meretricious – Yeah, it would be such a pain shipping them anyway don’t you think? I agree that my hints were too much.
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was faith winning a writer decision, or a final roll of the dice?
Would you believe me if I said I don’t even remember any more. I know that I set certain things in stone before rolling the dice but I can’t remember whether I decided Faith would win and then rolled and created her game or rolled and then found out she would win and then created her game. Honestly, I’d say the most likely is #1 because... I might have mentioned this before;
I love FaithReally? You must ruin a lot of books that way. I just read the book in order and if I’m really pulled in, I read it faster. Of course I don’t read mysteries or anything like that because I find them pointless.
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has the person who finishes second ever burst into tears when the lose?
Not that I’ve seen.
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100 grand is a nice consolation, though, wasn't aware of that. Interesting
What’s funny is that they don’t really mention it until the Finale show but yes, the runner-up gets 100K.
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skeet shooting? where did you pull that out of?
I just tried to think what would Darla do if her life changed?
Funny that you remember about Willow’s apt. in Paths. It is at least as bad now.
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and asher just keeps getting cuter doesn't he? teaching an 18 month old to say "what's your major?", lmao. i don't think i ever realized that having 2 moms could put a guy ahead in the picking up chicks dept. makes perfect sense, though
Well, notice that we were giving him cheesy lines. I mean we don’t want him to be unsafe or anything. We’re mostly successful getting him to say “hi” or “bye” (which he frequently says “by-yee” which is super cute.
Thanks.
Title – Survivor – Ash Island
Part 33 – Aftershow Party
Author – JustSkipIt
Pairing – T/W (who else?)
Feedback – Oh yes.
Spoilers – None
Rating – PG-13
Disclaimer – I own none of these characters nor do I own Survivor. And believe it or not, I also don’t own any small islands. On the other hand, this island is fictional so let’s say I own it. I’m making no money from this fiction and intend no copyright infringement.
Thankfully CBS had arranged transportation for the Survivors and their limited number of guests for the aftershow party. Not being natives of New York, Willow and Tara would likely have had a hard time getting a Taxi. Instead, they found themselves ushered out of the Theater and into a waiting line of limousines.
“Where did Daddy go?” Ariel wanted to know as she looked around their cab.
“I think Daddy and Faith are in the limousine in front of us.” Willow pointed her finger past the driver to a set of lights just in front of them.
After sleeping through most of the reunion show, Ariel had apparently regained her energy. “Does this car have a telephone and a TV and juice?”
“It does but we aren’t going on a very long drive, Baby girl.”
Sarah finally joined the conversation. “I’m sorry you didn’t win, dear. Are you disappointed?”
“Well of course I’m disappointed. I mean I had a chance to win a m-million dollars and put my child through college as well as myself.”
“There’s a but coming, isn’t there?”
Tara smiled and picked up Willow’s hand. “I won a bigger prize than a million dollars.”
“And she still won a hundred thousand dollars,” Willow added taking a break from helping Ariel push every button in the limo.
“And Willow is going to help mama go to college and become an artist,” Ariel said without stopping pressing buttons. She handed a juice bottle to Willow asking if she could have the juice. The redhead opened the bottle and whispered that Ariel should be careful to not spill the juice on her dress.
Sarah smiled at the other three and patted her daughter’s knee. “I’m sure you’ve got it figured out, darling.” She leaned over and hugged Tara just as the limo arrived at the party.
Before they got out of the limo Tara turned to Ariel. “Now baby, I know you want to see the party but it’s very late. You can stay 15 minutes and then Grandma is going to take you back to the hotel, ok?”
“Half an hour?” Ariel offered with a smile.
Tara tried not to laugh as she looked at Willow. “You taught her that,” she said in a playfully accusatory tone.
“Don’t you want me to share in the parenting--teaching her what I know?” Willow’s faux-innocent smile was another thing Tara had been noticing from Ariel later and the blonde smiled at the similarity.
All three grown-ups laughed and Tara told her daughter that she could stay thirty minutes. Then the blonde took her daughter’s hand and stepped from the limousine to a host of fans, applause, and flashbulbs. Looking back at the limousine she reached in to help Sarah from the car. Tara’s mother was followed by Willow’s emergence which brought another loud cheer from the crowd.
As they walked into the party they heard countless shouts of “We love you Willow and Tara!” and “You were robbed!” At Willow’s urging, Tara turned back to the crowd once she reached the door and waved. Another cheer went up and more flashbulbs popped.
They went inside and welcomed the comparative quiet once the door closed. “Are Daddy and Faith here yet?” Ariel immediately asked as she attempted to look around but couldn’t see over the heads of those people directly in front of the group. Willow immediately reached over and picked up the child, holding her so that she could see as well as the others.
“There they are,” Sarah announced as she pointed toward a table on the far side of the room. They quickly made their way over to the table which already held Faith, Kent, Joy, and Faith’s parents.
Faith disengaged herself from her conversations to rush over and hug Tara. “Hey sweetie, how are you doing? The crowd outside treat you ok?”
After Tara assured her that she was fine Faith greeted the other women and took Ariel from Willow since the girl wanted to hug her. “Let me introduce everyone.” Although Faith had met Willow, Tara, Ariel, and Mrs. Maclay before she still wanted to take the opportunity to introduce her family to all of them. After all the greetings were completed, Kent asked Ariel and Sarah if they wanted something to eat and took them to the buffet.
“We really enjoyed watching the two of you on the show,” Faith’s mother told Willow and Tara as they all took their seats.
“Thank you,” Tara said, glancing up to check on Ariel’s progress.
“Five dollars says she’ll be asleep before she finishes that plate of food,” Willow joked.
“It’s been an hour and already you’re trying to get at my hundred thousand dollars,” Tara teased back as the others at the table laughed.
“Then you might want to watch out, T. I’ve got a million now.”
“Keep the five then,” Willow continued joking.
When the laughter had died down, Willow offered to go get herself and Tara something to eat while Tara continued visiting with Faith and her family. After the redhead returned everyone ate their food. It was quite late and most of them had been at the theater from before dinner time. As they ate, they visited about the revelations of the last three hours of the show, including the reunion show.
“I’m wondering if I need to go protect your honor against what Buffy had to say,” Kent said with a smile.
“Buffy’s c-cool. We talked today and she apologized about the things she said.”
“Sure she apologized,” Willow pouted, “and her vote cost you the million dollars.”
‘Hey, Red. I’m sitting right here.”
“Right, right, right. You won because you are the
Ultimate Survivor, the wiliest, trickiest, and hottest Survivor on Ash – Island.” Willow delivered her speech to Faith with enough attitude to make it clear that she had rehearsed based on Faith’s jury speeches.
“Never mind that you would have starved without me,” Tara muttered under her breath but loudly enough for the group to hear. Everyone laughed.
Ariel turned to her mother. “You wouldn’t really let Faith starve would you, Mommy?”
Tara hugged her child and assured her that she would never let Faith starve. Ariel hugged her mother back whispering in her ear. “That’s good because if Faith marries Daddy she’ll be my mommy too.”
Everyone at the table laughed at the child’s comment and looked at Faith and Kent with a raised eyebrow. Kent looked at everyone at the table and held up his hands palms out. “Hey it’s a surprise to me.” He patted his pockets, showing that he didn’t have a ring hidden in them.
“Well I guess it’s up to me then,” Faith said with a smile. She reached into her purse and pulled out a silver woven bracelet. She held it up to show the table and turned to Kent, taking his large hand in hers. “Kent Webster, in the six months I’ve known you and Ariel, I’ve been happier than I ever believed I could be. Will you marry me and we can make each other that happy for the rest of our lives?”
Kent and everyone else at the table sat in stunned silence as Faith continued smiling. After a few seconds, Ariel whispered quite loudly, “Say ‘yes,’ Daddy!”
Kent looked at his daughter and laughed before nodding his head vigorously. “Yes. Yes. Yes.” He leaned over and kissed his fiancé deeply, before holding out his hand for the bracelet.
Ariel and Tara were the first to reach the couple, hugging them tightly. Kent took Ariel from Tara and held her as everyone else at the table came offered their sincere congratulations. “You had a plan to upstage me even if I won tonight didn’t you?” Tara teased her friend.
“You don’t want the publicity anyway, T.” Faith’s banter could barely be heard over the chorus of congratulations from everyone at the table. The commotion attracted some media people who came over to take pictures of the happy couple. After a few minutes, Faith and Kent wandered off to do an impromptu interview for CBS on the topic of her victory and their engagement.
Sarah turned to Mrs. Lehane. “He’s a very wonderful man and I think the two of them will be very happy.”
Faith’s mother looked across the room at her daughter and Kent and smiled. “I think so too.”
Seeing Ariel’s yawn, Tara patted Ariel’s hand. “Time to go, Sweetie.”
By the time Tara got her mother and daughter into a limousine and returned, the party was in full swing. The band was playing and most of the Survivors and their guests were dancing or visiting with each other or the media. Seeing that Willow was having fun and dancing with Oz, Xander, and Xander’s wife, she stopped to visit with a few other Survivors.
As she stood up to join Willow on the dance floor she was met by a reporter with a camera. “Tara? Kyle Jones of ACBS.” She smiled and nodded at him. “Congratulations on your great finish tonight.”
“Thank y-you.”
“What’s the best thing about tonight for you?”
“The best thing is being done keeping s-secrets. Now my family and my friends all know how I did on the show and there’s no m-more waiting.” She smiled as she answered the question.
“I’m sure that’s really great.” He pointed across the dance floor toward Faith and Kent dancing together. “I understand that Faith and your ex-husband got engaged tonight. How do you feel about that?”
“I’m really happy for them. I’ve seen them together and they are a very good fit.” She looked up to see Willow waving at her from the dance floor. ‘I r-really need to go…”
“Of course. Thanks for visiting with us.”
Tara left the reporter and made her way across the room to where Willow waited for her. “Hi, baby,” the redhead said as she leaned in for a kiss.
“Hi.”
“Ariel and your mom get into the limo ok?”
Tara nodded as they walked out onto the dance floor. “Tara,” Xander said as he gave the blonde a hug. “This is my wife, Anya.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Anya answered as she shook the newcomer’s hand. “Now you can tell me. Were the two of you sharing orgasms on the Island? Xander says no and Willow won’t say but I think you were.”
“Actually I’m kind of wondering that too,” Faith teased, having danced close to the other four.
“Is this all to make me feel like tomorrow morning is easy?”
“Tomorrow morning? See there’s another piece of good news for you. I’m doing Letterman tomorrow night. If you’d won, you’d have to do that too.”
“Oh yeah. Lucky me.” Tara’s expression showed her sarcasm.
“Can we just dance?” Tara blushed at the strange attention and at the thought that she would have to do the publicity shows in the morning.
Willow quickly reached out to take her lover’s hand and pulled her a few feet from the others. “I’m really proud of you, baby.”
Tara frowned “For l-losing with dignity?”
Willow shrugged her shoulders. “I guess for everything. The way you played the game, how well you did on the show tonight, talking to that reporter over there, how well I know you will do in the morning.”
Tara put her arms over the redhead’s shoulders as the music slowed. “You’re wonderful to me you know.”
Willow winked. “I know. And I meant what I said this morning when we were alone. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you get your degree.”
“I know.” Tara leaned in and again kissed her lover. She looked up to see Faith and Kent dancing close also.
Seeing the blonde’s smile Willow whispered, “We could always make it a double-wedding. You know CBS presents Faith and Kent and Willow and Tara get married.”
Tara smiled back. “It sounds a little like the four of us are getting married.”
Willow laughed. “How about: ‘CBS presents the Survivor – Ash Island double wedding’. You know then lots of shots of the island and Faith and Kent running on the beach and you and I sitting on a veranda drinking mint juleps?”
“It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Tara smiled and again kissed her lover.
“Hey you two need to get a room.” Willow and Tara turned to see Buffy standing by them with a big smile on her face.
“Actually CBS gave us a suite over at the Ritz,” Willow said.
They both gave her a hug. “Tara, I just wanted to say again how sorry I am about the things I said at tribal council. I see now that you really cared about Willow and I was wrong about that.”
“Thanks.”
Seeing that most people were leaving the party Buffy turned to go. “By the way, you two look awesome together.”
“Thanks, Buffy.”
Tara yawned and covered her mouth with her hand. Seeing that action Willow started to lead her from the dance floor. “Come on, Love, we should go back to the hotel so you can get some sleep before the morning shows.”
“Mmm.” Tara yawned again. As they reached the corner of the floor she stopped and raised an eyebrow at the redhead. “Willow?”
“Yeah, Sweetie?”
“Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“Well Ariel did say we should didn’t she?” The redhead smiled.
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Absolutely. Yes. However you want. Double-wedding. Private affair. Anything you want.” Tara smiled and kissed her fiancé before picking her up and swinging her around in a circle.
“I think it’s too late for a private affair,” Willow joked.
“Speaking of affairs,” Tara flirted as they headed toward the door, “I don’t think I need sleep that badly tonight.”
“Mmm,” Willow purred.
A few hours later, the two women lay quite deliciously exhausted together in bed. “Can I ask you something?” Willow said, her breath tickling her lover’s neck.
“It seems like your last question led us here.”
Willow smiled. “Didn’t it… Seriously. How did you start the fire so well on day two? I’ve been watching the download over and over and it doesn’t look like Faith is even going to get a spark but the fire lights.”
Tara chuckled as she continued stroking her lover’s hand. “Magic,” she whispered.