Disclaimer: So not mine. If I really owned the Buffy verse there would have been some massive changes let me tell you!

Author’s note: Many huggles to the wonderful Bloodytearsoflife who is a wonderful beta and great friend.
_______________________
Chapter 25: Riley

Buffy looked the man with Faith up and down, appraising her former sister Slayer’s choice in men. He had that ‘just in from the farm’ quality to him. There was even a whiff of ‘farm’ on the air around him. It was kinda gross.

The small talk between Willow, Faith, and this Riley person was progressing to the awkward silence stage, but even so, Buffy wanted to stay there for a little while longer. There was something about the guy that she wanted to check out. Buffy wanted to think that she still had her Slayer sense about these things, but she knew she didn’t. She had that vampire senses thing going for her. And her vampire senses told her that this was one was one to watch. Not in a ‘he’s a good lunch’ type sense either.

“What else don’t you know about Faith?” asked Buffy inquisitively looking up at Riley and batting her eyelashes.

Faith stepped towards Buffy and reached out her hand. Grabbing the vampire’s wrist, Faith’s eyes flashed. Faith was marking territory with this guy.

“Shouldn’t you be in a dark, dank hole right now?” noted Faith with a snarl.

With a smile, Buffy batted her eyelashes at Riley and then turned to Faith. “Nope, I’m off to the beach.” Buffy waved as she and Willow continued on their way.

As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Buffy forced Willow behind a bush.

“I have a hunch,” started Buffy. “I think he’s one of the guys that was in the cemetery last night. Faith’s going out with one of the commandos.”

“Are you sure that she’s going out with him?” whispered Willow while trying to peer around the bush.

Buffy looked at her friend with an eye roll before realising that even though Willow had lived with vampires for a couple of weeks, she wasn’t exactly up on all the vampire senses.

“Faith smell was all over him. They’ve definitely had smoochies,” explained Buffy.

“He’s too old for her,“ noted Willow in a mother hen type of way. “Exactly how old do you think he is? Do you think he knows that she’s too young for him? Are we still going to the beach?”

Buffy nodded. “I wouldn’t miss the beach for anything.”
____________________________
Buffy’s thoughts kept returning to Faith’s latest boy toy. It made her trip to the beach really irritating. She knew that she should be enjoying her first trip to the beach as a vampire, but it wasn’t happening. She wanted to check him out, ask him questions. Force the answers out of that wider than wide mouth and expose the whole ugly military cover up to Giles.

On the other hand, she just wanted to cuddle up with her sire. Spike would make everything better. Somehow she knew that he wasn’t the be all and end all, fixing all problems within their clan. It was the slayer part of her that spurred her into action when her demon wanted to leave it to Spike. But she liked to think that he would never let her get hurt. She didn’t want to be captured by these commandos at all. Who knew what the government was doing to their minions.

Lying side by side on the white sand of the beach, Willow could tell that Buffy was preoccupied with thoughts of an unpleasant nature. The best friend in her wanted to seek out this Riley guy and try to find out more. But what if the military wanted witches to experiment on too?

Willow had been careful about performing witchcraft in front of non scoobies since she’d come back from LA. Even Oz had remarked that she didn’t do much out in the open anymore. Almost being burnt at the stake had changed her, that was for sure.

It had changed Amy too, Willow noted. Amy Madison wasn’t exactly secretive about her witchcraft but she was certainly less open about it. It seemed that Sunnydale had closed in on its darker aspects and tried harder to keep them secret from the general population.

Willow rolled over on her towel and batted at a fly buzzing around her head.

“Are you excited about college now?” asked Willow, avoiding the topic that probably should be talked about. “Now that you have the ugly accessory?”

Buffy let out a sigh. “Not really? It sounds bad, after all I’ve been telling Spike for months that I really, really want to go to college. I’m starting to have, not regrets, but worries that I’m maybe putting too much effort into the whole thing. He’s dug me up a mythical vampire ring thing for me, to make me happy, I really didn’t want him to go to so much effort. You know? What happens if I decide to drop out? What if I decide I really like it? What will that mean to him?”

Willow nodded, trying to understand.

“I’m getting cold feet about college!” noted Buffy exasperated about her own emotions.

“You could be the first vampire to earn a college degree!” bubbled Willow, trying to make her friend feel better about this. “Buffy, it’s not as big a deal for you. You don’t need college to get a job and start your life. You have an unlife without college. And it’s not like Spike can’t afford to pay for your tuition. You’ve told me he’s loaded.”

“He is,” agreed Buffy. “I just can’t help but think that maybe I should have better priorities.”
____________________________
The campus was overwhelming to Buffy on orientation day. She kept her hand tightly clenched, afraid that the ring would slip off in some crazed orientation prank and her secret would be out in the open. Also she didn’t want to burn down the school. Two schools burned down in the course of her life was enough thank you very much. Ushered from table to table and told that she was in the wrong place numerous times, Buffy almost decided to head home. This was so not worth the feelings of inadequacy and fear that this excursion was producing. Luckily at that moment Willow found her, completely awed and enraptured by the college experience.

“Don’t you love the campus? The atmosphere?” chimed Willow in a happy voice, oblivious to Buffy’s feeling of being overwhelmed.

They were joined by Oz, who greeted Willow in a very couply way. Buffy suddenly wished that Spike was at school with her. He’d probably feel right at home on a college campus again, he went to Oxford after all. Yep, there needed to be a second Gem of Amara for Spike.

He had been happy for her and her coed dreams that morning before he and the minions had headed off to bed, and she went off to campus. It was an odd feeling to be separated from him during the day. She had enjoyed their time together that summer. It seemed that their lives had finally started to have some sort of routine. Everything felt right, even with the minions.

“Have you gotten your books yet?” asked Willow, holding Oz’s hand.

Buffy shook her head no. “But I am fully prepared to spend hundreds on textbooks I will only use once with Spike’s money. I think I’ll get him something too.”

“At the university bookstore?” questioned Willow.

Buffy smiled coyly, unwilling to give away Spike’s secret just yet. Willow said goodbye to her boyfriend and led Buffy towards the bookstore, as if it was imperative that she get her books this instant.

The bookstore was cramped, piles of texts waiting to be purchased by students of every major. Willow led Buffy to the psychology section and planted her in front of the Psych 101 textbook.

“You need this book. I’ve heard that Professor Walsh is tough. You’ve got to do all the readings before class.”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and reached up to grab a copy, starting her pile of mass purchasing. A book slipped and fell off the shelf. Instinctively, Buffy reached out and grabbed that book too, narrowly missing a sandy haired blond man from getting clocked in the head.

The man stood up to offer his thanks. It was Riley, Faith’s ‘friend.’

“Good reflexes,” he commented.

“Thanks,” Buffy offered. She noted the textbook that he was holding in his hand was the same one that had almost hit him on the head. “You taking Psych 101 too?” she asked, confused. Riley didn‘t look like he was a freshman.

Riley began to chuckle. “I’m the teaching assistant. I thought it would be a good idea to have a copy of the text,” he explained, running his hand through his hair.

His eyes locked with Buffy’s as if trying to figure her out. Buffy stared straight back at him, trying to do the very same thing.

“Do you know Professor Walsh well?” asked Willow, eager to get intelligence on her newest teacher, and completely unaware of the staring match that was taking place between her two companions.

“I’ve been a student of hers for a while now,” Riley explained, his eyes fleeting at Willow as he spoke.

Buffy smiled at his comment and then a thought occurred to her. “Was this before or after the marines?” she asked, going on a hunch.

“After,” blurted Riley, and then his eyes narrowed on her. “How did you know…?” he asked confused.

“I just have great instincts,” the vampire noted. “How long have you been in the military?”

“Since High school, they’ve put me though college. There’s a great pay raise when you make officer,” he explained.

“I’m sure there is,” responded Buffy, batting her eyelashes.

“I’ve never heard anything about the military setting up a base around here,” observed Willow. “I’m sure I would have heard about it. My mother would have been protesting.”

Riley got a funny look on his face. “Oh there is no base around here. I’m just here for school. Two years off to do my master’s in psychology.”

Riley’s heart beat faster, confirming, to Buffy, that he was lying. She let him keep his lie though. She didn’t need to expose him in his lie right now. This was not the time or the place.

An awkward silence filled the air between the three. Buffy continued to stare down the commando, while Willow tried to think of something else to say. Riley’s eyes darted from place to place, avoiding Buffy’s hard stare. His lighted on a flyer that was tucked haphazardly in Buffy’s tote bag.

“You going?” asked Riley pointing to the flyer.

Absently Buffy looked at the flyer and winced. “I don’t know, I didn’t think I’d know many people there. Looks like it’s going to be all people who live in the dorms,” she said truthfully.

“You live off campus?” asked Riley. “With your parents?”

Buffy shook her head.

“Faith said you lived with your family…” explained Riley.

“Well, will you look at the time?” noted Buffy looking at her watchless wrist. “I promised Anya I’d meet up with her. We should get the rest of our books and check out. Wills?” asked the vampire.

Willow nodded with a small smile. It seemed a bit rude to Willow to leave Riley hanging there in the psychology section, but he had way too many questions.

“I’ll see you in class!” Riley called out behind them as they left.

Buffy could feel jealous twinges from her mate in his sleep.
____________________________
By the time Buffy had gotten back from coffee and blood with Anya, the mansion was quiet. The only signs of unlife were the four minions that were on guard at the doors.

“Master Spike went out to feed, Mistress,” greeted one of the minions.

Buffy rolled her eyes at the fact that Spike couldn’t wait for her to get home before going out. She dropped her bag of really heavy textbooks, leaving them for the minions to take up to her room, and headed out into the night. She wanted to find Spike.

As she walked she reached out through her link to him. He was on the hunt, a fact that didn’t really bother her. She just hoped that he was done with whom ever he was drinking by the time she happened upon the scene.

Buffy walked into the alley in which Spike was stalking his victim. Her vampire eyes saw at once that Spike was clearly working the lonely girl in an alley angle. This chick had her hands all over Buffy’s man.

“Spike?” Buffy cooed in their direction. "Honey?” she continued as girly as she could.

The girl looked up from her hands that had been pressed against Spike’s chest and at his blue eyes then to Buffy’s green ones at the entrance to the alley.

“You have a girlfriend?” asked the girl.

“You didn’t ask,” he countered answering her question. “Goldilocks!” he chastised at his mate with annoyance.

“Not girlfriend, actually,” noted Buffy. “Wife,” she said smiling.

“Huh?” questioned Spike’s victim.

That was the last thing she ever said. Spike turned to look at the girl, this time in vamp face and sunk his teeth into her neck.

Instead of cringing, as she had always done previously when she saw another vamp feed, she looked on with awe. Her tongue poked out of her pink mouth and licked her lips as she watched.

Then she realised what she was doing. Her eyes went wide for a moment, before she turned and ran.
____________________________
Spike dropped his meal in the alley and turned towards his mate as she ran. He sighed, wiping the blood from his lips. “Buffy!” he almost whined.

He found her sitting on a beach, in the middle of the UC Sunnydale campus, and talking to another man he had never seen before.

“You think girls can’t take care of themselves in the dark?” his Goldilocks asked the sandy haired youth.

“You really have to get inside, Buffy,” noted the man.

“No actually, I don’t,” she countered.

Spike could sense the anger of his mate. Most likely she had been expecting to find him out here, and not this moronic farm boy.

“Yes, you do,” insisted the boy. “It’s dangerous out here at night. There are things…things out here in the dark that like to take advantage of little girls like you.”

“Maybe that’s what I’m out here to find!” Buffy spouted defiantly. “Please just go away!”

Riley grabbed her elbow and pulled her to a standing position. “I am not leaving you out here by yourself!” he declared.

Buffy pulled her arm away from him and was about to fire back a well thought out retort when Spike stepped out of the shadows.

The tell tale beeping of military gadgets pierced the night’s silence and Riley visibly cringed as Spike stepped towards the pair, either from his comrades being loud or the sudden appearance of a vampire on the scene.

“She’s not here by herself, mate,” noted Spike in a low voice, but looking directly on the man who, until only recently was handling his mate. “The girl’s mine, boy.”
____________________________
tbc…