Title: You're Not Alone
Author: Karen U
E-Mail: ksu2@juno.com
Content: friendship
Rating: G
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, the WB, and Fox; the song
"Crash and Burn" belongs to Savage Garden
Distribution: Charity, otherwise ask and you shall receive
Spoilers: through Who Are You - occurs directly after that episode
Summary: Willow comforts Riley
Author's Note: This song refused to leave me alone until I uses it in a
fic... and this is what I came up with
Feedback: Yes, please

You’re Not Alone

Riley Finn sat alone on a bench in the middle of the quad, his head down as
he studied his hands. He didn’t know what to do, and it wasn’t exactly like
he could talk to Forrest and Graham about it. Forrest hated Buffy... and
neither of his friends would really get the whole magick thing anyway.

{ When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you }

Willow Rosenberg stopped as she spotted him. He looked so sad and alone.
The part of her that was fiercely loyal to Buffy screamed out ‘good’! Riley
had, after all, slept with Faith. Of course, he hadn’t known it at the
time. And that little fact was hard to forget. He’d had no idea that it
wasn’t Buffy.

So was it really his fault?

Sighing, Willow made her way over to the man she thought of as a friend.

{ Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you }

“Can I sit down?”

Riley jumped at the unexpected - and very familiar - female voice. He
glanced up at Willow, surprised and a little wary.

“Did you come to yell at me, too?” he asked.

{ It’s hard to find relief and people can be so cold
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can’t take anymore }

Willow smiled slightly as she shook her head, and Riley scooted over a bit
so that she could take a seat beside him. “I’m not here to yell at you.
I’m here to ask how you’re doing.”

“I’m okay, I guess. Health-wise, anyway.” He cocked his head and looked at
Willow again. “Are you sure you’re not here to yell at me?”

{ Let me be the one you call
If you jump I’ll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night }

“No, I’m not going to yell at you. I promise. Although a part of me keeps
saying I should yell at you.”

“And what does the rest of you say?” Riley asked seriously, needing to know
the answer.

She shrugged. “It says that what happened between you and Faith was not
your fault.”

{ If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart }

Riley gave a sad smile, then looked back down at his hands. “And which part
do you think’s going to win? The part that thinks I’m a jerk, or the part
that says it wasn’t my fault?”

“Probably the latter,” Willow told him, causing him to look back up at her.
He saw the truth of her statement in her eyes.

“You really don’t blame me?” he asked.

{ If you need to crash then crash and burn
You’re not alone }

“How could I?”

“Buffy does.”

“Well, Buffy wasn’t there,” Willow replied as she pushed a few strands of
hair behind her eyes. “She didn’t see what happened. We all thought Faith
was Buffy. I mean, they were in each other’s bodies, and we didn’t exactly
have any reason to question what we saw. Me, and Xander and Giles and
Anya... we all saw her, and none of us knew that it was really Faith. It
took a spell for us to figure it out, so how could you be expected to know
when we didn’t?”

{ When you feel all alone
And a loyal friend is hard to find }

Riley smiled. “Are you always this reasonable and forgiving, or did I just
catch you on a good day?”

Willow scrunched up her nose as she thought, then smiled as she remembered
something. “Must be a good day. Otherwise, I may have beat you to death
with a shovel.”

{ You’re caught in a one way street
With the monsters in your head }

Riley laughed. It was the first time he’d laughed in a few days, and it
felt good. He could remember Willow threatening him if he hurt Buffy, and
he was glad to know she wasn’t going to yank out a shovel and do her worst
to him right now. He sobered, however, when his thoughts returned to Buffy.
The Slayer was still angry with him, and that probably wasn’t going to
change anytime soon.

“Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”

{ When your hopes and dreams are far away and
You feel like you can’t face the day }

Willow accepted the question with the seriousness with which it was asked.
After a moment of contemplation, she spoke. “I think she will. It may take
some time, but...”

Riley buried his face in his hands momentarily, then ran his hands through
his hair. “I really made a mess of things this time, didn’t I?”

{ Let me be the one you call
If you jump I’ll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night }

“Faith’s the one who did this,” Willow reminded him, finding herself with
the need to comfort him. He just looked so lost and sad. “Look, Riley, I
know things are really screwed up right now. And it’s not just the Faith
thing. There’s Adam... and the Initiative...”

“But I’m willing to bet that the Faith thing that’s on Buffy’s mind right
now.”

{ If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart }

“She was hurt. She still is. And... I can understand where she’s coming
from.”

“And, unfortunately, so can I,” Riley said softly. “I mean, if I had
switched places with... say, Spike, and Buffy had slept with him...”

“Spike would be a great big pile of dust right now,” Willow interrupted with
a snort. “Buffy would totally stake him for something like that.”

{ If you need to crash then crash and burn
You’re not alone }

“You’re probably right,” Riley admitted with a grin before continuing to his
point. “But that wouldn’t change the fact that it would still hurt knowing
that she had been with Spike. So, I do see where she’s coming from.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t know it was Faith. And Buffy
will realize that and accept it... eventually.”

{ Because there has always been heartache and pain and when it’s over you’ll
breath again
You’ll breath again }

“Eventually, huh? Doesn’t sound very promising, does it?”

“Not really,” Willow admitted. “But things will get better. You’ll work it
out. Maybe you should tell her that you see where she’s coming from... She
will forgive you, Riley. I’m sure of that. I’m just not so sure she’ll
forgive Faith.”

“And what about you?”

{ When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you }

“What do you mean?”

“She wouldn’t be happy to know that you talked to me today. She’s still
going through the silent treatment phase of her anger. She probably wants
you to do the same. If she finds out you spoke to me, will she forgive
you?”

Willow made a soft sound of dismissal. “What would there be to forgive?
You’re my friend, Riley. That means I need to be there for you, too,
whether Buffy wants me to be or not.”

{ Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you }

“You think of me as a friend?”

“Well, duh!” the redhead said with a smile. “Why else would I be here
talking to you if I didn’t think of you a my friend?”

“I... I don’t know. I guess I just always thought...”

{ It’s hard to find relief and people can be so cold
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can’t take anymore }

“What?” Willow prompted when he trailed off. “You thought what?”

“I thought you were just friends with me because of Buffy.”

Willow shook her head, disbelief in her eyes. “I never felt that way. I
always liked you... If I hadn’t, I would have never even considered helping
you with Buffy. You’re my friend, Riley, whether you like it or not,
buster!” she told him with a glare.

{ Let me be the one you call
If you jump I’ll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night }

Riley held up his hands as if to placate the young woman before him. "Okay,
sorry!" he said to her with a laugh before speaking more seriously. “I’m
glad you consider me as a friend. I could use all the friends I can get.”

“I think we all feel that way,” Willow told him as she stood and gathered
her things. “Look, I really hate to cut this short, but I need to get
going.”

{ If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart }

“Heading off to fight evil?”

“If you call a term paper evil, then yeah, I guess I am,” she replied with a
grin. She turned to go, but stopped after only a few steps. “Oh, one more
thing.”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever need to talk... just know that I’m here for you, okay?”

“I will.” The redhead smiled at his response, then began on her way again.
“Oh, and Willow?”

“What?” she asked as she turned to face him once more.

{ If you need to crash then crash and burn
You’re not alone... }

“Thanks.”

The End