Spike was stalking through the cemetery on his way to the Magic Box. The Slayer had come by earlier in the evening and told him they had a big nasty to fight, which was the reason for his slightly hurried journey through one of Sunnydale's many graveyards.
Spike entered the Magic Box and said,"Ok so what's the beastie of the week this time?"
He plopped down in one of the chairs at the research table and lit up a cigarette. "Spike, no smoking in the shop", Giles automatically replied.
"As it were, we were just discussing the Olic'an demon that has decided to take up residence in SunnyRest Cemetery. It's your normal 'slice and dice' as Buffy would say, so I would like the two of you to eradicate it as quickly as possible."
"Ok, come on Slayer; let's go get a spot of violence." Buffy and Spike headed out the door, but neither of them heard Giles call out to them to watch out for the slime that the Olic'an demon secreted.
Buffy was being unusually quiet this evening, Spike observed. Not that she's been all that talkative since she's been back. "So Slayer, any plans for after we slay this Oli-whatsit?"
"Nope, no plans here, planless-girl at the moment. I'll probably just finish patrol then head home and catch a quick movie or something."
"Want some company after we finish with this demon?"
"I guess some company on patrol wouldn't hurt," Buffy answered almost shyly.
"Alright then, we're almost at SunnyRest, might as well be on the lookout now." Just as Spike said this, the blonde duo smelled rather than saw the demon they were hunting. It was huge, practically 9 feet tall, had two rows of razor sharp teeth, dripping yellow slime all over its body, and a thick hide of scales, both orange and purple. Buffy and Spike both sprang into action as the beast roared its rage. Buffy took her axe and starting slashing at the Olic'an's torso, but found that the small blade was not sharp enough to even dent the demon's thick hide. Spike, meanwhile, was using the broadsword he had taken to try to aim for the head and at least poke the monster in the eyes, as to incapacitate it. After a relatively long battle for the two fighters, the demon lay dead, but Spike was covered from head to toe in the noxious smelling slime.
"Slayer! Look at all the slime you got on me! Do you know how hard it is to get demon slime out of leather? I'll be cleaning my duster for days!"
"Sorry Spike I wasn't concentrating on where the slime was flowing."
"Alright, but it doesn't look like I can join you on patrol now, what with how I smell now and all."
"It's alright Spike, why don't we take a break from patrolling, go tell Giles the Oilve demon is dead, and then you can come to my house and take a shower?" Is the Slayer really inviting me to use the shower at her house? Must not be one of her better days today, come to think of it she has been rather nice to me this evenin'.
"Sure, Slayer that sounds fine."
After their brief conversation, Buffy and Spike headed back to the Magic Box to tell Giles about the fight. This stuff is getting kinda tingly, maybe I shoulda had that shower before the demon stories. As the vamp and Slayer headed in the door to the shop Spike began to sway a little. Buffy noticed this and frowned. "Spike, are you okay?"
"Huh? Wha..Slayer, I'm fine, this bloody smell is getting to me is all. Let's talk to the Watcher right quick, then head to Casa Summers so I can take that shower, eh?"
"Yeah, we'll hurry."
"Giles, you here?" Buffy called out.
"In the training room, Buffy," was the reply Buffy heard. Spike sat down on the counter, as another wave of dizziness overcame him. A few minutes later, Buffy and Giles emerged from the training room. "All right, I suppose you two can consider the slaying of the Olic'an as enough patrol for tonight."
"Thanks, Giles, see you tomorrow." "See ya, Watcher."
On the walk to Revello Drive, Spike once again felt the tingling, dizzy sensation that he had recognized as side effects of the slime. As soon as they reached Buffy's house Spike ran for the shower and started stripping off his clothes. He jumped in the shower and immediately started to feel better as all of the slime was sluiced off of his body. When he was done showering, Spike dried off and put on some sweatpants, and t-shirt that Buffy had left behind for him. As he wandered downstairs he could hear the end of a conversation between Buffy and Dawn. ".but Buffy, it's a Friday night, why can't he stay, I used to spend so much time with him when you.were.gone."
" Fine, Dawn you can invite him to stay for a movie, then we will see what else, if anything, happens."
"Yay! Thanks Buffy!"
Just then Spike made his appearance, "Hey Lil'Bit."
"Hey Spike! Haven't seen you around lately. Buffy said you can stay and watch a movie with us."
"Glad to see you too, Nibblet. What movie were you planning on?"
"Labyrinth!"
"Ok Nibblet, but only if there's popcorn."
"Sure, I'll go make some."
Throughout this exchange Buffy had been strangely quiet. "Did you two do this a lot during the summer?"
"Yea, pet, we had video night every Tuesday." Before Buffy had the chance to respond Dawn came flouncing back in the room, a large bowl of popcorn in her hands. She put the bowl between her and Spike on the couch, with Buffy to Dawn's left. She then turned on the video, and soon all three were engrossed in watching as Sarah wished her brother was taken by the gobblin king. As the story wore on, all three heads began to droop, and it wasn't long before Buffy, Dawn, and Spike were all sound asleep on the couch with the movie playing on in the background.
The next morning found the Slayer, key, and peroxided vamp still asleep on the Summers' couch, the movie long since over. Buffy was the first to awake and quickly realized something was wrong. It took her sleep-addled brain a few minutes to realize, first that it was morning, and second that the curtain were wide open, allowing the sunlight to stream in through the front window. The first thing Buffy did was to pull the curtains shut, then frantically look around for Spike. She didn't find her slaying partner, but she did find a small boy who had a shock of white-blond curly hair falling over his eyes. To say Buffy was shocked, would have been an understatement. She quickly woke Dawn.
"Dawn, Dawn!" Buffy whispered harshly.
"What Buffy, it's Saturday, go away, I'm sleeping!" With that Dawn rolled back over and soon encountered a small pair of startling blue eyes. She jumped off the couch and stood pointing to the small boy who so resembled Spike.
"Buffy, is that who I think it is?" She asked with trepidation in her voice.
"I think its Spike," Buffy answered in a small voice.
Just then the mini-Spike as Buffy had affectionately dubbed him in her mind, spoke, "Who are you l-ladies?" Buffy and Dawn had identical expressions of 'aww' but didn't express those sentiments so as not to upset mini-Spike, or as Buffy was starting to think, Little William.
"I'm Buffy, and this is my sister Dawn, what's your name?"
"Will'um J-james Giles. Where am I, and where's my mummy?" William asked. Dawn and Buffy were both so shocked to hear what Spike's real last name was that they almost missed the near panic in the small cerulean depths.
"Well, William, you are in our house and we are going to find your mom as soon as we can, I'm just gonna go talk to Dawn for a minute ok?" Buffy regarded the small child in her living room with nothing but an outward appearance of extreme calm, but on the insides she was a mass of confusion. She herded Dawn into the kitchen and quickly snatched up the phone to call Giles.
"Come on, come on, pick up already, Giles!" Buffy muttered as the phone rang for the third time. It was then she realized that it was only a little after 6 am. Finally on the fourth ring, Giles answered.
"Giles, wake-up this is important!"
"Buffy? Do you realize what time it is?"
"Yea well, we have a small problem on our hands here."
"What happened this time?"
"Spike's a little kid!" Silence greeted Buffy over the line. After a few minutes, where Buffy could have sworn she heard Giles cleaning his glasses, she finally heard a reply.
"Well, uh Buffy are you s-sure that that is uh Spike?"
"No, some little kid named William with bleached hair and blue eyes just showed up on my couch this morning, and Spike disappeared from the very same spot!"
"Alright, Buffy, I will be over shortly, anything you can remember about last night's patrol as well as any of Willow's more recent spells will be helpful. I will see you shortly." With that Giles hung up the phone, and a worried Buffy met an excited Dawn as she turned around.
"Come on Dawn, let's go see what William can tell us." With that the sisters headed back to the living room Buffy was aware only of the small boy on the couch. "William, are you hungry?" After she asked him that she almost immediately felt stupid for asking this child before her such a mundane question.
"A little bit, ma'am." Buffy heard Dawn snickering off to the side at the inherent politeness in William's voice.
"Alright, let's head to the kitchen and you can tell us a little about yourself, does that sound ok to you?"
"Yes, that sounds good." After Williams answer Buffy once again headed to the kitchen, this time for a different reason. She wasn't sure if this version of her favorite bloodsucker still sucked blood, but she was about to find out.
"William, what would you like to eat?"
"Um, do you have any Bangers and Mash?" Buffy sent Dawn a quizzical look and she just shrugged in answer.
"No, I don't have any of, um, that, but I can make you some scrambled eggs. Does that sound good?"
"Yes, please, I like scrambled eggs." Buffy quickly got out the frying pan and some eggs and began to scramble the eggs. She then placed them on a plate and gave both the plate and a fork to William, who was seated at the kitchen island. Just as William was about to dig into his breakfast, Giles came into the kitchen.
"Giles! You finally came!"
"Yes, Buffy, I did, now please show me where Spike is."
"He's over there." Buffy said, pointing to the kitchen island.
"Remarkable.."Giles whispered. He walked up to William and slowly tapped on his shoulder. "Hello, I'm Rupert Giles, can you tell me your name?" After Buffy heard Giles introduce himself to young William, she remembered what William's real last name was. She didn't want to spoil the surprise for Giles though, so she kept quiet during the exchange.
"That's my last name too!" William exclaimed. At his excitement Giles seemed to register that he was related to this little boy.
"Your name is William Giles?"
"Yes, sir." William said quietly.
"Buffy can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Sure Giles, just a sec." Buffy then walked over to where William was sitting and started to clean up his place.
"Dawn, can you look after William for a little while, I think there are some fairy tale books in that box under the stairs in the basement."
"Sure thing, Buff. Hey Lil' Bit, why don't you help me look for some books for us to read."
"Ok, excuse me, Ms. Dawn, why did you call me Lil' Bit?" Dawn had a comical expression on her face before she realized that she had indeed called William Lil'Bit.
"Well, I guess it's cause you're such a little bit, plus that's a very special nickname to have. One of my friends calls me that."
"Oh, ok, let's go find those books now. Ok?"
"Sure, William, let's go."
Meanwhile Buffy and Giles had just sat down on the couch. "Giles, what are we gonna do? I mean, Spike hasn't been a little kid for more than a hundred years, and what if we can't turn him back to normal, I can't raise another kid besides Dawn, and how come we didn't know you were related to Spike?" Her last question was delivered with a smile, and Giles groaned inside, knowing it wouldn't have been long before she remembered that fact.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to pick up on our last names. Well, I have thought about the er predicament that we seem to be in here and I wanted to know if anything unusual happened to Spike last night during your battle with the Olic'an."
"Nothing out of the ordinary, oh except he got a lot of slime on him."
"Oh, dear." After that statement Giles proceeded to take off his glasses and began cleaning them on his shirt.
"Ok, spill Giles. What's the what here?"
"The slime of the Olic'an demon has various magical properties. The most notable among them is the ability to turn the er slime as it were into whatever the individual had been thinking during the hour previous to the er, sliming."
"So Spike was thinking of his childhood before we went out slaying? And how long will this last, I can't watch him till he grows up, he's supposed to be a dead person!"
"Yes I know that Buffy, but this demon's particular powers are linked to the lunar cycle, so the effects of the spell should only last until the next full moon."
"Giles, that's like two and a half weeks away! What am I supposed to do until then? He's your relative, why can't you take care of him?"
"Buffy, that is not a feasible option, my apartment is hardly toddler- proof, and I have the shop to think about. I'm sure you'll be fine, he seems like a polite little boy. Remember he is from Victorian England. Now I must be getting back to the shop. Call me if you need anything." With that Giles gathered his things and left through the front door. Buffy sighed and headed down to the basement to see how Dawn and William were fairing.
Buffy walked through the kitchen and crept towards the basement stairs. She couldn't hear any movement coming from the basement, and that was never good in her line of work. She slowly snuck down the stairs, and as she reached the landing, she heard Dawn's voice.
".and then they lived happily ever after. The End. Did you like that story William?"
"Yes, I did Ms. Dawn, and you can call me Will, that's what my mummy calls me."
"Ok, Will why don't we go find Buffy now." As they headed towards the stairs Buffy made her presence known and walked back to the kitchen with the other two. "Buffy, what did Giles say?"
"Well the good news is the spell isn't permanent, the bad news is that its based on the lunar cycle and won't be done until the next full moon, two and a half weeks away."
"What are we going to do for two and a half weeks?"
"Well, I think we should start by talking to Willow and Tara, they both live here too." When Buffy finished talking she looked down to see Will pulling on the end of her shirt.
"Ms. Buffy, I have to use the loo." 'The loo?' Buffy silently mouthed to Dawn.
"He means the bathroom, Buffy."
"Oh, um, well then come with me." Buffy led Will up the stairs. "Can you go by yourself, Will?"
"I think so."
"Alright, then I'll wait outside the door for you."
"Thanks, Ms. Buffy." Will walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He was a little confused by how the bathroom looked, but managed to figure it out using the simplest of toddler logic. A few minutes later Will emerged from the bathroom and he and Buffy headed back downstairs.
Once again in the kitchen, Dawn and Buffy decided a trip to the toy store and clothing store was in order. "Will, what kind of toy would you like to get?" Buffy asked.
"Are there any blocks? I like to build things."
"Of course, let's get in the car, and I'll drive us over."
"What's a car?"
"Well, it's like a horse drawn carriage, but without any horses. I think you'll like it, it goes really fast." With that they all headed out to brave Buffy's driving.
After a short drive to the local mall, Buffy, Dawn and Will all got out of the car and began walking towards the toy store. Once inside, Buffy took in the look of awe of Will's face and decided to make it easier on him. "Will, why don't we head right over to where the blocks are?"
"Ok, Ms. Buffy." He replied distractedly. They reached the section of the store with the blocks, and Will immediately ran over to a set that were a natural wood. "These look just like mine! Can I have these, Ms. Buffy?"
"Just call me Buffy, Will, and yes you can have those. Why don't we go pay for them?" All three then headed to the cash register. Once paid Buffy, Dawn and Will headed back to the car. "Ok, everybody ready to visit the clothing store now?" Buffy then pulled out of the parking lot and drove over to the children's clothing store, all the while wondering how much Spike was going to hate her for the clothing that she had in mind.
They reached the clothing store and went inside. As soon as the three stepped into the store a saleslady descended upon them like the plague. "Can I help you ladies with anything? You have an adorable little boy there."
"No, we don't need any help thank you. We're just going to look around." Buffy decided the sooner that she escaped the horrid saleslady the better. I don't think I can slay salespeople, maybe I'll check with Giles on that one. They then went over to the little boys' section and Buffy tried to figure out what size to buy. "Hey, Dawn?"
"Yeah, Buff?"
"What size do you think we should get? I mean Spike's not all that big as an adult, and I don't think he's all that big for a toddler, so what size?"
"Um, well, how about mediums?"
"I guess we'll just try some stuff and see how it goes." Buffy reached for a blue shirt with small ducks on it and thought it was adorable, so she picked it up and held it onto Will. "Do you like this shirt, Will?"
"It's a pretty color. And there are duckies on it. But why does it look so strange. My clothes don't look like that at home."
"Well, you see, in America, clothing is a little different, than it is in England, where you live."
"Oh, ok. Can I have a red shirt, too?"
"Of course. Let's go see what else we can find." Buffy and Will left Dawn to look at pants, and made their way over to another rack of shirts. After about twenty minutes of picking out clothes, Buffy decided that she still needed some money in the bank and went to pay for the things they were going to buy. All in all, Will ended up with three blue shirts, one red, and one green, and four pairs of dark jeans. Once paid, they walked back to the car.
"Anyone want ice cream?" Buffy asked as she was buckling Will into the car. Dawn and Will both spoke up then, voicing their respective requests for mint chocolate chip and vanilla. Buffy drove to the ice cream parlor and then went in search of the frozen treats while Will and Dawn stayed in the car.
"Will, would you like to listen to some music?" Dawn asked.
"Where would it come from? I don't see any musicians."
"Well, it would come from the radio. It's kinda like they put all the musicians into a tiny box and then stuck them into the car."
"Wouldn't that hurt them?" Will asked with an innocent expression on his face.
"No, Lil' Bit, it doesn't hurt. It's just the sound of the music that's in the box. Hold on, I'll show you." Dawn then reached over and turned on a radio station at random. Unfortunately for her it happened to be Spike's regular station. She didn't think William was up to listening to the Sex Pistols yet. She quickly changed the station to a classical one, and thought that Will might like that slightly better.
"That sounds nice, Dawn. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Here comes Buffy." Just then Will's car door opened to reveal Buffy carrying three cones. One vanilla, one mint chocolate chip, and the other rocky road. After handing out the ice cream cones, Buffy got back into the car and headed home. .
Once they arrived back at the Summers' house, Buffy saw that Giles was waiting for her outside on the porch. "Hey, Giles, what's the what?"
"Oh, well it seems that because of Spike being a vampire, the spell will affect him slightly differently."
"How differently, Giles?" Buffy asked in a stern voice. "Well, there is a uh chance of the lunar cycle coming and going, with-without Spike returning to normal."
"What?!?!"
"Do calm down Buffy, I will continue my research and get back to you right away." Giles left a decidedly morose looking Buffy behind as he made his way back to the Magic Shop.
"What did Giles say, Buffy?"
"Nothing important. Just that there's a chance Spike might stay like this."
"Ooo, really? Can we keep him?"
"Dawn! He is not a pet. Besides Giles is still looking for a cure to the spell."
"Well, why don't we go inside and watch some TV, Maybe he'll take a nap soon." They walked into the house, put down their purchases, and sat Will, in front of the TV.
"Buffy?"
"Yes, Will?"
"What's in the big box?" He asked referring to the TV.
"It's ok, Buff, I'll field this question. Will, remember how I told you about the radio. Well this is just a bigger box, but instead of just listening to people, you can see them."
"Really? Can I see it?"
"Sure, hold on a second." Dawn walked over to the coffee table and picked up the remote, putting on Sesame Street. After a half hour of Sesame Street Will was sleeping peacefully on the floor. Dawn noticed this and carefully picked him up, putting him on the couch and covering him up with a blanket.
About an hour and a half later Buffy and Dawn both rushed back into the living room when they heard sounds of crying coming from Will. As soon as they reached the couch they realized that he was crying in his sleep, probably having a nightmare. Buffy slowly shook him awake and made a small "oomph" sound as Will lunged toward her and hung on for dear life, his small tears slowly moistening Buffy shirt.
"What's wrong, Will? Did you have a nightmare?"
"Yes, Buffy," came the reply from the still sniffling child. It's ok, it was just a dream, why don't you and Dawn go into the backyard and play for a little while?"
"Ok, that sounds nice."
"Dawn, will you go play outside with him for a little while?"
"Sure, sis. What are you going to be doing?"
"I don't know, maybe I'll start dinner soon." With that Dawn and Will headed out the kitchen door to play outside.
Buffy sighed and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She began scanning the room looking for one thing in particular. "A ha.there you are Mr. Gordo. I think Will may need you more than me tonight." She then carefully placed the stuffed pig on the pillow so that Will would see him when he went to sleep that night.
Meanwhile, Dawn and Will were busy in the backyard. Will had found the flower garden fascinating, and had proceeded to ask Dawn about every flower and plant he could see. When he ran out of foliage to ask about, Dawn offered to let him plant something. "Will, would you like to plant a flower of your own in the garden?"
"Could I?"
"Of, course. Let's go see what we have left seed-wise in the shed." Dawn and Will then proceeded to plant some sunflower seeds, after taking out all of the weeds. When they were finished, Will was well and truly dirty. They headed back inside to face Buffy's wrath.
They walked into the kitchen and Buffy immediately saw the state Will's clothes, hands and face were in, decided that it was time for a bath. "Will, do you want to take a bath so you can get clean again?"
"Ok" Buffy and Will went to the upstairs bathroom, leaving Dawn to clean up in the bathroom downstairs. As soon as they reached the bathroom, Buffy felt Will's hesitation.
"What's wrong, Will?"
"Nothing, Buffy, it just looks so much different to the bathroom we have at my mum's house." Buffy understood this; after all he was a child of the 70s, the 1870s, that is. It's ok; we just have lots of new stuff, like the radio and TV, except for the bathroom. Can you get out of your clothes now?"
"Ok, can you turn around though? My nanny usually bathes me." Buffy was amused by his response, especially since he was only supposed to be 4 years old, but nevertheless, turned around. While Will was disrobing, Buffy began to fill the tub with water and bath bubbles, hoping Will's sense of modesty would be appeased by the fact that the bubbles would cover everything.
A minute or so later, the tub was full and Will was happily perched beneath a mountain of soapy goodness. After a half hour or so of splashing around, and only ten minutes of actual washing Buffy got Will to leave the soapy haven in favor of the mac and cheese she had cooking in the kitchen. After Will was all dry, and had fresh clothes on they headed down to the kitchen where Dawn had already set the table and had placed the casserole of mac and cheese on the table.
"Eat up, guys! Dinner is served." Everyone soon dug in to the cheesy pasta, and dinner was soon finished. After dinner Buffy sent Will to the living room, while she talked to Dawn. "Dawn, I have to do a quick patrol tonight. Do you want me to call Willow and ask her to come over for a little while?"
"No, its ok, Buff. I know her and Tara are spending some "alone" time together. Will and I will be just fine by ourselves. He'll probably even go to sleep soon."
"Ok, don't stay up too late, either of you." Buffy then walked over to her weapons chest and gathered a few stakes, then walked out the door to complete her sacred duty for the night.
While Buffy was on patrol, Dawn and Will watched some TV, and then Dawn put Will to bed in Buffy's room. She went back downstairs and did the dishes, after clearing the table. She then settled in to watch a late night movie and wait up for her sister to return from her nightly slaying. The first thing Buffy noticed when she walked in the door was that infomercials were playing on the TV. Then she saw Dawn sprawled out on the couch, the remote hanging limply from her fingers. Buffy shook her head as she realized that Dawn had waited up for her. She took the blanket that Will had used before and draped it over Dawn. She then headed up to her room to check on Will. She once again heard a faint crying sound as she grew closer. She recognized that he was having another nightmare, and quickly shook him awake again. She then handed him Mr. Gordo.
"Will, shhh.it's me, Buffy. It was just another nightmare. Nothing to worry about. Here I want you to hold onto Mr. Gordo for me. He has kept all my nightmares away, maybe he'll do the same for you."
"Thanks, Buffy." Will said with a tiny yawn suffusing his words.
"Its ok, now go back to sleep." Buffy then headed to the bathroom to get into her sleep clothes and get ready for bed. She decided to spend the night in her mothe.Willow's room for the night since Will was in her bed. She realized that she would need a babysitter for the next day, since she had work and Dawn had school. Unfortunately the only person she could think of to watch Will was Xander, and she wasn't sure that would go over too well, that being Xander's day off and all. She decided to worry about it tomorrow and promptly fell asleep.
The next day Buffy and Dawn got ready for work and school while Will was still asleep. Once down in the kitchen Buffy called Xander. After three rings a sleepy-sounding Xander picked up.
"Hello?"
"Xander? I have a bit if a problem here."
"Buffy, that you?"
"Yes, Xan, it's me, the Slayer, now wake up and focus."
"Ok, ok, what demon is it this time."
"Just Spike."
"Ha, I knew the bleached wonder would snap one of theses days! Do we finally get to slay him?!?"
"No, we don't get to slay Spike! The problem is about Spike, not Spike himself. He's been turned into his human self as a 4 year old. Dawn and I both can't stay home today, and since I know it's your day off I figured you could watch him for me."
"Buff, do I have to?"
"Yes, now get your butt over here Dawn and I are going to be late." With that Buffy hung up the phone and headed upstairs to check on Will.
She found him still sleeping peacefully, Mr. Gordo still clutched in his tiny hands. She was loathe to wake him. He could probably use some more undisturbed sleep after his nightmares, but Xander was expected in a few minutes. She woke Will up and the two headed to the bathroom once more.
"Ok, Will why don't you do your stuff here in the bathroom, and I'll have breakfast waiting when you come downstairs."
"Ok, I'll be down in a few minutes. Thank you." Buffy left Will in the bathroom, and headed downstairs to put some Pop Tarts in the toaster for Will's breakfast. She met Dawn, who was pouring a bowl of cereal, in the kitchen.
"So what are we doing about Will today, Buffy?"
"I called Xander over since it's his day off, he'll be her in a few minutes."
"Buffy, are you insane? You're gonna stick Xander and mini-Spike in the same house for a whole day?"
"Well, yea. I mean, Will is a really polite kid, I don't think Xander will have a problem. Why do you?"
"No, no, let's just wait and see how much of a disaster zone the house is when we return. I gotta go anyway. If Xander isn't driving me I better leave before Janice does so I can catch her. See ya later, Buff."
After Dawn had flounced out the door, Buffy turned around to see Xander and Will staring at each other just outside the kitchen doorway.
"Xander, Will could you both come here for a moment?" Both males then walked over to the island where Buffy handed Will the strawberry Pop Tarts and Xander stood by the fridge.
"Xander, this is Will," Buffy said, emphasizing the name Will.
"Will, this is my good friend Xander, who is going to be taking care of you today." After Buffy finished introducing them, Will turned towards Xander and gave a tiny bow, and then addressed him.
"Hello, Mr. Xander, I hope I won't be too much trouble today for you." Xander seemed dumbfounded at Will's politeness, but seemed to snap back to reality after a few moments.
"Well, I have to be off to work you two. Have a good time. And Xander, not too much sugar please."
"You got it Buff. One sugarless mini-Spike comin'up."
"Don't call him that Xander, his name is Will." After Buffy left out the same door that Dawn had previously used, Xander turned towards Will.
"So what do you want to do kid?"
"Well, I was awfully fond of the box Dawn showed me."
"Box?"
"Yes, the one with the moving pictures. It was called something with some letters."
"Oh, you mean the TV. Ok, I think I can handle that."
After a rather uneventful morning of TV watching, Xander realized that it was time for lunch. "Hey, kid, what do you want for lunch?"
"I d-don't know. What is there to eat?"
"I don't know, let's go look." They headed off to the kitchen and Xander began searching the refrigerator for any lunch ideas. Soon after he found some sandwich fixings, and started to make ham and cheese for the both of them. After he was done he handed Will the sandwich on a plate along with some chocolate milk. After they had both finished their meals Xander pulled out some candy that he had found in the back of the refrigerator. He then divvied up the pile and they both set to work on the sugary confections.
When they were finished and Xander had cleaned up from their lunch, and then suggested playing outside. "Hey, you wanna go play outside in the nice bright sunshine?" Part of Xander wanted to know how this little Spike faired in the sun's deadly rays, but he held his curiosity in check and let Will outside to play.
"Will you play with me Xander?" Xander was still a bit perplexed by Will, but followed him into the backyard nonetheless. Once outside Will ran over to the small garden that Joyce had planted years ago. He began to ask Xander about each of the flowers.
"Xander, what are these?"
"Uh well, they're um flowers, and they're yellow, so maybe daisies?" Will was looking at him with such wide blue eyes that Xander had no idea how to respond. He belatedly realized that he was responsible for this innocent little child, who looked as if he was about to cry. "What's wrong Will?"
"Nothing, Xander, we should just go back inside."
"Ok, we can play a game. How about hide and seek?"
"Ok, that sounds good." With that Will ran off as fast as he could. Xander counted till 10 and then started to look for Will.
"I'm gonna find you.." Xander looked all over the bottom floor, but couldn't find Will. So then he went upstairs and could hear giggling coming from Buffy's room. He quietly crept into Buffy's room and looked around. The giggling had stopped but he could see a Will shaped lump under the covers on the bed. "Oh, no wherever could he be. I must have missed him again." Xander tried to sneak over to the bed to uncover will, but before he could Will shot out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Just as Xander was about to chase after him, he heard the front door open. He could hear the strains of Buffy and Will's voices.
