Title: The Emerald Coast
Part 2
Author: Joyce
E-mail: Joyce.Williams@mindspring.com
Rating: Pg-13
Content: Swearing, implied sex, (no smut) if you can watch Buffy, you can read this. Also if
you have a thing about the harming of seagulls don’t read this!
Spoilers: Anything up to the season 4 finals of both Buffy and Angel is fair game
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series
characters. They belong to 20th Century Fox, and Joss Whedon. Also I am making no
profit off this story. Please don’t sue, I’m just a poor college student.
Summary: First of all this is Buffy/Spike!!! It also contains a little Xander/Anya. The gang
from both Sunnydale and LA, with the exception of Wesley, are headed down to Florida’s
Emerald coast to stop a dark power yada yada yada! Spike is offered a second chance by
the powers that be!
Author’s note: Riley? Who’s Riley? :) / Feedback gives me happies!/ No seagulls were
harmed in the writing of this story!
The Emerald Coast
“Welcome to America’s Funniest Quarrels! I’m your host,...”
“Xander, Anya! Can you guys please turn the TV down? I’m on the phone!” Buffy
Summers called out.
“Sorry Wes, you were saying?”
“When the moon is full, and the time is at hand, she will rise from the depths of the
ocean and walk upon the Emerald Coast. Her name is destruction, and all in her path will be
destroyed.”
“What does this have to do with me?” the slayer asked as she twirled the phone
cord around her fingers.
The gang had gathered at her mother’s house for a beginning of summer party,
when Wesley had called with news of the latest prophecy to avert.
“It’s very vague Buffy. However, there are references to Angel, Spike, and the
slayer.” the young English man told her.
“Wow, that’s pretty specific for being so vague. So what’s the plan?” she asked.
“We have a client who will allow you to use his condo in Destin, Florida for the week.
Mr. Nabbit is also funding the entire trip. He actually gave Miss Chase a credit card with no
limit!” Wesley was still surprised how easy it had been to get David to do this.
“You will have to take a flight here to LA, you don’t have time to drive. From here
you will take a connecting flight to New Orleans, where you’ll rent a car and drive into Florida.
If you leave Sunnydale by 6pm tonight, you should make it to the condo around 3 am.
That’s about 2 hours before sunrise.” the ex-watcher told her.
“And I was wondering if I’d even get a vacation this summer!” Buffy had never been
to Florida, and was excited by the idea.
“Remember you must bring Angel and Spike, anyone else is up to you.”
**********
“The Emerald City? Where the Wizard of Oz lives?” Xander asked excitedly.
“No, the Emerald Coast. It’s on the panhandle of Florida.” Giles corrected him.
“Well, that’s a horse of a different color!” Xander quoted.
Buffy rolled her her eyes at him. “So, who wants to go?”
“I don’t!” said a voice from the corner.
“Tough! You don’t have a choice, Spike.” she smirked at him.
Actually, Spike was looking forward to getting away from the Hellmouth. Since the
Initiative and Adam had been destroyed, the blond vampire was trying to come to terms
with the fact that he might never get the chip out of his head. He also felt different. He
couldn’t explain it, but he had a feeling that things were about to change drastically in his
unlife. He first noticed it when Buffy had come looking for him earlier saying that she needed
his help. Of course he told her off, that was what she expected of him. She ended up
dragging him by his ear to her house. He should have been outraged, but he liked the fact
that she needed his help.
“Well, I want to go.” Anya said.
“You do? I thought you didn’t like us.” Willow was looking at her warily.
“Oh, I don’t like anyone but Xander.” she stated. “But I just got this new video
camera, so that Xander and I could tape ourselves havi...”
“Honey! This is one of those things we don’t announce to everyone!” Xander was
almost as red as Willow’s hair.
“Anyway, if I can catch a funny quarrel, I could win a million dollars. Then Xander and I
could move out of the basement.”
Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
“What? You people fight all the time. Surely someone will think it’s funny!”
It was going to be a long trip.
***********
“Welcome to Florida’s Emerald Coast!”
Simply Irresistible
Okaloosa County
-water tower on highway 98
**********
“There it is! Gulf shore Drive!” Willow exclaimed as Xander drove past the street.
“Will! You’re supposed to give me more warning than that! You’re a lousy
navigator!” the frustrated brunet snapped.
Although the drive from New Orleans to their condo in Destin was 2 &1/2 hours, with
all the stops for restroom breaks, and Willow’s amateur navigating, they had been on the
road for the better part of 4 hours.
“Oh, a quarrel!” Anya exclaimed as she got her camera ready.
“Well, what do you want from me Xander? I’ve never been on the East coast
before! It’s different here. It’s.... it’s...... it’s East!” the red-headed witch replied indignantly.
“If you’d pay attention to the map and not Tara....”
“Bloody Hell! Aren’t we there yet?” an impatient vampire yelled from the back of
the rental van.
“Spike! I swear to God, if you ask that question one more time..” an annoyed slayer
started in on the vampire to her right, but stopped as soon as the vampire on her left
covered her hand with his own.
“The sun will be up in an hour. Spike and I need to get indoors.” Angel appeared
calm, but Buffy could sense the tension running through him.
The last ten hours had been hard on all of them. Especially on Buffy, who now sat
squashed between the two vampires in the backseat. If it hadn’t been for Angel’s calming
presence, she would have ripped Spike’s head off with her bare hands by now.
“That wasn’t funny enough!” the ex-demon pouted, “can’t you people try to be
funny?!”This earned her several glares. Buffy opened her mouth to reply, when the Van
suddenly came to a stop and Xander announced that they had arrived.
Buffy scrambled out of the ugly yellow and green van , that Xander had gleefully
named “The Mystery Machine”, with the other passengers stiff, sore, cranky, and
exhausted. The slayer looked around at her crew squinting in the predawn light.
Anya had finally put away her video camera,and was now rubbing Xander’s
shoulders in a very suggestive way. Tara was pretending to listen to Willow babble about
how different the Southeast was from California. Cordelia was unusually quiet, not sure
where she fit in with this group anymore. Angel, feeling the same discomfort, went and
stood beside her. Spike gave them all a look of distaste as he reached into his pocket for a
cigarette. Seeing Buffy return his look of distaste, he smiled brightly at her and blew smoke
on her face. Before yet another argument could break out between the two blonds, Giles
announced that he would go check-in while everyone else should start unloading the van.
Sleeping conditions were not the greatest, seeing as how they were trying to sleep
9 people in a condo made for 6. But everyone was too exhausted to argue as Giles called
out sleeping arrangements.
The Vamps got the first room. It had a queen size bed that, to both of their dismay,
they would have to share. But there was only one small window that was covered with a
thick curtain. So it was the most sensible choice.
Buffy, Anya, Cordelia, and Willow squeezed into the huge king size bed in the
master bedroom. Tara moved the love seat from the living room into the bedroom to
sleep on. She was later joined by Willow, who had been kicked out of bed by Anya.
Finally, Giles and Xander would take the sofa bed, both deciding they’d rather be
with each other than the vampires.
As the sun ascended into the Floridian sky, the gang from California feel into a deep
dreamless sleep, as if their bodies knew that now was the time to rest and prepare for the
dangers that lay ahead.
**********
Spike flipped over onto side to look at Angel. The dark-haired vampire appeared
to be sleeping peacefully. The last time Spike had seen his sire, the blond had had him
tortured. So far, Angel had not mentioned the incident. In fact, the souled-one hadn’t said
much to Spike at all. He’d only glare and tell the younger vampire to knock it off when he’d
try to get a rise out of the slayer.
“Quit looking at me and go to sleep, Spike. You need your rest.” Angel hadn’t
moved a muscle or opened his eyes.
“So you are awake, Peaches.” Spike smirked, but then grew serious.
“Why haven’t you told everyone about what I did to you? Why didn’t you beat the
crap out of me the second you saw me?”
Angel sighed and turned his head eyes opening. Chocolate brown met ice blue as
he replied, “Cordelia had a vision about you.”
“Go on.” Spike felt a sense of dread fill him.
“It wasn’t very clear, but she said that you and Buffy were getting married in the
sunlight. And it wasn’t because of some spell.”
Angel paused to collect his thoughts before continuing, “Already you can feel
something inside changing. Soon you will have to make a choice, just like I did a long time
ago. Like me, you could go either way.”
Spike looked scared and really didn’t understand what his sire was saying. Angel
saw this, and tried to put him at ease,
“You are my childe, Spike. I won’t leave you alone, I promise. And neither will
Buffy.”
“She knows?!”
“No, but I know her, and I know how she’ll react.”
Spike was silent for a few minutes before he dramatically rolled his eyes, “This is
nonsense! I’m not you, Angel! I’m only helping out now because it’s in my best interest.
As soon as I get this soddin chip out of my head, I’ll kill the whole lot of you!” With that,
Spike rolled to face away form Angel.
“By the time you get that “soddin” chip out of your head, killing will no longer be an
issue with you.” the older vampire retorted as he rolled to face away from his child.
“By the way, you seem to forget that I was in hell for 100 years. I can handle a lot
more than being poked with a few hot sticks.”
**********
Buffy awoke to the sound of Anya’s loud snoring. Struggling to open her heavy
eyelids she peered at the digital clock sitting on the nightstand table. 10:45am glared back
at her with harsh red numbers.
As quietly as possible, she left the bedroom shutting the door firmly behind her.
Buffy had to bite back a laugh at the scene that greeted her in the living room. Spike was
sprawled out at the foot of the sofa bed watching the tiny television. At the moment , the
blond vampire was enthralled in his favorite soap Passions. Giles and Xander slept on
oblivious to the vamp at their feet.
“You know, Spike, if the other demons heard of your love of a soap opera, you’d
be laughed out of Sunnydale!” Buffy teased him.
Spike didn’t even spare her a glance, too caught up in his show. On the other side of
Spike was a tinted, sliding glass door leading to a balcony that she hadn’t noticed earlier.
As she moved forward to check out the view, Buffy was startled by a low growl.
Immediately she tensed and dropped into a fighting stance as slayer instinct took over.
“Move your arse Slayer! You’re blocking the telly!” the vampire scowled up at her.
Rolling her eyes, Buffy headed to toward the door, making sure to pull it open just
enough to let a beam of sunlight come in and hit the blond vampire in the forehead. Spike
swore he’d get her back as soon as his show was over.
On the balcony, Buffy stared at the magnificent view before her. Clear blue and
aqua marine waters rolled toward her in waves crested in white. Hungry seagulls flew
above the water occasionally diving for a fish that swam beneath the sparkling surface. The
sand was so white she’d swear it was snow had it not been so warm. Down to her right
was a swimming pool and she could hear the sounds of children playing carried up to her in
the wild wind that whipped her blonde curls around her face. She was relaxed and peaceful
deciding then that the long trip down there had definitely been worth it.
Suddenly something changed. She felt an uneasiness settle over her, and began
scanning the coast, looking for the cause of it. Her vision began to cloud and, as if someone
had wrapped their hands around her throat, she started to choke. She gasped and sank to
her knees calling out for Spike as she slipped into unconsciousness.
**********
As a commercial came on the telly, Spike let his gaze turn to the slayer standing
outside the tinted glass doors. She looked absolutely beautiful and serene as she stared
off into the ocean. Buffy was the most unusual slayer that he had ever come across. He
liked how she didn’t play by the rules. She’d made being a good guy look fun. He liked
teasing her. He liked helping her. He liked her! Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone.
Spike wasn’t too concerned about it though. In fact, he had reasoned that his liking her had
to do with Angel. But in Spike’s mind, everything was Angel’s fault anyway.
Watching her now, Spike felt a pang of jealousy that she could stand out there
bathed in the sun, while he had to hide from it. He wondered, not for the first time, about the
vision that Cordelia had had. She had to be mistaken. Even if, for some absolutely bizarre
reason, he and Buffy did decide to get married, how could he stand in the sun. This all fled
from his mind, however, when he saw the blond girl stiffen and fall to her knees. His keen
vampire hearing detected her hoarse cry of his name before she slumped forward.
**********
Acting quickly, Spike grabbed the blanket from Giles and Xander, who were still
dead to the world. He tried to cover himself as much as he could before opening the glass
door and darting out into the sun. His entire body felt like it was on fire as he scooped the
petite girl up in his arms, and rushed back inside.
Once inside he looked for a place to lay her down. Her own bed was full, so Spike
did the only sensible thing he could think of. He took her to his and Angel’s bed. Angel
didn’t even stir as Spike laid the blonde girl next to him. She was breathing, that meant
she’d be okay. Spike started to feel the pain from the burns on his arms and face. As he
went to go find something to help stop the pain, he nearly collided with Cordelia who was
waiting outside the bedroom door. The brunette just shook her head and handed him a
bottle of green gel before going back to bed.
Buffy awoke a few minutes later to see Spike rubbing aloe vera gel on his arms and
face. “Spike got sunburned?” she thought to herself. Surely she was dreaming.
When Spike saw that the slayer had her eyes open, he looked relieved then
annoyed as he said, “You made me miss scenes for next week!”
The blond girl just blinked at him and rolled to face the other direction. As she drifted
back to sleep, Buffy wondered, “Why is Angel in my bed?”
**********
Buffy heard someone calling her name from far away. As she began to wake up
she felt very heavy. Then realized that she was heavy because she had two sleeping
vampires practically on top of her. Both were curled up against her purring, with their heads
on her chest listening to her heartbeat.
“Buffy!” Cordelia’s harsh whisper made the slayer sit upright.
The may queen winced when she saw the vamps’ heads fall hard onto the pillows
beneath them. Amazingly neither awoke.
“Cordelia! It’s not what you think, ..”
“Spare me, Buffy! I don’t want to hear about you and your vampire bed games.
Now come on! You, me, and a credit card with no limit have a date with the several
shopping centers that are located in this wonderful part of the world!”
**********
End Part 1
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