I do not own BTVS or Ghost Rider
Mist-shrouded the Sunnydale graveyard as Buffy went to work pounding a vampire dressed like a Van Halen reject into the ground.
"You know, it's probably none of my business but I just got to ask…" the vampire lunged at Buffy, but the Slayer simply backhanded it away. "You smell this bad when you were alive?" Buffy followed up with a kick to the chest sending the vampire flying into a headstone. "Because if it's a post-mortem thing, then boy, is my face red…" she flipped the vampire over the headstone and whipped out a stake. "Just so you know, the fast-growing field of personal grooming has come a long way since you became a vampire."
Buffy somersaulted over the headstone, stake raised and ready to strike. But before she could finish it off, the vampire seized Buffy's arm as she landed, spun her around and plunged the stake into Buffy's abdomen.
Eyes wide with shock and fear, Buffy looked down at the stake in her gut. With shaking hands, she gripped the shaft, and with a gasp of pain, pulled it out.
For the first time in a long time, fear gripped Buffy's heart. Realizing the hunter had become the hunted, Buffy turned and ran. She didn't get far before the vampire leaped over her head, blocking her escape route.
"You're going? But you were having so much fun a minute ago?"
Buffy brought up her stake but the vampire easily knocked it out of her grasp, and tossed her up against a nearby crypt. Doubled over in pain, Buffy was left wide open as the vampire picked up her stake and approached with a predatory grin on his face.
Helpless, Buffy knew this was the moment she's been dreading but always knew would come. She was going to die.
As the vampire raised the stake for the killing blow, he was suddenly tackled to the ground by Riley. Riley pummeled the vampire before reaching for the taser on his belt. But before he could use it, the vampire knocked Riley off him and took off running across the graveyard. Riley was about to go after him when he noticed the state Buffy was in.
"Buffy!" Riley rushed to Buffy's side "what happened?"
Buffy held up her bloody hands, then collapsed into Riley's hands, unconscious.
The next morning Riley and Buffy were in her room with the former patching up her stab wound.
"I can't believe I passed out" said Buffy embarrassed. "Do you think I'm a total wuss now?"
"Oh, yeah" Riley said sarcastically. "I like a girl who can play a few hard sets of tennis with a major stab wound."
"You said it wasn't that bad."
"I said I've seen worse. There's a difference."
"Well, at least no major organs got kebabbed."
"I still think you need to see a real doctor."
"That would put me in a real hospital which would get my real mom real freaked out. I can't do it. Don't worry. Accelerated healing powers come with the Slayer package. And the boyfriend who comes complete with combat medical training? That's just a Buffy Summers bonus."
"So, tell me about the bad guy or guys. What do you think they were?"
"Vampire" Buffy admitted reluctantly.
"How many?"
"One."
Riley failed to hide his surprise. He'd assumed Buffy must've been severely outnumbered. "So…what? He was like a super-vampire or something?"
"No, he was just a regular vamp. He just beat me."
"That ever happen before?"
"I'm in the best physical shape of my life. I mean, if you're asking how it happed, I don't…" Buffy's door suddenly flew open and Dawn ran inside. "Dawn!"
"Sorry to interrupt the sex-capade" Dawn quipped. "But I thought you'd like to know Mom's coming."
Knowing the last thing Joyce needed was stress, Riley immediately hid the bandages and medical tape, just as she walked into the room.
"Hi, Riley" Joyce smiled.
"Hey, Mrs. Summers. How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine, bordering on chipper and tomorrow planning on being obnoxious."
"Glad to hear it" Riley smiled, seeing the resemblance between Joyce and her daughters.
"Buffy, when you have a minute I'd like to go over the grocery list for the next week."
"You got it."
Joyce turned to leave when she noticed a bottle of rubbing alcohol on Buffy's desk.
"Are you disinfecting something?"
"Huh? Oh, uh…" Buffy struggled to find a good excuse.
"Mine!" Dawn chimed in. "Some nail polish experiments are doomed before they even begin."
"But you keep pushing the envelope, honey" Joyce smiled, and left the room closing the door behind her.
The moment the coast was clear, Dawn turned on her sister with a smug look on her face.
"Did I just pull a Slayer-related Mom coverup thing? Come on, who's the man?"
"You are" said Buffy. "A very short, annoying man." Dawn's smile fell a little. "If I show you something, you promise you won't tell?"
Dawn crossed her heart and Buffy lifted her shirt, revealing her bandaged stab wound.
"Oh, cool!" Dawn awed but quickly changed her tune when she saw the look on Buffy's face. "I mean, gross!"
"And Mom cannot know. Ok? you'll have to help me with the household stuff?"
"Oh, sure. I save your butt and you dump all your chores on me" Dawn said sarcastically. Buffy gave her a look. "I got it. You're covered. Just lucky it's not bikini season."
Buffy smiled and stroked Dawn's hair.
"So, Dawn takes household duty" said Riley. "I'll take tonight's patrol."
"By yourself?" Buffy didn't like that idea.
"Just a sweep" Riley assured her.
"Do me a favor? Will you please take the gang along?" Buffy asked.
"Ok. I will patrol with the group tonight" Riley promised.
That night Riley moved stealthily among the headstones, ducking from shadow to shadow. Stopping behind a large marble slab he raised his arm, fist closed, and pumped it up and down twice before moving further into the cemetery.
Willow, Anya, and Xander were following about twenty yards behind him, munching on potato chips and making no effort to conceal themselves.
"What's with the hand move?" Xander asked Willow. "Does that mean something?"
"It's code" Willow replied. "I think it breaks down to 'choo-choo'."
"It means to follow him" said Anya. "That or wait here for him."
They stopped and watched Riley's covert movements for a moment. Willow turned to Xander, "Ask."
"Hey, Riley! What's the-" Xander mimicked the hand gesture. "- all about."
"It means yell real loud to the vampires who don't know we're coming will have a sporting chance" said Riley exasperated.
Xander turned to Willow, "See, now he's all mean and sarcastic."
"That's because you were doing all the yelling, Mr. Stealthy-Pants" Willow shot back.
"It's their fault" Anya said to Riley.
"Guys, I'm thinking if we split up, we could cover more ground" said Riley. "Tell you what? I'll take the cemeteries, you guys get the Bronze."
"Are we not being covert enough?" asked Anya, with Xander and Willow voicing their apologies.
"We'll be sneakier. Promise" said Xander, munching loudly on a handful of chips.
"Ok" Riley sighed. "Just ditch the chips and watch my back."
"Done" said Willow, grabbing a handful of chips for herself before tossing the bag away.
Satisfied, Riley started moving further into the cemetery.
"You know what he's like?" Xander whispered, as they followed Riley. "He's like a cat. You know, a big jungle cat. How come I'm not like that? It's just so cool."
"I think you're cool" said Willow, munching on her chips.
Making more of an effort to do things Riley's way, Willow, Xander, and Anya did their best to copy his movements as they moved deeper into the cemetery. Ending with the four of them crouched down behind headstones watching as the rocker vampire that staked Buffy, shared the story with a number of vampires.
"Killed with her own weapon!" the rocker vamp laughed, holding up the bloody stake. "They should put this in a museum."
Enraged by the monsters' delight at nearly killing his girlfriend, Riley moved to confront the nest only for the others to pull him back.
"Are you nuts?" Xander hissed. "That's a whole nest over there."
"It's way too many to take on our own" said Willow.
"You're right" Riley admitted, seeming to calm down. "We'll come back at day…"
Riley's words fell silent as the roar of an engine sounded through the night. To his confusion Willow, Xander, and Anya seemed pleased to hear it while a quick glance showed the vampires having the exact opposite reaction, showing true terror.
Seconds later they watched as the Hell Charger pulled up onto the scene and Robbie Reyes stepped out.
"Hear you almost killed the Slayer" said Robbie, summoning his hellfire chain.
The rocker vampire didn't have time to even think of a retort before Robbie lashed out at him, burning him to ashes. From their hiding spot Riley and the others watched as Robbie single handedly destroyed the entire vamp nest without so much as getting a scratch on him before returning to his car and driving off.
"Well, guess we're not needed tonight" said Xander.
"Yeah, looks like Robbie's got things handled" Willow agreed. "Want to check out the Bronze?"
As the others planned to go to the club, perfectly content to let the Ghost Rider handle things, Riley couldn't help the feeling jealousy bubbling up inside himself. He should've been the one to make that vampire pay for nearly killing Buffy. And now he knew there was another superpowered guy in her life. How long until Buffy realized she didn't need him?