Everyone Else Could See It
by TheBear
Chapter 2
[reviews]
Part 2
========== BtVS ==========
Jim and Julie had to get back on the road. They had only stopped in Sunnydale on their way up to San Francisco, and they needed to be there before morning. Buffy hugged them both and made them promise to make time to visit again soon. Nothing more was said about Julie and Buffy's conversation in the ladies room, though Buffy was sure their next email or phone call would be in the same vein.
Riley's politeness was a bit strained as he spouted off the usual 'Nice to meet you' platitudes. He didn't care for the almost smirking grin that Julie gave him as she shook his hand. It was as if she knew something that he didn't.
Buffy was quiet as they walked back to the dorms. She couldn't stop thinking about the things Julie had said to her. She thought about Willow, how much time they spent together, how much fun they had together. She thought about how much she depended on the redhead- for friendship, for support, for acceptance and even for love. "Best friend love!" she hastened to reassure herself. "Best friends are supposed to love each other... Right?" she asked herself.
It would have been easier to convince herself if she weren't envisioning the sweet little witch moaning and writhing under her as their naked bodies intertwined. Somehow she just couldn't get that fantasy out of her head. "Come on! I mean, sure I've had a few dreams about her, but that's normal, isn't it?" she asked herself. It was because she'd overheard her and Oz together, smelled the aftermath of sex between them. Plus, she'd seen Willow naked lots of times- they did live together, after all. It was unavoidable. "Those dreams didn't mean anything... Did they?" she wondered.
They were almost back to her building when Riley broke the silence. "You're awfully quiet tonight, Buffy."
Buffy realized they had walked all the way back to the campus, and she hadn't once given the slightest thought to her supposed boyfriend. "Jeez, I'm sorry Riley. I have kinda ignored you tonight, haven't I?" she said.
Riley smiled, thinking he might get a little if he played his cards right, "Well, I know how you could make it up to me..." he said in what he thought was a sexy voice.
Buffy almost cringed at the tone of Riley's voice. She could tell he was thinking about sex, and the thought didn't appeal to her at all. Unfortunately, Julie had hit the nail on the head- Riley stunk in bed. "He not only can't hit the nail on the head, he can't even find the nail!" she thought. "Hell, he doesn't even *try* to find the nail."
"Actually, Riley, I kinda needed to talk to..." she started, trying to blow him off gently.
"Wait! Let me guess..." Riley interrupted angrily. "Willow, Right?"
Buffy was surprised by the sudden mood change. She hadn't noticed him glowering all through the evening, ever since Willow had stopped by their table.
When she didn't deny it, Riley threw his hands up in disgust. "I knew it! God, I am so tired of Willow Rosenberg. That's all you ever talk about, 'Willow this,' and 'Willow that.' You never want to spend time with me, your supposed *boyfriend,* no- it's always Willow."
Buffy was shocked by the vitriol in Riley's voice.
Riley got in Buffy's face and grabbed her arms tightly, "If I didn't know you were straight, I'd think you were in love with that little bitch."
Buffy felt a cold chill run down her spine. Her voice was deceptively calm as she said, "Let go of me, Riley."
Riley didn't yet know that Buffy was the slayer. Truly, even if he had, he probably would have reacted exactly the same way. No one ever accused Riley Finn of being the brightest candle on the cake.
"No! I'm tired of being ignored. You need to spend time with me; your boyfriend- your bitch of a roommate can do without you for a while."
Buffy said, "I said, Let. Me. Go!" Buffy growled.
Riley just laughed, "Make me."
Buffy reached across with her right hand, grabbing his right wrist. "First of all," she said as she dug her thumb into the tendon's of his wrist. "Willow isn't a bitch. Never call her that again."
Riley was shocked when his right hand went numb and she removed it from her arm. "Some kind of judo move," he thought- not able to believe that she could possibly be strong enough to hurt him.
"Second," she continued as she grabbed his left wrist, "I won't be spending any time with you. You and I are through."
Riley quickly let go, before she could do the same thing to his left hand. His right hand was still numb, and his wrist was really sore. "You're going to break up with me cause I called your roommate a bitch?" he yelled incredulously.
Neither paid any attention to the fact that there were several students walking by, who now stopped to watch the spectacle. Nor did they notice as most of the windows on that side of the dorm were opening up, and people sticking their heads out to see what was going on.
"I'm breaking up with you because you're an insensitive jerk," Buffy said, now seriously pissed off. "God, what did I ever see in this gomer?" she wondered.
"I'm a jerk? Screw you Buffy!" Riley shouted his clever comeback.
Buffy put her hands on her hips. She was on a roll now, "Screw me? That was never your strong suit, Riley. Why don't you check out an anatomy book and try and find the clitoris! Maybe your next girlfriend, if you can ever get one, won't have to fake all her orgasms!"
Riley saw red; figuratively and literally. Unbeknownst to Buffy, Willow had heard the ruckus and had come down to try and get her out of there before she did serious damage to her now ex- boyfriend.
"Buffy, come on. Let's go upstairs. He's not worth it."
Buffy had turned around at Willow's voice; otherwise she would have seen Riley in time to stop him.
Riley had lost what little sense he had when he saw his redheaded nemesis. He rushed over and shoved her hard, knocking her down onto the building's steps. "Shut up you little Bitch! This is all your fault!" he screamed, absolutely enraged. He actually pulled his leg back to kick her.
What happened next was a matter of dispute for weeks on campus. All the witnessed agreed on the course of events up to Riley shoving the redhead to the ground and preparing to kick her while she was down. Beyond that, there were two camps- those that couldn't believe what their eyes told them, and came up with various wild theories to explain Riley's injuries- and then there were those who remembered it accurately, even if they couldn't explain how it was possible. The latter were in the decided minority
If Riley could have remembered what happened next, he would have described a sudden intense squeezing pain in his neck. Seeing the world rushing down in front of his face followed that, as he found himself staring straight up at the sky. His entire body was supine and positioned about six feet above the ground.
Gravity suddenly reversed and he found himself traveling a ballistic arc through the air. He might have remembered the sharp crunching sound that came from the left side of his rib cage as it impacted with the oak tree. He might have marveled at the fact that said tree was some twenty feet away from where he had been standing. He might have, if it weren't for the hollow 'thunk' sound his head made as it struck the rock-hard soil at the base of the trunk, some ten feet down from his initial point of contact.
All Buffy knew is something hurt her Willow, and was about to cause her even more injury. That something had to be removed from her presence, immediately and vigorously. She didn't remember shrieking in rage as she did it, though the witnesses were unanimous on that point. Those closest to the event, the ones who remembered the look on her face as well as the sound of her scream would continue to feel their bladders clench uncomfortably whenever they recounted the event.
Buffy dropped to her knees in front of her roommate, completely ignoring everyone else around her. The constriction around her heart eased slightly, and she let go a quiet sob when she saw the gentle rise and fall of Willow's chest as she breathed. She gathered the redhead's upper body into her lap and stroked her fingers through her hair. She made sure not to touch the large knot she felt forming on the back of her head.
Buffy turned to one of the onlookers and simply said, "Call 911."
The young man nearly tripped over himself, he moved so fast getting to the phone.
It was a sure bet that no-one who saw the action that night - whichever way they remembered the events- would ever mess with Buffy Summers or Willow Rosenberg from that day forward.
========== BtVS ==========
Police and ambulance arrived, witnesses were questioned, and statements were taken.
The paramedics saw the way the little blonde was looking at the redhead in her lap. "Ma'am, you need to let us take a look at your girlfriend, ok?"
Buffy looked up into the paramedic's eyes, she frowned in confusion for a moment then nodded her head, gently easing Willow's head down. "She's got a big bump, right here," she said, indicating the spot where Willow's head had struck the concrete stairs.
The medics checked her vitals and shined a light at her eyes. The one who had spoken previously turned to Buffy and said, "Ok, it doesn't look like she's too bad. We want to take her in to the hospital and have the docs look at her though, just to be sure. Ok?"
Buffy nodded her head. "I wanna go with her," She said quietly.
Just then a police officer stepped up to Buffy, "I'd like to ask you a few questions first. You can go to the hospital after we're done."
Buffy looked up at the officer and said, "I want to ride with her," gesturing to the ambulance where they were loading up her roommate.
The officer saw the look in her eyes and took a step back, blanching slightly. "Uh, ok. You ride with your girlfriend and I'll have someone follow you to the hospital to take your statement, ok?"
Buffy frowned again, but nodded her head, not wanting to waste time arguing. "Fine," she said as she climbed into the back of the ambulance.
The ride seemed to take both forever and only a moment as Buffy existed in a timeless space where she looked down on the face of her best and dearest friend in the entire world. The thought of Willow not being ok was more than she could face. The paramedics said she was going to be ok. In fact they kept saying it to her the whole way to the hospital, trying to reassure her that it was just precautionary and that her girlfriend just had a bump on the head, and that it didn't even look like she had a concussion.
Buffy looked up into the face of one of the medics and asked, "Why do you keep saying that?"
The look on his face was one of utter compassion. "Y- you... you just look so worried." He stuttered out.
Buffy frowned in confusion. She hadn't noticed that her face was wet with tears.
They got to the emergency room and Buffy hovered nearby as the doctor's took a look at Willow. She wanted to follow when they took her down for x-rays, but the doctor stopped her.
"Your girlfriend looks like she's going to be just fine, Buffy. The x-rays are just a standard precaution. There's no sign of concussion at this point, just a nasty bump. She should wake up pretty soon, and you'll be able to see her, ok?"
Buffy was confused again. "How did you know my name?" she asked. The doctor looked familiar, but Buffy wasn't sure.
The doctor smiled at the little blonde, "I treated you when you had the flu a couple years ago. Remember?"
Now Buffy could place her. She nodded her head, "Dr. Wilkerson?"
"Wilkinson," the woman corrected.
"Willow's really ok?" Buffy asked, her voice somewhat smaller and higher than normal.
The doctor smiled at Buffy, the little-girl voice reinforcing in her the thought that these two must be deeply in love. "Your girlfriend is going to be just fine. We'll take some x-rays, and observe her for a couple of hours just as a precaution, but you'll probably be able to take her home with you tonight."
Buffy was about to ask why the doctor called her that, when she was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.
"Buffy Summers?" a man's voice asked.
Buffy turned around to see a tall man in a blue suit. "Yes," she said, still frowning.
"Ms. Summers, I'm Detective Shoenk, with the Sunnydale PD," he said while flipping out his ID. "I need to ask you a few questions, please."
Buffy looked back over her shoulder at the doctor.
"I'll be sure to let you know when she's out of X-ray, ok?"
Buffy, nodded her head glumly. Of course it wasn't ok- she should have been with Willow; or better yet, she should have kept Willow safe and out of the hospital in the first place- but it appeared that she had no other choice at this point. She turned back to the detective and said, "Ok, what do you want to know?"
========== BtVS ==========
"What does Mr. Finn have against you and your girlfriend, Ms. Summers?" the detective asked.
"Why does everyone keep calling her my girlfriend?" Buffy asked. "We're just roommates!"
Detective Shoenk raised an eyebrow. "Sorry Ms. I didn't mean to offend you." He had just assumed... she acted exactly like a concerned girlfriend.
Buffy calmed down immediately. "It's not offensive... I... I just... I was actually dating Riley up until tonight," she finally said.
The detective got it. He didn't say it out loud, but he had figured out the whole thing with that one statement. She dumped Riley Finn. Riley figured it was because of the redhead, and snapped. This girl probably didn't even realize that was why he snapped. "Were you and Riley arguing about Ms. Rosenberg?" he asked, making sure to keep any trace of judgement or assumption out of his voice.
"How did..." Buffy started. She trailed off when she immediately realized that the witnesses must have overheard them fighting.
"If Mr. Finn recovers, will you be wanting to press charges against him?" he asked.
Buffy's first inclination was to say no, she could take care of Riley herself. Then she thought maybe she should, just so he would be kicked out of school and wouldn't be around to bother Willow. Finally she realized exactly what the detective had said. She looked sharply at him and asked, "What do you mean, *if* he recovers? What's wrong with him?"
Detective Shoenk looked at her, trying to gauge her sincerity. "She really has no idea," he thought. "He's in critical condition, Ms. Summers. The left side of his chest is crushed, his left lung has been shredded by the fragments of his ribs, and his heart was pierced twice. There's only a thirty percent chance that he'll live."
All the blood drained out of Buffy's face, and she felt faint. "Oh my God!" she whispered.
Det. Shoenk was quick enough to keep her from hitting the ground. He saw her face turn white, and started to reach for her even as her legs gave out. "How could this little girl have done that?" he wondered to himself. No amount of martial arts skill could enable this little slip of a girl to throw a two hundred pound man twenty feet through the air and into a tree, let alone with enough residual momentum to do the damage that Riley Finn had suffered. He lowered the petite blonde into one of the chairs in the waiting area.
"Riley's going to... die?" Buffy whispered.
"He might. Does that bother you?" he asked.
"Of course it bothers me!" she snapped. "I was dating him until a couple of hours ago!"
Shoenk said, "You mentioned that."
Buffy's slayer nature was quickly regulating her blood flow- returning the color to her face, and reducing her dizziness. She sighed heavily. "Yes. I broke it off with him tonight. That's what started the fight. He got pissed, grabbed me and started yelling about stuff."
The detective just nodded his head, letting her talk. So far what she was saying tracked with witness statements.
"I guess Willow heard us arguing- our dorm room is on the second floor on that side of the building," she explained. "She came down to pull me out of there, I guess."
Shoenk asked for clarification, "Why do you say that?"
Buffy was looking at her hands in her lap. "She told me he wasn't worth it... I turned around and looked at her... I saw him hit her, I watched her fall and hit her head on the steps..." She looked up into the detective's eyes, her own full of questioning and pain, "Why her? Why didn't he go after me? She never did anything to him!"
Shoenk didn't have any answers for her. Whatever Riley had done to the redhead, the Detective imagined he'd paid the price and then some.
Buffy dropped her eyes back to her lap. "He was going to kick her; she was laying there, unconscious. She was just laying there..."
"And that's when you... What exactly did you do?" the Detective asked, not really expecting the truth.
Buffy looked up at the detective suspiciously. "I threw him out of the way and looked after Willow."
He didn't even argue. He'd been a Sunnydale cop for long enough to know; you had to let some things go. If it happened at night, and was inexplicable- you just left it the hell alone. No sense ending up a fatal part of the mystery. It used to frustrate him- he'd once been a good cop, now he just accepted it as a normal part of living and working in Sunnydale CA.
"Well, witness statements corroborate your story, Ms. Summers. I don't imagine we'll be pressing any charges."
"And if Riley... doesn't...?" She couldn't actually verbalize it.
"Doesn't make it?" he said. "I'd say it's still pretty clearly a case of self defense. After all, he was much bigger and stronger than either of you."
"Yeah, I guess..." Buffy said, not bothering to correct his misconception.
Just then Doctor Wilkinson came out into the waiting area. "You can see Ms. Rosenberg now Ms. Summers."
Buffy popped up, not bothering to look to the detective for permission.
"That's alright, we were finished anyway," Detective Shoenk said to the blonde's retreating back.
========== BtVS ==========