Disclaimer: Since my name is not Joss Whedon, 'Angel' and all the characters associated with the show belong to someone who isn't me. I also don't own the storyline - that's taken from gidgetgirl's 'Twice The Trouble' Challenge, posted on the Chocolate Covered Strawberries Challenge Archive.
'Twice The Trouble' Challenge
A Fred Throwback. In season five of Angel, Illyria's attempt to takeover Fred's body is thwarted by the Powers that Be, and the result is that, when Illyria enters Fred's body, the body splits in half: into two identical little girls, save one has blue hair. The Angel gang has to keep little Illyria (if that's her name...) from taking over the world, and take care of little Fred. You take it from there.
Requirements:
The evil one must have blue hair.
Harmony must make an appearance in the fic.
Both Gunn and Wes must babysit... one of the girls must like each of them
better than the other.
Words in / / = Thoughts.
Chapter 3."Goodnight." Wesley bent down to plant a kiss on little Fred's cheek. "Sweet dreams." He stood, tucking the covers more closely around her. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Night night, Wesley." Little Fred was already half asleep.
Wesley fussed with the night light for a moment, reluctant to leave her side. "If you need anything, just let one of these gentlemen know." He nodded in the direction of the two security guards posted outside the room. "They'll come and get me."
"Okay." Fred could barely keep her eyes open. She curled up under the covers and popped her thumb into her mouth, drifting off to sleep.
Wesley, not wanting to disturb her, crept out of the room as silently as possible and headed for the elevator, but not before warning the security guards, in no uncertain terms, to protect their small charge with their lives.
* * *
Angel's office.
"Girls asleep?" Angel looked up as the former Watcher entered his office.
"Fred is." Wesley sank down in one of the chairs. "I thought it prudent to separate her from Illyria whenever we cannot be there to supervise them, at least until we know more about what is happening."
"Probably a good idea." Angel conceded. "Where did you put them?"
"Fred is in the guest suite nearest to your apartment, Illyria is in the suite at the far end of the hall." Wesley informed him. "Security will be monitoring them. Where's Knox?" he scowled at the thought of the man behind Fred's suffering and transformation.
"He's being held in a containment cell." Angel answered grimly. "I want to find out everything that he knows about this Illyria."
"I suppose that he is this Qwa'ha Xhan that Illyria was going on about." Wesley mused aloud. "She was vexed that she couldn't sense him. It's strange, aside from her invulnerability and her shape shifting abilities, Illyria hasn't exhibited any signs of any of the abilities the books credit her with. I wonder why."
"Maybe her powers will grow when she does." Angel suggested.
"You believe that Fred and Illyria will age?"
The dark haired vampire shuddered at the thought of caring for a pair of four year olds for all eternity. "I hope so!" He exclaimed feelingly.
"Until the girls are restored, we shall have to make arrangements for their care." Wesley remarked. "Have you any idea on the subject?"
Angel shrugged. "I guess we can take turns watching them, try to keep them out of trouble." The mere thought of caring for a child filled Angel with trepidation.
The only children that he had had any long term contact with during the course of his long life were Connor, who had been kidnapped as an infant and raised in a hell dimension and his sister Kathy, who had tasted a lot like chicken.
Suffice to say, his track record left a great deal to be desired.
"On a more positive note," Angel made a determined effort to sound cheerful. "We don't have to worry about our supply problem. I asked Harmony to do some shopping and pick up the things we'll need."
Wesley raised an eyebrow. "You gave Harmony access to the company credit cards?" Angel nodded. "Yeah, I figured she'd know more about what to get that I would."
Wesley shook his head pityingly. "You do realise that the woman is going to bankrupt us?"
* * *
Eight o'clock the next morning, Angel's office.
"HARMONY!"
The blonde vampire hurried into Angel's office as quickly as her pink platforms allowed her to.
"Yes, bossy?"
Angel gestured to inventory detailing the final total cost of last night's shopping spree. "What's this?"
"It's the bill from last night." Harmony didn't know where this was going. "And you're welcome."
Angel stabbed the bill with his finger. "There's at least two too many zeros on this! What exactly did you buy?"
Harmony beamed. "They just delivered the packages."
Angel followed his secretary into the lobby, where the fruits of her shopping spree were laid out for all the world to see.
It took a few minutes for him to recover his powers of speech.
"Harmony," His voice was low and dangerous. "Exactly how many kids did you think you were shopping for?"
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Fred's room.
Wesley laid out a selection of the outfits Harmony had bought and stood back, letting Fred decide which one she wanted to wear.
The four year old studied the outfits intently before pointing to a pale blue dress, embroidered on the hem with a darker blue.
"That one." She announced decisively.
"Good." Wesley smiled at her. "Can you manage by yourself?"
"Of course." Her tone let him know that she was offended by his doubts.
"Alright." Wesley headed out of the room to give her some privacy. "Let me know if you have any trouble."
Once he stepped into the hall, he was confronted by a decidedly bizarre sight.
Illyria – at least, he thought that it was Illyria – stood in front of him, having managed to thoroughly tangle herself in her own dress, a twin of Fred's.
"You!" Her imperious voice was muffled somewhat by the layers of cotton wrapped around her head. "Fix this!"
Wesley couldn't help himself.
He burst out laughing.
* * *
Forty five minutes later, Angel's office.
"I am well aware of the fact that we all have things to do." Wesley said in a pacifying tone, trying to rectify the squabbling that had broken out among his friends. "But the fact remains that someone has to keep an eye on the girls."
"Look," Gunn spoke up. "Someone has to this and I think that we should be able to make this decision in a mature, sensible manner. Not It!"
It took less than two seconds for Wesley, Spike and Lorne to latch onto his train of thought.
"Not It!"
"Not It!"
"Not It!"
Angel gave his friends a sour look.
"Let me guess," he said dryly. "I'm 'It'?"
TBC.
Author's Note: What do you think, is it cruel to make Angel deal with both little Fred and little Illyria? Should they be separated? Please review and let me know what you think. I've had a couple of requests for little Fred to cause trouble so I'll be working that into future chapters.