Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I never will and I do not own Spike, sadly, I'm just borrowing them for this story.
Author's Notes: Enjoy and review! the more comments, the faster I update.
Chapter 3
He slammed the door to his crypt and tore his coat off, throwing it to the ground. "Bleedin ninny that's what I am. A Bloody NINNY! I'm worse than that poofter of a sire of mine! Can't even be anywhere near the slayer and not get all poncey." He stopped and looked at the door of his crypt. "Hope she's gonna be a'ight."
Buffy walked through the doors of the hospital and back into the waiting room with her friends, sister and her lover. She smiled at the sight, it was the typical Scoobie Gang. Willow was fidgeting and bothering Xander, who had become a pillow to Anya. Giles was pacing back and forth with a cup of coffee in his hand that he wasn't even drinking, and Dawn was curled up like a little child in Riley's lap. He was idly running his fingers through her hair and he looked so... paternal.
What Buffy found strange was that she wasn't jealous that she wasn't the one in Riley's arms, that she was content to be the one looking in on this scene. Why was she always the outsider? She didn't have any more time to contemplate matters before Giles saw her and beckoned her over to where he now stood holding his coffee.
"We haven't heard anything yet, but they think it will be soon, or at least I hope. How was patrolling?" He switched coffee hands.
She reached out and gently removed the now cold cup from his hand. "Patrolling was fine, I worked out some things and..." She almost slipped and told him about the whole still being married to Spike, but no one even knew that they had been married and that was just not a can of worms that she wanted to open up right now. Besides, she had scared Riley enough that night when she had told him that she was going to marry Spike. "I uh, well, just a few vamps, that's all. Saw Spike, had a chat, nothing big."
"How you can put up with that heathen..." Giles rolled his eyes. "He isn't the greatest flat mate, let's just say that. Went and drank all my scotch." The last part was said under his breath and Buffy just shook her head at him.
"I'm gonna pretend like I didn't hear that Giles." Sitting down next to Riley she crossed her legs and looked around at the hospital surroundings: the silent atmosphere that left a scared feeling running down one's spine, the white sinister walls, the sterile environment that left one shivering. This place was bleak and depressing and she couldn't wait to get outta here. Here she couldn't control what happened. There was nothing here to slay, nothing to fight, nothing that she could even do to help her mother. At times like this it made one want to take up religion.
Riley, noting the trapped look in his lover's eyes, put an arm around her and smiled comfortingly down at her, but as soon as he had the doctor came out and she jumped up, without giving it so much as a second's thought to his arm that she just abandoned.
Hugging her arms around herself, Buffy approached the doctor with Giles, Willow and Xander at her sides. "What is it doctor? Is my mother going to be alright?"
Smiling at her, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Your mother made it through just fine, so don't worry, but I do suggest, and this is my opinion as a doctor: Go home and get some sleep, relax. Your mother is going to be in recovery and she probably won't wake up until tomorrow. She's a strong woman, your mother."
Buffy wanted to cry out with joy. She flung her arms around Xander, then Willow and then Giles, the father figure in her life. As she turned back to Riley, with a sleeping Dawn in his arms still, she smiled, her exultation calmed for the moment. "Xander, Anya? Would you guys mind watching Dawn tonight. I think that Riley and I need to spend some time together." She was intrigued by the look of surprise that crossed his handsome farm grown features. "What do you say? Feel like spending some time together? Just the two of us?"
He nodded, quite happy about her decision to spend time together, but perhaps it was a little too late. Waking Dawn up, he stood up, unwrinkling his pants and shirt.
Groggily she looked around. "Is mom awake yet?"
Buffy ran over and hugged her sister tightly. "She's gonna be fine Dawnie. I talked to the doctor, she's gonna be fine." Tears ran unchecked down the two Summers' faces at the joyful news of their mother's prognosis.
Riley stood like an outsider looking inside of something that he knew that he would never be a part of. Xander, Buffy, Willow, Giles and Dawn had been together since the beginning. Hell, even Anya and Tara were more accepted than he was into the group; at least their significant others loved them. He would have given anything to have Buffy look at him the way that Willow looked at Tara or Xander looked at Anya. All he saw when Buffy looked at him was a wish. He would never be Angel, he was only human, he couldn't be the monster that she wanted. Things were great when he was still one of the lab rats for the Initiative, and then they took all that away, and he was average Joe again.
He remembered that day, he knew something was going wrong, that he was stronger than he should have been, but the passion between he and Buffy was astounding, she was all over him, all of the time. Laughing, fighting, all of it was full of the heat and passion that he imagined she had had with Angel. And then the discovery of the chip by his heart, if they took it out, he wouldn't die, but their relationship would. She swore to him that it wouldn't, but he knew better, he knew her better than she knew herself. And then the words that he wished he had never heard came out of her mouth. "If I wanted a guy with super powers, I'd be dating Spike." Where had that come from? He had never brought up Spike, that was of her own doing, and in that moment, he saw the attraction that she had for him.
The vampire was right, she did like a little monster in her man. Angel was unattainable due to the curse, he wasn't enough of a monster, but Spike... She swore that she hated him, but she treated him like a man, not like the vermin that he knew he was. She was supposed to be a Vampire Slayer for Christ's sake, and she was pardoning him, all because of that chip, that chip that HE put inside of his head. He wasn't any different, he was still a cold blooded killer, just locked within a cell that he would inevitably find a way to break away from.
Riley didn't even notice when Buffy took his arm and the group of them walked out of the hospital that he had been sitting in for a better part of 24 hours.
Dawn walked out of Xander's kitchen and sat down with a soda in her hand, attempting to ignore Anya's babbling about the money that she had made at the Magic Box. Her day, it's Dawn's big day, her mom was gonna be alright, then why couldn't she be with her family? They were all separated. Well, Buffy is with Riley, Mom is in the hospital still and I'm here... this is so much fun. Can someone please shut up Anya? She giggled to herself. Anya was kinda, interesting in her own way, and at least she didn't have to hear the sex capades at home. That was just way to sick, Riley was so not her sister's type. Oh well, he seemed to make her happy enough, she certainly didn't cry as much as she did with Angel. Everything just had to be so dramatic then. She would never understand her sister.
"Riley? Can we just make this night last forever? I never want it to end." Buffy relaxed in Riley's arms as they swayed to and fro to the music that softly played in the dim background. She closed her eyes and let herself just drift as she related to him about how scared she had been, about how she had cried so often and how she had been so weak in the presence of all of this. She didn't notice the hurt look on his face.
The ended the night making love in her bed and she drifted off to sleep, not knowing when Riley left her side and disappeared into the night, and she didn't notice a certain blonde vampire standing outside of her bedroom window all night long.
Author's Notes: Enjoy and review! the more comments, the faster I update.
Chapter 3
He slammed the door to his crypt and tore his coat off, throwing it to the ground. "Bleedin ninny that's what I am. A Bloody NINNY! I'm worse than that poofter of a sire of mine! Can't even be anywhere near the slayer and not get all poncey." He stopped and looked at the door of his crypt. "Hope she's gonna be a'ight."
Buffy walked through the doors of the hospital and back into the waiting room with her friends, sister and her lover. She smiled at the sight, it was the typical Scoobie Gang. Willow was fidgeting and bothering Xander, who had become a pillow to Anya. Giles was pacing back and forth with a cup of coffee in his hand that he wasn't even drinking, and Dawn was curled up like a little child in Riley's lap. He was idly running his fingers through her hair and he looked so... paternal.
What Buffy found strange was that she wasn't jealous that she wasn't the one in Riley's arms, that she was content to be the one looking in on this scene. Why was she always the outsider? She didn't have any more time to contemplate matters before Giles saw her and beckoned her over to where he now stood holding his coffee.
"We haven't heard anything yet, but they think it will be soon, or at least I hope. How was patrolling?" He switched coffee hands.
She reached out and gently removed the now cold cup from his hand. "Patrolling was fine, I worked out some things and..." She almost slipped and told him about the whole still being married to Spike, but no one even knew that they had been married and that was just not a can of worms that she wanted to open up right now. Besides, she had scared Riley enough that night when she had told him that she was going to marry Spike. "I uh, well, just a few vamps, that's all. Saw Spike, had a chat, nothing big."
"How you can put up with that heathen..." Giles rolled his eyes. "He isn't the greatest flat mate, let's just say that. Went and drank all my scotch." The last part was said under his breath and Buffy just shook her head at him.
"I'm gonna pretend like I didn't hear that Giles." Sitting down next to Riley she crossed her legs and looked around at the hospital surroundings: the silent atmosphere that left a scared feeling running down one's spine, the white sinister walls, the sterile environment that left one shivering. This place was bleak and depressing and she couldn't wait to get outta here. Here she couldn't control what happened. There was nothing here to slay, nothing to fight, nothing that she could even do to help her mother. At times like this it made one want to take up religion.
Riley, noting the trapped look in his lover's eyes, put an arm around her and smiled comfortingly down at her, but as soon as he had the doctor came out and she jumped up, without giving it so much as a second's thought to his arm that she just abandoned.
Hugging her arms around herself, Buffy approached the doctor with Giles, Willow and Xander at her sides. "What is it doctor? Is my mother going to be alright?"
Smiling at her, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Your mother made it through just fine, so don't worry, but I do suggest, and this is my opinion as a doctor: Go home and get some sleep, relax. Your mother is going to be in recovery and she probably won't wake up until tomorrow. She's a strong woman, your mother."
Buffy wanted to cry out with joy. She flung her arms around Xander, then Willow and then Giles, the father figure in her life. As she turned back to Riley, with a sleeping Dawn in his arms still, she smiled, her exultation calmed for the moment. "Xander, Anya? Would you guys mind watching Dawn tonight. I think that Riley and I need to spend some time together." She was intrigued by the look of surprise that crossed his handsome farm grown features. "What do you say? Feel like spending some time together? Just the two of us?"
He nodded, quite happy about her decision to spend time together, but perhaps it was a little too late. Waking Dawn up, he stood up, unwrinkling his pants and shirt.
Groggily she looked around. "Is mom awake yet?"
Buffy ran over and hugged her sister tightly. "She's gonna be fine Dawnie. I talked to the doctor, she's gonna be fine." Tears ran unchecked down the two Summers' faces at the joyful news of their mother's prognosis.
Riley stood like an outsider looking inside of something that he knew that he would never be a part of. Xander, Buffy, Willow, Giles and Dawn had been together since the beginning. Hell, even Anya and Tara were more accepted than he was into the group; at least their significant others loved them. He would have given anything to have Buffy look at him the way that Willow looked at Tara or Xander looked at Anya. All he saw when Buffy looked at him was a wish. He would never be Angel, he was only human, he couldn't be the monster that she wanted. Things were great when he was still one of the lab rats for the Initiative, and then they took all that away, and he was average Joe again.
He remembered that day, he knew something was going wrong, that he was stronger than he should have been, but the passion between he and Buffy was astounding, she was all over him, all of the time. Laughing, fighting, all of it was full of the heat and passion that he imagined she had had with Angel. And then the discovery of the chip by his heart, if they took it out, he wouldn't die, but their relationship would. She swore to him that it wouldn't, but he knew better, he knew her better than she knew herself. And then the words that he wished he had never heard came out of her mouth. "If I wanted a guy with super powers, I'd be dating Spike." Where had that come from? He had never brought up Spike, that was of her own doing, and in that moment, he saw the attraction that she had for him.
The vampire was right, she did like a little monster in her man. Angel was unattainable due to the curse, he wasn't enough of a monster, but Spike... She swore that she hated him, but she treated him like a man, not like the vermin that he knew he was. She was supposed to be a Vampire Slayer for Christ's sake, and she was pardoning him, all because of that chip, that chip that HE put inside of his head. He wasn't any different, he was still a cold blooded killer, just locked within a cell that he would inevitably find a way to break away from.
Riley didn't even notice when Buffy took his arm and the group of them walked out of the hospital that he had been sitting in for a better part of 24 hours.
Dawn walked out of Xander's kitchen and sat down with a soda in her hand, attempting to ignore Anya's babbling about the money that she had made at the Magic Box. Her day, it's Dawn's big day, her mom was gonna be alright, then why couldn't she be with her family? They were all separated. Well, Buffy is with Riley, Mom is in the hospital still and I'm here... this is so much fun. Can someone please shut up Anya? She giggled to herself. Anya was kinda, interesting in her own way, and at least she didn't have to hear the sex capades at home. That was just way to sick, Riley was so not her sister's type. Oh well, he seemed to make her happy enough, she certainly didn't cry as much as she did with Angel. Everything just had to be so dramatic then. She would never understand her sister.
"Riley? Can we just make this night last forever? I never want it to end." Buffy relaxed in Riley's arms as they swayed to and fro to the music that softly played in the dim background. She closed her eyes and let herself just drift as she related to him about how scared she had been, about how she had cried so often and how she had been so weak in the presence of all of this. She didn't notice the hurt look on his face.
The ended the night making love in her bed and she drifted off to sleep, not knowing when Riley left her side and disappeared into the night, and she didn't notice a certain blonde vampire standing outside of her bedroom window all night long.
