FIC: The Late Shift

[Grimaldi]

loved the update, looks like Tara found the perfect way to get Willow to do anything (after seeing Tara in that tiny bikini, i too would forget about my fears).

Oh my god, they killed... oh, nevermind!

I got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but 2 things right now Jack and shit..and Jack left town

Worm, are you ready to die in the cleansing apocalypse?

[mollyig]

Mind-numbing fear on one plate….and all-consuming lust on the other…. Decisions decisions!



Great update. Loved that Tara bested Xander in the bet!

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[tkheaven]

Quote:

---

Oh good Night NURSE in the ever-loving morning…that is the smallest cut bikini top I have EVER seen…

---

I could just see Willow's face as she's thinking that (hell, should've seen my face). And Tara going off .



. o ( Tara in a black bikini... )



Wicca...I hope so see more updates soon... (or more Tara in bikini-wear, or without)



I need reading material for next week....

-----------------------------
Tara was similarly riveted, her body on slow burn as Willow's lips parted and her mouth opened, the food slipping inside and being consumed. Never in her life had Tara ever wanted to be a chicken casserole so badly...Later that night..."It's good to be a chicken casserole," Tara murmured, before passing out. ~ Answering Darkness by Sassette

[wiccachica]

TkHeaven...this might be your lucky day if you are looking for more fic...aaaaand Tara in a Black Bikini again...aaaaaand Tara OUT of the black bikini....



Intrigued?



The troll spent his day in the dentist's office with a pad of paper on his lap...he wrote this section to test all of your mettle...and your imaginations...



LeatherQueen...You don't have to worship the hands that wrote that last fic...a soulful scritching will do just fine...heh...more than just fine...



*suddenly looking up...*



Where in the world did that Crow's Nest come from? I didn't write that in....Who could be up there?





-chica



Chapter 169: The Beginning…



“Me??? What would Olivia want with me?” I ask lamely…looking down at the woman who has just reentered the land of the living…or at least the current conversation.



Willow pushes herself to her feet.



“ Oh…come on…you…with the YOU…and the smartness….and the HOTNESS…Who wouldn’t want you?” Willow says…causing an instant blush to take over my features.



“ She’s got a point. And what with the whole Big Innocent act… any Big Bad would want to have you for their very own.” Spike says.



Willow turns her head to look at him. Point blank.



“ Well…besides ME…I’m not saying I would…” He quickly amends.



“ I’m with whoever said whatever to make Tara blush like that…cause if it makes Tara blush…it’s what Olivia wants.” Xander says with a nod.



“ Well despite what SHE wants…we can’t just stay like this. We have to get help…and I’m really finding it hard to be torn between some harbinger of doom who can tell us what we need to hear…and the other option of tooling back over to the Land of ODDS for a second round in someone else’s body and dinner with Mother.” I say…defying anyone to argue with me.



The room is quiet from all of the time queues.



“ So which of us is going to go off in search of The Most Horrifying and Painful Death?” Danger finally asks from his corner.



Spike, Willow, and I turn to look at him.



“ WHAT??? That’s her name isn’t it?” He says defensively.



“ Yeah…but you really don’t have to call her that…especially not when people are about to go out LOOKING for her...” Spike says huffily.



“Well…I guess I’m the only one of us here that can actually CARRY the amulet…so I should go.” Willow says reasonably.



Being entirely too helpful, I might add… What’s gotten into her all of a sudden…? She seems all-out…fire-lit and wholly-determined in one flushed little red-headed package….



“ YOU aren’t going alone.” I say.



“Don’t look at me.” Spike says with a certainty that just SCREAMS for argument.



“ Okay…Spike volunteers.” I say.



“ Like Bloody Hell I do… Oh…and by the way…I’m done getting into these messes with the lot of you…when this is over…consider this relationship nixed…nipped in the bud….finis…” He grouses…



“ Spike says he’s breaking up with us when this is over….” I inform everyone who can’t hear his little tirade.



There is a smattering of “ about times” and “ took long enoughs” from the room.



“ Everyone will miss you.” I say to Spike.



“ Right, they will…” Spike mutters, sure that I must be telling the truth since he can’t here or see his crypt-shares.



“ I say that everyone still existing in REAL time should go back to the house and wait this out…there’s no reason to risk it.” Buffy says…standing protectively close to an unassuming little sister that can’t see her.



“ Buffy has a good point. Xander, Anya, and Dawn should go back to the house…” I say.



“ Oh…that was soooooo aimed at ME…” Dawn huffs…turning in a rapid circle. “ Where is she? Point me in the right direction…”



“ Tell Dawn that there is no discussion on this. She goes home. Period.” Buffy insists.



“ Dawnie…Buffy says she needs your help at the house…she’s not going to be able to TOUCH anything…she needs you guys to help her look through Giles’ old stuff in the basement for a book…a big green book with brown lettering on the front.”



“ I didn’t say that…Hey…you don’t get to be the translator if you don’t relay the message just like we….” I lift a hand slightly to quiet her….



“ There isn’t a green book in the basement…oh…an by the way…if you think you are going to find Olivia…well….you’re NOT.” Willow says.



What has gotten INTO YOU???? I hope my expression says.



Talk to the RESOLVE FACE… Her face says back.



“ Can….can we TALK…over here…” I say to her…walking to the far side of the crypt. She follows…and brings her resolve face with her like carry-on luggage.



Spike decides that ‘we’ includes him…and sides up to us just as I am about to ask the golden question of the hour.



“ Spike….” We both say in the same exasperated but warning tone.



“ I thought you might need a man’s view on this….” He pouts.



“ We don’t.” Willow says. And sends him back-stepping with her RESOLVE/INFLICT SERIOUS PAIN UPON SPIKE look.



When she turns her gaze back to me I hit her with the question of the hour.



“ What is going on with you? One minute your are catatonic…the next you’re all….Motivated Susan Powter…” I say under my breath.



“ I want to have a NORMAL Date Night. That’s all…” She says.



“ I do too, honey…but…” I start…trying to placate the woman I can’t even touch.



“ No…I want to have a SPECIFIC NORMAL Date Night…you know…adventure…fun…mayhem and…..well…..” I watch as her cheeks burn crimson…



“ Boating…”



And then it all falls into place….



“ Ahhh…BOATING…..” I say slowly…. Feeling a similar heat rise to my own cheeks….because once it’s out there…mentioned…in the air…you can’t help but segue right into the next part…the part with the….



Chapter 170: Das Patent-Leather Boot



“ I LOVE boating….” Willow murmurs again….watching me as I get up from the bed to close the closet door for the third time. The latch on the thing must be broken.



This time innovation…and the desire to remain snuggled up against my girlfriend, offer me a solution.



One of Willow’s calf-high red boots. One of two I had peeled off her leg earlier…lays on the floor. A disembodied patent-leather victim of recent…well….recent activities….



I lift the boot and set it in front of the closet door. Closing it forever….or at least until Willow decides she wants to put it back on her foot again.



“ There.” I say, hurrying back to the bed in the well-sized room before the chill can set into my skin. Willow lifts back the covers to allow me back in…as well as an eye-boggling glimpse at…yes Ladies and Gentlemen….WILLOWLAND.



“ The open air…The moon on the water….The ….did I mention I LOVE boating??” She says to me as I re-assert my position against her.



“ You were on deck for like….two minutes…then it was like…SHOOP…right down here into bed…” I say.



“Well…I defend myself by saying…did you happen to see YOU in a swim suit?”



“ Okay…well you didn’t even stay up there long enough to enjoy seeing the moon on the water…”



“ Trivial, really…and again with the ‘uhm hello…SWIM SUIT ON TARA’ deal….”



“ Honey…How can you say you love boating if you won’t let me cast off?” I ask.



“ The only thing being CAST OFF around here is that little black number you were wearing, Baby.” Willow smirks.



“ You have a one track mind.” I smirk back.



“ Actually…I have two tracks in my mind….WillowWorks just built track two…track one still goes right to I LOVE TARA Central…and the other goes to Tara’s Ability to Fill in a Little Black Bikini Ville.” Willow looks around the floor of the room. “ Where did I throw that thing? I’m going to have to put that back on you so I can take it off all over again…”



“ Good God…we just…” I start to say… Her brows go up.



“ We just…. WHAT?” She asks innocently.



“ Let me just remind you again that what you are suggesting we do is not found under the current dictionary definition of BOATING.” “ I insist.



“ It is in MY dictionary…the Funky Wagnall…” She says, planting a kiss on the tip of my chin. The ball of her palm pressing gently against the dip at the small of my back…scooching me closer.



I sometimes marvel at the perfect fit spots we often find against one another. But frankly, it’s usually a demonstrative, on-site…kind of marveling that gives immediate right-of-way passage to other thoughts…



Thought more base in nature…



“ Hello Luvah…I’m here for a nice relaxing cruise to Gua…tala..hara…” Willow says in her well-practised and wholly impeccable Charro accent.“ Is it time for boarding?”



I soften my voice and batting my eyes. My only necessity to imitate Julie…her guide….



“ Oh…It’s definitely time for boarding….do you have a pass?” I ask.



“ Pass? Oh yes…I’m trying one right now…is it working?” She says…still in character.



“ Like a charm…” I say as she kisses my neck in the spot most likely to drive me over the edge of wild and back…



I close my eyes and the world dips beneath me….a jolt runs through me and I am physically MOVED by the feel of her against me.…



It takes several seconds to realize that Willow has stopped her assault on my throat and is sitting halfway up in the bed.



“ What’s wrong?” I ask half-dazed.



“ Did you FEEL that?” Willow whispers.



“ I thought it was you….us….” I say blearily trying to wrap my mind around reality…especially with one leg still slung across her hip and a hand against her warm back…



Only now…the rapid beating of her heart I feel against my hand is not because of me…



“ I think there’s someone on the boat…” Willow whispers…eyes wide…and ears almost perked upward…listening to the sound of something strange going on up there...



TBC….

" I mock you with my Monkey Pants!" - OZ


" You're NOT the source of me" - Buffy


" If you imps are lookin for a fight, then ya come to the Chapel Oblige-ya!!" - Legend

[AutumnT]

Chica. Sometimes I want to be on whatever crack you are on. Because it's all good.



Charo?



OK, I feel compelled to say that while it was open I actually ate at Charo's bad mexican place on Kauai. And bought post cards at the Charo gift shop to terrorize my friends with.

Autumn

-----------

Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[LeatherQueen]

Oh god, chica... as always you have me falling off my chair laughing at this. Charro and Julie? And yes... Tara in that little black bikini is pretty much a good defense for anything.



Soulful scritching? Would that be a good scritching while listening to Barry White with low mood lighting?

--------------------------------


"But when they're playing your song on the jukebox in Hell, you might as well dance." - K. Simpson


"Futile... like a FOX, baby!" - Tara in The Late Shift by wiccachica

[mollyig]

Talk to the RESOLVE FACE Except there's no talking to the infamous Resolve Face - it brooks no argument. You just gotta love it!



WillowWorks just built track two - track one still goes right to I LOVE TARA Central - and the other goes to Tara’s Ability to Fill in a Little Black Bikini Ville WillowWorks seems to be a very enterprising organisation!

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[Sassette]

Ahh, wiccachica, dear ... I love it. I just ... this fic is awesome, and brings many happy smilings upon me. So thank you *G*



-Sass

______________________________________

I Think The Hellmouth Tastes Like Chicken -- Autumn

[zero]

Nice to see I can always count on on the Late Shift to soothe an essay-fried brain!

Please keep it up...I still have a loooong way to go!



-----

"Spatulas are for wimps!" Dawn, Wrecked

[tkheaven]

Quote:

---

“ Actually…I have two tracks in my mind….WillowWorks just built track two…track one still goes right to I LOVE TARA Central…and the other goes to Tara’s Ability to Fill in a Little Black Bikini Ville.” Willow looks around the floor of the room. “ Where did I throw that thing? I’m going to have to put that back on you so I can take it off all over again…”

---

WooHoo! I like Willow's way of thinking (well, you're way and the troll's, too!!) and the whole Charro bit



Oh God, Wicca I can quote the whole update cuz I'm just cryin' with laughter here



Keep it comin'... . o ( Doh! I just had a mental of Tara doing just that!!)



Oh, I'm going on vacation next week to Florida. That's why I mentioned needing the reading materiel. Though, knowing me, I'll find a computer anyway and look for updates...

-----------------------------
Tara was similarly riveted, her body on slow burn as Willow's lips parted and her mouth opened, the food slipping inside and being consumed. Never in her life had Tara ever wanted to be a chicken casserole so badly...Later that night..."It's good to be a chicken casserole," Tara murmured, before passing out. ~ Answering Darkness by Sassette

[tiyodragon]

I must agree with tkheaven. This update was hysterical.



You convey humor really well...and that's really hard to do. You keep our girls (and us) laughing even when reality is in peril.....



Keep up the fun,

tiyodragon

[Grimaldi]

very funny update.

loved Willow's definition of Boating, Spike saying that he was breaking up with the Scoobies and their reaction, and Willow acting as the translator for everyone

WillowWorks seems like a very enterprising company, wonder if it offers stock?

Oh my god, they killed... oh, nevermind!

I got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but 2 things right now Jack and shit..and Jack left town

Worm, are you ready to die in the cleansing apocalypse?

[DarkWiccan]

I am sitting here in pain... in physical pain from laughing so dang hard.



I am laughing doubley hard because you see, I know Charro. We've been to dinner on several occasions and let me tell you... the woman is a riot.



I am sitting here imagining Charro reading this story and laughing her kootchie kootchie ass off.



Wiccachica, you rock. I bow down to you.



Cheers

DarkWiccan

[wiccachica]

Oh DarkWiccan of my heart....



You actually KNOWING Charro signifies you as the bowee and I as the bower...



You are now my personal hero...



I'll have to converse with the troll on what is to come for our girls....





He takes suggestions...but not too seriously....



-chica

[AutumnT]

Quote:

---

I am laughing doubley hard because you see, I know Charro.

---

Leave it to the kitten board to have someone here that actually knows Charro. Dear God.



Well, I will say this. That commercial she did recently is very funny. And she plays a mean guitar.

Autumn

-----------

Well, the reindeer part was nice...

[Sassette]

Wow, talk about random. The more I think about it, the more I think this board is the perfect place for this fic. And I mean that in a good way



-Sass

[wiccachica]

Here's a little snip to segue into tomorrow's section: (of which I have no idea what is going to happen quiet honestly...)



Chapter 171: Foofaraw



We are both holding the covers up to our chins like fairy tale grannies waiting for the Big Bad Wolf to come knocking on the door of our “stateroom”



Waiting for something…anything…to repeat itself…to REVEAL itself….



A full minute slogs by….nothing.



Maybe the tide’s up…maybe that’s it…



“ I should go up and check.” I whisper, wrapping the secondary sheet around my middle and getting slowly off the bed.



Willow says nothing…she doesn’t have to… Her wide green eyes speak volumes of Encyclopedia Areyoubutt-aas-insain-ica.



This is the part of the scary boat movie where you are supposed to go up on deck alone and be eaten by the shark…or tossed overboard by the psycho and THEN… eaten by the shark



“Stay here.” I say under my breath.



Like Mrs. Freeze over there has a choice.



I walk gingerly across the room…avoiding all of the creaky boards as best I can…and stop to listen through the door.



Nothing.



With the wild abandon of a tax auditor…I peel open the door to the stairwell…mental images of some crazed maniac redundancy leaping out at me keeps my heart at a healthy steady pace….



It’s just the tide…it’s just the tide….it’s just the tide…it’s just the tide….



I brace for an attack. Hunching my shoulders, and almost closing my eyes.



Nothing.



Not yet relieved, I climb the eight steps to the second door…the door that leads out into the night air… onto the deck.



I put a shaky hand to the knob…and listen…and procrastinate opening it



It’s just the tide…it’s just the tide….it’s just the tide…it’s just the tide….



I push open the door a crack…peering into the darkness beyond…The crisp ocean air sifts through the crack I have made…



I can see no one, and nothing out of the ordinary.



I press the door open farther…still prepared to slam it shut and lock it if need be.



Not a single fiend grabs at me…and no gravity-defying sharks attack me….



Nothing.



It’s just the tide…it’s just the tide…. it’s just the tide…it’s just the tide….



I ease up onto the deck…. my sheet immediately catching the wind and billowing around my legs like a sun dress.



Everything is in it’s place…nothing looks disturbed at all…



I sigh with relief…for about the next two milliseconds…



And then I inhale so loudly that I startle even myself…



Something is missing…. Something VERY important is missing from the boat….



The Pier!



I stand dumbfounded in the center of the deck…clutching my angry white sheet that is trying to fight it’s way out of my grasp and into the wind… to me for all I’m worth…. wallowing in the fact that not only have I managed to lose a whole pier…but also that there is not even the slightest hint of land in any direction.



As I find it fit to wallow, a hand clamps down on my shoulder.



And this is the part of the scary movie when the heroine screams loud enough to take the paint off the side of the boat as she realizes THAT was not just the fricken tide…



TBC…

" I mock you with my Monkey Pants!" - OZ


" You're NOT the source of me" - Buffy


" If you imps are lookin for a fight, then ya come to the Chapel Oblige-ya!!" - Legend

[zero]

Oh god! I hope there's no hook on the other hand and whoever it is isnt wearing a rain slicker, because that never turns out well!

"Spatulas are for wimps!" Dawn, Wrecked

[mollyig]

Willow is going to freak when she finds they've strayed from the pier. That'll be fun!

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[bulldog tidnab]

Quote:

---

And this is the part of the scary movie when the heroine screams loud enough to take the paint off the side of the boat as she realizes THAT was not just the fricken tide…

---

oh chica.... i can't breathe.... too much laughter going on here...

um... do the Tara action figures come with an itty-bitty-black-bikini? cause if so, i'm thinkin' i need one.... to uh... display in my room?

And so we live to fight another day.

[tkheaven]

Quote:

---

And this is the part of the scary movie when the heroine screams loud enough to take the paint off the side of the boat as she realizes THAT was not just the fricken tide…

---

Wooo HAAAAAAHAAAA... *wipes away a tear*

Good God, Wicca..this is friggin hilarious! Again, I could quote the whole update.

Encyclopedia Areyoubutt-aas-insain-ica

ROTFLMAO

I just realized what you posted on my avitar. I'm always distracted and let me just say that after reading this section I again stared at it while thinking, It’s just the tide…it’s just the tide…. it’s just the tide…it’s just the tide…., when I stopped and looked up...oh my... I'm not on a boat so THAT was not just the fricken tide...geez, where the mop...



I'll have one Black Bikini Tara and one Bedsheet Tara action figure, please...

-----------------------------
Tara was similarly riveted, her body on slow burn as Willow's lips parted and her mouth opened, the food slipping inside and being consumed. Never in her life had Tara ever wanted to be a chicken casserole so badly...Later that night..."It's good to be a chicken casserole," Tara murmured, before passing out. ~ Answering Darkness by Sassette

[Grimaldi]

Sounds like Willow needs to stop watching movies like Jaws, or any movie involving boats. can't wait to find out Willow's reaction to the fact that they aren't tied to the pier anymore, and what grabbed Tara's shoulder.

Oh my god, they killed... oh, nevermind!

I got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but 2 things right now Jack and shit..and Jack left town

Worm, are you ready to die in the cleansing apocalypse?

[LeatherQueen]

Lost in the middle of the sea, are they? Heh... Willow won't be pleased.



Genius, my dear chica,... as always your updates are genius. Many hearty backslaps for the troll.

--------------------------------


"But when they're playing your song on the jukebox in Hell, you might as well dance." - K. Simpson


"Futile... like a FOX, baby!" - Tara in The Late Shift by wiccachica

[Owl]

Chica....

How you manage to have me both overcome with laughter and terrified at the same time is beyond me.

Yes, even though I have this feeling that everything is going to turn out alright. (It is of course, isn't it? Isn't it? Maybe if we bribe you with looooots of scritches?) In any case.... Hello?, Cliffhanger! eep! Eep i say!

*runs to corner and clutches on to little stuffed doggie Danger-style.*

[Sassette]

Well, I just spent all day re-reading this fic. Why? Because it's good (and I'm a First-Class Procrastinator).



Wiccachica, darling ... thank you so much for writing this extremely bizarre piece of fiction, for never actually ENDING it, and for just being really really cool.



Oh, and, umm ...



Beck ... beck ... beck...



-Sass

[wiccachica]

I'm always at your beck and call, Sass...you know that, right?



And by the by.... prepare to be shifted tonight or tomorrow morning... The troll is cooking up some fun...( I think... he just hasn't written it yet)



It's tough to write parts containing BOTH of our girls in sheets.....SHEETS!....(golly)



-chica

[LeatherQueen]

The question, tho, is are we to be up-shifted... or down-shifted. Heh.



In sheets? Mmm... naughty lesbian toga party.



Off to prepare myself... but... does preparing oneself to be shifted require baby oil?

--------------------------------


"But when they're playing your song on the jukebox in Hell, you might as well dance." - K. Simpson


"Futile... like a FOX, baby!" - Tara in The Late Shift by wiccachica

[Latsric]

I had to come out of lurkerdom to say how much I really, really, love this fic. It has put a song in my head that I can't get rid of though...



This is the fic that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends, some troll started writing it not knowing what it was and....



uh, well you get the idea



I'll be heading back to lurkerville before I embarrass myself further.



-Lat-

[wiccachica]

Yes it goes on and on, my friends...lol...I loved that and have often thought that myself, Latsric...and I love the thought of bringing you out of lurkdom...coming out of Lurkdom can be a liberating experience ...treasure it...



As for the legnth of this thing...as soon as you kids ask me to stop this blow-hard fic...I'll bow out gracefully...but trouble for our characters is always just around the corner (as you will soon see)



Been a while since I left you kids hanging over the edge of the cliff....yeah? Sorry about that...I've been lured helpless into the throes of the kitten chat when I should be writing...it's quite addictive I must say...



And LeatherQueen...my scritchee....I'm always prone to upshifting...and driving very fast...like a chocolate brown convertible Jaguar on the open road.... Baby oil is always a plus...but the seats are leather and slippage is an issue...





So without further ado....



Chapter 172: It’s NEVER just….The Tide…



Previously…on The Late Shift……



Olivia and Tara stand in the Bronze near the wine counter…. Olivia gives Tara a predatory smile….



Tara: ( in her head) I think she might be HITTING on me….



Olivia: You have a fabulous Mount of Venus…



Willow sides into the conversation to the left…she moves a little protectively between the two women…



Willow: You know….I tell her that ALL the time….Isn’t that FUNNY???



Cut to:



Olivia is standing before the group at the fairgrounds…..all charm….



Olivia: I scratch your backs….you scratch mine…



Cut to:



Willow standing up in the Crypt….



Willow: She wants the same thing she’s wanted since the first time we saw her, Tara….. She wants YOU.



Cut to:



Willow standing on the pier…



Willow: Okay… now…Picture in your mind a great big scale….



Cut to:



The creepy boat yard in the moonlight….



Willow cont’d: Mind-numbing fear on one plate….



Cut to:



Tara removing her blouse with an angry fervor on the deck of the boat….



Willow cont’d: …..and all-consuming lust on the other…



Cut to:



Tara and Willow in the “stateroom” bed…necking….then…Willow sits up (a totally different camera angle that the original if you are wondering)



Tara: (dazed) What’s wrong?



Willow: I think there’s someone on the boat

Cut to:



Tara standing up on the deck of the boat…the sheet she is wearing billowing in the wind….

She is looking around as though she has lost something VERY important…. ( Yes…the land sillies)



A hand comes down on her shoulder….



** ** **



I spin around…shrieking like a banshee…prepared for the infamous notion of fight or flight….



…Okay…mainly the ducking…crab-crawling kind of skittering flight….but I’d like to reserve my dignity…thank you…



Willow is standing there… clenching her own billowing sheet against her body…and lugging a wicked looking golf club in her free (ish) hand.



Okay… Not to self: Ask Willow HOW she produced a golf club on a boat… in the middle of the ocean… and…oh yeah…. then KISS her soundly for coming up here to save me….



But I let my mind wander…and if I let it wander too long over the fact that she looks exceptionally tantalizing in that sheet…I’ll forget the fact that we are both in a little bit of a dilemma here….



And I definitely need my wits about me….



Willow looks around the empty deck of the boat and then back to me…but not immediately registering the OTHER situation.



“What’s going on? What’s happened?” She asks still holding her golfing hand at the ready.



“ There’s…no one…on the boat….” I say.



Well…maybe if I can get her back downstairs, she’ll never figure out that we are basically adrift…okay…not so much basically as totally and completely…



Willow looks at me for a moment like she is hesitant to believe there isn’t a psycho killer somewhere within earshot…making her say everything is fine…just like in the movies.



Maybe it’s because I can’t quite pull up a smile for her… But I manage a passable lift of the sides of my lips…



Finally…she let’s the golf club thump against the deck…She sighs with relief.



“ You like Gung Ho Bed-Sheet Willow?” She says with a smile. “ I’d like you to forget that you saw WussyWillow downstairs there….”



She comes forward to slide an arm around my waist….



“ Though you…with those braids…and the ( clears throat) SHEET…Verry Helen of Troy…. Me thinks Gung Ho Willow has many functions….and maybe we could pick up where we left off…”



Yes…let’s get Willow BELOW deck so we can avoid blind panic….



I chuckle nervously as she embraces me to her…her head on my shoulder.



“ Yes…let’s pick up where we left…off….” I say…trying to move us both back towards the door she had just come out of….



Willow disengages from me so fast that I stagger sideways.



“ Uhm…where is the PIER…????” She says with something like burgeoning panic. I deflate…guiltily and blink…



DAMN! She’s clued up!



“ L-lost…” I stammer.



“The Pier is LOST??? How can we LOSE a pier???” Her voice rises at the end…in the wind…like a prepubescent boy’s.



Now her panic is gaining momentum….She spins around in all directions.



“ Where is the LAND??? Did we lose the LAND???”



I watch her waxing into a full-blown EPISODE…



“ The land too.” I say.



“ The land and the pier…are….GONE??? Did they sink??? Are we still attached to it and it’s just down THERE somewhere…We’re still tied to it…right???” She asks …



Though Willow knows this is NOT the situation…it almost seems better that the idea that they were actually out in the middle of Nowhere in a BOAT….floating haplessly.



“ I don’t think we’re tied to the Pier….Will…” I say gently…trying to calm her with a soothing tones. She spins to look at me.



“ You mean while we were down there doing….well…DOING…..the boat just decided she didn’t like the other boats and UNTIED herself…and BOATED merrily out into the night??? Into the dark murky night where sharks and octopus are just WAITING to eat us….and…ten…tentacle us to death???”



I put a hand on her arm…she is already cool and clammy to the touch with fear…



“ Okay….Sweetie…you are turning this into a Stephen King version of the Happy Little Tug Boat…you have to calm down….We are going to be just fine…” I say.



She rests her head briefly against my collarbone…listening to the thrum of my heart…then she pulls her head up to look into my face…



“ We are going to be all right…I mean…you took lessons…you know how to drive the boat…You can get us home….” She drops her head back against me and wraps her arms around me for all she is worth.



I bring up a hand to stroke her hair….I don’t say anything right away….



…There’s no need to make her panic any more that she already is…



Cuz what she doesn’t know is that you didn’t actually learn more that how to pull the yacht away from the Pier and just beyond the buoys…and back….Leave it to you to learn how from a man who probably has Boating for Dummies sitting on his bookshelf at home…..



“Everything is going to be just fine…” I say…. Kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer still. My eyes catching something in the distance…Something I saw a little earlier but saw fit to dismiss in my panic…. a flicker of light over the water… I close my eyes…but the image and shape of the light stay with me, behind my eyelids for several moments.



Yes…Sweetie…



We’ll be home before you can say….The Perfect Storm….



TBC…

" I mock you with my Monkey Pants!" - OZ


" You're NOT the source of me" - Buffy


" If you imps are lookin for a fight, then ya come to the Chapel Oblige-ya!!" - Legend

Edited by: wiccachica  at: 6/8/02 10:40:38 am

[ExtraFlameyWT]

Great update, chica! Aww..Tara was so close to getting Willow back down..



Aimee

*****
"Pope John Paul today confirmed his opposition to gay marriages, said they're unnatural. Gay marriage is unnatural. Then he put on a pointy hat, his dress, and returned to never having sex at all." -Bill Maher