Buffy and Graham

Chapter 15

W.C. Academy

The following morning, Buffy entered her office where Graham has been camping out all morning eating a breakfast sandwich. His legs comfortably outstretched on her large desk. Buffy exhaustedly fell back into a chair in front of her desk. Her eyes went to his face watching him eat the sandwich. She smiled to herself trying to picture a life without him in it. There was once a time when she only saw one man in her future and dreams. His face had warped sometime between Graham's arrival and now. Now the only man she saw in her future and dreams was him.

Buffy let her eyes travel down the t-shirt covering his muscles to the pair BDU pants hugging his legs. She longed to rip them open and have her way with him.

Instead, Buffy reached forward to the brown paper back and took out a breakfast sandwich.

"What are you doing today?" She bit into her sandwich.

"Uh...?" Graham watched a sparkle twinkle in her green eyes. He knew exactly what she was thinking because he was thinking the same thing.

"I was thinking," Buffy stood from her chair and circled the desk sliding across his lap looping her arms around his neck. "we play hooky. Ryder's in daycare and I really don't feel like dealing with hormonal teenagers. So, I say," Buffy kissed his left cheek, "you," she kissed the right cheek. "and I have a little, you know," she kissed his nose. "Buffy and Graham day..." she kissed his mouth in passionate kiss.

"That's very tempting, Mrs. Summers hyphen Miller." Graham smiled and held her hair back off of her face with his hand.

"Please." Buffy's bottom lip puffed out in her infamous pout that Graham could not resist.

After a moment, an excited grin graced her face. She leaned forward and captured his mouth then happily hopped off his lap and said, "Let's go!"

Graham watched her childishly race to the door hook for her coat. He stood and reached out catching Buffy in his arms. Buffy faced him and threaded her fingers into his hair. Graham stared down at his beautiful wife and felt himself become hypnotised by her green eyes and leaned his head closer to her to kiss her mouth when the desk phone rang.

Buffy moaned with annoyance and moved out from Graham's arms crossing back to the phone. Graham followed her and circled his arms around her midsection and waited patiently resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Hello?" Graham kissed her shoulder then moved her hair from her shoulders kissing the skin of her neck over her scar. She giggled and tried to bat his hands away when they smoothed up and down her body seductively. Then, her smile vanished.

Graham stopped immediately sensing something wrong was happening. He stepped away from her and waited.

"Okay. We're on our way. Send out a Code Red. We've got company." Buffy hung up the phone and led the way out of the office.

Giles and the Scoobies waited at the top of the marble steps for Buffy and Graham to arrive.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked in fully Slayer mode.

"Oh, you know, black Jeeps, big tanks, Lilac code names." Xander explained with an nonchalant wave of his hand.

"The Initiative." Graham confirmed.

"You should not have pissed him off." Buffy's eyes accusingly darted to Graham.

Graham stepped back offended by her accusation. "I piss him off? You can't be serious, Buffy. If you didn't walk out of the bedroom only a shirt looking all 'I was just having sex' this would have never happened." Graham placed his hands on his hips angrily.

"Well, if you told me my ex was in the house, I would have worn pants." Buffy angrily glared at his husband.

The gang watched the tennis match between the couple unsure how to redirect their attention back to the storm of troops right down the stairs.

"Buffy," Willow said the Slayer's name which went ignored.

"And don't forget, buddy, that our son ran into the bedroom looking for me." Buffy pointed her finger at his face.

Graham shook his head frustrated. "Oh, so its Ryder's fault? Really? That's your argument?"

"Buffy!"

"WHAT?!" Buffy and Graham turned their heads to the redheaded witch.

"The Initiative. Downstairs. Breaking and entering. Ring a bell?"

"Oh, right." Buffy frowned and jumped into action. "Graham and I will hold down the soldier boys. If they get past us cue senior Slayers." She said to Giles and Xander. "Wait for our signal."

"What's the signal?" Dawn asked.

Buffy frowned looking down the stairs seeing movement from the troops. "I'll let you know when I come up with one."

The gang went their separate ways readying themselves leaving Buffy and Graham waiting for the Initiative to break in.

Graham's frown deepened. "Damn it, Riley." He looked down at Buffy. "So much for hooky."

They sighed heavily sharing a mutual disappointment.

Buffy walked down the marble steps confidently exuding her obvious power. Her arms crossed over her chest and chin held high.

The Initiative soldiers cocked their guns and aimed them at her. Graham enjoyed watching the split change of Buffy transitioning from his loving wife and mother to Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. It happened almost instantly. It took a quick eye to watch the softness and inviting sparkle of her eyes stone over with darkness and power.

Riley appeared from behind a line of soldiers aiming their guns at the Millers. Graham recognised Sam Finn trailing behind Riley also holding a gun.

"Buffy, its good to see you again." Sam gave the annoyed Slayer a smile that a blind man could see through.

Buffy glared at Riley. "Too bad the feeling's not mutual."

Riley's hands went to his hips and puffed out his chest as he moved toward the Vampire Slayer. It amused Graham to watch Riley think he had any sort of power over Buffy. Like he still had her as a possession. That she cared for him still.

"Don't hurt yourself, buddy." Graham muttered for only Buffy to hear who fought the urge to smile.

"Why are you destroying my school, Riley?" The Slayer's patience wore thin quickly. She had better things to do. Like have animalistic sex with her very yummy looking husband.

"We need to search the premises for illegal activities of supernatural conduct." Riley used his most authoritative voice and eyed his surroundings.

"You don't have the right." Graham raised his brows.

"I have every right." Riley smirked.

The Vampire Slayer laughed. "Oh, so you think, break down my door and I would just let you roam around my academy for what? Your-"

"We have orders, Buffy." Sam interrupted standing beside Riley.

"We are the United States Military. We have the right to-" Riley began with his patriotic speech that fell onto deaf ears.

"Guess what Riley? You're no longer in the United State. You're in a foreign country. You have no rights." Buffy stepped down from the bottom marble steps and went to him.

Graham watched Riley's patients dwindle. Riley met her in the middle and towered over her. He had almost forgotten how small she was. "We are the Initiative! YOU follow the OUR orders!" Riley shouted.

Buffy smirked knowing her resistance was getting to him. "I'm not apart of the military. So I really don't give a crap about your orders."

"You don't understand!"

"No, you don't understand." Buffy's voice was dangerously calm. "You're on my turf. Take your soldier boys and your tanks and get the hell off my property." If glares could kill, Riley would be a deadman.

"Buffy, this is a military operation." Sam said feeling the rage from her husband.

Buffy frowned and looked at Graham confused. "Am I talking to myself?" Graham shrugged.

Riley took a challenging step forward. "Are you challenging the United States Government? Because you don't want to mess with us."

Buffy crossed her arms and shrugged. "Well, your military and government threats are useless here Riley. You're in England. And to be totally frank, I'm bored now. Or have your forgotten what happens when you piss off a Slayer."

"I think it's time for you to leave, Riley." Graham said standing behind Buffy.

"Shut up! Nobody is talking to you!" Riley snapped at Graham. He ignored Sam's calm hand on his arm shrugging her off. "You piece of shit." Riley's scrutinising eyes looking Graham up and down. "You call yourself my best friend. You took what was mine! What kind of friend are you?"

"I didn't take anything from you, Riley."

"She's my girl!" Riley pointed at Buffy. Sam's hurt expression did not escape Graham. "You took her! And that kid - That kid should've been mine!"

"You left!" Graham's outburst surprised Riley. "You left, Ry. You walked away. You got married. You gave up any right to be hers. What did you think would happen? That Buffy, would spend the rest of her life in a small dark room all alone crying over you? She didn't even shed a tear when you left." He knew that was harsh but a heavy weight lifted from Graham's shoulders finally saying all the things he had always wanted to. "You had your chance and you blew it. And, that's on you." Graham stood nose to nose with his best friend.

"It's all of your fault!" Riley exclaimed. "You told me to leave! You said that I needed to find the mission again and that it wasn't in Sunnydale with Buffy! That's what you said. You knew how much I loved her."

"Man, you know it wouldn't have lasted anyway." Graham said.

Riley looked at Graham with hurt expression. "Yeah, right, because she didn't love me. What makes you think she would ever actually love you? Buffy's incapable of feeling anything unless its for her vampire. You know about Angel, right?" Riley knew he pressed Graham the right way when he turned a shade of red. He continued, "She did tell you about Angel? The love of her life? Or Spike, the vampire she whored herself out for. Their cold, dead bodies inside of your girl."

Graham caught Buffy's hurt expression in the corner of his eye. He could read her mind before she could finish her own thought. He knew deep down inside of herself, she wondered if Graham ever found her disgusting being with vampires. Or if he thought that she really didn't love him. He was only convenient to her.

Graham would give anything to erase those thoughts from her mind. "I love her."

"What?" Riley sounded a bit surprised of Graham regardless of what he told him.

Graham looked up at him and tilted his head to the side challengingly. "Yeah. I love her. Unlike you, I've never judged her for her past. I loved her more knowing it. I love her exactly the way she is. And her past has only made her into the incredible woman she is. Into the woman I love." Graham faced her and smirked. "I love you."

Buffy looked at him with loving eyes and reached out cupping his rough cheek and smiled softly, "I love you, too."

Her words tore through Riley's insides making his stomach turn. In all of the time of their relationship, Buffy had never once expressed those three precious words to him. She never even tried.

"You can't stop this, Buffy." Riley said clenching his jaw still standing his ground.

Buffy looked at Riley tiredly. "I can. And I will. You're standing in the most quietly powerful building in the world. Do you really think Slayers, Witches, and Watchers are justing going to let you take over?"

Riley's fingers twitched and four soldiers to stand at Riley's side. They took out of their metal night-sticks and attacked the couple. Buffy and Graham glanced at each other then began to fight off the soldiers.

Graham looked over his shoulder at Buffy to see three soldiers at her feet. "Leave. Or I'll throw you out." She threatened Riley approaching him.