A/N Credit drkstknght1969 for an idea on how to help Dawn. He pointed out the Scoobies have valuable resources in another reality.

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"It didn't take all that long to find Buffy yesterday." Xander stated as he started the next meeting off. "But it was enough time for Cordy and me to have a conversation about our concerns about you, Dawn."

"Specifically about your sleeping/portaling stress problem." Cordelia told her. "We're all worried about you, Mini-me."

"I'm worried about me." Dawn replied grumpily. "I know we've talked about it and the need for sleep and Ms. Calendar's been helping me try meditating, to see if that might help. We've only done it once so far, so too early to tell if it'll help or not."

"Well, meditating has helped me have some refreshing naps." Xander joked and got a light dope slap from Ms. Calendar, who grinned good naturedly at him. "And I encourage you to continue doing that because she gave me a long list of ways it benefits practitioners, but that wasn't where I was going. I had an idea myself last night. Hear me out, okay? It's a bit radical."

"At this point I'm willing to listen to pretty much anything." Joyce told him. "I'm not getting much sleep myself worrying I'm going to wake up and Dawn's disappeared from her bed in the middle of the night. That's a fear every parent has, but it usually involves kidnapping, not portaling to other realities."

"But, hey, thanks to Dawn's trip to the Sunnydale where I'm a Grim Reaper, we're now aware that she can portal other people or demons without also transporting herself." Xander grinned at her. "It's a new aspect of your power and one that might make it possible for someone else to study exactly what you're doing without you doing the traveling."

"How does that help us though?" Buffy asked. "Aside from me being way avoidy on starting an argument with her so she doesn't portal me off somewhere again."

"Magic is energy and energy can be blocked if you know the wavelength of the energy." Xander pointed out and Willow looked thoughtful as she considered his point.

"The sun gives off energy on a variety of wavelengths." She said thoughtfully. "Sunglasses block some of those wavelengths."

"That's what I mean." Xander nodded. "We need someone to study and identify the wavelengths, to use the analogy, I'm using that word right, aren't I? Anyway, once identified, a way can be created to block it."

"Creating a damping field that makes it so Dawn can't, even accidentally, activate a portal." Willow nodded.

"Which would let her get a good, stress-free sleep." Amy smiled sympathetically at the young girl. She knew what it was like to have a stressful night, only hers was because of nightmares from her mother bodyjacking her.

"And then she could practice gaining control in a controlled environment." Jenny looked thoughtful herself. "It is a good idea, it's just how are we going to do it?"

"We're a year away from finishing High School." Harmony pointed out. "And four additional years away from bare minimum of college for Xander to start his Foundation."

"And Oz and Johnathan and I are in a position to start working there and doing real, in-depth studying of the tech from the Sanctum."

"And the werewolf virus and Mrs. Chase's Epstein Barr virus." Oz added. "And we'd be Junior researchers behind whoever we screen and bring in."

"While finishing our Masters and PHDs so we can eventually expand and Head departments." Johnathan finished.

"Yeah, the Foundation can't do a whole lot to help us right now since it doesn't even exist yet." Xander agreed. "Which does Dawnie no good because she needs help now. I could bind or strip your power -."

"No!" Dawn insisted firmly, her lips pinched. "I don't want to give up my power, there's no guarantee it would come back when I get older. What I want is to control it and use it to help, like you guys do!"

"That's what we thought you'd say." Xander said ruefully. "And I don't blame you. Your Mom's probably tempted to have me do that, but she's not jumping right in and demanding it either." They all looked at Joyce, who sighed.

"What I want is for there to be no need for anyone, let alone teenagers, to protect us from monsters. I want the monsters to go away and leave us alone. It's not happening. Someone took Buffy's choice away from her, unless Dawn's life is in danger, I won't take her choice away too."

"Yay! Thanks, Mom!" Dawn threw herself into Joyce's arms and Joyce smiled sadly as she held her little girl.

"But that brings me back to my idea, because there is someone who might be able to help us figure it out. I think we can trust them." Xander said seriously. "Granted, we've only dealt with them two times, but they seemed honest and straightforward with us and didn't try to trick, drug or experiment on us. Others in their reality might not be as trustworthy, but the main people we'd be dealing with seem like they are."

"Who, Xan?" Buffy asked, thinking about the various realities they'd already interacted with and then her eyes widened as she realized where he was going. "Stargate Command! General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill and the others. They might just be able to help us." She nodded enthusiastically.

"Major Carter certainly seemed very intelligent." Joyce said thoughtfully. "But speaking pragmatically, we'd have to offer them something in return. We can't expect them to drop everything and help us. It's a very big ask."

"I've got some ideas on that too."