Riley. Today was his day. Every Monday. Stopping at the large piece of stone granite that marked the site where Riley was laid to rest, Buffy knelt in front of it, wiping away the dirt and leaves that had dared to touch the headstone. It had been a month since the accident that took Riley from her. The funeral had come and gone. Buffy had finally gotten to meet Riley's family. They had been so kind and gracious to her, telling her how much Riley loved her. He had been buried with full military honors.

Buffy didn't remember too much of the funeral, only the way the coffin looked as it was lowered into the ground, returning Riley to the earth. There had been no viewing. The Initiative and Riley's family had decided on a closed casket. At the time, Buffy thought that it was better that way. She wanted to remember Riley just as he was the last time she saw him. They had made love that last night after declaring their love for one another. He was so alive, so warm. He was glowing with happiness. But now, Buffy regretted not saying goodbye. Seeing his face one last time.

Buffy had been coming to his grave daily. Usually, she would come with someone. Willow came twice a week with her. Graham would come on Fridays. Xander and Giles would make a point to join her when they could. Even Anya would occasionally take a turn. When someone would come with her, they mostly talked about Riley, not to him. But Monday's, that was her day alone with him. Monday was the day she shared her inner most feelings with him. The day she could talk openly. It was the day she looked forward to the most.

"Hey, baby!" She started out. "So, let's see! I bagged 6 vampires this week. A demon gave me a run for my money the other night. Took a really big sword to take that one down. Only sprang my wrist and a couple of bruises, but I heal quickly."

"Willow and Tara were able to change Amy back into human form. You remember Amy, she was the rat that always gave you the wiggins. Graham gets out of the cast in a week. He is excited to get out of paperwork detail and on with the kicking of some evil ass. Forrest, well, he barely looks at me. Still a lot of aggression there. Xander and Anya are, well, you know, locked in his basement doing things that would make even Spike blush. Giles, is Giles, supporto guy."

"Oh, the NBA playoffs start soon. I promise I will keep you updated. Your mom and dad left last Tuesday for Huxley. They were really nice. They let me keep some of your shirts and a necklace they found. They assumed it was for me, I hope they are right."

"As for me, I could tell you that I am dealing, but I'm not. I walk around everyday putting on my brave girl face, laughing at jokes, making small talk. But I could never lie to you. I feel numb, Riley. I feel like I have been cut in half. How can I ever be whole again without you?" Buffy broke down into sobs. Curling up into a little ball, she leaned side ways against the gravestone hoping that just by touching it, she was touching some part of him. After a while she quieted enough so that she could start again.

"I went to the doctors today. I told you about the flu I had last week. Well, it kept coming. Turns out its not even the flu. Riley, your going to be a daddy." Her voice cracked on the last word as the tears spilled down her face. "I always dreamed that one day I would be having your child, but in that dream, you were there. The loving husband and father. You were going to teach our son to play catch or if it was a girl, you were going to fend off the boys that would flock to her. How will this baby ever know what a great man its father was? How loyal, kind, loving he was? All I can do is tell it. The baby is going to need you, Riley. I need you. I miss you so much! How can I do this without you?" Crying even harder Buffy rested her head on the gravestone, wetting it with her tears.

Images shifted in and out of his sight. Bright white, blurs of peach, browns, reds. The sound was fuzzy, words jumbled. There was pain. Hot, white, pain that throbbed from his stomach. His head felt heavy. His eyes couldn't quite focus when they opened. Then a blob, maybe a person, would lean over him and say something, then the darkness again.

Somewhere between dreams and reality, she would come to him. Buffy. It was all he held on to. He saw their past, present and future together. Though the past and present where quite vivid - the picnic in Ruggs Field, their first kiss, the "talk", Faith, and so on, the future was always cloudy and dark. Buffy and him on a sunny day with their children in the park. Suddenly the skies would darken and he would find himself a hundred feet from Buffy. Buffy was with another man. The man's face was always a blur, but the children where calling him daddy. He would start to run towards them telling the children that that man wasn't their father, he was. The harder he would run, the farther Buffy and the children would get. Then everything would go dark until the searing pain returned and then the white images and sounds would start again.

"How much of that stuff are you going to give him, Doctor?" the nurse looked towards the weak young man lying catatonic in the bed.

"That is none of your concern, Miss. Now if you'll excuse us, we can take it from here." Dr. Humphrey's led the young nurse out of the room so that he and Dr. Youngblood could continue with the examination.

"She has every right to be concerned you know, Jim." Dr. Youngblood voiced his opinion to his superior as he moved to the side of the hospital bed.

"It is necessary that he remain unconscious. If he creates a scene, this is all over. Now check the implant in his right arm."

"It didn't take. The area is infected like all the others. His body is rejecting the metal. His fever is also up. I suggest we don't try the transplant from the demon until his temperature is lower and the wound in his abdomen has healed."

"I don't understand why the implants aren't taking. They took in Adam. Fine, we'll wait to transplant the arm until the fever is down. The wound on his stomach should be healed in days thanks to that new drug compound." Dr Humphreys checked the monitors one last time before stepping away from the bed.

"Doctor, if you don't mind, may I ask why it was you choose Agent Finn for the experiment."

"Sam, its simple, Maggie has been giving him the strength drugs since she met him, so he was one of the first to be given the drug. I believe that where Maggie went wrong with Adam was in creating something that had no conscience. Riley is believed to be someone that always chooses the right. He will carry that into his next level of existence along with some enhancements. Opportunity to take him arose when he was injured, so I jumped at it."

"So he is not participating willingly in this."

"Of course not." Dr Humphreys scoffed at the younger man as they exited into the hallway.

"What about his family, the rest of the Initiative? Aren't they going to be a little more than upset about this?"

"Sam, his family is in Iowa, they think he is dead, they aren't going to know. As for the soldiers, if this works, they will all be joining him. They will all become the ultimate soldier."

Blinking against the bright lights, Riley slowly opened his eyes. The pain in his stomach had decreased significantly. He could move enough to sit up. Looking down at his arms he found an IV stuck into his right hand, introducing drugs into his body. Pads were stuck to his chest monitoring his heart rate. He found quarter-sized red spots all over his body. Touching them, he felt a hard lump. They were sensitive to the touch. Most likely infected.

The room was quiet except for the soft beeping of the machines. Riley was alone. Glancing around, he came to the slow realization of exactly where he was. He had only been in this room a couple times, right after Professor Walsh's death. This was Adam's room. Room 314. ‘What am I doing here?' The last thing he could remember fully was Graham and him returning from patrol. It had been raining. ‘Oh god, the accident!' But that still didn't explain why he was here.

Just then the door opened and the nurse came in carrying some bandages. "Oh, you're awake." She smiled sweetly at him and brought a rolling tray over next to the bed. Setting the bandages on the tray she gently pushed Riley back down so that she could change the bandages on his waist.

"What am I doing here?"

"The Doctor's brought you here to recuperate from the accident. Your going to be just fine after you rest up a bit."

"What am I doing in THIS room? And what are these red dots all over me?"

"I'm not sure, sir! They don't tell me much, just to change the bandages and try to get your fever down so that you can have surgery soon." With that she shoved a thermometer into his mouth.

Taking the thermometer out of his mouth, he said in surprise "SURGERY? What for?"

"Something about a transplant or something? I don't know." Putting the thermometer back into his mouth she moved to his stomach to change the bandages.

"I don't need a transplant! I feel fine. Which doctor is in charge?"

"Youngblood and Humphreys. If you don't keep that in your mouth, I will be forced to get your temperature using a different method."

Snapping his mouth shut over the thermometer he waited patiently as she finished with the bandages. Reaching for the thermometer, she was pleasantly surprised to find that his temperature was normal. "I told them if they would stop poking you with things your temperature would go down." Cleaning up, she prepared to leave.

"Could I see Agent Gates or Agent Miller, please?"

"I'm sorry, but you aren't allowed visitors."

"Why not?"

"The doctors won't say. No one even knows you are here." She looked sadly at the boy. She had assisted Professor Walsh several times. Though Youngblood and Humphreys didn't know, she knew what they were planning for the young man. "Your friends think you're dead, Agent Finn."

"Dead! Why would they think that?"

Lowering her voice, she stepped closer to the bed. "Youngblood and Humphreys were the doctors that were on call the night you were injured. They told everyone that you had died on the operating table. That's when the experiments began."

"Experiments?"

"They are trying to duplicate Professor Walsh's work. They are going to make you like Adam."

"What?"

"SSShhhh! Someone is coming. Lie down and stay still, like you're sleeping."

The door opened as the two doctors entered. Both stopped as they realized the young nurse was in the room. "Hello Margaret! Changing the bandages, are you?" Nodding Margaret finished cleaning up. "Any change in our patient?"

"He is still running a high temperature. I was about to use cold compresses to try and bring it down."

"Excellent idea! Also, prepare him for surgery."

"Surgery sir? I thought you were going to wait until his fever broke."

"We feel that we can safely transplant the arms with him still running the fever without doing too much damage. Please come and get us as soon as the preparations are made."

The two men left as quickly as they had come. Riley's eyes popped open and he began pulling at the IV. Looking at the boy she realized she couldn't allow this to happen to him. He didn't deserve to become a monster for the benefit of the military. Margaret rushed over pushing his hand away. "Wait, let me!" Carefully she slid the needle out of his hand. Disconnecting the heart monitor, she motioned that it was safe for Riley to remove the pads from his chest. "It's a good thing you woke up when you did. We must hurry, they will be back soon."

"Why are you helping me?"

"Guilty conscience, I guess! I helped Professor Walsh create Adam and I really don't want two of you running rampant in the world."

Slipping her arm around his waist, she helped him to stand. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Riley made his way toward the door. Checking the hall first, Margaret slipped out of the room and motioned to Riley to follow her. They made it to the back elevators before the alarm sounded. Shoving him into the elevator, Margaret gave her vocal identification to the computer. Riley slumped against the elevator wall. He was tired. The excitement and adrenalin are not good for the wound in his stomach or the small infections all over his body. "You will need to get somewhere safe and get the metal implants removed. Do you have some friends outside of the Initiative?" Margaret looked at Riley expectantly but it was too late, Riley slipped out of consciousness.

The doors opened, revealing two agents with guns pointing straight at her head. "Freeze!" Forrest stepped into the elevator, grabbing Margaret's shoulder as she raised her hands in the air. Graham was about to pull the cuffs out when he noticed the figure on the floor. "Oh my god! Riley?" Graham rushed to his friend's side. Forrest released Margaret and stepped over to the still form. "It can't be!"

Margaret spoke quickly filling them in on the situation and most importantly on the doctors that would be searching frantically for them.

Graham and Forrest quickly helped lift Riley and dragged him out of the elevator. "We have to get him somewhere safe, and fast." Graham said with urgency in his voice.

Forrest looked down at his fallen friend. Though he hated to admit it they need *her* help. "Buffy! She has some friends that would take him in, right? Until we can contact the Brass with what is going on."

"We will take him to Giles's."

"I'll stay behind and throw them off the scent. Good luck!" Margaret watched as they left Lowell House, hoping that Riley would be all right.

"So have you thought about names yet?" Willow had been thrilled about the idea of the baby. She knew that Buffy was having doubts because Riley was no longer here, so she took it upon her self to be as much help to Buffy as possible.

"How can I think of names right now with this demon on the loose?" Buffy snapped.

They were at Giles's house searching for information on the latest of the big bad to come to Sunnydale. Buffy had only caught a glimpse of it as it evaded her in the sewers.

"Sorry, back to research." Buffy hadn't wanted to really talk about it with anyone. The baby had been such a surprise to everyone. Willow knew that Buffy had not really sat down and thought about the changes having a baby was going to entail.

"Sorry Will, I'm just.. I don't know, not in the mood right now!"

"That's okay!"

"Tea, anyone?" Giles brought a tray of Earl Gray tea into the room, offering the two girls a cup.

Sipping the dark liquid they continued the research in silence.

"This it?" Forrest was tired. Though he was fit and had the assistance of Graham, Riley's weight was becoming a burden.

"Yeah, that's the address from the phone book." Graham shifted Riley's weight so that he could knock on the door.

The two young men heard rustling behind the door and were finally greeted by a middle age man brandishing a wooden stake in his right hand. Riley had filled them in on Giles and his position in the Scooby Gang. Though they had never met him, they were not at all surprised by his defensive stance.

Lowering the stake to his side, though still at the ready just in case, Giles addressed the two young men in front of him, who were obviously helping a drunk comrade, "Can I help you?"

"Hi, Mr. Giles - " Graham began, "we are friends of Buffy- ah -Riley's. Um, Buffy and Riley. Can we come in?"

Buffy appeared behind Giles, placing a reassuring hand on Giles' shoulder, and motioned for them to enter.

"Looks like your friend over did it." She motioned to Riley, hanging from his friends arms.

"Buffy, it's..." Graham started.

"Let me go get some cold water and coffee and see if we can sober him up." Buffy began to go into the kitchen to get the necessary items when she heard a soft groan come from the unconscious boy. It wasn't a groan, it was a name, her name.

"What was that?" Buffy turned looking between Graham, Forrest, and the sandy haired stranger, whose face was still hanging down.

"Buffy, it's Riley!"

"That's not funny, Graham!" Her tone became dangerous as the tears welled up in her eyes. "How can you joke about something like that?"

"Buffy, I......"

"No, GET OUT!" Buffy stalked towards them.

Grabbing the back of Riley's head, Forrest gently pulled back, allowing Buffy to see for herself. Skidding to a stop, Buffy's eyes went wide as she once again beheld her lover. "Riley?" she whispered.

Forrest, though somewhat moved by the reunion, was losing his grip. "Help us get him to the bed." Buffy quickly grabbed his legs as Forrest and Graham began maneuvering Riley up the stairs. Setting him gently on the bed, Forrest and Graham backed away allowing Buffy to draw near to him. "Riley, can you hear me?"

Riley's head moved slightly as his eyes fluttered open. "Buffy?" Tears ran down Buffy's face as she grabbed his hand holding it tight. "I'm here baby, you're going to be fine." Riley closed his eyes once again and drifted back into a restful sleep.

Graham filled Buffy, Willow, and Giles in on the situation as Forrest contacted Washington. Giles was removing the last implant from Riley's arm when Forrest returned. "They found Dr. Humphrey and Youngblood in room 314. They killed themselves." Forrest said solemnly. "Margaret was found in a closet. She died of a gun shot wound to the head."

"Dr. Humphrey and Youngblood must have killed her when they realized she helped Riley escape. Poor lady!" Graham said. He had found memories of Margaret. She had dressed his wounds several times after a fight and had always made him smile.

"She died so that Riley could be free. We owe her a lot." Buffy said as she wiped the sweat from Riley's forehead. He had developed a fever again as Giles was removing the metal from his body.

"Riley will need some rest. Forrest, Graham, Willow, care to join me downstairs?" Giles moved to follow the others to the stairs, stopping only to squeeze Buffy's arm.

Buffy sat down on the bed, carefully sponging Riley's head. Riley groaned as he became aware of the cool cloth pressed to his head. His eyes felt like lead as he struggled to open them. He could feel her. He always felt her when she was close. "Buffy?" His voice was scratchy as he called out for her.

"Shhh, I'm here." She took his hand, leaning down and in, close to his face.

Riles' eyes focused on her face. He brought his free hand up, tracing her cheek. "Is this a dream? Are you really here?"

"It's real. I'm here. I'll never leave you."

Riley smiled at her. "Sounds good to me!"

He gently pulled her head down bringing her lips to his. Buffy began to sob into his mouth. "Shh, what is it?" Riley asked concerned.

"I missed you so much. I thought I would never get to touch you, see you, kiss you again."

"I know, me neither." He stroked her hair as she leaned down, resting her head on his chest. "Buffy, I love you!"

"I love you!"

"Are you feeling well? You look a little pale."

How like him to think of her when he was the one laying injured in the bed. Buffy lifted her head, remembering their little miracle. Her face brightened at the thought for the first time. They would be a family. Her, Riley, and their child. "Riley, you're never going to believe this!"

The End