Riley was showing me some pictures this morning. He thought it might help jog my memory," she explained.

"Have you remembered anything yet?"

Buffy flashed backed again to the horrible car accident in her mind, then quickly shut the door on that memory. "No."

"You will, honey. Just give it some time. Well go on, check out those pictures. You're going to love this place."

The first picture was taken from a balcony overlooking a breathtaking view the Mediterranean. "Wow. It's…it's so beautiful."

"That's the view from my penthouse."

"Are you serious?"

"Are you sure you don't want to come back to Spain with me?"

Buffy laughed. "I can see why you like it there."

"It's nice. I still miss California sometimes, but when the opportunity came along to work abroad…well, I couldn't pass it up. It's Spain. It's the chance of a lifetime."

"So um…this Spain thing. Is this temporary or are we talking a more permanent living situation?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I still have the house in Los Angeles, but I've been traveling so much back and forth lately. It's easier to stay in Europe. I might be there for another year, maybe more."

Buffy looked through several more pictures with her father telling her about each one. And then, she came to a picture of a woman.

"Hey, I know her. She looks familiar."

"You remember her?"

"Yeah. She's your secretary. You just hired her that summer I went to stay with you. I don't remember her name though. Natalie? Nicole?"

"Natasha."

"Right. I knew it started with an 'N'. Wow, she's been with you for a long time, and she's traveling with you now. What did you do, give her a raise?"

Hank smiled. "Actually, sweetie, I asked her to marry me."

Buffy flipped mindlessly through the television channels, bored out of her mind. She was surprised to learn the hospital actually had cable, but on a Saturday afternoon, even cable didn't have much to offer.

Buffy turned the TV off. It was giving her a headache anyway.

Or maybe it was the bomb her father had dropped on her earlier.

A knock on the door was a welcome relief from her boredom. "Hey, Buffster."

"Xander!"

"Thought you could use some company. And I bring forth food!" Xander held up a brown paper bag, soaked with grease at the bottom.

Buffy didn't care for the greasiness factor, but whatever was inside certainly smelled good. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you thought it was a cheeseburger and some French fries, then you would be correct." Xander handed the bag to Buffy, which she took eagerly.

"Oh my god! Do you know how much I've been craving normal food?"

"Well I heard you weren't eating and I figured it had at least something to do with the quality of the food here." Xander glanced at the untouched tray of food on her bedside table.

"It leaves a lot to be desired," Buffy said as she unwrapped the burger from the paper wrapping. "Well, the jello isn't half bad. This is much better though."

"So how you holding up?"

"Do you really want to know?" Buffy didn't wait for his answer. "Let's see. The doctor won't let me go home yet. My boyfriend is a total stranger to me. My ex-boyfriend is the guy I'm still in love with and can never be with. I can't remember a damn thing from the past year. And…oh yeah, my dad is marrying his twenty-five year old secretary. That's how I'm holding up."

"Your dad's…what?"

"He's marrying his secretary! She's twenty-five, Xander! Twenty-five! That's only a few years older than me! How messed up is that?"

"Maybe your dad's having a midlife crisis."

"Then why couldn't he get a sports car like Giles?"

Xander shrugged, not sure how to respond.

Buffy sighed. "Xander, I'm sorry. You're the first person I've been able to vent to and I just had to let it all out."

"It's okay. You can vent all you want. Anytime. I'm always here for you."

Buffy, done complaining, finally took a bite of her burger. "This is really good by the way."

"Who said fast food wasn't good, right?" Xander said, helping himself to her fries. "Oh, and I have something else for you." Xander rummaged around in the bag he brought with him and pulled out a comic book.

Buffy grinned. "A comic book?"

"I know you probably think they're dumb, but they can be surprisingly entertaining."

"Thanks, Xander."

"You're welcome. When you were in the coma, I'd read to you sometimes. I was reading that one to you when you squeezed my hand. Do you remember?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Everything from when I was in a coma is sort of a blur, you know? But I think I do remember you sitting with me."

"We were all so scared for you, Buffy. But none of us gave up."

"Thanks for not giving up on me."

A knock on the door got their attention, and Anya poked her head into the door. "Hey. Can I come in?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah." He turned to Buffy. "Unless your not up for more company?"

"Oh please, I'm dying for socialization! If I see one more person in scrubs…"

"What will you do?" Anya asked as she walked into the room.

"What?"

"If you see another person in scrubs? What will you do? You sort of left us hanging there."

Buffy stared at Anya for a moment, confused.

"Buffy just means she wants to get out of here, An."

"Oh." Anya glanced around the room that was filled with flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. She jumped at the sight of one particular flower arrangement with a stuffed bunny attached to the vase. "I can see why. I'd want out of here too." Anya turned away from the bunny, not wanting to stare at it for a moment longer. "So, Xander said you have amnesia. Can you still not remember?"

Buffy shook her head. "Unfortunately, no."

"Do you remember me?"

"Vaguely. I remember you were at our school, but the rest…it's just so blurry. But Xander told me about you."

"Room for two more in here?" Willow asked, standing in the doorway.

"Willow! Hey."

"Hey, Buffy."

Behind Willow was a girl that Buffy didn't recognize, but she seemed like she must belong to the group. "Oh, new person. Or…uh…new person to me anyway."

"Buffy, this is Tara," Willow said.

"Hey, Buffy," Tara said, giving her a little wave.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you…again. I'm sorry I don't remember you."

"That's okay. Here, I brought you flowers." Tara held out a small bundle of carnations. "Although I can clearly see now that you have so many already."

"Maybe you should get rid of some of them," Anya suggested, and pointed to the flowers with the bunny. "Maybe get rid of that one." Anya looked around the room, wondering why everyone was staring at her. "What? I told you guys already. Bunnies freak me out! I swear that thing is staring at me with its beady little eyes."

Buffy looked around the room, smiling. "It's so nice to have all you guys around. The whole group is together now, with a few new faces too. Except…" Buffy looked around the room, thinking for a moment. Something was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was definitely missing. No, not something, but someone. She turned to Willow. "Oh, I know now. Oz! I just realized I haven't seen him at all! Where is he?"

"Oh, right. I forgot you didn't know…" Willow said, suddenly nervous.

"Know what? Oz is okay, right? Right?"

"Oz is fine," Willow answered. "It's just that, well…Oz kind of left. And we sort of…broke up."

"Oh, Willow. I'm…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean...I didn't know. I just wondered where he was. No one told me—"

"Oh, it's okay! Actually, I wanted to tell you. There's someone new in my life now."

The smile on Buffy's face returned. "Oh, Will, that's great! I'm sorry it didn't work out with Oz but I'm glad you found someone new. So who's the lucky guy? Tell me all about him!"

Tara's eyes shifted to a spot on the floor, and Willow glanced at her briefly. "Um, well…"

"Oh it's not a guy," Anya announced for them. "Willow's a lesbian now."

Willow glared at Anya, and Tara shifted on her feet nervously.

"What?" Anya said defensively. "Well you are! I didn't say there was anything wrong with it! I was just stating the facts."

Buffy felt like she knew her friends pretty well, but she hadn't been expecting this. As she studied Willow, then Tara, things suddenly became very clear. Tara was obviously this new person in Willow's life. "Willow, that's…wow, that's great. It's just, uh, kind of a surprise."

"Yeah, I know. It was sort of a surprise for me too," Willow said with a nervous laughter.

"I'm really happy for you, Will. For both of you. And you look happy too."

"We are really happy," Willow said, smiling now and taking hold of Tara's hand.

"So um…how did you two meet?"

"We met through our Wicca group," Willow said.

Buffy turned to Tara. "Oh, so you're a—"

"Witch," Tara said, finishing her thought. "But Willow's way more advanced than me."

"No I'm not. You've been doing this a lot longer and you know it."

"But you've advanced a lot quicker. She's just being modest. She's really getting to be a powerful Wicca."

"Yeah, some powerful Wicca that still hasn't figured out how to de-rat Amy."

"Amy's still a rat, huh?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "We're still working on a way to change her back."

"I guess not everything has changed around here," Buffy said.

Angel was leaving Buffy's bedroom when he passed Willow in the hallway, startling her.

"Angel!" she gasped with her hand over her heart. "You scared me. I didn't know anyone was here."

"I'm sorry. There was no one home when I knocked on the door. I just let myself in…"

"That's okay." Now that Willow had calmed down, she wondered what Angel was doing here. She then noticed a familiar stuffed pig in his hands and raised an eyebrow. "So uh…are you taking Mr. Gordo out for a patrol? Because I'm not so sure Buffy would like that very much."

"What? Oh." Angel looked down at the pig, having forgotten he was even holding it for a moment. "I was just going to take him to Buffy. I think she's feeling a little homesick and I thought this might help."

"Yeah, Buffy really hates hospitals. I hope she can come home soon. It's hard to believe we came so close to losing her, you know? I can't even imagine what that would be like. A world without Buffy."

A world without Buffy.

Hard to imagine, yes, and even harder to learn how to do, Angel thought.

"Willow, can I ask you something?"

Willow nodded. "Sure."

"Is Buffy…is she happy? With Riley, I mean. Does Riley make her happy?"

"Well…Riley's a really good guy. He would never hurt her."

"That's good to know, Willow, but not exactly what I was asking."

Willow paused for a moment, then spoke. "Yes. Riley makes her happy. She wouldn't be with him if he didn't."

Buffy touched the flowers by her bed. Her room really was starting to look like a florist. Most of them were from Riley, but there were a few from the hospital staff as well. Apparently the nurses thought she was some kind of miracle patient. A lucky girl.

Buffy wished she could share their sentiment. Maybe it was a miracle she was out of the coma, but she felt anything but lucky. Often times, she'd wonder to herself when her mother was going to come visit her. Then she'd remember again. Her mother was gone.

Buffy wished that maybe, just maybe, she could close her eyes, wish real hard, then wake to find everything normal again. But no matter how hard she wished, it was not going to happen.

A lucky girl. Not even close.

Buffy looked at the open doorway and saw a familiar nurse passing by. "Nurse?"

Nurse Chloe peered into her room and smiled. "Hey, Buffy. Can I get you something?"

"Can you take some of these flowers to Pediatrics?" she asked, indicating the two vases on her bedside table. "Maybe give them to a kid or someone? I just have so many."

Chloe smiled and took the flowers. "Sure. I'll see to it that they go to someone who could really use them."

"Thanks."

As Chloe left the room, Buffy smiled, seeing Angel walk in. At least there was one bright spot in her day. "Angel."

He walked over to the bed, carrying something behind his back. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now that you're here. What are you hiding behind your back?"

Angel grinned and showed her what he was hiding.

"Mr. Gordo!" Buffy grabbed the pig, hugging it close as if she were a child again. "You brought me Mr. Gordo?" She laughed, because the gesture was sweet, and a little surprising.

Angel pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "Thought it'd help to have something familiar around."

"It does. Thank you."

Angel reached for her hand, gently placing his hand over hers. "How are you really?"

"Okay," Buffy said after a moment. "Some minutes are harder than others. I keep thinking that Mom's going to come through that door any moment. I know she's not, but my mind keeps wanting to hope. You know? Like maybe this is a bad dream or something. Or I'm under some freaky spell in Bizarro Sunnydale, and I can't quite figure out how to make things right again."

"It'll get easier."

"Did I ever tell you how I got Mr. Gordo?" Buffy asked, changing the subject as she played with the piggy's tail.

Angel laughed. "No, I don't think so."

"It was at a carnival I went to with my parents. I don't remember how old I was. Maybe eleven…twelve? I was young enough to think hanging out with my parents was still cool. Anyway, at the carnival, we had a blast. We rode every ride until we were sick. Well, my dad and I did at least. Mom stood along the sidelines and held our stuff. We ate nothing but junk food. Hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn. And when we got tired riding all the rides, we played every carnival game we could until our money ran out. You know the game with the milk bottles and the softball and you have to knock them down?"

Angel nodded.

"That's the game I won. The prize was Mr. Gordo, and that's how he came into my life."

"It sounds like you all had a really good time."

"We did. It was the last time that I could remember my parents happy together. The three of us happy together. After that, Dad started working all the time, and he and Mom would argue a lot. Their relationship went pretty much downhill from there. I'd be in my room, on my bed, holding Mr. Gordo and thinking to myself that it was okay for them to fight every now and then. But I never thought they'd get a divorce."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. There's no point in being sad about it now. I can't do anything to change what happened. It has been nice having my dad here though. I don't see him a lot. But I'm sure he'll probably want to be leaving tomorrow. He'll want to get back to work."

"Maybe he'll surprise you and stay a little longer," Angel said.

"What about you?"

"What?"

"How long are you staying? Have you decided when you're going back?"

"No, not yet."

"Good."

Angel saw the look in her eyes. He knew what she was thinking, and he couldn't let her go there.

Riley makes her happy. She wouldn't be with him if he didn't.

"Buffy…we can't."

"Why not? Why can't we just pick up where we left off? I don't care if our relationship can't be normal. I just want you in my life."

"Buffy—"

"I still love you, Angel. Despite everything that must have happened between us, I still love you. I could forget everything but my heart would still remember. I'll always love you. There's nothing you could ever do to change that."

"Buffy, it's not that simple. And it's not that I don't love you."

"I know that. You wouldn't haven't driven two hours to save my life if you didn't love me."

"It's that I love you too much. Whenever I'm around you, I'm reminded of everything I can't give you."

"And when you leave, I'll be reminded of everything I lost."

Angel opened his mouth as if to protest again, but Buffy placed her finger over his lips. "No. Don't say anything else. I'm just telling you how I feel."

Buffy suddenly yawned and laid back on her pillow, holding on to the blanket and Mr. Gordo tightly. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Angel nodded. "Sure."

He reached over to turn off the lamp, and soon enough, Buffy was asleep.

Angel knelt down beside the grave and placed the bouquet of flowers next to the others. He ran his hand along the lettering of the headstone.

Joyce Summers

August 12, 1958 – March 3, 2000

"Hi, Joyce. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person in the world, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't like me much at all. I wish…I wish I had taken the time to get to know you better, and I'm sorry that I never really tried to do that. Maybe that's one of the reasons you didn't like me. Well, that as well as the obvious reasons.

"Buffy would talk about you all the time. She said you were the strongest person she'd ever known, and that you could take any problem, big or small, and find a solution. She also talked about your warmth, and your kindness. Buffy says that she can't go on without you. She's wrong though, not to say that she doesn't need you. But you've raised an amazing daughter, Joyce, and I don't want you to worry about Buffy. She's going to be just fine. It'll take her some time, some time to heal, but she'll bounce back soon enough. She's a strong woman. I think she gets that from you."

"Angel?"

Angel turned around, seeing Buffy walk towards him.

"What are you—I thought you already left."

"I'm just paying my respects before I leave. I didn't go to the funeral on account of the sun and all."

"It means a lot to me that you came here."

"Buffy, what are you doing out here? You should be home right now."

Buffy wrapped her jacket around her a little tighter and knelt down beside him. "I had to get out of there. I had to get out of that house. Everyone keeps coming over with food when I don't feel like eating. Everyone keeps watching me, waiting for me to fall apart. I'm tired of everyone asking me if I need anything. And I'm tired of everyone asking me if I'm okay. I know they're all just trying to be nice, but they can't give me anything I need. Nobody can. And I'm not going to be okay, because my mother is dead."

Buffy's composure began to crack and Angel pulled her into his embrace. She sobbed against his chest, and Angel held her as she cried.

"No one knows what to do in this situation, Buffy," he whispered. "You'll be sad for a long time, and you'll always miss your mother. But one day, you'll be able to think of her again and smile. I promise. You just have to give it time."

Angel smoothed her hair back and felt her sobs finally start to subside.

She slowly pulled away from his embrace, looking into his eyes. "Angel, please don't go back to L.A. I know what we said before, that we would try to forget. But, Angel, I can't."

"Buffy—"

"I still love you."

Buffy inched closer to him, so close that Angel could hear the rapid sound of her heart beating. And before he could even process what was happening, she kissed him.

The kiss was soft, light at first, but quickly advanced into something more desperate and all-consuming. It had been so long since he'd felt her lips against his. Everything was just as he remembered. Her touch, her scent, the way she tasted. Angel let himself get lost in the moment, remembering how it felt to have Buffy in his arms.

Buffy slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes, searching for answers. "See? You feel the same way. You can't deny it. It's right there in your eyes."

A rumble of thunder roared above them, signaling an approaching storm.

"Buffy, we…we can't."

"We can if you would just let us."

"Riley loves you. You have a good thing going with him. You could be happy."

"Riley doesn't make me feel the way you do."

It started to rain, but Buffy didn't seem to care about getting wet.

"Say you'll stay, Angel."

A car horn sounded, and Angel turned his head to see Riley's car pulling up by the side of the road.

"Buffy!"

Buffy looked at Riley, then turned back to Angel. "Angel, please."

"Buffy!" Riley yelled again.

The rain was steady now, and it had completely soaked Buffy's hair. It reminded Angel of another time he'd seen her this way. No, there was no good in him staying here. "Go on. Riley's waiting for you."

He'd done it. He'd hurt her again. He could see the pain in her eyes. And without another word, Buffy stood to her feet, turned on her heel, and walked away from him. She met Riley half-way.

Angel watched as Riley took off his heavier coat and wrapped it around her.

"Honey, you're soaked! What are you doing out here?"

"I just wanted to visit Mom one more time."

Riley looked over her shoulder and stared at Angel. "Come on, let's get you home."

"No, I don't want to go home. Take me to your place. Make me forget, Riley."

Buffy turned her head once more and caught Angel's gaze. Then she got into Riley's car and moments later, they were gone.

A/N: I love that while everyone else has been bringing Buffy flowers, Angel brought her Mr. Gordo. :) Personally, I think that's way sweeter than flowers. :) And yay, an appearance by Mr. Gordo! LOL Oh by the way, I don't know where Mr. Gordo came from, or even if we ever found out how he came into Buffy's life, so I created his own backstory.

Oh, and I don't know if anyone picked up on the cameo appearance, but if you did, yes, that was Michelle Trachtenberg's character from Mercy. (Which I think is a really great show! Michelle's character is hilarious! If it gets canceled, I'm going to be really sad.)

Well….until 15! Thanks for reading, everybody :)