Zigpal- Thank you for review, claps, et al. And ah yes, Joyce is headaching again. But I'm not just doing this to poke around in fun at the Joyce Walking Around Scenario, not at all. There is method in my madness, and it will be a key player in...the...last chapter of CS6.

g120- Ah yay, you liked my family car scene. And yes, the fam do have the long wait. Waitage over for them and you though now so...read on mon amie, read on. Oh and thanks for the review of course as always.

rabdireject- Way better than the original? Ooh fans self flattery: always a good. And well, you'll see that Joyce is okay as far as okay goes...but as for the flatlines...well, you prompted me to do an official count and, including bad guys, four people will flatline. I think anyway. It might be three. No four. Argh! It's been a long day so I can't count. And okay, you've been asking for confirmation about the Tara thing for so long...I feel like throwing you a spoiler bone. But the question is- do you really wanna know? .::raises eyebrow questioning::.

A/N/1: Okay, prepare for a rant of an AN. I had this chapter practically one paragraph off finished on Thursday and then everything all went to hell in a hand basket. Okay, my final year at college, because it's a fourth, is only for one semester...so I thought it wouldn't be too bad...but this, I find, apparently means they cram as many research papers and essays they can in that small amount of time. Hubby's no help. He of the I-finished-College-two-years-ago-and-works-going-great-for-me-you-poor-student brigade (maybe I should retort that this status keeps me very young at heart...but maybe that would be too childish...then again, maybe not) merely said 'oh you can do it honey'. Hmm, thanks, marvelous help. I thought you were meant to be married at least a year before the guy started hmm-thats-great-sweethearting you. So, anyway paper's were preventing completion...and then I've been ill. Yes, I hear your cries of sympathy from afar. I won't give you the gross details but nauseousness followed by the 'results' of nausea are the general consensus. I've been feeling pretty not-perky the past few weeks, so in conclusion, I've granted myself time off..which means I finally got to get on with writing this- my guilty pleasure. When, I'm not giving way to nausea that is. As I said, marvelous. Sorry to give the story of one small chapter of my life there...but well, I had to rant to someone...and all my friends have seemed to have left me. Abandoned me in my state of sickness. Pfft. Also, due to illness and busyness...I feel this isn't one of my best chapters. But it gets better. Promise...

A/N/2: On a much lighter and less ill note, this Fanfiction is being 're-released'. It's been entered for an on-going series Fanfiction competition. This means it has it's own little site and everything- so very cool. But I have to start from the beginning and air just one chapter/episode every week, starting this coming Tuesday. So this means I'm going all the way back to the beginning (I also have to lengthen out some of the chapters to fit with the criteria which means some chapters are all newish and such) and it's as I'm going over them, and writing Entropy at the same time that I was like 'whoa, things have changed a lot', because I was going over Revelations where Joyce and Giles are like 'what do we have here? Just fun' and then I'm writing this chapter where they're married and they're having a daughter and it's like...either they got carried away or I did. I think it's a little bit of both personally... So anyway, much excitement on that front. Course you can always stop by, have a read- re-live it all again, because it's just so exciting to read. Hehe. Site is: www dot cocorific dot proboards104 dot com.

Even got a picture of an adult Lily on the banner with Buffy and Dawn. .::more geeker joy...though Bethany Lenz wasn't who I'd had in mind::.

Anyway, going back to the beginning is mucho fun and has inspired another 'original episode' for Cocorific. For either season 7 or 8...not sure which yet so we will have to see. But promises to be Espenson-esque.

Anyway, I've rambled way too much today, apologies and on with the actual story.

"Friends? Romans?" Xander called out as he and Anya walked into the Magic Box. They had just arrived back in Sunnydale that morning- immediately dropping their luggage off at home, before deciding to fight off tiredness to see everyone else, and as Anya added, show off. However, they had gone over to Buffy's house to find not a single person there, the same for Tara and Willow's dorm. It was a scoobyless ghost town. So, as a last straw they had headed to the Magic Box.

"Hey," Willow smiled, as she came out from the back room and Anya sighed in relief.

"Oh thank god,"

"Glad to see me?" Willow smirked, but Anya shook her head as she ran to the counter.

"No- the cash register's still in tact"

"Oh," Willow frowned before turning to Xander with a smile, "You're glad to see me though right Married Man?" She asked.

"Of course I am," He smiled widely, giving her a big hug that caused Will to gasp a little for air, "I've missed my Willster"

"Well, o course ya did," Willow punched his arm playfully as Anya, happy that her cash register was fine, came over to them.

"Where's Tara?" She asked, concerned, "You're in the shop on your own?"

"Believe it or not, I can be trusted around Magical items," Willow defended herself, "It's what all this training's for remember?"

"We know," Xander nodded, "Don't we honey?" Anya grumbled a 'yes', "But still- where is Tara? Where is everyone in fact? We went back to Buffy's and it was deader than...a really dead place"

"Oh my god," Willow said, realizing, "You don't know"

"Know what?" Xander asked, immediately concerned, "Know what Will? What's happened?"

"Today...erm, Joyce has an MRI scan at the hospital. Because of some headaches she's been having a lot lately," Willow told him, "The Doctors think...that it's, might be, a uh a tumor. That's why everyone's gone- they're at the hospital. And Tara took Dawn out for the day...coz, she doesn't know"

"Oh god," Xander covered his mouth with his hand in shock, "But- they don't know for sure right? I mean, it could be nothing? She could be perfectly fine"

Willow nodded sympathetically.

"Sure...but I guess we won't know for sure until they get the results"

"As welcome home gatherings go, this isn't the funnest," Anya said sadly. "And I bought a mini pinata for Dawn. Has real candy in it and everything," She added.

The waiting room chairs weren't the comfiest at the best of times. Waiting wasn't a comfortable thing to do anyway. Buffy, refusing to just sit around on the seats any longer, had resorted to pacing and wandering off down the corridor to the snack machine every ten minutes. Giles remained seated, but it wasn't like he had a choice anyway. As the recent per norm, Joyce had fallen asleep on him, rendering him unable to get up to even stretch his legs. He couldn't help smiling at the fact that despite the nerve wracking circumstances, Joyce found the ability to fall asleep whereas at night time when there was nothing to worry about she lay awake for hours.

"Mr and Mrs Giles?" An orderly said, stepping towards them, clipboard in hand.

"Yes?" Giles replied, gently shaking Joyce awake.

"Dr Greeley will see you now,"

The chairs in that room were even more uncomfortable than the ones outside. It was though the hospital purposely tried to make anyone's experience there as tragically awful as possible.

"Well, we took a look at the results, Joyce," Doctor Greeley told her, his tone revealing nothing about what information- good or bad- the results held, "and I have to say there's both good news and bad I'm afraid. The good news is that there are no signs of an abscess on the brain, or a tumor...or anything at all actually," He gave the family a moment to express their relief, but only a moment before he was forced to continue with the negative, "The bad news is that your headaches are prompted by something else."

"What is it?" Joyce asked, deadly serious once again, her relief at the results washed away as quickly as it had developed.

"You have a variant of pre-eclampsia," He informed her somberly, "Unfortunately it's not uncommon in expecting Mothers over the age of 35"

"Pre-eclampsia?" Giles questioned, "What is that exactly?"
"It's not as serious a condition as Toxemia, but it does share similar symptoms and components. Headaches, temporary swelling and high blood pressure." He explained, "Fortunately, your case Joyce is not particularly severe and at this point neither you nor your baby are in any immediate danger. However, there is always the risk there, so I'd advise against standing for long amounts of time. Try to rest as much as possible. Particularly as this does mean, there is a stronger chance of a premature birth now, so, my only advice is try to rest as much as possible. Avoid a lot of stress- do you live in a particularly stressful environment, or lead a life in which you are prone to stress?"

"I-I, uh, I work- I mean I-I own a gallery...but, uh, but I'm on leave now..." Joyce told the doctor, still trying to absorb all the information he was telling her.

"Hmm.." The doctor said thoughtfully as though considering something, "Well, put off answering any calls from employees, even if they are just asking a simple question. Leave all that behind for now, you're only priority right now is staying healthy and remaining as stress-free as possible"

"Stress free as possible?" Buffy asked weakly, thinking how on earth could that kind of environment be possible in their lives?

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, for the fifth time Rupert, yes," Joyce said in exasperation as she settled into a comfy seat on the couch.

"And you don't-"

"Buffy, I don't need anything," Joyce cut her off in reply, "Just for you to stop over-nurturing. That's my job"

"We're just glad you're okay, is all," Buffy said, sitting beside her Mom to give her a tight hug that truly showed Joyce how relieved her daughter was.

"Me too," Joyce agreed, hugging her back, before the two pulled apart, "Though honestly I could do with out this high blood pressure warning. Pre-eclampsia was it?"

"Yes," Giles nodded, "But it's not going to be a concern in the slightest, I'll make sure of it," He assured her.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded in agreement, "Until Lily decides she wants to see the big wide world for herself we will make sure your life stays completely stress adjacent"

At the exact moment the front door slammed open causing all three to jump in their seats.

"Dawn, be careful with the door," Tara pleaded, "I kinda don't think the first thing Xander'll want to do once he gets back is put on a new door"

She stepped into the living room with Dawn and saw that Giles, Joyce and Buffy were already home from their trip to the hospital- the reasoning behind Plan: Take Dawn out for the Day. Tara presumed that since they were back home, looking relatively okay then everything had gone fine at the hospital and they weren't about to reveal any devastating news.

"Everything okay?" She asked them, as she set the one bag she and Dawn had down. They had planned a shopping trip, but it had failed miserably when the two had realized that Dawn had stolen from the majority of the stores and although she had returned or paid back everything, it would a while before she would able to show her face in the stores again.

"Yes, it's fine," Joyce said, knowing the deeper meaning of Tara's question.

"Dawn, why don't you drop off your jacket and shoes upstairs?" Buffy prompted for Dawn's temporarily needed departure, "Before they stay down here long enough to be used as sofa shrugs"

"That only happened the once," Dawn grumbled, before heading off in the direction of the stairs. Once she was out of earshot, Tara was able to ask the real question she had wanted to ask when she'd said 'everything okay?'.

"So, everything was fine at the hospital?" She asked, taking a seat in the armchair.

"Relatively so," Joyce admitted, "My headaches weren't as dire as they led us to believe fortunately. However...erm, well there's some high blood pressure apparently"

"Which means Mom needs the uber rest and things kept permanently stress-free"

"Stress-free?" Tara asked, having the exact same thought as Buffy had had earlier on, "Isn't that something hard to do on a Hellmouth"

"Which is why we're going to make every conscious effort to make it possible," Giles told her, "Which reminds me- I have to be at the store in a little while, at least till Anya returns and Buffy has her Saturday class...so would you mind staying with Joyce while we're gone?"

"Okay," Joyce said, sounding as if she were trying to be calm and patient, "Talking about me as though I'm not here does not help with the stress, and I'm not a child- I don't need a babysitter"

"No," Giles admitted, taking her hand, "But I don't want you have to be getting up all time and with Tara here you won't have to"

"I am not staying here, asking Tara to go get me a drink whenever I'm thirsty- I can do fine. It's not that severe, I can do some things"

"Also," Giles added, "Dawn is here and I know how energetically tiring she can unfortunately be and I don't want all that resting on your shoulders right now. I just want you to be comfy, and happy, relaxed and rested"

Joyce smiled reluctantly.

"You really know how to sweet-talk me don't you?" She asked, giving him a small kiss before sighing, "Fine. Have me babysat. Fine. You two go be having-a-life people. I'll just..." She sighed in resignation as she realized what exactly she would be doing, "...sit."

The wind chime above the shop door, being the only present sound in the Magic Box, drew everyone's attention as Giles walked in. He first saw that Anya and Xander were back. He then saw that while Willow and Xander were sat at the round table, Anya had immediately made to reaffirm her status at the Magic Box by placing herself behind the counter at the cash register, ready to hassle any potential customers.

"Giles!" She smiled widely, "We're back!" She told him, rushing out from behind the counter to embrace him in a big, eager hug.

"So, I see," He couldn't help but smile back, "Did you uh have a good time?" He realized this question could prompt a socially inappropriate answer from Anya so he quickly rephrased, "That is, uh, was Cyprus...uh, good?"

"Yes, it was fantastic. We brought lots of gifts" Anya nodded with a wide grin, "And honeymoon sex is great. Way better than ordinary"

"That's uh...uh..." Giles truly struggled for what to say in reply to that so he instead turned his attention to Xander, "Xander, welcome back. Did you uh...I uh..." He really didn't want to ask anything that would be an opportunity for elaboration on Anya's answer, "Was the, the flight good?"

"Chevy Chase movie," Xander replied with a slight grimace, before becoming serious, "How's Joyce? Is everything okay?"

"What? Pardon?"

"I told him," Willow explained to Giles, "When they got back they uh didn't know anything...obviously..." She looked at Giles, concern in her eyes, "So is she? O-okay I mean...with the okayness?"

"She's fine," Giles smiled reassuringly, "False alarm. She erm, the headaches were prompted by a less severe case of pre-eclampsia. High blood pressure and all that," He smiled, almost in disbelief at the fact that everything was okay, "Nothing to worry about after all."

"Good," Xander let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "All is good. So she's home now?"

"Yes," Giles nodded, "With Tara and Dawn."

"Ooh great, then we can go over and give the gifts now," Anya said excitedly, looking like an eager seven year old child on a clichéd Christmas morning.

"Well, actually- she's meant to be as getting as much rest as possible..." Giles informed her carefully and Anya frowned in confusion.

"What's more restful than presents? Personally I can't have a stress-free day without a gift in the morning"

For that Willow and Giles gave Xander a questioning one-raised-eyebrow look.

"What?" He frowned, before realizing what they were presuming and he hurried to correct them, "Oh no! For once, she's been literal not...like kinky. She makes me wrap up little gifts for her to unwrap every morning"

"It's why I have so many earrings," Anya added with a smile. "So conclusion? We go give gifts now" She grabbed hold of Xander's hand and started dragging him out the shop door. Before they left she turned back to Giles to shout, "You two can look after the store"

"Hey, the gift-givers are here," Xander called out as he and Anya pushed open the hardly-ever-locked door of Revello Drive and walked into the living room where they found Dawn curled in a chair watching a TV show while her Mom was sat in the corner of the sofa, legs out stretched in front of her as she read. At the sound of Xander's voice though both Mother and Daughter lost attention in what they were presently doing, Dawn even switched off the TV while Joyce put aside her book.

"Xander," Joyce smiled, "Anya. I didn't know you two were back"

"We got back this morning," Xander told her, "Couldn't wait to see everyone so we're fighting an urge to fall asleep where we stand"

"Welcome to the club," Joyce grinned, "This may be the crazy hormones talking but it's really, really lovely to see you two" She told him, gesturing for them to come over and hug her. Which obviously they did- Anya seeming more eager for the Motherly attention than Xander, who tried to retain some of his cool manliness.

"Now don't bite my head off or anything," He told her after pulling out of the hug, "But you've got a whole lot bigger since we left"

"Since you're smiling as you say that, I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment," Joyce informed him

"My turn now," Dawn informed the couple suddenly, walking over to give them both hugs. "So what'd you bring?" She asked semi-greedily once the hugging portion of the program was over.

"Lots of..." Xander trailed off, looking around with a frown, "Where's Tara? Giles said she was here"

"Oh she's upstairs. She should be down in a minute"

As if on cue, Tara came down the stairs, breaking out in a warm smile as she saw the Harrises were back.

"Xander, Anya- you're back," She smiled, walking over to them, "Oh, it's great to see you"

"That's the general consensus," Xander grinned after more huggage, "The only person we've yet to see is the Buffster. Where is she anyway?"

"College," Joyce explained, "Her Saturday class"

"Well, we can catch her later," Anya waved the concern aside before turning to Xander with an excitable grin, "C'mon, I wanna give Dawn the mini pinata."

No one knew quite how to respond to that.

Buffy would have liked her walk back from college to have been an uneventful one. It was why she had chosen to walk, instead of taking the bus. She had wanted some freedom, some rare quiet time to herself. Of course, that never worked out for her did it? Spike had been there, in one of the shadowy parts of Sunnydale, safe from the beams of the lethal sun. He made her so confused! Just when she thought she had everything figured out.

Friends. That's all, friends. And if he didn't like it then screw him. But then she saw him, he gave her that look...that understanding...and she found herself wanting more than friendship. But it wasn't like they could have a proper relationship was it? Just sex. Okay, so it was really, really great, hot sex...but still just sex. She'd be using him and being friends with him had made things so much simpler...damn! Why did he make things so freakin' confusin?!

In frustration she kicked out at the nearest thing in her vicinity which happened to be a rather ugly garden gnome placed next to the trunk of a tree in her front garden. She frowned at the rather disgusting statuette with intense dislike. The frown quickly became one of confusion and perplexity however when she saw something was inside the shattered gnome.

She stepped forward cautiously, crouching down on the ground slowly to get a better look before she picked the item up. Holding it in her hands she saw it was a small, black, whirring, camera. A secret camera. Having been pointed directly at her house.

"Warren," Buffy said quietly, menace in the name as she planned in what many many different ways she was going to kill the Nerd Trio. Standing up straight she stormed up the path to her house to show the others what she'd found and hopefully call Willow over so she could do something to find out where for sure the three pesky little geeks lived.

Buffy was holding the camera tightly and angrily in her hand as she stormed into her house in disgusted frustration, but all her anger flew out of her immediately when she caught sight of the fact Xander and Anya were in the living room sat with her Mom, Dawn and Tara, and therefore back from Cyprus.

"Xander!" Buffy exclaimed happily and he looked up in pleasant surprise, "You're back"

"Buffy, hey," He grinned, walking over for a hug. "It's great to see you...and what is that your jamming into my stomach?"

"Oh!" Buffy pulled away in apology, holding up the small black camera (that had been poking Xander) she had in her hand.

"What's that?" He frowned, taking it off her for a closer look.

"Camera," She explained monosyllabiclally.

"A camera?" Joyce frowned, "Where did you get it Buffy?"

"I found it," Buffy told her and the others, "Outside. Hid in our garden and pointed directly at this house. Somebody's been watching us. You have three guesses who"

"Wait, you think Warren and the others have done this?" Tara asked and Buffy nodded.

"Only they have the geek merits to come up with something as nerdily perverted as this."

"Good point," Dawn nodded grimly, trying to ignore the fright shivers she was getting from the creep factor of knowing someone had been filming their every move.

"So what are you gonna do?" Anya asked, "I mean, you've not been able to find them yet. They move out just as soon as you get there," She looked at the camera, "Guess now we know how"

"I'm gonna call Willow," Buffy told them all, "Get her to come over here- maybe trace where this camera's connected to- give me a location"

"Well, she's at the Magic Box with Giles," Xander told her, "So call there...you know, not her dorm"

"Right"

"How's it coming?" Buffy asked Willow later on as everyone was gathered around Will at her laptop. It was much later on, night had completely fallen, and Willow was still trying to break through all the encryptions and into the feeds. "Can you see where they're getting the camera signal?"

"Are you okay here?" Giles asked Joyce, sounding intensely concerned. They were in the dining room and Joyce had insisted she not be left sat in the living room on her own and that she would feel much better, much more relaxed if she was sat with all of them instead of worrying from afar.

"I'm fine sat here," Joyce told him for the she'd lost count how many times, "Sat over there not knowing about why we have cameras watching us would only make me more stressed okay? This is better" She smiled reassuringly and he seemed partially-happy with this reasoning.

"Should have something once I get tapped into the fiber-optic network." Willow explained as she typed away, "We're gonna use the feedback relay to get their signal routed into our system"

"We'll uh...just pretend that made sense," Xander told her with a slight grin and Anya nodded in confused agreement.

"Just as long as it gets me the location I don't care if she starts speaking Klingon," Buffy admitted.

"Can't help thinking that maybe you were closer than you thought the day we gave you those addresses" Willow said, still typing away at an incredible rate.

"And they sent the Psycho Demon to interrupt me"

"It does make relative sense," Giles reasoned, "In their own uh.."

"Nerdy way?" Dawn filled in helpfully.

"Well I was going to say chaotic but ah..."

"I. Want. To. Find. These. Guys," Buffy stated, tightly controlled anger in his voice.

Something on the laptop beeped loudly.

"Hey! I think I got something"

"Talk to me Will," Buffy said, taking a seat beside her friend to have a closer look at the screen herself.

"Technology's pretty sophisticated," Will told her and the others, "lots of booby traps and firewalls stuff..."

"Nerds," Xander smirked.

"Oh yeah," Willow said, not looking away from the screen as she continued to type her way through numerous codes. In her time since sitting down at the laptop Willow had only taken her eyes away from the screen once- and that had been to send a Secret Smile Tara's way, "But you know, who is the bigger nerd? The nerd or the nerd who breaks through the defense system?" Without pausing for breath she added, "Don't answer that- whoa, hey"

"What?" Giles asked.

"Oh my god..." Buffy breathed as she looked at the screen, "There's more than one camera..."

"They're everywhere," Willow told them all, "Here, the Magic Box, mine and Tara's dorm...the college... even Joyce's work...they're everywhere..."

"Everywhere I've been anyway..." Buffy said, "They've even got one at Xander's place and I've not been there in weeks..."

"Then that means...they've been doing this for a very long time..." Joyce said, clearly utterly creeped out by the thought.

"And none of us knew..." Giles said, unintentionally adding to the creep factor.

"Anyone else officially too paranoid to sleep tonight?" Dawn asked, raising a hand as she did so.

"It's not gonna come to that," Buffy said, Slayer-face on. "This is it. I have had it. We have been going easy on them for far too long. I am going to hunt them down, find them and kill them"

"Kill them?" Giles questioned, "Buffy they're human you can't-"

"Well, I'll put them in jail for a gazillion years," She amended, "Either way. This ends now"