Liam continues his time with the remaining bachelor contestants. He spends time getting to know Keira, Lydia, and Rissa better in the hot tub. Later, he has individual conversations with each girl to check-in and give compliments. As elimination time approaches, Kori expresses her hope that she won't be the one sent home. Rissa advises her that begging won't help and her flirting could backfire as it did with Lirael. So far, day two is going better than day one.

1. A Buffyverse Bachelor Challenge: Part Two
By RoseFyre
And so we move on!
Nudity warning: one of the girls hot tubs naked.
---
Still don’t own Joss, the Buffyverse, or anything that comes from that…or even most of the sims in this!

2. In the watchers’ house, Rose stared at the TV. “I should probably unpause this sometime, shouldn’t I?”
“It is happening over there, and we should probably know what happens,” Elle said.
Rose shook her head. “Nah, I’ve got it paused. It’s the…timey wimey stuff.”
Stuart and Elle and Xander all exchanged glances. Via a complicated system of gestures and nods, Xander was
elected speaker. “What do you mean, you have it paused?”
“The whole Creator thing. Time manipulation.” She sighed as she fingered the remote. “This needs to go better, or
I am not going to blame Liam at all if he gives up on it.”

3. “I’m sure it will,” Elle said hopefully. “Well, I think it will. It can’t go that badly again, right?”
Rose nodded firmly. “Right. On to day two.”
***

4. After Liam sent Lirael home, he headed into his bedroom and changed into his swimsuit, then headed for the garage.
Two hot tubs had been placed there, instead of a car, and he climbed into one.
He smiled as he sank down into the hot water, enjoying the sensory pleasure of enough water to actually bathe in –
and it was hot, as well! This wasn’t something he’d ever had the chance to experience, and he was determined to
take advantage of it while he could.
Today would go better. He was sure of it.

5. He was soon joined by Rissa, Lydia, and Keira, who had decided that a bathing suit was not necessary.
Liam blushed slightly and looked away. Keira had a very nice body, but he barely knew her – they hadn’t spoken at
all the day before.

6. Also blushing were all four of the watchers.
Elle, Stuart, and Xander all carefully avoided looking at Keira, while Rose rubbed her forehead and muttered,
“There’s always one.”
Caleb crawled over and looked up at the TV then. “Mommy? Why dat woman not wearing clothes?” Elle just
groaned.

7. “Okay,” Rose said, “time to get out the Creator powers.” She snapped her fingers at the screen and Keira was
suddenly wearing a bathing suit. “Alright, you guys can look now. And maybe we can avoid more awkward
questions from the kidlets.”
“Thank you,” Stuart said, as he faced the TV once more.

8. Liam noticed that Keira now had a bathing suit on, and assumed it was something Rose had done. He mentally
thanked her as he looked at the girls who’d made it to the hot tub. Rissa he knew and was already starting to
become friends with, but he hadn’t spoken to Keira or Lydia yesterday at all.

9. “I guess I should start the conversation, shouldn’t I?” he said, somewhat rhetorically. “Tell me something about
yourselves. What are your hometowns like? I got to read a little about each of you, but there wasn’t much
information.”
“You should start,” Rissa said. “Tell us about you.”
“Well, alright. I grew up in an Apocalypse neighborhood called The Hellmouth. It’s a desert town, and it’s pretty
nice now, though it wasn’t when I was a child. It’s not something I always like to talk about. What about you?” he
asked, turning to Rissa.
“Veronaville’s pretty boring, but nice enough. Or it would be, if not for the crazy woman who’s trying to kill
everyone.”
Liam blinked. “Right. What about you two?” he asked Keira and Lydia.

10. Keira shrugged. “Belladonna Cove is great. I grew up with my dads and my brothers and a bunch of cousins and
other relatives.”
Lydia nodded. “Simshire is like that. Quiet, peaceful, not very exciting – I grew up with my parents and older
siblings, as well as my cousin Bethany.”
“I’m glad none of you are from an Apocalypse,” Liam said. “They’re not good places.”
“What is involved in an Apocalypse?” Lydia asked. “It involves lifting careers, I’ve heard?”

11. Liam grimaced. “Yeah. You have to top a career and then some of the restrictions are lifted. I don’t like to think
about it.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Right. Let’s move on now.”

12. Keira helpfully changed the subject. “So, when do we get to the kissing?”
“Schedule says three days from now.”
“Shame. It would be nice if it were sooner.”
Liam grinned. “No arguments here.”
Luckily, that made Liam less broody, and so they were able to have a pleasant conversation for the next couple of
hours.

13. After a couple of hours in the hot tub, Liam was hungry, so he headed into the kitchen to open up the buffet.

14. Everyone joined him in the dining room – both the girls who had been in his hot tub and the girls who hadn’t. No
one was dressed yet, and Liam had no problem admiring all of their bathing-suit-clad forms. Bikinis looked very
good.
He did have to admit that, for all his complaining, Rose had picked seven very attractive girls. Lirael had been
pretty; it was her personality he’d had an issue with.

15. He also got to know the girls a bit better, including the ones he hadn’t spent much time with. Kori wasn’t quite as
forward as she’d been the previous day, though she did still seem determined to get to know him better. She
seemed to be trying harder to listen today, at least.
Croissant, meanwhile, seemed to have no problem talking. “I really like jello, have you tried the type with the
whipped cream, Liam? It adds something, I’m not sure what, but definitely something. These fruit pieces in the
inside are also great, they let me pretend I’m eating something healthy. Do you think they’re raspberry or
strawberry? I’m not sure I can tell.”
Kori blinked. “I think this is the cherry flavored jello.”
“Great! I like cherries!”
Liam looked at the jello. “I think I’ll stick with the turkey, thanks.”

16. After Croissant got up, Liam looked around to see that a bunch of the girls were leaving the kitchen.
“Where are you headed, Lydia? We have chats after this.”
“I just need the loo, I’ll be back in a bit.”
“You’ll go later then, I guess.”

17. Keira easily slipped into the empty seat on his left, while Croissant, who had gone back for a second helping, took
Kori’s place.
Liam tried not to look at Croissant, who had decided that the jello was so good she was going to eat it as fast as
possible. It was, quite frankly, disgusting.
Instead, he spent a bit more time talking to Keira. They discovered they had something in common – her family was
her two dads and two brothers, making her the only girl, while he’d grown up with his mom and two sisters, making
him the only boy.
“I guess I did have Martin,” Liam said, “but it wasn’t the same.”
Keira nodded. “My family’s bigger than yours, so I had my step-aunt and one of my cousins in the house, but it’s
not really the same as siblings of your own gender.”

18. After dinner – or possibly lunch, Liam wasn’t sure what to call a meal eaten around 4 in the afternoon – it was time
to chat with each of the girls.
Cassie was still in the kitchen, so Liam pulled her aside first.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked. “I’d like to think that you are.”
She smiled. “I am. I’m glad I came.” Then she grinned mischievously.

19. “I hear you guys were talking about kissing in the other tub.”
“We were. It’s not for three days, though.”
“Too bad. I’ll just have to look forward to it, I suppose.” Her voice went up at the end of the sentence, making it
almost a question.
Liam smiled. “I’ll be looking forward to it too.”

20. He pulled Rissa aside next. “I hope we didn’t bother you with the kissing talk earlier.”
“Bother me? I like kissin’ just as much as the next girl.”
“Good.” He took a deep breath. “Cause I’m hoping you’ll still be around then.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

21. Liam took a deep breath. “Thank you, also.”
“For what?”
“For keeping me calm while everything went down with Lirael. If you hadn’t been there, it probably would’ve been
worse.”
“D’you know, this is the first time in my life I’ve been thanked for being calm. ‘Sides, I wasn’t all calm.”
“No, but it was nice to have someone sticking up for me.”
“Well, anytime a bitch needs punching, let me know.”
“I will.”

22. After he finished talking to Rissa, he found Croissant by the pool table. “Are you having a good time?” he asked.
“I am, but I wish I’d been able to be in the hot tub with you. I mean, Cassie and Kori were great, but we’re here to
talk to you, right? Since you’re the bachelor and all. I’ve never been in a bachelor challenge before. My cousin
Thomas has. He’s been in three. I’m not sure I would want to be in three, I mean, it’s admitting you’re going to
keep losing, you know? I’m not sure why he’s been in three anyway, it’s not like he’s got a problem finding people
in Chocolate Falls. Maybe he should have his own bachelor challenge. Then he’d definitely win.”
Liam blinked. “Um. Right.”

23. “Anyway, yes, I’m having a good time. I’ve been hanging out with Lydia, she’s very nice, well nice isn’t really the
right word, she’s sarcastic, but she’s funny. I like her a lot, anyway, and she’s really good at rock paper scissors. I
guess she’s played it a lot.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”

24. Next he found Keira, who’d wandered back towards the pool table. “So,” he said, “are you having a good time so
far?”
“Yeah. The hot tub was awesome.” She looked down at herself. “You know, I like this bathing suit, but honestly,
how’d I get into it? I definitely didn’t wear it into the hot tub.”
Liam blushed. “I noticed.” Then he shrugged. “I’m guessing it was Rose – the Creator.”
“A simself?”
“I guess.”
Keira nodded. “My grandmother’s a simself, the Creator of the town I come from. She’s got all sorts of powers.
Wouldn’t surprise me if that was one of them.”

25. Liam grimaced. “Your grandmother’s a Creator?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
He reminded himself that he was getting along with Rose right now. “Not at the moment.”
“There is, isn’t there?”
He threw his hands up. “I just don’t like my Creator all that much, alright?”
She picked at her nails. “I’m not here to solve your issues, Liam. Just deal with it.”
“Right. Whatever.”

26. He left Keira and headed toward the front door, where he found Lydia. “So, I wanted to ask, are you having a good
time so far? Croissant said you two had made friends.”
Keira nodded. “She’s a bit odd, though nice enough. How are you doing? Are you having a good time?”
“I am – well, now I am, now that Lirael’s gone.”
“Yeah, she was being bitchy. Not that you were being much nicer.”

27. “She’s the one who started it.”
“Yeah, but you continued it too.” She shrugged. “Though the way she was acting, you being nicer probably
wouldn’t have helped. I bet she was PMSing. She was definitely acting like it.”
Liam’s eyebrows rose. “Uh. Right. Good to know.”

28. Last was Kori, who he found over by the don’t wake the llama table. “I get to chat with you now, don’t I?” she
asked.
Liam nodded. “Yeah. I wanted to ask, are you having a good time?”
“I’m having a great time! It’s wonderful here, much nicer than home.”
“What’s home like?”
She looked down. “It’s…home. It is what it is.”

29. They stood in awkward silence for a moment.
“So, um, is that your nightgown?” Liam wasn’t sure that was the best thing to ask about, but breaking the silence
would be good.
“Yes. I was getting ready for bed.”
“Oh. Well, don’t let me stop you.”
She smiled. “I might play some don’t wake the llama first.”
“That sounds like fun.”

30. And it was. They joined Lydia and Cassie at the table for a game.
Having never played it before, Liam wasn’t very good. At least he wasn’t the only one – it was Kori’s first game, too.
Unsurprisingly, Liam and Kori both lost spectacularly, but they all had a fun time trying.

31. By the time they finished, it was getting late, so Liam headed into his bedroom as the girls headed to theirs, ready
for a good night’s sleep.

32. Though she was one of the last to bed, Kori was the first one awake, and after she took her shower, she went
outside for a calming cup of tea.

33. She wasn’t the only one; Cassie and Keira both took advantage of the tea table early that morning as well.

34. Meanwhile, Liam took his own shower in his private bathroom, then got dressed and left his room.
So far, this day was already going better than the last one had; hopefully that trend would continue.
He checked his email, going over the instructions again. Today was flirts in the morning, then sending one girl home
at noon, more hot tubbing in the afternoon, and chess with all of the girls that night.
He was looking forward to chess. It was a fun game.

35. He opened the door from the computer room to the hall and invited the girls in one by one.
He swiftly noticed that while he was dressed, not all of the girls were.

36. “That’s, uh, a very nice pair of underwear,” he said to Lydia, trying to be polite and not look at her chest. Her pose
was not helping.
“Oh, do you think so? I’ve never had anything like this at home, but I quite like them.”
“Purple is a good color for you.”
“Thanks.”

37. When he tried the same compliment with Keira, it didn’t go so well.
“That’s a very nice pair of underwear.”
“Do you say that to all the girls? I could hear you talking to Lydia while I was waiting outside.”
“No, I just…it is. A very nice pair of underwear, I mean.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” The tone of her voice told him that that thanks hadn’t been genuine, though he wasn’t sure exactly
what he’d done wrong.

38. After Keira was Cassie, who was shy enough to wear a robe rather than underwear.
“I just wanted to say, you’re very pretty, Cassie.”
“Even in this old thing?”
“Even in that old thing.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”

39. “I like your outfit, Croissant.”
“Thanks! I wasn’t sure what to wear, but this seemed nice.”
“It looks nice. I like how your shirt matches your eyes.”
She smiled. “I picked blue cause of that.”

40. “I really like your hair, Rissa.”
She giggled a bit. “You’re really not good at that whole suave thing, are you?”
He chuckled a bit. “No, not really. I do like your hair, though. It’s such a gorgeous color.”
“Ever considered dyeing yours?”
“I don’t think I could pull it off as well as you do.”

41. Last was Kori.
“I like your nightgown. Pink is a good color for you.”
“Thanks, Liam.” She smiled. “I like your outfit, too, though I wish I’d gotten to see you in your pajamas.”
“Uh, thanks. I think.”
“Oh, it was definitely a compliment.”

42. After the flirts were over, they had free time for the rest of the morning, so the girls amused themselves in various
ways.
Cassie found Liam once he was in the living room. “Do you want another backrub?”
“Today wasn’t nearly as stressful as yesterday.”
“No, but I’ve never known anyone who didn’t like a backrub.”
“It was great, and if you don’t mind, I’d love another.”
“Of course.”

43. Kori found him after the backrub. “Not long til elimination.”
“No, not long.”
“I hope I’m not the one you’re going to send home.”
“Look, Kori, I don’t want to think about that yet.”
“Alright,” she said hesitantly. Then she smiled brightly. “It’ll all be good, I think.”
“I hope so.”

44. Rissa pulled Kori aside while Liam went to talk to Cassie some more. “It’s his decision who he sends home.
Begging’s not gonna help.”
“Well, no, but flirting can’t hurt.”
Rissa raised an eyebrow. “Lirael flirted with him until she went all psycho bitch. Like I said, it ain’t gonna help.”

45. While Kori wandered off to think, Rissa found Liam by the stereo. “Do you want to dance again?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not right now. We could hang out, though.”

46. She smiled and plopped down on the floor, joining him. “Was there somethin’ in particular you wanted to talk
about?”
“Not really. Just, you know, I like talking to you.”
Rissa raised an eyebrow. “Me? You do know I’m a sarcastic bitch, don’t you?”
“So? I can be a broody asshole.”
She laughed. “Yeah, you can.”

47. “So you’re a broody asshole?” Cassie asked as she sat down next to Liam.
“Sometimes,” he said.
She smiled. “I can’t say I’m always nice myself.”
He shrugged. “Who is?”
Rissa snorted. “Definitely not me.”

48. Around eleven or so, Liam realized he was slightly hungry, so he headed into the kitchen to grab a plate of jello,
apologizing to Rissa and Cassie as he stood up to go. He didn’t need anything heavy, not yet, but if he didn’t eat
now, he’d be starving long before the hot tub time was over.
A number of the girls followed him into the kitchen, grabbing their own food.

49. While the girls talked, Liam sat and thought, not really paying attention to their conversation. He had less than an
hour to make a decision, and while he was pretty sure who he was sending home, he wasn’t completely sure.
He looked around at each girl, lingering on a couple of them, then nodded to himself.
He knew who he was sending home.

50. When he was done with his jello, he stood up. “Let’s head out to the porch, ladies.”
They stood to follow him.

51. Everyone sat down outside.
“I’ve spent some time thinking, and I’ve made my decision. It’s been great getting to know all of you, but someone
has to leave, and there are some of you that I’ve clicked with better than others. So the person I’m sending home is
someone I don’t feel that I’ve clicked with.”

52. “Kori, I’m sorry, but I just don’t feel all that comfortable with you. I’m sure you’ll make someone very happy
someday, but it’s not going to be me.”
She nodded. “No chance of changing your mind?”
“No chance.”

53. She stood up, and before he could back away, she hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough.”
And before he could say anything, she was gone, headed back into the house.
“It’s not–” He shook his head. It wasn’t that she wasn’t good enough. It was that she wasn’t right. He turned back
to the other girls. “Let’s all take a break. I’m going to spend half an hour alone, and then I’ll get back into this.”
They all nodded in response.
It was a somber group that retuned to the house, as Kori used the computer to call for a taxi.
***

54. “Well,” Rose said, “that went better, didn’t it?”
“Much,” Xander replied. “There wasn’t any fighting!” He ran a hand through his hair. “The end did kind of suck,
though.”
“Yeah.”

55. “I do hope,” Stuart said, “that you will use your creator powers to dress Miss Doran should she come to the hot tub
in the nude again.”
Elle nodded. “We’ve got kids watching, after all.”
“Oh yeah, definitely gonna do that.”
“Good.”

56. Rose sighed. “I had such high hopes for Kori. It’s complicated, but a version of her is married to a version of Liam
in another universe.”
The other three exchanged glances. “But he did not pick her here,” Stuart said.
“No. I think she came on too strong, and, well, it just didn’t go well. Plus, there was the Apocalypse issue. I hope
Lark will understand.”
“I’m sure she will,” Xander said.

57. Elle looked at the TV. “You know, the two women he’s sent home so far were both from Apocalypses. Maybe it
wasn’t the best idea to try to force him to deal with them.”
Stuart shook her head. “It does seem that way.”
“He was trying, though,” Xander said. “He didn’t outright insult either of them.”
“No, but there’s conscious prejudice and unconscious prejudice, and I think Liam is unconsciously prejudiced against
anyone from an Apocalypse. Which, you’d think he would see that they could understand him, but I guess he wants
something different,” Rose said.
“He wants to break free. It’s what he’s always wanted.”

58. Rose nodded. “You’re right, Xander.” She looked again at the girls who were left. “I think he’ll do fine with the girls
who are left. All of them are great.”
“And, as you told him when we first talked, he doesn’t have to get married,” Elle added. “I agree that he’ll be fine.”
“Yeah. We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.”
***

59. Scores time!
Cassiopeia: 85/35 = 120, friends, mutual crush
Rissa: 80/33 = 113, friends, mutual crush
Croissant: 20/6 = 26
Lydia: 18/7 = 25
Keira: 13/5 = 18
Kori: 13/-1 = 12
Yes, ladies, we know that Liam and Lirael are enemies. You don’t need to spread the gossip everywhere.
Thanks again to everyone I borrowed from – you’ll get a full list at the end!