Chapter Two: I'm Sorry, Do I Know You?

Outside, Buffy whirled in shock as the screaming began. Giles, who had been polishing his glasses in the uncomfortable silence, let them tumble to the ground, his fingers momentarily nerveless. Buffy stepped to the kitchen door, her eyes wide in fright.

"Dawn!" she called, and ripped the door off in her haste to get into the house. Giles was at her heels, reaching into his jacket for the extra stake he carried, just in case. When Buffy slid to a halt outside the living room doorway; he tried desperately to stop but hit her in the back, sending her stumbling forward a few steps with an 'oof'.

"Sor-"

"Oh. My. God." Buffy interrupted him. What greeted his eyes made him reach to remove his glasses to begin another frantic polishing. Too late he remembered they were outside on the ground, most likely crushed beneath his shoe in his panic.

Four toddlers, in varying states of undress, were crying in the living room. A dark haired boy was backed up against the wall, tears streaming silently down his cheeks around the thumb he had stuffed into his mouth. A wispy blonde-haired girl was curled into a ball on the couch, her shoulders shaking with sobs. The yellow shirt Tara had been wearing earlier covered her. The other two girls, both brunettes, were frowning fiercely at each other.

"Wuffy!" a voice called out, and Buffy looked down as one of the girls held her arms up, big blue tear-filled eyes beseeching. "Dawnie?" she managed, and the girl waved her chubby arms impatiently. Reaching down, she scooped the child into her arms, recognizing her little sister. Who, inexplicably, was quite littler than she had last seen her.

"What's going on here, Giles?" she asked him. The children instantly quieted and stared at them. Giles shook his head,

"I have no idea," he said helplessly. Movement out of the corner of their eyes alerted them, and they spun to see a small red headed bundle scooting down the last couple steps of the stairs and toddling past them, her face streaking with tears. Tripping over the remains of an adult sized velvet dress on her small frame, she approached the other children, eyes wide with fright.

"Willow!" Buffy and Giles said together. The little girl froze, and looked up at them slowly, eyes overflowing again with tears. Quickly the boy, who could only be Xander, darted forward and grabbed her hand, tugging her back against the wall with him. She looked at him and threw her arms around him, burying her head in his neck and beginning to sniffle.

"What are we going to do?" Buffy asked, her voice rising in pitch. So this is what a panic attack feels like, she mused idly to herself as her heart began to race harder.

Giles stepped forward, unsure where to begin. The little girl on the couch sobbed harder; and the other one stepped up to meet him, pudgy fists on her hips.

"I hafta pee," she announced. And then she did.

"I was right the first time," Buffy groaned. "I am in hell."

Young Anya smiled up at Giles sunnily. "You tall."

"Yes, I am," he answered, faintly.

"I want my mommy!" the girl on the couch sniffled loudly, sitting up. Her shirt slipped off her pale shoulders. Deciding there was a better place to start than with mini-Anya, Giles stepped past the smiling girl and approached the toddler cautiously.

"Tara?" he asked softly. She stared up at him with luminous green eyes. Crouching down in front of her, he was careful not to move too suddenly.

"Want my mommy," she repeated soggily. Inwardly Giles cursed. Tara's mother had died a few years earlier.

"My name is Giles," he said, thinking quickly. Obviously Dawn remembered her sister. It remained to be seen how much memory the others retained. The girl stared at him, her lip quivering. "Do you remember me, Tara?" he pressed her lightly. She frowned, her head tipped to the side. After a moment, she shook her head, but it was hesitant, her face confused. "It's okay that you can't remember," he assured the child. Pausing, he floundered over what to say next, as the child stared into his eyes expectantly. "Do you know how old you are?" he asked, as his brain began to whirl with possible spells and remedies. The girl nodded and held up five fingers.

"I free," she whispered.

"Three?" he repeated. She nodded again, and waved her hand slightly. Reaching out slowly, he curled her pinky and thumb down. "This is three." She frowned at her hand and then held up three fingers to Buffy as proof.

"Free," she boasted. Buffy managed to smiled.

"Very good, Tara," she said. "My name is Buffy."

"Pwetty lady," Xander spoke up, showing a dimple in his round face as he smiled up at her from the wall. Willow was now holding one of his hands and sucking her thumb, tears drying on her cheeks.

Buffy smiled at Xander despite herself.

"Some things never change," Giles remarked dryly. She rolled her eyes.

"Xander, do you know Willow?" she asked him. The boy frowned in confusion, looking over at the redhead.

"Stwanger," he pronounced wisely, lisping over the 'r'. But he let the girl huddle closer to him, and, apparently enjoying the attention, announced, "I free, too."

"Three," Anya butted in, taking care to pronounce the 'th'. He stuck his tongue out at her. She scowled in return. Dawn spoke up.

"I want Mommy!" Tara began to cry again, and Giles reached out to tilt her chin up to meet his eyes.

"Your mummy left you here to spend the night," he explained gently. "Buffy and I are going to babysit you all. But she'll be...back for you soon." His conscious pricked at the obvious lie, but he ignored it. Turning his head, he glanced at his Slayer to see her staring blankly at the child in her arms. Sighing, he stood to go to her and was stopped by a tugging on his pant leg. Two eyes stared up into his.

"No go," Tara begged him. Making a quick decision, he swooped down and lifted her easily. The child let out a little sigh and curled one hand over his collar, burying her head under his chin. It was at once an alarming and strangely comforting feeling to have a child in his arms. He couldn't recall the last time he had even been around children so young, or even if he had ever held one.

"Giles, what are we going to do?" Buffy broke into his thoughts. Glancing over the blond curls of Tara, he caught sight of Buffy's desperately unhappy face. It looked as if yet again he would be taking charge of the situation for her. In the back of his mind, a voice chided him for his pettiness. At no time could he ever see Buffy being able to handle a situation such as this, even before her most recent death and resurrection.

"A word in the hall, I think?" he murmured, and she followed him out. Turning, he faced her the front door. Their eyes fell on the children resting contentedly in each other's arms.

"What are we going to do with them?" she asked, her eyes wide with sudden panic. "I don't know how to take care of children!" Dawn was running chubby fingers through her sister's long blonde hair, soothing it down against her shoulder and then pulling fingers none-too-gently through the locks again. Grimacing, she made a mental note that if that's all it took to keep the girl quiet, she would offer that during her next starved for affection teenage tantrum. The mental image almost made her smile.

Catching the ghost of a smile flicker over her face, Giles rose an eyebrow in question. Instantly her face shuttered, eyes dimming in that damningly familiar distant look.

"I'm rather new to this situation myself," he said confessed honestly. "We take care of them for the time being, maybe put them to bed, and then I go through Willow's books to see which spell was used."

"So we're agreed it's Willow?"

"What else could it be?" he asked grimly.

"Someone really needs to revoke her magic license," Buffy joked lamely. His eyes were thoughtful. "So, just announce beddy-time and then research?" she added.

"It shouldn't be too hard to take care of them for a few hours," he said earnestly. "I mean, we've dealt with multiple apocalypses in the past. How much more difficult could toddlers be?"

A shriek cause them to turn. Xander had settled on the couch, diminutive feet sticking out over the edge comically. He had just helped Willow up to rest next to him. Obviously, memories or not, Anya didn't like being left out, and she was tugging a lock of the redhead's hair angrily, using it as leverage to climb onto the couch between the two toddlers. Willow was kicking out to no effect, and Xander had his hand flat on the intruding girl's face, pushing with what strength he had. The girl was undeterred, and continued her bullying by blindly grabbing more hair.

"Now, stop that immediately!" Giles said sternly, moving past a stunned Buffy to take charge of the situation. They froze, making a hilarious tableau of childish temper. There was silence, and then Anya ran forward and stomped on his foot. Being only three years old, it didn't hurt, but it certainly surprised him, and he jumped away from the red faced tyke.

"No!" she yelled obstinately.

Drawing in a deep breath, he struggled to find words forbidding enough to scold them into good behavior. Xander suddenly scrambled over Willow's lap and slid off the couch, his face screwed up in fright. Giving Giles a wide berth in his dash, he abandoned his new friend to hide behind the slayer's legs.

"Jeez, Giles, you have a natural talent for scolding," she observed. " I think you really scared him." She reached down to lay a hand on the boy's head, inwardly relieved she hadn't worn a skirt.

"I didn't mean to," Giles said, bewildered.

A hand yanked insistently on his pant leg. "I wet," Anya said. She held her arms up, apparently forgetting that she had just moment's before stomped on her business partner's toe in the throes of a temper tantrum.

"I think she wants a bath," Buffy ventured, setting Dawn down on the floor.

"Well, you're in charge of that," he said stubbornly. "There is no way on earth I am going to -" Xander stepped out from behind Buffy, completely naked.

"BATH!" the boy shrieked happily, raising his arms up and spinning around ecstatically. They stared, aghast, at the spectacle.

A loud snort broke the silence. Giles glanced in surprise at the woman standing before him. She threw a hand up over her mouth, but her dancing eyes gave her away. Xander continued to spin, his bare feet on the wood floor making slapping sounds, and he then stumbled around dizzily.

"I so need a camera right now to blackmail him with for the rest of his life," she guffawed

"I'm inclined to agree with you," he said mildly, amused at the sight before him. He was stopped from adding anything more as Anya pulled her damp shirt off and dashed up to Xander, only to be pushed out of the way by a now disrobed Willow. Tara squirmed in his arms to be let down.

"I guess it's baths all around, then," Buffy finally said, her eyes sparkling still. Only Dawn remained clothed, arms crossed stubbornly.

"No bath," she said fiercely, lower lip sticking out comically and struggling out of her sister's grasp.

"I forgot she was such a pain in the butt when it came to this," Buffy reflected. Wordlessly, Giles reached down and plucked both Tara and the reluctant Dawn up and headed for the stairs. Seeing the destination, Xander beat him there, followed eagerly by the other two children.

"Well, let's get this thing started. The sooner we get them washed and in bed-"

"No sweepy!" Xander announced enthusiastically, giving his butt a little shake to emphasize his point. Buffy snorted again.

"So it seems," Giles said mildly. "This is going to be a long night."

"You're helping me do this," she said pointedly.

"Yes, dear," he sighed.

Buffy almost forgot everything that had taken place in the last few weeks at the hilarious sight before her eyes as they trooped up the stairs. The girls seemed happy to follow Xander as he bounced happily up each stair, giving his dimpled bottom a little wiggle on each step.

"I never knew Xander was so happy to have naked time," she remarked.