"Buffy!" Spike almost knocked himself off his feet trying to get to her, as Joyce struggled to keep the child still and calm. She didn’t know what could possibly have come over her daughter. Yes, she’d hit the wall with quite a thump but she was always a resilient child, and when one considered she still had her Slayer strengths now, there was no reason at all why she should be making such a fuss.

"Buffy!" Spike called again as he managed to reach the side of the ice and the young Slayer seemed to hear him through her nightmare at last.

"Spike?" she called back, "Mommy?" she said, looking up at Joyce who pulled her into a hug.

"Oh baby, what happened?" she asked her as Buffy cried.

Spike strained to see what was going on and wondered if it was best to stay put or attempt to get to the gap in the barrier so he could reach his Slayer and Joyce.

"I want Spike" Buffy sobbed into her mothers shoulder and was soon placed on the ground whilst her friend was lifted over the side of the rink and placed beside her.

"Buffy, what’s wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her back as she cried.

"Spikey, the monsters came back" she choked out as she reached out for him and he hugged her.

Joyce had tears in her eyes caused by the whole ordeal, as well as the sight she saw now. Nothing could be more adorable than her little girl in the arms of her friend, though the fact she was crying and previously screaming was rather worrying.

"You okay now, sweetheart?" Joyce asked her daughter as she knelt down to the children’s level.

Buffy nodded against Spike’s shoulder and he looked up at the Slayer’s mother.

"I’m sorry Mum" he said sadly, "I shouldn’t have let go of her hand"

"Oh, it wasn’t your fault, sweetie" Joyce was quick to tell him, "I really don’t understand what got you so upset though" she said, turning from Spike to Buffy, "You wanna tell me, baby?"

Buffy shook her head, no yet willing to come out of Spike’s embrace it seemed. The outburst and the mention of monsters had Joyce worried though and she knew it must be either related to her daughter being the Slayer or possibly the spell or maybe both.

"Come on, kids" she said leading them off, "I think that’s enough skating for today. We’ll go get some lunch and then head over to Mr Giles’ apartment again" she told the children who seemed to agree.

- - - - - - -

"Rupert?" Joyce called as she came into his apartment that afternoon, the children right behind her as she noted with some worry that the door had not been locked or even shut properly.

"Giles!" Buffy shouted at full volume, adding her voice to her mothers. She walked into the centre of the room with Spike right behind her. He almost ran into her back when she suddenly stopped.

"Demon" she said softly and her companion frowned not understanding, "Mommy, there’s a demon here!" she called over to Joyce who quickly picked up the nearest weapon - an umbrella from the coat stand.

A crash in the kitchen confirmed the little girls suspicions and Joyce lifted her ‘weapon’ above her head and prepared for an attack. She was not sure whether it was a good or bad thing when she recognised the figure that came into view.

"Joyce?" Angel looked surprised to see her and not at all murderous which she took to be a good sign.

"Angel, what did you do to Mr Giles?" she asked carefully, holding the umbrella steady in her hands.

"I haven’t seen Giles" he told her honestly, taking a step back when he realised the tip of the umbrella was indeed made of wood and pointing rather close to his chest, "I came here to tell him about a vision my friend had and no-one was home...seems like someone or something chased him off"

Joyce suddenly realised the smashed window in the living room area and overturned chairs on the route between there and the door.

"Is Buffy here?" was Angel’s next question. He was getting this weird vibe like she was in the room but he attributed that to her having been there so many times before and that her mother was present.

"I’m right here, Angel" the mini-Slayer called from her place behind the table and out of his view.

"Buffy?" he said with a frown as he peered around the furniture and saw the little girl with blonde pigtails stranding there. He got a bigger shock when he spotted the boy next to her, "Spike?!" the larger vampire’s eyes went comically wide and he tried to hold in a chuckle.

"Willow did a ridiculous spell" Joyce explained, finally putting down the umbrella as Angel crouched down to the kids level and studied them like a science project, "It’s turned Buffy and Spike into children, caused Mr Giles to be blind, and Xander to be chased by all manner of demons" she sighed tiredly, "My guess would be that a demon broke in here to get to Xander and he, Anya, and Mr Giles tried to outrun it"

"It’s incredible" Angel shook his head and Spike got hold of the Slayer’s hand as she looked up at the other vampire with a kind of sickening adoration.

"She’s my Slayer-bint, Peaches" the little vamp said nastily, "So piss off!" he yelled, giving his grande-sire a shove that he barely felt.

"Stop it, Spikey!" Buffy complained, pulling her hand from his grasp, "Angel is nice"

Angel couldn’t help but smile at that as he got back to his feet.

"Stupid wanker is what he is" Spike shot back and Joyce was quick to reprimand him for his foul language.

"You’re mean and I hate you!" Buffy screamed, pushing the boy she’d promised to marry just hours ago, but then pure love to pure hate is an easy step at the age of five.

"I don’t bloody care" Spike pushed the little girl back so she landed on her butt with a thump.

"I’m gonna slay you so bad!" was her response as she scrambled back onto her feet and the pair chased each other round and round the table, only stopping occasionally to wrassle each other to the ground.

"I don’t envy you trying to keep control, Joyce" Angel told her, trying not to smile with amusement at the ridiculous sight. Mrs Summer didn’t answer as she stepped into the fray, separating the children from each other and sending them to opposite corners of the room. They both looked sulky, and tried to blame each other for what had occurred, but Joyce told them she didn’t want to hear excuses. If they could stand there quietly whilst she talked to Angel, then maybe she’d consider letting them off any further punishment for being so unruly.

With the kids sorted out for now, Angel and Joyce sat down at the table.

"My friend has these visions" the vampire explained, "He usually sees things that are happening or that will happen very soon, and last night he saw demons, hordes of them, all headed for Sunnydale"

"Visions of demons headed to Sunnydale?" Joyce echoed, "Buffy had the same thing" she told the vampire who frowned.

"Mrs Summers, I know Buffy has prophetic dreams sometimes but I don’t remember her ever having visions like this..."

"At the ice rink" Joyce interrupted, "Buffy was screaming like she was being attacked, and she told Spike and I the monsters were back"

Angel looked thoughtful.

"I don’t think she had a vision of the future" he realised "she had a vision of the past" he recalled, "One of the Order of Taraka came after Buffy at the ice rink, two years ago now. I was there with her and we killed it together"

Joyce glanced over at her daughter who was now sitting in the corner tracing cracks and marks on the wall with her finger.

"Buffy, sweetheart" her mother called to her, encouraging her to come over to the table. She lifted the child up onto her lap and took a deep breath.

"Sweetie, at the ice-rink, when you saw the monsters" she said gently, "was Angel there too?" she asked.

"No, Mommy" Buffy shook her head definitely, as Spike dared to turn from the wall and watch the scene. He disliked the way Buffy looked at Angel, and he really hated the older vampire, of that he was perfectly certain though the details as to why or even how he knew Angel were decidedly hazy.

"I guess the spell messed with her memories" he heard him say as he strained to listen. When the souled vamp reached out a hand to her head, Buffy smiled shyly and Spike saw red. Rage boiled over inside his little body and he felt his demonic visage slip into place. With the nearest sound a small child can make to a primal yell, he flew at Angel’s leg and bit down hard on his ankle. The shock of the attack made Angel start, and this coupled with the smell of his own blood brought out his own game face.

Buffy shrieked in alarm as Angel tore the child vamp from his lower limb and dragged him up off the floor by the back of his coat.

"He was there!" she yelled, pointing at Angel who now had ridges and fangs visible on his face. Joyce got to her feet and holding onto her daughter with one arm she picked up the umbrella once again with her other hand.

"Put him down Angel or I swear to God..." she needed to say no more as her order was obeyed and Spike was dropped to the ground. Buffy scrambled to get free from her mother’s grasp and her Slayer strength meant Joyce had trouble holding her with her one free arm.

The little girl ran to Spike’s side, getting him up onto his feet and checking him for injuries, though thankfully he had none. By this time, both he and Angel were much calmer and their demonic faces had slipped away in favour of their much nicer human features.

"I think perhaps it would be best if you left Angel" Joyce told him, quite breathless after the turn of events.

"I can’t" he shook his head, "I have to find these demons and deal with them any way I can" he told her, "The visions lead me to problems I’m supposed to solve, and that’s what I’m here to do. If I can help with reversing this spell whilst I’m here to get Buffy back and cure Giles blindness and..." he paused as he recalled the other effects of the spell that Joyce had mentioned, "Did you say Xander was being chased by demons?" he asked and Mrs Summers nodded.

"Yes" she confirmed, "For some strange reason that I don’t entirely understand demons are chasing him almost constantly"

"All kinds of demons all headed to one place" Angel nodded to himself, "It wasn’t Sunnydale in particular or the hellmouth that they were coming here for, it was Xander" he realised.

"Good work, Nancy Drew" Xander stood in the doorway breathing erratically and Joyce rushed to him.

"Xander, where is Giles?" she wanted to know and he fought to regain his composure enough to tell her that he’d left the Watcher and Anya at Revello Drive.

"I knew the spare key was under the flower pot" he told her, "I had to get them somewhere safe away from me"

"But now you’re putting Joyce and Buffy in danger" Angel pointed out to Xander as he finally got his breath back.

"Well I didn’t know they’d be here, Dead Boy" he shot back at him, "And what are you doing here anyway, don’t you do a good line in running away?"

"Seems like that’s your speciality today, boy" came Angels deadly cold response.

"Enough!" Joyce exerted some motherly authority on the proceedings as she stood between the two of them, "Now, Xander, I have no idea how to defeat demons but it seems to me that for you to keep moving would be a good idea" she pointed out, "Here, I want you to take my car and drive" she said producing the keys from her purse and pressing them into his hand, "If you have any idea where Willow might be, start in her direction, since it seems she may be the only one who can reverse her own spell" Xander nodded, taking the keys from the Slayer’s mother and offering a sincere thankyou for her kindness.

"Keep your cellphone switched on" she told him, "If Mr Giles or any of us find anything useful we’ll call you" she assured him before he ran off into the dark.

"Angel, I suggest you head back to wherever it is you belong these days" Joyce told the vampire as she got hold of Buffy and Spike’s hands and led them to the door.

"I can’t just leave Buffy" the vampire shook his head, though the little girl didn’t pay much attention, she was too busy fussing around Spike.

"We had this conversation once before Angel" Joyce told him as she turned back briefly in the doorway, "And we both know how it ends"

With that she left to walk the children home, thankful it was now dark and therefore Spike was in no danger from the sun’s rays. When they reached Revello Drive she needed to speak to Rupert and Anya, work out where Willow might be and/or how to reverse her spell, then the children would need to be fed and put to bed, and in the morning she’d have to find some more clothes for them, they couldn’t live indefinitely in just one outfit each.

It seemed a mothers work was never done, but Joyce would have it no other way. Despite the problems that were occurring, she adored having her little girl back and at least partially dependant upon her, and Spike, far from being a little demon, could be a veritable angel, though judging by his reaction to the vampire that bore that name, Joyce considered it very wise to never tell him about that particular observation.

"Mommy" Buffy said with a yawn as Joyce got her out of her clothes and into another over-sized shirt to sleep in, "I’m not tired, why can’t I help Giles to research?"

"Buffy" her mother smiled fondly at her as she tucked her into the bed beside Spike who was already changed and hidden beneath the covers, "You have to get some rest, sweetheart, and Mr Giles and me and Anya can manage with the research by ourselves, it’s okay"

"But you don’t know so much about demons, Mum" Spike chipped in, "We know loads of stuff, me and the Slayer"

"Well, if you two are good and go to sleep now like I asked, maybe tomorrow you can help with the research, okay?" she told the pair who nodded their agreement, both yawning once again and proving all previous claims of lack of tiredness to be lies.

"Good night kids" Joyce smiled as she went over to the door and turned out the light before leaving them to join Giles and Anya in the living room.

She was startled to hear the man’s raised voice as she came down the stairs.

"...and I am quite aware of what a burden I am, and no use what-so-ever in helping Buffy as I should, but I do not need to hear your infernal jabbering on the subject!" he immediately regretted his outburst when he heard the footsteps of Joyce re-entering the room.

"Rupert, you’re not a burden at all" she told him as she came to sit beside him on the couch, "What’s happened is unfortunate but we’ll figure it out" she assured him, putting a reassuring hand on his arm.

"I don’t see how you sending away Xander helped at all" Anya piped up, "The demons will probably catch him and kill him and I’ll never see him again thanks to you!" she said somewhat angrily and Joyce narrowed her eyes at the ex-demon.

"Anya, why don’t you go home and get some rest. You can come back in the morning if you want to, when you’re feeling calmer" she suggested, anything to get the obnoxious girl out of the house.

What a nice boy like Xander saw in her she really couldn’t imagine and when she’d asked Buffy a couple of weeks ago she’d just turned very quiet. It was such a relief when Anya left without too much of a fuss.

"Joyce, I am terribly sorry..." Giles began to say but she interrupted him immediately.

"Rupert, I want no more apologies from you" she told him firmly, "Now I’m going to get us both a stiff drink, I think perhaps we both deserve one, and then we’ll discuss how we might find Willow to reverse this spell"

"That sounds like an excellent plan" he smiled in her general direction, putting his hand over hers where it rested on his arm, "I am very grateful for your assistance"

Joyce didn’t answer just smiled as she moved to pour them a brandy each. She placed the glasses on the coffee table and guided Giles hand to one of them so he knew where it was.

"Oh, there is something else I needed to ask you about" Joyce suddenly remembered before explaining to the ex-Watcher how Buffy appeared to be having flashes of memories from a couple of years ago.

"I don’t know if it was the only one she’d had, it was the only one she told me about because it scared her so much" she said worriedly, "She can’t make sense of it because in some ways it hasn’t happened yet"

Giles looked thoughtful.

"Putting Buffy, and indeed Spike, back into five year old bodies has pushed their memories into a pattern that just won’t fit" he surmised, "Buffy remembers myself and her friends, despite the fact she did not know us at the age of five, and she recalls being the Slayer" he went on with his theory, "However, her recollection of fighting demons, in fact her entire time growing up from ages five to almost nineteen, they’re still present in her mind but repressed to a certain degree because they will not fit in the timeline"

"So why is she suddenly remembering a demon she fought two years ago?" Joyce frowned.

"I believe it may work in a similar way to bad memories that one would sooner forget" Giles told her, "You can try to put it out of your head and over time it becomes something you barely recall, but once in a while something with trigger off the memory, a particular item, a room, a smell, an action, suddenly the memory rushes back to the surface almost as vivid as the day it occurred"

"It must be so confusing for them" Joyce sighed, "but they seem to bear it well. They lean on each other a lot"

"Yes, they do" Giles didn’t sound pleased about it but it appeared Joyce didn’t notice as she picked up a book entitled simply Witchcraft and began flicking the pages.

"Really it amazes me how Willow understands all these spells" she said a few minutes later, "Even the simpler things, basic glamours, floating objects, locator spells..."

"Locator spells!" Giles echoed with a triumphant tone, "Of course, we can use a locator spell to find Willow. Why on Earth we didn’t think of it before I have no idea!"

"Can you do it?" Joyce asked him and his smile turned into a frown.

"Not at present, no" he admitted, "Without my sight it is too dangerous to attempt and with Willow away, I fear the only person that would know what to do may very well be the one we sent away"

"Anya" Joyce realised with a sigh.

"Indeed" Giles nodded, "Plus of course we’d need ingredients and an item belonging to Willow"

"Well" Joyce tried to stifle a yawn, "I think perhaps tomorrow morning will be soon enough for all this" she said, closing the book she’d been reading, "I really could use a few hours sleep if I have to deal with all this plus two five year olds again tomorrow" she smiled, "and it’s already close to midnight"

"Is it really so late?" Giles looked astonished, "Oh I should trespass on your hospitality no longer" he made to get up but Joyce’s hand caught him arm and prevented it.

"Nonsense, Rupert" she said firmly, "You’re staying right here. You’re in no position to argue so I suggest you don’t try"

"If you are certain Joyce, I would be most grateful if I might make use of your spare room" he told her as she tidied up the books and brandy glasses.

"The bed’s already made" she told him, "I did it earlier when I was putting the kids down for the night"

A few minutes later, Joyce helped Giles up the stairs and into the spare room, sitting him down on the edge of the bed.

"Do you need help undressing?" she asked him, causing him to blush.

"Er, no, thankyou" he said awkwardly, "I’m quite certain I shall cope very well"

Joyce tried not to laugh at his words and expression combined.

"You forget, Rupert" she said as she walked back over to the door, "You have very little that I haven’t seen before" she reminded him, a smirk on her face to rival Spike’s own.

The ex-Watcher only blushed harder as the Slayer’s mother said goodnight and left the room. Giles was fairly certain that whilst he couldn’t see the look in Joyce’s eyes when she spoke to him just then, he could picture it very well in his mind. He quite decided then, as he heard the door click shut, that it might be wise to sleep with his clothes on tonight.

- - - - - - -

There is screaming and shouting all through the streets of Sunnydale, and demonic children chase more normal looking beings across the town. A soldier and a ghostly figure cower near a tree, hiding a girl that smells familiar to the vampire that spots them. Still, something is not right...

"Kill her for princess" Drusilla’s words ring in his ears and he remembers his promise to bring down the Slayer. It is then it strikes him, why the sight and scent of the girl in the long dress is familiar. Someone has reeked havoc with this spell of theirs, turning all that wear Halloween costumes into that they masqueraded as, but he has helped Spike. The Slayer is weak and can now be easily killed, a murder he will take such great pleasure in committing...

Spike sat bolt upright in the bed, breathing erratically despite the fact he did not need the oxygen at all. His small hands gripped the sheets so tight he almost tore them and he glanced over at Buffy’s sleeping form not a foot from him.

He’d wanted to kill her, the girl in the dress and somehow he knew that was the same girl that lay beside him now, but what he didn’t understand was why he’d ever want to hurt her that way.

As if she sensed his looking at her, or perhaps just the fact he was awake, Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at Spike through the gloom.

"Spikey?" she said sleepily rubbing her eyes, "What’s the matter?"

"I didn’t meant to" he said shakily, "I don’t know why..." he trailed off, looking around like the world was an unfamiliar place suddenly. Buffy frowned and pulled herself up beside him.

"Did you have a nightmare, Spikey?" she asked him, "Were there monsters?" she checked but he shook his head and sniffed.

"I...I don’t want to hurt you Buffy" he said solemnly, "I think I did before and I’m sorry"

The little Slayer was surprised to see that her friend was almost in tears, something she was fairly certain she’d never seen before. She found she didn’t like it much.

"I forgive you" she assured him, "Whatever you did, you probably didn’t mean to"

Spike was fairly sure that he had meant it when he’d made threats and thrown punches at the girl he now saw as his best friend really, but she was willing to forgive him his sins and for that he was grateful.

"Y’know, you’re my favourite Fang-face boy" Buffy grinned, hoping to cheer him up. He smirked at her words but his frown soon returned.

"There was a girl...I think I used to like her" he said, trying desperately to make sense of some rather disturbing images he held in his mind. A dark-haired woman with sharp nails that pierced his skin whilst she whispered that she loved him. He shook his head hoping to dislodge the thoughts and concentrated on looking down at Buffy who was still smiling and hoping he’d soon do the same.

"But you are my favourite Slayer-bint" he promised her, finally managing a smile, "and I will marry you one day"

Buffy giggled at that, glad to see her friend looking a little happier as they snuggled down beneath the covers once again.

"We’ll be best friends forever" the little girl reassured him when he looked a little uneasy. He nodded as he took hold of her hand and put a tiny object in it. She held it up to see what it was and smiled at the sight of one of his rings between her fingers.

"Forever" he told her softly as she pushed the ring onto her finger, grinning widely.

They fell asleep then, curled together in the middle of the bed. They would stay that way until morning, with no more nightmares to disturb them tonight.

It was late in the morning and Joyce had just got off the phone from calling Anya. Thankfully Buffy had the ex-demon’s number in a place where her mother could find it easily and after half an hour of apologising and convincing, Joyce had managed to get Anya to agree to come to Revello Drive and sit with the children whilst she went out to get them some more clothes, and then help them to perform a locator spell to find Willow. Whilst the girl agreed, she made it abundantly clear that she was only helping them because she wanted Xander back a soon as possible for graphically explained reasons that Joyce never wanted to hear again as long as she lived!

Giles was hating being stuck on the couch, unable to be of any assistance with research or baby-sitting, though the latter Joyce was sure he was heartily grateful for. Buffy and Spike were a bit of handful to say the least, but Mrs Summers couldn’t help but love having her daughter all young, carefree and dependant upon her again. She even found that she loved little Spike to the point where she’d happily adopt him if only he were to stay this way. As awful as it was, Joyce couldn’t help thinking how nice it might be to keep the kids this way and not turn them back.

"Can I get you anything Rupert?" she asked him and he smiled at her concern.

"No, thankyou, I’m quite alright" Giles told her, "well, perhaps that is the wrong phrase" he considered, "There’s nothing I need unless you suddenly have the ability to return my sight" he sighed, rubbing tired eyes that were of no use to him right now.

"I wish it were so simple" Joyce felt bad for him as she came to sit at his side, a hand landing on his knee as she did so, "I hate knowing there’s nothing I can do for you"

"I could say the same thing" he reminded her, "I am of little or no use to you either, not with the children or with the spell..."

"That doesn’t matter" Joyce assured him, "You take care of Buffy all the time, and the others. They all turn to you and you’re always there for them. Now it’s my turn to help them out and you too"

Giles smiled at that.

"I do assure you Joyce your help is most appreciated" he told her, his hand finding hers and taking hold of it, "Indeed I have no idea how we would have coped without you"

That brought a smile to her face too. She really did like helping as she was, being part of the team so to speak, and more than that she found she particularly enjoyed Rupert’s company.

-

"They’re doing it again" Buffy giggled from underneath the table. She and Spike decided it was a good place to play and Buffy was spying on her mother and Giles from there, and finding it most amusing when they started holding hands.

"Doin’ what?" Spike asked, looking up from the drawing he was doing and peeking out from their hiding place.

"Holding hands" the little Slayer rolled her eyes, "and Giles stayed over last night...I’ll bet they really are gonna get married and have babies" she decided, picking up a crayon and helping Spike to colour in his picture.

"Think we should tell ‘em that we’re getting married too?" he asked her with a tilt of his head. She considered it for a moment before shaking her head, sending her pigtails swinging wildly.

"Nuh-uh" she decided against it, "They might say we’re not allowed, y’know like how I’m not allowed cookies before lunch"

"No-one can stop us from getting married" Spike said firmly, "They can take your cookies away but they won’t take you away from me!" he was getting quite irate about it as he coloured in his picture a little too roughly, snapping the crayon in two.

"Bugger" he complained, and Buffy shoved him.

"Spikey, that’s a bad word" she reminded him, "If Mommy heared you you’d be in big trouble"

"Don’t give a sod" he challenged, making the Slayer gasp.

"Mommy!" she yelled as she scurried out from beneath the table and ran into the living room, but her mother was gone, "Giles, where’s Mommy?" she asked her Watcher.

"She’s answering the door, Buffy" he told her, "Anya is here"

The little Slayer gasped, changing her mind about telling tales on Spike and bolting back to the table. She got underneath as fast as she could and her little friend was surprised to see her back so fast.

"Anya’s here" she said in explanation, "She’ll tie us up again!

"Don’t fret, luv" Spike told her, sensing some fear that he was not used to from Buffy, "You’re my special Slayer-bint" he reminded her, giving her a hug, "If Anya does anything bad, I’ll bite her for you" he grinned, making the little girl feel a whole lot better.

-

"Anya, thankyou for coming back" Joyce smiled, even though being polite to the girl was less than easy.

"Yes, you should be thanking me" the ex-demon nodded as she came into the house, "I could have been at home right now worrying about Xander, or if you hadn’t have sent him away I could be having good orgasms right now"

Joyce cringed at the phrasing but knew she couldn’t get mad at the girl, she needed her to perform the locator spell to find Willow. Then Xander could bring the witch home, the original spell could be reversed and all would be well. At least that was the plan.

"Please, go through and sit down" Mrs Summers urged her, "If you could just keep Giles company and make sure the kids don’t run riot I’ll go out to the store for some clothes for Buffy and Spike, and then to the magic shop"

"Sure, fine, whatever" Anya sighed, dropping herself into the armchair and pulling a magazine from the coffee table. She began flipping pages and looked heartily disinterested in everything she found on them. Joyce was a little taken aback and stood staring for a moment.

"You can go now" Anya told her and the older woman blinked.

"Thankyou" she replied, sarcasm duly added, "I won’t be long, Rupert" she said turning to the man on the couch, "You’re sure that I have everything on this list that you need from the magic shop?" she verified, reeling off a few ingredients he’d mentioned before.

"Yes, quite sure" he confirmed, catching her arm (by luck more than judgement) as she turned to leave, "Don’t be long" he almost begged of her and she smiled, glancing at the already-bored Anya.

"I won’t be" she promised, squeezing his hand before going into the hall, pulling on her coat.

"Buffy! Spike!" she called and they both came scurrying out from their hiding place.

"Now kids, I have to go out for a while, so Anya and Giles are going to take care of you til I get back" she told them. Buffy pouted.

"Can’t we come with you?"

"Please Mum" Spike added his plea to his friends for good measure, and the sight of the two of them looking so sad to be left behind almost made her cave, but she held firm.

"I’m sorry babies" she said, crouching down to their level, "but I have to be as fast as I can and it’s light outside, we don’t want to risk Spike getting hurt now do we?"

"Nuh-uh" Buffy shook her head in the negative, and the little vampire did the same.

"Then you stay here and be good" Joyce told them, "and when I get back I might just have a nice surprise for you"

"Yay, surprises!" Buffy squealed, jumping up and down excitedly, encouraging Spike to do the same. Their enthusiasm soon died when Joyce gave them both a kiss and left the house.

Beyond the door Joyce let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She really hated to leave the kids, especially when they looked so upset about her going. Add to that the fact she’d left them in the care of a very kind but nevertheless blind man, and an unstable girl who used to be some kind of demon, Joyce was determined to hurry around the shops and get back as soon as she could.

-

It was just two hours later that Joyce arrive back at 1630 Revello Drive. The first thing she noticed as she got to the front door was the silence, and that worried her immensely. Children, especially five year old throwbacks of a Slayer and vampire, should never be so quiet, and if they were that meant one of two things. Either Anya had them bound and gagged by now, in which case spell or no spell she would feel the wrath of Mother Joyce, or it was the children who were up to no good...

"Buffy? Spike?" she called cautiously as she came through the front door.

"Hey Mom" the little Slayer called back from her position on the floor. She was laying on her front with her legs kicking in the air, her hands supporting her chin whilst she watched TV. Spike sat up fairly sensibly beside her.

"Hello Mum" he smiled too politely before turning back to the cartoon he and Buffy were watching.

"Where is Anya?" she asked suspiciously, looking to Giles who turned in her general direction.

"I’m not entirely certain" he admitted, "Under the circumstances, I didn’t like to ask, but the children have been good as gold since she...disappeared" he told her, "I’ve been listening to their quiet conversation and the general gabble of the television for quite some time"

Joyce smiled at that, pleased nothing awful had happened to either of the children or Rupert but where on earth was Anya? With a frown she walked through to the kitchen, dumping her bags there and then ventured out of the other door.

"Oh good heavens" she gasped when she found the girl she’d been looking for.

Anya was bound by her ankles and wrists to one of the dining room chairs by various rope-like items. One of Joyce’s dish towels had been fastened across her mouth so that speech was impossible, but if looks could kill the older woman was sure she’d be dead in an instant. She rushed forward to remove the gag and begin untying the bonds that held Anya captive.

"It’s about time!" she complained, "I cannot believe those little brats!" she yelled, her rants turning into shouts of over-exaggerated pain as Joyce pulled at the knots in the various household items that held her to the furniture.

"How on earth did they manage to do this?" Buffy’s mother asked, desperately trying not to laugh. She was shocked and somewhat appalled by Buffy and Spike’s behaviour but she couldn’t help thinking what a great idea it was to have such a young woman as this bound and gagged on most occasions.

"They’re little monsters!" Anya continued to complained, "And they still have their super-strength even in these strange little bodies!"

Her yelling prompted both children to appear in the doorway, biting their lips so as not to giggle as Anya finally got to her feet and rubbed her wrists and ankles where she’d been tied up.

"Buffy, Spike" Joyce said in a decidedly angry mother tone, "Tell me what happened"

"She was being mean, Mommy" the little girl pouted, "She said if Spikey didn’t be quiet she was gonna make him go poof" she explained, holding his hand tightly in hers.

"Go poof?" Joyce echoed quietly to herself , before realising what her daughter meant, "Oh, really?" she looked to Anya for an explanation, making her feel very much like the little kid on trial here.

"I wouldn’t actually have staked him" she said as if it were obvious, but Joyce wasn’t buying it.

"What else happened?" she asked, turning back to the kids, but it was Anya that answered this time.

"The little demon-spawn bit me...again!" she cursed as she uncovered her ankle to reveal a set of teeth marks that barely showed, except for the little fang holes, "I probably need some kind of shot now" the ex-demon complained.

Spike didn’t look happy about anything she was saying, and neither did Buffy. Actually, Joyce didn’t look too thrilled either.

"Anya, they’re just children, and I was only gone two hours" she snapped, feeling so protective not just over her daughter but over Spike too. She stood in front of them when Anya started to look altogether too violently at them.

"I suggest you go through to the kitchen and get the spell ingredients" she advised the younger girl, "You can start setting up in the living room, whilst I take the kids upstairs and talk to them"

"Talk to them!" Anya yelled, "They need to be punished" she said adamantly, "Whatever happened to strict parents with belts to hit their children with, or canes..."

"Anya!" Joyce snapped, shocking not just her but the children too, "This is my house and these are my children, or at least my responsibility, and I will decide what punishment, if any, needs to be given" she explained sternly, "You are here to perform a spell, and that is all"

With that she took hold of the kids by the hands and stormed off towards the stairs, encouraging them up there when they reached the bottom. She promised to follow in two minutes, and went to fetch the new clothes she’d bought from where she’d abandoned her bags.

"You really think your Mum’s gonna punish us?" Spike asked as he and Buffy waited for her upstairs.

"I dunno" the little Slayer shrugged, just as Joyce appeared at the top of the stairs. She took them through to the bedroom and sat down on the bed with them.

"Now, I think we need to talk about what happened with Anya..." she began, and immediately Buffy interrupted.

"She was mean, Mommy, we had to do it!" she protested.

"It’s true, Mum" Spike threw in, "I thought she was going to hit Buffy and then she was calling me stuff, so we had to"

Joyce couldn’t help but smile at their innocent little faces and pleading voices. If Anya had been horrible to them she could hardly blame them for what they’d done. After all there were times when she herself could quite like to at least gag the girl for the sake of everyone’s sanity.

"I won’t leave you with her again" she said, "I promise"

"And you’re not going to punish us" the little Slayer checked.

"No, honey, I’m not" her mother told her and Spike, "What you did wasn’t very nice but...neither is Anya really" she smiled, making both children giggle.

"That doesn’t mean to say you can go doing that to just anybody" she clarified, "It was naughty and dangerous. Do you understand?" she told them much more seriously, both of them nodding solemnly in response.

She hugged them both to her, glad they understood and that they’d got through this whole debacle without any tears or tantrums, unless you counted Anya’s ranting. Next came something Joyce was less able to deal with, spells and magic, but she had one more motherly duty to perform before that. She’d got new clothes for the kids, probably more than she should have given it was likely they’d be adult sized again within the week, but before she put them in clean clothes, she thought it was about time the pair of them took a bath.

Joyce may be a mother of just the one child, but she’d looked after more than that before and she had the good sense enough to realise that two five year olds naked in a bath together may be inappropriate, especially when those two children were Buffy and Spike. Knowing it was going to be impossible to deal with getting one washed whilst keeping an eye on the other, she’d had an idea when buying clothes at the store. Now here she was, kneeling on the bathroom floor between the two kids, getting Buffy into a little pink bathing costume, whilst Spike leant over the side of thetub trying to reach the rising water with his fingers. Joyce caught a hold of him just as it looked like he might fall head first.

"Careful, sweetie" she warned him as she pulled him back. She checked the water temperature, turned off the faucets and got Buffy into the tub where she started splashing immediately.

Joyce then changed Spike into the little blue trunks she’d bought for him, careful about exactly what her daughter could see from her position in the tub.

"Can we have bubbles?" the little girl asked as Spike sat opposite her in the warm water, "Bath-time is no fun without bubbles"

"Bubbles okay with you Spike?" Joyce asked as she reached for the bottle and he nodded cautiously. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever been in this situation before. Obviously he’d taken a bath before but not quite like this and not with the bubbles that began to appear all around him as Buffy swooshed the water with her hands.

Spike watched her giggle and play, and just thought how pretty she was. He vaguely remembered thinking so before but never as clearly as he did today.

"What are you staring at, Spikey?" she made a face when she realised he was watching as her mother helped her get clean.

"Nothin’" he shrugged, not willing to share. Buffy frowned a little as Joyce shampooed her hair.

There was relative quiet as Joyce finished getting Buffy washed and then started on Spike. When they’d both been fully soaped, shampooed, and rinsed off they started a splashing war that had them both laughing loudly, even Joyce couldn’t stop herself from joining in, though she made the kids calm down when it seemed as if there were more water on the floor and the wall than in the tub. The real problem was that the towels she’d brought in for the kids had also got soaked by water that had overflowed and she was forced to make a choice between leaving the kids alone for a moment, or calling Anya up to watch them whilst she fetched two more towels. After her faithful promise never to leave them alone with her again, it seemed her only option was to risk leaving them alone, even if it did go against all her motherly instincts.

"You two promise to behave whilst I fetch more towels?" she checked.

"We promise Mommy" Buffy nodded as Spike did the same. Joyce kept her eye on them as she backed out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar as she scurried across the landing.

As soon as she’d gone, Buffy grinned at her friend.

"Can you do this?" she asked him, taking a deep breath and pinching her nose between her fingers as she threw herself under the water and stayed there. Spike was just starting to panic about her when she came back up again, gasped for air but giggling too.

"Your turn" she told him, clearly not considering her game to be at all dangerous. Spike copied exactly what she had done, pushing his head fully under the water and staying down. When Joyce came back in a full two minutes later (she’d had trouble finding fresh towels in the muddled closet) he was still down there and showing no signs of being at all affected.

"Spike!" Joyce yelled in panic and he dutifully brought himself up out of the water, not even breathing heavily - not even breathing at all.

"You don’t breathe" Buffy observed as she watched him sit there too still.

"Sometimes I do" he told her, "but I don’t think I have to"

Joyce’s mind was going into overdrive, her hand on her chest as her heart beat nineteen to the dozen. Spike was so different and so much this little boy she’d learnt to love, that fact he was a vampire had all but completely left her mind.

"Uh, I think it’s time we got you kids dried off and dressed" Joyce said shakily as she lifted them out, wrapping them both in a towel each and getting the hair-dryer out.

"Mommy" said little Buffy suddenly, "You said we could have a surprise when you got back from going out" she reminded her mother.

"That’s right, sweetie" she smiled, "I bought you both a few things"

She was very proud of the purchases she’d made, though she’d probably vastly over spent on clothes that would only be used for a few days at most, but she just couldn’t help herself. It would be worth it to see their little faces when she showed them their new outfits. She knew Buffy would be thrilled though she was less certain about Spike, she was sure he’d be careful not to offend her anyway. If only they could stay this way forever she thought once again, as they giggled together, but all good things must come to an end.

-

"How exactly do you expect to find Willow with this spell?" Anya asked Giles as she knelt by the coffee table, mixing a few ingredients in a small bowl, "She could technically be anywhere in the whole world" she pointed out.

"It is doubtful she has gone far" the Watcher reasoned, "I doubt she will have got out of California at best, which is why I suggest you first try the spell over a map of the state and then we can perhaps zoom in as it were and try again on a more localised area once we know where to start"

"It all seems like a very long and pointless process" the ex-demon sighed, "You know if it wasn’t for Willow’s irresponsible use of dangerous magicks all of this could have been avoided"

"Yes, Anya, we are all quite aware of that" Giles said tiredly, rubbing his unseeing eyes, "but the fact remains these things have happened and do need to be resolved. I would personally have thought you were impatient to rid Xander of his demon problems so that he might come home to you"

"Of course I want Xander back!" Anya jumped in immediately, disliking the implication that her feelings for Xander might not be true, "I miss my sweet, funny Xander" she sighed longingly, "especially the sexual pleasure he gives me but it’s more than that" she realised, "I miss his smile, and the way he holds me after sex when we fall asleep together. I miss his stupid jokes, and the musty smell of his basement...my God Giles it’s just terrible! I think I love him!" she complained suddenly.

"Er, and this is a bad thing?" the Watcher ventured, really not sure what to say in such a situation as this.

"It’s...different" Anya frowned, "I don’t know how it happened. I mean one minute it’s all about the sex and how great the orgasms are but...now I actually care. I care about him and I don’t like to think that he’s in pain or in trouble...it’s a strange and unsettling feeling" she decided.

"Love often is, Anya" Giles told her with a smile that meant he knew only too well how she felt, "It’s seldom easy or straight-forward, but it can be a wonderful thing"

The serious and yet odd conversation was interrupted by what sounded like a herd of small elephants coming down the stairs. It turned out in fact to be Buffy and Spike, followed by Joyce at a more sedate pace. What surprised Anya (and indeed would have surprised Giles too if he could see) was that the little Slayer and vampire looked so very unlike themselves.

"You have different clothes" she observed as they stood a few feet away from her, exceedingly wary of getting too close to the ex-demon they had secretly dubbed Evil-Anya.

Buffy was now wearing a little white T-shirt with frills at the sleeves and pale pink dungarees with Hello Kitty on the front. Next to her, it was a shock to see Spike out of uniform black with occasional red. Instead he wore little dark blue jeans and a paler blue T-shirt that matched his eyes.

"Now you two go and play and I’ll just be here with Giles and Anya if you need me, okay?" Joyce told the kids who scampered off to their hiding place under the table again.

Buffy flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked over at Spike.

"Do you think I’m pretty?" she asked him matter-of-factly. He studied her, head tilted to one side before has nodded and smiled at her.

"Very pretty" he agreed, "You’re my pretty Slayer-Bint" he told her making her giggle.

"Boys can’t be pretty" she said after a moment, "but I like your new stuff too" she told him, "Blue is one of my favourite colours"

"I think my eyes are blue" Spike said thoughtfully, unable to remember precisely what his face looked like and finding it strange, "Are they blue?"

Buffy shuffled over to him, getting exceptionally close in order to get a better look at his eyes.

"Uh-huh" she smiled, "They’re nice blue" she decided, "Kind of pretty blue"

Spike felt a strange feeling when Buffy leaned in so close to him. It was like the memories that no longer fitted in his head, but he knew he just liked her being close to him and in a moment that he’d never be able to explain he leant towards Buffy and put his lips to hers.

A moment later they both pulled back and she looked strangely at him before she smiled, her grin soon turning into a giggle.

"You kissed me" she said, as if to check that he knew what he’d done. Spike couldn’t help but smirk when she seemed to be embarrassed by it.

"Gonna marry you one day" he told her, "Blokes kiss girls they’re gonna marry" he nodded, not certain how he knew it, he just did.

There was a strange moment of silence before Buffy scrambled across the floor to fetch the crayons and paper they’d been drawing with before. She liked Spike a lot, and when he kissed her she got this funny feeling in her stomach that she vaguely recognised but didn’t truly understand. Buffy didn’t like things she didn’t understand, it was confusing and not nice. Drawing was fun though, she understood that so she encouraged Spike to join her in that activity for a while, having no idea what the grown ups were doing beyond the tablecloth.

-

"...so I hold the personal item, say the incantation and then sprinkle this dust on the map" Anya was explaining to Joyce, gripping a ring Buffy had earlier identified as belonging to her best friend, "There should be a little light wherever Willow is"

Joyce nodded that she understood and somehow her hand found it’s way into Rupert’s as they sat together on the couch. Anya knelt on the other side of the coffee table, held the ring in her hand and closed her eyes to chant. Moments later her eyes opened, and she poured something that Joyce could only describe as ‘magic dust’ into one hand, sprinkling it over the map of Southern California.

Two pairs of eyes darted over the area before Anya pointed to a tiny glowing spot.

"Looks like you were right Giles" she was loathed to admit, "Willow didn’t go far, she’s somwhere in LA"

"That still gives us quite a large area to cover" the Watcher frowned, "I think perhaps a map of the town itself might be useful, try the spell again"

"Should I call Xander?" Joyce worried, "He’d at least be headed in the right direction, I have no idea where he might be now"

"Good idea, Joyce" Giles agreed, squeezing her hand before she got up and headed for the phone.

‘Willow isn’t far away’, she was thinking as she dialled, she could be found in just a day or two and then the spell could be reversed. As great as that would be for Xander and dear Rupert who she was growing increasingly fond of the more time they spent together, it would mean her children would be children no more, but her grown up daughter and a semi-dangerous vampire. She really wasn’t looking forward to that at all.

Joyce sighed heavily as she sat down beside Giles on the couch.

"Is everything quite alright?" the Watcher checked. Though the boy could be heartily annoying and very trying on ones nerves, Giles really wouldn’t like to know that any great harm had come to Xander whom Joyce had just tried to call on the phone.

"Xander can’t be far from where Willow is" she explained, glad that Anya had gone out to fetch another map, leaving the two older people alone, "He said he passed the Welcome to LA sign a few hours ago"

"You sound as if you’re not happy about him being so close to finding her" Giles frowned, not understanding at all. Joyce sighed again.

"I know it’ll be better when you have your sight back and when Xander is safe" she said, putting her hand over his once again, "but...I must admit, I like having Buffy this way. Does that make me an awful person?" she asked him.

"Quite the contrary" Giles assured her, "Buffy is becoming an independent young woman. It’s difficult to be less than vital in someone’s life when your role was so great before..." he trailed of before concluding, "I suppose it is quite natural to enjoy having her need you once again"

Joyce knew he was not only speaking of he attachment to her daughter, but also his own affection for the young blonde.

"She was lost for a while, without her father" she told him, "but when we moved here and you came into her life..." the sentence was left unfinished but there was no doubt in Giles’ mind what Buffy’s mother meant to say.

"Thank you Joyce" he said softly, voice full of emotion as he squeezed her hand. He’d never meant anything as much as the gratitude in those simple words just then, but then no sentiment from another had ever touched him as much as what she’d just said to him.

The moment was broken by the children’s voices as they came scurrying from beneath the table presenting Joyce and Giles with a picture they’d drawn.

"Look, Mommy" Buffy grinned, "It’s us" she pointed excitedly at the page her mother now held.

In the centre were two figures, one a girl in pink and the other a boy in blue, clearly they were supposed to be self portraits of Buffy and Spike. To either side were two larger figures, one it seemed was supposed to be Joyce and the one on the other side, Giles.

"It’s beautiful, kids" she beamed, "I wish you could see it Rupert" she told him and Buffy frowned.

"Oh, sorry Giles, we forgot you couldn’t see it" she said sadly.

"Not to worry Buffy, it’ll still be here when my sight returns" he assured her, though he knew it would be of little matter then since the children would be children no more and not care at all about the cartoon-ish ‘family portrait’ they had made.

"I have an idea" Joyce smiled slowly as she had a thought, "You kids sit up here with Mr Giles" she said, helping them up onto the couch before she disappeared through into the dining room. Two minutes later she was back, carrying a camera.

"How about a couple for the album?" she asked, and the kids grinned and nodded wildly, Buffy in particular who immediately began posing like all little girls do when someone with a camera is present.

As Joyce snapped a few photos of the kids and Giles, both together and separately, she was smiling widely. Even though Buffy and Spike wouldn’t stay this way forever at least she could look back at these pictures and remember how much fun it had been and how much love there was between them.

"It is such a shame I can’t take a photograph of you with the children, Joyce" Rupert felt terribly guilty about it.

"There’s no reason why we can’t all be in the picture together" she realised as she had a thought, "Buffy can you move over to the side and make a space for me between you and Spike" she asked her daughter who dutifully scrambled across the cushioned surface leaving a Mom-sized space between herself and her friend.

"Okay, now..." Joyce pushed a couple of buttons on the camera, quickly positioning it on the shelf across the room before rushing to take her place on the couch. She made it comfortably between the children, and all four of them were smiling when the flash went off and the picture was taken. Perfect.

-

The rest of the day passed in relative calm. The kids were mostly well behaved, except for that one incident that Joyce would rather forget when she was a little late getting Spike’s lunch and his demon came out to play. She didn’t blame him at all, in fact it had been quite amusing when Anya had climbed on the chair to escape just in case the little vamp went for her ankles again.

Giles commented how strange it was that Spike was able to bite a human and cause damage, all be it very minor, when before this he’d been in severe pain from doing so. It was Joyce who had suggested perhaps because there was no real intent to injure anybody the chip in his head didn’t fire. Giles had to admit he was quite surprised how quickly Buffy’s mother was adjusting to the demon world that she had been given such a sudden introduction too. Though she’d known of her daughters true calling for more than eighteen months now, she’d never really become one of the gang as it were, not until now.

Giles found he very much enjoyed having a fellow grown up in the circle and most especially Joyce who he was starting to feel he may have under-estimated slightly, but then they hadn’t spent all that much time together til now, not counting an incident with candy that he was far too embarrassed to have mentioned again.

Later in the day, when the kids had been fed and Anya had been talked down from the chair, another locator spell was performed over a map of LA so Willow could be more carefully pinpointed. Joyce called Xander as soon as they could give him a better idea of where to go, and also to check how he was.

"Couple of demon chases that were pretty close" he admitted, "What I wouldn’t give to have the Buffster with me right now. Even pint-sized would be good"

"I feel awful for sending you off alone like that, Xander" Joyce apologised, "I’m so sorry, I thought I was helping"

"No, you were, you did" he was quick to assure her, "Actually you still are. I just need to find Will and get this whole thing straightened out before...oh God, not now!" he complained as the line crackled.

"Xander?" Joyce called worriedly several times before he answered.

"Picked up a tail, and not of the human kind" he explained, putting the car in gear, "I’ll call you back later" he said, quickly hanging up and driving off as fast as he could.

Joyce put the phone back in the cradle and was surprised to find Buffy and Spike at her feet.

"Mommy, is Xander okay?" the little girl asked, her lip distinctly trembly. Joyce crouched down to their level and sighed.

"Of course honey, he’ll be just fine" she promised, knowing she had no right since there was simply no way of assuring the boys safety.

"Don’t like him much" Spike admitted, "but the Slayer does so I didn’t want him to die"

"Nobody’s going to die, sweethearts" she told them, giving them both a hug, and praying she was right.

"Joyce?" Giles called from the living room and the three went through to him, "I had an idea about Willow. Perhaps we might telephone the hotels and such in the area we pinpointed and ask if she’s there?" he suggested, "It’s unlikely she is deliberately trying to hide from us so she probably would have given her real name, indeed Willow is so frighteningly honest I suspect she would make herself feel quite terrible if she didn’t tell the truth" he smiled.

"Thats a great idea, Rupert" Joyce agreed, grabbing the map from the table and noting down the road names near to the tiny burn mark the light from the spell had made. She had a modest knowledge of the Internet and was sure she’d be able to find a list of hotels, motels, etc. along these streets and their phone numbers so she could call and try to find Willow. She found she loved this, being in the thick of the action, a real member of the team. She only hoped that would last when this spell was over.

-

It was late afternoon and Spike and Buffy were lying on the living room floor watching the Disney channel, whilst Giles sat on the couch, sipping at his scotch and being driven a little mad by the too-happy kids songs and over-the-top voices of various cartoon characters.

Joyce was sitting on the stairs, calling yet another place that Willow might be staying in, only to be disappointed when the receptionist told her no-one of that name was there now or had been there in the last few days.

"Mommy?" a little voice called just before Buffy appeared in the hallway, "Can I have some juice?" she asked.

"Of course, honey" her mother told her, as they went through to the kitchen, "Orange or apple?" she checked as she lifted Buffy up onto the stool but the counter. The little girl made her choice and then started giggling for no apparent reason.

"What’s so funny?" Joyce wondered loud and Buffy waved her hand in a motion that said ‘come here, I want to tell you a secret’

"Spike kissed me" she whispered, clamping her hand over her mouth straight after like she really shouldn’t have said it. Joyce held back a laugh, just smiling at her daughter who was trying not to giggle and go red.

"Why did he do that?" Buffy’s mother asked as she poured her a glass of juice. Buffy was quick to tell all.

"Cos he’s gonna marry me" she said firmly, "and he says that boys always kiss the girls they’re gonna marry...just like you and Giles"

Jocye’s eyes snapped up to look at her daughter and she stared so long she didn’t realise she was still pouring juice from the carton, until it over-flowed from the glass, spilt onto the counter and dripped down onto her feet.

"Oh, shoot!" she complained, grabbing a cloth to mop up the mess. By this point spike had grown worried about Buffy, since she seemed to have been gone a long time and had come in search of her.

"Spikey!" Buffy grinned when he walked in, "Mommy spilled my juice" she giggled and he did too, finding her laughter infectious.

"You okay, Mum?" he asked, stopping his laughter when he realised she wasn’t joining in their fun.

"Of course, Spike" she told him, smiling shakily as she cleaned up the mess she’d made, "Did you want some juice too?" she checked. When he nodded she lifted him up into the stool next to Buffy and eventually handed them both their drinks.

"Buffy, you know Mr Giles and I are just friends, don’t you?" she said as she watched the little girl thirstily drink down her juice.

"But you’re getting married" Spike said matter-of-factly, not so in need of his drink as his friend was, "You were holding hands and stuff"

Joyce was a little surprised they’d noticed. She seemed to have forgotten how perceptive children could be. It made her think though, about her real feelings for Buffy’s Watcher. He was a sweet man, there was no denying it, she found she loved his company and was forced to admit that in their little throwback adventure she really had believed herself to be falling in love with him, and what happened on the hood of that police car, well, she claimed to have limited memory of that but it was clear as a memory ever could be and she’d never felt like what he’d made her feel that night.

"Mommy?" her child’s voice brought her out of a distinctly R-rated thought-zone and she shook her head slightly to ground herself into reality again.

"Um, why don’t you kids go and play for a while, I should really finish calling those hotels to help find Willow" she said with a smile as she helped them down to the floor again.

Spike was half way to the door when he realised Buffy hadn’t moved yet, and he wasn’t going to leave the room without her.

"Go ahead, sweetie" Joyce urged her as her daughter stood staring at her with a slight frown. Spike ran back and grabbed the Slayer’s hand, making her turn to him. He grinned at her making her smile back before they bolted from the room together to go and play.

Joyce put the kids empty glasses in the sink before going back to her place on the stairs with the plan to call the rest of the places on her list in the long search for the only witch able to reverse her own spell. Just as she put her hand on the receiver it rang making her jump slightly.

"Hello?" she said warily, unsure whether to be worried or relieved when Xander answered her.

"I didn’t find Wills yet, but I think I’m close" he said as he sat in the car outside a club. He was staring at a fluorescent poster with bold black lettering that read ‘Live Tonight - Dingoes Ate My Baby - The Final Gig’