~*~

Grasping tightly at her mommy's hand, Mina looked around her in awe. Never
before had she seen so many interesting things. There were ghosts and
goblins, princes and princesses, m &m's and some sort of furry things that
she couldn't quite identify. Not to mention the hundreds of other
interesting things. It was a wonderland. Somewhere she had only seen in her
dreams. Or one of Unca Wesley's weird smelly books.

Costumes.

"So what do you want to be, Mina?" Willow asked, kneeling down to look into
her child's awe-struck green eyes. As a parent it was one of the most
precious things she could ever have witnessed. The way the five year old's
eyes lit up as they scanned the various costumes. Halloween hadn't gone
over too well in the Rosenberg household when she was a child herself and
she was determined to make sure her child never was deprived of this
enormous childhood tradition.

Mina scrunched up her face, thinking hard. Her eyes roamed over the costumes
nearest her, nothing jumping out as the one she -had- to be. She sighed in
child-like exasperation. "Um. . .a witch like mommy?"

Willow laughed, tucking a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind Mina's
ear. "But mommy dresses normally, precious. That's not a very fun costume."

The child thought about it for a minute before nodding. Mommy was right, as
usual. It wouldn't be any fun to dress up in jeans and a t-shirt for
Halloween. She looked at the rack nearest her and watched as an older girl
chose a costume almost immediately. Why was this so hard?

"Do you want to wait? We have a couple weeks, darling." Willow asked
quietly. She knew her darling girl would be beautiful in whatever she
chose. "You can have Daddy-Spike bring you back tomorrow night after you
think about it some more."

"No!" Mina huffed and for a moment Willow saw the spoiled child she had
often prayed Mina would never be. Then it was gone, just as quick as it
came. She took a step back from her mother, straining up to grab hold of
the most recent package to catch her eye. Her fingers brushed the bag and
she sighed in frustration. Being short really did have its disadvantages.
"Mommy, help?"

Standing, Willow grabbed the package from its hook. She looked down into the
plastic bag, chuckling. "Are you sure this is what you want to be, dear
heart?"

Mina nodded, reaching up one small hand to take the bag from her mother's
hands. She clutched it to her chest, eyes shining. This was going to be the
best night of her -entire- life! Dressing funny, staying up past
bedtime -and- getting candy! It was the best of all worlds!

So why was mommy laughing?

~*~

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Angel asked his mate as he
shrugged on one of his many leather jackets.

Willow chuckled. "No thanks. I'll just stay here and make sure there's hot
cocoa waiting for her when she gets home." She stood, brushing a kiss across
her dark haired mate's smooth cheek.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Mina rushed into the living room, strawberry blonde hair
bouncing as she darted towards her mother. "Look! Daddy-Sire, look!" She
spun around, showing off the costume she had chosen.

"Yes, for heaven's sake, look at the chit." Spike chuckled, walking into the
room. Ice blue eyes sparkled with laughter as he watched his child spin for
her other two parents. He had already gone through this, having been the one
to dress her for the night.

"Is she what I think she is?" Angel asked, arching an eyebrow at his
bleached mate.

The younger vampire smirked. "Looks good on her, doesn't it, Sire?" he
asked softly, watching his daughter in awe.

Angel dropped to his knees, his demon roaring. "Mina, come here," he said
sharply.

The child put her hands on her hips and walked to her daddy, almost daring
him to say something negative about her costume. She was rather impressed
with the way it turned out, and liked what she was. And -why- was her daddy
looking at her like she was a different person? "Daddy-Sire?" she
whispered, tears filling her eyes at the idea that he didn't like her
costume.

Angel reached up with tentative fingers, brushing against the ridges on his
daughter's forehead. His demon slid forward in anger as her small amber
eyes blinked back the tears that were quickly filling them up. As a Master
Vampire, the demon roared against it - against a child, a -five- year old
becoming a vampire. He brushed his fingers against her fangs. "How?" he
whispered. He knew she was human, he could hear her heart beat.

"Daddy-Sire doesn't like it!" she sobbed, turning to Spike and wrapping her
arms around his legs. She sobbed against his knees, crushed that her daddy
didn't like her costume.

"Bloody hell, you wanker! It's a glamour spell! She wanted to be like us,
and look what you've done! You've made her cry!" Spike cried, picking the
girl up and holding her tightly. He couldn't understand why Angel was so
upset - when he watched as Willow put the spell on Mina, he fell in love
with her all over again, amazed at how beautiful his little girl was with
the face of a demon.

Angel's heart fell. He'd hurt her feelings. She was trying to be like him
and Spike, and he'd hurt his feelings, with his demon's reaction. "Baby,"
he murmured softly, standing up and walking to Spike. "Baby, you are
beautiful. . .it just shocked me."

She turned, blinking big amber eyes at him. "You really like it,
Daddy-Sire? I wanted to be just like you and Daddy-Spikey." Her bottom lip
quivered.

Angel smiled softly, his demon retreating. "You are the most beautiful
vampire I've ever seen, baby. And I've even seen your mommy as a vampire,
and you are more beautiful than she was. And I think that was one of the
nights I fell in love with her."

The smile that graced Mina's face lit up the whole room. "Momma!
Daddy-Sire said I am prettier than you when I'm grr! And I know you must
have been really pretty, momma."

Willow smiled, kissing her child's forehead. "You are beautiful, dear
heart."

Mina wiggled in Spike's arms. "I think I want to get candy now! Please!?
I want to go out and see all the other costumes!"

Spike put her down and she grabbed both Spike and Angel's hands, smiling up
at both of them. "Are you going to go grr, or do I have to be grr all by
myself?"

Both of them automatically slipped into gameface. She grinned, then looked
up at Willow. "Momma, are you sure you don't want to go? It'll be fun. .
."

"No, baby, I'm going to let you go out with your daddies. You have a good
time, Mina, and I'll have cocoa waiting for you when you get back." She
dropped to her knees and hugged her tightly.

"Can we have marshmallows too, momma? Daddy-Spikey likes the marshmallows.
. ." she whispered softly, as if it were a secret.

"We will even have marshmallows," Willow smiled, kissing her forehead.

"I'll share my candy with you, momma." Her eyes widened. "Oh! I need my
bag!" She scampered out of the room to go find her bag.

Angel reached down, cupping Willow's elbow. He pulled her up and kissed
her, running his hands through her hair. He pulled away, smiling around
fangs. "Sorry for upsetting her, it just shocked me. She is beautiful
though."

Willow shrugged, running her fingers along Angel's neck. "She was upset
because there were no ridges for the mask, and she didn't like the fangs
because they looked so fake. She was thrilled when she saw herself in the
mirror the first time."

"I think she's bloody beautiful," Spike said, moving to stand behind Willow.
He dropped his head, running his lips along her neck. "Glad she doesn't
have a demon, but she's beautiful."

Willow giggled and slipped out between the two vampires. "Come on, guys.
If we get started, then she will be upset she didn't get any candy." She
smirked slightly.

Mina chose that moment to run out and hold up her bag. "I'm ready!" she
squealed.

~*~

"Ok, Princess," Spike murmured softly. "To be truly stealthy and sneak
around in the dark, you have to watch your Daddy-Sire. He's much better at
it than I am. He is the -King- of skulking."

"Daddy-Sire, what is skulking?" Mina asked, looking up at Angel. "Can I be
the Princess of skulking?"

Angel chuckled. "Of course you can, Princess." He watched as she broke away
from them to run up the sidewalk and to a well-lit house. Keen vampiric
senses listened for anything amiss as she waited for the door to open and
her candy to appear.

"Daddy-Sire. . .Daddy-Spike! She gave me peanut butter cups!" The strawberry
blonde child held up the prize for her daddies to see as she came walking
back. A few of the nearest children looked on with envy before running
towards the house she had came from.

"Way to go, Princess!" Spike laughed, holding out a hand. He waited until
she had wrapped her small digits around one of his fingers before walking
towards the next house. "Who would have thought, Peaches? You and me - two
dads taking their kid out for Halloween."

Angel grinned. "Its still pretty weird sometimes, I'll admit. But I wouldn't
have it any other way."

Mina looked back and forth between her daddies, completely lost. "Wouldn't
have -what- any other way?"

"Daddy-Sire just meant that we wouldn't give you up for the bloody world,
Strawberries." He swooped her into his arms, twirling her high in the air
before setting her down on the ground again. She laughed, standing still a
moment to catch her balance.

"Again?" Her tiny voice pleaded, holding her arms up to Spike.

"Later, baby. You don't want to waste prime candy getting time."

Mina thought about it for a moment before nodding. Daddy-Spike was right yet
again. He was so smart when he wanted to be. She looked at the house in
front of her and turned to her daddies, saying very seriously. "I'll be
right back."

Clutching her bag tightly in her hand, the five year old made her way up to
the house. There was only a little light on on the porch but her daddies had
told her that was the sign that there was candy to get. Her eyes grew round
as they alighted on a huge bowl of candy sitting on a table on the porch.

Directly behind the bowl was one of the biggest scarecrows the child had
ever seen and for a moment she was tempted to run back to her daddies. It
was awfully scary looking - straw sticking out of everywhere, the eyes dark
and the mouth full of sharp looking teeth. She swallowed, forcing her fear
to the back of her mind. Nothing would hurt her with her daddies standing
only. . .

She looked behind her, giving them a weak smile.

No. . .nothing would hurt her with her daddies standing so very far away.
Right?

With a trembling hand she reached for the bowl, wrapping her fingers around
the nearest treat.

"BOO!"

"Aaaagghhhh!!!" Mina shrieked, dropping her bag and her newest treat and
freezing in terror. The scarecrow was moving. Her heart beat rapidly in her
tiny chest, pounding furiously. Where was Daddy-Sire and Daddy-Spike?

"You soddin twit!" Spike roared, scrambling onto the porch and grabbing a
hold of the practical joker even as Angel picked up the now sobbing Mina.
"Get her candy and take her to the street, Sire. I need to teach this daft
git not to scare small children anymore."

Angel nodded, bending to pick up the discarded sack of candy before carrying
his teary eyed child out to the street. He didn't worry about Spike hurting
the ignorant joker, there was no way he could with the chip in his head. The
dark haired vampire didn't doubt for a second though that his Childe would
put a genuine fear into the man.

"What's Daddy-Spike doing?" Mina asked, wiping her tears on the sleeve of
her costume. She twisted in her daddy's arms, trying to see back on the
porch.

"He's just letting the nice man know not to scare kids anymore, princess."
Angel murmured. He could hear the conversation going on between his Childe
and the practical joker. Things like 'don't kill me' and 'I didn't mean to'
never ceased to tumble from the mortal's lips. Finally he heard what he knew
Spike had been waiting for - 'I'll never do it again!'

"Good!" Mina declared, she brushed a kiss across her daddy's cheek, waiting
for her other daddy to join them.

"Come here, ducks." Spike held out his hands, taking the precious cargo from
Angel. He held her to him, hugging her tight and giving his Sire a look that
clearly stated that no one would -ever- get away with harming or scaring
her. "Ready to get some more candy now?"

The young girl shook her head, yawning heavily. "Sleepy." She blinked at her
daddies. "Can we go home to mommy now?"

~*~

Willow glanced up from her spell book, frowning slightly when she heard
Spike grumbling, "Soddin' wanker, scaring Mina like that. I promise you,
Peaches, if she wakes up with one bloody nightmare, I am going back to that
house and I will hurt him, chip or no chip."

Willow's eyes widened, and she jumped up, rushing to her family. "What
happened?" she asked quickly, taking in Angel's weary human façade and Spike
's angry amber eyes. It had been a long time since Willow had seen Spike's
demon so ready to strike out.

"Some bloody wanker was a scarecrow, and sat on the porch, and terrified the
hell out of Mina," Spike hissed.

"He looked as if he were a dummy scarecrow," Angel explained. "When she
walked up to get candy, he yelled boo at her, and she lost it."

"Oh my goddess!" Willow exclaimed, her brow coming together in anger at the
idiot who was scaring children like that. She reached out, pulling Mina out
of Angel's arms.

The child wiped her eyes sleepily, brushing away the still streaming tears
from her cheek. "Mommy, the scarecrow scared me," she whimpered softly.

Willow held her tightly, automatically vowing never to let her child get
scared like that again. She rocked her body gently, trying to comfort the
little girl. "Dear heart?"

"Mmm?" Mina murmured.

"Do you want to see what kind of candy you got?"

"Mommy, want to go to bed. And I want my fangs to go away. They are
starting to bother me," she replied sullenly.

Willow murmured to herself, taking the glamour spell away. Mina pushed
herself up, two identical pairs of emerald eyes meeting. "Mommy, that man
was mean."

"Yes, baby, he was," Willow replied.

"But my daddies were my heroes. Daddy-Sire held me while Daddy-Spikey
scared him back," Mina giggled slightly. She sighed, shifting in her mother
's arms. "Mommy, can I sleep with my candy?"

Willow snickered. "You know, your Uncle Xander used to do the very same
thing when we were your age."

"Wanker's probably sleeping with his candy now," Spike muttered, stalking
off, still trying to control his anger.

Angel shook his head, glancing at Willow. She nodded slightly, and he
walked off, trying to soothe his Childe's demon.

"Do you think Uncle Xander is sleeping with his candy, mommy? Can we call
him and see?" Mina asked. She loved her Uncle Xander, he was so much like
her, and liked all the things she did. She knew that he was going to be a
teacher one day and thought that he would be the best teacher in the world,
and hoped and prayed that one day she would end up in his class.

"If you want to, baby," she said, putting her down.

The two of them walked over to the phone and Mina climbed in the chair,
picking up the receiver. She studied the multi-lined phone, brushing her
small fingers over the five-year-old writing she'd done over the buttons.
She pushed the one that said 'Uncas Zander and Gram.' She chewed her bottom
lip, looking up at the ceiling while she waited for the phone to be
answered.

"'lo?"

"Unca Graham!" Mina squealed happily.

"Hey, kiddo! Did you have a good Halloween?" Graham asked, running his
fingers through his hair.

"I did, until a stupid scarecrow made me scream. Daddy-Spikey made sure he
wouldn't be mean to anyone else though," Mina said matter-of-factly.

"Are you ok?"

"Yea, now that I'm home." She bounced on her heels. "I love you, Unca
Graham. Can I talk to Unca Xander?"

Graham chuckled, knowing that his lover and the five year old had a special
bond. "Yea, hang on." He handed the phone to Xander, who was snuggled next
to him, eating popcorn and watching the horror movie with wide eyes.

Xander took the phone, never taking his eyes off the screen. Even though it
was muted, and he -knew- Freddy Kruger was going to kill the girl on the
screen, he was still prepared to have the shit scared out of him. "Hello?"

"Unca Xander!" Mina squealed.

"Hey, girl! Did you get a -lot- of candy?" he asked.

"I did! Next Halloween, will you go with me and my daddies?"

"Sure, kiddo, if your daddies want me to go with you," Xander replied,
trying to pull his eyes away from the television, but failing.

"They will, cause I said so," she huffed. "Unca Xander? Can I ask you
something?"

"Yep."

"Do you still sleep with your candy? Cause I'm a big girl now, and I won't
sleep with my candy, unless you do, cause I know you are a big boy," Mina
said, nodding at her logic.

Xander smirked, squeezing Graham's hand. "Sleep with my candy every night,
Kitten."

Mina squealed. "Goody! I gotta go now! Love you!" She hung up before he
could respond.

Xander chuckled, then jumped when Freddy killed the girl. He pushed himself
against Graham, who wrapped him in his arms. "I think you just watch these
movies to get closer to me, Xander," Graham said softly.

"Perhaps," Xander murmured with a smirk.

~*~

"See, and this is a peanut butter cup," Mina said, pushing the candy to her
Cocker Spaniel. The light brown puppy barked happily at Mina, then sat down
on his haunches to chew at the paper of the cup.

"No, Jesse! You can't have that! That's -my- peanut butter cup!" Mina
cried, pulling the candy out of her dog's grasp. The puppy barked
playfully, then jumped on Mina, knocking her down. "Jesse!"

The dog started to lick her face and Mina started giggling uncontrollably,
trying to push him off. "Get up, doggy!" she cried.

Suddenly, Jesse whimpered, being pulled off his favorite person in the
house. The dog turned his head, barking loudly at Angel, who sat down on
the edge of the bed. He petted the dog, then set him on the floor, where
Jesse promptly went to the corner and circled, finally coming to a nice
resting spot.

"Mina?" Angel asked, glancing down at his smiling daughter. He found
himself smiling back at her, watching her eyes dance with the same glee he
saw in her mother's eyes every night.

"Daddy, you won't let me have nightmares, will you?"

"I'll try not too, Kitten, but if you do, come and wake us up."

"I will, Daddy-Sire." She yawned, spreading her legs out, pushing the candy
aside. "Can I really sleep with my candy?"

"Just for tonight, baby."

"But Unca Xander does it every night."

Angel's eyebrow rose and he smirked, knowing Xander had been talking about
Graham. "Well, you act a lot older than Uncle Xander, don't you?"

Mina giggled, then lowered her voice. "I thought I was the only one that
knew."

"No, pet, we all know," Spike murmured, sitting on the other side of Mina.
He reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "Ready for bed, luv?"

"In the morning, will you get up and eat breakfast with me?" she asked both
of her fathers. "Even if you do like icky blood instead of milk in your
corn flakes?"

"Not me, that's -all- Daddy-Spikey," Angel grimaced.

"Yea, pet, I'll get up and eat with you." He glanced up at Angel. "Sire?"

"Like I'm going to start resisting her now," Angel grinned.

Spike leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Just wake us up when you are
ready to eat," he murmured against her skin. "Daddy-Sire might even make
you eggs if you are a good girl."

Mina squealed happily, loving her daddy's eggs. "I'll be extra good," she
promised. She sat up and gave Spike a quick kiss on the lips, then did the
same to Angel. "I'm going to bed now, so you go to bed too."

The vampires stood up and murmured goodnight. They met Willow at the door,
both kissing her softly. They left when the woman walked in. She went to
her daughter's bed, quietly thanking her goddess again for the millionth
time that day for the little girl. "Ready for bed?"

Mina yawned. "Yes, mommy."

Willow tucked her in, then leaned over, kissing her softly. "I'll see you
in the morning."

Mina blinked sleepily. "Night, mommy. Don't forget to turn on my Scooby
Doo nightlight."

Willow smirked, knowing that Mina loved the Scooby Doo things her family had
given her over the years. "I won't, baby." She went to the nightlight and
turned it on. She walked to the door, glancing back at her daughter, who
was already surrendering to sleep. "I love you, Mina," she murmured softly
before turning off the light and shutting the door.

~*~End~*~

next