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Jenny watched as Willow and Buffy walked toward the dinner table. The first thing she noticed was their happy faces. She looked over at her girls and noticed their heads were together laughing about something.

"Girls, did you have a good time today?" Jenny asked her daughters.

Ally and Sara looked up at their mother and smiled. "Great time, mom," Ally said.

"Yeah, it was totally awesome," Sara, agreed.

Both girls were able to spend time with their parents playing their favorite games and joking around. They had talked their father into playing twister, and it gave them the case of the giggles, to where they laughed until tears where streaming down their faces and their bellies hurt from laughing so hard.

"Good, cause I had a great time too, as I'm sure your father did," Jenny told them. "He was still laughing about being a father pretzel when he was telling Wesley about playing twister."

"Hi everyone," Willow said as she and Buffy arrived at the table. "You guys look like you had a nice time today."

"Yep, we made Dad play Twister and stuff," Ally replied.

"I think we will call him Daddy pretzel from now on," Sarah giggled.

"So, what did you ladies do today after the pool?" Jenny asked, looking directly as Buffy with a teasing smile.

"I went exploring with Wesley," Willow told them, unable to keep from blushing.

"Really? How wonderful, and you Buffy, did you get any exploring done?" Jenny winked, taking in how the blonde's face flushed.

"I had lunch with William and then we also explored the ship," Buffy replied, thinking back to what a great time they had until he had to leave and get ready to go to work. It seemed there was another little cocktail party before dinner. Then after dinner was the masquerade party that he had to participate in.

"William? Are you talking about Uncle Spike?" Sara asked.

"Yes," Buffy answered, hoping the teenager was not going to be mad. Thinking the young girl might have a little crush on her uncle.

"Cool," Sara replied, as she gave Buffy a big smile. "Man, I like you so much better than-"

"Sara," Jenny said, her voice caring a tone that told her daughter not to cross that line.

Sara looked at her mother and apologized, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, honey, just try and remember that you can't always say what you want, whenever you want to. I like to think I have taught you some manners in your short life," Jenny softy reprimanded her oldest.

Ally looked from Buffy to Willow happy they were dating her uncles. She never liked Harmony, and she had never met any of Wesley's girlfriends. Later she would tell her sister, who she agreed with, that she liked Buffy much better then Harmony too.

"Good evening ladies," Alfie announced himself as he came to the table to take the ladies orders.

"Alfie, how are you?" Willow asked, recognizing the porter that had helped them when they first boarded the ship.

"I'm honored that you remember my name," Alfie said, as he bowed his head toward the lovely lady, feeling special that she had remembered his name.

"How is Jeremy?" Buffy asked.

"He is doing well. He is working the other dining room tonight." Alfie smiled his shy little smile. "So what can I get for you ladies tonight? If I may make a suggestion, the seafood casserole is excellent. But take your time and look over the menu and if you have any questions please ask."

Everyone settled in, giving the young man their dinner order, Buffy chose the lamb chops with garlic potatoes. Willow, Jenny, and Sarah ordered the seafood casserole, where Allyson went with chicken tenders and fries.

*******

Giles felt relaxed as he watched Spike and Wesley banter back and forth as they walked together to dinner. Both men appeared to be relaxed, with no evidence of the events of yesterday present at this time. Spike looked rested and back to his old self. Wesley had a special gleam in his eye that had not been there this morning.

The cocktail party had ended without any incident between Spike and Angel, which had been a blessing. Angel continued to act as if nothing had happened as he greeted the fans. Since the high number of guests, they had divided the numbers so everyone would have a chance to mix and mingle with the stars in a semi-intimate setting.

"No, Spike I will not wear a dress this season," Wesley glared at his friend. "You, my dearest friend would make a much better trampy vamp in drag, so I think the dress scene should be written for you."

"Sorry, mate, you have far better legs then me," Spike said with a serious look on his face.

"You should not be paying attention to my legs," Wesley snorted.

"But, Wes remember those days you lived in tights and short little dress outfits?" Spike waggled his eyebrows.

"They do not count as dresses, they were costumes that reflected that period in time," Wesley rolled his eyes. "I remember you wearing your share of tights and puffy pants."

"Yeah, but I didn't look anywhere a good as you, Leggy," Spike said, reminding Wes of his nickname the others had given in when they had worked the Shakespeare festival so long ago.

"Yes, remind me of that embarrassing moniker why don't you," Wesley looked over at Spike and retaliated. "But, then Tigger, what is in a nickname?"

"Boys, you are telling me more then I really need to know," Giles said after clearing his throat. "Tigger? I could see that."

"Hey!" Spike exclaimed. "Who pulled your chain, Frankie?"

"What can I say, I'm not shy and I look good in black leather, fishnets, and heels. As for you, Tigger, all that is missing is the tail, but you make up for it with how you bounce about," Giles winked as he walked away leaving both Spike and Wesley speechless at first.

"Well, I guess he fits in with us more than we knew," Spike chuckled.

"How is that?" Wesley asked, his admiration for Giles grew.

"He is more in touch with his manliness then either you or me," Spike laughed, as he placed his arm around his best friend's shoulder as they entered the dinning room laughing. "I would pay good money to have seen him dancing the time warp in his costume."

They separated and went on to their dinner tables that where assigned to them for the night. Wesley felt instant relief when he noticed that the Faith woman was not assigned to his table. He was dreading the night he would be assigned to her table.

He would talk to Spike later and ask his view on how best to handle this unwanted attention without causing a scene. But then maybe it wasn't Spike he needed to talk to first. He would speak to Giles first and get his more professional opinion.

"Good evening ladies, I hope you had a pleasant afternoon," Wesley acknowledged the women at his table with a smile as he sat in his assigned chair.

"Oh, we had a lovely time," Mary said. "Hope you were able to relax and recover."

"Recover?" Wesley asked politely, worried at first that Angel had now started on him.

"We were just talking about how hard all that flashing must be on your eyes," Peggy replied.

"Oh, yes, the flashing," Wesley relaxed as he reassured them he was doing well. "I have recovered nicely, thank you for your concern, it's very touching really."

"Were you with your girlfriend today?" Judy, the 14-year-old fan asked, before her mother could shush her.

"My girlfriend?" Wesley politely asked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pryce, you know teenagers," Martha, Judy's mother, tried to apologize. "Judy, you really shouldn't ask such personal questions, honey."

"Please, before we go any further, I'm not upset with the question and do not mind answering," Wesley answered, offering the teenager a soft understanding smile. "She is a friend, and because I know how rumors get started, I would rather not give her name without her permission if you don't mind."

"Of course, Mr. Pryce," Martha agreed.

"Now, the next thing we need to get straight is please call me Wes or Wesley," Wes encouraged. "If you don't mind, I would like for everyone to introduce themselves. I cannot promise I will remember your name, but I can assure you I will not forget your faces."

Wesley felt relaxed as they continued to introduce themselves. He made a point to keep Judy's face and name in mind. He would ask Willow first if it was okay, and then he'd like to introduce her to Judy. He could remember being a teenager, and he knew how important it would be for her to be singled out this week.

Spike groaned when he noticed that the Angel's little tramp fanatic was sitting at his assigned table tonight. He couldn't help but wonder who was trying to ruin his close to perfect day. He knew he was going to have to work very hard at being professional, and he was not going to enjoy his meal one bit.

Spike gritted his teeth when he realized Faith would be sitting on his right. He could tell she had already been hitting the booze, and by the look of the amber liquid in her glass, she was still doing some serious drinking. He approached slowly, wondering if he could fake an illness, but then felt it would not be fair to the other six fans sitting at their table.

"Hello, ladies," Spike greeted the fans at the table.

"Well, look who we are privileged to dine with this evening," Faith said as she practically drooled. She had made it her goal to get him in the sack, since his brush-off in the elevator the other night.

Spike ignored her as he took his seat. "So, did you make new friends while waiting in line this morning?" he asked everyone at the table, hoping Faith took the hint that he was not going to talk to her.

Beatrice noticed how uncomfortable Spike was with Faith. She stood up and then walked over and stood beside his chair. "Mr. Crawford, would you be so kind as to change seats with me?"

Spike looked up at the lady who he remembered from one of the earlier cocktail parties. She had been very nice and respectful of their privacy. "Beatrice, right?" Spike asked.

"Yes," she smiled openly, feeling pleased he had remembered her name. "If you don't mind I would really like to set here, the lighting is so much better on my poor old eyes," she winked at him.

"I think they are lovely blue eyes and I cannot refuse a lady's request," Spike smiled as he stood up and held out the chair for her to sit down. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek and whispered, "You, my friend, are a blessing."

Faith felt like reaching over and pulling out the old crone's hair. "Bitch!" she hissed, softly, thinking no one heard her.

"Did you say you had an itch?" Beatrice asked Faith, knowing full well what the little trollop had said.

Faith ignored the older lady and put her sights back on the blonde hottie. "So, who was the cute little number following you around today?"

Yolanda glared at brazen hussy, they all had complained about her behavior amongst themselves. "Mr. Crawford, I hope you are having a nice time?" she asked, redirecting the conversation.

Spike turned and gave her a grateful smile. "Yolanda, right?"

"Yes, you have a good memory," she replied.

"To answer your question, I'm having a great time, and please call me Spike," he said. "I really had my doubts, having never been on a cruise before."

"Oh honey, just wait until you hit the islands. If you love to snorkel or dive, then make sure you do it on Cozumel. The corral reefs and its habitat are breathtaking.

"Sounds fantastic, I’ll have to see about doing some snorkeling," Spike replied. "Any other tips you have for a first time cruiser?"

"The shopping is great for silver, and some precious stones," Beatrice decided to get in on the conversation. "Then at the Grand Cayman you have the turtle farms that are a great sight to see, and then of course there is Hell."

Spike laughed. "Hell, you say?"

"Oh, yes, there is a little town called Hell," Yolanda said as she tried not to laugh. "There is a little stretch of lava with a scarecrow like figure out in the middle of it that looks like the Devil. The welcome sign reads, 'Welcome to Hell'."

"Oh, how funny," Spike decided to do something special for these two lovely ladies who saved his arse tonight. "Maybe it's a hellmouth?"

Faith rolled her eyes as she sarcastically said, "Well, maybe it is."

The rest of the table ignored her as they started to introduce themselves. Spike found it easier then he had thought, to sit back and enjoy everyone's company tonight given the fact that Faith was at his table. The others made it possible to pretend that the woman that gave fans a bad name was not there. The waiter appeared and took their orders.

Angel watched as Spike maneuvered his way out of sitting next to Faith. He was sure the man had asked someone to change places with him. Angel tried to ignore the people at his table the best he could, but it would seem all they wanted to do was talk. He forced on what he called his glamour look, where he would smile when he thought he should. He had a way of making it look like he really cared about what he was doing at the time, when in fact he wished they would all jump in the ocean.

He was waiting for his next plan of action against Spike to take place. He just didn't know what was keeping the other man from making his move. He had found someone to take pictures trying to catch Spike in a delicate situation or what looked to be one. He just needed that Lorne fellow to hurry up and make his move on Spike.

*******

Spike hurried to catch up to Darla, who was standing waiting for the elevator. He snuck up behind her and said, "Boo!"

Darla was startled as she turned to see Spike laughing, his face relaxed. "You are a bad, rude man, Spike Crawford," she chastised him, trying to keep from laughing herself.

Spike winked, and ushered her into elevator when the door opened, thankful no one else joined them. He wanted to let her know he appreciated what she had done in talking to Buffy and setting her straight about Angel.

"I just wanted to say thank you," Spike said as he leaned over and kissed her forehead briefly. "If that husband of yours gives you any grief you come let me know." He winked.

"Spike, I should first ask you to forgive me," Darla said, as she became tearful. "I truly did not have time to think it out properly. I was scared."

"I understand, Pet. What's important is you came through in the end," Spike said, as he pulled her into a hug. "Angel will get his, Pet, don't you worry none. Until that no good husband of yours gets here tomorrow you stick with one of us, got it?"

Darla returned the hug, reassuring Spike, "Don't worry, my husband made me promise the same thing. For some ungodly reason he likes you, I just can't figure out way."

"It's my charming personality Luv, it gets them every time," Spike joked, he and Masters got along rather well. The man had turned him on to some great investments that helped build his retirement plan. "Jenny and the girls will be there tonight, so you just don't have to hang with the guys. Plus Anya packs a mean punch."

"Thank you," she said when the elevator door opened on her floor.

"Let me walk you to your room, my lady." Spike held out his arm. "I have to make sure no big bad is around the corner ready to pounce." Darla laughed as she took his arm and let him escort her to her room.

*******

Buffy stood at the railing admiring the moonlight as it played on the water. She replayed her day thinking about the fun she had with William and how good he made her feel. She didn't realize she had company until she heard his voice too close to her ear for comfort.

"Do you know how gorgeous you are in the moonlight?" he asked.

Buffy quickly pulled away and glared at the man. "I really don't like when people sneak up on me like that."

"You are beautiful, more beautiful than anything I have seen in my life," Angel declared, wanting to just pick her up and carry her to his room and show her what a real man could do for her.

"Excuse me, but I have some where I have to be," Buffy tried to leave, only to have him get in the way.

"Honey, whoever it is, can wait," Angel said, never having a woman tell him no before.

"No, I don't think so, so if you'll just move out of my way," Buffy told him firmly, as she brushed his hand away from touching her.

One of the things she and Spike had discussed was what to do about Angel. They both agreed that letting him think they had not figured out what he was doing was the best thing right now. Spike figured it would be best if they just let him think he was getting away with something, and then they'd be able to catch him red-handed doing something else.

Angel placed his hands on her shoulders, stopping her from leaving. "At least have a drink with me."

"Sorry, I have other plans," Buffy explained as she tried to pull away from his grasp.

"I'm sure they'd understand when you tell them you were with me," Angel offered, truly believing what he said was true.

Buffy tried not to laugh, thinking to herself, ‘sorry, don't think that would work with William, plus I don’t want to be on the same planet, let alone the same ship as you.’

"Come on, just one drink," Angel tried to insist as he started to pull her toward him.

"Ah, Miss Buffy, there ya are," Jeremy said, offering her a blazing smile. "Miss Willow was looking for you."

"Jeremy, thank you," Buffy smiled as she pulled away from Angel's touch, moving to stand in front Jeremy. "I was just on my way to meet her."

"You will find her back at your room is the message she wanted me to pass along," Jeremy lied. He had seen that the nice young woman was trying to get away from that man.

"Again, thank you for letting me know," Buffy winked, letting him know what he had done to help her.

Jeremy watched as Miss Buffy walked safely back inside the ship, placing himself between her and the jerk who was glaring at him.

"Don't you have a job to do, and not out here bothering the guests?"

"Yes, mon, and I did it," Jeremy told him before turning around and following in Buffy's footsteps.

Angel glared at the retreating man's back before he turned and walked further down the deck. He would have Buffy Summers before the week was out, she would be his and he would flaunt it in the peroxide blonde's face.

*******

Wesley smiled as he lay on his back, taking a little rest before the masquerade ball. He was judging with Xander the funniest costume. Spike was with Angel on scariest costume. Giles and Darla were judging the sexist, and then as a group they were to pick the most original. His thoughts kept drifting back to how he had spent his day, or more like whom he had spent the majority of it with.

Wesley could not get over how well he and Willow got along. They had so much in common, and yet enough differences to make it interesting. She was like a breath of fresh air, compared to the staleness he had become accustomed to in L.A. scene. She was intelligent, caring, had a sense of humor that matched his completely.

Wesley looked over at the door and noticed how relaxed and calm Spike appeared when he walked through the door. "I take it, the talk with Darla went rather well."

"Yeah, it did, Percy," Spike answered, feeling like back to himself. "She is quite a woman, that Darla. Masters had better make sure he takes good care of that one."

"I agree, she is rather special to do what she is doing in defying her blackmailer," Wesley agreed. "I still say we confront the bastard and then take him down a few pegs."

"Patience, he will get what is coming, don't you worry your pretty little head about that," Spike reassured his friend. "I just want to make sure that I can make it all stick like glue."

"I understand," Wesley said, "But I will not let him hurt you again, understand I will have no patience with the man if he does."

"I understand. But now that I know who and what I’m up against he has no power over me anymore," Spike explained. "Forewarned is forearmed."

"I have the tape somewhere safe," Wesley informed his best friend.

"Doesn't matter, I'm sure he had some excuse ready that's somewhat believable," Spike replied. "Probably tell people someone stole it from his home to cause trouble between us. Explain Dru and Harmony off as they came to him and most people would believe him. He is the media darling after all."

"Yes, but the darling is starting to overplay his hand," Wesley said as he sat up on the side of his bed. "I think that others have noticed his underhandedness. I don't think he is believed to be the goody good boy as he thinks."

"You could be right on that one," Spike agreed as he sat across from his best friend. "I think we just have sit back and let Angel dig his own hole, and then all we have to do is bury him in it."

"Well then, it's off to the ball, my dear boy," Wesley sighed. "Again, I have you as a date."

"Nope, hear you are stepping out on me with Xander," Spike playfully accused him.

"Well I know your virtue is safe, since you are paired with Captain Forehead," Wesley told him as he stood up and walked over toward the door. "Just be careful around him tonight."

"I promise," Spike said as he followed his friend out the door.

******





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