Great way to spend a Friday night, thought Buffy as she chased a hyperactive seven year old.

It was eight o'clock and Buffy was babysitting a short, red-headed kid whom she did not even know. She was walking outside when his mom asked if she could watch him for around three hours. Being, as she considered herself, a "nice person" she agreed to it. However, she would have thought twice had she first met the kid.

"JORDY! GET BACK HERE!"

"I DON'T WANNA TAKE A BATH!"

Buffy had been at this for 15 minutes and so far had not managed to slow Jordy down. At last, she resorted to bribery.

"I'll give you a lollipop if you'll take a bath," she said pleadingly.

At this, Jordy stopped and walked towards Buffy, holding out his hand.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, "Danny never gives me candy!"

Buffy handed him a lollipop and asked, "Who's Danny, your brother?"

"Nope, Danny's my cousin. He was supposed to watch me tonight," was his reply.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Jordy finished with the sucker Buffy made a move to grab him, resulting in her hand getting bitten.

"Brat," she muttered, and maintained her grip on him.

"Take a bath," she paused in thought, ".and I won't call your parents."

"FINE!" he shouted. "But get out. You can't see me naked." With that, he ran up stairs and slammed the bathroom door.

"Like I'd want to see you naked anyway," Buffy murmured.

When Jordy was out of the bath and clothed, Buffy put him to bed. She read him Green Eggs and Ham until he fell asleep, then went downstairs to watch TV. At 9:30, Jordy's parents came home, thanked her profusely, and paid her for her help. Buffy followed soon after they left and walked down the street patrol time.

As she reached an intersection, Buffy reached sensed something nearby. She took out her stake before continuing.

"Here vampy, vampy, vampy," she taunted.

-Buffy continued walking until she heard muffled footsteps behind her. She felt a hand on her shoulder, so she turned around quickly and swiped the vamp's legs out from under him. She straddled him quickly, prepared to stake at a moment's notice, but quickly realized that her vampire was not a vampire; rather it was a human, complete with pulse and breathing. Not only was he human, but familiar as well.

"Oz?"

"Hey Buffy, what's up?"

"Nothing, just patrolling."

"Um, you alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason, just if you're okay, do you mind getting off of me? The ground's kinda hard."

"What?"

Buffy noticed that she was still straddling Oz's middle. "Oh. OH!" she squeaked, and promptly jumped off.

Buffy then helped Oz up and apologized.

"What are you doing walking around after dark?" she asked.

"Well, the Dingoes had practice and then we set off some early fireworks at Devon's. When I got home I was bored and figured, 'nothing's more fun than walking alone on the hell mouth after dark!'"

"Oh," Buffy remarked, "You going to the big show in the woods tomorrow?"

Oz paused, "No, I don't think so. I was going to go with Willow, but her parents decided that the perfect time to go on vacation was the fourth."

"So why don't you go with me then?" Buffy asked. "I'd like to get the chance to hang out, just you and me. I feel like I don't know you at all Oz."

Oz considered this for a moment. "Yeah, alright," then paused, ".I'll pick you up; what time do the fireworks start?"

"Um-they start at 7:30, just before it gets dark."

"Alright, I'll pick you up at 7 then?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool."