Chapter Ten

Jacob Carter was a man who had always been sure of himself and where he stood. His whole life had been dedicated to two things. His country and his family, despite what his son had always believed. He had never been prone to emotion. A career military man from a long line of career military men, he had been groomed for the military life practically from the cradle, and emotions were something that had never been particularly encouraged in his life. Now, though, in the face of everything he had just been told, he found himself forced to acknowledge his failure as a father to his youngest child.

Falling in love with Rebecca had taken him by such complete surprise. She had been loving and understanding and had done more than her part in helping him balance his military and home life.

She had also balanced him in ways that he had never conceived of before. When he would have followed the family tradition, and prepared Mark for military life, Rebecca had put her foot down and decreed that their son would have the freedom to choose what he wanted to do with his life.

His son's resentment and animosity for the military began at an early age. He hated how it took Jacob from his family for unknowable lengths of time, and how his mother constantly worried if he would come home or not. He hated that Jacob would get a phone call and leave without looking back, missing birthdays and ball games, anniversaries and graduations.

Then, Sam had been born, and she had been everything that Mark hadn't been. Despite the glaring genius IQ that she had tested at when she was young, she was also highly athletic and absolutely enthralled with everything about his career. Jacob had quickly realized that it was his daughter that was destined to follow in his footsteps, not his son.

He answered every question she asked of him, told her every story that she wanted to hear, and in the process, instilled a love for the service that equaled her brother's disdain. He taught her to be dedicated to her duty, to bury her emotion when necessary. Rebecca had drawn the line at teaching her to disconnect from her emotions completely.

He had been surprised, though not unpleasantly so, at the news of a third child. Now, he finds out that some omniscient being altered their lives to give them that third child, and he honestly didn't know what to feel about that.

Rebecca's death had destroyed him. Mark's blaming him for placing his duty over his family once again and choosing to answer the summons of his superiors rather than drive his beloved wife to the doctor as he had promised, had not helped matters in the least. There are still times when the pain and emptiness in his soul where she had been, threatened to swallow him whole. It had been so hard to keep going in those early days. Burying himself in his work had been the only way he could cope.

Then, the doctors had told him of the low odds of survival for the infant daughter that his beloved wife had fought so hard to bring into the world before she was forced to leave it herself.

In his desperation to spare himself the agony of losing that final piece of his love, he disconnected himself completely, deaf to the pleas of his daughter and the outrage of his son.

Although he had seriously considered putting the child up for adoption, a fifteen year old Sam had flat-out refused to let him. She'd sworn that she would not be separated from her baby sister, no matter what she had to do. The look on her then-expressive face had made it blatantly clear that, even if he sent the baby away without her knowledge, the young genius would use every skill she possessed to track her sister down, no matter what it took.

In the end, although he contributed financially, and through the personal screening of the specialized nannies hired, it was Sam that raised his youngest child. Sam who had studied everything the doctors and specialists suggested to help her sister.

- (mini) Flashback -

He had even been surprised when he went to visit the baby on day, only to find that his elder daughter had taken the child from the children's ward, into an empty room, where a 'Do Not Disturb' sign hung. All the shades had been drawn and he could tell that all of the lighting was also off.

"What is going on?" He'd asked.

"Oh, Mr. Carter, hello." A perky nurse greeted him.

He nodded in response. "What is Sam doing in there with the baby?"

"Ahh, Samantha takes little Elizabeth in there for an hour or so each day for a respite from the constant stimuli. We try to keep Elizabeth as isolated as possible, but no one here has the available time to do something like that. It helps the baby very much."

She lifted a small television on top of the desk and turned it towards him. On it was an image that he would never forget. In the darkened room, barely illuminated by a night light, Sam was stretched out on the bed, and her little sister cuddled on her chest with her little head over Sam's heart, suckling contented on one fist while the other clutched a tiny handful of blond hair. He could just barely tell that she wasn't wearing her shirt, but it was dark enough to hide anything.

- End Flashback -

Now, as he watched his two daughters, regret for the self-preserving actions that had so distanced him from his youngest child, had never been so strong in his heart.

He watched as Elizabeth laid her head down on her girlfriend's shoulder (something else that caused tension between them) as she and Sam talked to the all-powerful beings that had told him bluntly that, in their opinion, they did not consider him a worthy decision maker in the upcoming events of her life because of his neglectful behavior.

"Yo, hold up," Jordan suddenly interrupted as the magnitude of what they were discussing dawned on her. "You telling me that we gotta go to cloudland with you guys, to get superpowers like we used to have, to fight the big fight again? I thought we were done with all that when we came here."

"You were supposed to be." Eli told her. "I agreed, well, Buffy agreed, to take up the fight again when she saw what this dimension was fighting against. Having the chance to rest, and have a real actual childhood before taking up the mantle again, really helped, but she knew that she'd never be able to just sit back if she ever found out what was going on, and being placed as Sam's sister, it was almost guaranteed that I'd eventually find out, even if it was by some simple means as being kidnapped and used against her. You were supposed to have a normal life, but the Powers That Suck screwed us again."

"Are you sure that you want to do this, you two?" Jack asked. "I don't care who or what they are. If you don't want to go, we won't let them force you."

"It's okay, Jack, really." Eli reassured him. "I wanted to help anyway, even before regaining the 'Buffy' memories. I was planning to talk to Sam about working here as a Civilian Consultant, like Daniel."

"When do they have to leave?" Janet asked.

Jacob could see that Sam really didn't want her sister to go. She was gripping Elizabeth's had like the girl would disappear at any moment. Elizabeth gave no indication of it, however, obviously knowing that the elder Carter wouldn't want what she would consider to be a weakness to be seen by the 'strangers' in their midst. For Sam's sake, if nothing else, he wanted to force Elizabeth to say no to these 'people' and what they were demanding of her.

"When the darkness settles."

Jack looked at Sam for a translation.

"At sunset, sir."

"Why does it have to be you?" Jacob finally asked, drawing everyone's attention.

"Like you care." Jordan snorted disdainfully. "You haven't given a shit about Eli since she was a baby, and now you're acting all dad-like. Gimme a break."

Jacob bristled at the blatant derision in her voice. That was one of the things he disliked most about his daughter's 'girlfriend'. She had absolutely no respect. What was worse, was that he knew that her disrespect was only for him, and not for elders or authority figures in general. After all, she respected her sister-in-law just fine, as well the members of SG-1 and General Hammond. It was just him that she didn't like, and she let a chance pass to remind him of that.

"Jordan," Elizabeth spoke up before he could respond, "not now, honey." She turned to her father. "It's me because I, when I was still Buffy, accepted their offer, and this was a part of it. It's me because I already wanted to help, even before I knew about the 'deal'. It's me because by some cosmic fluke, I ended up being one of the best available for the job, and I was needed. Take your pick. None of those answers really matter to you in the long run, though. The absolutely truth of it is, it's me cause I have made the choice to accept all of those reasons I just listed."

"And Jordan?" Janet asked. "What choice did she have?"

This time, it was Jordan that answered. "Faith did some bad things before, Jan. She was really fucked up, but that was no excuse. Those PTB guys let her come, because Buffy asked, and because she had been constantly steered in directions that keep her emotionally and mentally fragile. She was a ticking time bomb just waiting for the right fuse. If the things that she'd done had happened before she'd been called, then the Powers wouldn't have cared, but since they happened after, it falls under their jurisdiction. The Powers decided that she needed to atone for her crimes, and for her abuse of her Slayer Powers. Regardless of the new life and the personality, on the inside, I'm still Faith, just like she's still Buffy, so it's all on me instead."

Most of the occupants in the room looked at Jordan in surprise. They had never heard her speak so eloquently (sort of) before. She was the brash, arrogant teen that most parents warned their children not to hang around with. Only Sam, Eli and Janet knew how intelligent Jordan really was underneath the attitude and leather.

"So, basically what you're saying is that this Faith girl fucked up, and you're paying for it?" Jack asked bluntly. "How is that fair?"

"The Powers are all about Balance, Jack," Eli told him, "not fairness."