A/N ; Yes I know, It's been a while since I updated this fic and for that I apologise. I haven't updated anything since before Christmas actually and there are reasons, check my profile page if you want to know what they are. Thanx muchly to all those who reviewed the previous chapter of this; Slayergirl1212, BuffyandDracoLover, Xtremely-Canadian, libraflyter, Kristine, Squirly4spike, Enema, pixiecorn, Freezyboncoolipants, Rowan Rice, Faint Hate, Spuffyfan4eva, cryptluv, spikeswife1, Lindsay, yarrow, Bridge, HamSandwich, Crazy4mySpike, spikespet2002, MaidenRo, amber, chelby, Moonjava, Lady Savage, sheilamarie. I love to read all your compliments, ideas, opinions, etc. so please keep them coming.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 8
"Buffy!" Spike almost knocked himself off his feet trying to get to her, as Joyce struggled to keep the child still and calm. She didn't know what could possibly have come over her daughter. Yes, she'd hit the wall with quite a thump but she was always a resilient child, and when one considered she still had her Slayer strengths now, there was no reason at all why she should be making such a fuss.
"Buffy!" Spike called again as he managed to reach the side of the ice and the young Slayer seemed to hear him through her nightmare at last.
"Spike?" she called back, "Mommy?" she said, looking up at Joyce who pulled her into a hug.
"Oh baby, what happened?" she asked her as Buffy cried.
Spike strained to see what was going on and wondered if it was best to stay put or attempt to get to the gap in the barrier so he could reach his Slayer and Joyce.
"I want Spike" Buffy sobbed into her mothers shoulder and was soon placed on the ground whilst her friend was lifted over the side of the rink and placed beside her.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her back as she cried.
"Spikey, the monsters came back" she choked out as she reached out for him and he hugged her.
Joyce had tears in her eyes caused by the whole ordeal, as well as the sight she saw now. Nothing could be more adorable than her little girl in the arms of her friend, though the fact she was crying and previously screaming was rather worrying.
"You okay now, sweetheart?" Joyce asked her daughter as she knelt down to the children's level.
Buffy nodded against Spike's shoulder and he looked up at the Slayer's mother.
"I'm sorry Mum" he said sadly, "I shouldn't have let go of her hand"
"Oh, it wasn't your fault, sweetie" Joyce was quick to tell him, "I really don't understand what got you so upset though" she said, turning from Spike to Buffy, "You wanna tell me, baby?"
Buffy shook her head, no yet willing to come out of Spike's embrace it seemed. The outburst and the mention of monsters had Joyce worried though and she knew it must be either related to her daughter being the Slayer or possibly the spell or maybe both.
"Come on, kids" she said leading them off, "I think that's enough skating for today. We'll go get some lunch and then head over to Mr Giles' apartment again" she told the children who seemed to agree.
- - - - - - -
"Rupert?" Joyce called as she came into his apartment that afternoon, the children right behind her as she noted with some worry that the door had not been locked or even shut properly.
"Giles!" Buffy shouted at full volume, adding her voice to her mothers. She walked into the centre of the room with Spike right behind her. He almost ran into her back when she suddenly stopped.
"Demon" she said softly and her companion frowned not understanding, "Mommy, there's a demon here!" she called over to Joyce who quickly picked up the nearest weapon - an umbrella from the coat stand.
A crash in the kitchen confirmed the little girls suspicions and Joyce lifted her 'weapon' above her head and prepared for an attack. She was not sure whether it was a good or bad thing when she recognised the figure that came into view.
"Joyce?" Angel looked surprised to see her and not at all murderous which she took to be a good sign.
"Angel, what did you do to Mr Giles?" she asked carefully, holding the umbrella steady in her hands.
"I haven't seen Giles" he told her honestly, taking a step back when he realised the tip of the umbrella was indeed made of wood and pointing rather close to his chest, "I came here to tell him about a vision my friend had and no-one was home...seems like someone or something chased him off"
Joyce suddenly realised the smashed window in the living room area and overturned chairs on the route between there and the door.
"Is Buffy here?" was Angel's next question. He was getting this weird vibe like she was in the room but he attributed that to her having been there so many times before and that her mother was present.
"I'm right here, Angel" the mini-Slayer called from her place behind the table and out of his view.
"Buffy?" he said with a frown as he peered around the furniture and saw the little girl with blonde pigtails stranding there. He got a bigger shock when he spotted the boy next to her, "Spike?!" the larger vampire's eyes went comically wide and he tried to hold in a chuckle.
"Willow did a ridiculous spell" Joyce explained, finally putting down the umbrella as Angel crouched down to the kids level and studied them like a science project, "It's turned Buffy and Spike into children, caused Mr Giles to be blind, and Xander to be chased by all manner of demons" she sighed tiredly, "My guess would be that a demon broke in here to get to Xander and he, Anya, and Mr Giles tried to outrun it"
"It's incredible" Angel shook his head and Spike got hold of the Slayer's hand as she looked up at the other vampire with a kind of sickening adoration.
"She's my Slayer-bint, Peaches" the little vamp said nastily, "So piss off!" he yelled, giving his grande-sire a shove that he barely felt.
"Stop it, Spikey!" Buffy complained, pulling her hand from his grasp, "Angel is nice"
Angel couldn't help but smile at that as he got back to his feet.
"Stupid wanker is what he is" Spike shot back and Joyce was quick to reprimand him for his foul language.
"You're mean and I hate you!" Buffy screamed, pushing the boy she'd promised to marry just hours ago, but then pure love to pure hate is an easy step at the age of five.
"I don't bloody care" Spike pushed the little girl back so she landed on her butt with a thump.
"I'm gonna slay you so bad!" was her response as she scrambled back onto her feet and the pair chased each other round and round the table, only stopping occasionally to wrassle each other to the ground.
"I don't envy you trying to keep control, Joyce" Angel told her, trying not to smile with amusement at the ridiculous sight. Mrs Summer didn't answer as she stepped into the fray, separating the children from each other and sending them to opposite corners of the room. They both looked sulky, and tried to blame each other for what had occurred, but Joyce told them she didn't want to hear excuses. If they could stand there quietly whilst she talked to Angel, then maybe she'd consider letting them off any further punishment for being so unruly.
With the kids sorted out for now, Angel and Joyce sat down at the table.
"My friend has these visions" the vampire explained, "He usually sees things that are happening or that will happen very soon, and last night he saw demons, hordes of them, all headed for Sunnydale"
"Visions of demons headed to Sunnydale?" Joyce echoed, "Buffy had the same thing" she told the vampire who frowned.
"Mrs Summers, I know Buffy has prophetic dreams sometimes but I don't remember her ever having visions like this..."
"At the ice rink" Joyce interrupted, "Buffy was screaming like she was being attacked, and she told Spike and I the monsters were back"
Angel looked thoughtful.
"I don't think she had a vision of the future" he realised "she had a vision of the past" he recalled, "One of the Order of Taraka came after Buffy at the ice rink, two years ago now. I was there with her and we killed it together"
Joyce glanced over at her daughter who was now sitting in the corner tracing cracks and marks on the wall with her finger.
"Buffy, sweetheart" her mother called to her, encouraging her to come over to the table. She lifted the child up onto her lap and took a deep breath.
"Sweetie, at the ice-rink, when you saw the monsters" she said gently, "was Angel there too?" she asked.
"No, Mommy" Buffy shook her head definitely, as Spike dared to turn from the wall and watch the scene. He disliked the way Buffy looked at Angel, and he really hated the older vampire, of that he was perfectly certain though the details as to why or even how he knew Angel were decidedly hazy.
"I guess the spell messed with her memories" he heard him say as he strained to listen. When the souled vamp reached out a hand to her head, Buffy smiled shyly and Spike saw red. Rage boiled over inside his little body and he felt his demonic visage slip into place. With the nearest sound a small child can make to a primal yell, he flew at Angel's leg and bit down hard on his ankle. The shock of the attack made Angel start, and this coupled with the smell of his own blood brought out his own game face.
Buffy shrieked in alarm as Angel tore the child vamp from his lower limb and dragged him up off the floor by the back of his coat.
"He was there!" she yelled, pointing at Angel who now had ridges and fangs visible on his face. Joyce got to her feet and holding onto her daughter with one arm she picked up the umbrella once again with her other hand.
"Put him down Angel or I swear to God..." she needed to say no more as her order was obeyed and Spike was dropped to the ground. Buffy scrambled to get free from her mother's grasp and her Slayer strength meant Joyce had trouble holding her with her one free arm.
The little girl ran to Spike's side, getting him up onto his feet and checking him for injuries, though thankfully he had none. By this time, both he and Angel were much calmer and their demonic faces had slipped away in favour of their much nicer human features.
"I think perhaps it would be best if you left Angel" Joyce told him, quite breathless after the turn of events.
"I can't" he shook his head, "I have to find these demons and deal with them any way I can" he told her, "The visions lead me to problems I'm supposed to solve, and that's what I'm here to do. If I can help with reversing this spell whilst I'm here to get Buffy back and cure Giles blindness and..." he paused as he recalled the other effects of the spell that Joyce had mentioned, "Did you say Xander was being chased by demons?" he asked and Mrs Summers nodded.
"Yes" she confirmed, "For some strange reason that I don't entirely understand demons are chasing him almost constantly"
"All kinds of demons all headed to one place" Angel nodded to himself, "It wasn't Sunnydale in particular or the hellmouth that they were coming here for, it was Xander" he realised.
"Good work, Nancy Drew" Xander stood in the doorway breathing erratically and Joyce rushed to him.
"Xander, where is Giles?" she wanted to know and he fought to regain his composure enough to tell her that he'd left the Watcher and Anya at Revello Drive.
"I knew the spare key was under the flower pot" he told her, "I had to get them somewhere safe away from me"
"But now you're putting Joyce and Buffy in danger" Angel pointed out to Xander as he finally got his breath back.
"Well I didn't know they'd be here, Dead Boy" he shot back at him, "And what are you doing here anyway, don't you do a good line in running away?"
"Seems like that's your speciality today, boy" came Angels deadly cold response.
"Enough!" Joyce exerted some motherly authority on the proceedings as she stood between the two of them, "Now, Xander, I have no idea how to defeat demons but it seems to me that for you to keep moving would be a good idea" she pointed out, "Here, I want you to take my car and drive" she said producing the keys from her purse and pressing them into his hand, "If you have any idea where Willow might be, start in her direction, since it seems she may be the only one who can reverse her own spell" Xander nodded, taking the keys from the Slayer's mother and offering a sincere thankyou for her kindness.
"Keep your cellphone switched on" she told him, "If Mr Giles or any of us find anything useful we'll call you" she assured him before he ran off into the dark.
"Angel, I suggest you head back to wherever it is you belong these days" Joyce told the vampire as she got hold of Buffy and Spike's hands and led them to the door.
"I can't just leave Buffy" the vampire shook his head, though the little girl didn't pay much attention, she was too busy fussing around Spike.
"We had this conversation once before Angel" Joyce told him as she turned back briefly in the doorway, "And we both know how it ends"
With that she left to walk the children home, thankful it was now dark and therefore Spike was in no danger from the sun's rays. When they reached Revello Drive she needed to speak to Rupert and Anya, work out where Willow might be and/or how to reverse her spell, then the children would need to be fed and put to bed, and in the morning she'd have to find some more clothes for them, they couldn't live indefinitely in just one outfit each.
It seemed a mothers work was never done, but Joyce would have it no other way. Despite the problems that were occurring, she adored having her little girl back and at least partially dependant upon her, and Spike, far from being a little demon, could be a veritable angel, though judging by his reaction to the vampire that bore that name, Joyce considered it very wise to never tell him about that particular observation.
To Be Continued...
A/N2 : Reviews would be very much of the good please. I hope you all still like this story and aren't too annoyed by the lack of updates lately.
Also updated today: Innocence
