***
"Oh, come on, Buffy!"
"No," the slayer told her sister firmly.
"This is ridiculous. I’m *fifteen*! I don’t need a babysitter," Dawn ranted, "Besides, for the last week I have been alone when you were at work, and I haven’t gotten in any trouble."
"That’s during the daytime, nighttime in Sunnydale is dangerous."
Dawn sighed and collapsed dramatically on the couch, "Look, I promise not to invite any vampires in. Would you just go on patrol?"
Buffy looked at her suspiciously, "Why do you care if I stay home with you? What are you up to?"
"Nothing, I’m just annoyed that just because all your friends are busy, you aren’t going to go on your patrol because you refuse to leave me home alone like I am some baby."
"I’m sorry, you don’t have the best track record. Even with Xander and Anya here, you invited Harmony in."
"Will you ever let me forget that? You invited Angel in!"
"He had a soul!"
"But then he didn’t and he did all this creepy stuff!"
"Why am I even arguing with you about this?" Buffy rolled her eyes.
"You know what? On second thought, don’t patrol. Go to bed, you’ve been so cranky lately, you must need more rest."
The older girl sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Look… I’m sorry. I *am* tired and stressed and I am still adjusting to the freaky hours at work and trying to deal with everything else. I know I have been short with you… but I feel uneasy leaving you all alone at night. I know you have been good so far and I appreciate that. It’s just going to take time for us to work up to that point."
"Fine," Dawn said quietly, standing up. "I’m going up to my room."
"Okay," Buffy replied, picking up the remote and sitting down on the couch to watch some TV. Even if she was tired, it was only eight so if she went to bed this early, she’d be up at three in the morning.
***
"She drives me crazy! Where does she get the idea that I can’t be left alone?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Lisa asked on the other end of the phone.
Dawn frowned, "Yeah… maybe you should."
"Okay, but don’t get mad at me… there was that time when your mom let you stay home alone for half an hour when you were thirteen and you tried to make eggs and you started the fire-"
"It was little and didn’t do any damage-"
"And then there was the time they let you stay home after we saw ‘Scream’ at Jeannie’s slumber party and you called the police because you thought someone was in the backyard-"
"I *still* think there was someone there!"
"And when your mom got home she found three police cruisers out front," Lisa continued, "The last thing, I believe, was when your mom let you stay home from school because your stomach hurt and you locked yourself out, then broke a window to get back in."
"That was last *October*! Almost a year ago," Dawn protested.
"Dawn, I think you gotta understand where Buffy’s coming from."
"I know… but I really am better now."
"Yeah, and she’s leaving you alone in the mornings. She’s right, you just have to give her time," Lisa replied. "Plus, the whole Graham thing may distract her. They still haven’t told you?"
"No, and it’s been over three weeks. I don’t think they’re ever going to tell me."
"I don’t get it. Buffy has nothing to be ashamed of, she could do much worse."
"Knowing my sister, she feels guilty. She’s all about guilt. Graham is Riley’s friend and it’s wrong for her to date him."
"So why *is* she dating him and just not telling you?"
"I have *no* idea. Grown-ups are so screwy."
"Ooh, I have an idea! Why don’t you spend the night here?" Lisa asked.
Dawn grinned, "That’d be fun. Of course, I have to get the warden’s approval…."
***
"You’re sure I don’t need me to give you a ride?" Buffy asked as Dawn came into the living room with her backpack stuffed with everything she’d need while sleeping over at Lisa’s.
"Positive," she replied, "Lisa and her dad are picking me up."
"Well, make sure you thank him, and her mom. Be polite and behave."
Dawn suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and point out that Buffy sounded *exactly* like Mom used to. "I will be a model teenager."
At last, the doorbell rang and Dawn hopped up to answer it, dragging the backpack along with her. "That’s probably Lisa."
Buffy trailed behind her sister as Dawn opened the door and found that Lisa was indeed standing on their porch. "Hi Lisa."
"Hey Buffy, how’s it going?"
"Great! You’re taking the brat off my hands for the night," she joked, getting a grin from Lisa.
"Ha. Ha. You’re very funny," Dawn retorted, hugging her sister, "Don’t sit around all night. Go out and have fun like young people do."
"Maybe you can call Graham?" Lisa suggested, before Dawn grabbed her arm and dragged her away.
As Buffy watched the two girls get in the car and waved at Mr. Pearson, she wondered about that little comment. They drove away and she sighed and shook her head, deciding she was just paranoid.
***
"Never figured you for the stalker type," Buffy said wryly as she walked up the steps of her front porch.
Graham jumped in surprise and turned around, giving her a self-conscious smile, "I was worried about you. I tried calling and got no answer, so then I came over and when nobody came to the door, I started trying to look through the window."
"That’s your story, huh?" she teased. "Wanna come in?"
"Sure," Graham said, following her after she had unlocked and opened the front door. "I’m sorry, it’s just that neither you nor Dawn said anything about going out and so when nobody answered the phone, I started to worry. Normally, even when you patrol, she’s still here."
"Dawn’s spending the night at Lisa’s," Buffy explained, "So I went and did a quick sweep of the cemeteries."
"Ahhh… and I’ve just become completely paranoid."
"That’s okay, I think it was sweet," she admitted, leading him into the living room. "Want something to drink?"
"No, I’m fine," he replied.
Buffy sat down on the couch, "Have a seat."
Graham sat beside her, "So, what’s up?"
"Oh, I’m just… becoming impossible to be around. Poor Dawn had to flee tonight because I’m making her insane," she sighed.
"I’m pretty sure that as her sister, it’s your job to push her buttons every so often," he smiled.
"It’s more than that. I don’t give her freedom, I’m on her case too much and we have a lack of trust."
"Sounds like normal teenage stuff. Don’t tell me you can’t remember being in the same situation with your mother."
"I know, but that was different. I was burning things down and sneaking out and getting bad grades, which is worse than Dawn by any standards… but I was a slayer. It was like a whole other situation," she explained, "Besides… I know I am too hard on her and I should let her stay home alone when I patrol, but I’m just so scared of messing up. What if something happens when she’s all alone? What if I trust her when I really shouldn’t? She’s a good kid, but we all have bad judgment sometimes. And then you add in my being tired from work and stressing about all the other responsibilities I have… and I don’t think I can do this, Graham."
"Hey, don’t worry," he said, putting his arm around her comfortingly, "I keep telling you, you’re doing great. And you know what? If you make the wrong decision and screw up, it’s not the end of the world. Nobody expects you to have all the answers, especially since you’re still learning how to play the game. You’re human, Buffy, don’t forget that. Humans make mistakes."
Buffy smiled up at him, amazed at how easily he could reassure her and make her feel confident that she *could* do this. As usual, all the feelings she had of guilt over what she had been doing with him for the past two and a half months seemed to disappear as she looked into his eyes and felt that tingle in her womb.
Their lips found each other and they began to kiss. Buffy’s hands came up to his head and she began to run her fingers through his short hair. Graham tenderly stroked her back as he leaned into her, overcome with desire. A little voice deep inside his head began to nag at him, though, reminding him that Buffy was upset and needy right now.
Breaking the kiss, he panted, "We shouldn’t… I’d be taking advantage of you."
Buffy chuckled, "Taking advantage of me? How do you figure?"
"Buffy, you’re upset and it’s natural for you to… if I slept with you right now, I would feel like I was using your misfortune as a way to get sexual pleasure."
Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, or maybe stress, or she was just too tired of keeping up the act of not wanting anything more than sex, Buffy didn’t know… but she didn’t really care. "Tell you what. Yes, I’m upset and it *is* natural for me to want to be with someone right now. But if that’s all I wanted, you know I could go to the Bronze or something and find a guy just for that with relative ease. That’s not all I want. I want *you*. You’re…. you’re Graham… you’re not just anyone. I want you to…. make love to me?"
Graham was stunned, but slowly nodded, unable to deny her anything, but especially not something he wanted so badly himself. He allowed her to lead him to her bedroom, where they took their time, kissing and pulling each other’s clothes off until they were both nude, their arms wrapped around each other, standing in the middle of her room.
Buffy ran her hand over Graham’s well-muscled arms appreciatively, effectively ignoring the nagging voice inside her own head that demanded to know what the Hell she was doing. This was far more dangerous than anything they had done previously. When… if…. Graham left her in bed all alone again, to pretend that this night hadn’t happened; she was going to be nursing a seriously broken heart.
But right then, she didn’t give a damn.
They found themselves on the bed, limbs entangled as their mouths mated desperately, the desire to take their time quickly being overruled by their need to be intimately joined. And then he was inside her, but instead of them both working towards finding release, they just moved, their bodies sliding against each other in an almost primal way. As he slowly thrust in and out of her welcoming body, Graham rested his forehead against Buffy’s occasionally placing a hot kiss on her mouth. Neither said a word, just expressed all their feelings with looks and actions.
Eventually, nature took its course and Graham’s thrusts sped up as he spilled his seed deep inside her womb. He collapsed on top of Buffy, who gently stroked her fingernails in invisible patterns over his back while Graham calmed down.
As he came back to himself, Graham lifted his head and looked down at her, "Oh God, I’m sorry… you didn’t-"
"Shhh…" she replied, putting her finger over his lips to silence him, "It’s okay."
"No, Buffy I never… I’m not the type of guy to just not care if a woman-"
"I know you’re not. You *know* that I know that you are a considerate lover. But that’s not what I wanted or needed from this, remember? I needed the intimacy, not the orgasm."
"But I don’t feel right. I feel like a lout."
"Don’t. Just stay were you are."
"I’m pretty sure I am crushing you," he smiled, stroking the back of his hand lovingly down her cheek.
She returned the smile, "I like it. You’re like a muscle-bound, gorgeous, Graham blanket."
He laughed aloud at that, giving her another kiss, "You’re sure?"
"I’m sure," she promised, then averted her eyes, "Do you want to stay the night?"
He lifted her chin and forced her to look him in the eye, "Wild horses couldn’t drag me away."
She smiled again and lifted her head. They shared several more long, lazy kisses before exhaustion took over and they feel asleep, still nestled together.
***
Buffy awoke the next morning to the sound of the telephone ringing. Opening her eyes, she realized she was resting her head on Graham’s chest. As the surprise of that wore off, she reached over and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Sheesh, are you still asleep?" Dawn asked on the other end.
"Not anymore," Buffy yawned.
"Sorry… you need your rest, I just figured you would have woken up hours ago."
Buffy glanced at the clock on her nightstand, "It’s only eight, Dawn."
"But you’re used to getting up at three."
"Well, like you said, I needed my rest," she replied, "Do you need me to pick you up?"
"Actually, no, I was calling to check in and ask if it was okay for me to spend tonight here again. Lisa and I were talking to some friends and we wanted to have a sleepover."
"I don’t know, what did her parents say?"
"Lisa’s parents don’t care. In fact, Mrs. Pearson says she is very happy that Lisa has me for a friend. See, I’m being very polite and well-behaved here."
Buffy smiled, "Okay… you can stay again tonight."
"Great!" Dawn grinned, "Oh, and I’ll need to get some more clothes, but after we get dressed, Lisa and I are going to the mall so I’ll drop by after to get some stuff. I’ll probably get there at about four, okay?"
"Okay, I’ll make a point to be here," Buffy promised, "You be good… I love you."
"Love you too, bye!"
Buffy hung up the phone and found Graham had awakened as well. "I’m hoping that was Dawn. The whole ‘I love you’ thing could be a problem, otherwise."
"Nah, it was my insanely jealous and sometimes homicidal husband," she joked. "He’s on his way home and could pop in at any moment."
"Oh really? Well, maybe we should be sure to give him an eyeful. I’d love to go out with a bang."
Buffy giggled as Graham rolled on top of her and began kissing her tenderly. This was nice… very normal… just what she had wanted all these months when she had pretended she liked having a purely sexual relationship with him.
Just as she was getting into it, Graham pulled back and smiled down at her. "You know what I would like?"
Buffy quirked her eyebrow, "I have a few ideas."
"Want to take a shower?"
She bit her lip and pretended to think about it for a moment before nodding. Graham stood and tugged her by the hand, out of the bed and into the bathroom. After turning the water on he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again, then grimaced.
"Not to spoil the mood, but in order to avoid an extremely awkward situation… Dawn won’t be home for a while, right?"
"Not until four," she smiled.
"Good," he said, returning his lips to hers as they gave the water time to heat up.
When it had, they climbed into the shower and took their time, leisurely cleaning each other with the sweet scented soap and shampooing each other’s hair, sneaking kisses in as well. Graham stood behind Buffy, massaging conditioner in her hair and kissing her shoulder.
"We could do it in here if you wanted and I’m sure it would be fun… but the downside is that it can be somewhat dangerous…" he whispered in her ear.
Buffy smirked, "The slippiness factor?"
"The slippiness factor."
"Hmm…" she replied, stepping away and turning around so that she was in the direct spray of the water, rinsing the conditioner from her hair. Not unintentionally, she arched her back, thrusting her supple breasts towards Graham, presenting quite the delectable picture for him.
He licked his lips and, unable to hold his desire at bay one moment longer, stepped forward and moved his hands to her hips. Dipping his head down to place light kisses on the skin between her breasts, he then began a path over the rounded flesh, before capturing a hardened pink peak between his lips. Buffy’s hands moved to his head, holding him to her breast as she moaned in pleasure.
His head moved back up and their lips met once again, this time under the steady stream of water. Graham wrapped one arm around her back and used the other hand to tease her nipple. As the feelings grew more intense and any semblance of a choice as to where their next mating would take place started to fade away, Buffy broke the kiss and leaned away from him, turning her upper body to reach and turn off the water.
Turning back to him, she smiled and said, "Shall we take it to the bedroom?"
***
Hours later, Buffy and Graham lay sated in her bed, lightly dozing after a morning of talking, love-making and just enjoying one another’s company. Something had changed; both knew it… and neither minded.
But then Graham’s pager went off and brought them both back to complete consciousness immediately. Groaning, he climbed out of bed and found his pants, digging the pager out of it and sighing when he saw that it was headquarters.
Then again, who else would call him? The only people in Sunnydale that he knew were the ones at work and Buffy.
"It’s HQ," he told Buffy, "I’m going to call and see what they want."
"Okay," she nodded, watching as Graham sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone.
"This is Miller, I got a page," he said, and Buffy couldn’t help but smile at the way his voice took on an authoritative tone as he went into ‘military mode’.
"Miller, yes, we need you to get down here now," one of his officers replied.
"What’s going on? It’s been dead for months and anyway, it’s only eleven in the morning," he questioned.
"Sir, we have an urgent situation and your presence is required. You’ll be briefed as soon as you arrive."
Graham sighed, "Fine, I’ll be there in a few minutes."
He hung up the phone and reluctantly turned to face Buffy. "It’s urgent… believe me, I don’t want to go. I really want to just stay here with you all day."
She smiled, "I know. You go. I should probably get some rest, anyway… you wore me out."
He chuckled as he began pulling his clothes on, "Don’t relax *too* much… I’d drag you in there with me if I had a good reason. If I have to go hunt something, I should make you do it too. If I can find a way, I’m gonna call you."
Buffy stuck her tongue out at him, "Hey, you get paid to do it! I get paid to bring people greasy, fat laden food, be disrespected and get hit on by disgusting guys."
"Stop calling my friends that," he retorted.
She laughed aloud, "Get out of here."
"Fine," he said, fully dressed and leaning over to kiss her on the mouth. "Can we meet later? Maybe go out to dinner? I think we need to talk."
Buffy nodded, her heart fluttering, "Unless I do get stuck helping you guys catch whatever it is you’re after… I’d love to."
"Great, I’ll give you a call," he smiled, giving her one more kiss before heading towards her bedroom door, "See you later."
"Bye," Buffy called after him, then snuggled deeper under the covers, a serene smile on her face.
For the first time in a long time, Graham was gone, she was all alone… and she felt happy. They were going to talk later and judging by the way Graham was acting, he wasn’t going to tell her that he didn’t have feelings for her. Just maybe things might work out in her favor this time.
***
***
***
"What’s going on?" Graham asked as he rushed into the office.
The men immediately burst out laughing and the stressed look on his face. He frowned… until a few people stepped to the side and he found Riley Finn grinning at him.
"Surprise!"
"That’s a good word for this situation," Graham replied, shocked. This was the last thing he had expected. Realizing it wouldn’t do for him not to be happy his friend was there; he forced himself to smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided to take you up on your offer," Riley explained.
"You’re gonna work for me… live here?"
The other man nodded, "Yeah… uh… let’s go talk in your office."
"Sounds good," Graham nodded, leading his friend into the small room… and away from the prying ears of everyone else.
"I realized how ridiculous it is to hide from Buffy. You know me, I don’t like living in tents in South America… and I don’t want a strictly office job at some base somewhere. Here I have the stability of a real place to live… but I can go out at night and hunt demons. I decided it was too great an opportunity to pass up, just to run from my past mistakes. I’m not going to give it up just so I never have to deal with what happened with Buffy again."
He nodded, "That’s great and, um, what *are* you going to do about Buffy? I mean, it’s pretty inevitable that you’ll run into her. Sunnydale is just too small."
"I know that and I had a *long* flight here to think about it," Riley replied, "On the one hand, it’s scary. My relationship with her hurt me like I have never been hurt before. But on the other, the way it felt when I was with her… I’ve never felt that with anyone else and I really doubt I ever will. I’m still in love with her, Graham. That doesn’t mean we’re getting back together, but I’m gonna go see her and apologize and try to convince her to give us a second chance. I’ll beg if I have to."
Graham felt his heart breaking. This was, without a doubt, his worst nightmare. After the night and morning he had shared with Buffy, they were so close, and now Riley was back.
Before he was forced to reply, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
The door opened and Jack Sanders stuck his head in. "Hey, we were talking out here and thought maybe we could all go out to lunch together, celebrate Finn’s arrival."
"I’m game," Riley grinned.
"Yeah, sounds great," Graham nodded.
As they walked out the door behind Jack, Riley asked, "What’s up with you? You seem kind of distracted."
Jack turned and smirked, "Yeah, and where were you this morning, Miller? We tried calling your place and just got your machine."
Riley laughed, "That’s right! You were with a woman?"
"Damn, it’s a good thing he didn’t beat the hell out of us. Obviously he still wishes he were with her," Jack added.
Graham smiled for their benefit, "Nah… it was just a fling. Temporary fun."
Oh, how he wished that were true.
***
"I really appreciate you letting me stay with you," Riley said as he carried his duffel bag in through the door of Graham’s apartment behind his friend.
"No problem, you know you’re always welcome," Graham replied. He found he was quite torn. Riley had always been a good friend to him, and it was good to have him back around… but this royally screwed up whatever chance he’d had with Buffy.
"Well, I promise to start looking for a new place right away," Riley vowed, setting his bags down and flopping down on the couch.
"Tired?" Graham asked, grabbing a can of soda for each of them from the refrigerator and joining Riley in the living room, handing his friend one.
"Thanks. Yeah, I’m a bit jet-lagged, plus I had an early morning. Still, I’m buzzed. I can’t wait to start working with you guys again. So many of your men worked with us in the Initiative; it’s like a reunion. And, of course… Buffy."
"Yeah… Buffy…"
"So, have you seen her? I mean, like you said, Sunnydale is small."
Graham considered lying, just telling Riley he hadn’t seen her or that he’d just run into her at the grocery store or something. But he knew between Dawn and Buffy’s friends, he would find out about all the time they had spent together and that would make him suspicious. So, he would have to go with the truth.
Well, most of the truth, anyway.
"Actually, I did run into her pretty soon after I got here. We started talking and we’ve gotten pretty friendly. We hang out sometimes," he said. There. Not a lie at all. They were very friendly… much more friendly than Riley would like, but definitely not enemies.
"Really? That’s great! Now things will be great…. If she takes me back, that is," Riley said. "Is she, um, you know, has she been… is Buffy single?"
"I don’t believe she has a boyfriend," Graham answered vaguely, not quite willing to tell concede that Buffy wouldn’t consider being with him instead of her ex.
Riley grimaced, "What about dating?"
"She never mentioned any to me."
"Well… that’s encouraging. Of course, she may slam the door shut in my face, but I stand a lot better chance at winning her back if she doesn’t have a new man."
"When do you think you’ll go see her?"
"Actually," Riley answered, checking his watch, "maybe I will head over there now. It’s almost three, so Buffy should still be home. She may go out in a few hours… it’s Saturday, after all."
"That’s fast. You just got here."
"I know, but Graham… well, you haven’t met *the* girl yet, but when you’ll do, you will understand why I feel like I am going to explode if I don’t see her soon. I haven’t been able to go more than an hour without thinking about her since I left. I missed her more than I thought I could ever miss anyone."
Graham wanted to tell him how wrong he was. He just needed some time to get his head together and figure out what he wanted and what he should do. Should he try to fight for Buffy? Should he step aside and let Riley be with her? It didn’t matter because it was out of his hands. Riley was heading over there and Buffy would be the one to decide if she wanted to give them another shot.
"Yeah… maybe someday I’ll see what you mean."
Riley took a deep breath and stood, "I’m gonna do it, then."
"Okay," Graham nodded, deciding he just couldn’t bring himself to wish him luck. He also couldn’t bring himself to offer Riley the use of his car. He'd let his friend enjoy a nice walk to Buffy’s house.
"Great. Well, I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’ll give you a call if I think we’re going to be a while, okay?"
"Sure," he said, then realized that Riley didn’t know about Joyce. A part of him thought he should let him go see Buffy and find out the hard way, let him feel guilty for making Buffy be all sad when she had to say her mother was dead. But despite that, Graham couldn’t bear to do it. He was willing to bite the bullet and give Riley a head’s up, an advantage, because he couldn’t do that to *Buffy*. It would make things easier for her if she didn’t have to explain… and that was worth losing as far as Graham was concerned.
"Uh, Riley, one more thing," he spoke up. "Buffy’s mother is dead."
Riley visibly paled, "What? I… I thought she made it through okay? The brain tumor was gone."
"She had a complication afterwards, an aneurysm. It was pretty sudden She was fine one day and Buffy found her dead the next," he explained.
"Oh God… I thought it was bad before, but this… I’m such an asshole."
Graham resisted the urge to smirk and instead kept his face impassive. Much to his dismay, Riley wasn’t discouraged by this turn of events and decided it was still worth it to try and see if Buffy could forgive him.
As his friend left, Graham dug around the kitchen to find some heavy liquor. He’d just lost his only chance to be with the person he loved more than any other on Earth… it was time to get wasted.
***
When the doorbell rang at half past three, Buffy frowned and went to answer it, figuring it was Dawn.
"You’re early and why are you ringing the doorbell, anyway?" she asked as she opened the door and found Riley standing on the other side. Her jaw dropped in shock. "Riley… I… I wasn’t expecting you."
He gave her a small smile, "That’s what I figured."
Buffy stared at him for another moment before she came back to her senses, shaking her head, she said, "Did you want to come in?"
"Thanks," he said, stepping inside.
"Uh, did you want a drink?"
"No thank you," he said, looking at her lovingly, trying to resist the urge to pull her in his arms and hug her tightly.
"Let’s sit down, then," she said, walking into the living room and sitting down in the chair. Once Riley had followed and sat down on the couch, Buffy began, "You’re back… obviously. When did that happen?"
"I flew in this morning and surprised everyone," he told her, "Even Graham. He told me about you two."
Buffy felt the color drain from her face. Graham had told Riley they had been sleeping together? She wasn’t sure whether to be outraged or relieved. "About us?"
"Yeah, that you guys are friends now. I think it’s great; I always thought you two would really get along well."
She nodded, "We get along very very well."
Riley looked down sadly, "He also told me about your mom. God, Buffy… I’m so sorry. I know I can never make it up to you, but I have to tell you how angry I am with myself. Ever since I left, I regretted the way I had done it and the things I had been doing before that, but now I am really furious that I let you down like that. I left you all alone to deal with that."
Buffy shrugged, "I’m not your responsibility, Riley."
"I know that, but I love you and I should have been here for you, supporting you instead of betraying you and giving you that unfair ultimatum before running off."
"I’m not faultless…"
"No, but I was… insane. Yeah, you weren’t there for me as much as I wanted, but there aren’t many better excuses for being distracted, if any. If I had been you, and had been going through all that, only to find out how I had been… you know… and then been given an ultimatum, I doubt I would have gone to catch me at the helicopter, either."
"But I did…" she replied, making Riley freeze, "I came for you, but I was too late. Just barely too late."
"Oh God, Buffy…"
"We both made mistakes, Riley. I’m not going to put all the blame on you."
Riley nodded, "That’s true, but it doesn’t make me any more right and this is probably a really wrong time to say it, but I just have to…. Buffy, I love you. I loved you then and I may love you even more now. I know that I have seriously screwed up, but I am still hoping you may decide to give me another chance. Give *us* another chance."
Buffy was taken aback, still rather numb about the whole situation. "Riley, I, uh, I don’t know. I’m sorry, I’m just a little overwhelmed and I don’t think I am in a position to make a decision like that right this moment."
"I know," he assured her, "I don’t expect you to decide this second. I just had to tell you that is what I want in my heart. To be with you again. But I know this is a big, difficult decision and I am willing to give you time, space… whatever you need."
She smiled, "Thank you."
"Hey Buffy, I’m home," Dawn announced, bursting through the front door with Lisa in tow, only to halt in the entrance to the living room as she saw her sister’s guest. "Riley."
"Hi Dawn," he smiled.
"Look who came back," Buffy announced.
"I see…" Dawn answered slowly, "Uh, I have to hurry, Mrs. Pearson’s waiting in her car outside."
"You guys! She can come in, you know. Lisa, your parents are going to think I have some horrible disaster of a house or something."
Lisa smiled, "She’s listening to Dr. Something-Or-Other’s motivational weight loss CD’s, she wanted to stay in there."
"Come on," Dawn said, tugging Lisa by her arm up the stairs.
Buffy found Riley staring at her with an amused look on his face. Frowning, she asked, "What?"
He shrugged, "You. You’re so motherly and adult-like. I mean, you had your maternal moments with Dawn before, but the whole thing with other parents… I’m seeing a new side to you."
"Well, I’ve changed."
"I know," Riley nodded, "And I can’t wait to meet the new Buffy."
***
"Oh my God, can you believe this?!" Lisa exclaimed, flopping down on her back on Dawn’s bed as the other girl pulled clothes from her drawers.
"No," Dawn groaned, "Why, oh why did he have to come back?"
"What’s the deal? I thought you said Riley was pretty okay, as far as boyfriends went. You used to tell me how much better than Angel he was."
"Trust me, anyone was better than Angel. Buffy was always miserable because of him. I guess Riley’s not *so* bad… but Graham is better, so I can’t be happy about Riley when I know Buffy could be with Graham."
"Well, maybe this will be a wake-up call. Buffy and Graham will have to announce their romance and then Riley will be out of the picture. Or maybe Buffy won’t know who to choose and the guys will fight over her!" Lisa gasped, "Wouldn’t that be *so* romantic?!"
***
Graham checked out the window for what had to be the tenth time in the past half-hour, looking for any signs of Buffy’s car. He’d just had the longest afternoon and night of his life. No matter how hard he tried not to, all he could think about was Buffy and the fact that she was with Riley.
It had only gotten worse since Riley had called a couple hours after he had left and told him that he was going out with Buffy for dinner and that she would drop him off afterwards. Graham had remained calm on the outside… but he had wanted to rage at his friend for just waltzing back into Buffy’s life after what he had done *eight* *months* earlier and stealing her back.
But then he had reminded himself that he had no right. Buffy had never been his girlfriend and what he had been doing in the first place was wrong. As much as he wanted to tell Riley everything that they had been doing and declare his true feelings to Buffy, he had to remain silent, let them do what they wanted to do. And if he had to watch his best friend find the happiness he yearned for with the woman they both loved…. so be it.
***
"Thanks for the ride," Riley said, as Buffy pulled to a stop in front of the entrance to Graham’s apartment building.
"Well, you taught me to drive, I figure I owe you," she grinned.
He returned the smile and said, "I had a great time tonight. I’ve missed you so much."
"I missed you too," she replied honestly, "More than I realized. Oh, that’s not to say I didn’t think I missed you-"
"I know what you mean," he chuckled, "You can have feelings for someone and think about them when they are away and not quite be able to remember exactly how great they are and how much you love to be around them. But then you’re with them again and it all comes back to you."
"Yeah…" she said softly.
"That’s how I feel about you. I don’t even know if it’s possible to be able to imagine you as amazing as you really are. You make me feel alive, Buffy."
Buffy felt an ache in her chest; Riley was the kind of guy girls dreamed of meeting and often never did. He was smart and kind and sweet and utterly in love with her. And she had been sleeping with his best friend and had spent the afternoon trying to decide which guy she wanted to be with.
"I don’t want you to say anything right now," he quickly added. "Like you said before, you’re overwhelmed and things are different, so I am telling you not to say a word because otherwise you may say something you don’t mean because you think you are obligated. And even if you didn’t, I’d worry that you had. So just don’t say anything and it’s fine."
"Okay," Buffy nodded, "Sounds fair to me."
"Good, then goodnight. Can I call you tomorrow?" Riley asked, ever the gentleman.
She grinned, "If you know what’s good for you, you will. Goodnight, Riley."
He smiled at her one more time before climbing out of the car. Buffy breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t try going for a kiss. She was just way too confused at the moment. If she had to start with the kissing, it would lead to the sex. And sex was something that always led to trouble for her.
***
When Riley came into the apartment, Graham was sitting on the couch, pretending that he had been engrossed in ESPN for quite a while instead of peering out the window through the blinds, trying to see what had been happening inside Buffy’s car. Unfortunately, it was too dark, even with the streetlight right beside the vehicle. Riley didn’t appear to have been involved in a hot and heavy make-out session, but that didn’t mean nothing had happened.
"So how’d it go?" he asked casually, after they’d greeted each other.
"Great," Riley grinned, sitting down on the couch beside him.
Graham’s heart sank, "You guys are a couple again?"
"Well, no. Buffy’s life has changed, *she* has changed, and we still have so many issues to work through. But she wants to give us a chance. I’m going to give her time and we’ll do stuff together, but be platonic. We’ll talk and then she can decide if she wants to be with me again."
As much as he wanted to be comforted by the fact that they were going to be platonic, at least for a while, Graham recalled how he and Buffy had behaved when they were platonic. The images kept coming to his mind. Buffy in bed with Riley, Buffy on the couch with Riley… Buffy in the backseat of a car with Riley.
Payback was a bitch!
***
***
***
"Where’s Riley?" Dawn asked, upon entering the kitchen after Lisa’s mom had dropped her off.
Buffy frowned at her as she put dishes away, "Hello to you too."
"Sorry, hi. I just expected him to be around annoying me."
"He’s not here. Why did you think he would be?"
"Uh, because he’s back?"
"Yes, but he has a job. Besides, it’s not like he’s living here," Buffy replied.
"Well, I figured he would be," Dawn told her, setting her backpack down on one of the chairs and getting a can of soda out of the refrigerator.
Surprised, Buffy asked, "Why would you think that?"
Her younger sister shrugged, "Mom’s gone, you’re in charge. If you wanted, you could have your boytoy move in."
"He’s not going to move in, Dawn. He’s not my boytoy!"
"Fine, boyfriend."
Buffy sighed, "We broke up. We had big problems, and Riley left town."
"So you’re just friends now?"
"Not exactly. I mean, right now we have agreed not to jump back into our relationship. For a while, we will be just friends and spend time together. See if we want to be a couple again."
"I see," said Dawn coolly. She had serious doubts that they would stay friends for long.
"Dawn, I thought you liked Riley?"
"He doesn’t like that you were more focused on Mom and me so he goes and cheats on you… or something. You never tell me everything, but I know he was doing something with chicks behind your back and Spike showed you. And then he runs out on you and makes you sad after I told him how much better he was for you than Angel because he didn’t make you cry all the time!"
"Oh, Dawn, it’s not simple," Buffy said sadly, "There are a lot of things that you don’t know."
"That’s true. I know I’ve never had a boyfriend or been in love, but I do know some stuff. And I know that you’re special and Riley was so lucky to have ever gotten to be with you and he blew it – he isn’t good enough for you."
Buffy smiled, despite the fact that she didn’t agree with her sister, pulling her into a hug, "I love you."
Dawn hugged her back. "I love you too. Does this mean you’ll dump Riley?"
"Nope."
"That’s what I figured."
***
"This sucks. Buffy finally leaves me alone to do something besides work, thus showing trust in me. And it’s just so she can go out with *him*," Dawn complained to Lisa on the phone.
"Well, are we sure Riley is so bad? If Graham had never entered the picture, would you mind Buffy dating Riley again?"
Dawn bit her lip and replied honestly, "I’m not sure. I honestly am mad at him for what he did to her, but if I couldn’t wish she were with Graham instead, I might be more accepting about her being with Riley. But Graham is way better!"
"Well, why is Buffy with Riley, then? I mean, if she likes Graham and Graham likes her, why is she dating Riley?"
"Guilt."
"She is going to date a guy out of guilt?" Lisa asked incredulously.
"Absolutely, Buffy is big with guilt."
"Well then maybe you should change your mind about not interfering. If you really want to help Buffy because she won’t help yourself, you might have to start manipulating."
Dawn had been spending a lot of time thinking about the situation since her talk with Buffy earlier that week, and she had already admitted to herself that if she didn’t want her sister to make a huge mistake, she would probably have to start getting sneaky. Especially since Riley had been calling daily. It was getting on her nerves big time.
"So what are your ideas?" she asked reluctantly.
Lisa grinned; the fun was about to begin!
"Okay, well there are a few things we need to keep in mind. We need to get to Buffy from several different angles, make her doubt what she has with Riley, make her see what she could have with Graham. And maybe cause a little friction between Buffy and Riley. Oh, not the good kind."
"Well right now, they’re acting like the happiest couple in the world – thankfully without any kissing or groping. And Graham hasn’t even called since Riley got back. He and Buffy used to hang out and talk on the phone all the time before," Dawn frowned.
"Hmmm," Lisa bit her lip, as the wheels started turning in her head. That wasn’t good, not at all.
***
"Hey Dawn, we’re back!" Buffy called as she and Riley came in the front door.
"We’re in the kitchen," was Dawn’s muffled reply.
Buffy frowned as she walked to the kitchen, wondering who was ‘we’. She had made it clear that Dawn wasn’t to have friends over when she wasn’t there, but it could just be one of the gang had come over.
As she and Riley came into the room, they found Dawn sitting at the kitchen table with Spike, both holding cups of hot cocoa. As Riley’s eyes widened in shock, Buffy smiled.
"Hey, we brought ice cream. Do you two want some?"
"Ooh, what kind?" Dawn grinned.
"Don’t ask me how, but we managed to find Peppermint Stick in August," Buffy replied, opening up a cabinet and retrieving some bowls. "Did you want some, Spike?"
"Oh, sure. I don’t have anywhere else to be," he smirked at Riley.
As Buffy told Dawn about the movie, the two males continued to stare at one another, Riley’s face a mixture of resentment, anger and confusion, while Spike’s was one of amusement… and just a touch of jealousy. After all, he’d been the one to stick by Buffy through all that had happened, helping fight evil and protect Dawn while Riley had run off like Spike’s pansy-ass sire, yet the boy was the one going to the movies with the Slayer, probably spending his nights between her thighs.
Well, maybe not. Spike thought about how Buffy had been sleeping with Riley’s friend, which he obviously wasn’t aware of, and grinned widely.
Dawn suggested they eat in the living room so that they could watch ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ and Spike went with her while Buffy put the ice cream away. Riley took the opportunity to talk privately with Buffy.
"What is going on?"
"We’re going to eat ice cream and watch TV?"
Riley sighed, "I mean, why is Spike here, hanging out and being friends with you."
"Oh, that. Well, since you left, Spike’s changed. He helped out with Glory and protected Dawn and even my mother when she was still alive. He proved to be worthy of trust and we got to be friends."
"I can’t believe this," Riley shook his head.
"I know, I know… but he’s changed Riley, really. You’ll see," Buffy insisted.
"Buffy, he’s fooling you! God, he’s… You probably won’t believe me, but Spike is in love with you."
Buffy bit her bottom lip before giving him a small smile, "Actually, I do know that. He told me back in February, but I made it clear that I did not feel the same way."
"And he just took ‘no’ for an answer?" Riley asked incredulously. That didn’t sound like the Spike he knew.
"Well, no. He got together with Drusilla, knocked me out and chained me up," Buffy replied, before noticing the look on Riley’s face and decided it would be better if she left out the part where Spike threatened to let Dru kill her if she didn’t admit that she had feelings for him. "He did it so that he could show me how much he loved me. I know it was twisted and sick but, well, it’s *Spike*! Anyway, he was going to kill Drusilla for me."
"I’m not going to even pretend to understand that or the fact that you allow him into your home, alone with your sister, after all that he’s done."
"He’s changed, Riley. I don’t expect you to just see it right away, because I had months to witness him doing good deeds, but I do expect you to trust my judgment."
Riley took a deep breath. He didn’t trust Spike for a millisecond, but Buffy did and she really did have final say. He could forbid her from seeing Spike, but Buffy wasn’t one to accept being forbidden from doing anything. It would definitely put him on her bad side. And considering the fact that they had only just had their second date since his return, he should keep his mouth shut… for the time being.
Nodding slowly, Riley said, "If that’s what you want. But don’t expect *me* to be friends with him."
Buffy smiled and rolled her eyes, taking her bowl of ice cream and heading out to the living room. Mentally preparing himself for an evening with Spike, Riley grabbed his bowl as well and followed.
***
"Okay, I’m all ready, I’m going to bed," Dawn announced, coming into the living room and walking over to the couch to kiss Spike’s cheek. "Thanks for coming over."
"Anytime, Luv," Spike replied.
"We’ll have to do it again sometime, you and me and Buffy and Riley."
"You do know that I am completely aware of the fact that you invited me over to torment Soldier Boy, right?"
Dawn grimaced, "You figured it out?"
Spike laughed, "Of course!"
"Spike, I’m sorry! I really do love hanging out with you, you know that, it’s just…"
"Riley is bloody wrong for your sister and he can’t stand me being around, but Buffy’s not about to let him tell her who she can and can’t be friends with so you’re hoping to cause trouble?"
"Yeah," she admitted.
"Great plan!" he grinned, "Don’t worry, I’m not offended. Quite flattered, as a matter of fact. And glad to be of service. I’ll be hurt if you don’t plan on repeating this evening many times."
Dawn bent down and hugged him tightly, "Thank you! You’re the best!"
"Well, it’s for a good cause," he shrugged. "Now you’d better get to bed before your sister gets home."
"Are you going to stick around until she does?"
Spike nodded, "I’d actually like to have a talk with her. Do a little manipulating of my own."
"Cool!" Dawn replied, pleased to have another ally in her plight. "See you later, Spike!"
"G’night Niblet," he called after her as the girl happily climbed up the stairs.
By the time Buffy returned home a few moments later, Spike was all ready to play his part in the plot.
"Did everything go okay dropping Riley off? Did you have to walk him to his door and check all the closets and under the beds for monsters?" he asked sarcastically.
Buffy sighed and flopped down in a chair, "Not this again!"
"Sorry, Pet, it’s just that I can’t stand watching you glued to his side when we both very well know that you prefer his friend."
"I don’t prefer Graham!" Buffy retorted, earning a knowing look from Spike before admitting, "Okay, I don’t know who I prefer, but it really doesn’t matter."
"Why not? You never promised to sit around and wait for Riley to return. He left, you found someone else, so why are you acting like it was nothing and not allowing yourself happiness?"
"Because I feel bad. Riley doesn’t deserve that."
"I think you know how I feel about Riley. Bloody prick doesn’t deserve *you*. And even if he did, you shouldn’t end a relationship with the guy you want to be with because you don’t want to hurt someone else! What about you getting hurt? Or what about this Graham bloke? You mean to tell me that it doesn’t hurt him to see you dating his best friend again?"
"Graham doesn’t care, remember?"
"No, I believe I had my doubts about that, you just insisted it was true."
Buffy sighed and shook her head, "You don’t understand. Spike. Even if I was to tell Riley what happened and not be with him, I could never be with Graham. The guilt would just sour the whole relationship."
"Buffy, I know you won’t believe me, but I am telling you now – in the long run, you’re not going to make Riley happy. You won’t be happy yourself, always wishing you could be with his friend, wondering what life would be like if you had ended up with Graham. Do you really think Riley will have this perfect life you seem to think he deserves if you’re miserable? It won’t work, Luv."
"I think Riley could make me happy. It’s just hard right now. We’re working through stuff. But in the end, I think we’ll be an even better couple."
Spike sighed and shook his head before standing up, "Well, I have things to do. Gotta make a trip to Willy’s."
"Okay," Buffy replied, standing as well.
"Just promise me that you’ll think about what I said?" he asked, looking her in the eye.
Buffy nodded reluctantly, "I’ll think about it."
"Good," Spike replied, walking to the front door and opening it, "Oh, will you be spending tomorrow evening with Riley again?"
She shook her head, "He has to work."
"Darn."
As Spike left her standing alone at the door, Buffy frowned. The last thing she needed was Spike deciding to be Scheming Guy again.
***
"So Riley, does that girlfriend of yours have a sister?"
Riley frowned at his friend, "Yeah… why?"
"I was just thinking that Graham here needs to get himself a girl," Tom grinned.
"Well, she’s fifteen, so I think that’s out of the question," Riley laughed.
Graham rolled his eyes, "I don’t need a girl."
"Yes, you do. All you ever do is work and sit at home," Matt piped in.
A group of guys had gathered in Graham’s apartment for a night of poker. Unfortunately for Graham, it was quickly turning into an analysis of his love life… or his lack of one.
"Actually, Graham was hanging out with Buffy, pretty often from what I can tell. But you guys haven’t really spent time together since I got back, have you?" Riley asked Graham.
"No, we haven’t really had a chance," Graham answered. In fact, they hadn’t even seen each other since Riley’s return a week and a half earlier. It was inevitable that they would have to come face to face sooner or later… and it would no doubt be awkward as Hell.
"What a friend. Keeping Riley’s girl warm for him," Matt joked.
Riley playfully smacked his arm, "A girl and a guy can be friends, you know."
"With a girl like that, you’d better be careful. Guys gotta be all over her," Tom said, turning to Matt, "I ran into them at a restaurant the other night… she’s definitely easy on the eyes."
"Do you mind not talking about my girlfriend like that?" Riley grinned, and then sighed, "Actually, this is a problem. She’s got this new boss that’s sort of been hitting on her."
"Maybe you should go visit her at work?" Matt suggested.
"Buffy would never go for that. She’s very independent… she wouldn’t agree to any male posturing, would she, Graham?"
Graham was about to agree, because Riley was absolutely right. But then he got a wicked idea. It was wrong, Riley was his friend, but if he had to sit by and watch his best friend be happy with the girl *he* was in love with, wasn’t he entitled to a little fun?
"Actually, I think it’s a great idea, Ri."
***
Buffy walked into the small room in the back of the diner and sat down in one of the chairs. She looked up as Larry, Mr. Markerson’s nephew that had taken over as manager of the diner two weeks earlier, closed the door and sat down in his chair on the other side of the desk. She eyed him suspiciously, wondering what he was up to. He’d always given her the creeps, and since she had repeatedly spurned his advances, she was curious to see what this was all about.
"Buffy, I called you back here because we have a situation with scheduling. I know that my uncle had given you the five to one shift, Monday through Friday, as your regular schedule."
"Yeah…" she said slowly.
"Well, with my management, I am changing some things. I want this place to run more efficiently. My uncle is a good man, but he doesn’t have a head for business like I do. One of the changes I am implementing is that nobody has a regular shift anymore, and we will all have to take turns working different shifts. That means that everyone will have to work weekends, mornings, days, nights and graveyard. Including you."
"But I have to take care of my sister!" Buffy protested.
Larry shrugged, "I’m sorry, Buffy. Not to sound insensitive, but my concern is this diner, not your personal life."
"I don’t understand how this is supposed to make things more efficient!"
"I have too many people working certain shifts. Rather than cutting hours, I am redistributing. Would you rather less shifts or shorter ones?"
Buffy sighed and shook her head, knowing that she needed all the money she could get.
***
At long last, the clock on the wall read one o’clock. Buffy finished wiping down the table with a rag and headed to the kitchen. She had spent the past few hours mulling over her situation. She hated the thought of being gone in the evening and leaving Dawn alone, but quitting was out of the question. Until she got a new job, she would have to make it work.
Resolving to search the want ads as soon as she got home, Buffy took off her apron and grabbed her purse before punching out on the time clock and walking back out into the dining room.
Larry smiled at her, "I’ll see you tomorrow, Buffy. The schedule for next week should be done, so make sure you pick a copy of it up."
"Right," Buffy replied, annoyed, and then surprised when she saw Riley enter the diner.
Smiling at his girlfriend, Riley greeted, "Hi baby."
"Hi. Is everything okay?"
"Sure. Just thought I would come see my girl," Riley replied.
Buffy’s eyebrow was quirked, until she caught the look on Larry’s face. Smiling warmly at Riley, she replied, "Good, I missed you."
Riley’s arm slid around her waist as he kissed the top of her head and the two of them headed out the door.
Once out of Larry’s earshot, Buffy said, "I know you just came because I told you my boss was hitting on me."
"You mad?"
"Nah. I would be, but the bastard really pissed me off today."
Riley frowned and looked down at her. "What happened?"
"He’s decided to make us all work different shifts. That means I’ll have to work on the weekends and at night and everything. I’m going to have to leave Dawn alone at all hours."
"God, what a jerk."
"Yeah, no kidding," Buffy sighed.
"I’d like to go have a ‘talk’ with him," Riley added, shooting a look in the direction of the diner’s door only a few yards away.
"You can’t. I am unable to recall why just now, but I know that you can’t," she replied with a half smile, "I just have to start looking for a new job."
"Yes, good idea. Maybe you can get an office job. Dawn will be back in school in less than two weeks, and then if you are working until five, she’ll only be alone for two hours or so."
"That’s true. Have I mentioned how much I hate looking for a job? Especially interviews. They’re nerve-wracking."
"I know, but just think about once you get a new job and you won’t have to deal with Larry anymore," Riley pointed out as he put his arm around her again and walked her the rest of the way to her car.
She smiled, "That’s true. Okay, now I feel better!"
"Good," he replied, opening her door for her. "So, I’m picking you up at five?"
Buffy nodded, "Yeah, the play starts at six, so that should be early enough."
Dawn’s play was that night and Buffy had invited Riley to be her date. Dawn had begrudgingly kept her mouth shut… and with Lisa’s help, come up with a little surprise for Buffy.
"All right, I’ll see you in a few hours," Riley told her.
"Bye," she said, climbing into the driver’s seat.
As the girl he adored more than anything started her car and drove off with a wave, Riley sighed happily. He hadn’t yet felt it was time to kiss her again yet, but he still knew that they would work through everything and be a full-blown couple once again. And he felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
***
***
***
"Dawn!" Lisa hissed.
Dawn rushed to her friend’s side, "What is it?"
"He came!"
"What?"
"Graham! He just walked in," Lisa explained.
Dawn peered out the curtains that Lisa had slightly parted and saw that Graham was indeed standing just inside the doors at the back of the auditorium.
"Oh boy," she bit her lip.
"What?" Lisa asked, "This is just how we’d planned."
"I know," Dawn replied, "But I hadn’t really taken into account the whole Buffy wanting to kill me factor."
"Oh, don’t worry about it! Think he will find them?"
***
"Maybe I should just go buy a Wonderbra and get a job at Hooters. Granted, it’s not a big respect-garnering job, but I could make good money off of horny guys," Buffy grinned.
"Oh, I don’t think so," Riley replied quickly.
Buffy chuckled, "You don’t like that idea?"
"No, having you earn your living being ogled by men is not my dream come true," he answered.
"But what if I seriously wanted to do it?"
"Seriously? Well, I won’t lie… I wouldn’t be thrilled. It would probably bother me, but I’ll back you up with whatever you want to do."
"Really? That’s so sweet."
"Really," he nodded. "Well, maybe not if you decided to go work in one of those legal brothels in Nevada. I can handle guys looking at you, but not touching. That would exceed my limits as the understanding and supportive boyfriend."
She smiled, "Works for me. And if it helps, I have no plans to go anywhere near any brothels. Or even strip clubs."
"Good, that’s a relief," Riley joked.
"Uh… hi…"
The two of them looked up and saw Graham standing next to the end of the row of chairs they were seated in.
"Graham," Buffy replied, surprised.
"Hi," he said, then added, "Judging by the look on your face, I am guessing Dawn didn’t tell you she called me last night and asked me to come see her play, did she?"
Buffy shook her head, "No, she didn’t. Oh, but it’s cool. I’m glad you could make it."
"Yeah, me too," Riley agreed, gesturing to the empty seat at the end of the row, which happened to be on the other side of Buffy, "Why don’t you sit there?"
"Okay. You’re sure you don’t mind?"
"No, not at all," Buffy assured him.
Graham sat beside Buffy awkwardly, inwardly wishing that he’d just lied and told Dawn he had to work or something. He never should have let guilt get him into this situation. Now he would have to watch Buffy with Riley all night.
Buffy gave him a small smile. "It’s good to see you again. It’s been a while."
Graham couldn’t help but return the smile as he remembered the other reason Dawn had been able to convince him to come. Even if he had to see her with Riley, he’d really missed Buffy.
"Yeah, you know, I kind of feel bad, like I am monopolizing Buffy’s time. You guys hung out before I got back and now you never see each other," Riley said.
Buffy and Graham both averted their eyes, feeling a rush of embarrassment at the truth behind their lack of contact lately.
"I just didn’t want to intrude. You two have a lot of catching up to do," Graham answered quietly.
"You wouldn’t be intruding, would he, Buffy?"
"No, of course not."
"Maybe we can all do something together soon," Riley suggested.
"Okay," Graham nodded, unsure of how he felt about that. Riley was his best friend and Buffy… well, he wasn’t sure what she was to him, but he definitely enjoyed spending time with her. He just didn’t want to have to endure watching them kissing or groping.
Before the awkward conversation could continue, the lights dimmed, signaling the beginning of the play. Grateful for the escape, Buffy sat back and focused her attention on the stage, trying to forget the fact that she was seated between her boyfriend and secret former lover.
***
"What?" Dawn asked, noticing the stares she was receiving from the other three people at her table as she poured ketchup all over her nachos.
"You’re really going to eat that?" Riley asked.
"Sure, it’s really good. Want to try?"
"No," he answered quickly, "but thank you."
Buffy just smiled and shrugged at he and Graham, "Dawn likes to eat on the wild side."
"And I am starving. I was so nervous about the play, I could hardly eat a thing all day."
"Well, you did great," Buffy told her. "I’m very proud of you."
"I wasn’t surprised; I knew you were great when I helped you practice for the audition," Graham said.
"You helped her run lines?" Riley asked, surprised. He hadn’t realized Graham had been quite so involved with Buffy’s life.
"Graham and I are very good friends," Dawn grinned, hoping it would bother Riley to know that his best friend was closer to his girlfriend’s sister than he was. Not that she got the impression Riley was dying to be her best bud, but if he was close to Dawn he would score more points with Buffy. "Speaking of, you know, next week is my birthday and Buffy says I have can have people over. Graham, you will come, won’t you?"
"Uh," he looked at Buffy to see if she seemed to not want him around, but didn’t find anything on her to make him feel unwanted. Nodding, he replied, "I’d love to."
"Great!"
"Hey Dawn, do I get to come to your party too?" Riley asked, jokingly. He figured since he was Buffy’s boyfriend that it went without saying.
Dawn nodded, "I guess I have to let you come, since you’re Buffy’s love puppy."
"Dawn!" Buffy reprimanded, "That was so rude!"
"I was kidding!" Dawn defended, an innocent look on her face, "Riley knew that, right?"
"Yeah," he nodded, not sure if he really bought it.
"I’m sorry if you thought I was serious, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings," the brunette replied, giving him a sugary sweet smile.
"I’m fine," he nodded, "No hurt feelings here."
Dawn considered making a pointed comment about how sensitive he was before he left Buffy, taking everything personally and all that, but Buffy wouldn’t buy the ‘I didn’t mean it’ act again. Still, she’d managed to have quite a bit of success that night and Graham would be coming over for her birthday, so she would have more chances to meddle soon.
***
After their meals were finished, they all sat around the table in the restaurant making conversation as they digested, but Dawn and Buffy were soon yawning, ready to go home and go to bed. Riley excused himself to go use the restroom, followed by Dawn, leaving Buffy and Graham alone at the table in awkward silence.
Buffy looked up at him and smiled, "I have been meaning to thank you."
"Thank me?" he asked.
She nodded, "Riley told me how you explained about my mother before he came to see me when he got back. I really appreciated it. It was nice to not have to tell him myself."
"Oh," Graham replied, suddenly feeling like maybe warning Riley hadn’t been a loss for himself after all. "It wasn’t even a decision for me, really. I just knew it was the thing to do."
"Well, I am really glad you did," she said.
Not really wanting to go there, but knowing he had to, Graham broached another subject. "Uh, about… the past few months. You know, the stuff we did."
"Yeah?" Buffy asked, wondering what he would say next. That they ought to tell Riley and be completely honest. That they should never tell Riley and protect him. That he realized he loves her and wants to be with her. She wasn’t sure *what* she wanted him to say, though.
"I figure it’s probably best if we keep it to ourselves. It would only hurt Riley to know what happened and it’s not like he *needs* to know, right? We aren’t going to do it again."
Buffy shook her head, "No, we won’t. I know we said we wouldn’t before and we still did, but now Riley is back and we’re together."
"Right. It wasn’t wrong before, but it would be wrong now. The best thing to do is just leave the past in the past. Riley will never find out. You and I are the only ones who know and if we don’t tell him, who can?"
***
"Riley has no clue that they had something going on?" Lisa asked as she and Dawn flipped through magazines in Dawn’s room.
"Not as far as I can tell. I guess Graham and Buffy both want to keep it to themselves. They haven’t said a word to me. Of course, they don’t know that I know."
"Do you think they’re still doing it?"
"Nah," Dawn shook her head, "Buffy won’t cheat on Riley."
"I still think it would be so cool if the guys got in a fight over Buffy. So romantic!" Lisa smiled.
Dawn laughed, "Man, Buffy would be furious."
"Not me, I would love it," her friend said.
"I can’t believe I have to tag along with them on their date tonight," Dawn sighed. "Buffy used to *hate* it when my mom tried to make her take me with them and now she is inviting me herself?"
Lisa shrugged, "Maybe Riley had the idea. He probably figured it would make him look better to Buffy."
"Maybe…" she sighed again, "I just have to keep reminding myself that this is for the greater good. As much as I detest the idea of having to spend an evening watching Buffy with Riley when I know she is better off with Graham, she needs me to make getting back together with Riley impossible."
The other girl nodded, "Even if she doesn’t know it."
***
Dawn’s mind worked furiously as Riley and Buffy made light conversation beside her in the semi-full movie theater. She was all about plotting to ruin the date but hadn’t come up with any ideas so far. She did have to pat herself on the back for choosing a girlie movie to subject Riley to. Too bad Spike wasn’t around; the two of them could share a big laugh about the military man actually paying to see ‘The Princess Diaries’. Of course, Buffy ate that right up, adoring Riley even more for not even complaining when Dawn announced that was the movie she wanted them to watch. But still, Riley had to endure a fate worse than a chick flick, which definitely made this little date less than perfect.
When a couple sat in front of them, Dawn got an idea. The man sitting in front of her partially obstructed her view of the screen, so she decided it was the perfect opportunity to get Buffy to switch seats with her… which would put Dawn in between Buffy and Riley.
"Buffy, can we trade seats?" Dawn quietly asked her sister, "I can’t see over this guy’s head."
"I’ll switch with you, Dawn," Riley offered.
"Oh, that’s okay," she quickly replied, "it’s easier if Buffy and I do it."
"Dawn, you’re the same height as me. If you can’t see, I won’t be able to either," Buffy pointed out.
"Okay," Dawn sighed, begrudgingly trading seats with Riley, annoyed that her attempt at screwing things up had only gotten him more points with Buffy.
***
As Dawn pouted in the backseat of Riley’s car – which wasn’t nearly as cool as Graham’s, in her opinion – she reflected on her lack of success that evening. All she had managed to do was make Riley see a movie that he would never in a million years choose to watch, one that he really didn’t seem to mind watching. He had even said nice things about it. So basically, she had failed. Lisa would be so disappointed.
In the front seat, she observed Riley reach over and clasp Buffy’s hand, sharing a tender smile with the elder Summers girl. She wrinkled her nose as she imagined their cheesy goodbye… and then it hit her that she had one more chance to muck things up. An idea quickly came to her and she clutched her stomach, moaning loudly.
Buffy turned around in her seat to look at her, concern etched on her face. "What’s wrong?"
"My stomach hurts," Dawn lied.
"It’s probably from all the candy and popcorn. I told you that stuff was bad for you."
"We’re almost there Dawn, just sit tight," Riley told her.
Riley was soon pulling into the driveway and opening her door for her. It was then that it hit her that Riley really was a pretty good guy. He loved her sister and *usually* treated her well. She felt a pang of guilt for plotting against him; after all, Buffy could do a lot worse. But then she reminded herself that as nice as Riley was, Graham was better for her sister and Buffy deserved the best. She loved her sister more than anything and if she had to screw over a nice guy, so be it.
Climbing out from the backseat, Dawn made sure to clutch her stomach and look like the might vomit at any second. She hurried to the front door with Buffy and Riley at her heels. After Buffy unlocked the door, Dawn rushed in, only to find her sister wasn’t following.
"Give me a second, okay Sweetie?"
Reluctantly, Dawn nodded and Buffy closed the door. She’d been so close! Trying to think of something else she could do, the teen peered out one of the windows beside the door, spying on Riley and Buffy.
***
"I’m sorry, I know tonight has been less than stellar," Buffy smiled apologetically.
"What are you talking about? I got to spend the evening with you. Even a trip to the dentist will qualify as a great way to spend my time if you’re with me."
"Are you saying tonight was the equivalent of a trip to the dentist?"
"Not even," he grinned. "The movie was… not something I would ever choose myself, but I actually liked it. As much as a manly man like myself can enjoy a film about a princess, anyway."
Buffy chuckled, "Don’t think I don’t appreciate what a good sport you were. It means a lot to me that you let Dawn come with us and didn’t complain once, about anything."
"Why would I? I like Dawn and I missed her a lot. Not nearly as much as her big sister, of course."
Buffy grinned and took a step closer, somewhat unconsciously giving Riley her permission to make his move. He opted to accept her invitation and closed the distance between them, moving his head down so that their lips would meet…
Until the door opened and Dawn, in an act of desperation, appeared.
The two quickly stepped back, turning their attention to the teen. "Buffy, are you coming? I feel really bad."
"Yeah, go upstairs and I’ll bring you something to drink, okay? I think we have ginger ale," Buffy replied, then looked at Riley, "Want to come in?"
"Actually, I have to get to bed soon. I have an early day at work."
"Me too," she sighed, "I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure," Riley nodded, "Feel better, Dawn. Bye you two."
"Bye," Buffy said before closing the door.
Dramatically, Dawn trudged up the stairs, still clutching her stomach as though she was in great agony. Once she was alone in her room, she allowed herself a small victory dance before slipping on her pajamas and climbing into bed so Buffy wouldn’t suspect anything. The night was far from a total disappointment!
***
"I can’t believe you are leaving Lisa and I alone tonight," Dawn frowned at her sister’s reflection in the bathroom mirror as Buffy curled her hair.
"Why?" the blonde asked, "Lisa’s mother said it was fine."
"Yeah, but we could do something bad without you here to supervise and get into trouble."
Buffy smiled at her, "No you won’t. I trust you and I know you wouldn’t want to disappoint me."
Dawn pouted; she had really gotten here there.
Running a brush through her curls, Buffy looked at her sister, "Do you not want me to go out with Riley tonight?"
The younger girl looked up and met her sister’s eyes. She knew that she could very easily tell Buffy she wanted her to stay home and maybe she would. But she also knew she couldn’t. Buffy didn’t deserve to feel guilty about leaving her and that’s exactly what she would be doing.
"Nah, I just like to give you a hard time. You know, make you worry all night about what we’re up to," Dawn said with a small smile.
Buffy turned around and grinned at her, "Won’t happen. Like I said, I trust you. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go get dressed."
As her sister left her alone in the bathroom, Dawn sighed. Riley had gotten sneaky this time. He had found out that Lisa was spending the night and used it to his advantage, asking Buffy to go out to some super fancy restaurant with him so he knew it would be just the two of them. It would have served him right if Buffy had brought both girls along!
***
"They’re going to kiss," Dawn complained to Lisa as the two of them sat in front of the TV, half-watching MTV while Buffy finished getting ready for her date upstairs.
"You’re sure?"
She nodded, "I told you, they almost did the other night and the only reason they didn’t was that I interrupted. Riley’s taking her to some fancy restaurant tonight, very romantic, I know they’re going to kiss."
"Well, it’s not a good thing, but it’s definitely not sealing the deal. On a scale of bad, with ten being marriage, kissing is like a one and a half."
"Yeah?"
"Oh, absolutely," Lisa assured her.
The doorbell rang and both girls jumped up and rushed to the door.
"Remember, we have to be nice to him. Nobody can know that you have any objections to him dating Buffy," Lisa reminded her friend.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Dawn agreed grudgingly before opening the door and plastering a half-hearted fake smile on her face, "Hi Riley."
"Hi Dawn, Lisa," he replied with a warm smile on his face. He was all decked out in a nice suit and carrying a bouquet of red roses. "How are you two doing?"
"We’re great," Lisa grinned, "Come on in!"
Riley stepped into the foyer, "I guess Buffy’s still getting ready, huh?"
"Yeah, she takes forever," Dawn groused, then screamed at the top of her lungs, "BUFFY!"
Riley looked taken aback as Lisa shot her friend a dirty look. While she wasn’t being openly hostile towards Riley, he would have to be an idiot not to notice that she wasn’t being very friendly. And a glance at Riley’s face proved that he definitely wasn’t an idiot.
"You brought Buffy roses? That’s so romantic!" Lisa smiled.
"Thanks," he responded, "Buffy’s very special to me, and I want to show her that."
"Aww," Lisa sighed, feeling like she could melt in a puddle. It was like a scene out of one of her romance novels.
Dawn had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. Leave it to Lisa to completely forget their goal.
"Okay, I’m ready," Buffy announced as she rushed down the stairs while digging through her purse to make sure she had her keys.
As soon as she came into Riley’s line of sight, she took his breath away. As far as he was concerned, Buffy was the most gorgeous woman on Earth, from her hair styled in a French twist with loose tendrils framing her face to her black strappy sandals on her feet. She was wearing a simple black spaghetti strap dress that fell to just above her knees and managed to show enough skin to have him salivating, yet still covered enough to make him wonder what he was missing – despite the fact that he had been in a position to know *exactly* what he was missing on more than one occasion.
"You look so beautiful," he said honestly as she climbed down the last few steps.
A wide smile spread on her face as she blushed slightly, "Thank you. You look very handsome."
"Buffy, you really do look great," Lisa added.
"Thanks, Lisa… Dawn helped," replied Buffy, twirling around for her sister to see the final results.
"I did good," Dawn smiled. As much as she hated this, Buffy really seemed to be looking forward to her date with Riley and she really deserved to have a good night.
Remembering the roses in his hand, Riley held them up, "Uh, I got these for you."
Buffy took them and grinned, "That’s so sweet, thank you!"
"You’re welcome," he told her, "Were you ready to go?"
"Here, I’ll put those in water for you," Lisa offered.
Buffy handed her the roses, "Thanks. Okay, you two, you know the rules, so behave yourselves. If you need anything, you can call Mrs. Pearson or me. I wrote down the restaurant’s phone number and put it on the refrigerator."
"Do you have my cell phone number?" Riley asked.
"Yeah, that’s on the fridge too," Buffy nodded.
After giving her sister a peck on the cheek, she took Riley’s arm. "Have fun, you two."
"You guys too," said Dawn, with all the enthusiasm she could muster, which wasn’t much.
As soon as the door closed behind Buffy and Riley, she sighed and followed her friend into the kitchen, "You were *so* not helpful."
Lisa bit her bottom lip as she found a vase and put some water in it, "I know, it’s just… Riley’s so nice and he adores your sister and he’s pretty easy on the eyes. I’m just not sure that breaking them up is such a good idea."
"It *is*," Dawn insisted, "Yeah, Riley’s great, but so is Graham and *Graham* is the one that Buffy should be with. He suits her better."
"How can you be so sure? Buffy’s an adult and it’s *her* life. Don’t you think she knows what is best for herself?"
"No! Lisa, trust me, Buffy tends to make screwy decisions when it comes to love. There are a lot of reasons why she is dating Riley and it’s not because she’s in love with him."
"But they went out for, like, a year. That was before Graham, so it wasn’t because she felt guilty."
"Things change! Buffy was busy worrying about my mom and I, and Riley got all upset because she wasn’t obsessed with him so he bailed on her. Remember that, Lisa? He left Buffy. Graham has been here for Buffy through a lot of stuff that Riley missed," Dawn sighed, "I know I am not being entirely fair. I can’t really credit Graham for not leaving because it’s a different situation. And I know I can’t completely blame Riley for not being here for Buffy when Graham was. But the fact of the matter is Riley has done some stuff that, to me, proves he’s not the one for Buffy. He’s not strong enough to be what she needs and I think Graham is. She’s my sister and I know her. Graham is the one for her. You have to believe me."
Lisa nodded slowly, "I believe you."
"Good," Dawn grinned, hugging her friend.
Lisa set the vase on the counter, "Come on, it looks like we need to start coming up with ideas."
"Do you think they’ll kiss tonight?" Dawn asked as they walked back in the living room.
"Judging by the way they were looking at each other? I think we’d better stay up until Buffy gets home. Otherwise they may end up in bed together."
"Crap," Dawn groaned, flopping down on the couch.
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