A/N: As promised, new update! Enjoy!


Methos chuckled at the expression on Giles’ face. “They’ve been at it for the last hour or so. I expect they’ll be up soon.” He offered Giles a cup of freshly brewed tea.

“Yes, thank you ever so much.” Giles said as he accepted the warm cup of tea. “Do you know if Joyce and Dawn slept okay?”

“As far as I know, they both slept fine. Leastwise they both seemed cheerful enough a little while ago when they were eating.” Methos replied as he sipped his tea.

“Good, good. No obvious repercussions then?” Giles inquired.

“None that I could detect.” Methos politely responded. He wondered to himself when Giles would stop beating around the bush and ask the questions that were obviously burning a hole in his brain.

Giles sat, sipping his tea, wondering how he could broach the questions he was dying to ask.

“Listen, I can practically see the smoke coming from your ears. Ask your questions and I’ll try to answer them as best I can, okay?” Methos said, not up to a game of will-he/wont-he this morning.

“Very well. Dawn called you ‘Uncle Methos’ last night. Why?” Giles queried as he dropped into full watcher mode.

“Because her mother, Joyce, is my sister.” Methos replied in an off-handed manner.

Giles looked at Methos over the top of his glasses. “Please enlighten me further.”

Just as Methos was about to start up the tale of his young life, the basement door opened and Buffy emerged from the basement, once again wearing Spike’s t-shirt. “Don’t get him started, we’ll be here all day and we don’t have time for lollygagging.”

“Well its about time you two climbed out of bed, instead of all over each other,” Methos snarked.

Buffy just cocked one eyebrow at Methos and grinned. “Jealous?”

Methos grinned salaciously and ran his eyes across Spike’s naked chest. “Oh definitely. That is one fine specimen you have snagged.”

Spike’s eyes about bugged out of his head as he realized they were discussing him. “Hey! Eyes to yourself mate. I belong to the lovely lady here.”

Buffy just giggled and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“I’m gonna go check on Peaches, make sure that spell is still holding him under.” Spike said as he left the kitchen, shaking his head as he wondered what he had gotten himself into.

Giles just sat there, teacup halfway to his mouth, a stunned expression on his face.

“C’mon Giles, blink already. Your eyeballs are gonna dry out.” Buffy muttered as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Hmmmm? Oh yes, quite.” Giles muttered.

“So, what’s up? You guys getting all with the sharing?” Buffy asked.

“Yup, the English statue there had asked me why Dawn called me Uncle.” Methos offhandedly remarked.

“Did you tell him?” Buffy queried.

“You walked in just as I was going to illuminate the situation.” Methos grinned.

“Oh brother, you mean you were going to bore him with 5000 years worth of your dry sarcastic wit.” Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Damned straight. Wanted to see if he had any other expressions besides stunned and shocked.” Methos pointed out the stunned expression on Giles face.

“I beg your pardon.” Giles snapped, coming out of his daze. “Just because I don’t flaunt my emotions across my face like some addle-patted twit...”

“Chill, Giles. He’s just yanking your chain.” Buffy calmly informed him.

Giles turned to Buffy, “Then why don’t you tell me why Dawn was calling him ‘Uncle’.”

“Okay, okay. Sheesh… watchers… no sense of ha-ha.” Buffy settled herself onto a stool and leaned both elbows on the counter. “I dug his arse out of a snow bank when he was… 9 I think…” Buffy appeared deep in thought. “Round about that age, anyway. It had been a long, hard winter, and the elders of his village, like most people back then, decided that children were not worth keeping. So they cast out anyone under the age of 14, as being too young to work.” She continued.

Methos interrupted, “They also tossed a few of the elderly out as well. Why feed them when they can’t work?”

Giles looked stunned, then his expression transformed to a mixture of sadness and outrage. “That’s barbaric!”

“Different times Giles.” Buffy said. She shook her head and sighed. “When I came across him, he was huddled under a fallen tree with the corpses of about three or four other children, the youngest of which was only a few days old.” She turned to Methos, “Didn’t you tell me that the baby was your sister?”

“Yeah, she was.” Methos replied quietly.

“He begged me to kill him, Giles. He was so cold, alone, and terrified. I swear my heart almost broke. I wrapped him in my cloak, and gave him some bread…” Buffy started to say but was interrupted.

“She sat me up on this big black horse and told me to stay put. I was so scared I was going to fall off, I almost wet myself.” Methos interjected.

Tossing Methos an irritated glance, Buffy continued the tale. “I cremated the bodies of the children, and took him with me. Was almost 2 weeks before he would say more than ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to me. Moreover, even when he said no… he ducked as if I was going to hit him.”

“You didn’t…” Giles queried.

“She never did, but you have to remember, things were very different. The only women I knew were the ones in my village, and they didn’t carry a honking big sword.” Methos snorted. “I think that’s what scared me more than anything, the sword.”

“I kept him with me, taught him stuff, he asked if he could call me Mother.” Buffy’s eyes softened at the memory. “All in all I think it turned out rather well.”

“Even with the whole ‘Horsemen’ thing?” Giles asked.

“Might not have been my most brilliant idea, but it worked at the time… sort of.” Buffy replied.

Just then, Spike came tearing into the kitchen, “He’s gone!”