Life's a Bitch: 8
by Ksue
"Faith? Are you sure I look okay?" Buffy asked, worrying over her apperance in the mirror. She was dressed in her nicest dress. It was simple and black with a mock turtle neck and capped sleevs. She had the sides of her hair clipped back and was wearing muted make-up.
"Buffy, stop it. You look great! Sexy even," Faith said, nodding enthusiastically. She turned back to digging through Buffy's closet.
"No! Sexy isn't good! I'm meeting his parents for the first time tonight, Faith. I want elegant but conservative," Buffy whimpered, hoping that Angel's parents didn't already hate her.
"You're gorgeous. Here, wear these," Faith said, handing Buffy a pair of low, black, strappy pumps.
"You sure?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows and slipping the shoes on.
"Yes. 100%. Now hurry up, Angel's downstairs. Man, he's gonna wanna jump you the second you guys leave his parents," Faith grinned.
"Faith!" Buffy groaned. She turned and followed Faith down the stairs to where Angel was waiting.
"Angel, be prepared to go totally gaga," Faith smiled as she turned to watch Buffy come down the stairs. Angel gasped when he saw her.
"God, you're beautiful," Angel said, walking over and kissing Buffy's neck lightly. She smelled like vinilla.
"Thank you. Are you ready to go?" Buffy asked, forgetting all about impressing Angel's parents.
"Yeah. My parents will be there in a few minutes, and they'll expect us to show up at the same time." Angel said. The two walked tohis car and sped the short distance to La Noir Rose, a fancy french resturant.

"Buffy? Hi, good to meet you, honey," Aaron smiled, firmly shaking Buffy's hand.
"Good to meet you too sir." Buffy looked around uncomfortably.
"Look, I'm going to erase yesterday from my memory, but I can't garuntee that Heather will," Aaron whispered, leaning in towards Buffy.
"Thank you, sir." Buffy replied.
"PLease, call me Aaron." Heather stood and glided towards Buffy, looking rich and snooty.
"Hello," Heather said stiffly as she offered her hand. Buffy could tell that she was trying very hard to have an open mind.
"Hi, I'm Buffy," Buffy said warmly, taking Heather's hand.
"I know. Shall we go eat, darling?" Heather said, turning towards her husband.
"Absolutly. I'm famished." Buffy and Angel hung back a few paces and he snaked his arm around her waist.
"You're doing fine," he whispered. Angel leaned down and kissed her temple before they sat down.

"So Buffy, what does your father do?" Heather asked, later in the evening.
"Um, I don't know. I think he's a salesman of some kind," Buffy shrugged, again uncomfortable.
"You don't know?" Heather asked, eyes wide.
"No. He left my mother and I when I was a baby," Buffy replied."
"Well, what does your mother do?" Heather asked, seemingly enjoy Buffy's unease.
"She's a cashier at a grocery store," Buffy sighed, picking at her food.
"Ah, well. At least she has a job," Heather sighed. She took a small bite of her garden salad and eyed Buffy.
"Mother!" Angel cried.
"So, Buffy, what do you like to do?" Aaron asked, trying to change the subject.
"Um, I don't know. I like to read. Mostly I work. I'm a waitress at a diner. When I'm not working, I'm usually studying," Buffy shrugged.
"Ahh, a driven girl. I like that. where do you think you want to go to college?" Aaron asked, taking a genuine interest.
"I haven't thought about it," Buffy stated simply.
"Why not? Surely you have the grades to get in," Aaron said.
"Grades aren't the problem," Buffy muttered. She was suddenly uncomfortable again.
"I'm sorry, I suppose this isn't your favorite thing to talk about," Aaron apologized.
"Don't worry about it." They all chatted casually for a few minutes. Heather had gotten over her need to patronize Buffy and Aaron avoided the subject of college. Then Buffy's cell phone beeped, signaling a text message.
Girl, get to the bar, ASAP. Your mom is sick.
"Buffy?" Angel asked, concern etched on his face.
"I have to go," Buffy choked, standing abruptly and grabbing her purse.
"Is it your mom?" Angel asked.
"It's bad this time," Buffy nodded. Angel stood and grabbed her coat, drapping it around her shoulders.
"I'll drive you," Angel said. They sped towards the bar in silence. Buffy couldn't sit still, she was worried about what sick meant. They pulled up to the sidewalk and Buffy jumped out, barely waiting for Angel to put the car in park.
"Brooke!" Buffy screamed as she pushed through the doorway. She quickly scanned the bar for her mom, finding no sign of her.
"Buffy, luv, calm down. Brooke went to the hospital with your mom. Faith and I waited here," Spike said, grabbing Buffy by the shoulders and looking into her eyes.
"Where's Faith?" Buffy whispered.
"I'm here. Come on, we'll go togehter. It's bad this time, B. It's really bad," Faith warned, trying to cushion any blow a doctor might deliver. Angel rushed in as they all turned around to leave.
"Angel, will you drive us to the hospital?" Buffy asked. He nodded.

Buffy, Angel, Faith, and Spike burst through the emergency room doors.
"Joyce Summers, I'm looking for Joyce Summers," Buffy gasped, running up to the desk. A small, mousy looking nurse looked up at her.
"I'm sorry?" she asked.
"Joyce Summers, my mother! she was brought in a little while ago," Buffy cried, pounding her fist down on the desk.
"She was brought in from Guenchy," Spike offered.
"Oh...yes. The doctor will be out to speak with you in a moment." The nurse replied. She stood and rushed over to a cluster of doctors. A young, good looking one looked at Buffy, his face solemn.
"Ms. Summers? I'm Doctor Leland. Your mother was brought in with severe alcohol poisening. We did the best we could to pump her stomach, but it didn't help. I'm so sorry." The last thing Buffy saw was the ground rushing to meet her head.

A/N: hope you liked it! I know I kinda twisted the story in a major way, but it just kinda came out. Read and Review! Tell me what you think! Thanks

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