Before Buffy really had a chance to deal with the after math of her choices, a flu bug swept thru Sunnydale and half the gang's classmates were out sick with it. Buffy too got sick, so badly she ended up in the hospital, where she had to face another of her fears. Hospitals themselves. When she was eight, she witnessed her cousin dying in the hospital. Dying in fear. She'd never forgotten. So when she told the gang she'd seen something, they weren't sure that it wasn't an extension of her fear. Children were dying of what seemed to be the flu, but some of the other kids were claiming to have seen something too. Eventually, they discovered a demon only kids or people with a high enough fever could see. One that killed children. Buffy wanted to dose herself with flu germs on purpose so she could find the demon. Xander had a better idea.

"Buffy, making yourself even sicker, just to find this thing is ludicrous. You get sick enough and even you can die from the flu. This thing had a physical presence right? Like Marcie did when she was invisible. Then we make it visible."

"How, Xander?"

"We load the super soakers up with paint. We shoot it around, in the halls, in the empty rooms, the stairways. When it hits something we know we've found it. Then we attack it together and kill it."

"That just might work." Willow said. "Of course, it's going to make a mess, but wet paint is easy to clean up. It's worth a try anyway."

The others agreed and they set out to find the demon. Once they did, they attacked it with knives and killed it. The cleanup of the paint took awhile but they found ways to make it fun. Giles disposed of the demon's body.

"Giles, Buffy's traumas keep piling up. You need to do more then just pat her on the head and say there, there." Xander said.

"What do you suggest I do, Xander?" Giles asked, exasperated.

"You said the Watchers Council has therapists that have been screened and are in the know. Any chance you can talk one into at least visiting for awhile? Maybe go thru your screening process with therapists around here? Actually being proactive in trying to help her, not to mention the rest of us. We could all use some therapy time. It's not going away, Giles. Not for any of us. We can talk to each other, but how do we know we're not making it worse? We're not professionals at dealing with damage. And Sunnydale could really use a full time therapist in the know. Gods know, we've got more then our fair share of victims around here."

"That's actually a good idea. I know of one who may be able to come, at least for a visit. Yes, I will contact her and ask. As for your other suggestion, I am unfamiliar with the actual screening process, but the therapist herself should be. I will discuss it with her."

"Good, you do that. I'll see you later, Cordy and I have a date."

Getting a therapist in the know to visit Sunnydale came just in time as the gang discovered the ghosts of a student and teacher who'd been involved were possessing people in an attempt to work thru their own issues.

"Man, that was a challenging first case for me." Connie Anderson, an older woman in her fifties, who'd been a therapist for many years, said. "I've never counseled ghosts before. You Watchers bring me the most interesting cases."

"I thank you for coming, Connie. Your help is most appreciated. I hope you will be able to aid my Slayer as well. She's had a great deal to try to handle, including nearly being sacrificed multiple times, dying and being revived, Calling a second Slayer in the process and falling in love with the only known vampire with a soul. He was cursed by gypsies. The curse broke and we were forced to destroy him. In the process, Buffy's actions caused the death of Kendra, the second Slayer. She also has a group of friends in the know, who have experienced their own traumas. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated. How long can you stay?"

"I've taken two weeks vacation. It'll be a working vacation, buts that's okay, I'll still get some beach time."

"There's something else I would like to discuss with you. The possibility of you relocating permanently or barring that, helping us find a permanent therapist around here. We've been able to save a good number of people, but every one of them could use assistance with dealing with having been attacked. For instance, not long after I arrived in Sunnydale, four students were possessed by hyena spirits. A botched ritual they accidentally became a part of. One killed himself. The others tried to and nearly succeeded. One is now in a long term care mental ward and another is in a long term care facility. The other survivor will need to be reeducated as she experienced memory loss back to age five. If we'd had someone we could have refered them too, we might have been able to help them."

"Yes, I see what you mean. I'll think about it and let you know. In the meantime, I'd like to meet with your Slayer first. What's her name?"

"Buffy, Buffy Summers."

"What's that short for?"

"It's not, that is her name. This is California. It's a normal kind of name around here."

"You're kidding."

"No, I assure you, I am not. There are students here named Aphrodisa and Aura, among others."

"Very well, not everyone can have sensible names like the English."

"Very true."