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Buffy had never seen Willow look so pale. It was 4:30 in the morning and the airline check-in people had just announced they were about to start boarding the first class section shortly for their flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It would be soon that they will announce for their seats to be next.

"It's going to be okay. The Benadryl should be kicking in by now, and the rum and coke we drank before leaving the hotel should help," Buffy tried to reassure her friend, as she was trying to reassure herself as well. She couldn't believe they drank alcohol so early in the morning.

"I don't know Buffy, I'm feeling sick at my stomach, and the closer the time gets for us to get on the plane, the more scared I get. The more scared I get, the sicker I feel," Willow whispered, feeling like the walls were closing in around her. "I have to go pee," she said as she suddenly stood up and ran to the bathroom.

Buffy was stuck looking after their carry-ons and unable to follow her friend. Even if she could, she wasn't feeling too hot herself. She started to worry they would not make their flight, and thus miss the ship. The more she thought about it the more anxious she became.

Jenny Giles had been watching the two young women as they fretted about, looking very uncomfortable. She noticed the redhead was the worst of the two. Her husband's flight had already departed 30 minutes ago, since she had decided last minute to bring the girls and join him at the convention, she had to take a separate flight since his was full.

She looked over at her two bundles of terror and smiled at how calmly they sat playing their hand held computer games. They both fit the definition of Daddy's Girls- Sara being 11 years old going on 17, where Ally was 9 years old, going on 80. Both girls fought like normal sisters, and both protected each other tooth and nail from anyone else.

Jenny was a small woman with flawless complexion with large brown eyes. Sara's eyes were blue like her father. Ally had chocolate brown eyes like her mother. Where both of them had their mother's shinny dark brown hair. Ally seemed as if she was going to be petite like her mother, where Sara looked like she would have her father's height.

Mrs. Giles never flaunted who her husband was, and together they both taught their daughters the value of being normal people, and not spoiled Hollywood brats. No private schools, even though Rupert was British, they had bought a ranch in Phoenix, Arizona, where they raised cattle, horses, and started a rabbit conservation area. They tried to keep them from all the limelight of show business as much as they could, without keeping them isolated.

The look of fear is what caught her attention when she watched the young redheaded woman make a mad dash to the bathroom. The friend's worried expression is what made her decide to step in and see what she could do to help.

She motioned to her girls to listen to her, "Girls I will be right back, don't move."

"Yes, Mom," they said in unison as they looked up briefly from their games and watched their mother quickly go to the bathroom.

"I think she is going to talk to the girl who ran to the bathroom," Ally said to her sister with a crooked smile on her face.

"Yep, I think Mom's sense of ‘mommy needed alert button’ just was pushed," Sara snorted.

She looked at her sister and nodded toward worried looking blonde that kept looking from the luggage, toward the bathroom. Both girls silently agreed as they went back to playing their games, but keeping an eye out for their mother to return.

Willow was in the last stall as her stomach rebelled. It felt as if she was vomiting up everything she had taken in over the last 2 weeks. She could not stop throwing up, and she worried it would cause her and Buffy to miss the plane.

‘Oh, stupid Willow, that's me. It's only a plane and the statistics say my chances are higher of dying from a car crash then a plane crash, but I'm sure that’s not what the people who died in a plane crash thought as they crashed,’ she thought as she felt another wave of nausea come over her.

Jenny walked in the restroom hearing the harsh sound that told her the level of discomfort the young woman was in. She moved toward the last stall to see what she could do to help. This brought back memories of the first time she flew, and could still see herself as if it was yesterday. She too had prayed to the porcelain Gods that day.

"Excuse me, Miss, are you okay?" Jenny asked, the odor telling her the main reason for the upset stomach. Thinking to herself, now that she was older, that alcohol didn't work in the end.

Willow's weak reply caused her to smile. "If you tell me they canceled the flight, I would be right as rain."

"Plane is on schedule, but can you tell me what right as rain really means?" Jenny's voice was soft and relaxed as she tried to help the girl relax.

Willow giggled slightly. "I really don’t know myself. Just popped out I guess. Heard it said so many times that I never really thought about it."

"Me too," Jenny said as she turned and walked over to the sink to wet a couple of paper towels.

"Here, wipe your face with one, and put the other one behind your neck," she said as she handed them to the ill young woman.

Willow smiled as she straightened up, but still on her knees. She accepted the wet towels and did as instructed, starting to feel a little better after a few minutes. She felt slightly embarrassed when she realized she could smell the rum she drank earlier.

"Let's start again. Hi, my name is Jenny and the two brats you will meet are Sara and Ally, my demon children."

Willow smiled feeling very comfortable with the older woman standing before her offering her assistance as she replied, "Willow, and thanks for helping me."

"You're welcome. I've felt your pain before. I can still remember when I flew for the first time," Jenny offered. "I did the same thing you just did, and when I got to my destination I spent the first day kicking myself for being such a baby, and then I babied myself with clotted cream and scones."

"Do you like flying now?" Willow asked.

"No, but I've gotten better at it since it's something that has to be done, because I don't have the time or the patience to drive," Jenny shared. "Found different ways to cope, like a good book, a tape or CD of my favorite music, just about anything that will take my mind off flying."

"I'm scared that I won’t get on the plane, and that would ruin mine and Buffy's plans."

"Buffy? Is that the friend waiting for you outside?"

"Yeah, a lot of firsts for me today. Never been out of my hometown before, let alone in a vehicle other then a car to get me where I need to go," Willow said as she turned and flushed the toilet.

"Then we tried to take some Benadryl and drank some rum and coke to help settle our nerves," Willow further explained as she walked over to the sink so she could wash her hands.

"Oh my, I don't think mixing the two was a good idea, no wonder you became ill," Jenny politely informed her. "Why don't you rinse out your mouth and I have some gum here to help take out the nasty taste and give you clean, fresh, smelling breath."

Willow smiled at the woman's attempt to make her relax, as she said, "You should be on TV and do their commercials."

"Nope, I will raise the kids and keep the ranch going, leave the TV want ads to others," Jenny replied as she watched Willow splash some water on her face and rinse her mouth.

"Here you go, You’ll feel like a new woman after this," Jenny said as she offered up a stick of gum.

"Thanks, this will help," Willow said, since the last thing she wanted was stinky breath and the nasty taste in her mouth.

"So where are your seats?" Jenny asked.

"Fourteen and fifteen."

"Great! Tell you what- you and your friend can sit with me since we are one row behind you," Jenny said with a warm smile as she explained her plan. "I'm working on a web design for a few friends, that’s what I do on the side and I can use all the ideas I can get."

"Cool, I love to play with designs," Willow replied excitedly.

"Great, it will be great to have another brain to pick," Jenny chuckled.

"It would seem we came out just in time," Willow said as she noticed the worried look on Buffy's face and the line of people boarding the plane.

"Yes, it did," Jenny agreed. "I’ll get my stuff and the girls and meet you over by your friend. Has she flown before?"

"No, she's been so worried about me, so she hasn’t had time to think about it," Willow replied, hoping Buffy wouldn't be mad about her accepting Jenny's offer to sit with her.

"Hmm, well looks like my job will rough, but I'm a mother of three so I think I'm up for the challenge," Jenny joked, as she added her husband to the mix.

"I thought you only had the two girls?" Willow asked, looking confused.

"Dear, husbands sometimes can be the worst child you ever thought you could have. I think it’s something in their maleness that forbids them to grow up," Jenny said, "I will meet you in line."

Jenny moved to gather her things and instruct her children on how they had better behave themselves. The only sure punishment she had to offer was she would not let them spend any time with Wesley or William this week.

"Wills are you okay?" Buffy asked as she looked closely at her friend.

"Yeah, still nervous, but my tummy is not so ready to explode anymore," Willow replied as she returned her friend's look with a weak smile. "Sorry if I worried you."

Buffy forced a smile on her face, since she herself was not feeling so great either. While Willow was in the bathroom, she had taken another Benadryl, and needed to go to the restroom right now.

"I'm going to run to the ladies room, real quick," Buffy mumbled as she made a mad dash.

The last thing she planned on doing was taking off her seatbelt, let alone getting up and walking around. She had worried about Willow so much she had kept her own terrible fear to herself.

*******

Wesley continued to read, having found a book he had been looking for in the airport's gift shop. He had been meaning to pick it up and read it forever, but had never had the time. His mind kept drifting to last night and the little slip of a woman that had caught his eye. He meant to talk to Anya, but with her foul mood this morning, he thought it was best if he waited until later.

He looked over and noticed the wistful smile on his blonde friend's face. For some reason Spike was not acting like a man who had just broken up with his girlfriend. Even though he himself had danced, the happy dance that the wicked witch was gone.

‘I wish I was going were Goldilocks was going,’ Spike silently wished as he looked out the window taking him away from her.

"Care to tell me what's on your mind old friend?" Wesley asked, hearing his friend's sigh.

"Wes, care to take a trip with me after the cruise?" Spike whispered, surprised he was even thinking of going to find her.

"It would depend on where and why," Wes said as he pretended to read now, his curiosity tweaked.

"To Sunnydale and it's about a girl," Spike smiled sweetly. "You see, I didn't tell you everything about last night."

"Are we talking about the young woman at the pool?" Wesley quietly asked as he closed the book and looked questionably at his friend, knowing for some reason it had to do with the blonde woman at the pool area last night.

"I know her name, and I know what city she lives in," Spike confessed as he remembered meeting her last night.

Wesley's eyes narrowed as he considered whether his friend was either crazy with lust after breaking up with Harmony or just crazy as he asked, "How do you know her name?"

"I ran into her, and I mean to the point that she fell on her arse," Spike chuckled, "Well, actually we both ran into each other."

"Really, and you are just telling me about this now," Wes snorted. "This is more interesting then hearing about Harmony's rant about me and you, and you finally coming to your senses and breaking it off with her."

"Percy, you will definitely make someone a great girlfriend some day," Spike chuckled. "Truth be told, I just needed time to think about her and what happened, and how she makes me feel."

"I will be more than happy to accompany you to Sunnydale," Wesley reassured his friend, he knew that Spike was opening up to him about how this girl affected him.

"Thanks Wes, and who knows maybe we can get you a redhead to boot," Spike replied, having noticed how Wesley had looked at the redhead who was in Buffy's company.

"I guess we will have to wait and see," Wesley commented as he realized Spike must have noticed his interest the young woman, and it wouldn't do any good to deny.

"Her name is Buffy Summers and from what I could tell she didn't recognize me," Spike smiled softly as he confided.

"And how did that go?" Wesley asked as he turned his complete attention toward Spike, losing all interest in his book.

"She seemed to be interested in me, and I know I'm very interested in her, and not just the sex, but finding out about her," Spike said as he glanced over at Wesley, his eyes telling him how hard it was for him to tell him this.

Wesley's overhead light was the only one on. Everyone else sitting in the first class section, appeared to be asleep. It gave a false sense of being alone and safe to tell secrets between friends.

"Then I guess it will be worth the trip to Sunnydale to find out. And if I, by chance, meet up with a pretty little redhead, then that will be a bonus," Wesley said giving Spike a wink before returning back to his book and offering some friendly advice. "Now, be a luv and please go back to sleep. I hate how cranky you get if you don't get your normal amount of beauty sleep."

"Yes, dear, just don't strain your eyes. I know how pissy you can be when you get that tension headache," Spike replied as he fluffed up his pillow and leaned against the side of the plane so he could try and get come rest.

Giles sat and listened to the two young men he counted as fellow Englishmen and friends. You were never bored around those two. They even kept his rambunctious Sara entertained, and for some reason she behaved around them as well.

He knew Jenny would be happy to know that Spike was no longer with Harmony. His darling wife had nicknamed the young woman the ‘demon bitch from hell’. She never believed the woman was worthy of her William.

Rupert looked over at the man sleeping in the seat next to him and wondered for the fifth time why he was the unlucky soul assigned to sit next to Angel. He could not believe his luck of the draw at being the one to share space with the mighty ego himself. It was not secret that the two of them did not like each other and it took all of his belief of behaving in professional manner that had kept him from committing an act of violence at times.

Angel listened to Spike's ramblings about the girl in the restaurant as he pretended to sleep. Now he had a name and a place, and he would win the girl like always. He could not wait for the right time to tell the bleached blonde pain in his ass about his tryst with Harmony. Stealing Buffy Summers right out from under his nose would be the icing on the cake. Dru being something he already held over the other man's head.

Every since he overheard the higher ups talking about giving Spike more screen time next season, he wanted nothing more then to break his show’s vampire counterpart.

'He will not surpass me, I'm the star of this show, not him, and he will regret the day he thinks he is better then me,' Angel silently promised.

He had been jealous of the younger man since he had auditioned for the show and had won the hearts and respect of almost everyone associated with it. He was so sure he had done him in with Dru, but it appeared as if he wasn’t as in love with the little tramp as he'd once thought.

*******

Buffy found it hard to keep her eyes open and decided to lose the battle as sleep over took her. The Benadryl started taking its effect once she had settled in her seat. The last thing she remembered was a set of gorgeous blue eyes flirting with her. For the first time since Parker, she was interested in wanting to know more about the male species other than just being a friend. She never woke when the plane began its takeoff.

Willow sat perfectly still, hands tightly gripping the armrests with her eyes closed. She thought for a second she was going to stop breathing; unable to expel the deep breath she took when the plane had started to speed up so it could take off.

If it had not been for Jenny's hand holding hers during takeoff, she was sure she would have jumped out of her seat, and asked to be let off, even if she would have had to jump.

Slowly she opened one eye and soon the other one followed as she again entered the world of sight. Suddenly she found it a little easier to breath some of her fear dissipating. She looked over and noticed that Buffy was sleeping and giggled. Seeing her best friend asleep made her feel even better.

"Hello there," Jenny said with an understanding smile as she teased her. "Have a nice little takeoff, my dear?"

Willow looked over at the older woman and offered up a shaky grin and answered, "Well, we didn't crash on take off, I didn't jump off the plane, and I didn't crawl in anybody's lap either, so I take that as a good sign, right?"

Jenny laughed as she replied, "Yes I take it as a good sign, and now the rest is a piece of cake as long as we don't hit too much turbulence or when it comes to landing."

"Turbulance?" Willow whispered.

"It’s just like riding a roller coaster at the amusement park. You've done that before, right?" Jenny asked her as she winked before turning around to check on her girls.

Both of them reading quietly, acting like riding a plane was as common to them as riding in the back of the car. She figured that was normal since they'd been flying since before they were born.

"I loved it, but it was a small one," Willow giggled. "Especially compared to the ones the major parks advertise on TV."

"You'll do just fine, and if you feel like it is getting too much for you, then we we’ll do something to distract you," Jenny offered as she added to help ease the girl's mind. "Soon, I’ll pull out the laptop and we can work on this design I'm having a hard time with."

"Great, I think Buffy will sleep until we land, which is good I think," Willow said as she gave her best friend and caring smile.

"I see she fell asleep rather quickly," Jenny looked over toward the young woman with some concern.

She wondered if Buffy had kept down the medications and alcohol, she had consumed earlier. The mad dash to the bathroom before the flight had given her cause for concern. She just could not leave the girl's at that time and had breathed easier when the young woman had quickly exited the restroom.

"She told me she took another Benadryl, while I was in the bathroom, to help calm her nerves," Willow informed Jenny, having seen the worried expression.

Jenny took a closer look at the young blond woman and noticed the regular smooth breathing, telling her the girl was just sleeping soundly.

"I will definitely talk to both of you about mixing your medications with them evil spirits," Jenny said, using her motherly tone.

"We are now turning off the seatbelt sign, you can now move about the cabin," the Captain said overhead, causing Willow to jump.

"Great, now we can pull out the computer and work on stage one of distraction," Jenny said as she reached down to unfasten her seatbelt and prepared to pull out her laptop from under her seat.

"Cool," Willow said with a smile relaxing her grip on the armrests and deciding that distraction was a good thing.

She again glanced over at Buffy, making sure, she was comfortable and her head wasn’t hanging out into the aisle. She would watch over her friend while she slept.





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