Fangless.Sequel

Title: Fangless.sequel(No Name)
Author: Rudemuchness
Pairing: Spike/Riley
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Slash
Summary: Dawn finds out Spike hadn't exactly just "left town" months ago.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and if I ever had an original thought my head would explode. These characters belong to Mr. Joss.


Dawn sat nearby waiting while they argued in his office. She could see Angel walking in circles around her sister, his hand over his mouth and eyes narrowed angrily. They had neither shut the door, nor did they attempt to conceal the windows. It made her wonder why they’d even gone into the next room to argue at all when she could obviously hear them. But their squabbles weren’t what bothered her.

Angel was being so stubborn; growling each and every time that name was brought up. Dawn's eyes filled with tears again, already wet and red from earlier - she tried to hold back. She just wanted to see him, and yet everyone kept pushing him aside - pushing her aside. Why did Buffy have to lie to her at all?

Why about Spike?

**************************************************************************************

As always, she’d been curious - nosey. Wandering around the UC Sunnydale campus she had found Riley’s dorm. There were so many reasons not to be there. The first that it was night and the second being that the Initiative had it out for Buffy and her friends - that included family. This included her, although sometimes she could be fooled because Buffy usually treated her like a nuisance rather than a sister.

She knocked on his door and heard him shuffling around in his room, probably tidying up. It only strengthened her suspicions that something very shifty happened between Riley and her sister. They had broken up the previous week. And even though she had no interest in Buffy’s happiness -- most of the time -- she didn’t like that no one had explained to her why.

There had been hints for months. Riley had started to spend more time at the Initiative than with Buffy, and at first Dawn hadn't really noticed. Buffy usually cut Riley off anyway, barely giving him the opportunity to be her boyfriend. Dawn thought Riley had finally gotten the hint and broken it off himself. But he hadn’t, and their strange relationship continued.

Once a week they’d spend time together and soon they began to fight. Dawn remembered them stepping outside, dodging the questioning gazes of everyone in the Magic Box because they knew something too. They all seemed to have this little club which excluded and kept secrets from her. She wasn’t a baby, and yet they all acted as though she were. Anya with her remarks about Dawn making a lovely little girl - and Willow, Tara, and Xander’s more than friendly chit chat with her. Something was up. Once she had snuck away from home and went to the Magic Box by herself. Giles had a book which he had hidden and she was curious as to what it held within its pages. But she couldn’t get in, so she continued to idly sit on the sidelines and watch as everyone handled her with special care.

When Buffy and Riley had walked out back, she snuck away from Willow and Tara who were supposed to be watching her. Slowly she'd opened the door a crack to hear what Buffy and Riley had been saying. They were arguing, and she’d barely caught the end of the conversation which had sparked her interest in Buffy’s oh-so-boring life.

“So this is it?” Buffy had asked. She had her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot angrily as Riley stood straight and unmoving.

“It’s not like that, I’m sorry,” the soldier apologized.

Dawn held her breath, it was interesting. Oddly, they hadn’t noticed the door opened a crack - too caught up in their own drama.

“I don’t get it Riley, weren’t we happy?” Buffy asked as she stopped tapping her foot and stared Riley in the eyes. Or at least Dawn thought so, Riley’s taller frame blocked her sister's and she could barely make out any of Buffy’s reactions.

“I thought we were, but things change.”

“No, I don’t think they do Rile. I think you’ve changed.”

Riley remained straight and stiff, but Dawn could tell by the sound of his voice that he was withdrawn.

“I’m sorry Buffy, it just couldn’t work out.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too.” There was a short pause, and then Buffy began to speak again. “Here, I got what you asked for.”

Buffy removed something from her coat pocket and handed it to the soldier, Dawn watched as he placed the small piece of paper in his own pocket.

“This is the right information? I can just drop… it off there?”

“Yes, of course Rile.” Buffy began to withdraw herself, her voice softening with each spoken word.

“He’ll take care of it for me won’t he? I’m not doing the wrong thing here am I?”

“I’m not sure. I think you should handle it yourself. No one deserves to be put through this Rile, and even if this is it for us I still care about you. I don‘t want you to get hurt over this.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So you’re taking care of it tomorrow?” Buffy asked.

“Yeah - and thank you. This means a lot.”

An awkward moment passed between them, the silence stretched into minutes and they stood there staring. Dawn had just about closed the door when she heard Buffy speak a question so soft, it was nearly a whisper.

“Rile? The reason you’re breaking up with me, it’s because of…”

“Yeah,” the soldier interrupted.

“And you love…”

“Yeah.”

Another awkward silence passed.

“I didn’t know you were like that Riley,” Buffy broke the tense moment.

“I can’t explain it, but know that it has nothing to do with you alright? Things just happened, things I had no control over…”

“Stop, you don’t have to explain to me. Just do what you have to do and come back home, even if I’m not the one you’re coming home too.”

Dawn closed the door after Buffy had wrapped her arms around the soldier and he had returned the gesture. A week later they announced that they’d split up. Giles, polite as always, voiced his concerns - not knowing if they’d still have someone in the Initiative watching their backs. But Buffy had reassured him that Riley was still a friend, and then they had gone into the back room to discuss it. Dawn was furious; they were hiding more from her.

At that moment she decided she would find out why everyone had to be so secretive around her. It couldn’t go on any longer, and with her mother in the hospital frequently she had no one to confide in - no one to just be there as a friend.

**************************************************************************************

When she went to Riley’s, she had intended to find out why he and Buffy had broken up. When Riley opened the door he was skeptical to say the least. But she gave him the doe eyes, pouted her bottom lip, and milked the helpless child routine for all it was worth. Everyone treated her like a baby right? So why should Riley be any different.

When she entered the room she noticed the complete state of utter chaos - clothes thrown about, meals and wrappers on the floor. She thought military men were supposed to be well kept. But he’d been sulking and she knew he had, possibly not having left the room in days. But - over Buffy? It didn’t quite make sense; he had broken up with her, not the other way around.

Either way, the state of his room piqued her interest and she was more eager to search through his things. It was her plan -- tell Riley Buffy needed his help, with demon matters of course, then when he left for oh… about five minutes, she’d search for any clues that would help her figure out why their break-up had happened the way it did.

Sitting her down, Riley had told her to just stay there. No moving, but he gave her “authority” to talk to herself as long as she wasn’t causing any trouble. She rolled her eyes, because she couldn’t tell if he was joking. His eyes had sagged a bit from lack of rest, he talked low and uneasy. She guessed he’d withdrawn further, but why? Just because of Buffy?

He'd left after telling her to stay put. Riley said he was going to grab some things before they headed out, and then mumbled something about Buffy being crazy for having sent her kid sister out at night just for his help. Strange how he didn’t question her lie - it had seemed too fake and obvious to her, but he didn’t question it. She felt sorry for taking advantage of his current condition, but she had other things to worry about.

She moved quickly through his drawers, trying not to mess the room up any further. When she finished with one she placed his belongs back in before moving on to the next. Just like the dresser the closet hadn’t turned up many clues. She’d just about given up when she saw the nightstand near his bed.

It was the only place she hadn’t looked, and seeing as how she'd already searched just about every inch of the room she decided to look. Though, she figured, there’d probably be nothing and the mystery of why Buffy and Riley split would forever remain just that - a mystery.

There was only a single drawer, and when she opened it she found a picture lying upside down with a necklace on top of it. First, she picked up the necklace and laced it through her fingers. Strange that it was only a black piece of string through two teeth, like animal fangs. It wasn’t beautiful, nor was it pretty. It definitely couldn’t have gone with anything, so maybe it was for sentimental value. Perhaps he went hunting as a little boy and these two fangs belonged to the first animal he killed. It didn’t seem likely, but it was the only explanation that made sense to her at the time.

Then there was the photo. She stared at it for a while, curious but cautious as well. Hopefully, no one would be too mad at her for prying. But remembering how everyone usually gave her the brush off and how Buffy refused to treat her with anything resembling respect or compassion, she became bold and quickly turned the photo over expecting to find the answer to her mystery.

A smile crossed her face at the thought of telling Buffy she knew why her and Riley had broken up, that even the little girl who no one seemed to notice knew exactly what was going on. But when she turned the photo over she felt her stomach drop.

There was Riley, and he was with someone else. But it wasn’t the secret lover or girlfriend she’d been expecting. It wasn’t the proof she needed to solve her mystery - not exactly.

Her eyes widened and she felt tears threatening to overcome her. She wanted to rip the photo in half, or throw it in a fire and watch it burn. It was sick, and it had to be a lie.

Riley with Spike, the vampire curled at his leg wearing weird clothing and a leash like a dog - and Riley was the owner. She wanted to throw up.

Then Riley had walked in. Her back had been turned to the soldier as she sat on the floor, holding the necklace in one hand and the photo in the other.

“What are you doing?” Riley asked softly, the soldier lacking any emotion in his voice.

She didn’t answer, but instead stood and turned to him with the photo and necklace in hand, tears trickling down her cheeks. His eyes widened a bit, not much - but enough to show he knew he’d been caught. She nearly screamed at him, with all the questions going through her mind and wanting to explode in a rage. Is this a joke? Is this Spike? How could you? I thought you were the good guy, and you’re just a monster like the rest of them.

Riley wasn’t any different. He was more of a monster than Buffy’s previous boyfriend. He was worse - demons couldn’t lie about what they were, they just were. Riley became a monster to her then. All the pity she thought she had for this man faded and she just wanted to see Spike - to know that he was OK.

“Give that to me,” he said, but obviously he wasn’t going to force her. He held out a hand, a shaky weak hand. His whole body seemed on the verge of collapse, and she would have loved nothing more than to see him fall.

“No!” She said coldly. She stared at him with furious hazel eyes, his a sickly grey. But he didn’t press it, and instead quietly grabbed his car keys.

“C’mon, I’ll take you home.” She stood for a while, staring at him as more tears fell from her face. How could he stand there knowing she knew, and not acknowledge it?

“No, I want to know where he is. I’m not leaving until you tell me!” She stood her ground, her body trembling. If that monster had killed Spike, she’d make sure he got what he deserved.

He turned to her, eyes mirroring her sorrow. She brushed it off, Riley couldn’t feel remorse. Not after what he did.

“I’m taking you home. And I’ll need those back.” He put out his opened hand, expecting her to simply give up the only proof she had of his inhumanity. She shook her head and refused.

“I’m not giving you anything! You take me home now, and I keep these. I’m going to make sure Buffy knows what kind of monster you are,” she spat, anger evident as her eyes narrowed - her vision blurry. But surprisingly, he didn’t refuse and simply walked out the door beckoning her to follow.

The car ride seemed long. She couldn’t stand sitting next to him, when all she wanted was for the car to run itself off a cliff with him inside. Her not in it of course, but even so, she wanted him gone. He made no attempt to speak or explain. So she sat as still as possible, trying to keep her tears down while holding the necklace and photo close to her heart. How could this happen?

When they arrived Riley accompanied her to the front door, slouching and keeping his eyes averted from hers. He'd known not to look at her, and she’d been glad.

When Buffy answered the door, her immediate reaction was shock as she saw Riley standing there with her younger sister. A sister she was supposed to be watching and hadn’t even realized was missing until the moment that sister appeared at the door. Usually, Dawn would have reveled in the knowledge that Buffy would feel bad about it later, but right now she wanted answers. And she wanted to tell Buffy how right leaving Riley actually was.

When they walked into the living room, Buffy immediately tried to scold her and give her another speech about the dangers of walking around at night, then go on to make her feel even more of a burden. Well sorry Buffy, not everything is about you, she thought angrily. This is about him, and the monster you dated.

She silenced Buffy mid-sentence, yelling at her sister to be quiet.

“Buffy listen to me, you dated a monster!” She said coldly, not caring Riley was only feet away, sitting on the couch. She knew he was sulking even more.

“This has nothing to do with that Dawn, you walked out of this house and you know what could have happened…”

“SHUT UP!” Dawn yelled, tears filling her eyes because Buffy just wouldn’t listen. “Look at these.” She unclenched her tight fist, which held both the necklace and the photo, and presented them to Buffy. Her sister looked at them wide eyed, her body shaking slightly.

“Riley can I speak to you for a moment?” she asked, her gaze never wavering from the objects in Dawn's hand. Riley stood sluggishly, and made his way to her as she prepared to leave the room.

“NO!” Dawn cried out. “I’m sick of this Buffy. You both stay here and tell me what’s going on. I want to know.” More tears began to stream down her face and Buffy saw this. Her sister looked shocked by the photo and fangs, but not surprised. Dawn wasn’t stupid, she knew Buffy had known something about this all along and she'd kept it from her.

They both stood and stared at Dawn as she cried. Buffy spoke and tried to calm her. “Listen Dawn, this is not for you to know…and…”

“No,” Dawn interrupted. “You lied to me Buffy. You said he left town because he couldn’t…he couldn’t stand it here any longer. I… I wanted to believe that because I know he wouldn’t just have left without telling me. I thought there had to be something wrong. I went to his crypt and everything had been burned.”

Buffy attempted to console her in an embrace, but Dawn shrugged her sister off. Hiding her face under her hands, Dawn let herself cry but continued to voice every thought that had traveled through her mind when she'd first laid eyes on that photo. “He was my friend Buffy. He’d come over and talk with me and mom, he kept us company. I knew… I just knew he wouldn’t leave without telling me. But you told me - you told me he left and I just accepted it because I couldn’t take it if something really did happen. And you lied!”

Her voice became harsh and cold. Taking her hands away from her face she glared at both Buffy and Riley. “You tell me now!” she breathed through clenched teeth. “I’m sick of these lies. You tell me right now what happened to him. Is he still down there? Is he alive? What did that monster do to Spike?!”

She stared at Riley, the soldier appearing emotionless but still in a state of unrest. How dare he, she thought. Just a monster, and so was Buffy. Buffy let it happen, and no one would help Spike. She had to get one last comment out before she lost herself in a stream of tears.

“Is that how this works Buffy? Someone becomes a burden, or you don’t like them, and you give them up! You’d let them do that to me too wouldn’t you? You’re both monsters. Spike couldn’t harm anyone. Not with that thing in his head. And you both probably killed him. YOU’RE BOTH MONSTERS!”

Through it all she somehow managed to keep standing as she scolded them both. When she'd finished, her legs buckled and she collapsed onto the floor in a mess of tears, curling into a tight ball and resting her head on her legs. Buffy came to her side and held her close. She was too weak to push her sister off.

“It’s OK Dawn,” Buffy hushed her, rocking her slightly. While she cried, Riley had left. She didn’t have it in her to look at him any longer and not want to kill him herself, so she was glad he’d left. Time passed, and just when she thought the tears would stop and she’d be able to lock herself in the room for weeks - Buffy told her the one thing she wanted to hear.

“Spike’s alive Dawn,” Buffy whispered in her ear. “I can’t explain everything right now, but know that Riley isn’t a monster. Neither am I. Spike’s with Angel now, and if it helps you get through tonight I’ll let you know that Riley was the one who saved him.”

Dawn wiped her tears on her jeans, and quickly turned to Buffy.

“I need to see him,” she pleaded. With everything she was she needed to see that vampire.

Buffy moved, about to stand. Dawn knew her sister wasn’t going to go through with her request. She reached out, grabbed Buffy’s arm and stared her sister in the eyes.

“Buffy please!” she begged. “I need to see him, I just need to know he’s OK. PLEASE!”

Buffy’s expression was filled with pity and sorrow, and she quickly went to the kitchen and returned with car keys in hand.

“C’mon. Let’s go.”

Dawn was surprised Buffy had agreed, but it was a long time coming and she wouldn’t have been able to handle it if she’d known Spike was still alive and had not been able to see her friend again.

**************************************************************************************

When they reached L.A. they arrived at a large hotel. They stepped inside and walked into the lobby. The place was dark, drab, and empty.

She tugged on Buffy’s sleeve.

“Are you sure he works here?”

“Yeah I’m sure.”

They'd wandered the lobby for a while, and Dawn took the time to look at the office behind the main desk. Buffy had gone up the stairway to search for Angel. She peeked inside, seeing a large desk, filing cabinets, and usual office material. It was too dark and she didn’t like it. She turned quickly and hit a solid, hunk of a man dressed all in black.

“What are you doing here?!” The vampire growled, looking down at her in his demon visage.

“BUFFY!” Dawn screamed and ran from the vampire, heading for the stairs. Buffy appeared immediately, grabbing Dawn and shielding her as the dark vampire appeared from the office shadows.

“Angel?” Buffy asked.

“Buffy?” The vampire returned to human guise, and walked toward the pair. He looked at Dawn, her face frozen in terror. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well you did,” Dawn spat out. “Next time watch it when you’re wearing that thing.”

Angel shook his head. “I’m sorry.” He turned his gaze to Buffy. “Why are you here?”

Buffy looked away, “Well, you see… we kind of came to…”

“To what?” Angel asked, aggravated.

“We’re here to see Spike.”

“WHAT!” The vampire growled. Dawn immediately withdrew further behind Buffy. Why did Angel have to be such a jerk, she thought.

“Dawn wants to see him,” Buffy replied.

Angel growled again, and motioned Buffy to come toward him.

“Step into my office Buffy, I think we need to talk - now!” The bitterness in his tone, and the icy cold glare he gave Buffy terrified Dawn. She watched as Buffy followed Angel into the office, neither of them bothering to shut the door.

She found a chair behind the front desk and sat, not listening to what either of them had to say, but hearing as Angel growled each time Spike’s name was mentioned. All she cared about was Spike. Was he OK, and did he need her help - those where the only two thoughts on her mind.

She peered back at the office, Angel had gone back into demon mode and she felt her heart leap. Why was he acting like that? Buffy’s lips moved, her sister talking low, and immediately Angel stormed out of the office turning to face Dawn.

“I’m sorry Dawn, but your sister led you on. You can’t see Spike, now go away!” The vampire growled, demon still remaining.

Anger filled her, she didn’t care any longer if he was a demon or not. She NEEDED to see Spike, and Angel wouldn’t stand in her way.

“And why not!” she growled.

“Because I staked him!”

TBC