Rating: PG-13 at most.
Disclaimer: Characters you recognize aren't mine. The plot
isn't even really mine, and neither is the title. Both come
from a challenge:
Inner Child (issued by Victoria)
Somehow, Buffy is turned into a little child (three or four years
old). The Sunnydale gang try to turn her back to an adult but fail.
They bring her to Angel. Any rating goes.
Set in October of S5/S2. Back when Angel wasn't a dork and
Cordelia was more bitch than saint. Remember those good old days?
BTW, Dawn doesn't exist.
It was early afternoon at the Hyperion Hotel, and Angel had been
awake for only a short time when he heard Cordelia's voice,
sounding more shrill and harried than usual, calling him from
downstairs. "Angel! You have to come and see this now!"
"Coming!" Angel called back, hurrying to the stairs and jogging
down them. Halfway down, he looked up and spotted Willow and
Xander in the lobby with Cordelia. Taking the remainder of the
steps in one leap, Angel landed in front of Willow and demanded,
"What's wrong?"
"Shhh!" Xander indicated a nearby chair, where a little blonde
girl who looked about four years old was curled up asleep.
Not even bothering to consider WHY the girl might be there,
Angel lowered his voice slightly in deference to the sleeping
child and again demanded, "What it is? Something must be wrong!
Why else would you two be here?"
For a few seconds no one spoke. Willow looked away. Cordelia
smirked. Then Xander blurted, "It's Buffy. She's ..."
Horrible images shot through Angel's mind. But surely he would
have sensed if Buffy had died! "She what? What happened to her?"
"Don't you see?" Cordelia interjected.
"See what?" Angel looked from one face to another and remained
clueless. "WHAT? Tell me what happened to Buffy!"
Xander pointed at the sleeping girl. "SHE is Buffy."
"That can't be her. It's a little kid," Angel pointed out.
Willow blushed and finally spoke. "That's the problem. I was
performing a spell to temporarily give Buffy super speed and I
accidentally turned her into a child instead."
Cordelia snorted, not bothering to hide her amusement. "I always
knew you weren't as smart as you pretended to be in high school."
Angel had the terrible impression that it was all true. He
quietly moved closer to study the sleeping girl's face and
decided she looked enough like Buffy to convince him. Besides,
why would Xander and Willow make up a lie that made them look so
bad? It HAD to be true. And another thing. "Why did you two bring
Buffy to Los Angeles instead of fixing her?"
"Well, it's like this," Willow began. "Tara's brewing a potion
that should age Buffy back to normal, but it won't be ready for
about a month. In the meantime, if Buffy stays in Sunnydale like
this, she wouldn't be safe. Can you imagine how the demons would
react if they learned the slayer was a four year old? And they'd
be bound to find out. They'd hear us talking about it or they'd
see her and get curious."
"So she has to stay with you for the next month," Xander summarized,
pointing at Angel.
Cordelia laughed harder than before. "Angel with a four year old
on his hands? This should be good."
"I can't - but - " Angel protested incoherently.
"Buffy's life is at stake," Willow reminded him, utilizing the
ultimate argument.
"But if she isn't in Sunnydale, won't everyone wonder where she
is?"
"We thought of a cover story," Willow replied. "She's supposedly
away on a slaying retreat. It's plausible."
"What about her mother?" Angel asked. "What does she think of all
this and why can't she take care of Buffy?"
"Mrs. Summers is on a business trip in New York. She'll be gone
at least two weeks and we're going to give her the same cover
story everyone else gets. With any luck, she'll never need to learn
the truth." Willow looked absolutely determined that Joyce in
particular would never find out about her screwup.
Angel began to grasp at straws. "I can't take care of a four year
old! I don't know what to do. One of you has to stay here and
help."
"Can't," Xander said. "We have to hurry home and take over Buffy's
slaying for the next month. In fact, we have to go right NOW.
Goodbye, Angel. We're sure you'll be fine."
"Wait a minute." He placed himself between Xander and the door to
prevent him from leaving quite yet. "Does Buffy know who I am?
Does she have all her memories?"
Willow shook her head. "She doesn't know any of us. She only seems
to know what she did by about age 4. No slaying, no school, nothing
that happened after that point. Just so she doesn't get warped for
life by anything that goes on over the next four weeks, though,
Tara's working on a memory spell that should make her forget
anything that happens to her during that time."
Xander knelt beside the chair and gently nudged little Buffy awake.
"Hey, Buffy. Willow and I have to go away now. You're going to stay
with our good friend Angel for a little while like we talked about
before. All right?"
Buffy didn't seem to care. She sat up, drew her leg back, and
sharply kicked Xander in the shin.
"Ow!" Rubbing his leg, Xander quickly got up and retreated. "Good
luck, Angel."
Willow was right on his heels. Gloomily, Angel watched them exit
onto the sunny street. Then he looked imploringly at Cordelia.
"Cordy? Bail me out?"
"Sorry, pal, you're on your own." She smirked and walked away,
leaving poor Angel alone with the little girl.
He stared at her. She stared back at him. Then: "Are you my new
daddy?" little Buffy asked.
"No!" Angel exclaimed. "God, no! I'm just a friend. Definitely
NOT your daddy."
Little Buffy immediately lost interest in him and wandered off
to explore the lobby. Carefully keeping an eye on her, Angel
decided, "This situation has Freudian implications I don't even
want to think about."
TBC
Disclaimer: Characters you recognize aren't mine. The plot
isn't even really mine, and neither is the title. Both come
from a challenge:
Inner Child (issued by Victoria)
Somehow, Buffy is turned into a little child (three or four years
old). The Sunnydale gang try to turn her back to an adult but fail.
They bring her to Angel. Any rating goes.
Set in October of S5/S2. Back when Angel wasn't a dork and
Cordelia was more bitch than saint. Remember those good old days?
BTW, Dawn doesn't exist.
It was early afternoon at the Hyperion Hotel, and Angel had been
awake for only a short time when he heard Cordelia's voice,
sounding more shrill and harried than usual, calling him from
downstairs. "Angel! You have to come and see this now!"
"Coming!" Angel called back, hurrying to the stairs and jogging
down them. Halfway down, he looked up and spotted Willow and
Xander in the lobby with Cordelia. Taking the remainder of the
steps in one leap, Angel landed in front of Willow and demanded,
"What's wrong?"
"Shhh!" Xander indicated a nearby chair, where a little blonde
girl who looked about four years old was curled up asleep.
Not even bothering to consider WHY the girl might be there,
Angel lowered his voice slightly in deference to the sleeping
child and again demanded, "What it is? Something must be wrong!
Why else would you two be here?"
For a few seconds no one spoke. Willow looked away. Cordelia
smirked. Then Xander blurted, "It's Buffy. She's ..."
Horrible images shot through Angel's mind. But surely he would
have sensed if Buffy had died! "She what? What happened to her?"
"Don't you see?" Cordelia interjected.
"See what?" Angel looked from one face to another and remained
clueless. "WHAT? Tell me what happened to Buffy!"
Xander pointed at the sleeping girl. "SHE is Buffy."
"That can't be her. It's a little kid," Angel pointed out.
Willow blushed and finally spoke. "That's the problem. I was
performing a spell to temporarily give Buffy super speed and I
accidentally turned her into a child instead."
Cordelia snorted, not bothering to hide her amusement. "I always
knew you weren't as smart as you pretended to be in high school."
Angel had the terrible impression that it was all true. He
quietly moved closer to study the sleeping girl's face and
decided she looked enough like Buffy to convince him. Besides,
why would Xander and Willow make up a lie that made them look so
bad? It HAD to be true. And another thing. "Why did you two bring
Buffy to Los Angeles instead of fixing her?"
"Well, it's like this," Willow began. "Tara's brewing a potion
that should age Buffy back to normal, but it won't be ready for
about a month. In the meantime, if Buffy stays in Sunnydale like
this, she wouldn't be safe. Can you imagine how the demons would
react if they learned the slayer was a four year old? And they'd
be bound to find out. They'd hear us talking about it or they'd
see her and get curious."
"So she has to stay with you for the next month," Xander summarized,
pointing at Angel.
Cordelia laughed harder than before. "Angel with a four year old
on his hands? This should be good."
"I can't - but - " Angel protested incoherently.
"Buffy's life is at stake," Willow reminded him, utilizing the
ultimate argument.
"But if she isn't in Sunnydale, won't everyone wonder where she
is?"
"We thought of a cover story," Willow replied. "She's supposedly
away on a slaying retreat. It's plausible."
"What about her mother?" Angel asked. "What does she think of all
this and why can't she take care of Buffy?"
"Mrs. Summers is on a business trip in New York. She'll be gone
at least two weeks and we're going to give her the same cover
story everyone else gets. With any luck, she'll never need to learn
the truth." Willow looked absolutely determined that Joyce in
particular would never find out about her screwup.
Angel began to grasp at straws. "I can't take care of a four year
old! I don't know what to do. One of you has to stay here and
help."
"Can't," Xander said. "We have to hurry home and take over Buffy's
slaying for the next month. In fact, we have to go right NOW.
Goodbye, Angel. We're sure you'll be fine."
"Wait a minute." He placed himself between Xander and the door to
prevent him from leaving quite yet. "Does Buffy know who I am?
Does she have all her memories?"
Willow shook her head. "She doesn't know any of us. She only seems
to know what she did by about age 4. No slaying, no school, nothing
that happened after that point. Just so she doesn't get warped for
life by anything that goes on over the next four weeks, though,
Tara's working on a memory spell that should make her forget
anything that happens to her during that time."
Xander knelt beside the chair and gently nudged little Buffy awake.
"Hey, Buffy. Willow and I have to go away now. You're going to stay
with our good friend Angel for a little while like we talked about
before. All right?"
Buffy didn't seem to care. She sat up, drew her leg back, and
sharply kicked Xander in the shin.
"Ow!" Rubbing his leg, Xander quickly got up and retreated. "Good
luck, Angel."
Willow was right on his heels. Gloomily, Angel watched them exit
onto the sunny street. Then he looked imploringly at Cordelia.
"Cordy? Bail me out?"
"Sorry, pal, you're on your own." She smirked and walked away,
leaving poor Angel alone with the little girl.
He stared at her. She stared back at him. Then: "Are you my new
daddy?" little Buffy asked.
"No!" Angel exclaimed. "God, no! I'm just a friend. Definitely
NOT your daddy."
Little Buffy immediately lost interest in him and wandered off
to explore the lobby. Carefully keeping an eye on her, Angel
decided, "This situation has Freudian implications I don't even
want to think about."
TBC