Chapter 5: Hello Iowa
Hands thrust deep into her duster’s pockets, head hanging low, Buffy was walking silently through the graveyard, wishing something, anything, preferably large and nasty, would think she was an easy prey and try to take a bite out of her. That thing would be in for a big surprise, pissed off as she was she didn’t need the stake she was clutching in the recess of the leather. If a vamp showed its bumpies, she would try and see how much time she could take tearing its head off. Or maybe pulling its heart out. Gross, certainly, but she had a suspicion, born from watching Spike do these sorts of things, that it would be very satisfying too.
Heart ripped out, that was just about how she felt. She had known the gang would be surprised, but she hadn’t expected it to be so bad. Dawn’s reaction, especially, was hard to accept. She hadn’t cried the first time, when Spike had turned her sister without her consent. But she had cried today, when Buffy had made it clear it had been what she wanted.
Angrily, she passed a hand over her face, drying her cheeks and willing herself not to shed any more tears. She had been glad at first that Spike hadn’t followed her, she needed some time to herself, but now she was beginning to miss him. She missed her Mate and the comfort only he could bring. The tiny flame in her mind was nice, but not enough right now to warm the chill her friends’ and sister’s reaction had brought on her.
Whether the Scoobies accepted it or not, she was a vamp again and nothing was going to change that. And talking about vamps… one was coming toward her, from behind, almost perfectly silent, and if not for her Slayer senses she might not have noticed she was being followed. Stupid thing, if it only paid attention it would realize her heart wasn’t beating. She pretended to be oblivious, while all her senses were focused on the approaching creature, which might be why she didn’t notice the human until he had fired his crossbow and reduced her prey to ashes just as it was reaching her. Annoyed that her kill had been taken from her, she turned to the steady heartbeat and its owner standing in the shadows of a tree.
“What the hell do you think…?”
She paused as the human took a few steps toward her, smiling a bit cautiously. Dressed in dark military garb, crossbow in hand, taser by his side, a pure product of that secret branch of the army she had been sure had left her town for good.
“Hello Buffy.”
“Riley”.
His smiled widened just a little as he asked: “Care for some company for patrol?”
Yes, she wanted company, but he wasn’t whom she had been expecting. Of course, telling him Spike would probably join her pretty soon didn’t sound like a very good idea at the moment.
“I was kinda done, actually”, she lied. “What are you doing in town?”
She winced at the abruptness of her own words, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“My unit was called in, some nasty business at the high school.”
By the way he was scrutinizing her; she realized this wasn’t a chance encounter. He was trying to see if she knew something about what had happened at the school, and more than likely had been looking for her tonight just for that. She wasn’t in a giving mood though.
“So, what happened?” she asked innocently. “I heard on the news it blew up.”
“Not just that,” he said slowly. “There were all sorts of demons remains there. On last count, about three hundred corpses.”
She couldn’t repress a smile. Three hundred. Wow. They had really done a nice job.
“So, you’re gonna tell me what happened?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. “By the look on your face, you were there.”
She shrugged. “Hellmouth opened. Slaying. Hellmouth closed. End of story.”
He laughed, a rich laugh, tinted with a hint of surprise.
“You say it like it’s nothing,” he commented, shaking his head slightly. “Just seeing these things made some my men sick, and you just shrug it off. You’re amazing, you know?”
“I wasn’t alone,” she said as if it explained everything.
“Yeah, I guess not”, he murmured, all traces all laughter gone. “I wish I had been there to see that. And help.”
There was something in his eyes that made Buffy very self-aware. He was looking at her a little like he used to when they were a couple, like he had looked at his wife during his brief return to Sunnydale three years before, a few weeks before she had been turned.
“So,” she asked, looking around uncomfortably. “Where’s Sam? Not hunting together tonight?”
Something flashed through his face and he looked older suddenly, much older than he really was. He walked around Buffy and leaned against a tombstone, his posture now very unmilitary.
“Sam and I…separated,” he said, and his voice held some pain. “Two years ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Buffy offered sincerely.
He nodded, and for a few seconds they were quiet. Awkward couldn’t begin to describe how the situation felt to Buffy.
*****
Even after all this time, the conversation with Buffy felt oddly comfortable to Riley, maybe more so than when they were dating. And it was very nice to see her, too. It was probably why he had volunteered his unit as soon as the word had been out that something big had happened in Sunnydale. He had guessed that whatever had happened was linked to the Slayer, and as she had admitted, he had been right.
He hadn’t lied when he said he wished he had been there for that fight. After a while, running the world to destroy demons’ nests had become annoying, and he longed for some settling down. Caring for a single town as she did sounded appealing. And if all went as he thought, they would soon meet on patrol pretty often…
“So, how is the gang?” he asked with a warm smile.
“Just fine”, she answered after a slight pause. “Xander and Anya are married, and she’s pregnant. Tara and Willow just came back from Europe. Giles lives in England now, but he’s visiting.”
“How about Dawn?”
A strange look flickered across Buffy’s face, and for a second he feared the worst about her kid sister, but she said just the opposite.
“She’s great. All grown up. Boyfriend, university, normal life.”
Was it regret in her voice as she talked about Dawn? What could she regret? The normality? School? Or a boyfriend?
He had regrets too. Things with Sam had gone steadily down since they had been in Sunnydale, until she left, making it clear that she was tired of competing with the memory of the Slayer. Only then had he realized. And now he was back in her town, and maybe, who could tell, he would soon be back in her life.
“What about you?” he asked softly. “Anything new for you?”
He hesitated just a second, and added quietly: “Anyone?”
A look of deer caught in headlights crossed her features, and she pulled her left hand out of her coat pocket – and why did that coat look so familiar anyway? He was sure it was the first time he saw her wearing it, but…
His thoughts were interrupted as he caught the glint of gold on the hand she was showing him.
“I’m engaged,” she said a bit shyly.
He blinked, then frowned slightly, as for a second he had been brought back to the time just before they dated, when he had caught her looking at wedding dresses, while she was under what he had later learned was a badly turned spell.
“Congratulations,” he said, trying to sound sincere. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
Buffy didn’t answer his question, but instead she turned her eyes to the shadows to their side. Suspecting she was sensing a demon’s presence, Riley straightened and held his weapon ready, his eyes scrutinizing the dark where he could see a form moving toward them. At first, he refused to believe what he was seeing. He had gone by the creature’s lair earlier with a few of his men, and they had found it cleared out, obviously vacant for a long time. He had believed, had hoped, that Buffy had finally staked the thing. But apparently she hadn’t, since Spike was striding toward them, looking very much like a predator on the hunt. Buffy’s hand came up, signaling to Riley not to fire and to his amazement he obeyed her silent wish. Of course, it helped that her wish coincided with his orders. The vampire was now behind her, and he slipped his arms around her waist in a disturbingly possessive gesture.
“I am the lucky bloke,” he stated, smirking for all he was worth.
Not believing what he was hearing, Riley’s eyes left the vamp and settled on Buffy, looking for her denial, expecting her to say it was a joke, another spell, anything but the truth. All she did was smile.