DISCLAIMER: All characters are property of Joss Whedon et al.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm hoping these chapters will be short and sweet, allowing me to update as often as I can.  For now, I'm not bringing in other canon characters, though the W&H people will eventually show up, as well as possibly Kate.

For now, though, it's just Wes, Cordy, Faith, and Liam.

Oh, and if you have time, I'd be grateful to any of you who would go read my Anya-centric fic.  The first chapters a little over the top, but I'm really looking forward to developing it a little bit, and if you liked Only Hope at all, you'll probably like Supply and Demand.  Thanks muchly to you all!

Throwback: Chapter Two

            As the two children eyed each other suspiciously, Wesley rubbed his temples slightly.  "Oh dear," he said again.

            Cordelia shot him an annoyed look.  "The oh-dearing," she said, "not helping, Wesley."

            "Wesley?" the little girl said, breaking into a fit of giggles.  "That's a funny name."  For the moment, the child had lost her tough edge, and Cordelia had to admit that despite the tangled mass of dark hair and the deep circles under her eyes, she was a very cute little girl.

            The little boy smirked.  "You're kind of funny looking too," he said, unblinking, no malice in his little face as he tilted it to the side to study Wesley.  Then he turned to look at Cordelia.  "You're pretty," he said, melting her heart with his little boy smile.

            "Long hair," Faith said simply, her little fingers wanting to touch it, but not allowing the desire to show on her face.

            Cordelia beamed at the children.  "You know," she said lightly.  "I think I might like them better this way."

            An hour later, Cordelia wasn't so sure about that.  She'd managed to fit them both in some children's clothes she found in a storage box, but Faith was less than happy with her clothes, and little Liam was a streaker.

            As he ran by, shedding his clothes for the fifth time and leaving Wesley cursing in his wake, Faith scratched herself viciously.  "It itches," she said, glaring at Cordelia darkly. 

            "Beauty is pain," Cordelia said.

            Little Faith wrinkled her forehead, taking in Cordelia's words with a little skepticism.  A moment later, Faith was trying to wriggle out of her clothes as well.  Cordy took a deep breath.

            "This is so not happening," she said to herself, but then she took a deep breath and looked sternly at Little Faith, reaching out and grabbing the wiggling little girl's arm.

            "The clothes stay on," she said firmly.

            "Says who?" Faith asked, jerking her arm out of Cordelia's hand.

            "Says me," Cordelia said, putting her face right next to the little girl's.  "And you don't want to make me mad."

            Faith carefully considered the woman's words, and then she shrugged and simply walked away, the weapons case catching her eye.

            "Wow," she said.  "That's a lot of stuff.  Can I play?"

            Cordelia seriously considered giving the child a weapon.  If she happened to hurt herself before they could turn her back, then the world was simply short one psycho rogue slayer.

            As Faith stood on her tiptoes to get a better look at the weapons, her tiny mouth open just a bit in childhood wonder, Cordelia knew that that wasn't an option.  Neither child had memories of the adults they had been.  She wouldn't hold the girl responsible for the woman's mistake.

            "Young man, if you don't sit still right this minute, you'll earn yourself a solid thrashing," Wesley promised the little boy weakly.

            Liam eyed the man, trying to decide if he was serious.  It gave Wes just enough time to wrangle him into some clothes, a red blush covering the former Watcher's face.  Wesley wasn't sure if he would ever be able to look at adult Angel with a straight face again. 

            "Would you really thrash me?" Liam asked, his voice merely curious and not the least bit intimidated.

            Cordelia watched the exchange with a small, wry grin on her face until she felt a small tug on the leg of her black capris.  She looked down, and little Faith simply crooked a finger at her, indicating that the woman should bend over.

            Cordy knelt down, bringing herself to Faith's level.  "Don't let him hurt Liam," the little girl whispered fiercely, her eyes dark with something Cordelia didn't want to understand.  Instinctively, she squeezed the little girl in an impromptu hug.

            Faith stared at her, shocked, before backing up a step or two.  Her little arms crossed instinctively over her chest, but the look on her face seemed to Cordelia to be vulnerable.

            "Don't worry about Liam," Cordelia replied.  "If it comes down to it, my money says he can take Wesley no problem."

            Wesley shot Cordelia an irritated look.  "I heard that," he said.

            "Meant for you to," Cordy said lightly. 

            Liam appeared to be sizing Wesley up, his little arms on his hips. 

            Faith stood frozen to the ground, looking at Cordelia with the same poignantly bewildered and cautious look on her face.

            "I could take him," the little girl said, finally speaking.  "He looks like a pussy to me."

            "Faith!" Wes and Cordelia both said, wondering where the child had picked up the language.  It occurred to Wesley that for someone who had once been her Watcher, he knew starkingly little about Faith's background.

            Completely unperturbed, the child approached Liam.  "Come on, Liam," she ordered.  "I'll show you the sharp and shiny things over here."

            Wesley's gaze followed the children as they walked to the weapons case.  "Oh dear," he said.  Cordelia glared in his general direction.

TBC… review for more fluff, and if you have a scenario you'd like to see, just let me know. I'm thinking along the lines of the movies, the doctor's office, the playground, possibly preschool, the mall…