Zigpal- thank you very much. Glad you liked the chapter- and ooh yay! claps! hehe

A/N: I know this is another episode-centric chapter, but it's only because a bit further on in the season it's kinda gonna go spinning off…
"I know this…Magic Box…is your thing…" Joyce debated as she and Giles sat together on the living room sofa, "But I think maybe it would be a good idea if I helped a little with getting it off its feet."

"What do you mean 'it would be a good idea'?" Giles asked, clearly offended.

"I don't mean…." Joyce struggled to excuse what she said, "What I mean is, maybe I could help with getting your inventory sorted. It's a long and boring task and you know…I thought maybe you could use a little help." She gave him a pointed look as she thought back to when she first opened her gallery in Sunnydale, "Believe me, I speak from experience."

He laughed lightly before looking at her.

"Fine, your help would be appreciated, but let's not talk about it now,"

"Okay," Joyce agreed readily, "So what do you wanna talk about? The wedding?" she suggested, "I mean we still haven't set a date-" He put a finger on her lips and she stopped talking.

"How about we just…don't talk?" he suggested slowly and she couldn't help smiling, "Buffy is out with Xander and Dawn is over at a friend's so I would say the house is very much our own for once"

"Don't wanna…. waste…. an…opportunity…." Joyce murmured as her lips brushed against his. The kisses only stayed light for a second before he pulled her tight against him as he crushed her mouth hungrily. She felt his tightly controlled intensity everywhere they made contact and squealed in surprise through the kiss when he swooped her legs up so she was sat astride him. He coursed his lips along her neck and collarbone and she whimpered as it sent hot shivers up and down her spine and she started to unbutton his shirt at the same rate he began feverishly unbuttoning her blouse. As soon as the offending items dropped to the floor lifelessly, they had their arms around one another again. It had been so very long since they had had the house entirely to themselves and now they seemed unable to halt or even slow down. Their mouths never stopped, taking turns exploring hot, bare flesh before returning to slow, deep and erotically enticing kisses. As she started to work the buckle on his belt the two fell backwards onto the sofa. It was as the belt clattered onto the floor further along from the shirts at the same time he began to slide her skirt softly down that Joyce registered that they were in fact still in the living room. "Perhaps…we…" She struggled to form words as she kissed fervently along his bare chest before reaching forward to look down at him, "should go…somewhere more…appropriate?" He returned her grin as he wrapped his arms tightly around her bare waist and stood up, picking her up with him and she yelped in pleased surprise before kissing him again so passionately he almost dropped her.

"It's just I always knew this job was just another temp thing, that it would come to and end," Xander said to Buffy as the two sat on his sofa in the living room of what used to be Giles' apartment. Buffy could only tell this fact by the familiar paintwork, layout and some of the items of furniture that Giles had left behind. Other than that it had now developed a certain Xander touch and if Buffy wasn't mistaken by the random items of clothing and occasional floral or particularly girly ornaments then there was Anya edge here too. "But then I didn't actually have a place to pay for," he thought about that for a second, "Well, I did, it just…"

"Wasn't as rent-worthy as this?" Buffy filled in and Xander nodded.

"Exactly, and to be honest when this job ends…I don't know whether I'll actually be able to afford it anymore"

"Xander-" She went to console him and assure him everything would be fine, but he stopped her with a raised hand.

"No, I'm serious. In fact the likelihood that my parent's basement is going to regain its status as my hovel is becoming more and more possible," Xander admitted sadly. He really didn't want to move back with his parents, not just for obvious reasons, but also because he actually liked where he was living now. He had made it home.

"I don't think Anya would be happy about that little move," Buffy commented, trying to turn his worries into a joke to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Xander agreed half-heartedly, "I think she's slowly moving in with me..."

"Slowly?" Buffy questioned with a raised eyebrow, "And 'think'?"

"Well, every time she comes round she leaves more and more of her things behind," He explained, "And she keeps staying over more and more for longer and longer periods"

"Ah the pains of a good, strong relationship," Buffy sympathized sarcastically. Xander dropped his head into his hands in exasperation.

"What am I gonna do?" His question was muffled by his palms.

"About Anya?" Buffy asked, looking around at the signs of Anya inhabitation, "Well you could start by cleaning up her clothes…"

"Not Anya," Xander said sitting up to throw Buffy a look, "I mean about my job…this place…argh…" His head dropped back into his hands.

"Don't worry. Something will come around," He just looked up at her as if to say 'ha. Nice try' and she shrugged in resignation, "Sorry, my sympathetic side is pretty much limited tonight"

"By what?"

"Time," She answered, looking down at her watch before grabbing her jacket off of the arm of the sofa, "I gotta pick Dawn up from Chloe's five minutes ago"

"It's early enough," Dawn whined, "And the ice cream bar is just down the street" She pointed down the road to emphasize the point as she and her older sister walked up to their house. She had begun the argument the moment they passed the ice cream stall and a block and half later Buffy still wasn't relenting.

"No," Buffy insisted, "You'll ruin your appetite and Mom so wouldn't you having ice cream before tea"

"But I had something at Chloe's," Dawn pointed out, desperate to win her sister over but the look Buffy gave her told her it wasn't going to work. Ever.

"I'll say it again," Buffy told her as she pushed open the front door, "No" She turned to walk into the hall and saw the items of clothing dropped on the floor leading from the living room and up the stairs. Buffy easily recognized her Mom's skirt. She closed the front door and turned back to Dawn. "So ice cream huh?" She suggested, leading her back down the front path.

"What? What is it?" Dawn asked naively, craning her neck back to the house, "What did you see?"

As Joyce sat at the round table at the Magic Box she paused in her work to briefly look at the piles of papers gathered around her. Taking inventory was a gruelling and boring task, but looking over at Giles she realized it was definitely a good thing that she had taken on the job. He seemed too thrilled looking through the many boxes of trinkets to pay any attention to the documents that stated what the trinkets were and how many of each he had. She'd so far organized it all into some form of categories. Books, charms, spell kits, crystals, objects-that-she-couldn't-really-describe (okay so that wasn't the real title but it was as good as. Some of the things in this store Joyce had no clue what they were). She noticed though that several collections and items that were visible on the shelves or lay on top of and in the various boxes littering the store were not listed in front of her and weren't on any papers she herself had written up. She looked around once more before realizing she had probably left them in the back room. It was a bare place at the moment but both Giles and Xander were working on it to become a training room for Buffy.

"I'll just be a minute," Joyce called to Giles but he barely heard her as he chuckled in delight at the numerous charms he found in a box he had just opened. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him before heading into the back room.

As she caught sight of the papers she was looking for she headed over, but paused half way across the room as she heard a noise coming from the main part of the store. When she heard the crash she turned around and ran right back into the store.

She rushed in just in time to see a tall, cloaked demon gliding out of the store. Shelves were smashed and Giles was on the floor near the counter, clearly knocked aside by the demon. Joyce ran over to check if he was okay.

"Oh my god, Rupert, what happened?" She frowned at her own question as she helped him up, "Forget that. It's kind of obvious. What did he want?" She asked, referring to the demon that had just left.

"What else?" Giles looked at her, "Buffy"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Joyce checked, "You're not hurt?"

"Just my pride," Giles admitted, ashamed at how the demon has just tossed him aside seeing him of no importance.

"I'll erm, I'll call Buffy…and the others," Joyce told him, heading to a phone.

"Like this…and this…and this…" Joyce smirked a little as she watched Giles demonstrate to the guys how he had hit the demon with what appeared to be a statue of a fertility goddess. The girls were on the floor researching who the demon could have been, the guys were all attempting to be macho and Joyce was presently doing what Mothers do best. Clearing up.

"That thing's pretty heavy," Riley commented.

"That's Oofdar, goddess of childbirth," Willow informed him, "She's got some nice heft to her"

"How badly did you hurt him?" Buffy asked with confidence

"Well, uh…hurt…maybe not uh hurt…" Giles struggled between lying and telling the truth and Joyce had to bite back another laugh. He had made her promise though not to tell the others of how he had been thrown into the counter. Joyce didn't know why- they'd all been thrown into one thing or another from time to time. She just supposed it was a guy thing- 'I must not show my weakness.'

"He ran away, huh?" Buffy grinned

"Um, sort of…" Giles realized he would have to answer honestly, "more he turned and swept out majestically I suppose. He said I didn't concern him"

"So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe?" Buffy teased just as her Mom, clean-up duty over with, headed back over to the group.

"Well it was a erm…" Joyce cleared her throat as she tried to think of something supportive to say, "It was a very speedy 'majestic sweep'" This clearly didn't help as Giles still looked very much insulted.

"Well I'm not dead or unconscious," He pointed out, "So I say bravo for me"

"Good demons in this one," Willow announced holding up a book, and thankful for the distraction Giles walked over to have a look through it, "See if your guy's in here"

"What I don't get is why he came here," Joyce said and Xander rushed into explain.

"The curse of the Magic Box," He stated before looking over at Giles, "Attacked before the store has even opened. Who's up for a big chorus of 'we told you so' symphony?"

"No," Joyce shook her head indicating that's not what she meant, "I mean I know that…well, a lot of things come for Buffy but it's just a general slayer-grudge thing," Joyce winced as she struggled to explain that painful topic. No matter how involved she was now, or how much she helped she still wasn't happy with her daughter being destined to fight the forces of evil, "but he came specifically looking for her…and knew to look in the magic shop" She looked around at everyone with an unsure shrug, "Y-You don't find that odd?"

"Toth" Giles said simply.

"Toff?" Joyce repeated, "Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"No," Giles shook his head, looking up from the book he was reading, "it's the name of the demon"

While listening to Giles explain Joyce caught sight of Xander messing with a crystal and she had the uncanny feeling that it was going to end badly. She took it gently out of his hands as though he were a small child and placed it back on the counter. He looked down as though he had been told off.

"It also says the demon is unusually sophisticated," Giles carried on explaining and Buffy frowned in confusion at what he meant by that.

"Sophisticated," She repeated, "So I should discuss men's fashions with him before I chop his head off?"

"That's referring to the fact he does not fight bare-handed," Giles explained in exasperation, "Using tools, and devices. He's also supposed to be very focused,"

"I think we know what the focus is," Joyce commented looking over at her daughter and Buffy smiled wanly.

"Little ole me," She sighed, "Man for once I'd like their focus to be fall fashions or something"

"Where do we find him and how hard can I kill him?" Riley asked feeling very protective of Buffy.

"Well there's no mention of the types of places he might frequent," Giles explained as he closed the book and stood up, "but I have an idea. He had a very specific olfactory presence"

"Well, I guess we're off to the old factory, I hate that place," Xander joked but then noticed no one was laughing, "I was joking. I know what he meant- he smelt," He looked at Giles for confirmation, an unsure expression on his face, "Right?"

"Some demon rituals involve anointing with oils," Willow pointed out, "Did he smell at all sandalwoody?"

"Erm…" Giles seemed to seriously consider this question before looking back at Willow with a definite answer, "No, not in the slightest. But he was very um…distinctive"

"Distinctive?" Buffy asked and when Giles merely nodded and didn't elaborate she sighed in exasperation, "My Cleopatra Dreams soap has a distinctive smell but I doubt Toth smelt of that."

"This was distinctive in the negative sense Buffy," He explained.

"Urgh," Willow winced catching onto what Giles meant, "We're going to the dump"

"Fun," Buffy said sarcastically as she and Willow stood up.

"Oh darn," Joyce cursed without feeling, "As much as I would love to help with that…little task…someone has to look after Dawn when she comes home so…guess I can't make it," She tried to act as though this was a bad thing and failed miserably, "But you know if I'd have known ahead I would have gotten a babysitter."

"Mom, nice act," Buffy commented with an even look, "But for a moment there I think you were scarily channelling Cordelia." Everyone looked at her in question, not sure what the reference was, "The insincerity?" Buffy prompted with a sigh.

"Well, erm, have fun," Joyce told them all enthusiastically and walking out of the store before any of them could come up with an alternate option that would allow her to go along.

"So the demon just disappeared?" Joyce asked Giles as put away several items of clothing away in her drawer.

"Knocked down Xander and then seemed to cease to exist," Giles admitted.

"That's…worrying," A disappearing demon could also appear. Anywhere, "Is Xander okay?"

"Besides being thrown into a pile of rubbish, I'd say he was just fine,"

"Well that's-" Joyce was interrupted by the sound of Buffy and Dawn arguing in the hall. Joyce rolled her eyes at Giles before the two of them headed out of the room to see what was going on.

"Get out of here," Buffy told her sister angrily.

"Mom, I can stand in the hallway right?" Dawn looked back at Joyce but before she could answer, Buffy spoke up as well.

"She's watching us like a big freak!"

Joyce sighed, putting a hand to her forehead.

"This must be my 'two teenage girls in the house' headache," She looked at Giles, "I thought it felt familiar," Giles laughed a little, but apparently the two sisters weren't seeing the funny side.

"Good work Dawn," Buffy said sarcastically, "You gave Mom a headache"

"I did not!" Dawn argued before turning to look back at Joyce, "Did I give you a headache Mom? I'm sure part of it is Buffy's"

"But part of it is Dawn's," Buffy insisted.

"It's so nice you've learned to share," Joyce told them, "Sort this out between yourselves. It's good for you," And with that she and Giles walked off leaving the two arguing sisters behind. Joyce heard the bang of a door and assumed Buffy had gone for the simple door-in-face answer to the problem.

"Do you really have a headache?" Giles asked with concern as they walked down the stairs.

"It's nice that you care," She smiled, "But…no." She stated simply and honestly. As they reached the bottom stair she looked up in the direction of Buffy's room, "But if them two keep at it I will." She sighed with a shake of the head, "I don't remember them ever fighting and arguing this much"

"I suppose that's always the way isn't it," Giles said, "The past seeming so much quieter than the present"

"No," Joyce denied, "I really don't remember them arguing this much..."

"No, he looked exactly like me," Xander insisted as he told Buffy, Riley, Giles and Joyce about what he had faced when he had walked home a moment ago. "It stole my face. We have to find it and kill it."

"Don't worry Xander-" Buffy was cut off by her Mom raising a hand telling her to be quiet. In the silence they heard a slight creak on the stairs.

"Dawn," Joyce called out, "Go back to your room."

Now discovered, Dawn stomped all the way down the stairs and stood in the doorway to the living room.

"Why? I wanna listen,"

"No" Buffy argued simply, feeling annoyed that her little sister had been eavesdropping at all.

"You know we don't like you listening into these…" Joyce struggled to find a suitable word that wouldn't make it seem even more appealing to the eager Dawn.

"Meetings?" Riley supplied and Joyce sighed. She was trying to avoid words like that.

"Why not though?" Dawn asked, "It's not like you're doing any fighting now. You're just discussing. I can learn things"

"Unless it's for the maths exam I know you have to tomorrow Dawn, I don't think you're going to learn anything here tonight," Giles told her and the girl sulked.

"But-"

"Dawn…" Her Mom said her name in a tone that warned her not to push it.

"Fine," Dawn turned on her heel and headed up the stairs, "Janice and her Mom are coming to pick me up in a bit anyway!" She called back down to them.

"Well, ah, anyway," Giles carried on once they were sure Dawn was upstairs and out of earshot, "What's intriguing me is there are any number of demons with the ability to mimic a simple form, but this…uh this sounds more than that"

"How come?" Joyce asked. To her it sounded as simple as a demon looking like Xander. She couldn't believe she'd come to a point in her life where that was deemed simple.

"Hold up," Xander stopped them all, "Do we really have to figure out what it is? Let's just go kill it," Clearly the fact a demon was going around looking like him was making Xander aggressively paranoid.

"Yeah," Riley agreed with Xander, one of the first times he had ever done so, "when the impostor's killed it will probably just turn back into whatever it is and then we'll know"

"Yes, but let's be a little less eager?" Joyce suggested and they all looked at her, "Well you don't want to end up killing the wrong one…in your eagerness"

Riley nodded in agreement.

"She's right. Xander you should probably-"

"Toth!" Buffy exclaimed interrupting Riley, "The demon with the creepy stick thing"

There was a knock at the door as they all considered this new theory that Toth was behind it all. Joyce went to answer the door, hoping whoever it was, was someone who knew about all things slayer, or was a person who would be kind enough to be completely oblivious to the conversation going on in the living room.

"Kate," Joyce greeted Janice's Mom at the door. Behind her stood Janice. "Hi, I think Dawn's almost ready. Janice- do you wanna go help her out? You know how long she can take getting her stuff together," Not needing to be asked twice Janice walked into the house and rushed up the stairs to find Dawn.

"Those two are going to be a bundle of work again," Kate laughed.

"I hope you know how much I appreciate this…letting Dawn sleepover that is," Joyce thanked her, "I know Dawn loves it, but I feel like she's never away from your house."

"It's fine. Honestly," Kate assured her, "In fact I think it keeps Janice out of my way for a while." The two laughed a little, sharing a Mom Joke.

"Good thinking. When you kill this thing you better make sure you get the one that's actually a demon," Xander voice carried all the way over to where Joyce and Kate were stood. Kate frowned in confusion while Joyce turned to throw the entire group a wide-eyed look.

"Did he just say kill?" Kate asked in shock.

"Yes, he also said demon," Joyce informed her, "Drama student. He's…a drama student. Rehearsing for a play," Kate just looked at her, "A very alternative play…"

Thankfully at that point Dawn and Janice came down the stairs, Dawn's bags in their hands.

"We're ready to roll Mom," Janice announced.

"And possibly rock," Dawn added with a quirky smile but it faded slightly when no one laughed at the half joke.

"Have a good time honey," Joyce told her with a smile, giving her a peck on the cheek a moment before daughter and friend had rushed off down the front drive. Kate rolled her eyes a little before heading off after them to her car.

"Well, I'd better be off," Xander announced, "I asked Anya to come over to my place. I said I had something to ask her," At the look on everyone's faces he hurriedly shook his head 'no', "No, not that question. I was gonna ask if she wanted to move in with me"

"Seriously? You and Anya?" Buffy asked as though doubting 24/7 Anya could be dealt with, but Xander nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally ready to make that commitment" And with that he gave them all a little smile and left. Joyce closed the door behind him and headed back into the living room.

"So what now?" She asked.

"We find Toth," Buffy said, "How exactly is something else…"

"Maybe we should split up?" Riley suggested, "We'd cover more ground that way"

"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "You go check the places where he'd try to blend in as Xander and I'll look for place Toth would go"

Before anyone could contribute to the idea or say anything in argument or at all Willow burst in through the front door.

"I like how knocking never occurs to you lot," Giles commented sarcastically as he looked up from the book he was consulting, "Makes everything so much more spontaneous,"

"Buffy, Toth looks like Xander," Willow announced.

"We already know," Riley assured her, "We're on our way."

"Wait," Buffy paused, "How did you know?"

"He came to me. I-I mean Xander did," Willow told them, "And he's in a terrible shape. We need to help him"

"He came to us too," Riley said and Willow shook her head.

"No, we each had a Xander. I mean I had a Xander and y-you had a demon in a Xander suit!"

"Well, how do you know yours was the right one?" Buffy challenged and Joyce put a hand to her head.

"Argh, this is making my head hurt," She complained before looking at them all, "Didn't things seem simpler when zombies just used to attack the house?"

"Hey," Buffy said to her, "Things were simpler when you were Faith, I was you and Faith was me"

"I think it's safe to say simple isn't a factor in our lives," Riley smiled good-naturedly.

"Oh dear lord," Giles murmured but everyone ignored him as they continued to try and determine which Xander was the right one, "I said 'oh dear lord'" Giles repeated louder this time.

"You always say that," Buffy pointed out.

"Well it's always important," He countered as he headed back over to the group, "Neither Xander is a demon"

"Are you sure this will work?" Joyce asked as she, Giles and Willow drove along in her car to the Magic Box.

"As long as the shop has all the ingredients-"

"It does" Giles insisted and Willow nodded in acceptance.

"Okay, I'm sure it does- well then it should work." She thought for a second, "As long as Xander's still alive of course,"

"Why wouldn't he be?" Joyce asked with a frown as she took a left turn, nearing the magic shop, "I mean Buffy and Riley know not to kill either of them"

"Yeah doesn't mean Xander won't" Willow pointed out and Giles nodded in agreement.

"It's true, if the Xanders find one another first they may end up killing each other. Or killing one and…"

"So Buffy and Riley have to stop Xander killing himself or he'll be dead?" They both looked at her, "You know what I mean"

"Oh god," Willow said, a realization suddenly hitting her, "What if they don't get to the Xanders first?"

Neither Joyce nor Giles chose to answer.

"Look and admire ladies," Scruffy Xander announced as he stood next to Suave Xander in the magic shop, both now wearing identical outfits.

"More like look and be confused," Joyce corrected, feeling slightly dizzy at the fact of seeing twin Xanders. While Giles drew the final design on the floor for the spell and Riley sat on a step watching from afar, she, Willow, Anya and Buffy all stood in a row just looking at the two Xander in pure disbelief and slight confusion.

"Look there's a scar there," Buffy pointed it out on Scruffy Xander before pointing out the same thing on Suave Xander's forehead, "and there's the same one right there"

"It's all double," Willow agreed, heading forward to examine the Xander's as well, "this zit and this funny dippy thing. And this weird little hair that grows in the wrong way-"

"Okay!" Scruffy Xander batted away Willow's hands, "Back off ladies"

"As freaky as this actual is…" Joyce admitted, "Let's not tear him apart huh?"

"Yeah," Buffy agreed looking at the two Xanders, "Coz heaven knows we've had enough of that."

"Psychologically, this is fascinating," Riley commented from his seat on the steps at the back of the store, "Doesn't it make everyone wanna lock them in separate rooms and do experiments on them?"

Everyone just turned around to give him an odd look, silently questioning his Hitler Government-esque tendencies.

"Just me then…" He said uncomfortably.

"So you Xanders really do have the same memories, all the same…" Anya looked downward at the two of them, "Physical attributes?" She laughed suggestively and Suave Xander raised his eyebrow, intrigued while Scruffy Xander just grinned.

"We're completely identical." Suave Xander informed her.

"Yeah, we checked some stuff in the car on the way over," Scruffy Xander agreed before realizing what that sounded like and he hurried to correct their assumptions, "Fingerprints!"

"Well, maybe we shouldn't do this reintegration thing right away," Anya suggested looking back at the rest of the group, "See I can take the boys home…and we can all have sex together…and we can just slap 'em back together in the morning," She slapped her hands together with a smile to emphasize the point.

"Anya!" Joyce reprimanded in shock but Anya just scoffed in response as she saw both Joyce and Buffy grimace a little.

"Oh please, like you wouldn't think the same thing," She argued and Buffy silently craned her neck round to look at Riley with interest at the same time Joyce looked at Giles. Both guys looked slightly alarmed as they stood up.

"U-uh, we just to need to uh, light, the, uh light the uh candles," Giles stumbled over his words, "Also we should continue to pretend we heard none of the disturbing sex talk"

"Check," Willow nodded, "Candles and pretence"

"You seriously would consider it?" Giles murmured the question to Joyce as she stood next to him and she shrugged.

"What girl wouldn't?" She said and he raised his eyebrows in surprise, "What? It could makes things very interesting" She smiled slyly at him before walking off to have a closer view of the spell Willow was going to perform on the Xanders. Giles just grinned after her, before shaking his head and resuming focus.

"Well, what'll we do if it doesn't work?" Anya asked.

"Kill us both Spock!" The Xanders exclaimed in unison before bursting into geek laughter.

"They're kinda the same now…" Buffy commented in puzzlement pointing at the two of them.

"Yes," Giles agreed with a shake of the head, "He's clearly a bad influence on himself"

"Hey, summon the goddess, chant the chant," Scruffy Xander told Willow, "let's do it,"

"Actually it's not that hard," Willow admitted, "Your natural state is to be together. Toth's spell is doing all the work of keeping you apart. I just have to break it. So you two," She took a hold of the Xanders' shoulders and led them to the chalk markings on the floor, "stand right here. Side by side. We don't want you to end up with two fronts now do we?" She laughed nervously and both Xanders seemed to become suspicious.

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Scruffy Xander asked but Willow didn't answer.

"Here we go," She announced after taking a deep breath.

"She does know right?" Joyce murmured to Giles, "I mean we're not gonna get no Xander…or like four of him are we?"

"I bloody hope not,"

Joyce looked back and realized there was now only one Xander.

"That was quick…" She commented, "And kinda anti-climatic" Buffy nodded in agreement.

"I liked it the other way," Anya decided before looking over at Willow, "Put him back"