Memoirs of an Ex-Soldier, Riley's story

[maryperk73703]

Riley Finn's Memoir

Sometimes I dream of Sunnydale. I didn't live there very long; just under two very busy years. In my dreams, I'm walking down the streets searching for someone, but I can't seem to remember who. I search and search, but to no avail.

My waking mind tells me that it's Buffy I'm searching for, even when my sleeping mind forgets. After these dreams, I awake sweaty, tangled in my sheets. The faded bite marks on my body flare in remembered pleasure-pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After I left Sunnydale, I met Samantha 'Sam' Kearney. She was tall, statuesque, and brunette. The exact opposite of Buffy. We married within weeks of meeting. That's how fast I fell for her. I rarely thought about Sunnydale or the Slayer. Not until Sam and I were sent there to track down an international arms dealer specializing in demonic merchandise.

When the recon boys couldn't find any trace of Buffy, I became concerned. I went to the house on Revello Drive, Dawn was there, as was Giles. They told me all that had happened since my departure from Sunnydale; Joyce's death, Buffy's death, Buffy's resurrection, her friends' part in the event, and Buffy's disappearance

When I found out that Buffy had run away with Spike, I can't say that I was surprised. I had a feeling that other than Dawn, I was the only one who wasn't. Buffy had always seemed to have a special rapport with the bleached blond menace.

The arms dealer mission was a bust in Sunnydale, and the trail led us to Belize. I didn't even think about that town until a year later when it made the news by sinking into the ground. The report said something about underground caverns. Only cavern that big in the area was the Hellmouth. I should know; the Initiative explored that entire area in search of the biggest ones to use for their facility.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam and I celebrated our fifteenth anniversary by taking a trip to Jamaica. The sand and the sun were wonderful. The trip revitalized our marriage.

When we returned home, the mystery of Buffy's disappearance once again entered our lives. After retiring from the military, Sam and I opened a detective agency. We figured it would be a great way to spend time together, and still make some money. An anonymous letter asking us to look into Buffy's disappearance and a bank draft of $100,000 made the decision easy for us. We'd do it!

Our plan was to contact family first. Dawn was a Watcher now, and she was in the field, having been assigned her first Slayer. She was unavailable to be interviewed. I spoke to Giles instead. He assured me that neither he nor Dawn had any idea where Buffy had disappeared to. I heard a hint of hesitancy in his voice, and when I pushed, he mentioned some tulips that had turned up anonymously when Dawn graduated from college. I wrote this down, but I was sure that it was a secret admirer.

Willow and Tara were next on my list, but neither was helpful. Willow cast a locater spell for me, but for whatever reason, it didn't work.

Then, on to Xander and Anya. I was surprised at the bitterness that Xander spewed forth. All I got from him was theories. He was convinced that Spike had killed Buffy, then hid the body and skipped town. That didn't sound like the vampire I knew and hated. Anya gave me a bright smile and said quite bluntly that she had no idea where Spike and Buffy were at that particular moment. That statement led me to believe that she knew more than she let on, but she refused to say anymore. In fact, the smirk on her face told me that she wouldn't tell me even if she did know.

Next on my list was Angel. That was one interview I didn't look forward to. The two ex-boyfriends! The last time we met wasn't pretty, and we had a 'Buffy buffer' between us.

Man, if I thought Xander was bitter, he had nothing on the vampire!

What I don't understand is why? Why was Angel so angry? He left Buffy and told her to move on. Maybe it wasn't that she actually did what he wanted, but how she did it. She totally disappeared, and with a creature he loathed above all others.

Needless to say, the report to my anonymous client was disappointing. I hated to have an unsolved case on the books, but there really wasn't much I could do.

A week later, I received a note that simply said, 'Thanks, Riley.' I'm sure the handwriting was Buffy's. I stared at the card in disbelief.

Life went back to normal. There were times that Sam and I regretted not having children of our own. We just never found the time when we were young as we drifted from one dangerous hot spot to the next.

Almost two years later, I got a letter from Anya. She asked me to meet some friends of hers in a nearby town. I was pretty sure it would be Buffy, and most likely Spike, too. Unless, of course, she'd finally staked him. Here's hoping.

Ah, no such luck, I guess. Spike was the one I saw first, strolling down the sidewalk like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Cornbread."

The vampire's voice grated on my nerves. I'd always hated how he had a nickname for everybody.

"Still owe you for the plastic stake."

"Get over it, Spike. That was seventeen years ago."

I gasped when Buffy stepped out of the shadows and under the streetlight. She looked exactly the same as she hadd when I left Sunnydale. EXACTLY! THE! SAME! If it hadn't been for the cross laying in the hollow of her throat, I would have sworen she was a vamp.

"So, Riley, Spike and I have a proposition for you and your wife."

They laid out their plan over coffee at the local diner. It seemed they wished to make their own protected community. A haven of sorts for them and those who had joined them along the way. They --well, Buffy-- wanted Sam and I to be in charge of security.

To do this we would have to disappear in such a way that no one suspected anything. I told them I needed to consult with Sam. I left the meeting wondering if I should contact Buffy's friends, but then I remembered Angel. As much as I hateed Spike, neither one of them deserved that kind of insanity.

It took Sam and I a month to make a decision and another four months to get a plan into action. We decided we would die in a 'car crash'. I was finally glad we didn't have any children. I would have hated to leave them behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our new life's not that bad. We get to see the softer side of demonic life, and we discovered that not all demons are evil. We have dinner with a demon named Clem and his wife on a weekly basis, and lunch with Buffy when she's in town. Spike rarely joins us, but I think that's because he hates my guts. The feeling's mutual, but he's good for Buffy. She was never this happy with me.

Sometimes I dream of Sunnydale. I dream of people long dead like Professor Walsh and Forrest, and of people from a different life like Graham and the Scoobies. Mostly though I dream that I find Buffy, and she's happy.

 

 

Comments

[louise39.livejournal.com]

Another memoirverse! Yay.
[OK, I never cared for Riley.]
His path through the Initiative and true love with Sam was part of his journey. Loved the detective work and the final decision to provide security for 'their community'.

::Laugh:: Spike rarely joins us, but I think that's because he hates my guts.

[maryperk73703.livejournal.com]

I posted a Memoir for Kate Lockley, too. I'm glad you liked Riley's story.

[spikesdeb.livejournal.com]

That was great! A nice snippet to make Riley likeable and a lovely thought to how Buffy and Spike could be together. Great little ficlet, thanks.

[maryperk73703.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's quite an interesting verse Memoirsverse is. Especially since I'm working solely with characters as Holly picks them for the jossverse LJ. It's odd, I didn't start out to make Riley likable or anything, it just happened. LOL

[framefolly.livejournal.com]

I've always had a soft spot for Riley -- despite all his faults, he had sincere virtues, too -- and am glad you're telling his story here :) .

[maryperk73703.livejournal.com]

Thanks. For the most part, I don't care for Riley, at least not with Buffy. LOL