Trigger Warning at this chapter references an attempted rape. However, I chose to not write it from Buffy's POV, so there are no graphic details. Assume that she is sent to a different facility than the one in CANON since she is not Hank's biological daughter. I am going with the idea that he just doesn't spend as much money on her. Also, this Buffy was raised by a military father, so she will be a bit different in how she reacts to things, I think.
Chapter 2: Getting the Call
*****Present Time*****
Buffy didn't understand how her life had gotten so jacked up so fast. Just a few short weeks ago, she was the most popular freshmen in her Los Angeles' high school, and her greatest concern was if her dad was going to remember to call her that week or not. Or if he was going to go missing in action again.
Now, she was suspended after saving the lives of her classmates. Her watcher was dead. It had happened so fast because Buffy failed to protect him. Although she had saved so many, she should've saved her mentor. How could she possibly do her job without Merrick? When she tried to explain to her mother and Hank about her calling, Hank started talking about calling for a doctor.
"Are you serious? You think I'm crazy?" Buffy asked, offended. "I can prove it. I'll take you to a cemetery right now. Do you want to arm wrestle? I'll show you that I am much stronger than you. I'm a vampire slayer. I didn't ask for it, but it's happened."
"Sweetheart, we love you, but this is insane," Joyce said.
"Did they spike the drink at that dance?" Hank said. "Someone must have slipped her something. That would explain it. It's not yet been twenty-four hours, so it should still be in her system."
"No, I'm not on something!" Buffy exclaimed in frustration. "I've got superpowers!"
"No, you don't," Hank said, shaking his head. "I'm calling a client of mine. He works at a very discreet facility. We'll get you the help you need."
Buffy was incredulous. "You want to have me committed? Are you insane?" she asked, offended at the suggestion.
Joyce frowned. "Hank, that's a bit extreme," she said. Hank pulled her into his study for several minutes to discuss it.
Buffy wasn't going to wait around. Instead, she grabbed the phone and called her dad. Naturally, he didn't answer, but his answering machine did. "Dad. You need to come get me. Hurry up! Mom and Hank are trying to have me committed. To an insane asylum or something! I'm not crazy! Something has happened to me! I'm not the same. I am incredibly strong all of a sudden, and they are afraid of me. I saved a bunch of people at my school during the school dance last night when it was attacked by monsters, but, somehow, I got expelled over it. You gotta believe me!" The answering machine beeped, cutting her off. Frustrated, she slammed down the phone, and it broke.
"Buffy?" her mom called. "Are you okay?"
She opened a drawer in the end table and tossed the phone in it. "How can I be? My mother is trying to get me committed to an insane asylum," she said, glaring at her.
"Honey, that is not what's happening here," Joyce said. "We are simply going to take you to a doctor and get you evaluated. A few days of rest and talking to a professional never hurt anyone. It really isn't that big of deal. Why, Sally went to one just last month. Found it quite restful, as a matter of fact."
Buffy just couldn't believe it was her mother speaking to her. "I don't need a rest. I need my mother to believe me when I tell her something incredible has happened to me," she said flatly. "At the very least, I need you to let me try and prove it to you."
"Honey, if we get a blood test to see if you were drugged with something, it would really relieve Hank's mind," Joyce said.
"Fine. I'll agree to that," Buffy said, figuring that would be an easy way to prove that she was not, in fact, on drugs. "You'll see that I am not on drugs. Then, maybe, you'll let me show you what I can do."
"Of course, honey," Joyce said, hugging her, her eyes filling with tears. She had lost her baby boy, and now something was trying to take her daughter from her.
*****Two Days Later*****
Jack returned from a mission and was listening to his answering machine. There were several, but the one from Buffy alarmed him. He picked up the phone to call her, but no one answered.
Then he heard Joyce's voice on his machine. "Jack, I need you to come to the California Hospital Medical Center at 1401 South Grand Avenue here in Los Angeles," she said, her voice breaking. "Something's happened to Buffy. She's okay, but she needs you. Come quickly."
Jack called the airline and booked two nonstop flights to LAX, and then he called the general, explaining that he and Daniel were going to Los Angeles because his daughter was hurt. There was no question that Daniel would go with him.
"Do you want the rest of the team to go with you?" he asked.
"No. Not until I find out what's happening," he said. "Will you call them and let them know? I have to call Daniel."
"Of course," he said. "I'll call Dr. Frasier and see if she can find out anything in the meantime."
"That would be great," Jack said. He called Daniel, who he had just dropped off at his apartment. "Daniel, sorry, buddy, but I need you to get on a plane to Los Angeles with me."
"Okay," Daniel said. "What's wrong?" He knew that Jack's daughter was in L.A., and Jack wouldn't ask for his support if something hadn't happened.
"Buffy's in the hospital," Jack said. "I don't know what's wrong. I got us two seats that leave in two hours."
"Okay. I'll be ready," Daniel said.
Jack was grateful to have a friend like Danny. He was like a brother, one who he could always count on.
Jack grabbed one of his go-bags that he kept in his house, and then he stopped and picked up a notepad before pushing play on the answering machine again. Then he wrote down everything Buffy said, listening to it three more times, making sure he got it all.
When they made it to the hospital several hours later, he and Daniel had gone over Buffy's message several times. They had made a call to Sam from the airport to see what she could find out from news reports about Buffy's school.
As they took a taxi to the hospital, they discussed what Sam found out.
"Your daughter was accused of burning down the gym while fighting off gang members who crashed the dance," Daniel said.
"That sounds like something she would do," Jack said. "But she said in her message that she saved people from monsters, and they were blaming her. That will not be happening when I get through with them!"
"The gang members were wearing monster masks for some reason," Daniel said. "That's not typical of gang members in Los Angeles. It was common in anthropological groups five centuries ago in very select areas."
Jack was half listening to his friend because he kept trying to go over it in his head. His daughter called him scared, but he wasn't there for her. Joyce and Hank wanted to have her committed. Why? What would propel them to such a thing? It made no sense. Getting kicked out of school was a grounding offense, not a loony bin course of action.
When they arrived at the hospital, they stopped to find out where his daughter was at. "Jack, I'm going to call Janet and see if she found out anything," Daniel said. "I'll meet you up there in a bit."
"All right," Jack said.
When he got to his daughter's room, both Joyce and Hank were sitting next to her bed. He barely glanced at them as his eyes were on his daughter.
She had been beaten severely, one of her arms was in a cast. When he got closer, he saw fingerprints around her throat, and Jack's knees nearly gave out.
"What the hell happened to her?" he growled.
"Let's step outside," Joyce said. "She needs to rest."
He listened to Joyce explain about the dance, and Buffy's explanation of vampires attacking and how she was a mystically empowered vampire slayer.
"Which is, of course, crazy," Joyce said. "Hank assumed someone slipped her a drug of some kind, so I got her to agree to get drugged tested. Hank had a friend at this discreet facility. They were just going to evaluate her, but there was some creep orderly who attacked her. She fought back."
Jack's temper was about to explode, but he was trying to keep it together.
Daniel came up to him. "Jack, I spoke to Janet. She said that that the facility they put her in drugged her to such a degree that she could barely fight off the orderly that tried to rape her," he shared. "At one point, she flat-lined before they got her to the hospital. The amount of drugs they gave her probably contributed to her flat-lining. They gave enough to overdose her. She is lucky to be alive."
Jack closed his eyes, trying not to picture the horror but unable to not to, and took a deep breath. "I want to speak to her doctor. I want to know the exact extent of her injuries," Jack said.
"Jack," Joyce said, touching his arm.
"Don't touch me!" Jack exclaimed. "You not only allowed our daughter to be hurt like this, you put her in this position by having her committed without discussing it with me! I didn't have one message from you telling me that you were going to take her to that place beforehand."
He left her, and Daniel followed him. "Are you telling me that she nearly died? Are you sure about that, Daniel?" Jack asked him.
"That was what I was told," Daniel said. "Jack, I think that you should contact a lawyer. You don't live in this state, but you have built up an incredible amount of clout. It's time you used some of it."
Jack knew Daniel was correct, but he had to hear from the doctor.
When the nurse's station tracked down the doctor, Jack was in a state. "Colonel Jack O'Neill. Please tell me the full extent of my daughter's injuries," he said.
"She has a hairline cranial fracture, which we are monitoring closely. There is no cranial bleeding, which is a good thing," the doctor said. "There is a hairline fracture in her right wrist and one on the same forearm. There is some bruising on her throat and swelling in her larynx but no serious damage. I believe when her attacker tried to hold her down by the throat, she was in a drugged state, but adrenaline pushed it through enough to allow her to fight him off. That's probably when he cracked her skull."
Jack was about to lose it the more the doctor spoke; it was a horrific scene being painted for Jack to imagine.
Daniel could sense that and said, "Thank you, doctor."
"She will be okay?" Jack finally spit out.
"Yes, she is young and healthy. We will do an MRI on her head in the morning and see if there is anything going on there that we didn't detect today. Hopefully, we'll see no swelling still," he said.
Jack nodded. "Okay. Thanks," he said.
He walked back to his daughter's room. He pulled Joyce aside. "I am here now. I know that you love our daughter with every beat in your heart, but I do not know your husband. I do not want to know your husband," he said. "What I do know is Buffy left a message on my answering machine telling me that you and Hank were going to get her committed because you didn't believe her. She begged me to come save her, and now she is like this. If you do not keep your husband out of this hospital and away from her, I will see him brought up on child endangerment charges if it's the last thing I do. Or I just might break his jaw."
"Jack, Hank loves Buffy," Joyce said. "He is upset. He didn't dream something like this would happen."
"Do not defend that man to me!" Jack exclaimed, finally showing her how angry he really was. "I would like to sit with my daughter. You two have done enough. Leave."
Joyce knew that there was no point in talking to him further as he was too angry and scared for their daughter. "Okay," she said. "I will come back in the morning, and we will talk."
"Do not bring him," Jack warned.
Joyce nodded and went to speak to her husband, who was sitting with her still sleeping daughter.
Hank stood up as his wife called to him and beckoned to him. "Jack, I am really sorry this happened," he said as he paused in front of Jack.
"Do not speak to me," Jack said. "It's your fault she is lying in that bed. If I catch you near her again, I will file criminal charges against you."
"Are you serious?" Hank asked.
"Let's go," Joyce said, pulling him along before he could say anything else to Jack.
When Daniel went in and saw the damage done to Buffy, he felt sick. Although he had heard about it, seeing her so hurt was something else entirely. "God, Jack, this is horrible," he said.
"I know," Jack said. He went over and grabbed the hand that wasn't in a cast. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I should've been there for you. I failed you again. I won't anymore. I promise."
"What are you going to do?" Daniel asked.
"She's coming home with me," Jack said. "I doubt after this, she'll want to stay with Joyce. She's fifteen now. Her mother can't legally force her to do anything anyway."
After about fifteen minutes, Daniel said, "I'm going to go down to the gift shop and get a disposable camera and take some photos. We need to document how she looks in case this goes to court."
"After she wakes up and voices wanting to go with me, I don't see Joyce fighting me," Jack said.
"Well, just in case," Daniel said, getting up.
Jack nodded. "Thanks, buddy," he said. As he looked at his daughter, though, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
He broke down and cried.
Buffy finally opened her eyes and saw her father sitting next to her, holding her hand and crying.
She wanted to tell him how happy she was to see him.
She wanted to tell him how scared she had been.
She wanted to tell him how worried she was that he, too, would reject her and think she was crazy.
Finally, she whispered, "Don't cry, Daddy."
Jack heard her whisper and wiped his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding hers. "Sweetie, you're awake! Are you in pain? I'm so sorry, baby, that I wasn't there for you. I'll never forgive myself," he said.
"It's okay, Daddy," Buffy said in a low voice. She grimaced as her voice didn't sound right. "Water, please."
Jack handed her the water cup that was close by, and she took a long sip.
"Why do I sound funny?" she asked in a whisper.
Jack choked on his reply before finally saying, "Your larynx was bruised. It should just be temporary."
Buffy nodded. "This guy in the place Mom and Hank sent me to tried to rape me. When I resisted, he attacked me. I was so drugged that he managed to hurt me. If they hadn't drugged me so much, he wouldn't have been able to do this," she said, her eyes flashing. "I'm really strong."
Jack stroked her hair. "I know you are, baby," he said. "No one is ever going to hurt you again. I promise."
"Don't let Mom send me back there," Buffy said, her fear evident. "I'll take it back. I'll pretend to be normal. I'll do anything you want. Please, don't lock me up, Daddy."
She broke down crying, and Jack's eyes filled with tears again. He pulled her into his arms as gently as he could, climbing in the bed behind her. For several minutes, they cried together. "I promise, Buffy Anne, no one will ever do that to you again. You will never be sent there or any place like that again," he said, wiping her cheeks with his thumb. "You're going to come home with me."
Buffy smiled and put her head on his chest.
Daniel stood in the doorway and snapped his photo.
*****Chapter End*****
As you can see, Kendra is getting called much earlier. She will go to Sunnydale, not Buffy in this story. Eventually, Buffy will get there, but not for a while. I thought it'd be fun to see the difference if Kendra was there. There will be a Scooby death in this tale. Buffy won't be there to save everyone. Who will it be? I've already decided. This story is a bit darker than others, so if you can't handle deaths of major characters, this story might not be for you. Reviews are always appreciated. Nitpicking is NOT! Thanks for reading!
