_Title:_ Love on the High Seas #2: "Isle of New Beginnings"
_Authors:_ Pirates Sparrow and Turner
_E-mail:_ OrliDepp@...
_Rating:_ NC-17
_Feedback:_ Yes, please!! Seriously, we, like all other fan fic writers,
thrive on feedback. We also tend to only stick to the places where we know
we are being read and enjoyed from the reviews we receive. However, flames
absolutely will not be tolerated.
_Archive:_ Absolutely *ONLY* if you request permission and receive our
granting to do so. It'll probably be a yes, but it depends on the archive
and the person running it.
_Warnings:_ Abuse, Death, Lemon, Nudity, Rape, Sex, Torture, Violence
_Fandoms/Characters/Pairings:_ (Angel/BtVS) A/C, Fresley, Faith, Lorne,
Dawn, Connor; (Charmed) C/Pi, Prue, Phoebe, Paige, Kit; (Dawson's Creek)
Dawson; (Disney) Jack Sparrow/Will Turner, Hook/Smee, Sebastian; (Elvira)
Elvira, Gonk; (Excalibur) Kurtty; (Generation X) Sean Cassidy; (Harry
Potter) Albus Dumbledore, Snape; (Labyrinth) Jareth and company; (Peter
Pan) Hook/Smee; (The Pirate Movie) Frederic; (PotC) Jack/Will, Elizabeth;
(Sabrina) Salem; (Shrek) Donkey; (Smallville) Clex; (SU2) Carl; (10K)
Wolf; (X-Men) RoLo, Morph, Sean/Emma, Kurtty, Professor X; (Xena)
Aphrodite, Xena/Gabby, Joxer, and Autolycus. Sooner or later, there's a
pairing for every character, but if they're not listed it here, the
pairing will be with either a character from a different fandom or an
original character.
_Summary:_ Picking up where Love on the High Seas #1: Bright Promises of
Tomorrow left off, a handicapped Pirate and his crew arrive on an island
to investigate wreckage, but will they find any survivors? What will
happen when the Pirates come into contact with two other groups who
crashed onto the isle, and how will they escape the island that is filled
with danger, prehistoric beings, Supernatural beings, and much, much more
when all the ships have been destroyed? Huge multi-crossover with such
fandoms as Angel, BtVS, Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Disney, Excalibur,
Generation X, Harry Potter, Labyrinth, Peter Pan, The Pirate Movie,
Pirates of the Caribbean, Sabrina, Shrek, Smallville, Special Unit 2, 10th
Kingdom, X-Men, Xena, and more!
_Disclaimer:_ All established characters; all TV show, comic, and movie
titles; and the Black Pearl are © & TM their respective owners and are
used without permission. Crystal "Snowflake" Frost, Katrina "Firestar"
Lewis, Celina "Pantheria" Lewis, Tom Ballard, Meesy, Brendan Richards; and
all other original characters are © & TM Pirates Sparrow and Turner, are
used with their permission, and may not be used without permission. The
Sea Witch and everything else are also © & TM the authors. No copyright
infringement is intended, and no monetary profit is made from these tales.

_Chapter Eleven_
Jack was extremely relieved when they reached the house. He opened
the door and entered, hoping that 'Ro had taken care of the messy
walls. Sure enough, they were clean, but he heard shouting and
turned to look as Ororo came flying right past him with Wolverine
in hot pursuit. "WAIT, 'RO! THEY'RE HERE! YOU DON'T NEED TO GO
AFTER THEM!"

Ororo was beginning to slow at Logan's words when she heard Paige
calling and waving her hands. "That's right! We're all right here,
Auntie 'Ro!"

Wolverine shook his head from where he stood beside Jack. "Crazy
woman," he whispered to him. "I got her to rest for just a few
minutes, and then she got up and went flyin' after 'em without a
word!"

"Duty calls," Jack whispered back with an impish grin.

Ororo came to a sudden halt in the wind and breathed a sigh of
relief as she looked upon her godchildren. Logan was right. They
were not only there, but they were okay. Indeed, their men did not
appear to have released them yet. She could not help a small,
relieved smile at that sight.

"Hi, Auntie 'Ro!" Prue called. "We're safe and sound!" She glanced
up to where Brendan was standing beside her. "What's this talk of
dinosaurs?" she asked her aunt.

Before 'Ro could say anything, Jack said, "I want you to gather
around inside. I've got to tell you some things that you're
probably not going to want to believe." Once everybody was
gathered together in the living room, he resumed, "I was not
kidding when I told you there were dinosaurs. I bought this
island, because I was stranded here several times and I wanted to
fix a place that I could hang out at if I got dumped again."

Autolycus dipped his head so that he could whisper in Elizabeth's
ear. "Not true," he reminded her.

She nodded, understanding why Jack would not want to reveal the
truth of the matter.

"The several times I was dumped here, I never encountered any life
forms. I never stopped to think why. I was not disturbed though I
spent several days here. Now, there is wildlife on the island --
big, angry, hungry dinosaurs that are supposed to be extinct." He
was pacing the floor in the center of the circle. "I don't know
how this happened. I don't know where they came from, but I do
know that they'll eat us if they get the chance. I want every one
to look around and make sure that every one's here. We know that
there are some missing like Jareth and some of his people; they
will return when they are able. Does any one know of any one
missing?"

It was then that Hook's mouth flew open. "CONNOR! BOI, WHERE ARE
YOU?!"

"I saw him earlier," Angel said. "I think . . . but I'm not sure .
. . they might have got him."

James fainted, falling over Smee and flattening him against the
floor.

"Angel!" Delvira scolded. "The boy's his *son*! You could at least
*try* to be a little gentler!"

"Don't know how," Angel replied with a shrug, "but I will go out
and look for the boy."

"Right now, before you go," Jack said, "I want to introduce a few
people I met today. They are survivors of another group that the
dinosaurs attacked. It's Captain Kitty, Father Wagner, Sean
Cassidy, and Chong . . . " His voice trailed off as he realized he
did not know the Chinese man's last name.

"Chan," Chong supplied for him.

"I want you to pick rooms and bunk mates. You are not to go
anywhere without your weapon and your bunkmate, even to the
bathroom. There is a bathroom in every room, and there is no need
for any one to go outside. There should be enough rooms for every
one if you pair up. Well, go ahead and choose!" he commanded when
they all seemed to be standing around and looking at each other.

Wolf had moved over to stand by Angel. "I'll go with you, Angel,
to look for the boy, but let's pick our room first."

"*Wolf!*" Elvira exclaimed.

"Yes, darling?"

She looked him square in the face. "I thought you wanted to get
some loving some time tonight?"

"Yes, darling, but I don't want to give you a bad reputation by
bunking with you. Don't you want to bunk with your sister?"

"I'd rather bunk with you."

"Well, pick us out a room," Wolf replied with a smile. "I won't be
gone long. Angel and I will look for the boy. Hopefully, we'll
find him alive."

Cordelia, who stood nearly as close as a second skin to Angel,
piped up. "You know, that's kind of going to put you in a rather
rough imposition, Elvira." When Elvira looked at her
questioningly, she explained, "You won't be able to go anywhere
until Wolf gets back." She was already upset with Angel but hadn't
spoken a word about that.

Angel did not know that Cordelia was upset with him, and if he had
thought she was, he still wouldn't have had a clue as to why.
"Cordelia, if you would be so kind as to hold a room next to yours
for Wolf and me while Elvira holds the other room, I'd appreciate
it." He smiled at her. "Won't be gone long, sweetheart, but
there's a scared boy out there and I'm to blame for him being out
there. I should have ran him back to the shore when I came across
him today."

Cordelia silenced a sigh. "It's all right," she assured Angel. "I
understand. You're only doing your duty." She really did hate that
word.

Overhearing their conversation, a grinning Wolverine elbowed Jack.

"*Don't* use that word!" Dawn cut in. "Do you know what this
*idiot's* duty is?!" she demanded, waving a flustered hand at
Frederic. She still could not believe that that strange blue boy
had shown up, out of nowhere nonetheless, just long enough to tell
her to beware of Frederic's duty and then vanished without any
explanation! She'd turned to Frederic for the explanation and been
absolutely horrified and angry when she'd learned the truth about
the lad.

{Well, I know what *this* one's is . . . } Cordelia thought though
she did not answer Dawn aloud.

"Do you?" Dawn repeated.

Elvira looked at the boy. She could tell he was still wet behind
the ears. "To get laid for the first time?" she guessed.

"Hey! I already did that! No, that's not my duty! If you'd just
quit making such a fuss about my duty, I could get on with it!"

Dawn turned on him. "I will *never* stop making a fuss about your
duty! You think I'm bad now? Well, guess what, buster?! I'm just
*beginning*! I'm going to learn to be the best Piratess I can be
just so that I can wipe you and your duty out!"

"What in the world could be so horrible about his duty?" Cordelia
asked. "I mean, it's not as if he's trying to bend over backwards
to . . . "

"*No*," Dawn cut her off, "he's trying to kill all Pirates!"

"_*What?!*_" Angel turned around from talking with Wolf and fixed
Frederic with baleful eyes. "*You're* wanting to kill all Pirates?
Too bad it's not you out there instead of your brother!"

"He can get out there!" a new voice chimed in as Faith stalked
over to join the others glaring at the blonde. "What kind of an
*idiot* are you to -- "

Lex cut her off, gently but firmly holding her back by the
shoulders. "Easy there, girl. I don't think you want to kill the
son of one of Jack's friends."



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

Smee had dragged James to one of the ground floor rooms. He tried
to put him on the bed, but he couldn't lift him. He was still
struggling desperately to lift him when he felt the load become a
great deal lighter. "I've had to put Jareth to bed a few times,"
Delvira explained.

"Thanks, Delvira. I'm afraid he's taken it rather badly that
Connor's lost and might be eaten. He tries to love both his bois,
but that Frederic is a handful. Very hard to love. Connor . . .
He's a real sweetheart. I hope he's not dead. I'd really miss him.
Why couldn't it have been Frederic?"

Delvira grinned. "You know, you're not the only one offering
blondie up." She jerked a thumb toward the open door. "They're
about to eat him out there."

"Better go rescue him," Smee said sadly with a sigh. James would
never forgive me if something happened to the boi." He raced over
to the door. "Have you picked a room yet, Delvira? There's another
one right next door here. No one's in it yet. For some reason,
they all headed upstairs."

She shrugged. "No, but I was contemplating joining the boys. Make
sure the job gets done right, you know?"

"That might be a good ideal, ma'am, but be careful. You want me to
mark the room for you?"

She did not even have to think about it. With her husband's friend
next door and in dire need of help, she knew where she was needed.
"Yes, please, Smee."

Smee took his knife out of a pocket and marked a D on the door.
"There. That'll hold it for you. Now I best get over there and
straighten that young man out."

She nodded. "I'll go with you. Angel and Wolf hadn't taken off
yet. The last time I saw them, they were wanting to eat Frederic
too. The boy's duty came out," she explained.

"Gods, his duty! I wish he had dutied up Pan! That's all he talks
about! Pan brainwashed him. Oops! I didn't say that! Don't tell
anybody!"

"Smee," Delvira commanded gently, "hold on." She had already
placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and now she looked down into
his eyes with great concern. "Pan *brainwashed* him?" she
whispered to him. "Literally?"

"I believe so. Yes, ma'am. So does James, but he won't talk about
it. You see, Pan stole Frederic from us. James bought him off of a
group of Pirates who were using the boi for bait. We loved him
like he was ours, but Pan kidnapped him. He gets all the Lost
Boys."

"Frederic loved us when we first had him, but when we recaptured
him, he hated us. All he could talk about was his duty. We don't
know what happened to our poor, little boi except that he was
changed!"

He turned to face the angry group that had gathered around
Frederic. "Excuse me, please! I'll take care of him! Frederic, I
told you a thousand times to keep your mouth shut! Now you need to
go to your room!" He reached up, grabbed the boy by the ear, and
began to drag him toward the room on the other side of where he
had taken the Captain.

He did not let go of his ear despite Frederic's hollering that he
was innocent and that Dawn was the one who'd revealed his duty and
swatting at him until they reached the room where he shoved
Frederic inside and pulled the door too. "Stay in there till your
father calls for you!" He figured that would be a long time,
because even when James woke up, he'd be more concerned with
Connor. He heard Frederic sit down on the inside of the room with
his back against the door.



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

Angel and Wolf headed for the door. "Be back in a bit," Angel told
them.

"Wait up for us," Wolf added.

"Oh, I'll wait up for you all right," Cordelia muttered underneath
her breath. She couldn't believe that Angel was already running
off again!

It was then that Delvira brushed so swiftly past Cordelia that
Elvira had to catch the girl to keep her from falling. "Delvira,
what . . . ?" she started to ask her sister but Delvira
interrupted her.

"No time, sis," she called without looking back. Catching up to
Angel and Wolf, she told them, "I'm going with you. You need a
woman to make sure you don't screw up the job."

"You can come if you want to, but stay out of the way when the
fighting starts," Angel told her. He knew she was a powerful
Vampiress but thought that was all.

"Why don't *you* stay out of the way, boy?" Delvira retorted, her
black eyes flashing.

Wolf looked at both of them. "Why don't we all act like adults
here and stay out of each other's way? That way, we'll have a
better chance of fighting those things if they show up."

Delvira shrugged. "Whatever," she tossed at him. "I just didn't
think he'd want to get his butt barbecued."

"Barbecued? By what? Those dinosaurs aren't spitting fire! They
aren't dragons!"

"They aren't," Delvira replied, "but I am."

"You're a dragon? I never met a dragon shapeshifter before!"

"Not a dragon!" She rolled her eyes. "Spitting fire?" With that,
she held out her hand, and a fireball formed within her grasp.

Angel watched as the fireball got bigger and bigger. "That's
great," he said. "That should really barbecue some dinosaurs!"

"That's what I thought," Delvira relented, absorbing the fireball
back into her pale skin. "They've got my friend's boy, and we're
going to get him back."

They melted into the growing darkness, each keeping their senses
alert and hoping to find the boy alive.



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

Cordelia sighed as she watched Angel walk off. "I don't think I'm
ever going to get used to that!"

"Me neither," Elvira agreed. "Talk about a sense of duty . . . "

Cordelia glanced at the pale woman in surprise. "My thoughts
exactly," she admitted.

Elvira nodded. "Let's go find those rooms. If we're lucky, they
might even come with a surprise."

"A surprise?" Cordelia asked.

"Something to get drunk on," Elvira clarified. She was glad to see
that the younger woman was not repulsed by the ideal, and they
walked off together, chatting heatedly about their men.



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

Dawson touched Faith gently on the back. "Do you think we could .
. . find a room?" he asked her. "We need somewhere to spend the
night."

"I'll get us one," she assured him. She didn't know how many rooms
were in this mansion, but if they were all occupied, she'd simply
throw somebody out.

Dawson followed along behind Faith as she mounted the stairs.
Salem darted after them.



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

Jack watched as all the others found rooms and began to settle
down. He had found a room earlier that had a key in it, and he had
locked the door and taken the key. It was the master bedroom, and
the huge bed in the room had been made especially for Will so that
his long, lanky frame would be comfortable. "Will? We can retire
for a while," he told him. "Follow me. I already got us a room."

"Are you sure?" Will asked him. "You don't have to wait for the
others?"

"Why should I wait for the others? I told them to get a room. If
they can't find one, it's their problem. There's plenty of rooms,
but this room is special." He took the key out of his pocket and
unlocked it. He moved out of the way to allow Will to enter first.

Will entered first but stopped short when his eyes caught sight of
the bed. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He'd never seen
such a huge bed before, nor one that had ever looked so inviting!

Jack was about to speak when he heard a certain clicking sound
behind him. "What we looking at?" Donkey asked.

"Donkey, you have to get your own room. It's long past time that
Will and I had some time together. Pick you a partner, and get a
room."

Donkey looked at Jack sadly but, knowing that there would be no
arguing with him, finally turned away and hollered out,
"WOLVERINE!"

Wolverine stuck his head out the door of his and 'Ro's bedroom.
"Donkey, what are you yelling about?"

Donkey ran over to Wolverine. Grinning up at him, he asked, "Can I
bunk with you? Huh? Huh? Can I? Can I? Please?"

Wolverine said, "I love ya like a brother, Donkey, but I got a
woman in here."

"So?"

"You're gonna have to find another room."

"Aw, man!" Donkey wailed. "I can't bunk with Will! I can't bunk
with Jack! I can't bunk with you! Who'm I gonna . . . CRYSTAL!"

Wolverine looked at him. "Donkey, you can't bunk with Crystal.
She's gonna be in with Lorne."

"Then I'll bunk with her animals!" Donkey said decisively.

"Now that is a good ideal. Go down and ask. They took a room on
the bottom floor."

At Wolverine's words, Donkey raced down the stairs. He took a
screeching hault as he almost ran into Elizabeth. "Where'd Lorne
and Crys bunk?" he asked her.

Elizabeth stared at him but managed to hold out a shaking finger
to point at a closed door.

Donkey grinned at her. "Thanks!" He ran over and began to rap on
the door with a hoof.

"Yes?" Lorne asked as he opened the door.

"Can I bunk with Crys?"

"Crys, got room for another one?" Lorne called to her. "Donkey's
looking for room."

Crystal looked at Lorne. "Well . . . " She dragged the word out.
"We all know you weren't very happy with letting the children even
stay in here."

"Yes, but they stayed. If Donkey's quiet, I don't see why he can't
join the party."

"Maybe," Crys murmured underneath her breath, "because I was
planning on showing you how much I *do* love you . . . "

"I won't see anything!" Donkey promised from the other side of the
door. "Nothing at all! And I'll be as quiet as a mouse! Huh-uh!
*I'll* be Mouse Boy!" he volunteered. "Come on! Pleeease?" he
pleaded with Lorne. "I just don't want to room with duty boy!" he
admitted.

"Crys, I was planning on that, too, but we already have an
audience, so we're not getting much action tonight."

Crystal stared at him. "An audience?"

"Yes, your children."

"They're not an audience!"

"Crys . . . One extra being in the room is an audience. It's a
private thing that should be between a man and a woman."

Crystal stared at him. {Well,} she realized, {guess I'll die a
virgin.} "Let him in if you want," she said, shrugging and rising
to her feet. "I've got to go to the bathroom any way." Without
another word, she walked over to the bathroom and shut the door
behind Cindy and herself.

{Cindy is going in there?} Lorne thought. {There is going to be a
mess in that bathroom!} "Come on in, Donkey. One more is not going
to be a problem. There's plenty of room. I'm just never going to
get a chance to make it with Crys."

Donkey didn't even take notice of Lorne's last sentence. Instead,
he raced past him and landed on the bed so roughly that he knocked
Elvira and Blue both off of it. He instantly started rolling on
his back and kicking his hooves in the air.

"Off the bed, Donkey! Crys is sleeping on there! Take a corner.
You get that one; I'm taking this one. The bed's not big enough
for all of us."

Donkey opened an eye and looked down at the bed. "You're right,
but if you're already taking a corner, I'll keep her warm for
you."

"Off the bed, Donkey!" Lorne moved closer to the bed. "Don't make
me kick you off of there!"

"Aw, come on, man, you wouldn't . . . " It was then that Elvira's
and Blue's growls added to Lorne's angry words. "All right! All
right! I'm going!" Donkey slunk off of the bed and into one of the
corners. He turned round and round before laying down with his
rear pointed at the others.

"Don't you dare let go in here!" Lorne told him. "You can use the
bathroom when she comes out of there." Lorne settled down in his
corner and pulled a blanket over himself. It was going to be a
long night!

Crystal came out to find Lorne laying in the corner. "What are you
doing over there?" she asked him.

"The bed's not big enough for everybody," he told her. He felt
totally left out. By the time Crys crawled into the bed and her
three babies were in the bed, there was not even an inch left for
him.

"Lorne, there's plenty of room in there. You can sleep with them,
you know. They won't bite you . . . well, not again any way . . .
"

"Crys, come stand over here in this corner and look back at the
bed." She did as he instructed. "Now imagine yourself in the bed."
Could she really be that blind, he wondered, that she could not
see that there was no room left for him?

Crystal blinked, then looked at Lorne in confusion. "Lorne,
there's plenty of room in that bed for you."

"Crys, there is not enough room in that bed! I'm not going to
argue with you! Lay down; get some rest. I'm fine right where I'm
at."

"Ahoy!" Crys exclaimed. "So *that's* your problem. Lorne, get in
that bed. I'm not going to bed; you use it."

"That makes two of us, 'cause I'm not getting in that bed! And why
aren't you going to get some sleep?"

She stared at him for a long moment. She couldn't believe the
change in the man before her. Just because her babies were her
constant shadow, he was determined to be such a . . . such an ass!
"Suit yourself," she said at last, choosing not to answer his
question. She rose a hand up, and a sword of ice formed in her
hand. "I've got work to do." She turned her back to him, walked
off a pace, and began her training regime.

"Then I'll watch you while you're working. I'm not sleepy." He
wondered just what kind of work she was going to be doing.

She shrugged. "Suit yourself," she repeated. Dropping into a
fighting stance, she pulled the sword back, then jumped forward,
attacking an invisible enemy.

Her babies watched the couple sadly from the bed. Elvira made a
quiet noise underneath her breath, and Cindy growled, dismissing
Lorne's behavior as being typical for all males. Blue shook his
head and cooed softly, trying to explain to his sisters that he
just didn't understand their mistress yet. How was he to know that
she always fought sleep? How was he to know that she wanted them
constantly with her to be sure they were safe from Frostbite? He
cooed again. Lorne just didn't get it.

Lorne got up and went over to the bed. He stroked Blue on the
head. "I just can't do it with all of you in here. I've never done
it before, and I feel that that should be a private act between a
man and a woman. I love you kids, but I can't do it." He hoped
Crys had not picked up on his words to Blue and figured she hadn't
as she was so busy with her scheduled work. "Why won't she go to
bed, Blue?"

Elvira whimpered sadly to Lorne even as Cindy growled. Blue
translated both their words for him, explaining that neither Cindy
nor any of the rest of them wanted to watch Crys and he do it,
whatever it was, and that they'd be more than happy to go hide out
in the bathroom while they took care of it. As for why Crys would
not go to bed, Blue's and Elvira's answers were the same: She
feared shutting her eyes for the nightmares that would follow.

"It's called mating," Lorne told the animals. "I'm sure you know
what that is. Even if you've never done it yourself, you must have
seen it."

"{I've heard about it,}" Blue admitted, {but I've never seen it,
and I still don't really know what it is. Cindy always cuts it
off, and Crys and Elvira have never had it.}"

"Damn! We're in a sad fix!" Lorne said. "We're all virgins. That's
as bad as being orphans, which we're that too."

"Speak for yourself!" Donkey called from his corner. "I ain't no
virgin!"

Elvira noticed that Crys paused in her routine at Donkey's words,
but she never looked up. Instead, she resumed her work with
renewed energy.

"Would you three really hide in the bathroom with the door closed?"

Elvira left the bed at that; she padded quietly into the bathroom.
Blue waited with Lorne as Cindy got up and stalked over to Donkey.
"{Into the bathroom,}" she growled out at him, "{or say hello to
Miss Claws.}"

Donkey looked at her. "Miss Claws?" he asked.

Blue shook his head, cooing. He shouldn't have said that!

Cindy unsheathed her claws. Donkey took one look at them, yelped,
ran, and jumped into the bathtub. Cindy followed him at a distinct
pace, her tail swishing behind her.

Blue looked up at Lorne. He cooed a wish for good luck to him,
then flew after his sisters and Donkey.

"I'm gonna need it, Blue. Thanks," Lorne whispered after him.

Blue turned back to him once he'd entered the bathroom. He nodded
even as Elvira stood up and pushed the door to with her front
paws.

"Crys? Crys?!" Lorne called. Still, she did not answer him.
Instead, to his amazement, she leapt into the air, spinning and
dropping down with a roundhouse kick. He called her name a little
louder. "Crys?"

"Lorne," she finally answered, cutting at the air with deft blows
from her icy blade, "I'm a little busy here . . . " She'd failed
to notice his encounter with her children and Donkey.

"I'd like to be a little busy *here*," he said, and he patted the
bed, hoping that she'd catch his motion.

She dropped down this time, spinning herself across the floor as
her feet kicked with rapid speed. "I thought you said we couldn't
have any of that?"

"Not with an audience, but the audience took themselves to the
bathroom."

She stopped spinning and lay still for a moment on the floor,
looking up at him. "What do you mean . . . ?" she asked. "They
*all* went to the bathroom together?"

"Yes, and . . . Cindy made Donkey go in there too. One of them
shut the door so they couldn't see what was going on. They wanted
you and me to have our chance together."

She flipped to her feet. "See?" she asked him, one hand on her
hip. "And you were worried about them always being with me!"

"No. Worried about them watching you and me doing it. I like
having them with us except when we're attempting to mate . . .
Then I don't want it to be anybody but us." He patted the bed
again.

She came to sit beside him but did not make any further move.
"Lorne," she asked hesitantly, gazing into his enchanting red
eyes, "are you sure this is what you want?"

"Oh, yes, darling, more than anything I've ever wanted in my
entire life! I want to be with you! I want to become one with you!
I know I'm not worthy of you, but you're everything I've ever
desired and never hoped to find."

"Lorne," she whispered his name, her fingers softly touching his
red lips to silence him, "don't talk like that. You're so much
more than worthy of me! Why do you have to keep thinking that I
don't want you because of your green skin, your red horns and
eyes? Looks don't matter to me, but even if they did, you're so
handsome to me that just looking at you makes it hard for me to
breathe! You steal my breath away when you look at me that certain
way. I never realized green could be so . . . *mesmerizing* until
I saw you for the first time, and your eyes? They're so beautiful!
And as for those horns . . . " She leaned up and pressed a very
soft kiss to his left horn. "I love them too." She kissed his
right. "I love every part of you."

Lorne reached up to her and pulled her down to the bed. He hovered
over her only long enough to plunge his lips down to hers and take
hers in a passionate kiss. His hands began to do the walking all
over her body, stroking her soft, velvety skin even as he deepened
the kiss. He wasn't sure where they were going, but he hoped by
morning, neither of them would still be a virgin. He wanted to
make her his in every way and prayed that he would not disappoint
her.



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

Brendan raced through the hallway, glancing back to make sure that
Prue had not taken notice of him every now and again. Finally, he
reached Autolycus. "Autolycus," he whispered urgently, his
desperate eyes pleading with the other man's, "can I room with
you?"

"No!" Elizabeth exclaimed before Autolycus could answer him. She
grasped his hand in hers. "He's rooming with me!" It was only
after Brendan had sped off through the hall that she realized what
she had done and blushed. Looking at Autolycus from underneath her
lashes, she asked, "I . . . hope that's okay?"

Autolycus' mouth had fallen open, and he couldn't get a word out.
For the first time in his life, he was actually speechless! What
did this mean? Did it mean she wanted to sleep with him, or was he
going to have to sleep on the floor because she just wanted him
close so that he could protect her? He could do either, but he
wasn't going to do anything until she told him what her plan was.
He did manage to close his mouth, though, and not look quite the
idiot that he felt. "W-Wh-Why?" he finally managed to get out.

"Out of everybody here," Elizabeth answered honestly, "you're the
one I trust the most."

{Definitely the floor, buddy,} he told himself. "We'd better get a
room then," he told her and headed off to the end of the hall. He
hoped Brendan would get some one to share a room with him. He knew
he was desperately trying to hide from Prue.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," Elizabeth told him,
knowing that he was probably thinking that she had condemned him
to the cold, hard wood. "You could sleep on top of the cover."

He opened the last door, but it was occupied. "Sorry," he called
as he shut it quickly and tried the next door. It was empty. "This
one's empty. We'll take it." He stepped inside to let her in and
closed the door behind them. He did not make mention about where
he was going to sleep. He checked the room, and everything checked
out okay.

When Elizabeth caught sight of the bed, she could think of only
one thing for the climb had so exhausted her. Walking over to it,
she sat down and began to unlace her shoes.

Autolycus was at her side in a minute, taking over the job of
removing her shoes. He sat them nearby but out of the way. He then
rose and walked around to the other side of the bed. He did not
dare to get into the thing. "I'll just take one of these
blankets," he said in a high-pitched voice, "and sleep over here."

She gently caught his wrist as he reached for the blanket.
"Autolycus, the floor will be cold tonight," she told him.

"So will the top of the bed."

"Maybe," she agreed, "but you could still sleep under one blanket.
Regardless, it won't be as hard as the floor."

He gulped and crawled into the bed beside her, covering himself
with the blanket quickly and turning over to face away from her
before he did something to embarrass himself. "Good night,
Elizabeth."

She smiled, glad to have his companionship and relieved that she
hadn't had to fight with him. She knew what others would say, but
she was tired of caring what others might think. Let them think
what they would for Autolycus and she would always know the truth.
"Good night, Autolycus."

It was a long time before he finally fell asleep. He held himself
stiff and rigid in the bed but finally relaxed enough and drifted
off.



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

Brendan was beginning to panic. One by one, each opportunity to
escape rooming with Prue was fleeing until there was only one
other man left in the hallway. He turned baleful eyes on Cole,
already knowing he wouldn't get anywhere for Cole would, of
course, want to bed with Piper.

Cole, who had been searching for a way to not get into the room
with Piper, was extremely relieved that Brendan wanted to share a
room with him. "Thanks, Brendan," he whispered so that only
Brendan could hear. "Let's go to our room."

Brendan nearly melted with the relief that Cole's words brought
him. "Thank Gods!" he whispered.

"That's what I said too," Cole told him when he entered the room.
"I want her desperately, but . . . That's just not happening
tonight. It almost happened last night, but that was last night. I
have as much trouble fighting her charms as you do Prue's. Thank
Gods I don't have a wolf in me! He would have definitely eaten
Piper by now!"

Brendan nodded but was still fighting to calm his nervousness when
he heard Piper call out, "Cole? Prue, did you see where Cole
went?"

"Just in time!" Cole whispered to Brendan.

"Where did Brendan go?" Prue asked. "He was here only a moment ago!"

"I don't know," Piper answered with a frown. "They were both just
here!" Her voice raised as she called out, "COLE? BRENDAN?"

Cole opened the door just enough that he could look out. "Good
night, Piper! See you in the morning!" Brendan quickly shut the
door.

Piper stared at the door that had closed before she'd even gotten
one word out. "Well, I'll be . . . " She stared harder at the door
before finally releasing, "Well, I'll be damned! They're hiding
from us!"

"Brendan's in there?" Prue asked. "How do you know?"

"Do the math, Prue," Piper replied. "We were the last four in the
hall!"

"Then we're sharing a room, sister dear, and I'm all for turning
in. I'm exhausted."

Piper nodded her agreement but couldn't help adding, "I wish I had
something to throw at that door!"

It was then that another door opened and Phoebe stuck her head
out. "Which one?" she asked them.

"That one," Prue said and pointed right at Cole's door.

"Honey, don't throw that!" Joxer called to Phoebe even as she
slung one of his boots. It hit the door with perfect aim.

"What the Hell!? Who's beating on my door?" Cole called out. "Stop
that, and go to bed!"

"Phoebe, not that one too!" Joxer pleaded, but another boot hit
the door.

Brendan shook his head. "Ain't no way I'm answering that," he
whispered.

"PHOEBE, GO TO BED!" Cole bellowed. "Stop trying to beat my door
down! I'm not opening it! Good night, Phoebe!"

"Good night yourself," she called, "both of you . . . you *cowards*!"

"Phoebe, do you really have to . . . " Joxer started.

"Joxer, you better hush or you're not getting any!"

Joxer frowned at her. "Now, darling, you know we can't do that
until our wedding night!"

"_*Wedding!?!*_" Phoebe repeated in disbelief. She'd hoped he'd
forgotten all about that insane ideal. "That's it! You can join
your boots!" Before Joxer could even speak a word, he found
himself shoved out of the room. "Night, sisters!" Phoebe called,
slamming the door shut and locking it right in Joxer's face.

Joxer looked in disbelief at the door. "*Phoebe!*" he wailed.

"Come on, man," Carl called from the next room, "just because you
can't get it doesn't mean some of us aren't trying to get lucky!"

"She locked me out!" Joxer wailed. "And for what?! All I did was
ask her to marry me!"

"You actually asked her?" Carl asked after a moment's silence.

"Well, I was trying to! That's what I was hinting at!"

"No wonder she threw you out!" Paige told him. "She doesn't want
to get married any more than I do! You better do some mighty big
apologizing, mister, or you're not getting back in there!"

Joxer beat on Phoebe's door. "Phoebe, darling! Please let me in?
We don't have to get married! I thought you wanted to get
married!"

"Joxer," Phoebe called back to him, "we Halliwells are wild and
free women! We're not looking to get tied down!"

Cole and Brendan looked at each other in disbelief. Cole wanted to
marry Piper. He didn't know how Brendan felt about the situation,
but he knew that Piper was not wild and free. In fact, she was
up-tight and strait-laced. He figured she probably had a corset
on, and if he ever got lucky, he'd have to cut her out of it.

Brendan couldn't believe Phoebe's words, and he sank to the floor.
"Maybe that explains why Prue won't give up? She's wild, so she
thinks she wants a wild man?"

"I don't think she's any wilder than Piper is," Cole told him,
"and she's definitely not free. If she was, she'd be chasing after
every man on board, and the only man she's looking at is you."

"I know!" Brendan wailed, dropping his face into his hands. "And I
certainly can't have her!"

"I can't help you on that one, buddy. I can't have Piper either.
Doesn't stop me from wanting her though. Let's see if we can get
some rest." He laid down on the bed under the cover and was
surprised that Brendan did not move from his spot on the floor
except to stretch out over it. "Brendan, get up here in the bed.
That floor's going to be like ice before morning! I don't bite!"

Brendan opened one eye to look at him. "I'm kind of scared of
getting too comfortable," he admitted. "What if I dream of Prue?"

"If you dream of Prue and wolf, I'll simply shimmer out of your
way and go get Jack's cane."

Brendan nodded, hauled himself up off of the floor, walked over to
the bed, and laid down next to Cole. "Thank you," he told him, "my
friend." He was relieved that there was at last one person who
truly seemed to understand his dilemma!



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

Outside Cole and Brendan's door, the conversation between Joxer
and Phoebe continued. "So," Phoebe called, "we don't have to get
married? Does that mean you're . . . *up* for single affairs?"

"Whatever you want, honey," Joxer promised through the door. He
stood there, leaning his head against the door. "Please let me
in!"

As Phoebe started to turn the doorknob, Piper quickly picked up
Joxer's boots and threw them to where he could pick them up.
"Don't forget your boots, Joxer, and thanks, Phoebe!"

Joxer moved away from the door just in time to keep from getting
hit with the door and picked up his boots. When he looked, Phoebe
stood, smiling, in the doorway. "Joxxy . . . " she started, then
promptly reached out, grabbed hold of his shirt, and snatched him
into the room. She shut the door behind them and locked it before
he could change his mind.

"Guess we better find a room," Prue said with a yawn. "I think
there's one down here." She traipsed up the hall, looking back
over her shoulder at her sister. "Come on, Piper. He's not coming
out." She opened the door and saw that it was empty.

"I know," Piper replied sadly. Her voice then changed from sad to
fierce. "I just don't believe it! I mean, Brendan's got an excuse!
Unfortunately for both of you, but true nonetheless! As for
*Cole*, I just can't figure him out! One minute he's all sweet and
tender, and the next he's running as fast as Brendan, if not
faster! I just don't know what . . . " She stopped suddenly,
freezing in step. "Damn it!" she muttered.

"What?" Prue asked.

"I just figured it out," Piper said with a flustered wave of her
hand. "There's been one thing that's happened between us since
last night, so that has to be it!"

"What was it?" She wanted to grab Piper and shake it out of her.
She closed the door and headed for the bed.

Piper hesitated in the doorway, still shaking her head in
disbelief. "I just don't get it. He seemed so . . . understanding
. . . so caring . . . " She sighed. "I guess it's true what they
say: Men *are* jerks."

"Huh? Cole's not a jerk. He's probably hiding from you, because he
doesn't want to embarrass himself. He's in love with you, Piper.
It's plain to see, but him being a single male, he's probably a
virgin," she whispered to her sister. "Yet he probably wants to
take you in the bed now, and he just doesn't know how! Brendan's a
virgin. Why, I heard he even dresses in *barrels*! As big as he
is, and he can get in one of those little barrels! My *Gods*!
Chicken-shitt males, but they're not jerks! Neither one of them."

Piper sighed as she got into bed beside her sister. "I'm not so
sure of that, Prue. I mean, he knows I'm a virgin. Thanks to
Phoebe and Paige, the whole ship knows I'm a virgin! Besides, I
know he's not a virgin."

"How do you know?" Prue asked her.

"The way he acts," she tried to explain, "and talks. He . . . He's
gotten heated up several times, Prue, but he keeps shimmering off
because he doesn't want to push himself on me."

"That doesn't mean he's experienced, Piper! He might still be a
virgin."

"Even if he is, it shouldn't matter."

"But with a man, it does," Prue told her. "A man wants to be
experienced, so that he can guide the woman. You may find Cole
staying away for longer periods of time. He's fighting to get
himself under control. He doesn't want to rush you, because he
knows you're a lady. Damn it, Piper! For once, stop being a lady!
You get the opportunity, reach out and grab him!"

Piper sighed. "Prue, you know I can't do that! Besides," she
added, "maybe this is for the best. I shouldn't be messing around
with him so soon after Mother's and Grandmother's deaths any way.
I should be in mourning, even if I can't get the right attire, and
I have you and the others to take care of. I'll just focus on that
and let Cole do whatever he pleases." She sighed into the pillow.

"Piper, I don't believe you're giving up so easily! For Heaven
sake, woman, you've got to give him a little bit to go on! If you
never encourage him, he will think you don't want him at all, and
you can't lie there and tell me you don't want him because you
do!"

"I do," Piper admitted. "I know that. You know that, and he knows
that. I've told him already."

"So what are you waiting for?" Prue asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you know you want him and you know he wants you, then go
for it!"

"Prue, I can't do that!"

"If he has to ask you to marry him, it might take a while. Would
you even be willing to marry him?"

Piper sighed. She knew she would be thrilled at a marriage
proposal from Cole but also knew that one wasn't about to come. In
addition, his behavior that night in sneaking off with Brendan and
her sisters' breaking down earlier that day had forced her to
realize that she needed to get her priorities straight. "Prue, I'm
too tired to talk about this tonight," she sighed. "Can't we let
it go?"

"Until morning," Prue told her. "Good night, Piper."

"Night, Prue."


_Chapter Twelve_
Dawson walked into the bedroom and stopped just inside, waiting
for Faith to join him. The room had a single candle, waiting on a
stand by the door. Dawson reached out, took it and the matches,
and lit the candle. He felt Salem rush past his legs and saw him
leap into the middle of the bed. It had been a rough day for all
concerned, but Dawson was not ready for sleeping. He took in the
contents of the small room. There was a bed, a door opening to the
left that he figured might lead to a bathroom, and a door on the
right which might be a closet. He saw a pair of boots under the
bed and figured that they belonged to one of the workers. He
walked over and opened the closet.

Salem was laying to where he could see everything Dawson was
doing. He watched intently as Dawson opened the closet, hoping
there was something in there for him too. His stomach rumbled.
Could there be a mouse in there? If it ran out, Salem would catch
it, or if Dawson looked away for a minute, he'd go in the closet
and look for himself. "What's in there, Dawson?" he asked.

"Clothes. Men's clothes," Dawson told him. "Don't reckon their
owner'll be needing them any more. I don't know what happened to
my clothes that Faith bought for me."

Salem grinned teasingly up at the boy. "Bought?"

"Nah. She probably stole 'em." He looked back at the door,
wondering what was keeping Faith so long. "Hope something in here
fits me." He reached up and took down a pair of pants and a shirt
that seemed to be about the right size. "Need to get cleaned up
before I try them on. Kinda got dirty today," he said, looking
disgustedly down at himself. He carried the clothes over toward
the bathroom. "Faith?" He wondered what was keeping her. Should he
go back for her?



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

When she had first walked into the room, Faith had relaxed against
the door for a moment. Her mind just wouldn't stop playing over
the day's events, and she was still rather stunned that she had
finally broken down and let them in. Given their reactions, she
knew she would not have undone what she'd done, but she could not
help but to be surprised and stunned by her family. Family. It was
a word that even then, as she watched Dawson rummaging through the
closet and Salem rolling on the bed, brought tears to her eyes.

Faith shook herself. She just needed some time to clear her head
and get all the mushiness out. She didn't speak to the boys but
instead headed into the bathroom and silently shut the door behind
her. Once inside the bathroom, she looked around and was startled
to find handles leading to what she could not figure out. There
was two attached to the wooden bathtub and, as she looked higher
up, she realized that there was something sticking out of the
wall. "What the fuck?" she muttered underneath her breath.

She tried the handles and was surprised when water came rushing
out. She peered closer at the strange instruments and realized
that there was some kind of button on the metal object where the
water was coming from. She tried to push it down, but it wouldn't
go any further down. Then she tried pulling it up and was rained
on from above. She stared up at it even as water beat down on her.
"I'll be damned!"

It was then that she heard Dawson calling her. "Yeah?" she called
back.

Dawson looked at the door he thought was the bathroom. It sounded
like Faith was in there and something was running. "Faith, are you
okay? What's happening in there?"

"Ya wouldn't believe me," she told him. "Not sure I believe it
myself, and I'm looking at it."

"Can I come in?" he asked hopefully.

Salem had gotten off the bed and gone over to the closet that
Dawson had not closed completely. He stuck his nose in. There was
a mouse in that closet; he could smell it! He began to push boxes
around until he could get an open spot, and then he saw the mouse!
He jumped and caught it. He lay down and began to enjoy his meal,
only briefly glancing up with a grin at Faith's response to
Dawson. He'd gotten lucky; maybe now the kid would too.

Faith shrugged. "Yeah."

Dawson opened the door slowly, peering inside. He then entered,
carrying the candle carefully, and placed it in a safe place where
the water wouldn't splash it out. He had read of running water in
rich people's houses before, but he'd never seen it. Nobody in his
hometown had had running water, not even the Governor, and the
others he'd spoken to about it thought it was merely a fairy tale.
Now he was able to see it with his own eyes. He walked forward,
looking at the bathtub and the tumbling waterfall that was falling
into the tub. "Looks like that might be fun," he said with a grin.
"There's some clothes in the closet out there. I found some that
might fit me. You might could find some for you. They won't be
needing them any more. We could take a bath."

Faith had been about to speak when Dawson had added his last
sentence rather hesitantly. She recalled his earlier words as he'd
told her to fuck the bill and that he had only been using that as
an excuse to win a second ride. Her dark eyes danced up at him as
she grinned. "Well, ya know I've got that rule . . . "

"Fuck the rule!" Dawson said. "I'd love to wash your back and your
hair and any other parts you'll let me touch."

"Well . . . " She dragged the word out, choosing to continue
playing with him. "I do need to get out of Angel's jacket. I don't
know how Lex managed it, but he got puke all over it." She
shrugged out of the jacket and let it land in a dark pool around
her feet.

Dawson's eyes took in the sight -- every single inch! He thought
she was so beautiful it took his breath away. Without another
word, he reached out, lifted her upward and away from the coat,
and planted her in the bathtub. He looked around for some soap and
found a cake of soap and a bottle of shampoo. "Looks like fun," he
said and handed them to her. He then stripped and stepped into the
tub. Gods, was he finally going to get lucky or was she going to
throw him out now?!

Faith had watched Dawson strip, and each newly exposed inch of
skin had made her ache more for him. As he settled nervously into
the tub, her grin grew. Her hands had still been hanging over the
side of the tub, and now she let the soap slip. She frowned as she
heard it hit. "Oops."

"I'll get it," Dawson said. He got up and leaned over the tub, not
realizing the sight of his butt.

Faith acted fast as she released the shampoo, murmured another
"Oops", and before Dawson could do anything, grabbed him. One hand
found his rear and squeezed him there while the other slid around
his chest to pull him closer.

"Faith, I can't reach it!" he protested and almost jumped out of
his hide as her hands sought him out. "Don't you want the soap?"

"No," she told him. "What I want . . . " She rose a foot up
underneath him. " . . . is . . . *this* . . . " Her toes traced
the underline of his sword.

"Damn!" he breathed as he felt his sword erect immediately. He
turned around in the tub and launched himself at her lips, his
full length laying on top of her and his sword approaching her
sheathe.

She leaned upwards, meeting his kiss and sword simultaneously. She
plunged herself upwards onto his sword as her tongue dipped into
his mouth.

He felt himself enter up to the hilt and vibrations rip his body
apart. He did not want to explode yet but didn't know how to stop
himself. He was where he always wanted to be, and he trembled at
the thought! He kissed her from her lips down her neck and to her
breasts where his lips sought the sweet nectar that only she could
give him.

She could feel the trembling he tried to hide as he fought against
cumming too soon and pulled herself down his sword even as his
mouth took in her breast. She moaned in delight and began to rub
herself up and down his sword, feeling it stiffen even more within
her.

He began to pump in and out of her slowly at first and then faster
as she rubbed up and down. It was driving him crazy! He had his
dream, but he didn't want it to end so soon! Yet he felt it
cumming any way. "Faith? Sorry . . . " he whispered, " . . . but
I'm cumming and I can't stop it . . . " He pumped even faster and
then felt himself going over the edge, not realizing that he
carried Faith with him.

She had never came so quickly before, but to finally have the
utopia she had been denying herself, to finally have him throbbing
inside her, did just that. He lifted her beyond the stars, filling
her with more pleasure than even she had ever thought possible,
especially of a short ride, and slowly drifting her back down to
earth where she still lay, smiling and gazing up at him. "Dawson,"
she breathed his name, "never apologize . . . especially not for
that . . . "

"I just couldn't help myself, Faith. You burned me up and I
exploded, but Gods, it was wonderful!"

She reached up a hand to brush the hair out of his face and drew
her thumb softly across his lips. "Don't help yourself with
something like that, kid," she told him with a teasing grin.
"Besides, who said we had to stop at the second?"

He grinned lop-sidedly at her. "Faith, I'm going to give you a
bath all over. Bet you never had that before from somebody else.
Let me get that soap." He slid over the side of the tub and groped
around, finally finding the soap. He then saw the bottle of
shampoo in the floor and grabbed that, as well, before jumping
back into the tub. The tub had been filling with water, and his
elbow bumped something which made the cascading water stop. "Duck
your head, Faith, and get your hair wet."

He was surprising her steadily more, but she found that she didn't
want to argue this time. He wanted to treat her, and she would
like to see that happen. Actually, she would *have* to see that
happen in order to believe it, and she wanted to learn just what
exactly this kid who drove her so wild had in him. Her knees went
up around him as she did as he instructed.

Her woman's core was open to him, and he shook his head. Wasn't
gonna get much washing done, he figured. She was just too
tempting! He leaned forward and gave her a tentative lick to see
what her reaction would be.

She had been swishing her head back and forth as she'd been
wetting her hair when she suddenly felt Dawson lick her. The
sensation made her stop in surprise but also brought a groan of
pleasure from her lips.

He leaned further into her and drove his tongue deeper in. He
began to suckle her in earnest. The taste of her was wonderful! It
was his first time, and he was glad Pacey had given him a book on
how to pleasure a woman. Now he had a chance to practice it on his
woman, and he couldn't wait! He dove as deep as he could and
suckled harder even as his hands played over her body like she was
a fine-tuned instrument. They finally found her breasts and began
to knead them.

Each touch from him took her higher, and she moaned in time to the
rhythm he created in her body. Soon, her moans reached screams of
pleasure.

He felt his sword stiffen even more . . .



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

Outside, in the bedroom, Salem's head jerked up from his mouse at
Faith's scream. He stood, stretched, and, with a grin, padded
silently over to the bathroom. For a moment, he considered peeking
in at them, but he quickly changed his mind. Not only would Faith
make him wish he was dead if he did that, but it would disrupt the
time that both kids so sorely needed. Instead, he pushed the door
to with his foot and returned to his mouse.



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

"Are they doing anything yet?" Donkey asked.

"{How are we to know?}" Cindy growled at him.

"By looking through the keyhole! You can see!" Donkey replied.
When none of the others moved toward the door and only looked at
him as though he was insane, Donkey shook his head and went
himself to look through the keyhole. It was then that Cindy
growled even more at him, and he froze just as his eye began to
peer through the keyhole.

"{If you don't move your ass away from there,}" the lioness
growled, unsheathing her claws again, "{I'm gonna tear 'em
straight off!}"

"Tear what straight off? What are you talking about, you crazy
cat?" Donkey peered at her anxiously.

Blue cooed urgently to Donkey, warning him that he really didn't
want to know and he'd best just stay away from the keyhole.

"{Cindy, don't,}" Elvira pleaded. "{He's away from there now!}"

Cindy glared the jackass down. "{If you go anywhere near that
keyhole again or if you try to see our mother naked again, whether
she's with Lorne or not, I'll . . . }" Her deadly claws slashed
through the air right before Donkey's face. "{Cut your manhood
straight off!}"

"Stay away from me, you crazy feline!" Donkey said. He went and
climbed back in the bathtub. He could not believe how crazy that
cat was! "I didn't want to see her naked! I just wanted to see if
Lorne was doing anything! They're very quiet. Sex is supposed to
be noisy."

Cindy cocked her head at his words. "{Well, I suppose I can . . .
find out . . . }" She started to step closer to the keyhole when
Blue swooped down into her face, cooing angrily as he informed her
that any one looking through the keyhole and disrupting their
mother's and Lorne's privacy would meet his fire. He didn't want
to have to hurt them, but he would if there was no other way to
ensure Crystal's and Lorne's private sanctuary.

Cindy growled at Blue but slunk back into the bathroom. She curled
up by the wall, watching the others with glowering eyes until
Elvira stood up on her hind paws and peered in concern into the
bathtub where Donkey lay. At that, the lioness rolled her eyes and
turned her head away.

"{She means well,}" Elvira tried to tell Donkey. "{She just
doesn't like men a whole lot.}"

Blue cooed, agreeing with Elvira and informing Donkey that Cindy
hated men. Why, they didn't really know, but they knew she did.



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

Crystal leaned into Lorne's embrace as she returned his kiss with
equal passion. Her tongue played at the entrance to his sweet
heaven until managing to slip past his lips and into his mouth
where it began to duel with his own tongue.

Lorne continued kissing Crys, his hands rubbing her back and
moving ever lower to her rear. He gently massaged it when he
reached it. He wasn't sure what the next step to take was, but he
knew she had to be on the bottom and somehow she'd ended up on the
top. He tried wriggling around to get out from under her without
losing contact with her mouth.

She mistook his wriggling for nervousness and finally broke off
the kiss. Her eyes continued to gaze into his, however, and her
lips lingered just a breath away. "You know, I . . . I never
really got the chance to tell you what I thought of your . . .
show with Joxer last night."

"Did you like it?" he asked. He was still trying to figure how to
get her under him.

"I did," she answered with a smile, "a whole lot. In fact, it made
me fall even harder for you," she admitted, "because it revealed a
new side of you to me -- your passion for song and dance."

"I do love song and dance, but nowhere near how much I love you. I
have a problem, and I don't know how to fix it," he told her. "You
and me both are virgins. It's the blind leading the blind, and I
need you under me. I tried to figure a way, but you weren't having
none of it. But you have to get down there! There ain't any other
way to do it, and I do so want to do it! Don't you?" he asked her
very seriously. "But if you don't, I'll understand."

She paused, still gazing up into his handsome face and even sexier
eyes. She'd tried to show him that she wanted the same thing that
he wanted, but she didn't appear to be getting any closer to that
than he was getting to having her underneath him. "Lorne . . .
Could we . . . perhaps . . . " An idea sparked as she tried to
find her words, and the rest of her sentence came out in a rush. "
. . . dance first?"

"Dance? Why do you want to dance first? Well, I guess it would
kind of smooth things over. Wish we had some more of that sprinkle
dust. I seemed to be extremely suave and debonair when I was under
the influence."

She laughed and caressed his face gently. "You were," she told
him, "and you still are more than you give yourself credit for
being. I just . . . "

"What will we use for music?" he asked her.

"Well, I do sing, but I can't think of a song that's appropriate
for this," she replied honestly with a blush. "But then, nothing
could be lovelier than the music of our own hearts."

"I know," Lorne said. "I'll sing to you." He got off the bed and
offered his hand to her, and as she took it, he began to sing and
lead her around the small room in a waltz.


"* If I never knew you
If I never felt this love
I would have no inkling of
How precious life can be*"
His words spoke to her heart, and as they danced together, she
knew instinctively just how to answer him.


"* And if I never held you
I would never have a clue
How at last I find in you
The missing part of me*"
He held her tenderly and close to his heart. Her words filled him
and made his heart sing back to hers.


"* In this world so full of fear
Full of raging lies
I can see the truth so clear
In your eyes, so dry your eyes*"
Her eyes were indeed sparkling with tears, but he had learned to
tell the difference between her tears of joy and tears of sadness.
He raised a hand and gently wiped the joyful tears from her eyes.

Crystal smiled and leaned her face into his hand's gentle embrace.
She could not help but to marvel at the feelings he awakened in
her. She'd never thought she'd have a chance for a happy life, but
with Lorne in her heart and life, she knew at last that there was
much more than just a fading chance. She loved him and he her, and
together they would find a way.


"* And I'm so grateful to you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Lost forever
If I never knew you*"
He had a lump in his throat, and he hoped it would not keep him
from singing. He had always thought this to be a beautiful song,
but he'd never had a reason to sing it before. The words held a
special meaning for both he and Crys. He felt the way the words
sang about Crys.


"* If I never knew you
I'd be safe, but half as real
Never knowing I could feel
A love so strong and true*"
This was the perfect song, Crystal could not help realizing, for
them. She remembered when she'd first learned of the song's origin
and had sworn that she'd never let her life get as messed up as
the original singers had let theirs. Of course, that had been
ignorant, and she'd realized that fact seconds after swearing
that. She should have known better, but now she realized that her
heart must have known that her Prince in green armor was still out
there somewhere. Now she had him, and despite Frostbite and all
his horrors, she would find a way to keep him. It wouldn't do any
good to run from him again, and she would not. They might have to
run together, but she would never again let him go.


"* And I'm so grateful to you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Lost forever
If I never knew you*"
His breath was stolen away, and yet he continued to sing. She was
the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He'd never dreamed he
could touch some one like her, let alone hold her, and yet their
enemy was out there and, he knew, constantly on her mind. He
wished he could wipe him away yet knew it was impossible, but he
was ready for the battle he knew would come. He whirled her around
the floor again and kissed her on the forehead before singing the
next verse.


"* I know our love will be so beautiful
Somehow we'll make the whole world right
I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong
But still my heart is saying we are right
We are right*"
Crystal gazed even deeper into Lorne's eyes and felt her breath be
stolen away even as her heart soared. She still could not believe
that she had found such a wonderful man who truly wanted her and
was so determined never to let her go. She did not know what she
had done to win Lorne's heart, but she thanked Aphrodite for it.

Lorne lowered his mouth to hers for a minute, kissed her gently,
and gazed deep into her eyes even as he began the last verse. She
joined him in song, her eyes never leaving his.


"* And if I never knew you
If I never knew you
I'd have lived my whole life through
Empty as the sky
Never knowing why
Lost forever
If I never knew you*"
As the song finished, Lorne spun with Crys around the room one
last time, ending with them at the bed and Crys ended up on her
back this time. He pushed her gently down to the bed and then got
into the bed beside her, kissing her deeply and passionately. It
felt right this time.

She wanted him now even more than she had before, and her heart
thundered in her chest as her body ached with longing. "Lorne . .
. " she whispered in between kisses, " . . . we're still
forgetting something . . . "

"Hmm?" Lorne asked. "Forgetting . . . what . . . darling . . . ?"

She knew how he felt about his gorgeous looks and that he was as
nervous as she was, so she decided to make the first move toward
the one last thing that was left standing between them. "Let me .
. . show you . . . " she breathed in between passionate kisses
before finally placing a hand on his chest and scooting out from
under him. Once standing, she turned back to face him. She was
smiling though she had to swallow the butterflies that rose in her
throat. She maintained eye contact with him even as she began to
strip.

He had thought she was beautiful before, but as each inch of
creamy, delicious skin was revealed, he found her to be even more
irresistible. He felt his sword rising to the occasion and began
to strip his own clothes off. He reached out and pulled her to him
once they were both naked. Again, he pushed her gently onto the
bed, but this time he climbed on the bed, climbing up her slowly,
his eyes never leaving hers.

As he came ever closer to laying directly on top of her, Crystal
leaned up just enough that she was able to cup her hands gently
around his handsome face and press her lips to his.

Lorne leaned forward until he was laying full length on Crys, his
weight resting on his elbows as his lips made contact with hers.
The sensations from her naked body were driving him crazy! He was
not sure what to do next except to kiss his way, and he proceeded
to do just that.

She could feel his sword against her core, and the heat radiating
from it and the rest of his magnificent body made her blood rush
even more. Her heart was beating so loudly that she knew he must
be able to hear it, but her lips did not let up from his. Instead,
she kissed him with ever-growing passion, her tongue slipping into
his mouth.

As his tongue dueled with hers and the passion grew, Lorne felt as
though he was about to burst, yet still he could not figure out
how to find her core. He could feel her, but he just couldn't find
the actual sheath for his sword to slip into.

Neither ever realized that they were joined by a third being.
Aphrodite smiled down upon the couple as she sprinkled a few
hearts upon them, sending Lorne shooting home. She blinked out
with a grin.



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

Will was still standing in the doorway, staring at the huge,
comfortable bed in awe, when Jack spoke from behind him. "Will, we
have to talk. There are many things that you don't know. You'll
learn them over time, but this one we have to talk about tonight."

The worry that Will could hear in his lover's voice made him
forget all about the bed. He turned back to look at Jack in
concern, nearly stumbling over his feet as he attempted to walk
backwards into the room. "What's wrong?"

"You know about the dinosaurs. Well . . . I didn't. I messed up,
and I bought this island. I had no ideal of what was on it. If I
had, there is no way I would have bought it, because I bought it
for a gift."

"I had the house built. Clark and I designed it quite well, I
think, with a little help from Doctor Doom. It is full of
surprises. I bought it for a wedding gift for you and Elizabeth. I
didn't tell her."

In my dreams, I was building it for you and me, but I never
thought they'd come true. I had no hope that things were going to
turn out the way that they have, but do you realize that if you
had gone ahead and married Elizabeth and had come here for your
honeymoon like I'd planned, the dinosaurs would have ate you?" His
face had turned very pale when he said that. He allowed Will a
chance to let what he was telling him sink in.

Although Jack's words shocked Will, he nonetheless moved forward
to cup a gentle hand around Jack's cheek. "Jack," he told him,
gazing into his eyes, "I've loved you for a long time. Even when I
was going to go ahead with the marriage, I knew I loved you, not
her. I was just too scared to stand up, too afraid that I'd lose
your friendship and cast her out in the cold alone with nothing to
gain for it. But *had* I married her and *had* we honeymooned
here, . . . being eaten alive would have been preferable to going
through with that marriage. Not because of Elizabeth, but because
the person I was marrying, the person I would have had to spend
the rest of my life with, would not have been you."

"That bed that you so admire came from France and is just as
fluffy as it looks -- soft, comfortable, sinkable . . . I think we
should run and jump into it," he said with a mischievous look. He
had changed the subject in hopes of getting Will on the bed. "You
wanted to, didn't you?"

Will blushed but had to grin and nod. "It was the oddest thing,
but . . . Yes, that was the second thought that came into my mind
when I looked at it."

"Let's do it on the count of three. One . . . Two . . . " As
"three" came out of Jack's mouth, he was running for the bed.

Will broke and ran right after his love, grinning and laughing
heartily despite all their worries. He launched himself straight
for the bed.

Jack beat Will into the bed, and, sure enough, sank down into it.
He barely managed to roll out of the way as Will landed almost on
top of him. Jack rolled over to face Will and hovered just above
him. He pressed his lips to Will's even as the bed threatened to
swallow them whole.

Will couldn't help himself; he bounced closer to Jack until his
body pressed against his beloved's. Then he not only continued
returning Jack's kiss but deepened it, as well. One hand was
pressed against the bed, but the other reached up to lovingly
stroke Jack's beard.



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

Piper lay in bed next to Prue, pretending to sleep. She'd actually
succeeded in stilling her body and slowing her breathing to lull
her older sister to sleep, a trick she'd learned when they had
been kids and Prue had been left in charge of making sure she
stayed in the bed. She could hear Prue snoring softly now, but
Piper was anything but asleep. Her mind continued playing over all
the troubles that haunted her -- the love she'd felt with Cole
only to have him act so strangely just a little while earlier and
her family woes. She was again spinning over Prue's reasoning for
why Cole had snuck into the room with Brendan and wishing that
there was a way that she could actually move on him though knowing
she couldn't as her family had to be her priority and *somebody*
had to set an example for her younger sisters as, Gods willing, it
was not yet too late to save them, when she heard a racket in the
closet. She froze. That was not Prue snoring!

She lay as still in the bed as she possibly could and was
considering both waking Prue and calling for help when the door to
the closet creaked open. That got Piper sitting bolt upright in
the bed, but as she turned her saucer-sized eyes to the closet,
she saw a short but apparently human rear-end backing up. Red
flushed her face as she slipped out of the bed and marched over to
the small man. "*Carl!*" she hissed in a furious whisper. "What
the heck are you doing in here?!"

Carl dusted his hands off even as he looked up at her. "I came to
help."

Piper glared down at him. She started to ask him how he thought an
offer to help when there was nothing for him to help with would
buy him a safe ticket out of the room when another question popped
into her mind. "How'd you even get in here?"

Carl pointed at the inside of the closet, and Piper peered into
it. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of the tunnel.

Carl shrugged. "I'm a Gnome. Gnomes like to dig."

Piper's eyes cut sideways at Carl. "That still doesn't explain
what you're doing in here."

"I told you," he answered, keeping his voice as low as hers as he
didn't want to wake Prue, "I came to help. Look, the whole place
heard you and Prue fussing about Cole and Brendan. I can't do
anything to help with the Brendan situation, but I can with the
Cole one."

"Really?" she asked in surprise. "How?"

"Simple. You're beginning to think the man doesn't want you, but
your sisters and I know the truth. He has feelings for you, but
you're not giving him any reason to think that you want him."

"I kissed him!"

Carl looked up at her in surprise. "You did?"

She nodded, not believing that she'd let the words slip.

He grinned. "There's hope for you yet! But I know how to really
make his blood boil."

"Carl, I can not behave like my sisters!" she started to begin,
but he cut her off with a dismissing wave of his hand.

"I'm not talking about that. Neither one of you two," he said,
glancing at where Prue slept, "could behave like Paige and Phoebe.
Neither one of you are free enough, but you should be free to be
yourself."

"I am being myself!"

"Are you?" he asked, peering up at her. "Are you *really*?"

"Of course!"

He placed his hands on his hips. "Girl, you can not stand there
and tell me that there's no fire burning for Cole in you!"

"There is."

"Then let the fire shine." She started to protest, but he quickly
assured her, "I'm not saying to throw yourself at the man! But
maybe if you dropped some hints that are a little less subtle he
wouldn't be so oblivious."

She paused, considering his words. "You think?"

"Of course! Besides," he continued, pulling an outfit out of the
tunnel, "there is no way that he could ignore you in this!"

She took the outfit and gave it a long, criticizing look. "Where'd
you find it?"

"I think there are clothes in all the closets. I found the ones in
Paige's and my room first when she went to sleep a little while
ago. Then I started checking out some others, and I found this. I
think it'll fit you."

"But I can't wear this! It's -- It's *leather*!"

He looked at her with risen eyebrows. "Are you going to tell me
you never wondered what the touch of leather against your skin
might feel like?"

Piper glanced to make sure Prue was still asleep. "Actually . . . "

"Uh huh." Carl nodded. "I think every one has at least once. I
don't really like the feel of it, but I sure do like the looks of
it. So does every man, and I've heard Faith talk about it before.
She claims it makes a woman feel like . . . like a *real* woman."
Actually, Faith's words had been a great deal dirtier than that,
but he wasn't about to repeat what he'd eavesdropped on to Piper.

Piper cocked her head to one side as she considered the outfit.
"Really?" Carl nodded. "But it's so low-cut!"

"It could be lower."

"True."

"It shows off just enough to make him wonder what the rest looks
like. Isn't that the right amount of cleavage?"

"I guess," Piper said hesitantly with a screwed-up face. Was any
cleavage truly the right amount?

"Look," he said with a shrug. "The facts are simple. You want to
turn Cole's head but you don't want to stop acting like a lady? No
matter what the outfit, it's the woman's actions that dictate how
much of a lady she is. You can wear anything and still be a lady.
Well, as long as you're not naked."

"*Carl!*"

He held up his hands. "That's all I'm gonna say. I'm leaving the
decision to you." With that, he leapt back into the closet.

Piper peered after him and could see that he was quickly digging a
new path. She closed the doors and stared at the outfit. With the
outfit draped over her arm, she quietly walked over to borrow the
candle next to Prue's side of the bed.



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

Cole was desperate! Brendan was driving him crazy! He had been
around snorers before, but none snored as loudly or as gratingly
as Brendan! He had tried rolling him over, punching him, pushing
him, and even succeeded in knocking him out of the bed once! Even
on the floor, the boy still kept on snoring! Calling him did no
good, and cramming a pillow didn't help any either. In fact, the
last method only got feathers spat up into Cole's face.

He threw his hands up in desperation. "I've got to find somewhere
else to sleep!" Grabbing a blanket and his pillow, he headed out
of the room and down the stairs to where he had seen a couch
earlier. Moonlight filtered across the floor and made it easy to
see.

The house was quiet, maybe too quiet. It reminded Cole of a tomb.
"Get your mind back on better things," he reminded himself, "not
morbid things." Throwing the pillow on the couch, he threw himself
on top of it and covered up with the blanket. He could not believe
how cold it had turned out to be since the day had been so hot!

He hoped Piper did not hate him for taking a room with Brendan,
but there was no way he could have faced her. He just couldn't
handle himself around her, and nights were the worst. After having
spent the one night with her, he wanted to spend all his nights
with her, but he didn't want to just lay and watch her sleep. He
wanted to hold her and do other things that men liked to do with
their beloveds. He knew he was a bad boy, and that had been why he
had taken the room with Brendan, where he could keep his badness
away from Piper. Piper was like a Saint, and he did not want to
tarnish her with his badness.



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

Though she had fallen asleep rather quickly due to her exhaustion
from the ordeal she had gone through, Elizabeth began tossing and
turning shortly after closing her eyes. Her dreams were
intermingled with memories of times she had spent with her father
as a young girl and more recent times, when he had been so cruel
to her and her chosen love, had sold Will into slavery, and had at
last met his fate with the rest of the island that had been the
only home she could ever remember. She pictured him turning to
ice, his hands stretching out for her, as he screamed her name and
she sailed away with the others, never even trying to protect him.

Elizabeth leapt up in the bed with a terrified gasp. Her heart
thundered against her insides, and her clothes clung to her
sweat-covered body. Pressing a hand to her mouth in an attempt to
quiet herself less she should wake her sleeping partner, Elizabeth
looked over at Autolycus through teary eyes. He still appeared to
be asleep, and she crept from the bed, hoping not to wake him.

She walked over to the single window in the room and stared out
into the nighttime as her memories returned, bringing fresh tears
to her eyes. Her father had not always been the man she'd came to
nearly fear and hate. He had once been a good man and a better
father. He had been kind to all, and she had been the apple of his
eye. He would have done anything for her, but that had been
because she was his daughter, not because he wanted her himself.

Elizabeth gulped, feeling numb inside as she finally accepted the
truth. Her father had not wanted to get rid of Will simply so that
she might marry one of his choosing. The times he had brushed
against her had not been an accident. Though she'd tried to
believe that they were, there was no way that they could have been
as numerous and still been accidents. Her father would have still
done anything for her -- anything to win her into his bed. She
felt sick suddenly and rushed to the bathroom, groping her way
along in the darkness as she ran.



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

Autolycus knew the minute Elizabeth had left the bed. When she had
cried out, he had been about to put his arms around her and hold
her, but she had moved out too quickly. If he heard her cry again,
he'd go to her, but for now, he figured she probably wanted to be
alone. When your nightmares came, sometimes the only way you could
fight them was on your own. He knew about that from first-hand
experience. He wondered what kind of nightmares plagued her. He
lay listening to her move around the room and then rush for the
bathroom. {Now I can be of help,} he thought. He got up, went over
to the bathroom door, and knocked gently on it. "Elizabeth? Can I
help you?"

Elizabeth was still shaking from being sick in the chamberpot when
she heard Autolycus calling to her. She did not want even he to
see her in her current condition, but as she looked around, hoping
to find some water and a rag, she realized that she had shut
herself in complete darkness. "Could you . . . Could you get me a
candle?" she called through the closed door. "And . . . I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to wake you." How long *had* he been awake? she
wondered.

He looked around the room and spied the candle he had lit when he
came in the room. It was burning low, so he looked for another. He
found several in a pull-out drawer. He got one and set it into a
holder, lit it, and went back to the bathroom. "Open the door,
Elizabeth. I have a light. It's okay about waking me up. I didn't
wake up until I missed you in the bed." His last sentence was a
lie yet not a lie. He didn't want her to think he'd been watching
her the whole time.

Had she felt better, his words would have given her cause to
blush. She stood on weak legs and opened the door in a crack only
large enough for the candle to be sent through.

"You sure there's not anything else I can do for you?" he asked as
he passed the candle to her.

Her hand was cold and clammy from sweat as she took the candle
from him. "Yes . . . " she breathed softly. It would have been
nice to have his comfort, but she didn't want him to see her in
her current condition.

"Okay. Well, I'm going back to bed. If you need me, call me." He
lay back down on the bed with his head resting on his clasped
hands, hoping that she'd call for him but doubting it.

Left alone again, Elizabeth shone the candle around the room. She
found a rag quickly enough. There was no water to be had, but
there was a strange contraption on the sink. She peered closer at
its handles before turning one. Water poured out from the spout
that was attached to the set of handles, and she gasped. Quickly
wetting the rag before the water could vanish, she started
cleaning herself.

When she had freshened herself back up, the water was still
running. She looked at it again and slowly turned the handle back
in the opposite direction. She watched the water as she did so and
noticed that it decreased steadily until none came out again.
"What an amazing thing," she whispered softly.

She then found herself left with nothing to do but turn back to
face the chamberpot she'd made such a mess in. She had to get that
out of there before Autolycus saw it, but the only thing she could
do was dump it out the window. What if he was still awake, though?
Opening the door again, she peered out at his form in the bed. She
watched for a minute.

Autolycus had heard the door opening, and he faked sleep. He lay
as still as he could, and every now and again a gentle snore
erupted. He knew she was watching him but did not know what the
problem was.

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief and ducked back into the
bathroom. She could not help making a disgusted face as she lifted
the chamberpot. The stench was horrid, and to think that it had
come out of her sickened her all the more! Balancing the
chamberpot as carefully as she possibly could, Elizabeth tried not
to smell as she picked the candle back up. She nudged the door
open with her foot and tiptoed across to the window. She set the
candle on its ledge and the chamberpot on the floor and slid the
window open. She stole another glance at Autolycus, but he
appeared to still be sleeping. She picked up the chamberpot, again
fighting the urge to repeat her earlier action, and quickly dumped
its contents out the window. She had just finished emptying it
when she heard a shout. With a gasp, she quickly closed the
window.

Autolycus did not move but continued to lie as though he was sound
asleep. He wondered who had been dumped on and had a hard time not
laughing. Usually he'd be the recipient on the other end, but
somebody else had just inherited his rotten luck. He was sure that
they'd hear about it in the morning.

Elizabeth picked the chamberpot back up and carried it back to the
bathroom. She again checked Autolycus' sleeping form as she came
back out, but she did not return to bed. Instead, she crossed over
to stand beside the window and looked out. She could barely see
the stars twinkling in the sky, but the sight of the glittering
lights took her mind back once more to her father. She stood
there, gazing out, as her mind was whisked back into memories. He
had been a good man regardless of what he'd become, and at last
Elizabeth's tears began to fall in earnest. She was not mourning
the father she'd ran from in Port Royal but the man who had died a
long time ago.

He clenched his fists but did not rise to go to her. He felt like
she needed to be alone now and grieve. There would come a time
when he could go to her and she would not reject him. He had a
hard time laying still while she cried, but he knew it had to be.



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

After discovering the miraculous running water, Piper had bathed
by the light of Prue's candle before dressing in the outfit Carl
had brought her. Her mind had continued to be filled with doubts
as she'd returned to the bedroom and sought out a second candle.
She'd used Prue's to light it and returned her candle to the
nightstand on her side of the bed. She stood there for a moment,
gazing down at her sleeping sister. How could Prue look so
peaceful and beautiful in sleep after all they'd gone through? She
shook her head. She did not know how her sister managed it but was
glad that she could.

Piper knew she did not stand a chance of getting any sleep that
night, but there was nothing in the room to entertain her and she
did not want to wake Prue. It was then that she heard a low growl
and jumped before realizing that it was her sister's stomach.
Hearing Prue's stomach made Piper realize how hungry she was, and
she knew that the others would probably be starving by the time
they awoke. Perhaps she could wake them to a delicious surprise?
If the closets were as furnished as Carl said they were, surely
there would be food in the pantry?

But Jack had warned them not to go anywhere without their room
mates and weapons. She did not even have a weapon, having trusted
Cole to protect them both. She shook her head. She didn't want to
think about him or the betraying feelings that he stirred within
her. It was then that she heard a sound coming from the closet.

Taking her own candle with her, Piper walked over to the closet
and peered inside the tunnel Carl had dug. "Carl?" she whispered.
No answer came, so she rose her candle so that its light flickered
into the tunnel. She was rewarded with the shadowy outline of the
Gnome's rear. "*Carl!*"

"Sorry, Piper," Carl apologized though he did not try to turn
around but continued digging. "Did you make your decision?"

"I did, but . . . I was wondering. Carl, you've been going through
the house. Do you think it's possible for the dinosaurs to get in
here?"

"Nah," Carl replied with a casual shrug. "Jack's too protective,
but he means well."

"So you think it would be all right if I was to go down to the
kitchen and see what I can fix to eat?"

Carl grinned. "Sounds like a winner to me!"

"Thanks," Piper told him with a slight smile. She then walked
away, left the room, and headed downstairs.



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

Elvira's black eyes glanced at where her roommate sat on the
window ledge, peering outside at the night. "Worried about him?"
she asked softly. Cordelia nodded, and she sighed. "I know. So am
I."

"I don't know why he has to jump every time Jack hollers,"
Cordelia admitted with a pout. "I mean, I realize he's his First
Mate, but *still* to go out at night when he *knows* there's
*living dinosaurs* out there?"

"Well, he's not a normal man, you know."

Cordelia's hazel eyes cut suspiciously at Elvira. "What do you mean?"

Elvira froze in her search on the dresser. She'd meant to look for
alcohol first but had ended up having to take a trip to the
ghoul's room first. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Did she know that Angel was a Vampire?

Elvira shook her head. "Sorry, kiddo, but he's gotta be the one to
tell you that."

With an audible sigh, Cordelia returned her gaze to the dangerous
darkness outside their window.

"Still, he's not an ordinary man," Elvira continued. "He's a
Pirate and a good fighter."

"He may be good," Cordelia replied. "He may be better than any
human -- "

Elvira glanced at her. "You mean *other* human, right?"

"Yeah," Cordy hurried on. "Of course. It's just . . . That doesn't
stop me from worrying about him, Elvira. I know he's got a duty to
fulfill, but I don't think it's right of the Captain to send him
out there with only Wolf and your sister for back-up. It's too
dangerous! I mean, it's not as if it's just normal wildlife we're
talking about. He sent him out there with *dinosaurs* to find a
boy who isn't even his!"

"But Angel blames himself for making him run off."

"I know he does, but I bet it was the Captain's fault. Jack's a
good man, but that doesn't mean that he didn't cause Angel to do
that. I'm sure he was just fulfilling his duty again."

"You hate that word, don't you?"

Cordelia looked up at where Elvira now stood beside her, holding
two goblets and a bottle. "More than you can know," she admitted
sadly. After all, had it not been her parents' senses of duty that
had first ruined her life?

"Here," Elvira said, pressing a goblet into her hand. Cordelia
held it and then Elvira's too as Elvira filled both with bubbling
champagne. "You're not underage, are you?"

"I'm not under age for anything." Cordelia had never been one to
believe in limitations based on age. After all, physical age did
not have much effect. It was only a number. It was the things that
a person went through that truly made them grow older.

"Then bottom's up, girl," Elvira replied, clinking her glass
against Cordelia's. "Let the men have their duty, but we don't
need these worries." She did not know a lot about Cordelia but
could tell that the girl already had enough on her mind without
Angel running off to complete his duty.

Cordelia scooted closer against the wall, allowing Elvira to join
her at the window seat. "Elvira," she asked, pausing long enough
to take a second sip, "if your sister went with them, why didn't
you?"

"Besides the fact that I didn't get a chance to?" Elvira sighed
and took a long swallow from her goblet before continuing, "I
wouldn't be worth a damn to them. I'd just get in the way.
Delvira's the Sorceress and the one who's really got the Vamp in
control."

Cordelia's eyes flashed up at her in surprise. "You're one too?"

Elvira grinned. "Aha! So you do know!"

Cordelia blushed, not having meant to allow that fact to slip out.
"Yes," she told her. "I still . . . have trouble believing it, but
yeah. I just haven't told him how I feel about it."

Elvira gazed directly into Cordelia's face. "You don't have a
problem with Vampires, do you?"

"I thought I would. Actually, I thought he was crazy until he
showed me. It scared me, but . . . No, I don't. He's still the
same man I met even if he is a Vampire."

Elvira nodded. "That's so true. Most people are too narrow-minded
to think that a monster can be anything but that. It doesn't
matter if they're Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, whatever; they're
all monsters to most humans. But we're all people still, flesh and
blood, even if it is decaying, dead, or not ours. We still have
feelings." She shrugged. "We just are what we are."

"So they're all real, too?"

"Honey," Elvira informed her, "if you can even think there might
be a critter out there somewhere, there probably is."

Cordelia stared at her in stunned disbelief, and Elvira knew she
was giving the girl more than she could handle. "But I didn't go
with my sister because I'd just get in the way," she repeated in
an attempt to return to their previous conversation."

"But I thought you were twins?"

"Triplets actually, but our skills are still different. I can't
fight worth a flip."

"Then why don't you have her teach you?"

"Not that again!" Elvira threw the rest of her drink down her
throat, refilled her glass, and then refilled Cordelia's. She was
surprised that the girl seemed to be keeping up with her as hers
had been completely empty, as well.

"What do you mean," Cordy asked, "'not that again'?"

"That's what everybody says, even Wolf," Elvira replied with a sad
sigh. "But I want to be my own woman."

"You don't want to follow in her footsteps," Cordelia observed. "I
understand. My parents always wanted me to be like my Mother, but
I didn't want to be. I wanted to find myself by myself. But would
it really hurt to take lessons from some one else?" She giggled as
the bubbles from the champagne tickled her nose. "Not Delvira,"
she tried to explain, struggling to gain a serious face, "but
somebody else, one of the other Pirates. I want to learn, too. I
want to learn to be the best fighter I can be so that Angel
doesn't have an excuse to run off and leave me behind any more."

"So that you can go wherever he goes?" Elvira suppressed a burp
while taking another swallow. "That sounds good! They never would
have an excuse to do their duty without us again!"

Cordelia grinned. She had just filled her glass again and held the
bottle up. "To getting rid of the duty!"

Elvira grinned and rose her glass. "Or at least being with them
while they duty!"

The girls giggled and nearly fell together as Cordelia poured
Elvira a third glass.


_Chapter Thirteen_
Wesley paced nervously up and down the floor, gripping his
notebook tightly in his hand and gazing at the notes he was
taking. He dabbed his quill into the bottle of ink and wrote on
his pad. If any one were to glance at the page Wes was so intent
upon, they would not believe it, because for once in his life, Wes
was not taking scientific notations but diligently working upon a
poem so that he might present it to the love of his life. He
looked to the center of the room where Fred reclined on the bed.
Just one look at her made him quiver from head to toe.


* The silver moonlight cascading upon you
Makes you look like a Goddess,
So unreachable and untouchable,
And yet you set my soul afire.
The candle's light flickers
Against your ivory skin,
And my fingers ache to trace its path.
*
He knew it didn't rhyme, but it was all his mind could think of.
He couldn't remember a time of ever feeling this way about one
woman. Like many of his friends, he had paid for it but never had
it freely given. Fred still had not given him an answer. He
guessed she wouldn't. He had embarrassed her too much.

He flipped the page he had been writing on and began to take
notes, chastising himself for being so sentimental. "Fred, we
really must go after these dinosaurs! We have been given a gift to
have the privilege of studying them! They were supposed to be
extinct. How did they manage to survive?" He looked at her with
light shining in his eyes and anticipation almost radiating from
him.

Though Wesley had not noticed it, Fred had audibly sighed as he
had flipped his page and continued scribbling madly away, yet when
he looked at her in such a way, she felt herself melt. "Wesley, Ah
know it's a privilege an' Ah'm excited that they're still alive
too, but aren't ya tired any at all?"

"Tired? No! Why? I've never felt so alive!"

Fred looked at him from over the rim of her glasses which had slid
down her nose. "Over *dinosaurs*?" she couldn't help asking as she
pushed her spectacles back up.

"It's the discovery of a lifetime!" He bounced on to the bed. "And
we have the opportunity to study them and learn about them
firsthand!"

Fred's heart had leapt when he had bounced on to the bed, but
still all he was studying was those dinosaurs. Didn't he even
remember the question he'd asked her? Wasn't he at all curious as
to her answer? She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Wesley
. . . " She paused, looking at him and gathering her courage,
before asking, "Is that really *all* that's on your mind?"

"No, I need to go to the bathroom," he said. "I'll be back in a
minute." He laid his notebook back on the bed with his quill
beside it and almost ran for the bathroom. He had put it off far
too long!

With a loud groan, Fred dropped backwards onto the bed. The man
was impossible tonight! She was excited over the dinosaurs and the
chance to study them and discover how they were still living and
had not died when the others had, but something far more important
weighed on her mind. She had known the answer to his question all
along but just hadn't known how to tell him.

Fred sighed again as she reclined in the bed. Just what *was* she
going to do about the dashing Mister Wesley Wyndham-Pryce? She was
a girl with no experience and had always thought that no one would
want to look upon her, let alone actually wish to court her, but
he did or, at least, he had. Had the dinosaurs made him forget
about all that? Her heart faltered at that thought. What if he
had?

Well, she decided almost as quickly as the question had come to
her, if he had, she'd just have to find a way to reignite the
spark though she still didn't know how she'd ignited it the first
time. Perhaps if she could share his excitement with the
dinosaurs? To do that fully, she would first have to understand
where he was coming from. Sitting up, Fred reached for his
notebook.

Her hand froze as she touched the notebook, and she glanced up to
make sure that he wasn't coming out of the bathroom yet. When she
was satisfied that he wasn't, she picked up the notebook and began
to read. The first page did not hold many notes at all, so she
flipped back to the page before it. Her mouth fell open in shock
at the drawings she was met with, and a deep crimson stained her
cheeks. She could not believe that the page was full of
illustrations of hearts and herself! There were words beneath the
pictures, and her heart soared as she read the poem he'd written.

Fred could not believe her eyes, and she trembled in delight. He
had not forgotten about her! He still wanted her, and oh, how she
ached for him! She sat, staring at the notebook, her heart beating
wildly in her throat.

Wes didn't think he was ever going to get through in the bathroom,
but finally he did. He hated to leave it, but he didn't know where
he could dump it yet. He put the lid on it and sat it in the
corner. It had been dark in there, and he wasn't sure he was clean
but hoped that he was as he didn't want Fred smelling anything. He
knew about the running water and washed his hands with soap. They
still needed to work up a plan for getting rid of bi-products, but
the only thing they had come up with would have flushed the
products straight out to the floor beneath. That would never do!

He opened the door, expecting to find Fred asleep on the bed.
Instead, she had his notebook clutched against her heart! "Fred,
are you okay?" he asked. "Sorry it took so long."

"Wesley!" she gasped out, her eyes flying back open. Her flustered
hands dropped the notebook. "Ah -- Ah -- Ah didn't mean to
invade."

He came, sat down on the bed beside her, and took her hands.
"Invade what, darling?" he asked.

"Your privacy," she replied. "Ah just couldn't help mahself."

"You didn't, sweetheart. I didn't hear you come in the bathroom."

"Wesley!" she exclaimed. Didn't he understand that she had invaded
his private notes, not to mention the page that she knew she
wasn't supposed to have found? "Wesley . . . " she spoke his name
much softer the second time. Her eyes bashfully lifted to his.
"There's . . . There's something we need ta talk about . . . "

"What's that, dear?" he asked even as he reached over and picked
up his notebook. Seeing the page it was turned to did not surprise
him. He expected her to jump all over him now since he had had the
audacity to actually draw her and then write a poem to her. He was
going to finish it and give it to her and had not expected that
she would find it this way.

"The question."

"Yes? The answer . . . ?"

She remained silent while trying to catch his gaze away from his
notebook. Once she'd succeeded in regaining eye contact, she told
him in a rush, "The answer's yes."

"Sweet Aphrodite!" He brought her hands to his lips and kissed
them. {Thank you, Sweet Aphrodite!} he prayed in his heart. {Help
me to take good care of her.} "Fred, you just made me the happiest
man in the world! I was working on a present for you, but you
already saw it. I hope you don't mind?"

"Mind?" She could not believe that he thought she would be upset
over such a beautiful gift! "Wesley, it's -- it's beautiful, an'
so sweet! Nobody's ever thought that o' me before! You -- You just
blew me away with it and . . . and when you asked me earlier!
That's why Ah couldn't answer ya sooner! You just surprised me so
much!"

"I hope that I'll be able to surprise you many more times, my
darling. I never thought I'd get lucky enough to find some one
like you, Fred, some one who can share my interests with me and
help me with my life's work yet be my loving companion in the bed
as well. I don't expect those privileges yet, but one day, when we
get married, that is if you will marry me, you'll make me an even
happier man." He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

Her shining eyes had been staring at him in surprised shock and
her delighted brain had been frantically trying to figure out if
that was indeed a proposal when Wesley took her lips with his own.
Tingles shot through her at his touch, coiling back upwards,
wrapping around her spine, and shooting through the top of her
head. She returned his kiss timidly at first but then with growing
passion.

At the first touch of her lips, Wes thought he had become a bottle
rocket and was about to explode into a million colored lights. He
already had his mind made up. He wanted to marry Fred, but he
didn't want to rush her. Yet he didn't want to wait either!
"Fred," he broke off kissing her, "what's on your mind?"

She blushed at his question. Gods, where should she start? And
then it all came pouring out. "Ah just can't believe this is
happening," she found herself admitting before she could stop her
mouth. "Ah mean, to me, of all girls. I'm not one anybody'd ever
want, but you do an' you're so handsome an' smart an' chivalrous
-- even if you are a Pirate -- an' you actually want *me*. I mean,
I'm nothing, just a wallflower at best, and you want me! An' then
you started talking about marriage, an' mah mind really just flew.
An' to just think that some one like you could want somebody like
me! Gosh, Wesley, you say Ah made you the happiest man in the
world, but you just made me happier than any other woman in the
world an' happier than Ah evah thought Ah'd have any reason to be!
An' you set my soul aflame! An' -- An' -- An' just feelin' you,
havin' your lips on mine . . . Ah can't even describe it!" Though
her words had spilled out, Fred now found herself completely
speechless. Just how could she describe to him the million
feelings that he sent soaring through her?

"Fred, I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever known. I
don't see why you think you're a wallflower, but if you are, then
all I can say is that wallflowers are the most beautiful flowers
in the world and I love you." He leaned forward and took her lips
possessively again.

She cupped his face in her hands as she returned his kiss. Her
fingers stroked his face as she poured all that she was feeling
into the kiss she shared with him.



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

Shadowcat could not believe her luck! It was bad enough that she
was trapped in a world of dinosaurs, trying to take care of the
remainants of her crew that included an angry Irish man who was
one of the biggest thorns she'd ever had in her side and a Priest
who stirred feelings within her that she knew had no business
being there, but some one had just dared to puke on her! Thank
Gods, she'd phased in time before the awful stuff could actually
hit her, but as the stench rose around her, so did her fury.
Glaring upwards, Kitty shouted again, but no answer came. She knew
whoever had done it was too scared to reveal themself, so she
started walking upwards.

Lockheed shivered at his place on her shoulder. "I know, 'Heed. I
can't believe it either! The audacity of some people!" Kitty
stopped talking as she began to scan the windows for a clue as to
who it had been. Lockheed nudged her and then pointed at a window.
She looked at where he pointed and found a teary-eyed blonde
staring at her with a mouth wide open and a scream coming out.

At the sound of Elizabeth's scream, Autolycus was on his feet and
at the window before he even had his eyes open. "What's wrong,
'Liz . . . Elizabeth?" he asked.

Elizabeth took one shaking hand away from her mouth to point at
the girl who stood in the air directly outside her window. It was
then that Shadowcat stuck her head in through the glass. "Just
what's the idea of dumping puke out there?!" Elizabeth, even more
shocked now, stumbled back into Autolycus' arms.

"Huh?" Autolycus asked. "I don't know anything about that! I don't
think any one was throwing it at you, miss! Won't you come in the
rest of the way?"

"Don't mind if I do," Shadowcat murmured in reply as she, and thus
the dragon on her shoulder, entered the room. "Now are you going
to tell me that neither one of you had an accident tonight?"

Though she was quaking, Elizabeth slowly held up a single finger.

"That's what I thought." She could not continue to vent her anger
on the frightened woman before her, however. "Look. Just next
time, try not to throw it out without first making sure nobody's
out there."

"But -- But I thought that Jack said that no one should go outside."

"He may be your Captain," Kitty replied, "but he's not mine.
Besides, somebody's gotta get food."

"You mean there's no food in the house so you have to go out and
hunt for it?"

Kitty paused. She hadn't thought that the house might have any
food left in it, but she didn't let on to that fact. "Where do you
think the food would come from?" she asked him. "Somebody's got to
hunt it so that Chong can cook it."

"Well, this is Jack's house, and the last I knew he had fully
stocked it. There should be some kind of food here."

"Maybe," Kitty finally relented. "I . . . We didn't stop to think
that there might be anything left over from the dinosaurs. I guess
we're just too used to having to kill our meals." Elizabeth paled
even more at the brunette's choice of words.

"Well, we still might have to kill something. I think you should
look in the pantry first, but it's time to retire. We'll eat
tomorrow." He gave a huge yawn, hoping that she'd take the message
and leave.

"You retire," Kitty told him. "Somebody's got to stay on the
alert." Without another word, she walked past them and left out
the door without ever bothering to open it.

Still shaking, Elizabeth looked nervously up at Autolycus.

"It's okay, honey. You need to go to bed now. You've had a rough
night." Taking her by the hand, he led her toward the bed. "Let's
try to get some sleep, shall we?" He waited for her to lay down.

Elizabeth was tired but doubted she would actually be able to
sleep. Still, she laid down and covered up. "Thank you," she told
him. It seemed she was thanking this man a lot.

"Dare I suggest . . . I hold you for a while? Maybe if you put
your head on my shoulder, you might relax and fall asleep?"

She gazed at him for a long moment. She knew no other woman would
trust this scoundrel, but the man himself had proven himself
trust-worthy time and again to her. After all, had she not been
the only one to breach the trust between them? Even that had been
purely by accident. She nodded at last. "I . . . I'd like that. I
tried to sleep earlier, but . . . I just couldn't stop thinking
about my father," she admitted.

"I'm sorry about your father, Elizabeth, but you're not to blame
for his death. I'm sure you did the best you could by him while
you were with him. Now's a time for you to get used to being with
you, to come to know yourself, and to leave your past behind." He
smiled at her, got into the bed, and reached out, pulling her
close until her head rested on his shoulder. "Sweet dreams,
Elizabeth. If you need me, wake me."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Sweet dreams, Autolycus, and
thank you for . . . for being such a good friend." She closed her
eyes and let the reassuring feel of his body beside hers lull her
guard. She slowly began to relax.

He felt the tenseness go out of her body and was glad. Her last
words had not been what he'd wanted to hear, but he'd hold that as
a small treasure until such time as something else stronger
developed between them. Each second with her was a treasure in
itself. He felt himself begin to relax even as she relaxed.
Seconds later, he was asleep, dreaming of the woman he held in his
arms.

Autolycus' scent and the feel of his body enveloped Elizabeth in a
warm cocoon. His gentle breathing as he fell asleep and then his
quiet snores played a lullaby on her ears until sleep at last
conquered her too.



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

Lex looked at the sleeping children. Celina had been kind enough
to put them to bed as Katrina was just as messy as Lex and Clark
were and had instantly headed off with Tom in search of a way to
get Salem's puke off of her. Lex was wishing for a nice hot bath
but knew it was impossible to get one. He knew that Clark had
worked something out with the water but wasn't sure what. He now
looked at his partner. "Clark, we need baths."

"Well, that's not a problem . . . " Clark frowned as quickly as he
had started. "But clothes are."

"Let's get the bath first and then we'll worry about clothes."

"What if the kids wake up?"

"Well, we'll leave the door open to the bathroom."

Clark shook his head. "Lex, you're not following me. What if they
wake up before we find clothes?"

"Oh! Well, we could wrap a towel around ourselves. I seem to
recall a huge shipment of fluffy towels being sent here? There
should be some in our bathroom."

Clark nodded. "That'll work." He picked up their candle and began
to lead the way to the bathroom.

Lex eyed the bathroom. It was small with a wooden bathtub in the
center. By the light of the candle, he could see a sink and a
chamberpot. He needed to relieve himself and felt much better
afterwards. "Why don't you draw us a bath, Clark?" He didn't want
to approach the metal objects as he didn't know how they worked.
He knew Clark had designed them.

"Sure," Clark answered with a knowing grin, "no problem." He set
the candle down in a safe place, walked over to the tub, and sat
on its side. Reaching over, he picked up a small, round object
that waited on one of the tub's corners and stuck it into a hole
in the tub. Then looking up at Lex with a waiting smile, Clark
turned the handles, sending water rushing out.

Lex reached out and touched the water. It wasn't hot but luke
warm, and he was thankful for it. He stripped the kilt off, let it
fall to the floor, and eased himself into the tub. "You wash me,
and I'll wash you," he grinned at Clark. He couldn't wait to run
his hands over those muscles he had seen in action that day!

With his smile ever growing, Clark stood, walked over to the door,
and closed it. He then dropped his kilt and kicked it so that it
joined Lex's on the floor. Rejoining Lex, he lowered himself into
the tub. He grabbed the soap as he descended behind Lex and then
began to wash his back.

Lex relaxed as Clark's magic fingers began to wash him. "I'm proud
of what you've done with the bathroom. I know there's several
things that have to be worked out yet, but this bathtub is a true
marvel! If we could just figure out how to get hot water in here,
it'd be paradise!"

"Then we should try it during the daylight," Clark told his lover
with a mischievous twinkle dancing in his blue eyes. If Lex liked
this water, he couldn't wait to see his reaction to a bath with
the sun up!

Lex had just began to lean backwards into Clark and Clark had
barely taken his lips with his own when a strange noise erupted
from the wall next to them and a hole began to appear. Clark's
mouth left his beloved's as his widened blue eyes stared at the
hole. "What the -- ?!"

"I have no idea," Lex said. "We need to find something to hit it
with. Could it be a dinosaur?" He was about to climb out of the
tub to get a weapon of some kind when Carl burst through the wall.

"Hi, guys!" the Gnome grinned at them. "Hope I'm not interrupting
anything, but I guess I am."

"Carl, you're always interrupting! Every time you're interrupting!
What do you want this time?" Lex asked him.

"This time I've got a good excuse!"

"Really?" Clark queried doubtfully. He'd have to see this one to
believe it.

"Yup!" Carl grinned. He wriggled himself out of the tunnel,
dropped to the bathroom floor, and then proceeded to pull clothes
out of the tunnel. "I found these, and they look like they'll fit
you."

Lex could not believe the thoughtfulness of the Gnome. For the
first time, he'd actually done something good for them! "Thanks,
Carl," he told him. "I really appreciate it. If I can do anything
for you, let me know."

Clark had been just as surprised as Lex at Carl's gift. "The same
goes for me," he told the Gnome with a smile.

Carl beamed. They actually appreciated him!

"Now, if you don't mind, Carl, Clark and I have a little
unfinished . . . "

Lex was interrupted by Carl's, "I know; I know. Carl, get going!
Bye, guys!" He disappeared down the tunnel with Lex peering after
him.

Clark broke the ice. "So that's how he gets around the ship so
quickly!"

"Gnomes dig tunnels, and apparently Carl digs a lot of them.
That's how he keeps popping up all over the place." Lex turned
around before settling back down into the water, grabbing the
soap, and beginning to wash Clark.



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

Salem had been relishing every bite of his mouse and dining slowly
as to make the meal last longer when he heard Faith and Dawson not
only growing in passion but seeming to come closer. He looked up
just in time to see them come stumbling into the room in a
passionate fit so heated that he would have sworn they were
already connected. They continued stumbling their way, heading
straight for him and the bed. With a screech, Salem grabbed his
mouse and ran for the closet. He shut its door just as the couple
fell across the bed.



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

Ororo's eyes flashed open in the darkness. She had been sleeping
very lightly, but Logan's snores had not managed to deter her
worried dreams until they grew so loud that they rattled the door
to the balcony. In their sleep, his arm had managed to find its
way around her and she had become nestled into his chest. Now she
gently and quietly wriggled her way out from underneath him and
slipped out of the bed.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, 'Ro made her way outside to
the balcony. She came to a stop at the railing and closed her eyes
as her hands rested on it. Gentle night winds whipped at her
clothes and whistled through her long, white hair. Despite all her
worries and concerns, Mother Earth was still calling to her this
night, but She called to a part of Ororo that she had covered up
many years ago . . . a part that Logan threatened to bring back
out.

Logan turned over, and his hand reached out to grope for 'Ro. She
was no longer in the bed. "Little darlin'?" he called. "Where are
you?" When there was no answer, he came fully awake. He sniffed
the night breezes and followed them until he found her. 'Ro was
extremely beautiful under the moonlight. He stood and watched as
the night breezes played with her hair. She looked like a Goddess
to him. He was about to step out on the balcony when she made a
movement with her hand, causing a small raincloud to appear over
her. He decided to watch and not make his presence known yet.

Despite everything, Ororo could not help dwelling on Logan and the
way a simple touch from him set her very soul on fire. She was not
a complete stranger to the ways of the heart, but the feelings he
invoked in her were unknown to her. They were stronger than
anything she'd ever felt before, and as the night breezes played
over her body, she could not help recalling his touches and kisses
until her body cried out for release. It was then that she
summoned the raincloud.

As the gentle rain fell on her upturned face, Ororo still thought
of Logan. She knew she had to get these feelings out of her before
she moved on him in a way that might well lead to only heartbreak.
With another gesture of her hands, she rose a mist around the
balcony but did not think about covering herself from behind.
Then, with the rain still running down her body, she began to
undress.

Logan almost had a heart attack! Part of him wanted to let 'Ro
know that he was there, but the other part of him wouldn't move,
let alone speak. The blood rushed straight to his loins, and he
had a sudden erection. He couldn't just walk out there with her,
or could he? While he pondered his dilemma, he watched 'Ro.

Ororo deposited her clothes into a single pool which she then used
a slender foot to push out from under the rain. Then, fully naked
in the sanctuary of night time, Ororo let herself dream. Where the
rain fell onto her body, she imagined Logan's fingers first and
then his mouth. She stretched higher, tilting her head further
back, so that the water soaked her hardened breasts. The drops ran
further downwards from there, and she whispered his name into the
night.

He could stand still no longer! He was hard and ready for her, and
she was ready for him, as well, and calling his name! He dropped
his pants, leaving them behind. They had been the only piece of
clothes he'd had on, and now he was naked. He stepped onto the
balcony. "'Ro?" he replied, scarcely believing that she had
actually called him.

The sound of Logan's voice startled her. She opened her eyes and
turned to face him despite the embarrassment that rose within the
lady part of her. What she saw made her ache even more for as
handsome as he was clothed, he was even sexier with nothing
standing between them. She could see his sword in all its massive
glory and had to swallow the groan that rose in her throat.
"Logan, I . . . I . . . " She flustered for words and finally
ended up with, "I did not realize you were awake."

"Awake, willing, and able!" he said as he moved swiftly to stand
in front of her. "Nothing is between us any more." He reached out,
pulling her glorious naked body close to his. He kissed her even
as his hands sought her luscious melons and stroked them.

Ororo's breasts arched in his hands as she returned his kiss in
full. She knew the wise, ladylike thing would be to move away from
him now, but she was tired of playing a part that she did not feel
and of hiding her true self. Mother Nature had been calling to her
all night to be herself and let her urges run freely, and Logan's
presence made it impossible not to adhere. Still, her heart
thundered in her chest not only of anticipation but of fear, as
well, for she did not want to lose this man.

Although 'Ro was much taller than Logan, he was strong enough to
lift her and bring her down upon his sword. It was hard and shot
home immediately straight into her sheath which felt like a warm
glove caressing him.

Ororo gasped and nearly screamed in pleasure. Thunder and
lightning blasted across the sky. They shared another kiss before
Logan began working his way downwards. He rained a trail of kisses
down her arched neck before taking one of her breasts into his
mouth. Her moans grew, and she lifted her legs, wrapping herself
around him and pulling him deeper inside of her. Her hands roamed
each inch of his body that she could reach, freely and lovingly
caressing his muscles, and the breezes she conjured caressed the
rest of him.

His body was more alive than he'd ever felt it in all of his many
years! His every sense was tingling! When the breezes started
caressing him, it was almost more than he could stand. He felt
himself reaching the peak, but still she took him higher than he'd
ever before climbed. He found completeness with 'Ro that he'd
never had with any one and knew that this was the woman he wanted
to spend the rest of his life with doing what they were doing now
if possible. He felt her nails rake his back even as they shot
over the top together.

Ororo had never thought that it was possible to feel the way Logan
made her feel, but as he took her ever higher, all her fears fell
away, leaving only the two of them and their passion in its wake.
Her legs tightened around him as they shot over the last stars
together and then began to slowly relax around him as they fell
back to earth, still together.

Still inside her, Logan carried her back to their bed where he
felt himself become immediately hard again, and so began the dance
once more . . .


_Chapter Fourteen_
Jack continued to kiss Will, his hands running over the muscles of
his lover's body and kneading them softly. He could not believe
how strongly Will was built, and yet Will was afraid to use his
body in some ways. Afraid he would hurt something, Jack thought,
but he wanted him to use them on him now! He had never thought to
be turned on by muscles, but just the idea of Will and he doing it
was enough to make him so hard that he feared his sword would rip
through his clothes if he did not find release.

Will's hands had been running all over Jack's body, caressing each
inch that they could find, but still he was not satisfied. He
ached for more of his lover, and Clark's words floated back to his
mind from the night before. He was just going to have to take
matters into his own hands, Will decided, for Jack did not know
how to lead them. Thanks to Clark, however, he did, and he began
to push Jack gently down onto his back on the bed.

Jack opened his eyes, but he had trouble seeing as they were so
glazed over from passion. "Will, we've got to do something to get
release, something besides kissing."

"My thoughts exactly," Will assured him before taking his lips
with his own again. He kissed him passionately once more before
beginning to work his way down Jack's throat. Already, his hands
had began seeking out the buttons of Jack's pajamas.

Jack could not stand it! He wanted his clothes off, but he wanted
Will's off at the same time. Will's method was taking too long. He
reached out, ripped Will's clothes off of him, and then ripped his
own off while Will was too dazed to know what had happened to his
clothes.

Will stared at Jack in disbelief. "Huh . . . Jack? You know, we're
gonna need these for tomorrow . . . "

"We'll find something. Don't worry about them." Jack's hand
reached out and grasped Will's sword. His fingers encircled it,
his fingertips massaging it as his hand rubbed up and down his
sword. He felt Will's sword grow even harder in his hand. He began
to kiss Will's chest, moving from one breast to the other, licking
and nibbling at each. Each new touch brought another moan of
pleasure from Will, who reclined backwards, allowing Jack to have
his way with him and relishing in every second.

Jack's mind was awhirl with what Lex had told him. He was trying
to follow it, but it just wouldn't come out the way Lex had told
him. Instinct took over, and he began to follow the trace of hair
that trailed down Will's stomach, kissing every few inches. He
reached the bellybutton and kissed and licked him in the
bellybutton. He rubbed his face gently on Will's stomach, moving
ever closer to Will's sword.

Jack hesitated as the sword loomed larger and came into his direct
vision. Did he dare take the plunge? It had sounded so easy when
Lex had told him, but now it looked like an obstacle he might not
ever surmount. He wanted it! Grabbing his courage, he leaned
forward and licked Will's sword only to have Will jerk as though
he had shot him with an electric prod. "Will?" he asked, worried
that he had done something wrong.

Jack's actions were amazing Will ever more, but when he licked his
sword, he began to shoot straight into the heavens. "Jack . . . "
Will whispered his name.

Jack glanced at Will and saw that he was alive, breathing, and had
not fainted. Instead, he appeared to be glowing. Lex was right! It
was working! he thought. He rose above Will so that he could get a
better position on it and ended up straddling him, his own sword
dangling like a tempting morsel before Will's salivating mouth.
Jack's mouth descended once more upon Will's sword. He was careful
not to use his teeth, but he began to lick and suck at it as his
hand moved up and down.

When Jack's mouth descended on Will's sword, he shot upward with a
near scream of pleasure. When his vision became less dazed, he
realized that Jack's sword hung a mere inch away from his mouth.
He leaned further and ran his tongue over Jack's sword, beginning
at its tip and going all the way up.

The minute Will's tongue touched Jack, he jerked, lost his
balance, and fell on his side but did not lose Will's sword. He
found that it was a much more comfortable position lying on one's
side and left him more easily accessible to the sword. He was
about to take Will's again when Will turned more fully toward him;
their mouths descended simultaneously upon each other.

Jack's hands massaged Will's back, buttocks, and legs even as his
tongue worked with relish on his sword. He found that while
working on Will, he got more excited. He felt himself grow even
harder as Will lavished atten

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