Elizabeth and William sat together outside their new "home," the only light now available that of the moon and the fire in front of them. William had managed to clean and cook the boar he had killed earlier, and Elizabeth had to admit that she was impressed by his culinary skills. The idea of eating the creature had been somewhat off-putting to her at first, but her suddenly ravenous stomach had convinced her to take a chance, and she was quite happy that she had. How William had managed to cook something so delicious with what little supplies they were offered was beyond her, but she didn't question it. She took another bite, hoping that she was managing to still eat like a lady even here in this setting.
Suddenly, Buffy looked down at the piece of meat she was holding and frowned. Something was very wrong. She knew she'd been Elizabeth for a moment, but something was different this time, something more unsettling than usual.
"Um, how did we get here?"
Buffy looked up at Spike as he spoke and realized what the problem was this time. "I have no clue. One second we were walking away from the pool, and then the next thing I knew I was coming off another one of those freaky Elizabeth mind switch things."
"William cooked this," Spike said, holding up a piece of boar meat. "I have no memory of actually doing that. Something's just telling me it happened."
"Do you think maybe our characters took over completely for a while?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know." Spike's brow furrowed as he thought for a moment. "Maybe we're skipping around in the narrative."
"Huh?"
"Well, maybe William cooked this, but it wasn't in the novel. Just mentioned, you know?"
"So we just what, skipped ahead a few pages?"
"No. It didn't happen because the book was leaving out the unimportant parts. But it's part of the story, so we think it happened."
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was getting to be too much. "So now it's not only controlling our words and actions but jerking us around through time, too?"
"I suppose. It's just a theory. I'm not really understanding this anymore than you are, Buffy."
Buffy threw the meat down to the ground and stood up. "I can't take this anymore! I'm weak, all this Elizabeth-Buffy switch stuff is making my head hurt, and I'm wearing really silly clothes!" She started towards the shelter, but Spike ran after her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards him.
"It'll be all right. Things look bad now, I know, but we'll get back."
"But I want to go home now! I've had enough of this stupid book."
"You're freaked out by what just happened, Buffy," Spike said, rubbing her arms as he realized she was trembling. "But you've faced worse, and you've survived. This isn't going to be the end of you, Slayer. I promise you that."
"But what if it is? What if I die here just like that guy we found earlier did?"
"You won't! None of this is real, Buffy. It's just a story, just fiction. And we're the main characters, all right? We're going to be okay. That guy, he was never anything but those bones."
"But it feels real! And what if it becomes real? What if we become William and Elizabeth, and we're stuck here forever, and this is our lives, and…"
Spike silenced her with a kiss. Buffy's eyes widened for a moment before she gave into the sensations he was creating inside of her, moaning against his mouth. He took it as an invitation, and slipped his tongue inside, hers eagerly moving to join. When they broke apart, both were gasping for air.
"William…"
William held on to Elizabeth's arms as if trying to push her away but not quite able to. "Oh, Elizabeth, I want you. I shouldn't, I know, but I cannot stop the tide of my desire."
Elizabeth turned her head, blushing furiously. "I…I want you, too, William. I…I give you permission."
"Elizabeth, my darling, you do not know what you're asking me to do…or how you're tempting me."
Elizabeth looked up, her expression both shy and full of unrealized desire. "I do know. I…I know what you want, William, and I'm willing to give it to you."
"Do you, Elizabeth? Do you know what happens between a man and a woman?"
Elizabeth breathed in deeply. "You could show me."
Her innocent yet lust-filled tone was William's undoing. He scooped her up, carrying her into the shelter. He laid her down on the bed of leaves, then stood again, Elizabeth's arms immediately reaching for him. "Don't worry, my sweet," he cooed as he took off his boots and shirt. "I'm not leaving you."
William dropped down into Elizabeth's arms, covering her face with kisses. "My darling…my angel…Oh, Elizabeth, how I want you!"
"I want you, too, William. I…I love you." The last three words she spoke were soft, conveying her fear at uttering them.
William pushed himself up on one elbow, using the other hand to smooth her golden tresses away from her face. "Do…do you mean that, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth steeled herself and met his deep, blue eyes. "Yes. I love you, William."
"I love you, too."
Any lingering doubts Elizabeth may have been feeling about what she was going to do fluttered away at the sound of those words coming from William's lips. He loved her! That could only mean that this was right, no matter what the society she had been a part of before may have told her. The rules of the past had no meaning here, on this island. All that matter now was the two of them and their love for each other.
Buffy couldn't believe what had just happened. She'd done what she'd never believed she'd do—have sex with Spike. She wished she could blame it on Elizabeth, but sometime during it all, she'd come back to herself, and had known exactly what she was doing. But that hadn't stopped her. She'd kept going, wanting Spike just as much as Elizabeth had wanted William.
For a while, the only sounds in the shelter for some time were their ragged breathing, until Buffy finally spoke.
"You're squishing me."
"Oh, sorry." Spike rolled off of her, lying at her side. To his surprise, Buffy followed him over, resting her head on his chest. "Buffy…"
"No. Don't say anything. I don't want to talk about it. Let's just let it be what it was, okay?"
"And what was it?"
"It was…it was that."
Spike bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything else. He wanted more than that, wanted to know if her feelings for him had changed. He'd been in love with her for what seemed like so long now, and what had just transpired between them had been one of the most amazing experiences of his existence. But he knew Buffy, knew how easily she could turn cold on him again. He knew she wouldn't have done this had they never ended up in this book, and he had no illusions of it happening again once they returned to Sunnydale. All he'd have of her right now was this, and if she was willing to stay in his arms for the moment, he wasn't going to open his big mouth and ruin everything.
Instead, he held her, watching her even long after she drifted off to sleep.
"We're too late."
The entire Scooby Gang turned at Anya's words, although none of them seemed as if they'd fully processed them. "What do you mean we're too late?" Xander asked for all of them.
"Buffy and Spike just had sex. Good sex, too. Buffy had three orgasms." Everyone but Anya blushed, although she didn't understand what the trouble was. With sex like that, Buffy should be much happier than she had been before going into the book. If she didn't already have Xander, Anya would've asked Buffy if she'd be willing to share Spike. He seemed like a good find.
"Oh goddess, poor Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.
"Poor Buffy?" Anya asked, visibly perplexed. "Did you hear the three orgasms part?"
"Yes, we did," Giles said, predictably cleaning his glasses. "I'd ask for you not to repeat it again."
"But the book made her do that!" Willow said, clarifying her response. "It's…it's like she's been raped!"
"Not how I read it," Anya said. "Okay, well, for the first part they were in character, but that last bit was all Spike and Buffy. You can tell because the names shift—and she was most definitely screaming Spike's name."
"Oh dear lord."
"I'm with the stuffy British man," Xander muttered, sitting down.
"You people can make with the drama if you want, but I'm saying we're going to have one relaxed Slayer when all this is said and done."
"Anya, could you please just not talk?" Xander said.
Anya shrugged and went back to the book. Yet another reminder that she would never fully understand human behavior.
Review please. Let me know what you're thinking about the fic so far.
I know this chapter was kind of short. That's because it had to be heavily edited for this website. I try not to shortchange the people reading the censored version in update length, but I really couldn't make this chapter any longer. Sorry!
