The Real Riley Finn

A young nurse poked her head into the conference room. "Mrs. Summers, your daughter is out of the operating room. She's holding her own, and if all goes well she'll be transferred to ICU in an hour or so. You'll be able to sit with her then."

"Thank you."

Willow arrived alone and sat with Spike and Joyce in silence. Finally Dr. Gardner came out. "Mrs. Summers, we've just transferred Buffy to ICU. She's still unconscious, very weak, and she's not out of the woods yet, but you can sit with her if you'd like."

Joyce jumped up. "Yes, thank you." Willow and Spike accompanied her to the ICU. Joyce went in and sat with her daughter. Willow and Spike sat in the waiting area.

"Spike, what happened?" Willow questioned, her voice thick with concern.

"She was beaten, raped, and left for dead."

"I kinda got that, but who did it?" Spike cocked his eyebrow and started intently at Willow. "Oh my Goddess," she shrieked, "Riley did this." It was more of a statement than a question.

"If I had this bleedin' chip outta my head, he'd already be dead." Spike got up and stormed down the hall.

Joyce had overheard their conversation and was now standing next to Willow. She put her hand on Willow's shoulder, "Willow, is there anything you can do to help him?"

"Help Spike, help him how?"

"You know, with the chip."

"I...I don't know Mrs. Summers. You mean you'd want it out. Unleash him like that."

"Yes, I would, Willow." She turned and went back to her daughter's bedside.

Willow left to go to the Magic Box. When she arrived Giles was there talking to the police. He came toward her, removed his glasses, and cleaned them. "Willow, the police won't let me into the shop. They said it's a crime seen, but they would tell me what the bloody hell is going on."

"Giles, Buffy was attacked in there tonight."

"Spike found a way to override the chip?"

"No, it wasn't Spike. Giles, she was raped and left to die."

"Dear me. Do we know what did this?"

"More like who."

"How's that? I mean she's the slayer. How could a man best her?"

Willow shook her head. I don't know, Giles. The only thing I know for sure is that if Spike hadn't found her when he did, she'd be dead now."

"Spike saved her?" Willow nodded. "You know who did this to her don't you?"

"I don't know anything for sure, Giles, but I think, I think it was Riley."

Spike went back to the Magic Box and began tracking Riley's scent. He was still trying to figure out how to kill the stupid git without setting off the sodding chip in his head. He was seething with rage. He saw Riley sitting at the bar at Willy's. He stayed hidden in the shadows outside so Riley wouldn't see him.

Back in their room Willow and Tara were sat on the floor holding hands. There was a white candle on the floor between them. They were chanting. Willow's head snapped back, her eyes turned black, and the words she spoke were not her own. Willow and Tara both fell back onto the floor both smiling, their task complete.

Spike collapsed to the ground the mother of all migraines ripping through his brain, but as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. He stood up and cracked his neck feeling oddly refreshed. He looked around and noted that Riley was still sat at the bar.

Riley paid for his drinks and got up to leave. He showed that stupid bitch was top dog. He went outside and walked straight into Spike. "What do you want asshole?"

"To kill you of course." Spike smirked. "It'll be well worth the nasty headache."

"You think you can take me."

"I know I can, and I'll make what you did to Buffy seem like a paper cut," taunted Spike.

"I didn't do anything to Buffy."

"Oh really? So you mean she beat and raped herself, then stabbed herself? There are easier ways to kill ones self."

"You can't prove anything."

"I don't have to prove anything you stupid git, I'm not the cops. I could smell you all over her. How do you think I found you? I tracked your scent moron."

Riley lunged at Spike, but Spike merely moved out of his way.

"I'm sure the police are already hot on your trail."

"They'll never prove anything."

"Really, even in Sunnydale I don't think they're that blind. I'm thinking loads of DNA at the scene plus Buffy's testimony will but you away right quick like. I wonder how you'll get on in prison, nice clean-cut Iowa boy like you. Fresh meat I believe is the correct term."

"They'll never catch me. Buffy's dead, and the DNA is useless without someone to match it to. It'll be all swept under the rug. Another dead local girl, not really big new around these parts."

"I don't get how you bested her, though, she should have been able to kick your arse from here to China and back."

"I drugged myself. Interesting thing I picked up while in the initiative."

Spike punched Riley square in the nose. Blood spattered everywhere, and he waited for the chip to fire, but it didn't. A huge grin settled over his features. He was back in the game.

Riley noticed that Spike was not writhing in pain and tried to run, but Spike was on him much too fast for him to escape. Spike gave a roundhouse kick to Riley's abdomen.

Riley kicks at Spike and misses. Spike punches Riley in the face again, knocking him down. Riley gets up and lunches at Spike, but Spike counters and punches him repeatedly in the face and torso. Riley punches Spike and makes contact with his jaw. He punches Spike again, but Spike pushes him off of him. Riley tries to kick Spike but Spike grabs his leg and swings him around with it. Riley flies through the air and hits a tree.

Riley gets up and throws another punch, then another, both of which land on Spike's face and torso. Spike kicks Riley's legs out from under him then tries to hit him.

Riley is on his knees blocking a punch from Spike. Spike again easily counters the move and grabs him, knees him in the face, and sends him flying back into the tree. Riley gets up again and tries to kick Spike, but he blocks the punch and throws Riley back into the tree yet again. In one fluid movement he is on top of Riley pummeling him about the face and torso.

Giles watched hidden in the nearby trees as Spike went in for the kill.

Spike had Riley at his mercy. "You're not getting' off that easy, mate." He threw Riley across the ground. "There are human laws to deal with the likes of you." He left and started to walk towards Sunnydale General.

Giles was amazed by Spike's self-control. He watched as Spike headed off toward the hospital and approached a barely conscious Riley. "You're lucky he didn't kill you, though, you'd probably be better off if he had." Giles could see the fear and uncertainty in Riley's eyes. He gave his trademark Ripper grin. "Don't worry. I'll not kill you, buy they might."

A silver van pulled up to the clearing and four men got out. The picked Riley up and tossed him in the back of the van. One of the men approached Giles. "Any final orders, sir?"

"No, just tell Quentin that I appreciate his quick attention to this matter."

"Will do, Mr. Giles."

The van drove off, and Giles turned to go to the hospital.

By the time Spike arrived at the hospital he had found out that Buffy had already been moved to a private room on the General Surgery Ward. He smiled to himself, "that's my girl," he whispered to no one in particular.

Buffy was awake but tired. Needless to say it had been quite an awful ordeal. Joyce sat next to her daughter on the edge of her bed. Giles sat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed from Joyce. Tara and Willow sat in a chair near the foot of the bed. Xander and Anya sat in a chair close to where Joyce sat on the bed. There was a knock on the door, and a soft cockney voice asked, "Can I come in?"

Xander was about to say something when Willow glared at him, and Joyce cut him off, "of course, Spike, come on in."

If his heart beat it would have skipped one at that point. Spike looked at Willow and Tara and mouthed thank you. Willow and Tara nodded and smiled. He silently approached Buffy's bedside and gave her the dozen long-stemmed yellow roses he was carrying. He was taken aback when she reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Spike, for everything."

"No, need to thank me, pet."

Buffy noticed the cut over Spike's right cheek. She ran her finger gently over the cut and Spike winced. "What happened?"

"Nothing exciting, I tripped is all."

Giles almost laughed out loud. No one in the room believed that Spike had tripped. An announcement came over the PA system, "visiting hours are now over, visiting hours are now over."

The gang got up to leave and everyone said their goodbyes. Walking down the hall Willow asked Spike, "I have to know, did he die a slow and agonizing death?"

"I didn't kill him, Red. I just knocked him 'round a little." His trademark grin spread quickly across his face.

Willow and Tara were surprised, Xander was confused, and Anya was totally oblivious to the conversation going on around her. Xander stopped walking and stood still. He raised his right hand with the index finger pointing towards the ceiling. "I'm confused. How could Captain Peroxide here (Spike growled.) hit anybody much less kill them and who and why did you want him to kill anyone?"

Spike looked at Willow his eyebrow raised, "He doesn't know?"

Willow shook her head no.

Spike explained everything that had happened to Xander. Xander was in shock. He finally spoke, "I don't get it, Spike, you could have killed him, why didn't you?"

"Figured death'd be too easy for him, Harris." Xander just nodded. He was still trying to absorb everything that had happened.

"Okay, I've gotta know, how'd it feel to kick his ass?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Honestly, Red, wonderful, bloody wonderful."

Riley woke up chained to a wall completely naked in a dark, damp, medieval style dungeon. Quentin Travers sat on a chair in the middle of the room. There was only one exit and two rather large gentleman stood watch there.

"Where am I?" Riley questioned groggily.

Travers laughed at his insolence. "Your new home, Agent Finn. Do you like it?"

"My team will find me, and when they do, I'll kill you," spat Riley.

"Listen here, boy, your team has no idea where you are. Only my most trusted staff know of this place. Did you really think you could attack our slayer and not pay for that transgression with your life?" Travers couldn't believe how full of himself this American wanker was.

"Your slayer," the realization of those words hit Riley like a sledgehammer, "of course - The Council."

"That's right. We have our own laws for dealing with the likes of you." Travers spat in his face and left the room.

For the first time in his life, Riley trembled with fear. He knew no one would ever find him and no one would ever know what became of him.

~The End~


A/N: Thanks for the great reviews.

Kari Mouke - Sorry for the confusion. The parts that read like scripts are the parts taken directly from scripts or taken directly from the script with my own turn on the original lines. Thanks.