~
A week later, a knock on the door brought Spike out of his staring contest with his computer.
"Hmm? What? Come in." He finally managed out. A young, red-head stepped through the threshold. She smiled coyly at Spike, who sat up straight at the sight of her, "Make yourself comfortable, luv." He cooed, kicking out a newly purchased stool. She sat down.
"Thank you, sir." A slight Texan accent perked the edges of her words.
"Dixie girl, are ya? I've never seen you around." Spike commented, "Do you need help with something?"
"I'm a new intern, Lindsey Cowan." She explained, her voice just above a whisper in a way that made Spike's neck hairs stand on end, "I just have some messages for you. Miss Summers is ill today, she has a stomach virus or something."
"Oh, no..." Spike said, his eyebrows furrowing in genuine concern. Spike's eyes widened for a millisecond when he realized he had * actually * just thought that, but in under three seconds, he refocused his attention on the beauty in front of him.
"...and Mr. Giles says that he'll be returning sometime next week and that everything went smoothly with the investors."
"Well, that calls for a celebration." Spike declared. He then turned his gaze to Lindsey and lowered his voice, "Don't you think, luv?"
She crossed her legs and a pink blush went across her pale cheeks.
"Most definitely." She answered. Spike stood up and stood right behind her. He dipped his head in his calculated way so that his lips were mere inches away from grazing her ear.
"Let me take you out tonight." He whispered.
She bit her lip.
She giggled.
She nodded.
"Alright."
Spike smiled at her.
~~~~~~~~
Spike raked his hand through his hair as he opened his car door. He looked over at his car clock, which read the time as being 2 am.
He mentally scolded himself as he quickly fixed the buttons on his red shirt. He looked down and rolled his eyes, zipping up his fly. Spike shook his head at himself...he had certainly gotten outta there fast. He leaned his head back for a moment, letting a moment of weariness pass through him. He sat up starkly and threw the seatbelt over himself. He put the keys into the ignition and started the car.
Then, he was gone.
~~~~~
"Hello, Miss. Can I help you?" Buffy looked up into the face of the CVS employee. She nodded.
"Yeah. I'm here to pick up a prescription." She handed the pharmacist the slip of paper her doctor had given her. The man read it quickly and nodded.
"It should be ready in about three hours. You could just go back to work or something and pick it up then." He said.
Buffy laughed, "Actually, my boss told me to take the rest of the day off. Or, I should say, ordered me to. He thought I still looked too sick to come in, even though I don't feel it."
The man just stared blankly at her. Buffy scrunched her nose for a second and tilted her head.
"I'll be here in three hours." She said. The man grunted a goodbye and Buffy forced a smile, until she turned around.
"Weirdo." She whispered, running her fingers through the length of her hair. Suddenly, though, she felt strong fingers encircle her arm.
"Buffy Summers?" A deep masculine voice asked. Buffy flipped around and widened her eyes.
"Riley Finn?" She asked.
Riley's face broke out into a huge grin.
"Buffy!" He exclaimed, wrapping her tiny frame into a bear hug, "God! It's so good to see you!"
"Riley?" Buffy asked again, still shell-shocked.
"The one and only." He laughed, "How are you? Are you living in LA now?"
"Um, yeah." Buffy quickly recovered, "I'm working for a magazine."
"Really? Which one?"
"Why are you here? I thought you were enlisting." Buffy steered the conversation away from S&M. Riley shook his head.
"I thought about it, but the idea of the military just was a bit extreme for me. I'm more of a quiet living type." He explained. Buffy tried to keep from snorting.
"So, what are you doing now?"
"I work for a data processing company. It's really exciting." Riley said, his eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas.
"I'll bet it is." Buffy replied briskly. "So, big changes for Mr. Finn. Is that all that's new in your life?"
Riley contemplated that question.
"Well, I guess there's always Sam, but you knew about her."
Buffy cocked her head.
"Sam?" She asked. Riley nodded.
"Yeah. Sam. My wife?"
All the blood drained from Buffy's face.
"Your wife..." She repeated shakily.
"Yeah, you were invited to the wedding last year, remember? We never got an RSVP from you." Riley replied. Buffy gave a tiny cough and wringed her hands together.
"I, uh, I guess my invitation got lost in the mail." Buffy said, her voice sounding detached and distant.
"Wow, yeah, I guess. Huh. Well, Sam's great. She's a data processor, like me. It's great fun, we have so much to talk about. She's funny, smart, attractive..." Riley continued to talk on and on about "Sam," but Buffy wasn't listening. She was staring at the golden ring on Riley's left ring finger. He was married. Married, married, married, married, married, married. Married. M-A-R-R-I-E-D. Willow and Oz were getting married. She wasn't. Xander would probably get married before her. Marriage. Married. Married. To find someone to spend the rest of one's life with. Married. Married, married. Riley and Sam would soon have little Riley's and little Sam's running around...and they'd all grow up to be little data processors. Willow and Oz. Riley and Sam. Married. Married.
Somehow, through all of Buffy's thoughts, she had maintained a conversation with Riley, left the CVS, and found herself in a bar. As soon as she became aware of her surroundings, Buffy clonked her head onto the counter, whimpering in defeat. She felt someone tap on her shoulder.
"Buffy?"
"Buffy, luv, are you alright?"
"Hello, Spike." Buffy said breathily as she sat up. Her eyes were bloodshot and her head felt numb. She forced a smile at him, but his dark blue eyes latched onto her green ones. They seemed to see right through her.
"Why are you in a bar?" He asked, "This place is only for pathetic prats like me."
Buffy laughed.
"I can say, without any doubt, that I * definitely * fit into that category."
"And I can say, without any doubt, that you are bloody wrong about that one, pet." Spike replied, sitting down next to her, "What's on your mind?"
Buffy laughed humorlessly.
"He's married!" She said, placing sarcastic cheerfulness on her words. Spike drew in his eyebrows and gave her a look.
"Riley." She explained, "My high school sweetheart. And my only, actual *serious* boyfriend. God, I'm so pathetic!" Buffy clonked her head down, again. Spike awkwardly patted her shoulder.
"You're not pathetic, luv. It's natural that you'd be upset. I mean, hell, if I heard Dru was getting married, I'd..." Spike trailed off when he caught Buffy staring at him, "What?"
"Do you still love Drusilla?" She asked. Spike shrugged.
"Part of me always will, I guess. But I'm not *in* love with her anymore. We live in two separate worlds."
"Ditto with me and Riley. Cept that we *always* lived in two separate worlds. Him in the boring, safe one, me in the real one."
"Then you're probably better off that you didn't marry him." Spike replied, taking another sip of liquor. Buffy widened her eyes and stared at him. Then she burst out laughing.
"Oh, god, no! I wouldn't marry him if someone put a gun to my head! No, no...I'm just upset that everyone has someone but me."
"Here, here." Spike said, tipping his glass slightly.
"You have girls, though." Buffy commented.
"Not the same as having 'someone.'" Spike shot back, "Trust me. I'd take what me and Dru had any day over this life."
"But not necessarily with Dru." Buffy filled in. Spike smirked and shrugged.
"Guess so."
Buffy looked at Spike.
"You're British, right?"
Spike merely looked at her. She laughed and shook her head.
"Well, obviously, you are." She said, "But what I mean is, there's a special showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail at this IMAX theatre. Kinda freaky, but you feel like you're actually there when the Black Knight gets all his limbs chopped off. I thought maybe you'd be interested, ya know, two pals going to see British humor...only one of them can actually explain it!"
Spike pretended to contemplate the idea, instead of just jumping out of his chair with a YES.
"Alright, luv." He said, standing up.
The two friends then went off, ready to laugh.
~~~~~~
Buffy sat at her desk, doodling tiny circles on a notepad.
She thought wryly, turning the papers over. She ran her fingers through her hair and flipped open her iBook. As soon as she logged on, however, a message popped up.
:: REYNOLDSW: Hey, pet. This is a new system; if you need to contact anyone for a quick question, just click on the new Message Network icon and type the last name and then the first initial of the person you need to get in contact with. Just don't forget to put a 'W' on mine, instead of an S ;) ::
Buffy smiled and quickly typed a reply back.
:: SUMMERSB: Thanks for the info, Spike. ::
He instantly replied.
:: REYNOLDSW: Sure thing, luv. Now get to work...and look out for evil rabbits. (P.S. Did you know that Anya is actually scared of bunnies after seeing that movie?) ::
Buffy laughed out loud and shook her head, canceling the message, when suddenly, another popped up.
:: OCONNORA: Hello, Buffy. ::
Buffy raised her eyebrows and felt her cheeks flush.
:: SUMMERSB: Hi, Angel. Do you need anything? ::
The reply came.
:: OCONNORA: I think this is probably against company policy to use this system like this, but I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me sometime. Say, Friday? ::
Underneath Buffy's ecstatic feeling of joy, a ripple of annoyance passed through...
This, however, was not going to stop her.
:: SUMMERSB: Friday's great! ::
:: OCONNORA: Excellent. I know a great club, The Robot's Apartment. We could meet there around 7. ::
Buffy frowned slightly. She had been hoping for a real dinner, where she could actually get to know Angel. But, she was * not * going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
:: SUMMERSB: Yeah, it is great. My friends and I go there a lot. ::
:: OCONNORA: I'll see you then. I have a shoot now. Goodbye. ::
:: SUMMERSB: Bye. ::
She deleted the conversation with two very distinct emotions running through her.
One was thrilled that Angel O'Connor had actually asked her out.
The other though..
. "Why do I feel like I just got asked out like a freshman in high school?" She wondered aloud.
But she'd get over it.
She'd be with Angel, and that's all that really mattered.
~~~~~~~~
Angel knocked on the edge of Spike's open door.
"Hiya, Reynolds." The brunette male said with a tiny smile. Spike didn't even look up as he replied.
"O'Connor. What do you want?"
Angel shrugged and entered the office, his smile becoming fully smug.
"Just thought I'd drop by for a quick chat between old buddies."
Spike brought his glare up sharply.
"We're not buddies." Spike said in a whisper, "You bloody well outta know that by now."
Angel sighed.
"How many times do I have to fucking apologize to you?" He asked. Spike shook his head.
"It's not even about the whole Dru deal. It's about you being a bastard."
"Then fire me." Angel challenged, the smile plastered back on his face. Spike narrowed his eyes.
"You know I can't do that. You're too good at what you do. We'd never get someone as good as you...I like your pictures." Pause. "Doesn't mean I like you."
"Right back at ya." Angel said with an eyeroll, "If we're being honest."
"It's always the best policy."
"Well, since we're talking honesty..." Angel looked at his boss, "Do you have a thing for Buffy?"
Spike furrowed his brow.
"No." He answered shortly. Angel nodded slowly, shifting his weight.
"Oh. Good." He said with mock-relief. Spike raised an eyebrow, silently asked Angel to elaborate.
"I just asked her out." Angel explained.
Something rolled up in Spike's stomach. He thought.
"Why?" Spike asked his voice cracking.
"Why not? She's cute, she's single-"
"She's vulnerable." Spike finished, putting on a bad Midwest accent. He glared at the photographer and stood up so that he was only inches away from Angel.
"What the hell are you playing at, O'Connor?"
Angel smiled slowly.
"Like you have a right to question my intentions with people at work. Bagged any Texan redheads lately?" He replied.
"Buffy's not like normal girls." Spike continued, pointedly ignoring Angel's comment, "If you use her, you'll regret it, I guarantee it."
The threat in Spike's voice did not go unnoticed by Angel.
"Hey, Spikey! I'm just having some fun with the girl." He said with a smile, "I'll see where it heads, ya know?"
"Bullshit." Spike snorted.
"What I mean is...you're right. Buffy's different than other girls. I'm not gonna say that she's just a lay." Angel said quietly.
"But you're not going to deny it either." Spike replied icily.
Angel just smiled.
"See ya later, Boss."
With that, Angel left the room with a slam of the door.
tbc...
A week later, a knock on the door brought Spike out of his staring contest with his computer.
"Hmm? What? Come in." He finally managed out. A young, red-head stepped through the threshold. She smiled coyly at Spike, who sat up straight at the sight of her, "Make yourself comfortable, luv." He cooed, kicking out a newly purchased stool. She sat down.
"Thank you, sir." A slight Texan accent perked the edges of her words.
"Dixie girl, are ya? I've never seen you around." Spike commented, "Do you need help with something?"
"I'm a new intern, Lindsey Cowan." She explained, her voice just above a whisper in a way that made Spike's neck hairs stand on end, "I just have some messages for you. Miss Summers is ill today, she has a stomach virus or something."
"Oh, no..." Spike said, his eyebrows furrowing in genuine concern. Spike's eyes widened for a millisecond when he realized he had * actually * just thought that, but in under three seconds, he refocused his attention on the beauty in front of him.
"...and Mr. Giles says that he'll be returning sometime next week and that everything went smoothly with the investors."
"Well, that calls for a celebration." Spike declared. He then turned his gaze to Lindsey and lowered his voice, "Don't you think, luv?"
She crossed her legs and a pink blush went across her pale cheeks.
"Most definitely." She answered. Spike stood up and stood right behind her. He dipped his head in his calculated way so that his lips were mere inches away from grazing her ear.
"Let me take you out tonight." He whispered.
She bit her lip.
She giggled.
She nodded.
"Alright."
Spike smiled at her.
~~~~~~~~
Spike raked his hand through his hair as he opened his car door. He looked over at his car clock, which read the time as being 2 am.
He mentally scolded himself as he quickly fixed the buttons on his red shirt. He looked down and rolled his eyes, zipping up his fly. Spike shook his head at himself...he had certainly gotten outta there fast. He leaned his head back for a moment, letting a moment of weariness pass through him. He sat up starkly and threw the seatbelt over himself. He put the keys into the ignition and started the car.
Then, he was gone.
~~~~~
"Hello, Miss. Can I help you?" Buffy looked up into the face of the CVS employee. She nodded.
"Yeah. I'm here to pick up a prescription." She handed the pharmacist the slip of paper her doctor had given her. The man read it quickly and nodded.
"It should be ready in about three hours. You could just go back to work or something and pick it up then." He said.
Buffy laughed, "Actually, my boss told me to take the rest of the day off. Or, I should say, ordered me to. He thought I still looked too sick to come in, even though I don't feel it."
The man just stared blankly at her. Buffy scrunched her nose for a second and tilted her head.
"I'll be here in three hours." She said. The man grunted a goodbye and Buffy forced a smile, until she turned around.
"Weirdo." She whispered, running her fingers through the length of her hair. Suddenly, though, she felt strong fingers encircle her arm.
"Buffy Summers?" A deep masculine voice asked. Buffy flipped around and widened her eyes.
"Riley Finn?" She asked.
Riley's face broke out into a huge grin.
"Buffy!" He exclaimed, wrapping her tiny frame into a bear hug, "God! It's so good to see you!"
"Riley?" Buffy asked again, still shell-shocked.
"The one and only." He laughed, "How are you? Are you living in LA now?"
"Um, yeah." Buffy quickly recovered, "I'm working for a magazine."
"Really? Which one?"
"Why are you here? I thought you were enlisting." Buffy steered the conversation away from S&M. Riley shook his head.
"I thought about it, but the idea of the military just was a bit extreme for me. I'm more of a quiet living type." He explained. Buffy tried to keep from snorting.
"So, what are you doing now?"
"I work for a data processing company. It's really exciting." Riley said, his eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas.
"I'll bet it is." Buffy replied briskly. "So, big changes for Mr. Finn. Is that all that's new in your life?"
Riley contemplated that question.
"Well, I guess there's always Sam, but you knew about her."
Buffy cocked her head.
"Sam?" She asked. Riley nodded.
"Yeah. Sam. My wife?"
All the blood drained from Buffy's face.
"Your wife..." She repeated shakily.
"Yeah, you were invited to the wedding last year, remember? We never got an RSVP from you." Riley replied. Buffy gave a tiny cough and wringed her hands together.
"I, uh, I guess my invitation got lost in the mail." Buffy said, her voice sounding detached and distant.
"Wow, yeah, I guess. Huh. Well, Sam's great. She's a data processor, like me. It's great fun, we have so much to talk about. She's funny, smart, attractive..." Riley continued to talk on and on about "Sam," but Buffy wasn't listening. She was staring at the golden ring on Riley's left ring finger. He was married. Married, married, married, married, married, married. Married. M-A-R-R-I-E-D. Willow and Oz were getting married. She wasn't. Xander would probably get married before her. Marriage. Married. Married. To find someone to spend the rest of one's life with. Married. Married, married. Riley and Sam would soon have little Riley's and little Sam's running around...and they'd all grow up to be little data processors. Willow and Oz. Riley and Sam. Married. Married.
Somehow, through all of Buffy's thoughts, she had maintained a conversation with Riley, left the CVS, and found herself in a bar. As soon as she became aware of her surroundings, Buffy clonked her head onto the counter, whimpering in defeat. She felt someone tap on her shoulder.
"Buffy?"
"Buffy, luv, are you alright?"
"Hello, Spike." Buffy said breathily as she sat up. Her eyes were bloodshot and her head felt numb. She forced a smile at him, but his dark blue eyes latched onto her green ones. They seemed to see right through her.
"Why are you in a bar?" He asked, "This place is only for pathetic prats like me."
Buffy laughed.
"I can say, without any doubt, that I * definitely * fit into that category."
"And I can say, without any doubt, that you are bloody wrong about that one, pet." Spike replied, sitting down next to her, "What's on your mind?"
Buffy laughed humorlessly.
"He's married!" She said, placing sarcastic cheerfulness on her words. Spike drew in his eyebrows and gave her a look.
"Riley." She explained, "My high school sweetheart. And my only, actual *serious* boyfriend. God, I'm so pathetic!" Buffy clonked her head down, again. Spike awkwardly patted her shoulder.
"You're not pathetic, luv. It's natural that you'd be upset. I mean, hell, if I heard Dru was getting married, I'd..." Spike trailed off when he caught Buffy staring at him, "What?"
"Do you still love Drusilla?" She asked. Spike shrugged.
"Part of me always will, I guess. But I'm not *in* love with her anymore. We live in two separate worlds."
"Ditto with me and Riley. Cept that we *always* lived in two separate worlds. Him in the boring, safe one, me in the real one."
"Then you're probably better off that you didn't marry him." Spike replied, taking another sip of liquor. Buffy widened her eyes and stared at him. Then she burst out laughing.
"Oh, god, no! I wouldn't marry him if someone put a gun to my head! No, no...I'm just upset that everyone has someone but me."
"Here, here." Spike said, tipping his glass slightly.
"You have girls, though." Buffy commented.
"Not the same as having 'someone.'" Spike shot back, "Trust me. I'd take what me and Dru had any day over this life."
"But not necessarily with Dru." Buffy filled in. Spike smirked and shrugged.
"Guess so."
Buffy looked at Spike.
"You're British, right?"
Spike merely looked at her. She laughed and shook her head.
"Well, obviously, you are." She said, "But what I mean is, there's a special showing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail at this IMAX theatre. Kinda freaky, but you feel like you're actually there when the Black Knight gets all his limbs chopped off. I thought maybe you'd be interested, ya know, two pals going to see British humor...only one of them can actually explain it!"
Spike pretended to contemplate the idea, instead of just jumping out of his chair with a YES.
"Alright, luv." He said, standing up.
The two friends then went off, ready to laugh.
~~~~~~
Buffy sat at her desk, doodling tiny circles on a notepad.
She thought wryly, turning the papers over. She ran her fingers through her hair and flipped open her iBook. As soon as she logged on, however, a message popped up.
:: REYNOLDSW: Hey, pet. This is a new system; if you need to contact anyone for a quick question, just click on the new Message Network icon and type the last name and then the first initial of the person you need to get in contact with. Just don't forget to put a 'W' on mine, instead of an S ;) ::
Buffy smiled and quickly typed a reply back.
:: SUMMERSB: Thanks for the info, Spike. ::
He instantly replied.
:: REYNOLDSW: Sure thing, luv. Now get to work...and look out for evil rabbits. (P.S. Did you know that Anya is actually scared of bunnies after seeing that movie?) ::
Buffy laughed out loud and shook her head, canceling the message, when suddenly, another popped up.
:: OCONNORA: Hello, Buffy. ::
Buffy raised her eyebrows and felt her cheeks flush.
:: SUMMERSB: Hi, Angel. Do you need anything? ::
The reply came.
:: OCONNORA: I think this is probably against company policy to use this system like this, but I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me sometime. Say, Friday? ::
Underneath Buffy's ecstatic feeling of joy, a ripple of annoyance passed through...
This, however, was not going to stop her.
:: SUMMERSB: Friday's great! ::
:: OCONNORA: Excellent. I know a great club, The Robot's Apartment. We could meet there around 7. ::
Buffy frowned slightly. She had been hoping for a real dinner, where she could actually get to know Angel. But, she was * not * going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
:: SUMMERSB: Yeah, it is great. My friends and I go there a lot. ::
:: OCONNORA: I'll see you then. I have a shoot now. Goodbye. ::
:: SUMMERSB: Bye. ::
She deleted the conversation with two very distinct emotions running through her.
One was thrilled that Angel O'Connor had actually asked her out.
The other though..
. "Why do I feel like I just got asked out like a freshman in high school?" She wondered aloud.
But she'd get over it.
She'd be with Angel, and that's all that really mattered.
~~~~~~~~
Angel knocked on the edge of Spike's open door.
"Hiya, Reynolds." The brunette male said with a tiny smile. Spike didn't even look up as he replied.
"O'Connor. What do you want?"
Angel shrugged and entered the office, his smile becoming fully smug.
"Just thought I'd drop by for a quick chat between old buddies."
Spike brought his glare up sharply.
"We're not buddies." Spike said in a whisper, "You bloody well outta know that by now."
Angel sighed.
"How many times do I have to fucking apologize to you?" He asked. Spike shook his head.
"It's not even about the whole Dru deal. It's about you being a bastard."
"Then fire me." Angel challenged, the smile plastered back on his face. Spike narrowed his eyes.
"You know I can't do that. You're too good at what you do. We'd never get someone as good as you...I like your pictures." Pause. "Doesn't mean I like you."
"Right back at ya." Angel said with an eyeroll, "If we're being honest."
"It's always the best policy."
"Well, since we're talking honesty..." Angel looked at his boss, "Do you have a thing for Buffy?"
Spike furrowed his brow.
"No." He answered shortly. Angel nodded slowly, shifting his weight.
"Oh. Good." He said with mock-relief. Spike raised an eyebrow, silently asked Angel to elaborate.
"I just asked her out." Angel explained.
Something rolled up in Spike's stomach. He thought.
"Why?" Spike asked his voice cracking.
"Why not? She's cute, she's single-"
"She's vulnerable." Spike finished, putting on a bad Midwest accent. He glared at the photographer and stood up so that he was only inches away from Angel.
"What the hell are you playing at, O'Connor?"
Angel smiled slowly.
"Like you have a right to question my intentions with people at work. Bagged any Texan redheads lately?" He replied.
"Buffy's not like normal girls." Spike continued, pointedly ignoring Angel's comment, "If you use her, you'll regret it, I guarantee it."
The threat in Spike's voice did not go unnoticed by Angel.
"Hey, Spikey! I'm just having some fun with the girl." He said with a smile, "I'll see where it heads, ya know?"
"Bullshit." Spike snorted.
"What I mean is...you're right. Buffy's different than other girls. I'm not gonna say that she's just a lay." Angel said quietly.
"But you're not going to deny it either." Spike replied icily.
Angel just smiled.
"See ya later, Boss."
With that, Angel left the room with a slam of the door.
tbc...