A/N : Thanks to; zanthinegirl, naiya-isis, Freezyboncoolipants, Faint Hate, Lindsay, Lady Savage, fangfaceAndrea, Katie, libraflyter, sunnyhell, msberry, Katie, The Blackheart, pixiecorn, Arisluv, lilmisscookiemonster, spikeswife1, Lady Starlight, Ape18, Kristine, IceBlueRose, The Dragon Sorceress, pokey, Jack Sparrow Savvy, for all the reviews. You guys are all so nice, and I'm glad you're all enjoying the fic so much. Here's more...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 5

"Xander, Anya" Joyce greeted the pair with a wary smile as she opened the front door, it was five in the morning after all "What are you kids doing here at this time?"

"Er, funny you should mention kids" Xander laughed nervously, "Um, y'see Mrs Summers...Joyce, er, we have his little problem"

"Two actually" Anya interrupted and her boyfriend gave her a look.

"You want to come inside and explain a little better" Joyce frowned, before suddenly having a thought, "Nothing bad has happened to Buffy, has it?" she checked.

"Not so much with the badness, more kind of with the freaky" Xander explained rather badly, "Maybe you should come see what I mean" he gestured for her to come outside and she looked strangely at both him and Anya before tightening her robe around her body and following them over to the car. She was a little apprehensive as she leaned over to look in through the back window, but was pleasantly surprised to find just two small but squabbling children in there. She had half-expected a demon of some kind!

"Oh, aren't you two just precious" she said through the open window, until she heard what they were saying.

"Idiot fang-faced poop-head!" the little girl shrieked, shoving the boy next to her.

"Stupid slayer-bint cow!" he retaliated in kind as they wrassled, the seat-belts barely holding them back.

As the girl twisted around, Joyce saw her face and gasped with shock as the two kids finally noticed she was there.

"Mommy!" Buffy bounced joyfully in her seat and even Spike smiled at the woman.

"Buffy?" she asked with wide eyes, "What on Earth happened?"

Of course she was asking how her child had ended up as a five year old, but the little girl didn't know that, assuming she meant why was she fighting and being naughty.

"Spike was being a mean vampire" she said forcefully, folding her little arms across her chest and giving him a severe look, "he said I smelled good and that he was gonna eat me!"

"Spike?" Joyce frowned in confusion, putting a hand to her head as she felt a migraine coming on, "I don't understand"

"Willow did a spell" said Anya behind her, seemingly expecting this to be enough information. Mrs Summers looked to Xander for help and he smiled nervously.

"Er, yeah, y'know how Will has been a little down lately?" he explained, "Well, she did a little spell and, amongst other things, it turned Buffy and Spike into five year olds" he said, still smiling and hoping she would to, but Joyce shook her head.

"Can't she change them back?" she wondered aloud and Anya cut in.

"Willow's left town to find Oz, she'll probably be gone for a very long time" she grinned, actually quite pleased that Xander would now be paying more attention to her, since his witch friend was otherwhere!

"Oh" was all Joyce could say as she turned to look back at the kids in the car who stared right back at her with twin smiles on their faces. At least they seemed pleased to see her.

"Joyce, I know it's a lot to throw at you" Xander apologised, "but me and Ahn, we have no idea how to control two five year olds, and with Giles being blind and all..."

"Rupert is blind?!" she asked even more stunned by that revelation.

"Again with the spell" the boy said awkwardly, "Oh God, as are those demons" he said, frantically pointing over Joyce's shoulder, "Time to go kids!" he yelled, opening the car door to get little Buffy out, urging Joyce to grab Spike.

As the kids were set down on the pavement beside her, she watched Xander and Anya leap into Giles' car and drive off at alarming speed, three nasty looking creatures headed after them.

"Should I go slay the monsters, Mommy?" little Buffy asked, looking up at Joyce with wide innocent eyes. Immediately the women felt she'd gone back almost fourteen years, until a frantic hand began pulling at her dressing gown.

"Joyce! The sun!" little Spike shrieked uncharacteristically as he gestured towards the brightening sky, "The suns coming up!"

"Oh heavens" Joyce switched her attention from one child to the other before hurrying them both into the house.

As they arrived inside she shut the door before rushing to close the living room curtains firmly. Even so, she turned back to find Spike smoking slightly as Buffy expertly checked him over for burns, much to his annoyance.

"Get off me, Slayer-bint!" he complained, smacking her hands away, "Don't want your dirty hands on me!"

"And I don't wish to hear children using such words as that" Joyce told him as she came over and crouched down to their height, "Now, Spike, are you okay?" she checked, finding that despite the strangeness of the situation she felt she could handle looking after the pair for a while at least. She'd brought Buffy up mostly alone after all, and Spike was such a well-mannered young man when he'd visited her before.

"Fine thankyou, Joyce" he smiled brightly as she affectionately patted his head.

"Okay then, that's good" she nodded, "but we'll have no more nasty names whilst you're staying here with me, understood?"

Spike nodded solemnly and Buffy rolled her eyes before running into the living room and diving on the couch. She grabbed up the remote and switched on the TV as Joyce stood up and followed her with Spike on her heels.

"It's five in the morning, sweetie" she pointed out to her daughter as the little girl flicked the channels, "and I know you've had a tough last few hours so how about we go upstairs and you get some sleep, huh?"

"But I'm not tired" she shook her head, before yawning in spectacular fashion. Spike smirked at her but didn't like to make a comment, not when Joyce was sitting there. She had saved him from the sun after all, he didn't want to upset her by calling Buffy a bloody liar!

"I'll tell you what" Joyce smiled, turning off the TV, as her daughters head lolled back against the cushioned surface of the couch and her eyes strained to stay open, "If you're a good girl...and boy" she added looking down at Spike, "and you go up and get some sleep for a couple of hours, I'll take the day off from the gallery and we can do something fun, okay?"

"Really, Mommy?" Buffy grinned, eyes glittering excitedly, "You mean it?"

"Yes, honey, I mean it" Joyce almost laughed till she realised why her little girl was so thrilled. She didn't have much time for fun in her life these days, and there were few occasions when their schedules matched for them to spend time together.

"Spikey we're gonna have a fun day with Mommy tomorrow!" the little girl shrieked with delight and the vampire was halfway between smiling at being included and frowning at being called Spikey. Of course, there was something else he realised too.

"I haven't got a Mum" he said somewhat sadly to Joyce, "I think she died"

The woman on the couch was sure her heart would break as his blue eyes fought to contain tears.

"Well, maybe you could share my Mommy" Buffy considered, "but only for a little while cos she's mine" she said, crawling onto Joyce's lap and giving her a big hug as if to mark her territory in some strange way.

"Can I, Joyce?" Spike asked her in this perfect little replica of his voice, only a couple of octaves higher.

"I'd be honoured" she said softly, managing a smile as tears came to her own eyes. 'How is it possible for such a sweet child to be, in reality, a most vicious vampire?' she wondered as she stood up, setting Buffy on her feet beside Spike. Together the three made their way up the stairs and Joyce found two of Buffy's larger T-shirts that her littler self and Spike could wear to sleep in. She helped them change in her room and yawned as she folded their clothes and put them in the chair.

"Okay, er, I guess you two will have to share Buffy's bed" she frowned slightly at the idea. she'd always suspected there was some kind of attraction between her daughter and the vampire, despite the fact they appeared on the surface to dislike each other so much. Still they were five years old right now and no harm could come out of them sharing a bed, except perhaps a rather violent pillow fight, but she really had no other choice unless she shared her own bed with them and that was not a prospect she relished.

"Do I have to?" Buffy complained.

"S'not like I wanna sleep in your girly bed anyway" Spike shot back and Joyce rolled her eyes. She told them firmly that they did indeed have to and took them off to Buffy's room, helping them both into the double bed and tucking them in.

"Goodnight, Buffy" Joyce smiled kissing her daughters forehead as she snuggled down under the duvet.

"'Night Mommy" she replied as her mother moved around the bed and made sure Spike was comfy.

"Goodnight, Spike" she said softly, daring to place a light kiss on his head too. The little boy smiled and coloured slightly, hiding beneath the covers.

"'Night Mum" she heard him say as she stood up and made for the door.

"Sleep tight, kids" she said without thinking as she turned out the light and pulled the door almost closed. It sounded ridiculous and the situation was not exactly normal, but Joyce couldn't help thinking that she liked having her little girl back in the house, and at an age that she really needed her. Then there was Spike, who couldn't be any cuter if he tried, and he so wanted to be loved. It made things a lot clearer than when he was adult sized. Children of five years found it much more difficult to cover up what they felt, and Joyce felt that gave her an insight into Spike that might come in very handy when they were grown again, especially if that strange attraction between the two of them ever came to a head.

"Spike!" his sleeping companion whispered in the dark, prodding him in the back, "Spike!"

"What?" he asked, turning over to face her. They made a big effort to keep a good couple of feet between them though neither was certain they knew why.

"Did you ever share a bed with a girl before?" she asked him, brow crinkling in concentration. Spike's did the same as he considered her question carefully.

"I dunno" he said at length, "I don't remember things right anymore...s'all mixed up" he told her, slightly worried by the realisation.

"Same for me" she told him, pausing before asking, "Does it bother you, that you don't remember?"

He shook his head at that.

"I don't think I wanna remember" he said, sitting up and not looking at her, "I think I did bad things, Buffy, and I don't think people like me"

The mini Slayer felt bad for her 'friend' and shifted across the bed towards him, getting herself into a seated position too.

"I think sometimes I like you" she told him, a hand on his arm, making him look up at her in surprise.

"Sometimes I like you too" he smirked slightly, "You're alright, for a girly Slayer-bint" his smirk grew wider when she shoved him playfully and made a face like she was going to be mad at him, before changing her mind and giggling.

"You're not bad either" she decided, "For a fang-face boy" she told him stretching and yawning once again. She wriggled back down under the bedclothes much closer to him than she had been before and closed her eyes to go to sleep, but Spike had one more thing to say.

"Does that mean, we're friends?" he asked her, tilting his head and her hazel eyes popped open again to look at him.

"I guess" she shrugged sleepily as Spike joined her beneath the covers.

"Goodnight Spike" she whispered, reaching a hand across into the space between them, offering it to him.

"Goodnight Buffy" he replied just as softly, putting his hand in hers as he closed his eyes, and the two drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : Review and tell me what you think please. I love to read your comments :-)