Bots R Us

"She's clearly unbalanced," Dr. Hammond said. "I don't think any credence can be given to her story."

"It doesn't matter," Murphy said, shaking his head. "Rules are rules and anyone found not in compliance of these rules risks my entire facility, and that I won't have! Homeland Security says any cases of patients reporting stories meeting their select criteria are to be reported and her story meets three of them."

"Fine," Dr. Hammond conceded grudgingly.

Two weeks later...

Xander didn't like hospitals to start with, and Buffy's tales of when she was in a sanitarium hadn't improved matters any. Sighing, he re-checked his disguise. His grey suit was spotless and unremarkable, his forty-five was in his shoulder holster, his badge was plainly visible on his belt. He was ready.

"I have all the paper work," the short blonde who looked no more than twenty said cheerfully. Her outfit was much the same as his, with the exception of having a skirt and off-white blouse and her sunny smile looked completely at odds with everything else about the pair.

"Time to get this show on the road," Xander said, climbing out of the car.

The security guard straightened up as he saw them approach. Pushing the intercom button, his voice came from the grill in front of the bullet-proof glass booth he was in, "Can I help you?"

"Homeland Security," Xander replied holding up his badge. "Let us in and tell no one we're here."

"I - Dr. Hammond left instructions to inform him when you arrived," the guard said nervously.

"Buzz us in, now!" Xander growled out.

The guard quickly hit the button and the two rushed inside, sprinting up two flights of stairs and down a hall to another security check point that was unmanned.

"Take the door, Buff," Xander ordered.

The short blonde took three steps, spun, and kicked. The heavy metal door was torn from its hinges and Xander ran over it with Buffy right behind him. Rounding the corner at the end of the hall, they spotted two orderlies standing outside a room as a doctor entered it.

"Move!" Xander yelled at the two orderlies, who instinctively reached for their clubs, a mistake that cost them as Xander clotheslined one and Buffy head-butted the other barely slowing them as they entered the room.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Sarah Conner yanked at her restraints, but was unable to escape as Dr. Hammond pulled out a syringe, but before he could reach her, a short blonde entered the room and side-kicked him into the wall. The syringe rolled away as his unconscious body hit the floor.

"Good job, Buffy," the older man who followed him in said. His entire demeanor and manner of dress just screamed Government Agent, except for the eyepatch which was definitely not regulation. "Make sure the good doctor can't run off." There was a pair of snapping sounds as he shook his head. "I meant, prevent him from leaving, but a pair of broken legs works too."

"We are two days early and orders were given that Sarah Conner was to not be medicated for an entire week before our arrival," Botty replied. "Having a guard notify him in advance and placing several obstacles in our path so he could inject her just before we took custody of her says this was a murder attempt and that means I use different protocols."

"Good call," Xander agreed as he started unstrapping Sarah Conner from her bed. "Grab the syringe and any medication that's in the room, we will want to have it tested."

Sarah rubbed her wrists and tried to figure out how she should act to improve her chances of getting out of here and what exactly was going on.

"Greetings, Miss Conners. My name is Alexander Harris and this is my associate Elizabeth Summers. We're with Homeland Security and your case raised some red flags. I'm not going to lie and claim we believe cyborgs from the future are coming back in time, but anyone with half a brain should have noticed and flagged, not only the big guy who treats small arms fire like rain drops, but the actions of Cyberdine industries who has been paying Hammond a rather large grant for suspicious tests and bought the steel mill where you fought the last 'Terminator'," Xander explained.

"I - I can't think of another explanation that fits the facts," Sarah said, wondering if someone would actually listen this time.

"Neither can I," Xander admitted. "Well, actually, I can think of a couple, but they amount to the same thing for the most part; and really, where the enemy comes from is less important than that there is in fact an enemy and there is solid evidence that there is an enemy!"

"That... actually sounds reasonable," Sarah admitted in shock.

"The chances of your son being the future savior of mankind are laughable, but it costs next to nothing to train him like he is, since we train people by the dozens on how to survive and help the United States recover in case of its near total obliteration due to outside forces," Xander continued.

"You're joking," Sarah said in shock.

Xander shook his head. "We specialize in worst-case scenarios, and since there are always a number of small groups who believe the world's going to end for surprisingly rational reasons, it's never hard to channel their efforts into constructive directions."

"So my son is training with groups who are preparing for Judgment Day?" Sarah asked intently.

"Yes," Xander agreed. "But since we arranged it, we can't count it as a data point in favor of your end-of-the-world scenario."

"Meaning?" she asked.

"It doesn't add evidence to your claim, it just means he's a step closer to being able to save humanity should the worst occur."

"I'm not sure there's any solid evidence I can offer that would prove my story," Sarah admitted.

"We have people trained to investigate these things," Xander said. "You are to be reunited with your son and trained just as he is. This serves the dual purpose of preventing anyone from assassinating you and adding another layer of protection for John."

"I've collected all the evidence we need," Botty said.

"We'll grab Sarah's personal effects on the way out," Xander decided, as the two orderlies outside groaned and regained consciousness.

Typing by: Ordieth!

AN: A different setup for the Xander and Botty meet Sarah Conner story.