Fic: Oops! 1/?
Feb. 12th, 2006 08:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
polgara_5Title: Oops!
By: Polgara (melindoranightsilver@hotmail.com)
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors.
Distribution: My site – Worlds of Possibilities, ff.net, Wormhole Crossing, and TtH.
Spoilers: Everything of Buffy is fair game. For Stargate anything up to and including season 3 is fair game.
Setting: Takes place three years after Chosen in BtVS. Takes place in mid-season three of Stargate SG-1. I have altered the timeline in Stargate as follows: Forever and a Day happens 3 months before Point Of View, Sha’re has been dead for six months, and this fic begins a week after The Devil You Know.
Summary: Buffy, Faith, and Dawn find themselves in a new world with no way home after they encounter a strange object during a routine cataloging.
A/N: My author notes are here for a reason, please read. If you still ask questions that are answered here, I will not answer them again. Do not beg for updates, this fic will be updated every other Sunday like clockwork, nothing will change that. I repeat nothing.
A/N2: Special and huge thanks to my betas – Meri and Copper. You gals are fabulous!
~words~ indicates telepathy.
Chapter One
“Hey, Sam. Did you get… Oh, hello.”
The three women turned around as one. In the doorway was a man with short brown hair and glasses framing blue eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt and military issue blue cargo pants and black boots.
“Umm, hi,” Buffy said with a little wave.
“Do you know where Sam went?” He asked.
Faith shook her head. “No clue where he went.”
The man frowned.
“I think that was the wrong answer,” Dawn whispered softly enough that only the two slayers could hear her.
“Who are you and how did you get here?” He asked, stepping into the lab.
“Would you believe me if I said we weren’t sure?” Buffy asked.
“You don’t know who you are?”
“Of course we know that. We just don’t know how we got here.”
“Before you were here you were…”
“In a warehouse,” Dawn supplied. “We were doing inventory.”
“Ah,” the man said in understanding and he relaxed slightly. “What did you touch?”
“What makes you think we touched something?” Buffy asked. The man crossed his arms and gave her a look. “Fine. We touched a big rock thing that showed another room.”
“Oh, so you came through the quantum mirror,” he said excitedly.
“The quasi-what?”
“Quantum mirror.”
“I guess.”
“Oh hey, Daniel,” said a tall blonde as she entered the lab. She was dressed similarly to the man. She stopped when she saw the three visitors. “Who are your friends?”
“I’m not sure, we were just about to introduce ourselves,” he said, flashing the woman a brief smile.
“Really?” Buffy asked. “And here I thought we were getting ready to leave.”
“Did you leave the controller on so you could get back?” He asked.
“Quantum mirror?” The woman asked calmly.
“Appears so.”
“So you guys know how to use this thing?” Dawn asked, holding up the controller in her hand.
“We’ve had a little experience,” the woman said. She walked over to them and held out her hand. “I’m Major Samantha Carter.”
“Ah, that kind of Sam,” Dawn said in sudden understanding. No wonder the man had frowned at Faith’s response to his question.
Buffy warily eyed her. “I’m Buffy, this is Dawn and Faith.” She peered around the Major to look at the lone man. “And you are?”
“Dr. Daniel Jackson.”
“Military?”
“Uh, no. An archaeologist.”
She frowned but didn’t say anything.
“Can I see your controller?” The Major asked.
“Sure, Samantha,” Dawn said, handing it over.
“Call me Sam,” she said with a smile. “I’ll also need to see the mirror behind you.” Her smile turned to a look of dismay when she saw the broken surface.
“So that wasn’t supposed to happen,” Dawn said with a sigh. “We were hoping that was normal.”
“What did you do?” She asked.
“Nothing,” Dawn said. “I turned it on, flipped through a few rooms, tossed a few ink pens through it, decided it was a transporty storage thing, we touched it, ended up here, and then it broke.”
“Maybe you can only use it so many times,” Faith suggested.
“Is that possible?” Daniel asked, coming over to view the damage.
“It could be,” Sam admitted. “There’s just so little we know about the device. But if its power supply was depleted it should just cease working – not break.”
“Where exactly are we?” Buffy asked.
“Military base outside Colorado Springs,” Daniel said, while Sam fiddled with the mirror.
“Crap,” Buffy muttered. She wasn’t exactly thrilled with being in another military installation. “Can we call our friends and arrange a way home?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Daniel said slowly.
“Why not?” Buffy demanded.
“You’re not exactly in your reality. This is sort of an alternate reality,” he explained. “They could not know you, you could be enemies, there are all sorts of reasons why…”
Buffy looked over at Dawn. “Is that even possible we didn’t even use…” She waved her hands in a vague gesture, not wanting to say magic out loud.
“I suppose,” Dawn said. “There are so many dimensions out there, I guess you could call some of them alternate realities. Oh! Like that one where Cordelia went!”
“You’ve had experience with other realities before?” Daniel asked in faint surprise.
“A little, but we’ve never used this rock thing before,” Buffy said.
“Then how did you travel then?” Sam asked, looking up from her analysis.
“It was usually accidental, and we couldn’t recreate it,” Buffy said vaguely.
Sam sighed. “We need to tell General Hammond about this. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fix this anytime soon.”
“General Hammond?” Buffy asked.
“He’s in charge of the base,” she explained. “He’ll need to set up accommodations for you until I get this fixed and you can go home.”
XXXXXXXX
Buffy, Faith, and Dawn sat at a large conference table with Sam, Daniel, and the General. There was a large window on one side that was blocked on the outside by a piece of steel. On one end was a strange looking map on a piece of glass that looked into General George Hammond’s office.
Buffy studied the man while Sam and Dawn explained the situation. Despite the balding man’s stern exterior, his eyes reflected a kindly light as he listened. He showed Dawn the same respect as he did of his own people and Buffy felt that she could trust this man. That is, until he rendered his decision.
“We’ll have three VIP rooms prepared for you. Until they’re ready, I have to ask that you report to the infirmary.”
“For what?” Buffy asked.
“Dr. Fraiser just needs to run a few standard tests.”
“No.”
“May I ask why not?”
“We’re not lab rats,” Buffy said firmly. “And there’s no way you’re injecting us with anything.”
“I assure you it’s just to check and see if you’re carrying any disease that is unfamiliar to us and to make sure that you are vaccinated against any disease you may encounter during your stay here,” the general explained.
“It’s as much for you health and safety as our own,” Daniel added.
Buffy exchanged long looks between Dawn and Faith. Like her, they could sense that their hosts were hiding something, but then they really had no room to talk, they had their own secrets. But it seemed that these new people were genuine in their desire to help and they didn’t sense any duplicity.
Making her decision, Buffy gave a slight nod. “Fine, but just the basic stuff.”
Hammond smiled. “Very well. Dr. Jackson, if you’ll take them to the infirmary.” He turned back to Buffy. “You’ll have an escort everywhere you’ll go. This is both to help ensure that you won’t get lost and to keep you out of restricted areas.”
“I understand,” Buffy said. She wouldn’t want strange people wandering around her base if she was in charge either.
XXXXXXXX
On the outside, during their trip to the infirmary and their brief stay there, the three women appeared to be silent, lost in their own thoughts. Despite being curious about their own world, Daniel didn’t question them, but respected their need to come to terms with what had happened. On the inside, however, the women were deep into conversation with each other. Shortly after Sunnydale had collapsed, Buffy insisted that everyone in the Council and all the slayers learned how to speak to each other telepathically.
~You think they were for real about that mirror thing? That it’s really an alternate reality thing that is broken or is it just some new and strange way to keep us here?~ Faith asked as they navigated the grey corridors.
~They seem to be familiar with it either way,~ Dawn said.
~Why do you think it broke?~ Buffy asked.
~I think it was me,~ Dawn confessed.
It took a lot of effort for Buffy to not shoot her sister a confused look. ~What do you mean?~
~I’m the key. I open portals to other dimensions, but I entered this one through something else. What if the mirror couldn’t handle the key and that’s why it broke?~
~Damn it.~
~What’s wrong, B?~
~She’s probably right and I don’t think Sam will be able to fix it,~ Buffy said. ~Which means we’ll have to find another way home.~
They paused their conversation as they met the Chief Medical Officer – Dr. Janet Fraiser. She was a petite woman, no taller than Buffy, and had short brown hair.
“What kind of tests are you going to do?” Buffy asked.
“Just some minor blood work to check for diseases and a quick physical,” she said with a smile.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. I promise it won’t take long.”
Buffy really wanted to protest, but she was afraid that would raise suspicion, making them believe that the women had something to hide. She just hoped that nothing strange appeared in their blood work.
While Dr. Fraiser gently poked and prodded, the three women carried on their silent conversation.
~If that mirror thing is broke for good, how do we get back?~ Faith asked.
~I think we should find us in this reality. They’ll have resources that we can use to get back home,~ Dawn said.
~You think this world’s us’s will help?~ Faith asked. ~Wouldn’t they freak?~
Once again Buffy had to control her impulses to not shoot a withering look at her friend. ~They’re us. They’re used to stranger things.~
~Right.~
“There you go, all finished,” Dr. Fraiser said, unknowingly cutting in on their conversation.
“That’s it?” Buffy asked in surprise.
“That’s it,” she replied with a smile.
“Cool. So can we get out of here? No offense, but I don’t like hospitals,” Buffy said.
Janet laughed. “No offense taken. Most people don’t like them.”
An airman stepped in and said, “Dr. Jackson, General Hammond would like to speak with the guests again.”
Daniel frowned slightly and said, “We’ll be right there.”
Buffy, Faith, and Dawn looked at each other in dread. They had a bad feeling about this meeting.
XXXXXXXXX
“We have some good news,” General Hammond said once they were all seated at the conference table.
“Sam got the quantum mirror fixed?” Dawn asked hopefully.
“Not quite,” he answered. “Major, if you’ll explain.”
“One of our concerns about allowing you to contact your friends in this reality has to do with entropic cascade failure.”
“That doesn’t sound pretty,” Buffy said with a grimace.
“It’s not,” Sam said. “It’s a temporal distortion caused by having two similar bodies in the same dimension. The closer the proximity, the sooner it happens. It causes a breakdown at the cellular level in the one from the other reality.”
“Speaking from experience there?” Buffy asked.
“Three months ago my counterpart came through the mirror. Within forty-eight hours she was suffering from tremors,” Sam said.
“So if we visit our friends, we would end up the same way,” Dawn said in understanding.
“Yes. The good news is, you’ve never existed in this reality,” she said with a smile. As she took in their suddenly pale faces, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Can we find out about our friends?” Buffy asked. “We were hoping to contact them because they may have research materials to help us get home.”
“What kind of materials?” Daniel asked.
“Books mostly,” Buffy said. “So can we find them?”
“I can try. If you’ll give me a list,” Sam said.
“Rupert Giles – he’s from London, Alexander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce – he’s also from England.” Buffy looked at Dawn and Faith. “Anyone else?”
“Try the Royal Watcher’s Council in England if you can’t find the others or even The New Watcher’s Council in Cleveland,” Dawn added.
~What about Shae, the head of the Wiccan Coven in Devon?~ Buffy suggested.
“And Shae Conely in Devon, England,” Dawn said.
Sam nodded and left the room.
“It appears that you’ve had experiences with the more unusual side of life,” Hammond said after a few minutes of silence.
Buffy shrugged. “You could almost say it was a calling.”
“What exactly do you do in your world?” He asked.
“Run a boarding school for girls,” Dawn answered.
“And that puts you in contact with strange occurrences in other realities?” Daniel asked, his eyebrows halfway up his forehead.
“More often than you’d think,” Buffy muttered.
“Aren’t you a little young to run a boarding school?” Daniel asked.
“And don’t you think we find it strange that an archaeologist is working for the military? The Air Force no less,” Buffy shot back. “What exactly do you do here?”
“That’s classified,” Hammond said.
Sam paused slightly as she entered the tense room. “Neither the people or the organization exist,” she said, sitting back down at the table.
“Damn it,” Buffy said.
“Oh fuck.”
“We’re in trouble,” Dawn said, slumping back in her seat.
“How so?” Daniel asked.
“We’re stuck here with no way home,” Buffy said, her lips in a thin line.
“Given time, I am confident that Major Carter will be able to repair the quantum mirror,” Hammond tried to assure them.
“Nope, Dawnie already knows how it broke and we’re pretty sure it’s not fixable.”
“How is that possible? I’ve been with you the entire time and you’ve never discussed it,” Daniel said in shock.
“Are you sure about that?” Faith asked him with a smirk.
“Yes.”
~Should we tell them?~ Dawn asked.
~Might as well. I think they’re our only way back home so we’ll need their help,~ Buffy said. Out loud she said, “We have some important stuff to tell you, but I only want to explain this once. Do you have anyone else who should hear this?”
Hammond nodded. “Let me call them.”
“Might want to make sure the Doc is on the list.”
“Faith!” Buffy protested.
“She’ll probably find out anyways,” the dark-haired slayer said. “Might as well prepare her.”
“Fine, call Dr. Fraiser as well,” Buffy said sullenly.
By: Polgara (melindoranightsilver@hotmail.com)
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors.
Distribution: My site – Worlds of Possibilities, ff.net, Wormhole Crossing, and TtH.
Spoilers: Everything of Buffy is fair game. For Stargate anything up to and including season 3 is fair game.
Setting: Takes place three years after Chosen in BtVS. Takes place in mid-season three of Stargate SG-1. I have altered the timeline in Stargate as follows: Forever and a Day happens 3 months before Point Of View, Sha’re has been dead for six months, and this fic begins a week after The Devil You Know.
Summary: Buffy, Faith, and Dawn find themselves in a new world with no way home after they encounter a strange object during a routine cataloging.
A/N: My author notes are here for a reason, please read. If you still ask questions that are answered here, I will not answer them again. Do not beg for updates, this fic will be updated every other Sunday like clockwork, nothing will change that. I repeat nothing.
A/N2: Special and huge thanks to my betas – Meri and Copper. You gals are fabulous!
~words~ indicates telepathy.
Chapter One
“Hey, Sam. Did you get… Oh, hello.”
The three women turned around as one. In the doorway was a man with short brown hair and glasses framing blue eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt and military issue blue cargo pants and black boots.
“Umm, hi,” Buffy said with a little wave.
“Do you know where Sam went?” He asked.
Faith shook her head. “No clue where he went.”
The man frowned.
“I think that was the wrong answer,” Dawn whispered softly enough that only the two slayers could hear her.
“Who are you and how did you get here?” He asked, stepping into the lab.
“Would you believe me if I said we weren’t sure?” Buffy asked.
“You don’t know who you are?”
“Of course we know that. We just don’t know how we got here.”
“Before you were here you were…”
“In a warehouse,” Dawn supplied. “We were doing inventory.”
“Ah,” the man said in understanding and he relaxed slightly. “What did you touch?”
“What makes you think we touched something?” Buffy asked. The man crossed his arms and gave her a look. “Fine. We touched a big rock thing that showed another room.”
“Oh, so you came through the quantum mirror,” he said excitedly.
“The quasi-what?”
“Quantum mirror.”
“I guess.”
“Oh hey, Daniel,” said a tall blonde as she entered the lab. She was dressed similarly to the man. She stopped when she saw the three visitors. “Who are your friends?”
“I’m not sure, we were just about to introduce ourselves,” he said, flashing the woman a brief smile.
“Really?” Buffy asked. “And here I thought we were getting ready to leave.”
“Did you leave the controller on so you could get back?” He asked.
“Quantum mirror?” The woman asked calmly.
“Appears so.”
“So you guys know how to use this thing?” Dawn asked, holding up the controller in her hand.
“We’ve had a little experience,” the woman said. She walked over to them and held out her hand. “I’m Major Samantha Carter.”
“Ah, that kind of Sam,” Dawn said in sudden understanding. No wonder the man had frowned at Faith’s response to his question.
Buffy warily eyed her. “I’m Buffy, this is Dawn and Faith.” She peered around the Major to look at the lone man. “And you are?”
“Dr. Daniel Jackson.”
“Military?”
“Uh, no. An archaeologist.”
She frowned but didn’t say anything.
“Can I see your controller?” The Major asked.
“Sure, Samantha,” Dawn said, handing it over.
“Call me Sam,” she said with a smile. “I’ll also need to see the mirror behind you.” Her smile turned to a look of dismay when she saw the broken surface.
“So that wasn’t supposed to happen,” Dawn said with a sigh. “We were hoping that was normal.”
“What did you do?” She asked.
“Nothing,” Dawn said. “I turned it on, flipped through a few rooms, tossed a few ink pens through it, decided it was a transporty storage thing, we touched it, ended up here, and then it broke.”
“Maybe you can only use it so many times,” Faith suggested.
“Is that possible?” Daniel asked, coming over to view the damage.
“It could be,” Sam admitted. “There’s just so little we know about the device. But if its power supply was depleted it should just cease working – not break.”
“Where exactly are we?” Buffy asked.
“Military base outside Colorado Springs,” Daniel said, while Sam fiddled with the mirror.
“Crap,” Buffy muttered. She wasn’t exactly thrilled with being in another military installation. “Can we call our friends and arrange a way home?”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Daniel said slowly.
“Why not?” Buffy demanded.
“You’re not exactly in your reality. This is sort of an alternate reality,” he explained. “They could not know you, you could be enemies, there are all sorts of reasons why…”
Buffy looked over at Dawn. “Is that even possible we didn’t even use…” She waved her hands in a vague gesture, not wanting to say magic out loud.
“I suppose,” Dawn said. “There are so many dimensions out there, I guess you could call some of them alternate realities. Oh! Like that one where Cordelia went!”
“You’ve had experience with other realities before?” Daniel asked in faint surprise.
“A little, but we’ve never used this rock thing before,” Buffy said.
“Then how did you travel then?” Sam asked, looking up from her analysis.
“It was usually accidental, and we couldn’t recreate it,” Buffy said vaguely.
Sam sighed. “We need to tell General Hammond about this. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fix this anytime soon.”
“General Hammond?” Buffy asked.
“He’s in charge of the base,” she explained. “He’ll need to set up accommodations for you until I get this fixed and you can go home.”
XXXXXXXX
Buffy, Faith, and Dawn sat at a large conference table with Sam, Daniel, and the General. There was a large window on one side that was blocked on the outside by a piece of steel. On one end was a strange looking map on a piece of glass that looked into General George Hammond’s office.
Buffy studied the man while Sam and Dawn explained the situation. Despite the balding man’s stern exterior, his eyes reflected a kindly light as he listened. He showed Dawn the same respect as he did of his own people and Buffy felt that she could trust this man. That is, until he rendered his decision.
“We’ll have three VIP rooms prepared for you. Until they’re ready, I have to ask that you report to the infirmary.”
“For what?” Buffy asked.
“Dr. Fraiser just needs to run a few standard tests.”
“No.”
“May I ask why not?”
“We’re not lab rats,” Buffy said firmly. “And there’s no way you’re injecting us with anything.”
“I assure you it’s just to check and see if you’re carrying any disease that is unfamiliar to us and to make sure that you are vaccinated against any disease you may encounter during your stay here,” the general explained.
“It’s as much for you health and safety as our own,” Daniel added.
Buffy exchanged long looks between Dawn and Faith. Like her, they could sense that their hosts were hiding something, but then they really had no room to talk, they had their own secrets. But it seemed that these new people were genuine in their desire to help and they didn’t sense any duplicity.
Making her decision, Buffy gave a slight nod. “Fine, but just the basic stuff.”
Hammond smiled. “Very well. Dr. Jackson, if you’ll take them to the infirmary.” He turned back to Buffy. “You’ll have an escort everywhere you’ll go. This is both to help ensure that you won’t get lost and to keep you out of restricted areas.”
“I understand,” Buffy said. She wouldn’t want strange people wandering around her base if she was in charge either.
XXXXXXXX
On the outside, during their trip to the infirmary and their brief stay there, the three women appeared to be silent, lost in their own thoughts. Despite being curious about their own world, Daniel didn’t question them, but respected their need to come to terms with what had happened. On the inside, however, the women were deep into conversation with each other. Shortly after Sunnydale had collapsed, Buffy insisted that everyone in the Council and all the slayers learned how to speak to each other telepathically.
~You think they were for real about that mirror thing? That it’s really an alternate reality thing that is broken or is it just some new and strange way to keep us here?~ Faith asked as they navigated the grey corridors.
~They seem to be familiar with it either way,~ Dawn said.
~Why do you think it broke?~ Buffy asked.
~I think it was me,~ Dawn confessed.
It took a lot of effort for Buffy to not shoot her sister a confused look. ~What do you mean?~
~I’m the key. I open portals to other dimensions, but I entered this one through something else. What if the mirror couldn’t handle the key and that’s why it broke?~
~Damn it.~
~What’s wrong, B?~
~She’s probably right and I don’t think Sam will be able to fix it,~ Buffy said. ~Which means we’ll have to find another way home.~
They paused their conversation as they met the Chief Medical Officer – Dr. Janet Fraiser. She was a petite woman, no taller than Buffy, and had short brown hair.
“What kind of tests are you going to do?” Buffy asked.
“Just some minor blood work to check for diseases and a quick physical,” she said with a smile.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. I promise it won’t take long.”
Buffy really wanted to protest, but she was afraid that would raise suspicion, making them believe that the women had something to hide. She just hoped that nothing strange appeared in their blood work.
While Dr. Fraiser gently poked and prodded, the three women carried on their silent conversation.
~If that mirror thing is broke for good, how do we get back?~ Faith asked.
~I think we should find us in this reality. They’ll have resources that we can use to get back home,~ Dawn said.
~You think this world’s us’s will help?~ Faith asked. ~Wouldn’t they freak?~
Once again Buffy had to control her impulses to not shoot a withering look at her friend. ~They’re us. They’re used to stranger things.~
~Right.~
“There you go, all finished,” Dr. Fraiser said, unknowingly cutting in on their conversation.
“That’s it?” Buffy asked in surprise.
“That’s it,” she replied with a smile.
“Cool. So can we get out of here? No offense, but I don’t like hospitals,” Buffy said.
Janet laughed. “No offense taken. Most people don’t like them.”
An airman stepped in and said, “Dr. Jackson, General Hammond would like to speak with the guests again.”
Daniel frowned slightly and said, “We’ll be right there.”
Buffy, Faith, and Dawn looked at each other in dread. They had a bad feeling about this meeting.
XXXXXXXXX
“We have some good news,” General Hammond said once they were all seated at the conference table.
“Sam got the quantum mirror fixed?” Dawn asked hopefully.
“Not quite,” he answered. “Major, if you’ll explain.”
“One of our concerns about allowing you to contact your friends in this reality has to do with entropic cascade failure.”
“That doesn’t sound pretty,” Buffy said with a grimace.
“It’s not,” Sam said. “It’s a temporal distortion caused by having two similar bodies in the same dimension. The closer the proximity, the sooner it happens. It causes a breakdown at the cellular level in the one from the other reality.”
“Speaking from experience there?” Buffy asked.
“Three months ago my counterpart came through the mirror. Within forty-eight hours she was suffering from tremors,” Sam said.
“So if we visit our friends, we would end up the same way,” Dawn said in understanding.
“Yes. The good news is, you’ve never existed in this reality,” she said with a smile. As she took in their suddenly pale faces, she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Can we find out about our friends?” Buffy asked. “We were hoping to contact them because they may have research materials to help us get home.”
“What kind of materials?” Daniel asked.
“Books mostly,” Buffy said. “So can we find them?”
“I can try. If you’ll give me a list,” Sam said.
“Rupert Giles – he’s from London, Alexander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce – he’s also from England.” Buffy looked at Dawn and Faith. “Anyone else?”
“Try the Royal Watcher’s Council in England if you can’t find the others or even The New Watcher’s Council in Cleveland,” Dawn added.
~What about Shae, the head of the Wiccan Coven in Devon?~ Buffy suggested.
“And Shae Conely in Devon, England,” Dawn said.
Sam nodded and left the room.
“It appears that you’ve had experiences with the more unusual side of life,” Hammond said after a few minutes of silence.
Buffy shrugged. “You could almost say it was a calling.”
“What exactly do you do in your world?” He asked.
“Run a boarding school for girls,” Dawn answered.
“And that puts you in contact with strange occurrences in other realities?” Daniel asked, his eyebrows halfway up his forehead.
“More often than you’d think,” Buffy muttered.
“Aren’t you a little young to run a boarding school?” Daniel asked.
“And don’t you think we find it strange that an archaeologist is working for the military? The Air Force no less,” Buffy shot back. “What exactly do you do here?”
“That’s classified,” Hammond said.
Sam paused slightly as she entered the tense room. “Neither the people or the organization exist,” she said, sitting back down at the table.
“Damn it,” Buffy said.
“Oh fuck.”
“We’re in trouble,” Dawn said, slumping back in her seat.
“How so?” Daniel asked.
“We’re stuck here with no way home,” Buffy said, her lips in a thin line.
“Given time, I am confident that Major Carter will be able to repair the quantum mirror,” Hammond tried to assure them.
“Nope, Dawnie already knows how it broke and we’re pretty sure it’s not fixable.”
“How is that possible? I’ve been with you the entire time and you’ve never discussed it,” Daniel said in shock.
“Are you sure about that?” Faith asked him with a smirk.
“Yes.”
~Should we tell them?~ Dawn asked.
~Might as well. I think they’re our only way back home so we’ll need their help,~ Buffy said. Out loud she said, “We have some important stuff to tell you, but I only want to explain this once. Do you have anyone else who should hear this?”
Hammond nodded. “Let me call them.”
“Might want to make sure the Doc is on the list.”
“Faith!” Buffy protested.
“She’ll probably find out anyways,” the dark-haired slayer said. “Might as well prepare her.”
“Fine, call Dr. Fraiser as well,” Buffy said sullenly.
