A/N: Don't know about you guys but I always wanted to see the part where Buffy has to explain to Riley about Faith and Angel and all in "This year's girl" season 4. So this is my take on that scene. (And also I think it's kind of Riley friendly, if you're a Riley fan don't worry I'm not bashing him)

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"Who's Faith?" Riley asked and the the scooby gang all turned their eyes at him.

"Faith?" Buffy repeated with a painful, guilty look in her eyes. Riley could tell she was stressed and didn't want to talk about it.

"Well .....um....." Xander seemed edgy too. His eyes wandered from Willow to Buffy to Giles and then back on Riley. "I need a snack," He stated and hurried into Giles' kitchen.

Buffy bit her lip and reached for Riley's hand. "Guys I think I need to take this one on my own." She explained as she led Riley to the door.

Willow nodded with something in her eyes, Riley suspected was anger. She didn't seem to like this girl very much. The subject actually seemed to make all of them tense.

Riley followed Buffy outside but when she dragged him towards the stairs he took a hold of her arm, stopping her.

"Buffy.....can't you just tell me here?"

She shook her head. "I'd rather not." She said and crinkled her nose a little. "A conversation about Faith could take .....a long time.....and I really want to tell you in private. Please"

He smiled at her begging eyes and put some of her hair behind her ear in a gentle gesture.

"Okay"

**

"So who's Faith?" Riley asked again once they were back in Buffy's dorm room. He was sitting on the edge of her bed and Buffy was standing in front him him. She was to edgy to sit down. She was not dying to have this conversation.

"She.....she's a slayer"

Her boyfriend frowned. "A slayer?" He seemed surprised. "I thought you were.....I mean the 'chosen' one. Like the only one."

Buffy nodded and wiped her palms on her pants. "Uhuh, I was. But I died when I was 16."

Riley's eyes got big and he was about to say something but Buffy held up a hand to silence him and he did.

"I was only gone for a short while, Xander brought me back. But another slayer was called."

"Faith?"

"Kendra, but then she was killed by Drusilla. She was Sp.....eh .....well a vampire and after that Faith was called." Buffy swallowed hard and started to pace around in the room.

"She came to Sunnydale during my senior year there and..... well lets just say that she took a little trip to the bad side." She crinkled her eyebrows. "Actually I'd say a pretty big one cos I'm assuming she's still on that ride. You see.....Faith's been in a coma."

"A coma?" Riley interrupted a bit confused. "Putting a slayer in a coma gotta be a though deal - and what sort of a demon would do that? Wouldn't it just've killed her? It doesn't make sense Buffy."

Buffy took her eyes off him as they were filled with tears.

"It wasn't a demon who did it - it was me."

"What?" Riley stared at her like she was crazy. He just couldn't believe Buffy would've done such a thing, ever. "Why?"

Buffy wiped her eyes with a shaking hand and sat down on Willow's bed. Suddenly her legs didn't want to carry her.

"I had a eh.....boyfriend......then....who, well, Faith poisoned him. She was working for the Mayor and I'm suddenly realising you don't know who the Mayor is but he was bad. So he got her this poison." She swallowed again and tried to figure out what to tell. What Riley could handle and what would hurt him the least.

Riley looked at her serious and thoughtful as she continued.

"I found out the only cure for this was a slayers blood."

"Oh." Riley looked away briefly. "So you.....?"

Buffy shook her head. "No I ......I wanted to kill her, and I was going to, I would've." She stared at her feet. "I stabbed her - with her own knife - but she got .....away."

Riley didn't move. Thw words came to him but he had trouble accepting them.

"So .....this guy. He died?" He broke the silence after a while and lifted his eyes to Buffy. She looked very tense now.

"No."

"But then how did you....." Riley interrupted himself. "Oh." He said and they both looked away. He didn't know what to think or feel. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear anymore.

Buffy stood up and sat by his side. "But that's all in the past now. Except for the part where Faith woke up from her coma with no recollection of the past 8 months and probably a pretty big grudge at me. I put her in a coma ......and when she finds out I killed the Mayor she's gonna take it ......well bad. Faith doesn't deal well."

Riley nodded. His thoughts were still stuck on the guy Buffy had cured with her blood. It must've been the 'office romance' she told him about before. The one that scorned her so badly she didn't want to be with him at first.

"I guess you loved him a lot." He said and his girlfriend raised her eyebrows.

"Angel?" She closed her eyes since it still was kind of painful to think of him. She still loved him so much her heart almost broke. But she loved Riley too. A different sort of love. Not better nor worse.

"I did." She admitted. "But I'm with you now. What I did or felt in the past it doesn't affect that." She kissed him softly and put her arms around him.

Riley took comfort in her scent and feeling her close to him. He brushed some hair of her shoulder and the scar on her neck became visiable to him. It was like a knife in his gut but he didn't say anything. He just hugged her tighter.

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A/N: Ya like? Anyway thanks for reading and please review. It makes me happy.

Jennifer