----------------------------------------
As they came closer to England, Buffy found herself standing at the railing more and more often. It worried her a bit, what she would do once they had met port in the small city where she had grown up. The ship would stay in port for at least six months, making repairs to the ship that required it to be put in a dry dock. Most of the crew would go home and spend some much anticipated time with their families. To most of them, spending almost two years at sea was hard, and the six months at home was precious. To Buffy, it just meant that she once again would have to find a new ship.
“Do you think we’ll reach land faster if you keep an eye on the horizon?”
Buffy turned around and smiled at Spike.
“I’m kind of hoping on the opposite,” she confessed.
“What? You’re not looking forward to be back in good old England?” he mocked. “The land of the King and the Queen and the beautiful black ravens?”
“Definitely not.”
“I take it you’re not missing the dear family, then,” he said and leaned on the railing next to her and looked out over the open sea. “Can’t say I do, either.”
They had never really spoken about their families, Buffy realized. Spike didn’t know anything about her parents, or her sister, and she had no idea about his family.
“There’s nothing for me on land,” she said. “My life is on the open sea: in the warm summer days, in the storms, in the waves.”
“Yeah, mine too,” he agreed. “Listen, Summers, I know this captain, and he once said that if I wanted a job on his ship, I’d get it. It’s a pretty good ship, too. I’m thinking it should be in port about the same time we are, and maybe I can find a job there for the both of us.”
“Won’t it be making repairs, too?” she asked.
“Not likely. He likes to keep the ship on the sea. He makes the repairs in China, when they’re there for the cargo.”
“In China?” Buffy asked, surprised. She had never heard of a shipper who trusted the repairs to be rightfully done in China.
“And he’s never had any trouble with the ship,” Spike assured. “He’s like you and me: his life is on the sea. The shorter time he has to spend in England, the better. What do you say; are you up for it?”
“Sure,” she said. “It would be great. Maybe there’s a job for Giles on the ship, too?”
Spike looked at her and frowned.
“Giles? Are you sure he’d want one? From the sounds of it, I thought he was pretty glad to spend the next six months on the dry land.”
Buffy looked out over the deck. Giles was working with something at the other end. She remembered what he had said when they had taken hire on this ship a year and a half ago: there was nothing on land for him either. She was sure he wanted to stay on the sea.
The weather kept them on the sea for almost a month longer than they expected, and when they finally made port in England, the autumn storms were already starting. Even though Spike has assured her that the captain he knew would be setting sail in any weather, just to avoid being stuck in England over the winter, Buffy was pretty sure no-one was crazy enough to challenge the weather. To set sail this late in the year would practically be asking to go under.
While they were unloading the cargo, Spike took off to find the ship he had been talking about, and when he returned almost two hours later with a huge smile on his face, Buffy knew he had been successful.
“Go pack your bag, Summers!” he shouted as he climbed the gangway. “I got us a job, and they’re leaving tomorrow!”
“Tomorrow? That soon?”
“Better sooner than later when you’re dealing with our wonderful weather, right? Come on, hurry up! They want us there right away!”
It didn’t take long for Buffy to pack, and soon she was back on deck with her bag over her shoulder. She looked around for Giles, but she couldn’t find him. When Spike returned to deck with his own bag, she went over to him.
“I can’t find Giles.”
“Oh, great,” Spike said and sighed. “I got him a job, too, you know. Hey, Tim, do you know where Giles is?”
Tim looked down on them from his place in the rig.
“Haven’t seen him since this morning.”
“Well, we’re leaving. When you see him, tell him to come by the Alma over by the far docks. I got him a job, but the job is leaving the first thing in the morning.”
“Sure will,” Tim shouted down. “Bye!”
Buffy waved, and then they left the Mary behind them.
The Alma was bigger than both Mary and The Belle. At first, the only thing Buffy could do was to stare up at the big ship. The main mast was much taller than the one on Mary, and she was already looking forward to climb it. She smiled and looked at Spike.
“I like it,” she said, and Spike smiled back.
“Glad I could offer you such a fine gift, milady.”
Buffy hit him on the arm, and laughed.
“Spike! Glad to see you again so soon!”
They both turned around, and Buffy’s heart almost stopped when she saw the man that was standing behind them. She understood that this was the captain that Spike had talked about, but he wasn’t anything she had expected. For starters, he was much younger than any other captain she had ever seen. He seemed to be just a little bit older than Spike. He was taller, though, and his hair was dark.
“Told you it wouldn’t take long. This is Ben.”
The captain shook Buffy’s hand, and looked at her from top to toe.
“You’re young,” he said.
“I’m fifteen,” she answered truthfully, “and I’m stronger than I look.”
“I’m sure you are, or Spike wouldn’t have recommended you. I’m Angel, the captain of this little boat,” he said and made a waving gesture at the ship. “There’s still a lot of work to be done before we leave tomorrow, so I’ll expect the two of you to get straight to work. Didn’t you say there would be another one, too, Spike?”
”He might come along later,” Spike answered. “We’ll just go and leave our bags somewhere, and then we’ll get to work.”
They climbed the gangway, and another sailor showed them where they could leave their bags below deck. There was some cargo on the dock that needed to be loaded, and they started loading it onto the ship.
It was almost dark, and most of the remaining cargo was loaded when Buffy saw Giles approaching. She shouted out at him, and waved, and he smiled and came over to her.
“So you’ve found a new job this fast,” he said.
“It’s all thanks to Spike,” she explained. “He knows the captain. Didn’t you hear? There’s a job here for you too!”
“Ah, yes,” Giles said and looked out over the docks. “Say, why don’t we go for a little walk?”
Buffy left the cargo, and they walked down the dock.
“I won’t be joining you on the new ship,” Giles said after a while, and Buffy stopped and stared at him.
“What?”
“I won’t be coming with you.”
“But… why? I thought you wanted to be on the sea?”
“Oh, I do,” Giles said. “It’s just that I have certain duties on land, too.”
“Last time you said life on land didn’t hold anything for you,” Buffy said accusingly. Giles cleared his throat and refused to meet her eyes.
“To be honest, that wasn’t exactly true. I have a family here, and my wife, Jenny, wants me to stay at home for a while.”
“You have a wife? But why didn’t you stay last time, then?”
“I thought you needed me then.”
“I did,” Buffy answered. “And I still need you! You can’t just leave.”
“Yes, I can, and I have to. It’s true that you needed me, but you don’t anymore. You can take care of yourself.”
“No, I need you!” Buffy said, fighting the tears that threatened to overflow. “I can’t be on my own!”
Giles put a hand on her shoulder.
“You’ll do fine by yourself. Besides, you have people around who will look out for you,” Giles said and looked over at the Alma where Spike was busy getting the last of the water barrels aboard. Buffy looked over at Spike.
“It’s not the same,” she said. “He’s not you.”
“But he knows, and he will help you. You have spent more time with him the last couple of months than you have done with me.”
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t need you,” Buffy tried, but the truth was she had already given up. Giles was leaving.
“I’ll be here. You can come find me every time the ship comes here.”
“So you’re staying for good?”
“From the looks of it: yes. It’s close to the sea, and that’s enough for me.”
“Not for me,” Buffy said quietly.
“No, you need more,” Giles agreed. “I know you’ll do fine, Buffy.”
They stood together and watched the last of the cargo being carried on board. Giles patted her on the back.
“Right then. I’ll see you.”
“Bye,” Buffy said, and Giles left, leaving her all alone on the deck.
----------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
