TITLE: “One Thing Leads to Another”

AUTHOR: Alessandra “Pamela”

EMAIL: destructo-girl@...

RATING: NC17 overall

DISTRIBUTION:  My sites… anyone else, just ask.

PREVIOUS PARTS: Can be found at my site - http://destructo-girl.com

FEEDBACK:  I would love it if you were so inclined. :)

SPOILERS:  This takes place after “The Gift” except Buffy didn’t die.

SUMMARY:  Buffy and Graham run into each other and find out they get along *really* well.  But will their loyalty to Riley keep them apart?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” characters or situations (I will even give my story ideas to Joss in exchange for a day on the set).  I am borrowing them, without permission, and I mean no harm to them.  They all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox, and Warner Brothers.  I wrote this purely for entertainment and not at all for profit.

NOTE: This has not been beta read, so please excuse any mistakes. 

***

“So, what exactly are we looking for?” Giles asked.

Buffy frowned, “A car, remember?”

“Yes, I know a car,” he retorted, “but what kind of car?”

“I’m thinking one that goes and it preferably cute.”

“I think she wants the fun and good looks of a sports car, but she needs it to be convenient like a family car at the same time,” Graham supplied an answer.

“Thank you,” Giles sighed, “Now do you suppose it will be easy to find that mix.”

“Probably not,” she pouted, “I guess that means I have to go with a sensible car, right?”

“That would be best,” Giles replied.

“Fine, but I am not driving any type of wagon vehicle!”

“Hi!  How are you all doing?” a salesman greeted as he approached the three.

“We’re fine… and actually, we’d just like to look around for a bit first, okay?” Graham told him.

“Sure, just let me know if you need anything!”

As Buffy started checking out a Miata, Graham turned to Giles and said, “Hope you don’t mind about that.  I find it easier to shop cars without some guy trying to make a commission breathing down my neck.  Besides, the last thing we need is some guy calling Buffy ‘Little Lady’ or making some comment about vanity mirrors and making her mad.”

Giles smiled, “Very true… and I feel quite the same way.  If we can get Buffy away from that… miniature version of a car and find her something more realistic, we can get someone to assist us.”

Graham nodded in affirmation and the two joined Buffy as she continued to examine the car.  They both cringed at the size of the thing – Buffy would fit into it quite well, but if either of them-or anyone else that was over 5’6 – tried to get in, it wouldn’t be very comfortable.

“This one is cute!” she told them.

“Cute is one word for it.  Buffy, you can’t get this one,” the younger male said.

“Why not?”

“It’s little!  You need something to be able to drive around town, take Dawn and sometimes her friends places… buy groceries… remember?”  Graham pointed out.

“Well, Dawn and I are little… and I am sure I can fit groceries in it!”

“It’s not nearly as fast as it looks.”

“Really?”

Graham nodded, “So can we look at something else?”

They started walking through the lot, occasionally checking out a car, but bypassing all mini-vans – Buffy wouldn’t be caught dead in one – and SUV’s and trucks – they were expensive, gas guzzlers that Buffy definitely didn’t need.  A Mustang convertible caught his eye and he couldn’t help but pause and admire it, recalling their hot night of passion in the backseat of his car a few days before.

“I don’t think Giles will go for it, but I do like it,” Buffy said from beside him, startling him out of his fantasy.

“At least it’s not a *Miata*,” he replied with distaste.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but admitted, “This one *is* cuter.”

“And it will actually go when you hit the gas.”

“Yeah, but that could be a problem for me.  I could get all sorts of nice tickets.”

“Buffy, how about this one?”  Giles called from twenty feet away.

They turned and saw him standing in front of a midsize car, with four doors… yet it actually didn’t appear like the Mom-Mobile.

With interest, Buffy walked over to him, followed by Graham.  She walked around the car, checking it out… and found it really wasn’t bad at all.

“Alero’s are supposed to be pretty good,” Graham spoke up, “I knew someone who had a coupe and he loved it.  GM is discontinuing Oldsmobile so the resale value may go down, but GM is still a pretty reliable company so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“It seems attractive enough, but would still suit Buffy’s needs,” Giles added, quite pleased with himself.

Looking up at the males, Buffy grinned, “Let’s test drive it!”

As the three of them headed back to find a salesman, Giles said, “Now, I suppose we should come up with a plan.  Buffy, how much do you have for a down payment?”

“Well, I got eight thousand from the insurance company, but Anya told me I shouldn’t put it all down up front.  I should save some to help out with payments… or just as extra money for emergencies.  She suggested five thousand down.”

“That sounds about right,” Graham nodded.

“All right, now I know you don’t like this, Buffy, but you should let Graham and I do most of the talking.”

“You’re right, I don’t like it.  Look, I know you’re co-signing, but I am still going to pay for the car.”

“Yes, but they won’t take you as seriously,” Giles pointed out.

Buffy pouted, but didn’t continue to argue.  He was, after all, right.

***

Buffy hugged Giles fiercely as they stood beside his BMW.  “Thank you again, so much!  I am forever in your debt.”

“All I did was trust you, which I have done for years now.  I’m just trusting you legally now,” he told her.

She grinned, “Well I appreciate it.  And I won’t let you down!”

“I know you won’t.  Now you go enjoy your new vehicle.  I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, bye!” she said, stepping back as he climbed in the car.  As he drove off, she turned and walked back to her recently purchased car, which was parked near the entrance, with Graham waiting patiently for her.

“So, how does it feel to be a car owner again?” he asked, opening the driver’s door for her.

“Feels pretty good!” she replied, sliding into her seat.  Yep, definitely felt great.

As soon as she had gotten behind the wheel of the car for her test drive, Buffy had known that this was the car for her.  It probably wasn’t as fun as having a sports car, but she did have the whole other ‘motherly’ side of her that thought about stuff like convenience.  As much as she’d liked the Miata, it wasn’t a good choice for someone in her position, but this one was, and managed to still be cute enough so that she wasn’t embarrassed to be seen in it.

“You know, I’m really glad we found you something.  Now I don’t have to worry about you being stuck,” Graham commented as he buckled his seatbelt.

“You worried about me?” Buffy asked, attempting to be casual.

“Well, I wasn’t staying awake at night in a panic, but yeah… I didn’t like the idea of you needing to go somewhere but not being able to.”

“Oh,” she replied, trying to decide if that was encouraging or just normal for a friend.  Xander hadn’t said he was worried about her…

“But now I know you have a good, reliable car.  Other than the occasional maintenance like oil changes, you should be fine.”

“And Dawn will like it.  Not as much as a convertible, but I think she’ll be pleased,” she smiled.

“Dawn will definitely be pleased.”

“Ooh, what time is it?” she asked, checking out the clock.  “Good, we have over an hour until Willow said she would be bringing her home.  Want to go out for lunch?”

There were actually other things Graham wanted to do with Buffy, since they hadn’t had enough time alone since that night Dawn had gone to the party, but he could settle for a meal.  “Sure… I’m starving.”

***

Buffy sighed and slapped the stake against her open palm.  It was already ten o’clock, not that late usually… but the next day was her first on the new job and she had to get up at three-thirty, so she really should have been asleep already.  However, between her normal jitters about the first day at work, leaving Dawn alone and all the other stress that came with her fun new life, she couldn’t sleep, so she had decided to go on a quick patrol.  Luckily Dawn was over at Melinda’s, so she’d been able to leave without having to get a babysitter.

Hearing a rustling sound, she froze, listening closely and deciding there was definitely something around the corner of the mausoleum a few yards to her right.  As quiet as possible, she moved along the wall of the mausoleum, poised to attack whatever hid around the corner.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped out with her stake held firmly, ready to fight… and came face to face with the end of Graham’s gun.

She gasped and put her hand to her chest.  Obviously just as shaken, Graham moved his weapon away.  The two of them were silent for a few seconds as they caught their breath.

“Shit!  I thought you were a vampire or something,” she exclaimed.

“Same here.”

As she calmed down, she frowned and pointed to the gun, “I thought you guys got rid of all that crap.  You said you killed them too now.”

“We do, but since we’re not all as spry as you, we sometimes need a little leverage in our favor,” he explained with a wry smile.

Buffy nodded and sat down on the top of a tombstone, “That makes sense.”

“I’m surprised to see you out here.  Shouldn’t you be in bed early tonight?”

She nodded, “That was the plan.  But I can’t sleep…. You know, that’s another sucky thing about this shift, how am I going to patrol?”

“It’s a temporary job and for the time being, it will be enough to just let my guys and I handle it,” Graham assured her, smiling, “And I have the perfect solution for insomnia.”

Buffy’s eyes widened, “You want to have sex?  Here in the cemetery?”

It was something he never would have dared do normally, but Buffy made him feel different than he ever had in life.  She made him want to risk his career just for a fun romp in the cemetery after almost a week without any sex.  “You said you like ‘dangerous, sordid and forbidden’, right?”

“I said it was fun to do it in the car and is was ‘dangerous, sordid and forbidden’ but there are a lot of places where that’s true.  That doesn’t mean I want to screw you in the grocery store.”

He strode over to her, like a predator to his prey, “You really want to tell me that you *never* entertained any thoughts of doing anything here besides patrol?”

Buffy’s mind flashed back to all the how and heavy make-out sessions she had with Angel in this very cemetery and knew how right Graham was.

“You’re sure none of your co-workers will catch us?”

Graham nodded, “I’m in charge, so I know exactly where everyone is assigned and nobody will be coming anywhere near here.”

With that said, Buffy pulled his head down to kiss her.  His hands moved to her hips and he stood between her spread thighs as he leaned into her.  Graham lifted her and Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist.  He carried her off to the side to a small area of ground with no graves and laid her down, resting himself on top of her, but careful not to put all his weight on her.

As their mouths mated, Graham worked on unbuttoning her blouse.  Buffy cooperating, pulling her arms out of the sleeves and arching her back to help him remove her bra.  She was soon nude beneath him, and while Buffy felt a loss of power being without a stitch on while he was fully clothed…. it turned her on at the same time.

***

Spike heard their moans and whimpers before he saw the couple on the ground in the cemetery. 

“Kinky fuckers,” he grinned, shaking his head before he took off to get a closer look.  If they were just going to go at it in the middle of *his* cemetery, then they deserved to put on a free show for him.

Stopping about ten yards away, Spike leaned against a tree, using the shadows it provided to keep himself hidden.  He frowned, realizing this wasn’t just some anonymous couple.  At least not her, she was no stranger.

Spike realized that the nude girl who lay in the grass, moaning and writhing beneath this man dressed in camouflage was his beloved Buffy.

His sweet, pure Buffy who didn’t do things that were wrong was fucking in the goddamn cemetery with another bloody human!

His first instinct was to go over and rip the boy off of her and drag her back to his crypt and make her dress before taking her home, all the while lecturing her on what a stupid idea it was to be caught in such a compromising position in a cemetery in Sunnyhell.

However, Spike found his feet wouldn’t move.  He was helpless to do anything but stand there and watch with great pain as Buffy and the boy acted like animals.  At least with Riley… he had known what they had been doing but he hadn’t been forced to watch it.  A small voice inside his head reminded him that he wasn’t being *forced* to watch… he could turn around and leave, drown in his sorrows in some bar… but still, he stayed.

***

“You’re a perv,” Buffy giggled as she found her panties and slid them on.

“In that case, so are you,” Graham smirked as he fixed his own clothing, which only took a few seconds.

“It was *your* idea.”

“*You* enjoyed it just as much as I did,” he retorted, cutting off any further comments by covering her lips with his own.

Buffy responded to the kiss, dropping the bra she had just picked up off the ground.  They were well on their was to a second round when a voice crackled over the radio Graham wore.  Pulling apart, Graham unhooked the radio from his belt and held it in front of his face.

“Miller.”

Buffy listened as the guy on the other end informed him of some action near city hall while ahe picked her bra back up and refastened it.

“I’ll be there ASAP,” Graham replied, “Over and out.”

Buffy started pulling her pants back on and found him looking guiltily at her.

“I feel like a total louse for doing this, but I have to…”

“Go, I know.  And I understand.  It’s all right.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

She smiled, “I can take care of myself better than anyone else.”

“That’s true,” he said, leaning over to give her one more kiss.  “Good luck tomorrow.  I’ll give you a call in the afternoon.”

“Okay, bye,” she replied, watching him go before fastening her pants.  As soon as he was gone, all the pleasure she’d felt over what they had just done went with him and Buffy was left with the guilt, shame and worthlessness.  Of course, Graham didn’t mean to make her feel like a whore, but what was a girl that you could run into in a graveyard and have on the ground in a matter of moments when you weren’t even dating her?

She felt hot tears sting her eyes as she slid on her blouse.  Falling to her knees, Buffy buried her face in her hands as she allowed the tears to fall, full of self-hatred and confusion.

Once the boy left, Spike went on autopilot, letting his pain guide him.  She would never love him.  She would continue to go to these human boys who couldn’t begin to understand what she needed.  He couldn’t bear to witness that.  There was only one solution.

He was going to kill her.

The pain that he would feel wouldn’t matter.  He’d just wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze the life out of her.  In his jealous, pained rage… he saw it as helping Buffy, releasing her from this torturous existence.  She couldn’t handle what she really was and pretending to be someone else only hurt her.  Besides, he couldn’t let her continue to hurt *him* so much.

Spike crept up behind her huddled form, taking care not to make a sound.  He lowered to his knees behind her, staring at the slight shuddering of her shoulders as she cried.  He lifted his hands so that he could wrap them around her neck…. but found that he couldn’t do it.  As hurt as he was, he loved her.  He couldn’t kill her.  She was destroying him, but Spike would still do anything for her and there was no way he could choke the life out of her.

Buffy lifted her head, sensing him for the first time, and turned to see Spike kneeling there.  “Oh God… did you see?”

He nodded slightly, “Unfortunately, I saw it all.”

“Great, just great.”

“You regret it?”

“I always do… but I keep doing it.”

“So this isn’t the first time?” he asked as casually as possible.

Buffy shook her head, “Far from it.  This has been going on for months.”

“Who the Hell is he?”

“Graham… you know, Riley’s best friend?”

“Oh, bloody Hell…. I thought you two were just friends.”

“Well, in a way, we are.  Um.. our arrangement is like… we do it… but he’s not my boyfriend or anything.  After all, he’s Riley’s best friend.  How would Riley feel if I started dating Graham?”

“He’d probably be just as upset if he found out you were fucking him.  If you have such a problem with it, why did you start sleeping with him in the first place?”

“I got drunk… after that, we just couldn’t stop,” she explained, despite the fact that this was incredibly private and she was sharing it with *Spike*.  “It’s kind of complicated and long.”

Spike shrugged, “I’m free all night.”

Buffy smiled despite herself, “Well, Dawn is supposed to be home around eleven, so I need to get back there.  Do you want some hot cocoa?”

“Absolutely, Luv,” he replied, not over the pain of seeing her with Graham, but eager to spend an evening talking with her anyway.

***

“So you love the bloke?”  Spike asked, avoiding her eyes so she wouldn’t see the pain in his.

“Yeah,” she replied quietly, “I’m sorry, Spike.”

“Don’t be, Pet… I know that you can’t help who you love.  Believe me, I never would have chosen to fall in love with a *slayer*,” he replied, “Err… no offense.”

“None taken,” she smiled.

“So, you love him.  Why are you ‘just friends’ then?  Friends that screw, that is.”

“For one thing, Graham seems pretty content with the arrangement as we have it.  It’s not like we can be a couple just because *I* want to… and anyway, it would destroy Riley.”

“Oh please, the prick left you!  Who gives a rat’s ass how he feels?”

“*I* do.  I know you never liked Riley, but I loved him… at least a small part of me did.  He’ll always have a piece of my heart.  I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Buffy, you’ve got to start looking out for yourself!  You don’t want to make the pansy cry so instead you’re breaking your own heart.  Damn, all those years with Angel turned you into a fucking martyr.  Makes me ill.”

“Spike, you don’t understand.  I know that you’re good.  You probably hate to hear me say it, but you’ve helped Dawn and I when you didn’t have to.  But still, you’re a little shaky with the conscience.  It’s a lot easier for you to just ignore someone else’s pain and to take what you want.”

“Well, it’s a lot more fun way to live.  Think about it.  If you were more like me, you’d be with Graham and I wouldn’t find you in a cemetery, crying your eyes out.”

Buffy sighed and leaned back in her chair, “You forgot the little part where Graham doesn’t want to date me.”

“Yeah, how the Hell do you know he doesn’t?  You’re telling him that you like this little arrangement when you really don’t, how do you know he’s not doing the same thing?”

She shrugged, “I can just tell.  Why wouldn’t he say something if he felt the same way.”

Spike took a drink from his mug, “Maybe he’s all guilt-ridden too.  Maybe he has no idea how you really feel.”

“Spike!” Dawn exclaimed, walking into the kitchen, “What are you doing here?”

“Having a cup of hot chocolate with your sister, Niblet.  How are you doing?”

“I’m great,” she grinned, taking a seat at the kitchen table, “I figured you’d be asleep, Buffy.”

“Well, I’m not used to going to bed early yet, and I have butterflies.”

“You’ll be great, won’t she, Spike?”

“Of course she will,” he agreed, giving Buffy one of those looks that made her shiver.

“You need to get to bed, though,” Buffy said, “You have class in the morning, and I won’t be here to wake you up every fifteen minutes until you get out of bed.  And I don’t want you to make Mary’s mom wait when she comes to get you.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” Dawn sighed, kissing her sister on the cheek.  “Night Spike.”

“Goodnight,” he replied as she left the room.  He swallowed the last of his cocoa before looking at Buffy, “You’d better try and get a little rest too.  I have stuff to do, anyway.”

Buffy smiled as he stood up and rose from her seat, “Okay, I’ll try.  Thanks, Spike… even though I didn’t exactly resolve anything, I do feel a bit better.  It’s nice to talk to someone about all this.”

“Anytime… I mean that,” he said, “And Buffy?”

“Yeah?”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

TBC...