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"Looks like I win!" Riley exclaimed triumphantly. Buffy turned to her assailant with a scowl on her face. "You are the biggest cheater, and you are going to have to be taught a lesson." With that Buffy grabbed Riley and shoved him onto his bed. Buffy took advantage of the suprised Riley by jumping on top of him and pinning his arms to his side with her legs. Then she attacked; poor boy didn't have a chance against the tickle torture champ. Riley was laughing so hard that tears rolled down his face.

"UNCLE, UNCLE" Riley pleaded. Buffy's assualt finally ended with a soft kiss on Riley's mouth. "Maybe I'll have to make you lose more often." Riley excclaimed with a huge grin on his face. "You better" Buffy responded playfully back. Buffy climbed off of Riley and scooted up his bed. Riley joined her at the top and put his arms around her. They sat there like that forever it seemed, no one speaking, just drinking up each others presence. Buffy's head lay on Riley's chest, she listened to his steady heartbeat and smiled. It was always a comforting sound. It made her feel safe, warm, like a normal girl. Riley broke the trance with a tender kiss to the top of Buffy's head and asked "So where you taking me to dinner?" Buffy laughed.

Riley's phone began to ring and although he fought the urge to answer it, he knew he had to. "Riley!" after a short pause he came back with "On my way!" Riley let out a sigh and gazed at the beautiful girl on his bed. "I guess you are off the hook for dinner tonight."

"I think I deserve a rematch anyway. So is it some big demon that needs squashing?"

No, staff meeting. Mandatory!"

"I'm getting bumped for a staff meeting? Maybe next time I'll bump you for a manicure." She said teasingly.

She grabbed her leather jacket and headed for the door. She began to open the door when she was caught from behind. She turned around and looked into the lowa boys big blue eyes. Such energy and life she saw there. So full of happiness and love. Riley lifted Buffy's chin and brought his mouth down to meet hers. The passion of the kiss swelled and Buff was in ecstasy. She felt light headed and the world seemed to fade away leaving just her and Riley and no one else, no initiative, no slayer, no demons or vampires. Just a boy and a girl. Riley released her from his embrace and told her he would call her tomorrow.

Buffy returned home without incidence and found Willow surfing the web. Buffy and Willow stayed up for hours talking about girl things like boys, clothes, makeup, majick, and gossip. It was 2:00AM when Willow finally exclaimed she needed some shut eye. They quickly got ready for bed and climbed in Buffy fell asleep with images of Riley dancing in her head and a smile on her face.

Outside their window a black clad figure stared up at the darkened room. His eyes balck as coal, his teeth and claws blood stained from a recent kill. Scales raced down his back and the armor across his chest gleamed in the light of the moon. "Sweet dreams Slayer, they will be your last."

Buffy awoke with a start. Her nightmares had grown steadily worse over the course of the night. Each one featuring Riley being maimed or tortured. As she wiped the sleep from her eyes, the last nightmare remained vivid in her mind. Riley in a dank, dark cellar; bleeding and bruised, shivering against the cold or out of fear. Buffy quickly got ready for the day and tried to shake off the nightmares she had had. She couldn't wait to see him i class. She always enjoyed a good stare. She loved the way his face tightened in concentration when he was grading papers during class or how every once in a while he would smile at her and make her feel giddy. As she left her room with Willow in tow, she felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

After a balanced breakfast of pancakes and gossip Buffy and Willow headed their seperate ways. Buffy had difficulty concentrating in her classes, Riley would continually pop-up in her day dreams. 'This is all his fault.' she thought to herself. 'If he wasn't so adorable I would be able to concentrate; as punishment, he and I will have to have a study day -big on date, little on study!'

Buffy found that Willow had reserved them their regular seats in Psych. Riley had yet to show up so that Buffy's starefest could begin. Willow and Buffy casually talked about thier plans for that evening until Prof. Walsh walking in followed by Graham.

"Please excuse Mr. Finn today, he is feeling ill, therefore Mr. Miller will be joining us today. He will also be taking over Riley's office hours." Prof. Walsh said before beginning her lecture.

A huge smile spread across Willow's face a she realized she would be the one to enjoy a good stare. Graham and Willow had been on only a few dates, but Willow found herself smiling at just the thought of him. From the front of the room, Graham made eye contact with Willow and gave her a wink. Willow was about to Graham's absolute adorableness to Buffy when she realized Buffy was looking concerned. Her good luck turned out to be her best friends misfortune. As class wore on Buffy fidgeted and repeatedly glanced at the clock on the wall. She hated the thought of Riley being miserable and alone with no one to care for him. She would make a bee line straight to Lowell House the moment Walsh dismissed them. After all someone had to play Nurse maid.

After class ended Graham motioned to the girls that he needed to talk to them. The three exited the classroom together and Graham began to explain " Something's wrong with Riley, he never showed up for the staff meeting and when Forrest and I went to his room this morning to see what was up, he was acting wierd. He looked like he had a hangover and was in serious need of an attitude ajustment. It was just so unRiley like." Glancing at Buffy Graham asked "Did anything happen between you two last night? Was he acting strange? Because Riley is not one to shurk his duties. He refused to do his Initiative duties this morning causing Walsh to nearly pop a vein." That didn't sound at all like the Riley she knows and loves.

"Nothing happened last night. He was just regular Riley, I left after her got the call regarding the staff meeting. Why don't I go talk to him and find out what's up?" "Good Luck!" Graham called after her.

The sun hurt her eyes a little as she stepped out of the building. Blinking a few times to adjust to the lighting she continued on her way to Lowell House. It was such a beautiful day out and the campus was full of students basking in the wonderful weather. Groups of students litered the quad, some doing homework, others decating a controversial issue, couples talking softly in one anothers ears. Buffy let her eyes drigt across the sea of people until her eye caught a familiar form. He look different somehow; his hair was unkept, clothes were ruffled and a stubble of a beard had grown on his face. He was leaning over talking to a brunette that Buffy believed was in he Psych class. And the way the girl was smiling Buffy knew she liked what Riley was saying. As Buffy approadched them she could hear that Riley was asking the pretty brunette for a date. Buffy was shocked-shell shocked in gact. She came to an abrupt halt with her mouth gapping open.

The girl asked about Buffy to which Riley replies "Oh her, she's nice and all but more like a trophy piece than a girlfriend. I want a woman that knows how to carry an intelligant conversation and doesn't use the Hoover technique everytime we kiss. I think you could be that girl, so what do you say?"

This can't be happening she thought to herself. Tears welled up in her eyes and she knew she was about to burst into tears. She turned around and fleed, she would not give hime the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched the retreating Buffy and smiled to himself.

Buffy was inconsolable. Finding no words to comfort Buffy, Willow just held her friend and listened to her sobbing. Willow wished for the third time in her life that she could heal her best friends aching heart. She was so unuse to seeing Buffy on the edge of a breakdown. She was so use to the confident, strong Buffy. The unbreakable Buffy. It was at times hard for Willow to remind herself that Buffy is just a girl with extraordinary abilities.

Buffy was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. Willow had been great to her offering her ice cream, chocolate, and to turn Riley into a rat. None of those could heal the dagger wound in her heart.

"Is there anything I can do, anything at all?" Willow asked sincerely.

"I would like to be alone for a while if that is alright." Buffy replies.

Willow started to object but thought better of it. "If you need anything call me, I'll be at Giles'."

"Thanks Will!"

As Willow left she took one last galnce at her friend and found that she was curling up in a ball, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. Willows eyes misted over as she headed for the exit. She will have to find a shovel.

Buffy slept fitfully once again. She deamed of this that caused her such pain. She saw a condemned house, the roof and porch partially rotted away. The lawn had been dead for quite sometime and weeds were springing up from the cracked sidewalk. Buffy walked to the fron door and was about to knock when the door began to open.

"Hello?" Buffy inquired but was only greeted by silence. She continued to walk down the hallway of the dilapitated house towards the kitchen. A floor board creaked behind her causing her to jump. She whirled around to find Willow standing in the door way. Though Willows lips did not move Buffy clearly heard her say "Appearances can be deceiving." With that the door slammed shut.

Buffy raced back the way she had came only to find the door locked. Even with her slayer strength she could not get the door open. Buffy became frantic pushing, pulling, pounding on the door. She suddenly felt so helpless and alone.

Behind her the kitchen door to the cellar slowly creeped open. Buffy peered towards it waiting for something to enter the kitchen. When nothing appeared, Buffy felt compelled to investigate. As she got closer she could hear a soft wimpering coming from inside the cellar. Something in Buffy stirred and her protective instincts engulfed her allowing the slayer inside to take over. She carefully made her way down the steps into the cellar. Her muscles were tense and ready for a fight.

The cellar was pitch balck, even with her keen night vision Buffy couldn't make out anything. The wimpering had intensified to sobbing. She could feel and hear that the sound was coming from directly in front of her. So she decided to proceed forward. Something brushed her right shoulder starteling her. Buffy grabbed at it finding that it was a cord for the light. As the cord was pulled, the room was bathed in yellow light and once again Buufy struggled to adjust her eyes to the change. Once she had rubbed her eyes she began to view her surroundings. Her eyes widened at the sight of a boy shivering in the corner, his arms hugging his legs to his chest. He was rocking himself gently and mummbling incoherently between sobs.

"Riley!" Buffy asked gently. Riley continued rocking as Buffy stepped closer. She could see that Riley was naked from the waist up. His back was covered with whip marks, bruises riddled his sides and back. Buffy called to hime once again as she softly laid a hand on his shoulder.

Riley shrieked, his head jerked up and he continued to scream. Buffy could see the horror in his eyes. Riley had been tortured and was at a breaking point.

She was so startled by the vision that she barely noticed the hand touch her shoulder. The screaming stopped and Riley vanished. Buffy realizing the pressure on her shoulder turned ot find Riley smiling at her dressed in his camos.

Relief played over Buffy's face. "You're okay, oh thank...." The bolt from the crossbow Riley was carrying slid into Buffy's stomach before she could finish. She looked down to see the arrow protruding from her stomach. She looked up at Riley in shock and suprise. Riley grinned at her "Love hurts baby!"

Buffy woke up sobbing. Willow quickly ran over to comfort her friend. Buffy tried to explain but keep chocking on her tears. Calming down a bit with Willows soft reassurances, Buffy realized how her stomach throbbed in pain alost as if she had been hit in the stomach with a baseball bat. The exact spot Riley had shot her in her dream.

Buffy, despite Willows insistance that she not be alone, took off for the last place anyone would think to look for her. UC Sunnydales library had quite a few students in the building for so early on a Saturday. Buffy quickly found a study cubicle in a corner and settled in. She tried studying but found the words on the page would blur from the tears in her eyes. Needing to vent a little Buffy decided to pull her diary out of her backpack. She brought it along today just in case. After about two hours of pouring her heart out to the little book she found her hand cramped and her backside sore. She got up from the cubicle and decided to explore the library a little. She put her dirary safely back into her backpakc and made her way to the stacks of books.

In and out of the rows Buffy walked not really looking for anything just absent mindedly browsing. She didn't notice the guy in front of her until it was too late. She collided with Riley's chest and staggered backwards by the force of the contact.

"Well if it ain't Little Miss Slutty Summers. Lose your way to the beauty parlor?" Riley smirked down at Buffy. Though the tears began to well up once again, Buffy blinked them back.

"Riley did I do something? I mean I thought you liked me."

"How could any guy in their right mind like you? You're a loser Buffy and you'll always be a loser no wonder you can't keep a man. The only reason I dated you was to see if you were as easy as everyone says. You thought that you meant something to me didn't you? Well if you believe that you are even a bigger fool than you appear to be." With that Riley turned and exited the library.

Buffy just stood there in the middle of the stacks, her crying starting a new. But these tears were different, they weren't the tears of the broken hearted, they were tears of anger, hatred, and rage. How dare Riley say such things to her. Who was he to judge her?

Buffy returned to her room to find it empty. Willow had left her a note saying "I have gone to Graham's. If you need anything please call me. I love you! Will"

Buffy sulked around her room for the remainder of the afternoon and into early evening doing odd jobs trying to get rid of the rage and anger building up inside her. She finnally figured the only way to relieve herself of the negative emotions was to go kick some demon butt. After quickly changing into her usual slayage clothing of long black pants, shirt, and leather jacket, Buffy went in search of her first victim. A half a dozen vampires and one chaos demon later, Buffy found that nothing helped with the hatred she was feeling so she decided to walk back to her dorm and get some sleep, hoping she would feel better in the morning.

Glancing up at the full moon, Buffy thought of Oz. She wondered where he was and if he was okay. Her thoughts were still on her friend when she noticed Riley. He was standing under a strret lamp waiting for her. Buffy felt her blood begin to boil. Deciding to pass him quickly, Buffy walked by without even glancing at him. She was already passed him when she heard him speak to her.

"Been out slaying, huh?" His tone was light, almost conversational. Buffy turned and gave a little "Yeah."

"You've always been really good at slaying." Buffy's mouth dropped. He had actually given her a compliment. But then he continued "and the way Parker tells it, its about the only thing your good at."

Buffy hadn't even realized she had taken the stake from inside her jacket. All he did was stand there and smirk. Filled with rage, Buffy lunged at Riley plunging the stake deep into Riley's heart.

Riley stumbled backwards from the force of the blow but did not fall. He stared down at his chest where the stake was protruding. Looking at the stake in abject horror, Buffy couldn't believe what she had just done. Riley sank to his knees and Buffy rushed over to him. She pulled the stake from his chest and placed her hand over the wound hoping to stop the bleeding even though she knew it was futile. Riley's breathing had become labored and his eyes were glazed over.

"Hold on Riley! Oh God I am sorry, please hold on! Help! Please someone help me!" Her cries were met with silence. Riley tried to speak but Buffy told him to be quite and reserve his strength. But nothing could stop Riley. Determined he grabbed her head and pulled her ear towards his lips.

"I win!" With that Riley's eyes rolled back into his head and he took his last breath. Tears streamed down Buffy's face as she looked at the corpse of the man she loved. She raised her hands from Riley to look at the blood, his blood on her hands. To her surprise, it wasn't blood she found but a dark green goo. The goo was oozing out of Riley's chest soaking the green shirt he was wearing. Suddenly Riley melted into a demon. Riley's soft skin changed into harsh, brittle scales. Claws began to protrude from his fingers and his teeth began to elongate. With a flash the creatures eyes opened, revealing cold, soulless black eyes. Buffy clambered to her feet unsure of what had just happened. The creature growled at her at it got to his feet. While Riley was a good foot taller than her, the creature towered over her at almost 7 feet.

Buffy scrambled to reach her slayers bag which she had dropped before staking Riley. She found the small axe just as the creature began its assault. With a quick swipe of the axe, the creatures head was detached from its body. The body fell to the ground with a wet slap, its head landed several yards from its body. The creatures body disintegrated into a pool of green goo and as Buffy turned to leave, she saw the head do the same. As Buffy made her way to Giles' she felt the rage drain away and was left with a feeling of sadness and confusion.

"Is this what the demon looked like?" Xander asked.

"No, there were no horns, just scales." The Scooby Gang had gathered at Giles' to find out more about the demon and what might have happened to Riley.

"I bet he has been eaten." Anya enjoyed giving her input in all matters even if it was of no help. "Demons tend to like eating healthy young men. Tastes like chicken."

Anya, we are trying to stay positive here." Xander said trying to quite his girlfriend.

"What about this one, its all scaley?" Willow piped in. Grabbing the book from her friend Buffy came face to face with her attacker.

"Yep, we have a winner!"

Giles walked over and retrieved the book from Buffy. "Ooh, a Colaus demon, I should have known."

"What does a Coleslaw demon do?"

A Colaus demon picks a victim and studies the person to find out its fears, desires, and loves. It takes away the person that means the most to the victim and assumes that persons identity in hopes of mentally breaking the victim. It thrives on upheaval, pain and hate. The sound of its voice can bring out emotions from the victim that would otherwise remain dormant.

"Ooh, like how Buffy was so angry that she staked it." Willow piped in.

"Precisely, if Riley had been the one speaking those harsh remarks he may have received a good butt kicking but not a stake." Turning to Buffy Giles continued, "The demon heightened your emotions to the point of the rage you felt consumed you. In the end that was the demon's downfall. It looks as though it won't be coming back. Beheading is the only way to kill it."

"Well, I have good instincts." Buffy said relieved that she isn't naturally a killer and that the rage wasn't entirely her fault.

"What happens to the person who's identity it takes? Is Riley dead?" She couldn't look him in the eye. She felt as if she already knew the answer and didn't want her fears confirmed.

"Let me see! It says here that the demon often has assistance in these matters. Vampires or half demons often take the victims loved one for safe keeping. It seems that the Colaus demon also enjoys physical pain. Many of these victims that are recovered have been tortured, maimed and/or killed."

"But there is a chance that he is alive?!"

"Yes, but it looks very slim. It has been about 48 hours since we saw a normal Riley, is that correct?" Buffy nodded. "With each minute that passes it gets less likely that we will find him alive."

"Well then lets call out the calvary and get going." Buffy got to her feet ready to give out orders.

"Willow, go to Lowell House and get Graham and Forrest and search the campus. Tell them to take weapons just in case we run into the demon's followers. Xander take Anya and go find Spike. Take the cemeteries and Main Street. Giles and I will take the outskirts of the city. Meet back here by 8 am to touch base and regroup. Be careful!"

With that they went their separate ways hoping that they weren't too late.

Riley awoke slowly, the cool floor causing him to shiver. He could feel the sticky wetness above his eye where he had recently been struck. Trying to sit up, Riley winced in pain from the bruises on his torso, the wounds on his back ripped open and he started bleeding again. It seemed like an eternity since he was brought here. The last thing he fully remembered was telling Buffy goodbye and kissing those sweet lips. When he had turned away from the door, he went to the window to watch as she left the house. He didn't even hear the creature come up from behind him. Realizing too late that he was not alone, Riley was hit in the head with a bat and the world went dark.

This is where he woke. In this dark coffin of a cell. Alone, afraid and angry. The shackles on his arms and legs dug into him when he tried to move. His shirt and shoes had been removed and he felt extremely cold. He called out to his captor asking what he wanted. There was no answer. From the dank smell and the damp air Riley deducted that he was in some kind of cellar. There was no light coming in the room allowing Riley's imagination to take hold of him.

His fear began to increase. `But no, I will not show it' Riley thought.

It was hours before he saw his capture appear at the top of the stairs. The light from what looked like a kitchen outlining the figure. Riley squinted against the light hoping to get a better look at what he was dealing with. The creature came down the stairs allowing the door to slam shut behind it forcing the room back into pitch blackness. The creatures breathing was feral. Soft snorts and growls escaping from it. Every inch of his instinct was screaming vampire. As it neared him, Riley could smell the death, the smell of the grave. As the creature neared him, the stench was so bad Riley had the urge to vomit. Holding back his revulsion Riley prepared mentally to not allow this creature to get the better of him.

Suddenly the smell was gone and Riley believed the creature had gone with it. Sitting there, Riley tried to think of how the creature could have left the cellar, there was only one door and he would have seen the light and heard the door creak if it had left that way.

The punch came from nowhere, landing on his side. He cried out in pain and surprise. A few more punches landed on his right side and then the creature began to pummel his left side. Riley gasped for breath as the air was knocked out of him. The attack ended as quickly as it began. `So quiet!' Riley thought. The only thing he heard was his own breathing and whimpering. He knew it was still there, waiting, watching. The crack of a whip made Riley's heart race. The sound was coming from behind him. Though he knew what to expect, the whip ripping into his flesh still surprised him. Pain shot down his back. His knees weakened and a scream was torn from his chest. The creature laughed.

"You liked that farm boy! Well, it looks like I will have to give you some more." The voice was feminine and right against his ear.

He could feel her close to his back yet when he pushed his body back, he found no one there. The chains on his arms prevented him from falling or going any further back. Again the sound of the whip cracked against the air and hit Riley squarely on the small of his back. He cried out again and was greeted by a laugh. She was laughing at his pain, she was enjoying this. Riley decided that he wasn't going to be the one to give her pleasure. He bit his tongue and vowed to not scream again. The whipping had gone on for 10 minutes, not a sound escaped from Riley. The woman left promising to return soon. As soon as she was gone, Riley began to sob.

That had been several days ago, though it felt like years. Throughout the days and nights that followed she would come to him. Occasionally she was joined by another creature, he was certain the male creature was not a vampire, most likely a demon. He never did anything, just sat and listened as Riley was tortured. The whip was always the vampire's choice weapon but occasionally she would bring hot pokers or tweezers. Riley's skin was littered with torn flesh, bruises, welts and burns. Though he felt weak from the blood loss, Riley kept his head. When the pain would come Riley would introvert himself and think of her. Buffy was the only thing he had to hold on to. The image of her smiling up at him, her fingers running through his hair, the soft kisses on his neck, the way she smelled. Throughout the days of captivity he thought of Buffy. In and out of consciousness Riley held on to the hope that she would find him.

Now, shivering against the cold Riley thought of her once again as the vampire's nails racked his chest.

The gang had gone their separate ways. Forrest and Graham were able to secure several cell phones from the Initiative and the three groups were to report in if they found any information on Riley's whereabouts. Willow, Graham and Forrest tore apart the campus searching high and low. Willow had even tried a spell to find Riley but to no avail. Xander and Anya had met up with Spike and had searched every crept in each of the cemeteries. They also checked out the sewers which Anya complained about. They finally made their way to Main Street and stopped by Willy's to see if they could get any information. After Spike landed a few punches to Willy's face the group realized that for once Willy didn't know anything. They left, heads hung. Worried that they were too late.

Buffy had called each group periodically to see if any of them had found a clue, she was becoming disheartened with each passing hour. "Maybe they took him out of town. Maybe we should search the next town over." Buffy looked toward her Watcher.

"No, the creature would have kept him close by, I am almost sure of it." Giles said as they searched another vacant home. "It is almost dawn, perhaps we should go get some rest and resume our search when we are refreshed." Buffy knew Giles' resolved face and knew better than to argue. Buffy followed Giles out of the home closing the door securely behind them.

Giles fussed over the car for a bit until it finally started up. Buffy distractedly looked out the window at the passing houses. Tears welled up in her eyes blurring her vision. As her hand wiped the tears away, Buffy saw the house. The house that had been in her dream.

"Stop the car! Giles, stop the car." Giles slammed on the brakes causing Buffy to hit her head on the dash. "Oh sorry, are you okay?" Before he got a response, Buffy jumped out of the car. Giles was quick to follow her. "What is it? Buffy what is the matter?" Giles was concerned. "I've seen this place before. In my dreams about Riley. He has got to be in there, he has just got to." Buffy raced towards the house only to have Giles grab her preventing her from going further. "Buffy, we don't know what is in there. We need weapons. Let's get back to my place, grab weapons and get some reinforcements." Giles said, dragging her back to the car.

Buffy wished the car would go faster. She felt it was crawling along. She felt every minute pass in her heart. Worry over Riley and the fatigue from the night of searching was wearing on her nerves. Buffy was hoping against hope that Riley was safe and alive.

The group gathered at Giles' and armed themselves. The plan was to attack hard and quick with Buffy taking the lead. They all filed into Giles' and Graham's cars and were off.

The street was quiet in the early morning hours. A paperboy was the only person out and about. He didn't even notice the small army arrive at the run down house at the end of the street. Buffy took the lead of the small band reminding everyone to be prepared for anything. "Let the games begin!"

As Buffy turned the handle to the front door as quietly as she could. Hopefully their attack would be a surprise. As she walked into the main hall, she heard a crash from behind her. Turning around she found Willow and Anya staring down at the guys. The porch had apparently been to decayed to hold the weight of the four men. The men dusted themselves off and climbed into the hallway. "Well so much for a surprise!" Buffy said looking disappointed at Xander, Giles, Forrest and Graham. The house was still. No vampires or demons came running at them.

"Maybe they sleep like the dead!" Xander piped in.

Looking anything but amused, Buffy proceeded toward the kitchen. The shades were all drawn leaving only minimal light into the room.

Buffy had wished that Spike had come along, though her night vision was good, his was better. Spike had opted to stay home and not "turn into a big pile of dust" since dawn was impending. Finding the light switch, Buffy flicked it on flooding the room with a bright yellow light. The room was empty save for some empty Chinese cartons and a couple of dead bodies. Buffy went toward the bodies and sure enough found that the three males had been killed by a vampire. To her relief none of them were Riley.

"Forrest, Graham, Xander, Anya, you go upstairs and look around. Here each of you take some weapons." Grabbing a stake and cross, Anya followed behind the axe wielding Xander. Forrest and Graham followed, each with a stake and a bottle of holy water.

Turning to Giles and Willow, Buffy handed each of them a stake and cross. "In my dream, Riley was in the basement. We should check there first." As Buffy began to walk toward the cellar, the door was flung open revealing the most hideous vampire Buffy had ever laid her eyes on. The creatures hair was matted, caked with mud. Her clothing was stained with blood from a recent kill and they hung in tatters from her body. The stench was overwhelming.

"Not big on personal hygiene are we?" Buffy asked plugging her nose. Nobody noticed the three pair of eyes open behind them. The dead men in the corner rose together and reached out, grabbing Willow and Giles. Buffy turned around to find her friends struggling against the onslaught of newbie vampires. The female vampire took that moment of distraction to pounced on the Slayer.

Graham, Forrest, Xander, and Anya heard the struggle downstairs and raced to the aid of their friends. Graham grabbed the hair of one vampire and pulled him off of Willow before it could sink its teeth into her throat. Xander and Anya took another vampire and began beating on it. Giles was holding his own but was relieved when Forrest staked the vampire through the back. Graham quickly dispatched the vampire he was fighting and turned to see Xander do the same. That left the female vampire.

Buffy was surprised to find it extremely agile. The vampire moved with grace and speed that Buffy had only seen in a seasoned fighter. The vampire quickly pinned Buffy to the kitchen table. Its teeth neared her throat and it whispered "Your boyfriend tastes as good as he looks." A grin played over the vampires face. Buffy looked into its cold yellow eyes and felt her rage return. The vampire bared its fangs and lowered its mouth to Buffy's neck. Buffy pushed up with all her might and was able to throw the vampire off of her. Jumping from the table, Buffy made a beeline toward the vampire as she struggled to get up off of the floor.

"You should never mess with my boyfriend." Buffy pummeled the vampire, landing punch after punch to the vampires gut. Then she began to alternate between punches and kicks, between the vampires face and stomach. The continuous onslaught brought the vampire to its knees. Buffy grabbed the vampires shirt and flung it through the window. As daylight bursted into the room, the vampire exploded in a swirl of dust. Buffy looked toward the gang and seeing that no one was hurt, made her way towards the stairs.

It was dark, the stairs creaked under her weight. She walked slowly not sure if there were anymore vampires. She found the light switch in the middle of the room, just as she had in her dream. Without hesitation she pulled the cord. There in the corner Riley was chained. His arms had been stretched out toward the ceiling. His legs to the floor. His head was down when the light came on but lifted slowly at the light. He blinked his eyes against the harmful light. After getting use to the dark, the light stung his eyes.

Buffy saw that his eye was blackened and his cheekbone was smashed. Slash marks across his chest and back made Buffy's eyes tear up. She raced over to her wounded love. "Riley?" Buffy asked. Getting no response she tried again "Riley, it's me Buffy. Can you hear me?"

Riley was unsure of whether he was dreaming or whether Buffy was actually here. He blinked again trying to bring his eyes into focus. His eyes roamed over the golden blonde hair and landed on her beautiful green eyes.

"Buffy!" Tears welled up in Riley's eyes. All the pain and fear of the past few days came back to him and he began to sob. "Its alright now. We are going to get you out of here." Turning around she yelled for the gang to find something to cut the chains. Xander brought the axe from the kitchen and handed it to Buffy. "Graham, you and Forrest get on either side of him and hold him up while I cut him down. "

After four swings of the axe, Riley had finally been freed. His body went limp in the arms of his friends as he lost consciousness again.

Riley awoke slowly, his head still spinning. Looking to his right he saw medical equipment regulating his body functions. `I must be in a hospital.' he thought. There was a weight on his chest and as he raised his head he saw a spray of golden hair across his chest.

`Buffy!' Riley couldn't believe that she was there.

A soft moan came from her lips and Riley realized that she was starting to wake up. He played with her hair and whispered her name. Riley couldn't believe that she could sleep like that. She was kneeling on a steel chair, leaning against the bed with her head on his chest.

Buffy opened her eyes realizing something was softly tugging on her hair. She turned her head and came face to face with a battered but conscious Riley. Her face broke out in a huge grin. "You're awake! I was so worried." Buffy got off the chair and made her way to the head of the bed and smoothed back Riley's hair.

"A little torture is not going to keep me down." Smiling up at Buffy, Riley winced as he tried to sit up.

"Lie still. You might stretch your stitches and we haven't gone this far for you to bleed to death." Buffy held him down. Knowing better than to struggle, Riley relaxed into the bed.

They just sat there looking at each other. Buffy playing with his hair. Riley stroking her free hand. Buffy's eyes began to mist up causing Riley to be concerned. "What's the matter Buffy?"

"I just love you so much and I almost lost you. I don't know what I would do without you." Tears began to flow freely down her face. Riley raised his hand, gently touching her cheek and wiped the tears away.

"I love you too Buffy! I am never going to leave you, I promise. Have I ever broken a promise?" Riley looked at Buffy comfortingly.

"No!" Buffy said through sniffles.

"Then you can count on me."

Buffy smiled and bent her head to kiss Riley's mouth. It was a sweet, chaste kiss. He had a cut on his mouth and she didn't want to hurt him. Riley smiled up at Buffy. `How did I ever get so lucky?' He thought to himself.

"Beside Buffy, I can't die, you still owe me dinner!" Buffy laughed causing Riley to join in. It hurt when he laughed, but it was worth it.

"I still need my rematch!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Give me a week and I'll give you that rematch!" Riley winked at her.

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

The End

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