Hi Lou,
It probably is 'To Save a Lady' by Slaymesoftly here on
TSR, on
EF, on
AO3, on
fanfiction.net and
The Bloodshedverse.
Hope this it.
Season 5, Time Travel, Claim
Summary: Ok, here's the sitch. It's early in a Season V that has been tweaked to suit my purposes. Spike hasn't had his little revelation about his feelings for Buffy, and she, of course, is clueless. Riley has had his surgery and begun his macho identity crisis. Dawn won't be mentioned much because she isn't a big part of this story. Riley has gone back to Iowa for an extended leave, partly to recover from his surgery and partly to figure out what he wants to do next. He was apprehensive about being gone from Buffy for so long, and not at all reassured when she tells him she will take Spike with her for extra muscle if he's so worried about her. He reminds her of her words to him before he lost the enhancements that were killing him, when she told him that if she «wanted somebody with super powers, I'd be dating Spike!» She rolls her eyes at his implication and they do not part on the best of terms.