Disclaimer: Since my name is not Joss Whedon, neither Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel, or any of the amazing characters associated with either show belong to me. I also don't own the story line - that is taken from gidgetgirl's Scorned Lover Challenge (details below).

The Scorned Lover Challenge (A massive throwback)

After Xander leaves Anya at the alter and Tara finds out that Willow has spelled her, the two become unlikely friends... between Anya's former vengeance demon status, and Tara's magical abilities, the two scorned lovers attract a ghost who also mourns the man she lost: Darla. Dru, still stinging over losing Spike to Buffy, casts a spell to try to bring Grandmummy back to life, resulting in all four scorned women: Tara, Anya, Dru, and Darla, being turned into small children.

Requirements:

- Each of the children must, as children, want to seek out the lover who scorned them...ie, little Tara must like being with Willow, little Anya must bond with Xander, Darla with Angel, and Dru with Spike.
- The four little girls forming a 'club.'
- A little cat fight.
- Someone kicking an adult in the shin.

Bonus:

- Little Tara developing telepathy.
- Tara talking about her mommy and daddy.
- Tara and Dru bonding.
- Darla being overprotective of Tara.
- Anya teaching the others about sex.
- Anya having a little 'boyfriend.'
- Anya and Darla fighting.
- Darla bossing adult Buffy around.
- Dru still having her visions.
- Darla still having super strength
- Little Anya being able to grant wishes.

Author's Note I: To Faeries Twilight – the little kids you know must be a lot politer than the ones I know.

Author's Note II: Apologies for the update delay. As I'm back in college, most of my stories will probably end up on hold during the semester, although I'll probably keep up with a couple of them.

Chapter 5

The next afternoon.

"I don't get it." Xander complained, his expression on of bewilderment as he watched the four little girls run around the playground. "We already took them to the zoo, then the beach, then a movie – how are they not tired?"

Buffy just scowled at him, still ticked off with herself for allowing her friends to rope her into helping out while Angel and Spike remained indoors, out of the sun's reach.

"They're not tired" Willow spoke slowly, as though to a small and particularly dense child. "Because someone let them talk him into buying a store's worth of candyfloss, ice cream, sodas, chocolate as well as enough candy to turn them all into diabetics."

"Oh." Xander felt about two inches tall. "Right."

Xander might have been a bit silly but, in Anya's sage opinion, the soft hearted young man was worth his weight in gold – or at least in pennies.

The sweets she hadn't eaten had stocked her first shop, a modest enterprise opened for the benefit of those unfortunate children whose parents were cruel enough to provide them with healthy snacks.

At a dime for a piece of candy, or three pieces for a quarter, her prices were steep, but her sugar-starved customers were desperate.

"I'll give you my apple for a lollipop." A tow headed little boy wheedled.

"Nope." Little Anya was completely unsympathetic. "No bartering allowed."

He scowled. "I'll give you a kiss." He offered desperately, remembering the success of this form of currency when dealing with his grandmother.

Anya studied him intently, then shook her head decisively. "No deal. You're not very handsome and I don't think you'd give me the orgasm. Cash only."

"But I don't have any money!" He complained dismally, not willing to show that he was put out by her rejection. "I wish I did."

"Wish granted." The softly voiced words were spoken automatically, before the little girl realised what she was saying.

"Hey!" Her young customer exclaimed excitedly, his face lighting up as he dug through his pocket, producing the coin as though it were a trophy. "I found a quarter."

Anya's smile couldn't possibly have been wider. "Then we can do business."

The other three girls were all having fun in the playground but Drusilla didn't want to join them, although she was glad that they were keeping the adults' attention diverted from her, allowing her some peace and quiet.

She was enjoying her talk with her new friend.

"Spilsh, splash, splosh, listen to the water's song." The dark haired little girl sang softly, her expression dreamy as she climbed over the fence and hung over the bank of the shallow stream like a miniature Ophelia, a wreath of daisies encircling her head, dabbling her small, slender fingers in the water.

She missed her mamma sometimes, but she liked it here.

Here nobody yelled at her for talking to people that weren't really there.

Here nobody called her a devil child.

"Pretty pictures." Her dark eyes became opaque as she kept her gaze fixed on the rippling water. "I can see pretty pictures in the water."

World War III was in progress.

Hissing and snarling like a wild cat, Darla took furious swipes at her opponent's face, her small face contorted with fury.

The little boy, about a year or so older than his assailant, prudently kept his eyes tightly closed to protect him, doing his best to escape the clutches of the small Fury who had him pinned.

"Darla!" Even with her Slayer strength, it took a great effort on Buffy's part to lift the struggling little girl from her victim and carry her away, still kicking and fighting. "Calm down!"

"No." Tara, half in tears, clutched at the hem of Buffy's top, looking up at the older girl with a pleading expression. "Don't yell."

"It's alright." Willow lifted the five year old up and hugged her. "Nobody's mad at you, Tara."

"You're not supposed to fight, and you're not supposed to hurt people." Buffy scolded, half-conscious of the absurdity of chastising a four hundred plus year old former vampire for fighting.

"I don't want to hurt him." Darla muttered mutinously.

"Good . . ."

"I want to kill him."

"No." Buffy sat down on the bench, holding the little girl firmly to prevent her from escaping and carrying out her threat. "No killing."

"He hit Tara." Darla scowled across at the little boy, who had made it to the safety of his mother's lap by now. "He hit Tara and made her cry."

"He did?" Willow looked as though she was ready to take a leaf out of little Darla's book. "Where is he? Wait 'til . . ."

"Will!" Buffy shook her head in her friend's direction. "Grown up, remember?"

"I wanna go home." Tara buried her head in Willow's shoulder, her arms wrapped so tightly around her neck that the Wicca though she was going to choke.

"Me too." Darla kicked moodily.

Buffy sighed. "Where are the others?"

"Xander's gone to get Anya." Willow reported. "She's . . .There they are."

Little Anya's brow was contorted in a mutinous scowl and, if looks could kill, Xander would have been executed on the spot for the heinous crime of making her close down her thriving business.

The blonde Slayer did a quick head count. "Three kids, three adults – where's Drusilla?"

"She's talking to the water fairy." Tara's voice was slightly muffled by the thumb in her mouth.

"The what?"

SPLASH.

"Sh--!"

Abruptly releasing Darla and Anya, Buffy and Xander dashed over to the stream, where Drusilla was communing with her new friend, fishing out a drenched and disgruntled young lady.

Willow watched the proceedings, a heavy feeling in her heart.

It was bad enough having to deal with the four little girls, but knowing that she was responsible made her feel worse.

She hated herself for having hurt Tara, the person she loved more than anyone else, hated that she had betrayed her trust.

/I'm sorry, baby. / She hugged the little girl, all she had left of her girlfriend, tightly. /I am so sorry. /

Little Tara looked up at her, a curious expression on her small face. "Why are you sorry?"

TBC.