Title: Isolated Melodies
Rating: R – just in case.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. The characters are all property of Joss, WB, Mutant Enemy, and Fox. There. Now that I'm covered, on to the fic!
*~*~*
Giles inserted the key into the fitted lock of room 165. Buffy, Angel, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia all waited impatiently behind him. He pushed the door open, and the seven of them stepped into the room.
"Whoa..." Xander muttered.
The room was enormous. The wooden plank floor and high plastered ceiling made it seem even bigger. The room the were in now was the living room. Bigger than any normal living room, it was decorated with a TV, four big lounge chairs, and 3-dimensional pictures on the walls of native Hawaiian events and people. A tall green plant sat in one corner.
"Feels like home," Cordelia commented.
Giles placed the key down on the coffee table. "This is amazing..." he murmured. "It's so big."
Xander opened another door to reveal a bathroom, with gold-plated taps and a huge bathtub. Down a corridor along the right wall were another four doors, which each held bedrooms, with huge king-size canopy beds, large wardrobes, and TVs. A small kitchenette was nestled on the left side of the suite. The back wall of the living room was simply glass, with a sliding door leading out to a balcony and a Jacuzzi.
Buffy sighed. "Can I just say...I'm never going home. Angel? Move here with me?"
"Anytime," her boyfriend smiled, sitting down on one of the huge lounge chairs. Buffy immediately strolled over and lowered herself to his lap. A single beam of sunlight was shining through the window, and caught Angel's hair. But he didn't flinch. Not anymore. Buffy marveled at him sitting in the sunlight, and once again thanked every living being on the earth that he was human, and hers.
Gradually everyone had staked out a room, one between two, save for Giles. Buffy dumped her duffel bag on the bed and unzipped it. She saw Angel open the wardrobe, and once again marveled at how big it was. There was a mirror on the back of the wardrobe door, and Buffy gasped as she caught sight of Angel in the mirror. It was still so new to her.
A fan hanging from the ceiling spun lazily, making slow circles and a soft whooshing noise. The ceiling was decorated with native Hawaiians dancing with leis and hula skirts. The bedcovers were a deep emerald, and small welcome chocolates sat on the pillows.
Buffy sighed in sheer happiness and dropped to the bed. She lay back, and lazily moved her arms up and down on either side of her. She sensed Angel coming towards her and smiled. She sat up, and took him in her arms, kissing him happily.
"This is so perfect," he murmured when the kiss ended. Buffy nodded her agreement.
"I love it," she whispered. "You, and me, on an island, in the sun..."
He smiled, running a finger down her neck and between the crevice of her breasts. She moaned happily. He moved in and his mouth came into contact with her neck. Buffy's hands came up to hold his head to her as he sucked passionately. A tiny flicker of thought passed through Buffy's had, and she giggled at the irony. Even after all this time, even now that he was human and ate regular food, he still sucked on her neck.
"Love you," he whispered as he pulled away.
"Love ya, too," Buffy grinned. A thought occurred to her. "Uh, do I have a hickey, Angel?" Angel checked her neck, and nodded. Buffy groaned.
"Sorry," Angel chuckled, not sounding sorry at all.
Buffy smirked at him. Quickly they unpacked, and he took her hand and pulled her to her feet, and they walked out of their room. Willow and Oz had take the room across from theirs, and Giles was next to them. Xander and Cordy were next to Angel and Buffy.
Knocking softly on the door, Angel led Buffy into Willow and Oz's room. The two were just finishing their unpacking.
"We need to go shopping," Buffy said. "As in food."
Willow nodded. "I know. But not everyone needs to go. I know that Xander won't want to come."
"I don't want to come," Angel added.
"Me either," Oz replied.
The four of them got Giles, Xander, and Cordy out of their rooms, and told them about the shopping. Xander and Giles would rather skin pigs than go, so it turned out to be just Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia. The guys decided to go out and find somewhere they could rent a car for the week.
And so they parted ways...
*~*~*
The girls strolled out into the street, heading towards the supermarket they'd spotted on their trip to the resort.
"I hope Kendra's doing okay back in Sunnydale," Buffy commented.
"Well, it seemed pretty quiet when we left," Willow told her.
"Yeah," Cordy added. "No neck-suckers...nice hickey."
Buffy's hand flew to her neck, and she bushed furiously. "Oh...uh, this? Uh...we were just..."
"Celebrating?" Willow finished. Buffy nodded.
She lifted her blond hair off the back of her neck. It was hot, and sticky. Even in their shorts and tank tops, the girls were hot.
Finally they reached the supermarket. Buffy grabbed a wheely-cart, and they started down the first aisle.
"So what's up with you and Oz?" Buffy asked Willow, grabbing some fruit and tossing it into the cart.
"Nothing much," Willow said, adding a jar of ketchup. Cordy grabbed a loaf of bread.
"Well, at least you guys have even made it to second base," she commented.
Buffy looked shocked. "What?! You and Xander haven't even had sex yet? But you're sleeping in the same bed!"
"Doesn't matter," Cordy said offhandedly. "He will not make a move, and I'm not going to be the first one to! Hello, desperate!"
Willow shook her head. "So, Buffy, what about you?"
Buffy looked up from the label on the can of soup. "What about me?"
"You know, you and Angel? Second base?" Cordelia asked, studying a box of macaroni, then throwing it into the cart.
"Oh, right Second base, yeah," Buffy debated with herself for a moment, then added. "But we're on the road to fourth."
"Fourth?" Cordy asked. "Buffy, fourth base is kids."
Buffy nodded. "I know."
"You're pregnant?!" Willow shrieked. Several of the customers turned to stare. Buffy reddened.
"Shhh!" she hissed. "Only a few days. I found out just before we left."
"Is it...?"
"Yes, of course it's Angel's," Buffy replied. "But he doesn't know, and you CAN'T tell him, okay? I want it to be a surprise."
"So, what, you're just skipping third base all together?" Willow asked.
Buffy shrugged, and put a container of butter into the cart. "Third base? Marriage, right? I don't know." She sighed. "First, let me tell him about the baby, which, by the way, I am not doing while we're in Hawaii. I may tell him when we get back."
Willow and Cordelia exchanged a glance. Buffy put some soda into the cart, and surveyed their food. "Okay, I think we have enough."
She spun the cart in a circle and headed back towards the check-out counter.
*~*~*
The girls were putting all the food away into the kitchen cupboards when they heard a loud honk from outside. Rushing to look out the window, they saw the guys pull up in a blue minivan, crazy hibiscus flowers and more Hawaiian dancers painted on the sides.
Cordelia shrieked, and immediately began ranting. "There is no way I will ride around in that thing! It looks like it has a serious hangover from the seventies!"
There was a knock at the door, and Willow let the guys in. They were all laughing.
"Like it?" Oz asked, pulling his girlfriend into his arms.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Buffy shouted, looking down at the car again. "What the hell is that thing?"
"It's the cheapest one there," Giles explained. "The others were all ridiculously expensive. Besides, we're in Hawaii! Everyone drives them!"
Buffy sighed, and Cordelia breathed, trying to calm down.
"Everyone!" Cordelia cried. "We walked all the way to the supermarket and we did not see one van that looked so stupid!"
Buffy glared at Angel. "Angel..." she started.
"Hey, don't look at me!" he cut her off. "It was Xander's idea!"
Cordelia turned her eyes to her boyfriend, who was nervously shifting his feet with a silly grin. "How did I not guess?!" she cried sarcastically.
"Okay, everyone just calm down!" Oz yelled above everyone else. They all quieted and turned to look at him like some closely regarded specimen. It wasn't often Oz raised his voice. "Look, it's just a car, and it's just for a week, so get over it! Now, I don't know about you, but I am going to the beach, so if anyone wants to join me, be in your bathing suit, in the living room, in FIVE MINUTES!!!"
He strode off into his room, Willow following. Everyone stirred slowly in his wake, shocked. Buffy sniffed.
"Well, I'm going to the beach too!" she said. Before long everyone agreed that a swim in the ocean would be good to cool off with.
Five minutes later, everyone regathered in the living room, bathing suits on.
"Wow, Giles, you look so weird..." Cordelia murmured, toying with her hat.
Giles gave her a funny look. "Thank you," he said simply.
"Oh, no, I just meant, you know, 'cause we've never seen you in your swimsuit before, that's all."
Giles nodded. "Ah, yes, very good, ah, shall we go?"
Buffy grinned. "Sure. Let's get our butts on that beach!"
Cordelia cheered, and she and Buffy led the way down to the beach.
*~*~*
"You know, I never thought I'd see Buffy and Angel splashing around in the sun on a beach in Hawaii," Willow murmured from where she and Oz lay side by side on their beach towels.
Oz raised his head and looked over at their two friends. They were about chest deep in the water, with Cordelia and Xander. Giles had gone to a nearby cafe for a cup of tea. Xander was flicking tiny droplets of water at Cordelia, and she was shrieking at him because she was trying not to get her hair wet. Buffy was sitting on Angel's shoulders, and as Willow and Oz watched, he leaned back suddenly, flipping Buffy into the water. She submerged and lunged at him, but he captured her lips in a kiss.
Cordelia groaned, trying to tie her hair up. "Gross, you guys," she commented.
"I know," Oz finally responded to Willow's earlier comment. "They look so happy."
Willow laughed. "They damn well better be. We all know how much the fates hate them. They should enjoy their good luck."
Oz nodded, flopping back on his towel. He groaned. "Must...sleep."
"OW! OW! OW!" Oz was immediately disturbed by a shrieking from the water. It was Cordelia, and she was hopping around awkwardly, clutching her foot. "Jellyfish!" she yelled. "Ow! It hurts!"
Xander immediately helped her back to her towel, and rummaged through the beach bag for some cream for it. But even after she was treated, Cordelia remained miserable and refused to go back in the water.
Buffy and Angel waded out of the water and joined their friends on the sand. "Will, you should go in," Buffy told her friend.
Willow smiled. "Maybe later."
Buffy shrugged. She reached behind her and squeezed the droplets of water out of her hair. Xander stared at her tiny blue bikini, and Cordelia hit him.
"Hey, knock it off," she commanded. Buffy looked at them strangely, but just joined Angel on a towel. Her lips met his, and they started to make out.
Giles came back then, looking as red as a lobster already from the sun.
"Giles! You're burnt already?" Willow cried.
"My God, Giles, Angel hasn't had sunlight for two centuries, but even he knows how to tan!" Oz added, tossing Giles some sunburn cream.
Buffy stood up then, and pulled Angel with her. "Race you to the water!" she cried saucily, and took off, Angel chasing after her.
*~*~*
The next day, the gang was woken by the sunlight shining in the windows and the loud laughing of other people in the resort.
Buffy cracked one eye open, winced at the sun, and shut it again. She felt Angel's strong arms encircle her from behind, but she didn't expect it when he suddenly rolled, pulling her with him so she ended up on her back on top of him. She shrieked in laughter, and went to hit him, but he blocked her arm and kissed her gently.
"Mmmm," Buffy murmured when she pulled away. "Yummy."
Angel laughed, and pulled her out of bed. "We should get dressed. Oz and Giles were talking about hiring a boat for today, and they want to get off a little early."
Buffy nodded. "Sure, fine, whatever," she mumbled. "I'm not a morning person."
They dressed quickly, and joined their friends who were eating a quick breakfast in the kitchen.
"Hey guys," Oz called. "We found a boat to hire. Some guy down at Lorna Port owns it. He said we could hire it for the day."
Buffy grunted in response, and sat down to eat some cereal.
An hour later, everyone was fully ready to go. With a few sneers of protest, they loaded into the sickeningly painted van, and were off.
A large man with a large mustache and balding grey hair approached the van as they stopped at the port.
"Daniel Osborne?" asked the man. Oz nodded as he jumped out of the van. "Jeremy Kovack. Nice to meet you."
"Pleasure," Oz replied, shaking the man's hand.
"So, you're hiring old Seashell for the day, are you?" Jeremy asked. Oz nodded again. They began to discuss safety methods and driving techniques as everyone else unloaded out of the van.
Finally Jeremy led them over to his boat. It was nice, average sized, with Seashell written on the back. Everyone jumped into the boat, and Oz started the engine. He waved to Jeremy as they pulled away from the port.
*~*~*
The sun shone radiantly in the sky, not a cloud in sight. A warm sea breeze floated through the air. A white boat was anchored in the clear blue water, just off the shore of a small, deserted island. Seven people were on that boat.
Oz came out of the driving cabin and joined his friends on the deck.
Buffy sighed happily. "I need a boat." Even Cordelia wasn't complaining for once.
"We should have brought fishing rods or something," Xander realised.
"We don't have any," Angel replied.
"Oh, yeah."
Buffy slipped her sandals off. "I'm going swimming," she announced. "I'm gonna swim to that island." She slipped off her clothes, revealing the white bikini she wore underneath, and prepared to jump into the water. Everyone ended up deciding to join her.
Bathing suits on, the seven of them all splashed into the water, and started to swim for the island. Giles trailed a tightly closed plastic bag behind him, containing some paper and a pen, because he was never without. Buffy ducked under the water, and doubled back, grabbing Angel's leg and yanking him down with her. He laughed underwater, a funny sound, and bubbles drifted out of his mouth.
Oz was the first to reach the island, and he waded onto the shore. Eventually everybody's feet found the bottom and they followed. The sand felt good under bare feet. Once the reached the dry sand, everybody stopped and surveyed the island.
They were quite far away, so far that the main island was only a spot in the distance. The island they were on was lined with a beach, the hot white sand and sparkling crystal water giving an idea of paradise. A thick forest took up the center part of the island, too deep to see through to the other side. They boat remained where it was, anchored about a hundred yards from shore. A flock of seagulls flew overhead, cawing loudly.
Shaking her wet hair, Buffy flopped down onto the hot sand. Cordelia joined her.
"Mmm," Buffy murmured, running the sand through her fingers. "Do you know how badly I do not want to go back to Sunnydale right now?"
Angel and Oz decided to explore the island, while Willow, Buffy, and Cordy wanted to walk over the a pile of boulders just up the beach and see what was on the other side. Giles and Xander stayed where they were.
"You know," Buffy said, walking along where the water lapped at the shore. We should stay here for a while. We have food and stuff on the boat, and it'd be a cool place to spend the day."
Cordelia agreed. "You know, a place like this could really bring out someone's inner person."
Buffy and Willow looked at her incredulously, but she had a smirk on her face. They all burst into giggles.
*~*~*
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Angel and Oz pushed vines and branches out of the way as they wandered a little way into the forest. A possum leaped overhead, making both on them wonder how it had got there.
"Uh, Angel, man, do you...uh...think that, uh, there might be, y'know, someone else on this island?" Oz scratched his head.
Angel glanced at him, trying not to laugh. "No, Oz, the place is pretty much deserted."
They walked in silence for a while.
"It's just, you know, this seems like the perfect setting for one of those horror films. Group of unsuspecting tourist land on deserted island, island turns out not to be so deserted, insane killer goes on wild rampage..."
Angel glanced around. "Oz, shut up, or you'll jinx it."
*~*~*
Giles and Xander lay stretched out on the sand, basking.
"Maybe we should swim back out to the boat," Giles said.
"Why?"
"You know, get some food, and some drinks, or whatever."
Xander thought. "Yeah, you're right. I know the girls won't want to leave anytime soon."
They stood up to wade into the water, but no sooner had they, they were forced back down to the sand by a powerful blow. A loud booming sound filled the air.
*~*~*
Just up the beach, the girls were instantly startled by an enormously loud noise and a blast of hot air. Angel and Oz were in the forest, and heard the noise.
"What was that?" Oz muttered. Immediately they started to run back out.
Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia turned towards the sound and saw their boat. Or rather, where their boat used to be. A huge explosion filled the air, a hot orange and black cloud rising up from the small boat. The heat from the explosion blasted out over the island, and the noise shook the trees.
Angel and Oz burst out of the forest just in time to see the last breaths of the explosion. Nothing remained of their boat but planks and driftwood. The girls rushed towards them from the side, and everyone just stood there, watching as the black cloud slowly dissipated and the wood floated lazily on the waves created from the explosion.
*~*~*
"Oh my god!" Cordelia cried hysterically. "What are we going to do?! We're stranded! We'll die out here!"
Willow immediately tried to calm her down.
"What the hell happened?" Buffy screamed, fury rising at the helpless situation she'd been left in.
"I don't know!" Xander replied. "We were just sitting here, and we stood up to go get some food, and the thing just exploded."
"But it couldn't have!" Oz cried. "Boats don't just explode, Xander, there's a reason!"
"Well, how should I know?" Xander yelled, annoyed. "Maybe it was a gas leak or something."
"Look, whatever it was, we're stranded here," Angel cut in, watching where their boat used to be. "And we need to go out there and get anything that might have survived the explosion before it drifts away."
Xander sighed, and turned angrily, storming back towards the forest. Angel didn't even look at him. He jumped into the ocean and started swimming towards the wreck. Oz followed him.
"What about sharks?!" Cordelia suddenly cried, making both Angel and Oz yell at her to shut up.
Giles went off to find Xander and calm him down, and Buffy, Willow, and Cordy flopped down onto the sand.
"This blows," Buffy groaned.
"So, we're really stuck here?" Willow asked in a small voice.
Buffy turned her weary eyes to her friend and nodded. "Yeah, Will, I think we are."
*~*~*
Soon after, everybody regrouped at the shore to discuss what to do and salvage whatever supplies they had left.
"All we found was some wood and a metal propeller blade," Angel announced grimly.
Xander was still smarting from Buffy's directing her anger onto him. "Well, this is great," Xander said sarcastically. "We're stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere, with no food, fresh water, or flare gun. Fantastic!"
Cordelia hit him. "Shut up, Xander!" she cried. "We all know what position we're in here, we don't need your reminders."
Buffy sighed. "Okay, I think we can manage for a while. We can fish for food. I don't know about the water, but there might be a fresh water lagoon or whatever somewhere on the island. I don't think there'll be anyone else or any vicious animals on the island, so I guess we could just sleep outside. Not that we have a choice. But at least it's not cold here at night."
Trying to be optimistic, everyone agreed.
"I'll go look around," Angel said. "See if I can find a lagoon or anything."
"I'll go with you," Buffy said immediately. She looked at the others. "You guys should try and find some sticks and use that Swiss Army knife Xander has to whittle them into spikes. You know, for fishing."
Nobody complained, just set off to do what they had to do.
*~*~*
Angel and Buffy jumped from the boulder and landed on the sand. Brushing herself off, Buffy looked around.
"Isn't there, like, some tactics to use to find fresh water?" she asked.
Angel shrugged. "Never heard of one."
Buffy sighed. "Okay. Then let's just go left."
They started left, which led to a few shrubs and more boulders. Angel and Buffy scrambled up the boulder, and paused of the top, using their new elevated position to see. A group of birds flew overhead, cawing loudly, and all swooped to the ground, out of sight, but not far away.
"Do you think they know what they're doing?" Buffy asked.
Angel nodded. "Probably. We should follow them." They jumped off thew boulder and started towards the birds. They emerged into the clearing where the birds had landed, startling them and causing them to fly off. Both let out a sigh of relief A big, fresh water lagoon lay hidden, surrounded by rocks and shrubs. At the head of the lagoon, a small waterfall cascaded over the rocks.
Buffy smiled devilishly. They'd been walking for a while, and they were hot. "Swim?" she suggested, and Angel immediately grabbed her and tossed her into the lagoon, jumping in after her. Buffy surfaced, laughing hysterically, and tried to force Angel under the water. He grabbed her hands and twisted them behind her back. Buffy giggled.
Angel took in her sight, wet, flushed, and smiling. Her blonde hair was dripping, and it fell around her shoulders. Her small white bikini had dislodged during their scuffle, and she made no move to fix it. Her lips were red and slightly parted, and her clear blue eyes were watching him intently.
Angel smiled. "You're so gorgeous," he whispered to her.
After splashing and kissing for almost a half hour, they emerged from the water, and headed back to their friends.
They found them sprawled out on the sand, Giles whittling spears, and Willow and Cordelia burying the sleeping Xander in the sand. Oz sat a little way off, staring out to sea.
"Boo," Buffy called loudly, waking Xander and startling the others.
Xander immediately noticed that he was buried, and began yelling and cursing loudly. Willow and Cordelia just giggled, and left him to free himself.
"We found a lagoon," Angel told them. "It's about a mile that way and inland a bit."
"If we're gonna build a campsite, we should do it closer to the lagoon," Buffy offered.
Giles nodded, and handed out the spears he'd whittled. "We can fish later today," he announced. "Xander, get up. Let's start walking."
Before long, they reached a nice spot, only a little bit away from the lagoon. Dropping their spears into the sand, Angel and Buffy led the way to the lagoon.
*~*~*
The sun was setting rapidly. Darkness began to engulf the people stranded on a small island in the middle of nowhere. They'd gone fishing, and had caught about seven fish between them.
"We need a fire," Cordelia said matter-of-factly.
"No matches," Buffy reminded her.
"Well, can't we rub some sticks together?" Willow asked.
Oz shrugged. "We could try, but I don't think that's worked for a few hundred years."
"I can make a fire," Angel said. "Giles, give me your glasses."
Giles reluctantly handed over his spectacles, and everyone gathered some dry sticks. Angel used the glasses to catch the last rays of the sun, and somehow, he managed to start a fire.
Xander happily speared a fish on the end of his stick, and thrust it into the flames.
*~*~*
They tried hard to keep the fire going throughout the night, but eventually it just gave up. The seven of them slept some during the night, but it was a restless, uncomfortable sleep. They were all worried about what the future would turn out like. Thy couldn't radio for help, the main island was way too far to swim to, and they had no flare gun or anything to make an SOS signal with. No doubt, before long they would get sick of eating fish.
The sun rose eventually, but nobodies spirits went with it. One by one they all rose out of their sand-beds.
"Damn," Buffy muttered. "I have sand in my hair." She headed down to the ocean for a quick swim to get it out.
Ten minutes later, Giles managed to assemble them all for a discussion.
"We need to talk about what we're going to do," he said.
Cordelia sighed. "Okay. Let's. We can do nothing!"
"She's right," Oz agreed. "We have no food, no radio, no boat. We have no way to get off this island."
Suddenly Buffy grinned. "Or do we?" she muttered. "Have you guys ever seen one of those movies where the main characters get stuck on an island and build a raft to get off?"
"In 'Six Days, Seven Nights' they built a plane," Xander snickered.
Buffy sighed. "Whatever. The point is, if we get a whole bunch of logs and tie them together with vines or something, we might be able to get off the island."
Willow groaned. "Come on, Buffy, this isn't some movie. Do you really think we can do that?"
"Why not?" Angel asked. "It's not really that far back to the main island."
"I still have my pen and paper," Giles spoke up. "Remember, I carried them from the boat? We may be able to draw a model so we could be better directed."
Xander groaned and started to complain, but Buffy interrupted. "You're right," she said. "here, give me the paper. I have an idea of what to do. Angel, you come with me, and everyone else, go find some big logs and vines."
She grabbed Angel's hand, and began to drag him down the beach, behind the boulders. Everyone else sighed, shaking their heads, and turned to walk into the forest.
*~*~*
Glancing around quickly to make sure her friends hadn't appeared, Buffy moved off her boyfriend and reassembled her bikini. Angel fixed himself up, laughing at Buffy's contended, devilish grin, and took her hand, pulling her out onto the sun and flopping onto the sand. Buffy curled up next to him.
"Okay, well, not that I'm complaining about what we did instead-" he flashed her a gorgeous smile, "-because it was much more fun, but we still haven't started to draw the stupid raft."
Buffy sighed, yawning. "Fine. Here," she quickly drew a few quick strokes on the paper and handed it to him. On the paper was a drawing of what resembled a bunch of lines, but not much else.
Angelus chuckled. "You are so artistically challenged," he teased her. Buffy feigned annoyance and hit him playfully. He caught her hand and pulled her partly on top of him for a sweet kiss.
*~*~*
"Incoming!" Xander yelled from his position up in the tree, disentangling a large branch and sending it sailing to the ground, missing Oz's head by about a foot.
"Damn you, Xander!" Oz cursed him. Xander just smiled sheepishly.
Willow and Cordelia came traipsing through the undergrowth, a large log held between them. At the same moment, Giles returned with a small branch. They all added their logs to the small pile they had going on the beach.
Xander paused a moment to stretch and look around. "Hey, where are Buffy and Angel?" he demanded. "How long does it take to draw a stupid raft?"
Willow and Cordelia exchanged glances and giggled. Earlier they'd climbed a huge tree to get a log down, and from their heightened position, they'd had a wonderful view of the beach – as well as Buffy and Angel doing a lot more than drawing a raft.
*~*~*
Angel sighed and scratched his head. He leaned back against the rock. He and Buffy had moved back into the shelter on the boulders once they'd realised that their friends would be able to see them if they climbed one of those taller trees.
Now, Buffy was spent from their numerous sessions, and she was sunbaking/sleeping next to him. Earlier on she'd removed her bikini top, saying to him, "it doesn't really bother you, does it?"
Angel chuckled. He'd told her no, she was fine. Yeah. Right.
He sighed, trying to focus on the paper in front of him, which she'd handed over when she realised how exhausted she was. So far it was blank. He was completely enticed by his half-naked girlfriend.
If he looked really far out to sea, he could see the main island. It seemed a lot further away than it did this morning. He hoped their raft could make it.
Sighing again, Angel shook his head to clear him of his lustful thoughts, and drew a few lines on the page. The hot sun and hard rock were making it hard to concentrate, not even mentioning Buffy sunbaking topless beside him.
After a few more minutes of drawing, Angel looked at his page. It was just a few messy lines and some scribbled writing. Oh, well. It'd do.
He gently shook Buffy awake, and she redressed and they headed back to their little camp. Their friends were all there, shaving little twigs and leaves off branches with Xander's knife. So far they had about fifteen fat branches all lined up like a raft, and Cordelia was casually tying a bunch of long vines together to make a rope.
Angel tossed the notepad to Xander, who caught it, took one look at it, and said, "This took you a whole hour? A mentally challenged person could've done this in two minutes! What the hell took you so long?"
Willow and Cordy exchanged glances and giggled, and Buffy shot them looks.
"W-well...it, um...it took a lot of, uh...planning," she stammered.
Xander just shook his head and glanced over the paper once more.
"Let me see that," Giles said, and Xander handed it to him. "Okay, so if we go by the, uh, drawing, then all these logs..."
*~*~*
By sunset, the raft was assembled. If it could be called a raft. It was merely a bunch of logs in a row, with vines knotted around them to keep them together.
"Well, it might work," Oz said thoughtfully.
Cordelia groaned. "Oz! Come on! It's never going to work!"
"Hey, come on," Willow protested. "We haven't even tried it yet. See if it'll float."
The guys all grabbed a corner and carried it into knee-deep water. When they lowered it, it remained afloat.
"Great!" Buffy said. "It works! Can we go now?"
"It's dark, Buffy," Xander stated.
"So? You scared of the dark?" Buffy taunted.
"Uh, no, Xander does have a point," Giles broke in. "We can't even see where we're going right now."
"Sure we can," Cordelia said. "It's that bunch of lights over there!"
"No," Giles said simply. "Bring the raft ashore. We'll go in the morning."
Nobody wanted to argue with Giles when he spoke in that voice, so the guys dragged the raft back onto the beach, and everyone lay out on the sand for another night on their deserted island.
*~*~*
"We've been out here for a long time, and we're not really getting that far," Cordelia stated.
"Well, we'd be going a lot faster if you rowed as well, Cordelia," Angel replied.
Cordelia sniffed. "Yeah, whatever. The thing is, we'd be going a lot faster is we were actually rowed with oars instead of sticks."
"Can you see any oars, Cordy?" Buffy snapped.
Cordelia sulked.
Giles looked back to their island. They were about a thousand metres away by now. The thick logs they were using to paddle weren't as good as oars, but they weren't that bad, either. And so far, the dodgy raft showed no signs of falling apart.
"I wonder if this has ever happened to anyone before," Oz said. "Maybe we weren't the first ones to get stranded on that island. Maybe others have, and this is how they got off."
Everyone fell silent while thinking about this. Their silence allowed them to hear a dull roar in the distance. They stirred, and everyone started to look around.
"What is that?" Willow asked.
"It sounds like an engine," Angel replied.
"An engine?" Cordy shrieked. "Where? Where is it?"
They continued to look. It seemed to be coming from the left. There was a small island there, with masses of trees on it. As they watched, the sound grew louder. It was undoubtedly an engine.
Then a yellow Coast Guard boat appeared from behind the island.
"Yes! We're saved! We're saved!" Cordy screamed, waving her arms to signal the Coast Guard. In her excitement, she jumped up, and began hopping up and down, waving to the boat. "Over here! Come on! Over here!" She jumped to one side of the raft.
Suddenly the log she jumped onto buckled, and the vines tore away. One by one the logs began to drift apart as the vines unwove from them. The logs disappeared quickly, and before they knew it, they all fell into the water with a mighty splash!
"Damn it, Cordy!" Xander yelled as he surfaced.
But Cordelia didn't hear him. The boat was slowing down beside them, and she was swimming towards it. One by one, giving each other relieved glanced, they all followed.
*~*~*
"Well, looks like you folks have some story," The boatman said as he pulled up at the harbor. "Unbelievable. Your boat just blew up?"
They all nodded. "It must have been a gas leak or something," Oz said.
The man stopped the boat and threw the rope to a guy waiting on the pier.
"I'm just glad it's over," Buffy murmured as she snuggled closer to Angel.
One by one they filed onto the pier, and Cordelia began another rant. "I can't believe that happened! Never, ever, ever let me go on vacation with you guys again. In Sunnydale or not, you guys just can't avoid weird stuff."
Oz cocked an eyebrow. "Sad fate," he muttered.
"Well, she's not the only one boycotting vacations," Buffy said. "I think I do better damage in Sunnydale. I'd rather fight vampires than be stranded on an island, any day."
"Who wants to go home?" Willow called.
The answer was unanimous.
*~*~*
The End