~*~

Willow walked along the promenade, basking in the sun. She was holding Mina
's hand in one hand, and carrying a few bags in the other. Cordelia was on
the other side of Mina, talking animatedly about some fight Gunn and Wesley
had gotten into the day before, and how much it made her laugh. Willow
chuckled, knowing that when the two started fighting, it was a humorous
thing to watch. "That is funny, Del. Almost as funny as watching *you* and
Wesley fight."

"Hey!" Cordelia huffed, before smiling. "You know, you really are beautiful
pregnant." She sighed wistfully at her five-month pregnant friend,
remembering the time a few years back when she had been inseminated with the
demon babies. Even though she knew they were little demons, and she was
glad they hadn't been brought to term, she still remembered what it was like
to carry a baby, how protective and motherly she felt.

"So what about you and Gunn? Do you want to have kids?"

"Eventually. If he'd ever propose," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I swear,
every time I think he's going to, he doesn't. I know he loves me, and he
loves being with me, I just don't understand why he doesn't want to make me
Mrs. Gunn."

"Ok," Mina said, trying her best to keep up with her mother and her Aunt
Cordelia's conversation. "I know what to do, to make sure that he stays
with you forever."

Cordelia's eyebrow rose at Willow, then she glanced down at the strawberry
blonde little girl. "And what would that be, Mina?"

"Ok," she said, as if she knew everything. "You have to share your crayons
with him, cause he likes that. I mean, at least Matthew likes it when I
share mine with him, because mine are better than his. He colors really
hard, so all of his are real small, so I let him use mine, as long as he
promises not to color hard. And food. Unca Xander likes food, and if I
want him to do something for me, all I have to do is give him a Twinkie."

Cordelia smirked, glancing up at Willow. "She's startin' young, Wills.
Gonna tell her daddies? You know they will *love* that."

Willow laughed, knowing all about the boy Matthew that sat next to Mina in
class. The way Mina talked about him reminded her of how she was around
Xander at that age. However, every time Matthew's name came up around Angel
and Spike, the dark haired vampire would growl, while the blonde would start
exclaiming *very* loudly about how men weren't worth anything and he would
just hurt his Princess, and she needed to stay far, far away from him. "I
don't know how well that would go over."

Mina giggled. "My daddies are silly. They think I want to run away with
Matthew and be his Princess! I don't, I want to be their Princess."

"And you are, baby," Willow grinned at her little girl, silently thanking
her goddesses again for giving her to them.

"Willow?"

All three stopped walking. Willow froze, recognizing the quiet voice, even
after five years. She turned around slowly, clutching Mina's hand. Her
eyes widened slightly and she inhaled sharply. "Oz," she murmured.

Mina stepped closer to Willow, clutching her hand tightly. There was
something different about the man that stood in front of her, something she
wasn't sure if she liked.

"Willow," he smiled slightly. "Cordelia." He nodded to the oddly quiet
beautiful woman. Oz studied her curiously, wondering what in the world
could make Cordelia Chase not talk. He gazed at the beautiful girl between
the women, knowing instinctively that she was Willow's daughter. "And who
is this?" he asked softly, smiling slightly.

Willow cleared her throat. "This is my daughter, Mina."

"She belongs to Angel and Spike," Cordelia said hurriedly, not wanting Oz to
know that he was the real father of Mina.

Oz's eyebrow rose. "Angel and Spike?" He glanced up at Willow. "So that's
who you are with nowadays?"

"Yes," Willow replied, "and we are very happy."

Oz smiled softly. "I'm happy for you. The three of you should come to
Eternities tomorrow night. The Dingoes are playing there."

"We might have to do that," Willow replied quietly, relieved that Oz didn't
have any questions about Mina or her heritage.

"And you, my dear," Oz said, taking Mina's hand, "are a jewel. I'm sure you
make your mother proud." He leaned down and kissed her hand, then stilled.
He flipped her tiny limb and pressed his nose against her wrist, a slight
rumbling echoing through his chest.

Mina yelped and yanked her hand away, hiding behind her mother. "Momma, don
't let him get me!"

Oz stood up, his eyes darkening to almost liquid blue. Willow could tell
that he was having trouble holding the wolf in him back. "Willow," he
growled, "tell me I didn't smell myself on her."

Willow picked Mina up and glared at Oz. "We have to go now. Angel and
Spike are waiting for me to get home." She grabbed Cordelia's arm. "Come
on, Delia." The two women turned and hurried off, leaving the growling man
standing alone on the promenade.
 

~*~*~

Running a finger gently over the glass frame in front of him, Spike found it
hard to believe that it had been five months since the day the picture
within portrayed. A faint smile pushed up at the corners of his mouth as he
remembered the moment in question. They - Willow, Mina, himself and Angel -
had lined up for one brief moment under the mid-day sun so that Cordelia
could take a picture of the event. Something to hold for all time in
posterity since it was doubtful two of those involved would ever show up in
a picture again - much less outside during the daytime.

His head jerked up as the doors to the hotel slammed shut. He was on his
feet in a second, dodging stray blotches of sunlight as he sprinted to where
his daughter was sobbing in her mother's arms, Cordelia not far behind.
"What happened?" His eyes bled to gold as he took the crying child into his
arms. He could tell that Willow was upset too and the cheerleader didn't
look as though she was going to volunteer the information. "What's wrong
Princess?"

"M. . .mean man. . .growled at me. . .he sniffed me Daddy then he
*growled*!" The beautiful child shook in his arms, remembering the weird
man who had seemed so nice at first but then so monstrous in only a short
time.

"What?" Spike turned to Willow. "Love, what happened?"

Willow looked up; her eyes rimmed in unshed tears. She couldn't believe that
she was being forced to go through this. Not after all the time she had
spent putting it far behind her. She had a wonderful family now, why did
*he* have to come back into her life. With a deep breath she uttered the one
name no one wanted to hear. "Oz."

"Bloody Hell!" Spike roared. Mina covered her ears and he was immediately
sorry for the outburst. "Sorry, Princess."

"What's going on?" Angel asked, taking the steps two at a time. He had heard
his Childe's outburst all the way back in their rooms and had immediately
feared the worst. He looked at his sniffling daughter, her head buried in
the blonde haired vampire's chest and then at her mother. Spike was
growling softly, his eyes gold. Angel looked at Cordelia, somehow
unsurprised when she held up her hands as if to say 'I'm staying out of this
' and hurried to the elevator. "Spike? What happened?"

The blonde looked at his Sire, eyes slowly softening out to the crystal blue
they had been as a human. "They saw Oz while they were out."

Angel blinked, as if trying to make sense of the words he had just heard
even though they were utterly simplistic at best. "Oz? Here? In LA?" He
turned to Willow for confirmation, letting out a heavy sigh when the red
head nodded. "Does he know? About Mina?"

"Couldn't really be helped." Willow whispered. "Part of the whole werewolf
thing, I guess. He can smell himself all over her." She frowned. "He started
growling when he realized it and it scared Mina. We got away as quick as we
could." Her green eyes bored into first Angel's then Spike's. "He can't take
her from me. . .can he?"

Passing Mina to Angel, Spike put his arm around Willow's shoulders. "No one,
and I repeat, no one will *ever* take *our* child from us, pet." He kissed
her forehead, trying to still the unease he felt in his own undead heart.
Though he doubted Oz could legally do anything to take the child from them,
he honestly didn't like the idea of the guitarist being anywhere near the
girl. She already had two daddies and he'd be damned if she needed another
one. "No need to worry pet. You probably won't even see him again. It's a
bloody big city, after all."

Willow nodded, common sense finally returning to her brain. "You're right.
He's only here for a gig with the Dingoes then he'll be on his way again. It
was just a shock. To see him after so long. . ."

"And he scared Mina." Angel put in gently, moving up beside his red haired
mate. He kissed her on her cheek, still cradling the girl in his arms. The
excitement of the day had finally gotten to her and she was sleeping
peacefully in his arms, a small frown line creasing her delicate forehead.
"You just had a normal reaction - worrying." He smiled at her. "Come on, let
's put her to bed and then we can see about getting you calmed down some. "

Spike grinned. He took Willow's hand in his own, pulling her towards the
stairs. "Yeah, pet. We want to 'calm you down'." He smirked. "Don't worry
about the mutt. He has no idea where you are. In a few days he can go back
to being what he was to begin with - a bad memory."
 

~*~*~

The big bad vampire with pointy teeth stalked the blonde as she stood
against the maroon wall. "I will bite you and drink all of your blood!" he
exclaimed.

"Oh oh, help me please! Won't someone please help me!" the blonde cried in
a falsetto voice, terrified of the vampire walking towards her.

"I will save you, Princess!" a guy dressed in camouflage exclaimed,
appearing out of nowhere. There was a struggle between the vampire and the
Commando, until finally, water trickled out of the sky to land on the
vampire.

"No! Not the water!" the vampire cried, falling over dead.

The Commando walked to the blonde and pressed against her in a hug of sorts.
"Barbie, are you ok?"

"Thank you, G. I. Joe, for saving me!"

Mina sat back on her heels, staring at her three dolls. She chewed on her
bottom lip, then stuck her tongue out at the plastic vampire with a black
cape. "You aren't even like a real vampire," she said, picking him up. "I
mean, my daddies don't go around killing people. But then, they are special
vampires. They are good because of. . .because of. . ." She faltered. She
shrugged. "They are good. And they don't wear stupid capes." She pulled
the cape off the vampire. She stretched out on the floor, her legs bent at
the knees, her feet dangling in the air.

She loved her dolls, her momma had given her the Barbie, and her Uncle
Xander found one of his old G. I. Joes, saying it reminded him of her Uncle
Graham. He reminded the little girl of Graham too, having seen him walk
around in the all green attire more than once.

The vampire had been a gift from her Daddy-Spikey. One late night when they
snuck out of their home and gone to Wal-Mart to get her some candy, they
went down the toy aisle and she saw the vampire, shrieking with delight.
She wanted it, knowing that was what her daddies were, even if he didn't
have the right kind of face.

Willow watched her daughter, smiling slightly. It had been three days since
seeing Oz again, and she was thankful that they hadn't heard from him. She
finally decided maybe the band left LA and moved on, and Oz was with them.

"You love her so much, don't you?"

She jumped slightly, turning with an embarrassed face to Gunn. "Yea," she
murmured, having gotten wrapped up in watching Mina play with her dolls.
She had forgotten Gunn was sitting there with her, researching the latest
demon. "I do. She's my entire world. I don't know what I'd do if. . ."
Her voice faltered and tears filled her eyes, the unspoken fear hanging in
the air.

Gunn reached over and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, Willow. No one will
take her away from us. I promise."

"I know," Willow said, wiping her tears away. "I just. . .I didn't want her
to know about Oz, you know? I mean, she is so happy with her fathers. .
.she doesn't need that in her life. But then. . .is that even fair of me?"
Her conscience had caught up with her, wondering if she should have called
Oz when she found out she was pregnant so many years before.

"Willow, he gave up all rights he had when he A - slept with the other
chick, then B - didn't even bother to find you after sleeping with you the
last time. If he wanted to make sure you were ok, make sure that you weren'
t with child, he would have. But obviously, he didn't. You haven't needed
him to this point, and you know you never will."

"I know," Willow said softly. "I just. . .I mean. . .is it fair to her?"

Gunn laughed. "I don't think anyone could ever love her as much as Angel
and Spike do."

"Yea," she murmured softly.

The door opened, then closed. Willow stood up, ready to walk around the
counter to see who had graced their presence, who needed their help that
day.

Mina glanced up and paled, remembering the strange man from a couple of days
before. "Momma," she whispered, not liking the way he was looking at her.
It was a mixture of the dopey look her daddies got when they looked at her
and the angry look they got right before they went 'grr'. "Momma," she said
a little louder, standing up. He was coming towards her now, breathing
heavy, smelling the air around her. She clutched her vampire doll to her
chest, hoping that the vampire could magically be real and eat him.
"MOMMA!" she shrieked when she hit the maroon couch she'd been using for a
wall.

Willow rushed around the corner, running to Mina. She picked the girl up,
then turned, glad that her daughter had buried her face in her neck. "Oz!"
she hissed. "I would appreciate it if you would stop scaring my child!"

"Your child?" he asked angrily, looking up at her. "She is just as much
mine as she is yours."

"No, she isn't!" Willow exclaimed angrily. "She belongs to me, to Spike,
and to Angel! She is *not* yours!"

Oz stepped forward again, only to be stopped by Gunn stepping in between
them. "Excuse me, man, but this is a place of business, and if you don't st
op threatening my bosses' mate and their daughter, I'm going to have to beat
your ass."

Oz snarled at Gunn. "Get out of my way. You can't hurt me, you are mere
human."

Willow peaked around Gunn, her eyes widening as she saw Oz's claws start to
grow. She closed her eyes and *flooded* her bond to the vampires with fear,
knowing that they would come running.

Gunn noticed the claws too, but didn't dare move. He knew that the small
man before him could hurt him, but at this point, he didn't care. He only
knew that he had to protect Mina and Willow. < Dude, just don't let him
bite you. Willow said that was the only way you can get turned to a wolf, >
he thought, mentally gauging his opponent's available weapons.

"Move," Oz demanded, his eyes becoming liquid as he spoke.

"After you've left, man," Gunn nodded, wishing he had a stake or an axe, or
something.
 

With a snarl, Oz launched at Gunn, slashing at his chest with the claws.
The two men went down, Gunn trying his best to beat the smaller man up.
They rolled around the floor, claws and hands flying everywhere.

Both Willow and Mina screamed, the redhead running to the counter and
ducking behind it. She held Mina as close as she could, knowing that she
would never let go of her daughter - that they would have to pry the child
out of her dead arms in order to get her.

Spike and Angel crashed out of their room, running down the hallway, then
the stairs. They'd been lying in bed, alternating between talking and
making love when they first felt the fear from Willow. They both scrambled
out of bed and were dressing when they heard Willow scream.

It didn't matter to either of them that they were wearing only pants.
Something was wrong, and they had to fix it - *now*.

Both of them stopped, staring at the scene with wide eyes. Gunn and an
almost full-blown werewolf were fighting. Gunn saw the two of them and
yelled, "Stop staring and get Dogboy off of me!"

"Find Willow. They are human, your chip will go off," Angel demanded,
storming towards the werewolf that would *dare* disrupt his family.

Spike hissed angrily, cursing the chip for the millionth time since he'd
gotten it. He wanted to kill, wanted to taste the blasted werewolf's blood.
He stormed to the counter where he could hear his mate and daughter's hearts
pounding triple time. He inhaled unnecessarily and calmed his nerves,
walking around the counter to them. Willow was huddled in the corner, her
back towards him. Mina was in her embrace, crying with her mother.

Spike put his hand on her back and she tensed. "You can't have her!" Willow
exclaimed through her sobs.

Spike cursed himself for not saying anything before touching his fear-filled
mate. He kneeled, chuckling slightly, hoping he could calm her down. "But
what if I want my Princess?" he purred softly.

"Spike," Willow breathed, turning her head to look at him.

"Daddy-Spikey," Mina sobbed, reaching around her mother to him.

Spike gathered both females in his arms, holding them tightly, vowing right
then and there that the werewolf was going to die.

Angel grabbed the back of Oz's head and yanked him away from Gunn. He
glared down at the small man/werewolf, not flinching from the sight of the
man halfway given to his demon. "I am not scared of you, Oz." His gameface
slid into place. "So you wanna have our demons fight? I don't think you'd
survive."

Oz looked up at Angel, cringing in slight fear. He knew that he was
threatening the family of the vampire and that wasn't sitting to well with
him. He closed his eyes and forced the wolf part of him back down. He
looked up at Angel. "I'm sorry. I only came to see *my* daughter, and when
I saw her. . .I can't control him, Angel. I've been able to do it for so
long, and I. . .I can't. Not around her. But. . .she's my daughter! I
need to see her. Please let me see her," he begged.

"She isn't your daughter, Oz. She's *my* daughter. I'm the one who's
kissed her goodnight and tucked her in every night for the last five years.
She's *Spike's* daughter. He's the one who tells her preposterous tales to
help her sleep. I suggest you leave."

Oz's eyes narrowed at being dismissed just like that. "Don't think I won't
be back. You and Spike can't always be with her." He pushed at Angel
angrily and turned, walking out of the hotel.

Angel kneeled, grimacing at Gunn. He had scratches all over him and his
clothes were torn. The scent of his blood was thick in the air, causing the
demon to want to lean down and clean his family member off with his tongue.
He resisted the urge, knowing that Gunn wouldn't really care for that too
much.

"Gunn, did he bite you?"

Gunn's eyebrow rose, his eyes dancing with amusement. "No 'good fight, man!
' Or, 'Damn, Gunn, you tried to kick his ass, but you look like hell!' Oh,
what about, 'You could have taken him, I have faith in ya, dawg.' " He
smirked.

Angel rolled his amber eyes.

"Yea, Angel, I'm peachy, and no, he didn't bite me. I stayed out of teeth's
range."

"Good," Angel said, helping the young man stand.

Cordelia walked in at that moment, weighed down with more gifts for the
upcoming twins. "Was that Oz I passed coming in?" Her gaze fell on Angel
and Gunn, her eyes widening at the cuts and blood covering her boyfriend.
"Charles!" she cried, throwing her stuff down. She ran to him, throwing her
arms around him, not caring that she was covering herself in his blood. She
looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Yea, Boo, I'm fine," he replied, smiling. He felt a warmth pass through
him, knowing that his very dainty and pristine girl hadn't cared that she
was covered in his blood, only wanting to feel him against her. He ran his
fingers down her cheek. "And I didn't get bit, so I'm still human."

Tears spilled on her cheeks and she leaned up, crushing her lips against
his. She kissed him eagerly, filled with passion. She pulled away, her
eyes blazing with anger. "What happened? Why did you try to take out the
werewolf?"

"He was trying to hurt Mina and Willow," Gunn explained.

Cordelia nodded, accepting that as an acceptable reason to try to take out
something that he wouldn't be able to stop. "Ok." She glanced around. "I
have to take him upstairs and clean him off. The bags by the door are for
the babies, and there's a present for Mina in them." She leaned up and
kissed Angel's cheek. "I'm taking care of Gunn, make sure that Willow and
Mina are ok."

"Thanks, Del," Angel murmured, patting her back. He smiled at Gunn.
"Thanks for protecting them."

"With my life, Dawg," Gunn nodded, following his girl upstairs.
 

~*~*~

"Where's Mina?" Willow sighed, looking up at the lobby. Her eyes scanned
over the tables and chairs, searching for her lovely child. She cleared her
throat, raising her voice. "Mina? Where are you, precious?"

Cordelia looked around the lobby, fear entering her heart. She could see no
sign of the bubbly five year-old that had been playing in the lobby only
moments before. As Willow called out again, fearfully, the former
cheerleader picked up the phone, ringing upstairs to the vampires. "Angel. .
.you and Spike need to come down here, now." She hung up before he could ask
any questions and walked out around the counter, joining Willow in her
search for the girl she had come to think of as her own niece. "Mina?"

Angel's nostrils flared angrily as he came down the steps, his Childe in
tow. "Where is he?"

Willow looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "Where is who?" She shook off
her confusion, eyes growing moist. "Oh, Angel, Spike. Mina. . .she's gone."

The vampires' faces shifted in a split second, dangerous growls coming off
of their lips. The darker haired of the two looked out at the bright sunlit
streets, cursing them. "Oz. . ."

The red head's face fell. Her mates could sense the guitarist's smell no
doubt. That meant he had been in the room. And now Mina was missing. Her
heart sunk. "Oh goddess. It's been two weeks. We were careless. I should
have never taken my eyes off of her. . ."

Spike took his sobbing mate in his arms, his eyes meeting his Sire's over
her head. There would be hell to pay for this. "Don't worry, pet. We will
find her. I bloody well promise. There's no where that mutt can hide that we
won't find her." He saw his Sire nod assent and knew that it was true. They
would find Oz and make him pay.

~*~*~

Mina glared bravely at the man standing in front of her. He had done nothing
to hurt her. Well, other than take her from her mommy and daddies.

"Do you want something to drink, Mina?" Oz asked quietly, smiling gently at
the five year old seated on his couch. He sighed when he got no response
from her, as usual. In the six hours since he had taken her from the hotel
she lived at she hadn't spoken a single word to him. Just glared at him
with her little accusatory looks. Why couldn't she understand that he just
wanted to get to know her? That he would never hurt her.

He sighed, throwing himself into a chair across from her and watching as she
picked nervously at the hem of her dress. "Mina. Are you sure there's
nothing I can do for you?"

His sensitive ears picked up the most faint of murmurings from the child. He
leaned forward, his expression calm. "What was that?"

"Please, take me back to my mommy and daddies. . ." Mina looked up at the
bad man with tears in her eyes. She sobbed loudly before swallowing her
cries. "Please?"

Oz groaned. "I can't do that. You're mine. They were wrong to keep me from
you. We're family." The part of him that was wolf wouldn't let this go,
though he had tried for many nights to just let it be. He had tried all the
meditating and medicines he could get his hands on. Drinking himself into
oblivion hadn't proved helpful either. Nothing would let the wolfy side of
him give her up. She was his -child-. She belonged with him.

"NO!" Mina screamed. "You are not my 'family'! Unca Graham and Unca Xander
are family. Mommy and Daddy-Sire and Daddy-Spike are family! You are a bad
bad man!" She crossed her arms, tears streaming down her face. "I hate you.
Let. Me. Go. Home."

Oz growled softly, struggling to control the wolf. How dare his own child
speak to him like that? With a considerable amount of effort he pushed back
the darkness threatening to ride over him. He stood, stalking to the door
and chaining it up top. There was no way she would get out of there that
night and he needed to get a few winks of sleep anyway. "If you decide you
need anything. Or want anything. Wake me up." He walked to his room, making
sure to leave the door open and crawled into bed.

Mina listened carefully until the mean man had fallen asleep before she
crawled out of the chair. With trembling steps she made her way to the phone
near the TV, her fingers dialing her home number from memory. She was glad
mommy had made her remember it. Just for times like this. "Mommy?" She
listened as her mother yelled and screamed, until the phone was taken from
her. "Daddy-Sire?. . .No he didn't hurt me. . .He's scary. . .Daddy. . .Come
get me?" Fat tears spilled over her cheeks. "No. . .I don't know where. .
.his wallet? The car card?" Green eyes scanned the room - searching, hoping,
praying. "I see it. Hold on."

Setting the phone down on the table, the girl made her way back across the
room, stopping at the coffee table. With a trembling hand she picked up the
mean man's wallet, flipping it open and grabbing the card in it. Turning
back towards the phone, the child bumped into the table, a small glass
rattling alarmingly loud. She stopped in her tracks, listening as the man in
the next room stopped his snoring, mumbling in his sleep. She felt her heart
flutter with fear. Finally, after many long moments, she heard the steady
sound of his breathing resume.

"Daddy?" Mina whispered, picking up the phone again. She squinted in the dim
light of the room. "I'm going to spell it for you, ok? 5-6-5 G-a-n-e-s
R-o-a-d A-p-t 6. . .Will you come get me now? I miss you and mommy and
Daddy-Spike. . .ok. . .I'll go back and wait." She replaced the phone in its
hook, tip-toeing back to the couch.

With a much lighter heart the small child crawled back on the couch. She
smiled softly to herself, leaning her head back against the soft plushness
of the backrest. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to drift off to
sleep, knowing when she woke her daddies would be there to take her home.
 

~*~*~

"Daddy. . ." the tiny voice whimpered softly.

Oz smiled in his sleep, knowing his little girl had finally come around and
she was calling out for him.

"Daddies, please get me out of this mean man's house," her soft voice
whispered.

His eyes flew open, snarling angrily. They were coming to take her away
from him! He jumped out of bed, racing into the living room. Mina was
standing against the door, whispering through it, big tears streaming down
her face.

She turned her head, shrieking when Oz came stumbling into the room.
"Daddies!" she cried. Oz grabbed her and picked her up, carrying her away
from the door. He wasn't worried - he knew the vampires couldn't come in.
They wouldn't even be able to break the door down, as it was within the
confines of his apartment. "LET ME GO!" she screamed, clawing at him.

Oz growled, his eyes starting to bleed to his demon. He clutched the child
tightly, knowing he was quickly losing control of the darkness within him.
He tried to fight it back, scared of hurting his little girl, but he couldn'
t. The wolf was already pushing through.

"DADDIES!" she screamed in terror.

Oz turned, snarling when the door was kicked in. He frowned slightly, the
human in him not recognizing the man standing on the other side of the door.

Mina reached out, struggling in Oz's arms. "Unca Graham! Save me, please!"
she cried.

Xander pushed passed Graham, running into the house. "Give me Mina, Oz, and
the Deadboys *may* go easy on you."

Oz growled dangerously at Xander, surprised that the man wasn't backing
down. He had a lot more courage than he did when the werewolf saw him five
years before. Mina struggled, finally kicking Oz in the gut. It wasn't
enough to hurt him, but it was enough to make Oz lose his grip on the little
girl.

Xander yanked Mina out of his arms, and the little girl threw her arms
around his neck. "Unca Xander!" she cried.

He turned and ran out of the apartment, a growling angry Oz on his heels.
Xander turned, to run down the hall, clutching the little girl tightly. Oz
turned, slamming into two full game face vampires that stepped away from the
wall.

Oz looked up, fear going through his system. He took a step back, ready to
run into his apartment, when Spike reached out and grabbed the collar of his
tee-shirt. "You know, mate," Spike said conversationally through his fangs,
"I'm thinking you have to deal with kidnapping our daughter."

"Spike," Angel said, his voice a hiss, "I'm going to let you have one punch
in so you can sate the demon, but then I want you to step back, because I
know that you are going to be in pain."

A truly demonic grin spread over Spike's face. "The pain will be worth it,"
he hissed, punching Oz in the face.

The blonde stood there for a moment, waiting for the pain to start. He
blinked amber eyes, turning to Angel. "I can hurt a mutt," he said with
awe.

The smirk on Angel's face was completely Angelus. "We can't kill him, but I
think we need to make him aware of how wrong it is to mess with *anyone* in
our family."

Spike licked his lips, inhaling as the smell of Oz's fear tripled. "I think
we'll have a good time," the blonde said, right before pouncing on the
werewolf.

Mina buried her face in Xander's neck when the howls and snarls of the fight
spilled down the hallway. She started to cry. Xander held her tightly,
moving to Graham. "It's ok, Kitten," Xander murmured. "Your Daddies are
going to keep the mean man from hurting you ever again."

~*~

"Momma!" Mina yelped when they walked back into the lobby of the hotel.

Willow stood up, moving slowly to Angel and Mina. She reached out, wrapping
her hands around Willow's neck. She squeezed her neck tightly, then sat
back. "Momma, don't cry. I was ok. He didn't hurt me, just scared me."
She wiped her mother's face, trying to get the tears to stop streaming down
her face.

"I know, baby, I was just so scared. . ." Willow's throat closed and she
looked down, blinking. Spike moved behind her, resting his chin on her
shoulder, trying to comfort her with his presence.

"Told you that we'd get her back. You think some bloody mutt could hurt our
Princess?" Spike asked.

Willow laughed through her tears. "Is he. . .?"

"No. Peaches wouldn't let me," Spike growled at his Sire.

Willow blinked and turned towards Spike. "You can hurt a werewolf?"

"Made him scream for you, pet," Spike grinned, an evil glint in his blue
eyes.

Willow chuckled. "Now, now, Spike, we can't go around making everyone
scream," she said, nodding her head towards Mina, yet thanking him with her
eyes.

Spike looked down, trying to look as if he were being scolded. He glanced
up, a grin on his face. "Gonna punish me later, Red?"

Willow cleared her throat, chuckling slightly. "Probably."

Mina sighed loudly, throwing a look to her Daddy-Sire that yet again, they
weren't talking to her, but to each other about punishment. "Daddy-Spikey,
don't know why you always talk about being punished. If you were a *good*
boy, momma wouldn't have to do it so often."

"I know, Strawberries, but you know between me and Daddy-Sire, I'm the bad
one," Spike grinned.

Mina leaned forward and kissed Spike on the nose. "Yea, Daddy-Spikey, I
know. You are the Big Bad. You tell me *all* the time." Her tiny green
eyes rolled in the perfect imitation of Willow.

Spike chuckled, kissing his little girl. "Well, the Big Bad is going to bed
now. I'll see the two of you later." He glanced at Angel. "Sire?"

Angel nodded, kissing both Willow and Mina. "I'll see you in a bit, Wills."

"Thanks, Angel," she murmured softly.

"Hey, she's just as much ours as she is yours," Angel smiled. "Night,
Mina."

"Night, Daddy-Sire! Daddy-Spikey! Sleep good!" Mina cried out, her tiny
voice echoing in the lobby. The two vampires went upstairs, leaving Mina
and Willow alone.

Willow carried the girl over to one of the more comfortable couches and sat
down. Mina lay on the couch, resting her head in her mother's lap. Willow
absentmindedly played with her hair. Mina reached out, rubbing Willow's
tummy. "Momma, are the babies ok?" She looked up at her.

"Yea, why?" Willow asked curiously.

"Just wondered. Did they worry about me?"

"They were as worried as I was, baby." She smiled. "I love you, Mina."

Mina wrapped her arms around Willow's thigh the best she could. "I love you
too, momma. I'm so glad to be home."

~*~The End~*~

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