Cast Away

A hurricane, a cruise ship...no survivors save two. Two enemies on a desert isle, learning to overcome. A vampire, a Slayer, against all nature and all odds...can they survive?

Buffy Summers smiled brightly as she looked at the tickets in her hand, shifting her bag on her shoulders. It was heaven, pure and simple.

For her graduation present, her father had sent her a ticket for a cruise to the Hawaiian Islands, just for the two of them. It wasn't often that she got to see her father, and this was big-big...three weeks, just them and the sun. She didn't even need to beg Giles for the time off, since summer Slaying was so slow anyway, and Faith was there to pick up the slack.

She glanced around the crowded port, her bags already having been picked up by the porters, waiting for her father to show. Finally, she caught a glimpse of him, and beamed brightly, standing on her tiptoes, waving to get his attention.

Her face suddenly fell when she saw a flash of black hair, and then his secretary, Tina was coming towards her, waving and smiling brightly, her own bag on her back. The young woman smiled as she went up to Buffy, "Oh, your father told me sooo much about you, Buffy! I'm sure we're going to have fun-fun-fun!"

"What?" Buffy glanced towards her father, who was coming up behind Tina, panting underneath the weight of all the bags, "Daddy, I thought it was supposed to be just us!"

"I know, honey, but Tina hasn't been to Hawaii before, and besides, it's about time you two got to know each other," Hank Summers said, setting down his bags to run a hand through his thinning, brown hair, then he embraced Buffy warmly as Tina headed up the gangplank to give them some time alone. "Missed you, pumpkin."

"Missed you too, dad," Buffy said dejectedly as she grabbed a few bags from him, "Missed you too..."

Spike stared up at the lid of his coffin, irritated beyond hell. A week on a cruise ship...and he was sitting in a coffin...granted, it was nicer then the other, wooden ones he and Dru were used too, at least these ones had nice, satin lining...but still...it was pathetic. Who traveled like this anymore?

Apparently him and Drusilla.

Spike sighed, wincing when someone dropped his coffin onto the floor without a care, shifting uncomfortably, feeling cramped. No one had respect for the dead anymore.

They would have been on a plane, but the last time he had tried that, Drusilla had tried to punch out a window to catch a cloud. He was a vampire and immortal, but he was pretty sure a plane crash would pretty much liquidify him.

He heard the sound of something being dropped next to him, and knew it was Drusilla, hoping she'd remember to keep quiet, so as to not alert anyone to their presence on the ship...yet.

He shook his head slightly, closing his eyes and trying to keep some sleep, then frowned, shifting to get comfortable again. Damn this!

He pushed open his coffin, glancing around, glad to see the hold was empty, and removed a pack of cigarrettes out of his duster pocket as Drusilla opened hers too, peeking out, "Is the naughty Slayer gone?"

Spike frowned slightly in confusion, nodding for simplicity, "Um...yeah, Dru...the Slayer's gone...go to sleep, alright? We can go to our cabin tonight.."

Drusilla pouted, but obeyed, laying back down and closing the lid. Spike took a deep drag of his cigarrette, relunctant to get back into his coffin. He really hated boats.

Buffy slammed her bag onto her bed in her private cabin, glaring at the door that led to her father's. "I just wanted you to get to know her, honey," She mocked his voice, starting to unpack, slamming her clothes into her drawers, "More like I just wanted to fuck around some more and not spend time with your daughter!"

She growled angrily as the ship pulled out of dock, flopping down face-first on her bed. "This cannot get any worse."

Spike finally allowed Drusilla to get out of the coffin as soon as the sun set, and they moved up to the upper decks, heading to a cabin he had purchased before. He really hated that the ships always set sail in the afternoon. It was a pain in the arse.

He opened it up, glad to see at least their bags had made it on safely before flopping out across the bed, stretching his sore, cramped body as Drusilla eyed him hungrily. He glanced at her, grinning wickedly, and she went towards him, stretching her body out over his as she kissed him.

She bit into his lower lip, drawing blood, and he growled as she sucked on it, wrapping his arms around her small body. "I'm hungry, Spike," She complained, pulling away from him, and Spike dropped his head in disappointment, gesturing at one of the bags, "There's blood in there, luv...you know we can't just go feeding on everyone."

Drusilla pouted as she climbed out of the bed and opened the bag up, lifting out a cooler and taking out a blood bag that Spike had liberated from a local bloodbank just before they left and sank her teeth into it. "It's cold...and there's no fear in it..."

"It's a bag, Dru...it doesn't have much to fear," Spike reminded her wearily, closing his eyes, "I'm going to get a quick nap before we hit the deck, pet. I friggin' hate those coffins."

"I liked mine," Drusilla said, touching her finger to her blood smeared lips, "Like a mouse...be quiet...pretend to be a corpse...all dead and still..."

"Uh-uh..." Spike muttered absently, tuning out her chatter as he had long learned to do. It seemed to be coming more of a habit since the incident in Brazil when he had caught her making out on a bench with a demon. Sometimes, he found himself getting tired of her and it scared and puzzled him at the same time. She was the only constant in his life, and she wasn't too constant anymore...especially in her affections. It was a frightening thing to contemplate, so he just locked it away, pretending not to notice.

It was easier that way.

He opened his eyes as she stopped talking, watching as she wavered a bit before collapsing. He stood, picking her up gently and setting her on the bed, brushing her hair away from her eyes. He hated to have to drug her, but he couldn't have her prancing off all about the ship. He wasn't able to keep her killing in check anymore, and he couldn't risk her killing a bunch of people before they reached port.

He sighed, stretching out beside her and drifting off to sleep.

Buffy was seething...she had gone to all the trouble of dressing up nicely for dinner, putting on make-up and doing up her hair...and her father was no where to be found. She had looked for him all over, finally finding him and Tina by the pool, sharing a jacuzzi, and he had told her to go ahead and eat without them, and that'll he'd meet up with her later.

This vacation was already starting to suck.

She sat her table alone, picking at her food boredly, looking up every once in a while for her father, but he never showed up. She shook her head, adjusting the skirt of her short, black cocktail dress, leaning back in her seat. She sipped at her coke, watching the couples on the dance floor with a sigh.

She tensed suddenly as cool hands clapped on her shoulders, and a silky smooth voice whispered in her ear, "All alone, pet?"

Buffy yelped, whirling in her seat to stare...at nothing...she heard a scrape behind her and turned back towards the table to see a smirking blond pulling in a chair, straddling the back as he rested his head on his hand in a thoughtful pose.

"Spike...you son of a bitch..." Buffy reached for her purse, which was lying on the table, but Spike's hand shot out, grabbing it before she could and he dropped it on his lap.

"Now, now, luv...how are you gonna explain to the other passengers the dust on the floor?"

Buffy glared at him, settling back in her seat, "What's wrong, Spike? Dru dump you again and so you decide to follow me?"

"Actually, no...Dru's here with me...and you're just an extra bonus. Didn't know you'd be on the ship..."

"What?!" Buffy shot to her feet, looking around as the other diners looked towards her, slightly irritated looks on their faces, "Drusilla's here?!"

"Relax, Slayer...didn't want her snacking on someone while we're traveling, so I drugged her," Spike said casually, lighting up a cigarrette. Buffy glared at him, waving a hand in front of her face to clear the smoke as she sat down again, "You're so staked."

"Come on, luv...I call a truce. I'm not killing while on the ship, so I'm not doing any harm..."

"Yeah, but once you get off..."

"Didn't bother you before when you let me leave the country...twice, I might add. What? Don't you like South Americans?"

"You have a point...not about the South Americans..." Buffy hastily added on, then sighed, "Keep her out of the way and no snacking and we got a deal."

"Great...so...to answer my question...you here alone?"

Buffy didn't have a chance to answer him as Hank came up, his arm around Tina's waist, who was dressed in a slinky dress, and she scowled as Spike eyed Tina appreciatevely, "Hey, pumpkin...nice to see you're making friends already," He said as he kissed Buffy's cheek, and Spike glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Pumpkin?"

Buffy rolled her eyes as Hank and Tina sat down, and the older man offered his hand to Spike, "I'm Hank Summers, Buffy's father, and this is Tina..."

"Nice to meet you," Spike smiled charmingly at Hank and Tina as he took each of their hands in turn, "I'm Sp--William."

"Nice to meet you, Will." Spike scowled at the shortening of his name as Hank turned his attention back to Buffy and her half-full plate, "What's wrong, honey? Not hungry?"

"I'm a little...sick," Buffy said, throwing a look at Tina who had started whispering in Spike's ear, and the vampire laughed as she rested her hand on his forearm. Hank didn't seem to notice her shameless flirting as he picked up a menu.

"Well, I'm so hungry, I almost resorted to chowing down on humans."

"Me too," Spike said with a smirk in Buffy's direction, making no move to leave even though she was sending him deadly glares that she hid when Tina or Hank looked towards her. This was too much fun.

"So, Will...what do you do?"

Spike blinked in surprise at the question, and Buffy smirked at him as Tina tittered, "I bet he's a weight-lifter or something...he has really strong arms..."

"Um...free-lance...writer...?" Spike said it more as a question then a statement and Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of writing?"

"Novels?"

"What kind of novels?"

"Um..." Spike glanced down at his lap, "Vampire ones?"

"Oh...like Anne Rice?" Tina asked, beaming at him brightly as Buffy snickered behind her hand, "I love Anne Rice..."

"Not me...the bint doesn't know what's she talking about," Spike muttered beneath his breath.

"I don't like what she says about vampires and sex, though...they're supposed to be a really sexual creature, and she says they're impotent..."

"Yeah, Spike," Buffy was having a hard time to keep from bursting out laughing at the stricken look on Spike's face, "Do you think vampires are impotent?"

Spike shot her a glare, "No, I don't think they are...although, some poofters probably are...only getting it on once and prancing off to parts unknown..."

It was Buffy's turn to glare at him as Hank glanced at him in puzzlement, "What was that?"

"Nothing...uh...just...nothing," Spike shook his head slightly.

"What's a poofter?" Tina asked, leaning towards Spike again and resting her hand on his knee, and Spike opened his mouth to answer her, but Buffy was on her feet, grabbing him by the arm.

"Come on, we're dancing."

"We are?"

"We are," She gritted her teeth together, dragging him out on the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he rested his hands on her waist, both of them trying to keep distance between their bodies, "What the hell was that?!"

"What was what?"

"YOU! Flirting with my dad's girlfriend!"

"That's your dad's girlfriend?" Spike glanced at Tina, who was watching them, then down at Buffy, "Jeez...I thought she was your cousin or something...what is she? Twelve?"

Buffy giggled, then glared at him, "No...she's...twenty-three..."

"Oh, big difference," Spike rolled his eyes, "How old is he?"

"Forty-four," Buffy shook her head, "Don't even get me started..."

"She's not the chit that he left your mum for, is it?"

"What? Who told you that he left my mom for someone?"

"She did...remember...cocoa...you threatening me with a stirring spoon?"

"Oh...right. And no...that was someone else...Cheryl or Maggie or something like that...I can't keep them in order."

Spike whistled, raising an eyebrow, "He traded down for a younger model?"

"Don't you mean trade up?"

"Luv, with your mum, anyone else is a trade down."

Buffy raised an eyebrow as the song they were dancing to ended, and she started to walk towards the door, Spike still following her, "You're saying something nice about my mom? Who are you and what have you done with Spike?"

"What? I like your mum...she's decent people," Spike protested, "Do you know how long it's been since anyone's made me cocoa and listened to me bitch about Dru? None of my minions ever did that, let me tell you..."

"Hmm...and I just don't see Angelus as the cocoa type."

"Naw...he preferred to rot his brain with liquor..."

"Oh...and this coming from the guy who spent a good portion of his last visit to Sunnydale drunk off his ass?"

"I was dumped, I had an excuse...he was just a drunk," Spike said as he and Buffy went up towards the bow of the ship, and Buffy leaned against the railing, looking over the side into the water.

"Sounds like a lame excuse too me..."

Spike rolled his eyes and Buffy glanced at him, "How'd you know that Angel took off anyway?"

"Vampire grapevine."

"Oh...great...so I break up with Angel, and it's all over the vampire world?"

"What can I say? Slayers are big topics on the vine. Considering that you like to kill us and the way you threw us all for a loop."

"What? How'd I do that?"

"There has never been two Slayers activated at once...and it's happened twice," Spike reminded her, and Buffy nodded as the vampire jumped up on the bottom rail, leaning over too look down into the water, spitting, like he was a little kid. "What was the deal with that anyway?"

"Oh...the master killed me for a few minutes...drowning sucks, F.Y.I, and Xander revived me...but apparently I was dead long enough for Kendra to be called...and well...we all know what happened to her...and Faith was called."

"Never met the chit...what's she like?"

"Um...kinda like you...actually...whole bad girl attitude going on...she's sweet though, underneath. She and Xander are going out..."

"The whelp?" Spike whistled, "How'd he land that one? Last I heard, he was with a cheerleader or something..."

"No thanks to you. Oz and Cordy found them at the factory after you kidnapped them...getting into some major smoochies. He and Cordy broke up...and Oz and Willow were on the outs for awhile, but they're cool now."

"Oz?"

"Oh...right...you never really met him...he joined the Scoobs after you were put into the chair," She told him as he rocked back and forth on his heels, still looking down at the water, "He's a werewolf."

"Werewolf?" Spike smiled, "The werewolf, the Witch and the Watcher...sounds like a C.S. Lewis story."

Buffy laughed and Spike glanced at her, grinning madly before throwing his arms out and screaming, "I'M KING OF THE WORLD!"

Buffy started to crack up as Spike climbed down, clutching her sides, "Oh God...do that again when I have a video camera..." She gasped out, grinning, "No one is gonna believe me when I said you did that."

Spike growled playfully, "Tell anyone and I'll kill you."

"Can't...truce, remember?"

"Oh...right...damn."

Buffy sighed, leaning back against the railing as Spike lit another cigarrette, looking out over the moonlit ocean, "This sucks..."

"What? The company? I thought you knew that."

"Ha ha," Buffy shook her head, "No...my dad...and Tina..." Spike was unaware that someone could muster that much hatred into one name, and he glanced at her curiously, "Don't like the bint?"

"No...whatever the hell that means...she's okay, I guess...but my dad said it was only supposed to be us two..."

"Ah...lack of dad time...know how that is..."

"What? You?"

"They had divorce back in my day too, pet...granted, the woman usually got really screwed back then on alimony," Spike shook his head, "I was around five...my father ran off with some tart, left me mum to take care of me and six other kiddies. Never saw the bastard again."

"Really?" Buffy glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, and Spike seemed to realize who he was talking too as he ran a hand through his hair, coughing nervously, albeit unnecessarily as he flicked his cigarrette over the side.

Buffy flushed, glancing back out over the water, the comfortable comraderie broken as Spike shifted on his feet, frowning slightly as he took a step back from her, "Right...listen, I should...you know...uh..."

"Check on Dru," Buffy supplied and Spike nodded emphatically, "Yeah...Dru...check on her..." Spike turned, his leather duster swirling out behind him as he left her to her thoughts, and Buffy sighed as she looked out over the ocean, breathing deep the ocean air. What the hell was that anyway, Buff? Mortal enemy...remember?

She shook her head at her own thoughts as she pushed off the railing and headed back into the dining room to her father and Tina.

Spike went into his cabin, glancing at Drusilla, who was still lying on the bed, unconcious. He went to his bag and pulled out a syringe and a vial of liquid, then injected Drusilla with more drugs to keep her from waking up during the day before stripping and climbing into bed beside her.

She lay still as death against him, and in appearence, appeared as just that, her chest not rising and falling with breath, and her eyes did not twitch in sleep. Spike closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her cold, dead scent before slipping into sleep.

Buffy stretched out on a lawnchair by the pool, smiling as she sipped at a fruity, icy cocktail...without alcohol, of course, working on her tan. Several college students who were taking the ship to Hawaii watched her admiringly, a few boys going over to chat her up.

Despite her father's additive of Tina to the trip, she was starting to have a good time. There was nothing better then lounging by the pool and being hit on by cute guys, with no vamps in sight.

Oh...right...she sighed, thinking of her current vamp problem, but if Spike kept his word, he wouldn't be bothering anyone and Dru was out for the count. Still...she had major misgivings about the both of them.

I can't even believe that he went back to the ho, she thought with a shake of her head. There was no way she would have ever gone back to someone had cheated on her...then again, Angel techinically had with Dru...but that was a moot point at the minute.

She scowled, her good mood dissapating. She blamed Spike, of course. She had been in a good mood, eyeing the hotties by the pool behind mirrored sunglasses...and he had come in and drove her into thinking about Angel...

You know...lunatics blame people who aren't even there...Buffy snorted, thinking of Drusilla, wonder if she still has that creepy doll.

Buffy looked up when she heard a crack of thunder, and sighed, seeing storm clouds in the distant. "Oh...perfect..." She sighed as she stood up, grabbing her pool things before heading towards her cabin to escape the coming rain.

Spike stirred in his sleep, unconciously aware of the sudden rocking and roiling of the ship, and then he yelped as he fell off the bed, Drusilla falling on top of him.

He sat up, looking around in confusion as the ship rolled to the left, and he went skidding across the floor to slam into the wall, Drusilla rolling after him.

He stood up, trying hard to keep his balance, glancing down at Dru, deciding she was out of it enough not to notice the rocking and went towards the door to peek out. It was only one in the afternoon, but the sky was pitch black, and he glanced down as water swept past his feet.

Rain was pouring outside in thick sheets, and he jumped as thunder cracked seemingly nearby. He went back inside and pulled his clothes on and put on his duster before venturing out the door again.

He glanced up and down the deserted deck, keeping underneath the overhang to keep dry. He removed a cigarrette from his pocket, glancing out over the ocean, wincing at the sight of the huge waves slamming against the side of the ship, then yelped when he fell against the railing, nearly pitching over.

"Brilliant idea, Spike...go outside in a storm..." He muttered as a crew member came towards him, hurrying along.

Spike called out to get his attention, and he paused, glancing at him, "What's going on, mate?"

"Return to your cabin sir...it'll pass, sir..." The man said, but Spike scented the fear coming off of him, and growled, "What's going on?"

The man glanced around before taking a deep breath, "A hurricane's coming sir...please don't tell the other passengers...it might cause a panic..."

"A bloody what?!"

"Please, sir...return to your cabin..."

Spike ignored him, catching a glimpse of blond hair up ahead and shoved past him, heading towards Buffy.

"SLAYER!"

Buffy glanced towards him, then back out at the storm, and he froze in his steps, catching her scent of fear, "Oh...fucking great..."

Her eyes were wide, looking almost panicked as he came up towards her, "What's going on?"

"Hurricane, pet..."

"What?!" Buffy started to hyperventilate, and Spike reached out, resting his hand on her arm, "Slayer, look at me..."

She did, and he almost winced at the look of abject fear on her face. She was the Slayer...she wasn't supposed to fear anything, "What's gonna happen?!"

"Nothing, pet...just a little storm...I've been in worse," He hurried to assure her, but it wasn't working, and he sighed, glancing over his shoulder, "Go back to your cabin..."

"I don't want too...my daddy's in the dining room..."

"You shouldn't be out here, luv...and it's too far there...get inside..."

Buffy looked down the deck, and he could feel her trembling beneath his hand, and he slipped it down, capturing her hand with his. "Come on, pet...you can stay in my cabin..."

Buffy allowed him to lead her towards his cabin, and she glanced at Drusilla laying on the floor as they went in, and tensed. "Relax, Slayer...she's out of it...she won't awake up..."

Buffy nodded slowly as Spike bent and lifted Drusilla up, replacing her on the bed. He glanced around, grabbing one of her dresses and stripped some fabric off to tie her hands and feet to the bed. At Buffy's look, he shrugged, "She'll get bruised if she keeps rolling around on the ground," He explained, and Buffy nodded, rubbing her arms as if cold, still standing by the closed door.

"Have a seat, Slayer," He told her, gesturing at one of the chairs before digging through a bag and removing a bottle of scotch. He poured them both a generous glass, and she eyed it doubtfully.

"It'll calm your nerves a bit," He told her, draining his and pouring another as Buffy gingerly sipped hers, jumping everytime she heard thunder, glancing towards the door as water ran beneath it, soaking the carpet. Spike seemed unconcerned as he drank his liqour, his eyes on Dru, but she could see worry etched in his eyes.

The lights went off suddenly, and Buffy let out a scream, shrinking down in the chair, then yelling again when she fell out of it when the ship rolled sharply.

She felt strong arms grab her in the darkness, and she threw her arms up and around Spike's neck, climbing into his lap, surprising him as she burrowed her face in his chest, shaking more then the ship was.

Spike vamped out to see her in the darkness, and he saw tears pouring down her face as she sobbed quietly.

He tightened his grip on her, stroking her soft, fragrant hair as she shook against him like a leave, glancing towards the door as more water poured in. Fuck...

The storm seemed to calm down towards nightfall, but Buffy still clung to him, murmuring beneath her breath in abject fear. Spike managed to ease her off his lap, but she clung to his neck still, yelling, "No! NO! Don't leave!"

"Pet...I'm just going to the door..." He told her, standing up with her still holding him tightly. He walked with her towards the door, and opened it, looking out.

When he saw what was out there, his eyes widened, and he swept Buffy up into his arms and ran outside.

Buffy glanced over his shoulder as he raced down the deck towards a life-boat station, and screamed.

Heading towards them was at least a two hundred foot tall tidal wave.

Spike hit the life-boat station running and reached into the boat, grabbing out a yellow, rubber square, and then they were lifted off solid ground in a white, wall of water, and Buffy gripped Spike tightly as they were plunged over the side.

Spike felt water pressing down on him on all sides, and a solid body pressed against his, Buffy clinging to him still.

They were swept along, spinning beneath water, and Spike felt Buffy being ripped from him, and he shouted, water filling his mouth as he caught sight Buffy's horrifed face before it disappeared in the blackness.

Spike surfaced, spitting out water. He was still holding the rubber square he had removed from the boat before being swept off, and he struggled to pull the stopper on it as he was tossed by the waves.

There was a hiss, and then the rubber unfolded, inflating automatically into a life-raft, and he climbed over the side of it with some difficulty. He looked around, vamping out to see in the darkness, but was unable to see the cruise ship.

He tensed as he saw what looked like a pile of clothes floating by, and he plunged back into the water, swimming after them.

He grabbed them, and Buffy's head came above the water, her face pale and her lips blue. She wasn't breathing.

Spike swore, backstroking back towards the life boat and flipped her over the side before climbing in beside her. The rain drove into his back as he bent over her, lifting her up and bending her over his knees as he began to pound on her back as hard as he could.

"Come on, Slayer...spit it out...come on!" He snapped at her, and he breathed an unnecessary sigh of relief as she puked up what must have been a gallon of water, breath hitching in her chest and making her whole body shake.

She started to sob, and Spike gathered her onto his lap, holding her as she cried, his eyes searching the empty ocean for any sign of the ship. As they were lifted up on a huge wave, he saw a pale, white shape disappearing beneath the waves and he closed his eyes. Oh...Christ...Dru...

The storm disappated before dawn, leaving the two blonds shaken, wet, but otherwise unharmed. Buffy kept looking around, searching for the ship, and Spike lay dejectedly on the bottom of the raft, having neither the heart nor the spirit to tell her it was gone...for good.

Buffy finally settled back down beside him, "They'll find us, right? Once the sun comes up?" She asked, and Spike barely looked at her, "Probably not, pet...and even if they were looking...they'd only find you."

"What?" Buffy frowned, and then her eyes widened in realization. Dawn was coming, and the storm clouds were leaving. "Oh God..."

"Yeah...right...like he cares..." Spike muttered, throwing an arm over his eyes, trying to still his thoughts...but they still screamed 'Dru's dead...you let her die.'

She never had a chance...

Buffy looked around the empty lifeboat, nearly panicking again, but she forced herself to remain calm as she looked down at her clothes. "We can cover you with your jacket and my clothes...and I can keep on soaking them to keep you from bursting into flames...but you might get a bad sunburn in the process..."

Spike lifted his arm, frowning, "Why would you want to do that?"

"I don't know how long I'm going to be on this thing..." She muttered, "I don't want to be alone..."

Spike nodded, glancing up towards the sky as it started to lighten and laid down, curling into a ball, pulling his duster around him as Buffy stripped, covering any exposed skin with her clothes. She reached out into the water and began to wet him down, "Comfy?"

"I'm bloody sodden...starving...and my girlfriend is dead...yeah...I'm just peachy!" Spike snapped irritably, and Buffy sat down, staring at the bundle of clothes that was Spike, "Dead?"

"Fuck..." Spike inhaled deeply, "Sorry, Slayer...I saw the...the ship went down...the wave must've capsized it..."

"But...my...my daddy..." Buffy shook her head, "You're wrong...they're not dead..."

"Pet...the ship's gone...and probably everybody on it..." Spike sighed deeply, "They're not going to be coming for us, cause they don't know I'm on the ship, and they will probably think you went down with it...no one's coming for us..."

Buffy lapsed into silence as Spike did, and the only indication of her presence was her scent, and the water dripping on him at periodic intervals.

Soon, though, he heard muffled sobs, and he closed his eyes, unable to do anything about them, trying to concentrate on something other then his very human shipmate, his growing hunger...and the tingling of his skin, despite his rudimentry cover.

Darkness fell eventually, and Buffy pulled on her wet clothes, her skin flaring red from the sun. It had been unbearably hot, but she was a Slayer...she could deal with sunburn. Spike was a unhealthy pink himself, and he winced as he took off his shirt, whinging out the water, glancing at Buffy, who's eyes were red and puffy. "Try not to stare at the water too much, luv...it could make you go blind."

"What?"

"Reflection of the sun off the water," He told her, "Kinda like snowblindness...but with water."

"Oh..." The two mortal enemies fell into silence, both staring in opposite directions. "The boat's really gone?" She asked softly, and Spike nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, luv...but it's gone."

Buffy glanced at him, "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Save me? When Dru was still there...?"

Spike scowled at her, crossing his arms over his bare chest, "Don't get any ideas, Slayer...I was saving myself...you just wouldn't let go of me..."

Buffy looked down at her feet, chagrined, and Spike sighed, "Sorry. I don't know...I was panicked...wasn't thinking...I just ran."

"Thank you," She said softly, looking up at him, "For whatever the reason...thanks for saving my life."

"Welcome," Spike said gruffly, looking out over the moonlit ocean, "Fuck...I'm hungry..."

"So am I...ohhh!" Buffy looked up at him sharply, scooting back in the boat.

Spike sighed, shaking his head slightly, "Not going to eat you, Slayer..."

"Yeah, till you get really hungry...God knows how long we're going to be on here..."

"I'm not going to eat you, Slayer...if I did, I'll just die before the sun rises with no one to keep the clothes wet."

Buffy eyed him warily, "But...but you have no control..."

"I have plenty of control, Slayer," Spike told her, "I went two weeks without eating once...if I need too, I'll do it again...I'll be rotting away, literally...but I can do it."

"Do we have anything?" She asked suddenly, "Flares or something?"

"Nope, no flares," Spike said, going with the subject change for the sake of simplicity. He knew the feeding thing worried her, since she was without arms, and they were stuck on a tiny boat. "I should've grabbed something else as well...but there wasn't enough time..."

"I'm sorry about Dru," Buffy said softly, "I know it hurts..."

Spike didn't answer her as he leaned his head against the side of the raft, closing his eyes, "I'm going to get some sleep, pet...baking slowly isn't really conducive to napping..."

"Spike...the human body can go a week without water..." She told him softly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "If...if we're still on the boat then...can you do what you promised?"

Spike opened his eyes, frowning slowly, "What did I promise?"

"To make it quick...at the school...you said you would make it painless..."

"Luv..."

"Please?" Buffy begged, though he had said before she wasn't the begging type, "I want to die like a Slayer...even if I'm in the middle of nowhere..."

Spike contemplated her in silence before he nodded slowly, balling up his duster to make a pillow, gesturing for her to lie down. The two stretched out along the small boat, and Buffy pillowed her head on his chest, and he could feel her body shaking with cold. He took out the duster, spreading it over them. "Try to wake up before dawn, luv...don't want to be fried," He told her, and Buffy smiled, closing her eyes.

"Kay."

Spike glanced down at her as her breathing evened out, then lay his head back again, staring up at the clear, night sky, the stars a million pinpoints of light above them.

I'm naming all the stars...

You can't see the stars. That's the ceiling, pet...plus it's day.

He closed his eyes, tears slipping out from beneath the pale lids. I'm sorry, Dru...oh God, pet...I'm so sorry.

Three days passed in the lifeboat thus. The two remaining silent during the day, both too hot and too hungry to talk, and falling into fitful sleep at night in each other's arms after talking for a little while.

Spike felt the call of the bloodlust intently, but he refused to give into it, though the temptation to reach out and grab Buffy by the throat and drain her dry was overwhelming. Only his demon's sense of self-presveration kept him from doing so.

They were both sunburned to a rosy red, and whenever one of them moved, it was accompained by hisses of pain.

Buffy's entire body felt dried out and she had a severe case of cotton mouth as her body water was sweated and drained from her by the hot sun.

Spike's face was gaunt, his cheekbones more prominent then usual as his face sunk in, and his gums seemed to have gone white as they drew away from his teeth.

On the fourth day, Buffy looked up at Spike as he sat up, shedding the clothes and handing hers to her, both not seeming to care that she was dressed only in bra and underwear. Any interest that might have provoked in Spike was driven away by hunger.

"Tomorrow, Spike...if we don't get rescued...tomorrow you can do it..."

Spike looked at her in horror, and she smiled wanly, barely able to sit up, her body frightfully thin. She was weak.

"No..."

"Please, Spike...I won't make another day...please?"

He nodded slowly as he laid down, and she lay against him, her breathing shallow and laboured. He tilted her chin up so that he could stare down into her face, her eyes without life, and he brushed his dry, cracked lips against hers, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep, as she did the same.

The small boat brushed against a reef, nearly being tossed to the side, but neither occupant seemed to notice.

But when it struck solid ground, it jolted him awake, and Spike sat up with great effort, looking around. Land..."Land..." He muttered softly, "Land...we're...on...land..."

He tried to climb out of the boat, only to trip and land in the sand, and he rolled onto his back, digging his hands into the damp sand.

"Land...Slayer...it's...LAND!" he crowed the last word as loud as he could, sitting up. He saw Buffy lying in the bottom of the boat, not moving, and he reached into her, to feel her heart still beating, but it wasn't as strong as it should be, and he couldn't shake her awake.

He forced himself to his feet, steeling himself as he looked up and down the beach, then towards the jungle in front of him. He could hear things moving around in the thick underbrush...live things...

He looked down at Buffy before dragging the boat further on the shore, so it wouldn't float away, and he brushed her hair out of her face, "Be right back, pet...promise..." He told her, quelching his blood lust as he allowed himself to vamp out and he shuffled into the jungle with a purpose.

Buffy felt something drippling on her face...cool and refreshing and she forced her eyes open to see Spike, his face smeared with blood, grinning down at her.

She jolted in shock, but Spike touched her shoulder reassuringly, "Not yours, pet...I went hunting..."

"What?" She muttered weakly, "Hunting?"

"Land, Slayer..." He grinned so wide, it looked like his face would split in two, dropping a handful of sand near her leg. He lifted up his shirt and held it over her face, wringing it out, and Buffy opened her mouth as fresh water dripped into it, her eyes closing in pure pleasure.

Spike was still a bit weak, but he was feeling much better as he lifted her out of the boat and carried her up the beach, "There's a cave nearby...there's a spring flowing through it...fresh water..." He told her, "I found it when I was chasing the monkey..."

"What? You caught a monkey?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her, and he shook his head.

"It was a pain in the ass in my state...but I managed to get the bastard by stunning him with a rock."

Buffy nodded, closing her eyes as he went into the jungle, tripping on a few tree branches in the process. After about ten minutes, Buffy saw the dark opening of the cave and Spike ducked in the low opening and sat her down near the spring.

Buffy leaned over and began to hungrily drink it up, relishing the taste and coldness of it, and protested as Spike grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her back. "You have to slow down, pet...you drink too much, too fast, you'll just vomit it all back up again...won't do you any good..."

Buffy nodded, leaning back against the cool stone of the wall as Spike straightened, "I'll be right back...I'm going to pull the boat up farther on the beach...I don't want the tide to come in and take it away."

Buffy nodded again as Spike turned and trotted out, closing her eyes. They immediately shot open when she heard things moving in the trees, and she curled her knees up to her chin, staring outside.

After what seemed like forever, Spike returned and he collapsed next to her with a sigh before removing his duster and spreading it out on the ground, "Try to get some sleep, pet," He told her, "I'll watch till dawn, and then it's my turn."

"Okay," She said, lying out on the duster, shifting to get comfortable with no avail. Spike rolled his eyes as he stretched out his legs, and Buffy scooted up next to him, resting her head on his thigh before closing her eyes. "Night, Spike..."

"Night, Slayer..."

When Buffy woke up, it was well past dawn, and Spike was still awake, staring down at her. "I thought you needed your rest," He told her softly as she sat up.

She thanked the powers for Slaying healing, feeling much better as she drank from the spring, relishing the feel of the cold water hitting her stomach. She stretched out her slightly sore body, standing, "I'm hungry..."

Spike smiled, lifting something from beside him, "Mangoes...found them last night. Thought you'd be starving when you woke up..."

Buffy took it, using her chipped nails to peel away the skin of the plump, juicy fruit, and sinking her teeth into it. She ate ravenously, then smiled when Spike handed her another one, eating that one as well. She washed her sticky face and hands in the spring before going to sit near Spike again.

She leaned her head against his shoulder, "You ate a monkey?" She asked, "What kind?"

"I don't know...monkey shaped..." Spike shrugged, "It was dark, and I doubted you would have appreciated me bringing it back to the cave."

"Poor monkey..."

"You'd rather I eat you?" Spike asked, and Buffy grimaced at him, and he chuckled, "So be quiet about the damned monkey."

Buffy nodded, looking out towards the cave opening, "What are we going to do?"

"Once night falls...we'll scout the island together. See what's here. Maybe if we're luckily, we landed near a resort or something."

"You think?"

"Who knows?" Spike replied, "We may have landed on real land, not an island..." he shifted uncomfortably all of a sudden, "I was thinking last night...we may have gotten blown off course...I reckon...that we might have drifted at least a couple hundred miles off the ship's course...and that's an optimistic view..."

Buffy sat up to look at him, "What do you mean?"

"That if they even look for us...they might be looking closer to where the ship sank, pet. If we don't find life on this place...we're probably not getting off..."

Buffy shuddered, rubbing her arms as if cold, "Not getting off?"

Spike inwardly swore at the sight of her dejected face. He should have kept his stupid mouth shut...but it wasn't healthy to harbour false delusions. Not if they wanted to survive.

"Sorry, pet...but it's reality. You have to face that."

"Kay," Buffy nodded slowly, and he was almost proud to see her expression steel itself, "Right...we can do this. I faced vampires and demons...this should be no problem."

Spike smiled at her, then lay out on the ground, "If you go out exploring, be careful...if you get hurt, I can't help."

"Okay...I think I'll go down to the beach and scout around...maybe see if we're at least near a shipping lane."

Spike nodded, feeling proud of her once more as Buffy stood, "I'm going to see if I can find some food too. I can't survive on just mangoes."

"With me hunting, you won't have to worry about red meat," He assured her, "As long as there's an abudence on monkeys..."

Buffy grimaced, "I am not eating monkey meat."

"Just watch, pet...after a few months, you won't be so picky," Spike said as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. "Be careful."

Buffy stood, heading towards the opening, then glanced over her shoulder at the blond who had already fallen asleep, "Thanks," She said softly before going out into the sunlight.

Buffy walked along the beach, the sound of the waves filling her eardrums. God had to be laughing at her...really, he did. Of all the people to shipwreck her on an island with...it had to be Spike.

However, at the moment, he didn't seem inclined to kill her or hurt her...but then again, she wasn't exactly fashioning a stake. He probably feared what she did. Bad enough to be shipwrecked on a deserted island with your mortal enemy...but it was a million times worse to be alone. Fights, disagreements and hostility, she could face...but the prospect of being alone was even more frightening.

Buffy stopped every once in a while to pick up things that were on the sand, things that appeared to have come from the ship. Pieces of steel, a piece of bent railing, and some clothes. She pulled some pieces of thin steel up on the beach, setting it aside in case it could be useful and gathered the clothes as well. They would really come in handy. She wasn't looking forward to wearing the same outfit for god knew how long.

As far as she could tell, there were several reefs a mile or so from the island, and probably more out farther, making it difficult for ships to come in close to shore. There was a large stone face about six miles ahead of her, reaching out into the ocean, and she could hear the roar of waves as they struck the face, being sucked into a cave near the bottom of it. She and Spike should go up there later to look out over the island, if they were on one, but she was pretty sure that was what it was.

Jungle ran along the beach and farther inland, and she could hear all sorts of animals in the trees, which meant that there was food for Spike, as well as for her. Which was a relief in itself.

She found some more mangoes and had lunch near the water before going swimming for a little while and she opened up her eyes underwater to see all sorts of brightly colored fish swimming around a reef. She made note of that before returning to shore and pulling back on her clothes.

She went to glance at her watch, sighing when she saw it was waterlogged, and was about to toss it aside when she decided against it, slipping it into her pocket. Her father had given it to her for her last birthday.

After a few more hours, she headed back towards the cave to see that Spike was awake, and looking worriedly towards the entrance, but he turned his face away, "What'd you find, Slayer?"

"Buncha stuff," She deposited the clothes and mangoes on the ground, "Found some clothes, and some pieces of steel from the ship...I figure we can use them for something."

"Good idea. When the tide comes up, we'll walk along the beach again and salvage what we can."

Buffy smiled, sitting down to eat another mango, looking at the vampire as he stretched out his back, wincing as it cracked, "Could you not do that?"

"What'd you see?" He asked, ignoring her as he reached his arms over his head, cracking his back again, "I didn't have a chance to explore last night."

"Beach, trees...beach...and more trees."

"Bloody great..."

Buffy sighed, sitting down, "From what I can tell, there's a lot of animals in the trees, and there's fish too...but I don't think they're gonna do you any good."

"No...fish don't have real blood," Spike said, glancing around at the cave, "And I don't think either of us want to spend too much time in here, so we should start looking to make shelter that'll work for me...better it's along the beach too, so we can watch for ships."

"Okay..."

"And we should try to find more water...I don't know if that spring will dry up during a certain time of year or something. Better safe then sorry..."

"Okay..."

Spike continued to talk more to himself then her, and Buffy smiled in amusement, washing herself off in the spring before rinsing out the clothes she had salvaged from the beach. He was using her as a sounding board, not really expecting an answer.

Finally, night fell, and they were able to go outside. Along the beach, they pulled more pieces of steel up from the waterline and they headed towards the rock face. Spike looked up at the sheer face, then glanced at Buffy, "Should we go around?"

"Yeah...I'm thinking we should..."

The pair walked along the edge of the jungle, finally finding a navigable way up the rock face. They came to the top and exchanged a look. The island was about ten miles long and twenty miles wide, but they could see water surrounding everything. "Great...still think we'll find that resort?"

Spike shook his head. It was nothing but beach and jungle. "We'll start building shelter tomorrow night," Spike said softly, starting down and Buffy sighed deeply, looking around once more before following.

They continued to explore the island, and near dawn, they found a break in the trees along the beach, about six miles down from the rock face. When they went into the trees, they found a huge waterfall, bubbling over into a large pool of fresh water that ran into a small river that meandered inland. And nearby was another cave, a bit larger then the one they had been staying in before.

Spike and Buffy exchanged a look and both grinned before they started to strip down to their underwear and they plunged into the fresh water.

It felt good to wash the salt, sand and grime off their bodies. After a while, Spike retreated into the cave as Buffy went back to the other one to grab their things and transfer them to their new shelter. And then they both fell asleep to the sound of animals moving in the early dawn, and water rushing over rocks.

The next night was spent in gathering more debris from the ship wreck, mostly clothes and even a few suitcases. They also took the pieces of steel they had salvaged to the beach near the waterfall and cave.

Spike looked over what they had, frowning in thought, "We'll use the steel for the roof...for sun protection, it should work...but how the hell are we going to make the frame?"

"Spike...we're surrounding by jungle..." Buffy said sarcastically, "You're not seeing the forest for the trees...and oh my God...I just used a Giles colliquism."

"I can't believe you used the word colliquism in a sentence...and used it rightly," Spike teased, and Buffy rolled her eyes. "There's the issue of cutting them down, Slayer. Unless one of us remembered to bring an ax on our vacation."

"Actually, I did...but it's on the boat."

Spike shook his head, "Only you would bring weapons on a cruise ship."

"Hey, I learned a long time ago that nothing goes right for me...I just jumped to the conclusion that it'd be demons or vamps or something...I wasn't thinking about acts of nature."

Spike sighed, going towards the waterfall again, and he fished among the creek till he found a rock that was wedged-shape. He sat down in the sand with another rock and began striking it against the side of it, attempting to sharpen it. Buffy saw what he was doing and got her own rocks, beginning to make her own.

"Why do I feel like a cave-Slayer?" She asked as they worked, and Spike chuckled.

"Next problem...bloody making fire from mangos and rocks."

"Oh...great..."

Spike watched as Buffy came into the cave, carrying a coke can she had found a bunch of little pebbles.

"Spike...how long do you think we were on the boat?"

"About four days...why?"

"Okay...and we've been on the island for at least a week and a half..." Buffy dropped 15 pebbles into the can, glancing at him, "Calendar...don't say Coca-Cola never did anything for you."

Spike shook his head, turning his attention back to the pile of sticks lying in front of him and began to strike rock against rock, trying to get them to spark.

He gave out a shout when a spark shot into the dry sticks and they began to smoke and he leaned down to blow on them.

They finally burst into flames, and Spike grinned at Buffy, proudly pounding on his bare chest, "Me make fire for Jane."

"Great, Tarzan...too bad you ate Cheetah. We coulda partied."

Month One

Home

The cords in Spike's back stood out as he held down the last piece of steel on top of their shelter, and Buffy pounded it into shape before lashing it into place with the ropes she and Spike had braided with vines. Instead of using trees like they had discussed before, Spike had managed to find a few stands of thick bamboo, and it was much easier to lash them together, since they had no nails. The roof of the hut rose into a small peak to insure that water would run off it, and the steel had been tied down to prevent sun exposure.

She hopped off the roof, with Spike in tow, and they exchanged a proud look. They had built the bungalow style home with their own two hands. It was simple, really. One large room, with two beds that were really pallets, with the clothes they had salvaged laid out across them, as well as broad, soft leaves from a grove of trees they had found farther down the river.

They would make rudimentry furniture as they went along, but for now, it was home.

Buffy laughed before running into it and flopping down on top of 'her' bed. "Finally! No more cave!" She exclaimed. She could have moved into it before, but she didn't really want to leave Spike all in the cave by himself before they finished covering the roof.

"Thank God..." Buffy sent him a look, and Spike grinned sheepishly, "Not that I believe in him or nuthin..."

"Uhuh," Buffy sighed, getting up again, "Let's finish moving everything from the cave into here before daybreak," She ordered, and Spike rolled his eyes as they went to do just that.

Buffy sat her coke can down on a wobbly piece steel on a pillar of rocks that was acting as a table, dropping another pebble in as day broke.

Spike looked around worriedly as the sun rose, looking for any chinks that let sunlight in, and Buffy hurried to pack those in with mud till no more light was showing, and finally, exhausted, they each collapsed into their own beds, not having to use each other as pillows anymore.

Neither fell asleep for a good while.