50 MILES FROM WHAT UNTIL RECENTLY WAS SUNNYDALE CALIFORNIA
A FEW MONTHS AGO
Xander stepped out of the motel room, head spinning. Either from the rum or from what had just happened, he couldn't say. Didn't even really want to contemplate really. Would he regret this tomorrow? Would he remember this tomorrow?
"Waaaaait a minute."
Xander let out an eep, and spun around, and that he certainly regretted. Nope he was not yet sober, and his balance was not where he was. A strong female hand caught his arm before he could fall over, and he found himself trying to look innocently and non-chalantly into the suspicious and world-wise eyes of Faith, the Vampire Slayer.
"That's not your room you just came out of." she said.
"So?" he said defensively.
"That...was B's room."
"Again, so?"
She steadied him, took a step back, and looked him up and down. Then she leaned forward and sniffed. "Oh, my God."
"Shut up."
Faith began to giggle. And Faith didn't giggle. She was not a giggling kind of girl. But she couldn't help it. "You dog!"
"Shut up."
"Good for you!"
Xander glowered.
"Not good for you?" A dozen jokes came into her head but she managed to leave them unsaid. She might not be the sensitive type, but she did in fact, have a filter. "At least she let you get dressed first." Well she managed to leave most of them unsaid.
"Please shut up."
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with two people taking comfort in each other." she shrugged.
"It's complicated. This," he waved vaguely at Buffy's door. "Is..."
"Doesn't have to be. Did you enjoy it?"
"I'm not talking about this with you."
"Hey fine." Faith shrugged again. "It's between you two. Just, whatever else, remember that you two are buds."
SAN FRANCISCO
That leer should never appear on Xander's face. His smiles were goofy, self deprecating, occasionally guilty. Even when he was horning on her he'd never looked at her like that.
"Where the hell have you been?" Buffy demanded of Jack.
"Exploring." he said vaguely, heading for the kitchen. "Investigating...interpreting." He had in fact, on the way back kindly translated some English into Mandarin Chinese and vice versa for some rich tourists. "Which reminds me." He pulled a wad of cash out of one of his pockets and handed it to Buffy. "Never let it be said that Captain Jack Sparrow never pays his debts. Sometimes he does." He couldn't make heads or tails out of the papery stuff.
"Where did you get-"
"Don't," Faith cautioned. "Don't ask, B."
"Pirate." Buffy groaned.
"Pirate." Jack agreed, smirking and giving her a mocking bow. "We come in all shapes, sizes, and shades of grey love."
"You're also thieves and murderers." Buffy spat back.
"Thieves yes." he had to admit. "But murderers? Killers maybe. When needs must. This is what comes of only listening to the winners of a fight I suppose. Ask your average Demon on the street about the Slayer and see what you hear. Savior of the human race? Brave warrior? Or brutal killer?"
"What did you mean about the Flying Dutchman?" Andrew asked, remembering what Jack had said just before he ditched them. He could see that things could take a turn for the violent if someone didn't head off this conversation.
Buffy gave both Jack and Andrew piercing looks. She'd spent the day studying that book, and the chapters about the Flying Dutchman were incredibly ooky.
"What do you know about the Dutchman?" Jack asked mysteriously.
Andrew loved telling stories, but usually he liked to embellish them. And in a situation like this he figured that wouldn't be appropriate. So he wasn't entirely comfortable when he admitted; "Not much. I mean it's a ghost story you tell around the campfire, like the hook man or vanishing hitchhiker. The Flying Dutchman was a ghost ship that portended death. If anyone saw it it meant something terrible was going to happen."
Which squared sort of with what Buffy and Dawn had learned, though it was hardly the whole story. "Why are we talking about this?"
"Jack, Drew and me saw a ship down at the marina called the Flying Dutchman." Faith told her. "It was just parked with the other touristy ships."
Buffy spun. "Was it? Was it the Dutchman?"
Jack couldn't fathom the girl. She was acting like she actually knew all about it. "Not a bit of it. But why, one must ask, would anyone call their ship that eh?" The knowing grin was better than the leer she supposed.
"Faith," Buffy said, "Get everyone together. Every girl we can. Jack, what, is on, that ship?"
"Oh, the usual darling. Pirates. Vampires."
"Vampirates?" Andrew suggested. He cowered before the dirty looks of three people who didn't appreciate puns.
"Well that's okay then." Faith said, a slight hint of relief in her tone. "We can handle Vampires, no problem."
"Right." Jack agreed. "Off you pop then. Nice knowing you all."
"Why what's wrong?"
"Well you see, you're not dealing with ordinary Vampires. Cruel, demented, vicious Vampires to be certain. But cruel, demented, visious Vampires who cannot be killed?"