Title: Playing House
Author: CordeliaHalliwell
Summary: An unknown spell or demon changes two of the Scoobies, and Riley and Tara are left with two pint sized brunettes.
A.N: I like Riley. The rest of the Scoobies and Angel's group will figure into the story.
Joyce Summers smiled kindly at the blonde leaving her house. She watched as her youngest daughter followed the young witch out, asking her to stay. Joyce smothered her grin as Tara firmly denied Dawn. She was not harsh, simply truthful, stating that if she didn't hurry she would be attacked on the way to her dorm. She gave Dawn a crooked grin, waved at Joyce, and began walking home. Joyce spoke to her daughter, "Dawn inside please." Dawn entered the house pouting. Joyce shook her head and shut the door behind her daughter. She turned a stern look on her daughter and ordered, "Get upstairs and pack, we're supposed to be meeting Buffy and the others in L.A. in the morning." Dawn glared at her mother and stomped up the stairs. Joyce sighed and followed her daughter upstairs.
There was some sort of threat in L.A. and Buffy, Willow, and Giles had gone to help Angel. Buffy had at the same time felt uncomfortable leaving her mother and sister alone on the Hellmouth with no slayer so she had asked that Joyce and Dawn come to L.A. after she had arrived. Angel had in turn wanted Cordelia as far away from the evil that they were fighting due to the distressing amount of interest it had in his seer. So, while Joyce and Dawn would be headed for L.A. Cordelia would be making her way to the Hellmouth.
Tara entered the Magic Box and set about opening for business. Giles had been upset at the timing of the trip to L.A. due to the fact Anya was away on a buying trip and wouldn't return for a couple of weeks. To ease the watcher's mind Tara had offered to mind the store for him. He had called the night before and told her to be expecting Cordelia. She had just checked the register when the bell over the door rang. She looked up and smiled as Riley Finn entered. Riley who was Buffy's boyfriend had elected to stay behind to help tend the Hellmouth. Tara figured he probably didn't want to deal with Angel either. Just behind Riley was Xander. The two men walked toward the counter and offered her friendly smiles.
"Hey Tara," Xander looked a little down about having be left out of a Scooby trip.
"Hi Tara," Riley smiled, but looked preoccupied. Tara assumed he was having second thoughts about sending his girlfriend to visit her ex without him.
Tara who had never been alone with these two men before fought down the instinctual fear and greeted them, "He-Hello guys." The two men seemed to notice Tara's slight apprehension and so both smiled gently to reassure her. The bell chimed again and this time the most stunning woman Tara had ever seen entered. Tara felt disloyal for even thinking it but she couldn't help having eyes. The woman was tall with black hair that reached well past her shoulders, she wore tight jeans with black boots, and a tight scoop neck t-shirt. She quickly looked at Riley and Xander and saw that Riley at least seemed to appreciate this woman's attractiveness. Xander looked slightly nervous.
The woman stopped and looked expectantly at Xander. He stepped forward and said, "Hello Cordelia." Tara's raised her eyebrows, so this was Cordelia. She certainly looked how Willow had described her.
"Hi Xander." The woman's voice was gentler than Tara expecting from what Willow had described. She moved forward and to Tara's surprise wrapped her arms around Xander in a tight hug. Xander quickly returned the gesture, holding Cordelia close to him. They pulled away from each other and Cordelia turned to Tara and Riley. She extended a hand and Riley automatically took it. "Cordelia Chase."
Riley smiled, "I'm Riley Finn." Cordelia cocked her head and looked Riley up and down before nodding. She released his hand and turned to Tara
Tara moved from behind the counter and took the hand that was still extended, "I'm Ta-Tara Maclay." Cordelia smiled and nodded.
She released Tara's hand and drawled, "So…" The four looked at each other slightly uncomfortable.
Tara was surprised by how much she liked Cordelia. When asked, Willow had been quick to assure Tara that Cordelia was Grade A bitch, but now Tara wasn't so sure. Maybe she had been but the woman she was around now was anything but. Her eyes reminded Tara of Buffy's, old before their time. She was even helping around the store and had roped Xander and Riley into bringing up the supplies from the basement.
Riley poked his head out from the stairs and called, "Tara can you come tell me which books to bring up; Cordelia wasn't sure."
"Ok." Tara got up and made her way down the basements steps. A few minutes after pointing out which books Giles wanted sold Riley and Tara heard a loud boom. Xander and Cordelia were both upstairs so they to made a mad dash to see if they were ok. The Magic Box was filled with a swirling blue and red mist and the soldier and witch couldn't see either Xander or Cordelia.
Tara mumbled a few words in Latin and a gust of wind swept the mist away. Standing alone in the middle of the where two children, two tiny, brunette children.
Read and Review and thou shall have tiny xander and Cordelia adorableness.