Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.
Giles led everybody back to the waiting room where he explained exactly what happened since Faith left. By the time he finished everyone was feeling overwhelmed. They offered to stay with Giles overnight, but he declined and told them to go home. When they left with no argument he finally understood how much of a shock Kate's findings were to everybody.
He sighed as he absently wandered down the hallway until he found himself outside Buffy's room. He leaned up against the wall as nurses changed the ice packs surrounding her and adjusted her medication. Joyce was a constant presence as she gripped her daughter's hand tightly, but one look at Buffy's limp fingers told him she was still unconscious.
"Giles?" He looked up to see Ben's concerned face and realized the young doctor was trying to get his attention for the last few minutes. He smiled reassuringly, straightening up to give the young man his full attention.
"Sorry, I'm a bit tired," he said as evenly as he could. Ben nodded knowingly, moving over to stand next to the older man.
"She is responding," he told her, watching Buffy through the glass. "I know it doesn't seem like it but she is getting better."
"Then why isn't she awake?" he asked in a voice barely heard. Ben took it as a rhetorical question. "Did you need something?" Giles asked, looking to the young doctor.
"I'm working on a theory about Slayer healing and was hoping you would help. You're the closest thing we have to an expert right now."
"Of course," he said without hesitation. He would do anything for his Slayer.
"First of all Faith's blood sample was very enlightening. Faith also has a low white cell count, but when I compared it with Buffy's the counts were similar. I think that a low white cell count is normal for a Slayer and not what I should be worrying about."
"How can you not worry about this?" Giles exploded. "She's lying helpless in a hospital bed with a fever high enough to cause seizures and you're not worried?" Joyce looked up at the shouting. She quickly joined him in the hallway, putting her arms around him and leaning up against his chest. He automatically held her gently while he struggled to get himself under control.
"Perhaps I worded that wrong," Ben said judiciously, trying hard not to provoke another outburst from the normally stoic man. "We are concerned about her current state, but we know exactly what is causing it and have started treatment. And despite how it looks right now, she is responding. What concerns me most is how she got in this state. If a lower immunity response is normal for a Slayer, why is her immune system suddenly not working. Faith is being exposed to these same germs, and her immune system is coping just fine."
"You have a theory?" Giles spat out, not quite as calm as he wanted. Ben nodded.
"You often said it's easier to think of Buffy and The Slayer as two separate entities." Giles nodded. He did often say that. "What if we take that thought and continue it to her healing. Certain anomalies in her blood makes sense if The Slayer makes up the difference. Buffy isn't fighting disease, The Slayer is. Buffy isn't mending cut and torn skin, The Slayer is. Buffy isn't repairing broken bones, The Slayer is."
"Until The Slayer isn't," Giles said, getting a general feel of what Ben was trying to say. "But in New York she was in a coma for seven months."
"Buffy was," Ben agreed, "but I don't think The Slayer was. I think you were right. The Slayer was protecting the children, keeping them safe until they could survive on their own."
"Then The Slayer returned to Buffy," Joyce said, her mind on the day the twins were born. "That's why she woke up just before delivery."
"And why she continued to improve at an accelerated rate," Giles finished. "But what's different now?"
"That is what I'm worried about," Ben said. "Something is wrong. Something that The Slayer is trying to fix at the exclusion of everything else. And if we can't figure out what that something is I'm afraid it might just kill her."
"That actually sounds like a reasonable explanation," Giles said. Joyce pulled out of his arms when he calmed down enough to where she didn't think he was going to put a fist in the wall.
"If that's true," she said, looking directly at Ben for the first time, "what can we do to help?"
"You've already done your part by ruling out the supernatural," he said calmly. "Now it's up to me to figure out what is naturally causing this."
"Ms. Summers?" Joyce jerked awake at the summons, struggling to place herself for a minute until she saw Buffy's still form in the hospital bed and the previous night came crashing beck to her. She scrunched her eyes up and rolled her shoulders, hoping her aching body would forgive her sudden sleeping habits. Someone called her name again and she rubbed at tired eyes before turning to the person who was trying to get her attention.
"Yes?" she asked wearily to the nurse. The nurse smiled at her.
"Dr. Wilkinson is transferring Buffy back to her old room," she said helpfully.
"What?" Joyce asked, her sluggish mind having a hard time catching up. She glanced into the hallway to see what Rupert's reaction to the news was, but he had obviously gone home. She glanced back at the familiar looking nurse. "Abby?" she asked when she finally remembered where she knew her from.
"Yes," Abby smiled brightly at her. "Buffy is being transferred back to my ward, so I will be able to look after her again." Joyce nodded happily. While the doctors and nurses in the ICU were very competent, they lacked the bedside manner that Joyce found comforting from their old nurse.
"How is she doing?" Joyce asked as she stretched her arms over her head. Abby quickly checked her chart before turning back to Joyce.
"Much better," she told her quickly. Joyce looked critically at her daughter. Much better was the answer everyone gave the last few days, but this was the first time her daughter actually looked better. She was starting to get some color back in her cheeks and her sleeping was finally peaceful. Joyce glanced at the monitors surrounding the bed. Though she had spent more time in a hospital than she cared to admit, she still couldn't make heads or tails out of the squiggly lines, but there was one reading she could understand. She closed her eyes in relief when she saw Buffy's temperature had finally started to drop. "Ms. Summers?" Abby's voice cut through Joyce's musings.
"Sorry," she replied, smiling at the young nurse. "Guess I'm still a little tired." Abby returned the smile before turning serious.
"We need you to leave so we can get Buffy settled into her new, old room," she said patiently.
"Right," Joyce said. She turned back to her daughter and grabbed her hand tightly. "I'll see you in a minute baby," she said, reaching down and placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead. She rose and went out into the hallway to wait, watching as they prepared to move Buffy.
"Joyce?" She turned to find Ben next to her.
"You're transferring her out of the ICU," she said. "That means she's getting better, right?"
"Yes and no," he said, looking uncomfortable. She forced herself to give him her full attention, but Ben looked around uncomfortably. "Can we go talk in my office?"
"What about the others?" she asked, almost in a panic. "Or Rupert."
"I'll tell them," he promised her, "but I really think it would be best if we talked alone first, before we meet up with the group." She nodded and followed Ben through the hallways and into his office. Being one of the newest doctors to join their staff, his office was rather small. Barely enough room for a desk, chairs, and a small sofa.
"What's wrong?" Joyce immediately asked. "Have you figured out what is wrong with Buffy?"
"Yes," he said carefully as they began to talk.
"What's happening?" Xander asked as he approached the group that was waiting in the lobby of the hospital.
"We don't know," Giles said agitatedly. "The receptionist had a message from Ben asking us to wait for him here."
"They only say that when something's wrong," Xander said, shooting a panicked look to the reception desk. She smiled reassuredly at him. "Where's Joyce?"
"She was supposed to be here," Dawn said worriedly. Giles went back to pacing while everyone else sank back into their chairs. Lost in their thoughts they didn't immediately notice when Ben joined them until he cleared his throat. "Mom?" she asked worriedly when Joyce numbly followed him in. Joyce ignored her daughter though, instead heading to Giles and threw herself into his arms. He held her tight while she sobbed on his shoulder, but after a minute he looked up to the young doctor.
"Buffy?" he asked apprehensively.
"She's responding well to her treatment," Ben told them, "but her condition is serious." He looked over as Faith, Daniel, and Veronica joined them. Tara reached for Willow while Anya held tightly to Xander.
"No," Faith whispered loudly. Her mind automatically going to the worst case scenario.
"Buffy is still with us," he told everyone once again. "She's responding well to her treatments and has stabilized enough to move her out of ICU. They're preparing her old room and are moving her right now. You'll be able to see her in a minute." Everyone breathed in relief but looked confused.
"If everything is fine why is Joyce crying?" Anya asked in her usual blunt way.
"Everything is not fine," Joyce mumbled as she pulled herself out of Giles's arms. She smiled sadly at Dawn before focusing on everyone momentarily. "Where are the twins?"
"Andrew is watching them," Tara said softly. "What's wrong?" Joyce looked at Ben and nodded before burying herself back in Giles's shoulder.
"Buffy's kidneys are failing," Ben told the group. "Or more accurately they have nearly failed. If she was anyone else she would have been dead days if not weeks ago." He stayed quiet for a moment, letting the group process the information. Surprisingly it was Dawn who spoke first.
"Was that why she was getting sick?"
"Indirectly," he told them. "When she was in New York it seemed like her Slayer healing focused more on her children than herself. Something similar is happening here. Slayer healing is focusing on her failing kidneys, which is leaving her immune system vulnerable, which is why she is getting so sick from common ailments."
"So we fix her kidneys and then everything is good again?" Willow asked hopefully. Ben sighed.
"Unfortunately fixing her kidneys is going to be hard, even with Slayer healing. The Slayer helped keep her alive, but it also hid the problem when we would have been able to fix it. Now the damage is too extensive."
"Are you saying there is nothing we can do?" Giles asked. Joyce whimpered one last time before pulling herself out of his arms and facing the doctor.
"We can start her on dialysis, but it's only a short term solution. With the level of damage she has nothing short of a kidney transplant that will work."
"A kidney transplant?" Xander asked. "We can do that. She can have one of mine." Joyce smiled softly.
"It's not that simple Xander," she told him softly. "There's a whole process they have to go through. It takes time. Maybe too much time."
"Finding a match is the first and hardest step," Ben explained. "Without a match her body will reject the new kidney. If we find a match we can begin the transplant process, but even then there's no guarantee it will work. Her body could still reject the new organ."
"How do we find a match?" Tara asked.
"Testing. We've taken a sample from Buffy. We then take samples from anyone willing to donate to see if any are a match. If there is no match she will be placed on the national organ transplant waiting list."
"Where her chances will be slim to none," Anya said bluntly. "My organs are perfectly healthy. You may do you test then Buffy can have one." Ben smiled.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but the best chance of a match comes from immediate family." He looked to Joyce. "If you're willing I would like to start testing with you and Dawn." Joyce shared a look with her daughter before both of them nodded.
"You'll want to test me too," Giles told him. Ben looked at the older man.
"Again I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I have to start with immediate family. If there are no matches, then I'll proceed to her friends."
"Then you'll want to test me too," he insisted. He took a deep breath, locked eyes with Joyce, then proceeded. "I'm her biological father." Everyone was stunned. Shocked silence filled the room so completely nobody noticed when a nurse entered the room.
"Yes?" Joyce asked when the nurse was unable to get Ben's attention. She smiled and turned to address the older woman.
"Your daughter is back in her old room. She's all settled in and you can see her now." Joyce nodded and she, Giles, and Veronica made their way down the familiar hallway. It took a few minutes for the others to realize they had left and quickly made the same journey.
"Mom?" Dawn asked when they finally caught up with them. Joyce was sitting in a chair next to Buffy's bed, holding her hand gently, while Giles was standing on her other side. Joyce turned to look at Dawn as she stood dumbfounded at the foot of the bed. The others filled in around her. Willow closed the door behind her and turned to face the group.
"You two have some splaining to do," she said, wearing her famous resolve face as she took her place with the group. Giles sighed as he began.
"I had no idea," he started. "When Joyce found Buffy in New York, the detectives required DNA proof that she was her mother before they would tell us anything or even let us see her. At the hospital I gave a sample to help put Joyce at ease. I had no idea it would come back positive."
"But how?" Dawn started, looking at her mother desperately. Joyce sighed.
"I had no idea either," she started just like Giles. "I always though Hank was her father. Your father." She smiled kindly at Dawn. "When we found out I racked my brain thinking what could have happened."
"And?" Dawn gestured with her hands.
"When I was in college, I was part of a group of Art History Majors who went to England for a school project. We were interning with different museums there, getting some real world experience for a semester. We finished the project a few weeks before we needed to be home and decided to spend the last few weeks having fun. Hank had graduated the year before and decided to join me, along with a few other boyfriends and girlfriends, and we went crazy."
"At the same time I was with Ethan and the rest of the group, and we were living it up in London," Giles continued. "We didn't care about anything. Drugs during the day, drinking during the night. Living for the day and not caring about tomorrow."
"Our two groups intersected," Joyce finished. "About a week before we had to leave. We met in a pub that I can barely remember and spent the next few days in a drunken haze. We were experimenting, doing things I never wanted you kids to find out about. After a few days Hank took me out and proposed. We spent the last few days alone before heading back to the States. When I found out I was pregnant I never thought it could be from anyone but Hank."
"And you never suspected?" Xander asked facing Giles. "All these years as her Watcher and you never…"
"No," Giles answered.
"Who else knows?" Faith asked. Giles shook his head.
"The only people who know are the members of this group and my father." The group fell silent again, only to be disrupted by a nurse.
"I just need to take some blood samples," she said kindly. Joyce immediately held out her arm, Dawn and Giles following her lead. She finished taking the samples and was leaving the room when Ben entered.
"We should have some preliminary results in a day or two," he told them. "If there's no match we'll start testing everyone else." Giles nodded as another nurse pushed a piece of equipment into the room. "I'm going to start dialysis right away. We've already prepared her for the treatments." He explained everything as they hooked her up to the machine, the group watching morbidly when Ben turned it on and Buffy's blood slowly drained down the tube."
"How long is the treatment?" Giles asked.
"About six hours," Ben told him as he checked to make sure everything was working. "Every third day." Joyce closed her eyes.
"When can I take her home?" she asked wearily. "Does she need to stay here all the time?" Ben sighed.
"No," he told her. "Once we get her fever down and get her stabilized you should be able to bring her home again. But she will need to return to the hospital for treatments."
"Just tell me when I can take my baby home again," Joyce said desperately. Ben nodded and left.
"I think we should give the family some time alone," Veronica said after a few minutes. "We all need time to digest this news. Come along." Giles sent her a grateful nod as she headed for the door, the other young adults reluctantly following her.
"So," Dawn started uncertainly. "Does this mean that you and Giles are gonna get married?" Joyce shook her head.
"We're friends Dawn," she said, reaching out to her daughter. Dawn willingly let herself be pulled into her arms and sat down on her lap. "This isn't going to change that."
"I don't have to call you dad do I?" she asked, throwing Giles a challenging look. Giles smiled down at her.
"Please don't," he told her gently. "I don't want this to change anything."
"But you're stuck with me now," Dawn said gloomily, feeling the old uncertainties rear up again. Giles laughed.
"Dear girl," he started. "I've been stuck with you since the moment you entered our lives. I don't love you simply because I'm supposed to now. I've loved you since the moment we met, simply because of who you are. This doesn't change that." Dawn pulled herself from her mother's arms and ran around the bed and hugged Giles tightly. They both had tears running down their cheeks when she pulled away. She looked back to Joyce.
"Does dad know? I mean Hank?" she asked quietly. Joyce sighed.
"If he ever suspected anything he never told me," she told her. "And he still helped raise you, kind of, so it's okay if you still call him dad." She frowned as she thought about the time before Dawn got there. She technically didn't exist until five years ago, long after Hank had left their lives on a day to day basis. All the memories everyone had of her being born and growing up were placed there by the spell the monks did to create Dawn. She shook her head. These thoughts always left her confused. Apparently Dawn was thinking the same thing as she frowned.
"Maybe that's why he never was really there for me like he was for Buffy." Joyce opened her mouth to defend him, but closed it again when she thought of what Dawn said. True Hank never openly ignored Dawn, but his visits had decreased as Buffy had grown older and needed him less and less, almost as if Dawn wasn't even there.
"Maybe," she acknowledged with a frown. "But we are always here for you." Dawn smiled before a sudden thought occurred to her.
"Buffy doesn't know, does she?" Joyce and Giles locked eyes. Eventually Giles spoke.
"No. We didn't find out until New York and Buffy is in no condition to be told. I'm not even sure she would understand us right now."
"So you're going to keep this a secret from her?" Dawn asked, looking down at her sister. "Just like the twins?"
"For now," Joyce said. "When she's ready we'll tell her. Just like the twins." Dawn sighed but didn't look happy. "It's for the best," Joyce reminded her.
"I know," Dawn grumbled, "it just sucks. This whole thing has been one big suckfest."
"Totally," Joyce agreed, smiling at her youngest. Dawn smiled back.
"I should leave you two alone," Dawn said, heading back to the door.
"You don't need to leave Dawn," Giles said. "I can go if you and your mother need some time." She shook her head.
"No. I mean we probably will at some point, but right now I think I need some time alone."
"At least call someone to pick you up," Giles said. "It's dark outside."
"There's no need," Spike said suddenly, opening the door and sticking his head inside. He looked between Giles and Joyce, finally settling on the latter. "I'm sorry luv. Couldn't help but overhearin. Didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"What are you doing here Spike?" Giles asked. Spike shrugged, opening the door and walking the rest of the way into the room.
"Ran into the rest of the Scoobs. Red told me what happened. Thought I would come check it out for myself. I really didn't mean to listen in while you three talked." Giles sighed.
"Now you know," he said tiredly. "What are you going to do with this?" Spike smirked.
"Do you know how many demons would pay for this kind of information?" he asked smugly. "But I think I'll do something much more evil. I think I'll take this information and tease you mercilessly for the next eighteen or so years." Giles hung his head while Joyce let out a little laugh. Spike smirked and faced her. "Don't worry pet. I won't tell a soul."
"Thank you Spike," she said sincerely. "Can you please take Dawn home?" He nodded.
"Come on Niblet," he said as he opened the door for her. He glanced down the hall before turning back to the room to make sure Dawn was following. "Let's leave your Mum and Gramps here to their own devices." Giles groaned but Spike and Dawn just laughed casually as they made their way out into the hospital. Giles moved to close the hospital door.
"I am never going to hear the end of this," he groused as he pulled a chair over to his side of the bed and sat down heavily. Joyce laughed.
"Just wait until Xander gets over his shock," she reminded him. "I'm sure he'll have a few witty things to say to you." Giles groaned as they made themselves ready for another night in the hospital.
Joyce jerked awake as the door opened. She yawned, looking over to see Abby walking in quietly. "I'm sorry," she said as she slowly approached Buffy's bedside. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay," Joyce reassured her. "A mouse can wake me up right now." Abby nodded sympathetically. They took a few steps away from the bed so not to disturb Giles, who was sleeping with his head on Buffy's bed.
"I know it's hard, watching someone you love go through this, but you need to take care of yourself before you can take care of her," Abby told her kindly. "If you can't sleep perhaps Dr. Wilkinson can prescribe something for you." Joyce shook her head.
"I can sleep just fine," she told her. "It's just," she paused, wondering how to put into words what she was thinking. "Buffy has started having nightmares. Terrifying nightmares. I hear any tiny sound and automatically think she needs me and wake up."
"Joyce," Abby sounded exasperated, "you need to learn to let the others help. You can't do this all on your own."
"I know," she said, "and the others have been great. They try their best," she admitted, "it's just sometimes Buffy doesn't react to them at all. Sometimes she'll only calm down with me." Abby just looked at her.
"It might seem like that," Abby started, "but I'm sure once you let go it will be okay." Joyce sighed and started to counter her reasoning when her stomach growled loudly. Abby looked at her pointedly. "Why don't you go get something to eat?" Joyce shook her head.
"I don't want her to wake up alone," she said. Abby smiled.
"I'll stay until you get back. The treatment is nearly over anyway. I'll need to disconnect the dialysis unit soon." She was about to protest when her stomach growled again.
"I'll just hop down to the cafeteria quick bite." Abby smiled at her before gathering the equipment she would need. Joyce watched her for a minute before turning and leaving the room. She quickly headed down to the cafeteria, grabbing the first thing she found. She sat down in the nearly empty cafeteria, indulging in a quick cry before pulling herself back together. She ate quickly before heading back to her daughter's room, her heart sinking when she heard the commotion inside.
"What happened?" she asked, rushing quickly inside. Buffy was flailing wildly on the bed. At first Joyce thought she was having another seizure, but then she saw her eyes were finally open. Open wide in terror.
"She woke up," Giles said as he tried to calm her. Abby was doing the same on her other side. Joyce rushed over, gently pushing Abby out of her way.
"Buffy?" she called, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Buffy fought for a moment before she recognized her mother. She quickly pushed herself into her mother's arms. "Shh. It's okay. I'm here. You're okay." Buffy was shaking and her heart was pounding. Joyce pulled her tighter, rubbing circles on her back.
"What's going on?" Ben asked as he ran into the room. Buffy tensed, but didn't pull away.
"I was disconnecting her from the dialysis machine and she woke up and was having a panic attack," Abby said shakily. Ben nodded.
"Nightmare?" he asked, moving to check the monitor. Giles shook his head.
"Not a nightmare," he told him. "I think she just woke up in an unfamiliar place and panicked." Ben nodded.
"Should I prepare a sedative?" Abby asked. Ben looked to Giles.
"No," Joyce said quietly. "I think I can calm her down." Ben nodded, studying the readouts carefully.
"Let's hold off for now," he told Abby. She nodded. Ben turned his attention back to Buffy. "So if this wasn't a nightmare what was it?" he asked, watching as Buffy slowly calmed down. Joyce glanced to Giles.
"Conditioning," he said darkly, pulling his glasses off. He pulled a rag out of his pocket and began cleaning them earnestly. He focused on Joyce but spoke loud enough for Ben to hear. "Part of The Ring's conditioning is an extreme fear response to certain locations, including hospitals."
"She wasn't like this before," Joyce countered. Giles sighed.
"I don't think she was aware enough before," he admitted. "When we entered her mind we inadvertently released her memories, the good and the bad. She has been slowly processing them, but this is the first time we've been back to the hospital." He looked at Joyce. "You seem to have a calming touch."
"Yeah," she agreed, watching her daughter carefully. Buffy had calmed down and was nearly asleep. "Help me lift her up." Giles did and Joyce carefully climbed into bed behind her daughter. Once she was situated Giles lowered Buffy back into her arms. Buffy curled into her arms with her head on her mother's chest. Ben and Abby came over to check none of the lines were disturbed.
"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," Abby said as she adjusted the IV lines. "I didn't realize how integral your presence is to her. I thought you were just trying to be self-important. I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Joyce smiled at her. "I wish I was being self-important. This is utterly exhausting." Abby smiled softly before Joyce pointed the ports Ben had inserted into Buffy's arm for the dialysis. Joyce could tell Abby was in the middle of cleaning them when the excitement started. "If you need to finish I can keep her calm." Abby nodded. Buffy tensed as Abby approached but Joyce was able to keep her still. A few minutes later she was finished and Buffy calmed down again.
"Here," Giles said, handing Joyce a partially filled cup. Joyce took it and was able to coax a few sips into Buffy.
"You've got her to start drinking?" Ben asked. Giles nodded.
"A few days ago actually. Joyce is rather amazing with her." Joyce blushed slightly but smiled at the complement.
"I think I can get her back to sleep," Joyce said softly. She was gently rubbing her back and Buffy's eyes were starting to close. Ben nodded.
"That would probably be best," he said, before looking at the two of them. "For everybody. It's still early." They nodded. Giles pulled up the chair that had been pushed back in the confusion and got as comfortable as he could.
"You don't have to stay," Joyce told Giles as Ben and Abby finished their work and left the room.
"I know I don't have to," he started, "but I want to. I want to make sure she's okay. You're both okay." She nodded.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood," she teased him lightly. "I suggest you get some sleep while you can. Who knows what tomorrow will bring."