Title: Little Buffy

Rating: PG-13

Setting: Up to ‘Once More With Feeling’

Author: Zarrah

Disclaimer: Belong to Joss not me..you know the drill

Summary: A spell to bring Buffy out of her gloomy mood backfires causing a ‘small’ problem for the Scoobies.


“Hey...I’ll be in the back if anyone needs me” Buffy said as she entered the Magic Box and headed towards the training room.

Dawn, Willow and Anya sat at the research table and watched her walk by, barely even giving them a second glance.

“I wish I knew what was wrong with her.” Willow told the other’s when they heard Buffy pounding on her punching bag. “She’s been this way since...well, you know”

“I know...she’s just so...serious all the time. It’s like she don’t even remember how to have a good time anymore. She hardly ever smiles or laughs.” Dawn told them. “I wish there was something we could do to cheer her up.”

“Maybe she just needs more time” Willow said still staring at the training room.

“If we knew what was wrong with her, it would help.” Dawn said. “Hey, Willow...is there a spell maybe we could do to help?”

“No!” Willow yelled. “ No spells for me. Spells are no good”

“You wouldn’t have to do it, Anya you could do it....couldn’t you?” Dawn asked anxiously.

“Sure, I can do it.”

“So, do you know of any?” Dawn asked Willow again.

Willow looked at Dawn, her face a mask of concentration then brightened as if some big light bulb had gone off in her head.

“I think I know just the one.” she said smiling brightly.

Willow went up the stairs to the loft and came down a few minutes later with a very large dusty book. She handed it to Anya quickly as if it had burned her. She smiled shyly at Dawn and Anya when they gave her a funny look.

“Sorry, it’s still a little tempting.”

“It’s okay” Dawn told her smiling.

Anya had began flipping through the large volume while Willow took a seat on the far side of the table. The further away from the open spell book the better.

“It’s called “Inner Child” Willow told them. “The spell helps bring a person’s ‘Inner Child’ forward, giving them all the happy thoughts and carefree nature of a child. She wouldn’t be plagued with all this ‘grown up’ doom and gloom she has to deal with right now.

“So, you think this will help?” Dawn asked happily.

“Don’t see why not.” Willow answered her. “She’ll still be the same ole Buffy, only she’ll simply enjoy things in life and not be so...uptight.”

Anya and Dawn went about the store gathering the supplies they need to perform the spell. Once everything was prepared, Anya put the necessary ingredients into a bowl and began the chant.

Force of Nature
End thy Fright
Let the Child come to Light
No more worries, no more doubt
Let thy see what life’s about.

“What are you doing?” Spike asked the three girls when Anya had finished the spell.

All three let out a shriek when he spoke.

“Geez, Spike don’t do that!” Dawn yelled at him, having been scared by his sudden appearance.

Spike smiled at the three. He loved being able to scare people...even if it was as pathetic as sneaking up on them.

“What kind of mojo are you three conjuring up now?” he asked them glancing over at the spell book.

“Oh, nothing” Willow said quickly as she busied herself helping Anya remove all traces of the spell.

“Right” Spike said drawing out his word. “Well, need to talk to the Slayer” he told them as he turned and went towards the training room.

“That was close” Dawn said as Spike shut the training room door behind him.

“You can say that again” Willow said looking a little scared at being caught this close to magic again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike entered the training room. He came by a couple nights a week to help Buffy train. Well, more like he would try and duck as she pounded him into the mat.

“Buffy, you in here?” he asked when he didn’t see her. He walked to the center of the room and turned his head to the right when he heard a small whimpering noise.

“Buffy?” he said again as he walked towards the source of the sound.

Spike peaked around a stack of shipping crates that were stacked over in the corner when he heard a sniffling noise. His eyes went wide when he saw the source of all the sniffles.

Crouched down in the corner was a small girl with big tears rolling down her face. She had long brownish blonde hair and her clothes consisted of a T-shirt that hung on her like an oversized nightgown.

“Hey pet, where’d you come from?” Spike said as he crouched down in the floor in front of her. She looked to be about 4 or 5 years old and Spike had no idea who she was or how she had gotten in there.

The little girl looked up at him, her big green eyes shining with fresh tears.

“I want my mommy” she said as she buried her head in her knees and started to cry softly again.

“Oh, come now, don’t do that. We’ll find her” Spike said as he reached out and ran his hand across her head, trying to calm her.

The little girl looked up at him again.

“You know my mommy?” she asked through her sniffles.

“Well, tell me your mums name and we’ll go see if we can find her.” Spike said smiling at the girl. There was something about her that seemed familiar to him. Something in her eyes reminded him of someone.

“Her names Joyce” the little girl told him.

“Joyce” Spike said a little shocked. He cocked his head to the side and looked at her. He put a finger under her chin and raised her head up. Her big green eyes locked with his and his eyes widened when he realized what he saw.

“What’s your name?” he asked her..fearing what she would say.

“Buffy” the little girl said shyly. “Will you help me find my mommy?”

Spike couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He looked around the training room and noticed Buffy’s shoes laying by the punching bag and her pants right beside them. He looked back at the little girl when the realization of what he was seeing hit him.

This little girl was Buffy.....his Buffy!

TBC.......

Part 2:

“Buffy...what happened?” Spike asked her, confusion clouding his face.

“What’s your name” Buffy asked looking up at him.

“Uh..Spike. You don’t remember me?” he asked unsure of what was happening.

Buffy giggled at him and wiped at her tear streaked face.

“Spike aint no bodies name. Did your mommy name you that?” she asked him as she stood up.

Spike smiled at her as she got up from the floor and stood directly in front of him.

“No, my mum didn’t name me that.” he said smiling at her.

“What she name you then?” Buffy asked again.

“Well, she named me William” he told her, still smiling.

“Oh, you talk funny” Buffy said staring at him, already have forgotten about his name.

Spike chuckled at her. “Yeah, suppose I do. How ‘bout we go see about getting you fixed...shall we?” he asked her.

“Okay” she said as she threw her arms around his neck and climbed in his lap.

Spike was shocked and sat there a moment before wrapping his arms around her and stood up. Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist and laid her head down on his shoulder. Spike grinned big and shook his head as he headed out of the training room. * This is gonna be fun* he thought to himself, grinning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Any of you ladies care to tell me what kind of spell you were doing when I walked in here?” Spike asked as he walked out the training room.

Willow, Dawn and Anya looked over at him and went wide eyed when they saw him carrying a little girl.

Spike walked over to the table and sat Buffy down on top of it.

“Here you go pet, sit right here.” he told her as he removed her arms from around his neck.

“I aint no pet, I’m a girl” Buffy said looking up at him.

Spike chuckled at her. “Yeah, I know your a girl....that’s just a nickname...like my name is.”

“Oh...okay then....I have a pet kitty at home. Her name is purple.” she said, a big smile on her face.

Spike looked down at her and smiled.”Your cat’s name is purple?”

“Uh huh....but she’s white.”

“Then why did you name her purple.”

“Cause I like purple. Don’t you?”

“Well, it’s kind of a girlie color.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at him and sighed. “All boy’s say that”

Spike laughed at her before he turned his attention back to the girls responsible for this ‘Little Buffy’.

“Who is that?” Dawn asked wide eyed looking at the little girl on the table.

“That” Spike said pointing to the little girl, “Is Buffy. Now what did you all do?”

Gasp could be heard from the three girls as they looked back and forth from Buffy to each other.

“Oh boy” Willow said nervously.

“I’ll say” Anya added.

Buffy was sitting on the table swinging her legs back and forth, looking at the girls as they stared at her. She reached over and put her hand in Spikes.

“I wanna go home” she said looking up at him.

“Sure thing bit. Just be a little while longer..okay.” he said smiling down at her.

She smiled up at him and held his hand tighter.

Spike starred down at her and smiled. This little version of Buffy seemed to actually like him, unlike the grown up version who only liked to use him as her personal training dummy.

“What are we going to do?” Dawn asked frantically at seeing her ‘little sister’.”

“Don’t worry Dawn, we’ll find a way to reverse the spell.” Willow said as she went to retrieve the spell book they had used.

Spike felt Buffy tug on his hand and looked back down at her.

“What is it pet?”

Buffy motioned for him to come closer to her. Spike leaned down and Buffy whispered quietly in his ear.

“I need to go to the potty.”

Spike’s eyes went wide when he heard her. He straightened up and looked around frantically.

“Ah, Dawn....she’s needs to ...ah potty” he told Dawn looking a little worried.

Dawn looked at him and grinned when she saw the look on his face.

“I can take her” she told him as she stood up from her seat. “Come on Buffy, I can take you to the bathroom.”

Buffy looked at Spike her eyes wide. Spike saw the look of apprehension on her face.

“It’s okay..this is Dawn...she can take you”

Buffy looked over at Dawn and then back at Spike.

“You won’t leave me..will you?” she asked him worriedly.

“No, I’ll be right here when you get back.”

“Okay” she said, still worried about going anywhere with this big girl.

Spike picked her up and put her on her feet. He watched as Dawn grabbed her hand and lead her away to the bathroom. He smiled at her as she walked with Dawn, her head turned around as far as she could get it, never taking her eyes off of him.

Spike sat down in one of the chairs when Buffy was out of sight and looked at Willow who had her nose buried in the spell book.

“So, what you gonna do about this?” he asked her.

“Find a reversal spell.” Willow said looking up at him. *If there is one* she thought to herself and she went back to the book.

“Well, she was asking about Joyce earlier...what you gonna tell her?” Spike asked looking almost sad at mentioning Joyce.

Willow looked back up at him. “Oh...I don’t know...we can’t tell her the truth. It would break her little heart.”

“Yeah....not to mention, what she’s gonna think about Dawn.” Spike said getting irritated at what they had done.

“Well, I’ll think of something.” Willow said as Dawn and Buffy came back into the room.

Buffy smiled and ran back over to Spike and stood beside his chair. She pulled on his arm and motioned for him to come closer.

“I like her...she’s funny” Buffy whispered in his ear.

“Yeah, she can be funny sometimes. Dawn’s real nice. She’ll take good care of you until we can find your mum. Okay?”

“I guess we probably need to get her home...It’s kinda late for her. She probably needs to be in bed soon.” Dawn said looking at Willow.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I can take this stuff home with us and look for a reversal spell there.” Willow said as she looked up from the table.

Spike stood up and took a couple steps away from the table, Buffy right on his heals.

“Buffy...why don’t you go home with Dawn here. She can take care of you until we find your mum.” Spike told her.

“Are you coming to?” Buffy asked him, looking scared.

“Sorry pet...I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Please....” she said almost begging, tears filling her eyes.

Spike could have kissed her right there. She was so sweet. He never thought Buffy would ‘want’ him around.

“Oh, now that’s just to funny” Dawn said smiling.

“What’s that bit” Spike asked looking over at Dawn.

“Well, grown up Buffy can’t stand the site of you, and little Buffy don’t want you out of hers.” she said giggling.

“What’s this about Buffy?” Xander said as he walked in the door. “Spike, what are you doing here?” he asked when he saw him.

Spike rolled his eyes at him. “Don’t worry bout it whelp. Was just leaving.”

“Good. Can’t say that I’ll miss ya. Hey, who’s the pint size” he asked when he saw Buffy.

“That’s Buffy.” Dawn told him as he approached the table.

“BUFFY!” Xander yelled. “What...How...When...” he stuttered looking at her.

Buffy moved closer to Spike. She didn’t like this loud man at all.

“Uh, someone want to tell me what’s going on?” Xander asked, looking more confused than usual.

“Spell gone bad..Buffy’s a little girl now” Dawn said.

Xander looked at Buffy. “Well, she’s a cute little thing, isn’t she” he said smiling, taking a few steps closer to her.

Buffy grabbed Spike’s hand and moved in behind him a little and peaked around his arm at Xander.

“Well, what’s she doing with Spike?” Xander asked when he saw Buffy grab Spike’s hand and hide behind him.

“Well, seems she likes Spike” Dawn said with a giggle.

Xander scrunched up his face and looked from Buffy to Spike. “Why” he asked, looking at them, disbelieving.

“Don’t know.” Dawn said, giggling at the look on Xander’s face.

Xander moved a little closer to her and smiled. “Hey Buff....come here a minute. It’s me, your ole pal Xander.”

Buffy stepped all the way behind Spike so she couldn’t see him. She gripped Spike’s hand harder until he turned his head to look at her.

“It’s all right, the whelps not gonna hurt ya.” Spike told her.

Xander looked at Spike and instantly took on the offensive. “Buffy doesn’t like you Spike, I don’t know what you did, but she wouldn’t be hanging all over you if you hadn’t.”

“Look whelp” Spike said getting mad at Xander’s constant jabs at him, “I didn’t do anything to her. I just found her in the training room. That’s all. Ask the junior witches here, their the one’s who did this.”

“Yeah, well...get away from her.” Xander said as he came towards Buffy.

Buffy screamed and started to cry when Xander came around behind Spike and grabbed her arm.

“Hey, watch it” Spike said defensively. “Back off. She doesn’t know who any of us are. Now stop scaring her.” he said as he reached down and picked Buffy up. She put her head on his shoulder and cried.

“I want my mommy” she cried loudly.

“Shhh..it’s okay pet. Don’t cry. I want let anyone hurt you.” he told her as he stroked her hair. “Let’s get her home Dawn, before the whelp her does anymore damage.” he said hatefully at Xander who was standing there, looking wide eyed at the scene before him.

“You’re not going with them!” Xander said glaring at Spike.

“Xander, give it a rest.” Willow finally said, irritated at hearing him argue and Buffy’s crying. “She likes Spike, so let her be. She scared enough without you acting like a crazy person.”

Xander looked sheepishly at Willow. “Sorry Will” he said

“Well, let’s go bit..I’ll walk you home” Spike said as he carried Buffy towards the door and waited for Dawn to follow. *What have I’ve gotten myself into* Spike asked himself as he and Dawn walked out of the store, to take Buffy home.


TBC.................

Part 3:

Spike followed Dawn into the Summer’s home and headed up the steps. Buffy had fallen asleep on the way there. He still couldn’t believe they had done this. Did they not learn anything?

“Here” Dawn said as she turned the cover’s down on Buffy’s bed.

Spike laid Buffy down and pulled the blanket up over her. He pushed her hair away from her face and smiled down at her.

“Weird having her actually like you, huh?” Dawn asked when she noticed the smile on his face.

“Yeah, I’ll say. I’m sure she’ll get over it soon though.” he said with a chuckle.

“You’re probably right.” Dawn told him as she turned to leave the room.

“Well, guess I better be going.” Spike said as he walked out of Buffy’s room.

“Ok...see you later Spike. “ Dawn said as she watched him walk down the steps and out the front door.

Dawn went back into Buffy’s room and stared at her sister. She smiled thinking of how much fun it was going to be having her around. Hopefully Willow would find a way to change her back. *But not to soon* Dawn thought as she left the room to get ready for bed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning found Dawn, Willow and Buffy sitting in the Kitchen. Buffy was eating a bowl of cereal with Dawn as Willow was making her own breakfast.

“Where’s Spike at?” Buffy asked taking another bite of her breakfast.

“Oh, he’s at home Buffy.” Dawn told her.

“Is he coming back today?”

“I don’t know...why?” Dawn asked.

“I like him...he makes me feel funny.” Buffy said with a giggle.

Dawn looked up at Willow, the same expression on her face as Willow’s now held.

“What do you mean Buffy?” Willow asked her, completely worried about her comment.

Buffy looked up at her. “It tickles when he’s there.” she said taking another bite.

“Tickles...How does it tickle?” Dawn asked looking confused.

“Like someone’s tickling me..right here.” Buffy said pointing at the back of her neck.

Willow smiled and looked at Dawn. “Slayer sense” she said quietly to Dawn.

Dawn nodded her head at her when she realized what she meant.

“When’s my mommy coming to get me?”

“Um, I’m not sure...but you can stay here with us until she get’s back..okay?’ Willow told her. She hated lying to her, but what was she going to say.

“Can I watch cartoons?” Buffy asked after all her cereal was gone.

“Sure..come on” Dawn told her as she helped her out of her chair.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“What are we going to do with her?” Dawn asked Willow as she came back into the kitchen.

“I have no idea Dawn. You have school everyday, and I’ve got classes to. I can stay with her some, but not everyday.” Willow said as she sat down at the bar.

“I guess we need to find her a baby-sitter.” Dawn said taking a seat with Willow.

“Yeah, I guess we have no choice for right now.” Willow said. “I can watch her today, but what are we going to do tomorrow?”

“Maybe Anya can look after her at the Magic Box”

“No, Anya doesn’t strike me as the kind of person with the patience with kids. Especially when she’s trying to make money.” Willow told Dawn with a smile.

“Yeah, guess not.”

Willow and Dawn sat in the Kitchen quietly both trying to figure out what they were going to do.

“Well, I need to get going.” Dawn said as she stood up and grabbed her bookbag.

“Yeah, ok. I guess I need to get up to. I really need to get Buffy a few things. She can’t walk around in the shirt all the time.”

“Bye Will.” Dawn said as she made her way into where Buffy was.

“Bye Dawnie”

~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~

“Hey Buffy...I have to go to school. I’ll be back later okay.” Dawn told Buffy when she walked into the living room.

Buffy looked up from her spot on the floor when Dawn came in. “Okay.” she said and went back to watching her cartoons.

Dawn smiled at her sister and before heading for the door. *that is so weird* Dawn said to herself with a big smile as she gave Buffy one more glance before shutting the door behind her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The gang was sitting in the Summer’s living room going over every spell book they had trying to find a way to get Buffy back to normal. Willow had taken her shopping early that day and bought her a few clothes...and things to play with. No one could take their eyes off of her for to long, it was just so weird to see her like that.

Buffy was on her knees at the coffee table coloring in her new coloring book Willow had bought her. She didn’t seem to have a care in the world. They all wondered if she would remember any of this when it was all over.


“Giles called and wanted to know why Buffy didn’t come train today.” Dawn said as she took a seat on the sofa.

“Gods, he is so going to kill us when he finds out” Willow said, looking worried about the prospects of Buffy’s watcher finding out his Slayer was now a five year old.

“Well, we need to find a reversal spell and quick, so he don’t” Anya said looking up from her book.

“I know” Willow said as a knock was heard at the front door.

“I’ll get it” Dawn said as she jumped up from her seat.

“Hey Spike” Dawn said as she opened the door.

“Hey, nibblet. Just thought I’d come by and see if Buffy was back to her usual self today.” Spike said as he walked in the door.

“Nope, still the same” Dawn told him as she walked back to the living room.

“Hey, Buffy...look whose here.” Dawn said as she took her seat back on the sofa.

Buffy looked up from her coloring book and smiled big when she saw Spike standing in the doorway. She got up and ran over to him

“Hey Spike!” she yelled as she threw her arms around his legs and hugged him.

“Hey pet” Spike said as he ruffled up her hair with his hand smiling. “Just thought I’d come see how you were.”

“Come look at what I got” Buffy said taking his hand and leading him over to the coffee table.

“Well, those should keep you busy for a while” he said taking in the site of a stack of books and crayons laying on the table.

“Come on..you can help me” Buffy said as she tried to pull Spike down on the floor with her.

Spike smiled and sat on the floor with her. He knew the scoobies were watching him, but he didn’t care. If this Buffy liked him, then he would take advantage of it while he could. Wouldn’t be long before she would be back to her usual games of kick the Spike, so why not enjoy the change while it lasted.

Buffy handed him a coloring book and opened it to the page she wanted him to color. She sat the crayons down so they both could reach them and smiled big at him before sitting her self back down.

“Don’t get comfortable Spike” Xander said hatefully, shooting daggers at him sitting on the floor with Buffy.

Spike just looked up and didn’t even respond to him. He would stay as long as Buffy wanted him to.

“So pet, what’d you do today” Spike asked Buffy after rolling his eyes at Xander.

“Willow took me shopping. She bought me a dress.” Buffy told him. “It’s purple” she said smiling leaning over towards him.

“Is that right” Spike said looking at her.

“Uh huh. And she got me these books to.” Buffy said concentrating on her work.

Willow watched as Buffy and Spike sat and talked. She couldn’t believe how well they got along. Buffy actually enjoyed him being around. She hadn’t stopped smiling since he came into the room.

“Hey guy’s, let’s take this stuff into the Dining Room since Spike’s here. He can watch her while we research.” Willow said standing up and gathering up as many books as she could carry.

“What..are you crazy. I’m not leaving her in here with him!” Xander protested. “It’s hard to tell what he might do when we’re not looking!”

“Xander, he’s not going to do anything, so come on.” Willow said rolling his eyes at him.

Spike looked up at Xander with a smirk. He knew the whelp was hating this and he loved watching him squirm.

“Shut Up Spike” Xander yelled when he saw how he was looking at him. “The only reason you’re here is because she doesn’t know any better.”

Buffy stood up when all the shouting started, and marched over to where Xander was. “You’re a meany. I don’t like you” she said, and kicked Xander in the leg.

“Awwww.” Xander yelled as he held his throbbing leg. “Buffy, why’d you do that?” he asked her not believing she had done it.

“Cause you’re mean to Spike..and your a big poophead.” She said with a huff as she went back over to Spike.

“I’m a what?” Xander asked looking at her as she stood beside Spike, her arm wrapped around his shoulder.

“A poophead” she said sticking her tongue out at him.

“Now, come on pet, it’s not nice to call people names.” Spike told her, even though he agreed with her 100%.

“Well, he’s mean. I don’t like him.” Buffy said still standing there glaring at Xander.

“Yeah well, even so, you shouldn’t kick people. It’s not nice.” Spike told her as he put his arm around her waist and sat her back down.

Willow had been watching the whole scene and had a big smile on her face.

“Hey Spike...what you doing tomorrow...besides sleeping I mean.” she asked him.

“Sleeping. What else is there to do?” he answered her.

“Well, I have classes from 11:00-2:00 and could use a baby-sitter if you’re interested.” she told him knowing he do it.

Spike smiled up at her. He didn’t think they would ever allow him to spend time with Buffy if they weren’t right there.

“Yeah, I could watch her. Wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Good.” Willow said, relieved the sitter problem was taken care of. “Don’t even say it Xander” she said, giving him her resolve face as he looked at her wide eyed.

“But...but” Xander stuttered.

“Look, I have classes and so does Dawn, everyone else works. There’s no one else to do it. She likes Spike so I don’t see the problem. So drop it.”

Xander stared at Buffy and Spike as they sat there coloring, not paying attention to anything other than what they were doing. As much as he hated it, he knew Willow was right. Still didn’t mean he had to agree with her.

“Fine, whatever!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Bedtime was an eventful time at the Summer’s residence. After Buffy’s bath, which took almost 15 minutes to convince her that Spike couldn’t help her with, she was in her pajama’s and ready for bed.

“I want Spike to tuck me in.” Buffy said as Dawn was ready to take her upstairs after telling everyone good night.

Dawn looked over at Spike who was sitting on the sofa watching Buffy. He smiled big when he heard her say she wanted him to tuck her in.

“I don’t mind Dawn” he said looking up at her.

Dawn smiled and nodded her head at him as he stood up from the couch. Buffy grabbed his hand as they headed up the steps.

Buffy and Spike walked into her room and she ran and tried to climb up but needed a little help.

“Here you go pet.” Spike said as he pulled the cover’s up over her.

Buffy laid her head down and smiled big as Spike sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll be by tomorrow while Willow goes to school.” he told her as she snuggled down in the blankets.

“Okay. Can we color some more?” she asked him.

“We can do whatever you want.”

“Okay.” Buffy said as a big yawn escaped her mouth.

Spike grinned at her and pushed her hair away from her face as she closed her eyes. He sat there and watched her and was about to stand up when she opened her eyes and pushed the covers back.

She moved and stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him before giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

“Night Spike” she said as she laid back down and he pulled the cover’s back over her.

“Night kitten” he said softly as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Buffy giggled at him. “I aint no kitten you silly” she said as she closed her eyes once again. “I’m a girl”

Spike grinned at her and stood up. He walked to the door and looked back over at her. “Night Buffy” he whispered as he walked out and shut the door behind him with a big smile on his face.


TBC.............

Part 4:

Spike ran in the back door to the Summer’s home, blanket smoking slightly. He had not been able to sleep much, as his mind constantly swirled around the thought’s of Buffy.

As much as he enjoyed her ‘liking’ him at the moment and as adorable as he thought she was...he wanted his Buffy back. He missed her. He was in love with the grown up version of the little girl who was slowly stealing his heart.

“Hey Spike” Buffy squealed as he stepped in the living room. She was sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Hey there pet. How are you today?”

“I’m fine” she said as she climbed off the couch smiling. “Willow made me pancakes.”

“Did she now.” Spike said as he sat in the arm chair.

“Uh huh. She said if I ate all of them I could help her wash the dishes.”

Spike smiled at her as she leaned up against the chair he was sitting in.

“Oh, hey Spike” Willow said as she walked in the living room. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Haven’t been here long.”

“Well, I guess I can go ahead and go since your here. I left you a note of the fridge..about lunch, naps, things like that.”

“Alright then. I think we’ll be just fine.” he said looking back over at Buffy.

Willow smiled at Buffy. She was leaning on Spike’s chair looking at him. She had the cutest grin on her face. Willow couldn’t believe how much she liked Spike and wondered how he was going to take it when Buffy was back to normal and didn’t want him around anymore. She felt almost sorry for him.

“Buffy, I have to go to class now. You and Spike have fun, okay.” Willow told her as she picked up her school bag.

“Okay” Buffy said finally looking over at her.

“I’ll see you later then...Bye”

“Bye Willow” Buffy said as she watched Willow open the door and leave.

Spike looked at Buffy. He noticed she had on a purple sundress and assumed it was the one she had mentioned to him last night.

“You look very pretty today Buffy. Did you get all dressed up for me?” he asked her smiling when she looked back over at him.

Buffy’s face lit up as her smile got bigger. “Uh huh...it’s purple.”

“Yeah, that it is. So what you wanna do?”

“We can color some more. Willow said I could put my pictures on the frigerator.”

“Well, let’s go get those books then” Spike said as he stood up and went to get her coloring books.

Spike and Buffy sat at the dinning room table coloring and talking. She really liked to talk. She told him how her mommy took her to the park and let her play in the sand. She liked playing outside, and it took alot of persuasion to get her to want to play inside today. Spike was sure the whole smoking bit would be to much trauma for her small mind. So after much discussion, he had finally convinced her to stay inside.

Spike took Buffy’s picture and walked her into the kitchen. She smiled brightly at him when he hung it on the refrigerator door. He found Willow’s note and noticed she had left instructions on everything, from food, naps, emergency numbers, even potty trips..which he wasn’t looking forward to. Hopefully she didn’t need any help in that area, he thought. Buffy would surly stake him when she returned to normal if she ever found that out.

Buffy was a ball of energy. They spent the morning coloring, playing hide and seek,
and watching TV. She talked and laughed and Spike was getting exhausted just listening to her. He had never heard Buffy talk so much. She was always so reserved and quiet around him...well, unless she was pounding on him for info.

“You bout ready for some lunch?” Spike asked her as they sat and watched some children’s program that was starting to grate on his nerves.

“Uh huh. Can I have peanut butter and jelly?” she asked him as he helped her down off the couch.

“Yeah, I think I can manage that.”he said as he led her into the kitchen.

“Here, you sit here.” he told her as he lifted her up onto the stool.

Spike fixed her sandwich and got her a glass of milk and sat down beside her as she ate.

“When’s my mommy coming back?” she asked him, her words slurred due to the sticky peanut butter.

“She’ll be back soon” Spike lied to her. He felt sorry for her. She wanted her mum and there was no way to tell her the truth. He felt even worse having to lie to her.

“I’m sure she’s thinking about you and missing you.” he told her as she continued to eat her lunch.

“That big girl Dawn said I could stay with her as long as I wanted.” she said smiling at him. “I like her..she plays with me. She has a sister. But she’s not here. I saw her picture.”

“You saw a picture of Dawn’s sister?” Spike asked wondering how Dawn got out of that one.

“Uh huh...she’s pretty. Dawn said when I growed up I would be pretty just like her.”

“Well, that you will. But just between you and me...I think your already as pretty as Dawn’s sister.” he said winking an eye at her.

Buffy giggled at him as she finished up her sandwich. “I think your pretty to.” she told him as he took her empty glass and plate to the sink.

Spike couldn’t hold back the grin that crossed his face. “Well, I think that’s about the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Spike said as he helped her off the stool.

“How’s about we watch another one of those kids shows before we put you down for a nap?”

“I don’t need a nap...I’m a big girl” Buffy said sarcastically rolling her eyes at him.

“Yeah, well even big girls need naps.” he told her as they sat back down on the sofa.

“Not me. I can go all day without a nap. Mommy let’s me stay up sometimes and watch her soap propras with her.”

“Well, we’ll see.” Spike said smiling, knowing she would fight this nap thing. A crying Buffy wasn’t something he wanted. He couldn’t take her adult tears, and the little ones tore him up even more.

Buffy had sat with her head resting on Spike’s leg. He sat there running his finger’s through her hair and watched as her eyes became heavier until they finally closed. He listened for her breathing to even out and picked her up when he knew she was good and asleep. He carried her to her room and laid her down. She shifted slightly and he thought she was going to wake back up, but she snuggled into the covers and was out.

Spike busied himself with cleaning away all the coloring books and dishes until his sleep deprived body began to wear on him. He stretched out on the sofa to watch ‘his’ favorite soap opera until his eyes became so heavy he was having trouble keeping them open. It wasn’t long before he was also taking his own afternoon nap.

Buffy woke and looked around as she sat up. She climbed down from the bed and quietly made her way down the steps. She saw Spike laying on the couch and walked over to him. She stood there looking at him for a minute before climbing on the couch and laying down beside him....soon fast asleep once again.

That’s how Willow found them when she came home. She was struck with that ‘aw’ face at the scene. Buffy had her arm wrapped over Spike’s waist and was making a slight snoring sound. It was so cute. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed her camera. She had to get a picture of this, if nothing more than to use it as blackmail in the future. After snapping the picture she walked back into the kitchen and put the camera away.

Dawn was home before Spike and Buffy finally stirred from there sleep. Surprised to wake and find Buffy on the couch with him Spike smiled and gently shook her to wake her up.

“Hey, wake up lil’ bit. Can’t sleep the whole day away.”

He glanced over at the clock and wondered where everyone was.

“That’s got to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen” Dawn said from her spot in the door way.

Spike’s head shot up and looked at her, a sheepish grin on his face. “Well, I did put her in bed, she must’ve came down when I fell asleep.” he said as he sat up.

Buffy opened her eyes and sat up beside Spike. “I got scared” Buffy said as Dawn walked in the room.

“Ah, did you have a bad dream?” Dawn asked her.

“Uh huh...there was a monster chasing me.” Buffy said with a shaky voice.

“Well, it was just a dream....no monster’s around here” Spike told her patting her on the head. *the lies keep on growing* he thought to himself.

“Well, guess I’ll be going then since your home” Spike said as he stood up from the couch.

“Your leavin” Buffy said looking wide eyed at him.

“Yeah, I’ll be back..maybe tomorrow...is that okay?”

Buffy looked up at him, her big green eyes pleading with him to stay. “Don’t go...we can play some more....I’ll be good....I promise.... Please.”

Spike’s heart melted. He leaned down and hugged her, knowing this would all be over soon and he would miss it. He pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. “Sure thing pet, If you want me to stay, I will.”

Dawn’s snicker’s caught Spike’s attention and he turned his head to look at her.

“What?” he asked.

“I thought big Buffy had you whipped, but little Buffy has you wrapped around her little finger.”

“Well, what can I saw, always been hard to refuse her anything...especially now.”

“Yeah, I can see” Dawn said as she got up and left the two alone.

“Well pet, what’s say we grab those coloring books and you can make me a pretty picture.”

Buffy smiled and jumped off the couch. “Okay. Come on” she said grabbing his hand and dragging him back into the Dinning Room where they sat for hours coloring and enjoying each other’s company.

TBC......................

Part 5:

“No Buffy, now will you please go back to sleep?” Willow said as Buffy’s constant crying was beginning to get on her nerves.

“But why not?” Buffy cried and stuttered.

“Because it’s late. Now stop crying before you make yourself sick.”

Buffy had been crying for 35 minutes..NONE stop. Willow was ready to pull her hair out and Dawn was getting just as bad with her whining.

“Geez, Will...just go so she’ll shut up already.” Dawn said, almost in tears herself. “I can’t take this much longer.”

Willow looked back at Buffy. Her eyes were puffy and red. Big tears were running down her face. She was crying so hard she was gasping for air.

“FINE!” Willow said as she stood up and threw her hands in the air and stomped out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow slammed the door open to Spike’s crypt, startling him as she did.

“Bloody Hell Red! Give a guy some warning next time.” Spike said as he jumped from his chair when she stormed in. “What in the world is wrong with you?”

Willow let out a choked laugh/sob as she looked at him.

“You have NO idea what I’ve been through Spike. You’re lucky slamming the door is all I did.” she said as she reached for his boots.

“Put these on” she told him as she shoved his boots at him. Willow grabbed his duster and waited. He just stood there looking at her. “MOVE!” she yelled as she saw him just standing there looking at her.

“Fine..calm down” Spike said when she yelled at him. He sat down and quickly put his boots on. “What’s this about?” he asked her as he stood up and took his duster from here.

“This is about Buffy and you promising her to keep the monster’s away” she said over her shoulder as she exited the crypt.

“Huh..” Spike said as he followed her out and shut the door.

“She had another nightmare..monsters chasing her. She’s been crying for half an hour.” she snapped at him. “Do you know how irritating it is to listen to that high pitched noise for that long?”

“And this has what exactly to do with me?” Spike asked as he followed her out of the cemetery.

“You were the one who ‘promised’ to keep the monsters away and she won’t go back to sleep until YOU come and chase them away..so come on!”

Spike followed Willow quietly back to Buffy’s wondering exactly ‘what’ he was suppose to do. Willow was stressing..BAD, he noticed and wasn’t about to question it .

As they approached the house Spike could hear her crying..well, sounded more like screaming to him, but he hadn’t spent any time around kids...so he figured that’s how they all sounded.

Spike walked up the stairs and had the urge to cover his ears. *No wonder Red looks so frazzled he thought as he peaked his head in Buffy’s room.

Buffy was sitting on her bed, legs streghted out in front of her with her head almost laying in her lap. She had her hands covering her face and she was shaking from all the crying.

“Hey now...what’s all this?” Spike asked as he entered the room.

Buffy’s head shot up when she heard him..and only got louder as he approached the bed.

“Buffy, stop crying pet and tell me what’s wrong” Spike said as he sat down on the bed.

“Theresamonsterschasingmeandtryingeatme” she yelled through her tears at Spike.

Spike smiled at her and rubbed her head. “You’re gonna have to stop crying Buffy..I can’t understand you” he said calmly to her.

Buffy cried for a few more minutes and slowly stopped, only leaving in a few whimpering cries.

“Now that’s better..tell me what happened.”

“There’s a monster chasing me and gonna eat me” she said as her loud crying started up again.

Spike smiled at her and sighed. “Come here pet” Spike said as he held his arms out to her.

Buffy crawled over to him and sat on his lap as she buried her head in his chest. She cried harder as he rubbed her back.

“Shhh..now stop crying. There aren’t any monsters here.” he whispered softly to her.

Willow was standing at the door and watched the whole scene. Buffy wasn’t crying as loud now, but still whimpering and hiccuping. She couldn’t believe how gentle Spike was with her. She had seen how protective he was with Dawn...but this was something completely different.

Buffy’s cries had died down to almost nothing as Spike picked her up and put her back in bed. He sat down on the side of the bed as she looked up at him.

“Don’t leave me. He’ll get me” Buffy said whining.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay all night if I have to. Now just close your eyes and go back to sleep.” Spike told her as he pulled the blankets back over her.

Buffy shut her eyes but opened them ever so often to make sure he was still there. Spike sat on the bed with her until she fell back asleep and then moved to the chair by her desk. Willow smiled and said ‘goodnight’ as Spike sat and watched Buffy sleep.

As he felt the sun approaching, he quietly made his way out and headed back home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next evening Spike was walking as fast as he could towards Buffy’s. He had thought alot about what had happened with Buffy and her nightmares and wondered if the ‘monsters’ were actual demons she had fought that she was seeing.

As much as he enjoyed ‘little Buffy’ he knew she needed to be returned to normal. If anyone knew how to do that...that would be the watcher.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike knocked on the door and let himself in. It was unusually quiet he noticed as he walked in and headed for the living room.

“Hello?” he asked when finding no one there. He walked towards the kitchen where he found Dawn, Willow and Buffy sitting at the bar. Willow had her nose buried in a book as Dawn and Buffy were decorating cookies.

“Hey” Spike said as he walked in.

All three looked up as he spoke. “Hey Spike” Buffy said happily as she saw him.

“Hey there Buffy.”

“Look what I done” she said as she held up the cookie she was icing.

“That’s nice” Spike said smiling as he walked towards her. “Never seen a purple gingerbread man before.”

Buffy just shrugged her shoulder at him before she continued painting the little cookie man.

“Yeah, look at this one” Dawn said with a giggle.

Spike grinned Big as he took in the site of a messy little cookie man..cover in black icing..with white hair no less.

“Is that suppose to be me?” he asked Buffy as he stood beside her at the bar.

Buffy glanced up at him and then over at the cookie Dawn was holding and smiled big. “Uh huh” she said. “But you can’t eat him.”

“Why’s that?” Spike asked her.

Buffy rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. “Cause..you silly. It’ll hurt.”

“Hurt who?” Spike asked with a chuckle.

“The cookie man” Buffy said as she globbed more purple icing on her cookie.

“I don’t think It’ll hurt the cookie man if you eat it.”

“Don’t even try Spike..we already had this dicussion.” Dawn said with a grin. “She said no one can eat the ‘cookie men’.”

Spike just laughed lightly as he watched them then turned his attention to Willow.

“Hey Red..come here, need to talk to you”

Willow looked up and watched Spike walk out of the room. She got up and followed him out into the Dining Room.

“What’s up?” she asked as she saw him sit down.

Spike sighed and looked at her before he spoke. “You need to call the watcher.”

He almost laughed at the face Willow made. If her face froze like that...he felt sorry for anyone who came into contact with her.

“Are you crazy!” Willow yelled. “Giles would kill us..literally!”

“Yeah, well what do you think Buffy’s gonna do when you bring her back from munchkin land.”

“We don’t even know if she’ll remember any of this.”

“Maybe not, but you’re not getting anywhere with the books. Giles is your only option.”

“Spike, you know Giles...he’ll flip out.” Willow said looking scared.

“So...you have to do something. You can’t just leave her like that.”

“I know..we just need more time.”

“Well, you better hurry or I’ll tell him myself” Spike said getting angry at the whole situation. “It’s been 4 days. How long you plan on keeping her like that before you decide to put her needs before your own.” he said as he stood up from his chair.

Buffy walked into the Dining Room and walked over to Spike. “You wanna watch TV with me?” she asked him.

Spike looked down at her and smiled. “Sure thing pet..let’s go” he said as she grabbed his hand and led him into the Living Room.

Willow watched them leave and knew Spike was right. They had to tell Giles..eventually. *Ugh..but not yet* she thought with a shutter as she imagined what his reaction would be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy was sitting on Spike’s lap in the arm chair watching a cartoon as the front door came open.

“Buffy” Giles said as he came inside.

Buffy turned her head at the sound of her name. “Huh” she said as she looked at him.

Willow came running into the hall when she heard him. “GILES. What are you doing here!” she said excitedly.

“Where is Buffy Willow. I haven’t heard from here in 4 days. Now I’m not sure what is wrong with her but I am her watcher and I have a right to know.”

Willow looked worriedly from Giles to Buffy and back again, rocking from one foot to the next.

“Willow...where is Buffy”

“Here I am” Buffy said as she looked at Giles.

Giles turned his head and saw Spike holding a little girl. He smiled at her before looking back over at Willow.

“So, where is she?” he asked again.

Willow gave him a pained smile and slowly pointed into the Living Room where Buffy was sitting. “There” she said softly looking down at her feet.

Giles looked back over in the living room and peaked his head inside. “Buffy” he said as he slowly walked into the room.

“Where Willow..she’s not in here”

“Um...well...uh...”

“Who are you?” Buffy asked as she turned in Spike’s lap. Spike almost tried to cover for Willow, but knew the watcher could figure this out, so he kept quiet. Besides the look on Giles’ face was going to be priceless.

Giles looked at the little girl and smiled. “Hello..my name is Rupert.. and you are?” he asked as he walked closer to the chair. “Spike” he said with a nod, acknowledging he was there.

“That’s a funny name” Buffy said with a small giggle.

“Yes, well I suppose it is different.”

Giles straightened up and looked at Willow. “You is that?” he asked her quietly.

“My name’s Buffy” she said with a bright smile.

Giles slowly turned his head back around and looked at Buffy. He looked her straight in the eye before glancing up at Spike who was smirking at him shaking his head ‘yes’.

Looking back at Willow he could see the scared looked on her face then turned back to Buffy.

“Buffy?” he choked out hoarsely.

“Uh huh” Buffy said watching him.

“Dear Lord!” Giles said before head hit the floor....out cold.

TBC......................

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