Riley was enjoying her summer at Angels and with her fellow slayers. Faith was cool. She let the girls pretty much have free rein, except in training and patrols. Training was always serious, and patrols were always 'safety first'.
"Like I want to explain to B how I broke one of her slayers. Not." This was her perennial answer to any whining.
One day Riley decided to go into the gym while everyone was out and she started punching on the punching bag. The steady beat of her fists was soothing and she was lost in the rhythm when Connor came storming in. He stopped at seeing her, but scowled and continued on to another punching bag, unleashing a furious flurry of kicks on the defenseless thing.
Riley stepped back and regarded Connor for a moment. "Wanna talk?" she asked and he grunted, "No."
"Ok." She shrugged, and continued to punch her bag. "I just don't get you." She said and watched out of the corner of her eye as he stopped and regarded her suspiciously.
"Oh, you know. You're so harsh to your Dad. You're lucky to have him you know." She remarked and he walked over to her.
"You don't know what you're talking about Slayer." He said sarcastically.
"I hear things, I listen. You're Angel's son, blah blah. You were raised in the demon dimension, blah blah. You're mad at Angel, blah blah." She kept punching and she saw him smile.
"You're such a whiner Connor. You're lucky to have Angel and don't even know it." she shook her head in exasperation. Connor looked at her with his mouth open and Riley looked at him with sympathy. "You're catching flies Connor."
"How am I lucky to have my Dad?" Connor asked, a little belligerently.
"You were taken from him and he pulled apart heaven and demon dimension to find you." She punched the bag viciously. "Try having my Dad. He beat me from the time I was 8 until I was 16. Trying having your Dad throw a meal out of the oven on you, giving you second degree burns because he wanted chicken instead of roast beef, and I was supposed to know that. Try having him beat you because his uniforms weren't clean. Oh, they were in the closet? You should have put them on the bed. Try having the man that is supposed to protect you, beat you for any reason, real or imagined. Try getting over having your Dad sending you death threats 3 times a week from prison. Come crying to me about how your Dad is so mean to you and I'll kick your ass." Riley steadily beat on the punching bag through this, until it snapped off its chain onto the floor.
"Oops. I'll call Buffy and get you a new one." Riley said guiltily. Connor shook his head and took the dead punching bag and put it in the corner.
Angel wanted to kick Riley's Dad's ass himself. He and Mary had been going to meditate then train when they had come upon the conversation between Connor and Riley and had shamelessly eavesdropped. Mary held up her finger to remind him to be quiet.
Connor flopped down on the mats and gave a persecuted sigh. He looked up at Riley who was balancing on one leg, trying to improve her balance. "You know that my Dad is still in love with your Buffy." He said and Angel winced in the hallway.
Riley sighed and flopped down besides him. "I know, I was there. It sometimes think that love, between a man and a woman that is, is the suckiest thing in the world. It gives them the power to pull your heart out of your chest while it's still beating and stomp on it." She rolled onto her back and folded her arms under her head. Out in the hallway Angel nodded in self-righteous agreement.
"I think that Buffy will always love your Dad. He was her first love and all the shit that comes with that. But they hurt each other so badly that they can't ever get back to there. What's the point of love if you are constantly hurting each other and in pain?" She looked at Connor who nodded thoughtfully.
Angel and Mary exchanged painful glances in the hallway, and Mary wished that she were far, far away.
"Then there is Buffy and Adam. It's almost like poetry. They are totally aware of each other, their hearts in their eyes. It almost is embarrassing to watch because is seems like it should be private. Their love is like a second skin that they are comfortable with. Though if Angel ever needed help, Buffy would drop everything to help, with Adam's blessing, which I guess is true love." She rolled over and looked at Connor. "I think you should give your Dad a break. He's trying and you should be grateful, not everyone has a Dad that does." She jumped to her feet, and then pounced, tickling Connor, making him laugh and shriek. She was giggling as she jumped up and ran out of the back door, Connor in hot pursuit.
Angel walked in, hands in his pockets and brooding, Mary following quietly. "I'm sorry that you had to hear that." she said quietly and Angel shook his head, "I'm not. Riley is pretty smart for her age. And maybe she'll bring Connor around. God knows that I can't." and Angel pushed the remaining punching bag, watching it sway.
"What about the part about you and Buffy?" Mary asked quietly, settling herself into the lotus position. He stared at her for a moment, and then grimaced. "She's right about that too, but I didn't want to hear it. I hate it when kids are smarter than me." Mary laughed and closed her eyes. Angel watched her, marveling at her soothing spirit. She was beautiful, almost as tall as he was; smart like Willow and an extremely strong. She also had this serenity that followed her around that made her attractive to be around.
Sighing he sat down and prepared to meditate with her. He could use some inner peace about now.
