destructo-girl.com

Author: Samantha & Moe
Email: sammer77@aol.com & bearhugs12@hotmail.com

Riley was bushed. His legs felt like lead as he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, gripping the railing tightly in his fingers, the exhaustion clinging to him like a heavy mist. The extra patrols and additional responsibilities since Professor Walsh’s death were starting to take a toll on his battered body. He still felt a little sore from his encounter with Adam and add to that the fact that he hadn’t been sleeping well—what with nightmares and withdrawal shakes still plaguing his nights—and Riley was ready to drop. He felt as though the weight of the Initiative was resting on his weary shoulders and all he wanted to do was crawl into his warm bed, pull the blankets over his head, and not wake up for a month.

He felt the stares of his men on him as he passed through the hall and, ignoring them, mumbled a greeting to them as he made his way to his quarters, praying that he made it to the safety of his room without an emergency appearing that would need his immediate attention.

For once he was lucky.

Pushing his body heavily against his bedroom door, Riley quickly closed the door behind him and turned the deadbolt, the sound of metal sliding against metal music to his ears. Breathing a sigh of relief, the young soldier turned around, pulling his shirt over his head, unaware that he was not alone in his room.

"Starting the party a little early aren’t we?" a seductive voice purred from the other side of the room. That husky, purely feminine voice cut deep into his exhaustion, melting away any hope or desire for sleep, replacing it with a surge of craving for her, something he couldn’t seem to get enough of lately.

His weary gaze was drawn to the bed, taking in the beauty lay spread across the pillows. Her body was inviting, draped in curve-hugging silk and lace that bared her long legs for his perusal. Ringlets crowned her head, falling past her shoulders, grazing her full breasts. Her mouth, crimson and moist, was tempting him as she popped a red grape past those luscious lips. She was a vision. A goddess.

Sliding gracefully from the bed, Riley noticed the cream gown she wore was long, puddling in waves at her feet. The high slit allowed him to take in her legs as she began walking slowly towards him, her hips swinging slightly. The seduction in her eyes pierced his consciousness, making it impossible for him to resist her charms.

For a moment he thought he was hallucinating—that her likeness was nothing more than a figment of his exhausted imagination. His mind was playing tricks on him, that’s all it was. But the sudden surge in his groin and the fact that he couldn’t blink her away told him that she was definitely real—live and in color.

"Have a rough day, baby?" Buffy cooed as she drew her fingertips lightly across his cheek, down over his lips, and continued slowly along the vein in his neck, her feather-soft touch making him shiver.

Swallowing heavily, Riley was able to gasp out a "yeah" as her hands smoothed over his chest, continuing downward, her long fingers finding the belt loops of his jeans and hooking through them, pulling him towards the bed.

As the backs of his knees hit the bed, Riley sunk heavily down onto the mattress, his hazel eyes shining brightly as he watched her lean in, cleavage dancing before his eyes. Running her fingers tantalizingly along the waistband of his jeans, Buffy nipped at his earlobe, whispering softly, "I bet you’d like me to make it better, wouldn’t you?"

Riley groaned deeply at the feel of her warm, moist breath dancing across his cheek and flinched slightly as her fingers found his button, swiftly pulling the round metal through the denim.

The young marine managed a strangled "God, yes" as his hands found her hips,
pulling her against his body, his mouth finding hers in a searing kiss. The heat of their passion melted his exhaustion completely away.

"So why exactly are we doing this?" Tara inquired from her perch on the floor as she watched Willow grind up the root into a fine powder.

"Well, Buffy’s been really worried about Riley lately. He hasn’t been sleeping very well and she thinks he’s suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress-y stuff after the whole Adam and Professor Walsh mess. She didn’t know what else to do to help him and so she asked if we could, ya know, help out. Perhaps perform a little spell that will help Riley sleep at night," Willow said as she surveyed the crystals placed strategically on the floor in front of her. She stared at the pattern for a long moment, then furrowed her brow and gave her companion a quizzical look. "Are you sure it called for a triangular pattern?" she asked curiously.

Tara nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, see," the blonde witch said, standing and carrying the ancient book over to her friend, pointing out the passage in the text. She smiled shyly as noticed the redhead smile apologetically.

"Sorry, it’s just... I want this to go perfectly. My spells in the past...well, some of them didn’t turn out quite as I planned. And I really would like this to work," Willow replied reluctantly, drawing her lips together in a tight line of concentration.

Tara smiled at her friend. "I know. And it will." Taking Willow’s hand in her own, she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"I just want to show Buffy I can do it. That I’m ready to take the next step," Willow said emphatically, trying to convince herself as well as Tara.

"She already knows," Tara responded reassuringly. "If not, she wouldn’t have asked you to do this. She knows as well as I do h-how great you are." Tara stumbled over those last few words, still a little unsure of herself around the beautiful redhead.

Willow couldn’t help but smile; the honesty of Tara’s words touched her. "Okay!" she exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together and breaking the tension that was starting to build between them. "Let’s do it." Grabbing Riley’s wallet that Buffy had procured for them, Willow joined Tara near the crystal symbol on the carpet. Laying the leather into the center of the triangle, Willow handed the other Wiccan the powder, taking the book in her other hand.

"Are you sure we have everything?" Tara asked, gazing around them, trying to remember all the items on the list.

"Yeah. We have the symbol, the personal article, and the root. The only thing missing is Riley’s happy thoughts and Buffy assured me he would be thinking nothing but positive, uplifting thoughts." Willow smiled, knowing that the glint she had seen in Buffy’s eyes earlier could only mean one thing—Riley was in for the night of his life.

Glancing over at Tara, the young witch found nothing but support written
across her face, giving her the encouragement she needed. As she began the
incantation, she was positive nothing could go wrong.

Riley arched up, pulling her body closer to his, the sweat of their combined bodies making her slide against his skin, shooting pleasure up and down his spine. It had never been like this for them—wild and hot, fast and hard. She was taking him to heights he had never been. Tangling his fingers in her hair, he brought her mouth to his in a bruising kiss as he pushed deeper into her tiny body, his fingers bruising the skin at her waist. Her moans and gasps were the only things he heard as she continued to move on him. Her nails dug deep into the flesh of his back as she began shaking with her release, holding him tightly to her as his lips continued
to suck on the sensitive skin on her neck.

Her muscles clamped down on him, pushing him to his own release, her strong legs holding him to her. As he came, he felt a strange sensation in the pit of his belly—a warm tingling that he had never felt before. The sensation spread across his stomach and chest before dissolving into nothingness.

As their breathing calmed, Riley held her in his arms, stroking her back with his large hands, feathering kisses on her shoulder, taking comfort in her presence. He felt elated and wonderfully drained As Buffy leaned back, he kissed her forehead, tracing her cheekbones as he whispered words of devotion to her. "God, you’re amazing. How’d I get so lucky?"

Buffy smiled at him, "I could ask you the same thing." Leaning in, she kissed him, her lips lingering on his. Climbing off of him, she snuggled up next to him, her head resting on his chest as he gave her a light squeeze. "Mmmm, I’m spent. How about you?" Buffy asked, hoping that Willow and Tara had had a chance to perform the spell.

"Blissfully so," Riley said as he stifled a yawn.

Perching herself on her elbow, Buffy stared down at her boyfriend, smiling as she saw the handsome man fighting a losing battle with Mr. Sandman. Running her fingers through his hair, she kissed him softly on the forehead and resumed her position beside him. She owed Willow big time. Her friend had once again come through for her.

Buffy drifted off to sleep to the sound of Riley’s gentle snoring.

She opened her eyes with a start and sat up, looking around her dark room and reaching out blindly for the lamp. Turning the little knob twice, she squinted at the sudden assault on her eyes and threw off the covers.

Standing, she quickly shuffled over to the center of the room and fell to her knees, running her fingers along the carpet in search of the small glass jar. She found it half hidden under the edge of the blanket that covered the chair next to her. Gripping the jar tightly in her fingers, she read the label. Then she followed her fingertip as it ran along the page of the still-open spellbook, once again perusing the list of materials required for the spell they had performed on Riley earlier that evening.

Finding what she was looking for, her eyes widened slightly. Swallowing, she looked back at the jar still held tightly in her fingers and read the label again.

Uh oh.

The morning light streamed through the partially open blinds, casting a warm glow on her blonde hair. Brushing several stray strands from her cheek, Riley's fingers lingered on her warm skin, his thumb caressing her soft flesh. He had been awake for ten minutes just watching her, amazed that she was here with him.

Buffy stirred slightly, a small moan escaping her lips as she fought her way out of layers of sleep. Stretching, she felt the kinks in her back pop as her eyes fluttered open, her gaze falling on her smiling boyfriend.

"Morning…" she muttered almost inaudibly through her yawn, snuggling up against him, smiling at the skin-to-skin contact.

"Sleep well?" Riley asked, wrapping his arms around her, breathing in the scent of her hair before as he kissed top of her head.

"Oh yeah," Buffy answered, feeling the corners of her mouth turn up as she remembered why she had slept so soundly. He always managed to wear her out. Suddenly remembering the purpose of their whole rendezvous, she turned to him with curious eyes. "How 'bout you?"

"Like a rock," Riley replied as he leaned down and began kissing her cheek before making his way to her ear. "You were amazing. Did I tell you that?" he whispered as he began nibbling on her earlobe.

"Several times, actually. I think the entire campus knows just how amazing I am," she cooed, giggling, as she ran her hands over his back, shivering at the feel of his tongue on that sensitive spot below her ear.

Riley smiled into her neck, moving the sheets so that there was nothing between them before pulling her closer. "Well, maybe they need to be reminded," he whispered huskily. Kissing her shoulder, he rolled her under him as he caressed her body. As Riley began to move slowly above her, Buffy mentally thanked Willow for her little spell.

The morning rush was in full force in the Rocket Café. Students littered the room, consuming a variety of breakfast foods, chattering about classes, or quietly studying as they sipped their orange juice. Buffy tried hard to concentrate on the book in front of her, desperately wanting to pass the mid-term in American Civ, yet thoughts of the previous night's activities, coupled with this morning's little romp had left her mind on something having nothing to do with the French and Indian War.

It had been a while since they had had time alone together and it was nice to see Riley actually relax without tossing and turning all night. Banishing thoughts of the naked Riley she had left behind from her mind, Buffy once again focused on the book in front of her, not even noticing the extremely flustered-looking redhead approaching her table.

"Buffy, thank God I found you," Willow said quickly, dropping a pile of books onto the small table between them.

Buffy looked up at her frazzled friend, smiling a greeting. "Hey Will, what's up?" The Slayer slid out a chair, inviting Willow to join her.

Willow wrung her hands nervously as she sat down. "Oh God, this is all my fault. I am so sorry. I should have checked the label. I should have been more careful."

The young Wiccan's rapid speech and nervous hand gestures began setting off alarm bells in Buffy's head. Such a hurried declaration from her friend never seemed to bode well. "Will, slow down. Deep breaths. What happened?"

"Tara and I, we were doing the spell for Riley last night..." The color on Buffy's face seemed to drain instantly as Willow continued her explanation. "You see, the Acrines secretion and the Grabsic powder look very similar. And…and well, w-we sort of used the Grabsic when we should have used the Acrines." Willow said, finishing the sentence in a flurry of syllables and flinching as she waited for the blow up.

Buffy's eyes were wide as she stared in disbelief at her friend. "So what does this mean? I mean, the spell worked. He was sound asleep."

Willow's face fell. "I'm not sure. I was up all night researching it but I haven't found what the effects of the mix-up will be. I just wanted to warn you in case he starts sprouting antlers or something."

Riley was more then a bit surprised to see Buffy waiting for him after his class. Fighting his way through the throng of students, he greeted his girlfriend with a chaste kiss. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I thought you had a test you needed to study for," he said as he beamed down at the little Slayer.

Buffy pulled Riley into a hug, allowing her hands to roam. 'Nope, no tail.' Riley, startled by her forwardness, jumped a little as she grabbed his rear. Returning his smile, she tried to cover, "I just missed you is all." Running her fingers through his hair, Buffy was relieved to find his head antler-free.

Perplexed, Riley looked around, slightly embarrassed by his girlfriend's attention. He had been dating the blonde long enough to know when something was up. "Buff, what's with the pat down? Not that I'm not enjoying it or anything, but you've never been this brazen."

Knowing the jig was up, Buffy stepped away from him and stared intently at her feet. "Riley, we need to talk."

The hard bark of the elm tree offered much needed support as Riley tried to digest what Buffy had just told him. "So what you're saying is that I might wake up one morning with an extra arm?"

"…or antlers," Buffy whispered under her breath as she focused her eyes on something in the distance.

"Nothing," Buffy answered too quickly, snapping her eyes back to Riley's and smiling tightly.

"No, you said antlers. I heard you! You definitely said antlers." He absently brought his hands to his head and felt around. "Antlers?" he asked weakly, frowning.

He was not taking the news as well as she hoped. With all that had been going on with the Initiative lately, additional stress was the last thing he needed right now. She smiled again and said hopefully, "I'm sure it's nothing. Willow is looking into it. You'll be fine. Really." She took his hand in her own as she tried to reassure him. "I promise."

"But there's a possibility." Riley said as he pulled away from her and took a few steps back, watching silently as several students passed by smiling and chatting about a movie they had recently seen. The young soldier watched them with envy. Ever since he became involved with Buffy, their lives tended to lean to the bizarre and unusual.

Feeling her arms go around him from behind, Riley turned, pulling her into his embrace. "Riley, I won't lie to you. There's always a possibility. But I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to reverse the effects. And if not, I'll love you no matter what."

Riley gave her a tiny smile before kissing her lightly on the head. "Slime and all?" he asked, trying to cheer up.

"Well, I don't know about the slime part. Slime may be a nonnegotiable," Buffy teased, giving him a large grin. As Riley gazed down at her, he realized he wouldn't trade her or their times together for anything. "We'll get through this together," she assured him, smiling, twining her fingers through his as she led him down the sidewalk.

"Together," Riley whispered to himself, discreetly smoothing his hand over his neck, checking for scales or bumps.

Tara and Willow sat cross-legged on the floor of Tara's dorm room, open spellbooks strewn all around them. They had been unable to find anything so far about the side effects of using Grabsic powder in the sleeping spell, so they had resorted to searching for all the spells that require Grabsic powder and trying to deduce what the possible side effects might be from that.

A few minutes of quiet, intense searching passed, the only sounds being periodic "Hmmm"s and the crinkle of pages being turned. Finally, the silence was broken by Tara's timid declaration of, "Here's one."

Willow looked up from her book and craned her neck to read what Tara was pointing to. "Hmmm. Okay, write that one down and I'll keep looking." She gave a shy, close-lipped smile to Tara before returning to the yellowing pages of her own book.

The search continued for over three hours, the young witches stopping only to use the bathroom and to write down all the spells that list Grabsic powder as an ingredient. When all the books had been thoroughly searched and lay discarded around the room, the two girls leaned back against the foot of the bed and compared lists. When the lists were pared down so there were no repeats, the two Wiccans studied the final draft.

Two sets of eyebrows raised in unison as two pairs of tired eyes met in wide surprise. There was a common theme among all the spells on the list-a theme that could prove tricky, to say the least.

"We should tell Buffy," Willow said softly, swallowing down the growing lump in her throat.

The afternoon had been filled with worried thoughts masked by a face reflecting calm assurance. But despite the façade, it was obvious that the unknown possibilities of the incorrect spell were occupying the better part of the day.

Riley swore he could feel something going on. Every tiny itch startled him and he was positive that the beginning of a headache meant he was going to sprout antlers at any moment. He *really* wished that Buffy had never mentioned that. And were his fingers tingling? What did that mean?

Buffy watched as her boyfriend fidgeted nervously. She kept noticing how he scratched the top of his head over and over and wished that she could retract her earlier comment about the antlers. It was all Willow's fault; she was the one who mentioned antlers in the first place.

And speaking of Willow, where the hell was she? She had promised to report back hours ago. Buffy hadn't heard a peep out of her since her confession earlier that morning. The wait wasn't making things any easier; the fact that it was taking so long to find answers could not be of the good.

"Where do you want to go for lunch? I'm starved," Buffy said suddenly, trying to break the growing tension. She wasn't really hungry at all. In fact, she felt like she was going to throw up. But she was trying to keep Riley's mind off of everything.

Riley looked over at his girlfriend with weary eyes full of quiet panic. "I'm not hungry. But if you are, you should go get something to eat. Maybe you could bring me back some twigs or something. I mean, if I'm gonna start looking like a deer, I may as well start eating like one." He felt the bile rise in his throat and fought to swallow it down.

Buffy tried to laugh, but found it hard to when she really felt like crying. The look in Riley's eyes was breaking her heart and she couldn't help but feel like it was all her fault. If she hadn't asked Willow and Tara to perform that spell, none of this would have happened.

"I'm sorry, Riley. I was only trying to help." Her voice was timid, like a child's and her eyes began welling against her will.

Riley gave her a tight-lipped smile and replied, "I know, baby. It's not your fault. Besides, I could just be acting paranoid. You're probably right. It's probably nothing."

His smile widened slightly, then disappeared completely in an instant as he heard a knock on his door. He practically jumped out of his skin at the sound. Looking at Buffy wide-eyed, he then looked back at the door, unable to get up and answer it.

Another knock, this one louder. "Finn! I know you're in there. You and your girlfriend need to hurry up and get dressed. You got visitors!" Forrest's voice boomed from the other side of the door.

Riley could just see the smirk on his buddy's face as he stood on shaky legs and went quickly to the door. "What visitors?" he asked, annoyed, as he swung open the door and glared at Forrest.

"The little redhead and her friend. Says it's urgent." Forrest's grin widened. "I don't know how you do it, man. You got girls all over beatin' the door down to see you." He chuckled.

Riley shifted his weight impatiently and narrowed his eyes at the grinning commando. "Tell them to come up here, would you? Now."

The grin never left Forrest's face as he gave Riley a mock salute. "Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Oh Captain, my Captain." Then he chuckled again and turned on his heel to head back downstairs, muttering under his breath, "I don't even want to know."

The two witches sat close together on the foot of Riley's bed, alternating their stares between Buffy and Riley. When they had reached Riley's door, they had found him standing in it waiting for them. He had actually filled the entire doorway and through their slight intimidation, the two girls had only managed weak smiles in salutation. Riley had nodded once in affirmation, then had taken a step back and had ushered them in, closing the door quickly behind them.

Riley was currently pacing back and forth methodically, unable to bring himself to ask them what they had found. Instead, he tried to ignore the immense quiet that was growing louder in his ears by the second.

Buffy traded glances with the girls, then focused her eyes on Riley. "Riley. Honey. Don't you think we should ask Willow and Tara what they found? I'm sure it's good news." She nodded hopefully and gazed back and Willow who in turn swallowed and looked away, Tara following suit. 'Or not,' Buffy thought to herself.

"Nope. Don't wanna know. What I don't know can't hurt me, right?" He stopped pacing and looked at Buffy, his heart racing. He tried to avoid looking at the girls sitting on the bed, but his eyes moved to them of their own volition.

He was right not to look at them. They looked terrible. Sad, even. Terrible and sad. Maybe even a little green. Terrible and sad and green.

"Oh God," he muttered, feeling his airways constrict. He suddenly felt dizzy and looked around frantically for a place to sit down before his legs gave out. Finding no other place, he plopped down on the floor. He turned his eyes to the two Wiccans and tried to force them to focus, but like his brain, his eyesight was a little fuzzy. "How bad is it?" His own voice sounded foreign to him as he forced the words past his lips. "Am I like…dying or something?"

Willow lifted her head and looked at the suffering Riley sitting on the floor, his knees drawn to his chest tightly. "No! No, nothing like that. It's not even that bad…really." She gazed at Buffy for a split second before continuing. "It's just…well, it's kinda…you see…."

Witnessing Willow's struggle to find the words, Tara chimed in softly. "We've been reading all day, compiling a list of spells that use Grabsic powder, t-trying to determine what its primary purpose is. And well, it seems that Grabsic powder is used in only one type of spell…." She trailed off, her eyes flitting back and forth between Buffy and Riley.

"Well?" Buffy asked impatiently from her perch on the desk chair. "What kind of spells is this Grabby stuff used for?" She felt her mouth going dry.

Buffy relaxed momentarily and let out her breath. "Oh." Then, "Oh!" She stood up, looked around the room, and then sat down again, completely at a loss. Her hands went absently to her tummy. "Oh my," she muttered again.

Riley, who had meanwhile found his voice and his breath again, looked from the witches to his girlfriend, who was staring silently in front of her. "Buffy," he said, crawling over to her and putting his hand on her knee. "Baby, it's alright. It'll be alright."

Buffy turned her head to try to smile at him when Willow's voice came from the bed. "Um, guys. You've got it all wrong. The spell…it only works on the person it was performed on. W-We performed the spell on Riley, remember?"

A moment of utter silence fell across the room as the meaning of Willow's words was processed. Then, two pairs of wide hazel eyes fell on the redheaded witch in realization before turning to face each other.

"No," Riley whispered hoarsely, suddenly finding it hard to breathe again and falling back onto the floor with a thud. "It's not possible…."

The shades of gray, blue, and green that Riley turned in the first few minutes after the bomb was dropped worried Buffy and she immediately took an impromptu poll to discern whether those colors were actually *natural*. The three young women decided that humans were definitely not supposed to look like that and hurriedly went to Riley's aid.

It seemed Riley, suddenly catatonic, had lost all ability to speak, move, or breathe. In fact, for a few minutes, Buffy actually had to remind him to inhale and exhale until finally, his brainstem seemed to pick up the slack once again. The girls managed to move him to the bed-actually, Buffy, in all her haste, just threw the large man over her shoulder and carried him to the bed herself while Willow and Tara fluffed the pillows and hovered together next to bed, their eyes darkened with a mixture of guilt and nausea.

Once involuntary breathing was reestablished, Riley moved into incoherent babbling. He just kept staring straight ahead, his lips barely moving, guttural sounds bubbling up from his throat. Buffy sat by his side, her forehead scrunched into tight creases of worry, gripping his hand in one of hers and cupping his cheek with the other. "Oh, Riley…" she lamented sadly, her eyes moving from his face to those of the two witches standing nearby.

"We've gotta do something!" she said insistently, turning to study her suffering boyfriend once again. "He's…he's…look at him!"

"Buffy," Willow said, softly at first, her voice quivering. "This whole situation…ya know…is j-just a worst-case scenario thing. It's not definite. He might not even be…." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say the word.

Buffy just nodded silently, trying to make herself believe Willow's words. Unfortunately, that voice in her head that always reminded her that whatever can happen, *will* happen drowned them out.

Giles sat at Riley's desk, intently reading an old, brown leather-bound book. He had been summoned by Willow's brisk phone call and had brought the book at her request. She hadn't elaborated on the details over the phone. He didn't find out those until he arrived, book in hand.

So now he was currently scanning the aged volume, periodically removing his glasses and pinching his nose.

"I wish you wouldn't do that pinchy thing with your nose. I hate it when you do that. It never means anything good." Buffy was pacing impatiently behind him, stopping every few steps to gaze over his shoulder.

Giles replaced his glasses and turned in his seat to look at her. "Perhaps *you* should try reading Old Latin and see if it doesn't give you a slight headache."

Pushing her lower lip out, the disgruntled Slayer folded her arms over her chest and looked stubbornly at her Watcher. "There has to be something! I'm sure this isn't the first time that a witch has accidentally used Acorns instead of Gribblisk."

"Uh…that's Acrines and Grabsic, actually," Willow offered from her perch on the end of the bed.

"Sorry…" Willow muttered, looking sheepishly down at her feet. Tara scooted a little closer to her and placed her hand on Will's forearm reassuringly, offering the redhead a timid, close-lipped smile.

Turning back to Giles, Buffy pointed to the open book on the desk, acknowledging the yellowing pages with disdain. "There's gotta be a quicker way to find stuff in that stupid book. Isn't there an index or something?"

"Buffy, this is an ancient volume. It predates indices. It's not exactly 'Fertility Spells for Dummies.'" Giles smirked at his little joke, but quickly erased it when Buffy glared at him.

"How 'bout a table of contents? Does it predate those, too?" Buffy asked, exasperated.

"I'm afraid so," Giles muttered evenly, turning his attention once again to the thick volume in front of him. "Besides, what do you propose I would find our, uh…situation listed under?"

"I don't know. Perhaps 'Potentially Pregnant Boyfriends.' That would certainly be a welcome subheading right about now, don't ya think?" Buffy had just finished her sentence when a muffled sound echoed from the vicinity of the bed.

Buffy glanced at the shy Wiccan momentarily before turning her full attention to the man on the bed. "Riley? Sweetie? Can you hear me?" She leaned in, waving her hand in front of his face.

"He's pregnant, Buffy. Not deaf," Giles said off-handedly from his chair, still fully engrossed in his book.

Buffy, choosing to ignore the older man's comment, leaned in even closer to the younger one sprawled out on the bed in front of her and taking his hand, stroked it affectionately. "What is it, honey? What's the matter?"

"Besides the fact that he might be pregnant, probably not a whole lot," Giles offered again.

This time, Buffy turned on him. "I don't think this is very funny at all. And if you say one more…"

Willow interrupted her. "Wait a sec. I think I figured out why he keeps doing that," she offered, holding up a hand and pointing at Riley.

Tara and Willow exchanged glances briefly before Tara looked up at the angry Slayer and whispered, "The 'p' word."

The Scoobies, minus Buffy and Riley, had gathered at Giles' apartment about an hour before. Giles, deciding as always that more research was needed, left Buffy to tend to Riley while he, Willow, and Tara headed back his place to reference volumes that may provide more information on the subject.

"I think I saw a movie like this once," Xander said. He was sitting on Giles's couch, leaning forward, an open book lay in front of him on the coffee table. "It was actually pretty funny."

Willow looked up from the book she was perusing and gave Xander her patented annoyed-Willow look. "Well, Buffy doesn't seem to think it's very funny. And I *know* Riley isn't the least bit amused."

"Back when I was a vengeance demon, I was involved in a similar situation," Anya chimed in. Ignoring the intense stares of disdain pointed in her direction, she continued. "This woman found out that her husband had been cheating on her with another woman while she was pregnant and had subsequently gotten his mistress pregnant as well. She wished that he would experience the pain of childbirth. So he did." She smiled widely at the memory. "It wasn't pretty, let me tell you," she finished, nodding in the direction of the group.

Three sets of eyes stared at her blankly for a moment. Xander visualized the image in his head and grimaced, subconsciously crossing his legs. "Nope, not funny anymore," he replied painfully.

"Thank you, Anya, for that…enlightening anecdote. But we would all be of much more use if we read more and speak less," Giles said evenly, as he descended the stairs with a couple more books. "Why don't you start on this one?" he asked her as he plopped an enormous, dust-covered book down onto the table in front of her.

Pouting momentarily, Anya muttered, "I was only trying to help" and begrudgingly opened the book.

Giles regarded the young man with a well-practiced look of patience. "Any instances in which a male member of the species has produced progeny."

"Right. Thought so," Xander answered confidently, then gave Willow a quizzical look.

Willow leaned in and whispered, "Look for anything concerning guys giving birth." She gave him a slight smile.

Less than an hour later, Giles was on the phone with Buffy. "I think we may have found something…" he began.

Setting the cup of tea on the coffee table, Buffy glanced over at her boyfriend. The moaning of earlier had given away to nausea, causing Riley to bend over in his chair, his head between his knees. Buffy bit her lip as she perched herself on the arm of the wing chair he sat on, wishing there was something she could do to calm the young soldier. Opting for moral support, she ran a hand slowly over his back, drawing circles, hoping to soothe him.

Willow and Tara sat across from the couple, looking crestfallen, while Xander and Anya were snuggling on the desk chair just behind the couch. Giles fidgeted near the desk as he waited for the others to get situated.

Turning her attention to Giles, Buffy signaled that they were ready. Clearing his throat, Giles took off his glasses, cleaning them on the handkerchief he always carried, before replacing them. "It would seem that there have been similar instances where a male has become parturient." Giles shifted several books around on the table before locating the one he was looking for.

"The um…the male is implanted with a sort of sac that would replicate the environment found in a uterus. An embryo would be created inside the sac using an egg from the mother and sperm from the father. This stage will be enhanced by the spell, aging the embryo a couple weeks ahead to make sure it takes. The rest of the pregnancy continues on much the same as it would for a woman, though the child will not be born…naturally, needless to say."

Giles tore his eyes away from the pictures illustrating the birthing process for men in the early days of medicine, before the cesarean, as he inwardly grimaced at the pain the poor chaps must have gone through, resulting in the death of both father and child.

Riley noticed Xander squirming around uncomfortably and with a jolt realized why. Without a c-section…ouch.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, Riley turned his attention back to Giles who had continued on with his explanation. "And since you and Riley were…er…intimate during the casting of the spell, it is safe to say that if Riley is in fact pregnant, it's your child he carries."

Buffy nodded, letting the words soak in. A mother, she was going to be a mother-albeit not exactly the way she had envisioned. Feeling a hand brush her own, she looked up just as Riley was taking her hand in his own, giving it a light squeeze accompanied by a timid smile. Willow noticed the gesture and was quick to reassure them. "This doesn't mean that Riley is pregnant. I mean, according to the books, it takes a witch of immense power to pull off these types of spells."

"Or a demon!" Anya reminded them, sitting up a little straighter on Xander's lap, with a proud smile lighting up her face.

"Or a demon." Willow corrected. "And since I am still pretty mediocre and well, even with Tara's help, I don't think we could be considered powerful. There is still a chance that Riley's not expecting."

Buffy looked at her friend and offered her a grateful smile. "Okay, so what do we do? How do we find out if he is pregnant for sure?"

Willow smiled, happy to be able to be of assistance. "Well there is a spell where…."

"No!" Startling everyone, Riley finally spoke up. "No more spells, no more magic. I don't want to run the risk of ending up turned inside out or with a hairy tongue. We do this the old fashion way."

Staring at the colorful boxes before him, Riley shuffled a bit uneasily. This had been an aisle he had studiously avoided whenever going to the grocery store while growing up. Even with an older sister, Riley still had problems when it came to dealing with feminine hygiene products. Of course, when he thought about it, having the tampons and the pregnancy tests on the same aisle did sort of make sense. 'Cause if the test turned out negative then there was still a need for the other stuff.

Except in his case. Either way, he had no need for tampons. He hoped. Swallowing down the lump in his throat and wiping his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans, he looked down at his girlfriend.

Buffy was currently reading over the instructions on the third box she had picked up. Looking down the aisle, Riley saw several other women watching them as they looked over the home pregnancy tests. "This one looks good. It promises speed and accuracy." Buffy held up the test before him so he could see for himself.

Barely glancing at the box, Riley stuffed his hands in his pocket, clearly uncomfortable. "Yeah, that's great. Let's just get it and go."

"Or do you want the one that turns pink?" Buffy asked before picking up the box she had looked at earlier.

"Whichever, I don't care." Riley gave a nervous smile to one of the older ladies as she passed by, glaring at the young couple.

Oblivious to Riley's discomfort, Buffy picked up yet another box. "Oh, this one has plus signs."

Blushing slightly as a teen girl approached them, grabbing a box of tampons off the neighboring shelf, Riley was too embarrassed to notice the person approaching from behind until he felt the tap on his shoulder.

"Forrest!" Riley looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He immediately straightened and tried to act nonchalant despite the growing tornado in his stomach. "What are you doing here?" A forced look of interest covered his face.

"Oh, just restocking the supplies," the young man said, indicating the box of condoms in his hands. "I got a hot date with that red-head from the library. And it always pays to be prepared. What are you up…" Forrest's jaw dropped as he finally noticed Buffy behind the taller man, or more precisely, what she was holding.

"Look, I can explain." Riley's mind was working on overtime trying to come up with an explanation that would sound reasonable.

"No need, man. I knew with the two of you goin' at it 24/7 this was bound to happen. Let's just hope it's a false alarm and you didn't knock her up. I'd hate to see your career ruined by that freak and her offspring."

"You're out of line," Riley fumed, immediately tensing and stepping closer to his friend, taking a defensive stance.

Forrest just scoffed. "Whatever, man. You have fun playing house with little Miss Buff stuff. Call me if you ever come to your senses." Shaking his head, Forrest walked away from an agitated Riley and an equally ticked-off Slayer.

Entering his dorm room, Riley set the stick on a paper towel on his desk and joined Buffy who was perched at the edge of his bed, her legs tucked under her. Sitting down next to her, he took her small hand in his own, staring ahead at the tiny piece of cardboard that would determine his future.

"You nervous?" Buffy asked, rubbing her thumb lightly over the back of this hand, then realizing how stupid a question that was.

"I don't think I've ever been so scared in my whole life," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You know I used to dream about being a father, the father of your child. Just never dreamed I'd be the mother." He tried to laugh, but it came out sounding more like a choked sob.

"You've thought about us having kids?" The Slayer was a little surprised. She rarely thought past the next week let alone looking toward the future. She couldn't afford it. Dreaming of things like that would be like saying she was invincible and she wasn't one to tempt the fates.

Looking at her, his hazel eyes brimming with the love he felt for her, he laid it all out for her. "God, don't you know how much I love you?"

Buffy felt her heart jump as she processed this information, her eyes welling with tears. Bringing her free hand to his face, she lightly stroked Riley's cheek as she leaned forward to kiss him. Taking a moment to savor the sweet kiss, Buffy reluctantly pulled away. Resting her forehead against his, Buffy whispered, "I love you, too."

Putting his arm around her, he pulled her closer, both pairs of eyes fixed on the tiny object sitting on the desk. "So how much longer?" Buffy inquired.

Silence descended on the room as the seconds ticked away. Buffy felt Riley tremble slightly in her arms and hoped that they would both be strong enough to handle it if the results came back positive.

After what felt like an eternity, the alarm on Riley's watch began to beep, proclaiming the wait as being over. Taking a deep breath, Riley raised slowly, taking a step toward the desk only to find Buffy still clinging to his hand. Looking back with questioning eyes, Riley was met with a supportive smile. "You know I'm with you, no matter what the results are, right? We're in this together," Buffy reassured him.

"Always," he said, squeezing her tiny hand gently before letting go. Grabbing the test, he returned to the bed, resuming his position beside Buffy. "You ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Riley turned over the test, revealing the results to himself and the blonde next to him. The tiny blue plus sign greeted the couple on the other side.

The Initiative headquarters buzzed with activity. Soldiers clad in camouflage and various other earth tone colors strolled quickly through the compound on their way to this meeting or that debriefing.

Special Agent Riley Finn sat at the end of a long metal conference table in silence, fumbling absently with the edge of the manila file folder in front of him. Each seat at the table had an identical folder in front of it and one by one, each of those seats was filled with a soldier.

A few minutes passed as the silence continued. Slowly, the silence was replaced by incoherent whispers and restless shufflings.

Riley snapped his head up and turned to the owner of that harsh whisper. "What?" he asked absently, meeting Forrest's annoyed gaze.

"If you have a moment, perhaps you could…oh, I don't know…DO YOUR JOB!" Forrest leaned in closer for those last few words and kicked Riley's leg under the table.

Anger flashed in Riley's eyes for a second. Then he turned to gaze at the table full of soldiers and the sea of faces staring back at him in anticipation.

Clearing his throat and casting one last glance at Forrest, who smirked at him in reply, Riley stood, smoothed the front of his uniform, and took a deep breath.

Buffy pushed open the door to her dorm room and shuffled inside, closing the door behind her and leaning against it heavily. The tired sigh that escaped her caused Willow to stir.

"Buffy?" Willow croaked in a sleep-thickened voice, sitting up and pushing the covers off.

Lifting her tired eyes to meet Will's half-opened ones, Buffy pushed away from the door and walked over to her bed, plopping down on it heavily. "Hey, Will," she finally muttered, falling back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"Uh-oh," Willow said softly, flinging her legs over the edge of the bed and rubbing her eyes. "Don't tell me. Riley took the test…."

"No," Buffy answered succinctly and removed her hands from her face, sighing once again.

Silence descended on the room for a long moment. Finally, Buffy stood up and started walking to the closet. She would go stir-crazy if she stayed there. She needed to do something to get her mind off things. Peeling off her clothes, she reached into the closet and pulled out a pair of gray stretch pants and pulled them on. Then she walked over to her dresser and pulled a white tank top out of the top drawer and pulled it on over her head.

Willow watched in silence as Buffy undressed and redressed. It wasn't until Buffy was standing in front of the mirror pulling her hair back into a ponytail and Willow saw the circles under her eyes that she spoke up.

"I *am* exhausted, Will. Riley tossed and turned all night," Buffy replied matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you should lie down. Get some rest. I'll take notes in History for you." Willow studied her best friend expectantly, eyebrows raised in question.

Looking over her shoulder, Buffy cast the redhead a conciliatory glance and pasted a forced smile on her face. "Thanks. But I can't sleep. I need to…pound something. I'm going to the gym." Tightening her ponytail, Buffy took one last look in the mirror. Then she picked up her duffel bag and headed out the door, calling out over her shoulder, "Later, Will!"

"What the hell was that, Finn?" Forrest raged once the debriefing was completed and they were back in the privacy of Riley's room in Lowell House.

"What was what?" Riley asked patiently, his back to Forrest. He sat down heavily on the edge of his bed and started untying his boots. He had class in 45 minutes and he had so much to do before then. But then the ground began to swim below him as he leaned over. Sitting up quickly, he shook his head to clear it.

Forrest stood in his place by the door and studied Riley. "You know what I'm talking about, Ri! That little zoning out act you pulled downstairs. What was that all about?"

Riley turned his head to look at Forrest and wrinkled his brow. Swallowing down the bitter taste creeping up the back of his throat, he steadied himself and said calmly, "I really don't have time to discuss this with you right now. I have to get changed, print out my research paper, and get stuff prepared for Walsh's class. Or at least what used to be Walsh's class," he said, his voice trailing off.

"Whatever," Forrest continued. "All I know is that we cannot afford to have you losing your mind." His eyes wandered around the room as he tried to calm his temper. He had to try to talk some sense into the guy. But then his gaze fell on something on Riley's desk and he walked across the room in two steps and picked it up in his fingers. "So this is what it's about, huh?" he asked angrily, waving the pregnancy test in the air.

Panic filled Riley's brain when he saw what Forrest was holding in his hand. Damn, why didn't he throw it away last night?

Standing quickly, Riley swayed slightly and held out his hand. "That. I-It's not what you think," he began weakly.

"Oh, it isn't, is it?" Forrest looked at the little white stick closely, seeing the little blue plus sign. It had faded over the last few hours, but it was still visible. "And I guess this little plus sign means you won the lottery." Forrest's dark eyes pierced Riley's consciousness.

"Get out." Riley's voice was low and even as he spoke through clenched teeth, anger rising inside him.

"I knew that little bitch was trouble the first time I saw her. She trapped you, brother. Don't you see that?" Forrest mocked.

Riley stepped closer to him until he was almost nose-to-nose with the slightly shorter Marine. "I said get out. I suggest you do so as quickly as possible."

The two men glared at each other unblinkingly for a long moment. Finally, Forrest let out his breath and slipped the test into Riley's pocket. Then he pushed past him and walked to the door, turning to look at Riley once more as he pulled the door open. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Then he was gone.

"Stupid!" Buffy raged as she kicked the heavy punching bag. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She continued to pummel the defenseless bag.

The only things in her head were questions-why did she ask Willow to perform that spell? Why did the ingredients get mixed up? Why does magic have to be so complicated? Why does *her* boyfriend have to be pregnant? Why does all this crap happen to her? Why? Why? Why?

"Ahhhhhh!" she screamed, stopping her kicking and starting to use her fists to pound the bag. She hit it until her muscles began to burn and then stopped, panting. It was then that she noticed the stares of those around her.

She was in no mood to be the freak show. "What are you looking at?" she snapped, glaring at those around her.

A low chorus of "Nothing" surrounded her as the spectators went back to their own business.

The Scooby gang had once again gathered at Giles' apartment, only the two key players were glaringly absent.

"Well? What did she say?" Xander prodded Willow. He sat on the couch, Anya at his side.

"I'm not sure I should tell you. I mean…it's not really my place," Willow answered.

Xander edged closer impatiently. "Come on, Will. It's not like we won't find out eventually, anyway. So spill. Is commando boy expecting unexpectedly or not?" He couldn't help the grin that crept across his face.

Willow didn't answer for a long moment, looking from face to face slowly. Anya's face was the picture of indifference, Xander was grinning slightly, Tara gave Willow a supportive look, and Giles…well, Giles was perched on the corner of his desk cleaning his glasses and looking like Giles always looked…ready to read something.

The shriek that pierced the silence caused everyone to jump out of their seats. They stood, looking around in panic. Then they realized that the shriek they heard had come from Anya, who was still sitting on the couch, grinning wildly.

"A baby! You know what that means, don't you?" she asked, looking expectantly from one face to the other.

"No!" Anya exclaimed, standing. "A baby means a baby shower and a baby shower means presents!"

The other four people in the room looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Then Xander stepped over to his girlfriend and took her hand. He looked directly into her eyes and said softly, "For the baby, An. Presents for the *baby.*"

It took a moment for the concept to register in Anya's materialistic mind. Then her face fell and she sank back into the couch. "That's not fair. Where's the fun in that?" She crossed her arms over her chest and began to pout.

"I can't believe she told them," Riley lamented, head in his hands. He and Buffy were sitting in a corner booth at an all-night diner near campus. They had just returned from patrolling and were avoiding returning to their respective dorms.

Buffy reached across the table and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Honey, it's not like they wouldn't have found out eventually, anyway." She was trying to sound soothing, but was having a hard time with it. Because, if truth be told, she was a little mad about Willow's revelation herself. When she and Riley had gotten to Giles' house, the looks they were given when they walked through the door made her want to run and hide. And then Willow's and Tara's incessant apologies for both the confession and the spell were unbearable. Not to mention Anya's totally inappropriate complaints about not getting presents.

Riley pulled his hands away from his face and looked at his girlfriend with tired eyes. "I know. You're right. It's just…" But he couldn't finish.

"I understand. Really I do," Buffy replied. She sat back and leaned against the back of the red vinyl seat, looking out the window into the darkness.

The two sat in silence until the waitress walked over to their table and asked, "What can I get you folks?"

Buffy looked up at her and smiled tightly. She wasn't very hungry although she hadn't eaten a bite all day. "Just a cup of coffee, please. Decaf." She had to at least *try* to get some sleep later.

The waitress scribbled something on her little order pad, then smiled down at Riley. "And for you?"

Riley made a face like the last thing in the world he wanted was food. But when he opened his mouth to speak, Buffy couldn't believe what she heard.

"I'll have two blueberry waffles, some hash browns, a bacon cheeseburger well done, and a piece of apple pie. Oh, and a glass of milk." He smiled crookedly up at the waitress who took the order without comment and walked away. The smile left his face when he gazed across the table at Buffy.

He thought a second, then opened his mouth to speak. "Yeah. I guess I am." He smiled genuinely for the first time in days. "Well, you know, I *am* eating for…"