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Disclaimer: Sheesh. Do I have to spell it out? I DON'T OWN THEM!!
Author's Note: I would like to thank Sirius for her idea for this story. Although she might like Riley, *cringe* she did give this idea to me, and it isn't a B/R story. And yes Sirius, you did get me out of writer's block with this story. I also have to give her credit for killing Riley at my urging in one of her stories- she is slowly coming around!! I will make her a B/A fan if it kills me!! And just to note - Jayme is her sister, she insisted I put her in my story as a vampire. (I just met her this past weekend, and I sympathize with Sirius. I now understand.)
FEEDBACK: Now please don't send flames if you like Riley and don't appreciate what I do to him. But if you do hate Riley, feel free to send your compliments!!
"Gimme some blood, Willy." Spike ordered as he sat down at the bar. Another vampire sat at the bar a couple of stools away down. She glanced at Spike.
"Spike, haven't seen you around." The vampire mentioned before drinking from her glass of blood.
He growled, "No, it's because of this bloody chip. What's it to you? Who are you anyway?"
"Jayme. What chip?"
Spike sighed, "Those commandos put a chip in my head. It won't let me kill." He growled again. "What I'd give to have a good mauling or maybe some torture!" Spike brightened at the idea. "I wouldn't mind getting at the Slayer. She's made me look a bloody traitor! Or maybe even her poof of a boyfriend. Fishboy." He paused then realized what he had said. "Arrgghh!! I'm even starting to talk like Xander. I want to kill him, that wanker."
"Kill who?" Jayme's interest peaked at the mention.
"Soldier-boy, the Slayer's current boy toy. Riley something or other. He put this bloody chip in my head. I have to freaking buy blood like Angel!!" Spike snarled. He waved around his glass of blood. "Now Angel! At least he's better than Fishboy. I have to admit that, him being my sire and all, even though I can't bloody well stand him either. But no... Angel had to be all noble and leave the Slayer to the humans. I mean come on!! The wanker is a bloody weakling!! A human!! Angel had some guts at least, not all wooey-eyed at the sight of the Slayer. And the Slayer!! Ever since the bloody poof left, she hasn't been worth the fight!! I used to get a good fight out of her, you know. She had that spunk, now it's watered down."
"Oh, I appreciate a good senseless killing as any other vampire does, but every once in awhile I like a good opponent. Even though she's a human."
The other vampire shook her head. "I don't care about the opponent, I just like the killing. It's nice not to have them fighting back. No, I like the weak humans, they're made for us to kill." She shot Willy a grin as the human refilled his glass.
Willy quickly refilled the glass and scooted away from the vampire. No matter how much business he got from these guys, he didn't want to become one of their meals.
"Ahh...but the fight makes you better, stronger. Of course, after awhile you've still got to kill them, but you have to appreciate the fight before hand." Spike responded, staring into his glass of blood, fingering it slowly.
Spike gulped down the rest of his blood and banged the glass on the bar. "More blood, Willy."
The vampire beside him took in all that Spike had said, starting to think...
One week later
Spike walked into Willy's bar, sitting down and growling for blood. The same vampire from before sat the bar a few seats down. The two acknowledged each other with a nod.
"You remember that boy I was telling you about? Riley?" Spike asked Jayme, and she nodded, smiling evilly.
"Yeah well, he's leaving for a few days. Family problems." Spike mimicked in a high voice. "Family problems, bloody hell. I bet they're inbred." He took a gulp of his blood and growled. "Poor, little farmboy from Iowa. And do you know what's the worst part?" The blond vampire turned to ask the other vampire. "The Slayer is all weepy now. She's no fun anymore." He paused. "Of course, that goes without saying since I can't lift a finger on her. It's only a few days!! It's like she can't live without a guy!! The bloody human that he is." Spike growled in disgust.
"I mean, he's such a waif. You should see him, all standing tall and pretty... Thinks he's so special because he's a commando and all. What I give to punch him in his pretty little face and those goo-goo eyes. The Slayer would kick my ass, but it would be worth it." Spike smiled, picturing poor Riley all bloody.
"Yes, indeed. I like that picture."
Riley quietly drove along the highway the next night. He hated lying to Buffy, but he wanted to protect her. There was a chance that this assignment could lead to a transfer. The military had ordered him to a small base in Northern California to go through some additional training. He feared that they wanted to move him to a different unit, possibly non-demon oriented. He had after all, refused the pills to strengthen him, and that left him nearly defenseless besides his weapons again the hostiles.
Suddenly, Riley felt the car jerk and slow down. He cursed and pulled onto the side of the highway. He got out of the car and quickly circled it. The back left tire was flat. Riley sighed, and went to start changing it. It was when he crouched down to take off the flat tire that he felt the blow to his head and lost unconsciousness.
A dark figure leaned over him and grinned. Fangs emerged and sank down into Riley's neck.
"He hasn't called. He said he would be back in a few days. Where is he?" A nervous Buffy paced her dorm room. Willow watched her from her own bed, where she had spell books laying around her.
"Stop worrying. He's fine, I guess things at home aren't well and he needed to spend more time there." Willow tried to assure her best friend.
"But it's been a week!! And no word from him!!" Buffy stopped and stared at her best friend. "I'll call him. I can find the number in his room." With that, Buffy walked toward their door with determined eyes.
"Are you sure you need to do that? You shouldn't search his room, Buffy." The redhead questioned. She quickly stood up and walked over to the Slayer, placing her hands on her shoulders. "It's not right, Buffy, you just need to stop worrying. He'll call. Trust me."
Buffy shook her head. "No. Something might have happened to him. What if he didn't make it? You know the world we live in, Willow!! I just can't wait until he calls or shows up dead!! I need to know!" She turned and opened the door, then paused and grinned at Willow. "Don't worry, I won't get caught."
The slayer left the room and the witch sighed.
An hour later, Buffy walked back into their dorm room, holding up a piece of paper for Willow to see. "Got it!"
She sat on her bed and picked up the phone. Quickly dialing, she held her breath waiting for an answer.
"Hello, Mrs. Finn? May I please speak to Riley?" Buffy sat listening, her brow scrunched.
"He's not? Well, you see I'm a friend of his at the University. He told me that he had to go home for a few days."
Willow looked on apprehensively, unaware of her own hands wringing.
"Oh, well, thank you, anyway. I'll try to find him." She paused. "Yes, I'll tell him. Thanks. Bye." Buffy slowly laid the phone back in its cradle. She turned to Willow. "He's not there. Was never supposed to be, not until summer."
She brought her legs up to her body and hugged them close. A few tears escaped her hazel eyes. Willow quickly switched beds and held Buffy.
"He lied to me, Will." Buffy sobbed. "He lied."
Willow brushed Buffy's hair away. "You don't know that. Who knows what happened?"
Buffy shook her head. "No. He lied. He told me that he was going to be with his family, which he's not. He lied."
"Oh, Buffy." Willow sighed. "I'm so sorry."
One month later (Summer)
Buffy and Willow sat in Buffy's bedroom at her house. They were painting their toenails and listening to the radio. Shania Twain's song, 'That Don't Impress Me Much' was playing.
Buffy suddenly sat up and looked at Willow. "That's it. I don't need Riley... It's been one month since he left and he hasn't called. It's over. I'm not waiting any longer."
Willow looked up from her nails and smiled. "Good for you."
Buffy nodded. "Yep, I don't need him. Besides, he was starting to get on my nerves. And now that I've been without him for a month, I'm starting to feel like my old self. That just wasn't me these last few months."
Willow paused a moment, hesitating, then said, "Would this be a good time to tell you that I fixed Angel's curse?"
Buffy's hand jerked and nail polish went all over her toe instead of toenail. She glanced at Willow. "You're kidding me, right?"
The witch grinned. "Nope. Tara and I have been working on it this past month. We fixed it. His soul is permanent."
Buffy slowly nodded and sucked in a breath. "Well then..."
The Next Night
Buffy quietly walked into Angel's office, finding no one there. She made her way to the elevator and descended down to his apartment.
Angel lay on his bed, reading a book. At the sound of the elevator, he looked up from his reading. He hadn't expected anyone. Grabbing a stake from his dresser, he silently walked out to the elevator. When he sensed that it was Buffy, he quickly put away the stake and waited for her.
When the elevator opened and Buffy stepped out, they stared at each other uncomfortably for a few moments.
"Hey." Angel broke the silence.
"Hey." Buffy replied, shifting nervously.
"Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? Oh no, actually just the opposite. Very good in fact or however you want to think of it." She looked around taking in Angel's apartment. Her glance stopped on the table, puzzled. "I thought that table broke?"
"What?" Angel's eyes widened. How could she know?
She shook her head. "Oh, never mind. I have no idea where that came from." Buffy took a deep breath and smiled at Angel.
Angel stood there nervously wondering how she remembered the broken table.
"Well, I guess I should try to explain before I drop the bomb, huh?" She grinned, shifting her feet, a little nervous.
Angel stared clueless.
"Willow met a fellow witch, Tara, this year. She's pretty powerful. They've done some cool stuff together... and some not so cool stuff, but anyways." Buffy paused, not sure of how to tell Angel. "Um, well they fixed your curse, it's permanent."
Angel's eyes closed for a few seconds before opening again, and he took a step backward.
"Oh, no you're not!! You're not doing this again!" Buffy raised her voice, not liking how Angel reacted. "We are going to talk this through. I don't care if we sit at that table and have tea and crackers again or on your bed where we made love- but I am not going to let you be the only one who makes the decision here. For once I want to have a say in my life. Everyone is always making the decisions for me and I'm getting sick of it!"
Angel stood there, unsure of what to say. How much did she remember?
"You wanted me to have a normal life and a human boyfriend? Tell me, is a normal life supposed to be miserable? Because I sure haven't had a great year since you left. Feeling that somehow I had to get on with my life, I flung myself at what appeared to be a normal, human guy. Guess what? He hunts demons too! And for the past six months I clung to him, acting all happy and normal. But what really happened was that I lost myself. That wasn't me this year, and I only realized that this past month when Riley left. I don't like what I became and I know that my life will never be normal with a normal, human boyfriend. Normal for me is darkness, demons, and," she paused, "you."
Buffy looked at Angel with red, puffy eyes. "I've missed you so much."
Angel closed the gap between them and enfolded Buffy in his arms. Resting his chin on her head and carefully stroking her, he murmured, "I missed you too."
Looking up at him, Buffy whispered, "We can make it work, I know we can."
Angel looked at her sad but hopeful eyes and smiled. "We will." He gently picked her up and carried her to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
The next morning, they lay in bed together. Buffy propped herself up and trailed a finger across Angel's chest. "This is perfect."
Angel grinned, "Is it?"
"Yep." Buffy nodded, then smiled. "Although one thing would make it even better."
"What's that?" Angel asked curiously. He wondered if she meant his humanity.
"Ice cream. And chocolate." She grinned wickedly.
Angel's eyes widened. "Ice cream?" He echoed.
"Ah-huh. I know it probably wouldn't be as good as that day, but they're good memories."
"Memories?"
Buffy slid down next to him. "I told you I would never forget."
Angel froze. "You remember?"
"I've been remembering little things like the table and tea and crackers, but it became clear last night. I dreamed of the day and it just clicked." She glanced at him and smiled. "So you're not human, at least we can be together now - and you don't have to worry about not being able to protect me."
"I'm sorry." Angel hung his head. "I wanted it to work, but I couldn't let you die."
Buffy took his hand and kissed it softly. "Don't worry about it. What's important is that we're together now."
"Forever." Angel's dark chocolate eyes gleamed.
"Forever. I could get used to that. Now, all we have to do is decide a few things." Buffy's eyes danced.
"Like?" Angel's eyebrow raised in question.
"Sunnydale or LA?" Angel sighed. "Or long-distance?" Buffy offered.
"I'm needed here, Buffy. I like the work I'm doing, and Cordelia and Wesley depend on me." Angel pulled some hair from Buffy's face and tucked it behind her ear. "I'm sure we can work something out."
"Oh, we better." Buffy grinned. "I can come up on the weekends during school. And maybe you can come back some weekends… or maybe even during the week." She suggested teasingly, stroking his chest.
"Well, you don't have any school right now." Angel rolled on his stomach and looked at the beautiful girl in front of him, liking the idea of having her around for awhile.
Buffy sighed. "I'd love to stay the rest of summer except my mom wants some quality mother-daughter bonding time since I don't live at home anymore." She paused and thought a moment then brightened. "I probably can convince her to let me come up every other week. Do you think you can visit me in Sunnydale?"
"Definitely." Angel kissed her.
Buffy giggled.
"What's so funny?"
"My mom's out of town for a week. Art show."
"Wonderful." They started kissing when a scream interrupted them. They jumped apart and found Cordelia staring at them.
Buffy laughed, "Hey, Cordelia."
"I...I... can't believe this." She stuttered.
"It's okay, Cordelia. Willow fixed the curse." Angel tried to calm her down.
Cordelia tried to nod then ran out of the room.
Buffy and Angel glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders, then went back to making out.
A few weeks later
Spike was walking back to his crypt with some freshly bought blood when he heard Riley's annoying voice.
"Still buying blood, eh, Spike?"
Spike growled, then vamped out and turned to meet the punk.
Riley laughed. "Think you're still an evil vampire, huh? I'm afraid you lost that privilege with that little chip." He tapped his head.
Spike started for Riley, but quickly stopped himself, ready for the pain to hit. When it didn't come, he grinned.
"Not evil enough for you chap? We'll see about that." Spike ran for the boy and punched him in the face.
Riley vamped out and growled. Spike shrugged. "At least I'm not a wimp like you."
Riley charged Spike, but the blond vampire was ready for the new vampire and ducked him. As Riley flew past him, Spike grabbed his body and threw him to the ground. Standing over the cowering vampire, Spike laughed.
"I would kill you now, but somehow I think the Slayer might want to see you." He paused, looked around the cemetery then back at Riley. "Even though I'd love to stake you myself, Buffy will probably get more pleasure out of it. Now that's going to be some good entertainment!!"
Spike gave Riley one last punch in the face, then turned to retrieve the blood that he had dropped. It was dinnertime and hitting the Fishboy had made him hungry. He picked up the blood and started whistling as he walked back to his crypt.
When he made it to the crypt, Spike cursed. "Bloody hell, I have to go tell the Slayer about Fishboy."
Spike knocked on the Slayer's door and Joyce answered.
"Spike?" She looked surprised.
"I came to talk to the Slayer." Joyce nodded slowly, "Ok. I'll go get her." She stared at the vampire a moment.
"You do know that I'm on the good side now, right?" Spike asked her, noticing her apprehension.
Joyce nodded again. "I still have the invitation." To prove it, he put one foot in the house.
"Oh yes, well come in I guess." Joyce, a little leery, invited the vampire in the house. She turned and went upstairs to get Buffy.
Spike rolled his eyes and plopped on the couch. He couldn't believe what he was getting himself into. Instead of thanking him, she'd probably stake him first.
"What do you want Spike?" Buffy asked immediately when she walked in the living room.
"Well, if you're going to be that way," Spike got up and started for the door.
"Sit, Spike." Buffy ordered the vampire. Spike sighed and walked back to the couch.
"Now, what is it?"
"I saw Riley out at the cemetery." Buffy froze. "How is he? Did he say where he had been?"
Spike shook his head. "I'm sorry, ducks, but he's been changed. He's a vampire now." He felt sorry the Slayer. Although the boy had lied to her, she had been worried about him. She just didn't have good luck with guys.
The color drained from Buffy's face. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "I saw him vamped out, with fangs and all that comes with it. I punched him in the face. It was fun." Spike grinned.
"Well, thank you for telling me, Spike, I'll take care of it. You can go back to your crypt now."
"What?! That's it? 'Thanks Spike, but leave?' I want to watch you kill him. Maybe beat him up a bit before hand." Spike exclaimed. He felt gypped. After all, he didn't have to tell her about the boy. He wanted in some of the action.
Buffy shook her head, "No. Now leave." She turned and left the room.
Spike huffed, "I can't believe this!" He shook his head then walked to the front door. Briefly, he looked up the stairs, wondering what the Slayer was doing.
Buffy, meanwhile had flopped herself on her bed. She sniffed and wiped away a few stray tears. Although she had gotten over Riley a month ago and fixed things with Angel, she felt sorry about him. Riley may have been a little annoying, but he was a good guy. Nobody deserved to be murdered or turned into a soulless vampire. Even with a soul, she knew it was hard for Angel.
Thinking of Angel, Buffy knew she needed him help. It was her responsibility to kill Riley. She had to put aside her feelings for Riley as a human, for now it was no longer him. However, it would be easier than when she had had to kill Angel two years ago. Nothing could cause as much pain as that incident. Sending your boyfriend to Hell was like no pain she had ever felt before. It had been painful when Angel had broken up with her, when he had almost died, and the eventual goodbye, but it had not been her fault then. She did not have to shove a sword through his chest, and comment him to years of torture in hell. Besides, she had known where he was, albeit in another city.
But that was in past, and she was together with Angel again. All that was in her way was the demon possessing Riley's body. The only thing that would help, besides Angel, was the fact that she was over him. She had come to her senses and realized that he was not the right guy.
Buffy sighed then reached for her phone. She was going to need him here. She dialed the apartment number hoping that he wasn't out. At the sound of her lover's voice, she brightened.
"Hello?" Angel answered the phone.
"Angel?" Buffy replied softly.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" He could immediately sense there was something wrong by the quiver in her voice. She could never hide anything from him. They were that close, that connected to each other.
Buffy sniffed. "Riley's a vampire."
Angel closed his eyes and inhaled a breath, unneeded as it might be. He had heard about Riley, Buffy's former boyfriend. The whole Initiative thing had upset him. It was not their job to hunt demons or to create Frankenstein demons. Also, it had sounded like Riley had never really comprehended Buffy's job as the Slayer.
"Do you need me to come to Sunnydale?"
"Yes, please. I need your help. I realize that it's not Riley, but it's still his face. He was a good guy and he didn't deserve this." Buffy pleaded.
"No one deserves it, Buffy." Angel quietly surmised.
"I don't think it will be that hard, but I just want your support. And once it's done, we can go on, just the two of us."
Angel smiled to himself, he would like that very much. He knew that Buffy had worried about what had happened to Riley. Although he knew that Riley was in the past, he wanted closure.
"I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?"
"Thank you, Angel. I can't wait to see you." Buffy felt much better. When she was with Angel, he always managed to comfort and soothe her. She also looked forward to the time they spent together afterwards. A little grin escaped her despite the situation at hand.
It was almost sunrise when Angel arrived at Buffy's house. Like old times, he crawled through her window and found Buffy quietly sitting on her bed.
"Buffy." She turned at his voice. "Angel."
He sat down next to her and brushed her hand. "Are you okay?"
Buffy sighed. "I just want to get it over with." She leaned on his shoulder.
"We will. You just have to be patient." He kissed her on her forehead gently and they lay down on her bed.
That Night
Buffy paced the cemetery with her crossbow, anxious to kill Riley.
"Buffy, calm down. He'll show up sometime. Besides, we have the whole night." Angel pleaded with her.
Buffy stopped in her tracks. "I just want to find him and finish it. That's all I ask for, but if I have to wait the whole night, then so be it."
"Missed me, did you, Buffy?" Riley's voice called out.
Buffy whirled around and brought up her crossbow, pointing it at his heart.
"Well, that's not nice."
"You aren't that nice anymore." Buffy spouted.
"So this is the welcome back that I receive?" Riley shook his head. "I though we had something going, Buffy."
"Not anymore," seethed Buffy through her teeth. Her crossbow followed Riley as he walked around.
"What? I leave for awhile and you go pick up the next loser?" He pointed at Angel. "He looks a little old for you Buffy."
"Sometimes age doesn't matter." Buffy quietly replied.
Riley snarled. "You're a slut."
Rage overtook Angel and he vamped out and growled.
Riley saw Angel's face and vamped out as well. He glared at Buffy. "So, if you're with him, why not me?"
"Oh please. Like I'd go out with you too?! That's a case for Jerry Springer and I'd rather not go there." Buffy rolled her eyes. She smiled sweetly at Angel. "I think it's time, don't you?" Angel nodded.
With one quick motion, Buffy dropped her crossbow, pulled out a stake and threw it at Riley's heart. Riley looked down at the stake in surprise, then back at Buffy. "Buffy?" Within seconds he was dust.
"So long, Riley. Rest in peace." Buffy softly wished for Riley's soul.
Angel walked over to her and gently squeezed her. "It's over."
Buffy hugged him and looked up into his eyes, "No, it's just the beginning."
Riley's dead! Riley's dead!! Too bad it's only a story. :-(