Title: Unexpected
Author: Hils
Email: ImmortalBeloved2000@yahoo.co.uk
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: B/S, a bit of B/R
Spoilers: General season 5
SUMMARY- Set some time after Fool For Love. Buffy finds help in a suprising place.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of these characters. It all belongs to Joss and co.
Feedback: My first ever fic so YES PLEASE!!!!

Riley stood motionless for a moment, his brain trying to digest exactly what he'd just seen. Part of him tried to rationalise it, he must have been mistaken. But there was no mistake. He'd clearly seen Buffy kissing Spike with his own eyes.

"I should have seen this coming." He said quietly before turning around and walking back out of the door slamming it behind him.

Buffy shot Spike a glance, his face was expressionless. Looking back at the door she ran after Riley.

"Riley, wait." Buffy grabbed his arm and spun him round to face her. She gasped when she saw the pain and the tears in his eyes. This was what she'd done to him.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Riley looked into Buffy's eyes and his face hardened. Roughly he shook her hand off his arm.

"Stay away from me Buffy." He hissed between clenched teeth his face now a mask of pure hatred. Buffy watched as he turned around and continued to watch until he was out of sight. Blinking back the tears she walked back inside.

Spike stood up as Buffy walked through the door. Riley wasn't with her and he had a pretty good idea of what must have been said. As Buffy's eyes met his, her face crumpled and she began to cry. Spike was with her in an instant, pulling her into his arms and softly stroking her hair.

"Ssh love, it's alright." He soothed.

Buffy continued to cry, not because Riley had seen her with Spike. What upset her was the fact that she had hurt him. After her experiences with Angel she knew what it felt like to be hurt by someone you love. She would never want to inflict that pain on anyone, yet that was exactly what she'd done. She didn't know how long she'd been stood there in Spike's arms but it felt good, gave her comfort. Finally she pulled away and gave him a small smile of thanks.

"Maybe it's better this way pet." He suggested softly

Buffy nodded numbly. It had been over with Riley for a long time and a small part of her was glad that he knew. It was finally over. Glancing at the window she observed that dusk was settling over Sunnydale. It was time to go and meet Angel.

"I have to go." She whispered to Spike before walking over to the door and picking up the bag of weapons she'd discarded earlier. Spike followed picking up his duster and putting it on. Buffy stared at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you."

Her eyes widened in shock and then grew stern.

"No you're not. You're not up to your full strength yet."

Spike's eyes then matched her own. He could be just as stubborn as she could, probably more so, he'd had plenty of practise.

"Listen Slayer. Chances are that Riley isn't going to show tonight and there's no way that I'm letting you and Angel face Leon alone. I'm going to help you and don't bother arguing with me."

Spike was out of the door before she could protest any further. Sighing loudly Buffy followed.

As they arrived at Giles' Angel gave them a puzzled look, obviously expecting Riley and not Spike to be a member of the party. Buffy looked at the floor.

"I don't think Riley will be coming." She said quietly. Angel nodded guessing what must have happened and not wanting to push her to explain.

"I'm going to head out now. You two follow me and be ready to back me up when I signal you."

Before they had a chance to respond Riley burst through the door, panting heavily.

"Just…seen…Leon." He gasped.

Angel, Spike and Buffy were immediately alert. Angel growled softly.

"Where?"

"Cemetery….near…mansion."

Angel set his jaw. It was time to settle this once and for all. He headed for the door, closely followed by Buffy and Spike.

"Wait." Called Riley who had managed to catch his breath and compose himself a little. The others turned to face him.

"Can you two go ahead? I need to talk to Buffy."

The two vampires glanced at each other, both aware that Buffy and Riley needed to talk, but also aware that this was perhaps not the most ideal opportunity for them to do so. Buffy voiced their sentiments.

"Riley this really isn't a good time. Can we talk after we've killed the bad guy?"

His eyes filled with the same look of pain that he'd had earlier. Buffy swallowed heavily. He wasn't making it east for her to refuse him.

"Please?" He asked, his plea almost a whisper.

Angel stepped forward and laid a hand reassuringly on her arm.

"It's alright Buffy. Spike and I will go on ahead, you two can catch up with us when you're ready. We should be able to hold him off for a while."

Glancing at Spike she saw a look in his eyes indicating that he agreed with his sire, albeit reluctantly. Looking back at Riley his eyes pleaded with her to stay with him. Finally she sighed and nodded.

"Be careful." She said softly as Spike and Angel walked out of the door.

Standing at the window she watched the two black-clad vampires disappeared into the night, hoping that they'd be alright. She took a deep breath. It was time to clear things up with Riley once and for all. Her eyes not leaving the window she began to speak.

"Riley, don't say anything for a minute. Just let me try and explain what you saw this afternoon. Yes, I kissed Spike and yes I think I may have feelings for him but I want you to understand that the reason I didn't say anything to you was because I'm still trying to figure all this out. What happened with Spike happened so quickly, and then Angel came back and it was just all so confusing. What I'm trying to say is that I'm not going to take things any further until I'm sure about how I feel. I hope you can understand that this isn't about you, you've been nothing but supportive. I just don't think it's fair to stay with you when my feelings are less than one hundred percent."

When Riley didn't respond to her speech she turned around to face him. She barely had time to catch a glimpse of the chair swinging towards her head before she slumped to the floor.

As they walked towards the cemetery Spike glanced across at Angel. The older vampire's face expressed nothing save the grim determination to get this fight over with. Thinking about Buffy Spike wondered if Angel felt anything like he had when Angelus had stolen Dru from him. Part of him hoped so.

They continued to walk in silence and Angel began to feel Spike's eyes upon him. He kept his own eyes fixed ahead.

"If you hurt Buffy I'll torture you in ways that can't be described."

The soft calmness of this statement startled Spike a little, he also knew that Angel meant it.

"I know." He replied quietly

Riley gazed down at Buffy's unconscious form for a minute. He'd hit her hard but knew that her slayer strength and healing abilities wouldn't keep her out for long. He had to secure her before she woke up.

Scooping her up in his arms he carried her upstairs and placed her on the bed. Walking over to a trunk in the corner he opened it and pulled out some heavy duty looking rope. He quickly tied Buffy's hands and feet to the ends of the bed before sitting at her side.

"I'm sorry Buffy," he whispered gently stroking the now rather large lump on her forehead. "This was the only way."

His gaze fell upon the ropes binding her hands. He knew that she'd free herself eventually, but by the time she did it would all be over. As Buffy began to stir Riley moved away from the bed and sat on a nearby chair.

She awoke with a throbbing headache which seemed to pulse through her entire brain. She lay still for a moment, hoping it would pass. When it didn't she forced herself to open her eyes, she was lying on a bed. As her head began to clear she remembered being hit and reached for her head to assess the damage. She couldn't move her hands. Looking up she saw that she has been tied to the bed and the ropes were tight. What was going on? Her eyes fell on Riley who was sat in the corner watching her.

"Riley? What's going on?"

Riley smiled tenderly at her. "I'm sorry about your head Buffy but I had to buy us some time."

Buffy frowned "Time? What are you talking about?"

The smile left Riley's face.

"After I left you this afternoon I walked for hours, I had a lot of thinking to do. After a while it came to me. The problem in all this isn't you or me, it's Spike. Both he and Angel are clouding your mind, stopping you from thinking straight. I thought it was weird that a Slayer could love a vampire but loving two is just too much. Something has got to be making you act like this so I've arranged to have the problem removed."

"Removed?"

"I ran into Leon just before I came here. He wanted to take me as bait again but when I explained that your affections now lay elsewhere we managed to make a deal. I convinced him to spare your life on the condition that I keep you away from him until Spike and Angel are dust."

He paused for a moment.

"Well, that's not strictly true. He only wanted Angel but I convinced him to take Spike as well. If everything goes according to plan he'll be killing your two demonic loves as we speak."

Buffy took a moment to register exactly what Riley was saying. Was he insane? She began to pull at the ropes, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes as she knew the ropes wouldn't give way. Spike and Angel were going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. Riley watched her efforts with a look of mild amusement on his face.

"Do you really think Leon will be able to beat Spike and Angel?" She spat. "The two of them have probably already dusted him and are having a drink in the Bronze to celebrate."

"Highly unlikely." Riley responded but there was now an element of doubt in his mind. It was true that Spike and Angel were two of the strongest vampires around and they almost certainly wouldn't go down as easily as anyone else. Maybe it was time to lend a hand.

"You know. I think I might take a walk in the cemetery. I hear there's a good show on tonight. Once it's over we'll be able to move on with our lives."

Leaving Buffy still struggling with her bonds Riley ran downstairs and made his way to the cemetery. As Buffy continued to pull at the ropes she soon realised that she was making them tighter if nothing else. She relaxed and considered what to do. Suddenly she remembered something. When she'd been in the Initiative Graham had taught her a load of knots for securing HST's. He'd also taught her how to escape from them should she ever need to. Bending her wrist and pulling it the way she'd been shown she managed to free one of her hands. She made light work of all the other knots and was free in a matter of seconds. Jumping off the bed she ran downstairs and picked up the bag of weapons she dropped. She paused for a second to grab a crossbow before running down the street as fast as she could. With each step she prayed she wasn't going to be too late.

Spike and Angel continued to fight Leon. It had been clear from the start that he'd been expecting them and now they were having difficulties just holding him off. At the moment things were fairly evenly matched which was how it always began. As Riley arrived he decided it was time to uneven the odds. If Leon wanted Angel then that was fine, he had no qualms about taking Spike out of the picture. As the two vampires fought Riley tackled Spike from the side, knocking him to the ground and straddling him before he had the chance to get up. He began to rain punch after punch down upon him, venting all the anger and frustration that had been building up since he'd seen Buffy kissing him. Spike did his best to block the blows but even that seemed to aggravate the chip in his head, causing him more pain. Finally Riley pulled out a stake and raised it above his head.

"If I can't have Buffy I'm going to make damn sure you can't either." He hissed.

Buffy arrived just in time to see Angel doing his best to fend off Leon and Riley about to stake Spike. Seeing him lying on the ground facing death, all doubts she'd had about her feelings for Spike vanished. There was no way she could imagine going on without him.

Spike closed his eyes and braced himself. This was it. However, instead of feeling the stake plunge into his chest he felt Riley's weight lift off his legs. He opened his eyes and saw Buffy fighting Riley and Angel was struggling with Leon.

"I could use some help over here." Yelled Angel. Spike climbed to his feet and ran over to continue the fight, making a note to thank Buffy when all of this was over.

Buffy's fight with Riley was over in a matter of minutes. He was strong, but he was no match for the Slayer. She knocked him to the ground and stood over him.

"What's the matter Riley? Too use to leading people into traps or attacking people who can't defend themselves?"

Riley aid nothing for a moment, then used his legs to sweep hers out from under her. As Buffy crashed to the ground Riley jumped up and ran off. Climbing to her feet she reached for the bag of weapons. It was time to end this.

Picking up the crossbow she walked over to where Leon was still fighting Angel and Spike. He had his back to her and was focusing all his energy of fending off attacks from the other two vampires. Buffy lined up her sights and rested her finger on the trigger, preparing to fire. At that moment he swung round and knocked the weapon out of her hand. Grabbing her by the arm he pulled her around and threw her with all his strength into Angel. They both flew through the air, smashing headfirst into a large memorial stone and landing heavily at the foot of it. Turning back to Spike he threw the younger vampire to one side before walking over to the fallen couple.

"Angel, you have no idea how long I've dreamed about this moment. Before I kill your girl I want you to know that you could have saved her if you'd tried harder."

Still stunned from the blow to their heads Buffy and Angel could only watch as Leon reached down for the Slayer. His fingers just touching the collar of his her shirt, his body suddenly went rigid and a look of pain and shock filled his eyes. Looking down he saw a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest. Before he could do anything further his body exploded into dust, revealing Spike standing behind him, crossbow in hand.

"Bloody poof." He muttered before throwing the weapon to the ground. Walking over to Buffy and Angel he was too exhausted to lift either of them. Instead he sank to the ground next to Buffy and rested his head on her shoulder. The Slayer and the two vampiric loves of her life sat in an exhausted silence.


Dear Buffy

Please don't tear this up until you've finished reading it. I know I'm not in a position to ask for anything but I want to take this last opportunity to ask for your forgiveness. I wish I could explain my actions of last night but I can't. I just couldn't stand the thought of someone else being able to make you happy where I couldn't. I understand that this in no way makes up for what I did but I just wanted you to know that I'm truly sorry and that I'm glad things worked out in the end. I also wanted to tell you that you won't be seeing me in Sunnydale again. Graham has asked me rejoin the team and I've accepted. The chances are that by the time you read this I'll already have been posted on my first mission. Maybe by fighting the forces of darkness I can begin to make amends.

Please believe me when I say that I hope you'll be happy in the future. You're an amazing person and you deserve it.

Yours always

Riley


Buffy read the letter once again. She'd found it under her door when she'd woken that morning. Unable to stop a tear from falling she brushed it away. She wasn't ready to forgive him yet, but she was beginning to understand.

She thought back to what had happened after the fight with Leon the night before. When they'd finally gotten their strength back the three had walked back to Buffy's house in silence. When they arrived at the front door Angel had stopped.

"I should go back to Giles'."

Buffy remained silent and Angel continued to speak.

"We should say our goodbyes now. I'm heading back to LA as soon as the sun sets tomorrow."

Buffy looked stunned. She'd been expecting him to leave but not quite this soon. Even though she knew she loved Spike now, knowing that she was going to be apart from Angel again was still painful.

"There's one more thing." Angel continued. He took Buffy's hand with one of his and took Spike's with the other. He joined them together. "I hope you'll be happy together."

Squeezing Spike's hand for a second she let go and hugged Angel.

"Thank you." She whispered. "For everything."

Spike extended his hand and Angel looked at it for a moment before shaking it. Spike pulled his sure into a brotherly embrace. With that one gesture they both felt a bond which neither had felt since before Angel had been cursed.

"Take care of her Spike." He said, the threats of earlier having been long forgotten. When he nodded Angel turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Back in the present Buffy looked at Riley's letter once more before folding it up and putting it away. She went back upstairs and into her room where Spike was still sleeping. Closing her eyes she remembered how tender he'd been when they'd made love and how happy she'd been falling asleep in his arms.

Sitting at the side of the bed she smiled as she watched him sleep. He looked so innocent. Finally she bent down, kissed him softly and he began to stir.

"Morning." He murmured

"Riley's gone." She whispered. "And he's not coming back."

Spike opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Are you okay with that?"

Smiling at him she nodded.

"For the first time in my life I know who I want to be with."

As he kissed her again she knew that she meant it.