Title: The Assistant 14/?
Author: Sweetdoggie
Email: (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Merrick didn’t die. A/U
Spoilers: Up to mid-season 2
Disclaimer: No permission has been granted to use the characters. They are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB, and Mutant Enemy. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Pretty much A/U right from the start. I don’t know how many parts this will be but I’m not going to leave you hanging. The rating is me being ultra-conservative. 99% of all the sex takes place off scene. B/A fans—it never happened

After Riley’s amazing bit of denial, Buffy had a very hard time taking him seriously. Their complaints to the school board and the University had fallen on if not deaf, at least unsympathetic ears so she knew she was probably stuck with the boy for the entire six weeks. He hung around and pestered her constantly about doing the ‘right’ thing. She had started to avoid the library because her friends needed to do research and couldn’t with the student present. Riley, of course, took this as proof that he was getting through to her.

On a Friday, three weeks into the program, Riley asked her out on a date. Buffy was stunned. “You know I’m seeing somebody else, Riley. Why even ask me?”

“Because I know I’m better for you than this Ripper guy ever could be.” He grinned down at her confidently. “So, what about it?”

“No. Thanks, but I’m in love with somebody else.”

“If you went out with me, I could show you the difference between that thug and a real man.” Riley boasted.

“If I went out with you, all you’d end up showing me is the difference between a live and a dead man, ‘cause that’s what you’d be when Ripper found out.”

“I can handle myself. I was in the military, you know.”

“No, I didn’t know. Don’t really care either. Look, I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but you are not the guy for me. That would be Ripper, FYI. He and I are going to be together for the rest of our lives.”

Riley chuckled. “You’re so young, Buffy! No teenage romance lasts forever. Pretty soon you’ll be out of high school and then what will you do? Get a job at Hot Dog on a Stick?”

“Ripper will take care of me.” She told him indifferently.

“What’s this Ripper do for money, Buffy? Is he a drug dealer? Is that how come you think he’ll take care of you? Are you doing drugs?”

She walked away from him without deigning to reply. He caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

“There are rehab programs, Buffy. I’d stick with you. You wouldn’t be alone.”

“I don’t need rehab, Riley. I don’t have a drug problem. I’m not alone now, I have a boyfriend. Please, please leave me alone.”

He walked next to her pestering her about getting drug tested and dating him till she finally ran to the library. “Giles! Help! Riley won’t leave me alone. I can’t stand it anymore. Now he thinks I’m on drugs and he wants me to go into rehab, plus he keeps asking me out on dates. Make him stop, please!”

At Buffy’s entrance, he had looked up surprised, but when her words hit home, he was instantly furious. He dropped the books he was shelving and came down from the stacks. He put his arm protectively around Buffy. “That’s it, you pillock! I’d kill you myself if Buffy would let me.” He walked up to the boy and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around. The next thing Riley knew, he was being propelled out of the library head first through the double doors. “Don’t come back or I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”

Giles pulled a shaken Buffy down onto the couch in his office and gave her a cup of tea. “I’m not letting this continue.” He told her.

He called Merrick and Joyce and explained the situation complete with details of the sexual harassment. All three of them took turns calling Maggie Walsh, the school board, and the President of the University. Giles contacted the lawyer that dealt with Council business and discussed the situation.

“Excellent. The sexual harassment puts him over the edge. It’s exactly the tool we needed.” The lawyer promised he could get the school board to cease and desist harassing Buffy and said he would return their call when he had news.

An hour later, a very satisfied member of the legal profession called them back and told them that Riley was officially off Buffy’s case, that the mentor program had been dropped, and that the boy was on probation at the University. “I could have gotten him expelled if I’d pushed a little harder, but I didn’t want this to go into litigation.”

Giles sighed. “No, you have done an excellent job. I shall see to it that this is mentioned in my reports to the Council. Thank you, you have our inestimable gratitude.”

He turned to Buffy. “You’re free, love. The lawyer has gotten young Riley removed and put on probation.”

She leapt into his arms twining her legs around his waist and her own arms around his neck. She kissed him until they were both weak in the knees. “It’s over, thank God, it’s over.” She kissed him again. “Promise me that you’ll never tell me something is for my own good even if it is?”

“I promise.” He told her with a hearty grin. Looking down at her, he continued, “Even if it is for your own good.”

“Eeeee.” She squealed in mock agony. “You are an evil, evil man. Don’t think I’m fooled by the tweed, Mister. I know it hides the blackest of hearts!”

“Black as coal, my love.” He teased her.

“Luckily, I find that attractive in a man. What say, you and I get together tonight and you can fulfill some of my tweed fantasies.” Buffy said, playing with the buttons on his shirt.

“Tweed fantasies?” He said, intrigued. “Like what?”

“Well,” She bent forward and whispered in his ear. She grinned as his face turned a lovely shade of red.

“Good Lord! I’m sure that must be illegal in at least several states, Buffy.” He told her.

“Not interested?” She asked with a purr.

“Did I say that? Actually, I’m rather intrigued. I’m sure we can even come up with several variations that you might enjoy.” He grinned wickedly. “How do you feel about corduroy?”

Buffy was out patrolling later that night when she felt the presence of a familiar vampire. She turned around and spotted Angel standing safely behind several tombstones. “You.” She muttered.

“Hi, Buffy.” He said tentatively. “I saw you out tonight and I just wondered how things were going?”

She sighed. “Can you be trusted, Angel?”

“Yes. I’m really sorry about that whole kidnapping thing. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He leaped at the chance to apologize.

Shrugging, she continued to gaze at him. Just as she was getting ready to speak, a tall, muscular and unpleasantly familiar form stepped toward them.

“Buffy! Is this Ripper? Is this where he takes you? It’s not safe to be here at night.” The boy looked at the vampire with a frown on his face.

Angel gazed back in unconcern. Whoever this boy was, he didn’t matter in the least.

“No, this isn’t Ripper. This is Angel. Angel, meet Riley, my other stalker. You guys have so much in common; you’re both freakin’ weird!” She looked at the Psychology student. “What do you want, Riley?”

“I just want to keep you safe, Buffy. I want you to give up your association with Ripper and be with me. I don’t care if you’ve had another lover. I want you to be mine. I promised you, I’d be there for you. I’m not going to break my word.”

Angel frowned. “He knows about Ripper and he’s still so, so…?”

“Yeah. Though in his defense, he’s never actually met Ripper.” She looked at both men. “You know what? This crap has gone on long enough. I want you both to come with me. I’m going to introduce you to Ripper.” She smiled thinly. It wasn’t a happy look.

Angel looked alarmed. “Uh, Buffy, maybe that isn’t such a good idea.” He had visions of stakes and wasn’t enjoying it at all.

She grinned. “’S’OK. I won’t let him dust you.”

She led them back to the house she shared with her husband, her sister Slayer, and the other two Watchers. Riley was perturbed. He was pretty sure this was the house that Giles and Merrick lived in. He wondered what was going on.

Buffy threw open the door and walked inside, pushing the others ahead of her. Giles was sitting on the couch reading while Faith watched TV on the floor at his feet. Wesley came out of the kitchen drying his hands on a dishtowel, and Merrick glanced up from the desk where he was doing the accounts for the household. Everyone looked up as the trio entered.

“Look what found me on my walk tonight, guys.” Buffy said sarcastically.

“Are you all right?” Giles asked her reflexively.

“Way, except for my twin stalkers.” She walked up to her husband who automatically stood and put his arm around her.

Riley looked on uncomprehending. “I thought you said we were going to meet Ripper.”

Even Angel rolled his eyes at the boy’s density.

Buffy nodded and looked at Giles. “Riley, meet Ripper. Ripper, you’ve met Riley.”

Giles nodded. The look in his eyes was terrifying. He released Buffy and took slow steps to the boy. “You stupid mule! You absolute bloody pillock! I told you to stay away from my wife. Merrick told you, Mrs. Summers told you, the school board and the university told you, your own bloody professor told you. But you just wouldn’t listen, would you? Now, I think I’m going to make sure you understand that your attentions are not welcomed.”

Riley blinked in astonishment. The stammering librarian had been replaced by a very frightening man who looked like he could kill and not blink. Cold sweat broke out on his brow as he realized he was the target of this man’s rage. Suddenly, words that had been spoken registered in his mind. “Wait a minute! Wife? I’m not after your wife. I just want to protect Buffy.”

Ripper growled but spoke slowly to be sure the boy understood. “Buffy is my wife.”

Riley shook his head. “I told you that fake romance stuff wasn’t going to work.”

Merrick came and stood by them. “You young fool! Buffy and Rupert have been married since August of last year.”

Riley looked around and met their eyes. They all nodded. His face, a picture of disgust, crinkled in revulsion. “How?”

“How do you bloody think?” Ripper bit out. “We went out and got married. Pillock.”

Riley blinked and looked at Buffy for an explanation. “I don’t get it. Why would you want to marry him? He’s old and, and gay”

Buffy suddenly laughed. “Rupert isn’t old, Riley. And trust me when I say he is so not gay! You don’t get it, do you? I love him. When he touches me, my body burns. I want to eat him up. You look at him and see a man with an extra twenty years weighing on him. I look at him and see my heart.”

Riley shuddered. “I don’t get it and I think it’s sick. This is just disgusting and perverse. He’s old! God! You let him touch you with his old hands.” He shuddered again.

“See, Riley? You make this about age and perversion when it’s really all about love, trust, devotion and happiness. Maybe someday when you grow up you’ll understand.” Buffy smiled sympathetically at him.

Riley looked at her rather desperately. “Would you leave him, Buffy? I’m sure with the right therapy…” He trailed off as Ripper growled low in his throat. Looking at the suddenly very scary man, he took a step back, then another.

Angel held the door open as the boy stepped through it and out into the night. The vampire looked at Buffy. “I got the message too, Buffy. There really isn’t any room in your heart for me, is there? I’m just fooling myself to think you could ever come to care for me.”

Buffy nodded silently. The vampire looked at them all one last time. “I’m sorry that I hurt you. I didn’t mean to, I just wanted her to love me. I thought if she didn’t remember the Watcher, she’d want me.” He chuckled humorlessly. “She never did. Even under that spell, she never once looked at me with even mild interest.” He sighed. “I’m leaving Sunnydale. When I figure out where I’m staying, I’ll send you my address. You can always call on me. Always.” With a last lingering look at the girl he loved he backed from the room and was gone.

There was silence in the living room for a minute as the impact of the evening hit them. Finally, Faith sat up on the floor. “Ya know, I guess this means we can quit researching quests.”

Merrick smiled at her. “Yes. I believe it does. Pity, really. It was a good plan.”

They all chuckled. Buffy pulled Rupert down on the couch as the others resumed their activities. “Well, I hope he got the message this time, sweetie. I am just so tired of having somebody be righteous all over me.”

“If you keep bringing home strays that I end up having to chase off, I’m not going to let you patrol alone anymore.” He told her chidingly.

“Hey, they just follow me home. Not my fault!” She told him, pinching his knee for his brush at teasing. She grinned as a thought occurred to her but said nothing.

“What are you thinking, minx?” Her husband asked her.

She chuckled. “At the rate I’m collecting men, I’m going to have enough for team sports in a couple of years.”

He leaned over and nipped her on the ear. She laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll always be my star player.”

He stood up, pulled Buffy upright and threw her over his shoulder slapping her bottom when she struggled. Merrick looked up as they passed him. “Where are you going, Rupert?”

He grinned. “I’m going to teach Buffy a bit about sports.”

The fallout from what became known as the ‘Riley Incident’ was interesting. Snyder’s hatred for Buffy became even more pronounced but his increased fear of lawsuits kept him away from them all whenever possible. The gang added some new slang to their vocabulary. Whenever somebody did something particularly stupid, it became known as doing the ‘Riley’. Even Giles, the anti-slang king, had used the phrase in reference to some stupid thing Xander had done.

Joyce and Merrick had begun spending more time together. Buffy figured it was bonding over a common enemy and thought it was cute. Neither of them called it dating but Buffy couldn’t see the difference. Strangest of all, Rupert was disturbed by the new closeness. For years, he has seen Buffy’s mother as the enemy and it was hard to turn his earlier perceptions around. In addition, Joyce wasn’t Council, she wasn’t from a Watcher background, she had no special training; she was just the Slayer’s mother.

Faith and Wesley had also grown closer. Their original date had gone well, but both were horribly shy and Faith told Buffy that he hadn’t even kissed her yet. The picnic had been a huge success and they resolved to do things together as a family more frequently. They had an opportunity that very weekend when Willow’s father was given a book of free passes into The 49’ers, an amusement park themed around the Old West. Willow had been the recipient of her father’s largess and she offered to take the rest of the gang. The Watchers were hesitant, but Buffy and Faith pleaded with them until they were forced to give in. Joyce was arm-wrestled into coming and with the addition of Oz, Xander and Cordelia, the party was complete.

They rode all the rides and the Slayer/Watcher teams cleaned up at the boardwalk games. Merrick was persuaded to try a couple and was pleased to see that his hand/eye coordination hadn’t slackened over the years. He won an alarmingly large stuffed cow that he gave to Joyce with a grimace of distaste. She laughed and thanked him, secretly wondering what on earth she would do with it. They took their booty back to the cars and debated about lunch. The younger members of the group had no qualms about eating the food available in the park, but the older, more rational minds decided that chili and fry bread would probably kill all of them much sooner than a vampire rising and begged off for better fare.

They ended up in a small diner about forty minutes out of Sunnydale. Lunch was uneventful. The food was good and the company better. There was a small park near the diner and a unanimous decision to walk off their lunches resulted in the group spending the remainder of the afternoon there. The children started a vigorous game of Frisbee with the two Slayers playing the extreme outfield. Giles and Wesley were eventually persuaded to play while Merrick and Joyce looked on with amusement.

“They really are all just children, aren’t they?” She asked the older man. “Even Rupert and Wes.”

Merrick thought about her question. “Not really children, not for a long time. They can be extremely childlike, however. I think it’s a good way of relieving the tension of living such a day-to-day existence. They work hard and play just the same.” He concluded.

Joyce sighed. “I wish my baby could have had a normal life.”

“I wish that too, Joyce.” Merrick told her sadly.

Joyce looked at him, surprised. “Do you? If Buffy weren’t the Slayer, you wouldn’t be here, would you? You’d be with some other young girl somewhere else?”

He nodded. “Yes. But do you really think I wouldn’t trade if it meant Buffy could have a normal life?”

“I guess I don’t understand. I know you’re fond of Buffy, but wouldn’t you be fond of any other girl just as much?”

It was his turn to sigh. “Joyce, I’m not merely fond of Buffy. I love her very much. Had the bond not formed with Rupert, it would have been me. Now, it is as if she is my very dear daughter, child of my heart. She isn’t the first Slayer I’ve trained, you know.”

“No, I had no idea.” Joyce said quietly.

Buffy is the fifth girl I’ve trained. Three of them were never called. They made it to their eighteenth birthday without becoming Slayers and they were freed. They are all very nice girls and I correspond with them occasionally, but we aren’t terribly close.”

“And the fourth girl?”

“Her name was Herminie. She was six Slayers back from Buffy; a very sweet child. She was called at age twelve and died four months after becoming the Slayer. She was so small and yet she could be so very fierce.”

“How did she die?” Joyce took his hand in hers and stroked it comfortingly.

“Ah, she saved a baby in a stroller from being hit by a car but wasn’t able to get out of its way before it struck her.” His voice was filled with pain.

“So it wasn’t a vampire or demon?” Joyce probed.

“No. Just a bad set of circumstances.” He fell silent.

“I’m sorry, John.”

“Yes. Thank you. Its twenty years past now, but the pain, that doesn’t really ever leave you.” He paused for a moment. “She was Rupert’s baby sister.”

“Our Rupert?” Joyce whispered, shocked.

“Yes. She was six years younger than he. It was her death that pushed him away from the Council. He thought we should have been able to save her.”

“You couldn’t stop a car.” She murmured.

“No. I couldn’t do that. When Buffy was first called back in LA…has she told you any of that?” He asked.

“Just the basics. What you guys all told me. She said you were injured fighting a vampire.”

“I couldn’t let her die. He was going to kill her and I couldn’t bear it. Better that I died first so I wouldn’t lose another one.” He looked at his hands. “She was so afraid and that thing was going to tear her throat out and feast on her blood. I took a stake from my coat and tried to get it from behind, but Lothos was old when the Crusades were young. He knew exactly what I was doing. He took the stake and put his hand over mine and made me watch while he pushed it into my chest.”

Joyce gripped his hand tightly but said nothing.

“Buffy carried me to the hospital in her arms. I nearly died but all I could think of was that she had lived. My precious girl lived and that was enough. When I woke again in the hospital and knew that I was still alive, I was rather dismayed. I didn’t know what to do. I knew my dear girl would be needing to form the bond soon and that I could no longer fulfill my obligations to her. I called Rupert and gave her to him. It was much harder than having a stake rammed through my body. Much harder.” He nodded. “Still, it has turned out well.”

Joyce looked at her daughter and son-in-law. She nodded. “Yes, it has turned out very well indeed, John. When all this was first revealed to me, I was horrified. Not just about the Slaying which was almost too weird for me to grasp, but my little girl falling in love with a man old enough to be her father. It wigged me as the children would say.”

“I can understand that, Joyce.” Merrick admitted.

“But now, I look at them and I can’t even think about her with anyone else. Buffy and Giles, they go together like, like, I don’t know, peanut butter and jelly or something.” She smiled ruefully. “At one time, I would have done cartwheels at the thought of a boy like Riley Finn being attracted to her; now, he just gives me the creeps.”

John laughed. “Well, I don’t know about creepy, but he was as dense as a post. Even if she were a normal girl, he wouldn’t have been good enough.”

Both of them noticed that Joyce had not released his hand, yet neither said anything, just continued sitting, watching the vigorous game in front of them. When a sweaty Giles and Wes stumbled back to the table, neither she nor Merrick dropped the light embrace.

Giles collapsed on the bench. “I forget that I’m not twenty anymore.” He admitted ruefully.

Joyce laughed. “I guess having a child bride might be part of that.”

He looked guilty. “I’m sorry I snatched her up so young, but there was nothing…”

Joyce cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t sweat it, Rupert. I’ve never seen my daughter so happy and you are the one who put that smile in her eyes. Any man who could do that is all right in my book.”

He smiled shyly at her, noticed her hand encased in Merrick’s and raised an expressive eyebrow at the older man. Merrick glared at him repressively and Giles eyes crinkled in silent laughter. He turned to Wes. “How’s Faith coming along, Wes?”

“She’s in excellent physical condition, though I would like to work a bit more on her reaction speed.” The younger man told him.

They watched the children tossing the plastic disc between them. The Slayers had an advantage over the purely human players and often caught throws that would have stretched the resources of professional athletes. Finally, by mutual consent, everyone trooped back to the table to join the others.

“Good game.” Buffy said with a grin.

Xander groaned. “I’m probably going to just have you drop me off at the emergency room when we head back to town. Maybe they can do a spleen transplant for me.”

Faith looked at him with a grin. “Wuss. A girl could have caught that throw.”

Willow grinned. “Hey, a girl did catch it!”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “I hate getting all sweaty, but it was worth it to leave the guys in the dust.”

Xander rolled his eyes expressively. “Oh, sure, and it didn’t hurt that the girl’s team had two Slayers on it, right?”

She sniffed and grinned. “Yeah, but you had Watchers on your team and a werewolf. That probably means something.”

“Yeah, if we needed to track bunnies through the woods or read about the history of sports, that would have been a real help.” Xander said sarcastically.

“Oh, I say!” Giles protested. “We held up our end.”

Xander looked momentarily guilty. “Sorry, Giles. You guys did great. We just need a sport that doesn’t give the Slayers an advantage.”

Wes looked up. “How about miniature golf? Strength has nothing to do with it.”

When everybody including Joyce and Merrick looked interested, Wes mentioned seeing a miniature golf course not too far from the beach about an hour from Sunnydale. Plans were made to go on the next weekend and everybody decided it was time to head back home. Buffy said she had to patrol and Faith wanted to finish her homework before making her own rounds. Willow offered to help her and they spent the drive back to town planning out an English paper.

NEXT