Dealing with Children.

Spoilers- BTVS S1-5, Angel S1- half way through S3, before Conner is kidnapped but after Cordy is demon-ified (demonic??)

Pairings- Spike/Buffy, Cordy/Angel, Anya/Xander, Willow/Tara, Faith/Wes, Fred/Gunn.

Disclaimer- Oh how I wish these characters belonged to me, I'd be nicer to them then Joss and co. have been, but alas I merely borrow them without permission to bend them to my will, insert evil laugh al la Darth Vader.

Note- this is the third installment of the Dealing series. If you haven't read 'Dealing and moving on' or 'Upon having dealt and moved on' you should read those first cause nothing is gonna make much sense other wise.

Note2- This was only originally going to be one story, but thanks to those of you that reviewed my other two stories it has flourished into a trilogy. I'm sorry that it was late with the updating this sat in my computer half finished for weeks, there should be massive uploads for the next few weeks as well, crosses fingers.

"On with the show this it…"

&&&

Buffy sighed as she sat on the stairs, listening to the sounds of her friends moving around her house. This was harder then she thought it was going to be, she thought that motherhood was going to easy, after all she had all that practice with Dawn. As hard as it was for Buffy to believe there was something harder than raising a teenager, raising a toddler was much worse.

Buffy left out a groan as she felt a pair of cool hands work the tension out of her neck and shoulders. "Thanks Spike."

Spike dropped a kiss on her shoulder. "That's alright love, why don't you go down stairs and chat with the scoobies. I'll make sure Joy stays in bed."

Buffy stood and ruffled his hair, giggling at his glare. "Thanks, I think I will. Give her another 10 minutes, she should be asleep be then."

Buffy bounded down the steps, making sure to make as little sound as possible. Joy seemed to have hearing like her father; the littlest noise roused her. Buffy grinned happily, her father, well not her biological father because neither Buffy or Spike knew who Joy's biological parents were. They had adopted her from Sunnydale Orphanage when she was 6 months old, her parents were more than likely just another couple that became a statistic, death by neck rupture. Spike had fallen hard when he stared into those serious green eyes and Joy had felt the same, she latched onto Spike's leg refusing to let go. Six weeks later, with a lot of help from Willow's magic computer fingers, they had brought her home. Now Joy was coming up to 2 years and Buffy and Spike had settled into that struggle called parenthood.

Buffy made her way into the living room and flopped on the couch. Giles, who was sitting in one of the armchairs, lowered his paper and smiled gently at her. "Joy still climbing out of her bed?"

Buffy groaned. "She just won't stay, she thinks that she is going to miss out on something if she falls asleep."

"Don't worry she'll grow out of it. Conner did the exact same thing." Cordelia sat a plate of crackers and cheese on the table and joined Buffy on the couch.

Buffy looked around, not seeing the others. "Hey where is everyone?"

Cordelia snorted. "The guys are in the kitchen, arguing over the food, Willow, Fred and Tara are out the back watching the kids, Anya's closing the Magic Box and Faith and Wesley are training, or getting ready to patrol or something."

Cordelia picked up a cracker and stared at it before starting to eat. "So when is Dawn arriving anyway?"

"She said that she'd be here before sun down. She's finally bringing David to meet us."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "David, as in boy-friendly David?"

Giles spluttered. "What? Since when does Dawn have a boy friend?"

Buffy shot him a look. "For almost 6 months now, she told you about him last time she was here."

Giles calmed slightly. "Yes well I wasn't aware it was serious."

Buffy shrugged. "Yeah well she seems to like him and he's not a demon, or at least she doesn't think he is. You worry about Dawn too much, she's a big girl all of 24."

Giles cleared his throat. "I worry about all of you, but Dawn doesn't live here any more and …"

Realisation flared in Buffy's eyes. "You can't protect her when she lives in San Francisco."

A loud crash sounded from the kitchen, grateful for the interruption Giles leapt to his feet and quickly made his way to the kitchen. Buffy held her breath. '5…4…3…2…1.'

"Mama!" The cries of three different toddlers floated down the stairs. Buffy groaned; these babies were not going to sleep well tonight. Cordelia rushed up the stairs to help Spike, Buffy had just risen to join them when Giles returned to the room with a child on each leg and Conner following close behind. With great effort Giles was able to get back to his chair and sit down. Jesse and Seth, Willow and Tara's son, crawled into his lap and Conner sat at his feet.

Jesse looked at Giles, making sure she had on that face that her dad said could make him anything. "Grandpa Giles, could you tell us a story. Pleeeease."

Seth nodded. "Pleeease with monsters and witches and magic."

Conner's face was full of excitement. "And hero's and fighting and broadswords. Please Grandpa Giles, you tell the best stories."

Giles relented. "Alright. Once upon a time there was a town and it was filled with all kinds of monsters, but no one believed in monsters so the townspeople didn't do anything to stop them. That was until a very special girl moved to that town with her little sister and her mother…"

Buffy shook her head as she climbed the stairs. Those kids had Giles wrapped around their little finger and all they had to was call him Grandpa.

&&&&&&&&

Dawn pushed the front door open carefully, knowing full well the kind of things that could be happening in the Summers residence at any given time. She let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the scene was clear. She stepped aside, allowing David to enter.

"So this is it, the Summers residence. My childhood home." Dawn wrung her hands and bit her bottom lip.

David looked around. "It's nice, very homey." He looked over at Dawn, seeing her nervous fidgeting he grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him. "Hey don't worry, everything's going to be fine."

"You don't know that, you can't know that." David sighed, seeing the panic in her eyes. He quickly pulled her into a kiss, letting her relax against him.

Two loud growls interrupted them. Dawn broke the embrace and whirled around to face the growlers. She blushed brightly. "Spike, Angel hi."

Spike and Angel eyed David suspiciously. "Who's the pilock, bit?"

Dawn gritted her teeth. "Spike, this is David. David this is Spike, my brother-in-law and Angel, my sister's ex from years back."

Angel feigned a hurt expression. "Dawnie, I'm wounded. Is that all you think of me as? What about all those times I would sneak you out for ice cream when you were grounded?"

Dawn rolled her eyes and muttered under breath. "Drama queen."

Angel grinned widely and pulled Dawn into a hug. "We missed you. You're late by the way. It was we could do to stop Buffy and Giles going looking for you."

Spike pulled Dawn out of Angel's arms and hugged her tightly. She squealed. "Spike put me down. You're going to break something."

Spike put her down, grinning widely. "Sorry lil' bit."

Dawn stepped back and tried to straighten her hair. "So were is everyone?"

Angel put a hand on her arm. "There out the back, come on I'll take you."

Dawn laughed. "Ok but I'm pretty sure I remember the way to the back yard.

David made to follow her but was stopped by another growl. He turned to face Spike. Spike pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and stepping onto the front porch, lit it. He leaned against a railing, examining David. "I think we should have a bit of a chat mate, lay down some ground rules."

David swallowed hard.

&&&&&&&&

As soon as Dawn stepped out the door she was nearly hugged to death. "Buffy, Buffy… need oxygen."

Just as she untangled herself from Buffy Dawn found herself swept into a group hug. "Xander, Anya, I missed you guys too."

Again Dawn was group hugged, this time by two witches, a Texan physicist and a demon seer. Dawn made her way around the yard hugging everyone, even Wesley and Gunn.

"Aunt Bit." Dawn turned at the cry, just in time to catch Joy, who had thrown herself at Dawn. "Missed you Aunt Bit."

Dawn laughed. "I missed you too Joy. I missed all of you."

Dawn carefully let Joy down and came to stand in front of Giles. She looked at him tears in her eyes. "Hi Giles. I think I missed you most of all Scarecrow."

Giles held out his arms and Dawn flew into them, squeezing him tight. She pulled back and smiled brightly at him. "San Fran. is great, my new translating job is easy and you should meet David."

Dawn looked around behind her. "Where is David any way? He was with me when we …" Her eyes narrowed. "Spike."

&&&&&&&&&&&

It was a shaking David that made his way into the backyard half an hour later. He glanced back at Spike who had followed him out the door; Spike smirked and pointed a finger at him. Upon seeing him Dawn broke off her conversation with Fred and hurried over to him.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?" Dawn whirled around to face Spike. Her face was clouded with anger and she stepped forward, waving a finger in his face. "What did you do to him?"

Spike backed away, holding his hands up defensively. "Nothing pet, you know I can't." Spike tapped his head. "Chip 'n' all. That's why I was elected to it."

Dawn's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her voice was icy. "Elected to do what exactly?"

Spike shifted his feet uncomfortably; at times like these Dawn was scarily like Buffy when she was pissed off. He ducked his head slightly. "To give him the warning Luv."

"What warning?" Dawn questioned.

Spike looked around him for support, but the others had smartly occupied themselves with other things and were making a conscious effort not to look their way. Spike scowled, 'figured'. "You know the 'hurt her and you're dead' speech. Just like I distinctly remember you giving me year's back. Except this one included staking, tortures by chainsaws, flaying, shovel beatings, alternate dimensions, cap busting and all other types of pain. But we weren't actually going to hurt him." Spike glared over at David. "Yet any way."

Dawn raised her eyebrow at him. "Flaying?"

Spike smirked. "Faith and Cordelia."

Dawn studied him carefully before grinning and throwing her arms around him. "I love you guys too."

Still grinning Dawn let Spike go. She grabbed David's hand, his face still pale and his hands shaking. She pulled him towards the group in the yard. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my family."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

The door slammed and Anya breezed into the backyard. "Hello everyone. My money is locked up tight for the night and look who I found."

Anya pushed an uncomfortable looking Faith into the yard. Faith hugged Dawn before shaking David's hand, glaring at him as she increased the pressure on his hand. She nodded at him and let his hand go watching as he winced and rubbed circulation back into his hand.

Anya came to a stop in front him after greeting Dawn. She stared at him, David squirming under her intense stare. Without breaking the gaze Anya called out to Spike. "You gave him the talk?"

"Course." Spike's lazy tones drifted across the yard.

"Good." Abruptly Anya turned away from David, inwardly savoring his sigh of relief.

Jesse ran up to her mother and beamed up at her. "Hello female life giver."

Anya smiled back at her, pleased at her daughter. "Hello eldest female spawn. How was your day?"

"Daddy let me watch cartoons." Jesse stated proudly.

Anya glanced over at Xander, where he was involved in an argument with Gunn over axes. "Did you have fun?"

Jesse wrinkled her forehead. "Yes. A creepy fluffy omen of doom dropped a piano on a nice man with red hair and a moustache."

Anya grasped Jesse's hand and moved towards Xander. "Well you'll just have to keep watching to ensure the man gets that floppy hoppy evil little creature."

Jesse smiled. "Okay female parental unit." She ran off to play with Seth and Conner.

Anya joined her husband, coming to stand beside him as he scowled at the children playing. She took their two-year-old son Rupert from his arms and bounced him slightly, grinning as he laughed gleefully. She put him down and watched as he ran towards Joy and Holly, Fred and Gunn's daughter.

Anya wrapped an arm around Xander's waist, resting her head on his chest. "What's wrong?"

Xander pulled her closer, still scowling. "She has a crush on Conner."

"I know." Anya stated calmly.

Xander looked down in shock. "What! Why didn't you say anything?"

Anya shrugged. "It's just a crush Xander, she's not even a teenager yet."

Xander clapped a hand over his eyes as Gunn laughed. "Oh gods help me."

&&&&&&&&&&

Faith hovered around the food table, her eyes seeming watching Wesley almost absent-mindedly. She followed his every move, her face a study of concentration. Glancing down at the table she picked up a chip and nibbled on the corner before making a face and tossing it over her shoulder.

Wesley was involved in a heated conversation with Giles; he would occasionally wave his hands as he spoke. Faith studied his face, he had the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen and he looked slightly dangerous, not having shaved for several days. Her eyes traveled his body before resting on his hands; she loved his hands, the way he held a book, gripped a weapon, ran his hands along her arms as he took her through a move…

Faith groaned and forced her eyes back on his face. She wrapped an arm around her stomach and tapped the fingers of her other hand on her lips. Wesley suddenly sensed her eyes on him; he glanced at her before frowning and turning back to his conversation. Faith's eyes watered and she sniffed slightly. Then she steeled herself, she was a slayer damn it the forces of darkness cowered before her and it wasn't like she hadn't been rejected before. She wasn't going to cry just because this stuck up British watcher decided he didn't want her…

Faith bit back a sob before pushing her way to the house and scrambling inside.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Faith sat by herself in a quiet corner of the house. Tears trickled down her face quietly; she and Wesley had barely spoken to each other for weeks. It was all her fault; he hated her. Faith pressed a fist to her mouth as she started to sob softly. A thin pair of arms wrapped around her and Faith leant into the comfort.

"Tell me." Fred's calm voice demanded.

And so she did. Faith told her everything, from the great friendship she and Wesley had built being Watcher and Slayer again to the times when they would sneak out and do silly things like go to amusement parks or the movies or just sit and talk. She told Fred about that night two months ago when they had gone patrolling and ended up back at his place and Faith finally admitted she had feelings for him. And the next night when they went patrolling; that if she hadn't have ignored Wesley's orders to fall back from that group of vamps this wouldn't have happened. She had ended up getting them both hurt and now he hated her, he couldn't even stand to look at her.

Faith broke down into sobs again and Fred rocked her, whispering soothing phrases. Faith let out a broken laugh. "That's not the worst part though."

Fred rubbed her back. "It's not?"

Faith shook her head. "Nope, I went to the doctor last week. Hadn't been feeling real well. And well, guess what? I'm going to be a mommy. They were right when they said it only takes one time. How am I going to tell him Fred? He probably won't even believe that it's his, not with my history."

Fred held her closer. "Of course he will, he knows her not like that now. You have to tell him. I'm sure he doesn't hate you, he was probably just angry and now he can't find a way to make it right. Try talking to him tonight."

Faith wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thanks Fred. I will, I have to try for the baby."

&&&&&&&&

Faith stood in the kitchen doorway, watching her closest friends talk.

"You have to tell him you know. He deserves to know, and not just before the baby's about to be born."

Faith didn't even jump. "I know Angel."

Angel placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "He's sorry you know? About the argument you had about that night. He wants to make things right."

Faith looked down. "You can't know that."

Angel lifted her chin and peered into her eyes. "Yes I can. He watches you, when he doesn't think anyone is looking. He kind of reminds me of Gunn and Fred before they started dating."

Faith shook her head. "But I'm not like Fred and Wesley isn't Gunn. We have nothing in common, how could we work?"

"Relationships aren't hearts and flowers Faith. They're bloody and painful. You're going to fight and you're going to cry but it's the most rewarding thing you'll ever do." Buffy came to stand beside Angel.

Faith floundered slightly. "But you and Spike…"

"Fight like cats and dogs on occasion. And he did try to kill me a couple of times. But that's half the fun of the relationship; we argue, we fight and then we make up and are stronger than ever." Buffy led Faith to the doorway. "Look at them. None of them have the perfect relationship. Anya and Xander, she's an ex-vengeance demon and he's … well Xander. There was a time when they almost called the wedding off, but they worked through it and now they have two children. Willow and Tara, they have the pressure of preconceptions on them and there was the whole abuse of magic thing a few years back. Fred and Gunn haven't had it that easy either, they both have a lot of baggage what with the slave thing and Gunn's sister-"

"But," Angel interrupted Buffy before she could continue to catalogue her friend's relationship problems and completely scare Faith off. "They all worked through it, and are happier for it."

Faith stared at her shoes. "I didn't think I could ever have that Angel, I didn't even think I that I would still be alive."

Buffy wrapped an arm around Faith. "But you are and you can. I know you haven't had the best life, but you're trying Faith and that counts for a lot. And you might not believe it but you're going to be a great mom, I know it. That child is going to be the one of the most loved and spoilt children in L.A."

Faith smiled shakily at her. "Do you really think so?"

Buffy nodded. "I really do, and we're going to be here for you. But don't you want your child to know its father?"

Faith took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Your right. I'm going to tell him." She looked out the door. "Right now." She remained still. "Here we go." She looked at Buffy and Angel, her wide expressive eyes filled with fear. "Can't you do it for me?"

&&&&&&&&&&

Shyly Faith made her way up to Wesley. Giles and Wesley ceased talking as they realized they had company. Faith ground her foot into the ground. She glanced up at Wesley through her lashes. "Can we talk?"

Wesley looked flustered, a slight pink tingeing his features. "All right."

Silently Faith turned on her heel and led the way back to the house. She stopped in the living room and started pacing in front of him. She stopped and bit her lip before shaking her head and resuming the pacing.

Finally she opened her mouth. "I'm sorry."

Wesley frowned. "What for?"

Faith wrung her hands. "The fight with the vampires, not listening to you, getting you hurt."

Wesley smiled slightly. "Faith I'm your Watcher and a demon hunter, getting hurt is part of the job description. It wasn't that bad anyway, I've had worse."

Faith looked up at him. "I know." She placed a hand over the scar from his bullet wound, then realized what she was doing and snatched her hand back. "But I disobeyed you Wesley."

Wesley cupped the side of her face. "I know, but I'm glad. Slayers shouldn't be mindless machines you have your own opinions and instincts and you trusted them, as you should have, as I taught you too. I'm just sorry I yelled at you and didn't apologise earlier."

Faith nuzzled his hand. "So what happens now?" She asked, her voice low.

Wesley's eyes darkened. "This." He leaned forward and caught her lips. Faith sighed and leaned against him. She grinned against his lips as a line from a movie she had seen with Cordy and Fred floated into her mind, she thought it particularly relevant to this situation. She pulled back, still grinning. "Nice boys can't kiss like that."

Wesley quirked an eyebrow and Faith laughed lightly. "Bridget Jones Dairy, Fred and Cordy."

Wesley nodded. He grinned wickedly at her. "Who said I was a nice boy."

Faith grinned back. "I sure as hell didn't."

Wesley reached forward and pushed a strand of hair behind her ears, his mood suddenly serious. "There's something I should tell you Faith. Something I should have told you years ago." He took a fortifying breath before plunging on. "I love you Faith."

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. "I love you too you idiot."

Wesley pulled her closer, feeling lighter then he had in months. Faith snuggled into his chest and took a deep breath. "Actually there's something I have to tell you too."

"Yes?"

"Yeah, you remember when we …"

&&&&&&&&&&&&

The crowd in the backyard milled around the table, picking ideally at the food, constantly throwing glances towards the house.

"Do you think she'll tell him?" Gunn questioned, Holly tucked securely in his arms her head sleepily resting on his shoulder.

A muffled shriek pierced the air.

"I'd say she just did." Angel said as they rushed into the house.

In the living room they found Faith leaning over a prone Wesley who was stretched out on the floor. She looked up at them, her face a mixture of amusement and fear. "He fainted. I told him and he fainted."

"Who screamed?" Dawn asked curiously.

Faith blushed. "He scared me."

Wesley stirred, groaning as he awoke. He blinked groggily at Faith. "Faith? You… you're…"

Faith nodded.

He smiled brightly at her and pulled her into his lap, hugging her to him tightly. "I love you so much Faith."

A tear trickled down Buffy's face as Spike pulled her against his chest and rested his head on her shoulder. God she loved her life.