A/N- Why yes, the entire extended Winters clan does consider screwing with Buffy to be a traditional holiday anytime pastime, why do you ask?

***POV Joyce***

- Winters Residence - Kitchen : Thursday, December 24th (Directly after 17B) -

"Excuse me, Joyce."

Turning around, I find Harmony standing behind me with a bright smile on her face and one of the fancy chairs I saw stacked in the living room in her hands.

Taking a step to the left to get out of her way- Though really, I shouldn't be blocking the doorway in the first place, but even now that he's been shuffled out of the living room, it just seems like everyone starts shouting if I'm not here watching them.

Harmony doesn't go past me though, placing her chair down in the middle of the doorway and climbing onto it to reach the top of the door frame instead.

When she starts fiddling with a picture hook and a small hammer, I instinctively reach out with my free hand to steady her like I would with my girls. Once she seems steady, I turn back to where William and Drusilla are seated at the kitchen table having their tea and cocoa. "You were saying?"

Instead of answering me, William leans over in his seat and stares past me. I start to frown at him. I mean really, she's a teenager and right in front of Drusilla? But I stop myself from saying anything as I realize he's staring at Harmony with his brow furrowed in confusion rather than any kind of leer.

The sound of William's voice calls me back to the present. "Is that mistletoe?"

"Mistletoe!?" My eldest echoes from the living room.

"Uh huh!" Harmony nods happily, giving the hammer one last swing before whirling around and gesturing upwards at one of the largest mistletoe decorations I've ever seen. That can't be safe and I brace myself to have to catch her, but she doesn't seem to wobble at all. Not even as she throws her head back to announce, "Ta-dah!"

She does at least take my hand before hopping down off the chair, giving me a grin before kissing my cheek.

Waving excitedly at William and Drusilla over at the table and then Mrs. Bellevue over by the stove, she grabs the chair and moves to return it but runs into my eldest coming the other way.

"Harmony, no." Buffy protests, hands gesturing emphatically as she and Harmony both take a step to the same side trying to get past each other.

"Harmony, yes!" They both step the other way, continuing to block each other and I have to stifle the urge to giggle.

"No mistletoe!" She grabs the chair and pulls it to the side, trying to drag Harmony out of her way along with it.

"Yes mistletoe!" Harmony lets go of the chair, steps in, and kisses my daughter on the nose.

"Machatainista…" I hear Drusilla whisper in my ear. Still trying not to laugh at my daughter, I turn my head and find Drusilla's face less than an inch from my own. I only don't lurch backwards in surprise because I'm already leaning against the door frame.

A small but very strong hand grabs the back of my head and suddenly Drusilla's tongue is in my mouth. It takes me a moment even to realize I'm being kissed, by which point Drusilla is pulling away. "Mmmm…" she murmurs, licking her lips. "Tastes like art." She smiles at me before skipping merrily back towards William whose muffled laughter almost covers up the strange wheezing sound coming from behind me.

Turning back, I see Harmony pulling the chair from my eldest's now slack grip and heading off with it as Buffy just stares blankly ahead with an expression of comically exaggerated horror frozen on her face even as the door bumps into her as it tries to swing closed.

As much as I know I shouldn't laugh, I can't help myself. Yes, it was unexpected and more than a little shocking at the time, but a kiss hardly merits the kind of reaction my eldest is having. You'd think she walked in on Mister Giles and me again.

Still, innocent fun or not, it's not an experience I plan to repeat, so I make sure to step away from the doorway.

In the relative quiet after William and I get our laughter under control, I can hear Faith's distinctively enthusiastic footsteps thundering down the stairs behind me as I get back to my seat followed by her equally enthusiastic: "Yo, B! Mistletoe!"

Turning back around in my seat, I see Faith spin my eldest around, leaning her back into a dip and giving her a quick kiss of her own before setting her back onto her feet.

"Faith!" My daughter splutters. "Why!?"

"Rules are rules, B." Faith points upwards. "Yer standin' unda the mistletoe."

"Gah!" My eldest scrambles into the kitchen and grabs the chair next to mine. "Not helping!"

"Hey now." Faith shakes her head, sighing, before turning around to grab a pair of dresses hung up on the door. "I'm totally helping." She holds the two dresses up as she walks over towards us. "Harmony wanted me to give you and Momma S your dresses." She offers the bright yellow dress with pale blue accents that looks like it's an inverted version of the same dress she's wearing to my daughter, holding out a darker yellow dress that fades to orange at the bottom like a sunset to me.

"How is that helping?" My eldest asks, folding her arms over her chest and scooching her chair back before I can kick her discreetly under the table. "And weren't you just telling me to run away from the stupid poofy dresses?"

"Buffy!" I hiss, taking my own dress. "Don't be rude."

"I wasn't- I'm not-" My daughter tries to protest, then points at Faith. "She's the one who said it!"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it, Momma S." Faith laughs, pointing over her shoulder at the door as Harmony skips in, happily humming a tune I don't recognize. "I think Harms like, enjoys grindin' down resistance to her clothin' choices."

"Huh?" Harmony pauses halfway back over to the stove, looking down at her own silver and blue dress. "Oh, no. I didn't pick these out."

Nose scrunching up in confusion, Faith tosses the dress over Buffy's shoulder as she turns to look at Harmony. "You didn't?"

"Nope! I helped with getting the colors to all come out just right, but your mother brought the dresses." Harmony twirls around, her dress flaring out, and then curtsies. "I really like them though." She beams at us.

"Wait," Buffy gives Faith a surprised look, finally grabbing the dress as it starts to slide towards the floor. "Your mom's here?"

"Uh, yeah, B…" Faith points across the table at Drusilla, clearly trying not to laugh. "She's right there."

William smiles indulgently as Drusilla claps, looking very pleased. "My little moonshine."

"Oh." My daughter frowns. "I thought-"

"I know, B. It's fine." Faith waves her off. "I've got like… three moms now, I think?" She grins. "Maybe more!"

"Maybe more?"

Faith just laughs. "What, you thought Jack magically made more sense when you weren't around?"

"I mean… Yeah? Okay, I guess not, but- wait." My daughter suddenly thrusts her dress away from herself, eying it suspiciously. "Drusilla brought the dresses?"

"We did." William grins. "Had to take this detour all the way up to a ren-faire in Texas to find the last pair of them too."

Texas? Oh, my. "So far?"

"Only a few extra days' driving." William shrugs, taking Drusilla's hand and squeezing gently it. "Well worth it to make my princess so happy."

"Well I'm sure everyone appreciates the effort you put into it." I smile at him before giving my eldest my best 'behave yourself' look before she can start a repeat of Thanksgiving. "Right, Buffy?"

"Yes, Mom…"

- Winters Residence - Kitchen : A While Later -

Giving up for the moment on getting my eldest to behave herself, or at least stop glaring murderously across the table at our host's mother, I look up as the door swings open and smile at Amy as she very carefully sidles into the kitchen, staring upwards to make sure she's never directly under the mistletoe. "All done with your seating chart?"

"I'm…" She pauses, frowning for a split second before shaking her head. "Taking a break." She looks over to where Harmony and Mrs Bellevue are checking on the turkey. "What can I do to help?"

"No."

Everyone stops to stare at Mrs. Bellevue, William leans over towards me to whisper. "Thought they said she couldn't talk?"

In the midst of us all nodding in agreement, Drusilla leans toward us conspiratorially. "Only talks when it's important." She sing-songs, before grinning widely at us.

Amy looks at her, mouth opening and closing a few times before putting her hands on her hips and glaring. "Telling me not to help is important?"

"Oh, yes." Drusilla nods seriously before laughter bubbles out of her.

"Seriously!?" Amy looks around the kitchen at the various nodding faces. "All of you?" She audibly takes a deep breath, her hands clenching into fists at her sides, and then releases it. "My cooking is not that bad!"

"Your cooking isn't bad…" Harmony steps over and slowly wraps Amy in a hug. "It's just…" She glances pointedly at where a small fire extinguisher with Amy's name on it sits next to the stove.

"Mmmm…" Drusilla hums noncommittally. "Worse than daddy's Shepard Pie."

"Oh! I remember that!" William's head tilts back as he laughs. "Burnt down the whole bloody farmhouse, didn't he?"

Letting go of Amy, Harmony shrugs apologetically and steps back to rejoin Mrs. Bellevue by the stove.

With one last look around the room, Amy turns around with a huff and tries to leave, only to practically bounce off of Jack as he walks into the kitchen at the same time.

"Oh, sorry, Amy." Catching her by the shoulders and pulling her back upright, Jack smiles happily at her. He starts to say something, but pauses and glances back over his shoulder. "Oh right. One moment." He leans around her into the kitchen. "Mrs. Bellevue, your daughter is here."

Setting the oven mitts on the counter, Mrs. Bellevue quietly turns to Harmony and hands her the recipe print out, pointing emphatically to it and then the timer before starting to remove her apron and handing that over as well.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Hastily setting aside a small toy unicorn, Harmony salutes her before taking the apron and putting it on.

"...She's not staying for dinner?" I ask as Mrs. Bellevue walks towards the door, pausing to glance up and then kiss first Amy and then Jack on the cheek before leaving.

"No." Jack shrugs. "We were just keeping her company until her daughter, Mary, could-"

"Kate." Amy corrects as the timer by the stove dings. I start to get up before remembering I'm a guest, it's not my kitchen, and that I've been told to relax rather than try to help.

"Right. Her. I think they're all taking a plane to spend the next week with their cousins in… uh…" He looks at Amy.

"One of the Dakotas." She shrugs. "I forget which."

"Right… She's spending her Christmas with family somewhere in One Big Dakota." Jack nods his head towards Amy. "Also, uh…" Glancing back behind him again and then up towards the mistletoe, he shrugs, takes Amy by the chin and kisses her on the lips. "Apparently Oz is joining us for dinner?" He smiles quickly at Amy before walking away at that speed only he, my eldest, and Faith can manage.

Amy stands frozen in the doorway for a moment, a smile slowly spreading across her face before suddenly frowning. "Oz is what?"

"Joining us for dinner." Harmony sets the turkey down on the counter and starts basting it.

"Since when!?"

"...Since I invited him?"

"Harmony invited him?" My daughter mutters to herself, frowning.

"But that throws off-" Amy pauses. "Actually, that gets us back to an even number."

"It does?"

"Sort of." Amy shrugs. "Apparently Miss Edith is coming to dinner as well."

"Excuse me!?" Harmony loudly slaps the turkey baster down onto the counter, head whipping around to stare at Amy. "Jack invited his ex-girlfriend!?"

"What? She's not…" Amy trails off, staring at Harmony. "What?"

I glance over at the empty chair next to Drusilla. I thought Miss Edith was the doll?

"Mmmm…" Drusilla smiles at me, purring happily. "She is!"

I turn to my daughter to ask only to find her and William making the same odd faces at each other as they silently glance back and forth between Harmony and Amy and then each other.

Unfortunately, the moment I start to smile at them making something approaching peace they both startle and go right back to my daughter glaring suspiciously and William magnanimously ignoring her poor behavior.

"Oh… Oz is here!" Harmony suddenly announces excitedly, scrambling to take off her oven mitts and racing towards the door. How does she know- Oh, wait, I remember Faith complaining about a magic doorbell spell now. "Oh, pancakes! The turkey!" Harmony stops short, whirling around in the doorway and throwing the oven mitts at William. "Blondie Bear! Guard the stove." Turning back and kissing Amy on the lips, Harmony rushes out of the room.

"I'm… I'm going to go… be somewhere else." Amy nods to herself and vacates the doorway. "Anywhere else."

There's a moment of silence broken by my eldest giggling. "Blondie Bear..?" She looks at William incredulously, a smile that promises I'm going to need to break up another argument spreading across her face.

"Oi!" William protests, pointing an oven mitt at her as he stands up. "That's not-"

"Buffy!" My youngest cuts him off as she rushes into the room, kitchen door bouncing off the wall behind her. "Come play Mario Party with us!"

"I'm not leaving mom alone-"

"She can come too!" She grabs her sister's arm and tries to pull her out of her seat. "Liam wants to talk to Savta anyway."

- Winters Residence - Living Room : Later That Afternoon -

Green Mario rolls his ball across the screen, knocking Yellow Mario off the little island.

"Woo!" My youngest throws her arms into the air, wiggling happily in her seat as a bunch of Japanese letters appear on the screen. "I win!"

"...Huh." Oz murmurs from the recliner, taking one hand off his own sideways remote thing to catch hers before it can hit him in the face. "So you do."

"Ohmigawd!" My youngest's hands cover her face in embarrassment. When she doesn't say anything else for a long moment, I open my mouth to say something but she remembers her manners before I need to prompt her. "Sorry!"

Hearing the muffled shouting from the kitchen, I sigh and start to get up off the couch before realizing both my daughters are sitting on either side of me and for once can't be causing whatever's happening. Or caught up in it. Or blamed for it by the police. Or…

"Something wrong, Mom?"

"Nope." I try to do that thing with the p sound that they do to me when they're trying to be obnoxious, but it doesn't sound right.

Makes my daughters both giggle while they roll their eyes at me in unison though, so there's that.

I make eye contact with Amy, or try to as she looks up from her clipboard to stare at the kitchen with a raised eyebrow.

Before I can ask what's going on, the kitchen door slams open and Faith's voice is suddenly much louder as she stomps out of the kitchen holding a basket. "-in' about the fuckin' lemons!"

"Noooo!" I can hear Harmony wailing before she comes running through the doorway after her, catching up and jumping onto Faith's back when she has to pause to unlock the front door. "Mrs. Bellevue's recipe says I need three of those!" Reaching around Faith's head towards the basket, she pulls out a lemon and tosses it backwards over her shoulder.

Jack snags it out the air as he follows along behind them, laughing. "One! Ah ah ah!"

"Two! Ah ah ah!" Harmony manages to grab a second lemon and toss it back to Jack's Count Von Count impression, but before she can grab a third Faith hurls the whole basket out the front door.

"Nooooooooo…" Harmony wails, staring out the door with her arm outstretched while Faith wipes her hands against each other. "...oh! Thanks, Jack."

"Oh, come on!" Faith stamps her foot, whirling around with her hands on her hips as the basket floats unsteadily back into the house over her head.

"Many! Ah ah ah." The basket floats into Jack's waiting arms. "Lots! Ah ah ah… Okay, yeah." Jack stares down into the basket. "I'm not counting all of these out loud. Thirteen lemons in base five is… two three… Ha! Too many lemons… Ah ah ah…" Jack looks incredibly pleased with himself for some reason… Oh, is it some sort of pun? Twenty three, two-many? Whether I'm getting the joke correctly or not, Jack drops the two lemons he caught earlier back into the basket and holds it out. "Go flay your lemons, Harmony."

"Zest." Harmony climbs down off of Faith's back and skips happily across the room.

"What?"

"I'm zesting the lemons." She takes the basket back. "Not flaying them."

"I thought zest was something someone has for life? Like great enthusiasm and stuff? Or, come to think of it, basically you in word form."

"It's both." Amy adds from her seat without looking up from writing something on her clipboard.

"Oh. Well." Jack shrugs. "I guess this is what we get for using three languages in a kleptomaniac trench coat as our Lingua Franca."

"Also." Harmony pats his arm. "I think the trolls used base four, not five, and lots was supposed to be sixteen?"

Are trolls- no, of course trolls are real too. Does their hair really stick up like that though?

"Oh. Uh… maybe?" Jack shrugs. "Three-one lemons isn't as funny though."

"No," Harmony shakes her head. "I think it's supposed to be many-many-many one."

"That's…" Jack stares at her with an odd expression, "not better."

"I didn't write the book." Harmony shrugs and then starts walking back towards the kitchen.

Jack just stands there for a moment frowning before shaking his head and turning to his sister. "I'm still going to go with two-many lemons. Now come on, Faith, if you have time for Mother to sucker you into another silly fight about citrus fruits then you have time to help me get the room setup for that big table we bought."

"Do you need us to move?" I ask when he gestures in our direction while explaining what they need to do.

"Why would you need to move?" Jack tilts his head in confusion as he and Faith each grab an end of the couch and lift it up, myself and my daughters included, with what seems to be no effort at all, shifting us two steps towards the TV before putting us back down.

"But seriously, Faith." He points towards the once again closed kitchen door as they walk off. "Spike has been taking care of Mother, and handling all of… that… for our family for over a century now. Which is why I was saying to just try and ignore it when Spike occasionally does something annoying like…"

- Winters Residence - Living Room turned Dining Room : Later That Afternoon -

"Well." My eldest grumpily stabs her fork into a piece of turkey. "I'm not calling her Savta."

"Mmm…" Drusilla sniffs loudly, staring at William with a look of overwrought concern. "The Sunshine oughtn't joke about such things in front of the baby! The stars are aflutter enough without the nasty Sunshine teaching the trees all wrong again!"

"Of course, Princess." William rubs her shoulder soothingly. "Don't worry yourself, you know your Spike will make sure the… uh... trees are all taught their proper places." He's clearly trying very hard, but a faint note of confusion starts to slip into his voice towards the end, not that this seems to bother Drusilla who just rests her head on his shoulder and smiles at him as he runs his fingers through her hair.

"Psst!" My youngest leans forward and tries to quietly get Faith's attention. "Do you have any idea what she's talking about? Am I The Sunshine?"

"Naw." Faith nods her head towards my eldest. "B's the sunshine. Lookit her dress."

"Yup. That's me." Buffy mutters. "Nasty Sunshine girl."

"Oh, honey. I'm sure she didn't mean it that way."

"What? But-" My youngest looks back and forth between the solidly bright yellow of her sister's dress and her own where the yellow parts all swirl and merge with blues, making the dress mostly green. "But I'm Dawn."

"Yeah… I dunno what to tell ya." Faith shrugs. "I mean, I barely speak Jack and you want me to translate for Lemon-brain?"

"Hey… be nice."

"I am bein' nice. If I wasn't then I'da said you bein' the youngest makes you the baby."

"I am not a baby!" My baby whines.

"Ya think that matters to her?" Faith makes a twirling gesture with a finger by her ear before elbowing Amy. "You speak Jack better'an me… any idea what she's goin' on about?"

Sighing through her nose, Amy holds up a finger as she finishes chewing her stuffing and swallows before speaking. "Jack's actually the youngest."

"...What?" Asks… I think that was all of us actually.

"Jack counts- Wait… No." Amy frowns. "That makes you the youngest." She points at Faith. "I think? Or possibly tied."

Faith opens her mouth, looking like she's going to protest, but then just pauses and thinks for a moment. "How do ya' figure that?"

"Jack only counts the time after he was turned and you became a Slayer. Remember? You had that whole drunken 'we're twins!?' thing you did."

"Da...ngit!" Faith grumps, pouting. "I forgot about that."

"There, there." Dawn reaches across the table to pat her on the arm. "It's okay... baby."

"I will paint you!"

"...isn't that Harmony's line?"

"She can help!"

"Don't you dare get any paint on the fancy dresses!" Harmony hisses, leaning around Oz to point at Faith. She pans a glare across all of us with such a comically serious expression on her face that I almost want to laugh despite agreeing wholeheartedly with her sentiments. Instead, I nod appreciatively at her as she looks my way, getting a bright smile in return before she and Oz go back to their discussion with Miss Edith about Victorian England's language of flowers.

"Dawn…" I sigh, as my youngest blows a raspberry at Faith loud enough that the rest of the conversations at the table all grind to a halt, everyone turning to stare at her.

As if she'd been waiting for them to do just that, Drusilla leans forward and, scowling as her eyes focus on my eldest at the other end of the table from her, points with her spoon. "And that's Miss The Mad to you!"

Well… at least she's not letting her issues get her down? Though I suppose you'd have to have a sense of humor about it all after over a hundred years.

Faith's nose is all scrunched up in confusion as she reaches around Amy to tug on her brother's arm. "I know she's joking, but shouldn't that be Miss Keeble?" She stage-whispers loud enough for us all to hear. "Or Mrs. Pratt?"

"What?" Jack asks distractedly as he turns back from keeping a close eye on that man to look at us. "Oh, uh." He opens his mouth, closes it without saying anything and then glances over at his mother with a furrowed brow. "You know… I'm not sure if-"

"Dru and Spike never married." That man adds, still giving Drusilla an odd look.

"And whose bloody fault is that, I wonder?" William flings his butter knife at him. "Somebody kept eating the sodding priests!"

Sadly, the bastard just plucks the knife out of the air before it can hit him in the face, not even looking at it as he passes it over to Jack's already waiting hand. Jack frowns slightly as he adds it to the pile of other improvised projectiles in front of Amy, but doesn't say anything about it. Come to think of it, the pile looks smaller than I'd have expected.

Embarrassingly, it isn't until I hear my youngest snickering as he rolls his eyes at her that I realize she's been sneaking things out of the pile to pass back to William. If I'd known that was an option I'd have been helping her.

"I think..." Jack announces loudly, clearly trying to re-establish some semblance of order. "That Warden Liam," he claps that man on the shoulder, "can be relied on to give his granddaughter away at the altar without any of the prisoner's usual 'artistry' nonsense being involved."

Granddaughter..? I thought he was her father.

"But I wanted Daddy to give me away." Drusilla pouts, laying her head on William's shoulder.

"Of course you do, Mother. And he would be." Jack reassures her. "Warden Liam would just be standing right there with him, holding the reins and forcing him to cooperate. We could even have the wedding later tonight if you want Miss Edith here to be there."

I think I must be missing something here.

"But we need to wait or Grandmother can't be there."

Or maybe two something's given the aggrieved look Jack keeps shooting Miss Edith. I know Harmony said they have a history, but…

"Mother…" Jack sighs. "Gre- …Grandmother isn't… Grandmother is gone. She wasn't old enough to leave bones when Liam and Buffy killed her."

She what? "Buffy!"

"Mom, no! She was a- She was trying to-"

"They murdered her!" Drusilla wails tearfully.

Suddenly, all I can hear is a soft buzzing noise even though I still see people's mouths moving. Looking around, everyone seems to be turning to look at Amy. "No fighting while I'm eating." She stuffs a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, the buzzing noise fading as she starts to chew.

"Thank you, Amy." Jack smiles at her before looking around the table. "I wasn't trying to start an argument or assign blame or anything. She broke the pact and suffered the consequences. I was just trying to be clear that Grandmother isn't going to be able to attend."

"What pact?" I hear my eldest ask Faith who just shrugs, looking as lost as I feel.

"But she comes back!" Drusilla grumbles, pouting sulkily at Jack.

"She what!?" My daughter sounds unreasonably alarmed by the ramblings of a woman with Drusilla's… condition. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if Jack or William ever actually said what was wrong with her. Not that they'd have understood enough back in her or William's day, but Jack-

Oh... Is that why Jack volunteers at the psych ward? That's sweet.

"No…" Jack sags in his seat, dragging a hand down his face. "No she doesn't. The woman Heinrich made her out of comes back, but Grandmother is gone." He reaches across the table and takes his mother's hand. "Even if I stood in for Old Batface and we re-turned her, we'd just be making a new vampire. One who'd have to walk around with her face and all of her baggage but who still wouldn't be her. She wouldn't be Grandmother."

There's a moment of quiet as everyone just sort of stares at Jack before William clears his throat. "Now hang on a bloody moment. You're the youngest of us here. Why're you the one who'd stand in for old whatshisface?"

"Because I ate him."

"I'm sorry, you ate someone?" I ask, but I'm not sure anyone actually notices.

"Mate…" William leans back in his chair warily while giving Jack something like the look I use when my daughters are misbehaving in public. "That's… That's just not done."

"Spike." Jack looks back at him with a baffled expression. "You fed Liam's blood to Mother."

Oh… blood. That makes more sense. But I thought Faith said they got theirs from the hospital.

"As part of a bloody ritual with…" William flails about, looking lost for words. "Protections and…" He points at that man. "And! The Poof is still bloody here, innit he? Stupid hair and all." Yes, he is. Unfortunately. "We didn't just…"

"Yo!" Faith waves a hand in the air. "What the what are you guys talkin' about? I thought Heinrich was that 'Master' guy B slayed. Who's Batface?"

"Same guy, different timeline."

"Oh… Suck-Land?"

Jack nods. "Yeah."

"Gotcha." Faith starts to nod, then frowns.

"Suck-La-" William starts to ask.

"Nope. Hold up." Faith interrupts, shaking a finger at him. "You." She shifts her hand to point at Jack. "Mr. 'Family is Important' himself killed our…" Still pointing at Jack, she glances down at her other hand, counting on her fingers. "Great... Great... Grandfather?"

"I… He was taunting Catherine about how he murdered her daughter." Jack's smile does that thing my eldest's smiles do far too often lately where it doesn't reach her eyes. "And now I have his skull sitting in the vault next to Kakisto's."

"Who's Catherine?" My youngest and I both ask, though it doesn't look like we're alone in our confusion.

"My mom." Amy smiles that same non-smile and takes a sip of her cider.

"Oooooh…" Faith grimaces. "Yeah, that would do it."

"Yeah…" Jack takes a deep breath and stares blankly at the table, looking lost in thought for a moment, before turning back to William, who still looks lost, to explain. "We had a run in with Anyanka involving a temporal fold thing."

"Ah." William nods, suddenly looking like he understands even if I'm still not sure I do. "Darla was a fan of her work."

"So I've been told." Jack agrees. "And speaking of Grandmother… again… uh…" He looks around the table before smiling an actual smile at me. "Mother, would it maybe be acceptable to have… uh… I think you call her Machatainista, stand in for her?"

"Oh, yes!" Drusilla nods enthusiastically, looking over and smiling at me. "And the baby can be the flower girl."

"Jack…" That man suddenly growls, grabbing Jack's shoulder and pulling him around to face him. "What did you do?"

Drusilla giggles, clapping. "He made dead monkeys set him on fire to make his baby."

Jack joins us all in giving her an odd look, but then turns back to that man. "I don't… oh…" He nods, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess it was kind of rude of me to invite Joyce to their wedding without asking them."

"S'fine." William smiles. "Of course we'd want her to be there."

"See!" Jack points at William. "It's fine."

That man just glares at Jack. "Machatainista is Yiddish for your son- or daughter-in-law's mother."

It is? I frown. I know Drusilla isn't always… all there… And Jack is such a nice young man unlike certain other people at this table, but… right in front of Amy? Glancing at my daughters, the three of us all share an equally puzzled look.

"Are you sure?" Jack asks. "Because that makes even less sense than usual." Well that seems like a very blunt way to put it. "I know I told you about that one vision but they never make it anywhere close to an altar no matter how hard Willow tries."

Vision? Oh… William did mention that Drusilla saw things, but… is that why they're all taking what she says so seriously? That still seems rather rude. Again, Amy is right there.

"You're sure about that?" That man asks, still in that intense almost-growl of a voice.

"Of course I-" Jack pauses. "Well, okay, no… I mean, it's not like I know everything, but do you think Mother would sound so happy about it if that's what she was talking about?"

Sipping at her bloodwine while Miss Edith whispers something in her ear, Drusilla smiles and waves as Jack and that man both turn their heads to look over at her.

They turn back to each other. "So not that."

"Yo, J! Are we just ignorin' the dead monkeys or..?"

Jack turns around in his seat to look at his sister, casually showing his back to that man. Even knowing how durable he's proven to be in the past, I don't know If I could do that in his place. "I was planning to, yes. That part at least makes some sense, unlike-"

"Seriously?" Amy drops her fork onto her plate and gives him a look I've used on Hank a few times. "That's what made sense to you?"

"I mean, I was at least there for that." He rolls his eyes. "I know we joke about it a lot but it's not like I really get set on fire so often that they aren't all still fairly memorable events."

"Oh." She nods. "I guess that's fair."

"Fair!?" My eldest leans forward to stare at Jack. "How is making a baby out of dead monkeys fair."

"Oh, no." Jack laughs. "There were no actual monkeys or babies involved. That's just Mother being… Moth…er…" Jack trails off, smiling fondly. "Ohhh… Moon-shine! I get it now." Jack snaps his fingers. "Very punny, Mother." Shaking his head and chuckling, he turns back to face that man and claps him on the shoulder. "False alarm."

"Excuse you!" My eldest whines angrily. "You can't just not explain."

"Pretty sure I can!" Jack grins at her, but glances at me and rolls his eyes at my daughter's enraged expression before continuing anyway. "Ahem! Cuter. Than. Unicorns."

"...o-oh…" I look around in confusion as more than half of the table suddenly nods in near unison as if everything makes sense now, Harmony even clapping.

"…what?"

"Nothing, Mom!" My eldest smiles awkwardly at me. "Just… school stuff. Don't worry about it."

"School stuff." Faith snorts. "Is that-" Faith sighs, wincing. "Sure, B. School stuff."

I look at my youngest for a clue, but she has her arms folded over her chest and is staring at the table in front of her looking like she's thinking big thoughts rather than paying any attention to the conversation.

Well alright then. I suppose I can call the school after break to get my answers about this 'school stuff' from Miss Smith.

"Right. So…" Jack trails off. "What were we talking about?"

"Hey, Liam…" My youngest suddenly looks up from the table and turns to stare at that man. "What does Savta mean?"