Breathless

“Good Morning Blondie Bear!” a shrill voice called to him from the bedroom doorway. “It’s about time you woke up!” Spike felt his bed shake, signaling that someone had just crawled into the bed with him. Groaning, he rolled over and poked his curly head out from under the pillow and glared at the perky blonde perched beside him.

Shutting his eyes tightly, he tried to recall the events of the night before. Everything was a blur, thanks to the massive amounts of scotch he had consumed. Over the past several weeks, Spike had drowned his sorrow in bottle after bottle of liquor since he had found out that the ogre that had run over him was Buffy’s fiancé. At some point last night, he had apparently ventured out of his flat in search of companionship. Spike cautiously opened one eye and peeked at the person who had now crawled under the blankets with him and was gazing at him intently. Spike had no clue who she was, though there was something vaguely familiar about her. ‘Luckily for me she isn’t a bad looking bird,’ ’ he thought before rolling over and going back to sleep,

Somewhere over the Midwest, Buffy snored lightly as she napped peacefully on the plane. Suddenly, the plane shook from turbulence, waking Buffy. Stretching her arms above her head, she looked around the plane noticing she was the only one that had awoken. Serenity had been on tour for a little over two months and everyone was exhausted. While Buffy was overjoyed at the response the band was receiving from both the fans and the press, she was already itching for a break. June was rapidly approaching and she was eager for Dawn’s summer visit to arrive. She never imagined that seeing her pest of a kid sister would make her smile; but now that Dawn lived so far away, Buffy missed her dearly.

Her mother, Giles and Dawn had flown to Manhattan to see Serenity perform a couple of weeks ago. It had been the weekend of Buffy’s twenty-fifth birthday and she didn’t know they were there until she saw her family and Riley on the front row. After the show, everyone had gone out to eat to celebrate Buffy’s birthday, but had turned in afterwards because it was so late in the evening.

When she had said goodnight to her family, she and Riley had returned to her hotel room for some private time so that they could discuss their relationship. On his knees, arms wrapped around Buffy’s waist, Riley had pleaded for another chance. Tears ran down his face as he admitted that he was terrified of losing her and did not mean to treat her so badly. As the early morning light filtered through the curtains, Buffy felt her walls crumble as she forgave him once again.

Since then, Buffy had come to a difficult decision and was waiting to return home before telling Riley she wanted to postpone the wedding for a couple of months. There had been several phone calls where she had wanted to tell him, but thought he at least deserved to be told in person.


June finally rolled around and the tour had come to an end. Conveniently, Buffy’s plane was scheduled to land in Los Angeles one hour after Dawn’s flight from England. She quickly loaded a cart with her luggage and set off to meet her little sister at their prearranged destination near the coffee bar.

Buffy spotted her lanky kid sister lounging across two chairs reading a thick novel and sipping on a grande latte. Dawn was so engrossed in the book that she did not notice her sister creep up behind. With catlike reflexes, Buffy snatched the book from her unsuspecting sister’s hands. Dawn shrieked and jumped from her seat, trying not to spill the hot liquid.

“Geez, Buffy,” Dawn grumbled after composing herself, “Scare me why don’t you!”

Buffy wrapped her arms around Dawn’s petite frame and enveloped her in a bear hug. “Sorry, Dawnie,” she apologized, “I couldn’t help it! You were like totally in outer space!”

Grudgingly, she forgave her sister and asked innocently, “Where is everyone else?” Secretly, Dawn only wanted to know the whereabouts of Xander, since she had developed a huge crush on the humorous yet handsome drummer during their trip to New York.

“After last night’s show in Vegas, they decided to stay behind for the rest of the weekend.” Buffy explained, as she loaded her sister’s bags onto the cart with hers. “Now, let’s get outta here! It’s late and I still need a shower and a very large bowl of ice cream.”

Exhaustion finally caught up with Buffy on the cab ride home, causing her eyelids to droop as she fought to stay awake and listen to Dawn babble about school. It had taken several nudges from her sister to wake Buffy up when they had arrived at home. Still groggy, she scooted from the backseat and paid the cabbie after he dropped their numerous bags in the foyer. Once inside, Buffy had shown Dawn to the downstairs guestroom before heading up the stairs to the master suite.

Buffy cursed herself for forgetting to let Riley know that she was coming home early and would have Dawn with her. Not wanting to wake him, she eased into the darkened bedroom and as quiet as a mouse, began to tiptoe across the thick carpet heading to the bathroom. Only a couple of steps into her journey, she heard Riley moaning deeply, followed by a sensuous laugh from a woman. Buffy stopped in her tracks, spun back towards the door and angrily flipped on the overhead lights. She felt sick to her stomach when she saw Riley sprawled across the bed, clad in only blue jeans and boots, with a trashy looking brunette vigorously bobbing her head up and down on his cock.

“What the fuck!” Riley yelled loudly when the lights came on. Noticing Buffy glaring at him from the doorway he quickly pushed himself off the bed, causing his whore to slide to the floor clutching the bedspread to her exposed chest. “Buffy! What are you doing here?” With his long stride, Riley crossed the distance between them quickly.

“Last time I checked, I fucking live here!” Buffy screeched and stepped away from Riley’s outstretched arms. Sticking her hands on her hips, she continued, “You know, I was intending on just pushing back the wedding date. To hell with that! We are finished!” With shaking hands, she tore the diamond ring from her left hand and threw it at Riley, hitting him hard in the middle of his bulging chest. Without waiting for a response, she turned and started out the door. Instantly, she was yanked backwards and his massive hands encircled her arms and turning her around to face him, his tight grip bordering on painful.

“Hold on, Buffy! This isn’t over until I say it’s over!” His eyes were blazing,”You don’t get to call the shots!” Gazing intently into her frightened eyes, Riley spoke in a low voice, “You belong to me.”

She wiggled frantically in his strong embrace, trying to escape. With a sharp kick, she struck his shin; causing Riley to yelp in pain and release his hold. Buffy stumbled into the hallway but her ponytail was snatched, roughly pulling her away from the stairs. He shoved her face first into the wall mirror, sending shards of glass flying across the carpet. A warm liquid trickled down Buffy’s face; she barely recognized it was her blood as it mixed with her tears, causing her vision to blur. Riley slipped his meaty hands around her slender neck, squeezing tightly, Buffy screamed silently.

“You can never leave me Buffy!” he screamed inches away from her bleeding face. Enraged with anger and despair, he shook her violently as he held onto her throat. Buffy felt herself drifting away, the pain had subsided. As darkness took over her, she never noticed Dawn stealthily sneaking up the stairs with a vase in her hands.

With as much strength as she could muster, Dawn slammed the heavy crystal vase into Riley’s temple. He screamed in agony and released his hold on Buffy’s neck. Dawn watched in horror as her sister’s limp body dropped to the floor. “Buffy!’ she cried out in fear, as she rushed forward to help her unconscious sibling. Dawn never reached Buffy; she was intercepted by Riley, his face a mask of rage with blood seeping down his cheek, and tossed down the stairs. White hot pain seared through her as she bounced down the wooden stairs like a rag doll, landing on the marble floor with a sharp crack, Dawn laid there unmoving.

Unconcerned for the annoying brat, Riley immediately turned his attentions back to Buffy who had regained consciousness and was on her hands and knees as she struggled to get up to help Dawn. With a swift kick, his boot connected with her chest and knocked her backwards. The pain in her side was unbearable as Buffy gasped for air through a flood of tears.


“Why?” Buffy whimpered, “Why are you doing this, Riley?” The man who crouched beside her was no longer recognizable, his face contorted with hatred and fury. She groaned in pain when Riley wrapped his hands around her throat again and pulled her up off the ground.

“Because you can never leave me, “Riley whispered roughly, pulling her closer, his breath hot on her face, “I would rather see you dead than not have you with me, Buffy.”

Buffy finally succumbed to the pain and lack of air, as she slipped back into the darkness, stars floating behind her closed eyes. She never felt Riley’s fist pummeling her face while muttering over and over, “This is your fault, Buffy. I told you that you belong to me.”

Downstairs, Dawn crept across the foyer as quietly as possible. Using her uninjured arm, she pressed the panic button on the alarm keypad, praying that help would arrive quickly. She then hurried into the hallway and huddled in the darkness, trying to hide. Peeking out of her hiding spot, she saw Riley sprint down the stairs and run out the front door, quickly followed by a scantily clad woman that Dawn did not know. She sighed in relief when she heard a car start and pull from the drive. Hesitantly, Dawn crept from the hallway and went up stairs to check on Buffy, whom she found laying in a bloodied heap on the top landing. Leaning over her broken sister, Dawn was thankful to see she was still breathing. With tears falling from her eyes, Dawn lay down beside Buffy and waited for help to arrive.

It was late the next day when Buffy’s eyelids fluttered open, instantly filling with tears. Noticing she was awake, Joyce rushed to her daughter’s bed crying in relief; while Giles excused himself and went to find the doctor to let him know that Buffy was awake. When he returned, Angel and Lorne crept into the room behind the doctor.

After she was checked out, Buffy was filled in on the extent of her injuries; the most serious being a concussion, two broken ribs, and a broken nose and collarbone. Riley had also left numerous bruises around her neck, where he had choked her and almost crushed her larynx, blackened both of her eyes to the point they were swollen shut, and left several deep lacerations on her face that required stitches. However, it was the broken arm that he had given to Dawn that infuriated Buffy the most.

Once the doctor left, Angel and Lorne asked to speak to Buffy privately. Giles nodded and ushered Joyce and Dawn from the room, stating that they would head to the cafeteria for a bite to eat.

Angel quickly informed Buffy of what had occurred after she had passed out, letting her know how brave Dawn had been in getting help. He told her he was frightened for her since Riley was still unaccounted for and wished he could stay with her for protection.

“Buffy,” he began, glancing at Lorne, “I know you are going to argue with me, but we have all discussed the situation and have decided that you need around the clock security.” She opened her mouth in protest, but was stopped when Angel held up his hand and said, “No arguments, Buffy. Your mother and Rupert agree with us on this. Now, I have already called a close friend of mine that specializes in a more hands on approach who has agreed to take the job.”

Realizing that Angel was right, Buffy turned her head towards the window and sighed in resignation, “Fine.”

“He should be here by now,” he stated, relieved that Buffy hadn’t put up a fight. “I’ll just go check and see.” Excusing himself, Angel opened the door and left the room.

Buffy continued to stare blankly out the window. Lorne felt helpless, he had never been at a loss for words and for the first time he didn’t know what to do for his friend. Holding her hand tightly, he willed back the tears that stung him eyes trying to be strong, figuring that was what she needed.

A few minutes later, Angel reappeared, his large frame blocking the doorway. Buffy turned her head as he shifted to the side and allowed the man behind him to move forward. “Buffy, this is Sp…” he began, only to be cutoff by Buffy.

“It’s you!” she exclaimed at the sight of the leather clad blonde.

“ ‘Lo, luv.”