The following day Spike made his way to the hospital via the sewers. He knew that today was the day Joyce would be diagnosed with the tumor and he wanted to be there. He found Buffy comforting a distraught Dawn but there was no sign of Joyce.

"Hi Spike," Dawn greeted listlessly.

"They take her in?" he asked when Buffy looked up at him.

Buffy nodded, her hand absently stroking Dawn’s hair. "They took her in about twenty minutes ago."

He nodded but didn’t say anything. Instead he looked around before settling down on a chair next to Buffy and waited in silence. Half an hour later a nurse appeared at the entrance to the waiting room and called Buffy back to see her mother.

"Stay with Dawn, please?" she asked him, her eyes sad and worried.

Spike nodded and moved into the chair next to Dawn as Buffy followed the nurse. Dawn looked stricken and Spike swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Don’t worry, Nibblet. I’m sure Mum’s just fine," he lied after several tense moments, trying to be cheerful.

Dawn turned to him with reddened eyes. "No she’s not."

Spike seemed put off., his brow creasing. "How do you know?"

"Coz they only wanted Buffy. If Mom was fine, they’d have asked for both of us, but because I’m the little sister…"

Spike tried to deflect her fears. "Now, Bite Size, I’m sure there’s a good reason for why they only wanted Buffy…"

"I’m not a baby, Spike. I can tell when someone is trying to ‘protect’ me. I watch TV y’know. It’s always the youngest who finds out last."

Spike snorted. "Piffle. You want too much TV, Nibblet. TV isn’t real life and real life doesn’t work that way."

"Doesn’t it?

Spike was about to respond when Buffy returned. The look on her face broke his heart.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked timidly.

Buffy sat down on the other side of Dawn and reached out a shaky hand. "Dawnie…"

"Mom’s gonna be okay, right?"

Tears welled in Buffy’s eyes. "We don’t know. The doctors… they found a shadow in Mom’s brain."

"A shadow?" Dawn repeated.

"They don’t know what it is. They’re taking her into surgery to do a biopsy."

"Surgery? Now?"

Buffy nodded.

"Can I… can I see her before…?" Dawn asked.

Buffy nodded again. "I’ll take you back."

As she and Dawn got up, Buffy looked at Spike, an apologetic expression on her face "Spike…"

"I know, Slayer. Family only."

Buffy confirmed it and gave a little shrug.

"Nibblet, tell Mum I’ll be seeing her soon and I’ll make the cocoa."

"I will, Spike," Dawn agreed, and followed her sister down the hall.

Buffy came back a minute later. "I’m going to call the Magic Box, let them know what’s going on."

"Okay."

"You stay here and wait for Dawn, okay?"

"Not a problem. Whatever you need, whatever I can do."

She gave him a soft smile and headed for the payphones. She returned a few minutes later, quiet and pensive, and sat next to him. It was all he could do to keep from putting his arm around her. Dawn joined them as they wheeled Joyce on a stretcher down to the OR. The older woman gave him a small wave and wan smile, which he returned as he watched her go, then the three of them settled in for the long wait. It was hard on Spike because he already knew the outcome and he was never good at waiting. Thankfully the waiting room had a television and he watched soap operas. Dawn fell asleep at some point during the afternoon and he covered her with his duster.

Buffy was staring off into space, Dawn was sleeping and he was watching Passions when Riley entered the waiting room, looking flustered.

"Riley?" Buffy said, surprised to see him.

Spike just sat back and smirked to himself. Since Soldier Boy hadn’t caught him sniffing Buffy’s sweaters that morning, he hadn’t known about Joyce’s tests.

"I just came from the Magic Box. They told me about your mom. Buffy, why didn’t you call me?"

Buffy looked away guiltily. "I didn’t want to worry you until we knew what was going on."

"Well you did worry me. I went by your house this morning and no one was there. I had no idea what was going on…" His voice was steadily rising.

"Oi! Keep it down. Nibblet’s sleepin’ and I’m trying to watch the telly," Spike groused.

Riley glared at him. He sneered back.

"What is he doing here?" the ex-soldier complained.

Buffy rolled her eyes impatiently and Spike silently cheered. "He was there last night when Mom told us about the test results and he asked if I minded if he came. I said no. He and Mom are friends. He cares."

Riley tried to whisper but he didn’t account for vampire hearing. "Buffy, do I have to remind you that Spike is a vampire…"

Buffy cut him off. "I don’t have time for this, Riley. He asked, I said yes. End of discussion."

Riley backed off, hands raised in surrender. Buffy caught sight of Joyce’s doctor scanning the room and rose to her feet. She walked over to him, motioning Riley to stay behind. Spike waited a few beats, then got up, giving Riley a nonchalant shrug.

"Never was good at doin’ what I was told," he quipped and headed over to the other side of the room.

"Do you have results yet?" he heard her ask as he joined them. She cast him a glance but didn’t make him leave.

"Why don't we sit down over–" the doctor said after a pause.

Buffy interrupted him, "No. Excuse me, no, Doctor. Not to be rude, but I don't wanna sit down. I've been doing nothing but sitting down for hours. Just tell me..."

The doctor sighed and gave in. "Your mother has... The term is ‘low- grade glioma.’ It's a brain tumor..."

Spike saw Buffy’s eyes glaze over in shock, then her knees give out. He used his vampire speed to get a chair underneath her before she fell, but then stepped back, giving her space. This was proving to be more difficult for him than he had originally thought, but he had to see it through for Buffy. Still it was so hard not to give himself away, so hard not to reach out. But he couldn’t. He hadn’t been given that right yet.

"The clinical name's Oligo...dendro... glioma. It's in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum. In your mother's case, the tumor seems to have started there. In other words, it hasn't spread

there from another part of the body... which, in a way, is good news..."

The doctor moved to sit across from Buffy, his face compassionate. "I know this is very difficult. And, unfortunately, because of the nature of your mother's illness, things could progress very quickly."

The words snapped Buffy out of her stupor. "Things? What things?"

"Symptoms. There are a fair variety that might present. Loss of vision or appetite, lack of muscle control, mood swings, personality changes…"

"But what can we do?" she asked.

The doctor gave her a gentle smile. "Not much until we determine if the tumor's operable. Which we're working on."

"Well, I... is there something I should be doing? Can I... help?"

The doctor nodded. "Well, there's some literature you might want to look at. If we aren't able to go in surgically, there are a number of new treatments which are very promising. Your mother's prognosis is a lot better today than it would have been only a year ago. Even if the tumor's not operable, she has a real chance."

Buffy, shrewd as ever, replied, "What's ‘a real chance?’"

The doctor hesitated, but Spike’s growl made him answer. "Nearly one in three patients with this condition does just fine."

The words hit Buffy hard and Spike saw her hands start to tremble.

"Now. Let me ask - does your mother's insurance company require copies of MRI and pathology reports?" the doctor was asking.

Never having dealt with such a situation before, Buffy was at a loss. "I’m not… sure."

"Just let me know as soon as possible. And I could use some information regarding your mom's lifestyle and home environment. For instance, does she use a cell phone?"

Buffy was looking overwhelmed and Spike ached to step in, but he didn’t know what to say.

"I think. She uses one of those... She had an ear thing, but..."

"Okay... Is your house near any power lines? Chemical plants? Waste disposal facilities?"

"I don't think so... Maybe."

"Dump’s on the other side of town," Spike commented.

"Well, the more we know..."

"I'm sorry..." Buffy trailed off.

Someone new joined them and Spike turned in time to see Ben touch the doctor on the shoulder and tell him that he was needed in ICU. At the sight of the intern, Spike’s vision went red and he clenched his fists.

‘Kill you. Kill you, I will. You and the Hell Bitch. Not gonna touch my girls.’

The doctor was standing, giving his condolences, but Ben was still there.

‘Bomb your car. Put poison in your drink…’

Ben was explaining that he saw Buffy foundering and had fabricated the story of the page to get rid of the doctor and give her some space. For a moment it looked like he was going to sit down next to Buffy, but one look from Spike made him change his mind.

"Listen," the intern said nervously, casting odd glances at the vampire that was looming protectively and glaring at him. "Your mom's gonna be unconscious for at least another six, seven hours. Why don’t you take a break?"

"A break?" Buffy repeated, stunned.

"I just mean, go out. Get some air. Come back later this evening, talk to the doc then if you want," he backpedaled.

Buffy hesitated and Spike moved in closer, menacing. Ben threw up his hands, good-naturedly.

"My unsolicited advice of the day."

He waved and moved off, stopping when a nurse showed him a chart. Spike never took his eyes off him, not even when Riley approached.

"Buffy..."

Much to Spike’s ire, Buffy hugged Riley, leaning on him for comfort.

"It's bad, Riley."

"I know."

"I've got to do something," she blurted, looking at him.

"Do something?" Riley asked.

"Maybe there's some magic or something -- a healing spell," she offered.

Spike creased his brow and gave a shake of his head. Buffy didn’t see it but Riley did, and for once they agreed on something.

"Healing spell? Buffy... People get sick. I don't think magic can help…"

"That attitude's not helping. I have to try," she snapped.

"Okay," Riley gave in.

Pulling out of his arms, Buffy fought to get her thoughts in order. "I need to talk to Giles. Can you drop Dawn off at school for me? Tell her I'll meet her at the magic shop when she gets out."

"Whatever you need me to do," Riley agreed.

"I’ll meet you at the Magic Box, Slayer. In the meantime, I’ll swing by the Gallery and see if I can’t get some of the insurance info the doc needed," he added, trying to be helpful.

"The Gallery?" Buffy questioned.

"I know the way through the tunnels. I’ll pop up, have a chat with whoever’s in charge when your mum’s not there, maybe make a couple of phone calls, and see what I can find out, alright?" he clarified.

Buffy looked about to cry but she nodded. He nodded back and went to retrieve his coat from across Dawn, waking her in the process.

"Spike?" she murmured sleepily.

"Hey, Sweet Bit. Mum’s out of surgery. Big sis is headed out to get a break while Soldier Boy takes you to school. We’ll meet you at the Magic Box later, after school, okay?"

"What happened with Mom?" the teen asked.

He shook his head and lied. "No news yet, luv. It might be a while."

He stepped back and turned to Buffy as Riley came close. "I’ll see you later, Slayer."

She acknowledged him with a nod and he headed out. He saw Ben at the end of a hallway and stopped to stare for moment.

‘Cut the brake line on your nancyboy car…’

Growling, frustrated, he stalked down to the basement and the tunnel entrances. He swung by the blood bank on the way down and nicked a couple of bags for lunch. What Buffy didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.


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