A/N: Grown ups are easier to write at this stage of development in my little tale. It's been a really long time since I was around three year olds. My nephew's six, and he was the last three year old I was around. SO. Now it's the grown ups turn to kinda freak at the trips' greeting. Hehe.

Chapter Five

Harry faltered in his steps. He smiled at the greeting, shocking all of the people in the room. He made his way over to the counter. The blonde little girl smiled at him. It was one of the most comforting things he'd seen in his short life. He smiled back at her.

"Hello, Tara Anne, James, and Joyce."

"They go by TA, Jimmy, and Joy." The brunette girl said.

"Yeah, Amy told me."

"Unkie Harry. You didn't teww us you were coming." Joy pouted.

"I didn't really know, Joy."

"That's ok. It was a good surprise." TA said brightly.

"Unkie Robin's always giving Auntie F good surprises." Jimmy said, nodding.

"Let's avoid the conversations where Wood gives something to Faith." Xander said.

"Good Idea." Dawn said, smiling broadly. She caught Harry watching her. She smiled at him.

"Oooh, Auntie Dawnie wikes Unkie Harry!" Joy squealed, clapping her hands together.

"Joy. You're 'barassin 'em." TA said, trying in vain to roll her eyes.

"They're like little people sometimes. Little people who don't know when to shut up." Dawn sighed heavily.

"OOOH! Auntie Dawnie said a bad word!" Jimmy cried.

Dawn cringed. Buffy let out a chuckle. Her younger sister shot daggers at her. That only made Buffy laugh harder.

"Payback's a b -" Buffy caught herself as she looked down at the three little faces. "Big ugly dog. A dog that bites. A just dog."

"What's a just doggy, Auntie Buff?" TA asked, cocking her golden head to the left.

"Have fun explaining that one, Buff." Dawn giggled. Her eyes strayed to Harry's. The grin never left her face.

~* ~

Amy pulled back from their soft kiss, a satisfied grin on her face. Andrew moved his lips as if they were still kissing. A low chuckle vibrated in her throat. Andrew snapped his eyes open and he smiled nervously. He ducked his head down, before she could see the fear in them.

"Andrew?"

"I should go find the kids."

"Andrew. . . don't. Talk to me." She could hear the fear in her own voice.

"I - I should -"

"Andrew Wells. You know I have the power to pin you to a wall. Will you look me in the eye?" She put her hand on his shoulder. They both knew her threats were idly made.

"What, Amy?"

"What's wrong?"

Andrew stopped in the doorway. He gulped a few times. When he raised his head, she would see the fear. But he raised his head anyway.

"You shouldn't have -"

"Andrew?"

"Kissed me. I'm a horrible person. I should have died in the last fight with the First."

"Andrew!" Her hands were on his shoulders. He looked into her eyes.

"I - I don't deserve anything but a slow and painful death."

"Andrew, I kissed you because I wanted too. Because you're a good man who's treated my children with nothing but love. What you might have been back then, I don't really care about it."

"You should."

"Andrew."

"How do you know I won't hurt you or the triplets? Jonathan didn't think I was capable of it, and look where he is today."

"Because I know you Andrew, more than you think I do. I've seen you with the babies, and I know what kind of man you've become. I don't care what paths you had to take to get in this point of your life, but you got here. And that's all I care about. Not about what you were. But about who you are now." She paused to get a breath, and smiled softly at him, "Cause that's the man I fell in love with."

~* ~

Harry tried to shake his gaze. He needed to focus on the children, not their Aunt. But he was trying so hard not to look at her, that he didn't hear Buffy's question.

"Beg pardon?"

"I said, where's Amy?"

"Oh, that Andrew chap burst in. Screaming about the babies being AWOL."

"Andrew and screaming like a woman are always synonymous." Xander said nodding.

"Xander!" Willow and Dawn both smacked him. "Little ears."

"Mommy likes Unkie Dada." TA said, squeezing Xander's finger.

"I never understood why. That and why the trips call him Unkie Dada."

"She likes him. It's unexplainable. Like the Bermuda Triangle." Willow said, combing back Joy's hair, "And they couldn't say Andrew."

"It's cause he likes us." Jimmy said over his glass of milk.

"An' he's good fer her." Joy chirped up, stealing a glance at Xander.

"Joy, hold still, or you're going to have hair bubbles."

"Sorry."

"It'd be nice to have a real daddy." TA said softly, but only Harry heard her.

~* ~

Andrew didn't know what to say. It was like he was daydreaming. Like back when he was making the slayer chronicles on video when they were fighting the First. And he kept daydreaming that everything was better, like he was cooler. Only, the words he'd wanted to hear from Amy were really coming from her lips.

"Huh?"

"Andrew. I love you. I may not have always loved you, but the more I got to know you, the more I came to like you. And soon the like changed to love. I -"

"Love me?"

"Yeah."

"Gluckenstien."

"What?" Amy burst out laughing.

"I love you too."

"Yeah, I kinda knew that."

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him toward her. But she let him kiss her first this time. They were still kissing when Amy heard the pitter-patter of little and not-so-little feet. That and a chorus of awws and ewws, and a range of smacking.

~* ~

TA smiled. She'd get her wish. She'd get a daddy. A daddy who'd been there all along. Harry caught the look on the little girl's face. She'd at least have a shot at a loving family. Some would never be so lucky.

A/N: I know, it was a horribly short chapter. I'm not trying to be evil and leave a cliffie, but I have to run to my AH class, and wanted to get this chapter finished. I couldn't finish it last night, cause my suite & room mates had a huge thong debacle. That and the fact that I have classes until ten tonight forced my hand to finish this horribly short chapter. SO, review if you like it. I get joy when my email tells me I have messages. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write more tonight.