Sleeping Beauty. Goodbye Iowa and This Years Girl re-vamped and re-romanced. Okay so there isn't such a word, but you'll see what I mean. No Adam, Buffy, or any other bad stuff. A little fluff from me to you. A Riley fic and some girl he's been seeing behind Buffy's back. It's not serious, or is it?

After the attempted killing of Buffy by Professor Walsh, Riley had some issues to resolve in his head. He never thought that the woman he had known almost like a mother for so many years would be capable of doing something so low and vile such as murder.

He didn't know that Professor Walsh, who wants to fulfill an experiment that is doomed from the start, but she didn't know that. Messing with the natural order of things in life can be dangerous and Walsh was one of those who will take all measures in keeping a pesky Slayer's nose out of her way.

To gather his thoughts, Riley had always gone to the local hospital in Sunnydale. Since the day he had moved to Sunnydale, he had been visiting a comatose girl. She was in a private room away from all of the other patients and the bare room had no windows. No one ever came to visit her and it seemed as though everyone had lost hope of her recovering.

Riley thought different. Even though he barley knew the girl, he could feel that she needed someone to have faith in her. He would sit with her and talk about his problems. She seemed to be the only one who would listen after all she could not speak back and it would be better than talking to a wall.

Riley had found this girl when he needed to be rush to the hospital for knee injury. It wasn't too bad of an injury and Riley has always been a tough guy. He started to walk about the hospital. One day, he found a room that only had a small light on and he sees a girl sleeping, he thought, on the bed. He thought 'why would such a pretty girl like her be in the hospital.' Later on he found out that she is comatose and after he was discharge he decided to come back and visit the girl.

"It's me again," says Riley as he quietly enters the room. He could hear the machines running and her heartbeat monitored on the machine going beep beep beep. He has become accustomed to hearing that sound and sometimes he hears it in his sleep. "I know. You're probably sick of me, but I'm all you've got." Riley smiles and goes over to sit next to her bed. He takes her hand as he always did when he came to visit her. Then from the outside corridor, he could hear someone.

"She's awake," says a woman. "Thank God." Then a bunch of people follow the woman down the hallway. Riley sighs and then looks at the girl on the bed.

"Lucky her," says Riley. "Maybe someday you'll get lucky, too. So, you're probably asking me what I'm doing here and if I say to you to see you, well I'm half telling the truth. I'm put in the middle of a situation that I really don't like. Professor Walsh tried to kill Buffy and I don't believe it. I mean, I saw it with my own eyes on footage, but…"

"Riley?" says Graham. Riley looks up at his fellow comrade, who was standing at the door. "I need to tell you something. It's important." Graham is the only other soldier who knew Riley has been visiting the comatose girl. He kept it a secret and he seems to like the comatose girl more than Riley's current girlfriend, Buffy.

"Give me a minute," says Riley. Graham nods his head and stands outside the doorway. Riley turns his head back to the girl. "I guess I've gotta go. Duty calls. I'll see you next time." Riley kisses her hand and then leaves the room. "What is it?"

"It's Professor Walsh," says Graham.

"What about her?"

"She's dead." Riley's eyes widen at the words that his comrade has said.

"What? How? When?"

"We don't know the specifics yet, but…"

"Let's go." Riley and Graham head to the military labs immediately. When they arrive, they see the doctors examining the wound. Riley goes to see Walsh's body. Two scientists kneel over it. Military garbed types are standing guard. Forrest arrives moments later and he walks up to Riley.

"Hey, man, where were you?" asks Forrest.

"I needed some time alone," replies Riley not looking at him straight in the eye.

"With Buffy, right?"

"Don't start."

"Look at her, Finn. She's been stabbed by a sharp object through the heart. Doesn't that sound like an interesting m.o. to you?"

"Forrest…" says Graham.

"Shut up, Graham. You're little Buffy probably killed her driving a stake through her heart."

"You better not be saying what I think you're saying. We don't know a person did this - the Polgara demon has skewers." Riley walks off. Forrest walks after him.

"No way, man, that's your girlfriend's m.o." Riley grabs Forest's shirt.

"That's a serious accusation. You better be ready to deal with the consequences." Riley is fired up. Forrest shoves Riley back.

"Bring em on. That supernatural freak has blinded you and I'm sick of it."

"That's enough."

"Stand back, men," says Engelman. "Show some respect. Listen, everybody's upset, but arguing isn't going to help anything and it's certainly not what Professor Walsh would want."

"No, sir," says Riley.

"Alright, good. Now, Washington is sending in a team to do an internal investigation. I've been told we have to wait for their word."

"What do you mean wait? This has to be the work of the Polgara demon we captured last week."

"Probably. It looks like last night the Polgara escaped through tunnel 72."

"It's out loose somewhere?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Then we have to go after it."

"My orders from Washington are for a total lock down until they arrive. I'm sorry. Now, return to your quarters. There's nothing you can do here." Riley stands alone with the soldiers including Graham and Forrest.

"Listen. Engelman can talk all he wants, but I'm still in charge 'til the brass gets here and tells me otherwise and I say we've got a demon to hunt. Now, suit up for armed patrol and by that I mean loaded guns, men. Target practice is over. We're going for blood."

The soldiers head and search for the demon at large. They checked cemeteries and dark hiding places, typical joints of demons. They are starting to lose the trail and the Polgara is no where to be found.

Riley doesn't lead the group. He wanted to go to the crime scene of the kid who had been skewered by the Polgara demon. It was on the news and they had immediately found out about it being that it's the m.o. of the Polgara demon.

Before he heads to the crime scene though, he decides to stop at the hospital. He was all commando and had entered through a back way, where no one saw him. Riley enters the girl's room again. He sits down for second.

"I can only stay a while," says Riley. "Last time was short. Professor Walsh is dead. Forrest think it's Buffy, but I don't believe it. Maybe in the back of my head I thought it might have been her." Riley sighs. "That kind of sounds bad. I want to believe Buffy, but a lot of things just don't add up sometimes with her." Riley grabs hold of her hand. "I guess she doesn't understand me like you do." Riley laughs at himself for saying that and stands up. He puts her hand back down on her side and is about to go, when he feels a pull at his left hand.

"Riley," says a low voice. Riley turns around and looks down to his hand. He sees the girl has a hold of it and when he looks at her face, he sees that her eyes are open.

"You're awake." Riley sits right down next to her, holding her hand close to him. The girl is lying awake listening to hospital noises and then she looks at Riley, who is still holding her hand. She looks at the monitors, then at the tube in her hand.

"I've been hearing your voice for…" The girl shakes her head. "I don't know how long. You kept talking and I kept listening and holding on." Faith throws the covers aside, rips out the monitor cable.

"Wait." Riley tries to stop her. She pulls her hand from his grip and yanks a tube out, a tube that is holding her back.

"Ouch."

"You need to stop." Riley pushes her down, so she would not leave the bed.

"Graduation."

"What?"

"Graduation. I gotta get to Sunnydale High School graduation NOW!"

"Well, you can't. Sunnydale High School doesn't exist anymore. Are you from the school?"

"What day is it?"

"Friday."

"What date? The date."

"February 23rd."

"What year?"

"Maybe I should get you a nurse…"

"What happened to the school?"

"Relax just…"

"Just tell me."

"I just know that it blew up taking the whole school down. A lot of people died. The mayor, the principal, and students." The girl tries to punch the guy out, but he grabs her arm and pushes it back. "Whoa, hold on there."

"Sorry, prince charming, but I've got places to go and people to see." The girl pulls Riley over her bed and Riley lands head first on the machines next to the bed. She then runs out to the corridor and stops.

I'm not trying to make Buffy look bad cause I know in this ep she 'loves' Riley but I want something different. I think Riley and Faith would make a cute couple.