Chapter the third: In which our intrepid adventurers begin their voyage.
A week later the trip was planned and Buffy, Dawn, Giles, and Willow were packed into the massive Excursion and waving good bye. Anya, being Anya requested that they bring her back a sufficient amount of gold to compensate her for the loss of free labour. Xander simply said to leave the Hellmouth to him; it wouldn't know what hit it. Dawn told him that she didn't think that the Hellmouth would respond to girlish screaming. The group had left town to the sound of Xander's indignant sputtering.
Now, as the small party tolled out of town, Giles looked back at the girls he'd be living with for the next five months. Willow was sitting in the navigator's seat; she was already engrossed in one of the books her mother had given her. Buffy was already asleep in the middle row having stayed awake for all of five minutes, just long enough to get on the interstate. Dawn had already set up fortifications in the backseat, headphones on, game boy out and her camera out to take advantage of any scenic views. Giles turned his eyes back to the road and drove on.
***
The drive from Sunneydale to the ferry terminal in Bellingham, Washington had grated everyone down to their last nerve. Dawn half expected the usually calm Giles to drive the Excursion off the road. Willow had stopped talking to Buffy after they had shared a bed in a motel in Oregon. And Buffy looked like she could slay the next vampire she saw one handed. Dawn hadn't ever known Buffy to go more then a few nights without slaying, and the lack of exercise was obviously taking their toll on the slayer, making her stir crazy and a little more then a bit edgy.
Kind of like someone else she could think of. Dawn knew Spike couldn't go even a single night with out a fight. She wondered what he was doing now, if he was still traveling to his friend in Kaktovik. What kind of town was named Kaktovik anyway; it sounded more like a sneeze then a town name. Maybe it was somewhere in Kazakhstan or one of those other places from the old USSR. And how was the vampire getting blood? Dawn had seen Doc throw Spike from the tower so she knew he was wounded, meaning he'd need more blood then average. She hoped he was okay, well she knew he was okay in the strictest sense, but undead didn't always mean alive and kicking when it came to Spike.
Dawn focused her mind back on the road. Bellingham was a pretty town; it was kind of like Sunneydale, except for the whole Washington-green aspect. That and Giles hadn't mentioned anything about a Hellmouth, but that didn't mean anything, Sunneydale could be deceptively normal at times. Signs for the local university emblazoned local storefronts and the populous went about their business as if unaware that the worlds saviors were driving through town in a forest green Excursion. To be fair, they probably didn't know the massive SUV carried the people's champion against the darkness, her watcher, a powerful witch and a maybe inter-dimensional key. But would it kill them to put out banners or something once in a while, just in case? No
acknowledgement, guess this was the price one paid for running with the Slayer. Dawn giggled 'price you paid', her inner dialogue was starting to sound like the script to a very bad B movie.
"What the funny, Dawn?"
Dawn looked at her sister, "just something I thought of."
"Oh." Buffy turned back to the book about Anchorage she had picked up at a local book store.
Dawn looked back out the window for a moment before turning back to her sister. "Buffy," she asked, "do you think he's okay?"
Buffy kept looking down at her book, Dawn wasn't sure her sister had heard her until Buffy finally spoke up.
"I don't know Dawn, you're the one with the crazy brain link, shouldn't I be asking you the same question?"
"I only know he's alive, but you've known him longer. I thought you'd know how he was thinking or something."
Buffy sat in silence for a moment before answering, "He feels guilty, I think." Dawn looked to her sister in surprise. "He promised he'd protect you till the end of the world, 'even if that happens to be tonight' he said. And then he got thrown from the tower and Doc almost opened the portal. He thinks it's his fault that you got hurt."
"But he did the best he could!" Dawn argued, "Especially after Glory's patented meat grinder."
Buffy nodded, "I know that," she said, "and you know that, hell, even Spike knows it in some form. But he still blames himself."
"Why?"
"And that, Regis, is the million dollar question. 'Cause Spike is pure vampire, not a soul on him, and without a soul he shouldn't feel guilt or remorse, but he does."
"That confused Doc too. He said he didn't know why Spike cared, he didn't smell a soul on him, but Spike said he'd made a 'promise to a lady'."
"Me."
"Yeah, you" "It's almost scary," Buffy said after a moment, "how much he was willing to do for you, me, mom. Even Angel never much cared about you and mom, and except for the whole Angelus incident he came down pretty firmly on the side of 'good guy'."
Dawn smiled, "leave it to Spike to defy explanation!"
"Yeah," Buffy sighed, "leave it to Spike."
***
The Excursion drove around Bellingham for a while before reaching the ferry terminal. Giles went to confirm their reservation while the three girls stood staring at the Cascade Mountains.
"Wow" Buffy said looking at the bright green mountains.
"We do have mountains back home, Buffy," Dawn said.
"Yeah," Willow answered her, "but they're never this green."
"Yeah," Buffy said, her eyes still glazed.
Willow and Dawn smiled at the slayer, Buffy was usually only interested in the slaying aspects of nature; what stained, what didn't. Willow couldn't wait until they got to Alaska and Buffy saw the mountains there.
Giles walked back over to where the girls were standing with four tickets in hand.
"The boat won't be very full," he told them, "so the woman at the ticket office was kind enough to allow me to change our bookings. Now, rather then a four person bunk, we have a four person suite, someone will have to either sleep on the couch or share a bed, but we will have our privacy back."
All three girls were smiling by the time he was done.
"Privacy," Willow joked, "what's that?"
The travelers loaded back into the Excursion and drove up the ramp and into the ferry, waiving Washington one last goodbye.
A week later the trip was planned and Buffy, Dawn, Giles, and Willow were packed into the massive Excursion and waving good bye. Anya, being Anya requested that they bring her back a sufficient amount of gold to compensate her for the loss of free labour. Xander simply said to leave the Hellmouth to him; it wouldn't know what hit it. Dawn told him that she didn't think that the Hellmouth would respond to girlish screaming. The group had left town to the sound of Xander's indignant sputtering.
Now, as the small party tolled out of town, Giles looked back at the girls he'd be living with for the next five months. Willow was sitting in the navigator's seat; she was already engrossed in one of the books her mother had given her. Buffy was already asleep in the middle row having stayed awake for all of five minutes, just long enough to get on the interstate. Dawn had already set up fortifications in the backseat, headphones on, game boy out and her camera out to take advantage of any scenic views. Giles turned his eyes back to the road and drove on.
***
The drive from Sunneydale to the ferry terminal in Bellingham, Washington had grated everyone down to their last nerve. Dawn half expected the usually calm Giles to drive the Excursion off the road. Willow had stopped talking to Buffy after they had shared a bed in a motel in Oregon. And Buffy looked like she could slay the next vampire she saw one handed. Dawn hadn't ever known Buffy to go more then a few nights without slaying, and the lack of exercise was obviously taking their toll on the slayer, making her stir crazy and a little more then a bit edgy.
Kind of like someone else she could think of. Dawn knew Spike couldn't go even a single night with out a fight. She wondered what he was doing now, if he was still traveling to his friend in Kaktovik. What kind of town was named Kaktovik anyway; it sounded more like a sneeze then a town name. Maybe it was somewhere in Kazakhstan or one of those other places from the old USSR. And how was the vampire getting blood? Dawn had seen Doc throw Spike from the tower so she knew he was wounded, meaning he'd need more blood then average. She hoped he was okay, well she knew he was okay in the strictest sense, but undead didn't always mean alive and kicking when it came to Spike.
Dawn focused her mind back on the road. Bellingham was a pretty town; it was kind of like Sunneydale, except for the whole Washington-green aspect. That and Giles hadn't mentioned anything about a Hellmouth, but that didn't mean anything, Sunneydale could be deceptively normal at times. Signs for the local university emblazoned local storefronts and the populous went about their business as if unaware that the worlds saviors were driving through town in a forest green Excursion. To be fair, they probably didn't know the massive SUV carried the people's champion against the darkness, her watcher, a powerful witch and a maybe inter-dimensional key. But would it kill them to put out banners or something once in a while, just in case? No
acknowledgement, guess this was the price one paid for running with the Slayer. Dawn giggled 'price you paid', her inner dialogue was starting to sound like the script to a very bad B movie.
"What the funny, Dawn?"
Dawn looked at her sister, "just something I thought of."
"Oh." Buffy turned back to the book about Anchorage she had picked up at a local book store.
Dawn looked back out the window for a moment before turning back to her sister. "Buffy," she asked, "do you think he's okay?"
Buffy kept looking down at her book, Dawn wasn't sure her sister had heard her until Buffy finally spoke up.
"I don't know Dawn, you're the one with the crazy brain link, shouldn't I be asking you the same question?"
"I only know he's alive, but you've known him longer. I thought you'd know how he was thinking or something."
Buffy sat in silence for a moment before answering, "He feels guilty, I think." Dawn looked to her sister in surprise. "He promised he'd protect you till the end of the world, 'even if that happens to be tonight' he said. And then he got thrown from the tower and Doc almost opened the portal. He thinks it's his fault that you got hurt."
"But he did the best he could!" Dawn argued, "Especially after Glory's patented meat grinder."
Buffy nodded, "I know that," she said, "and you know that, hell, even Spike knows it in some form. But he still blames himself."
"Why?"
"And that, Regis, is the million dollar question. 'Cause Spike is pure vampire, not a soul on him, and without a soul he shouldn't feel guilt or remorse, but he does."
"That confused Doc too. He said he didn't know why Spike cared, he didn't smell a soul on him, but Spike said he'd made a 'promise to a lady'."
"Me."
"Yeah, you" "It's almost scary," Buffy said after a moment, "how much he was willing to do for you, me, mom. Even Angel never much cared about you and mom, and except for the whole Angelus incident he came down pretty firmly on the side of 'good guy'."
Dawn smiled, "leave it to Spike to defy explanation!"
"Yeah," Buffy sighed, "leave it to Spike."
***
The Excursion drove around Bellingham for a while before reaching the ferry terminal. Giles went to confirm their reservation while the three girls stood staring at the Cascade Mountains.
"Wow" Buffy said looking at the bright green mountains.
"We do have mountains back home, Buffy," Dawn said.
"Yeah," Willow answered her, "but they're never this green."
"Yeah," Buffy said, her eyes still glazed.
Willow and Dawn smiled at the slayer, Buffy was usually only interested in the slaying aspects of nature; what stained, what didn't. Willow couldn't wait until they got to Alaska and Buffy saw the mountains there.
Giles walked back over to where the girls were standing with four tickets in hand.
"The boat won't be very full," he told them, "so the woman at the ticket office was kind enough to allow me to change our bookings. Now, rather then a four person bunk, we have a four person suite, someone will have to either sleep on the couch or share a bed, but we will have our privacy back."
All three girls were smiling by the time he was done.
"Privacy," Willow joked, "what's that?"
The travelers loaded back into the Excursion and drove up the ramp and into the ferry, waiving Washington one last goodbye.