•••

"Sometime after dark," She replied, glancing at the hotel's main doors. "Which was half an hour ago."

Willow checked her watch again. "Thirty seven minutes. Where are they?"

"Stuck in traffic?" Dawn guessed. "It's pretty bad out there."

Lorne gave up on waiting and went back into Caritas to check on the party set up. He'd closed down the club for a 'private party', running off the regulars so their returning friends could relax in peace. Buffy, too, had done her part towards cleaning out unwanted guests; Giles was stuck across town, dressing down his younger Watcher charges for whatever petty complaints Buffy had come up with. It was something to take the older man's mind off his failure to get Faith out on parole. The only thing brightening that situation was that the board was sure to be a different group of people next time. The Council needed to get Faith back, so that she could be of use. It had taken years, but she was finally showing signs of rehabilitation.

"They're late. What if they ran into someone on the way in?" Buffy worried. "Wolfram & Hart still have people on the streets. Lilah's been brutal with those vampire patrols lately."

Dawn glanced heavenward. "They said 'after dark', Buffy. No timeframe, just 'after dark'. It could be hours."

Buffy snarled. She'd spent the last three days scrubbing the hotel from top to bottom. It had been a mistake to leave their friends' rooms alone so long. At first they'd intended to keep the rooms clean and ready for the gang's return, but between work and life, they'd just forgotten. Unfortunately, that meant that when they went up to deal with getting the rooms ready, they'd found... well, a bunch of big messes.

Shampoo and conditioner that once were of a smooth, liquid consistency now resembled a mad scientist's experiment, having separated out and...congealed. Buffy, Dawn and Willow did get a good laugh out of Xander's old clock radio, before deciding to replace it with a newer model integrated with the hotel's computer system. A few fixtures and fittings had to be replaced in some of the showers, but that wasn't a very big deal. The most work, however, was done to get rid of the dust and cobwebs.

Sheets and curtains required three washings to get clean and drive away the stench of sitting in unaired rooms for a decade. It was during the third washing that Willow realized they had another problem: since the curtains hadn't been cared for in all this time, they'd dry-rotted and were falling apart. As a result, she and Dawn had to rush out and buy more--lots more. Buffy cursed them when they left her to vacuum and dust alone, but such was the life of a Slayer.

Still, when she and the others finally finished, they swore they were finding a maid service next time. They'd killed their vacuum, gone through at least three dozen rags, and probably should've bought stock in furniture polish.

"I wish they'd just get here!" Buffy muttered, slumping down on the stairs. Lorne had made that yummy avocado dip and she wasn't allowed to touch it until their friends arrived.

•••

"It's dark," Thalia said softly as she clung to Fred. Angel was leading them through the sewers, Julian tucked under one arm. They were returning to Los Angeles the same way they left--through the dank underground tunnels of the sewer system. It wasn't the most pleasant way to travel, but it was certainly the safest. Nothing had changed in ten years; rats still scurried around and demons still lurked here and there. None of them gave the group any trouble, however.

Fred rubbed Thalia's back comfortingly and continued on behind Angel. They were almost to the hotel, nearly to safety. When they reached the overhead access door to the Hyperion, Angel stopped.

"Is it locked?" Xander whispered, staring up at the metal slab.

"Dunno," Angel murmured, testing the door. "I think so." He banged on the door, hoping to get someone's attention. Perhaps they should've mentioned that they were coming in via the tunnels.

"Did you hear that?" Buffy asked, glancing towards the kitchen. "I swore I heard--"

"The sewers," Lorne stated, walking out of Caritas. "They're in the sewers."

Willow and Dawn joined the others as they headed for the access door. "Why didn't we think of that?" Willow asked absently.

Buffy unlocked the access door and flung it open. Angel was below, smiling up at her.

With a child in his arms.

"Hi, Buffy! Fancy meeting you here," Angel said as he pulled himself and Julian up into the kitchen. He moved aside so that the others could climb up.

"Xander!" Willow cried, grabbing the Raphe and Siobhan in a huge hug. "I missed you so much," She said against his shirt. "You never wrote or called or--" They both began to laugh at her weak joke, until Siobhan demanded a bit more room. "Who's this?" Willow asked curiously. "And that one, and that one, and..." The redhead's voice trailed off as she saw the eight friends standing in the kitchen, five toddlers between them. "Er, ah..."

"They're Cordelia and Gunn's," Wil said, tilting his head towards the two werewolves. "Had a litter, she did."

Buffy scraped her jaw off the floor. "I'll say. Five? Cordy, you never do anything by halves, do you?"

Cordelia grinned. "Nope. Just try topping this one, Slayer."

The Slayer shook her head and took a step closer to Lorne. "Uh, maybe not. Five kids is... a lot."

Dawn crept around Angel until she could reach Wil. "Hi," She said softly, watching the blonde vampire cradle a cute little kid in his arms.

"Come 'ere," Wil said, pulling Dawn into a hug. "You got all tall on me, Nibblet. Not fair," He muttered happily. She was now his height, taller with her current chunky shoes on."

"So, while I'm all for awkward silences, we've got food and music in Caritas tonight," Lorne said brightly, wrapping one arm around Buffy's waist. "And even though no one mentioned the five-piece band making its grand entrance, I'm sure we'll find something they'll eat."

"They eat everything," Fred commented.

"Except capers," Angel warned. "They hate capers."

"So do I," Buffy replied. "With good reason. They're nasty."

Lorne shooed everyone out of the kitchen and into the club. The cubs got one look at the food spread out and wriggled out of their adults' arms, streaking across the floor. Said adults watched as ten little hands carefully reached for crackers and cheese, making the food disappear at a rate only Xander could challenge. "Do the little Hoovers have names?" Lorne asked Gunn, who was grinning at his kids' antics.

"Julian Connor, Mischa Sebastian, Siobhan Artemisia, Thalia Rhiannon, and Alan Francis Charlemagne," Gunn replied, pointing to each child in turn.

Dawn dragged Wil over to a table, while Willow followed with Xander. "Spill," The young woman demanded, flipping her long, dark hair back. "What have you guys been doing for the past ten years, besides e-mailing us visions?"

The rest of the adults joined their table, with the kids following shortly thereafter. "First we left town," Wil began, sipping the coffee Lorne provided for him.

"We know that," Willow said impatiently. "Where did you go?"

"Spent a few days in San Diego," Xander added. "Then we went east."

"East?" Buffy murmured. "Where to?"

"Indianapolis," Cordelia snarled.

"Indianapolis?" Lorne, Buffy and Willow said together. "What's in Indianapolis?"

"Not much," Cordelia, Xander and Fred said together.

"Actually, there's a very nice museum," Wesley countered. "And some lovely parks."

"It was boring," Xander disagreed. "But we only stayed there about three years or so."

"So you moved?" Dawn asked. "Where did you guys go after that? What did you do in Indianapolis?"

Wil smiled. It was nice to see that some things never changed. Dawn was older now and had the look of a grown woman about her, but she still sounded like Dawn. "We worked on Wolfram & Hart," He replied.

Buffy nodded. "They're not doing so well nowadays."

"We know," Wesley and Cordelia murmured.

"So, where'd you go to after Indiana?" Buffy asked, accepting a glass from her husband.

"Knoxville," Oz replied.

"That's a change," Willow said.

•••

"I can't believe Buffy married Lorne," Wil said as he tucked the cubs into Angel's old bed. Cordelia gave each child a goodnight kiss and flicked off the light as they left the sleeping babies.

"Me either," She agreed, yawning. "Or that Willow and Dawn are..."

"I know," Wil murmured quickly. Perhaps more things had changed than he'd realized. "Sleep well, Delia." He turned towards his own room, knowing that Angel would be waiting for him.

Angel was indeed waiting, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. "She married Lorne."

Wil shook his head slowly and sat down next to Angel. "They're happy together."

Angel laughed. "It's not *that*," He replied. "She's always hated..."

"She's never been with anyone remotely normal," Wil countered. "Why would this be any different? He makes her happy."

"It's just...would you have put money on it?" Angel asked the blonde.

"No," Wil replied quickly. "But then again, I wouldn't have thought Dawn and Willow would've gotten together either."

"Things do change," Angel murmured. "Any other platitudes I should add in?"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same?" Wil offered.

"All things come full circle?" Angel threw in.

"That one doesn't really apply," Wil countered. "Try, 'Only those who really love you can make you cry.'"

Angel frowned. "I didn't cry, and I'm not sure Buffy loves me, and you're not making me... That one doesn't work either, Wil."

"Fine," Wil snorted. "If you can't say something nice..."

"The squeaky wheel," Angel warned, eyes narrowing.

"You offering?" Wil asked, eyes dancing.

Angel grinned. "Does a bear--"

"Shut up," Wil interrupted, pushing Angel down onto the bed.

•••

The next morning found Cordelia, Gunn and Xander chasing cubs around the hotel, trying to convince them that breakfast tasted better when they had clothes on. The children weren't buying it, though. Instead of sitting quietly and eating their oatmeal and bananas, they were running up and down the stairs, screaming like banshees. As soon as an adult caught one of the kids, another managed to free his trapped sibling by tripping the adult.

"What on earth is going on down there?" Buffy shouted as she descended the stairs. She stepped out onto the landing, only to be hit by a flying ball of hair and giggles. The Slayer was caught off -guard and landed on her ass. Thalia scampered away, determined to get Fran free of Xander's clutches.

"Kids, breakfast, mess," Xander gasped as Thalia attacked his knees with her tiny fists.

"They're all naked!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Way to point out the obvious, Buffy," Cordelia muttered. "That's the 'mess' part of kids, breakfast, mess."

"Could you go get Oz or Wes? Or Fred or Angel? Or Wil?" Gunn asked the Slayer. "We need more hands down here."

Buffy nodded and ran back up the stairs. Children were great, cool, wonderful and all those other nonspecific positive things, but she had no idea what to do with them. The Slayer pounded on the first door she came to, rousing Wil and Angel from their morning's sleep. "Kids, naked, breakfast," She said sharply, already moving to another apartment.

Wil and Angel glanced at each other, not completely sure what Buffy was talking about. They'd been woken so suddenly by her knocking that they'd answered the door naked. Breakfast was a meal they usually ate at night, and neither of them were kids. "Do you think she's talking about the cubs?" Angel asked his lover.

"Probably," Wil replied, reaching for some clothes. "They're probably overexcited from being in a new place." Angel dressed and followed Wil down the hall, already hearing the squeals and curses of the games downstairs.

"How can five children do that to them?" Angel asked, awed. Cordelia and Gunn were on the floor, practically in tears. The only child being remotely good was Siobhan, who patted Xander's head as she passed. By and large though, the kids were running roughshod over the adults, who had pretty well given up.

Wil waded into the mass of children and grabbed Mischa with one arm, gathering Fran with the other. Angel too moved quickly, capturing both Julian and Thalia. The children weren't expecting them and thus weren't prepared to evade.

"Wil!" Mischa cried out as the vampire hauled him up the stairs. Xander realized he was free of the child-barrage and caught Siobhan. He followed Angel up the stairs, carrying a fretting, angry child with him.

Cordelia and Gunn watched as their children disappeared with Angel, Wil and Xander. "When did we lose control of our kids?"

"We had control of them?" Gunn replied. "When? I don't remember that time."

"Back when they were babies and didn't move much?" Cordelia tried.

Gunn stood up, reaching down to help Cordelia rise. "That'd be back when we had to fight the others just to hold the cubs, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Cordelia murmured. "Well, we'd better heat up the oatmeal again; it'll be cold and Fran *hates* cold oatmeal."

"I hate cold oatmeal," Gunn retorted. "And I think Sio threw a banana under the table."

"We're out of bananas, then. Those were the only five in the hotel," Cordelia said.

"Get an apple, then," Gunn suggested.

"Do we have five?" Cordelia chirped. "No, there are only four apples, two peaches and one grapefruit. We had five bananas, and it was perfect."

"If we hadn't peeled them ahead of time, we'd be able to salvage the banana," Gunn lamented.

"So what do we do?" Cordelia pressed. "The kids will freak if they don't all have the *exact* same breakfast."

Gunn frowned at the table. "Cut up the bananas? Spread them out among all of them?"

"Works for me," Cordelia said, walking into the kitchen. Gunn bumped into her when she froze in the doorway. "Oh. Er... Hi, Giles."