Tombstone 8

"I knew it. I knew there was something going on." Joyce was furious. "How could he take advantage of you like this?" She started to pace. "He knew you were upset, he knew you were afraid of losing him." She lifted her hands and made a strangling motion. "If he were here I'd..."

Buffy cut her off. "Mom." Or she tried to. "Mom!" As her mom finally stopped her tirade Buffy pushed her into a chair. "Mom, just stop for a minute." Buffy walked over and scooped up the clothing. She quickly ran it upstairs. When she got back down she sat on the couch. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she remembered what they had done here last night. She focused back on her mom. "He didn't take advantage of me. If anything it was the other way around. I practically attacked him the other night. He refused to have sex with me, several times."

Joyce pointed at the floor where the clothing had been. "Well, he certainly seems to have changed his mind."

Buffy bit her lips to keep from grinning. She took a deep breath. "I told him what he wanted to hear. I mean I didn't say it to get him to have sex with me. But until I said it he thought I wanted to have sex with him for all the wrong reasons."

"And what were these magic words?" Joyce's tone was scathing.

"I told him that I loved him." That was not what Joyce expected to hear. Buffy laughed at the expression on her mom's face. "I know it's backwards. That's supposed to be his line. He's supposed to tell me he loves me so that he can have his way with me. But that's not how it happened."

"But, he should be the responsible one. He should have seen it was wrong."

"What's wrong about it?" Buffy leaned forwards. "No, really mom, what's wrong about it? Give me one reason that really means something considering my life and what I do. Come on, just one."

Joyce just stared at Buffy. She tried to speak a couple of times but every reason she came up with sounded feeble somehow when measured against Buffy's life as a slayer, his as a watcher.

Buffy watched her try to find something. She spoke softly. "Mom, I just figured it out. A week ago I would have thought you were certifiable if you'd told me that I'd end up with him. Then I watched him go on two dates with other women and it made me crazy. I hated the way they looked at him, I hated the way they touched him. I couldn't bear the thought that he wasn't mine. And it opened my eyes to what he is, the man he is. And now there's no one else in the world for me but him."

Joyce slumped back in her chair. "I still don't like it."

Buffy nodded her head, her face sad. "I know it, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm not going to bring home some nice young man with good business prospects so you can plan a wedding and dream of grandchildren. I know that you got cheated out of a lot by this slayer deal."

Buffy laid her head back on the couch and her dream drifted back into her conscious mind. There had been something new and she struggled to remember what it was. Suddenly her eyes widened. She looked at her mom, panic on her face. "What day is it? What's the date?"

Joyce looked confused. "It's the 19th. Why?"

Buffy stood up and raced upstairs to change. "Today, today's the day he died. Call the shop. Get him on the phone."

Joyce reached for the phone and punched in the number for the Magic Shop. Buffy was downstairs in a flash. Joyce looked up. "No one's answering."

"Come on, let's go." Buffy reached for her mom and yanked her out of the chair. Joyce grabbed her purse and flew out the door behind her daughter.


Giles finally reached the phone but when he answered it there was no one on the other end. He frowned and hung up. He was surprised that Buffy wasn't here yet or hadn't at least called. He picked the phone back up and dialed his home. When his answering machine picked up he hung up again. He thought about it and figured that she'd probably gone directly to school.

He decided to do a weapons check. He'd been neglectful and they couldn't afford to run out of stakes or crossbow bolts. He headed towards the back.


Riley was out front in his car. He watched Giles head to the back. He smiled and opened the car door. This was what he'd been waiting for. He walked around to the back of the building, holding a hand to his side.

Riley quietly let himself in using his master key. Giles had his back to him, crouched down in front of a box on the floor. Riley slowly drew a knife out of his side pocket. He crept across the room and as Giles stood he threw his right arm around Giles' neck and held the point of his knife at Giles' throat.


Buffy raced into the shop, her mother behind her. She saw Anya. "Where's Giles?"

Anya looked momentarily annoyed until she saw the look on Buffy's face. She looked around the shop. "He must be in the back." Anya finished up curtly with the customer she was with and followed Buffy and Joyce.

Buffy skidded to a halt when she saw Riley with a knife to Giles' throat. Her heart was slamming in her chest and she had to breath deeply to not let her fear consume her. She took a step in his direction. "Riley, what are you doing?"

Riley smiled at her. "I figured it out Buffy. Giles is a demon. He's been using you. It's time for him to die now."

Buffy put her hands up. "No, Riley. He isn't a demon. He's human." She looked at Riley. He was sweating; he looked like he was in pain. She caught Giles' eyes. They looked at each other, both trying to come up with a plan.

Riley let out a groan and almost doubled over, lowering his knife hand to hold his side. That was all Giles needed. He used one hand to grab the arm around his neck and he jabbed back with his right elbow into Riley's midsection. Buffy had moved in by then and kicked him in his side, the side Riley had been clutching. Riley screamed and he fell to the ground his mouth opening and closing as he held his side, writhing on the floor. Buffy squinched her face up and looked at Giles. "I didn't kick him that hard."

Giles agreed with Buffy. She hadn't kicked him that hard. Giles picked up the knife Riley had dropped and handed it to Buffy. He crouched down next to Riley to see what was going on. He tried to pry Riley's hand away from his side. He could feel something moving. Giles stood up and quickly moved away, his instincts getting the best of him. Buffy moved over to stand next to him. She looked up at him. "What, what is it?"

Then she saw them, big white maggoty things crawling out from under his shirt. And there were more still trying to get out if the movements under his clothing were any indication. Buffy shuddered. "Gross, what are those?" She stepped a little closer. "And why does Riley have them?" As one started to slither across the floor she backed up quickly and stood behind Giles.

Giles rolled his eyes at her actions. He pointed at them. "They're demon larvae, you need to slay them."

Buffy shook her head. "I'm not touching those things." Riley let out another scream and then became deathly still.

Giles headed out the back door and Buffy stuck close. Anya looked at Giles as he disappeared. "Hey, hey, don't leave us in here with them." She yelled again as she stepped behind Joyce. "Hey!"

Giles reappeared with a metal garbage can. He reached for a sword and began to skewer the larvae. He scraped them off the sword into the garbage can. He hesitated to get too near but he finally walked over to Riley. He placed his hand on Riley's neck to feel for a pulse. Looking up at Buffy he shook his head. He put out his hand and asked Buffy for the knife. She placed it in his hand. Giles gingerly cut away Riley's shirt exposing the gaping hole in his abdomen. There were still some larvae in there. Giles turned his head to the side trying very hard not to throw up. Buffy had gotten braver by then and she took the sword from his hand and retrieved the last of the larvae, a look of total disgust on her face the whole time.

Giles flipped Riley's shirt closed and stood. He rustled around under the sink until he found a can of lighter fluid and some matches. He dragged the can back outside, covered the larvae with lighter fluid and dropped a match in. He smiled at the satisfactory whoosh of flame that ensued. Buffy watched him from inside the door as the light from the flames danced across his face. Her knees got weak when she realized that despite all the warnings that she'd still almost lost him. Giles saw her and moved to her side quickly, catching her before she fell. She grabbed him tightly.

Anya had moved over to the body and was looking down at him. "Hey, this is that Finley guy." She nudged him with her toe. "I knew I didn't like him."

Buffy turned around, her back against Giles' chest, pulling his arms around her. She looked at Riley. "I don't get it. Why did he think you were a demon?"

Giles shook his head. "Maybe the larvae were affecting his brain. I don't know."

Buffy scowled. "What do we do with him?"

Giles blew out a breath. "I have no idea."

Suddenly two people walked in the door. Two young men dressed in fatigues. They were looking at a small handheld device that was beeping quickly and loudly. They looked at Riley on the floor. One of them ran over and felt for a pulse. He looked up and shook his head. Both the young men took in the four people standing around them. The young black man spoke. "What happened here?"

Buffy made a face. "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Buffy decided to keep it simple. "He was here visiting me and all of a sudden he grabbed his side and fell to the ground. These yucky things came out of him." She pointed to the garbage can outside and then pointed at Giles. "He burned them, they're in there." She turned back to Riley. "He was already dead. There was nothing we could do."

Giles walked over to Riley and with the knife he flipped back open Riley's shirt. "Whatever they were, they were eating him up alive." Giles grimaced and closed the shirt back up.

The men exchanged looks and then they lifted Riley up and began to take him out the door. They looked back at Giles. "We'll need to take the garbage can. And the less said about this the better."

Giles nodded. "Of course, who'd believe us anyway?" Giles shut the door behind them and leaned on it heavily. Buffy ran to him and burrowed into his arms.

Giles looked up and saw the stunned look on Joyce's face. He spoke to Anya. "Anya, maybe you could offer Joyce a drink. There's a bottle of scotch in my office." Anya nodded and headed Joyce out of the training room.

Buffy spoke, her voice muffled against his chest. "Okay, that was bad in so many ways." She shivered. "How did that happen?"
Giles ran his hand comfortingly up and down Buffy's back. "There are some demons that lay their eggs in humans. They're pretty rare but there are documented cases. Riley seems to have run across one. He was dead the minute it happened." He lifted Buffy's face by her chin. "I'm sorry. I know you liked him."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't want that to happen to anybody, even someone I hated, which towards the end he qualified for. It's just spooky and creepy and this room is so gonna need a new rug before I train in here again." She looked at the stains on the floor. "How do they do it? How do they get their eggs inside?"

"Well, the ones I've read about have to have sex with the human first and then they, well, essentially inject their eggs using some sort of appendage."

Buffy looked horrified. "God, Anya could have been setting you up with a demon who could have done that to you."

"I hardly think that's likely. Besides I don't need to worry about that anymore do I?" He grinned down at her.

She grinned back up at him. Then her eyes narrowed. "But you and I are so gonna have a talk about you going off without me this morning."

Giles let out a half laugh. "Yes, well in retrospect it does seem to have been foolish of me." He looked at her. "How did you know? You came running in here as if you were expecting trouble."

"I had the dream again. The date you died? It was today." She shook her head. "I was sitting there arguing with my mom about you and you could have been dead."

"Your mom and you were arguing?"

Buffy put her head down on his chest again. "She came over and found my underwear, and your clothes by the couch. She sort of figured it out."

Giles pinched his nose under his glasses. He could feel a headache coming on. "Do I dare go out there and face her?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, she's not thrilled but I think she's moved past the sword thrusting stage." Buffy pulled back and put her hands on his chest. "Especially after the manly way you handled those gross disgusting maggot things. Ugh."

"And she had a rare opportunity to watch her slayer daughter in action." Giles started to laugh.

She whacked him on the chest. "Hey, I don't do maggots. Besides I helped at the end."

He kissed her softly on the lips. "Yes you did, thank you." He grinned. "I'm just glad there wasn't a chair handy for you to jump on and yell eek."

She whacked him again. "No more snide slayer remarks, buster." She looked around the training room. "And you can forget about getting lucky in here until you get this carpet changed."

He smiled. "Then I shall get it changed immediately."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "Come on, let's see how my mom is coping."

Joyce was drunk. Giles went and grabbed the half empty bottle of scotch from Anya. "Good Lord, Anya, this bottle was almost full. How much have you given her?"

She looked indignantly at Giles. "She just kept holding out her glass so I kept filling it. How was I supposed to know it was too much?" She shook her head muttering about stupid humans as she walked away.

Buffy looked down at her mom, whose face was plastered on the table. She looked up at Giles and sighed. "Well, I guess I'll take her home and go to class, now that I know you won't be dying today." She walked over to him and yanked on his tie. "But you are still going to get yelled at tonight and then you are going to tell me how very, very sorry you are that you scared me to death like that."

Giles smiled at her, loosening her grip on his tie so he could stand straight again. He ran his hand down her face. "I shall do my best to apologize quite thoroughly, no matter how long it takes."

Buffy thought about that for a minute. Then she nodded. "Okay. That'll work."

Giles helped her get Joyce to the car and watched with some nervousness as Buffy got behind the wheel. "Please drive carefully."

She waved off his concern and started up the car. Giles watched, wincing as she sped down the street. He walked back into the store. Anya looked up at him, a puzzled look on her face. Giles lifted his eyebrows at her expression. She looked towards the training room. "Who were those guys?"

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I have no idea but they were obviously looking for Riley. That device they had led them right to him." He shook his head. "They looked like soldiers but I really don't know who they were. Quite convenient for us, I must say. I had no idea how to dispose of a human body."

Anya snorted. "This town is so weird."

Giles nodded. "I couldn't agree more."


Giles ran his hand down Buffy's hair as she lay with her head on his chest. "You're awfully quiet."

She sighed. "Still a little wigged, I guess."

"About Riley?"

"Yeah. About him, and just the thought that humans can get used that way and not even know it." She placed a kiss on his chest. "I mean I know our lives are sort of like a horror movie but that just seems especially horror movieish." She shuddered. Giles wrapped his arms around her.

She moved so her head was on his shoulder, so she could better nestle against the length of his body. "I was thinking about how easy it would have been for this not to happen."

He tucked some hair behind her ear. "You mean what happened to Riley?"

She shook her head. "No, you and me." She lifted herself up so she could see his face. "I mean, it took me five years. And then it only happened because certain things happened in just a certain way, and if any of those things hadn't happened, I'd still be clueless." She hated to think about how chancy the whole thing had been.

Giles lifted his head to kiss her. "Buffy, that's how all of life is. A string of coincidences piled one on top of another." He looked up at her as she stared down at him, her blonde hair brushing softly against his chest. "All I know is that somehow you were put in my life and I will be eternally grateful for that." He put his hand behind her head and pulled her down to him so he could kiss her properly. She was happy to oblige.

When they drew back from the kiss she looked at him, small crease lines on her forehead. He raised a hand and touched them. "What are these for?"

She tightened her lips. "Do you think I'd have figured it out sooner or later?"

"Figured what out?"

"How wonderful you are?"

"I'd like to think so." He looked at her. "Didn't you ever think I was wonderful until now?"

"Sometimes." She wrinkled her nose. "But mostly in a watcher kind of way." She shook her head. "I didn't get the rest of you for the most part."

He snorted. "Well, thank you very much."

She poked him in the ribs and he grunted. "Hey, how about me? Did you think I was wonderful?"

"Heavens no. You were too horrible for words most of the time." He shifted to avoid being poked again and he chuckled. "But you were my slayer and I loved you. The rest of it didn't matter to me, not really."

"But see, that's what's wigging me out. How does it all change so fast, so completely? How come I am so in love with you now when you're exactly the same as you were before, and I'm exactly the same way I was? How do you know that it won't all just shift back? How do I know you won't wake up in the morning and think I'm horrible again?"

"Well, I can guarantee that will never happen if you always wake me up the way you did today." She poked him again. "Ow." He rolled her so he was lying on top of her. He cupped her face with one of his hands. "Buffy, you know better than most that there are no guarantees. And I suppose our feelings could change but I don't believe that. I believe this is real and true and that we belong together. I can't ever imagine not loving you the way I do now. Ever." He grinned at her. "Besides if I can love you as horrible as you've been we should be fine. You couldn't possibly get any worse." He grabbed her hands to keep her from injuring him.

She broke free and started tickling him until he was crying for mercy. She threatened him with more and he begged her to stop. "I'm sorry, I'll never mention how horrible you were again." He laughed and captured her under his body again, holding her hands above her head. He lowered his head and kissed her, parting her lips with his tongue. She tried to resist but after a second she gave in and kissed him back with her whole heart. He pulled back when he needed to breath and smiled at her. "I love you so very much, Buffy. Right now, right here. That's all we ever have. Let's not waste it worrying about a future we can't control. You make my life complete and I want you at my side, as my slayer, as my friend, as my lover. For as much time as we have."

Buffy's eyes filled with tears. She took a deep breath. "Me too. Love you, I mean, what you said." She watched him as he bit back a smile. She narrowed her eyes at him. "And if you say one thing about my skills with the English language I will punch you in the nose."

He put his hand on his chest. "I would never say anything like that."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I know you think my communication skills are just a cut above a chimpanzee."

"And yet, there's no one I'd rather talk to."

She smiled at him. "God, we are quite the pair, aren't we?"

He held her close. "That we are my love, that we are."

The End

September 15, 2001



Site Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. own the Buffy characters. All products, movies, books, songs, etc. are owned by their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended. All plots and original characters are owned by the authors.