To my readers: First, thanks for all the hits and reviews. Second, here's another chapter for you guys to chew on. Hope you like it.

3:13 pm, Sunday – NYU Hospital

The constant beep of the heart monitor and steady rhythm of the ventilator lulled Buffy to sleep. Her head resting on the corner of her chair next to Giles' bed, she had found the furniture piece surprisingly comfortable.

A hand reached slowly toward hers, with tubing attached to the back of it. It lightly bristled against her resting fingers and tensed up. Buffy moved at the touch, slightly startled, but smiling at the awakened figure before her.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she said as she was roused from her sleep. "We sure missed you."

Under his breathing mask, Giles slowly smiled. His former charge was with him, like a daughter coming back home. Despite his condition, he was beginning to feel better with her around.

"You get some rest, Giles," Buffy said. "I'll let the others know." She went over and hugged him gently, his weakened arms barely grasping her shoulders. She smiled at him and left the room.

As he lay in bed, Giles thought to himself. Once again, old chap, you barely escape death.


3:56 pm, Sunday – Sara Pezzini's Apartment

Sara sat in her unlit apartment, forlorn and somber. She had already left a message to schedule a physical. Until that happened, work was out of the question for a while. She had felt so much worse than before. She nearly got Giles killed, she nearly got some of the girls killed, and alienated her partners all in the span of two days. She had hoped that when she signed on to be a 'special consultant' to The Watchers' Council, things would get better and she would finally learn to control the impulses of the Witchblade. There's that word again, she thought. Hope.

The Scoobies had tried to call her over the weekend, but to no avail. She wasn't answering. Truth be told, she didn't want to face them at all, not after what happened; how could she? Sitting down in her living room she sat on her couch, surrounded by silence… until the phone rang. She let it ring until the voicemail picked it up.

"Hello?" the female voice said. "Sara, it's Buffy. I just wanted you to know that Giles is awake."

Sara eyes lit up, but she soon relented from expressing the joy she felt at the girl's good news.

"I left him to rest some more," Buffy continued, "but some of us are planning on dropping by later on tomorrow. I know he'd like it if you came by too."

After the message ended Sara looked at the machine, walked over to it, and pressed 'Delete'.


2:27 pm, Monday – NYU Hospital

It had been a busy day. Slayer well-wishers came in throughout the day while Buffy and Willow stayed. Kennedy and a few others came in during the afternoon and some, like Michelle, came in after work or class. As daylight began to wane and visitors became fewer, Buffy sat down and began to talk with Giles.

"How are you so far?" she asked.

"Still tired," Giles replied in a raspy voice. "Buffy, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Sure, Giles. What is it?"

"I… uh, well… I wanted to ask you about Sara."

"Oh," Buffy responded.

"I noticed she didn't stop by today. I wanted to know how she was."

"She… took your injury pretty hard, Giles, especially after she found out the bullet bounced off of the Witchblade."

"I don't blame her for what happened," Giles said quickly, futilely hoping that somewhere Sara would miraculously hear it.

"None of us did, Giles," Buffy said. "None of us except Sara. So much so that she had a lot of trouble dealing with it."

Giles listened to Buffy's cryptic statement and suspected there was more to the story than she let on. "Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me?" he asked.

"I was getting to it. Just remember, the doctor said you're going to have to stay calm while you heal."

Giles raised his eyebrows.


2:36 pm, Monday – Sara Pezzini's Apartment

Sara hadn't left her apartment all day. She still wore the clothes she went to bed in and they showed it, as they were quite rumpled. She didn't even bother to shower, her troubles weighing on her mind and effectively incapacitating her. All that, and she was scheduled for a unnecessary physical the next morning just to show that she could function at work without collapsing. Work was the only thing she was looking forward to, as its rigors would keep her busy enough to keep last week's actions out of her mind. She was just about to go back to sleep when she felt a presence near her apartment, followed a few seconds later by a knock on the door.

She slowly walked over to the door and undid the locks. Though she knew who it was when she felt her, opening the door she saw a person she didn't expect to see.

"Willow."

"Sara."

"Thought for sure Buffy would send herself over."

"Nope," Willow said, "just me." She looked around Sara's apartment, viewing the couch where she slept. Covers were strewn about it, and trash from foodstuffs littered the area. "I see you've been kind of bumming it."

"Yeah, well, I figured I would since I can't go back to work until I have a physical," Sara said in return.

Willow winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know you were at the precinct when that happened."

Though Sara knew the young woman meant well, she had little desire to speak to anyone today or do anything that wasn't work-related. She asked Willow pointedly, "What are you doing here, Willow?"

"What are you doing here, Sara?"

Sara smirked and said, "Last time I checked, this was my apartment."

"Funny," Willow retorted, "'cause it kind of looks like a cage to me."

"Look, if you came here to…"

"I didn't come here to fight, Sara," Willow said, putting her hands up. "I came here to find out where a friend was and why she hasn't talked to us, let alone stopped by for a visit."

"Sorry, Willow, but I don't much feel like stopping by for a visit after what happened."

"Oh, you mean after alienating your friends and nearly getting them killed on a vengeance quest after someone you cared about got shot?"

Sara just stared at her.

"Hey, it's happened before," the young witch quipped.

"Yeah, I guess you'd know all about that, huh?"

"Unfortunately, I do," Willow replied, her tone changing. "I also know about the feeling afterward: the guilt, the shame, the fear. You think that no one will ever trust you again, that your friends will reject you after seeing what you were capable of. I know all about that, Sara and I'm here to tell you that you don't have to feel that way. We don't think any less of you."

"I do," Sara said. "Willow, you don't understand: I nearly killed Giles."

"Sean nearly killed Giles," Willow corrected.

"No, Giles would have never gotten hit if it wasn't for the Witchblade."

Soon realization came to Willow's face. "That's what you're worried about, isn't it?" she asked. "You're afraid of hurting everyone because of it."

"Willow, I live in fear every day of what could happen with this thing," Sara replied. "I think every moment about who might end up hurt or dead because it doesn't want to play ball. Being a cop I know how to handle not being able to save everyone. I know how to accept that you can't always be there. But seeing your best efforts make matters worse… that's something I don't think I can deal with."

"Sara," Willow said in a reassuring tone, "you've done a lot of good, on the job and off. Some of the girls are alive because of you. Remember the raid on that after-hours torture club? We'd be short a few Slayers if you hadn't reacted to that trap. You've helped us out a lot. No one could have seen what was going to happen on that mission... no one. Don't beat yourself up for it."

Sara paused and gave out a loud sigh. She wanted all of the guilt and shame to go away, but the image of Giles on the ground covered in blood kept pushing itself to the forefront of her mind. Trying to keep herself occupied by talking she asked, "How's Giles?"

"Why don't you go find out?"

"No," she replied abruptly. "No, I couldn't face him, not after what happened."

"Why not?"

"What am I supposed to say?' Sara asked.

"'Hey, Giles, how are you?' sounds fine," Willow quipped.

"I can't, Willow. I just feel… like I let him down, like I betrayed his trust or something."

"You care about him a lot, don't you?" Willow asked, sensing there was more to Sara's apprehension than she was letting on.

"When most people who know about the Witchblade either plan to kill you or manipulate you, having someone tell you they don't care about any of that stuff and be sincere is… comforting. I just don't want to lose that."

"Well, you'll definitely lose it if you never talk to him again," Willow said. "You should go see him. The doctors say he can come home on Thursday and we're throwing him a little party at home. You don't have to come, but I know everyone would be happy to see you. And I know Giles would too. It's your choice, but Giles is going to need all the support he can get while he recovers. So, you can either avoid him for the rest of your life, or you can be there for him, like he would for you." Willow paused to let her words sink in, hoping they would spark something side the detective. "See you later, Sara," she said. And with that, the redhead left the apartment, as a disheveled Sara reflected on her words.

Sitting down on her couch, the cop let out a loud sigh and stared out her window, her weary and somber face pondering the days ahead.


3:51 pm, Monday – NYU Hospital

Buffy had told Giles the events that transpired after he went unconscious and, needless to say,he was none too pleased. To him, it wasn't necessarily that Sara had lost it and went on a vengeance quest, although that was bad enough. It was also the fact that he thought he had done a better job of helping her control the Witchblade and her emotions. In some way, he felt that Sara's failure reflected his own failures in adequately guiding her.

She walked out into the hallway to get a drink of water; it was partially to quench her thirst and partially to leave Giles to ponder things alone. She knew he was taking Sara's actions quite hard, as he believed they reflected on how successful he was in helping her to control the Witchblade. Buffy knew that adjustments would have to be made if they were to defeat Amy, something that seemed increasingly unlikely as the days went by. Musing over what those adjustments would have to be, she was brought out of her thoughts by an approaching Willow.

"Everything all right with Giles?" Willow asked.

"More or less," Buffy replied. "I'm taking off. I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Sure, no problem." As Buffy left, Willow walked into Giles' room.

"How did everything go?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"As well as expected," Willow replied. "She's really taking this thing hard."

"Well, hopefully she'll pull through."

"I don't know, Giles. It's like… she's holding something back, like she's afraid of herself and what could happen."

"She carries the Witchblade, a very unpredictable weapon. That's bound to cause much apprehension."

"I know, it's just… I just wish she'd just confront what's bothering her. You know, open up and talk about it."

"Right," Giles said in a soft and somber tone. "Perhaps she isn't the only one who should be doing that."

"Huh?" Willow said, confused.

"I've done quite a lot of thinking since I've been here. Believe me, given the limited activities one can engage in here, thinking is quite possibly the only thing you can do."

"About what?"

"About facing my fears and apprehensions."

"Giles," she said, "you're not making any sense."

"I've been thinking about the test I gave her."

"Oh, that. What about it?"

"I'm not sure it was necessarily the right thing to do." He hesitated to elaborate, but slowly said, "It wasn't just to test her progress."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked in a low voice, wondering about the cryptic statement.

Giles started out slowly, trying to get the words out. "I… uh, well… um…" After a long and painful deep breath he said, "When two people work together, uh, they, um… sometimes certain feelings arise."

"Oh," Willow said. After a second or two, it sunk in. "Ohhhh…."

"Believe me, it was never my intention. But nevertheless I saw what was happening and I… reacted."

"You gave her the test to push her away," she replied, realization hitting her.

"Yes," Giles affirmed.

"Why? I mean, were you that scared of how she might feel about you?"

"The test wasn't just for her, Willow," he replied. "It was also for me."

"You mean you…?"

"Yes."

"Well… I was wondering how long it'd take you to realize that."

"What?"

"Giles, I knew you had feelings for her," Willow replied. "I saw it in the way you looked at each other sometimes. Even some of the girls saw it."

"You knew?"

"Well, I had my suspicions about the test, but I did know you felt something for her."

"I know you vocalized your objections," Giles said.

"I asked you if you thought it was necessary and you said it was," Willow said in a slightly pointed tone. "I should have gone with my first instinct. I kept thinking it was just the Watcher side coming out."

"Not completely," he said.

"Giles… why didn't you just tell her how you felt?"

"Because I didn't think it was the time do such a thing," he replied. "Willow, we're at war with Amy and trying to reorganize something that will take years of hard work and dedication. Coupled with the complications of the Witchblade and I think any relationship might be in jeopardy before it starts."

"I see…" Willow said. "So you were just a coward, huh?"

"Excuse me?"

"You were scared of what might happen and instead of being upfront about it, you chose to push her away."

"Willow, I…"

"No, Giles," Willow interrupted, clearly irritated. "I've known you long enough to know that's exactly what you did. I know we've all had pretty bad luck in relationships, but I just can't believe you''d do something like that."

"I was trying to protect everyone involved... including myself."

"You can keep telling yourself that," Willow said. "Giles, did you ever think that maybe part of the reason Sara's had a hard time with her progress is because she feels all alone, like she has to keep everyone at arm's length?"

Giles furrowed his brow and thought about the question.

"It's no secret she's the most distant," Willow continued. "And when she does talk to us, she rarely talks about anything beyond the field work stuff. As a matter of fact, the reason we had a hard time finding her after you got shot was because no one really had any clue about her… except you. And pushing her away like you did couldn't have helped."

"What do you want me to do, Willow?" Giles asked rhetorically. "Run up to her and tell her that I have feelings for her?"

"I guess it's really up to you. You could go on pretending like you feel nothing for her and keep her at arm's length… or you could be honest with her and tell her truth."

Giles looked downward as Willow stood up from the chair in the room.

"I'll see you later, Giles."

And with that, the Watcher was left to contemplate his former pupil's words. He thought not only of what she said, but all of the things that lay ahead in future. He knew the days ahead would be most difficult and trying, requiring them to make adjustments and adapt. He also knew he would have to make some decisions about his own life. The challenges would come; that was inevitable. The only question was whether or not they would be ready to face them.