Breathless

The Christmas holidays passed with a whirlwind of excitement for the newly engaged couple. Buffy’s family accepted Riley into their home with open arms and seemed to be very impressed with him. Joyce was a bit taken aback with the announcement of their engagement, wondering why they were in such a rush. Buffy had laughed so hard that the soda she was drinking oozed from her mouth when Joyce had asked very seriously, “Buffy are you pregnant?” Assuring her concerned family that she was definitely not with child, Buffy explained that while they were moving along at a speedy pace that they were very much in love and wanted to start their lives together as soon as possible. Their remaining time in England flew by and they were headed home before they knew it.

Tears and hugs were exchanged at the gate. Dawn clung to her sister’s small frame begging her to stay longer. Buffy and Riley said their goodbyes, promising Dawn that she could visit anytime she wanted and that her trip in June wasn’t that far away. Their boarding call for the flight was called and Buffy removed herself from Dawn’s amazingly strong grip. Waving to her family once again, Buffy wiped a tear from her face and followed her fiancé onto the plane.

Buffy snored lightly as she dozed against Riley’s shoulder, leaving a small puddle of drool on his sleeve. She slept soundly until the pilot’s voice filled the cabin announcing their arrival into the JFK airport in New York. Yawning loudly, she stretched like a cat and reached for her purse so that she could assess the damage to her makeup. After the plan had come to a stop, they emerged from their seats and grabbed their carry-on bags from the compartment above. Buffy received a glare from her fiancé because she snickered when he bumped his head against the overhead storage compartment. ‘He is so not designed for small places!’ Buffy thought to herself, holding back another snicker as he bumped into surrounding passengers. She gathered her bags and stumbled along behind her hulking partner. They finally made it out of the gate and headed towards the baggage claim. It was then Buffy spotted a bright shock of hair heading in her direction.

Spike was pissed. The day had started out bad and went downhill from there. Now, he had missed his flight and there wasn’t another one available until after midnight. “Damn the bloody holidays!” he muttered. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve and the airport was jammed full of last minute travelers who seemed just as irritable as he was, but most were also laden with fussy children and loads of baggage. ‘What the sodding hell was I thinking trying travel this weekend?!’ he thought to himself, sighing in relief when he spotted an exit near the baggage claim.

Buffy tripped over someone’s badly misplaced suitcase trying to catch up to the man with the blonde hair and sexy swagger. Just as she saw him exit by the baggage claim, Riley grabbed her arm. Grimacing, she turned towards him.

“Where are you going?” he asked with a concerned look on his face,” We need to get our luggage.”

“Um…I have to go to the bathroom?” she stammered, trying to find some reason to continue her search. She bounced slightly, imitating the tinkle dance that children often resort to.

“Can’t you wait? I told you not to drink two sodas on the plane, didn’t I?” he huffed, seeming exasperated with Buffy. She shook her head from side to side and bit her lip, as if she was totally incapable of waiting until after they stood in line to get their suitcases. Rolling his eyes, he said “Go ahead. I’ll wait here and get the bags. “

Nodding quickly, she sprinted in the direction of the bathroom, ducking inside the doorway Buffy peeked around the corner to see if Riley was looking in her direction. Realizing he wasn’t, she headed towards the nearest exit to see if the man she saw was really who she thought it was. Bursting through the door out onto the sidewalk, she glanced from side to side. Buffy’s face crumbled, her smile disappeared. She was too late, he was already gone.

Giving up on getting a flight out any time soon, Spike had snuffed out his cigarette and hailed a cab. Already settled into the heavily incensed backseat, he directed the driver to the nearest bar. He never noticed the petite blonde that had just walked out the door, searching for him.

When she opened the door, she ran straight into Riley’s massive chest, causing her to stumble backwards. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm too tightly, causing a pain to shoot through her. Buffy winced and tried to pull her arm away from his. “I wasn’t aware that stepping outside for some fresh air was against the rules! Geesh!” she informed him, raising her voice slightly, “Let go of my arm; you’re hurting me!’

Riley’s demeanor instantly changed, he smiled sheepishly and apologized. ‘I’m sorry, sweetie. I just got worried when I couldn’t find you. Thought maybe you had decided to run off and leave me. Is your arm ok? Sometimes I forget how tiny you are and that I need to control myself. Please forgive me.” He begged. Buffy almost felt bad for making him worry, but something inside of her changed and made her look at Riley in a different way. ‘Maybe we are rushing things.’ She thought to herself, rubbing her bruised bicep.

They arrived in Los Angeles shortly after midnight, since their connecting plane from New York had been delayed due to bad weather. Buffy threw her coat and purse onto the couch; instantly heading upstairs to her bedroom, eager to crawl into bed. She was thankful that Riley had decided to go back to his place; the scene at the airport still had her upset. Once in her bed, Buffy snuggled with her stuffed pig, Mr. Gordo, and stared at the ceiling. Even though Riley had apologized repeatedly the entire trip for reacting the way he had, Buffy still had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach about their relationship. Eventually she drifted into a fitful slumber, plagued with thoughts of never finding out the identity of her mystery man in leather.

Back in New York, Spike ended up on a red eye flight back to the west coast, still feeling the effects from the whiskey he had consumed earlier in the night. Luckily, he was able to get a seat to himself in first class. He leaned his head against the window and slept peacefully; images of tousled blonde hair, passionate kisses and supple breasts pushed against his chest floated through his dreams. When he awoke, the plane was landing at LAX, he groaned and stretched his legs. Remembering his dreams, he wondered when he would finally be able to get her out of his mind and if he would ever see her again.

**Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! Please be patient with the Riley situation. I promise SPUFFY will be here soon!**