Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.

Joyce intercepted Ben just as he came out of Buffy's room. "How is she?" she asked.

"She's calmed down," Ben said quietly. "Her pulse and blood pressure are back to normal. I think she's out of the attack."

"Does she still need the oxygen?" Joyce asked, looking through the doorway at the two figures by the bed. Ben shook his head.

"She doesn't need it, but I want it to stay on until she falls asleep. You can take it off then," he told her. "I'm going to leave it here just in case she ever starts hyperventilating again. That definitely added to the panic attack. I'm also going to leave the sedatives. I've already talked to Giles about dosage, but I can't stress too strongly they should not be used as an everyday cure for this. You need to find a way to help her cope." She nodded and looked into the room, Ben following her lead. She and Giles shared another long look.

"We'd appreciate any suggestions you have," Giles said from his spot by her bedside.

"I wish I knew how to help," he told them sincerely. They stayed by the doorway and watched as Giles comforted the Slayer. "The problem is this is purely psychological and the best advice is to talk about it, which she can't do." He sighed. "There's some medications that might help, but don't think that is the best option. I think the best advice I can give is to keep a careful eye on her. Stopping these episodes from getting this bad will probably be the best way you can help her right now."

"Thank you," Joyce told him. He nodded and headed down the stairs. She went into the room, automatically closing the door before thinking better of it. Knowing everyone would probably want to check on Buffy sometime before going to bed she decided to simply leave the door open. She turned and watched the figures in the room for a moment. Buffy was on her side, groggily staring at Giles. She had a tight grip on his hand. "Buffy?" she called quietly, not wanting to disturb her daughter if she finally found a safe place. Buffy slowly turned her head, her drug filled eyes slow to focus on her mother. As soon as she did though, she let go of Giles's hand and reached for hers. Joyce was next to the bed immediately, kicking her shoes off as she did exactly what Anya suggested. She climbed into bed with her daughter.

Buffy quickly melded herself to her side and Joyce could immediately tell the difference from just a few minutes ago. She still was shaking every few minutes, but nothing like before. "Is she asleep?" she asked Giles. He stood, grabbing the blankets and tucking them in while he checked on her.

"Not quite," he said, as he gently ran his hand over her head before moving the chair closer to the bed. He sat down with a sigh.

"Why is this happening now?" Joyce asked quietly, gently rubbing her daughter's back to try to get her to sleep. "Was Willow right? Is this because you entered her mind?"

"Partially," he said quietly. "We expedited the process, but this would have eventually happened." Joyce sighed.

"She can never catch a break, can she?" she asked rhetorically.

"Apparently not," Giles answered anyway. Joyce looked at him for several minutes before asking her next question.

"What can we do to help her?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Before she would train and patrol to relieve stress and work through things. That is not an option right now. I think what Anya suggested might be best. Get a monitor for her and try to wake her up before the nightmares get too bad."

"You think this will stay in her nightmares?" Joyce asked.

"I can hope," he told her, "but I know eventually it will follow her to her waking moments. When that happens I have no idea how to help her."

"I guess we'll just have to play it by ear," Joyce told him, repeating his advice from so long ago. He smiled at her gently.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked, leaving it entirely up to her.

"Is she sleeping?" Joyce asked. He discretely checked before nodding. "Then you can go. I'll take care of her tonight."

"Of course," he said, both of them knowing he wouldn't go far. He slipped the oxygen mask off her face, leaving it where Joyce could reach if necessary, then left the room. He detoured to the library to grab the Codex, desperately searching for any scrap of information that might help his girl, then headed to his room. He wasn't going to get any sleep tonight either.

Joyce smiled brightly as Buffy opened her eyes the next morning. "Good morning," she said quietly. Buffy rewarded her with a big smile. Joyce stretched as she thought about the long night she had spent. Buffy had several more nightmares but thankfully Joyce was able to help her through them without her daughter waking up completely. Joyce had dozed periodically throughout the night, but was always jerked awake whenever Buffy moved or whimpered. In the end Buffy had gotten almost a full night's sleep while Joyce had managed a couple hours of rest. "How are you feeling today?" Buffy just stared at her. "Back to the silent treatment huh," Joyce said jokingly. She slowly climbed out of bed, wondering if Buffy was finally going to let go of the iron grip she maintained the entire night. She did, once Joyce pointed it out to her.

"You guys are finally awake," Dawn said as she entered the room. She was carrying a shopping bag that Joyce eyed carefully.

"What's that?" she asked.

"A monitor for Buffy," Dawn said, pulling out the baby monitor. "Anya went to the store as soon as they opened. It's the same type as the twins, so we'll have to label them somehow. Anya was thinking a marker, but I was leaning more toward glitter and sparkly paint."

"A marker sounds good," Joyce said, trying to derail her daughter before she got too out of hand. Dawn brought over the chair someone had brought upstairs and Joyce shifted Buffy from the bed, wrinkling her nose at the sweat covered sheets. "I'll need to wash these."

"I can help," Dawn volunteered, wrestling with the baby monitor, trying to get it out of the box. Joyce nodded, pushing Buffy into the bathroom to start her morning routine. "How did she do last night?" she asked.

"She had several nightmares," Joyce told Dawn. "Thankfully I was able to coax her through them without having to wake her up."

"That's good," Dawn said as she gathered up the bedding. "Tara said she'll just continue inventorying the new arrivals at The Gallery like you showed her yesterday. Willow was gonna help her so you don't have to go back until you're ready."

"Perfect," she said as she drew a bath for her daughter, "but yesterday I was reminded that I have a show I need to put on for the New York artists. I totally forgot so I'm already behind schedule."

"You have Tara to help now," Dawn reminded her.

"Yeah, but we didn't begin to cover art shows." The water stopped and Dawn went to the doorway, watching as her mother lowered Buffy into the bathtub. There was only a couple of inches of water, but they could hear Buffy sigh in enjoyment. "Does that feel good baby?" Joyce asked. They both were shocked when Buffy nodded her head slightly. "We'll see how she does today then maybe I'll go in tomorrow." Dawn nodded.

"I'll go get these sheets going. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Joyce nodded as she lathered up a washcloth and cleaned her daughter. She quickly changed the ostomy bag and let Buffy soak in the warm water for a few minutes before pulling the plug. As the water drained Buffy opened her eyes and found her mother, smiling softly. She lifted a hand, which Joyce used to pull her into a sitting position. Buffy was getting better at being able to hold herself up, so after Joyce propped her up, she quickly ran into Buffy's room and grabbed some clothes while the last of the water drained. Grabbing some towels as she reentered the bathroom. She smiled when she saw Buffy still sitting upright, waiting for her to return. She quickly dried then dressed her daughter before carrying her downstairs.

"Dawn? Can you get the wheelchair please?" she asked as she put Buffy in the recliner. A few minutes later Dawn brought the chair down and Buffy was soon sitting comfortably in it. The day passed quickly and quietly. Dawn brought the twins down and they both watched and played with all three of them as they sat in the living room. Buffy slept as often as her children, but this time they heard the whimpering that signaled the start of a nightmare and were able to help her through it. By the time the others got home Joyce was feeling good leaving Dawn with them again.

"How was it?" Giles asked as soon as he walked in the door.

"Good," she said. "Nothing Dawn couldn't handle."

"So you'll be coming back to work?" Tara asked. Joyce nodded.

"For a half a day at least."

"Good," Tara said. "Because there's so many things you still need to show me. I finished cataloging all the new arrivals, but I have no idea what to do now."

"We'll go over everything tomorrow," Joyce said, yawning loudly. The long day with little sleep the night before was finally starting to catch up to her. "I'll get started on dinner." She headed into the kitchen only to find Andrew already there, attempting to cook something. "Andrew? What are you doing?"

"Making dinner," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I realized what I did wrong last time and won't make that mistake again."

"What are you making?" Joyce shrugged, taking a seat on a stool. She was tired enough to simply watch him.

"Pot roast," he told her proudly, "although I had to get creative with the sides. You really need to go to the store more often." She shrugged again letting her eyes close. She rested her head on the counter as he turned back to his dinner, leaving her dozing. "Dinner is ready," he announced loudly, which caused her to jump.

"Thank you Andrew," she said politely, as she helped him move everything into the dining room. Everyone else was waiting for them.

"He cooked?" Anya asked nervously. Joyce nodded as she dished out some food onto her plate. Everyone watched her carefully as she took a small bite.

"This is really good," she said, filling her fork up again.

"Thank you," he gushed with pride. Everyone followed her example and dug in.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Xander asked, helping himself to seconds.

"I always cooked for the gang," he said. "And before that I cooked at home. It's always been something I knew how to do, just like summoning demons."

"Well, let's just leave you to the cooking for now," Giles said. "We've had enough demons for a few years." Andrew nodded, and began eating with relish. They talked about their day until it was time for bed. They slowly dispersed to their own homes, except for Giles who volunteered to stay again. Joyce quickly accepted and the two of them got Buffy ready for bed. "I'll take care of the twins tonight," he told her. She nodded.

Joyce tried sitting next to the bed at first. She was able to get Buffy to sleep quickly then stayed for an hour before she thought it was safe to go to her own bed. She had just changed into her nightgown when she heard the first whimpers. She raced back, able to help her daughter through her first nightmare and back into peaceful sleep. Joyce returned to her own bed, climbing in gratefully and was just about to fall asleep when she heard the whimpers again. The third time she heard her daughter whimper in the past hour Joyce decided to simply climb into her bed again. It worked. Both Joyce and Buffy were able to get a few hours of sleep in between nightmares. By the time morning came Joyce was tired, but ecstatic.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Joyce asked Dawn as she got ready to leave again.

"We'll be fine Mom," Dawn rolled her eyes. "We learned from last time and there were no problems yesterday. Besides, we have the Buffy monitor now. I'll be able to hear her wherever I go. And if anything happens I'll call you."

"If you're sure," she said, gathering up her keys. It wasn't quite noon yet so she could get in a few hours before returning. Dawn rolled her eyes, again pushing her mother out the door.

"Have a good day," she called after her before turning to the rest. "So what are we going to do today?"

"We could have a 'Star Wars' movie marathon," Andrew suggested. "If you go out of order they are so much better." Dawn opened her mouth to disagree but then thought better of it. She didn't have any better ideas.

"Sure, but you're making the popcorn."

"Mom. Are you okay?" Dawn asked as Joyce dragged herself into the kitchen. Joyce yawned loudly, heading straight for the coffee pot. "Buffy?"

"Watching TV," Joyce told them handing Dawn the second baby monitor. She was exhausted. The last few days were developing into a nasty pattern. Buffy was still having terrible nightmares. Everyone was getting better at coaxing her through them during the day, but Buffy refused any help at night except from her mother. The sleepless nights were starting to take their toll on the older woman. The first night on her own was a disaster. Dawn was invited to a slumber party at her friend Janice's house. Dawn offered to stay, but Joyce insisted she go and have fun. She thought she would be able to handle everything on her own. She did, but was so miserable the next day she vowed never to turn down help again. It seemed that once she calmed down Buffy the twins would need something, then once she took care of them Buffy would start whimpering. Luckily everyone was stepping up as best they could and helping with the twins, which left Joyce free to focus on Buffy. But she didn't know how much more of this she could take.

"Maybe someone else could take over Buffy duty for a night?" Dawn suggested.

"We tried that last night," Joyce said. "Giles tried to get her to sleep, but she refused. Now she won't even go to sleep unless I'm in the bed with her."

"Don't most kids go through this phase?" Dawn asked. Joyce nodded. "So how do you get them to stop?"

"Usually you wait for them to fall asleep then put them back in their own beds." Dawn looked thoughtful.

"Maybe we can try that with Buffy. Let her fall asleep while you're there but then switch out with someone else. We've all talked her through her nightmares during nap times, why should it be any different during sleep times? Maybe she'll wake up and see us and realize you don't need to be there with her?"

"It certainly couldn't hurt to try," Joyce said, taking a long swig of her coffee to try and wake up. "Tonight? Me and you? A date with our insane family member?"

"Sounds like a plan," Dawn said just as the twins started crying. She hurried off to get them, leaving Joyce to make herself a quick breakfast and head over to The Gallery.

"Another sleepless night?" Tara asked knowingly as soon as Joyce went into the shop. She just nodded as she headed to the office. "I've done everything I could for the upcoming show. I've ordered the flyers, sent out press releases, ordered flowers and catering, and informed the artists. The only thing I can't do is the layout."

"I know," she told her, "and thank you for doing everything else. You really are a lifesaver. And don't take this the wrong way, but I'll just do the layout myself. We're still behind schedule and it will be faster than me trying to explain everything to you."

"I understand," Tara said dejectedly, looking down at the floor. Joyce sighed, giving the shy girl a quick hug. Tara looked up at the unexpected contact.

"I will show you how to do it," she promised. "I want you to know everything about this business, not just cataloging and ordering flyers. Eventually I want you to go on art buying trips and have your own art shows. I will show you everything. Just not today. I owe the New York artists more than you could ever know. Without them I would have never found my daughter. The least I can do is give them the best show possible."

"I understand," Tara said again, but this time she really did. Joyce nodded and got to work, trusting the rest of the store to Tara. Joyce got lost in her work, accomplishing much before it was time to go back home.

"I've decided on the basic layout," she told Tara as they locked up. Giles and Anya had already left, but Willow was waiting for them patiently. "Now I just have to figure out the individual layouts and decide which complementary pieces will work best."

"That sounds interesting," Willow said as they got into the car.

"Really?" Joyce asked as she drove home. "Which part?" she asked, knowing Willow liked the art business as much as Buffy did. Beside her Tara was smirking.

"Well, you know," Willow started. "The art and the art that goes with the art to make better art." Joyce raised an eyebrow and shot Willow a look through the rear view mirror. Willow sighed. "Okay, not interesting, but it's your thing and I'm trying to be supportive."

"And I appreciate that," Tara said kindly, reaching her hand back and holding hands with Willow. Joyce smiled at them. They held hands the rest of the way home, only stopping when Joyce parked the car and they had to break apart to climb out. "Let's go see what culinary experiment Andrew has cooked up for us today."

"Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes," Andrew called out as soon as he saw them. He had taken it upon himself to become the official cook of the family, much to Joyce's dismay. She liked cooking for her family, but she had to admit it was nice coming home to a waiting meal.

"That will give me just enough time to feed Buffy," Joyce said, reaching for one of her bottles. She found Buffy and the rest in the living room, watching something on TV. "Are you hungry?" she asked her oldest. Buffy just turned to her, watching her contentedly. Joyce headed over, lifting up Buffy's shirt enough to reach the feeding tube. Buffy watched curiously as the liquid drained out of the tube. When Joyce changed out the food for the water, Buffy awkwardly moved her hand towards it. She placed her hand on her mother's hand, which was carefully guarding the tube in case Buffy got a hold of it and pulled, but after a minute Buffy moved her hand back onto the armrest of her chair. She quickly disconnected the bottle before cleaning the intake tube and taping it back to Buffy's stomach just as she was taught. Buffy watched her curiously during the exchange. "All done baby," she said as she leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead.

"Dinner," Andrew announced gleefully. "I call this one shrimp surprise." Everyone gathered in the dining room rather uncertainly. While Andrew did prove himself to be a good cook, he had a tendency to experiment with his cooking in a way reminiscent with Dawn's own food experiments.

"What exactly is the surprise?" Anya asked evenly. "Is something going to burst through our stomachs while we are sleeping and kill us all?"

"I wish I was that cool," he told her. She rolled her eyes, but took a bite out of the mystery dish.

"This is actually pretty good," she said, giving it her stamp of approval. Andrew beamed as he helped dish the others their food.

"Buffy," Joyce warned from the head of the table. As usual she had her daughter next to her. Buffy's hand was slowly inching toward her stomach and the feeding tube when her mother caught her. Her hand stopped as she gazed nonchalantly around the room. Joyce rolled her eyes and focused on her own food, only to have Buffy start moving her hand again after a few minutes. "Buffy!" she warned again, this time using her Mom voice. Again her hand stopped and she gazed around the room, looking at anything but her mother.

"Did she just diss you?" Dawn asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Joyce grumbled, helping herself to another bite.

"It is since she returned," Giles pointed out. Buffy started to move her hand again. "Buffy!" he tried, but she only stopped for a second before continuing.

"Buffy! No!" Joyce said sternly, grabbing her daughter's hand and gently, but forcefully, putting it back on the armrest. With her other hand she grabbed her chin and forced her to look at her. "You don't touch the feeding tube!" she said sternly. She waited until Buffy nodded her head before letting go and returning to her dinner.

"Did she just nod?" Xander asked as Buffy returned her gaze to the room. He noticed she wasn't trying to get to the tube any more.

"She'll do that for Mom," Dawn said proudly before frowning. "Not for anyone else though."

"Not yet," Tara told her, "but think of how far she's come with all of us. Think of all the things she would only do for your mom at first that now she'll do for us. It's just a matter of time until this one is added." Everyone nodded, seeing the truth of Tara's words. Dinner finished and everyone went their separate ways, except for Willow and Tara who volunteered for twin duty.

"You ready?" Joyce asked as she and Dawn cleaned the dishes afterwards.

"As I'll ever be," Dawn replied, drying her hands on a dish towel. They headed into the living room where everyone was watching TV. "You ready for bed Buffy?" Dawn asked her sister. Buffy just stared at her. Dawn sighed, unlocking the chair and pushing her over to the stairs.

"We really need to get something for these stairs," Joyce said, picking her daughter up and carrying her up the stairs. Dawn followed behind with the wheelchair.

"Xander put in the paperwork," Willow said, stopping at the foot of the stairs and watching. This was the one instance when Buffy's severely malnourished frame worked in their favor. "City hall is reviewing it now. Do you want some help?" she asked, knowing what the two of them were trying to do.

"Thanks but no," Joyce said, when she reached the landing. She moved forward enough to let Dawn up, then thankfully returned her daughter to her chair. "It has the best chance of working with family. Not that you're not family, but I meant family she grew up with."

"We understand," Tara said, cutting through Joyce's babbling. Joyce nodded, before pushing Buffy to her room. "If you need anything," Tara offered. Joyce nodded.

"Thanks," she said gratefully before turning to her daughter. "It will still be a few minutes to finish her nightly routine. I'll let you know when we're ready unless you want to help."

"I think I'll finish watching the show," Dawn said, heading back downstairs. Joyce nodded. It was a toss-up between Xander and Dawn as to who was most freaked out by the care Buffy required. For Xander it was because the care was so intimate, especially considering he had a crush on Buffy for the longest time. Dawn was wigged seeing her strong sister completely helpless. They both were willing to help, but they preferred to help in other areas. Joyce started the routine, having done it so many times it was completely natural to her now. She was amazed when Buffy started interacting with her. Small things, like a smile or a head nod, but they meant the world to Joyce.

She quickly finished her part of the routine. Dawn would help with Giles's exercises when she came up. They decided that earlier. Buffy always connected with whoever was helping her with her exercises, which was usually Giles, but they hoped that if Dawn helped that connection would spill over into her sleep. Giles reluctantly agreed with their logic and returned to his own home for the first time since the nightmares started. Joyce doubted he was getting any more sleep than they would though.

"All right," Joyce said as she finished up dressing Buffy in her pajamas. "Now we just have to wait for Dawn. Shall we watch some TV while we wait?" she asked, unprepared when Buffy nodded her head slightly. This was the first time she had ever responded to one of Joyce's questions. She always talked to her daughter while doing the routines, but that was mostly to fill the silence. "Okay," she said, hopping onto the bed. Buffy leaned into her, but it wasn't the bone crushing grips she had when they were trying to get her to sleep. Instead it was just using her mother as a pillow. Joyce grabbed the remote and found something that looked mildly interesting as both mother and daughter began to watch and relax.

The show couldn't hold Joyce's attention. She found her gaze drifting over to Buffy more times than she could count. She watched as Buffy was apparently mesmerized, her eyes never leaving the TV. She thought about all the changes that were happening since Giles, Willow, and Xander entered her mind. True, the nightmares were bad, but Buffy never interacted with anyone before either. Maybe more than just horrible nightmares were released when they opened that door. Joyce made a mental note to discuss this thought with Giles when Dawn knocked lightly on the door.

"You guys ready?" she asked lightly. Joyce nodded, slipping out of the bed easily. Buffy turned her attention from the TV to Dawn, smiling as she watched her sister. "Time for your workout," Dawn said as she started with the stretches. Dawn constantly talked to her, leaving Joyce little to do but watch from the corner. Every so often Buffy would seek her out, but for the most part Dawn had her complete attention. By the time they were done Buffy's eyes had started drooping, which is what they were hoping for. Without missing a beat Dawn climbed into bed with her sister, pulling the covers up tightly around them. Buffy was fine for a minute before she realized what was happening. She started twisting around, searching for her mother. Dawn tried her best to calm her down, but after a few minutes of Buffy getting more and more agitated Joyce stepped in.

"It's okay," she soothed, stepping next to the bed but not climbing on. Buffy immediately reached for her, and she relented and grabbed her daughter's hand. Buffy immediately calmed down. Dawn continued to soothe her, and they watched as her eyes slowly closed. When they thought she was finally asleep Joyce tried to remove her hand, only for Buffy to jerk up in fear. She calmed down again when Joyce stopped trying to get free, only for the pattern to repeat whenever Joyce tried to move her hand. "Any other ideas?" she asked Dawn, who only shrugged.

"Have you tried a security blanket?" Andrew suggested from the hall.

"Andrew?" Joyce asked as calmly as she could. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be spending the night at Giles's?"

"Oh I was," he told them quickly, "but then I realized that I took my Babyman Utility Belt. I was bringing it over in case the girls needed it, but forgot to stock up on baby powder during the day and figured I'd fill it up before handing it off."

"Andrew," she said, feeling another sleepless night coming on. "Go away."

"Right," he said turning around only for Dawn to stop him.

"Wait." He turned back to them. "What did you mean a security blanket?"

"Oh. It seems to me you're getting her to sleep just fine," he told them, "it's only when you go to pull away that she notices. If she's clutching something else maybe she won't notice when you pull away."

"That actually makes sense," Joyce said in wonder. "What could we use as a security blanket?" she asked Dawn before turning back to Andrew. "And how long have you been standing there." He shifted his feet, looking guilty, but Joyce completely forgot about him with Dawn's next words.

"Mr. Gordo."

"I thought we got rid of that years ago," Joyce said. "When we cleaned out her room."

"I kinda snuck back in when you were talking to Giles and pulled it out of the bag," Dawn admitted. "I thought I was ready to move on but I guess I wasn't." She turned to Andrew. "Mr. Gordo is a stuffed pig. It is on the top shelf in my closet. Go and get it."

"But you said I wasn't allowed in your room," he protested.

"One time only," she told him, "and if you touch anything other than Mr. Gordo I'll tell Spike. He knows plenty of places where you can hide a body." Andrew gulped but went off to do her bidding, returning after a few minutes with the stuffed toy. He handed it to Joyce before running out of the room. "He can be very strange."

"Yeah," Joyce said, looking at the pig with reverence. She wished some nights that she hadn't gotten rid of the small toy. True, they all kept little reminders of Buffy when they finally decided she wasn't coming back and cleared out her room, but nothing represented the child she raised as much as this pig, the only toy to pass through her teenage years and into adulthood.

"You okay Mom?" Dawn asked. Joyce looked to her, wiping tears away that she didn't realize she cried.

"Yeah," she told her. "Just lots of memories with this little guy."

"I know," she said knowingly. She gave her mother a few minutes to compose herself. "Ready to try." Joyce nodded, pulling her hand away. Buffy immediately reacted, her panic stricken eyes searching out for her mother.

"Buffy," Joyce said cheerfully. "Look who it is." She held the pig up, putting it directly into her line of vision. "Mr. Gordo." Buffy stared at it for a few minutes before hesitantly reaching for the toy. Joyce readily gave it up. "He said he's here to watch over you as you sleep and keep all the monsters away." They watched in awe as Buffy clutched the toy tightly to her chest, her fingers clumsily stroking his fur. "You can rest now. He won't let anything hurt you."

Joyce rested her hand across her daughter's hand, where it clutched the pig tightly. Buffy looked up once more, before her gaze fell to the pig. They watched as she slowly closed her eyes. They gave her a few minutes before Joyce slowly withdrew her hand, but Buffy didn't stir. She locked gazes with Dawn, who nodded minutely. Joyce dimmed the lights as she made her way into her own bedroom, leaving the door wide open in case she was needed.