destructo-girl.com

"One Thing Leads to Another "

Author: Pamela
Contact: destructo-girl@cox.net
Notes: This hasn't been beta read... please ignore any mistakes.

"So, Buffy… it says here that you are willing to work the early shift. You do realize that you have to be here at five o'clock in the morning for that, right?" the older man doing the interview asked.

Buffy nodded, "It actually works out best for me. I'm the sole guardian of my little sister. She's fifteen, but I still don't like to leave her alone much. At least this way I will only not be around for her in the mornings… I think it's better than having her be on her own afternoons or evenings."

"Oh, you take care of your sister? Well, that requires a lot of responsibility," Douglas Markerson replied, impressed.

He decided in that moment that she was definitely worthy of being hired. She obviously wasn't just working for money to buy clothes, and that meant she would work hard to keep the job.

Besides, one look at her face and he could tell that the reason behind her being her sister's guardian wasn't a happy one.

"Could you start next Monday? This is Elaine's last week… she's the one you'll be replacing."

"You're welcome," he smiled gently. "Now, I have to go get some paperwork for you to fill out and then we'll get you a uniform ordered so you will be all ready to go next Monday. You already have waitressing experience, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you."

As Mr. Markerson left her alone at the table in the diner, Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. She had a job… granted, she was a waitress… but she had income!

"I'll look for something better in a few months. For now, I have a job so we have money to make car payments and I am happy," Buffy replied, "Besides, the great thing about waitressing is that you get tips so you don't have to starve until your next paycheck."

"It was a figure of speech," Buffy sighed. "I told you not to worry, we're fine. It's just that getting a new car makes a new job necessary."

"You know, you can sue the guy who hit you," Anya piped in as she carried some books over to a shelf near them. "Then you wouldn't have to get a degrading job hauling food to people and cleaning messes."

"Oh, it doesn't matter, I'm sure you will win and then you can pay the lawyer with your settlement money!" Anya explained.

"Good, you're here… I was worried you had forgotten," Dawn said, gathering her bag and jacket.

"Yes, and Buffy don't forget to stay away from my boyfriend. I still remember many torturous things that I can do to you from my demon days," Anya reminded her.

"So, how did the interview go?" Xander asked as they followed Dawn out of the store and to his car.

"Yeah… I'm a little leery about being gone in the mornings, but I think I can trust Dawn to get herself up and ready for her drama class on the days she has it… and on the days she won't, I am going to allow her to be alone until I get home. I get off at one, so she won't be left to her own devices for all that long a time. I figure she has less a chance of getting into trouble than if I worked a later shift."

"It sounds good to me. Dawn's got to have a chance at staying home alone sometime," Xander nodded, "Hey, how's she going to get to her class? I can drive her if you want."

"That's sweet," she smiled, "but it's okay. I talked to Mary's mother this afternoon and she agreed to drive Dawn every morning and I will pick the girls up every afternoon."

"Aww, you're driving in a carpool! When's your first PTA meeting?" Xander teased.

"So, how'd it go? I've been wondering all day. I even tried to call when I got home from work, but the phone was busy, so I changed and… that's why I came over," Graham babbled uncharacteristically. After he had started going, he had felt rather self-conscious. Unfortunately, it had never occurred to him on the drive over that being so anxious to hear if she got the job made his true feelings rather transparent.

Buffy tried not to allow herself to be too encouraged by that little omission. She was just… misinterpreting friendly interest as more. It was probably wishful thinking.

"That's great!" He hugged her tightly without thinking, then pulled back as it hit him that this wasn't exactly appropriate. Giving her an awkward smile, he added, "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks… it's just a waitressing job, which as Dawn says, is 'icky', but it's a start."

"Hey, you could do a lot worse. Sure, if you could go get a job as a CEO of a company and sit behind a desk while collecting a massive paycheck, I would recommend it… but for right now, this is good."

"I know… it's money… which I need. Granted, it's not the money I will deserve for all the hard work and crap I will get from customers, but without a college education, I'm not going to do much better," Buffy said, leading him into the living room.

"Well, maybe you'll find an opening working in an office as a receptionist or something," he said optimistically as they sat next to each other on the couch.

"Yeah… but those are usually nine-to-five and then Dawn will be left alone all afternoon once she goes back to school."

"She's fifteen, Buffy," Graham reminded her, "It's pretty common for kids her age to be left alone."

She sighed, "I know… and when I was her age, I was already babysitting her… but Dawn's not like other kids. I loved my mother more than anything, but she screwed up with Dawn. She babied her too much, didn't give her responsibilities… so she couldn't be left alone. Seriously, it wasn't fun for me to not be able to go out so that I could watch Dawn, but if I hadn't, she would have gotten into trouble in some way."

"Well… she actually has matured a lot since Mom died. I don't know, maybe leaving her home alone won't be a huge disaster after all."

Buffy nodded, "In the mornings, before her drama class three days a week, and twice a week she is on her own until I get home from work."

"Well, that's perfect, because it's the daytime and not any long stretches of time all alone. It can be a test to see how she'll do if you get a better job."

Putting her face in her hands as the stress got to her, she replied, "And what if she fails? What if Dawn totally screws up without supervision?"

Graham pulled her hands away and lifted her chin to make her look at him. "First of all, I really believe she won't screw up. But if she does… you have me, and Giles and Willow, Xander… all your friends. Between all of us, I am sure an arrangement can be made so that Dawn is always with one of us."

"It's not easy… but it's not a catastrophe, either. You're going to have to work hard. You're going to be tired and have to deal with bills and stress and all that not-so-fun stuff, but you will do it. You'll get through it all just fine."

"I don't know how Mom did it. I know that she would spend hours going through bills, but she did it. She ran our house and made sure Dawn and I always had food and clothes and went to school and at the same time she ran a gallery."

"Your mother didn't just wake up and start doing all that at when she was twenty. She got married and she and your dad dealt with bills and careers. She got to get used to it, while having someone to share the load with, before you and Dawn came along. You're overwhelmed, understandably, but you aren't alone. You know that, right?"

Smiling sheepishly, she explained, "I was too nervous about my interview to eat breakfast and after Xander took Dawn to her party, he took me to the grocery store so I just got home a little while ago. I was planning on making dinner soon… want to join me?"

"I have a better idea. Let me take you out for a celebratory dinner," Graham offered.

"I know I don't… I want to," he answered honestly. He really did feel like celebrating… plus, as much as he liked Dawn, it would be nice to take her sister to a restaurant all alone. It wouldn't be a date, but did it hurt to pretend?

"What time is the party supposed to be over?" Graham asked as they left the parking lot of the restaurant.

"Oh… it's only just past seven. If we were to pick her up now, it would be too early."

"Yeah… I suppose we could go to my house," Buffy replied, wondering if he was alluding to what she thought he might be alluding to. "But that would be kind of inconvenient. For the time it would take us to go there and then to drive to the rink… once we got to the house, we'd just have to turn around and leave."

"Mmmm…" Graham moaned, reluctantly breaking their kiss as the being in the front seat grew too uncomfortable. "Let's move to the back."

Once in the backseat, Buffy sat sideways in Graham's lap and they resumed their steamy make-out session. Slowly, he began inching his hand up her thigh, happy that she was wearing a skirt. Not only because she had great legs… but it made things easier.

When they broke apart to breathe, Buffy panted, "I don't think we have room to have sex."

"We do," he smirked, "but it wouldn't be very comfortable. There's other stuff we can do though."

With that, Graham's hand slipped under her skirt and moved between her legs to her mound, covered by her damp panties. Buffy gasped and closed her eyes, clenching his shoulders as his fingers applied delicious friction to all the right spots. He moved them underneath the material, sliding one finger inside her and another began to mercilessly tease her clit.

Buffy groaned and bit her bottom lip, throwing her head back as she grew closer to orgasm.

The hand that had previously been resting on her hip while he helped support her with his arm moved up to cup her breast through the thin material of her blouse. The dim light prevented Graham from seeing how hard her nipples were, but he could feel them and began to stroke his hand back and forth, teasing her for a few moments before he took one breast in his hand and gently squeezed it while rubbing his thumb over her pebbled peak.

At that point, Graham had two fingers inside her and was still expertly manipulating her clitoris. Between that and the way he was fondling her breasts, she reached her climax and cried out as she came on top of him, violently.

Graham continued his ministrations until she began to calm, gently extracting his hand from her panties and releasing her breast. After licking his fingers clean, he captured her lips in a steamy kiss, allowing her to taste herself.

It was then that Buffy became aware of what all their making out and her wriggling in his lap had done to him. She moved off of him, despite his protests, and sat next to him in the backseat.

"It's your turn," she said, planting a kiss on his lips as her hands worked on freeing him from the confines of his pants.

When at long last she had his erection in her hand, Buffy gave him a few slow strokes before dipping her head down. She swirled her tongue around the head of his penis, licking up all the pre-cum he had already secreted. Taking him in her mouth, Buffy then began to work the hand that was still forming a tube around his thickness and moved in unison, sliding up and down as her other hand occupied itself by caressing his balls.

It was Graham's turn to groan as he leaned back in the seat and helped hold Buffy's hair back, both to aid her and to make it easier for him to watch as her hand and mouth moved up and down his cock.

Abruptly, she stopped and he immediately began to plead with her to keep going. She ignored him and instead she began to lick his length, alternately using the top and bottom of her tongue. Graham felt himself grow closer and closer to release as she gave him a mind-numbing blow job.

Buffy moved her mouth back up to the tip of his erection, sucking hard as her hand stroked him at a furious pace.

With a shout, Graham came, spilling his seed inside Buffy's mouth. She eagerly swallowed every last drop before sitting back up and giving him an evil smile.

They spent the next few minutes kissing each other languidly until they had to leave or they would be late picking up Dawn. Reluctantly, they separated, Buffy crawling back up to the front seat and giving Graham quite a pleasant view. He carefully rearranged himself in his boxers before zipping his pants up and following.

As they headed back down the dark road that had led to the secluded area Buffy had directed him to, Graham couldn't help but grin. He'd never experienced anything like this before. It wasn't just the sex - not that the sex wasn't great - but he'd never felt the way he did about Buffy for anyone else. Looking over at her, he saw she was relaxing against the back of the seat, a lazy smile on her face.

Buffy chuckled, "I do too… it's just that, I don't know… that was fun. Kinda dangerous and sordid and forbidden. I've never done that before."

She nodded, "I mean, I've kissed while in a car before, but all the guys I went out with before I was a slayer didn't have cars. I was called a few months after my fifteenth birthday. And pretty soon after that, I was a social leper. My next boyfriend was Angel, and he didn't have a car either… and then Riley. You know, Riley defile me in a car? No way."

"Yeah…" he said quietly, suddenly wishing this conversation hadn't taken the turn it did.

The next few minutes were silent as Graham got back on a main road and started heading out to the skating rink. They were stopped at a light when he felt Buffy's hand on his thigh. He looked over at her and found she was giving him a serene smile, obviously not feeling depressed about Riley like he figured she would be.

"Thank you," she said, "for giving me one of those high school experiences I never had in high school."

Buffy gave him a mock dirty look before leaning over and planting a kiss on his lips. Feeling quite pleased again, Graham drove the rest of the way to the rink and pulled to a stop at the curb in front of the rink, as were several other cars, and Buffy opened her door.

Before she could even get out of the car, Dawn came out of the doors. She walked over to the car, a bright smile on her face.

"That's good," Buffy said, standing up, "Did you thank Mrs. Scott and Lauren for inviting you?"

Buffy flushed and quickly righted her skirt before running her hands over her hair. "Um… well, I've had a long day… didn't pay attention."

"Okay…" the younger girl said slowly before climbing in the backseat of the car, "Hi Graham."

"Great," she told him as Buffy got back in the car and shut the door, "You guys should have come. Especially you, Buffy. You love to skate."

"Maybe we can go skating sometime soon," she replied, giving Graham a murderous look. He should have told her!

"I think she wants the fun and good looks of a sports car, but she needs it to be convenient like a family car at the same time," Graham supplied an answer.

"Thank you," Giles sighed, "Now do you suppose it will be easy to find that mix."

"Probably not," she pouted, "I guess that means I have to go with a sensible car, right?"

"We're fine… and actually, we'd just like to look around for a bit first, okay?" Graham told him.

As Buffy started checking out a Miata, Graham turned to Giles and said, "Hope you don't mind about that. I find it easier to shop cars without some guy trying to make a commission breathing down my neck. Besides, the last thing we need is some guy calling Buffy 'Little Lady' or making some comment about vanity mirrors and making her mad."

Giles smiled, "Very true… and I feel quite the same way. If we can get Buffy away from that… miniature version of a car and find her something more realistic, we can get someone to assist us."

Graham nodded in affirmation and the two joined Buffy as she continued to examine the car. They both cringed at the size of the thing – Buffy would fit into it quite well, but if either of them-or anyone else that was over 5'6 – tried to get in, it wouldn't be very comfortable.

"Cute is one word for it. Buffy, you can't get this one," the younger male said.

"It's little! You need something to be able to drive around town, take Dawn and sometimes her friends places… buy groceries… remember?" Graham pointed out.

They started walking through the lot, occasionally checking out a car, but bypassing all mini-vans – Buffy wouldn't be caught dead in one – and SUV's and trucks – they were expensive, gas guzzlers that Buffy definitely didn't need. A Mustang convertible caught his eye and he couldn't help but pause and admire it, recalling their hot night of passion in the backseat of his car a few days before.

"I don't think Giles will go for it, but I do like it," Buffy said from beside him, startling him out of his fantasy.

"Yeah, but that could be a problem for me. I could get all sorts of nice tickets."

They turned and saw him standing in front of a midsize car, with four doors… yet it actually didn't appear like the Mom-Mobile.

With interest, Buffy walked over to him, followed by Graham. She walked around the car, checking it out… and found it really wasn't bad at all.

"Alero's are supposed to be pretty good," Graham spoke up, "I knew someone who had a coupe and he loved it. GM is discontinuing Oldsmobile so the resale value may go down, but GM is still a pretty reliable company so I wouldn't worry about it."

"It seems attractive enough, but would still suit Buffy's needs," Giles added, quite pleased with himself.

As the three of them headed back to find a salesman, Giles said, "Now, I suppose we should come up with a plan. Buffy, how much do you have for a down payment?"

"Well, I got eight thousand from the insurance company, but Anya told me I shouldn't put it all down up front. I should save some to help out with payments… or just as extra money for emergencies. She suggested five thousand down."

"All right, now I know you don't like this, Buffy, but you should let Graham and I do most of the talking."

"You're right, I don't like it. Look, I know you're co-signing, but I am still going to pay for the car."

Buffy hugged Giles fiercely as they stood beside his BMW. "Thank you again, so much! I am forever in your debt."

"All I did was trust you, which I have done for years now. I'm just trusting you legally now," he told her.

"Okay, bye!" she said, stepping back as he climbed in the car. As he drove off, she turned and walked back to her recently purchased car, which was parked near the entrance, with Graham waiting patiently for her.

"So, how does it feel to be a car owner again?" he asked, opening the driver's door for her.

"Feels pretty good!" she replied, sliding into her seat. Yep, definitely felt great.

As soon as she had gotten behind the wheel of the car for her test drive, Buffy had known that this was the car for her. It probably wasn't as fun as having a sports car, but she did have the whole other 'motherly' side of her that thought about stuff like convenience. As much as she'd liked the Miata, it wasn't a good choice for someone in her position, but this one was, and managed to still be cute enough so that she wasn't embarrassed to be seen in it.

"You know, I'm really glad we found you something. Now I don't have to worry about you being stuck," Graham commented as he buckled his seatbelt.

"Well, I wasn't staying awake at night in a panic, but yeah… I didn't like the idea of you needing to go somewhere but not being able to."

"Oh," she replied, trying to decide if that was encouraging or just normal for a friend. Xander hadn't said he was worried about her…

"But now I know you have a good, reliable car. Other than the occasional maintenance like oil changes, you should be fine."

"And Dawn will like it. Not as much as a convertible, but I think she'll be pleased," she smiled.

"Ooh, what time is it?" she asked, checking out the clock. "Good, we have over an hour until Willow said she would be bringing her home. Want to go out for lunch?"

There were actually other things Graham wanted to do with Buffy, since they hadn't had enough time alone since that night Dawn had gone to the party, but he could settle for a meal. "Sure… I'm starving."

Buffy sighed and slapped the stake against her open palm. It was already ten o'clock, not that late usually… but the next day was her first on the new job and she had to get up at three-thirty, so she really should have been asleep already. However, between her normal jitters about the first day at work, leaving Dawn alone and all the other stress that came with her fun new life, she couldn't sleep, so she had decided to go on a quick patrol. Luckily Dawn was over at Melinda's, so she'd been able to leave without having to get a babysitter.

Hearing a rustling sound, she froze, listening closely and deciding there was definitely something around the corner of the mausoleum a few yards to her right. As quiet as possible, she moved along the wall of the mausoleum, poised to attack whatever hid around the corner.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped out with her stake held firmly, ready to fight… and came face to face with the end of Graham's gun.

She gasped and put her hand to her chest. Obviously just as shaken, Graham moved his weapon away. The two of them were silent for a few seconds as they caught their breath.

As she calmed down, she frowned and pointed to the gun, "I thought you guys got rid of all that crap. You said you killed them too now."

"We do, but since we're not all as spry as you, we sometimes need a little leverage in our favor," he explained with a wry smile.

She nodded, "That was the plan. But I can't sleep... You know, that's another sucky thing about this shift, how am I going to patrol?"

"It's a temporary job and for the time being, it will be enough to just let my guys and I handle it," Graham assured her, smiling, "And I have the perfect solution for insomnia."

It was something he never would have dared do normally, but Buffy made him feel different than he ever had in life. She made him want to risk his career just for a fun romp in the cemetery after almost a week without any sex. "You said you like 'dangerous, sordid and forbidden', right?"

"I said it was fun to do it in the car and is was 'dangerous, sordid and forbidden' but there are a lot of places where that's true. That doesn't mean I want to screw you in the grocery store."

He strode over to her, like a predator to his prey, "You really want to tell me that you *never* entertained any thoughts of doing anything here besides patrol?"

Buffy's mind flashed back to all the how and heavy make-out sessions she had with Angel in this very cemetery and knew how right Graham was.

Graham nodded, "I'm in charge, so I know exactly where everyone is assigned and nobody will be coming anywhere near here."

With that said, Buffy pulled his head down to kiss her. His hands moved to her hips and he stood between her spread thighs as he leaned into her. Graham lifted her and Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her off to the side to a small area of ground with no graves and laid her down, resting himself on top of her, but careful not to put all his weight on her.

As their mouths mated, Graham worked on unbuttoning her blouse. Buffy cooperating, pulling her arms out of the sleeves and arching her back to help him remove her bra. She was soon nude beneath him, and while Buffy felt a loss of power being without a stitch on while he was fully clothed... it turned her on at the same time.

Spike heard their moans and whimpers before he saw the couple on the ground in the cemetery.

"Kinky fuckers," he grinned, shaking his head before he took off to get a closer look. If they were just going to go at it in the middle of *his* cemetery, then they deserved to put on a free show for him.

Stopping about ten yards away, Spike leaned against a tree, using the shadows it provided to keep himself hidden. He frowned, realizing this wasn't just some anonymous couple. At least not her, she was no stranger.

Spike realized that the nude girl who lay in the grass, moaning and writhing beneath this man dressed in camouflage was his beloved Buffy.

His sweet, pure Buffy who didn't do things that were wrong was fucking in the goddamn cemetery with another bloody human!

His first instinct was to go over and rip the boy off of her and drag her back to his crypt and make her dress before taking her home, all the while lecturing her on what a stupid idea it was to be caught in such a compromising position in a cemetery in Sunnyhell.

However, Spike found his feet wouldn't move. He was helpless to do anything but stand there and watch with great pain as Buffy and the boy acted like animals. At least with Riley… he had known what they had been doing but he hadn't been forced to watch it. A small voice inside his head reminded him that he wasn't being *forced* to watch… he could turn around and leave, drown in his sorrows in some bar… but still, he stayed.

"In that case, so are you," Graham smirked as he fixed his own clothing, which only took a few seconds.

"*You* enjoyed it just as much as I did," he retorted, cutting off any further comments by covering her lips with his own.

Buffy responded to the kiss, dropping the bra she had just picked up off the ground. They were well on their was to a second round when a voice crackled over the radio Graham wore. Pulling apart, Graham unhooked the radio from his belt and held it in front of his face.

Buffy listened as the guy on the other end informed him of some action near city hall while ahe picked her bra back up and refastened it.

"That's true," he said, leaning over to give her one more kiss. "Good luck tomorrow. I'll give you a call in the afternoon."

"Okay, bye," she replied, watching him go before fastening her pants. As soon as he was gone, all the pleasure she'd felt over what they had just done went with him and Buffy was left with the guilt, shame and worthlessness. Of course, Graham didn't mean to make her feel like a whore, but what was a girl that you could run into in a graveyard and have on the ground in a matter of moments when you weren't even dating her?

She felt hot tears sting her eyes as she slid on her blouse. Falling to her knees, Buffy buried her face in her hands as she allowed the tears to fall, full of self-hatred and confusion.

Once the boy left, Spike went on autopilot, letting his pain guide him. She would never love him. She would continue to go to these human boys who couldn't begin to understand what she needed. He couldn't bear to witness that. There was only one solution.

The pain that he would feel wouldn't matter. He'd just wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze the life out of her. In his jealous, pained rage… he saw it as helping Buffy, releasing her from this torturous existence. She couldn't handle what she really was and pretending to be someone else only hurt her. Besides, he couldn't let her continue to hurt *him* so much.

Spike crept up behind her huddled form, taking care not to make a sound. He lowered to his knees behind her, staring at the slight shuddering of her shoulders as she cried. He lifted his hands so that he could wrap them around her neck... but found that he couldn't do it. As hurt as he was, he loved her. He couldn't kill her. She was destroying him, but Spike would still do anything for her and there was no way he could choke the life out of her.

Buffy lifted her head, sensing him for the first time, and turned to see Spike kneeling there. "Oh God… did you see?"

"Well, in a way, we are. Um.. our arrangement is like… we do it… but he's not my boyfriend or anything. After all, he's Riley's best friend. How would Riley feel if I started dating Graham?"

"He'd probably be just as upset if he found out you were fucking him. If you have such a problem with it, why did you start sleeping with him in the first place?"

"I got drunk… after that, we just couldn't stop," she explained, despite the fact that this was incredibly private and she was sharing it with *Spike*. "It's kind of complicated and long."

Buffy smiled despite herself, "Well, Dawn is supposed to be home around eleven, so I need to get back there. Do you want some hot cocoa?"

"Absolutely, Luv," he replied, not over the pain of seeing her with Graham, but eager to spend an evening talking with her anyway.

"So you love the bloke?" Spike asked, avoiding her eyes so she wouldn't see the pain in his.

"Don't be, Pet… I know that you can't help who you love. Believe me, I never would have chosen to fall in love with a *slayer*," he replied, "Err… no offense."

"So, you love him. Why are you 'just friends' then? Friends that screw, that is."

"For one thing, Graham seems pretty content with the arrangement as we have it. It's not like we can be a couple just because *I* want to… and anyway, it would destroy Riley."

"*I* do. I know you never liked Riley, but I loved him… at least a small part of me did. He'll always have a piece of my heart. I don't want to hurt him."

"Buffy, you've got to start looking out for yourself! You don't want to make the pansy cry so instead you're breaking your own heart. Damn, all those years with Angel turned you into a fucking martyr. Makes me ill."

"Spike, you don't understand. I know that you're good. You probably hate to hear me say it, but you've helped Dawn and I when you didn't have to. But still, you're a little shaky with the conscience. It's a lot easier for you to just ignore someone else's pain and to take what you want."

"Well, it's a lot more fun way to live. Think about it. If you were more like me, you'd be with Graham and I wouldn't find you in a cemetery, crying your eyes out."

Buffy sighed and leaned back in her chair, "You forgot the little part where Graham doesn't want to date me."

"Yeah, how the Hell do you know he doesn't? You're telling him that you like this little arrangement when you really don't, how do you know he's not doing the same thing?"

She shrugged, "I can just tell. Why wouldn't he say something if he felt the same way."

Spike took a drink from his mug, "Maybe he's all guilt-ridden too. Maybe he has no idea how you really feel."

"I'm great," she grinned, taking a seat at the kitchen table, "I figured you'd be asleep, Buffy."

"Of course she will," he agreed, giving Buffy one of those looks that made her shiver.

"You need to get to bed, though," Buffy said, "You have class in the morning, and I won't be here to wake you up every fifteen minutes until you get out of bed. And I don't want you to make Mary's mom wait when she comes to get you."

"I'm going, I'm going," Dawn sighed, kissing her sister on the cheek. "Night Spike."

"Goodnight," he replied as she left the room. He swallowed the last of his cocoa before looking at Buffy, "You'd better try and get a little rest too. I have stuff to do, anyway."

Buffy smiled as he stood up and rose from her seat, "Okay, I'll try. Thanks, Spike… even though I didn't exactly resolve anything, I do feel a bit better. It's nice to talk to someone about all this."

"This is ridiculous. I'm *fifteen*! I don't need a babysitter," Dawn ranted, "Besides, for the last week I have been alone when you were at work, and I haven't gotten in any trouble."

Dawn sighed and collapsed dramatically on the couch, "Look, I promise not to invite any vampires in. Would you just go on patrol?"

Buffy looked at her suspiciously, "Why do you care if I stay home with you? What are you up to?"

"Nothing, I'm just annoyed that just because all your friends are busy, you aren't going to go on your patrol because you refuse to leave me home alone like I am some baby."

"I'm sorry, you don't have the best track record. Even with Xander and Anya here, you invited Harmony in."

"You know what? On second thought, don't patrol. Go to bed, you've been so cranky lately, you must need more rest."

The older girl sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Look… I'm sorry. I *am* tired and stressed and I am still adjusting to the freaky hours at work and trying to deal with everything else. I know I have been short with you… but I feel uneasy leaving you all alone at night. I know you have been good so far and I appreciate that. It's just going to take time for us to work up to that point."

"Okay," Buffy replied, picking up the remote and sitting down on the couch to watch some TV. Even if she was tired, it was only eight so if she went to bed this early, she'd be up at three in the morning.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Lisa asked on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, but don't get mad at me… there was that time when your mom let you stay home alone for half an hour when you were thirteen and you tried to make eggs and you started the fire-"

"And then there was the time they let you stay home after we saw 'Scream' at Jeannie's slumber party and you called the police because you thought someone was in the backyard-"

"And when your mom got home she found three police cruisers out front," Lisa continued, "The last thing, I believe, was when your mom let you stay home from school because your stomach hurt and you locked yourself out, then broke a window to get back in."

"Yeah, and she's leaving you alone in the mornings. She's right, you just have to give her time," Lisa replied. "Plus, the whole Graham thing may distract her. They still haven't told you?"

"No, and it's been over three weeks. I don't think they're ever going to tell me."

"Knowing my sister, she feels guilty. She's all about guilt. Graham is Riley's friend and it's wrong for her to date him."

Dawn grinned, "That'd be fun. Of course, I have to get the warden's approval..."

"You're sure I don't need me to give you a ride?" Buffy asked as Dawn came into the living room with her backpack stuffed with everything she'd need while sleeping over at Lisa's.

Dawn suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and point out that Buffy sounded *exactly* like Mom used to. "I will be a model teenager."

At last, the doorbell rang and Dawn hopped up to answer it, dragging the backpack along with her. "That's probably Lisa."

Buffy trailed behind her sister as Dawn opened the door and found that Lisa was indeed standing on their porch. "Hi Lisa."

"Great! You're taking the brat off my hands for the night," she joked, getting a grin from Lisa.

"Ha. Ha. You're very funny," Dawn retorted, hugging her sister, "Don't sit around all night. Go out and have fun like young people do."

"Maybe you can call Graham?" Lisa suggested, before Dawn grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

As Buffy watched the two girls get in the car and waved at Mr. Pearson, she wondered about that little comment. They drove away and she sighed and shook her head, deciding she was just paranoid.

"Never figured you for the stalker type," Buffy said wryly as she walked up the steps of her front porch.

Graham jumped in surprise and turned around, giving her a self-conscious smile, "I was worried about you. I tried calling and got no answer, so then I came over and when nobody came to the door, I started trying to look through the window."

"Sure," Graham said, following her after she had unlocked and opened the front door. "I'm sorry, it's just that neither you nor Dawn said anything about going out and so when nobody answered the phone, I started to worry. Normally, even when you patrol, she's still here."

"Dawn's spending the night at Lisa's," Buffy explained, "So I went and did a quick sweep of the cemeteries."

"That's okay, I think it was sweet," she admitted, leading him into the living room. "Want something to drink?"

"Oh, I'm just… becoming impossible to be around. Poor Dawn had to flee tonight because I'm making her insane," she sighed.

"I'm pretty sure that as her sister, it's your job to push her buttons every so often," he smiled.

"It's more than that. I don't give her freedom, I'm on her case too much and we have a lack of trust."

"Sounds like normal teenage stuff. Don't tell me you can't remember being in the same situation with your mother."

"I know, but that was different. I was burning things down and sneaking out and getting bad grades, which is worse than Dawn by any standards… but I was a slayer. It was like a whole other situation," she explained, "Besides… I know I am too hard on her and I should let her stay home alone when I patrol, but I'm just so scared of messing up. What if something happens when she's all alone? What if I trust her when I really shouldn't? She's a good kid, but we all have bad judgment sometimes. And then you add in my being tired from work and stressing about all the other responsibilities I have… and I don't think I can do this, Graham."

"Hey, don't worry," he said, putting his arm around her comfortingly, "I keep telling you, you're doing great. And you know what? If you make the wrong decision and screw up, it's not the end of the world. Nobody expects you to have all the answers, especially since you're still learning how to play the game. You're human, Buffy, don't forget that. Humans make mistakes."

Buffy smiled up at him, amazed at how easily he could reassure her and make her feel confident that she *could* do this. As usual, all the feelings she had of guilt over what she had been doing with him for the past two and a half months seemed to disappear as she looked into his eyes and felt that tingle in her womb.

Their lips found each other and they began to kiss. Buffy's hands came up to his head and she began to run her fingers through his short hair. Graham tenderly stroked her back as he leaned into her, overcome with desire. A little voice deep inside his head began to nag at him, though, reminding him that Buffy was upset and needy right now.

"Buffy, you're upset and it's natural for you to… if I slept with you right now, I would feel like I was using your misfortune as a way to get sexual pleasure."

Perhaps it was sleep deprivation, or maybe stress, or she was just too tired of keeping up the act of not wanting anything more than sex, Buffy didn't know… but she didn't really care. "Tell you what. Yes, I'm upset and it *is* natural for me to want to be with someone right now. But if that's all I wanted, you know I could go to the Bronze or something and find a guy just for that with relative ease. That's not all I want. I want *you*. You're... you're Graham… you're not just anyone. I want you to... make love to me?"

Graham was stunned, but slowly nodded, unable to deny her anything, but especially not something he wanted so badly himself. He allowed her to lead him to her bedroom, where they took their time, kissing and pulling each other's clothes off until they were both nude, their arms wrapped around each other, standing in the middle of her room.

Buffy ran her hand over Graham's well-muscled arms appreciatively, effectively ignoring the nagging voice inside her own head that demanded to know what the Hell she was doing. This was far more dangerous than anything they had done previously. When… if... Graham left her in bed all alone again, to pretend that this night hadn't happened; she was going to be nursing a seriously broken heart.

They found themselves on the bed, limbs entangled as their mouths mated desperately, the desire to take their time quickly being overruled by their need to be intimately joined. And then he was inside her, but instead of them both working towards finding release, they just moved, their bodies sliding against each other in an almost primal way. As he slowly thrust in and out of her welcoming body, Graham rested his forehead against Buffy's occasionally placing a hot kiss on her mouth. Neither said a word, just expressed all their feelings with looks and actions.

Eventually, nature took its course and Graham's thrusts sped up as he spilled his seed deep inside her womb. He collapsed on top of Buffy, who gently stroked her fingernails in invisible patterns over his back while Graham calmed down.

As he came back to himself, Graham lifted his head and looked down at her, "Oh God, I'm sorry… you didn't-"

"Shhh…" she replied, putting her finger over his lips to silence him, "It's okay."

"I know you're not. You *know* that I know that you are a considerate lover. But that's not what I wanted or needed from this, remember? I needed the intimacy, not the orgasm."

"I'm pretty sure I am crushing you," he smiled, stroking the back of his hand lovingly down her cheek.

She returned the smile, "I like it. You're like a muscle-bound, gorgeous, Graham blanket."

"I'm sure," she promised, then averted her eyes, "Do you want to stay the night?"

He lifted her chin and forced her to look him in the eye, "Wild horses couldn't drag me away."

She smiled again and lifted her head. They shared several more long, lazy kisses before exhaustion took over and they feel asleep, still nestled together.

Buffy awoke the next morning to the sound of the telephone ringing. Opening her eyes, she realized she was resting her head on Graham's chest. As the surprise of that wore off, she reached over and picked up the phone.

"Sorry… you need your rest, I just figured you would have woken up hours ago."

"Well, like you said, I needed my rest," she replied, "Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Actually, no, I was calling to check in and ask if it was okay for me to spend tonight here again. Lisa and I were talking to some friends and we wanted to have a sleepover."

"Lisa's parents don't care. In fact, Mrs. Pearson says she is very happy that Lisa has me for a friend. See, I'm being very polite and well-behaved here."

"Great!" Dawn grinned, "Oh, and I'll need to get some more clothes, but after we get dressed, Lisa and I are going to the mall so I'll drop by after to get some stuff. I'll probably get there at about four, okay?"

"Okay, I'll make a point to be here," Buffy promised, "You be good… I love you."

Buffy hung up the phone and found Graham had awakened as well. "I'm hoping that was Dawn. The whole 'I love you' thing could be a problem, otherwise."

"Nah, it was my insanely jealous and sometimes homicidal husband," she joked. "He's on his way home and could pop in at any moment."

"Oh really? Well, maybe we should be sure to give him an eyeful. I'd love to go out with a bang."

Buffy giggled as Graham rolled on top of her and began kissing her tenderly. This was nice… very normal… just what she had wanted all these months when she had pretended she liked having a purely sexual relationship with him.

Just as she was getting into it, Graham pulled back and smiled down at her. "You know what I would like?"

She bit her lip and pretended to think about it for a moment before nodding. Graham stood and tugged her by the hand, out of the bed and into the bathroom. After turning the water on he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her again, then grimaced.

"Not to spoil the mood, but in order to avoid an extremely awkward situation… Dawn won't be home for a while, right?"

"Good," he said, returning his lips to hers as they gave the water time to heat up.

When it had, they climbed into the shower and took their time, leisurely cleaning each other with the sweet scented soap and shampooing each other's hair, sneaking kisses in as well. Graham stood behind Buffy, massaging conditioner in her hair and kissing her shoulder.

"We could do it in here if you wanted and I'm sure it would be fun… but the downside is that it can be somewhat dangerous…" he whispered in her ear.

"Hmm…" she replied, stepping away and turning around so that she was in the direct spray of the water, rinsing the conditioner from her hair. Not unintentionally, she arched her back, thrusting her supple breasts towards Graham, presenting quite the delectable picture for him.

He licked his lips and, unable to hold his desire at bay one moment longer, stepped forward and moved his hands to her hips. Dipping his head down to place light kisses on the skin between her breasts, he then began a path over the rounded flesh, before capturing a hardened pink peak between his lips. Buffy's hands moved to his head, holding him to her breast as she moaned in pleasure.

His head moved back up and their lips met once again, this time under the steady stream of water. Graham wrapped one arm around her back and used the other hand to tease her nipple. As the feelings grew more intense and any semblance of a choice as to where their next mating would take place started to fade away, Buffy broke the kiss and leaned away from him, turning her upper body to reach and turn off the water.

Hours later, Buffy and Graham lay sated in her bed, lightly dozing after a morning of talking, love-making and just enjoying one another's company. Something had changed; both knew it… and neither minded.

But then Graham's pager went off and brought them both back to complete consciousness immediately. Groaning, he climbed out of bed and found his pants, digging the pager out of it and sighing when he saw that it was headquarters.

Then again, who else would call him? The only people in Sunnydale that he knew were the ones at work and Buffy.

"Okay," she nodded, watching as Graham sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone.

"This is Miller, I got a page," he said, and Buffy couldn't help but smile at the way his voice took on an authoritative tone as he went into 'military mode'.

"What's going on? It's been dead for months and anyway, it's only eleven in the morning," he questioned.

"Sir, we have an urgent situation and your presence is required. You'll be briefed as soon as you arrive."

He hung up the phone and reluctantly turned to face Buffy. "It's urgent… believe me, I don't want to go. I really want to just stay here with you all day."

She smiled, "I know. You go. I should probably get some rest, anyway… you wore me out."

He chuckled as he began pulling his clothes on, "Don't relax *too* much… I'd drag you in there with me if I had a good reason. If I have to go hunt something, I should make you do it too. If I can find a way, I'm gonna call you."

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him, "Hey, you get paid to do it! I get paid to bring people greasy, fat laden food, be disrespected and get hit on by disgusting guys."

"Fine," he said, fully dressed and leaning over to kiss her on the mouth. "Can we meet later? Maybe go out to dinner? I think we need to talk."

Buffy nodded, her heart fluttering, "Unless I do get stuck helping you guys catch whatever it is you're after… I'd love to."

"Great, I'll give you a call," he smiled, giving her one more kiss before heading towards her bedroom door, "See you later."

"Bye," Buffy called after him, then snuggled deeper under the covers, a serene smile on her face.

For the first time in a long time, Graham was gone, she was all alone… and she felt happy. They were going to talk later and judging by the way Graham was acting, he wasn't going to tell her that he didn't have feelings for her. Just maybe things might work out in her favor this time.

The men immediately burst out laughing and the stressed look on his face. He frowned. until a few people stepped to the side and he found Riley Finn grinning at him.

"That's a good word for this situation," Graham replied, shocked. This was the last thing he had expected. Realizing it wouldn't do for him not to be happy his friend was there; he forced himself to smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Sounds good," Graham nodded, leading his friend into the small room. and away from the prying ears of everyone else.

"I realized how ridiculous it is to hide from Buffy. You know me, I don't like living in tents in South America. and I don't want a strictly office job at some base somewhere. Here I have the stability of a real place to live. but I can go out at night and hunt demons. I decided it was too great an opportunity to pass up, just to run from my past mistakes. I'm not going to give it up just so I never have to deal with what happened with Buffy again."

He nodded, "That's great and, um, what *are* you going to do about Buffy? I mean, it's pretty inevitable that you'll run into her. Sunnydale is just too small."

"I know that and I had a *long* flight here to think about it," Riley replied, "On the one hand, it's scary. My relationship with her hurt me like I have never been hurt before. But on the other, the way it felt when I was with her. I've never felt that with anyone else and I really doubt I ever will. I'm still in love with her, Graham. That doesn't mean we're getting back together, but I'm gonna go see her and apologize and try to convince her to give us a second chance. I'll beg if I have to."

Graham felt his heart breaking. This was, without a doubt, his worst nightmare. After the night and morning he had shared with Buffy, they were so close, and now Riley was back.

The door opened and Jack Sanders stuck his head in. "Hey, we were talking out here and thought maybe we could all go out to lunch together, celebrate Finn's arrival."

As they walked out the door behind Jack, Riley asked, "What's up with you? You seem kind of distracted."

Jack turned and smirked, "Yeah, and where were you this morning, Miller? We tried calling your place and just got your machine."

"Damn, it's a good thing he didn't beat the hell out of us. Obviously he still wishes he were with her," Jack added.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay with you," Riley said as he carried his duffel bag in through the door of Graham's apartment behind his friend.

"No problem, you know you're always welcome," Graham replied. He found he was quite torn. Riley had always been a good friend to him, and it was good to have him back around. but this royally screwed up whatever chance he'd had with Buffy.

"Well, I promise to start looking for a new place right away," Riley vowed, setting his bags down and flopping down on the couch.

"Tired?" Graham asked, grabbing a can of soda for each of them from the refrigerator and joining Riley in the living room, handing his friend one.

"Thanks. Yeah, I'm a bit jet-lagged, plus I had an early morning. Still, I'm buzzed. I can't wait to start working with you guys again. So many of your men worked with us in the Initiative; it's like a reunion. And, of course. Buffy."

Graham considered lying, just telling Riley he hadn't seen her or that he'd just run into her at the grocery store or something. But he knew between Dawn and Buffy's friends, he would find out about all the time they had spent together and that would make him suspicious. So, he would have to go with the truth.

"Actually, I did run into her pretty soon after I got here. We started talking and we've gotten pretty friendly. We hang out sometimes," he said. There. Not a lie at all. They were very friendly. much more friendly than Riley would like, but definitely not enemies.

"Really? That's great! Now things will be great.. If she takes me back, that is," Riley said. "Is she, um, you know, has she been. is Buffy single?"

"I don't believe she has a boyfriend," Graham answered vaguely, not quite willing to tell concede that Buffy wouldn't consider being with him instead of her ex.

"Well. that's encouraging. Of course, she may slam the door shut in my face, but I stand a lot better chance at winning her back if she doesn't have a new man."

"Actually," Riley answered, checking his watch, "maybe I will head over there now. It's almost three, so Buffy should still be home. She may go out in a few hours. it's Saturday, after all."

"I know, but Graham. well, you haven't met *the* girl yet, but when you'll do, you will understand why I feel like I am going to explode if I don't see her soon. I haven't been able to go more than an hour without thinking about her since I left. I missed her more than I thought I could ever miss anyone."

Graham wanted to tell him how wrong he was. He just needed some time to get his head together and figure out what he wanted and what he should do. Should he try to fight for Buffy? Should he step aside and let Riley be with her? It didn't matter because it was out of his hands. Riley was heading over there and Buffy would be the one to decide if she wanted to give them another shot.

"Okay," Graham nodded, deciding he just couldn't bring himself to wish him luck. He also couldn't bring himself to offer Riley the use of his car. He'd let his friend enjoy a nice walk to Buffy's house.

"Great. Well, I don't know how long I'll be. I'll give you a call if I think we're going to be a while, okay?"

"Sure," he said, then realized that Riley didn't know about Joyce. A part of him thought he should let him go see Buffy and find out the hard way, let him feel guilty for making Buffy be all sad when she had to say her mother was dead. But despite that, Graham couldn't bear to do it. He was willing to bite the bullet and give Riley a head's up, an advantage, because he couldn't do that to *Buffy*. It would make things easier for her if she didn't have to explain. and that was worth losing as far as Graham was concerned.

Riley visibly paled, "What? I. I thought she made it through okay? The brain tumor was gone."

"She had a complication afterwards, an aneurysm. It was pretty sudden She was fine one day and Buffy found her dead the next," he explained.

Graham resisted the urge to smirk and instead kept his face impassive. Much to his dismay, Riley wasn't discouraged by this turn of events and decided it was still worth it to try and see if Buffy could forgive him.

As his friend left, Graham dug around the kitchen to find some heavy liquor. He'd just lost his only chance to be with the person he loved more than any other on Earth. it was time to get wasted.

When the doorbell rang at half past three, Buffy frowned and went to answer it, figuring it was Dawn.

"You're early and why are you ringing the doorbell, anyway?" she asked as she opened the door and found Riley standing on the other side. Her jaw dropped in shock. "Riley. I. I wasn't expecting you."

Buffy stared at him for another moment before she came back to her senses, shaking her head, she said, "Did you want to come in?"

"No thank you," he said, looking at her lovingly, trying to resist the urge to pull her in his arms and hug her tightly.

"Let's sit down, then," she said, walking into the living room and sitting down in the chair. Once Riley had followed and sat down on the couch, Buffy began, "You're back. obviously. When did that happen?"

"I flew in this morning and surprised everyone," he told her, "Even Graham. He told me about you two."

Buffy felt the color drain from her face. Graham had told Riley they had been sleeping together? She wasn't sure whether to be outraged or relieved. "About us?"

"Yeah, that you guys are friends now. I think it's great; I always thought you two would really get along well."

Riley looked down sadly, "He also told me about your mom. God, Buffy. I'm so sorry. I know I can never make it up to you, but I have to tell you how angry I am with myself. Ever since I left, I regretted the way I had done it and the things I had been doing before that, but now I am really furious that I let you down like that. I left you all alone to deal with that."

"I know that, but I love you and I should have been here for you, supporting you instead of betraying you and giving you that unfair ultimatum before running off."

"No, but I was. insane. Yeah, you weren't there for me as much as I wanted, but there aren't many better excuses for being distracted, if any. If I had been you, and had been going through all that, only to find out how I had been. you know. and then been given an ultimatum, I doubt I would have gone to catch me at the helicopter, either."

"But I did." she replied, making Riley freeze, "I came for you, but I was too late. Just barely too late."

Riley nodded, "That's true, but it doesn't make me any more right and this is probably a really wrong time to say it, but I just have to.. Buffy, I love you. I loved you then and I may love you even more now. I know that I have seriously screwed up, but I am still hoping you may decide to give me another chance. Give *us* another chance."

Buffy was taken aback, still rather numb about the whole situation. "Riley, I, uh, I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm just a little overwhelmed and I don't think I am in a position to make a decision like that right this moment."

"I know," he assured her, "I don't expect you to decide this second. I just had to tell you that is what I want in my heart. To be with you again. But I know this is a big, difficult decision and I am willing to give you time, space. whatever you need."

"Hey Buffy, I'm home," Dawn announced, bursting through the front door with Lisa in tow, only to halt in the entrance to the living room as she saw her sister's guest. "Riley."

"I see." Dawn answered slowly, "Uh, I have to hurry, Mrs. Pearson's waiting in her car outside."

"You guys! She can come in, you know. Lisa, your parents are going to think I have some horrible disaster of a house or something."

Lisa smiled, "She's listening to Dr. Something-Or-Other's motivational weight loss CD's, she wanted to stay in there."

Buffy found Riley staring at her with an amused look on his face. Frowning, she asked, "What?"

He shrugged, "You. You're so motherly and adult-like. I mean, you had your maternal moments with Dawn before, but the whole thing with other parents. I'm seeing a new side to you."

"Oh my God, can you believe this?!" Lisa exclaimed, flopping down on her back on Dawn's bed as the other girl pulled clothes from her drawers.

"What's the deal? I thought you said Riley was pretty okay, as far as boyfriends went. You used to tell me how much better than Angel he was."

"Trust me, anyone was better than Angel. Buffy was always miserable because of him. I guess Riley's not *so* bad. but Graham is better, so I can't be happy about Riley when I know Buffy could be with Graham."

"Well, maybe this will be a wake-up call. Buffy and Graham will have to announce their romance and then Riley will be out of the picture. Or maybe Buffy won't know who to choose and the guys will fight over her!" Lisa gasped, "Wouldn't that be *so* romantic?!"

Graham checked out the window for what had to be the tenth time in the past half-hour, looking for any signs of Buffy's car. He'd just had the longest afternoon and night of his life. No matter how hard he tried not to, all he could think about was Buffy and the fact that she was with Riley.

It had only gotten worse since Riley had called a couple hours after he had left and told him that he was going out with Buffy for dinner and that she would drop him off afterwards. Graham had remained calm on the outside. but he had wanted to rage at his friend for just waltzing back into Buffy's life after what he had done *eight*months* earlier and stealing her back.

But then he had reminded himself that he had no right. Buffy had never been his girlfriend and what he had been doing in the first place was wrong. As much as he wanted to tell Riley everything that they had been doing and declare his true feelings to Buffy, he had to remain silent, let them do what they wanted to do. And if he had to watch his best friend find the happiness he yearned for with the woman they both loved.. so be it.

"Thanks for the ride," Riley said, as Buffy pulled to a stop in front of the entrance to Graham's apartment building.

He returned the smile and said, "I had a great time tonight. I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she replied honestly, "More than I realized. Oh, that's not to say I didn't think I missed you-"

"I know what you mean," he chuckled, "You can have feelings for someone and think about them when they are away and not quite be able to remember exactly how great they are and how much you love to be around them. But then you're with them again and it all comes back to you."

"That's how I feel about you. I don't even know if it's possible to be able to imagine you as amazing as you really are. You make me feel alive, Buffy."

Buffy felt an ache in her chest; Riley was the kind of guy girls dreamed of meeting and often never did. He was smart and kind and sweet and utterly in love with her. And she had been sleeping with his best friend and had spent the afternoon trying to decide which guy she wanted to be with.

"I don't want you to say anything right now," he quickly added. "Like you said before, you're overwhelmed and things are different, so I am telling you not to say a word because otherwise you may say something you don't mean because you think you are obligated. And even if you didn't, I'd worry that you had. So just don't say anything and it's fine."

"Good, then goodnight. Can I call you tomorrow?" Riley asked, ever the gentleman.

He smiled at her one more time before climbing out of the car. Buffy breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't try going for a kiss. She was just way too confused at the moment. If she had to start with the kissing, it would lead to the sex. And sex was something that always led to trouble for her.

When Riley came into the apartment, Graham was sitting on the couch, pretending that he had been engrossed in ESPN for quite a while instead of peering out the window through the blinds, trying to see what had been happening inside Buffy's car. Unfortunately, it was too dark, even with the streetlight right beside the vehicle. Riley didn't appear to have been involved in a hot and heavy make-out session, but that didn't mean nothing had happened.

"Well, no. Buffy's life has changed, *she* has changed, and we still have so many issues to work through. But she wants to give us a chance. I'm going to give her time and we'll do stuff together, but be platonic. We'll talk and then she can decide if she wants to be with me again."

As much as he wanted to be comforted by the fact that they were going to be platonic, at least for a while, Graham recalled how he and Buffy had behaved when they were platonic. The images kept coming to his mind. Buffy in bed with Riley, Buffy on the couch with Riley. Buffy in the backseat of a car with Riley.

"Where's Riley?" Dawn asked, upon entering the kitchen after Lisa's mom had dropped her off.

"Yes, but he has a job. Besides, it's not like he's living here," Buffy replied.

"Well, I figured he would be," Dawn told her, setting her backpack down on one of the chairs and getting a can of soda out of the refrigerator.

Her younger sister shrugged, "Mom's gone, you're in charge. If you wanted, you could have your boytoy move in."

"Not exactly. I mean, right now we have agreed not to jump back into our relationship. For a while, we will be just friends and spend time together. See if we want to be a couple again."

"I see," said Dawn coolly. She had serious doubts that they would stay friends for long.

"He doesn't like that you were more focused on Mom and me so he goes and cheats on you. or something. You never tell me everything, but I know he was doing something with chicks behind your back and Spike showed you. And then he runs out on you and makes you sad after I told him how much better he was for you than Angel because he didn't make you cry all the time!"

"Oh, Dawn, it's not simple," Buffy said sadly, "There are a lot of things that you don't know."

"That's true. I know I've never had a boyfriend or been in love, but I do know some stuff. And I know that you're special and Riley was so lucky to have ever gotten to be with you and he blew it - he isn't good enough for you."

Buffy smiled, despite the fact that she didn't agree with her sister, pulling her into a hug, "I love you."

"This sucks. Buffy finally leaves me alone to do something besides work, thus showing trust in me. And it's just so she can go out with *him*," Dawn complained to Lisa on the phone.

"Well, are we sure Riley is so bad? If Graham had never entered the picture, would you mind Buffy dating Riley again?"

Dawn bit her lip and replied honestly, "I'm not sure. I honestly am mad at him for what he did to her, but if I couldn't wish she were with Graham instead, I might be more accepting about her being with Riley. But Graham is way better!"

"Well, why is Buffy with Riley, then? I mean, if she likes Graham and Graham likes her, why is she dating Riley?"

"Well then maybe you should change your mind about not interfering. If you really want to help Buffy because she won't help yourself, you might have to start manipulating."

Dawn had been spending a lot of time thinking about the situation since her talk with Buffy earlier that week, and she had already admitted to herself that if she didn't want her sister to make a huge mistake, she would probably have to start getting sneaky. Especially since Riley had been calling daily. It was getting on her nerves big time.

"Okay, well there are a few things we need to keep in mind. We need to get to Buffy from several different angles, make her doubt what she has with Riley, make her see what she could have with Graham. And maybe cause a little friction between Buffy and Riley. Oh, not the good kind."

"Well right now, they're acting like the happiest couple in the world - thankfully without any kissing or groping. And Graham hasn't even called since Riley got back. He and Buffy used to hang out and talk on the phone all the time before," Dawn frowned.

"Hmmm," Lisa bit her lip, as the wheels started turning in her head. That wasn't good, not at all.