1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that Joss created!

**A/N:** This is a response to the challenge set by Kudagirl on Elysian Fields. Challenge requirements are at the end of the story. And my reasons for picking it. Contains dialogue from "Older and Far Away" and for the purposes of the story, the demon that Buffy gets the sword from does not exist. This is Dawn POV for a lot of it. Any spelling mistakes in the speech are not actually spelling or grammar mistakes. You'll understand when you get there. Eventual Spuffy.

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part One**

* * *

Buffy was packing her weapons. Again. Another night without any time spent with her sister. Her only remaining family. There was an entirely new level of sucking, and Dawn was on it.

'I'm really sorry.' Buffy said, piling stakes on top of holy water. Dawn rolled her eyes and folded her arms. _There she goes, apologising again. Doesn't mean she'll change._

'It's okay.' _It's really not okay. _Dawn kept her expression neutral. She knew Buffy had to go out and do this stuff, knew she was the Slayer. Part of it was worry that she wouldn't come home; the other part was just the being alone.

Buffy shook her head as she continued to organise her bag. 'No. We're gonna sit down and have a real dinner.' She paused. 'Someday. I hate having to run out in the middle, it's just this thing out there...'

'I understand.' _Doesn't mean I like it._

'Spike says it's pretty scary, some kind of monster thing,' the slayer shrugged, 'definitely non-vampire.'

'Well,' Dawn bit her lip for a second, 'maybe when you get back, we can set up for your party tomorrow?' She really shouldn't get her hopes up cause...

'Yeah, this might be a while, you shouldn't wait up. Besides, Willow promised she's on birthday patrol. Nothin' left for us to do.'

...Buffy wouldn't bite.

'Right.' She replied, trying to keep the hurt and disappointment from her voice. Buffy zipped up the bag and hefted it over her shoulder, smiling tightly at her little sister before heading for the door. 'Okay, so homework, finish dinner, and don't stay up too late, all right?'

'Okay.' Dawn replied.

'Good.' Buffy paused. 'We'll spend time later, I promise.'

And she was gone. Dawn stood in front of the door, letting her arms fall to her sides, but refusing to let her tears drop. Slowly, she turned and headed into the kitchen, discarding her unfinished dinner into the bin.

Alone again. Naturally.

* * *

Dawn had gotten bored of her homework fairly quickly and headed over to the Magic Box. Maybe she could input some ideas to Willow for the birthday party. Buffy didn't want to hear it, she knew, but she wanted to be involved. Not like she was involved in _anything_ else. The Scoobies at least, they let her join in occasionally.

Walking in, she could see she'd entered a conversation about the party. Willow looked up at the teenager's entrance.

'Hey.' Dawn smiled, standing by the table that everyone was gathered around.

'Hey Dawnie.' _God I'm getting tired of that nickname._ Willow smiled. 'Buffy out patrolling already?'

'Anything new about Warren and the nerd herd?' Xander asked. Dawn shook her head.

'No. Just a big Monster Hunt.' Xander drew a sharp breath and clicked his tongue and in that instant, Dawn kinda wanted to hit him.

'Man, a nerd goes into hiding, he really goes into hiding. Upside of spending all that time shoved inside a locker.' He paused, looking around and drawing his shoulders in defensively. 'Not that I would know.' Dawn eyed him sceptically then shook her head lightly, changing the subject.

'So, I was thinking,' the group turned their eyes to her, 'who wants to go to the mall for birthday presents?'

No one answered straight away. _Gee, don't all rush to spend time with me._ Dawn looked at Willow, who looked away as she answered. 'Oh honey, I would, but I've got group. You know. The whole Spellcasters Anonymous thing.' _Oh yeah, you're the reason Tara isn't around anymore._ 'We're looking for a better name.'

'Oh, well, no, that's good, you should do that. What about you guys?' Dawn turned her expectant face on Xander and Anya. _Anya I could do without the company of, but some time with Xander would be cool. _Anya pointed at the counter.

'Stuck in doing the books-ville.'

'I'd go with you, but I've gotta finish this new shift schedule for the crew before tomorrow morning.' Xander said, his eyes full of guilt. Dawn nodded, not happy with the response. _They're totally just going to go bump uglies. _Willow looked up at her, clasping her hands over the book in front of her.

'Sorry. I think it's just one of those nights, you know?'

Dawn nodded. _Every night is one of those nights lately. _'Yeah.' She turned and headed for the door, only to be stopped by Willow's voice, asking if she'd be okay on her own. She didn't turn back as she threw over her shoulder, 'Yeah, somehow I'll manage to pull it off.'

She let the door of the shop slam behind her, uncaring if it broke, and started down the very well lit and busy main streets. She wasn't stupid, even though it was dark, and she knew sticking to populated places would be the best idea. A small part of her wanted to rebel and run down an alley, stake a vampire and brag about it to her sister. But that would only lead to disapproval, scolding and possibly, a grounding. So she stuck to the main streets to the mall, which was equally well lit and busy when she got there.

She wandered through the shops, aimlessly picking things up. No one noticed when she slipped a bottle of liquid foundation in her purse, or the lipstick that went in her pocket. Making her way into a clothes store, she picked up a few items, including a nice leather jacket, and headed for the fitting rooms. She modelling a few t-shirts, then picked up the leather jacket and slipped it on.

She looked at herself in the mirror briefly, checked there were no cameras in the fitting room and then slipped her own jacket over the top, doing it up and checking the leather wasn't showing. She knew that the security wands at the front of the store hadn't been fixed from the last time she'd been in here, so she wasn't worried about the tag on the jacket. They forgot to remove them all the time, anyhow.

Dawn slipped out of the fitting room, returning the pile of clothes to the lady at the entrance to the fitting rooms, smiling politely. She wandered round the store once more, looking at a few things, before leaving. The security alarm didn't go off and no one followed her, so she headed out of the mall quickly, and back to Revello Drive. She knew Buffy was still out as all the lights were off, which meant Willow was still at her AA group.

Opening the door, she briefly paused to call Buffy's name. Upon receiving no answer, she ran up the stairs to her room and shut the door, slipping off her jacket and admiring the leather she'd stolen once more. Then she pulled it off, folding it up and bending to retrieve an empty clothes box from her last birthday from under the bed. She placed the jacket inside under the pink tissue paper. Then she stood back.

She just hoped Buffy would like it.

* * *

Dawn sat opposite the dark haired woman, trying to refrain from scowling at her. She didn't want to be here. Not in the guidance counsellors office, where the woman would "ummm" and "arrr" and ask about her feelings. Everyone had treated her with kid gloves...no, everyone had just treated her like a kid, a baby since her Mom had...gone. She was gone.

Not the "D" word.

She'd been mortified to be called out of class. She'd expected to be told off for the skipping classes, and possibly the thieving. But no. They wanted her to speak to the counsellor. So here she was. Sat opposite a perfectly coifed lady, with curly brown hair, insisting she call her "Hallie".

'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.' _You don't scare me, lady._

Dawn tried not to look pissed off at her, instead refusing to make eye contact and twiddled with a loose thread on her jumper. The counsellor seemed to sense that and continued talking.

'Just a follow-up after you...loss. And since I'm new here, I thought it would give us a chance to get to know each other.'

_Ooooo yay._ Dawn nodded. 'Great.'

'I've been looking through your file. Your grades have slipped a little.' _Here we go._

'I've got really hard classes this quarter.' Dawn said, the oft-used excuse slipping out easily.

'Still. Teachers say you've seemed a little distracted lately.' _Gee, my mom died, my sister died, her friends ignored me in favour of raising the dead, and a vampire babysat me all summer. Distracted ain't the half of it, lady._ Dawn shook her head.

'I'm not. I'm fine.'

Hallie's mouth set into a thin line as she regarded the teen. She was going to persist with this, it seemed. 'Okay. It's just, I know it must seem weird, talking to a stranger about stuff. But I want you to know, if something's going on, if something's up...' She leaned in, and Dawn felt an urge to lean back. She hated the sympathetic friend angle. 'My job, the most important part of my job, is looking out for _you._'

'I'm really okay.' Dawn insisted but Hallie didn't look like she was buying Dawn's brand of BS.

'I know there's been a lot of loss.'

Dawn almost frowned, feeling tears at the thought of just how much loss there had been. 'Yeah, kind of. I mean, yes people keep - people have a tendency to go away. And they don't tell me anything. I feel isolated. And when they do come back...they treat me...I just wish they knew how it felt to be treated like a child. To not know what's going on or be included.' She took a deep breath. _Wow, way to keep quiet, Dawn. '_But, seriously, it's no big deal. I'm fine.'

* * *

Walking into the kitchen, she immediately went to the food and starting nosing through to see what Willow had prepared. It all seemed generic, wait, there! Cheese and pineapple. _Yoink._ Xander, Anya and Buffy were talking amongst themselves. Dawn popped a cheese cube into her mouth and tried to catch up on the conversation. Anya had invited a guy. For Buffy. Dawn had to interject at that point.

Naturally her comment was brushed off. She listened to the rest, but soon they started gathering the food up to move into the living room, knowing the guests would arrive soon. Asking if they could open the presents soon only earned her the brush off again and she scowled at their retreating backs. They left her in the kitchen alone as people started turning up.

She wandered from room to room, trying to figure out what to do with herself, where to fit in with the other conversations, constantly getting brushed off with "No Dawnie", "Later Dawnie". Even Spike only had eyes for Buffy when he arrived, which just served to piss the former Key off more. Asking about getting Buffy for her presents, Anya managed to make her mood even darker by talking to her like a two year old. Dawn wished she could punch the former demon in the face for how she spoke to her.

When they did eventually get to the presents, Buffy seemed awed, if a little suspicious about the tag, by the present Dawn had given her. Only for it to be thrust away in favour of the stupid weapons chest. Then Buffy's work friend turned up with a ridiculous list of allergies and Dawn had just about had enough. She stood up to leave and go upstairs, feeling like she wasn't wanted anyway, when Buffy asked her to get the door.

She acquiesced, albeit irritated, and looked out into the night, thinking how nice it would be if she could be noticed or be of some importance for a second, before she shut the door.

Hallie stood outside, looking at the closed front door of Revello Drive, and her face rippled, giving way to the demon visage.

'Done.'

* * *

Dawn woke up and rolled over, blinking against the sunshine filtering through the blinds. The party had gone on without her last night, and she'd retired to bed early, bored of being ignored. She thought maybe that some of the others had stayed over, but she couldn't smell any breakfast from downstairs. Normally _someone_ was making pancakes.

A bang made her bolt upright, and the following cry of pain had her racing down the stairs in her pyjamas. As she ran into the kitchen, a small red headed child sat on the floor, rubbing a bump on her head as she pushed a fallen stool away. Dawn paused, wondering who the child was, before she walked over. The girl was maybe five or six, and as she looked up, Dawn's eyes went wide with recognition.

'Dawnie...I tried to get the tea out the cupboard and I felled over.' Little Willow pointed at the stool, rubbing her head still. Dawn stood still, shocked to her core for a second.

'Willow...did you do a spell?' She asked carefully and the tiny witch looked horrified.

'No! No! I didn't do any spells! I promise! I just...I woked up little.' Her bottom lip wobbled as she looked up with big child eyes.

Dawn's heart broke a little at tiny Willow's plaintive cry and she knelt down. 'Oh no, Willow, no, I wasn't telling you off!' _What in the hell? Someone has turned her into a kid. And she's thinking like one aswell. This is not good. Where's Buffy?_

'Buffy!' Dawn yelled, hoping to rouse her sister from her bed so they could find out what happened to Willow. 'Buffy!'

A small thud sounded from upstairs and Buffy's bedroom door opened. Dawn frowned when she didn't hear Buffy come down the stairs. She turned to Willow. 'Stay here for a second, 'kay Willow?' The little witch nodded and Dawn headed out of the kitchen and back up the stairs, only to find a tiny Buffy, in a tiny pair of yummy sushi pyjamas, clutching Mr Gordo and pointing at her room. Dawn's eyes nearly bust out of her head as she realised Buffy was now around the same age as Willow.

'Buffy?'

Tiny Buffy shook her pointed finger at her room. 'There's a boy in there!'

Dawn frowned, and stepped closer, following Buffy's direction into her room. On the floor, sat up and looking completely bewildered, was a five year old version of Spike, complete with tiny t-shirt and jeans and the black eyes from whatever he'd been fighting recently. _Thank god their clothes got little too - wait, what is Spike doing in Buffy's room in the first place?_

'Dawnie?' A little voice was accompanied by a tug on her PJ bottoms. 'Why am I so little again? And who is that?'

'You know you're not supposed to be this age?' Dawn asked, turning and squatting to Buffy's height. Buffy nodded.

'Who is that?' Buffy asked again, peering over Dawn's shoulder. 'Why's he in my room?'

'I'd like to know the answer to that too.' Dawn mumbled, and then smiled. 'That's Spike, sweetie.'

'No. Spike's a growed up vampire. He's not a lil boy.' Buffy said, stubbornly. The little boy in the room then stood up and tiptoed over to the door. 'And Spike wasn't in my room last night.' _Denial_.

The "little boy" got up and tiptoed over to the pair on the landing. 'Er, not to be all nancy boy here...what's going on?' Spike asked, his Cockney accent unbelievably cute on a tiny five year old. He looked at Buffy. 'Last thing I remembered, me and Buffy were...talking.'

_I'm so glad he said talking. Five year olds saying anything else might scar me for life._

'Why are you still big Dawnie?' Buffy asked, frowning.

Dawn frowned, chewing on her lip in thought. 'Maybe it's because I'm still a kid and you guys were all grown ups.'

'Spike never behaved like a growed up.' Buffy said, glaring at the tiny vampire.

'Piss off.' Spike replied and Dawn almost died with the cuteness. Then she remembered she was the grown up here - technically.

'Spike - language!'

'Sorry.' Spike shuffled his feet and Dawn chuckled. She looked from tiny Buffy to tiny Spike, and then nodded.

'Let's get you two downstairs with Willow. She's also...er...tiny.' She ushered them down the stairs and into the kitchen, and then began fixing them all up with cereal, leaving Spike out initially, then relenting when he complained. 'I guess I'd better ring Xander and make sure he's okay. Hopefully it's just contained to this house.' Leaving the young versions of the witch, the vampire and the slayer to their breakfast, she reached for the phone.

* * *

Xander and Anya hadn't answered the phone, and she was beginning to panick. The three mini-superbeings in the kitchen had been moved to the living room, where they sat watching a film. Buffy and Willow remained in their pyjamas as none of their clothes had helpfully shrunk and she didn't know what else to do. Spike was fine in his t-shirt and jeans, but was moaning about how big his duster was now.

A knock at the door had drawn her away from watching the youngsters, and her brooding about the situation. Looking through the window, she didn't see anyone there, but she opened the door regardless as it was daytime. Standing on the porch, were three more tiny versions of her sister's friends. Tara, with hair down beyond her waist, wearing the same jeans and sweater she had been yesterday, and Xander and Anya, both wearing oversized coats. _Guess they were wearing clothes when they changed. Great._

'Dawnie?' Xander asked, his voice all squeaky. 'Do you know what is going on?'

'Did Willow do a spell? Willow usually does a spell.' Anya said, marching past her to find Willow on the sofa. 'Did you do a spell?'

'No!' Willow's bottom lip began to wibble again and this time she actually burst into tears. Buffy jumped to her defence as Dawn ushered the two on the porch inside.

'Don't be mean! Anya's being mean!' Buffy shouted at Dawn, who winced with the loudness of her "big" sister's voice.

'Buffy, shush. Anya, don't be mean. Willow didn't do a spell.'

'How come you're still all big?' Xander asked, looking up at Dawn. Buffy jumped in.

'She's not a growed up so she didn't get shrunk.'

'I am too a grown up!' Dawn objected and Buffy pouted at her. The "youngest" Summers cleared her throat. 'I mean, I'm pretty grown up, just, maybe it's cos you guys fight the demons. I'm not involved in that, so this is probably revenge, or, something.'

'Why am I involved? I just make the money.' Anya announced, folding her arms over her front. 'This is just silly.'

'Shut up Anya.' Buffy said, scowling at the tiny former demon.

'Don't be mean to my girlfriend.' Xander said, pointing at Buffy. Willow cried harder and Dawn felt like screaming.

'I'm calling Giles.' She announced and left the room, abandoning the six youngsters to themselves for a few moments. Xander looked past Willow and Buffy, over to Spike.

'What's fangface doing here?' Xander asked.

'Leave him alone Xander, he's a kid too!' Buffy said, pushing Xander backwards.

'Hey!' Xander yelled and pulled her hair, hard. She screeched and slapped him, only to send him flying into the front door. He hit it with a thud and Spike laughed loudly.

'You've still gots all your slayer-y-ness!' He said, jumping to his feet. He growled and vamped out, his little boy face contorting to that of the demon as he crowed with joy. 'I'm still a vampire!' He climbed back onto the sofa and started bouncing up and down. Buffy watched him for a second and then joined him, bouncing Willow in between them on the cushions. Her crying turned to laughter as Xander watched from the floor, a scowl on his face. Anya followed their motion with her head and giggled, whilst Tara stood by quietly and smiled a little.

* * *

'Giles!'

'Dawn! What's wrong?' The Englishman sounded panicked at the alarm in Dawn's voice.

'Buffy! Spike, Anya, Willow...everyone!'

'What? Dawn? What has happened?'

'Something's made them tiny!' She was struggling to get the words out now as Giles sputtered on the other end of the phone.

'Good Lord, they've been shrunk!'

'No, not as in "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" as in, they're little. Like, they're all five.'

'Someone turned them into _children_?'

'Yes!' She could hear him cleaning his glasses. 'I don't know what to do Giles. It seems like they're mentally five too, not just in five year old bodies. I've got no help here, they've _all_ changed!'

'I can book a flight over. I cannot make any promises on time. Would you be able to cope until I get there?'

'I've got no clothes for them Giles! Buffy hasn't been grocery shopping this week. I don't know what to do!' Dawn was on the verge of tears. 'Who in the hell do I call? Child services?'

'No, no, Dawn, calm down.' She heard a pouring noise on the other end of the phone and wondered if it were tea or scotch he was drinking. _Probably scotch. I swear Buffy drove him to drink._

'What do I do, Giles?' Silence. 'Giles?'

'Yes, yes, I'm still here. I shall book a flight and come over immediately. In the meantime, I believe it may be a prudent course of action to call Angel. It will take him a couple of hours to reach you, but he should be able to help until I arrive.' Dawn's mouth dropped open. Angel was the last person she wanted to call. But she didn't seem to have much of a choice. _I wish Mom was here._

A thud and a screech from the living room had Dawn wishing Giles a hasty goodbye and running back to the...children. Xander was sulking by the front door, Anya was standing next to Tara, whilst Willow and Spike sat on the sofa staring at Buffy on the floor, who was hugging her foot and crying. Dawn ran to her "big" sister, crouching down next to her.

'Buffy?'

Buffy took in a deep breath, holding her injured foot and then screeched loudly. 'I want my mommy!'

Dawn's heart broke in two for the second time that morning as she gathered Buffy up into her teenaged arms. She ordered the other to sit quietly on the sofa and watch the tv, whilst she took Buffy into the kitchen. She set her sister down on the island, like their mom used to do with them at their old home in LA, and then removed Buffy's slipper, before looking at the foot. It wasn't bruised or cut, just tender where she'd landed on it. Buffy's cries had lessened to a whimper.

'What did you do, Buffy?' Dawn asked softly, rubbing the foot gently.

'I was bouncing with Spike, and I slipped. It wasn't his fault. It was a accident.' She sniffed a little. A noise from the doorway drew both their gazes to little Spike, stood in the doorway looking glum. He poked a finger at his sore face and sniffled a little.

'I'm sorry you gots hurt, Buffy. But I'm hurt too. So we can be hurt together?' He asked hopefully. Buffy nodded and patted the island. Dawn watched him struggle up onto the stool and sit beside her sister, smiling at how innocent they seemed together. They never shared this ease of companionship when they were grown ups and in a word, it sucked. Dawn loved both of them dearly - why couldn't they just get along.

'I'm sorry Xander is a poop head.' Buffy whispered. 'He's jealous cause you're cooler than him.'

Spike smiled. 'I know.'

Buffy stuck out her tongue. 'That's annogant.'

'It's _arrogant, _silly.'_  
_

As they bickered, Dawn had a thought and she looked down at Spike. 'Spike. Do you remember how you got hurt?' Spike thought for a moment and then shook his head. Buffy looked at his face.

'He probably fell over. Or walked into something.'

'Oi! I did not!' Then he frowned. 'I don't 'member how I did it.'

Dawn chewed her lip. 'Do you remember how you got here?'

'It was my birthday party!' Buffy announced, proud that she knew the answer. Dawn nodded.

'That's right, Buffy. Do you remember the party?'

Buffy opened her mouth to answer and then scrunched her face up. 'No. I just know it was my birthday party.'

'Okay. Do you remember going out to fight a monster the other night?' Buffy looked at her blankly.

'I don't fight monsters. I'm a kid.' She said. 'Besides, monsters aren't real.' Spike nudged her. ''Cept Spike. He's a vampire.' Buffy looked at him. 'Why are you a vampire?' She asked and he shrugged.

'Cause I'm cool?' He suggested. Buffy looked at him. Dawn clicked her fingers, drawing their attention back to her.

'Do either of you remember anything about...anything?' She asked, unsure of how ask them questions. Both seemed deep in thought for a second and then Buffy raised a hand. 'Yes, Buffy?'

'I 'member you. And mommy. But...' Her face went pale. 'Mommy went away, didn't she?' Tears welled in her eyes and Dawn felt her own eyes growing wet.

'Yeah, she did.' She replied quietly.

'I 'member your mummy.' Spike added. 'She made nice hot chocolate. With mini marshmallows.'

'Why'd she go away?' Buffy asked and Dawn felt sick. She didn't know how to answer that question; she'd asked it too many times herself.

'My mum told me that sometimes God calls angels home because he needs them.' Spike said, reached over and taking Buffy's hand. 'And your mum was an angel. I 'member.' Buffy looked at him with a teary smile and squeezed his hand. Dawn held back a choked sob, swallowing down her renewed grief at the loss of Joyce. She shut her eyes tightly and then opened them, knowing they had to get back to the matter at hand.

'What else do you remember Buffy? Do you remember how you met Spike?'

The tiny Slayer thought for a minute. 'We were fighting.' Her eyebrows dipped and she seemed to be thinking very hard. 'Did he steal my Barbie?'

Dawn shook her head. Neither of them remembered anything about being a grown up. This was going to make things very hard. 'I'm going to have to call Angel. Will you guys go back into the living room and wait with the others?' The two tiny blondes nodded and Spike jumped down, helping Buffy off the island before they raced back into the living room. In typical fashion, Buffy had forgotten all about her sore foot. Dawn reached for the phone and dialled, hoping against hope that Angel could help.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you're enjoying this. I'm enjoying writing it! Let me know!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that Joss created!

**A/N:** This is a response to the challenge set by Kudagirl on Elysian Fields. Challenge requirements are at the end of the story. And my reasons for picking it. Contains dialogue from "Older and Far Away" and for the purposes of the story, the demon that Buffy gets the sword from does not exist. This is Dawn POV for a lot of it. Eventual Spuffy. Rated mostly for the swearing. Even if it is done by a tiny Spike.

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part Two**

* * *

After calling Angel, and explaining the situation to him - and she wasn't sure she'd done that right - she went back into the living room. Anya and Xander were sat on the floor in front of the television, watching Spongebob Squarepants. Willow and Tara were sat next to each other on the sofa, the former with her knees hugged to her chest, glancing around as if she was going to get told off. Buffy and Spike were on the floor playing Slapjack, a game that Buffy and Dawn had played since they were...well, Buffy's age.

Spike was clearly winning, and grinned triumphantly as he got the final card. Buffy smiled, playfully smacking her opponent on the arm.

'You cheated!' She accused and Spike shook his head.

'Na-uh, you just suck!'

'You suck.' Xander muttered under his breath, and Anya slapped him.

'You should stop being so mean. Spike might eat you.'

'No I won't.' Spike frowned. 'Why would I eat him?'

'Duh because you're a vampire.' Buffy stated. Spike looked at her, his face a picture of confusion.

'How can I be a vampire? It's daytime and I'm awake.'

'You're a funny vampire.' Buffy amended. Spike launched into a sulk to rival Xander.

Dawn watched the interchange for a few moments, trying to decide what to do to keep the kids entertained whilst she waited for Angel to turn up. Luckily he'd agreed to grab them some clothes in case they couldn't change them back straight away. And she hoped that wouldn't be the case. She'd never so much as babysat a pet rabbit; six five year olds, especially when more than one of them had a volatile temperament, could prove to be a nightmare. Angel said he wasn't coming alone; she hoped he drove like a bat out of hell to get here.

Spike looked up at her. 'Dawn? I'm hungry.'

'What's that sweetie?' Dawn asked, missing his question with her internal thoughts.

'I'm hungry.' Spike repeated, holding his belly. Dawn panicked. She didn't know if they had any blood in the house, and as their grown up memories seemed to be dwindling quickly, she wasn't sure if Buffy would remember or not.

'Okay.' She breathed deeply. 'Okay, I'll be right back, Spike. You guys all behave, 'kay?'

She left them to the tv once more and headed to the fridge, opening it and looking around. She pulled out the veggie drawer, frowning at the mouldy carrot in the bottom. She grabbed the ham, and pulled the milk to one side, finding several packets of blood in the back. She sighed in relief and grabbed one, emptying it into a cup and popping it in the microwave. Whilst she waited for it to ding, she made sandwiches for the other "kids", hoping they'd all eat ham.

The microwave dinged and she grabbed the cup, taking it into the living room, along with the plate of sandwiches, which she placed on the coffee table. The children immediately launched for them, except Spike, whose eyes were on the cup she held. She offered it to him and he took it, gulping down the contents hungrily, before realising what it was and dropping the cup. It hit the rug and the stray drops left inside spilt onto the carpet.

Dawn shrieked and bent down, grabbing the cup and frantically wiping at the stain with her sleeve. 'No, no, no!'

'She's gonna tell you off for that.' Xander said to Spike around a mouthful of sandwich. Spike wasn't paying attention, his gaze drawn to his hand. He'd wiped his mouth and it had come away with the blood he'd drunk. He looked from his hand to Dawn, who had stopped freaking over the carpet to look up at him.

His bottom lip shook, and tears welled up in his eyes.

'I'm a...I'm a monster.' He whispered.

'No.' Dawn said quietly and then firmly, 'No. You're not a monster. You're a hero, Spike.'

'Heroes don't drink blood.' He stated. 'I can't be. Monsters aren't real!'

'Must just be a freak then.' Xander said. The girls looked at Xander, aghast at his mean words.

'Xander Harris!' Willow squealed in a high pitched voice, leaning forward and smacking him up the back of the head. 'You say sorry!'

'I'm NOT a monster!' Spike screeched, running for the front door and flinging it open before Dawn could stop him.

'Spike! NO!' Dawn raced after him, forgetting she was still in her jammies. She grabbed him as he hit the sunlight at the edge of the porch and burst into flames, screaming. She dragged him back into the house, kicking the door shut and rolling him over to put the flames out. Buffy shrieked and the other three girls cowered on the sofa.

The flames went out, leaving a half scorched little vampire on the Summer's living room carpet, crying his eyes out and repeating that he wasn't a monster. Dawn rolled him onto his front, but he rolled back over and curled into a ball, his sobs increasing. 'I'm not a monster.'

'You're not a monster, sweetie, you're not.' She looked over at Xander and he had the decency to look sheepish as he munched on the remaining food. Buffy glared at him too and then tiptoed over to Dawn and Spike, kneeling down beside him.

'Does he need a doctor? I saw Doctor Murray when I needed a shot. He was nice.' Dawn looked up at her. _Doctor Murray was our paediatrician in LA. How far back has she gone?_

'No. He'll heal. But these burns are pretty bad.' She frowned, doing her best to check over Spike's injuries. 'Shhhh, Spike, you're not a monster. Lemme check your burns yeah?'

He shook his head and promptly stuck his thumb in his mouth. 'He looks tired.' Buffy announced. 'He can sleep in my bed. It's soft and fluffy, he'll like that.' Dawn smiled at her sister, and picked Spike up. She looked over at the other four.

'You four, watch what you like on TV. Stay in the living room. I'll be back in a bit, okay?' She received nods of confirmation from the others and then looked down at Buffy. 'How about you come help me get Spike comfy in your bed?' Buffy smiled brightly, and bounded up the stairs, waiting for Dawn at the top. Dawn followed quickly, heading straight for Buffy's room.

Buffy had immediately cleared the stuffed toys from the bed and fluffed the pillows. Dawn gently laid the little boy on the bed, and Buffy went to pull the duvet over him, but Dawn stopped her.

'You just sit with him for a second, I'm going to go and get some cream for his burns, okay?'

'Okay.' Buffy nodded and went stock still, as if standing guard over the vampire. Dawn watched her for a second, wondering how her sister had gone from such a sweet trusting little girl to the hardened woman she was now. If she'd only see how things could be with Spike - there was no guarantee they'd remember any of this once they'd returned to regular size.

The youngest Summers headed into the bathroom and grabbed the cream she knew was for burns. Maybe Spike didn't need it, but Dawn couldn't leave him in pain, he was just a kid at the moment. Hopefully he'd heal just as quick.

She went back into the bedroom, pausing when she was greeted with the sight of Buffy on the bed with Spike, curled up in front of him. Buffy looked up as she came in and smiled a little. 'He was cold, and you didn't want the duvet over him so I thought I'd warm him up with me.'

_Oh why can't Buffy be this nice when she's not under some kind of spell._ Dawn thought as she sat the other side of Spike. His clothes had taken the brunt of the sun, and she didn't fancy taking those off. She put some cream on his arms and his cheek, which had caught quite badly. He remained out cold, for which she was grateful. She wasn't sure she could take any more screaming or crying today.

Buffy yawned widely and Dawn noticed, looking down at Spike. 'Why don't you take a nap with Spike, Buffy? I'll go downstairs and let you take care of him, yeah?'

'I can play doctor? Look after the patient?' Dawn's eyes widened comically. _Boy that has a different meaning when you aren't five._ She then nodded, smiling.

'Of course. He's your patient, doc. I'm just downstairs if you need anything, 'kay?' Buffy beamed at her and pulled the covers over her and Spike. Dawn retreated from the room slowly and headed back downstairs. Halfway down, she stopped and sat on the step, taking a deep breath and dropping her forehead into her hands. _What in the hell am I supposed to do? Angel won't be any help - he's never had children, I'm sure. And Giles? Giles doesn't have kids. Oh Mom. I need you so bad._

A tear slipped down her cheek and she stifled a sob, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. She didn't hear the footsteps on the stairs or sense the other's presence until a tiny hand came to settle on her knee and she looked up, her gaze meeting that of five-year-old Tara's. The small child smiled shyly at her, and ducked her head, half hiding her face behind a long mane of golden hair.

'Don't cry Dawn. You're doing okay.'

'Huh?' Dawn frowned. Tara sat down next to her.

'My mom used to cry all the time when my brother was mean. My daddy was mean too. But she was a strong lady.' Tara frowned. 'I don't m-m-member what happened to her. I know I live here, or I did live here...but...my mommy is gone. I'm scared. Xander is being mean because he is scared and Willow thinks she is bad. Anya is just rude. And I know you're scared too. But we're all together. And-a-a-and our mommies will be back soon right?' Dawn looked at Tara, with her big shining eyes and tried not to burst into renewed tears herself. Their mommies weren't coming home. But how do you tell a confused twenty-something-regressed-five-year-old that?

She didn't know the answer, so instead she enveloped Tara in a hug and tried not to let the tears fall.

* * *

She'd coped okay so far, she'd like to think. But in truth, Dawn was hanging on by a thread. She didn't know how Buffy coped with all the everyday things, because at this moment, Dawn was trying to cook dinner for all the little ones and was struggling. Buffy and Spike had remained upstairs, the latter sleeping the sleep of the healing tiny vampire. The mini slayer had stood guard all day, which had unfortunately resulted in fisticuffs with Xander when he'd attempted a bathroom trip and to apologise. Buffy had showed her stubborn streak to be a mile wide, even for such a small person, and insisted Xander was "a big old meanie head who was just plain mean". It had taken several minutes to wrestle the little blonde off of the alarmed and cowering brunette when Dawn had been alerted by his girlish screams.

So she was struggling. And she was scared. She was scared that they wouldn't reverse this. And what then? Dawn couldn't look after six kids when she was only a kid herself!

She stopped midway through scattering chips on the oven tray and blinked. Well, epiphany number one had been reached. She _was_ just a kid, and she been letting her own indignation at being treated so, get in the way of the big picture. Buffy had...died. She been ripped out of paradise and Dawn was treating her like shit when she'd been struggling.

The youngest Summers shut her eyes, overwhelmed with guilt. Wow, she was a shit sister.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat and Dawn blinked, turning to see Willow stood in the doorway. She wiped her eyes, finished scattering the chips and popped the tray in the oven, before smiling at the little redhead.

'What is it, Willow? You okay? You need a drink or anything?' Willow shook her head, shuffling from foot to foot. Dawn frowned. 'What's wrong?'

'You haveta turn the oven on.' Willow mumbled and Dawn's eyes went wide as she look at the offending kitchen item and giggled.

'Yeah, that might help.'

Willow's face melted from apprehension into a bright smile as she realised she wasn't going to get into trouble. 'Dawn?' The brunette looked up from fiddling with the dials, raising an eyebrow, motioning for Willow to proceed talking. 'I was just wondering...why are we here?' Dawn froze, wondering where Willow was going with this. 'It's just, I should be with my mommy and daddy. I prefer it here, cause my house is boring but I don't think children are s'posta be left alone like us.'

Dawn finished with the oven and turned to Willow, gesturing to the kitchen island. Willow scrambled up one of the stool and sat down, eagerly awaiting Dawn's explanation. 'No, Willow, kids aren't supposed to be left alone. I'm okay for a little while because, well, I'm a bigger kid.' She gulped around the frog in her throat, an idea forming in the back of her head. _Was this all to teach me a lesson? Did Willow do something afterall? Wouldn't be the first time it backfired. And I have been kind of a brat lately. Am I supposed to learn stuff before it will get reversed?_

'Anyway, someone is coming. It's dark now, so he should be here soon.' She smiled. 'This is all kind of an adventure, you see. We're a team, and we can survive. We managed lunch, right?'

'Yeah,' Willow took a deep breath, 'But that doesn't explain Spike. He burst into flames. And how do I know him anyways? I know them, I know Buffy likes ice skating and double chocolate mocha in the morning. I know Anya likes money and boys,' _That's one way to put it._ 'I know Tara doesn't like boys,' _Oh boy, '_and I know I do magic. Like Tinkerbell right?' Dawn nodded, and Willow frowned. 'No, Xander said Tara was Tinkerbell.' The tiny redhead scrunched up her nose. 'I should only know Xander. These other kids don't go to my school, so I don't know how I know them, but I do.'

'Willow, sweetie, I know this is confusing, but we'll sort it out okay?'

Willow considered her answer for a moment. And then nodded enthusiastically. 'Yeah. You must be right. Cos you're big and know more stuff.' She jumped down from the stool and ran to the oven. 'Auntie Dawn?'

Dawn blinked, wondering where _that_ nickname had come from. 'Yeah?' She replied. Willow giggled.

'The chips will cook better if you put them on a higher temperature.' And she dashed out of the kitchen, giggling the whole way and Dawn screeched in frustration.

* * *

Dinner had been edible, if a little burned. Buffy had refused to eat, not wanting to leave Spike. Dawn had offered for her to eat in her room but Buffy had been appalled by the idea, explaining that food in the bedroom was not right and "doctors don't leave their patients until they are all better" and Spike wasn't better yet, so Buffy wasn't leaving. Dawn had tried to figure out in her mind where exactly it was that Buffy had started caring for Spike, considering how badly she treated him, and when she'd voiced the question, Buffy had scowled.

'He's my friend. He's my vampire and I'm not letting him be alone until he's better.'

Dawn had left it at that, not willing to face her sister's tiny, but steam train like, temper. So she'd retreated, leaving the two blondes alone, and she went back downstairs. She had collapsed onto the couch, at which point four tiny Scoobies had descended on her and an hour later, she'd been sat with four tiny unconscious Scoobies, pinned beneath their weight and watching something awful on the telly.

A knock had her pulled from her thoughts, and she very slowly dislodged herself from the bundle of bodies before heading to the door. Opening it, she was greeted by Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and two people she didn't know, a black guy and a tiny lady with a very friendly face.

'Hey Dawnie.' Angel smiled, his hands behind his back as he looked into the house. 'Where's the problem you told me about?'

'Angel! Oh thank god. I don't think I could have coped overnight. This is pretty scary. We'd better go in the dining room, they're asleep on the couch.' Dawnie turned away and headed into the dining room, waiting for the AI gang to join her. When she turned to face Angel, he'd brought his hands in front of him and was holding a baby carrier. She started to ask why he had it, when the problem was more toddler shaped than baby shaped, when something in the carrier _moved. And then squealed._

'Oh, he's hungry,' Angel said to Cordelia, who swooped on the child. Dawn watched aghast as the tiny baby was attended to, then her questioning gaze flew to Angel. He had the decency to look sheepish. 'Yeah, erm, this is Connor. My son.'

'Er, you're a vampire, Angel. You can't have children. Buffy told me so.' Dawn replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Before he could respond, she exploded. 'And I have way more than enough children here! Giles said you would help, not dump more problems on me!'

'We're not dumping Connor on you, sweetie, but we couldn't very well leave him behind an' Angel wouldn't go anywhere without him anyway.' The small friendly looking woman stepped forward, raising her hands. Her accent was Texan and Dawn almost instantly liked her. 'My name is Fred. And we're gonna figure out what is going on here an' fix it for you real quick like, yeah?'

'Dawn!' An ear piercing screech sounded from upstairs, 'Spike's awake!' Dawn winced at Buffy's tone and looked to the others apologetically. Wesley baulked a little.

'Did she say "Spike"?' The former watcher asked, looking at Angel who glared at Dawn.

'I think she did. Care to explain? You missed that part out.' The elder vampire asked, frowning so deeply Dawn was worried his nose would disappear.

'Please.' Dawn scoffed. 'He's tiny too now. I'm sure you won't find a five year old Spike a threat.'

Silence engulfed the room for a few moments before Angel burst out laughing. 'Oh, this I _have_ to see. Why didn't I bring a camera?'

He turned and headed up the stairs, followed quickly by Dawn. When they reached the landing, Buffy stood expectantly by the door, her arms crossed and her face set in determination. She didn't register the bigger form of Angel right away and started chatting. 'He's awake but he's very upset and won't let me near him. I told him to stay in bed and-' She looked up at Angel, scowling at him. 'Who are you?'

'Manners, Buffy.' Dawn chided, her annoyance more at the lack of memory. Angel just stopped at stared at the tiny form of the Slayer as she regarded him icily.

'I don't like you.' Buffy announced. 'You look creepy.' Dawn bit back the laughter bubbling in her throat as Angel looked exceptionally offended. Buffy put her hands on her hips and looked the big vampire up and down. 'If you hurt Spike, I'll kick your butt.'

Angel nodded. 'Point taken. May I see Spike, Buffy?'

Buffy considered him for a moment and then stood to one side, holding her arm out for him to enter the room. 'He won't like you either though.' Dawn chuckled as she followed Angel into the room, heading straight to Spike's side to check his burns, Buffy hovering right behind her.

'Spike?' Dawn asked, and the tiny vampire emerged from under the duvet.

'Dawn?' He asked, his voice small and laced with fear.

'Yeah, it's me, sweetie.' She said, pulling the duvet down, and ignoring Angel's sharp intake of air at the sight of his now tiny progeny. Spike noticed the big man right away and shrieked, ducking back under the duvet. 'Spike, Spike, stop it!' Dawn cried as she tried to wrestle him out from under the duvet, noticing some of the burns had begun to crack and peel.

'No! No! He's monster hunter, he'll take me away. I'm a freak!' Spike wrapped himself up in the duvet, tiny sobs echoing from underneath. Dawn looked at Angel helplessly.

'He had to have blood. He was starving. And Xander started being mean, Spike freaked out over the blood and ran outside. Into the sun.'

Angel looked horrified for a second and then sat on the bed, ignoring the scowls from Buffy. 'Spike?' He asked, his voice quiet and soothing, like he had gotten used to with Connor. 'Spike?'

'I'm not coming out. You'll take me away.' The muffled protest made Angel chuckled. You could shrink the vampire, but you couldn't shrink the obstinacy. Not in Spike anyway. His gaze went to Buffy again and regarded her. She was all tiny Slayer at the moment and he found the same stubbornness in her that lay in Spike.

'I'm not taking you anywhere. I'm just here to make sure you're okay.'

''m not okay. I'm a freak.'

The muffled declaration made Buffy groan as she grabbed the duvet and pulled it away, revealing a huddled and terrified looking Spike, his bleached hair all mussed and sticking up all over. Dawn had to stifle a "you're so adorable" as she watched Spike cower in front of the tiny Slayer.

'You're not a freak. If anything, _I'm_ the freak, wanting to be your friend. I've been nice and you've been mean when all I did was look after you. And hello? I'm super strong. So you're not a freak. Not alone anyway.' The logic was sturdy, for a five year old anyway, and despite Angel's frown, Dawn smiled.

'I have a question.' Angel said, looking between the two blondes. 'Why was Spike here, anyway? And why is his face all bruised.'

'The bruises were from before. He doesn't remember how he got them. And he was here for Buffy's birthday party last night.'

'But you said you woke up and found them like this. Was he here?'

'Yeah he was!' Buffy almost yelled. 'He slept over.'

'Buffy, you said you didn't remember.' Dawn asked, confused.

'I don't. But I know. Spike's my friend and friend's have sleepovers.' Buffy stopped and frowned. 'Only...I did the bruises. I think. How did I do _that?_'

'It wasn't your fault!' Spike cried, big fat tears erupting. 'I told you to. In the alley.'

'In the alley?' Dawn asked again, the confusion spiralling. 'I don't understand. Buffy?'

'I don't know! It's-' Words failed the little girl and she started crying, and then flung herself into her sisters arms. 'It's all fuzzy and I don't know!' Dawn gathered her up into her arms and looked over at Angel, who had shockingly started soothing the tiny vampire when he'd started crying. Both blondes were now sobbing in earnest as their respective adult comforted them. Dawn rubbed Buffy's back as she felt her shoulder getting wetter and wetter.

'It's okay, honey, it's okay. We'll fix this. I promise.'

_God I hope I promise._

* * *

**This is getting longer than I'd planned lol but I'm just gonna let my muse run wild. Probably won't be another update until after Christmas now, so please review and let me know what you think! And whilst I'm here, HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (I'm hoping Spike is under my tree Christmas morning XD)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that Joss created!

**A/N:** This is a response to the challenge set by Kudagirl on Elysian Fields. Challenge requirements are at the end of the story. And my reasons for picking it. Contains dialogue from "Older and Far Away" and for the purposes of the story, the demon that Buffy gets the sword from does not exist. This is Dawn POV for a lot of it. Eventual Spuffy. Rated mostly for the swearing. Even if it is done by a tiny Spike.

**So far: **Dawn has made a wish, but remains clueless about it. She's woken up to a house full of tiny scoobies, and all of the kids have retained their supernatural abilities but their memories are a bit skewif. Dawn calls Giles and he is on his way, but in the meantime, the Fang Gang have arrived with baby Connor in tow to aid the panicking Dawn, who is dealing with a "meaniehead" Xander, a confused and distraught Willow and Tara, a stubborn little Slayer and a badly hurt Spike, who didn't know sunlight would hurt him. Anya, unsurprisingly remains the same, personality wise anyway.

**A/N2:** I don't know what they call the front room in America as I'm British. I'm not sure if it's sitting room, living room or whatnot. So forgive me if you don't understand the room I'm on about!

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part Three**

* * *

Dawn re-entered the living room, where Willow and Tara had awoken and were cooing over baby Connor, who was being held after his feed by Cordelia, who was quite pleasantly tolerating the over-enthusiasm of the two baby witches. The rest of the LA Gang were gathered in the living room, already pouring over the texts Wesley had brought with him. Dawn turned as Buffy stomped down the stairs and came to a halt behind Dawn, her loud noise of objection catching her sister's attention.

'What is it, Buffy?' Dawn asked, feeling exasperation at the little Slayer's stubbornness.

'I don't like him.' Buffy glared at her sister, the effect somewhat dimmed by the red ringed eyes from where she had bawled her eyes out.

'Who?' Dawn asked.

'That Angel man. He's big and annoying. And he said I should leave Spike alone with him. I don't think Spike is safe.'

'Spike is perfectly safe.' Dawn argued, putting her hands on her hips. Buffy mimicked the gesture.

'He made me all wiggy.' Buffy replied, a pout beginning to form on her lips.

'He's practically Spike's dad, Buffy, he knows how to look after him.' The "youngest" Summers justified. 'And we need to find a way to get you guys back to normal.'

'I am normal!' Buffy shrieked. 'I'm Buffy!'

'I didn't mean you aren't...normal. Just...you're not yourself right now.' Buffy scowled, turned and stomped out into the dining room, grinding to halt as she saw the strangers gathered around the table.

'Who are these people? Mom wouldn't want strangers in here!' Buffy yelled, staring out every one of the occupants in the room. Dawn came up behind her.

'They're not strangers. They're Angel's friends.'

'Well, Angel isn't _my_ friend. I don't like him.' Buffy retorted.

'Maybe you should go to your room.' Dawn sighed, running a hand down her face. Buffy's scowl was turned on her.

'I _can't._ Angel is in there. With Spike.'

'Then go to my room!' Dawn yelled, losing her temper. Buffy's eyes went wide and tears welled up but before Dawn could retract her words, the tiny blonde had whirled round and stomped back up the stairs. A slamming door reverberated round the house and everyone jumped at the noise, Xander awakening from his drool patch on the couch.

'Mommy?' He asked sleepily, before looking around and remembering where he was. He yawned, stretching and rubbing his eyes. 'I'm hungry.'

Willow looked over at him from her position next to Tara, Cordelia and the baby. 'You're always hungry.' Xander grinned at her and jumped up.

'Mom says I'm a growing boy.'

Dawn watched the interaction and wondered how they were so calm in the face of losing their adult lives. But they didn't really remember. They knew something was up, but didn't seem to be bothered by it. Dawn didn't remember adapting so easily to something. She sighed again, feeling more tired than she ever had been in her short life. Turning away from the living room, she ventured further into the dining room.

'Have you guys found anything?' She asked, hearing the desperation in her own voice.

Wesley shook his head. Gunn looked up and smiled gently.

'In all fairness, we've only been looking for five minutes.' Fred spoke quietly. 'How's things upstairs with Spike? That was his name right?'

'He's fine. Angel is with him.'

Wesley frowned. 'From what I understand, Spike and Angel do not get along famously.' Dawn shrugged.

'Well Spike doesn't exactly remember who he is right now. And he ran outside earlier so he's pretty badly burned. Angel managed to calm him down, but he's pissed Buffy off by...telling her what to do.'

'Yes. I seem to remember a certain amount of conflict with Buffy's response to orders before.' Wesley murmured, burying his head back in a book. 'Could you tell us anymore about what happened here? Did anything out of the ordinary happen?'

'No. It was a pretty regular day. Buffy went out patrolling, I went to the mall. Everyone else was at the Magic Box. Willow had her Magic Anonymous meeting, then we had Buffy's birthday party-'

'Wait. Wait.' Gunn held a hand up. 'Magic Anonymous?'

'That's not what it's really called.' Dawn explained. 'It's pretty much AA for magic addicts.'

'Magic addicts?' Wesley frowned, putting the book down again. 'Are we sure she wasn't the cause of this?'

'Well, she did do a spell a few weeks back that kinda messed with our memories. And there was the whole "forgetting" spell on Tara. And bringing Buffy back from the dead.' Dawn didn't seem to notice the gobsmacked expressions on the other's faces. 'But she swears it wasn't her. She's cold turkey.'

'That can be dangerous.' Wesley stated, 'There's no guarantee she didn't do this without even realising it.'

'Well, if she didn't know, it's hardly her fault is it?'

'Maybe we should talk to her.' Gunn suggested.

'I can do a spell to see if there's any residual magic here.' Wesley spoke, reaching for a different book. 'There's no need to distress her further. I'm sure this is all very confusing for them.'

'Actually, aside from Spike and his tiny demon issues, they all seem to be pretty much the same. Except smaller and less with the memory.' Dawn peered over her shoulder into the living room. 'Willow and Tara don't even seem to remember they're barely talking. Xander behaved like a child before so it seems no different for him and...well, I think it's been over a thousand years since Anya was a kid, so she is pretty much the same.'

'What about Buffy?' Fred asked. 'She must be scared. She's the slayer right? From what I understand, they're pretty strong. And she slammed that door, like, really hard.'

'Yeah, it's probably cracked. But she's her usual stubborn self. Just with more of the venom and more tolerance for the vampire I thought she hated.' Dawn furrowed her brow in confusion. 'Come to think of it, she's way more friendly with Spike now they're little. Like she's terrified of anyone hurting him. And she said upstairs that she hurt him...before...' She trailed off. 'I'll be back in a bit. I'm gonna go check on her.'

She left the room, and the Fang Gang watched her leave, confusion written across their faces.

* * *

The silence had been almost unbearable since Dawn and Buffy had left. Angel had stood up away from Spike, who remained huddled on the bed, the duvet wrapped around his small frame. He watched as Angel ran his fingers over photos of a grown blonde girl that Spike was sure was Buffy, but his memory would cooperate. A small smile graced the little vampire's face as he thought of the girl who had defended him so vigorously.

His smile faded when he remembered wanting to rip her throat out and a fresh batch of tears hatched behind his blue eyes.

'What am I?' Spike asked quietly, and Angel turned towards him, a sad look on his face. 'I feel like a monster. The sun burned me. And the others...smell...'

'Delicious?' Angel provided and Spike nodded before burying his head in his knees, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he struggled to contain the sobs within. The elder vampire sat on the bed, his hands clasped in his lap. 'You're a vampire Spike. You know this.'

'Why don't I remember? I don't want to hurt people.' Spike didn't look up, his voice muffled behind his legs.

'I don't know why you don't remember. But you've been a vampire for over a hundred years.'

'So...' Spike looked up, his eyes red and tears continuing to track down his cheeks. 'I've...I've killed...people?' Angel didn't answer but the look on his face said it all and Spike burst into tears again. He knew he should hold it together, be a big boy but he was terrified. This man in front of him, he seemed to hold the answers but Spike wasn't sure he wanted to know them.

Angel waited for the boy to calm down, refusing to reach out and touch him, offer him any comfort. Whilst he'd done so earlier, it had been a gut reaction - he'd never seen Spike so vulnerable, even when he'd been in the wheelchair.

He'd never seen Spike cry.

The tears subsided and Spike stretched out a little, but remained with his knees to his chest, protecting himself, or so it seemed. 'Are you a vampire too? I don't want...to hurt you.' He whispered the last part, guilt running through him like a dam had been smashed apart. Angel nodded. 'Do we know each other? From when I was big?' Another nod. 'How?' He asked. Angel sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, standing once again.

'We met when...Drusilla she...' He stopped. 'Technically...I'm the one who sired you.' At Spike's blank look, he grimaced. 'I made you a vampire.'

Spike's eyes went wide and he skittered up the bed more. 'You...you killed me?'

'No!' Angel raised his hands. 'No, Dru...she drained you. But she...she got confused and when I found her, she was panicking. So I...I gave you my blood to complete your turning. She wanted you.' _I never could deny her anything. _

'Dru?' Spike thought hard, trying to associate a face with the name but his mind wouldn't cooperate. 'I don't 'member her.'

'You don't remember me either?' Angel asked.

'No. Yes.' Spike scowled at his own indecision.

'Which one?' Angel asked gently, moving back to the bed.

'I don't _know_ you. But...there's this kind of...like someone is scratching my neck. At the back. Like when someone has walked over your grave.'

'That's the sign of family. You'll know when there's a vampire near, but you'll especially know if it's family.' The bigger vampire explained. Spike nodded slowly.

'So...are you like, my dad?' Spike asked innocently, and Angel neared choked. He shook his head.

'No. Sire. The word is Sire. Your father died a long time ago.' Spike went quiet and Angel followed suit.

'Did you kill him to?' Spike asked. Angel looked down at those baby blues and wondered if this was what William was like as a child. Although, he didn't think the Victorian raised boy would ask so many questions.

'No. I didn't kill your father, lad. He died long before you were a grown man. Or so you told me.'

'We were close then?' Angel would have blushed at that point, knowing exactly how _close_ he and Spike had been in the past. He gave a non-committal noise before moving away again. 'That's not an answer.' Spike narrowed his eyes.

_Oh yeah, he's Spike, not William._ 'We were family. Families...they fight. And sometimes they don't.' _And sometimes they do other things that cannot be mentioned in this room. Or ever. Ever is good._

'Okay.' Spike pulled the duvet around him. 'I think I get it.'

Angel sighed and looked at his non-existent reflection in the mirror and the sight of the duvet moving of its own accord.

This was shaping up to be a very odd day.

* * *

Dawn knocked on her own bedroom door, noticing the crack in the panelling. _Way to go, slayer strength._ 'Buffy?' She asked, knocking again. With no answer, she frowned and opened the door slowly, revealing her bedroom to her. She scanned the room, knowing a five year old could hide anywhere. Then she saw the open window, the curtains moving with the gentle breeze.

'Oh shit.' She whispered, and turned, bolting into Buffy's room. Angel jumped as the door flew open and Dawn rushed in. 'Buffy's gone!'

'Gone?' Angel and Spike asked in unison.

'She went out the window. I know she's still got her strength but she has no memory and she's five years old!' Dawn shrieked, turning and running down the stairs. Angel was hot on her heels, stopping her as she reached the front door and flung it open.

'Dawn, stop!'

'No, Angel, let go!' She shouted, tugging on his arm. Connor chose that time to let loose a high pitched cry, which attracted Spike's attention as he followed Angel down the stairs.

'You can't go out there alone!' Angel argued, as Dawn struggled against him.

'I have to! She's all alone! And she's _my_ sister!' The teenager wailed, pulling in vain against the control of the vampire.

'And Buffy would skin you alive for risking yourself when there are more experienced people here! Just think what she would want!' Angel yelled and Dawn stilled, tears gathering in her big blue eyes.

A breeze distracted them and they both turned to see Spike speeding down the pathway as fast as his little legs could carry him, which was apparently damn quick. Angel swore under his breath and let Dawn go, growling at her to stay put. Then he followed the little vampire out the door, slamming it behind him. Connor screeched with more earnest as Dawn stared at the door, wondering what the hell she should do now.

* * *

Buffy stalked through the cemetery, kicking at rocks and weeds as she muttered quietly to herself. She knew she wasn't supposed to be this little, and her brain couldn't quite grasp where her mom was. But she knew that Dawn was the only family she had and she was royally pissed at her, so she'd decided to go for a walk. She could take care of herself - they were always telling her what a "big girl" she was at school.

She was so lost in her own thoughts, she walked smack bang into a wall and yelped, rubbing her nose as she looked up at the offending...leather jacket and horrible pastel yellow shirt. The most grotesque face she'd ever seen smiled down at her through rows of fangs, and she backed up, whimpering slightly.

'What do we have here? A little snack just walking around?' The vampire snarled, stalking towards her as she fell backwards, hot tears springing to her eyes in the face of the demon before her. She raised her arms to protect herself, wishing she'd stayed indoors or at least out of the cemetery (she had no idea what had drawn her in there in the first place) and she felt the creature bearing down on her, those ugly yellow fangs getting closer with every second._  
_

The feeling of being loomed over suddenly disappeared as a small blur of black flew over her head, tackling the large demon to the floor. Without warning, the little blur of violence tore through the creatures neck, ripped its head off and reduced it to a pile of dust. Buffy sat on her ass, dumbstruck at the vision before her.

Spike sat back on his haunches, blood on his hands and his face contorted into ridges and fangs, his yellow eyes moving from the puddle of dust he sat in to the tiny Slayer looking at him with terrifying confusion.

'Spike?' Buffy asked, her voice quieter than a mouse. 'You...your face.'

Spike's hand went up and he yelped in agony as he found the bumpies and teeth, turning away from Buffy so she didn't have to see. She scrambled to her knees and crawled over to him, grabbing his head and turning him to face her. He fought back, but they were evenly matched and yellow eyes clashed with hazel as she stared at his demon's true face.

For long, painful moments they sat like that, slayer versus vampire, human versus demon.

And then Buffy smiled.

'That is so cool.'

Spike's eyes went wide as Buffy's hand came up to trace the ridges on his forehead. Without thinking, his face melted back to human under her touch and he shivered. She smiled again.

'You're cool.' She whispered shyly, taking his hand.

Spike stiffened and Buffy thought she'd done something wrong as he tugged her to her feet. 'Angel's coming.' He said, looking behind her into the darkness.

'Reckon we can outrun him?' Buffy asked. 'I don't wanna go home. And besides, I'm safe with you.' She said it so calmly and matter-of-factly that Spike was thrown. He was sure that she'd never felt that way before, the inherent terror in him since she'd said she caused his bruises and the faint memory of the grown up girl in the pictures raining blows onto his face...then he looked at her and she smiled and the memory was obliterated in a second.

Moments later, Angel arrived on the scene, finding the evidence of a struggle and the dust of the dead vampire. He scented the blood that remained on the grass from where Spike had ripped the vampire's head off, and frowned, knowing it was neither of them. He sniffed the air, and hoped to whatever power was listening that he could find the two tiny tearaways before they got into some kind of trouble.

More than they were already in.

* * *

**A slightly shorted chapter for your perusal, but my muse will not let this one go. Seriously, the characters are doing what they want, I'm just letting them run wild with my fingers.**

**That sounded so wrong.**

**Enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that Joss created!

**A/N:** This is a response to the challenge set by Kudagirl on Elysian Fields. Challenge requirements are at the end of the story. And my reasons for picking it. Contains dialogue from "Older and Far Away" and for the purposes of the story, the demon that Buffy gets the sword from does not exist. This is Dawn POV for a lot of it. Eventual Spuffy. Rated mostly for the swearing. Even if it is done by a tiny Spike.

**So far: **Dawn has made a wish, but remains clueless about it. She's woken up to a house full of tiny scoobies, and all of the kids have retained their supernatural abilities but their memories are a bit skewif. Giles is on his way, Angel (and his baggage) are here and trying to help but then Buffy and Spike take it upon themselves to go on a field trip, leaving Dawn panicking and Angel searching frantically. But is he more worried about tiny Buffy or tiny Spike?

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part Four**

* * *

'Does that hurt?' Buffy asked, as they crouched atop the mausoleum, watching a duo of vampires stalk through the cemetery. Spike looked down at the burns on his arm, as Buffy reached out and touched them and he watched her fingers roam lightly over the raised and welted skin. Most of the burns were scarring now, fresh pink skin showing underneath.

'Not really.' He said, turning his eyes back to the vampires on the ground as she pulled her hand away.

'That's really cool.' Buffy smiled at him, following his gaze. 'You think we can take them? There's only two. And they don't seem as big as the one you...' She watched his face as his jaw ticked, his eyes focused on their prey.

'We can try. And if not, we seem to be really fast.' He crept towards the edge of the mausoleum, looking back at her. Buffy hesitated, and then followed, and the two tykes jumped down from the mausoleum and started creeping up on the two vampires. They were sensed within seconds, and the two grown vamps turned to face the threat, only to laugh when they saw the two "children" behind them.

'Hey look. A couple of entrées.' Spike growled at them, balling his fists. He could hear Buffy's heart rate escalating, whether through fear or adrenaline, he wasn't sure, but he knew the other two vamps would be able to hear it too. His own mouth was watering, but he didn't think he'd attack her. Angel had said he could control it, that he'd been a vampire for a hundred years.

'That was cute.' Said the biggest of the pair, smiling with a mouth full of nasty looking fangs as he leered over at Spike. 'Do it again.'

Without warning, Spike launched himself at the big vamp, his face changing as he went. He locked his arms around his opponents neck and gnashed at him, slicing the flesh easily with his little fangs. Buffy's mouth dropped open in a little "o" as she watched Spike go to town on the vamp, and she eyed the other one, who was obviously debating between helping his friend, or sampling the little girl in front of him.

Apparently he'd made his decision, as he advanced on her. She shrieked and turned to run, only to look back. She couldn't leave Spike. He was her friend. So she set her face in determination and turned to face the vampire. He was bearing down on her quickly and she could feel her legs turning to jelly. But she had to be brave. Spike was. And she knew she was strong.

She balled her little fists, and lashed out as hard as she could, catching the vampire in the only bit she could reach, which happening to be the one part on a man that would level him to the ground pretty quickly. The vampire fell, and Buffy stood over him, watching him writhe on the ground.

'You...you little bitch!' The guy gasped out, holding his manly parts in agony. Buffy smiled and looked over at Spike, who had his opponent on the ground now, the vampire twitching as Spike did whatever he did. His head was bent over the other guys neck, and he was bobbing his head slightly. Buffy didn't know what he was doing, but he seemed safe enough.

She looked down at her vampire, kicking him hard in the face. 'You're a big bully.'

'Hey!' He snarled. 'Man's gotta eat.'

'You're not eating me! You meanie!' She kicked him hard, getting him in the chest. Something cracked and she jumped back.

'Ouch! Fuck, you're strong!' The vampire groaned.

'Bad word!' Buffy said, slapping his head. He ducked under the blow.

'Stop it!' The vampire groaned. 'Jeez, you kick me in the balls, damn near crack my ribs, and now you're slapping me?' He snarled. 'I'm gonna kill you.'

A stake flew out of nowhere and embedded into the vampire's chest, and in milliseconds, he turned into dust. Buffy shrieked again and spun round, only for Angel to storm past her. He grabbed Spike by the scruff of the neck, holding him up as he staked the now drained vampire on the floor. Spike snarled and struggled, his face red with blood, his demon at the fore, snapping at the air and Angel, who held him at arm's length.

'Lemme go! Lemme go!' Spike shouted, and within seconds, Buffy was dangling off Angel's other arm.

'Let him go!' The tiny slayer shrieked, her punches landing as she attacked Angel's lower body. He grimaced and pushed her away, dropping Spike to the floor. The little demon whirled on him, snarling, until Angel vamped out and growled back. Spike's demon immediately retreated, almost whimpering away. Buffy watched wide eyed, as Angel advanced on Spike, pulling the smaller vampire up straight and wiping the blood from his face with his jacket sleeve.

'You two...' The older vampire began,' are in _soooo_ much trouble.' He frowned at Spike, dropping the vampire face. Spike sulked, standing there with all the dignity of a child having his face cleaned by his mom as Buffy approached, her eyes darting between the two.

'You're...you're a vampire too!' Buffy exclaimed, pointing at Angel. 'Dawn said you were his daddy!'

Spike's eyes went wide. 'He's not my daddy!' The little vamp yelled, slapping Angel's hands away. Angel stood straight, running a hand over his face in exasperation.

'Yahuh! Dawn said so!'

'I'm not his father, Buffy.' Angel said quietly, looking around the cemetery, aware there were many demons lurking about at this time of the night. 'And we need to get you two home.'

'I don't want to go back there.' Buffy folded her arms, mirroring Spike's sulk. 'Dawnie's a poophead.'

Angel couldn't help it - he burst out laughing. 'Really, Buffy. She's only trying to look out for you.'

'I can take care of myself.' Buffy announced, turning and beginning to stomp away.

'Is that why you needed me to stake the vampire?' Angel called out and she stopped, turning to him with a haughty look on her face.

'He was on the ground, wasn't he? I would have handled it. And now I know how to kill them. I am the Slayer afterall.' She put her hands on her hips. 'It's my duty.'

'Where did you hear that?' Angel asked, trying very hard to keep the smile from his face. He felt Spike trying to creep away, and his hand shot out, holding the boy's collar before he could make a bolt. 'Don't even think about it, boy.' Spike growled at him, only to receive a growl back that made him cower.

'I-well, I _am_ aren't I?'

'At the moment, you're a little kid. You can't run off. It's too dangerous out here.' Angel narrowed his eyes, scenting something heading towards them. Buffy was a good fifteen feet away from him, waving her little arms in the air. He heard a quiet growl, and judging by the sudden tensing of Spike's shoulders, he felt it too. 'Buffy, come here.'

'No! I don't want to!' She stamped her foot, glaring at him.

The bushes rustled, and a big green demon, about seven feet tall, appearing from the darkness, growling loudly as it lumbered towards Buffy. She screamed as loudly as she could and made for Angel, but the demon easily scooped her up in its long scaly arms. She struggling, her little lungs going overtime on the screaming, and Angel rushed forward, dropping Spike. The demon spun out of the vampire's reach, clutching Buffy tightly as her screams turned to tears.

Spike watched in horror as his friend was scooped up by the demon. Angel dropped him and ran towards the struggling pair, and Spike followed, unsure of how to help. He only had fangs and the demon looked scary. He watched as Angel tried to get a hit in, only finding air with his fists as the demon span away from him. Buffy was crying in earnest now, her arms pinned, being held like a grocery bag by the snarling, drooling green demon. It was lanky, but tall and well muscled, thick scales covering it's hide and long claws extending from its fingers and toes. These claws were starting to rip at Buffy's sweater, and she cried harder as a tiny gash opened on her arm, spilling a small amount of blood into the air.

The world seemed to slow around Spike as he scented the rich Slayer blood coming from the tiny blonde. His eyes sharpened, focused on the slayer in front of him and he felt his fangs grow longer, if it were possible. He moved forward, the outside world becoming out of focus, his target the only thing registering in his mind.

Angel sensed the smaller vampire coming up behind him, and he turned, intending on stopping Spike from intervening, only to see a small blur of black and white duck between his legs and latch onto the demon's knee. The demon roared in horror as the little vamp sank his fangs into the soft, unscaly skin behind its knee cap, twisting hard with his tiny hands to wrench the demon's leg. The demon roared louder, throwing Buffy to the ground as it grasped at its knee, trying to swat the little vampire off. Angel grabbed Buffy as she flew through the air, and then turned, seeing the opportunity and pulling Spike away by his ankle. The demon was screaming now, black blood oozing from its leg as it clutched at it. Angel placed his hands either side of the demon's head and wrenched it, turning the head backwards on its spine.

He breathed deep, turning to face the two little blondes on the wet grass. Buffy was still crying, the shock of the situation rendering her pale and shaky, and she was clutching at her grazed arm whilst Spike...

Spike was on her, on the graze, and Angel grabbed him once more, holding him up by the collar like a bad puppy. Spike went slack in his grip, not bothering to fight back. 'What the hell, Spike?' Angel roared, angry that Spike would attack Buffy.

But the slayer was on him again.

'Let him go! It hurt and he was making it better!' She kicked Angel hard in the shins and he yelped, dropping Spike, who rolled into a ball as soon as his hit the floor.

'Ow!' Angel yelled. 'Buffy!' Her tears renewed as he shouted and he immediately sank down, hugging her. 'Oh, Buffy, I'm sorry. But you scared me. And then Spike scared me.' Buffy pushed him away, scowling at him fiercely before moving to Spike's side. She helped her friend up, brushing down his clothes as he smiled shyly at her, his hand questing to find the now closed cut on her arm. He hadn't known he could do that, but he'd felt so angry when the demon had cut her, it had made sense to him. Buffy smiled back at him, her tears ceasing in the face of her vampire. Then she turned to Angel, the scowl returning to her face.

'Well, you should stop being a big fraidy cat and start being brave.' She looked back to Spike. 'Like Spike.'

Angel's jaw hit the floor.

* * *

'So...Connor is Angel's son?' Dawn asked, looking down at the cooing baby in Cordelia's arms. She was sat in the living room with the former cheerleader, whilst the others researched. She'd put the four children, who were yawning their heads off, in her mom's old room, giving them a Disney DVD to watch if they couldn't sleep. Angel had been out for an hour looking for the other two, and Dawn had decided it would be a good idea to keep those two separate from the others. Anya had objected to the inclusion of Xander to their group, explaining that he was a boy and boys had cooties, but after some help from the grown ups now in her house, Dawn had got them to go to bed without much trouble. She'd checked on them not long ago and they'd all be sound asleep.

It was nearing midnight now and Angel had yet to return. Dawn was getting worried. So she was trying to distract herself.

'Yeah. He's a cutie huh?' Cordelia beamed down at the little chap, who was gurgling and happy after his feed.

'Are you his mom, then?' Dawn asked, confused. Cordy's head shook sadly as she regarded Dawn.

'No. Darla was his mom.' Dawn didn't have any clue who that was. The name was familiar but not one she could quite place. 'She died giving birth to him.'

'Oh. That's sad.' _Is everyone losing their mom lately?_ Dawn let a comfortable silence settle over them, her nervous gaze returning to the door.

'Do you want to hold him?' Cordy asked, offering Connor over and Dawn's eyes went wide as she looked at the baby.

'Er, I...is it hard?' Dawn had never held a baby before. She'd seen one, obviously but she'd never actually _held_ one. Cordy smiled and stood, facing Dawn and placing the baby in her arms, instructing her how to hold the baby properly, manoeuvring the teens hands until she was comfortable. Dawn sat in the chair straight, and looked terrified for the first few moments as she held the infant, then he made a noise, and grabbed her finger and she instantly melted. 'Oh...oh he's so gorgeous!' She smiled brightly up at Cordy, who beamed back. She may not have been Connor's mama, but she loved him like he was hers.

The front door opened and Angel pushed the two little blondes through the door before him, a frown on his darkened face. Buffy trudged to the sofa and threw herself down, scowling at Dawn, her displeasure at coming home evident. Dawn passed the baby back to Cordy as she got up, rushing to check Buffy over. She saw the gash on her arm and gasped.

'Are you okay? What happened? You scared me!' She hugged her sister tightly. 'Please don't run away again!'

Buffy stared at her sister as she pulled away, shock and confusion in her eyes. 'You're not mad?'

'Of course I'm mad!' Dawn exclaimed. 'But you scared me! And I'm just so relieved you're safe!' Dawn hugged her again. Spike stood off to the side, watching the two sisters embrace, and before he could react, Dawn's hand had reached out and ensnared him in the hug, squeezing both children against her. Angel shut the door quietly and moved towards his son, taking him Cordy with a smile and a quiet thanks.

He sat in the armchair with his son to his chest, stroking the downy fuzz on the little boy's head as he watched Dawn fuss over the two miniature blondes. She offered Buffy a bandaid, which she declined, saying Spike had made it feel better. Dawn didn't question it further but beamed at Spike.

'Do you want something to eat?' She asked Spike and he hesitated, looking towards Angel.

'I haveta have blood, right?' He asked in small voice and Angel nodded. 'Maybe a little.'

'He totally ate a vampire, Dawnie. He saved me! Twice. He's my hero.' Buffy smiled as she hugged Spike around the middle, the boy trying to push her off in embarrassment.

'S'nothin'.' Spike murmured as Dawn smiled at him.

'It's not nothing, Spike. You were always my hero.' Dawn whispered, hoping Angel didn't hear. He did and his mouth set into a thin line, not having realised just how integrated into their lives his childe had become. But he knew, better than anyone, just how devoted Spike was to those he loved. And it appeared that he cared for the Summers' immensely. It was no mean feat to overcome the demon and ignore the tempting scent of Slayer blood - Angel himself had failed that particular challenge once - but Spike had pulled himself away from the bloodlust, even with the _taste_ and helped Buffy when she needed it.

In truth, the revelation kinda stung.

He _knew_ Spike would defend those girls to his death, his final death. But whilst five-year-old Buffy was perfectly happy to allow her inhibitions to fly away, grown up Buffy would not be so accepting of a soulless vampire in her midst. And that probably explained the bruises that had graced the tiny vampire's face. He seemed mostly healed now, having drained the vampire in the cemetery and his tiny taste of Slayer blood had given him a much needed boost.

Connor was dozing in his arms now, and he placed him in the carseat, following Dawn out into the kitchen.

'We'll sleep in the living room. Wes will probably carry on with the books. I'll help him and do a patrol. A nasty demon almost got hold of Buffy earlier, I wanna make sure no one knows that the Slayer is pint-sized or there could be big trouble. You might want to think about getting those two to bed for some rest. They have had an exciting day.'

'Yeah...' Dawn mumbled, stifling a yawn herself. She felt Angel's big hand on her shoulder.

'You've done really well Dawn. You made the right call. Buffy will be proud of you.' His words hit their mark and Dawn let out a choked sob.

'Angel?' She asked, looking up at the brunette. 'What if they stay like this forever?'

* * *

The sun was on its way over the horizon when Dawn finally got to bed. She had school today, but she was fairly certain she had a good reason for not going in. The tiny tots would probably wake up in a couple of hours, and she had too much to do looking after them. Giles had rung in the wee hours and said he'd be there by the next evening, not being able to get a connecting flight into Sunnydale so he was flying to LAX and driving down from there. Angel had said he would stay until they had returned to the Scoobies to their regular selves.

Buffy had animatedly told Dawn all about their adventures in the graveyard, her steely resolve not to let Spike out of her sight winning through when she finally fell asleep curled into his side on the sofa. Her enthusiasm for the whole thing had made Dawn sad; she'd not seen her sister so full of life and emotion since she'd been ripped out of the grave by her friends.

After she'd put them to bed in Buffy's room, making sure the windows were locked this time, and drawing the curtains to protect Spike from the sunlight, she'd gone downstairs to join the LA crew in the dining room. Cordy was feeding Connor again (boy that child had an appetite) and Wesley was pointing out several theories.

Angel had remained quiet until Wesley asked him to explain how Buffy and Spike had behaved in the cemetery.

'It was odd, really. Spike was draining the vampire, he pretty much killed him. Buffy knew she had strength but in the face of a proper demon, she was just a little girl. The demon cut her and I thought Spike was going to go berserk - the scent of Slayer blood is like ambrosia to a vampire. But he went for the demon, saved Buffy and then sealed her cut.' He sighed. 'Spike is capable of great devotion. He always has been very in touch with his emotions, and when he loves someone...he will defend them to his very last breath. Figuratively speaking.'

'Like he did with Drusilla? He said he was in love with Buffy last year. I believed him...but the others were kinda nasty to him. Buffy said he couldn't love. Cos of the whole "no soul" thing.' Dawn stated, looking to Angel expectantly.

'Angelus couldn't love.' Wesley stated slowly.

'No.' Angel agreed. 'But Spike and Angelus are nothing alike. Spike was...different from the get go. And with this, er, situation we're in, he's not remembering who he was but it's so ingrained in his personality-'

'Like Buffy being so damn stubborn?' Dawn clarified.

'-Yeah.' Angel nodded. 'Spike is a naturally caring being. He strived to be what Drusilla wanted, he tried to imitate Angelus - but now, he wants to be what Buffy wants, despite her, as a grown up, not showing any sign of wanting it. He'll be what she needs, until it kills him.'

'Or he gives up.' Gunn said. 'No man can go without a shred of affection his whole life, man.'

'You don't know Spike.' Angel looked his friend square in the eye. 'He doesn't give up. He doesn't have it in him.' He cleared his throat. 'But I don't think Spike was the only one to regress back to being a five year old, with five year old mentality. I think...I think his demon is a baby again too. When I growled, he practically laid down and submitted.'

'His demon is a baby too?' Dawn asked.

'Pretty much. He doesn't know what he is. It confuses him. If he goes out there again, that will kill him. But at the same time, it will keep the others - and us - safe from him. Child vampires are normally children with adult demons. Spike is a child with a baby demon. He is no threat. He's just curious.'

'And apparently, very attached to Buffy.' Cordy said.

'That too.' Angel grimaced, not happy about it but knowing he would have to deal with it for now. He turned to Dawn. 'You should go and get some rest, they'll be up bright and early.' Dawn nodded and left the room. When Angel heard her bedroom door shut, he turned to the others. 'When Giles gets here, we'll have to work quickly. If we can't find a way to turn them back...we have to decide what we're going to do.'

'You want to take Spike back with you.' Wesley stated, realising where Angel was going.

'The others will be taken into care. Giles won't be able to cope and Dawn is only a child herself. I can't see Social Services knowing what to do with a blood drinking, immortal five-year-old.'

'Surely it would be better to put him out of his misery? He can't live forever as a kid, Angel.' Wesley didn't expect the fury from Angel as the vampire whirled on him, slipping into game face in his anger at the suggestion Wesley had let loose on him.

'If I were you - I would never suggest that again.'

* * *

The wind rustled through the trees as the sun rose over Sunnydale and the light hit the elfin face peering from between the branches. His skin was pale peach and his cheeks rosy and his eyes contained a mischievous glint as he surveyed the town in the breaking dawn. His sense told him he was in the right place, the energy drawing him into the residential areas of the town.

His lithe body moved silently across the pavement, his skin clad in green cloth and his hands by his side, his fingers curved into wicked claws. He smiled widely as the energy drew him in closer and his lips pulled back to reveal rows of sharp teeth, his eyes slanted like a cats as they focused on the house that held his prey.

He stalked up to the porch, raising a hand against the portal that denied him entry, and he held back, sensing the adults inside and the grown vampire he knew would defend the little ones he wanted.

Immortal children. It had been so long since he'd found them.

He smiled again and turned away from the door, moving back down the street and disappearing. From the Summers' yard, Hallie emerged, smiling brightly.

'Well, this is getting interesting.'

* * *

**Plot twist! Oh this one is turning into more than a one shot lol do apologise. Buckle yourselves in kiddies, I'm just getting started!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing yadda yadda yadda, just playing with Joss' creations and all that.

**A/N: **Probably your last chapter of 2013. Going to try not to put so many grammar typos and spelling errors in this one. I do try to proof read but sometimes my eyes miss things and I get very annoyed when I see the mistakes _after_ I've published it :/ I've been busy with family crap in the last couple of days, so sorry for the delay. This chapter is dedicated to all my Scoobies, and especially the wonderful Tash, who has been lumping me with praise and making me go all red. I hope you all enjoy this installation of my humble fanfic xxx

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part 5**

* * *

'Okay Giles. Yeah, we'll see you this evening. No, I think we can cope until then.'

Dawn put the phone down and chewed at her bottom lip briefly before turning to the dining room door. Drawing a deep breath, she walked into the room, seeing Angel and a very tired looking Wesley pouring over the books. The vampire looked up as the teenager entered the room, and raised an eyebrow.

'Giles?' He questioned and Dawn nodded, sighing heavily as she sat down.

'Yeah. He'll be here about nine this evening. He was landing at LAX soon but with getting through customs and hiring a car to get here...could be a while.' She looked over at Wesley's notes. 'Find anything?'

'No. Not a single instance of curses or spells, no demons that have the power to reduce an adult to a child's size or mentality...I have no clue or idea how to reverse it. The general spells I've used have had no effect, so I have no idea where to go from here. We've exhausted the books I brought with me, Fred has even googled everything, and we've come up empty.' Wesley sighed and shut the book.

Angel's mouth set into a thin line as his eyes darted between Dawn and the notes. He didn't want to say what he was thinking, but Dawn had to know it was a possibility. 'If Giles can't do anything, Dawn, we have to consider what will happen next. If this isn't fixable, we've got six kids with no memory of their adult lives, who need homes and people to look after them. We can't stay here and I don't know if Giles can, but he cannot look after six children. And you certainly can't.'

'I know.' Dawn said quietly, looking at her hands as she clasped them together on the table top. Tears welled in her eyes as she contemplated Angel's words, knowing what was coming next. The vampire moved to sit opposite her, his big brown eyes sympathetic and so _grown up. _Dawn kinda wanted to punch him. Just a little.

'We will take Spike with us.' Angel offered quietly. 'You'll be able to see him as much as you want, okay? I have a feeling Giles will make sure Buffy stays with himself and you. But the others...if we can't convince their parents of what has happened, and I have a feeling that will be difficult, well...then we're going to have to look at other options.'

'We can't split them all up.' Dawn whispered, letting the tears track down her cheeks. She was suddenly glad that the children had been taken to the park for ice cream and the swings by Cordelia and Fred, who had taken Connor with them in the stroller. Buffy and Spike were still asleep upstairs, even though it was fast approaching midday.

'We have no choice, Dawnie.' Angel said, reaching out for her clasped hands, which she snatched away, glaring at him angrily through tearful blue eyes.

'Don't call me that. And don't say that. We can't split them up. They can't go into care. What about Anya? Her family died thousands of years ago. We have to find a way to end this. To fix them. You don't want Spike, no one ever wants him, you just feel responsible! We can't leave him to be a five year old forever!'

Angel stiffened suddenly and looked towards the door. Spike stood, his bottom lip quivering, clad in a pair of Dawn's old pyjamas they'd found in the attic. They were from her "tomboy" phase and had fire engines all over the blue fabric, and he looked a wreck as he stood there, faint bruises on his face and the vestiges of the burns peeking out from underneath his collar and cuffs, tears tracking down his pale cheeks as he stared at the grown ups in front of him.

'You...you don't want me?' Spike looked from Angel to Dawn. 'No one...no one wants me?' His bottom lip shook harder and he burst into tears, as only a five year old could do.

'Oh Spike!' Dawn's hand flew to her mouth as she regretted her outburst. She pushed away from the table so hard that her chair fell backwards with a clatter, but she didn't care as she scooped the little vampire up in her arms. 'I didn't mean it like that! I always want you here! You're my big brother, even if not in blood, you're family!'

He only sobbed harder into her shoulder, his tiny body automatically wrapping around hers in a hug as he cried his little heart out. Angel looked on, feeling more guilt in that moment than he ever had before. Wes cleared his throat and pointed, as he spotted the other tiny blonde poking her head round the corner.

'I want you here, Spike. You're my vampire.' She said in a tiny voice, her hazel gaze floating to Angel, full of hatred. The vampire gulped a little, knowing that, although small, her punches still hurt. 'And _no one_ - especially not meanie headed big vampires with stupid hair - is going to take you away from us.' With that, she threw her arms around Dawn's legs and hugged them tight.

'Maybe we should...' Wesley tipped his head in the direction of the kitchen and Angel nodded as he stood.

'Let's.'

* * *

'I gotta say...I'm a bit sick of all the tears and tantrums a five-year-old comes with.' Cordy said as she rocked Connor back and forth in his stroller, watching the four youngsters as they chased each other round the enclosed play area. Fred nodded in agreement.

'I don't remember being so dramatic. But I guess I grew up in a solitary sorta way, so I don't get the angst y'all get round here.' Fred sighed, popping a candy into her mouth as she followed Cordy's gaze across the park. 'They seem happy enough at the moment.'

'That's cause they're kids. One minute the world is ending, the next they're playing tag and begging for sweets.' The former cheerleader rolled her eyes. 'Or if it's Xander, just asking for sweets. Did you see that kid pack away the ice cream earlier?'

'I'm just surprised he's so...little.' Fred mused, watching Xander push Anya on a swing. The little ex-demon had declared that all boys had cooties, loudly protested sitting next to him at the ice cream shop, but had decided when they had reached the park, that he was the only one strong enough to push her on the swings, and had delegated him the job, to which he had been too terrified to refuse. Willow and Tara were playing in the sandbox, the red head with her back to the adults as she played.

'What's that?' Cordy mused, her movement of the stroller stopping as she looked over at the two little witches in the sandbox. Something was moving in between them, and Tara looked slightly scared as she moved backwards from the other girl. Cordy handed the pram to Fred, before walking closer to the two in the sand, and seeing what had Tara so spooked.

Willow sat, crossed legged, her palms outstretched, a small whirlwind of sand moving between her. But that wasn't the freakiest thing. The small child's eyes were pitch black, her nose bleeding slightly as she murmured unintelligible words to the tornado she had created. Cordelia gasped, and reached forward, shaking Willow's shoulder. The child's head snapped to her and the tornado followed her gaze, slamming into the woman with an explosion of sand and sending her flying into a slide. Her back connected with the metal with a crunch and she cried out. The black seeped from Willow's eyes and she stared, shocked at what she had done.

Tara stared at the fallen form of Cordelia, feeling herself stirred into action as the lady moaned and her hand came up to clutch at her bruised side and back. The little blonde rushed forward, giving Willow a wide berth as the other little girl stared at what she had caused. Xander and Anya had also come to an abrupt stop, and Fred stood holding onto Connor's stroller with an iron grip that turned her fingers white.

'Cordelia? Are you okay?' Tara asked very quietly, holding her tiny hand out to the grown up, who grimaced as she pushed herself off the floor.

'I'll live, Tara.' Cordelia's gaze flitted to Willow. 'But I think we should head home. And that someone may want to refrain from playing with magic.'

'We were only building castles,' Willow whimpered, scrambling to her feet. She trembled as she stood in front of everyone, shame flooding her features. 'I didn't mean to.'

'You may not have sweetie, but we can't stay out here. You don't have the grown up memories to deal with your magic, okay? So we'll go home and wait for Giles.' Cordy waved Fred over, and then turned to Xander and Anya. 'Let's head back, kids.'

* * *

The elfin demon scented the air, flicking his tongue along his top lip as he tasted the residual power in the playground. Something had stirred here; something bound and begging to be let loose. Something he greatly desired to taste from the source.

'I never realised your kind was still around,' came the feminine voice behind him. 'Least of all that I would see one of you here.'

The demon spun, glaring through his almond shaped eyes taking in the demoness before him, her face a twisted mass of veins framed by dark ringlets. She smiled widely at him, flexing her fingers together.

'You know the power I seek.' He stated, his focus entirely on her. She nodded, and took a step to the side, not willing to step closer.

'I am Halfrek.' She announced, opening her arms wide and curtseying slightly. 'Justice demon to scorned children.'

'Yet you know I devour children.' The elfin demon questioned, his own feet moving in response to her sideways gait. They circled slowly and Halfrek giggled lightly.

'These are not children. Not really. But suitable for your needs. Pan demon, aren't you? Devourer of immortal children, even though regular ones will do in a pinch.'

The demon nodded. 'I am Zant. Last of my kind. The power in these children...would be enough to resurrect my race.' He tilted his head gently, regarding her with curiosity now. 'You say you are a Justice demon. Yet I do not understand your...purpose here.'

'Those children. Like I said, they are not really children. One is a Slayer, returned from beyond the grave. The witch that brought her back made an error in her conjuring and that Slayer will never age beyond the year she was pulled from the beyond. One is a vampire...' The Pan demon stiffened.

'A vampire child is useless to me. They have the bodies of a child but the demon is old, and the power not innocent.'

'Let me finish, my friend.' Halfrek raised a hand in his direction. 'The vampire is under the same curse. His demon has been reduced to nothing but a child, cleansed of the wisdom and memories it once held. Everything in him is innocent, and perfectly capable of sustaining you.' She waited for his response, but Zant merely nodded. 'And the witch. Oh the witch is a delight. The power she leaves here...she is imbued with such darkness, she cannot control it. She is your weak link. The way to ensnare the power you need.'

'I still do not understand your part in this.' Zant narrowed his eyes again.

'This curse. This curse is my creation. Something the girl wished for. I may have...twisted it for maximum punishment. I despise the Slayer. I despise all that she is and stands for. And the fact that my curse will lead to the death of the great Buffy Summers? Oh, I could live off of that reputation for years. William and the others are merely casualties of war.' Halfrek smiled wickedly as she regarded the other demon. 'And it will a long time coming before they figure out how to break this curse. Which gives you ample time to devour each of them.' She stepped closer, warily closing the space between them. 'I only ask one thing.'

Zant closed the space further, enjoying the fear he felt curling in the air. His own reputation was great, his species known for their dislike of other demons. 'And what is that?'

Halfrek's smile didn't dim one watt. 'I want to watch.'

* * *

It had been decided upon the return of Cordelia and Fred with the others, that Willow should share a room with Wesley and Fred, so they could monitor her magic. This had been met with tears from Willow, who had insisted she wanted to stay with Xander and Tara, who had recoiled in fear from the red head. This had led to further tears, and panic from the adults that the magic may manifest itself again. The fear appeared unfounded for the time being, as Willow quickly fell asleep through exhaustion. Tara had relayed what she had seen at the park, and Xander had spent the whole time asking questions and generally irritating everyone in the house.

About half an hour after they had arrived back, Cordelia noticed the absence of the vampire and Slayer, and Angel. She'd queried this with Dawn, who had pointed at the basement with somewhat of a mood. The former cheerleader had left the others to it and ventured into the basement, finding Buffy and Spike beating the hell out of Angel.

She'd panicked at first, before she'd heard the laughter and had spent the next few minutes watching the two tiny tearaways attack the Champion with giggles and punches that probably barely affected the grown man. It was a few more minutes before any of them realised they were being watched.

'Hey, Cordy.' Angel breathed, looking up. He had a genuine smile on his face, which was nice to see after the stress they'd all been under since a pregnant Darla had turned up on their doorstep. 'Everything okay?'

'Little bit of a magical mishap with Willow but I think it's all taken care of now. What are you guys doing?'

'Angel was mean about Spike. Said he'd take him away. But he's promised I can keep him, and then we decided to fight cos Angel wanted to see how strong we was.' Buffy stopped, and breathed deep, before scowling at Spike as he pinched her.

'I'm not a pet. No one is keeping me.' Spike puffed up his chest. 'I'm the Big Bad.'

'Okay, "Big Bad".' Angel grinned, pulling the little vampire up and over his shoulder. 'The Big Bad _little_ vampire.'

'I'm not little!' Spike yelled, beating his fists against the back of his opponent. Cordelia laughed as Buffy tried to rescue her friend and found herself held back by a palm on her forehead. Within moments, both of the kids had given up and Angel placed Spike back on his feet, trying not to chuckle at the almost identical scowls on the childrens' faces.

'Are you guys going to come upstairs?' Cordelia asked. 'I think it's about time for dinner. And isn't Giles due soon?'

'Yeah he is.' Angel replied as the two kids ran past Cordelia and into the kitchen. He frowned at their hasty exit and then sighed. 'You think we can find a way out of this? We can't leave Spike here, as much as I promised I wouldn't take him away, he's a tiny five year old vampire. He can't stay like that forever.'

'We'll figure it out. I know it seems like we're always saying that but...well, we always do, right?' She held out a hand to him. 'Now come on. Your son needs changing and I'm sure you haven't changed a single diaper since we got here.'

* * *

Zant watched the car pull up to the house, his eyes cutting through the darkness with no problem. He watched the gentleman climb out of the vehicle and move slowly from the driveway to the front door. He heard the sigh as he knocked and the screeching of the children inside. The door opened and Zant scented it again, breathing deep and closing his eyes as the essence of those he hunted drifted out to him.

Then his eyes snapped open wide.

He smiled.

'There are four.' He whispered as the door shut behind the newcomer.

* * *

'Giles!'

The way his name was screamed was almost guaranteed to burst his eardrums as he entered the house on Revello Drive, laden down with the most relevant books he could find. Being told of the situation over the phone, and being confronted with three very tiny versions of the young adults he had left behind was bewildering to say the least.

He noted the absence of Willow and the two others at the table who held back from the group hugs. Looking down, the happy faces of Buffy, Xander and Anya looked back, their smiles so innocent it made something inside him hurt.

'Where is Willow?' He asked, waving the children off.

'She's sleeping.' Buffy announced. 'She was bad at the park and cried about it.'

'Oh.' Giles seemed taken aback, but Cordelia shook her head.

'It's a little bit more complicated than that.' She said, ushering the kids into the living room. She switched the tv on. 'You guys stay here okay, I'll send Tara and Spike in and you can watch TV whilst I talk to Grandpa Giles.'

Giles frowned, feeling exceptionally insulted by her words, but not willing to start a scene in front of the children. In his experience, if something annoyed you, children were more likely to repeat the behaviour, or in this case, the nickname. Xander had taught him that valuable lesson from the get go and he still hated the name G-Man to this day.

He waited patiently whilst Tara and Spike joined the other children in the living room, and then took a seat at the dining room table, pulling his books out from his holdall, and grabbing his notepad and diary, along with two pens for his notes.

'So. Who would care to fill me in?' He asked, as Wesley, Dawn, Fred and Angel joined him at the table. Cordelia hovered in the doorway, her attention more on listening out for the children. Wesley looked to Dawn.

'You start, Miss Summers.'

* * *

'So that's everything. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, that I know of. I don't know what this demon was that Buffy went out to fight, she didn't tell me anything out of the ordinary, and we can't ask the others cos of the memory problems.' Dawn finished, crossing her arms over her chest.

Giles nodded, and silence descended on the room, the only sound the scribbling of his pen as he finished his notes. He looked up, his gaze going to Wesley. 'Any progress on finding out what has done this?'

'No. We've gone through the demons I have information on. We've utilized the internet and searched for any material or history on people getting turned into children. We've found cases of adults being physically turned into children but nothing including the memory issues that have occurred here. And it must be something powerful because of the fact that it appears Spike's demon has also been returned to a young age.'

'I would imagine we are probably looking at a curse. A witch or demon of some sort.' Giles murmured. 'Possibly someone who has a grudge against Buffy, and the Scoobies, which is not so much a stretch of the imagination. They do a lot of good that the world of evil would want retribution for.'

'So we're thinking this is revenge?'

'Possibly so.'

Angel stood suddenly, his vampire face slipping to the fore. The others jumped slightly at his abrupt movement and Giles pulled his glasses down slightly. 'What is it?'

'There's a demon nearby.'

'In the house?'

'I don't know.' He turned and bolted for the stairs, concerned for his son sleeping in the master bedroom upstairs. When he reached the landing, his feet took him in that direction, but his sense told him his son was safe and that the demon presence was in Dawn's room, where Willow had been placed to sleep. He kicked the door open, and immediately saw the jimmied window. Seconds later, the two watchers and Dawn were in the doorway, seeing what he was seeing.

Willow was gone.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this instalment. Happy New Year to you all and I hope I can get this story posting a bit quicker!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing yadda yadda yadda, just playing with Joss' creations and all that.

**A/N:** I can tell you now that you will not get another chapter until at least next Sunday, as it is my little girl's 2nd birthday on Saturday and we're having a teddy bear picnic to celebrate, also I'm starting a new job on Monday so will be too busy/knackered to do anything. So enjoy this one, cause it's all you're getting for now!

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size**

* * *

Willow was gone. Her scent was fresh, but it remained fact that the tiny witch was not present in Revello Drive.

'Can you follow the scent?' Giles asked the vampire, who nodded, not even waiting for the request to do so. He disappeared from the second floor and seconds later, the front door slammed and reverberated through the house. A squeal indicated that the noise had woken Connor. This was followed by a loud sign and Cordelia stomping up the stairs.

'He always has to be so dramatic. What happened?' She asked, her eyes darting towards the empty room as the two watchers and Dawn emerged.

'Willow's gone. He's going to try and find her.'

'Was there a demon?' Cordelia asked, not stopping on her route to the master bedroom. She opened the door and entered the room, soothing Connor as she picked him up and turned to the three in the hallway. Dawn shrugged and both the Englishmen looked lost for an answer. Cordy rolled her eyes. 'Nevermind. I'll get this one fed and back to sleep. Hopefully his daddy will be back soon, and he'll find little miss-out-of-control on his travels. I knew she was gonna be trouble.'

'It's not her fault.' Dawn protested weakly. Wesley looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

'From what I understand, she had trouble controlling herself as an adult. That would imply a sense of fault, would you not agree?'

Giles cleared his throat. 'Yes, well, be that as it may, she is merely a child now, with no knowledge or maturity to deal with her abilities. I suggest we find a spell to bind her powers when she returns, so that we have no further incident. I should have mentioned it earlier, but was remiss as she seemed too tired to do anything.'

'Bind her? Like, tie her up?' Dawn asked, a little frightened by the suggestion. 'But she's a kid.'

'No. Just prevent her from using her powers, Dawn. We wouldn't tie a small child up.' Giles moved towards the stairs, but Dawn didn't follow. She chewed her lip.

'Um...what if Spike got a bit...out of control?' Giles paused and turned, raising a cold eyebrow. His dislike of the vampire was well known, and he was not going to treat him any differently because he happened to be smaller than usual. He was still the undead.

'He is a vampire, Dawn. I would not hesitate to contain him.'

'He's still a kid.'

'No. He's a demon. The sooner you and Buffy realise this, the better off we will all be. I allowed him to stay and help when Buffy was gone...but believe me, if he needed to be removed from the situation, I would not hesitate to stake him myself, size be damned.' Giles' voice was steel and grit and Dawn suddenly felt an unbelievable anger welling in her chest. She took a deep, controlled breath and levelled her hard blue gaze on the man her sister saw as a father.

'He's not _just a demon._ He's my friend, my family and you will not touch him. He stayed, Giles. When everyone else left, he stayed. He looked after me. Cooked me dinner. Did my homework. Hugged me when I couldn't stop crying. The rest of you didn't give a flying _fuck_ and he stayed.'

'Dawn, language...' Giles started.

'No. You're not my father.' Dawn scowled. 'I swear to god, Giles, you lay one hand on him and I will make you pay.'

Giles watched her with a wary expression, not seeing the teenaged girl in front of him, but the eons-old key, who all of a sudden seemed rather scary to the aged watcher. He took a step back towards the stairs. 'You don't understand, Dawn...'

'I understand perfectly. You can hate on vamps all you wants Giles, but this one?' Dawn took a step closer, pointing down towards the living room, where Spike sat with Buffy, perfectly able to hear all that was going on upstairs. 'This one belongs to the Summers'.' She didn't let him speak again, pushing past him to stomp down the stairs. She ignored the blustered exclamation from Giles as she headed into the living room. The tiny blonde vampire on the sofa immediately ran to her and wrapped his arms round her middle, barely contained tears making his blue eyes all shiny.

'Thank you.' He whispered.

'I meant it.' Dawn whispered back, ignoring the confused looks from the other children on the sofa.

'Where'd Angel go?' Buffy asked, pointing at the door.

'Yeah, he stormed out all Batman style. His coat looked like a cape.' Xander grinned. 'Can I have a cape?'

'No, you're not cool enough to be Batman.' Anya scolded, slapping his leg slightly. Then she looked thoughtful. 'You could pull off Robin though.'

Xander stuck out his tongue at her and then looked back to Dawn. 'Do we hafta go bed soon?'

Dawn nodded, glad he'd forgotten his original question about Angel. But she was not saved. Tara raised a timid hand.

'Is Willow alright? You all went rushing upstairs.' Dawn hesitated, feeling Spike tense as he continued to hug her. He knew; he'd heard everything from upstairs. He'd heard them in the dining room and he'd heard the nasty words Giles had said. But he'd also heard what Dawn had said and he wasn't going to upset her by telling the others what was going on. He'd tell Buffy later, because he wouldn't ever lie to her.

'Erm, Willow is still asleep. Angel thought he heard something.'

'Is that where he went?' Anya asked. 'To check?'

'Yes.' Dawn affirmed, feeling her cheeks get red through lying. Buffy's eyes narrowed at her sister but she held her tongue, knowing the information was more valuable later on, usually when she wanted something. The brunette Summers' gently tugged Spike's arms away from her and then moved to turn the TV off. 'Right, kids, time for bed.'

* * *

Willow shivered in the cave. She wasn't entirely sure how she'd ended up here from the warm bed she'd been in at Revello Drive, and she was a bit wiggy on the man who'd promised her she was special and he could show her just how special if she came with him. He'd assured her she wouldn't get into trouble, and of course, he was obviously a grown up, so he knew better than her right?

She scrunched her toes up, wishing she had more than just socks on. She was wearing some of the old clothes Dawn had dragged down from the attic, and the Elmo pyjamas were very itchy and thin, and she thought she might just freeze into a popsicle if she stayed out much longer. The man had disappeared for a moment, but he'd promised he'd be back.

He looked like Peter Pan. He had pointy ears and soft green eyes, and even dressed like Peter Pan. He'd smiled so nicely, which had made her ignore the cold shaky feeling in her belly, and had said he could show her more magic when they'd suddenly seemed to be flying through the air. And Peter Pan could fly. Maybe he _was_ Peter Pan? If so, maybe he was fetching the Lost Boys, or Wendy, and they were going on an adventure. Willow had always adored the adventures in the books she'd read. But life had seemed so boring in comparison and her mom didn't like her reading that stuff. Said it made her fanciful, so she had to hide the books at Xander's house, and he never liked her reading. He preferred to build forts and play silly games. Not that she minded that either, because she loved Xander and liked playing with him.

If she was really going to Neverland, she wouldn't want to go without Xander. Or Tara. She didn't remember exactly where she knew Tara, but she knew she didn't want to be without her. She was sad whenever she was away from the other little girl. And she supposed, she couldn't go on an adventure without Buffy. And Buffy would probably want to bring Spike, cos she said he was "cool" and Willow supposed a vampire could be quite handy. Anya would probably come along, just because she was annoying. Willow didn't like annoying people.

The crunching of sand signified the return of Peter Pan, and she smiled brightly as he rounded the corner and smiled back at her. 'Would you like to go on an adventure?' The man asked, holding out a hand to her. She nodded and took the offered hand, ignoring that it was slightly cold. He smiled that warm smile at her and she went with him willingly, heading into the depths of the cave.

As they disappeared from sight, Hallie emerged from the shadows at the entrance to the cave. 'One down. Silly little witch.'

* * *

Angel sighed, shutting the door quietly. His hearing picking up soft snores from the second floor, and he knew the children were all asleep. Except one, it seemed.

Spike was crouched at the top of the stairs like a tiny watchdog, his vampire face to the fore as he watched from the darkness. Angel smiled at him and the little blond dropped the gameface and crept silently down the stairs to take Angel's hand. He knew Angel wasn't his dad, and he was still confused about the whole thing, but something inside told him he was safe with the big man, and he wasn't going to ignore his gut. He had the same feelings about his Buffy and Dawn too.

His gut told him that Giles was a wanker, so he ignored him.

Angel led him into the kitchen and plonked him on the kitchen side as he busied himself making two mugs of blood. Spike watched the other vampire move around the kitchen silently, and they both watched the microwave in silence as the blood heated. When it dinged, Angel removed the mugs and handed the smaller one to Spike who grinned and drank it without fuss. When they'd finished, Spike continued to watch as Angel cleaned up the mugs.

'Dawn fell asleep upstairs with the others. Giles and Wesley are in the dining room with Fred. I didn't want to go in there, because Giles doesn't like me, and I wasn't sleepy, so I thought I'd keep watch in case that demon came back.' Spike explained quickly, not wanting to get into trouble for lurking on the landing.

Angel nodded. 'Where's Cordelia and Gunn?'

Spike pointed upstairs. 'Cordelia is upstairs with the baby.' He frowned. 'Gunn went out to kill things. And look for you.' The little boy looked sad. 'You didn't find her, did you? Willow? The demon got her.' Angel shook his head.

'I lost the trail.'

'Is he going to come back for the rest of us?' Spike asked. 'He has a cold feeling. I don't like that feeling.'

Angel frowned, looking down at the little vampire. 'What do you mean?'

'Can't you feel it? Like when you think there's a monster in the room. Scares you right into your tummy. Maybe hiding under the duvet will stop him. It stops other monsters.' Spike shrugged. 'I don't know. I'm only little. Buffy says monsters are real but that we can kick their butts. I'm not so sure though.'

'Buffy is very headstrong.' Angel murmured, mulling over the information Spike had provided. He hadn't felt anything from the demon's presence, just the smell told him there was something other than human. It obviously wasn't a vampire, as it hadn't needed an invitation to get in. Willow was possibly still alive, and he needed to find her quickly. 'We should tell Giles what you just said.'

Spike shook his head. 'I don't want to go in there. He hates me. He told Dawn he'd stake me if I was bad.' Angel froze.

'He what?'

'He doesn't like me.' Spike repeated quietly.

Angel turned, leaving the small vampire on the island as he stormed into the dining room. 'You threatened Spike?' He questioned Giles, his anger barely controlled as he gritted his teeth, wanting to grab the old man and shake him. Giles levelled a glare at the brunette vamp, his eyes siding towards the kitchen briefly as Spike hopped off the island and peeked round the corner.

'I merely said I would do what needed to be done if he became a problem.'

'He's five, Giles! He won' be a problem.' Angel spat out. Wesley looked between the two, knowing his earlier mentioning of harming Spike had aggravated Angel too. It seemed his paternal side was not exclusive to the baby upstairs.

'He's a vampire. You're all a problem at some point.' Giles replied coolly and Angel growled.

'You don't touch him. He won't cause any problems.' He went to move away but Giles spoke again.

'Dawn says you were thinking of taking him with you if this problem cannot be rectified.' Angel didn't turn back to the watcher, but he listened as the other man continued speaking. 'I think that would be for the best. He won't age if they are all stuck this way. It would be best for Buffy and Dawn to not be burdened by him.'

Angel didn't reply. He moved towards the kitchen, and saw Spike, looking small and afraid in the doorway. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering what it was he needed to tell Giles before he had wanted to kill him. 'The demon...cross reference your research to something that kids can feel. It's something only kids can feel.'

'Did Spike tell you this?' Giles asked.

'What does it matter Giles? He's a kid at the moment and it's the only lead we have.' Angel didn't wait for a reply, and left the room, scooping Spike up without a word. He headed for the back door, opening it and stepping out into the night with the boy in his grasp. He set him down on the back porch and looked down at him with a gentle smile. 'Shall we go for a walk, William?' He asked. Spike smiled up at him and nodded enthusiastically, following the bigger vampire down the garden path.

* * *

'Spike's not here.' Buffy shook Dawn hard. 'Dawn.' The "bigger" sister stirred slightly. Buffy raised her voice. 'Dawn! Spike's gone.'

Dawn opened her eyes and sat up quickly, looking around. Xander, Anya and Tara remained asleep in their sleeping bags on the floor, cushions all around their heads. Buffy was kneeling on the bed next to her, a concerned frown on the little blonde's face.

'Spike is not here.' Buffy said again, folding her arms. She was wearing the night clothes she'd gone to bed in and that had shrunk with her. Dawn was fast running out of her old clothes, and wondering why her mom had hoarded so much. Not that it hadn't come in handy, but there was only so much she could use for the other kids. She'd have to mention to the others about going shopping.

'What do you mean?'

'He was next to me when we went to sleep. Now he's gone. And the sun is up.' Buffy was getting more panicked. Dawn swung her legs over the side of the bed, and motioned to Buffy not to wake the others as they stepped out into the hallway.

'He's got to be in the house somewhere Buffy. We'll go look for him, okay?' They crept past Dawn's room, where Wesley snored on the floor. Dawn heard Cordelia fussing over Connor downstairs and more snores from the sofa as they headed down the stairs. Giles was passed out on the sofa, the snores coming from him. Buffy looked at him and giggled as they moved away into the dining room. Cordelia had Connor on the table and was blowing raspberries at him as they walked in. She looked up and smiled brightly at them.

'Hey girls. We're the only ones up so far. Connor here didn't want to sleep last night!' She nodded towards the living room. 'I don't think the old boys went to sleep until late.'

'Where's Spike?' Buffy asked. 'I couldn't find him in the bedroom.'

'Oh. I think he's asleep in the basement with Angel.' Cordelia said, still smiling as she tickled the infant's foot. Dawn nodded over at Buffy, who ran to the basement door, and Dawn went to play with Connor. The tiny blonde slayer opened the basement door quietly and tiptoed down.

Looking over the bannister, she saw Angel asleep, sat up against the wall with Spike curled up on his lap, breathing softly in his sleep. Angel cracked one eye open and smiled at Buffy, motioning for her to come down. She hesitated, still wary of the big, brooding vampire. After pondering it, she moved closer, her gaze flitting between Angel and the boy on his lap.

'Is he okay? He said he had a bad feeling last night. Because of Willow.' Buffy said quietly, drawing as close to the pair as she dared.

'He did. But he's okay. We went for a walk.' Angel whispered, his hand ghosting over the boy's hair. Spike didn't stir, his face relaxed and innocent as he snoozed.

'Are you his daddy?' Buffy asked. 'You sure act like it.'

'No. I'm not his real daddy.'

'But he lived with you?' Buffy scrunched up her nose. 'I remember something like that. But...'

'Yeah he did. For a little while.'

'Is he going to live with you again?' She asked, scared of the answer. 'Because he's mine you know. You can't have him.'

Angel stared, taken aback by her answer. 'What do you mean?'

'He's my vampire.' She said, her eyes not moving from Spike. 'You can't have him. I'm sad when he isn't here. Like someone took my tummy out.'

The elder vampire's gaze didn't move from her hazel eyes as she continued to focus on Spike. The way she described it sounded unreal, he'd only heard of bonds like that between Sire and Childe. Or between pairs that had been together for decades. He'd had it with Darla once, but the soul had destroyed that for him. He imagined if Connor were taken from him, he'd feel like he were bereft of a limb now. 'I won't take him away from you, Buffy.'

'You promise?' Buffy asked, her eyes lifting to meet his. He nodded. She held out her hand, making a fist and holding her littlest finger out to him. 'Pinky promise?' Angel looked down at the offered pinky and smiled, hooking his own, much larger pinky through it.

'Pinky promise.'

* * *

'So you see, you are a very special little girl. Much more special than all your friends.' Zant said sweetly, smiling at the little red head. She smiled back, her eyes trusting, ignoring all the alarms her tiny body was setting off. He knew his presence made children uneasy at first, but his appearance, all of his kind, looked like a story of old, a story inspired by his kind. He was the original Peter Pan. But the stories were wrong; the children didn't stay children forever - they never grew up though, that was for certain. His warm eyes and smiles could fool a child; his features were softened to them and welcoming. But adults could see him for what he truly was. A sharp toothed, feline like demon, who wanted nothing but to feed off the life essence of children. And only their purity would do, only innocence would sustain him. The witch, with the power that dwelt inside her, if she had been the adult she was before the curse, would have found her life significantly lengthened by her power. She was sweet, innocence tinged with darkness. With the power imbued in her, combined with the slayer and vampire, and the fourth - he could resurrect his family, long dead at the hands of demon hunters. He was difficult to kill, but not by the right person.

If the Slayer were still grown, she would have the power to do it.

Luckily for him she wasn't.

'So, little Willow. You know what you have to do?' The little girl nodded, smiling brightly. 'Tell me.'

'I have to tell the others that we're going on an adventure. That we have to take the baby or he'll miss out. Bring them to the playground. But don't let the adult know.'

'And how will you do that?'

'With the words you taught me. They'll fall asleep until we get home.'

'And where will we go once we've gotten to the playground?'

'On an adventure.' Willow smiled. 'Like the Lost Boys.'

'Yes my dear.' Zant smiled. 'Just like the Lost Boys.'

* * *

**Sorry this was a short one. I hope you are enjoying it. Please let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing yadda yadda yadda, just playing with Joss' creations and all that.

**A/N: **18 days? Oh my word. I am so sorry! I started a new job on the 6th and between the money issues and fitting family time, I've had zero time for my stories! I have been able to squeeze in five minutes for chapter outline, but I told myself off today and ordered myself to sit down and write. So I'm writing. And I hope you all enjoy. As always, reviews are very appreciated, even if you start it with scolding me for my tardiness!

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part Seven**

* * *

Zant smiled cruelly as the tiny red headed witch beamed at him and then skipped off ahead up to the front door of 1680 Revello Drive. His smile was twisted and full of sharp teeth, but all she would have seen if she'd looked back, was her elfin like friend, who greatly resembled a childhood hero, smiling warmly with neat human teeth and soft eyes. He marvelled at the innocence that made his appearance so askew to the children he hunted. A perfect predators weapon.

She stood by the door, and he watched as the air shifted, the sense of magic mildly filling his senses. He could hear her whispering the words he had taught her, pronouncing them perfectly. Willow was a marvellous student; that he could not deny. His species had a unique ability, beyond the manipulation of perception; he was able to sense a child's potential. He could not pinpoint exact events, but he knew whether a child was to become greatness and could sense their strengths. Little Willow had many paths laid out before her. If Zant were not planning on devouring her soul and all of her potential.

As he watched, the house lights flickered and then stabilised, and the front door creaked open. Little Willow disappeared inside and Zant licked his lips in anticipation. Not long now, and he would have the power to return his family to this plane.

The cruel smile fixed on his face, he disappeared into the darkness to prepare.

* * *

Spike looked down at Angel, worry creasing his forehead as he nudged the older vampire yet again. Connor screamed from upstairs, and he heard the other children yelling. But Angel wasn't waking up.

The front door opened and shut above him and he decided quickly that maybe it would take the other grown ups to wake Angel up. So he turned and pelted up the stairs as fast as his legs would carry him. He'd only been downstairs with Angel because Xander was mean to him and everyone had been on edge with Willow still missing and unknown demons running around. Giles had made him very uncomfortable, so he'd retreated to the basement to talk to Angel. They'd been talking about Angel's adventures in a submarine when the elder vamp had suddenly fallen asleep.

Entering the kitchen revealed Xander with his finger in a peanut butter jar. The dark haired boy scowled at him and then replaced the jar on the island as he watched the other little boy head out of the room, shaking his head as he went. He ground to a halt as he saw the red headed witch in the front room, her eyes wide and worried. Buffy was standing with her arms folded, and a frown on her face.

'Willow came back.' Buffy stated, not removing her eyes from the little redhead. Spike nodded slowly.

'Where were you?' Tara asked quietly, standing slightly behind Buffy. Anya remained slouched on the sofa, watching Connor squirm and giggle on the floor on a blanket, his toys scattered around him. Cordelia was in the armchair by the tv, asleep. Spike frowned at that, and moved over to the lady, tugging on her sleeve. She simply snored and rolled her head to the other side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of feet sticking out from the dining room, and he quickly ran to the room, finding Dawn asleep on the floor, a small amount of drool pooling in the corner of her mouth. Giles, Wesley and Fred were all face down on the books, apparently also in a deep sleep.

'Where's Gunn?' Buffy asked, having come up behind Spike. 'All the grown ups must be really tired.'

'I think it's a spell.' Spike murmured.

'No it's not.' Willow said, folding her arms. The little vampire turned to her.

'How would you know?' Spike replied, ignoring Xander as he walked in from the kitchen.

'Why are all the growed up asleep?' The brunette boy asked, looking around the room. He spied Willow and smiled brightly. 'Willow! You came back!'

'Yeah. Of course I came back.' She smiled at her oldest friend. The smile disappeared as Buffy stepped in front of her.

'Where were you?' She demanded again. Willow shrank a little, then remembered her job and the adventure, and her posture became bold again.

'A man came to see me. He said we're all going on an adventure.'

'Uh, anyone remember "stranger danger"?' Anya piped up. 'Plus, it's dark out.'

'No, we'll be safe.' Willow clarified, raising her palms. 'I promise. Zant is like Peter Pan. And we're going to be the Lost Boys. We'll be home before anyone realises, just like in the story. It'll be fun.'

'I remember the story.' Spike said. 'The Lost Boys never went home.' Buffy looked between him and the redhead, concern flooding her features.

'Yes they did. They all got homes and were happy forever.' Willow said, frowning at Spike's dispute of her story. She had to get them to leave soon, otherwise Zant might not be in the playground waiting for them. She looked over at Xander. 'Xander, you know how much we like adventures. No one will know. Zant promised that we would fight pirates and swim with mermaids. Just like in the stories I read to you.'

'Really?' Xander seemed excited by the prospect. Until he saw that the other children were not experiencing the same excitement. He quietened and cleared his throat.

'I mean it guys. It's an adventure. Like the ones in the Disney films. We'll all have fun!' Willow smiled brightly as she described the plan, and Buffy narrowed her eyes again.

'I don't think it's a good idea.' Buffy said, looking over at her sisters feet. 'All of the grown ups have fallen asleep. They'd be worried when they wake up.'

'They won't wake up.' Willow scoffed, and then backtracked at her mistake. 'I mean, they will, when we get back.'

'But we can't just leave the baby.' Tara said, moving backwards a little. Willow shook her head.

'We don't have to. Connor can come with us.' Willow knew she had Xander convinced. Anya would follow anyway so she wasn't left out and Tara probably would too. The hard ones were Buffy and Spike, and Zant had made it clear that if one stayed behind, none of them would get to go on the adventure. 'Come on Buffy! Don't you want an adventure? Don't you want to see fairies and mermaids?' She jumped a little as she spoke to the tiny blonde, knowing if she could sway Buffy, Spike would follow her.

Buffy chewed her lip, looking around at all of them. 'I guess...maybe we could go for a little? If we're back soon, then the grown ups won't know?'

'They won't!' Willow promised. 'It'll be fun!'

'And we have to take Connor's formula.' Tara said, picking the baby up off the floor and holding him tight. He gurgled and dribbled onto her top, pulling at her hair as she smiled at him.

'Maybe we should take the pram?' Willow thought. 'He's going to get heavy and we're only little. But we can push him along. Cordy let Tara do it at the park.' Tara agreed, and Xander quickly retrieved the stroller from it's resting place against the dining room wall. On his way back over, he tripped on Dawn's foot and she stirred, grunting and rolling over.

Five minutes later, Connor had his coat on and was strapped into the buggy, and the six children were heading out the door, Willow and Xander giggling excitedly, Tara following and pushing Connor along, barely able to see over the top of the buggy, Anya behind her, following the crowd and at the back of the small group, Buffy and Spike followed, their faces serious and concerned.

In the dining room of the Summers' house, Dawn groaned and rolled over, throwing her arm over her eyes as she snored softly in her sleep.

* * *

'Hey, Tara.' Spike overtook Anya suddenly, making Buffy jump as he spoke. 'Let me push that.' He motioned towards the buggy that the small blonde was struggling with. She smiled gratefully as he took over pushing. 'Way I understand it, Connor's like my brother. So I should be the one pushing him.'

'That's cool, S-spike.' She stuttered a little, and carried on walking beside him. Connor gurgled happily and pulled at the toy dangling from the hood of the pram.

'He seems happy.' Buffy noted as she caught up to them. 'Being a baby is so easy. Not like being five. You have to learn stuff when you're five.'

'Angel taught me how to punch properly earlier.' Spike announced proudly.

'He asked if I wanted to do that. But girls don't fight.' Buffy turned her nose up. 'I'm going to be an ice skater.'

'But you're the Slayer.' Spike said, wrinkling his nose at her. 'You can't be both.'

'Yes I can too!' Buffy said, stopping and putting her hands on her hips. Her voice got louder and caught the attention of Willow and Xander. 'I can be whatever I want to be. My mommy said so!'

'Guys!' Willow interrupted, waving them to be quiet. 'We're nearly there but we have to be quiet. Other grown ups are still awake!' Spike narrowed his eyes at the witch but didn't say anything.

'Where exactly are we going?' Anya asked, sounding very bored with the whole situation. Willow turned fiery eyes on her as she spoke.

'The playground.'

'The playground?' Anya scoffed. 'We went there the other day. It was boring! I thought you said this would be an adventure.'

'The adventure isn't in the playground, stupid.' Willow ignored the anger on Anya's face at being called stupid. 'It's just where we are meeting Zant.' Spike looked to Buffy, worry clouding his gaze and she nodded in acknowledgement. Neither of them were entirely comfortable with the situation, or this mysterious "Zant". Willow sighed. 'Come on guys. I promise you it's safe. But we need to get there soon.' She turned and started walking again. Tara followed, concern also evident on her little face. The other children followed behind, their innate fear of everything around them beginning to cloud their minds.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the playground. It was cold and deserted as they entered the gates, and Connor began to fuss quietly as they stopped by the sandpit. Tara pulled out his bottle from the travel bag and gave it to him, smiling as he began to drink greedily. Spike and Buffy stood close together near the pram containing the baby, as the dark seemed to close in around them. Willow turned around, worry setting into her expression as she didn't see Zant anywhere.

'I thought you said he'd be here, Wills?' Xander whimpered quietly, reaching out for his best friend's hand. Willow waved him off.

'He may be late.' _What if we missed him? We won't get to go on an adventure afterall._ She felt like crying at the thought. She'd been so excited. Everything she'd read about was true, and she was special. He'd said so.

'Or maybe he lied to you.' Anya stated, earning a glare from the little witch. 'What? Grown ups lie.'

'I did not lie.' Zant suddenly materialised from the darkness, earning a shriek from Anya and Tara, and unsurprisingly, Xander. He smiled at Willow, who smiled back, and his gaze then roved over the other children, settling briefly on the baby, and then Buffy, but coming to linger on the tiny vampire, stood protectively beside Buffy and in front of his "brother". He inhaled deeply. _The little vampire...such an innocent demon...such power...such...potential. He would suffice alone...but to be sure..._ 'Welcome, children. Willow you have done very well.'

The demon smiled, and the others smiled back. Except Spike. Buffy's smiled was hesitant, Spike's was non-existent. Fear and terror curled in the bottom of his stomach, icy tendrils reaching out to encase his body in the same feelings. The demon's visage flickered and contorted, one second he looked friendly and warm like Peter Pan, just as Willow had described; the next, his teeth were sharp, his skin like snow and his eyes feline and terrifying. Spike shuddered, knowing he had to get them out of here. He didn't care about any adventures, and definitely none including this demon.

He took a breath, ready to voice his displeasure and escape from whatever awaited him, when the demon spoke again.

'Time for an adventure.' His voice was low and gravelly, and not warm in the slightest. But the other children were in his spell. Spike looked to Buffy, seeing that even she was being drawn in. He grasped her arm, ready to bolt with Connor in tow, when the demon's smiled stretched wider and he clapped his hands.

A flash of white, and the playground was empty, the only sound remaining was the squeaky of the swings as they moved in the wind.

* * *

The wind was getting up outside, and it was beginning to rain as Dawn stretched and stirred. She frowned as she opened her eyes and found herself on the dining room floor. The shock of finding herself where she was spurred her to sit up quickly, and scramble to her feet. She noticed first that Wesley, Giles and Fred were asleep on books on the table. She immediately moved to Giles and poked his arm hard, and rather viciously, several times, eliciting no response from the Watcher.

Dawn frowned, and repeated the process, bringing her fists down onto the table near his head and yelling his ear, without success. Neither of the others woke up. She stopped her attempts and wandered into the living, spying Connor's abandoned blanket and toys. She paused, listening for any sign of the children and then frowned, glancing at the clock on the mantle, just above a snoring Cordelia's head. It was nearly 3am. She shivered, hearing the wind and rain outside. Then she noticed that the front door was open a crack and she immediately panicked, moving out to the porch, pulled her cardigan closer as she stood on the doorstep. The rain was coming down very heavily and she ran straight out into it, looking left and right for any sign of her sister, and the other children.

Upon seeing no trace, and now soaked to the bone, she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She screamed her sister's name, hoping upon hope that she would answer but her prayers were not answered.

Alone in the street, standing in the pouring rain, Dawn Summers wept in despair.

* * *

I apologise that this is a shorter chapter than I have been putting out lately, but if I'd gone on, it would have ended up being too long! Hope you enjoy.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing yadda yadda yadda, just playing with Joss' creations and all that.

**A/N: **Okay, trying to be a bit more on the ball with these updates now! This chapter is dedicated to the Scoobs, without you guys, my life would totally suck.

* * *

**Not Your Shoe Size Part Eight**

* * *

The rain was beginning to ease. The wind was picking up and in the distance there was a rumble of thunder. For a few seconds, letting her despair get the better of her, Dawn was nothing but the child she claimed not to be, alone and lost in the world, frozen and drenched to the bone, wishing her mother were there to cuddle her and tell her it was all going to be alright. And Dawn would believe her; because mommies never lied.

But her mother was not there.

Her mother could not comfort her.

She only had herself to rely on and she had to save her sister and the others.

Summers was her last name.

She was made from Buffy Summers, made from THE Slayer. She could find them and bring them home and end this whole crazy mess. She was Dawn Summers. Former Key. Hell yeah she could do this.

Drawing herself up to her full height and ignoring the uncomfortable feel of her wet hair plastered to her face and the sweater she wore making her skin goosepimple with its damp weight, she headed back to the house. She slammed the door behind her and cast a glance to the living room.

And all the strength she'd drawn into herself outside melted away and she wilted like the frightened teenaged girl she really was. Yes, she was a Summers.

But at this moment, she was very much alone.

* * *

Angel stirred, a clanging noise radiating through his head and hurting so bad he growled out loud. He found himself propped up against the cold wall of the basement, alone. He could have sworn Spike were with him a moment ago. Wasn't like him to fall asleep either.

Listening intently, he could still hear the clanging upstairs. The rain echoed onto the small window on the otherside of the basement, and someone was yelling at someone else to wake up. Dawn. Dawn was shouting. Was she shouting at the kids?

A internal alarm bell rang in his head and his demon raged. His son was not in the house. Neither was Spike. He couldn't sense any Slayers in the near vicinity. The knowledge of Connor alone being missing had him up off the cot so quick he would have been a blur to the naked eye, and within seconds he was standing in the doorway to the dining room, witnessing a tearful Dawn smashing pans together and yelling at the three stirring adults on the table to wake up. A crash sounded from upstairs, and Cordelia moaned in the living room.

Dawn saw Angel standing before her and rushed to him.

'The children are gone. Someone took them!'

'What?!' Angel's anger was palpable as he burst into game face, snarling at the young girl, who to her credit, did not cower. She understood his anger, felt it and shared it. He stomped into the other room, where Cordelia was kneeling on the floor next to the abandoned baby blanket, her hands grasping a cuddly toy that she had given his son when he'd come into their lives. He looked down at her, his anger ebbing away to fear and concern for his infant son.

'What happened? Where is he?' Cordelia asked, tears gathering behind her eyes as she looked up at Angel pleadingly. He knew she loved the boy, that all of them loved the boy, and within a second of the pleading question leaving her mouth, steel had overcome her gaze and she was on her feet, heading for the dining room. 'We need to find them. Now.'

'Was planning on it.' Wesley muttered from the dining room, and Angel turned to follow the ex cheerleader, seeing Gunn come down the stairs, bleeding from a gaze on his eyebrow.

'Where were you?' Angel asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

'No idea, man. Just woke up on the john.' Gunn looked confused. 'What in the hell is goin' on, boss?' He stepped off of the stairs and followed Angel into the dining room, where Dawn was flicking through books.

'They can't have been gone long,' Dawn stated, panic edging her tone, 'we were only out for an hour or so.'

'Five years old don't move that fast.' Fred offered, looking through a book of her own.

'Well they took the stroller at least.' Cordelia remarked dryly, folding her arms impatiently. Wesley glanced around.

'We had it narrowed down to one of four demons that are, er, _interested_, in children.'

'Interested meaning?' Gunn raised an eyebrow at the two Englishmen. Giles cleared his throat. Gunn dropped the eyebrow and looked humbled for a second. 'Oh.'

Dawn's eyes widened. 'They're gonna get eaten?' She shrieked. Angel raised a hand, wincing at the tone.

'No. No one is getting eaten. Maybe I can track them, the rain might have washed away most of the scent but if I can zero in on Spike, I might find them.'

'Why Spike?' Giles asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Angel regarded him coolly, not forgetting the conversation they had had regarding Spike.

'We have a familial link. I might be able to use that to find him.'

'And you don't have that with Connor?' Giles clarified. Angel almost growled at the watcher.

'Connor isn't a vampire.' Cordelia supplied, irritation clouding her voice. Giles didn't reply to that, and Wesley coughed gently, holding up his notepad.

'Two of the four are easy to kill by any means, and like to...consume...well, you get the idea. But this seems to have been a calculated plan. So I believe we are dealing with either a Kurash demon, a large ugly beast that can cause hallucinations and lure children that way, using a toxic fume to make them believe their own delusions - or it's a Pan demon, which I believe is the most likely out of the two.'

'A Pan demon?' Dawn asked. 'As in, Peter Pan?'

Wesley nodded. 'Precisely. There is speculation that that is where Peter Pan was originally derived from. Fascinating really, that such a beloved childhood tale can come from-' Six pairs of eyes landed on him and he cleared his throat, looking down at his book, his cheeks reddening as he perused his notes '- Yes, anyway, the Pan demon was thought to be extinct but this seems like his modus operandi. The appearance to an adult is different to a child, they appear harmless and magical to the innocent but evil and twisted to the grown. They devour the souls of children, and they prefer,' He paused again, frowning deeply. 'They prefer _immortal_ children.'

Angel's eyes widened. 'Spike.'

Giles _harrumphed_ and Angel's gaze immediately went to him. The watcher stood defiantly staring the vampire down. 'I would remind you Angel, that it is not just Spike that has been taken. We need to find those children and immediately, as quickly as we can. Wesley, does it say how best to kill either of these demons?'

'That's the hard part. A Kurash demon can only be killed by decapitation and blessed water. But if this is a Pan demon, and I rather suspect it is, it can only be killed by silver from its home dimension, wielded by an immortal child.'

'Well that's not complicated at all.' Cordelia drawled, grabbing her coat. 'You guys work on that, we'll find the children.' Angel nodded in agreement. He ignored Giles, looking to Wesley.

'I've got my cell on me.' Wesley nodded, and Angel turned, motioning to Gunn as they headed for the door. Dawn grabbed her coat and began to follow when Angel held his hand up. 'Where do you think you're going?'

'With you.' Dawn stated.

'No, you're not.' The vampire argued and Dawn folded her arms.

'That's _my_ family out there, Angel. I'm not staying here.

'Dawn-' He started, only to be cut off by the youngest Summers.

'No. No arguments. I'm going.' She pushed past him without another word, leaving him stood in the hallway, mouth agape, as Gunn shrugged his coat on and looked at him with amusement on his features.

'Just wait until Connor is a teenager.' The black man said, smiling at the vampire, who scowled and left the house without another word. Gunn followed, a chuckle echoing behind him, leaving the three in the living room with the books.

Fred looked at Wesley with worry on her face. 'They'll find them, right?' Wesley smiled, but didn't reply and Fred looked up at the door again, hope in her heart that they'd find the children before any harm came to them.

* * *

Spike blinked as his eyes adjusted and the first sound that filtered through the buzzing around him was Connor crying. The other children were stood around him, confused looks on their faces and Xander looked as if he were about to burst into tears. Looking around, Spike focused on the environment, feeling the cold chill of the air surrounding his tiny frame, but he immediately disregarded it. He knew the others would be cold but it didn't bother him to any great extent.

The ground was dirt and the trees around them were dead. It wasn't raining wherever they were now, but it certainly didn't resemble the place of adventure that Willow had told them about. Rocks and ruined buildings made of purple stones were dotted amongst the trees and the moon was a murky red in the black sky. It cast a crimson glow over the landscape, making it look like blood was poured over everything.

Connor's cries grew louder, and without thinking, Spike picked him up from the carrier, holding the infant close and shushing him. He knew Angel wasn't his dad, but something inside his chest told him that the little boy in his arms was his brother, and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to them. Connor quietened upon being held, and Spike turned angry blue eyes on the little redheaded witch.

'Some adventure this is. We're going to freeze out here.'

'Knew we shouldn't have left the house.' Anya stated, wrapping her tiny arms around her little frame.

'We're gonna get in so much trouble.' Buffy squealed, moving closer to Spike, tears pooling in her giant hazel eyes. Xander scowled at Spike through his wet eyes, and Willow was slowly turning a bright shade of red.

'Maybe we need to find Zant.' Willow suggested. 'He said he'd be at the park.'

'W-w-we're not in the park.' Tara piped up, shivering against the wind.

'No, we're not.' A voice from behind them bellowed. All of the children turned, seeing Zant stood in front of him. Willow smiled brightly, glad he was here, his kind smile making her feel better for what the others had perceived as a mistake. 'Well done, little witch.'

Spike gripped Connor harder as he saw the demon in front of them. Where the others saw a kind smile, Spike saw rows of razor sharp teeth and feline eyes boring into him. He knew they were not safe with this man. He nudged Buffy. 'We need to get back to your house. This isn't safe.'

'He looks perfectly fine, Spike.' Buffy was relaxing, letting her guard down. Spike knew she was seeing something he was not, but he also knew it was an illusion. The same feeling that told him Connor was his family, was telling him this man meant them harm. He couldn't allow any of them to get hurt - to do so would let Dawn and Angel down, and he just couldn't do that. Now was the time to be brave, and Angel had told him he had once been a brave warrior.

Although, what he wouldn't give for somewhere to hide right now.

'You are safe here, young Spike. Didn't Willow tell you? A great adventure lies ahead.' Zant drew closer, which made the uncomfortable feeling in Spike's chest even more so, and without warning, his demon burst forth. Yellow eyes regarded the demon coming toward him with an equal mix of fear and anger. If he touched him, Spike would rip his arm off.

'Spike, we're fine here. Zant is going to take us to Neverland.' Willow smiled, pushing past him and Buffy to get to Zant. 'He said we were special.'

'And so you all are.' Zant enforced, his eyes not leaving Spike. 'And Willow is right. Forever lies ahead of you, forever as a child, having endless fun.' He smiled wider and the other children smiled back, but Spike only glared, feeling a small amount of bravado growing inside him.

'This doesn't look like a fun place.' He spoke slowly, not letting his golden glare leave the demon man in front of him. Connor gurgled, almost asleep in his "brother's" arms.

'Not right now. But you children, you hold the magic to make it...alive again.' The demon man gestured widely with his arm.

'How will we do that?' Buffy asked, frowning. 'I don't feel magic.' She twitched her nose like Samantha from Bewitched, and then wriggled her fingers. 'Nope. I don't feel any magic.' Xander giggled.

'There is a spell.' Zant said slowly, his gaze moving between the Slayer, the witch and the vampire. 'A spell that will bring life and joy. All we have to do is perform it.'

'But we don't know magic.' Anya said, looking sad. 'If we can't do it, then we can't have any fun. And that would suck.'

'I don't like this, Buffy.' Spike said quietly, feeling the small amount of bravado he'd built up slipping away. He reached out to hold Buffy's hand. 'I wanna go home.' His voice was wobbly, clashing with the demon face he wore, a slight lisp to his words between his fangs. Buffy looked at him and squeezed his hand.

'We'll be okay Spike. I said I wouldn't let anything happen to you. You're my vampire, remember?' She smiled brightly, and for a second, he felt a little better, until Zant spoke again, the demon's voice chilling him to the bone. He dropped Buffy's hand, returning the appendage to shield the baby in his arms. Connor was asleep now, and Spike was grateful for that. He wouldn't be scared that way.

'So when do we start the magic?' Willow asked excitedly, bouncing on her feet. Zant looked down at her and smiled back, his eyes brightening with her excitement.

'Why, we can start right now, little Willow.'

* * *

Angel raced across the street, desperately searching for any sign of the children. The pain in his chest was like a vice around his heart, making him feel desolate and alone in the world. The scent from the house had led them here, to the playground just a block away from Restfield, and there it had ended. Connor's bottle had been lying discarded on the floor. Angel had grabbed it, clutching it to his chest and looking around furtively for a sign of his son or Spike, or any of the others.

Gunn, Cordelia and Dawn caught up to him as he found the bottle, noting the tears almost pooling his eyes. None of them had ever seen Angel so terrified in the time they had known him.

'We'll find them, champ. You know we will.' Cordelia tried to console him, but he shrugged her off, looking around the park for any sign of them.

Dawn stiffened noticeably as she moved towards the bench, where track marks in the muddy puddle indicated a stroller having been through. The other three stopped and turned to her, Gunn raising an eyebrow as he considered the young brunette.

'You okay?'

Dawn looked to him, nostrils flaring as she frowned. 'Something...I dunno. Felt like, that feeling you get when someone walks over your grave? Like a shiver down your spine. I can feel that, but constant. Right here.' She indicated to the spot where she was stood, in front of the puddle. 'I've felt it before...' she paused. 'When Buffy died. When the portal was open. And when I went back to the tower...' She trailed off, knowing the others didn't know the specifics of where Buffy had jumped. 'I-I think a portal may have opened here. I guess it makes sense, I'm a Key. I can sense doors or something?' Her voice was unsure as she spoke, her eyes downcast.

No one said anything for a few moments. Cordelia frowned. 'How did you open that portal?'

'My-my blood opens the door.' Dawn said quietly. 'I don't know if it would work here, but if it gets Buffy back...I'd try.' She slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small Swiss army knife, flipping it open. 'It's worth a try, right?'

Angel looked at her, his desire to find his son warring with the desire to not shed an innocent's blood, even if she was offering. 'It might be dangerous.'

'I don't care. A little blood won't hurt me.' Dawn said defiantly, and looked down at the knife and her exposed wrist. She raised the blade, looking up at the others as she paused. 'If this does work...please don't tell Buffy I carry a knife. She'd kill me.'

And she brought the blade down.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. Please R&R!


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