"Is everything ready?" Riley asked, sitting down at his desk.
"Yes, Boss, everything is ready for tonight," Johnson answered.
"Good. If everything goes well, I should be able to get Buffy back," Riley said, and then mumbled to himself, "Stupid bitch should have never left me in the first place."
"Okay. I'm going to go now, and get the rest of the monitors set up in the van," Johnson said, backing toward the door. When Riley did not answer, he left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, are we having movie marathon tonight, since the Bronze is closed?" Willow asked Buffy in study hall.
"Sure. What movies?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know. Xand and I could pick up some movies and pizza and meet at your house," Willow said.
"Okay. You sure Xander and Spike will be up to a movie fest?" Buffy asked.
"Don't know. Maybe we should ask?" Willow said, pulling out her cell phone. "He has his phone on. He'd better answer," she muttered, punching in the number.
When Xander picked up his phone, Willow started speaking. "Hello. do you mean why am I calling.? You're not going to get in trouble.so.whatever. Anyway, Buffy and I want to have a movie fest tonight. You and Spike up for it? Yeah, okay.bye.love you too. Tell Spike Buffy says 'Love you.'"
"They're up for it," she said, placing her cell in her bag.
"Cool," Buffy answered.
When the bell rang, Buffy and Willow waited for their boyfriends at their lockers. Later, at Buffy's house, after Spike and Xander went to work, Willow got a phone call.
"Hello?" Willow asked.
"Yes, Willow. I need you to come in for about an hour to help me with cataloging," Giles said.
"Okay, want Buffy to come too?"
"No, that's quite all right."
"See you later, G-man," Willow said, and then hung up her phone. "I'll be back. I'll pick up the videos, so Spike and Xander can pick up the food."
"See ya, Wills.Oh, and pick up a good chick flick," Buffy said to Willow, as she walked out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"She's alone, Boss," Johnson said.
"Good. We move in. I want the perimeter surrounded. I want to know if the police come, so I can get Buffy and get out," Riley said, watching her through the window of the van parked in front of her house.
"I have two men on each corner," Johnson said, checking the monitors. "She's in the kitchen, Boss, looks like she's making popcorn."
"All right, I'm moving out. Keep me informed," Riley said, exiting the van.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Buffy had just finished pouring the popped popcorn into a large bowl when she heard the front door open, and then close. She threw the empty bag away.
"Wills, is that you? Did Giles decide not do the inventory tonight?" She called from the kitchen. She heard someone enter the kitchen. She turned around with the bowl of popcorn in her hands, a smile on her face, but the smile faded when she saw who was standing there, and pure fear entered her heart.
"Riley?" She asked, as she dropped the bowl. "Riley?" She asked again, not wanting to believe that he was standing in front of her.
"Buffy," Riley said, moving toward her.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, backing towards the counter.
"I came back for you, Buffy," Riley said, still advancing on her. Buffy stared at him, wishing that this was all a dream, and that she could just wake up. "You know, Buff, when you had me arrested two years ago, I knew in my heart that you had nothing to do with it; that you didn't want it that way, that your aunt made you do it," he said, getting closer and closer to her. "And, when I got out, you would be there waiting for me." Riley was standing so close to her now that she could not move. "But you left. You weren't there, you stupid bitch." Riley hit her so hard and so fast that she didn't see his fist coming. She hit the ground. She felt blood dripping from her nose. "See? Look what you made me do, Buff. I didn't want to hurt you, but you make me so angry. Promise me you won't make me angry again?"
She didn't answer him. That only made him angrier, and he grabbed her arm and threw her into the den. Riley walked in with a gun pointed at her head. "Get up!" He commanded. When she stood up, he pushed her down onto the sofa. "You know, Buffy, I still lo-" He was cut short by the telephone ringing. "Answer it," he said, the gun still pointed at her.
"Hello," Buffy said, trying to sound calm.
"Hey, pet, I'm here with Xander and Willow. I'm going to give them a hand. Is that okay with you?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, fine," Buffy said, her voice cracking somewhat.
"Hey, Buffy, you okay?" Spike asked. She sounded very sad, almost scared.
"No."
"What's wrong?"
Buffy remained silent, carefully watching Riley.
"Buffy, can you tell me what's wrong?"
"No," she answered weakly.
She looked at Riley, who mouthed, 'Hang it up.'
"I have to go now. I love you, William," she said, then hung up the phone. She knew as soon as she said his real name, he would know something was wrong and come home, but she still the tears came from her eyes, not knowing if that was the last time she would every hear his voice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Did she say what was wrong?" Xander asked, looking up from his inventory list.
"No, but something isn't right," Spike said, grabbing his keys.
"Huh?" Willow asked. "What's not right?"
"She called me, 'William.' She never does that. I'm going to go see what's going on," Spike said, walking toward the door.
"All right, but call, if anything bad has occurred," Giles said. When Spike was gone, Willow went over to the phone.
"I'll call and see if I can get her to tell me," she said, picking up the phone.
When she dialed the number, she heard a recorded message that said, 'The number you are trying to reach is unavailable at this time. Please call again.'
"It's off the hook. Why would Buffy take her phone off the hook?" Willow asked, looking at Xander.
"I don't see what is so unusual about that," Giles said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them.
"Giles, a seventeen year old girl does not take her phone off the hook, no mater what," Willow said.
"Well, after we're done here, you can go over and see what's going on," Giles said, opening a box and beginning to rummage through it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as Buffy hung up the phone with Spike, Riley pulled the cord out of the wall.
"Now that we won't have any more interruptions, we can get back to 'us,'" Riley said, sitting on the coffee table in front of Buffy.
"Riley, there is no us," Buffy said, looking him in the eyes.
"Don't lie to me, Buffy."
"I'm not, Riley. I don't love you. Not any more. Things change, people change," she said, trying to calm him down enough so she could get out of the house.
"You will soon enough. You'll love me again," he said, as the front door opened.
"Buffy?" Spike called from the hallway. Riley quickly leaned forward and covered Buffy's mouth.
"Say one word," he whispered, "and I'll kill him." Buffy nodded her head as Riley left the room.
"What the hell?" Spike asked in confusion, as he saw the man he recognized as Riley, Buffy's ex, pointing a gun at him.
"Den, now," Riley said. When Spike entered the den, he saw Buffy sitting on the sofa, a fresh bruise on her cheek, and some fresh blood dripping from her nose. His first instinct was to run to her, but Riley pushing him down into a chair, and pointing a gun at his head stopped him.
"Stay," he commanded. As Spike tried to get up again, Riley pulled his phone out. "Johnson, get in here," he said, then hung up. When Johnson entered, Riley looked at him, then walked over to Buffy, pulling her up off the sofa. "Kill him," he said. When Johnson pointed the gun at Spike, Buffy screamed.
"No! Riley, please don't, don't do this, please!" She begged.
"Too late," he said, and pulled her toward the front door. Just before he left, he looked back at Johnson. "You know where I'll be," he said, then left, Buffy fighting him the whole way.
Johnson pulled the trigger.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Spike awoke, he was in a small white room. "Ah, you're finally awake," he heard a female voice say.
"Where am I?" Spike asked, his voice weak.
"In the hospital," the voice answered. "I'll go get your father and friends." She left the room. Spike sat up as his friends walked in.
"He took Buffy. We have to go find her," he said to Willow and Xander, trying to get out of bed.
"No, man, lay down," Xander said.
"What?" Spike said, getting angry with his friends. "Why?"
"No, Spike, relax. The police are looking for her. We found the guy that shot you, and the van, and the tapes, so don't worry. We will find Buffy." Willow said, sitting in a chair beside the bed. Then, she and Xander went into the whole story about how they had followed Spike after he'd left, then heard the shot and called the cops.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Riley got tired of her struggling, and about halfway to the car, he threw her to the ground. She was stunned, until she heard the gun shot, and tried to get back up and run to the house, but she found she couldn't move. Riley was straddling her lap, holding her down with one hand. In his other hand, he had a needle, and then everything went black.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It had been one day since Riley had taken Buffy, and Spike was released from the hospital. The police had said that they were close to finding Buffy and Riley, but Spike wasn't so sure. For now, Spike was sitting at home with his father.
"Don't worry, William, I'm sure that they'll find her, and that wanker, Riley, will go to prison for good," Giles said, sitting down next to his son.
"Yeah, Dad," Spike said, staring out the window. It was starting to get dark. He missed Buffy. He had been worried sick ever since he had called Buffy, and she had said that there had been something wrong. He was brought out of his thoughts by the phone ringing, and his father answering it.
"Yes," Giles said, "are you sure? When? Yes, I'll tell him.What hospital? Yes, we'll be there." Giles hung up, and looked over at Spike, whose head had popped up at the word 'hospital.' "They found Riley. They found Buffy in the mansion on Crawford Street. They said for us to meet them at the county hospital."
"All right. Let's go," Spike said, rushing to the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Buffy awoke, there were people standing in front of her, and she could feel someone behind her untying the ropes around her wrists. She moaned in pain when one of them picked her up and put her on a stretcher. She only heard some of what they were saying.
"We have to find out what he drugged her with, or else we'll have to pump her stomach," she heard one of them say, but then she passed out again.
When she woke up, her head hurt her less, and she was in a small white room. She moaned, and sat up. She noticed Spike asleep on the chair next to her bed, and then she realized where she was; she was in the hospital.
"Spike," she whispered, her voice horse and dry. " Spike," she said louder, when he didn't stir. Spike opened his eyes and looked around. He could have sworn he heard someone say his name.
"Buffy! You had me so worried," he said, getting up and hugging her.
"Ouch," Buffy said. Her side was killing her. She didn't know what Riley had done to her, but it hurt like hell.
"Sorry, pet," Spike said, kissing her forehead.
"Okay," Buffy said, yawning. "What happened?"
"Why don't you try and sleep, Pet? I'll be right back," Spike said, getting up to go get the doctor.
"No, I'm not sleepy," she said, sitting up all the way, pulling his hand.
"Well, Ms. Summers, it's good to see you awake. I'm Doctor Frank. I took care of you when you came in," the doctor said, sitting down in a swivel chair across from Buffy.
"Hi, Doctor Frank," Buffy said, as cheerily as possible.
"Is your throat sore, Buffy?" The doctor asked, looking down at a chart.
"Yes. How come?" Buffy asked, looking at Spike, who took her hand and kissed it.
"We had to pump your stomach to get the drugs out of your system," the doctor said, writing something in the chart.
"When can I go home?" Buffy asked, closing her eyes.
"We will be keeping you over night for observation, but if everything looks good, tomorrow you can go home. Now I'm going to go. If you need anything, there is a nurse outside the room." With that, she left the room.
"Spike, can you stay here tonight?" She asked, lying back down and yawning.
"Sure, Pet," Spike said, lying down besides her, holding her close.
Epilogue
Seven years later
"Ahh! Aunt Buffy!" Merry cried.
"What's the matter?" Buffy asked, looking up from her laptop computer to see the small four year old come running in to the dining room.
"Jason won't leave me alone. He keeps calling me 'stupid,' 'cause I play with dolls, and I told him that trucks were stupid, and then he threw one at me!" The small child cried, as Buffy closed the laptop on the table and stood up.
"Come on, let's go get your stuff ready for your mom. She should be here soon," Buffy said, taking the small child's hand, and leading her back in to the living room.
"Jason?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, Aunt Buffy?"
"Did you call your sister 'stupid?'" Buffy asked, as she started to pick up the toy cars and put them into a small backpack.
"No," he said sweetly.
"Yes, he did, Aunt Buffy!" Merry shrieked, jumping on the sofa.
"No, I didn't!" Jason cried.
"Okay, okay, stop both of you. No more fighting. Make up right now," Buffy said sternly.
"Sorry," Jason mumbled.
"Sorry," Merry said.
"All right, thank you. Do you to want to watch television with me until your mom gets here?"
"Sure, Aunt Buffy!" Both children shrieked. Buffy, Jason, and Merry sat on the sofa. It always surprised Buffy how different they were, even though they were twins. They looked nothing alike. When the doorbell rang, Buffy got up to answer it.
"Hey," Willow said when Buffy opened the door.
"Hey, Wills, how was work?" Buffy asked, as Willow entered the house.
"Great, and thanks for watching the kids for me. The day care center was closed," Willow said, pulling her wallet out of her purse, and taking out a twenty. "Here," she said, handing the money to Buffy.
"No, Wills, I can't take your money," Buffy said, pushing her hand away.
"Buffy, are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. They were no trouble. All I did was feed them and work on my new book," Buffy said.
"How is the book coming?" Willow asked.
"Great. This one is set in the 1980s. It has vampires and demons. The main characters are Alicia and Jeff. They're vampire lovers, but that's all I'm going to tell you. You'll have to read it when I'm done," Buffy said, walking into the living room.
"What's the title?" Willow asked, as Merry and Jason shrieked, "Mommy!" and ran up to her to hug her. It had been seven years since Willow and Xander had gotten married and, almost five years since Willow had become pregnant with the twins.
"Don't know yet. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of 'Bleeding Hearts,' by Buffy Ann Giles," Buffy said, as Willow picked up two small bags.
"Sounds great, Buff. I'm going to get the kids home. I'll call you tonight, after we get back from the fireworks show," Willow said, ushering her two kids to the front door.
"Have fun, Wills. Bye," she said, opening the door for them.
"Bye, Aunt Buffy," Merry said, hugging Buffy.
"Bye," Jason said, hugging Buffy as well.
"Bye, you two. See you later," she said, hugging them back, then leaning against the door frame. Willow walked them to the car, buckled them in, and then she got in and drove off, but not before sticking her hand out the window and waving good bye.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy walked upstairs to check on her newborn bundle of joy.
"Hey, Dawn," Buffy whispered, and she trailed her hand down her sleeping daughter's cheek.
She sat down in the chair beside her baby's crib, and looked at the diamond ring on her finger, and felt completely content. She and Spike had gotten married almost a year after the incident with Riley, but she rarely called him 'Spike' anymore. It was always 'William,' and now, here she was in the home that she now shared with her husband and new born daughter. Buffy had become a well-known writer, and Willow now owned the magic shop. Xander and Spike now owned their own construction business. She fell asleep there on the chair, with the images of her wedding day running through her head. She was awakened by a soft voice calling her name.
"Buffy," William whispered.
"Hey, Will," Buffy said, waking up.
"Hey, you want to come to bed?" William asked with a smile.
"Yeah," she said, starting to get up, but when William picked her up, she relaxed into his embrace.
"Allow me," he whispered in her ear. William carried her into their bedroom and placed her gently on their bed. Soon, she was drifting off to sleep with William snuggled close to her, and her sleeping bundle of joy in the next room.
The End???
"Yes, Boss, everything is ready for tonight," Johnson answered.
"Good. If everything goes well, I should be able to get Buffy back," Riley said, and then mumbled to himself, "Stupid bitch should have never left me in the first place."
"Okay. I'm going to go now, and get the rest of the monitors set up in the van," Johnson said, backing toward the door. When Riley did not answer, he left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, are we having movie marathon tonight, since the Bronze is closed?" Willow asked Buffy in study hall.
"Sure. What movies?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know. Xand and I could pick up some movies and pizza and meet at your house," Willow said.
"Okay. You sure Xander and Spike will be up to a movie fest?" Buffy asked.
"Don't know. Maybe we should ask?" Willow said, pulling out her cell phone. "He has his phone on. He'd better answer," she muttered, punching in the number.
When Xander picked up his phone, Willow started speaking. "Hello. do you mean why am I calling.? You're not going to get in trouble.so.whatever. Anyway, Buffy and I want to have a movie fest tonight. You and Spike up for it? Yeah, okay.bye.love you too. Tell Spike Buffy says 'Love you.'"
"They're up for it," she said, placing her cell in her bag.
"Cool," Buffy answered.
When the bell rang, Buffy and Willow waited for their boyfriends at their lockers. Later, at Buffy's house, after Spike and Xander went to work, Willow got a phone call.
"Hello?" Willow asked.
"Yes, Willow. I need you to come in for about an hour to help me with cataloging," Giles said.
"Okay, want Buffy to come too?"
"No, that's quite all right."
"See you later, G-man," Willow said, and then hung up her phone. "I'll be back. I'll pick up the videos, so Spike and Xander can pick up the food."
"See ya, Wills.Oh, and pick up a good chick flick," Buffy said to Willow, as she walked out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"She's alone, Boss," Johnson said.
"Good. We move in. I want the perimeter surrounded. I want to know if the police come, so I can get Buffy and get out," Riley said, watching her through the window of the van parked in front of her house.
"I have two men on each corner," Johnson said, checking the monitors. "She's in the kitchen, Boss, looks like she's making popcorn."
"All right, I'm moving out. Keep me informed," Riley said, exiting the van.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Buffy had just finished pouring the popped popcorn into a large bowl when she heard the front door open, and then close. She threw the empty bag away.
"Wills, is that you? Did Giles decide not do the inventory tonight?" She called from the kitchen. She heard someone enter the kitchen. She turned around with the bowl of popcorn in her hands, a smile on her face, but the smile faded when she saw who was standing there, and pure fear entered her heart.
"Riley?" She asked, as she dropped the bowl. "Riley?" She asked again, not wanting to believe that he was standing in front of her.
"Buffy," Riley said, moving toward her.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, backing towards the counter.
"I came back for you, Buffy," Riley said, still advancing on her. Buffy stared at him, wishing that this was all a dream, and that she could just wake up. "You know, Buff, when you had me arrested two years ago, I knew in my heart that you had nothing to do with it; that you didn't want it that way, that your aunt made you do it," he said, getting closer and closer to her. "And, when I got out, you would be there waiting for me." Riley was standing so close to her now that she could not move. "But you left. You weren't there, you stupid bitch." Riley hit her so hard and so fast that she didn't see his fist coming. She hit the ground. She felt blood dripping from her nose. "See? Look what you made me do, Buff. I didn't want to hurt you, but you make me so angry. Promise me you won't make me angry again?"
She didn't answer him. That only made him angrier, and he grabbed her arm and threw her into the den. Riley walked in with a gun pointed at her head. "Get up!" He commanded. When she stood up, he pushed her down onto the sofa. "You know, Buffy, I still lo-" He was cut short by the telephone ringing. "Answer it," he said, the gun still pointed at her.
"Hello," Buffy said, trying to sound calm.
"Hey, pet, I'm here with Xander and Willow. I'm going to give them a hand. Is that okay with you?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, fine," Buffy said, her voice cracking somewhat.
"Hey, Buffy, you okay?" Spike asked. She sounded very sad, almost scared.
"No."
"What's wrong?"
Buffy remained silent, carefully watching Riley.
"Buffy, can you tell me what's wrong?"
"No," she answered weakly.
She looked at Riley, who mouthed, 'Hang it up.'
"I have to go now. I love you, William," she said, then hung up the phone. She knew as soon as she said his real name, he would know something was wrong and come home, but she still the tears came from her eyes, not knowing if that was the last time she would every hear his voice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Did she say what was wrong?" Xander asked, looking up from his inventory list.
"No, but something isn't right," Spike said, grabbing his keys.
"Huh?" Willow asked. "What's not right?"
"She called me, 'William.' She never does that. I'm going to go see what's going on," Spike said, walking toward the door.
"All right, but call, if anything bad has occurred," Giles said. When Spike was gone, Willow went over to the phone.
"I'll call and see if I can get her to tell me," she said, picking up the phone.
When she dialed the number, she heard a recorded message that said, 'The number you are trying to reach is unavailable at this time. Please call again.'
"It's off the hook. Why would Buffy take her phone off the hook?" Willow asked, looking at Xander.
"I don't see what is so unusual about that," Giles said, taking off his glasses and cleaning them.
"Giles, a seventeen year old girl does not take her phone off the hook, no mater what," Willow said.
"Well, after we're done here, you can go over and see what's going on," Giles said, opening a box and beginning to rummage through it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as Buffy hung up the phone with Spike, Riley pulled the cord out of the wall.
"Now that we won't have any more interruptions, we can get back to 'us,'" Riley said, sitting on the coffee table in front of Buffy.
"Riley, there is no us," Buffy said, looking him in the eyes.
"Don't lie to me, Buffy."
"I'm not, Riley. I don't love you. Not any more. Things change, people change," she said, trying to calm him down enough so she could get out of the house.
"You will soon enough. You'll love me again," he said, as the front door opened.
"Buffy?" Spike called from the hallway. Riley quickly leaned forward and covered Buffy's mouth.
"Say one word," he whispered, "and I'll kill him." Buffy nodded her head as Riley left the room.
"What the hell?" Spike asked in confusion, as he saw the man he recognized as Riley, Buffy's ex, pointing a gun at him.
"Den, now," Riley said. When Spike entered the den, he saw Buffy sitting on the sofa, a fresh bruise on her cheek, and some fresh blood dripping from her nose. His first instinct was to run to her, but Riley pushing him down into a chair, and pointing a gun at his head stopped him.
"Stay," he commanded. As Spike tried to get up again, Riley pulled his phone out. "Johnson, get in here," he said, then hung up. When Johnson entered, Riley looked at him, then walked over to Buffy, pulling her up off the sofa. "Kill him," he said. When Johnson pointed the gun at Spike, Buffy screamed.
"No! Riley, please don't, don't do this, please!" She begged.
"Too late," he said, and pulled her toward the front door. Just before he left, he looked back at Johnson. "You know where I'll be," he said, then left, Buffy fighting him the whole way.
Johnson pulled the trigger.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Spike awoke, he was in a small white room. "Ah, you're finally awake," he heard a female voice say.
"Where am I?" Spike asked, his voice weak.
"In the hospital," the voice answered. "I'll go get your father and friends." She left the room. Spike sat up as his friends walked in.
"He took Buffy. We have to go find her," he said to Willow and Xander, trying to get out of bed.
"No, man, lay down," Xander said.
"What?" Spike said, getting angry with his friends. "Why?"
"No, Spike, relax. The police are looking for her. We found the guy that shot you, and the van, and the tapes, so don't worry. We will find Buffy." Willow said, sitting in a chair beside the bed. Then, she and Xander went into the whole story about how they had followed Spike after he'd left, then heard the shot and called the cops.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Riley got tired of her struggling, and about halfway to the car, he threw her to the ground. She was stunned, until she heard the gun shot, and tried to get back up and run to the house, but she found she couldn't move. Riley was straddling her lap, holding her down with one hand. In his other hand, he had a needle, and then everything went black.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It had been one day since Riley had taken Buffy, and Spike was released from the hospital. The police had said that they were close to finding Buffy and Riley, but Spike wasn't so sure. For now, Spike was sitting at home with his father.
"Don't worry, William, I'm sure that they'll find her, and that wanker, Riley, will go to prison for good," Giles said, sitting down next to his son.
"Yeah, Dad," Spike said, staring out the window. It was starting to get dark. He missed Buffy. He had been worried sick ever since he had called Buffy, and she had said that there had been something wrong. He was brought out of his thoughts by the phone ringing, and his father answering it.
"Yes," Giles said, "are you sure? When? Yes, I'll tell him.What hospital? Yes, we'll be there." Giles hung up, and looked over at Spike, whose head had popped up at the word 'hospital.' "They found Riley. They found Buffy in the mansion on Crawford Street. They said for us to meet them at the county hospital."
"All right. Let's go," Spike said, rushing to the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Buffy awoke, there were people standing in front of her, and she could feel someone behind her untying the ropes around her wrists. She moaned in pain when one of them picked her up and put her on a stretcher. She only heard some of what they were saying.
"We have to find out what he drugged her with, or else we'll have to pump her stomach," she heard one of them say, but then she passed out again.
When she woke up, her head hurt her less, and she was in a small white room. She moaned, and sat up. She noticed Spike asleep on the chair next to her bed, and then she realized where she was; she was in the hospital.
"Spike," she whispered, her voice horse and dry. " Spike," she said louder, when he didn't stir. Spike opened his eyes and looked around. He could have sworn he heard someone say his name.
"Buffy! You had me so worried," he said, getting up and hugging her.
"Ouch," Buffy said. Her side was killing her. She didn't know what Riley had done to her, but it hurt like hell.
"Sorry, pet," Spike said, kissing her forehead.
"Okay," Buffy said, yawning. "What happened?"
"Why don't you try and sleep, Pet? I'll be right back," Spike said, getting up to go get the doctor.
"No, I'm not sleepy," she said, sitting up all the way, pulling his hand.
"Well, Ms. Summers, it's good to see you awake. I'm Doctor Frank. I took care of you when you came in," the doctor said, sitting down in a swivel chair across from Buffy.
"Hi, Doctor Frank," Buffy said, as cheerily as possible.
"Is your throat sore, Buffy?" The doctor asked, looking down at a chart.
"Yes. How come?" Buffy asked, looking at Spike, who took her hand and kissed it.
"We had to pump your stomach to get the drugs out of your system," the doctor said, writing something in the chart.
"When can I go home?" Buffy asked, closing her eyes.
"We will be keeping you over night for observation, but if everything looks good, tomorrow you can go home. Now I'm going to go. If you need anything, there is a nurse outside the room." With that, she left the room.
"Spike, can you stay here tonight?" She asked, lying back down and yawning.
"Sure, Pet," Spike said, lying down besides her, holding her close.
Epilogue
Seven years later
"Ahh! Aunt Buffy!" Merry cried.
"What's the matter?" Buffy asked, looking up from her laptop computer to see the small four year old come running in to the dining room.
"Jason won't leave me alone. He keeps calling me 'stupid,' 'cause I play with dolls, and I told him that trucks were stupid, and then he threw one at me!" The small child cried, as Buffy closed the laptop on the table and stood up.
"Come on, let's go get your stuff ready for your mom. She should be here soon," Buffy said, taking the small child's hand, and leading her back in to the living room.
"Jason?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, Aunt Buffy?"
"Did you call your sister 'stupid?'" Buffy asked, as she started to pick up the toy cars and put them into a small backpack.
"No," he said sweetly.
"Yes, he did, Aunt Buffy!" Merry shrieked, jumping on the sofa.
"No, I didn't!" Jason cried.
"Okay, okay, stop both of you. No more fighting. Make up right now," Buffy said sternly.
"Sorry," Jason mumbled.
"Sorry," Merry said.
"All right, thank you. Do you to want to watch television with me until your mom gets here?"
"Sure, Aunt Buffy!" Both children shrieked. Buffy, Jason, and Merry sat on the sofa. It always surprised Buffy how different they were, even though they were twins. They looked nothing alike. When the doorbell rang, Buffy got up to answer it.
"Hey," Willow said when Buffy opened the door.
"Hey, Wills, how was work?" Buffy asked, as Willow entered the house.
"Great, and thanks for watching the kids for me. The day care center was closed," Willow said, pulling her wallet out of her purse, and taking out a twenty. "Here," she said, handing the money to Buffy.
"No, Wills, I can't take your money," Buffy said, pushing her hand away.
"Buffy, are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. They were no trouble. All I did was feed them and work on my new book," Buffy said.
"How is the book coming?" Willow asked.
"Great. This one is set in the 1980s. It has vampires and demons. The main characters are Alicia and Jeff. They're vampire lovers, but that's all I'm going to tell you. You'll have to read it when I'm done," Buffy said, walking into the living room.
"What's the title?" Willow asked, as Merry and Jason shrieked, "Mommy!" and ran up to her to hug her. It had been seven years since Willow and Xander had gotten married and, almost five years since Willow had become pregnant with the twins.
"Don't know yet. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of 'Bleeding Hearts,' by Buffy Ann Giles," Buffy said, as Willow picked up two small bags.
"Sounds great, Buff. I'm going to get the kids home. I'll call you tonight, after we get back from the fireworks show," Willow said, ushering her two kids to the front door.
"Have fun, Wills. Bye," she said, opening the door for them.
"Bye, Aunt Buffy," Merry said, hugging Buffy.
"Bye," Jason said, hugging Buffy as well.
"Bye, you two. See you later," she said, hugging them back, then leaning against the door frame. Willow walked them to the car, buckled them in, and then she got in and drove off, but not before sticking her hand out the window and waving good bye.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy walked upstairs to check on her newborn bundle of joy.
"Hey, Dawn," Buffy whispered, and she trailed her hand down her sleeping daughter's cheek.
She sat down in the chair beside her baby's crib, and looked at the diamond ring on her finger, and felt completely content. She and Spike had gotten married almost a year after the incident with Riley, but she rarely called him 'Spike' anymore. It was always 'William,' and now, here she was in the home that she now shared with her husband and new born daughter. Buffy had become a well-known writer, and Willow now owned the magic shop. Xander and Spike now owned their own construction business. She fell asleep there on the chair, with the images of her wedding day running through her head. She was awakened by a soft voice calling her name.
"Buffy," William whispered.
"Hey, Will," Buffy said, waking up.
"Hey, you want to come to bed?" William asked with a smile.
"Yeah," she said, starting to get up, but when William picked her up, she relaxed into his embrace.
"Allow me," he whispered in her ear. William carried her into their bedroom and placed her gently on their bed. Soon, she was drifting off to sleep with William snuggled close to her, and her sleeping bundle of joy in the next room.
The End???