Audrey came out of the bedroom. She was drowning in the pants.
"This isn't right. I feel like one of those people who sleep, drink, and live on a bus bench." She pulled uncomfortably at the pants.
For a second, a sting singed Anya at how similar the girl's humor was to Xander's. But it passed. She looked at the girl, then at the pants.
"Listen, take my hand."
As Anya took Audrey's hand firmly in hers, she realized how weird it was, and how she'd never held the hand of someone this young. She teleported them quickly out.
"What do you mean, you can't feel anything!?" Tara shrieked.
"I mean I've lost all feeling in my legs!" Willow screamed back. She concentrated on shifting her legs, but nothing happened. "I can't move them."
"So you're PARALYZED!?"
"Well, maybe not. Maybe it's just… temporary." Willow smiled, trying to sound calm, but the fear shook her voice.
"Okay, we have to go see a doctor NOW!" Tara yelled. Willow wanted to back away, she'd never seen Tara like this. Tara being angry, yelling… almost didn't exist.
"What are they going to do?"
"I don't know!" Tara pulled at her hair then rose up from the ground, running to stand in front of the building. "Anya, you get out here NOW!"
"She's not going to come out, Tara. And she's not going to help me. You know that. Let's just get home."
"And how, exactly, do you propose we do that?"
"Well, you're going to have to carry me."
"All the way home? That's- a lot of miles!"
"Do you have a phone? Do I have a phone? We can't call for help."
"Okay, okay. But it's not going to be fun."
"Where are we?" Audrey questioned, looking around her in surprise.
Anya glanced down at the little girl, letting go of her hand quickly.
"We're at JCPenney. Why, do you need more sophisticated clothes?"
"I mean, how'd we get here?"
"Teleportation. It's a demon thing." Anya said matter-of-factly, pulling open the huge double doors. The girl followed close behind.
"Demon? I thought you were a witch." She replied as a husky man in a stretched blue sweatshirt walked by. He gave them a puzzling glance.
"Hey, no talk of supernatural stuff in public."
"Well, you were."
"There wasn't anybody walking by! People will think I'm crazy!"
"Well, aren't you?"
Anya glared at the girl. Audrey then glanced around, and, seeing nobody near, leaned closer to Anya and whispered;
"So, you're a demon, too?"
"Well, yeah." Anya replied impatiently, lowering her voice. "That's what I was first, but I don't have enough power as a demon to do what I want to, so now I'm a witch, too. Got it?"
Audrey nodded, then, spying a rack of ruffled, flowery shirts, shot Anya a pleading look.
"Knock yourself out. I'm a witch. I can have as much money as I want." With that statement, she opened her palms to reveal a stack of fifty dollar bills.
"Whoa! That's cool! Is their more?"
"As much as I want there to be. Now go get some pants that'll fit you." With this statement, the little girl ran off and practically took off every pair of pants and shirt off the rack. Anya laughed. Then she realized what she had done. She hadn't laughed in so long, it felt weird.
"Mom! Mom! I want that, and that, and please, can have this?" A little freckled, red-haired girl held up a tank top with butterflies on it.
"We'll see. Go pick some things out." The girl dashed off and nearly ran straight into Audrey, and the both of them started giggling for no apparent reason.
The woman standing next to Anya turned to her.
"Are you glad you had a girl?" The woman's question took Anya slightly by surprise.
"Oh… she's…" Anya was going to say that she wasn't hers, but decided against it for the sake of being less awkward. "I guess. I mean, boys are- they're- well, boys."
The woman nodded, her face growing serious.
"I think being a mom was the best choice I ever made." The woman stated, staring admiringly at her daughter sifting through the clothes rack. "Don't you think so."
Anya wasn't quite sure what to say, so she just nodded. But it was weird, being thought of as a mom, and truthfully, she didn't like it at all.