*****

The sound of the front door slamming shut jolted Xander out of his flu-induced nap.

"*Finally*." Vinnie sighed happily and sank onto the couch. "Thanks. I've always wondered if I would make a good mother. Now I know the answer. No, I would not."

Three small forms raced into the house, followed closely by a fourth small but silent body and Whistler. "If you're so anti-kids, why did we get to play chaperone again?"

"You know why. Xander's sick, and Angel can't do it." She turned to Xander and handed over a plastic bag. "As requested, Theraflu and Kleenex. Knock yourself out."

Xander accepted the bag. "Thanks. With any luck, I *will* knock myself out. So how was the zoo?"

"Smelly and full of those things." She indicated Gillian, Sasha, Delaney, and Hannah.

"Yeah, but they shared their corn dogs with you." Whistler dropped another bag in her lap. "And they bought you a present to thank you."

She opened it to find a small stuffed animal. "Oh, how cute! A monkey! Okay, they're forgiven. Ice skating next week?"

Xander grinned. They went through this every time Vinnie and Whistler took care of the kids. Vinnie would grump about how she was not meant for child care -- and then one of the kids would do something sweet for her, and she would just melt. Then he noticed something was different about her appearance. "Um, Vinnie? What happened to your hair?"

She sighed. "Don't drink and dye, kids. Or if you do, make sure you know what the colors look like *before* you start playing with them. This," she indicated a blue streak in her hair, "turned out to be a little too green, so I tried to change it with this." She pointed out a violet streak. "But, alas, it didn't work out as I had hoped." Once more, she sighed. "So now I look like a psychedelic Easter egg. Did you notice the fuschia at the bottom?"

Whistler chuckled. "And all the kids at the zoo kept wanting to talk to her about her hair. It's quite the conversation piece. Except parents kept giving her nervous looks."

Angel wandered into the living room, observing three chattering children and one silent child. "Hey, Gillian, what's wrong?" Her response was unintelligible through the sudden outburst of tears.

Hannah spoke up. "Jeremy Ingersoll says there's no Santa Claus." She frowned. "Is he right?"

Angel and Xander exchanged a concerned look, but Vinnie jumped in before either could speak. "So that's what he said, huh?" Hannah nodded. "Well, have you asked him his position on werewolves and vampires?"

Hannah nodded again. "He says they don't exist, either."

Now Angel spoke up. "So if he says that werewolves and vampires don't exist, how can you believe him when he says Santa doesn't exist, either?"

"His credibility does seem more than a little compromised." When all four small faces turned to her in confusion, Vinnie sighed. "See? I can't be a parent. I don't know how to talk to kids. Let's see, small words... If he's not right about vampires, how do you know he's right about Santa?"

"Okay." Sasha spoke for the rest of the group. Xander grinned at the sight of his small son, arms folded across his chest, standing slightly in front of the three girls with a stern look on his face. "But what about the Easter Bunny?"

Angel frowned thoughtfully. "Well, who do *you* think it is?"

Now Sasha threw his arms up in the air. "You guys, of course. Why else would we get the good chocolate when everyone else gets jelly beans and eggs?"

Angel and Xander successfully held in their laughter until the youngsters left the room, shepherded to their playroom by Whistler and Vinnie. Then, once Angel had calmed down enough to speak, he leaned back against the couch, resting Xander's head on his chest. "You know what that little exchange proved?"

"No. What?" Xander craned his neck in order to see Angel's face.

"He's definitely your son." Angel reached into a second bag containing items he had requested from the demonic duo. Chicken soup, peppermint tea... Finally, he found what he was searching for. "Now it's time for this."

Xander frowned at the items placed on his stomach. "Echinacea? Zinc lozenges? Angel, those things are disgusting."

"Yeah, but can you taste anything?" Angel grinned when Xander shook his head. "Well, you know this stuff makes you better faster."

Sighing, Xander opened one package and popped lozenges in his mouth. "This had better work again."

"Here's a little more encouragement." Once more, Angel pulled several flat rectangular objects and lined them up on Xander's stomach.

Xander stared at the objects for a long moment. Then he sighed. Happily. "Ghiradelli? For *me*?" Angel nodded. "But I can't taste anything right now."

"Well, the sooner you get better, the sooner you get your sense of taste back." He laced his fingers over Xander's abdomen and waited for Xander's reaction.

"Okay." Xander continued to gaze at the chocolate. "So, Angel, any pineapple juice in there?"

Angel grinned. "Will Strawberry C Monster work?"

After he had drained half the bottle, Xander settled in Angel's arms and sighed contentedly once more. "I love my life."

~ the end ~