— Thor's Slayers —
Chapter Two
Of All the Gin Joints...
Chloe: Good eye there, Chloe! As it turns out, SG-10 was trapped on the edge of a black hole. However, five years after the events that left them in that quagmire, O'Neil and the rest of SG-1 had made it their mission to rescue them. SG-10's personnel were still alive, held in a near stasis because of the time dilation caused by the nearness of the black hole (yeah, some pretty weird science there). These events took place in the book, A Matter of Honor, which took place at some point in the seventh season of Stargate SG-1. To Boyd and his team, it had only been a few hours since being trapped so it had been quite a shock for him to come home and realize he'd missed five years of his daughter's early life.
Sorentia: Glad I'm not the only one to think so!
HowlnMadHowie: I honestly haven't decided how to address reactions to the existence of the supernatural or extraterrestrial from each of the two sides. I do not intend to add flashbacks, but likely an allusion or two. I do like to leave something to the reader's imagination. As for the rest, you'll just have to see.
Author's Notes: This is gonna be a long chapter, folks. A long chapter where not a whole lot actually happens. It will, however, provide a lot more details about what has been happening in the last couple of years for all the various BtVS and AtS characters, which is the reason I'm keeping it as one very long chapter as opposed to breaking it up. There will be occasional nods to Buffy season 8+ events, but I am not keeping the rest of the BtVS crowd following that cannon with any significant degree of accuracy. There won't be much Stargate activity yet, either. This chapter, beyond explaining more of what everyone's been up to, will also serve as part of the foundation for the coming story which is mostly: A) In what manner will Faith be involved with the SGC? and B) Buffy/Faith and C) How will B affect A? This chapter will have more to do with B, but also provide a starting point for C.
Since this chapter will be mostly about Fuffy, I'll be posting another chapter in just a few days. I've actually been able to write a lot while I'm at work and then putting it into the computer later. I was hoping to be writing about a chapter ahead of where I actually was, but I'm already close to being finished with chapter 4. Well anyways, here we go.
#
Faith locked the wood paneled door to her apartment before quickly descending the flight of stairs that led to the apartment's parking lot. She was running a wee bit late, but not enough to be overly concerned.
After the rousing game of paintball, she had driven home to her apartment to clean up before she went back out again to hit her favorite bar. She hadn't had a whole lot of time and in her desire to be on time had forgone any significant measures to appear fashionable and pretty herself up. Instead, she had donned another set of the BDUs that seemed to multiply in her closet. Most of her "civvie" clothes, as Boyd referred to them as, were either dirty or not entirely suitable for the kind of bar she was heading to. Besides, she thought with a smirk, I do love the reaction the uniform always makes.
Hopping into the gunmetal grey Subaru Outback she'd purchased six months ago, she quickly made her way out of the complex, hopping onto I-25 to make the quick journey to the Old Colorado City area.
Driving from her respectable apartment in a respectable part of town with her nice car she'd purchased with a scant 20,000 miles on it...it was a bit of a new experience for her. Never in her life had she believed she'd be ever living this well off. And she hadn't, not until she'd joined the Mayor's payroll.
The Mayor...
Even now, years after his death and all the general badness that was going on, she'd never be able to think of him as the evil snake monster. To her, Richard Wilkins III would always be 'Boss', the only man who had ever really given a damn about her at the time. But her current good fortune wasn't due to her service towards a man who could be called morally ambiguous at best and more often something closer to "evil snake-fuck". Instead, it was a result of the stipend she earned from the new Watcher's Council, one that she'd receive so long as she maintained vigilance over the local supernatural population, kept them in line, and stayed in contact. That stipend was supplemented by an allowance granted to her by the United States government as long as she was making active progress in her goal of becoming a member of the SGC. She wasn't rich, not even well-off, but she was comfortable and being on the government's payroll had some rockin' benefits.
As for her progress in becoming a member of the SGC...
It hadn't been easy. It had been fucking hard, more so than she'd ever expected. Who knew that the military bozos did more than shoot and look pretty in their uniforms?! She'd never given it a whole lot of thought, but that had sure changed when she'd been given a list of things she needed to know or be trained in before they'd even consider the possibility of maybe letting her so much as touch the Stargate. Faith might be able to box like a champ' or knock a guy's head off with a kick, but her Slayer abilities only gave her so much of an edge with everything else she needed to know.
She knew the different ways of killing vampires, knew some of the ways to kill the nastier or rarer demons. But first aid? Survival training? Navigating using a map and compass? Detecting IDEs? She had found herself out of her depth and might have floundered completely if not for the encouragement of the members of SG-1 or from Buffy and Wesley.
Faith's hands tightened around the wheel at the memories thinking of Wesley always brought to the surface. It hadn't been long after they had reconciled, as best they could at least, before Angel had made his move to destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn. That move which had left Gunn bleeding out on the streets while Angel, Spike, and Illyria fought the army the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart had raised against them. While they'd managed to come out of the ordeal with the smurf to show for it, Illyria's appearance didn't help the stab of pain and guilt she felt learning of Wesley's death at the hands of Cyvus Vale.
Faith breathed out slowly. It had been a long two years, but it had been two years that had given her time to grow a little. Yeah, she was still the big bad Faith, but she was more than that now, well a bit more. She smirked, remembering the creative use of her panties from the paintball game. She gave an internal shrug as she finally parked her car outside the fairly nondescript looking bar. A more mature Faith, perhaps, but still Faith in the end.
It had been a long two years but if all went well it should all pay off by the end of the month when she had a meeting planned with General Hammond and Major Paul Davis to determine her readiness through a battery of tests and assessments.
She was thinking far too much, she realized, and shook her head as if to clear it. It was time to think of other things. Hearing the music from inside, she nodded towards the frightened bouncer who was all too happy to let her in and be out of her way. She might be the Slayer and he might be a demon, but he should've learned by now that she was no threat to him, not here.
Walking past him, she walked into the newest, most popular, and only bar in Old Colorado City: Caritas.
#
Silence descended upon the bar the moment she had passed through the red door that marked the entrance to the club. The new Caritas was just that, new. It hadn't attracted a huge following yet, partly due to the relatively sparse demon and vampire population, and partly because the Slayer was well-known as a frequent visitor. And now, that Slayer had walked in...wearing a military uniform. Word of the Initiative had gone out quick through the supernatural underground and as a consequence, the military was no longer seen as a non-threat made up of walking happy-meals.
"Hey sweetcheeks! You get dolled up just for little ol' me?"
And just like that, the music and conversation were back at their normal volume and intensity.
Faith smiled. When it came to Lorne, it was hard not to smile. They'd become somewhat close since Lorne had left Los Angeles and decided to stick around with Faith. The Host had been at loose ends for some time after he'd killed Lindsey and hadn't particularly wanted to settle around any of the old Angel Investigations crowd, not after they'd asked him to kill for them. When everything went down in LA, it was Faith who'd reached out to him first, and she who invited him to join her in Colorado Springs.
No matter how sparse the demon population might be, where there were humans, there were demons, and they'd discovered the usefulness of having their own mini-Switzerland that came with both alcohol, karaoke, and a sanctuary spell.
"Hey gorgeous," Faith replied, stepping forward and giving the horned, green-skinned man a hug.
"Look at you, honey, all back from the war and everything," Lorne said, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in Faith's clothes.
"Nah, just paintball. Didn't want to be late. Is she here?" Faith asked, peering around at the various tables and booths in the dimly lit interior.
"Oh, honey," Lorne said, and took hold of Faith's shoulders and turned her around. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
Faith turned around and smiled. "Hey, B, how's tricks?"
Buffy had been driving for over ten hours and was ready to be done with it. Figuring out how to get from St. Louis to Colorado Springs had been a cinch, what with it being nearly a straight shot and all. But she hadn't realized that it didn't matter how simple of a drive it was, ten hours of driving was still ten hours of driving. She had been spoiled by airplanes, she realized, and once again lamented at the tiny excuse for an airport that Colorado Springs boasted. Sure, she could have flown to Denver, but that was a lot of driving too, right? Might as well drive the whole way, right?
Buffy fumed remembered Dawn's look of disbelief. Stupid driving, Buffy groused, and stupid cops and stupid speeding tickets. I saved their lives, the whole world even, and they decided to give me a ticket just because I was driving a little over the speed limit. In retrospect, maybe barreling down the highway at 95 miles per hour hadn't been the best idea. Thank god she was cute or she might've gotten more than just a speeding ticket, well, three speeding tickets anyhow. Stupid Kansas cops with nothing better to do.
Buffy sighed and eased the pressure she'd been exerting on the complaining steering wheel. She winced at the slight indentations her hand had left. Well there goes the deposit. She pouted, I guess that's why Dawn told me to take a rental.
She drove past a large building that was adorned with the distinctive Olympic rings and relaxed. Faith had told her that when she drove past the Olympic Training Center she'd practically be on Caritas' doorstep within five minutes. She finally took a moment to fully appreciate her surroundings. The downtown area, such as it was, was pretty lame. Not a shopping mall in sight. No wonder demons had no inclination to hang around here. But to the west...to the west were those purple mountains that songs were written about. Capped with white snow, they were a stunning feature of the landscape even as the day began to wane. Definitely a plus in Colorado Springs' favor.
#
A few minutes later, she walked past the car she recognized as Faith's and approached the club that had a bright neon yellow sign displaying 'Caritas.' There was a single entrance to the club that was being watched by what she believed to be a Brachen demon. He was already looking somewhat pale, looking into the club with a worried look. He wore blue jeans and a denim jacket. Ugh, Colorado. However...
"Where did you get your cowboy boots?" she asked in a pleasant, definitely non-threatening, voice.
He jerked in surprise when her voice cut the quiet, the sort of quiet that seemed ushered in by the darkening sky. He had been pale before, but now he went full out green and sprouted blue spines as he stumbled back. Called it, she thought smugly, but maybe I need to work on my non-threaten-y voice.
"Slay-y-yer," he stammered and held up his two hands in the universal gesture of 'please don't hurt, kill, or maim me' and made sure to stay clear of the club's entrance by way of an invitation.
Buffy sighed, knowing that she'd have to ask someone else where those fabulous shoes could be found and gave the man a friendly nod and entered the club without another word. It wasn't aggression, she knew, merely an instinctive fear when faced with the boogieman of the demon world and so she took no umbrage at his suddenly inhuman appearance.
Even if she couldn't ask him where he got those cowboy boots, sometimes, she reflected, passing the sign that displayed the cover charge, it's good to be the Slayer.
#
Buffy took a moment to get a first impression of Lorne's new club. It was fancy, showy but without that false glamour that made some clubs painfully garish. Red carpet, wooden stools and tables. A brass railing that lined the short ramp that led into the club. More brass in hanging lights and at the foot of the dark wooden bar. The club seemed distinctly "L" shaped, with Lorne's familiar karaoke stage at the end of the longest room. It felt warm, good, and the Sanctuary spell that she knew to be there meant it was also safe. It was no wonder that demons, humans, and Slayers alike found themselves here.
There were perhaps a dozen patrons at the moment, most of which were sitting at various corners of the room. She thought she saw a Devil and maybe an Ano-Movic demon, but was most distracted by the figure in front of her.
Her hair was shorter than before, Buffy noticed, just barely falling to her shoulders in loose brown curls. Faith wore a very military-y looking outfit and Buffy couldn't help the smirk at the image of Faith marching in formation while some Drill Sergeant yelled at her. But the smirk died when a smiling Faith was turned around by Lorne and Buffy returned the smile as she met the other girl's dark eyes.
Buffy frowned inwardly, feeling her feet move without her saying so, taking her closer to Faith. The frown turned into a shrug and then into a smile as the brunette's arms enfolded her. They held tightly, those arms, and Buffy's held just as tightly around Faith. Whatever else might happen, at that moment all was well.
Faith sighed into the embrace, enjoying the warm feeling that Buffy's presence always gave her. Well, when she wasn't going all "evil-Faith", as Willow called it.
They'd come a long way since Sunnydale, she and Buffy. They'd been allies at first, then rivals, and soon enemies. Then Faith had woken from her coma and done her absolute best to ruin Buffy's life. Eventually, and with no small effort on Angel's part, she'd found her way to prison by her own choice. That was probably the only decision she had made in years that she could honestly be proud of. She'd had a lot of time to think in that cell and one thought she'd often had was that there'd be no way in heaven that she'd ever have the chance to make it all up to Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies.
But, as it often seemed when it came to Buffy, she'd been wrong. Granted, it took the very real possibility of the end of the world to give her that chance, but she'd managed to make the most of it. After the First Evil had been defeated, Buffy and she hadn't really been able to define what they were to each other. There was too much pain, too much damage and betrayal that even her recent actions weren't quite enough to clear the slate. But they were no longer enemies and that, Faith knew, meant that the potential to be more than just backup might still exist.
It had been a long two years. Two years since Sunnydale and that time had helped heal some of the other wounds that their past held. While this might be Buffy's first trip to her neck of the woods, they'd seen each other fairly often since Faith had first made her home in the Centennial State. Giles called for a group meeting once every three months at the new Watcher's Council headquarters in Scotland and Faith had enough time on her hands that she was normally able to make those trips.
Every time, in fact, except the time Teal'c and Roger Watts, fresh from his rescue with the rest of SG-10, had come to the conclusion that she was in dire need of survival training in a cold, high altitude environment and had decided that it was their expertise that was needed. Not that she was bitter or anything.
Those meetups in Scotland held the purpose of keeping track of the various groups that now made up the Council, of making sure people were made aware of any abnormalities within the supernatural community, of keeping track of the many new Potentials that were still springing up, and most importantly, providing an opportunity for them all to see each other and know that they were 'okay'.
Faith, much to Major Davis and the rest of the DoD's relief, hadn't told everyone on the Watcher's Council about the Stargate program. Angel, all of the original Scoobies, Spike, Kenny, and Fred were the only ones who knew the exact details.
Faith had instantly decided the biggest, baddest witchy-witch in the world should get a heads up in case flying pyramids descended from the heavens. Of course, since Willow couldn't keep a secret to save her life, Faith had gone ahead and told Kennedy, who was still the significant other of their Red Witch. Dawn and Fred were both told because of each of their own personal knowledge and experiences with portals. Fred had corresponded with Carter for some time, in fact, and had been responsible for some major developments in the SGC's fundamental understanding of the Stargate's inner workings.
However, nobody was quite sure how to react when Illyria had come around after the events in LA or about her own knowledge of the Astria Porta and the Ancients. Illyria had been expressing a discomforting amount of interest in seeing the Stargate and Faith wasn't quite willing to open that can of worms. Not that she could stop Illyria if the Old One actually tried.
Angel knew because he was Angel, and Faith would tell him the truth no matter what, because she owed him everything. His reaction, to nobody's surprise, was to brood on the matter.
As for Spike...well. The guy had underwent the agonizing process of getting himself a soul. He had then allowed himself to burn alive in order to close the Hellmouth. And when he was resurrected, he had continued to fight the good fight. Yeah, he'd earned some trust by that point. However his somewhat nonchalant response to the revelations that aliens had built the pyramids had been something of a letdown. His subsequent question towards Faith about what she thought they might taste like was less so.
Buffy's reaction had been odd, though. Not disbelief or astonishment. No, those green eyes had seen too much for that, but had held a sort of wistfulness that Faith had seen in her own eyes more than once.
Faith had borne witness to Buffy's slow withdrawal from everyone besides. She wasn't sure why Buffy was still receptive to her of all people, but she wouldn't ask; Buffy would tell her if or when she was ready. Buffy's withdrawal, from what Faith could determine, stemmed from two issues. One was the desire to be more than just the Slayer. The ever growing population of trained Slayers all looked up to her, put her on a pedestal, and held her to an impossible standard.
Buffy was tired. Faith saw it every time they met, heard it in the blonde's voice every time they spoke.
Buffy wanted out.
The second reason was more obvious because, even if everyone else seemed to have forgotten, Buffy had been betrayed by the ones she held most dear at the tail end of their fight against the First. She'd forgiven them, of course she had, but she'd never forgotten that moment when her friends and family had told her to leave. She hid that pain well, so well that Faith thought only she, Spike, and perhaps Kennedy of all people really saw it.
Buffy's eyes caught hers and the blonde flinched at whatever she saw in Faith's gaze. Buffy made as if to step back but Faith tightened her arms around the blonde before she gradually released the other Slayer and gave her a warm smile.
"Hey Faith," Buffy said, her white teeth showing with her answering smile.
Faith felt more than a little pleased at the perusal Buffy gave her then; it was a long up and down affair that ended with a raised eyebrow and a corner of her mouth tilted up.
"Nice threads, Faith, looking more than a little butch, I think," she finally said.
Oh, Faith wouldn't let this one go. She tried to keep the innuendos down around Buffy, she really did, but with a line like that...
"B, when I go butch, babe you won't even be able to think."
Buffy went a bright red and did a fair impression of a fish on dry land but Lorne's delighted laughter halted any possibility of delivering a retort.
Lorne looped his arms through both Faith and Buffy's and led them deeper into the club. "Come on, dolls! I haven't heard anything that might be charitably called talent from the locals yet, I want to hear a good tune from the two of you by the end of the night."
Buffy smiled, Faith's comment forgotten, and went up to her tip-toes to give Lorne a kiss on the cheek. "'kay Lorne. How about a sea breeze?"
Lorne sighed and pressed his hands to his heart. "A girl after my own heart. How about you, sweetie?"
Faith shrugged. "Guinness?"
"So stubbornly Irish," he said with an air of disappointment, "alright girls, I'll have your drinks in a moment."
#
Buffy took a sip of the sea breeze Lorne had given her and sighed in pleasure. Demon or no, man knew how to make a drink. Across from her, Faith was smiling at her.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Nothing, B, you just look...content." Faith regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. Buffy's look of satisfaction had disappeared, replaced with one of contemplation and melancholy.
"You're looking good, Faith."
Faith frowned at the non sequitur and shot a questioning look at Buffy.
"Faith, I think you might be one of the only ones who isn't afraid to call me out on my bullshit. You and I both know that I'm not...happy. I haven't been in a long, long time. I've been satisfied at times, but I don't feel the need to rehash things." Buffy tapped her finger on the wooden surface of their table in emphasis. "Now. Faith. You look good."
Faith let it go. For now. "I am good, B. It won't be long now till I might have the go ahead to work at the mountain."
Buffy's lips thinned a bit. "I'm happy for you, but Illyria is getting...impatient."
Faith closed her eyes and banged her head on the table. "Even if we 'let' her come to the SGC, how the fuck am I supposed to explain the presence of a more or less god to a group of soldiers who fight self-proclaimed gods? And what do you think is gonna happen when she starts her 'muck beneath my feet' speech!?"
Buffy gave her a sympathetic look. "We...you, will have to do something about her eventually, Faith." Faith banged her head harder but stopped when a hand patted her shoulder. "We'll talk about it later, butch," Buffy said, smiling faintly.
Faith lifted her head and took a long drink of her beer before she let herself forget about Old Ones and Stargates.
#
"So how's the centaur?"
Buffy gave Faith a dirty look. "Dawn's fine, Faith. And please don't say stuff like that around her."
"Would I do that?" Faith asked with a look none would ever confuse with innocent.
Buffy glared at her. "She's doing fine. Almost done with her degree at Washington University. She isn't sure what to do after she earns her degree, though. There aren't exactly a whole lot of opportunities for linguists with a focus on dead languages."
Faith's eyebrows raised. "She tryin' to figure out if she wants to stay in the family biz?"
Buffy nodded an unhappy smile. "I'm finally learning to let her make her own decisions, but damnit..."
"And Spike? He still hanging around?"
Spike's appearance after his death had been an awkward affair for all parties concerned. Buffy had beaten the ever-living shit out of the blonde vampire upon finally learning of his survival after he'd been in Los Angeles for so long. Andrew had managed to escape with just a black eye for his role in keeping Spike's resurrection from reaching her ears but she had been furious at anyone who had kept it from her.
Spike...
There was a constant tension between Angel, Cordelia, Spike, and Buffy whenever they were in the same general vicinity. Angel and Buffy were through, but that didn't stop Queen C's insecurity or Spike's irritation with 'the Poof'. But Spike wasn't ultimately sure of what he wanted. He had spent so much time pining after Buffy that he hadn't really realized he'd only been in love with the idea of Buffy.
So Spike had left.
He checked in now and then, occasionally helped out in Scotland or Cleveland, but most of his time throughout that first year had been spent on walkabout. He learned what it meant to just be him, a vampire with a soul without a Slayer to love or have watching over his back.
It had been good for him, indisputably so, and so his appearance on Dawn and Buffy's doorstep in St. Louis had been far less dramatic than it could have been. He was lonely and had no desire to hang around his sire or the Scoobies and had actually asked Buffy if she'd mind if he stayed in town. Buffy had said yes.
Faith had been dubious upon hearing that, but Spike had managed to build a life of his own. One that included Buffy without revolving around her. Even more surprising had been the new object of his affection, the younger Summers sister. That had been all kinds of dramatic and awkward but it seemed that Spike's feelings were genuine, and not a desperate attempt to find a copy of Buffy. Dawn's crush from years before had become something more, making Buffy's presence in her younger sister's life increasingly unwelcome.
And so, Buffy was being pushed out again. Not intentionally, not unexpectedly, not unkindly, but inevitably.
Buffy tapped her finger on the table for a moment. "Yeah, he is. I think he...I think he might be...engaging...with Dawn."
Faith gave Buffy a confused look. "B...what do you mean engaging...with...?"
Buffy looked uncomfortable. "You know..."
Faith frowned for a moment before she began laughing. "Engaging like...doing the nasty? Bumping uglies? Knockin boots? Boinkin' like rabbits? Getting their freak on?"
Buffy growled at her and kicked Faith's shin from under the table. To the younger Slayer's irritation, Faith's laughter endured her wrath.
Faith finally managed to calm down, doing her best to ignore Buffy's petulant look. Catching Lorne's eye, she sighed. "Alright, B, Lorne looks like he's ready to pop. Time to let that inner diva of yours out to play."
Buffy turned to see an impatient Lorne tapping his foot, nodding his head towards the empty stage.
"Do I have to go first?" Buffy whined.
"Yes." Faith's answer was implacable and resolute.
Buffy sighed and went up the steps that led to a microphone, a small screen nearby ready to provide the words for a designated song. Heaving a sigh, she made her selection.
#
Faith nodded along with Buffy's attempt to sing. A warrior, she might be. The Chosen One of the Powers that Be. The Slayer of vampires and the forces of darkness. But a singer, she was not. And Sheryl Crow, she most certainly was not. She winced again as Buffy hit another wrong note. "Soak Up the Sun" wasn't all that difficult a song, but Buffy was doing her best to beat it to a pulp and murder it.
The Angel of Mercy graced the bar with its presence at long last as Buffy sang the final verse to the song. Buffy walked back to Faith's table, cheeks pink as a few brave patrons clapped for the Slayer.
Faith gave her a long look. "Wow."
"Shut up, Faith."
"Just...wow."
Buffy kicked her shin again and pouted.
Faith had to admit, it was a lethal pout.
"Your turn," Buffy said with a smirk.
Faith shrugged, "Wicked." Without another word she made her way to the stage. Buffy should have known that a little singing wouldn't scare her. Hell, she was the girl who enjoyed dancing on table tops when she was way underage.
Now, what to sing, what to sing, she pondered, scrolling down the list. She smiled.
#
"I kissed a girl and I liked it. The taste of her cherry chap stick..."
She should have been expecting something like this, Buffy knew. But this...the song and Faith's hip movements and the looks the darker haired girl occasionally sent her made her face heat up. She had never been entirely armored against the girl, but this...
Buffy blushed again as Faith winked at her. It was Buffy, this time, who banged her head against the table. That, and try the best she could to ignore her own body's response to those swiveling hips and those heated looks she was the recipient of.
She looked up again, blushed, and looking everywhere else but the stage until the song finally ended. Buffy looked up to see Faith, somewhat flushed from her exertions flop into the chair opposite her.
However before either Slayer could say anything, Lorne dragged a chair to the table which he then took a seat in.
He wasn't looking like the world was about to end or like one of them was about to croak, which was of the good. But he wasn't smiling either. He looked worried and confused. "Alright dolls, what I got was...complicated to put it mildly. Remember, what I say isn't set in stone and they aren't guarantees; it is advice based purely on what I saw in your possible paths."
The two young women nodded.
Lorne turned towards Faith first. "Sweetcheeks, you're going on a trip. A long one and somewhere far from here. That part seems like a done deal. The Powers that Be aren't done with you just yet, and if you go there, you can count on there being slaying for you to do. I think you already know most of this, but I'm pretty sure you'll find something good if you continue on your current path." The anagogic demon paused and then winced. "I have a feeling that our Fred lookalike will be part of your path as well. Good luck with the Old One, sweetie."
Faith groaned.
Lorne placed a hand under Buffy's chin and lifted it so that they could meet each other's gaze. "You, Buffy-girl, don't have quite so clear cut a path. But you do have a path, and like Faith, the Powers that Be aren't done with you either. You could have a future in Scotland or the Hellmouth or even St. Louis. You could have a future and be content. But I don't see you being happy in any of those cases."
Buffy's breath hitched. "Do you ever see me being happy?" she asked in a small voice.
Faith shifted her attention elsewhere, feeling like she was intruding and thus missed Lorne's next quiet words.
Lorne leaned down and said in a much quieter voice, "I think you already know, B. Time to try something new, honey, do something fabulous, something out of this world." With those last words of advice, Lorne offered her a wink before he sashayed towards another customer who had been waving to get his attention.
The two girls were quiet, lost in their own thoughts.
Faith jumped when she felt Buffy put a hand on her arm. "You ready to head out, Faith?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, you still stayin' at my place?"
"Still offering?"
"Yep."
"Yep it is, then."
Author's Notes: There are going to be a few lengthy Author's Notes sections in the chapters to come. Part of this will be explaining my thought process about moving the plot forward and some of it will be filling in details about the story that might not have been fully explained. If you didn't get the quote from Lorne or the chapter title, shame on you. The title alone should give you an idea of where things are heading. (Goa'uld are space-Nazis?)
Also, I am aware that Katy Perry's song, "I Kissed a Girl and I Liked it," wasn't written anywhere near this time. That song was released in 2008 whereas this story is taking place around 2005. So...tough, it worked too well here. Part I of this story took place in 2003 and matched Stargate Season 7 with Buffy Season 7 perfectly. This story takes place two years later, but only one year would have passed in Stargate cannon.
Character clarifications based on what I've written: Fred is dead, Illyria is very alive. Probably the biggest different is that Cordelia is alive, still a seer, and not she-bitch evil. Wesley was killed per canon and Gunn died in LA immediately after the Circle of the Black Thorn had been destroyed. The latter wasn't canon by way of Season 8, but it seemed like an inevitability at the series finale. I did made a brief reference to Janet Frasier last chapter. In the show, she was killed off in season 7, so the events in my story are not incompatible with that fact. I'm not sure it will matter a whole lot about whether I keep her around so I might leave her fate as open. The Scoobies/Slayers are in Scotland and Cleveland (I'm ignoring the other Hellmouths) which I believe is canon-ish. Dawn and Buffy in St. Louis however is very not-canon. I liked them there because it's almost directly between Colorado and Cleveland. Dawn attending WashingtonU gave a plausible reason for their being there. I have not yet stated exactly what Buffy and Spike were doing there. I may go into detail later, I may not.
Fuffy: I'm going to do my best to avoid making it the central pillar of my story. It's gonna be pretty involved in the early portion of Part II, but it'll taper off into more of a background element after it's been established. I've tentatively planned out that this will be the only chapter that centers exclusively on them and their relationship. I had thought about losing the romance, but I think Faith is such a sensual character that losing it altogether would've been awful. And Buffy? Well, as I've said, I always liked their dynamics.
A few things about my knowledge of Colorado Springs and why I made certain decisions with the setting and places of interest. I was, in fact, born and raised in Colorado Springs, the city that Cheyenne Mountain and NORAD overlook. "The Springs" is the second largest city in the state with over 400,000 inhabitants (making it the 40th largest city in the United States). Colorado Springs is pretty deceptive about its size though, the city sprawling outwards rather than upwards; downtown Colorado Springs is pretty laughable compared to any other major city's skyline.
The Air Force Academy, NORAD, Peterson Air Force Base, and Fort Carson are all within about 20 minutes of downtown, hence my occasional references to a very present, very visible military population. Truthfully, I didn't notice much of a military presence, Air Force or otherwise, when I was growing up. Some of that could just be due to the fact that I was young and as self-absorbed as any teenager, but looking back I just don't have much any memory of seeing service personnel. The Air Force presence, or lack thereof, is pretty easy to explain: the cadets at the Academy generally remained there (keep in mind that the Academy is the Air Force equivalent of West Point or the Naval Academy in Annapolis, it is a school and the cadets don't have a lot of freedom to carouse).
Peterson Air Force Base's active duty roster isn't all that large either, approximately a quarter that of Fort Carson. Still, I don't really remember seeing any soldiers from Fort Carson hanging around either, though given Colorado Spring's fairly nonexistent nightlife (the bar/club type, not the vampire/demon variety) it's somewhat understandable. I think what I'm trying to say is that, to my recollection, I'm taking liberties in making the military a much greater part of Colorado Springs than it really is.
Old Colorado City is a tiny section of Colorado Springs that spans just a few blocks. It was the first territorial capitol of the Colorado territory for all of about five days before it was moved to Denver. I liked the idea of moving Caritas to the area because of the old world feeling that sometimes pervades that section of town (think prospecting and mining). I thought it was a good spot because it was only a few minutes from downtown without being any closer to any of the big bad military boys. I know Lorne had a fascination and appreciation for bright lights, glitter, and 'showbiz' (all the things that Colorado Springs is most certainly not), but I liked bringing in Lorne as a way of keeping the world of BtVS involved in the story. At the end of AtS, it's pretty clear that Lorne is more or less done with the Angel Investigations crew, so perhaps a quieter place for him to be The Host would be a nice change of pace. That was my thought process, at least.