A/N – I'm really pleased with this fic so far. I'm new to this whole "writing fanfiction" thing so I really appreciate reviews and feedback! Thanks!
A/N #2 – This chapter is a little more angst than the last two and a couple parts gave me some difficulty when I was writing them, so please review and tell me what you think!
DISCLAIMER: I'm still a poor History major and I still don't own Buffy…sigh.
The Visitor – Chapter 3
"Buffy?" Dawn wandered into the kitchen, automatically moving to Spike's side as he squared of with Riley. "What's going on?"
"Nothing Dawnie," Buffy said from her spot between the two posturing males, "nothing's going on, right boys?" She was surprised when Spike, who the Slayer had never seen back down from any sort of conflict, threw her sister a quick smile and visibly softened his stance.
"Alright Niblet? D'you sleep okay?"
"Yeah, thanks for staying last night." Dawn smiled so brightly as the vamp that Buffy thought it might be enough to dust him.
"How 'bout some brekkie then? Your mum said she got some more chocolate chips. I could make you those chocolate pancakes you like."
"Ooh, with strawberry syrup?" Dawn cooed happily when the vampire nodded, pulling an indulgent looking Spike (while carefully avoiding the sunny rays pouring in from the window) over to the stove.
"Buffy?" Riley looked as though someone had punched him in the gut. He watched with varying degrees of disgust and anger as Spike moved expertly around the Summers' kitchen gathering pancake ingredients while Dawnie nattered on to him about some trivial adolescent drama. "Has he done this before?"
"No…" the Slayer began, trying to counter the accusation in her boyfriend's tone, only to be interrupted by her oblivious sister.
"Only a couple of times." The younger Summers' girl said as she retrieved a bag of chocolate chips from the cabinet. "And once he made me and mom dinner when she wasn't feeling well. Who knew a British guy could cook Italian food?"
"WHAT?" Riley caught Dawn's arm as she pranced in front of him, yanking her roughly around the face him. "He did what?"
Before Buffy could even make a move to extract her sister from Riley's grip, Spike had already crossed the length of the kitchen and pulled Dawn away from the ex-soldier.
"If you ever touch so much as a hair on the Bit's head again," Spike said as he faced off with Buffy's decidedly larger boyfriend, "I'll risk the migraine and kill you faster than you can shuck an ear of corn, White Bread."
Just briefly Buffy caught a glimpse of the old Spike, the Spike before the government-issued chip and she suddenly remembered what the master vamp was capable of if provoked.
"Riley, lets go talk on the front porch." She said forcefully, leaving no room for argument. Riley stood his ground for only a moment longer before his shoulders slumped and he left the kitchen. Buffy turned to check on Dawn, but was once again beaten by Spike who was speaking lowly to the younger girl while running his hand over the red mark on her arm.
So much for Slayer speed, she mused. They didn't even notice as she turned and followed Riley's path through front of the house.
"Why the fuck is he here again, Buffy?" Riley started as soon as she walked outside. "First he's staying all night to comfort you about your mom being sick when you didn't even bother to tell me, your boyfriend, that anything was wrong. And now you're letting him babysit your baby sister?"
"I'm not letting Spike do anything," Buffy defended, "Willow and Tara stayed with Dawn last night. Spikes here because Dawnie wants him here. I guess she got a little upset last night and showed up at his crypt…"
"But why, Buffy?" Riley interrupted. "Why does she think its okay to cry on some monster's shoulder? And why is your mom comfortable enough with him that he cooks dinner for your family? Is it something that runs in your family, this thing you have for vampires?"
"I've already told you a dozen times," Buffy said through gritted teeth, "I don't have a thing for Spike!" Riley simply stared blankly at her before dropping wearily to sit on the porch step.
"I wasn't talking about Spike, just vamps in general. You're the one with William the Bloody on the brain."
"Oh God," she uttered, sinking down to sit beside him, "would you listen to yourself? Why are you so threatened by him?"
"Why haven't you staked him yet?" He countered, his tone challenging.
"Well, thanks to your precious Initiative's chip, he's helpless and it's kind of against my moral code to kill stuff that can't fight back." Buffy could feel her anger bubbling just beneath her skin as she tried desperately to reign in her temper.
Patience was never one of the Slayer's virtues (Something me and Spike have in common, her traitorous mind supplied) and Riley's insistence on beating the same issues to death over and
over again was trying on her nerves. If he didn't look so defeated, she would've just slapped some sense into him.
"I know about all your little adventures before I joined the Scoobies. There were plenty of times before the chip when you could've dusted Sir Bleach-a lot and yet, he's still…undead."
"Yeah well," Buffy replied, "there were just as many times when he could've killed me but didn't."
An awkward silence stretched between them, broken only by the sounds of Dawn's giggles drifting through the slightly ajar front door.
"The Initiative wants me back, Buffy." Riley finally spoke briskly. "They're headed for South America; I'd be stationed in the jungle somewhere."
"Why are you telling me this? It's not like you're going, right?"
"Actually," Riley stood to avoid meeting her gaze, "I haven't given them my answer yet."
"You mean you're seriously considering leaving?" Buffy was furious. How could he lay this on her shoulders when the weight of the world already rested there. "You're going to skip town when I need you the most?"
"That's the problem Buffy, you don't need me…you don't even love me." She opened her mouth to protest, but he waved her off. "The Initiative plane leaves tomorrow night at six' o'clock and if you've not given me a reason to stay by then, I'll be on it."
"So, you're giving me an ultimatum?" Angry, frustrated tears welled up in her eyes as she fought the urge to hit Riley so hard that he would still be unconscious when the Initiative plane took off the next night.
"That's not what this is, Buf…"
"No," Buffy cut him off, "that's exactly what this is Riley. Either I offer you some proof that I love you or you're gonna hop on down to the jungle to play G.I. Joe with your commando buddies."
"Buffy…" Riley began only to be cut off once again when Buffy gave into her more violent tendencies and clocked the soldier across the jaw.
"My mother had a tumor removed from her brain yesterday and you decide that now's the time to play make-or-break-it with me?" Buffy couldn't help but feel satisfied as Riley massaged his rapidly swelling jaw.
"I love you, Buffy. This isn't how this was supposed to turn out." He said through a grimace of pain.
"Oh really? How'd you think it would play out? Did you think I'd beg you to stay and we'd ride of into the sunset towards a normal, happy ending? Newsflash Riley, I'm the SLAYER! I will never be normal and if you really loved me you'd accept that fact about me instead of trying to change me all the time."
For a minute the pair just stared at each other. Buffy panting from her outburst, Riley still rubbing at the bluish bruise forming on the lower half of his face.
"Is that all you've got to say? Is that it?" Riley asked, backing down the porch steps.
"Yeah," Buffy replied, "that's it. I'm not going to ask you to stay if that's what you're looking for."
"I guess this is goodbye then." Riley headed down the rest of the drive, stopping at the end to look back up at the Summers' house.
"Goodbye, Riley."
"Goodbye, Buffy." Without looking back, Riley got in his SUV and drove away.
"Buffy?" Dawn called from behind her.
"Yeah, Dawnie?"
"The food's done. Do you want any?" With a nod, the Slayer followed her sister back into the house. In the kitchen Spike was dishing some admittedly delicious looking pancakes onto her mother's favorite plates.
"You alright, Pet?" Spike asked as he set a plate of food in front of her.
"I'm fine." She muttered, hoping that he could read the message in her eyes. She didn't want to talk about her breakup at that moment, but eventually she would need someone to vent to and since he always seemed to be around when she was miserable, it would most likely be him. "Me and Dawn are going back to the hospital in a couple of hours, d'you wanna come?"
"Of course, Pet," the vamp said as he sat across from her, "nowhere I'd rather be."