Title: Uncommon Distractions Author: Kay Email: kaygrr@hotmail.com Feedback: Please? Because watching a grown girl cry is just pathetic. Website: ssfdu.tripod.com/kay/journal.htm (love for Sandy) Archive: Just let me know, eh? Fandom: Buffy Pairing: (Xander/Graham) + (Xander/Spike) = Xander/Graham/Spike Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: Mine? What? *These*? No, they're Mutant Enemy's. They just followed me home and wouldn't leave until I played with them. Summery: Graham and Riley are called back to Sunnydale when the area destabilizes. When they return, they discover there are new factors in lives of the Scooby Gang, especially in Xander and Spike's. Part Two/? Graham had expected to feel more nostalgic about being back on the college campus. He'd spent quite a bit of time there, taking classes and pretending to be an ordinary student. At the moment however, he really didn't feel any bursts of fondness or longing for the old days. Of course, the fact that he was hiding behind a tree and watching Willow trudge her way to her class might have something to do with it. Being on a mission tended to take away from the nostalgia-potential of situations. He was concentrating on not being seen instead of reliving the past. He frowned as he watched Willow stumble a little. She was moving as though she were half-asleep. From what he could remember of his own observations and Riley's stories, she was a fairly bubbly person, ready with a smile and a line of babble a mile long. Watching her yawn for the third time in as many minutes, he doubted she'd be able to stay awake through her next class, let alone hold a conversation with anyone. He made sure she entered her classroom, then leaned up a convenient section of wall and called Riley. "Ri, how are things on your end?" //Sleepy. I think Tara pulled an all-nighter or something. She's yawning all the time and since I'm watching her, I keep yawning too.// Graham stood up straight. "Willow looks exhausted, too." A dirty chuckle drifted into his ears. //Maybe they just had a *really* good time last night.// Graham groaned. He didn't want to think about them having sex. Not that the mental images weren't nice, but they reminded him that he wasn't having sex. "She looks way too worn out for that." //You're right. Thinking what I'm thinking?// "Probably. They're exhausted because of something they've done that's helping to keep this place quiet." He relaxed back against the wall. "Do you want me to call in a preliminary report?" //I'll do it. I've got to do something or I'm going to fall asleep here.// Graham didn't argue. It was good to see Riley taking an active interest in the missions. Their briefing had included orders for them to stay away from Buffy and her mentor Giles. Attempts to keep tabs on the older man had failed miserably: surveillance cameras died as soon as they were brought on line and bugs transmitted nothing but static, if they transmitted anything at all. Their superiors believed that he had access to black market technology that protected him. Graham was more inclined to listen to Riley's explanation: Giles probably had some sort of magical barrier set up to protect himself. He knew he was in the wrong line of work when belief in magic came easy. Because they were unable to maintain any reliable surveillance over Giles, all attempts to monitor him had been canceled for fear that his `superior technology' would alert him to any watcher's presence. Buffy had been spending the majority of her time in recent weeks with him, so all surveillance over her had been cancelled as well. He and Riley had been given strict orders to stay away from her for the time being. That order had worried Graham; bad enough that Riley was worried about his ex, but then he was forbidden to see her. Fortunately, he seemed to be taking the orders in stride, saying something about having time to get his head on straight. The sound of a bell brought Graham back to himself. He ducked around a corner and watched students file out of the packed classroom. Willow was one of the last ones out, her eyes half-closed and her feet hardly rising from the ground. According to her schedule, she was done with classes. For her sake, he hoped she was going straight home. He shadowed her all the way to the dorm, at which point he broke off the tail and joined the surveillance team set up in a van outside the dorm. Squeezing into the tight quarters, he nodded to Riley, who'd beaten him there. "Do we have visual and audio?" One of the techs nodded. "Whatever technology that Giles character has, he hasn't been sharing it. We've got them both on line just fine." He fiddled with a few knobs and the van was filled with sound. All the men inside the van listened intently as they watched the color monitors that revealed what took place inside the dorm room. Willow lay on the bed, her head pillowed on Tara's lap. "I'm so sleepy," she said quietly. "I didn't expect to feel this tired." Tara gently stroked her fingers through her girlfriend's hair. "Me, too. It does make sense, though. Erecting a ward large enough to cover all of Sunnydale was a really good idea, but I'm still not sure we were ready for it." "It had to be done. There were too many new demons in town. We couldn't deal with all of them-" Tara quieted her with soft touches. "I know, I know. Without Buffy, there wasn't anything else that we could have done. I'm just glad it worked." Willow sighed as Tara cuddled her closer. "I should call her." "You know she and Giles are probably busy." "I'm worried about them. I'm worried about Dawn. She was so sick the last time we saw her." "Giles will figure it out. You know he will. Dawn's going to get better and then we'll have Buffy back." Graham looked at Riley, who looked baffled. "Dawn?" Riley's frown disappeared abruptly. "Buffy's little sister." That was right. How could he have forgotten Dawn? So Dawn was sick and Buffy and Giles were concentrating on her. Her friends had coped by putting up some kind of magical shield around Sunnydale to keep the HSTs out. Graham nodded to himself. That felt right. He quietly ran his interpretation past Riley, ignoring the disdainful look the tech gave him for believing in anything except technology. Riley nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. Xander's probably doing research or something like that, maybe running the magic shop with Anya to help out." He climbed out of the van, waiting for Graham to follow. "We should report back in." He told the tech to call them if the girls gave indication of moving and then led the way to their vehicle. Graham thought them going anywhere a remote possibility. He was half-tempted to order Willow and Tara a pizza anonymously to make sure they ate before they gave into sleep. He hesitated for a moment, then gave in to the impulse and pulled out his cell phone. He ordered the pizza and paid for it with a personal credit card. He caught Riley smiling at him. "What?" "Nothing." Riley looked back through the windshield, concentrating on the road once more. "Even though we've got this thing figured out, we should probably cover all the bases." Graham shot him a narrow-eyed looked. The smile hadn't disappeared. "How?" "You know, check up on the rest of the group. Keep an eye on whoever's left tomorrow. Let's see...we followed Willow and Tara today, so that leaves-" Graham balled up a convenient piece of paper and tossed it at him. He knew confessing his crush was a mistake. Riley hadn't been fazed by Graham coming out to him; instead, he took childish glee in teasing him about the various men he found attractive. He never should have told him why he was always asking about Xander. He never would have heard half the stories Riley made a special point to tell him, but...he sighed. Any amount of teasing was worth hearing Xander stories, especially since Riley was a good enough friend to edit Anya out of them so Xander always seemed available. A man could dream, couldn't he? "Tyndal might not agree with you," he said, stifling the hope rising within him. "He seems like a methodical man," Riley said. "And Xander's always been in the thick of things before." Graham glared at him for as long as he could before giving up and laughing. "Government approved stalking. I get paid for it this time!" "It's got to be better for you than when you were doing it on your own. How much extra time did you have to spend in the gym after scarfing junk just to talk to him?" Graham flipped Riley off and relaxed in his seat. It had been worth it. And he might just be fooling himself, but most times he bought something from Xander, he ended up with extra fries or a drink he hadn't ordered. It was no undying declaration of love, and it had played havoc with his cholesterol, but it was enough to give him some hope. Xander didn't just give free onion rings to anyone. Graham would know - he'd spent enough time watching him, after all. Their meeting with Tyndal was brief. He listened to their reports, nodding thoughtfully. "I concur with your observations, men. The actions of the two women seem to be the most likely explanation for the quick turn around in the situation here." He flipped through some papers on his desk and for a moment Graham was sure they were going to be dismissed. Tyndal looked up. "Still, I prefer to be thorough. I want you to shadow the Harris boy tomorrow, just to be sure all our bases are covered." "Yes, sir." Wonder of wonders, both of them managed to keep a straight face. As they left the office, Graham knew he was in for a long night of teasing. That was fine by him. If it helped distract Riley from his own problems, then Graham would take the cute remarks and jokes at his expense in stride. Besides, he was going to see Xander tomorrow. What else mattered compared to that? *****