To say that Xander was nervous would be a gross understatement. He had awoken approximately half an hour before they landed. An entourage of military all black Humvee vehicles greeted them.

The quiet ride was uneventful. When they had finally reached their destination, they were just outside a large mountain that was gated off. Quite a few military figures were present guarding the entrance.

He was told they were entering Cheyenne Mountain, NORAD HQ. He couldn't help but think, 'they do Deep Space Radar Telemetry from a within a mountain?' Sam had tried to explain what they did, and why in the world they had such a diverse group as their 'team.' Really now, a linguist/archeologist assigned to a Deep Space Radar Telemetry project, a classified project nonetheless, and they thought that was a good cover? Seriously, it would have been better had they lied about Daniel's profession.

His nervousness grew as he went through multiple checkpoints and into a huge military bunker. The fact that they went multiple sublevels down, just to get onto a second elevator, to go even further down, just increased his fears of never seeing daylight again. 'Great, I get to be Dead Boy, without actually being Dead Boy.'

Once the elevator had finally made it to its destination, he was greeted by the CO of the base, General Hammond. The man was quick to try and alleviate any fears he had, and told him that coming here was actually being considered a favor to someone very important that wanted to meet with him. Once he heard this, his nervousness was still there; it just shifted slightly. 'Who the hell would consider it a favor to have me visit a military base?' His nervousness evaporated as though it never existed the moment he noticed O'Neill's smirk. He was no longer nervous; he was simply very suspicious.

"Please, come with me son, there is someone who would very much appreciate having the chance to meet you." Xander merely lifted an eyebrow, as he had seen Teal'c done quite a few times. It wasn't done quite as well as the stoic Jaffa, but it got a few chuckles.

Xander decided in just a few moments that The General was a good man. His people seemed to have a good amount of respect for him. There also wasn't the feeling of being beneath him. The man was nothing like the people he had met from The Initiative. In fact, he had a fatherly, or perhaps grandfatherly, type tone. He quickly fell into step with the bald Texan as they made their way through the monotonous hallways.

Xander looked around, thinking to himself, 'I like the décor here. Definitely has a better feel than the sterile nature of The Initiative.' He had to give them that at least.

Xander was so wrapped up in his inner musings he didn't realize that the walk through the hallway with his entourage had just come to an end. The sound of General Hammond opening a door broke him from his reverie. Xander took a deep breath and stepped through the door to meet this mystery guest. He got about 4 paces into the room before he stopped dead in his tracks.

Alexander Levelle Harris, who had been fighting back the darkness for years, stood up and challenged the soulless Angelus, the most feared member of the 'Scourge of Europe, he had faced off a Hell Goddess, Demons, and so many things in between that meeting one mere mortal should not have garnered such a reaction, but he had gone through so many emotions in such a short period of time, that his utter shock was written clearly on his face. And that expression of shock may have lasted longer, had it not been for the large smirk that he could feel O'Neill sending his way.

The expression lasted on his face for only a few heartbeats before he schooled his features and continued walking towards the man who was standing with a hand out ready to be shaken. With a firm grip they shook each other's hands, and Xander couldn't help but think, 'I can't believe I'm shaking The President's hand!'

He would have continued on that line of thought, had it not been for the conditions that brought him here. President Ryan must have seen the change in his expression because he spoke suddenly.

"It is an honor to meet you, Mr. Harris."

Xander's eyes widened slightly. "The honor and pleasure is all mine, Mr. President." He looked at their hands, which were still clasped. "And please, if you will, call me Xander." He couldn't believe he said that, but he abhorred being called Mr. Harris.

The President smiled at him. Releasing his hand he motioned to an empty seat, which Xander quickly took as The President took one next to him.

"If you so insist. And please, after all you've done, call me Jack."

Xander didn't know just what to think of that. He wondered how many people got to call The President by their first name, but that thought was quickly overridden by the sudden thought, 'Oh crap! The President knows about me, about us? Oh man, this can't be of the good.' Whatever panic was about to mount was dissipated as Colonel O'Neill spoke up.

"Can I call you Jack too?" He added in belatedly, "Sir?"

Hammond looked like he was about to have a coronary, but Xander couldn't help but to snicker as President Ryan looked directly at O'Neill, and simply said "No."

Jack had a crestfallen expression on his face when he heard that, though in truth he expected no less, but he had been observing Xander, and could see the kid was about to go off the deep end once he learned that The President, himself, knew whatever it was that had been classified.

He resigned himself for the ass chewing he was no doubt going to receive from The General once they were alone. That was until The President spoke up again.

"Though, I would like to thank you Colonel." Jack gave him a curious expression. The President just gave him a smirk of his own. "Four hours, who knew?"

Jack's eyes widened. "You won the betting pool, Sir?" He quickly glanced around the room. "Err, that's to say…eh…not that we would ever partake, or have, such a thing happening here…Sir."

The President's smirk simply deepened as he said, "Yes."

O'Neill seemed to search for a moment, not sure quite what to say. Finally he came to a decision. "And I still can't call you Jack?" He managed to put a little hurt in his voice as even Carter snickered lightly.

The President's smirk became a small smile, as he seemed to ponder it for a moment. Finally, he came to his own decision, and said. "Correct."

That got a snicker out of most of the room as General Hammond simply shook his head. Jack had only gotten back on base a few moments ago, and already the beginning of a headache was forming. It was on that note that he started ushering people out of the room, with O'Neill muttering about the 'unfairness' of the universe. The door was finally closed, leaving only Xander in the room with The President at the Head of the table and on his right, and General Hammond sat in the seat to the left of The President and across from Xander. Now, Xander knew, it was time to get down to business. The President, Jack, was the first to speak up.

"I know you must be wondering just how much we know." Seeing Xander nod he continued. "I'll be quite honest with you, we know just about everything. We've had you and your friends under surveillance since your junior year of high school." Seeing Xander was about to comment he held up his hand. "Please understand that the government was there to scout the area that was to become its base of operation for The Initiative. They never expected to happen upon you, only the Vampires and other Demons. And before you get upset about the Initiative, I feel the need to stress that The Initiative was NOT a military project. It was supposed to be, however another organization snuck in and stole it."

Xander listened as the President went on; he wasn't quite sure how to react. "How come The Initiative never knew about us, before hand." He wasn't about to tell who 'us' was before they told him just what they knew.

President Ryan noticed this and quickly slid a thin folder over to Xander. It had a very brief summary on all of the Scooby Gang, including new members. Xander skimmed through it and could feel his face becoming red with rage.

"How in the hell can you justify spying on us the entire time?" He shot both The President and General Hammond an incredulous glare. "And not once did you ever offer us assistance."

The President had the decency to look somewhat abashed. "I can't speak for everyone; seeing as how I just recently found out this information existed…"

"How long have you been 'in the know'?"

The President smiled sheepishly. "Since the previous night." Seeing Xander's shocked expression, he pressed on. "Please understand that gaining the knowledge of what you and your friends were doing is information that no one, in good conscience, could just ignore." He looked Xander straight in the eyes. "The information that we gained is very vital to national security." He continued in a far lighter tone. "And after the fiasco with The Initiative, everyone involved has been extremely reluctant to approach any of you. Trust me, I've been assured that most, if not all; information garnered is done through passive means. Though, some of it is quite detailed." The President actually gave him a brief smile. "It doesn't do well to make enemies of those who strive so hard to protect the entire world. And on behalf of anyone, and everyone, that I represent…Thank You."

Xander sat there in complete shock. His anger, while still there, was diminished greatly. And there was the fact that he was actually being thanked for everything he'd done. It was a rare occasion to receive a 'thanks' from anyone, but to receive one from The President of The United States? Well, to him it was a great deal.

He simply stood there in shock for a short moment before nodding and saying, "You're welcome."

With Xander now in a much calmer mood, The President went on to explain to him what he had told General Hammond earlier. How the NID had taken over the project. He explained who they were, what they were. How they were supposed to be a civilian branch that was a check, in the checks and balances system, to watch over the military. But they had become the black sheep of the black ops world. While the NID had some good uses, they tend to do things in a manner that most people with a conscience would never contemplate doing. And the agents that were spies, or 'Rogue' within their own ranks, were even worse.

He explained how some people in the military could be working for them without truly knowing it. Agents like Finn and his men were put in place and never truly knew whom their superiors were. Orders were orders, and the NID had spies everywhere. Orders could be given so they could get what they wanted, from where they wanted.

Apparently The Initiative was a Two-Part mission. The NID aspect of it was the capturing of the HSTs. The Rogue NID didn't differentiate between Hostile and Non-Hostile, they went after anything different; anything that could be hostile to the US. It was also the Rogue NID that created ADAM, and furthered their experimenting beyond better ways to kill the Demons.

He then went on to explain how the Military was going to be the ones in charge of The Initiative, but when they found out that the NID had slipped in, they were quick to classify all Intel they had gathered.

Xander was surprised to find out that he, and the rest of the Scoobies, was already a well-kept secret. To find out how many branches of the military wanted a piece of him; in a good way of course, was quite a boost to his self-confidence. Then to find out how highly classified the information about him became was quite a shock to him.

At the end of that little story, Xander was sure he didn't like the NID at all, Rogue or not, the NID was not to be trusted.

The President pulled the large suitcase from the floor that had the extremely sensitive data about Xander in it. He explained to Xander just what was inside, and to say that Xander was becoming pissed at just how detailed their information was would be quite the understatement.

More than once, during the meeting, Xander had to leave his seat and actually pace the table a few times just to calm down. This was just too unexpected. Once again, he had to ask himself, if there had been such a presence in Sunnydale then why did they never receive any help, especially when Buffy had died? Even with The Initiative fiasco, something should have been done. Beyond that, there were details in his file, and he believed it to be true for his friends as well, that were very personal to him. And to have the military not only know, but have it written in his own file, left him feeling violated.

It was a testament to The President's ability that he was, once again, able to keep Xander calm and collected as he was shown just how thorough they had been. He explained just how they had come by this information, and after a long while, Xander was able to get himself under control. When everything seemed to be back to normal, The President spoke up once again.

"Xander, I see how much you've done. And it is truly remarkable." He peered into Xander's brown eyes. "But, what made you decide to start, and keep, fighting in this 'war' in the first place?"

Xander seemed to withdraw into himself as he thought about answering this question. It was very, very personal to him. But in the end, he decided to go for broke.

"Well sir, you see…it all started with my friend, Jesse…"

It was something about The President, but Xander found himself pouring his heart out to the guy. Perhaps it was because not one single person had ever asked him before. But he talked. Some of it was merely going over what they already knew, but it was all from his perspective. Even though they refused, for their own reasons, to destroy the files pertaining to personal events in his life, he did gain some assurances.

Throughout the conversation he had gained assurance that anything and everything said here would never leave this room. He was also shown just how classified this information was, and that only an extremely limited amount of people would ever have access to these files. While it didn't completely placate him, Xander knew it was the best he was going to get.

The President had also assured him that they would never talk, and he had previously had his men sweep the place for any type of surveillance, and nothing was being recorded. Also, no one outside of this room would learn about his life without his permission.

If it became necessary, some personnel may be notified about the existence of Demons, nothing the government didn't know before, but it would be a sterile read, nothing from Xander's files. And for that, he was grateful.

In the end, both men looked at him with an expression of understanding, and a slight amount of awe. The President placed his hand on Xander's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. General Hammond sat back in his chair, looking completely drained, and gave Xander an accepting nod.

Nothing was said for a moment. The President and General Hammond glanced at one another and simply nodded their heads. The President put everything away with the exception of some form of technology that neither Xander, nor General Hammond could place.

General Hammond reached for the telephone in the center of the table. He picked it up the receiver and dialed an extension.

"Yes, Dr. Jackson?"

"…."

"Good. I want you to get out some material and come down to the War Room in 20 minutes." He glanced over at Xander who was giving him a curious look. "Bring the rest of SG-1 with you."

"…."

General Hammond smiled slightly. "Because, Dr, you and SG-1 are going to debrief Mr. Harris," He gave Xander an apologetic look noticing his slight wince. "On the Stargate project."

"…."

"Good, we'll be here." With that he hung up the phone.

He looked over to a completely confused Xander.

"Xander, once we have you sign some nondisclosure documents, you will learn about one of this world's most well kept secrets; almost to the extent of your own."

Xander's darker mood from telling his story earlier suddenly became a bit brighter. 'They trust me with their own secrets?' He smiled and nodded.

Hammond nodded in turn. "Truth be told, Xander, we're actually looking to recruit you here." Xander was about to respond, but was cut off by The President before General Hammond could respond again.

"We aren't going to take you away from your group. But I believe that once you learn exactly what it is that they do here, and just what we can offer your group…perhaps now, and perhaps in the future, you may change your mind. We are just asking you to hear us out."

Xander thought about it for a moment, before simply nodding.

The General leaned forward in his seat slightly. "I would also like to inform SG-1, that's Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, Dr. Jackson, and 'Murray,' just what it is that's out there. Whether or not you go into your own story is up to you."

Xander sat there for a moment. "Murray isn't his real name, is it?"

"That's for him to tell you."

Xander simply nodded his assent. "You can tell them whatever you want about Demons and Vampires, especially since Sam was attacked by one earlier. But please, leave my life story out of it. I don't want them to know about my friends, and I don't want anyone to know about Slayers."

Hammond and President Ryan exchanged glances for a moment before nodding.

"Agreed."

Xander stared at the briefcase that was still placed in front of The President. He sighed and looked up at both men.

"If you have truly read my file then you have to know that I can't keep this from my friends." He motioned towards the closed briefcase. "If you want me to sign some papers that will make me swear that I won't reveal anything about this classified project, I will." He alternated, looking both men in the eyes. "So long as nothing here is a direct threat to my friends, I won't divulge any classified information. But, the fact that you have us under surveillance directly impacts my friends. And I won't agree to remain silent on it." This may be a risk, but after everything said here, he decided it was one worth taking.

Both The President and General Hammond made brief eye contact before nodding once again.

In unison, they said, "Agreed."

xxxxxxxxxx

It was several hours later, and Xander found himself standing in front of an active wormhole. He wasn't ashamed to admit it; he had flinched badly when that wormhole had engaged. Sam walked up next to him, but his eyes never went astray from the rippling effect the particles that formed the artificial wormhole were playing. It looked like a shimmering pool of silver and blue that was somehow defying gravity.

"That is the event horizon of the wormhole." Carter had tried to simplify everything to the best of her ability. She had lost him quite a few times during the debriefing. He was so much like Jack in some ways it was almost disturbing, in a completely amusing way. Xander looked at her expectantly as he slowly made his way up to it. He looked back at the shimmering pool as it rippled just inches from his face.

He gently reached out and traced his fingers along the smooth and cool 'surface' of the event horizon. He slowly reached his hand inside, and slowly withdrew it. He looked over at her with an expression of pure amazement.

"This is incredible. Can we go through it?" He was almost hopping around like a kid in a candy store.

General Hammond walked up the ramp with The President and the rest of SG-1 following. The other members of SG-1 took up places next to Xander while The General and The President stopped a few feet shy of them.

General Hammond had a small grin at the antics Xander was showing. "So, would you like to try joining us for a while?" SG-1 looked at him expectantly.

After their own quick debrief of 'things that go bump in the night' including a few anecdotes from Xander's life, and a short video from The Initiative showing experimentation on Vampires, SG-1 had formed a quick camaraderie with the young man.

Carter was just thankful that she could place who, and what, her attacker was. She could already feel the stress leaving her, and a million questions entered her mind. Some time soon, she was going to have to question him. It was a shame for Xander, but Dr. Jackson had a similar look in his eyes. Jack looked shocked, and only slightly disbelieving, while Teal'c, 'Murray hah!' was as stoic as ever.

Xander looked at their expectant faces, then looked back at President Ryan and General Hammond and gave them a smile that, for once, was truly genuine.

"I want some time to think everything over. I can't just leave one war to go to another without giving it some thought. But, as of now, I'd say…Yeah…I think that I want 'in' with you guys." The expectant looks from SG-1 turned into smiles thrown in his direction.

General Hammond nodded his head. This was great news as far as he was concerned.

"You take all the time you need, Son. Just remember, we are in a war here. So you will still have to pass some off-world certification courses, and then you'll get assigned to an SG Team."

Xander looked slightly worried. "Ah, if I do agree to work here, and if I do pass, do you know which team I'll become part of?"

Hammond looked at Xander and gave a quick glance to the people around him. His only response was a quick smile before he turned and left the room.

Jack placed his arm around Xander's shoulder and led him down the ramp.

With a smirk, Jack said, "And you thought your life was hell before…Welcome to my world!" He began to give his own chuckle, one that Xander was sure he didn't like.

xxxxxxxxxx

Xander had just had a short meal with SG-1, where both Dr. Jackson and Major Carter had relentlessly asked him question after question. This was a trend he hoped didn't get off the ground. Even though they were talking quietly, making the conversation private, he still didn't want to be constantly bombarded with questions. But, judging from Jack's huge ass smirk, this was light compared to what he was in store for. 'Oh, just beautiful.' He sighed. 'Nothing is ever easy.' He was now being escorted to see General Hammond. Jack led him to the door, before knocking briefly.

"Come in."

General Hammond looked up from his paperwork and gave Xander a brief smile. He then looked back at Jack and waved him out of the office, dismissing the colonel. Once the door was closed, he looked at Xander expectantly.

"Sir, I'd like to go back to Sunnydale and think on things for a short while. But, before that, there are a few things I would like to talk to you about."

Hammond gave him a curious glance. "Such as?"

"Well, Sir, You guys said earlier that you were reluctant to approach us because of our earlier dealings with The Initiative." Seeing Hammond's nod he continued. "But now we do know. And I'm here asking for help."

"What are you talking about? How can we help now?" Hammond looked thoughtful for a moment. "As far as I know, we don't have any personnel to send to your hometown. There are the teams comprised of ex-Initiative soldiers, but they don't actually report to The President. Well, not yet."

"No Sir, what we don't need people, well, not yet anyways." Xander sighed. "The trouble we have at the moment is money, or lack thereof." Xander's eyes grew tired. "With Buffy's mother dead, supporting her, her sister, and in fact everyone just isn't something that I'm prepared for. My job was something that was helping with the bills, as it will should I choose to work here, but it truly isn't enough. Any assistance that you may be able to give is sorely needed."

Hammond looked at him. A small smile appeared as he nodded his head. "I'll see what I can do."

With that, Xander left the room.

xxxxxxxxxx

It was the next day and Xander was en route to Sunnydale. He was surprised when he was told that his car that he had driven to Las Vegas had been picked up by the Air Force and brought to Sunnydale's only airport and was awaiting his arrival.

He was also surprised when he arrived at Sunnydale in the middle of the afternoon. He had received a sealed envelope addressed to him from General Hammond. He almost dropped the contents when he saw what was inside.

It appeared as though the government had paid off the mortgage to the house, and the house was now solely Buffy's property. If that wasn't enough, there was also an account for Sunnydale Savings and Loan for $200,000 dollars. His name was on the account at the main recipient. It also allowed Buffy and Willow to gain access to the account as well. Beyond that there was a note.

'The contents within are yours regardless of whether or not you join us. Should you decide to join, there will be a bimonthly stipend set into this account for an amount to be specified later. Should you choose not to join us; more will be placed into the account when requested by you personally. This is being done to keep you in contact one-way or anther.

On a personal note, I do hope you join us here. But should you decide to remain in the war you have been fighting for the past few years, know that you have our best wishes, and any assistance that we may provide, should it be possible to do so.

Sincerely,

General George Hammond

USAF'

Xander was definitely in a good mood as he drove home for a quick shower before seeing his friends. He assumed that Anya would be staying elsewhere, though with her, you could never be sure.

What he didn't expect to find was an empty apartment. His apartment was completely bare. No furniture, all of his electronics, his collectibles, even the damn shelving was gone. He stood there in shock for a moment before sighing and walking out the door.

He made his way over to Buffy's where he knew the rest of the gang was. And, he was correct. He was fist spotted by Willow, who gave him a quick punch on the shoulder, then hugged him fiercely crying onto his shoulder. She was babbling so quickly that even he had trouble translating.

Apparently Anya was once again Anyanka. 'Go figure, I guess I should only pray loosing all of my personal possessions to be the worst of it.'

The gang had all gone out searching for him, afraid of what Anyanka might do. And finding his trail ran cold in Las Vegas; they had begun to worry. Once everyone had calmed down he began telling them what had happened just prior to the wedding. They went on to tell him that the man was actually a past client of Anyanka's who was exacting revenge. Xander could feel himself becoming upset, but in the end, he knew that, even if the visions were untrue, his feelings were his own. And, in the end, he knew that he had made the correct decision. Though, the timing was still a shame.

Next up came telling the group about the military's presence in SunnyD, which they were most unhappy about. 'Real surprise there.' It took a lot of fast-talking, but he managed to keep everyone under control. Even Buffy, who he could see visualizing decapitating anyone spying on her, was brought down into the land of the fairly placated. He went on to tell them the truth about the people behind The Initiative. This had the effect of redirecting most of their ire towards those that Xander truly believed deserved it, the NID. From the looks in everyone's eyes, he knew that the NID better pray that they don't come into contact with anyone here, and with Tara giving off the same vibe, he was actually kind of shocked.

The next to last thing he brought up was the military wanting to help however they could, now that they had been revealed. He presented Buffy with her 'Gifts' and to see everyone in almost giddy happiness was something that completely warmed his heart. He was looking out for 'his girls.'

The last part was what he believed to be the hardest to bring up. He had told them of the military's desire for him to become a 'consultant.' He had figured that with the entire trust issue the gang had, there would be much arguing. But, to his shock, there wasn't. No one would be glad to see him go. But in most of their eyes this would have many advantages.

With everything happening with Anya, they figured keeping him away from Sunnydale might be a wise decision. And when he told them how bare his apartment was, they couldn't agree more. Second, though neither Buffy nor Willow would say it, they wanted him away from the action, where he might get hurt. 'A little ironic perhaps.' Though, there was no way for them to know since he didn't tell them about what he would be doing, or anything having to do with the Stargate. Their final reason for him to go actually choked him up. The sincerity in their words, and the very thought, almost made him tear up. The fact that it was Buffy who spoke made it all the sweeter.

"Xander, I'm not sure if I can trust the Military. But I know that I can, and I will, always trust you. So…if we're going to be doing anything with them, then it's you that we're going to trust to help us with them. I hope you know how much we'll miss you if you go."

Turning to look at his friends, his family, he gave a short sigh. "I think I'll need at least a night to sleep on it.

That day brought them all closer together as they simply hung out together. Talking about times from the past, and generally just wasting time. Soon enough it was night time, and the 3 original Scoobies found themselves patrolling, just like the good old days.

Later that night, Xander found himself claiming Buffy's couch, as his apartment had no furnishings. He wanted to get some rest, but he simply couldn't. What was he going to do with the rest of his life?