Immediately after leaving the Sheppard Hamptons Home.
It was during the drive to the airport, while Major Sheppard was driving the car, after the weeklong visit with her family did Tara's thought get back to Kathy. She was biting the edge of her nails as she finally, after that encounter with the young woman at the hospital, begun thinking about what she told her.
Tara could tell that Kathy was afraid, but she didn't know of what.
'Is it because there's someone else in dad's and Dave's lives?' thought Tara to herself as the Major drove out of the gate and down the road, 'I haven't even talked to her since that day, I mean I didn't want to I guess. I could just see her resenting me for… what? Existing? But the weird thing is that she really does love Dave; I've seen them together and I could just sense everything.. so I'm guessing that it's just jealousy.'
"So how'd you like the week?" asked the Major as he looked at Tara, who had been looking out the window before shaking her head and looking back at the Major who noticed the look of concern on his sister's face, "hey, everything alright?"
"Oh, yeah" said Tara nodding her head, "I mean I got to meet my real father, my brother… and… his fiancée."
The Major raised an eyebrow while he was looking out the windshield of the car at the way Tara said the word 'fiancée'. He then made a turn onto another road before looking at Tara for an instant, and then looking at the road again.
"Everything didn't go well between you and Kathy?" asked the Major as Tara leaned back on her seat and put her hands on her thighs while looking at the Major, "yeah, things didn't go too well."
"Ummm…" said Tara as the Major looked at her again before looking at the road once again, "she loves him so that's what really matters."
"Tara" said the Major as he looked at the blonde and raised an eyebrow.
"No, really" said Tara, "she really cares about him and, I mean maybe she was a bit jealous that I'm in the picture and… I mean it's nothing bad, you know… I mean, we won't be the best of friends anytime soon but she loves and cares for him. And.. I mean you were there when she told us about herself.. that she's loaded and blah… blah.. blah.."
"Blah.. blah.. blah..?" asked the Major as he looked at Tara.
"I mean she was talking about how great her father is and everything and… I mean I guess she was wondering that I was wondering if she was after Dave's money and…." said Tara as she looked at the confused look on the Major's face, "I mean she's probably just jealous that another member of the family just popped up out of nowhere and maybe… and I mean maybe that's something that's got her a jealous you know? I mean I don't know… so don't you go and tell her something young man."
"Yes, ma'am" said Major Sheppard while Tara looked at him and grinned before telling him that maybe Kathy could be worried that Tara's sudden appearance meant that maybe she thought Tara was after their fortune.
Tara didn't wasn't to tell Major Sheppard about the confrontation she and Kathy had at the hospital; the both of them didn't bring it up later on… Kathy because she didn't want to be thought of as a bully, and Tara because she didn't want to be the cause of problems between two people obviously in love.
"But that's just my thinking" said Tara as she looked at Major Sheppard, "I don't blame her for being suspicious… I mean if she really was suspicious; I mean I'd be suspicious of me too. Plus it kinda makes sense that she be suspicious of me.. you know. I mean Dave told us that she was an only child so I guess having someone else enter the picture made her feel a bit… you know… competitive."
"You still sound funny when you talk about her" said the Major as he looked at Tara, "you sure there's nothing else."
Tara remembered Willow's famous resolve face, which she emulated before nodding her head and telling the Major that there was no problem. The Major nodded his head before he continued the drive while Tara looked out of the window again, and then looked at her brother and smiled.
It was a few hours later that the both of them arrived in Sunnydale once again. The Major drove them from the airport, to Buffy's house where he stopped at the curb before telling Tara that his week of leave was over… and that he needed to get back to Colorado Springs where he'd be getting new orders.
"I know" said Tara as she nudged the Major's arm, "you told me."
"I know" said the Major nodding his head, "but still… this isn't like the other time we got lost. I'll still be here and you can contact me.. and I can contact you. Although me contacting you would be a bit harder and…"
"I know" said Tara smiling at the Major and nodding her head, "you gave me the number to call if I need to reach you if your cell phone's out of range. You gave me everything I need to know on the plane."
"Right" said the Major shaking his head as he opened the door before Tara laughed at the man walking around the car and opening the passenger-side door.
"Why thank you, kind sir" said Tara as she got out of the car before the Major closed the door. She then gave the man a tight hug just as the door to the Summers home opened up, and smiled when she heard a shout of joy as footsteps ran down the pathway to the curb.
"Tara, you're back" said Dawn as the blonde witch stepped back from the hug with the Major just in time for the brunette to give Tara a hug. At the same time, Dawn looked at the Major.. grinned and then waved her hand. It was then that the Major noticed Willow and Buffy walking down the walkway towards the curb as Dawn pulled away from Tara before giving the Major a hug.
"Dawnie" said Buffy as she watched Dawn give off a sigh of relief as she lay her head on his chest, "stop attacking the man."
"Sorry" said Dawn as she stepped back and grinned at the Major, "we're ordering some Pizza, feel up to eating something?"
"I gotta go back to Colorado" said the Major as he rubbed the back of his head, "sorry? Maybe next time I come by, besides… I did say I'll try and get you on a jet."
"Oh yeah" said Dawn excitedly.
"Did you meet your dad and brother?" asked Willow as she walked up to Tara who smiled at her and nodded her head before she took her bags out of the trunk, "tell me all about it?"
"Definitely" said Tara as she held Willow's hand before the redhead turned to the Major, "can't you just have a quick bite, John?"
"There's a plane leaving the Army base in thirty" said the Major as Tara let go of Willow's hand and hugged the Major again, "I'm sorry I have to leave so quickly."
"I understand" said Tara nodding her head on the man's shoulder while he stroked her hair, "be safe? I'll call you."
"I will" said the Major as Tara stepped back before holding on to Willow's hand. It was then that Dawn pulled Tara back towards the house while telling the blonde that she wanted to know everything. All the while, Willow too was waving at the Major as she got pulled into the house while Tara screamed goodbye at John again while the Major chuckled and waved his hand. He then looked at Buffy who was looking back at the house, and then back at the Major again, "I heard what happened in L.A. Any news?"
"Three of Angel… my ex's… friends arrived here the day after the whole thing happened" said Buffy, "they're at the Magic Box trying to find out what happened, and who could be behind this. Giles thinks that maybe this has something to do with me… so he's gone to the Council for some help. Xander's slowly improving… I mean he still talks in his sleep and… he sleeps in the guest room here. Says he doesn't want to go back to his apartment yet but he's at least started work again; you know keeping himself busy."
"How're you holding up?" asked the Major as he noticed movement behind Buffy. He looked over the blonde Slayer's shoulder and saw Dawn pulling Tara past the open front door to the living room while Willow was following them before looking at Buffy again.
"As good as can be" said Buffy, "whatever's going on… I guess we'll be able to find out something."
"If you need to talk" said the Major as he scratched his head, "I mean I've lost people over the past year, even some friends before all that mess with us going missing…. So if you need to talk, Tara's got my number."
Buffy just nodded at the man before he got into his car, which was when Tara shouted at him from the house again. The Major chuckled as the blonde ran down the pathway and hugged him again while Willow and Dawn looked on from the front door. It was a few seconds later that, with Buffy and Tara standing side by side, that he got into his car and drove to the Army base.
The Summers Residence, four weeks later.
Tara had spent talking to Patrick and Dave nearly every day since they had met each other for the first time. They told Tara that Patrick had a meeting in San Francisco a month later, and that they'll come visit her if they were welcome. Tara was the one who chuckled before telling them that she'll be glad to see them… as would her friends. She told them how her friend's sister was excited to meet Patrick.. that she'd been wanting to know everything about him ever since Tara got back from the Hamptons. While Tara was finally happy that she had a real family, she was also helping train Willow her magic. Giles, who was still in England for reasons that he wasn't telling Buffy or the others yet, gave Tara his blessings to teach Willow magic.. he told the blonde witch that he trusted her experience.
Giles then told Buffy that Wesley would be her temporary watcher until he got back. He told the blonde Slayer that he had already talked to the Council about Faith, and despite Buffy's concerns that the so called Dark Slayer was still a danger to people around her… Giles said that the Council would help to get her an early release since there was a report that she was attacked in prison by a young woman wielding a strange knife. Giles assured Buffy that Faith defended herself without killing the young woman, and that the Council had been keeping an eye on her all this time. The blonde was surprised to hear that Faith was actually doing well in Prison… and was by all accounts a model prisoner.
"But the attack on her is a concern, Buffy" said Giles, "I… I want her to stay with you, Willow, and Dawn… and before you say anything.. I know it's a big ask from you. But the attempt on her life, combined with the murder of the majority of Angel Investigations, Cordelia, and Conner? We believe that someone, or something, is coming after you and Faith. Whoever it is took out your allies, and now… it tried to kill Faith. You could be next., be careful."
"I will" said Buffy, "but Faith… I mean Giles… it's Faith."
"I know" said Giles as he sighed on the phone, "what happened to her is much mine and Wesley's faults for not being the type of Watchers that we were trained to be, as much as it is Faith's own fault. The Council did no-one any favours in trying to take her away by force either… but Faith's still a Slayer, and the attack on her is concerning to everyone. I'm just asking that you, Willow and Dawn tolerate her. I'll have Wesley talk to Xander, Fred, and Lorne… she tortured Wesley when she was in L.A… but he still thinks she can be redeemed so I've asked him to talk to Xander. I need you to talk to Willow and Dawn."
"Fine" said Buffy with a sigh before she would put the phone back down. It would be a few minutes later that she did the same thing she'd do a few days a week whenever she was troubled, she called Major Sheppard.
In the meantime, Xander had moved back to his apartment on his own… after making a decision that he couldn't hide from what happened, and that he needed to confront whatever nightmares or thoughts of Anya he'd have when he moved back into his own place. To keep himself occupied, the man put himself more into his job, and even took up the training at the Army base that had been offered to him; but he'd still go home every night and come face to face with a vision of Anya welcoming him back. And Xander would smile at her before her image vanished; and he'd look around the apartment before whispering 'I love you', hopeful that where-ever she was, Anya could hear him.
And nearly every night while Xander was asleep on his side, there would be a light that would take form in his darkened room. The light would take the form of Anya who would smile at the sleeping Xander before walking around the bed. She would be in the dress that looked similar to the one Xander had given her for her last birthday as she crouched down and kissed the young man on his cheek before telling him that she loved him too.
While the Scoobies were doing their own things on the surface of the planet, from Willow going to class and working on the classified project with Colonel Carter, Dr. Lee, and MacKay – to Tara talking to her father and two brothers whenever she could, to Buffy talking to Major Sheppard at times before going out the back of her house and just talking to Angel, wherever he was, before she went for her nightly patrol; The Daedalus was orbiting the planet while using her Asgard sensors to run a scan on the surface of the planet on something that Colonel Carter was working on ever since they found out that the Hellmouth released energy that's similar to that released by a quantum mirror. The ship was scheduled to leave for the Pegasus Galaxy in another week, so in the meantime it was running scans after the Prometheus, with Colonel Carter on-board, left the orbit of Earth again to test its latest Hyperdrive.
The Colonel had created a program to detect energy signatures that are given off by ZPM's, and before leaving, She told Colonel Caldwell, the commander of the Daedalus, that scanning the planet for even the most minute trace of energy would take at least twenty-four hours thanks to the program that she installed on the Daedalus computers as well.
Now they had twelve hours left for the scan to be completed.
But it was while the Daedalus was in orbit that another hyperspace window opened up, and the Asgard vessel, Daniel Jackson, dropped out of Hyperspace and stopped close to the Daedalus. It was then that Thor, the commander of the ship, told Colonel Caldwell that he had come to talk to General O'Neill on an urgent business.
It was minutes later that the grey alien, as well as General O'Neill, beamed down to the SGC's briefing room where the alien met General Landry for the first time, as well as Dr. Weir who was herself having a meeting with the General in regards to the additional personnel who were heading with them back to Atlantis. General Landry then asked them all to take a seat before they started this impromptu meeting.
"As you know" said Thor as he looked at everyone seated at the table, "we have destroyed the vast majority of the replicators in the Ida galaxy, and are destroying more pockets everyday. This victory has brought our attention back to the genetic problems that have been caused by our own cloning program."
"You finally found a fix?" asked General O'Neill as he leaned forward. He knew about the problems that the Asgard were having, and he also knew that Colonel Carter and every scientist who had clearance were doing what they could to help their greatest allies, but so far they had nothing to show. The General hoped that maybe the Asgard found something on their own; he hoped that Thor didn't come by to say that they are still failing in their quest.
"Perhaps" said Thor as he blinked while looking at everyone, "we have done everything possible to create a cure. We believed that the Ancient gene is the key factor in actually developing a cure… but it was not until we realized that the answer could be in combining the Ancient gene with that of another that we gained renewed hope. We have tried it with the genome of normal humans, with that of the Jaffa with the hope that perhaps the mixture of the Tretonin and the Jaffa genetic code could hold the key, we have also tried the particular gene that exists within the Nox.. but even that has been unsuccessful. The only race we have not tested are the Furlings.. and we believed that all of them left this Galaxy."
"Until we sent you that data burst about Major Sheppard's sister" said Dr. Weir as the grey alien nodded his head.
"We never thought that some Furlings may have remained on Earth" said Thor, "and given the rarity of the gene…."
"What are you asking, Thor?" asked General Landry.
"I would like permission to scan this individual" said Thor, "if her Furling gene and the Ancient gene can interact.. even if the interaction is minimal… it gives the Asgard some hope. General Landry, O'Neill, Dr. Weir, I am asking on behalf of the Asgard High Council for your help once again."
TBC.