7 pm

Xander and Buffy had finished studying with Willow and Oz and were
walking to Giles' apartment. "Maybe he won't think I need to patrol
tonight," Buffy said.

"Fat chance....holy shit."

Buffy, who'd looked back at him to speak, turned back to look at what
had shocked him. Giles and ..."Mom?" Buffy looked at her mother in
surprise. She was wearing a red tube top, "MY red top!" Buffy yelled,
along with her own very tight black spandex pants. Giles was wearing
just his undershirt and blue jeans. "What alternate universe did we
just walk in to?" Buffy turned back to Xander to ask.

Xander looked at her, and shrugged. "Normally I'd ask Giles, but I
don't think that would do much good. I doubt he's going to be
research-guy--"

"Research blows!" Giles yelled uncharacteristically. "Ethan was right
years ago, it's for the boring people." He looked at Buffy and
asked, "Hey, why aren't you slaying something?"

Buffy blinked a few times, and gasped in horror when her mother
sidled up to Giles and grabbed his neck, pulling him down for a
kiss. "MOM!" Buffy shrieked in disgust.

She then turned back to Xander for moral support, only to see him
watching with a mildly amused expression.

He changed that to match her disapproval, and said, "I'm hoping
there's a paranormal cause for this. I don't know for sure, but I'd
say that Giles in blue jeans has got to be a sign of the end of the
world."

Buffy couldn't help giggling at that, but the fact that her mom now
had Giles pinned up against the wall forced her attention back to the
problem at hand. She walked up to her mom and pulled her off Giles,
despite Joyce's struggles. "Mom, what has gotten into you?" she asked.

"And you!" she yelled, turning on Giles. "Have you had a mid-life
crisis or something?"

"No," Giles frowned. "Sod off, Buffy. You should learn how to have a
good time. Life is useless without it."

"Moooom," Buffy whined as her mother pushed her out of the way and
resumed her attack on Giles. "Stop, you're wigging me out!"

"Maybe I should call Wills?" Xander asked. He made it halfway to the
phone, before he remembered: "Oh, she's at the Bronze. The Dingoes are
playing."

"Well, then we're _all_ going," Buffy said. She pulled her mom off
Giles again, and said, "I'll take you home and lock you in your room
if you don't control your hormones. As for you, Mister," she turned
to Giles, "Stop trying to ..." she made a face. "I can't say it,
but you know what I mean. Come on. I'll drive."

**********
9 pm

Buffy, Xander, Giles, and Joyce got in her mom's Jeep. They had
decided Xander would sit in back with Giles, and Joyce would sit in
the front passenger seat. That way Xander and Buffy wouldn't have had
to break up the obviously impending makeout session between Buffy's
mother and Watcher.

Joyce immediately put in a CD by Cream, and Buffy rolled her
eyes. "Hey, you got another of those?" Joyce turned to ask Giles,
indicating the cigarette hanging out of Giles' mouth.

"You smoke?" Buffy squeaked, but he didn't reply. Instead, he handed
Joyce a cigarette and smirked at Buffy.

"So how come they, uh, call you Ripper?" Joyce asked then.

Buffy caught the leer in Giles' expression as he replied, "Wouldn't
you like to know."

"Lalalalalalala!" Buffy yelled.

Xander chuckled but Buffy silenced him with a look thrown at the
rearview. "Sorry, I'm supposed to be helping, aren't I?" he said.

"Wait, this is my favorite part!" Joyce squealed as she turned up the
radio; Xander and Buffy both groaned in exasperation.

Giles then piped up, "Man, I gotta get a band together."

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home," Buffy
started chanting then. Xander leaned up and rubbed the back of her
neck, saying, "Don't worry, Willow will fix this, if it's a curse--"

"IF????" Buffy spared a look at him. "Don't say if. I can't live with
a non-if here." She remembered to look back at the road as the jeep
swerved.

""How often do you drive, anyway?" Xander asked, starting to wonder
how safe they were.

"I drive," Buffy replied defensively. "I drove two years ago," she
amended softly.

"What????" Xander was now seriously doubting the intelligence of
letting Buffy drive. As if to affirm those doubts; just then, a car
slammed into the side of the jeep. Buffy managed to keep from losing
control and they finally skidded to a stop.

Buffy got out of the jeep in time to see the driver of the car, a man
in his forties, run off giggling. "Hey!" she yelled after him, but
didn't bother to follow. "What is going on around here?" she
wondered.

"Wondering that, myself," Xander replied from behind her.

Buffy looked past him, "Xan, you were supposed to *watch* them!" she
wailed. "I'm scarred for life." she stated as she leaned against him,
burying her face in his shirt. Xander looked back to the
jeep and saw that Giles was now shirtless and so was Joyce. They were
both in the back seat of the car and...

"Well," Xander cleared his throat. "Um. We still have to find Willow.
What do you think we should do with them?"

Buffy shrugged, unwilling to look again. "I'm sure Giles still
remembers how to slay. And mom always carries a stake and holy water
in her purse. There's a cross hanging from the rear view." She
sighed. "Let's just go find Willow and stop this before I lose my
ability to look at Giles with any kind of respect."

Xander nodded, and they hurried off in the direction of the Bronze.
They arrived and descended on Willow, who was watching the Dingoes
play. "Willow, there's a curse or

something making everyone go completely weird..." Buffy trailed off
as she saw Snyder dancing....dancing!....with Miss Barton, one of
their teachers. "I guess you've gathered that much," she added.

Willow nodded in reply.

"All the grownups are...acting..."

"Immature?" Willow suggested.

"Well, yeah, but I was gonna say they're acting like us," Xander
replied. Willow and Buffy looked at him, and nodded. "Good call,"
Buffy said. "So what curse is doing this?"

Willow and Xander looked at her, and shrugged. Giles was the head
researcher in the group, without him they were lost.

When Oz's band got off the stage, several men started up a rendition
of "Louie Louie." Buffy was about to suggest leaving when she saw
Snyder and another man fighting over one of the bars of chocolate.
The rest of the gang soon noticed too, as did the whole club, which
erupted in "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Buffy and the rest of the gang exchanged pained looks and then left
the club. "It's gotta be the candy! It's cursed. Now if we only knew
where the factory was," Buffy said.

"Main street, and Fifth," Oz replied then. When everyone looked at
him in surprise, he said, "What, I was curious and asked Snyder this
morning."

"Whatever," Buffy shrugged. "Come on guys."

***************