Upon waking, Wesley immediately forgot the details of his dream. Only a sense of melancholy lingered. He shook off his sad, little fog and answered the phone, the grit of sleep still in his eyes.

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

"Hey, it's Buffy."

Her voice sounded small and distant, like she was speaking through a long tunnel. Wesley felt around for his glasses and stuck them on his face, as though seeing better would enable him to understand the particulars of the conversation. "Is everything alright?"

"No. Um, Riley and I broke up. He said..." she began sobbing on her end of the phone.

"Now, now, dear." He hated to hear women crying, it circumvented all reason and he wanted to rush over with a cuddle and a cup of tea. "I'm very sorry, Buffy, but I'm not sure why you've reached out to me. We've never been very close."

"That's the nice way of saying it." She sniffed. "Last I checked we sort of barely tolerate each other."

"I respect you, which is more than you can say about me, I'm sure."

"That's not true. You've come into your own since Sunnydale. Cordy and I talk. You've been a stand-up guy. Brave."

He felt a flush of pride which involuntarily puffed out his chest a bit. Funny how the praise from a teen-aged girl could do such a thing, but Buffy wasn't like anyone he'd ever met. Even as a slayer she was a class unto herself.

"How can I help you, Buffy?"

"Well, Riley has been scary quiet since Faith. He hasn't wanted me, which I'm sorry to get graphic, Wes—"

"Don't worry about that."

"Sex is a no go. I confronted him, because I didn't understand why he was mad at me. If anything, I was kind of mad at him for not recognizing it wasn't me."

"How could he?"

"I recognized Giles when he went all Fjarl demon."

"Yes, but you're the slayer. You're imbued with senses most people aren't."

"I didn't think of that." She sighed. "He doesn't want to be with me because of what Faith did. He felt violated."

"He was violated."

"I never thought of that before he said it because he's a guy. I know that's wrong."

"Many people don't. It's problematic for men who've been raped, especially by women." He had an inkling of why she called him. The line of questioning was as welcome as glass in one's food.

"Did she do that to you? When she tortured you?"

"Yes." His face paled with the memory of the humiliation. The levels of violation were myriad, not the least of which that he still thought of her as his slayer to care for.

"Could you help me understand how you're feeling, or what would make it better for you?"

"So you can help Riley?"

"Yes."

"I can't. It's different for everyone. All I can say is if he needs space, you ought to give it to him."

"Okay."

He could almost feel her thinking on the other end of the line. All Wesley wanted was to hang up the phone and get back to sleep, but a sense of duty kept him listening.

"Did you stop wanting to...like...be with...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with this, it was selfish."

"It's alright."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Believe it or not, you're the first person who's even asked." He smiled ironically. His two closest friends had shown varying degrees of compassion. For her own safety, Cordy had left town immediately after his assault. When she came back, the most she ever said about the incident hadn't been with words. She'd sat with him on her first day back and bought him lunch. She hadn't asked any questions, or talked about it implicitly, but he knew when she hugged him goodbye, she cared. Cordelia had been surprisingly sensitive. Angel had not, which was to be expected. His employer had wanted to put the whole thing behind them. Wesley hadn't wanted to detract from Angel's sense of victory at getting Faith to turn herself in. More than that he couldn't bring himself to ask for Angel's pity.

"You're kidding."

"I am not."

"I'm sorry, Wes."

"You've said that quite a lot this conversation."

"It's true. This never should have happened to you."

"Thank you."

There was another awkward pause before Buffy said goodbye. Mechanically, he responded in kind. After she terminated the conversation, he stared at the phone for a long while.

"Curious," he mumbled to himself before lying back in bed and going to sleep.