Giles had reassured her time and again that the mystical convergence of constellations, signs, portents and whatnot had passed, making it impossible for Glory to use the Key. But she had to go check Glory's former place of human residence to make certain. Seeing the gaping crater in the ground which had taken out the apartment building as well as the car (and how was she going to explain that to the insurance company?) greatly eased any lingering doubts she might have had.

Buffy finished her patrol in record time and squared her shoulders. She headed back to her home and once again silently patted herself on the back. She had decided it would have made things too tense at home to have Angel around. So she parked his bleeding carcass at his mansion on Crawford Street. She'd dropped in at Willy's and sweetly told him that Angelus was back in town. She pointed out how he might still be holding a grudge because of Willy turning him over to Spike and the bartender had immediately coughed up the good stuff—O positive, compliments of the house.

She had Xander deliver him the blood, however. There was nothing left to say between the two of them and she wanted to keep it that way. Now she wanted to get back to her boyfriend—her real boyfriend. She quietly opened the house door and called out, "Dawn? Riley? Anybody home?"

Riley jogged down the stairs and smiled uncertainly at her. As soon as she recovered her strength, Willow had performed a healing spell on him. The only thing left from his run-in with the Knight of Byzantium was a thin silvery scar on his abdomen. Still, Buffy had adamantly refused to allow him with her on patrol until she was sure he was completely out of the woods.

"Hey, Buffy."

"Hey, lover."

Riley blinked at the statement. She'd never before graced him with that title before. It was unexpectedly sweet hearing her do so now. "How was patrol? Any major demons?"

"Just about the same. For awhile I was running into demons trying to avoid the end of the world as we know it or demons trying to cash in on all the mayhem. With Glory gone and things back to normal—well, as normal as it ever gets around here—the monster world is pretty quiet."

He walked over to her and hugged her. He was surprised when she hugged him back and kissed him fiercely. When she backed off and he could breathe again, he gasped out, "Wow. What was that for?"

"You. Just for being you."

"Oh." Strangely, the words didn't entirely dispel his uncertainty and he struggled against the feeling. Buffy was with him now. After getting Angel away from Glory and seeing to his comfort, she'd refused to go near the vampire again.

It had hurt Riley to know that she'd met him in the cemetery after her mother had been buried. But she had assured him repeatedly that her love for Angel was a thing of the past. Some part of her would always belong to him; he was a first love and nobody ever forgot that completely. She had appreciated his company as that of a good friend doing a kind service. But that was all.

Buffy could sense his hesitancy. Now that she was actually focused on her boyfriend, she found it remarkably easy to pick up on his emotions. Guess I wasn't really paying attention before. That's going to change.

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him again, this time making it slow and tender, drawing it out. He pulled back once more and let his lips trace a path across her chin, cheek and forehead before returning to her mouth again. "Buffy."

"Hmmm, what?"

"I want…I mean, I feel much stronger now. My stomach doesn't hurt. Do you think we could…?"

She grinned at his fumbling words. In spite of being a soldier for who-knew-how-many years, he could be as delicate as a virgin when discussing sex with her. She found she liked that. Buffy tilted her head and let out a regretful sigh. "I don't know, Riley. With Dawn in the house…"

"It's okay. I'm not in any hurry." As he began to pull away, she pulled him back and eyed him speculatively.

"What?"

She ran a hand lightly down the front of his T-shirt. "We could always go to the basement. There's a cot down there. It's not the most comfortable place but we could make do."

His heart began to pound as he searched her face. Her look was so loving, more so than he'd seen in weeks. But he had to be certain this was what she wanted. "Are you sure, Buffy? If you think it's too soon after your mother's funeral, we could wait."

She reached up and cupped his face in both hands, staring into his shadowed eyes. There was such doubt in those depths and she knew she was partially responsible for it. "I'm sure mom wouldn't mind. She really liked you, Riley. You were the decent guy every mom hopes her daughter will get. And she was right about you.

"But what I feel for you has nothing to do with what she wanted for me or even my friends. I thought about you when Angel was with me at the cemetery. When I looked at him, I saw what attracted me to him in the first place. He was mysterious, dark, tortured, forbidden and good-looking—the whole bad boy image in one great package. But I never really knew him. We didn't talk about his life or about my day. He was a kind of symbol for what a girl might want but can't have. There was just a little bit of the schoolgirl crush mixed up in what I felt for him.

"I'm not saying what I felt for him wasn't real or strong. It was; he was my first love and you don't get over those. But you do get past them. Time sorta put the whole Angel dealie in perspective. What I feel for you is deeper and, I think, better in the long run. It's not all wrapped up with danger and mystery. Angel was all about the grand gestures or the big moments—rushing in to save my life or things like my mother's funeral and that's fine. But love should be about the day-to-day business of living. Waking up with someone, being unashamed of having bedhair or morning breath, being comfortable with them and knowing they'll love you no matter how bad, rotten or stinky you get.

"That's what I've got with you. And that's how I feel about you. I remember kneeling over you and seeing that knife in your stomach. I could feel my heart literally stop in my chest. I didn't feel that when Angel came back—not even once. Even seeing him after he was tortured by Glory made me feel more irritated than anything else.

"What I'm trying to say is that—I loved him once. But I'm in love with you."

Riley hadn't said a word during this speech. He didn't think he was capable of speaking. He always got a tight squeezing sensation in his chest whenever Angel's name was mentioned. He wondered how someone who had made a woman so miserable could have such a hold over her. But Buffy had just said everything he'd ever wanted to hear. He didn't have the words to answer her.

Evidently his silences were still hard for her to interpret. She frowned at his pensive look and ran a finger over his wrinkled forehead. "Hey. Buffy to Riley. You in there, Riley? I don't want another broody boyfriend. What'd I say?"

"It-it's just you, Buffy. You're everything I ever wanted in a girlfriend. I was beginning to think you'd never feel the same about me."

Buffy raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "That you're everything I'd ever want in a girlfriend? I've already got those, thanks."

He laughed at her little joke. She giggled back and then silence trailed away between them. Giving way to impulse, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the basement door. She giggled again. "Ooh, my big strong hero. Going all caveman on me, are ya?"

He grunted and nuzzled her hair. "More like Tarzan. You Jane."

She smiled and flipped on the light so he could clearly see the stairs. "Actually, I was a cavegirl once, courtesy of some funky enchanted beer."

He paused at the bottom of the stairs and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Okay, that sounds like a story. Care to tell me about it?"

She leaned into his neck and nibbled at his throat. "Maybe later. Now where did I put that cot?"

Finis