aired on: December 19, 2000

written by: Marti Noxon

directed by: Marti Noxon

Dawn sleeps across hospital chairs with her head in Buffy's lap. Giles, Willow, Xander and Riley wait with Buffy while her mother, Joyce, undergoes brain surgery to remove a tumor. Everyone is nervous, but Riley tries to cheer Buffy up by suggesting that the doctors wouldn't take so long if Joyce's condition were hopeless. Just then Dr. Kriegel emerges.

The doctor tells them that they were able to remove all of Joyce's tumor and barring any unexpected problems, she should make a full recovery. It's hugs all around and Buffy almost disables the doctor with her enthusiastic embrace.

Over dinner, Dawn tells Xander and Anya stories about growing up with Buffy - none of them know that all of their memories of Dawn older than a few weeks ago are false. Xander takes suggestions on what to do tonight. Anya is quick to suggest that they play the game of Life, which evidently she is good at winning. Xander suggests a movie and they look over the listings. When they find one that offers a chimp playing hockey, Anya decides she desperately wants to see this spectacle. Dawn tells them that they don't have to make a fuss, since she's only staying over so Buffy and Riley can have noisy sex at her house. Xander tries to convince her otherwise, but Anya doesn't support him. Anya, disappointed, asks Xander if that means that they can't have noisy sex tonight.

Buffy and Riley dance close together in her darkened living room. She tells him that she is finally relaxed after a long time. Riley compliments her on the strength that she showed, not even crying once. She tells him that she did cry actually. She leans her head on his shoulder and he seems unhappy over her revelation, perhaps remembering when she refused his offer of a shoulder to cry on. She is happy to be with him now and the words stop as our view of the lovers fade into a scene of them making love under the sheets.

Outside of the house, Spike stands in the front yard, smoking, presumably by the same tree that Buffy caught him lurking behind before.

Later, as Buffy sleeps, Riley slips from the house. Taking an interest, Spike follows Riley to a run-down building.

Buffy tries to sell her mother on the idea of wearing a wig over her skull scar, but Joyce holds out for a simple scarf. Joyce tries to sell Buffy on the idea of going out with Riley instead of staying inside the hospital with her all day. Buffy assures her mother that Riley is always available and she almost lets slip that they might have sex later, but covers it by saying they are doing Bible Study. With some sarcasm, Joyce let's this outrageous lie go by, rather than ask about the truth.

In a hotel room, Graham and Major Ellis discuss an apparent situation in Belize where demons are breeding. Graham suggests that Riley would be a good man to have on the team, but he might be difficult to recruit. Ellis wonders what could keep Riley in Sunnydale.

Buffy is barely sleeping when she hears her bedroom door open and close. Expecting Riley, it's Spike that answers her instead. She warns him not to continue coming into her house. He protests that he wants to help her, but becomes distracted wondering if she has any clothes on. She threatens to throw him out, but he convinces her that he has something she needs to see. When he realizes that she wants him to turn around so she can dress, he scoffs at the idea that he's interested in seeing her body, but when his face is turned, her nearness and nakedness obviously affect him.

Spike takes her to the building that Riley entered. Inside it looks reminiscent of a crack house, but instead humans are mainlining vampire fangs, as they surrender themselves to paid bloodsuckers. Spike warns Buffy not to start any violence, since they have something else to see. The sights obviously make Buffy nervous. A vampire challenges Spike when he tries to take Buffy upstairs, but Spike deals with him easily. Through the wrecked building, Spike leads Buffy to a certain door. Buffy opens the door to find Riley, sitting on a bare mattress on the floor, encouraging a vampress to bite his arm harder. Buffy catches a gasp in her throat and Riley looks up. The lovers stare at each other across the darkened room.

In shock, Buffy runs from the room. Spike only lingers to tease Riley with some "I'm only trying to help" insincerity. A vampire tries to stop Buffy, but she hurls him across the room. Spike catches up to her outside and offers that she needed to know. The look she gives him is not one of gratitude. As she runs down the alleyway, Spike appears to be troubled, perhaps by the pain he has caused her tonight. Riley tries to follow, but he is stopped by the same vampire that approached Buffy. He realizes that she is the Slayer and is upset with Riley for bringing her to ruin his business. Riley knocks the vamp down and escapes.

Buffy arrives home in the early morning light. She still appears to be stunned.

Riley arrives home to find Ellis, Graham and some others waiting to make him an offer. They are forming a strike team to wipe out a village of demons making trouble in Belize. Ellis assures him that there are no research or political games involved, just simple search-and-destroy grunt work, which they all can appreciate. He offers Riley a slot if he meets the helicopter at midnight.

At the Magic Box, Giles is upset with himself for commercializing the holidays. Anya is upset at finding more chicken feet in the inventory, when they can't sell the ones they've already got. She tries to think of promotional ideas to unload them, which leads Giles and Willow to kid about their Christmas chicken feet memories. Anya accuses them of secretly not liking her and mocking her behind her back about her learning to cope with being human. Willow protests their innocence, but Anya is on a roll, giving herself credit for the store's success. Giles doesn't argue with her very strongly. When Willow tries to claim some credit for helping, Anya accuses her of getting in the way. Xander finally jumps in to play peacemaker, but Anya accuses him of siding with Willow instead of the woman who, among other things, bathes him. Xander admits that Anya washes him, but only as foreplay. Giles finally jumps in to beg them to stop.

Buffy rushes in to ask about the nest of vampires that cater to strange human needs. Willow and Xander are surprised at this new twist, but Anya tells them that that news is centuries old. She says that some humans get a thrill from the bite. Giles contributes that there are some attracted by the danger and the darkness of the act. Anya also says that from the vampires' viewpoint, they get paid for drinking blood and it doesn't attract as much attention as a bunch of dead bodies. Finally, Giles adds that there is considerable risk from imposters that kill their victims anyway and accidental death. Buffy is angry to find that Giles already knew about this abomination, but he tells her that he hadn't seen any cases since he was young and certainly didn't know about it going on in Sunnydale. Buffy has her determined face on and she tells them that she's going after them. She is surprised when Giles suggests that maybe she shouldn't. He sees greater threats that Buffy should be working to stop and views it as a gray area, since the bitten are willing victims of their own foolish desires. Buffy reminds him that people do get killed and she is a Vampire Slayer after all. Xander recommends forming a strategy for attacking the group of vampires and makes the mistake of suggesting that they wait for Riley. Buffy tells them to follow her or not, she's going anyway. Giles, Willow and Xander follow, of course, leaving Anya to, literally, mind the store.

They find the building abandoned and Buffy has no patience with her friend's counsel to have patience. She flings a small gas grill against some curtains, igniting a raging fire. Giles and the others pass worried looks between themselves.

Spike is in his crypt taking a pull on a wine bottle, when Riley crashes in. Riley throws Spike up against a beam and punches him. Spike tries to remind Riley that he is to blame for his own problems, but Riley doesn't care. He pulls a stake and drives it into Spike's heart.

Spike howls in pain several times before he realizes that he isn't turning to dust. Riley pulls the stake and shows off his wood-grain plastic stake. He warns Spike to stay away from Buffy or Riley really will kill him. Spike admits that he's interested in Buffy, but he doesn't believe Riley has a future with Buffy anyway. Riley grabs a fistful of Spike's wound, causing him to yell again. Through the pain, Spike tells him that they both know Riley isn't Buffy future or he wouldn't be messing with vampire whores. Riley releases him. Spike opines that Buffy needs a boyfriend with an evil side. Spike, even admits that he probably won't be successful in pursuing Buffy, but Spike is compelled to try. They both agree that they would like to kill the other, before Spike throws Riley the wine bottle and they sit down for a drink together. Spike further admits that he is sometimes jealous of Riley's physical relationship with Buffy, but he also pities Riley's inability to really reach Buffy. All things considered Spike decides that he still envies Riley. Riley thinks it's ironic that he's considered the lucky one.

Buffy is furiously pounding a full-size punching bag in her training room. Outside in the shop, Xander watches Anya count receipts. Xander is worried about Buffy. Riley arrives and asks them to leave so he can be alone with Buffy. Anya thinks that he's interested in sex and recommends that they try the vaulting horse. Xander convinces her that that is not what Riley is here for and she suggests that maybe Xander would like to make love, but he tells her he has some things to do.

Buffy warns Riley that she is in no mood to talk to him, but he persists. She threatens him, but he welcomes the chance to talk or fight, whatever she wants. She finally agrees to hear him out and he tries to explain that he felt he was getting even for Buffy getting bit by Dracula. It upset him and made him wonder why she seemed to be attracted to vampires. She rejects this argument as blaming her for his actions. As he tries to explain his actions, it sounds reminiscent of any lover explaining why they have strayed. Buffy finally asks what the vampire whores offered that she lacked. Riley tells her that they needed him. He got to feel like someone was interested in him because he had something to offer them, even if it was his blood. He was the object of their hunger, their existence. He became attracted to their desire for him. Buffy insults the idea that he was anything more than a meal to those women, but Riley insists that he knows how much they needed him, because that's how much he needs her. She argues that she feels the same towards him, but he presses that she keeps him at a distance.

He's upset that Buffy didn't call him, when her mother got sick. Buffy sees this as a bruised ego, but Riley implores that all he wanted to do was to help her through the crisis, to be by her side. Buffy protests that she has to stay strong and independent because she's the Slayer and she thinks that what upsets Riley is that she is the stronger of the lovers. He admits to having some trouble with that, but it's not their real problem. She emphatically insists that she is holding nothing back; that this is everything she has to offer and maybe that's just not enough for Riley. Perhaps that is their problem. He tells her about the Army offer and she becomes angry because she thinks that it's unfair to put this deadline on their relationship, she sees it as an ultimatum. She tries to leave and he tries to stop her. He invites her to hit him, but she refuses. He tells her that unless she can give him some hope for their love, then he intends to leave. She silently walks out the door.

As Buffy walks through an alleyway she is surrounded by the pack of vampires whose dive she torched. She warns them, but they continue to move in on her. She punches a few, until she takes a large splinter of wood from one of them and then she quickly proceeds to kill one after another, including three in about two seconds. The sole remaining vampire is the woman that Buffy saw feeding on Riley. The vampress is clearly terrified of the Slayer. Buffy backs off and the woman flees down the alley. Buffy hurls the piece of wood like a spear and dusts the woman in mid-stride.

Suddenly, Xander is there, asking if Buffy feels good now. She is still angry and turns away from him. Xander follows her into a warehouse. He reminds her that she is running from her problem. She thinks he is unaware, but Xander realizes that Buffy and Riley's relationship is in serious trouble. He doesn't understand why she couldn't see trouble coming. She paints a picture of Riley cheating on her with vampires and making demands that she must meet or he'll leave her. Xander only wants to know if she wants Riley to stay. She protests that its out of her hands, besides its unfair of Riley to put her in this position. Xander thinks that the only thing that's important is - does she want Riley to stay? She asks if Xander wants her to beg Riley to stay, but Xander thinks that she should do anything she has to if she really wants him to stay.

She thought she had Riley figured out and Xander takes that as meaning that she depended on him to be there whenever it was convenient for her. Buffy compares that to Xander's relationship with Anya, which she thinks means convenient sex for Xander. Xander refuses to let her change the subject. He tells her that she has been treating Riley like a rebound boyfriend, while Riley has given up everything he ever knew to be with Buffy. (Presumably referring to the fact that Riley turned on the Initiative at great personal risk, left the Army to stay in Sunnydale and practically became Buffy's sidekick, a role that ill-suited him.) Xander views it as pretty petty that Buffy is not even willing to ask Riley to stay. If she doesn't love Riley, then let him go. But if she loves him, really needs him, then she better act fast, because time is short. Buffy runs from the warehouse.

Riley stands on the helicopter pad, watching and waiting. The blades begin to turn, as Buffy races as fast as she can. Reluctantly, Riley gets into the craft. It has barely left the ground when Buffy reaches the pad. Only a few feet over her head, she desperately yells at Riley, but he cannot hear her over the engines. His eyes fixed straight ahead he does not see the frantic young woman on the ground below, as the copter turns and picks up speed. Buffy is left to shuffle home, a blank gaze frozen on her face.

In their bedroom, Anya stands silently as Xander professes his love for her - his deep, powerful love for her. He loves everything about her, including the way she makes him feel when she's near. He finishes by telling her that he just wanted to let her know. She practically leaps into his arms.

Buffy arrives home to a darkened house. She starts up the stairs, but sags and sits with the same blank stare. Miles away, Riley Finn sits in the helicopter also staring out into the darkness.