zigpal- Thanks for the review and claps and as for the 'having anya-like thoughts' about the two Joyces, I have only to say one word; minx. But yes, I agree, Xander was probably having similar thoughts. He gets quite intrigued this episode when Joyce calls him attractive. Who knows, maybe next season they'll be a big twist in the Cocorificverse and the two will have a torrid affair behind Giles' back. Okay, maybe not but wouldn't that be an interesting yet amusing storyline? Haha.

Rabidreject- Thanks for the review and glad you liked my B-Cup Parent Trap joke. I was quite proud of that one so happy you found it funny, hehe. And 'true excellence' huh? I like that opinion a lot. I approve. Haha. Thank you!

A/N: And so another arc begins though it's starting off rather small and subtle.

Curtains drawn. Candles lit. Romantic music playing. His arms around her waist. Hers around his neck. Lip-locking of a serious form as the couple made the most of their one night alone in a long while. The wine bottle and accompanying filled glasses were left on the coffee table,presently forgotten as the two indulged in ministrations that they had been deprived of in past weeks due to the ever increasing numbers spending time at the house. And now finally, they had the time to themselves.

"Are you guys gonna be much longer coz Dawn's book's behind you and Dawn said I could like borrow it and you know read it" Andrew's whining broke into the romantic moment and the couple broke slowly apart to look at him, "Because I have nothing to do except be erm a hostage and so I need something to do...so I thought reading would be a good thing to do but you're like sat in front of it and so I can't get it"

With a sigh, Joyce reached over for the book, grabbing it in one hand and handed it to the waiting boy.

"Knock yourself out," She smiled as he ran off with the prize.

"Please," Giles added with a tight smile, but Andrew, having already exited the room hurriedly, didn't hear him.

"Now where were we?" Joyce asked with a grin, before the two began kissing again, picking up exactly where they had left off.

It was as Rupert started kissing down the length of her neck whilst holding onto her waist to allow her to slide onto his knee that they heard the noise of someone falling over. Followed by an ow. Assuming it was Andrew, the two ignored him and carried on as though the fall had never occurred. Just as things were about get horizontal on the sofa (again), another voice accompanied the person who had said 'ow'.

The couple sighed, reluctantly breaking the kiss slowly, looking at one another a moment before both simultaneously turned their heads to see what the cause of the noise was.

"Andrew, Buffy told you can't use the crossbow." Kennedy was pointing at the fallen boy aggressively.

"Why not?" He asked, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Because...well,you break things," Vi told him.

"It's not fair," He whined, "I need to learn how to defend myself as much as you guys...girls. More coz I'm not all Potential Karate Kid"

"Andrew, I thought you were going to read a book," Joyce brought herself into the conversation.

"Well, I was but then she took it," He pointed out Vi and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Vi why did you take his book?"

"Because he was reading it out loud right where we were training!" She exclaimed in explanation, clearing at the end of her tether, but immediately after snapping she realized she was shouting at an adult and so became shy again "sir, ...miss" She trailed off.

"Vi give him the book back," Joyce sighed, "Andrew, stop using the weapons. You're going to break one of our good lamps"

"Hey, this authority mode's the kick whatever, but could ya do it like erm sat up?" Kennedy asked straight-forwardly, "I mean jeez, get a room or get over it or whatever. You're like fifty"

"Forty-five," Joyce immediately corrected at the same time Giles said "Forty-Eight"

"Whatever," Kennedy said, "Just not here alright?"

"I could say the same for you," Joyce immediately retorted, sitting up straighter to look at her.

"Yes," Giles agreed, "Why exactly are you and Vi and the others still here? Shouldn't you have gone home by now?"

"Buffy wants us to er train as much as we can...er sir..." Vi said, "I don't know when we're going to be allowed to leave..."

"I don't think we are going home tonight," Kennedy contributed, looking quite happy about this fact. Rupert and Joyce, on the other hand, were another matter.

The two looked at one another, both knowing they were thinking the same thing before they got up off of the sofa and marched over to the basement door, before walking down the stairs to where they indeed found the Potentials hard at work as Buffy trained them. Buffy did not turn to see her Mother or Giles but presumed it was Kennedy and Vi returning with the stolen crossbow.

"'Bout time," She said, "Took long enough. Now get over there and-" As she said this she turned around to see her parents, biological or otherwise, stood on the stairs looking at her with their arms folded across their chests, "-hi."

"Buffy," Joyce said in a tone her daughter knew all too well.

"What? I'm just training them. You know for The First"

"It's eleven o clock at night and I think you've trained them enough for one day don't you?"

"Well, I think-" Buffy began to say, but her Mother cut her off.

"I wasn't asking Buffy. You've pushed them too hard for too long today. They're going home"

The Potentials looked apprehensive, not sure which woman they should listen to.

"Girls, get your things," Joyce told them calmly, "You've done enough for one night. We'll have Jacqueline pick some of you up and Rupert can take the rest of you home."

The girls in question looked at one another for a moment before choosing to see a get-out where there was one as they grabbed their coats and rushed up the stairs past Buffy, Rupert and Joyce.

"You just totally undermined my authority Mom," Buffy complained.

"Some things just never change, hon," Joyce replied with a smile, before turning to head back up to the kitchen.

"Mom. You can't do that," Buffy carried on, "They're Potentials. They need to learn. And I'm the Slayer which makes me...well their boss...person...woman...thingy..."

"Well, Mom trumps Slayer, ask anyone," Joyce replied before carrying on walking up the stairs. When Buffy looked at Giles as her next target he just shrugged at her helplessly.

"You know, you used to try and stand up to her a lot more before you started dating her," Buffy complained, pushing past him and heading up the basement stairs also.

"I certainly did not," Giles replied, following after her, "I've always been terrified of your Mother"

"Hmm..." Buffy said disapprovingly just as her Mom hung up the phone in the kitchen.

"Jacqueline's on her way here," She said, "The car should be able to fit most of them in. She could it in two goes, or Rupert or me could take some of them"

"Wouldn't have to if Dan or Cassandra were here," Buffy said, "One of them could drive the rest home. Why did you send Dan to Shanghai anyway?"

"Because the seer said there was a Potential there that's why" Giles explained with a sigh.

"Yeah, but I thought we agreed on punishment city for him after him splitting Mom in two but instead he gets a business trip to China. What gives?"

"He may have a trip to China but he doesn't speak Chinese," Giles smiled at the mere image of Daniel walking around Shanghai in utter confusion as he tried to figure out what the people were saying to him. No doubt he was lost the moment he got off the plane.

"But erm...won't that mean he won't find the girl?" Buffy asked, "If he won't understand directions?"

"Cassandra is fluent in the language," Giles told her, "She's there for...back-up I suppose you could say. So as to prevent any International Incidents due to a language barrier on Daniel's part"

Drinks were picked up again, music switched back on, candles re-lit, and kissing resumed. It was two hours from when they had started, but better late than never and they were both equally determined to have their one night together in a long time. Especially since Anya and Xander were looking after Lily for the night.

"Finally..." Rupert murmured in her ear, before teasing it with his tongue, nibbling the lobe.

"Mmhmm..." She agreed, before claiming his mouth with her own. For a brief moment Giles' eyes blinked open as he tried to lift her onto him as before, but the person in his peripheral vision made me stop, breaking the kiss abruptly.

"What?" Joyce smiled, presuming he'd almost slipped off the couch again, but he continued to stare right past her. She frowned as she followed his line of vision and saw nothing. "What is it?"

He slowly turned to face her, dragging his eyes away from the sight.

"Nothing," He assured her, "I just thought for a moment I saw Andrew"

"Oh," Joyce said, going to kiss him again, but stopped moments before she did so with a sigh, "Oh forget it. The night's over anyway. So much for our alone time," She smiled tiredly at him, "I'm going to go to bed." She got up off the sofa and walked off, but paused in the archway to look back at him, "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," He nodded, "erm...yes. I'm just going to...to uh clear all this up first. I'll be there in a moment"

"Okay," She nodded with another tired smile before heading up the stairs leaving Rupert with his thoughts.

For he hadn't thought he'd seen Andrew a few minutes ago. He hadn't thought anything. But he had clearly seen his past love, Jenny Calendar, watching them both.

"Girls, if you'd just stop getting so excited for just one minute, maybe-" Joyce broke off with an exasperated sigh. It was the basement and within it dozens of the Potentials that had arrived in Sunnydale were arguing and/or chatting amongst one another. "Go to work Buffy, I said. They'll be fine without you I said. It's only a couple of hours I said..." She murmured to herself, cursing herself for her own naivety. Down four Watchers (Dan and Cassandra in Shanghai and Jacqueline and Ted in L.A today collecting another) and up several more Potentials with Buffy at work, Dawn at school and Rupert being the only one presently able to research more information on The First as their most recent data was in Ancient Sumerian, Willow and Tara working on locater spells and Anya at the recently neglected Magic Box that meant that this particular day at this particular time there was only Joyce and Xander left free to deal with the Potentials. And Xander was panicking in the face of so much estrogen and so was huddled to the bottom of the steps. Joyce looked over ar him, eyes silently pleading for help.

"What do you want me to do with them?" He asked.

"You're a man. Young. Attractive. And they're girls aged fourteen to nineteen. That's power" She grabbed him by the arm, "More power than Mom is getting right now"

"Attractive?" Xander raised his eyebrow in amusement, clearly only joking in the moment to try and put off having to deal with the Potentials.

"If I were twenty years younger Xander" She smirked, before nudging him towards the group.

"Erm..."

"Xander, could you tell Vi to stop hogging the crossbow?"

"But Xander could you help me with this over here? It's jammed"

"Xander, have you ever staked a vampire? Was it hard?"

"Buffy said about demons. Have you seen a demon?"

"Did you fight a demon?"

"Did you kill a demon?"

"Uh..." Xander looked back at Joyce, "This was your plan huh?"

"I panicked. It seemed good at that moment"

"Well, do something," He told her, "I'm worried they're gonna start groping me. And erm...kinda excited about that fact as well. Which is more worrying"

"Girls, stop- stop talking," Joyce said, standing in front of them all, but they carried on chattering, "Now! Please!" The group fell silent at her raised voice, "Thank you. Now, now I know you're anxious for Buffy to get back teach you...whatever it is she's presently teaching you but-"

"But, she's at work," Xander contributed, "Her other work. And other people are busy little worker bees. So basically you've got us"

"You a Watcher?" Kennedy asked Xander and he looked slightly thrown and taken aback by the challenging tone to her voice.

"No. N-no. I'm not," He eventually replied, "Just an ordinary guy. With a lot of experience. With demons I mean! Not with...well, I mean I have but not...really appropriate here so...erm..." He trailed off, "No. Not a Watcher no"

"But you're a Watcher right?" Kennedy turned to Joyce and she seemed even more thrown by that suggestion than Xander had been.

"What? No, what on earth gave you that idea?"

"Just you're always doing like research stuff. And you're the Slayer's Mom. And you're married to herWatcher," Kennedy reasoned, "Just figured you know you got together at like Watcher College or wherever it is they learn how to be pompous asses"

"Rupert is not pompous-" They all looked at her silently, including Xander, "Okay, maybe he is sometimes," She amended, "But only in a friendly...endearing and-"

"Annoying way," Xander finished with a grin and Joyce whacked him on the shoulder. "Okay ow. Why do the women in my life think thats the way to make a point with me?" He asked no one in particular, "Anya, Dawn, Buffy, Willow, you..."

"So how did you and Mr Giles meet?" Molly asked bluntly.

"What? Well, uh, I..."

"Yeah?" Rachel prompted.

"Why are you all so interested how Rupert and me met?" She asked suspiciously.

"Because we're obviously not gonna get to weapons till Buffy's back," Kennedy said, "Might as well hear about something interesting,"

"Well we met when I was in hospital from a vampire bite"

"But she thought it was because of a BBQ fork," Xander grinned then when everyone frowned he explained, "She erm didn't know about the Slaying gig then"

"And then we rarely saw each other for two years," Joyce finished, "Happy? Good" She walked off.

"Hey, that's not how you met met," Gina added, "That's just how you met"

"Well erm...met met is a much funnier story that you will not get to hear" As goes with most of her first dates, she realized. "If you want a story ask how Anya came into Xander's life"

And on that note she hurried up the basement stairs and out of the room, leaving Xander to deal with the onslaught of questions.

"Andrew stop that, whatever it is you're doing," Giles said, not looking up from the text he was studying but seeing Andrew prancing in his peripheral vision.

"I'm doing a Kata," Andrew replied dramatically, "I am fighting against an imaginary yet choreographed opponent to hone my skills in time for the battle against The First"

Giles sighed, taking his glasses off and dropping them down onto the desk in front of him to turn and look at Andrew.

"Andrew, you have no skills," He pointed out in exasperation, "Therefore what on earth are you honing and for God's sake that is not a Kata. And what did we say about Lily?"

Andrew stopped his 'practiced' movements and looked over at the young child sat in her chair happily yet at the same time watching Andrew warily.

"Always stay at least five yards away from her..." Andrew murmured quietly in reply, "Though don't you think it'd be more efficient to tell me in meters? Coz hello? No one uses yards anymore"

"Andrew, just please, get out of my sight. Go" Giles ordered him in exasperation as he got up to see to Lily who while not exactly begging for the attention, he still wished to give her some.

As Andrew trailed out of the room, head hung low, Joyce walked past him, glancing at him with a puzzled frown.

"What's wrong with Andrew?" She asked as Rupert cooed to Lily in a way Joyce had seen many times but she knew he tried to keep out of sight of the others. Must keep that stiff upper lip image after all.

"A remarkably good yet forever unanswered question I assure you," Giles replied, as Lily, having been cooed at enough, settled against his chest, one small arm attempting to go around his neck lovingly, but as she was too tiny, it barely made it round a quarter of the way.

"Very glib," Joyce smiled, walking over giving Lily a kiss on the cheek first before giving Rupert a light kiss on the lips.

"I thought so," He smiled before said smile became a frown, "Aren't you supposed to be with the Potentials?"

"For the record, I'm not supposed to be anywhere. In fact if anything I should be at the gallery, which I'm presently not due to everything going on around here. And secondly, I left them with Xander. They seemed quite happy in his company"

"I'm sure..." Giles murmured.

"And personally, I'm choosing to take this as my opportunity to get out of this house for a little while. I should really get to the gallery, we're slightly short-staffed and there's a lot of inventory to go through. You okay with Lily?"

"Joyce, I think I can handle my own daughter just fine thank you"

"You won't be saying that when she's sixteen," She smirked and Giles' eyes widened in horror, "Ah, that thought hadn't occurred to you had it? Yes, this sweet little for-the-moment-silent child will one day become no doubt the third incarnation of Buffy. 'Popular Culture Teens' are a family trait I'm afraid sweetie," She laughed slightly, "Well, I'll see you in a little while" She kissed Rupert again before fussing Lily, making the girl giggle as she tickled her neck and kissing her on her head and heading out of the room and out the front door.

Giles watched her go before turning to the woman who had been stood beside him for the past minute.

"Would you go away?" He asked The First in the form of Jenny Calendar.

"You don't want me to," She pointed out.

Rupert didn't reply. He returned his attention to Lily.

Dawn was peckish. Peckish. Molly had gotten her into a habit of saying that. But that's what Dawn presently was. Despite the fact it was night time and she'd only an hour ago had her dinner. So she wandered into the kitchen, intending to look for some leftovers in the fridge, only to come across the majority of Potentials cramped into the kitchen around the weapons piled on the kitchen island. Molly was presently wielding a crossbow.

"Whoa," Dawn held up her hands in mock surrender, "Okay we're not pointing the weapons in the kitchen"

"It's not loaded," Vi informed her helpfully.

"Yeah," Dawn agreed sarcastically, "That's always the lead quote under the headline, "Household crossbow accident claims teen""

"Yeah, we gotta get used to them though ain't we?" Molly asked, "The Slayer said"

"Well, the Slayer's Mom also says no pointing weapons in the kitchen," Joyce said, walking into the room, and gently placed a hand on Molly's arm until she slowly placed the weapon back on the island, "Honey did you want something?" She asked Dawn

"Yeah...erm food actually"

"Well, maybe it would be uh best to get it after the girls have left." Joyce suggested, "They'll be room to actually reach the fridge then"

"Yeah, we should be gone soon" Kennedy said and Dawn nodded.

"Oh yeah, your little Group Patrol"

"It's more than that," Vi said with pride, "It's an 'outing'"

"I'm thinking tonight? We might actually get to kill things," Kennedy said excitedly.

"I've killed stuff sometimes..." Dawn muttered lamely, but only her Mother heard her. And an understanding kiss on the top of the head accompanied by motherly hair stroking wasn't exactly the same as getting a 'wow really' from the Potentials.

"I am not begging," Andrew said following Buffy into the kitchen.

"You're like a little dog dancing for Snausages," Buffy argued

"You don't want me to come along because you think I'm evil..." He sulked, folding his arms across his chest in full-on petulant child mode.

"He doesn't seem evil exactly..." Vi said as she looked at him

"He's not evil," Buffy agreed, "But when he gets too close to it he picks up it's flavor like a mushroom or something"

"But has he actually ever done anything evil?" Rona asked and for a moment Buffy was stumped.

"Ooh! Ooh!" She suddenly said, "He kidnapped Mom. And Willow"

"Wait- hey that's right," Andrew said as he remembered and he looked over at Joyce, trying to seem intimidating to her, "I did kidnap you. We held you hostage. You should have fear of me from that traumatic experience."

"That experience wasn't traumatic Andrew," Joyce told him, "Just...annoying"

"Okay," Andrew quietly accepted, looking very disgruntled by this fact, "But I'm different now! I'm good. I've changed. I'm like Vagita from Dragon Ball Z. I used to be a pure Sayan but now I fight on the side of Goku"

"I can't even pretend to know what you're talking about, I'm sorry," Joyce sighed with a shake of the head and Andrew stomped his foot in frustration. In his time tied to a chair he had watched everything and had come to the conclusion that Joyce, apparently being the most compassionate one in the inner circle, would be the weak link or rather his key to being involved in the Scoobies. And now that she'd said no he'd ran out of options.

"It's not fair," He complained to Buffy, "Spike killed people and he gets to go"

"Spike had free will" Buffy countered

"Oh, I hate my free will," Andrew sulked just as the vampire in question walked into the kitchen.

"This where you're all hidin'?"

"Hey guys," Kennedy said, "We fit three more people in here and we can call the Guinness Book people"

"We ready to go or what?" Spike asked.

"Ready," Buffy confirmed and she, Spike and the Potentials trailed out of the kitchen one after the other leaving Joyce, Dawn and Andrew behind in a now relatively empty kitchen.

"Wanna play Dragon Ball Z?" Andrew asked the other two.

Joyce left the room.

"A Potential actually already residing in Sunnydale..." Giles mused aloud, "It is rather a startling concept isn't it?"

"Yeah," Anya agreed, "Especially when you've been sending people to Shanghai for 'em"

"And this spell Tara..." Xander said, "This will lead us to said Potential?"

"It should make her glow, revealing to us which girl she is," Tara explained.

"We like pretty spells," Willow added with a grin.

"Are we sure this will work though?" Joyce asked sounding unsure from where she sat next to Rupert on the couch with their daughter, "I mean...what about if it just leads to Lily?" As seemed to be a recent thing adopted by the child, the moment she heard her name she laughed and clapped her hands together. Xander disliked this. Not so much because of Lily- as he thought the child incredibly cute and adorable especially for a baby who should have major issues considering all the demons that attacked and the fact she was born during an apocalypse- but because whenever she did this cute thing Anya got that look in her eyes. That Look. The one that clearly said 'I want one' and right now Xander knew for sure he didn't. He could only babysit Lily one night at a time before he started to panic and was desperate to hand her back to her parents.

"That won't be a problem," Tara assured her, "The spell is to find an unidentified Potential in Sunnydale and we already know about Lily, so it should skip right by her" She turned to Willow, the two holding hands as they began the spell.

"To light the aura of the new; Skin of snake and chrysalis too. To indicate the fresh reborn; tumbleweed and rosebush thorn." As they chanted the two witches threw the mentioned ingredients into the fire that was burning in the grate and Dawn winced in grossed-outness when they threw in the snake skin, "An egg that means the life to come. Take this O spirits and my spell is done"

As they finished this last verse, Willow threw a hard boiled egg into the fire and the room began to fill with an orange and yellow smoke. That smelt awful.

Immediately the entire group reacted and backed away from the smelly smoke circle.

"Dear Lord, that's awful," Giles complained, covering his mouth and nose with his hand, everyone around him mimicking the action, including Lily though as it didn't work entirely, just merely muted the smell, the eight month old burst into tears adding to the distress of the smelly situation.

"Shush baby...it's okay..." Joyce tried to calm her down, but could barely talk due to the smell that was assaulting everyone.

"Good god what is that smell?" Xander asked.

"I'm fairly sure that's the smell of throwing a hard-boiled egg into a fire," Anya replied, coughing and spluttering as she accidentally breathed in.

"The smell and the glowy thing will lead us to the Potential," Willow said confidently, but the ball of smoke didn't move, it just started to for want of a better word, shimmy.

"I'm afraid to ask but...should that be doing that?" Joyce asked warily.

"Um...I'm not sure..." Tara admitted, "I don't think so..."

"Oh sure the fun dancey part is wrong, but the smell, that's just-" Anya broke off as she saw both Tara and Willow's hurt expressions that their spell had failed, "Oh look," She said, pointing at the cloud as a distraction, "Pretty"

"I don't understand why it didn't work," Tara thought aloud, "Our energies were working together correctly. I could feel it. I could see it"

"That leftover juice real handy huh?" Anya asked skeptically.

"Usually," Tara admitted looking fully perplexed.

"Maybe we can figure something out on the computer," Willow suggested.

"Better plan" Dawn nodded, "Computers, last time I checked, don't smell this bad. I'll go open the front door. Air this place out"

"Good call," Her Mother nodded, moving into the hall away from the offending smell. Lily was still crying.

"I just don't understand why it didn't work..." Tara said helplessly and Xander put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

The orange, yellow and presently glittery blob of smoke seemed to increase in density and almost buzzed with intensity before it began to move.

"What's it doing...?" Willow frowned, following it's path with her eyes, "Dawn look out!" She yelled in warning and the teenager turned just in time to see the glowing ball of smoke hit her directly in the stomach, sending her flying into the front door. When she stood up straight again she was glowing the same color as the smoke had been. Everyone looked on in shock.

"I think it worked," Willow gasped

"Oh my god, Dawn are you okay?" Joyce asked as she rushed over, handing Lily over to Giles in one fluid motion as she did so. Dawn didn't answer her though, but instead spoke directly to Willow and Tara.

"Did you do it wrong? Was it ambiguous in anyway? Did you maybe ask about potential 'sailors' cause I do love the water-"

"We did it right Dawn," Tara said calmly.

"Wow" Xander said, "She's...you're...you're a Potential. You could be the next Slayer"

"No." Joyce shook her head, "No. No she's not. She's not. She's not- not as well. She can't be. I don't want her to be. She can't...I won't let her get sucked into all this...this...training a-and fighting and m-monster and everything and...I just won't. She's not a Potential. Tara, you did the spell wrong"

"We didn't-" Willow began but Joyce cut her off.

"Do it again. You have to be wrong. You have to be. She's not a Potential. She's not...she's..." She was close to break down and/or becoming hysterical. Not one of the group was sure which.

"Joyce, love-" Giles began stepping towards her but she backed away.

"Don't 'Joyce, love' me. I wanted Dawn out of all...and with Lily...and this. It's all my fault" And with that, unable to deal with the situation any longer, she ran up the stairs.

"Okay, anyone else thinking that rates pretty high on the Weird-o-meter?" Xander asked everyone.

"Makes sense she'd freak," Anya reasoned, "I mean three daughters and not one of them has a high chance to live past twenty five? That's gotta suck"

"Anya," Giles said tiredly but she just looked at him with wide-eyes.

"What? I'm just saying the woman has good reasons. I mean being a Slayer may be cool while alive, but the expiry date doesn't ever look too good does it?"

"What did she mean this was her fault?" Willow asked, "How is it her fault?"

Giles sighed as he took a seat in the living room exhaustedly, Lily on his lap.

"Because she knows the Slayer gene is inherited through the female line..." He told them and he could sense their eyebrows rising in surprise and intrigue.

"What?" Willow asked, "Buffy and Lily and...Dawn are like Slayers because they get it from Joyce? I don't...what?"

"That is not to say Joyce is a Potential herself. She's not. But the gene- the Potential to be a Potential so to speak- is passed down the females in the family until it reaches an active generation. Where any girls born by that previous generation, in this case Joyce, would immediately qualify as a Potential with one even, perhaps, becoming the actual Slayer. Which has happened in this case. Twice if you count Lily. We presumed Dawn would be spared this due to her rather unconventional means of coming into existence"

"Oh..." Anya nodded, "Now I really get why she's near breakdown. Her daughters' lives are sucky and short because of her"

"Ahn," Xander reprimanded, "That's not it at all. It isn't her fault" He looked at Giles, "It's not is it?"

"No, but I'm afraid Joyce doesn't believe that" He sighed, "I'd best..."

"Go do the caring husband number?" Willow asked in understanding and he nodded, before getting up and heading up the stairs with Lily.

"Joyce?" He asked cautiously as he walked into their room and found her pacing back and forth with the cordless phone in her hands. She had just hung up a call.

"She didn't take her cell phone with her," She complained to him, even though technically he had no idea who she had just called but he heavily suspected it was Buffy, "I just heard it. Ringing in her room! Doesn't she take her cell with her anymore? Isn't that what phones are for? For communication? She needs to know, she could, sh-she could fix this..."

"How exactly?"

"I...she'd prove Willow and Tara wrong." Joyce sounded incredibly helpless, "She can't be a Potential, Rupert, she just can't"

"Look, it' not as bad as you think," He assured her as he took a seat beside her on the bed.

"It's not as bad?" She looked at him as though he was insane.

"What I meant to say is that at this point this uh...revelation doesn't really mean anything. For Dawn or any of us. Right now we just have to focus on keeping her safe, but beyond that nothing is especially necessary. She's a Potential, not an actual Slayer, which technically means she is not obligated to fill the same duties the others are currently." He looked at her, "Not if you don't wish her to"

"It's not as simple as that and you know it," She countered, "You think one word of No from Mom and Dawn's going to agree and accept? She's going to want to get involved Rupert. She has always wanted to anyway and now she has an excuse"

"This is not about womanly power," Anya's voice trailed up from the living room, "This about how Dawn just bought herself an early death"

Joyce whimpered.

"We should probably...I think we should tell Buffy," Willow suggested now that Dawn was upstairs and presumably out of earshot.

"Dawn said not to though..." Tara reminded her.

"Plus, Joyce is probably up there calling her now," Anya added, "What?" She asked, looking at everyone's silent expressions, "You think she went up there to sleep on this?"

"Dawn's afraid that Buffy is just gonna treat her like all the others" Xander said, "Or worse. Single her out. She's wanted this power for so long and now she has it...I don't think she knows how to deal. And more to the point, she knows how Buffy's gonna deal. As in she's not gonna like it. I mean we know what this gig means"

"Short brutal life, sharp knives," Anya said, "I covered this"

"Dawn's been chosen for this," Xander defended this, "The Big Guys know she can handle this and so do I"

"Dawn's gone,"

The group turned to see Joyce stood on one of the last few steps of the stairs, her expression worried and panicked. Giles, now Lily-less, was next to her.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"I just went to check on her, before I came down, in her room." Joyce explained, panic obviously mounting, "But she, she was gone. Where would she go?"

"We need to get Buffy," Xander said.

"We can't get hold of her. She didn't take her cell," Joyce told him and Andrew nodded in approval.

"Secret Agent gal. Leaves no trail, no ties, no-" Anya slapped him round the head causing him to cut off, "Ow"

"Well she took the Potentials on a field trip right?" Xander checked, "That's probably a cemetery?"

"Restfield's the most likely place," Willow added. They all started to head out in force.

"I'm coming too," Joyce said, heading down the final few steps and grabbing her coat off the stands, "I need to." She said in explanation when she saw the group's expressions of uncertainty, "It's Dawn. I need to find her myself. I need to see she's okay"

They nodded in understanding and acceptance but Willow had a question.

"But...who's gonna look after Lily? It's your call but I don't really trust her with Andrew"

"Oh erm..." Joyce struggled for an answer.

"I'll stay," Giles said, "I'll stay behind and look after her"

"Thank you," Joyce smiled a smile of pure gratitude, knowing that as much as he loved Lily it wasn't in his nature to be one to stay behind, but he was doing just so she could know Dawn was okay herself. She walked over and gave him a quick kiss, before following out the front door with the others. As she closed the door behind her, a figure stood in front of the entrance way looking at Giles.

"Alone at last," Jenny smiled.

"Simultaneous Portable Locater Spells are so cool," Willow grinned as she worked on finding Dawn as they walked and Tara worked on locating Buffy.

"Buffy is at Restfield," Tara said as she completed the spell, "Near the center mausoleum."

"And Dawn's..." Willow frowned, "At the High School"

"At Hellmouth Central?" Xander asked with a shake of the head, "That girl has gotta find better hang-outs"

"And we've got to find her," Joyce said, already walking off in the direction of the school, but Xander grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to get Dawn..." She explained as though talking to an idiot as she tugged her arm away from him.

"No," He said, "Bringers could turn up. We need to get Buffy first. We need her"

"Bringers could come before then. Going getting Buffy is wasting time. I need to get to Dawn"

Xander went to counter that point and Willow, sensing a full-blown argument in the middle of the street between the two, cut in before he could respond.

"Look, you two and Anya go to the school and get Dawn," She told them, "And Tara and I will go get Buffy and Spike from Restfield. Okay? Okay"

That settled the two groups headed off in their assigned destinations.

"Dawn?" Joyce called out the moment they entered the darkened and supposedly empty school building. She received no reply, no answer of 'Mom?' but the entire group heard the sound of something being smashed followed by the sound of two girls screaming. They immediately headed in that direction, rushing along the empty corridors until they came to the bottom of a stairwell where the sounds of fighting became more audible. "Dawn?"

"Joyce don't go...and she's going up the stairs," Xander sighed in exasperation as Joyce didn't even stand still long enough to listen to his advice as she headed up the stairs in the direction of Dawn's yells.

"She's very determined," Anya commented simplicity.

"It seems to be a thing with the Summers women. Determination...running off..." Xander said wryly before following after Joyce, Anya with him.

"Amanda!" Dawn yelled,a flagpole behind held in her hand as a makeshift weapon.

"Who are these-"

"Amanda, listen to me," Dawn said to her firmly, "You know how you said I was special? Well, I'm not"

"You're..."

"But the thing is, you are," Dawn insisted, "This is your battle Amanda"

"No, I can't...I can't..." Amanda was close to tears, she was so terrified.

"You can. You've got to," Dawn told her, looking at her pointedly. "I got your back but this is something you can do. It's something you were born to do"

"Dawn!"

"Mom?" Dawn turned around in surprise, her mentor moment temporarily stopped, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Joyce replied, not believing Dawn didn't know, "Looking for you. The Bringers-"

"Aren't after me," Dawn finished quietly, "I'm not the Potential." She looked over at Amanda, "She is"

"Your Mom does this stuff too?" Amanda asked warily.

"That's kind of a loaded question," Dawn answered with a weak, yet brave smile as she handed the improvised weapon to Amanda. "Here. This belongs to you"

As she took the makeshift stake, Amanda looked even more terrified than before but as she turned to face the oncoming Bringers, holding the flagpole like a fighting staff, a look of determination came across her. She convinced herself she was ready. Or ready as she was ever gonna be.

As Amanda began the fight, slamming one end of the pole into a Bringer's face while using the other end to stab another in the stomach, winding him, Joyce grabbed Dawn tightly by the hand and pulled her out of the way of the crossfire, onto the stairwell and right into Buffy and Spike.

"Fight now. Talk later," Buffy said as she saw Spike and her Mom go to say hello to one another. She rushed past her Mom and Dawn, Spike on her heels as she hurried over to help Amanda, who was doing amazingly well for a newbie.

"You do this too?" Amanda asked incredulously as her eyes landed on Buffy, "Is it like a family business"

"This is my other job," Buffy told her before the two of them and Spike resumed fighting. When Amanda dusted the vampire after brilliantly deflecting his initial attack the fight was over. "Hi Amanda," Buffy smiled, "And yeah, you're right. I am a little weird."

"Yeah. A little weird." Amanda agreed, "Okay. One minute I'm in Swing Choir, and the next..." She began to get worked up, the recent events all being too much for her, "What the hell's going on?" Buffy clearly didn't know where to start, but that wasn't a problem as Amanda didn't even give her time to answer, "You say to come to you with problems. Turns out a vampire attacked me. Problem. So I go to your house, only when I get there this orange cloud
hits me -- "

"She was at the doorway," Dawn explained to the people there who had been at the house when Willow and Tara cast the spell.

"-- and I don't know if you're into "the drugs" but that's not my deal," Amanda was still talking, or rambling as it were, "all right? That cloud hit me and I got all... dizzy... and discombobulated..."

"She's the Potential..." Dawn explained quietly.

"...I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special Dawn, you're extraordinary."

As Dawn began to well up at Xander incredibly moving and touching, he reached over and kissed her lovingly on the forehead.

"Maybe that's your power," She said as he went to leave the room, and the emotion she was feeling almost choked up her words, "Seeing. Knowing"

"Maybe it is," Xander smiled warmly and understandingly, "Maybe I should get a cape"

"Cape is good"

"Yeah"

The smile they shared between one another was as sad as it was strong, both sharing this moment, this feeling that no one else could. Eventually, Xander slowly stepped out of the room.

"That was lovely. What you just said," Joyce had been listening in to the entire thing from where she stood in the hall.

"You heard all that huh?" He looked down at the floor, feeling too vulnerable and embarrassed to make eye contact.

"Pretty much from where you said Buffy would never understand either
"Ah"

"It was wonderful what you said, you know? More so because I know you meant every word"

"Well she is," He said, "She is extraordinary."

"I agree," Joyce smiled, "More than she knows" She stood up straight and began to head for the stairs, "But don't sell yourself short either" She said as she passed him.

"What?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"Dawn's right. You do see things the rest of us don't. But you never give yourself a chance to see you do you?"

"I-"

"There's a lot to be found you know," She told him kindly, before walking up the stairs, leaving Xander alone with his thoughts. As he stood there, he could hear Giles talking in the kitchen and as he knew no one else was in there, it would appear that he was talking to himself.

"First sign of sanity," Xander smirked with a shake of the head.

In the kitchen Jenny Calendar smiled and laughed as she found Rupert Giles falling into a conversation with her as he put away the clean dishes and washed the dirty ones.