A/N : Y'know it's harder than I thought to write this fic. I know where the plot is going and all but trying to get to each point is not as simple as it might be, I guess I've gotten so used to writing drama and romance, lol. Oh well, I shall persevere with this attempt at humour for those of you that seem to like it. Thanx so much to; Girl version of Chandler, Brunettepet, SlaYeRGiRLkaL, Onion Petal, Moonjava, EMBER91, bored-now0809, Demonica Mills, Daniel Wesley Rydell, OnlyHaveEyesForYou, Freezyboncoolipants, GoldenAngl88, lil-leti, spikespet2002, vanillagigglez, SunflowerLynx, sheilamarie, Moluvsnumber17, KaiNscara, Celestia Nailo, Aisling-Siobhan, and spuffy4eva, for the reviews. Without your support I might have given up on this already!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3

"Now you be careful with that, sweetie, it's very hot" Joyce instructed Buffy as she handed her a mug that was two thirds full of warmed blood, "Don't run with it, go slowly, and be sure to tell Spike we have more if he wants it, okay?"

"Yes, Mommy" her daughter grinned as Giles got the door for her and let her out of the kitchen through the dining room where she should encounter less obstacles than going through the living room.

"How is he, Rupert?" Joyce asked when the blonde was gone, "Spike, is he going to be okay?"

"I would have thought so, yes" he assured her as they hugged each other, "I must admit I am more concerned about the condition of Buffy and the others" he told her.

"I can't believe it's happening again" Joyce sighed, "I mean, last year when Buffy and Spike were little, at least we knew how that had happened but this...Rupert, Dawn only said she wished they understood, how did that make them actually be children again?" she asked, looking so confused.

"A number of things could have triggered it" Giles explained, "A mystical stone nearby, a demon of some kind who sensed her wish or overheard it, possibly a spell...I really would have to research all the possibilities before I knew for certain what had caused all this" he admitted.

"Until then I don't suppose there's anything we can do" his girlfriend sighed, "Oh well, I've brought up two girls past this age, I never imagined I'd have to do all this with Buffy again, nevermind all her friends too"

"Yes, it seems we have rather been given the parental roles in this situation" he realised, "and as you know I have much less experience than yourself, having no children of my own"

"You know Buffy looks to you as her father figure" Joyce reminded him, "her own never cared half so much a you do, for Dawn too"

"They are dear girls, indeed the others are almost as important to me as my own children might have been" he admitted.

"And you're a wonderful man, taking them all on like you have" Joyce told him with a smile, "I don't know how they'd get along without you now...I certainly don't know how I would" she admitted as they kissed.

"Rest assured, Joyce, you will never have to do without me" he promised her as they headed back through to the carnage that waited in the next room.

"Hey Spike" Buffy was grinning as she came back into the bedroom, a large mug in her hands as she walked carefully towards him.

"Hello, pet" he smiled at her, "That for me is it?" he said, head tilting towards the mug.

"Of course" the little Slayer wrinkled her nose as she passed the mug to him, "Like I would wanna drink that" she grimaced.

"Glad to hear you wouldn't, luv" the vampire nodded, as he sipped at the substance and fought to hold back the demon that raged inside. He wasn't certain whether he'd scare the Bitty Buffy or not if his game face showed, and the last thing he wanted to do was that.

"Is it okay?" she checked for his approval and he assured her it was perfect.

"98.6 exactly, couldn't be better" he told her as he drank the rest down and she watched intently the whole time.

Buffy was in awe of the man before her. He was so brave, and strong, and handsome, and...there just weren't enough words in the little Slayer's head to do such a man as this justice. Okay so he was a vamp, but not an icky, evil one, he was special. Spike cared about her, and her family, and her friends. He was probably trying to stop some big bad evil thing from harming them all when he got so badly hurt and she loved him so much for being their protector. Not that she wasn't a great protector too, she was the Slayer after all, but Spike was...well, he was Spike and nobody compared.

"Er, you think you could take this mug downstairs for me?" he asked suddenly, pushing said item into her hands, "I could use a bit of kip, y'know"

"Oh sure" Buffy grinned, "I'll let you get your beauty sleep...not that you need it" she was quick to add as she backed out of the door, smiling brightly the whole time, "Good night Spike"

"'Night, luv" he called after her as he settled down and attempted to sleep, his mind whirling on in over-drive.

Tara liked Joyce, she reminded her of her own mother that she missed so much, especially right now as she sat with her on the couch and held her whilst she cried. Tara hated that she was so scared, she didn't want to be and she knew she really had no reason to be frightened, Willow was here after all and one thing that remained the same was the fact she cared very much for the red-headed girl, but something wasn't right. Things were different, much of the room seemed too big, and some of the people were wrong, she didn't know why things had changed or how but she knew it bothered her.

Willow peeked at the little blonde from underneath Joyce's arm and offered her a shy smile, hoping to bring some comfort. She liked Tara a lot, they were best friends she was certain. Although she too knew something here wasn't quite right, she was sure it'd all be alright, so long as Tara was still here with her. The fact Xander and Buffy were around didn't hurt either, they were also her good friends.

Xander himself was feeling strange as he questioned why he was the only little boy present. The girls all seemed to be smiling at him, most especially Anya, and whilst he knew he liked her, the small blonde scared him immensely too. She seemed to want to touch him a lot and he wasn't certain he liked that. He was a little old to be thinking that girls had cooties or whatever but they still scared him a little bit.

Anya seemed unphased by the strange situation, though not too happy to realise she no longer had enough chest to hold up her very appealing top that she loved so much. It was immensely pretty, as she believed she herself was, and so the reason why Xander refused to let her within three feet of his body was unknown to her. She sighed as she looked over to the stairs and Buffy came pelting down them with a now empty mug.

"Spike's sleeping now" she announced to the room, "He said the blood I took him was perfect" she said proudly as Giles took the mug from her hands.

"That's very good, Buffy" he assured her as he took the mug through to the kitchen. Joyce turned to her older and yet younger looking daughter then.

"Sweetie, you and your friends are going to have to share rooms with me and Dawnie tonight" she told her.

"But Mom!" the little blonde whined, "I want to sleep in my room with Spikey, in case he needs me"

"Now honey, if Spike needs anything he'll call and we'll go running, I promise" Joyce told her, "but you can't be in the room with him, he needs peace and quiet to rest"

"But I can be quiet and..." the little Slayer started up again, the look on her mother's face silenced her and Dawnie sniggered at the way her sister pouted and folded her arms, still so much Buffy despite her lack of height and years.

Joyce quickly planned all the sleeping arrangements in her head, working around the fact that they had one boy in the mix with four little girls and a teenager, as well as herself and Rupert. Finally with use of a camp bed a sleeping bag and the couch everybody got settled, and Xander was only to pleased to have a brick wall between himself and Anya who seemed to have hands everywhere. Willow and Tara were glad to be just a few feet from each other and Buffy was glad to know Spike was within yelling distance should he need her urgently.

A loud crash upstairs awoke Giles with such a start that he tumbled clean off the sofa and landed with a thump on the floor, narrowly missing giving himself a free lobotomy on the corner of the coffee table. As he attempted to disentangle his legs from the blanket and get to his feet, more loud noises came from upstairs, signalling the fact that at least some of the children were awake and active. A glance at the clock told him that what felt like an ungodly hour to be awake was in fact eight o'clock in the morning.

Upstairs, Joyce was woken by the same loud noises and the sight of empty beds and scattered blankets all around her. Getting out of bed she pulled on her dressing gown and went to the door that linked her room to Dawn's to watch the chaos for a moment.

"Does somebody want to tell me why it sounds like a herd of elephants have invaded my house!" she yelled over the noise, making Tara wince as if she'd been struck and hide behind Willow.

Xander came barrelling around the furniture, screeching to a halt by Joyce and hiding behind her legs to avoid little Anya who had a strange gleam in her eye that was altogether disturbing.

"I second your question, Joyce" Giles said from the other door as he arrived from the downstairs, "Do you think you children could possibly be a little quieter with your games, most particular at this time of the morning?" he said, aiming his words at Anya and Xander in particular.

"We're sorry" Willow apologised anyway, putting an arm around Tara's shoulders and holding her close. She was her best friend and she was upset, what else would she do?

"Uh, where's Buffy?" Dawn asked suddenly realising her little-big sister wasn't present.

"I think I can guess" Joyce sighed, prising Xander from her legs and walking back through her room. The little boy immediately dived behind Giles instead as Anya advanced and Dawn moved to sit with Willow and Tara who seemed distressed. They were always so good to her, seemed to understand more than the rest of the gang. Now she had a chance to look after them and she was going to do that to the best of her ability. Although she hadn't intended to make this happen, turning all the Scoobies into kids was a total accident, she thought it might actually be fun for a little while at least. Dawn didn't envy Spike though. She couldn't imagine how weird it must be for him to have little Buffy still totally in love with him when she was only six or seven years old.

Joyce was having the same thought as she arrived at her daughters' bedroom door. Buffy was standing by the bed, her elbows propped on the edge as she watched Spike sleep soundly. The little contended smile on her face showed her total adoration of the vampire and Joyce thought it was so sweet if not a little strange.

"Buffy, sweetheart" she called softly, "Maybe we should let Spike sleep a little longer and not disturb him" she suggested.

"Little late for that, Mum" the vampire told her as his eyes popped open and he moved very deliberately away from the edge of the bed where Buffy was stood, "I'm already disturbed" he told Joyce with an emphasis that told her of his double meaning.

"How are you feeling today, Spikey?" Buffy asked him, all wide eyed and innocent, "Does your head feel better?" she checked.

"Yeah, luv, reckon it's alright this morning" he nodded gently, not wanting to risk a headache just in case.

"Come on now, Buffy, let's get dressed and go down to the kitchen" Joyce said as she came further into the room and fetched her daughter out, "If you hurry you can help me make breakfast for everyone...including Spike" she added when she did not seem eager to move. At those words the mini Slayer bolted out the door and down to her own room to get dressed.

"Thanks for that" Spike said gratefully, "'S a bit weird seein' her like that y'know"

"Tell me about it" Joyce rolled her eyes, "I feel like I'm living in a time loop, first a repeat of her as a five year old and now a little older. I don't think I can deal with this every year"

"We'll figure out what happened, get it reversed" Spike told her as he got off the bed and tested his legs which he was glad to realise held him much better now, "Soon as possible with any luck" he sighed as little feet stomped down the staircase, and he wondered how long it would be before last nights headache returned with a vengeance.

To Be Continued...