AN - warning, there is a very short, non-graphic Biley section in this chapter. You've been warned, so don't bitch at me if you read it and hate it. Trust me, she doesn't find it very exciting;kinda makes her think about somebody else....

Chapter Five

The conversation the following day went as well as could be expected, with both parties having to admit to omitting some pretty major pieces of information when they had originally met. Buffy explained about slayers and watchers and gave Riley a very short, edited version of the things that had happened to her since she’d been called.

She tried to gloss over her relationship with Angel, saying only that he had been cursed with a soul, had lost it temporarily, had it restored and was now living in Los Angeles. Riley seemed a little bewildered by the soul/no-soul thing, but nodded when she assured him that the vampire was very much in her past and that she rarely even talked to him anymore.

In turn, the undercover commando told her about the organization he worked for and their mission to shut down the Hellmouth and to destroy all the demons and vampires drawn to it. He told her he had spoken to his superior officer – which, to Buffy’s surprise, turned out to be her psych professor- and that she was anxious to meet her outside of the classroom and to learn more about slayers.

Buffy thought she held her temper very well when Professor Walsh’s condescending attitude began to rankle. When the older woman smiled in a patronizing fashion as she commented on Buffy’s “poking them with a pointy stick” as a comparison with the high-tech weapons her men used, the Slayer almost lost it, asking tightly, “Riley, how many vamps have you killed this week?”

He goggled at her. “This WEEK?”

“Yes, This week. How many so far?”

“Well, not counting the ones we’ve captured for—“ he broke off at a shake of his boss’s head. “My squad has dusted a total of four,” he said proudly.

Buffy rolled her eyes and stood up, facing her professor.

“I usually get that many in a night. And have been since I moved to Sunnydale when I was fifteen. Do the math, Professor Walsh; then you can smirk at my ‘pointy sticks’”

With a final glare at the visibly shocked woman, she walked out the door and down the hall. She could hear a short conversation behind her; then Riley was running to catch up.

“Buffy – look, I’m sorry. Maggie didn’t mean anything by that. She’s a scientist and to her everything is about the science and technology.”

“Riley, how can you apply science and technology to supernatural beings?”

“Now, Buffy, you don’t really believe these creatures are supernatural, do you? They’re just sub terrestrial animals – a little more sentient than some, but animals never-the-less. That whole Good versus Evil thing you were talking about – well, it just doesn’t hold up. They aren’t evil; they just can’t control themselves the way humans can. A vampire can no more control his bloodlust, or his actions, than a wild dog can.”

“How, exactly, do you account for Angel’s soul and the curse that put it in? Or werewolves? Or the Hellmouth, itself, for that matter?”

“I can’t explain about your…friend’s soul or lack of soul…I suspect there is a logical explanation, though. We may want to look into that when we’re through here in Sunnydale though.”

“How do you explain me, Riley?”

“Oh, that’s the easy one. That organization that watches you – I ‘m sure they’ve enhanced you somehow. Maggie would love to know what they used, just in case it’s better than what she gives us. Maybe you can get Mr. Giles to talk to her about it?” he concluded eagerly.

Buffy shook her head helplessly and shrugged. “Okay, Riley. You win. I hope you don’t have to learn the hard way.”

“See you tonight?” he asked as she turned to go into the building for her next class.

“Sure. I’ll see you tonight. Right after patrol.”

Before he could offer to patrol with her, she ran in to the building repeating like a mantra, “He’s nice. He’s normal. He likes me. He’s nice. He’s normal. He likes me. He’s nice. He’s….”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agreeing to disagree about the supernatural origins of the creatures they were hunting on a nightly basis, Buffy and Riley continued to build their tentative relationship. Somehow, knowing that Riley was not as normal as she had originally thought was less of a problem than she expected.

(Maybe Spike’s right. Maybe I can’t do normal. I need something more. Somebody who is more an equal. Somebody who understands me, and what I am. Okay, Riley’s still not much with the understanding, but at least he’s strong and he hunts vamps and demons. That’s got to be a plus, right? I mean, yay super strength and…stuff.)

The night that Maggie Walsh insisted that Riley’s squad ambush Buffy as she walked across campus so that Maggie could “evaluate and confirm” what the girl said about herself and her powers, took the relationship to a new level; one for which Riley had been waiting for some time. When Buffy had easily and successfully put all his men on the ground unconscious and moaning, the big commando found himself turned on by her as never before. To his delight, the workout seemed to have had the same effect on the Slayer and she raced him back to his room at Lovell House.

(This just proves that I’m normal and that I really like this guy. That’s why I’m turned on. It’s got nothing to do with the fight I had first. It’s because I really like Riley. I’m ready to take our relationship to the next level. It’s got nothing to do with being a slayer and getting turned on by violence…)

In the back of her mind she heard sarcastic laughter – male and female. The female laughter sounded uncomfortably like Faith, and the male snickering sounded much too much like someone she really didn’t want to be thinking about when she was just about to have sex with her boyfriend. Resolutely blocking the laughter and the accompanying visuals from her mind, she threw herself into the proceedings - to Riley’s delighted surprise and the subsequent test of his stamina.

“Wow,” he managed to gasp, when he finally had to admit defeat and call for a rest. “Whatever they give you Slayers, I want some. In fact,” he said, with a warm smile and a kiss, “I think I’m going to need it, if that’s an example of what we’re going to be doing.”

Buffy managed to suppress her eye roll, but her disobedient thoughts went to another, smaller, stronger body, one that didn’t need to rest between bouts of very physical sex. One that didn’t require her to pretend more satisfaction than she currently felt. She was almost grateful when Riley rolled over and began to snore, thus freeing her from stroking his ego any more than she already had.

Using an early class as an excuse, she got up very early and dressed hastily. She pretended not to notice his disappointment as she kissed him quickly and ran out the door. Once again, her steps were accompanied by a mental chant; this time, “He’s human, he likes me, he’s almost normal. He’s human, he likes me, he’s almost nor—“

If, in the dark of night and the privacy of her own bed, she was secretly disappointed that Spike had left so willingly, without even saying “good-bye” to her mother, she smothered the feeling as best she could; telling herself that it was no more than could be expected of an evil, soulless creature. I told him to leave, and he left. What was I expecting? That one night of sex – most of which I wasn’t even me for – would make him fall in love with me? I don’t want him to fall in love with me, anyway. I don’t…


TBC