Summary: Buffy and Spike must put aside their differences to find a baby whose sacrifice will bring about an apocalypse (yep--another one). This will be an adventure that will test their mettle and help them learn about each other and--most importantly--about themselves. A Slayer who’s afraid of flying, a vampire who’s afraid of... well, he just won’t say, and a few really colourful characters will hopefully keep you entertained.
Rating: Overall NC-17, most chapters are PG-13
Disclaimer: If I owned ‘em, I wouldn’t be spending my free time writing fanfic ;)
Note: This story is loosely based on Buffy’s 4th season. Dawn does not exist (for purposes that will be obvious early in the fic) and--to the joy of most of you, I‘m sure--Riley has but a marginal role. It’s a story I started writing over a year ago, but was interrupted by pretty much every other fic of mine that‘s out there. I’ve got to warn you, though, that--for me, anyway--this is a long one. I’m guessing it might end up being at least 35-40 chapters, most of which are already written. Please excuse my marginal (if that) knowledge of London--I’ve tried to be as on the ball as possible, but basing myself on very old memories and a map of the city probably won’t certify 100% accuracy. And, last but not least, please enjoy and review!

Chapter 1
Buffy stood before the door, hand poised at the knob. She hadn’t felt this level of trepidation since... since when? Since the Master? Since Angel had turned back into Angelus? Since Principal Snyder had forced her into preparing parent-teacher night?
“Buffy?” Willow placed her hand on the other girl’s shoulder in a gesture of support only a best friend can offer. “You can do this. You’re the Slayer--you’ve been through so much; you shouldn’t let something like... this... get to you.”
The young blonde turned her head slowly and let a shy smile show itself. “I know, Wills, but you know how I feel about this. I’ve never been good at this kind of thing. Give me giant worms, give me mermen, give me creepy little principals--that’s where I’m a Viking. But what lies beyond this door--I’ve never been able to handle this.”
Willow took her friend’s hand in her own, and decided that she would have to be the strong one, the one to take the first step. “Ok, then, how about I open the door. You’re still the one who has to deal with them, though. Does that sound like a deal?”
Fear in her eyes, the Slayer straightened her shoulders. “Yup. It’s a deal. Now open the door before I run away, screaming like girl.” She furrowed her brow. That didn’t come out right. “Well, you know what I mean.”
Willow turned the knob, and opened the door.
***
Twelve pairs of eyes turned to face them.
A chorus of little voices screeched, and all hell broke loose. “Yaaay!! They’re here!!” Eleven 8 year-olds rushed the two girls as they entered the room.
Buffy’s mother, Joyce, approached them and gave them each a hug. Turning to her daughter, she smiled and sighed. “I thought you wouldn’t show up, dear.” She handed both girls Pokémon party hats. “Now put these on and follow me.”
Buffy looked behind her, eyeing a quick exit. Damn, the rugrats are blocking my only exit. Oh, why me? She felt a tug at her hand and looked down to see a little black-haired girl grinning up at her.
“You gonna come play with us? We all got a pack of cards when we came in.”
The Slayer found her voice. “Uh, yeah. Sure, why not? Cards is fun.” Cards? What the heck kind of kid’s party hands out cards? What, are they going to play poker or something?
She followed the little girl, who’d introduced herself as Sylvia, to the table where all the children sat. Sylvia chose a seat, and motioned for Buffy to do the same. The young woman plopped herself down on a small orange chair and threw a desperate glance around the room; with envy, she saw that her supposed best friend was safe and sound, helping Joyce prepare the food. She was convinced that her Wiccan counterpart had used magic to avoid picking the short straw. Willow always got the better deal...
She felt cards pressed into her hands, and looked down at them. What the heck?
Sylvia took on the air of a teacher. “I’ll share my cards with you, since you don’t have any. We’re playing Pokémon, by the way.” She pointed out a card that had something like a kangaroo-cat on it. “This is Mew-Two. It’s my favorite Pokémon. I’ll let you borrow it, since it’s powerful. The game’s easy enough. The animals are divided into water, air, earth...”
Buffy’s confusion must have been obvious.
Sylvia scrunched her nose. “You’ve got the same look on your face that my mom gets when I try to play with her. Maybe you can just watch us play for a while.” She took the card back from Buffy, who was all too happy to ‘just watch’.
She watched them play for 20 minutes, and was no closer to understanding the rules than she was when she walked through that blasted door. Either kids were getting smarter, or she was getting dumber.
She didn’t want to ponder that thought too much.
Breaking from the reverie, she noticed that one of the children was talking to her. “Sorry- what was that?”
A little boy with glasses repeated his question. “Do you go to school?”
“Yeah, I do. I go to college.”
“Who’s your favorite teacher?”
“Uh, I’d have to say Professor Rogers. He’s my English prof.--he‘s pretty cool.”
Another little girl decided that playing 20 questions with the big girl was more captivating than the card game. “Do you have a boyfriend? You’re really pretty.”
Buffy was starting to feel ill at ease. “Uh, thanks. No I don’t have a boyfriend.”
The boy responsible for this interrogation shifted in his seat. “Does that mean you’re going to be a nun? My aunt Andrea doesn’t have a boyfriend and my mom always says she’s going to end up being a nun.”
Now she remembered why she was uncomfortable around kids. All those questions and weird logic that she couldn’t for the life of her follow. “No! I don’t want to be a nun. I, uh...”
As she grasped for words, a voice from the kitchen called out.
“Who wants a hot dog!”
In the middle of a chorus of “Me!”’s, Buffy shot out of her chair.
“Mom! Willow! You guys look like you need a hand. Here, let me wash some dishes for you.” She grabbed a dish cloth, and looked under the sink for some rubber gloves. Just because she was a Slayer didn’t mean she should put up with dishpan hands...
Her attempt at an escape was thwarted by Sylvia, who ran up to her, pulling her back to the table. “Buffy, I want you to sit beside me!!”
Utterly defeated, Buffy resigned herself to the fact that she was relegated to the “kiddie” table for the remainder of the afternoon. For some obscure reason, children always took a shine to her.
The fact that the attachment was purely one-sided never seemed to occur to them.
When the kids were done eating, Joyce and Willow came over to clean off the table. Buffy was handed a pile of paper plates and napkins, with the instruction of handing one of each to the children. This was the part of the day that the Slayer liked best: the cake. Every year, it was the same, but that didn’t bother her in the least. She could have chocolate cake every day of the year, and she still wouldn’t tire of it.
She heard her mother and best friend singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and turned to watch them approach with the cake, candles burning bright. The chocolaty confection was placed in front of a little girl, whose eyes were round with wonder. The child made her wish, and blew all the candles out in one breath. The cake was then cut, and a small piece handed to every little (and bigger) kid.
The afternoon was spent playing games Buffy actually knew: pin the tail on the donkey, bobbing for apples, hot potato...
Willow and Joyce had eventually joined her in playing with the kids, and the young blonde found herself relaxing and actually enjoying herself.
Not that she’d ever admit it to anyone.
***
When the last child had been retrieved by his parents, all three women sat down, exhausted.
In a weak voice, Buffy asked: “Mom, why is it you let yourself get talked into this year after year? I figure it’s traumatic enough that you’d remember to decline the next time around.”
Joyce raised her head up from the table and looked at her only daughter. “Buffy, it’s only once a year, and the Walkersons are my best customers. I just can’t allow myself to say no. If I refuse, maybe they’ll find another gallery for their annual donation. Anyway, I used to go through this every year when you were young. It’s something you’ll have to get used to, if you ever want kids.”
Buffy got up and stretched. “Well, I’m not planning on having kids. They’re noisy, annoying and they take up all your time. I prefer to look after my favorite three people: me, myself and I.”
Joyce smiled knowingly at her daughter. Let’s see if you change your tune when you find the right man... “Well, either way we have some cleaning up to do. If we all put in a good effort, we should be out of here in less than half an hour.”
Buffy looked down at the table and saw that Sylvia had left her cat-kangaroo-thing card behind. She picked it up, shrugged, and put it in her pocket





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