Chapter 4

"So, is this Riley some kind of supervamp or something?" Tina O’Brian’s eyes were lit up with excitement. She loved it when Buffy called a meeting of what she called the Scooby Gang East.

Buffy looked at the teenage slayer. "Uh, no. Actually, as vampires go he is quite young, at most, only seven years old. So he won’t be very powerful that way. But as a human, he was a trained military commando. He will still remember all that stuff, right William?" She looked at William who was sitting slumped on a dining room chair at a distance from the rest of the group.

"No...He’ll think he’s a bloody cocktail waitress from Kent!" William snarled. He had been in a thoroughly nasty mood since the phone call from Xander a couple of hours before.

"Okay." Buffy was determined not to lose her temper. " I take that to mean he will retain all of his commando training." She looked to Pricilla Scott for confirmation. The watcher nodded her head, looking askance at William. She still had doubts about including a vampire in these meetings, and Williams’s attitude tonight was not helping. "He may also have help…I hesitate to use the word minions, but.."

William snorted derisively.

"Plus there’s the personal factor!" Winnie, the somewhat flaky Secretary of Big Bad Investigations, spoke up brightly, "I mean you did date the guy for a year, am I right?"

Buffy glared at her sister Dawn who shrugged. "Your life story isn’t exactly private, Buffy. I mean you’ve even made the history books. Well, the Council ones anyway."

"That’s right," Tina spoke up, "I read your whole life history in Giles’ Watcher’s Diary."

Buffy sighed. It was true. In certain circles, she was a legend. Not much privacy there. "Well, since you all know my history so well, then you all know I have previous experience with this kind of thing. Angelus took particular pleasure in coming after me and my friends when he lost his soul. Riley may well do the same."

"Bloody pillock," muttered William, though whether referring to Riley or Angel, it was unclear.

"Well, anyway," she reached into a manila folder and removed a large somewhat faded photograph, "this is his picture, so you’ll know him if he shows."

"You still have his bloody photo?" William exploded.

"William! Cut it out! He was part of my history, as everyone is so eager to point out. Of course, I still have his picture. Now, stop being such a wanker!" She hoped that her use of his British slang would elicit a smile. It didn’t. Oh, it was going to be a fun evening. She passed the photo around.

"Oh, he’s cute! Looks tall too." Said Tina. At 15, and 5’10, she was beginning to fill out and grow into her coltish arms and legs. In a few years, she would be a pretty girl. Right now, she was a mass of teenage insecurities, not to mention being The Slayer, which, Buffy knew, added just that little something extra to the pain of growing up.

"Looks strong too," sighed Winnie, as she passed the photo to Miss Scott. Pricilla Scott studied the photo but was silent. She seldom spoke at these meetings, though she was useful as a resource, like Giles had been. Mostly she was there to keep an overprotective eye on her slayer.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Back when he was in the Initiative, Riley was chipped, wired, and fed a lot of drugs, which gave him super strength. He removed most of the hardware himself, and a doctor eventually removed the rest, and he stopped taking the drugs, so that by the time he left Sunnydale, he was pretty much back to normal. Just your average commando guy. Still, he could have started taking those drugs again, when he rejoined the army. Would they affect him now?"

"Don’t think so," said William, making an effort to cooperate after Buffy’s outburst. "Drugs don’t have much effect on us. Temporary at best. Our bodies reject them like they reject viruses, and other nasty things. Of course, there was that one time at Woodstock. Did I ever tell you lot about that?"

"Yes!" the group answered in chorus. William sunk back into his sulk.

"Now actually, according to Xander, all Riley wants is to find Drusilla. Apparently, she is his sire, and they were uh, together for a few years. From what we know, she left him to come here to New York, where she found William a few months ago and unchipped him, trying to turn him back into a murderer. However, he resisted her. Then, for reasons best known to himself, he allowed her to escape."

"She bloody well helped me! I told you all. I couldn’t just let her get staked. She left town. She’s not causin’ any more trouble."

"I seriously doubt that," said Buffy. "Trouble is her middle name."

"Maybe if we just tell Riley that we don’t know where Dru is, he’ll leave peacefully! " suggested Dawn.

"Honey, I know you liked Riley.." Buffy began, "but..."

Dawn shrugged, "He bought me ice cream once when mom was sick…it was hardly a life time commitment. I just hate the thought of staking the guy, that’s all. I mean, we knew him."

"Well, he’s no longer the person we knew, Dawn. He murdered the people who moved into our old house. The wife was pregnant. Xander says he seemed nice enough at first, but it was all a big act. He changed right away, as soon as he knew Xander was on to him. He could have killed them, if Willow hadn’t called."

"Well, if you ask me, he was no bargain when he was alive. But then again, he staked me, and hurt the woman I love, so I might be prejudiced." Spike announced, jumping to his feet. "I say stake the bastard good and proper, as soon as he shows his face!"

"That is probably the best approach to take, Buffy, as much as I hate to say it, dear, " said Miss Scott, rising. "As he is a vampire, our duty is clear."

"Don’t worry, Buffy, I can take him. Even if he is cute." Said Tina, unfolding her long frame from the recliner.

"I agree, Pricilla. Thank you all for coming." said Buffy. "Remember, we must all take extra precautions. As you know my friends are all arriving tomorrow, and the wedding is the following day. Then we leave to drive down south for two weeks, so I hope that this will all be resolved by then. I would hate to postpone our trip, but we won’t leave you as long as there is a threat. Thanks again guys, for coming by. I’ll see you all tomorrow night at John’s Pizzeria, 8 PM, for the big rehearsal dinner."

"We’ll finally get to meet the Scooby gang West." Said Winnie, heaving her bulk out of one of Buffy’s larger chairs.

"Uh, Winnie? Perhaps you shouldn’t call them that. I think they think of themselves as the one and only Scooby Gang. "

"Except for the ones in the cartoon and that stupid movie," added Dawn, getting up to hand out coats to the departing guests.

Pricilla and Tina left, followed by Winnie. Dawn hugged Buffy and William, and left also, to spend the night at her boyfriend Jason’s apartment. William and Buffy were alone.

"Well, thanks a lot, Spike. You were very helpful." Buffy got up and began clearing the soda cans and teacups from the living room, making somewhat more noise than was strictly necessary.

"Spike? You’re callin’ me Spike now?"

"Well, you were certainly acting like Spike. For a moment there I thought we were back in Sunnydale."

"What, you goin’ to punch me next? I don’t have the chip any more, you know. Want to go a few rounds Slayer?"

"William, I know you’re upset about Riley coming back. I am too. But moping around and being sarcasm guy isn’t going to help. And I really don’t think that punching each other is going to help either."

"Might be fun though."

"Spike stop it. I have to clean up. We’re having a house full of people tomorrow, remember? And you’re going to wake Emily up."

"Hmmph. I can remember when you couldn’t wait to punch me. Has the spark gone out of our relationship?"

"William, you are a total wanker." Buffy kissed him, hands full of dishes. "I can’t believe I am marrying you."

"And I can’t believe you still have Riley’s picture."

Oh shit. Buffy knew that he had taken that revelation much too well. She brought the dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink. She came back into the living room and walked over to William.

"William, listen to me, and listen good. I am not now, nor was I ever in love with Riley Finn. I wanted to love him, he was everything I wanted in a boyfriend, but it just didn’t happen. And he did what he did, and left me, and I got over it. You, on the other hand, were exactly the opposite of what I wanted in a boyfriend. I didn’t want to love you, but I did anyway, and I do now. Have you got that through your head? Yes, I still have a picture of Riley. I have a picture of Angel too. And pictures of Giles. And my High School Yearbook. And pictures of Xander, and Willow and even a goofy one of Oz. They are a part of my history, and I am not getting rid of them. Okay? Insecure much?"

"Well, I once told GI Joe that he wasn’t your long-haul guy because you needed a man with a little monster in him."

"You told him that? When?"

"The day he left. Right after he staked me, with that soddin’ plastic stake of his. Two of us ended up drinkin’ together. Told me he’d kill me for real if I ever touched you. Ha! Anyway, now he’s got all the monster in him that you could possibly want."

"William, is that what you really think? That I am going to trade you in for a newer model vampire? He doesn’t have a soul!"

"Ahem."

"Okay, you don’t either. Technically. But I really don’t think of you as a basic soulless vampire. If I did, I wouldn’t be marrying you, that’s for certain. So, you don’t have to worry about Riley, okay? I just don’t want this to ruin our wedding. What I really wish is that he would just call you up, ask you where Drusilla is. You tell him you don’t know and he goes away. That’s my wish."

"Except that I do."

"You do what?"

"Know where Drusilla is."

"What?"

"I know where Dru is. She’s in New Jersey. Living down by the waterfront. Fort Lee."

"Drusilla is in New Jersey," Buffy stated in a deadly calm voice," And you know this, how?"

William studied the pattern of the carpet. "She phoned me, ‘bout a month ago."

"I see. And when were you planning on mentioning this to all of us, and to me in particular?"

"I was actually planning on never mentioning’ it at all, until this Riley thing came along."

"Oh."

"Buffy, love. She’s all-alone. Darla’s dust, and Angel set her on fire last time she saw him. I’m the only family she has left. She’s not causing any trouble, love. I haven’t seen her, or anything. I just talked to her that once. Told her to hang in there."

"Well, isn’t that nice of you. And you have the gall to complain about Riley’s picture? You son of a bitch!" She raised her fist in furious anger, but stopped herself just seconds before socking him. "Oh no, Spike. I am SO not going to go there! Get out."

"Get out? Buffy, I…"

"You have an apartment of your own. Go there. I can’t look at you right now."

"Buffy, you aren’t being fair. It’s not like that, she’s…"

"What…family? Oh, that’s right, she’s your sire, right? So does that make her your mother? Or your lover? Or both? Just get out, Spike. I can’t deal with your sick vampire shit right now."

"Sick vampire shit? Well it isn’t any sicker than the human shit I’ve had to put up with. All you holier than thou humans lookin’ down your noses at me. Like that bitch Priscilla Scott lookin’ at me like you invited a cockroach into your kitchen. Well, maybe I’ve had it with playing by your rules! Oh, I’ll go all right. The question is...will I come back?" He grabbed his brown leather jacket and slammed out of the apartment.