TITLE

TITLE: Finding Me (8/10)
AUTHOR: Rebecca Parker
EMAIL: NumfarGal@aol.com
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Buffy, on a tip from The Host, goes on a quest with Xander to find Riley.
SPOILERS: General Season 5, except in this 'verse, Buffy defeats Glory and doesn't die.
FEEDBACK: I do the Dance of Joy upon receipt of feedback.
DISTRIBUTION: At my site, http://www.ourowndestiny.com and all the usual suspects. If you want it, just ask.
DISCLAIMER: Joss and Mutant Enemy own all.
DEDICATION: For the almighty Moe.



When Xander woke up, he was sure he was going to find the two of them in a ditch on the side of the road, or at a gas station being repaired. What he didn't expect to find was Buffy driving in a straight line on the freeway into Texas.

He looked over at her, his eyelids still mostly closed as he struggled to escape from the last clutches of sleep. He couldn't help but laugh as he noticed how tightly her fingers were gripping the wheel. She stared out at the road intently, and a quick glance at the speedometer told Xander she was going exactly the speed limit.

"Good Morning Buffy," Xander said, groggily sitting up and stretching his arms out in front of him. "Everything OK?"

Buffy looked over at Xander for a moment before quickly focusing back on the road. "Oh. Sure. I mean, I hit that nun a few miles back, but I think I outran the cops."

"What?!" Xander asked, turning back suddenly to view the road behind them. It was empty. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Am I?" Buffy said, still staring at the road, but allowing a devilish smile to creep onto her features. "You know Xander, for someone who jokes every other sentence, you sure are gullible."

"I've been told that," Xander agreed. "Usually right after Anya takes all my money by promising to withhold sex."

"You really believed that Anya would be able to abstain from sex?" Buffy asked, chuckling.

"Like I said- gullible."

Buffy laughed again, and the car automatically swerved to the right a bit.

"Woah," Xander said, gripping the side of the car. "I better not make you laugh. It seems to be a Buffy-driving-liability."

"Maybe you shouldn't," Buffy said, smiling as she maneuvered the car back into place. "Not that I think you can help yourself."

"Probably not," Xander said, cracking his knuckles. "Want me to take over the driving?"

Buffy shrugged. "It's OK. I mean, according to the map, we're almost there."

"Really?" Xander asked, leaning back and grabbing the map from behind them. "How long was I down for?"

"Six hours," Buffy said, smiling. "I can't believe I slept through that snoring of yours the other night! You and Anya must perform quite the duet."

"Oh yeah. You should hear us do 'Madame Butterfly'. You'll never be the same again." Xander smiled at her awkwardly. "Sorry. Was I really loud?"

"Thankfully, Barenaked Ladies covered most of it," Buffy said, leaning over and removing the CD from the player. The car swerved again.

"Buffy," Xander said, moving quickly to take the CD out himself. "Eyes on the road, huh?"

"Oh," Buffy said, straightening back up and tightening her grip on the steering wheel. "Right. Sorry."

"No problem," Xander said, smiling as he placed the CD back in its case. "So not much further?"

"Looks like," Buffy said, smiling as they passed a sign that read 'Palo Duro Canyon, next right'. Should only be a few more minutes."

"You look happy," Xander commented, looking at her. "Feeling better about things?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, actually. I'm kinda feeling better about everything all of the sudden. I guess it's like- first step, driving. Second step, getting my life together."

"Sounds like a solid plan." Xander stared at Buffy for another minute, not saying anything.

Finally, she turned to him, unable to hide her look of confusion. "What?"

"I like this Buffy," Xander said matter-of-factly. "I like her a lot."

"Ah," Buffy said, making a right into the entrance of the canyon. "Well, expect to see her a lot from now on, because this girl's-"

Buffy stopped, the smile quickly fading. She shut off the engine and stared at what was in front of her. "Xander?" she said, not shifting her gaze. "Why do I all of the sudden have a very bad feeling?"

Xander frowned, reading the sign in front of him. "Well, they're closed," he said, shrugging. "I mean, we knew something was going on or else Riley and the Initiative guys wouldn't be hanging out here, right?"

"But what if- I mean, what if we were wrong? What if this isn't the place?"

"Buffy. 'Palo Duro' equals 'hard wood'. We're at the right place," Xander said, opening the car door and stepping outside.

"Yeah," Buffy said, nodding as she got out of the car after him. Although the air was far from cool, Buffy shuddered and quickly wrapped her arms around herself.

The two of them walked up to the sign that read 'Closed by State Ordinance' and Buffy reached out to touch the flowers which were attached to it. "People died here," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"17 people," Xander answered, picking up a newspaper article which had fallen to the ground. He handed it to Buffy, a look of concern on his face.

Buffy took it and sighed she read aloud the first words. "17 tourists were found dead at Palo Duro Canyon June 8, their bodies horribly mauled. Police are investigating, and report they have no suspects."

Buffy looked up at Xander, who gulped nervously. "What did I always say about Sunnydale, Buff? The grass is always greener on the other police-taped side."

"This isn't a joke, Xander. Whatever did this is in there. With Riley." Buffy sighed, quickly jumping over the gate and looking back at her friend.

"And soon to be with us," Xander added, climbing clumsily over the gate to join Buffy.

"Weapons ready," Buffy said, sliding her stake out from behind her shirt. Xander did the same and, a moment later, they started to make their way into one of Texas' biggest crime scenes.

++++

They walked for a half hour before either of them heard anything- before their general unease turned into a very pointed concern.

"Shh," Buffy said, holding her hand up to shush Xander who, for once, had actually been quiet. "Did you hear that?"

She turned around, firmly gripping her stake and raising it to hear level. She held her breath in, wanting to be able to hear nothing but the sound she had just heard and attributed to neither Xander nor herself.

Xander could feel his heart beating in his throat and, although he hadn't heard the sound that Buffy had, he trusted her instincts and could feel a fight was coming.

Before the thought could have a moment to settle, a demon, unlike any Xander had ever seen, jumped out at them. Xander took an involuntary step back, his own survival instincts taking over.

"Xander, get back!" Buffy commanded, stepping forward to deliver a high punch to the demon's head. She pulled her hand back quickly as the blow hurt her more than the demon. She winced, clutching her hand to her chest.

She took a deep breath, her eyes roaming over the demon's body, grimly noticing that his whole body seemed to be covered by the same protective shell her fist had just nearly been broken by. She frowned again as she noticed the demon didn't seem bothered in the least by their presence, or their attack.

"So you're not afraid, huh?" Buffy said, smiling as she noticed something. "Well, neither am I."

Before the demon could react, Buffy dropped to the ground, rolling her body quickly under the demon and swiftly staking it on the one spot its body wasn't covered- its groin.

The demon fell to the ground and, after a few jerks, died.

Buffy got to her feet, grinning. "Guy, demon...it works like a charm every time." She turned back to Xander, who looked something like a deer in headlights. "Xander?"

"Uh," he began, shaking himself. "Buff- you gotta warn a guy when you're gonna do that. Haven't you ever heard of sympathy pain?"

"Sympathy for a demon?" Buffy asked, confused. "Oh," she said, turning back to remove her stake from between the demon's legs. "Sorry. But you know- really makes you appreciate jock straps, right?"

Xander gulped. "I feel the words 'uh' and 'huh' can now be considered the understatements of the year."

"Sorry," Buffy said again, unable to stifle a small giggle.

"It's not funny," Xander said defensively. After another moment, he couldn't help but laugh himself. "Good job tho."

"Well," Buffy said, shrugging. "I had a lot of slay-build-up. It's been almost a week since Glory. I was dying for a good fight."

"You won't find another one here," a familiar voice said. Buffy and Xander both whipped around.

"That was the last one," Graham went on. "Been tracking him for over 10 hours."

"Well, you're welcome," Xander said, smiling. "Good to see you, Graham."

Buffy wasn't as fond of pleasantries as Xander. "Where's Riley?" she quickly asked.

Graham frowned.

To Be Continued....