Returning from Giles' with a Buffy-sized grin on her face, the Slayer found Riley sitting in the swing on her porch.
He stood to greet her, all gentlemanly.
"Riley." She kissed him on the cheek.
"Buffy--" Riley's fingertips ghosted around the marks on the side of her neck.
Buffy wasn't ready for Emotional Kick-Down Drag-Out Part II, so she dispensed with a long hug and a simple explanation.
"Drac's dust." Buffy brushed the fingers away and covered the mark with her hand. "We usually have a week breather between each new bad. I'll be fine. But I need a few nights alone."
She held up a hand to silence the oncoming protest.
"Day after tomorrow at the latest," she said. "By then, I'll be killed or cured."
Her sweet confidence must have touched him, because Riley agreed without further argument.