Joyce sighed and stared down at the five little munchkins she was left with, who were being remarkably quiet. Flashing them a bright smile she grabbed Spike and Willow's hands and led the way into the living. "Okay troops, follow me!" she said wondering what on earth to do now. Settling them all onto the couch she turned on the television, flipping around for a few minutes before thankfully landing on Sesame Street, in Spanish nonetheless but hey they weren't really listening anyways. Leaving the quintet to happily vegetate Joyce escaped to the kitchen.
"So, how are the potatoes coming? She inquired of Giles as he sat at the table looking befuddled by the instructions on the back of the pack, kettle boiling merrily away.
"I...er..am not quite sure," he stammered. "I got the tuna open though." He said pointing to a blue bowl full of the slightly pink fish.
Joyce smiled and patted his hand reassuringly, getting up she checked the cupboard and was relieved to find neither Buffy nor Dawn had discovered the Twinkies from the last time she went grocery shopping.
"Sweets to soothe the savage beasts later." She explained to Giles with a grin. He laughed and nodded.
"Quite right. Joyce, I do apologize for landing them all on you like this but I really am completely at odds as to what to do with five toddlers."
She waved him off with a smile. "Oh don't worry about it, I fully intend on leaving you with them tomorrow morning and not coming home until at least five." The two shared a friendly smile, feeling at ease with each other after all those months of awkwardness following the band candy incident.
The moment was broken by Dawn tramping down the stairs loudly. Reaching the kitchen doorway she stumbled over her own feet and would have pitched forward if it hadn't been for Giles grabbing her arm and one of the boxes she was carrying.
"Dawnie sweetie you okay?" Joyce asked solicitously as she took the remaining box from her.
"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks Giles."
Giles nodded and caught Joyce's eyes over Dawn's head before looking away hastily, and the awkwardness was back.
Joyce turned to see about fixing up the mashed potatoes while Dawn and Giles set to sorting out what clothes could and could not be used in the next few days.
"Wonder how Doyle's managing, shopping with Cordelia." Dawn remarked as she unfolded a pair of ruffled velvet dresses with lace at the collar and wrists, making a face at the thought of having worn one of them.
Cordelia made almost the same face at the overalls that Doyle held up.
"Oh please! Willow dresses badly enough at her own age, we're not putting her in that now that we have a chance to get her in something decent looking!"
Shrugging amiably, Doyle laid to rest along with several of its predecessors. Looking from the basket he was in charge of, to Cordelia's laden arms he decided that four hours, three stores and two outfits apiece for each of the little tykes was more than enough shopping.
"Delia, that's the fifth suggestion you've turned down in as many minutes, I think we've exhausted the store and the sales people as well, what do ya say we head home eh?"
Cordy turned incredulous eyes on him, "You really want to go back to those little screaming banshees?" she queried.
Doyle debated answering that he was tired of shopping and didn't really care if he was going home to a house full of piranhas but decided it would be in his best interests not to and so said "I like kids." with a little shrug.
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Sure Doyle, and next you'll be telling me you taught third grade too." She said sarcastically, nevertheless heading towards the checkout counter. "But I get to drive this time!" She informed him haughtily, turning when she got no response to find Doyle intensely absorbed in the pattern of the tile beneath his feet. Rolling her eyes and snatching the car keys out of his hand, she happily approached the register.
"So what about you Princess?" He asked as they exited the mall.
"What about me?" Cordy asked, slightly swinging the bags. It had been a good long while since she'd left a mall with this many bags and she was intent on enjoying it, ignoring the fact that it was baby clothes in her packages.
"Don't you like children?"
Cordy gave a completely unladylike snort. "Oh please Doyle. How on earth can one like annoying little snot nosed brats that are perpetually noisy and dirty? They're like little demons, except you can't kill them."
"So you don't think you'll ever have kids then?"
"Pffft!" Cordy pfft-ed. "Decidedly not, besides, with the example I've had, my kids would probably hate me." She said with just a hint of bitterness colouring her tone.
"You and your mum don't exactly have the greatest relationship do you?" Doyle queried gently.
Cordy shot him a look that screamed 'Duh!' but deigned not to reply, instead fishing the keys out of her purse and deactivating the alarm as they got closer to the car. "Me and mine aren't exactly on the best of terms either." He told her, resting a warm hand on her shoulder. Cordy turned and gave him a small, tired smile and something in her hazel eyes softened, but then just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone and Cordy was handing him the bags and ordering him to put them in the trunk with the same imperious Queen C tone she used all the time.
Reaching the house twenty minutes later they were just in time to catch the last vestiges of the pandemonium that had occurred.
"Giles?" Cordy called as the two stepped around the overturned coat rack and stared at the mess that was once the Summers' neat living room.
Hearing giggles from the kitchen they headed in that direction. Doyle had barely taken two steps when he was accosted by a speeding bundle of mini slayer and vamp. Buffy immediately ducked behind his leg, Angel abandoning him in favour of Cordelia and then before they could blink there were mashed potatoes sliding down his pant leg and Cordelia was looking like she was ready to start screaming before she noticed the food missile had hit the bag she was carrying and not her top.
The opportunity to scream however did not entirely go away however and re-presented itself a few moments later through a flying gob of grape juice soaked mashed potatoes that landed in her hair. Cordy's cry of outrage was drowned out by excited shrieking and giggling coming from the toddlers as they continued to pelt and be pelted but the potatoes hadn't come from any of them, no, but from a very sheepish Rupert Giles who stood abashedly wiping his glasses on the bottom of his grape juice drenched shirt. Beyond him Joyce and Dawn Summers giggled behind their hands as the food fight continued to rage around them Angel and Buffy abandoning their hiding places and rushing back into the fight where Xander was smushing potatoes into Willow's hair and she was squirting juice from her juice box back at him and little Spike who had somehow managed to climb up onto the counter was spraying everyone with water from the faucet.
Cordelia gazed from one laughing face to the other as she scooped the potatoes out of her hair, turned ever so slowly with narrowed eyes to Doyle who immediately tried to stop smirking and then smushed the potatoes into his face.
"Hey!" He cried, wiping some potatoes off a speeding toddler and retaliating and the food fight raged on.
"So, how are the potatoes coming? She inquired of Giles as he sat at the table looking befuddled by the instructions on the back of the pack, kettle boiling merrily away.
"I...er..am not quite sure," he stammered. "I got the tuna open though." He said pointing to a blue bowl full of the slightly pink fish.
Joyce smiled and patted his hand reassuringly, getting up she checked the cupboard and was relieved to find neither Buffy nor Dawn had discovered the Twinkies from the last time she went grocery shopping.
"Sweets to soothe the savage beasts later." She explained to Giles with a grin. He laughed and nodded.
"Quite right. Joyce, I do apologize for landing them all on you like this but I really am completely at odds as to what to do with five toddlers."
She waved him off with a smile. "Oh don't worry about it, I fully intend on leaving you with them tomorrow morning and not coming home until at least five." The two shared a friendly smile, feeling at ease with each other after all those months of awkwardness following the band candy incident.
The moment was broken by Dawn tramping down the stairs loudly. Reaching the kitchen doorway she stumbled over her own feet and would have pitched forward if it hadn't been for Giles grabbing her arm and one of the boxes she was carrying.
"Dawnie sweetie you okay?" Joyce asked solicitously as she took the remaining box from her.
"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks Giles."
Giles nodded and caught Joyce's eyes over Dawn's head before looking away hastily, and the awkwardness was back.
Joyce turned to see about fixing up the mashed potatoes while Dawn and Giles set to sorting out what clothes could and could not be used in the next few days.
"Wonder how Doyle's managing, shopping with Cordelia." Dawn remarked as she unfolded a pair of ruffled velvet dresses with lace at the collar and wrists, making a face at the thought of having worn one of them.
Cordelia made almost the same face at the overalls that Doyle held up.
"Oh please! Willow dresses badly enough at her own age, we're not putting her in that now that we have a chance to get her in something decent looking!"
Shrugging amiably, Doyle laid to rest along with several of its predecessors. Looking from the basket he was in charge of, to Cordelia's laden arms he decided that four hours, three stores and two outfits apiece for each of the little tykes was more than enough shopping.
"Delia, that's the fifth suggestion you've turned down in as many minutes, I think we've exhausted the store and the sales people as well, what do ya say we head home eh?"
Cordy turned incredulous eyes on him, "You really want to go back to those little screaming banshees?" she queried.
Doyle debated answering that he was tired of shopping and didn't really care if he was going home to a house full of piranhas but decided it would be in his best interests not to and so said "I like kids." with a little shrug.
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Sure Doyle, and next you'll be telling me you taught third grade too." She said sarcastically, nevertheless heading towards the checkout counter. "But I get to drive this time!" She informed him haughtily, turning when she got no response to find Doyle intensely absorbed in the pattern of the tile beneath his feet. Rolling her eyes and snatching the car keys out of his hand, she happily approached the register.
"So what about you Princess?" He asked as they exited the mall.
"What about me?" Cordy asked, slightly swinging the bags. It had been a good long while since she'd left a mall with this many bags and she was intent on enjoying it, ignoring the fact that it was baby clothes in her packages.
"Don't you like children?"
Cordy gave a completely unladylike snort. "Oh please Doyle. How on earth can one like annoying little snot nosed brats that are perpetually noisy and dirty? They're like little demons, except you can't kill them."
"So you don't think you'll ever have kids then?"
"Pffft!" Cordy pfft-ed. "Decidedly not, besides, with the example I've had, my kids would probably hate me." She said with just a hint of bitterness colouring her tone.
"You and your mum don't exactly have the greatest relationship do you?" Doyle queried gently.
Cordy shot him a look that screamed 'Duh!' but deigned not to reply, instead fishing the keys out of her purse and deactivating the alarm as they got closer to the car. "Me and mine aren't exactly on the best of terms either." He told her, resting a warm hand on her shoulder. Cordy turned and gave him a small, tired smile and something in her hazel eyes softened, but then just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone and Cordy was handing him the bags and ordering him to put them in the trunk with the same imperious Queen C tone she used all the time.
Reaching the house twenty minutes later they were just in time to catch the last vestiges of the pandemonium that had occurred.
"Giles?" Cordy called as the two stepped around the overturned coat rack and stared at the mess that was once the Summers' neat living room.
Hearing giggles from the kitchen they headed in that direction. Doyle had barely taken two steps when he was accosted by a speeding bundle of mini slayer and vamp. Buffy immediately ducked behind his leg, Angel abandoning him in favour of Cordelia and then before they could blink there were mashed potatoes sliding down his pant leg and Cordelia was looking like she was ready to start screaming before she noticed the food missile had hit the bag she was carrying and not her top.
The opportunity to scream however did not entirely go away however and re-presented itself a few moments later through a flying gob of grape juice soaked mashed potatoes that landed in her hair. Cordy's cry of outrage was drowned out by excited shrieking and giggling coming from the toddlers as they continued to pelt and be pelted but the potatoes hadn't come from any of them, no, but from a very sheepish Rupert Giles who stood abashedly wiping his glasses on the bottom of his grape juice drenched shirt. Beyond him Joyce and Dawn Summers giggled behind their hands as the food fight continued to rage around them Angel and Buffy abandoning their hiding places and rushing back into the fight where Xander was smushing potatoes into Willow's hair and she was squirting juice from her juice box back at him and little Spike who had somehow managed to climb up onto the counter was spraying everyone with water from the faucet.
Cordelia gazed from one laughing face to the other as she scooped the potatoes out of her hair, turned ever so slowly with narrowed eyes to Doyle who immediately tried to stop smirking and then smushed the potatoes into his face.
"Hey!" He cried, wiping some potatoes off a speeding toddler and retaliating and the food fight raged on.