Abigail and Brothers and Sisters
Cordelia had been trying to break Xander of a bad habit he had. One many men have. Drinking straight from the milk carton. A phone call from Abigail's school one day gave an her idea, that might finally get him to stop.
Just as he was about to do it yet again, Cordelia said. "Abigail's school called again today. Apparently she's confused about something, which is confusing other people. She doesn't seem to understand that she's an honorary big sister to Morgan and Allie. She thinks she actually is their big sister. She's got people convinced you've knocked up a harem full of women."
Which had Xander choking and gasping on a swallow of milk.
They had a long talk about the difference between honorary and actually. Morgan and Allie, as well as the baby that Rhonda and Kyle were having were people she could love and 'practice' being a big sister with. The baby in mommy's tummy was actually her real brother. There was a difference they hoped she'd understand. They explained to her, it was like daddy, Willow and Jesse. They didn't have the same mommies and daddies, but loved each other like brothers and sisters do. Morgan, Allie and Rhonda and Kyle's new baby didn't have the same mommy and daddy that Abigail and her soon to be brother did. Eventually she got it. But then she dropped a little bomb of her own. "His name is John, mommy. You should call him that, instead of 'the baby'. He gets annoyed that you don't know his name yet."
"We haven't picked out a name for him yet, honey." Xander told her.
"You don't have to, daddy. He picked out his own."
"How do you know that?" Cordelia asked, puzzled.
"Because he told me."
Which led to Samantha Gray doing a mystical diagnostic on Abigail. It came as quite a shock to discover, she was telepathic with people as well as animals. Especially since such abilities rarely manifest in their entirety before the end of adolescence. Which led to several conversations about her not using it without permission.
"People don't like it when you read their minds, honey." Xander told her. "It isn't like with an animal. They can't talk to us the way people do, so they have to use another way, so they can tell us things. People can talk, so they don't like it if you read their minds. So don't do it unless we tell you, you can, okay?"
She agreed and that seems to be the end of that. Then she told them, the teacher thought daddy had a nice butt.
"What?" Cordelia was all but screeching.
"Yeah, she takes a picture with her mind, whenever she sees daddy." Apparently, she didn't need to touch someone like they did with animals, in order to know what they were thinking. Oh boy.
They eventually managed to teach her how to block images from other people.
"Daddy, can I tell people about Jesse?"
"What about Jesse?" Thinking she meant her 'Uncle Jesse's.
"Jesse from the Elsewhere, daddy. He can turn into a hyena-wolf, remember?" Oh, that Jesse.
"Well, you can tell people you had a brother named Jesse, who isn't with us anymore. But you can't tell them he can turn into a hyena-dog, okay?"
"Okay, daddy."
Then the next day they got a call from the school. They were wondering if Abigail needed to see a counselor for her imaginary brother. Xander explained that there had been a Jesse, but wasn't anymore. The principal was very sympathetic over the loss of their son and told them, other students had brothers or sisters that had died too.
Xander hadn't considered the possibility that people would think they'd lost a child. After discussing it with Cordelia, they decided to just let it go. In Sunnydale, people would forget about things like that eventually, anyway.
