I left the albums on the end of the bed before climbing onto the bed and into Willow's embrace. We hadn't done this since my last night in LA, and it still felt like it was the first time. Then again, we did have some air cleaning while we skated. I just laid my head on her chest listening to her heart beat while she stroked my back with her fingers. I had already felt relaxed since I came here, but with Willow here now, I feel ever more so. I felt her lips kiss the top of my head, so I tilted my head up and kissed her tenderly, but before it got any deeper, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," turning my head towards the door while still keeping it on Willow's chest.

Mom popped her head in, and I waved her in, "Linds is beside herself, but if guys need rest, I'll explain that to her," I lifted my head to see what Will thought, and she was smiling.

"No, we'll be right there. I'll just sleep in tomorrow. Besides, I've been up longer when I was helping Buffy cram for a test," Willow actually means we spent all night researching the latest Big Bad, "Just have coffee handy, and I'll be fine."

"That's not a problem. Mom and Sara are big into coffee, and it's top of the line stuff too," helping Willow up before scooping up Mr. Gordo and handing him to Mom, "This is Mr. Gordo. He has been with me for as long as I can remember," Mom handed him back as Willow handed her the photo albums, "Is there anyway I can bribe either one of you into not opening them?"

"Nope," they both said kissing me on the cheeks before we headed down the hall.

We came into the room to find Lindsay pinned to the couch being tickled by Sara, "Finally. I thought I might have to hog tie her," then I saw Sara's eyes focus on the albums in Mom's arms, "Are those?" Goddess, help me.

I kept the hand holding Mr. Gordo behind my back as Lindsay walked up to me with her two pigs, and then, we both headed to the table and sat down. I pulled my pig from behind my back, "Lindsay, this is Mr. Gordo," her eyes lit up when I handed him to her, "and as long as I can see him once in awhile, you can keep him in your room."

"Really?" giving her a nod, "Well, I do have sleepovers, so you will need to babysit them then," giving her another nod as I gave her a hug while she sat Mr. Gordo in front of Miss Piggybottoms, "Miss Piggybottoms, this is your boyfriend, Mr. Gordo," then she introduced him to her, "and this is your daughter, Maxine," I was beaming while listening to Lindsay do the whole pomp and circumstance before turning to me, "I'm going to take them upstairs, so they can bond alone."

"Okay, but hurry back, we're going to be looking at pictures of me and my family," she nodded before scooping up all the pigs and heading upstairs while I walked over and sat between Mom and Willow.

Lindsay came quickly running back down the steps and sat in Sara's lap before Willow placed the first album in Mom and I's lap. I shouldn't have been shocked that we started with mine. The little-Buffy pictures got the typical 'AWWWs' from everyone, and then we hit the ice skating pics with my Dorothy Hamill do. Mom kissed my cheek and told me I was cute. Next was Cheerleader Buffy, and Will squeezed my hand tighter knowing how I was like then. It was at that point that I hadn't realized how much Mom kept up with what I was doing. Finally, we hit the Sunnydale pics, school functions, dances and Prom. Willow had gone with Oz, but she wanted me to have a picture, so she talked the photographer into taking a picture of us.

Mom put her arm around me, "Joyce did a wonderful job raising you, Buffy, and I wish I could thank her for making you the wonderful woman that you are today," I sat the album on the table before fully hugging Mom.

"You just did. Ever since she died, I've felt that she has been watching over all her kids. Plus, you are saying thank you by helping me now," kissing her cheek before retaking my seat, "Now, who wants to meet the rest of the Scoobies?" After a round of me's, Willow handed me the other album.

I opened the cover, and the first picture was of all nine of us, "Okay, this handsome man in the back is Giles. He is our dad/mentor guy. The silly grinning guy beside him is Xander. He and Willow go way back, and he is the best brother anyone could ever ask for. You know Willow and I, and beside me, is Faith. She is our black sheep, but has my back whenever I need her. Next to her is her girlfriend, Tara. We adopted her in our first year college and has been stuck with us ever since. Anya is Xander's wife. She was brought to us in our senior year of high school, and finally, this is Dawn, my 'younger' sister. I haven't been able to call her my little sister since she was fourteen, but now, I have another one," reaching over to tickle Lindsay, "Our newest member is Kennedy. She and Dawn met last year and haven't been apart since," I stayed on that picture to wait and see if anyone had questions.

Sara did, "Okay, I get how all you kids got together, but Giles seems to be the odd member," I kind of anticipated that and had a half truth answer.

"Well when I transferred to Sunnydale, I was told that Willow was the person to help me catch up, so we would meet up in the library to study. Xander was getting tutoring from her too which meant he would be in there too, and before we knew it, Giles was helping too. I found out later that he helped my mom meet people in the art community, so it
became a full circle kind of thing," I found out about the gallery part when I came from LA after running away.

That must have satisfied Sara, so I started flipping through the pages. I pointed out Oz and Cordelia when pictures of them popped up, and I was a little surprised at myself when I remembered most of the times that the pictures were taken, and then, Mom stopped on a picture of Faith and I kissing.

"Dawn set that up. Xander had bought her a mistletoe on a string, and in my defense, she had a lot of kissing that night. In fact, it was the first time Willow and I kissed, and I got Dawn back too. I had taken it off of her and was chasing her around when she ran into Xander, so I held it up. At the time, she had the biggest crush on him, and while I did the mean sister thing, Xander being the gentleman that he is made it special for her," Willow ended up laying her head on my shoulder as we went through the rest of the album.

Mom put it on top of the other one before kissing my cheek again, "Buffy, I'm glad you got a family that loved you, and that you had fun with. I'm also glad that we get to add to our family with the three of us, Nancy and the guys. I can't wait to meet the people in these pictures, especially Dawn. She seems to have your number, and Sara and I could use the help," I looked over at Lindsay and gave her a wink before starting to tickle Mom as Lindsay quickly joined in.

After our full blown tickle fight, Mom sent Willow and I to bed to nap until dinner. Lindsay ended up heading upstairs to check on the pigs, so Will and I kicked off our shoes before I laid down and patted my chest. Willow threw an arm and leg over me before laying her head on my shoulder.

"Buffy, we're going to have to tell them sooner rather than later. They are CSIs, and I'm sure they have seen things, so it might not be too big of a stretch, and can you tell me a story?" leave it to Willow to start off serious, and end up going the opposite way.

"Yeah, I know. I just want to know how big this family is. I mean they work with the police, so who there is in the inner circle, and I'd be lying if Mom's reaction to my calling isn't bouncing around in my head," kissing Willow's forehead as she interlocked our fingers, "Story, huh?" laughing at the rapid head nodding while I started to think.

I remembered an old story that I used to tell Dawn when she would come into my room after Mom and Dad had been fighting. It was your typical princess one, but it always did the trick with Dawn, and halfway through, Willow was asleep, but I continued until I was finished. I kissed the top of Will's head before closing my eyes and joining her in
slumber.

AN: There are no Andrew pictures because in my Buffyverse he was
arrested during the Troika's heist attempt and never escaped.