A/N: Sorry for the big delay. I've just been really stressed out with a lot
of stuff and have one other story I am writing. I've glad you guys like
this so much.
****
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
Willow watched Tara sneeze every two seconds and glanced at Dawn. "I hope she's not getting sick."
Dawn, who was sitting on the kitchen counter, while Willow cooked dinner, shrugged. "Seems like a small case of the sniffles to me."
"Achoo!"
"Or a slightly larger one."
Willow sighed, mixing the Hamburger Helper around in the skillet. "I hope so. After what happened, the medic said she was probably going to get sick."
"Achoo!"
"If we're not careful, she's going to get everyone else sick, too."
Willow gave Dawn a look. "Don't say that. You'll jinx us. That's not exactly what we need right now. At the rate we're going, I'll be lucky to have all my body parts when they get changed back."
Dawn looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I wonder if they were really this wild when they were small. I mean, Tara's not wild. She's exactly the opposite. But, Spike and Buffy..."
"Need a leash and a muzzle."
Dawn giggled. "Exactly. Especially when they're together."
"And in crowded places."
"And out of sight."
"I think we pretty much narrowed it down," Willow told her. She poured the contents of the skillet into a large bowl and set the skillet in the sink.
Dawn leaned over and took a whiff. "Oh, that smells good. I haven't had a decent meal in days."
"Thanks to the three toddlers watching Rugrats in the living room."
"Do you really think they should be watching that? They might get ideas."
Willow pulled a few plates out of the cabinets and set to putting equal amounts of Hamburger Helper on each plate. "I think we're safe for now."
"For now."
Willow rolled her eyes. "You exaggerate too much."
"I do not!"
Willow handed her the plates. "Go put these on the table."
Dawn gave her a look before hopping off the counter and walking into the dining room.
"Dinner's ready!" she called.
The sounds of tiny feet pounding across the floor met Dawn's ears as Spike and Buffy came running into the room with Tara trailing behind them.
"Achoo!" Tara sneezed.
Dawn gave her a sympathetic look. "You okay?"
She sniffed and shook her head.
"Ooh." Dawn leaned over and lifted her up on her hip. "You don't feel good."
"Uh, uh." Pause. "Achoo!"
Dawn carried her into the kitchen where Willow was cleaning up. "Do we have any cough medicine, or Tylenol, or something?"
Willow came over. "She still feelin' bad?" She rubbed Tara's cheek. "Poor baby."
"Here," Dawn said, handing Tara over, "why don't you see if you can get her some Tylenol and I'll make sure Buffy and Spike don't make a mess."
Willow took Tara and smiled at Dawn. "Thanks, Dawnie."
She nodded and Willow started towards the stairs.
Dawn sighed before walking into the dining room where Spike and Buffy were eating. To her surprise, they were both in their seats and still chowing down on Hamburger Helper.
Dawn smiled and decided it might be a good idea to reward their good behavior, not even thinking that it might come back to bite her in the ass.
"Hey, what do you guys say to some desert?" Dawn asked, clapping her hands together.
Buffy perked up. "Ice cream?"
Dawn pondered over the idea for a second. Then, "Sure."
"Chocolate!" Spike cried.
Dawn's eyes widened. "Maybe."
"Can I have whipped cream?" Buffy asked, abandoning her half-finished dinner.
"Maybe."
"Whip cream! Whip cream! Whip cream!" When in reality, it sounded more like, "Wicreme! Wicreme! Wicreme!"
Dawn turned to walk into the kitchen to get the stuff she needed for sundays. "What have I gotten myself into?"
****
Fifteen minutes later, Dawn knew exactly how much she had gotten herself into.
Dawn was smart enough to just keep everything in the kitchen, instead of in the dining room where not everything is childproof. This was a smart move on her behalf.
As soon as Buffy had gotten her hands on the whip cream can, it had been *everywhere*. On the floor, on her clothes, in her hair, in *Spike's* hair, and just about everywhere else she could get it. Dawn tried to get it away from her before she did anymore damage, but in return got a mouthful of whip cream.
Then, while she was occupied with Buffy, Spike managed to climb up on the counter and open the freezer. Unfortunately, that's where a quart of chocolate ice cream was.
Spike pulled it out and managed to hop off the counter without breaking his tiny neck. He pulled the top off and plopped down on the floor.
Dawn managed to grab the can away from Buffy and wipe the cream off her face. Buffy licked the whip cream off her fingers, a gleeful smile on her face.
Dawn sighed and tossed the can in the sink, then noticed that Spike was on the floor, chocolate all over his face and hands, and the rest of the box was flipped over on the floor, leaving a melted trail of ice cream across the tiled floor.
"Oh, Spike!" Dawn cried.
He looked up at her with innocent eyes, despite the chocolate all over his mouth and cheeks.
Spike smiled. "Chocat!"
Dawn giggled desperately, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead.
Spike giggled also.
Willow picked this time to walk in the kitchen, Tara in her arms. She stopped at the doorway, her eyes wide.
"What the frick happened here?" she cried, setting Tara down on the floor and walking into the kitchen. She stepped on the spot of melted ice cream and almost fell on her rear, but she grabbed the counter just before she fell.
Dawn ringed her hands sheepishly. "I was going to make ice cream and it got a little out of control."
"A little? Ya think?" Willow righted herself and looked over the mess. "My goddess, this'll take forever to clean up."
She gave Dawn a look before raising her hand. "Sprestred!"
A pop rang throughout the room and the mess was gone, save everything on Spike and Buffy's clothes and clothes.
"Willow!" Dawn cried. "What'd you do that for? You're not supposed to do magic!"
Willow sighed. "It's okay, Dawnie. It was just something I picked up a few years ago. Makes everything clean just like *that*."
"But, what if something had gone wrong? Remember what happened last time you used magic?"
"Dawn, it's not that big a deal."
Dawn clenched her jaw. "Fine! I'm gonna go clean up Spike and Buffy. Seems your harmless spell didn't go *exactly* perfect."
She grabbed Buffy and Spike by their hands and led them upstairs a little faster than they could keep up with.
****
Spike, Buffy, and Tara were sitting on the couch in their pj's, Buffy and Spike freshly bathed.
Willow and Dawn were sitting on opposite ends of them, Tara by Willow, Spike by Dawn, and Buffy in the middle, her head resting on Spike's shoulder. All three children were droopy eyed; their heads nodding.
Actually, Tara's head would nod for a second, then she would sneeze heavily, wipe her stuffy nose, and lay her head back down.
Willow rubbed Tara's back sympathetically. "Poor baby."
Dawn looked over. "She still feeling bad?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah."
Tara let out a low moan, holding her stomach.
Willow pulled her onto her lap. "Does your tunny hurt, baby?"
Tara nodded meekly.
Willow went to rub her cheek, and felt the heat radiating off her face. "Goddess, she's burning up."
"Why don't you go take her temperature?" Dawn asked her. "Thermometer's in the medicine cabinet."
"Okay." Willow gently moved off the couch as not to disturb a half-asleep Buffy, and headed for the bathroom.
She held Tara close to her chest as she walked up the stairs and down the hall. She set Tara on the sink counter and rummaged around in the cabinet.
Tara sniffed and sneezed, moaning a little louder.
"I'm trying, sweetie," Willow said, searching for the thermometer.
When she finally found it, she stuck it in Tara's mouth, figuring she was old enough to keep it under her tongue without trying to swallow it.
A few minutes later, Willow was examining the thermometer. "One hundred and two degrees!" She felt Tara's forehead again.
Tara sneezed, followed by a low moan.
"Tara, baby." Willow pulled her into her arms in a hug.
She carried her downstairs.
"Dawn!" she hissed, trying to get her attention without waking Buffy and Spike.
Dawn moved from the couch and walked into the front hall. "Whachya need?"
"Um, Tara's running a hundred and two fever and I think I'm gonna take her to the hospital."
"A hundred and two!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I know. I mean, with me or you, it might not be that bad, but she's only three."
Dawn nodded. "Don't worry. I got the baby-sitting down. Besides, they fell asleep about two minutes ago."
Willow nodded. "I'll call Xander to drive me over. Um, you're not still mad at me are you?"
Dawn shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I just don't like you doing magic. You never know what could go wrong," she said, giving Willow a pointed look.
Willow half-smiled as she pulled Tara's coat on. "I'll remember that."
"I'll go call Xander for ya," Dawn offered.
"Great. I need to get my coat."
Dawn walked into the kitchen and dialed up Xander.
Anya answered the phone. "Hello, how may I help you?"
"Anya, you don't have to answer the phone like the store," Dawn giggled.
"Well, it's much easier to get right to the point than to waste time on useless chitchat, much like what we are doing now."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Is Xander there?"
"No," Anya said in a disappointed voice. "He's working overtime. As much as I enjoy him being a useful member of society, it's really annoying that they're taking away from our sex life."
Dawn made an 'ick' face. "Okay, sick, much?"
Anya sighed drastically. "You're an adolescent. You wouldn't understand the concept of not being able to-"
"Okay! I get it. He's not there. Bye." Dawn hung up before Anya could finish her over-imformative sentence.
"Willow!" Dawn called to Willow, who had gone upstairs. "Xander's at the site!"
Willow appeared at the top of the stairs with Tara on her hip. "He is? What am I gonna do about Tara?"
"You could call the hospital. They can send some paramedics to check on her."
"Wouldn't that be a little drastic? She's only got a fever. Besides, she's already been in an ambulance once this week."
Dawn shrugged. "It might be best."
Willow sighed.
****
"Well, she's got a really high fever for a child of such a young age. It could be anything for a cold to pneumonia."
The paramedic checked Tara's vital signs, took her temperature. "I think we should take her to the hospital. Though it's not definitely something serious, it could turn to that."
"Um, can I go with her?" Willow asked, wringing her hands.
"Yeah. Sure."
The paramedic packed up his things and put them on his shoulder, gently lifting Tara up into his arms.
Willow turned to Dawn. "Is that okay, sweetie? I mean, since Buffy and Spike are asleep?"
"How long will you be gone?" Dawn asked.
Willow turned to the paramedic.
"We'll have to keep her overnight at the least. You wouldn't have to stay, but we recommend it for the younger ones. If they wake up in a strange place with strange people, they tend to get a little hysterical."
Willow turned back to Dawn. "I'll call Xander in about an hour and tell him to come over."
Dawn sighed. "Fine."
Willow smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
Willow and the paramedic left, leaving Dawn alone in the house with Buffy and Spike, who were asleep in the living room.
Dawn sighed. "How fun."
TBC...
****
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
"Achoo!"
Willow watched Tara sneeze every two seconds and glanced at Dawn. "I hope she's not getting sick."
Dawn, who was sitting on the kitchen counter, while Willow cooked dinner, shrugged. "Seems like a small case of the sniffles to me."
"Achoo!"
"Or a slightly larger one."
Willow sighed, mixing the Hamburger Helper around in the skillet. "I hope so. After what happened, the medic said she was probably going to get sick."
"Achoo!"
"If we're not careful, she's going to get everyone else sick, too."
Willow gave Dawn a look. "Don't say that. You'll jinx us. That's not exactly what we need right now. At the rate we're going, I'll be lucky to have all my body parts when they get changed back."
Dawn looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I wonder if they were really this wild when they were small. I mean, Tara's not wild. She's exactly the opposite. But, Spike and Buffy..."
"Need a leash and a muzzle."
Dawn giggled. "Exactly. Especially when they're together."
"And in crowded places."
"And out of sight."
"I think we pretty much narrowed it down," Willow told her. She poured the contents of the skillet into a large bowl and set the skillet in the sink.
Dawn leaned over and took a whiff. "Oh, that smells good. I haven't had a decent meal in days."
"Thanks to the three toddlers watching Rugrats in the living room."
"Do you really think they should be watching that? They might get ideas."
Willow pulled a few plates out of the cabinets and set to putting equal amounts of Hamburger Helper on each plate. "I think we're safe for now."
"For now."
Willow rolled her eyes. "You exaggerate too much."
"I do not!"
Willow handed her the plates. "Go put these on the table."
Dawn gave her a look before hopping off the counter and walking into the dining room.
"Dinner's ready!" she called.
The sounds of tiny feet pounding across the floor met Dawn's ears as Spike and Buffy came running into the room with Tara trailing behind them.
"Achoo!" Tara sneezed.
Dawn gave her a sympathetic look. "You okay?"
She sniffed and shook her head.
"Ooh." Dawn leaned over and lifted her up on her hip. "You don't feel good."
"Uh, uh." Pause. "Achoo!"
Dawn carried her into the kitchen where Willow was cleaning up. "Do we have any cough medicine, or Tylenol, or something?"
Willow came over. "She still feelin' bad?" She rubbed Tara's cheek. "Poor baby."
"Here," Dawn said, handing Tara over, "why don't you see if you can get her some Tylenol and I'll make sure Buffy and Spike don't make a mess."
Willow took Tara and smiled at Dawn. "Thanks, Dawnie."
She nodded and Willow started towards the stairs.
Dawn sighed before walking into the dining room where Spike and Buffy were eating. To her surprise, they were both in their seats and still chowing down on Hamburger Helper.
Dawn smiled and decided it might be a good idea to reward their good behavior, not even thinking that it might come back to bite her in the ass.
"Hey, what do you guys say to some desert?" Dawn asked, clapping her hands together.
Buffy perked up. "Ice cream?"
Dawn pondered over the idea for a second. Then, "Sure."
"Chocolate!" Spike cried.
Dawn's eyes widened. "Maybe."
"Can I have whipped cream?" Buffy asked, abandoning her half-finished dinner.
"Maybe."
"Whip cream! Whip cream! Whip cream!" When in reality, it sounded more like, "Wicreme! Wicreme! Wicreme!"
Dawn turned to walk into the kitchen to get the stuff she needed for sundays. "What have I gotten myself into?"
****
Fifteen minutes later, Dawn knew exactly how much she had gotten herself into.
Dawn was smart enough to just keep everything in the kitchen, instead of in the dining room where not everything is childproof. This was a smart move on her behalf.
As soon as Buffy had gotten her hands on the whip cream can, it had been *everywhere*. On the floor, on her clothes, in her hair, in *Spike's* hair, and just about everywhere else she could get it. Dawn tried to get it away from her before she did anymore damage, but in return got a mouthful of whip cream.
Then, while she was occupied with Buffy, Spike managed to climb up on the counter and open the freezer. Unfortunately, that's where a quart of chocolate ice cream was.
Spike pulled it out and managed to hop off the counter without breaking his tiny neck. He pulled the top off and plopped down on the floor.
Dawn managed to grab the can away from Buffy and wipe the cream off her face. Buffy licked the whip cream off her fingers, a gleeful smile on her face.
Dawn sighed and tossed the can in the sink, then noticed that Spike was on the floor, chocolate all over his face and hands, and the rest of the box was flipped over on the floor, leaving a melted trail of ice cream across the tiled floor.
"Oh, Spike!" Dawn cried.
He looked up at her with innocent eyes, despite the chocolate all over his mouth and cheeks.
Spike smiled. "Chocat!"
Dawn giggled desperately, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead.
Spike giggled also.
Willow picked this time to walk in the kitchen, Tara in her arms. She stopped at the doorway, her eyes wide.
"What the frick happened here?" she cried, setting Tara down on the floor and walking into the kitchen. She stepped on the spot of melted ice cream and almost fell on her rear, but she grabbed the counter just before she fell.
Dawn ringed her hands sheepishly. "I was going to make ice cream and it got a little out of control."
"A little? Ya think?" Willow righted herself and looked over the mess. "My goddess, this'll take forever to clean up."
She gave Dawn a look before raising her hand. "Sprestred!"
A pop rang throughout the room and the mess was gone, save everything on Spike and Buffy's clothes and clothes.
"Willow!" Dawn cried. "What'd you do that for? You're not supposed to do magic!"
Willow sighed. "It's okay, Dawnie. It was just something I picked up a few years ago. Makes everything clean just like *that*."
"But, what if something had gone wrong? Remember what happened last time you used magic?"
"Dawn, it's not that big a deal."
Dawn clenched her jaw. "Fine! I'm gonna go clean up Spike and Buffy. Seems your harmless spell didn't go *exactly* perfect."
She grabbed Buffy and Spike by their hands and led them upstairs a little faster than they could keep up with.
****
Spike, Buffy, and Tara were sitting on the couch in their pj's, Buffy and Spike freshly bathed.
Willow and Dawn were sitting on opposite ends of them, Tara by Willow, Spike by Dawn, and Buffy in the middle, her head resting on Spike's shoulder. All three children were droopy eyed; their heads nodding.
Actually, Tara's head would nod for a second, then she would sneeze heavily, wipe her stuffy nose, and lay her head back down.
Willow rubbed Tara's back sympathetically. "Poor baby."
Dawn looked over. "She still feeling bad?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah."
Tara let out a low moan, holding her stomach.
Willow pulled her onto her lap. "Does your tunny hurt, baby?"
Tara nodded meekly.
Willow went to rub her cheek, and felt the heat radiating off her face. "Goddess, she's burning up."
"Why don't you go take her temperature?" Dawn asked her. "Thermometer's in the medicine cabinet."
"Okay." Willow gently moved off the couch as not to disturb a half-asleep Buffy, and headed for the bathroom.
She held Tara close to her chest as she walked up the stairs and down the hall. She set Tara on the sink counter and rummaged around in the cabinet.
Tara sniffed and sneezed, moaning a little louder.
"I'm trying, sweetie," Willow said, searching for the thermometer.
When she finally found it, she stuck it in Tara's mouth, figuring she was old enough to keep it under her tongue without trying to swallow it.
A few minutes later, Willow was examining the thermometer. "One hundred and two degrees!" She felt Tara's forehead again.
Tara sneezed, followed by a low moan.
"Tara, baby." Willow pulled her into her arms in a hug.
She carried her downstairs.
"Dawn!" she hissed, trying to get her attention without waking Buffy and Spike.
Dawn moved from the couch and walked into the front hall. "Whachya need?"
"Um, Tara's running a hundred and two fever and I think I'm gonna take her to the hospital."
"A hundred and two!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I know. I mean, with me or you, it might not be that bad, but she's only three."
Dawn nodded. "Don't worry. I got the baby-sitting down. Besides, they fell asleep about two minutes ago."
Willow nodded. "I'll call Xander to drive me over. Um, you're not still mad at me are you?"
Dawn shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I just don't like you doing magic. You never know what could go wrong," she said, giving Willow a pointed look.
Willow half-smiled as she pulled Tara's coat on. "I'll remember that."
"I'll go call Xander for ya," Dawn offered.
"Great. I need to get my coat."
Dawn walked into the kitchen and dialed up Xander.
Anya answered the phone. "Hello, how may I help you?"
"Anya, you don't have to answer the phone like the store," Dawn giggled.
"Well, it's much easier to get right to the point than to waste time on useless chitchat, much like what we are doing now."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Is Xander there?"
"No," Anya said in a disappointed voice. "He's working overtime. As much as I enjoy him being a useful member of society, it's really annoying that they're taking away from our sex life."
Dawn made an 'ick' face. "Okay, sick, much?"
Anya sighed drastically. "You're an adolescent. You wouldn't understand the concept of not being able to-"
"Okay! I get it. He's not there. Bye." Dawn hung up before Anya could finish her over-imformative sentence.
"Willow!" Dawn called to Willow, who had gone upstairs. "Xander's at the site!"
Willow appeared at the top of the stairs with Tara on her hip. "He is? What am I gonna do about Tara?"
"You could call the hospital. They can send some paramedics to check on her."
"Wouldn't that be a little drastic? She's only got a fever. Besides, she's already been in an ambulance once this week."
Dawn shrugged. "It might be best."
Willow sighed.
****
"Well, she's got a really high fever for a child of such a young age. It could be anything for a cold to pneumonia."
The paramedic checked Tara's vital signs, took her temperature. "I think we should take her to the hospital. Though it's not definitely something serious, it could turn to that."
"Um, can I go with her?" Willow asked, wringing her hands.
"Yeah. Sure."
The paramedic packed up his things and put them on his shoulder, gently lifting Tara up into his arms.
Willow turned to Dawn. "Is that okay, sweetie? I mean, since Buffy and Spike are asleep?"
"How long will you be gone?" Dawn asked.
Willow turned to the paramedic.
"We'll have to keep her overnight at the least. You wouldn't have to stay, but we recommend it for the younger ones. If they wake up in a strange place with strange people, they tend to get a little hysterical."
Willow turned back to Dawn. "I'll call Xander in about an hour and tell him to come over."
Dawn sighed. "Fine."
Willow smiled gratefully. "Thanks."
Willow and the paramedic left, leaving Dawn alone in the house with Buffy and Spike, who were asleep in the living room.
Dawn sighed. "How fun."
TBC...
