(Dr. Kriegel comes around a corner and sees a waiting room where Giles, Dawn, Buffy, and the Scoobies are gathered. Tara hugs Dawn as Xander hugs Buffy.)

XANDER: If there's anything we can do.

DAWN: Glad you're here.

(Xander hugs Giles as Willow hugs Buffy.)

WILLOW: Love you so much.

BUFFY: I know.

DAWN: (to Tara) They're not telling us anything.

(Giles is looking around when suddenly Anya hugs him. He looks surprised, then hugs her back. Over her head he notices the doctor. )

GILES: Doctor?

DR. KRIEGEL: Okay, I've examined your mother's body.

DAWN: Can we see her?

BUFFY: Dawn, not now.

DR. KRIEGEL: The on-site report seems more or less accurate. Your mother did have what looks like an aneurysm. A sudden hemorrhaging from a ruptured arterial vessel near the, uh ... where the tumor was removed.

BUFFY: Shouldn't we have known about that, that ... was a danger?

DR. KRIEGEL: Sometimes these things are detectable, and sometimes they're not. Joyce was aware of the possibility of a rupture, and the effects. She didn't even get on the phone, so clearly this was very sudden. She, uh, may have felt a little nausea, and probably passed out as it happened. I doubt there was much pain, and ... even if someone had been by her side...

Flash: Buffy imagines having been there, getting Joyce to the hospital in time.

DR. KRIEGEL: (OS) ...it's doubtful that this could have been dealt with in time.

GILES: (nods) Uh, thank you, Doctor.

BUFFY: (OS) Are you sure...that there wasn't a lot of pain?

DR. KRIEGEL: (nods) Absolutely.

The doctor's mouth continues to move, but what we hear is what Buffy is thinking, not what he's actually saying.

DR. KRIEGEL: (in Buffy's thoughts) I have to lie to make you feel better.

GILES: What, uh, (clears throat) what, uh, needs to be done now?

DR. KRIEGEL: Well, there, uh, there'll be some forms, and some decisions you'll need to make.

GILES: Uh, Buffy, why don't you let me handle those as much as I can.

BUFFY: Please.

DR. KRIEGEL: (to Buffy) We will need you to ... sign a couple of release forms.

GILES: Yes, thank you, Doctor.

(he turns to Buffy )

[12]

GILES: I'll, uh, figure out which ones you need to see.

BUFFY: We'll be here.

• Joyce's Illness

written by: Joss Whedon; transcribed by Joan the English Chick . Full transcript at:
http://www.studiesinwords.de/94thebody.html