Title: Bring Me Into the Light
AUTHOR: Mistress Ace & Em
E-MAIL: rosewood@inreach.com & winter@sapphire-dragon.net
FEEDBACK: Is the butter on our bread. We write because the story begs to be told. Feedback lets us know if we struck a chord with you.
DISTRIBUTION: Our site, for the moment. When we post fully edited chapters, those can be posted elsewhere. RATING: NC-17
CATEGORY: Story: Romance, Angst
SPOILERS: As You Were
PAIRINGS: B/R/Sam, m/f, f/f
DISCLAIMER: Don't own the characters at all. (More's the pity) They belong to the Great God Joss Whedon et al. We are just borrowing them for a little bit. That's all. No BtVS characters were harmed in the writing of this fic. Well, maybe just a little.
SUMMARY: Not back for long enough. Not nearly long enough and there were too many things left up in the air. But isn't that the purpose of fan-fiction?
 

Chapter 35

That was how Riley found them, wrapped in each other's arms and crying. He'd come inside to wash his hands and stopped in the doorway. Private moment, this was a private moment. Should turn around and walk back out but Buffy was crying. And so was Sam.

Dusting his hands off on the back of his jeans, Riley joined them. Wrapped his arms around lover and wife. Held them close to his heart, as close as he could and let them cry.

Ever so slowly, Buffy began to calm down. She soaked up support from Riley and sympathy from Sam, leaning against them both. She could tell that Riley was bothered, seeing them both upset, but knew that he didn't know what they'd been talking about. It didn't matter... he would learn later.

Once the tears had slowed to an occasional sniffle, she lifted her head from Sam's shoulder and shook her head at herself. Standing on her toes, she leaned in close and whispered softly, "I'm sorry, Sammie... I didn't mean to make you cry..."

The words were out of her mouth before she realized that she'd changed Sam's name the way she changed Dawn's, and all she could do was hope that her lover wouldn't mind too much. So she just tightened her arms slightly, hugging Sam closer for a moment before settling back onto her own feet again.

The odd diminutive of her given name took Sam aback. She was used to Sam. Masculine but in a group of marines, it kept her from sticking out like a sore thumb. Only her mother called her Samantha and until now... only her dad called her Sammie. She caught the bemused look of Riley's face, a look that turned into a smirk. He was definitely going to get it later.

Knowing his limits, Riley didn't comment about the name. Not if he wanted to live through the night. Gray had tried to call her Sammie once and almost lost his teeth. Drunk, Sam packed quite a wallop. The smirk dropped away when Sam whispered into Buffy's ear, "You call me anything you want, love. Anything."

Unaware of Riley's smirk, as it hadn't caught her eye, Buffy smiled gently and nodded. "Thanks," she whispered. She knew that she had a tendency to use -y or -ie nicknames; she was probably one of the few 20-year-olds on the planet who'd called her mother 'mommy' casually. And as long as Sam didn't mind, then she could continue to use it.

Reassured that she hadn't crossed any lines, Buffy hugged Sam again, cuddling close. Holding onto the comfort Sam was giving to her, something she needed badly much of the time. It was an innocent gesture, lacking even a trace of teasing or desire. That was sure to happen later, given their feelings for one another, but right now comfort was on her mind and her need for it kept other impulses away for a time.

Riley kissed the back of Buffy's neck. Whatever had upset them seemed to be over and there were other things that needed his attention. Namely dinner. He cupped Sam's cheek, wiped away a tear or two before moving away.

"Dinner should be ready soon," he murmured as he rinsed his hands in the sink.

"Riley?" Buffy began slowly, her eyes following him as he moved across the room. "Do we have enough food for two more? If we're going to have share-time during and after dinner, it might make more sense to ask Xander and Anya over... get it all done at once. Besides... I think Xander would be upset if we left him out..." She bit her lip and waited for an answer, not entirely sure if she should have suggested it.

For a moment, Riley really wondered if mind-reading was part of the whole Slayer package. Prophetic dreams - check, incredible strength - check, healing abilities and reflexes off the scale - check, mind-reading... quite possible.

He turned toward Buffy, wiping his hands off as he smiled. "I was gonna suggest that. Things have gotta be crazy for them with the wedding being tomorrow. They might want a break from the relatives."

"Yeah... especially since Xander dislikes most of his family. They could probably use that break." Buffy headed to the living room for the phone, but she paused in the doorway. Twisting her upper body to look back at them, she winked at Riley and said cheekily, "And I can't read minds, really. Happened to me once and nearly drove me crazy. Hopefully it will never happen again."

Besides, she didn't have to be able to read minds... their eyes were wonderfully expressive, both of them. When she was aware enough to notice and the subject on their minds familiar to her, Buffy could pick up on some things easily. Like him wondering if she could read his mind, since he said he'd been thinking about the same thing.

Riley's laughter followed her out. He leaned against the sink, frankly admiring the sway of her hips as Buffy disappeared around the corner. He shot a look at Sam who was apparently doing the same thing. Watching Buffy move.

"So. Care to fill me in?" Riley said, pushing off from the counter and joining Sam on the other side of the island. Needing to touch, he cupped her shoulder and kissed her when she lifted her chin.

Simple comfort in that kiss and Sam accepted it as such. Returned it before titling her head back so she could look into his eyes. "Private... She'll tell you when she's ready. Don't push."

"Fair enough," the tone and the look were clear. No need to read Sam's mind. He'd respect Buffy's privacy and wait. Not doing that could prove disastrous, something he knew from bitter experience.

*****

The phone rang three times before someone picked up at Xander's. She winced, hearing shouts and something crashing in the background, followed by a muffled curse in Xander's voice just before he asked, "Hello?"

"Heya, Xan, it's me. Would you and Anya like to come over for dinner tonight?" Buffy asked, followed quickly by, "No takeout, I promise. Real, home cooked food." Listening to him ask just where she'd gotten the money to go shopping, she sighed. "It's a long story, Xan. We're having a get-together tonight so I can catch everyone up on the changes in the past 24 hours. And trust me a lot's changed. Can you guys come?"

Xander's answer was affirmative and enthusiastic. She smiled and added, "Then come on over whenever you like. I think dinner will be done in about 30 minutes, but you're welcome anytime between now and then." Confirming that he and Anya would be right over, they said their good-byes and hung up the phone. Just before the line went dead, Buffy heard the sound of Xander's keys jingling and his voice calling to Anya.

*****

"Ry? Meat. Now." All she needed to say. He was out of her arms and across the kitchen in record time. The breeze from the door opening helped cool Sam's cheek. Being that close to him, even in an embrace designed for comfort, was enough to warm her all the way through. No wonder it was so hard to stay out of bed.

Luck was with him. When Riley lifted the cover, the steaks were close to perfect. He cut into one of them and pulled it off onto a plate. Medium rare, still pink in the middle. Just the way he and Sam liked. The others he'd leave on a little longer. If his memory served him right Xander was a fan of almost burnt and Buffy liked hers medium well. The squirt landed in the rare camp so he pulled the smallest one off for her.

That left Willow and Anya who were a total mystery for Riley. He'd never made anything for them, other than the odd burger or two during the summer cookouts. Might be best to err on the side of caution, he could always cook them longer if they weren't into steaks that still mooed. Taking two of the remaining steaks off the grill, he left Xander's and Buffy's share there. Rescued the potatoes, which were also done.

*****

Returning to the kitchen, Buffy decided that it would fall upon her to set the table. She knew where everything was, though she might have to kick Willow out so she could clear room for everyone. "Xander and Anya will be here shortly. I'm going to set the table."

Pausing briefly to hug Sam tightly, she then continued to the cabinets and counted out 7 plates. Moving to the silverware drawer, she pulled out enough sharp knives, butter knives and forks for everyone and piled them on top of the plates. She carried the dishes into the dining room and smiled at Willow. "Hey, Wills. Sorry, but I need to set the table now..."

Willow looked up from her computer and nodded. "Sure, Buffy. Just let me get my stuff out of the way." She couldn't help but grin at the look of surprise on Buffy's face when Sam followed her into the room and took the silverware off the plates and began at the far end. At the near end, textbooks were swiftly packed away, notebooks closed and stacked neatly on top, and laptop moved to the sideboard.

Willow then went to the kitchen for glasses while Buffy and Sam finished setting up what they had.

Riley stuck his head in the kitchen and caught Willow there. "Hey, Willow. How do you like your steak?"

She smiled at Riley and replied, "Medium... right in the middle. I think Anya likes hers a little rarer, though. But not as raw as Dawnie's." Providing him with the information she thought he'd be lacking, Willow smiled again and nodded when he thanked her. She stacked up the glasses and took them into the dining room.

Meeting in the middle, Sam stopped long enough to kiss Buffy before moving past her. Domestic bliss, there was a lot to be said for it. Something she and Riley achieved on rare occasions. Which wasn't surprising since they had no permanent home. Just boltholes at different bases and a storage unit at Twenty-Nine Palms which housed the majority of their wordly goods.

Buffy smiled at Sam as they continued on working. Once the plates were on the table, she headed back to the kitchen for napkins, passing Willow in the doorway.

Willow went about setting glasses down and asked softly, "Sam, would you help me with seating arrangements? I thought that if we were gonna start talking, maybe you and Riley should be on either side of Buffy..." Willow gestured to the head of the table with one of the glasses before setting it down.

"That would be nice. But don't you think Dawn would want to sit next to Buffy?" Sam liked the idea of being close but was cautious about taking anything away from Dawn. The truce between them had yet to be tested. No need to upset Buffy's younger sister any more than she already had been.

Still in the dining room, Willow shook her head. "No... put Dawn next to Riley and she'll be fine. Which probably means I should sit beside her and put Anya and Xander beside you so they can sit together. If that's okay with you?"

Buffy rejoined them as Willow waited for Sam's answer, carrying the butter and sour cream as well as napkins. She set a napkin next to each plate and then put the rest of the stack with the condiments in the middle of the table, just in case anyone needed them.

*****

Out at the grill again, Riley put Willow's steak back on for a few more minutes. There was a warmer on the side where he set the finished steaks and the potatoes. Another neighbor spotted him and waved. "Hey, Riley! Good to see you again."

Riley returned the wave with a smile. "Good to be back. How have you been, John?" Another face he remembered, that and the fact the guy seemed to be pretty interested in Joyce.

"Not bad. Shame about Joyce." Leaning over the fence the older man spotted the recently dug up area on the lawn. "Good. I was wondering when someone was going to fix that. Thought about offering but the girls have been pretty skittish since..."

"Yeah. They've been through a lot in the last year." Riley turned Xander's steak, the meat sizzled and his face was obscured by the steam. Which was good because the frown was hard to hide. Able-bodied man, three young girls next door and not a single offer of help. John was a nice guy but apparently not nice enough.

"Well. It's good to have you back. You are back, right?" Hopeful note as he looked toward the open kitchen door. And Riley frowned even more. Assessment of the situation changing by the moment. This one bore watching.

"Sure am. Somebody's got look out for the Summers women." Staking his territory with a few words as possible. Riley watched through the smoke and noted the tightening of John's mouth and the way that hope died. Maybe it wasn't Joyce he'd had the crush on after all.

"Uh-huh... See you later then." John tucked his newspaper under his arm and walked away. Got watched the whole way, Riley's gaze not wavering until their neighbor opened his front door and disappeared inside.

The last of the steaks were done and Riley piled them onto the platter. He carried them into the kitchen and set them on the counter. There were voices in the dining room, which made sense. Not enough room around the counter for all of them to eat.

*****

As Buffy passed her, a hand brushed against the small of Sam's back and she shivered. Just enough of a touch to bring every sense into full awareness. "Works for me. Better than letting Ry do the patriarch thing. That would be a bit obvious."

"What works for you?" Buffy asked, but she was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. She went to answer the door and let Xander and Anya in with a smile. "Hey guys."

Upstairs, Dawn opened her bedroom door, wondering who was ringing the doorbell. From the top of the stairs, she saw Buffy let her friends in and smiled a bit. **Guess this will be quite a party. Might as well join them.** Tucking her hair behind her ears, Dawn skipped down the steps and into the foyer. "Hey," she greeted the new arrivals.

"Hey there, Dawnster," Xander looked relieved, his nerves were completely shot. Dealing with his family was nightmare enough. Add to the Harris version of the Nine Circles of Hell all of Anya's demon friends and he was ready to bolt. The invitation to escape to Buffy's couldn't have come at a better time. Uncle Rory had just made a pass at Halfrek and then promptly passed out. "Heard there was food here and had to check it out."

The sound of Xander's voice was impetus enough to leave the kitchen. Riley hefted the meat platter and carried it into the dining room. He set it down in the center of the table, wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and together they joined the group in the foyer. "Hey, Xander."

Mouth open and staring, Xander did a full on double take at the new arrivals. Riley. Riley was here with Sam. Which could only mean trouble with a capital T, which rhymed with P, and if Anya made him watch one more musical, he was going to lose his mind. "Riley? Oh God... what blew up? Is the world coming to an end?"

"No. World's just fine. How you two holding up?" Riley's tone was just short of out-right laughter as he stood in the doorway.

"Really badly, and our apartment looks even worse," Anya replied grimly. "Remind us to never, ever invite all these people to stay with us again. They're noisy and mean and spiteful and they like to break all my pretty furniture! Don't they know how much that stuff costs??"

Barely managing to keep a straight face, Buffy promised that she'd remember. Then she added, "There's no big evil that we know of at the moment, Xand. They just came to town to give me a break for a while - took out two big nests last night. Good fight, and lots of vamps turned into lots of dust."

"Nice to know you still know how to have fun, Ry. Vamp dusting's always good. Sorta Sunnydale's version of a night at the movies, mini-golf and bowling all rolled into one." Xander said with a broad smile.

He held out his hand to Riley and got pulled into a one-armed hug. A little alarmed by the sudden touch, he pulled back. Riley was being way friendlier than Xander ever remembered and since when did the big guy grin like that? "Umm… Good to see you again. You too, Sam."

"Nice to see both of you. C'mon, dinner's gonna get cold." Sam's smile was as broad as Riley's. She didn't hug him though. Just stepped out from under Riley's arm and gave Anya a hug instead. "Sorry they're tearing your place apart. Need any help?"

Riley laughed, completely at ease with all of the Buffy's friends and family. It wouldn't last for long but he was going to enjoy it while it did. "Buffy, why don't you do the honors and I'll go get the salad?"

"Um, sure, I guess," Buffy led everyone into the dining room and watched with amusement as Willow guided everyone to wherever she wanted them. At Sam's urging, Buffy herself took the seat at the head of the table. Sam took a place on her right, and the empty chair on her left she assumed was for Riley.

Buffy was just sitting down when she realized that all the glasses were empty. Getting back to her feet, she asked, "Who wants what to drink?"

"Milk for me and let me help." Sam pushed her chair back, hoping for a moment alone in the kitchen with Buffy and Riley.

"What've you got, Buffy?" Xander was staring at the steaks, amazed to see that much food on Buffy's table. He'd been helping out where he could, bringing take-out and sneaking stuff out of his place so the girls wouldn't starve. He loved Anya to death but she was really tight about money.

"What don't we have?" Riley asked from the doorway, salad bowl firmly in hand. He set it down on the table, along with a basket full of French bread that he'd sliced up. Dawnie's round eyes and her furtive grab for a piece of bread didn't go unnoticed. "Dawn, what would you like?"

"Um, I probably should have milk," Dawn replied after a glance at Buffy. "Can I have a soda after dinner, though?" she asked hopefully, her eyes pleading.

"Sure, Dawnie," Buffy agreed. "After you finish your dinner." Turning to answer Xander, she ticked items off on her fingers, "Water, milk, coke, sprite, root beer, white grape juice..."

"I'd like a grape juice please, Buffy," Willow requested. Her request was seconded by Anya.

"Coke for me." Even more boggled by the list, Xander leaned back in his chair. He wasn't gonna ask, he just wasn't gonna ask. Maybe Buffy hocked one of her crossbows or something.

"Coming right up," Sam said, moving around the end of the table. She brushed against Buffy on her way past, completely unintentional, the walkway was just narrow. Although it did feel good to touch, it wasn't the best way to announce their new arrangement.

Xander did another double take. Sam had just brushed against Buffy and Buffy wasn't wincing or anything. Instead both of them blushed and Riley was beaming and he was about to have a full-blown wiggins. Right here, right now. Something was up in the Summers house. Something weird... well, weirder than normal which was pretty weird to start with.

Buffy turned to follow Sam with a touch of a smile on her face. Dawn rolled her eyes and Willow smothered a giggle. This was going to be an interesting evening, if the look on Xander's face was anything to go by.

Anya watched the two women leave the room, her head canted to one side as she mused. Something was up, she could tell. She was very tempted to ask if the three of them had become orgasm friends, but she held her tongue. Xander would only scold her for asking, and she'd had enough bad tempers in the last few days to last her the rest of her life. Even if Xander was cute when he was irritated and even if she liked the way his eyes flashed when he was embarrassed or annoyed.

In the kitchen, Buffy grabbed a can of coke from the fridge and got a small bowl to put a couple of ice cubes in it for Xander. The cokes were getting cold but not there yet... they hadn't been in the fridge for too long.

Sam reached into the fridge and grabbed the first gallon of milk. She handed it to Riley, along with the salad dressings, several bottles because they'd gone overboard there too. All of which were set on the counter before a strong arm went around her waist and then Buffy's. They both turned into his embrace, clinging to him.

"Okay... how do we want to play this?" Riley asked quietly, even as he kissed Sam's temple and then the top of Buffy's head. "Announce it before dinner or wait until after? Buffy... your call."

Buffy snuggled against Sam and Riley, leaning into their embrace as she considered. Finally, with a soft sigh, she said, "Xander's gonna hit the roof either way, I suspect. We might as well tell them right away because that way we don't have to watch ourselves and our behavior more than we'd have to for a group setting. If we tried to wait, we'd likely give ourselves away before then anyway."

She looked up at them and shrugged. "Besides, we're going to tell them anyway. Half an hour sooner or later doesn't make much of a difference."

"Like I said, your call." Riley nodded, glad that they weren't going to draw this out. Best to be honest and up front. Nothing hidden and nobody in the dark.

*****

"Willow," Xander leaned across the table, his eyes darting toward the kitchen. "What's the what? Thought Buffy had the hate on for Sam. Or was that you?"

Willow smiled a bit and shrugged. "I don't think Buffy ever hated Sam, although she wanted to. Because Sam makes Riley happy; you can just tell. And I tried to hate her for Buffy's sake but she's just too nice." All of which was perfectly true, without breathing a word of Buffy's news. It was their story to tell, and Willow had decided to keep her mouth shut for a change.

Sam hugged him, kissed Buffy and grabbed the milk. "Let's do this." In complete agreement, Riley reached for some of the salad dressings and then remembered the grape juice. He got it out of the fridge in time to watch Buffy carry the coke and two of the bottles of dressing into the dining room.

Xander sat up straight when Sam came back into the room. He watched her pour a glass of milk for Dawn, then Riley and one for Buffy without asking if the Buffster wanted it. Pretty possessive of Ry's lady to do that. Milk wasn't Buffy's usual fare.

Riley followed them out, watching as Buffy handed the coke and ice to Xander, ignoring his blatantly curious look. Pausing to pour a glass of grape juice for Willow and then Anya, Riley set Dawn's favorite dressing in front of her.

He held out Sam's chair for her, pushing it in once she was seated and leaning over to kiss her cheek. Did the same for Buffy. The exact same for Buffy.

The sound of Xander's fork hitting the dining room floor was explosive and was followed immediately by a choked cough. "Okay... tell me I didn't see what I just saw. Just a kiss between old friends, right? Nothing more?"

With a glance at Riley, Buffy smiled and shook her head. "Um, nope, not really. I promise that we'll explain, so can we try not to break anything please? And no heart attacks during dinner, even if we do have a doctor in the house."

Xander was the only one who didn't relax and/or chuckle at Buffy's light joke. Willow and Dawn traded a glance and a smile, then returned to watching Xander. This could be fun... better than television.

Anya, meanwhile, was once again turning things over in her mind. Since Xander had broached the subject, she felt perfectly within her rights to ask, "So do you have orgasm friends again, Buffy? 'Cause really, there's nothing wrong with that and you know it used to be all the rage, back in..." she trailed off, realizing that she was getting some strange looks and that Buffy appeared to be trying not to laugh.

"They were..? Now this is a story I need to hear," Sam's dry comment broke a lot of the tension. At least for the three of them, and Buffy did laugh softly. "Interesting way of putting it, Anya."

It was all Riley could do to keep from laughing out loud. He took pity on Xander who was gaping, looking from Buffy to him to Sam and then back again. "Xander, breathe. Yes... It's exactly what you're thinking."

"What? How? What?" If anything Xander got even more agitated as he took it all in. Riley was sleeping with Sam which was a given cause they're married and he's a healthy guy and Sam's gorgeous and... babbling. In his head. Babbling.

Sleeping with Sam and also sleeping with Buffy and Sam wasn't killing him. In fact Sam was taking Buffy's hand and kissing it. And the mental image he just came up with was going to fuel his fantasies for the next century.

Buffy twined her fingers with Sam's and drew their hands to her lips to kiss Sam's as well. "Let's see... 'what' is a thing you'd call a three-way relationship, Xan," She answered with a bit of humor in her voice.

"'How' is fairly simple, if you mean the mechanics. If you mean 'how did it happen'... well, that's a longer story and we might want to wait until after dinner or our steaks will get cold. And 'what' is a repeat question, so I won't answer it twice." Her eyes twinkled as she gave her last answer and Willow started to giggle softly. She just couldn't help it; it was too funny.

Riley had Sam and Buffy. Xander felt a huge rush of jealousy, which calmed down almost immediately. He had Anya and Anya was more than enough for him. Casting a quick glance at Riley, Xander couldn't keep the smile off his face. Riley's grin was just too infectious.

"Okay. Does that mean you two will be staying?" Trying to be casual about all this and slightly cool, Xander reached for the well-done steak. He slid it onto his plate and passed the platter to Anya. A potato was added as they settled down to semi-civilized conversation.

"Uh-huh. Sunnydale's going to be our base of operations." Riley dished up salad for himself and for Dawn who gave him a sideways smile. He'd been a big brother for so long it never occurred to him that he might be stepping on her independence.

"We'll still go on missions but we'll be living here. With Buffy and Dawn and Willow." Sam added, taking some of the bread and passing it on. She kept an eye on Xander, wondering how he was dealing with another rooster in the hen house. He'd been to only male in the group for a very long time... unless you counted Spike.

And Sam really didn't.

*****

 
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