Buffy sighed. She should have known Spike had given in too easily when she'd outlined her plan at the shop. To her it made perfect sense: Xander would go with her and Riley and do what he could to help figure out what the Initiative -- or whatever they were calling themselves -- were up to. Spike would stay at Revello Drive during their absence, where he couldn't be staked by any of Riley's friends.

It had sounded good when she thought of it. It'd even sounded good when she'd talked about it. Oh, she'd seen the looks between Xander and Spike, the very male ones that said, "Are you actually going to go along with this?" but she'd hoped against hope that maybe, just maybe, Spike would see the wisdom behind not rushing into a situation.

That hope had lasted until they got to her house. Now Spike was pacing the confines of her bedroom, making no effort to hide his anger. "I know you don't like the idea of me being out with Riley..."

"Damn straight I don't."

Another sigh. "And I suppose I can understand that you're a little jealous..."

Spike stopped pacing abruptly. "I am not jealous. There's nothing Captain Cardboard has that I would deign to be jealous about. I'm worried. These military idiots are talking about setting up shop in Sunnydale again and you're offering to help them."

"I want to know what they're up to. I figure going on patrol with Riley this evening was probably the best way to do that." When Spike had suggested they'd go upstairs for a few minutes, she'd frantically tried to remember if she'd made her bed that morning, wanting the room to look nice if they were going to indulge in a little necking before she had to go. The bed had been made, but somehow she doubted any sweetness would occur at this point.

"And what if you don't find out tonight? Going to go tomorrow? And the night after that? And expect me to sit here twiddling my thumbs or helping Anya fold campaign mailers while you do?"

He moved closer to where she sat on the bed, tension radiating in every line of his body. "You want me to be safe? I have to go home sometime, Buffy, unless you're throwing caution to the wind and asking me to move in. Finn knows where I live; if he wants to stake me, all he has to do is wait until I leave here and you're not with me. The crypt doesn't have a lock and even if it did, certainly wouldn't deter Soldier Boy."

She had been thinking of suggesting he stay at her place, offering up the basement at a refuge. Something in his voice, though, told her that the basement was not the room he'd be willing to stay in. "Giles is right; you need to move out of there, get yourself an apartment or something."

"My living arrangements aren't the issue here. Your insistence on going out with Finn without any real backup is."

"Oh, is that it? You're angry because I'm taking Xander and not you?"

"I'm angry that you're asking me to hide like some bloody coward!" Spike's voice grew loud, but before she could warn him that they might hear him downstairs, he dropped the tone, the words coming even more intensely. "I've managed to survive quite well for a hundred and twenty years, luv. Don't think I'm going to drop my guard around Finn or his friends for one moment; I haven't forgotten that he promised to stake me if I put the moves on you..."

Spike never seemed to be able to hide when he'd said something he hadn't meant to and the change was always as amazing and annoying as it was instantaneous. It was there now, a look to the eyes and a shift in expression. He tried to recover, but Buffy seized the moment. "When did Riley threaten this?"

"That's not the point..."

"Maybe it isn't, but I think I'd like to know anyway." Suddenly, Riley's crack about her hopefully waiting a few weeks after he'd left to start date Spike was starting to make sense. That Spike clearly didn't want to tell her only increased her desire to know.

He stared at her for a moment, clearly considering his words and their impact, a reminder that this new relationship between them was still a minefield. "It was just after I helped you discover his extra-curricular activities. He was pissed off and showed up at my crypt to let me know he didn't want me anywhere near you."

That wasn't so bad. "So he was mad you got him in trouble. I was pretty upset with you, too."

"Yeah, well, he'd figured out I was trying to break the two of you up so I could move in. Despite comments to the contrary, Finn's not completely stupid."

Buffy cast her mind back to that time, trying to sort through the jumble of memories. She hadn't known Spike wanted to do anything except kill her until he'd chained her up and threatened to feed her to Drusilla...no, wait. Spike under the tree out front, acting all shy and ending their argument by making a lame playground comment about her hair. Spike swaggering at the Bronze, swearing that he'd "always been bad," something she was beginning to learn wasn't the complete truth. Spike trying to kiss her in the alley, which she'd put down to the simmering energy that always seemed to come with fighting. Spike appearing with a shotgun in her backyard, only to end up sitting quietly next to her on the back porch for what seemed like hours while she poured out how scared she was about what was happening with Mom.

She had known something had changed; she just hadn't wanted to admit it. But Riley had seen it as their relationship had disintegrated...and the jokes about how she would have been dating Spike if she'd wanted a boyfriend with super powers probably hadn't helped. "God, I'm an idiot."

Spike sat down next to her, reaching out to touch her hair. "He didn't want to lose you and I can't blame him for that. I didn't appreciate the plastic stake..."

"Plastic stake?" Now it was her voice that was threatening to alert everyone downstairs that there was an argument going on. "He used a plastic stake on you?"

"Good way of driving home the point." Spike reached out, drawing her a little closer. "Hurt like hell for a few days, but that's all. I can't spend my time cowering in the dark, worrying if your jealous ex is going to come after me. Not my style, never has been. Besides, you think I'm going to pass up a chance to drive Finn mad by letting him see us together? Never."

That earned him a sharp slap on the arm, but Buffy didn't protest when he bent his head to kiss her. Hmm, Spike lips....

When he released her so she could breathe, she rested her forehead against his. "There is another reason you shouldn't come along tonight," she managed.

"What's that?"

"I'm likely to get more out of Riley if Xander's with me than if you are."

He pulled back slightly, head tilting to one side as he considered. "That's a good reason," he admitted, no lingering trace of anger in his voice. "And Finn always seemed to like the Whelp, so that might help. But if you go out tomorrow..."

He was very convincing in his arguments and Buffy was more than happy to let herself be convinced. She was also convinced she'd been a fool to rush through their earlier encounters; the attention was very nice, even if his hands and lips never strayed below her waist.

All too soon, there was a knock at the door. "Buffy?"

At the sound of Dawn's voice, Buffy reluctantly pulled free and padded across the floor to open the door. "They're here?"

"Well, Xander is. He's actually been here for a while. I figured that since the arguing had stopped and it's about a quarter to ten, you might like to know. Hi, Spike."

"Hello, Nibblet," Spike responded from where he still sat on the bed, looking very relaxed.

"We'll be down in a minute," Buffy said, knowing she needed to check and make certain she didn't look like she'd been in the middle of a massive make-out session.

"Okay." Dawn started to go, but turned back. "Oh, you might want to do something to hide that hickey. It's a bit obvious."

With a smirk that was disturbingly close to Spike's, Dawn retreated down the hall. Buffy closed the door and headed for her mirror, discovering with horror that there was indeed a very large mark on her neck that hadn't been there when she'd come upstairs. Turning back to the bed, she discovered her barely-escaping-a-staking boyfriend was watching her with a great deal of satisfaction. "You did that on purpose."

A slow grin spread across his face, the one he always wore when he was up to something. "What can I say? I'm evil."

***

Dawn pounded down the stairs, an evil grin on her face. "They'll be down in a minute."

They'd been caught necking; Xander didn't have to be a genius to figure that one out. He'd seen that grin before, when Dawn had caught Buffy and Riley together, gathering information that she could use for future sisterly blackmail or embarrassment. Given that Riley had spent more than a few nights under the Summers' roof before everything went to hell, the expression was pretty familiar.

Given that Riley was supposed to show up at any moment, Dawn's glee killed any hope Xander might have that her ex's presence in town would provide Buffy with a positive reason to break away from Spike.

"Does this mean they're done arguing?" Anya asked, stepping out of the dining room into the entrance hall. "I'm hoping they won't carry the fight down here."

"I seriously doubt they will." Dawn glanced at the front door. "You might want to get everyone on break in the few minutes, herd them into the kitchen or off to the bathroom. Riley's supposed to be showing up on business."

When the faux Riley had shown up with his pretty wife, Anya had seemed happy to see them, eager to talk weddings and such things. She didn't look particularly happy now. "Initiative business?" Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Demon-hunting business?"

Xander was about to tell her that she had nothing to worry about, remind her that Riley was a friend, when he remembered that Anya was Anyanka once more and the Initiative hadn't been particularly impressed by demons living normal lives or having human appearance. "It's probably better that you stay out of his way, Ahn, not let him know about...you know."

"I have every intention of doing so," she replied tartly. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't either."

With that she headed back to her volunteers, a smile on her face as she suggested they fold just a few more mailers then take a break. "Still hasn't forgiven you?" Dawn asked.

"I'm beginning to think she's never going to forgive me," Xander admitted reluctantly. "I blew it."

Dawn looked like she was about to say something when the doorbell rang. This time, the look she cast upstairs was serious and a bit nervous. The doorbell rang again and, taking a deep breath, she opened it. "So, Riley Finn returns," she said in a tone that said there were still scores to settle and Riley wasn't off the hook.

"Hey, Dawn," Riley offered in a jovial tone. "Good to see you. You've grown."

"Well, it's been a year. Oh, and you brought a friend."

Both Riley and Graham stepped inside. "You remember Graham, don't you?"

Dawn and Graham exchanged stiff and formal greetings. If they'd met before, it hadn't been more than once or twice and Dawn was clearly classed by Graham as the ex-girlfriend's little sister, which made her of no significance to him whatsoever.

In the dining room, Anya was calling a break, hustling people into the kitchen or reminding them that the bathroom was upstairs. "Buffy didn't say anything about a party," Riley said, looking a bit uncomfortable at the sound of voices.

"Oh, it's not a party," Xander assured him. "Anya's running for City Council and Buffy's letting her use the dining room as campaign headquarters."

"I'm her campaign manager," Dawn added. "Though mostly what I do is help Anya. She's doing most of the organizing herself."

"Buffy didn't mention that. She, uh, told me that you and Anya broke up and that's when Anya sold her share of the shop to Spike, but she didn't mention that Anya was running for public office."

Now Xander was wondering what else Buffy had told Riley and how much detail she'd given. He'd have to grab her for a moment before they went out, figure that out so he didn't go spilling something he shouldn't. Problem was, where was Buffy?

The four of them continued to stand awkwardly in the entrance hall, conversation having broken down completely. If Anya's volunteers hadn't been present, he could have asked how the demon-hunting was going, exchange a few war stories. They could always talk football, but it wasn't the season and Xander hadn't been following baseball what with everything else.

Funny that he would realize now that he and Riley really didn't have a lot in common except for the fact they both fought demons and both liked Buffy.

The sound of feet on the stairs provided a welcome distraction. That Buffy had chosen to appear, changed from the top and skirt she'd been wearing in the shop to a more practical sweater and jeans, was even more welcome.

Riley started to smile, but the smile became rather fixed as he took in the fact that Spike was descending the stairs immediately behind her, hair a touch ruffled and a smirk on his face. "Ready to go?" Riley managed.

Buffy nodded. "Xander's coming with us, okay?"

Riley's smile instantly relaxed. "Sounds good. I brought Graham along for back-up, so it's the four of us. It is the four of us, isn't it?"

Buffy fiddled with the scarf she'd wrapped around her throat. "Yes, Spike's not coming with us. Can we go? Tara's got an early doctor's appointment tomorrow."

Polite inquiries about Tara's health served to get them out the door. Spike surprised Xander by not arguing and not doing anything obvious to show he and Buffy were together, merely continuing to smirk as they left. Of course, that combined with the scarf Buffy wore was enough to send the desired message: She's mine.

Riley had brought a large black SUV as transportation, and they climbed in, Riley and Graham in the front, Buffy and Xander in the first row of passenger seats. "I thought we'd hit Willy's first, see what we could discover there," Riley said as he pulled away from the curb.

"Maybe you should fill Xander and me in on who this guy is. It might be a help so we know what questions to ask."

Riley paused for moment, then took a deep breath. "Demon arms-dealer. Runs dangerous mystical stuff in and out of Sunnydale, like I've told you before. He's apparently been established here for some time, so he's pretty well connected into the local black market. We only found out about him recently from someone we caught using the stuff. The name's Wuracatharsian...at least, that's what our source said. We know he deals in stuff besides physical items, but we don't know what. Our mission is to find him and take him out."

"There might be some guys at Willy's who could help," Buffy said, leaning forward. "Maybe Clem would know something. Clem seems to live to collect gossip."

"So maybe we should bring him in for interrogation," Graham suggested. "Get him away from his buddies so we can have a nice long chat."

The temperature in the SUV dropped several degrees. "We are not going to interrogate Clem." Buffy's voice was tight. "We'll talk to him and see if he has any leads, but you're not going to touch him. He's a friend."

Riley and Graham exchanged looks, but didn't say anything. Xander got the feeling this was going to be a long and painful evening.

Willy's looked to be in full swing tonight, the parking lot crowded with vehicles and motorcycles. "Looks like that dive in Belize," Graham said as they piled out.

"Pretty much the same, except for the clientele. Watch your back and don't make any sudden moves." With that, Riley headed for the door, stopping to open it for Buffy and following her through.

Graham stopped so suddenly in front of Xander that he almost ran into the man. "I don't believe it..."

"Kinda has that effect on people the first time." Xander patted Graham on the shoulder and slipped around him, intent on following Buffy. She'd already made her way close to the bar and was busy scanning the room. The patrons had noticed and were busy observing her back, the noise level having dropped a little with their arrival.

After a minute, she found her target. "Clem!" she called out, moving to give the loose-skinned demon a hug.

"Hey, girl!" Clem cheerfully responded. "You and Spike decided to go slumming?"

"Spike's back at the house helping Anya. I'm doing patrol with Xander and...some other friends."

"Good to see he lets you off the lease occasionally. Oh, tell Anya she definitely has my vote. Hey, even if she wasn't the most demon-friendly candidate we've got, she's got some good ideas about encouraging business to move to Sunnydale."

"He votes?" Graham asked Riley in a tone of disbelief.

"Got me," Riley replied. "Never met him before. I didn't know Buffy had any demon friends -- except Oz, who's not really a demon, and Spike, who's...Spike."

Xander couldn't resist the opportunity to show off his own knowledge. "Spike introduced us to Clem. They play poker together and he brought him along to Buffy's birthday. Nice guy, fun to be around. His family's apparently been here for several generations."

Graham looked at him skeptically, tearing his eyes away from the sight of Buffy and Clem happily exchanging pleasantries. "But he votes?"

Xander shrugged. "What can I say? He's got civic pride, counts himself as much a citizen of Sunnydale as anyone else. Not sure where he got his social security number, but he's one of a handful of demons in town who are legitimate, registered voters."

Graham just shook his head, clearly not ready to comprehend the strangeness that was Sunnydale. Buffy brought Clem over, performing introductions. Xander could see him take in Riley and Graham's haircut and posture and make the connection, but he managed not to show any signs of panic except for shifting to make certain Buffy stood between him and the men. "So, Buffy says you guys need some help."

"We're looking for a dealer, name of Wuracatharsian, who deals in mystical materials and other stuff." Riley seemed to be keeping a handle on things, though he didn't look terribly comfortable being here. "He's known to operate out of Sunnydale and we'd like to see what we can do to stop the flow of his products."

Clem frowned, which wasn't really that much different given the way the folds hung around his mouth, but Xander was getting to know him well enough that he could tell the change in expression. "Is this a joke, Buffy?"

"Not joke; they're serious and we'd appreciate any help you could give us."

"Buffy, Wuracatharsian is Rack. Willow killed him two months ago."

***

There were times when Buffy seriously missed high school. In those days, Giles would uncover the threat du jour and point her in the right direction. It had sometimes meant missed dates and ruined nail polish, but she'd been surer she was heading for the right target.

As the group returned to Revello Drive, she found it hard to fight down the wave of nostalgia. Clem had given them plenty of information, but the waters seemed muddier now, along with the possibility of finishing this mission quickly so Riley could get the hell out of town. The awkwardness between them was almost as bad as those first few times she and Angel had met up after he'd moved to Los Angeles and she was about ready to swear off relationships forever if it meant she never had to go through this dreadful uncomfortableness again.

"I'll need to speak with Colonel Norton, but this is going to change the mission parameters somewhat," Riley said as she opened the door. A quick glance into the dining room showed only Dawn and Anya at the table, which meant she didn't need to worry about campaign volunteers hearing him.

"In other words, you're going to go after whoever's taken Rack's place." She tossed her keys onto the hall table, wanting nothing more than a hot bath and comfortable bed. Without thinking, she started to unwind the scarf from around her neck, but caught herself. It would just have to bother her a little longer.

"The mission goal is to stop whoever's running items in and out of Sunnydale. Since the transaction that led us here happened after Rack died, we need to find out who the new source is."

"And when you stop that source, another one is going to pop up. It's like vamp brothels, Riley. Get rid of one, they set up business somewhere else."

Those words carried her into the living room to see Spike looking up from a thick and rather old text, a sly grin spreading across his face as he looked past her. Why, no, Riley; I'm not bitter about your extra-circular activities at all.

"That's not part of the discussion." Riley's voice was tight, his face devoid of expression when she turned around. Behind him, Graham was carefully studying the ceiling while Xander was observing the floor. "If it is, I don't want him here."

"Oh, don't mind me," Spike said, leaning back against the couch cushions. "But then, I already know all the dirty details."

"Spike, stop being a pig. Riley, I was making a point...and no, it's not a subject I'd rather discuss. You have no idea how much it hurt."

"Maybe if you'd been more willing to open up and talk instead of going on about this mystical slayer crap, I wouldn't have..."

There was the sound of a heavy object dropping and Buffy became aware Spike was at her back. "I wouldn't finish that sentence, soldier boy," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"Or you'll do what? You've got a behavior modification chip in your head, remember? If the Initiative did one good thing, it was that."

Buffy was vaguely aware of Anya and Dawn standing in the doorway watching. Great. An audience. "Shut up, both of you and sit down. We are not doing this right now."

For a long moment, neither man moved and Buffy wondered if she was going to have get physical. Then they both headed for chairs, each watching the other warily. Taking a deep breath, Buffy decided not to address them, but the others. "We ran into a problem. It seems that the guy they thought they were looking for is Rack."

Dawn and Anya exchanged looks. "Rack is dead," Dawn said slowly.

"And wasn't that a sight that was difficult to scrub out of my eyeballs," Anya added. "So, they're looking for Rack's replacement?"

At that moment, Buffy felt like hugging Anya. "Please tell me you have some idea who that might be."

Anya opened her mouth, the shut it abruptly, favoring Riley and Graham with pointed looks. "Perhaps. But I'd like to know exactly how far the Initiative is taking demon-hunting."

"The Initiative was disbanded," Graham said. "We're a branch of Homeland Security and that's where our focus lies: making certain activities that could threaten the security of this country are shut down."

His voice was calm and even, cutting quickly to the heart of the matter. "So you have no intention of going after law-abiding demons who are active and useful members of their community, who pay their taxes and participate in civic business?"

She must have been practicing for the Sunday morning issue show; Buffy recalled Dawn saying something about Anya being invited on in a few weeks. Graham blinked twice at her words, but answered with the same measured preciseness as before. "If they're upstanding members of their community, they have nothing to worry about...although I was surprised to hear that a demon might be registered to vote in local elections."

"We ran into Clem," Buffy explained. "He said you've got his vote."

That brought a smile to Anya's face. "Oh, good. Dawn, will you check him off on the list? Not that I was ever really worried."

She moved to the couch and settled at the other end from where Spike sat. "So what do you want to know?"

As Buffy had suspected, Anya had more than a few ideas who might have taken over Rack's list of customers. She was less thrilled when Anya turned to Spike and asked his opinion on a few names...and Spike clearly had more than a passing knowledge. Riley asked some questions while Graham took copious notes.

Nearly an hour passed before the flow ran out and Graham closed his notebook. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us. Riley, maybe she should come with us tomorrow."

Before Riley could agree or disagree, Anya spoke up. "I don't think that's possible. I have a campaign appearance."

Not according to the large calendar Dawn had posted in the kitchen listing the campaign activities, but Buffy didn't feel like making a correction. Anya had some good reasons for not wanting to come along and she couldn't blame her. It was when Anya added, "Spike could probably help you as well as me," that Buffy felt the urge to strangle.

"I think we can do without that help," Riley said, very definitely not looking at Spike.

"I'm not sure about that," Spike said from his corner of the couch. "You don't know some of these blokes and I do. Might be a good idea to have someone come along who actually understands the territory."

"Or might betray us for a profit." Now Riley was looking straight at Spike, gearing up for another round of testosterone poisoning. "I don't know why you trust him, Buffy; he's betrayed you more than once."

"Riley, I think we need to talk." Graham moved faster than any of them expected, grabbing Riley by the arm and dragging him toward the dining room.

"I am calm," came Riley's response to words from Graham Buffy couldn't quite hear. "I just can't stand seeing her with...he's a vampire, for chrissake's."

Buffy really didn't mean to creep closer to the door, her feet just moved of their own volition. "Would it bug you any less if he wasn't a vampire?" Graham asked. "You left over a year ago and you haven't let go. Don't try denying it; I've seen the photos in your pack. If you didn't want it to end, why did you leave?"

"You know why. I couldn't stay here; I would have gone crazy...or worse."

"Like getting drained by one of those vamp whores you were chasing? You got caught and she got pissed off; I've seen girls give guys their walking papers for less."

"I tried to explain to her..."

"Somehow, I don't think it was the blood-sucking itself that got her mad. She's moved on, even if you don't like the guy; you need to do the same thing. You screwed around on her then left town when you got caught. Get over it."

Graham walked back into the living room. "You can direct us to these guys?" he asked Spike.

"Yes."

"Good. Tomorrow night at ten. Buffy, I assume you're coming with us?"

Like I'm going to let Riley anywhere near Spike without my being there. "Yes."

"We'll see you here, then. Come on, Finn. Let's roll."

Riley didn't even bother to say goodnight, just followed Graham out the front door. "Wow," Xander said in the silence that followed. "I didn't realize Graham could be so...commanding."

"I'd feel better if he were the one calling the shots all the time," Spike said with a snort.

Buffy sighed. "Spike, please. I really don't need to hear your jokes about Riley right now."

He slipped two fingers under her chin, tilting her head back ever so slightly. "This isn't a joke. I'm going to be as helpful as I can to Captain Cardboard so that he gets his mission done and gets the hell out of here."

She was a bit surprised at how serious he looked. "Promise?"

"Promise. Call it enlightened self-interest."

He kissed her and she didn't care that they were in the living room in front of everyone, just slipped her arms around his neck. The kiss was short-lived, both of them distracted by the gagging sounds that came from Dawn's direction. "Think you could take into consideration the eyesight of the rest of us?" Xander asked. "Some of us do have tender psyches."

Buffy was about to offer up a smart reply when she suddenly found herself being dipped and kissed very thoroughly. This time, Spike didn't let the noises from both Dawn and Xander distract, holding her down long enough that she was gasping for breath when he finally brought her upright. "Think that will keep you for the night, Harris?"

Xander shook his head. "I think that will keep me up all night. See you tomorrow, Buffy."

Anya said her goodnights as well, while Dawn headed upstairs. It took a minute for Buffy to realize they'd been left alone, just the two of them, Spike's arms still wrapped loosely around her. "I, uh, Tara has a doctor's appointment in the morning."

"So you should be toddling off for your beauty sleep?" he asked, not moving one inch.

"I should...and you have the shop to open tomorrow."

"That I do." He still didn't move.

"Then you should probably...that is..."

Damn, this was getting hard. Part of her wanted to suggest he stay, but another part remembered how badly things had gone between them recently whenever things had gotten hot and heavy. Yes, the first part admitted, but things hadn't gone badly earlier this evening up in her room. But he'd given her a large hickey that forced her to spend the evening fiddling with a scarf, the second part argued, and surely she didn’t think Xander and Riley had missed that?

Reluctantly, she let the second part win the argument for now. "You'd better go," she said with a sigh.

He didn't argue, which made it harder as he gathered his book and his coat. Pausing at the door he told her, "We're going to get through this. Finn will accomplish his mission and be gone from our lives."

So many times Spike had made predictions that turned out to be dead wrong. This time, Buffy really hoped he'd be proved right.

***

Xander was surprised to find Anya waiting outside, leaning against her car as he headed for his own. "Do you think they're telling the truth?" she asked without preamble.

"I don't think they're in Sunnydale to randomly snuff demons," Xander replied, having no doubt that was what lay behind the question. "If they were, I think Riley would have found a way to dust Spike before now."

Anya wrinkled her nose. "He showed up less than twenty-four hours ago; I wouldn't get too complacent about Spike's safety. They hunt demons; that's their job. Me, Spike, even Clem -- we're all fair game by their lights."

She was looking very serious, not the intense type of serious when she got worked up about money where she threatened to bounce off the walls at any minute, but a deeper, quieter, older type of serious he'd only seen once or twice before. It bothered him. "I understand why you were nervous around the Council, Ahn, but this is Riley. He's a friend; we've hung together."

"Is he?" The look she fixed his with was level and steady. That look he had seen before, usually before she proved him wrong. "Yes, we 'hung' together, but I remember it being because he was with Buffy and I was with you. Did you and Riley ever hang once without her being present?"

He cast his mind back, certain he could easily come up with a number of examples, but they eluded him. He could remember conversations where he and Riley had been alone for a minute or so, but he couldn't remember a single time where they'd gone out for beers, shot pool or just vegged on the couch to watch a game. He was about to remind her that they'd patrolled with Riley without Buffy present, but that had been at Buffy's suggestion, not Riley's. "He asked for our help," Xander said, hoping she wouldn't notice he'd avoided answering the question. "Do you think he's going to piss us off by going after people we care about? Besides, you're gaining local prominence, a candidate for public office; why would they risk..."

Something Norton had said earlier that day suddenly came back to him. We're interested in those activities which might lead to HS...demons attempting to overthrow or seize the government on a local, state or national level. Swallowing, he tried not to let his mind race down that path. "Look, I am not going to let him touch you. I know I've made a complete mess of things, but I still care about you, Anya and I don't want to see you hurt."

He hoped to see her smile at that, an acknowledgement that he wasn't the only one who cared. He expected the same cold shoulder he'd been receiving the last two months. What he didn't expect was a long silence as Anya looked at him, then let her head drop backwards to watch the stars.

They were quiet enough that he heard the front door open and looked back over his shoulder to see Spike exiting the house. He stopped on the porch and turned back to Buffy, who stood in the doorway. Xander could see their lips moving as they spoke, but couldn't hear the words. Then, Spike leaned down slightly to give her a goodnight kiss and Xander considered shouting something about frightening the neighbors but stopped.

He'd done his best to avoid their displays of public affection since Buffy had broken the news they were "officially" dating, though it'd been almost impossible to miss the way Spike's hand constantly sought hers. The few time it'd been impossible to avoid the kisses, Xander had consoled himself that there was a visible edge of lust to the action and the passion would hopefully burn itself out.

This time, though, what he saw was as chaste as what might be seen in any Andy Hardy film he might catch on TCM and the happy glow on Buffy's face as Spike moved back would do far more to keep him up tonight than the earlier display in the living room.

Spike headed out across the lawn in the opposite direction from where Xander and Anya stood. Buffy watched him disappear into the distance and then closed the door, flipping off the porch light.

"Do you still care, Xander?" Anya asked quietly, "now that I'm a demon again? You always seemed embarrassed by my past before, as if it were something you didn't want to accept."

The quick assurances that he still loved her sprang instantly to his lips, but he hesitated. Truth be told, the fact D'Hoffryn had elevated her once more trouble him, an anvil he was certain would drop on his head when he least expected it. He did care...but he didn't know if he'd ever be able to look at Anya with the same acceptance he'd just seen on Buffy's face as she looked at Spike. And that bothered him even more than Anya's past.

"Yes," he said at last. "But I'm still bothered and I guess I need to think about that. Look, I've got to be on site early; I'll see you tomorrow."

He moved to give her a peck on the cheek which she didn't discourage him from. Part of him was tempted to press for a little more, but his common sense clubbed that part over the head and set him moving toward his car, telling him he already had enough on his plate to deal with.

And, no, he didn't get much sleep that night.

On to Part III