The Gift of a Family chapter 11. Faith and Trust.

Thank you to Sulien for beta reading. I added a little more after she finished so any mistakes you see are entirely my own.

Tiny rivulets of sweat dripped down Jack's body as he finished rigorously attacking the punching bag. He had vented most of his frustrations on it and even though he could still feel them just below the surface, he now felt that he could handle himself again. He was feeling much better having gotten most of his anger out of his system.

Buffy, Daniel and he had relocated to a closed store called the Magic Box, almost immediately after Jack had expressed his desire to vent his frustrations. Buffy seemed to understand his need to beat the crap out of a punching bag, even if she didn't understand why he felt that way.

The store was closed for remodeling and it was obvious to Jack that most of it had recently been repaired and rebuilt. He decided not to comment on that because he wasn't sure he wanted to know what had caused it, because it would probably only make him angry and more protective of his daughter. It was almost ready to reopen, the front of the store was full of things Jack had come to expect from the hokey new age fad kids were so interested in these days. Books, crystals, candles, Tarot cards and more books filled the front. There were books of magic and superstition, and other new age stuff like numerology and things.

When he first walked into the store, Jack couldn't help but wonder if SG-1 may have come back to the wrong dimension when they all went through the Quantum Mirror. Wrong dimension or not, Buffy was his daughter and he would protect her, with or without her permission and approval.

Jack worked out all the details in his mind while beating up the punching bag. Carter and Teal'c were on vacation, there was no reason why they couldn't vacation in Sunnydale. Jack had accrued quite a number of favors from unique and talented people over the years and he would just call in every marker he had. Once the unofficial cavalry were in Sunnydale, his only problem would be how to get them up to speed without betraying Buffy's trust. He also needed to figure out how to slip away and call in his friends.

Wiping off the sweat with a towel Buffy had left him, Jack walked out of the training room determined to get the backup they needed without making his daughter so angry that she would never speak to him again.

Buffy had explained that she was going to call someone to go over her slayer dream with them and Daniel was in the front of the store researching the ritual. Now would be the perfect time to make some phone calls. Jack was about to walk past the office where Buffy seemed to be on speaker phone with some man with a British accent and a girl. Jack froze at the sound of desolation in his daughter's voice. She was trying to hide it, and hid it well, but Jack knew.

"Giles, your like a father to me. You know I would never want to let you down. I promise I'm not abandoning my duties as the Slayer, or the Hellmouth. The only reason I get to leave this place is because of the vision I had. Giles, Dawnie brought me a message from the Powers, I'm needed someplace else. Surely that should calm your concerns about me leaving Sunnydale."

"Buffy, I realize why you would want to believe that was Dawn but you know it could easily have been the First Evil, or some other trick to lure you away from the Hellmouth."

"I know this is hard to understand Giles, but I know it was Dawnie. She was more that just my sister or the Key. She was made from my blood and essence. She was a part of me. I would so know the difference, besides most of what we know about this ritual the Dragon is planning came from her. The First wouldn't be giving me a helping hand."

"OK." A girls voice said from the phone. "We will concede that it is possible that this is an honest message from the Powers, but Buffy, what could be so important to leave the Hellmouth unguarded? What could be more dangerous than the Hellmouth? Isn't it just as possible that you could be mistaken? I mean, what if it is some plot, you wouldn't be there to save the world and nothing would be there to stop all the darkness from bubbling up and the world would be in big, big trouble?" She babbled.

"Wills, take a deep breath." Buffy interrupted. "First of all, I'm not crazy and I'm not being tricked. Secondly, I am not leaving the mouth unguarded."

"You...you mean Angel, right? But Buffy, what if he gets a moment of happiness?"

"He had one moment of happiness in how many years? Willow, he is not a very happy person. Besides, I'm not talking about Angel. I'm talking about Faith."

"BLOODY HELL!" The man named Giled exploded. "FAITH!?! How could you possibly consider leaving the fate of the world in that girls hands? Isn't she still in prison?"

"According to my slayer dream, she is on parole and coming here. Giles, she has changed, she honestly wants to be good and she deserves a chance."

"I seem to recall that she had a chance and she betrayed us."

"A second chance, then. She won't be the first one of us to need one. Giles, you had your Ripper days, Wills you had Darth Willow. Can't you give her a second chance? I honestly wonder if she would have gone to the Mayor if we had been better towards her. Me particularly. Can't you trust my judgement in this? I have sacrificed everything for my calling. I have given everything I have to give in order to keep the world safe. I'm not about to just walk away if I'm not sure that it is in good hands. Can't you please just trust me?"

"Buffy, dear girl, it's not about if we trust you or not..."

"No, actually it is." Buffy interrupted feeling as if she had been wounded to her very heart. She took a deep breathe. "Well, the dream continued after the thing with Faith. Only it was just me, the Dragon, and Drusilla. I was in this huge cavern, and in the middle was one of those star things Willow always draws."

"A pentagram." Willow surmised.

"Yeah, and at each point of the star was this pillar of black stone where the sacrifices stood all chained up. The sacrifices bled, the blood activated the seal and there was this eruption of blood. The cave was being flooded in it. It felt like it was going to flood the whole world."

"Good Lord."

"Ew, Blood, blood? It was like a real flood of blood? Does this mean that the world will be flooded in real blood?" Willow babbled.

"The blood is metaphorical blood, I'm sure. At least...I certainly hope so, but even metaphorical blood is a bad sign." Giles stated.

"Ya think?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"Was that everything, Buffy?"

"No, I kind of got the impression from Dru and the Dragon that Spike somehow got his soul."

"Like Angelus' curse?"

"I don't know, but I don't think so. It seems like the Dragon and Dru seemed to think the only way to get Spike back would be if they..." Buffy stopped speaking, not even wanting to say it out loud. Jack risked a glance into the room and noticed that Buffy seemed to be very emotional, but holding it all in, and his protective instincts kicked up another notch. After the blood, what could be bothering her this badly?

Movement to the side alerted him to the fact that Daniel was coming this way. Jack turned and brought his hand up to signal to Daniel to be quiet. Daniel rolled his eyes at Jack spying on Buffy, but walked forward as quietly as possible and joined him on the other side of the door.

"Buffy," The man named Giles asked at length. "If they what?"

"They said the only way to get Spike back was if they turned me into a vampire. The Dragon was turning me while the cave was flooding in the blood from the seal."

Jack felt himself pale at the thought. For a moment he felt lost but then his resolve kicked into gear. No creature of the night was getting it's fangs into his daughter! Come hell or high water he would keep her safe!

"Good lord." Giles stated clearly upset.

"The Dragon started to turn me and that was when Daniel woke me up."

"Daniel, who is this Daniel?" Giles asked in confusion.

"Ooh, Buffy did you get a new boyfriend?" Willow asked.

"You have a new boyfriend? He isn't a vampire. Is he? Buffy, this is a very fragile time for you. After everything that has happened, I don't think it would be wise for you to become involved again. At least so soon. You should probably take some time to rediscover yourself."

Jack scowled as Daniel arched his brow, why would they wonder if Buffy's new boyfriend was a Vampire?

"Willow, Giles, he isn't my boyfriend. I just met him last night.

"Oh my gosh Buffy, you had a one night stand? Are you ok? Was he a jerk like that Parker jerk? Oh was he hot and sexy?" asked Willow.

Jack straightened his back as Willow mentioned a jerk named Parker and a one night stand. If this Parker had hurt his daughter... Zatting is too good for him, though it is really painful and non-lethal. Jack was contemplating getting a ribbon devise when Giles' voice brought him back to the present.

"Willow, please, I don't want to hear about Buffy's sex life."

"Guys, get your heads out of the gutter, please. You know I don't do one night stands." Buffy stated feeling like she had no privacy.

"So he is your new boyfriend?" Willow asked wanting to be the first to know about her best friends sweetie.

"There was no sex, he is not my boyfriend. He was the battle blood I saved last night, remember? He brought me lunch and stayed to help research."

"You let a stranger know about the slayer? Are you out of your mind? Buffy, you know this secret is very dangerous." Giles stated.

"Is it really a good idea trusting him? I mean you said he was with the military. Remember the Iniative, and what if he was faking being kidnaped by vampires to get close to you? What if they are trying to catch you and experiment on you? What if they put a chip in your head and make you evil? Then we'll have to fight you and I'd have to use my magic. What if by stopping you I go all evil again and try to destroy the world? What if Xander can't stop me this time?" Willow babbled, beginning to go into full panic mode.

"Wills, chill. Daniel and Jack are cool. They are good men, and they aren't going to betray me. I trust them. They promised to keep my secret and they're helping me research the ritual."

Jack's conscience was really starting to bother him at this point. It was warring with his need to protect his daughter. He hadn't realized how much faith and trust Buffy had given him by telling him her secret. It was also bothering him how little her friends trusted her judgement, especially since she had chosen to trust him and Daniel. She didn't even know he was her father and she had trusted him. He was starting to wonder if calling in the unofficial cavalry was the right idea after all. Trust was apparently an issue very near to his daughters heart.

"Very well Buffy, Tell me about these men whom you have let know your secrets."

"Ok, I don't know a lot. "Jack is with the Air Force and is in town to visit his daughter. Daniel works with him and came with him. Daniel is wicked good with other languages and is into archaeology."

"What is his full name?" Giles asked, wondering if he knew of him.

"Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"The pyramid nut?"

"Huna?"

Daniel winced. He knew what was coming next.

"Dr. Jackson was an up and coming Egyptologist. The Watchers Council was very interested in recruiting him. However, he had this crackpot theory about the Egyptian Pyramids being landing platforms for alien spaceships. He was laughed out of academia. He had such great potential, but ultimately the council decided that he didn't have what it takes to be a watcher."

"You sound like you agree with them?"

"Well yes, Buffy, it's preposterous! He was out of his gourd!"

"Is it more or less preposterous then my being a vampire slayer who hunts vampires? Or that you were once turned into a Fyarl demon? Giles, we know aliens exist. Remember the Queller demon that tried to kill Mom? That was from outer space. Which, by the way, was summoned by a Hell God who wanted to use my magically created sister as a pair of ruby slippers to go back to her hell dimension from whence she came!"

Daniel smiled at hearing her defend him and his ideas. He was very pleased that she was open minded about this, it would make it a lot easier when he told her about the Stargate program. Nothing was going to keep him from sharing it with her. Besides he wanted to know the full stories that she was useing to defend him with.

"Er...I see your point." Giles stated, feeling throughly chastised.

"Buffy does have a point." Willow chimed in. "Mathematically speaking, there must be lots of other intelligent creatures in the universe. If you calculate how big it is and how many galaxies there are, the odds of there not being intelligent life out there is minuscule, and that isn't even getting into the multiverse."

"Willow, please. I concede that I was perhaps hasty in simply disregarding his theory as potentially valid."

"Thanks, Giles." Buffy stated.

Deciding that now was a good time to announce his presence, Daniel stepped into the doorway and cleared his throat.

"Sorry to interrupt," Daniel stated as Jack joined him in the doorway.

Jack was glaring daggers at him for announcing their presence. He really wanted to learn more about his daughter.

"I thought you would want to know right away that I have found the information we have been looking for," Daniel stated. Buffy's smile left him wondering if he would ever be the same again.

"Daniel, you are my research hero!" Buffy declared as she hugged him happily. He found himself wanting to ask if he could find anything else for her. Anything at all.

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