A/N: Now on to chapter 1! I don't know if they ever mentioned Joyce's maiden-name so I made one up :p
Chapter 1 – Last Testament
Mr. Hank Summers was not happy to be in Sunnydale. He was currently in the middle of a big case and he didn't need to waste valuable time helping to arrange his ex-wife's affairs. Now he was expected to take care of his daughter – who had stopped talking to him a long time ago. He had enough to deal with as it was.
Hank arrived at the lawyer's office, finding his daughter already there. Along with another man, who Hank had a dim recollection of; what was he doing accompanying his daughter to Joyce's reading?
"Ah, Mr. Summers, I'm sorry to be meeting you understand these circumstances," said the lawyer.
"I thought the reading of the will is for family members only," Hank snapped, glaring at the other man, who had rested a hand on Buffy's shoulder when Hank had entered the room.
"Ah, yes, well, Mr. Giles is mentioned in the will so his presence is valid. All we need to do is wait for Mr. O'Neill."
The men in the room looked at the lawyer in confusion – but Buffy's head shot up in recognition.
"What? He's in mom's will?" she asked in astonishment. Hank looked at his daughter intently. When they were living in Los Angeles, Joyce had no friends with the last name O'Neill. He was about to ask her when the door opened.
A man in his forties walked in; he was tall with short greying hair and a military bearing. The man appeared confused to be here.
"Hi, I'm Jack O'Neill, I received a call from this office…"
"Welcome, Mr. O'Neill. Now that everyone is here, I will begin with the reading of Joyce Summers' last will and testament."
"I, Joyce Summers, being of sound mind and body do declare that this is my last will and testament and my wishes regarding the arrangement of my affairs. I leave my gallery to my daughter, Buffy Summers, under the management of Rupert Giles until such time that she is eighteen. I also leave the house to my daughter, under the supervision of her guardian."
"I thought long and hard over who should take care of Buffy, when I am gone. Even though my ex-husband, Hank Summers, has been her father for many years – I believe that placing her in his custody would not be in her best interest. Therefore, I declare that Jonathon O'Neill, her biological father, be given custody of our daughter, Buffy Summers. If he feels that he is unable to handle the responsibility the guardianship passes to Rupert Giles."
"My greatest wish is for Buffy to be well taken care of."
Silence filled the office as the occupants digested the news. Hank was stunned but as that wore off he only felt relief. He turned to his daughter, no…Buffy, and saw that it had been a long time since she had been his daughter. Without saying a word – he left.
Jack O'Neill remained stunned. It had been a long time since he had last heard the name Joyce Stanton -- seventeen years judging by Buffy's appearance. Though they had cared for each other, he and Joyce hadn't had a serious relationship. They had both married after their break-up and hadn't spoken to each other since.
Hadn't spoken of their daughter.
The lawyer handed Jack Buffy's birth certificate – and there under 'father of child' was his name. For the first time since entering the office, Buffy spoke.
"When I was born, mom had da…Hank take a paternity test. It came up negative – she said the only other man she had been with was you. If you want, we can have a paternity test done to make sure."
Jack O'Neill was stunned by the calm acceptance of …his daughter. Her mother had just died, and she found out she would be placed under the care of a complete stranger; a stranger that was her unknown biological father. A surge of pride filled him.
"No, Joyce wouldn't fake something like this. She was a good woman."
A ghost of a smile graced the blond's face.
"Yeah, she was."
Giles cleared his throat.
"Buffy, you've had a long day perhaps you should go home and rest. I'm sure Faith can help you with your…homework."
Jack looked at Giles curiously, noting the strange pause before finishing his statement. It was obvious that Buffy looked up to the man, though the colonel was unclear whom he was, though Joyce apparently had trusted him. Buffy saw his glance.
"This is my librarian, Rupert Giles – but I just call him Giles. He's become like a mentor to me and my friends. Giles, this is Jack O'Neill."
The two men shook hands, each wary of the other. The three left the building and stopped on the sidewalk. Buffy turned to Giles.
"Giles, could you head off without me. I want to talk to Jack for a little bit."
Giles hesitated and looked at Jack, who nodded. Giles sighed.
"Very well, but give me a call when you return home. And no extracurricular activities," he said sternly.
"Yes, sir," Buffy gibed, and saluted. That brought a grin to both of the men's faces.
Giles headed off in his joke that he called a car. Jack and Buffy began to walk slowly towards her house. For several minutes they walked in silence, each sneaking glances at the other. Finally, Jack broke the silence.
"You didn't seem all that surprised. You know, about this whole 'dad' thing."
Buffy regarded Jack for a moment.
"I found out when I was twelve. I was looking through my mom's things when I found my birth certificate. So I asked her."
Buffy shrugged and fell silent again.
"So you never tried to find me?" Jack asked, not looking Buffy in the eye. He wasn't sure why he cared, but he did.
"I…did actually. But I didn't think it was the right time."
Jack was about to ask why when he did the math in his head. It would have been around the time Charlie died. Buffy could tell by the look on Jack's face that he realized what she meant.
"I went to the funeral. My…brother looked like a good guy. I didn't think you'd want to meet me after…that – and then things happened in my life so…" Buffy trailed off, unsure of what else to say.
"So…" Jack started, "do you want to get to know me now?"
Buffy looked up in complete surprise – it really hadn't occurred to her that Jack would want to take her in. Anger rose in Jack, realizing that his daughter hadn't been getting any affection from her 'father'.
"You'd really want to? There was this thing at Hemery and I honestly didn't mean to burn down the gym, and those murder charges were totally unfounded and I ran away but for a very good reason, though I probably shouldn't have," Buffy babbled. Jack smiled – it sort of reminded him of space monkey when he got going.
Buffy grin fell.
"But…I can't leave Sunnydale."
"Why not? You can still talk with your friends and visit. And you'd love Colorado, and the daughter of a friend of mine would be going to school with you. And I could buy you shoes," O'Neill bargained with a grin, realizing from experience with Cassie that this was a bargain clincher.
His daughter gave him a full smile and he was stunned by just how beautiful it was.
This is my daughter, he thought with pride.
Buffy thought about her dad's offer. He seemed like a good guy, but she couldn't leave Sunnydale.
Faith could always take over here on the hellmouth, after all, I did it by myself for a year. It's not like vampires only appear on the hellmouth.
Buffy shook off her thoughts told her father she would think about his offer and headed home. She gave Giles and call and curled up in her mother's bed.
She began to dream.
Buffy watched the dream unfold through the eyes of one of her predecessors.
The Slayer stood in front of a large stone circle that at the centre appeared to ripple as if filled with water. The ripples vanished and in its place a red stone hung suspended. The Slayer bowed to the stone.
The scene changed and there were bodies everywhere, the Slayer lay dying as a being with glowing eyes approached her. On his hand was a device that held the stone at its centre.
Again the images changed and Buffy saw her father standing in front of the stone circle. From his mouth came the words, "Honour our treaty, child of the Slayer line, and together the Slayer and the Blood of the Universe can drive evil from the stars" and his eyes glowed red.
Buffy woke in a cold sweat. Outside the sun was shining and looking at the clock the slayer realized she had slept until noon. The dream replayed in her mind.
She reached for her phone and dialled her dad's cell.
"Hey, um…dad…I thought about what you said and the answer is yes."
"I want to go and live with you."
TBC
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