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"Are ya not enjoyin' yerself, captain?"

Spike stared into his ale, really wishing the Xander-pirate would go away. "I'm enjoying myself just fine," he mumbled.

"Doesn't look like it to me. Did the wench not please ya last night?"

Spike glanced up. "Wench?"

"Aye. That pretty little filly you brought to you cabin last night. Was she not as pleasin' as she looks?"

Spike growled, reaching up to grab Xander by the throat. "Don't talk about her like that," he snarled. "Lady Elizabeth is a proper young woman."

Xander's eyes bulged as he gasped for breath. When he thought his point had gotten across, Spike let go, staring into his drink again. "I will keep in mind from now on that she is indeed a proper lady," Xander said, rubbing his throat.

"You do that, whelp," Spike replied. He pushed down the urge to hurt Xander some more, knowing that it would accomplish nothing, and that his anger wasn't really at the boy anyway. Part of him wanted to be angry at Buffy, but honestly, he knew he was really angry at himself. Strange circumstances aside, he was away from the Hellmouth—away from that bloody chip—and yet all he could think about was Buffy. He was willing to pass up his chance to do some real violence again, just because she needed his help.

And to make matters worse, he'd just gone so far as to defend her honor. It wasn't like she was a blushing virgin by any means. But hearing someone belittle her—even this strange version of Xander—was enough to set him on edge.

Spike stood, shoving the chair under the table as he did. For a second, all eyes were on him, but as he turned to leave, everyone went back to what they were doing before the captain had made his abrupt mood shift.

Spike stopped when he got on the deck, closing his eyes and sucking in a deep breath. He walked to the side of the ship, looking out over the water. The sun's rays danced on the blue surface, and Spike felt his anger fading. He hadn't paid much attention to it the day before, but now he remembered just how beautiful the sun was. He went to Buffy's cabin, pulling her out by her arm amidst protests from both Buffy and Lord Rupert.

"What's your deal?" Buffy asked as she pulled away from Spike.

"I want you to see this," he said, leading her over to where he'd been standing earlier.

"What? The ocean? It's very, um, watery."

"No," Spike said with a shake of his head. "Not the water. The light."

"The light? What are you…" Buffy stopped short when she realized what he meant. "The sun."

"Yeah."

Buffy smiled. "It must be nice to see it again after all these years."

Spike turned away from the ocean to look at Buffy. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the sun's rays dance on her golden hair. He reached out tentatively, touching a strand that had fallen in front of her eyes. "The smile of her I love is like the dawn whose touch makes Memnon sing. O see where wide the golden sunlight flows."

Buffy blinked, gaping. Had Spike been replaced by one of whatever the Giles-looking thing in her cabin was. "What did you just say?"

Spike jumped back. What the hell had that been? He'd left his habit of spouting out lines of poetry behind long ago. "Uh, nothing. Maybe after not being exposed to the sun for so long, it's, um, sunstroke. Makes you say crazy things. So, any new ideas on how to get back to good ol' Sunnyhell?"

Buffy decided that the fact that Spike had both quoted poetry to her and that he had used the word "love" were best ignored completely. "Nope. Lord Rupert in there has made it impossible for me to concentrate on anything. First, I had to convince him that you had in fact not compromised my virtue last night, and then he proceeded to talk non-stop about the 'horrible predicament we are facing.' I will never, ever accuse regular Giles of being too stuffy again."

Spike was grateful that Buffy had decided not to comment on what, as far as he could tell, had been his temporary possession by his long-suppressed poncy git alter ego. "That bad, pet?"

"Yes."

"You can always join me and the other pirates."

"I would prefer not to. They are no more than savage beasts."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "You'd 'prefer not to?' 'No more than savage beasts?' Where's that special version of Buffy English I've grown so accustom to?"

Buffy sighed. "I've been doing that all day! It's got to be him, and his proper speaking. It's rubbing off on me."

Spike bit back a laugh at her genuine disappointment at speaking properly. "Has Lord Rupes been in there playing Henry Higgins on you, pet?"

"Inadvertently, it would seem. Ah! I did it again! That's it. I'm not talking anymore."

"As if that would even be possible. I don't think I've even known you to keep your mouth shut for more than two minutes at a time." Buffy started to speak, but quickly caught herself, glaring at Spike. Spike laughed. "Had anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you're being defiant? Annoying, yes, but there's a definite adorableness in there, too," he teased.

"And you, sir, are incorrigible."

Spike moved closer to her. "I believe that's what you like most about me, my lady. You've grown tired of men you've known before, and their proper ways. You're seeing now that what you need, is a rogue."

"I dare say not! You stay away from me, you vile…" Buffy stopped in mid-sentence. "What in the—you were doing it, too!"

Spike shook his head. "Yeah. That was…"

"Majorly wiggy." Buffy smiled at her statement. "Yes, majorly wiggy. That's what it was. Much of the wigginess there."

"You're overcompensating."

"Right." Buffy sighed. "We really need to get out of here."

"I'm starting to agree with you there, Slayer. Don't like the idea of something controlling what I say and do like that. With my luck this'll turn out to be like the bleedin' Pirates of Penzance, The last thing I need is to be hit with the uncontrollable urge to burst into song."

"So we need to figure out what's going on here, search the ship some more. There has to be a way out. I will not even begin to consider that we're stuck here forever."

"We can do a little more reconnaissance work tonight."

"And hopefully not run into anymore creepy little pirates."

"I'll come and get you when most of the ship is out then?"

"All right. Hopefully we can get out of this place soon. Again, may I comment on the wigginess?"

"Wigginess noted," Spike said with a wink. Then his expression softened, and he reached out to touch Buffy's hair again. "You really are beautiful in the sunlight, kitten. I should've savored the look of you more when I had that ring."

Buffy stared at him, at a loss for words. But then he quickly reverted back to the Spike she knew, pulling away from her. "Well, back to your cabin then. See you when we can get something done."

"Okay," Buffy replied, surprised to find her voice working. Spike locked her back up with Lord Rupert, then walked away, cursing himself as he did.

He needed to get out of here soon before he made the mistake of saying something Buffy couldn't simply ignore.

*** *** ***

Joyce and Giles sat on the couch, an uncomfortable silence between them. No one had heard from Buffy. They had decided then to wait for her, both telling themselves that they were worrying over nothing and that the Slayer would walk through the door any moment, perfectly fine.

That had been over an hour ago. As the seconds ticked away, the tension rose. Even on Buffy's longer patrols, she'd usually checked in by now. And with Glory still out there, neither her mother nor her Watcher could help but think the worst.

Finally Giles stood. "I can't take this any longer. I'm going to look for her."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Joyce asked. "Not that I don't want to find my daughter, but…"

"I'll take weapons. And perhaps ask some of the others to accompany me."

Joyce nodded, wringing her hands. "You'll let me know the moment you find her, right?" She couldn't stand the thought of putting an "if" into that question.

"Of course, Joyce. Wherever Buffy is, I'll see to it that she makes it home safely. She will be fine."

*** *** ***

Buffy gripped the side of the cot as another blast rocked the ship. The fear that she'd felt when she'd first realized she was without her Slayer powers came back with a vengeance. They were under attack, and she couldn't fight.

Her feeling of panic grew when she thought of Spike. What if he was injured—or killed. Who would protect her then?

Wait…did she just think of Spike as he protector? Buffy shook her head. Now was not the time to worry about that. She had to stay strong, remember that with or without her powers, she was still the Slayer.

The boat shook again, and Buffy screamed, flinging herself on the cot. Lord Rupert sat on the floor, his face pale as he mouthed something that Buffy thought was most likely a prayer.

Buffy wished more than ever that she could just go home.

*** *** ***

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Spike roared over the sound of cannon fire.

"We're under attack," Xander replied.

"I can see that, you bleedin' idiot!" Spike replied. "Do we know who's doing the attacking? Is it the navy?" Spike felt a cold grip of fear at the thought of "Admiral Finn" coming to take Buffy away from him.

"No. From the look of the colors, it's another pirate ship."

"Why aren't we blowing them out of the water then?" Spike asked.

"We're trying! They have bigger guns." Spike groaned as he watched the other ship come closer. The cannon fire stopped. "It looks like they're preparing to board us, captain."

"I noticed that," Spike muttered as he watched the other pirates clearly begin to board. His thoughts immediately went to Buffy. He may be able to keep her safe from his own crew, but with these new pirates thrown into the mix… His stomach turned at the thought of what could happen to her.

He wouldn't let it happen. He'd protect her with his life if need be.

"Stand your ground, men!" he yelled to his crew as the other pirates started over to his ship. He could see that they were clearly outgunned and out-manned, the other vessel significantly larger than his own.

"Aye, William my boy, no need to get testy. S'not like me cannons did any damage to yer very fine ship here. Just me way of greetin' was all that was."

Spike groaned as he heard the voice. He watched as the first two pirates to come aboard his ship stepped aside, revealing a tall man with a large mustache. That voice, that face—two things he would never be able to forget, no matter how hard he tried. And something told Spike that the other man's presence here was not a good thing.

"Angelus."

*** *** ***

And wasn't that a mean place to leave a cliffhanger? Anyone wanting to hurt me now?

The poem Spike quotes is "The Smile of her I Love" by Richard Watson Gilder, in case you were wondering.

I'd like to say something in response to the number of complaints I've gotten about my less-than-speedy updates. This isn't about people who leave reviews telling me they want me to update soon or that they can't wait for the next chapter, but serious complaints. I've already tried to get this across numerous times, but seeing as I'm obviously being ignored by some, I'm going to try one more time.

First off, I'd like to say I'm appreciative of every review I receive. I am grateful that people read my stories, and that they enjoy them enough to let me know. However, repeated complaints about when I update start to get old really quickly. I have written author's note after author's note about why I can't update more frequently than I do. I have a job. I go to college. I am either at one of those places—or both—every single day. Monday-Sunday, as in seven out of seven days a week. I don't have weekends off. I don't have any day off. EVER. I am constantly busy. So no, I can't update faster. No, I can't make my chapters longer. I'm lucky I find the time—and the energy—to write what I do.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing fanfic. It's a great stress reliever for me, and I enjoy being creative. If I had the time, I would certainly write more than I do. But the way my life is right now, I just can't. Fanfic is a hobby—not my whole life. I'm not over here bogarting chapters. I don't sit at my computer with chapter after chapter finished and think, "I know, I won't post this just to make them sweat!" When I get one finished, I post it immediately. I write, I proofread, I post. I don't know how I could possibly make the process any faster.

I know you want to read more of my stories, and frankly, that's flattering. I'd love to be able to give you more than I do. But please, bear in mind that I'm not some fanfic writing machine. I'm a person with a very busy life. Harassing me will not make the chapters come any faster. All it will do is stress me out more, which interrupts my creative flow.

Thanks for reading!

Addie





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