Fic: Undertow 2/?
Dec. 11th, 2005 01:08 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.
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 Two
The rest of the weekend passed quietly. Jack was awakened every night by Buffy’s cries and he would hold her until she fell back asleep. In the morning she would thank him with a shy smile and hug. Then they’d spend the day talking and watching TV.
Monday morning arrived all too quickly. Jack smiled as she waved bye as he backed out of his driveway to go to work. On his way he went over what he was going to say to Hammond. He knew that his sanity was at stake.
Once he arrived at the base, he went straight to General Hammond’s office and shut the door behind him. “General.”
“Jack? What seems to be the problem?” The bald man asked, taking in the other’s slightly agitated demeanor.
“I need to ask a favor. A big one,” Jack said, sitting down in one of the chairs.
“What kind of favor?”
”I need for you to grant clearance to a civilian friend of mine.”
“Colonel…”
“I know it’s unusual, sir, but hear me out.”
“Alright, Jack. Let’s hear it,” Hammond said.
Jack leaned forward until his elbows were resting on his knees. “She’s going to be staying at my place for the next month or so while she works out some personal matters. My unusual comings and goings are going to raise suspicions and I know she won’t rest until she learns the truth. And believe me, sir, if she wants to find out about this place nothing will be able to stop her.”
“Why would you allow someone like that to stay with you?”
“Because she is a close friend. We’ve always been there for each other, I can’t let her down. No, I take that back. I refuse to let her down.”
“Then I’ll ground you for the duration of her stay,” Hammond said.
“General, you know you can’t do that. Not with Anubis out there. You need me and my team on the frontline,” Jack said, standing up.
“Jack, you have to understand that this is a highly unusual request. I can’t grant her access without a damn good reason, and so far you haven’t provided one that I can’t circumvent.”
“She’s been granted access to another project before. I don’t know which one, she wouldn’t tell me,” Jack said, pacing in the small office. “She could be an asset while she’s here. I know her and she’s going to be bored in a week, but still won’t be ready to go home.”
Hammond sighed. “An asset?”
“Yes, sir,” Jack said, stilling his movements. “Trust me when I tell you that she’ll take all of this in stride. Won’t faze her a bit.”
“Just who is she?” Hammond asked, slightly curious now despite himself. Jack rarely talked about others like this, especially one from his past.
“Buffy Summers.”
“Her name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“I’m not surprised. But we could use her here.” Jack grinned. “I believe there’s an opening on SG-13.”
“Colonel Dixon’s team? I don’t know, Jack.”
Jack pressed the heel of his hand into his eye. “Can you at least get the clearance and meet her?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.”
XXXXXXXX
Jack smiled to himself as he headed to his favorite hiding place on the base – his office. He rarely spent time there so it was always the last place that anyone looked for him. It wasn’t that he was in the mood to hide per se, but more of an avoidance of his team. He knew that they were going to have questions about who Buffy was and how she knew him, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to answer those questions.
She had been a private part of his life for so long that he hated to lose it now. Their relationship was rather complex and he wasn’t sure if his team would understand. Oh, they’d support him for sure and would make every effort to be her friend, but they’d never fully appreciate how much she had done to help him keep his sanity and vice versa.
Not to mention Buffy was unusual in her own right. On the surface she appeared to be a normal twenty-five year old, but her years as a slayer had turned her into a hardened veteran on the inside. Most people never really got her.
He grabbed a notepad and sat down, propping his feet up on his desk. His thoughts were definitely lighter than earlier that morning. If Buffy joined the SGC, it would serve several purposes.
He had told Hammond the truth about Buffy. She was a woman of action and with nothing to keep her company during the day but her grief, she would get restless. A place at the SGC would provide a distraction and something useful to do while she worked through this.
Since she would finally be privy to his job, he would finally be able to tell her everything. He’d be able to tell the truth about Daniel’s absence and his return. He could only hope that she received the clearance before his team met her so he wouldn’t have to lie first.
There was another upside to this. There was a strong possibility that the temporary appointment would tempt her into a more permanent position. She was not anymore suited for a desk job than he was. The slayer was a creature of action and Buffy had spent seven years on the frontline. He knew that he position in the Watcher’s Council caused her to spend less and less time in the field. She had confided in him only a few weeks earlier that she sort of missed the old days. And if she stayed it meant that he had the chance to form a romantic relationship with her. Not that he’d try anything now, that would be just downright rude. But later, after her heart had a chance to heal. Maybe then.
His office door opened and he smiled innocently as his team entered and shut the door behind them. “Hey, guys.”
“Told you he’d be here,” Daniel said smugly to Sam and Teal’c. He sent a smirk towards Jack. “You’re going to have to find a new hiding spot.”
“Gees, Daniel. Only took you six years,” Jack said, doodling on the notepad that rested on his legs.
“So?” Sam asked, curiosity burning in her eyes.
“So what, Carter?” He asked, never looking up.
“Who is she?”
“Who is who?”
“I believe Major Carter refers to the distressed woman who arrived unexpectedly on Friday night,” Teal’c said, effectively ending Jack and Sam’s banter.
“She’s just an old friend,” Jack said with a shrug, his attention firmly on the dog he was drawing.
“How old?” Sam asked.
“Knew her from before… before Charlie…”
“What’s her name?” Daniel asked, switching the line of questioning slightly. He knew that the subject of Charlie was still a sore spot for his friend.
“Buffy Summers,” Jack said with a small smile.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. Sorry, Daniel.”
“How did you meet?” Sam asked. It was rare that Jack was willing to speak about anything in his past and she and the others were taking full advantage of it.
Jack’s smile faded slightly. This was one of those questions he was not going to be able to answer honestly. Really, how was he supposed to explain to them that she had saved him from a vampire when she was only seventeen? There were way too many problems with that statement. So he gave them the next best thing – a half-truth. “We were both in L.A., random meeting, and we’ve just kept in touch over the years.”
Daniel sensed that Jack wasn’t going to speak anymore than that on it. He respected his friend’s privacy and changed the topic again. “What was wrong on Friday? She seemed to be very upset.”
“Her baby sister had been killed in a car wreck,” Jack said, putting the finishing touches on the dog. “They had been very close since Buffy had been raising her since their mother died five years ago.”
“That’s awful,” Sam said, knowing how hard it was to lose a parent. “How old was the sister?”
“Dawn was nineteen.” He paused in his drawing to rub his eyes. “Buffy will be staying with me for a while.”
“Is there anyway we may provide assistance?”
“Not at the moment, T. But maybe you guys could come over for dinner later in the week? It’ll be good for her.”
“Sure, sir,” Sam said, moving to the door. “I’ve got to get back to the lab.” She was still curious, but she was hoping to get more info out of Buffy when they had dinner.
With a slight inclination of his head, Teal’c followed her out, leaving Daniel alone with Jack. It was several long moments before Daniel asked, “How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”
Jack sighed and looked up at him. “It’s complicated.”
“Try me,” Daniel said, giving no indication that he was going to back down from this. In fact, there was a stubborn set to his jaw clearly saying he wasn’t leaving until he got a satisfactory answer.
“If it’s any consolation, her friends still don’t know that I exist,” Jack said, stalling.
“Won’t they worry?”
“A little, but she left a note explaining that she’d be back when she was ready.”
“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell us,” Daniel said. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are. It’s just… Buffy and I have complicated lives and it was kind of nice to have someone out there who didn’t depend on you or expect certain behavior. We could vent to each other, give or receive comfort, find a grounding. We never told anyone because we were selfish about it.”
Daniel smiled softly. “I think I understand. So how often do you visit or even talk?”
“We talk once a month, if possible. The visits are harder to arrange. Those were usually reserved for big events,” Jack said, drawing a person with the dog.
“And the last visit?”
“Was after you died.”
“Uh, Jack. How are you going to explain me?”
“Haven’t figured that part out yet, Danny-boy. But I’ll let you know when I do.”
XXXXXXXX
Buffy heard Jack’s truck pull into the driveway as she finished setting the table. She headed back into the kitchen to drain the spaghetti. The front door opened and she could hear him enter.
“Buffy?!”
“In the kitchen!”
“Something smells good,” he said, entering the room. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, but I couldn’t do nothing. Besides, I was hungry,” she confessed with an impish grin. She thrust a large salad bowl into his hands. “Here, put this on the table. Oh, and get the bread, too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, giving her a mock salute.
“Keep it up and you won’t get anything to eat.”
He grumbled good-naturedly into the dining room. A few minutes later she entered carrying the spaghetti and sauce. She frowned and said, “I think I overdid the portions. I’ve lived with the Scoobies for so long that I don’t know how to cook for two.”
“Just means leftovers for tomorrow,” he said, fixing his plate. “My team wants to meet you so I suggested dinner later in the week.”
“Sounds fine. I’m just surprised they would want to.”
“They didn’t say it in so many words, but I figured it would be easier than answering all of their questions.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Not much,” he assured her. “Your name, why you were here, an edited version of how we met.”
She nodded her head and began eating.
Jack spent the meal reveling in the simple domesticity of it. The whole situation felt… right. Not that he wanted her to stay at home all day and have dinner waiting for him. It was the sharing of a home-cooked meal, however simple the fare, and the simple talk of inane events. He would probably have gotten the same feeling if he had done the cooking.
XXXXXXXX
The next morning, Buffy blinked as sunlight entered her room. Without her usual night activities and a normal bedtime, she nearly always woke with the rising of the sun, fully rested. It had been the first night since the… accident that her sleep hadn’t been plagued with nightmares. She was sure that Jack would be thankful for it. He had been there for her every time the previous three nights.
She concentrated and heard Jack moving around. Deciding to go ahead and get up before Jack tempted her with food again, she rolled out of bed. The one problem she always had with him – he kept trying to get her to eat. He kept thinking that she needed to eat as much as he did and that seemed like all the time. Really, she was good with just one meal a day and the occasional snacking.
Buffy wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she opened the door. Consequently she didn’t know anyone was there until she ran into him or her. “Sorry, Jack,” she murmured. However, her attitude changed when her eyes were open and she could clearly see whom she had bumped into.
The slayer grabbed the stranger by the throat and shoved him against the wall. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“It’s me, Buffy.”
“Huh? I don’t know you.”
“Jack. It’s me, Jack,” he said, pulling futilely at the hands holding him.
Her eyes narrowed as they swept over the obvious teenage body. “Funny kid, pull the other one. Who are you?”
“I’m Jack O’Neill.”
“I hate to tell you, but your cover sucks. Jack is a bit older than you and waay better looking.”
The boy looked surprised and then a familiar half-grin appeared on his face. “You think I’m good-looking?”
“So not the issue here,” she said, and looked like she’d say more, but stopped. She studied his eyes for a long moment and then let out a small gasp of recognition. “Jack?”
“Yes! Me! Can you let me go? Your slayer strength makes it hard to breathe.”
She released him, but stayed close. “How?”
“I don’t know. I just woke up like this,” Jack said, gesturing to himself. His adult-sized clothes hung loosely on his smaller, teenage frame. “Hey, this isn’t funny!”
“But you’re so cute!” She said between her giggles.
“I don’t want to be cute, I want to be me!” He yelled, clearly upset with the situation.
“Sorry,” she said, unsuccessfully hiding her laughter.
“No you’re not,” he shot back. He ran a restless hand through his now brown hair. “Could magic do this?”
“Probably,” she said, calming down from the initial shock.
“Are you sure nobody knows you’re here?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Just thinking this could have been meant for you or a way to incapacitate your good-looking friend.”
“I have one of those?” She glibly asked.
He glared at her. “Well, could there be someone out there to do this?”
“I’ll have to do some research, which will be hard enough. I’ve never had to do this alone before. But Willow has a database online that I can look through. Where’s your computer?” She asked, sliding easily into research mode.
“Office,” he said heading to his bedroom.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready for work.”
“You can’t go.”
“And why, pray tell, not?” He asked.
“You are in a sixteen year old body. I think they’ll notice.”
“Ya think?”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “I think you should stay home until we fix this.”
“I can’t. If I don’t show up, they’ll get suspicious and come here to investigate. I can’t call off because I never do that. The worst that will happen is they’ll throw me in a cell until I convince them who I am.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Why?”
“I don’t think the military would believe you no matter what,” she said in exasperation. “This is not normal.”
“It’s more normal than you’d think,” he shot back without thinking.
She froze. “What does that mean?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Her eyes grew frosty. “Fine, but if they shoot you on sight, don’t blame me.” Then she stomped down the hall and slammed the door to his office.
Jack sighed and cursed whoever had done this to him. He knew Buffy needed time to cool off so he went to change.
By: Polgara
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters. They belong to their respective creators and distributors.
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 Two
The rest of the weekend passed quietly. Jack was awakened every night by Buffy’s cries and he would hold her until she fell back asleep. In the morning she would thank him with a shy smile and hug. Then they’d spend the day talking and watching TV.
Monday morning arrived all too quickly. Jack smiled as she waved bye as he backed out of his driveway to go to work. On his way he went over what he was going to say to Hammond. He knew that his sanity was at stake.
Once he arrived at the base, he went straight to General Hammond’s office and shut the door behind him. “General.”
“Jack? What seems to be the problem?” The bald man asked, taking in the other’s slightly agitated demeanor.
“I need to ask a favor. A big one,” Jack said, sitting down in one of the chairs.
“What kind of favor?”
”I need for you to grant clearance to a civilian friend of mine.”
“Colonel…”
“I know it’s unusual, sir, but hear me out.”
“Alright, Jack. Let’s hear it,” Hammond said.
Jack leaned forward until his elbows were resting on his knees. “She’s going to be staying at my place for the next month or so while she works out some personal matters. My unusual comings and goings are going to raise suspicions and I know she won’t rest until she learns the truth. And believe me, sir, if she wants to find out about this place nothing will be able to stop her.”
“Why would you allow someone like that to stay with you?”
“Because she is a close friend. We’ve always been there for each other, I can’t let her down. No, I take that back. I refuse to let her down.”
“Then I’ll ground you for the duration of her stay,” Hammond said.
“General, you know you can’t do that. Not with Anubis out there. You need me and my team on the frontline,” Jack said, standing up.
“Jack, you have to understand that this is a highly unusual request. I can’t grant her access without a damn good reason, and so far you haven’t provided one that I can’t circumvent.”
“She’s been granted access to another project before. I don’t know which one, she wouldn’t tell me,” Jack said, pacing in the small office. “She could be an asset while she’s here. I know her and she’s going to be bored in a week, but still won’t be ready to go home.”
Hammond sighed. “An asset?”
“Yes, sir,” Jack said, stilling his movements. “Trust me when I tell you that she’ll take all of this in stride. Won’t faze her a bit.”
“Just who is she?” Hammond asked, slightly curious now despite himself. Jack rarely talked about others like this, especially one from his past.
“Buffy Summers.”
“Her name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“I’m not surprised. But we could use her here.” Jack grinned. “I believe there’s an opening on SG-13.”
“Colonel Dixon’s team? I don’t know, Jack.”
Jack pressed the heel of his hand into his eye. “Can you at least get the clearance and meet her?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.”
XXXXXXXX
Jack smiled to himself as he headed to his favorite hiding place on the base – his office. He rarely spent time there so it was always the last place that anyone looked for him. It wasn’t that he was in the mood to hide per se, but more of an avoidance of his team. He knew that they were going to have questions about who Buffy was and how she knew him, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to answer those questions.
She had been a private part of his life for so long that he hated to lose it now. Their relationship was rather complex and he wasn’t sure if his team would understand. Oh, they’d support him for sure and would make every effort to be her friend, but they’d never fully appreciate how much she had done to help him keep his sanity and vice versa.
Not to mention Buffy was unusual in her own right. On the surface she appeared to be a normal twenty-five year old, but her years as a slayer had turned her into a hardened veteran on the inside. Most people never really got her.
He grabbed a notepad and sat down, propping his feet up on his desk. His thoughts were definitely lighter than earlier that morning. If Buffy joined the SGC, it would serve several purposes.
He had told Hammond the truth about Buffy. She was a woman of action and with nothing to keep her company during the day but her grief, she would get restless. A place at the SGC would provide a distraction and something useful to do while she worked through this.
Since she would finally be privy to his job, he would finally be able to tell her everything. He’d be able to tell the truth about Daniel’s absence and his return. He could only hope that she received the clearance before his team met her so he wouldn’t have to lie first.
There was another upside to this. There was a strong possibility that the temporary appointment would tempt her into a more permanent position. She was not anymore suited for a desk job than he was. The slayer was a creature of action and Buffy had spent seven years on the frontline. He knew that he position in the Watcher’s Council caused her to spend less and less time in the field. She had confided in him only a few weeks earlier that she sort of missed the old days. And if she stayed it meant that he had the chance to form a romantic relationship with her. Not that he’d try anything now, that would be just downright rude. But later, after her heart had a chance to heal. Maybe then.
His office door opened and he smiled innocently as his team entered and shut the door behind them. “Hey, guys.”
“Told you he’d be here,” Daniel said smugly to Sam and Teal’c. He sent a smirk towards Jack. “You’re going to have to find a new hiding spot.”
“Gees, Daniel. Only took you six years,” Jack said, doodling on the notepad that rested on his legs.
“So?” Sam asked, curiosity burning in her eyes.
“So what, Carter?” He asked, never looking up.
“Who is she?”
“Who is who?”
“I believe Major Carter refers to the distressed woman who arrived unexpectedly on Friday night,” Teal’c said, effectively ending Jack and Sam’s banter.
“She’s just an old friend,” Jack said with a shrug, his attention firmly on the dog he was drawing.
“How old?” Sam asked.
“Knew her from before… before Charlie…”
“What’s her name?” Daniel asked, switching the line of questioning slightly. He knew that the subject of Charlie was still a sore spot for his friend.
“Buffy Summers,” Jack said with a small smile.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. Sorry, Daniel.”
“How did you meet?” Sam asked. It was rare that Jack was willing to speak about anything in his past and she and the others were taking full advantage of it.
Jack’s smile faded slightly. This was one of those questions he was not going to be able to answer honestly. Really, how was he supposed to explain to them that she had saved him from a vampire when she was only seventeen? There were way too many problems with that statement. So he gave them the next best thing – a half-truth. “We were both in L.A., random meeting, and we’ve just kept in touch over the years.”
Daniel sensed that Jack wasn’t going to speak anymore than that on it. He respected his friend’s privacy and changed the topic again. “What was wrong on Friday? She seemed to be very upset.”
“Her baby sister had been killed in a car wreck,” Jack said, putting the finishing touches on the dog. “They had been very close since Buffy had been raising her since their mother died five years ago.”
“That’s awful,” Sam said, knowing how hard it was to lose a parent. “How old was the sister?”
“Dawn was nineteen.” He paused in his drawing to rub his eyes. “Buffy will be staying with me for a while.”
“Is there anyway we may provide assistance?”
“Not at the moment, T. But maybe you guys could come over for dinner later in the week? It’ll be good for her.”
“Sure, sir,” Sam said, moving to the door. “I’ve got to get back to the lab.” She was still curious, but she was hoping to get more info out of Buffy when they had dinner.
With a slight inclination of his head, Teal’c followed her out, leaving Daniel alone with Jack. It was several long moments before Daniel asked, “How come you’ve never mentioned her before?”
Jack sighed and looked up at him. “It’s complicated.”
“Try me,” Daniel said, giving no indication that he was going to back down from this. In fact, there was a stubborn set to his jaw clearly saying he wasn’t leaving until he got a satisfactory answer.
“If it’s any consolation, her friends still don’t know that I exist,” Jack said, stalling.
“Won’t they worry?”
“A little, but she left a note explaining that she’d be back when she was ready.”
“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell us,” Daniel said. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are. It’s just… Buffy and I have complicated lives and it was kind of nice to have someone out there who didn’t depend on you or expect certain behavior. We could vent to each other, give or receive comfort, find a grounding. We never told anyone because we were selfish about it.”
Daniel smiled softly. “I think I understand. So how often do you visit or even talk?”
“We talk once a month, if possible. The visits are harder to arrange. Those were usually reserved for big events,” Jack said, drawing a person with the dog.
“And the last visit?”
“Was after you died.”
“Uh, Jack. How are you going to explain me?”
“Haven’t figured that part out yet, Danny-boy. But I’ll let you know when I do.”
XXXXXXXX
Buffy heard Jack’s truck pull into the driveway as she finished setting the table. She headed back into the kitchen to drain the spaghetti. The front door opened and she could hear him enter.
“Buffy?!”
“In the kitchen!”
“Something smells good,” he said, entering the room. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, but I couldn’t do nothing. Besides, I was hungry,” she confessed with an impish grin. She thrust a large salad bowl into his hands. “Here, put this on the table. Oh, and get the bread, too.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, giving her a mock salute.
“Keep it up and you won’t get anything to eat.”
He grumbled good-naturedly into the dining room. A few minutes later she entered carrying the spaghetti and sauce. She frowned and said, “I think I overdid the portions. I’ve lived with the Scoobies for so long that I don’t know how to cook for two.”
“Just means leftovers for tomorrow,” he said, fixing his plate. “My team wants to meet you so I suggested dinner later in the week.”
“Sounds fine. I’m just surprised they would want to.”
“They didn’t say it in so many words, but I figured it would be easier than answering all of their questions.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Not much,” he assured her. “Your name, why you were here, an edited version of how we met.”
She nodded her head and began eating.
Jack spent the meal reveling in the simple domesticity of it. The whole situation felt… right. Not that he wanted her to stay at home all day and have dinner waiting for him. It was the sharing of a home-cooked meal, however simple the fare, and the simple talk of inane events. He would probably have gotten the same feeling if he had done the cooking.
XXXXXXXX
The next morning, Buffy blinked as sunlight entered her room. Without her usual night activities and a normal bedtime, she nearly always woke with the rising of the sun, fully rested. It had been the first night since the… accident that her sleep hadn’t been plagued with nightmares. She was sure that Jack would be thankful for it. He had been there for her every time the previous three nights.
She concentrated and heard Jack moving around. Deciding to go ahead and get up before Jack tempted her with food again, she rolled out of bed. The one problem she always had with him – he kept trying to get her to eat. He kept thinking that she needed to eat as much as he did and that seemed like all the time. Really, she was good with just one meal a day and the occasional snacking.
Buffy wiped the sleep out of her eyes as she opened the door. Consequently she didn’t know anyone was there until she ran into him or her. “Sorry, Jack,” she murmured. However, her attitude changed when her eyes were open and she could clearly see whom she had bumped into.
The slayer grabbed the stranger by the throat and shoved him against the wall. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“It’s me, Buffy.”
“Huh? I don’t know you.”
“Jack. It’s me, Jack,” he said, pulling futilely at the hands holding him.
Her eyes narrowed as they swept over the obvious teenage body. “Funny kid, pull the other one. Who are you?”
“I’m Jack O’Neill.”
“I hate to tell you, but your cover sucks. Jack is a bit older than you and waay better looking.”
The boy looked surprised and then a familiar half-grin appeared on his face. “You think I’m good-looking?”
“So not the issue here,” she said, and looked like she’d say more, but stopped. She studied his eyes for a long moment and then let out a small gasp of recognition. “Jack?”
“Yes! Me! Can you let me go? Your slayer strength makes it hard to breathe.”
She released him, but stayed close. “How?”
“I don’t know. I just woke up like this,” Jack said, gesturing to himself. His adult-sized clothes hung loosely on his smaller, teenage frame. “Hey, this isn’t funny!”
“But you’re so cute!” She said between her giggles.
“I don’t want to be cute, I want to be me!” He yelled, clearly upset with the situation.
“Sorry,” she said, unsuccessfully hiding her laughter.
“No you’re not,” he shot back. He ran a restless hand through his now brown hair. “Could magic do this?”
“Probably,” she said, calming down from the initial shock.
“Are you sure nobody knows you’re here?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Just thinking this could have been meant for you or a way to incapacitate your good-looking friend.”
“I have one of those?” She glibly asked.
He glared at her. “Well, could there be someone out there to do this?”
“I’ll have to do some research, which will be hard enough. I’ve never had to do this alone before. But Willow has a database online that I can look through. Where’s your computer?” She asked, sliding easily into research mode.
“Office,” he said heading to his bedroom.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready for work.”
“You can’t go.”
“And why, pray tell, not?” He asked.
“You are in a sixteen year old body. I think they’ll notice.”
“Ya think?”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “I think you should stay home until we fix this.”
“I can’t. If I don’t show up, they’ll get suspicious and come here to investigate. I can’t call off because I never do that. The worst that will happen is they’ll throw me in a cell until I convince them who I am.”
“You can’t do that!”
“Why?”
“I don’t think the military would believe you no matter what,” she said in exasperation. “This is not normal.”
“It’s more normal than you’d think,” he shot back without thinking.
She froze. “What does that mean?”
“I can’t tell you.”
Her eyes grew frosty. “Fine, but if they shoot you on sight, don’t blame me.” Then she stomped down the hall and slammed the door to his office.
Jack sighed and cursed whoever had done this to him. He knew Buffy needed time to cool off so he went to change.
