William the Bloody had a hell of a reputation for violence and blood-shed, as his name might suggest. First he tortured and murdered humans, and lately demons felt his wrath, but today was one of the few in which he was far from proud of his achievement. He’d fought another demon, no shame in that, especially after what she’d done to his woman and her mates. The problem was she whom he had beaten down was far from a stranger, or random adversary, she was in essence the first woman he ever loved.

The irony was not lost on Spike that Cecily, now known as the Vengeance Demon Halfrek, would be one of the few to know the truth behind his originally Bloody handle. Now she was the one covered in the red stuff that kept so many alive. He could’ve killed her, and it was more than just Giles words of warning that stopped him. The sight of the beaten and bruised face of one who he held so dear a life time ago still stung his heart, the image burned on his retinas as he sat now in the hotel bedroom, staring into space.

So lost in thought was Spike, he didn’t acknowledge Dawn’s presence in the room despite the fact he was aware she was standing beside him.

"I thought you might need some blood" she said, holding out a mug to him, "I heated it and everything" the littlest Summers said proudly when he looked at her, "98.6" she grinned.

"Thanks, Bit" Spike forced a smile as he took the mug from her. He glanced at the contents and then put the mug down on the floor by his feet, "No offence, pet, but I’ll leave it for now. Don’t have much of an appetite" he admitted.

"I thought you would, after the fight" Dawn frowned, leaning on the table across from the bed where he sat, "You showed that demon girl who was boss, you so totally whaled on her. She’s still out cold" she smiled, but Spike didn’t.

"Yeah, I did a great job" he sighed and the teenager shook her head not understanding what his problem was.

"I don’t get it" she admitted, "You totally showed her who’s boss, and when she comes around she’ll have to change the gang back..."

"’S not the issue, Nibblet" Spike interrupted, "She’s more than just the demon that granted your stupid bloody wish" he said, looking over at her, "She’s the reason I exist, luv"

Dawn shook her head, frowning because she still didn’t know what he was trying to say and Spike sighed before he explained.

"I’ll tell you this, pet, but only cos I know it goes no further" he said firmly and she nodded he was right, she would never betray his confidence, "It was a long time ago, back when I was still human. Her name was Cecily and, and she was my world. I loved her, and I told her that, but she was too good for me. Told me so too, told me I didn’t mean anything to her, and that bloody hurts to hear" he winced even now at the memory of how much pain it had caused him to be told he was beneath the woman he adored. Clearing his throat he continued his tale, "Anyway long story short, I was hurt, left this party we’d been at so as I could be alone, lick my wounds and what not, and that’s when Dru found me"

"And turned you?" Dawn asked a little nervously. Spike talked about the past, but usually it was horror stories of blood and mayhem. To hear how someone had hurt the human him, and that had led to him being turned into a vampire, it was strange and kind of intense. Dawn wasn’t sure whether she was about to see her friend cry or just smash up the room, and either option seemed pretty scary right now.

"She did" Spike nodded, "She made me a monster that night, somethin’ I still would be now, if not for your sister" he smiled, "See, she did the high and mighty thing pretty well too, but with our little trip to kids-ville last year, kind of evened things out as you might say, put us on a level footing"

"But now you and Halfrek or Cecily or whatever, now you’re better than her, stronger and stuff" Dawn told him, "Shouldn’t that feel good"

"Probably should, Bit" Spike agreed, "Not so sure it does though" he realised, putting his face in his hands and sighing.

"Does Buffy know" Dawn suddenly asked, "I mean, about how come you got turned and everything"

"Not exactly" Spike shook his head as he looked up at her, "Things get mentioned over time but she never asked and I never told her. ‘S not a nice thing to talk about is it? How your other half got vamped"

"I dunno" the girl shrugged, "I don’t understand the whole evil thing so well. I mean, Angel had a soul but when he lost it he couldn’t love Buffy anymore. You’re supposed to be soulless but you love her just fine, maybe even more than Angel did. She sure cries a lot less now she’s with you" she smiled, "You make her happy, and I like having you around" she told him, blushing a little when he grinned at her confession.

"You’re a good girl, Bit" Spike told her, putting at arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him and kissing the top of her head, "Other than your sister, you’re the only one I’d trust with what I just told you" he said, "You can keep a secret, right?"

"Oh sure" Dawn nodded madly, almost clocking him in the chin as she moved away a little, "Cross my heart, and hope to..."

"No, pet" Spike stopped her, "Not here and now, not with wish granting demons about. You be careful what you say" he warned her, "Simple promise’ll do just fine"

"Okay" she nodded, "I promise, I won’t tell, not ever"

"I know you won’t, sweetheart" Spike smiled, reaching for the mug of blood she’d brought up for him, "Know I can trust you, that’s why I told you. You’re more of a grown up than you realise, you know that?"

That got a grin out of Dawn as her vampire friend drank down his blood, finishing just as the door swung open to reveal Joyce.

"Hey, what are you two hiding up here for?" she asked them.

"Spike was just... telling me a story" Dawn smiled, it was only a half-lie since it was a story, just a true one, "Is she awake yet?" she asked, enquiring after Halfrek and Joyce nodded.

"That’s why I came to find you" she agreed, "Spike, Rupert thinks they might need you if she gets loose at all"

"Get’s loose?" the vampire frowned, as he got to his feet with Dawn still by his side.

"Well she seemed so violent and dangerous, we thought we should tie her up" she explained, "It made a good game for the kids too, although I’m not certain duck-tape the demon to a chair is a usual party favourite" she considered.

"Never know, might take over from pin the tail on the donkey" Spike smirked as he came out of the room with Dawn and the three of them headed down stairs, "Give it a little Helmouth twist and all that"

"Ah, Spike, Dawn, we wondered where you’d got to" Giles greeted them as they descended the stairs.

"Spikey!" Buffy came barrelling at him, "They wouldn’t let me come find you" she told him, shaking her head and making her pig-tails swing violently, "They said they needed someone strong to guard the demon, so I had to do that"

"Bet you did a bloody good job too" Spike smiled, as she hugged his legs, "Want me to take over now?"

Buffy looked thoughtful before she answered.

"We can both do it, together" she grinned, "That’d be cool"

Spike couldn’t be bothered to argue with her, and he certainly didn’t want to upset her. He let her stand with him near where Halfrek was bound to the pouffe seat in the Hyperion lobby by so many yards of silver-coloured duck-tape that the kids had a great time binding her with. The little Wiccas and mini-Watcher seemed to have disappeared somewhere, Spike noticed as Anya and Xander sat in the corner together and Angel looked daggers at him across the room. It would seem he’d been Buffy’s friend whilst Spike himself was otherwise engaged, and now her ‘boyfriend’ was back she had no use for the little brooding one. As daft as it was that made Spike smile, the mini vamp with the soul looked so pissed at him right now, and at three feet tall there was little to nothing he could do to his grand-childe.

A groan from Halfrek startled him from his thoughts and not really knowing how strong she would be, how able to break free from her bonds, Spike went for the weapons cabinet and pulled out an axe, striding back over to where his one-time love was now stirring.

"You feeling like reversing some wishes yet, bitch?" Spike asked her nastily, his foot on the seat next to her and axe within view.

"William" she sighed, wincing slightly from her injuries, "You think the attempts of a mere vampire to injure me would make me take back what I’ve done?" she laughed despite the fact it hurt a great deal to do so, "The pain D’Hoffryn inflicts on those that do not make their quota... even you, the great William the Bloody, could not understand"

"This D’Hoffryn you speak of" Giles asked, approaching the demon carefully, "He is your leader, yes?"

"He is the head of our household" Halfrek nodded, "He rules over us, and loves us all"

"Loves you?" Spike scoffed, "Yeah, course he does" he said sarcastically. Halfrek turned to look at him once again, not at all pleased.

"You thought you were the only demon that could love?" she checked, knowing even now she could push his buttons all too easily.

"Shut your gob" the vampire told her angrily and whilst Giles had no idea what the exact situation was between these two, he really had no wish to find out. He knew how violent Spike could become and if Halfrek were to be accidentally killed the Scoobies, plus Angel and Wesley, might never be anything but the little children they now were.

"I disagree, Spike" he said carefully, "I would rather our friend here did some talking, preferably casting a spell to reverse the wishes she granted for Dawn and indeed Cordelia"

"I’ve explained, I can’t" Halfrek told him sharply, "Dawn’s wish made up my numbers for this month and without it... I won’t face consequences of that magnitude for you or anybody" she said looking at the Watcher and then at Spike, "As for your friend, Cordelia, that was not my doing"

"Hey, what’s that about?" Spike frowned.

"Yeah, what the hell is that?" Cordy asked as she overhead what was being said and stormed over to the demon-woman, "You granted that wish, you had to have"

"I really didn’t, honey" Halfrek smiled, "These days I work strictly for the little ones, and you don’t fit the bill"

"Is she lying?" Cordy asked Spike who shook his head.

"Could be, luv" he admitted, "Dunno for sure"

"I do" said a little voice suddenly and the group of adults turned to see Anya behind them, with Xander permananetly stuck to her side like always, "See, Vengeance Demons have certain jobs, and they can grant wishes to anyone but they don’t usually. I dealt mostly with scorned women, Hallie has a thing against bad parents"

"So is there like a Vengeance against Bosses and stuff kind of a demon?" Cordelia asked the general group of people around her, feeling a little weird if she stared at mini Xander too long - she used to date him after all.

"Um..." Little Anya looked thoughtful before suddenly grinning and yelling up at the ceiling, "Isadora! Hey, Isadora, get down here now!"

There was a crash like thunder throughout the lobby, then a blinding flash followed by a haze of smoke that eventually cleared to reveal a young dark-skinned woman with her arms folded across her chest.

"What do you think y’all doin’ calling me when I’m busy tryin’ to make my quota?" she complained, "Oh my God" she gasped a the the sight before her, "Halfrek, honey, is that you under all that tape and bruising" she laughed, apparently amused by the situation.

"Oh great" Spike sighed, "Two of them to contend with" he said as the Vengeance demons glared at each other, "This is going to be interesting"

"Y’all wanna tell me what I’m doin’ here now?" Isadora demanded to know and little Anya pushed through the crowd of grown ups to stand before her old acquaintance.

"I summoned you" she said brightly, "Halfrek says she didn’t fulfil the tall, loud one’s wish"

"Hey!" Cordy protested at that but the mini ex-demon paid her no attention as she continued.

"Did you do it?" she asked simply as Isadora’s eyes narrowed, "Issy, did you?" she repeated when she got no answer.

"Anyanka?" she gasped suddenly, "Damn it, girl, is that you in that teeny tiny little body?"

"Oh for bloody hell’s sake!" Spike exploded angrily, "Yes, she is soddin’ Anyanka, reduced to bite size by your friend over here, along with the rest of this bleedin’ mob!" he explained, overly loudly, "You seem to have been playin’ copy cat and turned this one here’s two work mates into sprogs too, so would you kindly both just change everybody back to their proper height, before I lose my soddin’ temper!" he bellowed, clearly having passed Reasonable-ville about two exits back.

"Okay, first off, who the hell does this guy think he is?" Isadora asked the assembled group, pushing her hand out palm facing Spike as she turned away from him, "Second, she ain’t no friend of mine" she pointed out, gesturing vaguely at the still bound Halfrek, "and third, you really so dumb you think I’m gonna reverse wishes just cos you say jump? Not a chance in hell, baby" she snapped.

"I could give you a chance in Hell if you want" Buffy said angrily, "I’ll slay you if you don’t do what Spikey says!" she yelled up at the large dark-skinned demon, who looked human enough right now.

"Damn, child, you got some power packed in that little body, dontcha?" she smiled, "Still you start throwing any little punches my way I still gonna land you on the other side of this building"

"You come near her, and I’ll kill you" Spike said, side stepping in front of the mini Slayer, eyes flashing gold.

Isadora looked like she was about to laugh and Hallie shook her head.

"He will, Isadora" she warned, "When he loves he does so fully, and will die before he allows anyone to harm those he cares for" her tone was less the Americanised demon she’d become and so much closer to the young Englishwoman she’d once been, it took Spike by surprise and when he turned to glance at her, Isadora saw her opportunity and smacked him across the face, sending him reeling back.

As the vampire made to come back at her, the demon woman began muttering something foreign to almost everyone else in the room. With a flourish of her arms she seemed ready to disappear, to teleport away as Vengeance Demons are want to do, but she didn’t go anywhere.

"What the...?" she swore, finding herself still in the lobby of the Hyperion when she opened her eyes. Spike was equally as stunned to find he hadn’t needed to stop his advance on her, she wasn’t going anywhere after all.

"Who’s messing with my mojo here?" Isadora demanded to know, swinging around and looking nastily at the group. Joyce and Cordy held all the children away from her, hoping to keep them safe but ultimately knowing there was very little they could do against the demon woman.

"Angel, no!" Cordelia made a grab at him but he moved too fast and ran at Isadora’s legs. She batted him away with ease and he went crashing into the wall with a thud. Cordy ran to check on him and something made Buffy follow to make sure he was okay. Nobody had yet realised that Willow, Tara, and Wesley were slightly less quiet than they had been behind the counter. Joyce had thought it best not to draw attention to them, since it was less likely they’d get hurt that way, still she stood in front of the counter just in case and suddenly realised they were not just talking softly anymore, but chanting something.

"What?" Spike said suddenly, looking around as if trying to locate a person that might have spoken to him, but no-one had, "Bloody hell, how did you...?"

"Spikey?" Buffy frowned as she ran back to his side, satisfied that Angel was fine in Cordy’s care, "What’s wrong?" she asked him desperately, tugging on the bottom of his coat when his attention did not immediately focus on her.

"Gettin’ real bored, real fast, kids" Isadora pointed out, speaking to the whole room more than just the children - they were all so insignificant to her.

"You really are some piece of work, y‘know that?" Spike said suddenly trying not to grin as he wound her up, "Vengeance Demons, think you’re so bleedin’ high and mighty" he continued as he walked around her, taking her attention with him. The rest looked on wondering what he was doing, all accept Joyce who had since caught a little of what the kids behind the counter had been saying. It was all starting to add up for her.

Willow and Tara were still witches no matter how small, and between them and Wesley they’d come up with a plan to stop Isadora, and Halfrek too. For the second part of the spell they needed to get within throwing distance of the demon women, and that was why they’d had to tap into Spike’s mind and talk to him telepathically. He was the only one who could safely distract Isadora. If she turned on him it was unlikely she could kill him, the others were not so invulnerable.

"Bloody wish givers, think you’re so much better than the rest of us with your ‘powers’" Spike air-quoted, "Gotta work for a bleedin’ boss though haven’t you, luv? Gotta do your bit, fill your quota, or it’s..." he made a slicing motion with his finger across his throat to illustrate his point and Isadora tilted her chin in the air.

"You don’t know nothin’" she said firmly, "What we are, what we do, it’s for a greater purpose than you’ll ever have, BloodSucker" she sneered, but Spike just smirked, not caring what insults she threw at him right now.

"Greater purpose, eh?" he echoed, keeping her attention and signalling in his head to Willow that now would be the time to execute her plan.

With an unexpectedly loud war cry Wesley came hurtling around the side of the counter towards both Isadora and Halfrek, flinging his arms out as he reached them. Some sort of dust or powder flew out of his hands, getting on both the Vengeance Demons. They were too stunned to realise what was happening, as Willow and Tara stepped into view, hands clasped as they looked towards the assembled group of people and demons, chanting softly.

"What the hell is this!" Isadora demanded to know.

"Demonstration of our greater purpose" Spike told her smugly, as Willow and Tara completed their words and an orange mist swirled around first Isadora and then Halfrek too. The two little Wiccans grinned happily as the mist wound into rope-like strands, tying tight around the two demons bodies until they could not move.

"Good heavens" Giles said astonished at what was happening as the rest of the group looked on.

"Oh, pretty" Anya smiled as the orange bounds around her former friends flashed darker and darker, turning to red and then black as they became solid, tying arms and legs down, making it impossible for Isadora to move and strengthening Halfrek’s bonds.

As Willow and Tara finally went quiet, Wesley rushed back from his hiding place. Though he had every faith in his little witch friends he hadn’t fancied being in the firing line had the spell not worked. He had thrown the powder on the demons, they might want revenge for that - they were Vengeance Demons after all.

"Well, aren’t you two just the stars of the show" Spike smirked at Willow and Tara, the first of whom looked terribly pleased with herself, the other blushing from embarrassment as she kept hold of her friends hand and practically hid behind her.

"What exactly have they done?" Giles was keen to know as Buffy went towards Isadora and poked her in the knees, amused by the fact the demon seemed to be completely stuck in one position, not only held by ropes but glued to the one spot on the ground where she stood.

"Get away from me you little runt!" she yelled, making the Slayer jump. Over her shock fast, Buffy’s face hardened and she kicked the demon woman hard in the ankle, knowing she couldn’t hurt her back.

"Little Wiccas here did a bit of mojo for us" Spike smirked as he watched the little Slayer messing with Isadora, "With help of their Watcher friend of course" he added as he spotted Wes carefully weaving his way through the many people in the lobby, towards Willow and Tara.

"It worked" he said delightedly as the red-head nodded.

"It’s a binding spell" she smiled, as she looked over at the grown-ups, "We wanted to help... We did help, right?" she checked.

"Yes, sweethearts, you did" Joyce assured them with a smile, "Having them still is very helpful"

"But it doesn’t get our wishes reversed" Cordy pointed out, earning a scathing look from Mrs Summers as Tara, and Willow too, looked a little tearful that their efforts meant so little all of a sudden.

"But you did a great job" Cordelia back pedalled. She could do without the hassle of an argument, and crying kids right now.

"We could do more" Wesley said excitedly, "A controlling spell!" he cried in an almost-Eureka like moment that lasted just a second before he turned to Willow and whispered, "Can we do that?". She glanced at Tara before nodding it was totally possible and Wes went right back to grinning when he found that he’d said something useful and that the whole room’s attention was on him, in a good way.

"You sure about this, Little Bits" Spike asked, crouching down in front of the two girls, "Bloody powerful even in bite-size, I know that, can see it from here" he smirked, glancing over his shoulder at the bound demons whom Buffy and Angel were having great fun torturing, "but this is a big ask"

"W-we can do-do it" Tara stammered, much more confident in her magic ability than anything else. Willow nodded her agreement and Spike got back to his feet, looking over at Giles and Joyce.

"What say you, Watcher?" he asked him, "Reckon you wanna take a shot at having the Wiccas and Watcher Jnr go abracadabra on Pinky and Perky over here?"

"Well" Giles removed his glasses and polished them on the edge of his shirt, "I cannot see how they could make matters worse" he mused, "After all, neither Halfrek nor indeed Isadora seemed likely to reverse the wishes by any other means, and Willow and Tara have more than proven their, er... abilities have not been affected by their, well, condition as it were"

"Reckon that means yes, Mum?" Spike asked Joyce with a amused look, she smiled herself as she nodded.

"I would think so" she agreed.

"Right then" the vampire clapped his hands as he turned back to the kids, "Let’s get to it"

"Y’all wanna tell me what I’m doin’ here now?" Isadora demanded to know and little Anya pushed through the crowd of grown ups to stand before her old acquaintance.

"I summoned you" she said brightly, "Halfrek says she didn’t fulfil the tall, loud one’s wish"

"Hey!" Cordy protested at that but the mini ex-demon paid her no attention as she continued.

"Did you do it?" she asked simply as Isadora’s eyes narrowed, "Issy, did you?" she repeated when she got no answer.

"Anyanka?" she gasped suddenly, "Damn it, girl, is that you in that teeny tiny little body?"

"Oh for bloody hell’s sake!" Spike exploded angrily, "Yes, she is soddin’ Anyanka, reduced to bite size by your friend over here, along with the rest of this bleedin’ mob!" he explained, overly loudly, "You seem to have been playin’ copy cat and turned this one here’s two work mates into sprogs too, so would you kindly both just change everybody back to their proper height, before I lose my soddin’ temper!" he bellowed, clearly having passed Reasonable-ville about two exits back.

"Okay, first off, who the hell does this guy think he is?" Isadora asked the assembled group, pushing her hand out palm facing Spike as she turned away from him, "Second, she ain’t no friend of mine" she pointed out, gesturing vaguely at the still bound Halfrek, "and third, you really so dumb you think I’m gonna reverse wishes just cos you say jump? Not a chance in hell, baby" she snapped.

"I could give you a chance in Hell if you want" Buffy said angrily, "I’ll slay you if you don’t do what Spikey says!" she yelled up at the large dark-skinned demon, who looked human enough right now.

"Damn, child, you got some power packed in that little body, dontcha?" she smiled, "Still you start throwing any little punches my way I still gonna land you on the other side of this building"

"You come near her, and I’ll kill you" Spike said, side stepping in front of the mini Slayer, eyes flashing gold.

Isadora looked like she was about to laugh and Hallie shook her head.

"He will, Isadora" she warned, "When he loves he does so fully, and will die before he allows anyone to harm those he cares for" her tone was less the Americanised demon she’d become and so much closer to the young Englishwoman she’d once been, it took Spike by surprise and when he turned to glance at her, Isadora saw her opportunity and smacked him across the face, sending him reeling back.

As the vampire made to come back at her, the demon woman began muttering something foreign to almost everyone else in the room. With a flourish of her arms she seemed ready to disappear, to teleport away as Vengeance Demons are want to do, but she didn’t go anywhere.

"What the...?" she swore, finding herself still in the lobby of the Hyperion when she opened her eyes. Spike was equally as stunned to find he hadn’t needed to stop his advance on her, she wasn’t going anywhere after all.

"Who’s messing with my mojo here?" Isadora demanded to know, swinging around and looking nastily at the group. Joyce and Cordy held all the children away from her, hoping to keep them safe but ultimately knowing there was very little they could do against the demon woman.

"Angel, no!" Cordelia made a grab at him but he moved too fast and ran at Isadora’s legs. She batted him away with ease and he went crashing into the wall with a thud. Cordy ran to check on him and something made Buffy follow to make sure he was okay. Nobody had yet realised that Willow, Tara, and Wesley were slightly less quiet than they had been behind the counter. Joyce had thought it best not to draw attention to them, since it was less likely they’d get hurt that way, still she stood in front of the counter just in case and suddenly realised they were not just talking softly anymore, but chanting something.

"What?" Spike said suddenly, looking around as if trying to locate a person that might have spoken to him, but no-one had, "Bloody hell, how did you...?"

"Spikey?" Buffy frowned as she ran back to his side, satisfied that Angel was fine in Cordy’s care, "What’s wrong?" she asked him desperately, tugging on the bottom of his coat when his attention did not immediately focus on her.

"Gettin’ real bored, real fast, kids" Isadora pointed out, speaking to the whole room more than just the children - they were all so insignificant to her.

"You really are some piece of work, y‘know that?" Spike said suddenly trying not to grin as he wound her up, "Vengeance Demons, think you’re so bleedin’ high and mighty" he continued as he walked around her, taking her attention with him. The rest looked on wondering what he was doing, all accept Joyce who had since caught a little of what the kids behind the counter had been saying. It was all starting to add up for her.

Willow and Tara were still witches no matter how small, and between them and Wesley they’d come up with a plan to stop Isadora, and Halfrek too. For the second part of the spell they needed to get within throwing distance of the demon women, and that was why they’d had to tap into Spike’s mind and talk to him telepathically. He was the only one who could safely distract Isadora. If she turned on him it was unlikely she could kill him, the others were not so invulnerable.

"Bloody wish givers, think you’re so much better than the rest of us with your ‘powers’" Spike air-quoted, "Gotta work for a bleedin’ boss though haven’t you, luv? Gotta do your bit, fill your quota, or it’s..." he made a slicing motion with his finger across his throat to illustrate his point and Isadora tilted her chin in the air.

"You don’t know nothin’" she said firmly, "What we are, what we do, it’s for a greater purpose than you’ll ever have, BloodSucker" she sneered, but Spike just smirked, not caring what insults she threw at him right now.

"Greater purpose, eh?" he echoed, keeping her attention and signalling in his head to Willow that now would be the time to execute her plan.

With an unexpectedly loud war cry Wesley came hurtling around the side of the counter towards both Isadora and Halfrek, flinging his arms out as he reached them. Some sort of dust or powder flew out of his hands, getting on both the Vengeance Demons. They were too stunned to realise what was happening, as Willow and Tara stepped into view, hands clasped as they looked towards the assembled group of people and demons, chanting softly.

"What the hell is this!" Isadora demanded to know.

"Demonstration of our greater purpose" Spike told her smugly, as Willow and Tara completed their words and an orange mist swirled around first Isadora and then Halfrek too. The two little Wiccans grinned happily as the mist wound into rope-like strands, tying tight around the two demons bodies until they could not move.

"Good heavens" Giles said astonished at what was happening as the rest of the group looked on.

"Oh, pretty" Anya smiled as the orange bounds around her former friends flashed darker and darker, turning to red and then black as they became solid, tying arms and legs down, making it impossible for Isadora to move and strengthening Halfrek’s bonds.

As Willow and Tara finally went quiet, Wesley rushed back from his hiding place. Though he had every faith in his little witch friends he hadn’t fancied being in the firing line had the spell not worked. He had thrown the powder on the demons, they might want revenge for that - they were Vengeance Demons after all.

"Well, aren’t you two just the stars of the show" Spike smirked at Willow and Tara, the first of whom looked terribly pleased with herself, the other blushing from embarrassment as she kept hold of her friends hand and practically hid behind her.

"What exactly have they done?" Giles was keen to know as Buffy went towards Isadora and poked her in the knees, amused by the fact the demon seemed to be completely stuck in one position, not only held by ropes but glued to the one spot on the ground where she stood.

"Get away from me you little runt!" she yelled, making the Slayer jump. Over her shock fast, Buffy’s face hardened and she kicked the demon woman hard in the ankle, knowing she couldn’t hurt her back.

"Little Wiccas here did a bit of mojo for us" Spike smirked as he watched the little Slayer messing with Isadora, "With help of their Watcher friend of course" he added as he spotted Wes carefully weaving his way through the many people in the lobby, towards Willow and Tara.

"It worked" he said delightedly as the red-head nodded.

"It’s a binding spell" she smiled, as she looked over at the grown-ups, "We wanted to help... We did help, right?" she checked.

"Yes, sweethearts, you did" Joyce assured them with a smile, "Having them still is very helpful"

"But it doesn’t get our wishes reversed" Cordy pointed out, earning a scathing look from Mrs Summers as Tara, and Willow too, looked a little tearful that their efforts meant so little all of a sudden.

"But you did a great job" Cordelia back pedalled. She could do without the hassle of an argument, and crying kids right now.

"We could do more" Wesley said excitedly, "A controlling spell!" he cried in an almost-Eureka like moment that lasted just a second before he turned to Willow and whispered, "Can we do that?". She glanced at Tara before nodding it was totally possible and Wes went right back to grinning when he found that he’d said something useful and that the whole room’s attention was on him, in a good way.

"You sure about this, Little Bits" Spike asked, crouching down in front of the two girls, "Bloody powerful even in bite-size, I know that, can see it from here" he smirked, glancing over his shoulder at the bound demons whom Buffy and Angel were having great fun torturing, "but this is a big ask"

"W-we can do-do it" Tara stammered, much more confident in her magic ability than anything else. Willow nodded her agreement and Spike got back to his feet, looking over at Giles and Joyce.

"What say you, Watcher?" he asked him, "Reckon you wanna take a shot at having the Wiccas and Watcher Jnr go abracadabra on Pinky and Perky over here?"

"Well" Giles removed his glasses and polished them on the edge of his shirt, "I cannot see how they could make matters worse" he mused, "After all, neither Halfrek nor indeed Isadora seemed likely to reverse the wishes by any other means, and Willow and Tara have more than proven their, er... abilities have not been affected by their, well, condition as it were"

"Reckon that means yes, Mum?" Spike asked Joyce with a amused look, she smiled herself as she nodded.

"I would think so" she agreed.

"Right then" the vampire clapped his hands as he turned back to the kids, "Let’s get to it"

"We’re ready" Willow nodded, holding tight onto Tara’s hand.

They were standing in the centre of the Hyperion lobby, in front of the still bound Isadora, and Halfrek who had been released from the tape that held her and was now tied by only magical ropes too. Spike stayed close with a sword in his hand just in case something went wrong. Buffy and Angel were so desperate for a good brawl but the adults had decided against letting them help, it was too risky even with their extra strength.

Joyce, Giles, Dawn and Cordelia were up on the landing/balcony overlooking the scene with Xander, Anya, Buffy, and a rather disgruntled Wesley peeking around them to see what was happening. The little Watcher had hoped to be a part of this spell as he was the previous one, but the mini Wiccas didn’t actually need him for it and it was deemed equally as dangerous for him to take part in this as the other children.

Besides, Spike couldn’t protect everybody if something went wrong, it was responsibility enough watching the backs of the two remaining children, against a pair of Vengeance Demons. If they got free and fancied to rip him a new one, even Spike himself wasn’t one hundred percent certain he could take them, but being the only adult present with powers, he daren’t tell anyone else that.

"Go for it then, Little One" the vampire told Willow, who glanced at the nervous Tara and offered a reassuring smile. They seemed to communicate without the need for words and then their eyes turned from each other to the still bound demon women whose mouths had been taped shut for the foreseeable. Their complaining and threat-making had got on everybody’s nerves.

A string of Latin words fell from Tara’s lips. It was a little strange to hear her voice alone in the room and louder than ever before. Spike knew why of course. At age six Willow had known nothing of magic and her abilities with it, whilst her girlfriend was born into the arts. It was a while back the blonde Wicca had confessed to Spike she might be part demon, something she felt safer telling him than the others. He’d proven her theory to be wrong of course, one simple smack up the back of the head that made her merely wince but caused him to double over with intense pain. His chip fired, she as was human as her friends, case closed. Still she knew of spells and the power of magicks from the youngest of ages, something the whole group were grateful for now.

A light mist seemed to form above the heads of Halfrek and Isadora, like a black cloud focused only on them, though the droplets that first appeared to be falling from the cloud soon showed themselves to be moving against gravity. It was as if something were being sucked out of the demons, something dark and angry in shades of deep red and grey that was almost black. The cloud crackled with dark energy and power and Spike heard movement on the balcony as Xander hid behind Buffy, worried by what was occurring.

"Be gone!" Willow yelled suddenly, clapping her hands together.

With a crash like thunder the cloud burst in a flash of light and was indeed gone as the witch had instructed.

"Er, that it then?" Spike asked a moment later as he glanced between the still bound demons and the kid-witches. Nothing looked any different than it had before the spell, but the light show proved something had occurred.

"They’ll do anything you want now" Willow grinned happily, "They can’t lie or cheat or be bad if you tell them not to" she explained, "but just for now. The spell won’t last forever"

"How long we got?" Spike checked, lowering his sword to his side now it seemed there was to be no danger.

"U-until the s-s-sun s-sets" Tara muttered, her big loud spell-doing voice all gone away, leaving the shy little whisper of hers behind.

"Right then" Spike smirked, looking up at the group standing on the balcony, "You lot wanna come down here and we’ll do some spell reversing?"

Both Isadora and Halfrek gasped in air as the tape was removed from their mouths. The kids had been kept back, away from them til Spike was sure the spell had worked. Now satisfied it had he released their binds before ordering them to sit down which of course they obediently did. Spike smirked, loving the power he had and finding it almost amusing as the kids did when he ordered the demon women to stand and sit and hop on one leg.

"Spike, I think that’s enough" Giles told the vampire, although he too found the situation a little humorous.

"What happens now?" Buffy asked as she hurried to her vampire’s side. She hated having to be the whole ten feet away from him for the past few minutes. Of course it wasn’t simple telling a child you were about to do a spell on her and her mates to turn them into adults. As far as the mini Slayer was concerned she was supposed to be this height and this age, despite the fact she had some memory of her time as a grow-up.

"Er, Watcher" the vampire said awkwardly, deciding a change of plan was in order, "Reckon this’ll work even if the, er, subjects are elsewhere?" he asked, with a look that Giles thankfully picked up on.

"Oh, um, oh, yes" he said after a moment, "After all it did work last time and it might be less distressing if they’re kept away so..."

Joyce watched her boyfriend dither a moment before stepping in.

"Okay, kids, upstairs" she said ushering them towards the stairs once again, "Anya, Xander!" she called as they made to run off together.

"Can’t I stay with Spike?" Buffy pouted, "Pleeeaaase" she stretched the last word out to at least three times the length it ought to have been and Spike rolled his eyes as he crouched down to her height.

"Listen here, little pet" he told her, "You go with your Mum now, be a good girl, and when I’m all done with these... ladies here" he said with a look, "you and me can spend as much time as you want together, yeah?"

"Yay!" Buffy squealed delightedly at the prospect of spending all her time glued to Spike’s side. She flung her arms around the vampire’s neck and squeezed tightly, glad when he hugged her back before releasing her and telling her to go with Joyce, Dawn, and Cordy. She scampered off and Spike watched her go with an amused smile. She was a cute kid, and in some strange way he would miss her when all this was over, but he knew his gladness to have his woman back in his arms would far out-weigh that.

Soon there was just Giles and Spike left alone with Halfrek and Isadora.

"Right then, ladies" the vampire said sarcastically, turning to the two Vengeance Demons who did not look at all amused, "Reckon we’ve got some wish reversing to do"

"I should go and check that it’s worked I supposed before we allow them to leave" Giles said after the wishes had been taken back by first Halfrek and then Isadora. Spike nodded, knowing he wanted a word with Halfrek, or Cecily as he knew her, anyway. He didn’t actually need the Watcher to go and check on the gang, he knew the spells had worked.

By the time Giles had put one foot on the stairs, Spike could sense the shift in both Buffy’s essence and that of his grand-sire to whom he would always be connected, no matter how much he wished he wasn’t. He’d sent Rupert away so he could speak to Cecily, there was something he needed to know and in this state she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

"You can piss off now, Isadora" he told the other demon, "and since you have to do as you’re told I know you won’t ever come back here again, you’ll leave me and mine alone for the rest of eternity, got it?" he asked and she dutifully nodded, seething inside but unable to show it, "Right then, get away with you" he snapped and in a flourish she was gone.

"As for you, Cecily" he said looking down on her where she sat, "Got a question for you. How long you been a demon, pet?" he asked and she glanced away when she replied.

"Almost as long as you have been a vampire" she admitted, sounding much more like her original English self right now, "It was within a month of your death that D’Hoffryn came to me and offered me this life"

"You were human when I... when I cared about you?" he said, leaving love out of the equation right now. It wasn’t as if it should really matter anymore. He no longer loved Cecily, his heart belonged to Buffy and always would, but these things would only play on his mind if he did not sort them out now.

"I was human when you knew me" he confirmed, "but William... I confess it was because of you I turned to vengeance" she said, looking almost ashamed of herself for it, "My father forbade me to return your affection, however much I wished too"

"Your father... forbade...?" he echoed the beginning of her sentence trying to take in what she was saying. Spell be damned he only had to look into her eyes to know it was true, but he was so stunned. Cecily had cared for him, he wasn’t beneath her at all, at least not in her eyes, just in her father’s opinion.

"Your Dad didn’t think I was good enough for you?" he checked, just to be sure and Halfrek nodded.

"I was to marry someone of wealth and status" she told him, "We were not as rich as many perceived us to be, and though I cared for you I could not have confessed it. When news of your death came to light I felt wretched. Some said it must’ve been suicide after my refusal of you, and I blamed first myself and then my father" she admitted, "He was so unfeeling, the whole affair meant little or nothing to him. He had me courted by rich men from whom I was to choose a husband, and all this when I wished to be left alone to grieve a man I cared so much for"

Spike was reeling from her words and sat in shocked silence for a few moments. Cecily had actually had feelings for him of some kind all those years ago. It was quite strange to realise that if only she had told him of her real emotions back then, William might never have died at the hands of Drusilla and become the vampire he was now. He might have lived a rather happy if uneventful life with a wife and kids, all the normal stuff that happened to regular people that were not turned in barns by crazy vampire women.

"Ironic really, ain’t it?" he smirked suddenly as he looked at her, "If not for your refusal of me, I might have lived, might never have been the demon I am now, and if I’d not died, you wouldn’t have got your scorn on and become what you are either"

"Things could have been very different" Halfrek nodded, and Spike almost thought he saw tears in her eyes, "Still, you are happy now. Even without a truth spell I see in your eyes the love you hold for the Slayer"

"True enough" Spike smiled, looking towards the stairs that he had no doubt Buffy would come down at any second, his woman, his Slayer, his one true love.

"She is more worthy of you than I might’ve been, William" Halfrek told him, putting her hand on his arm. He would’ve accused her of lying if he did not know that was impossible right now.

"You were a hell of a woman, Cecily" he replied, putting his hand over hers for a second, "but you and me, wasn’t destined to happen, pet" he told her, "Fates saw fit to keep us both in the world longer than mortality should allow. I found my purpose, you found yours, all’s right with the world"

She smiled and nodded her head, agreeing with what he said.

Back in the day, they might’ve made a match and been happy, but it hadn’t happened and life went on. She adored her job, had no real need for the constant companionship of a man. He had Buffy, and a good cause to fight for. As Spike said, all was right with the world.

"Off you pop then, luv" he said suddenly releasing her hand and giving her a little shove, "No use you hangin’ around now. Not unless you fancy a bunch of recently switched back Scoobies chopping you into messes"

"Goodbye, William" Halfrek said softly, before muttering an incantation and disappearing from sight.

"See ya, pet" he said to the empty space beside him, glad to have things sorted out with the silly bint he’d once adored. Now he had a new love in his life, one he’d missed terribly these past few days. He felt her presence long before her hand landed on his shoulder, but it was only when she spoke that he turned, swept her into his arms and kissed her senseless.

"I was gonna ask if you were okay" Buffy gasped when he finally ended up his assault on her lips, "but you didn’t exactly give me a chance to breathe" she smiled, not in any way disliking the greeting.

"’M more than okay, luv" Spike told her, holding her impossibly close and tucking her hair behind her ear as he drank in the face he’d missed so much, "’M bloody thrilled to have you back like this" he said, moving in to kiss her once again.

"Glad to be back" she said breathlessly when they broke apart again, smiling as they sat down together where Spike and Halfrek had been just a moment ago, though all thoughts of the Vengeance Demon had left his head right now.

"I missed you so bloody much, pet" he sighed, grinning like an idiot as he kept a hold of her still, "Bloody torture havin’ to baby-sit the little kid version of you, when I knew if only that soddin’ wish hadn’t got granted I could have the real you"

"The wish" Buffy sighed, "Yeah, Dawn is so gonna get yelled at for that"

"Don’t be so hard on her, luv" Spike shook his head, "The Bit made a mistake, she knows it, but she suffered because of it too. Reckon she hated playin’ Big Sis. Might even have given her an appreciation for how tough it is for you, lookin’ out for her all the time"

"Maybe" Buffy shrugged, not entirely convinced, "Giles said you knew the demon that did this" she said suddenly remembering the gabbled explanations of her Watcher in the few minutes between her transformation back to her adult self and coming downstairs to find Spike.

"Yeah" Spike smirked, "Funny story, even loved her once" he admitted, making Buffy frown, "but that was a life time ago, pet" he assured her, hand cupping her cheek, "Got you now, and I love you so much, I couldn’t ask for anymore, wouldn’t even want to" he told her, kissing her softly and resting his forehead against hers, "God, I missed you" he repeated, actually quite surprised by how hard it had really been, and what a heavenly relief it was to have her back here with him now.

"Me too" she smiled, leaning into his touch, "It was so weird, I mean, I was six years old and everything but somehow it was like the real me, the grown up me was in there too, she just couldn’t figure out how to get out"

"I remember the feeling" he nodded, "Bein’ a kid had it’s upsides once before though, if memory serves" he smirked, referencing their adventures as five year olds last year under Willows botched spell, "Got us two together, didn’t it?"

"It might’ve been more fun if you’d got changed this time too" Buffy told him, "Angel was okay but I’d rather have been chasing you" she said, eyes sparkling with fun as she kissed him again. They pulled apart abruptly when they realised they were being watched.

"Hey" Dawn smiled nervously, offering a little wave as she looked at her sister, "You’re not gonna slay me are you?" she checked as Buffy got to her feet, finally breaking contact with Spike, just for a little while.

"No, I’m not" the Slayer admitted, hugging her little sister, "but if I ever hear you say that four letter word with the W again I might just" she warned as they pulled apart.

"I’m sorry, Buffy" Dawn apologised looking suitably shame faced, her eyes going to the floor, "I just wanted to... I don’t know, it’s just, you have these friends and this way important job, and like the best boyfriend ever" she smiled somewhat shyly at Spike, "and sometimes I feel like I’m just this annoying kid who doesn’t even matter" she admitted in a small voice, making Buffy frown.

"Dawnie, of course you matter" the Slayer assured her, pulling her into another hug to reinforce her point, "You’re my sister and I love you"

"I love you too" the younger girl replied, "and I get it now" she nodded, "Spike helped"

"You did?" Buffy looked strangely at her boyfriend who shrugged, not understanding what exactly he’d done.

"You trusted me" Dawn remained him, "told me stuff, talked to me like I was important, maybe even as important as Buffy"

"You are, pet" Spike told her, getting to his feet and putting an arm each around Dawn and Buffy’s shoulder, "You both mean the world to me" he assured them, "just in different ways is all"

"I get it, I do" Dawn smiled, as the vampire placed a kiss on her forehead, "And I won’t be wishing for anything else any time soon, I swear" she promised faithfully as the rest of the gang filtered down the stairs to join them.

"That’s a good thing" Buffy smiled as they broke apart and turned to the rest of the gang.

"Well, look at you lot" Spike smirked, before turning to Giles and Joyce with a smirk on his face, "Don’t they grown up fast these days?"

It was almost two months since Buffy and her friends had been reduced to six years olds after a couple of wishes gone wrong. Today actually marked the day that Spike and Buffy had returned from their first trip to Throwbacks-ville, one year ago now. That day had been the one when they became an official couple to, making today their first anniversary.

Joyce was staying over at Giles’ place, and Dawn had taken little convincing to sleep at Janice’s house tonight, giving Buffy and Spike the house to themselves when they returned from the restaurant where they’d had a romantic meal. Letting patrol slide for one night, the Slayer and her vampire went straight back to Revello Drive and were now in each others arms, slow-dancing in the living room to the romantic music from the stereo.

Buffy admired the eternity ring on her finger that Spike had presented to her at dinner. She adored it and had cried like a baby, feeling a little less stupid when she gave him an engraved lighter promising all her love forever, and swore she saw a tear in his eye too.

Spike was slightly surprised when he felt her body start to shake in his arms. He’d assumed she was getting emotional again but when he pulled away slightly to see her face he realised she was actually laughing.

"Something amusin’ you there, pet?" he asked her curiously and Buffy tried to calm herself down.

"It’s nothing, I... I was just remembering" she admitted, "When we were both kids it was weird, but when it was just me... Spike you tried so hard and I made your life hell" she laughed harder as she recalled it.

"That you did, pet" he smiled, also able to find it more amusing now it was over, "Bloody weird havin’ you still in love with me when you were three feet high"

"But you were so sweet" Buffy smiled up at him, "You played soccer with me, and you so let me win, didn’t you?" she accused.

"Might’ve" he conceded as they continued to slowly sway to the music.

"And you were so sweet to Willow and Tara, and Anya even" Buffy recalled, resting her head on his shoulder once again.

"Yeah" Spike said, kissing her hair, "and you were bloody jealous as hell" he whispered in her ear, making her head shoot up so fast she nearly broke his jaw, but thankfully narrowly missed hitting him by an inch or so.

"No way!" she protested, but the look on his face said he didn’t believe her at all, "Well, maybe a little" she admitted with a smile, her eyes dropping to the carpet.

"Needn’t’ve been, Slayer" Spike told her, lifting her chin with his finger til she was looking at him again, "You don’t ever need to be jealous of anyone, cos I love you, more than I ever loved anyone" he said so sincerely and with such an intense look in his eyes, Buffy felt like she could hardly breathe.

"I know" she whispered as they drifted even closer together, "I love you too" she said moments before his lips covered hers, and he pulled her close as they kissed with some considerable passion.

"God I missed that when I was bite-sized" she gasped a moment later, not in any hurry to move out of Spike’s embrace.

"Not the only one, luv" he told her, running his fingers through her hair, "You were a cute kid and all" he smiled, "but you weren’t you, be sort of sick if I thought you were..."

"This is me now" she interrupted, not needing to hear so many words right now, just wanting to be close to him, "This is the real me, all woman" she reminded pressing her body to his.

"I noticed" he said softly before his lips attacked hers again, hands roaming over her body. His fingers tangled in her hair, whilst his other hand found the gap between her skirt and blouse, his cold touch making her shiver deliciously as he backed her up towards the couch. Buffy ended up lying down with Spike above her, his lips and fingers causing a hundred different and very pleasant sensations to run through her body. God she wanted him, so much it hurt and she could feel just how much he wanted her too.

"Spike..." she gasped, when his lips left hers to kiss a path around her throat, "I don’t..." she began, finding that making a sentence was extremely difficult when he was doing these beautiful things to her. All too suddenly he stopped and pulled away assuming that was what she wanted from the negative beginning to her unspoken sentence. He sat up, pulling her up with him and glanced away.

"Sorry, pet" he apologised, "I wasn’t thinking"

He hated himself for pushing her, she’d told him several times she wasn’t ready to go that far yet, but when they kissed sometimes he just got lost in all she could make him feel with a simple touch. He loved her like he’d never loved anyone else before, and he wanted her so damn much. He was on his feet and facing away from her as he tried to be calm. He felt her hand on his shoulder and he half-turned back to look at her.

"Spike" she said softly, "I wasn’t going to ask you to stop" she told him as he turned around completely and looked confused, "I was... I was going to say, I don’t want you to stop" she said shyly, looking down at the carpet and then back up into his eyes. She couldn’t read his expression, and it didn’t seem like he was going to say anything, which wasn’t helping at all. Any kind of reaction would’ve been better than his silence. Not knowing what else to do she slid her hand into his and moved towards the stairs, taking him with her. She glanced back at him from the first step and he looked seriously at her.

"You sure about this, luv?" he checked, really wanting to do this, but determined not to let it happen if she wasn’t ready. He’d hate to think she would do it for his sake, force herself when she’d rather not. Though he doubted she would do that he’d rather check than wreck what they had, it meant to much to him.

"I’m sure" Buffy said softly, nodding her head but looking a little nervous anyway, "It’s not so weird" she shrugged, a slight smile on her lips, "I mean, we’ve been sharing a bed since we were kids, right?" she joked, but Spike couldn’t laugh, this was too serious.

"Buffy, this isn’t a joke, pet" he pointed out, "I just want to..."

"Ssh" she hushed him, putting a finger to his lips, "I know, but I’m ready. I want this. I want you" she told him, putting her lips to his and proving how certain she was, before leading him upstairs to her room.

They both knew she was nervous, and though he’d never admit it Spike was a little bit too. He’d slept with enough women, it wasn’t as if he didn’t know what he was doing but this was Buffy, this was the woman he loved more than anyone else in his entire existence. Now they had a chance to prove that love they felt in a physical way and neither of them had ever know anything so beautiful as when they finally made love together.

Afterwards, they fell asleep in each others arms, swapping promises of love for eternity as they close their eyes. Buffy smiled as she drifted off to sleep. She wasn’t a child anymore, in any possible way. Spike made her feel like a woman, and the most loved woman in the world at that.

The End