Halloween

Megg

Feedback: I gave my email, didn't I? That should be a hint!
Disclaimer: I really, really don't own anything. Scratch that, I own Erica, Mason, Matthew, Charlotte, Becky, Jean, and Benedict the cat. I guess I own a lot, huh?
Rating: PG
Distribution: CordeliaDoyle, Isa, Sabreil, Gabby, Daala, and anyone else, yes, LMK.
Notes: This was an answer to a challenge from Garnet. The must-be-included stuff is listed at the end. :)
More Notes: I was listening to my Sophie Z CD like three times when I was listening ... just for the record. *G*
Characters: Buffy/Angel, Xander/Willow, Cordelia/Doyle (but it's really mostly B/A, cos this came from B_A_Kids.)

******

"Mommy! The antlers fell off!"

"Daddy! Help! I can't see!"

"Mommy! Daddy! Whereth the teeth?"

"Waaaaaah!"

Buffy looked at Angel. "This is going to be a long night, huh?"

Angel nodded, groaning, as he produced a pair of reindeer antlers for his oldest daughter.

The dark-haired girl put them on her head and screeched when they fell off again.

Buffy sighed, grabbing the headpiece and a few hair pins and pinning it into her long hair. "There you go, Erica, you're all set."

"Daddy!" Buffy and Angel's youngest son cried, "Whereth the teeth? I can't be a vampire without the teeth," he lisped.

Angel, a nervous wreck, looked at Buffy. "Are you sure it's safe for me to take them this year?"

"I'm telling you, Angel, they want you to take them. I think Matthew and Mason really need the whole bonding thing."

Angel winced.

Buffy flashed her husband a bright smile before producing a pair of bright orange, plastic vampire teeth and handing them to Matthew. "There you go, Honey," she cooed. "Go get your bags and wait by the door with Erica for Daddy."

Matthew hugged his mother and hurried up the stairs.

"What about me?" Mason whined, the oldest boy at six. He held his ghost costume in his hand. "I couldn't see a' *all*, Mommy. Not a' all!"

Buffy was tempted to laugh, but didn't want to hurt her son's feelings. "Let me see the-" she was interrupted by a shriek from her young daughter. She turned to Angel. "Will you go get Char, Angel?"

Angel, figuring it was the least he could do, and also glad to get away from the hyper children, took the stairs up to the nursery two at a time.

Buffy turned back to Mason. "Now, let me see what I can do about eyes in this costume. Did Auntie Willow forget to add them when she made the costume?"

"She didn't make it," Mason scoffed. "She got it out o' the closet."

"Now, Mason," Buffy admonished. "Be polite. And when she and Uncle Xander come over with Becky and Jean, I want you to be nice, do you hear me?"

"But Mommy! They're only three!"

"No buts, Mason. I told you to be nice and I mean it." Buffy took a pair of pinking sheers and sliced holes in the white sheet before slipping it back over her son. "Now, where's your plastic pumpkin?"

"Right here!" Mason proudly held up his trick-or-treating device. "Ca' I have a Snickers to start with, Mommy?"

"Yeah! Can we, Mommy, please?" Erica begged.

Buffy laughed. "Not yet, Darlings. We'll see when you get back."

"But it has to look like we have *some* candy," Erica argued, and Mason nodded in agreement.

"There's about a hundred houses on this street," Buffy reminded her children. "You'll get plenty." Before she could finish, Angel came down the stairs, holding Charlotte and using his free hand to grasp the hand of Matthew.

"Ith we going to get loth of candy?" Matthew lisped.

Buffy looked worried. "Angel, we really need to get that lisp checked out."

"I don't lithp!" Matthew cried.

"Shhh, Honey," Buffy soothed him, kneeling in front of him and brushing his hair back from his face. "You're such a handsome vampire!"

"I'm a big, mean vampire and I'm going to eat you!" Matthew informed her.

+

Buffy laughed at the irony in the situation. Angel had been granted humanity several years back, and now her son was pretending to be a vampire.

"Oh!" Buffy suddenly cried, taking Charlotte from Angel. "I have a costume for her."

Angel frowned. "What kind of a costume?"

Buffy laughed. "Not like Matthew and Mason had, it's not a Ninja Turtle, I promise. Wait right there."

"Didn't have other plans!" Angel called as she hurried down the corridor with Charlotte in her arms.

*****

"She's ... an angel," Angel murmured.

"Just like her father." Buffy smiled, handing their daughter to Angel. "I-" She stopped when the doorbell rang. "I'll bet that's Willow and Xander."

"Or Cordelia and Doyle," Angel reminded her.

"Oh! That's right! Doyle called, he said they're going to be half an hour late."

"But they're going to miss trick-or-treating!" Mason said in horror.

Buffy laughed. "Sweetheart, they don't have kids, so it doesn't matter."

"But ... but Daddy is coming trick-or-treating, and you always come trick-or-treating, and-"

"Shhh." Buffy kissed her son on the cheek as Willow, Xander, and the twins made their way up the stairs.

"A witch!" Buffy cried, embracing Jean, who was equipped with a pointy hat and a broomstick.

"A vampire," Xander stated, looking amused.

Buffy laughed. "Come on up, you guys."

"Fairy," Becky whispered, looking at Buffy, wide-eyed.

Buffy grinned and scooped Becky up. "See, Willow? I told you she'd talk when she was ready."

"So, which one of you is going trick-or-treating with the kids and who is staying with me?" Buffy asked.

"Xander's going," Willow responded automatically.

"Hey!" Xander looked indignant, but Willow just smiled sweetly.

*****

"I have to give you credit, Dead Boy," Xander said as they walked. "I don't know how you manage with four kids."

"Neither do I," Angel said ruefully.

"So tell me- Buffy wouldn't, Willow wouldn't- how many were accidents?"

"Whath an accident?" Matthew asked, looking from Angel to Xander.

"Nothing," Angel responded, glaring at Xander. "Go knock on that door with Becky and Jean."

Matthew looked from Becky and Jean to his three siblings, already receiving lollipops. He grabbed the hands of both Becky and Jean and practically dragged them up the stairs.

"One day, your kids are going to hook up with mine," Xander stated matter-of-factly.

Angel gave Xander a look.

"Now that the kids are bothering your neighbor, feel free to answer my question."

"None," Angel said flatly.

"Four kids, eight years, *no* accidents? You mean you *planned* for that many kids?" Xander looked disbelieving.

Angel nodded nonchalantly, bouncing the gurgling baby in his arms.

Xander shook his head. "Freak."

Angel just sighed. "What's taking them so long up there?"

"I don't know. How would I know?"

"I think we better find out."

Xander nodded and they hurried up the porch steps.

*****

"How's Xander?" Buffy asked after shutting the door to another trick-or-treater. She always worried about the children trick-or-treating in Sunnydale, especially after that one Halloween.

"Oh, he's great," Willow gushed. "He *loves* taking care of the twins. And they love him."

Buffy smiled. "Good. I'm glad ... what is that?"

Willow frowned. "What?"

There was a scratching noise at the door. "That!"

"Um ... I'm not sure ..."

"Hold on a second, let me go see."

"Be careful, Buffy!" Willow called to her friend.

Buffy opened the door cautiously, looking for sign of demons. All she saw was a black cat stretching on her porch. "Hey there, Kitty," she whispered.

The cat growled menacingly before leaping up and into her house.

"Hey!" Buffy cried.

"Trick-or-treat," said a familiar Irish voice.

The cat was momentarily forgotten as Buffy hurried to embrace Doyle and his very pregnant wife.

"Cordelia, you look fabulous," Buffy told her.

"I don't feel it," Cordelia groaned, then brightened up. "Next year, we can do the trick-or-treating. Think about it, Anne-Marie will be almost a year by then."

"Anne-Marie?" Doyle gave her a look. "I'm thinking something more like Bridget. *If* it's a girl."

"*Bridget*? I know you want to hug your heritage or whatever, but I'm not naming my baby after-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Buffy chirped. "Pumpkin pie?"

"Please," Cordelia murmured, following Buffy and Doyle up the stairs. Buffy went to slice pumpkin pie as the couple chatted with Willow.

"Here we are," Buffy said, setting out pie plates. Before she could finish serving, the cat jumped on her lap. "Where did you come from, Kitty? Hmm?"

"Doyle's idea of a dumb joke," Cordelia informed Buffy. "It's ours. Well, his."

Buffy raised her eyebrows at Doyle.

*****

"Erica? What's the matter?" Angel asked his daughter as he and Xander ascended the steps.

"Matthew has to use the bathroom," Erica informed him.

Angel groaned as Xander chuckled. "I'll just ask Mrs. Reed if he can use their bathroom."

"Mrs. Reed isn't home," Erica informed him. "It's her daughter, the sixteen-year-old. You know, the one that's in love with you ... and ..."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Angel stopped her as Xander laughed.

"In love with you, huh?"

"I think she thinks you're 28 like Mommy," Erica told him.

"I'll just ask Veronica if Matthew can use their bathroom," Angel decided.

"What were you going to ask me?" Veronica asked in a sweet voice, coming down the stairs with more lollipops.

"Wow, you're real nice," Mason said. He turned to his father. "She gave six lollipops already! She said she'd just have to feed us till *you* got here."

Veronica tittered. "Oh, don't be silly."

"Veronica, can Matthew use your bathroom?"

"Oh of *course*! Come right in, you two."

Veronica directed Angel and Matthew to the bathroom and then returned to flirt with Xander.

"Okay, go quickly, I'd like to get out of here."

"Promith, Daddy." Matthew hurried into the bathroom.

*****

"Buffy! You're going to scare the trick-or-treaters," Willow admonished when Buffy flipped on a tape of loud, cackley Halloween music.

Buffy smiled. "That's the point. I'm out of candy."

Willow grinned, holding the black cat on her lap. "Smart."

*****

When Angel and Matthew returned to the front door, they were greeted with chaos. Xander and Becky were standing as far away from Veronica as they could, while Jean was crying for Matthew, and Erica was sucking on a red lollipop beside Mason.

"I'm right here," Matthew told Jean, going to take her hand, and Angel had to laugh at the five-year-old and his new "girlfriend".

"So," Veronica said to Angel, giving him a seductive smile. "How's your wife?"

"Amazing," Angel told her right away.

"Oh really? You don't want someone ... younger?" she pouted playfully.

"Not at all," Angel said. "Buffy's everything I could ever want. She's amazing."

"I thought she said her mother was gone." Erica frowned, then gasped. "Oops."

"What?" Angel asked, then saw. "Oh, Erica ..."

"I'm sorry, Daddy, it wasn't on purpose."

Angel sighed. "I know, Honey, but now Mason has a sticky lollipop in his hair.

"What?!" Mason whirled around to face Erica. "Erica! You meanie!"

"I'm sorry!" Erica cried.

Angel sighed, then glanced at Xander. "Come on. I think Veronica gave you enough lollipops to last till March. We're going home."

"Noooo!" Matthew whined.

"Yes," Angel said sternly. "Now don't wake up Charlotte." He plucked the lollipop from Mason's hair and deposited it in the bushes.

*****

Xander winced when they first heard the blaring music coming from Buffy and Angel's house. "Is she trying to kill us all?"

"Only you, hopefully." Angel sighed as they opened the door and were immediately pounced on by the cat.

"Benedict!" Cordelia shrieked at the cat. "Get back here!"

Buffy came over to relieve Angel of Charlotte. Spotting the red stain in Mason's blond hair, she gave Angel a look. "What happened?"

"Don't get mad at Daddy, it was my fault." Erica's lower lip jutted out.

"All right, I'll just go get Mason cleaned up."

"So you're not mad at Daddy, right?"

Buffy melded her mouth to Angel's, much to Erica and Mason's horror.

"Mommy!"

Buffy smiled, pulling away. "No, I'm not mad at Daddy."

Erica breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Because whenever you're mad, you always 'make up' and then there's lots of noise and I can't sleep."

Buffy gasped, Angel looked at the ceiling, Willow blushed, and Xander burst out laughing.

"Smooth," he murmured.

Buffy glared at him. "Go see your wife. You should be glad that Becky doesn't talk much and your kids don't understand, or I'm sure they could say lots of stuff about you."

"Enough arguing," Doyle instructed. "Go clean up those *six* kids so we can eat their candy already!"

Cordelia smacked Doyle, Becky and Jean cowered behind Xander, and Matthew jumped into Buffy's arms.

*****

"So, how was your first time taking the kids trick-or-treating?" Buffy asked Angel that night as they lay in bed.

"Hectic."

"At least everyone stayed human. No live reindeer."

"Or noblewomen," Angel told her, grinning.

She reached over to hit him, but he caught her hand.

"Hey!" she cried, but was smiling.

"Are you mad?" Angel teased her.

Buffy thought about it for a moment. "Oh, definitely."

"Good."

As they sank into the mattress and each other, a young child sighed in the next room, realizing she wasn't going to get any sleep for another night.

~~~~~

Stuff to include .... :
* Reference to Halloween ep
* Sticky lollipop * kid having to use the bathroom
* black cat
* Witch (but not Miss Calender, Willow, or Amy)
* ghost
* Pumpkin pie
* Spooky Halloweenish music

Back to Megg's Fic