Wacky Disclaimer:

It's very bright and sunny outside. Druscilla, Darla, and Spike are sitting under big beach umbrellas. A big gray elephant walks pass them and Courtney, a Chinese girl with blue eye and redish-brown hair named Julia, and a light-skinned girl with emerald eyes and short-cut black hair named Emma are riding on top.

Courtney: WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I think I love AFRICAAA!!

Darla: I HATE Africa!!

Aily looks at Darla and glares at her before whacking her in the back of the head. Darla falls forward on her and growls.

Darla: WHAT WAS THAT FOR YOU LITTLE…GRR!

Aily: Africa is cool just because you're a dumb hag that doesn't know how to have fun don't mean anything!

Darla points a finger at Aily as she growls.

Aily: *Mocking fear* Ohhh! I'm so scared! C'mon!

Courtney seeing that a cat fight is about to break out grabs Darla and proceeds to drag her over to a near by tree to get some shad while Aily sticks her tongue out at Darla mockingly. Meanwhile Emma gets a little to into the song and begins to 'rap' deafeningly.

Emma: C'mon!-- Relax guy, I like gay men
Right, Ken? Give me an amen (AAA-men!)'

Spike looks at Emma and coughs almost choking off a cracker while he falls over laughing. Darla snickers as she points to Spike muttering something about human food as Bryan suddenly comes running out of nowhere.

Bryan: I wanna say the disclaimer!!!

Rob look at him laughing as he walks up to Bryan and hands him a paper

Rob: Just read it and tell me what you think.

Chester: Hehe…Brittany and Aily aka Slayer Chica owns nothing in this story! Not even Bryan or the idea for this idea! Me Rob and Mike belong to ourselves, the lyrics to the song Emma were singing belong to Eminem! And Julia, Ti, Emma, and Courtney are property of Brittany/Courtney!! While Buffy and the rest of the characters belong to Joss, UPN, and some others!

Bryan: What!?! I wanted to say the disclaimer!!!!

Chester grins at Bryan's angry face

Chester: Haha! You should have said before reading that paper!

Bryan growls dangerously and balls his hands into fist as Chester runs off and the younger man or should I say boy quickly follows after him [~*~*~*~] Taken'

Courtney sat on the ground as she stared at Spike with wide eyes. The master vampire gazed at the girl strangely but his expression soon became angry as he spotted a reddish purple bruise around her neck. He took a step towards her then bent down as Courtney tried to scoot away from him

"Are you okay?" He asked trying to further inspect the bruise

Courtney looked at him, slowly backing away, causing her brother, David, to wake up in the process. David sniffled as he awoke and Spike looked at him. The vampire sighed and quickly decides that he should take these kids to Buffy since she the slayer and she should know what to do.

"Come with me." He said as he stood up.

Courtney looked at him and stood up finally deciding he's safe to come with and quickly followed him as he walked. 'Okay he was nice in my dream so I guess he okay' She thought grabbing David and Daniel's hand.

"Where are we going?" Courtney asked stepping beside him.

Spike looked at her briefly looking her over and realized she looked a lot like the nibblet. Not his Dawn, Buffy's sister but the original nibblet, his sister Casey. 'God she looks so much like her and I thought Lil' bit looked like her but they're almost identical! Hell I didn't realize how much I missed Casey until now. After she died in that fire I almost forgot about her. Only if this girl had blue eyes and longer hair she'd look just like her.' Spike thought looking at Courtney.

"A safe place. Do you live never here? Is your family around?" Spike asked her quickening his pace.

"I don't know if I live never here me and my family just moved here and my family was acting weird when we went to this park and we got attacked by these guys with wrinkly faces. I don't know what has happened to my family but I know my father and brother Mike were still fightin' those wrinkly faced guys and my sis-opps…" She stopped and tried to change the subject away from what she just said "Is the house on this street?" Courtney asked bowing her head a little.

Her worry about her family and the time she spent running had drained her energy so she was really tired.  She guessed her little brother Daniel was sleepy too.

"Is the house close?" asked a sleepy Daniel as he leaned onto his big sisters leg.

Yes, she was right Daniel looked very tried. Spike chuckled as he turned and led them up Buffy's driveway. They then went the stairs and rung the doorbell. "You can go to sleep once we're inside." He said bending down and picking up Daniel.

[~*~*~*~]

At the same time Spike and Courtney saw the door of the Summer's home opening and Dawn screaming at the top of her lungs as she walked out backwards through it. "You aren't helping though Buffy. You're not even trying to live! You're miserable here, admit it!"

Buffy was yelling right back at her, "What do you want from me Dawn. I have to work to pay for your food, clothes, to keep this house. I just came back from the dead and I already have enough stuff piled on my plate, so excuse me if I am not the same as I was. I am not mom! I don't know what you want from me." That silenced both of them, when Buffy and Dawn realized what the blond Slayer had just said.

"Buffy I know you aren't mom. I-I just want you to spend a little more time with me." Dawn said

"Then why do you push me away?" Buffy asked accusingly, "One minute you want me to be around and then when I am here with you, Dawn, you act like you don't want me around you."

"I-I, look Buffy we have visitors. Hey Spike how's it going?" Dawn asked when she saw Spike, "And who is this?"

Before he could speak Buffy cut him off, "Spike what in the hell are you doing here? I have enough to deal with without you coming here to bug me." Courtney wasn't too sure if she liked Buffy or not. Why would she yell at this man? Was it a lover's quarrel?

"Now who is being hot and cold Buffy?" Spike asked with a smirk but cut Buffy off before she could make a retort. "But this isn't the time for this, I found this girl and her brothers. They just moved here, they don't know where they live and their family's…"Spike said before trailing off. Telling her the girl's family was dead right in front of the victims would probably upset them besides the little ones might not even know what happened.

Buffy's whole demeanor changed slightly, "Sorry you guys about that. So what's your name?" she asked them with a touch of warmth.

"I'm Courtney and these two are David and Daniel." Courtney replied.  "Err, Spike said that you would be able to help us.  We aren't from around here and we don't know wh…" She wasn't able to finish her sentence, she felt so embarrassed for talking about her problems to a stranger, let alone requesting help.

 "Say no more," Buffy said softly, "You came to the right place.  But right now lets find you somewhere to sleep here."

 Then she ushered them inside the house, " I'll make up some beds for you guys to sleep in. And we'll talk about what happened in the morning, 'kay?"

Courtney nodded, "Sure, if it's all right.  Umm, thanks a lot." She turned towards Spike, "Thank you too. You really helped us out."

Buffy smiled unconsciously at the scene, but it was soon gone as she moved to take the boys and Courtney upstairs to bed with Dawn trailing behind them. But before she took them upstairs, "Courtney" Spike called up the stairs, "Don't worry about anything, your brothers and you are safe here. And if Buffy is the one making you nervous, her bark is worse then her bite." Spike told Courtney almost as if he could sense her unease. 

"Nite Spike and thanks again." She called out as she reached the top of the stairs. Spike nodded at her and soon Dawn had called out her own too.

"I thought that was you Spike." Buffy replied coldly as she walked up the stairs, but Courtney detected a hint of warmth and good-natured banter.

When they got upstairs, she walked into a room and Courtney heard two voices other than Buffy's talking. They seemed to come to an agreement.

"Okay guys, Daniel and David you have my room. Courtney gets to share with Dawn." Buffy said.

"This is so cool, like a sleep over!" Dawn said quickly causing Courtney to smile for the first time in what seemed like hours. But before she could drag Courtney into her room and close the door Buffy asked Courtney something.

"Courtney, I was just wondering, can you remember the place you were when you last saw your family?"

"We were in the park…about a day ago. Or maybe it was a few hours ago…I can't remember, " Courtney replied as tears stung her eyes. She quickly forced the tears back and followed Dawn into her room.

[~*~*~*~]

Buffy made short work of getting the boys to work for they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Then she went down stairs and wasn't surprised when she found Spike lounging around on the couch. "Are they asleep?"

Buffy shook her head and rolled her eyes, "The boys are, but I have a feeling Dawn is pumping the poor girl for information about where she lived before. It could take hours." Spike smiled at that comment.

"So how is it going with you Buffy?" He asked cautiously. She took a deep breath, "I don't know how I am going to be able to do this Spike. I really don't. I really am sorry about using you by the way."

"It's okay Buffy, seriously." Spike replied, "How about we go and try to find out about those kids' family." And for once he saw a grin crossing Buffy's face. "Sure."

"And Spike?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to the girls family you never finished?" Buffy asked looking him in the eye

"The bit', Courtney said she didn't know what happened to them but these wrinkly faced guys attacked them. So that means a group of vamps attacked and killed them but she said she saw her Da' and brother were fightin' them before she took her brother's and ran." Spike told her lighting a fag.

"Poor kids. You know what Spike? That girl seemed kinda familiar, I don't know why though." Buffy said as they were walking out of her house.

"I know what you mean Slayer. She reminded me of my sister Casey, the last time I saw her." Spike replied. "And, no Buffy before you can ask I didn't kill my family."

[~*~*~*~]

"So Dawn are those two an item?" Courtney asked as she sat on Dawn's bed indian-style.

"No. Buffy says...that Spike isn't good enough for her. That he is trouble." Dawn replied, "But I really wish they were." She added softly.

"So," Courtney said just as softly, "Why don't we try to get them together?"

"Well… why not?"

After a few minutes Courtney remembered something Buffy said during the argument she saw her and her sister having.

"Dawn?"

"Yes?"

"Did your sister say she came back from THE dead?"

[~*~*~*~]

It's four o' clock in the morning. David and Daniel were a sleep on Buffy's bed. Both David and Daniel's faces were etched with worry and covered with sweat. Daniel's brow is creased as his face contorted in pains and David groaned lightly. It's clear that they were both having the same nightmare.

{Dream Sequence} 

David and Daniel are older…about seven. They are running…as they remember being told to do. They remember being afraid of something they can't remember (weird?) and then being told to run. The sound of fighting and chanting can be heard in the background as they link their hands and leap off a medium sized bridge landing on there feet. They quickly cross the street as a vampire and a slimy red demon with red eyes follow them. They remember a sinister female voice saying something like…

"You two follow those little brats! Catch them and don't underestimate those kids…" Her voice got dangerously low "…they are stronger then they seem."

That was all they heard before the guy they call Spike told them to run. They quickly run up a set of hot pink stairs before a girl about two-years-old appeared in front of them. Her hair is half black and half white. She has black eyes and her hair is done in two braids. The girl's outfit is a button down knee-length dress that's half black half white. They notice her skin is pale as she cocks her head to the side.

"You left me. Why didn't you come back for me! COME FIND ME!!!" She cried out as she reached for them.

They stepped back afraid. They know they recognize her but they don't remember where from. They remember never finding their house and staying with Buffy…they remember. They never came back. They didn't come back for her because they forgot her.

"Tina" Daniel growled taking another step back.

Tina cocked her head to the left looking at them oddly "Remember" she said before disappearing.

David and Daniel blinked and turning around and they came face to face with the vampire and red demon. The vampire growled as a smile spread to his face and he and the evil slimy demon grabbed them both. Stunned they both began to scream but they knew they couldn't get away.

{End Dream Sequence}

David and Daniel quickly sit up as they awake from their nightmare with a scream. Their sobs echoed down the hall along with Courtney's scream.