Season: Episode 10 of Season 5
Original Air Date: 12/19/2000
Written by: Marti Noxon
Directed by: Marti Noxon

<b>Notes:</b>

Riley & Buffy break up.

<b>Plot Highlights:</b>

Joyce comes through her operation. Riley & Buffy spend a romantic evening at home. Spike conducts Buffy to Riley's vamp nest. The gang ponders chicken feet. Buffy torches the vamp nest. Riley "stakes" Spike. Riley & Buffy talk. Buffy wastes a vamp gang. Xander lectures Buffy. Buffy's too late to stop Riley's flight.

<b>Quotes:</b>

RILEY: You actually think you've got a shot with her?

SPIKE: No, I don't.

(he removes the cork from his bottle)

SPIKE: Fella's gotta try, though. Gotta do what he can.

(takes a swig)

RILEY: If you touched her... you know I'd kill you for real.

SPIKE: I had this chip outta my head, I'da killed you long ago. Ain't love grand?

(he replaces the cork and tosses the bottle to Riley, who catches it and removes the cork again. He sits on a nearby coffin and takes a sip.)

SPIKE: (quietly) Sometimes I envy you so much it chokes me. And sometimes I think I got the better deal. (sighs) To be that close to her and not have her. To be all alone even when you're holding her. Feeling her, feeling her beneath you. Surrounding you. The scent ... (louder) No, you got the better deal.

(Riley looks over at Spike, takes another drink.)

RILEY: (bitterly) I'm the lucky guy. Yeah.

--

RILEY: You keep me at a distance, Buffy. You didn't even call me when your mom went into the hospital.

BUFFY: (incredulously) Oh, I'm sorry. You know, um, I'm sorry that I couldn't take care of you when I thought that my mother was dying.

RILEY: It's about me taking care of you! It's about letting me in. So you don't have to be on top of everything all the time.

BUFFY: But I do. That's part of what being a slayer is. And that's what this is really about, isn't it? You can't handle the fact that I'm stronger than you.

RILEY: It's hard sometimes, yeah. But that's not it.

BUFFY: Then what? What else do you want from me, Riley? I've given you everything that I have, I've given you my heart, my body and soul!

RILEY: You say that, but I don't feel it. I just don't feel it.

BUFFY: Well, whose fault its that? Because I'm telling you, this is it, this is me. This is the package. And if it's so deficient that you need to get your kicks elsewhere ... then we really have a problem.

--

XANDER: See, what I think, you got burned with Angel, then Riley shows up.

BUFFY: I know the story, Xander.

XANDER: But you miss the point. You shut down, Buffy. And you've been treating Riley like the rebound guy. When he's the one that comes along once in a lifetime.

XANDER: He's never held back with you. He's risked everything. And you're about to let him fly because you don't like ultimatums?

XANDER: If he's not the guy, if what he needs from you just isn't there, (shakes head) let him go. Break his heart, and make it a clean break. But if you really think you can love this guy ... I'm talking scary, messy, no-emotions-barred need ... if you're ready for that ... then think about what you're about to lose.

--

(Anya's apartment)

XANDER: I've gotta say something... 'Cause ... I don't think I've made it clear. I'm in love with you. Powerfully, painfully in love. The things you do ... the way you think ... the way you move ... I get excited every time I'm about to see you. You make me feel like I've never felt before in my life. Like a man. (Pause. He shrugs uneasily) I just thought you might wanna know.