For Buffy, things had changed that night she spent with Spike. She had never felt anything like she did for him. She still hadn't told him that she loved him, even thought, she thought it was obvious that he loved her, too.

She had seen it. On his notebook, she had seen the words. She would never tell him that she saw it. She didn't want him to think that she was snooping. She wasn't nosy, it was just something that had pulled her in.

She had looked through the notebook that night, finding things that she hadn't even thought of. Like, she could just pack all of her things and tell him that she was going to take her clothes to Goodwill and she was going to buy new ones.

Spike thought of it, but there must have been something wrong with that, because he had marked one straight line through it. There must have been something wrong with that plan, so she moved on to the next, and the next, and the next, amazed at how much thought he was actually putting into this.

She was sitting in her office, simply thinking about all the things that have happened to her in the last few weeks. Her whole world had changed, and it was because of one man. One man that had shown friendship to her, who she now loved.

She wanted to be with him, no matter what. Suddenly, she got courage from somewhere she didn't even know existed. She grabbed her purse, running out of her office, telling her assistant that she wouldn't be back that day and to lock up when she left.

She rushed home, hoping to get there before Riley got back. He was supposed to be training new officers. She hoped that she would be done and gone by the time that he had gotten back.

However, when she reached their apartment building, she spotted his car in the parking garage. She sighed heavily, this was it. This was when everything changed. She parked her car then headed up the stairs to her apartment, hopefully for the last time.

She opened the door, and was greeted by an overly happy Riley, "Hey babe, what are you doing home so early?"

She didn't put on that fake smile that she always gave him when she first got home. She didn't ignore the little voice yelling in her mind telling her that she didn't need or want to be here with him, she simply refused to act anymore.

She walked to the couch, sitting on the opposite end of him. He frowned, "Why are you all the way over there?"

She looked him in the eyes, a gesture that rarely ever happened, "Riley, we need to talk."

He situated himself into a more comfortable position facing her, "What do you mean?"

"Riley, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I don't think that we should be together anymore. I think that we need to break up."

Buffy could practically see the steam rolling off of him, he was angry, and she was starting to get scared. She wanted Spike there and she needed him to protect her. She was fearing for her life now, Riley had stood up, advancing towards her.

He grabbed her by the upper arms, hauling her up and towards his face, "What the hell do you mean that you don't think we should be together anymore and that we should break up!?"

Riley slung her across the room, landing her on the small, wooden, round table, breaking from the force of the throw. Buffy struggled to push herself up, but it didn't matter. He had grabbed her and shoved her against the wall so she couldn't leave.

"Who is he!? Huh!? Who is the fucker that you're leaving me for!?" He banged her against the wall, her head bouncing from the impact, "You're not leaving me! I won't let you!"

He yanked her off of the wall, throwing her to the door. Once she was on the floor this time, she was sure that she wouldn't be able to get up on her own. Stalking towards her, Riley slammed his foot into her ribs, causing a cracking sound.

He pulled her up from the ground, only to slam her right back down into it. Buffy was slowly slipping away. She wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to stay conscience. She felt Riley's boots digging into her sides every time that he struck her.

The last thing that she remembered was hearing him yelling, "You'll never leave me! I'll never let you leave me!" before her world became a world of black.

Spike was sitting on his couch, watching a new episode of 'Passions'. He couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten. Not more than a week ago, he had Buffy in this apartment, making her feel ways that he was sure that no one else had ever made her feel.

He, himself, had never felt those things. He loved her, and he would be damned if he ever let Riley hurt her again. Thinking about what Riley could be doing to her, he got angry.

Jumping up from the couch, he turned his television off, grabbed his keys, and left the apartment. He had reached the bottom of the stairs, getting ready to walk out the main entrance, when a very rushed Willow bumped into him, "Spike! Oh thank God! I've been looking for you every where!"

Spike chuckled, "Why, you really need me to work tonight? Sorry, sweets, I'm on my way to confront Soldier Boy and get Buffy away from that pillock before he does something to her that could kill her."

He started to make his way around her, but she stopped him, "Spike, you're too late."

He turned to face her, fear written all over his face, "What do you mean I'm too bloody late?"

She sighed, resting a hand on his left arm, "That's why I was in such a hurry. Buffy went home to tell Riley that it was over and that she was leaving him. He freaked out. He hurt her pretty bad."

Spike closed his eyes, unable to keep the tears at bay, "How bad?"

"She's in the hospital. When they brought her in, she was unconscious. She still hasn't woken up," she pulled him into a hug, letting his tears fall, "She will want to see you as soon as she wakes up. I'm sure of it."

He pulled back, wiping at the tears on his face, "Then let's go. I'm not letting my girl go now. Not ever." And with that, they made their way to the hospital. Spike was angry, scared, aggravated, and felt useless.

There was nothing that he could do to keep her from feeling pain when she woke up, but he knew that without a doubt, that Riley would soon regret that he ever laid a hand on his girl. He would make sure of it. But not now, now, his girl needed him. And he would be damned if he didn't go to her.

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A/N: Please don't hate me!