Title: The Portal Series (in 3 parts) 1/3
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Buffy and Giles take an unexpected trip
Spoilers: Up to mid-season 7
Disclaimer: No permission has been granted to use the characters. They are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB, and Mutant Enemy. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Gilligan’s Island, Star Trek and Gunsmoke are also owned by a multitude of other people and corporations. None of the characters belong to me. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.

The portal had appeared out of nowhere, its edges glowing white and its center an opaque swirling mass. Buffy and Giles had been out on a simple patrol to try and smooth things over between them after Giles’ failed attempt to assassinate the vampire, Spike. Buffy was furious with him, but had finally calmed down long enough to listen to him. Figuring that their conversation had every potential to be loud and vocal, they had opted to take it on patrol.

“I don’t understand your fascination with vampires, Buffy. You know what Spike is—he’s tried to kill you often enough. Now he has a soul—well, so bloody what? Angel had a soul and we all saw how firmly that was anchored to him, didn’t we? With the evil of the First rising, you can’t take the chance that he won’t turn on you. You haven’t the right to put everyone at risk for a monster.”

Buffy bit her lip. Everything the Watcher said was true—that’s why it hurt so much. “Would you be satisfied if I sent him away? If I sent him to Angel till this is over?”

Rupert sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. “It’s not my ideal solution, but I’ll take it. I don’t want to see you hurt, Buffy. You know that. You know I care for you and it hurts me to see you in love with another vampire. If you really can’t bear for him to find his eternal rest, then I suppose I must be satisfied if you send him away. But make it clear that he is not to return. If he comes back and I have the opportunity, I will finish him myself.” He was resolute.

Buffy looked down at the ground then back at the man beside her. He had been her teacher, her partner, her friend, and her betrayer. They had saved each other’s lives so many times that they had long ago lost track. She loved him fiercely with feelings that were complicated and inexplicable. He was hers and she was his and that was simply the way of things. You couldn’t throw out seven years of the kind of sharing they had done, not over one argument, one deed, one anything. She knew she would ultimately forgive him, she had to. She needed this man like she needed no other on earth, even Spike.

“I’m not in love with Spike. I know it looks suspicious, but I don’t love him—not like that. Not man to woman love. He and I share something—it’s dark but its very real, Giles. He’s not my friend, and he has betrayed me over and over, but we are still bound together. He’s important somehow. I know this: the Slayer knows this.” She corrected herself.

He stopped flat-footed and looked at her. “What on earth are you talking about?”

Just then, the portal appeared about two yards in front of them. Their conversation, though not forgotten was dropped temporarily to investigate the strange glowing window.

“What do you think it is?” She asked him.

“Well, obviously some sort of portal. I have no information beyond that.” He told her, studying the hole in reality very carefully.

“What are we going to do about it?” Buffy wondered. “We can’t just leave it here and hope nobody falls into it.”

“No, you’re correct about that. Why don’t you go fetch Willow whilst I keep an eye on it?” He told her.

“No way! We are in the middle of a cemetery in Sunnydale. If I left you out here by yourself, you’d get eaten in about ten minutes. We both go together and just hope nobody sees it. Or comes out of it.” She added thoughtfully.

He turned to argue with her and spotted a pack of ten, possibly more, vampires running at them. He and Buffy were armed only with stakes this evening since things had been quiet lately. Thinking quickly he grabbed her around the waist and jumped through the portal hoping that they wouldn’t immediately be fried in boiling lava or some such thing. Rather to his surprise, they tumbled through the mystical gate onto a sandy beach surrounded on three sides by jungle. He looked up in time to see the portal disappear. Buffy turned around and saw it pop out of existence at the same moment.

“Well, damn.” She told him. “Where do you think we are?”

He looked around. “This appears to be some sort of tropical location. I would suspect we are either on a sea coast or an island.” He pointed to the ocean frothing busily outside the perimeter of the small tranquil lagoon.

Buffy looked around. “You know, there’s something familiar about this place. I can’t figure it out.”

Turning around in a circle, he spotted a well-worn path through the heavy vegetation. “Look, a path.” He examined it more closely. “Someone wearing deck shoes has passed this way frequently. Look at the tread marks from the soles.” He pointed out the marks in the soft soil.

“So, people.” She said. “That can be a good thing, right?”

“I suppose so.” He said. “At least we have some hope of getting food and shelter before night falls.”

“Hey! It was night when we were at home, how come it’s early evening here?” She wondered.

“Buffy we jumped through a mystical portal. Things aren’t necessarily what they seem to be.”

She rolled her eyes but indicated that they should walk down the path. She found a stick and carefully pushed back overhanging fronds keeping her eyes peeled for snakes and bugs. “You know this place is probably crawling with giant insects.” She told him with a shudder of disgust. “I hate bugs.”

He chuckled. “I don’t see how you can fight the things you do on a nightly basis and still feel squeamish over a few insects.”

“Demons don’t try to crawl through my hair.” She paused for a moment and reconsidered. “Generally.”

Soon, they reached a clearing. A small group of people were seated at a long table, eating. Buffy gazed at them closely. They resembled…oh crap! She thought. Quickly grabbing Giles hand she pulled him back into the brush. “I know where we are. I know who those people are. You’re not going to believe this, but I think we’ve fallen into an episode of Gilligan’s Island.”

“What? What’s that?” He asked blankly.

“Pop culture reference, Giles. It was a TV show from a kazillion years ago. Seven people stranded on a deserted island.” She gave him a quick run down of the plot. “The Professor was really smart—if we tell him we fell through a dimensional portal, he might be able to help us. Or,” she paused, “they might think we are total nut jobs. Let’s play this by ear.”

“How can you be sure that your hypothesis is correct, Buffy?” He whispered.

“I watched that show for years, Giles. It’s still in reruns on cable. Watch out for the skinny little guy though. He’s a total screw-up. On the show, these people tried for like twenty years to get rescued and he messed it up, every time.”

“Are they dangerous?” He asked her.

“Nah, only through their own stupidity. Gilligan, the skinny guy might hit you with a plank, but it would be accidental. The rest of them are just people. There’s Ginger the movie star, and Mary-Anne the farm girl from Kansas. Gilligan was the first mate of their ship and the Skipper, that’s the chubby guy, was the captain. The others are the Professor, that would be the guy with his shirtsleeves rolled up, and the other two are the millionaire, Thurston Howell the Third and his wife, Lovey.” She studied them. “I think we should pretend we got stranded here with out knowing how and not say anything about a portal till we can talk to the Professor alone.”

Giles nodded. They stepped out onto the path again and stumbled into camp. Gilligan was the first to spot them. “Hey! People!” He said pointing to the travelers.

The group leaped up from the table and ran over to the weary pair. Questions rained down on them, fast and furious. Buffy fielded the questions as best she could and fought down a surge of guilt that she and Giles weren’t here to rescue the castaways. When things settled down a bit, everybody went back to the table and introduced themselves. Buffy was correct. They were definitely on Gilligan’s Island. She smiled when it was her turn to speak.

“Um, I’m Buffy Summers and this is my…friend, Rupert Giles. We don’t know how we got here. One minute we were walking along at home in California and the next we were stumbling around on the beach.”

The Professor furrowed his brow. “Interesting. Did you see any bright lights or other unnatural phenomena prior you your transference?”

Giles stepped forward. “Actually, there was some sort of glowing doorway. We fell through it.” He ignored Buffy’s glare.

The Professor frowned thoughtfully. He looked at their strange clothes and wondered. “Hmmm. Tell me more. Where exactly are you from again?” He took Giles aside and the two men began to exchange information, leaving Buffy and the other six castaways to get to know each other.

Buffy smiled tentatively at them. The Skipper puffed out his chest. “Well, little lady, why don’t you sit down and tell an old salt all about yourself,” he suggested with a slight leer.

She was feeling creeped out enough by this whole adventure and really didn’t want the Skipper hitting on her, but couldn’t see any way of graciously getting out of talking to him.

“Um, not much to tell, really. I come from LA, but seven years ago, my folks got divorced and my mom, my little sister and I moved to a town called Sunnydale. I started high school there and met Giles when I was sixteen. We’ve been together ever since.” She said, implying a relationship that wasn’t entirely platonic, hoping to kill the big man’s obvious interest in her.

Each member of the small group exchanged a short biographical sketch of their lives. Buffy was freaked. This must be a universe where TV characters were real. She wondered if the Slayer and the Watcher were just fictional constructs in this world. They plied her with food and drink. She hid a grimace at the coconut cream pie that Mary-Anne set before her. It tasted decidedly odd. Mary-Anne saw her expression and interpreted it correctly.

“I used turtle eggs in the pie.” She told Buffy.

Buffy smiled sickly. ‘Turtle eggs. Oh my God!’ She thought with a mental retch.

Eventually, Giles and the Professor wandered back to the main group. Buffy pushed her piece of pie at Giles with a sly grin that he missed. He sat next to Buffy and casually took her hand, having sized up the Skipper’s amorous intent. He took a bite of the pie without thinking. Buffy saw his face change as the taste hit home. “Er, how unusual.” He gasped as he finally choked down the bite of pie he had put in his mouth.

“Yeah, Giles.” Buffy said, barely containing her laughter. “Mary-Anne says it’s made with turtle eggs.”

“Ah.” The former librarian smiled but carefully pushed the pie aside. “Um, perhaps later.” He looked at the Skipper. “I say. I hate to impose upon you, but do you suppose we might find a place to stay tonight?” Giles asked.

Mary-Anne spoke. “Well, Buffy can sleep with Ginger and I and you, Mr. Giles, can stay with Gilligan and the Skipper.”

Giles cleared his throat. He didn’t want to be separated from Buffy. It simply wasn’t safe. “Er, thank you, but Buffy and I stay together, always.” He said firmly.

There was a moment’s silence as the group assimilated the knowledge that this forty-something-year-old man was sleeping with a girl young enough to be his daughter and that they weren’t married to each other. It was a toss-up as to which idea they found more disturbing.

Ginger, who had had her eye on Giles, pouted sulkily. “Oh, I was hoping to show you around the island, Rupert.” She purred suggestively.

Giles looked alarmed. He wasn’t used to women hitting on him quite so blatantly. “I’m sure that Buffy and I would enjoy that very much when we’ve rested a bit.” He told her, slipping an arm around his Slayer for his own safety.

She rolled her eyes and bid them good night. “I need my beauty sleep.” She told him with a sultry look.

Buffy leaned into Giles’ embrace, disturbed that the red-haired actress was coming on to him. “Do you have a spare hut we can use till we can figure out how to get home?” She asked the Professor. She hoped he was less libido-driven than the Skipper, but she caught him eyeing her form-fitting tank top with interest. Eeeee!

They were given the supply hut and the one spare hammock. As soon as they were alone, Giles offered to sleep on the ground.

“No way. This thing can hold both of us and I don’t trust those guys as far as I can throw them. We need to play up the lover act in front of them because I’m thinking they aren’t buying it yet.”

He nodded in the semi-darkness of the hut. “I agree.” They climbed carefully into the rope bed and though they tried to hold their bodies apart, the sway forced them tightly together.

He gave up trying for decorum and simply wrapped his arms around her. “As long as we find ourselves in this rather intimate situation, perhaps we should lay down some ground rules.

“For when we are with the others, you mean? She queried.

“Yes.” He said dryly. “The men seem to be highly attracted to you.”

“Yeah, like that skank Ginger didn’t totally want to jump your bones.”

“And you think that makes her a ‘skank’.” He said sourly.

“No, not that—anybody can see you’re an attractive man. It’s the fact that she made her move on you after we had made it plain that we were together.” Buffy told him.

“You see me as an attractive man? What brought that on?” He was entirely skeptical.

“It’s not like I hadn’t noticed.” Buffy told him somewhat shyly. “You and I were getting closer that last year, before Glory and after Riley. I know we were. It’s just that neither of us could figure out how to make the move from friends to well, better friends. Then you left and things rolled down hill faster than a keg of nails.”

“I did what I thought was best. I simply couldn’t stay and watch you deteriorate any farther. I, I cared about you too much by that time.” He cleared his throat. “Travers saw how strong my feelings had become for you by your eighteenth birthday. Of course he was a total bastard and messed things up enormously.”

“So, I’m guessing that your feelings weren’t totally parental?” She asked him.

“Hardly. But I’m twenty-two years older than you. It wasn’t seemly or proper that I make you aware of my feelings.” He sounded gruff.

Buffy placed her head against his chest. “So, any of those non-fatherly feelings still left?”

“Worse than ever, I’m afraid.” He told her. “I went to England thinking distance might help.” He snorted in derision. “All I did was miss you even more.”

“Well, you still have your feelings and I still have mine. Why don’t you kiss me and we see how it feels?” She told him.

He tipped his head back to look down at her before gently lowering his lips to hers. Their first kiss was powerful but brief. The second and third kisses were better. When they finally pulled slightly back from each other, they were gasping. “If you’d have kissed me like this when I was sixteen, I’d never have looked at Angel.” She told him.

“So it wasn’t gross?” he said tentatively.

“Not hardly.” She chuckled. “Geez, can’t you tell when a girl is blazing with jealously, Gi, Rupert? I was so mad at Olivia, it’s a wonder I didn’t spontaneously combust.”

He chuckled and hugged her tightly. “I do love you Buffy and when we get out of this latest mess, I’d like a chance to show you.”

She stroked her hand along his cheek. “I’ll give you your chance, Rupert.”

They talked softly for another hour before drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms. The sun rose and found them deeply asleep. The Skipper, hoping against hope to catch them sleeping separately knocked loudly on the hut door before throwing it open and booming in a jovial voice that breakfast was ready.

He was disappointed to see the couple closely enmeshed in the hammock. The blonde girl was a dish and as a sailor he had a vast appreciation for beautiful women. He wondered if he should try his luck and maybe edge the large Brit out of the running. He smiled craftily. No Brit was ever a match for an American man of the sea, he thought proudly. He’d give it a try.

Buffy and Giles sauntered into the clearing still looking sleepy and rumpled. “You two look like you didn’t get much sleep last night.” Mary-Anne said perkily. Her comment dropped into a well of embarrassed silence as the group assimilated the possible reasons for their tiredness.

“There seems to be a time difference from where we come from.” Giles finally said. He helped Buffy onto one of the rustic-looking benches and then sat next to her.

She was craving coffee or tea or pretty much any form of caffeine and God help the person who blocked her path to it, Buffy thought. “Caffeine?” She murmured hopefully.

The Professor looked up with a smile. “I’ve been experimenting with some of the native plants on the island.” He handed her a cup of steaming green liquid. “Try this. It’s not coffee, but it does have caffeine.”

Buffy sipped the brew cautiously. She nodded. “Not as bad as some of the stuff Rupert drinks.” She told the man. “Tea shouldn’t taste smoky.” Referring to his preference for Lapsang Souchong tea.

Giles leaned over and squeezed her tightly. “Buffy took a lot of persuading to even try tea, but after seven years, she finally converted.” He dropped a kiss on her hair.

“How did you guys meet?” Gilligan asked, oblivious.

“I was the librarian at Buffy’s high school. She started there in mid-term her sophomore year. We became good friends.” He grinned down at the girl he loved.

“Yeah.” Buffy said softly. “We’ve been friends for a long time now.” She looked at the gangly youth. “Giles is my life.”

“As you are mine, love.” He told her softly.

The Skipper grunted softly seeing his plans for the attractive blonde slip away. Oh, well. When Ginger saw that the Brit wasn’t interested, she’d come back to him.

The Professor ignored the byplay. His brain had been going at ninety miles an hour since their appearance and he wanted more facts. “Tell me about this portal.” He demanded.

Giles explained once again what it had looked like. The Professor rubbed his chin. “Hmmm, a trans-dimensional space-time fluctuation. Unusual.”

Buffy and Giles exchanged wry glances. “We don’t know how it opened or how to get it back and I want to go home.” Buffy told the former educator.

“There is a theory that speculates that the universe is multi-dimensional, but I’ve never heard of a case where a doorway to another reality opened up before.” The Professor speculated.

“I have.” Giles told him.

“Me too.” Buffy said with a sigh. “Actually, where we come from, this sort of thing happens more frequently than most people know. Where do you think demons come from?” She shrugged.

“Demons?” The Professor didn’t squeak, but it was close.

“Our world is older than you know.” Giles told him. “And contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at Giles pedantry. “He loves this part.” She told the Professor in an aside.

Giles pinched her ear and continued. “It was ruled by demons who made it their Hell—then they began losing power and the way was cleared for mortal man. Ever since, it has been a battle to keep man in supremacy. There is one girl in all the world called upon to fight the forces of darkness, the vampires, demons, and other creatures of darkness. She alone has the speed, strength, and skill to defeat them. She is the Slayer.”

The Professor looked at them blankly. “That’s just a TV show.” He was rapidly revising his views of their sanity.

“Not in our world. In our world, Buffy is the Slayer for her generation.” Giles spoke proudly. “She has prevented the apocalypse more times than I can count.”

They discussed the possible ramifications of everything they had discovered from every conceivable angle. Buffy was bored and got up to help Ginger and Mary-Anne do some camp chores. Gilligan and the Skipper had gone off to do some fishing and the Howells were content to lie around in the shade on their bamboo lounge chairs and sip fermented fruit juice.

Buffy helped them wash the breakfast dishes and chatted with the women as they worked. “So, answer an age-old question for me, you guys.” Buffy said. “Just what exactly do you use for birth control?”

Mary-Anne blushed. “The Professor came up with a plant that works very effectively. We crush it, boil the juices and drink it three times a week.”

Ginger nodded. “We’ve been stuck on this island for over two years. There’s no way I was going to get landed with a baby at the same time.”

Buffy said she understood. “You guys must have it tough. I mean, the eligible guy list isn’t exactly overflowing. Though they all seem, uh, nice enough.”

Ginger smiled silkily. “The Skipper and I have an arrangement.”

Mary-Anne looked thoughtful. “Gilligan and I have sort of agreed to go steady, but I’m also interested in the Professor. An intelligent man is so attractive, don’t you think?”

Buffy nodded. “Yeah. Giles is like the smartest man I’ve ever known.”

“Good looking, too.” Ginger added.

“You bet.” Buffy said. “Once when this guy was trying to kill me, he drove a sword into his heart. Of course, the guy didn’t die because he was on the road to becoming an evil demon, but you get used to that in my business.”

“So, who knew that Superhero-thing was real? I thought it was just comic books and TV shows.” Ginger said.

Buffy shrugged. “Maybe in this dimension, it isn’t real. Which just totally freaks me out, you know? I’ve put in seven long years being the Slayer and then suddenly I’m in a place where that has no meaning.”

They looked at her oddly, not really understanding her slang but getting the general idea nonetheless. They had begun preparations for lunch when Gilligan ran screaming into the clearing.

“Help! Help! Professor you have to help me!” He stumbled and fell at the Professor and Giles’ feet without losing his hat.

They had stood up, alarmed at his sudden and noisy appearance but were caught off-guard when the large gorilla burst into camp, swung the boy into her arms and away into the jungle.

The Professor swore. “We need to get him back.”

“What was that?” Rupert cried.

“A gorilla.” The Professor said, surprised that the Watcher didn’t know.

“I could see that!” Snapped Giles. “What was it doing on this island? Gorillas are not native to the South Pacific!”

“It was a Magilla Gorilla.” Explained the Professor totally serious. “They turn up in very unexpected places, no one knows why. They have strange and unnatural affections for humans and often kidnap them as mates. Surely you remember the Ann Darrow case of 1933?”

Giles wrinkled his brow thoughtfully. “That sounds vaguely familiar, but I can’t think why.”

“That was when that big game hunter went to Skull Island and found that awful Magilla they called Kong.” Ginger shuddered. “King Kong. God, the name used to give me chills as a child. My mom would say be a good girl or King Kong will get you.”

Buffy felt her mouth drop open. “King Kong?”

Mary-Anne spoke. “Do you remember when the famous explorers, Abbot and Costello were chased by a Magilla when they were in London? I can’t remember why they were there, though.”

The Professor nodded. “Yes. There have been many cases over the years of Magilla’s falling in love with humans. Sometimes they can be persuaded to give up their attraction if provided with a mate of their own species.”

Buffy shrugged. “Well, at any rate, we need to free Gilligan and get rid of the, the Magilla.” She sounded faint but she was trying to repress hysterical laughter. “Is there some reason why I just can’t kill the thing?”

“What would you use?” The Professor spoke reasonably. “They are hideously strong and usually much larger than a human. Though this one seems to be a juvenile if size is anything to go by.”

“They die when you rip their heads off, right?” Buffy asked.

Even the Professor shuddered at the imagery. “It might not be necessary to kill it. If you could best it in a fight, it would go away. You would be essentially claiming Gilligan as your own.”

It was Buffy’s turn to shudder. “No offense or anything, but I don’t want Gilligan that way. I only want Giles as my own.”

Giles looked briefly startled then smiled at her fondly. “Thank you, Buffy.”

“You wouldn’t really have to take him, just pretend like you wanted him.” The Professor explained.

Mary-Anne looked up with tears in her eyes. “We have to get Gilligan back. Maybe we could dig a big pit and put palm leaves over it and then when the Magilla fell into the pit, we could rescue Gilligan.”

The Professor nodded. “A good plan.”

Buffy and Giles exchanged looks of dismay. Giles felt his eyes roll. It was an utterly stupid plan. It would take hours and hours if not days to dig a pit big enough to contain the Magilla. The young sailor might not have that kind of time. Buffy shrugged with resignation.

“OK, I’ll fight it and I’ll try not to kill it, but no guarantees.” She said.

“Good.” Exclaimed the Professor. “Now, here is what you need to do…”

Buffy, with some dismay listened to his plan. Sure, this guy knew the ins and outs of this dimension, but this was ridiculous. She sighed. Giles put his hand on her shoulder and steadied her. She looked up at him with thanks. The man was a rock of stability.

For some reason, fighting the Magilla involved her dressing in a leopard skin that ended just at the top of her thighs and was held on by a strap that went over her right shoulder. She wasn’t allowed to wear her underpants under it so had to be extremely careful not to flash anybody. The entire group of them trooped down to the cave where the Magilla had stashed Gilligan. Buffy walked into the clearing and gave a good approximation of the Tarzan yell. “AAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaa.” The Magilla loped out of the cave and beat its leathery chest dramatically.

Buffy responded with a bit of chest-beating of her own which caused a cloud of dust to fly up off the leopard skin. She coughed and blinked for a second before leaping into the fray with the beast. They wrestled back and forth for a little while till Buffy got the Magilla pinned in a half-Nelson. It lay upon its stomach in the sand and finally made a gesture of surrender. Buffy backed off carefully but it just sat there looking sad. When Gilligan came out from the cave, it mooned piteously after him but made no move to take him back. Buffy put her arm around Gilligan’s shoulders to show her ownership and everybody walked back to camp.

The Howells, already pretty well tanked on the fermented fruit juice suggested they have a wedding ceremony to celebrate the victory. “No offense,” Buffy said, “ but I’m not marrying Gilligan. Mary-Anne can marry him.”

Lovey Howell fluttered around her fussing. “Oh my dear, it is you who are the heroine of the piece and it is you who must marry!”

Buffy was looking a little panicky by this time. “OK, I’ll marry Giles.”

This set up a whirl of conversation and everybody went off to plan the celebration. Buffy and Giles went back to their hut to get her out of the leopard skin and into her real clothes. “You don’t really need to marry me, you know.” Giles told her diffidently.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. His back was turned to her so that she could dress semi-privately. “Better you than Gilligan.” She said shortly.

“Well, it’s probably not binding.” He consoled her. “We are being married by TV characters in another dimension. How valid can it be?” He wondered.

“I guess as valid as we want it to be.” She said somewhat cryptically.

“Oh, er, yes. I suppose so.” He cast about for a desperately needed subject change.

“Ah, the, er, yell was quite a nice touch.” He told her, referring to her earlier Tarzan impersonation.

“When I was a little girl, my grandpa used to watch Johnny Weissmueller movies with me. He said when Tarzan gave that yell, it made him embarrassed to be a human.” She giggled. “Grandpa was kind of cynical.” She finished putting on her shoes.

“OK, I’m all dressed. You can turn around now.” He did and came to her. After hugging her tightly he dropped a dozen kisses on her face and hair.

“I was worried about your safety.” He stroked her back.

“It was just a gorilla, Giles. Strong, but not all that fast and dumb too.” She comforted him.

“Yes, well, accidents happen and I will always worry about you.” He told her seriously.

“That’s really sweet, Rupert.” She said softly. “I always worry about you too.” Pausing for a moment she asked: “Have you and the Professor come up with any way of getting us out of this dimension?”

“We have several theories but as we don’t know what caused the rift to occur, we really can’t say with any degree of certainty.” He explained.

“So, no.” She said glumly.

“No.” He confirmed.

“Could this have been some plot of the First Evil?” She wondered.

“I doubt it.” He replied. “For one thing, this adventure is merely annoying, not evil. There have been none of the First’s hallmarks—no visits from those long dead, no blind acolytes, no insane vampires trying to kill us—it’s been relatively peaceful.”

She nodded. “You know, we really never finished talking about Spike. I think we should. We’ve both had a chance to calm down and this really does need to be dealt with.”

He sighed. “I’m afraid my opinion has not changed on this matter, Buffy. I believe the vampire needs to die. He may have a soul, but he has been a pawn of the First. We don’t really know how firmly his soul is anchored to his body and his loyalty is highly suspect.”

“All true.” Buffy agreed.

“You only want to keep him alive because you love him.” Giles said sadly.

“No, I don’t. Not like you mean.” Buffy said.

“You slept with him.” Giles told her.

“Yes. But that was about survival, not love.” She looked at the ground. “I came back with so many questions, so many problems. I needed to stay alive to raise Dawn, to be the Slayer again. I had to anchor myself here the only way I knew. I used Spike to do it. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t right, but it worked. If I hadn’t had him, I wouldn’t have lasted long enough to make a difference.”

“If that is the truth, why do you keep him alive now? Why let him be around you?” Giles prodded.

“Now that I don’t need him for that anymore, you mean?” She clarified.

“Yes, exactly.”

“He’s important to the Powers that Be.” She said bluntly. “He’s not mine to kill.”

“And how do you know this?” Giles asked her skeptically.

“Been dead, Giles. Got messages from beyond. I don’t remember all that much, but I do know that Spike has to live. He’s important.”

“I don’t know if I can accept that.” He told her. “How do you know it’s not just wishful thinking on your part?”

She sighed. “Do you remember when I started college? The Sunday incident?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you remember what you said to me? Grow up, be more independent, yada, yada, yada?”

“I have already apologized for that…” He began.

“Not important now.” She waved her hands. “The point is you wanted me to mature into my role as Slayer. When you went back to England, you said the same thing. Well, sorry you don’t like the result, but I did what you wanted. I have accepted myself as the Slayer, accepted all the crap that comes with the job. It took me seven years, but I finally got it. I have taken charge. Now, as the person in charge, I’m telling you to back off Spike. It’s my decision that he will live and you just have to accept it like I have had to accept being the Slayer, coming back from Paradise, becoming mom to my little sister, giving up every dream I ever had of a normal life. I’ve done it. I am the Slayer now. The girl that wanted normalcy is gone. I am making the rules and, by God, you will listen when I tell you something!” She looked at him out of eyes that he could have sworn glowed yellow for just a moment before slipping back into their normal blue-gray.

His mouth had dropped open in astonishment as he listened to her. This was not the frightened child of sixteen he had once known. She was not even the girl who two years earlier had sacrificed her own existence so that her sister might live—this creature before him was a woman, a Slayer, the most powerful being he had ever encountered. He looked at her in awe. She had finally come into her own and it was a wonder.

He finally nodded to her. “You are correct. It is your decision and I was wrong to try and impose my own judgment at the expense of yours. I do, however, reserve the right to argue with you should I feel that you are making the wrong choice.” He looked down for a moment. “I will never again try to override your decisions in battle, Buffy.”

She nodded. “I think we needed to get that stuff out of the way, Giles. Now, we can be friends again.”

“We have always been friends, love. Maybe now we can be true partners.” He looked seriously at her.

“Partners in all things.” Buffy told him. She put out her hand and he wrapped his much larger one around it.

“In all things.” He vowed.

They ambled out of the hut hand in hand to find the wedding preparations going strong. Ginger offered one of her gowns to Buffy to use as a wedding dress. Buffy looked at the woman who was probably seven or eight inches taller than her and much more robustly built and declined. “No point in sacrificing one of your dresses for me, Ginger. I’d look like a kid playing dress-up. Thank you for the offer however.” Buffy smiled at the beautiful redhead.

The Howells were beside themselves with excitement, prattling on about all the big name weddings they had attended. Buffy, never deeply interested in that sort of thing even under ideal conditions, listened to them with a slightly glazed look, nodding politely when they dropped another name.

The actual preparations for the wedding took four days. Mrs. Howell fussed with her and made sure her hair was done up in an elaborate coif that involved sticks and hand-carved combs. She did admit it was quite pretty when it was done, but it hardly seemed worth the effort. They had made a skirt for her out of a white silk sheet that the Howells had sacrificed for the occasion. Buffy felt tremendously guilty. Being married was one thing, being married to Giles was going to be something else altogether.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t attracted to him, because she was. He kissed great and she had an idea that he probably knew what he was doing in the rest of the love-making department as well, but marriage? She had fantasized about marriage with Angel—a fact that made her cringe even six years later. Riley had asked her but she knew he wasn’t the right guy for her. With Spike it hadn’t ever come up, thank God. Who knew what the vampire’s idea of marital bliss would be like? It made her shudder to think about it.

Oh well, she shrugged. In this place, she was going to marry Giles—they could work out the details when they got home. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life on Gilligan’s Island, no matter what.

The sheet dress turned out to be sort of nice, given its natural limitations. The spirit was willing, anyhow. The Professor had created an organ out of bamboo—Buffy didn’t question the mechanics to closely. Mrs. Howell played the wedding march and Mr. Howell escorted Buffy to the altar. Gilligan was the best man. Mrs. Howell had come through with a wedding ring for Buffy. Mary-Anne was the maid of honor. The Skipper performed the ceremony with solemn dignity. Everyone waited breathlessly as Giles kissed his bride. The group exploded into congratulations and hugs from the girls and kisses from the men for the bride and hearty handshakes for the groom.

“Too bad you’re married now.” Ginger told Giles with a sultry look. “I don’t date married men.”

“Ah, yes. Very commendable, I’m sure.” Giles stammered, heartily relieved to be married.

After a reception that included more of the dreaded coconut cream pie, the bridal couple was escorted to their temporary hut. “We can start building you a place of your own, tomorrow.” Said the Skipper heartily.

Buffy and Giles exchanged looks of quiet desperation. They didn’t want a hut of their own. It was too permanent. They both smiled politely at the sea-going man and turned in to their temporary quarters. Somebody had replaced their hammock with a hand-made bed of bamboo. It looked hideously uncomfortable. They both wondered what came next.

“Er, we, uh, we certainly don’t have to consummate this marriage, Buffy.” He told her with a deep red flush. “We aren’t ready for that sort of thing.”

Buffy nodded. “It’s not that I’m against ‘that sort of thing’ but you’re right, we aren’t ready yet.”

“Well, um, I suppose we should, ah, go to bed.” He suggested.

“Yeah, ‘cause we have to get up early to eat more turtle egg pie.” Buffy groused. “I never, ever thought I would say this, but Sunnydale isn’t looking that bad right now.”

“I certainly see your point about that.” He told her. He and Buffy stripped out of their wedding finery and put their everyday clothes back on. They lay rather gingerly on the bamboo bed and found out that it was more comfortable than it looked. They talked about a variety of things. He told her about his year in England, she told him about her job at the high school.

“Who would ever in a million years think I, of all people would be working at Hellmouth High?” Buffy chortled.

“I think you probably help your students immensely.” He told her. “You know about being in trouble at school and you have learned the value of listening to others. I’m sure you have helped many students.”

“When I have a kid in front of me who is in trouble, I think about how lucky I was you were there for me.” She confided.

He couldn’t help it; he pulled her against him and hugged her. “I am so glad I was there, Buffy. The life of a Slayer is always difficult, but yours has been more so than most. I suppose it is the price to be paid for having friends and family.”

“It’s worth it, Gi-Rupert. If I hadn’t been the Slayer, I would never have known any of you guys. We wouldn’t have moved to Sunnydale, you wouldn’t have been the librarian at the school…so much, so different. The girl I was would have been bosom buddies with Cordelia. I would have joined right in tormenting or at least ignoring Willow and Xander. Being the Slayer has taken so much, but it hasn’t been one-sided. I got a sister, real best friends, and a husband out of it.” She rested her head against his chest.

“When we get back home,” he told her, “do you think you would want to perhaps go out with me?”

“No perhaps about it. I think we have a lot of potential between us and I’m not willing to give that up.”

“Good.” He told her simply.

They strolled out to join the others for breakfast the next morning feeling happier than either of them had been for a good long while. Giles kept his arm around Buffy’s shoulders and she had looped hers around his waist. They decided that today was the day they would set off and explore the island. The others gave them tips and told them where there was a waterfall that was nice for bathing.

“Thank God for that!” Buffy exclaimed. “I thought it was bucket baths or the lagoon!”

Everybody laughed. Mary-Anne handed them a bar of homemade soap. It smelled fruity. “We make our own soap.” She explained. “There are wild pigs on the island and we use their fat, wood-ash to make a mild lye, and scent the finished product with fruit oil extracts the Professor made.”

Buffy took the soap. “You guys sure are creative,” she complimented.

The Professor shrugged. “You do what you have to do.” He told them. “I wasn’t about to sit on this island for who knows how long with no soap.”

Buffy laughed and slipped the bar into her pocket. They grabbed a backpack and filled it with assorted bits of fruit and snacks and with a wave, bid the others goodbye.

There were plenty of paths to follow—the others had been on the island a long time. They picked one at random and wandered off into the lush growth of jungle. When they were away from the others, Buffy let out a relieved breath. “Not that they aren’t very nice people, but I feel so weird around them. They aren’t real to me and I can’t help treating them like that. Everything they do is so-I don’t know how to describe it. But it’s like the pit for the gorilla. They pick some really complicated and dumb thing when something easy would have worked just as well, if not better.”

“Yes, I understand completely what you mean. And the business of the gorilla? I’ve never heard of a Magilla gorilla. It must be something unique to this universe.” Giles toed a stick out of the path.

“Well, I have heard of them. There was a cartoon called Magilla Gorilla for Sale. I don’t remember much else about it except the gorilla was really stupid and kept getting into trouble. And think about this, Giles, practically every bad horror movie since the beginning of time had a gorilla falling in love with a human and trying to carry her off.”

“So you still believe we are dealing with the universe based on film?” He speculated.

“I guess. Remember when they were talking about King Kong—it was a movie from way back, black and white. The gorilla was supposed to be huge. It fell in love with this blonde chick and climbed the Empire State building with her. And the famous explorers, Abbot and Costello? Movie actors in comedies. Though they were pretty funny.” She added thoughtfully.

“Do you have and suspicions as to what this means?” He asked her.

“Somebody opened up a door to this place. I would guess that it was somebody on our side.” Buffy stepped into a small clearing and looked around. “Hey! This is nice.”

Giles followed her and concurred with her opinion. They sat under a palm tree and discussed their options while they ate a light lunch. He put his arm around her shoulder casually and she leaned into his side. “I like this.” She told him.

“Strangely enough, so do I.” He told her with a grin.

Very carefully, so as not to startle her, he bent down and placed a kiss on her lips. When she responded, their efforts grew more heated till he finally leaned back, panting. “Best stop now, I think.”

“Uh huh.” She agreed rendered almost non-verbal by his expert love-making.

“Do you, um, that is, I was wondering…”

She looked up at him smiling softly. Giles only got that flustered when he wanted to ask about something concerning himself. “What is it, Rupert?”

“I was wondering if you had any idea about where you would like this, um, attraction between us to lead?” He felt like he had run a marathon.

“I’d like,” Buffy savored the words before she spoke. “I’d like this to be forever. I feel like this is right, correct. Like a puzzle piece finally snapped into place. I love you, even without the, the…” She waved her arm expressively over the two of them. “Even if we never, you know, made love, I would want to be with you. What do you think?”

He swept her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “I think you’re right.” He rocked her in his arms. “I’ve waited a long time for those words, Buffy. I never thought I would find someone to love me, that I would love and now that it has happened, it seems like a miracle.”

“No miracle, except that I finally opened my eyes and saw the man who means more to me than anybody else on the planet. I was so blind!” She sighed.

“You were just a child. You’re still very young. Does it bother you that I’m twenty-two years older than you?” He tensed slightly.

She wanted to give a flip answer, but knew he deserved better. “Not like you mean—I don’t give a damn what people think. Mostly they’re idiots anyhow. What does bother me is that you are so much smarter than me. Will you grow tired of me never knowing stuff?”

“You’re very intelligent, Buffy. I don’t understand why you have this image of yourself as stupid. You’re not.” He assured her.

“I know.” She said, surprising him. “I’m not dumb, and I’m probably brighter than average, but I’m not Willow, and I’m sure not on your level. I’m not particularly interested in books and knowledge for its own sake. I have to live here and now, not thinking about all that stuff all the time. It worries me because you and I are never going to have booky conversations that interest you. We’ll talk about slaying and weapons and magic, but the odds on us having a discussion about Etruscan verb tenses are pretty slim.”

“You are ideal for me, love.” He told her. “You know I wasn’t always a bookish old bore. I appreciate the opportunity to not be one again.”

She chucked. “You aren’t boring Rupert. I can’t believe I was so stupid as to ever think that—it was my anti-Slayer period talking, not me. If you had really been just the librarian and not a Watcher…” she sighed. “Well, lets just say books would have become an absorbing interest of mine.”

“It’s rather ironic, really. Isn’t it?” He asked her. “The very thing I was forced to do was the thing that kept us apart. I had to be your Watcher and you wouldn’t look at me as a man because of it. The last thing I had ever wanted was to be a Watcher.”

She looked at him and snuggled against him. “You’ll always be my Watcher and now that I’m older and less mentally challenged, I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.”

“Nor I, I must admit.” He told her ruefully. “When I was a young man I fought so hard against my destiny as a Watcher—much harder than you did about being the Slayer, if truth be told. If I would have only known it would lead me to you, how much I would love you, I would have leapt in with both feet.”

She looked at the objects under discussion. “I like your feet.”

He blushed. Discussing his feet was so intimate. Much more so than kissing or the light touches they had given each other to this point. “They’re just feet, love.”

“They’re big, manly feet. I like them. I like how your little toes turn in. I like that little tuft of fur on the top like a hobbit. Face it, they are cute feet.”

His face was fire engine red by this time. “I didn’t know that you had made a study of my feet! When did you even see them bare?”

“Oh, let’s see. Sometimes when I come over at night you don’t have shoes on. And we have done some martial arts stuff barefoot before.”

“You’ve been more observant than I ever gave you credit for. I sometimes had the feeling that I could have paraded around naked and you wouldn’t have noticed.”

It was her turn to blush. “Oh, I would have noticed.” She licked her lips. “I noticed everything about you. I noticed when you needed a minute to think you clean your glasses. I noticed how your eyes crinkle in the corners when you’re happy. I noticed how often your back and neck hurt from bending over books. I wanted to rub them for you so many times.”

He took her hand and kissed it softly. “Next time, I’ll let you.”

“How about tonight? I need the practice.” She smiled closing her hand around his.

“A back rub? Are you sure?” He sounded hesitant.

“I think we can handle it.”

They got up and explored some more of the island. When they came to the waterfall, it didn’t take long for them to shuck their garments and dive into the pool. They frolicked and bathed and washed their clothing and it felt great. Both of them were careful to keep things light and non-sexual. If the truth were told, they were both rather shy with each other. Casual sex was one thing, but they both knew there would be nothing casual about their ultimate union. They wanted to savor it.

They started back in mid-afternoon. Neither of them wanted to be caught outside of camp after dark even though the others had assured them that generally there was nothing to be afraid of on the island. After gathering some fruit as their contribution for supper that evening, they returned to camp.

The castaways were just sitting down to supper when Buffy and Giles emerged from the jungle. They deposited their offerings of fruit on the table and got plates for themselves as they told the others about their day.

The Professor spoke to Giles about the possibility of opening a portal that would take them all back to civilization. Giles was alarmed at the thought.

“If a portal opens, we must assume that it will be to our dimension.” Giles explained. “You people would have no place in that universe, just as Buffy and I have no place here.”

“Maybe we could make a place.” The Skipper said, not happy at what he perceived as a refusal to cooperate.

“Our world is vastly different from yours.” Giles told them. “We have vampires, demons, true evil, not, not, big monkeys gone awry. Plus, from what Buffy tells me, we seem to be on a different time line than you. In our universe it is 2003, while to you it appears to be somewhere in the mid-1960’s. Even in our world, things changed very rapidly during that period.”

“Like what?” Ginger asked, intrigued.

“The scientific advances alone are staggering.” Giles began as he outlined some of the differences.

The Professor was interested, but the others pretty much didn’t care. Buffy, who had been watching this exchanged, spoke up. “There’s been lots of social change as well.” She told them. “More than half of all marriages end in divorce now, for example. Last year, terrorists blew up the Twin Towers in New York—Oh, I forgot they haven’t been built yet in your universe—anyhow, thousands of people died. Global terrorism is on the rise.”

“It must be the Communists.” Mr. Howell spoke up.

“Nah.” Buffy explained. “That’s virtually over as a threat. Cuba and China are all that’s left of that. We’ve isolated Cuba for almost fifty years and the Soviet Union fell from internal pressure and broke up into a whole bunch of smaller countries. I think their downfall came from the war with Afghanistan and how much economic damage that did the country.”

“Russia went to war with Afghanistan?” Asked the Skipper.

“Yeah. But they couldn’t win. Then the United States decided that Afghanistan harbored terrorists and so we attacked them and toppled the Taliban government. It was a bunch of Islamic religious guys who were very strict.”

She mused for a moment. “Let’s see the genocidal wars in Africa have been going on for quite a while—huge populations massacred because they belonged to the wrong tribe. Then there’s the AIDS epidemic. It’s a sexually transmitted disease that attacks the immune system and eventually kills its host. It takes years to die from it and the entire time, you are able to transmit it to other people. It’s even passed from mothers to their children in the womb so babies are born with an automatic death sentence. There is no cure.”

“Have they found the cure for cancer yet?” Asked the Professor quietly.

“No. The treatments are lots better though. Many people survive.” Buffy explained. “Uh, let’s see. They transplant hearts all the time and they even have a mechanical heart but I don’t know how that works.”

Giles spoke musingly. “They have completed the mapping of human genome.” The Professor looked stunned, the rest of the group looked blank.

“What about finance?” Mr. Howell asked. “Have things changed in the world of high finance?”

Buffy looked at Giles. “Well, there was the Enron scandal but I don’t understand that. I know it was really bad though and thousands of people lost everything. It was a big greed and corruption thingy.” She shrugged. “I don’t have any stocks and not all that much money so…” she shrugged, then brightened momentarily. “I know what you’d like. You can bank over the Internet. It’s totally cool.”

Giles explained the concept to the group who looked confused. His knowledge of computers was highly limited to say the least. They looked to Buffy for clarification. She shrugged again. “Not my thing. Now, if my friend Willow were here, she could probably build you a computer, but I know how to turn one on and that’s about it.”

“How about the acting world?” Ginger asked. “Have there been any really great movies?”

“Well, I guess.” Buffy thought a while. “I have some favorites, but I don’t know if they are in the “great” category.” The group leaned forward eagerly as she told the story of the Terminator, Star Trek IV, ET, and Titanic. They were fascinated. Finally, Buffy leaned back. “Let’s save some for other nights.” She begged off.

Mary-Anne sighed. “How about farming? It’s pretty much all I know. I’m from Kansas, and I really miss it.”

Buffy looked at Giles. “Uh, genetically altered crops?” She offered tentatively.

Giles explained the concept as best he could and Mary-Anne looked alarmed. “But what if the seeds from these doctored crops get into the general breeding population? It doesn’t sound to me like this has been thought out very well.”

Buffy shrugged. “Well, yeah. And, hey, let’s not forget Mad Cow disease. That’s a winner.”

“Mad Cow? As in Rabid?” Asked Mrs. Howell.

“No. It’s some horrible brain thing that makes your brain full of holes like a sponge and then you die. You get it from eating meat that’s been contaminated.” Buffy explained.

“How do the cows get contaminated?” Asked Gilligan, looking slightly green.

“I guess the people who raise cows feed them sheep that have died from icky sheep diseases and they get ground up and made into cow chow. Anyhow, they finally figured out that feeding animals that normally eat grass a bunch of meat wasn’t a good thing.” Buffy shuddered. “It’s one of the most awful things I’ve ever heard about and I make my living killing demons!”

The stories Buffy and Giles had told were enough to give the small group of people nightmares for many nights to come. All talk of leaving the island via portal was dropped.

“How do you stand living in such a horrible, horrible world?” Mr. Howell asked, sipping slowly on a tall glass of fermented fruit juice.

“You just deal.” Buffy said.

The party broke up and the group went off to their huts, the horrors revealed by the Slayer and her Watcher uppermost in everyone’s mind. Mary-Anne and Ginger had terrible nightmares that night and both of them decided that maybe they wouldn’t listen too closely when stories were being told about the parallel universe in the future. Ginger had dreamed that she was back in Hollywood, but it wasn’t the town she remembered. It was peopled with vampires and demons, killer robots and spaceships. It made her blood run cold. Mary-Anne’s dreams had been a bit more bizarre. She had been tortured by the stories of Mad Cow disease and dreamt that cows with fangs were chasing her through the fields of her girlhood Kansas home.

The Howells had dreamt as well, he of monetary scandals, corruption and greed and she of the babies dying of AIDS. Mrs. Howell was a compassionate woman and it broke her heart to think of the children. She vowed that when they got off the island, she would do her best to see that the horror Buffy and Giles had painted never brought itself to their reality.

The Professor’s night was sleepless as he mulled over the vast number of scientific discoveries that he could be participating in were he not marooned on this island. He had made the best of his situation and he truly liked his fellow castaways, but his mind craved the distraction of study and he missed books with a passion. Since Rupert had come to the island, he had been less lonely. He would miss him when they figured out how to open the portal again.

The Skipper tossed and turned all night thinking about the wars that would be fought in the future and how many young men would die. He had been a sailor during the Second World War as a very young man and had seen first hand the horrors that war brought. In truth, for the first time since being shipwrecked, he was glad not to be part of the world any more.

Gilligan was an uncomplicated man. He knew and accepted that fact about his own personality. He was basically happy and wanted others to be so as well. The stories the beautiful blonde had told the night before had been horrible and frightening. He thought of how he would be an old man in forty years—older than Mr. Howell was now. It frightened him like nothing the newcomers had revealed; the knowledge that he would someday be old. The concept of time passing by was not new to him, but the thought that there were people who were living in a future that was probably very much like the one his own world would experience scared him. The future, he thought firmly, wasn’t meant to be known. He resolved to not think about this disturbing information and to stay well clear if such topics came up again.

Buffy and Giles had gone to bed and talked for a while before sleeping. “Did we do the right thing, Giles? Should we have told them what we knew?”

“They couldn’t be allowed to go back through the portal with us, love. I’m sorry they were frightened but they needed to see that they would have no place in our world.”

She sighed. “I guess. But all our talking made me think about our universe. It really is a pretty scary place, even if we didn’t have vampires and evil and everything.”

He nodded. “Yes it is, love. A truly terrifying place. That is why it’s vital to concentrate not only on the bad and negative aspects, but on the positive elements of our existence.” He rolled over and faced her. “Think of your mum. You loved her very much and she loved you. Think of your sister, who, even though she is part of the mystical nature of your existence as a Slayer, was a gift to you. Even though you don’t see him very often, your father loves you, as do I, and the Scoobies. Even creatures that should be your natural enemies love you.”

“Is love enough?” Buffy asked him.

“It is, ultimately, all we have.” Giles told her and pulled her close to him. “Isn’t love, the ability to give and receive it, the greatest gift humanity has been given?”

She hugged him. “Maybe you’re right, Giles.” She snuggled into his embrace. “I love you.” She drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

He felt her slide into rest and smiled softly into her hair. “And I love you, Buffy.”

The days sped by, Buffy and Giles taking their turn doing camp chores and training. Giles explored the possibilities of contacting Willow and the others magically with minimal results.

Buffy sat before the campfire one evening, hands around her knees, staring moodily into the flames. Suddenly, she looked up. “Giles?”

He was carving a pair of quarter staves so that he and Buffy could continue their training. “Yes, love?”

“We haven’t been able to contact Willow, but there are other witches, right? There was that group in Devon you worked with last year. There must be others. Why couldn’t you contact them? Maybe they could open the portal and since they would be from this world, the rest of the guys could be rescued at the same time.”

He dropped the sharp stone knife he had been working with and looked at her. “My God, of course!” He looked at her sharply. “Don’t tell the others. If we can’t do it, there’s no point in raising their hopes.”

She nodded decisively. “Do you have all the supplies you need?”

He shrugged, having picked up the abominable habit from her. “We may have to improvise, but the spell is rather basic and shouldn’t need much. We can do it in our hut tonight.”

They gathered up as many of the supplies as they could and were practically prancing with excitement. If the others noticed anything, they said nothing. When it was finally dark, they hurried to their hut and barricaded the door. Giles drew a pentagram on the floor and placed the homemade candles at the cardinal points. He sat cross-legged in the center and had Buffy close the circle behind him. He commenced the communication spell, using a bowl of water to facilitate the scrying. He was almost startled when a face appeared in the bowl.

“Who are you?” The woman asked, surprised.

Giles explained their predicament. The woman looked skeptical. “I’m going to have to look into this. It may take some time. I’ll get back to you.” As she broke contact with him, he slumped sideways, exhausted. Buffy opened the circle and helped him uncast it. She then picked him up and carried him to their bed. After giving him a cup of fruit juice, she asked him what he thought.

“They are going to investigate. It should only be a matter of time now. At the very least, these poor castaways will be rescued.” He lolled tiredly on the bed. “I’m going to need to be here undisturbed for the foreseeable future. I suppose you will have to tell the others that I’m ill or some such. They mustn’t know what we are doing.”

She nodded and brushed the hair back from his forehead. “I love you, Giles. You are a very good man and I’m very, very lucky you are my Watcher. I just wanted you to know that.” She bent over and kissed him gently then crawled into bed next to him and held him tightly while he slept.

It took three days for the Witches to get back to them. They had found the island and were sending the Coast Guard to rescue them. In addition, they had devised a spell that should open the portal back up to Sunnydale. It would be performed on the night of the full moon, six days away.

Two days later, the Coast Guard showed up, skeptical of finding supposed shipwreck survivors from the lost Minnow, but owing a favor to an unnamed power that had sent them to this island. They were astonished to find the castaways. Buffy and Giles had told the group that morning that they had affected a rescue, but would not be coming with them. The farewells were tearful but the Islanders were so happy to be finally going home that nothing could dim their excitement for long.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged just before the Coast Guard boat arrived on the shore. Ginger walked up to Giles and gave him a kiss so torrid and hot that Buffy was ready to peel her off the Watcher.

“Too bad you’re married.” She sighed again.

The Skipper grabbed Buffy and pulled her into a kiss. He didn’t waste an instant before he had grabbed her butt and copped a feel. Buffy jerked back with a squeal. “Hey!”

The Skipper laughed and passed her to the Professor who dipped her back into a kiss every bit as deep as the Skipper’s had been, though his hands were better behaved.

Mr. Howell came up and kissed her hand and her cheek. “Thank you, my dear. I will never forget you.”

She smiled and returned his soft kiss with one of her own. “Good luck, Mr. Howell. Take care of Mrs. Howell.”

“I will do so, dear child.” He patted her cheek and turned away, tears in his eyes.

Mary-Anne and Mrs. Howell kissed Giles and Buffy both. “I hope you get home safe.” Mary-Anne told him.

Giles thanked her. Mrs. Howell stepped forward. “I won’t forget what you told us about that dread disease. I’m a very rich woman and if money can help anything, then mine will. God bless you both.”

Gilligan was the last to say goodbye. He shook Giles hand and then walked to Buffy and looked at her shyly. “Thank you.” He said simply.

She leaned forward and kissed him on the nose. “You’re welcome.”

She caught him as he fainted and passed him to the Skipper who just laughed again.

They hid from the Coast Guard until the castaways had left then walked slowly back to the deserted camp. “This feels weird.” Buffy commented.

“Yes. I suppose we didn’t realize how much those people had come to mean to us in such a short time.” Giles pondered.

“Well, we now have four days to wait till we get rescued. What do you think we should do with that time?” Buffy asked him with a grin.

“I think I should like to spend it getting to know my Slayer a bit better.” He put his arm around her waist.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Buffy rested her head against his chest.

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