Belize City, Belieze

This is another crazy crossover story: BtVS meets Fox

Television this time. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Anya,

Tara, and Riley are the possessions of Joss Whedon and

Mutent Enemy, Inc. Temptation Island is the fault of

Fox Television. Otherwise, this story is copyright

2001 by Eric Jablow. All Rights Reserved. Oh, and rate

it PG-13 for language. Spoilers for Into the Woods and

Triangle. Some Riley-bashing.

Temptation

Two men walked out of the city hospital; the man in the

lead was red with anger, and the one behind looked like

he just wanted to duck.

"God damn it, Fisher! Our chief hunk didn't pay

attention to the rules, had some of the local water,

and now he won't be out of the hospital for a week!"

"Boss, he'll be okay."

"He'll be okay! He'll be okay? I'm not okay. We film

tomorrow, and we're missing our chief stud! Dammit,

we've got a show to put on. Find somebody, and fast, or

I'm sending you back to the States in a rowboat!"

"Yes, Boss. I'll find somebody. You can count on me."

"A friggin' canoe!"

Fisher turned and walked up the street toward the city

center. "Damn reality TV," he thought. A couple of

blocks later, out of sight of the hospital and his

boss, he found a bar. "Too bad I can't get drunk." He

went in and bought a beer.

Fisher had been nursing his beer for a half-hour when

he heard a man order two beers from the bartender in

loud, broken Spanish. He looked up; there were a tall,

pale man and a average-sized, darker man. Both were

obviously fit, and both were obviously American. Only

an American would think that volume was a universal

translator.

He looked a bit more. Neither wore a wedding or

engagement ring, and neither had a briefcase or any

other signs of a job. Tourists. Perfect. And the girls

always go for the tall ones.

He took out his business card and walked over to them.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" The taller man had a flat, midwestern, accent.

"Look, I'm an assistant producer for a new American

television show, and I'm in a bit of trouble here. One

of our performers got sick, and I'm looking for a

replacement."

"What sort of show?" The other man had a Southern

accent.

"It's a new Fox show; It's a little like the opposite

of The Dating Game. We've brought a few dating couples

down here, and a few singles, we give the couples a

chance to see whether they really want to stay

together."

"Typical Fox fertilizer." The tall guy again.

"Hey--you're the one who came down here to forget his

last girlfriend."

"Yes, I did, didn't I?"

"So, are the two of you interested?"

"How long do you need us, and how much are you paying?"

The Southerner again.

"Just a couple of days. And, ten thousand apiece.

Possibly a bonus if you and the others click."

"Well, G?"

"Why not, R.?"

"Okay."

"By the way, what are your names?"

"He's Graham, and call me Riley."