A/N: Another 8 reviews for the previous chapter! Thanks everyone who reviewed and read the story. I just finished this chapter today since it was a really, really, really slow day at work.
A/N 2: In this chapter, I go into some of the background to BtVS but since I'm not a regular watcher of the show (get it…. Watcher), I hope I've got the basics right.
A/N 3: As usual, the dialogue in italics is Willow mentally projecting her thoughts at others. Usually only to one person at a time unless stated.
The Rosenberg Residence, 2350hrs
On the way to her house from the former Slayer Council HQ, Willow was quietly staring outside the window of the van she was travelling in. Although earlier in the day she had driven her parents' car to Buffy's home, she did not want to get out of the van and pick it up. Instead she had asked the agent driving the van to stop by Buffy's home and handed her car keys to Daniel so that he could drive the car behind the van.
"Joyce must hate me so much now" thought Willow to herself as she thought about Buffy and Dawn's late mother, "I just got her children arrested."
After a little while SG1 reached Willow's house, she had offered her friends the use of the house to recuperate from the events of that night. As they entered the driveway, Colonel Carter could hear Willow sniffling and saw tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Willow" said the Colonel, "We're here. Wow, you have a nice house"
Willow: "Thank you Colonel"
Willow wiped the tears on her cheeks before she got out of the van and was followed by the Colonel, Daniel and Teal'c along with their overnight bags. Willow noticed that the General wasn't getting out of the van.
Willow: "General? Aren't you coming?"
"I can't come now Red" said the General, "I'm off to Washington for an emergency meeting with the President. He wants my full report on the events of tonight, so I gotta finish the paperwork on the flight there. Don't worry; I'll try to get him to talk to you so that you can make your appeal for your friends"
Willow: "Thank you Sir. I wish you were staying though, there are things that I need to say and it would be better if I told all of you together. Things that were probably never covered during the background check that was conducted when I appeared at the SGC"
"I understand Red" said the General, "but I need to get in front of this now so that you can talk to the big man. How about you let me in on what you wanna say tomorrow because no matter what happens, we'll find out tomorrow if the president will be talking to you"
Willow: "Ok Sir"
Willow tried to give a smile to General O'Neill but she felt that even a smile couldn't hide her immense sadness at the events that happened that day. All she knew was that she was extremely drained.
Willow: "Sir, with your permission I would like to visit Faith tomorrow at the hospital"
"Sure" said the General, "I'll let Barret know that you'll be visiting her tomorrow. Red, I really wouldn't put my hopes up. Everyone involved today from your friends' group will be taken to task for what happened to you and for the actions they took. You have to remember that ok"
Willow: "Yes sir"
"I'll talk to you tomorrow then" said the General as his driver reversed the van and went off towards the airport.
"Willow" said Daniel as he squeezed her shoulder, "let's go in shall we?"
Willow turned and walked towards the door and fished out the keys from her jeans. Once she found it, she turned the lock and opened the door so that everyone could file in.
Willow: "Please make yourselves at home. Sorry I haven't been able to do any shopping for dinner, I was gonna do it today but then… well you know what happened"
"It's alright Willow" said the Colonel
Willow: "Umm.. There is a late night pizzeria open that delivers. Daniel, here's the number"
Willow gave Daniel the number so that he could call for some pizza while Teal'c and the Colonel where just standing around nervously.
Willow: "Ma'am…. Teal'c… there are two bedrooms upstairs. Teal'c, you and Daniel can take the master bedroom, it's comfortable enough for three people to sleep there and I'll bring a cot later on. Ma'am, you could sleep in my room"
"Where will you sleep Willow Rosenberg?" asked Teal'c
Willow: "There's another cot in the study so I'll take that"
"I can take the study Willow" said the Colonel, "You should sleep in your room"
Willow: "I insist Colonel. Please. Anyway, that room has too many memories for me to handle now"
"Alright, the pizzas have been ordered" said Daniel as he appeared from the kitchen
Willow: "Maybe you guys should start without me, I'd like to go and lie down. I'll bring the cot in to the master bedroom. Colonel, there's about a hundred bucks in the cookie jar next to the coffee machine. Please use that to pay for the pizza, it's the least I could do for causing all of you trouble today. And please feel at home and use the TV, I think the remote control is on the coffee table there"
"Willow Rosenberg, It has been no trouble to help a friend in a time of need" said Teal'c
"Willow, you shouldn't be alone now. You can talk to us you know" said the Colonel
Willow: "Thank you Colonel, Teal'c. But I'm drained from today. Oh, there's some diet soda in the fridge in the basement, my mom says it just tastes better or something. Never tasted the stuff before. Also, no matter what, please don't invite anyone in even if they ask to be invited in. And two people should collect the pizza from the delivery guy just in case"
"That's a lot of rules" said Daniel
Willow: "That's how I survived Sunnydale, Daniel. Good night guys"
"Good night" said the remainder of SG1 to a retreating Willow. They could tell just from her body language that their teammate was not ok at all but at the same time, they wanted to give her some space to deal with the horrible events.
Willow reached the second floor and walked down the hallway slowly, her legs felt like lead as she struggled to make sense of what happened today. Her friends had threatened her, tried to attack her, tried to violate her and she had no idea what to think. Once she reached the study, she closed the door softly behind her and then leaned with her back against it. She didn't even make it to the cot or change clothes before she slowly slipped down to the carpeted floor while still leaning back and looking out at the full moon that was right outside her window.
Then slowly she began to cry. First it was just a few tears that fell down her cheeks and onto her hands, then she brought her knees in towards her body and covered her face with her hands before she completely broke down crying. Teal'c, who had silently followed Willow up the stairs heard her deep sobs and thought about knocking on the door to comfort her. At the last moment he decided against it, wanting to give her the privacy she needed to grieve for the events of today. He and the other's knew that the betrayal of the people Willow considered her friends, would run very deep and he hoped that they would be able to help her.
Teal'c: "Willow Rosenberg, you are not alone. If you wish to talk, SG1 is here for you"
Teal'c didn't expect an answer from his upset teammate; he only intended to give her some moral support before he walked slowly down to the living room.
Willow had heard what Teal'c said to her, she just didn't want to answer anymore. All she knew was that her friends betrayed her and it hurt all the way down to her soul. As the night went on, she slept leaning on the door and tears falling out from her eyes the whole night.
The Rosenberg Residence, the next morning, 0700hrs
It was Colonel Carter who had woken up first. At first she was confused about where she was but after glancing at the pictures on the nightstand, she recalled that she was sleeping in Willow's room in Sunnydale. She slowly got up, placed her feet on the carpet and looked around. There was nothing unusual about Willow's room; some posters on the walls, a desk full of books with a backpack in one corner and a closet full of clothes; it basically could the room of any regular girl's room, not just one who used to apparently face vampires and now regularly faces off against alien parasites and travels to alien planets.
She got up and stretched a bit to remove the stiffness from her muscles before she went to use the rest room and freshen up. As she approached the room the men were sleeping in, she could hear Daniel snoring away and she tried not to laugh. It was one of the most unlucky things to share a tent when off-world, or in this case a room Earth side, with a snoring Daniel.
After the Colonel was done freshening up, she approached the study where Willow said she would be sleeping. Her heart broke for the youngest member of her team as she knocked softly on the door. She heard what sounded like something hitting the inside of the door twice before it opened to reveal a puffy, red eyed Willow.
"Good morning Willow" said the Colonel softly
Willow: "Morning, Colonel"
"Did you sleep at all?" asked the Colonel as she spied Willow's untouched cot.
Willow: "Kind of ma'am. I slept leaning against the door. Hit my head twice on it just now"
"Sorry about that Willow" said the Colonel as she looked at the red head, "Hey you wanna hear something funny?"
Willow: "Sure"
"Come on" said the Colonel as she grabbed Willow's wrists and led her to the area outside the master bedroom where they could hear Daniel snoring like a Hoover vacuum cleaner.
The two female members of SG1 then ran back into Willow's room and laughed until they had tears coming out of their eyes.
"See, we missed that smile of yours last night" said the Colonel, "are you feeling a bit better this morning?"
Willow: "A little bit ma'am, there's only so much I could cry in a day. But it helped"
"I'm glad" replied the Colonel, "I can't imagine what you must feel like right now. Just know that we're here for you, alright?"
Willow: "Yes ma'am. Well, I should go and get washed up then. I think there are some eggs, coffee, milk, flour and orange juice in the fridge. I could make some eggs and pancakes"
"Alright" replied the Colonel, "I'll go wake up Teal'c and Daniel. Oh, I got a call from the Area 51 guys. The healing device should be here at your house within the hour"
Willow: "Thank you ma'am. Well, I guess I'll see you and the guys downstairs"
The Rosenberg Residence, 0800hrs
After the Colonel and Willow had breakfast and coffee, they sat down at the dining table and just talked. Willow was listening to some stories about how General Jacob Carter, the Colonel's father, would take her to a park when she was a child with her older brother Mark. Just then the door bell rang and Willow cautiously walked up to the door and looked through the peephole.
She saw someone in a dark suit standing at the porch carrying a metal case. Once Colonel Carter was standing beside her, she opened the door.
"Ma'am" said the dark suit wearing man, "I am Dr. Stillson, and I've got the device from Area 51 with me as requested"
"Thank you Doctor" said Colonel Carter as she took the briefcase from him, "Please wait in the car, I'll bring this to you in a few minutes"
"Yes Ma'am" said Dr. Stillson
Once she had the briefcase, Colonel Carter asked Willow to close the door and then lie on the couch.
Willow: "So the device reacts with the Naquada in your blood ma'am?"
"Yes" said the Colonel smiling, "Now shush, this takes a lot of concentration to work"
As Willow lay down on the couch, Colonel Carter slipped the device onto her hands and held in over Willow's throat, while closing her eyes. A few seconds later, the device began to glow and Willow felt a tingling sensation inside her throat. It felt as if something was scratching the inside of her throat. Once the scratching sensation had vanished, Willow noticed the glow from the device fade and became inactive.
"Alright Willow" said the Colonel, "That should do it, can you try to talk"
"Hello… testing… testing one…two…three…" said Willow as she struggled to talk, "ma'am, why do I sound like a female Clint Eastwood?"
"Must be a side effect of having repaired your vocal chords" said the Colonel, "I think your old voice may return after you use your regenerated vocal chords for a few months"
"May, ma'am?" asked Willow
"Well, Dr. Brightman or Dr. Warner will be better to answer that" said the Colonel
"Thank you ma'am" said Willow, "for giving me my voice back"
"Think nothing of it Willow" said the Colonel as she smiled before putting the device back into the metal case.
She and Willow then walked towards the front door and out to the driveway, "Here you go Dr. Stillson" said the Colonel
"All in a day's work, Dr. Carter" he replied as he reversed the car and drove away.
Just as then, another unmarked car carrying government license plates drove onto Willow's driveway. Willow and the Colonel looked at each other confused; they weren't expecting another car to meet them at Willow's house. After this new car parked at the driveway, the driver came out and stood at attention in front of the two Air Force officers, "Colonel Carter.. Captain Rosenberg…Lieutenant Garza reporting for duty!" said the young officer as he saluted Willow and the Colonel.
"Ummm… lieutenant" said the Colonel returning the salute, "Who sent you here?"
"General O'Neill, ma'am" he said, "I have orders to deliver Captain Rosenberg's Dress Blues and this letter from both General O'Neill and the President of the United States. Also I am to drive Dr. Jackson, Murray, the Captain and yourself to witness the transfer of the prisoners at the hospital and the police station to the NID before taking you to the airport where a jet will be taking you to D.C."
"Thank you Lieutenant" said the Colonel, "Please wait here while we get ready. Give us two hours"
"Yes ma'am" said the Lieutenant as he went back into the car and handed Willow her Dress Blues and the two letters.
"Thank you lieutenant" said Willow as Garza looked at her strangely, "Yeah, sorry about the voice. I'm recovering from a bad cold"
Two hours later, the girls had managed to wake up Teal'c and Daniel and they quickly had breakfast and left the house. As the car was driving away, she looked back at her house and immediately missed it, she missed everything about this place but she knew that this would be the final time she came back to Sunnydale.
"Ma'am" said Willow, "Would it alright if I was the one who went to the hospital?
"Shouldn't be a problem" said the Colonel, "We'll go to the police station and oversee the transfer of your friends to NID jurisdiction. We'll also sit in on their interrogations in Washington"
"Sounds good ma'am" said Willow
Sunnydale General Hospital, 1130hrs
Willow was dropped off at the hospital and was told by Colonel Carter that the whole process should take about an hour, maybe less if they were lucky. All she had to do was witness the sign over of the prisoners from the custody of the Sunnydale PD to the custody of the NID.
She took the elevator to the secure wing on the fifth floor and walked towards the guards who were standing in front of the entrance.
"Identify yourself" said one of the guards
"Captain Willow Rosenberg, I'm here to oversee the transfer of the prisoners" said Willow as she tried to keep her voice professional
The guard looked at a clipboard that seemed to have a list of names, "Ah, Captain Rosenberg.. You can go in. Agent Barret has been expecting you" said the second guard as he stepped aside and put a key into a hidden lock before turning it. Once he turned the key, the double doors opened up into a hallway with doors on either side.
"Hello Captain Rosenberg" said Agent Barret as he approached her and offered his hand.
"Good morning Agent Barret" said Willow as she took the offered hand and shook it
"General O'Neill told us to expect you" said Agent Barret, "We've already cleared Rupert Giles, Tara Maclay, Joshua Williams and Faith Lehane for travel. We're just waiting for the paperwork to come through from the police department and then we'll be on our way"
"So D.C huh?" said Willow as they walked towards one of the doors
"Yes" said Agent Barret, "our HQ is there plus you'll be meeting with General O'Neill anyway, so maybe you can sit in during their interviews with the others"
"Have charges been brought against them yet?" whispered Willow
"Not yet" said the Agent, "but it doesn't look good"
"Can I speak to Faith… I mean Miss Lehane?" asked Willow
"Sure" said the Agent, "General O'Neill already informed me that you wanted to talk to her"
"Thanks Agent Barret" said Willow smiling as she opened the door and entered a private room. The curtain was pulled to hide the bed from the view of the main door. Willow pulled back the curtain and smiled at the brunette who was asleep.
Willow slowly walked over to the sleeping Slayer and held her hand and squeezed it lightly. She knew that talking now would lead to many uncomfortable questions so Willow decided it would be better to 'talk' to Faith telepathically.
Willow: "Faith… Faith… wake up"
Faith slowly moved her head and opened her eyes which were locked with Willows.
"Hey Red" said Faith smiling, "What's with the uniform?"
Willow: "What? You're telling me you don't like it?"
"No" said Faith as she grinned, "I love people in uniform, I thought you knew that"
Willow: "I did. How's the ankle?"
"Oh you know.. Slayer healing" said Faith, "I should be jumping around by tomorrow. Wait, will they let me jump around in prison?"
Willow: "Faith, I've got my orders from the President for a meeting later today. I'm heading to D.C after I oversee your transfer to the NID. Hopefully I can do something to help all of you"
"You weren't kidding were you, Red" said Faith, "You really have a meeting with the President?"
Willow: "You betcha"
"Your work, whatever it is must be really important for that honour" said Faith
Willow: "Well, my C.O's the one who's the more important one. I couldn't have gotten this meeting without him. Listen when they take you to D.C. just answer these guys honestly. My teammates will observe the interviews as well. I'll join up after the meeting with the President"
"You're not coming with us?" asked Faith
Willow: "I've got a chartered flight to catch right after I've witnessed the papers being signed"
"Oh, ok" said Faith, Willow could sense some disappointed from her
Willow: "But I'll see you in D.C"
"Well there is that" said Faith, "Have you seen the others?"
Willow: "Not yet"
"I know Tara, Giles and Joshua are here somewhere" said Faith
Willow: "I know, I don't think I want to talk to them yet. Plus I don't Joshua at all, the idiot tired to violate my mind"
"Just go and say hello to Giles and Tara then, Red" said Faith smiling
Willow: "If you say so ma'am"
Just as Willow turned around, she saw Agent Barret open the door and come into the room along with someone wearing the uniform of the Sunnydale PD.
"Captain Rosenberg" he said, "We're done with the paperwork, just need you to witness the signatures. Also I received a call from Colonel Carter, she'll be here in five minutes to pick you up"
Willow: "That was fast"
"Uhhhh, Captain" said the Agent as he looked at Willow in surprise, "I thought…"
Willow: "She doesn't have clearance Agent Barret, it would be kinda strange to be seriously injured yesterday and then be miraculously cured the next don't you think?"
"Sorry" said the Agent as he looked at Willow sheepishly
"Sorry about what?" asked Faith and the officer from the Sunnydale PD together
"Nothing Miss Lehane, Chief" said Agent Barret before he turned back to Willow, "Captain Rosenberg, this is Chief Cox of the Sunnydale PD, he's here to transfer the prisoners to the custody of the NID"
The Chief handed a piece of paper to Faith to sign, before giving it to Agent Barret as the receiving party and finally the paper was given to Willow where she signed her name on the 'witness' line. After all the paperwork regarding Faith was taken care of, she followed Agent Barret and the Chief as they left the room.
Willow: "I'll be back Faith"
Faith just looked at Willow and smiled as she walked away.
They did the same things for Giles, Tara and Joshua in regards to the paperwork. Once everything was done, the Chief thanked Willow and Agent Barret before walking away.
"Well Agent" said Willow once they were out of earshot of everyone, "I guess it's my time to go then, I just received a text from Daniel. They're downstairs waiting for me"
"Very well then, thanks for your help" said the Agent, "we'll see you in Washington"
"Yep" said Willow, "I'll just say goodbye to Miss Lehane before I leave"
Willow then walked back to Faith's room where she saw a nurse, under the watchful eye of a female NID agent; help Faith get on a wheelchair.
"Uhhh, Agent Barret" called out Willow to the NID agent, "could you ask the nurse and the female NID agent to excuse themselves for a minute while I say good bye to Miss Lehane?"
"Sure" said Agent Barret as he went into the room and walked out with the nurse and the female agent
"Thanks" said Willow as she went into the room.
Willow: "Faith, I gotta go now. These people will look after you, just answer their questions. I'll see you and the others in D.C"
"Alright Red" said Faith, "Is that a promise?"
Willow: "You betcha"
Willow then turned around and exited the room as the female NID agent and the nurse walked back in, just as she was going to exit the secure wing she heard a familiar voice call out to her.
"Willow!"
Willow turned around and saw Giles on a wheelchair coming towards her.
Willow: "Giles"
"You made a big mistake Willow" said Giles, "You're putting everything we worked for at risk"
Willow: "Giles, I'm sick and tired of arguing this with you, Buffy and the others. You people are the ones that made a mistake. If you had left everything alone, you wouldn't be in this mess, and I warned you. I warned you, Buffy, Dawn and Xander what would happen but you refused to listen. For God sakes Giles, you broke into federal databases to get my confidential file. First of all you had absolutely no right to do that, and secondly didn't the fact that my file is confidential tell you not to snoop around, not to break into the FBI, NSA, CIA and the Air Force personnel records database?"
"I have connections in this administration Willow" said Giles with a smug look on his face, "We'll be free by the end of the day"
Willow: "Are you and the others really that arrogant? This is so much bigger than you or this new Slayer Council you and Buffy created, this time you involved national security… it's not like breaking into the Sunnydale M.E's office to see if an attack on someone was caused by a vampire or a werewolf…. Why can't you people get it through your think skulls that you violated national security.. As for your connections, think about this, only the President and the Joint Chiefs have full complete access to the information on what I do; what the people I work with do. Do you really think your connections go to that high of a level? Even if they did, do you really think they would risk their careers to help you and the others after the stunt you pulled? All of you would most likely be charged with Federal crimes, Giles. You really don't get the mess you made? The mess Buffy made? Now I'm going to go try and convince the President that my friends shouldn't spend the rest of their lives in jail because they're bloody idiots! Damn you all for putting me in this position!"
"If you had told us what you do, then we wouldn't be here" whispered Giles as he looked at Willow.
Willow: "Oh for cryin' out loud! I'm out of here; I can't take this B.S anymore. I've got to go and try save your undeserving asses. Do me a favour and make it easier on yourself, answer whatever questions the NID asks"
Willow then turned around and walked away, leaving Giles in her wake as he was being pushed to the exit to the wing by an NID agent, followed by Joshua, Tara and then Faith. Willow exited the secure wing and took the elevator to the lobby. Colonel Carter had messaged her to let her know that they were downstairs and that the transfer went well. As Willow was walking towards the lobby exit, she noticed the car that had dropped her off earlier with Colonel Carter sitting shotgun, and Daniel and Teal'c sitting at the back. Behind the car were three black NID vans to transport Faith, Giles and Joshua. She looked behind her to see NID agents pushing wheelchairs that carried the aforementioned people and led them into the vans before the convoy of dark coloured vans drove off heading towards the airport.
White House, Outside the Oval Office, 1930hrs
Before entering the waiting area, Willow smoothed out her Dress Blues and approached the lady at one of the two desks in front of the oval office.
"Hello" said Willow softly, "Captain Willow Rosenberg to see General O'Neill and the President"
"Ah yes" said the lady as she picked up the handset and pressed a button, "Mr. President, you have Captain Rosenberg here to see you"
"Yes sir" said the lady into the handset before putting it back down and looking at Willow, "Alright Captain, you can go in, they're waiting for you"
"Thank you ma'am"
Willow followed the elderly woman as she opened the door for her. Willow walked into the oval office, slightly nervously and immediate saw General O'Neill, General Hammond and President Hayes standing waiting for her. Trying to be as confident as possible, she walked up to the President and the Generals and saluted, "Captain Willow Rosenberg reporting as ordered Sirs"
"At ease Captain" said the President, "It's good to know you have your voice back"
"Yes Sir. Thank you Sir" said Willow with a toothy grin, "Oh wow, I'm in the White House, in the Oval Office, standing in front of the President.. holy crap" she thought to herself as she looked at the smiling President.
"I'm glad you're safe Willow" said General Hammond
"Thank you Sir" replied Willow, "it's good to see you"
At that General Hammond smiled and nodded.
"Red, how come your voice sounds… like that?" asked General O'Neill
"Colonel Carter believes that my voice is a bit 'Clint Eastwoody' since my vocal chords were just regenerated. She believes everything should be back to normal within a few months"
"I read Jack's report, Captain. As well as the report from Agent Barret" said the President, "that was a very brave thing you did, severing your vocal chords. I don't think I could have done that"
"I wouldn't wish that on anyone Sir" said Willow
"Now that everyone's here, please take a seat" said the President as he motioned to the sofas on either side of the rug on the floor that had the presidential seal on it. Everyone smiled as Willow tried to navigate herself to sit beside General O'Neill without actually stepping onto the seal itself.
Once everyone was seated, the President started to get down to business as he looked at Willow and smiled.
"You know" he started as he looked at Willow, "The day I took office was the same day I learnt about the Stargate and the dangers that the Earth faces and what the SGC has done to defend this planet. That actually stunned me for a while. I thought that it was a bad joke by the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, and then I started to read the mission reports. Then later the next day, I received a letter from my predecessor that pointed me to a Presidential Eyes-Only file on a red headed young lady who happened to literally appear out of nowhere and crash into a briefing room at the world's most secret base. What was even more shocking was that her explanation of how she ended up at the SGC"
"Sir" said General O'Neill, "Trust me when I say that we were even more surprised"
Willow noticed that General Hammond had his head down and was silently laughing, "That was actually a surprise. She almost gave me a heart attack"
"Sorry Sir, won't happen again" said Willow as she smiled at General Hammond
"Well General, now she's starting to give me heart attacks" said General O'Neill as he smiled at Willow
"Sorry Sir. But thank you for the rescue yesterday" said Willow smiling
"Captain" said the President as she leaned forward on the couch, "Your file states that you don't practise magic anymore, but instead you have some sort of psychic ability. Is that accurate?"
"Yes sir" replied Willow
"So" said the President, "What number am I thinking of right at this moment"
"That's not fair Sir" said Willow grinning, "You keep on changing the numbers"
"Impressive" said the President and he looked around at both Generals and smiled
"So Captain" said the President
"Sir?" interrupted Willow looking very nervous, "I don't mean to be rude but I would prefer Willow, if that's ok with you Sir…. Mr. President…. Sir"
"That's fine by me Willow" he replied, "What I'd like to go through with you is the history behind what happened yesterday. Specifically, exactly who are these people, why they did what they did and then what do we do with them and based on your file, you would be the best person to talk about this with"
"Thank you Mr. President" said Willow, "What I have to say may seem unbelievable to you, but as you said before, you thought that the revelation of the Stargate was meant as a joke. Unfortunately for what I have to say, there are no mission files, we never did that so I'll be relying on memory"
"Before you continue" said President Hayes, "I had a quick chat with my predecessor yesterday night after talking with General O'Neill and he mentioned a secretive organization known as the Watcher's Council that was charged with battling vampires, demons and the like. He implied that they were given free rein to deal with threats such as this. Is that accurate?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow as she closed her eyes, "and that's part of the story Sir"
"So vampire and demons are real then?" said the President
"Yes Sir" said Willow, "I should know, I've fighting them since I was seventeen, during my sophomore year at Sunnydale High"
"I see" replied the President
Willow could sense a growing unease in the room once they learnt at what age she had started to face these things.
"General Hammond… General O'Neill, I should have told you this the first time you did my background check, but by that time I just wanted a change from that life. I was tired of it and I wanted to leave it behind"
"It's all right Willow" said General Hammond, "we just want to know everything now"
"Yes sir" said Willow before she turned to face General O'Neill, "Sir, I know that you definitely won't be happy with what I have to say next. But please know that I'm sorry I never revealed this before now. I just wanted to protect my friends, but I realize that maybe that protection caused the whole mess from yesterday"
General O'Neill nodded, signalling her to continue
"Sir" said Willow as she turned back to the President, "if you don't mind me asking, how much do you know about the Watchers Council?"
"Not that much" he replied, "Only what my predecessor told me, they were given the freedom to hunt and battle these evils, they were given complete autonomy from what I was told. The latest I know is that this organization is gone"
"Have you heard of the Slayer Sir?" asked Willow
"Taking a wild stab in the dark here" said the President, "I'm guessing that they are the ones who do the actual killing or slaying"
"Yes sir" said Willow as her thoughts turned to Buffy, "but being a Slayer….."
"What's up Red?" asked General O'Neill as he saw Willow struggling to talk
"There is a prophesy about the Slayer sir, the first time I heard about it was in high school when I met my best friend, Buffy Summers"
"You mean the one who passed away, the one whose funeral you went to but couldn't attend?" asked General O'Neill
"I'm sorry Sir but I lied" said Willow, "Buffy died but later she was brought back to life due to some mystical intervention. Buffy Summers is very much alive and well, and being questioned by the NID. She was one of the people who held me captive yesterday"
Willow looked at the faces of the people in front of her, they registered shock and confusion. She didn't want to look at General O'Neill, she could already feel his disappointment but she still had to continue.
"When I met Buffy, I was told of a prophecy about the Slayer, it went something like" said Willow as she tried to remember what that prophecy was, "I think it was 'Into every generation, there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer' "
"So what you're saying" said the President, "is that one girl out of millions is chosen as this Slayer?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow, "and when the Slayer dies, the next one in line gets activated and continues the fight"
"Wait a second" said General O'Neill, "You're saying this is an on-going thing?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow, her head still hung and unable to look at the faces of her superior officers and her commander-in-chief
"That's not the worst of it Sir" said Willow softly, "Most slayers, like Buffy, can get activated at a young age"
"How young?" asked General Hammond
"Buffy started when she was either 15 or 16 years old. She been fighting continuously since then" said Willow finally looking back up, trying to suppress her tears as she thought about her best friend.
"You mean Buffy was only a child when she started" said General O'Neill softly, he has meant it as a statement not a question. Willow could sense a growing feeling of anger from her immediate C.O.
"From what I understand, it really wasn't her choice. When she was activated, the Watchers Council sent her a watcher" Willow stopped as she saw the confused looks of the people in the room.
"Watchers are basically teachers, they are supposed to look after, teach and train the Slayer so that they could survive the encounter with… everything" continued Willow, "when I think back to it now, it's like being in a constant state of fear, a constant state of readiness. Imagine being forced to seek out and destroy things that very few people believe in, facing off against creatures that could kill you just for the pleasure of killing or vampires that would drink your blood and then leave your body floating down a river or watch yourself killing the person you love because that's the only way to stop a potential apocalypse from happening"
Willow noticed that her voice was getting louder and louder, so she made the decision to calm dawn again and took in a few deep breaths.
After she somewhat calmed down, Willow continued, "I know that we in the SGC have be also be in a constant state of readiness, even it's the same with the other branches of the military; but can you imagine what it's like when it's a 16 year old girl who is being ordered to kill vampires and being told to be constantly aware of your surroundings so that you don't get killed? When she is being constantly being thrown into the deep end, even if the only experience she has is a few days of training"
"Must be a nightmare" said President Hayes
"Sounds more like cruelty if you ask me" said General O'Neill
"I met Buffy for the first time at Sunnydale High" said Willow as she continued without answering the President or General O'Neill, "and then a friend of mine, Jesse, was turned by vampires and later killed, or dusted by Xander. Even I was taken, among others, for a ritual to resurrect the Master, the supposed king of vampires. Buffy rescued me and since then she, Xander, Giles and I have hung out together and fought together. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised that I'm still alive"
"I think all of us could do well to take a break" said President Hayes, "Give us some time to absorb what we've learned so far"
Everyone in the room silently nodded their heads in agreement
Willow immediately stood up straight, "Permission to take my leave sir"
"Of course Willow" said the President, "we'll start back up in fifteen minutes"
"Yes Sir" said Willow before she looked at both Generals, "Sirs" she said as they nodded at her and she walked through the door she entered earlier. She approached the secretary she met earlier, "Ma'am, where could I find the rest rooms?"
"It's down the hall to your left" said the elderly woman
"Thanks" replied Willow as she walked to the rest room
Once she entered the rest room, she locked the door and took off her Dress Blues and hung the coat on the rack provided and slowly walked towards the mirror at the sink. Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, she immediately broke down; having all those memories of the past return to her all at once was simply just too much. "Here I am, Captain Willow Rosenberg, an Air Force officer crying like a child" thought Willow to herself. Almost as quickly as she broke down, Willow calmed down just as quickly and washed her face, hoping the Generals and the President wouldn't notice. Just then she realized where she was, "OH GOD! I just cried in the White House…. While meeting the President…. In the White House….. I'm such a dumbass" She thought to herself and laughed inwardly, "This is gonna make such a great story". After making sure that the redness in her eyes had gone down, she left the rest room and walked towards the Oval Office again.
"You alright Red?" asked General O'Neill as Willow returned to the Oval Office
"Yes Sir", said Willow; she could feel concern coming from the General, and it was then she realized that he knew Willow had been crying, "Couldn't keep a lot of things away from you Sir" thought Willow to herself.
"Welcome back Willow" said the President smiling, "Please help yourself to some coffee and cake, and then let's sit back down and continue our chat"
After getting a cup of hot coffee, she sat back down next to General O'Neill and continued her talk about the supernatural. She had quickly gone through what makes the Slayer so special and the abilities of the Slayer.
"Now there are two Slayers for the first time in thousands of years since the very first one" said Willow as she finished her third cup of coffee.
"I thought you said there could only be one Slayer at any one time?" said General Hammond
"Yes sir" said Willow, "when one dies, the next Slayer is activated. Buffy died in the first year I met her. She died facing the Master but Xander, our friend, was able to perform CPR and save her life. But she was clinically dead for a few minutes. Thanks to that few minutes of death, the next Slayer was activated. But she died within a year, and like clockwork, the next Slayer was activated"
"Who's the current slayer?" asked General O'Neill
"Well Buffy is still the Slayer, meaning that she still has all the abilities but the actual Slayer line is passed through Faith Lehane now" said Willow
"That's the girl in the ambulance you were talking with yesterday right?" asked General O'Neill
"Yes sir" replied Willow, "When Faith dies, the next Slayer will be activated from the Potentials"
"Potentials?" asked General Hammond
"Potential Slayers Sir" said Willow
"Yesterday when we rescued you from that room, Buffy got on the P.A system and mentioned Potentials in the dorms" said General O'Neill as he realized something, "They're the potential Slayers you're talking about aren't they?"
"Yes Sir" said Willow quietly; she had felt the rising anger from General O'Neill. She knew that he, of all the people in this room wasn't going to be happy, in fact he was furious.
"So what you're telling us, is that the girls we found in the dorms, some we confirmed as being fourteen years old, are being trained to fight these things?!" said General O'Neill incredulously
"Yes Sir" said Willow so quietly that everyone had to lean in to hear her answer. She could sense the anger radiating out of him so much that it made the air around her feel very warm but she also knew the anger wasn't directed at her, instead it was directed at this entire situation they found themselves in.
The generals and the President hung their heads down until the silence in the Oval Office became stifling.
"Sirs" said Willow, "Buffy thought that she could protect these girls by training them from a young age. That way they could better protect themselves while at the same time she and the others could protect them. All she knew was that these girls needed to be protected; one of them could e the next Slayer so she felt that they needed to be ready. That way, they wouldn't be unprepared like Buffy was when she first became the Slayer"
"How do the Slayers get called?" asked President Hayes
"The transfer of power is supposed to be purely mystical. I'm not sure if there is a genetic connection as well as a mystical one" replied Willow
"What's the mortality rate?" asked General Hammond. Willow sensed that it was a question that no one wanted to ask because they were scared of the answer.
"The vast majority of Slayers don't live past their first year before they are killed by some creature and the torch passes to the next one" said Willow, "Buffy and Faith is the only ones who have lasted this long, and that's only because they have a support system. The Watchers Council wanted the Slayers to have no connection to friends or families; they had to fight alone, for the sake of security and to protect those close to them"
"That's a lonely existence" said the President
"This is time it was scary for me" said Willow, "I've never seen Buffy or the other this paranoid before"
"Would you happen to know why?" asked the President
"Xander, my other friend, told me once that a branch of the military had made an underground base in Sunnydale and they were conducting secret experiments on demons, vampires, werewolves, witches, basically anything that was supernatural in nature. He told me that they succeeded in creating a demon and human hybrid, but the experiment had gotten out of control leaving Buffy and the others to clean up the mess. After that, she has had deep seated negative feelings towards the military, especially classified programs", Willow breathed in deeply before continuing, "that why she held me, she wanted to know what was so classified about my file. The more I said I couldn't tell her, the more paranoid she got. She thought that maybe I was going to participate in something that would endanger her or the potentials"
"Sir" said Willow, "My friends have been fighting on their own for so long, and they've lost so much, that I'm afraid that they'll simply break. Even before joining the Stargate Program, I've helped them to save the world at least once. I'm asking you to please take that into consideration before deciding what charges to file against them"
"Willow" said the President sounding very serious, "You do realize that they broke many federal and state laws including illegally holding you prisoner, breaking into federal databases to conduct a background check and if I read the report from Agent Barret and General O'Neill correctly, they tried to do the same thing to SG1 when they came in to rescue you, and they also tried to hack into your classified file. In addition they broke into MI6, MI5 and the Chinese Government files as well. I can't overlook any of those crimes, even the British and the Chinese are pushing for appropriate punishments for these people or else they'll reduce their share of the funding for the Stargate Program", the President then continued as he leaned forward, "As you know Willow, what they did is tantamount to committing a crime against the U.S. Government, and due to the highly classified nature of the files they tried to break into, there can never be a public trial"
"Sir," said Willow as she looked around the room, "Sirs. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be punished, I think they should be. I'm just asking that they not be given the death penalty. I can tell you that they saved the world a few times; I'm just asking that that be taken into consideration. Mostly, they need help Mr. President, they need counselling and therapy. Especially Buffy, Dawn, Giles and Xander"
"You've given me a lot of things to think about Willow" said President Hayes, "I'd like for you to stay in D.C until I make a decision on what to do, I assume that you'd like to inform them yourself about what will happen to them. I'll discuss it with Generals Hammond and O'Neill and we'll let you know within two days"
The President then looked at both Generals, "George, Jack, could you stay behind please?"
"Yes Sir" said both Generals
"Willow" said the President, "You're dismissed"
"Yes sir" said Willow before she turned and walked out of the Oval Office. She noticed General O'Neill was following her towards the door.
"I'm sorry Sir" said Willow as soon as she reached the door at the back of the Oval Office.
"Red, I don't want any more secrets from you. Do I make myself clear?" said the General as Willow nodded, "Look I know this was hard for you, but you did the right thing"
"We'll talk to the president, see what would be an appropriate punishment for them" he continued
"Sir" whispered Willow, "I would like to vouch for Faith, I think she would make excellent an addition to the SGC. I believe that even among the Potentials, the older ones, there would be good candidates for the SGC. Potentials possess almost half of the abilities of a full slayer but they're still stronger, faster than a normal human"
"I'll bring it up with General Hammond and the President" said General O'Neill, "Now you should go see your friends at NID Headquarters. Daniel, Teal'c and Carter should still be there. And as the President said, make plans to stay in D.C for the next couple of days, I'll call Walter and ask him to book a hotel room for you" smiled the General
"Thank you, sir" said Willow before they parted ways and she was off to the headquarters of the NID.