Chapter 3: Birthday
March 1999
Dawn was the first to wake up, it was the day before her and Buffy's birthday and she was excited. Aunt Janet and Cassie were throwing her and Buffy a little party tonight at their house. Then Sam was going to take them to the SGC tomorrow for a bigger party with some of her co-workers, such as Jack, Daniel and Teal'c.
Dawn walked into the living room and turned on the TV to watch some cartoons while she waited for Buffy and Sam to get up.
Sam was the next to wake up. She heard the TV and knew that likely Dawn was up. Sam knew that Dawn would usually watch a little TV while she waited for her and Buffy to get up. Sam wasn't quite sure why but Buffy always slept later than Dawn did.
An hour later Sam was dropping Buffy and Dawn off at school when she heard a rap on the driver side window. She decided to roll it down, "Yes?"
The man smiled at her, "Major Carter?" He asked as Sam nodded. "I am Principal Wood. If you have a minute I would like to talk to you about Buffy and Dawn in my office."
Sam nodded and turned off the engine and followed the man in to the school and in to his office. She watched as Principal Wood walked behind his desk and she sat in a chair opposite him. "What's this about?" she asked. "They haven't been getting in trouble have they?"
Principal smiled as he looked at Sam and then shook his head, "No, nothing like that. Well Buffy and Dawn's teacher has been noticing lately that the two of them have been getting, shall we say bored. Their acing every single subject. In fact we are beginning to think they should skip a grade. Before we decide to do that we would like to give them an IQ test as well as some performance tests to see what level they are at."
Sam thought for a moment and wondered if the reason the girls were getting bored was cause they had gone through this stuff once before. Still she wasn't sure since Joyce had told her that their memories had been more or less suppressed and had been given new memories of living with her. "That would be fine. When were you thinking of doing it?"
Principal Wood smiled. "Today if you have no objections."
"I have no objections," Sam said. "You have my number. You will call me when you have the results so we can decide the next course of action?"
"Of course." Principal Wood replied.
Sam nodded and stood up as she shook Principal Wood's hand and left.
Later that afternoon SG-1 was in a briefing for their mission the next day.
Sam looked at George Hammond and sighed, "Sir, we will be back quickly. Tomorrow is Buffy and Dawn's birthday."
General Hammond nodded and smiled, "Of course you should only be gone an hour or two. I'm looking forward to it myself. I'd would of brought my granddaughters if they had been cleared to come here."
Sam nodded and smiled as Walter walked in, "Sorry to interrupt. Major there is a call for you from a Principal Wood at Buffy and Dawn's school."
"You can take it in my office, Major," Hammond said.
Sam nodded and stood up, "Thank you General."
She stepped in to the General's office and walked over to the phone on his desk and picked it up. "Principal Wood? This is Major Carter."
"Ah good, Major. We have the results of the tests. First the IQ's, Buffy's is 178. Dawn's is 174." Principal Wood said.
Sam looked at the door and noticed everyone was standing at the door to the office, "Just a minute Principal Wood." Sam put the phone to her chest, "Buffy and Dawn were finding school too easy. So the Principal arranged for IQ and performance tests. Buffy's IQ is 178, and Dawn's IQ is 174." She then switched the phone to speakerphone, "And the performance tests, Principal Wood?"
"They're both at Sophmore level. With your permission we would like to enroll them in high school courses next year." Principal Wood replied.
"Of course you have my permission," Sam said excitedly. She was very proud of her daughters at that moment. "Thank you Principal Wood." She hung up the phone and turned back to face General Hammond, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c. "That's like wow. I knew they shared my DNA from what Joyce said. But I didn't know that would contribute to them have a genius level IQ. At this rate they could graduate high school by the time their 12 or 13 years old."
Jack laughed. "Yep they will be a regular Doogie Howser."
That night Buffy and Dawn were getting ready for the party at Janet's house when Sam walked in. "Girls I have some news."
Buffy and Dawn turned to look at their mother, "What is it?" Dawn asked.
Sam smiled at her daughters. "I talked to your Principal this morning, and then again this afternoon. Do you remember those tests you took today?"
Buffy and Dawn nodded, "Yeah?" Buffy said.
"Well those tests were to determine what grade you would be best suited in. You see your teacher noticed how bored you two were with your classes and she, the Principal and I decided to give you those tests. You both have a very high IQ and you tested at high school sophomore levels. The Principal asked me if I would allow you to skip a few grades next school year and I told him yes. Starting next school year the two of you will be going to high school."
Buffy and Dawn were ecstatic as they hugged Sam, "Thank you mom." They said together.
An hour later they were standing at Janet's door having just rang the doorbell. They could hear footsteps inside before the door opened and Janet appeared in the doorway. "Happy Birthday, Buffy, Dawn." Janet said.
Buffy smiled, "Thanks Aunt Janet."
"Thanks, Aunt Janet." Dawn said as Janet led them in to the house and waved at Cassie who waved back.
They decided to eat dinner first before opening the girl's presents. "Mom why don't you tell Aunt Janet the news you got today." Buffy said.
Janet looked to Sam as her eyebrows raised. "News?"
Sam laughed and smiled at her daughters. "I got called in to the Principal's Office about these two, today."
Janet frowned as she looked at Buffy and Dawn, "You two haven't been in trouble have you?"
Buffy and Dawn just laughed and shook their heads.
Sam smiled. "No they haven't. What they get to do starting next school year is take high school classes. The Principal of their school told me that they were bored with their lessons as if they were too easy. So we had an IQ and performance tests done. Their IQ is actually quite high and they test at sophomore levels. So they're going to start taking high school courses next year."
Janet smiled. "That's wonderful girls."
The next day Sam dropped the girls off at school and left for the base.
The moment Sam, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c stepped through the gate they knew something was wrong when they found themselves in 1969. They spent a few days trying to find a way back. Once they figured it out they stepped through the gate hoping to go home.
They step out of the wormhole into an empty Gate Room that looked like it might not have been used in years.
Jack looked around at the gate room, "Auntie Em? Auntie Em?"
"Where is everyone?" Sam asked as the bay doors slid open, and three elderly women in matching white dresses stepped into the Gate room.
"Hello Jack," one of the women said as she looked at Jack.
"Hello, Mom," the other two said as they looked at Sam.
Startled, Jack turned to stare at the woman who spoke to him as Sam turned to stare at the other two who had spoken to her. They watched as the three women walked up to the base of the ramp, looking at them with amazement and delight.
"Teal'c?" one of the women said. "Daniel? I hardly recognized you with hair."
Sam looked at Daniel and Teal'c, both of whom look completely puzzled as Jack stepped forward cautiously. "Do…do we know you?" Jack asked.
One of the women smiled and nodded. "Sam will recognize us. Especially those two," she pointed at the other two women, "I doubt she would forget her own children. Come closer."
They slowly walked down to the base of the ramp. As Sam reached the three woman, she looked at them long and hard before a smile came to her face and her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh my God. Cassandra! Buffy! Dawn!"
Cassie, Buffy and Dawn laughed. "Dear Sam," Cassie said.
Buffy and Dawn smiled."Hi, mom." They said again.
Jack tapped Sam on the shoulder. "Excuse me. Who are they?" he asked.
Sam took a step back from the 3 women. "Cassandra, Buffy, and Dawn."
Jack shook his head, "Cassie's thirteen years old and Buffy and Dawn just turned eleven."
"Not anymore, Jack," Cassie said. "We've been expecting you …our whole lives, in fact. You entered the Stargate a few seconds too soon, so the flare threw you far into the future. We've come to send you back where you belong."
"How did you know we'd come here?" Daniel asked, skeptically.
Buffy held up an envelope. "Sam wrote me, Cassie and Dawn a letter that she gave us when Dawn and I turned 18. Explaining everything, that we would be the ones to send you home."
"Like a self-fulfilling prophecy," Sam stated.
Cassie nodded and smiled. "Mm-hmm," she said. "As much as we would love to spend more time with you, the timing must be precise. You have to go."
"Already?" Sam asked with a sigh. "But there's so much that you all…"
Cassie shook her head. "You of all people know we can't."
Buffy and Dawn hugged Sam tightly. "Bye mom it was good seeing you again," said Dawn. "And thank you for protecting us for all those years. We will tell you this because you put it in the letter; you will find a way to separate it from me."
Sam nodded as Cassie lifted her hand and traced a finger around a stone on a bracelet. The stone lit up with a green glow as the wormhole activated again. This time though there was no plume, and the chevrons didn't spin. The wormhole simply filled in the center of the ring as Sam took her GDO out of her bag, keying in the activation code.
"I will tell you this, your journey is just beginning," said Cassie.
Jack looked at Sam as he, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c walked up towards the Stargate, "Separate what from Dawn?"
"The Key," Sam replied. She stopped as and looked back at her daughters and smiled. "I love you."
"We know, mom," said Buffy as Sam turned and followed Jack, Daniel and Teal'c into the Stargate.
As SG-1 exited the wormhole they found General Hammond waiting along with Buffy and Dawn. Sam looked at General Hammond, "Sir, after the briefing can I have a word with you in private?" she asked.
George Hammond nodded. "Of course, Major." He said as Buffy and Dawn ran into Sam's waiting arms.
An hour later after the briefing Sam and General Hammond sat in his office, "What can I do for you, Major?"
Sam sighed. "Sir when we left 1969 we traveled into the future by accident as you know from the briefing. Before leaving Dawn told me that I would find a way to remove the Key from her."
"Why would she do that?" General Hammond asked, as a frown creased his face. "It could possibly change their timeline."
"They said I wrote it in the letter that I gave them and Cassie explaining what will happen to SG-1," Sam said. "So I guess them telling me was like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Anyways the reason I say all this is because I want to start research on doing just that. It's my birthday gift to Dawn. If I thought I could remove the Slayer from Buffy I would research that also."
General Hammond nodded. "Maybe you should anyways. Maybe that's why they were sent to you instead of Daniel, Jack, Teal'c or even myself, because you could do that for the both of them. From what you told us, from Joyce, it sounded like they went through a lot in their original reality. I would say they deserve the possibility to live a normal life. Permission granted, Major. This is of course all off the record, seeing how none but SG-1, Jacob, and myself knows about Buffy and Dawn. I hope you succeed."
That evening while everyone was at the party for Buffy and Dawn, Sam was in her lab. She was writing a letter to Cassie, Buffy and Dawn. She smiled as she finished the letter and locks it in her safe, glad that her daughters would live a long healthy life. She turned to her computer and pulled up the blood work she had done on Dawn and Buffy after Joyce told her who they were. "Log 1. Key Experiment …"
