Disclaimer: see chapter 1
DIMENSIONS: chapter 3 - Conflict
B:
"It was weird, you know," Buffy said, running her hand down his cheek. "It was almost as if I could hear your voice in my head. Weird, but nice."
Angel smiled at her, stroking her soft hair with his hand. "So you got that I love you?"
"Oh, I got that." She kissed him gently. "I definitely got that."
He moved slightly on the bed and returned the kiss more deeply, Buffy's hands wrapping themselves around his back as he slipped his under her top, going straight for the tricky bra clasp and …
"Not now," Buffy groaned, sitting up and rolling Angel off her. "Who the hell is that?"
Angel lay back on the bed, seething inside as he watched the Slayer pat her hair down, pull her top back into shape and go to the door.
"Oh. Riley."
The tall TA came inside the room and shut the door behind him. "We need to talk." He switched his gaze from Buffy to Angel sitting up on the bed. "Privately."
"I have no secrets from Angel," Buffy told Riley firmly. "Especially when it comes to demons and things. And guys running around in commando outfits."
Riley had the grace to blush red with embarrassment.
"All right, so I'm in the military," he said candidly. "I'm paid to hunt these monsters down. You're not. At least, not that I've heard. But you're so fast, so strong, so agile. What are you? You are human?"
"I'm the Slayer," Buffy said. There was a silence. Angel bit his lip to stop a burst of laughter breaking out at Riley's blank face. "The Slayer?" tried Buffy. "The Chosen One? One girl with the strength and the speed … you really haven't heard of me, have you?"
"No." Riley rubbed his forehead. "No, you're Buffy Summers and you fall asleep in psych class."
"She falls asleep because she's out all night killing demons," broke in Angel. "You're certainly the first demon hunter I've met who hasn't heard of the Slayer."
Riley glared at Angel, who returned the glare with blank disinterest. Buffy sat down on her bed and took Angel's hand, playing idly with his claddagh ring.
"I'm an agent of the US Army," said Riley proudly, "not a demon hunter."
"You kill demons? Then you count as a demon hunter." Angel kept his voice purposefully neutral. Riley switched his glare to Buffy.
"Okay, what's he doing here anyway? And why's he in the know? And what the hell is the Slayer?"
Buffy sighed patiently. "I'm the Slayer, Riley. I told you that already. Angel's here and in the know because I trust him with my life. He was there when I was called. Basically I kill vamps and other things, because someone has to. I didn't choose this. It's my destiny. I'm as fast as them and as strong as most of them. I'm stronger than you."
"You're just a girl."
"Believe her," said Angel seriously. "Get on the wrong side of Buffy and it hurts." He got up. "Buffy, I'm going to go and find us some lunch. I'll be back in half an hour. I'll leave you to explain things to Mr Finn." He moved away, their fingers still entwined, and finally broke the contact and disappeared out of the door. Buffy sent a look after him and turned her attention back to Riley.
"I don't understand." Riley sank down on Willow's neat bed. "I just don't understand."
"Talk to one of your vamps, the ones you have captured," said Buffy.
"Talk to one?"
"They can talk, you know. They have personalities and everything. Some are annoying, some are mad, some are … charming and sarcastic and cruel." A shadow flickered across her face. "And names. What do you call them, the things you capture? Underworld … enemies?"
"Hostile Sub-Terrestrials. They have names?" Riley thought about this. "How do you know they have names? Aren't you supposed to kill them?"
Buffy shrugged. "Yeah, well, sometimes things don't go to plan. Some of them get away. And my guess is some of them that got away are probably with you. Go on. Ask them about the Slayer."
There was silence in the room as Riley digested the new information and Buffy dreamed about a picnic lunch with Angel. Finally, Riley stood up and opened his mouth to speak. And promptly fell to his knees, as simultaneously Buffy grabbed the bedside table. The room was moving, rocking; things were falling off shelves. Buffy braced herself against the wall, gritting her teeth, her eyes closed, trying desperately not to think.
The earthquake was over in a matter of seconds, and Riley picked himself up with a grin on his face, his anger gone in euphoria. He replaced a mug on Buffy's desk.
"An earthquake! A real earthquake!"
Buffy opened her eyes, gasping for breath, and stood up with her legs shaking. "Not again," she said. "Not again."
"You get those often?"
"Only when the world's about to end," Buffy replied, gathering up Mr Gordo and hugging him tightly.
"A real earthquake!" Riley repeated, still smiling.
"Riley, shut up!" Buffy said, her voice dangerously loud. "Just …"
There was the sound of running footsteps outside the door and it burst open, Angel panting and flushed behind it.
"Buffy. Buffy, are you okay?"
She looked up from the stuffed pig and tears sprang into her eyes. "Angel. Oh God, Angel." He closed the door and came straight to her, enfolding her in his arms and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
"I thought straight away of the Master. There hasn't been an earthquake since then. But you're all right, aren't you?"
"We have to tell Giles." Buffy detached her head from Angel's comforting shoulder and looked up at him. "Giles will know what to do. What's causing it. The Codex might have something. Or another book."
"Or it might just be a normal quake," pointed out Angel. "You mustn't get worried."
"I'm not … okay, I am worried. I don't want to die again. I'm scared."
"Don't be. And remember I'm here now. I can help now. I'll be there for you."
She smiled up at him, and with a finger Angel wiped the tears away from the corners of her sea-green eyes and kissed her softly.
Riley coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, guys," he said tersely, disappointment and anger mixed in his voice. "But there's a few things in this I don't understand."
"Still?" asked Angel, the questions of the boy starting to get on his mettle.
"You, for a start," Riley said in return. "I've been here in Sunnydale four months now. I've known Buffy for three of them. And I had it on good authority from Willow that she was single."
"She was."
"I was." Buffy and Angel spoke together, and Angel glanced at her and indicated she should continue. "I was single. At least, I was trying to get over a break-up. It hurt, I was hurting, I needed someone around."
"That's why you went with Parker."
"Parker?" Angel looked at Buffy with wide dark eyes in which a glint of hurt shone.
"You left me!" she protested. "Call it a rebound. But he didn't want me. You know, I woke up the morning after … and there was nobody there. Again."
"Oh, Buffy." Guilt flashed on to Angel's face and he lowered his gaze. "I'm … I won't let that happen again."
"It can't happen again," Buffy pointed out sensibly. "Look, Riley," she added, "I like you. You're, you know, nice? You were the perfect opposite of Angel – only a coupla years older than me, ordinary college guy, funny, cute smile, human …" There was silence in the room. Buffy went a furious shade of red and clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Yes, I'm human," Riley said in a funny tone of voice, his hand near the walkie-talkie clipped unobtrusively to his belt.
"Well, so'm I, and so's Angel, so that's all right," gabbled Buffy.
"You just said …"
"Slip of the tongue," she rushed on. "You know, I'm the Slayer, I spend lots of time round demons, normal that …"
"That you should mistake your boyfriend for one?" Riley finished for her. "Very normal." He slipped his hand in his pocket and brought out a wooden crucifix on a chain. "Stand up."
Angel let go of Buffy and met Riley's gaze evenly. "Have you thought about the time of day?" he asked, keeping his hands in full view of the other man. "That there's sunlight streaming into this room?"
Riley faltered for a split second, but regained his composure and kept his hand holding the crucifix up in front of him. "Yes," he lied, and threw the cross.
Angel put out his hand and caught it, clutching the wood tight in his fist and then opening his palm up.
"See? Nothing. It's a nice piece of work, this," he continued, examining the cross. "Nineteenth century, I think. Rosewood and ebony … cost somebody a lot of money." He tossed it back across to Riley. "Family heirloom?"
"My grandmother's." Riley seemed deflated as he tucked the cross back into his pocket. "How'd you know?"
Angel turned and stared out of the window at the sunlit day, his features serious.
"When you have something shoved in your face every night for a century or so you get to know stuff like that," he said. Buffy made a noise of protestation, but Angel shushed her with a quick shake of his head. "Xander or Willow or Anya will probably blurt it out anyway," he told her. "He's in your business, whether you like it or not. He knows you're the Slayer. And if he takes your very sensible advice and talks to some of the vampires he's caught, he'll hear about me soon enough."
"Hear what about you?" Riley had sat down on Willow's bed again and was twisting his fingers together.
"When you're having a relationship with the Slayer the underworld gets to know," Angel said, facing him. "Especially when you're a member of the underworld, however reluctantly. And more so when a reputation precedes you. Go and talk to them."
Riley looked up, fingers still twisted together. "But I've never tried to talk to an HST," he said. "Nobody has. An HST is an animal. A monster."
"Most of them are dumb," Buffy said. "Have to be, to get themselves killed. Most of the vamps that do the turning are dumb too. But not all of them." She shot Angel a look. "And in any case any vamp and most of the demons can talk." She stood up. "Now I'm thinking I need to talk to Giles about this quake. Coming, Angel?"
"Of course. I should ring Cordelia and Doyle and see if they have anything. Doyle might have had a vision."
"This is your cue to go," Buffy pointed out to Riley bluntly. "I'll see you around."
"Yeah." Riley stood up, still obviously confused. "Look, I hope it's not necessary to say …"
"Won't say a word," Buffy reassured him. "And you too I hope." Riley shook his head and moved out of the room slowly and thoughtfully. Buffy sighed deeply and picked up her hairbrush. "I thought he'd never go," she said, pulling it through the blonde tangles. "And I'd given him a pretty high rating on the I'm-not-daft factor. Was I wrong?"
"He was just confused." Angel took the brush from her and started to run it through her hair. "He's been trained to regard demons as unintelligent killing machines. To be told they can talk and have names – well, it's a bit like being told the Alsatian at the police station talks. I suppose. I never really thought about it before, except from the other side." He put the brush down. "Come on, let's go and see Giles, stop worrying about Mr Finn –"
"- And start worrying about the end of the world," said Buffy sadly.
A:
Riley watched Buffy turn and walk off with a pang in his heart. He didn't understand her, couldn't make out what this slight blonde tornado with a heart of gold and a spirit of fire had been through, or why she was beginning to mean so much to him. At once a mythical hero and a pretty college girl who fell asleep in class – was it possible?
The buzzing of his walkie-talkie alerted him to the Initiative, and he unclipped it and turned in the opposite direction, but not without a backwards glance in the direction in which the Slayer had disappeared.
B:
Riley walked down the line of cages watching the demons pace. For the first time he noticed that the HSTs were all behaving differently – individually. Some of them sat mournfully in a corner, head down; some of them slept uneasily; many of them were pacing up and down the small rooms. Two or three of the vampires glared at him from behind yellow eyes as he went up the row, and finally Riley stopped and faced one of them.
It was the first time he had looked at a vampire in the light for more than a few seconds, and after a minute's gazing he realised that in the golden eyes there was more than simple evil. Something else – complicated, he thought; dislike of him and also a certain small amount of intelligence.
"Do you know the Slayer?" he asked, eventually, feeling silly and hoping nobody disturbed him.
The vampire snorted in derision, mouth turned down at the corners and teeth bared.
"Course I know the Slayer. Know of the Slayer. Know she's here, if I'm even still in Sunnydale. Am I?"
"What?"
"Still in Sunnydale. Idiot."
"You're in captivity," Riley said, trying to keep his dignity. "What can you tell me about the Slayer?"
"She's a girl. Blonde. Somebody said she was pretty. Eatable." The vampire grinned and then to Riley's astonishment the ugly, distorted features faded into human. A plain, honest-looking face, brown hair and blue eyes. "Think my brother was at high school with her."
"And her name?"
"Why the hell should I know that? Though I do know something else … maybe it'd interest you? Enough to get me something safe to eat for once?"
"Perhaps."
The vampire considered Riley's face. "Hmm. I think you're lying. But I guess I'm gonna get nowhere fast by not telling you. You and your little soldier pals would bag a big prize if you went after her boyfriend."
"Why?" Riley's heart speeded up. Was this the information the strange Angel had hinted of?
"Goes by the name of Angelus, or Angel these days. Heard he'd gone soft. Used to be a big shot in Europe in the nineteenth century."
"What's a big shot mean in your terms?"
"You know nothing, do you, soldier boy? What I heard is that Angelus was in line to be the next big Master before he went soft, if he went soft. Not the guy to get on the wrong side of."
There was a shout from across the corridor.
"You know nothing except what people have told you, Boxer!" Riley turned around to see a tall yet stocky green demon leaning on the wall of his cage. "Hey, human. Yeah, you. You want info? I met Angelus. And he was more bothered about killing the Slayer then than …"
Riley cut in before the demon could offer more details. "You met him? When?"
"Coupla years ago. Before you bastards moved in on the territory. Things used to be simple, ya know? There was us and there was the Slayer, and if you kept out of her way you kept alive. And if you listened to Angelus or one of his mates. You try and capture Angelus and you're in for trouble, human. He'll take your pretty little head off as soon as look at you, and enjoy every second of it. My advice. Don't bother."
The demon bared its teeth at Riley in what he supposed was meant to be a grin. Riley looked back for a moment and then turned and beat a hasty retreat to the sound of several multi-toned demon laughs.
* * *
"Are you Bronzing tonight?" asked Willow hopefully, sitting down next to Buffy in the cafeteria. "Me, you, Xander? Remember?"
"What?" Buffy sprang out of her reverie. "Of course. While Angel's in LA I might as well. Just hope that Professor Walsh doesn't want me for a mission or anything."
Willow smiled, but it was a weak smile. She had still not reconciled the idea of Riley Finn (erstwhile boyfriend-possible and now simple colleague) with the strange soldiers, and her friend's involvement with them worried her. The only light on the horizon in regards to Buffy, as far as Willow was concerned, was the fact that Angel was about to sign the deeds to a house and was going to settle in Sunnydale. She had never forgotten the feeling of pure terror as Angelus clutched her neck in the darkness of the high school hallway, but neither had she forgotten the times Angel had saved her life, or his fevered professions of love as he lay dying. When Angel was there, Buffy was happy, and as far as Willow was concerned that was all that mattered. With a little private smile she thought of Tara and spells and reflected that for the moment everything seemed to be perfect. Long may it last.
It lasted very little time. They met in the Bronze that evening as promised, but half an hour into the night Buffy's brand-new beeper buzzed at her and she disappeared with promises of meeting the next day.
Riley met her in Lowell House with an air of distraction. Buffy reflected that he had been distracted for a while. The warm friendship between them had been spoilt, and she thought that Angel was probably the cause. Throughout the briefing and once on patrol he was cool and professional, and soon Buffy got annoyed.
"What's the matter?" she asked eventually, fed up with seeing no prey. Riley glanced at her, one hand on his pistol.
"Nothing's the matter."
"No, you're … I don't know what, but you're something."
"I'm on patrol," Riley reminded her.
Buffy looked around. "There's nothing here."
"But there might be."
"So? If this demon turns up we'll get it."
"I don't have supernatural senses," Riley objected. They fell into an awkward silence.
The demon took them all by surprise except for Buffy, who spin-kicked the thing before the soldiers had a chance to react, followed by a launch into a rain of punches and high-kicks. Three of Riley's men went down injured before their taser blasts felled the thing, and Buffy and he stood back panting whilst the uninjured men bound the demon's arms and legs and carried it off.
A:
They fell into each other's arms with desperation and longing, the kisses almost unbroken by breathing, their skin hot and sticky from the fight. Riley's fingers trembled as he searched for the tie at the back of her top, and Buffy moaned gently in pleasure as he slipped it off her and ran awed hands over her perfect body. Caught in passion and desire, they fell into the soft pillows and came together, the moment made more precious by its newness for both of them, more intense because they were together. And unseen in the corner of the room, the camera rolled its grey film for the watching eyes below.
B:
Buffy sucked at the straw thirstily.
"I'm starving," she said. "Does fighting get you hungry too?" Riley shrugged, silent, preoccupied. Buffy pushed her drink away. "Okay. Talk. You have that sort of face on."
"What sort of face?"
"The sort that means you want to say something. I've had experience."
"With Angel?"
Buffy's eyes flared for a moment.
"So it's Angel that's the problem?"
"I took your advice," Riley said, staring into the bubbly depths of his soda. "I talked to them."
"And?"
"This green demon and a vampire told me about Angelus."
There was silence. Buffy drank another sip of her drink.
"Angel's not Angelus," she said eventually. "I mean, it's the same body, but that's all. Believe me. I know."
"You said he was human. There was all that business with my crucifix …"
Buffy smiled, a small, gentle smile. "He is human," she said, a touch of happiness in her voice.
"But how can he be …"
"You're not going to let this be, are you?" Buffy asked, realising that Riley was confused and disturbed. He worried her. "Okay, it's a long story – I mean, any story that's 250 years old is kinda long. These are just like the basics." She sketched them out for Riley. "And so he's human and he's staying that way." She slurped her milkshake. "Mmmm. Riley, it's not like I'm going to forget what he was, or what Angelus did. He hurt us. All of us. But sometimes you have to put that behind you." Buffy pushed away her cup and leaned her elbow on the table. "I realised," she said, serious, "that when I saw him walking across the grass in the sunlight that I was happy. For the first time since I was called I was really happy. Maybe it's corny. Maybe it's mushy and stupid, but you know, I think we were made for each other. I love him. I always have, and I hope I always will."
Riley watched her, her eyes shining with an inner light, and something inside him broke apart. "And me?" he asked, croakily. "What about me?"
"I hope we can still be friends." She fell back on the clichéd excuse.
He stared at her for a moment longer, and then got up hurriedly and turned, walking off briskly. At the entrance to the shop he looked back at her.
"I know you don't need someone to walk you home." And then he was gone, head down, the camouflage uniform blending into the night. Buffy listened to his footsteps and got up to go the other way, wandering slowly back to her dormitory.
DIMENSIONS: chapter 3 - Conflict
B:
"It was weird, you know," Buffy said, running her hand down his cheek. "It was almost as if I could hear your voice in my head. Weird, but nice."
Angel smiled at her, stroking her soft hair with his hand. "So you got that I love you?"
"Oh, I got that." She kissed him gently. "I definitely got that."
He moved slightly on the bed and returned the kiss more deeply, Buffy's hands wrapping themselves around his back as he slipped his under her top, going straight for the tricky bra clasp and …
"Not now," Buffy groaned, sitting up and rolling Angel off her. "Who the hell is that?"
Angel lay back on the bed, seething inside as he watched the Slayer pat her hair down, pull her top back into shape and go to the door.
"Oh. Riley."
The tall TA came inside the room and shut the door behind him. "We need to talk." He switched his gaze from Buffy to Angel sitting up on the bed. "Privately."
"I have no secrets from Angel," Buffy told Riley firmly. "Especially when it comes to demons and things. And guys running around in commando outfits."
Riley had the grace to blush red with embarrassment.
"All right, so I'm in the military," he said candidly. "I'm paid to hunt these monsters down. You're not. At least, not that I've heard. But you're so fast, so strong, so agile. What are you? You are human?"
"I'm the Slayer," Buffy said. There was a silence. Angel bit his lip to stop a burst of laughter breaking out at Riley's blank face. "The Slayer?" tried Buffy. "The Chosen One? One girl with the strength and the speed … you really haven't heard of me, have you?"
"No." Riley rubbed his forehead. "No, you're Buffy Summers and you fall asleep in psych class."
"She falls asleep because she's out all night killing demons," broke in Angel. "You're certainly the first demon hunter I've met who hasn't heard of the Slayer."
Riley glared at Angel, who returned the glare with blank disinterest. Buffy sat down on her bed and took Angel's hand, playing idly with his claddagh ring.
"I'm an agent of the US Army," said Riley proudly, "not a demon hunter."
"You kill demons? Then you count as a demon hunter." Angel kept his voice purposefully neutral. Riley switched his glare to Buffy.
"Okay, what's he doing here anyway? And why's he in the know? And what the hell is the Slayer?"
Buffy sighed patiently. "I'm the Slayer, Riley. I told you that already. Angel's here and in the know because I trust him with my life. He was there when I was called. Basically I kill vamps and other things, because someone has to. I didn't choose this. It's my destiny. I'm as fast as them and as strong as most of them. I'm stronger than you."
"You're just a girl."
"Believe her," said Angel seriously. "Get on the wrong side of Buffy and it hurts." He got up. "Buffy, I'm going to go and find us some lunch. I'll be back in half an hour. I'll leave you to explain things to Mr Finn." He moved away, their fingers still entwined, and finally broke the contact and disappeared out of the door. Buffy sent a look after him and turned her attention back to Riley.
"I don't understand." Riley sank down on Willow's neat bed. "I just don't understand."
"Talk to one of your vamps, the ones you have captured," said Buffy.
"Talk to one?"
"They can talk, you know. They have personalities and everything. Some are annoying, some are mad, some are … charming and sarcastic and cruel." A shadow flickered across her face. "And names. What do you call them, the things you capture? Underworld … enemies?"
"Hostile Sub-Terrestrials. They have names?" Riley thought about this. "How do you know they have names? Aren't you supposed to kill them?"
Buffy shrugged. "Yeah, well, sometimes things don't go to plan. Some of them get away. And my guess is some of them that got away are probably with you. Go on. Ask them about the Slayer."
There was silence in the room as Riley digested the new information and Buffy dreamed about a picnic lunch with Angel. Finally, Riley stood up and opened his mouth to speak. And promptly fell to his knees, as simultaneously Buffy grabbed the bedside table. The room was moving, rocking; things were falling off shelves. Buffy braced herself against the wall, gritting her teeth, her eyes closed, trying desperately not to think.
The earthquake was over in a matter of seconds, and Riley picked himself up with a grin on his face, his anger gone in euphoria. He replaced a mug on Buffy's desk.
"An earthquake! A real earthquake!"
Buffy opened her eyes, gasping for breath, and stood up with her legs shaking. "Not again," she said. "Not again."
"You get those often?"
"Only when the world's about to end," Buffy replied, gathering up Mr Gordo and hugging him tightly.
"A real earthquake!" Riley repeated, still smiling.
"Riley, shut up!" Buffy said, her voice dangerously loud. "Just …"
There was the sound of running footsteps outside the door and it burst open, Angel panting and flushed behind it.
"Buffy. Buffy, are you okay?"
She looked up from the stuffed pig and tears sprang into her eyes. "Angel. Oh God, Angel." He closed the door and came straight to her, enfolding her in his arms and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
"I thought straight away of the Master. There hasn't been an earthquake since then. But you're all right, aren't you?"
"We have to tell Giles." Buffy detached her head from Angel's comforting shoulder and looked up at him. "Giles will know what to do. What's causing it. The Codex might have something. Or another book."
"Or it might just be a normal quake," pointed out Angel. "You mustn't get worried."
"I'm not … okay, I am worried. I don't want to die again. I'm scared."
"Don't be. And remember I'm here now. I can help now. I'll be there for you."
She smiled up at him, and with a finger Angel wiped the tears away from the corners of her sea-green eyes and kissed her softly.
Riley coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, guys," he said tersely, disappointment and anger mixed in his voice. "But there's a few things in this I don't understand."
"Still?" asked Angel, the questions of the boy starting to get on his mettle.
"You, for a start," Riley said in return. "I've been here in Sunnydale four months now. I've known Buffy for three of them. And I had it on good authority from Willow that she was single."
"She was."
"I was." Buffy and Angel spoke together, and Angel glanced at her and indicated she should continue. "I was single. At least, I was trying to get over a break-up. It hurt, I was hurting, I needed someone around."
"That's why you went with Parker."
"Parker?" Angel looked at Buffy with wide dark eyes in which a glint of hurt shone.
"You left me!" she protested. "Call it a rebound. But he didn't want me. You know, I woke up the morning after … and there was nobody there. Again."
"Oh, Buffy." Guilt flashed on to Angel's face and he lowered his gaze. "I'm … I won't let that happen again."
"It can't happen again," Buffy pointed out sensibly. "Look, Riley," she added, "I like you. You're, you know, nice? You were the perfect opposite of Angel – only a coupla years older than me, ordinary college guy, funny, cute smile, human …" There was silence in the room. Buffy went a furious shade of red and clapped her hand over her mouth.
"Yes, I'm human," Riley said in a funny tone of voice, his hand near the walkie-talkie clipped unobtrusively to his belt.
"Well, so'm I, and so's Angel, so that's all right," gabbled Buffy.
"You just said …"
"Slip of the tongue," she rushed on. "You know, I'm the Slayer, I spend lots of time round demons, normal that …"
"That you should mistake your boyfriend for one?" Riley finished for her. "Very normal." He slipped his hand in his pocket and brought out a wooden crucifix on a chain. "Stand up."
Angel let go of Buffy and met Riley's gaze evenly. "Have you thought about the time of day?" he asked, keeping his hands in full view of the other man. "That there's sunlight streaming into this room?"
Riley faltered for a split second, but regained his composure and kept his hand holding the crucifix up in front of him. "Yes," he lied, and threw the cross.
Angel put out his hand and caught it, clutching the wood tight in his fist and then opening his palm up.
"See? Nothing. It's a nice piece of work, this," he continued, examining the cross. "Nineteenth century, I think. Rosewood and ebony … cost somebody a lot of money." He tossed it back across to Riley. "Family heirloom?"
"My grandmother's." Riley seemed deflated as he tucked the cross back into his pocket. "How'd you know?"
Angel turned and stared out of the window at the sunlit day, his features serious.
"When you have something shoved in your face every night for a century or so you get to know stuff like that," he said. Buffy made a noise of protestation, but Angel shushed her with a quick shake of his head. "Xander or Willow or Anya will probably blurt it out anyway," he told her. "He's in your business, whether you like it or not. He knows you're the Slayer. And if he takes your very sensible advice and talks to some of the vampires he's caught, he'll hear about me soon enough."
"Hear what about you?" Riley had sat down on Willow's bed again and was twisting his fingers together.
"When you're having a relationship with the Slayer the underworld gets to know," Angel said, facing him. "Especially when you're a member of the underworld, however reluctantly. And more so when a reputation precedes you. Go and talk to them."
Riley looked up, fingers still twisted together. "But I've never tried to talk to an HST," he said. "Nobody has. An HST is an animal. A monster."
"Most of them are dumb," Buffy said. "Have to be, to get themselves killed. Most of the vamps that do the turning are dumb too. But not all of them." She shot Angel a look. "And in any case any vamp and most of the demons can talk." She stood up. "Now I'm thinking I need to talk to Giles about this quake. Coming, Angel?"
"Of course. I should ring Cordelia and Doyle and see if they have anything. Doyle might have had a vision."
"This is your cue to go," Buffy pointed out to Riley bluntly. "I'll see you around."
"Yeah." Riley stood up, still obviously confused. "Look, I hope it's not necessary to say …"
"Won't say a word," Buffy reassured him. "And you too I hope." Riley shook his head and moved out of the room slowly and thoughtfully. Buffy sighed deeply and picked up her hairbrush. "I thought he'd never go," she said, pulling it through the blonde tangles. "And I'd given him a pretty high rating on the I'm-not-daft factor. Was I wrong?"
"He was just confused." Angel took the brush from her and started to run it through her hair. "He's been trained to regard demons as unintelligent killing machines. To be told they can talk and have names – well, it's a bit like being told the Alsatian at the police station talks. I suppose. I never really thought about it before, except from the other side." He put the brush down. "Come on, let's go and see Giles, stop worrying about Mr Finn –"
"- And start worrying about the end of the world," said Buffy sadly.
A:
Riley watched Buffy turn and walk off with a pang in his heart. He didn't understand her, couldn't make out what this slight blonde tornado with a heart of gold and a spirit of fire had been through, or why she was beginning to mean so much to him. At once a mythical hero and a pretty college girl who fell asleep in class – was it possible?
The buzzing of his walkie-talkie alerted him to the Initiative, and he unclipped it and turned in the opposite direction, but not without a backwards glance in the direction in which the Slayer had disappeared.
B:
Riley walked down the line of cages watching the demons pace. For the first time he noticed that the HSTs were all behaving differently – individually. Some of them sat mournfully in a corner, head down; some of them slept uneasily; many of them were pacing up and down the small rooms. Two or three of the vampires glared at him from behind yellow eyes as he went up the row, and finally Riley stopped and faced one of them.
It was the first time he had looked at a vampire in the light for more than a few seconds, and after a minute's gazing he realised that in the golden eyes there was more than simple evil. Something else – complicated, he thought; dislike of him and also a certain small amount of intelligence.
"Do you know the Slayer?" he asked, eventually, feeling silly and hoping nobody disturbed him.
The vampire snorted in derision, mouth turned down at the corners and teeth bared.
"Course I know the Slayer. Know of the Slayer. Know she's here, if I'm even still in Sunnydale. Am I?"
"What?"
"Still in Sunnydale. Idiot."
"You're in captivity," Riley said, trying to keep his dignity. "What can you tell me about the Slayer?"
"She's a girl. Blonde. Somebody said she was pretty. Eatable." The vampire grinned and then to Riley's astonishment the ugly, distorted features faded into human. A plain, honest-looking face, brown hair and blue eyes. "Think my brother was at high school with her."
"And her name?"
"Why the hell should I know that? Though I do know something else … maybe it'd interest you? Enough to get me something safe to eat for once?"
"Perhaps."
The vampire considered Riley's face. "Hmm. I think you're lying. But I guess I'm gonna get nowhere fast by not telling you. You and your little soldier pals would bag a big prize if you went after her boyfriend."
"Why?" Riley's heart speeded up. Was this the information the strange Angel had hinted of?
"Goes by the name of Angelus, or Angel these days. Heard he'd gone soft. Used to be a big shot in Europe in the nineteenth century."
"What's a big shot mean in your terms?"
"You know nothing, do you, soldier boy? What I heard is that Angelus was in line to be the next big Master before he went soft, if he went soft. Not the guy to get on the wrong side of."
There was a shout from across the corridor.
"You know nothing except what people have told you, Boxer!" Riley turned around to see a tall yet stocky green demon leaning on the wall of his cage. "Hey, human. Yeah, you. You want info? I met Angelus. And he was more bothered about killing the Slayer then than …"
Riley cut in before the demon could offer more details. "You met him? When?"
"Coupla years ago. Before you bastards moved in on the territory. Things used to be simple, ya know? There was us and there was the Slayer, and if you kept out of her way you kept alive. And if you listened to Angelus or one of his mates. You try and capture Angelus and you're in for trouble, human. He'll take your pretty little head off as soon as look at you, and enjoy every second of it. My advice. Don't bother."
The demon bared its teeth at Riley in what he supposed was meant to be a grin. Riley looked back for a moment and then turned and beat a hasty retreat to the sound of several multi-toned demon laughs.
* * *
"Are you Bronzing tonight?" asked Willow hopefully, sitting down next to Buffy in the cafeteria. "Me, you, Xander? Remember?"
"What?" Buffy sprang out of her reverie. "Of course. While Angel's in LA I might as well. Just hope that Professor Walsh doesn't want me for a mission or anything."
Willow smiled, but it was a weak smile. She had still not reconciled the idea of Riley Finn (erstwhile boyfriend-possible and now simple colleague) with the strange soldiers, and her friend's involvement with them worried her. The only light on the horizon in regards to Buffy, as far as Willow was concerned, was the fact that Angel was about to sign the deeds to a house and was going to settle in Sunnydale. She had never forgotten the feeling of pure terror as Angelus clutched her neck in the darkness of the high school hallway, but neither had she forgotten the times Angel had saved her life, or his fevered professions of love as he lay dying. When Angel was there, Buffy was happy, and as far as Willow was concerned that was all that mattered. With a little private smile she thought of Tara and spells and reflected that for the moment everything seemed to be perfect. Long may it last.
It lasted very little time. They met in the Bronze that evening as promised, but half an hour into the night Buffy's brand-new beeper buzzed at her and she disappeared with promises of meeting the next day.
Riley met her in Lowell House with an air of distraction. Buffy reflected that he had been distracted for a while. The warm friendship between them had been spoilt, and she thought that Angel was probably the cause. Throughout the briefing and once on patrol he was cool and professional, and soon Buffy got annoyed.
"What's the matter?" she asked eventually, fed up with seeing no prey. Riley glanced at her, one hand on his pistol.
"Nothing's the matter."
"No, you're … I don't know what, but you're something."
"I'm on patrol," Riley reminded her.
Buffy looked around. "There's nothing here."
"But there might be."
"So? If this demon turns up we'll get it."
"I don't have supernatural senses," Riley objected. They fell into an awkward silence.
The demon took them all by surprise except for Buffy, who spin-kicked the thing before the soldiers had a chance to react, followed by a launch into a rain of punches and high-kicks. Three of Riley's men went down injured before their taser blasts felled the thing, and Buffy and he stood back panting whilst the uninjured men bound the demon's arms and legs and carried it off.
A:
They fell into each other's arms with desperation and longing, the kisses almost unbroken by breathing, their skin hot and sticky from the fight. Riley's fingers trembled as he searched for the tie at the back of her top, and Buffy moaned gently in pleasure as he slipped it off her and ran awed hands over her perfect body. Caught in passion and desire, they fell into the soft pillows and came together, the moment made more precious by its newness for both of them, more intense because they were together. And unseen in the corner of the room, the camera rolled its grey film for the watching eyes below.
B:
Buffy sucked at the straw thirstily.
"I'm starving," she said. "Does fighting get you hungry too?" Riley shrugged, silent, preoccupied. Buffy pushed her drink away. "Okay. Talk. You have that sort of face on."
"What sort of face?"
"The sort that means you want to say something. I've had experience."
"With Angel?"
Buffy's eyes flared for a moment.
"So it's Angel that's the problem?"
"I took your advice," Riley said, staring into the bubbly depths of his soda. "I talked to them."
"And?"
"This green demon and a vampire told me about Angelus."
There was silence. Buffy drank another sip of her drink.
"Angel's not Angelus," she said eventually. "I mean, it's the same body, but that's all. Believe me. I know."
"You said he was human. There was all that business with my crucifix …"
Buffy smiled, a small, gentle smile. "He is human," she said, a touch of happiness in her voice.
"But how can he be …"
"You're not going to let this be, are you?" Buffy asked, realising that Riley was confused and disturbed. He worried her. "Okay, it's a long story – I mean, any story that's 250 years old is kinda long. These are just like the basics." She sketched them out for Riley. "And so he's human and he's staying that way." She slurped her milkshake. "Mmmm. Riley, it's not like I'm going to forget what he was, or what Angelus did. He hurt us. All of us. But sometimes you have to put that behind you." Buffy pushed away her cup and leaned her elbow on the table. "I realised," she said, serious, "that when I saw him walking across the grass in the sunlight that I was happy. For the first time since I was called I was really happy. Maybe it's corny. Maybe it's mushy and stupid, but you know, I think we were made for each other. I love him. I always have, and I hope I always will."
Riley watched her, her eyes shining with an inner light, and something inside him broke apart. "And me?" he asked, croakily. "What about me?"
"I hope we can still be friends." She fell back on the clichéd excuse.
He stared at her for a moment longer, and then got up hurriedly and turned, walking off briskly. At the entrance to the shop he looked back at her.
"I know you don't need someone to walk you home." And then he was gone, head down, the camouflage uniform blending into the night. Buffy listened to his footsteps and got up to go the other way, wandering slowly back to her dormitory.