Fic: Undertow 11/?
Apr. 16th, 2006 09:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
polgara_5Title: Undertow
By: Polgara
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 for Buffy is fair game. Everything up to and including season seven of Stargate SG-1. There will be very specific spoilers for season seven. You have been warned.
Setting: Takes place right after Homecoming of Stargate and three years after Chosen.
Summary: When someone close to Buffy dies, she finds herself on Jack’s doorstep. Before long, events and emotions pull them into something greater than they ever imagined.
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: I’ve only altered canon slightly. Ignore the whole Jack/Sam thing, it doesn’t exist here. And I’ve created a previous relationship between Buffy and Jack. It will get explained eventually, just be patient.
A/N3: Special and huge thanks to my betas – Meri and Copper. You gals are fabulous!
Chapter Eleven
“Doc give you the all clear?” Dave asked as Buffy finished stretching.
“I’m as good as new,” she replied, giving her hip one last stretch.
“I have to admit that healing power of yours must come in pretty handy,” he said, falling into an easy fighting stance when Buffy joined him on the mat. “I’ve never seen anyone except Teal’c heal that quickly.”
“It’s a bonus,” she said with a smile.
“Either way, I’m glad that you’re better. Now we can go on that mission tomorrow. I think that this planet is actually inhabited.”
“Sounds like fun,” Buffy said, sliding into her own fighting stance. Since joining his team, Dave had insisted that they spar once a week. He explained that he did this with Simon and Jeff as well so that he could be sure that they were all fit for travel. She saw the reasoning behind it so she didn’t object. It gave her a chance to spar with someone competent and it helped her to learn more about Dave.
Dave stepped back out of the path of her fist. “How about that other thing that’s bugging you?” He asked, trying to sneak in a punch to her midsection.
“What other thing?” She asked, easily blocking the punch.
“The some thing that has upset you.”
“What thing?”
He frowned and indicated for her to stop for a moment. “If I knew what was bothering you I wouldn’t refer to it as the thing. But I’d be a poor leader if I didn’t notice that you’ve been moping for three days.”
“I haven’t been moping,” she said, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.
“Yeah, right, whatever. If not moping, then brooding.”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “I do not brood.”
“Don’t try to push that crap on me. Something has been bothering you and I don’t want it to affect you out in the field,” he said sternly.
“Thanks for the concern,” she said dryly.
“Hey! It’s not just your safety out there, but the entire team’s,” he said, his voice rising slightly. Then in a softer tone, “And I also just worry about you.”
Her arms loosened and she dropped them back to her sides. “It’s nothing. Just some personal stuff.”
“It must be some pretty heavy personal stuff.”
She smiled and moved back into her fighting stance. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“And you’ll let me know if you can’t?”
“Yes,” she said, with a slight bob of her head.
He nodded his head in acceptance. The two quickly started trading blows again and before long they lost themselves in the rhythm. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on Dave’s face as he tried to break through Buffy’s defenses. Buffy, on the other hand, was barely breathing hard. After twenty minutes Dave called for a break.
“When are you going to stop holding back?” He asked, before taking a long drink of water.
She blushed slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Summers, I’m smarter than I look so don’t patronize me. I get that you’re stronger and tougher than you look. I saw it in your eyes when we first met and our last mission confirmed it.” He used a small towel to wipe off his face. “We’ve been sparring for over a month and you haven’t broken a sweat yet. Which means you’re not pushing your limits, which means you’ve been holding back. Why?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“How can I assess your skills if you don’t put them all on the table?” He countered. “I don’t know what it was like at your last job or whatever it was that you did, but this is not a solo gig. It’s teamwork. I’m the leader and I need to know what all of the members of my team are capable of. We depend on each other.”
Buffy busied herself with tightening her ponytail and then going for her bottle of water. Her back was to him when she spoke. “For years I’ve been the one that everyone has counted on and the one they blamed when things didn’t go well. It’s been a long time since I’ve fully depended on someone else in the field. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t remember how just yet. But I have to hold back when we spar or I will hurt you. And I don’t want to do that.”
There was a long pause and she could hear him stepping back onto the mat. “I can understand, but how about this. It sounds like your problem is with trust inside the teamwork, so we’ll work on that, starting with the sparring. You stop holding back so much and I’ll let you know when you start pushing my limits. I don’t particularly want to get hurt either.”
A small snort escaped Buffy’s lips. “But…”
“No buts, Summers. Trust has to start somewhere.”
“You’re right,” she said with a nod. This session had ended up being was more revealing than she liked, but Dave was offering her something she had been sorely lacking for quite some time – to be part of a team.
She rejoined him on the mat and shot him a smirk that Spike would have been proud of. “Alright, Dave. Let’s dance.”
XXXXXXXX
Daniel was becoming increasingly irritated. Jack’s bad mood from three days ago had gotten much worse. People scurried out of his way and kept all contact with him to a minimum. His attitude towards Daniel and Buffy was the worst. She was coming to his office at least twice a day nearly in tears and had taken to staying on base. As for him, it wasn’t that Jack wasn’t being civil to him; it was that he wasn’t speaking to him at all.
Now that Buffy had left on her latest mission, Daniel decided it was time to confront Jack. His current problem was that he couldn’t find him. Daniel had checked all of the gyms, the room where Jack and Teal’c played ping-pong, Sam’s office, Jack’s office, and any other random room he could think to check. The emptiness of his final place to look confirmed his worse fear – Jack was no longer on base.
That meant he was probably at home brooding, which was never a good sign. With a long-suffering sigh, he left the base and drove to Jack’s. When the older man didn’t answer the door, Daniel let himself in with his copy of the key.
“The door was locked for a reason,” Jack said in a low voice as Daniel walked into the living room.
“Too bad,” Daniel said, sitting on the couch. From the looks of the room, Jack had drunk a lot of beer over the past few days.
“I don’t want to talk so you can just leave.”
“Why are you being such an ass?”
Jack glared at him. “As if you didn’t know.”
“I don’t.”
“You do, too. If I want to be a mean hearted bastard, I can. Now just go.”
“You’re really hurting Buffy,” Daniel said.
For the first time, pain flickered across Jack’s face. “Yeah, well that can’t be helped.”
“Jack…”
“She’s got you to make it all better anyway, so what does it matter?” Jack asked sullenly, taking a swig of his beer.
“What does that mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Daniel, it doesn’t suit you.”
Daniel gave his friend a disbelieving look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh please. I don’t know what’s worse – the fact that the two of you hid it from me or that you’re denying it now!”
“Jack,” Daniel said slowly as if he were speaking to a child, “what are you talking about?”
“You and Buffy.”
“What about us?”
“I saw you the other day… cuddling,” Jack said sourly, taking another drink of his beer.
Daniel wracked his brain and suddenly deduced what Jack’s problem was. An amused smile played at his lips. “Ah.”
“Not that I blame her really,” Jack was muttering, oblivious to Daniel’s sudden understanding. “I mean you’re young and good looking. And I know why you like her, ‘cause who wouldn’t. She’s so easy to lo…” He sighed and took a long drink from his beer.
“Jack, you’ve got the wrong idea. Buffy and I were only talking… about you.”
“Huh?”
“She was upset and needed someone to talk to.” He sent Jack a pointed look. “And she’s done it several times over the past few days.”
“You really aren’t…”
“No.”
“You haven’t been…”
“No.”
“That was just…”
“Yes.”
“Then I just imagined…”
“Emphatic yes there.”
“I’m such an ass,” Jack said, wearily rubbing his eyes. “I need to apologize to her.”
“Can’t at the moment. She’s off-world.”
Jack looked at him in shock. “No! She hadn’t been medically cleared yet.”
“Janet cleared her yesterday.”
“Oh crap. I wasn’t there, and I’ve… Damn it!” He stood up and started to clean up. He stopped and turned to Daniel. “What did she say about me?”
“I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
“It was about the kiss, wasn’t it?” Jack ruefully shook his head. “I shouldn’t have kissed her back, but I wasn’t thinking. I’ve wanted… She’s so beau… Damn it.”
Daniel watched Jack carry empty bottles to the kitchen. “You should talk to her about it,” he called after him.
“She obviously doesn’t want to; why else would she have run?” Jack sadly asked, coming back into the living room to pick up more bottles.
“I don’t know, other reasons,” Daniel said, his voice prompting Jack to think more.
“Can’t you just tell me?” He whined.
“No,” Daniel said, standing up and heading to the door. “But if you think really hard, you’ll figure it out. And when you do, I’m sure you’ll understand and relate.”
Jack watched Daniel leave and then stared at the closed door. He should have known better, neither one of them were like that. Plus, Buffy had just kissed him. True, she had run away immediately afterwards, but she had kissed him.
But why did she run? Was it that bad? He’d never had any complaints before. Maybe he had bad breath or something.
No, there had been something in her eyes that day now that he was thinking clearly about it. There had been surprise and fear. Did she not mean to kiss him? Maybe she was afraid that he would be mad. That couldn’t be it. She would have known he wasn’t mad because he had returned the embrace. It had to be something else that she was afraid of.
His eyes widened. She was afraid of him, afraid that he did reciprocate her feelings. It meant things would change between them. He would go from a safe friend to someone who would hurt her in the end. He would never do that, but she believed it was possible because of her track record. And he already proved that he could hurt her because of his stupid jealous behavior over the past few days.
He needed to quickly repair the damage he had done. Only then could he come up with a plan for making her his.
XXXXXXXX
Buffy opened the door to her room on the base and noticed an envelope on the bed. Her face a mask of confusion, she closed the door and crossed to the bed. She recognized Jack’s careful printing on the outside and briefly considered holding off on reading it until the morning. SG-13’s successful mission had brightened her mood and she didn’t want to ruin it. But curiosity won out.
She unlaced her combat boots and threw them into a corner of the room. She made herself comfortable on the bed before she opened the letter.
Dear Buffy,
There’s nothing I can really say to excuse my behavior towards you over the past several days. All I can tell you is that I’m an ass and I thought that there was something going on that wasn’t. Rest assured that Daniel set me straight and all that’s left is to apologize. I’m sorry that I took my feelings of an imagined situation out on you and I hope that one day you’ll forgive me.
As for now, I would like for you to return to staying at my house. I’ve missed you, but I’ll understand if you’re not ready. I’ll be waiting at my truck after work. If you’re ready I’ll see you there, if you’re not then I guess I won’t.
Jack
Buffy’s eyes blazed as she set the letter down and went to retrieve her boots. She fumed as she roughly pulled them on and went storming out of her room. Of all the nerve!
On another floor she entered the office belonging to the object of her ire and slammed the door shut. “How dare you!”
“Huh?” Daniel asked, looking up from his work.
“You told Jack!”
“Told Jack what?” He asked, his brain not switching from his work to Buffy fast enough.
“About my feelings for him,” she said, shaking Jack’s letter at him.
Daniel took the letter and quickly skimmed over it. To Buffy’s surprise he started laughing.
“This isn’t funny! You betrayed my trust!”
“No, I didn’t,” Daniel said with a shake of his head. He handed the letter back. “Jack and I did talk about you, but it wasn’t what you think. Jack thought that you and I were sneaking around.”
Her jaw dropped. “He didn’t? Why would he think that?”
“He must have seen me comforting you that first day. But that’s all we talked about, I promise.”
“Oh… Sorry, about the yelling and Jack.”
“I’m used to it.” He adjusted the glasses on his face and asked, “Are you going to meet him?”
Buffy looked down at the letter and shrugged. “Yeah… maybe…. I don’t know.”
“You missed him.”
“Duh.”
“Think of it this way. He apologized. Jack almost never does that.”
XXXXXXXXX
Jack morosely watched the sun set from his position next to the cab of his truck. He had been waiting for twenty minutes and Buffy still hadn’t shown up. Maybe he had pushed things too much; he should have just left it at the apology. Hell, maybe he should have apologized in person. He just wasn’t sure of the correct course; he had never been in this position with Buffy before.
“Going my way?”
He spun to see Buffy standing at the end of the truck. For a moment he was struck by how tiny she was, she was just inches taller than the side of the bed. “Hey,” he said softly.
Buffy took a few tentative steps towards him. “Sorry, I’m late, but I had to pack a few things.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said, taking the last few steps to close the distance. “I…”
“It’s okay, you’re forgiven,” she said with a small smile.
“But I don’t de…”
“Jack, quit while you’re ahead.”
“Right,” he said with a small smile. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” she said, starting to walk to the other side of the truck. He followed her to open the door and helped her in.
“So, I heard the last mission was a good one,” he said once he had got in the cab and buckled up.
“It was,” she said, a grin forming. “We met some wonderful people who we can help. They were so nice and giving even though they had so little.”
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” He asked, maneuvering the large truck down the road.
“It does. I usually don’t get to meet the people I help or get a thank you.” She looked over at him. “I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I’m going to call Willow tomorrow and I’ll need your help.”
“With what?” He asked.
“Convincing the Scoobies to not come after me when I tell them that I’m not going back. Ever.”
By: Polgara
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 for Buffy is fair game. Everything up to and including season seven of Stargate SG-1. There will be very specific spoilers for season seven. You have been warned.
Setting: Takes place right after Homecoming of Stargate and three years after Chosen.
Summary: When someone close to Buffy dies, she finds herself on Jack’s doorstep. Before long, events and emotions pull them into something greater than they ever imagined.
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: I’ve only altered canon slightly. Ignore the whole Jack/Sam thing, it doesn’t exist here. And I’ve created a previous relationship between Buffy and Jack. It will get explained eventually, just be patient.
A/N3: Special and huge thanks to my betas – Meri and Copper. You gals are fabulous!
Chapter Eleven
“Doc give you the all clear?” Dave asked as Buffy finished stretching.
“I’m as good as new,” she replied, giving her hip one last stretch.
“I have to admit that healing power of yours must come in pretty handy,” he said, falling into an easy fighting stance when Buffy joined him on the mat. “I’ve never seen anyone except Teal’c heal that quickly.”
“It’s a bonus,” she said with a smile.
“Either way, I’m glad that you’re better. Now we can go on that mission tomorrow. I think that this planet is actually inhabited.”
“Sounds like fun,” Buffy said, sliding into her own fighting stance. Since joining his team, Dave had insisted that they spar once a week. He explained that he did this with Simon and Jeff as well so that he could be sure that they were all fit for travel. She saw the reasoning behind it so she didn’t object. It gave her a chance to spar with someone competent and it helped her to learn more about Dave.
Dave stepped back out of the path of her fist. “How about that other thing that’s bugging you?” He asked, trying to sneak in a punch to her midsection.
“What other thing?” She asked, easily blocking the punch.
“The some thing that has upset you.”
“What thing?”
He frowned and indicated for her to stop for a moment. “If I knew what was bothering you I wouldn’t refer to it as the thing. But I’d be a poor leader if I didn’t notice that you’ve been moping for three days.”
“I haven’t been moping,” she said, crossing her arms defensively over her chest.
“Yeah, right, whatever. If not moping, then brooding.”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “I do not brood.”
“Don’t try to push that crap on me. Something has been bothering you and I don’t want it to affect you out in the field,” he said sternly.
“Thanks for the concern,” she said dryly.
“Hey! It’s not just your safety out there, but the entire team’s,” he said, his voice rising slightly. Then in a softer tone, “And I also just worry about you.”
Her arms loosened and she dropped them back to her sides. “It’s nothing. Just some personal stuff.”
“It must be some pretty heavy personal stuff.”
She smiled and moved back into her fighting stance. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“And you’ll let me know if you can’t?”
“Yes,” she said, with a slight bob of her head.
He nodded his head in acceptance. The two quickly started trading blows again and before long they lost themselves in the rhythm. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on Dave’s face as he tried to break through Buffy’s defenses. Buffy, on the other hand, was barely breathing hard. After twenty minutes Dave called for a break.
“When are you going to stop holding back?” He asked, before taking a long drink of water.
She blushed slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Summers, I’m smarter than I look so don’t patronize me. I get that you’re stronger and tougher than you look. I saw it in your eyes when we first met and our last mission confirmed it.” He used a small towel to wipe off his face. “We’ve been sparring for over a month and you haven’t broken a sweat yet. Which means you’re not pushing your limits, which means you’ve been holding back. Why?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“How can I assess your skills if you don’t put them all on the table?” He countered. “I don’t know what it was like at your last job or whatever it was that you did, but this is not a solo gig. It’s teamwork. I’m the leader and I need to know what all of the members of my team are capable of. We depend on each other.”
Buffy busied herself with tightening her ponytail and then going for her bottle of water. Her back was to him when she spoke. “For years I’ve been the one that everyone has counted on and the one they blamed when things didn’t go well. It’s been a long time since I’ve fully depended on someone else in the field. You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t remember how just yet. But I have to hold back when we spar or I will hurt you. And I don’t want to do that.”
There was a long pause and she could hear him stepping back onto the mat. “I can understand, but how about this. It sounds like your problem is with trust inside the teamwork, so we’ll work on that, starting with the sparring. You stop holding back so much and I’ll let you know when you start pushing my limits. I don’t particularly want to get hurt either.”
A small snort escaped Buffy’s lips. “But…”
“No buts, Summers. Trust has to start somewhere.”
“You’re right,” she said with a nod. This session had ended up being was more revealing than she liked, but Dave was offering her something she had been sorely lacking for quite some time – to be part of a team.
She rejoined him on the mat and shot him a smirk that Spike would have been proud of. “Alright, Dave. Let’s dance.”
XXXXXXXX
Daniel was becoming increasingly irritated. Jack’s bad mood from three days ago had gotten much worse. People scurried out of his way and kept all contact with him to a minimum. His attitude towards Daniel and Buffy was the worst. She was coming to his office at least twice a day nearly in tears and had taken to staying on base. As for him, it wasn’t that Jack wasn’t being civil to him; it was that he wasn’t speaking to him at all.
Now that Buffy had left on her latest mission, Daniel decided it was time to confront Jack. His current problem was that he couldn’t find him. Daniel had checked all of the gyms, the room where Jack and Teal’c played ping-pong, Sam’s office, Jack’s office, and any other random room he could think to check. The emptiness of his final place to look confirmed his worse fear – Jack was no longer on base.
That meant he was probably at home brooding, which was never a good sign. With a long-suffering sigh, he left the base and drove to Jack’s. When the older man didn’t answer the door, Daniel let himself in with his copy of the key.
“The door was locked for a reason,” Jack said in a low voice as Daniel walked into the living room.
“Too bad,” Daniel said, sitting on the couch. From the looks of the room, Jack had drunk a lot of beer over the past few days.
“I don’t want to talk so you can just leave.”
“Why are you being such an ass?”
Jack glared at him. “As if you didn’t know.”
“I don’t.”
“You do, too. If I want to be a mean hearted bastard, I can. Now just go.”
“You’re really hurting Buffy,” Daniel said.
For the first time, pain flickered across Jack’s face. “Yeah, well that can’t be helped.”
“Jack…”
“She’s got you to make it all better anyway, so what does it matter?” Jack asked sullenly, taking a swig of his beer.
“What does that mean?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Daniel, it doesn’t suit you.”
Daniel gave his friend a disbelieving look. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh please. I don’t know what’s worse – the fact that the two of you hid it from me or that you’re denying it now!”
“Jack,” Daniel said slowly as if he were speaking to a child, “what are you talking about?”
“You and Buffy.”
“What about us?”
“I saw you the other day… cuddling,” Jack said sourly, taking another drink of his beer.
Daniel wracked his brain and suddenly deduced what Jack’s problem was. An amused smile played at his lips. “Ah.”
“Not that I blame her really,” Jack was muttering, oblivious to Daniel’s sudden understanding. “I mean you’re young and good looking. And I know why you like her, ‘cause who wouldn’t. She’s so easy to lo…” He sighed and took a long drink from his beer.
“Jack, you’ve got the wrong idea. Buffy and I were only talking… about you.”
“Huh?”
“She was upset and needed someone to talk to.” He sent Jack a pointed look. “And she’s done it several times over the past few days.”
“You really aren’t…”
“No.”
“You haven’t been…”
“No.”
“That was just…”
“Yes.”
“Then I just imagined…”
“Emphatic yes there.”
“I’m such an ass,” Jack said, wearily rubbing his eyes. “I need to apologize to her.”
“Can’t at the moment. She’s off-world.”
Jack looked at him in shock. “No! She hadn’t been medically cleared yet.”
“Janet cleared her yesterday.”
“Oh crap. I wasn’t there, and I’ve… Damn it!” He stood up and started to clean up. He stopped and turned to Daniel. “What did she say about me?”
“I promised I wouldn’t tell.”
“It was about the kiss, wasn’t it?” Jack ruefully shook his head. “I shouldn’t have kissed her back, but I wasn’t thinking. I’ve wanted… She’s so beau… Damn it.”
Daniel watched Jack carry empty bottles to the kitchen. “You should talk to her about it,” he called after him.
“She obviously doesn’t want to; why else would she have run?” Jack sadly asked, coming back into the living room to pick up more bottles.
“I don’t know, other reasons,” Daniel said, his voice prompting Jack to think more.
“Can’t you just tell me?” He whined.
“No,” Daniel said, standing up and heading to the door. “But if you think really hard, you’ll figure it out. And when you do, I’m sure you’ll understand and relate.”
Jack watched Daniel leave and then stared at the closed door. He should have known better, neither one of them were like that. Plus, Buffy had just kissed him. True, she had run away immediately afterwards, but she had kissed him.
But why did she run? Was it that bad? He’d never had any complaints before. Maybe he had bad breath or something.
No, there had been something in her eyes that day now that he was thinking clearly about it. There had been surprise and fear. Did she not mean to kiss him? Maybe she was afraid that he would be mad. That couldn’t be it. She would have known he wasn’t mad because he had returned the embrace. It had to be something else that she was afraid of.
His eyes widened. She was afraid of him, afraid that he did reciprocate her feelings. It meant things would change between them. He would go from a safe friend to someone who would hurt her in the end. He would never do that, but she believed it was possible because of her track record. And he already proved that he could hurt her because of his stupid jealous behavior over the past few days.
He needed to quickly repair the damage he had done. Only then could he come up with a plan for making her his.
XXXXXXXX
Buffy opened the door to her room on the base and noticed an envelope on the bed. Her face a mask of confusion, she closed the door and crossed to the bed. She recognized Jack’s careful printing on the outside and briefly considered holding off on reading it until the morning. SG-13’s successful mission had brightened her mood and she didn’t want to ruin it. But curiosity won out.
She unlaced her combat boots and threw them into a corner of the room. She made herself comfortable on the bed before she opened the letter.
Dear Buffy,
There’s nothing I can really say to excuse my behavior towards you over the past several days. All I can tell you is that I’m an ass and I thought that there was something going on that wasn’t. Rest assured that Daniel set me straight and all that’s left is to apologize. I’m sorry that I took my feelings of an imagined situation out on you and I hope that one day you’ll forgive me.
As for now, I would like for you to return to staying at my house. I’ve missed you, but I’ll understand if you’re not ready. I’ll be waiting at my truck after work. If you’re ready I’ll see you there, if you’re not then I guess I won’t.
Jack
Buffy’s eyes blazed as she set the letter down and went to retrieve her boots. She fumed as she roughly pulled them on and went storming out of her room. Of all the nerve!
On another floor she entered the office belonging to the object of her ire and slammed the door shut. “How dare you!”
“Huh?” Daniel asked, looking up from his work.
“You told Jack!”
“Told Jack what?” He asked, his brain not switching from his work to Buffy fast enough.
“About my feelings for him,” she said, shaking Jack’s letter at him.
Daniel took the letter and quickly skimmed over it. To Buffy’s surprise he started laughing.
“This isn’t funny! You betrayed my trust!”
“No, I didn’t,” Daniel said with a shake of his head. He handed the letter back. “Jack and I did talk about you, but it wasn’t what you think. Jack thought that you and I were sneaking around.”
Her jaw dropped. “He didn’t? Why would he think that?”
“He must have seen me comforting you that first day. But that’s all we talked about, I promise.”
“Oh… Sorry, about the yelling and Jack.”
“I’m used to it.” He adjusted the glasses on his face and asked, “Are you going to meet him?”
Buffy looked down at the letter and shrugged. “Yeah… maybe…. I don’t know.”
“You missed him.”
“Duh.”
“Think of it this way. He apologized. Jack almost never does that.”
XXXXXXXXX
Jack morosely watched the sun set from his position next to the cab of his truck. He had been waiting for twenty minutes and Buffy still hadn’t shown up. Maybe he had pushed things too much; he should have just left it at the apology. Hell, maybe he should have apologized in person. He just wasn’t sure of the correct course; he had never been in this position with Buffy before.
“Going my way?”
He spun to see Buffy standing at the end of the truck. For a moment he was struck by how tiny she was, she was just inches taller than the side of the bed. “Hey,” he said softly.
Buffy took a few tentative steps towards him. “Sorry, I’m late, but I had to pack a few things.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said, taking the last few steps to close the distance. “I…”
“It’s okay, you’re forgiven,” she said with a small smile.
“But I don’t de…”
“Jack, quit while you’re ahead.”
“Right,” he said with a small smile. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” she said, starting to walk to the other side of the truck. He followed her to open the door and helped her in.
“So, I heard the last mission was a good one,” he said once he had got in the cab and buckled up.
“It was,” she said, a grin forming. “We met some wonderful people who we can help. They were so nice and giving even though they had so little.”
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” He asked, maneuvering the large truck down the road.
“It does. I usually don’t get to meet the people I help or get a thank you.” She looked over at him. “I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I’m going to call Willow tomorrow and I’ll need your help.”
“With what?” He asked.
“Convincing the Scoobies to not come after me when I tell them that I’m not going back. Ever.”
