Riley stood outside the Cheyenne Mountain complex waiting for the Sunnydale gang to arrive. There were two tiny dots in the clear blue sky, coming closer - there they were. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to be handling this. Sam seemed quite at ease with the coming presence of his ex-girlfriend but he felt discomforted. Too much had changed since he had left Sunnydale and now he did not fit into the tightly knit group, if, in fact, he ever had done. Out of all of them the one he most understood was Xander. Riley had a great deal of respect for him. It took a lot to deal with the fact that your friend, your tiny blonde female friend could beat the living hell out of you and not even chip a nail doing it. Riley remembered being that powerful and sometimes he missed it. That was when he could keep up with Buffy, she never used to worry about him, he could fight alongside her and she wouldn't have one her on her own fight and one eye on him. That had been partly what had precipitated his departure from Sunnydale. His need to have someone rely on him, to be useful to someone and since Buffy had pretty much been single-handedly keeping the Hellmouth in order, he went somewhere he could do some good.
By now the two dots had materialised into two helicopters coming into land, sending vast clouds of dust up and stirring the trees into a frenzy. He could see Dawn's face pressed against the window of the helicopter, the smile on her face evident. The blades of the helicopters slowed as he moved forward to open the doors and let out the passengers. Xander, Anya, Giles and Willow jumped out of one helicopter and Buffy and Dawn climbed out of the other one. Buffy reached in and pulled out a blanket, holding it up for the last passenger to climb out. Riley's face darkened. He had not expected the presence of Spike. He noticed how tenderly Buffy treated him and how gently Dawn pulled a second blanket over him to make sure there was no chance of him burning up. He was about to speak when Xander touched his arm and whispered something in his ear. Riley turned to stare at him, his blue eyes incredulous and Xander met his astonished gaze levelly before moving past him to hug Dawn who was still jumping up and down with excitement from her journey in the helicopter.
Riley shook hands with Giles and Xander and accepted hugs from all of the girls. Willow seemed so much more tiny and fragile to him and he made a mental note to ask Buffy what was happening with her and why there was no sign of Tara. He did not grace Spike with a look but instead gestured to the group to follow him away from the helipad and down into the complex.
Sam was waiting for them in one of the briefing rooms and she smiled shyly at the entire group, accepting a hug from Dawn. She saw the tall pale figure of Spike enter the room and her eyes widened before Riley closed the door behind him.
"Before we get going on this project there's some stuff that you need to know. First of all and most importantly, this base, the personnel you meet and anything you may encounter is strictly confidential. I know I don't need to explain the meaning of top secret to you guys but this is pretty much on par with the work you do so you'll be asked to sign documents stating that you won't divulge any information on what goes on at this base." Riley gestured to the chairs.
"Sit down everyone."
Sam took over from there and slowly and concisely explained what the situation was. Used to all manner of strange situations there were no questions, the Scoobies listening in silence to Sam as she explained about the Stargate, the wormhole, the Gou'ld and the base generally.
"The SG team that you'll be working with is the original SG team that started off going through the Stargate. They are very experienced, very well versed in fighting, tactics and dealing with different cultures."
Dawn sat with her mouth slightly open, trying to get all this through her mind. Wow, how cool was this? Aliens really did exist although admittedly they were evil snake things that possessed the body but life on other worlds? And spaceships and ray guns. She bounced in her seat and then sat still at a look from Giles.
"Before I introduce you to SG1, is there anything you need to tell us?" Riley asked.
The Scooby Gang shifted in their seats and looked at each other before looking at Willow and then at Spike. Buffy eventually stood up and moved across to Willow to take her hand. Riley and Sam settled themselves at the table as Buffy started talking. She related what had happened since they had last met, Willow looking down at her hands the entire time. When Buffy came to the subject of Tara, Willow looked up and locked eyes with Riley. He saw the aching pain in her eyes and remembered how broken up she had been when Oz had left her, grieving to the point where she had stepped into the road and had nearly been killed by a car had he not pulled her out of the way. How much more in pain was she in now that Tara was dead? He knew that she had adored Tara. He decided at the first opportunity to speak to her, express his condolences. He had always been fond of the redhead and couldn't bear to see her in pain.
Buffy skirted the issue of Willow turning to dark magic, simply saying that she had taken Tara's death very badly and Giles had taken her to England for a holiday. She could see that her friend did not want Riley and Sam to know how bad things had become for her. She turned to the subject of Spike, explaining about the trials and the return of his soul. Spike looked up only once meeting Riley's gaze, his bright blue eyes expressionless, before looking away again. Riley still did not trust him but Buffy seemed to so he decided not to say anything about it.
"How was the wedding?" asked Riley trying to take refuge in a safe subject but realised that he had put his foot squarely in his mouth as his brain suddenly noted that Xander and Anya were seated either side of the table, had not touched each other or kissed each other at all. Very unusual.
"The wedding didn't happen but Anya got her old job back" Xander said in his sarcastic happy voice which meant that he was hurting but was trying to hide it.
"You got your old job back?" Sam didn't understand.
"I'm back in the vengeance gig again" Anya said flatly "Don't look at me like that" she glared at Riley who was staring at her in surprise
"You have no idea what it was like so you better start being nice to your wife otherwise you might find yourself a giant worm or something."
"Now there's a thought" grinned Sam who then laughed as Riley transferred his glare to her.
"Is that everything?" asked Riley. Everyone nodded although Willow did not make eye contact with him or anyone else and neither did Giles.
"Follow me, I'll introduce you to SG1 and we can get started."
They followed Riley and Sam deeper into the complex, lots of military uniforms everywhere, people in white coats, people with guns. Riley stopped outside a door which looked identical to all of the other doors they had passed and he knocked before entering. He gestured the others inside and they followed him in, Sam closing the door behind them.
Dawn slid her hand into Buffy's who squeezed back reassuringly and gave her a brief smile. Buffy took a seat in the centre of the table opposite a woman in her early thirties. She had cropped blonde hair, pretty features and intelligent blue eyes. Dawn sat down beside her with Giles next to her. Giles glanced up the table and caught the eye of the man who was sitting quietly at the head of the table. He was dressed in blue, portly with a face which looked as if it could be kind. He nodded to him before taking his seat. Willow sat herself down at the other end of the table within reach of Giles and found herself next to a man who looked at her curiously. He had a mop of tawny brown hair and deep blue eyes. Spike, Xander and Anya took seats on the other side of Buffy, opposite two other men, one well built with shining dark skin and a strange symbol on his forehead. Anya regarded him curiously and his gaze back was no less curious. The man opposite Xander had a slight smile on his face, grey hair and deep brown eyes. He looked as though he had taken a good look at life and seen the joke. Xander liked him immediately.
"SG1, I'd like to introduce you to the Slayer and her associates." Riley was aware of how formal he sounded but continued anyway. He pointed first to Anya, making his way down the table.
"This is Anyanka. She's a powerful vengeance demon having seen most of the last 1,000 years of history."
"Anya and less of the old" said Anya ignoring the raised eyebrows from the man opposite.
"You are a demon?" he asked in a deep voice "But you are human. I cannot sense anything from you."
"Vengeance demon. I represent scorned women. They make a wish and I grant it."
"I trust you won't wreak havoc on my base" General Hammond said trying to keep the introductions light. He needed these people to get on and hoped that they would do. Anya turned a charming smile on him.
"I promise to behave."
"Next we have Xander Harris. Xander has wide experience in the field over the last 6 years fighting a multitude of demons." Dawn longed to add "and getting into trouble" but held her tongue.
O'Neill gave Xander an appraising look and liked what he saw. A tall well built boy-man with a wide smile and laughing eyes. He could get on well with this guy. Xander nodded to him returning the smile.
"This is Spike. He's a ..."
"I'm a vampire OK?" Spike finished his sentence off. O'Neill, Teal'c and Carter had their weapons out in seconds, all pointing them straight at Spike's head. "And you pointing your weapons there isn't going to do anything. I can't harm you so you don't need to worry ok?"
"You're a vampire?" repeated O'Neill, stunned. SG1 all caught their breath as Spike slid into his game face, his handsome features distorted by the demon and then he shook his head, the ugly visage slipping away again, gold eyes turning back to pale blue.
"It's complicated but thanks to your boy here I'm currently defanged."
"De-fanged?" O'Neill repeated - Jesus, he thought, I sound like an echo.
"The base where I was stationed managed to capture Spike and we inserted a chip in his head which activates if he attempts to harm a human." Riley explained tersely.
"Very useful" said Spike, playing with his lighter, aware of the entire room's eyes upon him "I can still fight the big nasties when I have to but can't bite anyone."
"You bite people?" Teal'c asked in horror.
"Nope, not any more." Spike gave Riley a belligerent hateful look, Riley carried on, ignoring the hate glare from Spike.
"Moving on, this is Buffy Summers, she's one of the current active Slayers. She's the oldest Slayer to date."
"Oh you just had to mention that" said Buffy rolling her eyes "God, you know how to make a girl feel good."
The tension in the room was broken as O'Neill tried and failed to smother a laugh and Buffy continued the introductions.
"This is my sister Dawn, my Watcher, Rupert Giles. Anything you need to know about the occult or supernatural - he's your guy. Next to Giles is Willow Rosenberg. She's a skilled .. computer gal." Buffy had caught the slight shake of Willow's head. She did not want these people to know her special skills. Not yet anyway.
O'Neill had caught the movement from Willow and knew instantly that Buffy was covering something up but she met his eyes and he knew that whatever it was, she would explain later.
"We've been together for 6 years now. We've averted at least 4 apocalypses. If you need to know anything just ask." Buffy leaned back in her chair and observed the people on the other side of the table.
General Hammond introduced the SG1 team briefly.
"I'm assuming Agent Finn has explained the situation to you. Teal'c carries a larvae Gou'ld in him."
"You've got a snake thing in you?" asked Dawn before she could stop herself. O'Neill, successfully this time, smothered his laugh but Carter and Daniel Jackson smiled at the girl's description of a Gou'ld, so similar to their Colonel's.
Teal'c inclined his head and bestowed a smile on the girl. "I have."
"Doesn't it, like, hurt?"
"It is part of me as your heart and lungs are part of you."
Dawn looked at Teal'c's chest in fascination.
"This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, he is in command of SG1" O'Neill nodded "Major Samantha Carter who specialises in astrophysics, science and technology, and Dr Daniel Jackson, expert linguist and archaeologist."
Willow and Giles regarded Carter and Daniel Jackson with new eyes, seeing people they could understand and relate to.
Buffy picked up the briefing from the introductions by getting to the point quickly.
"OK, Riley hasn't really told us much other than what seem to be the basics on the Stargate, your journeys off world and who the bad guys are which are basically these Gou'ld things. None of this explains why you need us. Unless you've come across a planet populated with vampires." The entire Scooby Gang laughed, even Spike, but SG1 did not.
"How did you guess?" asked O'Neill sarcastically.
By now the two dots had materialised into two helicopters coming into land, sending vast clouds of dust up and stirring the trees into a frenzy. He could see Dawn's face pressed against the window of the helicopter, the smile on her face evident. The blades of the helicopters slowed as he moved forward to open the doors and let out the passengers. Xander, Anya, Giles and Willow jumped out of one helicopter and Buffy and Dawn climbed out of the other one. Buffy reached in and pulled out a blanket, holding it up for the last passenger to climb out. Riley's face darkened. He had not expected the presence of Spike. He noticed how tenderly Buffy treated him and how gently Dawn pulled a second blanket over him to make sure there was no chance of him burning up. He was about to speak when Xander touched his arm and whispered something in his ear. Riley turned to stare at him, his blue eyes incredulous and Xander met his astonished gaze levelly before moving past him to hug Dawn who was still jumping up and down with excitement from her journey in the helicopter.
Riley shook hands with Giles and Xander and accepted hugs from all of the girls. Willow seemed so much more tiny and fragile to him and he made a mental note to ask Buffy what was happening with her and why there was no sign of Tara. He did not grace Spike with a look but instead gestured to the group to follow him away from the helipad and down into the complex.
Sam was waiting for them in one of the briefing rooms and she smiled shyly at the entire group, accepting a hug from Dawn. She saw the tall pale figure of Spike enter the room and her eyes widened before Riley closed the door behind him.
"Before we get going on this project there's some stuff that you need to know. First of all and most importantly, this base, the personnel you meet and anything you may encounter is strictly confidential. I know I don't need to explain the meaning of top secret to you guys but this is pretty much on par with the work you do so you'll be asked to sign documents stating that you won't divulge any information on what goes on at this base." Riley gestured to the chairs.
"Sit down everyone."
Sam took over from there and slowly and concisely explained what the situation was. Used to all manner of strange situations there were no questions, the Scoobies listening in silence to Sam as she explained about the Stargate, the wormhole, the Gou'ld and the base generally.
"The SG team that you'll be working with is the original SG team that started off going through the Stargate. They are very experienced, very well versed in fighting, tactics and dealing with different cultures."
Dawn sat with her mouth slightly open, trying to get all this through her mind. Wow, how cool was this? Aliens really did exist although admittedly they were evil snake things that possessed the body but life on other worlds? And spaceships and ray guns. She bounced in her seat and then sat still at a look from Giles.
"Before I introduce you to SG1, is there anything you need to tell us?" Riley asked.
The Scooby Gang shifted in their seats and looked at each other before looking at Willow and then at Spike. Buffy eventually stood up and moved across to Willow to take her hand. Riley and Sam settled themselves at the table as Buffy started talking. She related what had happened since they had last met, Willow looking down at her hands the entire time. When Buffy came to the subject of Tara, Willow looked up and locked eyes with Riley. He saw the aching pain in her eyes and remembered how broken up she had been when Oz had left her, grieving to the point where she had stepped into the road and had nearly been killed by a car had he not pulled her out of the way. How much more in pain was she in now that Tara was dead? He knew that she had adored Tara. He decided at the first opportunity to speak to her, express his condolences. He had always been fond of the redhead and couldn't bear to see her in pain.
Buffy skirted the issue of Willow turning to dark magic, simply saying that she had taken Tara's death very badly and Giles had taken her to England for a holiday. She could see that her friend did not want Riley and Sam to know how bad things had become for her. She turned to the subject of Spike, explaining about the trials and the return of his soul. Spike looked up only once meeting Riley's gaze, his bright blue eyes expressionless, before looking away again. Riley still did not trust him but Buffy seemed to so he decided not to say anything about it.
"How was the wedding?" asked Riley trying to take refuge in a safe subject but realised that he had put his foot squarely in his mouth as his brain suddenly noted that Xander and Anya were seated either side of the table, had not touched each other or kissed each other at all. Very unusual.
"The wedding didn't happen but Anya got her old job back" Xander said in his sarcastic happy voice which meant that he was hurting but was trying to hide it.
"You got your old job back?" Sam didn't understand.
"I'm back in the vengeance gig again" Anya said flatly "Don't look at me like that" she glared at Riley who was staring at her in surprise
"You have no idea what it was like so you better start being nice to your wife otherwise you might find yourself a giant worm or something."
"Now there's a thought" grinned Sam who then laughed as Riley transferred his glare to her.
"Is that everything?" asked Riley. Everyone nodded although Willow did not make eye contact with him or anyone else and neither did Giles.
"Follow me, I'll introduce you to SG1 and we can get started."
They followed Riley and Sam deeper into the complex, lots of military uniforms everywhere, people in white coats, people with guns. Riley stopped outside a door which looked identical to all of the other doors they had passed and he knocked before entering. He gestured the others inside and they followed him in, Sam closing the door behind them.
Dawn slid her hand into Buffy's who squeezed back reassuringly and gave her a brief smile. Buffy took a seat in the centre of the table opposite a woman in her early thirties. She had cropped blonde hair, pretty features and intelligent blue eyes. Dawn sat down beside her with Giles next to her. Giles glanced up the table and caught the eye of the man who was sitting quietly at the head of the table. He was dressed in blue, portly with a face which looked as if it could be kind. He nodded to him before taking his seat. Willow sat herself down at the other end of the table within reach of Giles and found herself next to a man who looked at her curiously. He had a mop of tawny brown hair and deep blue eyes. Spike, Xander and Anya took seats on the other side of Buffy, opposite two other men, one well built with shining dark skin and a strange symbol on his forehead. Anya regarded him curiously and his gaze back was no less curious. The man opposite Xander had a slight smile on his face, grey hair and deep brown eyes. He looked as though he had taken a good look at life and seen the joke. Xander liked him immediately.
"SG1, I'd like to introduce you to the Slayer and her associates." Riley was aware of how formal he sounded but continued anyway. He pointed first to Anya, making his way down the table.
"This is Anyanka. She's a powerful vengeance demon having seen most of the last 1,000 years of history."
"Anya and less of the old" said Anya ignoring the raised eyebrows from the man opposite.
"You are a demon?" he asked in a deep voice "But you are human. I cannot sense anything from you."
"Vengeance demon. I represent scorned women. They make a wish and I grant it."
"I trust you won't wreak havoc on my base" General Hammond said trying to keep the introductions light. He needed these people to get on and hoped that they would do. Anya turned a charming smile on him.
"I promise to behave."
"Next we have Xander Harris. Xander has wide experience in the field over the last 6 years fighting a multitude of demons." Dawn longed to add "and getting into trouble" but held her tongue.
O'Neill gave Xander an appraising look and liked what he saw. A tall well built boy-man with a wide smile and laughing eyes. He could get on well with this guy. Xander nodded to him returning the smile.
"This is Spike. He's a ..."
"I'm a vampire OK?" Spike finished his sentence off. O'Neill, Teal'c and Carter had their weapons out in seconds, all pointing them straight at Spike's head. "And you pointing your weapons there isn't going to do anything. I can't harm you so you don't need to worry ok?"
"You're a vampire?" repeated O'Neill, stunned. SG1 all caught their breath as Spike slid into his game face, his handsome features distorted by the demon and then he shook his head, the ugly visage slipping away again, gold eyes turning back to pale blue.
"It's complicated but thanks to your boy here I'm currently defanged."
"De-fanged?" O'Neill repeated - Jesus, he thought, I sound like an echo.
"The base where I was stationed managed to capture Spike and we inserted a chip in his head which activates if he attempts to harm a human." Riley explained tersely.
"Very useful" said Spike, playing with his lighter, aware of the entire room's eyes upon him "I can still fight the big nasties when I have to but can't bite anyone."
"You bite people?" Teal'c asked in horror.
"Nope, not any more." Spike gave Riley a belligerent hateful look, Riley carried on, ignoring the hate glare from Spike.
"Moving on, this is Buffy Summers, she's one of the current active Slayers. She's the oldest Slayer to date."
"Oh you just had to mention that" said Buffy rolling her eyes "God, you know how to make a girl feel good."
The tension in the room was broken as O'Neill tried and failed to smother a laugh and Buffy continued the introductions.
"This is my sister Dawn, my Watcher, Rupert Giles. Anything you need to know about the occult or supernatural - he's your guy. Next to Giles is Willow Rosenberg. She's a skilled .. computer gal." Buffy had caught the slight shake of Willow's head. She did not want these people to know her special skills. Not yet anyway.
O'Neill had caught the movement from Willow and knew instantly that Buffy was covering something up but she met his eyes and he knew that whatever it was, she would explain later.
"We've been together for 6 years now. We've averted at least 4 apocalypses. If you need to know anything just ask." Buffy leaned back in her chair and observed the people on the other side of the table.
General Hammond introduced the SG1 team briefly.
"I'm assuming Agent Finn has explained the situation to you. Teal'c carries a larvae Gou'ld in him."
"You've got a snake thing in you?" asked Dawn before she could stop herself. O'Neill, successfully this time, smothered his laugh but Carter and Daniel Jackson smiled at the girl's description of a Gou'ld, so similar to their Colonel's.
Teal'c inclined his head and bestowed a smile on the girl. "I have."
"Doesn't it, like, hurt?"
"It is part of me as your heart and lungs are part of you."
Dawn looked at Teal'c's chest in fascination.
"This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, he is in command of SG1" O'Neill nodded "Major Samantha Carter who specialises in astrophysics, science and technology, and Dr Daniel Jackson, expert linguist and archaeologist."
Willow and Giles regarded Carter and Daniel Jackson with new eyes, seeing people they could understand and relate to.
Buffy picked up the briefing from the introductions by getting to the point quickly.
"OK, Riley hasn't really told us much other than what seem to be the basics on the Stargate, your journeys off world and who the bad guys are which are basically these Gou'ld things. None of this explains why you need us. Unless you've come across a planet populated with vampires." The entire Scooby Gang laughed, even Spike, but SG1 did not.
"How did you guess?" asked O'Neill sarcastically.