A/N: Thank you for the encouragement I got from you guys. Hopefully this is ok.

Buffy and Dawn spent the 25th and 26th mostly in Buffy's appartment, catching up and in Dawn's case already starting on some of the texts Giles had promptly FedExed.

Buffy's flat looked like a very specialized tornado had taken place with post-its and spread sheets all over any free horizontal or vertical space.

Dawn was happily ensconed in geekland and Buffy took the opportunity to do a complete overhaul first of herself, nails, feet, hair, the lot and then her appartement. She nearly drove Dawn nuts when she kept shuffling the papers around and in the end Dawn grabbed her and they went to one of the various coffee shops.

Dawn had developed an unholy addiction to coffee and wouldn't touch the freeze dried stuff at Starbucks with a ten foot pole, going on and on about the fact that Germany luckily was only just opening up to it.

Secretly Buffy thought that that put Germany smack dab in the middle of the lesser developed countries but wasn't about to say so out loud for fear of Dawn's very vocal retribution.

Dawn had just confessed over her second double short Americano with steamed milk that she was actually looking forward to some Hellmouthy action.

"I really love studying but it's really hard when half of the languages I know can't be used for credit since they officially don't exist. I mean who could proofread a paper on the inflectives in Fyarl?"

"Giles might."

"Wouldn't want to put my finger in an open wound." Both kept their straight faces for a beat but cracked up right after.

Once they had settled down again with Dawn brushing off a bit of Moccachino froth Buffy had laughed in her direction Buffy asked with a half teasing tone: "So, how many languages do you speak as of today? And relish this short moment of intellectual superiority as it's not likely to last 'til our next round of Trivial Pursuit."

"16 and I'm so going to kick your ass next time. The last time we played I was like 12 or so."

"16?" Buffy squeaked. "You're such a nerd."

"That's only the ones I speak. It's not like anyone knows how to speak Ancient Egyptian for example, can read and write it though." Dawn sounded impossibly smug, sitting there sipping her coffee.

"And still you manage to mostly say nothing noteworthy at all." Buffy deadpanned.

Dawn stuck out her tongue in true younger sister form.

"Soooo... you managed to avoid The Topic 'til now. But I'm on to you." Buffy got a finger shaken at her. "What's with the Jack? Usually you shouldn't be able to stop talking about him and here we are and still I know next to nothing about the guy who makes you smile that weird way you do right now."

Buffy felt caught out and quickly hid her face behind her Moccachino.

"Spill already or I'll have to resort to drastic measures." Dawn wraggled her eyebrows in what she thought would be an ominous manner. It so wasn't in Buffy's informed opinion.

Buffy took a moment to contemplate what she wanted Dawn to know, weighing wether she wanted to keep her suspicions to herself, wanting to go it alone, shielding Dawn, then chucked all pros and cons out the window and said artlessly, surprising herself with her honesty: "He makes me laugh, he makes me think, he doesn't take crap or let's me get away with anything. His kisses just blow me away and I think he might be evil after all."

She singlemindedly stirred her Moccachino not daring to look at her sister.

"Bummer. That sounds..." Dawn faltered, obviously searching for something appropiate. "...serious. And sucky. And amazing. Why do you think he's evil?"

"He's head of something called SGC. Some ultra-secret thing even Willow can't find more info on."

"That setup sounds weirdly familiar. And not in a good way."

Buffy finally looked up into Dawn's eyes which were full of compassion and said miserably: "I know."

"Have you asked him yet?"

Buffy snorted. "How? 'Hey Jack, I found out about you being involved in some hush-hush military thingamabob. You into dissecting demons and weird science?' I don't think so, Dawn."

"It might not be so bad." Dawn didn't really sound convinced.

Buffy just looked at her sister.

"Ok, given your track record it might." Dawn relented. "But still, are you willing to give it up, give Jack up without hard evidence that he really is a bad guy?"

"What if prooving involves getting hurt or worse getting someone else hurt?"

"We'll just have to make sure, it won't come to that. And anyway, he's not evil." Dawn tried to sound convincing and Buffy really wanted to believe it.

"Run by me again who will be there." Dawn rearranged the tupperware container in her lap.

"Well, Jack obviously."

"Whom I will know by him immediately becoming attached to your lips, I guess." Dawn smirked. "Besides the fact that he will have a 'bodacious bod' and be really old."

Buffy accompanied her stinging slap to Dawn's thigh with a glare.

"Ok, ok. Shutting up now. Though I still can't believe you bagged a General."

Buffy ignored her, it usually was the only thing that worked and continued: "Then there will be Sam Carter and her fiancé Pete. I forgot his last name. She's military and working with Jack. Pete is a cop. She's blonde, short haired, a bit on the practical side fashionwise. Then there's Daniel Jackson. Doctor Daniel Jackson actually. He's cute in a geeky sense. And Murray, whom I haven't met yet. From the photos he looks like a pro wrestler. You know, tall, black, build like a tank, no neck to speak of?"

Dawn nodded knowingly.

Meanwhile Buffy had maneuvered her beetle through suburbia and parked it in front of a low bungalow with a spacious garden surrounding it.

"Here we are." Buffy actually looked a bit apprehensive.

She and Dawn had agreed to let the matter of Jack and his maybe or maybe not evilness lie for the moment, just waiting for the next development and to Buffy's amazement, awaiting Dawn's verdict. Buffy had surprised herself by by wanting, actually needing another's opinion and even more by the fact, that she wanted Dawn's in particular. Over the last days Dawn had proven to be quite insightful at times, a tidbit Buffy had intentionally skipped on telling Dawn about.

Her head is big enough as it is what with making progress with that Chappy translation, Giles was so stumped about.

The sisters took a moment to smile reassuringly at each other, unbuckled grasping the tupperware containers with their contribution to the leftover party and got out of the car.

Buffy rang the door bell for them. Both could hear the soft strains of music and people talking and laughing from the inside.

When the door opened it was to Jack's smiling face.

"Finally. I thought you'd chickened."

Buffy took a step across the threshold and enveloped Jack into a tight embrace, turning up her face for a welcoming kiss. Jack obliged happily and then turned to Dawn.

"Hi, I'm Jack." He extended his hand in greeting.

Dawn took it and both noted that the other had a nice firm grip.

"I'm Dawn. Obviously." She grinned, not releasing his hand and letting her eyes wander up and down Jack's lean frame, checking him out thoroughly and obviously.

After a short moment of being intensely scrutinized Jack raised an eyebrow: "Personally I'd say, slightly used but still servicable. What say you?"

"Dunno. Can you do any tricks?" Dawn took pains to look dubious.

"Pottery and a mean guacamole. For the rest you'll have to ask Buffy." Came the deadpan reply.

Dawn guffawed, letting go of Jack's hand: "Will do."

Buffy released a breath she hadn't noticed she had held. There were so many thoughts going through her head, all jumbled together.

He passed the Dawn patrol. Thank God! And since when did that become important?
He didn't react as if he was somehow interested in Dawn for her keyness or otherwise he is the best actor I've ever seen.
Why is everything coming together so perfectly when I know, that something must be so very wrong with him? And why do I have to keep asking myself that and can't finally, thankfully just find someone and have my life be uncomplicated for a while

Jack led the two Summers women into the kitchen where Buffy smiled and waved hi when she saw Daniel Jackson busily tipping his own contribution to the party into a bowl. He looked up, adjusted his glasses and smiled back in greeting.

"Daniel, you've met Buffy already. This is her sister Dawn. This is Daniel, Doctor Daniel Jackson."

"Hi." Dawn smiled and was apparently determined to be on her best behaviour. Buffy envied her ease a bit. She herself felt so tense and on her guard, she could barely squeeze out the usual niceties.

"I definitely picked the wrong U to study at. I didn't even know they made doctors that young." Dawn and suaveness, Buffy nearly rolled her eyes.

Looking over expecting to see the good doctor wincing or something, Buffy was surprised to see him flustered.

"Ummh, well, where are you studying?"

"Heidelberg, Germany. Ancient History and Languages."

Daniel's eyes lit up and Buffy was astonished to see that it neatly transformed the slightly, ok a lot, geeky looking guy.

"With Professor Heistermann?"

Dawn's eyes grew huge also. "Yes! You know of him?"

"We emailed a couple of times concerning some Norse idioms."

"Oh yeah! Those can be a bummer! You know the trouble I always had, was getting the fricatives separated..."

That was about the moment where Buffy's self-protective instincts kicked in and she gladly lost track of that conversation.

She felt Jack step close to her and looked up to find him rolling his eyes theatrically: "How about we leave those two alone. Geek was never my forte."

She couldn't help but smile a bit, relaxing a little: "I hear you."

Looking up into Jack's apparently guileless face, she decided to try and loosen up a little and not expect the worst to happen. She was going to have some fun, getting to know Jack's friends, even if fun wasn't so much on her mind right now.

Just go with the flow.

She squared her shoulders and slipped her hand into Jack's: "So let me at least proove that Summers women have a passing acquaintance with Miss Manners and introduce me to the others."

Jack nodded and pulled her toward the living room.

Sam and Pete were sitting on the sofa, talking. But when Jack entered with Buffy in tow, both looked up. Jack and Buffy stepped closer and Sam leaned over the backrest to smile welcomingly at Buffy.

"Hi! Glad you're here. Did you bring your sister?"

"Yeah, she's still in the kitchen with Dr Jackson."

"Apparently Daniel found someone actually able to listen to his geek speak without falling asleep after two minutes flat." Jack made it sound like quite a feat. Sam's next words, mumbled indistinctly prooved that:

"Not like some."

"What was that, Lieutenant Colonel?" But Jack was grinning.

"Sir, nothing, sir." Sam's textbook answer was most definitely hampered by the fact that she too was grinning.

Then Jack turned a bit and now Buffy was fully able to see the veritable mountain of a man standing by the fireplace, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Buffy, meet Murray. He is also working at the mountain. Murray, this is Buffy Summers."

Buffy extended her hand and when he took it and inclined his head in greeting, she felt instant tension coiling in her back muscles and going with the flow went out the window without a backward glance. In reflex she shook Murray's hand much harder than could be comfortable for someone without Slayer strength but he didn't even bat an eyelash, maintaining a serene, slightly aloof smile.

In contrast her blood was thrumming in her ears and it took all her efforts to focus on what Murray was saying instead of dropping to a defensive crouch.

"Buffy Summers. I am honoured to meet you."

He had an odd lilt to his voice and sounded somehow old fashioned. Her spidey senses were going haywire and it had most definitely to do with this 'Murray' person.

Jack seemed unaware and Murray himself was unreadable.

Either no one knows or they are in deeper than I thought.
Jack, don't forget Jack. He is the General after all. If anyone is in deepest, it's him.

Buffy felt herself getting chilled from the inside out. It felt as if a giant hand had reached inside her and started squeezing. Everything went numb and distant.

She knew this feeling, this kind of eerie calm. It was always before the battle, always before fighting fist and foot for sheer survival.

She hated that she felt like that way now and for a moment she hated Jack for making her feel that way, for disappointing her. But when she looked at him and saw him grinning at something Pete said across the room, his chocolate eyes alight with humour, his suntanned face creased with an easy smile and his salt 'n pepper hair sticking up at the back of his head, she felt her heart wrench. And for a moment she hated fate most of all.

tbc