A/N : Thanx so much to; Daniel Wesley Rydell, spuffy4eva, Brunettepet, Moonjava, sf-former-mk, Demonica Mills, Anyanka0705, kim, Freezyboncoolipants, Torrchy, Lori, Moluvsnumber17, midnightPixie13, vanillagigglez, EMBER91, and chanel 5, for all the encouraging reviews, and assurances that the Spike and Buffy scenes are good and not icky, I was worried for a while there! Slightly more plot in this chapter, hope you like...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

"Any luck?" Joyce asked as she went over to Giles where he was sat at the table with his books. It was early evening and the kids had tired themselves out so much playing outside they were already in bed, mostly fast asleep, all except Buffy who had a few minutes extension so she could play soccer with Spike now it was dark.

"I really think these volumes were written by demons" Giles said sharply closing the volume in front of him with a thud, "Either that or profoundly stupid people who even after much studying on the subject of Vengeance Demons never actually thought to find out how to kill them or at the very least reverse wishes they'd granted!"

"Don't upset yourself, Rupert" Joyce urged him, standing behind his seat and putting her hands on his shoulders, "It won't do any good"

"I know" the Watcher sighed, putting a hand on hers and glancing up at her, "but if we do not find a way to track down this Halfrek and destroy her power centre soon I am afraid we may run out of time" he shook his head, "I am uncertain as to whether it will do any good as it is, since she has doubtless cast many more wishes since Dawn's and surely only the final wish will be undone?"

"Maybe" Joyce frowned, "but we still have to try. Can I help at all?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand as she suddenly yawned.

"I think the best thing you can do is get some sleep, my dear" Giles smiled, "It cannot be easy dealing with so many small children as you are forced to do"

"I really don't mind so much" Joyce admitted, "I mean, of course I want them all back to being themselves, I wouldn't want them to be stuck this way forever but...I have to admit, it's nice to be so needed again" she smiled, a little sadly and Giles got up from his seat to stand before her.

"Believe me, my darling Joyce" he said, looking fondly at her, "You are always very much needed" he told her right before they kissed.

"Come on then, Little One" Spike smirked as he stood between two plant pots that designated the goal for the little game of soccer between himself and Buffy, "Give us your best shot"

Buffy stood a few feet away with the ball at her feet, grinning at first then looking so serious as she concentrated, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she took a step back then ran forward, feigning left before kicking the ball hard to the right.

Spike made a half hearted effort to dive for the ball but let it sail past the tips of his fingers and into the makeshift goal. He smirked as Buffy ran circuits round the lawn, yelling delightedly that she'd scored. As the vampire got up from the ground, he spotted Joyce at the kitchen window, pointing to the watch on her wrist and smiling.

"Here now, luv" Spike called to the mini Slayer, getting a hold on her as she ran past again, "Mum wants us back in the house now, pet. Time for you to get some sleep I reckon" he told her as she walked back to the house. Buffy scrambled up the porch steps, whining to her mother before they were even at the door.

"But we were playing Mom" she complained, "and I was winning, and it was fun, and I'm not even sleepy!" she went on.

"Buffy, we had a deal remember" Joyce said seriously, "I said you could stay up a little longer to play soccer with Spike but you promised when I said enough was enough you would go straight to bed without making a fuss, remember?"

"I remember" little Buffy said grumpily as Spike smirked at the scene before him. with her arms folded across her chest, and a pout on her face, there was no mistaking the little kid here was Buffy, and yet she was so far from the woman he adored it was weird.

Eventually the Slayer went with her mother to get ready for bed, but not until she'd flung herself at Spike's legs, holding on tight and thanking him several times for playing outside with her and being the best vampire-friend in the world ever.

The bleached blond wandered through to the living room, wondering if he might be able to find something decent on telly when he realised Giles was just finishing a phone call and it seemed pretty serious.

"Everythin' alright, Watcher?" Spike asked with a slight frown, "Startin' to look paler than me there, mate"

"It seems this Halfrek whom we were planning to track down and destroy has struck again" Giles admitted as he removed his glasses and polished them thoughtfully, "In Los Angeles no less"

"LA?" Spike's frown turned into a grin, "Has she done something to Angel?" he asked amusedly, "Oh come on, Rupert, don't keep me in suspenders" he grinned, dropping down onto the couch and putting his feet up on the coffee table, "What's the bint done to SoulBoy?"

"It would appear that Cordelia is more prone to making wishes than one might have predicted" the Watcher sighed tiredly, "She stupidly voiced a desire for herself to be the most senior person at Angel Investigations"

"Senior?" Spike echoed, "Like, in charge of the operation?" he guessed.

"Yes, indeed, that was what she meant" Giles nodded as he replaced his glasses and sank down into the chair opposite Spike, "However, that was not quite what happened" he cleared his throat before explaining, "Instead, she is now the eldest person present, and whilst she has not aged a day Angel and Wesley's own years have decreased somewhat"

"Oh this is too good" Spike chuckled, "The Poofters a tiny tot, and Watcher-Boy Jnr as well? That is just classic" he roared with laughter, picturing the scene in his head and finding is so terribly amusing.

"I'm glad you find it so very humorous" Giles snapped, "Perhaps you would find it less so if you thought about it for a moment" he said, looking quite cross when Spike's laughter did not fade, "If this is the work of Halfrek, as it does indeed seem to be, destroying her power centre will bring back Angel and Wesley, but it will have no effect on Buffy and the rest" he explained, causing the vampire to quit his laughter immediately and sit bolt upright in his seat.

"Hey, wait a minute" he said, frowning hard, "What's that all about? Why can't we turn them all back?"

"Destroying the power centre will only undo the very last wish the Vengeance Demon granted" Giles explained, both annoyed and very troubled by the realisation. Spike just stared for a long wile before expelling an unneeded breath.

"Bugger" he said simply, for lack of anything better to say. The great amusement at the thought of Angel as a tiny toddler had given way to much more serious thoughts and emotions now. Buffy might be stuck as a six year old, and even if she grew up given time, it'd be fourteen years before she'd be back to being the woman he loved, and even then he wasn't sure anything could happen between them. There was a definite ick factor in helping to bring up a child only to start dating them a soon as they were of age. Spike couldn't deal with that, or wait long enough for his love anyway. He wanted the real Buffy back, the whole gang if he was honest. As annoying as Harris and the ex-demon bint were, the Wiccas were decent, and the whole lot of them were much easier to deal with when they weren't three feet tall!

"So then" he said at length, "Seems I'm off to LA" he announced getting up from his seat. Giles called the vampire back as he went for the door.

"Exactly what do you plan to do on arrival?" the watcher asked as he got up from his seat and faced the younger looking man, "Apart from combust in the daylight that will approach too quickly for you to avoid" he pointed out.

"'M gonna bloody well find this soddin' Halfrek that's caused all the bleedin' trouble is what I'm gonna do!" Spike yelled, voice dropping a few decibels when Giles hushed him and gestured upstairs when the kids were trying to sleep, "'M not just gonna sit here and watch my woman go through her kid and teen years again, it's too soddin' weird for words!" he said angrily through gritted teeth, "This Vengeance bint is gonna pay and she's gonna change the whole lot of those kids back to what they were" Spike nodded firmly as he turned away once again.

"As odd as this is going to sound" Giles said as he gave chase towards the door, "Spike, I agree with you"

The bleached blond looked back at the other man in apparent disbelief, hand pausing on the doorknob.

"You serious?" he frowned, finding the concept of one of the Scooby Gang agreeing with him quite unsettling.

"Utterly and completely" Giles confirmed, "This woman or demon, whatever she is, she must be stopped, forced to undo the great wrongs she has done, and then destroyed if at all possible" he said definitely, "but I do think we should spend at least some amount of time looking at this logically, Spike" the Watcher explained, "Rushing in headlong, violence without thought of consequence, I really do not think it will help at all"

Spike scoffed at that.

"What do you know about it, Rupert?" he deliberately used his name like an insult, "She's a demon. Straight in fighting, nothin' but fist and fangs. That's how it's done in their world"

Giles looked at the vampire oddly then, causing Spike to ask what the bloody hell he thought he was staring at.

"Their world" he echoed the words, "You do not think of yourself as a demon, part of that world?" he half asked, half stated as Spike looked around uncomfortably then sighed.

"Look, you know things have changed, what with me and the Slayer gettin' it together and all" the vampire explained, "I exist for her now, to be at her side, to fight the good fight and be a decent sort of man if I'm able" he shrugged awkwardly, "And don't you dare start thinkin' I'm bleedin' soft, Ripper, or I'll..."

"Yes, I'm quite aware of what you would do" Giles interrupted, "I confess I would much rather be talking over our current issue with this Halfrek and the problems she'd caused, than waste my time questioning your fighting abilities, etc."

"Right" Spike nodded a moment later, letting go of the door at last as the pair headed back into the living room, "Let's get to it then"

"Hey Buffster!" Xander called in a whisper as he scurried across the landing and squatted by the banister rail next to his friend, "What're you doin?" the little boy wanted to know.

"Spikey's down there" she pointed out, "He's talking to Giles about going away" she said, little voice quivering with emotion.

"Spike's going away" Xander grinned, his smile falling when Buffy looked over at him with tear stained cheeks, "Oh, that's too bad" the brunette lied as he put a little blue pyjama clad arm around his friends shoulders.

"He can't leave me" Buffy said firmly, "He's my Spikey, and he loves me, he said so" she nodded, "and...and I'm the Slayer! If I say he can't go then he can't!"

To Be Continued...