Part 3



"Oh, my God. Riley? Is that really you?"

Riley smiled, "One and the same."

Buffy's mind was in high gear. What was he doing back?
*Why* was he back? What did he want from her? Did he
honestly think they could pick up where they left off? She's
changed. A lot's changed. She's not the same girl she was
before he left. She died. He left. So much has happened
between then and now. She was startled out of her reverie
when she felt him surround her in his tight embrace. She
returned the hug half-heartedly. She didn't need this. Not
now. Hell, not ever.

Pulling away, she asked, "What are you doing here? I thought
you were in Belize or wherever."

Riley nodded, "I was, but my squad's been called to Sunnydale
to check up on some old business."

"And what 'old business' would that be?"

Riley smirked, "I can't tell you. It's classified."

"Of course. Silly me for forgetting the government and their
pesky classifications." Not even five minutes and Buffy was
already annoyed.

Riley seemed to sense this. "Buffy, you'd know I'd tell you
if I could."

She held up a hand. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm just not myself
today. Too many things going on." Like Spike dying, she thought.

"Like what?" Riley asked, concerned about her life. The
life he left nearly two years ago. He didn't have the right
to implant himself back into her life.

"Nothing too important." Why is he still here? Why won't
he leave me alone already? Doesn't he see that I don't want
to deal with him right now? she thought before saying, "Riley,
can we talk later? Meet somewhere, catch up? I can't talk
right now. I have something that I need to do."

Riley nodded, "Sure. Where do you suggest?"

"The coffee place on Queen?"

"Okay. Meet you there around six?"

Buffy nodded, "Six it is."

Riley smiled and embraced her again. "It's so good to see
you again."

She smiled thinly and Riley left her alone. Finally. She
let out a huge sigh. Too much. All of this is too much.
She couldn't deal with the Riley situation right now. Spike
was at the top of her priority list. She took a breath and
continued her trip to Spike's crypt.



Buffy entered her house through the kitchen door with a large
duffel bag containing several of Spike's belongings, as well
as several packs of blood. She was met by Dawn who was
rummaging through the refrigerator, looking for a snack.

"How's Spike?" Buffy asked, setting the duffel on one of the
stools.

Dawn closed the fridge door to look at her sister, concern
in her eyes, "He's sleeping right now. Had another one of
those attacks about five minutes after you left. It only
lasted about two minutes but it took a lot out of him. Been
sleeping ever since."

Buffy nodded, getting a mug out of a cabinet and pouring in
the contents of one of the many packs she picked up. "Well,
maybe eating some blood will help him a little. Could you
put the rest in the refrigerator?"

"Sure," Dawn replied, grabbing the rest of the blood packs
from the duffel bag as Buffy placed the mug in the microwave.
She put it on for a couple of minutes.

"Spike's not going to die, is he?" Dawn asked, fear seeping
into her voice.

Buffy turned to face her little sister, a determined look
on her face. "He's not going to die. Not if I have anything
to say about it."

Dawn nodded and the timer went off. Buffy got the blood out
of the microwave and headed upstairs.

She found Spike asleep. She sat down on the bed. Spike's
eyes fluttered open. He could smell the blood.

"Hey," Buffy said.

He slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard. Buffy
handed him the mug, which he gratefully accepted. She
watched him as he downed the thick liquid in one gulp.
Spike felt her staring. He set the mug down on the bedside
table and look at the woman he loved with all his undead
heart.

"Pet, what's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her heard, "Nothing."

Spike studied her face. Something was wrong.

"Buffy..."

She sighed. It was no use lying to him. He could see right
through her.

"I was going to your crypt and I ran into someone I never
thought I'd see again."

"Who?"

"Riley?"

"Captain Cardboard?!"

"Spike," she warned.

He held up his hands, "Sorry. What's he doing back in town?"

Buffy shrugged, "I don't know. Yet. I promised him we could
play catch up later this evening. He's meeting me at six."

"Are you two going to get back together?" Spike asked, a touch
of fear and jealousy in his voice.

"I'm not the same person I was last year. So much has
happened. Mom died. I died. I came back... If he's back
looking to pick up right where we left off, he's in for a
surprise."

Spike nodded, calmly, all the while cheering in his mind.
He didn't want her to go back the Whitebread.

Buffy smiled, "You seem to be doing better."

"Oh, you know. A little rest and a cup of blood can do
wonders," he grinned. He loved seeing her smile.

"You wanna come downstairs for a while? Hang out?"

Spike nodded, "Sure. I'm tired of being cooped up in this
room anyway. A manly man such as myself can only take so
much flowers and whatnot."

"Whatever," she said, laughing, helping him to his feet and
together, they went downstairs.



Dawn, Willow, and Tara all looked up from their positions on
the sofa as Spike and Buffy came down the stairs.

"Hey, look who's up and about. How are you feeling?" Willow
asked, grinning.

"Better. Now, move over girls, Passions is on," Spike said,
bounding for the sofa, a grin on his face.

The girls gave him room as he squeezed in beside Dawn and
Willow. He flipped the channel from the documentary about
Woodstock they were watching on the History Channel to his
favorite, must-watch soap on NBC.

"Now, this is TV," Spike said, settling in, "Not those boring
documentaries. 'Sides, I was actually at Woodstock. Wasn't
all that interesting."

The girls laughed, Buffy included.



Six o'clock came by way too fast for Buffy's liking and she
made her way to the coffee shop she told Riley she'd meet him.
She didn't want to be there. She wanted to be home with her
sister and friends. And Spike. He hadn't had an attack for
hours and Buffy couldn't help but be insanely happy about it.
Maybe they were wrong about the chip. Maybe it wasn't
malfunctioning and killing him. Maybe it was just a fluke...

She spotted Riley quickly when she entered the shop. She went
over to him, a fake smile on her face.

"Riley."

He stood up and hugged her again.

"Buffy. I was afraid you weren't going to show up."

"Why wouldn't I? I'm the one who told you to meet me here."

"I know. I don't know what I was thinking," he said as he
released his hold on her.

They both sat down at the table.

"So, how are you?" Riley asked, taking her hands into his.

"I'm fine. Great, even," she lied smoothly, quietly wishing
he would remove his hands from hers.

"Great," Riley smiled, "And Dawn?"

"Her, too."

"And your mom?"

Buffy looked down at the table, "Mom died."

"Oh, my God. When?" Riley asked, absolutely horrified.

"Not long after you left."

"Oh, Buffy, I am so sorry. If I'd known..."

"I know," Buffy whispered. And she believed him. If he did
know, he would have stayed or come home or whatever.

"Was it a demon? Vampire?"

Buffy shook her head, "It was natural causes. The doctor
said it was an aneurysm. He said she didn't feel any pain..."

Riley lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them lovingly,
comfortingly.

Buffy cleared her throat, "And you? How have you been?"

"Good. I've missed you, though."

Their eyes met, his full of love and hers of fear.

"I love you, Buffy," he continued.

Buffy returned her gaze to the table top, "I know."

"But you don't love me," Riley said, letting go of her hands.

"Riley..."

"I know. So, what's been happening in good ol' Sunnydale?"

She cleared her throat and told him everything....except she
paid close attention to edit out any Spike parts he might not
like...



"Wow. You died?" Riley asked, never expecting to hear that
in a million years.

She nodded.

"And Willow brought you back?"

She nodded again.

"Wow."

"Yeah..."

"So-"

They were interrupted by the ringing of Buffy's cell phone.
She pulled it out of her purse.

Looking at Riley, she mumbled an apology before answering.

"Hello?" She said into the phone.

Beat.

"Dawn, slow down."

She listened as her sister explained the situation.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

She hung up her phone. "I-I have to go, sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. I understand. Is...is there anything I can
do to help?"

She shook her head. "No. This is something I need to do on
my own."

Riley reluctantly gave in. To him, it seemed like all Buffy
wanted was to get away from. And fast. He decided he should
talk to her about it. By not now. Later.

"I'll make this up to you. I promise," Buffy said.

"Buffy, it's okay. Really. I understand."

She nodded, said her good-byes and left quickly.

Alone, Riley settled down in his seat. Sighing, he said to
the person behind him, "What can I do for you?"

The man to whom he was speaking took the seat previously
occupied by Buffy.

"She left in a hurry," Graham said.

Riley groaned, "Did you stop by to tell me that or is there
something else?"

Graham leaned in, to ensure passers-by didn't hear him, "The
Major just got in touch with me. Our... old business seems
to have taken care of itself. It's taken affect a lot faster
than we originally anticipated."

"Any idea when it will be finished?"

Graham shrugged, "He's not sure but soon."



Buffy ran into the front door and into the living room.
There, she found the three girls hovering around Spike, who
seemed to be in tremendous pain.

"How is he?" Buffy asked, rushing to his side.

Spike curled himself into fetal position, grasping his head
and moaning loudly. And suddenly, the pain stopped. He slowly
uncurled himself and sat up.

"You okay?" Buffy asked.

He nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so."

Buffy helped him to his feet. He was wobbly, unsteady. He
kept her hands around his waist and he kept his hands on her
shoulders.

"Maybe you should rest?" Tara suggested.

Spike nodded, "Yeah, maybe I'll do that."

Buffy began to lead him to the staircase when he grasped his
head again. His legs collapsed beneath him and Buffy's strong
grip kept him from falling.

"Spike!" Dawn exclaimed, scared of what he was going through.

Spike took a huge breath, the pain now gone. "Buffy."

"What is it?"

"I can't feel my legs," he said in a weak, terrified voice.



End Part 3