A/N: Hiya, thanks for reading. I know I said I wanted to take a break before writing this chapter but for some reason I couldn't (Take the break I mean). So here it is. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review.
Magic Box, Alternate Reality Sunnydale, 2 hours elapsed
"Willow! Willow!" shouted Xander as she closed her eyes and went limp in his arms
"The ambulance is on its way" said Anya, "What happened to her?"
"I don't know" said Xander, "there are cuts on her back but the main question is why is she in this uniform and carrying some heavy hardware"
"Maybe she's practising for Halloween?" said Anya
"Come on we need to get all of this off her before the ambulance comes" said Xander as she took off Willow's belt and holster along with her sidearm. He then took off her bloodied vest along with her P90 and he combat knife and gave it to Anya.
"Lock these away Anya" said Xander he noticed that all Willow was wearing was her BDU's
Just then the door to the shop opened and the paramedics rushed in to tend to Willow. Xander stepped back with his hand on his head as he saw the paramedics give her oxygen. Once she was stable and they managed to stem the blood loss, she was put on the gurney and taken to the ambulance with Xander following close behind her.
"I'll go with her" said Xander as he grabbed his jacket and turned to Anya, "Call Buffy and tell her to meet us at the hospital.
"Go" said Anya as she picked up her phone to call Buffy's house.
En route to Sunnydale General Hospital, Alternate Reality
"Wills" said Xander as she held her hand, "we're almost there, hold on"
Willow could feel someone holding her hand and she was hoping that it was Faith as she squeezed the hand tightly. She opened her eyes slightly and thought that she was in a dream; she had no idea what was going on or where she was. Then suddenly everything went black again.
"She's coding" screamed the paramedic to the driver as the wavy line on the heart monitor suddenly went flat and a loud beeping sound was heard.
"What's going on?" asked Xander as he looked on worryingly
"Sir, you need to move to the side please" said the paramedic as the ambulance was speeding along
"Wait, wait!" said Xander as he saw Willow's heartbeat on the monitor stabilize to the familiar wavy lines.
The paramedic took some readings just to be sure that Willow was stable, "Ok, I haven't seen that before. Someone coding who then quickly recovers on her own"
"Willow's always been a very lucky girl" said Xander
"Just hold her hand like you're doing now" said the paramedic as he looked at Xander, "hey looks like she's trying to talk"
Xander looked at Willow's face and noticed that her lips were moving, so he leaned in to better hear what she was saying.
"Comdo asordo amacus" repeated Willow over and over again as Xander kept on listening
"Willow" said Xander, "What language is that?"
The O'Neill Residence, Alternate Reality
Willow found herself in the living room of Genera O'Neill's house. She looked around the darkened home and, at least visually, she could see that the house looked just like the one in her own reality. She walked around the living room until she noticed a picture in the living room, it was of SG1 which consisted of the General, Teal'c, and Daniel. She smiled to herself as she recognized the picture, it was the same picture that was framed in her own apartment, except that picture also included Colonel Carter and herself.
"Where's Colonel Carter?" asked Willow to herself
Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her and noticed that someone opened the restroom door and was walking out of it. As she moved to get a good look at who it was, she made the mistake of revealing herself. What she saw surprised her, it was a little girl who could be about four or five years old.
The little girl opened her eyes wide when she saw Willow and, slowly walked towards her. Willow crouched down and took in the girl, she had blonde hair and brown eyes and was just dressed in pyjamas with rockets on them.
"Hello" said the little girl who had her hands behind her back and smiling at Willow
"Hi" replied a surprised Willow who gave a tiny wave at the girl, she had thought the girl would be running and screaming back to her parents by now
"Are you a ghost?" said the little girl, which made Willow smile
"You believe in ghosts?" asked Willow
"Sometimes I do, but mummy doesn't. She say they don't exist" said the little girl
"Your mummy is very smart" said Willow, "you should listen to her"
"Daddy says that mummy is the smartest woman in the whole wide world" said the little girl as she stretched her tiny hands as far as they could go, "but mummy say daddy is like me sometimes"
Willow couldn't help but smile at the little girl
"What's your name, lady?" said the girl, "do you work where daddy and mommy work?"
"My name's Willow" she replied
"Like the tree?" said the girl
"Yep, like the tree" said Willow
"I like your dress" said the little girl which made Willow look down at herself, instead of her regular BDU's she was wearing a pink sundress with pink sandals.
"Thanks" said Willow as she looked back up at the girl
"I like your hair" said the little girl again, "Can I touch it?"
"Sure" said Willow as the little girl put her hand through the air where Willow hair would have been and giggled
"Can I colour my hair like yours?" asked the girl
"Maybe you have to ask your mommy and daddy" said Willow, "so what's your name?"
"I'm Grace, but my parents and uncles call me Gracie. They always bring me lots and lots of presents, my birthday was yesterday and they brought me many things. Wanna see?"
"Happy belated birthday then Grace, and maybe you can show me your presents next time?" said Willow smiling, "can I call you Gracie?"
"Ok" said Grace, "Can I call you Willow?"
"Of course you can, you cutie" said Willow with a smile
"Wanna meet mommy and daddy?" asked Grace
"What's your mommy and daddy's names?" asked Willow
"I call them mommy and daddy" said Grace which made Willow try her best not to laugh
"Ok Gracie, what do your uncles call them?" asked Willow with her finger crossed behind her back
"Unca Teal'c calls them O'Neill and Samantha" said Grace, "and Unca Danny calls them Jack and Sam"
"Oh thank God" said Willow under her breath, "Hey Gracie, can you call your mommy and daddy?
"Ok, Willow wait here?" said Grace
"Ok" said Willow, "I'll be right here when you get back"
"Ok" said Grace as she ran into what Willow knew as the master bedroom.
Grace opened her parent's door slowly and walked over to where her mother was sleeping.
"Mommy, mommy" said Grace as she shook Samantha
"Gracie, not now. Go back to sleep. You have school in the morning"
"But Mommy, the nice lady with the red hair wants to meet you" said Grace
"You're just having a bad dream, the only one we know with red hair is your Aunty Janet" said Samantha sleepily
"But she's outside in the living room" said Grace, "she'll be sad if you don't come and visit. I also want you to see her red hair, she said she will give help me colour my hair red if you say its ok"
"Alright Gracie, let's go meet your imaginary friend" said Samantha as she slowly got up if only to placate her young daughter that there was no one in the living room.
As Grace and her mother walked out the door, the both of them saw Willow standing in the living room with Grace quickly running towards Willow.
"Hiya Colonel" said Willow smiling as she saw this reality's Colonel Carter.
"Gracie, Gracie" said Samantha in fear for her daughter, as she tried to signal Grace to come back to her arms, "came back to mommy, stay away from that lady. That lady bad"
"Ma'am, I need your help" said Willow as she stepped forward, "I don't have much time"
"Jack!" screamed the Colonel as she quickly ran towards Willow only to grab Grace and walk backwards towards the safety of her master bedroom.
"I don't know what you want" said the Colonel, "but you should know that my husband is a General with the U.S Air Force. Jack!"
"Please Colonel Carter, I need your help" said Willow
"Listen, I'm not a Colonel anymore. I'm just an astrophysicist now"
Willow was surprised at that admission, "You retired ma'am?"
Just then the door to the master bedroom opened and out stepped General O'Neill carrying a golf club.
"Sam" said the General as he looked at his wife, "What's going….." he stopped as he saw Willow standing there with her hands up, "Who're you? And what are you doing in my house?"
"General O'Neill, I come in peace. I'm not here to harm anyone. I hope that you can help me" said Willow, "Please tell me you're with Deep Space Radar Telemetry at Cheyenne Mountain?"
The General and Samantha looked at each other in surprise, "How do you know about Deep Space Radar Telemetry?" asked the General
"Because I work there" said Willow
"I'm the commander of that base young lady, and I've never seen you there before" said the General
"Not in this reality Sir" said Willow
"Wait… what?" said the General
"Sir, I just need confirmation that the work you do involves a certain ring shaped device, am I right?" said Willow
"Who are you working for?" asked the General
"Please Sir" said Willow, "I need your help and Dr. Carter's help too. It is Dr. Carter now, right?"
"Carter-O'Neill actually" said Dr. Carter
"Sam" said the General
"Come on Jack" said Dr. Carter, "she obviously knows about the Stargate and I doubt that she can hide a weapon anywhere on that dress"
"Thanks ma'am" said Willow as she looked down at her dress again
"Please just call me Sam"
"Yes ma'am… I mean Sam" said Willow
"Sam" said the General, "take Gracie with you into the master bedroom"
"But daddy" said Grace
"Sweetie" said Sam as she tried to lead her away, "Come with me"
"Bye bye Willow" said Grace as she waved at Willow
"Bye Gracie" replied Willow before looking at the General
"General" said Willow, "please you have to believe me, my name is Captain Willow Rosenberg. I'm from Sunnydale, California and I've been a part of the SGC since I was a cadet in the Academy and I've been a part of SG1 for almost two years. I came to this reality through a Quantum Mirror"
"From an alternate reality?" asked the General sceptically, "The Quantum Mirror has been destroyed, for all we know you could be a member of the Trust. Here to kidnap Gracie"
"Sir, what's the Trust?" asked Willow as she noticed that Sam had left Grace in the master bedroom and was standing next to the General
"Jack?" said Sam
"She said she came through the Quantum Mirror" said the General as he glanced over at his wife
"But ours has been destroyed" said Sam as she stared at Willow
"Ma'am, I don't know how things played out here" said Willow, "But in my reality, you were host to the Tok'ra symbiote known as Jolinar for a while. She sacrificed her life to save yours and since then you have had Naquada running through your blood stream"
"Ok" said Sam, "That happened here as well"
"Then you met with the Tok'ra?" asked Willow as Sam nodded, "After meeting them, your father was given clearance by General Hammond so that he could blend with the Tok'ra know as Sel'mak, in doing so his cancer could be cured"
"No" said Sam surprised, "My Dad died before we could give him that option. My dad's alive in your reality?
"Yes ma'am" said Willow, "he's acting as a liaison between us and the Tok'ra"
"He's alive" said Sam as she looked at Willow
"Yes ma'am" said Willow smiling as she turned to look at the General
"General" said Willow, "You had the Ancient Repository of Knowledge downloaded into your head, twice. The second time that happened, you took SG1 to a power source on Praclarush Taonas that was used to power an extremely powerful Ancient weapon in the Antarctic"
"Again, you could have read that from the mission reports" said the General
"In my reality, I was there when you put yourself in stasis. Your last words to all of us together were 'Aveo Amacus' and I know that that was never put in the mission report" said Willow, "When you downloaded the knowledge the first time, you looked at the circle of symbols from P3R-272 and were able to pronounce the Ancient language before even Daniel could, which you told me he was really jealous about. I remember what you said because that's one of my favourite mission reports to read. The symbols said 'Nou ani Anquitas. Hic Qua Videum' which Daniel translated as 'We are the Ancients. This is the place of our legacy"
The General and Sam looked at each other in surprise before turning to Willow, "Then you must have read about the revolutionary way of calculating the distance between planets that Jack came up with using Base 10 math" said Sam
"Sorry ma'am" said Willow, "It was Base 8 math that the General used to calculate the distance between planets"
"Jack" said Sam as she looked at the General, "There's no way she could have know that what I said was a lie"
"Sam, she could have found that out from just reading a report" said the General, "I still think she's with the Trust"
"General" continued Willow, "you once told me that the reason you don't keep guns in your home anymore is because of what happened to Charlie"
"What?!" said the General
"Jack" said Sam as she squeezed his hand
"Oh for cyin' out loud" said Willow which surprised Sam and the General, "Ok General, you like the Simpsons. Actually you love the Simpsons, you once told me and Daniel that you thought Burns was Goa'uld"
At that the General slowly put down the hand that was carrying the golf club and seemed to relax just a bit, "Well its true" he said as he looked at Sam
"And Sam" said Willow, "your favourite Jell-O is the blue type. Well, at least that's the type the Colonel Carter of my reality likes. The commissary has to always have an extra batch ready just in case. Everyone remembers what happened to the new Airman who dared take the last cup of the day which was usually reserved for her. General Hammond suggested that he spend a week over at the Alpha Site until she had calmed down"
"Well that did happen here as well" said Sam laughing
Willow breathed a sigh of relief as the both of them visibly relaxed but still walked cautiously towards her.
"So you really are from an alternate reality?" asked Sam
"Yes ma'am" said Willow
"Like the General said, we destroyed ours" said the Sam, "how did you get here?"
"Ma'am" said Willow, "I was with SG1 on P8D-767 when we found a cave with traces of Naquada inside. It was there we found what seemed like a storage area for various types of Quantum Mirrors, some looked like the regular version while the others look like those Geodes that people keep in their homes for decorations. The one I came through to this reality was the Geode variety which seems to react to my Ancient gene"
"You have the Ancient gene?" asked the General
"Yes Sir" said Willow
"How did you get into my house?" asked the General as he noticed that his windows were intact and his door was still locked
"I have certain abilities Sir" said Willow, "this is just an astral protection of my consciousness, my real body is lying injured in an ambulance in Sunnydale. Please I'm asking for your help, I think the Geode type Quantum Mirror was stolen, I need it to get back home"
"How much time do you have left?" asked Sam
"A little less than forty five hours" said Willow
"Wait, did you say Astral projection" asked the General
"Yes" said Willow as she walked towards the General and his wife and held out her hand
Sam tried to grab a hold of Willow's hand but her fingers just went through them.
"Where are you now?" said the General
"In the ambulance, heading towards Sunnydale General Hospital" said Willow
"Alright" said the General, "we'll secure the floor you'll be in. But has anyone seen you?"
"Unfortunately yes" said Willow as she looked on at their surprised faces, "I'm sorry, I only intended to save a friend in this reality. I sensed her crying out for help so I came here to save her and then fully intended to leave before they could ask any questions. But then someone stole the Quantum Mirror, and now I'm stuck"
"Wait" said Sam, "What do you mean by sense?"
"It's a long story ma'am" said Willow, "and I really don't have much time. The connection here takes a lot out of me"
"Ok" said the General as he scratched his head, "I can't believe I'm gonna say this but get back to your body Captain. I'll notify the hospital administration that they're to secure the floor and post guards at your door. You are not to speak to anyone, not even your friends until we get there. We'll be there in a few hours. Is that understood?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow smiling as she started to fade away.
"Oh Captain" said the General, "The word of the day is Scorpion"
"Yes Sir" said Willow as she saluted the General before vanishing
Then Willow vanished right in front of their eyes.
"Alright Sam, you should call Dr. Frasier and go with her to Sunnydale General Hospital, Danny should be on his way to Los Angeles by now so I'll call and ask him to meet up with the both of you there. I'll make sure the both of you and Teal'c get the first transport out of Peterson. Transport will be ready for you when you reach Sunnydale. Meanwhile I'll ask Dixon if his wife can babysit Gracie for a while. Then I have to call Hammond and tell him about what's happening" said the General
"You think what she said is true?" asked Sam
"We need to check up on it" said the General, "and anyway, we can't have a Quantum Mirror out there in the wild, even if public disclosure of the program is only a year away"
Two miles away from Sunnydale, 10 minutes later
Dr. Daniel Jackson; author, linguist, archaeologist, caffeine nut and expert on all things Ancient, was driving towards Los Angeles from Santa Barbara for a lecture at UCLA when a call came in.
"Hi Jack"
"Daniel" said the General, "where are you?"
"In my car Jack" said Daniel, "I was visiting Nick, and you know that"
"Yes I know you went to visit your Gramps but I need to know how far you are from a town called Sunnydale"
"I just went past the exit about twenty minutes ago" said Daniel as he drank his second cup of coffee
"I need you to turn around and meet Sam, Teal'c, Dr. Frasier and SG3 at the Sunnydale General Hospital" said the General
"Ok, why?" asked Daniel as he took the exit and went around to the other side, "What's going on?"
"Someone came through a Quantum Mirror" said the General
"Jack" said Daniel, "I thought we destroyed ours"
"I thought that too" said the General, "but we received a visit from the young lady who came from the other reality"
"She was there? At your house?" asked Daniel
"It's a long story Danny-boy" said the General, "Sam, Dr. Frasier, Teal'c and SG3 will be there in about 3 hours"
"Alright" said Daniel, "What's the young lady's name?"
"Captain Willow Rosenberg" said the General, "and she's already met her counterpart and her other friends"
"Oh no" said Daniel
"Exactly" said the General, "I've talked to Hammond and the President and they've authorized full disclosure since the Program will be publically revealed by this time next year anyway. They still need to sign the NDA though which would be in effect until that time"
"Aren't you coming?" asked Daniel
"I'll be coming with Hammond" said the General
"So… are you there yet?" asked the General
"No" said Daniel
"Ok…. Are you there yet?" asked the General again
"Jack!" shouted Sam in the background as Daniel smiled, "let the poor man drive"
"Ok…. Are you there yet?" said the General again
"Jack"
"Daniel"
"Jack"
"Oh, before I forget" said the General, "the word of the day is Scorpion, just in case her counterpart tries to impersonate her"
"Thanks Jack" said Daniel, "see you there"
"Yep" said the General as the call was disconnected
"Looks like SG1's vacation plans have been cancelled" said Daniel to himself as he voiced dialled the university to cancel his lecture due to unforeseen circumstances. A few minutes later, he took the exit leading to Sunnydale.
Sunnydale General Hospital Emergency Room, Alternate Reality
"Come on Dawn" said Buffy as she guided Dawn into the emergency room. It was just sheer luck that even though the damage to the car was bad, Spike was able to get it somewhat working again.
"Dawnie" said Willow, "I'm so sorry"
Dawn angrily stared at her before she followed Buffy to the counter leaving Willow next to Spike.
"She hates me" said Willow as she turned towards Spike
"I know why you were at Rack's, Red" said Spike, "Only one reason to see that ass; he dosed you with black magics didn't he?"
"Yes" said Willow
"You'd probably hear this from Buffy later but you endangered the kid" said Spike, "that was idiotic of you, I don't care how addicted you are to the magics.. You voluntarily put the kid in danger. You're out of control. What would have happened if that demon had gotten to her?"
"It wouldn't have" said Willow softly, "Buffy would have been able to save her"
"But she didn't, did she?" shouted Spike which made everyone look at the platinum haired vampire and the red headed witch, "sorry, sorry…. I know, I know, I'll be quiet" he said as he turned and looked at all the faces, including that of Buffy and Dawn as they stared at him.
"You simply got lucky today" said Spike as he turned back to look at Willow
Just then, Tara ran into the emergency room from the other side of the building and was the first to notice Dawn holding her arm with Buffy at her side. She ran towards them with worry etched on her face.
"Buffy, Dawn, what happened?" said Tara, "I got a frantic call from Anya saying that something happened to Willow, that she was badly injured". Just then, Tara noticed Dawn's injuries, "Hold on, what happened to your head and arm Dawn?"
"Willow used her magics to summon a demon and then drive a car into a wall" said Dawn
"What?" said a very shocked Tara
"I'm sorry Tara" said Buffy as she pointed over to where Willow was talking with Spike at the other entrance, "you should ask her, she's right there". Then suddenly Buffy realized what Tara had said, "wait, what do you mean badly injured?"
"Anya was hysterical when she called saying that Willow collapsed on the floor of the Magic Box and was bleeding out" said Tara, "I thought that something bad happened to her, that's why I drove here as fast as I could"
"Buffy" said Dawn, "You don't think?"
"What's going on?" asked Tara
"After Willow crashed the car" said Dawn, "I saw another Willow help get me out of the car before she fought the demon that Willow, I mean our Willow, had summoned"
"I saw her too" said Buffy, "she used some sort of magic to crush it before our Willow used a spell to disintegrate it"
"But I guess in the aftermath, the other Willow must have slipped away" said Buffy
"I saw that she was injured though" said Dawn, "the demon used its claws to cut her back"
"You think our Willow used magic to summon this other Willow?" asked Buffy, "I remember she and Anya summoned another Willow when we were in high school. That Willow was a slutty vampire biker chick"
"Willow told me about that" said Tara as she stared at Willow who was facing away from her.
Sensing that she was being watched, Willow stopped talking to Spike and turned around to look at Tara who was at he counter with Dawn and Buffy. She gave her a small smile before Anya came running through the door behind her and almost ran her over.
"Spike… Spike" said Anya as she ignored the red head right next to him, "Willow's hurt really bad, where's Buffy?"
"No she's not" said Spike as she pointed to Willow, "and Buffy's right down there"
"Hi Willow" said Anya before she turned back to Spike, "No silly, Willow collapsed at the store, Xander was riding with her in the ambulance and they should almost be here. I have the blood on the floor to prove it…". Anya suddenly stopped and turned sharply towards Willow who was just standing there stunned, "Willow!" she said as she gave her a hug, "You're alright, but I saw you injured and in a Halloween outfit. You even had the real guns and everything"
"What?" said Willow and Spike together
Just then the ambulance carrying Xander and SG1's Willow came rushing to the emergency room as it stopped at the main entrance with doctors and nurses standing by to receive Willow. Xander was the first one out as he helped the paramedics to take out the collapsible gurney that she was lying on from the back of the ambulance
"There's Xander" said Anya as she, Spike and Willow ran over to where Xander was standing while the people gathered at the entrance were taking readings from the person lying on the gurney. The alternate Willow was the first to reach Xander and she was speechless and shocked when she saw herself lying on the gurney in an uniform.
"Hey Willow" said Xander as he turned to face the alternate Willow before turning to face the SG1 Willow. It was then he did a double take and stepped back shocked, "ok, what's going on here?" said Xander as he looked between the two red heads.
"Oh my" said Spike as he looked at SG1's Willow whose face was covered with an oxygen mask and her eyes were closed.
"Her pressure's dropping again and she has a very high fever" said one of the doctors as he pushed the gurney into the hospital and past a stunned looking Tara, Dawn and Buffy; "get her to Exam 1" continued the doctor as he and the nurses put her into an elevator and took her up to the fifth floor.
"Buffy" said Dawn, "isn't that…?"
"Yea" said Buffy
"Buffy…. Dawn… what's going on?" asked Tara
"I don't know" replied Buffy just as the rest of the Scooby Gang and Spike came over to them
"Ok," said Xander, "Who was that?"
"It was Willow" said Dawn
"No" said Xander as he point to his left, "Willow's right here"
"Xander" said Anya, "she knew your name, plus she had all of that hardware on her that you said was real"
"What hardware are you talking about?" asked Buffy
"A nine millimetre semi automatic pistol and another weapon, it looked more firepowery" said Xander as everyone stared at him
"Willow" said Tara, "Did you summon her here like you did the demon?"
"No" said Willow as she looked down, trying to avoid Tara's eyes
"Ok" said Buffy, "I'm taking Dawn to see the doctor. Tara…. Can you take Willow back home?"
"I'll stay Buffy" said Willow softly, "at least until Dawn's ok"
"What about me?" asked Spike
"Go home" said Buffy
"Look I can tell you something's not right about that one there" said Spike as he pointed to the direction that the doctors took SG1's Willow, "she smells different"
"No kidding Sherlock" said Xander, "there are two of them now you know"
"No I mean different" said Spike, "that one doesn't belong here"
As the others were talking among themselves, Tara glanced over at Willow who was standing in one corner with her head down, her arms folded around her body and shivering even though the weather was warm. She slowly walked over to the girl she loved and stopped just a few inches away from her.
"Hey you" said Tara
"What have I done?" said Willow quietly, "I put Dawn in danger… I can't believe I did that…" she said as she raised her head towards Tara.
"Willow" said Tara as she stepped forward
"I need help Tara" said Willow as she hugged Tara and broke down crying, "please help me… please help me"
Tara hugged Willow tightly as she tried to soothe her soul mate, "Of course, I'll be here for you. We're all here for you. We'll help you get over this"
"I'm done" said Willow between her sobs, "I'm done with magic, its over"
"I'm glad" said Tara, "I just want my Willow back, I don't care about the magic"
"Please help me" said Willow as she buried her sobbing face into Tara's neck
"We will" said Tara
The other Scoobies were watching this scene playing out on the other side of the half empty emergency room.
"Alright" said one of the staff at the counter, "I'll need to ask you all to take a seat while the doctor tends to Miss Summers". Buffy nodded as she accompanied Dawn to see the doctor about her broken arm.
Just as the Scoobies went to take a seat, Xander overheard one of the counter staff talking about a recently arrived fax.
"Hey Jane" said one of the Staff, "I just received a fax from the Air Force about a Captain Willow Rosenberg, I think that's the one who was just wheeled in to Exam One"
"OK" said Jane, "So?"
"Well, her floor is supposed to be quarantined and guards posted to her room once she's out of there" said the staff member, "also they want all blood taken from her to be returned untested, the letter said something about national security"
"National Security?" thought Xander to himself as he slowly walked back to the other Scoobies and told them about what they had heard. They all looked at him in surprise at the fact that one of them would join the military after what happened with Adam the Franken-demon and that Willow's blood, at least the Willow that was injured, was considered to be a national security matter.
"I'm telling you that the military got a hold of Willow's blood somehow and cloned her" said Xander
"That's silly Xander" said Willow, "why would anyone want to clone me?"
"Maybe to use your clone's powers as a weapon?" said Xander as everyone stared at him
"Xander" said Tara quietly, "this isn't science fiction"
While they were talking to each other at one end of the emergency room, they failed to notice a bespectacled man along with two officers from the Sunnydale Police Department walk in.
"Good evening, my name is Dr. Daniel Jackson" said Daniel as he handed the lady his I.D, "I'm here from NORAD about a Captain Willow Rosenberg of the USAF"
"Please hold" said the lady as she checked a list, "yes, your name is on the approved list of people who can see the patient. She will be moved from the examination room to a secured floor as per instructions from a General O'Neill once she's stabilized"
"Alright thanks" said Daniel before he turned around to face the police officers, "You guys should go ahead and guard the Captain's room. There'll be a detachment of Marines coming later on so you'll be relieved then"
"Alright" said one of the officers as he and his partner when to Willow's room to stand guard, at least until the Marines came in.
After the officers left, he approached the lady at the counter again, "My colleagues should be arriving in about three hours would it be alright if I waited here?"
"Yes" said the lady, "it won't be a problem"
"Thank you" said Daniel as he wasn't to take a seat nearby a small group of people who was talking amongst themselves, "they must be waiting on someone as well" thought Daniel to himself.
As he took a seat, he heard something that made him very surprised; "And you know what" said the dark haired man, "When I was in the ambulance with Willow, she kept on repeating 'Comdo asordo amacus'; Tara you know what it means?"
"No" said Tara, "maybe it's some sort of spell?"
Daniel almost jumped out of his skin when he heard that, "where did that guy hear Ancient?", and then he recalled the name he talked about, "This Willow could be Captain Willow Rosenberg? She knows the Ancient language?"
Daniel quickly got up and approached the group, "Excuse me" he said, "I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson, I'm sorry but I overheard what you were talking about, ummmmm.. Where did you hear that language?"
"Hey glasses" said Spike, "stay out of peoples conversations"
"Spike, shut up" said Xander before he turned to face Daniel, "My name's Xander, I accompanied someone in the ambulance. I heard it from her"
"I see" said Daniel
"Do you know what it means?" asked Tara
"Sorry but no" said Daniel, "it just sounded like an unique language". Of course Daniel was lying; this Captain Rosenberg used the language of the Ancients while asking for help.
Willow's room, Sunnydale General, Alternate Reality, 12 hours elapsed
Willow slowly opened her eyes as they slowly refocused to take in her unfamiliar surroundings. She knew that this wasn't her room in Colorado Springs or her quarters at the SGC. She slowly moved her head and saw the sensors that were attached to her chest taking measurements of her heartbeat, pulse and some other stuff she didn't understand. Then she noticed the IV line going into her hand.
"Am I in the hospital?" thought Willow to herself before she remembered riding in the ambulance with Xander holding her hand tightly. She then recalled the fight she had with the demon after rescuing Dawn and her alternate self; she remembered she used what should have been her full power to crush the demon before her alternate finished the job.
"Oh my head" said Willow to herself before she sensed that the presence of this reality's Scooby Gang was no longer in the hospital. As Willow tried to sit up, she felt a stinging pain coming from her back and she cried out before taking a hand to her back, next to her neck and feeling the bandage. Suddenly she heard someone knocking in the door to her room, "Come in" she said
Willow looked in shock as who else but the ever reliable Dr. Janet Frasier walked into her room and stopped by her bedside.
"Hi there" said the doctor, "I'm…."
"Dr Frasier" said Willow stunned
"Yes" said the Doctor equally surprised, "And you must be Captain Willow Rosenberg, our guest from another reality"
"You're alive" said Willow shocked, "This isn't a dream is it?"
"No it's not Captain" said Dr. Frasier as she looked at Willow puzzled, "Wait you mean I…."
There was another quick knock on the door as General O'Neill and Sam walked in, alongside Major Paul Davis.
"General O'Neill.. Major Davis" said Willow as she saluted her superior officers but not before wincing in pain
"At ease Captain" said the General as he flinched at her painful expression
"Hi Colonel….. Sorry, I mean Sam" said Willow
"Hello" she replied, "Gracie says hi"
Willow smiled as she thought about Grace, "Please tell her I said hi too. You have a very beautiful daughter"
"All right" said the General as he got into full command mode, "enough of this chit chat Captain, we need to get you back to your own reality after a debriefing; Doc can she be moved?"
"Yes Sir" said the Doctor, "her vitals have stabilized and the majority of her injuries have healed, especially the trauma to the brain. The other injuries will heal in time". Then she turned to face Willow, "don't worry Captain, I believe that the Ancient gene with help in your recovery"
"Thanks Doc" said Willow, "How's Cassie? Hold on, is there a Cassie in this reality?"
"Who's Cassie?" said all four people together.
"Oh boy" said Willow, "I think this is going to be a long and complicated debriefing"
"Here are some BDU's for you" said Sam, "I kind of guessed your size so I hope they're alright"
"Thank you ma'am" said Willow, "uh General?"
"Yea?"
"I think my sidearm and other weapons may be at a shop called the Magic Box" said Willow, "Xander Harris should have kept them safe"
"Alright Captain" said the General, "I'll ask Sam and Daniel to get them for you"
"Captain" said Major Davis, "I need the names of everyone who knows you in this reality. I mean the people who know the Willow Rosenberg from this reality since chances are that they've been told that there are two Willow Rosenberg's running around here"
"What will happen to them Sir?" asked Willow
"The President has authorised full disclosure" said the General, "he felt that since the program will be disclosed to the general public next year, we might as well get the reactions of some individuals first"
"Wait Sir" said Willow, "Disclosure day is coming?"
"Like you said Captain" said the General, "We have a lot to talk about, so put on your BDU's and the Marines outside will escort you to the conference room"
"Yes Sir" said Willow