A/N: skip if you'd like...Alright, a few comments were brought up in a review. Mostly wondering why Aliana treats Buffy the way she does. Well, here's my reasoning. She, unlike both Faith and Buffy is fully Council trained, closer to Kendra. She didn't approve of her own watcher, but as far as she knew, he was merely a glitch in the system, and she did approve of him as far as her training went. She's alive after all... Secondly, her only knowledge of Buffy is Spike's descriptions (During seasons four through six she treated him horribly no matter how politely he couched it) and Wesley's retelling of his days as a watcher. Not exactly the best impressions of the gang. She also older than Buffy, and while certain things do work on impressionable teenagers, they don't work on people in their late twenties. If you would like any other questions answered, please leave your e-mail, hit my livejournal(it's my webpage), or just drop me an e-mail.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, don't mean any harm, will put them back where I found them when I'm done.
"Major Carter," Sam answers the phone.
"Good morning," Ali carols. "How are you this lovely morning?"
"You sound happy," Sam observes.
"Got to twit the current Slayer," Ali replies. "It was fun. You should have seen her expression when Wes walked in."
"What did you do?" Sam asks.
"I played little miss innocent," Aliana replies. Her voice is bubbly with excitement. Sam remembers how much she likes to twitch her nose at people who think they know it all. In addition, from what Sam had heard about this Slayer, she would be a prime target for some of Ali's more heartless pranks. Ali chatters about exactly what had gone on the night before, and Sam dutifully laughs.
"Did you get what I ordered?" Ali inquires.
"I did what should I do with it?" Sam replies. "I can't exactly UPS it to you."
"Just clear a portion of your worktable off and you'll get to see some magic," Ali replies. Sam had wanted to see some magic since she had learned that Aliana could do it. Aliana was sparing of her showy magic though and the magic she had seen Aliana do looked about as magical as a chemistry experiment. Not that chemistry wasn't magic in and of its own rights but when Sam thought about magic, she thought of things getting transfigured into toads and waving a wand. Ali had told her that was only part of the job. Sam quickly clears off the desk portion, puts the stuff on it, and describes it in extreme detail for Aliana. Aliana wants more detail than usual, because she didn't want anything injured in the transfer.
If she'd had time, she would have gone to the SGC herself for the items, but the spell she was weaving required careful surveillance so that was completely out of the questions. In addition, telling Sam where she was would mean telling all of SGC. Daniel would use his pouty face and that would be the end of the story. That would mean they would all be there, and she didn't want that to happen. She was having a hard enough time trying to get the spell to work without worrying about her lover and friends being approved by her family. She also didn't want Sam to get into any of the gadgets in the lab, since once Sam found that, she wouldn't see her for years.
Aliana smiles softly. Daniel would be in hog heaven here with the ancient relics department. He and Wes would probably find each other to be long lost brothers. She hoped they'd like each other. She knew they would be, butthere was still a niggling piece of self-doubt. Underneath their similarities, there was a wealth of differences. Although, beneath those was even more similarities. She couldn't wait to get home and talk to Daniel, tell him about everything. She had decided Sam was wise in telling her to tell Daniel about her night work. Telling him would be a load off her shoulders as well.
"You know what Sam," Ali states. "I've decided you were right. Daniel's a big boy; he can handle what I do for a living. Moreover, it's at the point that if he can't, we had better break up anyway. God, you can't guess how much I miss him right now."
"If Daniel's grumbles are any indication, I can," Sam replies. "He misses you, you know."
"He does?" Ali asks pleasure in her voice.
"Geeze, Al, one second you're the hardened warrior, and the next you're a teenager with her first crush."
"I am?" Ali asks laughing. "I guess that's because I never got the normal teenager time."
"Growing up a Slayer is tough work isn't it," Sam replies.
"God Sam, I am so scared," Aliana admits. "I am terrrifed that I'll die, and I won't come back this time."
"You've survived so much already," Sam protests.
"I know, but this is tougher than anything I've here had to face," Aliana admits. "This could very easily kill me deader than a hand device focused on my skull for hours at a time."
"Then why do it?" Sam asks.
"Because I have to," Aliana replies. "For the sake of Fred, my hopefully sister in law sometime in the future, for Wesley and Spike, and their whole crew. I have to do it. I love them all too much to back down now. Even for Illyria who wants to find her place here."
"For other's only?" Sam asks. "Or is there a little in it for you, just to see if you can do it?"
"A little of that too," Aliana admits. "I guess there's a little of the competitive spirit. I don't think that's a big part though. I really just want to help them out. Besides, something's pushing me to do this. You know I get visions sometimes. This is coming from where my visions come from. I don't know why but I think this important."
"But it could kill you," Sam points out.
"So can lot's of things," Aliana replies. "I have to do it though. It's like what you described when Jack got the alien download in his skull. I don't know why I have to do things but I have to. I have to." Aliana's voice is filled with unaccustomed seriousness. Sam, everyone, rarely got to see the serious side of Ali. She was more apt to show the world a smile, rather than any darker emotion.
"You are really worried about this," Sam says in wonder.
"God, what if I die?" Aliana asks. "I would break DJ's heart. I don't want to do that."
"I know," Sam nods. "I think he understands you will do everything possible to come back from this. I know he understands that sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do."
"I hate this, I hate having the Powers dictate my motions, I left this job years ago for that reason," Aliana curses. "I have to go."
"Should I tell Daniel you called?" Sam asks.
"No, that would just raise his hopes I'm going to survive this," Aliana sighs. "If I die, tell him I love him."
"Will do," Sam hangs up the phone.
"That won't be necessary," Daniel comments.
Dun dun dun
Thanks to Polaris andPaladin Steelbreaker for your reviews.
And as always, please review. It warms my heart. I'm going to try to update about once a week... but if I don't think anyone's reading, it will probably get pushed back to the ominous 'when I have time'.