destructo-girl.com

"Ever After"

Author: Alexandra Huxley
Email: alexandrahuxley@yahoo.com

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Riley jumped when he heard Buffy's voice. She and Eve had just walked into the room.

"Working again?"

"Sorry, I guess I was concentrating."

"Can I get you anything? I feel like I should be doing something." Buffy walked over and put her arms around him.

"Yeah, sorry. I think this one's all me." He moved the chair so that she was standing in front of him, between his legs. He held her like that for a few minutes as they watched Eve run around them. "This so isn't you. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sure I'd mind if it were, but…" His voice trailed off. He mumbled. "That was a joke. Not funny."

She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry."

He smiled and put his hand to her face. "I know." His voice was hoarse. He pulled her to him, almost clutching her. He was speaking softly enough that she could barely hear him above Eve's chattering and the music. "It could have worked, Buffy. Not like this…" he gestured at the picture perfect suburban living room, "but it could have worked." He let go of her. "I need to finish this. I can't be here with you like this any longer. This needs to be done."

Buffy started to say something but then stopped. He had that determined look in his eyes. He had a plan, some way to end this. But he wasn't letting her in on it. She would give him one more day to figure it out; if nothing happened, then vacation was over. She'd have to do something. But for now, this was all him. She'd let him be. Buffy picked up Eve and strapped her into the stroller. "I'm going out for a run." She smiled and asked, "You going to be o.k.?"

He nodded. He wasn't used to seeing Buffy this way. She had changed. She was fragile, vulnerable. More human. But he had changed, too. He wasn't the same man who went into the jungle. The fire was back. He had needed Belize to set things straight again. He had gone down thinking it was Buffy he had lost, but it turned out he had lost himself instead. It was too bad that he hadn't figured that out before he had signed up for a one way trip to Central America.

Too much thinking. He only had one more part left to write. It would be over soon enough after that.

So why did you change your mind? Was there really new information or did something I say actually convince you? I can't believe I didn't ask you then. I was just glad you warned me that Ellis' orders would be coming down later that day; it gave me time to try to figure out a way to tell Graham that I wasn't going with them. He had spent the last four months trying to keep me alive; I didn't think he'd take it well. He had been right - there was nothing for me back home, but I don't think he realized that I had no interest in leaving Belize.

I got too caught up in myself that day. Too much reflection; not enough thinking. I didn't think about the village men. It didn't occur to me that Marcial and the others probably wouldn't take too kindly to the order to abort. It was almost a fatal mistake.

Marcial had this chain with some flat stones on it. Every night after someone was lost, he would carve a stone in their memory. He would hold it in his hand and jangle it against his knee in time to some rhythm in his head. That night, I woke up to the sound of the stones in my ear, a gun at my head. They walked me into the woods. I thought it was over. But Marcial wouldn't pull the trigger. He and the other three men argued for twenty minutes about whether to let us live. They're good men. They had lost so much, they couldn't think straight. They didn't want to kill us, but they needed our supplies - they were going to destroy those caves or die trying.

But I can Psych 101 with the best of them. It was while they were arguing that I saw another way. Once we got past the whole anger thing, it was pretty easy to come up with something that would work for everyone.

I thought I should be the first one they tied up and blindfolded - I figured it would probably make the others less likely to fight. My bonds were removed after everyone else had been taken care of. We put together some basic supplies. There wasn't that much that they'd need - we had all lived in the jungle long enough to know how to live off it. (Sorry about the radios. The men were too close for us to let you send a team in for them.)

With a little persuasion, our friendly vamps agreed to escort them out. Three vamps, thirteen men and no blood-sucking. Go figure. They marched my men out for a full day and then watched for a few more. Just to be sure they made it long enough to fix the radios. After that point, I figured they'd be fine.

I didn't last much longer. We thought the attacks were slowing. It had been four whole days since the last one - a record. We were now down to fourteen village men, two vamps and me.

I think we got too close to the caves. The attack was different this time - defense not offense. It was hard to tell day from night down there, the trees were so dense. We were usually safe once the sun rose and the light changed, but this time was different. They caught us sleeping. Two of us had been patrolling the camp and were about 50 yards away. At first I thought the noise was Marcial's chain, but within a few seconds I realized it wasn't the same at all. Much higher pitched. Frantic. We started running towards the other men, but never made it there. They took us from behind - there were at least three of them. I managed to wound one, but another was right there. It engulfed me in its wings and I was fighting to breathe. I must have passed out.

When I woke up, I was in a cell. It was completely dark -- no natural light, no candles, nothing. There was no contact for several days. By now I knew these hostiles well enough to know they were watching for how I reacted. I tried to remember my training and ignore the screaming from the other cells, tried really hard to not join in. Just tried to focus on another time and place.

I had no way of telling time, but I think it was the fourth day that they finally came for me. My plan had been to jump them as soon as they walked in, but by then I was too thirsty and hungry; moisture and moss off a cave wall don't do much for sustenance. I failed miserably. They brought me to a huge room with a platform; their version of the Pit. The restraints were metal. They were really strong and I was really weak. They wouldn't budge.

I won't go into any detail about their particular methods. You know this part; or at least you should. The set up was definitely familiar. I had seen it before but with steel tables and stark walls and scientists in white coats. And from a different point of view. Their methods had evolved a bit differently from the Initiative's - I, for one, wouldn't have minded drugs - but the general idea was the same. Someone taught them well.

I couldn't even begin to tell you how long I was there. I only remember the first few days but I'm sure it was longer. And I remember hearing the jangling stones hour after hour. It was one of the things that kept me going.

I'm not entirely sure why they wanted to keep me alive. It may have been because they had more experiments to do. Or maybe because they recognized the uniform and thought I deserved a bit more punishment. For whatever reason, they didn't kill me.

But you don't want to hear my theories. You want to know how I escaped. How a broken, bleeding soldier managed to overcome this army and somehow make it out of the jungle alive. I wish I could tell you. I wish I could explain what exactly happened, but I'm afraid I just don't know. I remember the chains being broken, I remember hearing this ungodly scream, and I remember a feeling of being lifted. I figured it was Death. I thought maybe God had finally sent an angel down to set me free.

It had taken Angel several days to get back. Riley had followed a set course towards the caves so that Angel would be able to find the men again. By the time Angel got to them, Riley was gone. Angel was furious. He knew he should have stayed, but Riley had insisted. Riley wanted Graham and the others to have a shot at survival and Angel was the only one Riley trusted to get them far enough out that they wouldn't be in danger. If Buffy hadn't been dead, Angel thought, she would have killed him.

The attacks had mostly stopped by that point, but they were down to ten men and five vampires now that Angel and the other two were back. For several weeks they tracked the enemy. They finally found them hidden in a mountain not far from the edge of the rainforest. Angel doubted Riley was still alive.

They watched the caves for several days before they finally made their move. Marcial's men - by that point Marcial was gone too -- went in first. They insisted. Their whole purpose for months had been to get to this place, and they were not intending to come out until the job was done. They threw in hand grenades and attacked as the caves were emptying, staking as many as they could. By now they had perfected the technique and with the element of surprise finally being on their side, they did a lot of damage.

Once the caves started emptying, Angel and his men ran in. They passed the mostly empty holding cells; there were only a few men left to save. Marcial was one of the last they found; Angel recognized the stones. Angel lifted the man gently, but Marcial wouldn't let him leave the cell. "Hay niños…" There are children. He weakly pointed further into the caves. Angel handed him off and ran deeper inside. Angel had almost given up when he found them, petrified, but otherwise unharmed.

He grabbed the hands of two of them and made the others form a chain so that no one was walking alone. He made them stop for a moment as he planted a bag filled with Riley's stash of explosives and started the timer. It had been pre-set for five minutes; they didn't have much time.

They were scrambling, stumbling through the cave when a little girl stopped.

"Vamos! De prisa!" He urged her to hurry, but she was staring into a vast room. Angel didn't know how she had seen it. He could barely make out the platform, much less the body.

"Quédate aquí." He told the children to stay put and ran into the room. He ran to the body and grasped the metal shackles. He yanked at each one using all his strength; there was no time to be gentle. There was a horrible scream as he threw the body over his shoulder and ran back to the children.

"Ve! Go!" They ran through the caves, out into the jungle, and were just far enough away when the explosion rocked the caves. They were thrown into the air, against the trees, but they had made it out.

Dixon finished reading. He should have known Finn wouldn't give in easily.

Ellis turned to him with an icy stare and asked, "So did he pass your test? Does he get to come out now?"

Dixon was seething. "We're not there yet. We've come too far to settle."

A test? For what? Graham sat perfectly still. If they had forgotten he was there, he didn't want to do anything to remind them.

Ellis said, "You want to know about why the vampires helped. You don't think he'd just come out and tell you when you debrief him?"

Ward said, "He's not telling us now and we came straight out and asked. It was in the list Graham gave him this morning."

"He's been writing this report all day. Maybe he just forgot to mention it. Or thought he did already."

Dixon disagreed. "No. He's too thorough. It was deliberate. He's holding something back."

Ward shook his head. "He's being loyal. He must have given them his word. I don't think he'll tell us."

Graham couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Do you think it's possible that there was no reason? That some vampires are good? Some genetic fluke?" Graham couldn't believe he had just said that. He didn't blame everyone else for the looks they gave him.

"General Dixon - I don't think we can do this for much longer," said Green. "Their memories are returning too quickly. And I'm getting a bit concerned about Summers. We keep upping the sedatives but she's fighting it. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep her like this. Her body defies everything I know about medicine. I'm not sure what it will do to her."

Dixon was angry. He hated losing control. "Damn Finn. He's doing this on purpose. He knows. Somehow he knows. I'm not ready yet. We need one more day."

They didn't know Buffy. Graham figured if her body was already fighting the drugs, the window was closing. They didn't have one more day. It was possible that Riley or Buffy would force something soon; Graham could see it in their faces. Neither of them was any good at sitting things out. But it needed to happen now. And Riley needed to know what Dixon wanted. Graham got up from the table and mumbled, "I'll be right back."

In the bathroom he checked the stalls and locked the door before taking out his cell phone. "Giles - I know what Dixon's looking for. Can Willow get to Riley? Here's what she needs to say."

Riley was putting the laptop away when he noticed a post-it note falling to the ground. It must have been in the file. He leaned down to pick it up.

Time to play ball.

Riley sat back and smiled. He had forgotten Willow was still watching. More words were appearing on the note. How was she doing this?

Get your butt moving. But only free throws! No lay-outs!

Lay-ups, Willow. Lay-ups. Riley stood up. He started toward the stairs and was crumbling up the paper as he saw something else appearing.

It's bright out there, don't forget your sunglasses.

That's right. No Nerf ball. He had a garage; he had the real deal. He turned around and headed out the back door.

He almost tripped over the basketball. Where did that come from? It hadn't been there a moment ago. Sunglasses. What sunglasses? "Oh no." He stopped short when he saw the pair of leopard-skin sunglasses hanging from the hook by the door. "I don't think so."

The sunglasses slipped off the hook and flew into his hand with a little more velocity then he thought was necessary.

Graham didn't know how Willow had gotten to Riley, but this must be her doing. There was no way Riley would wear those sunglasses. Graham watched them fly off the hook.

"Are those his? Did we put them in there?" Ripley had just noticed them as they fell into Riley's hands.

Graham was trying not to laugh at the look on Riley's face. This is so not funny. "Buffy had a pair like that. They're kind of a good luck charm." It was the best he could do at a moment's notice but it seemed to be enough for Ripley.

Riley opened the door and walked outside. The sun did seem brighter. Was that Willow too? He didn't think it was possible to brighten the sun. How were they watching? He had been looking for cameras all day but there was nothing. Maybe he was in a holodeck. Did those things really exist? All the Army techies he knew loved Next Gen. As far as he knew, holodecks were pure fiction, but after the things he had seen in the past few years, the word impossible had ceased to exist.

He put on the sunglasses and started to bounce the ball. Threw it at the hoop. It bounced off the rim. "Damn." Threw another one. Much better. He threw the ball a few more times and started to feel a rhythm to the moves. He stepped towards the hoop, faked a throw and then spun around and threw the ball. That felt good. He had missed basketball when he was in Belize. He forgot that he was supposed to be taking it easy. He threw the ball at the garage door and caught the rebound. He ran up to the basket, leaping up into the air, bringing the ball up…

I said no lay-outs!

The words were on the inside of the lenses. They scared the hell out of him and he lost his concentration; fell into the garage door. "Owww!"

Sorry.

He rubbed his shoulder and bent down to pick up the ball. The glasses fell off and he turned them over in his hands. The words weren't visible from the outside; only when he was wearing them. What kind of magic was this? He put the glasses back on. More words.

We think this is all a test of some kind. We're not sure for what.

A test? What could Dixon be testing him for? He threw the ball. Nothing but net.

You need to tell them about your friend. Then you're free.

He grabbed the ball and threw it so it bounced off the rim.

Your friend says it's o.k. He's willing to take the risk. It's the only way.

Riley whaled the ball at the rim so hard that it came right back to him.

I'm guessing that's a no?

Another perfect shot - all net. "Bingo." He grabbed the rebound. Started bouncing the ball again.

Buffy's in trouble.

His hand missed the ball, it rolled away. Why couldn't something be simple for once? He looked down at his wrist as he sighed. Damn, no watch. But Willow understood.

Not much time. Something needs to happen tonight.

He picked up the ball and threw a hook shot. 3 points.

We can't get you out of there, but we'll do what we can to help you. We'll be here.

One more shot.

Good luck.

"And the crowd goes wild…" He took off the glasses and carried the ball inside.

"What are the readings?" Graham asked.

"He's fine. Barely broke a sweat," answered Green.

Graham watched as Riley put the ball on the floor and threw the glasses on the kitchen table. That was a pretty tame workout for Riley. When he wanted to think he went all out on the court. Graham had hated playing ball with him before a big exam; it was brutal. So that was definitely Willow. But how had she done it? Graham had been scanning the screen - no lettering on the ball, no bird singing morse code, no words in the basketball netting. Graham looked over at Ripley, then at Green. Just going about their business, no suspicious looks. Good job, Willow.

Riley could hear Buffy and Eve coming back up the driveway. Buffy was smiling as she leaned down to the stroller and said something; her face was flushed from the run. He felt his heart race; he didn't even need to be touching her and it happened. He went to the door and opened it. This definitely needed to be over tonight because Riley didn't think he'd make it through another night with her. He stood in the doorway, waiting for them.

She unstrapped Eve and held the stroller steady as the toddler climbed out and ran to Riley. "Daddy!"

Riley picked up Eve and spun her around. "Hey, cutie." Buffy came up to him and he leaned down and kissed her. "Hi, beautiful."

"Hey! Where'd you find those?" Buffy walked over to the table and picked up the sunglasses. "I haven't seen them since…" High school. Oh. Willow. "…I don't remember when."

"They were by the door." Riley needed to tell her about what Willow said. But how? He was staring down at the table. At the yellow notebook. "Seven letters. I know that one - it's my mom's favorite song." He wrote down: Tonight. We make them come to us. No morning star for this soldier.

She looked down at what he had written. "Well then twelve down must be…" How?

He shrugged. I'm working on it.

She put the pen down. "I'm stinky. I'm going to take a shower. Can you take Eve?"

"Sure." He put Eve down as Buffy turned to walk out the room. He remembered the Army guys that were watching them, not to mention Willow and Xander and the others. He put his hand out to stop her. "Wait." He tried to think of a good reason to stop her other than all those eyes that were watching since that didn't seem to faze her. The only thing he could think to say was, "I'm about to make dinner."

She raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a playful smile. "Then make it good. Something bloody." She knew what he was thinking but she wasn't going to play along. She took off her sweatshirt and threw it at him as she left the room.

She was insane. She was having fun with this. Her t-shirt came flying at him from the hallway. "Hey!" He heard her run up the stairs. "Well, Eve, I guess she wants steak." Riley opened the door to the freezer, hoping that whoever stocked it wasn't vegan. The freezer was filled with good stuff; none of that military crap that had always been on hand at Lowell House. Thank you, Graham. Riley pulled out the steaks. He looked around the kitchen to find the rest of the things he needed. "You want to help make dinner?" He gave Eve some pots and pans and a wooden spoon to play with while he peeled potatoes. Prime rib, mashed potatoes and green beans. A meal he had dreamed about for months in the jungle.

By the time Buffy came down, dinner was ready. They ate mostly in silence; there was so much to say, no time to say it in. They had been through too many battles to fool themselves about the hours ahead, but this time was worse. If they survived this fight, they didn't know what they would be facing next. They both knew that someone had deliberately put them together in this world, created this fabricated house and baby and marriage. It was pretty clear that the world they were going back to was one they each faced alone.

Buffy started clearing the plates from the table.

"Isn't it my turn for dishes?" Riley grabbed her hand as he asked.

"You get Eve ready for bed. Take as much time as you need." She leaned down to kiss him and brushed the hair off his forehead. "I love you."

He closed his eyes. Three little words. He believed her. He shouldn't, but he did. He couldn't think about it; he needed to resolve himself to the evening's tasks. If she was telling him the truth, she would let him see this through. He stood up and took Eve from her high chair. "Bath time, baby."

He read nearly every book Eve owned after the bath and sang "Old MacDonald" ten times. He held her in his arms and rocked her to sleep before putting her in the crib. He had to keep reminding himself she wasn't real, but there was already a place in his heart for this little girl. When he came downstairs, he found that Buffy had a fire going in the fireplace and she had turned the music on. She was sitting on the couch staring off into the distance. He sat down next to her and took her hand.

She didn't seem to register his presence. He was surprised when she spoke a few minutes later. "I'm sorry I didn't know how to love you."

That was not what he had expected. He turned to look at her but she was still staring straight ahead.

"A lot has changed since you left. I've changed."

He started to speak but she cut him off.

"I do love you. I really do."

He hadn't thought he would ever see her again. He had definitely not been prepared to hear those words. Not in the kitchen after dinner; not now. "Buffy, I..."

She was suddenly in his lap, straddling him, her face inches from his. "I missed you so much. There was so much I needed to tell you. I'm going to make it up to you." She was kissing his face, his neck.

This hadn't been quite how he planned it - he had been thinking more along the lines of telling Dixon to show his face; Buffy always did push things to the edge. But it would certainly get their attention, and it wasn't entirely unappealing. He could live in the dream for a little while longer...

"I told you they wouldn't listen to us!" Xander was pacing back and forth.

"Willow, they're on the couch. They're going to have sex."

"Anya, you're not helping." Willow was running back to the computer. They hadn't realized Buffy and Riley had finished dinner so quickly. Willow had been washing up the dinner dishes when Graham called to say he had just been beeped.

Willow was sitting down when Angel said, "Wait."

Willow whirled around to look at him. "What do you mean wait? This is crazy! They know that they can't do this!"

"This was your idea," Angel hissed.

"Noooo. My idea was that Riley should say, 'Hey, Mr. General man, Angel helped me because he's still in love with my girlfriend.' Game over. Get out of jail free. This was not the idea. This could kill him." Willow's eyes were flashing. "Don't you dare get all vampy on me."

Giles looked at Angel, then at Willow. They did not have time right now for a fight between a vampire and a recovering witch, nor did he want to be the one to clean up after it. "Yes, but I think that may be the point," he said.

"The only point I see is that Riley's going to die," Xander said.

Giles turned to Xander. "Yes. And assuming the Army knows that as well as we do…"

Willow had calmed down. She finished the sentence, "…they'll send Graham in to stop it."

Xander said, "Buffy and Riley got your message loud and clear. They're forcing the Army's hand."

Angel nodded. "Willow, Anya - can you be ready to send me in again?"

"You want to go back there? We were pretty lucky to get you there and back the first time around," said Willow, ignoring Anya's indignant look.

Angel knew what it was like to be trapped in a world with an untouchable Buffy; he knew what it could drive a man to do. And after seeing Riley's reaction to Dixon down in Belize, Angel had a pretty good guess of what Riley was planning. "Yeah, well, I think they may need some help. And this time, no uniform."

Riley was breathing deeply. Good thing relaxation techniques had been part of his training. "You trying to kill me? You think breaking my heart once wasn't enough?"

She stopped kissing him. "Do you want to fight instead?"

He reached his hand to the back of her neck and gently pulled her to him. "No, I surely don't." His arms were around her and he hugged her tightly as he kissed her. It was like a first kiss: sweet, tender, and gentle. Innocent and full of promise. It sent shivers down her spine. It hadn't been quite as active as what Buffy had in mind, but she wanted it to last forever. She felt his tongue push through her lips and she let him in. He had eased her onto the couch and was on top of her, one hand was in her hair, the other moving down her body slowly.

"Are you o.k.?" she whispered. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Just don't squirm. It works a little too well." He was kissing her neck now. Tasting her skin, smelling her hair, memorizing the way her neck curved.

She could feel the pulse in his neck, still slow and steady. "How long can you…"

"You'll know." He was at her chest. One hand was cupping her breast and pulling it to his mouth.

She was trying not to move underneath him, fighting against the urge to lift her hips to his. Her voice was soft. "You can..." She gasped - he was moving sooo slowly and it had been a long time since she had tried to hold back. She was finding it had the opposite effect. "Lift the shirt. It's o.k."

He looked up at her. "But..." He noticed the window next to the fireplace. "The shades are open."

"That's o.k." Her voice was husky. "They can watch."

Shit. Under normal circumstances that wasn't a turn on for him, but this was so far from normal... He could feel his heart beat faster. Graham had better get here soon or this might not work.

Green called out. "He's o.k. for the moment, but this would be a good time to find Graham."

"Damn it, where is he?" Ellis looked around the room. Graham had gone to grab dinner but they had beeped him 10 minutes ago. "What's taking him so long?"

Graham came running into the room; he had thought they'd linger over dinner a little longer. "Sorry, I was..." Damn it, Riley. Couldn't you keep your hands off her for five more minutes? "I'm suiting up. Give me ten minutes." That suit took so long to get into. He turned around and ran back out.

Riley lifted Buffy's shirt to her neck. He ran his hand lightly over her bra; felt her respond to his touch. His hands reached behind her back, to unhook the clasp. Her hands were in his hair, she was trying not to move, biting down on her lip. He was kissing between her breasts, slowly moving down; his hands on her waist.

She groaned and shifted. "I'm sorry. I can't…" He was driving her crazy. She was fighting to stop her body from responding. "Riley. Please."

He looked up at her. Her eyes were closed and she had pressed her head into the couch. He was very aware of her moving beneath him. This hadn't been his intention but he was happy to go along. O.k., so maybe Graham could take a few more minutes. He unzipped her pants and pulled them down past her hips. He didn't care anymore that they were being watched. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Oh, my God. Yes." She was straining against him.

Riley grabbed at the blue silk panties, pulling them down. He reached his hand up to her breast and caressed her with his fingertips. He could feel her shaking. He moved his hand to her back and ran it down to the base of her spine. She had arched her back. He brushed the top of her hip with his lips, moved his mouth down inside her thigh.

"Riley!" She had torn the couch cushion. "Now. Please."

He had barely touched his tongue to her when she cried out. Her hands were in his hair, pushing him deeper into her as she shuddered violently.

"Should they be doing this?" Xander was trying not to watch. He looked over toward Angel. "Should you be watching this?"

Angel gripped the chair he was standing behind. "Just making sure Riley's o.k."

"Looks like he's doing just fine to me." Anya sat back in her chair, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are they waiting for?" Xander had covered his eyes with his hands. "Shouldn't they have sent Graham in by now?"

"Riley's heart is fine. A bit elevated but nothing dangerous." Giles was very deliberately not asking for details.

"But Buffy's is off the charts - go, Buffy!" Willow was clapping her hands.

"Go, Riley." Anya said under her breath as Xander punched her shoulder.

Angel glared at Anya. "Let's be ready. The Army won't let this go on for much longer."

Riley moved so that his body was covering hers. She was still shaking as she turned to him and buried her head in his chest. "I hadn't quite expected that." She eased her pants back on. "I wish I could do that for you."

"I'll hold you to that."

She smiled and touched his forehead. "How are you?"

"Doing o.k." He sounded surprised. "You want to do that again, Ms. Summers?" Their faces were almost touching.

She reached behind her back to clasp her bra and pulled her shirt down. "That's Mrs. Finn to you." She ran her hands from his shoulders down to the back of his thighs and pulled him to her. "You think you could handle it?"

His breath caught as she moved on top of him.

She started to unbutton his shirt. "You want to see how far we can get?" She bent to kiss him.

He could feel his heart pounding. He knew he should tell her to stop but he couldn't. He was addicted to her; he needed to feel it one last time.

Ellis and Green were conferring over the readings as they waited for Graham.

"They're playing with us," said Dixon.

Ellis looked at the General. "What?"

"Why do you say that?" Graham asked as he walked in.

Dixon watched Buffy and Riley on the screen. "It's what I would do."

"It's what you are doing," Ellis said. He ignored Dixon's glare.

Graham was impatient. "We need to move. What are my orders?"

"Make him tell you why they helped. Piss him off. He'll tell you."

Pissing him off wouldn't be the hard part, but Graham didn't think that Riley's answer would satisfy Dixon. Dixon wouldn't understand Angel. Graham barely did. "We may as well give him a report on this entire project. Why not just pull him out of there and deal with it then?"

Green was watching the tape come out of the machine. "This isn't the time to argue. Riley's readings are too high and Buffy's not responding to the sedatives." He didn't mention that he had stopped giving them to her altogether. She may have super powers but he wasn't going to keep giving her doses that would kill an animal ten times her size. "You need to get in there now."

Buffy had finished unbuttoning Riley's shirt and was tugging it out of his pants. She ran her hands down his chest and leaned in to kiss him.

"Agent Finn. Sorry if I'm interrupting something."

Buffy and Riley whirled to see Graham standing in the doorway to the living room. They sat up. "Graham, I thought you'd never get here," Riley murmured. He stood up and buttoned his shirt as Graham walked into the room.

"You'd better take it easy there. You're not totally recovered yet," said Graham.

"Oh, I think I'm doing o.k. Feeling pretty good right now in fact." Ready to fly.

Buffy walked over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantle, her arms crossed.

"Buffy." Graham blushed and looked away from her.

Her smile was kind of evil. Riley took a deep breath. Show time. "I think you might have a message for me."

Graham glared at him for a minute. "The General's pretty happy with your report so far..."

"...But there's something missing and he wants me to be sure to get that in there. Am I close?"

There was no question that Riley had gotten Willow's message. Graham had hoped that Riley would come up with a much less dramatic solution, but this was definitely it. Graham wasn't sure he wanted to see this through. "That's about right."

"So he wants to know about the vampires. Why they were so willing to help us." Riley said as he walked towards Graham. "What motives they could possibly have."

"He'd like to hear the story. You seem to have left it out of your report."

"Maybe there's nothing to say. Maybe it's not just black and white."

"Shades of gray? You think there are vampires whose motives are pure?" Graham responded with a whisper. "He's not in it for you."

Riley was now within inches of Graham, standing eye to eye. "So they got to you too?" Riley said it almost under his breath. Riley's eyes were smiling at the thought of Graham meeting Angel; a Scooby meeting at Giles' place. Riley would have liked to see that. "I have no illusions about their motives. I'm sure they were far from pure."

Buffy had come up behind Riley and put her hand on his shoulder. "Riley..."

He shook her off. "Sorry, Buffy. I need to see this through." She nodded; her eyes were sparkling. Riley wasn't sure if it was from tears or excitement. She did love a good fight.

Graham hadn't thought Riley would take it this far, but the look between Buffy and Riley was a good enough sign. "You could die, Riley. You could die if you don't tell them what they want to hear."

"You think I'm not ready for that?" Riley walked towards the window. "You think I haven't been ready for..." He turned around and laughed. "For how long, Graham? How long have we been in here? How long ago did we go to Belize?"

"Son of a bitch." Ellis couldn't help but laugh at the look on Dixon's face. "They figured it out. They really are playing with us."

Dixon glared at him and said, "I want three more men to suit up and be ready to go in at my say so."

"Why? What can they do?" Ellis asked.

"Just being prepared."

"Prepared for what? To take him down? I thought you wanted him alive."

"I do want him alive. But if he knows something's going on ... We need to be ready for whatever he's planning."

"If he knows something's going on, then you may as well pull him out now."

Dixon was shaking his head.

Ellis said, "He's not going to answer your question; that's pretty clear."

"No, but it's not over yet."

"What else could you possibly want from him?"

"Why is he protecting them, Ellis? What's in it for him?"

"No, don't answer. It's not important." Riley looked out the window. "This is blackmail - really elaborate blackmail - but that's all it is. I may not have control over much," he turned back to face Graham, "but I'm not going to give up my" - what exactly should he call Angel? There was no word that could accurately describe that relationship. He almost laughed as he said, "friends."

"A..." Graham stopped and started again. "Your friend can handle himself."

"I know he can; I have no doubts about him. But who's next, an ex-demon? A witch? A werewolf? I've seen the exceptions and I know what they're fighting against: an endless supply of young, impressionable recruits who have been trained to hunt and kill them. Who I trained to kill. No more, Graham. I can't go back to that world. Not under those terms. No more."

"So what now? What are your terms?" Graham's voice cracked as he asked. He knew everything came down to what Riley was about to say; he knew there was almost no chance that Dixon would agree.

"I just want to go, Graham. Just let me be free." He walked over to where Buffy was standing and put his hand to her face and wiped away a tear. He was looking in her eyes as he talked to Graham. "I know it's not your decision. Go ahead." He turned to Graham. "Get your orders."

Graham had been ignoring the voices in his head but he needed to know what they were saying. He looked at the fireplace as he listened.

Riley could see Graham's face fall. He thought that might be the answer.

Buffy was watching Graham, too. She didn't get the meaning quite as quickly but as soon as she saw Riley's eyes go cold, she knew. "No, Riley. Don't. We can figure another way out. Please don't do this."

But he had turned and walked away from her. "No deal?" He moved towards Graham his arms wide open. "Then do it, Graham. Make it quick. It'll probably only take a couple of hits. Am I right?"

Graham was shaking his head. Not after all this. He would not do this. Even knowing that it was what Riley wanted. "I can't, Riley. It will kill you. I can't do it."

"Do I see a court martial in your future? Disobeying a direct order? Dixon's not going to go easy on you."

"Sorry, Riley. You're not going to piss me off. I won't fight you."

Riley turned to Buffy. "You?" She was shaking her head. "I'm sure I can find someone to fight me." He looked up to the ceiling. "Are you listening, Dixon - wherever you are? Is anyone out there ready to finish this?"

"I am."

They all whirled around to see Angel standing in the doorway. Buffy opened her mouth but no words came out. She was so stunned that she barely noticed Angel and Riley walking towards each other.

Riley laughed bitterly. "My guardian angel. Should've known..."

"You sure you want out? 'Cause I can take you there."

"Finally. Someone who understands." Riley's voice went cold as he said, "Want to dance?"

Angel smiled. "I never did like you, Finn." Angel spun around and kicked at the back of Riley's knee, knocking him to the floor.

"No!" Both Buffy and Graham yelled and came running. Buffy got there first and threw a punch that whipped Angel's head back but didn't slow him down. He blocked her other hand and sent her flying across the room.

Graham ran at Riley and tried to hold him back as Riley jumped up, but Riley pushed him away. "Back off, Miller. I have to do this."

Riley and Angel came at each other again, this time Riley throwing the punch and knocking Angel aside. Riley was already starting to feel the exertion; starting to feel dizzy. But it was also exhilarating; this was definitely a better way to go out than on that platform in a dank, dark cave. He saw Angel's kick come at his head and ducked in time to get out of the way. He came up in time to catch Angel's leg, throwing Angel off balance and crashing to the floor.

"Who the hell is that?" Ellis asked Ripley. He had appeared as the UPS guy, but once the fighting started, whoever was hacking in had played with the image so that it was too fuzzy to identify the face. "Can you cut their connection?"

Ripley's hands were flying on the keyboard. "I'm trying, but I don't know. We've been looking for the way they got in all day."

Ellis turned to Green. "I'm guessing we can't shut it down?"

Green shook his head. "It's too risky."

"What happens if you up the sedatives?"

"It could calm him down or it could kill him. I don't know how he'll react. His brain is focused on that reality. The safest thing would be to do it in there."

"General? You have a plan here?" asked Ellis.

Dixon nodded at the three soldiers who were standing at the ready. "Get him out of there. Stop whoever that is, and get Finn out of there."

"You wanted to see him fight, didn't you?" Ellis said to Dixon as he watched the screen. He turned to Dixon. "You wanted to see how far he would take it."

"This wasn't the way I wanted to play it."

"You wanted Graham to fight him so you could control it. But Graham wouldn't do it. You never expected him to disobey an order. And now Riley's calling the shots."

"They're not doing Riley any favors."

"Really? Looks to me like they're getting him out of there. He still hasn't answered your question, but you sent the men in. They played you."

"I have the answer I need. This wasn't the way I wanted to get it, but I have it."

"No, you wanted to lord it over him. Show you could control him. But you can't. Even in there. They're too strong for you."

Dixon smiled. "We need him, Ellis. He lives in both worlds. Think of the possibilities."

Ellis was shaking his head. "So he finally passed your test. Too bad it's going to kill him."

Dixon looked at Green. "I'm expecting him to survive this. They'll get him out and you'll do what you need to do."

Green replied, "I'm not God. We've already performed one miracle; this may be asking too much." His eyes moved from the screen to the tape coming out of the machine.

Ellis asked Dixon, "Was this all worth it? He was basically dead in Belize; that wasn't enough? Didn't that prove how far he was willing to go?"

"I can't put my faith in a suicidal soldier, Ellis. It's not good enough that he was willing to die; I needed to know what he was willing to die for. I need to know that he wants to live."

Riley was breathing heavily now, could feel pain shooting down his arm. He saw Buffy getting to her feet and coming to him. She was looking at something behind him and he turned to see three soldiers in black uniforms. One rushed at Riley, the other two towards Angel. Riley saw Angel shrug off one of them, throw a punch at the other.

The one coming at Riley hesitated; seemed unsure as to whether to attack. So Dixon had folded, Riley thought. He had decided it was time to get Riley out. Riley grabbed onto the back of the couch to steady himself. He turned to face the soldier, but as he straightened up, everything started to spin. He lost his balance and grabbed at the end table, knocking over the lamp as he went down. In the distance he could hear Buffy yelling his name. He could feel her pulling him into her arms, clutching him. Holding him as everything faded to black.

Buffy screamed, "No! Riley!" She could feel Angel wrapping his arms around her, could feel her mind pulling away from her body. She saw Graham sink down to the floor, holding his head in his hands. Her body was failing her. She summoned every ounce of her Slayer strength to fight her way to him, to somehow make him breathe again.

Xander turned to Willow and Giles. "Is he...?" They were starting at the monitor showing Riley's readings. Xander turned back to his screen and shouted, "Willow! Giles! Graham's gone."

Willow got up and ran over. She saw the soldiers vanish. "They're shutting down the program! Anya - we need to get Angel out of there! If they close it down before we do, he may get stuck."

Anya had been standing behind Giles. She ran back to the circle and started the spell. Xander kept glancing from the screen in front of him to where Anya was sitting. He couldn't believe he was actually hoping for Angel to come back.

Giles asked Willow, "Can they shut down the whole program? Just like that?"

She was watching as files started to disappear. "Looks like it." She couldn't find Angel's file anywhere. She had hidden it in one of the other folders but the folder was gone. She turned to look at Anya. This shouldn't be taking so long. She looked up at Giles; he was watching Anya too.

Anya's eyes opened and she turned to look for Angel. "But... Where is he? I had him. He was right here."

Willow was shaking her head. This couldn't be happening. First she pulls Buffy out of heaven and then she erases Angel. This was so not good. She turned back towards the computer and frantically tried to find the folder that had disappeared. "It has to be here. It's got to be somewhere in the system."

They had all gathered around the computer, watching Willow. No one noticed the door open.

"Do you ever lock your door?"

They all whirled around to see Angel standing there. Willow flew to him and grabbed him in a huge hug.

He laughed. "You should know by now that it's not that easy to get rid of me."

"But where did you come from?" Giles asked.

"The roof."

They all turned to Anya who was looking down at her feet. She looked up sheepishly. "O.k. So maybe I'm a little rusty."

"Clear!"

Graham hadn't even taken the VR suit off; he came running into the room as Green put the paddles to Riley's chest.

"Nothing. Again." Green waited for the paddles to charge. "Clear!"

There were doctors and nurses at Buffy's bed as well. Her arms and legs were flailing. They were trying to restrain her. Graham saw a nurse go flying against the wall. He nearly cried in relief as he saw Buffy struggle with them and push off the table, pulling off wires and her I.V. as she came up.

Buffy felt her mind and body come together as one. Vacation's over; the Slayer's back. She looked around and barely registered where she was before she honed in on Riley's body.

"No good. One more time."

Buffy looked up at Graham. He shook his head.

"Clear!"

"Nothing. Should we call it? Try again?" asked a nurse.

They seemed to be hesitating. Buffy pushed Green aside and jumped on the bed, straddling Riley's body. She pounded her fist against his chest and saw Graham watching her. "Graham. He needs to breathe. Help me."

Graham ran to the bed and breathed twice into Riley's mouth.

Buffy was pumping Riley's chest. "You are not leaving me, Riley. Not again."

Graham breathed again.

"I love you. Do you believe me this time?" She tried to ignore the tears blurring her vision. "I need you in my life again." She pounded his chest.

Graham breathed one more time. It wasn't working. His brain was telling him to keep going, but in his heart, he finally understood. He couldn't do it in the jungle and he couldn't do it in the machine, but he finally accepted Riley's choice. He put his hand out to Buffy. He tried to pull her from the table. "It's over, Buffy. We need to let him go."

"Not this time." Her gaze hadn't left Riley's face.

The look in her eyes was unlike anything Graham had ever seen. Steel, ice, strength, love. He felt a wave of … something … course through his body. There was an undercurrent of energy in the room. The machines went dead as the power went out. For the first time, Graham truly understood the power of the Slayer.

Buffy stopped suddenly. She put her hand on Riley's chest and looked at Graham. Graham heard Riley's gasp and felt himself being pushed aside as Green ran towards the body.

"Off of him! Get off of him!"

Graham pulled Buffy off Riley and they watched as several nurses and doctors came running; heard the machines power up again as the backup generator came on.

"Miller. Summers. Over here." Graham looked up to see Ellis motioning to the other side of the room. "You can see him from over here."

They had been watching the monitor when the program disappeared. Willow was trying to get back into the system but it seemed to be down. They all looked up when Anya's phone rang. Giles answered it. "Graham? We lost the program. What's happening?" He closed his eyes as he listened. "Thank you so much for calling… And Buffy? …Yes, tell her we'll be here… Graham? Thank you." Giles turned off the phone and looked up at them with a smile.

Buffy wouldn't leave the room until Riley had been stabilized. They scrounged up a t-shirt and some camouflage pants for her to wear. She threw them on over her hospital gown.

"We could find you a place that's a bit more private…" Graham was trying not to stare.

She motioned to the monitors. "Like you haven't already seen more." She liked watching commandos turn red.

They had tried to escort her out of the area until she threw two of the MPs across the room and that settled that. "He's spent enough time in your hospitals without me. You brought me here this time. I'm staying."

She didn't know what time it was anymore, just knew that she had been there forever. She must have drifted off to sleep. She felt her hand being squeezed and she squeezed back - an involuntary reaction.

"Ouch! Could you take it easy here?"

Mmmm. Nice dream. Riley's here.

"Buffy? I'm not kidding. That really hurts." His voice was hoarse.

She opened her eyes to see Riley watching her. Her hands flew around his neck. "Riley!"

"Ow! Buffy!"

"I'm sorry, Riley. I'm so sorry." She was laughing through her tears.

"It hurts to talk."

"I know. Don't talk. I'll get the doctor."

Green had already come in. They had been watching for this. "Buffy, Ellis needs you in the conference room across the hall." He took her by the shoulders and started to push her out the door. "There's a monitor in there. You can see everything I'm doing."

"Wait." Riley grabbed at Buffy's hand as she started to go. "Eve?"

She shook her head as she kissed his hand. "I'll be back."

They were still sitting around the table when Green came back in.

"So?" Graham hadn't stopped pacing in what seemed like days.

"He's doing quite well. Excellently, in fact, given all he's been through. He's very weak - as anyone recovering from all this would be. But his readings are strong," said Green.

"What does he know?" asked Ellis.

"I told him that he was critically injured in Belize and that he's been in a coma for seven months. That he'd had a heart attack and had been brought back from flatline. I think that was more than enough for him to handle for now."

Buffy's turn. "How much does he remember about anything that happened..." She faltered and gestured to one of the monitors against the wall. "...In there?"

"You tell me. He obviously remembered Eve." Green had been eager to hear what Buffy remembered but Graham wouldn't let him bother her while she was by Riley's side.

Buffy looked down. "I remember pretty much everything that happened over the last two days. Was there more?"

Ellis shook his head. "No, that was pretty much it."

"Can I go back now?"

"He's sleeping. You should probably do the same."

"O.k." Buffy got up and left the room. They watched on the monitor as she wheeled the second hospital bed next to Riley's and climbed up on it.

"That was not what I meant." Green started to get up.

Ellis held out his hand. "Leave her be. It's not hurting anyone."

"But Dixon…"

"Dixon will deal. He's not your problem."

"Dr. Green, what happens from here?" They had almost forgotten Graham was there.

"Right now I'm considering this a heart attack recovery. For the next few days, he'll probably sleep a lot. But we'll start the physical therapy this afternoon. Get him out of bed. Try and take a few steps."

"And the coma? Are there any long-term effects?"

"It will take us a while to know for sure, but many of the effects are physical. His brain thinks his body has been physically active for the last two days. That may speed recovery. It's a fascinating case. We've never had the opportunity to study it in quite this way."

Graham said bitterly, "He's still a lab rat to you."

Green got up to leave the room. He laughed. "Don't think he's so special. You're all lab rats to me."

Graham sat down as he watched Green go. "Asshole."

"Easy, Graham. Riley made it through. You have Green to thank for that."

"Funny, I thought it was Buffy who saved his life."

"This whole operation is Green's baby. None of this could have happened without his vision."

Maybe that would have been a good thing. "What are we going to tell Riley? What's Dixon planning to do?"

"You can tell him as much as you want him to know. He already figured most of it out anyway. But you can do the debriefing. I'll leave it up to you." Ellis looked at the door to make sure Green had closed it when he left. He turned back to Graham. "How'd they get to him? Did you give them the codes to get into the system?"

Graham had been waiting for this. His eyes were defiant as he said, "He needed to know. Someone had to tell him."

"It almost got him killed."

Graham thought back to the day of Riley's surgery; the first time he had seen Riley since the discharge hearing. Physically Riley had been more powerful than ever; but he was a shell of the man Graham had known. No self-respect. Haunted by insecurity. Graham had watched the strength come back as they worked their way through the jungle; had watched the fire in Riley's eyes as he fought Angel. Letting Dixon have his way would have been a different kind of death for Riley but it would have killed him just the same. Graham looked up at Ellis. "He was ready to die. He wasn't ready to lose himself again."

Ellis nodded. "Tell you what. You tell me how they did it sometime. I don't think anyone else needs to know." He was glad Graham had come out of this o.k. Graham had needed healing, too.

Graham looked down at the floor. "Is there a court martial in my future? Did I push Dixon too far?"

Ellis leaned his chair back so it had almost toppled over. "The fact that you're not in the brig right now is a damn good sign. Beyond that? We'll know soon enough. He's on his way over."

Graham shrugged. "Ellis kept it clean. Professional." He grinned. "Almost punched out the congressman."

Riley laughed. "Ellis. Now that's a guy I can work with." His look became serious. "How did I get here, Graham? Did you bring me in?"

Graham had been dreading this conversation, but he was ready. He nodded. "I recovered your body from the jungle. A..." Damn it. Who knew who was listening? "The UPS man brought you out of the caves."

Riley laughed at the image. Graham had told Riley and Buffy about how Willow had programmed the image of Angel that would be seen by observers; and how she had practically given up trying to cover for him when he and Riley started throwing punches. Riley had pleaded amnesia when they asked him about that one; he'd let someone else try and explain it. He was done explaining.

"He and his friends carried you as far as they could. By then, Marcial and a few of the others were strong enough to take you the rest of the way. They had a few radios still; they were able to let us know they were coming."

"Why didn't you just end it there?"

"I tried. I really tried. Kept thinking how Forrest would have just pulled the trigger." He remembered staring at his gun for what had seemed like hours. It had probably been less than a minute. "But I couldn't. I just couldn't do that to you. Besides, if I had, Marcial would have killed me himself."

"So he made it too. That was him in the caves."

"He wanted you to have this. Said it would keep you connected so that their prayers could be heard. It's been on your wrist the whole time." Graham walked over to Riley and handed him the stones. "Maybe they're really magic - who knows?"

Riley gave Graham an exaggerated look of concern. "Graham - did they turn you? Did you go over to the dark side?"

Graham shook his head and glared at Riley. "Don't go there, Riley. Not in here."

Riley laughed. Something else to look forward to. "When I get out. You're buying."

Graham felt a wave of relief wash over him. "I'm sorry, Riley. I'm sorry you had to go through all this. What they did to you in the jungle. In here."

Riley was looking down at the chain. He didn't respond.

Graham continued, "I understand so much better now. About Buffy. About Sunnydale. You do belong here; with her. Hell, I'm even starting to wish I could stay here." He was babbling. Back on track, Miller. "But I won't say I'm sorry for pulling you in on Belize. You needed to leave. You needed to be away from her, at least for a little while."

Riley turned the stones over and over in his hand. "I know. I did need it - all of it. I needed the journey. You saved my life."

It had been several days since Riley woke up. Willow and Dawn had dropped off some clean clothes; Buffy wasn't ready to leave yet. Graham had only left for a couple of briefings and a few hours each night to sleep. On walks around the grounds, he told them about running into Willow and everything that had happened at Giles' place. For the most part, they just concentrated on Riley's therapy; none of them was ready yet to talk about the hard stuff.

Buffy hadn't told Riley about anything that had happened since he left - not the full story about Dawn, not about her mother, not about her. Oh God, and definitely not about Spike. Riley had been right. She didn't know him. He was different now. She didn't know what he would say. And, for the first time since he had come into her life, she was afraid he might walk away. She decided to be very un-Slayer-like and let him take the lead; after all, talking had never been her strong point. She was helping him walk down the hall when she stopped. "Riley Finn - did you just grope me?"

He grinned. He looked almost back to normal; they had let him change into sweats and a t-shirt. That definitely helped. "You've been playing nurse for a couple of days now, don't you need to get back to patrols?"

"The gang is taking care of things. This is…" she paused, "…important."

Riley didn't respond. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"What do you remember? From in there?" Buffy asked.

"I remember thinking that it couldn't be true. No matter how much I wanted it to be, I just couldn't believe that you were there with me. Like that."

They had reached the physical therapy room and she helped him sit on the table. She was looking down. "Everything I said was true. That was me in there, those feelings were real; it wasn't just some computer program." She looked away; she was so sick of crying. "Things are different now. A lot has happened. If I had had more of a chance… Maybe we could have…"

"It wasn't just you. I did some crazy things. 'Dumb' doesn't begin to explain it. I don't know who I was..." He stopped. "I lost my way, Buffy. Maybe you did too. Maybe we can help each other find it again." He leaned down to kiss her. "I think it's probably better if you leave for a little while. I'm not sure my heart can take being around you right now. But maybe you'd better tell Spike I'm back in town." He lifted her chin. "I thought I could get you out of my head. I can't. Whatever it takes, Buffy. Whatever it takes."

Buffy pulled him to her, almost pulling him off the table. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Easy with our patient, Miss Summers."

Buffy felt Riley stiffen and turned to see Graham enter the room with another man. He had on a fancy uniform - lots of medals. White hair.

"General Dixon." Riley's tone was cautious.

"Agent Finn."

Buffy looked at Riley. "Do you want me to stay?" He shook his head. She gave him a hug. "I'll be back in a few hours." She kissed him and walked out the door.

Graham closed the door behind her. "Riley."

"Graham." Even after the last few days they were still cautious around each other; they hadn't had a chance to talk one on one yet. But Riley was glad that he didn't have to face Dixon alone. He didn't trust himself.

"Finn - you are a pain in the ass," said Dixon.

Riley laughed. "It's good to see you too, Dixon."

"You really don't give a shit, do you?"

"No, sir. I don't."

"You were right. Down there in the jungle? Your call on the villagers? A soldier who doesn't care can be a powerful thing."

"I think the word was 'useful.' Could we cut to the chase? I haven't changed my terms, Dixon. I'm either walking out of here on my own or you're going to have to shoot me."

"You really know an ex-demon?"

"I'm not biting, General. What's it going to be? Did I pass your test? What do you want from me?"

Dixon glanced at Graham.

Riley said, "He stays. I want him to hear whatever you have to say."

"Fine." Dixon leaned back against the counter. "Walsh had big plans for you."

The look in Riley's eyes hardened. "I didn't like those plans."

"She strayed, Finn. She was weak." Dixon held up his hand to Riley's protest. "I know what she meant to you and I know that even after everything that happened, there's a part of you that will defend her. That's irrelevant. This is about you."

Riley nodded. "So tell me. And then let me out of here."

"You know we've been watching you since you left us. We'd been waiting for an opportunity to pull you back in. We expected to have to manufacture one but you and Summers managed to do it for us." Dixon glanced at Graham before continuing. "I needed to know how strong you were. The jungle was your physical test. Strategy, tactics, strength, endurance, leadership…do I need to go on? You passed it with flying colors."

"Is that why you pulled us out when you did? The test was over?"

"You were supposed to come home."

"Sorry. Didn't want to."

"No. You did the bonus round. You exceeded our expectations in every way."

"Except for that one pesky problem; I was basically dead."

Dixon smiled. "It was a problem. One we were able to solve. I'm sorry we put you through that, but I needed to know. I needed to know what you had in you, why you did the things you did." He paused. Everything was riding on this. "I want to start up the Initiative again. I want you in charge."

Riley forgot that his body wasn't back to normal. He pushed himself off the table and took a step towards Dixon. "Damn!" He grabbed at the table as he started to fall. "Did you hear anything that I said? I won't be part of this. Not anymore. It's cruel. Inhuman."

"They're not human."

"No, but we are."

"Sometimes I wonder…"

"Dixon, don't you get it? I don't consider that an insult anymore."

"Think about it. Fancy title. Lots of money. Perks, toys, girls - whatever you want. I'm not willing to concede that there are good sub-t's out there; but you're the only soldier I have ever known who's been able to work with them. I'm willing to do it your way. You have some time to think about it."

"I already left the government once. I didn't go to Belize to further my career."

"You're a soldier, Finn. It's in your blood. No matter what you do you can't ignore it. You tried to, and look where it got you." Dixon walked to within inches of Riley. His voice was quiet. "You think I don't know why you went to Belize? What you craved? The blood? The darkness? You can have it again. I can give it to you."

"And if I say no?"

Dixon laughed as he stepped away. "You won't."

"That man is unbelievable," Riley said to Graham after Dixon left the room.

"I can't believe you talked to him like that. He's a General."

"He can kiss my ass."

"Yeah, well, it sounds like he is. Kissing your ass I mean."

"Great image. Can we talk about something else?" Riley was looking around the room. Anywhere but at Graham. "How much did they see?"

Graham looked down. "Pretty much everything."

"Yeah, I figured."

"The gang is taking care of things. This is…" she paused, "…important."

Riley didn't respond. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"What do you remember? From in there?" Buffy asked.

"I remember thinking that it couldn't be true. No matter how much I wanted it to be, I just couldn't believe that you were there with me. Like that."

Buffy pulled him to her, almost pulling him off the table. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Easy with our patient, Miss Summers."

Buffy felt Riley stiffen and turned to see Graham enter the room with another man. He had on a fancy uniform - lots of medals. White hair.

"General Dixon." Riley's tone was cautious.

"Agent Finn."

Buffy looked at Riley. "Do you want me to stay?" He shook his head. She gave him a hug. "I'll be back in a few hours." She kissed him and walked out the door.

Graham closed the door behind her. "Riley."

"Finn - you are a pain in the ass," said Dixon.

Riley laughed. "It's good to see you too, Dixon."

"You really don't give a shit, do you?"

"No, sir. I don't."

"You were right. Down there in the jungle? Your call on the villagers? A soldier who doesn't care can be a powerful thing."

"I think the word was 'useful.' Could we cut to the chase? I haven't changed my terms, Dixon. I'm either walking out of here on my own or you're going to have to shoot me."

"You really know an ex-demon?"

"I'm not biting, General. What's it going to be? Did I pass your test? What do you want from me?"

Dixon glanced at Graham.

Riley said, "He stays. I want him to hear whatever you have to say."

"Fine." Dixon leaned back against the counter. "Walsh had big plans for you."

The look in Riley's eyes hardened. "I didn't like those plans."

Riley nodded. "So tell me. And then let me out of here."

"Is that why you pulled us out when you did? The test was over?"

"You were supposed to come home."

"Sorry. Didn't want to."

"No. You did the bonus round. You exceeded our expectations in every way."

"Except for that one pesky problem; I was basically dead."

"They're not human."

"No, but we are."

"Sometimes I wonder…"

"Dixon, don't you get it? I don't consider that an insult anymore."

"I already left the government once. I didn't go to Belize to further my career."

"And if I say no?"

Dixon laughed as he stepped away. "You won't."

"That man is unbelievable," Riley said to Graham after Dixon left the room.

"I can't believe you talked to him like that. He's a General."

"He can kiss my ass."

"Yeah, well, it sounds like he is. Kissing your ass I mean."

"Great image. Can we talk about something else?" Riley was looking around the room. Anywhere but at Graham. "How much did they see?"

Graham looked down. "Pretty much everything."

"Yeah, I figured."

Graham shrugged. "Ellis kept it clean. Professional." He grinned. "Almost punched out the congressman."

Riley laughed. "Ellis. Now that's a guy I can work with." His look became serious. "How did I get here, Graham? Did you bring me in?"

Graham had been dreading this conversation, but he was ready. He nodded. "I recovered your body from the jungle. A..." Damn it. Who knew who was listening? "The UPS man brought you out of the caves."

"Why didn't you just end it there?"

"So he made it too. That was him in the caves."

Riley gave Graham an exaggerated look of concern. "Graham - did they turn you? Did you go over to the dark side?"

Graham shook his head and glared at Riley. "Don't go there, Riley. Not in here."

Riley laughed. Something else to look forward to. "When I get out. You're buying."

Graham felt a wave of relief wash over him. "I'm sorry, Riley. I'm sorry you had to go through all this. What they did to you in the jungle. In here."

Riley was looking down at the chain. He didn't respond.

Riley turned the stones over and over in his hand. "I know. I did need it - all of it. I needed the journey. You saved my life."

She hadn't realized how close the old high school was to the Base. She took a detour and walked through the darkened halls. She sensed his presence before his arms were around her.

She broke down, sobbing for what seemed like hours. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me he was alive?"

"It was kind of a bad time. I mean, you were dead. It was hard to talk to you. I didn't know he was still alive until Giles called me a few days ago," Angel said.

"Why were you there?"

"A friend needed help. It was a needed distraction on my way to Sri Lanka. I had heard rumors about this other vampire species. They only fed off animals until your commando friends got to them. They started attacking the villages and were calling too much attention to themselves. We were trying to figure out how to stop them when we came across Riley and his men. You pretty much know everything from there."

"The others weren't tempted to just eat the Army guys and be done?"

"You're the only one around here who thinks that Riley's tasty."

"I don't buy it, Angel. Dixon may be psycho but it was a good question."

Angel sighed. "You think I'm the only vampire in the history of the world that pissed off the gypsies?"

Buffy looked up in surprise. "There are others like you?"

"Some. Maybe a hundred."

"And they hang out in the jungle?"

"Near enough to it. Unlimited supply of fresh animal blood there for the taking. No one bothers them. They wanted to keep it that way."

"What, there's like a club of vampires cursed by gypsies?" She hadn't been serious but she started laughing when she saw the look on his face. "You've got to be kidding. Are you the President?"

Angel mumbled something.

"What did you say?"

"Treasurer. O.k.? Can we talk about something else?"

She was still laughing. He would definitely be hearing about that again. "Fine. Where did the bombs come from? They must have been Army. If the Army men were all gone…"

"Riley told me where he had hidden them; in the woods one night. He could probably be executed for that. I'm sure it's some kind of treason to tell a vampire where the firepower is."

She was glad to have laughed. It made the next question easier. "What did he look like? What did they do to him?" She had seen the scars crisscrossing his body while they were in the hospital. They hadn't been visible in the VR program.

"Why do you need to know that, Buffy? It was bad, really bad. I almost killed him myself."

"So why didn't you? You, Graham, this Marcial person? Why didn't you just finish it?"

"I've tried to answer that question for the past seven months. I don't know. I can't explain it. There's something... I don't know."

"I know. He's one of the good guys."

"Hmm. Not so much. Maybe it was you. What he meant to you. I couldn't just let him die. Not if there was something that could be done." He paused. "I really don't like him you know."

Buffy's laugh was muffled by her tears and his coat. "I know. I know."

She wasn't sure if she was going to have to fight her way back on the Base, but Graham was waiting for her to help her through security.

"I owe you an apology, Buffy."

"You slipped me one hell of a mickey."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about so many things. I don't even know where to begin."

"How about not talking Riley into leaving Sunnydale again? That would be a good start." She held out her hand. "Truce?"

"Truce."

They had been walking as they talked. They entered the room as Riley was rolling down his sleeve. He looked up at them. "They don't seem to believe I'm not a vampire."

Buffy walked over to hug him. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Angel says hi."

Riley raised his eyebrows. "Good to know where you go when you leave my side. At least it wasn't Spike." Riley could feel Buffy tense. "Spike? Really?" He looked away.

"My cue to leave. Later." Graham left the room.

"Buffy - so much has changed. I know it's not going to be easy..."

"Riley..."

Riley put his hand to her mouth. "Did I ever tell you about the way the sun rises over the fields back home? It can seem so dark, but then the sun peeks up, and the sky turns pink, and then everything is gold. Majestic. Pure and powerful. It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." College boys in love. He smiled at the memory, feeling alive again. He kissed her. "Sets everything on fire."

The End

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