The next day, Buffy sat in a wheelchair as Giles pushed her out to her mom's car. She couldn't wait to get away from the hospital. Everyone had been in to see her. She had gotten quite a bit of sleep too though.

She hadn't realized how much sleep she was missing out on, being the Slayer and all. She obviously needed to spend some time just catching up on her sleep. It would be good to be with Angel over the summer. He would make sure that she rested plenty but didn't get weak.

She almost liked the thought of depending on him. He was one of the few stable things in an otherwise highly unstable life. At least he was sticking around, unlike her dad who had left the day before when he realized that Buffy was going to need a lot of care over the summer. He had just taken off, leaving Dawn alone in the house. Xander had gone over and picked her up.

Xander had even canceled his trip to see America to stay and help Buffy. Willow was helping Buffy put together her schedule for the first semester. They would be taking all their classes together and Willow had even found a Wicca group to work with to increase her knowledge, thinking that maybe she could help Buffy even more if she could cast more powerful spells. Although that restoration spell wasn't exactly a glamor.

Anya was trying to be more like the gang. Cordelia had decided to stay in Sunnydale after all. As had Wesley. After all, the only reason he had for going to Los Angeles in the first place was now back in Sunnydale and the second reason was staying put after all. He had to admit that he really liked Cordelia. Matter of fact, if he could get past the fact that she was only seventeen and he was almost thirty, it might turn into something more than that.

Oz was a firm fixture in Willow's life. He and the little redhead were almost inseparable. In fact, they had set things up to get a house just off campus for the whole college segment of the gang to stay in.

Giles was to start working in the college library at the same time that the gang started college. Wesley would be his assistant. That was satisfactory to everyone involved.


"Buffy?" Joyce's voice brought her daughter out of her thoughts of how the coming school year was shaping up for the gang. "Where did you go, sweetheart?"

"Probably daydreaming about Angel again." Dawn just loved to antagonize Buffy about the way she felt about Angel.

"Dawn, if I wasn't in so much pain, I would gladly knock you back to the house from here." Buffy had been trying to hide how much she hurt at that moment but she just had to wipe the smug look off Dawn's face.

"Buffy, are you really in that much pain?" Dawn and Joyce were worried. They hadn't had a chance to fill Buffy's prescription yet. They were going to do that after they dropped her off at Angel's.

"I'll be ok. Just drop me off at Angel's and then fill my script. Just like we planned." Buffy winced as she tried to settle herself a little differently on the back seat. "Pull up into the garage. He can carry me in from there."

"Ok, sweetie. Just hang on." Just then, they pulled into the garage at the mansion. Angel was waiting at the door to the house for the garage door to close so he could step up and pick up Buffy from the car. She waved to her mom from the doorway as they pulled away from the mansion to go to the drugstore.

Once her mom was out of sight, Buffy turned to Angel in tears and begged him to take her inside and set her in the bed. He did as his love asked him, almost in tears himself for her pain and her bravery for not telling her mom.

After he had settled her into the bed, he went out to the kitchen and got her some orange juice. He would be ready when Joyce and Dawn came back with the pills.


Thankfully, it didn't take them long. Joyce had been worried about having to pay for the meds but the Council had already been informed of Buffy's little hospital visit and arranged for the bill to be sent to them for everything. Including Buffy's pain pills.

Joyce pulled into Angel's driveway and went up to the door. Almost before she could knock, Angel opened the door to let her in. "I'm glad you're back," he said. "She's in the bedroom. This way." He led Joyce back to the room.

Opening the door quietly, Angel called out, "Buffy, your mom's here with your medication."

"Come on in." Joyce walked in and gave Buffy a sympathetic smile. "Hi, mom." Buffy seemed dazed. Her eyes were glassed over by pain and she was a little paler than usual.

"How do you feel, honey?"

"I hurt. A lot. Every muscle in my body feels like it's been twisted into knots." Joyce could tell that Buffy was fighting back tears and she quickly handed her oldest daughter the required dose of pain medication. "Thanks, mom."

Joyce sat beside Buffy until the medication kicked in and she fell asleep.


"Thanks for hurrying back with that, Joyce."

"She was in so much pain. She didn't say anything though. So brave." Joyce composed herself and looked up at Angel. "Take good care of her, Angel. She loves you more than I ever could have guessed."

"I will, Joyce. I promise."

He let Joyce out and then started cleaning up the mess in the living room. He had removed the body before Buffy came over and now he had to clean up all the blood and goo. He smiled when he thought of Buffy, punning through her pain and exhaustion as she battled the Torlonin demon. That was his girl. His Buffy.

/////////////////////////////
A/N: There's the next chapter on this one. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few more chapters up on some of the others soon. Got a lot to do right now.

Thanks for the reviews, everyone who reviewed.