Author's Note: Since I wasn't on my laptop for most of the holidays, I sadly missed my window to post something cute on Christmas. Consequently, this is set a few days after Christmas as well.
The doorbell rings. It rings again and again, persistently.
"Dad, doorbell," says Nikki without looking up from her homework.
"Bloody—" begins Giles, who has been trying to take a nap. Jenny, who has a knack for sensing when he's about to let loose a string of profanities, raises her eyes from her copy of Scientific American and gives her husband a very reproving look, and he hastily finishes, "goblins." This surprises Nikki so much that she looks up from her homework to stare at him. "I-it's Christmas," he explains lamely. "Bloody goblins can be frequent carolers at times. Just let it ring."
"Okay," says Nikki, still looking at her father like he's the weirdest person she knows, and goes back to working on math problems.
The intervals between each ring of the doorbell grow smaller, and Jenny puts down her magazine, giving Giles a look that very clearly says someone is going to get hurt if the ringing doesn't stop.
"Daddy," calls Charles, "I could open the door if you want,"
"We aren't opening it," says Giles flatly. "Just let it ring."
Jenny mutters something in Giles's direction that is very definitely profane before getting up, hurrying over to the door and wrenching it open. "Look, no carolers this year," she begins, and then she stops talking and grins widely.
"Aww, should we come back later?" Buffy asks.
"Maybe we should," Willow agrees. "We're a little late for Christmas, after all."
"Well, we flew all the way to England to mooch more Christmas presents off of Jenny, so—" Xander begins theatrically, but is cut off when Jenny tackles him in a hug. He yelps. "Giles!" he shouts. "Get your wife off me!"
Jenny gives him an exaggerated kiss on the cheek (Giles strongly suspects it's just for the shock value; motherhood has made Jenny a much more silly person) before pulling away and moving to hug Willow, then Buffy. "Aww, it's so good to see you guys!" she says happily.
"Willow?" says Charles eagerly, getting up off of the floor and sprinting over to the door. He's always had a strange, unexplained adoration of Willow. Even when he was a baby, Willow could always calm him down. "It's Willow!" he shouts, before turning to Giles and delightedly informing him, "It's Willow."
Giles gives up on his nap and reluctantly gets up off the couch. The reluctance dissipates when he sees the smiling Scooby Gang, all of them wearing the Christmas sweaters he'd sent them. "I agree with Jenny," he says. "It's lovely of you all to fly down." He gives Buffy a hug, then Willow, and then Xander.
"You can tell it's Christmas when Giles starts giving free hugs," Xander comments.
"I get free hugs from Daddy all the time," says Charles proudly.
"Oh, do you?" says Buffy with an innocent smile. "He must be getting soft in his old age."
Jenny laughs. "Come on in," she says, tugging on Giles's arm and moving him out of the way so that the kids can come inside. "It must be freezing out there."
Charles hugs Willow around the knees as soon as she's entered the house. Willow giggles and scoops up the little boy, hugging him thoroughly. "Hey there, Charlie!" she coos. "How's it going?"
"Mama and Daddy aren't letting us go caroling," Charles informs them with an obvious pout. "And they aren't letting any carolers in our house either."
Willow turns and looks at Giles as if he's just set a puppy on fire.
"Jenny and I are investigating a potential—" Giles pauses, glances furtively over at his children, and spells out, "S-E-R-I-A-L-K-I-L-L-E-R."
"Ohhh," says Willow, looking relieved. "Good." At the look she gets from Jenny, she hastily elaborates, "Not the—the thing you're investigating, just, you know, Nikki and Charles love caroling!"
Buffy decides to put her two cents in. "And if you were being all weird and British and not letting them—"
Giles may have missed Buffy, but he hasn't missed her snarky comments. "You know, people do carol in England," he says indignantly. "I believe the tradition actually originated in England."
Nikki has stopped doing her homework altogether and is grinning at the sight of the Scoobies, which Xander picks up on. "Hey, Nicks!" he calls. "We got some candy canes on the way over, 'cause we figured that your dad wouldn't have any of the good stuff. Want some?"
"Yes please!" Nikki agrees delightedly, getting up and running over to Xander.
"Oh my god she's so British," Buffy giggles.
"That's what happens when you let your husband pick where to raise the kids," Jenny replies with fake ruefulness.
"I have candy canes," Giles objects, still focused on Xander's earlier comment.
"I know you do, sweetie," Jenny placates him, walking over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. It isn't the theatrical one she gave Xander. "You chose some awesome candy canes. You kids want something to drink?" she adds to Buffy, Xander, and Willow.
"Can Dad make chocolate?" Nikki asks eagerly, taking her candy cane out of her mouth. Charles, still held in Willow's arms, perks up hopefully.
Jenny glances at the clock, and Giles follows her gaze. It's nearly nine in the evening, which means it's going to be a late night if they let the kids have anything sweet. But Buffy, Willow and Xander don't usually fly across the ocean to see them for a belated Christmas, and Giles and Jenny have an unspoken agreement that Charles and Nikki get to stay up late on special occasions.
"Yes," says Giles without reluctance.
"I love you, Willow!" Charles announces, and wraps his arms around her neck, pressing the same sort of theatrical kiss to her cheek that Jenny gave to Xander. He has Jenny's dark eyes and hair, making the resemblance even more striking when he pulls away to add, "You need to come around a lot so that me an' Nicks can have chocolate before bed."
"Wait, is this chocolate chocolate or hot chocolate chocolate?" Xander asks. "Because last time you said chocolate it was hot chocolate. England confuses me."
"It's hot chocolate chocolate," Jenny explains, and adds with playful condescension and a horrible imitation of a British accent, "You Americans."
"Please don't do that," says Giles.