Archive of Our Own ^beta

The second the bell rang, Buffy stuffed her barely eligible notes into her bag and leaped out of her seat, booking it out of the classroom in direction of the school library without a word to either of her friends.

Willow and Xander peered over at each other from where they were gathering their own things at a more leisurely pace, confusion and mild concern written across their faces.

"What's with her?" Xander asked.

Willow shrugged. "Don't know, but she has seemed pretty... on edge, as of late."

Slinging their backpacks over their shoulders, the two strolled out of the room to find their friend.

"Do you think she's headed home?"

"Nah," Willow replied. "She's probably headed to the library."

"The library?"

"To see Giles. You know their relationship goes beyond Watcher–well, ex-Watcher and Slayer–they're more like father and daughter than anything else these days, so of course she would want to see her dad when she isn't feeling her best."

"Yeah, guess you're not wrong there. It's also been a while since she's done that regression thing with him too, hasn't it?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, it has actually. Now that I really think about it, it's been almost exactly three weeks since she was last in that headspace, what with all the demons coming out of the woodwork lately. It's no wonder she's been so snippy and withdrawn."

As the two of them drew close to the library, they could hear sounds of some kind of commotion going on from behind the door. Giving each other a brief look, Willow reached forward and pulled the door open.

The sight that greeted them had both sets of eyes widening; one in surprise, the other in shocked confusion.

Buffy burst into the library, door banging into the wall before she slammed it shut behind her. She stepped further into the room, the eyes of her surrogate father and new Watcher immediately falling on her.

"Buffy, is everything alright?" Giles asked, standing up from the table where he and Wesley had moments prior been discussing the potential threat possibly looming over Sunnydale after all the attacks that had been happening over the last few weeks.

The girl silently approached the wooden table, stopping just a bit aways in front of it.

"I don't want to be a Slayer tonight," she said.

Giles sighed. "Buffy, dear, I understand these last few weeks have been tough, however–"

"No!" Buffy interjected, stomping her foot. "I don't wanna! M'too little."

Giles opened his mouth to say something more, but before he could get a word out, Buffy spoke up once more.

"I'll show you."

Before Giles could ask what she meant by that, it quickly became apparent.

A dark patch began to form on the front of the girl's light blue jeans, quickly spreading and traveling down her legs, soon creating a puddle on the floor underneath her. He heard Wesley gasp from behind him, quickly followed by the sound of the library door opening once again (albeit less violently this time). The older man managed to tear his gaze away from the scene unfolding before him, to peer over at the door–where the stunned faces of the other two Scooby members greeted him.

When the young girl's bladder finally stopped emptying itself onto the linoleum floor, she released a quiet sigh and said, "See? M'too little to remember to go potty all by myself. I need daddy's help."

Giles turned his attention back to his rebellious daughter, expression hardening. The room grew tense as the two simply stared at each other; Buffy thinking like the bratty little girl she tended to become when stress got the better of her, and Giles like the stern responsible parent he needed to be in times like these. After a brief, excruciatingly uncomfortable moment (for the other occupants of the room, at least), the man finally came to a decision on how to handle his little girl.

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Giles said, "Well, I see now that daddy was clearly wrong when he thought you could be a big girl for a while longer."

That had a tiny, triumphant smirk curling the corner of his naughty girl's lips. However, it was just as quickly wiped off her face at Giles' next words.

"So, with that being said, I believe it would be for the best if you spent some time as my sweet baby girl, instead of my bratty little princess."

"Wait, wha–"

Just as she'd done to him, Giles abruptly cut the girl off and spoke the words of a now familiar spell. It was a spell he had crafted about a year ago with the help of Willow, one that would ensure that no matter how grown-up Buffy wished to act, she would instead be compelled to act like nothing more than a helpless babe who could only cry and speak in gibberish. It was pointedly obvious that that's exactly what she needed right now–to give up complete control and allow Giles to take care of the rest.

He watched the tension bled out of her body, eyes losing their focus and becoming hazy as the spell took began taking effect. She swayed on her feet, legs growing heavy and unbalanced just like the rest of her. Seeing this, Giles hurriedly made his way over to her and secured his arms around her before she could fall. He gathered her up, setting her on his hip, uncaring of the urine that was now starting to seep into his own trousers.

"Okay, okay. There you go. It's alright, sweetheart. Daddy's got you now," he murmured into her ear, lightly bouncing her when she whined and began to weakly push back against him. "It's okay, sweet pea. I know, I know. We'll get you into a nappy right away."

Despite having just wet herself, one of the effects of the spell that always set in instantaneously was the need to urinate and defecate.

"Okay, um... can somebody please explain to me what the hell just happened?" Xander asked, confusion laced in his tone.

"Y-yes, I must second that inquiry," Wesley added, sounding and looking just as confused (and mildly disturbed). "What the bloody hell just happened, Rupert?"

Giles exhaled a deep sigh through his nose, tightening his hold on Buffy as the girl's squirming begun to grow more frantic by the second. He looked over at Willow and met the young witch's gaze.

"I hate to ask, Willow, but would you please explain the nature of this spell to them? I need to get Buffy changed before she loses control."

"Oh, uh, Y-yeah, sure. No problem, Giles. I'll–I'll do that." She turned to the two guys. "Come on you two, let's give them some privacy. I'll explain things."

With that, Willow corralled her childhood friend and the newly appointed Watcher out of the library, leaving Giles and Buffy by themselves.

Once the two teens and Watcher had cleared the room, Giles hurried over to the backroom. He kept a nappy bag stashed away in there just in case of situations like this or another. After pulling the colorful bag out from its hiding place, he took out a moisture proof changing mat and laid it out on the floor of the backroom. Before he laid her down, he uttered another spell underneath his breath to rid both Buffy and himself of the cooling urine on their clothes and skin. That taken care of, the man lied the squirming girl on the mat.

"Mmmng...nnn! D-daaaa'!"

Buffy attempted to lift herself off the mat. When her weak attempts lead her nowhere, she then tried to roll off the padded surface, marginally succeeding until a hand blocked her way and forced her to lay back down. She admitted a high-pitched whine, legs kicking out in clear frustration.

"You're alright, baby. Daddy will take care of everything."

Giles quickly got to work. He stripped Buffy of her jeans and underwear, taking out a thick nappy from the bag and sliding it underneath her. Forgoing any powder for the moment, Giles taped the sides and leaned back on his heels.

"Alright, poppet, it's okay to let go now," Giles reassured her, gently rubbing his hands up and down her sides.

Buffy's cheeks flushed a light shade of red, still squirming and fighting against her body's needs.

"Just let go, darling. It's okay, daddy promises."

The little girl fought for a short moment longer, but it didn't take much more for her to surrender to her throbbing bladder and bubbling gut. With a shuddering whimper, Buffy clamped her eyes shut tight as she lost control of her bowels and bladder all at once. Giles kept quiet, waiting until the girl was done to speak again.

"Do you feel better now, cuddle bunny?" He asked once he saw her eyes peak open.

Buffy just blinked up at him for a few seconds, the remaining awareness in her eyes completely depleting right before him. Her eyes almost instantly filled with tears, chin wobbling before her mouth opened in a loud wail.

"Oh, sweetheart, no," he cooed, placing a hand on her belly and rubbing gentle circles. "There's no need for tears, my sweet ladybug. You were such a good girl going potty in your nappy. Daddy's good, itsy bitsy little baby who uses her nappies so well."

Giles continued to whisper and coo reassurances to the regressed girl as he began the process of getting her into a fresh nappy. Once he'd gotten her wiped clean, powdered, and wrapped in another thick nappy, he gathered together an outfit for her from the nappy bag. He chose a pink, snap-crotch, sleeveless onesie littered with unicorns and rainbows, a peach colored, cotton bonnet, along with a set of matching pink mittens and crocheted booties.

The man stripped her of her remaining clothes, folding everything and putting it all into the colorful bag. By the time Giles began dressing her in the onesie, the little girl's wailing died down to sniffles and hiccups. Snapping the onesie close, he strapped the bonnet onto her head, tying the strings into a neat little bow beneath her chin. He then locked the mittens around her wrists, and lastly slipped the pink booties onto her feet.

"Look at you, my sweet cuddle bunny." Giles plucked the baby from the padded mat. "Aren't you just the most darling little angel baby. Yes, yes you are!" He pitched his voice as high as it could go, getting the response he was hoping for when a corner of the little girl's mouth twitched up into a small smile and she let out a breathy giggle.

Giles' lips stretched into a smile of his own. "There's my giggly girl." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Alright, darling, I think it's time we head home."

He bagged the changing mat and threw away the soiled nappy and wipes, stashing the bag back in its hiding place. Buffy nuzzled her face into the crook of the man's neck, one hand grasping a handful of his suit jacket, the other going up to her mouth and stuffing her thumb inside. Making sure he had a firm grip on her, Giles exited the backroom and moved towards the library's door.

Upon exiting the library, Giles was greeted by his little girl's best friend, who stood leaning up against the opposite wall. He looked around, but didn't see either Wesley or Xander in sight.

"How did it go with Xander and Wesley?" He asked.

"It went good, I'd say. Wesley couldn't stop gaping the entire time, but otherwise he seemed to take it well enough. As for Xander, he was a little concerned about what the spell entailed, but once I explained that it was completely safe and that Buffy had consented to it being created in the first place, he was cool."

Giles exhaled a relieved sigh. "That's good to hear. Thank you, Willow. I know that, uh, mustn't have been very easy. I really do appreciate it."

"It was totally awkward, and I hope to never have to do it anything like it ever again." She crossed her arms and walked up to him. "But I would if it's for Buffy. Best friends are there for each other no matter how many awkward conversations are needed. So, you're welcome." She smiled at the two of them.

Giles chuckled. "Well, I'll let you be on your way. I'm sure you would like to head home now."

"I'm actually gonna be going over to Xander's house to study for finals. He's waiting in the cafeteria right now."

Giles nodded. "I wish you the best of luck with studying, then."

"Thanks, Giles. See ya tomorrow. Bye-bye, Buffy!" The red-haired girl waved at her regressed friend, before fully turning and heading in direction of the cafeteria.

With that, Giles hitched Buffy a little higher on his hip, then turned in the opposite direction and began heading for the school's entrance.

Giles opened the backdoor of his car. He leaned down and unbuckled his drowsy looking daughter from her seat, lifting her back into his arms. She hadn't fallen asleep on the way back like he'd expected she would, but he was certain it wouldn't be much longer before she did. He carried her inside, taking her straight up to her nursery.

The man first went over to the little white box on the dresser that stood beneath the room's single window, where he kept Buffy's collection of dummies in. He flipped open the lid of the box, hooking his finger through the handle of a light pink dummy. Uncapping it, he gently extracted the baby's thumb from her mouth and quickly replaced it with the dummy before she could make a fuss. He then walked over to the big, plush rocking chair in the corner of the room, taking a seat and arranging Buffy comfortably on his lap.

Once his daughter was settled, Giles started to propel the chair back and forth. He rested his chin on top of the girl's head and began to sing her favorite lullaby in a deep, low voice.

Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes,
And save these questions for another day,
I think I know what you've been asking me,
I think you know what I've been trying to say,
I promised I would never leave you,
Then you should always know
Wherever you may go, no matter where you are,
I never will be far away.

Goodnight my angel, now it's time to sleep,
And still so many things I want to say,
Remember all the songs you sang for me,
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep,
The water's dark and deep, inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me.

Goodnight my angel, now it's time to dream,
And dream how wonderful your life will be,
Someday your child may cry, and if you sing this lullaby,
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me,
Someday we'll all be gone,
But lullabies go on and on
They never die,
That's how you and I will be.

Buffy's eyes had slipped close and her breathing had completely evened out well before the song even came close to ending, but Giles still kept on singing until he finished it. He never left a song unfinished.

He continued to hold her and rock her for a few moments longer, not willing to part with her just yet. He missed this. He missed being able to just hold his baby girl, to feel her breath against his neck, and feel the weight of her in his arms.

Eventually, once the feeling in his legs started to go, the man very carefully stood up and walked over to the white, wooden crib that stood on the other side of the room. He gently lowered her inside, covering her with the pink quilt hanging over the side of the crib.

"Sweet dreams, baby girl. Daddy loves you."