~Part 1~

"Aha!" Giles exclaimed in weary contentment. He leaned back into his chair, stripping his glasses from his face as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose with forefinger and thumb. "I do believe I have found the answer to our problem," the former Watcher informed the individuals gathered in his apartment, each of whom had been researching in one of his various books until his exclamation.
 
 
 

Willow tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, leaning forward eagerly, her own fatigue forgotten. "What does it say, Giles?"
 
 
 

The scene in Giles apartment would have appeared almost cozy had an observer failed to note the utter exhaustion which slowed each man and woman's speech to a stumbling blur, and which had dulled and reddened their eyes with a desperate lack of sleep. The original Scoobies, along with Riley, Anya and Spike had been enclosed in the Watcher's home for the past five hours, desperately attempting to find a means to destroy a rather nasty demon which they had discovered would be rising above the Hellmouth within weeks.
 
 
 

"There is a spell," Giles began, settling his glasses back into place as he drew the book towards him again. "Hm... it doesn't go into great detail as to _how_ the demon shall be defeated, but it is quite clear that this spell is meant to do just that. As spells go, this one is remarkably simple. It requires a circle composed of friends, and at the very least, one set of lovers."
 
 
 

Buffy cut off Xander's comment before the young man could even begin. "So when do we start?"

***

The invocation faded on the night breeze, and for a long moment, the night was utterly still. Willow stood still, her hands clenching tighter around Spike's upon her left and Xander's at the right, breathless, as she waited for the spell to take effect. She had begun to fear that the spell was defective when a soft ball of light shimmered into existence in the center of the circle the Slayerettes had formed.
 
 
 

It wavered a moment before the sphere of magical energy drifted towards Giles. It hovered in front of his face for a moment before shifting towards Buffy. It moved to each of them in turn, pausing before each of their faces as if considering them. Willow felt a wave of warmth and longing build within her as her turn came to stare into the shifting swirl of colours which constituted the spirit they had called. Her breath escaped her as a soft sigh as the energy slid past her to pause before the vampire whose hand she clutched.
 
 
 

The sphere seemed to split apart, two thin tendrils of energy spilling outwards to wind about Willow and Spike. Willow distantly heard the other's startled exclamations. More immediate, more vital, was the feeling of recognition which met the spirit's delicate probing. White light built around them, and everything faded away in a burst of pure energy that washed cool and painlessly against them all.
 
 
 

It tapered away slowly. Willow cautiously blinked against the darkness, her eyes widening as she found what the sphere of energy had left in the center of their circle.
 
 
 

"Oh, Goddess," Willow breathed, and heard Spike's own curse run alongside her prayer. There could be no doubt as to who the little girl, naked and smiling before them, resembled. Bright blue eyes and soft red hair framed a tiny face composed of miniature variations of both Willow and Spike's features.
 
 
 

Xander's head turned from Willow to the child slowly before shifting back to regard his oldest friend through wide eyes. "Is there something you've been meaning to tell us, Wills?" he choked out.
 
 
 

"Mummy! Poppa!" the little girl laughed, high and clear as she scrambled across the damp grass on her bare feet. She squealed in delight as Spike automatically caught her in his arms, swinging her up towards his chest.
 
 
 

Spike looked down into the shining blue eyes of the girl he held. "Bloody hell," he breathed.
 
 
 

"Not in front of the child, Spike," Willow said absently before her knees gave way beneath her. She clutched at the vampire's arm, trying to hold herself upright, her fingers digging into the soft leather of his duster desperately. She pressed her face against him, laughing wildly against his shoulder while the little girl soothingly patted at her hair.

***

The child had refused to part company with either of her 'parents' despite all halfhearted attempts to do so. As none of the others had the space for the new family of three, Willow had brought Spike and the girl into her parents' home, which would be empty for at least another month as Ira and Sheila Rosenberg travelled the country.
 
 
 

Willow paused in the doorway connecting kitchen and living room, a plastic cup filled with apple juice clutched in a two handed grip. She looked at Spike and the child awkwardly. The girl was comfortably snuggled up against the vampire whose blank expression still occasionally twitched into a surprised grimace.
 
 
 

Willow cleared her throat, and the child bounced away from Spike. "Apple juice?" she offered weakly to the girl's eager nod. The fridge had been emptied before Willow's parents departed. Buffy and Riley had went out on a brief shopping spree, returning to Willow's house with several bagfuls of food that they insisted would be absolutely vital. They had left soon after their delivery, each Slayerette having decided that their friend and Spike required some time alone to adjust to the girl's sudden arrival.
 
 
 

"What's your name, sweetie?" Willow asked as she cautiously settled next to the girl on the couch. Spike's arm was slung across it's back, and his fingers brushed at the back of Willow's neck as she leaned back. The red head jumped guiltily as Spike looked at her in amusement. Willow scooted back to the edge of the cushion.
 
 
 

"Kethry," the girl replied between sips of her juice.
 
 
 

"That's a very pretty name, Kethry," Willow said softly, the name rolling off her tongue easily. "Maybe... can you tell us where you came from?"
 
 
 

Kethry giggled. "You _know_, mummy!" she exclaimed. "There's a mummy and a daddy and they aren't wearing any clo--"
 
 
 

Willow yelped, flushing hotly. "Never mind, sweetie." She couldn't bring herself to meet Spike's eyes over Kethry's head as the vampire chuckled. 'Oh Goddess. How am I going to make it through _this_. I can't play house with Spike and Kethry, or I'll end up making an utter fool out of myself. Kethry wasn't born out of anything _real_, as much as I may have fantasized about her 'father'.'
 
 
 

When she finally found the courage to meet Spike's eyes, something in his expression told her that he had no doubt as to why she was so incredibly flustered.

***

The child was a manipulative genius, Spike thought with some admiration as he pulled back the comforter and slid into Willow's bed. Kethry had wailed and whined, refusing to close her mouth, much less her eyes, until both her 'parents' were snuggled around her in bed. Willow's face was flaming in embarrassment, but Spike had noted that her eyes had remained firmly fixed on him as he had pulled off his t-shirt and jeans. Kethry's delighted giggles informed Spike that she too had seen the young witch's stare.
 
 
 

Spike didn't know _why_ Kethry had been so determined that all three of them remain together, but he was not about to complain -- not when he was finally being invited into Willow's bed, even if it were occupied by an extra visitor. Willow's bed wasn't meant to be shared, and with three of them, it was a tight fit. Kethry wiggled between them flopping bonelessly onto her back so that her arms met Willow's overheated flesh and Spike's cool skin.
 
 
 

"Tell me a story?" her command was cloaked as a pleading question as Kethry rolled her head, blinking owlishly first at Willow, then at Spike.
 
 
 

"A story?" Willow echoed blankly, an undercurrent of pain shuddering beneath her words.
 
 
 

During his time within the margins of the Scooby Gang, Spike had learned enough about Willow's parents to know that it was doubtful that they had ever soothed her to sleep with tales of 'happily ever after.' None of them spoke freely around him, nor even in plain words with the others, but Spike had easily enough determined that _none_ of the Slayer's small group of friends had the happiest of childhoods. He suspected that was the reason why the clung to each other so fiercely.
 
 
 

"Uh huh," Kethry affirmed. "With a prince and a princess and... and horsies! And I want a wizard and a jester and..."
 
 
 

Spike chuckled. "I like a lady who knows what she wants," he told the child snuggled against him. "And I think I know just the right story for you."
 
 
 

He heard Willow shift, her bare legs restlessly moving against the sheets. "Do you really? Are you sure, Spike?" she asked doubtfully.
 
 
 

"I've picked up more things during my unlife than you may have expected," he told Willow. "Now hush and listen."

***

Willow woke with her head pillowed against Spike's bare chest. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the smooth muscles beneath her hand. One of her legs was flung over Spike's thighs, as if sleep had claimed her as she moved to straddle him. One of his hands rested over hers, the other was resting dangerously low on her back.
 
 
 

Her mind froze for a moment as her body revelled in the feel of the vampire's strong body against her. She was almost disappointed as her thoughts fought their way through a lingering haze of sleep. "Kethry?" Willow murmured uneasily.
 
 
 

The girl was gone.
 
 
 

Willow carefully pulled herself away from Spike, and told herself that it was not reluctance which she felt as his hands fell away from her. She smoothed at her nightgown before padding out of her room in search for Kethry. Slitted blue eyes watched the unconscious sway of slim hips beneath the loose cotton as she left.

***

Willow gasped as another wave of water hit her, soaking her blouse even further. Spike leaned against the door, his arms crossed before his chest, his eyes freely roaming over the wet material clinging to Willow's slight body. "Looks like fun," he commented with a lazy drawl, making Willow start in surprise.
 
 
 

She turned, brushing a wet strand of hair from her face. "_Looks_ being the operative word," Willow replied with exasperation, though laughter lurked in her bright green eyes. "I got up this morning to find Kethry," the child peeked around Willow and offered Spike and cheerful wave, "sitting in the bathtub. She insisted that she required a bubble bath right this moment."
 
 
 

Spike's lips quirked into a full grin. "Need help, pet?" he inquired, moving deeper into the bathroom before Willow had time to reply.
 
 
 

He knelt next to Willow, his arm brushing against her and sending shivers racing through her body as he reached out for the shampoo. "Flowers and yet more flowers," Spike commented with a snort. "Pick one, ducks," he told Kethry.
 
 
 

"I want the shampoo mummy uses!" Kethry stated emphatically.
 
 
 

"Excellent choice," Spike informed the girl seriously. He dropped one of the bottles next to the tub. Willow blinked slightly in surprise -- he had chosen the correct shampoo. Since _when_ had Spike been paying attention to what shampoo she used?

***

Kethry squealed in delight as Willow switched on the radio, bouncing in place on the couch. "I want to dance!" she cried out, sliding to the floor. She took Spike's hand, her face set in a stubborn pout as Spike remained firmly seated. "Poppa!" Kethry wailed, stomping one small foot. "I _want_ to _dance_!"
 
 
 

Willow caught Kethry, drawing the squirming little girl away from the vampire. "Spike--" she noted the girl's scowl, her usual reaction when Willow employed the vampire's name. "_Poppa_ doesn't want to dance right now, sweetie. Would I be an acceptable substitution?"
 
 
 

Kethry cocked her head, looking back and forth between Willow and Spike consideringly. She nodded vigorously, clasping onto Willow's hand. "Like _this_," Kethry stressed, jumping into a series of moves which would have been downright flirtatious on a grown woman.
 
 
 

'Which _I_ am,' Willow thought with growing consternation. 'Oh, Goddess! What is it with this girl? Will humiliating me in front of Spike somehow help us all defeat that damned demon, or does Kethry simply have a mean streak wide enough to make her 'poppa' proud?'
 
 
 

Willow sighed deeply and wriggled her hips in imitation of Kethry's movements, trying her best to keep her eyes off of Spike so that she need not see the amusement sure to be playing out across his face.

***

Some fifteen minutes later, Willow collapsed onto the couch. The child was still bouncing with excitement. She crawled over to Spike, resting her head on his knee. He absently patted at her hair, watching hungrily as Willow sucked in deep breaths of air. Spike went utterly still as the question the girl had just asked reached him. "What?" he gaped at her.
 
 
 

Kethry rolled her eyes. "I asked what made you fall in love with mummy, silly!"
 
 
 

Spike cursed silently. This promised to be far less promising than Willow's 'dance' had been. "Uh--" Spike said intelligently.
 
 
 

"Kethry!" Willow gasped. "I think that Riley and Buffy included some cookie dough in the food they bought for us. Why don't we make some cookies now?"
 
 
 

Kethry yawned. "Nuh uh. I'm tired, now. I want to hear poppa."
 
 
 

Spike clearly heard Willow's faint plea to her Goddess. "Well... I always thought your mummy was very, very pretty. And she's one of the smartest people I've ever met. She's very sweet and nice and--" 'makes me horny as anything?' "she always looked like she could be a lot of... fun."
 
 
 

Kethry giggled. "Without clothes?"
 
 
 

'Where the bloody hell is this chit getting her information?'
 
 
 

"_Kethry_!" Willow yelped. "That's it, young lady. No more questions for you. We're off to make ourselves some cookies."
 
 
 

"Only if poppa helps. You can help clean each other off it you get messy."
 
 
 

"Good Goddess," Willow breathed before she fled to the kitchen.

***

'Damned stubborn...' Kethry thought sourly as she watched Willow and Spike move through the kitchen, carefully keeping out of range of each other. She'd made sure that Willow had a touch of cookie dough at the corner of her lips. Spike had refrained from wiping it off, or Kethry's preferred method, kissing it off. Instead, he'd settled for handing Willow a towel and gesturing at her face. All in all, it was a massive disappointment.
 
 
 

'Maybe I should just arrange to have them loose all their laundry? Strip off their clothing as they sleep and put them in a pose that gives them no doubt as to the extent of the other's interest? Tell them that they need to have mad, passionate sex in order to defeat the demon?' Kethry glared at her chosen parents through narrowed blue eyes as she savagely attacked her nails with her teeth.

***

"I just don't _understand_!" Willow growled in frustration, her hand waving wildly in front of her open closet door. "One day, clothing. The next day, none." Spike's eyes seemed to be fixated on something that was most definitely _not_ Willow's empty closet. She followed his gaze, flushing hotly when she noted the top of her yellow robe was gaping. She yanked it shut with a brisk motion, deliberately tying the sash tighter around her trim waist.
 
 
 

"No loss, pet. Your clothes are hideous."
 
 
 

Willow growled at him.
 
 
 

"What's the matter, mummy? Don't you want daddy to see you naked anymore?" Kethry chirped.
 
 
 

"No!" Willow exclaimed. Seeing both 'father' and 'daughter' wince, Willow realized that she might have been a bit louder with her protest than she had thought.
 
 
 

"You don't love him, mummy? Don't mummies and daddies who love each other--"
 
 
 

"No!" Willow cried out again.
 
 
 

Kethry's lower lip trembled. "Are you going to leave daddy?"
 
 
 

'Breathe. Just breathe. I can do this. I am not going to go insane.' "Of course not, honey. It's just... ah, mummy's just cold. Yeah. Cold."
 
 
 

Kethry nodded in understanding. "I'll turn the heat up," she informed the redhead, scrambling off of Spike's lap and darting from the room.
 
 
 

Willow stared after her, aghast. "Bloody hell."
 
 
 

Spike chuckled.

***

"Goddess!" Willow yelped, hand slapping over her eyes as she whirled around, turning away from her temporary housemate. "Go put some clothes on, would you Spike. _Please_?" she begged.
 
 
 

"You aren't the only one whose clothing mysteriously vanished, luv." Even with her back turned, she could feel the grin in his voice.
 
 
 

"You were wearing plenty of them this morning!" Willow said with forced calmness.
 
 
 

"Kethry spilt her paints all over me. I went to take a shower. When I got out, my clothes were gone," Spike explained, as if their situation was completely natural. He didn't sound in the least embarrassed.
 
 
 

'Well duh,' Willow's mind snorted. 'With a body like that, why should he be? Besides, vampires never struck me as the shy type.'
 
 
 

"Great," she groaned.

***

He could feel that something was wrong. The very air trembled with a sense of anticipation and building magic. His demon stirred restlessly, and without conscious thought, Spike's demon's visage slid into place. Slitted golden eyes opened to the sight of Kethry silhouetted in the doorway between kitchen and living room.
 
 
 

"Kethry?"
 
 
 

She darted towards him, flinging herself into his arms and burying her tear stained face in his neck. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Her voice wobbled, fluctuating, innocent and ancient shattering apart and melding in her voice.
 
 
 

Alarm sprung to full life in Spike. He gently pulled the girl back far enough to see her face. Her skin was pale, blue veins vivid beneath the flesh. "_Kethry_?"
 
 
 

The girl's lower lip trembled. "I didn't want to hafta leave yet. Still so much to do, daddy. I like it here. I like you an' mummy. It isn't _fair_!"
 
 
 

Spike rose to his feet, the girl cradled against his chest. "Willow!" her name came out choked and not at all as steady as he was aiming for. And fine, Kethry was cute and devious and the impossible made real -- but he was a _demon_ and why did he have to care, anyway?

***

"What's wrong with her?" Willow nearly shrieked at Giles, hands twisting helplessly at her side, fingertips scraping against the pair of jeans she's found hidden in the basement.
 
 
 

Giles rocked back on his heels, eyes clouded. "I don't know--"
 
 
 

Tears sprang to Willow's eyes. "Damn it, Giles! You must know. You're smart. You can figure anything out if you _try_!"
 
 
 

Kethry's eyes fluttered open. "Don't get mad at Giles, mummy. He didn't know. It's the only way, but nobody's allowed to know."
 
 
 

Willow stumbled backwards, weak-kneed, and collided with Spike. Her hand crept backwards, latching onto the vampire's. Blunt nails dug into his flesh as Willow squeezed. "The spell."
 
 
 

The little girl smiled wearily. "The demon, it feeds off of love. And that's what I am. I'm a part of the love all of you in that circle felt, and I loved all of you. Taschreau - he's the one who wrote that spell - he was such a goose! Thought love had to be physical, that's why he asked for the lovers. But it doesn't. It just has to _be_. And I feed myself to that demon, until he's so full that he doesn't need to rise."
 
 
 

"Call Buffy--"
 
 
 

"I'll kill it--"
 
 
 

Kethry shook her head. "Can't. Not _here_ yet. And so very strong once it's on this plane. My job." She shifted her head against her pillow, looking at Giles. "May I please speak to them alone?" she asked, patting the Watcher's shaking hand fondly.
 
 
 

Giles nodded mutely and silently slipped from the room.
 
 
 

"You two have been very frustrating, you know," Kethry chided. "I'll have you know that I've been called an excellent matchmaker in the past, but you two!" She glared at Willow, "oh no! Don't you protest! You like each other. That's why I picked you two. As bad as the others are, at least they're heading in the right direction. You didn't even realize you weren't moving."
 
 
 

"That doesn't matter now--"
 
 
 

Kethry cut her chosen mother short. "That's the _only_ thing that matters right now."
 
 
 

Willow pulled away from Spike in order to kneel next to Kethry. Her face was flushed red with a mixture of embarrassment and tears. A shaking hand rested gently against Kethry's pale cheek. "I don't want you to go away. As vexing as some recent events have been... I don't think I've ever been quite so happy."
 
 
 

"You can still be happy." Kethry smiled and tugged at Willow, drawing the young woman closer to her. "Don't be shy, mummy - tell him. He won't laugh, or run away, or any of that other nasty stuff you worry about."
 
 
 

"Will that... help? With the demon? Enough for you not to... not to have to go?"
 
 
 

Kethry shook her head slowly. "I hafta go. I'm not real, not really."
 
 
 

Her eyes narrowed as Kethry turned her attention towards Spike. "And why are you still just standing there? Mourning woman who needs a strong male shoulder to cry on," she said, gesturing towards Willow. "Figured you'd make a move before it came to this! I must say, I am very, very disappointed in you, daddy."
 
 
 

"I'm being subtle."
 
 
 

"Subtle? You don't hafta be _subtle_ anymore, mister. Everyone here knows everything that should be known and all that we need now is for someone to _do_ something." Kethry paused, considering. "Would it help any if I closed my eyes and pretended not to be here?"
 
 
 

"I think I have a better idea," Spike said, "to make up for all that frustration we put you through." Kethry squealed at the grin that twitched to life on the vampire's face. He stepped forward, grasped Willow's upper arms and drew the already flushed redhead upwards. "You're in for one hell of a show, Kethry."
 
 
 

Kethry watched, stunned. "Oh, wow," she whispered before politely clenching her eyes shut and clamping her hands over them for good measure. 'He sure does know how to make up for lost time.'
 

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