Author's Notes: Set four years after 'Becoming' part two. Buffy ran away, and didn't come back. Now, four years later, she's about to be reminded of who and what she really is.

Rating: PG-13. Language and strong themes. Sorry, kiddies.

Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine. Don't sue, please.

Feedback: Very welcome. Constructive criticism is welcome; flames will be used to help me toast marshmallows.

Chapter Notes: Yeah, so Hattie bugged me about this one. Sorry…

Chapter Fifteen: Morning

Angel tried to hide a yawn behind his hand. Spike's amused eyes caught his for a moment, telling him that he'd not succeeded. The child seated between them, however, hadn't noticed anything, so that was all right.

Hattie had woken up at six in the morning after a full night's sleep. She was perhaps the only one in the household to have had that, and after trying – and failing – to wake her mother up, she'd gone to the next best thing. She'd carefully descended down to the dark basement and woken up Spike and Angel. Now they were all sitting on the couch watching cartoons. Every time either vampire tried to get up, Hattie would send him a quelling glare worthy of her mother.

It was now ten, and still nobody else was awake. Hattie slid off the couch and padded over to turn the television off. "I'm bored," she announced.

"Why don't you go and play a game," Angel suggested quickly. "Away. Upstairs. I'm sure there's some in Dawn's room."

Hattie wrinkled her nose. Spike had to admit she looked rather cute. "No. Don't wanna play by myself." She wriggled back onto the couch and sat in Spike's lap. "Go grr," she commanded.

"What's that, little bitlet?" Spike queried.

She sighed impatiently. "Go grr," she repeated. "With teeth. An' yellow eyes."

Spike rolled his eyes. "You'll get scared," he warned her. Hattie shook her head seriously. "You will, pet." The child's lower lip trembled. She bore a striking resemblance to Dawn in that instant, and Spike sighed. "Why me? Why not the wa – uh. Angel."

"'Cos you're Alpha," came the instant reply. She leaned in close and whispered in a not-so-quite voice. "And his hair is funny."

Spike managed not to laugh. "True enough, bitlet." He hesitated a moment, then showed his true demonic face. He expected Hattie to shriek and run, but the child surprised him by reaching up a hand and touching the ridges on his forehead.

"You're not so bumpy," she said decisively. "Mommy fought bumpy vampires. She said I should run into th'house, but I hid 'stead." She slipped off Spike's lap as he returned to his human visage, and climbed onto Angel. "You're comfy," she told him. "Spike's bonedy."

'Bonedy?' Spike mouthed incredulously at his grandsire. Angel shrugged uncomfortably. He hadn't been around small children – without intending on eating them, anyway – in more than two centuries. He wasn't quite sure how to deal with the small child with Buffy's mannerisms and a stranger's looks. Especially when said child was snuggling into his chest.

There was a noise from above, and Dawn almost fell down the stairs. Her eyes were only half-open and her hair stuck up in all directions as she headed straight for the kitchen and took a bottle of blood from the fridge. The three on the couch watched in fascination as she drained nearly half the contents of the bottle in one go, then put it back in the fridge and yawned.

"Tha's better," she muttered. She stretched and turned – and let out a shriek when she saw the three watching her. "By Haghd! Lurk much!"

"We're sitting," Spike pointed out with great aplomb. "Not lurking. Hungry, were you?"

"Shaking," Dawn corrected. She flopped down in an armchair. "What're you guys doing up? You went to bed as late as the rest of us."

"I was bored," Hattie said importantly. "They were watching cartoons with me."

Dawn blinked several times. "Cartoons? Spike and Angel? With you?" She bit her lip hard to keep from laughing. "Good one, Hattie."

"Knock it off, Niblet," Spike complained. Hattie wriggled off Angel's lap, to the vampire's great relief, and started climbing over Dawn to inspect her aunt's hair. "Buffy awake yet?"

Dawn raised her eyebrows sceptically and shifted to allow the three-year-old better access to her head. "Are you kidding me? After a sugar binge and a night's demon hunting? She's wiped. She won't wake up until midday or later – and then probably only if someone waves a mug of blood under her nose." She gave a giggle. "Hattie, that tickles."

Hattie's head popped up from behind Dawn. She looked sincerely unapologetic. "Sorry."

"You are not, you little monster," Spike smirked and stood up. "Hungry, Peaches?"

Rolling his eyes but otherwise not bothering with a recrimination for the nickname, Angel nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." Spike went through to the kitchen. "Hey, could you put some marshmallows in for me?" Spike answered in the affirmative. Dawn gave Angel a curious look.

"Spike's rubbing off on you," she commented with a yawn. She twisted and plucked Hattie off her easily. "Sorry, Hattie, I'm just too tired to play right now. Why don't you go see if Faith's awake?"

"Don't wanna," Hattie whined. "Wanna play."

"Well, want doesn't always get," she was told firmly. In the kitchen, Spike raised his eyebrows at this maturity from the girl who had, not two days ago, sometimes acted like a spoilt little brat. But it wasn't two days ago, he reminded himself firmly.

He returned to the lounge with two mugs of heated blood just in time to see Hattie wriggle out of Dawn's arms and gallop up the stairs, leaving Dawn with a comically surprised look on her face. The surprise turned to horror as thumps came from the room Buffy was sleeping in.

"Oh god," she panicked. "We're all gonna die. Hattie woke her up!"

"It is ten thirty," Angel pointed out. "She should probably wake up anyway…"

"Harriet Eve Robinson!"

"This is so bad," Dawn whimpered.

"Why? What's she gonna do?" Spike demanded.

"WHO THE HELL LET HER WAKE ME UP?"

Hattie came skipping down the stairs, a smile on her face. "Mommy awake."

"Yeah, Mommy is awake, and Mommy is very angry!" Buffy stomped down the stairs. "Spike. Angel. Which one of you let her wake me up?" The angriest expression they had ever seen was on her face. She was scarier in that moment than the Master and Darla put together to the two Aurelian vampires.

"Wasn't me," Angel said quickly.

"Me neither," Spike added hurriedly.

"It was Auntie Dawn!" Hattie proclaimed, beaming. "Her hair's funny."

"Dawnie."

"Buffy?"

"You have five seconds before I rip off your head and feed it to a half-starved murdite."

Dawn winced. "Uh, Buffy, there aren't actually any murdites in this dimension…"

"Five."

"And it wasn't my fault, she's really slippery, and I swear she used magick – "

"Four."

Dawn rose and edged towards the kitchen. "And. Um. Yeah. I'll…"

"Three."

"Going now."

"Two."

"Gone!" And she disappeared through the kitchen and out of the back door. Buffy gave a sigh and turned to her daughter.

"Hattie, you should never wake mommy up," she admonished gently. "Unless it's an emergency. I was really tired, and you know I need lots of sleep with the new baby coming."

Hattie nodded seriously. "I know."

"So why did you wake me up?"

"I was bored," the child pouted. "Angel an' Spike wouldn't play with me."

Buffy raised her eyes skyward. "Couldn't one of you just have played for a little while?" she asked in a quiet, resigned tone. "I just want to sleep." She whirled around suddenly to face the front door. "Spike, get Hattie and Dawn out of here, now," she said in a low voice. "Angel, get Faith and Max."

"Why, what is it?"

"Glory."

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Coming next chapter:

Buffy and Glory go 'all out'.