Hey, so sorry about how long this took, same as last time. I've been really busy with work and school and getting a new apartment and a whole bunch of things but anyway, here's the new chapter! I hope you guys like it! Thanks so very much to everyone who faved and followed! Enjoy :)
Shopping was more of a trivia game. Liam had a question for everything. What was this, what was that. How did that work? What was that lady doing? Buffy found herself struggling to keep up and keep him interested in the task at hand. She decided from the start that electronic toys were out. Keep things simple and there would be fewer questions. Balls, a few trucks, a plastic Noah's Arc. He liked that one immensely and grew excited about the tiny plastic animals.
She wondered what else he would have liked but when he could offer up no ideas other than knuckle bones she have up and checked out, grabbing a box of crayons on the way out. She considered swinging by the magic shop but worried that someone there might realize who the kid was and so decided against it.
They headed home for lunch and she let him play with his toys in front of the television while he ate. Baby sitting a two hundred year old kid was pretty easy once he had discovered the joys of cartoons.
Liam for his part was feeling very good about everything. He had new toys, and complete freedom to do whatever he wanted. He didn't have any chores or jobs to do and the only thing he was really missing was friends to play with. He liked these people though. Buffy was so nice and her mother was nice and it wasn't like his own mother wasn't nice or anything but his father was so stern all of the time. . .
He paused thinking about it for a moment. This place was so very different from home. The sun seemed constantly to be out and the weather was warm and dry. Even some of the trees looked different. Even more than that the people were different. They spoke differently and dressed differently. It wasnt necessarily bad but it was strange. Still, it was kind of exciting to be in a new place. He had never thought about seeing the Americas before but if this was what they were like then he decided he might want to live there when he got older.
When Buffy called him for lunch he hurried in and met her. He had a lot of warm feelings towards her. She was kind and pretty and he had decided that he liked her very much. He had also decided that he liked her friends. The Englishman and the red haired girl seemed nice enough and he liked her family too. He wondered vaguely where her father was and because he liked her hoped he wasn't dead. Maybe he worked far away doing something exciting.
As they ate Buffy prattled on about different present day things, hoping to strike a conversation and also fill him in on things he might need to know. Liam listened passively and with interest, liking the way she talked and the taste of the food. She had called it Peanut Butter and Jelly and he had never had it before but he liked it.
"I have some other friends who might swing by later." She said, knowing Xander and Anya would eventually stop in. She paused for a minute before smiling. "What are your friends like?"
He made a face as though he was thinking very hard before wiping peanut butter from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "Tommy Flannigan's my best friend and his cousin Seamus too. We're all the same age." He looked sad for a moment. "I gonna start school but Tommy's not. He says that he has to work on the farm. Seamus might though."
She gave him a sad smile and it suddenly dawned on her that she had never heard Angel speak about these boys. Had they fallen out in later life? Made different friends as they grew older? Was it simply too painful? Perhaps it was just too long ago to remember. These boys were long dead and so were their children. Their childrens' children too and that might have been Angel if fate had dealt him differently. She would never have met him and this boy would have grown up and lived an entirely different, entire life. She leaned over and kissed the top of his head, ignoring his surprise and confusion. He didn't have to know all that. They would fix him and everything would be back to normal. He would return to Los Angeles and routine would set.
"What am I like as a grown up?" He asked suddenly, looking up with interest.
She smiled a little, this time with humor. "Well. . . well you're very good looking." She nodded, bobbing her head in comical severity. He giggled and seemed pleased with this. "And you're tall and strong and. . . you read a lot."
He scrunched up his face in consideration. That didn't sound too bad to him. "Am I married?"
She almost laughed out loud. "No! No but there's time for that." All the time in the world. She thought, watching him finish his food. "Come on, we'll go watch some TV."
He followed her into the living room and they sat on the carpet playing with his new toys. She had fished a few puzzles out of the closet and they were working on one when Willow stopped by."
"Ooh puzzles!" She said with a delighted smile. Liam greeted her happily with a wave and she came and sat down with them.
"What's the news Wil?" Buffy asked.
"Not much. I'm kinda stumped but I'm gonna go see Giles later and see what he's got."
"He said Spike might be able to tell us something. Any chance you could watch Liam tonight while I go talk to him? I'd ask mom but she's working late and Dawn's with a friend."
"Sure, no problem. I can take him out for dinner. I bet he's never had a milkshake."
Buffy laughed while Liam gave them curious looks. "It's a good thing." She said, smiling at him.
He gave her another curious look before returning to the puzzle.
"Maybe I can take him to meet Xander." Willow said brightly. "Maybe they'll get along more like this."
Buffy fitted a piece into the puzzle and shrugged, hoping that would be the case. "Have fun."
They finished two more puzzles after that before departing to go their separate ways. Buffy promising to meet up with them after talking to Spike.
Willow took Liam with her to little burger joint, feeling The Bronze was probably not their best option. After ordering they were joined by Xander and Anya who had been waiting anxiously to meet the now child size Angel. Willow greeted them cheerfully. "Hi guys."
"Hey Wil." Xander said, bouncing slightly as he took in the sight of the small boy eating a burger rather sloppily.
Liam looked up curiously.
"Guys this is Liam. Liam, this is Xander and Anya."
"It's nice to meet you." Liam said softly.
Xander grinned slightly because in his entire life he had never thought he'd be seeing a pint sized Angel. "Got yourself shrunk, huh?" He asked with a grin.
"I guess." Liam said, feeling slightly downtrodden. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.
"Well, we're gonna figure out a way to fix things." Willow said, smiling.
"He's much less brooding like this." Anya said matter of factly. "It's refreshing."
"Well things are different." Willow said, hoping to avert any dangerous conversations that might scare the kid. "And we're having fun so no brooding here."
"I got a toy." Liam said, holing up his fast food toy , hoping to contribute to the conversation.
"Those are very cheep." Anya said. "I'll get you a better one."
Xander laughed and leaned on the table. "That's a pretty cool toy." He said, watching Liam closely. He didn't quite know what he was looking for or in fact what to expect but so far he seemed like a normal little boy. He may not have been a fan of the usual Angel but he could deal with this version.
Pleased that people were going to include him in the conversation Liam demonstrated how the toy worked by pulling a string and making the top fly off and spin. "That's pretty neat." Xander said, giving the toy a try. He handed it back and the three teenagers began talking amongst themselves.
"So where's Buffy?" Xander asked, sliding into a seat.
"She went to talk to Spike and see if he knew anything." Willow said, dipping a french fry in ketchup . "Giles suggested it."
"I'm sure he'll be a lot of help." Xander muttered.
"Spike can be helpful. When Money's involved." Anya said. "Or Buffy. He likes both."
"Are they a couple?" Liam asked curiously.
The others laughed. "That'll be the day." Xander said.
They talked for a while more, Xander and Anya becoming engaged in Liam who proved to be very bright and interested ineverything.
Buffy for her part left the house and the other two a little after sunset, hoping to get her talk with Spike over and done with in time to eat dinner and maybe stake a few vamps before bed. Things did not go as planned.
Spike was as belligerent as ever. She found him slouched in front of his television with a beer. "I guess day drinking isn't really a problem for you guys, is it?" She said sardonically, stepping into the crypt. He looked up, eyes narrowing with curiosity.
"What do you want, Slayer?"
"I need to ask you about something. Did Angel ever make enemies with a witch?"
Spike raised his eyebrows. "Bloody well pissed off every one he ever met, didn't he? There was that witch in Rheims, the one in Heidelberg. . . she was nasty. Ugly too. There was. . ." He paused. "But why'r you asking? The poof's in Los Angeles. Probably thinks the city's named after him or something. Turning it into his private moping grounds last thing I heard."
"I'm asking because he had a run in with a witch there and got cursed."
"So ask him yourself."
She frowned. "I can't."
Spike looked her up and down looking thoroughly confused. "What happened to him?" He asked, sounding more serous but failing to project genuine concern into his voice.
"It's a long story. He got turned into a kid."
This time the humor dropped from Spike's face and he just looked disbelieving. "What do you mean a kid?"
"I mean a kid. He's six years old. Do you remember a witch who would want to turn him into a kid?"
He paused for a long moment. "The one in Heidelberg." He said finally. "I don't think she was human."
Eager to seize the lead she leaped at it. "What happened?"
"Well we were in Heidelberg muckin' about. You know. And Angelus hears about this witch. Everyone says she's supposed to be just beautiful so of course he decides he's gotta find her. Me, I'm having a great time. German beer tastes great, so do Germans. Anyway, he's off looking for her and he finds her and the way I heard it they shag a few times and then he got board and decided to kill her except when he bit her it turned out she'd been stealing kids' youth so she could stay good looking and what not and when he bit her all that magic came pouring out with her blood and she withered up and turned ugly. He started laughing at her and she got mad an she blew up the inn we were staying at. Set it on fire if memory serves. We get out but she starts yelling that she's gonna get him and she's gonna take his looks and and all that. Guess she could only do it to kids and that's why she turned him into one."
"What would have happened if she's managed to take his youth?"
"Well I don't know. I never saw it happen."
She paused, thinking this over. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the television flicker and watched it without really seeing it.
"Hang on! The kid in your house the other day. That was Angel!"
"Yeah."
He grinned smugly. "I knew he'd be a poncy little kid. I could tell."
"You saw him for two seconds!"
"That's all it took."
Ignoring the petulant arguing she returned to a serious tone. "Spike, I had to ask you this because you're the only person who would know but you better not hurt him."
He tapped his head derisively. "Couldn't even though I want to."
"And don't tell anyone else."
"Right."
"I mean it."
"Right. Don't hurt him, don't tell anyone to hurt him. Got it."
She nodded. "Thank you."
He looked a little startled but nodded. "Yeah well. . . I'm sure he's even more annoying as a kid."
She smiled slightly. "He's not."
He nodded and there was an awkward pause before she excused herself and he watched her go, now intensely curious about what was going on.
So Spike actually got a part in this chapter! I'm not totally happy with how this turned out but I think it's okay.
On another note I'm kinda at a loss as to how the story should progress, I mean the path I have set up I know what'll happen and all but I'm wondering if anyone would like to see Spike get turned into a kid or anything over the course of the story. It's just a thought I've been playing with but if anyone has an opinion on that I'd like to hear it!
Thanks so much for reading!
