Chapter 8

AN: To hurry things along, the season has ended – no big bad, not Acathla, no Buffy deserting Sunnydale. Willow is with Oz, Xander's been verbally reamed out by Jessica, Joyce, Willow, Buffy and everyone else that is female about his now-complete tattoo, save Candy, who has faced only Jessica's ire.

(Fort Benning, Georgia – late May)

"Tell me again WHY I'm being forced to do morning PT's with you and your trained monkeys when I'm not a Ranger, dad?" Sure it had been an invigorating PT session and 3 mile run, but as he wasn't military or a fan of seeing the day before the sun was up, Xander was a slight bit miffed on this morning, this second on Fort Benning.

His father gave him a proud, yet tired, grin, "Firstly, they are not trained monkeys, and secondly … motivation." Xander gave him a pointed look before stripping off his sweat-soaked t-shirt (gods, who knew it was so hot down in the South?) and Adam went on, "A few of the other officers knew you were coming and I wanted to show them that my son was as tough or tougher than their Rangers."

Xander just rolled his eyes and went over to his bag, pulling out a light gray t-shirt, "Then I guess I shouldn't wear this, then." He tossed the shirt to his father as he pulled out some other clothes to put on after he took a shower.

Adam looked at the black letters that spelled out 'MARINES' and then at his son, who, though he was looking away, Adam could tell was grinning, "Only if you have a death wish, son." Even as Alex went to go take a shower, Adam couldn't help but be proud – Alex had kept up with the PT regimen that morning without faltering, while he himself had stopped at just about two miles, and according to the sergeant in charge of the training, Alex hadn't complained once.

Thirty minutes later, they were on their way to his office, where the first of many meetings would take place from – the military had not, in the end, gotten the contract to use or produce his son's weapon, that particular privilege had gone to a European company, but instead Adam had brought Alex in as a temporary consultant to help the beginning stages of the military's new war on demons. This had, of course, been met with several arguments from his son, most of which had stated how little he really knew about the demons, but Adam had convinced him in just helping him with the pitch and the logistics of what would be needed.

Xander, dressed in what he termed as a three-quarter monkey suit of slacks, a dress shirt, no tie and a sports coat, sat in the car and sipped his coffee even as he thought about the idea of the military hunting demons down – the United States was WAY behind in the game, from what he had learned from Giles, as there were at least a dozen other countries and militaries who had demon suppression and eradication teams, not to mention the handful or so of nonmilitary organizations, much like the Council, who did the same job. Giles then explained to him that he was to NOT involve anything referring to magic or the Slayer, under pains of having to be locked in the same room with Ripper, but to ensure, rather, than the job was to be done in such a way that lives would be saved, rather than placed in danger (which Xander took to be a jab at the Council for their antiquated methods).

Once at the base's main offices, and with his son wearing proper identification as a visitor, Adam was sure that things would go well even as the pair went to his office – it wasn't very large, only ten feet deep and some twelve feet wide, with a desk, some file cabinet, a few odds and ends on the walls and a computer, but that was not all that was in the office at that point. She was young, almost six feet, with dark blonde hair done up in a bun, with her dress greens on, the rank of Second Lieutenant on her lapels and shoulders as she snapped to attention.

"Sir! Second Lieutenant Marcia Bones, reporting as ordered, sir." Xander arched an eyebrow as his father took the young woman presented paperwork, but said nothing as he took a seat in a spare chair, one that squealed horrifically, and began to go over the small booklet of notes he had been making over the past few months since his father had pitched the plan to him – types of weapons and ammunition, protective clothing and symbols of a non-magical nature, different locations that demons were known to inhabit, team structures, things that Fly's military training had shoved to the forefront, on top of several other things, like psych evals for everyone from the top Brass to the lowest grunt. Having someone in power with an unstable mind was NOT the way he wanted to get his ticket punched.

Adam looked over the fresh-from-OCS officer's records and orders even as his son began to look over some notes of his own, "Tell me, Lieutenant, why is it that you, someone as green as they come, have been sent to me?"

The reply was crisp, concise and complete bull shit from where he was sitting, "Sir, I was selected because I was considered the best candidate for the job, sir!"

"That tells him absolutely nothing, Lieutenant," Alex chipped in as he went over his notes.

Marcia didn't know who the kid was, so she didn't even bother to give him a look as she snarled, "Stow it, civilian." As soon as the words left her mouth, she winced as her new CO stiffened and glared up at her – this wasn't going to be fun.

"Lieutenant, if you ever take that tone with my son or anyone under my command again I'll make you EAT that diploma in Military History."

She nodded to him even as she felt a presence over her right shoulder, near her ear – the voice of the civilian, the Colonel's apparent son, was cold and calculating as he told her, "Do NOT let appearances fool you, little girl – doing that gets you and everyone around you very dead … if you're lucky." She hadn't even heard the chair make a noise when he got up, even as he sat back down with another squeal coming from the chair.

"Your orders say that you've been assigned to me by the JOC to help with this project, Lieutenant, but also that you have no experience with what we're going to be dealing with." Adam looked up at the young woman and then back at his son, who was looking back at his notes, "Shut the door and have a seat." Over the next hour Adam filled the girl in just what it was they were going to be doing, substituting 'HST' for 'demons', even though he was sure that his son's blood pressure was going through the roof, and never once did the lieutenant blink at anything he had to say until he got to the last point he wanted to make, "And we're doing this under the supervision of my son."

"With respect, sir, what could a civilian know about these tangos that we do not?"

"A lot, considering I've been fighting them for almost two years now, other countries and organizations have been fighting them for centuries, and that the US military is JUST learning about them, Lieutenant," Alex said to her even as he closed his notes and painted her with a glare. "I've seen and done things that would turn your stomach, Lt. Bones, so don't think for a second that you know anything – hell, I barely know anything, which is why I'm helping set up the logistics and skeleton of this project before more qualified individuals are brought in."

Marcia nodded at the young man as his words both stung and made sense – she'd grown up in rural Texas, a good Christian girl, and had gone to Texas A&M on a scholarship, where she had gotten into the ROTC program; now, though, she was being told that 'HSTs' existed, and that the guy next to her was their current expert in them. Never before had she ever felt as unsure of both her own knowledge of the world and the knowledge of her country, "Sir, with respect, what do we hope to gain with this project?"

Colonel Harris looked at her for a second and then turned to his son, "Well, Alex? Care to field that one?"

'Alex', as the Colonel had called him, narrowed his eyes slightly and Marcia felt as if she were being scrutinized slightly even as he slowly spoke, "Optimally, we're doing this to keep people alive and prevent Armageddon from occurring, but also to extend out a hand to the non-volatile members of the group and learn of ways that we can help one another. Other than that, we're a reactionary force, potentially on a global scale if the military learns to play nicely with other countries and independent organizations while not exposing themselves any more than necessary."

The Colonel nodded at her, "Is that a satisfactory answer, Lieutenant?"

She nodded, "Yes, sir, it is, sir."

He smiled, "Good, now we have a meeting to go to – Alex, try to keep your temper, please. Not everyone here is as forgiving as General Walsh."

(Noon – Chow Hall)

The meeting could have gone better, at least in his mind, but Xander had to say that things could not have gone much worse – there had been a group at the meetings that had been hard core into learning about the demons in order to control them, to use them in a military application, and he'd shot that down as loudly as he could, saying how bad of an idea it was. He'd been called a child, an intellectual inferior, and many other things, but he'd pointed out that he had more field time against the things they wanted to 'study' than everyone else in the room had put together, hence why he was there. After all of that, though, and a rather quick shouting match between a few generals, an admiral and some suit-dressed men that his mind screamed 'spook', things had calmed down and he had given the group the notes and outline of what WAS going to happen, and a few suggestions about how to go about them.

Now, though, with the meeting adjourned for lunch, Xander, escorted by Lieutenant Bones, was in the chow hall and being witness to the one thing that Fly was never one for – military chow; today it was spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread, salad and some kind of canned fruit salad for a snack.

His companion, as they walked towards an empty table, groaned, "This is the one thing I DON'T miss from ROTC – sure, they try, but I have yet to see real spaghetti come out of any military kitchen."

Xander chuckled slightly, "Well it's not that different from high school food, so I guess I'm still somewhat used to it." He liberally sprinkled the generic parmesan cheese over the top and carefully ate a fork full of it, swallowing it quickly, "Well, if you shoot it, it doesn't taste that bad."

Marcia just snorted, "Shoot it, bomb it, burn it, doesn't matter." She did, though, take his advice and quickly swallowed the food, surprised that it didn't taste as badly, "So, Alex-"

"Xander." She looked at him oddly, "Name's Xander – only dad calls me 'Alex'. Well, him and Willow's mom."

She nodded, "Alright, Xander … what are you getting out of this? From what you said about how long you've been doing this, you're not even out of high school yet."

He was silent for a minute and, in the back of her mind, Marcia was sure that she had crossed a line of some kind, but then he spoke, "Vampires took my brother from me, turned him, and I staked him." He looked up into her eyes and she did not see the look of a teenaged kid there – she saw what she saw in her grandfather's eyes, someone who had seen combat, someone who had killed, someone … someone who knew they were living on borrowed time, "I got blind-staggering drunk that night and made myself a promise to not stop until the evil demons were all dead or I was."

"HSTs," she immediately made to correct him, but the glare he gave her cut off her correction.

"Like I told the Colonel, don't use that acronym – it's degrading to the intelligence to the demons and humans. You and I both know what the deal is, so let's not use that term," he ate a little more of his spaghetti and then some of his bread, which stopped him – it was REAL garlic bread, the kind that made talking to someone, let alone kissing them, almost impossible. Okay, so maybe the military chefs did know how to make something right, or it was just a fluke, "So, how did you get detailed out to this project?"

She arched a single eyebrow at him, "What are you implying, civilian? I'm not good enough?"

He rolled his eyes at her and, for a second, Marcia felt like breaking the close-by ketchup bottle over his head, "No, I meant what I asked – how did you get detailed here?"

"Applied for Ranger school once I got out, I was denied due to lack of experience, but this came up at the same time so they sent me here." She settled down slightly as he nodded, as if he were also not saying that she was bounced from the program because she was a woman, and went back to eating, "So, what is your stance on women in the military?" Xander looked up at her and she went on, "Do you think they could be in Special Forces?"

"Yes and no. Individuals absolutely could, yes, but all female recruits in general, I think the group has no reason to be there." Her glare came back to him in full force as he raised a hand to stave off her comment, "Look, I know two young women who could THRIVE in Spec Ops, provided they got past their whole Alpha mentality," he added the last part in a slightly quieter voice, but went on, "but that's providing that the military could pull its head out of it's ass and admit capable and properly-trained women into the Special Forces."

She couldn't help but grin a little at him, "I take it you saw the movie too?" He gave her a boyish little grin and nodded happily even as they finished their spaghetti, but she went on after that, "You DO know why they don't let women in Special Forces, right?"

Xander nodded at her, "Yeah, and I understand it, I really do – won't happen for a few generations, but maybe women will be there one day." He took a bite of the fruit from his fruit salad and grimaced as he quickly swallowed the stuff, "Of course in a few generations this stuff may still be edible."

Marcia looked at her own fruit salad and pushed it away, "I thought they had rules against cruel and unusual punishment?"

"Only against abusing the enemy," suddenly came the voice of Colonel Harris, who had a look of disgust on his face. "Abusing your own troops, though, is perfectly alright in some instances." She was out of her seat instantly, about to salute when he waved her off to sit down, "At ease, Lieutenant – we suffer together in this."

They finished lunch together and went back to the Colonel's office, where he left them in order to go have a quick meeting with the General – she looked over at Alex, who was busily scribbling something down onto a notebook and she finally asked, "Do you think there is any way for me to get into Ranger school or Special Forces?"

Alex stopped writing and looked up at her, an eyebrow raised, "Well, short of a sex change operation, the only way that's going to happen is if this project gets off the ground." She gave him a look and he went on, "I'm going to make a recommendation that any and all people involved in this project are to be at least Ranger or Recon trained, if not a badged member, then at least having completed the courses."

She was sure her eyes lit up slightly, "So … maybe …"

Xander looked over at her and narrowed his eyes, "Lieutenant, lets get one thing straight right here, right now – this project is NOT for people who are one-timers or are weak-minded. I'm suggesting enough psych tests and training that means you're either going to die in this project or retire from both it and the military after signing a stack of Non-Disclosure agreements piled higher than your hip – NASA psych training, SEAL training, everything's going to be meant to weed out 99 percent of the people who are suggested. Do you think you can handle that kind of stress?"

He saw hesitation in her eyes – that, in his opinion, clenched his decision even before she spoke, "I don't know."

Marcia was more than a little shocked when he smiled at her and went back to writing in his notebook, "Good answer. If my proposal is accepted, nobody is really going to know what they are getting into when they sign on to this project … and after they do know, they'll wish they didn't."

(1800 hours – parking lot)

"How in the hell did you get them to agree to letting women take the Ranger class?" He looked up just in time to see Marcia, as she now insisted that he call her outside of the presence of superior officers, grab him into a massive hug. His response to being hugged this way, this hard, was as such.

"Ack!"

She let go immediately, blushing heavily even as she heard the Colonel begin to chuckle, letting Xander catch his breath; after a few moments, though, he looked up at her, "Now, try that again, without the strangulation. Please?"

Still blushing, she asked, "How did you get them to agree to let women into Ranger School?"

He shook off the last effects of the sneak-attack easily – he'd been pounce-hugged by both Buffy and Willow before, not to mention that one time by both at the same time, so Marcia's wasn't that bad, allowing him to answer, "I drove the point home that this isn't a kid's game, even though there is, technically, a kid telling them what is going down. They all agreed that at least Rangers and Recon were going to be involved, no regular military, and no civilians in positions of power, like researchers who may run the place." He smirked then, remembering the look on the face of a woman there – if looks could have killed … well, he wouldn't be dead, but he was sure he would have wished he were, "I'm pretty sure that screwed with the plans that a few people had in there, and put me at the top of more than a few shit lists."

"And why did they agree to the women?"

The Colonel spoke up this time, "Well, Lieutenant, my son made it a point to point out that with that much testosterone in the same place, the entire place would probably blow up, so women would be needed to deflate any egos that happened to get out of check." She blinked at the Colonel, who smirked slightly, "While the military has gotten along without the women so far, it may be a refreshing change. Lieutenant, I'm charging you with writing up, by hand, the rules and regulations regarding fraternization between the troops and such, and I want to see them in a week."

Marcia snapped to attention and saluted, "Aye, sir!"

"Good, now, though, I want you to go home and get some extra sleep, Lieutenant, because as of tomorrow you start your Ranger training with my son here along with the new group coming in. Alex," he said, turning to his son, who had a sly grin on his face, "do not wear your 'Marines' t-shirt in the morning."

She looked over in time to see Xander's almost-innocent look, "And would I do something like that?"

She then looked over in time to see the Colonel deadpan to his son, "To get a rise out of the newbies? Probably."

Xander smirked at his father before turning to the Lieutenant, "Have a good night's sleep, Lieutenant – tomorrow starts nine weeks of 'hell'." With that, he walked away with his father towards the car, at which time he finished the line from the movie, "but for some of us, it's not hell – its home."

(Next morning – 0545)

The new recruits ran into the training area for morning PT's, though a group was set off to the side, and the most senior NCO, First Sergeant Michael Greiger, looked over at him, "Colonel, no disrespect intended, but women and children are NOT allowed here, sir."

"The women are a control group, First Sergeant," he informed the man who was a year his senior in age, "and the young man there … is my son – his being here is, for more than anything, my entertainment. He seems to think he's tough – I plan on testing that."

"Has he signed any waivers, sir?" He nodded at the First Sergeant's question and the man nodded back, peering at Alex's chest, "Good, because he may need it, sir, especially if he wears THAT shirt."

Adam wasn't surprised to see his son, Alex, standing at the head of a group of women, wearing the light grey t-shirt that he had told him not to wear, 'MARINES' stamped across the front and with a huge grin on his son's face – oh, yes, the next nine weeks were going to be fun.

AN: Okay, I know, women are not allowed into either Special Forces or Rangers (at least to the best of my and my beta's knowledge, and his father was a Ranger, IIRC), but that's not the point here. Either way, what do you think? Setting up a few things here, and hope to end this story in two chapters – reviews, please.