BUZZ!! BUZZ!! BUZZ!!

Spike woke with a startled expression and a large jerk in his body. He was dreaming of Buffy, of course. When was he not dreaming of her? He had just put the tip of a strawberry in her mouth on the picnic they were having when the buzzing noise rudely awakened him.

He looked to his digital clock on his night stand next to his bed. '3:45 am' it read. Spike sighed, throwing the covers off of his body to go vehemently scream at whoever was buzzing his apartment in the middle of the night.

He reached the button just as they were pressing it again, "Who the bloody hell is it!?"

He waited for an answer from a very peeved Xander, but was met with the voice of an angel that he had only just dreamed about, "Spike? Is that you?"

Spike was stunned, to say the least. What was Buffy doing here so late? More importantly, why was she buzzing his apartment? He didn't know, but he was determined to find out, "Buffy? Luv, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Willow. I guess I pushed the wrong button. I'm sorry. I didn't know you all lived in the same building. Do you think you could buzz me in so I could go bang on her door? I really need to talk to her."

He could hear the distress in her voice. He soon felt horrible, knowing that he would have to tell his goddess that Willow wasn't there. He had spoken to her when she was leaving. He had went to get his mail when he bumped into her. He sighed, "Sorry, luv, she's not here. I spoke with her when she was leaving. Her and that Oz character were going to go to LA for the weekend for some type of concert thing."

He heard her sigh, making his stomach drop. He knew she was disappointed, he just hoped that he could help, "Why don't you come on up? I'll make us some coffee and you can tell me what's wrong, eh? Sound good?"

"I don't know Spike. It's not exactly something that you just blurt out. Willow knows what's going on, maybe I should just wait for her to come back," her voice sounded uneasy, unsure.

He wanted her to trust him, hell, he just wanted her, but he knew that wasn't going to happen so long that Soldier Boy was still around, "It's up to you, pet. You can trust me. I know we don't know each other a whole lot, but we're friends, yeah?"

Buffy didn't say anything for a long time, then suddenly, "Buzz me up."

Spike smiled from ear to ear, "Just a second, luv." He pushed the unlock button so she could come in, "Apartment 25, pet."

He knew she wouldn't reply because she was on his way here, on her way up to his apartment, and he hoped that it would be happening a lot more. A soft knock snapped him out of his reverie. He was at the door in two swift steps.

Swinging the door open, he was met with a Buffy that he hadn't seen before. Her hair was tussled, she wore grey sweatpants, a black tank top, and tennis shoes. He looked her over, smiling at her innocence, "Hey, luv. Come on in."

He stepped aside as she made her way in. She stopped as she looked around the room. Turning to him, "You have a really great place here. No offense, but I thought it would be just like any other guy's apartment."

He tilted his head to get a good look at her, "You mean messy, full of porn, and bear cans everywhere?"

She blushed, guiltily, she answered, "Yeah. Sorry, it's just what I have been experience to. Every guys apartment that I've been to has been messy with Playboy everywhere and just really bad."

He smirked at her, "Well, I'm not most guys." There was an awkward silence between them for a few minutes. Spike got fed up with it, "Why don't we sit down and you tell me what's got you in such a hustle? Sound good?"

She gave him a shy smile, "Sure."

He led her to the couch, almost missing the small shiver that went through her body as his hand touched the small of her back to guide her. Almost. He had seen it, hoping that it meat something.

They sat on the couch. Buffy nervously shifted to face him. He noticed that she was uneasy with this whole thing, hoping that she would open up to him. He desperately wanted to be a large part of her life, "So, where do you want to start?"

She sighed, "I don't know how to say this. It's kinda hard. Only Willow knows what's going on and she's doing everything that she can to help me, but there's nothing that anyone can ever do to help me. I'm going to stuck with him. I can never leave him."

Buffy started to cry, which frightened Spike. He hated to see her cry. It was killing him. He wanted to kill whoever made her feel this way and he wanted it to hurt, "Who, luv? Who's hurting you? Is someone hitting you?"

He pulled her into his arms as she nodded her head yes. He felt her grab him by the waist, holding on for dear life. She was petrified and he could feel it radiating off of her, "Who, luv? Can you tell me who?"

She sniffled, silent for a long time before finally answering him. He barely heard the answer, but when he did, his whole body stiffened. He felt rage rush through him as he felt the need to go kill someone. Hearing her say that one name, made him feel something that he had never felt before.

He replayed the past part of what he had heard. Knowing that the answer would still be the same, "Riley."