Be A Man

After cleaning out and bandaging Buffy’s wound, Riley packed away the medical kit before stopping to think about things. How did the Slayer get staked? Not wanting to ask, he simply made polite conversation, kissing her goodnight before leaving. He had heard that Spike had turned over a new leaf and that Dawn was stopping at his new place for the night while Joyce was out of town. And now Buffy was getting sloppy. She was obviously growing used to the vampire. This was a big mistake in Riley’s eyes.

As a soldier, the first thing you had drilled into your head was to always be aware of your enemies. For someone as important as the Slayer, it was imperative that she remembered how evil Spike was and still would be if it wasn’t for him.

If there was any point in his career that he was proud of, it was capturing Spike. Being the one that had made it possible to neuter him was not something he had shared with Buffy or any of her friends for they all seemed strangely protective of him. It was as though as the Slayer, she thought she had the god given right to stake him herself.

Shaking away the confusing thoughts, Riley let himself into his dorm and slipped into bed wearing his civvies and immediately fell asleep, dreams of Spike engaged to Buffy and Dawn as a bridesmaid plaguing him until the early hours of the morning.

Awaking early as she rolled over onto an extremely sore stomach, Buffy pulled herself into a sitting position. She knew she would have to tell Giles what happened but how could she admit how it happened?

‘Oh, sorry Giles, I was too busy thinking about Spike so the vampire I was chasing tried to gut me with my own stake.’
Yeah. He’d be impressed with that. Almost as much as he’d be impressed with the fact that she was seriously considering taking up Spike’s offer of a patrol buddy.

Remembering that both Dawn and her mom were out, Buffy took the opportunity to wash her bloodied clothes and bed linen while she ran herself a hot, relaxing bath.

Gingerly testing the temperature with a toe, Buffy poked and prodded her side. She knew she had pretty much healed overnight, but the pain was still as intense. Not thinking about how or why she had let it happen, she sank into the tub, the calming scent of vanilla washing over her as she lazed.

Letting herself into the house, Dawn called out for her mom and sister. Getting no reply she threw Spike his beer, grabbed the remote control and switched on the telly. Jumping onto the sofa, she managed to land right on top of Spike, his can dropping from his hand as he caught Dawn and pouring out over the sofa.

Sighing, Spike pushed Dawn off of him and went to get a towel from the bathroom. Stepping in the partially open door, his jaw swung open. There was Buffy, completely uncovered save for a few stray bubbles and fast asleep. Not taking his eyes off her golden figure, he groped for a towel, pulling it off the rail and backing out of the room.

Opening her eyes, Buffy scanned the room. She could have sworn she felt someone watching her.