As Friday dawned, the Scoobies were already up and raring to go. They met at the Magic Box at 6am and, even Xander was on time, he was still half asleep, but he was on time.
After a long journey to L.A International airport and a large argument with the check-in staff, the Scoobies were finally aboard their flight and jetting their way to Miami.
Five hours later, they landed at Miami International and, after colleting their belongings made their way into the sunshine. “Wow!” Buffy said, stretching her legs and trying to rub the cramp from her thighs, looking to the others, she saw they too were rubbing and stretching the aches from their limbs.
Giles smiled, he knew that their cramps and stiffness would soon be washed away by the fresh ocean breeze, only to be replaced with a brand new set. “Taxi!” he called suddenly, waving one hand in the air. Two cabs came to a halt in front of him and he smiled. On returning to Sunnydale, he had spent almost half an hour trying to hail a taxi but here in Miami, they seemed to always travel in pairs and over-populate the city. As the gang loaded their cases into the trunks of the two vehicles, the girls piled themselves into the back, leaving Giles and Xander to occupy the other. After giving the second cab driver clear instructions to ‘follow that cab’, Giles slumped into the back of the lead car and gave his destination to the driver.
“So G-man.” Xander sighed as they pulled away from the airport. “Three women and one boat. I’m starting to think you didn’t think this through too well.” Giles smiled before replying.
“We survived pretty well with five women in one camper van!” he told the younger man, his brow falling almost instantly as he recalled that he nearly hadn’t survived.
Xander turned to him, a look of total disbelief over his face. “That was only a couple of hours and you nearly died!” he reminded him, causing the cab driver to hide a giggle.
“Oh well, yes. But this will be different!” Giles assured him and turned his gaze to the window, indicating that he no longer wished to continue the conversation.
After another hour of travelling, the cars came to a halt at the entrance to a well kept marina. Giles shook Xander who had fallen asleep on the trip and was snoring loudly. “Uh what, mom, I'm up!” he mumbled as he opened his eyes.
“If you plan on snoring like that on this holiday, it might be you that doesn’t survive!” the Watcher told him.
“Xander, it’s time to wake up and sail!” Buffy announced as she pulled the door open, spilling Xander onto the pavement.
After paying the drivers and watching the cabs disappear into the afternoon light, Giles headed into a small office to collect the keys for the boat. “So, which one do you think is ours?” Tara asked, causing the others to survey the boats bobbing up and down on the sea. As they speculated the boat on which they would be spending the next four weeks, Giles reappeared from the office, a small set of keys and a sheet of paper in hand. “If we’re all ready?” he asked as he led the way down the marina and towards their yacht.
“Oh my goddess!” Willow breathed as Giles came to a halt in front of a large, immaculate yacht. The other Scoobies stood in stunned silence. Before them bobbed a 50ft, pristine white yacht. “It’s like something from a James Bond movie!” Xander whispered, clearly in awe of the spectacular vessel. The girls turned to him in one movement, each one rolling her eyes and grinning.
“Welcome to ‘Solo Dreams’” he announced, indicating the name of the boat with his left hand. “All aboard who’s going aboard!” he finished, gathering up his things and stepping onto the deck.
As soon as they were aboard, the air was full off; “Oh god!”, “Oh wow!”, “Guys, look at this!” and the most welcome of all, at least to the ears of both Giles and Xander; “Look, there’s two bathrooms!”
As they all convened in the living/dining area, Giles lifted a large envelope from the largest table and opened it.
”Dear Rupert, Buffy, Willow, Tara and Xander,
Welcome aboard ‘Solo Dreams’, she’s a beaut and will treat you well. On board you will find 3 cabins, only one of which is a double, for which I apologise, this one has an ‘on-suite’. The other two have two bunks each so there will be more than enough room for you all. The instruction manual is at the helm if you get into problems but I had her serviced two days ago and she’s running like an angel so you should all be fine. If you get stuck, ask the computer. Giles, I’d get one of the youngsters to do that, you’re not as young and ‘with it’ as they are!!”
Giles frowned momentarily as he read, “Not as young and with it indeed!” he said indignantly, much to the amusement of the others who were suddenly finding their shoes incredibly interesting. “Oh, ok.” he sighed.
There’s plenty of storage so you should be able to get everything you want and keep it fresh for the duration of your trip. If not, she goes fast enough to get back to shore, do some shopping and get back out without wasting a day. Life jackets are stored under the bed in the master cabin, I suggest wearing them, but given your crew Giles, I'm finding that hard to see happening!!
Fill her up again, or leave me the money when you dock again and most importantly, have a brilliant time!!
Brian Robson”
He carefully folded the letter and slipped it back into its envelope. Regarding the group Giles began sorting out room arrangements. “Willow and Tara should take the master cabin. All those in favour?” he asked, receiving raised hands from both Buffy and Xander. “I will lodge with Xander which leaves Buffy in a cabin on her own.” he finished.
“Great!” Buffy grinned, her delight at not having to share clearly written over her face. “I’ll put the cases away. Willow, Tara, do you guys wanna do the shopping thing?”
“On it!” Willow replied, as she took Tara's hand and led her back on deck. Willow had been given the shopping money prior to leaving Sunnydale as safe keeping. Buffy hadn’t liked the way Xander was eying a candy stall and had felt that their food budget would be safer with her.
With Willow and Tara gone, Xander decided to have a look around. After pulling open many of the cupboards and finding them empty, he slumped heavily onto one of the seats in the larger living area and was surprised to hear a loud ‘click’ as he did so.
“Ooooh, secret goodies!” he cheered as he stood up and turned back to the seat. Pulling the cushions up, he grinned when it flipped open to reveal fishing equipment. “Hey Giles!” he called to the watcher who was busying himself with making tea. “I found stuff to catch our own dinner with!” he announced. Giles’ head popped through the small doorway and grinned as Xander retrieved some fishing tackle from under the seat.
“Excellent!” he exclaimed, the joy evident on his face. “I’ve always wanted to do some deep sea fishing!” he finished before returning to answer the call of the kettle.
Buffy emerged from the farthest cabin and grinned. No matter where Giles was, he wasn’t truly comfortable until he had found a way to make himself a cup of tea, and now that he had one, he was sitting on one of the long sofas and sipping the steaming beverage carefully.
The arrival of Willow and Tara made the entire group jump. “Wow, that was quick!” Buffy announced as they placed their shopping bags on the counter.
“Well unlike you Buff, we go and get what we want rather than browsing every store!” Willow retorted quickly, a smile brightening her already pretty face. Buffy tried to look hurt by her friends comment but failed dismally.
Brushing it aside, she began rummaging through the bags as Xander told Willow and Tara of his discovery. “Lets get this put away in this tiny kitchen and then we can set sail?” Buffy broke into their jovial chat, directing her question at Giles.
“Galley. And maybe we should wait until the morning?” The Watcher replied, his response drawing a mask of confusion over the face of his young charge. “Uh?” she asked as she stored away a few loaves of bread.
“It’s a galley, not a kitchen.” Giles told her again. “It may be best of we all get a good nights sleep before setting out, start the journey with fresh senses.” Both Willow and Tara nodded their agreement, and Xanders yawning put him in with the others.
“So, I’ll do dinner and we’ll go to sleep and then leave in the morning?” Buffy announced as she manoeuvred her way around the tiny galley. Finding a large pizza, she popped it in the microwave and slumped down in the seat next to Tara. “Wow. Cooking’s stressful.” she giggled, nudging the blonde playfully.
After dinner, each Scooby retired to their relevant cabins for a brief nap and not one of them awoke before sunrise the next morning.
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