Disclaimer: Didn't create the characters, but i treat most of them better than Joss...so don't complain...I'm not making any money out of this so please don't sue me.

Beta'd by AtheneHahn, with special thanks to Maryperk for her advice and help.

by Jackofspikes

Chapter 32

**.

~*~*~

Buffy looked from her watcher to her mother and back again. Nobody said anything.

"Sharing would be of the good, people," Buffy told them facetiously.

Joyce rolled her eyes at her impatient daughter then once again repeated her tale.

"So, mom is like my new early warning system?" Buffy asked, perplexed. She wasn't sure how she should feel. She was pissed that the powers had further involved her mother in her dangerous life, but another part of her was happy that she would have access to more information. The little voice in her head was clear in its belief that being able to share more of her slayer life with her mother was of the good. "How do you feel about that, Mom?"

"I'm elated, sweetheart. I've always wanted to be more involved with your slayer duties and now I can be. But, honey," Joyce paused delicately. "You haven't asked how I know that I'll be getting visions for you."

"Oh!" Buffy looked confused. "How do you know?"

Joyce told Buffy about her dream.

~*~*~

Buffy couldn't believe it. How could Riley have been so stupid? 'So much for the great demon hunter.' When were people who should know better going to realise that drinking the damned blood turned you into a vampire. It wasn't like it was hard to do the math. Sheesh, even Harmony could have done the math. Actually, Harmony probably wasn't a good example, what with her being a vampire and all.

'Guess that answers the question of whether I was in love with Riley or not,' Buffy mused as she walked in the direction of the Magic Box. She wasn't really surprised that she was feeling irritation more than anything else. Her relationship with Riley had been a slow train going nowhere for a long time. Thinking about it critically, she wasn't really surprised to realise that his involvement with the Initiative- and let's not forget his lusty encounter with Faith- had been the real end of the line. She'd just been denial girl for so long because she thought she wanted normal.

Normal. Well, that was for boring people. Everyone, including her, had made such a big deal of normal that she'd never really sat down and thought about it. Neither Xander nor Willow was in 'normal' relationships, why had it been so important for her to be? Buffy shook her head in self-disgust. Maybe she should try this again with Penny. Maybe a psychologist with knowledge of the supernatural could help her.

After making the decision to contact Penny, Buffy felt the weight that she'd been carrying around on her shoulders lessen. She decided that now was the perfect time to do some boyfriend reflection. Namely thinking about the yummy, sleepy blond she had left incoherent from kisses just a few short hours before. She giggled when she remembered the pout he had pulled when she said she had to go. Boyfriend smoochies were definitely of the good.

Buffy was in a really good mood when she got to the Magic Box. That is, until she spotted Riley's abandoned car. Putting her hand on the hood, she felt no warmth at all. Giving herself a mental shake, she tried to stop thinking of worse possible case scenarios by reciting her own little check list. Maybe his car had just broken down? 'Check his apartment before you jump to conclusions, Buffy!'

~*~*~

Buffy let out her senses as she neared Riley's apartment. There were no tinglies telling her a vampire was present. Knocking on the door, she was relieved to hear footsteps coming from inside the apartment. Her relief was short lived when Graham opened the door.

"Graham?"

"Buffy?" The soldier's expression reflected the blonde's confusion. "Isn't Riley with you?"

"No, and if he's not here then it probably means we're too late to save him," Buffy admitted sadly.

Graham gave her a hard look. He really didn't like where this conversation was heading. "What are you talking about? Save him from what?"

"Our Seer saw Riley in game face attacking someone. The person he was attacking is safe, so I was hoping that Riley was too," Buffy told the angry soldier. There was no way she was telling him who the Seer was, however.

"I thought you were supposed to be the Chosen One. Isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen? Why wasn't he with you?" Graham ranted.

"Riley is an experienced demon hunter, Graham. Don't you dare try and pin this on me! He wasn't with me because we broke up. If he hadn't been stalking my friends, he wouldn't have gotten himself in this mess," Buffy responded to the brunette with equal fire. She'd had other things to deal with last night and she wasn't about to be blamed for something she had no control over. Stupid commando.

"This wouldn't have happened if he'd never gotten involved with you in the first place," Graham told her derisively as he reached inside his jacket for his phone.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, horrified by her suspicions.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm calling it in. We take care of our own." Graham abruptly dismissed the slayer as he closed the door in her face.

Buffy got on her own phone and called an emergency Scoobie meeting.

~*~*~

Xander was the last to arrive at the Magic Box. He'd had had to wait for his lunch break before he could get away.

Buffy wasted no time. She quickly informed the group of the morning's developments.

"We have to stop them," Spike spoke up first, his voice haunted. "I don't care who he was, we can't let those butchers have him."

"I agree with Spike. You would think they would have learned their lesson with Adam. The fools!" Giles spat out his words, anger permeating his tone.

"He was here last night, so he can't have risen yet. That usually takes between one and three days. If you can find him before he rises, you can stop it from happening," Anya wisely informed them.

"Didn't you say you had to go back and see Willy today? Maybe he can tell you something. And while you do that, Tara and I can look for a location spell that works on the dead?" Willow suggested.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "That's the plan then. Willow, Tara, Giles and Anya start on the spell research. Xander and Mom go back to work, and Spike and I will take the sewers to Willy's. We'll meet back here. Until Riley is found, everyone needs to make sure that Dawn doesn't go out after dark without one of us with her."

The Slayer had spoken.

~*~*~

The first thing Buffy did was ask the snitch if he'd heard anything thing about Riley being turned. She was disappointed when she realised that the level of surprise he'd reacted with was obviously genuine.

With slayer business out of the way it was time to talk about Buffy business. Well, it was technically Spike business, but it involved shopping and that moved it into the Buffy realm of expertise.

Willy laid out six pictures on the bar. Buffy was pleasantly surprised when Spike reached for the one that had caught her attention.

"Tell me about this one," Spike ordered.

"That one's a beauty; in perfect condition. It's a Victorian style three story house that's been completely restored. All the windows have necro-tempered glass and it has direct sewer access from the basement. The last owner was a Tzesleriac demon and he's set it up so that if you place a little of your blood on every entry point, the existing protection spell will recognize you as the new owner, which means nobody else- human or demon- gets in without an invite," Willy told them happily.

"If I paid for it today, when could I move in?" Spike asked, desperately trying to hide his excitement.

"I'll give you the keys the minute you pay me. I figured you wanted something fast, so these are the ones that come with immediate occupancy." Willy shrugged. He was a businessman. He'd learned long ago that reading a customers needs was as important as fulfilling them.

Spike and Willy quickly concluded their transaction and Spike received his paperwork and the keys to his new house. As the two blonds turned to leave, Buffy felt urged to warn the little man. "You know, if this house isn't exactly what you promised, I'm gonna let Spike hurt you."

When Willy didn't look particularly concerned, Buffy left him with her parting shot. "Oh! Did I forget to mention that his chip doesn't work anymore?"

Willy gulped and prayed that the usually honest and peaceful Tzesleriac demon had been a typical representative of his species and hadn't lied to him.