A/N1: Parts of this chapter is my take on the events of New Order.
A/N2: I know that Dr. Carson Becket is Scottish but I'm not really sure how to put a Scottish accent in writing
A/N3: Next chapter would probably be up in about 1 and a half weeks. Maybe earlier… depends on many, many different things.
Advanced Warning: The F word (not the Gordon Ramsey show) is used near the end of this chapter
Asgard vessel Daniel Jackson
Willow was up and walking about the Daniel Jackson aimlessly. She wasn't able to get much rest mainly due to the nightmares Major Carter was having about her experiences with Fifth, the human form replicator who had held her captive and literally mentally tortured her. Willow knew that Colonel O'Neill and the others were doing their best to calm and reassure the Major that everything would be alright, but Willow couldn't handle the loud thoughts and feelings of abandonment, anger and fear that were just coming off from the Major.
Now alone with her own thoughts and only a whisper from Major Carter's thoughts, Willow had finally been able to recall everything that happened to herself, including the dream she had involving Buffy; and that had made her blush. She also remembered Dr. Frasier being there in the same dream and smiled. If she really was ascended, then that meant she really, technically, wasn't dead.
"Should I tell them or shouldn't I?" thought Willow to herself
Willow had no idea how her friends would take it, especially Major Carter and Daniel since one was Dr. Frasier's best friend and the other loved the doctor with all his heart. Then her thoughts went to Cassie, about what her reaction would be when Willow told her that her adopted mother was not really dead, she was just living in a higher plane of existence.
"Maybe it would be best if they don't know, yet" she told herself
After walking for almost ten minutes, Willow reached the room which held her medical pod. She looked around and could see the shells that were still near the pod from where she shot at Colonel O'Neill and Daniel. As she was walking to the window that looked out into space, she noticed Thor was at his console moving some stones around while looking at a schematic of the Daniel Jackson.
"Hi Thor" said Willow waving at him
"Lieutenant Rosenberg" said Thor, "I trust you have been well rested?"
"Yes, thank you. And please Thor, call me Willow" she said smiling
"Very well, Willow" replied Thor
"Umm… you said that you wanted to talk to me about something earlier?" said Willow
"Yes, if it is alright with you, I would like to request a sample of your DNA" said Thor
"My DNA?" asked Willow
"Yes" said Thor expressionless, "as you know, all Asgard use cloning technology to procreate. However, after millennia of cloning ourselves, our bodies have begun to deteriorate."
"Yes, Major Carter has already briefed me about that after the mission to save Heimdall" said Willow, "I think she described it as making a copy of a copy for millennia would eventually cause the copied bodies to fall apart"
"I am hoping that your DNA would be able to help us to halt or even reverse that deterioration" said Thor, "in addition, using it to hopefully cure another problem we have encountered"
"What happened?" asked Willow
"Our recent efforts to fix our cloning issue have left us with a degenerating genetic condition" said Thor to a shocked Willow, "by our estimates we, as a race, will be extinct in twenty of your years"
"What?" said Willow horrified, "You're joking right?"
"I am not" said Thor
"Maybe Major Carter will be able to help you" said Willow
"Unfortunately, your team must not know of our condition yet" said Thor
"Why not?" said Willow trying her best not to shout
"Your people are still at war with the Goa'uld" said Thor, "and even though you are making significant progress in the war, splitting the focus between defeating the Goa'uld and helping the Asgard at this crucial time may derail that progress" and he continued, "we still have the replicators to deal with, and if the Tau'ri help us, they too will be targeted by the replicators in earnest. Should that happen, the Tau'ri may be attacked on two fronts, making it a distinct possibility that the Tau'ri will lose. As it is, the Asgard are barely winning against the replicators, we would be unable to help the Tau'ri against a combined Goa'uld and replicator threat. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I think I do" said Willow, "I don't like it, and I know the others won't either, but I understand"
"I believe that you are a very unique individual, even among the Tau'ri" said Thor, "O'Neill has said that you have expressed certain abilities?"
"Yes" said Willow, "So far it's been just Telekinesis and Telepathy, but before that I used to practice magic"
"Magic?" said Thor as his eyes widened, "That is indeed interesting" he continued as he walked over to a console near the medical pod, "But as I was saying, may I have a sample of your DNA?"
"If you think it will help, then yes" said Willow
"Please step into the pod" said Thor pointing to the vertical device she was in a short time ago
As Willow stepped into the pod, the cover closed and she saw Thor, moving another set of white stones on another console. She felt a tiny prick on her arm before the cover opened again and she was let out.
"Wow that was fast" said Willow
"Thank you Willow" said Thor as he turned back to his console and immediately his eyes widened again, "the preliminary scans of your DNA indeed show that you have a very unique genetic makeup, however I would have to consult with the Asgard Science Council on Orilla"
"Ok…" said Willow confused, "is there anything I have to worry about?"
"No" said Thor as he went pick up an item underneath the console, "Could you please hold on to this crystal?" he continued as he handed Willow a crystal in the shape of a cube.
"Sure" said Willow as she reached for and took the cube from Thor, "it's beautiful, what does it….. woah!" she continued as the cube started to give off a brilliant white light. She looked on in amazement as the light grew brighter and brighter until the entire room and part of the outside corridor was lit up.
"Interesting" said Thor as he took back the cube from Willow's hands and the light vanished immediately
"What was that Thor" asked Willow
"It was simply a test, Willow" said Thor, "However I will still have to consult the Science Council first. Do not worry, you are fine. I shall get back to you as soon as possible"
"Alright Thor, I'll hold you to that" said Willow smiling as she turned to look out the window, "Wow, looks like we're home"
"Hey campers" said Colonel O'Neill followed by Major Carter, Daniel and Teal'c, "Hey Red"
"Hi Sir" said Willow
"O'Neill, we have reached Earth" said Thor, "I have notified Stargate Command that you will be beamed directly into your Gateroom"
"Sure Thor" said the Colonel
"Thank you for the save Thor" said the Major as white light enveloped the members of SG1 and the next thing they knew, they were rematerialised in the Gateroom.
"Welcome back SG1" said Dr. Weir, "All of you go for your post mission checkups" Dr. Weir continued, "debriefing in four hours"
"Yes, ma'am" said the Colonel with a smile, "move out kids"
Meanwhile the lone Asgard on the Daniel Jackson turned his ship around and entered hyperspace for the trip back to Orilla.
"What an interesting female" thought Thor to himself as he was piloting his ship through the hyperspace corridor.
Two days after the replicator incident
Willow was in Major Carter's lab when Colonel O'Neill walked in with Daniel and Teal'c
"Whatcha guys doing?" asked the Colonel
"Major, should we tell him?" said Willow smiling
"I think we should" replied Major Carter, "Well sir, you remember that generator design Willow drew during the time you had the Ancient knowledge downloaded into your brain?"
"Vaguely" replied the Colonel
"At first we thought it was a variation of a Naquada generator" said the Major, "instead, this is what it does" she said as Willow pressed a few buttons on a cube shaped device
The Colonel, Daniel and Teal'c stepped away from the entry way just as a thin silver layer of energy swept upwards from two contacts on the floor to another two contacts at the top of the entrance.
"It's a force shield generator" said Willow
"Sweet!" said the Colonel as he reached for the area where the silver energy had swept up, "OUCH!" he shouted as the energy gave him a mild shock.
"Oops. Sorry Sir" said the Major as she deactivated the shield, "I think the original design was to use it as to hold prisoners so that anyone trying to escape would get a shock. But we should be able to change the settings so that it can be used in place of the doors we already have without harming anyone"
"Again, sweet" said the Colonel
"And the best thing is Sir" said Willow, "this can be retrofitted into the existing structures on base. We could even use this shield to reinforce doors to the Gateroom, or even change the shape of the field to have an extra protection for the iris"
"We just need Dr. Weir's go ahead and we can start retrofit by the end of the month" said Major Carter
"Actually no you can't" said the Colonel to the surprise of everyone there
"What's going on Jack?" asked Daniel
"Well that's why I asked you and Teal'c to meet me here" said the Colonel looking at Daniel
"Sir?" said the Major confused
"Dr. Weir has been replaced, she's been selected to supervise the research on the Ancient outpost in Antarctica" said the Colonel
"So who's the new base commander Sir?" asked the Major
"I don't think he's going to like the job though. Too much paperwork" said the Colonel ignoring her question
"Jack" said Daniel, "Who's the new commander?"
"Brigadier General" said the Colonel, pausing to grimace and sit down on of the empty chairs, "Jack O'Neill"
"Congratulations Sir" said Willow smiling
"Congratulations Jack" said Daniel as he slapped him on the back before taking a seat next to Major Carter
"Is this not good news O'Neill?" asked Teal'c
"I've spent my entire career sticking it to the man" said the former Colonel O'Neill, now General, with a far off look in his eyes "I don't think I can be the man"
"We're glad it's you sir. We could have gotten someone a lot worse" said the Major before she stopped herself as everyone stared at her, "That didn't come out right"
"So General O'Neill Sir" said Willow pointing an imaginary microphone at the General, "Now that you're a General, what will you be doing next?"
"Paperwork" said the General as he laid his head on Major Carter's table, "lots and lots of paperwork"
"You know, now that you're the 'man'" said Daniel, "you can pretty much do whatever you want"
Immediately upon hearing that, General O'Neill raised his head and smiled
"Well, within reason Sir" said the Major as she noticed him staring at her
Willow was simply grinning; she knew exactly what the General had planned for Major Carter.
Willow: "You really shouldn't 'shout' your thoughts Sir. Telepath here"
O'Neill: "D'oh. Keep it a secret will ya? I still have to submit the paperwork"
Willow: "Yes sir, General Sir"
One Week later, Gateroom, SGC
Willow and SG1 along with the rest of the base was standing at attention in the Gateroom which was filled with the base personnel. The ones who could not make it into the Gateroom were crowded in the control room or the briefing room.
Willow listened as Dr. Weir made her farewell speech. Although Willow didn't know her for long, Dr. Weir was only stationed there for three months; she knew that she would still miss the dark haired woman. A minute later, she straightened as Dr. Weir introduced General O'Neill as the new commander of the base. He looked at SG1 as he passed by them to head up the ramp to the podium. She listened intently at the speech he gave everyone and could tell that although he didn't show it, the General really was excited about his new position even though he could not go travel off-world as much as he hoped.
"Hear, hear" said Daniel once the General's speech was over and Willow, along with everyone else put their hands together.
"This is the time" thought Willow to herself, "boy is Major Carter gonna be surprised"
"…. Announcing a promotion for Major Samantha Carter" said the General, "to Lieutenant Colonel"
Willow looked around to the former Major and grinned before shaking her hand. She was stunned with the promotion, so much so that the General had to call her up to the podium so that she could get her new rank insignia and take the oath. Willow could see and sense that the General was extremely proud of Lt. Colonel Carter and what she had done and, what she would go do in the future. As she walked back to take her place next to Willow, she smiled at the red head.
Carter: "You knew about this didn't you?"
Willow: "Maybe"
Willow grinned back at her.
"Before we finish the proceedings today, I have another surprise" said the General proudly, "I am proud to announce another promotion; the promotion of Lieutenant Willow Rosenberg to Captain"
This time it was Willow's turn to be in shock with her mouth hanging open. She looked at Lt. Colonel Carter, Teal'c and Daniel and they were all grinning at her and clapping.
Willow: "You guys knew about this didn't you?"
Daniel: "Maybe"
Carter: "Maybe"
Teal'c: "Perhaps"
Like with what happened with Lt Colonel Carter, Willow had to be gestured and nudged by her to go to the podium to receive her Captain insignia from the General.
"Congratulations, Captain Rosenberg" said the General as he took out the Lieutenant insignia and in its place, he put on a pair of shiny new Captain bars on either side of her shoulders.
"Thank you, Sir" said Captain Rosenberg as she saluted General O'Neill
After taking the oath, she walked back to her teammates grinning like a Cheshire cat after which, everyone was dismissed. Daniel and Teal'c, the non-military portion of SG1, hugged both Colonel Carter and Willow to congratulate them on their promotions.
"Alright kids", said the General as he walked down the ramp to meet his old team, "Firstly, SG1 will be on downtime for a week. Second, we'll have team night at my place tonight, plan on a sleep over. There'll be pizza and cake"
"Alright Jack" said Daniel, "how about we go out for lunch. Treat the new Lt. Colonel and Captain to some delicious steak?"
"I'll take that" said Lt Colonel Carter and the General
"Indeed" said Teal'c
"Shall we?" said Willow as they walked out of the Gateroom
30 minutes later, Women's locker room
"Willow" said Colonel Carter, "I'll meet you outside"
"Sure, ma'am" said Willow who was in the shower, "Give me ten minutes"
A few seconds later she heard the door to the locker room close and Colonel Carter talk to Daniel and the guys outside. She had already shut down the shower and opened the curtain to leave when she suddenly noticed her hand shaking. She quickly went to her locker and looked into the mirror she kept on the door. She saw the green of her eyes slowly turning grey and slowly her entire eye looked like a reflective black glass. She quickly sat down on the bench near her locker and concentrated on calming down. After a few minutes she stood back up and looked into the mirror again, and this time the black pupils and iris was gone only to be replaced by her natural white pupils and green eye color.
"Willow" said Colonel Carter as she peeked in, "everything alright?"
"Yes ma'am" replied Willow, "just a bit excited about today" as she managed a smile, "I'll be done in a little bit, how about I meet you at O'Malley's?"
"Umm… sure" said the Colonel, "Sure you're alright?"
"Yes ma'am" replied Willow, "see you there"
"Alright" said Colonel Carter before she turned around and closed the door.
Once the door was closed, Willow sat down on the bench and held her head in her hands.
"What's happening to me?" she asked herself before she slowly got up and put on her underwear and clean clothes.
"This is one of the happiest days of my life" she thought to herself, "but why do I feel something bad is going to happen soon".
She looked into the mirror again to make sure her eyes still had their natural shade of green and once everything was alright, she walked out of the locker room and went to meet with her teammates. Little did she know though how bad things were going to get soon and how much it would change her life forever.
Briefing Room, SGC, 1200 the next day
"Alright kids" said General O'Neill as he sat down at the head of the table, "Before everyone goes for their vacation, there is one thing that needs to be done before anything else"
Wanting to know what this 'thing' was, everyone leaned forward waiting to hear the General explain.
"As you know, the Ancient chair weapon in Antarctica seemed to react to my sitting down on it" said the General to nods from SG1, "well the egg heads there believe that a person has to be genetically predisposed to use that chair or at least that's the working theory"
Looking at the confused looks of those around him, the General continued "Each person stationed in the outpost has been ordered by Homeworld Security to activate the chair by sitting on it"
"Homeworld Security sir?" asked Willow
"That's the new government department that's looking over the Stargate Program, the SGC, Area 51 and the X-303 program" said the General
"Uh Sir, How many succeeded in activating the chair?" asked Colonel Carter
"Out of the fifty or so people there?" said the General, "only five have been able to activate the chair, although they had to do it with some effort"
"That's cool" said Willow
"Yes" said the General, "it's very cool"
"So what happens now?" asked Daniel
"Well, the man who theorized the genetic link to the Ancient chair, a Dr. Carson Beckett, has asked for blood samples from all personnel from the SGC especially the SG teams since they're the ones who would most likely encounter Ancient technology" said the General, "he's already in the base waiting for myself and SG1 to give our samples first before we leave for our vacations, trips to archaeological digs on other planets, testing doo-hickeys, or going fishing"
Once the General dismissed them, he tired a last ditch effort to convince everyone to go fishing at his cabin in Minnesota.
"Carter?"
"Sorry Sir, maybe another time. The item SG12 brought back looks…"
"Gah.." exclaimed the General waving his hands around, "it's alright Carter"
Willow saw the Colonel smile before she walked out of the briefing room and headed to the infirmary
"Daniel?"
"Sorry Jack, I've wanted to check out this dig. It looks like it could give us clues to…"
"Gah…" exclaimed the General again while Willow was trying to stifle a laugh behind him, "Never mind, enjoy the dig"
"Teal'c?"
Willow had to struggle not to laugh as the normally stoic Jaffa warrior simply smiled, bowed his head slightly and walked away
"OK, T" said the General after him, "that really didn't answer my question"
Then the General turned to Willow who was biting her lip trying not to laugh.
"Red?"
"Sorry Sir, I already got my tickets for my trip to Sunnydale" said Willow, "you're more than welcome to come with"
"Is there fishing there?" asked the General
"Sorry Sir" replied Willow shaking her head
"Aw nuts" said the General, who Willow sensed was happy with that answer, "Well, Red you should get going to the infirmary. Enjoy your trip"
"Yes Sir" she replied as the General turned to go to his office which was connected to the briefing room.
As Willow started to walk down the metal stairs connecting the briefing room to the control room one level down, she began to feel guilty about refusing the General's offer. So she turned around and walked toward his office and knocked on the closed door.
"Come" said the voice from inside
"Umm… Sir" said Willow as she opened the door, "I am sorry I couldn't accompany you to your cabin Sir"
"It's alright Red" said the General smiling, "I expected everyone to say no"
"Then why…?" asked Willow
"I enjoy watching their reactions" said the General grinning
The ability to feel emotions has helped Willow discover whether people are lying, and this time she sensed that the General wasn't telling the truth. She could tell that the General was upset that no one was able to go with him to the cabin out in the wilderness of Minnesota. And this revelation made Willow feel all the more guilty for not accepting his invitation, even though he asked at the last minute.
"Sir" said Willow nervously, "if it's alright with you…. The next time you go to fishing I mean… as long as there's no planetary ending problems.. Then if it's alright with you, I don't mind going fishing"
General was completely surprised, this was something he didn't ever suspect would happen. Even Daniel, who he knew for much longer than Colonel Carter and Teal'c, never voluntarily said he'll go fishing up at his cabin.
"Red" he said, "You don't have to feel guilty about saying no. Like I said, I like watching the reaction"
"Sir" said Willow more confidently this time, "the next time you ask, as long as the world doesn't end and if you ask early enough, you can definitely count on me accompanying you to your cabin"
"You're being serious?" said the General
"Yes Sir" replied Willow, "I'm sure even Cassie would like to spend some time enjoying herself before she starts college"
"Alright then" said the General, still a bit suspicious about the whole thing, "I'll hold you to that"
"It's a promise Sir" replied Willow smiling, "as long as I'm given a heads up beforehand"
"Alright" replied the General, "enough chit chat then Red, report to the infirmary and then get out of here for your trip"
"Yes sir" said Willow as she turned around, "see you next week"
Infirmary, SGC
When it was Willow's turn to give her sample, Dr. Beckett recognized her immediately
"Hello, aren't you Captain Rosenberg?" asked Dr. Beckett, "The girl who mysteriously appears at the Ancient outpost and then vanishes without a trace?"
"That would be me, Dr. Beckett" said Willow
"Please call me Carson"
"In that case, please call me Willow"
"I actually watched you sleep the first time I went to visit the General when he was trapped in the stasis pod" said Willow when suddenly she looked up at a surprised Carson looking back at her. Then she suddenly realized what she had said.
"No, No" said Willow waving her hands, "I didn't mean watching you sleep as in the creepy type of watching. I mean I just looked around and happened to see you sleeping on a cot. OK, even that sounds bad too. Please ignore what I said"
"I'll ignore that then" said a smiling Carson, "Before I take your blood sample are you feeling alright? Any dizziness? Coughing? Flu? Anything unusually happen to you health wise?"
"No Doc" said Willow, "Any recent stuff I had happen to me, should be on my file"
"Yes, I read it" said Carson as he prepared to take a sample of her blood, "you lost a lot of blood, had a traumatic brain injury and then got healed via an alien medical pod. Have I covered everything?"
"Pretty much" said Willow
"There's nothing else? No after effects?" asked Carson again. Willow could see that he was waiting for her answer before he took the sample.
"No, no after effects" lied Willow, "he doesn't need to know about the incident in the locker room. No one does" she thought to herself.
"Alright then" said Carson as he took her sample. He filled four vials with her blood before taking out the needle, putting a band-aid on her hand and helping her up, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes Doc. I'm alright. Thanks for your concern" said a smiling Willow to the Scottish doctor
Colorado Springs Airport, the next day
Willow was waiting at the gate for her flight to Sunnydale via Los Angeles. The flight was already delayed an hour due to inclement weather so all Willow could do was just sit at the gate and wait for the flight. As she sat down, various thoughts were going through her head. One was that this reminded her of what happened months ago, when she was at the exact same airport, waiting for the exact same delayed flight before the now General O'Neil called her and asked her to come back for the trip to the planet with the Ancient Repository of Knowledge. The subsequent result was Colonel O'Neill stuck in stasis for months on end. She also thought about what Thor had said, that he would be getting back to her as soon as possible about her DNA, and she was slightly worried about when that would be. She kept wondering to herself whether there was something wrong with her and why he seemed so interested.
Then she thought about the incident that happened in the women's locker room right after her promotion; as she thought about her reflection with the black, soulless eyes looking back at her, a chill ran up her spine. She knew that she couldn't tell anyone about that incident, not General O'Neill, not Buffy. It wasn't that she distrusted either of them, General O'Neill would try to help her in any way he can, even keep it quiet from groups like the rogue section of the NID but the SGC has had a history of leaks and infiltration by that group, so that was out of the question. Buffy too would try to help her but there was always the possibility that she and the others would try to bring her back in to battle or at least provide support against supernatural threats, but Willow loved travelling through the Stargate too much to leave the program. Her only hope was that maybe Thor would find something in the DNA sample she gave him that could account for what was happening to her.
An hour later, there was an announcement that there would be a further two hour delay for the flight to Sunnydale. Upon hearing that, all Willow could do was sit back and reflect on how her life has been so far. As she thought back to her first appearance at the SGC, meeting SG1, attending the academy, even her crush on Daniel, she realized that despite all the battles against the Goa'uld and the losses, she was really happy with her life. She felt much closer to General O'Neil than the others though thanks to the psychic link they shared during the whole Ancient Repository of Knowledge incident. She saw his hopes and dreams and his regrets and sorrows. When she remembered about the psychic link, she had a grin plastered on her face as she was the first human after millions of years, to see the lost city of Atlantis.
"I wonder if the link went both ways" thought Willow to herself, "I saw inside his mind, however unintentional it was, but I wonder if he saw inside mine"
She met new people, and while they weren't from the supernaturally charged crowd like Buffy, Tara, Dawn or even Spike and Angel; she still cared for them deeply, and while they had their ups and downs, they were like the family she always wanted. At that moment she recalled what she told Cassie, that sometimes you have to leave your home to find better experiences and that's exactly what happened, no matter how accidentally it was.
While she sat back, she closed her eyes to take a quick, and before she knew it, a couple of hours had passed before passengers for the flight to Los Angeles was called to board. She took out her SGC issued cell phone to check for any messages, and when there were none, she boarded her flight.
Willow's House, Sunnydale, CA, 2230 hours
Willow landed at Sunnydale late at night after another delay at Los Angeles. She hadn't actually called anyone to let them know that she was coming for a visit as it was meant to be a surprise. Instead of calling her friends, she took a cab from the airport to her parent's house. Willow knew the risks of travelling alone at night in Sunnydale but to her, that was another lifetime ago when she was mostly dependant on Buffy or Xander to save her butt from vampires and other monsters.
After an hour's drive, Willow reached her parents house. As she took out her keys, she looked around keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. She even tried to sense for any danger that seemed to be close by and found none, although she wasn't aware of how the presence of a vampire or demon or monster would appear to her. After finally finding her keys, she strode up to the door and opened it. She quickly stepped in and closed the door behind her while turning on the lights. Everything was the same, nothing changed. Her parents had allowed Willow to ask Xander to come by once in a while to water the plants, mow the lawn and just house sit for a while; however he was not allowed to have any parties in the empty house.
"Yeah, as if someone would want to hold a house party late at night", thought Willow to herself, "That's an invitation for a vampire to come for an all you can eat or drink buffet"
As she was walking to the kitchen, she wondered if the good old "Sunnydale Syndrome" was still in effect. She recalled how no matter how terrible things had gotten; people, especially the adults would find some way of explaining everything away.
"I'd better ask Buffy about that tomorrow" she told herself as she opened the fridge and quickly closed it, "Great, there's nothing here. But then again why would there be since there's no one living in the house anymore" she continued as she talked to herself.
She immediately reached for the phonebook and picked a new pizza place that just opened, or at least it wasn't open when Willow was here the last time.
"Damn, I haven't been back in a long time" she thought to herself as she looked through the listings and picked up her phone, "I think it's been at least two years" she told herself.
After she ordered a small pizza and a diet soda, she sat on her couch and turned on the television only to find Wormhole X-Treme was on and quickly changed the channel. "Yea, I'm actually living through that" she told herself, "No need to watch something that's based on the real thing". However, she did find it funny when she first heard about the incident with the alien called Martin Lloyd who was the creative consultant on this show about a fake SGC, which was actually based on the real SGC. What was even amazing to Willow, the Air Force had actually allowed it to be filmed in the first place.
"What was it General O'Neill said" thought Willow to herself, "Oh, it creates plausible deniability. If the existence of the Stargate program, the real one, leaks out then the leak can be blamed on a hyperactive imagination from a television show. Or something like that". "Aw what the hell" she continued, "might as well watch it and get some laughs"
After watching the show for a while, Willow heard the doorbell ringing and sensing no danger she opened the door and greeted the pizza delivery guy. She took the veggie pizza after paying for it and sat back down on the couch and continued watching the adventures of Colonel Danning (General O'Neill), Major Stacy Monroe (Lt Colonel Carter), Dr. Levant (Daniel) and Grell the Robot (Teal'c).
"I can't believe they made Teal'c into a robot" she thought to herself as she laughed watching the show.
After having finished watching Wormhole X-Treme and some Letterman, Willow turned off the TV and went off to her room. While the lights were off, she walked into her room and walked straight to the window. Moving her curtains slightly to one side, she looked out into the driveway just to make sure that nothing was wrong.
"I think I'm getting paranoid" said Willow to herself as she closed the curtains once again and reached for the light switch. Once the lights were on, she took a cursory glance around her room. "Everything is still the same" she said smiling to herself, "I kinda miss this". As she was looking around she caught sight of an envelope on her study desk. Picking it up she saw that it was a graduation card from her parents, smiling she opened it and read the contents and grinned. As soon as she finished reading the card, she put it on the side as a display piece and walked over to her closet to get her PJ's. After changing, she reached under her bed and retrieved a back pack. Opening it she saw she still had her emergency supply of three wooden stakes and a bottle of holy water. Closing the back pack again, she pushed it back under her bed and lay down. After 20 minutes of texting with Cassie, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Buffy's House, the next morning
Willow drove her parent's car to Buffy's house the next morning. She was hoping that no one found out that she was in town. As she parked her car, she noticed that there was movement inside the house and that no-one had seemed to see her yet. Willow got out of the car and walked up the driveway and knocked on the door.
"Hey Xander, would you get the door?" said a familiar voice from behind the door.
As Xander opened the door, he got the biggest surprise of his day.
"Willow?" asked Xander in surprise
"Hi Xander" said Willow smiling
"Willow!" screamed Xander as he wrapped his arms around Willow and hugged her tight
"Xander?" asked Buffy, "What's going…. Wills!" screamed Buffy as she took the place of Xander in hugging her best friend.
"What are you doing here? When did you get in?" asked Buffy
"My CO gave us all downtime for a few days so I thought I'd come by to visit" said Willow, "I wanted it to be a surprise"
"Believe you me" said Xander, "we are surprised"
"Wills" said Buffy, "We're actually just heading out. You should come with us, I'm sure the others would love to meet you"
"Sure, where are we going?" asked Willow
"Well you're going with me to the warehouse district" said Buffy
"And I'll be going downtown to 3S" said Xander
"3S?" asked Willow
"Summer's Security Services" said Buffy before turning to Xander, "I told you Xander, don't call it 3S. Makes it sound like a motel room or something"
"Whatever you say my queen" said Xander with a bow before he gave Buffy a quick kiss on the lips and walked over to his car.
Willow didn't miss this interaction between Buffy and Xander, and her heart fell when she saw the kiss between them. "I guess that dream on the Daniel Jackson was just that, a dream" she thought to herself.
"Earth, to Willow. Earth, to Willow" said Buffy as she waved her hands in front of her face, "You alright?"
"Huh" said Willow, "oh yea. I'm alright. I'm just happy that I'm seeing you guys again"
"I missed you too" said Buffy, "come on, let's go" she said as Willow got into the passenger side of Buffy's car
As she backed up her car to the road and drove away, Willow was curious about some things.
"So you and Xander?" asked Willow
"Yea" said Buffy as she blushed red, "we…ah….got together after I returned from Colorado Springs after visiting you. I still had some issues to deal with and Xander was dealing with Anya's loss. So we helped each other by talking and just being there for one another, and eventually we got to be much more than just friends"
Willow had sensed that Buffy was telling the truth but she still couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Xander's luck.
"I'm happy for you Buff" said Willow trying to hide her disappointment
"How about you?" asked Buffy as she glanced at Willow, "anyone in your life right now?"
"Not really" replied Willow, "I actually just got back from deployment overseas so I really didn't have the time. Plus my work keeps me really busy"
"Deep Space Telemetry people need to be deployed?" asked Buffy
"Yep" said Willow
"So where are we going?" asked Willow trying to change the subject
"You know the Watchers Council was annihilated right?" asked Buffy
"Yea, I think it was Xander who told me about it when I came back to Sunnydale for your funeral after your fight with Glory" said Willow
"Well, now only Giles has access to the Council's wealth and connections. So we decided to restart and rename the Council and headquarter it in Sunnydale" said Buffy, "In the meantime, Giles is using his connections to gather as many potential slayers and watchers while expanding the new organization to the UK, and Europe for now"
"That sounds cool" said Willow
"We're trying to get an agreement with the Hayes administration to get full autonomy in combating supernatural threats in the States, no interference from the government whatsoever and complete immunity for slayers when they face threats here" said Buffy excitedly, "Giles and his contacts are trying to do the same with the UK and European governments", she continued, "and the potential slayers are being trained by me, Faith, Spike and even Angel shows up sometimes to help out"
"How about the witches and psychics?" asked Willow
"Tara is in charge of that department, we have a lot here in the States and in Europe who report directly to her" said Buffy, "She's doing really well, she misses you"
"I miss all of you" said Willow, "but wow, looks like you've got everything figured out and settled. But why do you have the 3S?"
"That's a normal business" said Buffy, "I mean even with Giles' new found wealth, the Slayer business doesn't really make that much money. So usually we contract our services as security or bodyguards for VIP's. Plus it gives the potentials some much needed real world experience"
"Interesting concept" said Willow smiling
"Well, it works" said Buffy, "also we still do daily patrols on a rotational basis. I'm just glad I'm not the only one doing it like before"
"Yea, I remember those days" said Willow
"And what do you know, here we are" said Buffy as she turned into an industrial area with warehouses and other buildings. She drove for a few more minutes before she stopped at a grey five story building.
"Willow Rosenberg" said Buffy smiling as she got out of the car, "Welcome to the Slayer Council"
Slayer Council HQ, Sunnydale, CA
As Willow followed Buffy to the entrance of the building, she felt like fingers were digging into her mind while waiting for Buffy to scan her card at the entrance to open the door.
Willow: "Whoever it is trying to get into my head. Stop it. NOW!"
After her telepathic shout, Willow felt the 'fingers' retreat fairly quickly, "Guess I have to keep my defences up here" she thought silently to herself
As they entered the lobby of the building, Willow saw a girl she didn't know at the front desk who was rubbing her forehead.
"Morning Amy" said Buffy to the girl, "You feeling alright?"
"Yea" said Amy, "I'm just having a headache Miss Summers, but I'll be fine"
"Alright then" said Buffy, "go to the medical unit and get yourself checked out"
"Yes ma'am" said Amy, "Oh, your sister is here to see you ma'am, and she said she'll be waiting for you in your office"
"Thanks Amy" said Buffy, "I need to get a pass for my friend here"
"Yes ma'am" said Amy as she turned to look at Willow, "Name please"
"Willow Rosenberg"
"Hold on" said Amy surprised, "THE Willow Rosenberg?"
"Just Willow" she replied, "I'm not 'THE' anything"
"Sorry ma'am" said Amy nervously, "If I had known, I wouldn't have tried to…."
"That was you?" asked Willow incredulously
"What's going on? Wills?" asked Buffy
"When I was coming in I felt someone trying to read my mind" said Willow before she turned back to Amy, "I really don't like people reading my mind without permission"
"Amy" said Buffy exasperated, "how many times have I told you not to do that?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Summers" said Amy
"Take the day off Amy" said Buffy as she got Willow's pass from her
"I'm sorry Willow, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again" said Buffy, "you're my best friend and are welcome here at any time"
"It's alright Buff" said Willow, "I just like keeping my private thoughts to myself. Sorry if I got a bit angry back there"
"Don't worry about it" said Buffy, "I sent her home, hopefully she'll think about what she did wrong and not do it again"
"Hiya B" said a familiar voice behind Willow and as she turned around to meet the person with that voice, she was suddenly given a big hug, "Red! What the hell are you doing back" said a grinning Faith.
"Hi Faith" said Willow smiling, "I got some vacation time from work so I thought I'd come back and meet up with you guys"
"Well it's great to see you again, has Boss lady here given you the grand tour yet?" asked Faith
"Actually" said Buffy, "I just received a page on my phone, ummm… Faith.. do you mind giving Willow the grand tour?"
"Sure no problem" said Faith
"Sorry Wills" said Buffy, "I hope you don't mind, something urgent just came up"
"No….. It's alright" said Willow smiling, "I'm sure Faith will be a great tour guide"
As Buffy turned and walked hurriedly away, Willow couldn't help but feel at unease.
"I don't want to read Buffy's mind but something's wrong here" thought Willow to herself as she strengthened the guards around her mind, "why do I get the feeling that my best friend is lying to me"
"Come on Red" said Faith as she broke Willow's chain of thought, "first stop…. The slayer training areas.. you gotta meet this Kennedy chick, I think she may be right up your alley"
As Buffy walked away from Willow, she couldn't help but feel guilty about what she was doing. She reached a restricted stairway with a number pad on the door and, after she input her code, she opened it and walked down one level. Once downstairs, she used another code on another locked and restricted doorway leading to a room with several monitors and technology. Once she was inside the room, she walked towards two girls who were standing in a corner looking over the shoulder of a man looking at read-outs on a computer.
"Amy" said Buffy to the girl who was at the desk in a lobby until a few minutes ago, "what did you find out?"
"She's got defences Buffy" said Amy, "I thought I could get in unnoticed but she managed to give me a headache. Now I think she'd be on guard the whole time she's here, and I don't think I alone will be able to break her guards"
"Thanks Amy" said Buffy, "seriously, go get checked out for your headache. We need our psychics to be alert and ready at all times"
"Dawn" said Buffy turning towards her younger sister, "What have you found out?"
"Well we've been running a search since you arrived at the HQ with Willow" said Dawn, "but there's nothing"
"Nothing?" said Buffy surprised, "what do you mean nothing?"
"I mean nothing" said Dawn, "we hacked into the FBI, NSA even the CIA and Air Force databases but the vast majority of information about Willow after she left Sunnydale has been scrubbed"
"What?" asked Buffy shocked
"Look" said Dawn as she showed Buffy the computer monitor, "since she entered the Air Force academy, almost 90% of her records have been deemed either classified or Top Secret. All we know is what she majored in for her Bachelors Degree and the grades she got for her classes"
"Damn it" said Buffy as she put down her hands on a table, "I hate doing this"
"Sorry Buffy" said Dawn, "the Willow upstairs isn't the Willow who left Sunnydale six years ago. We really don't know her anymore. I don't think we have a choice but to consider her a threat, for now. At least until we know where her loyalties lie"
"Fuck!" shouted Buffy as she slammed her hand on the table, cracking it, and turned around and walked away.
General O'Neill's Cabin, Silver Creek, Minnesota
General O'Neill was enjoying a day of fishing and drinking beer at his cabin in the woods of Silver Creek when suddenly his cell phone rang.
"Oh for cryin' out loud" he exclaimed as he bent down to place his beer and fishing pole on the wooden dock so that he could pick up the call, "O'Neill" he said once he pressed the green button on the phone
"General O'Neill, this is Agent Barret from the NID"
"What do you want?" asked the General, "Be quick about it my fish are escaping"
"Sorry to bother you General" said Agent Barret, "But we seem to have a problem"
"What problem?" asked the General as he was rubbing his forehead.
"Well, we recently tracked some individuals who hacked into FBI, CIA, NSA and Air Force Databases just to conduct a background check on Captain Willow Rosenberg" said Agent Barret
"What?" exclaimed the General as he quickly stood up and walked into his cabin, "who did it and from where?"
"I'm not sure of the organization or the individuals, they've been trying to hide their trail, but we pinpointed the hacking as having originated from Sunnydale, a city in California" said the agent
"Damn it! Captain Rosenberg is there now, visiting her friends" exclaimed the General
"General, this is unlike the background check that was conducted on Colonel Carter by the FBI on behalf of Pete Shanahan" said Agent Barret, "at least that was done through the proper channels, no matter how unethical Shanahan's reasons were. But this, these people hacked into four federal databases to find background information on one person who is participating in a classified program and that makes this a national security issue"
"Yes I know about the check done on Carter by that idiot" said the General, "and I agree that this thing with Captain Rosenberg constitutes a national security breach. I'll handle it"
"Very well, General" said Agent Barret
"Oh, and Barret" said the General, "make sure those holes these hackers exploited gets plugged"
"We're already on it Sir" said Agent Barret
The General then pressed the red key to close the conversation with Agent Barret and pressed the number one on his speed dial. The phone on the other line was ringing three times until someone picked it up.
"This is General O'Neill, get me the President"