Sitting against the wall, he watched her stand and stretch her legs after sitting for forever. She kicked at the rocks in the blocked entrance and turned her head slightly toward him and asked slowly, evenly and sternly, "Why don't you have a cell phone? This is the end of the 20th century after all."

"Do you have one?" he inquired, rhetorically.

"Well, no, but I'm just a poor college student. You're supposed to be a professional…something." Her foot smashed pointlessly into the rock pile one more time. "But I'll get one as soon as we get out of this hole." As she spoke she unconsciously dropped her hand over her right pocket as if checking for a phone, instead bumping her small radio, completely forgotten until now. A squeal of delight sounded. "Agh! Giles…" With the radio in her hand she stretched it out to him. "We can use this!"

Giles jumped up. "What?" He stared at the small device she held up.

"This. It's my radio. We can use it to send messages…like an SOS."

His arched eye told her differently. "Buffy, it's a radio receiver not a transmitter."

"Well…we can make it one. I saw MacGyver do it once. You must know how to do it, don't you? This is your kind of know-how-it-all…"

"I haven't the vaguest idea." At her look of disdain he continued with a tinge of sarcasm, "I'm very sorry that hotwiring a miniature sound system is not my forte.

Ignoring both his tone and his words she began pulling off the battery cover. "Well, I'm pretty sure all we need is a cork and a needle, or maybe it's a paper clip. You gotta have a paperclip in one of those pockets."

"You're thinking of a compass."

"No, a paperclip…very different thing." She shook the radio hard in an attempt to get inside. "Come on, Giles, be helpful."

His lips pursed. "Buffy, a cork and needle are used to make a compass not a radio transmitter."

She shot him a sharp look. "I thought you didn't know how to do this?"

"I don't, but I do know a cork and needle make a compass."

"MacGyver could do it," she snapped.

"Too bad he's not here, whoever this MacGyver chap is."

"He's a TV guy. He helps people. Catches bad guys, stops nuclear meltdowns, saves endangered animals and trees and stuff." She saw his clueless look and followed with, "He's a TV character."

"Ah, well, he'd be a big help then, wouldn't he?"

"And I bet you have a compass in that backpack of yours, don't you?"

A deep breath helped him back off of what was quickly becoming an argument. He managed a contrite smile.

"Which is outside anyway," she barked.

"Buffy, bickering isn't going to help anything."

"I get cranky when I don't eat."

"Low blood sugar," he mumbled.

"You know, sometimes it gets really annoying that you know everything except what I need to know."

"I'll try to curb that." They walked in opposite directions as far as the cave would allow.

"There's nothing we can do. It's just going to take patience."

"Not my for-tay," she said, exaggerating and mocking his earlier use of the word.

A rueful smile played across his lips. "I'm painfully aware of that. It seems we're both caught in a situation where our strengths are of little use."

&&&&&&&&

They stood at opposite ends of the cave for a time, although it didn't put much distance between them. Buffy looked up at the sky. She missed the glittering fairies. The bright expanse seemed to taunt her as the sun illuminated the perfect blueness.

Giles squinted up at the light then removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes only to gasp as he unwittingly ground grit into them. She turned to the noise just as he reached into his pocket and found it was empty. She watched him make a wasted attempt to clean his glasses on a shirttail.

Itchy skin and sandpaper eyes, she knew the feeling. Pulling the forgotten handkerchief from her pocket she stared at it, then wiped her dirt-covered hands. Nothing was free of the prickly gritty discomfort any longer.

He glanced at her and thought about things he could say, but all his words felt empty like one of those saccharin-laden drinks that never quench a thirst. He edged closer, testing her tolerance for him. She felt his movement and her look told him to stay away. He replied with a nod imperceptible to anyone but those who knew him well.