The summer air was warm, but not hot as the group poured onto the park, giggling and talking over each other. Giles carried a large picnic basket, and Buffy signaled to a spot underneath a nearby tree. They headed over there, and she spread out the blanket.

Willow leaned against Oz's shoulder, kicking her feet into Xander's lap. He looked down in mock horror and she laughed, feeling somehow lighter than she had in a long time. Cordelia took her place next to Xander, and Buffy and Giles sat next to each other, propped up against their hands.

"You realize this is like a vacation?" Buffy looked pointedly at her Watcher. "I didn't think those were allowed."

"They're not. However, since I am no longer officially your Watcher, I don't feel the need to conform to the Council's orders." He smiled, belying the haughty tone. "Besides, Willow was going to force me to work on that blasted computer if I stayed in today, so we're here at the park."

"I've always liked this park," Xander stated, smiling at Cordelia. "Although I don't know exactly why. Didn't we have our first kiss here, Wills?"

Willow blushed and couldn't manage to meet Oz's eyes. "Xander!"

"What?" He leaned over and kissed the top of Cordelia's hair. "It was a long time ago."

"Everything was a long time ago," Oz noted. "Doesn't it seem that way?"

Cordelia nodded. "Almost a lifetime."

Willow raised her eyebrows at that. "Does anyone else have the weird feeling that Cordelia is missing childhood or something else relatively normal?"

Xander laughed and his girlfriend shot him a dirty look. "I reminisce all the time," she began, smiling. After a moment, her expression dropped. "Though most of what I think about isn't good. I was a real..." she sent a sliding glance to Xander, "Bitca back then, wasn't I?"

Giles coughed, trying to cover a laugh. Xander looked indignant. "It was a joke, okay? I was joking when I said that! Are you people never going to forget?!"

"Not on the likely, Xand," Buffy remarked loftily.

Oz turned to Willow, smiling teasingly. "You kissed Xander in this park?"

Willow blushed again. "Not just Xander! I kissed other boys! Oh, er…that's not what I meant. One other boy."

"Who?" Xander, Cordelia and Buffy's voices overshadowed Oz and Giles, but Willow caught them anyway.

"You want to know, Giles?" She giggled.

"Well, I'm afraid, like it or not, I'm rather caught up in what happens in all of your lives. Mostly because I have to hear about all the latest gossip while I'm getting pummeled by Buffy. And I'm not sure which is the worse punishment."

Buffy shook her head. "Nope, face it Giles. You're hooked. Our lives are like your own personal soap opera. Except for the cheating and the wife-swapping and baby kidnapping. Oh, and the sleeping with the same people as our parents."

All of the teenagers "eewed" and Giles reddened. Trying to turn everyone's attention away from himself, he looked desperately at Willow. "So who was your mystery man, Willow?"

Willow snickered. "Mystery man? Giles, you just called him a mystery man!" she hooted. Catching the odd glances of those around her, she stifled another laughed and shrugged. "I make my own fun, okay?"

Oz stroked her hair softly. "So who was it?"

Willow smiled at him. "Trying to ply me with sweet words and soft touches?"

"Yes." He grinned.

Willow paused, thinking. "Actually, I don't know... He had dark red hair, I think. I'm sure that I could remember something else if I tried, but I'm too relaxed."

A dangerous glint appeared in Buffy's eye, and she turned to Xander. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking then we're thinking the same thing," he joked. Glancing at each other and then back at Willow, they cried out in unison.

"Tickle!"

Pouncing on her, they began a merciless tickle attack, grabbing at her ribs and knees. Willow tried to curl up into a little, giggling ball, but Oz held her open for the siege and she was helpless. After a moment of looking at each other, Cordelia and Giles shrugged and joined in.

"All right! All right!" Willow squeaked. Tears of laughter stained her face as the merciless onslaught finally ceased. "Let me see, he had red hair and he kissed me. Or I kissed him. Xander had disappeared I think. Probably chasing after some other girl."

Only Xander noted the sad tone behind the soft sentence and he looked down at his hands. "Sorry, Wills."

She looked up at him, shaking off the memory that had been so close to the surface. "Don't be, Xander." She hugged him then settled back into Oz's embrace. "It's all good."

Buffy smiled then looked at Giles. "What about you, stodgy English guy. What amazingly boring stuff did you do as a kid? Watch?"

"And mock and laugh," he muttered, covering a grin with his hand. Buffy hit him softly on the arm and he winced and let go of a laugh before falling silent, thinking. "No... I was a normal child. I had friends, I traveled, I prepared for being a Watcher."

"Like all normal children," Oz deadpanned.

Buffy nudged her Watcher. "And what about kissage? Since you're so interested in Willow's tales of childhood romance..." She smiled saucily.

His face stilled as though something occurred to him, but after a moment he looked at them, relaxed. Buffy jumped on that. "That! What you were thinking there! You have to tell us that, or suffer the same fate that Willow did at the hands of tickling savages. And you know I could hold you down, Giles," she threatened.

He hesitated, his eyes falling on Xander. "So, you kissed Willow in this park?" he asked quickly.

"Oh yeah, Willow was my babe. But that's not getting you out of it." Xander grinned devilishly. "You were having smoochies in your youth, and as much as it disturbs me, we're gonna hear about them."

Giles sighed. "Well, I remember this beautiful horse…"

Willow shrieked with laughter, burying her face in Oz's chest. "Please tell me you didn't kiss a horse, Giles."

"As I was saying," he glared at the redhead. "I was staying at a Watcher's retreat with my parents and there was a neighboring estate. They had a beautiful horse there. And two very lovely young girls visiting, as I recall."

"Name, date, details!" Buffy insisted, poking him in the side. "Did you woo them both?"

"I love wooing," Willow sighed.

"Were they rich?" Cordelia asked. "Because you should have gotten their numbers and you could be wealthy and have a real car." At everyone's look, she shrugged. "What? I'm only thinking of his well being."

Giles shook his head. "I don't recall their names. There were two girls and a boy. And the boy was infatuated with one of them. He was terribly obvious and she was oblivious. I believe she kissed me to see what he'd do."

"Was she a good kisser?"

He looked over at Xander, realizing in that instant who the young boy reminded him of. "Quite good. Although I doubt the boy ever found out."

"Maybe he did," Willow said quietly, a sad look on her face. Then she brightened, turning to Oz. "And you, Mr. So-You-Kissed-Xander-Here?"

Oz looked smug. "I saved all my kisses for you, Will."

She slapped his arm lightly. "Did not! C'mon, give!"

His face flashed guiltily and he chuckled. "There was one girl... I don't remember any solid details about it. She kissed me, in a playground like this one. I have a thing for girls who kiss me first," he finished, his eyes twinkling. "But enough about me. Buffy, Cordelia?"

Cordelia tensed, shooting a look to Buffy. "Do you want to field this one?"

Buffy lifted her shoulders lightly. "Nope. There was no kissing. A couple of people I met who were pretty special, but that was too long ago to remember. I daydreamed about kisses a lot, if that helps at all. I had this one where Angel scooped me up in his arms really tightly and pressed his lips to mine... You know, the kind of kiss you just sink into?"

Willow looked at her, her eyes dancing. "That's the dream you had last night!"

"Actually, I had a dream…it was kind of strange. Like it was me, but not me." Seeing Giles' worried look, she placed her hand on his arm. "Not a prophecy type dream. Not a bad dream. It was a long time ago and I was this girl and I was in some village with my relatives. And this handsome boy helped us. He was so cute. And I think I kissed him."

"That sounds nice." Willow scrunched up her face. "I had a dream I was attacked by some little, scary brunette girl."

Cordelia huffed. "I never physically attacked you. As I recall, you and Xander were the attackers."

"No, we were the ones defending ourselves from your venomous barbs." Xander pulled Cordelia into a hug. "But it's okay. We forgive."

"You forgive," Willow muttered.

"Well, I admit, I wasn't the nicest. I wasn't even close to the nicest. But I clean up good." She smiled proudly. "It's funny. I got kissed here once too. I think. Probably some frisky first grader hoping to improve his social status." She shrugged.

"What kind of guy would do that?" Xander asked with a smile. Cordelia arched her perfect brows at him and he looked sheepish. "Okay, I might have if we hadn't hated each other so much."

She laughed. "We hated each other when we first kissed!" At his confused look, she elaborated. "In Buffy's basement? Xander Harris, you'd better remember that!"

He finally grinned, kissed her lightly. "Of course I remember, Cordy. You made my blood run cold. And hot." They shared a sweet look.

Buffy interrupted. "Your first kiss was in *my* basement?!" The couple had the courtesy to look embarrassed, but they didn't answer.

The group smiled at each other, and then became quiet, contemplative. Giles broke the silence. "Memories of childhood are perhaps the best memories of all."

"Yeah," Buffy joked. "If I could remember all of my childhood, I just might agree with you. I do, however, remembered that I liked to fly... On the swings," she explained. "I could go really high and then leap off the them, doing neat little twists and turns and somersaults and then land without getting hurt. I loved playground toys. There used to be one right near my house in LA."

Oz, Willow and Xander all looked up sharply at Buffy's statement then looked at each other in embarrassment. "That just made me remember something," Xander stated. "Willow and I met a girl that could fly."

"Weird." Buffy shook her head. "But I was never in Sunnydale. Always the LA girl."

Oz smiled. "She's how I got my kiss. She could fly and had hair like…"

"Sunshine." Xander and Willow said softly.

"Okay, this is right off the weird-o-meter." Buffy shook her head. "Come on."

"Aren't we going to eat?" Giles asked.

"Not yet. Because I don't want anybody getting sick. Everyone on the merry go round!" Buffy bounced up and headed over to the metal contraption. "No excuses. I'm going to push it, we're going to ride it, and we're going to have fun."

"There's no way I'm getting on that thing, Buffy." Giles leaned against the tree. "You children have your fun."

Buffy moved close to him, "Get on or I'll tell my Mom that you want to date her."

"Coming everyone?" Giles led the way, sitting on the edge of the platform.

Willow pushed on his shoulder. "Lie down."

"What?"

"That's how it works. Lie down."

Oz looped his arm around Willow's waist and guided her to her own spot. "I'm getting jealous."

Her eyes shone. "No reason to be."

They each lay down on their backs, their feet hanging off the edge, their hands grabbing tight hold of the bars on the sides. Buffy looked at them, smiling. "Ready everyone, for the ride of your life?" They nodded and she braced her feet in the sand for a moment before shooting forward with a burst of energy.

She pushed it around and around until she felt like Superman, turning back time, and finally hopped on, barely winded. She lay on her back, facing the sky and holding onto the bars.

The sky was calling to her, so blue and shining. They were spinning, falling, moving through space, a place where time and gravity and troubles didn't exist. The merry go round began to slow and then stopped, and the group groaned collectively.

"Gee, guys, you like?" Buffy asked playfully. She hopped off and started running again, ignoring the pleas of her friends. When it felt as though she'd wound it as far as she could without spinning them off into space, she jumped on again and sprawled in her spot.

Giles stared up at the sky, the clouds swirling around like a beautiful dancer. He sighed and remembered, so long ago, stumbling into a clearing and seeing a vision of his future. A stunning young girl dressed in nothing but her beauty. She'd told him she loved him before she'd run from his sight. He'd sworn to her, like he had so long ago to the children he's spent that wonderful day with, that he'd never forget her. And yet he had. At least until now. Tentatively releasing the bars, he stretched his arms above his head into the center of the merry go round and smiled as a dark haired nymph danced behind his eyes.

Cordelia was weightless on the playground toy, and she found herself remembering a birthday party she had at this park a very long time ago. She remembered white dresses and shallow tears, and she sighed lightly. Her mind drifted to the dark secretness of a bush, and being forced to kiss some boy who she liked but was too popularity driven to admit it, and she remembered trying to hate him for her friends sake. she thought dreamily. She lifted her arms above her head, stretched out, and for some reason wasn't surprised when she found a hand already occupying the space. Instead of pulling away, though, she simply placed her hand on top of the other while visions of secrets played out in her mind.

Xander smiled. Life was good. He was at the park with the people in his life that meant the most to him. The people who allowed him to forget that some demons thrive in the daytime. He barely thought about his parents and their nocturnal habits now that he had his friends. Friends, like Willow, who had always been there for him. He had kissed her for the first time in the park, hiding behind the sandbox while Cordelia and her friends had hogged the swings. She'd been playing Barbies and he'd stolen one, telling her she had to kiss him to get it back. Willow figured prominently in all of his happy childhood memories. Meeting the girl who could fly, taunting Cordelia and her cronies, meeting Jesse. Although there was one memory that lingered that had nothing to do with Willow. Some girl he'd caught behind the bushes and kissed, amazed at how sweet her lips had tasted. How the sharp thrill of something wrong and illicit had tingled along his spine.

But he had enough thrills now, with his friends and his girlfriend. He stretched out, relaxing, raising his arms above his head. He felt more hands there and he smiled. Yet another happy childhood memory.

Buffy sighed, watching the light, fluffy clouds spin around in the sky. She almost felt like she did when she was little, flying off the swing with total confidence that she would land safely. A remembering grin floated past her face; those two kids she had met a long time ago. Funny stories and swings and a merry go round like this one. She wondered what they were doing now, if they were as happy as she was right then, in that perfect moment. Another clip of her dream from the previous night flashed in her mind and she lingered over it. The two children who were Xander and Willow, but not Xander and Willow. Herself, who was she, but not she. And a little boy with dancing eyes and an accent that inspired her to kiss his cheek. Flying was what these memories were. Better than that, even.

Her hands snaked up past her hair, and she collided with other sets of hands. Grinning, she covered them with her own deceptively soft ones and gave a light squeeze, sighing in contentment. This was what life was all about.

Willow couldn't stop herself from smiling. She felt like she was tumbling down the rabbit hole with Alice or journeying through the lands of Oz. She'd read so much as a child, her memories were decorated with passages from books and fairy tales. She remembered when she used to get into huge fights with Cordelia because she believed that Oz was real. She bit her lower lip, thinking of the boys she'd kissed so long ago. Xander had grown up to be her best friend and so much more. He would always hold a sweet, special place in her heart. But part of her heart, one that didn't belong to Xander or Oz, belonged to the nameless boy she'd shared her most secret hiding place with. The one she'd talked to about flying and sunshine, the horribleness of kisses and promises of remembrance.

And she did remember. She would always remember. Even without knowing the details, every kiss was etched in her mind and she revisited them, like old friends, like old books. She lifted her hands over her head, just like she and Xander had done every time when they were children, like the girl with the sunshine hair had taught them to do, clasping the group of hands she was not surprised to find there. Memories were like trips to her imagination, only now her own fairy tales were coming true.

Oz was remembering. He was remembering the girl with sunshine for hair, and the two children she played with, remembering watching them play very similarly on the merry go round a long time ago. He watched the sky, in its brilliant blue, and remembered a secret place inside a hollow tree, a secret kiss with a girl who loved him and another boy. As much as he loved his girlfriend, he couldn't help but wonder at the girl who hadn't ever laughed at his name, who was beautiful and special and forever young and innocent in his mind. She had always been perfect to him, suspended in those few moments of time, and the only perfection he'd found since then was in Willow. He was so grateful for her, loved her in so many ways. But still, he wished he could remember the name of the girl who kissed him, and the name of the girl with sunshine for hair. They were always with him somehow, lingering on the edge of his memory, filling a small place in his heart.

The wisp of something flashed across his mind, an image of two little girls and a little boy holding hands while they spun around on the merry go round. Happy, mildly curious, he reached up and was pleasantly surprised to find a whole cluster of hands that was gathered in a cozy grip.

The merry go round finally slowed again, and stopped for the second time. The group was hushed, though, lost in their thoughts and happy memories and wishes for another time. No one moved, no one pulled their hands away. The world seemed quiet and serene, hushed and asleep as they remained still, thinking.

Remembering how simple life was on a playground.