"Half the class is out with the flu." Dawn handed her mother a note from school. "So they're closing the school until officials say it's run its course."

"Given how full the classes have become in the last few months I'm not surprised." Joyce answered as she read the note. "More kids means more people who can catch it and spread it to even more people. Quarantining in our homes can stop the spread. Is the High School shutting down for awhile too, Buffy?" Joyce asked her oldest.

"Yes." Buffy handed her own note to her mother. "And I was wondering if Willow could stay with us, her parents are out of town again and that leaves her all alone. If she did get sick she'd have trouble taking care of herself."

"I don't have a problem with it." Joyce agreed. "She can sleep on the couch, it's not the most comfortable place to sleep but the flu should run its course in a couple weeks and things will be back to normal."

"Great, I'll call her, Oz can drop her off. The teachers gave us a list of assignments to complete so we don't fall behind, we can work on them together."

"What about Xander?" Dawn asked, poking around in the refrigerator for a snack. "He's all by himself too." She pointed out.

"He told me he'll be fine." Buffy answered. "Between the Sanctum and his ghosts he's not alone and he's got plenty to do to keep himself busy, he's still inventorying his collection, it's got thousands of things in it." She decided to follow Dawn's example and get a snack herself and pulled open the pantry, looking for anything that caught her interest, before moving to the phone to call Willow and arrange for her to come over. "Willow and Oz's second full moon cycle is in two weeks." Buffy commented after hanging up. "The flu should be about done with Sunnydale by then."

"How are they going to handle it?" Joyce asked, wondering when the supernatural had become so normal a conversation.

"The same as his Aunt and Uncle, by isolating themselves outside of town at a custom enclosure they had built on some property they bought out there." Buffy answered. "It's sturdy, reinforced and gives them plenty of space to run around. There's an attached house where they relax during the day. It's not so much camping and meditation as it is keeping themselves out of harm's way."

"Which keeps both them and the public safe." Joyce nodded. "Not that they intend to hurt anyone I'm sure, I read the references Jenny has and they make it clear, they're essentially wild animals in that state and if you leave a wild animal alone, they'll usually leave you alone. But if you attack them, they will defend themselves."

"Anyway, Willow will be here in about an hour." Buffy continued. "This quarantine thing is a good idea but it should have been started sooner, some people have been hospitalized."

"Probably people with weak immune systems or the elderly." Joyce considered the options for supper and was glad she'd already made a run to the store.

"Including Johnathan, a boy in our class who has asthma." Buffy stated. "Cordelia mentioned it, he's dating her friend Harmony and Harmony's worried about him."

"I'm going to start supper soon girls." Joyce told them. "So stop rummaging for snacks, okay. Buffy, go pull a blanket and pillow out for Willow and put them in the living room. Dawn, I'm sure you've got some homework you can work on yourself."

"Yeah, we got a list of assignments too." Dawn grumbled, heading for her bedroom as Buffy went to get a blanket and pillow for Willow, knowing it was just an excuse for her Mom to get them out of the kitchen so she had some elbow room to start supper.

Oz dropped Willow off less then an hour later just in time for supper, afterwards the four of them spent a relaxing evening talking about normal, non supernatural things. It was a peaceful, quiet evening for them and the start of their quarantine for the flu. But not everyone was having a quiet peaceful night as over at Sunnydale Memorial a demon had decided the kids ward would make a great all you can eat buffet.

Johnathan knew his fever was high, but he hadn't realized it was high enough to make him hallucinate as he caught sight of a very weirdly dressed figure with a mouthful of thick, sharp teeth. Oddly the top hat it was wearing actually seemed to be the weirdest part of the hallucination. Maybe because the thing tipped it in an old fashioned way when it caught him looking at him. Johnathan pressed the call button for the nurse's station.

"Yes?"

"Did you see a weird guy in a top hat?"

Pause. "No." The nurse answered.

"I did."

"I'll be right in to check your vitals, you might need some more medication."

"Thank you."