Joyce was glad she’d had the good sense to get the kids through lunch before she changed their clothes, since for the most part more pizza ended up on their hands, faces, and outfits than it ever did actually in their mouths. Dawn found it all highly amusing and even Spike couldn’t help sniggering a bit at the kids antics as they ate and made an inordinate amount of mess.

"Anchovies, anchovies, you’re so delicious, I like you better than all the other fishes" Dawn and Buffy sang together, giggling madly as they shoved more pizza with said topping into their mouths.

"Startin’ to wonder who’s the bigger kid out of you two" Spike smirked, at which both girls pointed at each other before giggling once again.

When everyone was finally done eating, Joyce took Dawn and trooped all the children upstairs to clean them up and change them into clean clothes, leaving Spike and the recently arrived Giles to tidy up in the kitchen.

"So, how’d the research pan out then, Watcher?" the vampire asked as he forced the pizza boxes into a plastic bag, "Any luck on findin’ out how to change the little critters back into their proper sized selves?"

"I have made some progress" Giles admitted as he washed the plastic cups in the sink, "There are a number options, but the most likely seems to be that a Vengeance Demon overheard Dawn’s wish and granted it for her"

"Vengeance demon, eh?" Spike frowned, "Like Anya used to be?"

"Exactly, yes" Giles nodded, "It would seem each Vengeance or Justice demon has a particular function, and they use the power of the wish, bestowed upon them by their leader D’Hoffryn, to right certain wrongs in the world"

"Right, Anya was all about vengeance for women who got screwed over by their fellas" Spike remembered.

"Indeed" the Watcher nodded as he turned off the faucet and dried his hands on a dish towel, "It seems there is a demon by the name of Halfrek whose duty is to punish parents, and indeed any adult, who has caused pain or suffering to a child"

"So she overhears Dawnie whinging on that nobody understand what it’s like to be her, and wham-bam-pow Buffy and her mates all know what it’s like to be the kid?" Spike guessed.

"That is the theory I’ve been working with, yes" Giles nodded, "It seems the most likely explanation"

Spike was about to ask what they do to solve the problem with this Halfrek bird and her bloody unwanted wish granting, when a sound like a small herd of elephants stampeding down the stairs interrupted him.

"What the soddin’ hell...?" he said absently as he and Giles ventured through to the living room, just as the five children reached the bottom of the staircase, all grinning and apparently loving their new clothes.

Willow and Tara both wore dresses in very similar styles, though the red-head’s was a pinky-peach shade, and her friends was a kind of blue-ish green. Xander had little blue jeans with patches and a T-shirt, whilst Anya had red dungarees on. Behind them came Buffy who both Giles and Spike were a little surprised to see in a smart little dress with daisies on it. Quite an odd choice for a Slayer, they both thought, but then she wasn’t so much a Slayer as a little girl who probably still had aspirations of being a princess one day.

"Well, I think I did pretty well" Joyce said modestly as they all got to the bottom of the stairs and the kids scattered to go and play.

"Well done, Joyce" Giles smiled at her as she kissed her cheek. She offered to help him finish up in the kitchen and they disappeared off, leaving just Dawn and Spike, and the still lingering Buffy in the hall.

"You like my dress, Spikey?" the little blonde asked hopefully and the vampire glanced at Dawn then back at her sister.

"Gorgeous, luv" he told her with a smile, "Never seen anyone look prettier"

The grin on her face threatened to split it in two as she turned a little pink and then scampered off without a word. Dawn smiled too at that.

"Y’know Mom had got pants for her to wear but Buffy insisted she wanted the dress" she told her friend, "She so wanted you to say she was pretty"

"I know" Spike sighed, "And she is, course she is, but she’s six years old and she still bloody fancies me. It’s soddin’ disturbing is what it is" he pointed out, "S’pose it could be worse though" he considered, "For the first time ever I’m sort of glad your sister’s held out all this time" he said without thinking.

"You and Buffy haven’t...y’know?" the young brunette asked with a look before shaking her head, "Oh, eeww, why am I even asking?"

"Beats me, pet" Spike told her with a smirk, "but since you already did, no we haven’t, and I’m bloody glad right now. This is disturbing enough, that’d be bleedin’ off the chart"

"Okay, I so do not need to hear this" Dawn told him firmly, putting her hands over her ears and hurrying away.

Spike smirked as he watched her go then sauntered back to the kitchen to speak to Giles some more about his Vengeance Demon theory. As he walked into the kitchen he found the Watcher and Joyce in a somewhat compromising position and was soon smirking once again. He cleared his throat, looking at the tiled floor to save dear old Mum some embarrassment. When he was sure the PDA was over he carried on as if nothing had happened,

"Was wonderin’ if you want to tell me the rest of your theory about that demon of yours, Rupes?"

"Oh yes indeed, I was just filling Joyce in, in fact" Giles told him.

"’S that what they call it these days?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow as he sat down by the counter, "Nobody told me"

"Spike" Joyce shot him a look that told him to let it go and he was silent for her sake.

"Back to the matter in hand" Giles started again, "This Halfrek person, or demon to be more accurate, she’s likely to be strong but no real match for the group of us combined. I dare say you might even mange to kill her yourself, Spike" he told the vampire.

"So what’s the big deal then?" the vampire shrugged, "I go out tonight, track the bint down, snap her neck, case closed, yeah?"

"Not entirely, no" Giles shook his head.

"Killing her won’t reverse the wish" Joyce explained, having already heard this part from her boyfriend, "In fact it would make matters worse since she’s the only one capable of changing the kids back"

"Alright, different plan" Spike considered, "I catch the bint, tie her up, torture her til she gives in and changes ‘em back"

"Really Spike, you’re not helping" Giles said crossly as he removed his glasses and polished them, "All the years you have existed and yet in all that time you have never once learnt to listen, have you?"

"’Scuse me for tryin’ to bleedin’ help!" the vampire snapped, catching the kids attention. Dawn and Buffy appeared in the doorway, followed by Xander and Anya who had somehow ended up hand in hand again.

"Why is Spikey yelling?" the little Slayer wanted to know, "Is something bad happening?" she asked, "Do I need to slay something?" she asked looking almost hopeful for some violence.

"No, sweetie, not right now" her mother assured her, before realising her daughter was used to being active and was more than likely hating being stuck in the house, as were all the children.

"How about we go play in the garden for a while?" she suggested.

"Yay!" was the general response from the group and Dawn went to hunt down the soccer ball she knew they had somewhere, also her hula hoop and various other things.

"Oh" Buffy said suddenly as they all went out the back door a few minutes later, "What about Spikey?" she said as she looked back at him, cowering away from the light in the kitchen.

"He’ll be fine, Buffy" Dawn told her kindly, "Giles is gonna stay with him, and he can watch from the window a little bit, if he’s careful"

"I guess" the little Slayer sighed, not loving leaving her man behind, but also desperate to be out in the sun where Xander was already kicking the ball around. She liked soccer, she used to play with the boys at her little school in LA, which in someways seemed a long time ago and in others not so much...

"Oh thank God for peace and quiet" Spike sighed as Giles shut the door behind the noisy bunch of children.

"Indeed, they do make rather a din" the Watcher agreed, "I rather feel the need for a large scotch" he admitted and Spike whole-heartedly agreed that he felt the same as they went for the drinks cabinet and poured a liberal shot each.

"Back to this Vengeance bint then" the vampire said, when his drink was gone and he began to pour another, "I’m all ears if you wanna explain what the bloody hell we do about her"

"Well, job number one would be tracking her down, and as fast as possible since there is no reason for her to stay long, especially if she has angered a great many people with very various wishes she has granted" Giles explained, "When we do find her we must appeal to her better nature, should she have one, and ask her to reverse the spell"

"Ask her?" Spike echoed incredulously, "You’re gonna bloody ask her all nicely, and what offer her tea and cakes too I s’pose?"

"Spike, as I have explained, killing her or using force upon her will do no good" Giles sighed tiredly as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, "If she dies the spell will never be reversed, and I would imagine these Vengeance demons have somewhat of a superior pain threshold, they do tend to live for hundreds and thousands of years you know. Anya herself was eleven hundred when she was made human again"

"But she was made human, and that ended any wishes she’d cast recently, right?" Spike said as a thought occurred to him.

"Er, yes, I believe it did" Giles agreed.

"So all we got to do to Miss Unwated-Justice-For-The-Young is whatever someone did to Anya, and we got ourselves a humanised demon and full-sized Scooby Club" he said, hoping he was right.

"That would be an excellent plan" the older-looking man nodded, "If it not for one flaw - we have no idea how or why Anya did become human. Whatever happened to cause such a thing, she has never told me, perhaps to save her old colleagues from a similar fate or possibly just because she is embarrased"

"But we can find out, right?" Spike frowned, "I mean, it’ll be in one of your dusty books or whatever"

"Possibly" Giles agree, "but it will take time to find and we really are running short of that commodity" he shook his head, "I would suggest we ask Anya if she remembers what happened, but in her current condition I fear it would be unlikely"

"Worth a shot" Spike decided as he poured himself another drink, "Course with her bein’ outside and me having my little allergic reaction to the sun..." he went on, smirking as realisation dawned on the Watchers face.

"You expect me to ask a demon-turned-human trapped in the body of a six year old child about her defeat?" Giles checked, hardly believing it.

"Well, you’re the one that mentioned the ticking time bomb situation we got here" Spike pointed out, "We don’t find this Halfrek bint in double quick time we’re stuck with mini-Scoobies and worse mini-Slayer for the rest of time. You fancy playin’ father to that bunch cos I sure as hell never asked to be anybody’s Dad" the vampire told him in no uncertain terms.

"Very well" Giles sighed, hating that Spike was right but knowing he really was on this occasion. The Watcher downed another scotch before venturing through the kitchen and out into the backyard.

Spike heard a thump and muttered cursing. He correctly guessed that on stepping outside the back door, Giles had been smacked in the face by the soccer ball, and the giggling culprit of the unmeant crime was a certain Slayer.

"Sorry, Giles" Buffy said, biting her lip so as not to giggle any more. Her mother was giving her that look that told her to behave, although it seemed that Joyce was also having difficulties hiding a smile on this occasion.

"Are you okay, Rupert?" she checked as he came to sit beside her on the porch.

"I dare say I shall live" he smiled, though when he put hand to the sore point on his head where the soccer ball had hit him it turned into a grimace.

The kids were back to their games, Willow and Tara having a thumb war sitting on the steps whilst the others, including Dawn, played soccer, or at least a variation of it. Little Xander was horrified to see Anya pick up the ball as it came towards her and run with it.

"No!" he yelled chasing after her, "You can’t pick up the ball!" he told her.

"But it was the easiest way to get it to the winning area" she replied, gesturing to the spot that had been assigned as the goal in which she now stood with the ball in her hands.

"You can’t touch the ball!" Xander rolled his eyes, "It’s called sock-er, cos you’re supposed to use your socks!" he explained, pointing to his feet. Dawn overheard what he said as she approached and burst out laughing.

"That’s stupid!" Anya said, folding her little arms over her chest and looking cross, "Then how come the game with the other ball is called football and the men pick up the ball?" she asked, annoying Xander because he had no answer to that.

As Dawn made attempts to split to up what looked ready for a fight suddenly, Buffy ran over to her mother and Giles who still sat on the swing, discussing Halfrek and Spike’s idea of asking Anya about being a Vengeance demon.

"...it may be the only way to bring them back" the Watcher sighed as the little Slayer came towards them.

"Bring who back?" she asked with a frown, "Everybody’s already here" she told him as she spun round and checked. Yep, all her friends were present and correct, she could even see Spikey peeking through the kitchen blinds, though he disappeared fairly fast when he saw she’d spotted him.

"It’s nothing for you to worry about, my dear" Giles told the little girl, "Although do you think you might do a little favour for me?" he asked her.

"Sure" Buffy nodded, happy to help out.

"Could you go and ask Anya if she might come and speak to me, I have a question for her" he explained vaguely and Buffy agreed before bolting off to do as she was asked.

"It might be easier to speak to her alone about such a matter" Giles told Joyce, "If she does become distressed at least it will be only her and not all of them"

"What exactly will you ask?" Joyce checked, "I mean, how much will she remember? If anything at all?"

"I really couldn’t say" her boyfriend sighed, as he removed his glasses and polished the lenses, "When Buffy and Spike were turned into children they retained some of their memories but it was very confusing for them to try to remember, since they didn’t fit into their world as five year olds"

"Aren’t we risking Anya getting very mixed up by mentioning her past to her?" Joyce frowned as she watched the two blondes share a few words before the ex-demon came stomping over, clearly still unhappy after her exchange with Xander.

"Indeed" Giles agreed as he replaced his spectacles on his nose, "but we really have no other option if we ever want the children back to their normal selves" he explained as Anya arrived in front of them.

"Xander Harris is not a nice boy!" she announced.

"Oh, did he upset you, sweetie?" Joyce sympathised. Though she hadn’t forgotten the abominable way Anya had treated Buffy and Spike when they were kids last year, she found it impossible to be unfeeling to any child, including this smaller version of Anya.

"I hate him more than...bunnies!" she said furiously, though she seemed adamant that she would not explain what had caused such feelings.

"Er, Anya" Giles awkwardly tried to get her attention, "I wondered, do you remember anything about..."

"I’m so mad at Xander!" she interrupted, "He’s a mean, stinky...boy! If I were still a Vengeance demon I’d..."

"Ah-ha!" Giles said suddenly, aggravated at first by her interrupting him, but so glad she’d mentioned her demon days. It meant she remembered them and was probably able to talk of them without further distress - two very good facts right now.

"Anya, my dear, I need to ask you about that, about your Vengeance Demon days" he said carefully, "Or rather the end of them"

"I was taller then" she sighed, grumpily as she looked down at her chest, "I had better assets too"

"Yes, indeed" Giles muttered, "but do you remember the day you stopped being a demon?" he asked her, "The day you became human again?"

"Of course I remember" the little blonde snapped, "It’s not like I could ever forget, not when I see you all the time"

"Sweetie, what does Rupert have to do with this?" Joyce asked the child who was still pouting over Xander especially now as he continued his game with Buffy and Dawn as if nothing had happened. She was starting to wonder if he even loved her at all anymore.

"Anya" Giles called back her attention, "We really must know what you remember, my dear" he told her and Anya sighed heavily.

"You smashed my power centre!" she reminded him overly loudly, "In the alternate reality from Cordy’s wish, and then the wish went away and so did my power" she rattled off, "Now I wanna go play the game with the socks and the balls again" she said as she ran back over to the rest of the gang.

"Alternate reality? From a wish Cordelia made?" Joyce frowned not understanding, "I don’t remember any of that"

"No, nor I" Giles agreed, "but then I don’t suppose we would. When Anyanka became the human Anya once again, not only did she lose her powers but her latest wish was undone" he translated what Anya had said into his own far more grown up and sensible words, "It would seem that all we need to do is somehow capture this Halfrek person and smash her ‘power centre’" he quoted from Anya’s little rambley speech.

"Do we know what her power centre is?" Joyce asked hopefully.

"No" Giles admitted, "but I can probably find out" he said as he got up and headed for the back door to fetch his books from the house.

Over in the garden, Xander and Buffy passed the ball back and forth with their feet expertly as Dawn stood in the goal area waiting to block any shots that came her way. Anya grew more and more agitated as she was unable to prise the ball away from the others and Xander was giving far too much attention to the Slayer right now, that didn’t please her either.

In a moment of fury she ran at Buffy and tackled her for the ball. As the blondes’ legs became entangled they both went crashing to the floor with a thud and Joyce immediately went rushing over to make sure they were okay, as did Dawn and Xander.

"Oooow!" Buffy complained far more than she really should being the Slayer, but then Anya had more or less landed on top of her, squashing her into the ground. Wearing a dress hadn’t helped matters, and with nothing to protect her legs from harm, stones amongst the grass had badly grazed the little girls knee. Though the sight of the blood didn’t bother her so much, and the pain wasn’t too bad, the fact she had seemingly ruined her dress made her cry. Spike had thought she was so pretty in her new outfit, now he’d hate her again.

"I didn’t mean to" Anya said, looking a little shame faced as Xander pulled her to her feet.

"Oh baby" Joyce gasped at the state of Buffy’s knee as she picked the child up from the ground and carried her towards the house, "Dawn, keep an eye on them for now, I’ll be back" she called as she went towards the door.

Spike was just returning from the basement where he’d been having a cigarette when Joyce carried the still bawling Buffy into the kitchen and sat her down on the counter top.

"What the bloody hell happened here?" he asked as he dodged the sunlight that streamed through the open door.

"I’m sure you’re aware, Spike, that soccer is a rough game" Joyce told him as she shut the door once again, "Anya seems to take tackling for the ball a little too seriously"

"Little bugger" the vampire muttered as he looked at Buffy, all injured and sniffley. She was very possibly the cutest kid on the planet he realised, even in her current state, and so familiar after their little throwback adventure together last year.

"Could you watch Buffy for a minute while I fetch the first aid box?" Joyce asked Spike, not waiting for an answer as she disappeared from the room.

"Hey now, pet" the bleached blond said to Buffy, "No more tears, eh? Little scrape like that’s nothing to our great Slayer now is it?" he said, with a smirk, hoping to get a smile out of her, but to no avail.

"I’m...not...pretty...anymore" she sobbed, hiccuping and coughing as she tried to stop crying, and breathe instead.

"Oh luv" Spike sighed, "You are always pretty" he assured her, lifting her little chin with his finger, "Most beautiful girl I know, Slayer, inside and out. Always have been, always will be. You got that?" he told her firmly, and despite the weirdness of the situation he meant what he was saying.

"Really?" she checked, still sniffing a bit as she wiped tears from her blotchy cheeks.

"Would I lie to you, pet?" he said, tilting his head and she quite firmly shook hers. Spikey didn’t lie, not to her. He was a good vampire, and deep down he loved her, she knew he did, even if he hadn’t said it much lately.

"Here we are" Joyce said as she came back into the room with the first aid kit, "Let’s get that knee cleaned up" she said to her daughter as she pulled out antiseptic ointment and sticky plasters.

"Now, it’ll only sting for a minute, honey" she assured Buffy as she made to clean up the bleeding wound. The little Slayer was wincing before the ointment even made contact with her knee and Spike felt bad for her. As tough as she was in reality as a twenty year old who could take as much beating as the local demons could throw at her, this was a six year old kid who was bleeding and a little bit scared.

"Here, luv" he said taking hold of her hand, "You talk to me, don’t think about what dear old Mum’s doing with your leg" he told her, "Won’t hurt half so much if we don’t think about it, now will it?"

"I guess not" Buffy agreed, forcing a smile, "Did you see me score my goal?" she asked suddenly as her half-smile shifted to a grin, "I’m so good at soccer, I’m better than Xander and Anya and even Dawnie, and she’s way bigger than me, but I still scored!" she told him excitedly.

"Sorry, luv, reckon I missed it" Spike told her, "but not to worry, eh? Maybe if you’re really good Mum’ll let us have a kick about after sundown?" he suggested, "Just for a little while mind, I reckon you’ll be needing your kip tonight after so much runnin’ about"

"Oh can we Mom?" Buffy asked hopefully, "Can I play soccer with Spikey when it gets dark enough for him to play outside?"

"We’ll see, honey" Joyce nodded, "And look, your leg is all patched up" she said with a smile.

"Didn’t feel a thing, did you, pet?" Spike pointed out as the little girl pulled her leg up and studied the Mickey Mouse sticky plaster over her graze.

"Nope" she agreed, shaking her head, "You helped a lot" she told the vampire, throwing herself at him and wrapping her little arms around his neck, "You’re the bestest nicest vampire in the whole world" she said definitely, "And I love you, Spikey"

Spike felt stupidly moved by both her words and actions. Despite the fact that it might have felt inappropriate and weird just a few short hours ago, now he was starting to realise that this wasn’t really his girlfriend, but rather just a little girl he loved and wanted to take care of, much like it was with him and the Nibblet, like playing older brother almost.

"Love you too, pet" he assured little Buffy as he kissed the top of her head, "Always will"

"Any luck?" Joyce asked as she went over to Giles where he was sat at the table with his books. It was early evening and the kids had tired themselves out so much playing outside they were already in bed, mostly fast asleep, all except Buffy who had a few minutes extension so she could play soccer with Spike now it was dark.

"I really think these volumes were written by demons" Giles said sharply closing the volume in front of him with a thud, "Either that or profoundly stupid people who even after much studying on the subject of Vengeance Demons never actually thought to find out how to kill them or at the very least reverse wishes they’d granted!"

"Don’t upset yourself, Rupert" Joyce urged him, standing behind his seat and putting her hands on his shoulders, "It won’t do any good"

"I know" the Watcher sighed, putting a hand on hers and glancing up at her, "but if we do not find a way to track down this Halfrek and destroy her power centre soon I am afraid we may run out of time" he shook his head, "I am uncertain as to whether it will do any good as it is, since she has doubtless cast many more wishes since Dawn’s and surely only the final wish will be undone?"

"Maybe" Joyce frowned, "but we still have to try. Can I help at all?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand as she suddenly yawned.

"I think the best thing you can do is get some sleep, my dear" Giles smiled, "It cannot be easy dealing with so many small children as you are forced to do"

"I really don’t mind so much" Joyce admitted, "I mean, of course I want them all back to being themselves, I wouldn’t want them to be stuck this way forever but...I have to admit, it’s nice to be so needed again" she smiled, a little sadly and Giles got up from his seat to stand before her.

"Believe me, my darling Joyce" he said, looking fondly at her, "You are always very much needed" he told her right before they kissed.

"Come on then, Little One" Spike smirked as he stood between two plant pots that designated the goal for the little game of soccer between himself and Buffy, "Give us your best shot"

Buffy stood a few feet away with the ball at her feet, grinning at first then looking so serious as she concentrated, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she took a step back then ran forward, feigning left before kicking the ball hard to the right.

Spike made a half hearted effort to dive for the ball but let it sail past the tips of his fingers and into the makeshift goal. He smirked as Buffy ran circuits round the lawn, yelling delightedly that she’d scored. As the vampire got up from the ground, he spotted Joyce at the kitchen window, pointing to the watch on her wrist and smiling.

"Here now, luv" Spike called to the mini Slayer, getting a hold on her as she ran past again, "Mum wants us back in the house now, pet. Time for you to get some sleep I reckon" he told her as she walked back to the house. Buffy scrambled up the porch steps, whining to her mother before they were even at the door.

"But we were playing Mom" she complained, "and I was winning, and it was fun, and I’m not even sleepy!" she went on.

"Buffy, we had a deal remember" Joyce said seriously, "I said you could stay up a little longer to play soccer with Spike but you promised when I said enough was enough you would go straight to bed without making a fuss, remember?"

"I remember" little Buffy said grumpily as Spike smirked at the scene before him. with her arms folded across her chest, and a pout on her face, there was no mistaking the little kid here was Buffy, and yet she was so far from the woman he adored it was weird.

Eventually the Slayer went with her mother to get ready for bed, but not until she’d flung herself at Spike’s legs, holding on tight and thanking him several times for playing outside with her and being the best vampire-friend in the world ever.

The bleached blond wandered through to the living room, wondering if he might be able to find something decent on telly when he realised Giles was just finishing a phone call and it seemed pretty serious.

"Everythin’ alright, Watcher?" Spike asked with a slight frown, "Startin’ to look paler than me there, mate"

"It seems this Halfrek whom we were planning to track down and destroy has struck again" Giles admitted as he removed his glasses and polished them thoughtfully, "In Los Angeles no less"

"LA?" Spike’s frown turned into a grin, "Has she done something to Angel?" he asked amusedly, "Oh come on, Rupert, don’t keep me in suspenders" he grinned, dropping down onto the couch and putting his feet up on the coffee table, "What’s the bint done to SoulBoy?"

"It would appear that Cordelia is more prone to making wishes than one might have predicted" the Watcher sighed tiredly, "She stupidly voiced a desire for herself to be the most senior person at Angel Investigations"

"Senior?" Spike echoed, "Like, in charge of the operation?" he guessed.

"Yes, indeed, that was what she meant" Giles nodded as he replaced his glasses and sank down into the chair opposite Spike, "However, that was not quite what happened" he cleared his throat before explaining, "Instead, she is now the eldest person present, and whilst she has not aged a day Angel and Wesley’s own years have decreased somewhat"

"Oh this is too good" Spike chuckled, "The Poofters a tiny tot, and Watcher-Boy Jnr as well? That is just classic" he roared with laughter, picturing the scene in his head and finding is so terribly amusing.

"I’m glad you find it so very humorous" Giles snapped, "Perhaps you would find it less so if you thought about it for a moment" he said, looking quite cross when Spike’s laughter did not fade, "If this is the work of Halfrek, as it does indeed seem to be, destroying her power centre will bring back Angel and Wesley, but it will have no effect on Buffy and the rest" he explained, causing the vampire to quit his laughter immediately and sit bolt upright in his seat.

"Hey, wait a minute" he said, frowning hard, "What’s that all about? Why can’t we turn them all back?"

"Destroying the power centre will only undo the very last wish the Vengeance Demon granted" Giles explained, both annoyed and very troubled by the realisation. Spike just stared for a long wile before expelling an unneeded breath.

"Bugger" he said simply, for lack of anything better to say. The great amusement at the thought of Angel as a tiny toddler had given way to much more serious thoughts and emotions now. Buffy might be stuck as a six year old, and even if she grew up given time, it’d be fourteen years before she’d be back to being the woman he loved, and even then he wasn’t sure anything could happen between them. There was a definite ick factor in helping to bring up a child only to start dating them a soon as they were of age. Spike couldn’t deal with that, or wait long enough for his love anyway. He wanted the real Buffy back, the whole gang if he was honest. As annoying as Harris and the ex-demon bint were, the Wiccas were decent, and the whole lot of them were much easier to deal with when they weren’t three feet tall!

"So then" he said at length, "Seems I’m off to LA" he announced getting up from his seat. Giles called the vampire back as he went for the door.

"Exactly what do you plan to do on arrival?" the watcher asked as he got up from his seat and faced the younger looking man, "Apart from combust in the daylight that will approach too quickly for you to avoid" he pointed out.

"’M gonna bloody well find this soddin’ Halfrek that’s caused all the bleedin’ trouble is what I’m gonna do!" Spike yelled, voice dropping a few decibels when Giles hushed him and gestured upstairs when the kids were trying to sleep, "’M not just gonna sit here and watch my woman go through her kid and teen years again, it’s too soddin’ weird for words!" he said angrily through gritted teeth, "This Vengeance bint is gonna pay and she’s gonna change the whole lot of those kids back to what they were" Spike nodded firmly as he turned away once again.

"As odd as this is going to sound" Giles said as he gave chase towards the door, "Spike, I agree with you"

The bleached blond looked back at the other man in apparent disbelief, hand pausing on the doorknob.

"You serious?" he frowned, finding the concept of one of the Scooby Gang agreeing with him quite unsettling.

"Utterly and completely" Giles confirmed, "This woman or demon, whatever she is, she must be stopped, forced to undo the great wrongs she has done, and then destroyed if at all possible" he said definitely, "but I do think we should spend at least some amount of time looking at this logically, Spike" the Watcher explained, "Rushing in headlong, violence without thought of consequence, I really do not think it will help at all"

Spike scoffed at that.

"What do you know about it, Rupert?" he deliberately used his name like an insult, "She’s a demon. Straight in fighting, nothin’ but fist and fangs. That’s how it’s done in their world"

Giles looked at the vampire oddly then, causing Spike to ask what the bloody hell he thought he was staring at.

"Their world" he echoed the words, "You do not think of yourself as a demon, part of that world?" he half asked, half stated as Spike looked around uncomfortably then sighed.

"Look, you know things have changed, what with me and the Slayer gettin’ it together and all" the vampire explained, "I exist for her now, to be at her side, to fight the good fight and be a decent sort of man if I’m able" he shrugged awkwardly, "And don’t you dare start thinkin’ I’m bleedin’ soft, Ripper, or I’ll..."

"Yes, I’m quite aware of what you would do" Giles interrupted, "I confess I would much rather be talking over our current issue with this Halfrek and the problems she’d caused, than waste my time questioning your fighting abilities, etc."

"Right" Spike nodded a moment later, letting go of the door at last as the pair headed back into the living room, "Let’s get to it then"

"Hey Buffster!" Xander called in a whisper as he scurried across the landing and squatted by the banister rail next to his friend, "What’re you doin?" the little boy wanted to know.

"Spikey’s down there" she pointed out, "He’s talking to Giles about going away" she said, little voice quivering with emotion.

"Spike’s going away" Xander grinned, his smile falling when Buffy looked over at him with tear stained cheeks, "Oh, that’s too bad" the brunette lied as he put a little blue pyjama clad arm around his friends shoulders.

"He can’t leave me" Buffy said firmly, "He’s my Spikey, and he loves me, he said so" she nodded, "and...and I’m the Slayer! If I say he can’t go then he can’t!"

"The ants came marching six by six, hurrah, hurrah!" Dawn led the next verse of the kids song that should be helping the long car trip to fly past. All they were actually succeeding in doing it seemed was to drive the adults to the point of insanity, Spike most especially who was huddled at the back of the hired mini bus, trying to avoid all shafts of light as the sun had yet to fully set.

Somehow the kids were just as awake now as they had been when the road trip to LA began. Though the occasional yawn was noticed, the children seemed so determined to stay awake for the whole excursion, most especially Buffy who was looking far too pleased with herself in Spike’s opinion.

It was now almost twenty four hours since Giles had spoken with Cordelia and discovered that Angel and Wesley had also been turned into much younger versions of themselves much as the Scoobies had. As soon as the kids found out thatSpike, and possibly Giles, were planning a trip to Los Angeles they all decided they wanted to go too, though the adults correctly guessed the mini Slayer had started the trouble. She made no secret of the fact she wanted Spike with her always, if he was going on a trip, she was going too, and that was quite simply that. Xander was not going to allow her to go alone with him, Anya would not be left without her man, and Willow and Tara preferred to have all the group together. Unwilling to upset so many little ones and just desperate to be solving the problems that were increasing all the time, Giles, Joyce and Spike all agreed that everyone would make the trip to Los Angeles, and a mini bus was quickly hired by the Watcher.

"The ants came marching ten by ten, hurrah, hurrah!" the group of overly-chirpy voices continued as Giles rolled his eyes from his position behind the wheel.

"Any more bloody ants march by me and I swear to God I’ll..." Spike began his threat only to be snapped at by Joyce about his language.

"What song do you want us to sing, Spikey?" Buffy asked too sweetly, "I don’t think I know any about vampires..." she frowned as she considered it.

"I don’t wanna sing about vampires" Xander said firmly, "They’re bad and evil"

"I-I d-don’t think that S-Spike is evil" Tara said quietly to Willow who nodded that she agreed, though no-one else paid attention if they even heard the softly spoken words.

Spike heard of course with his heightened vampire hearing and appreciated it a lot. He knew the Wiccas liked him well enough on an normal day, but to know they trusted him even as little bits, that was somehow even more special.

"Left here, Rupert" Joyce told Giles as they came to a junction and she followed the LA street map that rested on her knee, "Then right at the next turn and we should be just a little way from the hotel" she smiled, secretly very glad this trip was almost over. As much fun as it was playing Mom to the little versions of the children for a while, trapped in a min bus with them for hours, constantly singing a variety of highly annoying road trip songs was starting to try her patience.

"Ah, here we are" Giles was smiling to as he pulled the vehicle up outside the old Hyperion Hotel and switched off the engine. Before they were even out of the minibus, Cordelia was on the doorstep looking decidedly flustered and more unkempt than anyone had ever seen her.

"Giles, oh thank God" the young woman exclaimed as she ran at him and hugged the man tight, surprising him greatly.

"Er, hello Cordelia" he said awkwardly patting her back, "We came as soon as we could but with all the, er, well, children to consider, as well as Spike..." he explained as Joyce helped the kids get unbuckled from their seatbelts and out of the vehicle.

"Oh my God" Cordy gasped once again as she caught sight of her ex-boyfriend as a six year old, closely followed by little Willow, Anya, and another girl she assumed must be Tara.

Buffy was frowning as she followed her friends off the bus.

"Mommy" she said urgently, "I think there’s a demon in there" she pointed into the hotel, looking both wary and yet ready for a smack down.

"Course there’s a bloody demon in there" Spike rolled his eyes as he hopped down from the bus beside her, "Little BroodBoy himself, ain’t it?" he smirked, hating the idea of encountering his sire again, but loving the fact he’d been reduced to a kid much like the rest of the Scoobies - now that was something he was going to enjoy.

"Spike" Cordelia greeted him curtly.

"Cordelia" he replied, still smirking as his eyes raked over her form, "Still using that fantastic gym of yours I see" he said, making reference to the last time he’d been in LA almost a year ago.

"Save it, BleachBoy" the ex-cheerleader rolled her eyes, not the least bit put off by his compliments anymore. She was a different person to when they’d last met.

"Right then, er, shall we get everyone inside" Giles suggested as he pulled a large pile of books from the minibus and locked it up. Joyce and Dawn ferried all the kids towards the front door.

"Attack!" said a little voice as they entered the building and it’s owner was soon running at the group, making a couple of the girls scream. A mini version of Angel came barrelling across the floor, a half-sized sword clutched in his hands and his vamp face firmly on his features.

"Bugger that" Spike said simply as he stepped between the kids and the little Poofter, easily dodging a couple of swings at his lower body before taking the sword out of the boys hand and with one light push knocking the kid on his butt.

"Tell me, Cordelia" the bleached blond smirked at her, "You often leave weapons lyin’ about where kids can lay their hands on them?" he asked her, smirk turning into a much more severe look as he walked over to the counter and threw the bladed instrument onto it.

"Aargh!" a squeaky little voice screamed and the assembled group really expected a girl to come running out from behind the counter. Instead it was a frightened little Wesley that emerged.

By this time Angel was back on his feet and about to take another run at Spike who seemed very amused by the whole idea.

"I’m gonna kill you" the little vamp said firmly and the taller of the two smirked.

"Yeah, right" he smirked, "Give it your best shot, you little bugger"

"Hey!" Buffy yelled as she came up behind Angel and got his attention. The second he turned to look at her she spun and kicked him square in the chest sending him flying several feet back. He landed in a heap on the floor, unmoving.

"Buffy!" Joyce sounded none too pleased as she got hold of her daughter and looked sternly at her, "What did you think you were doing?" she asked her as Cordy rushed to the little vampire and checked he was okay.

"I-I was saving Spikey" Buffy told her mother, unsure now as to whether she’d done the right thing at all, "I’m the Slayer, I’m supposed to kill the demons, they’re bad"

"Angel’s not bad" Cordy snapped, "You know that. Care Bear with fangs, remember?"

"I don’t..." the little Slayer began, truly at a loss. Angel seemed familiar somehow and maybe she shouldn’t have hurt him without asking Mommy or Giles or Spike if she should first, "I’m sorry" she said, looking shame-faced as Wes ran over to see what had happened to his friend.

"Are we going home now?" Anya suddenly yelled from the back of the crowd, "I’m tired and want to sleep"

"Me too" Willow admitted, as a large yawn escaped.

"We’re not going home tonight, guys" Dawn reminded them as she crouched down to their level, "But it’ll be fun to stay here, right? At the hotel?" she said, hoping they’d agree. As much fun as these children were some of the time, when they got upset and/or whiney Dawn just couldn’t deal.

"There are rooms on the second floor you can use" Cordy called across to Giles, "They’re not entirely ready for you, I mean, I kinda had my hands full here with dumb and dumbest but..."

"That’s quite alright, Cordelia" the Watcher smiled, "I’m certain we can make do with whatever you have to offer"

Dawn steered the kids on up the stairs, all except Buffy who ran over to where Spike stared amusedly at the bruised and snarling mini-Angel that Cordy was checking over.

"I’m sorry, Spike" the little Slayer said solemnly, tugging on the bottom of his leather coat to make sure she got his attention, "I was trying to save you from the little monster"

"’S alright, little luv" the vampire assured her as he crouched down to her level, "I know you were only doin’ what instinct told you to, but..." he paused glancing at Joyce before continuing, "You see, pet, as much as it pains me to say this, Angel’s on the side of good. He’s not a bad vampire and so you don’t go attacking him for fun, alright?"

"I promise" Buffy nodded, diving at Spike before he had a chance to move and hugging him tight around the neck, "but no matter how nice he is, you’ll always be my favourite vampire" she promised him.

"Should think so too" he smirked as she let go of him and smiled brightly, "Now get along with you, go with your Mum and get tucked up in bed. Reckon all you lot need some kip by now"

"Okay" Buffy obediently complied and scampered over to the stairs where Joyce waited. She led the little girl up to the second floor, glancing down at Spike over the bannister rail and smiling at him gratefully for what he’d said. He might just as easily have encouraged Buffy’s violence towards Angel, after all he and his grand-sire were not exactly the best of friends. Still, he’d been a sensible adult and done the right thing, Joyce was prestigiously proud of him for that.

"Little sod still griping is he?" Spike smirked as he strode over to the other side of the room where Cordy was still checking Angel for injuries and telling him it was okay.

"Hello, he got attacked by a Slayer" Cordelia snapped, "You remember having a big laugh when Buffy was kicking your butt?" she asked the bleached blond who rolled his eyes.

"She barely touched him" he defended his girl, "’Sides kids get bruised from time to time, playing daft games and such. ‘S how they learn"

"Be that as it may, Spike" Giles chimed in as he locked up the weapons cabinet, having just put away the sword Angel had previously been using as his weapon of choice, "I am grateful for your words to Buffy" the Watcher admitted, "The less fighting amongst the, er, children, the better I believe"

"Get this soddin’ spell reversed and it won’t be an issue" Spike pointed out, glossing over the fact Giles had just more-or-less complimented him on his previous actions since it made him uncomfortable.

"Ah, spells!" little Wesley cried suddenly, pelting across the room and into one of the offices. The others waited a few moments and then watched him come running back out again with a book in his arms that was at least half the size of the poor child himself and apparently a little too heavy for him, "Will this be of use, sir?" he asked, looking up at Giles hopefully as he held the book aloft, his little arms shaking with the exertion of supporting a tome too heavy for him to cope with.

"Er, thank you, Wesley" the Watcher stumbled over his words, finding it even more strange to see his ex-colleague as a child than he had when it was the Scoobies running around his feet, "Yes, indeed, I’m sure this will be most useful" he lied as he turned over the book entitled ‘Transmographication of Inanimate Objects, Volume Two, Latin translation’.

"Maybe I should get Giles-Wannabe and Captain Courageous here upstairs before the major league mojo gets started up" Cordy realised, getting a hold of Angel’s hand and then Wesley’s as she moved across the foyer.

"Can I stake him tomorrow?" the little vamp asked her, shooting a nasty look at his much larger grand-childe. Cordelia followed his gaze and smirked.

"Maybe" she half-joked as she took the children upstairs to put them to bed. No doubt Angel would make a fuss again since he was a vamp and by instinct preferred to sleep in the day. Still, it’d be easier if he followed the same pattern as the other kids for now.

"So, where do we go from here?" Spike asked Giles as they were left alone in the hotel lobby.

"To be quite honest with you, Spike, I’m not entirely certain" the Watcher sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes, "Although it would make sense to continue research into the Vengeance Demon world whilst the children are quiet and out of the way, I confess I do not believe my eyes will stay open much longer"

"Must be gettin’ old, Rupes" Spike smirked as he spotted a small refrigerator behind the counter and swung around to see if there was any blood in there, he could really use a drink right about now.

"Says he who was born in the nineteenth century" Giles shot back but Spike continued to smirk. It was all good-natured banter between the two of them these days, nothing malicious... well, not usually anyway.

"Tell you what" the bleached blond said, smiling triumphantly as he pulled a container of blood from the fridge and popped off the lid, "You go grab some shut eye with dear old Joyce" he told Giles, "I’ll see what I can find in the Poofters book collection about the Vengeance crowd, alright?"

"Thank you, Spike" Giles said warily. Though he was used to the whole gang, including the vampire, working together regularly, it amazed him that in the absence of Buffy, Joyce, and Dawn, those Spike cared for and would actively seek to impress, he would still offer his help when it was needed.Giles didn’t have the energy to wonder too much about that now. He quickly said goodnight and trudged up the stairs to find his girlfriend and get some much needed sleep.

Spike chugged down half the container of pigs blood as he walked through to the office and ran a finger along the book shelf as he read the titles.

"Summoning of the Ancient Orders" he read aloud, pulling the volume from the shelf. Vengeance Demons had been around for centuries, even millennia, must qualify as ancient enough an order to be in the book, Spike reckoned. If he was wrong there were plenty more tomes he could have a flick through.

"Tonight’s gonna be so exciting" he said sarcastically to himself as he sat down in Angel’s chair and propped his feet up on the desk. At least the peace and quiet was refreshing, for as long as it lasted.

"Good morning, Spike!" Buffy yelled as she arrived in the doorway of the office next morning. Said vampire had fallen asleep during his research and the mini Slayer’s loud voice woke him with a start, causing him to topple from his position in the chair with his feet on the desk. The bleached blond heap on the floor groaned and cursed as he picked himself up, grabbing the attention of the recently awake and dressed little Scooby gang who all came to see what was going on.

Xander laughed like a drain when he saw the vampire getting himself up from the floor and trying to straighten out his coat that had got tangled around his body. Angel forced back a snigger too.

"Stupid idiot" he muttered, only to be lightly smacked upside his head by Cordelia. As much as she agreed with the mini vamps sentiments, the last thing she needed was Spike getting so angry he staked the small version of his old grand-sire, something that would be only too easy right now, especially with Buffy also shrunk down to miniature and not exactly loving Angel.

"When you’ve finished playing on the floor" Cordelia told Spike, "We’re getting breakfast, so if you want blood I suggest you move your butt before I give it all to Junior here"

"Hope you’ve got more than just the supply I found in your fridge then" Spike smirked as he finally got to his feet, "Cos I drank the soddin’ lot last night"

Angel’s eyes flashed angry yellow and if Cordy were a demon she knew hers would be doing the same right now.

"He is such a pain in the ass" she muttered as she stormed across the hotel and met Giles coming down the stairs with Joyce and Dawn not far behind, "I’m going to the butchers!" she said exasperately as she pulled on her jacket, "You can deal with them!" she said firmly, jerking her thumb back towards the bunch of kids who had started to riot and Spike who was just emerging from the office with his fallen book in his hand.

"Oh Good Lord" Giles sighed, wincing as Buffy let out a battle cry and ran circles round the foyer, chasing Angel who seemed to think it was more amusing than anything else, despite his encounter with the Slayer the day before. Mini-Wes cowered behind the counter as Anya and Xander pelted past, the little blonde girl yelling every inappropriate sex-related word she could think of as she went. Willow and Tara were watching the whole scene with mixed emotions, trying to figure out where the best and safest place to hide might be as Angel and Buffy careered past and nearly knocked them flying.

"Er, Dawn could you help me watch the children until Cordelia gets back, please sweetie?" Joyce asked her, "Then we’ll figure out breakfast if we can"

"Sure, Mom" Dawn forced a smile as they descended into the madness of the entrance hall, leaving Giles still on the bottom step looking pained.

"Alright, Watcher?" Spike called to him as he approached, "Gotta admit, didn’t find a whole lot last night" he told the older looking man, "I mean, I thought this book ought to have been a good ‘un..." he shook his head as he held it open in his hands just as it had fallen a few moment ago. It was only when he glanced down he realised his immense good luck, "And I was right" he smiled suddenly, "This is a good soddin’ book" he grinned.

"What is it you’ve found?" Giles asked, trying to see.

"Only the bloody spell to summon your demon bint who grants bleedin’ stupid wishes for the kiddies!" Spike said triumphantly as he held up the book and pointed to the passage.

"Good heavens, I do believe you’re right" Giles agreed as he took the book from the vampires hands and adjusted his glasses on his nose to read the text, "It isn’t even an awfully complicated incantation" he noted, "All we would need is a few herbs, candles, and my ability to recite Latin" he mused as he read further down the page.

"Yours truly proves good for somethin’ then, eh Rupert?" Spike smirked as the Watcher looked at him.

"Yes, yes, indeed" he agreed though it was almost physically painful to do so, "Er, well done, Spike" he said at length, "I do think we should get this set up as quickly as possible. The sooner we summon this Halfrek person, the sooner this childish din will end!"

Getting the children to sit still and be quiet long enough for them all to eat breakfast proved to be a much more difficult chore than the simple act of Giles setting up his spell. He slipped out to fetch a couple of ingredients he was short of and Joyce, Cordy, and Dawn did their best with the kids, whilst Spike got a short sleep. He could function pretty well on minimal rest but he’d rather have some than none at all.

He got about half an hours real kip before his sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of stampeding children along the landing outside the room he’d chosen. He picked up the scent easily and knew it was Buffy and Angel out there.

"Oh bugger" he sighed as he got up from the bed, "If she stakes the little sod I’ll be in the serious sh..." he muttered, stopping suddenly when he heard the pair of children talking beyond the door.

"You okay?" the mini Slayer asked as Angel stopped running away, making her run headlong into his back, almost taking the pair of them down.

"Spike" he sneered, growling slightly, though keeping his game-face hidden somehow.

"Spike is my friend" Buffy said firmly, folding her arms across her chest, though Spike couldn’t see it he could imagine her indignant expression, "More than that, he loves me, and I love him too"

"He’s evil!" Angel told her, "Even more evil-er than me, he doesn’t have a soul, Buffy!"

"He sooo does!" the blonde shot back, before realising it was true, Spike really didn’t have a soul, "Or he doesn’t, but he doesn’t need one" she said, frowning as she tried to fit it all in her little head, "He..he loves me, and Dawnie, and Mommy, and all of us. He doesn’t need a soul, he just loves us anyway and we love him, all of us...’cept Xander" she amended and Spike bit his lip so as not to laugh.

"You love him" Angel said sadly, "You don’t love me?"

Buffy looked thoughtful for a long moment before she answered.

"I dunno" she shrugged, "I guess. I mean, I kinda felt bad for almost slaying you before" she admitted, "but you can’t be mean to Spikey, or I’ll have to fly-kick you again" she warned.

Angel seemed to consider his options before he nodded into an answer.

"’Kay" he said, "I guess that’s fair" he forced a smile, though he wasn’t happy about it. He’d do whatever he had to if it meant Buffy would be his friend.

"Hey, if it isn’t my favourite Slayer and the Bite-sized BroodBoy" Spike smirked as he finally emerged from the room.

"Spikey!" Buffy grinned, her face lighting up like a fairground attraction at the sight of her favourite vampire, "Can we play now?" she asked, bouncing on her heels.

"Not right now, little luv" Spike shook his head as he ruffled her hair, "Uncle Rupes’ got some mojo to do and I ought to be there I s’pose. You play with AngelBoy here for a while, alright?"

"Okay" Buffy smiled brightly as she watched the bleached blond stride off down the stairs, his black leather coat swooshing out behind him as he went, "He’s so cool" she sighed, as Angel made gagging motions in the background.

"Hi" Willow smiled as she and Tara went over to where Wes sat cross legged on the floor behind the counter with a book in front of him, "Whatcha doin’?" she asked.

"Oh, um, I was reading" Wesley told them with a nervous smile, "I..I was hoping to help Mr Giles with his spell, but I’m not as good at magic as I would like" he said sadly.

Willow glanced at Tara and the two communicated without speaking a word before the quieter of the two witches looked down at Wes.

"W-we could h-help you to, to l-learn" she stammered, half hiding behind her best friend, who kept a tight grip on her hand at all times.

"Could you really?" Wesley looked thrilled at the idea, "I so want to be a good Watcher"

The two girls nodded and grinned as they sat down opposite the little boy and his book, preparing to give him a little lesson in the power of the magicks.

Dawn sneaked into the nearest office and pulled the door shut behind her. It seemed her others hadn’t noticed that she’d slipped away and she hoped she’d get a few minutes peace before they paid attention to her being MIA.

The kids were fun sometimes, they made her laugh, most especially Buffy when she was practically falling over herself to make Spike pay her some attention. It was cool to see her family and friends as little children, but the noise they made and the trouble they caused, Dawn was fairly certain they had made up her mind for her. As long as she lived she would never wants kids of her own after this, the stress was enough to get to the calmest of people, she was sure.

She peeked through the glass as Anya and Xander chased each other back and forth. By now Buffy and Angel were play-fighting in one corner, though there was more fight than play, and Dawn guessed Willow and Tara were somewhere behind the counter as she saw a pencil rise up into view all of it’s own accord.

"They giving you a headache too?" Cordy asked from behind her, making Dawn jump violently.

"Geez, Cordy. Lurk much?" she asked, her hand to her chest, "I had no idea you were there!"

"You hang around the King of Stealth long enough, you pick up a few things" the older woman referenced Angel, smirking as she came to stand beside Dawn.

"I thought it’d be fun having them as kids" the youngest Summers sighed, "but it’s not all laughs"

"Preaching to the choir, honey" Cordy admitted, "When I first realised what I’d done, after the initial ‘Oh my God what have I done?’ moment" she explained, "I thought hey, now I get to be the boss, this is going to be so cool. Turns out playing Mom is way too much like...well, being a Mom" she smiled wryly.

"I was so stupid making that wish" Dawn shook her head, "I just never thought. I mean, you say ‘I wish...’ all the time, nothing usually happens"

"I know" Cordy agreed wholeheartedly, "Who just decides which wishes get granted and which don’t? I mean, hello, where was the demon to grant my wish about the Bahamas and Matthew McConaughey?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance, "And believe me when I tell you that was a good wish"

Dawn giggled at that, though she agreed with the sentiment. Her wishes to pass pop quizzes at school never paid off, or the one when she wanted Joey Garver to ask her to dance at Emma Jordan’s birthday party in fifth grade...

"Girls" Joyce was forcing a smile as she came into the office where Cordy and Dawn were not doing a very good job of hiding, "Could you two come help me get the kids upstairs out of the way?" she asked them, "Rupert and Spike are going to perform the spell to summon Halfrek now and I don’t think we need a group of six and seven year olds in the middle of that"

"Right there with you, Mrs Summers" Cordy smiled fakely as did Dawn as they rolled their eyes simultaneously, following the older woman out to where the kids were running riot still.

"But Mom..." Buffy whined as she was encouraged up the staircase along with all her friends.

"But nothing, sweetie" Joyce told her firmly, "I told you, Mr Giles and Spike have to do a grown up job for a little while. When they’re done, you can come back downstairs and play some more, but just for a little while we’re going to stay upstairs"

Though the rest of the kids made some fuss, they were eventually all dragged up to the second floor, some more literally than others, by Cordy, Joyce and Dawn, leaving just Giles and Spike in the entrance hall.

"So" the vampire said from atop the counter where he was sat, What exactly do you need me here for, Watcher?" he asked as Giles sprinkled some herbs into the dish in front of him and referenced the book in hand other hand.

"Er, I did rather think you would be, well, armed and ready" the older looking man suggested, "I have no idea how violent this demon woman may become when we attempt to reason with her. Besides which, I believe only children are supposed to use this spell"

"Little Bit didn’t even need a spell" Spike complained as he hopped down from the counter and strode over to the weapons cabinet, selecting a large axe and taking a couple of practice swings with it.

"Right, if you’re ready then" Giles was saying when he arrived back at the spot where the spell would be performed.

"Was born ready, mate" Spike reminded him as the Watcher began the ritual.

Smoke seemed to rise up, not just from the bowl of ingredients but all around them, til Giles was coughing terrible. Unaffected since he didn’t need to breathe, Spike focused his eyes through the fog, trying to see the Vengeance demon when she appeared. Seemed she wasn’t so much into hiding as a large flash brought her into view, clearing much of the smoke at the same time.

"I have been called and Vengeance shall I wreak!" she announced with a flourish as she turned to face her summoners.

The powerful and defiant look fell right off her face as her eyes focused on a man she knew only too well, yet hadn’t seen in years.

"William?" she gasped, and Spike groaned.

"Oh, bloody hell"