"How long will you be here?' Buffy was sitting in the cafeteria across from Rowena, who was going through a pile of binders. Raw reports that Xander had been gathering from various Watchers.

"Three weeks," replied Rowena, "Possibly a month. The Council feels that I should get some field experience."

"Field experience," Buffy was astonished. "But you're the head of the Council. What do you need field experience for. The old Council certainly didn't."

"What do you know of the old Council?" Rowena marked the page she was on. "How many members of it did you actually meet?" She eyed Buffy waiting for an answer.

"Well, not that many," answered Buffy. "But they fired Giles, and there was the whole Cruciamentum thing, and not wanting to save Angel, .."

"You mean Angelus," Rowena answered. "Don't you?"

"No," huffed Buffy. "I mean Angel. Okay, he used to be Angelus, but that was before he got a soul."

"Hardly a shining recommendation," observed Rowena. "Did you really believe that the Council would help Angelus? Most of the Council has lost family members to that Monster. It took a great deal of argument to persuade them not to mount a hunting party. That was successful, but there was no way the Council would help him. Not even to stop the Ascension."

"So you would risk a catastrophe rather than save one man?"

"One vampire," corrected Rowena, "and a monstrous one at that. I understand that you went hunting for Faith with the intention of feeding her blood to Angelus."

"He needed Slayer Blood to survive. Faith poisoned him It was only right that her blood be used to cure him."

Rowena nodded. "When that failed you went to him and offered your own blood." She cocked her head. "What would have happened had Angelus taken too much blood? If you had not recovered enough, or in time to stop the Ascension."

"That never happened."

"Is that a guarantee that it would not have happened?" Rowena quirked an eyebrow in a manner that so reminded Buffy of Willow that she almost forgot that this was not Willow but a girl she had never seen before, up to a couple days ago. She was about to rebuff Rowena's words when she held up a hand, stilling Buffy's words."

"I will not be taken to task for decisions I had no part in making. Neither will I apologize for them, personally or in the name of the Council. As I'm sure you won't apologize for decisions you have made."



Buffy was about to say more when she was interrupted.

"Buffy, she's my sister." Willow barreled through the door. "I did a spell and genetically, she's my parents daughter." Willow spotted Rowena sitting at the table and sputtered to a stop. "Uh hi, uh I'm just excited because I always thought I was an only child and now I'm not and...uh you're not"

'Excited no, I have always known that Quenton Traverse was not my real father, nor his wife my real mother. Just confused. You say you did a spell to come to this conclusion. I presume this spell was used on me, yet I do not recall giving you permission to do so, or," here Rowena paused for emphasis, "your asking for it."

"Uh, er, I didn't exactly ask."

"Then I should be grateful that you didn't harm me."

"Hey," protested Buffy. "There's no call for speaking to her like that. It's not like she was doing anything wrong." Almost as soon as it was out of her mouth Buffy knew she had said the wrong thing.

"Invading my privacy, the privacy of my person, is not wrong?"

"You know what I meant. She didn't mean any harm. Besides, weren't you ever curious who you're real parents were?"

"Yes," Rowena admitted. "I was curious and Father always reminded me that I would be told, if ever I wished to know. I never did. It never got to be more than idle curiosity. Wondering what life would be like if I lived with another family. Something that every child does."

"But now you can know," said Willow. "You're a Rosenberg, and an American and Jewish and so much more. You don't have to be Head of the Council cause you're not a Traverse and you can come live with me and help Buffy and...you're not exactly thrilled are you."

"It will take some time to get used to," Rowena told her. "Also it will have to be confirmed in more traditional means and in the end, I don't think it will change much."

"Wait, what, but you don't have to, you mean it doesn't mean anything to you that we're sisters? Twins, maybe."

Rowena stared at Willow, then closed her eyes and let a tear seep out. "It means a lot, knowing that I have a sister. I feel more complete, but beyond that nothing changes. Your parents may be my biological parents, but in every way, except that one, Quenton and Laura Traverse were my real parents."

"But...."

A spark of anger entered Rowena's eyes.

"Quenton and Laura Traverse raised me and loved me as if I were really their own, and I loved them. They were the only parents I ever knew and I will not dishonour their memory by casting them aside."



"It appears you created quite a stir this morning." Giles entered the cafeteria, where Rowena was working and headed for the kitchen. "More tea?"

"Yes, thank you." Rowena smiled wanly and stretched her neck. "The caffeine might be enough to get me through this mess."

Giles brought the tea things over to the table. "Xander does print out a summery, he has gotten quite good at it, with my help of course."

"Yes, I read it." Rowena indicated a much smaller stack of papers, then reached for her tea cup. "Very informative, but it's more sterile. Reading the original reports does give me some insight into what the writer was thinking. Not much but some."

"Giles made ready to pour her tea, and then hesitated. "We do have an extensive selection of herb teas. Too much caffeine tends to make Willow rather excitable." Rowena raised a corner of her mouth and Giles apologized and poured.

"It affects me that way as well. But some times it's needed." Rowena shrugged. "Another reason to believe that I am her sister."

"She seemed quite convinced you were, er, are."

"Yes, but casting a spell to prove something is risky. If only because the caster is predisposed to a certain result. Quite often the result they arrive at are the ones they want."

"So, you don't believe there is a relationship."

"I believe that there might be a relationship. I'm almost certain there is." Rowena stretched her neck. "Did you ever hear of a project some Watchers ran, called rebirth?"

"I heard some gossip about it, but not much. Except that your father was instrumental in shutting it down."

"What they were doing was an experiment in using magick to clone humans. It was not authorized and my father was horrified that it was even attempted. I presented a rather messy problem by the time he had the experiment shut down."

"They never returned you to your parents?"

Rowena stared at Giles, then started laughing. "Come on Giles," she said when she regained control. "Suppose you were presented with the problem my father was. How would you explain me to my biological parents?"

Giles thought furiously then took a gulp of tea. "I ah see how the problem could be awkward."

"Awkward does nor even begin to describe it. Father did the only thing he could have, short of leaving me on the doorstep of some orphanage. He passed me off as a foreign adoption, which was made easier because mother had spent close to a year out of country."

"So you could be a Rosenberg," Xander joined them at the table. "Willow was telling me all about it before she left for New York."

"I could be a Rosenberg, but I am a Traverse. Now, could we talk about something else?"