Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Anya asked as she bounced Billy on her knee.

"It's only been twenty minutes," Xander reminded her. "They said it could take up to three hours." Anya sighed and glanced across the room to where Joyce was sitting. Dawn was on her left while Veronica was on her right. Dawn had her arms around her mother, while Joyce was holding Alex tightly. Faith was sitting next to her Watcher, and every few minutes she would pat her arm comfortingly. The rest of the group was sprawled throughout the waiting room, reading old magazines or flipping through the TV channels.

After they got Buffy settled, Joyce and Giles met with Dr. Hansen. He explained exactly what would happen before, during, and after the surgery. He introduced them to the onsite psychologist, who sat down with them individually and together and discussed what this would mean with both parties throughout the next few days. Giles gave more blood, and the results were even more promising than when Ben ran the tests. Eventually all the preparations were made and the day of the surgery came. The rest of the Scoobies had drove down Saturday as planned, arriving just in time to see Buffy and Giles before they took them into surgery.

"This is almost worse than not knowing," Anya said, glancing up at the clock one again. She sighed, handed Billy off to Xander, and started pacing.

"No," Joyce said, looking up for the first time, "not knowing is worse. Much worse. One way or another this will be over soon. Not knowing stays with you forever." Dawn gave her a little hug as Joyce thought about the last few hours. She could tell Buffy knew something was different when her routine was disrupted that morning. She stayed with her daughter while the nurses prepared her. They had learned the hard way not to separate mother and daughter, even with Ben's warnings, when Buffy woke up screaming in the middle of her first night. The nurses couldn't calm her, but as soon as Joyce ran into the room Buffy stopped screaming and flung herself into her mother's arms. Since then one of them was always in the room with her.

Once the nurses finished their preparations they gave her a sedative. Joyce stayed, watching as Buffy fought the drug but ultimately succumbed. Buffy kept locking her eyes with her mother, but Joyce could never see anything but trust and curiosity in her daughter's eyes. When Buffy's eyes finally closed she let herself cry, giving up the strong persona she had been carrying since Buffy was found.

"Hey," Giles admonished from his side of the room. He was also being prepared for surgery. She looked up at him. "You have to stay strong. For the both of us." She nodded, and he opened his arms. She flung herself into his embrace. "It will be okay."

"You can't promise that," she said, the doctor's warnings about the risks of this type of surgery floating around in her mind.

"No," he admitted, "but I can promise to do everything in my power to help." They broke apart when the nurse came back and gave him his sedative.

"Thank you," Joyce told him as his eyes started to droop. "Thank you for what you're doing."

"I would do it," he told her sleepily, "for any of you." He trailed off as he succumbed to the drug. She grasped his hand, squeezing momentarily before the orderlies came and wheeled them both away. In a daze she returned to the waiting room, where everyone else had gathered.

Staff members, nurses, and doctors came and sat with them as much as their schedules allowed. The psychologist came and talked with everybody for over twenty minutes before he was called away. Nurses and administrators kept them informed with updates every fifteen minutes. It was one of the best hospital experiences they had, yet the group found little comfort in their attentiveness. This time two or their own were on the line.

"Ms. Summers?" Joyce was jerked out of her musings. She wasn't the only one. Everybody stared at the nurse as she walked into the room.

"Yes?" she responded, knowing immediately that this was not another one of the hospital staffs overly friendly meet and greets. This nurse wore surgical scrubs. She smiled at her.

"The first part of the operation went off smoothly. Mr. Giles did splendidly and there were no complications. He is currently in Post-Op and should be returned to their room within the hour." Joyce released the breath she didn't know she was holding. Veronica gave a small sob next to her and she immediately wrapped her arms around the woman. She wasn't the only one. Each of the Scoobies followed, briefly encasing her in the center of their family.

"Thank you," Veronica whispered. The nurse smiled.

"I need to get back," she told them as she left room. They watched her go in ecstasy. One big weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They celebrated for a few minutes before settling in to wait again. An hour later the nurse reappeared. "The surgery is complete. Buffy is in Post-Op and will be moved back into her room shortly."

"How did it go?" Joyce asked. The nurse hesitated.

"There were no complications during the surgery," she said carefully. "Dr. Hansen is getting Buffy settled then he will be in to talk to you."

"What's wrong?" Joyce asked, picking up on the nurse's tone and body language.

"Mr. Giles is back in the room. It will probably be a few hours before he wakes up, but you're more than welcome to wait there."

"He'll find us there?" she asked. The nurse nodded and left the waiting room. Joyce headed towards their room, the rest of the Scoobies following her quietly. She immediately went to Giles's side, grabbing his hand reassuringly before relinquishing her spot to Veronica. The rest of the Scoobies made themselves comfortable, but Joyce couldn't keep her eyes off the other bed in the room.

"Ms. Summers?" Joyce got to her feet immediately.

"Dr. Hansen?" He smiled slightly then headed into the room, gripping a folder tightly in his hands.

"Can we go somewhere private and talk?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Anything you need to say you can say in front of everybody," she told him. "We're family." He nodded.

"The surgery went fine," he started, "but almost immediately we started noticing signs of rejection."

"But I thought they were a match?" Veronica asked from her place next to Giles's bed.

"All the tests looked good," Dr. Hansen told her, "but there's no guarantee."

"What does that mean?" Joyce asked. Dr. Hansen turned back to her.

"It's not necessarily bad. There's always some degree of rejection, and it wasn't severe enough for us to remove the new kidney right away. We just need to convince her body that the new kidney isn't a threat."

"How do we do that?" Joyce asked weakly.

"We've already started her on a series of immunosuppressant treatments. We'll know more in a few hours." Joyce nodded as the doctor excused himself. Ten minutes later they stood up as Buffy was wheeled back into the room.

"She looks pale," Joyce said as she immediately went over and grabbed her hand.

"She is still one very sick young woman," her nurse said as he carefully reattached the various monitors and lines she needed. "But she came through the surgery very well." She nodded and took her customary place by her side.

"Rupert?" Veronica asked after about an hour. She had noticed Giles's eyes start opening.

"Uugghhh," he mumbled. Veronica reached over and poured him a cup of water, which she carefully helped him sip through the straw. "Thanks," he spoke weakly, opening his eyes completely.

"Welcome back G Man," Xander said as he approached the bed. Giles rolled his eyes.

"Don't call me that," he said. Xander beamed.

"Whatever you say," he said as he hit the call button to let the nurses know he was awake. Giles smiled at him fondly before his eyes found Joyce.

"How did it go?" he asked weakly.

"The surgery was fine," she told him. "Neither of you had any complications." Giles nodded in relief as the nurse walked in.

"Welcome back Mr. Giles," he said as he began checking his readings. "How are you feeling?"

"Sluggish," he admitted, "but not in any pain." The nurse looked at him sympathetically.

"I'm afraid that part will come later," he said as he made notations on his chart. "You're still feeling the effects of the anesthesia, that's why you're feeling so lethargic right now and why the incision doesn't hurt. In a few hours the anesthesia should have completely worn off and you'll start feeling more yourself. We'll give you something for the pain before then, but if you have any pain please let us know." He smiled and put his chart back.

"Buffy?" he asked.

"She's doing as fine as is expected right now," he told him. He nodded and let himself fall back into slumber.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Veronica asked. The nurse sighed.

"There's no sense in telling him now, especially when we don't know anything for sure."

"But rejection?" Willow countered.

"Is common after a transplant," he repeated. "Until we know more there is no sense upsetting him." Everyone nodded as they settled in to wait once again. Xander volunteered to go get food and Faith surprised everyone when she volunteered to help. The group ate in silence, watching as the nurses kept checking on Buffy with various degrees of frowns on their faces. Giles woke up again, joining in their vigil as much as possible, before crashing again. Finally, several hours after the surgery, Buffy awoke.

"Hey," Joyce said when she noticed that her eyes were open. Buffy looked at her weakly, her hand twitching toward her mother. Joyce immediately grabbed it, while Dawn did the same thing on the other side, leaving one of the others to hit the call button. "How are you feeling?" Buffy stared at her as her eyes closed.

"She woke up?" Dr. Hansen asked as he came into the room, one of the nurses right behind him.

"Briefly," Joyce said, reluctantly letting go of her hand to give the nurse access. She moved toward the doctor, who looked extremely grave. "Do you have news?" He sighed.

"It's not good," he said. Suddenly every eye was on him. "Do you want to go somewhere private to talk?" he offered. She shook her head.

"Tell me," she demanded. Dawn stepped up and held her mother. They both gave their full attention to the doctor.

"Your daughter is rejecting the kidney," he said solemnly.

"But you said rejection is normal," Anya spoke up from the other side of the room. "Then it goes away and she's fine."

"Some amount of rejection is normal," he said, "but in Buffy's case it hasn't abated. We've tried every possible treatment, but nothing has helped. Her body just isn't recognizing the kidney as benign."

"Not her body," Giles said weakly from across the room. Veronica moved to his side, gripping his hand tightly. "So now what?"

"We continue the dialysis treatments."

"But Ben said they wouldn't heal her," Dawn said.

"They won't," Dr. Hansen told her, "but they will give us time. I understand Dr. Wilkinson stopped testing when he found Mr. Giles was a match?" They nodded. "I want to continue the testing. If there's a match we can try again."

"If there's not?" Joyce asked darkly.

"She goes on the waiting list," he told them truthfully.

"Where do we go doc?" Xander asked as he rolled up his sleeves.

"I've made arrangements at the nurse's station for anyone willing to be tested." Xander nodded and followed the nurse from the room. Willow, Tara, and Anya followed his footsteps.

"What now?" Joyce asked.

"They both will stay here for a few days to ensure there are no complications from the surgery," he told them, looking over to Giles at the same time. "If we are able to find another match we'll try again, otherwise there is very little we can do." He paused momentarily. "I've informed Dr. Wilkinson of the situation. He has already resumed testing in Sunnydale."

"Thank you," Joyce said. He nodded and left the room. She turned to Giles.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help," he said sincerely. She nodded.

"You tried. That's more than most men." She turned to the corner where the twins were sleeping peacefully. She was torn between letting them sleep and the comfort she knew they would give her. As if hearing her silent call Alex woke up, looking up at her sleepily. She picked the baby up, cradling her to her chest as the others walked back in.

"They should have the preliminary results in a few hours," Anya announced as they retook their seats. She picked Billy up, who woke up just after his sister.

"What do you mean before?" Willow asked. She looked at Giles questioningly.

"What?" he asked, not quite sure what she meant.

"When the doctor was talking about rejection, you mentioned something about her body not rejecting. What did you mean?" He sighed, but now every eye was on him.

"They explained the risks of the transplant to us in great detail before you arrived," he started. "Rejection is a normal response caused by the immune system of the recipient. It recognizes the new organ as an intruder and attacks. The way doctors counter this normal response is to weaken the recipient's immune system to the point where it no longer identifies an intruder or is not able to form any solid resistance."

"But Buffy's immune system is the Slayer," Joyce said suddenly, seeing where he was going. He looked at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't think of this before," he said.

"So how do we fix this?" Xander asked. "Go into her mind and tell the Slayer to back off?" He shook his head.

"We can't," he told them. "Firstly, The Slayer doesn't consciously control anything anymore then we can consciously control our immune system. And even if The Slayer could, Buffy is far too weak right now. If we try to enter her mind, we'll kill her."

"So what do we do?" Dawn asked helplessly. He smiled at her.

"We put our faith in science and medicine," he said. Veronica shot to her feet. "Where are you going" he asked.

"To see if I can save a life," she replied as she headed out the door.

"Wait up V," Faith called as she ran after her. Daniel watched them go sadly.

"I don't think it would be a good idea for you to get tested," Giles said cautiously. Daniel nodded.

"I know," he admitted, taking the seat Veronica left. "I just feel so helpless."

"Don't we all," Dawn said, taking a seat next to him. Daniel pulled her into a hug as Veronica and Faith returned.

"There is little we can do now but wait," she said. Giles nodded as he let himself nap. The group came and went as the Scoobies decided to explore the big city that they rarely saw. Giles became more and more aware as the day passed, whereas Buffy only woke up a couple of times. Joyce never left their side, while the others managed to pull Dawn and Victoria away for a few hours.

Surprisingly it wasn't just the Scoobies that came and went. Members of Angel Investigation stopped by, some of them staying almost as long as the Scoobies. They all volunteered to get tested, which almost brought Joyce to tears. Also some old friends of Joyce's and former classmates of Buffy's and Dawn stopped by to see them. The support from the community they left over ten years ago was amazing. Dr. Hansen told them many of these people volunteered to get tested as well, along with a steady stream of volunteers in Sunnydale. Unfortunately, none of them were a match yet, but they would keep trying.

Soon the weekend was over and the Scoobies needed to get back to Sunnydale. Joyce promised to tell them if any new developments happened and they reluctantly made the drive back home. "Why don't you go ahead," Daniel told Faith as they were loading up to drive back so Sunnydale. Faith looked back at the hospital.

"You sure?" she asked. Daniel nodded.

"I'll get a ride back with Joyce," he said. Joyce nodded her permission. Giles was already officially released from the hospital, while Buffy would be released in another couple of days. The two of them were staying in L.A. until Buffy was released, then they would make the drive back home.

"Okay," Faith said as she opened the door. "But if you need me."

"I know," he said, reaching over and giving her a quick peck on the lips. She smiled and got in the car. A few seconds later the caravan pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

"Are you okay?" Joyce asked as they slowly made their way back inside.

"Yeah," Daniel said dismissively, but something caught her attention.

"Daniel?" she pressed, using her Mom voice. He sighed.

"It's just so hard to see her like this," he said as they entered her room. Giles looked over from his bed. Though he had been officially discharged, the hospital was kind enough to let him keep occupying the bed since they both flat out refused to leave Buffy's side. Especially since Giles was the only other one that could get through to Buffy when Joyce wasn't there.

"And how are you doing?" Giles asked. Daniel shrugged. He sat down and grabbed Buffy's hand. She squeezed lightly, but didn't turn to look at him. Something she was doing more and more of as she got weaker.

"When I helped Angel and Spike rescue her from Hell, I never thought I would see her again," he started. "Then when I was able to escape, I hoped I would find her but I never really thought it would happen. When it did I didn't know how to cope except to be there for her. And that was enough then. When we went off to fight Azeroth I knew we might both die, but I wasn't scared. We're warriors. If we die we want it to be fighting." He turned to look at Joyce. "This is different. This isn't a warrior's death. This is sickness. I don't know how to deal with sickness."

"Nobody does," she told him, placing her hand on top of their joined hands. "There is no right way or wrong way to deal with this." She looked at him for a minute. "Do you want a moment alone?" He nodded and she moved over to help Giles out of his bed. "Let's go get some lunch." He nodded and they quietly left the room. When they came back two hours later Buffy was sleeping and Daniel looked much more composed. Dr. Hansen was leaving her room and spotted them coming down the hallway. He waited for them to catch up.

"Doctor," Joyce greeted him.

"Ms. Summers," he replied, "Mr. Giles. I was just checking on Buffy."

"How is she doing?" Joyce asked.

"Remarkably well, considering her condition," he answered. "Her incision is nearly gone."

"She heals very quickly," Giles said softly. "Always has." Dr. Hansen smiled slightly.

"I was prepared to release her today," he told them, "but I want to do one more dialysis treatment before you take her home."

"Home?" Joyce asked. "Don't you mean back to the hospital in Sunnydale." Dr. Hansen sighed, his smile slipping from his face.

"I've spoken to Dr. Wilkinson," he told them, "and we both agree. There is very little a hospital can do for her that you cannot do from your home. Dr. Wilkinson has arranged for her dialysis treatments to continue from your home and he feels that she would be more comfortable there rather than the hospital."

"You're sending her home to die in comfort," Giles spat, but Dr. Hansen didn't argue the point.

"We haven't given up," he reminded them, "but nothing short of a transplant will help her and she rejected the one match we found. We'll continue looking and testing, and our facility will be ready at a moment's notice if we find a match, but you need to start accepting the fact that she probably won't survive." Joyce closed her eyes at his bluntness but didn't contradict him. "I'll release her tomorrow afternoon after one more dialysis treatment. I can arrange an ambulance to take her back to Sunnydale."

"That won't be necessary," Giles told him. "We'll take her home." He nodded, expecting that answer. "Thank you for all your help." Giles reached out to shake his hand, which he did.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out. I wish I could tell you why some transplants work and others don't."

"Thank you," Joyce said, as she shook his hand as well. He quickly left to give the couple some privacy. "What do we do now?" she asked as she leaned into his chest.

"We enjoy what little time we have remaining," he said as they entered her room. Giles called Ben and double checked what Dr. Hansen told him. He also called Veronica and told her the news, then they both did what Giles suggested. They cuddled and held her, watched TV, and read books. She was still very weak, and would usually fall asleep after a few minutes, but they took advantage of the time they had.

The next day after her dialysis session Dr. Hansen released her. Joyce drove home with Giles dozing next to her. He was still tired after his surgery, though he was recovering very well. That left Buffy in the back with Daniel. At first they were worried how she would handle his presence, but just like after her rescue from Azeroth, his presence brought nothing but comfort. She would lie in his arms and watch the world around her, which was what she did on the drive back home. "How is she?" Joyce asked as they neared Sunnydale.

"Starting to tense," Daniel told her. Joyce nodded, expecting the reaction. They lived on the outskirts of town, but coming from L.A. meant they had to drive through town to get home. Driving through town meant driving past the hospital.

"Do you want to trade?" Giles asked. Joyce looked in the rear view mirror to see how Daniel was doing.

"I think we'll be fine," Daniel said. Joyce nodded and continued, though she kept an eye on her daughter. She knew immediately when Buffy saw the hospital. She tensed up and would have bolted if Daniel wasn't there. He tightened his arms and whispered nonsense words until they passed, not easing his grasp until they were well away. "We're okay," he said. Joyce nodded, and focused on the road again. A few minutes later they pulled up to the house.

Buffy's body language again changed, but this time it was for the better. She smiled up at everybody as they gathered around the car, despite it being early afternoon. "What about the shops?" Joyce asked as she got out of the car.

"It isn't every day that we bring someone home from the hospital," Anya said, before frowning. "Well, maybe for us it is."

"But it's still a good excuse to party," Xander said as he pulled open the passenger side door and helped Giles out. Willow and Tara were helping Daniel with Buffy.

"I leave you alone for a few days and find you with a beautiful woman in your arms," Faith joked as she took Buffy so Daniel could climb out. He held out his hands once he was out of the car, but Faith held Buffy tighter. "Where to Ms. S?" she asked.

"I think to bed," she said as she hugged Alex close. Giles held on to Billy, while Veronica hugged his other side. "She still gets tired easily." Faith nodded and carried Buffy into the house. Everyone followed her. Joyce was surprised to see Spike perched on the counter talking quietly with Ben.

"Welcome back Mum," he said as he jumped to his feet as soon as he saw her. "Kept everything safe and sound, just like I promised."

"Thanks Spike," she smiled at him before looking at Ben. "You know what happened?" He nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "We're still looking, but so far nothing has matched. We won't give up." She nodded and he reached out and place a hand on her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. He gestured to the group slowly heading up the stairs. "Let's go get her settled." They nodded and followed the group up. Ben stayed in the back for the first few minutes, but like Joyce had predicted Buffy's eyes soon started to droop. Joyce called everybody out and they happily moved the party downstairs, leaving Joyce and Giles to help Ben. He gave her a quick check before hooking up the various lines she still needed. "I'm going to keep the IV in from now on," he said as he checked the various ports. "We're going to be keeping her on an antibiotic regiment also. Either me or Abby will come around for her dialysis treatment. We'll bring any supplies she needs and will check up on her."

"Thank you," Joyce said as he finished up. He gave Giles a quick check up as well before leaving. The gang stayed throughout the night, spending time with Buffy whenever she was awake. The next week passed the same. Anya, Xander, and Tara eventually had to go back to work. Faith and Veronica started discussing the situation in Cleveland. Veronica began looking for apartments online, with Willow's help, and had found a place and was making arrangements. It was obvious Faith was starting to get angsty, but she was determined to see this through. Jonathan surprised everyone when he announced he wanted to go back to Cleveland and help Faith. She laughed but eventually conceded. Andrew on the other hand wanted to stay here and help, much to the chagrin of the Scoobies. Life was slowly coming back to normal for everyone with one big exception.

Buffy continued to grow weaker. What little strength she regained from after the operation left her again. She would spend most of her time in bed, not having enough strength to move unless someone carried her. Someone was always with her whenever she was awake, but those times became more and more infrequent. She was starting to get sick again, and not even the medicine Ben had her on could keep up. One night Joyce woke up in the middle of the night to find Buffy struggling to breath. She quickly called Giles, who called Ben, whose arrival in the middle of the night alerted everyone to the situation. The entire group gathered in her room as they watched helplessly as she struggled. They all had tears in their eyes.

"It's okay baby," Joyce said as she held her daughter close. "It's okay to let go. You can finally have the peace you've wanted for so many years."

"Mom," Buffy rasped out. Silence filled the room as she spoke for the first time. Buffy turned her head to look at her mother, oblivious to all the eyes on her. "Sorry not strong." Her voice was barely audible, and she had to stop and think about each word before she said it, but nothing had ever sounded sweeter.

"It's okay baby," Joyce repeated, fighting the urge to cry. She needed to be strong for her daughter. "You don't need to be strong right now. It's okay to let go." Buffy nodded, closing her eyes for the last time. Joyce pulled her into a crushing hug, her eyes finding Giles as she finally let the tears fall. They stared at each other as everyone sniffled around them. The silence was shattered by the ringing of a cell phone.

"Sorry," Ben said as he excused himself into the hall. "Hello," they heard through the door. "What?" They looked back at the doorway. After a few minutes Ben shakily came back in. "That was Dr. Hansen." That got everyone's attention. "They found a match and have a donor."

AN: Almost finished. One chapter left. I know it's been a long ride. I tried to break it up into two stories to make reading easier, but I couldn't find anywhere that really worked as a breaking point. Thanks for sticking it out with me.