A/N : And here was me thinking I had to be writing Spuffy to get many reviews. Seems I can handle a little humourous kidfic well enough to be popular too! Thanx so much to everyone who reviewed; vanillagigglez, Spuffy6, SiriusSpikeLover, Ape18, funkydevil206, EMBER91, Freezyboncoolipants, Hellmouth2, Bruenttepet, boeketjebloemen, Torrchy, PyroChilde, Lori, and Moluvsnumber17 - you all rock so much! Anywho, here's the next chapter...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 11
"Good morning, Spike!" Buffy yelled as she arrived in the doorway of the office next morning. Said vampire had fallen asleep during his research and the mini Slayer's loud voice woke him with a start, causing him to topple from his position in the chair with his feet on the desk. The bleached blond heap on the floor groaned and cursed as he picked himself up, grabbing the attention of the recently awake and dressed little Scooby gang who all came to see what was going on.
Xander laughed like a drain when he saw the vampire getting himself up from the floor and trying to straighten out his coat that had got tangled around his body. Angel forced back a snigger too.
"Stupid idiot" he muttered, only to be lightly smacked upside his head by Cordelia. As much as she agreed with the mini vamps sentiments, the last thing she needed was Spike getting so angry he staked the small version of his old grand-sire, something that would be only too easy right now, especially with Buffy also shrunk down to miniature and not exactly loving Angel.
"When you've finished playing on the floor" Cordelia told Spike, "We're getting breakfast, so if you want blood I suggest you move your butt before I give it all to Junior here"
"Hope you've got more than just the supply I found in your fridge then" Spike smirked as he finally got to his feet, "Cos I drank the soddin' lot last night"
Angel's eyes flashed angry yellow and if Cordy were a demon she knew hers would be doing the same right now.
"He is such a pain in the ass" she muttered as she stormed across the hotel and met Giles coming down the stairs with Joyce and Dawn not far behind, "I'm going to the butchers!" she said exasperately as she pulled on her jacket, "You can deal with them!" she said firmly, jerking her thumb back towards the bunch of kids who had started to riot and Spike who was just emerging from the office with his fallen book in his hand.
"Oh Good Lord" Giles sighed, wincing as Buffy let out a battle cry and ran circles round the foyer, chasing Angel who seemed to think it was more amusing than anything else, despite his encounter with the Slayer the day before. Mini-Wes cowered behind the counter as Anya and Xander pelted past, the little blonde girl yelling every inappropriate sex-related word she could think of as she went. Willow and Tara were watching the whole scene with mixed emotions, trying to figure out where the best and safest place to hide might be as Angel and Buffy careered past and nearly knocked them flying.
"Er, Dawn could you help me watch the children until Cordelia gets back, please sweetie?" Joyce asked her, "Then we'll figure out breakfast if we can"
"Sure, Mom" Dawn forced a smile as they descended into the madness of the entrance hall, leaving Giles still on the bottom step looking pained.
"Alright, Watcher?" Spike called to him as he approached, "Gotta admit, didn't find a whole lot last night" he told the older looking man, "I mean, I thought this book ought to have been a good 'un..." he shook his head as he held it open in his hands just as it had fallen a few moment ago. It was only when he glanced down he realised his immense good luck, "And I was right" he smiled suddenly, "This is a good soddin' book" he grinned.
"What is it you've found?" Giles asked, trying to see.
"Only the bloody spell to summon your demon bint who grants bleedin' stupid wishes for the kiddies!" Spike said triumphantly as he held up the book and pointed to the passage.
"Good heavens, I do believe you're right" Giles agreed as he took the book from the vampires hands and adjusted his glasses on his nose to read the text, "It isn't even an awfully complicated incantation" he noted, "All we would need is a few herbs, candles, and my ability to recite Latin" he mused as he read further down the page.
"Yours truly proves good for somethin' then, eh Rupert?" Spike smirked as the Watcher looked at him.
"Yes, yes, indeed" he agreed though it was almost physically painful to do so, "Er, well done, Spike" he said at length, "I do think we should get this set up as quickly as possible. The sooner we summon this Halfrek person, the sooner this childish din will end!"
Getting the children to sit still and be quiet long enough for them all to eat breakfast proved to be a much more difficult chore than the simple act of Giles setting up his spell. He slipped out to fetch a couple of ingredients he was short of and Joyce, Cordy, and Dawn did their best with the kids, whilst Spike got a short sleep. He could function pretty well on minimal rest but he'd rather have some than none at all.
He got about half an hours real kip before his sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of stampeding children along the landing outside the room he'd chosen. He picked up the scent easily and knew it was Buffy and Angel out there.
"Oh bugger" he sighed as he got up from the bed, "If she stakes the little sod I'll be in the serious sh..." he muttered, stopping suddenly when he heard the pair of children talking beyond the door.
"You okay?" the mini Slayer asked as Angel stopped running away, making her run headlong into his back, almost taking the pair of them down.
"Spike" he sneered, growling slightly, though keeping his game-face hidden somehow.
"Spike is my friend" Buffy said firmly, folding her arms across her chest, though Spike couldn't see it he could imagine her indignant expression, "More than that, he loves me, and I love him too"
"He's evil!" Angel told her, "Even more evil-er than me, he doesn't have a soul, Buffy!"
"He sooo does!" the blonde shot back, before realising it was true, Spike really didn't have a soul, "Or he doesn't, but he doesn't need one" she said, frowning as she tried to fit it all in her little head, "He..he loves me, and Dawnie, and Mommy, and all of us. He doesn't need a soul, he just loves us anyway and we love him, all of us...'cept Xander" she amended and Spike bit his lip so as not to laugh.
"You love him" Angel said sadly, "You don't love me?"
Buffy looked thoughtful for a long moment before she answered.
"I dunno" she shrugged, "I guess. I mean, I kinda felt bad for almost slaying you before" she admitted, "but you can't be mean to Spikey, or I'll have to fly-kick you again" she warned.
Angel seemed to consider his options before he nodded into an answer.
"'Kay" he said, "I guess that's fair" he forced a smile, though he wasn't happy about it. He'd do whatever he had to if it meant Buffy would be his friend.
"Hey, if it isn't my favourite Slayer and the Bite-sized BroodBoy" Spike smirked as he finally emerged from the room.
"Spikey!" Buffy grinned, her face lighting up like a fairground attraction at the sight of her favourite vampire, "Can we play now?" she asked, bouncing on her heels.
"Not right now, little luv" Spike shook his head as he ruffled her hair, "Uncle Rupes' got some mojo to do and I ought to be there I s'pose. You play with AngelBoy here for a while, alright?"
"Okay" Buffy smiled brightly as she watched the bleached blond stride off down the stairs, his black leather coat swooshing out behind him as he went, "He's so cool" she sighed, as Angel made gagging motions in the background.
"Hi" Willow smiled as she and Tara went over to where Wes sat cross legged on the floor behind the counter with a book in front of him, "Whatcha doin'?" she asked.
"Oh, um, I was reading" Wesley told them with a nervous smile, "I..I was hoping to help Mr Giles with his spell, but I'm not as good at magic as I would like" he said sadly.
Willow glanced at Tara and the two communicated without speaking a word before the quieter of the two witches looked down at Wes.
"W-we could h-help you to, to l-learn" she stammered, half hiding behind her best friend, who kept a tight grip on her hand at all times.
"Could you really?" Wesley looked thrilled at the idea, "I so want to be a good Watcher"
The two girls nodded and grinned as they sat down opposite the little boy and his book, preparing to give him a little lesson in the power of the magicks.
Dawn sneaked into the nearest office and pulled the door shut behind her. It seemed her others hadn't noticed that she'd slipped away and she hoped she'd get a few minutes peace before they paid attention to her being MIA.
The kids were fun sometimes, they made her laugh, most especially Buffy when she was practically falling over herself to make Spike pay her some attention. It was cool to see her family and friends as little children, but the noise they made and the trouble they caused, Dawn was fairly certain they had made up her mind for her. As long as she lived she would never wants kids of her own after this, the stress was enough to get to the calmest of people, she was sure.
She peeked through the glass as Anya and Xander chased each other back and forth. By now Buffy and Angel were play-fighting in one corner, though there was more fight than play, and Dawn guessed Willow and Tara were somewhere behind the counter as she saw a pencil rise up into view all of it's own accord.
"They giving you a headache too?" Cordy asked from behind her, making Dawn jump violently.
"Geez, Cordy. Lurk much?" she asked, her hand to her chest, "I had no idea you were there!"
"You hang around the King of Stealth long enough, you pick up a few things" the older woman referenced Angel, smirking as she came to stand beside Dawn.
"I thought it'd be fun having them as kids" the youngest Summers sighed, "but it's not all laughs"
"Preaching to the choir, honey" Cordy admitted, "When I first realised what I'd done, after the initial 'Oh my God what have I done?' moment" she explained, "I thought hey, now I get to be the boss, this is going to be so cool. Turns out playing Mom is way too much like...well, being a Mom" she smiled wryly.
"I was so stupid making that wish" Dawn shook her head, "I just never thought. I mean, you say 'I wish...' all the time, nothing usually happens"
"I know" Cordy agreed wholeheartedly, "Who just decides which wishes get granted and which don't? I mean, hello, where was the demon to grant my wish about the Bahamas and Matthew McConaughey?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance, "And believe me when I tell you that was a good wish"
Dawn giggled at that, though she agreed with the sentiment. Her wishes to pass pop quizzes at school never paid off, or the one when she wanted Joey Garver to ask her to dance at Emma Jordan's birthday party in fifth grade...
"Girls" Joyce was forcing a smile as she came into the office where Cordy and Dawn were not doing a very good job of hiding, "Could you two come help me get the kids upstairs out of the way?" she asked them, "Rupert and Spike are going to perform the spell to summon Halfrek now and I don't think we need a group of six and seven year olds in the middle of that"
"Right there with you, Mrs Summers" Cordy smiled fakely as did Dawn as they rolled their eyes simultaneously, following the older woman out to where the kids were running riot still.
"But Mom..." Buffy whined as she was encouraged up the staircase along with all her friends.
"But nothing, sweetie" Joyce told her firmly, "I told you, Mr Giles and Spike have to do a grown up job for a little while. When they're done, you can come back downstairs and play some more, but just for a little while we're going to stay upstairs"
Though the rest of the kids made some fuss, they were eventually all dragged up to the second floor, some more literally than others, by Cordy, Joyce and Dawn, leaving just Giles and Spike in the entrance hall.
"So" the vampire said from atop the counter where he was sat, What exactly do you need me here for, Watcher?" he asked as Giles sprinkled some herbs into the dish in front of him and referenced the book in hand other hand.
"Er, I did rather think you would be, well, armed and ready" the older looking man suggested, "I have no idea how violent this demon woman may become when we attempt to reason with her. Besides which, I believe only children are supposed to use this spell"
"Little Bit didn't even need a spell" Spike complained as he hopped down from the counter and strode over to the weapons cabinet, selecting a large axe and taking a couple of practice swings with it.
"Right, if you're ready then" Giles was saying when he arrived back at the spot where the spell would be performed.
"Was born ready, mate" Spike reminded him as the Watcher began the ritual.
Smoke seemed to rise up, not just from the bowl of ingredients but all around them, til Giles was coughing terrible. Unaffected since he didn't need to breathe, Spike focused his eyes through the fog, trying to see the Vengeance demon when she appeared. Seemed she wasn't so much into hiding as a large flash brought her into view, clearing much of the smoke at the same time.
"I have been called and Vengeance shall I wreak!" she announced with a flourish as she turned to face her summoners.
The powerful and defiant look fell right off her face as her eyes focused on a man she knew only too well, yet hadn't seen in years.
"William?" she gasped, and Spike groaned.
"Oh, bloody hell"
To Be Continued...