Content: Riley tries to build a relationship with Buffy, with unexpected consequences.
Spoilers: Everything up to and including Hush and
Parting Gifts.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: All characters are the property of Joss Whedon, the WB, Fox, and Mutant Enemy.

*****

When Riley arrived to pick Buffy up for their date, he was greeted by Willow, who lied, telling him that Buffy was running late, but would soon be there. In all truth, Willow knew that Buffy had probably forgotten about the evening Riley had scheduled for them.

Making himself at home, Riley walked into the room and flopped down on Buffy's bed. Willow came and sat opposite him on her own bed, studying him. Since the loss of Oz, she found herself living vicariously through Buffy's love life. Still hurting from Oz's betrayal, she was afraid to let any other man close to her. Realizing with a sudden start that Riley was talking, and had been for some time, she forced herself to pay attention.

"Willow, sometimes I feel like Buffy is just going through the motions with me. I feel like she's not even there. We're talking, and I tell her about all the wise things my dad has told me, and her eyes seem to glaze over. I mean, I confide in her," said Riley urgently. "Like the time I told her about me being president of the Future Farmers of America at my high school, or when I told her about the very first time I milked a cow. I can't understand why she stays so distant when I'm opening my heart to her..."

As Riley droned on, Willow felt like shaking Buffy.  Some people were so ungrateful for what they had. Riley was a great guy, albeit a little dull, and Buffy needed to realize it before he got away. If she had paid more attention to Oz, maybe he wouldn't have been tempted by Veruca. She found herself wondering what Oz was doing right then, if he ever thought of her. She snapped back to attention when Riley rose from the bed to prowl around the room.

"So what should I do? Willow, tell me, please," implored Riley, strolling over to face her. "I've never courted anyone like Buffy before. The girls back home, it was different. They would be walking by the farm, and there I would be, shirtless, riding a tractor, and I would wave to them. That's all it took," he said wistfully. "There was always a barn or a haystack nearby, too. My dad said it was good for me to sow my wild oats while I'm young. I've never met an oat like Buffy, though."

Willow knew a cue when she heard it. "Be patient, Riley, and keep talking to her. Keep opening your heart. She'll realize how wonderful you are soon." At that moment, Buffy walked in, looking tired and distracted. Seeing Riley, she yawned.

"Sorry I'm late. I kind of forgot we were going out tonight, Riley." Her apology sounded muted, dull. She looked tired, and Willow knew why. All those Angel dreams she had been having lately kept her from sleeping well.

Willow asked Riley, in a voice filled with appeal, to step out of the room for a minute so that Buffy could freshen up. As he shut the door behind him, Willow turned on Buffy, her voice full of fury. "What are you doing? You have a real, normal, human guy here who thinks the world of you! He accepts your slayer stuff, and he's so strong he's a real help to you, and you want to throw it away!"

Buffy wearily put on some lipstick and brushed her hair as Willow continued her tirade. "These Angel dreams, you know what, they are just dreams. They're not real. Angel is never going to become human again. He would hate it if he knew that you weren't moving on. You know, Angel left so that you could find a great guy like Riley, and here you are pushing him away. I don't get it," stormed Willow.

"When Riley walks into the room, its like all the lights everywhere else get brighter," said Buffy. "He bores me, Willow. I know that I should find a real guy, but I don't think Riley is it. I think I should break up with him. I don't want to lead him on by pretending I feel something I don't."

Willow walked up to Buffy, looking her straight in the eye. "Have you really given him a chance? Instead of comparing him to Angel all the time, maybe you should listen to Riley when he talks. I really listen to him," Willow lied. "Remember our health class in high school when we studied listening and paying attention? Why don't you give it a try?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Buffy walked to the door. "This is me, going. I'll do what you said, and listen, really listen." Riley beamed when he saw Buffy, who mustered up a brave smile for him.

*****

The next day, Willow sat at a bench outside the cafeteria, waiting for Buffy to meet her for lunch. Buffy had returned the night before promptly at midnight. What a gentleman Riley was, Willow realized. He wasn't going to try to make any moves until Buffy was ready. He was so much better than Parker.

Riley and Buffy walked towards to her together. As they approached, Willow noticed with satisfaction that Riley had his arm around her. As they got closer, Willow realized that Riley was holding Buffy up. Willow ran up to her friend, who was as pale as a ghost.

"I brought her breakfast this morning, and she was like this," said Riley. "I think maybe we should bring her to a doctor. She might have worms," he said brightly. "You know, I grew up on a farm, so I know these things. I had this dog once, her name was Floppy, and one day I noticed she was looking kind of mopey and my dad said..."

Buffy collapsed, her eyes wide, staring into nothingness.

*****

At the hospital, Giles, Willow, Riley and Xander waited anxiously. They were not allowed into the examination room, since they were not family. At last, the doctor came out, his arm around Joyce Summers, who walked with a noticeable sway in her gait.

"Drunk again," snorted Xander. "It isn't even noon yet. Someone needs to take her by the hand and lead her to Alcoholics Anonymous already."

"Hush," said Willow, jabbing him with her elbow. "She has a lot to deal with, and she doesn't drink that much." Willow looked to Giles for support, only to discover that the former Watcher's face was the color of a beet. Remembering the secret Buffy had confided to her after her telepathic experience, Willow blushed in sympathy.

The harassed young doctor thankfully peeled Joyce off his arm and seated her in a chair. "I have bad news regarding Miss Summers. She appears to be in a vegetative state."

"She's a vegetable?" shrieked Riley.

Looking sternly at Riley, the doctor said firmly, "I understand that you were with her when she fell into the coma. I need a full list of anything she might have ingested, anything she might be allergic to, and any blows to the head she might have received." The group told him everything they knew. As the doctor walked away, Joyce spilled from her chair onto the floor.

"All I wanted was a normal daughter," she whined. "I didn't ask for any of this." Riley bent to help her up, and she clung to him. "You're perfect for her," Joyce said blearily. "Nice, normal, Iowa boy." She belched. Riley, looking appalled, seated her back in her chair. "I'm not drunk," Joyce muttered. "I could lie on the floor without holding on to it. I can hold my liquor just fine."

Riley looked at Giles sheepishly. "There's something I didn't tell the doctor. Professor Walsh has us take a serum every day. Its totally safe," he said hurriedly as Giles stared at him. "It was tested on cows."

"Do you have any of it?" Willow asked swiftly. "Did Buffy try it or something?"

Riley reached into his pocket and removed a small vial. "She never had any of it, though I thought about sharing it with her. It gives you strength, but its not steroids or anything," he added hastily. "Like I said, it was tested on cows. You can't ask for more than that in terms of safety, according to Professor Walsh."

*****

At Giles's house, Xander, Anya, Spike, and Giles frantically pored over books and spells, looking for a cause and a cure. Willow worked the microscope frantically, trying to make sense of the serum Riley had given her. Suddenly, she gasped, and dragged Giles to the microscope.

"Its demon blood of some kind," said Giles. "That's where he gets his strength. It isn't vitamins, or even as benign as steroids. That singularly foolish young man has been transforming into a demon. Tested on cows indeed. Bloody priceless!"

Spike shook his head decisively. "He's not a demon. Riley smells human," he said sharply. At the disgusted looks from the Xander and Anya, he rolled his eyes. "Its a vampire thing."

"Riley is probably not a demon yet. However, he is infected with aspects of a demon, and will become a demon if he doesn't stop taking this serum. The question is, what kind of demon?" Giles moved away from the microscope and pulled out a plastic binder from his shelves. Flipping frantically through its pages to find the one he sought, he waved Willow towards him. "This is it, isn't it?"

Willow nodded decisively. "The blood matches. Its Bohra demon blood."

Xander stood, triumphant, for he held the B volume of the demon encyclopedia. "The Bohra demons are physically very strong, and have remarkable healing powers," he read aloud in a sing- song voice that made everyone wince even as they strained to listen. "Though they can fight in battle, they prefer to use their remarkable mental powers instead. They possess the ability to freeze the thoughts and mind of their opponent. However, it is a slow process, requiring frequent and prolonged exposure to the source."

"All those dates with Riley I pressured Buffy to go on! She didn't want to go, but I kept pushing her and telling her it was for her own good. I am a bad friend," mourned Willow. Giles put his arm around her.

"You have been encouraging her to move on, Willow, which is a good thing. However, perhaps you should give her a little space and time. I think you should try to open yourself up more, and stop being so concerned about Buffy."

"Amen," snorted Anya. "You should quit giving Xander advice, too, since you're an idiot child who knows nothing."

As the two girls exchanged glares, Giles stepped into the breach, looking at Xander hopefully. "Is there anything in that book about a cure?"

Xander brightened as the focus of the room came back to him. He hated being on the sidelines so much. As Anya looked at him with pride, he continued reading. "True love can break the spell of dullness with a kiss," he said. Glumly, he sighed. "I guess this means another visit from Dead Boy."

*****

Angel and Wesley, captive prisoners, sat listening as Cordelia told them about her audition, and the manifest injustice that kept her from getting the part. As she re-enacted her audition, singing the jingle, Angel wistfully thought of the good old days, when he'd heard Jenny Lind sing. Now that was entertainment.

"We need to start charging more, Angel. The girls who wear catsuits always get the parts. I need a leather catsuit." Cordelia waggled her finger at Angel. "Don't look at me like that, we are charging more and that is final. That or Wesley can start selling plasma or something." Wesley, who was deathly afraid of needles, slumped. He knew that Cordelia would make him do it.  She was like a gale force hurricane. Angel couldn't always be around to protect him from her.

When the phone rang, Angel and Wesley lunged at it with speed born of desperation. Angel beat Wesley by a hair. Ignoring Wesley's pleading look as Cordelia continued to scheme aloud, Angel cradled the phone and prayed for a crisis far, far away.

"Angel, Buffy needs your help," said Giles.

*****

Buffy was so small and still in the hospital bed.  Angel stood silently looking down at her, the glazed, staring eyes. Usually, Buffy was so bright and vivacious, never sitting still, always talking. Unlike Cordelia's incessant babbling, Buffy's constant flow of words entertained him, enthralled him, held him a willing captive.

He bent forward and kissed her gently, whispering raggedly, "I love you. We didn't have enough time."  The machines by her bed suddenly came to life, or so it seemed to him. As her eyes fluttered, as doctors rushed in, Angel swiftly exited. He didn't want Buffy to see him, it would just make their lost day harder to bear for him. He had warned Giles and the others to say nothing of his presence to Buffy when she awoke. If she had sensed him, it would only be a dream for her.  His heart breaking, he told himself that it was the right thing to do.

"Did it work?" Giles chased Angel as he walked swiftly down the hall.

Angel slowed, stopped. "I think she'll be fine. Remember your promise," he warned. "I don't want Buffy hurt again. She doesn't need to know I was ever here.  Keep Xander's mouth shut."

"That isn't fair!" snapped Giles.

"Life isn't fair," Angel said bitterly, walking away as fast as he could. If he hurried, he could be back in LA before sunrise. He couldn't bear the thought of spending a day in Sunnydale, so near Buffy and yet so far away.

*****

The next day, Buffy waited impatiently to be released.  Giles was at the desk, signing all sorts of paperwork, and she knew he would come for her soon. When the door opened, she looked up eagerly. Her face fell when she saw Riley.

He strode in, looking at her intently. He walked to the window, and Buffy found herself forced to stifle an attack of giggles at the view exposed by his hospital gown.

"We need to break up." Riley turned to face her. "I can't handle your mother. My family has never had anything like that, not even Cousin Floyd. My dad told me that after the tractor turned over on Floyd, he could have turned to drink, but he didn't, because he's a Finn. You're going to turn out to be a drunk too. I don't think that beer thing a few weeks ago was a fluke for you."

Buffy was both relieved and furious. "At least I'm not a mutant like you," she hissed.

"I've had transfusions. My blood has been cleansed of the serum," said Riley with dignity. "I thought that if it was safe on cows, it would be safe on me. My dad says if its good for cows, its good for us, and he should know. He's been milking cows for forty years."

"What in the world are you talking about? Riley, you don't make sense and you never do! Do you ever think for yourself? Its always your dad said this, or Professor Walsh said that."

"Professor Walsh said alcoholism runs in families," said Riley intently. "I know you're sorry to lose me, since I was the best thing to ever happen to you, but-"

"You nearly killed me! You nearly bored me to death!"  exclaimed Buffy. "Now you're breaking up with me?  Forget it, I dump you first."

"Nuh-uh!" yelped Riley.

"Uh-huh!" retorted Buffy.

"Yeah, well, fine. Like my dad says, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." Riley stalked out of the room, nearly trampling Giles underfoot.

"What is that supposed to mean?" wondered Buffy aloud.  "Giles, are you sure he's cured of the demon whatsis?  He's still as boring as ever."

Giles helped her up. "I'm afraid he is naturally a boring person. That is why the serum took such a strong effect in Riley. None of the others who took it have had these adverse effects." As they exited the hospital, Giles noted the sadness on Buffy's face.  "What is it?"

"He dumped me," admitted Buffy. "It just seems like guys are always dumping me. Tyler dumped me. Scott dumped me. Angel dumped me. Parker dumped me. Now Riley's dumped me. I just wish I could find someone who would be there for me and accept my faults. I wish there was someone I could count on."

Thinking sadly of the look on Angel's face when he'd exited Buffy's room, Giles patted Buffy's hand. "I'm sure you will find someone like that someday," he promised, and led her to his car.

The End


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