Fic: Wayward Angel 6/11 Rated: NC-17
Jul. 12th, 2009 12:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
polgara_5Title: Wayward Angel
By: Polgara (melindoranightsilver@hotmail.com)
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors. Alec Colson’s dialogue comes directly from the Stargate Episode 8.8 Covenant.
Distribution: My site – Worlds of Possibilities, ff.net, Wormhole Crossing, and TtH.
Spoilers: For Buffy everything is game, for Stargate SG-1 direct spoilers for season 8 episode 8 - Covenant - and anything before that.
Setting: Takes place several years after Chosen and starts during SG-1 episode 8.8 - Covenant.
Summary: Life is filled with moments. The decision in each of these defining times shapes who we are and who we will become. They push us forward and back, an intricate dance.
A/N: Chapter titles and lyrics at the beginning of each come from Kasey Chamber’s cd - Wayward Angel. Music was used as an inspiration for the entire piece.
A/N2: Super shout out to Ava for being my personal cheerleader through writing this. Seriously, without her, this may have never been finished.
A/N3: Much thanks goes to Copper, my wonderful beta!
This fic has already been completed. I will be posting every Sunday.
Any and all artwork linked within this fic was created by the lovely Ava.
Bluebird
If I fall like rain
Will you still feel the same
Will you hold me and call out my name
If I'm lost in the crowd
Will you shout out loud
Will you take me to the other side of town
When that sun beats down
Will you stay?
Or will you turn around
And fly away?
~Bluebird
Jack looked up from the report he was working on to see Buffy standing in his doorway. A frown pulled at his lips as he took in the shadows lurking in her eyes. “What's up?” He asked, his voice subdued.
She slowly entered his office and shut the door behind her. A weary sigh escaped her as she plopped into one of the large chairs opposite of his desk. “I can't go on the mission tomorrow.”
He put his pen down and braced himself for the new excuse. “And what would be your reason this time?”
“I have to attend a funeral,” she said. Her voice was as flat as her expression.
Jack winced. He hadn't meant for the question to come out that harsh. Leaning back in his seat, he said, “You'll have four days. I'll have Walter dig out the necessary papers for you and Daniel.”
Buffy looked at him in surprise. “Why would Daniel need paperwork?”
“I was assuming he'd go with you.”
She shook her head. “He can't. There would be no way of hiding the supernatural stuff while I'm there. The funeral is for a slayer. One I personally trained. I'll have to speak at it.”
“You still haven't told him about the slayer gig?” Jack nearly growled when her eyes dropped to her lap. “You've been together for nearly six months.”
“I don't think he really needs to know,” she said softly.
“You don't think... Damn it, Buffy! How are you going to convince him not to go to the funeral with you?”
Her eyes flickered up to his face for a moment before dropping again. “I was kind of hoping you could just let them know I was ordered somewhere else for a few days.”
“No way. Not doing it,” he said, his face screwing up in anger. “I'm not covering for you this time.”
“But Jack.”
He leaned forward, his right elbow resting on the surface of the desk as he pointed a finger at her. “No buts, Buffy. I've covered for your other slayer missions since the day you arrived. You don't want the whole team to know because of all the girls. Fine. I get that. But this is Daniel we're talking about, and a funeral.”
Buffy crossed her arms and shrank back into the chair. “I'll be fine and he -”
“I don't think you're hearing me,” Jack snarled. “This is not some sort of super secret slayer mission to help protect the Earth. I'm not going to lie to your team or Daniel for it. You need to either come up with a reason for why we're scrubbing the mission or tell them the truth. You already know where I stand on that issue.”
“I can't just blurt out to him that I'm going to a funeral and oh, hey, it's for a young woman who fights vampires and demons. And did you know, I do that too?” She exclaimed, standing up to glare down at him.
“Well, I'd hope you'd use a lot more tact than that,” he said with a roll of his eyes and resting back in his chair. “I'm not saying you need to tell the whole team, but if you do, at least be smart enough to start with Daniel. He's got a right to hear it first. You don't need to give them the whole shebang like you did for me, but at least give them something. I think they've more than earned it by now.”
Buffy walked over to the window looking into the briefing room. She was silent as she kept her back to him. Jack could tell she was thinking it over and in a show of patience that he wasn't really known for, he held his tongue and waited.
Finally her shoulders sagged and she turned to look at him. She leaned back against the window and in a small voice asked, “What if he hates me?”
Jack sighed and stood to walk over to her. He gently placed his hands on her slim shoulders and looked down at her. “It takes an awful lot to make Daniel hate someone. Even when Teal'c killed Sha're to save his life he didn't hate him. He wasn't particularly fond of Teal'c for a while, but he understood and forgave him. It's not really in his nature to hate anyone so I think you're safe there.”
She nodded and said, “Have Walter get the forms, but he may not want to go with me once he learns the truth.”
“You may be surprised.”
XXXXXXXXXX
It only took one look for Daniel to realize that there was something upsetting Buffy. He stood up from his desk and wordlessly held his arms open. She gratefully fell into his embrace and buried her face in his broad chest.
Daniel patiently waited to see if she'd volunteer the information or if he was going to have to pry it out of her bit by bit. Today it seemed to be the former as she spoke up, her voice slightly muffled.
“Our mission tomorrow is canceled.”
“This is the first I've heard of it. What happened?”
“My crappy life,” she said, shifting so her cheek nestled against the cotton of his BDU. “I have to go to Cleveland tomorrow instead.”
“What's going on back home?” He asked.
“One of the girls I trained at my old job was killed,” she said softly.
“Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry,” he said, squeezing her a little tighter. His head dipped down to place a kiss on the crown of her head. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Daniel was confused by the way she suddenly tensed in his arms. He thought it had been the anticipated suggestion and that she'd quickly agree, but perhaps it was more than the death upsetting her. “If you don't want me to -”
“No, it's not that,” she said, slipping out of the comforting circle of his arms. “I'd like for you to go, it's just there are some things you should know before you decide if you even want to go.”
His brow furrowed and his lower lip budged out in a slight pout. “Buffy, I love you. This has got to be hard for you, after all, you trained this girl. Why wouldn't I want to be there for you?”
She refused to look at him as she stepped away and walked over to one of his bookcases. Her fingers trailed over the leather covered spines before stopping at one and pulling it out. Silently she returned to him, her face thoughtful as she considered the title of the book.
He looked at the cover and recognized it as the one she had pointed out the first day he met her – Mystical Legends and Myths of the Ancient World. The look on her face indicated to him that it was important but he failed to see what it had to do with her going home. “Buffy?”
Finally her hazel eyes looked up at him and her lips were pressed together so tightly that they had nearly turned white. “Where did you find this book?”
Daniel could feel his cheeks coloring and he nervously cleared his throat. “Uh... Funny story about that one. Found it back when I was in college.”
She gave him an expectant look and he could feel his body wanting to fidget. “Listen, I don't know what this has -”
“Humor me,” she said, her head tilting to one side.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I bought it on a whim,” he said, sitting back down.
“But where?”
“Is this really important? Shouldn't we be talking about the funeral?” Daniel desperately asked. He really didn’t think she’d find the story amusing in a quirky way, but amusing in the you’re crazy way.
Her head nodded once. “We are. Sort of. In a round about way.”
“That was summarily not helpful,” he said dryly as he placed his glasses back on his face.
“Where?” She asked again, her gaze never wavering.
“In an occult bookshop,” he blurted out. He braced himself for her ridiculing response but was surprised when it never came. Instead, she calmly asked him another question.
“Figured. Why?”
“Why what? Why was I in there or why did I buy it?”
Her brow furrowed slightly as she considered his question for a moment before replying. “Both actually.”
“I didn't really want to go in there, but some friends I was with wanted to check it out so I went in,” he said. “As for the book, I'm not really sure. The guy who wrote it wasn't even credible. It just looked interesting so I bought it.”
“Have you ever read it?” She asked, looking back down at it.
“Once or twice. To be perfectly honest, it's not a book I usually go to for ideas. Most of what's in there doesn't make a whole lot of sense.”
“Like the pyramids as alien landing pads?” She absently asked. Her lips pursed as she opened the book and flipped through it. She stopped about halfway through it and her eyes moved back and forth as she read. Satisfied with the page, she turned it around and held it out to him.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asked in confusion as he reached out to take it.
She rolled her eyes. “Read it.”
“But -”
“Just read,” she said in exasperation.
Deciding to humor her, his eyes dropped down to the book in front of him. “How far am I supposed to read?”
“That whole chapter. Don't worry, it's not that long,” she assured him. “You read, we'll discuss, and then we'll go from there.”
Trusting that she was going somewhere with all of this, he put his attention on the words in front of him. After reading the first page, he realized that he remembered this chapter. In college he had spent nearly a semester fantasizing about this topic and what it might have been like to experience it first hand. He hadn't thought about this for years, not since he started working on his dissertation.
Nearly every ancient culture contained tales of demonic type creatures that terrorized the people from time to time. From the descriptions these creatures varied from true monster visages to those who could pass for humans.
The most interesting part of these stories was that of a warrior who would come and save the villages. The warrior never had a name but went by some type of title. They ranged from Protector to Guardian to Slayer to Chosen One. What the stories did agree on was that the warrior was a loner and several times stronger and faster than normal humans. They would come and rid the villages of the demons and then move on.
He had often wondered if the tradition had been passed from father to son or if the warrior found someone worthy to pass the title on to. How these stories could be found in nearly every culture on all the continents was still unusual enough that it rang a warning bell in his head.
Maybe this was something he should look into further. This could be evidence of some type of alien interference or even one of the Ascended Ancients. Even though they had the non-interference rule, there were enough who were rogue who may have stepped in to help. It would help explain the lack of a real name and the enhanced skills.
“It's not alien,” Buffy spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.
“Huh?” He asked, his gaze moving from the book to the sofa where she had sat down while he was reading.
“The stories,” she said, rising smoothly to her feet and crossing the room. “They weren’t caused by aliens.”
“How did you know that was what I was thinking?” He asked with a frown.
She let out an indelicate snort. “Because that's the first conclusion everyone around here jumps to. But it's not alien, trust me.”
Daniel studied her carefully for a long moment. Her body was taut with tension despite her relaxed pose against his desk. Whatever this conversation was leading up to had her extremely nervous, something he hadn't witnessed since the day he first kissed her. “Then what is it?” He asked, his curiosity burning like a flame inside of him.
Buffy hesitated for a second before replying, “It's mystical.”
“Mystical,” he said slowly. He hadn't expected that explanation. “Mystical as in...”
“Magic. Demons. Vampires. All real,” she said calmly. “As is the warrior mentioned in the book.”
His frown got deeper, creating creases in his forehead. Surely she wasn't suggesting that she truly believed in magic and all the stories about the boogeyman. Shouldn't her psych evaluation have caught this? “Buffy, I don't think -”
She held up a hand to cut him off. “Just because it's outside what you consider the norm doesn't mean it's not possible or even real. We fight aliens. Most people outside this mountain would call that crazy.”
“I understand that, but magic?”
“It's every bit as real as the Goa'uld and their fancy technology,” she said, waving her hands around in a vague gesture.
It was possible, he supposed, they had come across weirder things. Daniel gave the book in his hands a speculative look. “So if the demons are real then so is this mythical warrior they mention?”
“Yes, only they got part of it wrong.”
“Which part?” He asked.
“The part about the warrior being male. It was always a female.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” she said firmly.
Daniel absently pushed his glasses back into place. His brain was working over time trying to figure out what this now female mythical warrior had to do with a funeral in Cleveland. Blue eyes widened behind wire frames as it suddenly came to him and he gave her a surprised look. “You mean the girl you trained in Cleveland, is one of these mystical warriors?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice thick and tight with emotion. “But there's more to it than that, more than just her.”
“How can there be more? The book seems to indicate that there's only one at a time,” he said, going back to the book and flipping through the pages. A finger pointed at a specific passage and he read aloud, “Evidence points to there being only one warrior at a time. The few times they were questioned about why they did this work alone most answered in the form of 'There is no choice.'”
Buffy nodded. “That was true, once. But it hasn't been that way for nearly ten years. The warrior is called the Slayer. When ones dies another is chosen to take her place. Until that time she's just as normal as everyone else in the world. It's when she's called that she gets the extra strength and speed.”
Something hard and cold settled in the pit of Daniel's stomach. “How?” He asked simply, knowing that the next words to come out of her mouth were going to change everything.
“Me,” she said softly, her head bowing causing her blonde hair to hide her face. “When I was called, I broke all sorts of rules and changed our destiny.”
Daniel slumped into his chair. How could she have kept something this big from him all this time? “So you are a slayer?” He asked, his voice flat and emotionless. He wanted the whole story before possibly blowing up.
“Actually, they refer to me as 'The Slayer' since I'm the last of the truly Chosen Ones. There are hundreds now, all slayers, but none who know what it's like to be alone,” she replied, looking every where but at him. “They live a different life than what I did, but it's still just as dangerous. And sometimes they die.”
He removed his glasses and set them on top of his messy desk. “Why didn't you tell me all of this?”
“I'm telling you now, aren't I?”
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?” He asked, his blue eyes imploring.
“I just... I just couldn't,” she said. Her hands twisting each other held her attention as she spoke.
“You didn't trust me,” Daniel said sadly. It seemed to be a running theme in his life. Over the years Jack, his best friend, seemed to trust him less and less. Ever since the older man had kept his undercover mission quiet, they never seemed to regain that deeply rooted trust for each other. His own stint as an Ascended being didn't help matters either.
“I did trust you. I do! It's just... I don't get to... It's hard...” Buffy growled in frustration as she paced his office. “Most people have a hard time accepting it. I had a hard time accepting it when I was first told. This isn't something you can bring up in casual conversation.”
“Damn it, Buffy. We've been together for six months, and teammates longer than that. I think you could have mentioned this at some point!” Daniel said, slamming his hands down on the desk. “Am I the last to know? I'm assuming you told Sam.”
Buffy shook her head. “Sam doesn't know anything. I only told Jack and Dr. Jones.”
Daniel's face turned a bright red as his jaw clenched. The corded muscles of his neck tensed up as he forcibly worked to control his temper. “Jack knew! Oh that's just great!”
“I had to tell him, otherwise he would have raised hell about me pushing my way into the base,” she countered, her voice rising a few decibels.
“You pushed your way onto the base?” He asked.
“I don't exactly trust the military and when my friends and I found out what was going on here we thought it best if we had someone on the inside to keep an eye on things,” she said hotly. She gave him a defiant look.
“Does Jack know about that?” He asked, his temper still seething below the surface.
“Yes. We covered it all during our first meeting.”
“And if this girl back in Cleveland hadn't died, would you have told me any of this today? Or ever?” He asked, the lump in his stomach growing colder with each new piece of information. He didn't really want to know the answer to the question, but he couldn't stop himself from asking it either.
The stricken look on her beautiful features told him all he needed to know. He could feel tears burning the back of his eyes and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. “I think it would be best if you left now,” he said, forcing his voice to stay calm and steady.
“Daniel -” she started, her own tears shining in her eyes.
“Buffy, I just need you to leave. This is all... Just go,” he said wearily, sinking back down into his chair. He refused to watch her walk out of his office as he let himself wallow in his own misery.
By: Polgara (melindoranightsilver@hotmail.com)
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors. Alec Colson’s dialogue comes directly from the Stargate Episode 8.8 Covenant.
Distribution: My site – Worlds of Possibilities, ff.net, Wormhole Crossing, and TtH.
Spoilers: For Buffy everything is game, for Stargate SG-1 direct spoilers for season 8 episode 8 - Covenant - and anything before that.
Setting: Takes place several years after Chosen and starts during SG-1 episode 8.8 - Covenant.
Summary: Life is filled with moments. The decision in each of these defining times shapes who we are and who we will become. They push us forward and back, an intricate dance.
A/N: Chapter titles and lyrics at the beginning of each come from Kasey Chamber’s cd - Wayward Angel. Music was used as an inspiration for the entire piece.
A/N2: Super shout out to Ava for being my personal cheerleader through writing this. Seriously, without her, this may have never been finished.
A/N3: Much thanks goes to Copper, my wonderful beta!
This fic has already been completed. I will be posting every Sunday.
Any and all artwork linked within this fic was created by the lovely Ava.
Bluebird
If I fall like rain
Will you still feel the same
Will you hold me and call out my name
If I'm lost in the crowd
Will you shout out loud
Will you take me to the other side of town
When that sun beats down
Will you stay?
Or will you turn around
And fly away?
~Bluebird
Jack looked up from the report he was working on to see Buffy standing in his doorway. A frown pulled at his lips as he took in the shadows lurking in her eyes. “What's up?” He asked, his voice subdued.
She slowly entered his office and shut the door behind her. A weary sigh escaped her as she plopped into one of the large chairs opposite of his desk. “I can't go on the mission tomorrow.”
He put his pen down and braced himself for the new excuse. “And what would be your reason this time?”
“I have to attend a funeral,” she said. Her voice was as flat as her expression.
Jack winced. He hadn't meant for the question to come out that harsh. Leaning back in his seat, he said, “You'll have four days. I'll have Walter dig out the necessary papers for you and Daniel.”
Buffy looked at him in surprise. “Why would Daniel need paperwork?”
“I was assuming he'd go with you.”
She shook her head. “He can't. There would be no way of hiding the supernatural stuff while I'm there. The funeral is for a slayer. One I personally trained. I'll have to speak at it.”
“You still haven't told him about the slayer gig?” Jack nearly growled when her eyes dropped to her lap. “You've been together for nearly six months.”
“I don't think he really needs to know,” she said softly.
“You don't think... Damn it, Buffy! How are you going to convince him not to go to the funeral with you?”
Her eyes flickered up to his face for a moment before dropping again. “I was kind of hoping you could just let them know I was ordered somewhere else for a few days.”
“No way. Not doing it,” he said, his face screwing up in anger. “I'm not covering for you this time.”
“But Jack.”
He leaned forward, his right elbow resting on the surface of the desk as he pointed a finger at her. “No buts, Buffy. I've covered for your other slayer missions since the day you arrived. You don't want the whole team to know because of all the girls. Fine. I get that. But this is Daniel we're talking about, and a funeral.”
Buffy crossed her arms and shrank back into the chair. “I'll be fine and he -”
“I don't think you're hearing me,” Jack snarled. “This is not some sort of super secret slayer mission to help protect the Earth. I'm not going to lie to your team or Daniel for it. You need to either come up with a reason for why we're scrubbing the mission or tell them the truth. You already know where I stand on that issue.”
“I can't just blurt out to him that I'm going to a funeral and oh, hey, it's for a young woman who fights vampires and demons. And did you know, I do that too?” She exclaimed, standing up to glare down at him.
“Well, I'd hope you'd use a lot more tact than that,” he said with a roll of his eyes and resting back in his chair. “I'm not saying you need to tell the whole team, but if you do, at least be smart enough to start with Daniel. He's got a right to hear it first. You don't need to give them the whole shebang like you did for me, but at least give them something. I think they've more than earned it by now.”
Buffy walked over to the window looking into the briefing room. She was silent as she kept her back to him. Jack could tell she was thinking it over and in a show of patience that he wasn't really known for, he held his tongue and waited.
Finally her shoulders sagged and she turned to look at him. She leaned back against the window and in a small voice asked, “What if he hates me?”
Jack sighed and stood to walk over to her. He gently placed his hands on her slim shoulders and looked down at her. “It takes an awful lot to make Daniel hate someone. Even when Teal'c killed Sha're to save his life he didn't hate him. He wasn't particularly fond of Teal'c for a while, but he understood and forgave him. It's not really in his nature to hate anyone so I think you're safe there.”
She nodded and said, “Have Walter get the forms, but he may not want to go with me once he learns the truth.”
“You may be surprised.”
XXXXXXXXXX
It only took one look for Daniel to realize that there was something upsetting Buffy. He stood up from his desk and wordlessly held his arms open. She gratefully fell into his embrace and buried her face in his broad chest.
Daniel patiently waited to see if she'd volunteer the information or if he was going to have to pry it out of her bit by bit. Today it seemed to be the former as she spoke up, her voice slightly muffled.
“Our mission tomorrow is canceled.”
“This is the first I've heard of it. What happened?”
“My crappy life,” she said, shifting so her cheek nestled against the cotton of his BDU. “I have to go to Cleveland tomorrow instead.”
“What's going on back home?” He asked.
“One of the girls I trained at my old job was killed,” she said softly.
“Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry,” he said, squeezing her a little tighter. His head dipped down to place a kiss on the crown of her head. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Daniel was confused by the way she suddenly tensed in his arms. He thought it had been the anticipated suggestion and that she'd quickly agree, but perhaps it was more than the death upsetting her. “If you don't want me to -”
“No, it's not that,” she said, slipping out of the comforting circle of his arms. “I'd like for you to go, it's just there are some things you should know before you decide if you even want to go.”
His brow furrowed and his lower lip budged out in a slight pout. “Buffy, I love you. This has got to be hard for you, after all, you trained this girl. Why wouldn't I want to be there for you?”
She refused to look at him as she stepped away and walked over to one of his bookcases. Her fingers trailed over the leather covered spines before stopping at one and pulling it out. Silently she returned to him, her face thoughtful as she considered the title of the book.
He looked at the cover and recognized it as the one she had pointed out the first day he met her – Mystical Legends and Myths of the Ancient World. The look on her face indicated to him that it was important but he failed to see what it had to do with her going home. “Buffy?”
Finally her hazel eyes looked up at him and her lips were pressed together so tightly that they had nearly turned white. “Where did you find this book?”
Daniel could feel his cheeks coloring and he nervously cleared his throat. “Uh... Funny story about that one. Found it back when I was in college.”
She gave him an expectant look and he could feel his body wanting to fidget. “Listen, I don't know what this has -”
“Humor me,” she said, her head tilting to one side.
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I bought it on a whim,” he said, sitting back down.
“But where?”
“Is this really important? Shouldn't we be talking about the funeral?” Daniel desperately asked. He really didn’t think she’d find the story amusing in a quirky way, but amusing in the you’re crazy way.
Her head nodded once. “We are. Sort of. In a round about way.”
“That was summarily not helpful,” he said dryly as he placed his glasses back on his face.
“Where?” She asked again, her gaze never wavering.
“In an occult bookshop,” he blurted out. He braced himself for her ridiculing response but was surprised when it never came. Instead, she calmly asked him another question.
“Figured. Why?”
“Why what? Why was I in there or why did I buy it?”
Her brow furrowed slightly as she considered his question for a moment before replying. “Both actually.”
“I didn't really want to go in there, but some friends I was with wanted to check it out so I went in,” he said. “As for the book, I'm not really sure. The guy who wrote it wasn't even credible. It just looked interesting so I bought it.”
“Have you ever read it?” She asked, looking back down at it.
“Once or twice. To be perfectly honest, it's not a book I usually go to for ideas. Most of what's in there doesn't make a whole lot of sense.”
“Like the pyramids as alien landing pads?” She absently asked. Her lips pursed as she opened the book and flipped through it. She stopped about halfway through it and her eyes moved back and forth as she read. Satisfied with the page, she turned it around and held it out to him.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” He asked in confusion as he reached out to take it.
She rolled her eyes. “Read it.”
“But -”
“Just read,” she said in exasperation.
Deciding to humor her, his eyes dropped down to the book in front of him. “How far am I supposed to read?”
“That whole chapter. Don't worry, it's not that long,” she assured him. “You read, we'll discuss, and then we'll go from there.”
Trusting that she was going somewhere with all of this, he put his attention on the words in front of him. After reading the first page, he realized that he remembered this chapter. In college he had spent nearly a semester fantasizing about this topic and what it might have been like to experience it first hand. He hadn't thought about this for years, not since he started working on his dissertation.
Nearly every ancient culture contained tales of demonic type creatures that terrorized the people from time to time. From the descriptions these creatures varied from true monster visages to those who could pass for humans.
The most interesting part of these stories was that of a warrior who would come and save the villages. The warrior never had a name but went by some type of title. They ranged from Protector to Guardian to Slayer to Chosen One. What the stories did agree on was that the warrior was a loner and several times stronger and faster than normal humans. They would come and rid the villages of the demons and then move on.
He had often wondered if the tradition had been passed from father to son or if the warrior found someone worthy to pass the title on to. How these stories could be found in nearly every culture on all the continents was still unusual enough that it rang a warning bell in his head.
Maybe this was something he should look into further. This could be evidence of some type of alien interference or even one of the Ascended Ancients. Even though they had the non-interference rule, there were enough who were rogue who may have stepped in to help. It would help explain the lack of a real name and the enhanced skills.
“It's not alien,” Buffy spoke up, interrupting his thoughts.
“Huh?” He asked, his gaze moving from the book to the sofa where she had sat down while he was reading.
“The stories,” she said, rising smoothly to her feet and crossing the room. “They weren’t caused by aliens.”
“How did you know that was what I was thinking?” He asked with a frown.
She let out an indelicate snort. “Because that's the first conclusion everyone around here jumps to. But it's not alien, trust me.”
Daniel studied her carefully for a long moment. Her body was taut with tension despite her relaxed pose against his desk. Whatever this conversation was leading up to had her extremely nervous, something he hadn't witnessed since the day he first kissed her. “Then what is it?” He asked, his curiosity burning like a flame inside of him.
Buffy hesitated for a second before replying, “It's mystical.”
“Mystical,” he said slowly. He hadn't expected that explanation. “Mystical as in...”
“Magic. Demons. Vampires. All real,” she said calmly. “As is the warrior mentioned in the book.”
His frown got deeper, creating creases in his forehead. Surely she wasn't suggesting that she truly believed in magic and all the stories about the boogeyman. Shouldn't her psych evaluation have caught this? “Buffy, I don't think -”
She held up a hand to cut him off. “Just because it's outside what you consider the norm doesn't mean it's not possible or even real. We fight aliens. Most people outside this mountain would call that crazy.”
“I understand that, but magic?”
“It's every bit as real as the Goa'uld and their fancy technology,” she said, waving her hands around in a vague gesture.
It was possible, he supposed, they had come across weirder things. Daniel gave the book in his hands a speculative look. “So if the demons are real then so is this mythical warrior they mention?”
“Yes, only they got part of it wrong.”
“Which part?” He asked.
“The part about the warrior being male. It was always a female.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” she said firmly.
Daniel absently pushed his glasses back into place. His brain was working over time trying to figure out what this now female mythical warrior had to do with a funeral in Cleveland. Blue eyes widened behind wire frames as it suddenly came to him and he gave her a surprised look. “You mean the girl you trained in Cleveland, is one of these mystical warriors?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice thick and tight with emotion. “But there's more to it than that, more than just her.”
“How can there be more? The book seems to indicate that there's only one at a time,” he said, going back to the book and flipping through the pages. A finger pointed at a specific passage and he read aloud, “Evidence points to there being only one warrior at a time. The few times they were questioned about why they did this work alone most answered in the form of 'There is no choice.'”
Buffy nodded. “That was true, once. But it hasn't been that way for nearly ten years. The warrior is called the Slayer. When ones dies another is chosen to take her place. Until that time she's just as normal as everyone else in the world. It's when she's called that she gets the extra strength and speed.”
Something hard and cold settled in the pit of Daniel's stomach. “How?” He asked simply, knowing that the next words to come out of her mouth were going to change everything.
“Me,” she said softly, her head bowing causing her blonde hair to hide her face. “When I was called, I broke all sorts of rules and changed our destiny.”
Daniel slumped into his chair. How could she have kept something this big from him all this time? “So you are a slayer?” He asked, his voice flat and emotionless. He wanted the whole story before possibly blowing up.
“Actually, they refer to me as 'The Slayer' since I'm the last of the truly Chosen Ones. There are hundreds now, all slayers, but none who know what it's like to be alone,” she replied, looking every where but at him. “They live a different life than what I did, but it's still just as dangerous. And sometimes they die.”
He removed his glasses and set them on top of his messy desk. “Why didn't you tell me all of this?”
“I'm telling you now, aren't I?”
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?” He asked, his blue eyes imploring.
“I just... I just couldn't,” she said. Her hands twisting each other held her attention as she spoke.
“You didn't trust me,” Daniel said sadly. It seemed to be a running theme in his life. Over the years Jack, his best friend, seemed to trust him less and less. Ever since the older man had kept his undercover mission quiet, they never seemed to regain that deeply rooted trust for each other. His own stint as an Ascended being didn't help matters either.
“I did trust you. I do! It's just... I don't get to... It's hard...” Buffy growled in frustration as she paced his office. “Most people have a hard time accepting it. I had a hard time accepting it when I was first told. This isn't something you can bring up in casual conversation.”
“Damn it, Buffy. We've been together for six months, and teammates longer than that. I think you could have mentioned this at some point!” Daniel said, slamming his hands down on the desk. “Am I the last to know? I'm assuming you told Sam.”
Buffy shook her head. “Sam doesn't know anything. I only told Jack and Dr. Jones.”
Daniel's face turned a bright red as his jaw clenched. The corded muscles of his neck tensed up as he forcibly worked to control his temper. “Jack knew! Oh that's just great!”
“I had to tell him, otherwise he would have raised hell about me pushing my way into the base,” she countered, her voice rising a few decibels.
“You pushed your way onto the base?” He asked.
“I don't exactly trust the military and when my friends and I found out what was going on here we thought it best if we had someone on the inside to keep an eye on things,” she said hotly. She gave him a defiant look.
“Does Jack know about that?” He asked, his temper still seething below the surface.
“Yes. We covered it all during our first meeting.”
“And if this girl back in Cleveland hadn't died, would you have told me any of this today? Or ever?” He asked, the lump in his stomach growing colder with each new piece of information. He didn't really want to know the answer to the question, but he couldn't stop himself from asking it either.
The stricken look on her beautiful features told him all he needed to know. He could feel tears burning the back of his eyes and his heart clenched painfully in his chest. “I think it would be best if you left now,” he said, forcing his voice to stay calm and steady.
“Daniel -” she started, her own tears shining in her eyes.
“Buffy, I just need you to leave. This is all... Just go,” he said wearily, sinking back down into his chair. He refused to watch her walk out of his office as he let himself wallow in his own misery.
